Aleppo has already been observed, on the authority of Russel. Buckingham names them among the trees which line the Jabbok. Evelyn seems to ascribe the introduction of the plane-tree into England to the great lord Bacon, who planted some which were still flourishing at Verulam in 1706. This was, perhaps, the first plantation of any note; but it appears from "Turner's Herbal," published in 1551, that the tree was known and cultivated in this country before the chancellor was born.-Kitto.

THE REFORMERS BEFORE THE

REFORMATION.

No. XXI.

Or the three pontiffs between whom the nations of Christendom had been divided, and whom the council had resolved to reduce or to depose, one only had submitted, being conquered for the most part by the fear of the punishment due to his crimes. The downfal of John XXIII. removed an obstacle to the abdication of Gregory XII. Perhaps this aged man, who was almost ninety years old, felt aware that he was too weak to resist that formidable assembly which had at its disposal imperial and kingly power; perhaps, also, on the borders of the grave, he was willing, by a considerable, though a tardy sacrifice to the peace of the world, to make expiation for the offences and the miseries which his obstinacy had occasioned, and after contesting before the world with his rival, Benedict XIII., during eight years of pride and ambition, he allowed himself to think that he should at least be his superior, in being first to humble himself before God,

On June 16th, 1415, Charles Malatesta, lord of Rimini, captain-general and deputy of Gregory XII., entered Constance with a brilliant escort. A magnificent reception was given to him, yet he was not deputed to the council. Gregory did not acknowledge that assembly, not having himself summoned it, he addressed his envoy to the emperor only, He made two conditions upon resigning his pontificate; he asked that the council should submit to be summoned in his name, and he forbade his deputy to be present in it, unless the president were one of the cardinals who had been subject to him. The council accepted the first of these clauses, and rejected the second; at this time, only, they preferred offering

the presidency to the emperor. But by avoiding one difficulty, he fell into another. On the one hand, it was never intended that the acts prior to the last convocation should be invalidated; and on the other, it was not desirable that it should be said that the emperor had presided in a session of an universal council. Therefore, it was settled that this should not have the sacred character of those which had preceded it, most of the religious services with which those had commenced being omitted on this occasion.

Things being thus arranged by both parties, with extreme attention to the just claims of all, the session opened under the direction of Sigismund. The emperor was seated, with the altar in full view, having on his right hand Charles de Malatesta, the agent of Gregory, and on his left the cardinal of Ragusa, one of his legates. Some hymns were sung, then two bulls of Gregory XII. were read. One of these authorized the prelates and great officers to recognise the assembly of Constance as a general council, when it should be again called together by him; the second gave to Malatesta full power to act and decide as he should judge most suitable to his own interests and those of the Church. The bulls being read, the messenger of Gregory arose, and said, " "I, John, cardinal of Ragusa, by the authority of my so-called sovereign lord the pope, as far as he is concerned in it, assemble the sacred general council, and authorize and confirm all that may be done in it for the union and reformation of the church and for the extirpation of heresy."

The archbishop of Milan next spoke, and in the name of the council approved this new convocation in these terms: "The principle and the motive being the chief point on all occasions, the holy council of Constance, lawfully assembled in the name of the Holy Ghost, and representing the Catholic church, (having for its principle to do all that can be done for the union of the church, that the two subjections, namely, that which acknowledged John XXIII. as having been pope, and that which acknowledged Gregory XII. as actually so, may be united together under Jesus Christ, who is their Head,) will admit in all things this convocation which has just been made, in the name of him, who is called by those under his control, Gregory XII., as far as the business may concern him; and ordains that these two subjections may be, and may continue united."

The council being thus afresh assembled, the cardinal of Pisa celebrated the mass, and all the ceremonies were performed which were usual at the opening of each session; the emperor returned to his accustomed seat, the cardinal de Viviers presided in the assembly, and the fourteenth session began.

Several decrees having been read, by which the council forbade any one whatsoever to proceed to the election of a new pope, unless acknowledged by it; it suspended at this time, all the customs, rights, and privileges authorized by former councils respecting the election of the popes. The council reserved for itself the regulation of the time, form, and place of this election, decided that it would not be dissolved till a pope should be elected, and entreated the emperor to employ himself effectually in upholding and defending it.

The emperor declared that he should obey the will of the council, and he caused an edict to be published, which threatened the severest penalties against whoever should attack the security of the council, or the liberty of electing the pope. The next act was to ratify what Gregory had canonically done in those places which were really obedient to him, declaring, that, not on account of incapacity, but for the promotion of public peace, Gregory had been deprived by the twelfth session of the right of being again elected. The council acknowledged his dignity as cardinal, and confirmed the same to the six cardinals who had submitted to him.

