Yet it appears from your writings that you have publicly defended his articles.” Hus answered: “I say the same thing which I said before; that I do not wish to defend the errors of Wycliffe, or of any one else. But it appeared to me contrary to my conscience simply to approve of the condemnation of the articles while no exposition of the arguments of the other side had taken place. Therefore did I not approve of the condemnation of the articles.” It deserves notice that on this important question, which was frequently raised before and during the trial, Hus remained perfectly consistent, and indeed expressed his point of view almost in the same words.
Finally, six articles extracted from Hus’s work, Responsio ad Scripta M. Stanislai de Znoymo, were read out. They covered the same ground as the former accusations. It was only at the sitting of the council on the day of the execution of Hus that the accusation of having declared that he was a fourth person of the divinity was formally raised against him. The members of the council, who knew that Hus’s condemnation was a foregone conclusion, listened to the lengthy proceedings with increasing impatience. Laughter and derisive remarks on Hus became more and more frequent.[1]
When all the articles containing the accusations against Hus had been read out, Cardinal D’Ailly said, addressing Hus: “Thou hast heard how great is the heinousness of the accusations that have been brought against thee. It is thy duty to reflect now on what thou wilt do.” The cardinal then pointed out that two ways were open to him. He must submit himself humbly to the judgment and sentence of the council, which, in consideration of Sigismund and his brother the King of Bohemia, would treat him leniently. This no doubt referred to the plan of confining Hus for life in a distant monastery. Should he, however, not consent to this submission,
- ↑ In Von der Hardt’s full account of the proceedings we meet constantly—particularly towards the end—with notes such as: “Et cum hoc diceret, deridebatur, “Hic dixerunt”— the members of the council—“Ecce jam prophetizat,” etc.
