LIBRARY OF PRINCETON SEP 23 2003 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ^ BR 325 .R24 1884 Rae, John. Martin Luther: student, monk, reformer MARTIN LUTHER j^tiiXifiit, Moirk, r^ctol^mn•. LIBRARY OF PRINCETON SEP 23 2003 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY /, JOHN RAE, LL.D.. F.S.A, TVITH SIX ILL US NATIONS BY I, %. WnxUx. ENGRAVED BY IF. BALLINGALL. HODDER AND STOUGHTOxV, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXXXIV. \All rights resefved.'] To THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY, K.G. This Volume is, with sincere admiration, dedicated by THE AUTHOR. PREFACE A GREAT Epoch in the history of the German nation, powerfully affecting- and shaping- the history cf the civilised world, was, humanly speaking-, created by Martin Luther. With the force and beauty of a Heavenly Benediction, Luther came amongst his brethren, the long-enslaved and spiritless victims of a daring religious despotism. The unchallenged purity of his personal character, and the impelling- influence of the inspired doctrines he proclaimed, arrested and fixed the attention of his countrymen, directing them with power and authority to a nobler service and a higher Master. The dying embers of a lingering Faith were fanned into new and active life by the strong breath of one man : Martin Luther. Despite that subjugating policy which dwarfed and PREFACE. Stunted its spiritual intelligence, mankind had outgrown the Papacy. Christendom, ruled unwisely and faithlessly, halted. The " Holy Roman Empire," that giant concep- tion of Temporal and Spiritual domination, like a colossus of evil-omen, shadowed the nations of Europe. The world's Christianity, except in remote and obscure regions where Gospel Truth had been miraculously preserved, was not the Christianity of Christ. The system of Rome was the anthithesis of that of the meek and lowly Saviour, whose worship, to quote the language of a modern writer, '' unlike all other systems of worship, is bloodless, bound- lessly beneficent, inexpressibly pure, and — most marvellous of all — tends to break all bonds of body and soul, and to cast down every temporal and spiritual tyranny." As the divinely inspired Prophet of Germany, Luther came with his mission of light and renewal. Spiritual Freedom, "The unfettered use of all the powers Which God for use hath given," is the right and glory of man. He took this doctrine for his initial text, and never throughout his life swerved from its enforcement. Essentially the champion of rational, pure, and holy living ; the Apostle of free thought and free judgment ; this bold, rugged Reformer, utterly without fear. PREFACE. IX. denounced the corrupt teaching- of the Priest at Rome; and dealt blow upon blow at that system of superstition and ignorance which for ages had been imposed upon the world. One part, at least, of his appointed work, was wholly accomplished; and this alone immortalises the name of the Saxon Reformer. He gave to the German people, and, by swiftly-spreading example, to the aroused nations surrounding him, a free and open Bible, intelligible to all, as the one true and sure Guide on the road leading to Eternity and Christ. Luther lived long enough to see a little of the fruits of the conflict with Rome ; but the grand and abiding results of the movement initiated by him, are, to this hour, in process of revelation. The Liberator of Germany from the yoke of the Papacy, lifted that same spiritual thraldom from the necks of many of the nations of Christendom. The Protestantism of the German Reformation contains great progressive principles. Human conclusions and human errors are fearlessly assailed. Truth is sought only in the Fountain of all Truth, in God himself, and in His Word. ** Truth is God. To love God, and to love Truth, are one and the same." The positive contributions X. of true Protestantism to the sum of human happiness are, civil and relig'ious liberty, advanced intelligence and morality, cheerful industry, enlarged usefulness, increasing- wealth, assured prosperity. The history of all nations which have cast off the rule of the Papacy, and become Protestant, is one unbroken history of vitality and pro- gression. This truth is both remarkable and conclusive ; and it is upon the substantial structure of unexhausted and accumulative blessing, that the enduring and world-wide fame of Luther, the Pioneer of Spiritual Freedom in Germany, is based and established. One important reflection fills the mind in considering God's method of Selection for all His great purposes. Moses, the foundling of the Nile, was destined to be the Law-giver and Leader of the specially chosen people. Luther, the peasant-born son of the miner, was the appointed Chieftain of the great Reform in our Modern World. *' Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." In compiling this work, I have availed myself largely of the works of Mathesius, Seckendorf, Shenkel, Jiirgen, D'Aubigne, Sears, Waddington, and many other able and trustw'ortr-y writers, to whose labours most ample PREFACE. XI. acknowledgrnents are now made. The main instructive features in the life and character of Germany's chief Reformer, are given with the earnest desire that the sublime Truths which stirred his devotion, and ennobled his calling-, may inspire us with the spirit of emulation, and enable us to realise and embody what is undoubtedly taught by his history, that great deeds are immortal. "We cannot look," says Carlyle, "upon a great man, without gaining something by him. He is the living light- fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near ; the light which enlightens, which has enlightened the darkness of the world ; and this, not as a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary, shining by the light of heaven ; a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native original insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness, in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them." John Rae. Chislehurst, 1884. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGE Parentage and Early Life i CHAPTER n. University Life .22 CHAPTER in. Life in the Monastery 33 CHAPTER IV. Luther in Rome 68 CFIAPTER V. Theological Teaching at Wittenberg . . . . 82 CHAPTER VL Beginning of the Conflict with Rome . . . .88 CHAPTER VIL The Traffic in Indulgences 115 CHAPTER VIII. The Ninety-five Theses . 139 CHAPTER IX. Progress of the War . 151 CHAPTER X. Friendly Disputation. Rome Aroused . . . - 165 CONTENTS. Xlll. CHAPTER XL Before the Papal Legate at Augsburg . . . .178 CHAPTER Xn. Disputation at Leipzig 207 CHAPTER XIIL The Eve of the Battle 251 CHAPTER XIV. The Diet of Worms 260 CHAPTER XV. At the Wartburg 291 CHAPTER XVL Return to Wittenberg 321 CHAPTER XVH. The Peasants' War 359 CHAPTER XVHL Marriage and Home Life 388 CHAPTER XIX. The Confession of Faith 405 CHAPTER XX. Luther and Church Song 423 CHAPTER XXL Table Talk : Opinions and Incidents . . . 447 CHAPTER XXIL Concluding Years and Death 464 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE I. — Tribulation {Frontispiece) II. — Separation 32 III. — Resolution 199 IV. — The Capture 289 V. — Decision . . , 344 VI. — Supplication 42] CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. AT THE time when Luther was born, there was in all directions something that announced the Reformation. Warnings and events were hastening on which threatened to destroy the work of ages of darkness, and to make all things new. The hierarchical rule, which the efforts of many centuries had imposed upon the world, was shaken, and its fall drew nigh. The Latin Bible, the first complete printed book known, commonly called the Mazarin Bible, from the fact of its discovery in the library of Cardinal Mazarin, w^as issued by Gutenberg and Fust, at Mentz, about the year 1455.^ Our own Caxton printed his first book at Cologne in the year 147 1, and in course of a few years the new art, the pioneer of intellectual and spiritual emancipation, penetrated every country in civilized Europe. The long night of Ignorance and Apathy was passing away, and the dawn of the day of Knowledge, synonym of freedom and progress, was at hand. The old Apostolic Faith, long hidden from the people, crept from its priestly prison-house, and re-appeared almost as a new Revelation. In every grade of society a fresh life was in motion. ^ A very fine copy of this treasure is in the Lritish Museum. B Ma7im Litthe}'. " What an age ! " exclaimed Hiitten, '' studies flourish : minds are awakening- ; it is a joy merely to be alive ! " Minds that had lain dormant for so many generations, seemed desirous of redeeming by their activity the time they had lost. To leave them unemployed, and without food, or to present them only with such as had long sup- ported their languishing existence, would have betrayed ignorance of man's nature. Already did the human mind clearly perceive what was and what should be, and surveyed with a daring glance the immense gulf which separated these two worlds. Great princes filled the thrones : the time-worn colossus of Rome was tottering under its own weight : the ancient spirit of chivalry was dead, and its place supplied by anew spirit which breathed at once from the sanctuaries of learning, and from the homes of the lowly. The printed Word had taken wings that carried it, as the wind wafts the light seed, even to the most distant places. The discoveries of the two Indies extended the boundaries of the world. Everything an- nounced a great revolution. But whence is to proceed the blow that shall throw down the ancient building, and raise a new one from its ruins ? No one could tell. Who possessed greater wisdom than Frederick, more learning than Reuchlin, greater talents than Erasmus, more wit and energy than Hiitten, greater valour than Sickingen, or was more virtuous than Cronberg ? And yet none of these able and illustrious men overthrew the tottering and mouldering edifice ! Scholars, princes, warriors, the Church itself, had weakened the foundation ; but there they had stopped. In no direction could be seen the Hans LtUker of Mohm, powerful hand that was to be the instrument of God. And yet all men had a presentiment that it would soon appear. Many pretended to have discovered in the stars unerring- indications of its approach. Some, as they looked upon the miserable state of religion, foretold the near advent of Antichrist. Others, on the contrary, predicted a revolu- tion to be close at hand. The world waited anxiously. Luther appeared. All was ready. God, who prepares his work through ages, can accomplish it by the weakest instruments, when His time is come. To effect great results by the smallest means — such is the law of God. This law, which prevails everywhere in Nature, is found also in History. God selected the reformers of the Church from a class not unlike the class from whence he had taken the Apostles. He chose them from among that lower rank, which does not reach to the level of the middle classes. Everything was thus designed to manifest to the world that the work was not of man but of God. The reformer, Zwingle, emerged from an Alpine shepherd's hut ; Melanchthon, the theologian of the Reformation, from an armourer's shop and LUTHER, from the cottage of a poor miner. ^ In the hamlet of Mohra, - or Mora, situated in Upper Saxony, in the vicinity of the Thuringian forest, and close to Eisenach, there lived a peasant named Hans (John) Luther, who followed the occupation of a miner, a similar calling to that of his father and grandfather before him. 1 Shenkel's Ref, 15. "^ See Mayhew's German Life, pp. i — 13, for a very full description of Mohra, the village on the Saxon Moors. Martin Ltciher, He was not the eldest son, but one of several others who, according- to the custom of the Thuring-ian peasants, were compelled to leave the eldest in possession of the paternal property, and to gain elsewhere a livelihood for them- selves. In the village of Neustadt, in the district of Wiirzburg, south of Eisenach, and west of Gotha, there dwelt Gretha (or Margaret) Ziegler, the eldest daughter of a thriving- tradesman of that place. She held a high character as a diligent, virtuous, and God-fearing maiden, and was the pride of the village. An acquaintance sprang- up between young- Hans and Margaret which resulted in their marriage. The first fruit of the union was Martin, W'ho was born at eleven o'clock in the evening of the lOth of November, 1483, at Eisleben, whither they had removed from the village of their first home. The house where the Reformer was born stands at the top of the street which bears his name, not far on the left as you enter the town. The old house, partly burnt years ago, was restored in 1817, and the lower portion remains unaltered. The en- trance is surmounted by a badly executed bust, enclosed in a frame with the following inscription : — '* In this house Dr. Martin Luther was born, the lOth of November, 1483. God's Word is Luther's lore ; which abides for evermore.'' The child was taken by his father and baptized at St. Peter's Church the next day, receiving the name of the Saint whose festival was being then celebrated. It was for a long time asserted that a fair was in progress at Eisleben at the time of Luther's birth ; but this has been shown to be incorrect. Schliisselburg states : '^ He had heard from Luther's Birth, 5 relations that his father would often pray aloud and fer- vently, by the cradle of his boy, that God would grant him His grace ; so that bearing in mind his name {Lanier , pure) he might labour for the propagation of pure doctrine. This bears the marks of a story modified at least by sub- sequent events, but agrees well with what we know of Hans Luther's character." Hans and his wife did not remain long at Eisleben : the place did not present opportunities for the prosecution of his business : so in less than six months from the birth of the child Hans Luther removed to Mansfeld, a town situated near the banks of the Wipper, and some six miles distant from Eisleben to the North-West, where he lived and died. In Ratzeberger's manuscript we read : '' Forasmuch as the mining business had for many years been in a pros- perous state in the county of Mansfeld, Hans Luther, with his wife Margaret, betook himself to that place, and gave himself, according to his best ability, to mining, till he became owner of a share in the mines and of a foundry. There in the town of Eisleben, in the year 1483, was his son Martin Luther born . . . but his father removed with his household to Mansfeld, and was, on account of his knowledge and industry in mining, much beloved of the old Count Gunther.'" Although the neighbourhood of Mansfeld was at that time rich in materials favorable for mining pursuits, poor Hans at first was not successful in obtaining profitable employment in the calling to which his early manhood was devoted. The struggle for existence was a very hard one. "My parents,'' says Martin in a letter written some Mai'tin Luthe7\ years afterwards, " were very poor. My father was a poor miner Qiauer — a common miner), and my mother has often carried wood upon her back, that she might procure the means of bringing- up her children. They both en- dured the severest labour for our sakes." But in spite of the pinch of German peasant poverty, the child grew stout and sturdy, blessed with fine exuber- ance of spirits and the promise of a vigorous constitution ; which was apparently unaffected by exposure and many and severe privations. The work of education was commenced by his parents in his earliest childhood. The cares attendant on their struggle for bread for the family, did not cause them to neglect their duty in the cultivation of the mind of their first-born. In their lowly way they endeavoured to lay the foundation of instruction. When little Martin had reached the age of six years he could read and write with ease. From the teaching at home he was sent to the free school at Mansfeld, where he rapidly learned the catechism, the ten commandments, the creed, and the Lord's Prayer. Instruction in the rudiments of the Latin grammar followed, and the proficiency soon gained by the boy in this humble seminary of learning was very considerable. Mansfeld lies in a narrow valley along the Thalbach, (Valley-brook), skirted by hills on both sides, on the bor- ders of the Hartz country. From that part of the town where Luther's father resided, it was some distance to the school, which stood on a hill. The house is still standing, and the first story of it remains unaltered. Harsh Treatment. One writer says that Luther commenced going to school at the age of seven. Certainly he was so young that he was carried thither by older persons. Years afterwards he wrote upon the blank leaf in the bible of Nicholas Emler, who had married one of his sisters, the twenty-fourth verse of the fourteenth chapter of John, and under it : " To my good old friend Nicholas Emler, who did, more than once, carry me in his arms to school and back again, when I was a little boy, neither of us then knowing that one brother-in-law was carrying another in his arms." The discipline of the school, in accordance with the general character of these institutions, was of the severest kind. Punishments needlessly harsh and indiscriminate were inflicted for the most trivial faults, and poor Martin was frequently subject to chastisements which dwelt in his memory and provoked many bitter reflections in after years. His parents' idea of correction was more than strict. " My parents used me harshly, so that I became very timid. My mother one day chastised me so severely about a nut, that the blood came. They seriously thought they were doing right; but they could not distinguish character, which, however, is very necessary, in order to know when, or where, or how, chastisement should be inflicted. It is necessary to punish ; but the apple should be placed beside the rod." In this respect matters were not mended at school. The high spirit and impetuosity of the poor boy often brought him within reach of the master's rod. The least 8 Martin Liithei' deviation from the rigid path of study, the least indulgence in the harmless and irrepressible outbursts of buoyant youth, brought upon the hapless boy the lash of punish- ment. Fifteen times successively in one morning did he receive a flogging at the hands of his tyrant mentor. To subdue and rule by terror and the infliction of painful bodily suffering upon boys of the tenderest age was the prevailing practice of this and like schools for the young. Love and Christian charity formed no element of their system, and the cold, harsh course of instruction could not reach the hearts of those whose young lives were forced into subjection by such unwise and persistent sternness. ^ The school was in charge of the monks ; but they, without the permission or knowledge of the bishop, or their superiors, employed inferior teachers, while they, neglectful of their duties, lived in indolence and luxury. "The drones," said Luther in after years, " drove the honey bees out of the hive ; and monk and canon divided the pay with the poor schoolmaster, as the beggar did, who promised to share equally with the Church the half of what he received, and gave the outward half of nuts and the inner half of dates for pious uses, and consumed the residue himself." These were the arrangements of the school. The teachers, and the pupils from a long distance occupied ^ Luther himself says, "My religious instruction was imparted with the same severity as my secular ; I turned pale and was terrified at the very name of Christ. I regarded Christ as nothing more than a strict and wrathful judge." — Jiirgen's Luther s Lehen, 1.59. Teachc7's and their Students . large buildings with gloomy cells. A sombre monastic dress distinguished them from other persons. A large portion of the forenoon of each day was devoted to the Church, and all must attend High Mass. The boys were educated to perform Church ceremonies, while but little attention was given to what is now usually taught in schools. The assistant teachers, candidates for the cleri- cal office, generally taught a few hours in the day, and performed, at the same time, some daily inferior Church service ; for both of which they received but very trifling reward. Thus the school was an integral part of the Church. The assistants were commonly taken from strolling young men who infested the country, going from place to place either as advanced students, and changing their abode at pleasure, or seeking some subordinate employment in the schools or in the Church. When they failed to find employment they resorted to begging, and even to theft, to provide for their subsistence. The older students would generally choose their younger companions as wards, and initiate them into the mysteries of this vagrant mode of life, receiving in turn their services in begging articles of food, and in performing menial offices. But notwithstanding the objectionable treatment which supplemented the education imparted, Martin was no dull or inapt scholar. His desire for knowledge was remarkable, and before long he had mastered all that could be acquired from his teachers at Mansfeld. Few, indeed, of the comforting associations generally inseparable from childhood clustered about this period of lo Martin Lutheir his life. No tender, fond indulgences of a loving home ; no long pleasant wanderings and enchanting frolics with companions of his own age, that bring to the heart a delicious sense of happiness which never seems to come when childhood is past; no kindly and sympathetic encouragement from his teachers, calculated and intended to make the acquisition of learning a pleasure and a delight. Nothing of this. The childhood of the Reformer was not nurtured tenderly, however studiously it may have been intended to prepare it for a future great fruition. The soft hand of encouragement was never laid upon his head ; no loving cheek was pressed against his ; and no sympathetic tears mingled with those of the young student ; as he travelled upon, and essayed with faltering and wearied and bruised feet to climb, the steep ascent of knowledge. The natural wayward impulses of the child were not checked and overcome by the bright loving counsel of those whose hands were unused to severity. The dread of punishment was the weapon used to overawe, and no place was given to the large-hearted and loving Gospel of Christ, then unknown, untaught, and undesired. And so the early childhood of Martin Luther passed away ; his body too often smitten by the rod of the preceptor, and his mind uncheered, and his soul untouched by any of the vital and inspiring teachings of the christian religion. About this time, the common belief in witches was at its height. Of the very celebrated work entitled the *'Maul for Witches," instructing priests and magistrates Witches. * 1 1 what rules to observe in their proceedings against witches, and circulated with both the Papal and Imperial sanction, three editions were printed while Luther was a boy residing in his father's house at Mansfeld. He tells the story of a witch that lived near, and who used to trouble his mother very much ; also, of an attempt of the devil, in human form, to separate husband and wife ; and, another story, of an instance where the devil actually entered the pulpit and preached for a minister ! Some of these stories he seems to believe, others he ridicules. "I myself," he says, "have seen monks, shame- less and wicked fellows, who feigned to cast out the devil and then to sport with him as with a child." During this period the circumstances of the family had somewhat improved. Hans Luther was a man of hard inflexible character, honestly and doggedly working to maintain those dependent upon him to the utmost of his ability. Hard work and determination gradually, yet surely, met their reward. He had established two smelting furnaces at Mansfeld, and the people of the place, learning to appreciate the force and honesty of his character, had marked their sense of his worth by appointing him one of their councillors. Hans had no desire that his son Martin should follow his occupa- tion. His intention was that his son should continue his studies in a new and larger sphere. The educational means of Mansfeld being exhausted, the Franciscan School at Magdeburg was chosen as the theatre for the continua- tion and enlargement of his scholastic career. To Magde- burg, a large and famous town, at the age of fourteen, 12 Martin Luther. Luther was sent, accompanied by a fellow-student, John Reinecke. In the month of May, 1497, two students, with the German Reisesack (knapsack) on their backs, wended their way along the hig-h road from Mansfeld to Bern- burg. They were despondent and sorrowful, having just quitted the paternal roof, and were proceeding on foot to Magdeburg, to avail themselves of the Currend-schilleny celebrated seminaries in the middle ages.^ Here he remained for more than twelve months, during which time the hardships of his life were in no way abated. Although his father had sent him to Magdeburg for the purpose of the better prosecution of his studies, he did scarcely anything in providing him with the means of subsistence. The family had increased in Mansfeld, and the worthy man had doubtless a difficult task to meet his growing home expenses ; and he does not seem to have made any considerable endeavour to place his eldest son beyond the reach of privation and want. These were frequently of the most severe kind, and poor Luther, often in absolute need of bread, was glad to join other students, who, like himself, were thrown upon the cold charity of the world, in singing through the streets to supply the common necessaries of life. Possessing a sweet contralto voice, and having some knowledge of music, for a considerable time he obtained in this precarious way his daily bread. ^ The Curreiid-schiilcn, where choral boys, not unlike the choristers of our Inns of Court, were both educated and trained in music, and, at times, went in procession singing plain chants. Poverty, j ^ " I used to beg with my companions for a little food, that we mig-ht have the means of providing- for our wants. One day, at the time the Church celebrates the festival of Christ's nativity, we went wandering- together through the neighbouring villages, going from house to house, and singing, in four parts, the carols of the infant Jesus, born at Bethlehem. We stopped before a peasant's house that stood by itself at the extremity of the villao-e. The farmer, hearing us sing our Christmas hymns, came out with some victuals which he intended to give to us and called in a loud voice, and with a harsh tone, * Boys, where are you? ' Frightened at these words, we ran off as fast as our legs would carry us. We had no reason to be alarmed, for the farmer offered us assistance with great kindness ; but our hearts, no doubt, were rendered timorous by the menaces and tyranny with which the teachers were then accustomed to rule over their pupils, so that a panic quickly seized us. At last, however, as the farmer continued calling after us, we stopped, forgot our fears ran back to him, and received from his hands the food intended for us. It is thus," continues Luther, *' that we are accustomed to tremble and fear, when the conscience is guilty and alarmed. In such a case we are afraid even of the assistance that is offered us, and of those who are our friends, and who would willingly do us every good." Of course, there was then little of the odium attached to the practice of singing from house to house which is now generally supposed to be associated with it ; and yet it was even then only used as the last means of gaining a living by the very humblest in ability and condition. 14 Mmiin Luther, Luther, in telling- this story of his early needs, begs the grace and mercy of the charitable in favor of the sons and daughters of poverty, who are forced to appeal to the benevolence implanted in the hearts of those called by God, and blessed with means to be the almoners of His all-compassionate care for his needy creatures, and without whose benign permission not even a sparrow *' shall fall on the ground/' " Let no one before me speak contemptuously of the poor ' companions ' who go from door to door, singing and crying * Bread, for God's sake ! ' {Panem propter Detim !) You know the psalm which says ' Princes and Kings have sung,' I, myself, was once a poor mendicant, begging my bread at people's houses, particularly at Eisenach ; my own dear Eisenach." This precarious mode of life continued the whole time he remained at Magdeburg, although he contrived, amid biting poverty, to persevere in the cultivation of all possible methods for gaining knowledge. " The Franciscans," says Dr. Barnas Sears, *' wore a gray robe with black scapularies, and were especially employed in attending on the sick, and in the burial of the dead. The boy in whose heart was a sealed fountain of fervent and joyous passion, found nothing under his new masters and in his new mode of life to satisfy his internal wants." The few incidents which he records, from his recollections of this period, are strikingly characteristic of the Order, and indeed of the Church at large. " I have seen," says he, '*' with these eyes, in my fourteenth year, The E7nblevi of the Ship, 15 when I was at school at Magdeburg-, a Prince of Anhalt, brother of Adolphus, Bishop of Merseburg-, going- about the street in a cowl, begging bread with a sack upon his shoulders, like a beast of burden, insomuch that he stooped to the ground . . . He had fasted and watched and mortified his flesh till he appeared like an image of death, with only skin and bones, and died soon after." Luther, also, speaks of a painting symbolical of the teaching imparted by the Church. "A great ship was painted, representing the Church wherein there was no layman, not even a King or Prince. There was none but the Pope wiih his cardinals and bishops in the prow, the Holy Ghost hovering over them. The priests and monks with their oars at the side; and ihus th-.^y were sailing on heavenward. The laymen were swimming along in the water, around the ship. Some of them were drowning ; some were drawing Ihemseh' es up to the ship by means of ropes, which the monks, moved by pity and making over their own good works, did cast out to them, to save them from drowning, and to enable them to cleave to the vessel, and so reach Heaven with the other's. There was no Pope, nor cardinal, nor bishop, nor priest, nor monk in the water, but laymen only. This painting was an index and summary of their doctrine. I was once one of them, and helped to teach such things, believing them and knowing no better." This picture made a deep impression on his mind. When the facts of his sufferings were pressed upon the attention of his parents, they bestirred themselves some- what, and removed Martin from Magdeburg, transferring 1 6 Martin Lutht him to the famous school at Eisenach. Many of his relations dwelt in this town, and it was naturally hoped that they would provide suitable companions for and extend seasonable care to the young- student, deprived as he was of the g-uidino- influence of his parents. But this expectation was not realised. Martin was entirely thrown upon such resources as he could find for himself, and the burden of self-help in procuring food and paying- the necessary student's fees was cast upon his young and im- mature shoulders. Dr. Stoughton in his recently published book, " Homes and Haunts of Luther," thus writes: — '< We pass under the shadow of the old arch with only one remark, that through it the boy Martin passed when he was about fifteen years old. We think we see him running along at a brisk pace, humming the tune of a German chorael, dressed as a peasant lad, with big dusty shoes, but with a face of no common order — that nose and mouth indicating nobility and decision, and those great eyes revealing far-seeing thoughts, and flashing with purest affection — the lofty brow being surrounded by a head of thinnish crispy hair, which the young urchin, cap in hand, exposes to the freshening breeze. The boy is brave, yet withal just a little shy, for his exuberant spirits have been damped by too severe discipline." As already remarked, Luther's poverty, like his shadow, followed him from Magdeburg to his new home; and the same expedients for his maintenance became necessary. He sought the society of those pinched by want like himself, and engaged in singing from door to door, often Benevolence of the Cotta Family. 