Charles Malatesta, then, having risen, harangued the assembly, and in alluding to the name of Angelo, which belonged to Gregory XII., he took for the text of his discourse these words from St. Luke, "There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host." Then, placing himself on a raised seat, prepared as if for Gregory himself, he solemnly declared that his master renounced the sovereign pontificate, not being influenced by any other motive than the desire of procuring peace and union to the church.

The council terminated its fourteenth session by the reading of a decree, which summoned Pierre de Luna, called Benedict x. to perform his promise of renouncing the pontificate within ten days, under pain of being prosecuted, as a schismatic, incorrigible, void of faith, and perjured in case of his refusal, the council ordered him to be so prosecuted, and the emperor was required to execute

the sentence. Gregory, after having resigned the tiara, appeared to be relieved from a considerable weight; in fact, the crown pressed more heavily on his conscience than on his brow. When he learned what had passed at Constance, he assembled his cardinals, his priests, and household, and in their presence laying aside his mitre and pontifical ornaments, he took an oath that he never would resume them. He was appointed cardinal bishop of Porto, and two years after died at the age of ninety, at Recanati, in the marquisate of Ancona, where he was legate.

The Italian divines have taken advantage of the concession which the council granted to Gregory, to nullify all the former proceedings, and especially the acts of the fifth session, which established the superiority of a general council over the pope. Such an attempt on their part may be understood, but cannot be justified.

In order to invalidate the acts of the previous sessions, the council must have declared them to be void, at the fourteenth or some following session; and indeed these ought only to have been reckoned, from the announcement of the new convocation. The contrary was done; the sessions continued to be reckoned in the same order as before, and eventually, all their acts were confirmed from the lips of another pope; and, to avoid all pretence for doubt or equivocation, the clause “as far as concerns Gregory XII.," was required to be retained in the decree of that pontiff for the convocation of the council.

It does not appear that Gregory himself, after his abdication, regarded all the former proceedings as null, or supposed, for instance, that, to render valid the deposition of John XXIII., it was needful again to depose him. Doubtless, Gregory would allege what was due to himself, to excuse his long-continued resistance; he also desired, as far as they were in his power, to preserve unsullied the privileges of his supreme dignity which his former competitor had abandoned. When conquered, he knew how to derive honour from his overthrow. His descent was constrained, but it was his aim to make it appear a voluntary act, and to cover a real necessity by an appearance of free will. Balthasar Cossa was shamefully thrown down, and resigned his crown as a coward. Angelo Corrario yielded his

*See a curious letter by Gregory XII., quoted i Martin's Anecdotes, tome ii. p. 1646.

as a pope, and may rather be said to have walked down than to have fallen from his throne.

After having done much in order to put an end to the schism, the council directed all their efforts against heresy. Already, by condemning Wickliffe and his works, they had attempted to check the new doctrines from their fountain head; it was now necessary to repel those who had dared to publish them abroad. Notwithstanding all the distance which in point of doctrine separated Wickliffe from John Huss, the popular voice designated the latter as the successor of the great heresiarch of England. And, to those who judge rightly, John Huss was indeed the successor of Wickliffe; like him he defended, against the authority of the priesthood, the claims of Scripture, and of the conscience: it is true, that, on other points, he departed very little from the doctrines of the church of Rome; he asserted only one principle, the result of which was the right of separating from thence, if this appeared a duty to the conscience. That was sufficient. Here was the germ of a revolution. His ruin was then determined on, and never was there a greater cause, or a nobler victim. No sufferings were spared him. The arrest of Jerome of Prague was a severe trial to John Huss, his teacher and his friend. They were denied the consolation of being together in their captivity, and while Jerome pined in the fetters of the tower in St. Paul's burying-ground, Huss remained at Gottleben, under the guard of the bishop of Constance.

All his letters, all the testimonies of his contemporaries, attest, to this last period of his life, that his patience, his angelic mildness, and his resignation, were as enduring as his sorrows. If, in former times, his indignation had imparted too much violence or bitterness to some of his actions or treatises, these defects had now given place to the contrary virtues, and it was the will of God that he should appear most meet for the incorruptible crown of heavenly glory at the moment when his enemies on earth were preparing to inflict on him the pains of martyrdom. Never more conspicuously than in him did faith appear filled with gratitude and hope, in the midst of trials in which worldly men would have seen only cause for tears and despondency. He said: "These words of our Saviour have been a great consolation to me; Blessed are ye, said Jesus, when men shall hate you, and

shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for my sake; rejoice in that day, for your reward shall be great in heaven."

