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 and reason, He was ever ready to be instructed, but he asked for real instruction, an intelligent explanation sustained by Scripture text, and not the mere dictum of the Council. What especially offended the members of the Council was his persistent denial that the Pope and the cardinals constituted the Church, he claiming that the Church was the whole body of people of all ages and nations destined for salvation. As for the infallibility of the Pope, Hus used the flight and subsequent deposition of John XXIII as a striking refutation of this doctrine. The doctrines advanced by Hus were of so radical a nature that, once admitted, the power of the Church would have been forever undermined. Besides this, he had injured the Church in other ways. By his open denunciation of the greed and gross immorality of the priests he had weakened discipline; by his open denial of absolute authority he had awakened the spirit of resistance; and by his war against the sale of indulgences he had not only diminished the income of the Church, but had brought these methods of raising funds into disrepute. The clergy, therefore, had abundant cause for hating him, and the Council would have condemned him to death without any mercy, but that, for reasons of policy, they feared to do so. A remonstrance had come from Bohemia, to which were attached the seals of two hundred and fifty noblemen, and even Poland sent messengers asking for fair treatment of so illustrious a prisoner. The Council, therefore, honestly tried to save Hus’s life, if it could be done without compromising their own infallibility. The most eloquent prelates were sent to him to induce him to submit to the Council and recant his doctrines. His own friends implored him with