Chapter VI: Part 6

"Now, then, I come to you, O Most Holy Father, and, prostrated at your feet, pray you, if possible, to put a curb on the enemies of the truth. But I cannot retract my doctrine. I cannot permit rules of interpretation to be imposed on the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God, the source whence all freedom springs, must be left free.[269]

[269] Leges interpretandi verbi Dei non patior, cum oporteat verbum
Dei esse non alligatum, quod libertatem docet. (L. Ep. i, p. 504.)

"O, Leo, my father! listen not to those flattering Sirens who tell you that you are not a mere man, but a demi-god, and can ordain what you please. You are the servant of servants, and the seat which you occupy is of all others the most dangerous, and the most unhappy. Give credit not to those who exalt, but to those who humble you. Perhaps I am too bold in giving advice to so high a majesty, whose duty it is to instruct all men. But I see the dangers which surround you at Rome, I see you driven hither and thither, tossed as it were upon the billows of a raging sea. Charity urges me, and I cannot resist sending forth a warning cry.

[Sidenote: ON THE LIBERTY OF THE CHRISTIAN.]

"Not to appear empty handed before your Holiness, I present you with a little book, which has appeared under your name, and which will make you aware of the subjects to which I will be able to devote myself, if your flatterers permit me. It is a small matter as regards the size of the volume, but a great one in regard to its contents, for it comprehends a summary of the Christian life. I am poor, and have nothing else to offer; besides, you have no want of any thing but spiritual gifts. I commend myself to your Holiness. May the Lord keep you for ever and ever, amen."

The little book with which Luther did homage to the pope was his 'Treatise on the liberty of the Christian;' in which he demonstrates without any polemical discussion, how the Christian, without infringing on the liberty which faith has given him, may submit to every external ordinance in a spirit of freedom and love. Two truths form the basis of the whole discourse, viz., The Christian is free--all things are his: The Christian is a servant subject to all in every thing. By faith he is free, by love he is subject.

At first he explains the power of faith to make the Christian free. "Faith unites the soul with Christ, as a bride with the bridegroom. Every thing that Christ has becomes the property of the believer, every thing that the believer has becomes the property of Christ. Christ possesses all blessings, even eternal salvation, and these are thenceforth the property of the believer. The believer possesses all vices and all sins, and these become, thenceforth, the property of Christ. A happy exchange now takes place. Christ who is God and man, Christ who has never sinned, and whose holiness is invincible, Christ, the Omnipotent and Eternal, appropriating to himself by his wedding ring--that is to say, by faith, all the sins of the believer; these sins are swallowed up in him and annihilated; for no sin can exist in presence of his infinite righteousness. Thus, by means of faith, the soul is delivered from all sins, and invested with the eternal righteousness of Jesus Christ the bridegroom. O happy union! Jesus Christ the rich, the noble, the holy bridegroom, takes in marriage this poor, guilty, contemned bride, delivers her from all evil, and decks her in the richest robes.[270]... Christ, a King, and Priest, shares this honour and glory with all Christians. The Christian is a king, and consequently possesses all things. He is a priest, and consequently possesses God. And it is faith, not works, which procures him this honour. The Christian is free from all things, and above all things--faith giving him every thing in abundance."

[270] Ist nun das nicht eine fröhliche Wirthschaft, da der reiche,
edle, fromme Bräutigam Christus, das arme, verachtete, böse Huhrlein
zur Ehe nimmt (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 385.)

[Sidenote: THE BULL IN GERMANY.]

In the second part of the treatise Luther presents the truth in its other point of view. "Although the Christian has thus been made free, he voluntarily becomes a servant that he may act towards his brethren as God has acted towards him through Jesus Christ. I desire," said he, "freely, joyfully, and gratuitously, to serve a Father who hath thus shed upon me all the riches of his goodness. I wish to become every thing to my neighbour, as Christ has become every thing to me."... "From faith," continues Luther, "flows love to God, and from love a life full of liberty, charity, and joy. O how noble and elevated a life the life of the Christian is! But, alas, none know it and none preach it. By faith the Christian rises even to God: by love he descends to man; still, however, remaining always in God. This is true liberty, a liberty as far above every other species of liberty as the heavens are above the earth."

Such was the treatise which accompanied Luther's letter to Leo X.

CHAP. VIII.

The Bull in Germany--Eck's Reception--The Bull at
Wittemberg--Interposition of Zuinglius.

[Sidenote: ECK ARRIVES TO PUBLISH THE BULL.]

While the Reformer was thus addressing the Roman pontiff for the last time, the bull which anathematised him was already in the hands of the Germanic Church, and at Luther's own door. It would seem that no doubt was entertained at Rome as to the success of the measure which had thus been adopted against the Reformation. The pope had charged two high functionaries of his court, Carracioli and Aleander, to be the bearers of it to the Archbishop of Mentz who was requested to see to its execution. But Eck himself appeared in Saxony as the herald and executor of the great pontifical work. No man knew better than the doctor of Ingolstadt how formidable the blows were which Luther had struck. Alive to the danger he had stretched forth his hand to sustain the tottering edifice of Rome. In his own estimation he was the Atlas, destined to support the ancient Roman world on his robust shoulders, when on the point of falling to pieces. Proud of the success of his journey to Rome; proud of the charge which he had received from the sovereign pontiff; proud to appear in Germany with the new title of protonotary and pontifical nuncio; proud of the bull which he held in his hand, and which contained the condemnation of his indomitable rival, he regarded his present mission as a triumph more splendid than all the victories which he had gained in Hungary, Bavaria, Lombardy, and Saxony, and from which he had previously derived so much renown. But this pride was soon to be humbled. The pope, in entrusting the publication of the bull to Eck, had committed a blunder which was destined to neutralise its effect. The proud distinction conferred on a man who did not hold high rank in the Church gave offence to sensitive and jealous spirits. The bishops, accustomed to receive the bulls directly from the pope, were offended at the publication of this one in their dioceses by an upstart nuncio. The nation who had hooted the pretended conqueror of Leipsic at the moment of his flight into Italy, were equally astonished and indignant when they saw him repass the Alps, decked in the insignia of pontifical nuncio, and with the power of crushing whomsoever he chose. The sentence brought by his implacable adversary, Luther regarded as an act of personal revenge. "He regarded it," says Pallavicini, "as the perfidious poniard of a mortal enemy, and not as the legitimate act of a Roman lictor."[271] It was generally viewed as less the bull of the sovereign pontiff, than of Dr. Eck. In this way, the blow was obstructed and weakened before-hand by the very person at whose instigation it was struck.

