LETTERS
OF
JOHN HUSS,
WRITTEN DURING HIS EXILE AND IMPRISONMENT;
WITH
MARTIN LUTHER’S PREFACE;
AND CONTAINING A
GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORKS OF HUSS.
BY
ÉMILE DE BONNECHOSE,
AUTHOR OF “THE REFORMERS BEFORE THE REFORMATION,” ETC.
Translated by
CAMPBELL MACKENZIE, B.A.,
TRIN. COLL. DUBLIN.
EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM WHYTE & CO.,
BOOKSELLERS TO THE QUEEN DOWAGER;
LONDON: LONGMAN AND CO.; DUBLIN: W. CURRY JUN., AND CO.
MDCCCXLVI.
PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH.
CONTENTS.
Page
INTRODUCTION, vii
PRELIMINARY NOTICE, 1
Preface of Dr Martin Luther, to the Letters of John Huss,
published by him in the year 1537, 3
LETTERS OF JOHN HUSS.
+Attestation of Peter Maldoniewitz, called the Notary+, 13
FIRST SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN AT THE PERIOD OF THE INTERDICTION
OF JOHN HUSS, AND OF HIS EXILE FROM
PRAGUE IN 1411;--SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE
BEEN WRITTEN IN 1410.
+Letter+ I. To the College of Cardinals, 14
II. To Zawyssius, his Calumniator, 17
III. To Master Martin and to Master Nicolas of Myliezyn, 19
IV. To the Rector of the University of Prague, 21
V. To John Barbat, 24
VI. To the believers in Prague, 29
VII. To the same, 38
VIII. To the Church of Prague, 41
IX. To the Hearers of the Word of God at Prague, 43
X. To the same, 46
XI. To the same, 48
XII. To the same, 51
XIII. To the same, 54
XIV. To the Inhabitants of the town of Luna, 58
XV. The Priest Wychewitze to John Huss and his friends, 61
SECOND SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN BY JOHN HUSS, AND OTHER
PERSONS, AT THE PERIOD OF THE COUNCIL OF
CONSTANCE.
+Letter+ I. To Master Martin, 67
II. John Huss to the Bohemians previously to his
setting out for the Council, 69
III. Letter written from Nuremberg to his Congregation
at Prague, 72
IV. John, Curé of Janowitz, to the faithful believers
of Prague, 75
V. John Huss to the people of Bohemia and his friends, 77
VI. * * * * 79
VII. To the people of Bohemia, 81
VIII. To the inhabitants of Prague, 84
IX. John Huss to a Priest, 86
X. To Peter Maldoniewitz, 88
XI. To the believers in Prague, 89
XII. To John of Chlum, 91
XIII. To the same, 94
XIV. To the same, 96
XV. To the same, 97
XVI. To the same, 101
XVII. To the same, 102
XVIII. John Huss to his Benefactors, 103
XIX. To John of Chlum, 107
XX. To Peter Maldoniewitz, 109
XXI. Peter Maldoniewitz to John Huss, 110
XXII. Reply of John Huss to Peter, 113
XXIII. To John Huss, 115
XXIV. John Huss’s Reply, 117
XXV. To the same, 119
XXVI. John of Chlum to John Huss, 121
XXVII. To John of Chlum, 123
XXVIII. John Huss’s Reply to Peter the Notary, 126
XXIX. To one of his Friends, 129
XXX. To his Noble Benefactors, 131
XXXI. John Huss’s Reception by the Council, 135
XXXII. To his Friends, 137
XXXIII. To his Friends, 139
XXXIV. To the Noble Lord, Henry de Schopeck, 142
XXXV. To a Friend, 143
XXXVI. To the Faithful of Bohemia, 144
XXXVII. Profession of Faith, &c., 148
XXXVIII. To his Disciple, Master Martin, 150
XXXIX. To the Lord Haulikon, 153
XL. To some Friends, 155
XLI. To John Cardinal, 159
XLII. John Cardinal to John Huss, 161
XLIII. * * * * 163
XLIV. To a Friend, 165
XLV. To a Friend, 169
XLVI. To his Friends, 170
XLVII. To his Friends at Prague, 172
XLVIII. John Huss to the University of Prague, 177
XLIX. To his Friends, 179
L. To the same, 181
LI. To his Friends, 184
LII. To John of Chlum, 185
LIII. To the same, 186
LIV. To Master John Christian, 189
LV. To his Benefactors, 190
LVI. To his faithful Friend Ledertz, 191
REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS, 193
+Analysis of the Treatise on the Church+, 202
NOTES.
+Note+ A, 217
B, 218
INTRODUCTION.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century there was born in Bohemia, a
man whose name is inseparably connected with one of the most important
revolutions of modern Europe. His history I have narrated in a
preceding work.[1] I there placed before my readers the great events of
that memorable epoch, and exhibited on the stormy stage of the world
this Christian, whose death, even more than his life, agitated his
country and all Germany. My object, in the present work, is to complete
the first,--to finish the portrait of the illustrious reformer of
Bohemia, by making him also known in his domestic life--the effusions
of his private intercourse. The man is completely revealed in his
correspondence; and I here publish all that the friends of Huss have
handed down to us.
