Jerom Of Prague
This reformer, who was the companion of Dr. Huss, and may be said to be
a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague, and educated in that
university, where he particularly distinguished himself for his great
abilities and learning. He likewise visited several other learned
seminaries in Europe, particularly the universities of Paris,
Heidelburg, Cologn, and Oxford. At the latter place he became acquainted
with the works o
he translated many of them into his native language, having with great
pains, made himself master of the English tongue.
On his return to Prague, he professed himself an open favourer of
Wickliffe, and finding that his doctrines had made considerable progress
in Bohemia, and that Huss was the principal promoter of them, he became
an assistant to him in the great work of reformation.
On the 4th of April, 1415, Jerom arrived at Constance, about three
months before the death of Huss. He entered the town privately, and
consulting with some of the leaders of his party, whom he found there,
was easily convinced he could not be of any service to his friends.
Finding that his arrival in Constance was publicly known, and that the
council intended to seize him, he thought it most prudent to retire.
Accordingly, the next day he went to Iberling, an imperial town, about a
mile from Constance. From this place he wrote to the emperor, and
proposed his readiness to appear before the council, if he would give
him a safe-conduct; but this was refused. He then applied to the
council, but met with an answer no less unfavourable than that from the
emperor.
After this, he set out on his return to Bohemia. He had the precaution
to take with him a certificate, signed by several of the Bohemian
nobility, then at Constance, testifying that he had used all prudent
means in his power to procure a hearing.
Jerom, however, did not thus escape. He was seized at Hirsaw, by an
officer belonging to the duke of Sultsbach, who, though unauthorized so
to act, made little doubt of obtaining thanks from the council for so
acceptable a service.
The duke of Sultsbach, having Jerom now in his power, wrote to the
council for directions how to proceed. The council, after expressing
their obligations to the duke, desired him to send the prisoner
immediately to Constance. The elector palatine met him on the way, and
conducted him into the city, himself riding on horseback, with a
numerous retinue, who led Jerom in fetters by a long chain; and
immediately on his arrival he was committed to a loathsome dungeon.
Jerom was treated nearly in the same manner as Huss had been, only that
he was much longer confined, and shifted from one prison to another. At
length, being brought before the council, he desired that he might plead
his own cause, and exculpate himself: which being refused him, he broke
out into the following elegant exclamation:
"What barbarity is this! For three hundred and forty days have I been
confined in a variety of prisons. There is not a misery, there is not a
want, that I have not experienced. To my enemies you have allowed the
fullest scope of accusation: to me, you deny, the least opportunity of
defence. Not an hour will you now indulge me in preparing for my trial.
You have swallowed the blackest calumnies against me. You have
represented me as a heretic, without knowing my doctrine; as an enemy to
the faith, before you knew what faith I professed; as a persecutor of
priests before you could have an opportunity of understanding my
sentiments on that head. You are a general council: in you centre all
this world can communicate of gravity, wisdom, and sanctity: but still
you are men, and men are seducible by appearances. The higher your
character is for wisdom, the greater ought your care to be not to
deviate into folly. The cause I now plead is not my own cause: it is the
cause of men, it is the cause of christians; it is a cause which is to
affect the rights of posterity, however the experiment is to be made in
my person."
This speech had not the least effect; Jerom was obliged to hear the
charge read, which was reduced under the following heads:--1. That he
was a derider of the papal dignity;--2. An opposer of the pope;--3. An
enemy to the cardinals;--4. A persecutor of the prelates;--and 5. A
hater of the christian religion.
The trial of Jerom was brought on the third day after his accusation and
witnesses were examined in support of the charge. The prisoner was
prepared for his defence, which appears almost incredible, when we
consider he had been three hundred and forty days shut up in loathsome
prisons, deprived of daylight, and almost starved for want of common
necessaries. But his spirit soared above these disadvantages, under
which a man less animated would have sunk; nor was he more at a loss for
quotations from the fathers and ancient authors than if he had been
furnished with the finest library.