John Huss, like most other men of fervent piety, united to great courage that elevation of soul, that enthusiasm, in which it must often be evident, that the direct influence of the Holy Spirit enables the human mind to surmount the greatest obstacles, the bitterest sorrows. But the extraordinary manifestation of his superior abilities, of that remarkable state of mind which human wisdom has so greatly censured, because of being in itself unable to explain the cause, never in the least degree diminished the humility of John Huss.

Already, when driven from Prague, and wandering in the villages of Bohemia, followed by crowds who were attentive to his words, he observed, "The wicked, by their citations and anathemas, have covered the poor "goose"* with their nets; but if this quiet, domestic fowl, which never flies to any great height, has broken these snares, will they not be spurned still farther by those which soar in the heavens? Instead of a feeble bird, the truth has stimulated eagles, with piercing sight and fearless_wings, and they will win many souls to Jesus Christ, who will put his strength in them."+ One night, in his hiding-place, he dreamed that the priests desired to destroy the pictures of Jesus Christ which he had caused to be painted on the walls of his chapel at Bethlehem. "The next day,"

he says, "methought I saw several painters employed in tracing brighter and more numerous representations of the Saviour, and they cried, with a great crowd of people, 'Now come the priests and bishops; let them efface this if they can.' And the multitude rejoiced, and I joined with them." "Think more of your defence than of your dreams,” said John de Chlum to him: when he heard of this, John Huss, replying to his friend, repeated that "the Scriptures forbid us to have regard to dreams. And yet," he said, "I firmly trust that the life of Christ which I have impressed on the hearts of those at Beth

"Huss" signifies "a goose," in the dialect of Bohemia.

+ Epist. vi. J. Hus. script. tempore Anat. et interd. Pontif.

Balbinus dates this dream as previous to the captivity of Huss; but he saw in it only the foreboding of the calamities about to fall on the church and on Bohemia.-(Epit. Rer. Bohem., p. 412.) Epist. xliv.

lehem, by the preaching of his word, will not be effaced; and that, after I am gone, it will be more effectually set forth, by superior preachers, to the great joy of the people; in which I shall myself rejoice, when I am again permitted to preach the gospel-that is to say, when I shall rise from the dead. As for my defence, I entrust that to the Lord, to whom I appealed for it before the commissioners, saying, May the Lord, who soon will judge you all, be my advocate and my judge. I have committed my cause to him, as He has himself committed his cause to his Father. He has said, Take no thought what to say before those who shall judge you, be not uneasy as to the manner in which ye shall answer; for I will give you a mouth, and wisdom, and power, which your adversaries shall not be able to resist. Fear not; be not troubled; ye are going forward to the conflict, but I will fight for you." (Epist. xlvi.) | Yet the day of his judgment did not arrive. The most ardent opposers of Huss, and, among them, Paletz and Michael Causis, dreaded the influence of his eloquent flow of language before the assembly; perhaps, also, they were afraid lest a public recantation should deprive them of their victim. They had found from the canon law, that they might conscientiously refuse to allow a pleader for a heretic; they had also discovered that such a one might be justly condemned, unheard. On the other hand, Sigismund foretold, too confidently for his own credit, the result of a public trial; the safeconduct which he had allowed was a burden to his conscience, and in gaining time for John Huss he also gained it for himself.

However, the barons, the nobles of Bohemia, and, amongst all the rest, the brave and faithful John de Chlum, always showed the same zeal in the cause of their unfortunate countryman, and they renewed their energetic supplications to the council and the emperor. They alleged, "John Huss is accused of having openly preached at Constance, where, immediately from his arrival, he inhabited the same lodging with John de Chlum, who has never left him, as the said nobleman offers to take oath, and to prove at any risk, or in any manner whatever." They added, "John Huss is come freely to the council, to make public confession of his faith; he arrived with the intention of being reunited to the holy church, as to those points on which he shall be acknowledged

to have differed from her." The barons repeated the certificates of orthodoxy which had been delivered at Prague, and produced a protestation by John Huss, in the following terms:

"Desiring before all things the honour of God, and of the holy church, and wishing to continue a faithful member of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head and Husband of his church, which he has redeemed, I protest, as I have done before, that I have never obstinately supported, and never will thus support anything that shall be contrary to the truth. I have believed, I do believe, and I desire always to believe, firmly, all the truths which it is necessary to admit, and sooner than be willing to defend any error contrary to them, may I, with confidence in my Lord and his Divine assistance, undergo the pains of death. I am, then, ready, with the help of God, to expose my miserable life, for the sake of that law of Christ, which I believe to have been expressly given by the inspiration of the Holy Trinity, and published by the saints of God for the salvation of the human race. I believe the articles of the Divine law, as the Trinity has set them forth and commanded us to believe them. In my answers, my theses, and public acts, I have submitted, I submit, and promise hereafter to submit to the requirements of this holy law, being ready to recal all that I may have advanced in opposition to the truth."*

