To the stake! to the stake! with the heretic crew, That day and night vexes all good men and true. Shall we let them Saint Scripture and her edicts defile? Shall we banish pure science for Lutherans vile? Do you think that our God will permit such as these To imperil our bodies and souls at their ease? O Paris, of cities the flower and the pride, Uphold that true faith which these heretics deride; Or else on thy towers storm and tempest shall fall.... Take heed by my warning; and let us pray all That the King of all kings will be pleased to confound These dogs so accursed, where'er they be found, That their names, like bones going fast to decay, May from memory's tablets be clean wiped away. To the stake! to the stake! the fire is their home! As God hath permitted, let justice be done. A crowd equally great assembled before this placard, as cruel as it was crafty. The writer appealed to the people of Paris; he entitled them 'the flower and pride of cities,' knowing that flattery is the best means of winning men's minds; and then he called for the stake. The 'stake' was the argument with which men opposed the Reform. 'Burn those who confute us!' This savage invocation was a home-thrust. Many of the citizens, kneeling down to write, copied out the placard, in order to carry it to every house: the press is less rapid, even in our days. Others committed the verses to memory, and walked along the streets singing the burden: To the stake! to the stake! the fire is their home! As God hath permitted, let justice be done! These rude rhymes became the motto of their party; this cruel ballad of the sixteenth century erelong summoned the champions of the Church in various quarters to fatten the earth with the ashes of their enemies. Pierre Siderander happened to be in the crowd; noticing several papists copying the incendiary verses, the Strasburg student did the same, and sent copies to his friends. By this means they were handed down to our times.[336] The next day there was a fresh placard. The Sorbonne, finding the people beginning to be moved, wished to arouse them thoroughly. This ballad was not confined to a general appeal to the stake; Roussel was mentioned by name as one who deserved to be burnt. The fanatical placards of the Sorbonnists were not so soon torn down as the satirical couplets of their pupils. They could be read for days together, such good watch did the sacristans keep over them. But the Sorbonne did not limit themselves to a paper war; they worked upon the most eminent members of the parliament. Their zeal displayed itself on every side. 'Justice! justice!' they exclaimed; 'let us punish these detestable heretics, and pluck up Lutheranism, root and branch.'[337] The whole city was in commotion; the most odious plots were concocted; and the _matéologues_, as the students called the defenders of the old abuses, took counsel at the Sorbonne every day. [Sidenote: PROGRESS OF THE REFORM.]