These Letters, which are translated now for the first time into our
tongue, were never intended for the public eye, having been addressed
by Huss to his disciples and friends, to be perused far from the
view of his enemies, and under the shade of the domestic roof. They
furnish most precious documents to history, and are unquestionable
testimonies of the spirit and character of their author. Though they
are not remarkable either for profundity of thought, or for style and
singularity of doctrine, there, nevertheless, exhales an innocent
candour and an angelic piety, like a fragrant perfume, from every page.
What especially pervades them, are the Christian thoughts on the fall
of man, and his regeneration through Jesus Christ;--the conviction
that all the things of this world pass away, and are but the shadows
of things eternal;--that man is nothing without God;--that there is
nothing but darkness or false lights wherever the divine flame does
not penetrate;--and, lastly, above all these thoughts, subsists that
which embraces all the rest--that “+Faith is life+.” We behold in his
correspondence, a soul superior to seduction as well as to terror; a
firm and upright reason which penetrates every subtilty;[2] originates
in the conscience alone; clings tenaciously to what appears to it to
be the truth as to man’s most precious possession, as to the treasure
which has nothing to fear, neither from rust nor robber. (Matt. vi. 20.)
Huss was one of those spirits, more contemplative than practical,
which, after having recognised an idea as true, admit of no medium
or arrangement in propagating it, and concern themselves for the
consequences not more for others than for themselves. The inflexibility
of his character equalled his probity of feeling; and it may be
affirmed that, in all respects, both by the heart and the intelligence,
Huss was of the number of those who appear in the world as if
predestined to martyrdom. Yet he sought not after it like a passionate
sectarian or a blind enthusiast; he was as far from possessing that
pride which complacently feeds itself on its own conceptions, as from
that sullen fanaticism which causes a man voluntarily to shorten his
life by useless rashness, through dint of persuading himself that death
is desirable. Before entering into a contest with his superiors, John
Huss hesitated, consulted, and examined. Visited with ecclesiastical
censures at Prague, he knew not whether he should obey and be silent,
or continue to preach the Gospel. “I burn,” says he, “with an ardent
zeal for the Gospel, and my soul is sad; for I know not what to resolve
on.”[3] At a later period at Constance, when condemned and ready to
die, he wrote, “I exhort you, in the name of the Lord, to detest every
error that you may discover in my works; but keeping in mind this truth
which I have ever had in view, pray for me.”[4] He faithfully depicts
his feelings in a letter which he addressed at the same period to the
priest Martin, his disciple, an admirable letter--a true model of
prudence and every Christian virtue. “Attach thy soul to the reading
of the Bible, and especially the New Testament. Fear not death, if
thou desirest to live with Christ; for he has said himself, _Fear not
those who kill the body, but who cannot destroy the soul_. If they
should trouble you on account of thy adhesion to my doctrines, answer,
I believe my master to have been a good Christian; and touching what he
has taught and written, I have neither read nor understood all.” Huss
was neither a superstitious man nor a visionary; nevertheless he had
visions and received warnings in his sleep; he foresaw what came to
pass,[5] yet refused to attach faith to his dreams. He does not dare to
place trust in them, and distrusts his senses rather than slight the
authority of a single precept of his God; he repeats this text, “Place
no confidence in dreams;” and after having related them to his friends,
he adds, “I write this not because I consider myself a prophet, or that
I would exalt myself, but to shew I have suffered bodily and mental
temptations as well as a great fear of transgressing the commandments
of the Lord.” Resignation was predominant in his mind;--the most
absolute submission to the Divine will, as well as an ardent desire to
become acquainted with it. “Pray,” says he, “fervently to the Lord,
that he may grant me his Spirit, and that I may dwell in truth, and be
delivered from all evil. If my death should add to his glorification,
pray it may arrive speedily, and that he may enable me to support my
ills with constancy. But should it be better for my salvation that
I return amongst you, we will implore of God to enable me to return
from the Council without a spot, viz., that I may keep back nothing
from the truth of the gospel of Christ, in order to be enabled to
discover more surely its light, and bequeath to our brethren a good
example to follow.” The sacrifice which he made of his life was the
more exemplary, and his martyrdom the more sublime, because he had felt
beforehand all the terrors of death; it was in God that he sought for
support against them. “Beseech the Lord to grant me the assistance of
his Spirit, that I may confess his name even unto death.... I shall
stand in need of his Divine aid, although I am confident he will not
suffer me to be tried beyond my strength.”[6]
His confidence in God did not forsake him to the last moment. “Our
Saviour,” says he, “raised Lazarus from the dead after the fourth day.