1 7 with but disheartening- result. But the charity so sparingly bestowed by many, found abundant expression at last in the person of one of whom poor Martin ever afterwards spoke in terms of gratitude and love ; one whose memory is held in precious remembrance by all sections of Christians, and who live surrounded by the blessed freedom so heroically and successfully fought for by the future Reformer. One day the forlorn wanderer had met with even unusual harshness. He had been coarsely repulsed from several houses ; and, as the night was approaching, he was sorrowfully returning in the direction of his humble lodging, when he stopped before a large house in the square of St. George. This house belonged to Conrad Cotta, the descendant of a noble Italian family, which, like many others in that age, had amassed considerable wealth by maritime enterprise. His wife, Ursula, the daughter of the Burgomaster of Ilefeld, was distinguished for piety and benevolence. We are told^ that while attending the services of the church in which Luther was a choris- ter, she was attracted by the sweetness of his singing, and was further impressed by the earnest devoutness of his demeanour. She had already bestowed upon him many tokens of charitable regard ; and upon this occasion she invited him into her house, supplied his wants, and upon learning the extent of his destitute condition, received him permanently into her home. At this time Luther did not possess resources sufficient for the continuance of his studies, and it is probable that ^ Mathesius, p. 3, C 1 8 Martin Lttther, without the timely assistance he received from Frau Ursula Cotta and her husband, he must have returned to his father's house at Mansfeld. Had this necessity arisen, the loss to humanity would have been incalculable. Many stirring chapters in the history of the world, recording events of paramount and ever extending influence, might never have been written. Martin Luther, engaged in mining pursuits, would have been a figure too insignificant for remembrance, and, in his individual person, posterity would not have known the grandly intellectual Preacher of pure Apostolic doctrine ; the supreme spiritual liberator of the sixteenth century ; and the creative modeller of the present history of mankind. The old chronicles of Eisenach, in recording the shelter and protection given by her to the future Reformer, justly perpetuates the memory of Frau Cotta, likening her to the ** pious Shunammiie," who constrained the prophet Elisha to eat bread in her house. Luther himself was deeply touched by her generous hospitality, and throughout his life felt and acknowleged the moral force of her beneficence and devotion. Hitherto the severity of early training and the generally harsh and cheerless conditions of his life, had tended to give an unlovely and gloomy cast to his opening intellect ; but in the pure family circle of the Cottas he quickly acquired softer and more truthful im- pressions, and for the first time he learned to recognise and appreciate the advantages of cultured and refined society. He saw generous affections strengthened by constant exercise, and the stimulating example of charit- able and loving deeds conveyed important and lasting The Heart of a Pious Woman, 1 9 lessons to his impressionable mind. Many years after- wards, in calling- to remembrance the virtuous qualities of his protectress, he expressed this beautiful thought : " There is nothijig sweeter on earth than the heart of a woman in which piety hath its dwelling.^'' The members of the family of Conrad Cotta, doubtless in accord with the accomplishment general amongst the higher orders in the land of his birth, were passionately devoted to music and song, and Luther, during- his stay with them, learned to play upon the flute, and wrote his first musical compositions, frequently singing to the accom- paniment of the lute, another instrument with which he acquired considerable proficiency. Although with humble simplicity he speaks of his voice as '^ slender and indistinct," yet in reality its quality was richly musical, and, says Melanchthon, '* could be heard at a great distance." Music, indeed, as we shall hereafter more fully point out, was his favourite art. He cultivated it assiduously all his life, and gave it a place next to theology. *'' Music," he says, *' is the art of the prophets; it is the only other art which, lik,e theology, can calm the agita- tions of the soul, and put the devil to flight. It is the most magnificent and delightful present that God has given to us. Satan is the inveterate enemy of music, for he knows that by its aid we drive away temptations and evil thoughts ; he cannot make head against music. David found comfort and consolation in his harp. The soul of Saul, then his master r.nd king, was invigorated by the same means. < When the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took an harp, and played with his hand ; so 20 Martin Luthe)' Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.' " He was himself destined at a later period of his life to feel its power in a remarkable way. He remained at Eisenach upwards of three years, during- which time his understanding- became vigorous and com- prehensive ; his imagination fertile and brilliant, and his memory large and retentive. These qualities soon carried him beyond all his school-fellows. ^ Latin, eloquence and poetry were his favorite studies : the composition and declamation of verses and speeches also being- a frequent and agreeable exercise for his growing powers. His happy and cheerful disposition not only endeared him to his associates, but also gained the favor of the various professors who assisted and directed his studies. One of the masters under whose guidance Luther came, was the professor of grammar and rhetoric named John Trebonius, rector of the convent of bare-footed Carmelites. It was the habit of this professor, in stricking contrast with the ceremonious and pedantic custom which generally prevailed, to uncover his head whilst giving lessons to his pupils. When asked the reason for this eccentric con- descension, he replied " that he did it to honour the Burgomasters, Chancellors, Doctors, and Consuls who would one day proceed from his school ; and that although you did not yet see them with the badges of their dignity, it was only right that you should treat them with respect." "Winning and inspiring as were the instructions Luther received from Trebonius and other learned men, Eisenach 1 Melanchthon, Vita Luth. Reliorioii at Eisenach. 21 itself was a priestly town, or, as a writer of that age designates it, ^'a nest of priests," and the religious teaching he received could not in any way develop those vital truths which, at a later and more mature period of his career, could alone content the deep craving of his spiritual nature. The religion of the place, in common with that generally prevailing, was altogether composed of numberless cere- monies and appliances of external godliness, with its attention fixed upon deeds, and not upon thoughts, feelings •or purposes, and a most precise apportionment of punish- ments and purgatory for offences ; but was wholly destitute of training calculated to satisfy the absorbing want of a sin-laden soul, and to impart the reality of a living and internal faith. The debt of gratitude contracted at Eisenach, and which Luther, with exquisite feeling, so frequently in his writings amplifies and acknowledges, was many years afterwards fully discharged. The good Frau Cotta died in 151 1, but in the year 154 1, only a few years before his death, when Luther had risen to an eminence scarcely second to that of any man of the age, he received Henry Cotta, Ursula's grandson, into his own house at Wittenberg, -and by generous devotion returned the goodness bestowed by Cotta's kindred on the friendless student a generation before. There is an epitaph on a monument erected to the memory of Henry Cotta, at Eisenach, which furnishes historical corroboration of this interesting and not unim- portant fact. CHAPTER 11. UNIVERSITY LIFE. THE time of separation from his benefactress and all those choice companions in whose society had been passed the happiest hours of his briefly happy life had now arrived. Another step into the outer world must be taken. Luther's father, whose position and circum- stances had greatly improved, urged his removal, at the same time supplying him with means for increased study. On every side he beard the most glowing praises of the qualities and talents of his son, and pictures of his future eminence arose before him. Martin would attain great- ness : he would discharge the most honorable offices amongst his fellow-citizens. Hans was now a magistrate of the province in which he laboured, and where his furnaces blazed, but the transcendent merits of his son should eclipse this and similar small distinctions; he should gain the favor of princes; in short, become a beacon light to the whole world. To the university of Erfurt, that most famous temple of learning, he should go; and, accordingly, in the summer of the year 1501, some few months before he had attained his eighteenth year, he entered the doors of the university of Erfurt. Prefers Philosophy to Law, The usual courses of logic and philosophy awaited him. His father had strongly recommended the study of law, as being more likely to lead to those distinctions which he coveted, and which he felt certain awaited his son's accept- ance. But the law had few charms for the young student. Its study was most irksome and distasteful to him. To his mind, philosophy possessed infinitely more attractions, and he sedulously cultivated its study, under the instruc- tions of a celebrated professor. Dr. Jodocus, of Eisenach, a man famous for his ability in teaching, and general erudi- tion. Melanchthon, in his life of Luther, remarks that at that time nothing was taught at Erfurt but a system of dry dialectics, bristling with difficulties, and thinks that if Luther had met with other professors whose teaching-s inculcated a calmer and milder discipline of truer philos- ophy, the violence of his character, which so often broke forth in after years, might have been moderated and softened. Perhaps, however, in the order and dispensation of the things that fell within the strangely eventful life of the Reformer this was better arranged. The rough, untamed vigour of Luther's character was perhaps the very element most useful in the great Reform so soon to burst upon and astonish the world. God speaks in a variety of ways, through many instru- ments, and in many tones. Sometimes He is heard in the ** still small Voice"; sometimes in the thunder of the storm ; sometimes His Word is like the soft sighing of the zephyr, by which the delicate flower is unshaken and unharmed ; sometimes it comes with power, ** as of a rushing mighty wind," tearing along and up- 24 Martin Luther. rooting- the giant monarchs of the forest. His ways are not our ways, and the instruments of His Will, in all ages of the world's history, have ever been men of like passions with ourselves, whose lives frequently are, even in human judgment, marred by grave faults and infirmities. He, the perfect One, does not seek perfection wherewith to work ! His tools are humble, his materials often coarse and un- attractive ; but the wrought and perfect work —ah ! who shall tell its grandeur, or estimate its worth ! Luther's course at Erfurt was eminently satisfactory, and he bid fair soon to become one of the shining lights of the university. The study of the philosophy of the Middle Ages first gained his attention, and the masters of scholastic divinity contributed to the augmentation of his store of learning-. But his capacious mind, athirst for knowledge, did not rest content with barren studies. He proceeded to the works of Cicero, Virgil, Livy, and other classic authors ; not in a formal perfunctory manner, but in a spirit of appreciative and critical inquiry. His memory was in an extraordinary degree retentive, and almost everything he had read was at hand ready for use. Hence the superior genius of Luther became the admiration of the whole university. ^ He now began to obtain honours. In 1502 he took his first academical degree, that of Bachelor of Philosophy, and everything seemed to indicate the speedy acquisition of further university distinction. From every source he sought fresh supplies of mental ^ Melanchthon. Finds the Bible in the Libraiy, 2 5 food. He was constantly in the library at Erfurt. At that time every monastery in Germany had a library, partly composed of manuscripts, containing beautiful illuminations, enriched with gold and silver ; laborious works, in which were reproduced the treasures of pagan antiquity, giving evidence of the surprising skill and assiduity of the monks in their production. But the new art of printing considerably detracted from the value of these works. Printed books now began rapidly to appear, and although most costly at first were obtainable at a tithe of the price of manuscripts. At considerable expense, however, the monastery had purchased several Latin Bibles, which were placed in the library for the use of the students. It does not seem that the study of the scriptures was recom- mended, nor did such study form any part of the uni- versity course. " I was twenty years of age," says Luther, " before I had ever seen the Bible, and I had no notion that there existed any other gospels or epistles than those in the church service."^ The discovery came upon him by accident. Being in the library, as was customary with him, he one day came upon one of these printed Latin Bibles, He opened the volume, and alighted upon the beautiful history of Hannah and her son Samuel. This touching story wrought greatly upon the sensitive mind of Luther. He had never before seen it, and this and other parts which he rapidly glanced at of his newly-found treasure filled him with rapture. ^ Mathesius in Luther's Leben bei Jurgens. 26 Mm' till Luther, *' Oh, God ! " he exclaimed, " could I have one of these books, I would ask no other worldly treasure ! " A change of swift and powerful penetration was im- mediately wrought in his mind. Human words, clothed in poetry, however noble, seemed contemptible when compared with the sublime language of the Inspired Word. The law, never a very favorite subject with him,^ although he obtained a copy of the Corpus Juris, and attended lectures on the Canon Law, now became utterly distasteful ; and all possible time was devoted to the sacred study of the treasure discovered in the library. He read this Bible again and again, and, in his astonishment and joy, returned to read it once more. The first glimmerings of a new and divine truth, to him till then unknown, began gradually to dawn upon his mind. And now a crisis arose which had material influence in the development of this new truth in his heart. Luther possessed a surpassingly vigorous constitution ; but the severe privations of his early years, and the excessive labours of his present life began to produce their effects. Pale and wasted, his strength was exhausted, a dangerous illness prostrated him, and for a long time his condition was most critical. His friends in the university heard of this with feelings of sorrow; his reputation was very great with them, and the modesty with which he had carried himself, won their sympathy and love. When apparently in extremity, a priest came to give him the consolation of confession. He doubtless well knew Martin, and earnestly 1 Shenkel Ref. 17. Threatened with Death. 2 J desired the restoration to health of one who promised to be their ornament and pride. The sufferings of the sick youth were aggravated by a deep fit of depression. The priest endeavoured to remove this and to impart words of comfort and of good cheer. '^ Courage, my friend," he said, soothingly, '^you will not die of this malady ; God preserves you for a great end ; he will make you a distinguished man, and you in your turn will console others, for God loves you since he chastens you." The words of the priest received a verification of which he who uttered them could have had no conception. God did, indeed, preserve the life of the student who then lay sick unto death for a great end : he most certainly did become a distinguished man, and the source of spiritual consolation to others. Dr. Stoughton observes, " Even the honour done to Knox in Scotland is surpassed by the honour done to Luther in Germany. Wherever you go his name is a talisman ; its inspiration is breathed over literature scarcely less than over religion. The Teutonic catholic is proud of him; no town or village associated with the events of his life but is ennobled by the circum- stance, and in our time attracts to its precincts more visi- tors than ever." The spiritual aid he received from the priest had much effect upon the mind of Luther. The disease was ex- hausted, and a rapid recovery followed. When sufficiently restored, he set out upon a visit to Mansfeld. It was the third day of the Feast of Easter, and in the company of a friend he proceeded on foot to the city. He was dressed in the attire then usual with 28 Martin L^Uher. the students, with a sword on one thig-h, and a dag-g-er in his girdle. On the way Luther made a stumble, and the dag-g-er came out of the sheath and fell upon his foot, severing- one of the larg-e arteries. The blood flowed copiously, and fearing- that he mig-ht bleed to death, his companion took him on his shoulders, and carried him back to Erfurt, where the services of a surg-eon were obtained, and the wound properly attended to. A cure was soon effected. Upon perfect recovery from his accident Luther applied himself with renewed resolution to his studies, and honours rapidly rewarded his zeal and devotion. In 1505, soon after he had attained his twenty-first year, he obtained the hig-her degree of M.A.- and Doctor of Philosophy, and at once began his career of teaching the physics and ethics of Aristotle, with other branches of philosophy. But although he was thus engaged, his mind was not easy : his heart was not in his work. Since his illness, a great change had come upon him. That Latin Bible had wrought and powerfully stirred emotions in his heart, that he could neither stifle nor control. His father still strongly urged upon him the adoption of the profession of the law, commanding as it did the highest positions in the State ; but the bent of his inclination was in favour of Theology. Some powerful workings of God's spirit were agitating his soul, and gradually leading him to an unexpected con- clusion. His mind was just now in that condition when it could be strongly influenced by circumstances which at other times would not have possessed great power. His con- science was stirred and troubled by a conflict of questions all The Conflict. 29 relating- to his future course. The claims of philosophy did not altogether harmonise and work pleasantly with the calls of relig-ion. For some months the conflict continued, and the decision was brought about in a remarkable manner. He had a friend named Alexis, his constant companion, and associate in all his studies. This friend was killed in some mysterious manner, and the terrible event made a deep impression upon the already agitated mind of Luther. Thoughts of death and of hereafter came upon him with disturbing force. He could not rest. Peace of heart and mind were banished; but still decision did not come. The summer of the year 1505 arrived, and Luther taking a walk in a solitary path, was overtaken near Stot- ternheim by a terrific thunderstorm, and vowed to St. Anna that if he were rescued from the danger he would become a monk. This was merely the external cause, and not the real. Relinquishing his labours in the university for a brief period, he went on a visit to Mansfeld. The thought that possessed him was not communicated to any one. Luther was probably afraid that his father — cold, stern, and practical — would refuse to entertain any suggestion that the son of whom he had such great expectations and whose future life would be so famous and dazzling-, should throw aside all these bright prospects, and find refuge and peace in the obscurity of the priesthood. During his uni- versity life, Luther had received great assistance from his father, who now felt the deepest interest in his progress. Although but in his twenty-second year he was already a public teacher in a most important university, and had Martin Luther surrounded himself with an admiring- and enthusiastic circle of pupils and friends. No prospect could better satisfy the ambition and love of a parent ; and rudely to assail this ambition and destroy these hopes was beyond the heart of Luther. He failed to give expression to his deeply cherished resolution : he ventured not to pronounce the words that trembled on his lips. Filial love constrained him to be silent on a subject upon which he felt the whole issue of his life depended. Nothing to alarm his parents was uttered by him during his stay ; and he finally left them without revealing the deep purpose of his heart. This was like Luther in after life, who when about to take another daring and most important step in life, his marriage with Catharine von Bora, did not mention it to his nearest friends, not even to Melanchthon. On his return to the university he pondered upon the grave question that perplexed his soul, and endeavoured to shape a resolution. In regard to his conversion, one thing at least is undis- puted. Luther was in an agony of terror, and the dread of death smote him to the ground, as certainly as if a bolt from Heaven had suddenly smitten him. " Encom- passed with the anguish and terror of death " — to use his own expressive language — ^'he earnestly prayed to God for deliverance from his present danger, passion- ately vowing to abandon all worldly pursuits, and to devote himself to the service of his Maker." "In this," writes D'Aubigne, *' we perceive the finger of God. It was God's powerful hand that on the highway cast down the young Master of Arts, the candidate for Letter from Rtcbianus. 3 1 the Bar, the future lawyer, and gave an entirely new direc- tion to his life." Rubianus, one of Luther's friends at the University at Erfurt, wrote thus to him in after life : "** Divine Providence looked at what you were one day to become, when on your return from your parents, the fire from Heaven threw you on the ground, like another Paul, near the city of Erfurt, and withdrawing you from our ■society, drove you into the Augustine Order." Analogous circumstances have marked the conversion of the two §-reatest instruments that Divine Providence has made use of in the two greatest revolutions that have been effected upon the earth : St. Paul and Luther. The decision that Luther had formed, and the vow he had made did not pass away when the danger was over, and the storm had expended its fury. The intense longings for retirement from worldly toils, and the entrance into a rest where he thought his soul could be calmed and satisfied in the service of his great Master were deeply seated and rooted in his mind. His resolution was made, and no one was consulted in its -execution. But one step alone, and it was a most impressive one, was taken ere he closed the door of the world behind him, and shut out that world for ever from his life. He invited all his friends to meet him at his house. Supper was prepared, and the usual innocent merriment and singing followed. Nothing unusual apparently was arranged, nothing unusual was expected ; the purpose of the supper alone was present to one mind. It was to be the parting of Luther from his friends. Partings in life are ever painful ; but this separation 32 Martin Luther, from those who were his companions, gloried in his success, and felt themselves bound up in his great and brilliant future ; this must have caused a wrench inexpressibly sad and disquieting. In the midst of the songs, the merri- ment, the sparkling jests and flashes of wit that filled every moment with enjoyment, Luther simply announced his intention to retire from their midst, and to enter a monastery. " To-day," said he, ^^ you see me : after this you will see me no more." He, the ripe scholar, the loved friend, the learned teacher, the hope and the pride of his University, will on the morrow take upon himself the life of a Novice in a monastery ! Does he know what that means ? Perhaps not. But the words have been spoken. The ruddy, native hue of Resolution must not be " Sickled o'er with the pale cast of Thought." The sacrificial knife is ready, the sacrifice must not be wanting : and with a pang that passes straight to his great heart, Luther bids his friends farewell ! and passes forth into the night. CHAPTER III. LIFE IN THE MONASTERY. THE ties which bound Luther to the university had been sundered, the sacrifice had been made but no particle of regret followed. His action was directly opposed to the wishes of his father, and he well knew that it would arouse his sternest anger. His friends, one and all, would condemn him, regarding his conduct as the work of one strangely insensible to the true and legitimate advantages of his toilsome study, his exceptional abilities and his enviable position. But Luther, in the face of all this, showed no hesitation. That night he repaired to the Augustinian convent at Erfurt, and craved admis- sion. When his voice was recognized, and his wishes made known, the door was cheerfully opened, and Luther stepped within the portal of the building. This, then, was the haven where he fondly hoped to find peace from the rough storms of the world. This the entrance-gate of that life to which, by a self-imposed vow, his future was to be devoted ! With a calm steady cheerfulness he took the position and the novicate of the monk commenced. Some farewell letters to his friends ; the return of the 33 D 34 Ma7'tin L^Uher, ring which he had worn as Master of Arts at the university, together with his gown and other clothing, things that might remind him of the past, henceforth dead to him, and then the new life in that narrow world, whose confines were the walls of the convent. His friends, their first astonishment passed, were clamorous to see him, and urge him to revoke his decision. They came to the place in which the young professor was immured, self-condemned to a living death, but the gate was closed against them. Decision was the strong quality of Luther's mind; when Duty pointed the narrow road, neither entreaty nor menace could constrain him to swerve from its direction. He would see no one, and for the space of a whole month lived in the most absolute seclusion. The world had lost one of the choicest of her sons. \ Like a bright star which flashes across the firmament, and then disappears in the darkness, leaving no sign whereby the passage of its brilliant flight can be traced, the splendid genius of Luther had illumined for a moment the intellectual firmament and then descended to the gloomy grave of the monastery!) When the news of his son's unhappy retirement reached his ears, Hans Luther was speechless with indignation. The rough honest heart of the miner was bound up in his boy. Strict, upright, and conscientious in his dealings with all men ; ste^- i and cold in his judgments and con- clusions ; many bitter reflections passed through his mind on receiving the fatal intelligence. To a nature such as his in which harshness formed a dominant characteristic, this disobedience was terrible ; nay, more ; it was incompre- Hans Ltithe7' Indignant. 35 hensible. Although no Reformation had as yet loosened , the fetters which bound the private judgments of men, the very lives and surroundings of the priesthood practically denounced and condemned the whole system. The life and occupations of the monks as so charmingly imagined by the poet, did not quite describe their real lives in the ■days of Luther. " — along the cloister's painted side The monks, — each bending low upon his book, With head on hand reclined— their studies plied ; Forbid to parley, or in fact to look, Lengthways their regulated seats they took ; The strutting prior gazed with pompous mien, And wakeful tongue, prepared with prompt rebuke, If monk asleep in sheltering hood were seen ; He, wary, often peeped beneath that russet screen ; Hard by, against the window's adverse light, Where desks were wont in length of row to stand, The gowned artificers inclined to write ; The pen of silver glistened in the hand, Some on their fingers rhyming Latin scann'd ; Some textile gold from balls unwinding drew. And on strained velvet stately portraits planned; Here arms, there faces, shone in embryo view ; At last to glittering life, their sober figures grew." Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham, says: — "Many wrote out manuscripts with their own hands in the intervals of the canonical hours, and gave up the time appointed for bodily rest to the fabrication of volumes ; the sacred treasures of whose labours, filled with cherubic letters, are at this day resplendent in most monasteries." It is certain that the present degenerate days preceding* 36 Martin Ltither, the Reformation did not exhibit any such diligent and praiseworthy devotion. The monks had long- since dis- carded all tender and silken refinements ; and it is well established that their utter want of real sterling occupation led to the most deplorable and scandalous laxity of man- ners and morals. The scandal, indeed, attached to the indolent, the dissolute, the arrogant, and the worthless lives of the monks had grown intolerable. Practices, under the venal shield of ecclesiastical countenance had sprung up, and were in strong and vigorous growth ; repulsive and subversive both to decency and to morality ; and constituting a standing reproach to the sacred name of Religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ received its worst degradation at the hands of its apostate Ministers. A sham of holiness, was the judgment passed by the sturdy miner upon the profession of the Priesthood. And now his son, a treasure in his eyes of more surpassing worth than anything that passed through those furnaces of his wherein gold and silver were fused and freed from dross and impurity, his bright and manly and proudly intel- lectual boy was to be one of these shams I Hot indignation took the place of mute amazement, succeeded by other and, perhaps, worse feelings. He wrote to his son a letter filled with upbraidings, in which contempt struggled with anger for the mastery. His wrath was over-mastering. The image of Martin was rent from his heart and memory and rudely cast to the winds. This letter reached the poor penitent in his retreat, and his cup of bitterness seemed to overflow. Kindred, Reception as a Alonk, 37 friends, learning-, applause, all by his own act taken from him. In their place ? the rig-id rule of the cloister ; the cheerless drudgery ; the mortifications and penances ; the menial service; the coarse frock; the scanty food; the narrow cell ! His heart, as yet unsanctified by God's grace, was filled with sorrow, and moved by nature alone rebelled against his condition. Although no words of complaint escaped his lips, it could scarcely be expected that much cheerful alacrity would distinguish his bearing. And now the test of fitness was applied. At his reception by the Prior the words " We receive you on probation for one year ; and may God who hath begun a work in you, carry it on unto perfection," had, indeed, found cheerful acquiescence in his heart. The concluding words of that reception — " May God, who hath converted this young man from the world, and prepared for him a mansion in heaven, grant that his daily work may be as becometh his calling, and that he may have cause to be thankful for this day's doings," — drew from his lips an unqualified Amen I The echo of the deepest feeling of his heart was there. He had given up all for God, and had entered His service with the cheerful joy of a bright and healthy intellect, acting upon and directing the impulses of a devoted heart. Every worldly interest was discarded. If ever man was sincere, Luther was that man when he entered the monas- tery at Erfurt. And now the Cross of his election fell upon his shoulders. Intellectually he towered high above his new companions. He must be taught to stoop to their level, even to sink o 8 Martin Luther. beneath it. The pride of learning must be abased. Intellectual might must be paralysed. The strength and self-sufficiency of the man must be crushed into the submission of the feeble child. And in this wise. His studies were as nothing in the estimation of his superiors. Work of the most menial kind fell to the share of the probationer. He was ap- pointed porter and gatekeeper. The cleansing of the cells ; the sweeping of the Church ; the winding of the clock ; the office of sexton ; the attendance on the cloister ; all fell within the order of duties delegated to the poor novice. Then followed the crowning indignity. Monks were ever the most inveterate beggars ; often enforcing their supplications with an air of compulsory impor- tunity. Wants arise in spite of idleness and useless- ness ; or rather, taking the ordinary common sense view, it may be said that those very vices call want into exist- ence. The monastery, like others of its order, was always in want; and to supply some of these Luther was deputed to go into the town to beg bread for its inmates. "The poor monk, oppressed with toil, hastened to employ in study all the moments that he could steal from these mean occupations. He voluntarily withdrew from the society of the brethren to give himself up to his beloved pursuits ; but they soon found it out, and sur- rounding him with murmurs, tore him from his books exclaiming, ' Come, come ! It is not by study, but by begging bread, corn, eggs, fish, meat, and money, that a monk renders himself useful to the cloister.' Luther His Shameful Degradation. 