preach. Thereupon Kbel called him a heretic, and caused him to be imprisoned, and afterwards exiled. This occurrence deeply affected Hus, particularly as Abraham was a man of blameless character. It has already been noted that—though there were many exceptions—it was generally among the worthy, zealous, and pious priests that the friends of church-reform were found. In interceding for Abraham, Hus vividly contrasted his life with that of other priests of Prague.[1] He ended his letter by admonishing the archbishop “to love the good, watch over those who are evil, not let the ostentatious and avaricious flatter him, favour the humble and friends of poverty, oblige the indolent to work and not hinder those who labour steadfastly at the harvest of the Lord.” Relations between the archbishop and Hus became more and more strained, and a letter written at the end of the year 1408,[2] in which Hus defended his conduct and expressed himself in favour of neutrality between the rival pontiffs, closed the correspondence.
The end of the year 1408 is one of the principal landmarks in the life of Hus. The “academic” period, as Dr. Flajshans has aptly named it, now ends. During this period Hus was mainly occupied with university studies and lectures and, still in agreement with his ecclesiastical superiors, enjoyed a comparative degree of quiet such as was never again to be his lot.
Before, however, dealing with the period of strife that now awaited Hus and during which the events of his life become
- ↑ The language of Hus is very forcible. He writes: “Qualiter hoc est quod incestuosi et varie criminosi absque rigo (sic) correctionis tamquam tauri indomiti et equi emmissarii collis extentis incedunt libere, sacerdotes autem humiles, spinas peccati evellentes officium vestri implentes regiminis ex bono affectu, non sequentes avaritiam, sed gratis pro Deo se offerentes ad evangelizationis laborem tamquam haeretici mancipantur carceribus et exilium propter evangelizationem ipsius evangelii patiuntur.” Palacky, Documenta, pp. 1–2. The MS. copied and published by Palacky is somewhat defective. It is in this letter that Hus—as mentioned above—refers to the mandate given him by the archbishop to report on the conduct of the clergy of Prague.
- ↑ Palacky, Documenta, pp. 5–7.