He could also snatch me from prison and death,--I, an unfortunate man,
if it were for his glory, for the advantage of the faithful, and my
own good.”[7] And yet, when in chains, and awaiting death, he is more
occupied with the interests of others than his own; his soul, calm,
pious, and compassionate, sympathizes with all around him; his jailors
are exhorted and instructed by him. He thinks with tenderness of his
disciples, of the faithful believers of his church, of his friends; the
sight of his benefactors draws tears from his eyes, and he writes to
them in these touching terms, “Generous Seigniors, my comforters and
faithful defenders of the truth, you whom God has sent me as my angels,
I cannot fully express how much I am grateful for so much constancy,
and for all the charitable kindness you have shewn to me, a weak
sinner, but servant in hope of Jesus Christ.”[8]
His poverty being great, he regrets not being able to remunerate
his friends who have assisted him with money. He bequeaths them all
he possesses, which is but little; for the surplus of his debts he
addresses an appeal, with a confidence altogether Christian, to all
who are rich, and conjures them to pay for him those who are poor. He
promises them, in exchange for the worldly riches which they advance
to him, spiritual and imperishable wealth.[9] Every word that falls
from his lips or his pen affords signs of that virtue so well defined
by the apostle; of that charity, so mild, patient, and benevolent,
to which nothing is indifferent, because in everything it finds an
opportunity of exercising itself usefully, and fulfilling a duty. At
the approach of death, he feels his ardent zeal redoubled for the
salvation of his brethren and dear disciples, and includes in the same
solicitude all those who have listened to his preaching; and in his
last exhortations no one is excepted. When on the point of appearing
before the King of Heaven, all earthly distinctions vanish before his
eyes; and the soul of the obscure workman is to him as precious as that
of the monarch. His own soul presents an unalterable calm amidst the
most cruel pains, and sometimes unbends to a sweet and tranquil gaiety.
Though a prey to so many outrages, he utters neither threat nor murmur;
he pardons his enemies; he blesses and adores the hand of God which
tries him, and sees in these rigours only marks of his love.
Shortly before his death he writes to his friends thus:--“When we shall
meet hereafter in a happy eternity, you will know with what clemency
the Lord deigns to assist me in my trials.”[10]
Such does +John Huss+ appear in the edifying Letters of which we here
present the translation; and it is impossible to peruse them without
repeating, with Luther,--“If this man was not a generous and intrepid
martyr and confessor of Christ, certainly it will be difficult for any
man to be saved.”[11]
We have penetrated in every direction into this mind so eminently
Christian; we have shewn in all its aspects this soul so marked with
candour and so powerful; and it now remains to us to assign to John
Huss his place among the men who have agitated the world, and to
determine the work which is personal to him, what, in fact, he has left
behind him that is durable. To succeed in such an endeavour, we must
take into account a prejudice which still prevailed at that period.
False notions had for centuries been in circulation, and had taken root
in Christendom, relative to the authority of individual convictions,
judgment, and conscience. It was denied that man, sustained by Divine
grace, could find in himself any assistance; it was believed to be a
meritorious act of Christian virtue to seek for no direction in one’s
own internal feeling, and to trample reason under foot; an opinion was
adopted, not because in itself it had been found conformable to the
Scriptures or to truth, but because it was considered to agree with
the decisions of some great doctor, pope, or council, or because it
was found in Augustin, Origen, or Jerome. Tradition alone was listened
to; and it was altogether forgotten that the first Christians, who had
sprung from the Jews and Gentiles, were accustomed to consult their
conscience before all, in face of the altars of Paganism, or of the
temple still standing at Jerusalem, and that they took for their only
guide this secret and inflexible monitor. A few eloquent men--a few
great minds--had, it is true, consulted their individual opinions,
rather than yield to clerical and traditional authority. Abelard and
Berenger, in France, had given proof of boldness and independence in
proclaiming their doctrines; but they grew timid when it was necessary
to defend them; their voices died away, and their heads were bowed low,
before the menaces of popes and councils. In Italy, Armand de Bresse
had ventured openly to resist the pontifical power; but the revolution,
of which he gave the signal, was a civil rather than a religious one.
Numerous sects and whole populations had, in different countries,
emancipated themselves from the yoke, by depending on that irresistible
force which the sympathy of the masses and the association with a whole
nation creates, in order to think, believe, and suffer. England, in
fine, had witnessed a powerful mind,--that of Wycliffe, nourished by
the Scriptures,--bring to light a body of doctrine, from which, at a
later period, sprang the code of the Reformation;[12] but Wycliffe
escaped alive the solemn sentence of an œcumenical council;[13] and
many doubt whether he could have passed triumphantly through that
formidable ordeal.
It was reserved for the little town of Constance to afford a spectacle
which the world had not witnessed for ages. There, one man, weakened by
sickness and long imprisonment, isolated from a few friends dispersed
and trembling, resisted, strong in the gospel and in his conscience,
all that external authority could display to intimidate and subjugate
souls. He yields not before the efforts of all the spiritual and
temporal powers united. John Huss, lastly, by his example, still
more than by his doctrines, re-opened to the Christian world a path
that had been long closed; and, if it is permitted to compare sacred
things with profane, effected in the sphere of religion and morality
what, at a later period, Columbus brought to pass in the external and
physical world; he laid open a new empire, or, to speak more correctly,
he discovered a domain which had been forgotten for ages--that of the
Conscience in matters of faith. Inquiry was a field interdicted to
all. Huss entered on it anew, in the midst of hostile clamours, and
re-opened it amidst the noise of the thunder and the tempest. He fell
in his attempt; but it was important to prove that the conscience
of the Christian was stronger than all the powers of the earth; for
that end one of those sublime sacrifices which terminate in death was
requisite. John Huss, therefore, must die; and in his death consisted
his victory.
