4. Propagation of the Reformation.
The new faith was propagated not by speech, still less by
process of reasoning, but by the mechanism described in our
preceding work: that is, by the influence of affirmation,
repetition, mental contagion, and prestige. At a much later date
revolutionary ideas were spread over France in the same fashion.
Persecution, as we have already remarked, only favoured
this propagation. Each execution led to fresh conversions, as
was seen in the early years of the Christian Church. Anne
Dubourg, Parliamentary councillor, condemned to be burned alive,
marched to the stake exhorting the crowd to be converted.
“His
constancy,” says a witness, “made more Protestants among
the young men of the colleges than the books of Calvin.”
To prevent the condemned from speaking to the people their
tongues were cut out before they were burned. The horror of
their sufferings was increased by attaching the victims to an
iron chain, which enabled the executioners to plunge them into
the fire and withdraw them several times in succession.
But nothing induced the Protestants to retract, even the
offer of an amnesty after they had felt the fire.
In 1535 Francis I., forsaking his previous tolerance,
ordered six fires to be lighted simultaneously in Paris. The
Convention, as we know, limited itself to a single guillotine in
the same city. It is probable that the sufferings of the victims
were not very excruciating; the insensibility of the Christian
martyrs had already been remarked. Believers are hypnotised by
their faith, and we know to-day that certain forms of hypnotism
engender complete insensibility.
The new faith progressed rapidly. In 1560 there were two
thousand reformed churches in France, and many great lords, at
first indifferent enough, adhered to the new doctrine.
