obtained coats of arms from emperors or kings as a reward for some
deed of valour." If a man could only buy a coat of arms--a stag, a
gate, a wolf's head, or a sausage--he became thereby a nobleman,
boasted of his high descent, and was regarded by the public as a
saint. For such "nobility" Peter had a withering contempt. He
declared that nobles of this stamp had no right to belong to the
Christian Church. They lived, he said, in flat opposition to the
spirit of Jesus Christ. They devoured the poor. They were a burden
to the country. They did harm to all men. They set their minds on
worldly glory, and spent their money on extravagant dress. "The
men," said he, "wear capes reaching down to the ground, and their
long hair falls down to their shoulders; and the women wear so many
petticoats that they can hardly drag themselves along, and strut
about like the Pope's courtezans, to the surprise and disgust of the
whole world." What right had these selfish fops to call themselves
Christians? They did more harm to the cause of Christ than all the
Turks and heathens in the world.

Thus Peter, belonging to none of the sects, found grievous faults in
them all. As he always mentions the Waldenses with respect, it has
been suggested that he was a Waldensian himself. But of that there
is no real proof. He had, apparently, no organizing skill; he never
attempted to form a new sect or party, and his mission in the world
was to throw out hints and leave it to others to carry these hints
into practice. He condemned the Utraquists because they used the
sword. "If a man," he said, "eats a black pudding on Friday, you
blame him; but if he sheds his brother's blood on the scaffold or on
the field of battle you praise him." He condemned the Taborites
because they made light of the Sacraments. "You have called the Holy
Bread," he said, "a butterfly, a bat, an idol. You have even told