THE UNIVERSITY 
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 LIBRARY 
 
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 Purchased, 1918. 
 
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THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OP 
 
 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 
 
 VOL. IV. 
 
 CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE COMMENCEMENT AND THE PKOGRESS OP 
 
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no 
 
 1/ ^ 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. IV. 
 
 CENTURY XIII. 
 
 PagCL 
 
 Chap. V. The general state of the Church of Christ 
 in this century 1 
 
 Aristotelian philosophy ; — Roger Bacon ; — Dominicans and Fran- 
 ciscans; — " Non obstante" clause; — Shameless tyranny of the 
 popes ; — Fcdse reliefs for guilty consciences ; — Crusades and pe- 
 nances of Gregory IX. ; — John Maryns ; — The doctrine of grace 
 of congruity ;---Neglect of the Scriptures; — The Eastern churches ; 
 The Turks. 
 
 Chap. VI. Authors and eminent persons in this cen- 
 tury : 11 
 
 Prussia; — Arsenius; — John Scot; — Seval ; — William de St. 
 Amour ; — The mendicant orders ; — Francis of Assisium ; — Do- 
 minic ; — The Rosary; — Mechanical devotion; — Lewis IX.; his 
 piety and uprightness ; — he engages m the Crusades ; — his last 
 advice to his son; — Pope Celestine ; — Boniface VIII. ;~Thomas 
 Aquinas ; — Bonaventura ; — Purgatory ; — Cardinal Hugo ; — Guil- 
 helmus of Paris, 
 
 Chap. VII. Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln 28 
 
 His zeal and activity ; — he supports the friars ; — opposes eccle- 
 siastical corruptions ; — ^The extortions of the pope resisted by 
 Grosseteste ; — he refuses to admit foreigners to English benefices ; 
 —The pope's anger against him ; — His last hours and death ; — His 
 character by Matthew Paris ; — His view of the pastoral office ; — his 
 sermons on humility ;— Extract from his letters. 
 
 CENTURY XIV. 
 
 Chap. I. The general state of the Church of Christ in 
 this century 44 
 
 LK)llards ;— Walter Raynard ;— The East ;— China ;— The Holy 
 Land; — Poland; — The Jubilees; — Schism in the papacy; — John 
 Duns Scotus ; — Count Eleazar ; — his rules for his family ; — Thomas 
 de la Mare ; — Synods in England ; — ^The wine denied to the laity 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 in the communion ;-~Marsilius of Padua ;~Conrade Hager; — 
 The Ploughman's Complaint ; — Richard Fitzrafe ; — Militzius. 
 
 « Chap. II. England. Thomas Bradwardine 55 
 
 His workj^ainst Pelagianism;- — His remarks on freewill ; — On 
 self-sufficiency; — Rational religion; — Extracts from Bradwar- 
 dine's ■ writings ; — On the Divine Being; concerning merit; of 
 the divine knowledge ; of fate ; on temptation ; on grace ; on 
 love, patience, humility, and thanksgiving ; on Providence ; His 
 meditations. 
 
 Chap. III. John WicklifT 78 
 
 1. His life. 
 
 Progress in school divinity ; opposes the friars ; is esteemed 
 by the university of Oxford ; is supported by the duke of Lan- 
 caster, and persecuted by the Romish clergy; is forbidden to 
 preach, but is supported by the laity ; his doctrines are con- 
 demned ; he translates the Bible into English ; his words to the 
 mendicant friars ; — The council of the earthquake ; — The legend of 
 Cornelius Cloune ; — Death of WicklitF ; his bones burned. 
 
 2. WicklifF^s religious sentiments. 
 
 His doctrines ; salvation is of grace ; — His scriptural doctrines 
 respecting the Lord's Supper ; — His Trialogus ; — His opinions 
 on the sufficiency of the Scriptures ; on the exposition of Scrip- 
 ture ; on justification by faith ; on the truth of Scripture ; on 
 purgatory ; on the sacraments. 
 
 3. Reflections on the character of WicklifF. 
 
 His defences and explanations ; — Hume's aspersions answered. 
 
 4. Further observations on the panegyric and 
 calumny with which WicklifT has been treated. 
 
 Difficult and dangerous situation of WicklifF ; — The mendicant 
 friars ; — His opposition to the papacy ; is protected for a time by 
 persons of rank ; — His patrons neglect his doctrinal views ; his 
 translation of the Bible ; he pleads the right of the people to 
 read the Scriptures. 
 
 5. Additional extracts from the writings of WicklifF. 
 
 His tract " Why many priests have no benefices ;'* — His transla- 
 tion of the Bible ; — Specimen of it; — His sentiments on election ; 
 — Fuller's remarks on Wickliff. 
 
 CENTURY XV. 
 
 Chap. I. The Lollards in England 121 
 
 Queen Anne of Bohemia ; — John de Trevisa ; — Sawtre the first 
 martyr burned in England; — John Badby burned; — Henry V. 
 promotes the persecutions ; — Lord Cobham accused ; his reply to 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 V 
 
 Page. 
 
 the king ; his examinations ; the prelates* statement of Romish 
 doctrines sent to him ; his declaration and replies ; he is con- 
 demned; his prayer for his enemies ; he escapes from the tower; 
 — An assembly of Lollards in St. Giles's Fields dispersed ;— 
 Falsity of the accusations of their enemies ; — Lord Cobham taken 
 and burned; — Reflections ;-— Archbishop Chicheley a persecutor; 
 — Death of Henry V.; — Taylor, White, and Gooze burned ; — Suf- 
 ferings of the Lollards ; — Brown of Ashford ; — The spirit of in- 
 quiry not suppressed ; — Reinher's account of the followers of 
 WicklifF ; —Remarks on the authenticity of Fox's Ads and Monu- 
 ments. 
 
 Chap. II. The Council of Constance, including the 
 histories of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. ... 154 
 
 The vain attempts of the Council at reformation ; it supports 
 the ecclesiastics in their enormities ; — John Huss impressed by 
 the writings of Wickliff ; is excommunicated by the pope and 
 forbidden to preach ; is summoned to attend the Council ; — Sermons 
 prepared by him ; doctrines he professed ; he is accused of heresy ; 
 is imprisoned by the pope ; — the emperor's safe-conduct violated ; 
 — ^The three popes required to resign ; — Conduct of pope John 
 XXin. ; — ^The Council endeavours to induce Huss to retract ; — 
 Jerome of Prague arrives at Constance ; is imprisoned, examined, 
 and treated cruelly ; — The doctrines of Wickliff condemned ; — The 
 Teutonic knights and the Poles ; — Controversy respecting the sa- 
 cramental cup; — Matthias; — Jacobel; — Huss examined before 
 the council ; — Calumnious charges brought against him ; — Fidelity 
 of John de Chlum ; — Doctrines of Huss ; — Extracts from his 
 letters ; — The cruel purpose of the Council ; — Decree against the 
 communion in both kinds ; — The works of Huss burned ; false 
 accusations against him; he is condemned and burned; his 
 character ; — Orders to persecute the followers of Huss ;— Memorial 
 from the Bohemians ; — The Council induce Jerome to recant and 
 yet proceed against him ;— The repentance of Jerome and his testi- 
 mony to the truth ; he is again brought before the Council and 
 condemned ; burned ; — Poggius's testimony respecting him ; — 
 Reasons why the Council proceeded against Huss and Jerome ; — 
 Corrupt state of the Romish church ; — Nominalists and realists ; — 
 On the conduct of Huss ; — Sermon preached against the vices of 
 ecclesiastics ; — Persecution against the Hussites ; — ^They take up 
 arms ; — ^The Calixtines and Taborites ; — The Council elect a pope, 
 Martin V. ; — He evades any reformation ; — The Council of Con- 
 stance dissolved. 
 
 Chap. III. The Hussites until the beginning of the 
 Reformation 216 
 
 The Hussite war; — Breach between the Calixtines and Tabo- 
 rites; — The Council of Basil ; — Rokyzan ; — ^The United Brethren ; 
 their sufferings ; — Union between the faithful among the Hussites 
 and the Waldenses. 
 
vi 
 
 CONTErrTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Chap. IV. A brief view of the fifteenth century 
 
 223 
 
 Discovery of the art of printings — Rhedon; — Savanarola; — 
 Thomas a Kempis ; — Vincent Ferrer ; — Antoninus ; — Bernardin ; — 
 John de VVesalia ; — John Wesselus, and Luther's preface to his 
 Works; — Writings of Wesselus ; — His last hours; — His request 
 to the pope. 
 
 Chap. I. The Reformation under the conduct of 
 
 Preliminaries ; — Commencement of the Reformation ; — The his- 
 torians referred to ; — Seckendorf's history of Lutheranism; — 
 Popish doctrine of indulgences ; — Ignorance respecting gospel 
 grace ; — The knowledge of scriptural truth revived by the Refor- 
 mation, 
 
 Chap. II. The beginning of the controversy concern- 
 ing indulgences , . 243 
 
 Leo X. ; — Tetzel employed to sell indulgences in Saxony ; — 
 His profligacy, and that of his agents ; — Luther opposes these 
 abuses ; — His doubts and anxieties ; — Early life of Luther ; he 
 confers with. Staupitius ; studies the Scriptures ; is ordained ; ex- 
 cels as a preacher ; visits Rome ; his progress in scriptural truth ; 
 is appointed to visit monasteries; — Account of Spalatinus; — Lu- 
 ther's correspondence vi'ith Spalatinus ; he preaches at Dresden ; 
 — Enmity of duke George to Luther ; — Abilities and learning of 
 Luther ; — his defects and excellences ; the testimonies of his ad- 
 versaries, Maimbourg, Varillas, Moreri, and Bayle ; — Slanders of 
 Garasse ; — Observations of Erasmus on Luther. 
 
 Chap. III. The progress of the controversy concern- 
 ing indulgences, till the conclusion of the confer- 
 ences between Luther and Cajetan 275 
 
 Shameless conduct of Tetzel ; — Luther opposes him ; — Luther's 
 controversy with Eckius and others concerning faith and justifica- 
 tion ; Luthei w^rites to the pope ; his views at this period ; his 
 account of liis own proceedings; the pope's observations upon 
 them ; — Luther summoned to Rome ; — The pope writes to the elec- 
 tor ; — Luther declared a heretic ; he attends Cajetan at Augsburg; 
 his conversation with a popish emissary ; precautions of the elec- 
 tor of Saxony; — Luther appears before Cajetan ; — Harsh beha- 
 viour of Cajetan; — Luther's arguments disregarded; his letter to 
 Cajetan; he quits Augsburg; — Displeasure of the Romanists; — 
 Staupitius ; his apprehensions ; — Luther's letters to him. 
 
 CENTURY XVI. 
 
 Luther 
 
 237 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 vii 
 
 Page. 
 
 Chap. IV. The controversy continued. The attempts 
 ofMiltitz and of Eckius 302 
 
 Dangerous situation of Luthe^; his firmness; he appeals to a 
 general Council ; — Sale of indulgences in Switzerland ; — Death of 
 the emperor Maximilian ; — Miltitz a new legate ; his proceedings ; 
 he treats Luther courteously ; his doubts ; — Death of Tetzel ; — 
 Erasmus's letter to Luther; — Remarks on his character ; he is un- 
 willing to enter into a contest with the papacy; — Uneasiness of 
 Spalatinus ; — Eckius opposes Luther and disputes with Garol- 
 stadt; disputes with Luther concerning the pope's supremacy; — 
 Luther's doubts on the papal supremacy ; remarks on his views ; 
 — ^The disputation at Leipsic ; — The system of popery ; the uni- 
 versities ; purgatory; — Eckius's views of indulgences ; — Luther's 
 positions ; his sentiments on indwelling sin and the writings of 
 St. Paul ; he opposes Eckius's Pelagian sentiments ; — The publi- 
 cations of Luther are read with great avidity ; — The elector Fre- 
 deric; — Melancthon; effects of the disputation on his mind. 
 
 Chap. V. From the attempts of Miltitz and Eckius, to 
 the critical situation of Luther in 1520 343 
 
 The negotiations of Miltitz are ineffectual ; — Luther urges the 
 right administration of the Sacrament ; his letter to Spalatinus and 
 to the emperor; his reply to the divines of Louvain ; his letters to 
 the bishops of Mentz and Mersburg ; he begins to view the pope as 
 Antichrist ; his letter to Leo X.;— his treatise on Christian li- 
 berty ; the importance of avoiding self-righteousness and antiao- 
 mianism ; remarks on the treatise on Christian liberty ; — Melancthon 
 defends Luther; — The elector's letter to Rome; — Pope Leo's 
 artful reply ; — Luther is encouraged by several circumstances ;-^ 
 Schaumburg writes to him ; — Luther's desire for peace ; — Remarks. 
 
 Chap. VI. The progress of the Reformation till the 
 conclusion of the Diet of Worms 374 
 
 Luther's tract against the popedom ; — On the Babylonish capti- 
 vity ; — Many students attend the reformers ; — The pope's damna- 
 tory bull against Luther ; Luther's courage ; account of the bull ;-*- 
 It is sent to Saxony by Eckius ; — Aleander ; — The pope requires that 
 Luther should be put to death or imprisoned ; — The reply of 
 the emperor; — The conduct of the elector ; — Axioms of Erasmus; 
 His opinion of Luther ; — Luther appeals to a general Council against 
 the pope ; his arguments for the authority of Scripture ; the aspe- 
 rity of his style ; his books burned by the papists ; he burns the 
 pope's bull and the papal decretals ; — Iniquitous doctrines of the 
 Romish canon law ; — Degraded state of the popedom ; — The poli- 
 tical state of Europe; — Policy of the emperor; he refuses to con- 
 demn Luther ; — Progress of the Reformation ; — Luther's publica- 
 tions ; his commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians ;— his 
 consolatory tract ; — The diet of Worms ; — Conference between 
 
viii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Pohtanus and Glapio ; — Aleander's speech against Luther at the 
 Diet ; — Aleander's defence of the pope's bull against Luther ; — 
 Transactions of the Diet ; — Luther's intrepid letter to Spalatinus 
 and tlie elector ; he is required to attend the Diet ; — Aleander's 
 alarm ; — Artful conduct of Charles V. ; he grants Luther a safe- 
 couduct; — The elector's letter; — Luther proceeds to Woims; his 
 courage; — Bucer ; — Luther appears before the Diet; his exami- 
 nation as to his publications ; his reply ; the impression it pro- 
 duced ; he is required to retract ; — The emperor gives his opinion ; 
 " — The princes entreat Luther to retract ; — The elector of Treves ; 
 —Luther ordered to quit Worms ; — The German princes object to 
 violate his safe-conduct ; he is concealed in the castle of Wart- 
 burg ; — ^The edict of Worms condemns Luther and his publica- 
 tions. 
 
 Brief account of the leading persons who were present at 
 the Diet of Worms. 453 
 
 1-The duke George of Saxony ; 2. Aleander and the leading 
 ecclesiastics ; 3. The emperor Charles V. ; 4. The German elec- 
 tors and princes; 5. The elector Frederic the Wise; 6. Martin 
 Lathei-; — The hopes of the papists disappointed; — Misrepresent- 
 ation of Romish ^vriters ; — Rapid progress of the Reformation ; 
 — Remarks. 
 
THE HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE CHUKCH OF CHRIST 
 
 AT THE COMMENCEMENT AND DURING THE PROGRESS OF 
 
 THE REFORMATION. 
 
 CENTURY THE THIRTEENTH. 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 THE GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN 
 THIS CENTURY. 
 
 The gloom of ignorance in the thirteenth century was 
 exceedingly great. Nor was it abated, but, in some 
 respects, rather increased, by the growing celebrity of the 
 Aristotelian philosophy. For by it the understandings of 
 men were furnished with polemical weapons, but by no 
 means enlightened with useful truths. Endless questions 
 were started ; and as every disputant, by the very nature 
 of the learning then in vogue, was much more engaged in 
 confounding his adversary, than in explaining any one 
 object of science, hence, every serious inquirer after truth 
 must have been embarrassed beyond measure. The con- 
 troversial combatants, while they raised and agitated the 
 dust of contentions, suffocated each other, and gave no 
 real light either to themselves, or to the world in generax. 
 The unlettered part of mankind admired what they called 
 their " seraphic " * skill and ingenuity, little suspecting 
 that these disputatious doctors were not, in their know- 
 ledge, many degrees removed above the most ignorant and 
 vulgar. Some few there were of superior genius and 
 
 * Bonavenlura was called the seraphic doctor; Francis, the seraphic 
 father. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 22. b 
 
2 Aristotelian philosophy. — Roger Bacon, [Cent. 13. 
 
 penetration, who saw through the sophistry of the fashion- 
 able learning, and cultivated a more reasonable mode of 
 intellectual improvement. 
 
 Roger Bacon, the Franciscan Friar, stands distinguished 
 among these. His knowledge of astronomy, optics, and 
 mathematics, as well as of Greek and Oriental learning, 
 was wonderful for those times. But he and a very few 
 others shone in vain, except to themselves, in the firma- 
 ment of knowledge. All feared, scarcely any aided, and 
 very few understood them. Bacon himself, the glory of 
 the British nation, was many years confined in a loath- 
 some prison, and was strongly suspected of dealing in 
 magic. I know no evidence of his piety and love of 
 evangelical truth ; and therefore it is not consistent with 
 the design of this History to enlarge on his character. 
 But a few words expressive of his contempt of the learning 
 of his contemporaries deserve to be quoted.* " Never," 
 says he, " was there so great an appearance of wisdom, 
 nor so much exercise of study, in so many faculties and in 
 so many countries, as within these last forty years. For 
 doctors are every where dispersed, in every city and 
 borough, especially by the two studious orders, when at 
 the same time there never was so great ignorance. The 
 herd of students fatigue themselves, and play the fool 
 about the miserable translations of Aristotle, and lose 
 their time, their labour, and their expense. Appearances 
 alone engage them ; and they have no care to acquire 
 real knowledge, but only to seem knowing in the eyes of 
 the senseless multitude." 
 
 Bacon, by the two studious orders, means the Domi- 
 nicans and Franciscans, who were almost the only orders 
 which devoted themselves to study. These men had 
 AMPLE buildings and princely houses f They attended 
 the death beds of the rich and great, and urged them to 
 bequeath immense legacies to their own orders. The 
 subtile jargon of the schools infected their whole semblance 
 of learning. However, as they appeared more knowing, 
 and were certainly more studious than the other orders, 
 they gained much ground in this century ; and indeed till 
 the time of the institution of the Jesuits, they were the 
 pillars of the papacy. Persecution of heretics, so called, 
 formed a great part of their employment. The Domi- 
 
 * Mosbeim, vol. i. p. 637, note {^). 
 
 t History of the Abbey of St. Alban's, by Nevvcombe. 
 
Dominicans and Franciscans. — Non ohstante^^ clause, 3 
 
 iiicans* in particular were the founders of the Inquisition. 
 These last came into England about the year 1221, and 
 first appeared at Oxford. The Franciscans were first 
 settled at Canterbury in 1234. They both cultivated the 
 Aristotelian philosophy, and being the confidential agents 
 of the pope, they, under various pretences, exacted large 
 sums of money through the kingdom, and fieeced even the 
 abbots of the monasteries. The bishops and secular clergy 
 saw themselves excluded by these means from the con- 
 fidence of the laity. For, in auricular confessions, and 
 other superstitions of the times, the friars had, by the 
 pope's authority, very much arrogated to themselves the 
 power which had formerly been possessed by the clergy.f 
 
 The Franciscans particularly undermined the influence 
 of the secular ecclesiastics by popular practices ; they 
 preached both in towns and in the country : they pre- 
 tended to no property : they lived on the contributions of 
 their audiences, and walked barefoot and in mean habits. 
 On Sundays and holydays crowds were collected to hear 
 them ; and they were received as confessors in preference 
 to the bishops and clergy : and thus, when the credit of 
 the other monastic orders was well nigh exhausted, and 
 the secular clergy, through immoralities, had been re- 
 duced to contempt, two new orders, having the semblance 
 of worth, but not the substance, revived the authority of 
 the Romish church, supported the papacy, strengthened 
 every reigning superstition, and, by deep-laid plans of 
 hypocrisy, induced numbers to enrich both the papacy and 
 the monastic foundations. 
 
 A remarkable instance of papal tyranny, exercised 
 through their means in this century, will show the abject 
 slavery and superstition under which this Island groaned. 
 In 1247 Innocent ^V. gave a commission to John the 
 Franciscan, as follows : " We charge you, that if the major 
 part of the English prelates should make answer, that they 
 are exempt from foreign jurisdiction, you demand a greater 
 sum, and compel them, by ecclesiastical censures, to 
 withdraw their appeals, any privilege or indulgence not- 
 withstanding." 
 
 This was the famous " non obstante" clause, by which 
 the pope, in the plenitude of his dominion, assumed to 
 
 * These were also called Jacobins, from their settlement in St. James's- 
 street in Paris. 
 
 t Hist. Abbey of St. Alban's 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 Shameless tyranny of the popes, [Cent. I3« 
 
 himself the same dispensing power in the church, which 
 king James II. did long after in the state. But the punish- 
 ment of the former for his temerity and arrogance followed 
 not so soon as in the case of the latter. For God had put 
 into the hearts of princes and statesmen to fulfil his will, 
 and to agree, and give their kingdom to the beast, until 
 the words of God should be fulfilled.* And thus the 
 wickedness of men in neglecting his Gospel was justly 
 punished. 
 
 So shameless were the popes at this fime in their 
 exactions, and so secure was their hold on the abject 
 superstition of mankind, that they grossly defrauded even 
 the Franciscans themselves, and were not afraid of the 
 consequences. Men, who received not the testimony of 
 Jesus Christ, and refused submission to his easy yoke, 
 were induced to kiss the iron rod of an Italian tyrant. 
 
 Two observations of Matthew Paris, taken from different 
 parts of his history, and compared together, seem to me 
 to illustrate in a good degree the nature of the subjection 
 in which the spirits of men were held in those times. 
 Speaking of the innumerable oppressions and corruptions 
 of the popedom, which particularly prevailed during the 
 long reign of king Henry III., the pusillanimous successor 
 of king John, he breaks out into an animated apostrophe 
 to the pope : — Holy father, why do you permit such 
 disorders ? you deserve the hardships you undergo : you 
 deserve to wander like Cain through the earth. — I would 
 know what preferment an Englishman ever obtains in 
 Italy ? What just reason can possibly be assigned, why 
 foreigners should prey on the revenues of our church ? — 
 Our sins have brought these calamities upon us.*'t The 
 historian alludes to the residence of Innocent IV. at Lyons, 
 where he was obliged to hide himself from the factions, 
 which had expelled him from Italy at that time. I observe 
 also, that this is that same pope, who gave the imperious 
 commission to John the Franciscan, mentioned above, 
 which commission also was dated from Lyons. If the 
 reader lay all these circumstances together, the unex- 
 ampled tyranny of the papal measures, the shameless 
 violation of every principle of equity and decorum in the 
 conduct of the Italian legates and agents, the strong in- 
 dignation expressed against these things by such learned 
 men as Matthew Paris, and even the open opposition 
 * Rev. xvii. 17. j" Collier's Ecc. vol. i. 
 
False reliefs for guilty consciences, 5 
 
 made to the pope in those times, he may be disposed to 
 wonder why the Roman hierarchy was not destroyed by a 
 combination of princes and states. If this be a difficulty, 
 the consideration of another passage of Matthew Paris 
 will sufficiently explain it. Though he himself has given 
 us accounts of the enormities of king John, who is repre- 
 sented as being one of the worst of princes, and one of the 
 worst of men, yet he observes, *' We ought to hope, and 
 most assuredly to trust, that some good works, which he 
 did in this life, will plead for him before the tribunal of 
 Jesus Christ. For he built one abbey, and dying be- 
 queathed a sum of money to another.*' So grossly ig- 
 norant was this ingenious and valuable historian, of the 
 all-important article of justification by the merit of Jesus 
 Christ alone, through faith ! It was the revival of this 
 truth which subverted the foundation of the Roman 
 religion at the time of the Reformation. For while men 
 allow themselves to doubt of the sufficiency of Christ 
 as a Saviour, when the conscience is harassed with doubts 
 or perplexities, it will naturally betake itself to any super- 
 stitions which happen to prevail, in order to pacify the 
 mind. And the popedom held out, by monastic institutions 
 and a variety of other means, such a quantity of false 
 reliefs to a guilty conscience, that even king John might 
 seem to merit the kingdom of heaven by certain good 
 works. M. Paris himself was entangled in the same nets 
 of Pharisaical religion. So were the greater part of man- 
 kind throughout Europe at that time. We may see, 
 however, that the Waldenses could find peace and relief of 
 conscience, and the expectation of heaven through Jesus 
 Christ alone, by faith ; and hence, were enabled to despise 
 the whole popedom with all its appendages ; while others, 
 who trembled in conscience for their sins, and knew not 
 the holy wisdom of resting on Christ alone for salvation, 
 might swell with indignation at the wickedness of the 
 court of Rome, yet not dare to emancipate themselves 
 from its bonds. It has been said by those who are willing 
 to palliate the Romish abominations, that such a power as 
 that of the pope was necessary at that time, to tame the 
 ferocious spirits of men ; and that the power of the pope 
 preserved some order in society.* It may be allowed that 
 
 • On the contrary, it was the cause of wars and tumults — it continually 
 dissolved all bonds and treaties, and never enforced them without rea/Iif 
 inflicting a deeper wound upon society. — Ed, 
 B 3 
 
6 
 
 Crusades and penances [Cent. 13. 
 
 it might unite, but it united in iniquity. Men were held 
 by it in the bonds of superstition, and were even en- 
 couraged to live in wickedness, by false hopes of heaven 
 Such hopes did not sanctify but corrupted their minds : 
 whereas the faith of Christ at once gives peace to the 
 conscience, and leads it to true holiness. 
 
 To do justice to the real protestant character it ought 
 to be known, that the idolatry, the encouragement of sin, 
 and the self-righteous superstitions, subversive of the real 
 merit of Christ, and the grace of the Gospel, were not less 
 flagrant in the popedom than they have been represented, 
 and were understood to be by our fathers. Therefore, 
 against some modern attempts to give a specious colour to 
 the Roman abominations, it may be proper, in addition to 
 what has already been stated, to give two authentic facts, 
 which will not need much comment. 
 
 In the year 1234, Pope Gregory IX., willing to revive 
 the cause of the eastern crusades, which, through a series 
 of disastrous events, was now much on the decline ; and 
 feeling the connection between this cause and the credit of 
 the popedom; by a bull directed to all Christendom invited 
 men to assume the cross, and proceed to the Holy Land. 
 " Notwithstanding," says he, " the ingratitude of Chris- 
 tians, the goodness of God is not withdrawn from them. 
 His * providence is still actively engaged to promote the 
 happiness of mankind ; his remedies suit their temper ; 
 his prescriptions are proportioned to their disease. — The 
 service to which they are now invited is an effectual 
 ATONEMENT for the miscarriagcs of a negligent life : the 
 discipline of a regular penance would have discouraged 
 many offenders so much, that they would have had no 
 heart to venture upon it ; but the Holy War is a com- 
 pendious method of discharging men from guilt, and 
 restoring them to the Divine favour. Even if they die on 
 their march, the intention will be taken for the deed, and 
 many in this way may be crowned without fighting." 
 
 Veracity, which is the capital quality of a real historian, 
 requires me to bear witness to the strict truth of the 
 representations of Romish evils, in the times in which 
 they really did prevail. In opposition, therefore, to the 
 glosses of those, who seem to maintain, that papal in- 
 dulgences had no connection with men's eternal state, but 
 related only to their ecclesiastical privileges in this life, 
 * Collier's Ecc. vol. i. 
 
of Gregory IX, 
 
 7 
 
 let it be submitted to the reader, whether every person 
 who reads the ball of Gregory IX., must not have under- 
 stood, that he pretended in the name of God to absolve the 
 crusaders from real guilt, and to ensure to them the king- 
 dom of heaven : whether he did not in effect oppose the 
 doctrine of the atonement of Christ, and teach men to 
 ground their justification from God, in contempt of that 
 atonement, on the merit of the performance of the military 
 service, which he enjoined. It is easy to multiply futile 
 distinctions ; but to what purpose are they introduced at 
 all, when the obvious practical sense of the bull could 
 only be that which I have mentioned, when it was so 
 understood, and when it induced men to act with such 
 hopes and views as have been stated ? 
 
 Indeed, while severe penances had been in repute, and 
 men were in the habit of submitting to undergo them, the 
 atonement of Christ had long been rendered in effect 
 insignificant ; and self-righteous prospects of the Divine 
 favour had been encouraged throughout the Christian 
 world. But the evil was now multiplied exceedingly. The 
 additional doctrine of commutation for penances, while it 
 removed the mind still farther from the faith of Christ, 
 and fixed its dependence more strongly on the popedom, 
 opened the floodgates of wickedness and vice, taught men 
 to gratify every disposition of corrupt nature, and to believe 
 such gratifications consistent with a prospect of gaining 
 the Divine favour. It is then to no purpose for men to 
 declaim with Matthew Paris against the corruptions of this 
 or that pope, while with him they maintain the self- 
 righteous principle of popery itself. Evils of the worst 
 kind must prevail, while we think ourselves capable of 
 making atonement for our sins by any kind of works 
 whatever. Let us learn the true humility and the genuine 
 faith of the Gospel, which works by the love of God and 
 man ; and then the practical evils will vanish for want of 
 a foundation. Protestants will always have a strong 
 temptation to embrace some self-righteous notions, as 
 those of Popery or Socinianism, or perhaps they may 
 ultimately have recourse to Atheism itself, when they 
 neglect the real peculiarity of Christianity. These con- 
 siderations merit a very serious attention ; they evince the 
 importance of the Reformation, and illustrate the nature 
 of its fundamental principles. 
 
 The other fact, which demonstrates the genuine charac- 
 
8 John Maryns, — The doctrine of grace of congruity, 
 
 ter of the reli^^ion which predominated in Europe, I have 
 extracted from a work lately published.* John Maryns 
 was abbot of St. Alban's about the end of the thirteenth 
 century, whose dyini^ words are recorded to have been to 
 this effect: " O holy Alban, whom I have loved and 
 addressed as my best aid ! as I have existed and lived by 
 thy help, so, O glorious Saint ! defend me from the pains 
 of hell." Who this same Alban was, or whether he ever 
 existed at all, are questions not easily answered, nor is it 
 material to our purpose to inquire whether he was a real 
 or a fictitious saint ; but it is evident that John Maryns, 
 by a solemn act of worship, placed the same confidence in 
 him, which Stephen did in Jesus Christ, when he com- 
 mitted his departing spirit into his hands. The distinc- 
 tions, it seems, insisted on by the Papists, between the 
 higher and inferior kinds of worship, are futile evasions. 
 Serious worshippers of their communion practically op- 
 posed the fundamental maxim of Christianity, ** There is 
 one God, and one Mediator between God and man."t 
 The devotions of Maryns were those then in fashion. The 
 idolatry of the Romish communion is evident ; and, when 
 the reader refers to the doctrines of the Waldenses, and to 
 their writings, he will see how far their representations of 
 Anti-Christ are founded in fact. 
 
 That the ecclesiastical powers in these miserable times 
 were not at all inclined to promote piety and virtue among 
 their subjects, but that they studied chiefly their secular 
 emoluments, appears from numberless evidences in this 
 century. Let it suffice in this place to mention two. 
 First, the Franciscans and Dominicans were employed in 
 enlisting men into the service of the crusades by Gregory 
 IX., the author of the impious bull mentioned above. They 
 engaged in the business with much ardour : and as it often 
 happened that persons, who in the warmth of zeal had 
 taken the Cross, repented afterwards, when they began to 
 think seriously of the difficulties of the enterprise, these 
 friars were employed to release such devotees from their 
 vows, on the payment of a fine. It may easily be con- 
 ceived, that much wealth would be amassed by this dis- 
 pensing power. J Secondly, in 1242 Innocent IV. sent a 
 provisional bull to king Henry III. of England, which 
 informed him, that if he should happen to lay violent 
 
 ♦ History of the Abbey of Saint Alban's, by Newconnbe, p. 203. 
 t I Tim. ii. 5. J Collier, vol. i. 
 
Neglect of the Scriptures. 
 
 9 
 
 hands on an ecclesiastic, and to fall under the censure of 
 the canons, he might be absolved on submitting to the 
 customary penance!* 
 
 At this time, during" the prevalence of the Aristotelian 
 philosophy, the doctrine of " grace of congruity" was in 
 high repute : in other words, justification by men's own 
 works was insisted on : and while some decent show of 
 respect was paid in words to the merits of Christ, the real 
 meritorious objects, on which men were taught to place 
 their hope, were some performances, by which they might, 
 in a lower sense, deserve grace, and purchase the 
 application of it to themselves. t Thus, a religion pre- • 
 vailed, which accommodated all sorts of sinners. Those 
 of a more decent cast were taught to expect the Divine 
 favour by their own works, which deserved grace of con- 
 gruity ; and the most scandalous transgressors, by the 
 doctrine of commutation for offences, might still obtain 
 forgiveness : the exercise of munificence towards the 
 hierarchy was sure to cover all crimes ; but the humble 
 and the contrite alone, who felt what sin is, and sighed for 
 a remedy, found no relief to consciences, which could not 
 admit the delusive refreshments provided by the papacy. 
 These, either mourned in secret, and poured out their souls 
 to that God, who says to his creatures, Seek and ye shall 
 find," or if they united themselves in a body of faithful 
 people, maintained the character of those " of whom the 
 world was not worthy,'' and suffered the extremities of 
 persecution, under the name of Waldenses. 
 
 The Scripture in all this time was neglected : the know- 
 ledge of the Hebrew tongue was in a great measure lost ; 
 and, as if the prince of darkness, through the medium of 
 ignorance and superstition, had not sufficiently blinded the 
 minds of men in relis^ious concerns, even the learnina: 
 itself, which was reviving, became a powerful instrument 
 of augmenting the general obscurity. For the schoolmen, 
 admitting no first principles, reasoned or argued on every 
 subject, and thus involved every religious notion in 
 sceptical intricacy. The word of God was not appealed 
 
 * Collier, vol. i. 
 
 f The doctrine of grace of congruity appears to be, " If men by the 
 light of nature, and their own good-will, do their best, It makes them fit 
 to receive and impart supernatural grace ; and though this previous work 
 cannot of itself merit eternal life, yet it meritt graccj which will enable 
 us to perform such works." — Ed, 
 
10 
 
 The eastern churches, — The Turks, [Cent. 13v 
 
 to, but Aristotle and the fathers were considered as de- 
 cisive.* 
 
 That sophistical kind of learning, which Roger Bacon 
 censured, was thriving throughout all this period. And in 
 1252 the college of divines at Paris, called Sorbonne, was 
 erected by Robert De Sorbonne, a particular friend of 
 Lewis IX.f 
 
 With what difficulties men, who truly feared God in 
 Europe at that day, had to grapple in working out their 
 salvation, is abundantly evident from this review. Not 
 even nobility of rank could secure such persons from the 
 horrors of persecution. Some noblemen in Alsace had 
 dared to reprehend the conduct of Innocent III., par- 
 ticularly his imposition of celibacy on the clergy. The 
 bishops of that country had influence enough to oppress 
 those who did so ; and, in one day, they committed to the 
 flames a hundred of them or their associates. Individuals, 
 however, there doubtless were, who, having no opportunity 
 of Christian fellowship, worshipped God in secret, and 
 found that Unction from the Holy One which teach- 
 
 ETH ALL things. J 
 
 Of the Eastern Churches scarcely any thing worthy of 
 relation occurs : yet it may be proper to mention, that in 
 the year 1299, Othman, in the East, was proclaimed 
 Sultan, and founded a new Empire. The people after- 
 wards, as well as the Emperor, were called after his name. 
 The mixed multitude of which this people was composed, 
 were the remains of four Sultanies which had for some 
 time subsisted in the neighbourhood of the river Eu- 
 phrates. Thus, the four angels, which were bound in 
 Euphrates, were loosed, and under the name of Turks 
 succeeded the Saracens both in the propagation of Ma- 
 hometanism, and in diffusing the horrors of war.§ Pro- 
 vidence had destined them to scourge the people of 
 Europe for their idolatry and flagitiousness ; and Europe 
 still repented not. But the Divine prophecies were ful 
 filled — and " he may run that readeth." 
 
 * Preface to 13 Cent. Magdebiirgh. 
 
 f Mosheim, 13 Cent. Par. ii. cap. i. sect. iii. % 1 John ii, 20, 27 
 
 § Rev. ix. — Newton, vol. iii. Prophecies, p. 116. 
 
Prussia — A rseniiis. 
 
 11 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 AUTHORS AND EMINENT PERSONS IN THIS CENTURY. 
 
 On the subject of the propagation of the Gospel, scarcely 
 any thing occurs in this age. The godly spirit of mission- 
 aries, which had been the glory of the declining Church, 
 was by this time exhausted ; so extensively had the papal 
 corruptions prevailed. The only accession to the Christian 
 name in Europe seems to have been the conversion, as it 
 is called, of the Prussians, Lithuanians, and some ad- 
 joining Provinces. 
 
 Prussia was one of the last regions of the North which 
 bowed under the yoke of the popedom. The ignorance, 
 brutality, and ferocity of the inhabitants, were uncommonly 
 great. The Teutonic knights, after they had lost their posses- 
 sions in Palestine, took the cross against the Prussians, and, 
 after a long and bloody war, forced them to receive the 
 name of Christ; but I know no evidences of piety, either 
 in the missionaries or in the proselytes. The destruction, 
 however, of the old idolatry, and the introduction of 
 something of Christianity, would eventually, at least, prove 
 a blessing to this people. 
 
 Arsenius, bishop of Constantinople, will deserve a place 
 in these memoirs. After that Constantinople was taken 
 by the French and Venetians, the seat of the Greek em- 
 pire had been transferred to Nice, in Bithynia, of which 
 metropolis, under the reign of Theodorus Lascaris, Arse- 
 nius was appointed bishop. He was renowned for piety 
 and simplicity, and had lived a monastic life near Apol- 
 lonia. Theodorus, a little before his death, constituted 
 him one of the guardians of his son John, an infant in the 
 sixth year of his age. But the integrity and virtue of the 
 bishop were no security against the ambition and perfidy 
 of the times. Michael Palaeologus usurped the sove- 
 reignty; and Arsenius at length, with reluctance, over- 
 powered by the influence of the nobility, consented to 
 place the diadem on his head, with this express condition, 
 that he should resign the empire to the royal infant when 
 he should come to maturity. ^ 
 
 Arsenius, after he had made this concession, had the 
 mortification to find his pupil treated \yith perfect disre- 
 gard ; and, probably, repenting of what he had done, he 
 
1:2 
 
 Arsenhis, 
 
 retired from his see to a monastery. Some time aftei by 
 a sudden revolution, Palaeologus recovered Constantinople 
 from the Latins ; but amidst all his successes, he found it 
 necessary to his reputation to recall the bishop, and he 
 fixed him in the metropolitan see. So great was the 
 ascendency of the character of a virtuous prelate over the 
 politics of an unprincipled usurper, though covered with 
 secular glory ! Palaeologus, however, still dreaded the 
 youth, whom he had so deeply injured, and to prevent him 
 from recovering the throne, he had recourse to the bar- 
 barous policy of putting out his eyes. Arsenius hearing 
 this, excommunicated the emperor, who then made some 
 pretences of repentance. But the bishop refused to admit 
 him into the church ; and Palaeologus had the baseness to 
 accuse him of certain crimes before an assembly of priests. 
 Arsenius was convened before the venal assembly, con- 
 demned, and banished to a small island of the Propontis. 
 But, conscious of his integrity, he bore his sufferings with 
 serenity and composure ; and, requesting that an account 
 might be taken of the treasures of the church, he showed 
 that three pieces of gold, which he had earned by tran- 
 scribing Psalms, were the whole of his property. This same 
 emperor, who had the meanness, by false accusation, to 
 expel Arsenius, still confessed how much wickedness stands 
 in awe of virtue, by soliciting him to repeal his ecclesias- 
 tical censures. The deprived prelate, however, who never 
 had been fond of sacerdotal dignity, remained content with 
 his obscurity, and, to his last breath, refused the request 
 of the usurper, who still retained the wages of his 
 iniquity.* 
 
 Gibbon relates this story with no material variation 
 from the account which I have given. But, in his usual 
 manner, he ridicules and scoffs at the virtuous patriarch, 
 and ascribes his profession of disinterestedness to sullen- 
 ness and vain-glory. How must an ecclesiastic conduct 
 himself, in order to procure the approbation of such his- 
 torians ? If the Christian hero before us (for he seems to 
 have truly feared God) had flattered and gratified the 
 usurper in all his desires and demands, we should then 
 have heard of his hypocrisy and ambition. Now that he 
 voluntarily descends from a state of grandeur, to poverty, 
 disgrace, and exile, for the sake of a good conscience, he 
 must be suspected of sullenness and pride. But by their 
 » Cent. Madg. 401. Nicephones. 
 
John Scot. — Seval.— William de St. Amour. 13 
 
 fruits men are to be known ; and, by them, so far as 
 they appear in this case, we may form a judgment of 
 Arsenius, of Palaeologus, and of infidels. 
 
 We have given an instance of a bishop, in the East, 
 who feared God. Let us now behold a similar instance 
 of uprightness in the West. John Scot, bishop of Dun- 
 keld, died in the year 1202. He was an Englishman, who 
 had been archdeacon of St. Andrew's, and thence was 
 preferred to the see.* He was conspicuous in that cor- 
 rupt age for pastoral vigilance and a conscientious con- 
 duct. The county of Argyle was part of his diocese, and, 
 in that county, the people understood only the Irish 
 tongue. Scot, unwilling to receive emoluments from a 
 people whose souls he could not edify, wrote to Pope 
 Clement III., desiring him to constitute Argyle a separate 
 see, and to confer the bishopric on Evaldus his chaplain, 
 who was well qualified for the purpose, and couki speak 
 Irish. " How," says he, " can I give a comfortable ac- 
 count to the Judge of the world at the last day, if I pre- 
 tend to teach those who cannot understand me? The 
 revenues suffice for two bishops, if we are content with a 
 competency, and are not prodigal of the patrimony of 
 Christ. It is better to lessen the charge, and increase the 
 number of labourers in the Lord's vineyard." His whole 
 request was granted ; but the election appears not to have 
 been made till the year 1200. Clement the Third died in 
 1191. Sentiments such as these would have done honour 
 to the purest ages. 
 
 Great Britain furnishes us with a similar instance. 
 Seval, archbishop of York, wrote to pope Alexander IV., 
 c*gainst his violent and oppressive conduct, and exhorted 
 him to follow Peter, — to feed, not to devour, the sheep of 
 Christ. The particular occasion of this letter was, that 
 the pope had intruded a person named Jordan into the 
 deanery of York.f The opposition of Seval enraged 
 the pope, who, on some pretence, excommunicated him: 
 he still however persisted, and withstood the intrusion of 
 unworthy clergymen. The Romanists harassed him with 
 their utmost malevolence ; but he was honoured by the 
 people. He died in 1258, in the fourth year of his arch- 
 bishopric, of which he seems to have kept possession till 
 his decease. 
 
 William de St. Amour, doctor of the Sorbonne, was a 
 
 • Collier, vol. i. p. 411. f Cent. Magd. xiii. p. 550. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 22. c 
 
14 
 
 The mendicant orders. [Cent. 13. 
 
 professor of divinity in the university of Paris. He had 
 his name from St. Amour in Franche Compte, the place 
 of his nativity. The mendicant orders seldom met with a 
 more vigorous and able adversary. The Dominicans in 
 particular seemed desirous to enj^ross all the power and 
 influence of the university to themselves, while the doc- 
 tors, resisting their unjust encroachments, excluded them 
 from their society. In the year 1255, the debate was 
 brought before pope Alexander IV., who, with intolerable 
 arrogance, ordered the university not only to restore the 
 Dominicans to their former station, but also to grant them 
 as many professorships as they should require.* Thus the 
 friars not only intruded themselves into the dioceses and 
 churches of the bishops and clergy, and, by the sale of 
 indulgences and a variety of scandalous exactions, per- 
 verted whatever of good order and discipline remained in 
 the Church, but also began to domineer over the seminaries 
 of learning. And in all this, as the pope was the prin- 
 cipal leader, a despotism of the very worst nature was 
 growing stronger and stronger in Christendom. The doc- 
 tors of the university of Paris now loudly joined in the cry 
 of the secular clergy against the invasions of the mendi- 
 cants ; and indeed the papal power at this time ruled with 
 absolute dominion. No pastor of a church could main- 
 tain any due authority over the laity, if a Franciscan or 
 Dominican appeared in his parish to sell indulgences, and 
 to receive confessions ; and the most learned body of men 
 at that time in Europe were now subject to the govern- 
 ment of those agents of the popedom. The magistrates 
 of Paris, at first, were disj)osed to protect the university : 
 but the terror of the papal edicts reduced them at length 
 to silence ; and not only the Dominicans, but also the 
 Franciscans, assumed whatever power they pleased in that 
 famous seminary, and knew no other restrictions, except 
 what the Roman tyrant imposed upon them. 
 
 St. Amour wrote several treatises against the mendicant 
 orders, and particularly a book published in the year 1255, 
 concerning the perils of the latter days. Persuaded as he 
 was that St. Paul's prophecy of the latter timesf was ful- 
 filling in the abominations of the friars, he laid down 
 
 * In this brief account of St. Amour, I have endeavoured to give 
 the substance of the i'nformation contained in the Centuriators, in 
 Dn Pin, Mosheim, and Fox the martyrologist. 
 
 f 2 Tim. iii. 1. 
 
k, D. 1209.] Francis of Assisium. lb 
 
 thirty-nine marks of false teachers. He might have re- 
 duced them to a much smaller number; for, unavoidably, 
 many of his marks will involve and imply one another. 
 
 A few years before the unrighteous decision of the pope 
 in favour of the friars, a fanatical book, under the title of 
 " Introduction to the Everlasting Gospel,'' was published 
 by a F/anciscan, which, by exalting Francis above Jesus 
 Christ, and arrogating to his order the glory of reforming 
 mankind by a new Gospel substituted in the room of that 
 of Christ, attempted to exalt that mendicant tribe to the 
 height of divine estimation in the eyes of mankind. The 
 universal ferment excited by this impious book, obliged 
 Alexander IV. to suppress it in the year 1255, and he 
 ordered it to be burnt in secret, v/illing to spare the repu- 
 tation of the mendicants. But the university of Paris, 
 which, in the same year, received that grievous injury 
 from the pontiif, which has been mentioned, insisted upon 
 a public condemnation of the book, and Alexander, mighty 
 as he was in power, was constrained, for once, to give 
 way to the feelings of mankind ; and he publicly com- 
 mitted the Franciscan's performance to the flames. The 
 next year, however, he revenged himself on St. Amour, by 
 ordering his book on the Perils of the Latter Days, to 
 be also committed to the flames, and by banishing him 
 out of France. The persecuted champion retired into 
 Tranche Compte, the place of his birth; but, under the 
 pontificate of Clement IV., he returned to the metropolis, 
 wrote against the abuses of popery with persevering* 
 ardour, and died esteemed and regretted by all in the 
 Roman church who retained any regard for Christian 
 truth and piety. 
 
 Francis of Assisium, founder of the Minor Friars, was 
 doubtless an extraordinary character. He was born at 
 Assisium, in the ecclesiastical state, and was disinherited 
 by his father, who was disgusted at his enthusiasm. In 
 1209,* he founded his order, which was but too successful 
 in the world. His practices of devotion were monstrous, 
 and he seems ever to have been the prey of a whimsical 
 imagination. Pride and deceit are not uncommonly con- 
 nected with a temper like his, and he gave a memorable 
 instance of both. It is certain that he was impressed with 
 five wounds on his body, resembling the wounds of Christ 
 crucified. It is certain also, that he pretended to have 
 ♦ Alban Butler, 
 c 2 
 
16 
 
 Dominic. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 received the impression as a miraculous favour from 
 heaven. To describe the particulars of such a story 
 would be unworthy of an historian of the Church of 
 Christ. Let it suffice to have mentioned in general what 
 is authentic, whence the reader may form some notion of 
 the truth of St. Paul's prediction, concerning" the man 
 whose coming was to be after the working" of Satan with 
 lying wonders.* The papacy indeed was full of such fig- 
 ments at this time. Francis sought for glory among men 
 by his follies and absurdities, and he found the genius of 
 the age so adapted to his own, that he gained immense 
 admiration and applause. He died in 1226, in the 
 forty-fifth year of his age.f Posterity saw his order 
 splendid in secular greatness, though under the mask of 
 poverty ; and we have already referred to the dreams of one 
 of his disciples, who was no mean imitator of his master.^ 
 The serious and intelligent follower of Jesus will not be 
 staggered at such disgusting counterfeits of Christian 
 virtue. He will recognise in them the hand of Satan 
 deluding, with fictitious holiness, men who had despised 
 that holiness which was genuine. And thus they, who 
 believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, 
 were justly given over to diabolical infatuations.§ No- 
 thing has happened but according to scriptural revelation ; 
 and the duty of humbly and seriously attending to the divine 
 oracles, as our true wisdom and felicity, is made evident. 
 
 Let us dwell a moment on his contemporary, Dominic, 
 the founder of the Dominicans. He was a Spaniard, born 
 in the year 1170. In fictitious miracles and monstrous 
 austerities, he resembled Francis. Ii We have seen how 
 he persecuted the Waldenses. Butler observes, that he 
 had no hand in the cruelties of the crusades, and 
 asserts, that he was not connected with the inquisition ; 
 though he owns that the project of this court was first 
 formed in a council of Toulouse in 1229, and that in 
 1233 two Dominican friars were the first inquisitors. 
 Let us exercise as much candour as possible on a subject 
 which is controverted, and admit with a learned histo- 
 rian,^ that Dominic was an inquisitor, but not in the 
 
 * 2 Thess. ii. 9. f Alban Butler, vol. x. Cave, vol. i. p. 704. 
 i Viz. The author of Introduction to the Everlasting Gospel." 
 See the bottom of page 14. 
 
 ^ 2 Thess. ii. II Butler, vol. viii. 
 
 i Mosheim, vol. i. p. G98. 
 
The Rosary, — Mechanical devotion. 
 
 17 
 
 modern and most offensive sense of the word. Let it be 
 remembered, however, that equal candour is due to the 
 Waldenses, whom the learned Roman Catholic, to whose 
 industry I am repeatedly obliged, falsely describes, from 
 Le Gendres history of France, as a combination of shock- 
 ing^ banditti, and whom he accuses of holding the unlaw- 
 fulness of oaths, and of putting men to death. These 
 charges are sufficiently confuted by what we find set 
 forth in their own writings. The biographer, who 
 found it so very easy to acquit Dominic, should not have 
 condemned the Waldenses on such erroneous inform- 
 ation ! 
 
 Butler also commends the piety of Simon Montfort, the 
 persecutor of the Albigenses, and the father of the famous 
 malcontent, earl of Leicester, who flourished in the reign 
 of king Henry III. ! And though he condemns the bar- 
 barities of the crusades, he falsely represents the Wal- 
 denses as the enemies of public peace and the laws of 
 civil society ! In this the learned author speaks against 
 the concurrent testimony of the princes under whom they 
 lived, and who owned them to be the best of subjects. 
 
 To return to Dominic. He seems to have shown no one 
 evidence of genuine humility, or of evangelical piety. In 
 religious pride he lived ; and, it is to be feared, he died in 
 the same temper, and in the greatest ignorance ; for in his 
 last hours he promised his brethren, that he would never 
 forget them when he was gone to God. If persons, who 
 inquire into the nature of true religion, examined with 
 more precision the true marks of pride on the one hand, 
 and of humility on the other, they would not be so easily 
 imposed on by false pretensions. 
 
 This same Dominic constituted the Rosary, or the 
 Psalter of the Virgin Mary. To illustrate this subject, 
 which, though egregiously trifling in its own nature, de- 
 serves a few moments' consideration, as tending to give a 
 just view of the religious taste then in fashion, it is to be 
 observed, that the old Anchorets counted the number of 
 their prayers by grains, or similar marks.* Those who 
 could not read, nor recite the Psalter by heart, supplied 
 that deficiency by repeating the Lord's prayer. And thus 
 illiterate persons, at canonical hours, performed devotions 
 corresponding to those of the Psalter recited by the clergy 
 and others ; and they were taught, no doubt, that their 
 * Butler, vol. x. 
 Q 3 
 
18 
 
 Lewis IX. 
 
 [Cent. 13 
 
 simple performances would be equally meritorious with 
 the religious exercises of the more learned. On these 
 principles Pater-nosters were counted by the studs of the 
 belts ; and Peter the hermit, famous for promoting the first 
 crusades, instructed the illiterate laity to say a number of 
 Pater-nosters and Ave Mary's in lieu of each canonical 
 hour of the church offices. And thus, I imagine, he 
 attempted to qualify his enthusiastic crusaders for the 
 kingdom of heaven. But to Dominic the glory of com- 
 pleting the scheme of mechanical devotion belongs. He 
 directed men to recite fifteen decads of Hail Mary, &c., 
 and one Pater-noster before each decad. Thus men were 
 taught to repeat a hundred and fifty times the angel's 
 salutation of the Virgin, interlarded with a number of 
 Pater-nosters, and to believe that this practice would be 
 as acceptable to God, and as beneficial to themselves, as 
 the recital of the hundred and fifty psalms. I suppose 
 very zealous devotees would go through all this work at 
 one time : perhaps others, less laborious, might perform 
 it at successive intervals. — But is this the spirit of grace 
 AND SUPPLICATIONS* promised to the Christian Church? 
 Is this the spirit of adoption, whereby men cry Abba, 
 Father? What is it but the spirit of bondage and miser- 
 able superstition, the religion of the lips, a self-righteous 
 drudgery of so much devotional work, with a view to 
 PURCHASE the remission of sins, and to ease the consci- 
 ences of men, who lived without either understanding the 
 doctrines, or practising the precepts of Scripture ? We 
 may observe hence, with how much propriety the Wal- 
 denses taught men the true nature of prayer ; and what a 
 dreadful vacuum of all true piety was now the portion of 
 nominal Christians, who had departed from the grace of 
 Christ Jesus ! 
 
 So powerful, however, is the genuine operation of the 
 Divine Spirit, that it can purify a humble soul by faith in 
 Christ, and exhibit a brief assemblage of Christian virtues, 
 even in the gulf of superstition. This seems to have been 
 the case with a great personage of this century, whose 
 character deserves illustration. This was Louis IX., com- 
 monly called St. Lewis, the son of Lewis VHI., who in- 
 vaded England in the reign of King John. His mother 
 Blanche brought him up with religious care.f " I love 
 you, my son,*' said she, with all the tenderness of which 
 * Zech. xii. 10. t Alban Butler, vol. viii. 
 
His piety and uprightness. 
 
 19 
 
 a mother is capable; but I would infinitely rather see 
 you fall dead at my feet, than that you should commit a 
 mortal sin." Lewis felt the daily impression of this thought 
 on his mind. In his minority, Blanche completed the 
 reduction of the Albigenses, a dreadful work, which has 
 already engaged our painful attention. How far Blanche 
 herself might be imposed on by the slanders so copiously 
 poured on the supposed heretics, it is not easy to 
 say. As to Lewis, however, a minor, it may fairly be 
 presumed that he understood not the merits of the cause. 
 As he grew up, his devotional spirit appeared strong and 
 fervent ; he often invited men of a religious character to 
 his table 5 and, when some objected to him, that he spent 
 too much time at his devotions, he answered, " If that 
 time were spent in hunting and gaming, I should not be 
 so rigorously called to account for the employment of my 
 vacant hours." He lived a life of self-denial : he banished 
 from the court all diversions prejudicial to morals. No 
 man, who broke the rules of decorum in conversation, 
 could find admission into his presence. He frequently 
 retired for the purpose of secret prayer. So comprehen- 
 sive were the powers of his understanding, and so well 
 qualified was he to excel in a variety of employments, that 
 he, personally, administered justice to his subjects with 
 the greatest attention and impartiality. The effect was 
 long remembered after his decease; and those who were 
 dissatisfied with the judicial processes of their own times, 
 with a sigh expressed their wish that justice might be ad- 
 ministered as in the days of St. Lewis. Those, who were 
 guilty of blasphemy, were, by his own order, marked on 
 the lips, some say on the forehead, with a hot iron. A 
 rich citizen of Paris was punished in this manner ; and 
 Lewis silenced the complaints of those who murmured at 
 his severity, by observing, that he would rather suffer 
 punishment himself, than omit to inflict it on trans- 
 gressors. 
 
 Uprightness and integrity have seldom more strongly 
 marked the character of any prince than they did that of 
 Lewis. He suffered not the nobles to oppress their vas- 
 sals ; and the exercise of sovereign power was in his 
 hands a blessing to mankind. A nobleman had hanged 
 three children for hunting rabbits : Lewis having investi- 
 gated the fact, condemned him to capital punishment ; a 
 rare instance of the love of justice breaking through jthe 
 
20 
 
 Lewis IX, 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 forms of aristocratical oppression, which, at that time, 
 domineered through Europe ! It was not to be supposed 
 that the feudal lords would, without emotion, hear of a 
 sentence so seldom pronounced on an offender of such 
 rank. They earnestly interceded for the nobleman's life ; 
 and Lewis was so far prevailed on by the maxims of the 
 times as to mitigate the penalty. He, however, deprived 
 the cruel oppressor of the greatest part of his estate. 
 
 Truth and sincerity seem to have pervaded the soul of 
 Lewis. In all treaties and negotiations he was conscien- 
 tiously exact ; and foreign states frequently referred mat- 
 ters of dispute to his arbitration. 
 
 With great pleasure I dwell a little on a character so 
 excellent. I confess, the superstition of the times had 
 deeply tinctured Lewis ; and it is to be regretted, that his 
 eminent station gave him not that access to the Protest- 
 ants of his own dominions, who, in those days, adorned 
 the real Gospel of Christ, which might*, under God, have 
 emancipated his soul from papal bondage, and enabled 
 him to shine with a salutary light among the very best of 
 Christian princes. 
 
 The weak and distracted government of our king, 
 Henry III., gave to Lewis frequent occasions of exer- 
 cising that secular chicane, and that spirit of artful in- 
 trigue, in which mere statesmen abound. The English 
 were divided among themselves, and Henry held the 
 balance of power among them with a tremulous hand. 
 But Lewis took no advantage of their divisions, nor 
 attempted to expel them from their provinces, which they 
 stdl held in France. John, the father of Henry, by a 
 sentence of attainder, seconded by the arms of Philip 
 Augustus, the grandfather of Lewis, had been deprived 
 of Normandy, and some other provinces in France. 
 Lewis had scruples of conscience that affected his mind, 
 in regard to the detention of those provinces, which had 
 fanlen to him by way of inheritance. He never interposed 
 in English affairs, but with an intention to compose the 
 differences between the king and his nobility; he recom- 
 mended every healing- measure to both parties; and ex- 
 erted himself with all his might, to bring to a sense of his 
 d ty the earl of Leicester, that same enterprising rebel, 
 who, after a series of splendid crimes, was, at last, de- 
 feated and slain by Edward, prince of Wales, the son of 
 k'ng Henry. He made a treaty with England at a time 
 
A,D. 1244.] He ev gages in the crusades. 
 
 21 
 
 when the affairs of the kingdom were at the lowest ebb: 
 but took less advantage than he might have done of his 
 own superior situation in the terms of the treaty. He 
 made some concessions ; he ensured to Henry the peace- 
 able possession of Guienne ; but required him to cede 
 Normandy, and some other provinces. Afterwards, when 
 by a rare instance of confidence, the king" of England and 
 his barons agreed to refer the settlement of their diff*er- 
 ences to Lewis, that equitable monarch decided in a man- 
 ner which showed his regard both to the prerogatives of 
 the crown and the rights of the people. 
 
 The spirit of the crusades was adapted to the super- 
 stitious habits of Lewis, and he fell into the snare. 
 From this quarter he, who, in other respects, was the 
 father and friend of his people, was unhappily led into a 
 conduct prejudicial to society. Having been brought to 
 the brink of the grave by an illness in 1244, when he was 
 beginning to recover he took the vow of the cross ; and 
 as soon as he was able, raised an army and made an ex- 
 pedition into the Holy Land. Before his departure, he 
 made large restitution for injuries inadvertently committed 
 throughout the kingdom ; he took the most exact care of 
 the morals of his soldiers, so far as he had opportunity 
 and ability; and, in the whole course of his military 
 measures, avoided the unnecessary effusion of blood, by 
 saving the life of every infidel whom he could take pri- 
 soner. It is a deplorable instance of the power of the 
 " god of this world over our fallen race, that a monarch 
 of so much good sense, and of so great virtue and piety, 
 could yet be engaged in a cause so imprudent and chi- 
 merical. Good men, however, will act a consistent part 
 even where they are evidently mistaken in their object. 
 Lewis was still the same man ; and the fear of God was 
 his predominant principle of action. Let civil history 
 relate his military prowess, the efforts of his valour, and 
 the series of his calamities. When he was taken prisoner 
 by the Saracens, and was menaced with death, he behaved 
 with his usual fortitude, and concern for his soldiers. 
 At length, being ransomed, he visited Palestine. Hearing* 
 of the death of his mother, Blanche, he discovered much 
 filial tenderness on the occasion. As he returned to 
 Europe after a disastrous expedition, three sermons were 
 preached every week on board his ship ; and the sailors 
 * 2 Cor. iv. 4 
 
His last advice, to his son. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 and soldiers were catechized and instructed, Lewis bear- 
 ing a part in all the religious offices. He returned to 
 Paris after an absence of almost six years. Here he was 
 visited by our Henry III., to whom he said, ** I think 
 myself more happy that God hath given me patience in 
 sufFering, than if I had conquered the world." We are 
 told, that many Saracens, induced by his piety, received 
 Christian baptism ; and that he sent two monks to preach 
 to the Tartars : — but the vices of nominal Christians were 
 so flagrant as to defeat all these good intentions. 
 
