Page:The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe Volume 3.djvu/444

 adulterers, proud; sparing not to lay open their vices, to their great ignominy and shame, and much craving reformation to be had of the clergy.

The king, seeing the inclination of the people, being also not ignorant of the wickedness of the clergy, under pretence of reforming the church, began to require greater exactions upon such priests and men of the clergy, as were known and accused to be wicked livers. Whereupon they, on the other part, that favoured John Huss, taking that occasion present, complained of all, accused many, and spared none, whomsoever they knew to be of the catholic faction, or enemies to John Huss; by reason whereof the priests of the popish clergy were brought, such as were faulty, into great distress, and such as were not faulty, into great fear, insomuch that they were glad to fall in, at least not to fall out, with the protestants, being afraid to displease them. By this means Master Huss began to take some more liberty unto him, and to preach in his church at Bethlem, and none to control him: by the same means the people also received some comfort, and the king much gain and money by that reason.

And thus the popish clergy, while they went about to persecute John Huss, were enwrapped themselves in great tribulation, and afflicted on every side, as well by lay-men, as by learned men of the clergy, insomuch that women also and children were against them; and by the same reason wherewith they thought to entangle him, they were overthrown themselves. For the doctors who before condemned this doctrine in John Huss for intolerable heresy, and cried out so much against him, for teaching that temporal lords might take away temporal livings from the clergy sinning 'habitualiter,' that is, living and continuing still in the custom of iniquity; now, when the king and the lords temporal began to amerce them, and bereave them of their temporalties for their transgressions, the said doctors did keep silence and durst speak never a word. Again, whereas the aforesaid doctors before could not abide in John Huss, that tithes were to be priests counted for pure alms, now, coming to the Guildhall, they were fain to entreat for their temporal goods not to be taken from them; pleading the same temporalties to be mere alms and devotion of good men, given unto the church.

And thus now did they themselves grant the thing, which before they did condemn. The more the pope's clergy were pinched, the more grudge and hatred redounded to John Huss, although he was no cause thereof, but only their own wicked deservings, for which cause Stephen Paletz, and Andræas de Broda, being the chief champions of that faction, though they could not remedy the cause, yet to ease their minds, wrote sharp and cruel letters to Master Huss. And, to help the matter forward, the pope also here must help at a pinch, who likewise writeth his letters to Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia, who was brother to Sigismund, the emperor, for the suppressing of John Huss and of his doctrine, which was in the fifth and last year of his popedom, 1414: the tenor of whose letters to king Wenceslaus in this wise.