[271] Non tanquam a securi legitimi lictoris, sed e telo infensissimi
hostis.... (Pallavicini, i, p. 74.)

[Sidenote: THE BULL IN GERMANY.]

The chancellor of Ingolstadt had hastened back to Saxony, which, as having been the scene of battle, he was desirous should also be the scene of his victory. Having arrived he published the bull at Meissen, Merseburg, and Brandenburg towards the end of September. But in the first of these towns it was posted up in a place where nobody could read it; and the bishops of those three sees were in no haste to publish it. Even Duke George, Eck's great patron, prohibited the Council of Leipsic from making it public, before receiving orders from the Bishop of Merseburg, and these orders did not arrive till the following year. "These are only difficulties of form," said John Eck to himself at first, for every thing else seemed to smile upon him. Duke George sent him a golden cup and some ducats. Even Miltitz, who had hastened to Leipsic, on learning that his rival had arrived, invited him to dinner. The two legates were boon companions; and Miltitz thought he could not have a better opportunity of sounding Eck than over their wine. "After he had drunk pretty freely, he began," says the pope's chamberlain, "to boast in grand style--he displayed his bull, and told how he meant to bring that droll fellow Martin to his senses."[272] But the Ingolstadt doctor soon had occasion to observe that the wind was veering. The course of a year had produced a great change in Leipsic.[273] On St. Michael's day some students posted up placards, in ten different places, containing a severe attack on the new nuncio, who, in amazement, took refuge in the cloister of St. Paul, where Tetzel had previously found his asylum, and declining every visit, induced the rector to call his youthful opponents to account. By this poor Eck gained little. The students composed a song upon him, and sang it in the streets. Eck must have heard it in his prison. On this all his courage failed him, and the redoubtable champion trembled in every limb. Every day brought him threatening letters. One hundred and fifty students, who had arrived from Wittemberg, spoke out boldly against the papal envoy. For once the poor apostolical nuncio could hold out no longer. "I would not have them kill him," said Luther, "though I wish his designs to fail."[274] Eck, quitting his retreat at night, clandestinely escaped from Leipsic to go and hide himself at Coburg. Miltitz, who gives the account, triumphed more than the Reformer. His triumph, however, was not of long duration. All the chamberlain's projects of conciliation failed, and he came at last to a miserable end. One day, when drunk, he fell into the Rhine at Mentz, and was drowned.

[272] Nachdem (writes Miltitz) er nun tapfer getrunken hatte, fleng er
gleich an trefflich von seiner ordre zu prahlen, etc. (Seckend., p.
238.)

[273] Longe aliam faciem et mentem Lipsiæ eum invenire quam sperasset
.... (L. Ep. i, p. 492.).

[274] Nollem eum occidi, quanquam optem ejus consilia irrita fieri.
(Ibid.)

Eck gradually recovered courage. Repairing to Erfurt, whose theologians had on more than one occasion betrayed their jealousy of Luther, he insisted on having his bull published in this town, but the students seized the copies, tore them to pieces, and threw them into the river, saying, "since it is a bull, let it swim."[275] "Now," said Luther, on being informed of this, "the pope's paper is a true bull." Eck durst not make his appearance at Wittemberg; but he sent the bull to the rector with a threat, that if it was not conformed to, he would destroy the university. At the same time he wrote Duke John, Frederick's brother, and co-regent, "Do not take what I do in bad part, I am acting in behalf of the faith, and it costs me many cares, great labour, and much money."[276]

[275] A studiosis discerpta et in aquam projecta, dicentibus: Bulla
est, in aquam natet! (L. Ep. i, p. 520.)

[276] Mit viel Mühe, Arbeit, und Kosten. (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 317.)

[Sidenote: ULRICK ZUINGLIUS.]

The bishop of Brandenburg, supposing him inclined, was not entitled to act at Wittemberg in his capacity of ordinary, the university being protected by its privileges. Luther and Carlstadt, who were condemned by the bull, were asked to take part in the meetings which were held to deliberate on its contents. The rector declared that, as he had not received a letter from the pope along with the bull, he declined to publish it. The university had already acquired greater authority in the surrounding countries than the sovereign pontiff himself. Its declaration served as a model to the government of the Elector; and thus the spirit which was in Luther triumphed over the bull of Rome.

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S SELF-EXAMINATION.]

