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John Huss and the Hussite Wars - James Aitken Wylie

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urning more fiercely. It was evident that a terrible<br />

outburst of pent-up wrath was about to be<br />

witnessed in Bohemia.<br />

The barons assumed a bolder tone. When <strong>the</strong><br />

tidings of <strong>Huss</strong>'s martyrdom arrived, <strong>the</strong> magnates<br />

<strong>and</strong> great nobles held a full council, <strong>and</strong>, speaking<br />

in <strong>the</strong> name of <strong>the</strong> Bohemian nation, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

addressed an energetic protest to Constance against<br />

<strong>the</strong> crime <strong>the</strong>re enacted. They eulogized, in <strong>the</strong><br />

highest terms, <strong>the</strong> man whom <strong>the</strong> Council had<br />

consigned to <strong>the</strong> flames as a heretic, calling him<br />

<strong>the</strong> "Apostle of Bohemia; a man innocent, pious,<br />

holy, <strong>and</strong> a faithful teacher of <strong>the</strong> truth." Holding<br />

<strong>the</strong> pen in one h<strong>and</strong>, while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r rested on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

sword's hilt, <strong>the</strong>y said, "Whoever shall affirm that<br />

heresy is spread abroad in Bohemia, lies in his<br />

throat, <strong>and</strong> is a traitor to our kingdom; <strong>and</strong>, while<br />

we leave vengeance to God, to Whom it belongs,<br />

we shall carry our complaints to <strong>the</strong> footstool of <strong>the</strong><br />

indubitable apostolic Pontiff, when <strong>the</strong> Church<br />

shall again be ruled by such an one; declaring, at<br />

<strong>the</strong> same time, that no ordinance of man shall<br />

hinder our protecting <strong>the</strong> humble <strong>and</strong> faithful<br />

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