6. Huss and Jerome. 107
the emperor ' s prejudices, to his fears, to his zeal for the church. They brought forward arguments of great length to prove that“ faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy, though they are furnished with safe-conducts from the emperor and kings.” 137 Thus they prevailed.
Enfeebled by illness and imprisonment,— for the damp, foul air of his dungeon had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life,— Huss was at last brought before the council. Loaded with chains, he stood in the presence of the emperor, whose honor and good faith had been pledged to protect him. During his long trial he firmly maintained the truth, and in the presence of the assembled dignitaries of church and state, he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions of the hierarchy. When required to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or suffer death, he accepted the martyr ' s fate.
The grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering that passed before his final sentence, heaven ' s peace filled his soul.“ I write this letter,” he said to a friend,“ in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting my sentence of death to-morrow.... When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we shall again meet in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God has shown Himself toward me, how effectually He has supported me in the midst of my temptations and trials.” 138 [ 108 ]
In the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true faith. Returning in his dreams to the chapel at Prague where he had preached the gospel, he saw the pope and his bishops effacing the pictures of Christ which he had painted on its walls.“ This vision distressed him: but on the next day he saw many painters occupied in restoring these figures in greater number and in brighter colors. As soon as their task was ended, the painters, who were surrounded by an immense crowd, exclaimed,‘ Now let the popes and bishops come; they shall never efface them
137 Lenfant,“ History of the Council of Constance,” Vol. I, p. 516. 138 Bonnechose, Vol. II, p. 67.