While the German mind was thus strongly agitated by this affair, a grave voice was heard in another quarter of Europe. An individual, foreseeing the immense rent which the papal bull was about to make in the Church, came forward to give a solemn warning, and to defend the Reformer. It was that of the Swiss priest, of whom we have already spoken, viz., Ulrich Zuinglius, who, though not united to Luther by any friendly tie, published a treatise full of wisdom and dignity, the first of his numerous writings.[277] A kind of fraternal affection seemed to draw him towards the doctor of Wittemberg. "The piety of the pontiff," said he, "requires that he shall joyfully sacrifice whatever is dearest to him for the glory of Christ his King, and for the public peace of the Church. Nothing is more injurious to his dignity than to defend it by pensions or terror. Even before the writings of Luther were read, he had been calumniated to the people as a heretic, a schismatic, and as Antichrist himself. Not one gave him warning, none refuted him. He called for a discussion; but all he could get was a sentence of condemnation. The bull which is published displeases even those who honour the majesty of the pope. For it is everywhere regarded as an expression of the impotent hatred of some monks, and not of the mildness of a pontiff, who ought to be the vicar of a Saviour full of love. All acknowledge that the true doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ has greatly degenerated, and that a public and thorough reformation of laws and manners is required.[278] Consider all men of learning and virtue--the more sincere they are, the stronger is their attachment to evangelical truth, and the less their dissatisfaction with Luther's writings.[279] There is not one who does not acknowledge that he has derived benefit from these books, though he may have met with passages which he was unable to approve. Let men of sound doctrine and acknowledged probity be selected. Let three princes above all suspicion--the emperor Charles, the King of England, and the king of Hungary--name the judges. Let these judges read Luther's writings. Let them hear his defence, and then let their decision, whatever it be, be confirmed. Νικησατω ê του Χριστου παιδεια και αληθεια."[280]

[277] Consilium cujusdam ex animo cupientis esse consultum et
pontificis dignitati, et Christianæ religionis tranquillitati
(Zuinglii Opera, curant. Schulero et Schulthessio, iii, p. 1-5.)

[278] Multum degenerasse ab illa sincera Christi evangelica doctrina,
adeo ut nemo non fateatur opus esse publica aliqua et insigni legum ac
morum instauratione. (Ibid., p. 3.)

[279] Nemo non faletur se ex illius libris factum esse meliorem
(Ibid., p. 4.)

[280] Let the teaching and truth of Christ prevail.

This proposal, which came from the country of the Swiss, led to no result. It was necessary that the great divorce should take place. It was necessary that Christendom should be rent in twain. Her very wounds were destined to be the cure of her diseases.

CHAP. IX.

Luther Examines himself in the presence of God--Luther's
opinion of the Bull--A neutral Family--Luther on the Bull,
and against the Bull of Antichrist--The Pope prohibits
Faith--Effects of the Bull--The faggot pile of Louvain.

[Sidenote: A NEUTRAL FAMILY.]

But what signified all this resistance by students, rectors, and priests. If the mighty arm of Charles V is joined to the mighty arm of the pope, will they not crush these scholars and grammarians? Will any one be able to resist the combined power of the pontiff of Christendom and of the emperor of the West? The blow has been struck. Luther is excommunicated, and the gospel seems lost. At this solemn moment the Reformer does not disguise to himself the magnitude of the danger to which he is exposed; but he looks upward, and prepares to receive, as from the hand of the Lord himself, a blow which seems destined to annihilate him. He retires within himself, and meditates at the footstool of the throne of God. "What the result is to be," says he, "I know not, and I am not anxious to know; certain as I am that He who sits in heaven has from all eternity foreseen the beginning, the progress, and the end of this affair. Wherever the blow is to strike, I am without fear. The leaf of a tree falls not without our Father's will. How much less shall we fall. It is a small matter to die for the Word, since this Word which became incarnate and that for us has itself first died. If we die with it, we shall rise again with it; and, passing along the same road by which it passed, will arrive where it has arrived, and remain with it throughout eternity."[281] Sometimes, however, Luther could not restrain the contempt which he felt for the manœuvres of his enemies. On these occasions he displays his characteristic combination of sublimity and sarcasm. "I know nothing of Eck," says he, "except that he arrived with a long beard, a long bull, and a long purse.... But I will laugh at his bull."[282]

[281] Parum est nos pro verbo mori, cum ipsum incarnatum pro nobis
prius mortuum sit.... (L. Ep. i, p. 490.)

[282] Venisse eum barbatum, bullatum, nummatum ... Ridebo et ego
bullam sive ampullam. (L. Ep. i, p. 488.)

On the third of October he was made acquainted with the papal letter. "At length," says he, "this Roman bull has arrived. I despise it, and defy it as impious, false, and in all respects worthy of Eck. It is Christ himself who is condemned. It gives no reasons; it merely cites me, not to be heard, but simply to sing a palinode. I will treat it as spurious, though I have no doubt it is genuine. O, if Charles V were a man, and would, for the love of Christ, attack these demons![283] I rejoice in having to endure some hardships for the best of causes. I already feel more liberty in my heart; for at length I know that the pope is Antichrist, and that his see is that of Satan himself."

[283] Utinam Carolus vir esset, et pro Christo hos Satanas
aggrederetur. (Ibid, p. 494.)

It was not in Saxony merely that the thunders of Rome had produced alarm. A quiet family of Swabia, a neutral family, saw its peace suddenly broken up. Bilibald Pirckheimer, of Nuremberg, one of the most distinguished men of his age, having early lost his beloved wife Crescentia, was united in the closest affection with his two young sisters, Charitas, abbess of St. Clair, and Clara, a nun of the same convent. These two pious females served God in solitude, and divided their time between study, the care of the poor, and preparation for eternity. Bilibald, who was a statesman, relaxed from public affairs by maintaining a correspondence with them. They were learned, read Latin, and studied the Fathers; but their favourite volume was the Holy Scriptures. They had never had any other teacher than their brother. The letters of Charitas are written in a delicate and amiable spirit. Tenderly attached to Bilibald she took alarm at the least danger which threatened him. Pirckheimer, to dissipate the fears of this timid spirit, wrote a dialogue between Charitas and Veritas, (Charity and Truth), in which Veritas tries to strengthen Charitas.[284] Nothing can be more touching, or better fitted to solace a tender and agonised heart.