It was the firmness of his character which gave him influence over the
people, like most of those whose passage through the world has left
the most durable impression. He was great, especially by the heart;
and although he was, by the qualities of his mind, one of the most
distinguished men of his age, yet his greatness was rather moral than
intellectual. He established no new system, nor attached his name to
any religious creed; and his glory is, in consequence, the purer. Not
being the author of his doctrines, he had no personal interest in their
triumph; and the love of the truth did not, in his heart, confound
itself with vanity. He was not able to obtain external liberty for
religious worship; but he did more; for by his faith, by his courage
before a tribunal the most elevated in the opinions of men; by the vast
renown of his virtues, condemnation, and martyrdom, he caused a part
of Europe to understand the sacred right of that freedom of conscience
which, when properly employed, constitutes the Christian equally on
the throne as in chains. John Huss, in a word, greatly contributed to
bring back Christianity to its primitive character, viz., that of
being the religion of the heart, and to restore its real spirit--a
spirit of life, of progress, and of liberty. If Religion be not this;
if it be the monopoly of a college of priests, or the privilege of a
sect, it becomes immediately exclusive, intolerant, and oppressive. The
history of antiquity, as well as of modern times, teaches us that men
who constitute themselves as infallible interpreters of the Divinity,
make their gods after their own likeness. The Creator of the world
would soon be no longer in their mouths a compassionate Father, who
gives to all his children on earth an equal right of approaching him
in adoration and prayer, and who presents his word to all minds, like
his Son, to the regards of every creature; but a jealous master, ever
ready to punish and strike at the will of his interpreters, at the cry
of those who call themselves the representatives of his power. Religion
would no longer be that celestial and internal bond which attracts the
soul to God by love; it would become the yoke which masters externally
by constraint--a dreadful instrument of punishment to the souls which
it abases, by placing them under restraint, and more destructive, if
possible, to men’s minds than to their bodies. It is on this account
that the generous Christians of all Churches who have heroically
resisted the oppressors of the conscience, are justly entitled to the
imperishable admiration and gratitude of all who adore in spirit and in
truth. Among these no man was ever more remarkable than +John Huss+;
for no other ever did more to restore to the Conscience, in the heart
of man, that throne which it ought never to have abdicated.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _The Reformers before the Reformation. Fifteenth Century. John Huss
and the Council of Constance._ 2 vols.
[2] Consult, in particular, Letter xl. of the Second Series.
[3] First Series, Letter iii.
[4] Second Series, Letter xlviii.
[5] _Ibid._, Letter xxxiii.
[6] Second Series, Letter xi.
[7] Ibid. Letter xviii.
[8] Second Series, Letter xviii.
[9] Second Series, Letter xxv.
[10] Second Series, Letter xxx.
[11] Preface of Luther, page 12.
[12] See _The Reformers before the Reformation_, Hist. Introduct.,
section v.
[13] Wycliffe died thirty-five years before the Council of Constance
condemned his memory and works.
PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
The Letters of +John Huss+ were collected by his friend, Peter
Maldoniewitz, the notary, and it was the great Reformer of the
sixteenth century, Martin Luther, who first published them, rendering
justice to the faith, doctrines, and noble character of their author.
Luther at first translated into Latin four letters, written by Huss
in Bohemia, and published them in 1536, together with those which
the nobles of Bohemia and Moravia had addressed to the Council of
Constance. Wittemberg was the place where he published them, on
the occasion of a general council being convoked by Paul III.[14]
He joined to these letters a preface, of which the following is an
extract:--“My object in publishing these letters,” said Luther, “is,
if God should permit the council to assemble, to warn such persons as
might be present to beware of following the example of the Council of
Constance, in which the truth was exposed to such lengthened and such
violent attacks; nevertheless, it triumphs now, and, holding erect
its victorious head, shews forth that guilty assembly in its true
colours. Undoubtedly, God has sufficiently manifested in that council
how he resists the proud, and confounds the haughty, by their own
imaginations, without paying any consideration to outward dignity.”[15]
The following year, Luther published a complete edition of the letters
of John Huss, and prefixed to it a preface which we subjoin, and in
which he enumerates, with great power, the principal claims of Huss to
the esteem and admiration of posterity. This preface also contains some
interesting and curious details; and Luther even narrates in it the
strong impression produced on himself in his youth, at first reading,
by chance, some of the writings of that Christian whom he had been
taught to execrate as a dreadful heretic. Luther is supposed to have
drawn up the summary of contents which are found at the head of most of
the letters of John Huss, in the collection of his works,[16] and we
have most carefully preserved them.
The letters of John Huss are divided into two series, each of which
refers to a different period of his life: the first is that of his
interdiction and exile from Prague in the years 1410 and 1411; the
second comprehends the period which elapsed from his departure from the
council till his death.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] This council, which was first convoked at Mantua for the year
1537, then at Vicenza, did not open until 1542, in the city of Trent.
[15] The several editions of this Preface, which will be found at
the end of the volume (Note A), present numerous variations. We have
considered it best to follow the first edition, which was most kindly
communicated to us by M. Frederic Monod, one of the clergymen of the
Reformed Church at Paris.
[16] _Hist. et Monum. Johan. Hus_, vol. i. Nuremberg, 1715.
PREFACE OF DR MARTIN LUTHER, TO THE LETTERS OF JOHN HUSS, PUBLISHED BY
HIM IN THE YEAR 1537.
In order to render more prudent, and to instruct, by means of the
tyrannical judgments of the Council of Constance, all theologians
that may be hereafter called to sit in a council of the Roman
Church.