"Now," the barons alleged to the council, "some seek to condemn John Huss from some passages that are mutilated, misinterpreted, and treacherously extracted from his works by his mortal enemies, and in violation of the safe-conduct of the emperor. We conjure you, therefore, reverend fathers, to permit John Huss to be removed from his severe confinement, and entrusted to the hands of some bishops and commissioners selected by yourselves, that he may regain his strength, and return in health, to be afterwards examined. In reliance on which, we, the nobles and barons of the kingdom of Bohemia offer to you such sureties as you shall require, and sufficient pledges for the promise that we give, that the said John Huss shall not depart till he have satisfactorily answered the examination of your commissioners.”

The barons wrote in a similar style to the emperor. His reply has not been preserved, but the patriarch of Antioch

* J, Huss. Hist. et Monum. t. i. p. 15.

answered in the name of the council, that the event would prove whether the protestation of John Huss were the truth or an imposture; that, as to the sureties or hostages whom the barons engaged to present, if they should offer a thousand, the deputies of the council could not conscientiously receive them in behalf of a heretic. Nevertheless, they promised that Huss should be removed from Gottleben on June 5th, and brought to Constance, that he might be publicly heard. This latter conclusion must be especially attributed to the emperor, who gave by word of mouth the same assurance to the barons of Bohemia.

John de Chlum left that prince filled with hope, and hastened to write to John Huss, "Very dear friend in Christ: know, that it has been determined between the emperor and the national deputies, that you should have a public audience, and your friends insist on your being placed in a very airy situation, that you may recover yourself, and have some refreshment. Therefore, in the name of God, and for the sake of the truth, beware of deserting his sacred cause from any fears of the loss of this miserable life, for it is for your greater benefit that God visits you by this trial.”*

Notwithstanding the engagement which had been just made between the council and the emperor, the enemies of Huss persevered in their opposition to the audience promised, and circulated the report that a sedition had broken out in the town on the arrival of John Huss. They induced the council to send deputies to Gottleben, to question him, and to obtain from him some confession which should render his public audience useless. In these private interrogations all means were employed, including even insult and violence, to shake his firmness, and his friends were somewhat uneasy as to the result.

Huss thus reassured them in one of his letters, which at the same time displays the rigours and annoyances of this secret inquisition. He says: "Let my friends be under no alarm as to my answers. I firmly trust that the things I have spoken in secret will be hereafter published on the housetops. Every article was presented to me with an inquiry whether I

* Oper. Hus. Epist, xlvii. t. i. p. 91. "Spero quod quæ dixi sub tecto prædicabuntur super tecta." The disciples of Huss regarded these words as a prophecy.

persisted in being willing to defend it. I answered that I was not willing now, but that I waited the decision of the council. God is my witness, that no answer appeared to me more becoming, since I had written with my own hand that I would support nothing by obstinacy, but that I was disposed to allow myself to be instructed by any one whatever. Michael Causis was there, holding a paper, and stimulating the patriarch to force me to answer his questions. The bishops then entered. God gave permission to Paletz and Causis to arise against me, because of my sins. The first examined all my letters, and the second related all the conversations that had passed between us many years ago. The patriarch maintained, before all the rest, that I was very rich.* 'You have 70,000 florins,' said one archbishop. Oh, assuredly, I have suffered much to-day. One of the bishops said, 'You have established a new law.' Another said, 'You have preached on all these articles,' and I replied, 'Why do you pour insult on me?'"+

Among those who were the most ardent in opposing Huss, were the (university) doctors of France. Consulted by the council as to nineteen articles which were attributed to him, their conclusions, signed by Gerson, were severe, and brought down rigorous condemnation on the author. The greater part of the deputies from the church and university of Paris to the council, belonged to what was called the "nominal" school, which, after a contest of two centuries, obtained superiority in France over the rival school. Several censured John Huss for being one of the "realists" at least as much as for his heterodoxy. Perhaps they forgot that their own school, as represented by Roscelin and Abelard, had already been censured by the church, or rather they remembered it too well, and by exciting the council against John Huss, they thought to blot out their former disgrace, and to revenge such humiliating defeats.

Doubtless such calculations were of no weight with Gerson; but the strongest minds are not exempt from prejudice, and Gerson attributed exaggerated evil to the great Bohemian doctor; thus the conclusions of the university of Paris pressed heavily on the heart of Huss.

*Several letters in which Huss requests his friends to discharge some very trifling debts for him, prove that, on the contrary, he was very poor. + Epist. xlviii.