Chapter VIII: Part 8

But the rumour of Luther's journey to Worms had already spread. Men eager for novelty rejoiced at it. The emperor's courtiers were alarmed, but no one felt so indignant as the papal legate. Aleander on his journey had seen how deep an impression the gospel which Luther preached had made on all classes of society. Literary men, lawyers, nobles, the lower clergy, the regular orders, and the people, were gained to the Reformation.[380] These friends of the new doctrine carried their heads erect, and were bold in their language, while fear and terror froze the partizans of Rome. The papacy still stood, but its props were shaking. A noise of devastation was already heard, somewhat resembling the creaking which takes place at the time when a mountain begins to slip.[381]

[380] Multitudo..turba paperum, nobilium...grammatici
causidici...inferiores ecclesiastici..factio multorum regularium...
(Pallavicini, i, p. 93.)

[381] Hæ omnes conditiones petulanter grassantium..metum cuilibet
incutiebant... (Ibid., p. 93.)

[Sidenote: ALEANDER'S ALARM.]

Aleander, during his journey to Worms, was sadly annoyed. When he had to dine or sleep, neither literary men nor nobles nor priests, even among the supposed friends of the pope, durst receive him, and the proud nuncio was obliged to seek an asylum in taverns of the lowest class.[382] He was thus in terror, and had no doubt that his life was in great danger. In this way he arrived at Worms; and, thenceforth, to his Roman fanaticism was added resentment for the personal injuries which he had received. He immediately put every means in operation to prevent the audacious compearance of the redoubtable Luther. "Would it not be scandalous," said he, "to see laics re-investigating a cause which the pope had already condemned?" Nothing alarms a Roman courtier so much as an investigation; and, moreover, an investigation to take place in Germany, and not at Rome. How humiliating even should Luther's condemnation be unanimously decided! And it was not even certain that such would be the result. Will not the powerful word of Luther, which has already done such havoc, involve many princes and nobles in inevitable ruin? Aleander, when before Charles, insisted, implored, threatened, and spoke out as nuncio of the head of the Church.[383] Charles yielded; and wrote to the Elector that the time granted to Luther having already elapsed, the monk was under papal excommunication; and that therefore unless he were willing to retract his writings, Frederick must leave him at Wittemberg. Frederick had already quitted Saxony without Luther. "I pray the Lord to be favourable to our Elector," were the words of Melancthon on seeing him depart; "on him our hopes of the restoration of Christendom repose. His enemies dare every thing, και παντα λιθον κινησομενους;[384] but God will bring to nought the counsel of Ahithophel. As for us, let us do our part in the combat by our lessons and our prayers." Luther was deeply grieved at being prohibited to appear at Worms.[385]

[382] Neminem nactus qui auderet ipsum excipere ad vilia sordidaque
hospitia ægre divertit. (Pallavicini, i, p. 93.)

[383] Legati Romani nolunt ut audiatur homo hæreticus. Minantur multa.
(Zw. Ep. p. 157.)

[384] There is not a stone which they will not move. (Corp. Ref., i,
p. 279. 24th Jan.)

[385] Cum dolore legi novissimas Caroli litteras. (L. Ep. i, p. 542.)

Aleander did not consider it enough that Luther should not come to Worms--he wished him to be condemned. Returning incessantly to the charge before the princes, prelates, and different members of the Diet, he accused the Augustin monk not only of disobedience and heresy, but also of sedition, rebellion, impiety, and blasphemy. The very accent in which he spoke betrayed the passions by which he was actuated; so that men exclaimed, it is hatred and love of vengeance, rather than zeal and piety, that excite him.[386] However frequent, however vehement his discourses were, he made no converts.[387]

[386] Magis invidiâ et vindictæ libidine quam zelo pietatis. (Historia
Johnnis Cochlœi de actis et scriptis Martini Lutheri. _Parisus_,
1565, p. 27, verso. Cochlœus was all his life one of Luther's
greatest enemies. We will soon see him appear.)

[387] Vehementibus suis orationibus parum promovit. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: ALEANDER AWAKENS ROME.]

Some pointed out to him that the papal bull had condemned Luther only conditionally; others did not altogether conceal the joy which they felt at seeing Roman pride humbled. The ministers of the emperor, on the one hand, and the ecclesiastical electors, on the other, affected great coldness--the former to make the pope more sensible how necessary it was for him to league with their master, the latter in order to induce him to pay better for their favour. A conviction of Luther's innocence prevailed in the assembly, and Aleander could not restrain his indignation.

But the coldness of the Diet did not try the patience of the legate so much as the coldness of Rome. Rome, which had so long refused to take a serious view of the quarrel of the drunk German, had no idea that a bull of the sovereign pontiff could prove insufficient to make him humble and submissive. She had accordingly resumed her wonted security,[388] no longer sending either bull or purses of money. But how was it possible without money to succeed in such a business?[389] Rome must be awakened, and Aleander gives the alarm. Writing to the Cardinal de Medicis, he says, "Germany is detaching herself from Rome, and the princes are detaching themselves from the pope. A few delays more--a few more attempts at compromise and the matter is past hope. Money! money! or Germany is lost."[390]

[388] Negligens quædam securitas Romam pervaserat. (Pallavicini, i, p.
94.)

[389] Nec pecunia ad varios pro eadem sumptus. (Ibid.)

[390] "Periculum denique amittendæ Germaniæ ex parcimonia monetæ
cujusdam." (Ibid.) In fine, the danger of losing Germany from
niggardliness in withholding a sum of money.

At this cry Rome awakes: the servants of the papacy, laying aside their torpor, hastily forge their dreaded thunder at the Vatican. The pope issues a new bull;[391] and the excommunication with which till then the heretical doctor had been merely threatened, is in distinct terms pronounced against him and all his adherents. Rome herself, breaking the last thread which still attached him to her church, gave Luther greater freedom, and thereby greater power. Thundered at by the pope, he, with new affection, took refuge in Christ. Driven from the external temple, he felt more strongly that he was himself a temple inhabited by God.

