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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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The Knights Templar.
Jacques de Molay was absent when he was unanimously elected Grand Master of the Templars . * Called into France by the Pope , he arrived with a retinue of sixty chevaliers , and was courteously received by his Holiness . The Grand Master having learned that the enemies of the Order
were clandestinely circulating rumours to its prejudice , he repaired to the Pope and demanded a public examination of the conduct of his chevaliers . This Avas the confidence of virtue . It appears that the Grand Master enjoyed a great reputation for
probity and chaste manners . The friendship and honourable distinction which he had experienced from Philip the Fair , the esteem of the Pope , and the attestation of the King of England , leave no room for' doubt on this subject . I could also cite the testimony of his persecutors themselves . He
never was in the least suspected of those shameful crimes , those obscenities pretended to have been authorised by the statutes of the Order . This tacit tribute of respect from his enemies is equally honourable and authentic . That venerable chief of a proscribed Order was unexpectedly loaded Avith chains , together with one hundred and thirty-nine chevaliers who attended him at Paris .
The tortures of the rack ; the threats of the Inquisitor ; the certainty that his chevaliers would be put to death , and that the Order would be dissolved if he did not instantly yield to the projects of the King ; the pardonable wish to spare the effusion of the blood of so many innocent victims ; the hopes of coming to an explanation Avith the Pope ,
and of appeasing the King , could alone make him consent to a momentary confession , Avhich in itself admitted of retraction from its improbability and inconsistency . I will grant then , since I find it inserted in the Inquisitor ' s interrogatory , and in some historians , that the Grand Master had at first
answered that at the time of his reception , he promised to conform with the statutes of the Order ; that on being presented a crucifix , on Avhich Avas the image of our Redeemer , he was ordered to deny Christ , and that he did deny Him against his will ; and , lastly , being ordered to spit upon the cross , that he spit upon the ground , once only . As soon as the Grand Master found that the false confession
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templar.
Jacques de Molay was absent when he was unanimously elected Grand Master of the Templars . * Called into France by the Pope , he arrived with a retinue of sixty chevaliers , and was courteously received by his Holiness . The Grand Master having learned that the enemies of the Order
were clandestinely circulating rumours to its prejudice , he repaired to the Pope and demanded a public examination of the conduct of his chevaliers . This Avas the confidence of virtue . It appears that the Grand Master enjoyed a great reputation for
probity and chaste manners . The friendship and honourable distinction which he had experienced from Philip the Fair , the esteem of the Pope , and the attestation of the King of England , leave no room for' doubt on this subject . I could also cite the testimony of his persecutors themselves . He
never was in the least suspected of those shameful crimes , those obscenities pretended to have been authorised by the statutes of the Order . This tacit tribute of respect from his enemies is equally honourable and authentic . That venerable chief of a proscribed Order was unexpectedly loaded Avith chains , together with one hundred and thirty-nine chevaliers who attended him at Paris .
The tortures of the rack ; the threats of the Inquisitor ; the certainty that his chevaliers would be put to death , and that the Order would be dissolved if he did not instantly yield to the projects of the King ; the pardonable wish to spare the effusion of the blood of so many innocent victims ; the hopes of coming to an explanation Avith the Pope ,
and of appeasing the King , could alone make him consent to a momentary confession , Avhich in itself admitted of retraction from its improbability and inconsistency . I will grant then , since I find it inserted in the Inquisitor ' s interrogatory , and in some historians , that the Grand Master had at first
answered that at the time of his reception , he promised to conform with the statutes of the Order ; that on being presented a crucifix , on Avhich Avas the image of our Redeemer , he was ordered to deny Christ , and that he did deny Him against his will ; and , lastly , being ordered to spit upon the cross , that he spit upon the ground , once only . As soon as the Grand Master found that the false confession