 Devoted as Lewis was to the popedom, he could not 
 but see the enormous ecclesiastical abuses which at that 
 time prevailed. He, therefore, made laws against papal 
 encroachments, and against simony; and prohibited the 
 rapines of the Romish pontiff by an edict, in which he 
 expresses himself to this effect ; " The exactions and heavy 
 impositions of money imposed on our kingdom by the 
 court of Rome, through which our territories are miserably 
 impoverished, we will not suffer to be collected."* Words 
 were no empty sounds with a prince of his steadiness and 
 fortitude ; and, by the vigour and wisdom of his admini- 
 stration, France seems to have been much exempted from 
 that intolerable oppression of the Roman tyrant, under 
 which England at that time groaned. But Lewis under- 
 took a second crusade, laid siege to Tunis on the coast of 
 Africa, and died before that city. On the approach of 
 death, he gave very salutary advice to Philip his eldest 
 son. " Avoid wars," says he, " with Christians, and 
 spare the innocent subjects of your enemy. Discounte- 
 nance blasphemy, games of chance, drunkenness, and 
 impurity. Lay no heavy burdens on your subjects. I 
 pray our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen you in his ser- 
 vice, and always to increase his grace in you ; and I beg 
 that we may together see, praise, and honour him to eter- 
 nity. Suffer patiently ; being persuaded that you deserve 
 much more punishment for your sins; and then tribulation 
 will be your gain. Love and converse with the godly: 
 banish the vicious from your company : delight to hear 
 profitable sermons : wherever you are, permit none, in 
 your presence, to deal in slanderous or indecent conver- 
 sation. Hear the poor with patience : and where your 
 
 • Cent. Magd. xiii. 320. 
 
 Edward 111. and other princes were also compelled, by the rapa- 
 city of the popedom, to issue similar edicts. — Ed. 
 
A. D. 1274.J 
 
 Pope Celestine, 
 
 23 
 
 own interest is concerned, stand for your adversary against 
 yourself, till the truth appear/' As Lewis grew more 
 feeble, he desired no mention whatever to be made to him 
 of temporal things. He prayed with tears for the conver- 
 sion of infidels and sinners ; and besought God, that his 
 army might have a safe retreat, lest, through weakness of 
 the flesh, they should deny Christ. He repeated aloud, 
 " Lord, I will enter into thine house ; I will worship in thy 
 holy temple, and give glory to thy name. Into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit." These were his last words ; and 
 he breathed out his soul in the year 1270, aged fifty-five 
 years. In better times, and with evangelical light, what 
 might not have been expected from such a character ? 
 
 This century saw also a pope of whom it appears 
 right to make some record in this history. Peter Celes- 
 tine was* born in Apulia, about the year 1215, and 
 lived as a hermit in a little cell. He was admitted into 
 holy orders ; but after that, he lived five years in a cave 
 on Mount Morroni near Sulmoni. He w^as molested with 
 internal temptations, which his confessor told him were a 
 stratagem of the enemy, that would not hurt him, if he 
 opposed it. He founded a monastery at Mount Morroni, 
 in 1274. The see of Rome having been vacant two years 
 and three months, Celestine was unanimously chosen pope 
 on account of the fame of his sanctity. The archbishop of 
 Lyons,t presenting him with the instrument of his elec- 
 tion, conjured him to submit to the vocation. Peter, in 
 astonishment, prostrated himself on the ground ; and, 
 after he had continued in prayer a considerable time, he 
 rose up, and fearing to oppose the will of God, he con- 
 sented to his election, and took the name of Celestine V. 
 
 Since the days of the first Gregory, no pope had ever 
 assumed the pontifical dignity with more purity of in- 
 tention. But he had not Gregory's talents for busi- 
 ness and government ; and the Roman see was become 
 more corrupt in the thirteenth than it was in the sixth 
 century. — Celestine soon became sensible of his inca- 
 pacity: he was lost, as in a wilderness. He attempted to 
 reform abuses, to retrench the luxury of the clergy ; to do, 
 in short, what he found totally impracticable. He com- 
 mitted mistakes and exposed himself to the ridicule of the 
 scornful. His conscience was kept on the rack through 
 a variety of scruples, from which he could not extricate 
 * Butler, vol. v. t Vertot's Knights of Malta, vol. ii. 
 
24 
 
 Boniface VIII. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 himself ; and, from his ignorance of the world, and of canon 
 law, he began to think he had done wrong in accepting 
 the office. He spent much of his time in retirement : 
 nor was he easy there, because his conscience told him, 
 that he ought to be discharging his office. Overcome 
 with anxiety, he asked cardinal Cajetan, whether he might 
 not abdicate ? It was answered, yes. Celestine gladly 
 embraced the opportunity of assuming again the character 
 of brother Peter, after he had been distressed with the 
 phantom of dignity for four or five months. He abdi- 
 cated in 1294. The last act of his pontificate was worthy 
 of the sincerity of his character. He made a constitution, 
 that the pontiff might be allowed to abdicate, if he 
 pleased.* — It is remarkable that no pope, since that time, 
 has taken the benefit of this constitution ! 
 
 That same Cajetan, who had, in effect, encouraged his 
 resignation, contrived to be elected his successor, and took 
 the name of Boniface VIII. Though Peter had given the 
 most undoubted proofs of his love of obscurity, and de- 
 sired nothing more than that he might spend the rest of 
 his days in private devotion, yet Boniface, who measured 
 other men by himself, apprehended and imprisoned him, 
 lest he should revoke his resignation. Peter gave such 
 proofs of sincerity as convinced all persons, except Boni- 
 face himself, that nothing was to be dreaded from his 
 ambition. The tyrant sent him into the castle of Fumone, 
 under a guard of soldiers : the old hermit was shut up in 
 a hideous dungeon ; and his rest was interrupted by the 
 gaolers, who nightly disturbed his sleep. These insults 
 and hardships he seems to have borne with Christian 
 patience and meekness. He sent this message to Boni- 
 face, ** I am content ; I desired a cell, and a cell you have 
 given me.'' But ambition is made of sterner stuff 
 than to yield to the suggestions of conscience or huma- 
 nity. In the year 1296, after an imprisonment of ten 
 months, Celestine died of a fever, most probably con- 
 tracted by the unworthy treatment which he received. 
 
 I have now mentioned the principal facts recorded 
 concerning Celestine. There are no memorials of the 
 internal exercises of his mind, but the reader will hope 
 that he may be ranked with those of whom " the world 
 was not worthy.^t After his decease the hypocritical 
 Boniface, and all the cardinals, attended his obsequies a. 
 • Platina. t Heb. xi. 38. 
 
Thomas Aquinas, 
 
 25 
 
 St. Peter's. This is that Boniface, whose crimes disgraced 
 the end of this century, and the beginning of the next : of 
 whom it is said, that he entered the pontificate as a fox, 
 lived as a lion, and died as a dog ; and who, having tor- 
 mented the Christian world for eight years, met, at length, 
 with a punishment, worthy of his crimes, dying in prison 
 under the greatest agonies. This same man also pub- 
 lished a decretal, " that the Roman pontiff ought to be 
 judged by none, though, by his conduct, he drew innu- 
 merable souls with himself to hell I** 
 
 Thomas Aquinas, called " the angelical doctor,'' filled 
 the Christian world in this century with the renown of his 
 name. He was a Dominican, who, by his comments on 
 four books of Peter Lombard, called the master of the 
 sentences, and, particularly, by his expositions of Aris- 
 totle, made himself more famous than most men of that 
 time, on account of his skill in scholastic divinity. His 
 penetration and genius were of the first order; but he 
 excelled in that subtle and abstruse kind of learning 
 only, which was better calculated to strike the imagination, 
 than to improve the understanding. He maintained what 
 is commonly called the doctrine of Freewill, though he 
 largely quoted Augustine, and retailed many of his pious 
 and devotional sentiments. His subtle arguments enabled 
 him to give a specious colour to the absurd doctrine of 
 transubstantiatiouj which in him found a vehement de- 
 fender. The new festival of the body of Christ was, 
 by this divine, adorned with an idolatrous ritual, which 
 strengthened the fashionable superstitions.* He was 
 the great supporter of the doctrine of supererogation, 
 which, at the same time that it established the most per- 
 nicious views of self-righteousness, by leaving the dis- 
 posal of the superfluous treasure of the merits of saints 
 to the discretion of the papal see, acjded one strong link to 
 the chain, which dragged the nations into ecclesiastical 
 slavery. Nor were his voluminous writings much cal- 
 culated to instruct mankind. For he supposed, that what- 
 ever sense any passage of Scripture could possibly admit 
 in grammatical construction, it was the real sense intended 
 
 * 1 have consulted the Centuriators, Mosheim, Du Pin, and But- 
 ler, concerning the tenets and writings of this doctor, and, on the 
 whole, can find but little matter which may properly belong to this 
 history. — A similar observation may be made concerning Bonaven* 
 tura. 
 
 Vol. IV.~No. 22. 
 
26 
 
 Bonaven tura. — Purgatory . 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 by the Holy Spirit : whence the imaginations of every 
 sportive genius were regarded as of divine authority. And 
 thus the Scriptures were perverted and exposed to the 
 ridicule of profane minds. Nor were they rescued from 
 this miserable abuse till the era of the Reformation. His 
 sentiments on the all-important doctrine of justification 
 were deplorably corrupt ; and that '* good works deserve 
 grace of congruity/' was one of his favourite axioms. 
 His notions of the nature of repentance were egregiously 
 trifling. 
 
 Bonaventura, a Franciscan doctor, may be briefly dis- 
 missed with similar observations. He also held the same 
 corrupt sentiments concerning justification with Thomas 
 Aquinas. Nor does there appear in the whole Roman 
 Church, in this century, a single divine who could give to 
 a serious inquirer the scriptural answer to the question, 
 " What must I do to be saved?'** Hence all, who felt 
 trouble of conscience, were led to betake themselves to 
 salvos with which the blind leaders of the blind supplied 
 them. — Among these, the delusive invention of purga- 
 tory was the most remarkable ; and in the Romish Church 
 it upholds its credit to this day. Before the true scrip- 
 ture doctrine of justification it cannot stand for a moment; 
 and whoever applies this doctrine with unfeigned faith to 
 a guilty conscience, such a one will find relief, and will be 
 led into the paths of true peace and genuine holiness. 
 He may indeed, and ought, to pity those who are deluded 
 by so unscriptural and superstitious a notion as that of 
 purgatory, but he himself will never be led captive by 
 it. It may be worth while to state the reasons on which 
 the advocates of the papacy support the doctrine of pur- 
 gatory^ in their own words. " Some part of the debt 
 which the penitent owes to the divine justice, may remain 
 uncancelled. Certainly some sins are venial, which de- 
 serve not eternal death ; yet, if not effaced by condign 
 penance in this world, they must be punished in the 
 next. The smallest sin excludes a soul from heaven, so 
 long as it is not blotted out. But no man will say, that a 
 venial sin which destroys not sanctifying grace, will be 
 punished with eternal torments. Hence there must be 
 a relaxation of punishment in the world to come. Venial 
 sins of surprise are readily effaced by penance, as we 
 hope, through the divine mercy Venial sins of malice, 
 * Acts, xvi. 30, 31. 
 
Cardinal Hugo. — Guilhelmus of Paris. 21 
 
 or those commitled with full deliberation, are of a difler- 
 ent nature, far more grievous and fatal. They are usually 
 sins of habit, and lead even to mortal sin T* 
 
 Thus, by the help of certain distinctions of sins, con- 
 clusions NO WHERE WARRANTED IN SCRIPTURE WCre draWU, 
 
 and mankind were led to look on purgatory as a relief to 
 troubled consciences. If they had not effaced their guilt 
 by penance in this life, it was hoped that purgatory, 
 assisted by the prayers and donations made in behalf of 
 the deceased, would release them afterwards from damn- 
 ation ! How strongly men were hence encouraged to 
 live in sin all their days, is but too plain. And it seems 
 wonderful, that so learned and sensible an author as is 
 just quoted should build a doctrine of such practical im- 
 portance on mere conjectures, without the least scriptural 
 ground. But on the other hand, whoever sees the real 
 guilt and defilement of sin, of all sorts of sin, and rests 
 wholly and entirely for acceptance with God on the 
 righteousness, atonement, and intercession of Jesus Christ, 
 finds at once the power of superstition and of licentious- 
 ness subdued ; and he knows how to possess his soul in 
 PERFECT PEACE ; and to serve his heavenly Father *' with- 
 out fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the 
 days of his life."t The instruction, which lays open 
 this secret, is given by every real Protestant teacher of 
 divinity; — instruction, which, we see, the two great ad- 
 mired doctors and supposed luminaries of the thirteenth 
 century were unable to give. 
 
 It is much to be wished that we could learn more of 
 Hugo the Burgundian, a Roman cardinal, who wrote com- 
 ments on the whole Scriptures, and honestly exposed the 
 impiety and wickedness of the ecclesiastics of his time. 
 He is said to have been the inventor of concordances. He 
 died at Rome in the year 1262.1 
 
 Guilhelmus,§ bishop of Paris, flourished about the year 
 1230. On Christian justification, and other fundamentals, 
 he thought more justly than many of his contemporaries. 
 He wrote on various religious subjects, and particularly 
 on the collation of benefices ; on which point he held, that 
 no man could be a pluralist, without the loss of his soul, 
 
 * Rutler, vol. xi. p. 27. t Luke, i. 74, 75. 
 
 t Ladvocat.— Cent. Magd. x. 1020. The division of the Bible 
 into chapters as now used is ascribed to cardinal Hugo. 
 ^ Cent. Magd. x. 1033. 
 
 D 2 
 
28 
 
 Grosseteste. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 unless the value of his preferments was exceedingly small. 
 He was a man of learning and piety. 
 
 On this question the care of the Church had been re- 
 markable. In the fourth general council of Chalcedon, 
 by the tenth canon, pluralities were condemned : also at 
 the second council of Nice, in the eighth century. In the 
 sixth council of Paris, held in the year 829, the same prac- 
 tice was pronounced unlawful. And so strongly did the 
 voice of natural conscience, and the common sense of pro- 
 priety and decorum prevail against the torrent of fashion- 
 able corruptions, in speculation at least, that even in the 
 twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the possession of scan- 
 dalous pluralities was condemned in a papal council, 
 namely, the fourth council of the Lateran.* 
 
 Christianus, bishop of Mentz, was accused before the 
 pope, as a person incapable of governing the Church. 
 For he had refused to be concerned in military and secu- 
 lar employments, and had given himself up to the pastoral 
 care. In these times such a conduct was deemed con- 
 temptible at least, if not criminal ; after two years, resi- 
 dence at Mentz, he resigned ; and, not long after, he died 
 in the year 1251.t 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 GROSSETESTE, BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 
 
 Robert Grosseteste J was born probably about the 
 year 1175; he seems to have been a person of obscure 
 
 ♦ See Burnet's Pastoral Care, chap. v. and Labb. Concil. Lat. iv. 
 
 N. B. Our historian, in the concise notice which he takes of this 
 council, does not mention the dispensing power ffiven to the pope by 
 the twenty-ninth canon. But this can scarcely be deemed a blam- 
 able omission by any one who observes, that the dispensing power of 
 the pope under the arrogant form of non obstante, is strongly 
 reprobated in three distinct places of this volume, and these at no 
 great distance from this very page, viz. pp. 35, 36. 
 
 The twenty-ninth canon concludes in these words, " Circa sub- 
 limes, tamen et LiTERATAs personas, quae majoribus sunt beneficils 
 honorandae, cum ratio postulaverit, per sedem apostolicum, po- 
 terit dispensari." Respecting elevated and literary characters who 
 are honoured with the larger benefices, it may be allowed to give 
 dispensations by the apostolical seat when reason requires. The 
 words sublimes" and " literatas" were soon understood to include 
 all persons in any way dependent on great men, and all graduates in 
 any university, provided they could afford to go to Rome and pay 
 for their dispensations. — Labb. xi. p. 181. 
 
 t Cent. Magd. x. 10.52. 
 
 % 1 am obliged principally to Mr. Pegge's valuable publication of 
 
A. D. 1235.] Bishop of Lincoln — his zeal and activity, 29 
 
 parentage, at Stradbrook in Suffolk. He studied at 
 Oxford, where learning was very zealously cultivated ; 
 and there he laid the foundation of his skill in the Greek 
 tongue, the knowledge of which had been introduced from 
 France and Italy. Hence he made himself master of 
 Aristotle, whose works, though idolized, had hitherto been 
 only read through the medium of translation ; and at 
 Oxford also he studied the sacred language of the Old 
 Testament. He afterwards went to Paris, the most re- 
 nowned seminary then in Europe, where he still prose- 
 cuted the study of the Hebrew and the Greek, and became 
 a perfect master of the French language. Here also he 
 became, according to the ideas of the age, a consummate 
 theologian and philosopher. Knowledge was then very 
 rude and inaccurate : but Grosseteste, doubtless, pos- 
 sessed all which Europe could furnish. It is not, there- 
 fore, to be wondered at, that he should have been looked 
 on as a magician ; the same thing happened to the famous 
 Roger Bacon, who flourished somewhat later. 
 
 Grosseteste was a divine of principal note in the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford. He associated with both the mendi- 
 cant orders, and was the first lecturer in the Franciscan 
 school of that seminary. He seems to have been always 
 serious in religion, according to the degree of light which 
 he had: and, as his views were indistinct, it is not sur- 
 prising that he was, for a time at least, captivated by the 
 appearance of sanctity in those deceivers of mankind. 
 
 In the year 1235, he was elected, by the dean and chap- 
 ter, bishop of Lincoln ; and king Henry III. confirmed 
 their choice. That see was then much more extensive 
 than it is at this day: and the new bishop, who was of 
 an ardent and active spirit, immediately undertook to 
 reform abuses. For this end he went through the several 
 archdeaconries and deaneries, requiring the attendance 
 of the clergy, and admonishing the people likewise to at- 
 tend, that their children might be confirmed, that they 
 might make their confession, and hear the word of God. 
 Robert himself usually preached to the clergy ; and some 
 friar of the Dominican or Franciscan order lectured the 
 people. The friars of these orders were now his parti- 
 cular favourites; and he encouraged them to hear the 
 
 the life of this distinguished prelate, for the following account : but 
 I have also consulted Fox the martyrologist, Fascic. rer. expetend., 
 and other authors. 
 
 D 3 
 
80 Grosseteste supports the friars. Cent. 13. 
 
 confessions of the laity, and to enjoin them penance. The 
 secular clergy were naturally enough offended at this pre- 
 dilection of the bishop : they thought that their own rights 
 were invaded. In the mean time the friars themselves 
 gradually brought the new orders into disrepute, by ex- 
 ercising an unlimited dominion over the consciences of 
 the laity, and by enriching themselves at their expense. 
 But Robert, who measured the minds of others by his own 
 honesty and simplicity, and who was pleased with the 
 superior learning, zeal, and activity of these new instru- 
 ments of the papacy, saw not as yet the evil tendency of 
 their measures and therefore he encouraged their labours. 
 The days were evil ; the zealous bishop could not think 
 of giving countenance to the secular clergy, who were 
 ignorant and vicious, in preference to the friars ; and, in 
 his zeal for promoting godliness, of which his notions 
 w^ere confused and undigested, he was glad of those assist- 
 ants, who seemed most cheerfully to co-operate with his 
 own benevolent intentions. 
 
 But though he was far more disposed to favour the two 
 new orders than they deserved, he was severe in his cen- 
 sures of the other more ancient orders, and was very strict 
 in his visitations of them. In both parts of his conduct 
 he was influenced by the same upright principle : the 
 hypocrisy indeed of the Dominicans and Franciscans 
 escaped his penetration ; but he could not be deceived by 
 the gross ignorance and dissolute manners of the more 
 ancient orders. Such were the methods by which the 
 prince of darkness seems to have prolonged the reign of 
 Antichrist. The orders of ancient times, having filled up 
 their season in supporting the man of sin by a specious 
 appearance of holiness, when this was gone, other orders 
 arose, which undertook the same task, and defended the 
 system of iniquity by a severer course of life and manners. 
 Even such men as the bishop of Lincoln, rigidly con- 
 scientious and upright, were seduced, undesignedly, to 
 lend their aid in imposing on mankind. In the mean 
 time, the true cure of these evils, namely, the light of 
 Scripture and of its genuine doctrines, was generally 
 unknown in Christendom. 
 
 One of the most salutary offices of the art of criticism 
 is to distinguish the genuine works of the ancients from 
 the spurious. This was unknown in Grosseteste's time : 
 and hence the laborious bishop was induced to employ bio 
 
opposes ecclesiastical corrvptiom. 31 
 
 learning in translating " the Testaments of the twelve 
 Patriarchs" out of Greek into Latin. He thought that 
 he had, by this means, enriched Europe with a valuable 
 monument of sacred antiquity. It is amazing that the 
 bishop should place so contemptible a performance on an 
 equal footing with the holy Scriptures. It scarcely seemed 
 worth while to mention s-uch a circumstance, except as a 
 demonstration that the ignorance of the times was exceed- 
 ingly great, and that the difficulties of acquiring religious 
 knowledge were then great beyond our conception. 
 
 Let it suffice to mention in general, that Grosseteste 
 was, partly through his love of justice, and partly through 
 the excessive warmth of his temper, frequently engaged 
 in quarrels with convents, and with other agents of the 
 pope. At one time he was excommunicated by the con- 
 vent of Canterbury : but this ecclesiastical sentence was so 
 frequently prostituted to the basest purposes, and was so 
 often pronounced on frivolous occasions, that it had, in a 
 great measure, lost its influence on the minds of men. 
 Grosseteste treated it, in his own case, with scorn and 
 contempt, and continued to labour in the promotion of 
 piety, and in the redress of abuses, with unwearied vigour 
 and activity, but, at the same time, under all the disad- 
 vantages, which the darkness of the times and an eager 
 and vehement temper may be supposed to occasion. So 
 long a course of consistent steadiness, and integrity, and 
 so much fear of God, attended with so small a degree of 
 spiritual light, as in the case of Grosseteste, is not a com- 
 mon phenomenon in the Church of God. But the work 
 of the Holy Spirit in religion is diversified with an endless 
 variety of operations. The instance before us deserves 
 attention. Grosseteste was favoured with so much dis- 
 cernment, as not to endure with patience the manifold 
 corruptions of the times. He took pains in his diocese to 
 reform various gross abuses, among which was the prac- 
 tice of clergymen acting plays, and maintaining con- 
 nection with Jews. The friars were still his favourites : 
 and he rebuked the rectors and vicars of his diocese, 
 because they neglected to hear them preach, and because 
 they discouraged the people from attending and confess- 
 ing to them. His devoted attachment to the popedom 
 appears hence in a striking light, and still more so in 
 some other transactions, which it is not necessary to par- 
 ticularize. He continued to patronise the friars. These 
 
32 
 
 The extortions of the pope. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 were his most intimate companions : with them he used 
 to hold conferences on the Scriptures ; and at one time he 
 had thoughts of entering into the Franciscan order him- 
 self. But however defective he was in doctrine, he was 
 exceedingly strict in his views of morality: and, like all 
 reformers of the merely active class, who labour to pro- 
 mote external good conduct, with low and inadequate 
 ideas of Christian principle, he excited great offence and 
 disgust, and produced very little solid benefit to man- 
 kind. 
 
 Events, however, occurred which, in some measure, 
 unfolded to the eyes of Grosseteste the real character of 
 the friars. In 1247, two English Franciscans were sent 
 into England with credentials to extort money for the 
 pope. They applied to the prelates and abbots, but seem, 
 at this time at least, to have met with little success. 
 Grosseteste was amazed at the insolence and pompous 
 appearance of the friars, who assured him that they had 
 the pope's bull, and who earnestly demanded six thousand 
 marks for the contribution of the diocese of Lincoln : 
 " Friars," answered he, *' with all reverence to his holi- 
 ness be it spoken, the demand is as dishonourable as it is 
 impracticable. The whole body of the clergy and people 
 are concerned in it equally with me. For me then to give 
 a definite answer in an instant to such a demand, before 
 the sense of the kingdom is taken upon it, would be rash 
 and absurd." The native good sense of the bishop sug- 
 gested this answer : but the true Antichristian character 
 of the pope was as yet unknown to Grosseteste. — The 
 blood of our Saviour was about the same time pretended 
 to be brought into England, and he had the weakness to 
 vindicate the delusion. 
 
 Grosseteste continued still to exert himself with the 
 most upright intentions for the good of the Church. But 
 it was his usual infelicity to " labour in the fire for very 
 vanity,"* because he had no distinct perception of the 
 fundamental truths of Christianity. The value of solid 
 and perspicuous views of evangelical truth was never 
 more forcibly exhibited than in this case. Most bishops 
 or pastors, who have been possessed of this advantage, 
 though inferior to Grosseteste in magnanimity, industry, 
 and activity, have yet, of truly pious, far exceeded him in 
 promoting the real good of the Church. He translated 
 ♦ Habak. ii. 13. 
 
A. D. 1248.] 
 
 Resisted by Grosseteste. 
 
 33 
 
 the works of John Damascenus, and of the spurious 
 Dionysius the Areopagite, and illustrated them with com- 
 mentaries ; the former author was learned indeed, but was 
 the great patron of image worship ; and the latter was a 
 contemptible visionary ! 
 
 It was in the case of practical evils, not of doctrinal 
 errors, that Grosseteste showed the strength of his dis- 
 cernment : in regard to these he never failed to act with 
 sincerity and vigour. In 1248, he obtained, at a great 
 expense, from Innocent IV., letters to empower him to 
 reform the religious orders. If he had understood at that 
 time the real character of Antichrist, he would have fore- 
 seen the vanity of all attempts to reform the Church, 
 which were grounded on papal authority. The rectitude, 
 however, of his own mind was strikingly apparent in the 
 transaction. He saw with grief the waste of large reve- 
 nues made by the monastic orders ; and being supported 
 by the pope, as he thought, he determined to take into his 
 own hand the rents of the religious houses, most probably 
 with a design to institute and ordain vicarages in his 
 diocese, and to provide for the more general instruction 
 of the people. But the monks appealed to the pope ; and 
 Grosseteste, in his old age, was obliged to travel to 
 Lyons, where Innocent resided. Roman venality was 
 now at its height, and the pope determined the cause 
 against the bishop. Grieved and astonished at so unex- 
 pected a decision, Grosseteste said to Innocent, " I relied 
 on your letters and promises, but am entirely disap- 
 pointed." "What is that to you?'* answered the pope ; 
 '* you have done your part, and we are disposed to favour 
 them: is your eye evil, because I am good?" With such 
 shameless effrontery can wicked men trifle with scriptural 
 passages. The bishop, in a low tone, but so as to be 
 heard, said with indignation, " O money, how great is thy 
 power, especially at the court of Rome !" The remark 
 was bold and indignant, but perfectly just. It behoved 
 Innocent to give some answer ; and he used the common 
 method of wicked men in such cases, namely, to retort 
 the accusation. " You English," said he, " are always 
 grinding and impoverishing one another. How many 
 religious men, persons of prayer and hospitality, are you 
 striving to depress, that you may sacrifice to your own 
 tyranny and avarice !'' — So spake the most unprincipled 
 
34 
 
 Grosseteste refusts to admit 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 of robbers to a bishop, whose unspotted integrity was 
 allowed by all the world. 
 
 All that Grosseteste could do was to leave his testimony 
 at the court of Rome ; and he delivered three copies of a 
 long sermon, one copy to the pope, the other two copies 
 to two of the cardinals. In this discourse he sharply in- 
 veighed against the flagitious practices of the court of 
 Rome, particularly the appropriation of c'hurches to re- 
 ligious houses, the appeals of the religious to the pope, 
 and the scandalous clause* in the bulls of non obstante, 
 which was the great engine of the pope's dispensing 
 power. He observes, that the Son of God submitted to a 
 most ignominious death for the redemption of human 
 souls, which, without mercy, were delivered to wolves and 
 bears. His uprightness and magnanimity were evidenced 
 by this step, but no good effect appeared. To explain 
 and enforce the doctrines of the Gospel, and to prove the 
 whole structure of the papacy perfectly inconsistent with 
 those doctrines, would have been a far more likely method 
 of promoting the edification of the Church ; but to this 
 task the light and knowledge of the bishop were unequal. 
 He was for some time so dejected with the disappointment 
 which he had met with, that he formed intentions of 
 resigning his bishopric. But, recollecting what ravages 
 of the Church might be the consequence of such a step, 
 he felt it his duty to remain in his office, and to do all the 
 good which the times would permit. 
 
 Bishop Grosseteste often preached to the people in the 
 course of his perambulation through his diocese ; and he 
 required the neighbouring clergy to attend the sermons. 
 He earnestly exhorted them to be laborious in ministering 
 to their flocks : and the lazy Italians, who, by virtue of the 
 pope's letters, had been intruded into opulent benefices, 
 and who neither understood the language of the people, 
 nor wished to instruct them, were the objects of his de- 
 testation. He would often, with indignation, cast the 
 papal bulls out of his hands, and absolutely refuse to com- 
 ply with them, saying, that he should be the friend of 
 Satan, if he should commit the care of souls to foreigners. 
 Pope Innocent, however, persisting in his plan, peremp- 
 torily ordered him to admit an Italian, perfectly ignorant 
 
 * See an account of the efTect of this clause in page 35. See also 
 the note in page 28. 
 
A. D. 1253.] foreigners to English benejices. 35 
 
 of the English language, to a very rich benefice in the 
 diocese of Lincoln ; and Grosseteste, refusing to obey, 
 was suspended. Whether the sentence of suspension was 
 formally repealed or not does not appear. Certain it is, 
 that the bishop continued to exercise his episcopal func- 
 tions ; and shortly we shall advert to facts, which prove 
 in a still more striking manner with what impunity he 
 despised the papal mandates. 
 
 Observing that churches appropriated to religious 
 houses had not always stated vicars, and that where 
 vicarages existed, they were often meanly endowed, he 
 obtained at length, in 1250, a bull from Innocent to 
 empower him to regulate these matters. The evil was 
 indeed enormous ; but the persevering zeal of the bishop, 
 supported by the extensive influence of his character, pre- 
 vailed at length, in some degree, over the pope's usurp- 
 ations ; and a considerable number of vicarages in his 
 diocese were at length regulated. A pious and upright 
 perseverance in the reformation of abuses, amidst many 
 vexatious disappointments, is seldom altogether in vain ; 
 and this wise and encouraging order of the divine govern- 
 ment is extremely worthy of the attention of those who 
 possess authority in the Church in all ages. 
 
 Grosseteste united the labours of his pen to those of 
 the episcopal office. He began a comment on the Psalter, 
 though he lived not to finish the work; and he seems to 
 have known no other recreation than what naturally arose 
 from the variety of his religious employments. 
 
 In January, 1253, Innocent was desirous of preferring 
 his nephew, an Italian youth, in the cathedral of Lincoln ; 
 and for this purpose he, by letter, directed the bishop of 
 the diocese to give him the first canonry that should be 
 vacant. This was to be done by provision, as it was 
 called; for that was the decent term employed by the 
 pontiff when he undertook to provide a successor to a 
 benefice beforehand, under pretence of correcting the 
 abuse of long vacancies. Innocent seems to have been 
 determined in this instance to intimidate the bishop into 
 submission. He declared, that any other disposal of the 
 canonry should be null and void; and that he would ex- 
 communicate every one who should dare to disobey his 
 injunction. He wrote to two Italians, his agents in 
 England, ordering them to ensure and complete the 
 appointment, with his usual clause of non obstante ; a 
 
36 Opposes the corruptions of the popedom. [Cent. 13. 
 
 clause pregnant with the most intolerable abuses ; for it 
 set aside all statutes and customs, and obliged them to 
 give way to the present humour of the pope.* 
 
 Grosseteste, resolute in his disobedience, wrote an 
 EPISTLE on this occasion, which will always be remem- 
 bered. As he advanced in years, he saw more clearly the 
 corruptions of the popedom, which, however, he still 
 looked on as of divine authority; but, excepting this error, 
 he argues altogether on Protestant principles. Some 
 extracts of the epistle may deserve the reader's attention. t 
 
 I am not disobedient to the apostolical precepts. — I am 
 bound by the divine command to obey them. Our Saviour 
 Christ says. Whosoever is not with me, is against me. — 
 Our lord the pope appears to be his type and represent- 
 ative. It is impossible then that the sanctity of the apos- 
 tolical see can be repugnant to the authority of Jesus 
 Christ. The non obstante clause overflows with uncer- 
 tainty, fraud, and deceit, and strikes at the root of all 
 confidence between man and man. Next to the sin of 
 Antichrist, which shall be in the latter time, nothing can 
 be more contrary to the doctrine of Christ than to destroy 
 men's souls, by defrauding them of the benefit of the 
 pastoral office. Those who serve their own carnal desires 
 by means of the milk and wool of the sheep of Christ, and 
 do not minister the pastoral office to the salvation of the 
 flock, are guilty of destroying souls. Two enormous evils 
 are in this way committed. In one respect they sin 
 directly against God himself, who is essentially good ; in 
 another against the image of God in man, which^ by the 
 reception of grace, is partaker of the divine nature. — For 
 the holy apostolical see to be accessory to so great wicked- 
 ness, would be a horrible abuse of the fulness of power, 
 an entire separation from the glorious kingdom of Christ, 
 and a proximity to the two princes of darkness.J No 
 man, faithful to the said see, can, with an unspotted con- 
 science, obey such mandates, even if they were seconded 
 by the high order of angels themselves ; on the contrary, 
 every faithful Christian ought to oppose them with all his 
 might. It is, therefore, in perfect consistency with my 
 duty of obedience that I withstand these enormities, so 
 
 • Fascic. rer. vol. ii. 399. 
 
 ^ See Fox, vol. i. p. 305, and M. Paris, p. 870. Fascic. rer. vol. ii. 
 400. 
 
 i lie seems to mean the devil and Antichrist. 
 
The popes anger against Grosseleste. 
 
 37 
 
 abominable to the Lord Jesus Christ, so repugnant to the 
 holiness of the apostolical see, and so contrary to the 
 unity of the Catholic faith. I say then this see cannot 
 act but to edification ; but your provisions are to destruc- 
 tion. The holy see neither can nor ought to attempt any 
 such thing ; for flesh and blood, and not the Heavenly 
 Father, have revealed such doctrines/' 
 
 It is not clear whether this epistle was written to the 
 pope directly, or to some of his agents. It was meant, 
 however, for his inspection ; and it affords a marvellous 
 instance of that Christian boldness and honesty for which 
 Grosseteste is so justly renowned. — Sullied, indeed, were 
 the qualities of this good man with much doctrinal error, 
 but ever animated by a zeal for the honour of God, and 
 by a deep sense of the worth of souls. 
 
 Innocent, on receiving the positive denial, accompanied 
 with such warm remonstrances, was incensed beyond mea- 
 sure : and " Who," said he, " is this old dotard, who dares 
 to judge my actions? By Peter and Paul, if I were not 
 restrained by my generosity, I would make him an example 
 and a spectacle to all mankind. Is not the king of Eng- 
 land my vassal, and my slave ? and, if I gave the word, 
 would he not throw him into prison, and load him with 
 infamy and disgrace ?" In so low a light did the bishop 
 of Rome behold the monarch of this island! But king 
 John had reduced his kingdom into a state of subjection 
 to the pope ; and the same vassalage continued all the 
 days of his successor. The cardinals, however, who saw 
 the danger which the pope incurred by his arrogance and 
 temerity, endeavoured to moderate his resentment, Giles, 
 in particular, a Spanish cardinal, said,* '* It is not expe- 
 dient for you to proceed against the bishop in that violent 
 manner. For what he says is certainly true, nor can we 
 with decency condemn him. He is a holy man, more so 
 than we ourselves are ; a man of excellent genius, and of 
 the best morals ; no prelate in Christendom is thought to 
 excel him. By this time, it is possible, that the truths 
 expressed in this epistle are divulged among many; and 
 they will stir up numbers against us. The clergy, bcth 
 of France and England, know the character of the man, 
 nor is it possible to cast any stigma upon him. He is 
 believed to be a great philosopher, an accomplished 
 scholar in Latin and Greek literature, zealous in the 
 * Fox, vol. 1. p. 366. Pegge, p. 248 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 22. e 
 
3S Death of Grosseteste, [Cent. 13. 
 
 administration of justice, a reader of theology in the schools, 
 a popular preacher, a lover of chastity, and an enemy of 
 simony." Others joined with Giles in the same senti- 
 ments. On the whole, the cardinals advised the pope to 
 connive at these transactions, lest some tumult might 
 arise in the Church ; for they said, it was an evident truth, 
 that a revolt from the Church of Rome would one day 
 take place in Christendom. It seems there were even 
 then some discerning spirits, who could foresee that so 
 unrighteous a domination would in time be brought to a 
 close. Yet the prevalence of ambition and avarice in- 
 duced them to support that domination, though they 
 were convinced of its iniquity. 
 
 But the fury of Innocent was not to be allayed. He 
 pronounced the sentence of excommunication against 
 Grosseteste ; and nominated Albert, one of his nuncios, to 
 the bishopric of Lincoln. The bishop appealed to the tri- 
 bunal of Christ, and paid no regard to the decree. What 
 the cardinals foresaw came to pass ; the pope*3 commands 
 were universally neglected ; and Grosseteste continued in 
 quiet possession of his dignity. 
 
 In the latter end of the summer of the same year, 1253, 
 he was seized with a mortal disease at his palace at 
 Buckden ; and he sent for friar John de St. Giles, to con- 
 verse with him on the state of the Church. He blamed 
 Giles and his brethren the Dominicans, and also the Fran- 
 ciscans, because, though their orders were founded in 
 voluntary poverty, they did not rebuke the vices of the 
 great. " I am convinced,*' said he, " that both the pope, 
 unless he amend his errors, and the friars, except they 
 endeavour to restrain him, will be deservedly exposed to 
 everlasting death." We may hence collect what was the 
 foundation of that respect which the bishop was wont to 
 pay to the friars ; it was the eclat of their voluntary 
 poverty, which he hoped would have enabled them to be 
 faithful dispensers of the word of God, as by it they 
 seemed to be removed above the temptations of avarice. 
 If a man of his understanding was deceived by their 
 feigned sanctity, it ought to be less matter of surprise 
 that the world at large was imposed on by the same 
 cause ; and that the institution of these orders proved so 
 convenient a support to ihe popedom for several genera- 
 tions. The mind of Grosseteste was always more clear 
 in discerning the end of true religion than it was in 
 
A. D, 1253.] 
 
 His last hours. 
 
 '69 
 
 discovering the means of promoting it. Upright, intrepid, 
 disinterested, and constantly influenced by the fear of God, 
 he yet failed to bring about the good which he had con- 
 ceived in his heart, because he had too little acquaintance 
 with " the mystery of godhness,'' and because he too much 
 relied on moral and prudential plans for that reformation 
 of mankind, which is sought in vain from every thing, 
 except from the knowledge and application of the Gospel. 
 
 But bishop Grosseteste was rapidly advancing towards 
 eternity; and he seems now to have had more powerful 
 manifestations of divine truth from the Spirit of God, than 
 any with which he had hitherto been favoured. His zeal 
 evidently arose from the purest charity. Superior to 
 selfish considerations, he was absorbed in meditations 
 concerning the Church ; and we have from a contem- 
 porary historian* an account of his last conversations with 
 his chaplains, in which there was probably something still 
 more evangelical than what they or the historian could 
 understand. It is, however, our duty to report it as it is 
 delivered to us ; and ministers at least will find it worthy 
 their attention. 
 
 " In October, the bishop, oppressed with a fatal dis- 
 temper, whatever it was, sent for some of his chaplains, 
 and conversed with them. Christ, said he, with a sigh, 
 came into the world to save souls ; ought not he, then, 
 who takes pains to ruin souls, to be denominated Anti- 
 christ? Our God built the universe in six days, but he 
 laboured more than thirty years to restore man when 
 fallen. Is not then the destroyer of souls, the Antichrist 
 and the enemy of God? The pope is not ashamed im- 
 pudently to disannul, by his clauses of non obstante, the 
 decrees of the holy pontiffs, his predecessors. Many 
 other popes have afflicted the Church ; this Innocent has 
 enslaved it more than they." He then recounts their 
 usurious and fraudulent proceedings in England, and 
 inveighs against the arts of amassing money practised by 
 the friars on account of the crusades. I have seen, said 
 he, an instrument, in which it was inserted, that those, 
 who, in their wills, devised money for the use of the cru- 
 sades, should receive indulgence in proportion to the sum 
 they gave. He then exposed the scandalous practice of 
 disposing of ecclesiastical benefices, and lamented that 
 the friars, the devotees of poverty, were now converted 
 • Matt. Paris. 
 £ 2 
 
40 ^ His character by M. Paris, [Cent. 13, 
 
 into tax-gatherers to the pope, belying the habit they 
 wore, while they were made more secular than ever. The 
 bishop, indignant at these and other horrible proceedings, 
 observed, '* The Church can never be delivered from this 
 Egyptian bondage, but by the edge of the sword and 
 while he was scarcely able to speak for sighs and tears, 
 his breath and his voice failed him. He might be sharp- 
 ened in his accusations by the personal ill-treatment which 
 he himself had received ; but it must be owned, that he 
 had a distinct knowledge of facts, and a most just abhor- 
 rence of hypocrisy and iniquity. And it is only to be 
 lamented, that he had lived so long a time, and remained 
 so little acquainted with the only Christian armour of 
 doctrine, which can cut down the powers of Antichrist. 
 He died at Buckden, October 9, 1253. Innocent heard 
 of his death with pleasure ; and said with exultation, " I 
 rejoice, and let every true son of the Roman Church re- 
 joice with me, that my great enemy is removed.^' He 
 ordered a letter to be written to King Henry, requiring him 
 to take up the bishop's body, to cast it out of the church, 
 and to burn it. The cardinals, however, opposed the 
 tyrant ; and the letter was never sent, probably on account 
 of the decline of Innocent's health ; for he died the suc- 
 ceeding year. 
 
 M. Paris, though most superstitiously attached to the 
 Roman see, and prejudiced against Grosseteste, on ac- 
 count of his severity towards the ancient monastic orders, 
 was, however, a man of probity and honour ; and he has 
 left such a testimony to the character of Grosseteste as 
 deserves to be presented to the reader.* 
 
 " The holy bishop, Robert, departed this world, which 
 he never loved, and which was always to him as a place of 
 banishment. He was the open reprover both of my lord 
 the pope, and of the king, and the censurer of the pre- 
 lates, the corrector of monks, the director of priests, the 
 instructor of the clergy, the supporter of scholars, the 
 preacher to the laity, the punisher of incontinence, the 
 diligent investigator of various writings, and lastly, he 
 was the scourge of lazy and selfish Romans, whom he 
 heartily despised. In the supply of the temporal table, 
 liberal, copious, polite, cheerful, and affable. In the 
 spiritual table, devout, humble, and contrite. In the 
 episcopal office, diligent, venerable, and indefatigable.'* 
 • Matt. Paris, p. 876. Edit. Lond. 1640. 
 
His view of the pastoral office. 
 
 41 
 
 The historian adds to this, " that even in those instances 
 of discipHne, in which he seemed to bear the hardest on 
 the monks, he was allowed to have acted always with the 
 purest intentions." 
 
 Grosseteste appears to have had no great turn for pub- 
 lic business ; he neglected it for the most part : nor did he 
 frequent the court. The salvation of souls was the per- 
 petual subject of his thoughts and conversation ; and it is 
 devoutly to be wished that many, whose evangelical light 
 is far superior to his, resembled him in tenderness of con- 
 science, in unwearied activity and zeal, and in genuine 
 humility and modesty of spirit, with which, notwithstand- 
 ing the disadvantage of a temper irascible in a great 
 degiee, he was very eminently endowed. 
 
 In one of his letters he shows the idea which he had 
 formed of the importance of the pastoral office.* ** I dare 
 not, for the love of God," says he, confer the care of 
 souls on any one, who will not sedulously discharge the 
 office in person. The office itself is of the greatest import- 
 ance ; it requires a governor always resident, who applies 
 himself to it with vigilance, prudence, diligence, and fer- 
 vour ; who preaches the word of the Lord in season and 
 out of season ; who exhibits himself an example of good 
 works ; who, when he gives salutary admonition and is 
 not regarded, can grieve and lament; who shakes his 
 hands from holding bribes ; who so evidently applies to 
 pious uses the pecuniary fines, which he receives for the 
 punishment of faults, that he is perfectly free from all sus- 
 picion of selfishness and avarice on that account ; who is 
 delighted when he can, with a good conscience, acquit the 
 accused ; whom no prejudice, passion, entreaty, or gift, 
 or partiality, can divert from the path of rectitude ; who 
 delights in labour, and whose whole desire is to profit 
 souls.'' He who, in an age of superstition, which afforded 
 so many temptations to venality and corruption, could act 
 according to the spirit of these rules, must have been pos- 
 sessed of the Spirit of Christ, and have been superior to 
 the spirit of the world. 
 
 To have so much enlarged on the character and trans- 
 actions of a man so little distinguished, in regard to evan- 
 gelical knowledge, as bishop Grosseteste was, from the 
 common herd of papists in his time, might seem to need 
 an apology, were I not sensible that the eminence of his 
 * Pegjfe. 
 E 3 
 
42 
 
 His sermons on humility. 
 
 [Cent. 13. 
 
 PRACTICAL godliness demonstrates that he must have been 
 in possession of the fundamentals of Divine Truth ; and, 
 that the candid and intelligent reader may receive edifi- 
 cation from a light which burned with steadiness in the 
 Church of God, though in much obscurity. 
 
 The evidence, however, of Grosseteste's knowledge ot 
 fundamental truths is not only to be collected by fair in- 
 terences, but is also direct and positive. A number of his 
 sermons in manuscript are still extant.* I have exa- 
 mined one of these throughout, which was preached from 
 our Saviour's words in the sixth chapter of St. Luke, 
 ** Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.*' 
 To the directions and cautions concerning humility, which 
 indeed form the most evangelical and most useful part of 
 the sermon, Grosseteste adds some directions concerning 
 the contempt of the world, and the love of heavenly 
 things. On the latter subject he quotes Augustine and 
 Gregory; on the former, he addresses his audience as 
 having already embraced voluntary poverty. Hence it 
 appears, that the discourse was addressed to a company of 
 Ascetics ; and it must be confessed that he labours with 
 great correctness to prevent them from presumptuously 
 imagining themselves to be just and righteous. Through- 
 out the discourse there is excellent matter, and it is well 
 calculated to humble the proud ; but there is very little to 
 encourage the sincere. He seems to have no idea of the 
 attainment of a state of solid peace and joy; nor is it to 
 be wondered at. Like most of the very best divines who 
 wrote in those days, he knew not the just nature of the 
 Christian article of justification by Jesus Christ the righ- 
 teous ; and though he appears to have trusted in him for 
 eternal salvation, and knew too well his own deficiencies, 
 to put any trust in himself, yet he evidently wanted the 
 full assurance of understanding of the mystery of god- 
 LiNESS,t and could not, with his inefficacious religious; 
 views, HAVE ACCESS WITH CONFIDENCE by the faith of 
 Jesus.J 
 
 The honest and intrepid spirit with which bishop Gros- 
 seteste opposed the scandalous practices of Pope Inno- 
 cent IV. has sufficiently appeared in the course of this 
 chapter. But the Christian reader may not be displeased 
 to see additional proofs of the genuine humility of his 
 
 • They are preserved in the cathedral of St. Peter at York, 
 t Coloss. ii. 2. t Eph. iii. 12, 
 
Extract from Ids letters. 
 
 43 
 
 mind. Self-righteousness and self-confidence seem to 
 have been his great aversion. Dependence on God as 
 a reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, was his grand prac- 
 tical principle. — The following passage, translated from 
 the Latin Opuscula of Grosseteste,* is from one of his 
 letters which he wrote while he was archdeacon of 
 Leicester. 
 
 " Nothing that occurs in your letters ought to give 
 me more pain than your styling me a person invested 
 with authority, and endued with the lustre of know- 
 ledge. So far am I from thinking as you do, that I feel 
 myself unfit even to be the disciple of a person of 
 authority; moreover, in innumerable matters which are 
 objects of knowledge, I perceive myself enveloped in the 
 darkness of ignorance. But did I really possess the great 
 qualities you ascribe to me, he alone would be worthy of 
 the praise, and the whole of it ought to be referred unto 
 HIM, to whom we daily say. Not unto us, O Lord, not 
 unto us, but to thy name give the glory." 
 
 In general, he was eloquent and mighty in the Scrip- 
 tures ; fervent in spirit, speaking and teaching boldly the 
 things of the Lord ; — though, like Apollos, he sometimes 
 needed an " Aquila and Priscilla to expound to him the 
 way of God more perfectly." 
 
 ♦ Vol. ii Fascic. rer. 
 
44 
 
 Lollards, — Jf^alter Raynard, 
 
 CENTURY THE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 THE GENERA.L STATE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN 
 THIS CENTURY. 
 
 The same ignorance and superstition, the same vices 
 and immoralities, which predominated in the last century, 
 discoloured the appearance of the Church in this. Real 
 Christians were still to be found either only among the 
 Waldenses, or else they worshipped God in obscurity 
 under the unspeakable disadvantages of the general cor- 
 ruption. There arose, indeed, in this century various 
 sects, besides the Waldenses, who were cruelly per- 
 secuted both by popes and emperors ; of whom, therefore, 
 at first sight, we are ready to conclude, that they must 
 have been the real people of God. I cannot, however, 
 find positive evidence that they professed the real doc- 
 trines, or were influenced by the real Spirit of Jesus. 
 Some of them were the disgrace of human nature, both in 
 their principles and their practice ; and I mean not to 
 detail the narratives of fanaticisms with which most eccle- 
 siastical histories abound. The term Lollard was affixed 
 in general to all those who professed, whether on solid 
 principles of godliness or not, a greater degree of atten- 
 tion to acts of piety and devotion, than the rest of man- 
 kind. Of these, Walter Raynard, a Dutchman, was 
 apprehended and burnt at Cologne. This is he, whom 
 I have already called Raynard Lollard, in the account of 
 the Waldenses, and from whom the Wicklifhtes are sup- 
 posed to have acquired the name of Lollards. I have 
 carefully attended to Mosheim's account of the origin of 
 the term,* and am convinced from his reasonings, that 
 Lollard was a general name of reproach given to pro- 
 fessors of piety, and not the proper name of any particular 
 person. But it by no means thence follows, as Mosheim 
 * See Mosheim, vol. i. pp. 744, 757. 
 
The East. — China, 
 
 45 
 
 contends, that Walter Raynard always belong-ed to some 
 sect of the Romish communion. The accounts of the 
 most eminent German authors constantly represent him 
 as a Protestant, and the common use of the term Lollard 
 in England, as applied to the followers of WicklifFe and of 
 Walter Raynard, could scarcely have obtained, if the latter 
 had continued a Papist till his death.* 
 
 The Church of God, therefore, considered as an out- 
 ward society, seems only to have existed among the Wal- 
 DENSES, whose history has been related. Of other sects 
 the detail would be as insipid as it would be obscure and 
 perplexed; and whoever has remarked the confusion of 
 terms, which negligence, obloquy, or artifice have intro- 
 duced into the ecclesiastical accounts of sects and parties, 
 will find little reason to acquiesce in the arrangements of 
 their classes, which writers in different ages have made. 
 Let us attend to facts rather than to terms. It is certain, 
 that there were many societies of persons in this century 
 called Beghards, Beguines, Lollards, Brethren of the Free 
 Spirit, Flagellants, &c., who suffered extremely from the 
 iron hand of power. Among all these, the people called 
 Waldenses, and called also Lollards, — with what pro- 
 priety is a question of little importance, — seem perfectly 
 distinguished, by their solid piety, sound scriptural judg- 
 ment, and practical godliness ; and therefore they may 
 justly be accounted to have suffered for righteousness' 
 sake ; while the rest, as far as certainly appears, were the 
 martyrs of folly, turbulence, or impiety. 
 
 In the East, the profession of Christianity still per- 
 vaded that contracted empire of the Greeks, of which 
 Constanfinople was the metropolis. But no Christian 
 records are come down to us of any thing like the primi- 
 tive Gospel. Even the profession of Christianity, which 
 had existed in China, was extirpated through the jealousy 
 of the reigning powers ; and the famous Tamerlane, the 
 Tartar, cruelly persecuted all who bore the Christian name, 
 being persuaded, as a Mahometan, that it was highly 
 meritorious to destroy them. Thus even the form of 
 godliness declined in Asia ; the power of it, alas 1 had 
 vanished long before. Nor were the attempts, which 
 
 * On the contrary, as it has been mentioned already, Walter 
 Raynard, from a Franciscan and an enemy, became a VValdensian, 
 preached the Gospel, and suflfered on that account at Cologne.— 
 Vol. iii. p. 373. 
 
46 The Holy Land, — Poland. — The jubilees. [Cent. 14. 
 
 v/ere made in Europe to renew the crusades, by means of 
 indulgences, calculated to revive the light of the Gospel in 
 the East, even if they had succeeded. The Holy Land had 
 been lost in 1291 ; and an army was collected in 1363, 
 under the auspices of pope Urban V., commanded by 
 John, king of France, that same monarch who had been 
 taken prisoner by Edward the Black Prince, at the battle 
 of Poictiers. But John departed this life, and Urban' s 
 hopes from the crusade were blasted. 
 
 In the mean time the boundaries of Christianity had 
 been gradually extended in Europe.* Jagello, duke of 
 Lithuania, was now almost the only Pagan prince in 
 that quarter of the world. And he, influenced by secular 
 views, became a Christian in name and profession, and 
 by this means acquired the crown of Poland. The Teu- 
 tonic knights continued also the military methods of 
 obliging the Prussians and Livonians to profess the Gos- 
 pel, and completed in this century what they had begun 
 in the last. 
 
 The maxims and examples of the court of Rome were 
 unspeakably prejudicial to the cause of godliness in this 
 century. The practice of provisions, which had so 
 much inflamed the zeal of bishop Grosseteste, was now 
 reduced into a system by the popes who resided in France, 
 and all Europe complained of their impositions. In Eng- 
 land, in the beginning of the reign of Edward III., al- 
 most upon every vacancy the court of Rome pretended to 
 fill the sees in this way.f Indeed its ambition and ava- 
 rice were unbounded : it claimed a right to dispose of all 
 offices in the Church both great and small, and in that 
 way amassed incredible sums. That same Boniface VIII., 
 who was possessor of the pontifical see at the close of the 
 last century, filled the Christian world with the noise and 
 turbulence of his ambition. He followed the steps of Hil- 
 debrand, and attempted to be equally despotic in civil and 
 ecclesiastical matters. He it was who forbad the clergy 
 to pay any thing to princes without his permission J He 
 also instituted a jubilee, which was to be renewed every 
 hundred years, by which he granted plenary indulgences 
 to all strangers, who should visit the churches of St.. 
 Peter and St. Paul in Rome.§ This unprincipled pontiff 
 
 • Mosheim, vol. i. p. 713. f Collier. t Du Pin. 
 
 ^ The successors of Boniface, finding that the jubilee augmented 
 
Schism in the papacy. — John Duns Scoius. 47 
 
 died in extreme misery in 1303, in the ninth year of his 
 oapacy.* 
 
 The schism which afterwards took place in the pope- 
 dom was providentially a blessing to mankind. While, for 
 the space of fifty years, the church of Rome had two or 
 three heads at the same time ; and while each of the con- 
 tending" popes was anathematizing' his competitors, the 
 reverence of mankind for the popedom itself insensibly 
 diminished ; it was impossible for the most credulous to 
 beUeve that all the popes were infallible ; and the labours 
 of those, whom God raised up to propagate divine truth, 
 began to be more seriously regarded by men of consci- 
 ence and probity. 
 
 In this century flourished the celebrated John Duns 
 Scotus. Whether he was born in England, Scotland, or 
 Ireland, has been disputed. That he was a famous 
 schoolman is well known. But in the light of true reli- 
 gion I know nothing concerning him. The same thing 
 may be said of Raymund Lully, William Ockham of 
 Surrey, in England, and of Petrarch, that great reviver of 
 polite literature in Italy. These were some of the most 
 famous men in their age ; but they helped not the Church 
 of God. Toward the close, however, of this period, — for 
 the most part one of the most uninteresting in Church 
 history, — there arose in England a luminary, Wickliffe, 
 whose principles, conduct, and writings will require dis- 
 tinct consideration. The same country furnishes us also 
 with another equally rare and excellent, though much 
 less celebrated character, I mean Bradwardine, arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, of whom an account will be given 
 in the next chapter. — In the remainder of this it will be 
 worth while to add a few particular circumstances, which 
 may show in what sort of an age Bradwardine lived. 
 
 The accounts of individuals in this century, who truly 
 feared God and wrought righteousness, are extremely 
 scarce. One person I find on the continent, who seems 
 not unworthy of a place in these memoirs, I mean 
 
 the revenue of the Roman church, fixed its return to every fiftieth 
 and afterwards to every twenty-fifth year. 
 
 * His political intrigues caused the French king and some of the 
 cardinals to unite against him, and after having been plundered of 
 his wealth, and kept a prisoner for some time, he died " partly for 
 
 ear which he was in, partly for famine, and partly for sorrow for 
 
 iiB lost treasure."— See Fox. \ 
 
48 Count Eleazar ; rules for his family, [Cent. 14. 
 
 Eleazar, count of Arian in Naples, born in 1295. At the 
 ag^e of twenty-three he succeeded to his father's estate. 
 That this youth, in very affluent circumstances, and at a 
 time of life when the passions are usually strong, could 
 support a constant tenour of devotion and religious serious- 
 ness to his death, which took place about five years after, 
 seems scarcely to have originated from principles lower 
 than those of real Christianity. The regulations of his 
 household are very remarkable ; some of which are as 
 follows : 
 
 '* I cannot allow any blasphemy in my house, nor any 
 thing in word or deed which offends the laws of decorum. 
 
 " Let the ladies spend the morning in reading and 
 prayer, the afternoon at some work. 
 
 " Dice and all games of hazard are prohibited. 
 
 ** Let all persons in my house divert themselves at 
 proper times, but never in a sinful manner. 
 
 " Let there be constant peace in my family ; otherwise 
 two armies are formed under my roof, and the master is 
 devoured by them both. 
 
 " If any difference arise, let not the sun go down upon 
 your wrath. 
 
 " We must bear with something, if we have to live among 
 mankind. Such is our frailty, we are scarcely in tune 
 with ourselves a whole day ; and if a melancholy humour 
 come on us, we know not well what we would have. 
 
 " Not to bear and not to forgive, is diabolical ; to love 
 enemies, and to do good for evil, is the mark of the chil- 
 dren of God. 
 
 '* Every evening all my family shall be assembled at a 
 godly conference, in which they shall hear something of 
 God and salvation. Let none be absent on pretence of 
 attending to my affairs. I have no affairs so interesting 
 to me as the salvation of my domestics. 
 
 I seriously forbid all injustice, which may cloak itself 
 under colour of serving me. 
 
 ** If I feel impatience under affront," said he, on pne 
 occasion, I look at Christ. Can any thing, which I 
 suffer, be like to tliat which he endured for me 
 
 We are told that his conduct in life corresponded to 
 these maxims. I could not prevail on myself to pass 
 over in silence such a character as this, whom general 
 historv, lull of the intrigues and ambitious enterprises of 
 popes and princes, neither knows nor regards. God has 
 
Thomas de la Mare, 
 
 49 
 
 his secret saints in the dullest seasons of the Church, and 
 Eleazar seems to have been one of these. But he was 
 soon removed from this vale of sorrow ; for he died in the 
 twenty-eighth year of his age. His behaviour in his last 
 sickness was conformable with his life. The history of 
 our Saviour's passion was read to him daily, and his mind 
 was consoled by this means amidst the pains with vrhich 
 he was afflicted.* 
 
 But, whoever in these times had any serious impres- 
 sions of religion, could scarcely meet w^ith the least solid 
 instruction. For the preaching of the word was so much 
 disused, that it is remarked as a singular commendation of 
 Thomas de la Mare, abbot of St. Alban's in the time of 
 our king Edward III., that he preached in the priory of 
 Tinmouth, where he presided before he was elected abbot 
 of St. Alban's, and employed many secular clergy and 
 mendicants to do the same, perceiving the function of 
 preaching to be w^holly omitted in monasteries,t little 
 practised by the seculars, and engrossed by the mendi- 
 cants. If " faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God," we may venture to affirm, that when- 
 ever Christian preaching is disused or despised, whether 
 through the influence of superstition or of refinement, 
 then godliness is at a low ebb, and the principles of 
 Christianity are almost unknown. A pious Eleazar may, 
 in some measure, supply the want to his own family ; but 
 what must be the state of knowledge in the world at 
 large ? The truths of the Gospel are by no means ob- 
 vious ; they require study, attention, meditation ; all the 
 prejudices of our fallen nature oppose them when brought 
 into full prospect : how dark then must be the minds of 
 those who never hear of them ! The formalities of monas- 
 ticism may give a false peace to the conscience, but they 
 cannot enlighten the understanding, nor regulate the 
 heart. Hence, amidst the most splendid appearances of 
 religion, wickedness abounded, and a cumbersome mass 
 of superstitions was a poor substitute for the love of God 
 and man. In the abbey of St. Alban's the superiors 
 decked themselves with excess of pompous attire. They 
 
 * Butler, vol. ix. It is more than probable that there were many 
 more whose knees did not bow to the Baal of Romish superstition ; 
 but they were passed without notice by the historians of those 
 times. — Ed. 
 
 t Newcomers History of St. Alban's. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 22. f 
 
50 
 
 Synods in England. 
 
 [Cent 14, 
 
 wore vestments as rich as art and money could make 
 them ; and though they changed their attire every day, 
 they could not bring them all into use. Such was the 
 state of things during the presidency of Thomas de la 
 Mare, an abbot, who was looked on as the mirror of 
 piety. 
 
 Some attempts, were, however, made in England to 
 stem the torrent of ecclesiastical corruption. Even in the 
 preceding century, about the year 1265,* a national synod, 
 held at London under Othobon, the pope's legate, under- 
 took to reform the abuses, of which the whole nation 
 loudly complained. This synod, in which Welsh, Scotch, 
 and Irish clergymen were present as well as English, was 
 looked on as of great authority, and its decisions as a 
 rule of ecclesiastical discipline to the Church. Several of 
 its canons are still in force, and make part of the canon 
 law.t The ninth canon provides against the evil of non- 
 residence, obliges the clergyman presented to a benefice 
 to resign his other preferments, and to swear to reside. 
 The twentieth provides against commutations for offences, 
 and forbids the archdeacon ever to receive money on such 
 accounts ; for " such practices," say the synod, *' amount, 
 in effect, to the grant of a license to sin." Severe, but 
 just censure of the whole papal doctrine of indulgences ! 
 How little room was there to hope, that this canon would 
 be strictly observed in archdeaconries, or in any other 
 limited district, while the supreme rulers of the Church 
 were breaking it continually ! 
 
