but of no mean spirit" was the characterisation of John Hus by one of his opponents.
Speaking on Hus at this time, Mr. W . N. Schwarze writes:—
"Hus searched for truth, and the truth as he found it in the Bible was the foundation on which he built. So long as he saw no difference between the teaching of the Scriptures and the doctrines of the Church, he did not antagonise the latter. He was willing to give up any opinion he held whenever he met with a sounder opinion. His abilities and personal force were soon recognised by the Bohemian doctors at the University. A distinguished circle gathered around him."
In this respect John Hus is closely related to the great truth-seeker of our own times, Leo Tolstoi. It is a remarkable fact that both were Slavs and both strove to free the people from the bonds of the Church and to establish a life and social institutions founded on the principles laid down in the Gospel.
As a preacher, John Hus's activity is intimately connected with the Bethlehem Chapel. In all the other churches of Prague the immense encumbrance of Roman rites and ceremonies left no sufficient opportunity for preaching the Gospel. The amazing success of his ministry was not, however, merely the result of extraordinary eloquence, but was largely due to the practical advice as to the affairs of everyday life with which his sermons abounded.
About this time the burden of taxation in Bohemia became almost intolerable, and, to quote Mr. Ernest F. Henderson, "no church office or
