Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

But that was not all; the estate of the mother which had hitherto descended to the father was given by Justinian to the son in power, reserving to the father the use thereof during' life; if, however, the father happened to marry again the use was his only during the minority of his son." In case he emancipated his son after the opening of the maternal succession, he received as a recompense for that benefit, not only the life estate, but one-third of the property' in fee.

These were important innovations, and it is evident that they effected striking improvements in behalf of children; the consciousness of their civil importance had made its appearance in a system which had hitherto enslaved them.

But legislation did not stop here. Constantine had only reached the maternal estate; the successions of uncles fell, therefore, by the ancient law into the hands of the father.* Gratian and Valentinian the Younger assimilated them to the succession of the mother," and that enlargement of the rights of the son of the family was confirmed by Honorius and Arcadius."

The improvements continued under Valentinian III, who deprived the father of his estate in property acquired by his children in power by their marriage.*

Nevertheless, as to other adventitious property, the ancient law was always maintained. The son still lingered under its bondage, and was deprived of the right to sell, to mortgage, or to dispose of his estate by testament; there was a want of unity in his condition; it seemed that there were in him two distinct persons, the one bowed down under the yoke of the severest dependence, and the other initiated to the prerogatives of liberty. Such contrasts are necessarily

1

1 L. 1, 2, 3, C. Theod. de maternis bonis, and the notes of Godefroy. L. 2, C. Theod. loc. cit. See also C. Just de bonis maternis. 'L. 1 and 2, C. Theod. loc. cit. L. 5, 6, Theod. loc. cit. L6, C. Theod. loc. cit. L. 7, C Theod. loc. cit. L. 8, C. Theod. loc. cit. "L. unic. C. Theod. de bonis quæ filiis familias ex matrem.

obliterated by time, but are inevitable in all legislation, composed of successive elements juxtaposed according to diverse systems. Justinian, generalizing the idea of Constantine, gave to the son the property in everything without distinction, which formed a part of his adventitious' estate; the father no longer had more than the usufruct, and in case of emancipation, the usufruct of one-half only, and that prince congratulated himself in the name of humanity for these reforms. But what had led him to comprehend the voice of humanity if it were not Christianity, the source of all clemency and liberal advancement? "Christiana disciplina paulatim patriæ potestatis duritiem emoliente."

Z. HAZARD POTTER

(TO BE CONTINUED).

THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA.

Before the storm of war burst upon unhappy Bohemia, destroying almost every vestige of evangelical religion in it, and substituting for it the government of Jesuits, a great Synod of the Brethren was held in April, 1616, at Zerawitz, a place on the frontiers of Moravia and Hungary. There were present church officers of every rank under the presidency of Archbishop John Lanek. The great work of this Synod was its setting forth of a document, entitled, Ratio disciplinæ ordinisque ecclesiastici in unitate fratrum Bohemiorum. It sets forth fully the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Unitas Fratrum, as then existing, and was adopted one hundred and eleven years later (1727) at Herrnhut by the renewed church as their standard. So that it forms a connecting link, uniting the

[blocks in formation]

Church of Michael Bradaty with that of Count Zinzendorf.

Matters were rapidly approaching a crisis in Bohemia. The compact between the Catholic and Protestant parties proved to be only a hollow truce. The Emperor and his friends declared without concealment, that they would embrace the first convenient opportunity which offered itself to them, to withdraw the privileges which had been unwillingly wrung from them. It was even said that the Majestätsbrief was ipso facto null and void, because it had been granted without the consent of the Pope, who openly protested against it. On the other hand the evangelical Defensors were continually claiming more than had been granted to them, and were doing all that they could to provoke and irritate their Romish adversaries. The attitude of all, and especially of King Ferdinand, left no hope for a peaceful solution of the difficulty. Ferdinand had been educated by the Jesuits, and was through his entire life their slave and tool. "From this fact," says the R. C. historian, "arose his great intolerance and hatred of everything, which was not Roman Catholic." When he was but a youth of twenty, he knelt before the image of Mary at Loretto, and registered a solemn vow, that he would drive all heretics with their teachers, out of Steiermark, Carinthia and Krain, even at the expense of his life. This vow he renewed twenty years later as King of Bohemia and Hungary. He is reported to have said, that sooner than to suffer a heretic to remain in his service, or, even in his dominions, he would rather take a stick in his hand and go about from door to door, with his wife and children, begging his bread. When Rudolf granted toleration to Bohemia, Ferdinand refused a similar petition in Steiermark with the strongest terms of disapprobation. is said, that at his coronation in Bohemia, when he swore to uphold the edict of toleration, he had just before sworn privately in the sacristy, that he would never grant any. thing to heretics, which could be injurious to the Catholic Church! Certainly he was consistent in one trait of char