 In a council held at Lambeth in 1281,1 a canon was 
 enacted, which lays down rules of preaching concerning 
 the fundaniental articles of religion. It contains some 
 wholesome truths, but mixed with much superstition. 
 But the worst part of the canon is, that the parish priest 
 was obliged to explain these fundamental articles only 
 once a quarter. One is almost tempted to think, that the 
 dignitaries of the Church formerly prohibited some abuses, 
 merely to save appearances, and were afraid, lest fre- 
 quency of preaching might prpve the means of a complete 
 reformation. In this sanje council at Lambeth they allow 
 the BLOOD of Christ in the lesser churches only to the 
 
 * Collier. 
 
 t Several of these canons are only Otho's constitutions confirmed 
 and enforced with further penalties. 
 X Coliier. 
 
The wine denied in the communion. 51 
 
 priest, and the wine which they granted to the laity, they 
 said, was merely wine. It was expressly declared, that the 
 whole body and blood of Christ was given at once under 
 the species of bread ; though sometimes a cup of wine 
 was given to the people.* And thus the innovation of 
 denying to the laity communion in both kinds was gra- 
 dually introduced. This was one of the latest, and at the 
 same time, one of the most shameless and absurd corrup- 
 tions of popery, destitute of every ground of argument, 
 either from Scripture or common sense ; nor is it easy to 
 conceive how it could ever have found its way into 
 Christendom. But those who invented it intended to 
 strengthen men's minds in the belief of transubstantiation, 
 and also by sensible marks to impress on the imaginations 
 of the people the superior dignity of the clergy.f Be 
 this as it may, we certainly find that, in the century which 
 we are at present reviewing, superstition has advanced 
 some steps farther. 
 
 In the reign of Edward I., one of the wisest and most 
 vigorous of our princes, it was natural for those who 
 groaned under Romish oppressions, to expect some reiiefl 
 But the pusillanimous conduct of his father, Henry III., 
 had, during a very long reign, enabled the popes to 
 enslave the nation completely, and unless the successor 
 had himself felt the spirit of godliness, of which there are 
 no evidences, it was not to be expected that he would 
 exert himself for the good of the Church. Edward in- 
 deed was very great in the arts both of war and of peace j 
 but in ecclesiastical matters he did much less for his 
 country. He paid, though with reluctance, the tribute 
 imposed on king John, which had been remitted to Rome 
 all the days of Henry III. He would not, however, allow 
 it to be called a tribute; and he constantly maintained 
 that he was not a vassal of the Roman see. His weak 
 son and successor, Edward II., cannot be supposed to 
 have been capable of relieving the nation ; but under 
 Edward IH. something was done to restrain the encroach- 
 ments of the popedom. This great prince resolutely 
 
 * Spelman, Concil. p. 329. Henry's Hist. book. v. 
 
 t The reason for denying the cuj) to the laity is obvious. If the 
 truth of transubstantiation is admitted, and the bread is changed 
 into the blood as well as the body of Christ, it is needless; while 
 administering the wine would add to the exj^ense and trouble, and 
 the carrying about the wine would hazard its being spilt, and its 
 Bupposed profanation. — Ed. — See Bishop Jewel, 
 
 F 2 
 
52 
 
 Marsilius of Padua, 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 refused to pay the annual stipend to Rome, and procured 
 a parliamentary declaration, that king John had no right 
 to reduce the English realm to a state of vassalage. By 
 the statute of provisors he secured the rights of patrons 
 and electors of livings, against the claims of the papal see, 
 and outlawed those who should dare to appeal to Rome. 
 
 On the Continent also the papal tyranny met with some 
 opposition. The emperor Lewis was excommunicated by 
 Pope Clement VI., because he had dared to exercise the 
 imperial authority, which had been conferred on him by 
 the electors, without waiting for the confirmation of the 
 pope : and so prevalent was the reign of superstition, that 
 Lewis was obliged to renounce the imperial dignity. 
 There were not w^anting, however, some learned men, who 
 protested against these papal usurpations, and particu- 
 larly Marsilius of Padua, who published a defence of the 
 emperor's authority against the encroachments of the pope, 
 and maintained some Protestant positions, not only in 
 regard to ecclesiastical government, but also in support of 
 that which is infinitely more important, the pure doctrine 
 of the Gospel. In substance he appears to have held 
 that leading article of Christianity, justification before 
 God, only for the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings: 
 and he affirmed, that good works are not the efficient cause 
 of our acceptance with God, but that, on the contrary, they 
 are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, which, 
 in effect, never exists for any length of time without them.* 
 Distinctions in the eyes of superficial thinkers in religion 
 always apparently frivolous, though they are inseparably 
 connected with the true relief of burdened consciences, 
 and though they directly tend not only to undermine the 
 whole system of papal fallacy, but also to promote true 
 holiness of heart and life. — But of this same Marsilius, 
 who saw so clearly an essential branch of Evangelical 
 truth, I rather conjecture than affirm, that he had the 
 spirit of a wise and holy reformer. 
 
 About the same time, that is, about the middle of this 
 century, Conrade Hager^ in the city of Herbipoli,t taught 
 for the space of twenty-four years together, that the Mass 
 was not properly a sacrifice for sin ; and of consequence 
 was of no avail either to the living or to the dead for 
 their acceptance with God ; and therefore that the money 
 
 * Fox, Acts and Monum. vol i. p. 443. t Ibid. p. 445. 
 
Conrade Hager. — Ploitghman^s Complaint. S3 
 
 bestowed on the priests for masses in behalf of the de- 
 ceased, was pregnant with superstitious abominations. It 
 is probable, that he taught also good doctrine, as well 
 as opposed that which was evil. He was condemned as a 
 heretic, and imprisoned ; but history is silent concerning 
 the issue of his afflictions. 
 
 In general, however, the great defect of those who with- 
 stood the reigning corruptions of these times was this ; 
 they distinctly complained of the fashionable abomina- 
 tions, but were very scanty in describing the real evan- 
 gelical doctrines, which alone can relieve and sanctify the 
 souls of men. This remark is but too applicable to the 
 very best of the reformers, who appeared in Europe from 
 this time till the era of the reformation. That was a 
 work, which well deserved its name, because it builded up 
 as well as pulled down, and presented the Church with a 
 new fabric, as well as demoHshed the old. It was a work 
 in which the characters of a Divine influence appeared 
 far more completely than in any of the former attempts 
 against popery; and therefore its effects were lasting. — 
 They remain to this day. 
 
 But THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS IS NOT TO BE DESPISED.* 
 
 In this century, and probably towards the close of it, 
 the " Ploughman's Complaint'' appeared in England ; an 
 excellent tract, which, with much zeal and energy, de- 
 scribed the reigning abuses, and stated the true doctrines 
 of the Gospel, and which, doubtless, was not without 
 effect. 
 
 Richard Fizraft was one of the most eminent confessors 
 in this age. He was brought up at Oxford, and pro- 
 moted by Edward III. to the archbishopric of Armagh in 
 Ireland. He distinguished himself by opposing the pre- 
 tensions of the Mendicant orders ; who, armed with papal 
 authority, encroached on the rights of the secular clergy, 
 and prevented them from the exercise of godly discipline. 
 " I have," said he, ** in my diocese of Armagh, about two 
 thousand persons, who stand condemned by the censures 
 of the church, denounced every year against murderers, 
 thieves, and such like malefactors, of all which numbers, 
 scarcely fourteen have applied to me or my clergy for 
 absolution. Yet they all receive the sacraments, as others 
 do, because they are absolved, or pretend to be absolved, 
 by friars,'* 
 
 ♦ Zech. iv. 1 Fox, p. 464, &c. 
 
 F 3 
 
54 
 
 Richard Fizraf, 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 Nor was this the only point in which Fizraf opposed 
 the Mendicants. He withstood their practice of begging ; 
 and maintained, that it is every man's duty to support 
 himself by honest labour ; — that it forms no part of Chris- 
 tian wisdom and holiness for men to profess themselves 
 Mendicants, — that to subsist by begging ought to be 
 matter of necessity, never of choice, — that the Son of God, 
 as he never taught such doctrine, so he never practised 
 it in his own person, — and that, though he was always 
 poor when on earth, he never was a beggar. This was 
 to strike at the root of the pretended sanctity of the friars, 
 who were enraged to find the very practice, in which they 
 gloried as matter of extraordinary virtue, represented as 
 in its own nature unlawful. Fizraf was therefore cited 
 by the friars to appear before pope Innocent VI., and to 
 give an account of the doctrine which he had broached 
 and maintained both in the pulpit and in conversation. 
 The archbishop obeyed ; and, in the presence of the pope, 
 defended at large the rights of parochial ministers against 
 the intrusion of the Mendicants, and exposed the various 
 enormities of the latter. What effect his defence had on 
 the mind of the pope does not distinctly appear. It is 
 certain, however, that this confessor was persecuted both 
 by civil and ecclesiastical powers, and suffered a variety 
 of hardships. In a certain confession or prayer which our 
 martyrologist* saw, and intended, as he tells us, to pub- 
 lish, Fizraf describes the history of his own life, and par- 
 ticularly declares how the Lord had instructed him, and 
 brought him out of the vanities of Aristotelian subtilty to 
 the study of the Scriptures. The beginning of the prayer 
 in Latin is given us by Fox, and deserves to be translated ; 
 ** To Thee be praise, glory, and thanksgiving, O Jesus 
 most holy, most powerful, most amiable, who hast said, 
 ' I am the way, the truth, and the life a way without 
 aberration, truth without a cloud, and a life without end. 
 For thou hast shown to me the way; thou hast taught 
 me truth ; and thou hast promised me life. Thou wast 
 my way in exile, thou wast my truth in counsel, and thou 
 wilt be my life in reward.'' 
 
 This distinguished person was seven or eight years in 
 banishment, and died in that situation, having defended 
 his tenets by words and by writings to his death. Of his 
 refutation of the reigning abuses the account is large, but 
 • Fox. 
 
Militzius, 
 
 55 
 
 to us, at least at this day, tedious and unnecessary; of his 
 Christian spirit, doctrine, and sufferings, the account is 
 very brief, but I think sufficient to show that God was 
 
 WITH HIM. 
 
 About the year 1372, pope GregOvy XL despatched a 
 bull to the archbishop of Prague, in which he commanded 
 him to excommunicate Militzius, a Bohemian. This man 
 had belonged to some religious order at Prague, and 
 having forsaken it, had given himself to preaching, and 
 had certain congregations following him. Among these 
 were several harlots, who being converted from their 
 wickedness, now led a godly life. Militzius was wont to 
 say of them, that in religious attainments they were supe- 
 rior to all the nuns in Christendom. Another of his asser- 
 tions, which provoked the indignation of pope Gregory, 
 was, that Antichrist was already come. In his writings, 
 he declared that he was moved by the Holy Spirit, to 
 search out by the Scriptures concerning the coming of An- 
 tichrist. Little more is recorded concerning this confessor 
 than that he was, at length, silenced and imprisoned by 
 the archbishop of Prague. 
 
 There were others who opposed the corruptions of the 
 times ; but the account is too obscure and scanty to be 
 interesting. Both in private and in public life there were 
 doubtless some sincere servants of God and his Christ ^ 
 and I wish I could gratify the mind of the pious reader 
 with an instructive relation of them. But of such men 
 history is almost silent. Apparent rari nantes in gur- 
 GiTE VASTO.* — However, in the dearth of faithful and 
 intelligent Christians, a brief review of the character and 
 writings of Thomas Bradwardine will not only afford 
 gratification, but excite surprise. — He appears to have 
 been an extraordinary man; and has left behind him 
 unequivocal marks of real holiness. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 THOMAS BRADWARDINE, 
 
 This learned and pious person is supposed to have 
 been born about the middle of the reign of king Edward I. 
 • They are scarcely to be discerned upon the vast expanse. 
 
bf) Bradwardine, [Cent. 14. 
 
 He was of Merton College, Oxford, and was one of the 
 proctors of that university in 132.5. He excelled in mathe- 
 matical knowledge, and was in general distinguished for 
 his accurate and solid investigations in divinity. There 
 was a depth in his researches which entitled him to the 
 name of " the profound.''* He seems to have been so 
 devoted to a recluse and sedentary life, that very little 
 has come down to us concerning his conduct and trans- 
 actions. He was confessor to king Edward III., and 
 attended that monarch in his French wars. It is ob- 
 served that he often preached before the army. On occa- 
 sion of a vacancy in the see of Canterbury, the monks of 
 tliat city chose him archbishop; but Edward, who was 
 fond of his company, refused to part with him. Another 
 vacancy happening soon after, the monks elected him a 
 second time, and Edward yielded to their desires. The 
 modesty and innocence of his manners, and his unques- 
 tionable piety and integrity, seem to have been the princi- 
 pal causes of his advancement. He was^ however, by no 
 means adapted to a court; and soon found himself out of 
 his element. His personal manners and deportment were 
 the object of derision to the courtiers ; and when he was 
 consecrated at Avignon, cardinal Hugh, a nephew of the 
 pope, ridiculed the prelate, by introducing into the hall a 
 person habited as a peasant riding on an ass, petitioning 
 the pope to make him archbishop of Canterbury.t This 
 was one of " the spurns which patient merit of the un- 
 worthy takes." But the jest was found not to answer the 
 ungenerous views of him who made it. It appeared to 
 the assembly that solid learning and understanding, though 
 destitute of exterior accomplishments, when clothed with 
 piety and humility, as in Bradwardine's case, were by no 
 means proper subjects of ridicule and contempt. The pope 
 and his cardinals resented the indignity, and frowned on 
 the insolent contriver. 
 
 Bradwardine was consecrated in 1349, in the twenty- 
 third year of Edward III. ; but not many weeks after his 
 consecration, and only seven days after his return into 
 England, he died at Lambeth. His departure out of life 
 seems to have been a providential mercy to himself. For 
 we may well doubt whether his elevation would have 
 increased either his comfort or his reputation. He, who, 
 
 * Bradwardine's Life, prefixed to his works. 
 
 t Henry's History of England, fourteenth century. 
 
His work against Pelagiaiiism, 
 
 57 
 
 before his promotion, was judged of all men the most 
 worthy to preside in the Church, would, in all probability, 
 partly on account of the habits of a studious life and partly 
 on account of the complexion of the times, have soon been 
 deemed unequal to the office. In the early periods of the 
 Church he might have shone with distinguished lustre ; 
 but a pious archbishop of simple manners was not adapted 
 for that age. 
 
 His great work was '* Concerning the Cause of God 
 against Pelagius.*' An admirable performance ! whether 
 one considers the force of his genius, the solidity of his 
 reasoning powers, or the energy of his devotion. In 
 reviewing it, it gave me great satisfaction to observe, that 
 in one of the darkest periods the Spirit of God had raised 
 up a defender of divine truth. Abstracted from the spirit 
 of the times in which he lived, Bradwardine gave himself 
 up to the investigation of real gospel truth ; and he pub- 
 lished to the world, in a large volume, the fruit of his 
 researches. Some few extracts may give the reader a just 
 idea of his doctrine and spirit ; and may also throw some 
 light on the state of religion in the age in which he 
 lived. 
 
 In the preface he lays open his heart, and explains the 
 exercise of his mind on the great subject of divine grace, 
 which he attempts to defend against the supporters of the 
 doctrine of freewill ; a term which I have repeatedly ob- 
 served to be improper ; and which, as used by him, and 
 by most, if not all, of the fathers, who really loved evan- 
 gelical truth, means much the same as self-sufficiency.* 
 Bradwardine had observed how very few in his days ap- 
 peared to be conscious of their need of the Holy Spirit to 
 renew their natures ; and being himself deeply sensible 
 of thet desperate wickedness of the human heart, and of 
 the preciousness of the grace of Christ, he seems to have 
 overlooked, or little regarded, the fashionable supersti- 
 tions of his time, and to have applied the whole vigour 
 and vehemence of his spirit to the defence of the found- 
 ations of the Gospel. But let us hear him speak for 
 himself 
 
 " As I am somewhat encouraged by the countenance of 
 
 * Or rather it means an ability to determine what we will choose ; 
 a thing- absolutely impossible to a mind under the bondage of Saian, — 
 Ed. 
 
 t Jerem, xvii. 9. 
 
58 
 
 Extracts, — On FreewilL 
 
 tliose who love the cause of God, so I own I am dis- 
 couraged by the opposition of those who embrace the 
 cause of Pelagius, who are, alas ! far more numerous. 
 For behold, I speak it with real grief of heart, as formerly 
 eight hundred and fifty prophets, with the addition of 
 numbers of the populace without end, were united against 
 one prophet of the Lord, so at this day, how many, O 
 Lord, contend for freewill against thy gratuitous grace, 
 and against St. Paul the spiritual champion of grace ! 
 How many, indeed, in our times despise thy saving grace ; 
 and maintain, that freewill suffices for salvation ! or if 
 they use the term grace, how do they boast that they 
 deserve it by the strength of freewill ; so that grace in 
 their eyes appears to be sold at a price, and not freely 
 conferred from above ! How many, presuming on the 
 power of their own freewill, refuse thy influence in their 
 operations, saying, with the ungodly. Depart from us ! 
 How many, extolling the liberty of their own will, refuse 
 thy service ; or, if with their lips they own that thou dost 
 co-operate with them, how do they, like the proud, disobe- 
 dient angels of old, who hated thee, refuse that thou 
 shouldst reign over them ! Nay, prouder than Satan, and 
 not content to esteem themselves thy equals, they most 
 arrogantly boast, that they reign above thee, the King of 
 kings. For they fear not to maintain, that their own will 
 in common actions goes before as the mistress, that thine 
 follows as a handmaid ; that they go before as lords, that 
 thou folio west as a servant; that they as kings command, 
 and that thou as a subject obeyest. How many support 
 Pelagianism with clamour, raillery, and derision ! Almost 
 the whole world is gone after Pelagius into error. Arise, 
 O Lord, judge thy own cause : sustain him who under- 
 takes to defend thy truth ; protect, strengthen, and com- 
 fort me. For thou knowest, that no where relying on my 
 own strength, but trusting in thine, I, a weak worm, 
 attempt to maintain so great a cause." 
 
 From the vehemence of his complaints it appears, that 
 together with the triumphant progress of superstition, the 
 Christian world had made rapid advances in self-suffici- 
 ency. The scholastic learning, which was ardently 
 cultivated, had enlisted itself on the side of Pelagianism, 
 or at least of semi-Pelagianism. Those who were not 
 hardy enough to maintain the merit of condignity, yet 
 strenuously held the merit of congruityy which was indeed 
 
Reflections. 
 
 59 
 
 the favourite theme of the fashionable divines. By its as- 
 sistance they arrog-ated to themselves the merit of doing; 
 certain good actions, which would render it meet and 
 equitable that God should confer saving grace on theit 
 hearts.* This is that grace of congruity which the Church 
 of England condemns in her 13th Article ; and it was 
 precisely one of those contrivances, by which the natural 
 pride of a heart unacquainted with its own total apostasy 
 endeavours to support its dignity, and to prevent an inge- 
 nuous confession of helplessness and of complete unwor- 
 thiness. History shows this sentiment to be perfectly 
 semi-Pelagian. Inward preventing grace," say that 
 sect, " is not necessary to form in the soul the first begin- 
 nings of true repentance and amendment ; every one is 
 capable of producing these by the mere power of his na- 
 tural faculties, as also of exercising faith in Christ, and of 
 forming the purposes of a holy, and sincere obedience." 
 But they acknowledge also, that '* none can persevere or 
 advance in that holy and virtuous course, without the per- 
 petual support and the powerful assistance of grace. 
 
 Something like this seems to be the religion natural to 
 man as a fallen creature, when he " leans to his own un- 
 derstanding,'' and derives not his creed from divine reve- 
 lation ; and when at the same time he is not advanced by 
 a more uncommon degree of hardihood into the pride of 
 perfect Pelagianism* On this plan, Bradwardine thinks, 
 that God is made the servant, man the master ; and it is 
 remarkable, that a poet of our own who seems to have 
 embraced this scheme, admits the same thought, when he 
 says. 
 
 Heaven but persuades, Almighty man decrees; 
 Man is the maker of immortal Fates4 
 
 I am sensible, how much has been said, and may be 
 said with great plausibility, in support of the poet's doc- 
 trine. But it is perfectly foreign to the design of this 
 f history, to enter into so boundless a field of controversy. 
 Suffice it once more to refer the reader to Edwards's treatise 
 on the Freedom of the Will, for a full and complete con- 
 futation of the scheme. I shall only add, that all truly 
 
 ^ * Condignity implies merit; and, of course, claims reward on the 
 score of justice. Congruity pretends only to a sort of imperfect 
 qualification for the gift and reception of God's grrice. 
 t Mosheitn, vol. i. p. 277. 
 X Young's Night Thoughts, Night 7. 
 
60 On self-svfficiency, [Cent. 14. 
 
 humble souls, whose consciences have felt the force of 
 Christian doctrine, are assuredly persuaded that their sal- 
 vation is altogether of grace from first to last, by the cer- 
 tain testimony not only of Scripture,* but also of their own 
 experience, though they may never have formally discussed 
 the controversy before us. Such a soul, if I mistake not, 
 was that of Bradwardine ; and as he was conscious of the 
 pernicious tendency of self-sufficiency, he writes from a 
 heart inflamed with zeal for the divine glory, and labouring 
 with charitable concern for the souls of men. 
 
 Bradwardine goes on in his preface to inform us, how 
 he had prayed, and with what strength and consolation 
 he had been favoured. After having described the oppo- 
 sition made to divine grace from age to age, he thus 
 concludes : " I know, O Lord God, that thou dost not 
 despise nor forsake those who love thee, but thou dost 
 sustain, teach, cherish, strengthen, and confirm them. 
 Relying on this thy goodness and truth, I undertake to war 
 under thy invincible banners." 
 
 The treatise itself is worthy of him who was called the 
 PROFOUND. The author appears to have been endowed 
 with a strong argumentative mind; but the work is too 
 metaphysical for the perusal of ordinary readers, nor 
 would it answer any valuable purpose to present the 
 reader with a regular abridgment of its contents. The 
 mode of writing in that age was tedious and prolix beyond 
 measure ; and it must be ascribed to the infection of the 
 scholastic turn of those times, that Bradwardine wrote 
 against the errors of the schoolmen in their own style and 
 manner. He possessed not the useful qualification of 
 writing in a plain scriptural manner, and of making use of 
 arguments equally capable of impressing all ranks of men. 
 The popular talent of perspicuously displaying divine 
 truths, and of happily illustrating them by proofs drawn 
 from the Scripture and experience, was at that time 
 hardly known in Christendom. 
 
 Some concise observations however, and a selection of 
 a few remarkable passages, may give the reader an idea of 
 the nature of the work. 
 
 * " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling^ ; for it is 
 God that worketh in you both to will and to do." Philipp. ii. 12, 13. 
 This very important passage of Scripture, while it demonstrates 
 both the necessity and the efficacy of Divine Grace, shows at the 
 same time, that the Holy Spirit nevertheless operates on the mind 
 of man as a rational creature, possessed of will and understanding. 
 
Rational religion. 
 
 61 
 
 Bradwardine undertakes to lay before mourning peni- 
 tents the consolations of the gospel ; and, particularly, to 
 animate and cheer the hearts of those who are ready to 
 despair on account of the greatness of their transgressions.* 
 He tells us that some Jews once declared to him, that 
 those who had sinned four times repeatedly, were entirely 
 excluded from all possibility of pardon, grounding their 
 notion on the expression several times repeated in the first 
 chapter of Amos, ** for three transgressions, and for four." 
 Against this mean conceit, worthy of a rabbinical taste, he 
 shows the immensity of the divine perfections of goodness 
 and mercy, and represents them as far surpassing the 
 limited evils of man, provided the sinner repent and hum- 
 bly come to God. 
 
 " Josephus t tells us,'* says he, " that the Sadducees 
 thought it a glorious thing to contend against the renowned 
 doctors of their nation in philosophical points : thus, at 
 this day, I fear very many seek glory, by overturning or 
 seeming to overturn the constructions and interpretations 
 of others. They, who have not a single house or cottage % 
 of their own erection, are peculiarly infected with the love 
 of glory ; they are indeed the bolder in dismantling the 
 buildings of others, because they are in no fear of retalia- 
 tion, as they have nothing of their own to lose." So ex- 
 actly similar have sceptics been in all ages ! for example, 
 the Sadducees in the time of Josephus, the Pelagians in 
 the time of Bradwardine, and those who at this day arro- 
 gate to themselves exclusively the credit of being rational 
 in religion. Dubious and hesitating in regard to their 
 own systems, vehement and decisive against the systems 
 of others, they even glory that they have not yet com- 
 pleted their own creed, while they condemn as bigots all 
 who profess to have determinate articles of faith, as if the 
 perfection of wisdom lay in reasoning against every thing, 
 and in determining nothing ; or as if the Scripture was 
 not a form of sound words, which we ought to hold fast 
 without wavering, so far as it reveals to us the doctrines 
 of God and the path of duty. Bradwardine observing, 
 that a disputatious and sceptical spirit resulted from the 
 pride of the heart, prays earnestly for a heaven-taught 
 
 ♦ Book i. p. 20. t P. 145. 
 
 % This metaphoiical language is used by Bradwardine against the 
 boasting critics ot ids own day, to denote their povejty of invention 
 in religious subjects. 
 
 Vol. IV.->No. 23. g 
 
62 
 
 Bradwardhie. 
 
 simplicity of mind; and while he takes notice, that God 
 despises the proud, he thankfully owns that he visits, 
 illuminates, and rejoices with the simple. 
 
 Sir Henry Savile, the learned editor of the principal 
 work of Bradwardine, informs us, that this extraordinary 
 man devoted his main application to the study of theology 
 and mathematics ; and that particularly in the latter he 
 distanced, perhaps, the most skilful of his contemporaries. 
 In proof of these assertions the editor refers to several of 
 Bradwardine's mathematical tracts, and to a large manu- 
 script volume of astronomical tables, which Sir Henry had 
 then in his own possession, and considered as a very ela- 
 borate and valuable performance. But in divinity, says 
 he, this single treatise which I now publish, will be a 
 lasting monument of his superior talents. It was written 
 in support of the cause of God against the Pelagian heresy, 
 which experience shows to be a growing evil in every 
 age. The substance of the work had been delivered in 
 lectures at Oxford ; and the author, at the request of the stu- 
 dents of Merton College, arranged, enlarged, and polished 
 them, while he was chancellor of the diocese of London. 
 No sooner was this performance given to the public, than it 
 was received with the greatest applause by all learned 
 doctors, and found its way into almost every library 
 throughout Europe. As Bradwardine was a very excellent 
 mathematician, he endeavoured to treat theological sub- 
 jects with a mathematical accuracy ; and' was the first 
 divine, as far as I know, who pursued that method. 
 Hence this book against Pelagianism is one regular con- 
 nected series of reasoning, from principles or conclusions 
 which have been demonstrated before. 
 
 *' If in the several lemmas and propositions, a mathe- 
 matical accuracy is not on all occasions completely pre- 
 served, the reader must remember to ascribe the defect to 
 the nature of the subject, rather than to the author." 
 
 This account of the extreme singularity of Bradwardine's 
 taste appeared worthy of notice. 
 
 It has already been concisely observed, that Bradwar- 
 dine attended kins: Edward the Third in his French wars, 
 and that he often preached before the army. His biogra- 
 pher, Sir Henry, is more particular : he tells us, that 
 some writers of that time attributed the signal victories of 
 Edward, rather to the virtues and holy character of his 
 chaplain and confessor Bradwardine, than to the bravery 
 
On the Divine Being. — Concerning merit f>3 
 
 dT prudence of the monarch or of any other person. '* He 
 made it his business to calm and mitigate the fierceness 
 of his master^s temper, when he saw him either immode- 
 rately fired with warHke rage, or improperly flushed with 
 the advantages of victory. He also often addressed the 
 army ; and with so much meekness, and persuasive dis- 
 cretion, as to restrain them from those insolent excesses 
 which are too frequently the attendants of military success." 
 
 Bradwardine's treatise against the Pelagians, which is 
 so much extolled by Sir H. Savile, is a folio of almost 
 nine hundred pages. It may not be disagreeable to the 
 reader to peruse a few additional extracts, on account of 
 the important matter they contain, and the mathematical 
 accuracy of manner which this author constantly endea- 
 vours to support, and which is, in general, so unusual in 
 the treating of such subjects. 
 
 OF THE DIVINE BEING. 
 
 Among the first positions which he undertakes to prove, 
 are these. That God is not contingently, but necessarily 
 perfect. That he is incapable of changing. That he is 
 not liable, for example, to the emotions of joy, sorrow, 
 anger; or, in any respect passive. Since, if he were, he 
 would be changeable ; whereas God is always the same, 
 and never varies. He cannot change for the better, be- 
 cause he is already perfectly good. Neither can he change 
 for the worse, because he is necessarily perfect, and there- 
 fore cannot cease to be so. Lastly, he cannot change to ^ 
 state equally good, because such an alteration could 
 answer no end, and would in reality imply some defect.* 
 
 He observes, that the Divine Will is universally effi- 
 cacious, which, he contends, is a mark of much higher 
 perfection, than if his will could be frustrated, hindered, or 
 miss of its intent. If it were possible for God to wish any 
 thing, and yet not bring it to pass, he would and must 
 from that moment cease to be perfectly happy ; especially 
 as it is impossible that he should choose any thing but 
 what is right. 
 
 concerning merit. 
 Most powerfully he beats down the doctrine of human 
 MERIT. He will not allow that men can merit at the hand 
 of God, either antecedently or subsequently; that is, either 
 * Lib. i. cap. 1. 
 Q 2 
 
64 
 
 Bradwardine 
 
 prior to grace received, or after it. Is it not more boari- 
 tifiil to give than to barter ? to bestow a thing freely, and 
 for nothing- than for the sake of any preceding or subse- 
 quent desert, which would be a sort of price ? Even a 
 generous man often confers benefits on others, without 
 any view to the previous or succeeding merit of the object. 
 Much more does God do this, who is infinitely richer in 
 bounty, than the most liberal of his creatures.''* 
 
 Has not truth itself declared, " My Father worketh 
 hitherto, and I work.'* And does not the Apostle of truth 
 use the words, " In him we live, move, and have our 
 being !" I therefore repeat, That it must be manifest to 
 every one, who has a sound understanding, 1. That no 
 thing whatever can put any other thing into motion, unless 
 God himself, by his own proper influence, give motion to 
 the thing so moved. 2. That no thing whatever can put 
 any other into motion, without God's being the immedi- 
 ate mover of it. And even, 3. That whatsoever is put in 
 motion by any thing else, is more immediately moved by 
 God himself than by the instrument which sets it in 
 motion, be that instrument what it will. Now, if any 
 person should cavil at this doctrine, and say. That this 
 argument would make the Supreme Being the author of 
 many actions, even wicked actions, which are not fit to be 
 named, the answer is. The words which express those 
 actions are not to be taken strictly or absolutely, but only 
 as they relate to the creature, not as descriptive of the 
 real essence of the actions, but only of their nature when 
 
 viewed as the effects of human powers In every 
 
 formation and in every motion there must be some unori- 
 ginated former ; else the process would be endless. t 
 
 It should be remembered, that the historian does not 
 pretend to dictate to his reader, nor even to explain his^ 
 own opinion on these intricate subjects. He only ven- 
 tures to lay before him the judgment of an excellent 
 Christian, and a most acute metaphysician of the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 OF THE DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 What Bradwardine delivers concerning the knowledge 
 of God is worthy of the utmost attention. 
 
 It is certain that God has a knowledge of all things 
 present, of all things past, and of all things to come ; 
 ♦ Lib. i. cap. 1. t Ibid, cap. 4, 5. 
 
Of the Divine knowledge. 
 
 65 
 
 which knowledge is, in the highest sense, actual, particu- 
 lar, distinct, and infallible. It may be considered as either 
 simple, or approbative. His simple or absolute know- 
 ledge extends to every thing. His knowledge of appro- 
 bation, over and above the former, includes his good 
 pleasure and complacency of will. He produces scripture 
 in support of this distinction of the divine knowledge, as 
 Matt. XXV. 12, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 
 And 1 Cor. viii. 3, If any man love God, he is known of 
 him.* 
 
 The fifteenth chapter of the first book is wholly taken up 
 in proving, that things known are not the foundation of 
 the knowledge of God. Knowledge is a principal perfec- 
 tion in God. If therefore his knowledge were derived 
 from the objects with which it is conversant, it would fol- 
 low that a part of the perfection of God was derived from 
 some other source than himself, in which case he must 
 cease to be self-perfect. He would moreover cease to be 
 all-sufficient : he would stand in need of created help to 
 render his knowledge complete. And how could his 
 glory be unrivalled, if any portion of it were suspended on 
 borrowed assistance ? Add to this, if the things that are 
 known by God, are verily the producing cause of his 
 knowing them, they must be antecedent to his knowledge, 
 either in the order of time, or of nature. But they are not 
 prior to his knowledge in either of these respects; for they 
 are all created in time ; whereas God and his knowledge 
 are eternal. Besides, if the Deity received any degree of 
 his intelligence from the beings he has made, he would 
 cease to be purely active ; he would be passive in that 
 reception. Whence it would also follow that he must be 
 susceptible of change. Nay, he would degenerate into a 
 sort of inferiority to the things known ; and being depend- 
 ent on them for his knowledge, he would, so far, be less 
 noble than they. The Divine Understanding would. Tike 
 ours, be occasionally in a state of suspense and fluctuation. 
 God might be said to possess rather the power or capabi- 
 lity of knowing, than knowledge itself. He would only be 
 disposed to know either this or that, indifferently, as the 
 thing might turn, and would be actuated and determined 
 by agencies and casualties extraneous to himself And thus 
 he would neither be the highest nor the first. For these 
 reasons Aristotle and Averroes were right in affirmmg 
 * Ibid. cap. 6, 7. 
 
66 Bradwardine. 
 
 that the Divine knowledge is perfect as it exists in 
 God himself, and neither is, nor can be, improved by any 
 things that are known. In a similar manner, also, argues 
 Peter Lombard. " If the things," says he, which God 
 knows, were the basis of the Divine knowledge, it would 
 follow, that creatures contributed to improve their Maker's 
 wisdom ; and thus foolish man, or even the meanest beast 
 of the field, would be exalted into an assistant, a coun- 
 sellor, and a teacher of the all-wise God." Lastly, the 
 testimony of Augustine is very much in point : God, says 
 he, knows all his creatures both corporeal and incorporeal, 
 not because they exist ; for he was not ignorant of what 
 he intended to create ; but they therefore exist, because 
 he foreknew them. Amidst the innumerable revolutions of 
 advancing and departing ages, the knowledge of God is 
 neither lessened nor augmented. No incident can pos- 
 sibly arise, which thou, thou, who knowest all things, 
 didst not expect and foresee ; and every created nature is 
 what it is, in consequence of thy knowing it as such. 
 
 Neither are we to understand our profound scholar, as 
 though he were contending for the mere abstract know- 
 ledge of God as a principle of causation. No: according 
 to him, the efficacy of the Divine knowledge depends on 
 the sovereign irresistibility of the Divine will. " The will 
 of God,'' says he, in his tenth chapter, is universally 
 efficacious, and invincible, and necessitates as a cause. It 
 cannot be impeded, much less defeated, by any means 
 whatever.'* 
 
 The following argument is expressed in terms remarkably 
 concise and nervous. 
 
 If you allow, 1. That God is able to do a thing, and, 
 2. That he is willing to do a thing ; then, 3. I affirm, 
 THAT thing will not, cannot go unaccomplished. God 
 either does it now, or will certainly do it at the destined 
 season, otherwise he must either lose his power, or change 
 his mind. He is in want of nothing to carry his purposes 
 into execution. Hence the remark of the philosopher. Si 
 potuit et voluit, egit. He that hath will and power to do a 
 thing, certainly doth that thing. Again, if the will of God 
 may be frustrated, the defeat would arise from the created 
 wills of men or angels; but we can never allow any 
 created will, angelic or human, to be superior to the will 
 of the Creator. Both the Divine knowledge and the Di- 
 vine will are altogether unchangeable, since if either one 
 
Of Fate. 
 
 67 
 
 or the other were to undergo an alteration, a change must 
 take place in God himself. 
 
 OF FATE. 
 
 The sentiments of Bradwardine respecting fate are 
 evidently the result of profound thinking. 
 
 Many persons affirm the existence of fate ; and many, 
 particularly of the Catholic doctors, deny there is any such 
 thing. The Stoics are advocates for fate ; on the con- 
 trary, Augustine reprobates the idea of it, as inconsistent 
 with a sound faith. The truth seems to be this : If by 
 fate is to be understood an inevitable, coercive necessity, 
 arising from the influence of the heavenly bodies, such a 
 notion is not to be maintained : but if the word be taken 
 in a lower sense, as implying, for example, only a dispo- 
 sition, or propensity in men to certain actions, this senti- 
 ment, with certain explanations, may be supported ; and 
 most certainly the idea of a Divine fate must be admitted, 
 whether we consider the word as derived from fiat or 
 from FANDO. Is it not written, that in the beginning of 
 the creation God said, fiat lux, let there be light, and 
 there was light? Is it not written again, he spake and 
 it was done ? Now this Divine fate is chiefly a branch of 
 the Divine will, which is the efficacious cause of all things. 
 Augustine was of the same mind. " All that connection,'' 
 says he, " and that train of causes, whereby every thing is 
 what it is, are, by the Stoics, called Fate ; the whole of 
 which fate is to be ascribed to the will and power of the 
 Supreme Being, who most justly is believed to foreknow 
 all things, and to leave nothing unordained. The energy 
 of the Divine will is unconquerably extended through all 
 
 things We never reject that chain of causes, wherein 
 
 the will of God has the grand sway. We avoid, how- 
 ever, giving it the name of fate ; unless indeed you derive 
 the word from fando, that is, from speaking. For we 
 cannot but acknowledge, that it is written in the Scrip- 
 tures, God hath spoken once, and these two things have 
 I heard, that power belongeth unto God, and that mercy 
 is with thee ; for thou wilt render unto every man accord- 
 ing to his works. Now when it is said, God hath spoken 
 ONCE, the meaning is, that he hath spoken unchangeably, 
 and irreversibly, even as he foreknew all things that 
 should come to pass. The kingdoms of men are abso- 
 lutely appointed by Divine Providence ; which, if any one 
 
Bradwardine» 
 
 is desirous for that reason to attribute to fate, mea ling by 
 that word the will and power of God, let him hold fast 
 the SENTIMENT and only correct the phrase.'' Bradwar- 
 dine concludes his chapter on Fate with the following 
 remarkable quotation trom Augustine : *' But though the 
 Supreme Being is the undoubted origin of every deter- 
 mined train of causes, it by no means follows that nothing 
 is in the power of the human will. For our wills them- 
 selves belong to those trains of causes which are definitively 
 fixed and arranged in the Divine mind ; and it is in that 
 way that they become the causes of human actions. Our 
 wills have just so much power as God willed and fore- 
 knew they should have ; and consequently whatever be 
 the precise degree of the power which they possess, that 
 they absolutely must possess, and that they inevitably 
 must exert ; for both their powers and their operations 
 were foreknown of God, whose foreknowledge cannot be 
 deceived.''* 
 
 These examples may be sufficient to convey some idea 
 of the acuteness of the reasoning powers of Bradwardine , 
 and the intelligent reader will be at no loss to understand 
 in what manner the conclusions of this celebrated theolo- 
 gian bear upon certain controverted points in divinity, 
 and particularly upon the Pelagian system ! Our author 
 closely follows the advocates of that heresy through all 
 their intricate windings ; and exposes their antichristian 
 sophisms and subterfuges with infinite patience and ad- 
 dress. Of course his subject leads him to examine and 
 discuss, in a very copious manner, that most difficult of 
 all inquiries, the nature of the human will, and of liberty 
 and necessity. Large and instructive extracts might 
 easily be produced on these points from his second book ; 
 but as they would detain us too long, it will be more 
 expedient to take our leave of the treatise, after having 
 selected a passage or two, which are more of a practical 
 nature, and yet altogether related to the Pelagian dispute. 
 
 ON TEMPTATION. 
 
 The human will, without a supply of the special assist- 
 ance of God, cannot conquer so much as a single tempt- 
 ation. And this special assistance Bradwardine expressly 
 says is not freewill, but the unconquerarle will of God. 
 
 ** Armed with this, his tempted children get the better 
 • Lib. i. cap. 28, 
 
On Temptation, 
 
 69 
 
 of every temptation ; destitute of this, they are constantly 
 defeated. Besides, if a man could overcome temptation 
 by his own power, it would be vain and idle in him to pray 
 to God for victory over it, or to give him thanks for victory 
 obtained.*' Lib. ii. cap. 5. 
 
 ON GRACE. 
 
 Every creature is indebted to Almighty God for various 
 gifts ; and these gifts may with sufficient propriety be 
 called the Grace of God, grace freely given. But, with 
 very great thankfulness, we ought further to observe, that 
 there is such a thing as a peculiar species of this free 
 grace, which makes a man accepted of God, makes him a 
 friend of God, and dear to him ; makes him his child for 
 the present, and a partaker of his glory in heaven. Now^ 
 continues he, the mischievous Pelagians maintain that this 
 sort of grace is not given freely by God, but is to be ob- 
 tained by preceding merits. I myself was once so foolish 
 and empty, when I first applied myself to the study of 
 philosophy, as to be seduced by this error. For whenever 
 I attended to the manner in which the divines handled this 
 point, I own the Pelagian hypothesis appeared to me the 
 more likely to be true. In the schools of the philoso- 
 phers I rarely heard a single word said concerning grace, 
 unless indeed sometimes an equivocal expression might 
 drop from the disputants, but nothing further. Whereas 
 my ears were assailed, the day through, with such asser- 
 tions as, " We are the masters of our own free actions : 
 It is in our own power to do well or ill, and to have virtues 
 or vices." And when I heard those parts of the Scriptures 
 read in the church, which extol the grace of God and 
 lower the freewill of man, for example, " It is not of him 
 that willeth, or of him that runneth, but of God that 
 showeth mercy," and many similar passages, this doctrine 
 of grace was very disagreeable to my ungrateful mind. 
 But afterwards, when I reflected on the nature of the 
 Divine character, on the knowledge of God, and his pre- 
 science, I began to perceive some few distant rays of light 
 respecting this matter, even before I became a regular 
 attendant on the lectures in divinity. I seemed to see, but 
 by no means clearly, that the grace of God is prior, both in 
 nature and in time, to any good actions that men can pos- 
 sibly perform ; and I return thanks to God, from whom 
 proceeds every good thing, for thus freely enlightening 
 
70 
 
 Bradwardine^ 
 
 my understanding. St. Augustine confesses that he 
 himself had been formerly in a similar mistake. " I was 
 once," says he, " a Pelagian in my principles. I thought 
 that faith towards God was not the gift of God, but that 
 we procured it by our own powers, and that then, through 
 the use of it, we obtained the gifts of God ; I never sup- 
 posed that the preventing grace of God was the proper 
 cause of our faith, till my mind was struck in a particular 
 manner by the apostle's argument and testimony, — What 
 hast thou that thou hast not received, and if thou hast 
 ipeceived it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not 
 received it ? My mind had been puffed up with worldly 
 books, worldly wisdom, and worldly knowledge \ but after 
 my heart was visited with the influences of Divine 
 grace, I grasped with the greatest eagerness the sacred 
 writings which were dictated by the Holy Spirit ; and 
 above the rest, those of the apostle Paul. Then fell to the 
 gtound all my objections, and all the apparent contradic- 
 tions in the Scriptures. The Bible spoke to my mind one 
 simple language of pure truth, and with this additional 
 praise of Divine grace constantly inculcated, — that no 
 man should glory as though he had not received." — 
 Bradwardine then proceeds to say, 
 
 In this whole business I follow the steps of Augustine 
 as closely as I can, for he alone appears to me to be both 
 the true apostolic logician and philosopher ; and cer- 
 tainly he is very different from many learned doctors. The 
 great point to be maintained is, that God gives his grace 
 FREELY in the strictest sense of the word, and without 
 merit on the part of man. For if God did not bestow his 
 grace in this perfectly gratuitous manner, but on account 
 of some subordinate contingent uncertain cause, he could 
 not possibly foresee how he should bestow his free gifts. 
 The word grace evidently implies that there is no antece- 
 dent merit : and in this way the apostle to the Romans 
 appears to argue, when he says, And if by grace, then it 
 is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. 
 Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of 
 grace, but of debt.'* All this is perfectly intelligible even 
 in the conduct of liberal and magnificent human charac- 
 ters. They frequently bestow their gifts from a pure spirit 
 of liberality, without the smallest previous claim on the 
 score of merit. And shall not God, whose perfections are 
 infinite, do more than this? St. Paul says, that God 
 
On Grace » 
 
 71 
 
 comnieiided his love to us in that while we were yet sinners 
 Christ died for us : and that when we were enemies, we 
 were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. St. 
 Paul was, in a peculiar manner a child of grace : with 
 gratitude therefore he honours and extols its efficacy in all 
 his epistles ; and particularly in his epistle to the Romans, 
 throughout he defends his doctrines with great precision 
 and copiousness. " Every mouth,'' says he, " must be 
 stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. By 
 the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified : Men must 
 be justified freely by his grace. By grace ye are saved 
 through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of 
 God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.'' Pela- 
 gius objects in the following manner ; If grace be per- 
 fectly free, and if all men be alike, why is grace given to 
 this man and not to that? Augustine, on a similar occa- 
 sion, exposes the wildness of such reasoning thus : You 
 might as well say, '* I am a man ; Christ was a man ; 
 why am not T the same as He? We have a common 
 nature ; and with God there is no respect of persons : 
 why then are his gifts so different ? Would any Christian, 
 nay, would any madman argue so? and yet the principles 
 of Pelagius would carry us this length." Again, the Pela- 
 gians produce such scriptures as these ; '* The Lord is 
 with you while ye be with him, and if ye seek him he will 
 be found of you.''* " Turn ye, ... . and I will turn unto 
 you.''t From which they would infer, that the grace of 
 God is proportioned to the merits of men. But all this 
 would be to no purpose, if they would but compare one 
 scripture with another : for example, " Turn us, O God of 
 our salvation ;J: and after that I was turned, I repented :§ 
 And, turn us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned." | 
 Undoubtedly such expressions as. Turn yourselves, &c. 
 
 relate to the free power which every man has to 
 
 WILL ; but if Pelagius had half an eye, he might see that 
 God, in giving the precept which directs us to turn unto 
 him, influences also the human will, and excites it to 
 action, not indeed in opposition to our free choice, but the 
 reverse, as I have all along maintained. Hence it is 
 written. Without me ye can do nothing. And again, I 
 have laboured more abundantly than you all, yet not I but 
 the grace of God within me. And lastly, I do not this 
 
 * 2 Chron. xv. 2. t Zech. i. 3. t Psalm Ixxxv. 4. 
 
 § Jer xxxi. 19. |1 Lam. v. 21. 
 
 I 
 
72 
 
 Bradwardine, 
 
 for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy 
 name's sake. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, 
 and ye shall be clean ; and I will cleanse you from your 
 idols. A new heart also will I g-ive you, and a new spirit 
 will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony 
 heart, and will give you a heart of flesh. Lib. i. cap. 35. 
 
 LOVE, PATIENCE, HUMILITY, AND THANKSGIVING, 
 
 Are the subjects of the thirty-fourth chapter of the second 
 book. And these are handled with great force and elo- 
 quence. A short specimen is given in page 76, &c. of 
 this history. It may be worth while to subjoin a few sen- 
 tences more, for the purpose of showing how steadily the 
 author keeps his eye on the mischiefs of Pelagianism. 
 
 " I know,'' says he, " O Lord, I know, and with grief 
 I relate, that there are certain proud Pelagians who choose 
 rather to trust in themselves than in God. They think 
 that if they have but freewill, and are the sole masters of 
 their own actions, they are sufficiently safe, and have a 
 ^ood foundation for hope. O ye vain children of men, 
 why will ye use a false balance ? why will ye trust in 
 yourselves, who are covered with sins, miseries, and de- 
 fects, rather than in him, who is infinitely good and com- 
 passionate, and plenteous, in his inestimable donations ? 
 Why ',vill ye not place your hopes on his happy govern- 
 ment, who cannot err ; and no longer on yourselves, who 
 continually err and stray like lost sheep ? Why rely on 
 your own diminutive, infirm, and fragile powers ; and not 
 on his Almighty help, whose strength is boundless and 
 irresistible? Beware of the prophet's curse. Thus saith 
 the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and 
 maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the 
 Lord. " I am astonished," says St. Augustine, " that, 
 notwithstanding the apostle declares. It is of faith, that it 
 might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure, — 
 men can choose rather to rely on their own debility, than 
 on the strength of the divine promise." But ye will tell 
 me, that in regard to myself, the Divine promise is alto- 
 g"ether uncertain. Be it so : What then ? Can ye depend 
 upon your own will so as to be assured of your future sal- 
 vation ? What, have ye no fears on that head ? Let him 
 that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. Since, 
 then, there may be uncertainty in either way, why not 
 place your faith, hope, and charity, where there is stability. 
 
On love, patience, humility, and thanksgiving, 73 
 
 and ^ood ground for dependence ? Strange doctrine of 
 the Peiag-ians ! Tell men, say they, of the greatness of 
 their own natural powers, and such preaching will excite 
 them to virtue ; but when ye inform them that nothing is 
 to be done without the compassion, the help, and the grace 
 of God, ye break their spirits, and drive them to despair. 
 Thus have they that confidence in their own insignificant 
 powers which all holy men have in the boundless mercy of 
 God ; and thus do the former declare war against those 
 very free gifts of God, by the assistance of which the latter 
 
 successfully fight against their innate corruptions 
 
 O Pelagians, how is it that ye, who fancy yourselves so 
 acute, do not see the dilemma into which your opinions 
 necessarily bring you ? Either ye rob the Almighty of his 
 prescience, or if ye admit that attribute, ye must, at the 
 same time, admit the conclusiveness of this reasoning. Ye 
 desire to have ground for hope ; it is my prayer that ye 
 should ; but let your hope be in the Lord. For my part, 
 it is good for me to draw near to God, and to put my trust 
 in the Lord God. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the 
 Lord, whose hope the Lord is. It is this perfect confi- 
 dence in God, which fortifies the mind of a good man 
 against every species of adversity. He knows that God 
 is most wise, just, and compassionate, and that he never 
 falls into error ; and he knows also that all things work 
 together for good to them that love God. He learns, 
 therefore, with the apostles, and many other holy men, 
 even to rejoice in sufferings. 
 
 A genuine love of God requires us to employ every 
 faculty we possess, mental and corporeal, for the praise, 
 honour, and glory of God ; moreover, we ought freely to 
 submit to every inconvenience and disadvantage, even to 
 the irrecoverable loss of ourselves, rather than offend his 
 Divine Majesty in the slightest degree. 
 
 Grant, I beseech thee, good Lord, that as I thus pro- 
 nounce my duty with my lips, I may efficaciously perform 
 the same, and persevere unto the end : and do Thou, I 
 humbly beg, of thy great compassion, deign to accept 
 this bounden service which thou hast prepared me to per- 
 form, as being the only recompense I can possibly make. 
 More than this I neither have, nor ever shall have; unless, 
 perhaps, it may be thought more, most earnestly to wish 
 both to know and to do, under all circumstances, what is 
 altogether agreeable to thy will. Grant that this also 
 
 Vol. IV,— No. 23. h 
 
74 
 
 Bradwardine 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 may be my heart's desire ; and I humbly ask these things, 
 as a poor, miserable, mendicant sinner. Is there any thing 
 farther than this for which I can ask ? I do not see that 
 there is, though I turn my thoughts every way : but if 
 there be, I entreat thee, O Lord, with the most devout 
 supplication, to answer my prayer in this respect also ; 
 that so, for thy unspeakable benefits bestowed freely upon 
 me, I may make the most grateful return in my power, 
 and manifest the feelings of my heart by incessant thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 St. Augustine, one of thy most grateful children, ob- 
 serves. That whether we would use our minds in contem- 
 plation, or our mouths in speaking, or our pens in writing, 
 we cannot be better employed than in giving thanks to God. 
 It is not easy to produce a sentiment more concise in the 
 expression, more pleasant to the ear, more grateful to the 
 understanding, or more useful in practice. The same 
 author was, no doubt, taught by Thee to say. That there is 
 true wisdom in the worship of God, which very materially 
 consists in gratitude. Hence we are particularly admo- 
 nished in the Communion Service " to give thanks to our 
 Lord God." Let us therefore humbly acknowledge that 
 every good thing we possess is from above, and cometh 
 down from the Father of lights ; and with our whole heart 
 let us give thanks to our Lord God continually. 
 
 Bradwardine maintains the doctrine of a universal, deci- 
 sive Providence ; and exposes the absurdity of the common 
 language of mankind concerning Fortune.* He observes 
 how often it is said in Scripture, that the Lord will put his 
 fear into the hearts of the enemies of his people, will fight 
 for his Church, will go before them, &c. He asserts, that 
 God meant to show by these declarations,t that this is his 
 general plan of government, which is always carried on by 
 HIS energy, though that energy may be often invisible, or 
 not accompanied with sensible miracles ; that the pro- 
 mises of divine support are specially applicable to spiritual 
 conflicts ; as, in them more particularly, the Lord means 
 to teach the impotent and the miserable where they should 
 place their hope, and seek for strength, victory, and salva- 
 tion. " Let him," says he, " who likes not these things, 
 hope in princes, trust in man, make flesh his arm, and in 
 his heart depart from the Lord ; let him trust in his bow, 
 let him fancy that his sword will save him ; and if he be 
 ♦ Pa^e 267. t Page 277 
 
On Providence. 
 
 75 
 
 successful, let him not return thanks, nor bless the Lord 
 in hymns of grateful acknowledgment, because he owes, 
 forsooth, no obligation to him : and I no way doubt, but 
 though he call himself a Christian, he will pay less regard 
 to the true God, than a Pagan does to an idol, to whom he 
 offers sacrifice. But, let others hope as they please, it is 
 good for me, in every conflict, to hold fast by God." 
 
 He makes an excellent practical use of his doctrine of 
 Providence.* *' He, who excludes from his creed the 
 view of Divine Providence, disposing of all events, not 
 permissively, but actually, removes, so far as in him lies, 
 from every troubled person the greatest encouragement 
 to patience, hope, consolation, and joy. Who will serenely 
 bear adversity, if he believe it to proceed from chance, or 
 ultimately from an enemy ; and if he do not know that it 
 really proceeds from, and is guided by, the unerring direc- 
 tion of the all-wise God, who, by means invisible to human 
 sight, purges sins, exercises virtues, and accumulates re- 
 wards ? He, doubtless, who does thus believe in Divine 
 Providence, has every advantage for patience and compo- 
 sure of mind, because he knows that all things work toge- 
 ther for his good. Thus rough places are made smooth to 
 all the saints of God, hard things are softened, the edge of 
 suffering is blunted, and bitter things are tempered sweetly : 
 and thus a singular solace, a principal and a never- failing 
 refreshment, in all adversities, is provided for me, a sinful 
 worm. With what patience may all disagreeable events be 
 endured by the man who fears and loves God ; and firmly 
 believes that the great and wise Being, who can require 
 nothing but what is wise and good, actually requires him 
 to bear such things ! This, I think, is to make the Lord's 
 yoke easy, and his burden light.'' 
 
 The maxims of Bradwardine induced him to conclude, 
 that whatever things come to pass, are brought about by 
 the Providence of God.f " Even a prudent master of a 
 family," says he, " takes care of every thing that belongs 
 to him, and makes provision beforehand, according to the 
 best of his knowledge and power ; and leaves nothing 
 unregulated in his house, but exactly appoints the due time 
 and place for every thing." 
 
 I find I that he agrees with the account, which has been 
 given, concerning the author of the letter to Demetrias.§ 
 
 * Page 288. 
 X Page 312. 
 
 + Lib. i. c. 27. 
 ^ Vol.ii.p. 284. 
 
 H 2 
 
76 
 
 Bradwardine^ 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 For he shows, that Augustine, in his first book against 
 Pelagius and Celestius, asserts that letter to be the work of 
 Pelagius, quoting and arguing against a part of it in the 
 plainest terms, and that nothing can be a more groundless 
 surmise than to ascribe the Epistle in question to Jerom. 
 He also goes over the same ground which Augustine had 
 gone over before him, in confuting Pelagianism. 
 
 He largely refutes the error, more famous than any other 
 in his day, namely, that men, by their works, deserve grace 
 of congruity.* " By this it is,'* says he, *' that men rush 
 headlong into Pelagianism. Not content with gratuitous 
 grace, men would have grace to be sold by God, though at 
 a very cheap rate.'' He proves, that men are naturally 
 destitute of the least spark of genuine love to God, without 
 which it seems impossible that they should have any claim 
 upon him in any sense whatever. He also f disapproves 
 the error of those who contend, that grace is conferred on 
 account of future merits foreseen. 
 
 He observes,! that Robert, bishop of Lincoln, (Gros- 
 seteste,) in his questions on the will of God, and in his 
 other works, seems to favour Pelagianism, when he 
 teaches, that the Supreme Being does never antecedently 
 determine the free acts of the will, but that the will, in its 
 own nature, possesses a self-determining power ; and that 
 the event may always be either compliance or non-compli- 
 ance with those gracious influences by which God excites 
 the mind to virtue. 
 
 The following is an extract of Bradwardine's devout 
 meditations on the subjects discussed in the Treatise : — 
 
 " O great and wonderful Lord, our God, thou only Light 
 of the eyes ! open, I implore thee, the eyes of my heart, 
 and of others my fellow-creatures, that we may truly 
 understand and contemplate thy wondrous Avorks ! And 
 the more thoroughly we comprehend them, the more may 
 our minds be affected, in the contemplation, with pious 
 reverence and profound devotion ! Who is not struck 
 with awe in beholding thy all-powerful will, completely 
 efficacious throughout every part of the creation ? It is 
 by this same sovereign and irresistible will, that whom, 
 and when thou pleasest, thou bringest low and liftest up, 
 killest and makest alive. How intense and how unbounded 
 is thy love to me, O Lord ! Whereas, my h>ve, how feeble 
 and remiss! My gratitude, how cold and inconstant! 
 * Page 325 * Page 3G3. X Page G02. lib. ii. 
 
his meditations. 
 
 T7 
 
 Far be it from thee, that thy love should ever resemble 
 mine ; for in every kind of excellence thou art consum- 
 mate. O thou, who fillest heaven and earth, why fillest 
 thou not this narrow heart? O human soul, low, abject, 
 and miserable, whoever thou art, if thou be not fully 
 replenished with the love of so great a Good, why dost 
 thou not open all thy doors, expand all thy folds, extend 
 all thy capacity, that, by the sweetness of love so great, 
 thou mayest be wholly occupied, satiated, and ravished; 
 especially, since, little as thou art, thou canst not oe satis- 
 fied with the love of any Good inferior to the one supreme ? 
 Speak the word, that thou mayest become my God and 
 most amiable in mine eyes, and it shall instantly be so, 
 without the possibility of failure. What can be more effi- 
 cacious to engage the alfections, than preventing love ? 
 Most gracious Lord ! by thy love thou hast prevented me, 
 wretch that I am, who had no love for thee, but was at 
 enmity with my Maker and Redeemer. I see. Lord, that 
 it is easy to say and to write these things, but very difficult 
 to execute them. Do thou, therefore, to whom nothing is 
 difficult, grant, that I may more easily practise these things 
 with my heart, than utter them with my lips : open thy 
 liberal hand, that nothing maybe easier, sweeter, or more 
 delightful to me, than to be employed in these things. 
 Thou, who preventest thy servants with thy gracious love, 
 whom dost not thou elevate with the hope of finding thee? 
 And, what canst thou deny to him who loves thee, who is 
 in need, and who supplicates thy aid ? Permit me, I pray, 
 to reason with thy magnificent goodness, that my hopes 
 may be enlarged. It is not the manner, even of human 
 friendship, to reject a needy friend, especially when the 
 ability to relieve is abundant. 
 
 " Why do we fear to preach the doctrine of the predes- 
 tination of saints, and of the genuine grace of God ? Is 
 there any cause to dread, lest man should be induced to 
 despair of his condition, when his hope is demonstrated to 
 be founded on God alone ? Is there not much stronger 
 reason for him to despair, if, in pride and unbelief, he 
 founds his hope of salvation on himself." 
 
 Such were the ardent breathings of soul in a studious 
 and thoughtful scholar of the fourteenth century ; who, 
 unaided by human connections, in an age dreary and 
 unpromising throughout Europe, and in our own island 
 fiill of darkness, seems to have lived the life of faith on the 
 H 3 
 
78 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 Son of God. The light of the Waldensian doctrine had 
 been all along confined to the Continent. But he, who 
 shows mercy, because he will show mercy, and who had, 
 in some measure, paved the way to the more copious exhi- 
 bition of his grace by the life and writings of Bradwardine, 
 was preparing, not long after his decease, to revive the 
 light of Divine truth in England, and there to form a people 
 for himself, who should show forth his praise. 
 
 CHAP. nr. 
 
 John Wickliff.* 
 
 I. His Life, 
 
 II. His Religious Sentiments. 
 HI. Reflections on his Character. 
 
 IV. Further Observations on the Panegyric and 
 
 Calumny with which he has been treated by 
 Historians and Biographers. 
 
 V. Additional Extracts from his Writings. 
 
 T. the life of wickliff. 
 
 The papal advocates ascribe the progress of Wicklift'*? 
 opinions to several circumstances : — 1st. The decrepit age 
 of Edward III., and the infancy of his successor, Richard ; 
 2nd. The charms of novelty ; 3rd. The enmity of the duke 
 of Lancaster against the clergy ; and, lastly, The wicked 
 and intolerable despotism of the Roman See, manifested 
 by its multiplied exactions, and corrupt collations to 
 ecclesiastical benefices. 
 
 The more moderate of the Romanists have not been 
 backward in acknowledging, in strong terms, the various 
 abuses and usurpations of the papacy. These, in fact, 
 about the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had arisen to 
 their greatest height ; and Wicklitf* without doubt, is one 
 
 ♦ Many of the observations upon WickHfF's character, which are 
 given in the work from whence tliese pajj^c s have been principally 
 derived, are omitted in tlie following account of that Reformer, as 
 there does not appear sufficient ground for opposing the estimate of 
 Iiis character usually given by protestant historians. 
 