[284] Pirckheimeri Op. Francof.

[Sidenote: LUTHER ON THE BULL].

What must have been the terror of Charitas when the rumour spread that in the papal bull Bilibald's name was posted up beside that of Luther, on the doors of cathedrals? In fact, Eck, pushed on by blind fury, had associated with Luther six of the most distinguished men of Germany, viz., Carlstadt, Feldkirchen, and Egranus, (who gave themselves very little concern about it,) and Adelman, Pirckheimer, and his friend Spengler, whose public functions made them particularly alive to the insult. There was great agitation in the Convent of St. Clair. How shall the disgrace of Bilibald be borne? Nothing affects relatives more deeply than such trials. In vain did the city of Nuremberg, the Bishop of Bamberg, and even the dukes of Bavaria interfere in behalf of Spengler and Pirckheimer; these noble-minded men were obliged to humble themselves before Dr. Eck, who made them feel all the importance of a Roman protonotary, and obliged them to write a letter to the pope, declaring that they adhered to the doctrines of Luther only in so far as they were conformable to Christian faith. At the same time Adelman, with whom Eck had once had a scuffle on rising up from table after a discussion on the great question which then occupied all minds, was required to appear before the bishop of Augsburg and purge himself on oath of all participation in the Lutheran heresy. Still, however, anger and revenge had proved bad counsellors to Eck. The names of Bilibald and his friends damaged the bull. The character of these eminent men and their extensive connections increased the general irritation.

Luther at first pretended to doubt the authenticity of the bull. "I learn," says he in the first work which he published after it, "that Eck has brought from Rome a new bull, which resembles him so much, is so stuffed with falsehood and error, that it might well be named _Doctor Eck_. He gives out that it is the work of the pope, whereas it is only a work of lies." After explaining his reasons for doubting its genuineness, Luther thus concludes, "I must with my own eyes see the lead, the seal, the tape, the conclusion, the signature of the bull--every part of it, in short, or I will not estimate all this clamour at the weight of a straw."[285]

[285] Oder nicht ein Haarbreit geben ... L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 323.

But no man doubted, not even Luther himself, that the bull was the pope's. Germany waited to see what the Reformer would do. Would he stand firm? All eyes were fixed on Wittemberg. Luther did not keep his contemporaries long in suspense. On the 4th of November, 1520, he replied with a discharge of thunder, by publishing his treatise '_Against the Bull of Antichrist_.'

"What errors, what impostures," said he, "have crept in among the poor people under the cloak of the Church, and the pretended infallibility of the pope! how many souls have thus been lost! how much blood shed! what murders committed! what kingdoms ruined!"

[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE BULL.]

Further on he ironically says, "I know very well how to distinguish between art and malice, and set very little value on a malice which has no art. To burn books is so easy a matter that even children can do it; how much more the Holy Father and his doctors.[286] It would become them to show greater ability than is requisite merely to burn books.... Besides, let them destroy my works! I desire nothing more; for all I wished was to guide men to the Bible, that they might thereafter lay aside all my writings.[287] Good God! if we had the knowledge of Scripture, what need would there be for my writings?... I am free by the grace of God, and bulls neither solace nor frighten me. My strength and consolation are where neither men nor devils can assail them."

[286] So ist Bücher verbrennen so leicht, dass es auch Kinder können,
schweig denn der heilige Vater Pabst... (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 324.)

[287] ... In Biblien zu führen dass man derselben Verstand erlangte,
und denn meine Büchlein verschwinden liess. (Ibid.)

Luther's tenth proposition, condemned by the pope, was in the following terms: "No man's sins are pardoned, if, when the priest absolves him, he does not believe that they are pardoned." The pope in condemning it denied that faith was necessary in the Sacrament. "They maintain," exclaims Luther, "that we ought not to believe that our sins are pardoned when we are absolved by the priest. What then are we to do? Listen now, O! Christians, to a new arrival from Rome. Condemnation is pronounced against this article of faith which we profess when we say 'I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, and the forgiveness of sins.' Did I know that the pope had really given this bull at Rome," (he did not doubt it,) "and that it was not the invention of the arch-liar, Eck, I would cry aloud to all Christians that they ought to hold the pope as the true Antichrist spoken of in Scripture. And if he would not desist from proscribing the faith of the Church, ... then let the temporal sword resist him even sooner than the Turk!... For the Turks allow belief, but the pope forbids it."

While Luther was speaking thus forcibly, his perils were increasing. The scheme of his enemies was to drive him out of Wittemberg. If Luther and Wittemberg are separated, both will be destroyed. A single stroke would thus disencumber Rome of both the heretical doctor and the heretical university. Duke George, the bishop of Merseburg, and the theologians of Leipsic were labouring underhand at this work.[288] Luther on being apprised of it said, "I leave this affair in the hands of God."[289] These proceedings were not without result: Adrian, professor of Hebrew at Wittemberg, suddenly turned against the doctor. It required great firmness in the faith to withstand the shock given by the Roman bull. There are characters which follow the truth only a certain distance, and such was Adrian. Frightened at the condemnation he quitted Wittemberg, and repaired to Leipsic to be near Dr. Eck.

[288] Ut Wittemberga pellerer. (L. Ep. i, p. 519.)

[289] Id quod in manum Dei refero. (Ibid. p. 520.)