It

acter-"he kept no faith with heretics." It must also be borne in mind, that he was not the son of the Emperor Matthias, and possessed no hereditary right to the crown of Bohemia. This fact greatly weakened the allegiance of Protestant Bohemians to his authority, and prepared the way for the coming commotions. At his coronation in Moravia the Jesuits prepared a triumphal arch, in which they represented the Austrian arms in the centre, on either side the Moravian eagle and the Bohemian lion chained, and underneath a hare sleeping with open eyes, with the inscription : "This is my way!" On his return Ferdinand formed a privy council of ten members, of whom only three were evangelicals. A censorship was established over the press, so that nothing could be printed against the Roman Church, while its opponents were reviled and calumniated in every possible way. Still another step was taken against the Brethren. On the death of Bishop Matthias Cyrus an attempt was made to rob them of the Bethlehem Church; but the Consistorium defeated the plan. The fortress of Kalstein was taken away from Count Matthias Thurn, because he had opposed the choice of Ferdinand, and was given to Martinitz. The new possessor immediately forbade the administration of Protestant baptisms and burials.

The Protestant churches at Klostergrab and in Brannau were seized by violence, and the former was torn down. On the other hand, many of the Protestant preachers did all they could to inflame the minds of their hearers by furious harangues and reproaches against the Jesuits. Neither side sought the things which make for peace, and who can wonder that war was the result? To add to the difficulty of the situation bitter quarrels prevailed within the Protestant ranks; Lutheran and Calvinist being arrayed against each other in ceaseless feud. The estates of Bohemia at that time possessed (as even Catholic historians admit), greater privileges than the English parliament under James I, who was then on the throne of England. Among those estates were the Protestant leaders, who had

long contended for their religion, till at length they wrung from an unwilling monarch the Majestätsbrief. They called the Emperor to account for the outrages at Klostergrab and Brannau. The Emperor replied that he would consider the coming together of the Defensors an act of treason; since he alone was the Defensor of the empire. This answer was received with great indignation by the Estates. Count Thurn did all he could to increase the excitement. He represented to them that the Emperor's insolent reply had been drawn up by his counsellors at Prag, and only signed at Vienna.

On the eventful morning of the 23d of May, 1618, the Protestant deputies of the Estates, armed and with numerous followers, appeared at the royal palace, and burst with violence into the council chamber where were sitting Lobkowitz, Martinitz, Slawata and Sternberg. With threatening tones they demanded of each, whether he had taken part in the imperial message, or given his assent thereto. Sternberg gave a civil answer, but Martinitz and Slawata were insolent. Then cried Wenzel von Roupow (a member of the Unitas), "Out of the window with them, according to old Bohemian custom!" For Bohemia had a disagreeable way of flinging obnoxious persons out of the window. Lobkowitz and Sternberg were taken by the arm and conducted out of the chamber; while Martinitz and Slawata pleaded to be dealt with legally. But their opponents were too much embittered now to listen to any such pleadings. Several seized Martinitz, crying, "Holy Virgin, save me!" dragged him to the window, and flung him into the court-yard below. "See if your Virgin can save you!" cried Thurn sneeringly, as Martinitz shot through the case"By G, she has saved him!" was his next exclamation, as he looked down in astonishment. The Romish counsellor had fallen sixty feet, lit upon a dungheap, and escaped unhurt. All stood speechless with surprise. Then cried Thurn: "Noblemen, here is the other!" Out went Slawata and was badly, but not danger

ment.

« PredošláPokračovať »