[391] Decet Romanum Pontificem, etc. (Roman. Bullarium.)

[Sidenote: EXCOMMUNICATION BY THE POPE. COMMUNION WITH CHRIST.]

"It is a glorious thing," said he, "that we sinners, in believing on Jesus Christ, and eating his flesh, have him within us with all his strength, power, wisdom and justice, according as it is written, '_He who believeth in me, dwelleth in me and I in him._' Admirable dwelling! marvellous tabernacle! far superior to that of Moses, and all magnificently adorned within with superb tapestry, veils of purple, and furniture of gold, while without, as on the tabernacle which God ordered to be constructed in the wilderness of Sinai, is seen only a rough covering of beavers' skins or goats' hair.[392] Christians often stumble, and in external appearance are all feebleness and disgrace. But no matter: within this infirmity and folly dwells secretly a power which the world cannot know, but which overcomes the world; for Christ remaineth in them. I have sometimes seen Christians walking with a halt, and in great weakness; but when the hour of combat or appearance at the world's bar arrived, Christ of a sudden acted within them, and they became so strong and resolute that the devil in dismay fled before them."[393]

[392] Exodus, xxvi, 7, 14.

[393] So regete sich der Christus, dass sie so fest wurden dass der
Teufel fliechen musste. (L. Op. ix, p. 613, on John, vi.)

In regard to Luther, such an hour was about to peal, and Christ, in whose communion he dwelt, was not to forsake him. Meanwhile Rome naturally rejected him. The Reformer, and all his partisans, whatever their rank and power, were anathematised, and deprived personally, as well as in their descendants, of all their dignities and effects. Every faithful Christian as he loved his soul's salvation was ordered to shun the sight of the accursed crew. Wherever heresy had been introduced, the priests were, on Sundays and festivals, at the hour when the churches were best filled, solemnly to publish the excommunication. They were to carry away the vessels and ornaments of the altar, and lay the cross upon the ground; twelve priests, with torches in their hands, were to kindle them and dash them down with violence, and extinguish them by trampling them with their feet; then the bishop was to publish the condemnation of the impious men; all the bells were to be rung; the bishops and priests were to pronounce anathemas and maledictions, and preach forcibly against Luther and his adherents.

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S MOTIVES IN THE REFORMATION.]

Twenty-two days had elapsed since the excommunication had been published at Rome, and it was perhaps not yet known in Germany, when Luther, learning that there was again some talk of calling him to Worms, addressed the Elector in a letter written in such terms that Frederick might communicate it to the Diet. Luther wished to correct the erroneous impression of the princes, and frankly explain to this august tribunal the true nature of a cause which was so much misapprehended. "I rejoice with all my heart, most serene lord," said he, "that his imperial majesty means to bring this affair under consideration. I call Jesus Christ to witness that it is the cause of Germany, of the Catholic Church, of the Christian world, and of God himself, ... and not of any single man, and more especially such a man as I.[394] I am ready to repair to Worms, provided I have a safe-conduct, and learned, pious, and impartial judges. I am ready to answer, ... for it is not in a spirit of rashness, or with a view to personal advantage, that I have taught the doctrine with which I am reproached; I have done it in obedience to my conscience, and to the oath which, as doctor, I took to the Holy Scriptures; I have done it for the glory of God, the safety of the Christian Church, the good of the German nation, and the extirpation of many superstitions, abuses, and evils, disgrace, tyranny, blasphemy, and impiety."

[394] "Causam, quæ, Christo teste, Dei, Christiani orbis, Ecclesiæ
Catholicæ, et totius Germanicæ Nationis, et non unius, et privati est
hominis" .... (L. Ep. i, p. 551.)

This declaration, in the solemn circumstances in which Luther made it, is deserving of our attention. We here see the motives which influenced him, and the primary causes which led to the renovation of Christian society. These were something more than monkish jealousy or a wish to marry.

CHAP. II.

A Foreign Prince--Advice of Politicians--Conference between
the Confessor and the Elector's Chancellor--Uselessness of
these Manœuvres--Aleander's activity--Luther's
Sayings--Charles gives in to the Pope.

[Sidenote: PONTANUS AND GLAPIO.]

But all this was of no importance in the eyes of politicians. How high soever the idea which Charles entertained of the imperial dignity, it was not in Germany that his interests and policy centred. He was always a Duke of Burgundy, who, to several sceptres, added the first crown of Christendom. Strange! at the moment of her thorough transformation, Germany selected for her head a foreign prince in whose eyes her wants and tendencies were only of secondary importance. The religious movement, it is true, was not indifferent to the young emperor; but it was important in his eyes only in so far as it menaced the pope. War between Charles and France was inevitable, and its chief seat was necessarily to be in Italy. An alliance with the pope thus became every day more necessary to the schemes of Charles. He would fain have either detached Frederick from Luther, or satisfied the pope without offending Frederick. Several of those about him manifested, in regard to the affairs of the Augustin monk, that cold disdain which politicians usually affect when religion is in question. "Let us avoid extremes," said they. "Let us trammel Luther by negotiations, and reduce him to silence by some kind of concession. The true course is to stifle the embers, not stir them up. If the monk is caught in the net, we have gained the day. By accepting a compromise he will be interdicted and undone. For appearance some externa reforms will be devised; the Elector will be satisfied; the pope will be gained, and affairs will resume their ordinary course."