The most bigoted of the assembly were unwilling he should be heard,
knowing what effect eloquence is apt to have on the minds of the most
prejudiced. At length, however, it was carried by the majority, that he
should have liberty to proceed in his defence, which he began to such an
exalted strain of moving elocution, that the heart of obdurate zeal was
seen to melt, and the mind of superstition seemed to admit a ray of
conviction. He made an admirable distinction between evidence as resting
upon facts, and as supported by malice and calumny. He laid before the
assembly the whole tenor of his life and conduct. He observed that the
greatest and most holy men had been known to differ in points of
speculation, with a view to distinguish truth, not to keep it concealed.
He expressed a noble contempt of all his enemies, who would have induced
him to retract the cause of virtue and truth. He entered upon a high
encomium of Huss; and declared he was ready to follow him in the
glorious track of martyrdom. He then touched upon the most defensible
doctrines of Wickliffe; and concluded with observing that it was far
from his intention to advance any thing against the state of the church
of God; that it was only against the abuse of the clergy he complained;
and that he could not help saying, it was certainly impious that the
patrimony of the church, which was originally intended for the purpose
of charity and universal benevolence, should be prostituted to the pride
of the eye, in feasts, foppish vestments, and other reproaches to the
name and profession of christianity.
The trial being over, Jerom received the same sentence that had been
passed upon his martyred countryman. In consequence of this he was, in
the usual style of popish affectation, delivered over to the civil
power: but as he was a layman, he had not to undergo the ceremony of
degradation. They had prepared a cap of paper painted with red devils,
which being put upon his head, he said, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
suffered death for me a most miserable sinner, did wear a crown of
thorns upon his head, and for His sake will I wear this cap."
Two days were allowed him in hopes that he would recant; in which time
the cardinal of Florence used his utmost endeavours to bring him over.
But they all proved ineffectual. Jerom was resolved to seal the doctrine
with his blood; and he suffered death with the most distinguished
magnanimity.
In going to the place of execution he sung several hymns, and when he
came to the spot, which was the same where Huss had been burnt, he knelt
down, and prayed fervently. He embraced the stake with great
cheerfulness, and when they went behind him to set fire to the fagots,
he said, "Come here, and kindle it before my eyes; for if I had been
afraid of it, I had not come to this place." The fire being kindled, he
sung a hymn, but was soon interrupted by the flames; and the last words
he was heard to say these:--"This soul in flames I offer."
The elegant Pogge, a learned gentleman of Florence, secretary to two
popes, and a zealous but liberal catholic, in a letter to Leonard
Arotin, bore ample testimony of the extraordinary powers and virtues of
Jerom whom he emphatically styles, A prodigious man!
More
-
Croly On The Inquisition
We shall conclude this chapter with the subjoined extract from the New Interpretation of the Apocalypse by the Rev. George Croly. In our fortunate country, the power of the Romish church has so long perished, that we find some difficulty in concei... Cuthbert Symson
Few professors of Christ possessed more activity and zeal than this excellent person. He not only labored to preserve his friends from the contagion of popery, but to guard them against the terrors of persecution. He was deacon of the little congreg... Death Of Louis Xvi And Other Members Of The Royal Family
On the 21st of January, 1793, Louis XVI. was publicly beheaded in the midst of his own metropolis, in the Place Louis Quinze, erected to the memory of his grandfather. It is possible, for the critical eye of the historian, to discover much weakness ... Deliverance Of Dr Sands
This eminent prelate, vice-chancellor of Cambridge, at the request of the duke of Northumberland, when he came down to Cambridge in support of Lady Jane Grey's claim to the throne, undertook at a few hours notice, to preach before the duke and the u... Dirick Carver And John Launder
The 22d of July, 1555, Dirick Carver, brewer, of Brighthelmstone, aged forty, was burnt at Lewes. And the day following John Launder, husbandman, aged twenty-five, of Godstone, Surry, was burnt at Stening. Dirick Carver was a man whom the Lord had... Dr Robert Farrar