School-divinity. 
 
 79 
 
 of the first who dared to call in question the foundation of 
 the tyrannical domination of the clergy. 
 
 In regard to the success of this Reformer be it admitted, 
 that a variety of secondary causes contributed to the gra- 
 dual deliverance of the nation ; be it admitted, that among 
 these a principal one was the excessive odium under which 
 the hierarchy laboured at that time ; yet the pious student 
 of history will not, on these accounts, be less disposed to 
 see the hand of Providence, in bestowing on our forefa- 
 thers the blessings of Christian light and liberty. Strange 
 indeed would it be to reject the idea of a Divine influence, 
 because at the moment when it was most wanted, at the 
 crisis when men's patience was almost exhausted by the 
 cruel and scandalous practices of their spiritual rulers, it 
 pleased God to raise up a man of sincere love for the truth, 
 of a hardy temper, and of a penetrating judgment, who 
 was both able and willing to %ht the good fight, and 
 powerfully to withstand the numerous enormities then pre- 
 valent in the Church. 
 
 WiCKLiFF was born about the year 1324, at a village 
 near Richmond in Yorkshire. He was admitted a student 
 at Queen's college, Oxford, but soon removed to Merton 
 college, which was at that time esteemed one of the most 
 famous seminaries of learning in Europe. In the long 
 list of men of note and eminence belonging to this college, 
 we observe the names of William Occham^ called the 
 Venerable Inceptor ; and of Thomas Bradwardine, called 
 the Profound Doctor. 
 
 Our renowned Reformer soon became master of all the 
 niceties of the school-divinity. He seems to have reigned 
 without a rival in the public disputations, which were then 
 in high repute. The Aristotelian logic was at its height;* 
 
 * The Scholastic divinity pretended to discuss and settle all 
 questions in theology in a rational and argumentative manner. Like 
 Plato's school, it has had several ages or periods : the ancient, the 
 MIDDLE, and the new. 
 
 The Ancient began under Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, or 
 rather under Abelard, and his disciple Peter Lombard, called the 
 Master of the Sentences, on account of his work of Sentences, which 
 appeared in 1172 ; it preserved its credit nearly one hundred years. 
 
 The Middle may be reckoned to commence early in the thirteenth 
 century, under Albertus Magnus, a learned Dominican, who pub- 
 lished twenty-one volumes, in folio, at Lyons. These contain chiefly 
 long commentaries on Aristotle ; and though they treat every thing 
 in a logical way, are of little real use but to fill large libraries. The 
 famous Thomas Aquinas was the disciple of Albertus, and read lec- 
 tures on the book of Sentences. During this period, the Peripatetic 
 
80 Wickliff opposes the friars. [Cent. 14. 
 
 and Wickliff, in opposing error made use of the same wea- 
 pons which his adversaries employed in maintaining it. 
 Such were his labours on the week-days, proving to the 
 learned the doctrine concerning which he intended to 
 preach ; and on the Sundays he addressed the common 
 people on the points which he had proved before. He 
 always descended to particulars : he attacked the vices of 
 the friars, and many of the prevailing abuses in religion. 
 On the question of the real presence in the Eucharist, 
 Wickliff has been considered as remarkably clear ; but in 
 this matter the reader will be better enabled to judge for 
 himself, when certain authentic documents, lending to 
 elucidate this early Reformer s opinion of the nature of the 
 Sacrament, shall have been submitted to his consideration. 
 
 Wickliff" s defence of the university of Oxford, against 
 the encroachments of the Mendicant friars, seems to have 
 been one of the first things which brought him into public 
 notice. 
 
 This religious order not only pretended to a distinct 
 jurisdiction from that of the university, but took every 
 opportunity of enticing the students into their convents, 
 insomuch that parents feared to send their children to the 
 respective colleges, lest they should be kidnapped by the 
 friars. We are informed that, owing to this cause, the 
 number of students, from having been thirty thousand, was 
 reduced to about six thousand, in the year 1357. 
 
 The zeal and ability of Wickliff, who possessed a judg- 
 ment enlightened by divine truth, manifested itself on this 
 occasion. He composed and published several spirited 
 treatises, against able beggary, against idle beggary, 
 and ON THE POVERTY OF CHRIST. The consequence of 
 these laudable exertions was his advancement to the 
 
 philosophy was raised to its utmost reputation. The works of 
 Aquinas have gone through several editions, in seventeen volumes 
 folio. The author died in 1274. 
 
 The New, or third age of school-divinity, begins with Durandus 
 de 8t. Pour(;ain, who wrote commentaries on the four books of Sen- 
 tences, combated the opinions of Thomas Aquinas, and is said to 
 have displayed great wit and genius. Indeed, after the time of 
 Aquinas, tlie scholastic disputes grew more and more subtile, and 
 the whole attention of the disputants was employed on the most 
 frivolous questions. They often contended with great heat about 
 mere formalities, and even raised phantcmis in their imaginations 
 for the purpose of continuing disputes, and opposition of sentiment, 
 Durandus died bishop of Meaux in 1333.— School divinity is now 
 fallen into the lowest contempt. 
 
A. D. 1370.] Is esteemed by the university of Oxford, 81 
 
 mastership of Baliol college ; and four years after he was 
 chosen warden of Canterbury hall. 
 
 From this office he was ejected, with circumstances of 
 great injustice, by Langham, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Wickliff appealed to the pope, who for the space of three 
 years artfully suspended his decision. In the mean time, 
 Wickliff, regardless of consequences, continued his attacks 
 on the insatiable ambition, tyranny, and avarice of the 
 ruling ecclesiastics, as also on the idleness, debauchery, 
 and hypocrisy of the friars. These things were not done 
 in a corner or by halves ; nor did there want informers to 
 carry the news to Rome. Accordingly, nobody was sur- 
 prised to hear of the confirmation of the ejection of so 
 obnoxious a person as Wickliff. The pope's definitive 
 sentence to that effect arrived at Oxford in 1370, to the 
 great satisfaction of all the monastic orders, whose dignity 
 and interest were intimately connected with the question 
 of Wickliff's right to hold this office. 
 
 After this, the fame of Wickliff became less confined to 
 the university of Oxford, although the opinion entertained 
 of him by that body was fully evinced by his being elected 
 Professor of Divinity. Almost every where he was looked 
 upon as the defender of truth and liberty. The pope 
 and his cardinals feared him, and minutely observed his 
 proceedings ; and on the other hand, we find that the first 
 parliament of England held under king Richard II., enter- 
 tained so high an opinion of his integrity and knowledge, 
 that in a case of the utmost emergency, and on a very 
 nice and delicate question, they applied to him for the 
 sanction of his judgment and authority. The question 
 was, " Whether, for the defence of the kingdom, that trea- 
 sure which the lord pope demanded on pain of censures, 
 might not be lawfully detained." The affirm.ative answer 
 of Wickliff was probably foreseen; but still the appli- 
 cation of the king and parliament to a man who had 
 been persecuted by the pope and the archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, proves beyond contradiction the high estimation 
 in which he was held. It proves also, that, though de- 
 prived of his wardenship, and surrounded by exasperated 
 friars, and narrowly watched by the rulers of the church, he 
 must have been supported at this time by numerous friends 
 of the greatest weight and consequence. It could not 
 therefore easily happen, that a man in the prominent situa- 
 tion of Wickliff should remain long without a maintenance. 
 
82 Is supported by the duke of Lancaster, [Cent. 14. 
 
 Accordin§^ly, it appears, that in 1374 he was presented by 
 Edward III. to the rectory of Lutterworth in Leicester- 
 shire, and afterwards, in 1375, was confirmed in the 
 prebend of Auste in the collegiate church of Westbury. 
 The duke of Lancaster is supposed to have been the chief 
 friend of Wickliff, in obtaining for him the royal patronage. 
 Many persons, indeed, considered the reformer as in the 
 high road to some dignified preferment ; but there is no 
 account of any such offer being made to him. He had 
 previously been employed by the king, with six other 
 divines, on an embassy to the continent, to confer with the 
 agents of the pope, on the grasping proceedings of the see 
 of Rome, which still persisted in bestowing the English 
 benefices on Italians and other aliens. 
 
 Wickliff now had many admirers, some powerful friends, 
 and a host of bitter enemies. He was profoundly learned ; 
 uncommonly eloquent ; and, to complete the character, he 
 was inflamed with a zeal for truth : he abhorred hypocrisy, 
 was hostile to every species of vice, and was himself a man 
 of unexceptionable morals. This was precisely the man 
 who would be likely to fall without mercy on proud popes 
 and idle friars. 
 
 The following is a short specimen of the manner in 
 which Wickliff sometimes treated the pope. He called him 
 Antichrist, the proud worldly priest of Rome, and the 
 most cursed of clippers and purse-kervers (cutters). He 
 averred, that the pope and his collectors drew out of the land 
 poor men's livelihood, to the amount of many thousand 
 marks a year : and added, that even if the realm had a 
 huge hill of gold in it, and no other man took part thereof 
 except this proud worldly priest's collector, yet in process 
 of time this hill would be levelled. The conduct of the 
 pope's commissioners in the negociation already noticed, 
 with the opportunities for personal observation which he 
 enjoyed while on the continent, had plainly shown Wick- 
 liff the true character of the popish church.* 
 
 His attacks on the friars are as frequent as they are just. 
 They draw, said he, children from Christ's religion by 
 hypocrisy ; they tell them that men of their order shall 
 never go to hell. They praise their own rotten habit more 
 than the worshipful body of our Lord Jesus Christ. They 
 teach lords and ladies, that if they die in Francis's habit, 
 
 * Wickliff' also at this time maintained, that the Eucharist after 
 consecration was not the real body of Christ, but only a sign of it. 
 
A. D. 1376.] mid persecuted by the Romish clergy. 83 
 
 the virtue of it will preserve them from hell. St. Paul 
 laboured with his own hands ; and it is the commandment of 
 Christ, to g-ive alms to poor, feeble, crooked, blind, and bed- 
 ridden men ; but it is leaving this commandment, to ^ive 
 alms to such hypocrites as the begging friars, who feign 
 themselves holy and needy, when in fact they are strong in 
 body, and possess overmuch riches, as well as great houses, 
 precious clothes, jewels and other valuable things. 
 
 It was not likely that the Romish clergy would tamely 
 endure attacks of this kind. They forthwith selected, from 
 Wickliff's public lectures and sermons, nineteen articles of 
 complaint and accusation, and despatched them to Rome 
 
 The pope was so completely alive to the business, that 
 he sent no fewer than five bulls to England on this occa- 
 sion ! Three of them were directed to the archbishop of 
 Canterbury and the bishop of London. In the first, he 
 orders these prelates to apprehend the rector of Lutter- 
 worth, and imprison him, provided they found him guilty of 
 the heresy with which he was charged. In the second, he 
 enjoins them, if they cannot find him, to fix up public cita- 
 tions in Oxford, and in other places, for his personal 
 appearance before the pope within the space of three 
 months. In the third, he commands them to acquaint the 
 king and his sons with the heresy of Wickliff, and to require 
 their assistance for its effectual extirpation. 
 
 The fourth bull was addressed to the king himself, 
 desiring his royal help and patronage in the prosecution of 
 the heretic. And lastly, a fifth was despatched to the uni- 
 versity of Oxford ; in which the pope laments the sloth 
 and laziness of the chancellor and heads of the university, 
 in permitting tares to spring up among the pure wheat. 
 Wickliff's doctrines, he said, would subvert both church and 
 state. They ought to forbid the preaching of such tenets, 
 and assist the bishops in their endeavours to bring the 
 offender to punishment. 
 
 It is not too much to say, that, both by the university of 
 Oxford, and by the government of the country, these bulls 
 were treated with the utmost contempt. The university 
 for a long time were disposed wholly to reject the pon- 
 tifical injunctions with disdain ; and when after much 
 deliberation they had received the bull, they refused to be 
 active in giving to it the smallest degree of effect. 
 
 The regency and parliament of England manifested their 
 disapprobation of the persecution of Wickliff, in a manner 
 
84 Wickliff is forbidden to preach ; [Cent. 14. 
 
 which must have mortified the haughty pontiff exceedingly. 
 For it was at this moment that they chose to honour this 
 celebrated reformer with their confidence. 
 
 The archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Lon- 
 don, however, did not hesitate to execute the pope's com- 
 mands. They cited Wickliff to appear before them at St. 
 Paul's in London, on the thirtieth day after the notice ; 
 and this interval of a month was by him wisely employed 
 in taking precautions for his safety. To be brief, he saw 
 no way of evading the present storm of persecution, but 
 by putting himself at once under the protection of the duke 
 of Lancaster, who had long known him, and entertained a 
 high opinion of his learning and integrity, and who was no 
 great admirer either of the monks or of the prelates. ^ 
 
 This duke, well known by the name of John of Gaunt, 
 not only advised Wickliff to obey the citation ; but also in 
 person, together with Henry Percy, lord marshal of Eng- 
 land, accompanied him to St. PauFs. Sudbury the 
 archbishop was a moderate man, for the times in which he 
 lived ; but Courtney, the bishop of London, was an intem- 
 perate bigot, and conducted himself in such a manner as 
 induced the duke to declare, that rather than take at his 
 hands what the bishop had said to him, he would drag 
 him by the hair of his head out of the church. The by- 
 standers heard these words, and a disturbance ensued, the 
 Londoners crying aloud, '* they would rather lose their 
 lives than suffer their bishop to be so contemptuously 
 treated.*' In justice to the reformer it should be stated, 
 that he took no part in this altercation. The court broke 
 up in tumult and confusion, after hastily forbidding Wickliff 
 to preach or write any more in defence of his doctrines. 
 
 Some of the opinions which brought upon WickHff the 
 indignation of the hierarchy, are allowed by Walsingham, 
 who always strongly supports the cause of popery, to have 
 been, — " that the church of Rome was not the head of 
 other churches, — that St. Peter was not superior to the other 
 Apostles ; — and that the pope, in the power of the keys, 
 was only equal to a common priest.*' These were un- 
 doubtedly the sentiments of genuine protestantism. What 
 he is said to have further asserted, namely, that temporal 
 lords and patrons had aright to deprive that church of her 
 emoluments, in case of misbehaviour, was a sentiment ex- 
 pressed in too indefinite a manner to be made matter of 
 serious accusation. 
 
A. D. 1378. J hut is supported by the nation. 
 
 85 
 
 Wickliff having escaped, in the manner that has been 
 mentioned, those severities which his persecutors, the pope 
 and prelates, had no doubt intended to inflict, paid little 
 regard to the strict charge which they are said to have 
 given him, to be silent in future respecting all the subjects 
 which had given so much offence. He continued in the 
 year 1377, during the minority of Richard the Second, to 
 preach and instruct the people with unabated zeal and 
 courage.* 
 
 This perseverance in the good cause induced the Eng- 
 lish prelates, now encouraged by the decline of the duke 
 of Lancaster's power, after the death of king Edward III., 
 to make another attempt at carrying into execution the 
 tyrannical designs of the Roman pontiff. 
 
 Wickliff was not disobedient to their second citation ; 
 for in 1378 we find him before the same papal delegates, 
 assembled on the present occasion, not in St. Paul's, but 
 in the more private archiepiscopal chapel at Lambeth. 
 However, many of the citizens of London, who revered 
 Wickliff, forced themselves, together with a multitude of 
 common people, into the chapel, where they spoke in 
 behalf of the prisoner, and his judges were afraid to proceed. 
 Moreover, the mother of the king, who was widow of the 
 Black Prince, ordered Sir L. Clifford to go and perempto- 
 rily forbid them to proceed to any definitive sentence. 
 Here the papal historian, Walsingham, loses all patience. 
 " The bishops," says he, " who had professed themselves 
 determined to do their duty in spite of threats or promises, 
 and even at the hazard of their lives, became so intimidated 
 during the examination of the apostate, that their speeches 
 were as soft as oil, to the public loss of their dignity, and 
 the damage of the whole Church. And when Clifford 
 pompously delivered his message, they were so overcome 
 with fear, that you would have thought them to be as a 
 man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.t 
 Thus,'' continues the historian, " this false teacher, this 
 complete hypocrite, evaded the hand of justice ; and could 
 no more be called before the same prelates, because 
 
 * Fox, p. 491. 
 
 t Fuller's observation on this event is as follows :—lne bishops 
 
 were struck with a panic fear And the person ot this John 
 
 Wickliff was saved, as was once the doctrine of his godly namesake ; 
 
 " THEY FEAHED THK PKOPLE, FOR ALL MEN COUNTED JOHN THAT HE 
 
 WAS A PROPHET INDEED." Mark xi. 32. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 23. i 
 
86 
 
 Wickliff^s doctrines are condemned. [Cent 14. 
 
 their commission expired by the death of the pope Gre- 
 gory XI." 
 
 It is also proper to state that our reformer, though evi- 
 dently still protected by his friends, did not rest his safety 
 entirely on their authority and interference. He delivered 
 in to the court a solemn protest, and an explanatory quali- 
 fication of several of his positions vrhich had been deemed 
 erroneous or heretical. 
 
 His explanations and defence, vi^hile thus opposed, do 
 not appear to be the most clear and suitable for the occa- 
 sion ; but as w^e are not perfectly in possession of the facts 
 of the case, it is impossible for us to form a complete and 
 correct opinion of Wickliff's conduct. 
 
 From a concise account of the writings and public lec- 
 tures of WicklifF, which we purpose to lay before the 
 reader, it will distinctly appear in what manner he com- 
 bated the doctrine of transubstantiation. At the end of 
 one of his English Confessions of the Sacrament of the 
 Altar, he declared, that one-third of the clergy were on his 
 side, and would support him at the hazard of their lives. 
 Fie was condemned by the university, for holding heretical 
 opinions in this matter; and, from the Vice-chancellor's 
 decree,* Wickliff s Confessions, and other documents, we 
 may form some judgment, though by no means a decisive 
 one, what those opinions really were. It should however 
 be remarked, that instead of appointing any one to meet 
 and argue the subject openly with Wickliff, the Vice-chan- 
 cellor induced twelve doctors to join with him in condemn- 
 ing the doctrines of the Reformer, and threatened all mem- 
 bers of the university, who dared to favour these tenets, 
 with severe penalties. Our Reformer has been charged 
 with explaining and qualifying his meaning, in an artful 
 manner, after he had appealed to the secular arm in vain : 
 but here again the reader must determine for himself how 
 far the accusation is well founded. It is certain that his 
 powerful patron, the duke of Lancaster, deserted him on 
 this occasion, and advised him to submit to his ecclesiastical 
 judges ; influenced, it is said, by his dread of the strength 
 
 * Romish historians have accused WicklilT of supporting the sedi- 
 lioiis practices of Tyler, Straw, and the other incendiaries in the time 
 of Richard II. There is no evidence, however, tliat Wickliff ever 
 ])atronised these men. See Fuller, (Church History, B. iv. There 
 (•an be no doubt that his enemi(^s would have rejoiced to involve him 
 In the charges af^ainst Ihem, had there been any pretext for so doing. 
 
He translates the Bible Into English. 
 
 87 
 
 of the hierarchy, as well as by scruples of conscience. Or 
 rather because the duke's opposition to the papacy pro- 
 ceeded from temporal, and not from spiritual motives. 
 
 In effect, the duke of Lancaster, who had countenanced 
 Wickliff inhis opposition to papal usurpation, did not approve 
 his sentiments respecting the received doctrine of the real 
 presence ; and he is said to have enjoined silence to the 
 reformer on that head. However, soon after this, Wickliff 
 published an equivocal sort of Confession, which by his 
 enemies has been termed a retractation. 
 
 After the last-mentioned conflict with the university of 
 Oxford, Wickliff appears to have been, in the main, delivered 
 from persecution ; although, as we shall presently see, the 
 Romish ecclesiastics persisted in their proceedings against 
 him. He certainly continued to the end of his days, in the 
 unremitted exercise of zealous pastoral labours in his 
 parish church of Lutterworth. He also persevered in 
 attacking the abuses of popery by his writings against 
 the mendicants, against transubstantiation, and against 
 indulgences ; and produced a translation of the Bible 
 FROM THE Latin into the English tongue. This work 
 alone sufficed to render his name dear to every Christian. 
 The value of it was unspeakable ; and his unwearied pains 
 in propagating the genuine doctrines of revelation among 
 mankind, indicated the steady zeal with which he was 
 endowed'; while the rage, with which the hierarchy was 
 inflamed against a work so undeniably seasonable, demon- 
 strated that the ecclesiastical rulers hated the light, and would 
 not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. 
 
 Sincere Christians, and more particularly the protest- 
 ants of all succeeding ages, are bound thankfully to ac- 
 knowledge the Divine goodness, that such a person was 
 providentially raised up at the very time he was so much 
 wanted ; and, that from his labours unspeakable benefit 
 accrued to the Church of Christ, both in England and upon 
 the Continent.* 
 
 There remain a few more particulars relative to Wickliff, 
 which should be detailed previously to our proceeding to 
 notice his writings more particularly. 
 
 The prodigious exertions of WickUff, and the harassing 
 persecutions he endured in 1378, are said to have been the 
 occasion of a dangerous fit of sickness, which brought him 
 
 * A Bohemian gentleman, who studied at Oxford, carriedWickliflT s 
 books into Bohemia. The effects of his writings soon appeared. 
 i2 
 
8S His words to the mendicant friars. [Cent. 14. 
 
 almost to the point of death in the beginning of the year 
 1379. The mendicant friars hearing of this, immediately 
 selected a committee of grave doctors, and instructed them 
 m what they were to say to the sick man who had so 
 grievously offended them. And, that the message might be 
 the more solemn, they joined with them four of the most 
 respectable citizens, whom they termed Aldermen of the 
 Wards. These commissioners found Wickliff lying in his 
 bed ; and they are said first of all to have wished him health, 
 and a recovery from his distemper. After some time they 
 put him in mind of the many and great injuries which he 
 had done to the begging friars by his sermons and writings, 
 and exhorted him, that as he had now a very little time to 
 live, he would, like a true penitent, bewail and revoke, in their 
 presence, whatever things he had said to their disparage- 
 ment. But Dr. Wickliff, immediately recovering strength, 
 called his servants to him, and ordered them to raise him a 
 little on his pillows. Which, when they had done, he said 
 with a loud voice, " I shall not die, but live and de- 
 clare THE evil deeds OF THE FRIARS." On which thci 
 doctors, and the other deputies, departed from him in no 
 little confusion.* 
 
 Simon Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, was mur- 
 dered in the insurrection of Wat Tyler; and was succeeded 
 in the primacy by William Courtney,t who had^. always 
 shown himself one of Wickliff 's most active adversaries. 
 The new bishop highly approved of the proceedings of 
 the university of Oxford, already mentioned ; and he de- 
 termined to use all the authority of his high office to 
 crush Wickliff and his followers. He was not duly in- 
 vested with the consecrated pall from Rome, till the sixth 
 of May, 1382 ; and on the seventeenth of the same month 
 he called together a court of select bishops and doctors. 
 
 The memorandum! in the archbishop's register states, 
 that the court having met in the monastery of the friars 
 yjreachers, certain conclusions, repugnant to the determi- 
 nations of the Church, were laid before them ; and that, 
 after good deliberation, they met again, and pronounced 
 ten of the conclusions heretical, and fourteen erroneous and 
 repugnant to the Church. 
 
 It does not appear by the records that Wickliff himself 
 Wds cited to appear before the archbishop ; only the names 
 
 * B lie, Appendix, p. 4G9 t A. D. 1381. 
 
 X Wilkins, vol. ih. p. 157. 
 
A. D. 1382.] The council of the earthquake. 
 
 89 
 
 of a few persons who espoused his opinions are mentioned. 
 WicklifF is said to have claimed the privilege of being ex- 
 empted from episcopal jurisdiction, on the ground of being 
 a member of the university, aiid holding an office therein. 
 
 There cannot be the smallest doubt that these pro- 
 ceedings were levelled chietiy at the obnoxious reformer. 
 But till with my own eyes I read the seventh heretical ar- 
 ticle in the page above referred to in Wilkins's Concilia, I 
 could scarcely believe it possible that one of the charges 
 against either WicklifF or his followers should be, that he 
 had asserted, Deus debet obedire diabolo, God ought to 
 obey the devil." This single fact shows to what a length 
 calumny and credulity may go, when men are heated by 
 passion and prejudice ! 
 
 However, such violence and misrepresentation served 
 but in the end to promote the cause of truth. WicklifF de- 
 fended his opinions with spirit, took particular notice of 
 this charge, and gained many new friends. " Such thmgs," 
 says he, " do they invent of catholic men, that they may 
 blacken their reputation, as if they held this impious opi- 
 nion, that God is a devil ; or any other open heretical tenet ; 
 and they are prepared, by false and slanderous witnesses, 
 to fix such heresies on good men as if they had invented 
 them.* 
 
 An extraordinary, but well- authenticated circumstance, 
 proves the abihty and address of Courtney. At the instant 
 when the extracts from the writings of WicklifF were pro- 
 duced, and the court was going to enter upon business, on 
 the seventeenth of May, a violent earthquake shook the 
 monastery. The affrighted bishops and doctors threw 
 down their papers, and cried out, " The business is dis- 
 pleasing to God." The firm and intrepid archbishop coolly 
 and quietly chided their superstitious fears ; and with great 
 promptitude gave the matter a different turn : " If this 
 earthquake," said he, " means any thing, it portends the 
 downfall of heresy. For as noxious vapours are confined 
 in the bowels of the earth, and are expelled by these violent 
 concussions, so, through our strenuous endeavours, the 
 kingdom must be purified from the pestilential opinions of 
 reprobate men. But this is not to be done without great 
 commotion."t 
 
 WicklifF, in his writings, alludes to this accident, calling 
 it the council of the herydene, which is the old English 
 word for earthquake. 
 
 * MS. Bodl. t MS. Bodl. and Chron. Mon. Alban. 
 I 3 
 
90 The legend of Cornelius Cloune. [Cent. 14, 
 
 When the archbishop and his court had condemned 
 Wickliff's doctrines, and had finished the business for 
 which they had met together, a sermon was preached at 
 the cVnirch of the grey friars by John Cunningham, a dis- 
 tinguished adversary ofWickhfF. At this sermon we are 
 told there was present, among others, a knight named 
 Cornehus Cloune, who was a great favourer of the Con- 
 clusions then condemned, and one of those who held and 
 taught them ; nor would he believe otherwise of the sacra- 
 ment than that real and true bread was present, according 
 to Wickliff's opinion. 
 
 The popish legend then tells us that the next day, being 
 the vigil of the holy trinity, the knight went to the same 
 convent to hear mass. Behold ! at the breakino: of the 
 host, upon casting his eye towards the friar who happened 
 to celebrate mass, he saw in his hands very flesh, raw and 
 bloody, and divided into three parts. Full of wonder and 
 amazement, he called his squire, that he might see it ; but 
 the squire saw nothing more than usual. Moreover, in the 
 middle of the third piece, which was to be put into the cha- 
 lice, the knight saw this name, JESUS, written in letters 
 of flesh, all raw and bloody ; which was very wonderful to 
 behold. On the next day, namely, the feast of the holy 
 trinity, the same friar, preaching at Paul's Cross, told 
 this story to all the people, and the knight attested the 
 truth of it, and promised that he would fight and die in that 
 cause ; for that, in the sacrament of the altar, there was the 
 very body of Christ, and not bread only, as he had formerly 
 believed !* 
 
 Such were the lying artifices of those who, at that time, 
 zealously defended the popish doctrines. 
 
 At length, archbishop Courtney, finding that neither the 
 strong measures which had been taken at Oxford, nor his 
 own subsequent proceedings at the earthquake council, 
 availed to the silencing of the audacious heretic, devised 
 the following expedients, which enabled him at least to rid 
 the university of the man whose person had hitherto been 
 sheltered under academical immunities. 
 
 L He obtained the king's })atent, empowering the arch 
 bishop and his suffragans to arrest and imprison all per- 
 sons who j)rivately or publicly should maintain the heresies 
 in ([uestion. 
 
 2. He also obtained the king's ))atent, directed to the 
 chancellor and proctors at Oxford, ai)pointing them inqui- 
 * Knyghton, de Event. At)^\. 2G51. 
 
A. D. 1384.] Death of JVickUff. 
 
 91 
 
 sitors-general, and ordering them to banish and ex])el from 
 the university and town of Oxford all who were advocates 
 of WicklifTs heresies, and even all who should dare to re- 
 ceive into their inns or houses WicklifF himself, or any other 
 of his friends, suspected of the like.* 
 
 From this storm Wickliff thought proper to retire, and 
 the haughty archbishop had the satisfaction of seeing the 
 man he so much disliked, compelled to retreat before his 
 power to Lutterworth, an obscure part of the kingdom. 
 
 Soon after his removal to his parsonage, he was seized 
 with the palsy, from which, however, he recovered so as to 
 resume his studies and pastoral exertions. It was, I be- 
 lieve, on the 28th of December, 1384, when he was attend- 
 ing divine service in his church at Lutterworth, that he was 
 attacked by a second and fatal stroke of the palsy. His 
 tongue, in particular, was so much affected that he never 
 spoke again. 
 
 The bigoted papists gloried in his death 5 and one of 
 them has insulted his memory unmercifully : It was 
 reported," says Walsingham, " that he had prepared accu- 
 sations and blasphemies which he had intended, on the 
 day he was taken ill, to have uttered in his pulpit against 
 Thomas k Becket, the saint and martyr of the day ; but 
 by the judgment of God he was suddenly struck, and the 
 palsy seized his limbs ; and that mouth, which was to 
 have spoken huge things against God and his saint, and 
 the holy church, was miserably drawn aside, and afforded 
 a frightful spectacle to the beholders. His tongue was 
 speechless, and his head shook, showing plainly that the 
 curse of God was upon him."t 
 
 The reader will be beforehand with me in any remarks 
 I could make on this malevolent account. 
 
 It was in the year 1415 that the council of Constance 
 declared that Wickliff had died an obstinate heretic ; and 
 ordered his bones, if they could be distinguished from the 
 bones of the faithful, to be dug up and thrown upon a 
 dunghill. This sentence was not executed till thirteen years 
 after, when orders for that purpose were sent by pope Mar- 
 tin V. to R. Fleming, bishop of Lincoln and diocesan of 
 Lutterworth. Accordingly, the bishop's officers took the 
 
 * Wilkins, vol. iii. p. 156 and 166. 
 
 1 The Tinmouth Chronicle and Walsingham say, that it was the 
 day after, 29lh December, being the feast of St. Thomas a Becket, 
 whom the Romish church style a saint and a martyr. 
 
Wickliff's bones burned. [Cent. 14. 
 
 bones out of the ^rave, where they had lain undisturbed 
 forty-four years, burnt them, and cast the remaining* ashes 
 into an adjoining brook, in the year 1528. 
 
 Fuller observes, " They burnt his bones to ashes and 
 cast them into the Swift, a neighbouring* brook running 
 hard by. Thus this brook hath conveyed his ashes into 
 the Avon, the Avon into the Severn, the Severn into the 
 narrow seas ; Ihey into the main ocean. And thus the 
 ashes of Wickliff are the emblem of his doctrine, which 
 now is dispersed all the world over.'' The number of 
 his volumes committed to the flames by order of Su- 
 binco,* archbishop of Prague, amounted to about two 
 hundred. His labours, indeed, appear to have been im- 
 mense ; and, beyond all doubt, he was in that dark age a 
 prodigy of knowledge. 
 
 After having observed that his works were burned at 
 Oxford, it is proper to add, that previously both to this, and 
 also to the burning of his bones by order of the council of 
 Constance, a testimonial was publicly given, by the uni- 
 versity of Oxford, to his character, dated in the year 1406, 
 which declares,! " That all his conduct through life was 
 sincere and commendable ; that his conversation from his 
 youth upward, to the time of his death, was so praisewor- 
 thy and honest, that never at any time was there a particle of 
 suspicion raised against him ; and that he vanquished, by 
 the force of the Scriptures, all such as slandered Christ's 
 religion. God forbid that our prelates should condemn 
 such a man as a heretic, who has written better than any 
 others in the university, on logic, philosophy, divinity, 
 morality, and the speculative arts." % This honourable 
 testimony shows that any speculative errors of Wickliff 
 were not attended with practical consequences, and that 
 sedition was never encouraged by that Reformer ; even if it 
 were allowed that the enormities of the age induced him 
 somewhat to exceed what we might term the bounds of 
 discretion in his attempts to oppose them. 
 
 * Fox, p. 509. t lb. p, 515. 
 
 % The authenticity of this testimonial has been d()ul)ted ; and we 
 are told that no trace of it is to be found anion^- the letters and regis- 
 ters of the university ofOxford. — TlKMe is, however, sufficient evi- 
 dence that it is not spurious. Great liberties, in those violent times, 
 were frequently taken with reg^isters and other documents. For ex- 
 ample, the institution of Wickiiif to the rectory of Lutterworth, is 
 not to be found in the registers of the bishops of the diocese — Lewis, 
 WL Antiq. Ox. 203. 
 
A. D. 1384. "I His doctrines, — Salvation is of grace, 93 
 
 II. 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS OF WICKLIFF. 
 
 The disting-uishing tenet of WicklifF, in relig-ion, was, 
 undoubtedly, the election of ^race. He calls the church 
 an assembly of predestinated persons. To those, who 
 said that God did not every thing for them, but that their 
 own merits contributed in part to salvation, he replied 
 with a short prayer. " Heal us gratis, O Lord." Those 
 who have diligently studied the sacred volumes, and also 
 the writings of truly pious Christians, will understand how 
 evangelically humble this reformer might be in the use of 
 such doctrine, and at the same time, how sincerely labo- 
 rious in inculcating whatever belongs to genuine piety 
 and virtue, in opposition to the pharisaic superstitions of 
 the times. And if any one be inclined to doubt this, let 
 him remember that the doctrine of the Scriptures as em- 
 bodied in the authentic declarations of faith of all the re- 
 formed protestant churches, shov/s that we are accounted 
 righteous before God, only for the merit of our Saviour, 
 by faith, and not for our own works and deservings ; and 
 yet no sound divine conceives that, for this reason, any 
 man is released from the duty of obeying God*s com- 
 mandments, and of abounding in all the fruits of a pure 
 and evangelical faith. But let us proceed in our endea- 
 vours to collect the doctrines of Wickliff from his writings 
 and other authentic documents. 
 
 1. In one of his treatises against the mendicant friars, 
 called " The Complaint of John WicklifF to the King and 
 Parliament,''* he gives it as his opinion, that " if ministers, 
 in the execution of their office, do not act, both by word 
 and example, as God commandeth, their people are not 
 bound to pay them tithes and offerings." 
 
 He also states it as his opinion, that " when the prin- 
 cipal cause for which tithes and offerings should be paid 
 does not exist, the payment of tithes should cease. Also 
 clergymen are more to be condemned for withdrawing 
 their teaching in word and in example, than the parishioners 
 
 * N. B. Though several of the quotations which follow are marked 
 with inverted commas, for the sake of distinction, they are to be un- 
 derstood as only containing? the substance of Wicklift 's sentiments, 
 and not his very words. — The originals are frequently in Latin, and 
 often in such antiquated English as would be unintelligible to ordi- 
 nary readers. 
 
94 Wichllff maintains the scriptural [Cent. 14. 
 
 are for withdrawing" tithes and offering's, even though they 
 discharge their office as they ought." 
 
 This last observation presents us with an unsuitable 
 comparison between two species of transgression, and the 
 opinions of the reformer upon this head have been much 
 censured.* 
 
 2. In the sixteenth chapter of another treatise against the 
 orders of friars, he directly charges them with perverting 
 the right faith of the sacrament of the altar. He thus states 
 his own opinions : " Christ says, that the bread, which he 
 brake and blessed, is his body; and the Scripture says 
 openly, that the sacrament is bread that we break and God's 
 body : but the friars say, * It is an accident without subject/ 
 and therefore nothing ; neither bread, nor God's body. 
 Augustine says, ' What we see, is bread, but to those, who 
 are faithfully taught, the bread is Christ's body, t Why 
 should our Almighty Saviour conceal this notion of the 
 friars for a thousand years ; and never teach the doctrine 
 to his apostles, or to so many saints ; but at length com- 
 municate it to these hypocrites ?" 
 
 3. In his public lectures, which he read, as professor of 
 divinity at Oxford, in the summer of 1381, J WickHfF ap- 
 pears to have opposed the papistical doctrine of transub- 
 stantiation with all his might ; and at the same time to 
 have maintained the true, ancient, and scriptural notion 
 of the Lord's Supper. With this view he published six- 
 teen Conclusions, the first of which is expressed in these 
 words : " The consecrated host, which we see upon the 
 
 ♦ These opinions of Wickliff were made a ground of accusation 
 in the Conclusions'' exhibited against him in the Council at Lam- 
 beth, as well as on other occasions. The ICth article accused him 
 of maintaining, that " it is lawful for princes and kings, (in cases 
 by law limitea,) to withdraw temporal commodities from churchmen 
 who abuse the same habitually. In his exposition, or reply, he 
 thus explains his opinion : Sometime it were a necessary work of 
 spiritual alms to chastise such clerks by taking from them their tem- 
 poral livings, who use to abuse the same to the damnifying both 
 of their soul and body." The extract given in the text contains a 
 more unguarded and extended statement ; but do not the Romish 
 conclusions show us clearly, that the real ground of offence was his 
 views concerning the temporal power and wealth of the church of 
 Kome, on which points she is most sensitive ; and this fully accounts 
 for the obloquy heaped upon him by her historians. Dr. James 
 states, that the views of Wickliff on tfiis subject were influenced by 
 the opinions of some lawyers, who held that tithes were not due to 
 any particular church, so that they were really bestowed for the 
 support of God's ministers. See his Apology, p. 52. 
 
 t Quodammodo, or after a certain manner, viz. spiritually. Ed. 
 
 t Hist, and Antiq. Oxon. A. 1). 1381. 
 
doctrine respecting the Lords supper 95 
 
 altar, is neither Christ nor any part of him, but an effec- 
 tual sign of him.*' And he offered to defend this and his 
 other conclusions in public disputation with any one. 
 But he was prohibited by the rulers of the university and 
 doctors of divinity. Upon which Wickliff' published a de- 
 fence* of his doctrine, which the intelligent reader will 
 think less satisfactory than the above-mentioned Conclu- 
 sion. The eucharist,'' says he, " is the body of Christ 
 in the form of bread. The right faith of Christian men is 
 this, that this worshipful sacrament is bread and Christ's 
 body, as Jesus Christ is very God and very man." 
 
 4. In his Trialogus,t he tells us, " that though the bread 
 in the eucharist begins to be the body of Christ, by virtue 
 of the consecration, it must not be believed that it ceases 
 to be bread. It is plain it is substantially bread, because 
 it begins to be sacramen tally the body of Christ. So 
 Christ says. This is my body. The nature of bread is not 
 thenceforth destroyed, but is exalted into a substance of 
 greater dignity. In a similar way John the Baptist was 
 made Elias, by virtue of Christ's words in the eleventh of 
 St. Matthew, yet he did not cease to be John. And St. 
 Austin observes, that the Scripture does not say that seven 
 ears of corn and seven fat kine signify seven years of 
 plenty, but that they are those years. Such expressions 
 denote that the subject is ordained of God to figure the 
 thing predicated according to its fitness. And in the same 
 sense and manner the sacramental bread is specially the 
 body of Christ." — Wickliff very modestly concludes this 
 explanation, with declaring, " that he was ready to believe 
 a more subtile sense, if he could be convinced of the truth 
 of it by Scripture or reason." 
 
 We have observed above, that Wickliff, in the matter of 
 transubstantiation, appears both to have opposed the papis- 
 tical opinion, and also to have maintained the true doc- 
 trine ; but the discerning reader cannot fail to remark, that 
 authentic documents leave his sentiments on the former in 
 much less doubt than they do on the latter. A want of 
 consistency, at least on this head, is but too evident in the 
 language of our Reformer, as in many other writers on 
 this subject. 
 
 The circumstances which attended his condemnation by 
 the university of Oxford, were these : the vice-chancellor, 
 after reciting, before several doctors in divinity, the 
 * MS. On a feigned contemplative life. t Lib. iv. cap. 4. 
 
96 
 
 TVickliff's Trialogus, [Cent. 14 
 
 Reformer's Conclusions, namely, That in the sacrament the 
 substance of the material bread and wine remain the same 
 after the consecration ; and secondly, That in the venerable 
 sacrament the body and blood of Christ are not present 
 essentially, but only figuratively ; with their consent de- 
 creed, that " These are execrable errors, and repugnant to 
 the determinations of the Church."* 
 
 The most important Latin performance ofWicklifF seems 
 to be his Trialogus ; from which several passages have 
 already been quoted. 
 
 This celebrated work was answered by Widefort, a 
 Franciscan, who dedicated his laboured Reply to arch- 
 bishop Arundel. t L'Enfant tells us, in his History of the 
 Council of Constance, that he found a copy of the Trialo- 
 gus in the university of Frankfort on the Oder. It con- 
 tains a dialogue between three speakers, whom the author 
 calls Truth, Falsehood, and Wisdom. With what vehe- 
 mence he opposed the fashionable abuses, may be collected 
 from a single sentence respecting the crime of simony. 
 " Those stupid Simonists imagine that Grace may be 
 bought and sold like an ox or an ass." And speaking of 
 the invocation of saints, he powerfully observes, " The 
 festival of the day is to no purpose, if it do not tend to 
 magnify Jesus Christ, and induce men to love him. More- 
 over, our Redeemer Jesus Christ is very God, as well as 
 very man, and therefore, on account of his divinity, he 
 must infinitely exceed any other man. And this consider- 
 ation induces many to think that it would be expedient to 
 worship no other Being among men, except Jesus Christ ; 
 inasmuch as he is the best Mediator and best Intercessor ; 
 and they likewise think, that when this was the practice of 
 the Church, it increased and prospered much better than it 
 does now. What folly then to apply to any other person 
 to be our intercessor I What folly to choose, of two per- 
 sons proposed, the less eligible of the two, to be our inter- 
 cessor ! Would any one choose the king's buifoon to be 
 an intercessor ? The saints in heaven are not indeed buf- 
 foons ; but in dignity they are less, compared with Jesus 
 Christ, than a buifoon is, when compared with an earthly 
 king." 
 
 WicklifF is very pointed in asserting the authority of 
 Scripture, which, he maintains, infinitely surpasses the au- 
 thority of any other writings whatsoever ; and he declares 
 * i>peiman, vol. ii. t Fascic. rerum, rol. i. 
 
Sufficiency of the Scriptures, 
 
 97 
 
 that to hold the contrary, is the most damnable of all here- 
 sies. He assures us, that he so strenuously combated^ in the 
 university and before the people, the errors on the sacra- 
 ment, because none had proved more destructive to man- 
 kind. " These errors,*' says he, " fleece men, and draw 
 them into idolatry: They then deny the faith of the Scrip- 
 tures ; and by their infidelity provoke the God of truth." 
 Such w^ere the principles of WicklilF, and such the testi- 
 monies w^hich he has left against the corruptions of the 
 church of Rome. 
 
 5. There is an Apology for Wickliff, written by Dr. Thomas 
 James, keeper of the public library at Oxford, for the pur- 
 pose of showing this great Reformer's conformity with the 
 doctrines of the established church of England. The con- 
 tents of the Apology are collected chiefly from Wickliff's 
 own manuscripts. — We shall present the reader with a few 
 quotations. 
 
 Speaking of the Scriptures, Wickliff says, " I think it 
 absurd to be warm in defence of the apocryphal books, 
 when we have so many which are undeniably authentic. 
 In order to distinguish canonical books from such as are 
 apocryphal, use the following rules : 1. Look into the New 
 Testament, and see what books of the Old Testament are 
 therein cited and authenticated by the Holy Ghost. 2. Con- 
 sider whether the like doctrine be delivered by the Holy 
 Ghost elsewhere in the Scripture." These observations to 
 us, no doubt, appear extremely obvious, and no more than 
 plain, common sense: but those who are aware of the do- 
 minion of prejudice in the age of Wickliff, and of the implicit 
 obedience then shown to ecclesiastical authority, will be 
 best qualified to appreciate that vigour of understanding, 
 and that resolute integrity, which could produce such sen- 
 timents, and a corresponding practical conduct. 
 
 Dr. James, the compiler, tells us that Wickliff was 
 earnest, every where in his writings, to establish the grand 
 protestant sentiment, of the sufficiency of the Scriptures 
 for saving instruction ; and that the reason of his earnest- 
 ness and pious zeal was, in substance, this : " Few ser- 
 mons were preached in his time ; and those few were on 
 fabulous subjects and traditions, and profaned with much 
 scurrility and emptiness. Friars persecuted the faithful, 
 and said, it had never been well with the Church since 
 lords and ladies regarded the Gospel, and relinquished the 
 manners of their ancestors/' 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 23. k 
 
98 
 
 On the exposition of scripture, [Cent. 14. 
 
 Some," says he, " are enlightened from above, that 
 they may explain the proper, literal, and historical sense of 
 Scripture, in which sense, all things necessary in Scripture 
 are contained." 
 
 This remark was doubtless made to guard his readers 
 against the devious paths of fantastic and endless allegories, 
 in which the sportive genius of Origen had been so con- 
 versant ; and which, for ages, had thrown so great a cloud 
 over the genuine meaning of the Sacred Writers. It was, 
 at the same time, a strong indication of the native vigour 
 of that good sense, with which the pastor of Lutterworth 
 was eminently endowed ; and his idea of divine assistance, 
 as necessary to qualify a man for the explanation of the 
 revealed word, indicates his knowledge of our natural 
 blindness and depravity : and further, in making this last 
 observation, he doubtless intimates the very great advan- 
 tage, which, as a religious instructor, a person, who is 
 practically led by the Spirit of God, has over a mere 
 self-sufficient theorist, depending on the use of his own 
 understanding. We have, indeed, from the extreme dis- 
 advantages of obscurity, in which this author's works 
 appear, little opportunity of estimating his merits as a 
 theologian ; but it is sufficiently evident, from a few frag- 
 ments* of his voluminous writings, that, in light and 
 talents, he was greatly superior to his contemporaries; 
 and that he stands among the foremost of those agents, 
 who, since the apostolic age, have been raised up by 
 Providence to instruct and reform the human race. 
 
 " Sanctity of life," he observes, '* promotes this illumi- 
 MiNATiON, so necessary for understanding the revealed 
 word ; to continue which in the Church is the duty of 
 theologians, who ought to remain within their proper 
 limits, and not to invent things foreign to the faith of 
 Scripture." 
 
 He lays down some good rules for an expositor. " 1. He 
 should be able by collation of manuscripts to settle well 
 
 * Subinco, archbishop of Prague, about.the year 1409, endeaToured 
 to collect all the writings of WicklifF, which had been introduced 
 into Bohemia. He is said to have got into his possession 200 of 
 them, all which he burnt by virtue of a royal edict. — Camerarius, 
 
 Historica Narratio, p. 32. The books were very finely written, 
 
 and adorned with costly covers and golden bosses, which makes it 
 probable that they belonged to the Bohemian nobility and gentry. 
 This is the account which iEneas Sylvius gives of this transaction. 
 Fascic. rer. vol. i. 297. 
 
On justification by faith. 
 
 99 
 
 the sacred text. 2. He should be conversant in logic. 
 3. He should be constantly engaged in comparing one 
 part of Scripture with another. 4. The student should 
 be a man of prayer, and his disposition should be upright, 
 5. He needs the internal instruction of the Primary 
 Teacher/' This last is Augustine's favourite idea; 
 namely, that a genuine relish for divine aid in rightly 
 interpreting and applying Scripture, is the sure index of 
 a humble spirit ; and that the contempt of it no less 
 powerfully indicates the prevalence of profaneness or self- 
 conceit. 
 
 The Council of Constance condemned this great man, 
 for denying the pope's supremacy. We shall afterwards 
 see, that that council is entitled to little regard. What 
 colour they might have for their censure, seems to be 
 grounded on his avowed opinion, that all the bishops 
 of Rome before his time, for three hundred years, had 
 been heretics: and yet he advances, that "whoever dis- 
 obeys the papal mandates, incurs the charge of Paganism."* 
 
 Further, in Dr. James's collection, there are also ex- 
 tracts and observations, in substance as follows : 
 
 "The merit of Christ is of itself sufficient to redeem 
 every man from hell. Faith in o-ur Lord Jesus Cl^fist is 
 sufficient for salvation ; and without faith it is impossible 
 to please God." 
 
 It also clearly appears that, on the leading controversy 
 respecting Justification, Wickliff accorded fully with the 
 protestant doctrines ; and that he persuaded men ** to trust 
 WHOLLY TO Christ, to rely altogether upon his sufferings, 
 and not to seek to be justified in any other way than by 
 his justice that he said, " Unbelievers, though they 
 might perform works apparently good in their matter, 
 still were not to be accounted righteous men ; that all, 
 who followed Christ, became righteous through the parti- 
 cipation of his righteousness, and would be saved.'' He 
 adds the following sentences : *' Human nature is wholly at 
 enmity with God : All men are originally sinners, not only 
 from their mothers' wombs, but in their mothers' wombs : 
 We cannot think a good thought unless Jesus send it : We 
 cannot perform a good work unless it be properly his good 
 work : His mercy prevents us, so that we receive grace ; 
 and it follows us so as to help us and keep us in grace. 
 
 * Apology, chap, on the Pope, sect. 1. 
 
100 Treatise on the truth of the Scriptures, [Cent. 14. 
 
 Heal us, good Lord, we have no merit ! Give us grace 
 to know that all thy gifts be of thy goodness only."* 
 
 These hints are recommended to the particular notice of 
 such serious readers as set a high value on the essential 
 truths of the gospel. The conclusion to be drawn from 
 them is evident, but it is mortifying to find so little recorded 
 from Wickliff's writings respecting these truths, even by his 
 most diligent biographers. Two of these, very great ad- 
 mirers of this Reformer, either did not comprehend the great 
 doctrines of Justification by faith, and of the nature of good 
 works, or, they must have thought them of little conse- 
 quence. On all other points they dwell with sufficient ac- 
 curacy, and with a minuteness of detail ; whereas if they 
 touch on these at all, it is done with the greatest reserve ; 
 and the little they say is far from being clear. Every ad- 
 mirer of Wickliff, if he be also a sincere approver of the 
 inestimable protestant doctrines concerning the grace of 
 God and the justification of man, will be gratified in read- 
 ing the sentiments already produced from Dr. James's 
 collection. If such sentiments abound not in Wickliff 's 
 writings, so much as sound and enlightened Christians 
 might wish, it becomes the more necessary to take notice 
 of those which we do find there 
 
 The Apology by Dr. James contains many other memo- 
 rable sentiments of this Reformer : among which is 
 this, — 
 
 " We worship not the image, but the Being represented 
 by the image, say the patrons of idolatry in our times ; 
 suffice it to say, idolatrous heathens said the same." 
 
 He also vehemently opposed the whole doctrine of 
 Indulgences ; and expressed in the most decisive manner, 
 his disapprobation of forced vows of celibacy, either in 
 the case of monks or of the secular clergy. He is accused 
 of having been an enemy to all oaths, but the Apology 
 proves directly the contrary : also a passage in his book 
 against the mendicant friars, seems to invalidate the charge; 
 
 God,'' says he, teaches us to swear by himself, when 
 necessity calls for it, and not by his creatures.'' 
 
 In his treatise on the Truth of the Scriptures, Wickliff 
 PROTESTS, that in his love and veneration for the Church 
 of Rome, (which he calls his mother,) it was his study and 
 endeavour to defend all her privileges. He adds, however, 
 
 ♦ De V(ritate Script, in Expos. Decal. Comment, in Psalm. 
 
On purgatory, — On the sacraments, 101 
 
 that her privileges came from God, and would be the more 
 ample, in proportion as she conformed herself closer to 
 Christ and his laws. No man ought to think that the 
 faith of the church, or of any individual member of 
 the church, depended upon this Peter, that John, or that 
 Gregory. It might happen that our lord pope may be 
 ignorant of the laws of the Scripture ; and that the church 
 of England may understand the Catholic truth far better 
 than the whole aggregate of the Roman church with the 
 pope and cardinals altogether.* 
 
 It has been said that Wickliff preached against purga- 
 tory ;t but Dr. James allows that he speaks of the dread- 
 ful pains of purgatory, and of praying for the dead. It 
 appears also that he prayed to the Virgin Mary. In one 
 place, however, he certainly uses language which may be 
 thought extraordinary in the writings of a man, who 
 seriously believed the popish doctrine of a middle state of 
 temporary punishment. His words are, " Omnia dicta de 
 purgatorio dicuntur solummodo comminatorie tanquam 
 pia mendacia."J That is. All things that are said con- 
 cerning purgatory, are said only in the way of threatening ; 
 and are to be considered as pious falsehoods. 
 
 He maintained, that the papistical practice of extreme, 
 unction was no sacrament, and that if it had been so, 
 Christ and his apostles would not have been silent on 
 such a matter. He blames covetous and greedy priests 
 for making this a source of profit. 
 
 Holy orders, however, he considered as one of the 
 SEVEN sacraments of the Church. There were, he said, 
 but two species of orders, namely that of deacons and of 
 priests. The church militant ought not to be burdened 
 with three; nor was there any ground for it.§ He in- 
 veighs severely against the " foul extortion'* of fees which 
 took place upon the admission into holy orders : he de- 
 clares, that a man might have a common barber to attend 
 him a whole year for what he paid to have his crown once 
 shaven. It may deserve notice, that the two last posi- 
 tions, concerning extreme unction, and holy orders, are 
 among the 287 articles which were selected from WicklifTs 
 writings, and condemned at Oxford in the year 1411.|| 
 
 * Dr. James's Apol. c. iv. 1 t Fuller, p. 130. 
 
 X De Verit. Script. § Dr. James's Apol. c viii. 2 and 4. 
 
 II Antiq. Oxon. 205. 
 
 K 3 
 
102 Difficult and dangerous situation [Cent. 14. 
 
 The same two Articles are also among the 301 Conclusions, 
 condemned at the Council of Constance.* 
 
 III. 
 
 REFLECTIONS ON THE CHARACTER OF WICKLIFF. 
 
 We may allow and lament, that in certain difficult and 
 dangerous moments of his life, there existed in the de- 
 fences and explanations of WicklifF, some apparent equi- 
 vocation ; but who can deny, that he was a sincere be- 
 liever of Christianity, and a zealous advocate for its essen- 
 tial doctrines ? 
 
 " He was distinguished,'' says the historian Hume, 
 ** by a great austerity of life and manners and the his- 
 torian then coolly observes, that this is " a circumstance 
 common to almost all those, who dogmatize in any new 
 WAY.'' Infidel philosophers and infidel historians, never 
 comprehend how the honour of God, and the salvation of 
 men, can be the ruliiig principles of a rational conduct. 
 The profession of such principles appears to them to be 
 connected with hypocrisy or enthusiasm : and, therefore, 
 in estimating the merits of truly rehgious characters, they 
 make no candid allowance for the weakness and imperfec- 
 tion of human nature ; but are most ingenious and acute 
 in discovering faults and inconsistencies, as well as bitter 
 and sarcastic in exposing them. If, on the one hand, we 
 may have been mortified in finding ourselves constrained to 
 differ from many in their unbounded applause of Dr. Wick- 
 liff, it is surely a duty, on the other, to correct the uncandid 
 and injurious representations of a profane historian, who 
 would insinuate to the minds of the unwary, that this 
 Reformer, " though a man of parts and learning, was in 
 fact a cautious or cowardly enthusiast. Moreover, sup- 
 posing it true, that Wickliff's timid disposition, or any 
 other cause, induced him to decline the praise of martyr- 
 dom — is it not at least equally true, that he involved him- 
 self in much danger and difficulty, by bringing forward his 
 opinions ; that he showed much courage and ability in 
 supporting them ; and that, rather than retract them, he 
 suffered heavy persecutions with great patience and forti- 
 tude? Did the philosophic Mr. Hume infer the nature of 
 a man's disposition from an occasional imbecility mani- 
 
 ♦ Fascic. rer. i 209. 
 
of Wickliff, — The mendicant friars. 103 
 
 festcd in some trying moments, rather than from the uni- 
 form tenour of his conduct ? Or did he esteem every man 
 a coward or a hypocrite, who, in explaining his religious 
 sentiments, may, in some instances, have softened them, 
 or perhaps have equivocated for the purpose of saving his 
 life?* — ^This is one very clear and decisive instance of 
 Mr. Hume's prejudice and partiality. There are many 
 others, in his writings, of a similar kind. He has a very 
 sly and artful way of insinuating his own opinions, and of 
 depreciating truly religious men ; and it is not a sufficient 
 guard against this practice, merely to advertise the young 
 student that this is actually the case, and that therefore he 
 must be constantly on the watch. Instances, like this 
 respecting Wickliff, should be produced. It would be 
 very easy to collect a number of a similar sort ; and such 
 a collection of particular and distinct examples would be 
 infinitely more efficacious in preventing the daily mischief 
 done by this author's rash assertions, and dangerous insi- 
 nuations, than numerous pages of general disapprobation 
 or abuse with which many well-intentioned publications 
 continually abound. Show the student that his favourite 
 historian or philosopher is under the dominion of the most 
 violent prejudices, and that he is capable of misrepresent- 
 ing notorious facts ; do this, even in one instance only, 
 and the memory of it will sink deep into his mind, and 
 prove salutary in its consequences. 
 
 IV. 
 
 FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE PANEGYRIC AND CALUMNY 
 WITH WHICH WICKLIFF HAS BEEN TREATED BY HIS- 
 TORIANS AND BIOGRAPHERS. 
 
 1. The mendicant friars, who settled in Oxford about 
 the year 1230, proved very troublesome and offensive to 
 the university. Their insolent behaviour produced end- 
 less quarrels, and their conduct in general was so excep- 
 tionable, that so far from being objects of charity, they 
 became a reproach to all religion. Wickliff lashed this 
 set of men with great acrimony and acuteness ; and, by 
 exposing their shameful corruptions and hypocritical pre- 
 tences, made known his learning and talents, and esta- 
 blished his own reputation and consequence. He became 
 at once the beloved and the admired champion of the 
 * Hume, Rich. II. chap. 17. 
 
104 JVickliff's opposition to the papacy ; [Cent. 14. 
 
 university. On the contrary, the mendicants " were set 
 on a rage and madness ; and even as hornets with their 
 sharp stings they assailed this good man on every side, 
 fighting for their altars, paunches, and beUies."* But 
 the daring, active spirit of WickhfF was not to be overcome 
 by the opposition of such men. Fortunately for him, 
 they were in the highest discredit at Oxford ; whereas our 
 Reformer was looked up to almost as an oracle ; for he 
 had not, as yet, proceeded to those lengths of innovation, 
 which afterwards called forth the vengeance of the hierar- 
 chy, and involved him in various difficulties and persecu- 
 tions. His friends procured him a benefice ; he took his 
 degree of doctor of divinity ; he was elected into the pro- 
 fessor s chair ; and he read lectures publicly with the 
 greatest applause. f 
 
 2. The credit and interest of WicklifF were much 
 strengthened by the active part which he took in support- 
 ing the independence of the crown against the pope's 
 pretensions and menaces. Pope Urban claimed a tribute 
 from King Edward III. The clergy in general espoused 
 the cause of his holiness ; but Wickliff distinguished him- 
 self, by publishing a masterly answer to the most plausible 
 arguments which could be produced in support of so unjust 
 SI demand. This step irritated his brethren, the clergy, 
 with the pope at their head ; the professor of divinity, how- 
 ever, had the Parliament, as well as every disinterested 
 subject of the realm, on his side in this question. From 
 the same cause he seems to have been first made known at 
 court, and particularly to the duke of Lancaster. His 
 great learning, increasing celebrity, and powerful connec- 
 tions, all contributed to support his courage, and to give 
 vigour to the resolutions which he had secretly made for 
 reforming the prevailing corruptions. Accordingly, he 
 proceeded to open the eyes of the people with still greater 
 boldness and plainness of speech. He demonstrated the 
 Romish religion to be a system of errors : he attacked the 
 scandalous lives of the monastic clergy ; and showed how 
 they invented and multiplied such superstitious opinions 
 and doctrines, as suited their worldly, sensual, and avari- 
 cious views. 
 
 3. These extraordinary steps both alarmed the hierarchy 
 and excited its reseniment. The clergy raised violent 
 
 * Fox's Acts and Monuments, 
 t Leland, de Script. Brit, 
 
he is protected for a time by persons of rank, 105 
 
 clamours against the heretic : the archbishop of Canter- 
 bury took the lead ; and the professor was silenced and 
 deprived. In this very moment of his disgrace, we find 
 Dr. WicklifF was brought to court, treated with peculiar 
 kindness, and appointed one of the king's ambassadors,* 
 for the purpose of treating with the pope, concerning a 
 variety of intolerable hardships and usurpations under 
 which the nation had long groaned. On his return, he 
 appears to have recovered his station in Oxford, and to 
 have inveighed against the church of Rome in stronger 
 language than he had ever done before, both in his public 
 lectures and in private. His negotiations abroad with the 
 pope's nuncios had afforded him opportunities of seeing 
 more striking proofs of the ambition, covetousness, ty- 
 ranny, and insolence of the papal domination. In this 
 part of the history of our Reformer, there is considerable 
 defect and obscurity. We find, however, that, notwith- 
 standing his employments in the university, he was often 
 at court, and continued in high credit with the duke of 
 Lancaster ; and though, by many of the clergy, he was 
 esteemed an enemy to the church and a false brother, he 
 obtained the rectory of Lutterworth, through the royal 
 favour. These facts deserve particular notice ; as they 
 determine several points beyond all controversy : namely, 
 the great weight of Wickliff *s character and reputation ; 
 his disposition to public business ; and, lastly, the sources 
 of that esteem and applause on the one hand, and, on the 
 other, of that hatred and calumny, which he met with so 
 plentifully in the former part of his life. 
 
 4. While the Reformer confined himself to attacks on 
 the luxury and indolence of the mendicant friars, he was 
 the favourite of the university of Oxford : while he only 
 opposed the exorbitant claims of the papacy upon the king 
 and his subjects, he was admired and applauded by the 
 English court and parhament: his conduct, however, in 
 both these instances, marked him at the court of Rome as 
 an object of detestation and vengeance ; and we need not 
 wonder, if the ecclesiastical dignitaries in England, and the 
 regular clergy in general, sympathized with the pope, in 
 sentiment and feeling. In effect, the dignitaries com- 
 plained to the pope ; and the pope in great wrath sent bull 
 after bull to the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop 
 of London, directing them to take immediate cognizance 
 * Rymer's Foedera ; A. D. 1374. 
 
