thirst! And what would be the fruit of such an appearance? Certainly the neglect of the work enjoined of God, so far as his own salvation goes and the salvation of others. Nor will he there be taught how to believe well, but how to push litigation, which is not permitted to a servant of God. There he will be despoiled in the consistory [curia], he will grow cold in holy morals, he will be stirred up through oppression to impatience of spirit, and, if he have nothing to give, he will be condemned, even if he have justice on his side. And what is more serious, he will be compelled to adore with bended knees the pope as God.[1]
Blessed, therefore, be God, who says: "I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry which is come unto me, and if not, I will know," Gen. 18:21. "Blessed be the Son of God, who came down from heaven to seek and to save that which was lost," Luke 19:10. "And he went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were distressed and scattered as sheep not having a shepherd," Matt. 9:35–36. Blessed be Christ who commanded Peter, saying: "If thy brother sin against thee, show him his fault between thee and him alone," Matt. 18:15. Therefore, the pope will not find any passages except such as prove the contrary,
- ↑ Cited by Cardinal Colonna to go to Rome, 1410, Huss, in his official replies, his letters and at the council of Constance, constantly gave as a reason for not complying the dangers from enemies by the way or, as he also expressed it, from traps set by his enemies, especially the Germans whom he had offended by his course at the university. Other reasons he gave were that he would have to leave his work in Prague, and that the place where the offence was committed, Prague, was the proper place for the trial. Wenzel, in a letter to the cardinal, suggested that he visit Prague, Documenta, p. 424, and overlook the situation with his own eyes. In one place Huss, in urging the distance as a reason for not going to Rome, said the distance from Prague to the holy city was as great as the distance from Jerusalem to Tiberius, which, however, happens to be only sixty miles.
