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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. ← Page 6 of 8 →
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The Knights Templar.
admiration at the courage of those Avho support the truth , notwithstanding their peril and just apprehensions . " And is it not astonishing that more credit is attached to the falsehoods of those , who to preserve their corporal life , are so Aveak as to y ield to torture or seduction , than to the constancy of those , who in
defence of the truth , amidst torments , expire with the palm of martyrdom ; and to that sound and superior number of Templars who still survive , and from the mere necessity of satisfying their conscience , have suffered and are daily suffering- every sjaecies of , torment . " Such was the sublime defence of those biwe Templars .
I have already observed that the Pope ' s Commissioners should have confined themselves merely to the investigation of the charges broug-ht against the Order ; for they were not authorised to pronounce sentence
against the Templars individually or personally . That sorry office Avas delegated to provincial councils , to certain archbishops and bishojas , who being appointed to carry on the proceedings against the Templars , found that the accused retracted their confessions , and that such chevaliers as had not made any , persisted in their denials . Those new
judges reported the matter to the Pope . He could not have been ignorant that the iniquisitor aud his agents had commenced their inquiries by preliminary torture , and he contented himself withrejalying to the archbishops and bishops , that the difficulties that they had to combat , might be surmounted by referring to the Avritten law , with
which the greater number of them was acquainted ; and being unAvilling for the present to make any innovations , he directed them to proceed according to law . *
It was agreeable then to the p rinciples of justice and equity to recommence the proceedings before the new judges ajjpointed for the Templars . But it Avas apprehended that the majority of those sufferers Avould make no more confessions . Then the Pope wrote to Philip the Fair , that according to
acknowledged principles , an examination commenced before a superior judge , should not be terminated by a subaltern judge , more especially as the matter concerned the supreme Pontiff , with whom
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templar.
admiration at the courage of those Avho support the truth , notwithstanding their peril and just apprehensions . " And is it not astonishing that more credit is attached to the falsehoods of those , who to preserve their corporal life , are so Aveak as to y ield to torture or seduction , than to the constancy of those , who in
defence of the truth , amidst torments , expire with the palm of martyrdom ; and to that sound and superior number of Templars who still survive , and from the mere necessity of satisfying their conscience , have suffered and are daily suffering- every sjaecies of , torment . " Such was the sublime defence of those biwe Templars .
I have already observed that the Pope ' s Commissioners should have confined themselves merely to the investigation of the charges broug-ht against the Order ; for they were not authorised to pronounce sentence
against the Templars individually or personally . That sorry office Avas delegated to provincial councils , to certain archbishops and bishojas , who being appointed to carry on the proceedings against the Templars , found that the accused retracted their confessions , and that such chevaliers as had not made any , persisted in their denials . Those new
judges reported the matter to the Pope . He could not have been ignorant that the iniquisitor aud his agents had commenced their inquiries by preliminary torture , and he contented himself withrejalying to the archbishops and bishops , that the difficulties that they had to combat , might be surmounted by referring to the Avritten law , with
which the greater number of them was acquainted ; and being unAvilling for the present to make any innovations , he directed them to proceed according to law . *
It was agreeable then to the p rinciples of justice and equity to recommence the proceedings before the new judges ajjpointed for the Templars . But it Avas apprehended that the majority of those sufferers Avould make no more confessions . Then the Pope wrote to Philip the Fair , that according to
acknowledged principles , an examination commenced before a superior judge , should not be terminated by a subaltern judge , more especially as the matter concerned the supreme Pontiff , with whom