39 submitted : he laid aside his books, and took his basf ag-ain." ^ He, who for the space of four years had dwelt within that town, the delight and wonder of all who knew him, the sedulous student, the pleasant companion, the learned professor, a man in the first bloom of his strong- early manhood, a giant in intellect, was reduced to be the despised drudge, the beggar of bread ! No greater mortification could be placed upon the pride of man ; and it would be beyond the limits of reason to imagine that a spirit such as that possessed by Luther, however softened by religious fervour, would submit in silence. For a long time he bore, without complaint, all these indignities but, at length, a protest issued from his lips. The University of Erfurt at that time contained more than a thousand students, and its professors were men of world-wide reputation. Luther had been a great favor- ite with them, and when this treatment came to their knowledge they were exceedingly indignant and stoutly resented it. Although unhappily lost to their circle, he still dwelt in their memories. A strong and urgent protest was uttered, not without success. Their remonstrance, together with Luther's own complainings, came under the attention of the Prior, who was induced to mitigate the severity of the exactions. After a time Luther was alto- gether excused from these uncongenial and degrading toils, and, freed from their thraldom, brother Augustine, for such was the name given to him upon entering the convent, resumed his interrupted course of study, 1 D'Aubigne. 40 Martin Luther. The course of his life was still marked by the greatest as- ceticism. His own words afford clear testimony. "If," he says, '' Augustine went straight to heaven from the walls of an abbey, I, too, ought to do so : all my brethren would give me this testimony. I fasted, I watched, I mortified, I practised all the cenobite severities ; till I absolutely made myself ill. It is not our enemies who will believe this : the men only who talk of the pleasantness of the monastic life, and have never undergone any spiritual temptation." Sometimes he alleviated the monotony of his days by singing- a hymn. He was particularly fond of the Gre- gorian chant ; and his greatest delight was to take a part with some young chorister. His own voice, at that time, was a fine counter-tenor. Frequently he would leave the monastery at daybreak, proceed into^the country, and at the foot of some tree, preach the word of God to the .shepherds. ^ About this time that terrible periodic scourge of Europe, the plague, spread abroad its devastating arms. Its ravages were fearfully severe in many towns and villages of the district. Death swept away its victims with start- ling suddenness : many homes were entirely desolated. A general and deadly terror fell upon the hearts of the people, and numbers fled from the town. The terror of the plague dealing terrible and swift death, transcended every other danger and every other terror. The calamity reached the household of Hans Luther at Mansfeld. Two of his sons died. The stricken father's thoughts were turned to his eldest born, then estranged from him. Affliction 1 Walch VIII., 1 191. Tiuo of his Brothers die of the Plague. 41 softened the obduracy of the stern man's mind, and he gave ear to the pleadings of friends who would gladly see the breach between father and son healed. Martin's disobedience was a crushing blow to the fond hopes of the father, and it was difficult at once for him to offer forgiveness ; but the grief that had now fallen upon Hans Luther when he saw two of his sons taken from him, tended to correct those bitter feelings, and inclined his heart to forgive his erring son. He sent a message wherein he offered reconciliation. Martin, in the monas- tery, had heard of the death of his brothers, and returned a. sympathetic and consolatory letter ; at the same time joyfully accepting pardon for his disobedience, and giving particulars of the immediate cause which led to his offence. Hans received this with an inward satisfaction, but could not altogether accredit its conclusion. His son was forgiven, that was accomplished ; but the soreness of disappointed expectations still remained. When he after- wards saw Martin, and the reconciliation was complete, he uttered a characteristic reflection, exhibiting much of that dogged determination not to give up the truth when convinced that it was the truth. Resigning himself to circumstances, but with an immovable clinging to the principle he loved, and a doubt that more than lingered of the wisdom of Martin's choice, he said, ''God grant, my son, that you may not have taken for a sign from heaven what was only a delusion of the devil." Burning with desire to attain that holiness, in quest of which he had entered the cloister, Luther gave way to all the rigour of an ascetic life. He endeavoured to crucify 42 Martin Luther, the flesh by fastings, mortifications, and watchings. Shut up in his cell, as in a prison, he struggled unceasingly against the deceitful thoughts and evil inclinations of his heart. A little bread and a small herring were often his only food. Besides, he was naturally of very abstemious habits. Thus he was frequently seen by his friends, long after he had ceased to think of purchasing heaven by his abstinence, contenting himself with the poorest food, and remaining even four days in succession without eating or drinking. This we have on the testimony of Melanchthon. At this period nothing was too great a sacrifice that might enable him to become a saint, and to inherit heaven. Never did the Romish church possess a more pious monk. Never did cloister witness more severe or indefatigable exertions to purchase eternal happiness. When Luther had become a reformer, and had declared that heaven was not to be obtained by such means as these, he knew very well what he was saying. " I was indeed a pious monk," wrote he to the Duke George of Saxony, " and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever monk could obtain heaven by his monkish works, I should certainly have been entitled to it. Of this all the friars who have known me can testify. If it had continued longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death, by means of my watchings, prayers, reading, and other labours." Luther did not, however, find in the tranquility of the cloister, and in monkish perfection, that peace of mind which he had sought. He longed to have the assur- ance of His salvation : this was the great want of his His Spiritual Struggles, soul. Without it there could be no repose. But the fears that had agitated him in the world pursued him to his cell. Nay, they were increased. The faintest cry of his heart re-echoed loud beneath the silent arches of the cloister. God had led him thither, that he might learn to know himself, and to despair of his own strength and virtue. His conscience, enlightened by the Divine Word, told him what it was to be holy ; but he was filled with terror at finding, neither in his heart nor in his life, that image of holiness which he had contemplated with admira- tion in the Word of God. A sad discovery, but one made by every sincere man. No righteousness within, no righteousness without. All was omission, sin, impurity. The more ardent the character of Luther, the stronger was that secret and constant resistance which man's nature opposes to good. He was plunged into despair. The monks and divines of the day encouraged him to satisfy the divine righteousness by meritorious works. " But what works," thought he, *' can come from a heart like mine ? How can I stand before the holiness of my Judge with works polluted in their very source. I see that I am a great sinner in the sight of God, and I do not think it possible for me to propitiate Him by my own merits." He was agitated, and yet dejected, avoiding the trifling and stupid conversations of the monks. The latter, unable to comprehend the storms that tossed his soul, looked upon him with surprise, and reproached him for his '^ silence and gloomy air." One day, Cochloeus tells us, as they were saying mass in the chapel, Luther had 44 Martin Luther, carried thither all his anxiety, and was in the choir in the midst of the brethren, sad and heart-stricken. Already the priest had prostrated himself, the incense had been burnt before the altar, the Gloria sung-, and they were reading- the Gospel, when the poor monk, unable any longer to repress his anguish, cried out in a mournful tone, as he fell on his knees, " It is not I — It is not L" All were thunderstruck : and the ceremony was inter- rupted for a moment. Perhaps Luther thought he heard some reproach of which he knew himself innocent ; perhaps he declared his unworthiness of being one of those to whom Christ's death had brought the o^ift of eternal life. Cochloeus says: ^'They were then reading- the story of the dumb man, from whom Christ expelled a devil. It is possible that this cry of Luther, if the account be true, had reference to this circumstance, and that, although speechless like the dumb man, he protested by such an exclamation, that his silence came from other causes than demoniac possession." Indeed, Cochloeus tells us that the monks sometimes attributed the suffering's of their brother to a secret intercourse with the devil, and this writer himself entertained the same opinion. ,^ It may be here remarked that Luther seems ever to have possessed peculiar notions of supernatural agencies. Such notions were common in his day. In the Cotta family he doubtless gathered many such impressions; and much solitude and self-communing and sorrowings and spiritual conflicts tended to strengthen them. Indeed, in spite of his vast philosophical learning, mental apprehensions clung to him throughout his life. His Tender Conscience, 45 A tender conscience made Luther regard seriously the slightest fault. He had hardly discovered it before he endeavoured to expiate it by the severest mortifications, which only served to point out to him the inutility of all human remedies. "I tortured myself almost to death," said he, ** in order to procure peace with God for my troubled heart and agitated conscience; but surrounded with thick darkness, I found peace nowhere." The practices of monastic holiness, which had lulled so many consciences to sleep ; and to which Luther himself had had recourse in his distress, soon appeared to him the unavailing remedies of an empirical and deceptive religion. " While I was yet a monk, I no sooner felt assailed by any temptation than I cried out * I am lost ! ' Immediately I had recourse to a thousand methods to stifle the cry of my conscience. I went every day to confession, but that was of no use to me. Still bowed down by sorrow, I tortured myself by the multitude of my thoughts. Look ! I exclaimed, thou art yet envious, impatient, passionate. It profiteth thee nothing, O wretched man, to have entered this sacred order." Luther, however, imbued with the prejudices of his time, had from early youth considered the observances, whose worthlessness he had now discovered, as a certain remedy for diseased souls. What can he think of the strange discovery he had just made in the solitude of the cloister? It is possible, then, to dwell within the sanctuary, and yet bear in one's heart a man of sin. He had received another garment, but not another life. His expectations are disappointed. Where can he stop ? Can all these 46 Martin Luther, rules and observances be mere human inventions ? Such a supposition appears to him, at one time, to be a temptation of the devil, and at another, to be an irre- sistible truth. By turns contending with the Divine Voice that spake to his heart, and with the venerable institutions that time had sanctioned, Luther passed his life in a continual strug-g-le. The young- monk crept like a shadow through the long galleries of the cloister, that re-echoed with his sorrowful moanings. His body wasted away ; his strength began to fail him. ; it sometimes happened that he remained like one dead. ^ One morning the door of his cell not being opened as usual, the brethren became alarmed ; they knocked ; but there was no reply. The door was burst in, and poor Fra Martin was found stretched on the ground in a state of ecstacy, scarcely breathing, well nigh dead. A friendly brother (Lucas Edemberger) knew something of the struggles that had been going on in the soul of the poor miserable monk, and the terrible effects they had produced upon his physical powers. Some of the chorister boys were with him, and after many efforts had been unsuccessfully made to recall Luther to sensibility, the boys began to sing one of their usual hymns. The sweet singing acted power- fully on the poor worn enthusiast. Music he ever loved ; slowly his eyes opened ; feeling and sense returned ; and Luther painfully and wearily came back from the dim, unreal world of peaceful dreams, to a world, real and undoubted, filled with suffering, shadows, and unrest. 1 D'Aubigne. Dr. Staupitz^ 47 Shortly after this incident, and when Luther had resumed "his studies, and his health had somewhat improved, Dr. Staupitz, the Vicar-General of the Augustine Order, made his usual inspection of the monasteries in the district, and amongst others visited that at Erfurt. He was a learned, pious and amiable man, of no great strength of character, but devotedly attached to his order. He was extensively read in languages ; eloquent in speech ; and possessed a dignified manner and impressive appearance. Frederick, surnamed the Wise, Elector of Saxony, had employed him in several ■embassies, and acting upon his advice and direction had founded a new University at Wittenburg. Dr. Staupitz was alive to the importance of placing men of suitable talents and character in the responsible positions constantly at his disposal, but such men could not always be secured, and the worthy Vicar-General was often com- pelled to accept devoutness and devotion to duty, when those qualities were not supplemented by the additional quality of distinguishable ability. " We must,'' he quaintly said, " plough with such horses as we can find ; and with oxen, if there are no horses." Godliness was an indispensable condition. *' It is in vain that we assume the name of Divine, if we do not confirm that noble title by our lives." Dr. Staupitz made a stay of some duration at the mon- astery, and became familiar with its inmates. Luther particularly took his attention. The appearance of the young monki was striking and painful. Maimbourg, the Jesuit, in his History of Lutherism, describing the Luther ^of after years, says : — '* He possessed a quick and pene- 48 Martin Luther, trating- genius ; he was indefatigable in his studies, and frequently so absorbed in them, as to abstain from meat whole days together. He was remarkably strong- and hearty, and of a sanguine bilious temperament. His eyes were piercing and full of fire. His voice sweet and vehement when once raised. He had a stern countenance, and was most intrepid and high spirited." But no such stalwart form now stood before the Vicar- General. There stood a man, young- indeed in years, but haggard and prematurely old. In the very early stage of manhood, study, fasting-, mortifications, and a thousand agitations of the soul, had left their traces upon his countenance. Gravity and a pathetic melancholy were impressed upon his pale dejected face. " Of the personal appearance of Luther about the time of this second year, this being- the time of his most intense mental anguish, we have a representation in a portrait, preserved in a Church at Weimar, when the artist had the means of ascertaining- how Luther appeared at the time referred to. This is furthermore supported by a letter of Luther's in which he describes his features as they then were. The youthful flush had disappeared from his countenance. His black, piercing and fiery eye was now sunken. His small and plump face had become thin, and spare, but with all his sadness and dejection there was a solemn earnestness in his mien, and his look bespoke- a mind in conflict and yet determined." ^ His appearance, altogether so strangely different to the blooming faces of his companions, rivetted Dr. Staupitz's ^ Dr. Scars. Sympathetic Words, 49 attention. He spoke to the young- monk, and with paternal tenderness drew from him something of his sad history. His manner was mild and gentle, and the words he addressed to Luther loving and sympathetic. The heart of the poor ascetic was touched at once. For this he had long yearned : for this, almost unknown to himself, he had inwardly prayed. So learned, and yet so ignorant of true knowledge : so pious and yet so upbraided by conscience: so solitary and despairing, although in the midst of men devoted to the religious life : alone, with no one to understand his misery, and the weight of wretched- ness pressing at his heart. The sympathetic words of his superior brought tears to his eyes. His soul was won. Timidity and hesitation were soothed away by the kindly voice of the doctor, whose age, experience, and position gave force to his utterances. Luther instinctively knew that this man was to be to him a comforter, and soon all the troubles that oppressed his soul were confided to him. Long, earnest, and solemn were their conversations, held together without the presence of others, in the seclusion of the cloisters. All reserve was abandoned and the young monk grew as the son of the older man, who, in his turn, became as the actual father of one until then, misunder- stood, unfriended and despised. Dr. Staupitz's early life had been full of the same distracting thoughts as those which now afflicted the mind of his young friend. He had found peace, and could from his own large experience administer balm for every wound. He was able to point out the way to the fountain of all peace. In the course of conversation Luther 50 Martin Lttther said to him, "Ah, dear Doctor, our Lord God acts in an awful manner towards us ! Who can serve him, if he thus strikes all around him ? " Dr. Staupitz, who had gained a complete insio^ht into the character, and well knew the great superiority of the intellect of his young- charge, and fearing that this very loftiness of intellectual powers might exalt him above the lowly service of his Maker, expressively replied : " My son, learn to form a better judgment of God ; if he were not to act thus, how could he overcome the head- strong and wilful. He must give heed to the tall trees, lest they ascend to Heaven." Once when Luther was silent and dejected at dinner, his food untasted, the doctor came to him and said : — " How is it you are so sad, Brother Augustine ? " " Ah," replied Luther, " I am sad, indeed. I do not know what will become of me." " You know not," Staupitz returned, "that such doubts and temptations are necessary for you. They are more necessary to you than eating and drinking." Luther took these words, with others spoken in con- nection, to mean that — to quote his own words — ^' As I had some learning, I might, but for these trials, become haughty and supercilious ; and I have felt since that what he said was, as it were, a voice and an inspiration of the Holy Spirit." Referring to this time, he says : — " Ah, if St. Paul were alive now, how glad I should be to learn from himself, what sort of temptation it was he underwent. It was not the thorn in the flesh ; it was not the worthy Tecla, Trials and Consolations. 5 1 as the papists dream. Oh, no, it was not a sin that tore his conscience. It was something- deeper than despair resulting- from the sense of sin ; it was rather the temptation of which the Psalmist speaks : My God ! my God ! why hast thou forsaken me ; as though the Psalmist would have said : Thou art my enemy without cause ; and, with Job : Yet I am innocent^ nor is iniquity in me. I am sure that the book of Job is a true history, of which a poem was afterwards made. Jerome and other fathers never experienced such trials. They underwent none but trivial temptations, those of the flesh, which indeed, liave quite enough pains of their own accompanying- them. Ambrose and Aug-ustine, too, had trials, and trembled before the sword ; but this was as nothing- compared with the Angel of Satan, who strikes with the fists. If I live, I will write a book on temptations, for without a knowledge of that subject, no man can thoroughly understand the Holy Scriptures, or feel the due love and fear of the Lord." Consolations and encouragements came with all the force of inspiration from the lips of Dr. Staupitz, whom Luther how began to love with all the warmth of his impulsive generous nature. '^ There is no real repentance except that which begins with the love of God and of righteousness. What others imagine to be the end and accomplishment of repentance, is, on the contrary, only its beginning. In order that you may be filled with the love of what is good, you must first be filled with love for God. If you desire to be converted do not be curious about all these mortifications and all these tortures. Love him who first loved you I " 52 Martin Luther, " O my sin ! my sin ! my sin ! " cried the young- monk one day, in the presence of the Vicar-General, in a tone of profound anguish. ** Well ! would you only be a sinner in appearance," replied the latter, "and have also a Saviour only in appearance ? " " Then," added Staupitz, with authority, " know that Jesus Christ is the Saviour even of those who are g"reat,. real sinners, and deserving of utter condemnation.'' These words sank into the heart of Luther. Sinners — great, real sinners; were the objects of Christ's g"reat, real salvation. **I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Here is the disease; there the cure. Sin and its punishment — Christ and His atonement ! The visit of Dr. Staupitz drew to a close. Just before leaving he said to Luther, and his words, full of meaning and promise, in days of sadness and depression often comforted the young monk ; ^' It is not in vain that God exercises you in so many conflicts : you will see that he will employ you, as His servant, for great purposes." To his other encouragement and advice, he added this golden admonition : ** Let the study of the Scriptures be your favorite occu- pation." On the day of his departure he gave Luther a Bible, the first he ever possessed. The Latin one in the convent, bound in red leather and chained to the desk, which had been the object of his desire, remained fastened in its place. That was indeed most familiar to him. All its passages, were impressed on his memory ; but this gift of the good Spintual Conflicts. 53 Doctor was to be his own. He could, at his pleasure, without hindrance, carry it to the assured peace of his •cell, there to ponder to study and to feast upon its rich treasures ! Never was gift to man made at a time more •critical. This gift of a book. The Book, by a superior to his inferior ; by the principal of an order to one of the youngest of his followers ; these men humble and obscure instruments of God's will, may, in His providence, affect and determine the destinies of the whole world. Still the work was not yet complete. Conviction of sin, and the acceptance of Christ as the Saviour needed, indeed, but little further confirmation. A means of ensuring it was, however, afforded, and that in a manner suggesting the correction of the rod in the hands of a loving Father. Luther broke down thoroughly. His physical strength, long affected by his midnight vigils and his unceasing spiritual conflicts, at length gave way. Once again did an illness bring him to the brink of the grave ; and now the ■chastening rod was turned into the golden sceptre of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. An aged monk, who himself had received richly of the consolation he strove to impart, came to comfort the sick brother. While praying he repeated the Apostles Creed, "7 Mieve in the forgiveness of sins.'' The very subject of Dr. Staupitz's farewell words came now with irresistible power to Luther's heart. " I believe," he presently said, fervently, " I believe in ■the forgiveness of sins ! " "Ah!" said the monk, "you must believe not only in the forgiveness of David's and of Peter's sins, for this 54 Ma7'iin Ltither, even the devils believe. It is God's command that we believe that our own sins are forgiven. Hear what St. Bernard says in his discourse on the Annunciation, * the Testimony of the Holy Ghost in thy heart is this : Thy sins are forgiven thee.' " " From this moment," says the Historian, whose account of this important event we have followed, ''From this moment light sprung up in the heart of the young monk of Erfurt. The Word of Grace had been pronounced : he had believed in it. He disclaims all merit of salvation, and resigns himself confidingly to the Grace of God in Jesus Christ. He does not at first perceive the conse- quences of the principle he has admitted ; he is still sincere in his attachment to the Church, and yet he has no further need of her ; for he has received salvation immediately from God Himself, and henceforth Roman Catholicism is virtually destroyed in him." The time between this and his ordination was spent by Luther in spiritual preparations for that event. His father had already been reconciled to the loss of his son, and now took great interest in his new life. Luther was most anxious that his father should set the seal of his forgive- ness by being present at the ceremony. To become a priest was to Luther's mind the perfection- of human felicity, and he evinced extreme anxiety for the presence of all the cherished friends of his youth. His father, indeed, made no difficulty, although, if his feelings could be rigidly analysed, the sturdy miner had no great heart for the matter. Love for his son alone induced him to be present at the ceremony. John Ordination as a Priest, 55 Braun, the Vicar of Eisenach, from whom Luther had received many tokens of affection during- his residence there, was invited. He was g-reatly excited by thoughts of the important event. "It was," he says, "a glorious thing- to be a new priest, and to hold the first mass. Blessed was the mother who had borne a priest. His father, mother, and friends were now filled with joy." " A consecrated priest," he sincerely believes, " was as much above an ordinary Christian as the morning star was above a smoking taper." The ceremony, which took place on the 2nd of May, 1507, was of the usual character; but the effect upon the highly-wrought mind of Luther was far greater than that usually experienced. The solemn and terrible charge given to the new-made priest shook his frame with terror. " Receive," said the Bishop, " the power of sacrifice for the quick and the dead." This arrogation of Divine Attributes did not commend itself to Luther. ** It is a wonder," he wrote afterwards, " that the ground did not open and swallow us both up." Trembling with fear he faltered, and would have fallen away from the altar had not assistance been at hand. To stand before God without a mediator was presumption in his eyes ; and the words " the sacrifice which I offer now to thee," jarred upon his sincere and ingenuous mind. ** From that time forth," he confesses, " I read mass with great fear." But, if this brought uneasiness and doubt to his mind, no such indecision followed the humble con- fession and resolution to serve God which formed part of the profession. 56 Martin Luther, ** God. who is glorious and holy in all his works, having- most graciously condescended to raise me up— me, a wretched, and in all respects, unworthy sinner, and to call me by his sole and most free mercy to his sublime minis- try ; I ought, in order to testify my gratitude for such divine and magnificent goodness, as far, at least, as mere dust and ashes can do it, to fulfil with my whole heart the duties of the office intrusted to me." After the ordination, dinner was given to those who were present at the rite. Hans sat by his son's side, and preserved the gravest countenance. *^My dear father," said the new priest, '* why are you so sad ? Why should you regret ? " The conversation was then in general praise of the priest's office, but Martin's misgivings were not without cause. Rising from his seat, and addressing the com- pany, Hans observed, " Is it not written in the Word, that a man should honour his father and his mother ? " " It is," said they. Thereupon Hans looked expressively at his son, who remained silent. The silence was broken by the guests, who began to talk of indifferent matters, with a view doubtless of saving a repetition of this searching question. At the conclusion of the feast, Hans presented his son with the sum of twenty florins, and then joining himself to the retinue of his friends who had accompanied him, took his departure. Luther dreaded the ordeal through which he must pass before he could bring himself to preach in public. ** Here, under this pear tree," he afterwards said, '* I have, over and over again, argued with Dr. Staupitz, as to P 7' caches to the Brethren, 57 whether it was my vocation to preach. He said it was. I had fifteen reasons against it, and fifteen more when they were done. * Doctor,' I used to say, ^ you want to kill me. I shall not live three months, if you compel me to go on.' * Our Lord,' the doctor would reply, ^ Our Lord requires the aid of able men ; He needs your services, and must have them.' " The doctor was successful in his argument, and Luther essayed to preach, but at first before the brethren only. *' Oh, how I trembled when I was ascending the pulpit for the first time. I would fain have excused myself ; but they made me preach. It was the regulation, that the junior brethren should preach to the rest." Such was the modest beginning of one of the boldest and ablest preachers of the Reformation ! Some time after, when Luther had partially overcome his timidity about preaching, and was being initiated into the various duties of his office he received a shock which he thus describes in his Tischreden (Table Talk) : ^ " When I was young, it happened that I was taking part, in my priest's habit, in a procession on Corpus Chrisii day, at Eisleben. All at once, the sight of the Holy Sacrament, borne by Dr. Staupitz, so terrified me that I perspired at every pore, and I thought I should die with fear. When the procession was over I confessed to the doctor, and related what happened to me." He replied, ''Thy thoughts are not according to Christ: Christ ^ This famous work (Tischreden, oder Colloquia Doct. Mart. Luther) was first issued in folio size, at Eisleben, in 1566. The ^British Museum contains an original copy, in excellent preservation. 