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their own infallibility in his place; to this Huss refused to bend the knee, and nothing else could save him.

Huss indeed approved the doctrine of Jacobel in regard to the communion of the cup. He wrote a letter to the Bohemians in its favor, but the Council do not seem to have been aware of it, and indeed it was only after he had been sometime in prison, that the matter was first brought distinctly to his notice. But the great principle for which he suffered, the supreme authority of the word of God, was pregnant with great results, of which he had himself but a feeble conception. All Bohemia seemed at once to adopt it, and the communion of the cup became a national heresy. More than four hundred of the nobles and barons of the kingdom, were cited to appear and answer before the Council to the charge of heresy. Nothing could have been more impolitic than this citation. The Barons of Bohemia were not to be awed by the authority of a council which they despised, and which had become detestable by its condemnation of their countrymen. Had they answered to the citation, they would have appeared at Constance sword in hand. As it was, they were forced to stand committed to an antagonism with the Council, and the so-called Catholic Church. At length the publication of the crusade against them by the Pope, after the dissolution of the Council, forced them to give shape to their demands. These were embodied in four articles:-the free preaching of the Word of God; the liberty of the communion of the cup; the exclusion of the priesthood from civil control and large landed possessions, and the severe repression of gross public sins, whether in clergy or in laity. The Calixtines, or adherents of the communion of the cup, remained faithful to these, without proceeding further. Like Huss and Jacobel, they still claimed to be Catholics. But the first articleno dead letter practically in Bohemia-could not be maintained without carrying some beyond the point reached by the Calixtines. The Taborites went with them and beyond them, and here sprang up a strong antagonism. The announcement of the crusade ranged them together in a common defence, and in July, 1420, under Zisca, the Taborite General, they defeated, at Prague, the mighty host of the crusaders, headed by the Em

peror.

The retreat of the Imperial army from Prague, withdrew that external pressure which had constrained the Calixtines and the Taborites, notwithstanding their mutual repugnance, and diversity of taste and opinion, to unite in league against a common foe. With the proposal for a truce, by the Barons of the kingdom, one of the conditions of which, of course, was, that Sigismond should be acknowledged as king, Zisca had nothing to do. The Taborites almost unanimously preferred a republic, at least an elected king; the citizens of Prague, with the Barons of the kingdom, were willing, and even anxious, to receive Sigismond as their monarch, on the sole condition that their demands in regard to the four articles should be granted.

These diverse views of public policy, although held by some on the bare ground of their fitness and expediency, were yet, as a general thing, rooted in a diversity of religious sentiment. The citizen of Prague and the Bohemian barons were Calixtines, and they were confirmed in their conservatism, by what they regarded as the insane fancies, the barbarous taste and radical views of the Taborites. But if the former were superior in education, refinement, and the general moderation of their views, the last were immensely superior in deep feeling, earnest conviction, and that desperate and fanatical courage which made them terrible on the battle field. Prague lay at the mercy of the Emperor. alone, had earned the epithet of invincible. vanquished till the last man was slain. Nor were they altogether unconscious of their power, although under Zisca's generalship they were not inclined to employ it to secure any undue advantage. As occasion demanded, or the pressure of external attack was applied, the Calixtines asked and received the aid of their terrible allies, the Taborites.

Without them, Zisca's soldiers They could not be

The distinction between them, however, was already marked, and was continually widening, as the sentiments and tastes of each became more fully developed. Each party naturally desired that its own views might prevail. On August 5th, 1420, less than a week after the Imperialists had withdrawn, the Taborites presented their articles to the city, with the alternative that if not accepted, they would leave the city at once. The new city, where the Taborites were in the majority, ac

cepted them without hesitation. The old city demanded time for deliberation, and one of the Masters of the University, an Englishman named Peter, discussed the articles, each in its order, in presence of the magistrates and the citizens, showing how far and in what sense they might be approved or rejected "with a safe conscience." The articles thus discussed pertained rather to moral conduct and rules of life, than to points of faith. They condemn gross public sins, among laity and clergy; require the severe repression and punishment of all forms of licentiousness, tavern drinking, luxury and extravagance of dress, fraud, robbery, and usury. They demand that laws, which they describe as "Pagan and Teutonic," inconsistent with the law of God, shall be repealed, and all things be ordered and arranged according to the rules of divine justice ; that the priests shall observe an apostolic simplicity in keeping with the divine command; that the magistrates be held subject to the law of God, and that their enactments be registered in the Council-house, where they may be read by all the people; that such enemies of the truth of God, as had shown themselves faithless to God and man, should be banished the city and no favor shown them; that heretical monasteries be broken up and destroyed, as well as unnecessary churches and altars with their images, robes, gold and silver chalices, and every anti-Christian abomination, savoring of idolatry or simony, all which are not from God our Heavenly Father.

