Hic of the 

 inquisition. 





The inquisi- 

 tion first 

 proposed by 

 St. Domi- 

 nic. 





!42 



chargeable, in strict justice, with nothing else than be- 

 inn; mi-taken in his opinions. 



'Those correct and righteous sentiments prevailed for 

 a considerable time, and the deviations from them were 

 slow and progressive. When the empire became Chris- 

 tian, it still appeared to the civil magistrate, that he was 

 bound to support the religion adopted by the state. 

 Hence it was that certain laws, which are yet to be 

 found in the codes of Theodoaius and Justinian, were 

 enacted against heretics; by which they were subject- 

 ed to fines, and confiscation of goods, and to imprison- 

 ment and banishment, according to the description of the 

 offence, and the measure of the delinquency : with this 

 limitation, however, in every case, that it was the pecu- 

 liar province of the ecclesiastical judge to determine, 

 whether the opinions professed were heretical or not. 

 Hence, too, it wa=, that those 'charged with heresy by 

 the magistrate, were usually charged "with sedition or 

 rebellion at the same time ; and, whenever the punish- 

 ment was capital, it was understood to be the result, 

 not merely of inaccurate or of perverted theology, but 

 of a criminal opposition to the civil and political autho- 

 rities. In this situation the law and the practice, re- 

 specting heresy, continued till about the year 800. The 

 trial of the whole case was in the hands of the civil ma- 

 gistrate ; and, with the exception of ecclesiastical cen- 

 sures, it belonged to synods and councils merely to an- 

 swer the question, " Is the opinion or doctrine libelled 

 heretical or otherwise?'' 



During the course of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh 

 centuries, however, the power of the ecclesiastical tri- 

 bunals, and of the papacy itself, increased in a most re- 

 markable degree. The zeal which animated the church, 

 and the people of Europe, became fierce and ungovern- 

 able ; and the crusades against the infidels in foreign 

 parts, were equalled, in ferocious feeling and disposi- 

 tion at least, by those against the heretics at home. At 

 last, in an evil hour, and under some planet of malig- 

 nant aspect, and of disastrous influence, St. Dominic, 

 (as he is called, ) the father of the inquisition, arose. It 

 was the object of this zealous, but mistaken individual, 

 to secure the purity of the Christian faith, and to sup- 

 port the Papal authority, by institutions appropriated 

 to these purposes. The trial of the accused was now 

 placed exclusively in the hands of the ecclesiastical ju- 

 dicatory. The principal inquisitor was likewise the 

 principal judge; he was responsible to no other autho- 

 rity than that of the Pope ; and he decided, not only 

 upon the description or quality of the propositions 

 maintained, but finally, and without appeal, upon the 

 guilt or innocence of the prisoner. And so complete was 

 the revolution, achieved by the skill and the perseve- 

 rance of the Romish See, that the civil magistrate, once 

 the sole judge in matters of heresy, was now called up- 

 on to do little else than to execute the sentences of the 

 ecclesiastical tribunals. Strange as it may appear, this 

 monstrous system was received by many of the nations 

 of Europe. It found its way especially into the domi- 

 nions of Spain and Portugal. The inquisitorial courts 

 were established ; and the emperor, or king, or power- 

 ful lord, themselves, trembling under the fear of excom- 

 munication, proceeded to remove from this world the 

 unhappy individuals whom the church had pronounced 

 to be guilty of heresy. And the example of their pagan 

 predecessors had long ago taught them, that fire and 

 faggot were the appropriate means by which their re- 

 moval was to be accomplished. 



It was by Pope Innocent IV. (A. D. 1251,) that the 

 inquisitorial courts were introduced into Romania, 

 Lombardy, Marca Trevigiana, and the other Italian 



I N Q U I S I T I'O N. 



provinces, more immediately under the authority or in- 

 fluence of the Holy See. About the year I48t, they 

 were established in Spain," and in Portugal in the year 

 1537. In the following observations, hdwever, we shall 

 confine ourselves, in a great degree, to the inquisition 

 as it exists in Spain. 



At the head of the inquisition in Spain, stands the 

 inquisitor-general. This high officer is appointed, no- 

 minally, by the king, but in reality by the Pope; for 

 the Holy See enjoys the. privilege of a veto upon the 

 election of the sovereign, a privilege which on certain 

 suitable and well-chosen occasions, it has not failed to 

 exercise. The supreme inquisitor cannot proceed one 

 step in the discharge of his office, till he has received 

 the confirmation of the Pontiff. When thus elected, and 

 thus confirmed, the inquisitor-general appoints the sub- 

 ordinate inquisitors ; but, in this last instance, the no- 

 mination of the supreme inquisitor is subject to the re- 

 view of the king. Besides the inquisitor-general there 

 are five councillors, who have the title of apostolical in- 

 quisitors: it belongs to them to deliberate upon all af- 

 fairs with the inquisitor-general ; to settle disputes 

 among the particular inquisitors; to punish the fami- 

 liars attached to the institution, and to receive appeals; 

 and these officers, together with an advocate fiscal, two 

 secretaries, and other inferior functionaries, constitute 

 the supreme council or high court of the inquisition in 

 Spain. This supreme council meets every day (with 

 the exception of holidays) in the royal palace ; and such 

 is the ascendancy which the Holy Office has acquired, 

 that the king of Castile, before his coronation, subjects 

 himself, (quoad sacra, we presume, ) by a special oath, 

 to the judgment and decision of the high court of in- 

 quisition. In the inferior tribunals there are, respec- 

 tively, two or three inquisitors ; these have the epithet 

 of provincials attached to their designations, and they 

 exercise their functions, by the authority, and under 

 the review, of the supreme inquisitorial court. 



The privileges which the inquisitors enjoy are many 

 and valuable. Each of them bears the title of lord. 

 They are not subject to the bishops of the provinces 

 where they reside, or to the superiors of the religious 

 orders to which they belong. They alone can publish 

 the edicts against heretics ; they can excommunicate, 

 interdict, and suspend ; and, ' except in a few cases, 

 which are distinctly specified, they can prevent the 

 ordinaries or resident bishops, from absolving those 

 whom they have subjected to the censure of the church. 

 " Whosoever, by himself or others, shall kill, beat, or 

 strike, any of the inquisitors, or officials of the Holy 

 Office, or who shall injure or damage the effects of the 

 said inquisitors or officials, shall be delivered over to 

 the secular power." These lordly and privileged func- 

 tionaries likewise enjoy the entire rents of their benefi- 

 ces, without tax or impost, they are exempted from all 

 " real and personal offices," and they may form new 

 laws, after the nature of bye-laws, against heretics,'and 

 modify the punishment at pleasure. And, last of all, 

 they can mutually absolve, and dispense with them- 

 selves, grant ind ulgences to the penitent, or to those whom 

 they shall pronounce to be so, for 20 or 40 days, as they 

 shall think proper ; and for reasons, of which they alone 

 are the judges, they can release " the companions and 

 friars of the several inquisitors, and likewise their no- 

 taries," during the space of three whole years, from all 

 the penances which may have been enjoined them. 



When the chief inquisitor arrives in any of the pro- 

 vinces, he proceeds in the exercise of his functions after 

 the following manner : In the first place, he delivers a 

 sermon, respecting the purity of the Catholic doctrine, 



Inquisition. 



Account of 

 the inquisi- 

 tion in 

 Spain. 



Inquisitor 



general. 



Privileges 

 of tlie in- 

 quisitors. 



Mode of ex. ' 

 crcUing 

 their func- 

 tions in the 

 provinces. 



