restored to him he would, possessing the knowledge and instruction which he had now acquired, be ruled by these precepts, and offer his soul as a new one to the bride of Christ, that is to say the holy church. The council, however, evidently continued to distrust Jerome, and insisted on his making several further statements in which he anathematised a large number of articles derived from the writings of Wycliffe, which were all specially enumerated. He also took a solemn oath henceforth to remain faithful to the true doctrine of the Catholic Church, adding that, should he fail to do so, he accepted as deserved every punishment that might be inflicted on him; he lastly declared that he had made all these statements freely and spontaneously.
Jerome was not, however, liberated. He appears soon to have regretted his recantation. On October 29, 1415, Gerson read before the council a statement[1] treating of the recantation of heretics generally, but obviously aimed at Jerome. Among other matters, Gerson stated that one who had recanted heretical opinions must necessarily continue to be suspected of heresy. This declaration of Gerson produced a great impression on the mind of Jerome. He felt that he had failed to obtain the confidence of those to whose cause he had devoted himself. On the other hand, though he had not been freed, his renunciation had rendered his imprisonment less severe. It is therefore certain that echoes of the fierce resentment and religious enthusiasm prevailing in Bohemia must have reached him at Constance. He determined to act in a manner which practically involved suicide. It is scarcely necessary to mention how greatly classical learning and that of the stoics in particular has lauded suicide, as the door ever open, when all other issues are closed. These theories of the ancients must have appealed to an early humanist in a manner inconceivable to us whose ancestors have for five centuries been steeped in Greek and Latin culture.
- ↑ “De protestatione et revocatione in negotio fidei” (printed by Von der Hardt, T. iii. pp. 39–52)
