of his own conscience. The same question confronted him which afterwards confronted Luther when he appeared before Cajetan, at Augsburg, and again when he appeared before the emperor and the imperial diet. The same question again arose before the Protestant estates of Germany, when they appeared at Spires in 1529, and more recently before the bishops, priests, and members of the Roman Church, when the dogma of the infallible ministry of the pope was introduced. Herein,” Dr. Lechler continues, “lies the greatness of Hus, that, in spite of his humility and childlike nature, in spite of his great self-distrust, he did not allow himself to be intimidated by the unanimous opinion of a great council representing so large a part of the learning, intellectual power, and ecclesiastical authority of the time, that he preferred to bear the shame of being considered an obstinate heretic, and even to suffer the pangs of death at the stake, rather than consent to a recantation which he knew to be a falsehood.”
Hus therefore declined, though in a courteous and grateful fashion, the suggestions of the kind “father.” His letters in these, the last weeks of his life, are numerous and very precious. Now certain that his end is very near, he takes leave of his friends and gives his last advice and consolation to his disciples.[1] These letters clearly portray his thoughts and feelings in the time that immediately preceded his martyrdom. It is therefore of interest to transcribe some parts of these letters. In one of the earliest of these letters addressed “to his Bohemian friends,” Hus refers somewhat bitterly to the conduct of Sigismund. The letter is therefore important, as Sigismund’s part in the condemnation of Hus has often been misrepresented and misunderstood. Hus writes: “As regards Peter,[2] I am pleased. I do not keep his letters, but
- ↑ These letters, written some in Bohemian, some in Latin, have been frequently translated into English, the Bohemian ones from German or Latin translations. I have previously translated fragments of them in my Bohemia, a Historical Sketch, and A History of Bohemian Literature.
- ↑ i.e., Mladenovic.