106 His patrons neglect his doctrinal views. [Cent. 14. 
 
 of Wickliff's heresies, and to imprison him. Hence the 
 citations, of which, and of their consequences, we have 
 already given a concise account. And it deserves to be 
 remembered how in those affairs the pope and his delegates 
 had the art to select such articles of accusation against the 
 innovator, as might prove a severe trial of his fortitude and 
 sincerity, and also be most likely to involve him in much 
 difficulty and equivocation ; and yet at the same time bring 
 the least odium upon themselves as accusers. But as soon 
 as Wickliff began to assail the Roman Catholic religion in 
 a closer manner, and to level his batteries at its very foun- 
 dations ; when he was no longer content with exposing 
 the infamous lives and practices of the monastic orders, or 
 with declaiming against the avaricious encroachments and 
 contemptible superstitions of the papal system; when he 
 proceeded to show how the pure doctrines of the gospel, 
 and the true spirit of Christianity, were almost lost amidst 
 the innumerable abominations of popery ; when he de- 
 scended to particulars, attacked the reigning doctrines of 
 transubstantiation, of worshipping images and deceased 
 saints, and, above all, of merits and satisfactions, and re- 
 stored in their place the sound evangelical doctrines of 
 the meritorious sacrifice of our Saviour, and of Justifica- 
 tion by faith, we then find not only the whole hierarchy in 
 a flame, but even the vice-chancellor and governing part 
 of the university of Oxford, joining in the general outcry 
 against their professor of divinity. Hence the vice-chan- 
 cellor s peremptory decree, at Oxford, against Wickliff's 
 notions of transubstantiation ; and we may add, hence 
 also the decline of our theologian's interest with the nobi- 
 lity and worldly persons of all descriptions.* To under- 
 stand this rightly, we should constantly keep in view the 
 distinction that is to be made between the applause which, 
 in general, failed not to accompany Wickliff, as a censurer 
 of gross immoralities and an advocate for religious liberty, 
 and the cold approbation or sceptical reserve with which 
 he was treated, considered as a preacher of the pure 
 Gospel of Christ, and a reviver of the most important 
 practical truths. In the former case he met with few to 
 oppose or envy him, except those who were immediately 
 interested in supporting vice or usurpation ; but in regard 
 to the latter, the greater part of mankind did as they have 
 
 * This plainly showed that VVicklifT was not, as his enemies have 
 called him, a mere time-serving professor. — Ed. 
 
IVickliff's translation of the Bible, 107 
 
 often done in far more enlightened times, they either sus- 
 pected that he carried his notions too far, or they kept 
 aloof from him with a profane and indolent negli- 
 gence ; or lastly, they wavered between the religion in 
 which they had been educated, and the Reformer's novel- 
 ties, and bv immersing themselves in business, or in plea- 
 sure, both stifled the convictions of conscience, and escaped 
 the dangers of persecution. 
 
 5. It will easily be conceived, that to accomplish Wick- 
 liff 's views, one of the most popular, and at the same time 
 most useful steps, which he could possibly have taken, 
 was his translation of the Bible into the English language. 
 The clergy indeed clamoured against the measure almost 
 universally ; and it may be instructive as well as enter- 
 taining to the reader, to see, by a short quotation from a 
 learned canon* of Leicester, and a contemporary of 
 Wickliff, what was thought to be good reasoning by the 
 ecclesiastics of that day. " Christ,'' says he, " committed 
 the gospel to the clergy and doctors of the Church, that 
 they might minister it to the laity and weaker persons, 
 according to the exigency of times and persons' wants ; 
 but this Master John Wickliff translated it out of Latin 
 into English ; and by that means laid it more open to the 
 laity and to women who could read, than it used to be to 
 the most learned of the clergy, and those of them who had 
 the best understanding. And so the gospel pearl is cast 
 abroad and trodden under swine ; and that which used to 
 be precious to both clergy and laity, is made, as it were, 
 the common jests of both ; and the jewel of the Church is 
 turned into the sport of the laity." 
 
 In our times, one cannot but be astonished, that the 
 bishops, after much consultation, should have brought a 
 bill into parhament to suppress WicklifTs Bible ; but it 
 was thrown out by a great majority. 
 
 The effect, which, under the direction of the good provi- 
 dence of God, the publication of the Holy Scriptures, trans- 
 lated into our own language, produced on the minds of 
 men, must have been very considerable in no great length 
 of time : and it is not easy to conceive how any human 
 means could contribute more to the spreading of the essen- 
 tial doctrines of Christianity. We wish that several diligent 
 and spirited panegyrists of Wickliff had shown an anxiety, 
 in their laudable researches into antiquity, to furnish 
 * Knyghton, de Event. 
 
108 
 
 TVickliff pleads the right 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 instances of the conversion of our countrymen from the 
 ways of the world to the practice of godliness. That 
 many such instances did exist, through the indefatigable 
 labours of Wickliff in public and in private, we doubt not ; 
 yet we mean not to insinuate, that if they had been recorded, 
 they would have added much to the general fame or cele- 
 brity of the Reformer, in the present circumstances of the 
 world. There is indeed, in the Holy Scriptures, a most 
 encouraging promise to those that be wise, and who shall 
 " turn many unto righteousness but, it is not in this 
 state of existence ; it is when they shall awake fi-om their 
 sleep in the dust of the earth, that they shall shine as the 
 brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and 
 ever.* 
 
 6. To return : Let the reader remember, that Wickliff 
 not only published an English translation of the Bible ; 
 but also pleaded, in a very spirited and sensible manner, 
 the RIGHT of the people to read the Scriptures.f All this 
 tended the more to provoke the clergy, and to increase 
 his popularity with the laity. Disinterested persons of 
 every description, if they possessed the least degree of se- 
 riousness, and liberality of thinking, must have been gra- 
 tified to have the Bible rescued from obscurity ; though 
 we may allow, without difficulty, that many sincere Roman 
 Catholics of the unlearned and weaker sort, may have been 
 greatly puzzled and distressed in their minds, between the 
 discoveries made to them by the Scriptures, and that mass 
 of wretched superstition, which they had been accustomed 
 to receive, all their days, with implicit faith. 
 
 If these facts and suggestions prove useful to the reader, 
 who wishes to understand the character of this extraordi- 
 nary Reformer, and to account for the various lights, and, 
 it might be added, the various obscurities, in which he has 
 been transmitted to us, the object is obtained. — We shall 
 now add two short quotations, and then give a specimen of 
 his style. 
 
 The first is from a very concise life of Wickliff, written 
 by Dr. Thomas James, author of the Apology already 
 mentioned. 
 
 " God gave Dr. Wickliff grace to see the truth of his 
 gospel, and by seeing it, to loath all superstition and 
 popery . . . . ! By Abelard and others, he was grounded 
 in the right faith of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; 
 * Dan. xii. 2,3. f Speculum secular. 
 
of the people to read the Scriptures, 
 
 109 
 
 by Bradwardine in the nature of a true sole-justifying faith 
 ag-ainst merit-mongers and pardoners, pelagians and 
 PAPISTS. Finally, by reading Grosseteste's works, in 
 whom he seemed to be most conversant, he described the 
 pope to be Antichrist." 
 
 The second is a very solemn declaration of WicklifF, 
 contained in one of his Latin tracts.* 
 
 " Let God be my witness,'* says he, ** that I principally 
 intend the honour of God, and the good of the Church, 
 from a spirit of veneration to the divine word, and of obe- 
 dience to the law of Christ. But if, with that intention, a 
 sinister view of vain-glory, of secular gain, or of vindictive 
 malice, hath crept in unknown to myself, I sincerely grieve 
 on the account, and, by the grace of God, will guard 
 against it." 
 
 Dr. James asks, " What could be spoken more ingenu- 
 ously, soberly, or christianly ?'*t 
 
 V, 
 
 ADDITIONAL EXTRACTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF WICKLIFF. 
 
 The following extract is a fine specimen of the clear^ 
 nervous, and even elegant style of Wickliff, (if due allow- 
 ance be made for the times.) It is almost the whole of 
 one of his tracts ; and is now among the MSS. in the 
 library of Benet' College, Cambridge. 
 
 WHY MANY PRIESTS HAVE NO BENEFICES. 
 
 Some Causes why poor Priests receive not Benefices :— 
 the first, for dread of symony ; the second, for dread of 
 mispending poor men's goods ; the thirds for dread of 
 letting (hindering) of better occupation that is more 
 light or easy, more certain and more profitable. 
 
 L For, first, if men should come to benefices by gift of 
 prelates, there is dread of symony. For commonly they 
 taken the first-fruits, or other pensions, or holden curates 
 in office in their courts or chapels, in offices far fro(m) 
 priests' life, taught, and ensampled of Christ and his 
 apostles. So that commonly such benefices comen not 
 freely as Christ commandeth, but rather for worldly win- 
 ning, or flattering of mighty men, and not for kunning 
 (knowledge) of God's law, and true preaching of the 
 ♦ De Ver. Script. t Dr. James's Apology, 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 23. L 
 
110 
 
 WicUiff's tract 
 
 [Cent. 14 
 
 Gospel, and ensample of holy life; and therefore com- 
 monly these prelates, and receivers ben fouled with sy- 
 mony, that is cursed heresie, as God's law and man s law 
 techen. And now whoever can run to Rome, and bear 
 gold out of the lond, and strive and plead, and curse for 
 tithes, and other temporal profits, that be cleped with 
 antichrist's clerks rights of holy church, shall have great 
 benefices of cure of many thousand souls, tho he be 
 unable, and of cursed life, and wicked ensample of pride, 
 of covetisse, glotony, leachery, and other great sins. But 
 if there be any simple man, that desireth to live well, and 
 teche truly God's law, he shall ben holden an hypocrite, a 
 new teacher, an heretick, and not suffered to come to any 
 benefice. But if in any little poor place he liven a poor 
 life, he shall be so pursued, and slandered, that he shall be 
 put out by wiles, cantels, frauds, and worldly violence, and 
 imprisoned or brent (burnt). And if lords shullen present 
 clerks to benefices, they wolen have commonly gold in 
 great quantity, and holden these curates in some worldly 
 office, and suffren the wolves of hell to stranglen men's 
 souls, so that they have their office done for nought, and 
 their chappels holden up for vain-glory or hypocrisy ; and 
 yet they wolen not present a clerk able to God's law, and 
 of good life, and holy ensample to the people ; but a 
 kitchen-clerk, or a penny-clerk, or one wise in building 
 castles, or other worldly doing ; tho he kun (know) not 
 read his sauter, (Psalter) and knoweth not the command- 
 ments of God, ne sacraments of holy church. And yet 
 some lords, to colouren their symony wole not take for 
 themselves, but kerchiefs for the lady, or a palfray, or a 
 tun of wine. And when some lords woulden present a 
 good man, then some ladies ben means to have a dancer 
 presented, or a tripper on tapits, or hunter, or a hawker, 
 or a wild player of summer gambels. And thus it seemelh, 
 that both prelates, and lords commonly maken some 
 cursed antichrist, or a quick fiend to be master of 
 Christ's people, for to leaden them to hell to Sathanas 
 tlieir master ; and suffer not Christ's disciples to teche 
 Christ's Gospel to his children for to save their souls. 
 
 But in this presenting of evil curates, and holding of 
 curates in worldly office, letting (hindering) them fro their 
 ghostly cure, ben three degrees oftraitery agenst God and 
 his people. The first is in prelates and lords, that thus 
 holden curates in their worldly office, for they have their 
 
on priests benefices. 111 
 
 high states in the church, and lordships, for to purvey true 
 curates to the pejple, and to ineyntene them in God's 
 law, and punish them, if they failen in their ghostly 
 cure, and by this they holden their lordships of God. 
 Then if they maken evil curates, and holden them in their 
 worldly office, and letten (hinder) them to lead God's 
 people the rightful way to heaven, but helpen them, and 
 constreynen them to lead the people to hell-ward, by vvith- 
 drav/ing of God's word, and by evil ensample geving, 
 they ben weiward tray tors to God and his people, and 
 vicars of Sathanas. — 2. Yet more traitery is in false cu- 
 rates, that geven mede or hire to comen into such worldly 
 offices, and to get lordship and maintenance agenst ordi- 
 nances, and couchen in lords* courts for to get mo fatte 
 benefices, and purposen not spedly to do their ghostly 
 office. Woe is to the lords that ben led with such cursed 
 heretics, antichrists, traytors of God and his people ; and 
 traytors to lords themselves ; who ben so blinded, that 
 they perceiven not that such traytors, that openly ben 
 false to God, wolen much more ben false to them. — 3. 
 But the most traitery is in false confessors, that shulden 
 by their office warn prelates, and lords of this great peril, 
 and clerks also that they holden none such curates in their 
 worldly offices. For they don not this, lest they lessen 
 lordship, and friendship, and gifts, and welfare of their 
 stinking belly ; and so they sellen Christen soul to Sa- 
 thanas, and maken prelates and lords, and curates to live 
 in sin and traitery agenst God and his people, and de- 
 ceiven them in their souls health, and meyntenen them in 
 cursed traitery of God and his people ; and thus almost 
 all the world goeth to hell for this cursed symony of false 
 confessors. For commonly prelates, lords, and curates be 
 envenymed with this heresy of symony, and never done 
 very repentance, and satisfaction therefore. For when 
 they have a fat benefice geten by symony, they forsaken it 
 not as they ben bounden by law, but wittingly usen forth 
 that symony, and liven in riot, covetisse, and pride, and 
 don not their office neither in good ensample, ne in true 
 teching. And thus antichrist's clerks, enemies of Christ, 
 and his people, by money, and flattering, and fleshly love, 
 gedring to them leading of the people, fbrbare true priests 
 to teche God's law, and therefore the blind leadeth the 
 blind, and both parts runnen into sin, and full many to 
 hell : and it is huge wonder that God of his righteousness 
 L 2 
 
112 TFickliff's. tract [Cent. 14. 
 
 destroyeth not the houses of prelates, and lords, and cu- 
 rates, as Sodom and Gomor for heresie, extortions, and 
 other cursednesses. And for dread of this sin, and many 
 mo, some poor wretches receive no benefices in this world. 
 
 II. Yet tho poor priests mighten freely getten present- 
 ation of lords to have benefices with cure of souls, 
 they dreaden of mispending poor men's goods. For 
 priests owen to hold themselves paide with food, and 
 cloathing", as St. Paul techeth ; and if they have more it is 
 poor men's goods, as their own law, and God's law feyn, 
 and they ben keepers thereof, and procurators of poor 
 men. But for institution and induction he shall give 
 much of this good, that is poor men's, to bishops' officers, 
 archdeacons, and officials, that ben too rich. And when 
 bishops and their officers comen, and feynen to visit, tho 
 they nourishen men in open sin for annual rent, and don 
 not their office, but sellen souls to Sathanas for money, 
 wretched curates ben neded to feasten them richly, and 
 give procuracy and synage, yea against God's law, and 
 man's, and reason, and their own conscience, and yet 
 they shullen not be suffered to teche truly God's law to 
 their own subjects, and warn them of false prophets, who 
 deceiven them both in belief and teching : for then they 
 musten crie to the people the great sins of prelates ; but 
 they demen (think) that such sad reproving of sin is envy, 
 slandering of prelates, and destroying of holy church. 
 Also many times their patrons willen look to be feasted of 
 such curates, else maken them lese that little thing, that 
 they and poor men shullen live by. So that they shullen 
 not spend their tithes and offerings after good conscience, 
 and God's laws, but waste them on rich and idle men. 
 Also eche good day commonly these small curates shullen 
 have letters fro their ordinaries to summon, and to curse 
 poor men for nought, but for covetisse of antichrist's 
 clerks ; and if they not sumonen and cursen them, tho 
 they know no cause why, they shullen ben hurted, and 
 summoned fro day to day, fro far place to farther, or 
 cursed, or lese their benefits or profits. For else, as pre- 
 lates feinen, they by their rebeldy shulden soon destroy 
 prelates' jurisdiction, power, and winning. Also, when 
 poor priests, first holy of life, and devout in their prayers, 
 be beneficed, if they ben not busy about the world to make 
 great feasts to rich persons and vicars, and costly and 
 gayly arrayed, by false doom of the world, they shullen be 
 
on priests^ benefices. 
 
 113 
 
 hated and hayned on as hounds, and ech man redy to 
 peire (rob) them in name, and worldly goods. So many 
 cursed deceits hath antichrist brought up by his worldly 
 clerks to make curates to mispende poor men's goods, and 
 not truly do their office ; or else to forsaken all, and let 
 antichrist's clerks, as lords of this world, rob the poor 
 people by feyned censures, and teche the fend's lore 
 both by open preaching, and ensample of cursed life. 
 Also, if such curates ben stirred to learn God's law, and 
 teche their parishens the Gospel, commonly they shullen 
 get no leave of bishops, but for gold ; and when they 
 shullen most profit in their learning, then shullen they be 
 clepid at home at the prelate's will. And if thsy shullen 
 have any high sacraments, commonly they shuUe buy 
 them with poor men's goods ; and so there is full great 
 peril of evil spending of these goods, both upon prelates, 
 rich men of the country, patrons, parsons, and their own 
 kyn, for fame of the world, and for shame, and evil deming 
 of men. And certes it is great wonder that God suffreth 
 so long this sin unpunished, namely of prelates' courts, 
 that ben dens of thieves, and larders of hell ; and so of 
 their officers, that ben sotil in malice and covetisse 3 and 
 of lords, and mighty men, that shulden destroy this wrong 
 and other, and meyntenen truth, and God's servants, and 
 now meyntenen antichrist's falsness and his clerks, for 
 part of the winning. But certes God suffireth such hypo- 
 crites and tyrants to have name of prelates for great sins 
 of the people, that eche part lead other to hell by blind- 
 ness of the fend. And this is a thousand time more ven- 
 geance, than if God shud destroy bodily both parts, and 
 all their goods, and earth therewith, as he did by Sodom 
 and Gomor. For the longer that they liven thus in sin, 
 the greater pains shullen they have in hell, unless they 
 amenden them. — And this dread, and many mo, maken 
 some poor priests to receiven none benefices. 
 
 III. But yet tho poor priests mighten have freely pre- 
 sentation of lords, and be holpen by meyntening of kings, 
 and help of good commons fro extortions of prelates, and 
 other mispending of these goods, that is full hard in this 
 reigning of antichrist's clerks, yet they dreden sore that by 
 singular cure ordained of sinful men they shulden be letted 
 fro better occupation, and fro more profit of holy church. 
 And this is the most dread of all ; for they have cure and 
 charge at the full of God to help their brethren to heaven- 
 
 L 3 
 
114 
 
 Wickliff's tract 
 
 [Cent. 14, 
 
 ward, both by teching", praying, and example-geving. And 
 it seemeth that they shullen most easily fulfill this by 
 general cure of charity, as did Christ and his apostles. 
 And by this they most sikerly (surely) save themselves, 
 and help their brethren : and they ben free to flee fro one 
 city to another, when they ben pursued of antichrist's 
 clerks, as biddeth Christ in the gospel. And they may 
 best without challenging of men go and dwell among the 
 people where they shullen most profit, and in coven able 
 (convenient) time come, and go after stirring of the Holy 
 Ghost, and not be bounden by sinful men's jurisdiction 
 fro the better doing. Also they pursuen Christ and his 
 Apostles nearer, in taking alms wilfully of the people that 
 they techen, than in taking dymcs (dues or tythes) and 
 offerings by customs that sinful men ordeynen, and usen 
 now in the time of grace. Also this is more medeful on 
 both sides as they understonden by Christ\s life, and his 
 Apostles : for thus the people geveth them alms more 
 wilfully and devoutly, and they taken it more mekely, and 
 ben more busy to lerne, kepe and teche God's law, and so it 
 is the better for both sides. Also by this manner might and 
 shulde the people geve freely their alms to true priests that 
 truly kepen their order, and taughten the gospel ; and 
 withdrawen fro wicked priests, and not to be constreyned 
 to pay their tithes, and offrings to open cursed men to 
 meyntene them in their open cursedness. And thus shulde 
 symony, covetisse, and idleness of worldly clerks be 
 laid down ; and holiness, and true teching, and knowing 
 of God's law be brought in both in clerks and lewid (lay) 
 men ; also thus shulde striving, pleading, and cursing for 
 dymes and olfrings, and hate and discord among priests, 
 and lewid men be ended ; and unity, peace, and charity 
 meyntened. Also these benefices, by this course, that 
 men usen now, bring in worldliness, and needless business 
 about worldly offices, that Christ and his apostles wolden 
 never taken upon them, and yet they weren more mighty, 
 more witty, and more brenning in charity to God, and to 
 the people, both to live the best manner in themselves, and 
 to teche other men. Also covetisse, and worldliness of 
 the people shulden be done away ; and Christ's poverty, 
 and his apostles, by ensample of poor life of clerks, and 
 trust in God, and desiring of heavenly bliss, shulde regne 
 in Christen people. Also then shulde priests study holy 
 writt, and be devout in their prayers, and not be carried 
 
on priests^ hevefices. 
 
 115 
 
 away with new offices, and mo sacraments than Christ 
 used, and his apostles, that taughten us all truth. Also 
 mochil blasphemy of prelates, and other men of feyned 
 obedience, and nedless swearings made to worldly pre- 
 lates shulden then cessen, and sovreyn obedience to God 
 and his law, and eschewing* of nedless othes shulde regne 
 among Christen men. Also then shulde men eschew 
 commonly all the perils said before in the first chapter, 
 and second, and many thousand mo, and live in clenness 
 and sikerness of conscience. Also then shulde priests be 
 busy to seke God's worship and saving of men*s souls, and 
 not their own worldly glory and winning of worldly dritt. 
 Also then shulden priests live like to angels, as they ben 
 angels of (by) office, whereas they liven now as swine in 
 fleshly lusts, and turnen agen to their former sins for 
 abundance of worldly goods, and idleness in their ghostly 
 office, and overmuch business about this wretched life. 
 
 For these dreads and many thousand mo, and for to be 
 mo like to Christ's life and his apostles, and for to profit 
 mo to their own souls and other men's, some poor priests 
 thinken with God to traveile about where they shudden 
 most profiten, by evidence that God geveth them, while 
 they have time, and little bodily strength and youth. 
 Nethless they damnen not curates that don vv^ell their office, 
 and dwellen where they shullen most profit, and techen 
 truly and stably God's law agenst false prophets, and 
 cursed fends deceits. 
 
 Christ, for his endless mercy, help his priests and com- 
 mon people to beware of Antichrist's deceits, and go 
 even the right way to heaven ! Amen, Jesu, for thy end- 
 less charity. 
 
 wickliff's translation of the bible. 
 
 Wickliff, in one place, defines the church to be the con- 
 gregation of just men for whom Christ shed his blood. 
 And in others he speaks thus : " Scripture is the faith of 
 the church, and the more it is known in an orthodox sense 
 the better ; therefore, as secular men ought to know the 
 faith, the divine word is to be taught them in whatever 
 language is best known to them. The truth of the faith 
 IS clearer and more exact in the Scripture than the priests 
 know how to express it ; and if one may say so, there are 
 many prelates who are ignorant of Scripture, and others 
 
116 
 
 mcUiff's [Cent. 14. 
 
 who conceal things contained in it. It seems useful, there- 
 fore, that the faithful should themselves search and dis- 
 cover the sense of the faith, by having the Scriptures in a 
 language which they know and understand. Christ and 
 his apostles converted men by making known to them the 
 Scriptures in that language which was familiar to them. 
 Why then ought not the modern disciples of Christ to col- 
 lect fragments from the loaf ; and, as they did, clearly open 
 the Scriptures to the people, that they may know them ? 
 The apostle teaches, that we must all stand before the judg- 
 ment-seat of Christ, and be answerable for all the goods 
 intrusted to us ; it is necessary, therefore, the faithful 
 should know these goods and the use of them, that they 
 may give a proper answer. For the answer by a prelate 
 or an attorney will not then avail, but every one must 
 answer in his own person."* 
 
 In this manner did our zealous Reformer argue for a 
 translation of the Bible into the English language. 
 
 In his prologue to the translation, he informs us of the 
 method in which he proceeded, notwithstanding the oppo- 
 sition he met with, and the clamours that were raised 
 agairfst him on the account. 1. He, with several who 
 assisted him, got together all the Latin Bibles they could, 
 which they diligently collated and corrected, in order that 
 they might have one Latin Bible near the truth. In the 
 next place, they collected the ordinary comments, with 
 which they studied the text so as to make themselves mas- 
 ters of its sense and meaning. Lastly, they consulted the 
 old grammarians and ancient divines, respecting the hard 
 words and sentences. After this was done, Wickliff set 
 about the translation, which he resolved should not be 
 literal, but so as to express the meaning as clearly as he 
 could. 
 
 A specimen or two of Wickliff's New Testament, in the 
 old English of his time, may not displease the reader. 
 
 Matt. xi. 25, 26. In thilke tyme Jhesus answeride & 
 seid, I knowleche to thee, Fadir, Lord of hevene & of 
 earthe, for thou hast hid these thingis fro wise men and 
 redy, & hast schewid hem to litil children. So, Fadir; for 
 so it was plesynge to fore thee." 
 
 John X. 26 — 30. " Ye beleven not, for ye ben not of 
 my scheep. My scheep heren my vois, and I knowe hem, 
 and thei suen me. And I gyve to hem everlastynge life, & 
 • Great sentence.— Spec. Secul.—Doctr. Christ. 
 
translation of the Bible, 
 
 117 
 
 thei schulen not perische, withouten end ; & noon schal 
 rauysche hem fro myn bond. That thing that my Fadir gaf 
 to me, is more than alle thingis : & no man may rauysche 
 from my Fadris bond. I & the Fadir ben oon." 
 
 Rom. ix 12. " It was seid to him, that the more 
 schulde serve the lesse : as it is writun, I louyde Jacob, 
 but I hatide Esau. What therfore schulen we seie ? wher 
 wickidnesse be anentis God ? God forbede. For he seith 
 to Moises, I schal have mercy on whom I have mercy, and 
 I schal ghyve mercy on whom I have mercy. Therefore, it 
 is not neither of man willynge, neither rennynge ; but of 
 God hauynge mercy. And the Scripture seith to Farao, 
 For to this thing* have I styrrid thee, that I schewe in thee 
 my vertu, and that my name be teeld in al erthe. There- 
 fore, of whom God wole, he hath mercy : & whom he wole, 
 he endurith. Thanne seith thou to me, what is sought 
 ghit, for who withstondith his will ? Oo man, what art 
 thou that answerist to Gcd ! Wher a maad thing seith 
 to him that made it. What hast thou maad me so ? Wher 
 a pottere of cley hath not power to make, of the same 
 gobet, 00 vessel into onour, a nothir into dispyt !"* 
 
 w^ickliff's sentiments on election. 
 
 It has been already observed, that the distinguishing 
 tenet of Wickliff was, undoubtedly, the election of Grace. 
 He calls the Church an assembly of predestinated per- 
 sons. Much more might be produced to the same effect. 
 On some occasions he speaks in such strong terms on 
 this subject, that he has been understood to lean even 
 to the doctrines of absolute necessity and fatalism. 
 The student of ecclesiastical history may be pleased to 
 have some evidence relative to this laid l)efore him, that 
 he may have the opportunity of judging for himself. 
 
 From the proceedings of the council of Constance, it 
 appears that the opinions of Wickliff called heretical were 
 digested into forty-five specific articles, and unanimously 
 condemned by that assembly. One of those articles is, 
 *' All things happen from absolute necessity.^t T)ie 
 manner in which this great man defended it, proves him to 
 have been a deep thinker and a skilful disputant. 
 
 *' Our Lord,'* says he in his Trialogus, " affirmed that such 
 
 * This being a passage frequently quoted in controversy, it is 
 supposed, that particular pains were taken with it by the translator, 
 t L'Eufaut. 
 
118 
 
 WicMiff^s sentiments 
 
 [Cent. 14. 
 
 or such an event should come to pass. Its accomplish- 
 ment, therefore, was unavoidable. The antecedent is ne- 
 cessary ; — by parity of argument the consequent is so too. 
 The consequent is not in the power of any created being, 
 forasmuch as the declarations of Christ, and the elections 
 of his mind, are not liable to accidents. And therefore, 
 as it is absolutely certain, and cannot be otherwise but 
 that Christ hath foretold certain events, those events must 
 necessarily come to pass. The same kind of argument 
 will demonstrate every event to be necessary, the future 
 existence of which hath been previously determined by 
 God : and it will make no difference, in whatever manner, 
 or by whatever after-discoveries in time, it may have 
 pleased God to inform us that he had actually determined 
 so, before the creation of the world. If the thing be 
 clearly and necessarily so, namely, that God did predeter- 
 mine any event, the consequence is inevitable : that event 
 must take place. Now what can prevent future events 
 from having been predetermined by the Deity ? Want of 
 knowledge ? inconstancy of will ? efficacy of impediments 
 to interrupt his purpose ? But with respect to God there 
 is no room for any of these suppositions. Every future 
 event must therefore necessarily take place.*'* 
 
 Wickliff states the above argument, drawn from the 
 prophecies of our Lord, with great triumph. It had 
 puzzled, he said, the very best reasoners ; and by its bril- 
 liancy had absolutely confounded superficial divines : 
 among whom he reckons the then bishop of Armagh, who 
 owned that he had laboured for twenty years to reconcile 
 the free-will of man with the certain completion of Christ's 
 predictions ; and, after all, saw no way of evading the 
 conclusion in favour of necessity, but by allowing that 
 Christ might possibly have been mistaken and have mis- 
 informed his Church in regard to future events. 
 
 From tliis and similar passages, it has been concluded 
 that "Wickliff wa 6 a fatalist. But the whole question turns 
 upon the meaning of such expressions as, " sicut 
 necessario Christus illud asseruit, ita necessario illud 
 eveniet." The just interpretation of which, according to 
 Wickliff 's ideas, is given, I think, in the translation above. 
 He never meant to say that Christ was not a free agent, 
 but merely that it was absolutely certain, and could not 
 be otherwise, that Christ had made such or such declara- 
 * Lib. iii. cap. 9. Trialog. 
 
on election. 
 
 119 
 
 Hons. I am confirmed in this opinion by three reasons * 
 1. From having; very dilis:ently considered the passage 
 itself, as it stands in the ninth chapter of the third book of 
 the Trialog-us : 2. From observing* that some of those 
 who have thought differently, have probably never seen 
 the Trialogus itself. The book is very scarce, and they 
 do not refer to it, but only to certain extracts from it by 
 Widefort, who w^as an enemy, and gives them imfairly : 
 And, 3. by attending to Wickliff's sentiments as they are 
 delivered in other parts of that work. In book the se- 
 cond, chapter the fourteenth, he says : " If you ask, what 
 is the real cause of the eternal decrees of God before they 
 are made, the answer is, the will of God, or God him- 
 self : and again, in the tenth chapter of the first book, 
 where the author is treating particularly of the wisdom 
 and power of God, he expressly affirms, that the Divine 
 energy acts with the most perfect freedom, though the 
 effects produced by it must necessarily happen. *' Quan- 
 tum ad libertatem divinae potentiae, patet quod est summe 
 libera, et tamen quicquid facit, necessario eveniet." 
 
 *' That the Supreme Being acts in the most exact con- 
 formity to his own decrees, is a truth which Scripture 
 again and again asserts ; but that he was and is abso- 
 lute y free in decreeing, is no less asserted by the inspired 
 writers; who with one voice declare, that the disposals 
 and appointments of the Almighty do not depend on any 
 antecedent and fatal necessity, but on his own free choice 
 directed by infinite wisdpm.'* If WicklifF went further 
 than this, he ought not to be defended. 
 
 Thomas Netter, commonly called Thomas of Walden, 
 a learned Roman Catholic of the Carmelite order, was 
 one of his greatest adversaries. With no little need 
 for patience, I have examined his evidence against Wick- 
 lifF, respecting the charge of Fatalism ; and am con- 
 vinced that he misrepresents the sentiments of the ex- 
 cellent man, whom he so much disliked. Wickliff, on 
 several occasions, for argument sake, appears to grant 
 that there would be a contradiction in supposing any 
 thing to be producible, which God does not actually 
 produce ; but in one place he expressly informs us, that 
 it was an usual thing with him to guard concessions 
 of that sort by Hmiting them in such a manner that they 
 should be no restraint on the Divine Will ; ever^^ thing. 
 
120 
 
 Fuller s remarks on Wickliff. [Cent. 14. 
 
 according to him, is producible which God pleases to 
 PRODUCE. " I know very well," says WicklifF, that, in 
 pretending to treat of the wisdom and power of God, I am 
 plunging into an ocean of difficulties, where I may be apt 
 to PRATE concerning many things, without having a good 
 foundation for what I say. I know that it is a very hard 
 matter to preserve the due course, especially as on many 
 points I think differently from what I formerly did. How- 
 ever, as I was then ready to own my error, so I trust I 
 always shall be, whenever I am shown that I have ad- 
 vanced any thing contrary to truth."* 
 
 The account of this Reformer cannot be closed better 
 than in the words of a very useful memoralist,t who speaks 
 of Wickliff in substance as follows : 
 
 " I intend neither to deny, dissemble, defend, nor excuse 
 any of his faults. We have this treasure, says the apostle, 
 in EARTHEN vcsscls ; and he that shall endeavour to prove 
 a pitcher of clay to be a pot of gold, will take great pains 
 to small purpose. Yea, should I be over-officious to re- 
 tain myself to plead for Wickliff's faults, that glorious saint 
 would sooner chide than thank me. He was a man, and 
 so subject to error ; he lived in a dark age, and was vexed 
 with opposition ; and it is therefore unreasonable that the 
 constitution of his positive opinions should be guessed by 
 his polemical heat, when he was chafed in disputation. 
 Besides, envy has FALSELY fathered many foul aspersions 
 upon him. What a pity it is that we have not his works, 
 to hear him speak in his own behalf! Were they all extant 
 we might know the occasion, intention, and connection of 
 what he spake, together with the hmitations, restrictions, 
 distinctions, and qualifications of what he maintained. 
 There we might see what was overplus of passion, and 
 what the just measure of his judgment. Many phrases, 
 heretical in sound, would appear orthodox in sense. Some 
 of his poisonous passages, dressed with due caution, would 
 prove wholesome, and even cordial truths : many of his 
 expressions wanting, not granum ponderis, but salis ; 
 no weight of truth, but some grains of discretion. But, 
 alas ! two hundred of his books are burnt ; and we are fain 
 to borrow the bare titles of them from his adversaries, who 
 have winnowed his works, as Satan did Peter, not to find 
 
 CORN, but CHAFF." 
 
 ♦ Lib. i. cap. 10. and iii. c. 8. t Fuller, b. iv. 
 
The Lollards, 
 
 121 
 
 CENTURY THE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 THE LOLLARDS. 
 
 Terms of reproach have, in all ages, been applied to real 
 Christians. Lollard, the name given to the followers of 
 Wickliff, is to be considered as one of them. But it is 
 necessary to use it, that the persons, whose story is the 
 subject of this chapter, may be more distinctly defined. 
 
 That same Courtney, bishop of London, whose examin- 
 ation of Wickliff, together with the extraordinary circum- 
 stances which attended that examination, has been laid 
 before the reader, afterwards became archbishop of Can- 
 terbury; and in that exalted station employed himself with 
 great vehemence and asperity against the disciples of the 
 man who, by the protection of the duke of Lancaster, had 
 escaped his vengeance. K^ing Richard II. also was in- 
 duced to patronise this persecution, though it does not 
 appear that, during his reign, any of the Lollards were 
 actually put to death. That the blind fury of ambitious 
 and unprincipled men was thus, for a time, restrained from 
 committing the last acts of injustice and barbarity, is to 
 be ascribed, partly to the power of the duke of Lancaster, 
 who may be called the political father of the Lollards ; and 
 partly to the influence of Ann, the consort of Richard IL, 
 and sister of Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia. The accounts 
 of this princess, in regard to religion, are brief ; yet they 
 merit our particular attention, because they seem to illus- 
 trate the course of Divine Providence, in paving the way 
 for that connection between England and Bohemia, by 
 which the labours of Wickliff became so serviceable in 
 propagating the gospel in the latter country. She lived 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 24. m 
 
122 
 
 Queen Anne. — John de Trevisa, [Cent. 15. 
 
 with king" Richard about eleven years ; and died in the 
 year 1394, in the seventeenth year of his reig^n.* It is 
 remarked of her, that she had in her possession the gos- 
 pels in the English language, with four learned commen- 
 taries upon them. At her funeral, Arundel, archbishop of 
 York, in his sermon adverted to this circumstance, and 
 expressed much surprise at it, as she was born an alien. 
 The prelate added, that she had sent to him, for his inspec- 
 tion and judgment, her four English translations of the 
 gospel, and that he had found them true and faithful. He 
 confessed that it appeared to him a marvellous instance 
 of godliness, that so great a lady would humbly conde- 
 scend to study such excellent books : and he completed his 
 encomium by declaring that he never knew a woman of 
 such extraordinary piety. In the same sermon, he sharply 
 rebuked the negligence of bishops and of others. 
 
 This relation may probably induce the reader to con- 
 jecture, that Arundel himself must have been almost a 
 Lollard. At least he cannot but be both surprised and 
 mortified to find, that shortly after the death of the good 
 queen Ann, this same prelate, to the utmost of his power, 
 stirred up the king to harass, throughout the whole 
 kingdom, the very persons who should dare, in their 
 native language, to read and study the gospels of Jesus 
 Christ. Such inconsistencies are not uncommon in the 
 annals of human nature. 
 
 About the same time, it is recorded, that several per- 
 sons, who were accused of holding those speculative tenets 
 of WicklifF which were said to be indefensible, did in 
 their examinations perfectly clear themselves of every 
 reasonable suspicion of factious innovation. t In fact, the 
 whole body of the Lollards in general were in practice so 
 perfectly void of offence, that speculative errors formed 
 THE ONLY CHARGE that could be pretended against them. 
 Only for the gospeFs sake they suffered, whatever might 
 be the pretences of their enemies. 
 
 In the year 1397 died John de Trevisa, a g-entleman 
 born at Crocadon, in Cornwall ; a secular priest, and 
 vicar of Berkeley; a man who translated many voluminous 
 writings, and particularly the Bible, into the English lan- 
 guage. Thomas, lord Berkeley, his patron, induced him 
 to undertake the last-mentioned work. This nobleman 
 appears to have had a regard for the written word of God, 
 ♦ Fox, p 678. t Ibid. p. 499, &c. 
 
A. D. 1 400.] Sawtre the first martyr burned in England. 1 23 
 
 which was little read or known in that age. He had the 
 Apocalypse, in Latin and French, inscribed on the walls 
 of his chapel at Berkeley. Trevisa was also distinguished 
 for his aversion to the monastic system. ** Christ,'* said 
 he, " sent apostles and presbyters, not monks and mendi- 
 cant friars." He died in peace, almost ninety years old. 
 Though neither this clergyman nor his patron are usually 
 ranked among Lollards, yet do they seem to be sufficiently 
 distinguished by their piety and veneration for the Scrip- 
 tures to deserve a place in these memoirs. The period of 
 history we are reviewing is not so fruitful in godliness as 
 to allow us to pass over in silence such examples as 
 these.* 
 
 Richard II. being deposed, Henry of Lancaster, the son 
 of that same John of Gaunt who had patronised WicklifF, 
 usurped the throne in the year 1399 ; and, shortly after, 
 was crowned by Arundel, then archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Both the king and the archbishop had demonstrated, by 
 their conduct, that they were ready to sacrifice every thing 
 to their ambition. It is not, therefore, matter of surprise, 
 either that the murderer of king Richard should proceed 
 to persecute, with extreme barbarity, the Lollards, whom 
 his father had so zealously protected ; or that the arch- 
 bishop, who had supported the usurper in his iniquitous 
 pretensions to the crown, should also concur with him in 
 his plan to crush those reformers. The power of the 
 hierarchy was formidable to all men ; and every one, who 
 thirsted after secular greatness, found himself obliged, by 
 political necessity, whieh is the primary law of unprin- 
 cipled men, to court that power, and to obey its most un- 
 reasonable commands. Thus influenced, Henry IV. and 
 Arundel commenced a persecution more terrible than any 
 which had ever been known under the English kings. 
 WILLIAM SAWTRE was the FIRST man who was 
 burnt in England for opposing the abominations of popery. 
 He was a clergyman in London who openly taught the doc- 
 trines of Wickliff. And though, through the weakness of 
 human nature, he had revoked and abjured those doctrines 
 before the bishop of Norwich, he afterwards recovered so 
 much strength of mind as to incur a second prosecution 
 for his open confession of evangelical truth before the 
 archbishop. Among other charges, which it would be 
 tedious to recount, this was one ; " he had declared, that 
 * Fuller's Church History, p. 151. 
 M 2 
 
124 
 
 John Badhy burned. 
 
 [Cent. 15 
 
 a priest was more bound to preach the word of God than 
 to recite particular services at certain canonical hours."* 
 Such was the genius of the reigning superstition ! The 
 exposition of the word of God was looked on as a small 
 matter, in comparison of the customary formalities. Saw- 
 tre, glorying in the cross of Christ, and strengthened by 
 divine grace, was committed to the flames of martyrdom 
 in the year of our Lord 1400.t 
 
 The name of John Badby, a humble and illiterate work- 
 man, well deserves to be recorded for the honour of divine 
 truth. Arundel took serious pains to persuade him that 
 the consecrated bread was really and properly the body of 
 Christ. " After the consecration, it remaineth,"J. said 
 Badby, the same material bread which it was before ; 
 nevertheless it is a sign or sacrament of the living God. I 
 believe the omnipotent God in Trinity to be one. But if 
 every consecrated host be the Lord's body, then there are 
 twenty thousand gods in England." After he had been 
 delivered to the secular power by the bishops, he was, by 
 the king's writ, condemned to be burnt. The prince of 
 Wales, happening to be present, very earnestly exhorted 
 him to recant, adding the most terrible menaces of the 
 vengeance which would overtake him if he should con- 
 tinue in his obstinacy. Badby, however, was inflexible. 
 As soon as he felt the fire he cried, *' Mercy I" The prince, 
 supposing that he was entreating the mercy of his judges, 
 ordered the fire to be quenched. " Will you forsake 
 heresy,'' said young Henry ; " and will you conform to 
 the faith of the holy church ? If you will, you shall have 
 a yearly stipend out of the king's treasury." The martyr 
 was unmoved ; and Henry, in a rage, declared that he 
 might now look for no favour. Badby gloriously finished 
 his course in the flames. 
 
 It was a marvellous instance of the strength of Christ 
 made perfect in weakness, and a striking proof that God 
 hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the 
 wise, that a simple artificer should sustain the most cruel 
 torments with patience and serenity, not only in defence 
 of divine truth, but also of common sense ; while the most 
 dignified characters in the kingdom, and among these the 
 f)rince of Wales, afterwards the renowned Henry V., glo 
 ried in defending one of the most egregious absurdities 
 
 • Fox, p. 587. + Wilkins, Convoc. p. 254—260. 
 
 X Fox, p. 594, aud Wilkins, p. 32(i. 
 
A. D. 1413.1 Henry V. promotes the persecutions, 125 
 
 that ever disgraced the human understanding-. What are 
 all HIS victories and triumphs, of which English history is 
 so proud, compared with the good sense and gracious 
 spirit of John Badby! 
 
 The conflict was now grown serious, and Henry re- 
 solved to exercise the most rigorous measures of preven- 
 tion, in order to repress all innovation, and to protect 
 the established ecclesiastical system. Accordingly, he 
 published a severe statute, by which grievous pains and 
 penalties were to be inflicted on all, who should dare to 
 defend or encourage the tenets of Wickliff* ; and this, in 
 conjunction with a constitution of Arundel, too tedious* 
 to be recited, seemed to threaten the total extinction of 
 the heresy so called. The persecutors were extremely 
 active ; and many persons through fear recanted : but 
 worthies were still found, who continued faithful unto 
 death. 
 
 In the year 1413 died Henry IV. — His successor 
 Henry V. trod in his steps, and countenanced Arundel, in 
 his plans of extirpating the Lollards, and of supporting 
 the existing hierarchy by penal coercion. In the first 
 year of the new king's reign, this archbishop collected in 
 St. Paul's church at London, a universal synod of all the 
 bishops and clergy of England. The principal object of 
 the assembly was to repress the growing sect ; and as sir 
 John Oldcastle, lord Cobham, had on all occasions disco- 
 vered a partiality for these reformers, the resentment of 
 the archbishop and of the whole body of the clergy was 
 particularly levelled at this nobleman. Certainly, at that 
 time, no man in England was more obnoxious to the ec- 
 clesiastics. For he made no secret of his opinions. He 
 had very much distinguished himself in opposing the 
 abuses of popery. At a great expense, he had collected, 
 transcribed, and dispersed, the works of Wickliff among 
 the common people, without reserve ; and it was well 
 known that he maintained a great number of itinerant 
 preachers in many parts of the country, particularly 
 in the dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester, London, and 
 Hereford.! 
 
 But lord Cobham was a favourite both of the king and 
 of the people; and therefore to effect his destruction 
 was an undertaking that required much caution. The 
 
 * Wilkins, p. 314 Constitut. Arundel ex MS. Lamb, 
 t Fox, p. 635. Walden coiit. Wiclev. Goodwin's Hen« V* 
 M 3 
 
126 
 
 Lord Cohham accused. 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 archbishop however was in earnest, and he concerted his 
 measures with prudence. 
 
 His first step was to procure the royal mandate for send- 
 ing commissioners to Oxford, whose business should be to 
 examine and report the progress of heresy. These com- 
 missioners are, by Fox, not improperly called " the twelve 
 inquisitors of heresies." The issue of their inquiries 
 proved highly ungrateful to the hierarchy. They found 
 Oxford overrun with heretics ; they were, indeed, respect- 
 fully received by the rulers of the university, but the opi- 
 nions of Wickliff had made their way among the junior 
 students ; and the talents and integrity of their master 
 were held in high esteem and admiration by his disciples. 
 This information, with many other minute particulars, 
 Arundel laid before the grand convocation, who, after long 
 debates, determined, that without delay, the lord Cobham 
 should be prosecuted as a heretic. Him they considered 
 as the great offender : to his influence they ascribed the 
 growth of heresy : he was not only, they said, an avowed 
 heretic himself; but, by stipends, encouraged scholars 
 from Oxford to propagate his opinions, many of which 
 were in direct opposition to the sentiments of the holy 
 church of Rome ; and lastly, he employed the disciples of 
 Wickliff in preaching, though they had not obtained the 
 licenses of their respective bishops for that purpose. With 
 great solemnity a copy of each of Wickliff 's works was 
 publicly burnt, by the enraged archbishop, in the presence 
 of the nobility, clergy, and people ; and it happened that 
 one of the books burnt on this occasion had belonged to 
 lord Cobham. This circumstance tended much to confirm 
 the assembly in their belief that that nobleman was a great 
 encourager of the Lollards.* 
 
 At the moment when the convocation seemed almost in 
 a flame, and were vowing vengeance against lord Cob- 
 ham, some of the more cool and discreet members are 
 said to have suggested the propriety of sounding how the 
 young king would relish the measures they had in view, 
 before they should proceed any further. Arundel in- 
 stantly saw the wisdom of this advice, and he resolved to 
 follow it. 
 
 For the purpose of giving weight to the proceedings, 
 this artful primate, at the head of a great number of dig- 
 nified ecclesiastics, complained most grievously to Henry, 
 * Fox, p. C3G. Collier, p. 632. Wilkins, Concilia, p. 352, 
 
A. D. 1413.] 
 
 His reply to the king. 
 
 127 
 
 of the heretical practices of his favourite servant lord Cob- 
 ham, and entreated his majesty to consent to the prosecution 
 of so incorrigible an offender. 
 
 The affections of the king appear to have been, in some 
 measure, already alienated from this pious nobleman : Fox 
 observes,* that he gently listened to those " bloodthirsty 
 prelates, and far otherwise than became his princely dig- 
 nity." But there is a circumstance which seems to have 
 escaped the notice of this diligent searcher into ancient re- 
 cords. Through the management of the archbishop, the 
 king's mind was previously impressed with strong suspi- 
 cions of lord Cobham's heresy and enmity to the church. 
 That very book above mentioned, which was said to belong 
 to this excellent man, and which the convocation con- 
 demned to the flames, was read aloud before the king, the 
 bishops, and the temporal peers of the realm : and the 
 fragment of the account of these proceedings informs us, 
 that Henry was exceedingly shocked at the recital ; and 
 declared that, in his life, he never heard such horrid he- 
 resy.f However, in consideration of the high birth, mili- 
 tary rank, and good services of sir John Oldcastle, the 
 king enjoined the convocation to deal favourably with him, 
 and to desist from all further process for some days : he 
 wished to restore him to the unity of the church without 
 rigour or disgrace ; and promised, that he himself, in 
 the mean time, would send privately for the honourable 
 knight, and endeavour to persuade him to renounce his 
 errors. 
 
 The king kept his promise, and is said to have used 
 every argument he could think of to convince him of the 
 high offence of separating from the church ; and at last, 
 to have pathetically exhorted him to retract and submit, 
 as an obedient child to his holy mother. The answer of 
 the knight is very expressive of the frank and open intre- 
 pidity which distinguished his character. " You I am 
 always most ready to obey," said he, " because you are 
 the appointed minister of God, and bear the sword for the 
 punishment of evil-doers. But, as to the pope and his 
 spiritual dominion, I owe them no obedience, nor will I 
 pay them any ; for as sure as God's word is true, to me it 
 is fully evident, that the pope of Rome is the great anti- 
 christ foretold in Holy Writ, the son of perdition, the open 
 * Fox, ibid. 
 
 t Fragnientum Convoc. Cantuar. Arundel. 
 
I2d 
 
 Lord Cobham. 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 adversary of God, and the abomination standing in the 
 holy place." The extreme ignorance of Henry in matters 
 of religion, by no means disposed him to relish such an 
 answer as this : he immediately turned away from him in 
 visible displeasure, and gave up the disciple of WicklifF to 
 the malice of his enemies.* 
 
 Arundel, supported by the sovereign power, sent a cita- 
 tion to the castle of Cowling, where lord Cobham then 
 resided. But feudal ideas were at that time no less fa- 
 shionable than those of ecclesiastical domination. As a 
 nobleman he availed himself of his privileges, and refused 
 admission to the messenger. The archbishop then cited 
 him,t by letters affixed to the great gates of the cathedral of 
 Rochester ; but lord Cobham still disregarded the mandate. 
 Arundel, in a rage, excommunicated him for contumacy, 
 and demanded the aid of the civil power to apprehend him. 
 
 Cobham, alarmed at length at the approaching storm, 
 put in writing a confession of his faith, delivered it to the 
 king, and entreated his majesty to judge for himself, whe- 
 ther he had merited all this rough treatment. The king 
 coldly ordered the written confession to be delivered to 
 the archbishop. Lord Cobham then offered to bring a 
 hundred knights who would bear testimony to the inno- * 
 cence of his life and opinions. When these expedients 
 had failed, he assumed a higher strain, and begged that he 
 might be permitted, as was then usual in less matters, to 
 vindicate his innocence by the law of arms. He said he 
 was ready, *' in the quarrel of his faith," to fight for life 
 or death, with any man living, the king and the lords of 
 his council excepted. 
 
 Nothing can be said by way of extenuating so gross an 
 absurdity, except that he had been educated in the military 
 habits of the fourteenth century. And such was the 
 wretched state of society in the reign of Henry V., whose 
 history we are accustomed to read with so much pride and 
 admiration, that no method of defence remained for this 
 Christian hero, but what was as contrary to all ideas of 
 justice and equity, as that by which he was persecuted ! 
 In the issue, Cobham was arrested by the king's express 
 ordei, and lodged in the tower of London. The very 
 zealous and honest historian Fox,I gives the following 
 account of his first examination. 
 * Fox, p. 636. Goodwin, Henry V. 
 
 t Citacio Arund. Wilkins, p. 329. t Pages 638 and 639. 
 
A. u. 1413.] 
 
 His examinatiojis. 
 
 129 
 
 On the day appointed, Thomas Arundel, the archbishop, 
 " sitting in Caiaphas' room, in the chapter-house of St. 
 Paul's,'* with the bishops of London and Winchester, sir 
 Robert Morley brought personally before him lord Cob- 
 ham, and left him there for the time. '* Sir,'' said the 
 primate, " you stand here, both detected of heresies, and 
 also excommunicated for contumacy. Notwithstanding, 
 we have, as yet, neither shown ourselves unwilling to give 
 you absolution, nor yet do to this hour, provided you would 
 meekly ask for it." 
 
 Lord Cobham took no notice of this offer, but desired 
 permission to read an account of his faith, which had long 
 been settled, and which he intended to stand to. He then 
 took out of his bosom a certain writing, respecting the 
 articles whereof he was accused, and when he had read it, 
 he delivered the same to the archbishop. 
 
 The contents of the paper were, in substance, these : 
 
 1. That the most worshipful sacrament of the altar is 
 Christ's body in the form of bread. 
 
 2. That every man, who would be saved, must forsake 
 sin, and do penance for sins already committed, with true 
 and very sincere contrition. 
 
 3. That images might be allowable to represent and 
 give men lively ideas of the passion of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ,andof the martyrdom and good lives of saints ; but, 
 that if any man gave that worship to dead images which 
 was due only to God, or put such hope or trust in the help 
 of them as he should do in God, he became a grievous 
 idolater. 
 
 4. That the matter of pilgrimages might be settled in 
 few words. A man may spend all his days in pilgrimages, 
 and lose his soul at last : but he, that knows the holy com- 
 mandments of God and keepeth them to the end, shall be 
 saved, though he never visited the shrines of saints, as 
 men now do in their pilgrimages to Canterbury, Rome, 
 and other places. 
 
 Then the archbishop informed the prisoner, that, though 
 there were many good things contained in his paper, he 
 had not been sufficiently explicit respecting several other 
 articles of belief: and that upon these also his opinion 
 would be expected. As a direction to his faith, he pro- 
 mised to send him, in writing, the clear determinations of 
 the church; and he warned him very particularly, to attend 
 to this pomt ; namely, whether in the sacrament of the 
 
130 The prelates' statement of Romish doctrine, [Cent. 15. 
 
 altar, the material bread did, or did not, remain, after the 
 words of consecration. 
 
 The gross superstition and unscriptural notions of the 
 church at that time, are strikingly exhibited in this authen- 
 tic determination of the primate and clergy, which, accord- 
 ing to promise, was sent to the lord Cobham in the tower. 
 It was as follows : — 
 
 1. The faith and determination of the holy church, 
 touching the blissful sacrament of the altar, is this, that 
 after the sacramental words be once spoken, by a priest in 
 his mass, " the material bread, that was before bread, is 
 turned into Christ's very body ; and the material wine, 
 that was before wine, is turned into Christ's very blood." 
 And so there remaineth, thenceforth, neither material 
 bread, nor material wine, which were there before the 
 sacramental words were spoken. 
 
 2. Every Christian man living here bodily on earth, 
 ought to confess to a priest ordained by the church, if he 
 can come to him. 
 
 3. Christ ordained St. Peter to be his vicar here on 
 earth, whose see is the holy Church of Rome : and he 
 granted that the same power, which he gave to Peter, 
 should succeed to all Peter's successors ; whom we now 
 call popes of Rome ;. . . . and whom Christian men ought 
 to obey, after the laws of the church of Rome. 
 
 4. Lastly, holy church hath determined, that it is meri- 
 torious to a Christian man to go on a pilgrimage to holy 
 places ; and there to worship holy relics and images of 
 saints, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, approved by the 
 Church of Rome. 
 
 On Monday, the day appointed for the next examina- 
 tion, Arundel accosted lord Cobham with an appearance 
 of great mildness, and put him in mind, that on the pre- 
 ceding Saturday he had informed him, he was ** accursed 
 for contumacy and disobedience to the holy Church and 
 had expected he would at that time have meekly requested 
 absolution. The archbishop then declared, that even now 
 it was not too late to make the same request, provided it 
 was made in due form, as the church had ordained.* 
 
 The trial of lord Cobham affords a remarkable and a 
 very satisfactory evidence of the faith of the gospel 
 exemplified in practice. This exemplary knight appears 
 to have possessed the humility of a Christian, as well 
 • Fox, p. G39. Wilkins, p. 356. 
 
A. D . 1413.] Lord Cobham^s declaration. 
 
 131 
 
 as the spirit of a soldier : for, he not only faithfully pro- 
 tested against the idolatry of the times, the fictitious ab- 
 solutions, and various corruptions of popery, by which the 
 creatures of the pope extorted the greatest part of the 
 wealth of the kingdom ; but he also openly made such pe- 
 nitential declarations, and affecting acknowledgments of 
 having personally broken God's commandments, as imply 
 much spiritual self-knowledge and self-abasement, strong 
 convictions of sin, and bitter sorrow for the same, together 
 with a firm reliance on the mercy of God through the 
 mediation of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " I never yet trespassed against you, said this intrepid 
 servant of God ; and therefore I do not feel the w^ant of 
 YOUR absolution " He then kneeled down on the pave- 
 ment ; and lifting up his hands to heaven, he said, " I con- 
 fess myself here unto thee, my eternal living God, that I 
 have been a grievous sinner : how often in my frail youth 
 *. have I offended thee by ungoverned passions, pride, concu- 
 piscence, intemperance! How often have I been drawn 
 into horrible sin by anger, and how many of my fellow- 
 creatures have I injured from this cause ! Good Lord, I 
 humbly ask thee mercy : here I need absolution/* 
 
 With tears in his eyes, he then stood up, and with a 
 loud voice cried out, " Lo ! these are your guides, good 
 people. Take notice ; for the violation of God's holy law 
 and his great commandments, they never cursed me : but, 
 for their own arbitrary appointments and traditions, they 
 most cruelly treat me and other men. Let them, how- 
 ever, remember, that Christ's denunciations against the 
 Pharisees shall all be fulfilled." 
 
 The dignity of his manner, and the vehemence of his 
 expression, threw the court into some confusion. After 
 the primate had recovered himself, he proceeded to ex- 
 amine the prisoner respecting the doctrine of transub- 
 stantiation. " Do you believe, that after the words of 
 consecration there remains any material bread ?'* " The 
 scriptures," said Cobham, " make no mention of material 
 bread ; I believe, that Christ's body remains in the form 
 of bread. In the sacrament there is both Christ's body 
 and the bread : the bread is the thing that we see with our 
 eyes ; but the body of Christ is hid, and only to be seen 
 by faith." * Upon which, with one voice, they cried, 
 
 * The learned reader cannot fail to observe, that both Wickliffand 
 his follovvers seem sometimes to lean to the notion of coNSubstan* 
 tiation, although not distinctly. 
 
132 His replies to the ecclesiastics. [Cent. 15. 
 
 Heresy ! heresy !" One of the bishops, in particular, 
 said vehemently, " That it was a foul heresy to call it 
 bread !" Ccbham answered smartly, " St. Paul, the 
 apostle, was as wise a man as you, and perhaps as good a 
 Christian; and yet he calls it bread. The bread, saith 
 he, that we break, is it not the communion of the body of 
 Christ ? To be short with you ; I believe the scriptures 
 most cordially, but I have no belief in your lordly laws 
 and idle determinations : ye are no part of Christ's holy 
 church, as your deeds do plainly show." Doctor Walden, 
 the prior of the Carmelites, and WicklifF's great enemy, 
 now lost all pati nee : and exclaimed, " What rash and 
 desperate people are these followers of Wickliff !'' 
 
 " Before God and man," replied Cobham, " I solemnly 
 here profess, that till T knew Wickliff, whose judgment ye 
 so highly disdain, I never abstained from sin ; but after I 
 became acquainted with that virtuous man and his de- 
 spised doctrines, it hath been otherwise with me ; so much 
 grace could 1 never find in all your pompous instructions.'' 
 
 " It were hard,'' said Walden, " that in an age of so 
 many learned instructors, you should have had no grace to 
 amend your life, till you heard the devil preach.'* 
 
 " Your fathers," said Cobham, *' the old Pharisees, 
 ascribed Christ's miracles to Beelzebub, and his doctrines 
 to the devil. Go on ; and, like them, ascribe every good 
 thing to the devil. Go on, and pronounce every good 
 man a heretic, who rebukes your vicious lives. Pray, 
 what warrant have you from scripture, for this very act 
 you are now about? Where is it written in all God's law, 
 that you may thus sit in judgment upon the life of man ? 
 Hold — perhaps you will quote Annas and Caiaphas, who 
 sat upon Christ and his apostles!" 
 
 " Yes, sir," said one of the doctors of law, " and Christ 
 too, for he judged Judas." 
 
 " I never heard that he did," said lord Cobham. *' Judas 
 judged himself, and thereupon went out and hanged him- 
 self Indeed Christ pronounced a woe against him, for his 
 covetousness, as he does still against you, who follow 
 Judas's steps." 
 
 The examinations of lord Cobham are very prolix. We 
 have, therefore, chosen to select such passages from the 
 tedious accounts, * as might best indicate the real 
 
 * The very words are usually given ; thouf?h sometimes, for the 
 sake of brevity, only the substance; and sometimes a modern 
 phrase is put in the place of one now antiquated. 
 
A. D. 1413.] 
 
 Reflections, 
 
 133 
 
 dispositions of this confessor and martyr. Though intre- 
 pid and high spirited to the last, he appears not to have 
 given his enemies any advantage over him, by using rude 
 and coarse language, or by bursts of passion. The proud 
 and ferocious spirit of an ill-educated soldier seems to 
 have been melted down into the meekness and humility of 
 the Christian. His reproof of his judges was severe, but 
 perfectly just : his deep and animated confession of his 
 sins is both affecting and instructive ; and his bold testi- 
 mony, in those trying moments, to the virtues and excel- 
 lences of a character so obnoxious to his ecclesiastical 
 judges as that of WicklifF, is exceedingly honourable to the 
 memory both of the master and the scholar. We need not 
 add, the same testimony covers their cruel and relentless 
 adversaries with shame and disgrace. 
 
