A second was then called upon in the same way; he also refused; and their stedfastness was reported to the commanding officer as an act of contumacy.
"Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel"
John Yeardley
But, as the Church's disciplinary hand grew heavier on the lives of mankind, severer punishments were adopted, which contumacy served only to render yet more cruel, even to life-long solitary incarceration.
"Women of Early Christianity Woman: In all ages and in all countries, Vol. 3 (of 10)"
Alfred Brittain Mitchell Carroll
He then reproached him in the most indignant terms with his continual and active efforts to disturb the peace of the kingdom, recapitulating every act, and almost every word, of his astonished and embarrassed listener, with an accuracy which left no opportunity for denial; and, finally, he advised him to be warned in time, and, if he valued his own safety, to adopt a perfectly opposite line of conduct; assuring him, in conclusion, that should he persist in his present contumacy, he should himself take measures, as his sovereign and his master, to render him incapable of working further mischief.
"The Life of Marie de Medicis, Vol. 1 (of 3)"
Julia Pardoe