Should any man read these letters, or hear them read, being, at the
same time, in possession of a sound intelligence, and, in the face
of God, having a regard for his own conscience, he will not, I am
convinced, hesitate to allow that John Huss was endowed with the
precious gifts of the Holy Spirit. Observe, in fact, how firmly he
clung, in his writings and his words, to the doctrines of Christ;
with what courage he struggled against the agonies of death; with
what patience and humility he suffered every indignity; and with what
greatness of soul he at last confronted a cruel death in defence
of the truth;--doing all these things alone and unaided, before an
imposing assembly of the most powerful and eminent men, like a lamb
in the midst of wolves and lions. If such a man is to be regarded as a
heretic, no person under the sun can be looked on as a true Christian.
By what fruits, then, shall we recognise the truth, if it is not
manifest by those with which John Huss was so richly adorned?
The greatest crime of John Huss was his having declared that a man of
impious life was not the head of the universal Church: he allowed him
to be the chief of a particular church, but not of the universal one;
just the same as a minister of the word, whose life is criminal, still
remains minister according to external appearance, although he is not,
on that account, a member of the saints in his church. In a similar
manner, John Huss denied that an impious and flagitious pontiff was a
worthy one, although seated on the throne of the Church; it is as if we
should declare that Judas, being both traitor and robber, was not an
honest man, although he had been called to the functions of an apostle.
Every effort, in fact, was made to prevail on John Huss to admit that
a criminal pope ought to be regarded as a saint, and was infallible;
that his words and acts were alike holy, and ought to be received and
respected as so many articles of faith. All the men of the Council of
Constance, wise as they were considered, would have lent a favourable
ear to such assertions,--they who, when they had dethroned three
culpable pontiffs, did not allow to any one the right of condemning
them to the flames! But when John Huss said the same things, they
dragged him at once to the stake!
The door was (once more)[17] thrown open to similar events, by the
indulgences which the Roman pontiff scattered with such profusion
over the whole world, and by the jubilee which he instituted at Rome
to build the church of St Peter: for the pope, amongst his other
inventions, declared, and afterwards confirmed by his bulls, that the
souls of such persons as, having undertaken a pilgrimage to Rome,
should happen to die on the way, should at once take flight to heaven;
and, in his quality of God on earth, and God’s viceroy, he orders, most
peremptorily, the angels to bear such souls upwards on rapid cars.
Tetzel, the bearer of the indulgences of the bishop of Mentz, in like
manner taught that the souls would spring from purgatory to heaven, as
soon as the clink of the money paid into the treasury should be heard;
but when shortly after he was confounded and put to shame, he shut his
impudent mouth.
It was to oppose such impieties, calculated as they were to disgust
even a brute animal,[18] that John Huss, preacher of the Word of God at
the chapel of Bethlehem at Prague, put himself forward. He denied that
any such power was given to the Roman pontiff, who, he boldly declared,
might be mistaken in that as well as many other things. Having then
taken the great liberty of inculcating that the pope can err (a
heresy then considered far more frightful than to deny Jesus Christ),
he was constrained by violence to confirm what he had maintained in
saying, that an _impious pope_ was not a _pious_ one. All then were
in wild commotion, like so many wild boars, and they gnashed their
teeth, knit their brows, bristled up their coat, and, at last, rushing
precipitately on him, delivered him cruelly and wickedly to the flames.
One of the first articles that it was necessary to admit at that period
was, that the Roman pontiff was infallible; and such was the opinion of
the jurisconsults of the Roman court. It did not appear presumable that
any error could emanate from so elevated a quarter; but when personal
presumptions are formed, it often comes to pass too much is presumed.
The extraordinary mistake of these men on so important a point, and the
manifest outrages which John Huss suffered from them, only served to
animate him with greater courage. A conscience pure of all crime before
God and before the world, affords a man a great consolation in his
misfortunes; and if his suffering should be for the name and glory of
God, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter of the afflicted, immediately comes
to his aid, and lends him assistance against the world and against
demons, as Christ has promised (Matt. x.) in these words: “It is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you;” and
(Luke xxi.) “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your
adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay.”
I have heard from some persons worthy of faith, that the Emperor
Maximilian said, in speaking of John Huss, “They have done great
injustice to that excellent man.” Erasmus of Rotterdam, in his early
writings, now in my possession, has declared that John Huss had been
burned, but not convinced; and the general opinion amongst pious men
of that day was, that he had been loaded with outrage and violence.
I will relate here what Dr Staupitz narrated to me of a conversation
which he had with his predecessor, Andrew Prolès, a man of birth and
merit, relative to the rose of Dr John Zacharias. This Zacharias
was represented in the cloisters bearing a rose in his hat, as a
distinction for him, and an affront to John Huss. Prolès, seeing this
image, said, “I would not consent to wear that rose.” Staupitz having
inquired for what motive, Prolès replied, “When it was maintained
before the Council of Constance against John Huss, that the pope could
not be represented by any one, Dr Zacharias brought forward the passage
of Ezekiel (chap. xxxiv.), _It is I who am above the shepherds, and not
the people._[19] John Huss denied that these words could be found to
form part of the chapter alluded to; and Zacharias offered to prove the
contrary, from the very Bible which John Huss had brought from Bohemia:
for Zacharias, like many others, had often visited Huss for the
purpose of convincing him, and he had by chance happened to perceive
the passage in question. The Bible was then produced in the assembly,
and it shewed that Zacharias was right. John Huss, nevertheless,
maintained that the Bible was not a correct one, and that the other
versions would not confirm it; but being overwhelmed by the clamours
of his adversaries, he lost his cause, and Zacharias received a rose
from the Council, in perpetual memory of this fact. And yet,” observed
Prolès, “it is certain that these words are not found in any correct
Bible, whether manuscript or printed, and that they all testify against
Zacharias.” Such was the account of Prolès to Dr Staupitz.