This worthy and learned prelate, the bishop of St. David's in Wales, having in the former reign, as well as since the accession of Mary, been remarkably zealous to promoting the reformed doctrines, and exploding the errors of popish idolatry, was su... Dreadful Scenes In La Vendee
In La Vendee, one of the departments of France, an insurrection broke out against the Jacobinical government, in 1793. Upwards of two hundred battles and skirmishes were fought in this devoted country. The revolutionary fever was in its access; th... Errors Rites Ceremonies And Superstitious Practices Of The Romish Church
TRADITIONS.] The church of Rome having deprived the laity of the Bible, substitutes in its stead apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions; and obliges her disciples to admit for truth whatever she teaches them: but what do the holy scriptures say? "W... Escapes And Returns To Beyroot
2. Rose early, and repaired to the room, where Asaad would have been, had he come; but there were no tidings from him. Little expectation remained of his coming to-day, and we were not without our fears that the attempt had miscarried. It was not lo... Execution Of Ten Martyrs At Lewes
Again we have to record the wholesale sacrifice of Christ's little flock, of whom five were women. On the 22d of June, 1557, the town of Lewes beheld ten persons doomed to perish by fire and persecution. The names of these worthies were, Richard Woo... Executions At Colchester
It was before mentioned that twenty-two persons had been sent up from Cholchester, who upon a slight submission, were afterward released. Of these, Wm. Munt, of Much-Bentley, husbandman, with Alice, his wife, and Rose Allin, her daughter, upon their... Executions At Islington
About the 17th of Sept. suffered at Islington the following four professors of Christ: Ralph Allerton, James Austoo, Margery Austoo, and Richard Roth. James Austoo and his wife, of St. Allhallows, Barking, London, were sentenced for not believing... Executions At Stratford-le-bow
At this sacrifice, which we are about to detail, no less than thirteen were doomed to the fire. Each one refusing to subscribe contrary to conscience, they were condemned, and the 27th of June, 1556, was appointed for their execution at Stratford... Executions In Kent
The following seven were arraigned for heresy: Joan Bainbridge, of Staplehurst; W. Appleby, Petronella his wife, and the wife of John Manning, of Maidstone; B. Allin, and his wife Catherine, of Freytenden; and Elizabeth ----, a blind maiden. Allin w... Fall Of Danton Robespierre Marat And Other Jacobins
These monsters fell victims by the same means they had used for the destruction of others. Marat was poignarded in 1793, by Charlotte Corday, a young female, who had cherished in a feeling between lunacy and heroism, the ambition of ridding the worl... Farther Account Of The Proceedings Of The Catholics At Nismes
The excesses perpetrated in the country it seems did not by any means divert the attention of the persecutors from Nismes. October, 1815, commenced without any improvement in the principles or measures of the government, and this was followed by cor... Flagellations By Bonner
When this catholic hyena found that neither persuasions, threats, nor imprisonment, could produce any alteration in the mind of a youth named Thomas Hinshaw, he sent him to Fulham, and during the first night set him in the stocks, with no other allo... From The Revocation Of The Edict Of Nantes To The French Revolution In 1789
The persecutions occasioned by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, took place under Louis XIV. This edict was made by Henry the Great of France in 1598, and secured to the protestants an equal right in every respect, whether civil or religious, w... Further Persecutions In The Valleys Of Piedmont In The Seventeenth Century
Giovanni Pelanchion, for refusing to turn papist, was tied by one leg to the tail of a mule, and dragged through the streets of Lucerne, amidst the acclamations of an inhuman mob, who kept stoning him, and crying out, He is possessed with the devil,... G Catmer R Streater A Burward G Brodbridge And J Tutty
These five worthies, denying the real presence in the eucharist, were brought before Dr. Thornton, bishop of Dover, and condemned as heretics. They suffered in one fire, Sept. 6, 1555, at Canterbury, enduring all things for their faith in Christ Jes... General Persecutions In Germany
The general persecutions in Germany were principally occasioned by the doctrines and ministry of Martin Luther. Indeed, the pope was so terrified at the success of that courageous reformer, that he determined to engage the emperor, Charles the Fifth... God's Punishments Upon Some Of The Persecutors Of His People In Mary's Reign
