unfortunate family with money from his own purse, but obtained for them a gratuity of 36,000 livres from the king.

The arret which justified the family of Calas, and changed their fate, was signed on the 9th of March, 1765. The 9th of March, 1762, was the very day on which the innocent and virtuous father of the family had been executed. All Paris ran in crowds to see them come out of the prison, and clapped their hands for joy, while the tears streamed down their cheeks.

BOOK VIII.

CONTAINING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION, AND THE REMARKABLE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH PRECEDED IT, FROM THE TIME OF WICKLIFFE TO THE REIGN OF QUEEN MARY.

SECTION I.

PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO THE GREAT ASCENDANCY OF THE POPES THROUGHOUT CHRISTENDOM, IN THe middle aGES.

THE year 606 marks the date of the supremacy of the Roman Pontiffs. From this period till the tenth century, the power and influence of the Roman hierarchy continued gradually to increase and extend; but from this latter date, till the reformation which was attempted by Wickliffe, about the year A. D. 1350, that power and influence extended with more rapid strides, till at length all the sovereigns of Europe were compelled to do homage to the lordly sway of his "Holiness."

To relate the tyrannical innovations upon the religion of Christ from the tenth to the middle of the thirteenth century, would be incompati ble with our limits.

Suffice it to say, that scarcely a foreign war or civil broil convulsed Europe during that period, which did not originate in the artifices of popes, monks, and friars. They frequently fell victims to their own machinations; for, from the year 1004, many popes died violent deaths several were poisoned; Sylvester was cut to pieces by his own people; and the reigns of his successors were but short. Benedict, who succeeded John XXI. thought proper to resist the Emperor Henry III. and place in his room Peter, king of Hungary; but afterwards, being alarmed by the success of Henry, he sold his seat to Gratianus, called Gregory VI. At this time there were three popes in Rome, all striving against each other for the supreme power, viz. Benedict IX. Sylvester III. and Gregory VI. But the Emperor Henry coming to Rome, displaced these three monsters at once, and appointed Clement the Second, enacting that henceforth no bishop of Rome should be chosen but by the consent of the emperor. Though this law was necessary for public tranquillity, yet it interfered too

much with the ambitious views of the cardinals, who accordingly exerted themselves to get it repealed; and failing in this. on the departure of the emperor for Germany, they poisoned Clement, and at once violated the law by choosing another pope, without the imperial sanction.

This was Damasus II. who being also poisoned, within a few days from his appointment, much contention took place. Whereupon the Romans sent to the emperor, desiring him to give them a bishop; upon which he selected Bruno, a German, called Leo IX. This pope was also poisoned, in the first year of his popedom.

After his death, Theophylactus made an effort to be pope, but Hildebrand, to defeat him, went to the emperor, and persuaded him to assign another bishop, a German, who ascended the papal chair under the title of Victor II.

The second year of his papacy, this pope also followed his predecessors, like them being poisoned.

On the death of Victor, the cardinals elected Stephen IX. for pope, contrary to their oath, and the emperor's assignment. From this period, indeed, their ascendancy was so great, that the most powerful sovereigns of Europe were obliged to do them homage: and Nicholas, who succeeded Stephen, established the council of the Lateran.

In this council first was promulgated the terrible sentence of excommunication against all such as "do creep into the seat of Peter, by money or favour, without the full consent of the cardinals;" cursing them and their children with the anger of Almighty God; and giving authority and power to cardinals, with the clergy and laity, to depose all such persons, and call a council general, wheresoever they will, against them.

Pope Nicholas only reigned three years and a half, and then, like his predecessors, was poisoned.

Submission of the Emperor Henry IV. to the Pope.