[Sidenote: THE DOCTORS OF LOUVAIN AND REGENT MARGARET.]

The bull began to be executed. The voice of the pontiff of Christendom was not an empty sound. Long had fire and sword taught subjection to it. Faggot piles were prepared at his bidding, and everything indicated that a dreadful catastrophe was to put an end to the audacious revolt of the Augustin monk. In October, 1520, all the copies of Luther's works in the shops of the booksellers at Ingolstadt were seized, and put under seal. The Archbishop-Elector of Mentz, moderate as he was, had to banish Ulric of Hütten from his court, and imprison his printer. The papal nuncios having laid siege to the young Emperor, Charles declared that he would protect the ancient religion;[290] and in some of his hereditary possessions scaffolds were erected, on which the writings of the heretic were reduced to ashes. Princes of the Church and magistrates were present at these _auto-da-fe_. Alcander was quite elated with his success. "The pope," said he, in imitation of Prierio, "may dethrone kings! He may, if he chooses, say to the emperor, Thou art only a tanner! He knows well how to bring one or two miserable grammarians to their senses. We will dispose, moreover, of Duke Frederick also." To hear the proud nuncio, one would have said that the pile of Mentz which consumed Luther's books was "le commencement de la fin" (_the beginning of the end_.) These flames, it was said at Rome, will carry terror into every quarter. Such, in truth, was the effect on many superstitious and timid spirits; but even in the hereditary states of Charles, where alone it was ventured to execute the bull, the people, and even the grandees, often answered these pontifical demonstrations with derision, or expressions of indignation. "Luther," said the doctors of Louvain, on presenting themselves before Margaret, Regent of the Netherlands, "Luther is subverting the Christian faith." "Who is this Luther?" asked the Princess. "An ignorant monk." "Well, then," replied she, "do you, who are learned, and in such numbers, write against him. The world will credit a multitude of learned men sooner than an isolated, ignorant monk." The doctors of Louvain preferred an easier method. They caused a vast pile to be erected at their own expense. The place of execution was covered with spectators, and students and burghers were seen hastening through the crowd, their arms filled with large volumes, which they threw into the flames. Their zeal edified the monks and doctors; but the trick was afterwards discovered. Instead of the writings of Luther, they had thrown into the fire the _Sermones discipuli_, _Tartaret_, and other scholastic and popish books.[291]

[290] A ministris pontificiis mature præoccupatus, declaravit se velle
vetarem fidem tutari..... Pallavicini, p. 80.

[291] Seckend. p. 289.

[Sidenote: DECISIVE STEPS BY THE REFORMER.]

The Count of Nassau, Viceroy of Holland, when the Dominicans were soliciting the favour of burning the doctor's books, said to them, "Go and preach the gospel as purely as Luther, and you will have nobody to complain of." At a festival, attended by the leading princes of the empire, the Reformer having become the subject of conversation, the Baron of Ravenstein said, aloud, "In the space of four centuries, only one Christian man has dared to lift his head, and the pope is wishing to put him to death."[292]

[292] Es ist in 400 Jahren ein christlicher mann aufgestanden, den
will der Pabst todt aben (Seckend. p. 288.)

Luther, conscious of the power of his cause, remained tranquil amid the tumult which the bull had excited.[293] "Did you not urge me so keenly," said he to Spalatin, "I would be silent, well knowing that, by the power and counsel of God, this work must be accomplished."[294] The timid man was anxious for speech, the strong man wished to be silent. It was because Luther discerned a power not visible to the eyes of his friend. "Be of good courage," continues the Reformer; "Christ began these things, and Christ will accomplish them, though I should be put to flight or put to death. Jesus Christ is present here, and more powerful is He who is in us, than he who is in the world."[295]

[293] "In bullosis illis tumultibus." (L. Ep. p. 519.) In those bull
tumults.

[294] "Rem totam Deo committerem."(Ibid, 521.) I would commit the
whole affair to God.

[295] "Christus ista cœpit, ista perficiet, etiam me sive extincto,
sive fugato." (Ibid., p. 526.)

CHAP. X.

Decisive steps by the Reformer--Luther's Appeal to a General
Council--Struggle at close quarters--The Bull burned by
Luther--Meaning of this bold act--Luther in the Academic
Chair--Luther against the Pope--New Work by Melancthon--How
Luther encourages his Friends--Progress of the
Contest--Melancthon's Opinion of the timid--Luther's Work on
the Bible--Doctrine of Grace--Luther's Recantation.

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S APPEAL TO A GENERAL COUNCIL.]

But duty obliged him to speak, in order to manifest the truth to the world. Rome has struck, and he will make it known how he receives the blow. The pope has put him under the ban of the Church, and he will put the pope under the ban of Christendom. Up to this hour the pope's word has been omnipotent. Luther will oppose word to word, and the world will know which is the more powerful of the two. "I am desirous," said he, "to set my conscience at rest, by making men aware of the danger to which they are exposed."[296] At the same time he prepares to renew his appeal to an universal council. An appeal from the pope to a council was a crime, and hence the mode in which Luther attempts to justify himself is a new act of hostility to papal authority.

[296] "Ut meam conscientiam redimam." (Ibid., p. 522.) That I may
redeem my conscience.

On the morning of the 17th November, a notary and five witnesses, of whom Cruciger was one, met at ten o'clock, in one of the halls of the Augustin convent in which the doctor resided. There the public officer, Sarctor of Eisleben, having seated himself to draw up the minute of his protest, the Reformer, in presence of the witnesses, says, with a solemn tone:

"Considering that a general Council of the Christian Church is above the pope, especially in all that concerns the faith;

"Considering that the power of the pope is not above, but beneath Scripture, and that he has no right to worry the sheep of Christ, and throw them into the wolf's mouth:

"I, Martin Luther, Augustin, doctor of the Holy Scriptures at Wittemberg, do, by this writing, appeal for myself, and for all who shall adhere to me, from the most holy Pope Leo, to a future universal Christian Council.