58 Martin Luther, does not terrify, he consoles." These were a great relief to my mind, and filled me with joy." It is most probable that Luther received his first im- pressions of the Reformation when Dr. Staupitz gave ta him that famous and cherished Bible on parting with him at the monastery. " Let the study of the Scriptures be your favorite occu- pation." The very thing to act mightily upon Luther. Without knowing it Staupitz struck the key-note of the Reformation. Study the Scriptures ! and find in them a full and perfect destruction of the pretensions and daring impiety of the church in which you have been reared, and in whose services the freshness of your strength is now being expended. " Staupitz," with sincere thankfulness he afterwards said, '' Staupitz assisted me, or rather God through him. I lay wretchedly entangled in the Papal net. I must have perished in the den of murderers, if God had not delivered me. His grace transformed me, and kept me from going with the enemies of the Gospel, and from joining them now in shedding innocent blood. As soon as you receive the knowledge of Christ with sure faith, all anger, fear and trembling vanish in the twinkling of an eye, and nothing but pure compassion is seen in God ! Such know- ledge quickeneth the heart, and maketh it joyful and as- sured that God is not angry with us, but tenderly loveth us." The study of the Scriptures was the principal and an- doubtedly the most important occupation of Luther during the remainder of his continuance at Erfurt. Dr. Staupitz had been resolving in his mind upon some new position for Appoiiited Professor at Wittenberg, 59 the young- monk. His ability and sincere godliness must not be buried in obscurity. " Our Lord requires the aid of able men," such was his belief, and he was not slow in acting upon his conviction. In the judgment of the kindly Vicar- General, Luther, in his own person, combined all' necessary qualifications. His merits were laid before the Elector Frederick, one of the richest and most powerful princes at that time in Germany, as well as one of the most magnificent, intellectual, and bountiful. The new University at Wittenberg was his great and enlightened work, and he was anxious that all the available learning of the time should be gathered within its walls. In the Charter confirming its privileges, Frederick declared that he and his people would regard its decision as they would those of an oracle, and this court of appeal, as it after- wards virtually became, did, on many and great occasions, pronounce decisions that affected Christianity and its professors with a force far beyond even the fondest dreams of its founder. The recommendation of Dr. Staupitz carried great influence and weight with the Elector. Luther was invited to take a position in the University at Wittenberg, then in the sixth year of its existence. The Chair of Philosophy was vacant, and at the age of twenty-five Luther was called upon to become its occupant. Not for a single moment did he hesitate in accepting the invitation. His preparations were of the simplest description, and without delay he left the place in which three years of his life had been spent, and pro- ceeded to his new appointment. The City of Erfurt was a large populous and attrac- 6o Martin Luther tive place. Wittenberg, on the contrary, was small, mean, and singularly unattractive. Dr. Sears gives the following description : — "On the north side are seen plains broken by sand hills and copses of wood ; on the south, a low flat heath, behind which flowed the broad Elbe, fringed here and there with willow and oak shrubs. Many wretched hamlets were seen in the distance, and the city itself, if we except the public buildings, was but little more than a cluster of mean dwellings. The people were warlike, but so sensual that it was thought necessary to limit their convivialities by law. At bethrothals, for example, nothing was allowed to be given to the guests, except cakes, bread, cheese, fruit, and beer. The last article so abounded at Wittenberg, that it was said, ' The cuckoo could be heard there in winter evenings,' speaking, of course, through the throats of the bottles. There were one hundred and seventy-two breweries in the city in 1513. Among the items of expenditure of the city, recorded in the treasurer's books, for the ten years before Luther's arrival, are moneys paid for fire-arms; for race grounds, where oxen were the prizes won in the race ; for paintings and masks used in plays ; for garments, masks, rings, scaffolding, linen dresses for Satan and his companions, for Judas and the two thieves; all to be used in the amusements of Passion week." Such was the place where Luther commenced his new labours, and where so many vast events of his- torical moment had their birth. " I wonder," he remarks, '* that a University should be Nobility of Soul. 6i placed there," referring doubtless to the choice made by the Elector Frederick, who, in the midst of a town con- sisting- for the most part of small houses of mud walls and thatched roofs, had founded a University, intended to rival that of Erfurt, and which, indeed, afterwards totally eclipsed it. The commencement of his labours consisted of lectures upon Philosophy, and for these lectures he did not receive any emolument. It is not a little remarkable, and will be taken in evidence of the self-denying-, unselfish character of the man, that throughout his life, — and that life was full of poverty and the vexation of limited means even to within a few years of its close, — he never received any payments from those he taught, and no remuneration from the booksellers for his writings. Once, indeed, the pub- lishers sought to secure his manuscripts by the offer of an annual sum of four hundred florins, but Luther, with amazing nobility of soul, refused their money, with the full-hearted remark, " I cannot make merchandise of the gifts with which God hath endowed me ! " It may possibly be of interest to remember that before and at the dawn of the Reformation, the invention of Gutenberg and Fust at Mentz had proved of immense value in promoting the spread of literature in Germany. In 15 13, thirty-five publications only appeared; thirty- seven was the number in 15 17; but after Luther began to disseminate his views the increase was most rapid. In 1 5 18 the number rose to seventy-one; in the follow- ing year it reached one hundred and eleven ; and in 1520 no less than two hundred and eleven works were 62 Mm' tin Luther, issued. Succeeding- years only showed further increase. 152 1 yielded three hundred and forty-seven, and a total of four hundred and ninety-eight was reached at the end of the following year. The reformers contributed mainly to this result, and far more frequently than any other Luther displayed his untiring diligence. In 1522, he pub- lished one hundred and thirty, and in the following year so great was his marvellous industry that no less than one hundred and eighty-three of his writings and addresses spread their way, by the friendly and powerful aid of the press, throughout civilized Europe. To show the mar- vellous vitality exhibited by his productions, it may be stated that the latest collected edition of his works in the British Museum consists of as many as sixty-seven octavo A^olumes. His work at Wittenberg at first was not congenial to the bent of his inclination, as may be gathered from his own remarks. Writing on the 17th March, 1509, to his old friend and teacher, John Braun, Vicar of Eisenach, he says : — *' That I came off without saying a word to you, you must not marvel. For so sudden was my departure that my -choicest friends there hardly knew it. I would fain have written to you ; but could not then for lack of time, and could only but grieve that I was constrained to fly away in such haste, without bidding you farewell. But now, at God's command, or by his permission, I am here at Wittenberg. Would you know my state and condition, I would say it is, by God's favour, very good, saving that I must force myself unto my studies, especially philosophy. Progress at Wittenberg, 63 before which I preferred theolog-y from the beg-inning-. I mean that theolog-y which seeketh for the inside of the nut, for the kernel of the wheat beneath the husk, for the marrow within the bone. But God is God, and man often, nay, always, erreth in his judg-ment. This is our God, and he shall guide us in his loving- kindness for ever." But, in a very little time, the nature of his occupation underwent a chang-e, and the change brought the very thing he desired. In the same month he took his first step in Divinity. The University book shows the following entry : — " On the ninth of March, Master {i.e., A.M.) Martin was -admitted to the Bible {i.e., made Bihlicus) but, being called away to Erfurt, hath not unto this time paid his fee.'* The " promotion-tax," as it is called, is always very carefully collected in a German university. The other matter on the document is amusing and characteristic of the future sturdy outspoken Reformer. In Luther's -own handwriting, in the margin, appears this blunt reply, " And never will ! I was then poor, and under the rule of monastic obedience, and had nothing to give. Let Erfurt pay ! " Luther rapidly gained his degrees in Theology. Bihlicus was the first, and did not need any scriptural knowledge beyond a mere superficial acquaintance with some well known texts ; Sententiarius the second ; Formatus the third ; and Licentiatus the fourth. This last qualified the possessor to teach general theology. The last and highest grade was that of Doctor of Divinity. When he had attained the necessary qualification, his theological 64 Martin Liiiher. labours began, and this new direction of his great ability quickly became manifest. The spot where the Reformer first delivered his Biblical address is thus described by Myconius : — " In the new Augustinian cloister at Wittenberg, the foundation of a chapel had indeed been laid, but the walls were raised no higher than to be level with the ground. Within, there was yet standing a little wooden chapel, about thirty feet long and twenty wide ; the timbers thereof being laid in mortar, very much leaning, and propped upon all sides. In it was a little half-gallery, old and smoky, in which twenty men might perhaps stand. By the wall on the south side was to be seen a pulpit of old rough-hewn planks, raised about an ell and a half from the floor. The building may well be compared to the stable in which Christ was born. In this dingy little chapel did God cause his Holy Gospel and his dear child Jesus to be born anew. It was no Minster or great Cathedral, though there were many thousands of them, that God chose for this purpose. But soon this chapel was too strait, and Luther was called to preach in the parish church." " When a preacher," says Luther, " for the first time goeth into the pulpit, no one would believe how fearful he is, he seeth so many heads before him. When I go up into the pulpit, I do not look upon any one. I think them to be only so many blocks before me, and I speak out the words of my God," The Historian of the Reformation thus finely describes his preaching and its effect upon the minds of his hearers : *' Luther preaches ; everything is striking in the new min- Eloquence in Preaching. 65 ister. His expressive countenance, his noble air, his clear and sonorous voice, captivate all his hearers. Before his time, the majority of preachers had sought rather what might amuse their congregation, than what would convert them. The great seriousness that pervaded all Luther's sermons, and the joy with which the knowledge of the Gospel filled his heart imparted to his eloquence a warmth, an unction, and an authority that his predecessors had not possessed. One of his opponents (Florimond Raymond), says, * Endowed with a ready and lively genius, with a good memory, and employing his mother-tongue with wonderful facility, Luther was inferior to none of his con- temporaries in eloquence. Speaking from the pulpit as if he were agitated by some violent emotion, suiting the action to his words, he affected his hearers' minds in a surprising manner, and bore them like a torrent wherever he pleased. So much strength, grace and eloquence are rarely found in these children of the North.' * He had,' says Bossuet, * a lively and impetuous eloquence that charmed and led away the people.' Sometimes eminent doctors came to listen to his course, and retired full of admiration. The venerable Pollich, known by the sobri- quet of Lux Mundi, heard him, and struck with wonder exclaimed : * This father has profound insight, exceeding imagination; he will trouble the doctors before he has done, and excite no slight disturbance.' '* Soon the litde chapel could not hold the hearers who crowded to it. The Council of Wittenberg then nominated Luther their chaplain, and invited him to preach in the city church. The impression he there produced was greater F 66 Martin Luther, still. The energ-y of his genius, the eloquence of his style, and the excellence of the doctrines he proclaimed, equally astonished his hearers. His reputation extended far and wide, and Frederick the Wise, the Elector who had intro- duced him to the University, came once to Wittenberg- to hear him." The University was wholly under the controlling- power of its founder, who did not in any way associate it with Rome. The students were, on the whole, somewhat in- clined to exhibit wills of their own, and possibly in some sort were not much unlike those of our own time, who like to show a manly spirit, not without dang-er to an unpopular professor. In Luther's time these indepen- dent and law-defying- young- people had insulted some of the court of the Bishop of Brandenburg-, who thereupon set a fine upon the city of two thousand gulden, and placed it under interdict until the sum was paid. Dr. Scheurl, their late rector, had rendered himself most obnoxious by imposing checks upon their constant and pernicious habit of excessive beer-drinking; and further incited their displeasure by forbidding their appearance in the streets armed with gun, sword or knife. One of the students who was expelled the University for some offence against its regulations, assassinated the rector in 15 12, the year of Luther's visit to Rome. Melanchthon, too, having incited their displeasure many years after narrowly escaped with his life. Turbulent as they were, Luther did not throughout his career receive anything but affection and loving service from them ; although indeed his opinion of the inhabitants generally was not too favorable. *^ These Saxons," he The Wittenbergers, 67 says, *' are neither agreeable nor civil ; " and again, de- ploring their want of solicitude in the education of their offspring, he remarks, " The Wittenbergers trouble them- selves neither about honour, courtesy, nor religion ; they do not send their sons to school, though so many come here from abroad." Eisenach evidently was his favorite town, and no other place could supplant it in his affections — "Eisenach, my own dear Eisenach ! " CHAPTER IV. LUTHER IN ROME. IN 15 12, an important commission was entrusted to Luther. Seven convents of his order had points of controversy with their Vicar-General. It being impossible to adjust these differences, it was decided to appeal to the judgment of Rome. Dr. Staupitz committed his cause tO' Luther, and the other side also willingly gave their interest to his charge; convinced as they were of his great intelligence, talent for discussion, general ability and' scrupulous conscientiousness. To Rome therefore he directed his steps ; and in the knowledge and thoughts gained in the immortal city may clearly be traced the hand of God in guiding, without once leaving or seeming to leave the footsteps of the poor monk, then chosen by Him to be the grand central figure in that most sublime of all sublimides — the Reformation of Religion throughout the world ! Dr. Staupitz accompanied him as far as Heidelberg where he left him, and Luther proceeded on his way, having a Brother for his companion and associate. '' Behold ! " says Michelet, in his life, "Luther in Italy \ It is a moment of ineffable joy, of boundless hopes, in which we begin the descent of the Alps, to enter for the first 68 Rebukes the Benedictines, 69 time that glorious land. And for Luther, there was the further aspiration to confirm his wavering faith in the holy city ; and throw aside all the growing burden of uneasy doubt at the tomb of the apostles. Old Rome, too, the Rome of classic ages, was a powerful attraction to him, as the seat and sanctuary of the learning he had cultivated with such ardour in his poor Wittenberg." He was received at Milan in a marble convent, and from that he visited one convent after another, or, rather one palace after another, for such they were. In each he found good cheer, sumptuous entertainment. The simple-minded •German was somewhat astonished at all this magnificence of humility, at all this regal splendour of penitence. He once ventured to suggest to the Italian monks that they -^v'ould do well, at least to abstain from meat on Friday : the impertinence was near costing him his life ; it was with the greatest difficulty he got out of the hands of the offended epicures. D' Aubigny gives a somewhat different and more detailed account. " The poor German monk was entertained in a -wealthy convent of the Benedictines on the banks of the Po, in Lombardy. The revenues of this monastery amounted ■to 36,000 ducats ; 12,000 were devoted to the table, 12,000 were set apart for the buildings, and the remainder for the wants of the monks. The splendour of the apartments, the richness of their dress, and the delicacy of their food, confounded Luther. Marble, silk — luxury in all its forms — what a novel sight for the humble brother of the poor <:onvent at Wittenberg ! He was astonished and silent ; but when Friday came, what was his surprise at seeing 70 Martin LtUher, the Benedictine table groaning under a load of meat. Upon this he resolved to speak. *The church and the pope,' said he, ' forbid such things.' The Benedictines were irritated at this reprimand of the unpolished German. But Luther having persisted, and perhaps threatened to make their irregularities known, some thought the simplest course would be to get rid of their importunate guest. The porter of the convent forewarned him of the danger he incurred by a longer stay." Undeceived and sorrowful, he proceeded on foot over the plains of Lombardy. He reached Pavia in ill health ; he went on, and when he entered Bologna, he was sick well nigh unto death. The traveller's head had been too violently assailed by the sun of Italy, and even more than by this, by the novel things, the foreign manners, the strange discourse he saw and heard around him on his way. He kept his bed for awhile in Bologna, once the throne of Roman law and of the legists, and looked upon, himself for some time as a dead man. Ever and anon, in order to strengthen and confirm his mind, he whispered the words of the prophet and apostle : '* The just shall live hyfaithP Luther's companion, too, did not escape a serious illness. Both his sufferings and the sufferings of Luther probably arose in a great measure from the fatigues of travelling and the difference of diet jn the various places through which they passed. But Luther, in a letter sent to his friends, seems to have held an opinion that their illness was. produced by injudiciously sleeping at night with the case- ment of their chambers open. Rome. 7 1 " The Italians," he writes, " only require you to look in a mirror to be able to kill you. They can deprive you of all your senses by secret poisons. In Italy, the air itself is pestilential : at night, they close hermetically every window, and stop up every chink and cranny.'' A few days rest at Bologna brought about their restora- tion to health, and they resumed their journey, passing through Florence without stopping, and at length drew near the Eternal City of the Seven Hills. Rome was before him! That Rome of which he had read so much ; the first home of that religion so sacred to him ; the place of the trial and martyrdom of some of the apostles ; the birthplace and cradle and grave of martyrs, fathers, and saints loved and treasured in his heart of hearts ! '' On arriving," he says, " I fell on my knees, raised my hands to Heaven, and exclaimed, ' Hail, holy Rome ! made holy by the holy martyrs, and by the blood which has been spilt here.' " When Luther reached Rome, he doubtless saw the guide book specially prepared for visitors, and entitled " Mirahilia Romae,'' (the Wonders of Rome). This book was full of the treasures of the papal city. The city does not appear to have struck Luther in a very favourable way. In his blunt, German-peasant manner he says : *' Rome, is but a dead carcass compared with its ancient splendour. The houses now rest on ground as high as the roofs once stood. This do we perceive at the banks of the Tiber, where the ruins reach perpendicularly to the length of two spears, such as are used by our troops. Rome, where 72 Martin Ltithei' the most magnificent buildings once stood, was razed to the ground by the Goths. On the hill, and the Capitol, stands a Franciscan convent. Rome, as I saw it, is full five miles in circumference. The vestiges where ancient Rome stood can scarcely be traced. The theatre and the Baths of Diocletian are still to be seen." The new Cathedral of St. Peter's was then in course of erection, and upon it a large sum of money had already been expended by the Pope, Julius II., who had com- menced the building. He did not at this time think that in order to raise the necessary funds to complete this great work, an aggra- vated system of Indulgences would spring forth, and produce throughout Europe that loud protesting cry in which might be heard the doom of Papal supre- macy ! Luther at this time fully believed in the Pope and the Papacy. He gazed, indeed, credulously and awe stricken at the heads of the apostles Peter and Paul in the court before the cathedral, although in after time when his mind was freed from the imposture, he said : — *' They boast at Rome of having the heads of Peter and Paul, and show them as sacred relics, although they are nothing but wooden heads, made by a bungling artist. I can boldly affirm, according to what I myself have seen and heard at Rome, that no one there knows where the bodies of St. Paul and St. Peter lie. The popes, indeed, show every year (on SS. Peter and Paul day) to the blind and silly populace two heads of Peter and Paul, carved in wood, and would fain make them believe that these are the Impostures, 73 veritable skulls of Peter and Paul ; and on the altar where these skulls are kept from injury the palliums of the bishops are also preserved." But at this period no such convictions occupied his simple, confiding, and reverent mind. He saw all and believed much. " In the Pantheon at Rome," he says, " now converted into a church, are representations in painting- of all the ^ods. When I was there I saw this church. It had no windows, but was one high vault, with an opening above to admit the light. It had large marble pillars, which could hardly be compassed by two men with their arms ex- tended." The work cited tells of all the stations, the relics, the indulgences, and the rest of the favourite and wonder- striking but pretentious exhibitions of the Church. One of the seven churches at Rome had power to grant as many days of indulgence as the number of drops of rain which could fall in three days and «iights. Luther, with the zeal of a good Catholic, swallowed all these idle tales ; and so sincerely did he believe their lying inventions that he absolutely regretted, he tells us, that his father and mother were still living, so much did he burn to release their souls from purgatory ! '^ Oh ! " he exclaims, ^'what pleasure I should have in delivering them from the fire of purgatory by my masses, my prayers, and by so many admirable works." When he had come to his right mind, and had became emancipated from this superstition, reproaching himself, 74 Martm Luther, he says, " Such a foolish saint was I, running to all the churches and sepulchres, and believing all the pitiable stories that were told me." ^ Any devout believer going up the staircase of Pilate on his knees was promised a thousand years indulgence in respect to penance imposed. Luther hastened to secure this tremendous reward, and to traverse again those sacred steps once trodden by his Lord and Redeemer ; but while- engaged in the act a sudden flash of enlightenment came across his mind. He thought he heard a voice of thunder crying from the bottom of his heart, as at Wittenberg and Bologna — " The Just shall live by faith ! " These words, that twice before had struck him like the voice of an angel from heaven, resounded unceasingly and power- fully within him. He rises in amazement from the steps up which he was dragging his body; he shudders at himself ; he is ashamed of seeing to what a depth super- stition had plunged him. He flies far from the scene of his folly. "" An indulgence for a lengthened — it might almost be said an indefinite — term was to be the reward for looking upon the handkerchief of St. Veronica, on which it was said were the features of our Lord, miraculously impressed after the handkerchief had been used by Him in the agony in the Garden. Dr. Sears says of this imposture; "There was never such a person as Veronica, and the name was unheard of till the middle ages. It is the corruption, as Mabillon, and others have shown, of the two words vera (true), and ^ JiirgensII., 268. ^ Seckendorf. Julius II, ']<^ icon (image); words inscribed under paintings of Christ's countenance upon cloth." Luther says of this relic : — " It is nothing but a black square board, with a cloth hung before it, and over that another, which is raised when the Veronica is shown. The poor besotted pilgrim can see nothing but a cloth before a black tablet." The Pope, at this period, was no longer the scan- dalous Alexander VI., but the warlike and choleric Julius II. This Father of the Faithful breathed nothing but blood and»ruin. We know that his great artist, Michael Angelo, represented him as overwhelming Bologna with his benediction. The pope had recently com- manded the sculptor to prepare for him a funeral monu- ment, as large as a church : of this projected monument, the Moses, with some other statues which have come down to us, were to have formed a part. Luther related afterwards an incident in the life of this Pontiff. When intelligence once came to him that his soldiers, (for this blood-thirsty prelate, sometimes com- manded his army in person, and even besieged towns), had been driven from Ravenna by the French with great slaughter, and the absolute loss of the place, he was en- gaged with his usual prayers. Flinging his book aside, he exclaimed, with a fearful oath, " And thou, too, art become a Frenchman ! Is it thus thou dost protect thy Church ? " This horrible impiety was followed by his turning in the direction of the country to whose arms he thought to have recourse, and with craven fears he cried out, " Saint Switzer, pray for us ! " y6 Martin Ltd her. Michelet, in recording- and estimating- his character, says, " This singular priest had refused to enter Mirandola ■otherwise than by the breach he had made in its walls. His cardinals, apprentice-officers under him, were politi- ■cians, diplomatists, or, more generally, men of letters, upstart savans, who read nothing but Cicero, and who would have feared to impair their Latinity by opening the Bible. When they spoke of the pope, it was of the Pontifex Maximus ; a canonized saint was, in their lan- •guage, a man relatus ifiier Divos ; and if they at any time referred to grace, they phrased it thus : — Deofum immor- ialiuni heneficiis.^'' During his stay in Rome Luther lived at the Augustinian convent, near the Porto del Popolo, and here the terribly 'loose and profane character of his brethren was but too painfully brought to his attention. With godly and devout earnestness he officiated at the Mass ; but his decorous and dignified bearing provoked only the derision of the others. They laughed at his simplicity. One day, during the celebration of this sacred rite, he was surprised to find that during the time of his conscientious and impressive work, the priest at an adjacent altar had gabbled through no less than seven Masses before he had accomplished one. "Quick, quick," impiously urged one of the celebrants, •**send Our Lady back her Son ! " in allusion to the tran- substantiation of the bread into the body, and the wine into the blood, of our blessed Redeemer. On another celebration, Luther had only reached as far as the Gospel, while the priest by his side, commencing at the same time, had already completed the Mass. " Passa, Impiety of the Priesthood, "jj passa ! " he cried, impatiently, ** make haste, have done with it, at once." Luther was inexpressibly shocked at this want of devotion and common decency in the celebration of what appeared to him to be the most sacred of all the Sacraments. He had gone to Rome moved by sincere and deep feeling-. It w^as a last effort to appease con- science, and allay the growing storm of his soul. How great then was the shock and sorrow which he experienced, when he found the Mass mocked at by some of the very highest ecclesiastical dignitaries, and the solemn service of God transformed and degraded into a mere pageant and,, at best, a theatrical spectacle. ^ The utter want of piety and implied unbelief which existed amongst the lower grades of the priesthood found aggravated intensity in the dignitaries of the church. His standing in the order, and his present position as its ambassador, secured invitations to the houses of the higher order of ecclesiastics. Here, at least, Luther expected to find that superior culture would promote more regard for the sacred calling. But his belief was quickly and rudely dispelled. Impiety and buffoonery, with an assumption of intellectual superiority that seemed to look down with scornful mockery upon the profession of religion, met him wherever he went. The very mysteries of their most holy calling were unblushingly ridiculed and degraded. Often, instead of the sacramental words used in the transformation of the bread and wine into the flesh and blood of our Lord, they jestingly 1 Shenkel Ref., p. 20. y8 Martin Luthe7\ pronounced the words, " Bread thou art, and bread thou shalt remain ; wine thou art, and wine thou shalt remain " (Pants es pam's manehis; viniim es, et viniim manehis). And the poor abused penitents bowed down in worship before this unconsecrated host. Luther reddened with shame at this, and held his peace, but the repose of his features •only concealed the indignant emotions of his heart. The open and shameless parade of impiety jarred upon the integrity of his moral and religious nature. "*' I was," he writes, simply and earnestly, ** a thoughtful and pious young monk. Such language grieved me bitterly. If it is thus they speak at Rome, freely and publicly at the dinner table, thought I to myself, what would it be if their actions correspond to their words, and jf all — Pope, Cardinals, and Courtiers — thus repeat the Mass ! How have I been deceived, who have heard them read with even apparent devotion ! " Shenkel says, he saw the Holy Mass was made a mock of at their merry carousals by the highest dignitaries of the Church : that the entire endeavour and aim of the Romish Court was directed towards worldly pomp, and the base lust of gold ; whilst the open fraud, practiced with the pretended holy relics, the juggling, spiritual, and theatrical spectacles which were daily performed before the eyes of the ignorant mob, aroused his honest, pious German soul as completely, as these discoveries shook to its very foundation, his faith in the Papacy which hitherto had been as firm as a rock. ^ The state of law and order in Rome was such as 1 Shenkel's Ref., p. 20. Corniption at Rome. 79 inig-ht fairly be supposed to exist where such deg-raded spiritual guides directed its administration. The prostitu- tion of the sacred office tended to the immediate deg'rada- tion of morals and undermined all social life. " The police of Rome is very strict and severe," Luther writes. *'The judge or captain patrols the city every night, on horse-back, with three hundred followers : he -arrests every one that is found in the streets ; if they meet an armed man he is hung or thrown into the Tiber. And yet the city is filled with disorder and murder ; whilst in those places where the Word of God is faithfully preached, peace and order prevail, without calling for the severity •of the law. " No one can imagine what sins and infamous actions •are committed in Rome ; they must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus, they are in the habit of saying, '* If there be a hell, Rome is built over it ; ' it is an abyss whence issues every kind of sin ! " Severe and distressing as these statements must appear, they cannot truthfully be denied. Corruption reigned everywhere, and no effort on the part of those high in authority was made to restrain its growth, or effect its destruction. A general decadence was upon all things, •and many there were who felt that the days of the Papacy were numbered — that the measure of its iniquity was full. Machiavelli, the historiographer of the republic of Florence, a writer of the highest authority, of great ability, •and deeply grounded in political science, also describes the impressions then very general. " The strongest symp- •tom," he writes, '* of the approaching ruin of Christianity, 8o Martin LtUher. is that the nearer people approach the capital of Christen- dom, the less Christian spirit is found. The scandalous examples and the crimes of the court of Rome are the cause why Italy has lost every principle of piety and all religious feeling". We Italians are indebted principally to the Church and the priests for having- become impious and immoral." Such was the deliberate conviction of one of the most profound and subtle thinkers of his ag-e. The business which broug-ht Luther to Rome was dis- patched without much reg-ard being paid to its consideration. There was another matter on which all minds were fixed. At this juncture the war against the French, and the reverses experienced by the troops of the Papacy occupied all the attention of the Pontiff. The impoverished con- dition of the State was his pressing trouble. He had spent enormous sums in the rebuilding of St. Peter's. His ideas were magnificent. Once he is reported to haver said of the Pantheon, '* I will raise that temple three hundred feet in the air." But a court luxuriant and expensive beyond conception, and an exhausted treasury checked the execution of his ambitious and gigantic conceptions. ** The Pope moves," Luther says, '^ as if making a. triumphal entry, with beautiful and richly caparisoned horses before him, and he himself bears the Sacrament upon a splendid white palfrey." One ceremony forcibly took Luther's attention during his stay in the city. It was the terrible ceremony of excommunication. The Ban of Excomiimnicatio7i. 8 1 *' At Rome," he says, *' when they pronounce the ban of excommunication, about twenty cardinals sit and throw from them burning" torches, extinguishing' them by the cast, thereby showing- that the well-being- and salvation of the persons so excommunicated will be extinguished in like manner. And, as a little bell was rung- at the same time, this ceremony was called lighting and tinking- a man." "Lighting- and tinking-!" a process no doubt harmful enoug-h if believed in, but, nevertheless, not always fol- lowed by irreparable hurt ; a process under which, before many years shall elapse, Luther himself must pass : and to the full bear the awful curse of a Church, white with the frenzy of baffled and impotent rage, but red with the life blood of many brave hearts, whose cry had been Freedom ! What if foul Oppression fill the cup Of crime, that Hell may have a deeper draught ! From dungeon and from den there comes a voice That supplicates for Freedom ; from the tomb Of Martyrs her transcendancy is told, And dim'd she may be, but cannot be destroyed ! Who bends the spirit from its high domain, Of God himself a sacrilege commits ; For soul doth share in His supremacy ; To crush it, is to violate His power, And grasp a sceptre an Almighty wields ! CHAPTER V. THEOLOGICAL TEACHING AT WITTENBERG. HIS mission in Rome accomplished, Luther turned his back upon the Eternal City. Although his stay there did not exceed four weeks, in that brief time he had gained knowledge and had formed impressions which suggested and influenced many most important movements throughout his life. Lessons learnt in the **Holy City" were never forgotten. Not only was the veil before his mind withdrawn, and the sardonic sneer and mocking unbelief which lay concealed behind the Romish superstitions revealed to the future Reformer, but the living, saving faith that God had implanted was powerfully strengthened. ^ Another important fact may be affirmed. One mighty element in his character was wholly created there. Whilst still at Rome, even though unconscious of it, Luther emancipated himself from the Papacy, and from its errors and sins. - By the decision brought by Luther from the supreme ecclesiastical tribunal, the points of dispute between the ^ D'Aubigny. ^ Shenkel, 20. Jiirgen's Leben, II., 358. His Hitmility. 