After that arch-persecutor, Gardiner, was dead, others followed, of whom Dr. Morgan, bishop of St. David's, who succeeded bishop Farrar, is to be noticed. Not long after he was installed in his bishopric, he was stricken by the visitation of God; hi... Great Difficulties In The Way Of Asaad's Release
18. Tannoos came to converse about his brother Asaad. He had just received a letter in Asaad's own hand-writing, saying, that he was reduced to a great extremity of distress, and perhaps had not long to live, and begging Tannoos to come up and see i... His Early History
Asaad Shidiak was born in the district north of Beyroot, called Kesruan, where, and at Hadet, a small village five miles south-east of Beyroot, his family have ever since lived. This family now consists of the widowed mother, five sons, (of whom Asa... His Family Attempt His Liberation
19. Phares brought us a letter, which had just been received by the family at Hadet, from the patriarch, wishing them to come immediately to Cannobeen. Tannoos and his mother have gone, and intend, if possible, to bring Asaad away, either to Kesroan... His Relatives Deliver Him Up To The Patriarch
31. Information is received, that Asaad has been taken away against his will, to the patriarch. April 4. Phares Shidiak arrived here in the evening direct from Der Alma, and said he had accompanied Asaad to that convent a week ago, that Asaad was... His Return To Mr Bird
Dec. 12. Shidiak returned, after nearly a month's absence, to continue with me for a year, risking whatever obloquy and violence might come upon him. He has just been obliged to give up an advantageous contract of marriage, into which he had some mo... History Of Christian Martyrs To The First General Persecution Under Nero
The history of the church may almost be said to be a history of the trials and sufferings of its members, as experienced at the hands of wicked men. At one time, persecution, as waged against the friends of Christ, was confined to those without;... Holland Even Now I Told You That Your Authority Was From God And By
his sufferance: and now I tell you God hath heard the voice of his servants, which hath been poured forth with tears for his afflicted saints, whom you daily persecute, as now you do us. But this I dare be bold in God to say, (by whose Spirit I am mov... Hugh Laverick And John Aprice
Here we perceive that neither the impotence of age nor the affliction of blindness, could turn aside the murdering fangs of these Babylonish monsters. The first of these unfortunates was of the parish of Barking, aged sixty-eight, a painter and a cr... Interference Of Government Against The Protestants
M. Bernis, extraordinary royal commissioner, in consequence of these abuses, issued a proclamation which reflects disgrace on the authority from whence it emanated. "Considering," it said, "that the residence of citizens in places foreign to their d... Interference Of The British Government
To the credit of England, the reports of these cruel persecutions carried on against our protestant brethren in France, produced such a sensation on the part of the government as determined them to interfere; and now the persecutors of the protestan... Interview With A Younger Brother
Asaad's brother Galed came again to-day, and discovered more feeling than yesterday on the subject of his brother's leaving the English. He said he had brought an insupportable shame upon the family. Asaad insisted, that such shame was no argument w... Interview With Several Of His Relatives
6. Among those who came to see Asaad to-day, were three of his brothers and an uncle. Mansoor, the oldest of the brothers, we had never before seen. He is a furious bigot, and perfectly ignorant and regardless of the first principles of religion. Th... Is Forcibly Detained
Feb. 22. Fearing for the safety of Asaad, since hearing that he has not written to his friends, we this morning sent a messenger with a short note, to find him, and ascertain his state. 23. The messenger returned, saying, that he yesterday went to... Is Visited By His Mother
This letter had been gone scarcely time sufficient to reach Hadet, when the mother herself was announced at the door. We welcomed her with all cordiality, and treated her with all the respect and attention we could. But all we could do or say did no... Jerom Of Prague
This reformer, who was the companion of Dr. Huss, and may be said to be a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague, and educated in that university, where he particularly distinguished himself for his great abilities and learning. He likewise visited ... Joan Waste
This poor honest woman, blind from her birth, and unmarried, aged 22, was of the parish of Allhallows, Derby. Her father was a barber, and also made ropes for a living: in which she assisted him, and also learned to knit several articles of apparel.... John Calvin