Such was the project of the confidential counsellors of the emperor. The doctors of Wittemberg seem to have divined this new policy. "They are trying in secret to gain men's minds," said Melancthon, "and are working in darkness."[395] John Glapio, the confessor of Charles V,--a man of rank, a skilful courtier, and an intriguing monk,--undertook the execution of the project. Glapio possessed the entire confidence of Charles, who (in accordance with Spanish manners) left to him almost entirely the management of matters relating to religion. As soon as Charles was appointed emperor, Leo X had assiduously endeavoured to gain Glapio by favours to which the confessor was strongly alive.[396] There was no way in which he could make a better return to the pope's kindness than by reducing heresy to silence, and he accordingly set about the task.[397]

[395] "Clanculum tentent et experiantur ..." (Corp. Reform. i, p. 281,
3rd Feb.)

[396] "Benignis officiis recens a Pontifice delinitus." (Pallavicini,
i, p. 90.)

[397] "Et sane in eo toto negotio singulare probitatis ardorisque
specimen dedit." (Ibid.) And assuredly in the whole business he gave
singular proof of probity and zeal.

One of the Elector's counsellors was Chancellor Gregory Bruck, or Pontanus, a man of great intelligence, decision, and courage, who knew more of theology than all the doctors, and whose wisdom was a match for the wiles of the monks at the emperor's court. Glapio, aware of the influence of the chancellor, asked an interview with him; and coming up to him as if he had been the friend of the Reformer, said to him, with an expression of good will, "I was delighted when, on reading the first productions of Luther, I found him a vigorous stock, which had pushed forth noble branches, and which gave promise to the Church of the most precious fruits. Several before him, it is true, made the same discoveries: still none but he has had the noble courage to publish the truth without fear. But when I read his book on the _Captivity of Babylon_, I felt as if beaten and bruised from head to foot." "I don't believe," added the monk, "that Luther acknowledges himself to be the author. I do not find in it either his style or his science...." After some discussion, the confessor continued, "Introduce me to the Elector, and I will, in your presence, explain to him the errors of Luther."

The chancellor replied, "That the business of the Diet did not leave any leisure to his Highness, who, moreover, did not meddle with the affair." The monk was vexed when his request was denied. "By the way," said the chancellor, "as you say there is no evil without a remedy, will you explain yourself?"

[Sidenote: PONTANUS AND GLAPIO.]

Assuming a confidential air, the confessor replied: "The emperor earnestly desires to see such a man as Luther reconciled to the Church, for his books (before the publication of his treatise, 'On the Captivity of Babylon,') rather pleased his Majesty.[398]... It must doubtless have been Luther's rage at the bull which dictated that work. Let him declare that he did not wish to disturb the peace of the Church, and the learned of all nations will rally around him.... Procure me an audience of his Highness."

[398] "Es haben dessen Bücher Ihro Majestät ... um et was
gefallen...." (Archives Weimar. Seckend. p. 315.)

The chancellor waited upon Frederick. The Elector being well aware that any kind of recantation was impossible replied, "Tell the confessor that I cannot comply with his request, but do you continue the conference."

Glapio received this message with great demonstrations of respect; and changing the attack, said, "Let the Elector name some confidential persons to deliberate on this affair."

_Chancellor._--"The Elector does not profess to defend the cause of Luther."

_Confessor._--"Very well, do you at least discuss it with me.... Jesus Christ is my witness, that all I do is from love to the Church, and to Luther who has opened so many hearts to the truth."[399]

[399] Der andern das Hertz zu vielem Guten cröffnet... (Secken. p.
315.)

The chancellor having refused to undertake what was the Reformer's own task, was preparing to retire.

"Stay!" said the monk to him.

_Chancellor._--"What then is to be done?"

_Confessor._--"Let Luther deny that he is the author of the Captivity of Babylon."

_Chancellor._--"But the papal bull condemns all his other works."

_Confessor._--"It is because of his obstinacy. If he retracts his book, the pope, in the plenitude of his power, can easily restore him to favour. What hopes may we not cherish now that we have so excellent an emperor!..."

Perceiving that these words made some impression on the chancellor, the monk hastened to add--"Luther always insists on arguing from the Bible. The Bible! ... it is like wax, and may be stretched and bent at pleasure. I undertake to find in the Bible opinions still more extraordinary than those of Luther. He is mistaken when he converts all the sayings of Jesus into commandments." Then, wishing to work also on the fears of the chancellor, he added, "What would happen if to-day or to-morrow the Emperor were to try the effect of arms?... Think of it." He then allowed Pontanus to retire.

[Sidenote: PONTANUS AND GLAPIO.]

The confessor prepared new snares. "After living ten years with him," said Erasmus, "we should not know him."

"What an excellent book that of Luther's on 'Christian Liberty,'" said he to the chancellor when he saw him a few days after--"what wisdom! what talent! what intellect! it is just the style in which a true scholar ought to write. Let unexceptionable persons be chosen on either side, and let the pope and Luther refer to their judgment. No doubt Luther has the best of it on several articles.[400] I will speak to the emperor himself on the subject. Believe me, I do not say these things to you on my own suggestion. I have told the emperor that God will chastise him, as well as all the princes, if the Church, which is the spouse of Jesus Christ, is not washed from all the stains by which she is polluted. I have added that God himself had raised up Luther, and had ordered him to rebuke men sharply, using him as a rod to punish the sins of the world."[401]

[400] Es sey nicht zu zweifeln dass Lutherus in vielen Artickeln werde
den Sieg davon tragen . . . . (Seckend., p. 319.)

[401] Dass Gott diesen Mann gesandt, . . . . dass er eine Geissel seye
um der Sünden willen. (Weimar Archiv.--Seckend., p. 320.)

The chancellor hearing these words, (they convey the impressions of the time, and show what was then thought of Luther even by his opponents,) thought it right to express his astonishment that more respect was not shown to his master. "Deliberations on this subject," said he, "are daily carried on before the emperor, and the Elector is not invited to them. It seems strange that the emperor, who owes him some gratitude, excludes him from his counsels."

_Confessor._--"I have been present only once at these deliberations, and I have heard the emperor resist the solicitations of the nuncios. Five years hence it will be seen how much Charles shall have done for the reformation of the Church."