"I appeal from the said Pope Leo, _first_, as an unjust, rash, tyrannical judge, who condemns me without hearing me, and without explaining the grounds of his judgment; _secondly_, as a heretic, a strayed, obdurate apostate, condemned by the Holy Scriptures, inasmuch as he ordains me to deny that Christian faith is necessary in the use of the sacraments;[297] _thirdly_, as an enemy, an antichrist, an adversary, a tyrant of the Holy Scripture,[298] who dares to oppose his own words to all the words of God; _fourthly_, as a despiser, a calumniator, a blasphemer of the holy Christian Church and a free Council, inasmuch as he pretends that a Council is nothing in itself.

[297] "Ab erroneo, indurato, per Scripturas sanctas damnato, hæretico
et apostata." (L. Op. Lat. ii, p. 50.) See also (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p.
332.) The German copy has a few paragraphs that are not in the Latin.

[298] "Oppressore, totius sacræ Scripturæ." (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: THE BULL BURNT BY LUTHER.]

"Wherefore, I most humbly supplicate the most serene, most illustrious, excellent, generous, noble, brave, sage, and prudent lords, Charles, the Roman emperor, the electors, princes, counts, barons, knights, gentlemen, counsellors, towns, and commonalties, throughout Germany, to adhere to my protestation, and join me in resisting the antichristian conduct of the pope, for the glory of God, the defence of the Church, and of Christian doctrine, and the maintenance of free councils in Christendom. Let them do so, and Christ our Lord will richly recompence them by his eternal grace. But if there are any who despise my prayer, and continue to obey that impious man, the pope, rather than God,[299] I, by these presents, shake myself free of the responsibility. Having faithfully warned their consciences, I leave them, as well as the pope, and all his adherents, to the sovereign judgment of God."

[299] Et papæ, impio homini, plus quam Deo obediant. (Ibid.)

Such is Luther's deed of divorce, such his answer to the papal bull. There is great seriousness in this declaration. The accusations which he brings against the pope are very grave, and are not made in a spirit of levity. This protestation spread over Germany, and was sent to the leading courts of Christendom.

[Sidenote: MEANING OF THIS BOLD ACT.]

Though the step which Luther had just taken seemed the very height of daring, he had a still bolder step in reserve. The monk of Wittemberg will do all that the pope dares to do. The son of the Medicis, and the son of the miner of Mansfeld, have descended into the lists, and in this mortal struggle, which shakes the world, not a blow is given by the one which is not returned by the other. On the 10th December, a notice appeared on the walls of Wittemberg, inviting the professors and students to meet at nine o'clock in the morning, at the east gate, near the holy cross. A great number of teachers and pupils assembled, and Luther, walking at their head, led the procession to the appointed spot. How many faggot piles has Rome kindled in the course of ages! Luther desires to make a better application of the great Roman principle. He only wishes to rid himself of some old papers, and the fire, he thinks, is the fit instrument for that. A scaffold had been prepared. One of the oldest masters of arts applied the torch. At the moment when the flames rose, the redoubted Augustin, dressed in his frock, was seen to approach the pile, holding in his hands the Canon Law, the Decretals, the Clementines, the Extravagants of the popes, some writings of Eck and Emser, and the papal bull. The Decretals having first been consumed, Luther held up the bull, and saying, "Since thou hast grieved the Lord's Anointed, let the eternal fire grieve and consume thee," threw it into the flames. Never was war declared with more energy and resolution. Luther quietly took the road back to the town, and the crowd of doctors, professors, and students, after a loud cheer, returned with him to Wittemberg. "The Decretals," said Luther, "resemble a body with a head as soft as that of a maiden, limbs as full of violence as those of a lion, and a tail with as many wiles as a serpent. In all the papal laws, there is not one word to teach us who Jesus Christ is.[300] My enemies," continues he, "have been able, by burning my books, to injure the truth in the minds of the common people, and therefore I have burnt their books in my turn. A serious struggle has now commenced. Hitherto I have only had child's play with the pope. I began the work in the name of God; it will be terminated without me and by his power. If they burn my books, in which, to speak without vain-glory, there is more of the gospel than in all the books of the pope, I am entitled, _a fortiori_, to burn theirs, in which there is nothing good."

[300] L. Op. (W.) xxii, p. 1493-1496.

Had Luther commenced the Reformation in this way, such a proceeding would doubtless have led to fatal results. Fanaticism would have been able to lay hold of it, and throw the Church into a course of disorder and violence. But the Reformer's grave exposition of Scripture had formed a prelude to his work. The foundations had been wisely laid, and now the mighty stroke which he had just given would not only expose him to no hazard, but even accelerate the hour when Christendom would be delivered from her chains.

Thus solemnly did Luther declare his separation from the pope and his church. After his letter to Leo he might think this necessary. He accepted the excommunication which Rome had pronounced. It made the Christian world aware that there was now mortal war between him and the pope. On reaching the shore, he burnt his ships, and left himself no alternative but that of advancing to the combat.

