" Are the traditions of men more worthy of faith than the gospel of our Saviour ?" replied Jerome . " Paul did not exhort those to whom he wrote to listen to the traditions of men , but said , ' Search the Scriptures .'" " Heretic !" was the response , " I repent having pleaded so long with you . I see that you are urged on by the devil ." -- Wylie , b . 3 , ch . 10 .
Erelong sentence of condemnation was passed upon him . He was led out to the same spot upon which Huss had yielded up his life . He went singing on his way , his countenance lighted up with joy and peace . His gaze was fixed upon Christ , and to him death had lost its terrors . When the executioner , about to kindle the pile , stepped behind him , the martyr exclaimed : " Come forward boldly ; apply the fire before my face . Had I been afraid , I should not be here ." His last words , uttered as the flames rose about him , were a prayer . " Lord , Almighty Father ," he cried , " have pity on me , and pardon me my sins ; for Thou knowest that I have always loved Thy truth ." --Bonnechose , vol . 2 , p . 168 . His voice ceased , but his lips continued to move in prayer . When the fire had done its work , the ashes of the martyr , with the earth upon which they rested , were gathered up , and like those of Huss , were thrown into the Rhine .
So perished God ' s faithful light bearers . But the light of the truths which they proclaimed-- the light of their heroic example--could not be extinguished . As well might men attempt to turn back the sun in its course as to prevent the dawning of that day which was even then breaking upon the world . The execution of Huss had kindled a flame of indignation and horror in Bohemia . It was felt by the whole nation that he had fallen a prey to the malice of the priests and the treachery of the emperor . He was declared to have been a faithful teacher of the truth , and the council that decreed his death was charged with the guilt of murder . His doctrines now attracted greater attention than ever before . By the papal edicts the writings of Wycliffe had been condemned to the flames . But those that had escaped destruction were now brought out from their hiding places and studied in connection with the Bible , or such parts of it as the people could obtain , and many were thus led to accept the reformed faith .
The murderers of Huss did not stand quietly by and witness the triumph of his cause . The pope and the emperor united to crush out the movement , and the armies of Sigismund were hurled upon Bohemia . But a deliverer was raised up . Ziska , who soon after the opening of the war became totally blind , yet who was one of the ablest generals of his age , was the leader of the Bohemians . Trusting in the help of God and the righteousness of their cause , that people withstood the mightiest armies that could be brought against them . Again and again the emperor , raising fresh armies , invaded Bohemia , only to be ignominiously repulsed . The Hussites were raised above the fear of death , and nothing could stand against them . A few years after the opening of the war , the brave Ziska died ; but his place was filled by Procopius , who was an equally brave and skillful general , and in some respects a more able leader .
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