Page:Balthasar Hübmaier.djvu/209

1526] every man. Let him who is quite certain that his own fortitude would not give way under torture, cast the first stone at such men as have yielded their convictions on the rack.

It is certain that Hübmaier himself was deeply repentant in after years for this error. In his Short Apology (Op. 13) he says:

Having obtained this recantation, such as it was and by such methods, the council decreed that Hübmaier should depart immediately from the country. It was in fear of such a decision that the closing paragraph of the document was written.