Foxe - The Book of Martyrs

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
with great loss, and compelled to return to the body of reserve, from whence they had been
detached.
Soon after the return of this detachment, the Roman Catholic troops, being hard pressed
in the main battle, sent for the body of reserve to come to their support. These immediately
marched to their assistance, and for some time longer held the event doubtful, but at length
the valor of the Protestants prevailed, and the papists were totally defeated, with the loss of
upwards of three hundred men killed, and many more wounded.
When the Syndic of Lucerne, who was indeed a papist, but not a bigoted one, saw the
great number of wounded men brought into that city, he exclaimed, "Ah! I thought the
wolves used to devour the heretics, but now I see the heretics eat the wolves." This
expression being reported to M. Marolles, the Roman Catholic commander-in-chief at
Lucerne, he sent a very severe and threatening letter to the Syndic, who was so terrified, that
the fright threw him into a fever, and he died in a few days.
This great battle was fought just before the harvest was got in, when the papists,
exasperated at their disgrace, and resolved on any kind of revenge, spread themselves by
night in detached parties over the finest corn fields of the Protestants, and set them on fire in
sundry places. Some of these straggling parties, however, suffered for their conduct; for the
Protestants, being alarmed in the night by the blazing of the fire among the corn, pursued the
fugitives early in the morning, and overtaking many, put them to death. The Protestant
captain Bellin, likewise, by way of retaliation, went with a body of light troops, and burnt
the suburbs of La Torre, making his retreat afterward with very little loss.
A few days later, Captain Bellin, with a much stronger body of troops, attacked the town
of La Torre itself, and making a breach in the wall of the convent, his men entered, driving
the garrison into the citadel and burning both town and convent. After having effected this,
they made a regular retreat, as they could not reduce the citadel for want of cannon.
An Account of the Persecutions of Michael de Molinos, a Native of Spain
Michael de Molinos, a Spaniard of a rich and honorable family, entered, when young,
into priest's orders, but would not accept of any preferment in the Church. He possessed great
natural abilities, which he dedicated to the service of his fellow creatures, without any view
of emolument to himself. His course of life was pious and uniform; nor did he exercise those
austerities which are common among the religious orders of the Church of Rome.
Being of a contemplative turn of mind, he pursued the track of the mystical divines, and
having acquired great reputation in Spain, and being desirous of propagating his sublime
mode of devotion, he left his own country, and settled at Rome. Here he soon connected
himself with some of the most distinguished among the literati, who so approved of his
religious maxims, that they concurred in assisting him to propagate them; and, in a short
time, he obtained a great number of followers, who, from the sublime mode of their religion,
were distinguished by the name of Quietists.
In 1675, Molinos published a book entitled "Il Guida Spirituale," to which were
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