83 Vicar-General and the complaining convents were hap- pily arranged; and friendly relations, which had been somewhat strained by Dr. Staupitz's unwelcome reforma- tions, and the opposition they invoked, were re-estab- lished; doubtless to the satisfaction and comfort of all parties concerned. Having returned to his home in the convent at Witten- berg, Luther resumed his accustomed duties in the Uni- versty. The highest theological degree, that of Doctor of Divinity, was conferred upon him on the 19th of October, 15 12. He greatly scrupled to take this distinction. His dear friend. Dr. Staupitz, who had befriended him, and to whom he owed his present advancement, had some time previously made him reader at the table in the monastery, substituting the Holy Scriptures which he loved so well in place of the writings of St. Augustine, which till then had been read to the monks during their meals. The Vicar- General was most anxious that this crowning honour should be placed upon his favorite. But Luther, with that strong modesty ever a distinguishing mark and token of true genius, shrunk from its acceptance. *' Upon my witless head was, at your expense, placed the Doctor's hat," he wrote to the Elector Frederick, to whom, on the grounds of discrimination, posterity owes not a little, and is now, indeed, paying its just debt, ''an honour at which I blush, but which I am constrained to bear, because those whom it is my duty to obey would have it so." The terms of the oath administered at the time of his Sa Martin Luther. appointment were to " teach purely and sincerely according- to the Scriptures," and it cannot be asserted that he failed to keep that oath in all the integrity of the light within him. For years he held his life in the hollow of his hand, and preached God's Scripture without counting- the cost. The ceremony, performed by Andrew Bodestein, of the city of Carlstadt, took place with great pomp and circum- stance. There was a solemn procession, and the g^reat bell of the University lent its impressive tones to the occasion. The oath to teach according to the Scripture availed him greatly in his after-struggle with the papacy, as will,, in due course, appear. The cost of the degree was fifty florins : this sum was paid by the Elector, as Luther writes ; and his generosity was increased by the bestowal of a massive gold ring, worn by the doctor, and since shown in the library of Wolfenbiittel. ''Andrew Bodestein," writes D'Aubigny, " was at that time Dean of the theological faculty, and it is by the name of Carlstadt that this doctor is generally known. He was also called the A, BC. Melanchthon first gave him this designation, on account of the three initials of his name. Bodestein acquired, in his native country, the elements of learning. He was of a serious and gloomy character, perhaps inclined to jealousy, and of restless temper, but full of a desire for knowledge, and of very great capacity. He frequented, in German fashion, several Universities to augment his stores of learning-, and studied theology at Rome." On his return from Italy, he settled at Wittenberg, and Caidstadt' s inizuor iky jealousy, 85 shortly afterwards became a Doctor of Divinity. *' At this time," he said afterwards, " I had not read the Holy Scriptures." This remark gives us a true idea of the theolog-y of the age. Carlstadt, besides professor, was also a canon and an archdeacon. Such was the man who, in after -years, was destined to create a schism in the Reformation. At this time he saw in Luther only an inferior ; but the Augustine ere long became an object of jealousy to him. " I will not be less great than Luther," said he one day, very far from anticipating, at that period, the great destinies of the young professor. When Luther, bound by his oath to teach the Scripture purely and sincerely, was appointed to instruct, he himself was in sore need of instruction. Mathesius, no bad authority on this subject, says " He ^as spelling out the words of the Bible " when he com- menced its exposition ; but whether this is literally true or not, it is certainly the fact that at about this time he zeal- ously applied himself to the study of Greek and Hebrew, and before long was enabled to read the Scriptures in those languages. The subject of his first lectures was the identical one which struck him so forcibly when at Rome, and which still exercised his mind— Justification by Faith. The Epistle to the Romans came first under exposition, and Luther must have felt that while expounding St. Paul to his hearers, he was also strengthening, and confirming, and justifying his own faith. Stroke after stroke he aimed at the fetters of the school-philosophy, and continued to pene- trate into the inexhaustible depths of the Apostle Paul, 86 Martin Luther. and of his Epistle to the Romans. ^ The doctrine of good works was Rome's favourite device ta promote piety ; but here, in Luther's initiatory discourses was its inspired anti- thesis— the doctrine of Justification by Faith, and by Faith alone! This is remarkable and well worthy of attention. The earnest, devout mind of the Reformer dwelt lovingly on the Psalms of David : the Psalms forming a part of the course of lectures with St. Paul's Epistle. ''These writings," says Melanchthon, " he explained in such a manner that, in the estimation of all pious and intelligent persons, a new day, succeeding a long night of dark- ness, was dawning upon the Christian doctrines." ** Let us," says Sears, '' pause a moment and contem- plate the position he now held, i He had fully adopted the two great Protestant principles of Justification by Faith in. Christ, and the right of private judgment in interpreting the Scriptures ; but he was not aware that these were the germs of a new order of things which could not be de- veloped without separating him from the Church. Mean- while he was becoming a bold, strong, and independent thinker, and beginning already, without directly intending it, to wield a commanding and renovating influence over his pupils and friends." Here was Luther's distinct and unmistakable call. Ta study and expound the Scriptures — this was his vocation,- the business of his life. No longer bound to treat upon the well-known and well-worn teaching of the Fathers ; he went direct and untrammeled, freely and without any 1 Shenkel, 21. The Living Fountain. 87 obstacle intervening-, to drink from the living fountain of God's Word. The springs from that fountain would henceforth gush out freely for him and for all. Soon shall be heard the loud singing of Freedom's grand Hymn, the first words of which are, " No other Faith than that taught by Christ, his Apostles, and the Holy Prophets : no medley of Rome, brimming with superstition, idolatry and coercion : no fathers, with their strange and perplexing doctrines : nothing save the pure doctrine of Christ, and Him cruci- fied I " CHAPTER VI. BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT WITH ROME. FOUR years had passed since Luther received his doctor's degree, when his father and superior, Dr. Staupitz, went to the Netherlands. The mission with which he was intrusted was a singular one, taken in connection with its author and promoter. It was to collect relics for the Elector Frederic ! He was absent for about eighteen months, and during that time the office of Vicar-General was filled by Luther, Jiirgens remarks on this selection, '' This was a sign of great confidence on the part of Staupitz — a sign of Luther's high standing already in the order. Staupitz could not have committed his own office to so young a man, unless the intellectual superiority of the latter had been universally acknowledged, or at least felt. Otherwise, how could Luther venture to appear as overseer of the very cloister where not many years before he had been misused in his novitiate ; where his singularities had been witnessed, but hardly approved of, and where, until very recently, an un- friendly feeling had been cherished against him." The cause of the misunderstanding may be discovered Visit a Hon of Conven ts . in a report put in circulation by some envious and calumnious people, that Luther had violated the principles of good taste and certain regulations which existed, in taking his degree at both the Universities, Erfurt and Wittenberg : it was affirmed that he should have confined himself to his own University. Luther fired up at the imputation made upon his integrity, and triumphantly refuted his traducers, thus giving " some indication of the slumbering lion that was in him." There were other distinguished and celebrated men at Wittenberg, such as Langfe, Link, and Useno^en. Luther commenced the duties of his new office early in 15 16, and it was in the very first stage of his work that he came in collision with the doctrines of the Church of Rome. The visitation of monasteries and nunneries of his district was his first labour. This visitation, a most necessary and imperative duty, consisted of the regulation of discipline, the promotion of study, especially that of the Bible, and the encouragement of education. In the event of any of the superiors being found ignorant of their duties, or un- faithful in their discharge, the new Vicar-General was entrusted with power to censure them, or to remove them and fill their places with suitable men. Dr. Staupitz ac- companied Luther to the monastery of Grimma, near Leipzig, and performed the visitation there himself, in order, it may be supposed, to give his young friend confidence in, and knowledge of, his new work. During the time of the visitation, in the town of Wurtzen, a place not far distant, the Dominican friar, acting on be- half of the Archbishop of Mentz, was engaged with his infa- 90 Martin L2ither. mous traffic in the Sale of Indulgences. Dr. Staupitz and Luther were indignant at the traffic, although Luther was not at first so strongly exercised upon its enormity. The hostile feeling grew upon him with something of a slow growth, long before it became one of mighty strength. At Grimma, indeed, he resolved, to quote his own quaint language, *' to make a hole in Tetzel's drum " ; but he did not for a long time come into open hostility with that redoubtable individual. When Luther visited Erfurt in his new character he found no difficulty in making his position acknowledged and respected. He had appointed his friend, John Lange, of whom he entertained a very high opinion, to be the Prior. In a noble letter addressed to Mutianus, a great classical scholar, who was the president of an Intel- lectual Society when Luther was a student at Erfurt, he says, " That I have not visited you, most learned and accomplished Mutianus, nor invited you to visit me, is owing first, to my haste and the stress of my business ; and, se- condly, to my high opinion and true veneration for you. Our friendship is of too short a standing to justify me in humbling your excellence so far as to request you to visit me. I must now go where my duty calleth me, but not without first saluting you ; though from a sense of my igno- rance and uncouth style, I shrink from it. But my affec- tion for you overcometh my modesty ; and rustic Corydon Martin, barbarous and accustomed only to cackle among the geese, saluteth you, the scholar, the man of the most polished erudition. Yet, I am sure, or certainly presume. Tenderness for the Erring. 9 1 that Mutianus valueth the heart above tongue or pen ; and my heart is sufficiently erudite, for it is sufficiently devoted to you. Farewell, most excellent father in the Lord Jesus, and be not forgetful of me. One thing I wish to say : Father John Lange, whom you have known as a Greek and Latin scholar, and, what is more, as a man of pure heart, hath now lately been made Prior of the Erfurt con- vent by me. Unto man commend him by a friendly word, and unto God by your prayers." In the course of his official visitations, many irregu- larities came under his notice, and in some cases he had to use severe measures ; but the forgiving gendeness with which he looked upon offences, may be gathered from a letter sent by him while at Dresden, to the Prior in Mainz ; from whom a monk, fearing punishment for some offence^ had run away. ^* That lost sheep belongeth to me. It is my duty to find him and bring him back from his wanderings, if so it please the Lord Jesus. I entreat you therefore, reverend father, by our common faith in Christ, and by our profession,. to send him unto me ; if in your kindness you can, either at Dresden or Wittenberg; or rather persuade him, and affectionately and kindly move him to come of his own accord. I will meet him with open arms, if he will but return. He need not fear that he has offended me. I know full well that offences must come ; nor is it strange that a man should fall. It is rather strange that he should rise again and stand. Peter fell, that he might know he was but a man. At the present time also, the cedars of Lebanon, vi'hose summits reach the skies, fall. The angels 9 2 Martin L u ther. fell in Heaven, and Adam in Paradise. Is it then strange that a reed should quiver in the breeze, and the smoking- lamp be put out ? " No one can read this letter without forming- a favorable opinion of the loving- feelings animating the new vicar of the Augustinian Eremites in Misnia and Thuringia, for so, for the first time, he styles himself. Again, in a letter ad- dressed to Dressel, the Prior of the monastery at Neustadt (his mother's birthplace), the same feeling is exhibited. Dressel was a man of good intentions ; but unfit to manage the various conflicting tempers of those under his control. Many things had arisen that were painful to Luther. With a viev/ of bringing about a better state of things, he wrote, *' You seek and strive for peace, but in a wrong way. You seek it as the world giveth it, not as Christ giveth. You cry with Israel, '■ Peace, peace,' and yet there is no peace. Cry rather with Christ, 'The Cross, the Cross,' and yet there is no cross. The Cross ceaseth to be such as soon as you can say, ' Blessed Cross ; among all the kinds of wood there is none like unto it.' Behold, then, how kindly the Lord inviteth you unto true peace, when he blesseth you all around with such crosses." His letter did not effect its intention. The brethren and Dressel could not agree ; and Luther, in the interest of peace and concord, was compelled to beg the Prior's resignation. His tour of visitation over, Luther returned to Witten- berg, and resumed his position in the University. The abuses he had witnessed made a deep impression on his mind. Many things deeply grieved and perplexed The Dazuu 'of Day. 93 him ; but at the same time he acquired considerable experience and confidence ; and many opportunities arose where the brethren of his order were exhorted by him and induced to Hve tog-ether in chastity, peace, and holiness. He established several schools, in all of which he ordered that the Scriptures should be taught ; convinced that the way of Salvation could be found in them alone. He discovered many pious men, of educated and elevated minds, among- the brethren of his order, and many of these rejoiced in the new dawn of Gospel-light which was slowly, but surely, breaking upon the world. Luther, with his new ideas, was slowly impressing- them on the public mind. At present his works were only discussed in the chapters and monasteries. But the time was approaching when all this was destined to be changed. The channel through which the Truth now trickled, was but of the narrowest ; soon would its dimensions be widened and deepened, and the Truth flow more copiously and rapidly. There were signs and indications abroad that men were beginning openly to express views, amounting to discontent, about Rome and its authority. A change was impending. The storm was coming on apace. Many knew its signs and portents, and when it did burst, found them prepared. Luther's voice rung out beyond the walls of Wittenberg, and like a battle-cry it .st uck upon many ears, and pene- trated many hearts. C loisters, which before had been given up to contemplation, profitable doubtless, but bearing- no fruits of action, became the theatres of earnest absorbing discussions; wherein truths, not before known, were dis- 94 Martin Ltithe7\ covered, and which ere long" drove those who received them into the arena of useful, active life. This year, memorable as it ever will be in church history, has been called the " Morning- Star of the Gpspel-day ; " and it well deserves the name. Luther, unknown perhaps to himself, was, as one of God's watchmen, one of the first to mark its glorious appearance in the heavens. The duties thrown upon him at this time were very onerous. It is a litde amusing to learn from his own letters the nature and extent of his employment. Writing- to his friend Lange at Erfurt, he says, " I have need almost of two scribes or secretaries. I do hardly anything the whole day but write letters. I therefore cannot tell whether I do always write the same things or not. See for yourself. I am the preacher of the cloister : I am reader at the table : I am required every day to be parish preacher: I am director of the studies of the brethren : I am Vicar, that is, eleven times Prior : I am inspector of the fish ponds in Litz- kau: I am advocate for the Hertzebergers in Torgau: I am lecturer on St. Paul : I am commentator on the Psalms : and, as 1 have said, the greater part of my time is occupied in writing letters. I seldom have time for the canonical hours and for the mass, to say nothing of the temptation of the world, the flesh, and the devil. You see what a man of leisure I am ! Concerning- brother John Metzel, I think my opinion and reply have already reached you. Nevertheless, I will see what I can do. How do you suppose I can find a place for all your Sardanapaluses and Sybarites? If you have trained them up wrong, you must support them after thus training them. I have useless Devotion to Duty. 95 brethren enough everywhere, if any can be useless to a patient mind. I am satisfied that the useless can be made of more use than the most useful. Support them, therefore, for the present. In respect of the brethren you sent to me, I think, but I am not sure, I lately wrote unto you. The old man with the young- men I sent to Master Spangenberg, as they desired, to the end that they might escape from breathing this pestilential air. Two I have kept here, with two others from Cologne, in whose good parts I felt so deep a concern that I chose rather to keep them, at no little cost,^ than send them away. There are now twenty two priests, twelve youths, and others, making in all forty one persons who live upon our more than most scanty stores. But the Lord will provide. To-morrow I should begin to lecture on the epistle to the Galatians, albeit, I fear the plague will not suffer me to go on. It taketh away two or three each day. A son of a neighbour, Faber, opposite, who was well yesterday, is carried to his burial to-day. Another son lieth infected. " What shall I say ? It is already here, and hath begun to rage suddenly and vehemently — especially with the young. You ask me and brother Feldkirk to flee with you. Whither shall I flee? I hope the world will not fall to pieces, if brother Martin do fall. The brethren I shall disperse throughout all the country, if the pestilence should prevail. But I am placed here, and my duty of obedience will not allow me to flee, until the au- thority which commanded me hither shall command me away." The plague was terrible, but not sufficiently so to cause 96 Martin Ltither. *' brother Martin " to feel alarm before the stern, un- yielding call of duty ! On the return of Dr. Staupitz from the Low Countries, he brought with him a much valued collection of relics, and the Elector was greatly pleased with them. Many were carefully conveyed to a new church just erected, where they became objects of interest to the curious, and of veneration to the devout. The Vicar-General must be rewarded, and the Elector for some time thought of conferring a Bishopric upon him. The secretary to the Elector, George Spcilatin, a good, simple-hearted man, possessing nothing of the ardent boldness which stamped itself upon the general character of the Reformer, was nevertheless one of Luther's intimate and most trusted friends. They corresponded daily, and some highly important letters are still in preservation. One of these was written by Spalatin to Luther, in which he was told what were the intentions of the Elector. The idea did not commend itself to Luther. Perhaps the service calling for the reward was distasteful to and beyond his belief. Luther had seen relics enough at Rome, and his strong, clear mind altogether held them in but slight estimation. Perhaps they provoked his contempt. In return he sent a letter to Spalatin, wherein the passage occurs : " There are many things which please the Prince, but which, nevertheless, are displeasing to God. I do not deny that he is skilful in the matters of this world ; but in what concerns God and the Salvation of souls, I account him, as well as his councillor, PfefBnger, sevenfold blind. I do not Character of Spalatin. 97 say this behind their backs, like a slanderer ; do not conceal it from them, for I am ready myself, and on all occasions to tell it them both to their faces ; " and here his love for his dear old friend, Dr. Staupitz, breaks out when he warmly adds : " Why should you surround this man, (Staupitz) with all the whirlwinds and tempests of episcopal cares ? " Spalatin was at best but a timid, irresolute man, but his g-oodness of heart served a great purpose. He was a striking" example of Luther's own theory of useless things being made most useful. His nature was quiet and unob- trusive. Peaceful times would have suited his inclinations better than the changeful and warring period in which his life was cast. He was not a man to stand out as a leader of his fellows ; but he carefully and conscientiously, and noiselessly did the labour that fell to his share. The elector desired relics of the saints, and the faithful Spala- tin, to the utmost of his ability, furthered the acquisition of these interesting articles ; and the Elector learnt to rely upon his judgment in almost all matters. He was constantly about the person of his master, and was ever regarded as a faithful friend. When the Elector travelled abroad Spalatin occupied the same carriage. So that the good man altogether exercised great influence at court, and this influence was always properly and usefully directed. Every one seemed to esteem him. Learned and simple ; prince, and those of mean estate were alike in their regard and affection. The testimony of Erasmus, a man of cynical, insincere character, not easily touched by sterling H 98 Martin Luther. worth, is conclusive on this point. " I inscribe Spalatin's name not only among those of my principal friends ; but still further among- these of my most honored protectors; and that, not upon paper, but on my heart." When Luther differed from him on the subject of the worth of relics, and the consequent promotion of Dr. Staupitz, he took the matter without offence : — too noble and g-entle-hearted to feel even the slightest annoyance. " The Prince often speaks of you," kindly he writes, **' and always on honorable terms;" and to still further show that Luther's words had not given him pain, he asks how he can be useful to him in his work. " Point out, I pray," he writes, " some work that I may translate into our mother tongue; one that shall give general satisfac^ tion, and, at the same time, be useful." Luther was by no means used to courtier-like habits of acting and thinking. So with much bluntness, and a share of irritability, he returns : " Agreeable and useful ! such a question is beyond my ability. The better things are the less they please. What is more salutary than Jesus Christ? and yet he is to the majority a savour of death. You will tell me that you wish to be useful only to those who love what is good. In that case, make them hear the voice of Jesus Christ ; you will be useful and agree- able, depend upon it, to a very small number only ; for the sheep are rare in this region of wolves." This letter reveals something of the thoughts that were even then agitating his mind. The seed had germinated, and events which were hurrying on would soon cause it to spring forth. Preaches before Duke George, 99 In the month of July, 15 17, Duke George of Saxony, cousin of the Elector, requested Dr. Staupitz to recom- mend him an eloquent and learned pre'acher. Luther possessed both qualities, added to that of a blameless life. At the invitation of the Prince he proceeded to preach a sermon before him and his court in the castle chapel at Dresden. The day was the Feast of St. James the Elder, and the sermon made a strong- impression on his hearers. The Madame de la Sale, one of the ladies in attendance on the Duchess, was profoundly affected. At dinner after- wards, when the ducal family were assembled, she said, '' If I could hear but one more sermon like it, I should die in peace." *' And I," replied the Duke, with anger, '' would rather give a large sum not to have heard it ; for such discourses are only calculated to make people sin with assurance." As might have been expected, the courtiers immediately became the echoes of their master's voice, and Luther's sermon was generally condemned. When, however, Madame de la Sale was taken ill suddenly about a month afterwards, her mind reverted to that sermon, and she died trusting in the merits of her Saviour. Luther's work in Wittenberg included the preparation of young theologians. Six or seven were under his charge, and the work of their instruction greatly pleased him. Theology was Luther's delight. About this time he published ninety-nine Theses (or short sentences), each containing some important truth. They were divided under two headings, and generally taught, firstly, the inability and powerlessness of man : and, secondly, that lOO Martin Luther. the power and source of all good was in God. The claims of God were set forth in a way to promote discussion. In fact, this was Luther's intention. To his friend, John Lange, Prior of Erfurt, to whom they were transmitted, he wrote: ''My suspense as to your decision upon these paradoxes is great, too great perhaps, and full of anxiety. I strongly suspect that your theologians will consider them as paradoxical ; even as unsound in doctrine. I consider them as very orthodox. Have the goodness to declare to the faculty of theology, and to all that I am prepared to visit you, and to maintain these propositions publicly, either in the Univer- sity, or in the monastery." But the challenge fell upon deaf ears. Erfurt was displeased and remained silent. Thoughts that inflamed the mind of Luther urged him to write these Theses ; but the time for their reception had not yet come. Two months must elapse ere the Church should be in commotion, and the onslaught made. Rome did not suspect her peril ; but Luther was but waiting the time ; the *' solitary monk that shook the world " was even then about to strike the first blow in a conflict, in which men should be engaged to the death. But all this time, he was not aware of the terrible war about to commence. A mere theological discussion — a thing familiar enough at all Universities, was all that seemed likely to come from his challenge. Dry, doc- trinal propositions; they seemed only likely to elicit the limited attention of the learned. The people would not understand or regard them. Dr. Eck oj Ingolstadt. i o i Still the Theses did not die out at Erfurt. Having- passed through the hands of Christopher Scheurl, Secre- tary to the City of Nuremberg-, they reached those of the learned Dr. Eck, of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria. Dr. Eck was a learned and popular man in the South, and held in some- thing- of the same regard as Luther, in North Germany. At this time he was the friend of Luther, who much admired his eloquence, intelligence, and great abilities. Before long this friendship was destined to be rudely assailed, for Eck lived to become his most bitter opponent upon the birth of the new, or rather, the resurrection -of the old Faith ! One favorable trait in the character of Eck should be preserved. He had a student, named Urban Regius, who, :getting into pecuniary difficulties, enlisted in the army then being raised against the Turks. Dressed in his military -uniform, he appeared in the ranks at the review, previous to leaving the town. Just at this moment, Dr. Eck, with several of his colleagues, came into the square. His eyes -fell upon his pupil among the recruits. '' Urban Regius ! " he called authoritively. " Here ! " replied the young soldier. *' Pray, what is the meaning of this change ? " The story was soon told. ** I will take the matter upon myself," said the Doctor, •^depriving him of his halberd. The young man was bought off. His military career was saved ; and Urban Regius afterwards became one of the main bulwarks of the Re- formation. The religion taught by Luther made everything to 102 Martin Luther, depend upon Christ and Christ alone, without mediation either in heaven or upon earth. Connection with Christ depended upon the individual will, unassisted by rites, ceremonies, or anything else within the authority of eccle- siastical power to bestow. His teaching cut man away from the assistance of any power other than the merits and sacrifice of Christ who died for sinners possessed of no claims or merits of their own. The church was abso- lutely powerless beyond being the medium by which the sinner might be pointed to his Saviour ! The papacy assumed the power of remitting sins, which Luther held to be alone within the power of the Eternal. The agent of Salvation, according to Rome, was the church. " Not so," taught Luther, " it is Christ ! " The church paraded means; the costly penance, the self-inflicted earthly suffering, leading to the release from eternal pun- ishment. Luther preached Salvation by godly sorrow for sin and faith in the sin-bearer. With the one all was external, formal, and sacramental : with the other all was internal, heart-feeling, and spiritual. The system of indul- gence was of great antiquity in the church, reaching back to its very earliest period. It had grown to vast dimensions, and was crowded with abuses and corruptions. Indul- gences once granted sparingly and with discretion by the papal church and its officers, involving pilgrimages to sacred places, crusades against error, pecuniary contribu- tions for religious purposes, soon grew to be the commonest and most profitable practice of the church. Perhaps the most expressive description of them is that of a tax upon sin, and these taxes upon sin were eagerly In diligences . 