In the defence of the truths expressed by these articles, the Taborites declare that they have already in obedience to the divine will, risked property and life, while many of their brethren had shed their blood to maintain them. They declare their own purpose, whether the articles shall be received or rejected, to stand by them to the last. These articles were not accepted or approved by the magistrates and citizens of Old Prague, who were for the most part Calixtines. The last article on the subject of destroying monasteries and unnecessary churches, which the Taborites would have called rookeries of superstition, was especially objectionable. Nor was the conduct of the Taborites such as to smooth the difficulties which lay in their way. On the next day after the articles had been presented, a portion of the Taborites made an assault on the

St. Clement monastery, and a few days later, sacked and burned the cloisters of the Royal Court, thus reducing the theory of their articles to practice. They bore off with them fragments of the broken images and tables of the monasteries, and forgetful of their wonted sobriety made a large and free use of the wine found in the vaults of the cloisters. As evening approached, some of them projected an attack upon the Vissehrad, which still held out for Sigismond, but the tumultuous and disorderly assault was repulsed with great loss by the garrison.

The Taborites of Prague wished still to retain their brethren within its walls. The only condition on which this wish could be realized was the acceptance by the Old city of the articles of the Taborites. But the magistrates opposed them. It was therefore resolved to call a meeting of the citizens, depose the present magistracy, and elect a new, who should be known to favor the Taborite articles. This project was executed on August 18th. In spite of this measure, however, Zisca with his followers left the city a few days after. He saw clearly the futility of forcing the acceptance of articles so objectionable to the mass of the citizens of Old Prague.

The articles themselves, not excepting the last, expressed the sincere convictions of the Taborites. While terrible on the battle-field, and signal in their vengeance, even their enemies are, to a remarkable degree, unanimous in testifying to their sobriety and their exemplary freedom from the gross vices of the age. A Puritanic severity characterized their demeanor. The corruptions of the priesthood, as well as persecuting edicts, repelled them from the communion of the Roman Church. With a stern and indignant justice they repressed whatever they deemed inconsistent with the truth of the Gospel. If Zisca took exemplary vengeance upon the Adamites with their Free-Love doctrine, and licentious practices, it was because, whatever their heresy, their teachings and proceedings struck at the root of all purity and of social order and morals.

At first the views of the Taborites coincided almost entirely with those of the Calixtines. They had no distinct name except as they held it in common with all who were known as Hussites. They were brought together in one community, as the Presbyterians of Scotland were under Charles II., that they

might enjoy the privilege of worship without molestation. It was during the year 1419, that their assemblies were first held in the neighborhood of Bechin, not far from Tabor, some twenty leagues distance from Prague. The people gathered, reared their tents, and for several days engaged in religious services, accompanied by the communion of the cup. The vast multitudes, on some occasions, numbered more than forty thousand people. Everything was conducted with the utmost decorum. Some of the Taborite priests preached, some heard confessions, and others administered the communion under both kinds. Different groups were formed, which were severally addressed by speakers or preachers selected for the purpose. The men, the women, and the children formed each a body by themselves. These days, thus observed, were a sort of pentecostal season, and from far and near came the multitudes who thronged to the sacred festivity. Peaceably they came, and peaceably they returned. Songs of praise and joy lightened the tedium of the journey as the processions moved along their way. Nothing was allowed inconsistent with the objects of the assemblage.

No wantonness or levity, no dancing or drunkenness, was to be witnessed. Everything which could tend to disturb the seriousness, or interfere with the devotion proper to the occasion, was carefully repressed. Even the sportiveness of childhood was checked, and no sound of musical instruments was allowed to break in upon the quiet of the place and the solemnity of the worship. At the close of the religious exercises, each partook of.a moderate repast which they had brought with them from their homes. All outward distinctions were neglected or forgotten. The rich and the poor sat down together, and priest and layman were undistinguished by garb. They addressed one another by the appellation of brother and sister, each sharing his portion with such as were more needy than himself. As in the Apostolic and primitive Churchsays the Calixtine narrative-there was but one heart, one will. Nothing was thought of, nothing was transacted, save what pertained to the welfare of souls, or concerned the restoration of the Church to its primitive model. Their humble repast was concluded by a solemn thanksgiving to God, and the exercises of the day closed with a procession of the vast

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