"The Elector," replied Pontanus, "is ignorant of the emperor's intentions: He should be invited that he may hear them stated."

The confessor answered with a deep sigh,[402] "I call God to witness how ardently I desire to see the Reformation of Christendom accomplished."

[402] Glapio that hierauf einen tiefen Seufzer, un rufte Gott zum
Zeugen.... (Seckend, p. 321.)

To lengthen out the affair, and meanwhile keep Luther's mouth shut, was all that Glapio had in view. At all events, Luther must not come to Worms. A dead man returning from the other world, and appearing in the midst of the Diet, would not have alarmed the nuncios, and monks, and whole host of the pope, so much as the sight of the Wittemberg doctor.

[Sidenote: FAILURE OF GLAPIO'S MANŒUVRES.]

"How many days does it take to come from Wittemberg to Worms?" asked the monk at the chancellor, affecting an air of indifference; then begging Pontanus to present his very humble respects to the Elector, he departed.

Such were the manœuvres of the courtiers. The firmness of Pontanus outwitted them. This upright man was immovable as a rock in all negotiations. Moreover, the Roman monks fell into the very snares which they were laying for their enemies. "The Christian," says Luther, in his figurative language, "is like a bird fastened near a trap. The wolves and foxes go round and round, and make a dart upon it to devour it, but fall into the pit and perish, while the timid bird remains alive. Thus holy angels guard us, and devouring wolves, hypocrites, and persecutors, cannot do us any harm."[403] Not only were the confessor's artifices unavailing, but, moreover, his admissions confirmed Frederick in the belief that Luther was in the right, and that it was his duty to defend him.

[403] L. Op. (W. xxii, 1655.)

The hearts of men became every day more inclined towards the gospel. A prior of the Dominicans proposed that the emperor, the kings of France, Spain, England, Portugal, Hungary, and Poland, the pope, and the electors, should name representatives by whom the matter should be decided. "Never," said he, "has reference been made to the pope alone."[404] The general feeling became such, that it seemed impossible to condemn Luther without a hearing and regular conviction.[405]

[404] Und niemals dem Papst allein geglaubt (Seck., p. 323.)

[405] Spalatinus scribit tantum favoris Evangelio esse istic, ut me
inauditum et inconvictum damnari non speret. (L. Ep. i, p. 556, 9th
Feb.) Spalatin writes that the gospel is so much in favour there that
he hopes I cannot be condemned unheard and unconvicted.

[Sidenote: ALEANDER'S ACTIVITY.]

Aleander became uneasy, and displayed more than wonted energy. It is no longer merely against the Elector and Luther that he has to contend. He is horrified at the secret negotiations of the confessor, the proposition of the prior, the consent of Charles' ministers, and the extreme coldness of Roman piety among the most devoted friends of the pope, "so that one would have thought," says Pallavicini, "that a torrent of ice had passed over them."[406] He had at length received gold and silver from Rome, and held in his hand energetic briefs addressed to the most powerful personages in the empire.[407] Afraid that his prey might escape, he felt that now was the time to strike a decisive blow. He despatched the briefs, showered gold and silver with liberal hand, dealt out the most enticing promises, "and provided," says the Cardinal historian, "with this triple weapon, he strove anew to turn the wavering assembly of the electors in favour of the pope."[408] He laboured above all to encircle the emperor with his snares. Availing himself of the differences between the Belgian and the Spanish ministers, he laid close siege to the prince. All the friends of Rome, awakened by his voice, urged young Charles with solicitations. "Every day," wrote the Elector to his brother John, "deliberations are held against Luther: the demand is that he be put under the ban of the pope and the emperor; in all sorts of ways attempts are made to hurt him. Those who parade about with their red hats, the Romans with all their sect, labour in the task with indefatigable zeal."[409]

[406] Hinc aqua manabat, quæ succensæ pietatis æstum restinguebat
(Pallavicini, i, p. 96.) Hence flowed water which extinguished the
flame of piety.

[407] Mandata, pecuniæ ac diplomata. (Ibid. p. 95.)

[408] Triplici hac industria nunc Aleander.... (Ibid.)

[409] Das thun die in rothen Hüten prangen. (Seck., 364.)

In fact, Aleander urged the condemnation of the Reformer with a violence which Luther terms "marvellous fury."[410] The apostate nuncio,[411] as Luther calls him, hurried by passion beyond the bounds of prudence, one day exclaimed, "If you mean, O Germans, to shake off the yoke of Roman obedience, we will act so, that, setting the one against the other, as an exterminating sword, you will all perish in your own blood."[412] "Such," adds the Reformer, "is the pope's method of feeding the sheep of Christ."

[410] Miro furore Papistæ moliuntur mihi mala..... (L. Ep. i, p. 556.)

[411] Nuntius _apostaticus_ (a play on the word _apostolicus_) agit
summis viribus. (Ibid., p. 569.)

[412] Ut mutuis cædibus absumpti vestro cruore pereatis. (Ibid., p.
556.)

Luther himself spoke a very different language. He made no demand of a personal nature. "Luther is ready," said Melancthon, "to purchase the glory and advancement of the gospel with his life."[413] But he trembled at the thought of the disasters of which his death might be the signal. He saw a people led astray, and perhaps avenging his martyrdom in the blood of his enemies, especially the priests. He recoiled from the fearful responsibility. "God," said he, "arrests the fury of his enemies; but should it break forth, ... a storm will burst upon the priests similar to that which ravaged Bohemia.... I am clear of it; for I have earnestly besought the German nobility to arrest the Romans by wisdom, and not by the sword.[414] To war upon priests, a body without courage and strength, is to war upon women and children."

[413] Libenter etiam morte sua Evangelii gloriam et profectum emerit.
(Corp. Ref. i, p. 285.)

