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Christians to detest their superstitions, as unknown to the Apostles and the primitive church. And the first we hear of, was one Berengarius, who boldly and faithfully published the true religion contained in the Scripture, and discovered the falseness of the Romish. He lived about the time of William the Conqueror coming into England, about which time his followers being taken notice of, as dissenting from many of the common received opinions of those times, they were branded with the odious name of heretics.
About twenty years after this, one Peter Bruis was a famous preacher among them, and taught them publickly at Tholouse in Savoy. In a short time after, they were grown to so great a multitude, that the Popes of Rome were resolved, if possible, by any means, to extirpate and destroy them. To which end, they at first incited several of the most learned of their party to write against them, and warned divers princes to have a care of them, and to banish them out of their territories.
The first then that flung away the spiritual keys, and began valiantly to brandish the bloody sword of persecution against them, was Pope Alexander the 3rd, who began to hack, hew, and murder the poor Waldenses; so named, from Peter Walgo, or Wildo, of Lyons in France, who appeared very courageous in opposing the many corruptions of the Romish Church:—as, holy oil—consecrated images—Popes' indulgences—candles—merits—auricular confession—the supremacy of the Pope—fake miracles—Purgatory—praying for the dead—prayers to saints—extreme unction—and many other fopperies of
