1. Although the abolition of the Edict of Nantes was Louis XIV's personal act, the Catholic Church in France approved of it and most French people supported it

2. At that time, the Huguenots were the most industrious, enterprising and loyal subjects of the country under Louis XIV.

3. The courtiers all praised the king's plan to exterminate the Huguenots. "Destroy them" became a joke among courtiers

4. Even the French Academy, originally founded by the Huguenots, openly approved of the king's annulment of the Edict of Nantes

5. The abolition of the Edict of Nantes was also welcomed by the lower classes, who went out everywhere to loot and destroy Protestant churches.

6. The Jesuit priests were even more elated and delighted by the abolition of the Edict of Nantes.

7. When the Huguenots were driven from France in persecution, they took with them something far more valuable than their anger: they took with them their virtue, their piety, their industry, their bravery, which proved to be all Wealth and spirit in the country. The source of freedom and character

1. The apostate Mr. Pauler's 11-year-old daughter refused to give up her faith like her father. She endured great persecution and refused to give in, and finally gained freedom.

2. Repeated incidents of persecution - churches destroyed, beliefs suppressed - forced Protestants to unite to stem the tide of injustice.

3. "I am sure that the whole world and our posterity will be astonished," said Brunson, "that so many respectful petitions, so many complaints of persecution, and so many reasons for a change of attitude, should have produced no favorable result to the Protestants. as a result of."

4. The martyrdom of Pastor Hormel: He was first branded 40 times with a red iron. When the bones in his body were shattered by the rotation of the wheel, he said to his wife: "Goodbye, my dear wife, Though you see my bones broken to pieces, my soul is filled with joy that is indescribable.”

5. One day, Brunson, who was in poor health, suddenly sat up from the bed and said to his wife: "I must set out. I should go to comfort those brothers who are groaning in pain under cruel oppression and reduce their suffering. , and cheer them on.”

6. Brunson said: "When God allows his believers to die for preaching the gospel, then the educational effect of this death is far greater than the role they play in practicing morality while living in the world."

7. No amount of persuasion could change his mind, no amount of danger could stop him. He will help the oppressed Protestants with brotherly love, with the faith of a preacher, with the courage of a martyr.

1. The Huguenots in the Languedoc region were brave, hard-working, passionate people with a natural love of freedom.

2. It was the Huguenots of the Languedoc who first questioned the spiritual and conscientious despotic authority of the Holy See.

3. Conde Foix said: "For me, the Pope has nothing to do with religious belief. Everyone is free in conscience. My father recommended this freedom to me, and I am willing to die for it."

4. Although we are given their outer bodies, they are victorious in their souls. And it is in the depths of the soul that faith resides. Only by completing the occupation of its soul can our religious faith stand solemnly. "

5. They cannot abandon their own beliefs and accept the beliefs of others, even if this person is their king

6. These poor people are convinced that they have the same supreme rights as others. Among these rights, they maintained that the right of conscience was a vital right.

7. Singing Marlowe's hymns at night, they fancied they heard heavenly sounds filling the air amid the echoes of the narrow stone walls around them.

1. Messengers brought news from all over that uprisings were taking place in the mountains of Lozère and the Eiger, near Andiz and Ales, and even as far as the coast in the vast area around Nîmes and Calvezon.

2. Cavalier was so bold that he would leave the mountains and plunder the Catholic villages around Nîmes; he fought, preached, and plundered Catholic churches without delay.

3. The Waldensian peasants were almost always unarmed, and their only crime was their faith.

4. Cavalier then marched south to Kodiak, determined to find an opportunity to surprise all Emmagus: he wanted to annihilate the local militia in Emmagus. These militiamen were the source of all the suffering and misfortune of the local Protestants.

5. In order to make his subjects conform to a belief, Louis XIV exiled almost half a million people, in addition to pushing thousands of people to the gallows, dungeons, or forcing them to do hard labor.