This reformer was born at Noyon in Picardy, July 10, 1409. He was instructed in grammar learning at Paris under Maturinus Corderius, and studied philosophy in the college of Montaign under a Spanish professor. His father, who discovered many marks o... John Denley Gent John Newman And Patrick Packingham
Mr. Denley and Newman were returning one day to Maidstone, the place of their abode, when they were met by E. Tyrrel, Esq. a bigoted justice of the peace in Essex, and a cruel persecutor of the protestants. He apprehended them merely on suspicion. O... John Huss
John Huss was born at Hussenitz, a village in Bohemia, about the year 1380. His parents gave him the best education their circumstances would admit; and having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics at a private school, he was removed to the... John Lomas Agnes Snoth Anne Wright Joan Sole And Joan Catmer
These five martyrs suffered together, January 31, 1556. John Lomas was a young man of Tenterden. He was cited to appear at Canterbury, and was examined January 17. His answers being adverse to the idolatrous doctrine of the papacy, he was condemned ... John Rogers Vicar Of St Sepulchre's And Reader Of St Paul's London
John Rogers was educated at Cambridge, and was afterward many years chaplain to the merchants adventurers at Antwerp in Brabant. Here he met with the celebrated martyr William Tindal, and Miles Coverdale, both voluntary exiles from their country for... John Simpson And John Ardeley
John Simpson and John Ardeley were condemned on the same day with Mr. Cardmaker and John Warne, which was the 25th of May. They were shortly after sent down from London to Essex, where they were burnt in one day, John Simpson at Rochford, and John A... John Wickliffe
This celebrated reformer, denominated the Morning Star of the Reformation, was born about the year 1324, in the reign of Edward II. Of his extraction we have no certain account. His parents designing him for the church, sent him to Queen's College, ... Letter From Asaad To Mr Bird
"Dear Sir,--After expressing imperfectly the love I bear you, and the desire I have to see you in all health, I have to say, that in due time your letter came to hand, and I read and understood it. You ask respecting our health.... Letters From Louvois To Marillac
"The king rejoices to learn from your letters, that there are so many conversions in your department; and he desires that you would continue your efforts, and employ the same means that have been hitherto so successful. His majesty has ordered me to... Martin Luther
This illustrious German divine and reformer of the church, was the son of John Luther and Margaret Lindeman, and born at Isleben, a town of Saxony, in the county of Mansfield, November 10, 1483. His father's extraction and condition were originally ... Martyrdom Of John Calas
We pass over many other individual martyrdoms to insert that of John Calas, which took place so lately as 1761, and is an indubitable proof of the bigotry of popery, and shows that neither experience nor improvement can root out the inveterate preju... Martyrdom Of Tomkins Pygot Knight Lawrence Hunter And Higbed
Thomas Tomkins was by trade a weaver in Shoreditch, till he was summoned before the inhuman Bonner, and confined with many others, who renounced the errors of popery, in a prison in that tyrant's house at Fulham. Under his confinement, he was trea... Massacre And Pillage At Nismes
Nismes now exhibited a most awful scene of outrage and carnage, though many of the protestants had fled to the Convennes and the Gardonenque. The country houses of Messrs. Rey, Guiret, and several others, had been pillaged, and the inhabitants treat... Massacre Of Prisoners
The number of individuals accumulated in the various prisons of Paris had increased by the arrests and domiciliary visits subsequent to the 10th of August, to about eight thousand persons. It was the object of this infernal scheme to destroy the gre... Monstrous Outrage Upon Females
At Nismes it is well known that the women wash their clothes either at the fountains, or on the banks of streams. There is a large basin near the fountain, where numbers of women may be seen every day, kneeling at the edge of the water, and beating ... Mr John Philpot
This martyr was the son of a knight, born in Hampshire, and brought up at New College, Oxford, where he several years studied the civil law, and became eminent in the Hebrew tongue. He was a scholar and a gentleman, zealous in religion, fearless in ... Mr John Webb George Roper And Gregory Parker
These martyrs, after being brought before the bishop of Dover and Dr. Harpsfield, were finally examined, October 3, 1555, adjudged to be heretics, and at Canterbury, terminated their existence. Wm. Wiseman, clothworker of London, died in Lollard's... Mr William Flower