 We have seen that lord Cobham, in the process of his 
 trial, hinted at the lessons of divine grace, which he had 
 learnt in the school of Wickliff. The intimation is by no 
 means obscure ; yet every pious reader, at the same time 
 that he is delighted with finding this evidence of the 
 sound Christianity of Cobham, will lament to see, that 
 there is not, on record, a larger and more distinct account 
 both of his conversion, and of his private life and conversa- 
 tion. Such an account would give us a clearer insight 
 into the religious character of this disciple of WicklifF, and 
 mi^ht probably throw more light also on the practical 
 tenets of that early reformer. 
 
 But we must be thankful for the documents we have. 
 That distinct and impressive declaration of lord Cobham, 
 concerning the change in his life from sin to the service 
 of the living God, when we reflect on the awful and pecu- 
 liar circumstances in which it was made, is in itself an in- 
 estimable fragment of ecclesiastical biography. This is 
 that testimony of experience, which invincibly confirms 
 every real Christian in the belief of the truth of the doc- 
 trine which he has been taught. He may be baffled in 
 argument by men more acute and sagacious than himself ; 
 he may be erroneous in many less matters ; he may want 
 both learning and eloquence to defend that which he be- 
 lieves ; but the doctrines of grace he knows to be of God, 
 by the change which they have wrought in his soul. In 
 this proof he knows all other views of religion, whether 
 nominally Christian or not, do totally fail. 
 
 At the conclusion of this long and iniquitous trial, the 
 Vol. IV.— No. 24. n 
 
131 Examination of Lord Cohham ; [Cent. 15, 
 
 behaviour of lord Cobham was perfectly consistent with 
 the temper he had exhibited during the course of it. 
 There remained the same undaunted courage and reso- 
 lution, and the same christian serenity and resignation. 
 Some of the last questions which were put to him re- 
 spected the worship of the cross ; and his answers prove 
 that the acuteness of his genius was not blunted, nor the 
 solidity of his judgment impaired. 
 
 One of the friars asked him, whether he were ready to 
 worship the cross upon which Christ died. 
 
 Where is it ? said lord Cobham. 
 
 But suppose it was here at this moment ? said the friar. 
 
 A wise man indeed, said Cobham, to put me such a 
 question ; and yet he himself does not know where the 
 thing is ! But tell me, I pray, what sort of worship do I 
 owe to it? 
 
 One of the conclave answered; Such worship as St. 
 Paul speaks of, when he says, " God forbid that I should 
 glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Right, replied Cobham, and stretched out his arms ; 
 THAT is the true and the very cross ; far better than your 
 cross of wood. 
 
 Sir, said the bishop of London, you know very well that 
 Christ died upon a material cross. 
 
 True, said Cobham ; and I know also that our salva- 
 tion did not come by that material cross, but by Him who 
 died thereupon. Further, I know well that St. Paul re- 
 joiced in no other cross but in Christ's passion and death 
 ONLY, and in his own sufferings and persecutions, for the 
 same truth which Christ had died for before.* 
 
 Mr. Fox's account of these transactions, collected from 
 ancient manuscripts, does not, in general, differ materially 
 from the archbishop's own registers of the proceedings of 
 the convocation. But there are some circumstances noted 
 by Fox which we may well suppose to have been design- 
 edly omitted in the registers last mentioned. For example. 
 Fox informs us that the court were so amazed at the spirit 
 and resolution of the lord Cobham, as well as at the quick- 
 ness and pertinence of his answers,that they were reduced to 
 a stand, " their wits and sophistry so failed them that day." 
 
 From Arundel's own reports it is sufficiently clear, that 
 it was the custom of that artful primate to make, on these 
 occasions, a great external show of lenity and kindness to 
 * Fox, p. G42. Convoc. praclat. Wilkins, p. 356, 
 
A. D. 1413.] he is condemned, J 35 
 
 the prisoners at the very moment in which he was exer- 
 cising towards them the most unrelenting barbarity. I 
 observe in the case of William Sawtre, whose martyrdom 
 we have already concisely related,* that when the arch- 
 bishop degraded that faithful clergyman, pronounced him 
 an incorrigible heretic, and delivered him to the secular 
 power, he then, with the most consummate hypocrisy, re- 
 quested the mayor and sheriffs of London to treat their pri- 
 soner KiNDLY,t though he well knew they would dare to 
 show him no other kindness than that of burning him to 
 ashes. 
 
 So in the trial of lord Cobham, nothing could exceed 
 the mild and affable deportment of Arundel during the 
 course of the examinations. The registers of Lambeth 
 palace inform us, that the archbishop repeatedly made 
 use of the most " gentle, modest, and sweet terms" in 
 addressing the prisoner ; that with mournful looks he en- 
 treated him to return into the bosom of the church ; and 
 that after he had found all his endeavours in vain, he was 
 compelled with the bitterest sorrow to proceed to a defini- 
 tive sentence. 
 
 " The day," said Arundel, ** passes away fast ; we must 
 come to a conclusion.*' He then, for the last time, de- 
 sired lord Cobham to weigh well the dilemma in which he 
 stood : " You must either submit," said he, " to the ordi- 
 nances of the church, or abide the dangerous conse- 
 quences." 
 
 Lord Cobham then said expressly before the whole 
 court, " My faith is fixed, do with me what you please.'' 
 
 The primate, without further delay, judged, and pro- 
 nounced sir John Oldcastle, the lord Cobham, to be 
 an incorrigible, pernicious, and detestable heretic; and 
 having condemned him as such, he delivered him to the 
 secular jurisdiction. J 
 
 Lord Cobham, with a most cheerful countenance, said, 
 " Though ye condemn my body, which is but a wretched 
 thing, yet I am well assured ye can do no harm to my 
 soul, any more than could Satan to the soul of Job. He 
 that created it will of his infinite mercy save it. Of this 
 I have no manner of doubt. And in regard to the articles 
 of my belief, I will, by the grace of the eternal God, 
 
 * Page 123 of this vol. 
 t Wilkins, Concil. p. 260. Fox, p. 589. 
 t Rymer, vol. ix. p. 61—66. Fox, 642, 643. 
 N 2 
 
136 Lord Cohhams prayer for his enemies. [Cent. 1&. 
 
 stand to them, even to my very death." He then turned 
 to the people, and stretching out his hands, cried with a 
 very loud voice, *' Good christian people ! for God's love 
 be well aware of these men ; else they will beguile you, 
 and lead you blindfold into hell with themselves." Having* 
 said these words, he fell down upon his knees, and, lifting" 
 up his hands and eyes to heaven, he prayed for his ene- 
 mies in the following words : " Lord God eternal ! I 
 beseech thee of thy great mercy to forgive my persecutors 
 if it be thy blessed will !" 
 
 He was then sent back to the Tower, under the care of 
 sir Robert Morley. 
 
 I was not surprised to find that, in Amnders own re- 
 port of this painful transaction, lord Cobham's prayer for 
 his enemies is entirely omitted.* But the preceding address 
 of this nobleman to the people, and his caution to them 
 to beware of their blind guides, is, by the primate, placed 
 immediately before the passing of the definitive sentence 
 of condemnation. Fox, in his account, places that address 
 immediately after the sentence, and seems to have thought 
 Arundel's representation of this circumstance incorrect, for 
 he pointedly tells us, that, respecting this very matter, his 
 own two copies of these proceedings agreed with each 
 other, t 
 
 Though the ecclesiastical judges of lord Cobham, by 
 condemning him as a heretic, and delivering him to the 
 secular power for the execution of their sentence, appear 
 to have done their utmost to complete the destruction of 
 the man whom they feared and hated, there is yet reason 
 to believe that both the king and the archbishop remained 
 in some perplexity respecting this business. In religious 
 concerns this able monarch seems to have entirely resigned 
 his understanding to the direction of the clergy ; and 
 therefore we need not wonder that he was highly pro- 
 voked with lord Cobham for his opposition to the church, 
 and still more for his incurable obstinacy in adhering 
 to heretical sentiments, after his sovereign had person- 
 ally condescended to persuade him to recant. Yet, after 
 all, it is not improbable that such a prince as Henry V. 
 should still retain some esteem for the character of the 
 prisoner in the Tower, who had formerly, on many occa- 
 sions, distinguished himself by his valour and military 
 talents. Though the memory of Henry is by no means 
 • Acta Convoc. prov. Cantuar. Arundel, 18. t Fox, p. 643^. 
 
A. D. 1413.] He escapes from the Tower, 
 
 137 
 
 free from the imputation of cruelty, it must at least be ad- 
 mitted, that the present situation of Cobham was likely to 
 soften animosity, and to revive in the king-'s mind any 
 latent affection for his favourite. Even Walsingham, a 
 bigoted papist, and bitter enemy of the Lollards, though 
 in many respects a very useful historian, says, that Cob- 
 ham, " for his integrity, was dearly beloved by the 
 king."* 
 
 This same ancient historian informs us that the arch- 
 bishop in person went to the king, and requested his 
 majesty to postpone, for the space of fifty days, the punish- 
 ment of lord Cobham. t If this be true, the motives of 
 Arundel can be no great mystery. The persecution of 
 this virtuous knight was a most unpopular step. His 
 rank and character, and his zeal for the doctrines of Wick- 
 liff, had pointed him out to the primate as a proper victim 
 of ecclesiastical severity ; but his condemnation involved, 
 in a general odium, the rulers of the church who had been 
 his judges. It was necessary, therefore, to temporize a 
 little; and before the whole sect of the Lollards were to 
 be terrified by the public execution of a person so highly 
 esteemed as lord Cobham, it was thought expedient to em- 
 ploy a few weeks in lessening his credit among the people 
 by a variety of scandalous aspersions. Fox assures us, 
 that his adversaries scrupled not to publish a recantation 
 in his name ; and that lord Cobham directed a paper to 
 be posted up in his own defence, and in contradiction to 
 the slander. 
 
 But whether the lenity of the king, or the politic cau- 
 tion of the clergy, was the true cause of the delay, it is 
 certain that lord Cobham was not put to death imme- 
 diately after being condemned for a heretic. He remained 
 some weeks in the Tower, and at length, by unknown 
 means, made his escape : so that it is now impossible to 
 say, whether the clergy would ultimately have pressed the 
 sovereign to proceed to extremities in this instance, or 
 whether Henry could have been induced to commit to the 
 flames, for heresy, a favourite of such exalted rank and 
 high reputation. For, as yet, there had not been any 
 instance of a nobleman suffering in that ignominious 
 manner. 
 
 After lord Cobham had escaped out of the Tower he is 
 * Regi propter probitatem charos et acceptus. Walsingham, 
 
 t Page 385. 
 
 N 3 
 
138 
 
 An assembly of Lollards [Cent, ib- 
 
 said to have taken the advantage of a dark night, evaded 
 pursuit, and arrived safe in Wales, where he concealed 
 himself more than four years.* If he had remained in 
 prison, he would have effectually prevented the calumny 
 with which the papists have endeavoured to load his 
 memory; nevertheless, when we reflect on the intrepid 
 spirit of the man, his unshaken resolution, and the cruel, 
 unjust treatment he met with, we cannot wonder at his 
 readiness to fly from those flames which his persecutors 
 ardently longed to kindle. It seems as easy to compre- 
 hend lord Cobham's motives for wishing to escape, as it is 
 difficult to censure them. 
 
 The clergy were not a little mortified to find that this 
 grand heretic and destined victim had slipped out of their 
 hands ; and their uneasiness was increased by observing 
 that the king discovered no anxiety to have lord Cobham 
 retaken. Soon after this event, however, a very remark- 
 able transaction afforded them every advantage they could 
 wish, to gratify their resentment against the noble chief 
 of the Lollards. These peaceable and truly christian sub- 
 jects had been accustomed to assemble in companies for 
 the purposes of devotion; but the bishops represented 
 their meetings as of a seditious tendency, and they found 
 no great difficulty in obtaining a royal proclamation t for 
 suppressing the conventicles of persons who were sup- 
 posed to be ill-inclined to the government. Historians 
 have observed, that " jealousy was the ruling foible of the 
 house of Lancaster;" and though Henry V. was naturally 
 of a noble and magnanimous temper, he could never forget 
 that he was an usurper : his suspicions of the evil designs 
 of the Lollards increased to a high degree : he thought it 
 necessary to watch them as his greatest enemies ; and he 
 appears to have listened to every calumny which the zeal 
 and hatred of the hierarchy could invent or propagate 
 against the unfortunate followers of Wickliff. 
 
 The royal proclamation, however, did not put an end 
 to the assemblies of the Lollards. Like the primitive 
 Christians, they met in smaller companies, and more pri- 
 vately, and often in the dead of night. St. Giles's Fields, 
 then a thicket, was a place of firequent resort on these 
 occasions. And here a number of them assembled in the 
 evening of January the sixth, 1414, with an intention, as 
 was usual, of continuing together to a very late hour. 
 * Bale. Gilpin. t Rymer, vol. ix. 
 
K. D. 1414.] in St Gileses Fields dispersed. 
 
 139 
 
 The king was then at Eltham, a few miles from Lon- 
 don. He received intelligence that lord Cobham, at the 
 head of twenty thousand of his party, was stationed m St. 
 Giles's Fields, for the purpose of seizing the person of the 
 king, putting their persecutors to the sword, and making 
 himself the regent of the realm. 
 
 The mind of Henry, we have seen, had been prepared, 
 by the diligent and artful representations of the clergy, to 
 receive any impressions against the Lollards, which might 
 tend to fix upon that persecuted sect the charges of sedi- 
 tious or treasonable practices. To his previous suspicions, 
 therefore, as well as to the gallantry of his temper, we are 
 to ascribe the extraordinary resolution which the king took 
 on this occasion. He suddenly armed the few soldiers he 
 could muster, put himself at their head, and marched to 
 the place. He attacked the Lollards, and soon put them 
 into confusion. About twenty were killed, and sixty 
 taken.* Among these was one Beverley, their preacher, 
 who, with two others, sir Roger Acton and John Brown, 
 was afterwards put to death. The king marched on, but 
 found no more bodies of men. He thought he had sur- 
 prised only the advanced guard, whereas he had routed 
 the whole army ! ! 
 
 This extraordinary affair is represented by the popish 
 writers as a real conspiracy; and it has given them occa- 
 sion to talk loudly against the tenets of the reformers, 
 which could encourage such crimes. Hume also has en- 
 listed himself on the same side of the question ; and, in 
 the most peremptory and decisive manner, has pronounced 
 lord Cobham guilty of high treason ! t 
 
 After what has been so lately observed concerning the 
 lamentable prejudices of this historian, little more can now 
 be necessary than barely to put the reader in. mind, that 
 Cobham and many of the Lollards evidently belonged to 
 the true church of Christ, and bore with patience the cross 
 of their Master. We may briefly add, that the ingenious, 
 and on many occasions, the sceptical Hume, instead of 
 affirming that " the treasonable designs of the sect were 
 rendered certain, both from evidence and from the con- 
 fession of the criminals themselves." would have done 
 better to have recollected that the testimony of Walsing- 
 bam, a violent partisan, merits, in this particular instance, 
 Tery little attention. When I had reviewed Fox's able and 
 • Rapin Henry, V. t Hume, Henry V, 
 
140 
 
 Falsity of the accusations [Cent. 1 5 . 
 
 satisfactory vindication of lord Cobham, I was astonished 
 at the positiveness of Hume in this matter. The martyro- 
 logist, with great diligence and judgment, has examined 
 all the authentic documents, and argued most powerfully 
 against the supposition of any conspiracy. Hume, on the 
 contrary, gives implicit credit to the most improbable ac» 
 counts ; * and he could not but know that the Lollards 
 had not then a friend on earth. 
 
 Though the entire combination of the state and the 
 hierarchy, in the reign of Henry V., against this religious 
 sect, prevents us from being furnished with positive and 
 direct proof of their innocence, the reader; after what has 
 been stated, will be disposed, no doubt, to acquit them of 
 all treasonable views in the affair of St. Gileses Fields. 
 And this persuasion will be strengthened by considering 
 that this is the only instance on record in which they have 
 been accused of turbulent or seditious behaviour. The 
 Lollards are described, in general, as having been always 
 peaceable, and submissive to authority. 
 
 Rapin observes,t that the persons assembled on that 
 occasion " had unhappily brought arms with them for 
 their defence, in case they should be attacked by their 
 persecutors.'' If we regulate our judgments according to 
 modern notions and habits, this circumstance must appear 
 very suspicious ; but not so, if we recollect that the prac- 
 tice of wearing arms for the purpose of self-defence was 
 by no means an unusual custom in those times. 
 
 Neither ought much stress to be laid on the confession 
 of several who were made prisoners by the king. Among 
 those that were taken, says the historian last mentioned, 
 there were some who " gained by promises, or awed by 
 threats, confessed whatever their enemies desired." Be- 
 sides, it is extremely probable that popish emissaries mixed 
 themselves among the Lollards for the express purpose of 
 being brought to confession j and it has been well ob- 
 served, that most likely the very persons who pretended to 
 find arms on the field, could have best pointed out the 
 original concealers of them. 
 
 Nothing can be more judicious than Rapines observ- 
 ations on this whole transaction. ** It is hardly to be 
 conceived," says this historian, *' that a prince so wise as 
 Henry, could suffer himself to be imposed on by so gross 
 
 ♦ Such are the accounts of Hall, &c. 
 t History of EDghuid^ Henry V. 
 
A. D. 1414.] 
 
 of their enemies. 
 
 141 
 
 a fiction. Had he found, indeed, as he was made to 
 believe, twenty thousand men in arms in St. Giles's Fields, 
 it would have been very suspicious ; but that fourscore or 
 a hundred men, among whom there was not a single per- 
 son of rank, should have formed such a project as that of 
 seizing* the king's person, is extremely improbable. Be- 
 sides, he himself knew sir John Oldcastle to be a man of 
 sense ; and yet nothing could be more wild than the pro- 
 ject fathered upon him ; a project which it was supposed 
 he was to execute with a handful of men without being 
 present himself, and without its being known where he 
 was, or that there was any other leader in his room. 
 Notwithstanding the strictest search made through the 
 kingdom to discover the accomplices of this pretended 
 conspiracy, not a single person could be found besides 
 those taken at St. Giles's. Lastly, but not least, the prin- 
 ciples of the Lollards were very far from allowing such 
 barbarities. It is, therefore, more than probable that the 
 accusation was forged, to render the Lollards odious to 
 the king, with a view to gain his license for their perse- 
 cution." 
 
 The conduct of those in power in the hierarchy at that 
 time, was so completely flagitious and unprincipled, that it 
 is impossible to review their usual mode of proceeding 
 against those whom they termed heretics, without enter- 
 taining suspicions similar to those which have occurred to 
 Rapin ; suspicions of forged accusations and of pretended 
 or extorted confessions. This consideration adds much 
 weight to the solid reasonings of this very candid and up- 
 right historian. 
 
 It has been supposed that, in process of time, the king 
 disbelieved the report of any actual conspiracy in this 
 transaction : and it must be confessed, that when we re- 
 flect on the great understanding and military skill of this 
 prince, it seems extraordinary that he should not at first 
 have reflected that the very marshalling of such a number 
 of soldiers, and the furnishing of them with necessaries, 
 could never have been managed with secresy. He appears, 
 however, to have given sufficient credit to the calumny to 
 answer all the designs of the ecclesiastical rulers. He 
 became thoroughly incensed against the Lollards, and 
 particularly against the lord Cobham. A bill of attainder 
 against that unfortunate nobleman passed the commons 
 
142 
 
 Lord Cohham taken [Cent. 15. 
 
 through the royal influence :* the king set a price of a 
 thousand marks upon his head, and promised a perpetual 
 exemption from taxes to any town that should secure 
 him.t 
 
 It was to be expected that these strong measures, aided 
 by the active zeal and unrelenting hatred of his enemies, 
 should be effective to the discovery of lord Cobham : and 
 it is matter of some surprise how he was able, for several 
 years, to elude the vigilance of the many who narrowly 
 ■watched him. Wales was his asylum ; and he is sup- 
 posed to have frequently changed the scene of his retreat. 
 Through the diligence of lord Powis and his dependents 
 he was, at length, discovered and taken. It was on the 
 tenth of October, 1413, that lord Cobham was, by Arun- 
 del, condemned as a heretic and sent to the Tower. The 
 affair of St. Giles's happened on the evening of the sixth 
 of January, 1414; and it was not till nearly the end of 
 the year 1417, that this persecuted christian was appre- 
 hended and brought to London. 
 
 His fate was soon determined. He was dragged into 
 St. Giles's Fields with all the insult and barbarity of en- 
 raged papal superstition ; and there, both as a traitor 
 and a heretic, he was suspended alive in chains upon a 
 gallows, and burned to death, with circumstances of ag- 
 gravated and disgusting cruelty. 
 
 This excellent man, by a slight degree of dissimulation, 
 might have softened his adversaries, and have escaped a 
 troublesome persecution and a cruel death. But since- 
 rity is essential to a true servant of Jesus Christ; and 
 lord Cobham died, as he had lived, in the faith and hope 
 of the gospel ; and bearing to the end a noble testimony 
 to its genuine doctrines ; " choosing rather to suffer 
 affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the plea- 
 sures of sin for a season. "1 
 
 One of lord Cobham's ver^' great admirers has said, 
 that the novelty of Wickliff's opinions first engaged his 
 curiosity ; that he examined them as a philosopher, and in 
 the course of his examination became a christian. 
 
 I know not upon what ground this is affirmed ; but it 
 might be so ; nevertheless, I feel assured that if we had 
 lord Cobham's own account of his conversion, this repre- 
 sentation of the matter would appear at least very defec- 
 
 • Gilpin. 
 
 t Rapin. Rymer. 
 
 X Heb. xi. 25. 
 
A. D, 1417.] and burned to death. 
 
 143 
 
 tive ; moreover, from the little which he did say on his 
 trial, respecting WicklifF's doctrines, and from the very 
 feeling manner in which he appears to have delivered that 
 little,* I think it extremely probable, that the preaching 
 and expounding of the true gospel of Christ by Wickliff 
 and his disciples, had been the means of affecting the con- 
 science of this worthy personage, and of convincing him 
 of sin. This has been found the usual way in which the 
 Spirit of God operates salutary changes on the minds of 
 fallen creatures. The philosophical method has a plausi- 
 ble appearance, but fails in practice. 
 
 Lord Cobham is allowed to have been a man of learn- 
 ing ; and his knowledge of the holy Scriptures is incon- 
 testable. The aptness of his quotations, and his prompti- 
 tude in producing scriptural arguments, were displayed in 
 a very striking manner through the whole course of his 
 examination before the bishops. At the time when he was 
 seized and made prisoner in Wales, Henry V. was making 
 conquests in Normandy ; and a parliament was then sit- 
 ting in London for the purpose of supplying the sovereign 
 with money to carry on his wars. The records of that 
 parliament inform us, that on the eighteenth of December, 
 1417, sir John Oldcastle was brought before the lords, 
 and that he made no answer to the crimes laid to his 
 charge. t No doubt he was thoroughly convinced, that 
 all attempts to exculpate himself would be vain and fruit- 
 less. The clergy, during the last three or four years, had 
 gained a complete ascendency both in parliament and in 
 the cabinet; Arundel died in 1414 ; and was succeeded 
 by Chicheley, who soon showed himself to be a primate, 
 both of more art and ability, and also of more zeal and 
 courage, than his predecessor. Ecclesiastical tyranny and 
 superstition seemed now at their height ; and it required 
 much less sagacity than that of lord Cobham, to see that 
 in the present circumstances, any witnesses, which he 
 could produce, would be overawed or disregarded amidst 
 the imprecations of the priests and monks ; and that a 
 close and cruel confederacy of power, prejudice, and 
 resentment, would be impenetrable to argument and 
 eloquence. 
 
 It was now, therefore, become the duty of lord Cobham 
 patiently to resign himself to the will of his Maker, 
 and to seek for comfort by meditations on the sacred 
 * Page 132 of this vol. t Cotton's Abridgment. 
 
144 
 
 Reflections. 
 
 [Cent. 15, 
 
 Scriptures. That he did so, I collect with no small satis- 
 faction fi'om a single expression of the ancient memorialist 
 Walsingham, which does not appear to have been taken 
 notice of by succeeding writers. This author informs us, 
 that the prisoner was examined in the presence of the duke 
 of Bedford, then regent of England ; and being pressed 
 closely to give answers respecting the insurrection in St. 
 Giles's Fields, and his other treasonable offences, his reply, 
 after a short pause, was, " With me it is a very small thing 
 that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment 
 and then, says the scornful annalist, he again proceeded 
 
 to PRATE IM PERTINENTLY. t 
 
 Yet this, the reader should remember, is the very au- 
 thor on whose assertions, principally, Hume grounded 
 his assertion that lord Cobham was guilty of treason. We 
 have before observed J that, on that question, the historian 
 appears to have been credulous in the extreme ; and, as 
 he had no great taste for scriptural quotations, it is by no 
 means improbable that he also further agreed with Wal- 
 singham in blaming the prisoner for his " impertinent 
 garrulity." Serious persons, however, who Hsten with 
 deference to the written word of God, will view the matter 
 in a different Hght. That such a passage of scripture 
 should have been actually quoted by lord Cobham, then in 
 the power of enraged and merciless adversaries, seems to 
 be extremely likely ; and not the less so because recorded 
 by Walsingham, a violent and prejudiced enemy of all the 
 Lollards. In regard to the quotation itself, by suggesting 
 the littleness and insignificance of all human judgments 
 and determinations, in comparison of the divine, it con- 
 veyed a wise and salutary admonition to the existing hier- 
 archy, who, at that moment, were uncommonly inflated 
 with dominion and " drunken with the blood of the 
 saints : " § and at the same time it must have produced in 
 the minds of all, who had ears to hear, a strong con- 
 viction of this important truth, that the knight who was 
 thus persecuted for righteousness' sake had made no rash 
 choice in renouncing the love of the world, and thereby 
 demonstrating that the love of the Father was in him.|| 
 Every pious Christian will, I doubt not, accord with me in 
 
 • 1 Cor. iv. 3. 
 
 f Et iterum impertinenter gamilare Ciepit, donee .... Walsing. 
 bam, p. 400. 
 
 t Page 140. ^ Rev. xvii. 6. B John ii. 15. 
 
A.D.I 41 4.] Archbishop Chicheley a persecutor. 145 
 
 these ideas; and be gratified to find, that man's judg- 
 ment," however severe and cruel, was " a very small 
 thing," in lord Cobham's estimation ; and that when all 
 earthly supports must have failed, this martyr for the gos- 
 pel of Christ steadily fixed his eye on God's judgment, 
 and derived all his hope and comfort from that single 
 source. 
 
 At the time of his execution many persons of rank and 
 distinction were present ; and the ecclesiastics are said to 
 have laboured to the utmost to prevent the people from 
 praying for him. Lord Cobham, however, resigned him- 
 self to a painful and ignominious death, " with the utmost 
 bravery and most triumphant joy, exhorting the people to 
 follow the instructions which God had given them in the 
 Scriptures ; and to disclaim those false teachers, whose 
 lives and conversation were so contrary to Christ and his 
 religion."* 
 
 Henry Chicheley, now archbishop of Canterbury, con- 
 tinued at the head of that see from February 1414 to 
 April 1443.t This man deserves to be called the firebrand 
 of the age in which he lived. To subserve the purposes 
 of his own pride and tyranny, he engaged king Henry V. 
 in his famous contest with France, by which a prodigious 
 carnage was made of the human race, and the most dread- 
 ful miseries were brought upon both kingdoms. But 
 Henry was a soldier, and understood the art of war, 
 though perfectly ignorant of religion ; and that ardour of 
 spirit which, in youth, had spent itself in vicious excesses, 
 was now employed, under the management of Chicheley, 
 in desolating France by one of the most unjust wars ever 
 waged by ambition, and in furnishing for vulgar minds 
 matter of declamation on the valour of the English nation. 
 While this scene was carrying on in France, the arch- 
 bishop at home, partly by exile, partly by forced abjura- 
 tions, and partly by the flames, domineered over the Lol- 
 lards ; and almost effaced the vestiges of godliness in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 This was one of the most gloomy seasons which the 
 church ever experienced. The doctrines of Wickhff, in- 
 deed, had travelled into Bohemia ; but, as we shall after- 
 wards see, the fires of persecution were also lighted up in 
 that country, at the same time that in England, no quarter 
 
 * Lewis's account of WicklifF's followers, 
 t Biograph. Britan. Henry's Hist. b. v. 
 Vol. IV.— No. 24. o 
 
146 Henry the Fifth, — Persecutions, [Cent. 15. 
 
 was given to any professors of the pure religion of Christ, 
 Even the duke of Bedford, the brother of the king,* one 
 of the wisest men of his age, thought it no dishonour to 
 be the minister of Chicheley's cruelties. A chaplain of 
 lord Cobham, through terror of punishment, was induced 
 to recant his creed : the strictest search was made after 
 Lollards and their books; and while a few souls, dis- 
 persed through various parts, sighed in secret, and, de- 
 testing the reigning idolatry, worshipped God in spirit and 
 in truth, they yet found no human consolation or sup- 
 port whatever. The principal use to be made of these 
 scenes is to excite a spirit of thankfulness for the superior 
 privileges of the times in which we live. 
 
 The diocese of Kent was particularly exposed to the 
 bloody activity of Chicheley. Whole families were obliged 
 to relinquish their places of abode for the sake of the 
 gospel. 
 
 In the midst of these tragedies, and in the year 1422, 
 died Henry V., whose military greatness is known to 
 most readers. His vast capacity and talents for govern- 
 ment have been also justly celebrated. But what is man 
 without the genuine fear of God ? This monarch, in the 
 former part of his life, was remarkable for dissipation and 
 extravagance of conduct; in the latter, he became the 
 slave of the popedom ; and for that reason was called the 
 PRINCE OF PRIESTS. Voluptuousucss, ambitiou, supersti- 
 tion, each in their turn had the ascendancy in this extraor- 
 dinary character. Such, however, is the dazzling nature 
 of personal bravery and of prosperity, that even the igno- 
 rance and folly of the bigot, and the barbarities of the 
 persecutor, are lost or forgotten amidst the enterprises of 
 the hero and the successes of the conqueror. Reason and 
 justice lift up their voice in vain. The great and sub- 
 stantial defects of Henry V. must hardly be touched on by 
 Englishmen. The battle of Agincourt throws a delusive 
 splendour around the name of this victorious king. 
 
 The persecution of the Lollards continued during the 
 minority of Henry VI. William Taylor, a priest, was burnt, 
 because he had asserted, that every prayer, which is a pe- 
 tition for some supernatural gift, is to be directed only to 
 Ood.f The four orders of friars were directed by the 
 archbishop to examine him ; and they declared him guilty 
 
 • Fox, p. 729 
 
 t Ibid. p. 749. 
 
A. D. 1 4*24— 1473*] Taylor.— JVhiie.-^Gooze. 
 
 147 
 
 of heresy, for asserting a maxim, which peculiarly distin- 
 guishes true religion from idolatry. 
 
 Not to dwell on the cases of many persons of less note, 
 who suffered much vexation in this calamitous period of 
 the church, it may be proper to mention William White, 
 who, by reading, writing, and preaching,* exerted himself 
 in Norfolk so vigorously, that he was condemned to the 
 stake in J 424. His holy life and blameless manners had 
 rendered him highly venerated in that county. He at- 
 tempted to speak to the people before his execution, but 
 was prevented. It is remarkable, that his widow, follow- 
 ing her husband's footsteps in purity of life and in zeal for 
 the Gospel, confirmed many persons in evangelical truth ; 
 on which account she was exposed to much trouble from 
 the bishop of Norwich. 
 
 Nor did the civil wars between the houses of York and 
 Lancaster, which filled the whole kingdom with confusion, 
 put an end to the persecution of the Lollards. A person, 
 named John Gooze, was burnt at the Tower-hill, in the 
 reign of Edward IV. in the year 1473. t This victim was 
 delivered to one of the sheriffs, with an order to have him 
 executed in the afternoon. The officer, compassionating 
 the case of the prisoner, took him to his own house, and 
 endeavoured to prevail on him to retract. But the 
 martyr, after listening to a long exhortation, desired him 
 to forbear, and then, in strong terms, requested something 
 to eat, declaring he was become very hungry. The she- 
 riff complied with his request. " I eat now a good 
 dinner," said the man very cheerfully, ** for I shall have a 
 brisk storm to pass through before supper." After he bad 
 dined, he gave thanks to God, and desired to be led to the 
 place, where he should give up his soul to his Creator and 
 Redeemer. 
 
 The civil contests, with which the kingdom was con- 
 vulsed, were at length terminated by the union of the two 
 houses of York and Lancaster, at the accession of Henry 
 VII, But the Church of God continued still an object of 
 unremitted persecution. The sufferings of the Lollards 
 were even greater during the established governments of 
 Henry VII. and Henry VIII. than they had been during 
 the civil wars. To give a minute detail of all the horrid 
 cruelties, that were inflicted on those who were condemned 
 as heretics for reading the Scriptures, and for denying 
 * Fox, p. 752. t Ibid. p. 814. 
 
 o 2 
 
148 
 
 Sufferings of the Lollards, [Cent. 15. 
 
 popish superstitions, is not the object of these memoirs. 
 Children were compelled to accuse their parents, and pa- 
 rents their children, and the nearest and dearest friends 
 and relatives constrained to inform against each othei. In 
 one instance where a man named Tylsworth was burned 
 at Amersham, his own daughter was dragged to the spot, 
 and forced to set fire to the pile ! It may be sufficient to 
 remark, that all who were convicted of what was then 
 called heresy, and adhered to their opinions, were first 
 condemned as obstinate heretics, afterwards delivered to 
 the secular arm, and lastly burnt to ashes, without mercy, 
 and without exception.* Neither sge nor sex were spared. 
 Fox has collected, from the registers of the diocese of Lin- 
 coln, for the year 1521, a most shocking catalogue, both 
 of the accusers and of the victims, who suffered under the 
 grievous and cruel persecution of bishop Langland, the 
 king's confessor. He has also, with singular industry, re- 
 corded the particular names of many, who, through fear of 
 a painful death, renounced their faith during the memora- 
 ble persecution of that same year. Upon these unfortu- 
 nate persons, various penances, and many very severe and 
 ignominious punishments, were inflicted. Several, who 
 were found to have abjured before, were condemned for 
 relapsing, and committed to the flames.t 
 
 A concise account of a person named John Brown of 
 Ashford, in Kent, shall conclude this distressing detail of 
 the sufferings of the Lollards. 
 
 This martyr suffered in the year 1511, under the perse^ 
 cution of William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 He was discovered to be a heretic, as follows.J Brown, 
 happening to sit close to a priest on board a Gravesend 
 barge, was rebuked by an inquiry, *' Dost thou know who 
 lam? Thou sittest too near me; thou sittest on my 
 clothes.'' " No, sir," said Brown j *' I know not what 
 you are.'' " I tell thee, I am a priest." " What, sir, are 
 you a parson, a vicar, or a lady's chaplain?" "No," 
 said the priest, " I am a soul priest ; I sing for souls ;" 
 meaning that he was one who sang mass for the deliver- 
 ance of the souls of deceased persons from Purgatory. 
 " I pray you, sir," said Brown, ' where do you find the 
 soul when you go to mass ?" " I cannot tell thee," said 
 the priest. ** I pray you, where do you leave it, sir, when 
 
 • Henry's Hist, of Britain. 
 
 t Fox, p. 651. 
 
A. D. 1511.] 
 
 Brown of Ashford. 
 
 14*1 
 
 the mass is done ?" *' I cannot tell thee," again replied 
 the priest. ** Then you can neither tell where you find it 
 when you go to mass, nor where you leave it when the 
 mass is done ; how then can you save the soul ?" inquired 
 Brown. " Go thy way," said the priest ; " thou art a 
 heretic, and I will be even with thee." 
 
 As soon as they landed, the priest took with him two 
 gentlemen, named Walter and William More, and going 
 to archbishop Warham, they informed against John Brown 
 as a heretic. Three days afterwards, as Brown was bring- 
 ing a mess of pottage to table for some guests who 
 dined with him upon the occasion of his wife having been 
 churched that same day, he was apprehended by the 
 bishop's servants, who entered the house suddenly, and 
 put him upon his own horse, tying his feet under its belly : 
 they carried him to Canterbury, where he remained in con- 
 finement forty days ; during which time neither his wife, 
 nor any of his friends, could receive the smallest information 
 concerning him. 
 
 At length he was brought to Ashford, the town where he 
 lived, and placed in the stocks. It was now almost night ; 
 but one of his own female domestics, in passing by the 
 place, happened to become acquainted with his situation ; 
 and she instantly carried home to her mistress the afflicting 
 news. His mournfid wife sat near her husband all the night, 
 and heard him relate the melancholy story of every thing that 
 had happened to him. The treatment this good man had met 
 with from Warham, the archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 from Fisher,* bishop of Rochester, was infamous in the 
 extreme. With extreme barbarity, they had directed his 
 
 * Fisher was born at Beverley in Yorkshire, in 1459. He was 
 educated at Cambridge, and became Master or President of 
 Queen's College in thai University. He was made bishop of Ro- 
 chester in 1504. It was during the time of his presidentship that 
 Erasmus came to study at Cambridge, and took up his residence at 
 Queen's College. This prelate was beheaded by Henry VHl. in 
 1535, for denying the king's supremacy, and for speaking with free- 
 dom in behalf of the queen. The pope was so pleased with his con- 
 duct, that, even while Fisher was confined in the Tower and attainted 
 of high treason, he made him a cardinal, and sent him the proper 
 hat belonging to that dignity. Henry was so much provoked, that 
 he would not permit the hat to be brought into the kingdom : he 
 also sent Cromwell to sound bishop Fisher, whether he intended to 
 accept it. Yes," said Fisher. The king then exclaimed with an 
 oath, " Well, let the pope send him the hat when he pleases, he shall 
 wear it on his shoulders, for I will leave him never a head to set it 
 on." The king was as good as his word, and caused him to be 
 executed as a traitor. 
 
 o3 
 
150 The spirit of inquiry not mppresf^ed, [Cent. 16. 
 
 bare feet to be placed upon hot burning coals, and to be 
 kept, there till they were burnt to the bones. Notwith- 
 standing all this, Brown would not deny his faith, but 
 patiently endured the pain, and continued immovable, 
 fighting manfully the good fight." To his wife he then 
 said, " The bishops, good Elizabeth, have burnt my feet 
 till I cannot set them on the ground : they have done so 
 to make me deny my Lord : but, I thank God, they will 
 never be able to make me do that : for, if I should deny 
 HIM in this world, he would deny me hereafter. There- 
 fore, I pray thee, continue as thou hast begun, and bring 
 up thy children in the fear of God. Thy husband is to be 
 consumed at the stake to-morrow.^* 
 
 He was burnt on Whitsun-even, while lifting up his hands, 
 and uttering the most fervent prayers, particularly the 
 words of the Psalmist, " Into thy hands I commend my 
 spirit ; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of 
 truth.''* 
 
 Such were the sanguinary methods by which the prelates 
 of England attempted to extirpate Lollardism and heresy. 
 And they so far succeeded, that the disciples of WicklifT, 
 who still remained alive, seem to have been afterwards 
 confounded with the favourers of the grand reformation ; 
 but in their main object of strengthening the Roman Ca- 
 tholic religion, they utterly failed. The burning of heretics 
 was found to be not the way to extinguish heresy. On the 
 contrary, both in England and on the continent, such de- 
 testable cruelty increased the compassion of the people for 
 the sufferers, excited their indignation against the perse- 
 cutors, and roused a spirit of inquiry and of opposition to 
 the existing hierarchy, which at length, under the direction 
 of a kind, overruling Providence, proved fatal both to papal 
 corruptions of sound doctrine, and also to papal usurpation 
 of dominion in many countries. 
 
 When the human mind has been thus fatigued and dis- 
 gusted with a review of the cruelties of popish persecutors, 
 it is disposed to pronounce the Romish religion wholly a 
 pretence, and all the ecclesiastical judges and rulers of 
 those times, barbarous hypocrites and deceivers. " It is 
 impossible," we are apt to say, but that natural consci- 
 ence should have informed them they were doing wrong, 
 in committing to the flames, for slight differences of opi- 
 nion, so many innocent victims; nay, often, persons of the 
 
 * Fox tells us he had this account from Brown's own daughter. 
 
Reinhers account of the followers of Wickliff. 151 
 
 most exemplary life and conversation.*' However, a more 
 cool and sedate reflection may convince us, that though, 
 in all ages, there have existed wicked men of great ability, 
 who have shown themselves ever ready to sacrifice prin- 
 ciple and conscience to their ambition and avarice, and 
 even to wade through much blood in support of their 
 darling objects, yet all tormentors of the human race have 
 not been precisely of this class. These are of the first 
 magnitude, and we suppose them to have had their eyes 
 open. But there are others, who knew not what they 
 did;* and towards such, therefore, though we are never 
 to palliate their faults, much less to defend their enormi- 
 ties, yet are we bound to exercise an equitable discriminar 
 tion. The reader will understand me to have in view, 
 those deluded votaries, who have had the misfortune to be 
 taught, and the weakness to believe, that the favour of 
 God is to be obtained, chiefly by paying a scrupulous 
 regard to external forms and observances. — The following 
 remarkable paragraph is extracted from a popish writer ;t 
 and will serve to explain my meaning still further. 
 
 *' The disciples of Wickliff are men of a serious, modest 
 deportment ; avoiding all ostentation in dress, mixing little 
 with the busy world, and complaining of the debauchery of 
 mankind. They maintain themselves wholly by their own 
 labour, and utterly despise wealth ; being fully content 
 with bare necessaries. They follow no traffic, because it 
 is attended with so much lying, swearing, and cheating. 
 They are chaste and temperate ; are never seen in taverns, 
 or amused by the trifling gaieties of life. You find them 
 always employed ; either learning or teaching. They are 
 concise and devout in their prayers ; blaming an unani- 
 mated prolixity. They never swear ; speak little ; and in 
 their public preaching they lay the chief stress on charity. 
 They never mind canonical hours, because, they say, that 
 a paternoster or two, repeated with devotion, is better than 
 tedious hours spent without devotion. They explain the 
 Scriptures in a different way from the holy doctors and 
 church of Rome. They speak little, and humbly, and are 
 well behaved in appearance.*' 
 
 This abstract is not produced as a proof of the candour 
 of a Roman Catholic, but of his wretched standard of virtue 
 and holiness. For these excellences of character in the 
 followers of Wickliff, are not here mentioned by the author 
 • Luke xxiii. 34. + Sancho Reinher. 
 
152 
 
 Remarks, 
 
 [Cent 15. 
 
 in terms of approbation, but, on the contrary, are noted by 
 him, as the distinguishing marks of a heretical people. So 
 little, in the times of WicklifF and his followers, had the 
 popish religion to do with morals and with the heart. 
 
 Though this and many other similar testimonies, which 
 might be adduced, from popish authors, in proof of the 
 innocence and virtues of the heretics, may satisfy us that all 
 the persecutors of the godly were not deceivers and hypo- 
 crites, in the gross sense of those terms, yet we must re- 
 member, as indeed has already been intimated, that the 
 distinctions we would establish, still only serve to show 
 that the suflerings of the righteous, during the period we 
 are reviewing, are to be ascribed to the guilt and wicked- 
 ness in the hearts of such as inflicted those sufferings. 
 Far be it from us to pretend to exculpate, in the smallest 
 degree, the perpetrators of any of the various and horrid 
 crimes related in this chapter. Rather let St. Peter's ex- 
 ample direct our judgments. That apostle thought it right 
 to suggest to the Jews, that their case would have been 
 worse, if, what they did, had not been done in ignorance ; 
 yet he in no wise excuses them ; he tells them plainly, that 
 they had denied the Holy One, and killed the Prince of 
 Life, and had preferred a murderer to him ;* and in the 
 preceding chapter he directly accuses them of having 
 taken Jesus of Nazareth, and by wicked hands crucified 
 and slain him. 
 
 The Romish authors are not the only ones who have 
 endeavoured to palliate these scenes of persecution. But 
 a reference to one of these writers will suffice to show the 
 superior weight of evidence against them. In the pre- 
 ceding account the grievous persecutions by bishop Lang- 
 land or Longland, are briefly mentioned. Mr. Collier, 
 in his Ecclesiastical History, after allowing that several 
 abjured, and that six actually suffered, observes, that 
 these men were accused for reading the New Testa- 
 ment in English ; and why, says he, was this so great a 
 crime? Because it was Wickliff's translation, and con- 
 demned by the church. The English clergy did not believe 
 this translator had reached the original, and rightly ex- 
 pressed the mind of the Holy Ghost. . . .They were careful 
 to prevent the spreading of LoUardism, and we need not 
 wonder.f 
 
 It is quite painful to see an English writer undertake to 
 • Acts ni. 14, 15. t Collier, vol. ii. p. II. 
 
Authenticity of Fox's Acts and Monuments, 153 
 
 speak thus in mitigation of the abominable cruelties of the 
 
 papists ill those times ; and his observation respecting 
 Wickliff 's translation does not require any notice. 
 
 But further ; he does not believe that " six men and a 
 woman were burnt at Coventry, for teaching their children 
 the Lord's prayer, the ten commandments, and the creed 
 in the vulgar tongue and he expresses a hope that 
 bishop Burnet, who mentions the fact in his History of the 
 Reformation, was misinformed. " The learned historian,'* 
 says he, cites Fox for his authority. But this looks like 
 a lame story, for Fox cites no other authority than one 
 Mother Hall/' 
 
 On reading the above, I was curious to see what Fox 
 actually does say : and here I shall transcribe his very 
 words, without making any observation on them. " The 
 WITNESSES of this history," says he, " be yet alive, which 
 both SAW THEM and knew them. Of whom ONE is 
 Mother Hall, dwelling now in Baginton, two miles from 
 Coventry. By whom also this is testified of them, that 
 they above all other in Coventry pretended most show and 
 worship of devotion at the holding up of the sacrament ; 
 whether to colour the matter or no, it is not known." — 
 Is it possible for an historian more distinctly to refer to 
 indisputable authority?* 
 
 Mr. Fox speaks of the zeal of the holy men in those 
 times of persecution in the most glowing terms : " To see 
 their travails, their earnest seeking, their burning zeal, 
 their readings, watchings, their sweet assemblies, their love 
 and concord, their godly living, their faithful marrying with 
 the faithful, may make us now in these our days of free 
 profession to blush for shame.' 'f 
 
 * Fox, vol. li. p. 182. 
 t Ibid. vol. ii. p. 23. 
 
 The reader will find the most correct account of these persecu- 
 tions in Fox's Acts and Monuments^ a work respecting which a recent 
 ecclesiastical writer, after stating that John Fox is one of the most 
 faithful and authentic of all historians, adds, " All the many remarks 
 and discoveries of later times have only contributed to place the ge- 
 neral fidelity and truth of Fox's melancholy narrative on a rock which 
 cannot be shaken." Pref. to Wordsivorth's Ecc- Biog, 
 
154 
 
 The council of Constance, [Cent. 15. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE ; 
 
 INCLUDING THE CASES OF JOHN HUSS, AND JEROM OF 
 PRAGUE. 
 
 This celebrated council did not make any essential 
 reformation in religion ; on the contrary, they persecuted 
 men who truly feared God ; and they tolerated all the pre- 
 dominant corruptions. Their labours, therefore, do not de- 
 serve to be recorded, on account of the piety of those who 
 composed the council. Yet the transactions at Constance 
 serve to illustrate the character of John Huss, and of 
 Jerom ; and they afford various instructive reflections to 
 those, who love to attend to the dispensations of Divine 
 Providence, and would understand the comparative power 
 of nature and of grace, of mere human resources, and of 
 the operations of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The council met in the year 1414. The necessity of the 
 times had called aloud for an assembly of this kind.* Eccle- 
 siastical corruptions had increased to an intolerable magni- 
 tude, and the hierarchy had been distracted, nearly forty 
 years, by a schism in the popedom. To settle this dispute, 
 and restore peace to the church, was the most urgent con- 
 cern of the council. Three pretenders to the chair of St. 
 Peter severally laid claim to infallibility. The very nature of 
 their struggle was subversive of the authority to which each 
 of them made pretensions ; and " of their vain contest 
 there seemed no end.'^ The princes, statesmen, and rulers 
 of the church, in those times, wanted not discernment to 
 see the danger to which the whole ecclesiastical system 
 was exposed by these contentions ; but it seems never to 
 have come into the minds of them, or of any of the mem- 
 bers of the council, to examine the foundation on which the 
 popedom itself was erected. That, on all sides, was 
 looked on as sacred and inviolable, though allowed to be 
 burdened and incumbered with innumerable abuses. 
 
 However, they deposed the three existing popes, and 
 chose a fresh successor of St. Peter, Martin V., and we are 
 
 * L'Enfant's History of the Council of Constance. — It is foreign to 
 my design to follow this author throug h the details of his very accu- 
 rate and circumstantial narration. The affairs, however, of John 
 Huss and Jerom, deserve a minute attention. 
 
A. D. 1414.] Its vain attempts at Reformation, 155 
 
 to remark a providential benefit, which arose from the ac- 
 complishment of this first object of the council ; namely, 
 that while they had their eye only on the restoration of the 
 unity of the Roman see, they were led to decree the supe- 
 riority of councils over popes. Thus a deep wound was 
 given to the tyrannical hierarchy, which proved of consi- 
 derable service to those real Reformers who arose about a 
 hundred years after the council of Constance. 
 
 The members of this council universally confessed, that 
 reformation and discipline ought to be prosecuted with 
 vigour. But they were not real reformers ; they brought 
 not to the council the materials which only could qualify 
 them for such a work. In general, the best individuals 
 among them were merely moralists ; had some " zeal 
 for God, but not according to knowledge and knew 
 no higher principles than the voice of natural consci- 
 ence, the dictates of common sense, and some inform- 
 ation concerning the preceptive part of Christianity. Their 
 system of religion was letter, not spirit; law, not gos- 
 pel. They had some degree of insight into the dis- 
 temper of human nature, little or none into the remedy. 
 To promote the recovery of depraved mankind, they 
 knew no methods but those of moral suasion, upon 
 principles merely natural. The original depravity of man, 
 salvation through the atonement of a Redeemer, and re- 
 generation by the Holy Spirit, were doctrines, the use and 
 efficacy of which they did not understand : yet, these are 
 the ONLY EFFECTUAL INSTRUMENTS for the reformation 
 either of a corrupted church, or of a corrupted individual, 
 though they are, by the world, generally suspected to be 
 productive of enthusiasm, and are also too often professed 
 by men of counterfeit religion. 
 
 A hundred years after the council of Constance a re- 
 formation was attempted, and carried on with permanent 
 success, by men furnished with truly evangelical views 
 and materials. But the members of this celebrated coun- 
 cil undertook to make " brick without straw and their 
 projects of reform served only, in the event, to (each 
 posterity that the real doctrines of the gospel ought to be 
 distinctly known, cordially relished, and powerfully expe- 
 rienced, by those who undertake to enlighten mankind ; 
 and that, without them, the united efforts of the wisest 
 and most dignified personages in Europe, for such were 
 those assembled at Constance, will evaporate in the smoke 
 
156 
 
 The council mpports 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 of fair words and speeches, and of promising, but ineffi- 
 cient and unsubstantial schemes. 
 
 A moment's attentive consideration may convince us 
 that this must unavoidably be the case. How could it be 
 expected in the instance before us that popes and cardi- 
 nals, bishops and clergy, would enact, and, what is still 
 more, would execute, laws which bore hard on their own 
 pride, their sloth, and their love of gain ? Or, that the 
 laity, noble or vulgar, would submit to strict rules of 
 church discipline ? Nothing but the principles of faith in 
 a crucified Redeemer wrought in the heart by the Holy 
 Spirit, and working by that love which is shed abroad in 
 the heart by him, could effect these things. I need not put 
 the reader in mind how ignorant, in general, in regard to 
 these things, men were in the fifteenth century. And 
 hence we are no more to wonder at the failure of the at- 
 tempts of the council of Constance, than at the inefficacy 
 of the complaints, made from age to age, of the wicked- 
 nCvSs of men, both by philosophers of old, and by nominal 
 Christians in our own times, while those, who complain 
 and even endeavour to effect reforms, are destitute of real 
 christian perceptions, and regard no other light than that 
 of mere nature. Thus the institution of mere laws, how- 
 ever good, " can never give life;"* " the motions of sin 
 by the law work in our members to bring forth fruit unto 
 death. "t If even the best characters among the numer- 
 ous congregation at Constance thus failed, through igno- 
 rance of the true method of relieving human evils, we need 
 not be surprised that those who were actuated by bad 
 motives should contribute nothing towards a real reform- 
 ation. The consequence was, that the prevailing abuses 
 remained in the church in full force. The council, how- 
 ever, managed to restore unity to the popedom ;l and that 
 which men attempted in vain by methods merely human, 
 God himself, about a century afterwards, effected, by 
 the foolishness of preciching,§ and by his own Spirit of 
 grace. 
 
 It was proposed, that the bishops and other pastors 
 should be compelled to reside in their cathedrals and 
 parishes, to visit their flocks, to renounce pluralities, 
 and to preach the word of God themselves, instead of 
 committing that charge to ignorant or profane priests. 
 Amendments truly just and laudable ! But those who 
 
 • Gal. iii. + Rom. \ ii. t LTLnfant. § 1 Cor i. 
 
A, D. 1414.] the ecclesiastics in their enormities 157 
 
 proposed these excellent things were themselves of a 
 iiigh degree ])roper objects of censure. Some of the ora- 
 tors of the council declared, that " they strained at a gnat 
 and swallowed a camel." In fact, several little punctilios 
 were reformed ; but, as we have just observed, all the sub- 
 stantial evils remained. 
 
 There can be no doubt but they ought to have begun 
 with Christian doctrine itself, and its influence on the 
 heart, if they had expected success. 
 
 The knights of the Teutonic order, at this time, ranged 
 through all their own neighbourhood with fire and sword, 
 under the pretence of converting infidels, and had been 
 justly complained of by the king of Poland ; yet this coun- 
 cil supported them in their enormities ; nor would they 
 even condemn a libel written by a monk, who had 
 exhorted all Christians to murder that monarch, and to 
 massacre the Poles. John Petit, a friar, had publicly vin- 
 dicated the assassination committed by the duke of Bur- 
 gundy's order on the duke of Orleans, brother to the king 
 of France. It may seem incredible, but it is true, that 
 the king of France, who prosecuted this friar before the 
 council of Constance, could not procure his condemnation! 
 All the dignified orders in Europe, there assembled to- 
 gether, had not sufficient spirit and integrity to punish 
 crimes of the most atrocious nature committed by an eccle- 
 siastic. Yet they could burn without mercy those whom 
 they deemed heretics, though men of real godliness. This 
 part of the conduct of the assembly particularly deserves 
 our attention ; and still more so, if we keep constantly in 
 mind who the members were that composed it. Italy, 
 France, Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, England, 
 Denmark, Sweden, were represented by deputies : four 
 electors were present, namely, those of Mentz, and Saxony, 
 the elector Palatine, and the burgrave of Nuremberg, who 
 there received the electoral cap ; besides envoys from the 
 other electors : the emperor Sigismund was never absent, 
 unless employed in the express business of the council : 
 many other German princes were present, besides the 
 clergy, among whom were twenty archbishops, nearly one 
 hundred and fifty bishops, about one hundred and fifty 
 other ecclesiastics of rank, and more than two hundred 
 doctors. 
 
 After this general review it may now be proper to lay 
 before the reader a connected view of the proceedings of 
 Vol. IV.— No. 24. p 
 
158 
 
 John Htm 
 
 [Cent 15. 
 
 this council, chiefly in regard to those subjects which 
 relate to the concerns of the real church of Christ, 
 
 At the opening of the council of Constance, pope John 
 XXIII. and the emperor Sigismund were at the head of 
 it ; and they continually endeavoured to baffle the views 
 of each other. The former was by far the most powerful 
 of the three popes, who, at that time, struggled for the 
 chair of St. Peter ; but his character was infamous in the 
 extreme: and Sigismund, while he pretended to acknow- 
 ledge the authority of John, had formed a secret resolution 
 to oblige him to renounce the pontificate. This same 
 Sigismund was remarkable for hypocrisy and dissimula- 
 tion : political artifices, however, were multiplied by both 
 these potentates, and by many others connected with the 
 council. But what has the church of Christ to do with 
 the intrigues of politicians ? — These were the men who 
 undertook to punish heretics, and to reform the church. 
 
 John XXIII. secretly designed to leave the council as 
 soon as possible ; particularly if their pulse did not beat 
 in his favour. His conscience suggested to him, that an 
 inquiry into his own conduct would terminate in his dis- 
 grace ; and the very situation of Constance, an imperial 
 city in the circle of Suabia^ exposed him too much 
 to the power of the emperor. As he had, however, in 
 a council at Rome, already condemned the opinions ot 
 John Huss, he was determined to confirm that judgment 
 at Constance, and in that way to signalize his zeal for 
 what was then called the church. 
 
 John Huss had been summoned to the council to an- 
 swer for himself, though already excommunicated at 
 Rome. He obtained, however, a safe-conduct* from the 
 emperor, who, in conjunction with his brother Wence- 
 slaus, king of Bohemia, had committed him to the care of 
 several Bohemian lords, particularly of John de Chlum, 
 These travelled with him to Constance, where they ar- 
 rived six days after the jjope. 
 
 John Huss was born in Bohemia in 1373. He was of 
 mean parentage, but was raised to eminence by his supe- 
 
 * A safe-conduct here means an engagement in writings that he 
 should be allowed to pass and repass without molestation. The 
 very words of it were, " omni prorsus impedimento remoto, stare, 
 niorari et rf.dire, liberc perniittatis sibique et suis." To permit 
 himself, and those belonging- to him, freely to be present, to remain, 
 and to DEPART, every hinderance being removed. 
 
A. D. 1405.] impressed by the writings of Wickliff. 159 
 
 rior genius and industry. All the authors of that time 
 acknowledp^e that he was a man of capacity and elo- 
 quence, and highly esteemed for the probity and decency 
 of his manners. This is the testimony of the famous 
 iEneas Sylvius, afterwards pope of Rome. But the letters 
 of Huss, written from Constance, which he specially re- 
 quested might never be published, afford a still more 
 striking attestation to his character. He was appointed 
 rector of the university of Prague, which was then in a 
 very flourishing state. His character was no less eminent 
 in the church than in the academy. He was nominated 
 preacher of Bethlehem in the year 1400 ; and was in the 
 same year made confessor to Sophia of Bavaria, the wife 
 of Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia, a princess who highly 
 esteemed John Huss, and was a personage of great 
 merit : how far she was affected by the doctrine which he 
 preached it is not easy to ascertain ; but there is no 
 doubt that, after his condemnation, she was obliged, by 
 the order of the emperor Sigismund, to retire to Pres- 
 burg. 
 
 In 1405, Huss preached in the chapel of Bethlehem 
 with great celebrity. Some of WicklifF's works had been 
 brought into Bohemia by a Bohemian gentleman, named 
 Faulfisch, when he returned from Oxford. Hence, and 
 probably by other modes of conveyance, the evangelical 
 views of the English reformer were introduced into that 
 country. It is not easy to determine the point of time 
 when John Huss received a favourable impression of the 
 works of Wicklitf. At first he is said to have held them 
 in detestation. The effect of prejudice, indeed, on a 
 serious mind, against a person who had been condemned 
 for heresy, was not easily to be overcome ; and it is not 
 impossible but that Luther's account of his own first 
 reception of the works of Huss might resemble the cele- 
 brated Bohemian's reception of the works of Wickliff. 
 " When I studied at Erford,'* says that truly great man, 
 *' I found in the library of the convent a book, entitled 
 * The Sermons of John Huss,' I was anxious to know the 
 doctrines of that arch-heretic. My astonishment in the 
 reading of them was incredible. What, thought I, could 
 move the council to burn so great a man, so able and 
 judicious an expositor of Scripture ! But then the name 
 of Huss was held in abomination ! if I mentioned him 
 with honour, I imagined the sky would fall, and the sun 
 p 2 
 
160 
 
 Huss excommunicated 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 be darkened ; I therefore shut the book with indignation. 
 But I comforted myself with the thought, that perhaps he 
 had written this before he fell into heresy !'' Such were 
 the juvenile reflections of that renowned reformer. 
 
 But it is not in the power of prejudice to prevent the 
 progress of the Divine counsels, and the work of the Holy 
 Spirit on the heart. Notwithstanding the opposition of 
 prejudice, habit, and natural corruptions, Huss was gra- 
 dually convinced of the power and excellency of evange- 
 lical doctrine. It was not necessary that he should see all 
 things in the same light as other reformers ; but there are 
 certain truths in which all, who are taught of God, in every 
 age, do and must agree ; and certain points of experience 
 also in religion, in which it is even impossible for them to 
 differ. The doctrinal knowledge of the Bohemian re- 
 former was, indeed, always very hmited and defective ; 
 but the little fundamental hght which, through grace, he 
 attained, was directed to the best practical purposes. He 
 preached loudly against the abuses of the Romish church ; 
 and particularly against the impostures of false miracles 
 which then abounded. And about the same year, 1405, 
 he also preached in a synod at Prague, in the archbishop*s 
 presence, with amazing freedom against the vices of the 
 clergy. 
 
 It was impossible that a man who rendered himself so 
 obnoxious to the hierarchy should escape the aspersions of 
 calumny: accordingly we find, that in the latter part of 
 the year 1408, and the beginning of 1409, a clamour was 
 raised against him on the following occasion.* Gre- 
 gory XII., one of the three popes, whose schism gave rise 
 to the council of Constance, was received by Bohemia. 
 But when measures were proposed for calling a general 
 council to compose the schism, Huss engaged the univer- 
 sity to support those measures, and exhorted all Bohemia 
 to the same purpose. The archbishop of Pmgue, who was 
 attached to Gregory, opposed Huss, called him a schis- 
 matic, and forbade him to exercise the pastoral functions 
 in his diocese. About the same time, on occasion of a 
 dispute between the natives and the foreigners who be- 
 longed to the university, Huss having supported the 
 Ibrmer, and gained his ])oint, the Germans, in disgust, 
 retired from Prague. This circumstance enabled the Bo- 
 hemian teacher to speak more publicly according to the 
 * L'Knfant, p. 2U. 
 
A. D. 1410.] by the pope and forbidden to preach, 161 
 
 views of WicklifF. The archbishop of Prague committed 
 the books of the latter to the flames in 1410. But the 
 prosfress of his opinions was rather accelerated than re- 
 tarded by this step. 
 