103 seized upon and multiplied with amazing- ingenuity. The building- and maintenance of churches was one of the favorite matters upon which the papacy called for the contributions of their faithful sons and daughters, and about this time St. Peter's at Rome was in course of erection. The great Saint Acquinas had propounded the theory that indulgences could be given in consideration of any " act performed for the glory of God, and the good of the church," and the building- of churches and bridges, performance of pilgrimages to holy places, and giving alms are expressly mentioned as being things that would entitle those who so labored to the favor of an indulgence. John XXII., in 13 19, granted forty days* indulgence to all assisting in the building of a bridge across the Elbe at Dresden. In 1484 a similar offering was made to the contributors to a fund for rebuilding a church destroyed by fire at Freiberg in Saxony ; while for another church in the same place the larger allowance of one hundred days was promised. In 1491, Innocent VIII. granted to all the inhabitants of Saxony a dispensation from the usual quarterly fasts for a period of twenty years, on a condition that each person would pay the twentieth part of a Romish florin every year towards building a church and chapel at Torgau, and a collegiate church at Freiberg. One condition attached to this indulgence did not please the people, and gave rise to opposition. One-fourth of the money raised was to be sent to Rome, for building St. Peter's. The faculty of law at Leipzig, and the Bishop of Meissen gave this every possible opposition ; and the latter refused to permit the publication of the Bull in his see. I04 Ma7'tin Luther, Upon the death of Innocent VIII., the next occupant of the papal chair endeavoured to arrange the matter, and to allay the opposition. This kind of indulgence, if only- then permitted, should not be renewed in Saxony. But upon the accession of his successor, Julius II., the indul- gences were revived. Luther went to Rome in 1509, and in that very year a twenty years further indulgence was offered for the acceptance of the people of Saxony. This does not appear to have provoked much opposition, but in 15 12, the year when Luther became Doctor of Divinity, the most extraordinary extension of the system took place. It was unparalleled in the history of Indulgences, although the principle itself was old enough. Leo X., of the illustrious family of the Medici, succeeded Julius II. in March, 15 13. The new pope was clever, sin- cere, full of gentleness and meekness. His manners were affable ; his liberality unbounded ; his morals greatly superior to those of his court, which were corrupt beyond description. His amiability was linked with other qualities worthy of a great prince. He was a friend to the arts and sciences ; was passionately attached to music, and devoted to magnificence ; spared no expense in festivals, sports, theatres, art and its professors. No court in Europe pre- sented such barbaric splendours, and such intellectual luxury as that of the Sovereign Pontiff. Possessing exqui- site taste and refinement himself, he was a lover and patron of learning and learned men, whose presence he attracted from all parts of Europe. His aim was to make the Medici family monarchs. He himself played the part of the first King in Christendom. He maintained costly Leo the Magnificent, 105 diplomatic relations with all the states of Europe, and his scientific correspondence reached the most distant regions. The extreme North of Europe was not too far for his un- satisfied researches, and his collectors brought to Rome monuments of Scandinavian history. One of England's greatest poets thus celebrates his praises : — *' But see ! each muse in Leo's golden days, Starts from her trance, and trims her wither'd bays; Rome's ancient genius, o'er its ruins spread, Shakes off the dust, and rears his rev'rend head. Then Sculpture and her sister arts revive ; Stones leap to form, and rocks begin to live ; With sweeter notes each rising temple rung ; A Raphael painted, and a Vida sung." Religious feeling, however, found no place in Leo's mind. " He would have been a perfect man," said Sarpi, " if he had had some knowledge of religion, and greater incli- nation to piety; about which he never troubled himself." Money was Leo's great and urgent need. He had to meet vast expenses ; find means to supply extensive liber- ality ; fill the purse of gold which he flung daily among the people ; keep up the licentious shows of the Vatican ; satisfy the numerous calls of his relatives and of his courtiers, who were addicted to pleasures ; endow his sister upon her mar- riage ; and defray the cost of his taste for literature, the arts, and general luxury. His cousin, Cardinal Pucci, a skilled financier, whose strength lay in an ability to amass that which Leo could so readily squander, advised him to io6 Martin Ltither, have recourse to indulg-ences. Leo eagerly caught at the suggestion. This might retrieve the past and furnish future means to remove all difficulties. " He had," said Michelet, " commenced his pontificate with selling to Francis I. what did not belong to him, the rights of the Church of France." At a later period, as a means of raising money, he created thirty-one cardinals at once. This event took place on the 1 3th of June, 1 5 1 7, and on the same day, we are informed, a storm overthrew the angel that stood at the top of the Castel di San Angelo, struck an infant Jesus in a church, and knocked the keys out of the hands of a statue of St. Peter. But these ways of raising money were insufficient to meet his lavish requirements. No Mexico, it is true, yielded its treasures ; but prolific mines were at his command. The old faith of the nations, their easy credulity, were sources exceeding all others in richness and uninterrupted supply. The impious Pope, Leo X., is said to have ex- claimed : " What an inexhaustible mine of wealth do we find in \S\^faUe concerning Jesus Christ ! " A Bull was therefore issued announcing a general in- dulgence, the whole produce of which should be devoted to the building of that grand sacredotal triumph of archi- tecture, the Cathedral of St. Peter. This indulgence was forwarded to Germany, and com- mitted to the charge of the young Archbishop of Mentz, Albert of Brandenburg. Albert was the younger brother of the Elector of Bran- denburg, and at the age of twenty-four had been created Albert, Archbishop of Mentz, 107 Archbishop and Elector of Mentz and Magdeburg, and was shortly afterwards made a cardinal. Without being actively vicious, he was marked by worldly frivolity, and irreligion, and, of course, unfitted for the sacred offices he filled. He well knew Luther, and on the whole gready admired his character, if he did not himself embody the principles which guided the doctor's life and actions. "He did not despise the Gospel," says Capito, his chaplain, who afterwards became one of the most distin- guished reformers ; " on the contrary, he highly esteemed it, and for a long time prevented the monks from attacking Luther." When the trial came, he was most desirous that he should not be compromised by the teaching of Luther and his fellows, and, through his chaplain, urged upon the Reformer to be content with simply denouncing doctrinal errors and the vices of the inferior clergy. The larger and more weighty failings of bishops and princes must not be exposed ; and, most important of all, his name must not be mentioned. His profane and frivolous disposition, much more than the susceptibilities and fears of his self-love, was destined to alienate him from the Reformation. Affable, witty, handsome, sumptuous, extravagant, delighting in the luxu- ries of the table, in costly equipages, in magnificent build- ings, in licentious pleasures, and in the society of literary men, this young Archbishop-Elector was in Germany what Leo X. was in Rome. His court was one of the most mag- nificent in the Empire. He was ready to sacrifice to io8 Martin Ltither. pleasure and to greatness all the presentiments of truth that might have stolen into his heart. ^ Leo's Indulgence reached Albert at a time when the need of money was very pressing. To meet his enormous expenses, large debts had been incurred, and payment of these debts must be made. The wealthy Fugger family of Augsburg had advanced large sums of money. His cardinal's hat had just cost 30,000 florins, and other ex- penses threatened to engulph him. Money must be obtained, and when the pope's commission came, there was the promise of obtaining it ready to his hand. From " the sins of the Germans " — for thus at Rome was the matter described — must the debts of the Archbishop be paid. At his request Leo X. placed the indulgence wholly at his command, and with power to realize it in manner best agreeable to his judgment. The arrangement was that the money was to be equally divided : one half to the Archbishop and the other to the Papal treasury. These terms were acceptable to both parties, and the scandalous business of realization was to commence. Here a difficulty at once arose. "Who should work the indulgence ? It was a thing in bad repute, and nobody seemed anxious to be concerned in it. The Franciscans regarded it unfavourably; while the Augustines, their superiors in general intelligence, and of which body Luther was an increasing light, were altogether hostile. The Archbishop endeavoured to obtain the countenance of both these orders, but failed signally. The Franciscans did not give a direct refusal to accept the work of coUec- ^ D'Aubi^ne. yohn TctzeL 109 tion ; but they hesitated and urged every possible objection, while the Augustines assumed the bolder attitude, and reprobated the whole matter in the most unqualified terms. There were three other orders of monks, the Dominicans, the Benedictines, and the Carmelites. An appeal was made to the Dominicans, and here the question was settled. Their greed of gain drove them into the enterprise. They had a member of their order who had already gained a reputation as a master in this unholy traffic. His services must be secured. It is true, his hands were not unstained ; his life was not exemplary ; but at least they had the proof that this unscrupulous creature of their order was, above all others, best fitted for the unrighteous work. Without hesitation, the Dominicans began their task, and the shameful traffic commenced. And now John Tetzel, a priest of the Dominicans, a bad man and a noto- rious indulgence-dealer, sprang to the position of chief salesman for that monstrous papal arrogation — the For- giveness of Sins ! Tetzel was born at Leipzig, in the year 1460, and after receiving some education in the gymnasium there, entered the University and took his degree at the age of twenty seven. Kis great accomplishment was oratory, and he pro- voked considerable surprise amongst his friends by entering the Dominican monastery, called the Paulinum. When in due course he was made priest, he proceeded to Zwickau, and soon acquired great popularity on account of his oratorical powers. But he early exhibited a most scandalous lack of principle. An old Zwickau chronicle gives a record no Martin Luther. which exhibits a distressing- picture of his life and cha- racter. The sexton of the place was of a convivial turn, and Tetzel, notwithstanding- his sacred calling-, was also addicted to the society of what are known as '^boon companions." He proposed to the sexton to avail himselfof his hospitality on a certain evening-. The sexton protested that his means did not admit of the entertainment of so great a man. *'No matter," replied Tetzel, "we will easily provide ourselves with the money. Look at the calendar, and see what Saint's day it is to-morrow." It happened to be that of Juvenal, " a Saint," said the sexton, ruefully, "very little known." " 'Tis no matter," rejoined Titzel, " we will make him known. To-morrow ring- the church bell, and we will hold high mass." His orders were obeyed : the bell was rung, as on occasions of high festivals, and the mass was duly held. At its close, Tetzel mounted the pulpit, and addressed the people. " Dear friends, I have something to say to you. If I should withhold it your eternal welfare would be in danger. You know how often we have prayed to one Saint and another, but they have grown old, and are tired of attending to us. To-day is the festival of Juvenal, and though he hath not yet been known to us, it is all the better. He is a new Saint entirely, and will listen to us all the more patiently. Juvenal was a holy martyr, who shed his innocent blood for the truth. If you would enjoy the benefit of his innocence lay something, each one of you, upon the altar, on this day of high mass. You that are Myconius. 1 1 1 rich and noble, go forward and give the rest a good example." His unblushing impudence was rewarded by a large collection. Receiving the money, he placed a portion on the altar, and took the rest himself. " Now we have got enough for an evening cup," and smiling with ill-concealed satisfaction, he went with the sexton to his house. Talents such as these stamped him as suitable for a work just then very popular. The sale of indulgences was the prevailing fashion of the time. In 1502 he was selected for this work, and to the people of Nuremberg, Leipzig, Magdeburg, and other German cities who had not visited Rome during the jubilee recently held there, Tetzel offered his indulgences. When the business was pretty well ex- hausted, he found employment in raising money by the sale of indulgences to promote the crusade contemplated by the Teutonic Knights against the Tartars and Russians. Between 1507 and 15 13 we find him again in Saxony at his old work. He made his head-quarters at the mining town of Annaberg. "Purchase indulgences," he said to the people, " and all the surrounding mountains shall be turned into silver." Amongst those who listened with rapt attention was a young student named Myconius, who afterwards became the Historian of the Reformation. His education had been gentle and liberal, his father being a Franconian of enlightened views. " My son," he said, when the young Myconius was about to proceed to Annaberg to continue his education, " pray frequently ; for 1 1 2 Martin Luther all things are given to us gratuitously from God alone. The precious blood of Christ is the only possible ransom for the sins of a world universally corrupt. O, my son, though only three men should be saved by Christ's blood, believe, and believe with assurance, that thou art one of those three men. To doubt the Saviour's power to save is to insult the blood he shed. Roman forgiveness of sins, sold in the market-places, are nets spread out to catch the silver of the foolish. The simple-minded alone are deceived. Remission of sins and eternal life are not to be purchased with money." At this time the indulgence-sellers were in full traffic. His father's wise remarks dwelt in his remembrance. On the occasion we are now considering, and when Tetzel in his usual manner had been addressing a large crowd collected to listen to his noisy declamation, and when, to to quicken their purchases, in threatening tones he had shouted, " soon, I shall take down the cross, shut the gates of heaven, and extinguish the brightness of the sun of grace that beams before your eyes," the young Myconius was amongst his hearers. Approaching nearer to the preacher, he spoke to one of the commissaries, who was busy among the crowd pushing the sale of the indulgences so highly recommended by the blatant orator. " I am a poor sinner," said Myconius, *' and I am in sore need of a free pardon." "Those alone," returned the commissary, "can have part in Christ's merits who lend a helping hand to the church, that is to say, who give money." At this time, there were large printed notices posted on Free Indulgences to the Poor. 1 1 3 the walls and gates of the church, in which it was stated that for the love of God the poor would receive these In- dulgences gratuitously. " What is the meaning, then," asked the young man, " of these promises of difree gift to the poor ? " " Give at least a groat," said one of the commissaries, after Tetzel had declined to recognise the young student as belonging to the poor. "■ I cannot." *' Only six deniers, then." " I am not worth so many." The Dominicans who had crowded about when the bar- gaining was going on, began to imagine that he came merely to entrap them. " Will you buy an indulgence if we make you a present of the six deniers ? " " I will not," said the youth, stoutly, '' I will have no bought indulgences. If I wanted to buy them, I could sell one of my school books. A free pardon is what I want ; and one for the love of God alone. You will be called to account for the soul you have allowed to be lost for the sake of six deniers." " Who sent you to entrap us ? " they asked, angrily. " Nothing but the desire to receive God's pardon could have induced me to appear before such great gentlemen," replied the youth. In a letter the young Myconius gives a most interesting account of the change which the transparent imposture of the Indulgence-agent wrought upon his mind. " I was very sad at being thus sent away unpitied. But I felt a Comforter within me, which said that there I I T 4 Martin Luther, was a God in heaven who pardons repentant souls without money and without price, for the love of His Son Jesus Christ. As I took leave of these folks, the Holy Spirit touched my heart. I burst into tears, and prayed to the Lord with anguish. O God ! I cried, since these men have refused to remit my sins, because I wanted money to pay them, do thou, Lord, have pity on me, and pardon them of thy pure Grace. I repaired to my chamber. I prayed to my crucifix which was lying on my desk. I put it on a chair, and fell down before it. I cannot describe to you what I experienced. I begged God to be a father to me, and do with me whatever he pleased. I felt my nature changed, converted, transformed. What had delighted me before, now became an object of disgust. To live with God, and to please him, was my earnest, my sole desire." CHAPTER VII. THE TRAFFIC IN INDULGENCES.. THE Sale of Indulgences was everywhere provoking- discontent and hatred. The most bigoted advocates •of the system were compelled to admit that the greedy commissioners unblushingly sought the money rather than the confession and godly sorrow of the penitent. But Tetzel, the appointed Indulgence-chief, gave no heed to the growing opposition. With a conscience hardened against shame, he continued his mercenary trade. Daringly piling one lie upon another, he set forth in reckless display the long list of sins which his remedy could remit. He did not content himself with enumerating known sins, but set his foul imagination to work and invented crimes, infamous atrocities, strange, unheard-of, unthought- -of ; and when he saw his auditors standing aghast at each horrible suggestion, he would calmly repeat the burden of his everlasting theme, "Well, all this is expiated the -moment your money chinks in the Pope's chest !" On one occasion, wishing to quicken the devotions of the people, and stir up their interest in his proceedings, he promised to exhibit the next day a feather which the devil had plucked from the wing of the Archangel Michael. •During the night, however, some rogues made their way lis 1 1 6 Martin Luther. into his room, found the box of relics, took out this wonder- ful feather, and put some coals in its place. Morning came, and Tetzel, carrying his box, went to the church. Before opening the box, he spoke of the surpass- ing virtues of this celestial feather, and greatly incited the- wonder and curiosity of his hearers. When the box was opened, the feather was gone ! — and nothing but the coal met his view. Without being in the slightest degree disconcerted, he exclaimed, " No wonder, that with such a treasure of relics, I have chanced to take the wrong box " ; and went right on to explain the value of these coals which the people were now looking upon : " coals," said Tetzel, with daring readiness of invention and consummate effrontery, ** which are the remains of the burnt body of St. Laurentius.'^ His low and depraved habits at length brought him into trouble. He committed a terrible act of immorality, was seized and conveyed to prison. At his trial he was sentenced to be put in a sack, and cast into the river. This well-deserved punishment was not inflicted ; many friends, evil-minded and vicious like himself, contrived to interest the Elector Frederick in his favour, and by his intercession, the punishment was commuted to one of im.- prisonment only. After a long time he was released, on condition that he should proceed to Rome and obtain absolution from the Pope himself. Nothing was too great or gross in the way of crafty wickedness and unblushing hypocrisy for Tetzel : he promised obedience to this condition, and took the road to- Tetzel appointed Chief Commissioner. 1 1 7 Rome. His way lay throug-h Mainz. He proceeded to the Convent of his order, and there a thought came into his fertile brain, and a bright prospect for the exercise of his infamous talents presented itself. Albert, the ambitious and accomplished Archbishop of Mentz, sorely pressed by his debts, had just bestowed the collection of the Pope's newest Indulgence upon the Dominicans, of which order Tetzel was so conspicuous a member. The acute mind of Tetzel took in the position at a glance. His misdeeds had brought him into a disgrace for which his misused talents must atone. During many years, dating as far back as 1229, the lucrative commission attached to the sale of Indulgences had fallen to the Dominicans. This new Indulgence pro- mised to yield large profits. The principals of the order were desirous to get as much money and as much reputa- tion out of the transaction as possible. They endeavoured to secure the services of the best master they could obtain. In the person of their own priest they found one ready and unrivalled. Every qualification for a successful Indulgence-vendor was to be found in the man before them. A Bachelor of Divinity, Prior in their order, an Apostolic commissary, an erstwhile inquisitor and con- demner of heretics, and for the past fifteen years thoroughly versed in all the iniquity of the Indulgence-dealers' craft, Tetzel was the very man for the office of collector. His offences should be condoned by the praiseworthy service that now could be rendered by him. A bargain was soon made. The immediate business of Tetzel — the obtaining pardon from the Pope for the ii8 Martin Luther horrible crime he had committed — could be arranged by the superiors of the Dominican body. That need not trouble or distress or delay him. Tetzel took upon himself the entire management of the traffic. The Indulgence of Leo X., the culmination of the shameless eminence of dishonesty and delusion, so long emanating from Rome to insult the intelligence and rob the pockets of the faithful, was now presented to the world. D'Aubigny, in his history, gives the most vivid descrip- tion of the Indulgence traffic. He says : — The Church had opened a vast market upon earth. From the crowds of purchasers, and the shouts and jokes of the sellers, it might have been called a fair, but a fair conducted by monks. The merchandise they were ex- tolling, and which they offered at a reduced price, was, they said, the salvation of souls. These dealers traversed the country in a handsome carriage, accompanied by three horsemen, living in great state, and spending freely. One might have thought it was some Archbishop on a progress through his diocese, with his retinue and officers, and not a common chapman or a begging monk. When the procession approached a town, a deputy waited on the magistrate and said, ^ The Grace of God and of the Holy Father is at your gates.' Instantly everything was in motion in the place. The clergy, the priests and nuns, the council, the schoolmasters and their pupils, the trades with their banners, the men and women, young and old, went out to meet these merchants, bearing lighted tapers in their hands, and advancing to the sound of music and of all the bells, so The Procession. 1 19 that, says one historian, they could not have received God himself with greater honour. The salutations being- exchanged, the procession moved towards the Church. The Pontiff's Bull of grace was carried in front of a velvet cushion, or on a cloth of gold. The chief of the indulgence- merchants came next, holding a large red wooden cross in his hands. All the procession thus moved along amidst singing, prayers, and the smoke of incense. The strains of the organ and loud sounding music welcomed the merchant- monk and his attendants. The red cross that he had carried was placed in front of the altar : on it was suspended the arms of the Pope, and so long as it remained there,* the clergy of the place, the penitentiaries and the under-commissaries with white wands, came daily after vespers, or before the salutation, to render it homage. The instructions of the Archbishop of Mentz to the under-commissaries of Indulgence were most explicit and imperative as to this observance. One person in particular attracted the attention of the spectators at these sales. It was he who carried this red cross, and who played the chief part in the unholy farce. Robed in the Dominican dress, he moved about with an air of arrogance. His voice, deep and sonorous, was exerted to its full strength. The voice was that of John Tetzel. Raising it, and displaying the turgid and bombastic eloquence of a mountebank, he offered his Indulgences to all comers. He knew better than a common-chap- man how to extol his wares. The cross erected, the I20 Martin Luther, arms of the Pope suspended from it, Tetzel went into the pulpit, and with a tone of assured impudence ex- tolled the value of his Indulgences, in the presence of the crowd which the ceremony had attracted to the church. The people listened and stared as they heard of the admirable virtues that he announced. Let us listen to what the imposter says : — "Indulgences," said he, "are the most precious and the most noble of God's gifts. " This cross," pointing to the red cross, " has as much efficacy as the very Cross of Jesus Christ. " Come, and I will give you letters, all properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to commit may be pardoned. " I would not change my privileges for those of St. Peter in heaven ; for I have saved more souls by my Indulgences than the Apostle by his sermons. " There is no sin so great, that an Indulgence cannot remit." (Here follows an assertion so horribly impious that the pen of the Historian dare not write it.) " Reflect then, that for every mortal sin you must, after confession and contrition, do penance for seven years, either in this life or in purgatory ; now, how many mortal sins are there committed in a day ? How many in a week ? How many in a month? How many in a year? How many in a whole life ? " Alas ! these sins are almost infinite, and they entail an infinite penalty in the fires of purgatory. And now, by means of these letters of Indulgence, you can once in your Letter of Indulgence in British Miiseitni. 121 life ; in every case except four, which are reserved for the Apostolic See ; and afterwards in the articles of death ; obtain a plenary remission of all your penalties and all your sins." Among-st the treasures of the British Museum, the orig-inal of one of these letters of Indulgence may be seen. The document is printed on vellum, about 8 inches by 6J in size, and bears the name of the recipient, " Philippus Kessel, Presbyter," in MS., together with the date of issue, 15 th April, 15 17, likewise in MS. The name inserted was originally *' Keschel," altered to *' Kessel." The historian thus continues ; " Tetzel then passed to another subject. " But more than this. Indulgences avail not only for the living, but for the dead. " For that, repentance is not even necessary. " Priest ! Noble ! Merchant ! Wife ! Youth ! Maiden ! •do you not hear your parents and your other friends who are dead, and who cry from the bottom of the abyss : ' We are suffering horrible torments ! a trifling alms would deliver us ; you can give it, and you will not ! ' " All shuddered at these words uttered by the thundering voice of the imposter-monk. *'At the very instant," continued Tetzel, "that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies liberated to heaven ! " O stupid and brutish people, who do. not understand the grace so richly offered ! Now heaven is everywhere opened ! Do you refuse to enter now ? When, then, will you enter ? Now you can ransom so many souls ! 