LITERARY NOTICES
OF THE
REFORMERS BEFORE THE REFORMATION,
BY
MON. DE BONNECHOSE.
THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY—JOHN HUSS—AND THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.
TRANSLATED PROM THE FRENCH
By CAMPBELL MACKENZIE, B.A.,
TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
“In its tone and spirit it is truly Protestant, while the narrative is rich in heart-stirring incidents, gathered from the best authorities,. . . . What he relates of Huss is beautiful. The three rival Popes, the resolute, but bigoted Sigismund, and others, stand out in high relief upon the canvass; and at times both style and subject-matter approach D’Aubigné’s immortal work.”—Christian Lady’s Magazine, April 1845.
“The Catholic spirit of the writer,—his keen eye for moral excellence and intellectual greatness, let them be found on what side they may,—his devotional fervency of feeling,—the soundness of his principles,—will strike every reader. To the studious man, the author’s extensive reading,—the clearness and facility with which he musters his facts,—the minute exactitude of his portraitures, and the effective manner in which he recreates the various scenes through which he follows his personages, will be equally apparent. In reviewing the labours of the Council of Constance, the writer brings out the great principles involved with much skill, and in a beautifully philosophic manner. Then, coming to the condemnation of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, he rises into his fine strain of dignified eloquence. The book will be found an invaluable preparative for the reading of D’Aubigné’s History of the Reformation, with which it is worthy to rank,—no mean praise.”—Derbyshire Courier, January 25. 1845.
“It is impossible for us here to give any thing like an analysis of M. De Bonnechose’s book; to learn its merits, it must be read; and we are sure no one will rise from its perusal without deriving no ordinary amount both of pleasure and edification.”—Edinburgh Advertiser, November 12. 1844.