 The troubles of John Huss were now multiplied. He 
 was excommunicated at Rome. He had sent his proctors 
 thither to answer for him ; but they were committed to 
 prison,* after having remained there to no purpose a year 
 and a half Huss, after his excommunication, had no 
 other remedy but to appeal to Almighty God in very 
 solemn terms. In his appeal, which was charged on him 
 as a crime, among many other things, he says, "Almighty 
 God, the one only essence in three persons, is the first and 
 last refuge of those who are oppressed. Our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, very God and very man, being desirous to redeem, 
 from eternal damnation, his children, elected before the 
 foundation of the world, has given, by suffering a bloody and 
 ignominious death, this excellent example to his disciples, to 
 commit their cause to the judgment of God." He con- 
 tinued still to preach on subjects which he deemed sea- 
 sonable and useful. In one sermon he treated of the uses 
 of the commemoration of the saints, among which he 
 reckons meditation on the misery of man subject to death 
 for sin ; and on the death which Jesus Christ suffered for 
 our sin. In this same sermon, while he zealously opposes 
 the abuses of the times, he discovers that he himself was 
 not yet entirely clear of the popish notion of purgatory. 
 " In praying devoutly for the dead," says he, *' we pro- 
 cure relief to the saints in purgatory." It is sufficiently 
 plain, however, that he could not lay much stress on the 
 prayers of the living for the dead ; for he also says ex- 
 pressly, " that there is no mention of such a practice in 
 the Holy Scriptures ; and that neither the prophets nor 
 Jesus Christ, nor his apostles, nor the saints that followed 
 close after, taught prayer for the dead.'' " I verily believe,'^ 
 continues Huss, " this custom was introduced by the 
 avarice of priests who do not trouble themselves to exhort 
 the people to live well, as did the prophets, Jesus Christ, 
 and the apostles, but take great care to exhort them to make 
 rich offerings, in hopes of happiness and a speedy delivery 
 from purgatory." 
 
 At length, John Huss was forbidden to preach at Prague 
 any more. All that he could then do was to instruct his 
 ♦ L'Enfant, p. 33. 
 p 3 
 
162 Summoned to attend the cGunciL [Cent 1&, 
 
 countrymen by writings. Being summoned, as we have 
 seen, to Constance, he obeyed : and before his departure 
 offered to give an account of his faith in the presence of a 
 provincial synod at Prague, but was not able to obtain an 
 audience. In this and some other particulars, he appears 
 to have acted with great frankness and sincerity ; and, 
 though his mind strongly foreboded that which happened 
 in the issue, his resolution to appear at the general coun- 
 cil was constant and unmoved. By a letter,* which he 
 wrote to a friend immediately before he left Prague, he 
 entreats him, on the outside of it, not to open the letter 
 till he should have had certain news of his death. And 
 among other things, he says, " You know, woe is me ! — 
 before my priesthood I freely and frequently played at 
 chess, neglected my time, and often, unhappily, provoked 
 others and myself into blamable heat of temper by that 
 game.*' About the same time he wrote a letter to his 
 flock, in terms which showed how much their spiritual 
 advantage lay at his heart. He exhorted them to stead- 
 lastness in the doctrine which he had taught them ; prayed 
 for grace that he himself might persevere, and not betray 
 the gospel by cowardice ; and he begged them also to 
 pray, that he might either glorify God by martyrdom, or 
 return to Prague with an unblemished conscience, and 
 with more vigour than ever extirpate the doctrine of anti- 
 christ. He expressed himself to be very uncertain of the 
 event ; but spoke like one resigned to the Divine will, and 
 joyliil to die for the cause of Christ. In the course of his 
 journey to Constance, he acted the same open part, and 
 every where declared his readiness to be heard by all 
 mankind. Such was the character and conduct of Huss, 
 who, as we have seen, arrived at Constance six days after 
 the pontiff^John XXIII. 
 
 On the succeeding day he gave notice of his arrival to 
 the pope, through his friend, John de Chlum, who, at the 
 same time, implored for him the protection of his holiness. 
 This pope himself was then in much fear on his own 
 account, and it behoved him not, in his present circum- 
 stances, to exercise the fulnes^; of papal domination. He 
 therefore answered courteously; declared that he would 
 use ail his power to prevent any injustice being f done to 
 him while at Constance ; and he took off his excommu- 
 nication. 
 
 * L Liiiant, p. 40. f Ibid, p. 43. 
 
A. D. 1414.] Sermons prepared by Huss, 
 
 163 
 
 John Huss appears to have expected that he should 
 have been allowed to preach before the council ; for he had 
 prepared sermons for that purpose, which are inserted 
 among his works. 
 
 In the first of these he professed his Christian creed. 
 He declares his reliance on the word of God, which he 
 observes is the true rule, and sufficient for salvation. He 
 declares his veneration also for fathers and councils, so far 
 as they are conformable to Scripture. " Faith, ' he adds, 
 *' is the foundation of all virtues. Every man must be a 
 disciple either of God or of Satan. Faith is the rudiment 
 of one of these schools, infidelity of the other. A man 
 must believe in God alone, not in the virgin, not in the 
 saints, not in the church, not in the pope : for none of 
 these are God." He distinguishes faith into three kinds. 
 1. To receive a position, but with some doubt, he appre- 
 hends to be the faith which we give to mere men, who yet 
 are fallible. 2. To adhere without any doubt to the sen- 
 timents of holy doctors : still this is only to treat their 
 sentiments as opinions, not as articles of faith. 3. To 
 believe simply and purely, is the faith due to the Scrip- 
 tures. This is the faith which he apprehends involves in it 
 all acts of obedience and love ; the faith which no wicked 
 man possesses : " The wicked mem is a Christian," says he, 
 " in NAME only, and cannot rehearse the creed without 
 making himself a liar.'' " The church," he says, " is an 
 assembly of all the predestinated ; and consists, he thinks, 
 of the triumphant church in heaven, the militant church 
 on earth, and the sleeping church," (pitiable blindness !) 
 '* who are now suffering in purgatory." He allows the 
 intercession of the Virgin Mary, and of other saints ; and, 
 in favour of this popish tenet, he speaks far more forcibly 
 than might have been expected from one who had so un- 
 limited a veneration for the holy Scriptures. 
 
 If Huss had been allowed to preach this, and his other 
 sermon which treats of peace and unity, the injustice of 
 his condemnation must have appeared evident to all man- 
 kind, and the council would have been covered with 
 disgrace and ignominy. For there was something very 
 peculiar in his case ; he may justly be said to have been 
 a martyr for holy practice itself. He does not seem to 
 have held any one doctrine which, at that day, was called 
 heretical. The superstitious notions of the times were, in 
 general, parts of his creed : and, as far as a judgment can 
 
164 
 
 Doctrines professed by Huss. 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 now be formed, he was not possessed of more lig-ht than 
 was absolutely necessary to constitute the character of a 
 genuine Christian. On this account, the wickedness of his 
 enemies was more palpably evident. The world hated 
 him, because he was not of the world, and because he 
 testified of it, that its works were evil. In what then did the 
 peculiarities of his doctrine consist ? The little specimen 
 which has been g-iven of his creed explains this matter. 
 He held the faith of God's elect, a divine faith necessarily 
 productive of love and obedience, distinct in its whole 
 kind from the mere human faith of wicked men. With 
 them, faith has nothing* in its nature that draws a man to 
 God in confidence and affection ; with them the term 
 *' vicious believer" appears not to be a solecism in lan- 
 guag-e ; and indeed it may generally be observed, that 
 godly men in all ages, even those men whose evangelical 
 knowledge, like that of Huss, is extremely imperfect, 
 always distinguish between a dead and a living faith; 
 and that their views of this distinction are the conse 
 quences of the work of the Holy Spirit on their own 
 hearts. They have known, in common with the rest of 
 mankind, what a formal assent to Christianity means ; 
 they have known also, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
 what a lively faith means : the former is merely human, 
 has a dead uniformity, or an unanimated sameness ; the 
 latter has life and power ; is productive of spiritual exer- 
 cises and actions ; is capable of great varieties, augment- 
 ations, declensions, and intervals ; and is feit to be not 
 of man, but of God. It is the distinctive mark of a child 
 
 of God, THAT HE IS IN POSSESSION OF THIS LIVELY FAITH ; 
 
 and this, no doubt, was the spark of Divine fire which in- 
 flamed the heart of the Bohemian martyr ; and which was 
 there preserved alive amidst the contagion of superstition, 
 the temptations of the world, and the menaces of insolent 
 and tyrannical domination.* 
 
 Those who look only at the surface of religion might be 
 tempted to think, that the council in general was influ- 
 enced by the Spirit of God. In all their public sessions 
 they sang an anthem, and then they prayed kneeling.t 
 
 * I have here described what the faith of the gospel imphes and 
 produces, rather than in what it specifically consists. This has been 
 done on former occasions, and may be done again in the course of 
 this history, when we are reviewing the characters of those who 
 understood evangelical truth much better than Huss did. 
 
 r L'I£nfant, p. 60. 
 
He is accused of heresy. 
 
 165 
 
 After having remained some time in this posture, a dea- 
 con called out to them to rise ; and the president, with a 
 loud voice, addressed himself to the Holy Ghost in a col- 
 lect, which, in very solemn and explicit terms, suppli- 
 cated his effectual influence, that, notwithstanding the 
 enormity of their sins, which filled them with dread, he 
 would deio^n to descend into their hearts ; to direct them, 
 to dictate their decrees, and to execute them himself ; and 
 also to preserve their minds from corrupt passions, and 
 not suffer them, through ig-norance or selfishness, to 
 swerve from justice and truth. The ideas, and perhaps 
 the very words, of the prayer were taken from better 
 times, when the operations of the Holy Ghost were not 
 only professed, but felt in Christian assemblies. The 
 formalities of true religion often remain a long time after 
 the spirit of it has been almost extinguished. It is not 
 easy to say how much wickedness may be united with reli- 
 gious formalities. The rulers and great men of the Jewish 
 nation, in the time of Christ, were remarkable examples 
 of the hypocrisy here alluded to ; and those who are 
 acquainted with the history of their flagitious conduct will 
 not be surprised to hear of similar instances. Both the 
 emperor Sigismund and his consort Barba attended the 
 religious ceremonies of this council, and both were of 
 infamous character.* 
 
 Sigismund in a deacon's habit read the gospel, while 
 the pope celebrated mass ! 
 
 Huss was soon deprived of his liberty in the following 
 maimer. He was accused by Paletz, professor of divinity 
 at Prague, and by Causis, a pastor of one of the parishes 
 of the same city. These men caused bills to be posted up 
 against him in Constance as an excommunicated heretic. 
 When Huss complained, the pope replied, " What can I 
 do in the case ? your own countrymenf have done it." 
 The bishops of Augsburg and of Trent were directed to 
 summon him to appear before John XXIII. *' I had ex- 
 pected," said Huss, ** to give an account of myself before 
 the general council, and not before the pope and his car- 
 dinals ; however, I am willing to lay down my life rather 
 than to betray the truth.'' He set out, therefore, without 
 delay, accompanied by his generous friend, John de 
 
 * ^neas Sylvius, Hist. 
 
 t Pilate answered. Am I a Jew ? Thine own nation and the chief 
 priests have delivered thee unto me. — John xviii. 35. 
 
166 
 
 Huss imprisoned by the pope. [Cent. 15. 
 
 Chlum. On his arrival at the pope's palace he was com- 
 mitted to prison. Chlum made loud complaints to the 
 pope, but in vain. Eight articles were exhibited against 
 H uss by Causis ; and the pope appointed commissioners 
 to try him. The vexations and insults to which he was 
 exposed were endless : and there was this peculiar injustice 
 practised against him, that he was accused of being 
 more inimical to the doctrines of the church of Rome than 
 he really was. Whatever Wickliff maintained, Huss was 
 accused of maintaining : nor were his own express decla- 
 rations respected, particularly in regard to transubstan- 
 tiation, a doctrine which he certainly believed, and on 
 which he wrote his thoughts while under confinement at 
 Constance. Such, however, was the strength of mind 
 with which he was endowed, that, during the same period, 
 he wrote also several tracts on subjects of practical god- 
 liness, which were sent to Prague by friends whom he had 
 at Constance. With great clearness he vindicated himself 
 from the charge of heresy; but his holy life was un- 
 pardonable in the eyes of his enemies : moreover, all those 
 whom the faithfulness of his pastoral services in Bohemia 
 had provoked, now found an opportunity to wreak their 
 vengeance upon him. 
 
 The generous count de Chlum, grieved and incensed at 
 the imprisonment of Huss, wrote to Sigismund on the 
 subject. That prince immediately sent express orders to 
 his ambassadors, to cause him to be set at hberty, and 
 even to break the gates of the prison in case of resistance. 
 We naturally expect to hear, in the next place, of the pri- 
 soner's enlargement ; for^ independently of this application 
 of count de Chlum, the honour of Sigismund himself, who 
 had positively promised a safe conduct to Huss, seemed to 
 require it. But notwithstanding all this, the Bohemian 
 teacher was not released ! The crooked arts and intrigues 
 both of the pope and of the emperor, were too powerful 
 for the sincerity and open dealings of Huss: and, he soon 
 found, that to commit himself to Him, that judgeth righte- 
 ously, was his only expedient. In the mean time the 
 doctors, in their preachings, exclaimed most pathetically 
 against the prevailing evils and abuses, and exhorted the 
 council to reform the church with vigour. Its growing 
 corruptions and enormities were by them exposed in the 
 strongest colours. Wickliff himself, or Huss, could scarcely 
 have spoken in a more pointed or in a severer manner, 
 
K, D. 1414.] The emperor^s safe-conduct violated, 167 
 
 But these innovators, we find, were not permitted to cen- 
 sure, with impunity, even the most shameful practices. 
 The explanation is, their attachment to the see of Rome 
 itself was doubted ; whereas the divines just mentioned, 
 preached by order of their superiors, and constantly took 
 particular care in the midst of their keenest animadver- 
 sions, to express an unequivocal respect to the popedom in 
 general. 
 
 In the beginninj^ of the year 1415, the commissioners 
 for examining Huss found themselves impeded by the 
 emperor's grant of a safe-conduct ; and they scrupled not, 
 at once, to entreat that prince to violate his most solemn 
 engagement. To be brief ; Sigismimd was at length per- 
 suaded, that his conscience ought not to be burdened in 
 this matter ; but that he was excused from keeping faith 
 with a man accused of heresy ; and that to acquiesce in 
 the desires of the venerable council, was the proper line of 
 conduct for an obedient and " good son of the church."* 
 Such was the language of the Romanists. A direct breach 
 of faith is, however, so strong a violation of the law writ- 
 ten IN THE heart of man, that it was not easy even for 
 the most able defender of a bad cause to vindicate actions 
 of this kind. Laboured apologies have been published, to 
 soften the transactions before us.f But to what purpose 
 is it to multiply words, in order to misrepresent a plain 
 fact, which may be told in very few lines ? The autho- 
 rity of Sigismund extended over the empire ; he, by virtue 
 of that authority, required all his subjects to suffer 
 Huss to pass and repass secure ; and, for the honour 
 
 OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, IF NEED BE, TO PROVIDE HIM 
 
 WITH GOOD PASSPORTS.! Constancc was an imperial city ; 
 from this city he was not allowed to repass, but was de- 
 tained in prison, till he was unjustly burnt by the order 
 of the council. Was this for the honour of his imperial 
 majesty ? § 
 
 * Nauclems. 
 
 t Maimburg's Hist, of the Western Schism, Part II. — Varillas, 
 Hist. ofWicklifif,Part I. 
 X L'Entant, p. 61. 
 
 § The decree of the council upon this important subject was as fol- 
 lows : " This synod declares that all safe-conducts granted by the em- 
 peror, by kings, and other secular princes to heretics, or to persons ac- 
 cused of heresy, in the hope of reclaiming them, ought not to be of any 
 prejudice to the Catholic faith or ecclesiastical jurisdicti,)n, nor pre- 
 vent these persons Irom being examined, judged, and PUNlSH^iD 
 as justice may require, if those heretics refuse to retract their errors ; 
 
1()S The three popes required to resign. [Cpnt. 15. 
 
 The perfidious character of Sigismund indeed was well 
 known. It appears from one of the letters of John Huss, 
 that, before his departure, he had been told by some per- 
 sons, that the emperor would betray him. But, this 
 servant of God, in honour of his Master, ventured every 
 thin^ for the cause of divine truth. 
 
 Before the death of their countryman, tiie Bohemian 
 nobility, enrag^ed at the perfidy of Sig*ismund, repeatedly 
 remonstrated, by letters, against his proceedings ; but all 
 to no purpose. At the solicitation of Paletz, Huss was 
 confined in the Dominican convent, where he became 
 dangerously sick, through the bad air, and other inconveni- 
 ences of a noisome dungeon. 
 
 But suffering is not the peculiar lot of godly men : 
 wickedness has also its hardships and its inconveniences. 
 That same John XXIII., who had most unrighteously per- 
 secuted Huss, gradually found himself in so disagreeable a 
 situation at Constance, partly from the accusations of his 
 enemies, to the justice of which his own conscience could 
 not but assent, and partly from the intrigues and m.anoeu- 
 vres of Sigismund and the majority of the council, that he 
 determined to depart, in secret, from the assembly. Four 
 nations were represented at Constance, namely, the Ita- 
 lians, the Germans, the French, and the English. The 
 last of these had proposed even to arrest the pope ; and, 
 though this proposal did not take effect, there seemed a 
 general agreement in the four nations to oblige him 
 to resign his authority. The other two anti-popes, 
 Benedict XIII., who was chiefly owned in Spain, and 
 Gregory XII., who had some partisans in Italy, were 
 also pressed to resign ; but, like John XXIII., they were 
 determined to preserve the shadow of power as long as 
 possible. The three popes seemed to vie with one ano- 
 ther in equivocation, artifice, and disingenuity. However, 
 Benedict and Gregory were not present at Constance, but 
 
 EVEN thoup^h they came to the place where they are to be judged, 
 relying SOLELY upon the faith ot that safe-conduct, and would not 
 have gone thither without it. And he that has promised their safety 
 shall NOT in 8uch a case be obliged to keep his promise by any bond 
 which he may have entered into, for he has done all that was re- 
 quired of him." Another decree referred to Huss by name, and de- 
 clared tliat by his obstinate opposition to the Catholic faith " he 
 had rendered himself unworthy of any safe-conduct and privilege, 
 and by law of nature, divine and human laws, no premise ought to 
 be kept with him to the prejudice of the Catliolic faith." L'Enfant, 
 p. 335. 
 
A. D. 1415.] Conduct of pope John XXTIL 169 
 
 sent thither their respective legates, during the sessions. 
 At this moment, when the council seemed not a little em- 
 barrassed what course they should take, William Fillastre, 
 a cardinal and a French divine, composed a memorial, 
 which was highly acceptable both to the emperor and to 
 the nations. He even advanced a sentiment which, at 
 last, very much prevailed in the assembly, and was actu- 
 ally reduced to practice ; namely, that a " general council 
 was authorized to depose even a lawful pope."* This, as 
 we have already observed, was the most beneficial effect of 
 the council of Constance. The wisdom of Divine Provi- 
 dence weakened the strength of Antichrist by the measures 
 of a council, which, in the main, was destitute both of piety 
 and probity. 
 
 It is a remarkable instance of the love of power, in men 
 who have been habituated to it, that John XXIII., even in 
 the decline of his authority, was glad to signalize the relics 
 of his pontificate by the canonization of Bridget, a Swedish 
 woman, which took place in this same year 1415. 
 
 After numberless intrigues, in which the pope and the 
 emperor seemed to strive which should exceed the other ia 
 dissimulation, the former fled from the council to SchafF- 
 hausen ; whence he wrote to the emperor a letter couched 
 in the most respectful terms. Schaffhausen, it should be 
 observed, was a city belonging to Frederick, duke of 
 Austria, who had promised to defend pope John. 
 
 By this step, the designs of those, who really intended to 
 put an end to the schism, seemed to be quashed entirely. 
 Among these was the emperor himself, in whose conduct, 
 scandalous and hypocritical as it was in the extreme, one 
 object is yet plainly discernible, a sincere desire of restor- 
 ing the unity of the hierarchy. He assured the council, on 
 the day after the departure of pope John, that he would 
 defend their authority to the last drop of his blood. He 
 observed, that there were many Antichrists in the world, 
 who sought their own interest, not that of Jesus Christ: 
 he inveighed against the conduct of John ; he exposed his 
 tyranny, simony, chicanery, and insincerity, and exhorted 
 them to judge him according to his deserts. Thus, while 
 the members of this assembly agreed in persecuting the 
 Church of God, and still detained in prison the excellent 
 John Huss, they were involved in extreme difficulties, and 
 scarcely knew how to support the system of idolatry, and 
 » Page 109. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 24. q 
 
170 
 
 The council endeavours [Cent. 15. 
 
 secular formality of religion, to which they were in general 
 attached. The doctrine of the superiority of a council, 
 started by FUlastre, was, however, maintained and pressed 
 at this time in an elaborate discourse of John Gerson, 
 chancellor of the university of Paris, who was looked upon 
 as the soul of the assembly, and who, in fact, was one of 
 the greatest men in that age, in erudition and knowledge. 
 He admits the pope to be Christ's vicar on earth ; but 
 asserts that his power is limited, and ought to be restrained 
 by certain rules and laws for the edification of the church, 
 to which the authority of the pope, and all other persons 
 ought to be devoted. Gerson clearly disregarded the 
 authority of Scripture, which knows nothing of such a 
 vicar of Christ : common sense, however, and the experi- 
 ence of the necessity of some restrictions of the papal 
 power, appear to have suggested to this great man several 
 salutary arguments and propositions. Nor is this the only 
 instance in which we may see, that even mere natural prin- 
 ciples, without the aid of revelation, can proceed to a cer- 
 tain LENGTH in correcting the enormous abuses of a 
 corrupt church. 
 
 While the imperial and papal parties were thus con- 
 tending, the commissioners endeavoured to oblige John 
 Huss to retract ; but in vain. Though infirm, and ha- 
 rassed, during his confinement in prison, with a variety of 
 vexations, he answered to every particular inquiry and ob- 
 jection ; at the same time, always desiring to be heard by 
 the council itself. The pope's officers hitherto guarded 
 him ; but these being gone to their master, he was delivered 
 to the bishop of Constance : and was afterwards carried to 
 the fortress of Gottleben. In his letters to his friends, he 
 commends the pope's officers, for their gentle treatment, 
 and expresses his fears of worse usage in his new circum- 
 stances. 
 
 It was one of those remarkable instances of the conduct 
 of Divine Providence, with which the history of the council 
 of Constance abounds, that John XXIII. himself, the un- 
 righteous persecutor of Huss, was soon after brought a 
 prisoner to the same castle of Gottleben, and lodged in 
 the same place with the victim of his cruelty. For Sigis- 
 mund, determined to support the authority of the council, 
 took such measures as etfectually quashed the power of 
 Frederic, duke of Austria, reduced him to surrender at 
 discretion, and obliged him to abandon the cause of the 
 
A. D. 141 5. J to induce Huss to retract. 
 
 171 
 
 pope. Whence this pontiff, who at first had presided at 
 the council, after having been driven to the necessity of 
 fleeing from place to place, was at length confined at 
 Gottleben, which was within half a league of Constance. 
 Seldom has there been a case, which more remarkably 
 showed, that, in external things, the same events often 
 attend the righteous and the wicked. The real difference 
 of condition between the pope and the martyr was inter- 
 nal, and ought to be measured by the different frame of 
 their minds. The one was harassed with all the pangs of 
 disappointed ambition, and had neither the knowledge nor 
 the disposition to console himself with the divine pro- 
 mises ; the latter " in patience possessed his spirit, and 
 rejoiced in hope of the glory of God." 
 
 John XXIII. was, at length, solemnly deposed, and 
 was also rendered incapable of being re-elected. The 
 same sentence was issued against Benedict XIII. and 
 Gregory XII. The conduct of these three men, particu- 
 larly of the first, had been so infamous, that all the world 
 applauded these determinations of the council. In general, 
 the members of this assembly w^ere influenced by supersti- 
 tious, selfish, worldly motives ; but this decision is among 
 the very few important instances in which they merit com- 
 mendation. 
 
 While, contrary to every principle of justice, honour, 
 and humanity, the Bohemian reformer was still detained 
 in confinement, and still in vain solicited a fair hearing of 
 his cause, there was exhibited at this council another 
 striking example of the same spirit of persecution. 
 
 Jerom of Prague arrived at Constance. He was a 
 master of arts ; but had neither the clerical nor the mo- 
 nastic character. He is universally allowed to have been 
 a man of very superior talents. He had adhered to John 
 Huss ; and very vigorously seconded all his endeavours to 
 promote a reformation in Bohemia. He had travelled into 
 England for the sake of his studies ; and had thence 
 brought the books of WickHff into his own country.* 
 When Huss was setting out from Prague, Jerom had ex- 
 horted him to maintain with steadfastness the doctrines 
 which he had preached ; and had promised that he would 
 himself go to Constance to support him, if he should hear 
 that he was oppressed. Huss, in one of his letters, expressly 
 desired a friend to prevent Jerom's performance of this 
 * Camerar. Histor. Narr. 
 «2 
 
172 
 
 Jerom of Prague 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 promise, lest he should meet with the same treatment as 
 he himself had experienced. But Jerom had the genero- 
 sity to disregard the entreaties of Huss, and came directly 
 to Constance. Hearing, however, that Huss was not 
 allowed a fair examination, and that some secret machina- 
 tion was carrying on against himself, he retired to Uber- 
 lingen, whence he wrote to the emperor, to request a safe- 
 conduct. Sigismund refused to grant his petition. Upon 
 which Jerom published a paper, declaring it to be his de- 
 sire to answer any charges of heresy that could possibly 
 be brought against him. And for the purpose of executing 
 so laudable an intention, he begged, in the name of God, 
 to have a safe-conduct granted to him. If,'' says he, 
 " I am put in prison, and violence is used against me before 
 I am convicted, the council will manifest to the whole world 
 their injustice by such a proceeding.'' The publication of 
 this writing produced no satisfactory answer ; and J erom 
 finding it impossible to be of any service to his friend Huss, 
 resolved to return to his own country. After his depar- 
 ture from Constance, he was summoned to appear before 
 the council 5 and a safe-conduct or passport was de- 
 spatched to him ; which promised him, indeed, all manner 
 of security, but it contained such a salvo to justice and 
 the INTERESTS OF THE FAITH, as rendered it, in effect, a 
 mere nullity ; and as to the citation for his appearance, 
 Jerom protested, on his first examination, that it had never 
 reached his hands. 
 
 To omit a long detail of uninteresting particulars, this 
 persecuted reformer was arrested at Hirsaw on his return 
 to Bohemia, and led in chains to Constance. 
 
 He was immediately brought before a general congrega- 
 tion, which seems, on this occasion, to have assembled for 
 the express purpose of insulting, ensnaring, and brow- 
 beating their virtuous prisoner. A bishop questioned him 
 concerning his precipitate flight from Uberlingen, and his 
 non-obedience to the citation. " Because," answered 
 Jerom, " I was not allowed a safe-conduct ; notwith- 
 standing, however, if I had known of the citation, I would 
 have returned instantly, though I had been actually on 
 the confines of Bohemia.'' Upon this answer, there arose 
 such a clamour in the assembly, that no one could be heard 
 distinctly: every mouth opened, at once, against Jerom ; 
 and the impartial spectator saw rather the representation 
 of the baiting of a wild beast, than of a wise assembly 
 
A. D 1415.] imprisoned and examined. 
 
 173 
 
 investigating" truth, and dispensing* justice. When order 
 was restored, Gerson, who had formerly known Jerom in 
 France, and who discovered much acrimony towards both 
 the Bohemian reformers, reproached him for having for- 
 merly given much olfence to the university of Paris, by in- 
 troducing several erroneous propositions. With great 
 spirit Jerom answered that it was hard to have opinions 
 objected to him of so long a date ; and that, moreover, 
 the disputations of young students were never to be consi- 
 dered as strict disquisitions of truth. " As I was admitted 
 master of arts," said he, '* I used the liberty of discussion, 
 allowed to philosophers ; nor was I then charged with any 
 error : I am still ready to maintain what I advanced at 
 that time, if I am allowed ; and also to retract if I be 
 convicted of mistake.^' 
 
 This was not the only instance in which Jerom had oc- 
 casion to show his promptitude in answering calumnies. 
 He was repeatedly attacked in a similar style ; for a per- 
 secuted follower of Christ is looked on, by the world, as 
 lawful game. The governors of the universities of Co- 
 logne and of Heidelburg made heavy complaints of the 
 heresies which the prisoner had maintained in those places 
 respectively. " You vented several errors in our univer- 
 sity," said a doctor from Cologne. " Be pleased to name 
 one," answered Jerom. The accuser was mstantly stopped 
 in his career, and pleaded that his memory failed him. 
 *' You advanced most impious heresies among us," said a 
 divine from Heidelburg : '* I remember one particularly, 
 concerning the Trinity. You declared, that it resembled 
 water, snow, and ice." Jerom avowed, that he still per- 
 sisted in his opinions, but was ready to retract with humi- 
 lity and with pleasure, when he should be convinced of an 
 error. However, no opportunity was allowed either for 
 explanation or defence : all was confusion and uproar : 
 voices burst out from every quarter. *' Away with him, 
 away with him ; to the fire, to the fire.'' 
 
 Jerom stood astonished at the gross indecency of this 
 scene ; and as soon as he could, in any degree, be heard, 
 he looked round the assembly with a steady and most sig- 
 nificant countenance, and cried aloud, " Since nothing but 
 my blood will satisfy you, I am resigned to the will of 
 God." 
 
 After this tumultuous examination, Jerom was delivered 
 to the officers of the city, and immediately carried to a 
 Q 3 
 
174 Jerom treated with cruelty, [Cent. 15. 
 
 dungeon. Some hours afterward, Wallenrod, archbishop 
 of Riga, caused him to be conveyed privately to St. Paul's 
 church, where he was bound to a post, anil his hands were 
 chained to his neck. In this posture he rewiained ten 
 days, and was fed with bread and water only. His friends, 
 all this tinife, knew not what was become of him ; till at 
 length one of them received notice of his pitiable situation 
 from the keeper of the prison, and procured him better 
 nourishment. But notwithstanding this, the various hard- 
 ships he had undergone brought upon him a dangerous 
 illness, in the course of which Jerom pressed the council 
 to allow him a confessor. With difficulty he at length 
 obtained his request ; and, through the means of his con- 
 fessor, this witness for the truth procured some small miti- 
 gation of his sufferings from bonds and other cruel treat- 
 ment. But he remained in prison till his execution. 
 
 A number of important, coincident circumstances, tend- 
 ing to illustrate the state of religion in those times, have 
 given vast celebrity to the council of Constance ; other- 
 wise, the reader must now be convinced, that the members 
 who composed that immense assembly, merit the descrip- 
 tion which we have already given of their general charac- 
 ter. Many of them were learned and able ; many of them 
 superstitious and bigoted ; and most of them worldly- 
 minded and unprincipled, and totally ignorant of evan- 
 gelical truth. 
 
 As the works of the famous Wickliff had undoubtedly 
 laid the foundation of the religious innovations in Bohe- 
 mia, they now proceeded to condemn the doctrines of that 
 obnoxious reformer. In this point they harmonized with 
 John XXIII., whom they had deposed and now held in 
 custody. For this same pontiff, John XXIII., had for- 
 merly, at the desire of Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 condemned the doctrines of Wickliff.* These very doc- 
 trines, digested by his enemies into forty-five articles, which 
 had formally been pronounced heretical at Rome, were now 
 read in the council ; and as far as appears, they were re- 
 probated without one dissentient voice, and the author of 
 them wars i)ronounced a heretic. 
 
 The decrees of so violent and so iniquitous a council 
 as that of Constance, concerning articles of faith, are of 
 little moment. The heads of the articles, however, in the 
 main and in substance, express the real sentiments of 
 • Wilkin's Concilia, p. 350. 
 
A.D.1415.] The doctrines of Wickliff condemned, 175 
 
 WicklifF, which have been already considered and reviewed. 
 His opposition to the popish* doctrine of transubstan- 
 tiation was positive and unequivocal. In some particular 
 points his meaning* seems to have been distorted throui^h 
 prejudice or malice. 
 
 WicklifF is accused also of saying, that all things happen 
 from absolute necessity. The council used the common 
 Arminian arguments in opposition to the English re- 
 former, whose sentiments, however, on this subject have 
 never been shown to be materially different from what by 
 far the greater part of good Christians have maintained 
 in all ages. 
 
 If the council of Constance had studied to vindicate 
 Wickliff 's reasonings respecting the abuses of popery, and 
 to cast an odium upon their own doctrines and proceed- 
 ings, they could scarcely, it should seem, have effected 
 their purpose by surer means than by using certain argu- 
 ments which they thought proper to brin<^ forward in con- 
 futation of the opinions of the man whom they considered 
 a most dangerous innovator. Thus, on one occasion, 
 they boldly affirm, " There is no salvation out of the 
 church of Rome." A proposition of this magnitude, one 
 would have thought, required all the proof and illustration 
 that could be given to it. Whereas the learned council 
 content themselves with gravely appealing to a decree of 
 the Lateran council, and to a decretal of pope Calixtus, 
 which establish the two following points : 1st, That the 
 church of Rome is the mistress of all churches : and 
 2dly, That it is not lawful to depart from her decisions. 
 " Hence," say they, " it clearly follows that the pope is 
 the immediate vicegerent of Jesus Christ, because the 
 church of Rome has so determined. Though this or that 
 particular pope be corrupt, the church of Rome itself can 
 never decay." Thus do these men give the palm of truth 
 to the man whom they condemn as a heretic. For he 
 appealed to the Scriptures ; they to the church of Rome; 
 on a subject too in which that church is more particularly 
 bound to adduce another sort of argument than that of 
 her own authority. 
 
 In the same year commissioners were appointed to in- 
 quire into the disputes between the Teutonic knights and 
 the Poles. And though nothing was decided at present 
 
 * It has been before observed, that on this article of faith Wick- 
 liff approached nearly to CoN-substantiation. 
 
176 The Teutonic knights and the Poles, [Cent. 15, 
 
 in that business, it may throw some light on the state of 
 Christendom, to give a general statement of the case. 
 The Prussians, as we have seen, were among the last of 
 the nations of Europe who received the forms of Chris- 
 tianity. Barbarous and untractable in their manners, they 
 invaded and harassed their neighbours the Poles, who 
 called to their assistance the Teutonic knights, the rem- 
 nants of those warlike crusaders who so lonff had deso- 
 lated the east. The knights, in consideration of the suc- 
 cours afforded to the Poles, received from them the grant 
 of Prussia and of some neighbouring districts ; which 
 grant was confirmed by the Roman pontiff. In this man- 
 ner Prussia, at length, was obliged to profess itself Chris- 
 tian. Nor do there seem to be in history any instances of 
 national conversions more contrary to the genius of the 
 gospel than this of the Prussians. The knights, armed 
 with indulgences for the conversion of infidels, and with 
 bulls for putting themselves in possession of conquered 
 countries, gratified their military passion, and while they 
 imagined they were doing God service, they wasted 
 all the neighbourhood with fire and sword, and assaulted 
 even the Poles, their benefactors. Several pitched battles 
 were fought between them and the king of Poland, in 
 which they were generally defeated. Their perfidy was 
 equal to their ambition ; for though truces were made, 
 from time to time, they continually violated them, as if 
 they had been determined, with all their might, to dis- 
 grace the holy religion for which they professed so much 
 zeal. Ladislaus, king of Poland, had views more honour- 
 able to the Christian name. In a letter, which he wrote 
 to a friend, he protested that he could not refrain from 
 tears before a battle in which he foresaw the defeat of the 
 knights, and that he entered into the engagement with 
 much commiseration of his enemies. 
 
 The repeated violences of these fighting professors of 
 Christianity obliged this prince, though victorious in the 
 field, to send ambassadors to the council of Constance. 
 The question of law for the decision of the assembly was, 
 whether it is right for Christians to convert infidels by 
 force of arms, and to seize their estates : the kinights 
 maintained the affirmative, the Polish ambassadors the 
 negative : and such was the state of reHgion at that time, 
 that the authority of a council was deemed necessary to 
 decide a case which to us does not appear to involve the 
 
A. D. 1415."! Controversy respecting the sacramental cup, 177 
 
 smallest difficulty ! When men are heated by ambition, 
 or blinded by prejudice and self-interest, they often forget 
 the dictates of common sense, and the first principles of 
 morality. 
 
 In the same year, 1415, another object of controversy 
 was started in the council, which was afterwards attended 
 with important consequences, and produced one of the 
 usual subjects of contention between the papists and the 
 protestants ; I mean the doctrine of the communion in both 
 kinds.* John of Prague, bishop of Litomissel in Mora- 
 via, censured in the assembly the practice of the followers 
 of Huss, who administered the wine to the laity. About 
 twenty-five years before the council of Constance, 
 Matthias, a curate of Prague, had ventured to preach 
 publicly against the general disuse of the cup in the 
 communion, and is said to have actually administered the 
 sacrament to the laity in both kinds. It is not easy to 
 say precisely at what period the general disuse took place, 
 but we have seen that it was gradually effected in the dark 
 ages, long after the time of Gregory the first of Rome; 
 and that it, most probably, was generally adopted as the 
 doctrine of transubstantiation prevailed. Matthias was 
 obliged to retract in a synod assembled at Prague in 
 1389. It is, however, agreeable to the general views of 
 this history to observe, from a Bohemian writer,t that 
 Matthias was a pastor of great piety and probity, fervently 
 zealous for the truth of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of 
 the gospel, an enemy to the reigning corruptions and 
 abuses, and one who suffered greatly for his assiduity in 
 preaching the word of God. He died in 1394. Some 
 months after the departure of John Huss for Constance, 
 Jacobel, a pastor of Prague, a man renowned for learning 
 and purity of manners, revived the doctrine of Matthias. 
 Peter of Dresden, being expelled from Saxony for main- 
 taining the Waldensian doctrines, retired to Prague, and 
 there instructed youth. From him Jacobel learnt that the 
 withholding of the cup from the laity was an error. J 
 Faithful to his convictions, he preached with perspicuity 
 
 * L'Enfant, p. 256. t Procopius of Prague. 
 
 t It appears from Perrin's History of the Waldenses, p. 156, that 
 this people rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation. According 
 to them, " the eating of the spiritual bread is the eating of Christ's 
 body figuratively. Otherwise, Christ must have been eaten perpe- 
 tually. For we need to feed on him continually in a spiritual sense. 
 To eat him, is to abide in him.'' 
 
178 
 
 Matthias, — JacobeL [Cent. 15. 
 
 and with vehemence : he roused men's attention and ex- 
 cited their zeal : and by these means a flame was kindled 
 throughout Bohemia respecting this matter. The clergy 
 of that kingdom complained to the council of Constance ; 
 and the bishop of Litomissel, while he impeached Jacobel, 
 represented the circumstance of this new controversy as a 
 consequence of the doctrine of John Huss, in order to 
 hasten his condemnation. 
 
 That reformer had probably been inclined to the views 
 of Jacobel before he left Prague ; but it was not till after 
 he came to Constance that he published his approbation 
 of the communion in both kinds. The principal author, 
 or, to speak more properly, the principal reviver of this 
 practical truth in the church of Christ, was Jacobel, who 
 seems to have been a zealous, active, laborious minister 
 of Christ. Little indeed is known of his pastoral services, 
 because here, as in other cases, we have to lament that 
 the accounts of vital godliness are general and short, 
 while those of the controversies in external affairs are 
 verbose and prolix. Let the Christian reader, however, 
 contemplate with a lively satisfaction the providential 
 effects of Waldensian light and knowledge in spiritual 
 things. 
 
 The appearance of this new controversy, added to the 
 question concerning Jerom of Prague, increased the fury 
 of the storm against Huss ; and his enemies laboured day 
 and night for his destruction. His health and strength 
 were reduced by the rigour of confinement. The great 
 men of Bohemia repeatedly insisted on justice being done 
 to their countryman. But justice was a stranger at Con- 
 stance : the emperor himself had perfidiously given up 
 this faithful servant of God to the malice of his enemies ; 
 and the council, as if conscious of the difficulty of con- 
 demning him openly, had recourse to the despicable means 
 of attempting, by repeated insults and vexations, to shake 
 his constancy, and render a public trial unnecessary. He 
 was frequently examined in private. An air of violence 
 and of menace was employed on those occasions, of which 
 we may form some idea from one of the letters of Huss. 
 " Causis,'' says he, was there, hohUng a paper in his 
 hand, and stirring up the bishop of Constantinople to 
 oblige me to answer distinctly to each article it contained. 
 Every day he is contriving some mischief or other. God, 
 for my sins, has permitted him and Paletz to rise up 
 
A. D. 1415.] Huss examined before the council, 179 
 
 against me. Causis examines all my letters and words 
 with the air of an inquisitor ; and Paletz has written down 
 all the conversation which we had together for many years. 
 I have this day suffered great vexation.'* 
 
 The approbation of a good conscience, and the com- 
 forting presence of the Spirit of God, appear to have sup- 
 ported this holy man in all his sufferings. He gave his 
 adversaries no advantage over him either through warmth 
 or timidity ; he refused to give answers in private ; he 
 reserved himself to the public trial which he had always 
 sohcited ; he retracted nothing of what he had openly 
 preached, and he possessed his soul in patience and resig- 
 nation. 
 
 The unrighteous views of the council being thus far 
 baffled, he was conducted to Constance, lodged in the 
 Franciscan monastery, and loaded with chains ; in which 
 condition he remained till the day of his condemnation. 
 
 His first hearing before the council was attended with 
 so much confusion, through the intemperate rage of his 
 enemies, that nothing could be concluded. In the second, 
 in which the emperor was present for the purpose of pre- 
 serving order, Huss was accused of denying the doctrine 
 of transubstantiation. Some Englishmen, who knew what 
 Wickliff held on that point, and who were ready to take 
 for granted that Huss dissented in no article from their 
 countryman, pressed him vehemently on the subject. It 
 seems, however, that the Bohemian teacher followed the 
 church of Rome on this point, which evidently appears 
 from his treatise on the Body of Christ. 
 
 A tedious dispute ensued, concerning the refusal of 
 Huss to join with those who condemned the errors of 
 Wickliff. He explained himself with sufficient precision 
 on this head : he declared, that he blamed the conduct of 
 the archbishop Subinco at Prague, only because he had 
 condemned Wickliff's books without examination, and 
 without distinction ; and he added, that most of the doc- 
 tors of the university of Prague found fault with that pre- 
 late, because he produced no reasons from the Scriptures. 
 Huss further observed to the council, that, not having been 
 able to obtain justice from John XXIII., he had appealed 
 from him to Jesus Christ. His seriousness in mentioning 
 this appeal exposed him to the derision of the council. It 
 was even doubted whether it were lawful to appeal to Jesus 
 Christ. Huss, however, with great gravity affirmed, that it 
 
180 Calumnious accusations against lluss, [Cent. 15. 
 
 was aiways lawful to appeal from an inferior to a higher 
 court ; that, in this case, the Judge was infallible, full of 
 equity and compassion, and one who would not refuse jus- 
 tice to the miserable. The levity of the assembly, and the 
 seriousness of the prisoner, were remarkably contrasted in 
 these proceedings. The reader will of course understand 
 John Huss in the sense in which, no doubt, he intended 
 to be understood. In appealing to Jesus Christ, the 
 conscientious martyr had his own mind fixed on the last 
 judgment, and he aimed at making an impression on the 
 court by directing their attention to that awful tribunal. 
 
 It would be tedious and uninteresting to take notice of 
 the variety of calumnies with which he was aspersed. 
 One instance may deserve to be mentioned.* " You one 
 day,** said his accusers, advised the people to take up 
 arms against those who opposed your doctrine." " I 
 one day," replied Huss, " while I was preaching on the 
 Christian armour described in the sixth chapter to the 
 Ephesians, exhorted my audience to take the sword of the 
 Spirit and the helmet of salvation ; but I expressly ad- 
 monished them, that I meant the sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the word of God, and not a material sword.'* 
 Sigismund exhorted him to retract his errors, and declared, 
 that, rather than support him in his heresy, he would with 
 his own hands kindle the fire to burn him. 
 
 John de Chlum, however, was not to be dismayed by 
 the power and multitude of the adversaries of Huss : he 
 supported the insulted victim of their fury with courage 
 and constancy. In his third hearing, John Huss an- 
 swered the inquiries made of him concerning articles of 
 supposed heresy, which were extracted from his own 
 works. He answered severally to the questions with 
 much clearness and candour, owning, denying, or ex- 
 plaining, as occasions required. He was vehemently 
 pressed to retract his errors, to own the justice of the 
 accusations, and to submit to the decrees of the council. 
 But neither promises nor menaces moved him. " To 
 abjure," said he, " is to renounce an error that hath been 
 held. But, as in many of those articles errors are laid 
 to my charge which 1 never thought of, how can I re- 
 nounce ihem by oath ? As to those articles, which I own 
 to be mine, I will renounce them with all my heart, if 
 any man will teach me sounder doctrines. 
 
 * L'EnfaDt, vol. i. p. 330. 
 
A. D. 1415.] Fidelity of John de Chlum. 
 
 181 
 
 The conscientious integrity of John Huss, however, 
 availed him not. The court demanded a universal re- 
 traction ; and nothing short of that could procure him 
 their favour. The tedious malignity of the third day's 
 examination oppressed, at length, both the mind and body 
 of Huss ; and the more so, because he had passed the 
 preceding night sleepless, through severity of pain. 
 For some days before* he had also been afflicted with 
 illness, and was, in other respects, in a weak state of 
 health. At the close of the examination he was carried 
 back to prison, whither John de Chlum followed him. 
 
 Oh, what a comfort," said he, " was it to me, to see 
 that this nobleman did not disdain to stretch out his arm 
 to a poor heretic in irons, whom all the world, as it were, 
 had forsaken !" In the same letter in which he mentions 
 this, he begs the prayers of his friend, because " the spirit 
 indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'' 
 
 Such is the treatment which the dearest and most faith- 
 ful servants of God are frequently called upon to endure 
 from an evil world. After the departure of Huss, Sigis- 
 mund, with the most unrelenting barbarity, expressed 
 himself against him as a heretic worthy of the flames. 
 On the next day a form of retractation was sent to this 
 persecuted prisoner, which, though it was penned in equi- 
 vocal and ambiguous terms, plainly appeared on the 
 whole, to imply a confession of guilt. Huss, therefore, 
 refused to sign it ; and added, that he would rather be 
 cast into the sea with a millstone about his neck, than 
 give offence to his pious neighbours by acknowledging 
 that to be true which they knew to be false ; that he had 
 preached patience and constancy to others, and that he 
 was willing to show an example of these graces, and 
 hoped, by divine assistance, to be enabled to do so. 
 
 We have constantly seen, in the course of this history, 
 that the hoHness of heart and life, which real Christians 
 have evidenced, from age to age, was always connected ^vith 
 the peculiar doctrines of Christianity ; but it is in vain to 
 look for men of real holiness and virtue who were inimical, 
 or even indifferent, to the fundamentals of the gospel. If 
 there were any one doctrine more particularly insisted on 
 than another by sincere Christians, that doctrine was al- 
 ways, in its nature, of considerable importance ; and by 
 just connection it implied and involved the whole of 
 godliness, even though that connection might not be 
 
 Vol. IV —No. 25. r 
 
182 
 
 Doctrines of Huss, 
 
 [Cent 15. 
 
 understood or relished in every part by all persons of 
 true piety. Should we then be asked, what peculiar doc- 
 trine was maintained and espoused by John Huss, whose 
 holiness and integrity were undoubtedly eminent, the 
 answer is, it was the doctrine of the depravity of human 
 nature and of the necessity of a divine influence. This, 
 I doubt not, will appear sufficiently evident to the evan- 
 gelical reader who will take the trouble fully to consider 
 several of the articles which were objected to him, and 
 also some extracts from his letters ; for, notwithstanding; 
 that the frequent use of the terms predestinate, chosen, 
 ELECT, &c. in those articles and extracts, might lead an 
 uninformed and superficial reader to conclude that Huss 
 was merely a speculative defender of the doctrine of abso- 
 lute decrees, without being an advocate for a real change 
 of heart and personal holiness, it deserves to be remarked, 
 first, that this reformer used the terms in question pre- 
 cisely in the sense in which they are used in Scripture ; 
 and secondly, that the doctrine of the total inability of 
 man to save himself, both from the punishment and from 
 the dominion of sin, was the great practical point he had 
 in view. Among the expressions which he had used, and 
 which were objected to him, we may mention the follow- 
 ing : *' The assembly of the predestinated is the holy 
 church, which has neither spot nor wrinkle, which Jesus 
 Christ calls his own. A reprobate is never a member of 
 holy church." These and similar passages, produced in 
 accusation against him, he partly admitted as his own ; 
 and partly qualified by a fair and candid explanation. 
 On the whole, it is very evident that he gave offence by stu- 
 diously distinguishing those whom God hath chosen to be 
 his peculiar people in Christ, and who are evidently pointed 
 out, by their real practical holiness, as different from the 
 common bulk of nominal Christians. Even the pope and 
 his cardinals, if not predestinated,* to him appeared to be 
 no members of the body of Christ. The church of 
 Christ is," says he, from Bernard, " his own body, more 
 evidently than the body which he delivered for us to 
 '^eath. The church is, as it were, the ' Barnfloor't of the 
 juord, in which are the predestinate and the reprobate, the 
 former being as wheat, and the latter as chaff." In these 
 subjects he followed the ideas of Augustine, with whose 
 writings he appears to have been much acquainted. 
 " Horn. viii. 29. + 2 Kings, vi. 27. 
 
A. D. 1415.] Extracts from his letters. 
 
 183 
 
 Divine influence, therefore, implying and involving all the 
 essentials of the gospel, according to the views of Augus- 
 tine, and evidencing itself in particular persons by real 
 humility, piety, and integrity, w^as one of the grand doc- 
 trinal points of John Huss ; and this holy man, defective 
 as he was in Christian light, and obscured with much 
 superstition, was yet enabled to distinguish his scriptural 
 creed from that of the mere religion of nature, both in 
 theory and in practice ; and he accordingly endured that 
 cross of Christ from the persecutions of the wicked, which 
 must ever be expected by those who will not allow merely 
 nominal Christianity to be the real religion of Jesus. 
 For it is well known that nothing more irritates those 
 who live " according to the course of this world,"* than 
 to be told that God has a holy, peculiar people, formed 
 for himself to show forth his praise. 
 
 The following passages are extracted from his letters : 
 " Almighty God will confirm the hearts of his faithful 
 people, whom he hath chosen before t*he foundation of the 
 world, that they may receive the eternal crown of glory. — 
 I am greatly comforted with those words of our Saviour, 
 * Happy are ye when men shall hate you, and shall sepa- 
 rate you from their company,' &c. O precious consola- 
 tory lesson, difficult, indeed, not to understand, but to 
 practise in time of tribulation. Let patience have her 
 perfect work. It is a light matter to speak of patience, 
 but a great matter to fulfil it. Our most patient Cham- 
 pion himself, who knew that he should rise again the third 
 day, and redeem from damnation all his elect, was trou- 
 bled in spirit. Yet he, though sorely troubled, said to his 
 disciples, Let not your hearts be troubled, &c. 1 trust 
 steadfastly, the Lord will make me a partaker of the 
 crown with you, and with all them who love the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Merciful Christ! draw us, weak creatures, 
 after thee ; for except thou draw us, we are not able to 
 follow thee. Give us a courageous spirit, that it may be 
 ready ; for without thee we can do nothing. Give us an 
 upright faith, a firm hope, and perfect charity. "t 
 
 The integrity of the Bohemian martyr was severely tried 
 by the soHcitations of several persons. But divine grace 
 supported him, so that the very least equivocation was 
 abominable in his eyes. Even his enemy, Faletz, inwardly 
 
 * Ephes. ii. 2. t Fox, vol. i. p. 716. 
 
 R 2 
 
184 A letter to his flock. [Cent. 15. 
 
 reverencing his virtue, took pains to induce him to retract. 
 *' Put yourselves in my place," said Huss ; " what would 
 you do, if you were required to retract certain errors 
 which you were sure you never held." " 1 own it is a 
 hard case," answered Paletz, with tears in his eyes. It 
 is not improbable that this man had never meant actually 
 to expose his countryman to the flames : and it is ex- 
 tremely probable that hp I^ad never before considered the 
 dilemma to which the spirit of persecution must reduce a 
 person of real integrity, namely, either to perjure himself, 
 or to be consumed in the flames. One of the doctors 
 who visited Huss said to him, ** If the council should tell 
 you that you have but one eye, though you have really two, 
 you would be obliged to agree with the council." " While 
 God keeps me in my senses,*^ replied Huss, " I would not 
 say such a thing against my conscience on the intreaty or 
 command of the whole world." 
 
 This holy confessor foreseeing his end to be near, re- 
 deemed* the little time that was left to him by writing 
 letters, which were publicly read at Prague, in his chapel 
 at Bethlehem, once the dehghtful scene of his ministry. 
 One of these letters may be considered as a farewell 
 sermon addressed to his flock. He intreats them to ad- 
 here solely to the word of God, and not to follow himself 
 if they have observed any thing in him not agreeable to 
 it ; and he particularly begs them to pardon him where he 
 had been guilty of any levity in discourse or behaviour. 
 He begs them to be grateful to John de Chlum, and 
 another nobleman, who had been faithful to him in his 
 sufferings. He adds, that he hears no news of Jerom, 
 except that he was a prisoner like himself, waiting for the 
 sentence of death ; and he concludes with an earnest 
 prayer, that the gospel of Christ may be always preached 
 to them in his dear chapel at Bethlehem. His firmness 
 was that of a Christian, not of a stoic ; founded in humi- 
 lity, not in pride. He experienced some attacks of the 
 fears of death ; but soon recovered his courage. *' I am 
 far," said he, " from the strength and zeal of the apostle 
 Peter. Jesus Christ has not given me his talents : be- 
 sides, I have more violent conflicts, and a greater number 
 of shocks to sustain. I say, therefore, that, placing all my 
 confidence in Jesus Christ, I am determined, when I hear 
 
 • Ephes.v. 16. 
 
A. D. 1415.] The cruel purpose of the council. 185 
 
 my sentence, to continue steadfast in the truth, even to 
 the death, as the saints and you shall help me."* Thus 
 modesty does he write to a friend ; and it is from his 
 private epistolary correspondence that the most genuine 
 features of his character may be drawn. John Huss ap- 
 pears, indeed, to have been one of those " of whom the 
 world was not worthy ;"t and of no mere man could it 
 ever be said with more propriety, that the world hated 
 him, because he testified of it that its works were evil. 
 Undoubtedly his open rebukes of sin, both by his public 
 preaching and writings, and by the uniform purity and 
 innocence of his manners, had inflamed the tempers of the 
 great men of the age, both in the hierarchy and the state ; 
 yet it was scarcely to be expected that the council of Con- 
 stance should, even upon their own principles, proceed, 
 without the least proof of heresy, to condemn to the 
 flames the most upright of men, because he refused to 
 acknowledge that to be true which he believed to be false ; 
 or that this same council should justify the deceit and 
 perfidy of their imperial president. Their conduct, there- 
 fore, is to be considered as a striking proof, not only of 
 the general depravity of human nature, but also of the 
 general wickedness and hypocrisy of the Roman church at 
 that time. 
 
 The council settled beforehand after what manner he 
 was to be treated in case he should retract.J He was to 
 have been degraded from the priesthood, and to be for 
 ever shut up between four walls. This was the only re- 
 ward which the unfeeling tyrants had intended to bestow 
 on him in the event of his wounding his conscience to 
 gratify them ! To lay the whole weight of blame on the 
 popes, on account of the enormities of the Roman church, 
 is to view that church superficially. It was generally 
 AND SYSTEMATICALLY CORRUPT : it had recently deposed 
 three popes : it was, at present, without a pope ; and yet 
 could be guilty of crimes not less heinous than some of 
 the worst which the popes ever committed. 
 
 The council, so Huss wrote the night before his death, 
 exhorted him to renounce every one of the articles which 
 had been extracted from his books ; but he absolutely 
 refused to accede to so unreasonable a requisition, except 
 
 * His brethren, the saints on earth, helping him by prayer, as St. 
 Paul desired— Ed. 
 t Heb. xi. 38. ? L'Enfant, vol. i. p. 363. 
 
 r3 
 
186 Decree against the communion in both kinds. [Cent. 15. 
 
 they could, from the Scriptures, prove his doctrines to be 
 erroneous, as they asserted them to be. This circum- 
 stance is mentioned here by way of anticipation, to ob- 
 viate a misrepresentation which was studiously made 
 concerning John Huss, as if he had promised to retract 
 On the contrary, it appears that he persisted to the 
 last in the defence of his innocence with unshaken 
 
 INTEGRITY. 
 
 While the council was preparing* the formalities of his 
 condemnation, they enacted a decree to forbid the recep- 
 tion of the communion in both kinds ; and assigned no 
 other reason for it than their regard to the doctrine of 
 tran substantiation ; at the same time they owned, that in 
 
 THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH THIS SACRAMENT IN BOTH KINDS 
 
 WAS RECEIVED BY THE BELIEVERS.* Thus the triumph 
 of the Roman church seemed to be complete. She dared 
 to own, that she contradicted primitive Christianity; 
 and she dared to enact, that those who refused to obey 
 HER institutions, though confessedly contrary to those of 
 the primitive church, ought to be treated as heretics ! 
 What is this but open, undisguised opposition to the 
 commands of Jesus Christ? And what other name but 
 that of Antichrist can so well express the corrupt and 
 presumptuous domination of the Roman hierarchy ? 
 
 But there is a voice in natural conscience which it is 
 not in the power of Satan easily to silence. Sigismund, 
 inwardly ashamed of his baseness and perfidy towards 
 Huss, wished to save the Hfe of that good man, though 
 he saw that, according to the wicked policy of the coun- 
 cil, this was not to be done, except the prisoner could be 
 induced to forswear himself. Many persons, to second 
 the views of the emperor, endeavoured to overcome the 
 constancy of Huss : even the council sent several depu- 
 tations to him lor that purpose. One of this martyrs 
 letters throws some light on these transactions. t " Pa- 
 letz," says he, " attempts to persuade me that I ought to 
 abjure, because of the great advantage which will accrue 
 to me from it. I told him, that to be condemned and 
 burned was not so scandalous as to be guilty of falsehood. 
 He speaks thus of his otlier accuser, Causis : *' That poor 
 man has been often with the deputies before the prison. 
 1 heard him say to tlie guards, If it please God, we shall 
 
 ♦ L'Enfant, vol. i. p. 386. 
 
 t Ibid. p. m. 
 
A. D. 1415.] The works ofHuss burned. 1S7 
 
 shortly burn this heretic, who has cost me so many florins 
 \n prosecuting" him." 
 
 He wrote about the same time to a preacher of his 
 acquaintance concerning the decree of the council lately 
 mentioned : " They have condemned the communion of 
 the cup, with regard to the laity, as an error, and have 
 condemned of heresy every one who violates their decree, 
 though they have nothing but custom to oppose to an 
 institution of Jesus Christ.'' 
 
 The council now ordered the works of Huss to be 
 burnt ; on occasion of which circumstance he writes to 
 his friends : " That he was not discouraged on this ac- 
 count ; that Jeremiah's books met with the same treat- 
 ment nevertheless the Jews suffered the calamities 
 which that faithful prophet had foretold. — Consider that 
 they have condemned their pope, their god upon earth, 
 for his crimes, particularly for selling indulgences, bishop- 
 rics, and the like. But in this they are his accomplices. 
 The bishop of Litomissel, who is at the council, went 
 twice to buy the archbishopric of Prague, but others out- 
 bade him. They follow this traffic even at Constance, 
 where one sells and another buys a benefice." 
 
 At length he received another solemn deputation, in 
 which were two cardinals and some prelates, who tried 
 their utmost endeavours to induce him to recant. Huss, 
 however, persisted in his integrity, and announced his 
 resolution in terms of great vehemence and solemnity. 
 Having withstood one more attempt of the emperor to 
 shake his resolution, he was thus accosted by his friend 
 John de Chlum. " I am a person of no learning, my 
 dear Huss, and unfit to advise so learned a person as you . 
 If you are convinced of any error, I venture, however, 
 to advise you to retract it ; if not, to endure whatever 
 punishments shall be inflicted on you, rather than to do 
 violence to your conscience?" An instance this of com- 
 mon sense and artless honesty, which deserves to be 
 contrasted with the subtilty and intriguing spirit of the 
 council. Huss answered with tears, that he called God 
 to witness how ready he was to retract sincerely and upon 
 oath any error the moment he should be convinced by the 
 testimony of the Holy Scriptures that it was an error. 
 One of the prelates observed, " For my part, I am not so 
 presumptuous as to prefer my private opinion to that of 
 • Jerem. xxxvi. 
 
188 Calumnious accusations against IIuss, [Cent. 15. 
 
 the whole council." *' Let the meanest member of that 
 council," replied Huss, " convince me of a mistake, and I 
 am perfectly disposed to obey their injunctions." Some 
 of the bishops observed, " See how obstinate he is in his 
 errors." 
 
 He was now presented before the council in the pre- 
 sence of the emperor, the princes of the empire, and of 
 an incredible concourse of people. The bishop of Lodi 
 preached a sermon from those words of St. Paul, " That 
 the body of sin mi^i^ht be destroyed." * With the grossest 
 ignorance or the most virulent and indecent malice he 
 perverted the words to the purpose of the council : *' De- 
 stroy heresies and errors," said he, " but chiefly that obsti- 
 nate heretic,' pointing to the prisoner. While they were 
 reading the articles extracted or pretended to be extracted 
 from his works, Huss was beginning to answer to each 
 distinctly, but was told that he might answer to them all 
 at the same time, and was ordered at present to be silent. 
 He expostulated against the unreasonableness of this in- 
 junction in vain. Lifting up his hands to heaven, he 
 begged the prelates in God's name to indulge him with the 
 freedom of speech, that he might justify himself before the 
 people : '* after which," said he, " you may dispose of me 
 as you shall think fit." But the prelates persisting in their 
 refusal, t he kneeled down ; and with uplifted eyes and hands, 
 and with a loud voice, he recommended his cause to the 
 Judge of all the earth. Being accused in the article of 
 the sacrament, of having maintained that the material 
 bread remains after consecration, he loudly declared that 
 he had never believed or taught so. Nothing could be 
 more iniquitous than this charge, which he had fully 
 denied on his former examination. But the council was 
 determined to burn him as a heretic, and it behoved them 
 to exhibit at any rate, some show of proving his heretical 
 opinions. A still more shameless accusation was intro- 
 duced : it was said, *' A certain doctor bears witness, that 
 Huss gave out, that he should become the fourth person in 
 the Trinity." What is the name of that doctor ?" replied 
 the prisoner, protesting against the charge as a flagrant 
 calumny, and making an ortiiodox confession of his faith 
 on the subject of the Trinity. Nevertheless, the bishop, 
 who had read the accusation, refused to mention the doc- 
 tor s name. Being again upbraided with his appeal to 
 * llom. vi. t L'Enfant, p. 421. 
 