6. As for rest, we often go out to find a village at night, or go to the woods to find a sheepfold to sleep; if we suddenly find a stone or a piece of wood that can be used as a pillow, we will feel happy. In this environment, we sleep as sweetly and deeply as if we were lying on the bed.

1. Persecution befell the Huguenots from the day they were born and continued unabated until their death.

2. It is difficult to argue with a priest if he has an executioner behind him, or a king with an army of hundreds of thousands.

3. As the Huguenots were being tied up in chains and taken to the seaside for hard labor, the exhausted Huguenots could no longer bear the weight of the chains. They couldn't help but take off their wooden cups and ask for a drop of water from the villagers on the roadside. drink. They generally asked women for it, but the women responded to their requests in vicious terms: "Get out of here, get out of here," they shouted, "you can drink as much as you want when you get there."

4. In order for the overseer's whip to be effective, the Huguenot convicts who served as oarsmen on the ships were naked while working. They wore neither summer nor winter clothes. They only covered their lower bodies with a piece of red cloth because they were shackled and could not wear any clothes.

5. The Chaoguenot oarsman was secured to his chair by a chain just long enough to swing his feet back and forth as he rowed. At night, these convicts lay down where they were, sleeping on the chairs they had marked for the day. There was no place for him to lie down. He never had to think about leaving that chair except to go to the doctor or to the grave.

6. These convicts ate bread and drank seawater. They seem to have been abandoned by the world. Some convicts worked in that chair for thirty or forty years.

7. These convicts ate bread and drank seawater. They seem to have been abandoned by the world. Some convicts worked in that chair for thirty or forty years.

8. However, the vast majority of Huguenots did not want to be hypocrites and lie to God. With a brave and fearless spirit - some people call it stubbornness - they chose to stay on the ship and do hard labor for a lifetime.

1. People are not allowed to attend the party! You know, if you are caught participating in such a gathering, the priest will be tattooed to death, and most people will have to do hard labor on the ship for life. What a punishment!

2. Just imagine: a profession that almost means death still requires students, how wonderful it is! However, there are many enthusiastic young people who are willing to serve this forbidden church and are willing to die gloriously for him.

3. The only thing that can inspire nobility and greatness in a soul is piety. It is piety that sustains us in the most dangerous situations; it is piety that helps us win in the face of the most serious difficulties.

4. An upright soul will be upright and stride forward.

5. Those students who aspired to become Huguenot priests returned from Switzerland after completing their studies to engage in a career that required their lives. They have been educated in schools designed to train martyrs, and now they are going to preach at religious gatherings - they are already on the road to the gallows.

1. Persecution thrives in France because people have lost their sense of personal freedom.

2. Although Voltaire hated all religions, including Protestantism, he also hated injustice. He claimed that the greatest crime a court could commit in the name of justice was the sentence suffered by Callas.

3. The French people will never forget the energy that Voltaire spent on the Callas case; no matter what attacks he made on religion, in this incident, he indeed listened to the noblest feeling in his heart. Acting impulsively.

4. The legendary story of Jean Fabre, who bravely sacrificed himself and bravely served a lifetime of hard labor in place of his father, shocked Europe, and even more so France.

5. Voltaire said: “It is not enough to prove that intolerance is terrible; we must also prove to the French that it is ridiculous.”

6. Whenever we recall the misfortunes that have befallen the Huguenots in France since the annulment of the Edict of Nantes, whenever we recall the purity, devotion, honesty, industry that they displayed in their lives, the way they performed their religious duties and attended services. That kind of piety, even though they all came from laborers and farmers, we can't help but regard them as the most sincere, great and respectable heroes of their time.

7. When the entire nation became more and more corrupt, these Huguenots, who came from a humble background, became the only steadfast and honest group of people in this society. They were the only ones who still adhered to great ideas and were willing to sacrifice their lives for these ideas.

8. In 1789, Saint-Etienne, a representative of the National Convention, said: "What I ask for is not tolerance, but freedom. Tolerance! Patience! Forgiveness! Mercy! These words themselves are the greatest discrimination against Protestants. If we still recognize the faith Differences in opinions are not sinful words. What tolerance! I ask that the term tolerance be banned: it actually treats us as citizens who need sympathy and mercy, and as criminals who need to be forgiven.”

