< Page:A history of Bohemian literature.pdf
This page needs to be proofread.

GREGORY'S LETTERS TO ROKYCAN

211

of the three. If God wishes it so, we said, let Him show it. And we prayed to God that He might, should He desire this confirmation by the Waldensian, give such grace to that elder that he might do it from love and in true faith. " And God gave it (grace) to him, that he did it in true faith ; and, encouraging us, he spoke good words and praised God, saying, ' God has done this for the benefit of our salvation.' And then he confirmed these three in their priestly office by laying his hands on them and by prayers, according to the example of the primitive Church and the instructions of the Apostles. And as regards Jesus's having from on high pointed out the three that were chosen, and the one of them who was to have highest rank, he to whom it had been disclosed ' (perhaps Gregory himself) said, Believe firmly that this " we took these two for the ordination

is so.'

Though the later members of the Unity studied the art

is

a

a

It

is,

is

it,

of literary composition, and indeed attained mastership in this was not the case with Brother Gregory. His writing shows that he was entirely absorbed in his endeavour to place his religious views before his former friend and present antagonist, Rokycan, to whom the It has been very difficult to render letter addressed. Gregory's words clearly without entirely altering his manner of writing. The passage quoted above, and indeed the whole Fourth Letter to Rokycan, howthe only account by an ever, worthy of notice. eye-witness of the meeting at Lhotka, which marks the beginning of the Unity, and was written by Brother year after the assembly. Gregory in 1468, only The consequence of the meeting at Lhotka was renewed persecution of the members of the Unity.

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.