CENT. XVL upon the rights and property of others to augment their possessions, and in contriving the most iniquit ous snares and stratagems for the destruction of their

the Virgin-prior told Jetzer, that she would give him the most affecting and undoubted marks of her Son's love, by imprinting on him the five wounds that pierced Jesus on the cross, as she had done before to St. Lucia and St. Catharine. Accordingly, she took his hand by force, and struck a large nail through it, which threw the poor dupe into the greatest torment. The next night this masculine virgin brought, as she pretended, some of the linen, in which Christ had been buried, to soften the wound, and gave Jetzer a soporific draught, which had in it the blood of an unbaptized child, some grains of incense and of consecrated salt, some quicksilver, the hairs of the eye-brows of a child, all which, with some stupifying and poisonous ingredients, were mingled by the prior with magic ceremonies, and a solemn dedication of himself to the devil in hope of his succour. This draught threw the poor wretch into a sort of lethargy, during which the monks imprinted on his body the other four wounds of Christ in such a manner that he felt no pain. When he awoke he found, to his unspeakable joy, these impressions on his body, and came at last to fancy himself a representative of Christ in the various parts of his passion. He was, in this state, exposed to the admiring multitude on the principal altar of the convent, to the great mortification of the Franciscans. The Dominicans gave him some other draughts, that threw him into convulsions, which were followed by a voice conveyed through a pipe into the mouths of two images, one of Mary, the other of the child Jesus; the former of which had tears painted upon its cheeks in a lively manner. The little Jesus asked his mother, by means of this voice, (which was that of the prior,) why she wept; and she answered, that her tears were occasioned by the impious manner in which the Franciscans attributed to her the honor that was due to him, in saying that she was conceived and born without sin.

The apparitions, false prodigies, and abominable stratagens: of these Dominicans, were repeated every night; and the matter was at length so grossly over-acted, that, simple as Jetzer was, hé at last discovered it, and had almost killed the prior, who: appeared to him one night in the form of the Virgin with a crown on her head. The Dominicans, fearing, by this discovery, to lose the fruits of their imposture, thought the best method would be to own the whole matter to Jetzer, and to engage him, by the most seducing promises of opulence and glory, to carry on the delusion. He was persuaded, or at least appeared to be i so. But the Dominicans, suspecting that he was not entirely gained over, resolved to poison him. His constitution was so vigorous, that though they gave him poison five times, he was not destroyed by it. One day they sent him a loaf prepared

adversaries; and they were the principal counsellors CENT. XVI by whose instigation and advice Leo X. was determined to that most rash and imprudent measure, even the public condemnation of Luther.

XIII. The principal places in the public schools of The state of learning were filled very frequently by monks of the of the public mendicant orders. This unhappy circumstance pre-schools. vented their emerging from that ignorance and darkness which had so long enveloped them; and it also rendered them inaccessible to that auspicious light of improved science, whose salutary beams had already been felt in several of the European countries. The instructors of youth, dignified with the venerable titles of artists, grammarians, philosophers, and dialecticians, loaded the memories of their laborious pupils with a certain quantity of barbarous terms, arid and senseless distinctions, and scholastic precepts delivered in the most inelegant style; and all such as

with some spices, which growing green in a day or two, he threw a piece of it to a wolf's whelps that were in the monastery, and it killed them immediately. At another time they poisoned the host; but, as he vomited it soon after he had taken it, he escaped once more. In short, there were no means of securing him, which the most detestable impiety and barbarity could invent, that they did not put in practice, till, finding at last an opportunity of getting out of the convent, he threw himself into the hands of the magistrates, to whom he made a full discovery of this infernal plot. This intelligence being sent to Rome, commissaries were ordered to examine the affair; and the whole imposture being fully proved, the four friars were solemnly degraded from their priesthood, and were burned alive on the last day of May, 1509. Jetzer died some time after at Constance, having poisoned himself, as was believed by some. Had his life been taken away before he had found an opportunity of making the discovery already mentioned, this execrable and horrid plot, which, in many of its circumstances, was conducted with art, would have been handed down to posterity as a stupendous miracle. This is a very brief account of the matter; such as are desirous of a more circumstantial relation of this.. famous imposture, may consult the authors mentioned in the beginning of this note.

See Bilib. Pirkheiméri Epistola ad Hadrianum Pontif. Maxim. de Dominicanorum flagitiis, in operibus ejus, p. 372. This letter is also to be found in Gerdesii Introd. ad Histor. Renovati Evangelii, tom. i. p. 170. Append.bepet er

CENT. XVI. could repeat this jargon with readiness and rapidity, were considered as men of uncommon eloquence and erudition. The whole body of the philosophers extolled Aristotle beyond measure, while scarcely any studied him, and none understood him; for what was now exhibited, as the philosophy of that celebrated sage, was really nothing more than a confused and motley heap of obscure notions, sentences, and divisions, which even the public doctors, and heads of schools were unable to comprehend; and if, among these thorns of scholastic wisdom, there was any thing that had the appearance of fruit, it was crushed and blasted by the furious wranglings and disputes of the Scotists and Thomists, the Realists and Nominalists, whose clamors and contentions were unhappily heard in all the European colleges.