The verse alluded to is found in all German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew
Bibles, as it was quoted by John Huss; but at Constance they could not
admit it in any other way than as quoted by Zacharias, who deserved
neither to receive the rose nor to wear it.
The adversaries of John Huss’s opinions have themselves testified
to his learning. Thirty years back, I heard several able theologians
declare that “John Huss was an exceedingly superior doctor, and that
he surpassed in erudition and knowledge all the persons composing the
council.” His writings, and, amongst others, his _Treatise on the
Church_, and his _Sermons_, confirm this eulogium.
When I was a divinity student at Erfurt, my hand happened to alight,
one day, in the library of the monastery, on a volume of John Huss’s
sermons. Having read, on the cover of the work, the words, _Sermons
of John Huss_, I was immediately inflamed with a desire to ascertain,
by perusing this book, that had escaped from the flames, and was thus
preserved in a public library, what heresies he had disseminated. I was
struck with amazement as I read on, and was filled with an astonishment
difficult to describe, as I sought out for what reason so great a
man--a doctor, so worthy of veneration, and so powerful in expounding
the Scriptures--had been burned to death. But the name of Huss was, at
that period, such an object of execration, that I absolutely believed
that if I spoke of him in terms of praise, the heavens would fall on
me, and the sun veil his light. Having then closed the book, I withdrew
sad at heart, and I remarked to myself, by way of consolation--“Perhaps
he wrote those things before he fell into heresy.” At that time I was
still ignorant of what had passed in the Council of Constance.
All that I could say would only add infinitely to the high character of
John Huss. His adversaries render him a striking, though unintentional
testimony; for if their clouded eyes could open to the light, they
would blush at the remembrance of the things which they themselves
narrate. The author of a collection of the acts of the council, written
in German, and enriched with very many remarkable details, endeavours,
with all his power, to cover with odium the cause of John Huss; and
yet he declares, that when Huss beheld himself stripped of all the
dignities of his order, he smiled with intrepid firmness. According
to the same author, also, Huss, when conducted to the funeral pile,
constantly repeated--“Jesus, Son of God, have pity on me!” At the
sight of the fatal stake to which he was to be fixed in order to be
burned, he fell on his knees and cried out--“Jesus, Son of the living
God, who suffered for us all, have pity on me!” Beholding a peasant
bringing some wood to feed the flames, he again smiled with mildness,
and uttered these words of St Jerome--“O holy simplicity!”[20] A
priest having drawn nigh, and demanded if he desired to confess, Huss
replied, that he was ready to do so; and the priest having insisted on
the necessity of abjuring, John Huss refused, saying that he did not
consider himself guilty of any mortal sin.
The man who, in the agony of death, invoked, with so firm a heart,
Jesus the Son of God--who, for such a cause, delivered up his body to
the flames with so strong a faith, and so stedfast a constancy--if such
a man, I repeat, deserves not to be considered a generous and intrepid
martyr, and true follower of Christ, it will be difficult for any one
to be saved. Jesus Christ himself has declared:--“He who confesses me
before men, him will I also confess before my Father.” What more shall
I say? The Roman pontiff raises many men to the rank of saints, of whom
it would be difficult to predicate if they are with the elect or with
the devils; and he precipitates into hell a man like this, when it
results, from the examination of his whole life, that his place is in
heaven.[21]
I have again specified these matters, in order that they may serve as
a salutary warning to such of our theologians as may repair to the
approaching council; for should they resemble the men who assembled
at the Council of Constance, the same thing will happen to them as to
their predecessors--the acts which they will be anxious to conceal and
bury in oblivion shall be dragged forth to the open day, and published
everywhere. The doctors of Constance were convinced that no person
would ever presume to accuse them, either by word or writing, and
much less in the teeth of the cruelest menaces, to honour John Huss
as a saint, and condemn them for their conduct. Events have, on the
contrary, either by me or by others, verified the predictions of John
Huss. Our theologians, strong in their authority, anticipate no peril.
I admit their power to be equal to what they possessed in John Huss’s
time; but it is not less certain, that he who then stood at their
tribunal now sits in a place where his judges must give way before him.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] We add these words, omitted by Luther, but necessary to complete
the meaning of the passage.
[18] “Quos nullus neque asinus neque porcus ferret.”
[19] It is not easy to see, in reading this recital, what force the
adversaries of Huss could draw from the passage, for the Eternal is
alone spoken of, who announces that he comes himself in the place of
bad pastors. The argument of Zacharias cannot have any weight except
with those who absolutely behold God in the pope, and who imagine that
all that is said of the Eternal in the Scriptures is applicable to the
pope.