1. After suffering nearly 700 years of cruel persecution by the Roman Pope, after all the suffering was over, Waldensian believers could worship God freely according to the dictates of their own conscience.

2. In 1243, Pope Innocent II ordered the bishop of Metz to brutally suppress the Waldenses for reading sacred books in vulgar language.

3. The glorious deeds shine with their own light like stars. Although in the end there will only be a few gray words "Here sleeps..." engraved on the tombstone, his light will always shine on people's hearts.

4. "Protestant doctrine is based on individualism: it advocates human freedom of mind."

5. The heroic nature of the Waldensians is reflected in their patience, strength and long-term hard work, rather than resorting to violence to fight violence; in the face of terror and violence, they are always ready to sacrifice their lives, but they will never desecrate their beliefs. and surrender.

6. Mr. Milsom said: "This is Esilor, he is a noble man, and his broken limbs contain a heroic soul."

1. Pierre Dotier was also arrested while holding a party. When he was announced to be sentenced to death, he actually shouted: "Oh, God, what an honor this is! So many people have chosen it." Me, just because I stand for the truth." He was executed in Nîmes and died without fear.

2. The persecution measures continued year after year, and the atrocities were repeated monotonously and tragically: priests were sent to the gallows, men who attended desert gatherings were sent to hard labor, and women and children were imprisoned or imprisoned in convents.

3. Catholics could not even tolerate the smooth burial of Protestants after their death. The Catholic populace displayed a ferocity that bordered on madness.

4. Behold, how low these French monarchs, and the Jesuits, who, since the abolition of the Edict of Nantes, have seized upon the civilizing power of the whole country, have reduced their people to a state of inferiority to beasts.

5. Pastor Kuhl sighed: "Alas, there is nothing new under the eyes. In all generations, the waves of persecution have cleansed the Lord's threshing floor."

1. Before he was 18 years old, Anthony Coure decided to devote his life to serving and preaching to the abandoned and tortured Protestants. This is a noble devotion, and its only earthly reward is labor and hardship.

2. Before he was 18 years old, Anthony Coure decided to devote his life to serving and preaching to the abandoned and tortured Protestants. This is a noble devotion, and its only earthly reward is labor and hardship.

3. The danger to the people was the loss of their freedom, and to those priests who had the courage to stand up and serve their religious needs, the danger was the loss of their lives.

4. Kuhl asked all the faithful to pray for him and that God would give him a new zeal to fulfill the mission he was about to be called to and grant him the virtues necessary to fulfill these missions.

1. Marshal Villars arrived in Nimes at the end of August 1704. Before his arrival, Montreville settled the ledger with Cavalier. Camisa suffered the heaviest blow since the uprising, and Montreville used this to wash away his past shame.

2. Marshal Villar's praise of Cavalier: "This man has no education or any war experience, but he can perform so well in such a bad situation. It makes people feel that he has commanded thousands of armies before. Same. To be honest, only Caesar could fight such a battle."

3. They take up arms in order to have their religious rights recognized, and they will not stop fighting if this is not adequately guaranteed.

4. When Brigadier General Lalande handed his wallet to Cavalier, the leader of Camissa, "No," Cavalier showed a look of contempt on his face, "What we want is not money, but freedom of belief. No." Freedom of belief, let us leave this country.”

5. Cavalier was hailed throughout the Lowlands as the peacemaker of Languedoc.

6. Cavalier, the Cevennes cowherd boy and bakery apprentice, after nearly three years of constant confrontation with the French army, was now coming to sign a peace agreement with France's most famous general.

1. Calvinists all firmly believe in the right of conscience and will never give in. They all regard religion as a matter between man and God, not between man and his ruler or the pope.

