A Letter From Jaques De Somere, Sent To His Mother, At Ghent.

The other, named Hendrick Terwoort, was a handsome, wealthy man of thirty-five or six years, a goldsmith by trade, and had only been married eight or ten weeks previous to his apprehension.

These two, as no disputing of the Dutch and French preachers could move them to subscribe the articles, but were much rather confirmed in their views through the cruelty and unchristian proceeding of those who boast themselves of the gospel and the true faith, notwithstanding that many Englishmen as well as Dutchmen solicited pardon for them, were, nevertheless, the 22d of July, at six o’clock in the morning; in Smithfield (where they formerly used to burn persons belonging to our religion) most miserably burnt alive at a stake, till consumed to ashes, without any strangling or gun-powder, according to the custom of the country, on the Friday after that on the preceding Tuesday the stake had been erected. I doubt not but that the Queen consented to it with reluctance, but was persuaded thereto by some papists or other perverse persons and enemies of the truth, of whom there are many here; who made her believe that the Anabaptists (which religion is unknown to this nation), not only deny God and Christ; and thus overthrow the salvation of souls, but that they also reject all secular politics, laws and authorities, and instigate the people to sedition and rebellion, teaching that the office of the magistracy is ungodly and unchristian, whereby mostly, I doubt not, she became incensed against them, so that she would not even receive their supplication.

969

May the Lord forgive those who were the cause and authors of this, and so greatly slandered these poor people before Her Majesty, as you may judge from this their confession, which they subscribed in my presence, with their own hands: which though it does not satisfy me in every respect, and I greatly fear that they labor under a misapprehension as regards the point of Christ’s first conception and the origin of his flesh; yet, since they with expressed words confess in a Christian manner, and have often orally confessed in my presence, that Christ is true God and true man, like unto us in flesh and blood and all other things, except sin alone; I am so far from deeming them worthy of any capital punishment, that I would not hesitate to recognize them as brethren and do not doubt their salvation, provided they have feared the Lord, and walked before him in a good conscience; for our God is a merciful and gracious God, who does not condemn men for this or that misapprehension and error, but much rather graciously forgives their weakness and infirmity, for his Son Christ Jesus’ sake, if it does not arise from stubbornness, but from pure ignorance, even as Paul says of himself, that he obtained mercy with God, because he had sinned ignorantly (1 Timothy 1:13); and the error does not concern the fundamental doctrines of the faith, but the accessories of it, as is the case with these Anabaptists.

As regards the two young men that are still left, they continue as firm and steadfast as ever, and daily expect to have the same punishment inflicted upon them.

Lucas and I sought, if it were possible, to help them out of prison (four days after the others had been executed), and had with much talking brought the matter so far that they subscribed the confession (a copy of which I herewith send you), hoping that the bishop should be satisfied with it; who, when he had read it, found it good enough, but would nevertheless not accept it graciously, except they would subscribe the first four articles without any contradiction, and unite with the Dutch church, which they had resolved not to do, even though they were entirely and in every respect of our belief because they would thereby have to condemn the two executed, and all others of their fellow-believers (who died or still live in the same faith), and confess that they had been led into damnable heresy by the devil, the spirit of lies and error, in which they say that they, in their consciences, in no wise believe, but that they are much more assured of their salvation in Christ, who is true God and true man, and because they would greatly offend God, as they say by saying all these things against their conscience.

Hence there is nothing known but that they will have to suffer the same punishment which their associates suffered; and this the more, because they attempted to break out of prison, by filing off an iron bar from a window, for which reason they are now also fettered much more heavily than ever before, and should consider themselves fortunate, if they, the sooner the better, could be released through death from the great poverty and misery of the imprisonment, since they are both confined apart, so that they cannot comfort each other, and no one may come there and speak to them, on pain of being held himself.