122 Martin LtUher, Stiff-necked and thoug-htless man, with twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory, and you are ungrateful enough not to save him ! I shall be justified in the day of judgment ; but you, — you will be punished so- much the more severely for having neglected so g-reat a salvation ! I declare to you, though you should have but a single coat, you ought to strip it off and sell it, in order to obtain this grace. The Lord our God no longer reigns. He has resigned all power to the Pope." " Do you know," he further urges, " why our most Holy Lord distributes so rich a grace ? It is to restore the ruined church of St. Peter and St. Paul, so that it may not have its equal in the world. This church contains the bodies of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and those of a multitude of martyrs. These saintly bodies, through the present state of the building, are now, alas ! beaten upon, inundated, polluted, dishonoured, reduced to rottenness, by the rain and the hail. Alas ! shall these sacred ashes re- main longer in the mire and in degradation ?" Then addressing the docile souls, and making an im- pious application of Scripture, he exclaimed, " Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see : for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them !" Satan himself could, upon a momentous occasion, quote the words of Holy Writ ; and this base imposter, like a fiend-incarnate, well imitated his fallen prototype. In conclusion, pointing to the strong box in which the money was received, he generally finished his pathetic dis- Foiir Graces Promised, 125 course by three appeals to his auditory : " Bring, bring-,, bring- ! '' ** He used to shout these words with such a horrible bel- lowing," wrote Luther, " that one would have said it was a mad bull rushing on the people and goring them with its horns." When his speech was ended, he left the pulpit, ran to- wards the money-box, and, in sight of all the people, flung into it a piece of money, taking care that it should rattle loudly. In regard to the benefits to be derived from the Indul- gence thus introduced by Tetzel into Germany, the- historian writes : — " Four precious graces were promised to those wha should aid in building the basilic of St. Peter. ' The first grace that we announce to you,' said the commissaries, in accordance with the letter of their instructions, ' is the full pardon of every sin.' Next followed three other graces : * seco?idly, the right of choosing a confessor, who, whenever the hour of death appeared at hand, should give absolu- tion from all sin, and even from the greatest crimes re- served for the apostolic see : thirdly, a participation in all the blessings, works, and merits of the Catholic Church,, prayers, fasts, alms, and pilgrimages : fourthly, redemption of the souls that are in purgatory.' To obtain the first of these graces, it was requisite to have contrition of heart,, and confession of mouth ; or, at least, an intention of con- fessing. But as for the three others, they might be obtained without contrition, without confession, simply by payment. Christopher Columbus, extolling the value of 124 Martin Luther. money, had said ere this with great seriousness, * Who- ever possesses it can introduce souls into paradise.' Such was the doctrine taught by the Archbishop of Mentz and by the papal commissaries. * As for those,' said they, * who wish to deliver souls from purgatory and procure the pardon of their offences, let them put money into the chest : contrition of heart or confession of faith is not necessary. Let them hasten to bring their money ; for thus will they perform a work most useful to the souls of the dead, and to the building of the Church of St. Peter. Greater blessings could not be offered at a lower rate. " The confession over, and that was soon done, the faithful hastened to the vendor. One alone was charged with the sale. His stall was near the cross. He cast inquiring looks on those who approached him. He examined their manner, their gait, their dress, and he required a sum proportionate to the appearance of the individual who presented himself. Kings, queens, princes, archbishops, bishops, were, according to the scale, to pay twenty-five ducats for an ordinary Indulgence. Abbots, counts, and barons, ten. The other nobles, the rectors, and all those who possessed an income of five hundred florins, paid six. Those who had two hundred florins a year paid one ; and others, only a half. Moreover, if the tariff could not be carried out to the letter, full powers were given the apostolical commissionary ; and all was to be' arranged according to the data of * sound reason,' and the generosity of the donor. For particular sins Tetzel had a particular tax. For polygamy it was six ducats ; The Ceremony of Public Penance. 1 2 5 for sacrilege and perjury, nine ducats ; for murder, eight ducats ; for witchcraft, two ducats. "The apostolical commissaries sometimes met with diffi- culties in their trade. It frequently happened, both in towns and villages, that the men were opposed to this traffic, and forbade their wives to give anything to these merchants. What could their pious spouses do ? * Have you not your dowry, or other property, at your disposal?' asked the vendor ; • In that case you can dispose of it for so holy a work, against the will of your husbands.' "The hand that gave the Indulgence could not receive the money ; this was forbidden under the severest penal- ties ; there were good reasons to fear lest that hand should prove unfaithful. The penitent was himself to drop the price of his pardon into the chest. The commissaries showed an angry countenance against all who daringly kept their purses closed. " If among the crowd of those who thronged the con- fessionals there should be found a man whose crime had been public, although it might be one that the criminal law could not reach, the offender was to begin by doing public penance. He was first led into a chapel or the vestry, there was stripped of his garment, also his shoes, and nothing was left him but his shirt. With crossed arms over his bosom, a taper placed in one hand, and a rod in the other, the penitent then walked at the head of a procession to the red cross. Here he remained kneeling until the chants and the offertory were over. After this the commissary struck up the psalm, Miserere Mei I The confessors immediately drew near the penitent, 126 Martin Luthei', and conducted him through the station towards the com- missary, who, taking- the rod and striking him thrice gently on the back, said to him, < God have pity on thee, and pardon thy sin ! ' He then began to sing the Kyree deiso7i (* Lord have mercy upon me '), a penitential hymn in the Roman mass ; the penitent was led to the front of the cross, where the confessor gave him the apostolical absolution, and declared him reinstated in the communion of the faithful. The subjoined is one of these letters of Absolution : ** May our Lord Jesus Christ have pity on thee, N. N., and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy Passion ! And I, in virtue of the apostolical power that has been confided to me, absolve thee from all ecclesiastical censures, judgments, and penalties, which thou mayst have incurred ; moreover from all excesses, sins, and crimes that thou mayst have committed, however great and enormous they may be, and from whatsoever cause, were they even reserved for our most holy father the pope, and for the apostolic see. I blot out all the stains of inability and all marks of infamy that thou mayst have drawn upon thyself on this occasion. I remit the penalties that thou shouldst have endured in purgatory. I restore thee anew to par- ticipation in the sacraments of the church. I incorporate thee afresh in the communion of saints, and re-establish thee in the purity and innocence which thou hadst at thy baptism. So that in the hour of death, the gate by which sinners enter the place of torments and punishment, shall be closed against thee ; and, on the contrary, the gate leading to the paradise of joy shall be open. And if thou Efficacy of A b solution , 127 -shouldst not die for long- years, this grace will remain unalterable until thy last hour shall arrive. In the 'name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. Friar John Tetzel, Commissary, has signed this with his own hand." At Magdeburg", Tetzel refused to absolve a rich lady, unless, he declared to her, she would pay one hundred .florins in advance. She requested the advice of her usual confessor, who was a Franciscan. " God g-rants the remission of sins gratuitously," replied the monk, "he does not sell it.'* He begged her, however, not to communicate to Tetzel the counsel she had received from him. But Tetzel upon hearing this opinion so contrary to his interests, exclaimed : — " Such a counsellor deserves to be banished, or to be burnt." Tetzel rarely found men enlightened enough, and still more rarely, men who were bold enough, to resist him. In general, he easily managed the superstitious crowd. He had set up the red cross of the Indulgences at Zwickau, and the worthy parishioners had hastened to drop into his :strong box the money that would save their souls. ' He was about to leave with a well-stored purse, when on the eve of his departure, the chaplain and his acolytes asked him for a farewell supper. The request was just. But how was it to be managed ? The money was already •counted and sealed up. On the morrow he caused the great bell to be tolled. The crowd rushed into the church : each one imagined 128 Martin L u ther, something- extraordinary had happened, supposing- that the business was over. " I had resolved," said he, " to depart this morning, but last night I was awakened by groans. I listened attentively. The groans came from the cemetery. It was some poor soul calling upon me, and earnestly entreating- me to de- liver it from the torments by which it was consumed ! I shall stay, therefore, one day longer, in order to move the compassion of all Christian hearts in favour of this unhappy one. I myself will be the first to give, and he that does not follow my example will merit condemnation !" What heart would not have replied to this appeal ? Who knows, besides, what soul it is thus crying from the ceme- tery ? The offerings were abundant, and Tetzel entertained the chaplain and his acolytes with a joyous repast, the ex- pense of which was defrayed by the offerings given on behalf of the soul of Zwickau. A good story is told of these frauds. The indulgence-merchants had visited Hagenau in 15 17. The wife of a shoemaker, taking advantage of the author- ization given in the Commissary-General's instructions, had procured a letter of Indulgence, contrary to her husband's will, and had paid a gold florin. She died shortly after- wards. As her husband had not caused a mass to be said for the repose of her soul, the priest charged him with con- tempt of religion ; and the magistrate of Hagenau summon- ed him to appear in court. The shoemaker put his wife's Indulgence in his pocket, and went to answer the accusa- tion. The Shoemaker of Hagenau. 129 " Is your wife dead?" asked the mag-istrate. " Yes," replied he. " What have you done for her ?" *' I have buried her body, and commended her soul to God/' " But have you had a mass said for the repose of her soul?" "1 have not; it was of no use; she entered heaven at the moment of her death." " How do you know that ?" " Here is the proof." As he said these words, he drew the Indulgence from his pocket, and the magistrate, in the presence of the priest, read in so many words, that, at the moment of her death, the woman who had received it would not go into purgatory but would at once enter heaven. *' If the reverend gentleman maintains that a mass is still necessary," added the widower, " my wife has been deceived by our most holy father, the Pope ; if she has not been, it is the priest who deceives me." There could be no reply. The shoemaker was acquitted. A Saxon nobleman, who had heard Tetzel at Leipzig, was much displeased by his falsehoods. Approaching the monk, he asked him if he had the power of pardoning sins that men had an intention of committing ? " Most assuredly," replied Tetzel, " I have received full powers from his holiness for that purpose." " Well, then," answered the knight, " I am desirous of taking a slight revenge on one of my enemies, without en- K 1 30 Martin Luther. dang-ering- his life. I will give you ten crowns if you will g-ive me a letter of Indulg-ence that shall fully justify me." Tetzel made some objections. They came, however, to an arrangement by the aid of thirty crowns. The monk quitted Leipzig shortly afterwards. The nobleman and his attendants lay in wait for him in a wood between Jiiterbock and Treblin ; they fell upon, gave him a slig-ht beating-, and took away the well-stored indul- g-ence chest the ex-inquisitor was carrying with him. Tetzel made a violent outcry and took his complaint before the courts. But the nobleman showed the letter which Tetzel had signed himself, and which exempted him beforehand from every penalty. Duke George, whom this action had at first exceedingly exasperated, no sooner read the document than he ordered the accused to be acquitted. The traffic everywhere, continues D'Aubigny, occupied men's thoughts, and was everywhere talked of. It was the topic of conversation in castles, in academies, and in the burghers' houses, as well as in taverns, inns, and all places of public resort. Opinions were divided; some believed, others felt indignant. As for the intelligent part of the na- tion, they rejected with disgust the system of Indul- gences. This traffic was so opposed to the Holy Scriptures and to morality, that any man who had the least knowledge of the Bible, or any conscience, condemned it at once, and only waited for a signal to oppose it. On the other hand, scoffers found ample food for raillery. The people, to whom the dissolute lives of the priests had given great Luther Aroused. 131 irritation, but whom the fear of punishment still kept within certain bounds, gave vent to all their hatred. Com- plaints and sarcasms might everywhere be heard on the love of money that debased and corrupted the clerg-y. It was ag-ainst this atrocious and blasphemous traffic that Luther arose in righteous indignation. His spirit burned within him. Further repression was impossible. The flame blazed forth with terrible energy. He took a step at which the whole civilized world stood still to gaze upon. He, a poor obscure monk, a doctor known not much beyond the confines of his University, arose and challenged the teachings of the Arch-priest of the Vatican ! Luther was one day in the confessional-box at Witten- berg, where, as usual, confessions of misdeeds were made. Adultery, licentiousness, usury, illgotten gains, and many other offences were poured in his ears. He administered rebukes, instruction, corrections. Penitence for the past : godliness and reformation for the future. His consolations and admonitions fell upon corrupted ears. Those who sought the confessional did not heed his admonitions. Re- pentance for the past they might indeed feel ; but they did not wish for a new life, and, their sins they did not intend to abandon. Light dawned upon Luther. Some corrupting influence, sufficiently strong to overcome the dictates of common •sense itself, had been at work. What influence ? It was clear enough. " You must change your manner of life," he said. " It is not necessary," they returned, showing him the 132 Martin Luther, letters of Indulgence they had bought and paid for. Luther took them in his hand, and with a deep expression of indignation and disgust upon his countenance, he ex- claimed, " There is no virtue in these. They are all a cheat and a delusion. Except ye Repent, ye shall all likewise perish." They told him of Tetzel's words, wherein absolute and entire forgiveness from sins had been sold to them. Luther was sad at heart. His poor neighbours cheated and cajoled by a mountebank ! The only really precious thing of their lives : Salvation, bartered and sold in a public place, like an article of merchandise ! This, to his mind, was a terrible thing. His duty was clear— his re- solution taken. He gave them back the parchments. *< There is no virtue in them," he repeated, "You must cease to do evil, and learn to do well, or there can be no absolution. Have a care ! God is not mocked. Listen not to the clamours of these lying indulgence-dealers. Their trade is vile, and you have been deceived. God alone can forgive sins !" Greatly alarmed at the words, which they knew came from his heart; Luther's tone and character told them that ; they hastened back to Tetzel. He inquired the cause of their alarm. They told^him Luther's words. Luther, the Augustinian doctor, treated his Indulgence — the Pope's Indulgence — with contempt. In his eyes it was a useless and pernicious thing. The Dominican priest grew furious with anger, and Declaration of War. mounting' his pulpit, bellowed forth insults and curses against the daring- Aug^ustine. From loud and terrible words, he proceeded to like impressive and terror-striking actions. A g-reat fire was made in the market-place, and its meaning- sugg-ested, when he roundly declared that he had received the Pope's commands to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his most holy Indulgence. The war was declared : the first blow struck. Without hesitation Luther plunged into the strife. He ascended the pulpit of the Castle chapel, erected at the -cost of the Elector, and enriched by him with those price- less relics, the fruits of Dr. Staupitz's collection in the Netherlands, and for which he had obtained special Indulgences from the Pope. No considerations of policy weighed in the resolute mind of Luther. He had a message to deliver : the message of Eternal Life ; and he delivered it. No matter where the blow he was about to deal might fall ; the message must be pronounced. " No one can prove by Scripture," and this was the -solid foundation of his argument, '' that the righteousness of God requires a penalty or satisfaction from the sinner. The only duty it imposes is a true repentance ; a sincere conversion ; a resolution to bear the Cross of Christ, and to perform good works. It is a great error to pretend to one- self to make satisfaction to God's righteousness for our sins. God pardons them gratuitously by his inestimable grace. " The Christian Church, it is true, requires something of the sinner, and which consequently can be remitted. But 1 34 Martin Luther, that is all. Then, Indulg-ences of the Church are tolerated only because of idle and imperfect Christians who will not zealously perform good works ; for they advance no one to sanctification, but leave each man in his imperfection." Turning- to the ostensible reason advanced for In- dulgences, he destroys the necessity, and boldly tells them, " You would do much better to contribute for the pure love of God to the building of St. Peter's, than to buy Indulgences with this intention. But, say you, shall we never purchase any? I have already told you, and I repeat it, my advice is that no one should buy them. Leave them for drowsy Christians : you should walk apart and act for yourselves ! We must turn the faithful- aside from Indulgences, and exhort them to the works which they neglect." Other and powerful words he spoke, concluding his discourse in this manner : " And should any cry out that I am a heretic, for the truth I preach is very prejudicial to their strong box, I care but little for their clamours. They have gloomy and sick brains ; men who have never tasted the Bible ; never read the Christian doctrine, never comprehended their own doctors, and who lie rotting in the rags and tatters of their own vain opinions. May God grant both them and us a sound understanding ! Amen." His sermon was immediately printed ; and the effect it produced was profound. Tetzel read it, and replied ; but his practice continued in full play. Luther went to his study and boldly followed up the blow dealt in the pulpit of the Castle chapel. The Elector Troubled, 135 The festival of All Saints was at hand : a very important festival at Wittenberg-. People from the surrounding- neig^hbourhood flocked there, in order to obtain the special Indulgences at that time granted for sins. The news of the sermon preached by Luther had reached the ears of the Elector Frederick, and it had greatly disturbed him. His belief in the Pope was very firm, and his own conviction of the value of Indulgences clear and decided. The opposition displayed by Luther both vexed and distressed him. He well knew the decisive force and rectitude of Luther's character ; the extent and brilliancy of his talents ; and the firmness and faithfulness with which he preached to the people. And yet the position taken by the doctor did not meet the views held by the Elector. These thoughts disturbed him not a little. Full of the painful subject, he retired to rest in his palace at Schweinitz, situated a few miles from Wittenberg". When he had composed himself to sleep, he dreamed a strange dream, and in the morning told it to his brother, Duke John, at that time co- Regent with him, and who afterwards succeeded to the Electorate. The dream was a very remarkable one, and is well worthy of historical notice. It is contained in a MS. among the State papers of Weimar, taken down from the mouth of Spalatin. " I must tell you of a dream, brother, which I had last night and of which I should like to know the meaning. It is so firmly graven in my memory that I shall never forget it, even were I to live for a thousand years ; for it came three times, and always with new circumstances." 1 36 Marlin Luther Duke John. — " Was it a g-ood or a bad dream ? " The Elector. — " I cannot tell ; God knows." Duke John. — " Do not be uneasy about it ; let me hear it." The Elector.—" Having- g-one to bed last night, tired and dispirited, I soon fell asleep after saying my prayers, and slept calmly for about two hours and a half. I then awoke, and all kinds of thoughts occupied me till midnight. I reflected how I could keep the festival of All Saints : I prayed for the wretched souls in purgatory, and begged that God would direct me, my councils, and my people, according to the Truth. I then fell asleep again, and dreamt that the Almighty sent me a monk, who was a true son of Paul the Apostle. " He was accompanied by all the Saints, in obedience to God's command ; to bear him testimony, and to assure me that he did not come with any fraudulent design ; but that all he should do was conformable to the Will of God. They asked my gracious permission to let him write something on the doors of the palace-chapel at Wittenberg, which I conceded through my chancellor. Upon this the monk repaired thither, and began to write : so large were the characters that I could read from Schweinitz what he was writing. The pen he held was so long that its extremity reached as far as Rome, where it pierced the ears of a lion which lay there, and shook the triple crown on the Pope's head. All the cardinals and princes ran up hastily and endeavoured to support it. You and I both tendered our assistance. I stretched out my arm. That moment I awoke with my arm extended, in great alarm and very The Monk of Wittenberg. 1 3 7 angry with this monk, who could not g'uide his pen better. I recovered myself a little. It was only a dream ! " I was still half asleep, and once more closed my eyes. The dream came ag^ain. The lion, still disturbed by the pen, began to roar with all his might ; until the whole city of Rome, and all the States of the Holy Empire ran up to know what was the matter. The Pope called upon us to oppose this monk, and addressed himself particularly to me, because the friar was living- in my dominions. " I again awoke, repeated the Lord's prayer, entreated God to preserve his holiness, and fell asleep. " I then dreamed that all the princes of the Empire, we along- with them, hastened to Rome, and endeavoured one after another to break this pen ; but the greater our exertions, the strong-er it became ; it crackled as if it had been made of iron ; we gave it up as hopeless. " I then asked the monk, for I was now at Rome, now at Wittenberg, where he had got that pen, and how it came to be so strong. " ' This pen,' replied he, ^ belonged to a Bohemian goose a hundred years old : I had it from one of my old schoolmasters. It is so strong, because no one can take the pith out of it, and I am myself quite astonished at it.* On a sudden I heard a loud cry, for from the monk's long pen had issued a host of other pens. I awoke a third time ; it was daylight." Duke John. — '• What is your opinion, Mr. Chancellor ? Would that we had here a Joseph, or a Daniel, taught of God." The Chancellor. — "Your highnesses know the vulgar 138 Martin Luther. proverb, that the dreams of young- women, wise men, and g-reat lords, have generally some hidden meaning. But we shall not learn the signification of this for some time ;. until the events have come to pass to which it relates. For this reason, confide its accomplishment to God, and commit all things into His hands." Duke John. — "My opinion is the same as yours, Mr. Chancellor ; it is not proper for us to rack our brains to discover the interpretation of this dream : God will direct everything to his own glory." The Elector. — " May our faithful God do even so ! Still, I shall never forget the dream. I have thought of one interpretation ; but I shall keep it to myself. Time will show, perhaps, whether I have conjectured right." In the British Museum there is an old engraving repre- senting the incidents of this strange dream. Luther with a volume in the left hand, is writing on the door of the church at Wittenberg with a pen of great length, which passing through the head of a lion, emblematical of the Church of Rome, knocks the tiara off the head of Pope Leo X. From this pen smaller ones are being drawn by other Reformers, and on the right two men are drawing feathers from a goose which is being burnt, and is intended to represent John Huss. The engraving is a very fine one,, and well worthy of inspection. CHAPTER VIII. THE NINETY FIVE THESES. ON THE day following, being- the day preceding- the festival, which was held on the ist of November, Luther took his way to the church, and the result of his labours in the study was revealed. Crowds of pilgrims were in the town waiting; the cere- mony of the morrow. Taking- a document from his pocket he posts it upon the door of the church. It contains, boldly printed in fair g-ood type. Ninety-five Theses or Propositions against the Doctrine of Indulgences and other points ; wherein he declares that with the view of elucidating and setting forth the Truth he has written these Propositions, and is prepared to defend them against all the world. The document opens thus : " From a desire to elicit the Truth, the following Theses will be maintained at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend father Martin Luther, of the order of the Augustines, master of arts, master and lecturer in theology, who asks that such as are not able to communicate verbally 139 140 Martin Luther, with him will do so in writing. In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." Amongst the doctrines contained in these important Propositions are the following : " When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says, * Repent/ he means that the whole life of his followers on earth shall be a constant and continual repentance. " This word cannot be understood of the sacrament of penance ; that is to say, of confession and satisfaction, as it is administered by the priest. " Yet the Lord does not mean, in this, to speak only of internal repentance : internal repentance is null, if it does not produce externally all kinds of mortification of the flesh. " Repentance and grief, true penitence, last as long as a man is displeased with himself; that is to say, until he passes from this life into the life eternal. " The pope cannot and will not remit any other penalty except that which he has imposed at his own good plea- sure ; or in conformity with the canons, namely, with the papal orders. " The pope cannot remit any condemnation ; but only declare and confirm the remission that God himself has made of it ; unless he do so in the cases that pertain to himself. If he should do otherwise, the condemnation remains wholly the same. " The laws of ecclesiastical penance should be imposed only on the living ; and in no respect concern the dead. " The commissioners of indulgences deceive themselves when they say, that by the pope's indulgence man is delivered from all punishment, and thereby saved. The Ninety five Theses. 141 " The same power which the pope has over purgatory throughout the entire church, every bishop has in his own diocese : and every vicar in his own parish. Besides, who knows whether all the souls in purgatory desire to be re- deemed ? They say St. Severinus did not. " They preach devices of human folly, who assert ; that the moment the money sounds at the bottom of the strong box, the soul flies away out of purgatory. " This is certain, to wit, that as soon as the money sounds, avarice and the love of gain spring up, increase, and multiply. But the succour and the prayers of the church depend only on the good pleasure of God. "Those who think themselves sure of Salvation with their indulgences will go to the devil with those who taught them so. " They teach doctrines of Antichrist who assert ; that to deliver a soul from purgatory ; or to buy an indulgence ; there is no need of contrition or repentance. " Every christian who feels a true repentance for his sins has a full remission of the penalty and of the trans- gression, without it being necessary that he should have recourse to indulgences. " Every true christian, living or dead, has part in all the good things of Christ or of the church, by the gift of God, and without letter of indulgence. " Still we must not despise the pope's distribution and pardon ; regarded as a declaration of God's pardon. " True repentance and sorrow seek and love chastisement ; but the pleasantness of indulgence detracts from chastise- ment ; and makes one conceive a hatred against it. 142 Martin Luther, ** Christians must be taught, that the pope thinks not, nor wishes, that any one should in any wise compare the act of buying- indulgences with any act of mercy. " Christians must be taught, that he who gives to the poor or who lends to the needy, does better than he who buys an indulgence. *' For the work of charity, enlarges charity, and makes the man more pious ; whereas indulgences do not render him better, but only more confident in himself and more self-secure from punishment. " Christians must be taught, that he who sees his neigh- bour in want, and who, in spite of that, buys an indulgence, does not buy the pope's indulgence, but lays upon himself the wrath of God. *' Christians must be taught, that if they have nothing superfluous, it is their duty to reserve what is required for their houses to procure necessaries ; and that they ought not to lavish it on indulgences. '' Christians must be taught, that to buy an indulgence is a free-will act, and not one by command. " Christians must be taught that the pope, having more need of a prayer offered with faith than of money ; more desires the prayer than the money when he distributes indulgences. " Christians must be taught, that the pope's indulgence is good, if one does not put one's trust in it; but that nothing can be more pernicious if it should cause the loss of piety. ** Christians must be taught, that if the pope knew of the extortions of the indulgence-preachers; he would rather The Ninety Jive Theses. 