[414] Non ferro, sed consiliis et edictis. (L. Ep. i, p. 563.)

[Sidenote: CHARLES YIELDS TO THE POPE.]

Charles did not withstand the solicitations of the nuncio. His Belgian and Spanish devotion had been developed by his preceptor Adrian, who afterwards occupied the pontifical throne. The pope had addressed a brief to him imploring him to give legal effect to the bull by an imperial edict. "In vain," said he to him, "shall God have invested you with the sword of supreme power if you do not employ it both against infidels, and also against heretics, who are far worse than infidels." One day, accordingly, in the beginning of February, at the moment when every thing was ready at Worms for a brilliant tournament, and after the emperor's tent had actually been erected, the princes who were preparing to attend the fête were summoned to repair to the imperial palace. There the papal bull was read to them, and they were presented with a stringent edict enjoining the execution of it. "If you have any thing better to propose," added the emperor in the usual form, "I am ready to hear you."

Animated debates then began in the diet. "The monk," wrote the deputy of one of the German free towns, "gives us a great deal to do. Some would like to crucify him, and I don't think that he will escape: the only thing to be feared is that he may rise again on the third day." The emperor had thought he would be able to publish his edict without opposition on the part of the States, but it was not so. Men's minds were not prepared, and it was necessary to gain the Diet. "Convince this assembly," said the young monarch to the nuncio. This was just what Aleander desired, and he received a promise of being admitted to the Diet on the 13th February.

Chap. III.

Aleander admitted to the Diet--Aleander's Address--Luther
accused--Rome defended--Appeal to Charles against
Luther--Effect of the Nuncio's Address.

The nuncio prepared for the solemn audience. The task was important, but Aleander was worthy of it. The ambassador of the sovereign pontiff was surrounded with all the splendour of his office; he was moreover one of the most eloquent men of his age. The friends of the Reformation looked forward to the sitting not without fear. The Elector, under the pretext of indisposition, kept away, but he ordered some of his counsellors to attend and give heed to the nuncio's address.

[Sidenote: ALEANDER'S ADDRESS.]

On the appointed day, Aleander proceeded to the hall of the assembled princes. Men's minds were excited; several thought of Annas or Caiaphas repairing to Pilate's judgment hall to demand the life of him who was "_perverting the nation_."[415] At the moment when the nuncio was about to step across the threshold, the officer of the Diet (says Pallavicini,) came briskly up to him, took him by the breast, and shoved him back."[416] "He was a Lutheran at heart," adds the Roman historian. If the story is true, it doubtless betrays strange passion in the officer, but at the same time, gives an idea of the powerful influence which Luther's doctrine had produced even on the doorkeepers of the Imperial Council. Proud Aleander, haughtily drawing himself up, moved on and entered the hall. Never had Rome been called to make her apology before so august an assembly. The nuncio placed before him the judicial documents which he judged necessary, the works of Luther, and the papal bulls. Silence being called, he spoke as follows:--

"Most august emperor!--most puissant princes!--most excellent deputies! I come before you to maintain a cause for which my heart burns with the most ardent affection. The subject is the preservation on my master's head of that tiara which is reverenced by all, the maintenance of that papal throne, for which I am ready to give my body to the flames, could the monster who has engendered the growing heresy be consumed by the same pile, and mingle his ashes with mine.[417]

[415] Luke, xxiii, 2.

[416] Pugnis ejus pectori admotis repulerit. (Pallavicini, i, p. 112.)

[417] "Dummodo mecum una monstrum nascentis hæresis arderet."
(Pallavicini, i, p. 97.) Seckendorff, and after him several Protestant
historians, insist that Pallavicini himself composed the address which
he puts in the mouth of Aleander. It is true the Cardinal historian
states, that he gave it the form in which it appears; but he intimates
the sources from which he drew it, particularly the letters of
Aleander deposited in the archives of the Vatican. (Acta Wormatiæ,
fol. 66 and 99.) I think, therefore, that to reject it altogether
would betray partiality. I have collected some additional passages of
the speech from other sources, Protestant and Romish....

"No! the disagreement between Luther and Rome turns not on the interests of the pope. Luther's books are before me, and any man with eyes in his head may perceive that the holy doctrines of the Church are the object of his attack. He teaches that those only communicate worthily whose consciences are filled with sadness and confusion for their sins, and that there is no justification in baptism, without faith in the promise of which baptism is the pledge.[418] He denies the necessity of our works to obtain celestial glory. He denies that we have liberty and power to observe natural and divine law. He affirms that we sin necessarily in all our actions. Did ever the arsenal of hell send forth arrows better fitted to loose the reins of modesty?... He preaches the abolition of religious vows. Can more sacrilegious impiety be imagined?... What desolation will not be seen in the world when those who ought to be the leaven of the people shall have thrown aside their sacred vestments, abandoned the temples which re-echoed with their holy hymns, and plunged into adultery, incest, and dissoluteness!...

[418] "Baptismum neminem justificare, sed fidem in verbum promissionis
cui additur Baptismus." (Cochlœus, Act. Luth. 28.) That no man is
justified by baptism, but only by faith, in the word of the promise to
which baptism is annexed.

[Sidenote: ALEANDER'S ADDRESS.]

"Shall I enumerate all the crimes of this audacious monk? He sins against the dead, for he denies purgatory; he sins against heaven, for he says, he would not believe an angel from heaven; he sins against the Church, for he pretends that all Christians are priests; he sins against the saints, for he despises their venerable writings; he sins against the councils, for he terms that of Constance an assembly of demons; he sins against the world, for he forbids the punishment of death to be inflicted on any one who has not committed a mortal sin.[419] Some say he is a pious man ... I have no wish to attack his life, I would only remind this assembly that the devil deceives men by semblances of truth."

[419] "Weil er verbiete jemand mit Todes Strafe zu belegen der nicht
ein Todtsünde begangen." (Seckend. p. 333.)

