But having found means to make his escape, he came at last to Gaium, a prefecture, subject to the canton of Bern, where he was seized and imprisoned by the governor, who immediately sent an account of his apprehension to the senate of Bern, who ordered him to be brought prisoner to that city, where they put him in jail. After they had seized all his books and papers, they collected several articles, with the heads of an indictment out of them to be preferred against him. Amongst others these were two, 1. “That he dissented from us, and all the orthodox, in the doctrine of the Trinity.” And 2. “That his writings contained many impious blasphemies concerning the Trinity.” And because he continued obstinate in his opinions, notwithstanding the endeavours of the divines to convert him, he was condemned by the senate, for his blasphemies against the Son of God, and the glorious mystery of the Trinity, to be beheaded; which sentence was executed on him in September, anno 1566. [311]At Basil, also, heresy was a crime punishable with death, since the reformation, as appears from the treatment of the dead body of David George, an enthusiastical anabaptist. Having left Holland he went to Basil, and settled there as one that was banished out of his country for the sake of his religion, propagating his own doctrines by letters, books, and messengers in Holland. But his errors being discovered after his death, he was taken out of his grave, and together with his books and pictures burnt to ashes, by order of the magistrates, at the place of execution, without the walls of Basil, May 13, 1559. His opinions were first extracted from the printed books and manuscript papers found in his house, and himself declared an arch heretic. ----- Footnote 311: Brand Hist. Book 3. p. 77. ----- [312]Zurich also furnishes us with an instance of great cruelty towards an anabaptist. A severe edict was published against them, in which there was a penalty of a silver mark, about four shillings English money, set upon all such as should suffer themselves to be-rebaptized, or should withhold baptism from their children. And it was farther declared, that those who openly opposed this order, should be yet more severely treated. Accordingly one Felix was drowned at Zurich, upon the sentence pronounced by Zuinglius, in these four Words, “Qui interum mergit, mergatur:“ He that re-dips, let him be drowned. This happened in the year 1526. About the same time also, and since, there were some more of them put to death. [313]From the same place, also, Ochinus was banished, in his old age, in the depth of winter, together with his children, because he was an Arian, and defended polygamy, if Beza’s account of him be true. ----- Footnote 312: Book 2. p. 57. Footnote 313: Beza, Epist. 1. -----