'Firstly, the Lord condemns the Pharisees as blind leaders. Now, do you not think that yours (the Romish priests) are condemned by him?... Those who call themselves saints through their own merits, the only saints of the church, and who wish to lead you by their bulls, pardons, auricular confessions, masses, and other tricks or manœuvres which they have invented out of their own heads ... which the Pharisees never dared do.

'Moreover, the Lord in St. Matthew bears this testimony: There shall arise false prophets in the latter days who will say unto you, Lo, here is Christ or there![609] Do they not tell you that Christ is there ... in the inner part of the holy house, hidden in the farthest place, in a vessel? Do not believe them. The true Christ is he who hath ransomed us with his blood. Seek him by a real faith at the right hand of the Father, and not in a house, in a cupboard, in the pyx ... as your new redeemers and high-priests do.

'And what says Jesus Christ to-day for the fuller identification of the false prophets? He not only says that they come in sheep's clothing, but that they walk in long robes, devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers.[610] The Lord does not forbid wearing long robes for the necessities of the body, but the hypocritical superstitions connected with them, the wearers esteeming themselves holier than the laity, by being dressed, shaven, and shorn differently from us.... Yes, by such means they have devoured widows; I do not mean to say that they eat women; it is a manner of speaking, as we say of tyrants that they devour their people, and of lawyers that they devour their clients, that is to say, their substance; and not that they eat men's flesh, as the cannibals do. They break their bones (to get at the marrow), says a prophet, and eat the flesh of my people, as flesh within the caldron.[611]

'Look now, O people, I pray you, and judge for yourselves. Tell us who are those who wear such clothing, such long robes, who devour widows, making long prayers for show.... You know very well it is not us, for we are dressed like other people; but if your priests were to dress like us they would be apostate and excommunicate.

'Nay more, we do not lead poor people to understand that they ought to bring us a portion of their goods, and that then we will save them; that praying for them and the dead, we will bring them out of purgatory.... But your priests do so, and under such pretexts they have dragged into their paws almost all the riches of the earth; and not a word must be said about it ... for whosoever speaks of it will suddenly be put to death, or be excommunicated, or called heretic and Lutheran.

'Ah! Jesus Christ, St. Paul, and the other apostles paint them so truly to the life that there is no one so blind or stupid as not to recognise them easily, except those who are afraid of losing their soup-tickets. The Holy Scriptures call them wells without water, anti-christs, despisers of the Lord, and say that they give heed to doctrines of devils, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thankfulness of them which believe.'[612]

While Froment was thus haranguing the people in the Molard, the magistrates assembled in the hotel-de-ville learnt from the chief usher that the sermon was still going on. The syndics were exasperated. The canons and priests argued that as the civil power was helpless, they ought to take the matter into their own hands, and, grasping their arms, prepared to descend. At the same time, the council being resolved to make an example, ordered the preachers to be apprehended wherever they were found; and consequently the lieutenant of police, the procurator-fiscal, with sergeants, soldiers, and priests, marched in a large body to the Molard, angry and indignant at the evangelist's boldness, and determined to throw him into prison. If Farel had been placed beyond their reach, Froment at least should not escape. While this excited band was descending the Perron with deadly intentions, Froment, who either had no suspicion, or did not care about it, was continuing his discourse to the people of Geneva.

'There are many other passages of scripture,' he said, 'which might be brought forward for a stronger proof; but these must suffice to put you in a position to judge whether we or your pastors are false prophets. There is none among you who does not know that we do not forbid marriage or meats; that we declare marriage holy, ordained from the beginning of the world to all such as have not the gift of continence, without any distinction of persons. But the pope does otherwise, and says that he who hath not a lawful wife may keep a concubine (Distinctio xxxiv. cap. xvi. Qui non habet uxorem, loco illius concubinam habere potest); for, he adds, I desire that they be holy.... Verily a wonderful holiness is that!... I make you all judges. You have long known them better than I have.

'As for meats, we leave every man free, as our Lord has done, exhorting the people to use them profitably, without excess or superfluity, giving thanks to God.... But these do the very opposite. Although Christ was sent by the Father to teach us the truth, they bring us lies, dreams, false doctrines, prohibitions of marriage and of meats, and all sorts of nonsense, as if they were holy things.'...

=THE SERMON INTERRUPTED.=