Note 439 — INDEX.

Footnote 439: The opinion of Pole, on the propriety of putting men to death for nonconformity, was strictly orthodox. He regarded heretics, he said, as rebellious children, with whom persuasion and mild correction should first be tried. "Nec tamen, negârim fieri posse," he continued, "ut alicujus opiniones tam perniciosæ existant, ipseque jam corruptus tam sit ad corrumpendos alios promptus ac sedulus ut non dubitârim dicere eum e vitâ tolli oportere et tanquam putridum membrum e corpore exsecari. Neque id tamen priusquam ejus sanandi causâ omnis leviter medendi tentata sit ratio."—Pole to the Cardinal of Augsburg: Epist. Reg. Pol. vol. iv.(Back to Main Text)