The triumph of the blind chief over his internal foes was
complete.
It seemed equally complete over his external foes. Sigismund, unable to
conquer him by force of arms, now sought to mollify him by offers of
peace, and entered into negotiations with the stern old warrior. But
Ziska was not to be placated. He could not trust the man who had broken
his plighted word and burned John Huss, and he remained immovable in his
hostility to Germany. Planning a fresh attack on Moravia, he began his
march thither. But now he met a conquering enemy against whose arms
there was no defence. Death encountered him on the route, and carried
him off October 12, 1424.
Thus ends the story of an extraordinary man, and the history of a series
of remarkable events. Of all the peasant outbreaks, of which there were
so many during the mediaeval period, the Bohemian was the only one--if we
except the Swiss struggle for liberty--that attained measurable success.
This was due in part to the fact that it was a religious instead of an
industrial revolt, and thus did not divide the country into sharp ranks
of rich and poor; and in greater part to the fact that it had an able
leader, one of those men of genius who seem born for great occasions.
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