Aleander having spoken of the condemnation of purgatory by the council of Florence, laid the papal bull on this council at the feet of the emperor. The archbishop of Mentz took it up and handed it to the archbishops of Cologne and Treves, who received it reverently, and passed it to the other princes. The nuncio, having thus accused Luther, now proceeded to the second point, which was to justify Rome.

"At Rome," says Luther, "they promise one thing with the lip and do its opposite with the hand. If this fact is true, must not the inference be the very reverse of what he draws from it? If the ministers of a religion live conformably to its precepts it is a proof that it is false. Such was the religion of the ancient Romans.... Such is that of Mahomet, and that of Luther himself; but such is not the religion which the pontiffs of Rome teach us. Yes, the doctrine which they confess condemns all as faulty, several as culpable, and some even (I say it candidly) as criminal.[420]... This doctrine delivers their actions to the censure of men during their life, and to historical infamy after their death.[421] Now what pleasure, what advantage, I ask, could the pontiffs have found in inventing such a religion?

[420] "Multos ut quadantenus reos, nonnullos (dicam ingenuè) ut
scelestos." (Pallavicini, i, p. 101.)

[421] "Linguarum vituperationi dum vivunt, historiarum infaminæ post
mortem. (Ibid.)

"The Church, it will be said, was not governed in primitive times by Roman pontiffs--What must the conclusion be? With such arguments they might persuade men to live on acorns, and princesses to be their own washerwomen."

[Sidenote: ALEANDER'S ADDRESS.]

But it was against his adversary, the Reformer, that the nuncio chiefly directed his attack. Full of indignation against those who said that he ought to be heard, he exclaimed, "Luther will not allow any one to instruct him." The pope summoned him to Rome, but he did not obey. The pope summoned him to Augsburg before his legate, and he would not appear without a safe-conduct from the emperor, _i. e._ until the hands of the legate were tied, and nothing left free to him but his tongue.[422] "Ah!" said Aleander, turning towards Charles V, "I supplicate your imperial majesty not to do what would issue in disgrace. Interfere not with a matter of which laics have no right to take cognisance. Do your own work. Let Luther's doctrine be interdicted throughout the empire: let his writings be everywhere burnt. Fear not: there is enough in the writings of Luther to burn a hundred thousand heretics.[423]... And what have we to fear?... The populace? Before the battle they seem terrible from their insolence; in the battle they are contemptible from their cowardice. Foreign princes? The king of France has prohibited Luther's doctrine from entering his kingdom, while the king of Great Britain is preparing a blow for it with his royal hand. You know what the feelings of Hungary, Italy, and Spain are, and none of your neighbours, how great soever the enmity he may bear to yourself, wishes you any thing so bad as this heresy. If the house of our enemy is adjacent to our own we may wish him fever, but not pestilence.... Who are all these Lutherans? A huddle of insolent grammarians, corrupt priests, disorderly monks, ignorant advocates, degraded nobles, common people misled and perverted. Is not the Catholic party far more numerous, able, and powerful? A unanimous decree of this assembly will enlighten the simple, give warning to the imprudent, determine those who are hesitating, and confirm the feeble.... But if the axe is not laid to the root of this poisonous shrub, if the fatal stroke is not given to it, then.... I see it covering the heritage of Jesus Christ with its branches, changing the vineyard of the Lord into a howling forest, transforming the kingdom of God into a den of wild beasts, and throwing Germany into the frightful state of barbarism and desolation to which Asia has been reduced by the superstition of Mahomet."

[422] "Quod idem erat, ac revincti legati brachiis et lingua solum
soluta." (Ibid. p. 109.)

[423] Dass 100,000 Ketzer ihrenthalben verbrannt werden. (Seckend. p.
332.)

[Sidenote: EFFECT OF ALEANDER'S ADDRESS.]

The nuncio ceased. He had spoken for three hours. The torrent of his eloquence had moved the assembly. "The princes shaken and alarmed," says Cochlœus, "looked at each other; and murmurs were soon heard from different quarters against Luther and his partisans."[424] Had the mighty Luther been present, had he been permitted to answer the discourse, had he, availing himself of the concession forced from the Roman orator by the remembrance of his old master, the infamous Borgia, been permitted to show that these arguments, designed to defend Rome, constituted her condemnation, and that the doctrine which gave proof of her iniquity was not invented by him, as the orator said, but was the very religion which Christ had given to the world, and which the reformation was establishing in its primitive lustre, could he have presented an exact and animated picture of the errors and abuses of the papacy, and shown how it had perverted the religion of Jesus Christ into an instrument of aggrandisement and rapine,--the effect of the nuncio's harangue would have been neutralised at the moment of its delivery; but nobody rose to speak. The assembly remained under the impression of the address, and, excited and carried away, showed themselves ready violently to eradicate the heresy of Luther from the soil of the empire.[425]

[424] Vehementer exterriti atque commoti, alter alterum intuebantar,
atque in Lutherum ejusque fautores murmurare cœperunt (Cochl., p.
28.)

[425] Lutheranam hæresin esse funditus evellendam. (Pallavicini, i, p.
101, Roscoe's Life of Leo X, p. 50.)

Still the victory was only apparent. It was the will of God that Borne should have an opportunity of displaying her reasons and her strength. The greatest of her orators had addressed the assembled princes, and said all that Rome had to say. But the last effort of the papacy was the very thing which was destined to become, in regard to several of those who witnessed it, the signal of her defeat. If, in order to secure the triumph of truth, it is necessary to proclaim it aloud, so in order to secure the destruction of error, it is sufficient to publish it without reserve. Neither the one nor the other, in order to accomplish its course, should be concealed. The light judges all things.

CHAP. IV.

