together in His name He would be in the midst of them;12 and
rejoiced that they, the chosen of God, had been called to suffer for
the truth and the Church that was yet to be.

In vain they appealed to Rockycana; he had done with them for ever.
"Thou art of the world," they wrote, "and wilt perish with the
world." They were said to have made a covenant with the devil, and
were commonly dubbed "Pitmen" because they lived in pits and caves.
Yet not for a moment did they lose hope. At the very time when the
king in his folly thought they were crushed beneath his foot, they
were in reality increasing in numbers every day. As their
watch-fires shone in the darkness of the forests, so their pure
lives shone among a darkened people. No weapon did they use except
the pen. They never retaliated, never rebelled, never took up arms
in their own defence, never even appealed to the arm of justice.
When smitten on one cheek, they turned the other; and from
ill-report they went to good report, till the King for very shame
had to let them be. Well aware was he that brutal force could never
stamp out spiritual life. "I advise you," said a certain Bishop, "to
shed no more blood. Martyrdom is somewhat like a half-roasted joint
of meat, apt to breed maggots."

And now the time drew near for Gregory's dream to come true. When
the Brethren settled in the valley of Kunwald they had only done
half their work. They had quitted the "benighted" Church of Rome;
they had not yet put a better Church in her place. They had settled
on a Utraquist estate; they were under the protection of a Utraquist
King; they attended services conducted by Utraquist priests. But
this black-and-white policy could not last for ever. If they wished
to be godly men themselves, they must have godly men in the pulpits.