[20] Luther here confounds two events. The touching expression which he
mentions is erroneously attributed to John Huss; it fell from the lips
of Jerome of Prague.--(_Vide_ “_The Reformers before the Reformation_.”
Vol. II., Book III., Chap. XII.)
[21] Luther adds:--“Sunt igitur in numero sanctorum tuorum diaboli, et
tu vicissim in ipsorum, mi pontifex Romane.”
LETTERS OF JOHN HUSS.
ATTESTATION OF PETER MALDONIEWITZ, CALLED THE NOTARY.
These pages are all faithfully copied from the Letters of John Huss,
written with his own hand, and they correspond, word for word, with the
originals.[22]
FOOTNOTE:
[22] This attestation of the faithful Maldoniewitz is found after John
Huss’s letters, in the old collection of his works.--_Johann. Hus.
Hist. et Monum._ vol. i., p. 95.
FIRST SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN AT THE PERIOD OF THE INTERDICTION OF JOHN HUSS, AND
OF HIS EXILE FROM PRAGUE IN 1411;--SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE BEEN
WRITTEN IN 1410.
The letters of this series contain the greater part of the admirable
exhortations addressed by John Huss to the believers of his church.
They are not distinguished either for the great diversity of incidents,
or the dramatic interest of those in the second series, but they
clearly evidence the great intrepidity, Christian piety, love for his
brethren, and true greatness, that pervaded the mind of Huss. The
writer already felt a presentiment of his martyrdom; and it is easy to
perceive in reading them, that he would not give way when his time was
come.[23]
FOOTNOTE:
[23] For historical details relative to this period of the life of John
Huss, see _The Reformers before the Reformation_, vol. i., book i.
LETTER I.
TO THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS[24]
[In this letter, John Huss complains of having been falsely
denounced, and humbly demands to be dispensed from being obliged to
appear in person. For the same purpose, John Huss makes an appeal to
John XXIII.,[25] which has been inserted in his history, accompanied
by the testimony of the Academy of Prague.]
I write with the humble submission and respect that is due to your
commands, Reverend Fathers in Christ; you who are clothed with an
apostolical character, who shine as great lights to enlighten the
nation, and who are elevated to power in order to efface the sins of
the world, to snatch souls from the snares of Satan, and to succour
those who suffer in Christ’s name.[26] I would humbly have recourse
to your fatherly counsels, incapable as I am of supporting the burden
which weighs me down. The evils that overwhelm me date from the time
that a portion of the Church withdrew their obedience from Gregory
XII. I then recommended with success, in my sermons before the
Barons, Princes, Clergy, and People, their adhesion to the College of
Cardinals, for the union of my holy mother Church. It comes to pass
that the Reverend Father in Christ, Sbynko, Archbishop of Prague,
an adversary of the Sacred College, caused a pastoral letter to be
affixed to the doors of the churches, prohibiting all the masters of
the University of Prague, and in particular myself, from exercising any
functions of the sacred ministry, under the pretext that the masters of
the University of Prague, who had adhered to the Sacred College, had
withdrawn their allegiance from our Holy Father Gregory XII. and the
Holy See. But facts must be judged by their results, and it occurred
that the Archbishop was constrained, by the decrees of the Council of
Pisa, to approve of the conduct of the masters.--Such was the first
origin of the accusation laid against me, and of all my troubles.
The Sacred College of Cardinals having promised many favours to their
adherents, I have kept in remembrance these promises, and have placed
trust in them, as one should do in the promises of those who are the
pillars of the Church. I therefore implore your Reverences, and on my
knees I conjure you, to cast a regard of kindness on my misfortune,
that I may be dispensed from appearing in person,[27] and from other
most painful obligations resulting from it. I am innocent of the things
of which my adversaries accuse me; and of this I call to witness our
Lord Jesus Christ. I am willing to appear in the presence of the
University of Prague, of all the prelates, and of all the people who
came to hear me, and before them to give, by word and by writing, a
full and absolute account of the faith that I guard in my heart, and
to confess it, even at the peril of being burned to death.[28] Your
Reverences may be assured of this confession by public documents as
well as by the testimony of the University of Prague.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] Of all the letters that have been saved of John Huss, this is the
only one addressed to his ecclesiastical superiors, the dignitaries
of the Church. It is valuable, inasmuch that it shews the respect
with which he addressed them, his ardent desire to convince them of
the purity of his doctrines, and the fear which he felt of a rupture,
without any mixture of weakness.
[25] It is in the text, _Scripsit ejus totam_; but this pretended
letter is the act of appeal drawn up at Prague before a notary, June
23, 1410.--(_Hist. et Monum. Johan. Hus._ vol. i., p. 112-116.)
[26] John Huss attached to the acts of good priests the efficacy which
the Roman Church attributes indefinitely to those of all priests.--See
_The Reformers before the Reformation_, vol. i., book i.
[27] Before the pope.
[28] “Etiam igne ad audientiam posito.”
LETTER II.
TO ZAWYSSIUS, HIS CALUMNIATOR.
Grace to you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ. It has come to my
ears that you have accused me of heresy. If this be true, send me word,
and you shall know then, by the grace of God, what is the faith which
I confess, which I defend, which I do not dissemble in the shade, but
which I profess as becomes a true Christian. And, would to God that
your eyes might be opened as to the manner in which, for nearly thirty
years, you have shorn your flock in Praschatitz. Where do you dwell?