2. The Huguenots, whether they were prisoners in shackles or forced to do hard labor at the oars on a ship; whether they were on the run or wearing long robes and fighting bloody battles, Psalms were sung from their mouths.

3. An uprising is like a revolution, its path is not paved with rosewater. In each of these cases, each action provokes the same action in the other; the violence of the oppressor often ultimately inspires the same violence in the oppressed.

4. "We do not have extraordinary strength or resourcefulness," he said. "What really supports us behind the scenes is the inspiration we have received. It is with these inspirations that we can resist the attack of more than 20,000 elite troops; it is also with the help of These inspirations, when we were threatened by severe cold and hunger in the desert or in the mountain village, when we faced great dangers, we never felt sad in our hearts."

1. On the way to the execution ground, Benson and Dong Bolie prayed and sang hymns loudly, completing their lifelong mission with fearless courage and dedication to their faith.

2. And so, amid the roar of rifle fire and the roar of grapeshot, and as his brothers fell one after another around him, Brunson accepted the post of chaplain of the Cevennes.

3. Lou Fleurer, who was responsible for the execution of David Guate, said: "Although the punishment crushed his bones, it could not crush his strong heart: he died of the paganism he believed in."

4. Before Pastor Kollerak was executed, his arms, thighs and feet were strangled with wire. He endured all these tortures with fearless courage. He was only 24 years old when he died heroically. He began his missionary activities at the age of 20, and by the time of his final sacrifice, he had only been fighting for his beloved cause for four years.

5. One might think that after suffering so many years of brutal persecution, their hearts would be filled with condemnation and hatred for the world. But the truth is just the opposite, their hearts are filled only with love.

6. His indomitable spirit, his gentle temper, his patience, his humility, his faith, his hope, and his piety influenced everyone, even the judges who tried him and those who despicably trapped His hypocritical priests, the soldiers who arrested him and all those who witnessed his sacrifice.

7. When Judas, the spy who betrayed Brunson, came to Mr. Bellon, the governor of Oberon Province, and asked for the reward for catching Brunson, Mr. Bellon angrily shouted: "Oh my God, are you watching?" Don't you blush when you see this man whose blood you used to trade? Get out of here! I can't tolerate your existence!"

8. Pavel knew Brunson's personality very well - including his pacifism, his piety, his self-sacrifice and his broad mind. He is said to have commented on one occasion: "It would be very painful if that man had to be put on trial." But now the moment has arrived.

9. Thousands of Huguenot martyrs - power, money and wealth could not bribe them to give up their faith - ended their lives fighting for their faith with their blood in Beru .

1. The abolition of the Edict of Nantes completely deprived French Protestants of their freedom of conscience.

2. Without the intervention of the government and Catholic priests, Protestants could not legitimately give birth, live and die.

3. This was a major purge of French Protestant culture. All Bibles, Gospels, and religious instruction books were collected and publicly burned. Almost all villages and towns were set on fire

4. Even when Protestants were dying, they continued to have trouble. Priests have the right to rush into the room, go to their bedside, offer these poor people Last Communion, and demand that they convert to Catholicism

5. If they are not allowed to enjoy spiritual freedom in their own country, they are determined to seek it in other countries.

6. All public powers and institutions are used against individual lives, personal interests, and personal beliefs, and therefore only a very small number of people can mount a lasting resistance.

7. In 1793, the people, taught by the Jesuits, treated the king, the Jesuits, and the nobles in exactly the same way they had treated the Huguenots a century earlier.

About the author: Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was a famous British popular moralist in the 19th century. He wrote many popular life essays, such as "Saving Yourself" and "Character". "The Power of", "Money and Life", "The Responsibility of Life" and "The Power of Faith", etc.

Book introduction: The narrative begins with the history of the French Reformation, until the Huguenots disperse throughout the country and the suppression and persecution of Protestants by King Louis XIV of France in the name of abolishing the Edict of Nantes. "The Power of Faith" has been a best-seller around the world for more than a hundred years, changing the destiny of hundreds of millions of people and shaping the spiritual outlook of modern Western moral civilization.