Sentiments of the Princes--Speech of Duke George--Character
of the Reformation--A hundred and one grievances--Charles
yields--Tactics of Aleander--The Grandees of Spain--Luther's
peace--Death and not Retractation.

A few days sufficed to wear off these first impressions, as always happens when an orator shrouds the emptiness of his arguments in high sounding phrases.

[Sidenote: SPEECH OF DUKE GEORGE.]

The majority of the princes were ready to sacrifice Luther, but none were disposed to sacrifice the rights of the empire and the redress of German grievances. There was no objection to give up the insolent monk who had dared to speak so loud, but it was wished to make the pope so much the more sensible of the justice of a reform which was demanded by the heads of the kingdom. Accordingly, it was the greatest personal enemy of Luther, Duke George of Saxony, who spoke most energetically against the encroachments of Rome. The grandson of Podiebrad, King of Bohemia, repulsed by the doctrines of grace which the Reformer proclaimed, had not yet abandoned the hope of seeing a moral and ecclesiastical reform, and what irritated him so much against the monk of Wittemberg, was that he had spoiled the whole affair by his despised doctrines. But now, seeing the nuncio sought to confound Luther and reform in one common condemnation, George suddenly stood up among the assembled princes, and, to the great astonishment of those who knew his hatred to the Reformer, said, "The Diet must not forget the grievances of which it complains against the Court of Rome. What abuses have crept into our states! The annats which the emperor granted freely for the good of Christendom now demanded as a debt--the Roman courtiers every day inventing new ordinances, in order to absorb, sell, and farm out ecclesiastical benefices--a multitude of transgressions winked at; rich offenders unworthily tolerated, while those who have no means of ransom are punished without pity--the popes incessantly bestowing expectancies and reversions on the inmates of their palace, to the detriment of those to whom the benefices belong--the commendams of abbeys and convents of Rome conferred on cardinals, bishops, and prelates, who appropriate their revenues, so that there is not one monk in convents which ought to have twenty or thirty--stations multiplied without end, and indulgence shops established in all the streets and squares of our cities, shops of St. Anthony, shops of the Holy Spirit, of St. Hubert, of St. Cornelius, of St. Vincent, and many others besides--societies purchasing from Rome the right of holding such markets, then purchasing from their bishop the right of exhibiting their wares, and, in order to procure all this money, draining and emptying the pockets of the poor--the indulgence, which ought to be granted solely for the salvation of souls, and which ought to be merited only by prayers, fastings, and the salvation of souls, sold at a regular price--the officials of the bishops oppressing those in humble life with penances for blasphemy, adultery, debauchery, the violation of this or that feast day, while, at the same time, not even censuring ecclesiastics who are guilty of the same crimes--penances imposed on the penitent, and artfully arranged, so that he soon falls anew into the same fault, and pays so much the more money.[426]... Such are some of the crying abuses of Rome; all sense of shame has been cast off, and one thing only is pursued ... money! money! Hence preachers who ought to teach the truth, now do nothing more than retail lies--lies, which are not only tolerated, but recompensed, because the more they lie, the more they gain. From this polluted well comes forth all this polluted water. Debauchery goes hand in hand with avarice. The officials cause women to come to their houses under divers pretexts, and strive to seduce them, sometimes by menaces, sometimes by presents; or, if they cannot succeed, injure them in their reputation.[427] Ah! the scandals caused by the clergy precipitate multitudes of poor souls into eternal condemnation! There must be a universal reform, and this reform must be accomplished by summoning a general Council. Wherefore, most excellent princes and lords, with submission I implore you to lose no time in the consideration of this matter." Several days after Aleander's address, Duke George produced the list of grievances which he had enumerated. This important document is preserved in the archives of Weimar.

[426] Sondern dass er est bald wieder begehe und mehr Geld erlegen
musse. (Archives of Weimar, Seckend. p. 328.)

[427] Dass sie Weibesbilder unter mancherley schein beschicken,
selbige sodann mit Drohungen und Geschenken su fällen suchen, oder in
einen bosen verdacht bringen. (Weimar Arch. Seck., p. 330.)

Luther had not spoken more forcibly against the abuses of Rome but he had done something more. The duke pointed out the evil, Luther had, along with the evil, pointed out both the cause and the cure. He had shown that the sinner receives the true indulgence, that which comes from God, solely by faith in the grace and merits of Jesus Christ, and this simple but powerful doctrine had overturned all the markets established by the priests. "How can one become pious?" asked he one day. "A Cordelier will reply, Put on a grey hood, and tie a cord round your waist. A Roman will reply, Hear mass, and fast. But a Christian will say, Faith in Christ alone justifies and saves. Before works we must have eternal life. After we are born anew, and made children of God by the word of grace, then it is we do good works."[428]

[428] L. Op. (W.) xxii, 748-752.

The duke spoke the language of a secular prince--Luther, the language of a reformer. The great sore of the Church was that she had devoted herself entirely to externals; had made all her works and her graces to consist of outward and material things. Indulgences had carried this to its extreme point, and pardon, the most spiritual thing in Christianity, had been purchased in shops like meat and drink. The great work of Luther consisted in his availing himself of this extreme point in the degeneracy of Christendom, in order to bring back the individual and the Church to the primitive source of life, and to re-establish the reign of the Holy Spirit within the sanctuary of the heart. Here, as often happens, the cure sprung out of the disease, and the two extremes met. Henceforward the Church, which during so many ages had been developed externally by ceremonies, observances, and human practices, began again to be developed within by faith, hope, and charity.

[Sidenote: LIST OF GRIEVANCES.]