How do you labour? How do you feed your flock? You have forgotten
these words of the Lord:--“Wo unto the shepherds, who only care for
themselves, and do not feed their sheep!” Tell me, I pray you, are you
penetrated with that part of the gospel of Christ, which says--“_The
good shepherd goeth before his sheep, and his sheep follow him; for
they know his voice_.” The time will come when you must render an
account of your sheep and of your numerous benefices, concerning which
it is said in your own ordinances, that he who can live upon one,
cannot retain another without committing a mortal sin.
Meditate, then, on these things, and accuse not your neighbour of
heresy. If you know him to be a heretic, you ought to warn him,
according to the Apostle’s precept, a first and a second time; if he
refuse to listen to you, avoid him; and even should you be chosen to
condemn him, still you must demonstrate by the Scriptures, that you
condemn him justly, and deliver over his books to the flames.
I write you these few lines, to warn you fraternally, according to the
precept of Christ, which tells us:--“If thy brother has just sinned,
warn him in secret.” Receive, then, my words, my brother, and declare,
if you have thus spoken of me. Prove that I am a heretic, and I will,
with humility, correct myself, and you shall receive a reward for
having rescued a man from error. Nevertheless, I hope by the grace of
Almighty God, that my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is as great as
yours, and that I am not less prepared to die for it with humility.
LETTER III.
TO MASTER MARTIN AND TO MASTER NICOLAS OF MYLIEZYN.
[He consults them on the subject of the interdiction pronounced
against him from the pulpit.[29]]
May peace be with you, that peace that is not given with the world,
with the flesh, and the devil. The Lord has said:--“You shall have
tribulations in the world; but if you persevere in well doing, who can
do you harm?” I burn with an ardent zeal for the gospel; and my soul
is sad, for I know not what to resolve on. I have meditated on these
evangelic words of our Saviour (John, chap. x.):--“The good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling and not the
shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth
the sheep.”
I have also meditated on these words from St Matthew, (chap. x.):--“But
when they persecute you in one city, flee ye into another.” Of these
two precepts, so different to each other, which ought I to follow? I
know not.
I have meditated on the letter of St Augustin, to an illustrious
bishop, who consulted him in a like case. Augustin thus terminates
his answer:--“He who takes to flight, and does not deprive, in so
doing, his church of the evangelical ministry, does what the Lord has
commanded him; but he who, in his flight, takes away spiritual food
from the flock of Jesus Christ, is an hireling, who, when he sees the
wolf approaching, fleeth, because he careth not for his sheep. It is
because thou hast consulted me, well-beloved brother, that I write thee
these things, which appear to me to be according to both truth and
charity; but I invite thee not to follow my counsel, if thou findest
a better. What can be more advisable, in such an extremity, than to
offer up prayers to God to have pity on us, after the example of some
holy men, who have obtained by their prayer, not to abandon the Church
of God, and who have persevered in their good resolutions, even in the
very teeth of their enemies?” Such is the opinion of St Augustin.
Inform me, then, if you acquiesce in these words; for although the
necessary aliment of God’s Word is not wanting to my flock, my
conscience reproaches me with my absence, as a scandalous act.
I fear, on the other hand, that my presence during the term of my
interdiction might be the means of tearing this food away from
my flock, and of depriving them of the Holy Communion and other
advantages, which concern Salvation. Therefore, let us pray humbly
to Almighty God, that he may deign to reveal to us what I ought to do
in the present circumstance, in order that I may dwell in the right
way. The advice that the blessed St Augustin expresses in his letter,
is wise: he establishes in fact, that in circumstances where we may
be anxious for ourselves alone, flight is permitted, and he cites on
the point the example of St Athanasius; but should the whole flock be
exposed, we must resign ourselves to our lot, in order to do what may
prove most useful to the Church.
FOOTNOTE:
[29] He also asks his friends whether he ought to quit his church; and
it is probable that he wrote this letter before leaving Prague.
LETTER IV.
TO THE RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE.
Venerable Rector, I have received great consolation from your letter,
in which you declare, amongst other things, that “the just man shall
not be afflicted, whatever may befall him;” from which you infer,
that temporal tribulations, and my separation from my friends, ought
not to discourage me, neither sadden nor cast me down, but, on the
contrary, should fortify and make me glad. I accept with gratitude this
consolation. I cling to the words of Scripture, and say, If I am just,
no trouble, whatever it may be, could sadden me, so as to turn me from
the path of truth. If I live, and wish to live holy, in Christ, it is
necessary that I suffer persecution in the name of Christ; for as it
was necessary that Christ should suffer in order to enter into glory,
we also should bear our crosses, miserable beings as we are, and should
imitate him in his passion.
I protest, then, venerable Rector, that I have never felt myself
overwhelmed by persecution; that I am only borne down by my sins, and
by the errors of the Christian people. What, indeed, are the riches of
the world to me? What affliction can their loss cause me? What is it to
me to lose the favour of the world, which makes us swerve from the path
of Christ? What signifies infamy, which when supported with humility,
proves, purifies, and illuminates the children of God in such a manner,
that they shine and radiate, like the bright sun, in their Father’s
kingdom? And, lastly, what is death, if this miserable life be torn
from me? He who loses it in this world triumphs even over death, and
finds true life in the next.