the council his attempts to reply to the accusations brought against him were met with shouts , “ To the flames with him ! to the flames !”— Bonnechose , vol . 1 , p . 234 . He was thrown into a dungeon , chained in a position which caused him great suffering , and fed on bread and water . After some months the cruelties of his imprisonment brought upon Jerome an illness that threatened his life , and his enemies , fearing that he might escape them , treated him with less severity , though he remained in prison for one year .
The death of Huss had not resulted as the papists had hoped . The violation of his safe-conduct had roused a storm of indignation , and as the safer course , the council determined , instead of burning Jerome , to force him , if possible , to retract . He was brought before the assembly , and offered the alternative to recant , or to die at the stake . Death at the beginning of his imprisonment would have been a mercy in comparison with the terrible sufferings which he had undergone ; but now , weakened by illness , by the rigors of his prison house , and the torture of anxiety and suspense , separated from his friends , and disheartened by the death of Huss , Jerome ’ s fortitude gave way , and he consented to submit to the council . He pledged himself to adhere to the Catholic faith , and accepted the action of the council in condemning the doctrines of Wycliffe and Huss , excepting , however , the “ holy truths ” which they had taught .— Ibid , vol . 2 , p . 141 .
By this expedient Jerome endeavored to silence the voice of conscience and escape his doom . But in the solitude of his dungeon he saw more clearly what he had done . He thought of the courage and fidelity of Huss , and in contrast pondered upon his own denial of the truth . He thought of the divine Master whom he had pledged himself to serve , and who for his sake endured the death of the cross . Before his retraction he had found comfort , amid all his sufferings , in the assurance of God ’ s favor ; but now remorse and doubts tortured his soul . He knew that still other retractions must be made before he could be at peace with Rome . The path upon
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