William Flower, otherwise Branch, was born at Snow-hill, in the county of Cambridge, where he went to school some years, and then came to the abbey of Ely. After he had remained a while he became a professed monk, was made a priest in the same house... Mrs Cicely Ormes
This young martyr, aged twenty-two, was the wife of Mr. Edmund Ormes, worsted weaver of St. Lawrence, Norwich. At the death of Miller and Elizabeth Cooper, before mentioned, she had said that she would pledge them of the same cup they drank of. For ... Mrs Joyce Lewes
This lady was the wife of Mr. T. Lewes, of Manchester. She had received the Romish religion as true, till the burning of that pious martyr, the Rev. Mr. Saunders, at Coventry. Understanding that his death arose from a refusal to receive the mass, sh... Mrs Prest
From the number condemned in this fanatical reign, it is almost impossible to obtain the name of every martyr, or to embellish the history of all with anecdotes and exemplifications of Christian conduct. Thanks be to Providence, our cruel task begin... Murder Of General La Garde
At length a check was put to these excesses by the report of the murder of Count La Garde, who, receiving an account of this tumult, mounted his horse, and entered one of the streets, to disperse a crowd. A villain seized his bridle; another present... Napoleon's Return From The Isle Of Elba
Soon after this event, the duke d'Angouleme was at Nismes, and remained there some time; but even his influence was insufficient to bring about a reconciliation between the catholics and the protestants of that city. During the hundred days betwixt ... Nicholas Hall And Christopher Waid
The same month of July, Nicholas Hall, bricklayer, and Christopher Waid, linendraper, of Dartford, suffered death, condemned by Maurice, bishop of Rochester, about the last day of June, 1555. At the same time three others were condemned, whose names... Outrages Committed In The Villages &c
We now quit Nismes to take a view of the conduct of the persecutors in the surrounding country. After the re-establishment of the royal government, the local authorities were distinguished for their zeal and forwardness in supporting their employers... Papal Persecutions
Thus far our history of persecution has been confined principally to the pagan world. We come now to a period, when persecution under the guise of christianity, committed more enormities than ever disgraced the annals of paganism. Disregarding the m... Perjury In The Case Of General Gilly &c
This catholic system of subornation and perjury was carried to such an infamous degree, that twenty-six witnesses were found to sign and swear, that on the 3d of April, 1815, general Gilly, with his own hand and before their eyes, took down the whit... Persecution In The Pays De Vaud
In the month of December, 1823, a letter was addressed by three young men, ministers of that canton, and subsequently signed by a few others, to the council of state, intimating a determination to withdraw from the established church, and requesting... Persecution Of The Christians By The Goths And Vandals
Many Scythian Goths having embraced Christianity about the time of Constantine the Great, the light of the gospel spread itself considerably in Scythia, though the two kings who ruled that country, and the majority of the people continued pagans. Fr... Persecution Of The Waldenses In France
Popery having brought various innovations into the church, and overspread the christian world with darkness and superstition, some few, who plainly perceived the pernicious tendency of such errors, determined to show the light of the gospel in its r... Persecution Of The Wesleyan Missionaries In The West Indies
The exertions of Christians to spread the truths of the gospel among the Africans in the West Indies, have met with much opposition from the white population. Moravian missionaries, at first, sold themselves as slaves, and laboured with the negroes ... Persecution Under Julian The Apostate
This emperor was the son of Julius Constantius, and the nephew of Constantine the Great. He studied the rudiments of grammar under the inspection of Mardomus, a eunuch, and a heathen of Constantinople. His father sent him some time after to Nicomedi... Persecutions And Oppressions In Georgia And Mingrelia
The Georgians, are christians, and being very handsome people, the Turks and Persians persecute them by the most cruel mode of taxation ever invented, namely, in lieu of money, they compel them to deliver up their children for the following purposes... Persecutions At Port Au Prince
The following extracts from the journal of Mr. St. Denis, and letters of Mr. Pressoir, members of the Methodist Society at Port au Prince, we copied from the Wesleyan Magazine. The first extracts are from the journal of Mr. St. Denis. On Sunday, ...