Fox's Book of Martyrs: Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant; Deaths of the Primitive Protestant MartyrsFoxe, John
HistoryHistory
Fox's Book of Martyrs: Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant; Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs
Foxe, John
Church history; Martyrs; Persecution
Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was 86 years of age. When he came to the place of
execution, he addressed the principal officer thus: "Behold a miserable
ancient man, who hath often entreated God to take him out of this wicked
world, but could not until now obtain his desire, for God reserved me
till these years to be a spectacle to the world and a sacrifice to
himself; therefore God's will be done." One of the officers told him, in
consideration of his great age, that if he would only ask pardon, he
would immediately receive it. "Ask pardon, (exclaimed he) I will ask
pardon of God, whom I have frequently offended; but not of the emperor,
to whom I never gave any offence should I sue for pardon, it might be
justly suspected I had committed some crime for which I deserved this
condemnation. No, no, as I die innocent, and with a clear conscience, I
would not be separated from this noble company of martyrs:" so saying,
he cheerfully resigned his neck to the block.
Procopius Dorzecki on the scaffold said, "We are now under the emperor's
judgment; but in time he shall be judged, and we shall appear as
witnesses against him." Then taking a gold medal from his neck, which
was struck when the elector Frederic was crowned king of Bohemia, he
presented it to one of the officers, at the same time uttering these
words, "As a dying man, I request, if ever king Frederic is restored to
the throne of Bohemia, that you will give him this medal. Tell him, for
his sake, I wore it till death, and that now I willingly lay down my
life for God and my king." He then cheerfully laid down his head and
submitted to the fatal blow.
Dionysius Servius was brought up a Roman catholic, but had embraced the
reformed religion for some years. When upon the scaffold the Jesuits
used their utmost endeavours to make him recant, and return to his
former faith, but he paid not the least attention to their exhortations.
Kneeling down he said, they may destroy my body, but cannot injure my
soul, that I commend to my Redeemer; and then patiently submitted to
martyrdom, being at that time fifty-six years of age.
Valentine Cockan, was a person of considerable fortune and eminence,
perfectly pious and honest, but of trifling abilities; yet his
imagination seemed to grow bright, and his faculties to improve on
death's approach, as if the impending danger refined the understanding.
Just before he was beheaded, he expressed himself with such eloquence,
energy, and precision, as greatly amazed those who knew his former
deficiency in point of capacity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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