Luther had returned to Wittemberg. Next day the academic hall was fuller than usual. Men's minds were excited. A feeling of solemnity prevailed throughout the audience, in expectation of an address from the doctor. He commented on the Psalms, a task which he had commenced in March of the previous year. Having finished his lecture, he paused a few moments, and then said firmly, "Be on your guard against the laws and statutes of the pope. I have burned the Decretals, but it is only child's play. It is time, and more than time, to burn the pope. I mean, he instantly resumed, the see of Rome, with all its doctrines and abominations." Then, assuming a more solemn tone, he said, "If you do not, with all your heart, combat the impious government of the pope, you cannot be saved. Whoever takes pleasure in the religion and worship of the papacy will be eternally lost in the life to come."[301]

[301] "Muss ewig in jenem Leben verlohren seyn." L. Op. (L.) xvii, p.
333.

"If we reject it," added he, "we may expect all kinds of dangers and even the loss of life. But it is far better to run such risks in the world than to be silent! As long as I live I will warn my brethren of the sore and plague of Babylon, lest several who are with us fall back with the others into the abyss of hell."

[Sidenote: LUTHER AGAINST THE POPE.]

It is scarcely possible to imagine the effect produced upon the audience by language, the energy of which still makes us wonder. "None of us," adds the candid student to whom we owe the fact, "at least, if he be not a block without intelligence, ('as,' adds he in a parenthesis, 'all the papists are,')--none of us doubts that it contains the simple truth. It is evident to all the faithful, that Dr. Luther is an angel of the living God, called to feed the long bewildered sheep of Christ with the divine Word."[302]

[302] Lutherum esse Dei viventis angelum qui palabundas Christi oves
pascat. (L. Op. Lat. ii, p. 123.)

This discourse, and the act which crowned it, mark an important epoch in the Reformation. The Leipsic discussion had detached Luther inwardly from the pope. But the moment when he burned the bull was that in which he declared, in the most expressive manner, his entire separation from the bishop of Rome and his church, and his attachment to the Church universal, as founded by the apostles of Jesus Christ. After three centuries the fire which he kindled at the East gate is still burning.

"The pope," said he, "has three crowns, and they are these: the _first_ is against God, for he condemns religion,--the _second_ against the emperor, for he condemns the secular power,--and the _third_ against society, for he condemns marriage."[303] When he was reproached with inveighing too violently against the papacy, he replied, "Ah! I wish every thing I testify against him were a clap of thunder, and every one of my words were a thunderbolt."[304]

[303] L. Op. (W.) xxii, p. 1313.

[304] Und ein jeglich Wort eine Donneraxt wäre. (Ibid. p. 1350.)

This firmness of Luther was communicated to his friends and countrymen. A whole nation rallied round him. The university of Wittemberg in particular always became more attached to the hero to whom it owed its importance and renown. Carlstadt raised his voice against "the raging lion of Florence," who tore divine and human laws to pieces, and trampled under foot the principles of eternal truth. At this time Melancthon also addressed the States of the empire in a writing characterised by his usual elegance and wisdom. It was a reply to a treatise attributed to Emser, but published under the name of Rhadinus, a Roman theologian. Luther himself spoke not more forcibly, and yet there is a grace in Melancthon's words which gives them access to the heart.

[Sidenote: NEW WORK BY MELANCTHON.]

After showing, by passages of Scripture, that the pope is not superior to other bishops; "What prevents us," says he to the States of the empire, "from depriving the pope of the privilege which we have given him?[305] It matters little to Luther that our riches, i.e. the treasures of Europe, are sent to Rome. But what causes his grief and ours is, that the laws of the pontiffs, and the reign of the pope, not only endanger the souls of men but utterly destroy them. Every man can judge for himself, whether or not it suits him to give his money for the maintenance of Roman luxury, but to judge of the things of religion, and of sacred mysteries, is beyond the reach of the vulgar. Here, then, Luther implores your faith and zeal, and all pious men implore with him, some with loud voice and others with groans and sighs. Remember, princes of the Christian people, that you are Christians, and rescue the sad wrecks of Christianity from the tyranny of Antichrist. You are deceived by those who pretend that you have no authority over priests. The same spirit which animated Jehu against the priests of Baal urges you, in imitation of that ancient example, to abolish the Roman superstition--a superstition far more horrible than the idolatry of Baal."[306] So spoke mild Melancthon to the princes of Germany.

[305] "Quid obstat quominus papæ quod dedimus jus adimamus!" (Corp.
Reform. L. i, p. 337.)

[306] Ut extinguaris illam multo tetriorem Baalis idololatriâ Romanam
superstitionem. (Corp. Ref. i, p. 337.)

Some cries of alarm were heard among the friends of the Reformation. Timid spirits inclined to excessive moderation--Staupitz in particular, expressed the keenest anguish. "Till now," said Luther to him, "the whole affair has been mere sport. You yourself have said, 'did God not do these things it is impossible they could by done.' The tumult becomes more and more tumultuous! and I do not think it will be quelled before the last day."[307] Such was Luther's mode of encouraging the timid. The tumult has existed for three centuries and is not quelled!

[307] Tumultus egregiè tumultuatur, ut nisi extremo die sedari mihi
posse non videatur. (L. Ep. i, p. 541.)

"The papacy," continued he, "is not now what it was yesterday and the day before. Let it excommunicate and burn my writings; ... let it kill me! it cannot arrest what is going forward. Something wonderful is at the door.[308] I burnt the bull in great trembling, but now I experience more joy from it than from any action of my life."[309]

[308] Omnino aliquid portenti præ foribus est. (Ibid. p. 642.) Strange
presage of the future!

[309] ... primum trepidus et orans, sed nunc lætior quam ullo totius
vitæ meæ facto. (Ibid.) ... at first trembling and praying, but now
more joyful than at any action of my whole life.

