of men," he added, "their ceremonies and traditions, shall soon be
totally destroyed; the Lord Jesus shall alone be exalted, and His
Word shall stand for ever." Back to Christ! Back to the Apostles!
Such was the message of Matthew of Janow.

At this point, when the minds of men were stirred, the writings of
Wycliffe were brought to Bohemia, and added fuel to the fire. He
had asserted that the Pope was capable of committing a sin. He had
declared that the Pope was not to be obeyed unless his commands were
in accordance with Scripture, and thus had placed the authority of
the Bible above the authority of the Pope. He had attacked the
Doctrine of Transubstantiation, and had thus denied the power of the
priests "to make the Body of Christ." Above all, in his volume, "De
Ecclesia," he had denounced the whole Catholic sacerdotal system,
and had laid down the Protestant doctrine that men could come into
contact with God without the aid of priests. Thus step by step the
way was prepared for the coming revolution in Bohemia. There was
strong patriotic national feeling; there was hatred of the German
priests; there was a growing love for the Bible; there was lack of
respect for the immoral clergy, and lack of belief in the Popes;
there was a vague desire to return to Primitive Christianity; and
all that was needed now was a man to gather these straggling beams
together, and focus them all in one white burning light.




CHAPTER II.

THE BURNING OF HUS.