The state of

XIV, The wretched and senseless manner of teachtheology ing theology in this century, may be learned from many books yet extant, which were written by the divines of that period, and which, in reality, have no other merit than their enormous bulk. There were very few expositors of the Scriptures during this century; and scarcely any of the Christian doctors had a critical acquaintance with the sacred oracles. This kind of knowlege was so rare, that, when Luther arose, there could not be found, even in the university of Paris, which was regarded as the first and most famous of all the public schools of learning, a single person qualified to dispute with him, or oppose his doctrine upon a scriptural foundation. Any commentators, that were at this time to be found, were such as, laying aside all attention to the true meaning and force of the words of Scripture, which their profound ignorance of the original languages and of the rules of criticism rendered them incapable of investigating, gave a loose to their vain and irregular fancies, in the pursuit of mysterious significations. The greatest part of the public teachers belonged to the classes of divines, already mentioned under the titles of Positivi and Sententiarii, who

were extremely fond, the former of loading their CENT. XVI, accounts, both of the truths and precepts of religion, with multiplied quotations and authorities from the writings of the ancient doctors; the latter of explaining the doctrines of the Gospel by the rules of a subtile and intricate philosophy,

XV. It must at the same time be observed, that The liberty of debatir g the divines of this century disputed with great freedom religious upon religious subjects, even upon those which were subjects. looked upon as most essential to salvation. There were several points of doctrine, which had not yet been determined by the authority of the church; nor did the pontiffs, without some very urgent reason, restrain the right of private judgement, or force the consciences of men, except in those cases where doctrines were adopted that seemed detrimental to the supremacy of the apostolic see, or to the temporal interests of the sacerdotal and monastic orders. Hence it is, that we could mention many Christian doctors before Luther, who inculcated not only with impunity, but even with applause, the very same tenets that afterwards drew upon him such heavy accusations and such bitter reproaches; and it is beyond all doubt, that this great reformer might have propagated these opinions without any danger of molestation, had he not pointed his warm remonstrances against the opulence of Rome, the overgrown fortunes of the bishops, the majesty of the pontiffs, and the towering ambition of the Dominicans.

worship as it

time.

XVI. The public worship of the Deity was now The nature no more than a pompous round of external cere, of religious monies, the greatest part of which were insignificant was celebraand senseless, and much more adapted to dazzle the ted at this eyes than to touch the heart. Of those who were at all qualified to administer public intruction to the people the number was not very considerable; and their discourses, which contained little beside fictitious reports of miracles and prodigies, insipid fables, wretched quibbles, and illiterate jargon, deceived instead of instructing the multitude. Several of these

CENT.XVA sermons are yet extant, which it is impossible to read without the highest indignation and contempt. Those who, on account of their gravity of manners, or their supposed superiority in point of wisdom and knowlege, held the most distinguished rank among these vain declaimers, had a common-place set of subjects allotted to them, on which they were constantly exercising the force of their lungs and the power of their eloquence. These subjects were, the authority of the holy mother church, and the obligation of obedience to her decisions; the virtues and merits of the saints, and their credit in the court of heaven; the dignity, glory, and love of the blessed Virgin; arwhat the efficacy of relics; the duty of adorning churches, and endowing monasteries; the necessity of good works (as that phrase was then understood) to salvation; the intolerable burnings of purgatory, and the utility of indulgences. Such were the topics that employed the zeal and labors of the most eminent doctors of this century; and they were, indeed, the only subjects that could tend to fill the coffers of the good old mother church, and advance her temporal interests. Ministers who would have taken it into their heads to inculcate the doctrines and precepts of the Gospel, to exhibit the example of its divine author, and the efficacy of his mediation, as the most powerful motives to righteousness and virtue, and to represent the love of God and mankind as the great duties of the Christian life, would have been very unprofitable servants to the church and to the papacy, however they might have promoted the cause of virtue and the salvation of souls.

able condi

general.

The corrupt XVII. From this state of affairs we may draw and miser- conclusions respecting the true causes of that incredition of the ble ignorance in religious matters, which reigned in people in all countries, and among all ranks and orders of men; an ignorance accompanied with the vilest forms of superstition, and the greatest corruption of manners. The clergy were far from shewing the least disposition to enlighten the ignorance, or to check the