quoted
Gratian that if a Pope, by his misconduct and negligence, should lead
crowds of men into hell, no one but God would be entitled to find fault
with him.

The Pope promised to resign, and the Emperor joyfully kissed the toe of
John XXIII and thanked him in the name of the Council.

[Illustration: MONUMENT TO POPE JOHN XXIII]

The Council considered the charges proved and on May 25, 1415, deposed
him as "the supporter of iniquity, the defender of simonists, the enemy
of all virtue, the slave of lasciviousness, a devil incarnate." The
Bishop of Salisbury thought he ought to be burnt at the stake. And yet
this precious prelate was made a cardinal and after his death at
Florence on Nov. 23, 1419, an exquisite monument by Donatello was
erected in 1427 to his saintly memory.

When the Council deposed John XXIII, Hus wrote: "Courage, friends! You
can now give answer to those who declare that the Pope is God on earth;
that he is the head and heart of the Church; that he is the fountain
from which all virtue and excellence issue; that he is the sun, the sure
asylum where all Christians ought to find refuge. Behold this earthly
god bound in chains!"

On June 3, Pope John XXIII was a prisoner in the same prison with Hus!

On May 4, Wiclif's writings were ordered to be burnt as heretical; his
memory was condemned, and it was decreed to dig out his bones and cast
them out of consecrated ground. It does not need a prophet to foretell
the end of Hus. It needed only to show Hus was a follower of Wiclif, and
he would be burned also.

XIII.

Hus Before the Council.

Though the Bohemians and Moravians earnestly protested against the harsh
treatment of Hus and demanded his release, he was not released. On June
5, he was brought to the Franciscan cloister, between the Cathedral and
St. Stephen's Church, where he spent his last days on earth.

[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF CONSTANCE]

In the afternoon, bearing his chains, he was brought before the Council.
He admitted the authorship of his books and declared himself ready to
retract every expression that could be proved wrong.

The first article was then read. When Hus tried to reply, he was
bellowed into silence. When he was silent, they said, Silence gives
consent.

Socrates was allowed to make a long defence before his heathen judges;
Hus was overwhelmed with angry outcries by the representatives of all
Christendom!

Luther commented: "All worked themselves