Letters from Prison
Letter 1
 Most
honorable Seigneurs. I humbly ask you that you shorten these
long delays or acquit me from the criminal accusation. You
see that Calvin is at the dead end, not knowing what to say
and for his pleasure wishes to make me rot here in prison.
The lice eat me alive, my clothes are torn and I have nothing
for a change, neither a jacket nor a shirt, but a bad one.
I have sent another request to you which was according to
God, but in order to impede it Calvin cited you Justinian.
Certainly it is malicious to allege against me what he himself
does not believe. For he himself does not believe what Justinian
has said about the Holy Church, about bishops, about clergy,
and other matters of religion and knows well that the Church
was already degenerated. It is a great shame on his part,
the more so that already for five weeks he keeps me locked
up here and he has not alleged against me a single passage.
My lords, I have also asked you for a procurator or an advocate
who would speak on my part, as you permitted him to my opponent
who was not in the same situation as I. For being a stranger
ignorant of the customs of this country I cannot defend myself.
You permitted an advocate to him and not to me and you have
released him from prison. I request that my case be presented
before the Council of Two Hundred with my requests and if
I may appeal I do so ready to assume all expenses, loss and
interest, and the '~)oena talionis," both against my
first accuser and against Calvin, his master, who has taken
the case himself. In prison of Geneva, September 15, 1553.
Michael Servetus in his own cause
Letter 2
Honrable Seigneurs. I am detained for the criminal charges
made by lehan Calvin who falsely accuses me saying that I
have written: 1. that the souls are mortal 2. that Jesus Christ
took from the Virgin Mary only the fourth part of his body.
These are horrible and execrable things. Among all heresies
and all crimes there is none so great as to make the soul
mortal. For in all other there is a hope of salvation, whereas
there is none in such a heresy. Whoever says so does not believe
that there is a God, nor justice, nor resurrection, nor Jesus
Christ, nor Holy Scripture, nor anything else. He believes
only that everything dies and that the man and the beast are
the same. If I had said or written this, for offending the
world I should condemn myself to death. Therefore, messeigneurs,
I ask that my accuser be punished according to the law of
poena talionis and detained as prisoner with me, until the
matter is settled by his death or mine or any other punishment.
And for this I submit myself to the mentioned poena talionis.
I am content to die if he is not convicted both of this and
other things which I list below. I demand from you, messeigneurs,
justice, justice, justice.
Written in prison of Geneva, 22 of September 1553.
Michel Servetus in his own cause.
Letter 3
Magnificent Seigneurs. It is now three weeks as I have sought
and asked for an audience and I have been unable to obtain
one. I beg you for the love of Jesus Christ not to refuse
me what you would not refuse a Turk, who would seek justice
from your hands. I have some important and necessary matters
to communicate.
As for what you commanded that something be done to keep
me clean, nothing had been done and I am in a worse condition
than before. Moreover, the cold distresses me greatly, because
of my colic and rupture, causing me other complaints which
I should be ashamed to describe. It is a great cruelty that
I do not have permission to speak if only to remedy my necessities.
For the love of God, my lords, give your order for pity or
for duty. Written in the prison of Geneva, October 10, 1553.
Michel Servetus.
|
