第 6 节
作者:铲除不公      更新:2021-02-20 18:50      字数:9322
  municipal building; could only be held by Catholics; while in Article
  33 it was ordained that when a procession carrying the Host passed a
  place of worship belonging to the so…called Reformers; the
  worshippers should stop their psalm…singing till the procession had
  gone by; and lastly; in Article 34 it was enacted that the houses and
  other buildings belonging to those who were of the Reformed religion
  might; at the pleasure of the town authorities; be draped with cloth
  or otherwise decorated on any religious Catholic festival。
  In 1669 the Chambers appointed by the Edict of Nantes in the
  Parliaments of Rouen and Paris were suppressed; as well as the
  articled clerkships connected therewith; and the clerkships in the
  Record Office; and in August of the same year; when the emigration of
  Protestants was just beginning; an edict was issued; of which the
  following is a clause :
  〃Whereas many of our subjects have gone to foreign countries; where
  they continue to follow their various trades and occupations; even
  working as shipwrights; or taking service as sailors; till at length
  they feel at home and determine never to return to France; marrying
  abroad and acquiring property of every description: We hereby forbid
  any member of the so…called Reformed Church to leave this kingdom
  without our permission; and we command those who have already left
  France to return forthwith within her boundaries。〃
  In 1670 the king excluded physicians of the Reformed faith from the
  office of dean of the college of Rouen; and allowed only two
  Protestant doctors within its precincts。  In 1671 a decree was
  published commanding the arms of France to be removed from all the
  places of worship belonging to the pretended Reformers。  In 1680 a
  proclamation from the king closed the profession of midwife to women
  of the Reformed faith。  In 1681 those who renounced the Protestant
  religion were exempted for two years from all contributions towards
  the support of soldiers sent to their town; and were for the same
  period relieved from the duty of giving them board and lodging。  In
  the same year the college of Sedan was closedthe only college
  remaining in the entire kingdom at which Calvinist children could
  receive instruction。  In 1682 the king commanded Protestant notaries;
  procurators; ushers; and serjeants to lay down their offices;
  declaring them unfit for such professions; and in September of the
  same year three months only were allowed them for the sale of the
  reversion of the said offices。  In 1684 the Council of State extended
  the preceding regulations to those Protestants holding the title of
  honorary secretary to the king; and in August of the same year
  Protestants were declared incapable of serving on a jury of experts。
  In 1685 the provost of merchants in Paris ordered all Protestant
  privileged merchants in that city to sell their privileges within a
  month。  And in October of the same year the long series of
  persecutions; of which we have omitted many; reached its culminating
  pointthe: Revocation of the Edict of Nantes。  Henri IV; who foresaw
  this result; had hoped that it would have occurred in another manner;
  so that his co…religionists would have been able to retain their
  fortresses; but what was actually done was that the strong places
  were first taken away; and then came the Revocation; after which the
  Calvinists found themselves completely at the mercy of their mortal
  enemies。
  》From 1669; when Louis first threatened to aim a fatal blow at the
  civil rights of the Huguenots; by abolishing the equal partition of
  the Chambers between the two parties; several deputations had been
  sent to him praying him to stop the course of his persecutions; and
  in order not to give him any fresh excuse for attacking their party;
  these deputations addressed him in the most submissive manner; as the
  following fragment from an address will prove:
  〃In the name of God; sire;〃 said the Protestants to the king; 〃listen
  to the last breath of our dying liberty; have pity on our sufferings;
  have pity on the great number of your poor subjects who daily water
  their bread with their tears: they are all filled with burning zeal
  and inviolable loyalty to you; their love for your august person is
  only equalled by their respect; history bears witness that they
  contributed in no small degree to place your great and magnanimous
  ancestor on his rightful throne; and since your miraculous birth they
  have never done anything worthy of blame; they might indeed use much
  stronger terms; but your Majesty has spared their modesty by
