212 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
the sacrament of the body and blood is more important than the elements, John 6 : 54. But the whole Christ is in either element, and, if some of the doctors take a different view, the Church's doctrine is to be followed, and not they. From time immemorial the Church has given the communion only in one form. The Council of Constance was right in deciding that only a single element is necessary to a saving participation in the sacrament. The Church may make changes in the outward observance when the change does not touch the essence of the right in question. The use of the two elements, once profitable, is now unprofitable and heretical.
To these statements Gerson added practical considerations against the distribution of the cup to laymen, such as the danger of spilling the wine, of soiling the vessels from the long beards of laymen, of having the wine turn to vinegar, if it be preserved for the sick and so it cease to be the blood of Christ — et ita desineret esse sanguis Christi — and from the impossibility of consecrating in one vessel enough for 10,000 to 20,000 communicants, as at Easter time may be necessary. Another danger was the encouragement such a practice would give to the notions that priest and layman are equal, and that the chief value of the sacrament lies in the participation and not in the consecration of the elements. ^ Such are some of the " scandals " which this renowned teacher ascribed to the distribution of the cup to the laity.
A subject on which Gerson devoted a great deal of energy for many years was whether the murder of tyrants or of a traitorous vassal is justifiable or not. He advocated the negative side of the case, which he failed to win before tlie Council of Constance. The question grew out of the treatment of the half-insane French king, Charles VI. (1380-1422), and the attempt of different factions to get control of tlie government.
On Nov. 23, 1407, the king's cousin, Louis, duke of Orleans, was murdered at the command of the king's uncle, John, duke of Burgundy. The duke's act was defended by the
1 Quod virtus htijus sacramenti non est principalius in consecratione quam in sumptione, Du Pin, I. 467.
§ 23. JOHN GERSON. 213
Franciscan and Paris professor, John Petit, — Johannes Parvus, — in an address delivered before the king March 8, 1408. Gerson, who at an earlier time seems to have advocated the murder of tyrants, answered Petit in a public address, and called upon the king to suppress Petit's nine propositions. ^ The University of Paris made Gerson's cause its own. Petit died in 1411, but the controversy went on. Petit's theory was this, that every vassal plotting against his lord is deserving of death in soul and body. He is a tyrant, and according to the laws of nature and God any one has the right to put him out of the way. The higher such a person is in rank, the more meritorious is the deed. He based his argument upon Thomas Aquinas, John of Salisbury, Aristotle, Cicero and other writers, and referred to Moses, Zambri and St. Michael who cast Lucifer out of heaven, and other examples. The duke of Orleans was guilty of treason against the king, and the duke of Burgundy was justified in killing him.
The bishop of Paris, supported by a commission of the Inquisition and at the king's direction, condemned Petit and his views. In February, 1414, Gerson made a public address defending the condemnation, and two days later articles taken from Petit's work were burnt in front of Notre Dame. The king ratified the bishop's judgment, and the duke of Burgundy appealed the case to Rome.^
The case was now transferred to the council, which at its fifteenth session, July 6, 1415, passed a compromise measure condemning the doctrine that a tyrant, in the absence of a judicial sentence, may and ought to be put to death by any subject whatever, even by the use of treacherous means, and in the face of an oath without committing perjury. Petit was not mentioned by name. It was this negative and timid action, which led Gerson to say that if Huss had had a defender, he would not have been found guilty. It was rumored that
1 Vol. V. of Gerson's works is taken up with documents bearing on this subject. Gerson's addresses, bearing upon it at Constance, are given in vol. II. See Schwab, p. 609 sqq., and Bess, Zur Geschichte, etc. The Chartularium, IV". 261-285, 325 sqq., gives the nine propositions in French, with Gerson's reply, and other matter pertaining to the controversy. - Schwab, p. 620.