The duke's address produced the greater effect from his opposition to Luther being well known. Other members of the Diet stated different grievances. The ecclesiastical princes themselves supported these complaints.[429] "We have a pontiff," said they, "who spends his life in hunting and pleasure. The benefices of Germany are given at Rome to huntsmen, domestics, grooms, stable boys, body servants, and other people of that class, ignorant unpolished people, without capacity, and entire strangers to Germany."[430] The Diet appointed a commission to collect all these grievances. Their number was found to be a hundred and one. A deputation, consisting of secular and ecclesiastical princes, presented the list to the emperor, imploring him to give redress, as he had engaged to do at his election. "How many Christian souls are lost?" said they to Charles V. "How many depredations, how much extortion, are caused by the scandals with which the spiritual chief of Christendom is environed? The ruin and dishonour of our people must be prevented. Therefore, we all, in a body, supplicate you most humbly, but also most urgently, to ordain a general reformation, to undertake it, and to accomplish it."[431] There was, at this time, in Christian society, an unseen power influencing princes and their subjects, a wisdom from above dragging forward even the adversaries of the Reformation, and preparing that emancipation whose appointed hour had at length arrived.

[429] Seckend. Vorrede von Frick.

[430] Bücksenmeistern, Falknern, Pfistern, Eseltreibern,
Stallknechten, Trabanten... (Kapp's Nachlese nützl Ref. Urkunden, iii,
p. 262.)

[431] Dass eine Besserung und gemeine Reformation geschehe. (Ibid., p.
275.)

Charles could not be insensible to these remonstrances of the empire. Neither himself nor the nuncio had expected them. His confessor had even denounced the vengeance of Heaven against him if he did not reform the Church. The emperor immediately withdrew the edict which ordered Luther's writings to be committed to the flames in every part of the empire, and in its place substituted a provisional order remitting these books to the magistrates.

This did not satisfy the assembly, who were desirous that the Reformer should appear. It is unjust, said his friends, to condemn Luther without having heard him, and without knowing from himself whether he is the author of the books which are proposed to be burnt. His doctrine, said his opponents, has so taken possession of men's hearts, that it is impossible to arrest their progress without hearing him. There need be no discussion with him. If he avows his writings, and refuses to retract them, then all of us, electors, princes, states of the whole empire, true to the faith of our ancestors, will, in a body, aid your majesty, by all the means in our power, in the execution of your decrees.[432]

[432] L. Op. (L.) xxii, p. 567.

[Sidenote: TACTICS OF ALEANDER.]

Aleander, alarmed, dreading both the intrepidity of Luther and the ignorance of the princes, immediately set himself to the task of preventing the Reformer's compearance. He went from the ministers of Charles to the princes who were most disposed to favour the pope, and from these princes to the emperor himself.[433] "It is unlawful," said he, "to bring into question what the sovereign pontiff has decided. There will be no discussion with Luther, you say; but" continued he, "will not the power of this audacious man, will not the fire of his eye, and the eloquence of his tongue, and the mysterious spirit which animates him, be sufficient to excite some sedition?[434] Several already venerate him as a saint, and you everywhere meet with his portrait surrounded with a halo of glory, as round the head of the Blessed. If it is determined to cite him, at least let it be without giving him the protection of public faith."[435] These last words were meant to frighten Luther, or prepare his ruin.

[433] Quam ob rem sedulo contestatus est apud Cæsaris administros...
(Pallavicini, i, p. 113.)

[434] Lingua promptus, ardore vultus, et oris spiritu ad concitandam
seditionem... (Ibid.)

[435] Haud certe fidem publicam illi præbendam... (Ibid.)

The nuncio found easy access to the grandees of Spain. In Spain, as in Germany, the opposition to the Dominican inquisitors was national. The yoke of the inquisition, which had been discontinued for a time, had just been re-established by Charles. A numerous party in the Peninsula sympathised with Luther; but it was not so with the great, who, on the banks of the Rhine, again met with what they had hated beyond the Pyrenees. Inflamed with the most violent fanaticism, they were bent on annihilating the new heresy. In particular, Frederick, Duke of Alba, was transported with rage whenever the subject of Reformation was mooted.[436] His wish would have been to wade in the blood of all its adherents. Luther had not yet been called to appear, and yet his mere name was already agitating all the grandees of Christendom then assembled at Worms.

[436] Albæ dux videbatur aliquando furentibus modis agitari...
(Pallavicini, i, p. 362.)

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S PEACE.]

The man who was thus agitating the mighty of the earth was the only one who seemed to be at peace. The news from Worms were alarming. Even Luther's friends were frightened. "Nothing now is left us but our wishes and our prayers," wrote Melancthon to Spalatin. "Oh! if God would deign to ransom the safety of the Christian people by my blood."[437] But Luther was a stranger to fear. Shutting himself up in his peaceful cell, he sat down to meditate, applying to himself the words of Mary, the mother of our Lord, when she exclaimed, "_My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he that is mighty has done for me_ _great things, and holy is His name. He has shown strength with his arm; he hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree._"[438] The following are some of the thoughts which filled Luther's heart.... "'He that is mighty,' says Mary. Oh! how great boldness on the part of a young girl! With a single word she strikes all the strong with languor, all the mighty with feebleness, all the wise with folly, and all those whose name is glorious on the earth with ignominy, and lays at the feet of God all strength, all power, all wisdom, all glory.[439] 'His arm,' continues she, and she thus appeals to that power by which he acts of himself, and without the agency of his creatures--a mysterious power operating in secrecy and in silence, until his purpose is accomplished. Hence destruction comes before any one is aware of its approach; hence elevation, when no one is thinking of it. He leaves his children in oppression and feebleness, so that each of them says to himself, 'We are all lost!' Then, however, they are most strong. For it is where the power of man ends that the power of God begins. Only let faith wait upon Him.... And, on the other hand, God permits his adversaries to increase their power and grandeur. He withdraws from them the aid of his strength, and leaves them to be inflated with their own.[440] He leaves them void of his eternal wisdom, and lets them fill themselves with their wisdom of a day. And while they rise up in the greatness of their might, the arm of the Lord keeps back, and their work ... vanishes like a soap bubble when it bursts in the air."