When he left the court he was attended by a priest, who had borne him the greatest respect. On his arrival at the prison he entered the cell allotted for his confinement with great tranquility; and on taking leave of the priest, thus addressed him: Adieu, father, we shall meet again at the day of judgment, and then it will appear on which side the truth is, whether on my side, or on yours.
During his confinement, he was several times tortured in the most cruel manner, till, at length, the severity of the punishments overpowered his strength, and finished his existence.
The death of Molinos struck such an impression on his followers, that the greater part of them soon abjured his mode; and by the assiduity of the Jesuits, Quietism was totally extirpated throughout the country.
_An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia under the Papacy._
The Roman pontiffs having usurped a power over several churches were particularly severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned them to send two ministers and four lay-brothers to Rome, in the year 977, to obtain redress of the pope. After some delay, their request was granted, and their grievances redressed. Two things in particular they were permitted to do, viz. to have divine service performed in their own language, and to give the cup to the laity in the sacrament.
The disputes, however, soon broke out again, the succeeding popes exerting their whole power to impose on the minds of the Bohemians; and the latter, with great spirit, aiming to preserve their religious liberties.
A. D. 1375, some zealous friends of the gospel applied to Charles, king of Bohemia, to call an economical council, for an inquiry into the abuses that had crept into the church, and to make a full and thorough reformation. The king, not knowing how to proceed, sent to the pope for directions how to act; but the pontiff was so incensed at this affair, that his only reply was, severely punish those rash and profane heretics. The monarch, accordingly banished every one who had been concerned in the application, and, to oblige the pope, laid a great number of additional restraints upon the religious liberties of the people.
The victims of persecution, however, were not so numerous in Bohemia, until after the burning of John Huss and Jerom of Prague. These two eminent reformers were condemned and executed at the instigation of the pope and his emissaries, as the reader will perceive by the following short sketch of their lives.