We stop involuntarily and delight to read in the great soul of Luther all that the future is preparing. "O! my father," says he to Staupitz in concluding, "pray for the word of God and for me. I am heaved on the billows, and as it were whirled upon them."[310]

[310] Ego fluctibus his rapior et volvor. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF THE STRUGGLE.]

War is thus declared on all sides. The combatants have thrown away their scabbards. The Word of God has resumed its rights, and deposes him who had gone the length of usurping God's place. Society is shaken throughout. No period is without egotistical men, who would willingly leave human society in error and corruption, but wise men, even the timid among them, think differently. "We know well," says the mild and moderate Melancthon, "that statesmen have a horror at every thing like innovation; and it must be confessed, that in the sad confusion called human life, discord, even that which arises from the best of causes, is always accompanied with evil. Still it is necessary that in the Church the Word of God take precedence of every thing human.[311] God denounces eternal wrath against those who strive to extinguish the truth; and therefore, it was a duty incumbent on Luther--a Christian duty which he could not evade--to rebuke the pernicious errors which disorderly men were circulating with inconceivable effrontery. If discord engenders many evils, (to my great grief I see it does, adds sage Philip,) it is the fault of those who at the beginning circulated errors, and of those who, filled with diabolic hatred, are seeking at present to maintain them."

[311] Sed tamen in Ecclesiâ necesse est anteferri mandatum Dei omnibus
rebus humanis. (Melancth. Vit. Lutheri.)

All, however, were not of the same opinion. Luther was loaded with reproaches; the storm burst upon him from all sides. "He is quite alone," said some--"He teaches novelties," said others.

"Who knows," replied Luther, in accordance with the virtue given him from on high,--"who knows if God has not chosen me, and called me,[312] and if they ought not to fear that in despising me they may be despising God himself?... Moses was alone on coming but of Egypt--Elijah alone in the time of King Ahab--Isaiah alone in Jerusalem--Ezekiel alone at Babylon.... God never chose for a prophet either the high priest or any other great personage. He usually chose persons who were low and despised,--on one occasion he even chose a shepherd, (Amos). At all times the saints have had to rebuke the great--kings, princes, priests, the learned--at the risk of their lives. And under the New Dispensation has it not been the same? Ambrose in his day was alone; after him Jerome was alone; later still Augustine was alone.... I do not say that I am a prophet,[313] but I say they ought to fear just because I am alone and they are many. One thing I am sure of--the Word of God is with me and is not with them.

[312] Wer weiss ob mich Gott dazu berufen und erwaehlt hat.
Fundamental principle of the articles condemned by the papal bull. (L.
Op. (L.) xvii, p. 338.)

[313] "Ich sage nicht dass Ich ein Prophet sey." (L. Op. (L.) xvii. p.
338.)

"It is said also," continues he, "that I advance novelties, and that it is impossible to believe that all other doctors have for so long a period been mistaken.

[Sidenote: THE BIBLE PARAMOUNT.]

"No, I do not preach novelties. But I say that all Christian doctrines have disappeared, even among those who ought to have preserved them; I mean bishops and the learned. I doubt not, however, that the truth has remained in some hearts, should it even have been in infants in the cradle.[314] Poor peasants, mere babes, now understand Jesus Christ better than the pope, the bishops, and the doctors.

[314] "Und sollten's eitel Kinder in der Wiege seyn." (Ibid, p. 339.)

"I am accused of rejecting the holy doctors of the Church. I reject them not: but since all those doctors try to prove their writings by Holy Scripture, it must be clearer and more certain than they are. Who thinks of proving an obscure discourse by one still more obscure? Thus, then, necessity constrains us to recur to the Bible, as all the doctors do, and to ask it to decide upon their writings; for the Bible is lord and master.

"But it is said men in power persecute him. And is it not clear from Scripture that persecutors are usually in the wrong, and the persecuted in the right; that the majority are always in favour of falsehood, and the minority in favour of truth? The truth has, at all times, caused clamour."[315]

[315] Wahrheit hat alle, seit rumört (Ibid., p. 140.)

Luther afterwards reviews the propositions condemned in the bull as heretical, and demonstrates their truth, by proofs drawn from Holy Scripture. With what force, in particular, does he now maintain the doctrine of grace!

"What," says he, "will nature be able, before and without grace, to hate sin, avoid it, and repent of it; while that, even since grace is come, this nature loves sin, seeks it, desires it, and ceases not to combat grace, and to be irritated against it; a fact for which all the saints continually do groan!... It is as if it were said that a large tree, which I am unable to bend by exerting my utmost strength, bends of itself on my letting it go; or that a torrent, which walls and dykes cannot arrest, is arrested the instant I leave it to itself.... No, it is not by considering sin and its consequences that we attain to repentance, but by contemplating Jesus Christ, his wounds, and boundless love.[316] The knowledge of sin must result from repentance, and not repentance from the knowledge of sin. Knowledge is the fruit, repentance is the tree. With us the fruit grows upon the tree, but it would seem that, in the states of the holy father, the tree grows upon the fruit."

[316] Man soll zuvor Christum in seine Wunden sehen, und aus
denselben, seine Liebe gegen uns. (Ibid., p. 351.)

The courageous doctor, though he protests, also retracts some of his propositions. Surprise will cease when his mode of doing it is known. After quoting the four propositions on indulgences, condemned by the bull,[317] he simply adds,

[Sidenote: CORONATION OF CHARLES V.]

"In honour of the holy and learned bull I retract all that I have ever taught touching indulgences. If my books have been justly burned, it must certainly be because I conceded something to the pope in the doctrine of indulgences; wherefore, I myself condemn them to the fire."

[317] 19 to 22. (Ibid., p. 363.)