answer any thing at all out of the holy Scriptures or ecclesiastical doctors, by and by he should hear this goodly reply upon him: "That maketh nothing to the purpose."[1]
An outrageous council.Besides all this, some did outrage in words against him, and others spitefully mocked him; so that he, seeing himself overwhelmed with these rude and barbarous noises and cries, and that it profited nothing to speak, determined finally with himself to hold his peace and keep silence. From that time forward, all the whole rout of his adversaries thought that they had won the battle of him, and cried out all together; "Now he is dumb, now he is dumb: this is a certain sign and token, that he doth consent and agree unto these his errors." Finally, the matter came to this point, that certain of the most moderate and honest among them, seeing this disorder, determined to proceed no further, but that all should be deferred and put off until another time. Through their advice, the prelates and others departed from the council for that present, and appointed to meet there again on the morrow after, to proceed in judgment.
A great eclipse of the sun.The next day, which was the seventh of June, on which day the sun was almost wholly eclipsed, somewhat after about seven of the clock, this same flock assembled again in the cloister of the friars minor, and by their appointment John Huss was brought before them,'They went forth with swords and staves, as it had been to take a thief.
Peter and John follow Christ into the bishop’s house.
Matter made against John Huss.
False witness against John Huss.
His answer.
accompanied with a great number of armed men. Thither went also the emperor, whom the gentlemen, Master Wencelate, of Duba, and John of Clum, and the notary named Peter, who were great friends of the said Huss, did follow, to see what the end would be. When they were come thither, they heard that in the accusation of Michael de Causis, they read these words following: "John Huss hath taught the people divers and many errors both in the chapel of Bethlem, and also in many other places of the city of Prague, of which errors some of them he hath drawn out of Wickliff's books, and the rest he hath forged and invented of his own head, and doth maintain the same very obstinately and stiffly. First, that after the consecration and pronunciation of the words in the Supper of the Lord, there remaineth material bread." And this is proved by the witness of John Protyway, parish priest of St. Clement's in Prague; John Pecklow, preacher at St. Giles in Prague; Benise, preacher in the castle of Prague; Andrew Brode, canon of Prague; and divers other priests. Unto this John Huss, taking a solemn oath, answered that he never spake any such word; but thus much he did grant, that at what time the archbishop of Prague forbade him to use any more that term or word 'bread,' he could not allow the bishop's commandment; forasmuch as Christ, in the sixth chapter of John, doth oftentimes name himself the bread of angels, which came down from heaven, to give life unto the whole world. Naming of bread forbidden by the archbishops.But as touching material bread, he never spake any thing at all. Then the cardinal of Cambray, taking a certain bill in his hand, which he said he received the day before, said unto John Huss: "Will you put any universalities 'a parte rei,' i. e. 'as touching the thing?'" When John Huss answered, that he would, because St. Anselm and divers others had so done, the cardinal did proceed to gather his argument in this manner: "It followeth- ↑ The like practice, in these later days, was used at Oxford against the godly fathers.
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