cant hesitation in mely an unist the obduracy of the ed the confession and recantation add of him. If he were likely to be reached through the affections, his wife and children were admitted to his cell in hopes that their tears and pleadings might work on his feelings and overcome his convictions. Alternate threats and blandishments were tried; he would be removed from his foul and dismal dungeon to commodious quarters, with liberal diet and a show of kindness, to see if his resolution would be weakened by alternations of hope and despair. Master of the art of playing upon the human heart, the trained inquisitor left no method untried which promised victory in the struggle between him and the helpless wretch abandoned to his experiments. Among these, one of the most efficient was the slow torture of delay. The prisoner who refused to con-fess, or whose confession was deemed imperfect, was remanded to his cell, and left to ponder in solitude and dark-ness. Except in rare cases time was no object with the Inquisition, and it could afford to wait." —From Chapter III, 'The Inquisitorial Process'

ISBN: 9781566192231