shown; the body was found by some pious fishermen, and on its being carried into St. Peter's the images of the saints there bowed down before it and did it reverence. In noo St. Ivo of Chartres, the foremost canonist of his day, declared that the Church could not condemn the dead, that they had passed beyond human judgment, and that burial could not be refused those who had noi been tried while living. But when heresy multipled and heretics grew more obstinate, the churchmen found it hard to endure the thought that the bones of those who died not in the faith should pollute the sacred pre cincts of church and cemetery; so in time the principle became firmly established that those who had mistakenly received Christian burial should, so soon as the fact was discovered, be dug up and burned. The investigating the records of the dead became no small or unimportant part of the duties of the Inquisi tion. Those accused of heresy could not escape the Inquisition even by death. Although the sinner had already been summoned before the judgment seat of the Judge of all the world, who would assuredly do right, still a man suspected of heresy, though dead, was often called before the bar of the Inquisition, that the true faith might be vindicated by the sentence of condemnation and the faith ful edified by a sight of the punishment. If the heresy of the dead one would have only brought upon him, if living, a slight punish ment, then his bones were simply dug up and cast out; if, however, his sin would have car ried him to the stake had he been alive, then his bones were solemnly burned. As, by the common law of England, "nullum tempus occurit rcgi," so no lapse of time barred the Holy Church in these matters. Gherardo of Florence died in 1250, his de scendants were notified in 1313 that his mem ory was being prosecuted for heresy. Some legists held that one hundred years were re quired as against the Church, and that time
ran not from the commission of the offence, but from its discovery. Heresy itself caused a forfeiture and the property of the dead heretic could be followed and taken. Good Catholics, however, might keep what they had gotten through the heretic if they had at no time knowledge of his wandering from the faith, and if he had died with an unsullied reputation for orthodoxy. A well-known English case is that of John Wyckliffe. He died in 1384 and was buried in his old parish of Lutterworth: forty-one years thereafter the Synod of Constance pub lished the following decree against him: "Forasmuch as by the authority of the sen tence and decree of the council of Rome and by the commandment of the Church and the Apostolic See, after due delays being given they proceeded unto the condemnation of the said John Wyckliffe and his memory, having first made proclamation, and given command ment to call first whosoever would defend the said Wyckliffe or his memory, if there were any such (but there did none appear who would defend him or his memory), and moreover witnesses being examined, by com missioners appointed by Pope John and his council, upon the impenitency and final ob stinacy and stubbornness of the said John Wyckliffe reserving that which is to be re served (as in such business the order of the law requireth) and his impenitency and ob stinacy even unto his end, being sufficiently proved by evident signs and tokens and also by lawful witnesses and credit lawfully given thereunto. Wherefore at the instance of the Steward of the Treasury, proclamation being made to hear and understand the s'entence against this day, the sacred Synod declareth, determineth and giveth sentence that the said John Wyckliffe was a notorious obstinate heretick, and that he died in his heresy, curs ing and condemning both him and his mem ory. This Synod also decreeth and ordaineth that the body and bones of the said John Wyckliffe, if it might be discerned and known
