thanksgiving, and Te Deum was fung for joy in the church of St. Louis. He, moreover, published a bull of pardons, and extraordinary indulgences to fuch as fhould pray for the heavenly affiftance to the king and kingdom of France for rooting out heretics. The king, archbishops, bishops, clergy, and nobles too, went in public proceffion, finging the praises of God for this bloody and diabolical transaction1."

And yet whilft the Man of Sin was thus exalting himself, and purfuing his career of ambition and perfecution, the Providence of God raifed up witneffes of the truth in every age, who in a public manner teftified against the general corruptions of the church, its idolatrous doctrines, and fuperftitious practices. The patience and the faith of the faints were to be confpicuous during the whole time that the witnesses prophefied in fackcloth-for neither the menaces nor the punishments of the Church of Rome abated their courage, or extinguished their zeal. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Claude Clement Bishop of Turin, Ratramne a Monk of Corbie, John Scot, and Berenger, who was favoured by Bishop Bruno, oppofed the worship of images,

and the doctrine of the real prefence of Christ in the Sacrament". Peter Fitz Caffiodor, Michael Cæfenas, William Occam, and Marfilius a celebrated lawyer of Padua, expofed the various herefies and errors of the Church of Rome, its pride, avarice, tyranny, and exactions. Du Pin obferves, whose testimony is the more remarkable as he is a Popish Hiftorian, "that in the twelfth age there were many hereticks in many places, who openly attacked the facraments of the church, and despised her most holy ceremonies; that the severity, with which they who were taken were punished, did not hinder the fect from increafing that their doctrines spread through all the kingdom of France: many hereticks appeared, whofe chief view was to diffuade men from communion with the church in its facraments, and to overturn its hierarchy, order, and difcipline."

The thirteenth century was more particularly diftinguished by the victory gained over the fuperftitions of the Church of Rome, by the Waldenfes and Albigenfes. "P Driven

P Newton, vol. iii. p. 183. For an account of their particular opinions fee the teftimonies of their enemies, quoted by Lowman, p. 211. See likewife Gibbon, c. liv. P. 535.

from

from their own country on account of their religious opinions, they fled for refuge into foreign lands, fome into Germany, and fome into Britain. Pope Innocent III. determined to put a stop to their zealous exertions; and he not only appointed his Legates to preach against them, but excited the fecular princes and the common people to destroy them. He publifhed a Croifade against them, which occafioned a long war between Montfort, General of the Cross-Bearers, and the Count of Thouloufe, in which much blood was fpilt, and many lives were facrificed. But notwithstanding the rage of the Man of Sin fo furiously directed against them, they grew and multiplied fo faft in Germany that at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it is computed that there were 80,000 of them in Bohemia, Auftria, and the neighbouring territories, and they pertinaciously defended their doctrines even unto death." In the fourteenth century John Wickliff', a man of distinguished reputation in the Univerfity of Oxford, began in England to oppose the authority of the Pope, as well as many of his corruptions and errors. Among

Newton, vol. iii. p. 184.

his

his most eminent followers were John Hufs, and Jerom of Prague, perfons of great confideration in the University of that placeWilliam Sawtre, parish priest of St. Ofith, in London-Thomas Badby, and Sir John Oldcastle. These all fuffered death as here-ticks. In them was manifeft the patience of the faints: here are they that kept the commandments of God, and the faith of fefus*.

u

The number of these faithful witneffes * continued to increase, although every engine of oppreffion and perfecution was raised against them; for it was granted to the beast for a certain appointed time, to make war with the faints and to overcome them; and drunk with the blood of the faints.

even to be

They arofe in every age of the church, and appeared in almost every country; more particularly in Italy, France, Spain, England, Germany, and Bohemia. The many thousands that were destroyed by the armies brought against them, and by the Inquifition, are fufficient evidences

Rev. xiv. 12.

"Lowman, p. 212, For more particular account of the actions and fufferings of thefe witneffes, or martyrs, fee Flaccius Illyricus, the Centuriators of Magdeburg, Viher, Allix, Spanheim, and other authors,

* Newton, vol. iii. p. 197.

of

of their great numbers. They boldly protested against the corruptions of the Church of Rome, and having witneffed a good confeffion of the true faith, fell victims to her bloody fpirit of perfecution. "The affemblies of the Paulicians, or Albigeois, were extirpated by fire and fword, and the bleeding remnant escaped by flight, concealment, or Catholic conformity. But the invincible Spirit which they kindled ftill lived and breathed in the western world. In the ftate, in the church, and even in the cloifter, a latent fucceffion was preferved of the difciples of St. Paul; who protested against the tyranny of Rome, embraced the Bible as the rule of faith, and purified their creed from all the visions of the Gnoftic theology. The ftruggles of Wickliff in England, of Hufs in Bohemia, were premature and ineffectual; but the names of Zuinglius, Luther, and Calvin are pronounced with gratitude, as the deliverers of nations y.

The courfe of Hiftory and of Prophecy carries us forward to that aufpicious period, when the Proteftants rejected the errors of the See of Rome, afferted the rights of conscience,

Gibbon, vol. v. c, 54,

and