Several Letters Written In Prison, By Adrian Corneliss, Including A Prayer, An Admonition, And A Confession Of Adrian Corneliss, Glazier, Who Was Imprisoned At Leyden, And Also Put To Death There For The Testimony Of Jesus, In The Year Of Our Lord, 1552.

He said he could read it in Dutch. He then read the passage relating to the forbidding to marry, and the commanding to abstain from meats. 1 Timothy 4:3. I asked him concerning whom this was spoken. He replied that he did not know.

Adrian. “If you are a teacher you ought to know this?”

Priest. “It relates to the end of the world.”

Adrian. “It speaks there of the latter times; now do you mean to say that these are not the latter times?”

Upon this he replied nothing, but said that he had not forbidden marriage, nor meats.

We said: “Your father, the Pope, has done it, and you exerted yourselves with Haman to obtain mandates to put us and our people to death, and contributed in giving the Emperor ten thousand pounds of silver?”

Priest. “I did not.”

Adrian. “Are you Christians? Christians ought not to persecute any one.”

Priest. “We do not persecute you.”

I then asked him, whether the Christian church persecuted, or suffered persecution.

Priest. “It suffers persecution.”

I asked him wherein he suffered persecution, whether we were not the ones that suffer persecution.

Priest. “We suffer persecution from the devil.”

We then demanded to know where it was written that we might be put to death for our faith. He replied that it was ordained on account of the evil sects. We said: “We belong to no sect.”

Priest. “It is suspected that it might also be the case with you.”

Thereupon Dirk Jans said: “Is a man hanged because he is suspected of having stolen, though he has not done so? So neither may we be put to death before we are convicted.”

The priest finally went away. We had silenced him in many things concerning which he had no understanding. I also said that he was one of those who rob God of his glory by their confession, presuming to forgive sins. Herein he was likewise defeated, whereupon he went away. I hope that we shall soon offer up our sacrifice together.

O my dear friends, see that you exercise a care for one another, and walk prudently; because men are so incensed, and make such strenuous efforts to apprehend our brethren, wherever they find them. Hence, walk a little more wisely herein, than some of you do for, dear friends, if the Lord permitted it, they would deal roughly with them if they had them. Therefore, take it in good part; for there are so few laborers in the harvest; hence, take good care of them that are in it. Moreover, dear friends, when you meet to speak of the word of the Lord, spend not your time in idle talk, and old wives’ fables, but exercise yourselves in godliness, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and stand protected in all things; and always give diligence, in honor to build up the spiritual temple until the appearing of the Lord. 1. Tim. 4:7; Eph. 6:13; 1 Pet. 2:5. He that is holy let him become holier still; he that is pure, let him become purer still; as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, that they need not that he should write unto them, but he said that they should increase more and more. Rev. 22:11; 1 Thess. 4:9,10. Thus also you, my dear brethren. Read the exhortation I have written you, which will no doubt be shown you. Salute all the friends in the Lord, especially our brother G., who is a faithful minister; all that are in bonds salute him, and they also greet all lovers of the truth. We commend you to the Lord; know, that we are all of good cheer yet; the Lord be praised always.

My dear friends, I must write you yet a little more. The paper was not sufficient before, for, dear friends, paper is a precious article when we are in bonds; but as Habakkuk brought me some more, I write you a few additional lines, concerning certain things that occurred in our imprisonment, which were forgotten before. It happened that the servant who had betrayed me, came to bring us our food. I then asked him to forgive me, if I had injured him in any way, and thus I often talked to him as kindly as I could, which we are commanded to do. Matthew 5:44. He replied: “You have not injured me, nor have any of your people.” My kind words, and the love I manifested, caused him to feel ashamed that he had betrayed me, and that I spoke to him so affectionately. Rom. 12:20.

A few more things about the priest that came to instruct us. I asked him whether he had faith. “Yes,” he replied.

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Adrian. “If you should sit here in prison with us for a month, I think you would deny your faith.”