Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 12.djvu/113

Rh full of malice, entitled the said book, though crammed with heresies, against the holy evangelical doctrine, 'Christianismi Restitutio'—'The Restoration of Christianity'—the better to deceive and seduce poor, ignorant folks, poisoning them all the while they fancied they were sitting in the shadow of sound doctrine. Item. With attacking our faith by letters as well as by his book, and saying to one of the ministers of this city that our holy evangelical doctrine is a religion without faith, and, indeed, without God, we having a Cerberus with three heads for our God. Item. For having perfidiously broken and escaped from the prison of Vienne, where he had been confined because of the wicked and abominable opinions confessed in his book. Item. For continuing obstinate in his opinions, not only against the true Christian religion, but as an arrogant innovator and inventor of heresies against popery, which led to his being burned in effigy at Vienne, along with five bales of his books. Item. And in addition to all of which, being confined in the jail of this city, he has not ceased maliciously to persist in the aforesaid wicked and detestable errors, attempting to maintain them, with calumnious abuse of all true Christians, faithful followers of the immaculate Christian religion, calling them tritheists, atheists, and sorcerers, in spite of the remonstrances made to him in Germany, as said, and in contempt of the reprehensions and corrections he has received, and the imprisonment he has undergone as well here as elsewhere.

"Now we, the syndics and judges in criminal cases within this city, having reviewed the process carried on before us, at the instance of our lieutenant having charge of such cases, against thee, Michael Servetus, of Villanova, in the kingdom of Aragon, in Spain, whereby guided, and by the voluntary confessions made before us, many times repeated, as well as by thy books produced before us, we decree and determine that thou, Michael Servetus, hast, for a long time, promulgated false and heretical doctrine, and, rejecting all remonstrance and correction, hast maliciously, perversely, and obstinately, continued disseminating and divulging, even by the printing of books, blasphemies against God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in a word, against the whole foundations of the Christian religion, thereby seeking to create schism and trouble in the Church of God, many souls, members of which, may have been ruined and lost—horrible and dreadful thing, scandalous and contaminating in thee, thou, having no shame nor horror in setting thyself up in all against the Divine Majesty and the Holy Trinity, and having further taken pains to infect, and given thyself up obstinately to continue infecting, the world with thy heresies and stinking heretical poison—case and crime of heresy grievous and detestable, deserving of severe corporal punishment.

"These and other just causes moving us, desiring to purge the Church of God of such infection, and to cut off from it so rotten a member, we, sitting as a judicial tribunal in the seat of our ancestors, with the entire assent of the General Council of the state, and our fellow-citizens, calling on the name of God to deliver true judgment, having the Holy Scriptures before us, and saying, In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we now pronounce our final sentence, and condemn thee, Michael Servetus, to be bound and taken to Champel, and there bound to a stake, to be burned alive, along with thy books, printed as well as written by thy hand, until thy body be reduced to ashes. So shall thy days end, and thou be made an example to others who would do as thou hast done. And we command you, our lieutenant, to see this our sentence carried forthwith into execution."

The staff, according to custom, was then broken over the prisoner,