To such a height had papal insolence now attained, that, on the Emperor Henry IV. refusing to submit to some decrees of Pope Gregory VII. the latter excommunicated him, and absolved all his subjects from their oath of allegiance to him; on this he was deserted by his nobility, and dreading the consequences, though a brave man, he found it necessary to make his submission. He accordingly repaired to the city of Canusium, where the pope then was, (A. D. 1077,) and went barefooted with his wife and child to the gate where he remained from morning to night, fasting, humbly desiring absolution, and craving to be let in. But no ingress being given him, he continued thus three days together; at length, answer came that his holiness had yet no leisure to talk with him. The emperor patiently waited without the walls, although in the depth of winter. At length his request was granted, through the entreaties of Matilda, the pope's paramour. On the fourth day, being let in, for a token of his true repentance, he yielded to the pope's hands his crown, and confessed himself unworthy of the empire, if he ever again offended against the pope, desiring for that time to be absolved and forgiven. The pope answered, he would neither forgive him, nor release the bond or his excommunication, but upon condition that he would abide by his arbitrament in the council, and undergo such penance as he should

en

join him; that he should answer to all objections and accusations laid against him, and that he should never seek revenge; that it should be at the pope's pleasure, whether his kingdom should be restored or not. Finally, that before the trial of his cause, he should neither use his kingly ornaments, nor usurp the authority to govern, nor exact any oath of allegiance from his subjects, &c. These things being promised to the pope by an oath, the emperor only was released from excommunication.

King John surrenders his Crown to the Pope.

The ascendancy of the popes was never more fully evinced than by a remarkable fact in the history of England. King John, having incurred the hatred of his barons and people by his cruel and tyrannical measures, they took arms against him, and offered the crown to Louis, son of the French king. By seizing the 'possessions of the clergy, John had also fallen under the displeasure of the pope, who accordingly laid the kingdom under an interdict, and absolved his subjects from their allegiance. Alarmed at this, the tyrant earnestly sued for peace with his holiness, hoping, by his mediation, to obtain favourable terms from the barons, or, by his thunders, to terrify them into submission. He made the most abject supplications, and the pope, ever willing to increase the power of the church, sent cardinal Pandulf as legate to the king at Canterbury; to whom John resigned his crown and dominions; and the cardinal, after retaining the crown five days, in token of possession, returned it to the king, on condition of his making a yearly payment of 1000 marks to the court of Rome, and holding the dominions of England and Ireland in farm from the pope.

But if John expected any benefit from this most disgraceful transaction, he was disappointed; and instead of enjoying the crown which he had so basely surrendered and received again, the short remainder of his life was disturbed by continual insurrections, and he at last died, either of grief or by poison, administered to him by a monk of Swineshead in Lincolnshire. The latter cause is assigned by many historians, and we are told that the king, suspecting some fruit which was presented to him at the above convent, to be poisoned, ordered the monk who brought it, to eat of it; which he did, and died in a few hours after.

An Emperor trodden on by the Pope.

The papal usurpations were extended to every part of Europe. In Germany, the Emperor Frederic was compelled to submit to be trodden under the feet of Pope Alexander, and dared not make any resistance. In England, however, a spirit of resentment broke out in various reigns, in consequence of the oppressions and horrible conduct of those anti-christian blasphemers, which continued with more or less violence till the time of the great Wickliffe, of whom we shall speak more fully in the following pages.

SECTION II.

ACCOUNT OF WICKLIFFE, AND OF THE MARTYRS WHO SUFFERED IN DEFENCE OF HIS DOCTRINES.