  addressing to them on many occasions words of praise which they would
  never have ventured to apply to themselves; these your subjects place
  their sole trust in your sceptre for refuge and protection on earth;
  and their interest as well as their duty and conscience impels them
  to remain attached to the service of your Majesty with unalterable
  devotion。〃
  But; as we have seen; nothing could restrain the triumvirate which
  held the power just then; and thanks to the suggestions of Pere
  Lachaise and Madame de Maintenon; Louis XIV determined to gain heaven
  by means of wheel and stake。
  As we see; for the Protestants; thanks to these numerous decrees;
  persecution began at the cradle and followed them to the grave。
  As a boy; a Huguenot couldenter no public school; as a youth; no
  career was open to him; he could become neither mercer nor concierge;
  neither apothecary nor physician; neither lawyer nor consul。  As a
  man; he had no sacred house; of prayer; no registrar would inscribe
  his marriage or the birth of his children; hourly his liberty and his
  conscience were ignored。  If he ventured to worship God by the
  singing of psalms; he had to be silent as the Host was carried past
  outside。  When a Catholic festival occurred; he was forced not only
  to swallow his rage but to let his house be hung with decorations in
  sign of joy; if he had inherited a fortune from his fathers; having
  neither social standing nor civil rights; it slipped gradually out of
  his hands; and went to support the schools and hospitals of his foes。
  Having reached the end of his life; his deathbed was made miserable;
  for dying in the faith of his fathers; he could not be laid to rest
  beside them; and like a pariah he would be carried to his grave at
  night; no more than ten of those near and dear to him being allowed
  to follow his coffin。
  Lastly; if at any age whatever he should attempt to quit the cruel
  soil on which he had no right to be born; to live; or to die; he
  would be declared a rebel; his goads would be confiscated; and the
  lightest penalty that he had to expect; if he ever fell into the
  hands of his enemies; was to row for the rest of his life in the
  galleys of the king; chained between a murderer and a forger。
  Such a state of things was intolerable: the cries of one man are lost
  in space; but the groans of a whole population are like a storm; and
  this time; as always; the tempest gathered in the mountains; and the
  rumblings of the thunder began to be heard。
  First there were texts written by invisible hands on city walls; on
  the signposts and cross…roads; on the crosses in the cemeteries:
  these warnings; like the 'Mene; Mene; Tekel; Upharsin' of Belshazzar;
  even pursued the persecutors into the midst of their feasts and
  orgies。
  Now it was the threat; 〃Jesus came not to send peace; but a sword。〃
  Then this consolation; 〃For where two or three are gathered together
  in My name; there am I in the midst of them。〃  Or perhaps it was this
  appeal for united action which was soon to become a summons to
  revolt; 〃That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you; that
  ye also may have fellowship with us。〃
  And before these promises; taken from the New Testament; the
  persecuted paused; and then went home inspired by faith in the
  prophets; who spake; as St。 Paul says in his First Epistle to the
  Thessalonians; 〃not the word of men but the word of God。〃
  Very soon these words became incarnate; and what the prophet Joel
  foretold came to pass: 〃Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;
  your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions;。。。
  and I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood and
  fire;。。。 and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the
  name of the Lord shall be delivered。〃
  In 1696 reports began to circulate that men had had visions; being
  able to see what was going on in the most distant parts; and that the
  heavens themselves opened to their eyes。  While in this ecstatic
  state they were insensible to pain when pricked with either pin or
  blade; and when; on recovering consciousness; they were questioned
  they could remember nothing。
  The first of these was a woman from Vivarais; whose origin was
  unknown。  She went about from town to town; shedding tears of blood。
  M。 de Baville; intendant of Languedoc; had her arrested and brought
  to Montpellier。  There she was condemned to death and burnt at the
  stake; her tears of blood being dried by fire。
  After her came a second fanatic; for so these popular prophets were
  called。  He was born at Mazillon; his name was Laquoite; and he was
  twenty years of age。  The gift of