At the university , Huss soon distinguished himself by his untiring application and rapid progress , while his blameless life and gentle , winning deportment gained him universal esteem . He was a sincere adherent of the Roman Church and an earnest seeker for the spiritual blessings which it professes to bestow . On the occasion of a jubilee he went to confession , paid the last few coins in his scanty store , and joined in the processions , that he might share in the absolution promised . After completing his college course , he entered the priesthood , and rapidly attaining to eminence , he soon became attached to the court of the king . He was also made professor and afterward rector of the university where he had received his education . In a few years the humble charity scholar had become the pride of his country , and his name was renowned throughout Europe .
But it was in another field that Huss began the work of reform . Several years after taking priest ' s orders he was appointed preacher of the chapel of Bethlehem . The founder of this chapel had advocated , as a matter of great importance , the preaching of the Scriptures in the language of the people . Notwithstanding Rome ' s opposition to this practice , it had not been wholly discontinued in Bohemia . But there was great ignorance of the Bible , and the worst vices prevailed among the people of all ranks . These evils Huss unsparingly denounced , appealing to the word of God to enforce the principles of truth and purity which he inculcated . A citizen of Prague , Jerome , who afterward became so closely associated with Huss , had , on returning from England , brought with him the writings of Wycliffe . The queen of England , who had been a convert to Wycliffe ' s teachings , was a Bohemian princess , and through her influence also the Reformer ' s works were widely circulated in her native country .
These works Huss read with interest ; he believed their author to be a sincere Christian and was inclined to regard with favor the reforms which he advocated . Already , though he knew it not , Huss had entered upon a path which was to lead him far away from Rome . About this time there arrived in Prague two strangers from England , men of learning , who had received the light and had come to spread it in this distant land . Beginning with an open attack on the pope ' s supremacy , they were soon silenced by the authorities ; but being unwilling to relinquish their purpose , they had recourse to other measures . Being artists as well as preachers , they proceeded to exercise their skill . In a place open to the public they drew two pictures . One represented the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem , " meek , and sitting upon an ass " ( Matthew 21:5 ), and followed by His disciples in travel-worn garments and with naked feet . The other picture portrayed a pontifical procession--the pope arrayed in his rich robes and triple crown , mounted upon a horse magnificently adorned , preceded by trumpeters and followed by cardinals and prelates in dazzling array .
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