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church; and his influence and riches enabled him with more boldness to take a decided part in opposing its usurped authority. Having clearly seen, from a careful perusal of the Scriptures, the only way of salvation through faith in the righteousness of Christ, he was exceedingly desirous of communicating the same knowledge of divine truth to others. For this purpose he abandoned his mercantile pursuits, distributed his wealth among the poor; and, while they flocked to him to partake of his alms, he laboured to impress upon their minds the paramount importance of eternal concerns. But the ardent desire of Waldo to instruct the ignorant, did not stop here. The Latin Bible was the only edition of the Scriptures at that time in Europe, and very few of the people being capable of reading it, this zealous reformer was led either to translate it himself, or procure it to be translated, into the vulgar tongue; thus having the honour of being the first who gave the word of God to the people in any modern language of Europe.* He also maintained, at his own expense, several persons who were employed

* It was not the whole of the sacred volume, however, but parts of it only, which were at this time translated into the French language. The first entire Bible in the French language was translated and printed by Robert Olivetan, a native of the valleys, at Neufchatel, about the year 1535.

to recite and expound his translation to the people; and hence, most probably, proceeded the opinion that he was the founder of the Waldenses,-an opinion which the Roman Catholics were glad to encourage; for it has ever been their object to represent the Waldenses as a sect of recent date, and to vindicate the antiquity of their own superstitions.

Being thus provided with copies of the Scriptures in their own language, the opponents of the Romish church were encouraged to declare themselves with greater boldness, and enabled to prove that the doctrines of their adversaries were in direct opposition to the divine word. The consequences of all this may be easily imagined. So soon as they employed that invincible engine, the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, they were immediately cursed and excommunicated.

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Archbishop of Lyons had already, in 1172, peremptorily forbidden the new reformer" to teach any more, on pain of excommunication, and of being proceeded against as an heretic;" and Waldo having replied, "that, though a layman, he could not be silent in a matter which concerned the salvation of his fellow creatures," Pope Alexander III. cursed him and his adherents, and commanded the Archbishop to proceed against him with the utmost rigour. Waldo was therefore compelled to leave Lyons; and so fierce was the rage of

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the Romish adherents against him, that he had to become a wanderer for the rest of his life. He took refuge at first in Dauphiny, with an intention, probably, of finding his way to the secluded valleys of Pragela or Angrogna, among the Waldenses of Piedmont. But finding that to be impossible, from the rage of persecution in those places through which he had to pass, he retired for a short time to Picardy, where his labours were attended with the most abundant success. Being driven also from thence, he proceeded to Germany, carrying with him the glad tidings of salvation; and at length he settled at Bohemia, where he died, after having been engaged for nearly twenty years in publicly instructing the people. His doc trines, spread extensively in many places; and appear to have so harmonized with those of the Waldenses in the valleys of Piedmont, that, not without reason, they and his follow ers were henceforward considered the same.

Enraged at the rapid spread of doctrines which struck at the very root of Popery, the supporters of that Antichristian system had recourse to fire and sword, as the surest method of ridding themselves of adversaries so dangerous. Thirty-five citizens of Mentz were burned in one fire in the city of Bingen, and eighteen in Mentz. The Bishops of Mentz and Strasburgh were particularly ac

tive in endeavouring to crush the Waldenses, and in the latter city eighty persons were committed to the flames.

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These measures were, however, quite insignificant, compared with the bloody edicts, and their barbarous execution, which speedily followed, for the annihilation of the true people of God. Innocent III. who ascended

the pontifical throne in the year 1192, watched over the Waldenses with a jealous eye, and being destitute alike of justice and of pity, he determined to punish, in the most summary manner, all who held opinions different from those of the Romish church. He accordingly charged his ministers to burn the leaders, to disperse the flocks, and to confis cate the property of every one who did not implicitly believe in all the sayings of that apostate church; in consequence of which, many of the Waldensian pastors perished in the flames at Nevers, and other places of France, in 1198, and the years following.

The province of Narbonne was particularly the object of Innocent's attention. In 1193, he sent into it Guy and Regnier, two monks of Citeaux, who may be considered as having laid the foundation of the inquisition. Their commission was to discover and pursue heresy, being invested for that purpose with all the authority of the Holy see. Regnier was subsequently appointed the Pope's legate; but having fallen sick, Innocent joined to him Peter of Castelnau, "whose zeal," says Sismondi, more furious than that of his predecessors, is worthy of those sentiments, which the very name of the inquisition inspires.The mission of the pope's commissaries or inquisitors," continues the same author, “was not, however, limited to scrutinizing the

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