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Terrible executions by the Inquisition
DELLON, Charles & Archibald BOWER.An account of the inquisition at Goa, in India; translated from the French. With an appendix; containing an account of the escape of Archibald Bower, from the inquisition of Italy.   Boston, Samuel T. Armstrong, 1815. 12mo. Later half gilt calf. 214, (2) pp. Two rare accounts of victims of the Inquisition, printed in Boston! The work starts with the story of Charles Dellon (1649- ca. 1709), a member of the protestant church, who left France for the Indies in 1668. He worked as a physician in Daman, where he was arrested by the Inquisition in 1674 for atheism. He was condemned to five years of hard labour and sent to Goa, from where he was expelled to Portugal in 1676. Dellon's case was reviewed again in Lisbon, and he was released after the intervention of Bossuet. He returned to France in 1677, and became physician to the Prince of Conti. Dellon gives an impartial, objective description of the events leading to and during his punishment. Archibald Bower (1686-1766) was a Jesuit, and a member of the Inquisition in Italy. After spending twenty years in Italy, he fled to England where he converted to protestantism. He was accused of opportunism, both by catholics and protestants. The account of Bower's escape was first published in English in Edinburgh in 1757. The translator mainly wanted to focus on the methods of the Inquisition. From the introduction: "The stakes of the professed, that is, such as persist in the heresy, are about four yards high, having a small board towards the top for the prisoner to be seated on. The negative and relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their stakes by a ladder; and the Jesuits, after several repeated exhortations to be reconciled to the church, part with them; telling them that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow, to receive their souls, and carry them with him to the flames of hell. On this a great shout is raised; and the cry is, "Let the dogs'beards be made!" which is done by thrusting flaming furzes fastened to long poles against their faces, till their faces are burnt to a coal, which is accompanied with the loudest acclamations of joy. At last, fire is set to the furze at the bottom of the stake, over which the professed are chained so high that the top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat they sit on; so that they rather seem roasted than burnt. There cannot be a more lamentable spectacle: the sufferers continually cry out, while they are able, "Pity, for the love of God!" Yet it is beheld, by all sexes and ages, with transports of joy and satisfaction.- O merciful God! is this the benign, humane religion thou hast given to men? Surely not. If such were the genius of christianity, then it would be no honor to be a Christian. Let us, however, rejoice that the time is coming when the demon of Persecution shall be banished out of this our world, and the true spirit of benevolence and cnador pervade the universe; when none shall hurt or destroy, but the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea! Good copy.- (Sl. foxed).
Cf. Bibliothèque Frédéric et Anne Max, nos. 342 & 317 (first editions); not in Sabin nor Borba de Moraes.
Related Subjects: Cartography Inquisition Jesuits Religion Add to Shopping cart |
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All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included.
Free shipping for orders over € 2,500. EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.
Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale
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