143 the metropolitan church of St. Peter were burnt and re- duced to ashes than see it built with the skin, the flesh, and the bones of his sheep. " The chang-e of the canonical penalty into the purg-a- torial is a tare, a darnel of dissension ; the bishops were manifestly asleep when this pernicious weed was sown. *'The pope must needs desire, that if these pardons, thing's so trivial, are celebrated with bell, ceremony, and solemnity ; the Gospel, a thing so g'reat, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred ceremonies, a hundred solemnities. ** The true treasure of the church is the thrice holy Gospel of the Glory and the Grace of God. " Many have reason to hate this sacred treasure of the Gospel, for by it the first become the last. " Many have reason to love the treasure of indul- gences, for by them the last become the first. " The treasures of the Gospel are the nets with which we fish for men of worth. "The treasures of the indulgences are the nets with which some fish for men worth money. ** To say that the cross placed on the arms of the pope is equivalent to the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy. " Why does not the pope, in his very holy character, ■clear out purgatory at once, wherein so many souls are suffering ? This would be bestowing his power far more worthily, than for him to deliver souls for money ; money so gained brings calamity with it : and for what purpose, moreover ? For a building ! " What is this strange compassion of God and of the 144 Maj'tiii Luthe7' pope, which, for so many crowns, changes the soul of an impious wretch, enemy of God and man, into a soul holy and ag^reeable to the Lord ? " Cannot the pope, whose treasures at this time exceed the most enormous accumulations elsewhere ; cannot he with his own money, rather than with that of impoverished Christians, raise a single church, for the metropolitan cathedral ? '' What does the pope remit, what does he give, to those who by their complete contrition, have already purchased a right to plenary remission ? " Fie on the prophets who say to Christ's people ; The Cross 1 the Cross ! and show us not the Cross. " Fie on the prophets who say to the people of Christ ; Peace ! Peace ! and give us not peace. " Christians must be taught to follow Christ, their Chief, through pain and punishments, and through hell itself ; so that it is far better to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through much tribulation, than to acquire a carnal security by the consolations of a false peace." ^ The challenge had boldly enough been thrown down. The morrow came ; but brought no disputant. But though no one came to take up the challenge, the effect of the publication was astounding. '* It was," says Michelet, " as if a thunderbolt had fallen, and struck the whole of Germany." This sacrifice of liberty to Grace, of man to God, of the finite to the Infinite, was at once recog- 1 A copy of these Theses, printed at Wittenberg in 1517, may be seen in the British Museum. The type is bold and well cut, and would not discredit a modern foundry. The Theses gain Universal Attention, 145 Tiised by the German people as the true national religion : as the Faith which Gottschalk proclaimed in the time of Charlemagne, from the very cradle of German Christianity : the Faith of Tauler and of all the mystical preachers of the Low Countries. The people, accordingly, threw themselves with the most hungry avidity upon this religious pasture, from which they had been shut out ever since the fourteenth century. The Propositions were printed in thousands ; devoured, spread abroad, diffused in every direction. With "the most inconceivable rapidity they were circulated, and reached the most distant lands. *' In a fortnight," says Myconius, the historian, who was himself a disciple of Luther, " they were in every part of Germany, and in four weeks they had traversed the whole of Christendom ; as if the very angels had been their messengers, and had placed them before all men. No one can believe the noise they made. Somewhat later they were translated into Dutch and Spanish, and a traveller sold them in Jerusalem." This wide and rapid circulation surprised even Luther himself. He had spoken out of the fulness of his heart, guided by a spirit higher and stronger than his own ; and if he even knew the full import of the words, he could form no comprehension of the effect those words would produce. " Every one," he said afterwards, modestly setting aside the renown cast upon him by their publication, " Every one complained of the Indulgences ; and as all the bishops and doctors had kept silence, and nobody was willing to bell the cat, poor Luther became a famous doctor ; because there came one at last who ventured to do it. But I did 146 Martin Luther. not like this glory, and the pitch of the tune was too high for my voice." Of a truth Luther did speak out the long conceived thoughts of thousands in Germany, who had groaned for years in spirit against the thraldom of the papacy. Of all the great and learned men of his day, he was the first who dared to give utterance to the unexpressed but general convictions of thousands. The effect produced upon the mind of the people, and the expressions they called forth were visible on every hand. The learned Reuchlin gave the Theses a glad welcome. He had long been engaged in disputations with the monks ; and old and worn in body and mind, was sincerely glad to find a new combatant who could worthily sustain the conflict. *' Thanks be to God ! the monks have at last found a man who will give them so much to do ; that they will be compelled to let my old age end in peace." Erasmus clearly saw the evil of the traffic in indulgences ;. but was too cautious to speak out with much clearness. Although greatly opposed to the doctrines taught by Luther, he could not withhold a tribute of admiration at the intrepidity of the man who could boldly attack the system of Indulgences. He candidly admitted that Luther's courage was undoubted, and continued, " God has given us a physician, who cuts deeply into the flesh, because the malady would be incurable without." When the Elector asked his opinion of the Propositions, he replied, '* I am not at all surprised that they have made so much noise ; for Maximilian s Prophetic Woi'ds, 147 Luther has committed two unpardonable crimes ; he has attacked the pope's tiara, and the monk's bellies." At another time, when writing- to Cardinal Campeg-gio, Erasmus says, ** The greater their evangelical piety, and the purer their morals, the less are men opposed to Luther. His life is praised even by those who cannot endure his faith. The world was weary of a doctrine so full of puerile fables and human ordinances; and thirsted for the living, pure, and hidden water which springs from the veins of the Evangelists and Apostles. Luther's genius was fitted to accomplish these things, and his zeal would naturally catch at so glorious an enterprise." The Theses reached the palace of the Emperor Maxi- milian. He read and admired the boldness of the writer, whose reputation had preceded his work. Maximilian saw in Luther a powerful ally in the impending struggle with Rome. To the Elector of Saxony he said ; — "Take great care of the monk, Luther, for the time may come when we shall have much need of him." At another time, when speaking to Pfeffinger, the Elector's privy councillor, he remarked ; — " Well ! what is your Augustine doing ? In truth, his Theses are not contemptible. He will play the monks a pretty game." When Leo X. received the daring Propositions, he did not exhibit any considerable feeling of rancour. He did not, by any means, anticipate the success they would achieve ; and he did not know that they only expressed the feelings of thousands amongst the German people. He was disposed to treat them with a good humoured 148 Martin Luther tolerance ; not to be expected when his interests were thus roughly assailed. When his secretary, Sylvester Prierio, who was in charge of the books, suggested that Luther's propositions should be burnt, and the writer proceeded against as a heretic, he responded, with wonderful modera- tion : — *' Brother Martin is a man of fine genius : all that is said against him proceeds from monkish jealousy." Leo was. or affected to be, persuaded that the whole matter was but a trifling squabble between the two rival orders, the Augustines and the Dominicans ; an occurrence not by any means infrequent when their respective orders were in rivalry over some pecuniary benefit to be secured, and that the commotion would speedily subside. The first edition of the pamphlet written by Luther, at Wittenberg, against the Sale of Indulgences, is preserved in the British Museum. The work is 4to size, and the front page contains a portrait of Luther, probably the earliest one known. The face, that of a man very haggard and disturbed, is surmounted by the tonsure of his order ; and the figure is robed in the usual monkish fashion. Enemies, however, bitter and unrelenting, were not long before they made their appearance. Tetzel, whose sole means of living, in vagabond-luxury, were now menaced, replied from Frankfort-on-the-Oder ; and endeavoured, with but poor success, to answer some points in the sermon preached by Luther at the Castle church. The Theses he did not touch beyond a general notice of them, but he invited Luther to meet him at the University of Frankfort ; where they could be disputed; and *' where," he said, TetzeP s Parade of Constancy, 149 smarting- doubtless beneath the conclusions arrived at in the sermon, "each man will be able to judge who is the heresiarch, heretic, schismatic ; who is mistaken ; rash and slanderous ; and where it will be clear to the eyes of all who it is that has a dull brain ; that has never felt the Bible ; never read the Christian doctrines ; never understood his own doctors. In support of the propositions I advance, I am ready to suffer all things : prisons, scourgings, drowning, or the stake." This readiness to suffer all these things could very safely be paraded ; seeing that there was no one amongst the friends of Luther and of the new doctrines, who possessed the inclination or the power to inflict such punishments, and Tetzel had the whole authority of the papacy at his back. Luther quickly replied. One point in Tetzel's letter called for attention. He had endeavoured to confound the repentance required by God with the penance imposed by the church : and by showing the impossibility of attaining to the perfection set forth by God, recommended the remedy suggested by the church, and so easily exhibited in his indulgences. "To save words," returned Luther, "I throw to the winds, which besides have more leisure than I, his other remarks, which are mere artificial flowers and dry leaves, and will content myself with examining the foundations of his edifice of burs. *'The penance imposed by the holy father cannot be that required by Christ ; for what the holy father imposes he can dispense with ; and if these two penances are one and the same thing, it would follow that the pope takes i^o Martin Luther, away what Christ imposes, and destroys the commandment of God. Well ! if Tetzel likes it, let him abuse me. Let him call me heretic, schismatic, slanderer, and whatever he pleases. I shall not be his enemy for that, and I shall pray for him as for a friend. But I cannot suffer him to treat the holy Scriptures, our consolation, as a sow treats a sack of oats." He then proceeds to discuss the points of Tetzel's letter, urg-ing the great importance of feeding- the hungry, clothing the naked, and the exercise of other good actions ; as far before the purchase of indulgences. He rather roughly talks of Tetzel's invectives as the braying of an ass, and says " I am delighted with them, and I should be very sorry were such people to call me a good christian." Then in return to the invitation given by Tetzel, he responds : " Although it is not usual to burn heretics for such matters, here am I at Wittenberg ; I, Doctor Martin Luther ! Is there any inquisitor who is determined to chew iron, and to blow up rocks ? I beg to inform him that he has a safe conduct to come hither : open gates, bed and board secured to him, and all by the gracious care of our worthy prince, Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who will never protect heresy." CHAPTER IX. %^^ PROGRESS OF THE WAR. AMID all the jubilation and admiration evoked by Luther's intrepid action, there were many express- ions of alarm at its temerity. The timid were afraid of the consequences of a collision with the papacy. The bishops even, men who had been foremost in their dislike to the disgraceful practices of the Indulgences, wavered : not indeed in their inward belief, but in its bold outward expression. Fear of offending the powers of the church made men dumb. Friends fell away from the Reformer, and few seemed desirous of sharing the perilous position in which by his boldness he was placed. Attacks and oppo- sition came from all sides, and in less than a fortnight he stood almost alone to confront the storm that had gathered about him. Friends are ready enough to be our friends when all is smooth weather; but when the storm-cloud is breaking, and the deluge of water falls therefrom, these insincere and time-serving people look to their own security and shelter. Friendship is then but a word ; a word without essence or meaning. 152 Martin Luthe7' Luther now experienced a g-reat change. His friends fell away. In the time of his fair and growing- reputation, friends were his luxury; but now in the hazard of im- pending- trouble, when they became his necessity, he found them not. One, however, remained faithful throughout. Spalatin did not shrink away as others did. Letters between Luther and Spalatin were not interrupted for a single day. Luther, in face of the general desertion, was touched by this mark of true friendship. On the nth of November, just eleven days after the memorable publication, Luther wrote to his friend in this strain : " I thank you from my heart ; but what am I not indebted to you for ? We can do nothing- of ourselves : but we can do everything by God's grace. All ignorance is invincible to us : no ignor- ance is invincible to the grace of God. The more we endeavour of ourselves to attain wisdom, the nearer we approach to folly. It is untrue that this invincible ignor- ance excuses the sinner ; otherwise there would be no sin in the world." Spalatin proved a true friend during- this critical time. When Luther boldly posted his Theses on the door of the Castle church, he had consulted no one, and with the silent promptness that marked his memorable entry into monas- tic life, none knew his purpose until it was accomplished. Spalatin used his influence to remove any bad impression that might affect the mind of the Elector, who had hitherto expressed a very high opinion of the doctor. Probably at his suggestion he wrote a letter explanatory of his action. "I was unwilling that my Theses should Letter to the Archbishop Albert. 153 reach our most illustrious prince, or any of his court ; before they had been received by those who think themselves especially desig-nated in them, for fear they should believe I had published them by the prince's order ; or to conciliate favour, and from a feeling of hostility to the Bishop of Mentz. *' I understand there are many persons who dream such thing's. But now, I can positively swear, that my Theses were published without the knowledg"e of Duke Frederick." Luther well knew how active in misrepresentations his enemies would be ; and therefore, in justification of his conduct, he sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mentz him- self. In this letter he displays the utmost moderation, and tender-hearted love for the poor, the simple, and the un- learned. " Venerable father in Christ, most illustrious prince ; vouchsafe to cast a favorable eye on me, who am but dust and ashes ; and to receive my request with pastoral kindness. Persons are now hawking- throug-h the country, under the name and august title of your Highness, papal Indulg-ences for the erection of the cathedral of St. Peter's at Rome. I say nothing- about the vapourings which I have not my- self heard ; but I complain bitterly of the preachers, and the fatal errors by which they are influencing- the poor, the simple, and the unlearned ; who are everywhere openly avowing- their fond imaginations on the subject. This pains and sickens me. They believe that souls will be delivered from purgatory as soon as their money chinks in the preacher's bag. They believe an Indulgence to be powerful enough to save the greatest sinner. Great God ! 1 54 Martin Litther, these poor souls, then, are to be led, under your authority, to death, and not to life. You will incur a fearful and heavily-increasing- responsibility. Be pleased, noble and venerable father ; to read and take into consideration my Propositions y showing- the vanity of the Indulg-ences which the preachers proclaim as a certainty." It ought perhaps to be noted that the Archbishop, who it will be remembered had agreed to take one half of the net proceeds of this infamous traffic ; was sufficiently honest to content himself with the acknowledgment of Luther's letter ; and to beg him to defer any further pro- positions, expressing his strong wish that all discussions •about Indulgences should be avoided. Luther also wrote to several noble and reverend pre- lates, to all of whom he was anxious fairly to represent his action, and to refute the calumnies by which he was assailed on all sides. To his friend, Christopher Scheurl, the secretary of the City of Nuremberg, he expresses thanks for some little favor he had received at his hands, and carries himself with great humility. *' You entertain a high opinion of my studies ; but I have a very mean opinion of them. I have sought among my writings, which I have never found so meagre before, for something to dedicate to your friend Jerome Ebner (a celebrated Nuremberg lawyer). Nothing presents itself worthy of being dedicated to so great a man by so mean a person as myself. I did not design to give my Theses such publicity. I only desired to confer on their subject- matter with some of those who remain with, or near us. Pleads for his Fellow Men, 155 If they had been condemned, I should have destroyed them. If they had been approved, I proposed pubHshing- them. But they have now been printed over and over again, and circulated so far beyond all my hopes, that I repent of my offspring- : not because I fear lest the Truth should be made known to the people, for Uwas this alone I sought ; but that is not the way to instruct them. They contain questions that are still doubtful to me, and if I had thought my Theses would have created such a sensa- tion, there are some thing's I should have omitted, and others I should have asserted with greater confidence." To the Elector he also wrote, but the subject of his letter did not concern himself. In it he pleaded the cause of those dear to his heart ; his suffering fellow men. Surrounded as he was at this time by enemies longing for his disgrace, his letter and spirit reflect upon him infinite honour. " I beseech your highness despise not the prayer of a poor beggar : do not, in God's name, impose a new tax. My heart has been bruised as well as the hearts of many of those who are most devoted to you, when they saw how far the tax has injured your good fame, and the popularity your highness enjoyed. It is true the Lord has given you an exalted understanding, so that you can see into these matters farther than I can or any of your subjects. But perhaps it is God's will that a mean understanding should instruct a greater, in order that no one should trust to himself, but solely in the Lord our God, whom I pray to preserve your health of body for our good, and your soul for eternal blessedness. '^ Meanwhile Tetzel, pushed forward by his order, the Do- 156 Martin Luther. minican, quickly took measures to recover the ground he had lost. He felt that the Elector Frederick in his secret soul favoured the opinions put forth by Luther, and he long^ed not only to humiliate one whom his arguments could not confound, but to hold over the Elector himself the dreaded displeasure of the Pontiff. The infamous trade was disturbed : his receipts were seriously affected ; and this consideration alone filled the heart of the Dominican with rag-e. To assail Indulgences, he declared, was to attack the Pope himself. Burning with exasperation, and feeling how feebly he could answer the calm, logical words of his powerful adversary, he called to hiS' aid all the culture and learning he could find in his order. He repaired to Frankfort, and placed himself in communication with Conrad Wimpina, a distinguished theologian, and professor at the University there. Wimpina, to whom the reputation of Luther was a sub- ject of most unworthy jealousy, penned two lists of anti- Theses ; the one devoted to a defence of the doctrine of Indulgences generally, and the other, setting forth the supreme authority of the Pope. Armed with these Tetzel, with great parade, commenced the disputation. All the monks of his order were present,, and strong in their numbers and influence, the Indulgence- chieftain assumed high authority. "Whoever says that the soul does not escape out of pur- gatory so soon as the money tinkles in the chest is in error," he boldly asserted. "We should teach Christians that the Pope, by the Tetzel at Frankfort, 157 greatness of his power, is above the whole universal church, and superior to the councils ; and that we should implicitly obey his decrees. " We should teach Christians that the Pope alone has the right of deciding in all matters of Christian faith. That he alone and no one else besides him has the power to inter- pret the meaning of Scripture according to his own views ; and to approve or condemn all the words or wTitings of other men ; the judgment of the Pope cannot err ; that those who injure the honour and dignity of the Pope are guilty of high treason, and deserve to be accursed ; that all who declare by their words, acts, or writings, that they will not retract their heretical propositions should be treated as heretics, even should excommunication after excommu- nication fall upon them like hail or rain ; and, finally, that all those who protect the errors of heretics, and who, by their authority, prevent them from being brought before the judge, who has a right to hear them, are excommuni- cated; that if in the space of a year they do not change their conduct, they will be declared infamous, and cruelly punished with divers chastisements according to the law, and for a warning to all men." The whole matter ended with their favourite argument. The burning of the heretical writings was the nearest -approach they could, at this time, make to the actual in- fliction of the fire upon the heretics themselves. Tetzel went to the full measure of his ability. A scaffold was erected in one of the suburbs of the town, and thither in solemn state he and his numerous followers proceeded. •Getting into his pulpit, which he had caused to be conveyed 158 Martin Luther. to the place ; he fulminated his anathema against the de- voted head of the heretic Luther, only regretting- that a like fate could not immediately be bestowed on the writer as now awaited his heretical writings. The sermon and propositions were placed on the scaffold ; a great fire was kindled, and amid shouts of rejoicing the offending works were consumed by the flames. This over, Tetzel and his friends marched back to Frankfort in triumph. The students of the University at Wittenberg heard of the insult given to their beloved master with feelings of the keenest anger. Their passions were aroused, and the spirit of retaliation came strongly upon them. Nothing could restrain the impetuosity of their proceedings. In- flamed beyond control, they seized upon a luckless agent employed by Tetzel in the circulation of his Theses in Saxony, and uttering threats of instant destruction against the unhappy man, took from him the whole parcel of his papers, amounting to eight hundred copies. They then wrote on the walls of the University — " Who- ever desires to be present at the burning and funeral of Tetzel's Theses, must come to the market-place at two o'clock!" At the appointed time, these generous-hearted but ex- cited youths, faithful to their outraged master, assembled in great force ; kindled the flames, and forthwith the whole bundle of Tetzel's papers fell into the fire. One copy alone escaped the fury of their destruction. It was given to Luther himself, and he sent it to his friend Lange, of Erfurt. Luther has been accused of being a party to this pro- TetzeVs Theses publicly bicrnt, 159 ceeding ; but we have his own assurances to the contrary : and although it is difficult to understand how he could have restrained the students in their desire to avenge the indignity placed upon him, even had he known of their in- tention ; it is certainly most consistent to believe that he knew nothing of their proceedings until the mischief had been accomplished. We may be assured that the circumstance gave him pain ; and in a letter addressed to his old master, Jodocus, his instructor while at Eisenach, he asks, " if he thought he had taken leave of his senses in causing Tetzel's Theses to be burnt ?" adding, with great truth, "But what could I do ? Where I am concerned, everybody believes whatever is told of me. Well, let them say, hear, and believe what ever they like concerning me. I shall work as long as God gives me strength, and, with His help, I shall fear nothing !" More important adversaries quickly appeared. The fight hitherto had been but light skirmishing, in compari- son with the force it would presently acquire. The dispute ceased to be one between the Indulgence-chief and Luther ; it soon became one between the doctor of Wittenberg and Rome itself. The interested Dominicans zealously fanned the flame. In all pulpits, and on all occasions, Luther was furiously assailed and denounced. Madman, seducer, demoniac \ were the names bestowed upon him. " Heretic ! " said they, " in less than a month thou shalt be burnt !" The University at Wittenberg, where Luther was ex- i6o Mai'tin Luther. ceeding-ly popular, was proclaimed to be foully tainted with heresy ; and its inmates were denounced unsparingly. The worst passions of the people were appealed to, and disturbances became frequent. The strife grew apace : every moment added strength to its fury, and extended the area of its operations. A member of the Dominican body, a friar preacher, one Jacob Hochstraten, or Hogostratus, a violent bigot and Prior at Cologne, was one of the first to fulminate his contribution of condemnation. Calmness and decency of argument by no means distinguished his style, and in a document of much violence and noise, he urged His Holi- ness of Rome to put the heretic, who had disturbed men's minds, to instant death. " It is high treason against the Church," he raved, '' to allow so horrible a heretic to live one hour longer. Let the scaffold be instantly erected for him ! " Luther quickly disposed of this truculent foe. There was no argument to meet and refute : so Luther simply returned the complimentary terms applied to him. " Go," he contemptuously said, " Go, thou raving murderer, thou who criest for the blood of thy brethren ; it is my earnest desire that thou forbearest to call me christian and faithful, and that thou continuest, on the contrary, to decry me as a heretic. Understandest thou these things, blood-thirsty man ? enemy of the truth ! if thy mad rage should hurry thee to undertake anything against me, take care to act with circumspection, and to choose thy time well. God knows what is my purpose, if He grant me life. My hope, and my expectation, God willing, will not deceive me." A g7rat Antagonist arises, i6i No sooner was this noisy adversary silenced, than one of a totally different calibre appeared. The great and learned Professor of Ing-olstadt, Dr. Eck, Luther's recently acquired friend, issued a paper entitled Obelisks ; in which he mercilessly assailed the Propositions and the new doctrines. The friendship that existed was put aside, and a very unfair inference was drawn from the writings of "his feeble adversary," whose doctrines, said he, "savoured of the Bohemian poison." The malice of this thrust may be seen when it is remembered that John Huss was burnt by order of the Council of Constance more than a century before, for opposing- the doctrine of transub- stantiation ; and his memory and doctrines were just then particularly the objects of hatred in Germany g-enerally. It is, however, remarkable, and shows the malice and subtlety of Eck's mind in the strongest and most discredit- able light ; that the very truth for which John Huss suffered martyrdom, was one which Luther never did and never could fully grasp, during the whole period of his life. The new foe found Luther fully prepared for the combat. Before replying to the book, he laments that its writing is the writing of a friend. "In the Obelisks I am styled a venemous man, a Bohemian, a heretic, a seditious, insolent, rash person. I pass by all minor insults, such as drowsy-headed, stupid, ignorant, contemner of the Pope, &c. The book is brimful of the blackest outrages. Yet he who penned them is a distinguished man ; with a spirit full of learning, and a learning full of spirit ; and, what causes me the deepest vexation, he is a man who was united to me by a strong 1 62 Martin Luther, and recently contracted friendship. If I did not know Satan's thoug-hts, I should be astonished at the fury which has led this man to break off so sweet and so new a friendship; and that, too, without warning me, without writing me, without saying a single word." But, however unfair was Eck's attack, Luther did not lack the ability or the courage to return the blow. He immediately printed The Asterisks, wherein, he said playfully, he should oppose the light and brightness of his Asterisks (* stars, used in printing and writing), to the rust and livid hue of his opponent's Obelisks (tall four- sided pillars, generally monolithic, tapering as they rise, but in writing and printing, marks of reference, thus f ). Although the work was at first only circulated among his friends, and not published till a long time afterwards ; Dr. Eck quickly found out what manner of adversary he had so rashly called to battle. "As for malicious reproach of Bohemian heresy," Luther declared, "I bear this calumny with patience through the love of God. I am indifferent to it. I live in a celebrated University, in a well-famed city, in a respect- able Bishopric, in a powerful Duchy, where all are ortho- dox, and where, undoubtedly, so wicked a heretic would not be tolerated." In the book he boldly affirms the broad principle : " The supreme Pontiff is a man, and may be led into error ; but God is Truth, and cannot err. Where," he asks, perhaps wishing to provoke the disputation which afterwards took place, " where is it found in the Bible that the treasure of Christ's merits is in the hands of the Pope ? " A t tacked by Sylvester Pricrio. 1 6 o Dr. Eck was not alone in his assault; another came from Rome itself. A Dominican, by name, Sylvester Prierias, or Prierio, filled the office of master of the palace, and censor of books. He published an attack upon Luther's Theses, in the form of a dialogue, in which ridicule, abuse, and threats were freely employed. It was asked whether this •" Martin had an iron nose, or a brazen head, which cannot be broken ; " whether " My dear Luther, if you were to receive from our lord the Pope a good bishopric, and a plenary indulgence for repairing your Church, you would sing in a softer strain, and extol the Indulgences you are now disparaging ! " His tirade of abuse, embracing such elegant remarks as " If it is the nature of dogs to bite, I fear you had a dog for your father," was fitly concluded by that most power- ful of all Romish arguments — a threat. "The Romish church," says he, "the apex of whose spiritual and temporal power is in the Pope ; may constrain by the secular arm those who, having once received the faith, afterwards go astray. It is not bound to employ reason to combat and vanquish rebels." Although the arguments in Prierio's book were scarcely worthy of reply, it did not pass unnoticed ; coming, as it did, from one of the dignitaries of the Romish court. Luther, in noticing the strongest argument it contained, asserted his firm belief that Popes and councils could very easily err in their interpretation of the Christian doctrine ; that the Church virtually only existed in Christ alone ; and that the assertion of unlimited temporal and spiritual 164 Martin LMther, power in the person of the Pope had been greatly favored by the flatteries of the courtiers and other creatures of the Roman See. "No doubt you ^ judge me after yourself; but if I aspired to an episcopal station, of a surety I should not use the language that is harsh and grating to your ears. Do you imagine I am ignorant how bishoprics and the priesthood are obtained at Rome? Do not the very children sing in the streets — ' Of all foul spots the world around, The foulest spot in Rome is found. ? ' " " You say," continues Luther, " that the Pope is at once Pontiff and Emperor ; and that he is mighty to compel obedience by the secular arm. Do you thirst for blood '? I protest that you will not frighten me. If I am put to death, Christ lives. Christ my Lord, and the Lord of all,. blessed for evermore. Amen." CHAPTER X. FRIENDLY DISPUTATION. ROME AROUSED. OF ALL the adversaries by whom Luther was at- tacked at the very earliest stage of the battle of the Reformation ; Dr. Eck was by far the most formidable ; his great learning rendered him a doughty antagonist ; but his bitter implacable spirit shed upon his opposition