887 apologia for his departure from the order of pious schools underneath such rage: without a doubt, he desired to prove that not only did he not force me — though I was forced — to profess solemn vows,151 but as a wicked man, he forbade my entrance to the Order. Or — surely suspecting that I would oppose him and would profess vows in this manner — he wanted to deceive me through such cunning. Whatever, therefore, he desired to attain by this letter, it was indeed abominable, whether he strove to take me away from professing vows or impel me to do so.152 28. By what an entirely astonishing and practically infernal manner or deceit did he deal with me in bringing the visitator to the Province! For he came to Krakow with his First Assistant, Fr. Adalbert of St. Teresa, to win over to the Provincial His Excellency, the Most Reverend Lord Bishop and inform him as to the cause of my imprisonment. I refused to cooperate until the promised General visitator should arrive. He openly and publicly declared that no visitator would come to the Province, but that he himself came with full authority to decide my case and that of the others who were my companions. 29. I therefore agreed and went where I was being led, although not against my will, having obtained men of great wisdom and of the highest virtue and authority to hear me, delegated by my particular protector and defender, His Excellency the Bishop. But what then happened? What crime was brought forth, on account of which I was more than cruelly abducted? Indeed, there was no fault at all. Francis opened only one letter and he did not want to even read it in its entirety, if he had not been asked to do so by me. This letter was, I admit, full of zeal proper to a servant of God, capable of bringing oneself and others along the path of life according to the Rule. Beyond this, there was nothing. However, because I withdrew from my simple vows, which I had professed on the authority of the brief of Alexander VII (which had lost its validity),153 I proved that I was free from the jurisdiction of 151 Cf. SH, p. 54, n. 102. 152 This letter is no longer extant. For further commentary on this incident, cf. Positio, p. 160 (Doc. VI, B, intr. 3). 153 Cf. above, p. 855, HW, n. 2: Profession of Simple Vows (July 22, 1656).
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