The first attempts made in England towards the reformation of the church, took place in the reign of Edward III. about A D. 1350, when John Wickliffe appeared. This early star of the English church was public reader of divinity in the university of Oxford, and, by the learned of his day, was accounted deeply versed in theology, and all kinds of philosophy. At the time of his appearance, the greatest darkness pervaded the church. Scarcely any thing but the name of Christ remained; his true doctrine being as far unknown to the most part, as his name was common to all. As to faith, consolation, the end and use of the law, the office of Christ, our impotency and weakness, the greatness and strength of sin, of true works, grace, and free justification by faith, wherein Christianity consists, they were either unknown or disregarded. Scripture learning, and divinity, were known but to a few, and that in the schools only, where they were turned and converted into sophistry. Instead of Peter and Paul, men occupied their time in studying Aquinas and Scotus; and, forsaking the lively power of God's spiritual word and doctrine, were altoge. ther led and blinded with outward ceremonies and human traditions, insomuch that scarcely any other thing was seen in the churches, taught or spoken of in sermons, or intended or sought after in their whole lives, but the heaping up of ceremonies upon ceremonies; and the people were taught to worship no other thing but that which they saw, and almost all they saw they worshipped. But Wickliffe was inspired with a purer sense of religion; and knowing it to be his duty to impart the gracious blessing to others, he published his belief with regard to the several articles of religion, in which he differed from the common doctrine. Pope Gregory XI. hearing this, condemned some of his tenets, and commanded the archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishop of London, to oblige him to subscribe the condemn tion of them; and in case of refusal, to summon him to Rome. This commission could not easily be executed, Wickliffe having powerful friends, the chief of whom was John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III. The archbishop holding a synod at St. Paul's, Wickliffe appeared, accompanied by the duke of Lancaster and Lord Percy, marshal of England, when a dispute arising whether Wickliffe should answer sitting or standing, the duke of Lancaster proceeded to threats, and treated the bishop with very little ceremony. The people present, thinking the bishop in danger, sided with him, so that the duke and the earl marshal thought it prudent to retire, and to take Wickliffe with them. After this an insurrection ensued, the clergy and their emissaries spreading a report that the duke of Lancaster had persuaded the king to take away the privileges of the city of London, &c. which fired the people to such a degree, that they broke open the Marshalsea, and freed all the prisoners; and not contented with this, a vast number of thein went to the duke's palace in the Savoy, when, missing his person, they plundered his house. For this outrage the duke of Lancaster caused the lord mayor and aldermen

to be removed from their offices, imagining they had not used their authority to quell the mutineers. After this, the bishops meeting a second time, Wickliffe explained to them his sentiments with regard to the sacrament of the eucharist, in opposition to the belief of the papists; for which the bishops only enjoined him silence, not daring, at that time, to proceed to greater extremities against him.

Great Schism in the Church of Rome.

A circumstance occurred at this period, by the providence of God, which greatly tended to faciliate the progress of truth. This was a great schism in the church of Rome, which originated as follows: Af ter the death of Gregory XI. who expired in the midst of his anxiety to crush Wickliffe and his doctrines, Urban the Sixth succeeded to the papal chair. This pope was so proud and insolent, and so intent on the advancement of his nephews and kindred, which he frequently accomplished by injuring other princes, that the greatest number of his cardinals and courtiers deserted him, and set up another pope against him, named Clement, who reigned eleven years. After him Benedict the Thirteenth, who reigned twenty-six years. Again, on the contrary side, after Urban the Sixth, succeeded Boniface the Ninth, Innocent the Eighth, Gregory the Twelfth, Alexander the Fifth, and John the Thirteenth. To relate all the particulars of this miserable schism, would require volumes; we shall merely take notice of a few of the principal occurrences, from which the reader may form an idea of the bloodshed and misery brought on the Christian world by the ambition and wickedness of these pretended representatives of our blessed Saviour; and may judge how widely they departed from his blessed maxims of peace and good will to all men. Otho, duke of Brunswick and prince of Tarentum, was taken and murdered. Joan, ais wife, queen of Jerusalem and Sicily, who had sent to pope Urban, besides other gifts, 40,000 ducats in gold, was afterwards, by his order, committed to prison, and there strangled. Many cardinals were racked, and tortured to death; battles were fought between the rival popes, in which great multitudes were slain. Five cardinals were beheaded together, after long torments. The bishop of Aquilonensis, being suspected by Pope Urban, for not riding faster when in his company, was slain on the spot by the pope's order. Thus did these demons in human form torment each other for the space of thirty-nine years, until the council of Constance.

Wickliffe translates the Bible.

Wickliffe, paying less regard to the injunctions of the bishops than to his duty to God, continued to promulgate his doctrines, and gradually to unveil the truth to the eyes of men. He wrote several books, which, as may be supposed, gave great alarm and offence to the clergy. But God raising him up a protector in the duke of Lancaster, he was secure from their malice. He translated the Bible into English, which, amidst the ignorance of the times, máy be compared to the sun breaking forth in a dark night. To this Bible he prefixed a bold preface, wherein he reflected on the immoralities of the clergy, and condemned the worship of saints, images, and the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament; but what gave the greatest offence to the priests, was his exhorting all people to read the scriptures, in which the tes timonies against all those corruptions appeared so strongly.