A.D 1415.] 
 
 He is condemned. 
 
 189 
 
 Jesus Christ, " Behold,'' said he, with his hands lifted up 
 toward heaven, ** most g-racious Saviour, how the council 
 condemns as an error what thou hast prescribed and prac- 
 tised, when, overborne by enemies, thou committedst thy 
 cause to God thy Father, leaving us this example, that 
 when we are oppressed, we may have recourse to the judg- 
 ment of God. Yes," continued he, turning toward the 
 assembly, " I have maintained and do still maintain, that 
 an appeal made to Jesus Christ is most just and right, be- 
 cause He can neither be corrupted by bribes, nor be de- 
 ceived by false witnesses, nor be overreached by any arti- 
 fice. — I came voluntarily to this council, under the public 
 faith of the emperor here present.'' In pronouncing these 
 last words, he looked earnestly at Sigismund, who blushed 
 at the sudden and unexpected rebuke * 
 
 Sentence was now pronounced against both John Huss 
 and his books ; and he was ordered to be degraded. The 
 bishops clothed him with the priest's garments, and put a 
 chalice into his hands. While they were thus employed, 
 he said, that " the Jews put a white garment on our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, to mock him, when Herod delivered him to 
 Pilate and he made reflections of the same kind on each 
 of the sacerdotal ornaments. When he was fully appa- 
 relled, the prelates once more exhorted him to retract ; 
 and to this exhortation he replied with his usual firmness. 
 They then caused him to come down from the stool, on 
 which he stood, and pronounced these words, O cursed 
 Judas, who having forsaken the council of peace, art en- 
 tered into that of the Jews, we take this chalice from thee, 
 in which is the blood of Jesus Christ.'^ But God was with 
 the martyr, who cried aloud, " I trust, in the mercy of 
 God, I shall drink of it this very day in his kingdom.'* 
 Then they stripped him of all his vestments, one after 
 another, uttering a curse on stripping him of each. Hav- 
 ing completed his degradation by the addition of some 
 other ridiculous insults not worthy of a distinct relation, 
 they put a paper coronet on his head, on which they had 
 painted three devils, with this inscription, arch-heretic, 
 and said, " We devote thy soul to the infernal devils." " I 
 
 ♦ We are told, that when Charles V. was solicited at the Diet of 
 Worms to arrest Luther, notwithstanding the sate conduct which he 
 had granted him, he replied, " 1 should not choose to blush with my 
 predecessor, Sigismund." — Op. Hus. torn. ii« 
 
190 
 
 Huss is burned. 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 am glad," said the martyr, " to wear this crown of ignominy 
 for the love of Him who wore a crown of thorns/* 
 
 When the painted paper was placed upon his head, one 
 of the bishops said, " Now we commit thy soul to the 
 devil." " But I," said Huss, " commit my spirit into thy 
 hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, unto thee 1 commend my 
 spirit which thou hast redeemed.''* The council now 
 ordered this sentence to be pronounced, namely, " The 
 holy synod of Constance declares, that John Huss ought to 
 be given up to the secular power, and does accordingly so 
 give him up, considering that the church of God has no 
 more to do with him." 
 
 Sigismund committed the execution of Huss to the 
 elector Palatine. The martyr, walking amidst his guards, 
 declared his innocence to the people. When he came near 
 the place of execution, he kneeled and prayed with such 
 fervour, that some of the people said aloud, '* What this 
 man has done before, we know luot ; but we hear him now 
 offer up most excellent prayers to God." The elector Pa- 
 latine prevented him from speaking to the people, and 
 ordered him to be burned. Lord Jesus,*' said Huss, 
 aloud, " I humbly suffer this cruel death for thy sake, and 
 I pray thee to forgive all my enemies/' His paper crown 
 falling from off his head, the soldiers put it t on again, 
 saying, that it must be burnt with the devils, whom he had 
 served. His neck was fastened to the stake, and the wood 
 was piled about him. The elector advanced to exhort 
 him once more on the often repeated subject of retracta- 
 tion. " What I have written and taught," — these were 
 the words of Huss, — " was in order to rescue souls from 
 the power of the devil, and to deliver them from the tyranny 
 of sin ; and I do gladly seal, what I have written and 
 taught, with my blood.'' The elector withdrawing, the 
 fire was kindled, and Huss was soon suffocated, having 
 called on God as long as he could speak. 
 
 Many other circumstances of the cruel indignity with 
 which he was treated, it is not necessary to relate. It is 
 more to our purpose to observe what iEneas Sylvius, a 
 Roman Catholic historian, records of John Huss and of 
 Jerom of ]^rague. They went," says he, to the stake, 
 as to a banquet ; not a word fell from them, which disco- 
 vered the least timidity; they sung hymns in the flames, 
 to the last gasp, without ceasing." 
 
 • Fox, Acts, &c. voi. i. p. 709. t L'Enfant, p. 429. 
 
A. D. 1415.] His character. 
 
 191 
 
 Thus by a death which has affixed eternal infamy on 
 the council of Constance, the celebrated John Huss» one 
 of the most upright and blameless of men, slept in Jesus. 
 Human depravity has not oflen produced a scene so com- 
 pletely iniquitous, and so much calculated to bring dis- 
 grace on the Roman church. The uncommon pains taken 
 to prevent his death by a retractation, demonstrates the 
 conviction of the council, that they were doing what they 
 could not justify to their own consciences. At the same 
 time, the grace of God was marvellously displayed in sup- 
 porting and strengthening the martyr, who appears indeed 
 to have exhibited all the graces of a true disciple of Christ. 
 It has often been said, that good men would not suffer per- 
 secution, if they were not so bigoted in points of sentiment. 
 But what shall we say of the case before us ? A man of 
 the most irreproachable character suffers the most cruel 
 death, attended with a severe course of insult and indig- 
 nity, even though he could not be proved to have held any 
 point of doctrine absolutely distinct from the creed of his 
 adversaries : but he was a holy man ; and the whole 
 world lieth in wickedness.* 
 
 The parts and acquirements of John Huss seem to 
 have been above mediocrity ; and yet neither of them are 
 by any means to be ranked in the highest class. A vein 
 of good sense runs through all his writings ; insomuch 
 that Luther calls him the most rational expounder of 
 Scripture he had ever met with. His natural temper was 
 mild and condescending ; all the traces of harshness or 
 severity which are to be found in this reformer must be 
 looked for in his contests with vice. — The events of his 
 life prove him to have possessed an exquisite tenderness 
 of conscience, together with great piety and almost un- 
 exampled fortitude. Moreover, as the piety of this cham- 
 pion of the faith was perfectly free from enthusiasm or 
 mysticism, so was his fortitude unsullied with vanity or 
 ostentation. A mind of equal energy and resolution, 
 and more inquisitive and solicitous concerning matters of 
 opinion, — such a mind, it may be supposed, would proba- 
 bly have got sooner rid of the chains of superstition, 
 by which the church of Rome holds its votaries in bond- 
 age. There is, however, good reason to think that he 
 had gained so considerable an insight into the prevailing 
 
 * John V. 19. 
 
192 Orders to persecute the followers of Huss, [Cent. 15. 
 
 ecclesiastical abuses, that it was not possible for him to have 
 been held much Ioniser in slavery by papal corruptions. 
 But the wicked decree of the council of Constance short- 
 ened his life. 
 
 The council, with Sig-ismund at their head, still pre- 
 served the most solemn forms of reh^^ion, though their 
 conduct continued to be destitute of humility, justice, and 
 humanity. Gerson preached a sermon concerning the 
 reformation of the church, the object of which seems to 
 have been to transfer to the general council that despotic 
 power which had been supposed, on divine authority, to 
 rest with the pope. In the mean time Jerom of Prague 
 was repeatedly examined ; and he continued to sustain the 
 rigour of his confinement with the patience and constancy 
 manifested by the primitive martyrs. 
 
 It is remarkable that a divinity professor, named Ber- 
 trand, preached on the necessity of the reformation of the 
 church, and strenuously exhorted the council to use the 
 most speedy and effectual means to correct abuses ; 
 " particularly the insatiable avarice, the excessive ambi- 
 tion, the gross ignorance, the shameful laziness, and the 
 execrable pride of the clergy." The council itself affected 
 to undertake the work of reformation. They could not 
 but be sensible that the world had a right to expect it from 
 them : but what hopes could be indulged of success from 
 men who, at the very same time^ gloried in their iniquity ; 
 and wrote imperious letters into Bohemia, charging the 
 clergy there to use all possible diligence to extirpate the 
 followers of John Huss ; that is, the very persons who had 
 been most sincerely zealous in promoting that same re- 
 formation of the clergy, which the council pretended to 
 regard as their capital object. 
 
 Something even besides solid learning and good sense 
 was requisite for a work of this nature. Gerson excelled 
 in both these qualities. A treatise, which he composed at 
 this time, on the trial of spirits, abounds with excellent 
 rules for the detection of feigned revelations and visions, 
 and contributed to prevent the canonization of some pre- 
 tended saints. But there was not in the council the unc- 
 tion from the Holy One,* of which St. John speaks; that 
 is, the true faith of Christ and real Christian humility were 
 evidently discarded in the famous assembly at Constance. 
 
 Toward the latter end of the same year, 1415, a letter 
 ♦ 1 John ii. 29, 
 
A.D.I 4 16.] Memorial from the Bohemiofis, 193 
 
 was sent to the council from Bohemia, signed by about 
 sixty principal persons, barons, noblemen, and others of 
 Bohemia,* an extract of which is as follows : '* We know 
 not from what motive ye have condemned John Huss, 
 bachelor of divinity, and preacher of the gospel. Ye have 
 put him to a cruel and ignominious death, though con- 
 victed of no heresy. We wrote in his vindication to 
 Sigismund, king of the Romans. This apology of ours 
 ought to have been communicated to your congregations ; 
 but we have been told that ye burnt it in contempt of us. 
 We protest, therefore, with the heart as well as with the 
 lips, that John Huss was a man very honest, just, and 
 orthodox ; that for many years, he conversed among us 
 with godly and blameless manners ; that during all those 
 years he explained to us ar>d to our subjects the gospel 
 and the books of the Old and New Testament, according 
 to the exposition of holy doctors approved by the church ; 
 and that he has left writings behind him in which he con- 
 stantly abhors all heresy. He taught us also to detest 
 every thing heretical. In his discourses he constantly ex- 
 horted us to the practice of peace and charity, and his own 
 life exhibited to us a distinguished example of these vir- 
 tues. After all the inquiry which we have made, we can 
 find no blame attached to the doctrine or to the life of 
 the said John Huss ; but, on the contrary, every thing 
 pious, laudable, and worthy of a true pastor. Ye have 
 not only disgraced us by his condemnation, but have 
 also unmercifully imprisoned, and perhaps already put to 
 death, Jerom of Prague, a man of most profound learning 
 and copious eloquence. Him also ye have condemned 
 unconvicted. Notwithstanding all that hath passed, we 
 are resolved to sacrifice our lives for the defence of the 
 gospel of Christ, and of his faithful preachers." This 
 letter was unanimously approved in an assembly of Bohe- 
 mian lords held at Prague. 
 
 John de Trocznow, chamberlain to Wenceslaus, king of 
 Bohemia, known by the name of Zisca, or the one-eyed, 
 was one of the Bohemian noblemen who highly resented 
 the base conduct of the council. Wenceslaus asking him 
 one day what he was musing upon, " I was thinking,'* 
 said he, " on the affront offered to our kingdom by the 
 death of John Huss.'* '* It is out of your power or mine 
 to revenge it," said the king ; *' but if you know which 
 * L'Enfant, vol. i. p. 506. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 25. s 
 
194 The council induce Jerom to recanU [Cent. 15 
 
 way to do it, exert yourself.*' From that time Zisca 
 meditated those military projects for which he was after- 
 wards so famous in history. 
 
 The council, startled at the expostulations of the Bohe- 
 mian lords, yet being still determined to maintain their 
 own unjust authority, at length, partly by promises, and 
 partly by threatenings, induced Jerom of Prague to retract 
 his sentiments. To carry this point they appear to have 
 used their utmost efforts : and it is not difficult to compre- 
 hend their motives. They were anxious to avoid the in- 
 famy which would unavoidably be connected with their 
 execution of another great and good man. Jerom's 
 retractation was, at first, ambiguous and equivocal ; after- 
 wards, explicit and circumstantial. He anathematized the 
 articles both of Wickliff and of Huss, and declared that he 
 believed every thing which the council believed. He even 
 added, that if in future any doctrine should escape from 
 him contrary to his recantation, he would submit to ever- 
 lasting punishment ! Thus was disgraced before all the 
 world, and humbled in his own eyes, a man of real piety, 
 of superior parts, and of great learning and fortitude. 
 Reader! this is an event memorable in the annals of 
 human imbecility. Consider diligently the instruction it 
 affords. The power and the mercy of God, in owning his 
 fallen servant, and in afterwards restoring and supporting 
 him, were magnified, in this instance, in a very striking 
 manner. 
 
 Jerom, notwithstanding his retractation, was remanded 
 to prison, where, however, we find he was allowed a little 
 more liberty than before.* 
 
 The council, during these transactions, made a constant 
 parade of reforming the church. On Sundays and holi- 
 days sermons were preached on that subject from time to 
 time. One preacher said, " When a prelate is consecrated, 
 they ask him if he knows the Old and New Testament. 
 Most of them, I will venture to say, cannot affirm this 
 with a safe conscience.** This same preacher inveighed, 
 in general, with great vehemence against the vices of the 
 clergy, which he might do with little danger to his own 
 person, and with as little probability of profiting his 
 audience ; because he always took care at the same time 
 to assert the unlimited power of the pope. Other sermons 
 to the same purport were preached, in which the wicked- 
 » L'Eniant, vol. i. p. 613. 
 
A. D. 1 4 1 6.] and proceed against him. 
 
 195 
 
 ness of the clergy was so keenly reproved, that we cannot 
 but conclude that their manners must have been, at that 
 time, licentious beyond measure. Dr. Abendon, of Ox- 
 ford, particularly exhorted bishops and other superior 
 clergymen to apply themselves to the study of the Scrip- 
 tures rather than to the litigious and lucrative science of 
 the canon law. He inveighed against the non-residence 
 and the simony of the prelates. The council, by their 
 silence, could bear to give a sanction to these exhortations, 
 though they had just before condemned to the flames a 
 pastor who had been singularly exempt from all these 
 vices. There were also those who, not content with the 
 unhappy retractation of Jerom, insisted upon his being 
 tried a second time ; and Gerson himself, with his usual 
 zeal against heresy, was not ashamed to use his utmost 
 efforts in promoting this most iniquitous measure. 
 
 The council actually proceeded to examine Jerom again 
 upon the articles formerly exhibited agaii^st him, and also 
 upon fresh articles, collected in Bohemia by certain Car- 
 melite friars, and now, for the first time, brought forward. 
 The prisoner refused to be sworn, because they denied him 
 the liberty of defence. 
 
 Then it was that this great man, whom a long series of 
 affliction and cruel persecution, and above all, the con- 
 sciousness of his late prevarication, had brought into the 
 lowest distress, began to exhibit that strength of mind, 
 that force of genius and eloquence, and that integrity and 
 fortitude, which will be the admiration of all ages, and 
 which Divine grace alone could have called forth at such 
 a juncture. How bitterly he had repented, and mourned 
 over his fall, and with what exercises of soul he had 
 been disciplined in secret, the intelligent Christian may 
 easily conceive, though we have no particular account on 
 record. We know, indeed, that after he had acted against 
 his conscience, he retired from the council with a very 
 heavy heart. His chains had been taken from him, but 
 the load was transferred from his body to his mind ; and 
 the caresses of those about him served only to mock his 
 sorrow. The anguish of his own reflections rendered his 
 prison a more gloomy solitude than he had ever found it 
 before. Jerom, however, was not an apostate ; and the 
 God whom he served had compassion on the infirmities of 
 his nature, and did not desert him in his humiliation. 
 No : he made his latter end to be blessed and glorious. 
 s2 
 
196 
 
 The repentance of Jerom, [Cent. 15. 
 
 ** How unjust is it," exclaimed this Christian martyr, 
 •* that ye will not hear me ! Ye have confined me three 
 hundred and forty days in several prisons, where I have 
 been cramped with irons, almost poisoned with dirt and 
 stench, and pinched with the want of all necessaries. 
 During this time ye always gave to my enemies a hearing, 
 but refused to hear me so much as a single hour. I 
 wonder not that since ye have indulged them with so long 
 and so favourable an audience, they should have had the 
 address to persuade you that I am a heretic, an enemy to 
 the faith, a persecutor of the clergy, and a villain. Thus 
 prejudiced ye have judged me unheard, and ye still refuse 
 to hear me. Remember, however, that ye are but men ; 
 and as such ye are fallible, and may suffer others to im- 
 pose on you. It is said, that all learning and all wisdom 
 is collected in this council. The more then does it behove 
 you to take heed that ye act not rashly, lest ye should be 
 found to act unjustly. T know that it is the design of this 
 council to inflict sentence of death upon me. But when 
 all is done, I am an object of small importance, who must 
 die sooner or later. Therefore, what I say is more for 
 your sakes than my own. It ill becomes the wisdom of 
 so many great men to pass an unjust decree against me, 
 and by this to establish a precedent for consequences 
 much more pernicious than my death can be." The coun- 
 cil was so far moved by his reasonings that they resolved, 
 after he had answered to the articles, to grant him liberty 
 of speech. All the articles were read to him, one after 
 another : and his answers were delivered with an acute- 
 ness and dexterity which astonished the court. When he 
 was upbraided with the grossest calumnies, he stood up, 
 with extended hands, and in a sorrowful tone cried out, 
 *' Which way. Fathers, shall I turn ? whom shall I call 
 upon for help, or to bear witness to my innocence ? Shall 
 I make my address to you ? But my persecutors have 
 entirely alienated your minds from me, by saying that I 
 am myself a persecutor of my judges. If ye give them 
 credit, I have nothing to hope for." But it being impos- 
 sible to bring the affair to an issue at that time, because 
 of the number of the accusations, the court was adjourned 
 to another day."**" 
 
 The former examination took place on May 23, 1416, 
 and he was called again before the council, according to 
 ♦ L'Eufcinl, p. 596. 
 
A. D. 1416.] and his glorious testimony to the truth. 197 
 
 adjournment, on the 26th of the same month. On that 
 day the remaining articles were read to him. After he 
 had answered all the charges, owning some, denying 
 others, and clearing up the rest, he was told, that though 
 he had been convicted of heresy by proofs and witnesses 
 most unexceptionable, yet they gave him liberty to speak, 
 so that he might defend himself or retract: ; only, if he per* 
 sisted in his errors, he must expect judgment without mercy. 
 
 Jerom, having gained this liberty of speech, though 
 with much difficulty and opposition, determined to avail 
 himself of the opportunity. He began with invoking the 
 grace of God so to govern his heart and his lips, that he 
 might advance nothing but what should conduce to the 
 salvation of his soul. *' I am not ignorant," continued he, 
 '* that many excellent men have been borne down by false 
 witnesses, and unjustly condemned." He proved this from 
 various instances adduced both from sacred and profane 
 history. " Moses," said he, '* was often scandalized by 
 his brethren ; Joseph was sold through envy ; and after- 
 wards imprisoned upon false reports. Isaiah, Daniel, and 
 almost all the prophets, were unjustly persecuted. And 
 was not John the Baptist, Jesus Christ himself, and most 
 of his apostles, put to death as ungodly, seditious persons ? 
 In other books as well as the Bible we have similar in- 
 stances. Socrates was most unjustly condemned by his 
 countrymen ; he might, indeed, have saved his life by 
 doing violence to his conscience, but he preferred death to 
 a disingenuous recantation. Plato, Anaxagoras, Zeno, 
 and many others, were maltreated in various ways.'' — ** It 
 is a shameful thing," continued Jerom, " for one priest to 
 be condemned unjustly by another; but the height of 
 iniquity is, when this is done by a council, and a college of 
 priests.'* He gave so probable an account of the reasons 
 of the malice of his adversaries, that, for some moments, 
 he seemed to have convinced his judges. " I came here 
 of my own accord,'' said he, " to justify myself, which a 
 man conscious of guilt would scarcely have done. Those 
 who know the course of my life and studies, know that my 
 time has been spent in exercises and works of a very dif- 
 ferent tendency from any thing wicked or heretical. As 
 to my sentiments, the most learned men of all times have 
 had different opinions concerning religion ; they disputed 
 about it, not to come at the truth, but to illustrate it. 
 St. Augustine and his contemporary, St. Jerom, were not 
 s 3 
 
198 
 
 Jerom again brought before 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 always of the same opinion, yet were not, on that account, 
 accused of heresy. I shall make no apology for my senti- 
 ments, because I am not conscious of maintaining any 
 error ; nor shall I retract, because it becomes not me to 
 retract the false accusations of my enemies." He then 
 extolled John Huss, vindicated the innocence of that holy 
 martyr, and declared that he was ready to suffer after his 
 example. " This pastor," said he, " by finding fault with 
 the abuses of the clergy, and the pride of the prelates, did 
 not act against the church of God.'* He declared, that 
 he hoped one day to see his accusers, and to call them to 
 judgment before the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge of 
 the world. He accused the council of an act of high 
 injustice in trying him a second time on the same indict- 
 ment, and declared that he should never acknowledge the 
 authority of the new commissioners, but should look on 
 them as judges* sitting in the chair of pestilence. " I 
 came," said he, ** to Constance to defend John Huss, be- 
 cause I had advised him to go thither, and had promised 
 to come to his assistance in case he should be oppressed. 
 Nor am I ashamed here to make public confession of 
 my own cowardice. I confess, and tremble while I think 
 of it, that through fear of^punishment by fire, I basely 
 consented, against my conscience, to the condemnation of 
 the doctrine of Wickliff and Huss.*' He then declared 
 that he disowned his recantation as the greatest crime of 
 which he had ever been guilty ; and that he was deter- 
 mined, to his last breath, to adhere to the principles of 
 those two men, which were as sound and pure, as their 
 lives were holy and blameless. He excepted, indeed, 
 Wicklitf's opinion of the sacrament, and declared his 
 agreement with the Roman church in the article of tran- 
 substantiation. Having concluded his speech, he was car- 
 ried back to prison, and was there visited by several per- 
 sons, who hoped to reclaim him, but in vain. 
 
 On May 30th, Jerom being brought again before the 
 council, the bishop of Lodi preached a sermon from these 
 words, He upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- 
 ness of heart."t He exhorted the prisoner not to show 
 himself incorrigible, as he had hitherto done. He paid 
 some tribute of praise to his extraordinary abilities, and 
 at the same time extolled the lenity and generosity with 
 which he had been treated by the council. The reader, 
 • L'Enfant, p. 583. + Mark xvi. 14. 
 
A. D. 1416.] the council and condemned. 
 
 199 
 
 now in possession of the facts, might smile at this gross 
 flattery, if the subject were less grave and less affecting. 
 Jerom, raising himself on a bench, undertook to confute 
 the preacher. He declared again, that he had done nothing 
 in his whole life of which he so bitterly repented, as his 
 recantation ; that he revoked it Irom his very soul, as 
 also the letter which he had been induced to write on that 
 subject to the Bohemians ; that he had been guilty of the 
 meanest falsehood by making that recantation ; and that 
 he esteemed John Huss a holy man. At the same time 
 he declared, that he knew no heresy to which Huss was 
 attached, unless they should call by that name his open 
 disapprobation of the vices of the clergy 5 and that if, 
 after this declaration, credit should still be given to the 
 false witness borne against him, he should consider the 
 fathers of the council themselves as unworthy of all belief. 
 *' This pious man," said Jerom, alluding to John Huss, 
 *' could not bear to see the revenues of the church, which 
 were principally designed for the maintenance of the poor, 
 and for works of liberality, spent in debauchery with 
 women, in feasts, hounds, furniture, gaudy apparel, and 
 other expenses, unworthy of Christianity." 
 
 The firmness, eloquence, and zeal of Jerom, sensibly 
 affected the council. They proposed to him once more to 
 retract. But he replied, " Ye have determined to condemn 
 me unjustly; but after my death I shall leave a sting in 
 your consciences, and a worm that shall never die. I 
 appeal to the Sovereign Judge of all the earth, in whose 
 presence ye must appear to answer me." After sentence 
 had been pronounced against him, he was delivered to the 
 secular power. He was treated with scorn and insult, 
 similar to that which his friend Huss had experienced. 
 He put the mitre with his own hands on his head,* saying 
 that he was glad to wear it for the sake of Him who was 
 crowned with one of thorns. As he went to execution, he 
 sung the Apostles' Creed, and the hymns of the church, 
 with a loud voice and a cheerful countenance. He kneeled 
 at the stake and prayed. Being bound, he raised his voice 
 and sang a paschal hymn much used in the church. t 
 
 * L'Enlant, vol. i. p. 591. 
 
 t Salve, testa dies, toto venerabilis sevo. 
 
 Qua Deus internum vicit, et astra tenens. 
 
 Hail ! happy day, and ever be adored, 
 
 When hell was conquered by great heaven's Lord. 
 
200 
 
 Jerom is burned. 
 
 [Cent. 15, 
 
 The executioner approaching to the pile behind his 
 back, lest Jerom should see him, Come forward," said 
 the martyr to him, " and put fire to it before my face.''* 
 He continued alive in the flames a full quarter of an hour. 
 And there is the most unanimous testimony given by all 
 writers, Hussite and Roman catholic, to the heroic cou- 
 rage and fortitude with which he sustained the torment. 
 When he was much scorched with the fury of the fire, and 
 almost smothered in its flame, he was heard to cry out, 
 '* O Lord God, have mercy on me ! have mercy on me !'* 
 And a little afterward, " Thou knowest how I have loved 
 thy truth." By and by the wind parted the flames, and 
 exhibited his body full of large blisters, a dreadful spec- 
 tacle to the beholders ; yet even then his lips are said to 
 have continued still moving, as if his mind was actuated 
 by intense devotion. 
 
 Poggius, a celebrated Florentine, who had been the 
 secretary of John XXIII., and was present at these scenes, 
 has left the most unequivocal testimony to the abilities, 
 fortitude, and eloquence of Jerom. I have already given 
 the most material historical facts which he mentions. 
 
 " I confess," says this writer, " T never knew the art 
 of speaking carried so near the model of ancient eloquence* 
 It was amazing to hear with what force of expression, 
 fluency of language, and excellent reasoning, he answered 
 his adversaries ; nor was I less struck with the graceful- 
 ness of his manner, the dignity of his action, and the firm- 
 ness and constancy of his whole behaviour. It grieved 
 me to think so great a man was labouring under so atro- 
 cious an accusation. Whether this accusation be just or 
 not, God knows : I make no inquiry into the merits of the 
 case ; I submit to those who know more of it than I do." 
 
 The assembly/' continues Poggius, " was very unruly 
 and disorderly ; yet it is incredible with what acuteness 
 the prisoner answered, and with what surprising dexterity 
 he warded off every stroke of his adversaries. Nothing 
 escaped him : his whole behaviour was truly great and 
 pious. 
 
 " He took great pains to show that very little credit 
 was due to the witnesses produced against him. He laid 
 open the sources of their hatred to him ; and in that 
 way made a strong impression on the minds of his hearers 
 He lamented the cruel and unjust death of that holy man, 
 UEdifmt, vol. i. p. 599. 
 
A. D. 1416.] Poggiuss testimony respecting him, 201 
 
 John Huss, and said he was armed with a full resolution 
 to follow the steps of that blessed martyr. 
 
 It was impossible to hear this pathetic orator without 
 emotion. Every ear was captivated, and every heart 
 touched. Throughout his whole oration he showed a 
 m.ost amazing strength of memory. He had been con- 
 fined almost a year in a dungeon, the severity of which 
 usage he complained of, but in the language of a great 
 and good man. In this horrid place he was deprived of 
 bool<s and paper, yet notwithstanding this, and the con- 
 stant anxiety of his mind, he was no more at a loss for 
 proper authorities and quotations, than if he had spent the 
 intermediate time at leisure in his study. 
 
 ** His voice was sweet and full, and his action every 
 way proper either to express indignation, or to raise pity ; 
 but he made no affected application to the passions. 
 Firm and intrepid he stood before the council, collected 
 in himself, and not only contemning, but seeming desirous 
 of death. The greatest character in ancient story could 
 not possibly have exceeded him. If there be any justice in 
 history, this man will be admired by all posterity. I call 
 him a prodigious man, and the epithet is not extravagant. 
 I was an eyewitness of his whole behaviour, and could 
 easily be more prolix on a subject so copious."* 
 
 Such is the testimony of this ingenuous papist to an 
 adversary. His friend Aretin, to whom he wrote the let- 
 ter, of which the above is an extract, was much less can- 
 did. " You attribute,'' says he, " to this man more than 
 I could wish. You ought, at least, to write more cau- 
 tiously of these things." It has been well observed, that 
 Poggius would probably have written more cautiously had 
 he written a few days afterward. But his letter is dated 
 on the very day of Jeroms execution. It came warm 
 from the writer's heart, and proves sufficiently what he 
 thought of the council of Constance and their proceedings. 
 
 Notwithstanding this valuable memoir, I could wish to 
 have been enabled to give a more edifying account of the 
 martyrdom of Jerom : but in this point the materials of 
 history are defective. We must ever expect that writers 
 will record what they esteem important ; and pass over 
 what they conceive is better buried in oblivion. Unless, 
 therefore, they have some taste for evangelical principles, 
 and evangelical practice, they will take no notice of many 
 • Letter of Poggius to Aretin. 
 
^02 
 
 Reasons why the council [Cent. 15. 
 
 things, which to them appear bordering upon fanaticism or 
 enthusiasm. In the instance before us, indeed, it is very pro- 
 bable, that Jerom himself had no very accurate or system- 
 atical acquaintance with the truth of the gospel. The 
 knowledge, however, which he had, doubtless respected 
 the essential doctrines of Christianity ; and his spirit and 
 constancy in suffering, his dependence on the grace of 
 Christ, his joyful expectation of a blessed resurrection, 
 and his humble confession of sinfulness and unworthiness, 
 sufficiently distinguish him from the stoic philosopher, or 
 the mere moralist, who, whatever portion he may have of 
 the first of these qualities, is totally void of all the rest. 
 It is remarkable, that Poggius observes, in the same letter, 
 that " Jerom met his fate with a cheerful countenance and 
 with MORE THAN STOICAL coustaucy." 
 
 Let the reader now compare the caution and candour of 
 Poggius the Florentine, with the infatuated bigotry of 
 Theodoric Vrie, a monk, who flourished at the same time. 
 His report of Jerom's execution is, " That holding the 
 crown that was given him, a crown of dishonour, abomi- 
 nation, and turpitude, he uttered these words ; The Lord 
 Jesus Christ, my God, was crowned for my sake with a 
 crown of thorns, and I will gladly wear this crown for his 
 glory. After having said this, he kneeled down for a 
 few minutes, and then rising up, he sang the creed from 
 the beginning to the erd. Thus did the wretched man 
 excite the compassion of all that saw him go along in that 
 miserable condition, without taking any compassion of 
 himself Then being led to the stake, he was stripped of 
 his clothes, and bound to it ; and there, being all naked, 
 in the midst of the scorchihg flames he sang those words ; 
 0 Lord, into thy hands T resign my spirit ; and just as he 
 was saying. Thou hast redeemed us, he was suffocated by 
 the flame and the smoke, and gave up his wretched soul. 
 Thus did this heretical miscreant resign his miserable 
 spirit to be burnt everlastingly in the bottomless pit."* 
 
 Learned men of a speculative turn, and of the most 
 impartial and dispassionate temper, have been puzzled to 
 account for the treatment these good men met with from 
 the council of Constance. Jerom sutfered as an associate 
 and supporter of Huss ; and in regard to the latter, the 
 sentence of the council is express, that he was a notori- 
 ous, scandalous, obstinate, incorrigible heretic. L'Enfant, 
 • M. Von der Hardt, torn. i. 
 
A. D. 1416.] proceeded against Huss and Jerom, 203 
 
 after a most careful and judicious review of all the circum- 
 stances relative to this sentence, is decidedly of opinion 
 that the accusers failed in making out their charges, and 
 that the council therefore were not justified in passing so 
 severe and cruel a sentence. There is no doubt that both 
 Huss and Jerom were victims to the rage and injustice of 
 their unrelenting enemies. But still, in public transac- 
 tions, even the most abandoned of mankind do not usually 
 lay aside all regard to principles or to the judgment of 
 others. 
 
 Several motives, not openly avowed by the council, have 
 been supposed to influence their minds in the condemna- 
 tion of John Huss : 
 
 1. He always refused to subscribe to the condemnation 
 of Wickliff; and, on many occasions, he had spoken of 
 him as a holy man. And though he did not agree with 
 the English reformer respecting the eucharist, he appears 
 to have been a thorough Wicklifhte in all those matters 
 which relate to the prevailing abuses of ecclesiastical 
 power. Hence it is easy to understand how obnoxious he 
 must have been to corrupt pontiffs and cardinals ; and, in 
 general, to ambitious and domineering dignitaries of the 
 established hierarchy. L'Enfant speaks out, when he 
 says, '* the soundest part of the council of Constance were 
 not materially different from so many Wickliffites and Huss- 
 ites.'' The sound part, however, it is to be feared, was 
 but a small part of the whole ; and every one must see 
 that by far the greater part of that assembly would concur 
 in thinking it high time to silence a man who was conti- 
 nually exclaiming against the tyranny and irregularities of 
 the clergy. 
 
 2. John Huss, by his sermons, his writings, and his 
 conversation, had certainly contributed to render the Romish 
 clergy in Bohemia odious and contemptible in the eyes of 
 the people. The bishops, therefore, together with the sacer- 
 dotal and monastic orders, were sensible that their honours 
 and advantages, their credit and authority, would be in the 
 greatest danger, if this zealous reformer should be allowed 
 to return into his own country, and declaim with his usual 
 freedom. The true cause of the commotions, which ex- 
 isted in Bohemia, is allowed by all the authors of that 
 time, without a single exception, to have been the scan- 
 dalous conduct of the popes, the subversion of discipline, 
 and the entire corruption of the whole ecclesiastical state. 
 
204 Corrupt state of the Romish church. [Cent. 15. 
 
 A complete reformation, therefore, was the only adequate 
 remedy. But this, as the event proved, was not to be 
 expected from a corrupt hierarchy. It was far more pro- 
 bable that the indignant interested ecclesiastics should unite 
 to accomplish the ruin of the man who exposed their am- 
 bition, tyranny, and avarice. For this very purpose, we 
 are told, the wicked clergy of Bohemia and Moravia, and 
 especially the bishops and abbots, combined together ; and 
 even contributed sums of money to be employed in pro- 
 curing the condemnation and death of Huss ; and all this, 
 because they could not bear his faithful, honest advice and 
 admonition, and because he detected their abominable 
 pride, simony, avarice, and debauchery.* 
 
 3. That some persons of the greatest weight in the 
 council were actually influenced by these motives is not a 
 matter of mere conjecture. L'Enfant has given us the 
 very words, in Latin, spoken by the emperor to the 
 council, after the examination of Huss. The translation of 
 them is as follows : 
 
 " You have heard the articles laid to the charge of John 
 Huss. They are grievous, numerous, and proved not only 
 by credible witnesses, but by his own confession. In my 
 opinion, there is not a single one among them which does 
 not call for the punishment of fire. If therefore he do not 
 retract all, I am for having him burnt. And even though 
 he should obey the council, I am of opinion, that he should 
 be forbid to preach, and instruct, or ever to set foot again 
 in the kingdom of Bohemia. For if he be suffered to 
 preach, and especially in Bohemia, where he has a strong 
 party, he will not fail to return to his natural bent, and 
 even to sow new errors worse than the former. Moreover, 
 I am of opinion, that the condemnation of his errors in Bo- 
 hemia ought to be sent to my brother the king of Bohemia, 
 to Poland, and to other countries where this doctrine pre- 
 vails; with orders to cause all those who shall continue to 
 believe and teach it, to be punished by the ecclesiastical 
 authority, and by the secular arm jointly. There is no 
 remedy for this evil, but by thus cutting the branches as 
 well as pulling up the root. Moreover, it is absolutely ne- 
 cessary that the bishops and other prelates, who have 
 laboured here for the extirpation of this heresy, be recom- 
 mended by the suffrages of the whole council to their sove- 
 reigns. Lastly," says the emperor, ** if there are any of 
 * L'Enfant. Mosheim. Diar. Hiisslt. 
 
A. D. 1416.] Nominalists and realists. 
 
 205 
 
 John Huss's friends here at Constance, they ou^ht to be 
 restrained with all due severity, but especially his disciple 
 Jerom." Whereupon, some said, that Jerom of Prague 
 might perhaps be brought to reason by the punishment of 
 
 his MASTER 
 
 This lays open the true reason of that treatment, (see 
 p. 185,) which Huss was to have experienced in case he 
 had retracted. The council dreaded his return to Bohe- 
 mia. Even in the iniquitous sentence which they passed 
 against him, they had the incautious effrontery to declare 
 that John Huss was not a true preacher of the gospel of 
 Christ, according to the exposition of holy doctors, but 
 rather one who in his public discourses seduced the Chris- 
 tian people of Bohemia by his compilations from the 
 
 SCRIPTURES.* 
 
 4. It is a lamentable truth, that in those days the dis- 
 putes concerning the most abstract metaphysical subtilties 
 were carried to such a height by the contending parties, as 
 to produce the greatest bitterness and animosity. Huss 
 was attached to the party of the Realists, as they were 
 then called ; and opposed with great warmth his adver- 
 saries the Nominalists. This circumstance is supposed 
 to have contributed not a little to the unhappy fate of this 
 pious Bohemian. 
 
 It is needless to detain the reader with a minute detail 
 of the distinctions between them. Their principal point of 
 contention seems to have been, the existence or non-ex- 
 istence of abstract or universal ideas ! Strange infatua- 
 tion I that a difference of opinion on such abstruse and 
 obscure subj.ects as these should ever have been supposed 
 to amount to the sin against the Holy Ghost, or to a 
 mortal offence against God, the Christian religion, justice, 
 and the commonwealth 1 Can this blindness proceed 
 from any other cause than the influence of Satan, who 
 diverts us from good things, and makes us apply to vain 
 speculations, which neither inspire us with devotion to- 
 wards God, nor with love and charity towards our neigh* 
 bour?^' — Such is the fine reflection of the anonymous author 
 of the Examination of John de Wesalia.f 
 
 The angry disputations of these discordant sects eonti- 
 uued till the appearance of Luther, who, by introducing 
 
 • Vid. Fascicul. rer. Sententia defin. contra Huss. p. 302. 
 
 t Fascicul. rer. exp. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 25. t 
 
On the conduct oj Huss, 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 more important subjects, soon put an end to the mutual 
 wranglings of the scholastic divmes. 
 
 L'Enfant mentions several medals which appear to have 
 been struck for the purpose of commemorating the virtues 
 of Huss. Two were preserved at Magdeburg, which have 
 on one side the image of John Huss, with his beard and 
 mitre, with a book in his right hand, which Luther, in a 
 priest's habit, bare-headed and clasping the Bible with 
 both hands, looks on with pleasure. A third was in the 
 private cabinet of a German Count. On one side it repre- 
 sents Huss, with these words. Sola Deo acceptos nos facit 
 esse fides — Faith alone renders us acceptable to God ; and 
 on the other side Luther, with these words, Pestis eram, 
 vivus ; moriens ero mors tua. Papa — I was a plague to 
 thee, O Pope, whilst living, and will be thy death when I 
 die. 
 
 The encomium passed by the same very impartial his- 
 torian, on the private letters of Huss, is well worthy of 
 notice : " There is not a papist nor a protestant, I will 
 venture to say, not a Turk, nor a pagan, who, notwith- 
 standing the hasty expressions dropped now and then in 
 his letters, does not admire them for the dignity and piety 
 of his sentiments, the tenderness of his conscience, his cha- 
 rity towards his enemies, his affection and fidelity to his 
 friends, his gratitude to his benefactors, and above all his 
 constancy of mind, accompanied with the most extraordi- 
 nary modesty and humility.'' 
 
 After all, a very learned and profound ecclesiastical his- 
 torian says, that there did appear in the conduct of Huss, 
 ONE MARK OF HERESY, which, according to the maxims of 
 that age, might expose him to condemnation with some 
 appearance of justice ; namely, his inflexible obstinacy ; 
 which the church of Rome always considered as a grievous 
 heresy, even in those whose errors were of little moment.* 
 Huss refused to abjure his errors ; and in so doing he re- 
 sisted that council which was supposed to represent the 
 catholic church. Moreover, he intimated with sufficient 
 plainness that the church was fallible. All this was cer- 
 tainly highly criminal and intolerably heretical in the eyes 
 of papists. For it became a dutiful son of the church to 
 submit, without any exception, his own judgment to the 
 judgment of his holy mother, and to believe firmly in her 
 • Mosh. Historia Eccl. p. 610. Not. (a). 
 
A. D. 1416.] Sermon against the vices of ecclesiastics, 207 
 
 infallibility. The Roman church for many years had 
 observed the rule of Pliny :* " In case of obstinate persever- 
 ance I ordered them to be executed. For this I had no 
 doubt, that a sullen and obstinate inflexibility called for 
 the veng-eance of the magistrate 
 
 Among other valuable purposes to which the council of 
 Constance was rendered subservient under Divine Provi- 
 dence, this was not of the least importance, that the wick- 
 edness of the ecclesiastical system, then prevalent in Eu- 
 rope, was demonstrated before all the world. All the 
 knowledge and ability, which Europe could furnish, was 
 collected at Constance ; yet the able and learned fathers 
 of this council were so far from reforming the evils of what 
 they called the church, that they proved it to be Antichrist 
 more certainly than ever. It could no longer be said, that 
 the particular character of such or such popes was the 
 cause of the crimes of the clergy ; the whole of the then 
 clerical establishment concurred in the support of iniquity. 
 
 I have already taken notice of the confession which, in 
 the sermon preached at Constance, they themselves made, 
 of the extreme wickedness of the outward church. Another 
 remarkable instance of the same kind occurred on Whitsun- 
 day, the seventh of June, a very little time after the death 
 of Jerom. A doctor preached a sermon from these words : 
 They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." ** Instead of 
 the seven gifts,'' says the preacher, " which God granted 
 to the apostles, I fear that the devil keeps his pentecost 
 in the hearts of most of the clergy, and that he has in- 
 spired them with the seven contrary vices." He then 
 grave a cataloMC of those vices. 
 
 But let not malicious infidelity exult in these incontro- 
 vertible proofs of the coi-rupt state of the church. One of 
 the essential doctrines of Christianity, namely, original sin, 
 or the native depravity of man, as an apostate creature, is 
 strongly illustrated by the general wickedness of merely 
 nominal Christians. In the Roman Church, the real 
 gospel itself was then neither understood, nor preached, 
 nor valued. Hence the natural wickedness of mankind 
 met with no resistance : even the papists could see that the 
 whole ecclesiastical system was vicious, in its head and 
 members, yet they trifled respecting sins with the most 
 scandalous levity, and persecuted to death those very 
 
 * See vol. i. p. 107, of this History. 
 T 2 
 
208 
 
 Reflections, 
 
 persons, who earnestly opposed the corniption of the 
 times. 
 
 All this, however, affords no just ground of triumph to 
 the infidel. The mere nominal Christian is, in a scriptu- 
 ral sense, an unbeliever as well as himself ; and while 
 neither of these characters overcomes the world, because 
 he has not true faith,* it is abundantly evident, and I 
 trust it has appeared so from the course of this history, 
 that where real Christianity is understood, and received, 
 there sincerity, and all genuine virtues, do actually thrive 
 and adorn the gospel. 
 
 In the year 1417, on the day of Epiphany, a sermon 
 was preached in full council, which described the abuses 
 of the church in so strong a manner, that if the preacher 
 had intended to justify the reformation, attempted by 
 Huss and Jerom, and completed a hundred years after in 
 several parts of Europe by the protestant reformers, he 
 could not have added much to the vehemence of his invec- 
 tives. The clergy were by him taxed with pride and the 
 love ofpower, with the bad distribution of benefices, the mal- 
 administration of the sacraments, the neglect of the study of 
 the Scriptures and of the preaching of the gospel, and the 
 injustice of their ecclesiastical decrees. *' Abomination,*' 
 cried he, ** appears even within these walls, nor are we 
 without instances both of the most scandalous passions, 
 and the basest actions." Could a preacher have been 
 permitted with impunity to draw so frightful a picture in 
 the face of the outward church in full council, if it had not 
 been corrupt in the extreme ; and must there not have been 
 a radical apostasy from the real faith of Christ, where such 
 fruits were suffered to abound ? 
 
 Whether this account may be thought to bear too hard 
 upon the character of the clergy at that time in general, 
 and of the council in particular, let the reader judge when 
 he has attended to a few extracts from a sermon of Ber- 
 nard, a French abbot. This divine told the council, that, 
 " with very few exceptions, they were an assembly of Pha- 
 risees, who, under the mask of processions, and other ex- 
 ternal acts of devotion, made a farce of religion and the 
 church." " I am sorry,'' proceeds he, " to say it, that in 
 our days the catholic faith is reduced to nothing ; hope is 
 turned into a rash presumption, and the love of God and 
 our neighbour is quite extinct. Among the laity, false- 
 * 1 John V. 4, 5. 
 
A. D. 1417.] Persecution against the Hussites, 209 
 
 hood bears the chief sway ; and avarice predominates 
 among" the clergy. Among the prelates there is nothing 
 but malice^ iniquity, &c. At the pope's court there is no 
 sanctity ; law-suits and quarrels being the felicity of that 
 court, and imposture its delight." He then exhorted 
 them to make a real reformation, to punish the guilty, and 
 to choose a good pope. This zealous preacher saw not 
 the root of all these evils, namely, the lamentable depar- 
 ture from Christian principles ; and, like many other 
 declaimers against vice, he knew no remedy but the argu- 
 ments of mere moral suasion and external discipline. The 
 power of the blood of Christ, in purging the conscience* 
 from dead works to serve the living God, seems to have 
 been generally unknown at that time ; and, till men are 
 brought to know something of their own native depravity, 
 they are always too proud to submit to the righteousness 
 of God.t 
 
 The Bohemian nobiLty, joined by the university of 
 Prague, as already noticed, wrote in strong terms to the 
 council of Constance, complaining of their having com- 
 mitted Huss to the flames. The council had threatened all 
 who should favour his doctrines, and now issued a cir- 
 cular, commanding the adherents of the papal communion 
 in Bohemia to assist, by every means in their power, in 
 the extermination of all heretics. 
 
 This exposed the Hussites to new and dreadful perse- 
 cutions. Their property was confiscated, and a reward 
 offered for their apprehension. Hundreds were cast into 
 the mines, some were drowned, and others burned. A 
 Hussite clergyman, after many sufferings, was placed, with 
 three farmers and four boys, on a pile of wood. Being 
 exhorted to abjure, he replied, " God forbid ! we would, 
 if it were possible, endure death not once only, but a 
 hundred times, rather than deny the truth of the gospel 
 solemnly revealed in the Bible.'' While the fire was kin- 
 dling, the clergyman, clasping the children in his arms, 
 began a hymn of praise, in which all joined, till they were 
 suffocated by the flames. 
 
 Nor were these cruelties confined to Bohemia. The rage 
 of their enemies pursued the Hussites into foreign coun- 
 tries. Kraso, a rich merchant of Prague, when at Bres- 
 lau, in Silesia, on business, in the course of conversation 
 
 • Heb. ix. 
 
 t3 
 
 t Rom. X. 
 
210 
 
 The Hussites take up arms. 
 
 [Cent. 15, 
 
 showed his attachment to the doctrines preached by 
 Huss. He was in consequence taken up and thrown into 
 prison. The next day a student from Prague was also 
 imprisoned on a similar charge. Kraso, observmg his 
 companion greatly dejected through fear of the torture he 
 might have to suffer, thus addressed him : My brother, 
 how great is the honour to bear a public testimony for 
 Lord Jesus ! Let us cheerfully suffer for his sake. The 
 conflict is short — the reward eternal. Let us remember 
 the cruel death the Lord Jesus Christ endured, when he 
 shed his precious and innocent blood for our redemption ; 
 and let us call to mind the cloud of witnesses who have 
 suffered martyrdom for the truth." The student, however, 
 retracted, but the merchant remained faithful, and was led 
 to the stake. 
 
 Not all, however, who venerated the name of Huss, and 
 desired a reform in rehgion, were imbued with the meek 
 and holy spirit of the gospel, which teaches the true fol- 
 lowers of the Saviour to deny themselves, and patiently 
 to suffer for his sake. Not all were endowed with the 
 zeal and fortitude of martyrs, and ready, like their leader 
 and others, rather to sacrifice their lives than disgrace the 
 gospel of truth by employing carnal weapons in its de- 
 fence. Many, indeed, were sufficiently enlightened to dis- 
 cern the falsehood and absurdity of the tenets and rites 
 imposed on them under the name of religion, and to detect 
 the perfidy and vices of those who claimed it as their sole 
 prerogative to explain the Holy Scriptures, and to controul 
 the faith of the nation ; but they were still, in a great mea- 
 sure, ignorant of the true nature of the kingdom of Christ, 
 which is not to be extended by the sword of the warrior 
 or the din of arms, but by the sword of the Spirit, which 
 is the word of God ; and by the small still voice, speaking 
 to the heart and conscience, and teaching its subjects that 
 heavenly wisdom " which is pure, peaceable, gentle, and 
 easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without 
 hypocrisy, and without partiality." 
 
 It is desirable to anticipate a little, to give a con- 
 nected view of the proceedings of the followers of Huss 
 in consequence of these persecutions. The council of 
 Constance was dissolved in 14 J 8. Two years after- 
 wards, pope Martin V. published an edict accusing the 
 Hussites of the most damnable heresies, and calling 
 upon emperors, kinjjs, and princes, for the sake of the 
 
A. D. 1 420.] Calixtinea and Tahorites, 
 
 211 
 
 wounds of Jesus, and their own eternal salvation," to 
 assist in their extirpation. 
 
 Those among the Hussites who were disposed to defend 
 their religious liberties by force of arms, considered this 
 as the proper moment for commencing their operations. 
 Under their renowned leader, Zisca, they carried on war 
 for thirteen years. Without entering into details, it is 
 sufficient to remark, that at that time they found them- 
 selves in possession of the whole of Bohemia. Zisca died 
 in 1424, but was succeeded by Procop, who became 
 the leader of the Hussites. Among those who had ranged 
 themselves under the standard of Zisca there existed much 
 diversity of opinion. Persons of rank and learning in- 
 sisted chiefly, and almost exclusively, on the restitution 
 of the cup in the eucharist to the laity, and were called 
 CALIXTINES. Others contended for the abolition of all 
 popish errors and ceremonies. These, for the sake of greater 
 safety, assembled for divine worship on a mountain for- 
 tified by Zisca, and called Tabor. From this circum- 
 stance they received the name of TABORITES. Their 
 party consisted of the most upright followers of Huss, and 
 was daily augmented by vast numbers, who flocked to them 
 from all parts of Moravia and Bohemia. They separated 
 from the Calixtines, and were persecuted by them.* 
 
 It was a gloomy season when the majority of those, 
 who had the greatest sincerity in rehgion, made their 
 capital object to be af sacramental circumstance, though 
 certainly scriptural and perfectly well founded. A gloomy 
 season, truly ! when two men of talents and learning, and 
 uncommonly honest and upright, lost their lives for the 
 support of a good conscience ; and when even these, who, 
 it is not to be doubted, died in the faith of Jesus, pos- 
 sessed little clearness of understanding in that faith, and 
 were incumbered with so much rubbish of superstition, as 
 to be incapable of giving clear and effectual instruction 
 to their followers and admirers. And further, when the 
 general mass of Christians, even all the dignitaries assem- 
 bled at Constance, could do no more than acknowledge 
 the necessity of reformation, while many of them 
 
 * This brief sketch of the early circumstances connected with the 
 Reformation in Bohemia, in the present edition, is taken from the 
 Rev. J. Holmes's History of the Proiestant church of the United 
 Brethren, being chiefly drawn from Crantz. — Ed. 
 
 t Communion in both kinds. 
 
212 The council elect a pope, Martin V, [Cent. 15. 
 
 constantly practised the foulest abominations, and were 
 ready to burn in the flames, as heretics, any persons whose 
 knowledge and zeal, and morals and conduct, conveyed, 
 by a laudable contrast, a censure on their own principles 
 and practice. The preciousness of real g;ospel-light, and 
 the duty of cherishing* and obeying it, when it is once 
 understood, was never more strikingly evinced. 
 
 To return to the details respecting the council of 
 Constance. It was not probable that the council should 
 be able to restore peace and good order to Bohemia ; 
 for they themselves, in a great measure, had been the 
 cause of the existing troubles. It is, however, true that 
 they left no stone unturned in their endeavours to re- 
 establish the corrupt custom of administering the sacra- 
 ment in one kind only. By their order Gerson composed 
 a treatise against the communion in both kinds, which 
 was publicly read in the assembly; but which, in fact, 
 was little calculated to compose the differences. Con- 
 scious of the difficulty of supporting his main point by the 
 authority of Scripture alone, he observes, that, in order 
 to understand revelation aright, recourse should be had to 
 human laws, decrees, and the glosses of holy doctors. He 
 maintains, that those who presume to interpret Scripture 
 contrary to what is taught in the Scripture, as declared 
 BY THE CHURCH, and obscrvcd by the faithful, ought to be 
 severely punished, rather than dealt with by argument. 
 The whole treatise was unworthy of the learning and 
 sagacity of Gerson, and deserved no notice here, except 
 for the purpose of showing under what strong delusions 
 those are permitted to lie who love not the truth, but have 
 pleasure in unrighteousness. The judicious L'Enfant, 
 who is rarely liberal in his censures, breaks out on occa- 
 sion of the last-mentioned sentiment of Gerson in the fol- 
 lowing terms. " I own 1 do not understand Gerson's 
 logic on this occasion. He draws a very blunt and rash 
 inference ; especially as it was the most improper thing in 
 the world he could say to induce the Hussites of Bohemia 
 to come to Constance, whither they were summoned." 
 
 The five nations, for the Spaniards were now added 
 to the French, the Germans, the English, and the Italians, 
 proceeded to elect a po))e ; and the choice fell upon Otho 
 de Colonna, who took the name of Martin V. This hap- 
 pened in the latter end of the year 1417. All these na- 
 tions, on the day after the pope's coronation, concurred 
 
A. D. 1417.] He evades any reformation, 213 
 
 in a resolution to demand of the new pope the reformation 
 of the church, which he had promised to make after he 
 should be elected. He gave them good words, but did 
 nothing effectual. The Germans were uneasy at his de- 
 lays, and so were the French ; though these, by joining 
 with the Italians and the Spaniards, had caused the defer- 
 ring of the reformation till after the election of a pope. 
 The answer which Sigismund gave to the French was 
 severe, but just. " When I urged you that the church 
 might be reformed before the pope was elected, you would 
 not consent : you would have a pope before the reform- 
 ation. Go to him yourselves. I have not the same power 
 which I had while the see was vacant."* It is the office 
 of history to do justice to all characters ; on which ac- 
 count it behoves us to declare, that Sigismund, grossly 
 perfidious as he had shown himself in regard to Huss, 
 appears to have been sincerely desirous of a partial re- 
 formation in the church. He had neither the knowledge 
 nor the zeal sufficient to lead him to any thing like an 
 evangelical reformation 5 but, with many other popish 
 princes, he wished to set bounds to the tyranny of the 
 pope, to reduce him from the state of a despot to that of 
 a limited monarch, to check his encroachments on the 
 rights and property both of sovereigns and of subjects, 
 and to bring the outward church into a state of decorum 
 and order. Sigismund certainly intended all this : and if 
 he failed of obtaining the blessing of God even on his 
 laudable purposes, the Christian reader will recollect that 
 this man persecuted the church of God, lived wickedly, 
 and hated the real principles of the gospel of Christ. 
 Before the election of Martin V., the emperor, with the 
 Germans and the English, was zealous that the reform- 
 ation of the church should precede the election of a new 
 pontiff ; and Robert Halam, bishop of Salisbury, had dis- 
 tinguished himself particularly on this point. He was the 
 favourite of the emperor ; but his death at Constance gave 
 a fatal blow to the designs of those who were anxious to 
 oppose the ambition of the Italians. Not only the French 
 but even the English, strenuous as they had been for the 
 correction of abuses while Halam lived, deserted the em- 
 peror ; and he was left in a minority with his Germans, 
 The memorial of this last nation deserves to be mentioned. 
 They complained that " the popes had assumed to 
 * L'Enfant, vol. ii. p. 207. 
 
214 Remarks. [Cent 15. 
 
 themselves the judgment of all causes both ecclesiastical 
 and civil ; that by a horrid abuse, even more scandalous 
 than simony, they taxed and rated crimes Hke merchandise, 
 selhng pardons of sins for ready money, and granting in- 
 dulgences altogether unusual ; that they admitted persons of 
 licentious manners into sacred orders, and that since offices 
 were become thus saleable, no one thought knowledge and 
 virtue to be necessary qualifications." 
 
 It is extraordinary, that any modern writers should un- 
 dertake to vindicate the papacy from the charges of pro- 
 testants, when it appears repeatedly, that nothing could be 
 said worse of it by its enemies, than what was confessed by 
 the very members of the church of Rome. It is very true 
 that the conduct of these members of the Romish church 
 was in the main inconsistent with their professions and 
 declarations. With what face could these Germans charge 
 Huss with heresy, for saying the very same things which 
 they themselves said ? And why should Luther be con- 
 demned as too severe against the practice of indulgences, 
 when he only represented that grand corruption in the 
 same light in which it had been openly represented by his 
 ancestors in this council ? But so imperious were the 
 Italian cardinals, that they used very threatening language, 
 accusing both the emperor, and those who favoured his 
 views, of heresy. They also added craft to their menaces, 
 and by degrees drew over the German deputies themselves 
 to their party ; and at length Sigismund, being left alone, 
 consented that the choice of a pope should be previous to 
 the reformation. This was all that the Italians desired ; 
 for Martin and his cardinals contrived to elude the wishes 
 of the nations for reform. And thus, the French, who, 
 with Gerson as their adviser, had condemned the upright 
 servants of God, the Germans, who, with Sigismund at 
 their head, had supported the accusation against them, and 
 the English, who had persecuted the followers of Wickliff, 
 and joined in the cry against Huss and Jerom, all these 
 very deservedly became the dupes of papal artifice ; and 
 the nations were destined for another century to groan 
 under one of the most intolerable of all governments. 
 The glory of God, the truths of the gospel, and the real 
 kingdom of Jesus Christ, being kept out of sight by all 
 parties, none of them regarding reformation much further 
 than it concerned their own interested views, nothing that 
 deserved the name of reformation ensued. Among the 
 
A. D. 1418.] The council of Constance dissolved. 215 
 
 valuable lessons to be learnt from the history of the council 
 of Constance, this is one ; namely, that those who really 
 mean to serve God and his Christ, and to profit mankind in 
 reliorion, whether they be pastors, or synods, must begin, if 
 the people be in a state of ignorance, with explaining the 
 written word of God ; they must plainly set forth the es 
 sential doctrines of salvation by Jesus Christ, and then 
 erect the whole structure of the reformation upon those 
 doctrines. 
 
 How void the council was of all true knowledge of the 
 scripture-doctrines of salvation, will appear from the bull, 
 by which the pope dissolved that assembly in 1418. An 
 extract of it is as follows : " Martin, bishop, servant of the 
 servants of God, at the request of the sacred council, we 
 dismiss it. Moreover, by the authority of Almighty God, 
 and of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and by 
 our own authority, we grant to all the members of the 
 council plenary absolution of all their sins once in their 
 lives, so that every one of them, within two months after 
 the notification of this privilege has come to his knowledge, 
 may enjoy the benefit of the said absolution in form. We 
 also grant them the same privilege in the moment of death ; 
 and we extend it to the domestics, as well as to the mas- 
 ters, on condition, that from the day of the notification, 
 both the one and the other fast every Friday, during a 
 whole year, for the absolution granted to them while alive; 
 and another year for their absolution in the moment of 
 death, unless there be some lawful impediment, in which 
 case they shall do other works of piety. And after the 
 second year they shall be obliged to fast on Fridays during 
 life, or to do some other acts of piety, on pain of incurring 
 the displeasure of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles 
 St. Peter and St. Paul." 
 
 I hasten to close the history of this council, because in 
 the latter part of their proceedings there is little that falls 
 within my plan. Martin V._, by making agreements with 
 the nations separately, found means to defeat all attempts 
 after any thing that might deserve the name of a general 
 and effectual reformation. But though this new pontiff 
 seemed reluctant and dilatory in correcting abiises, he soon 
 discovered a disposition sufficiently active in supporting 
 his own authority. 
 
 He persecuted the Hussites most vigorously. These, 
 it has already been said, were divided into two bodies, the 
 
216 
 
 The Hussite war, [Cent. 15. 
 
 Calixtines,* who differed from the church of Rome only 
 in the affair of the new communion in both kinds; and 
 the Taborites, who are thought to have much resembled 
 the Waldenses. A greater encomium, the circumstances 
 of those times being fully considered, could scarcely be 
 passed upon them. But it is difficult to reconcile this 
 encomium with the accounts of their military actions. 
 Most probably, wheat was mixed with the tares ; and 
 while one part of the people lived the life of " the faith of 
 the Son of God,"t the other could produce few marks of 
 zeal in the cause of religion, except of a violent kind. 
 
 Under the auspices of the council of Constance, pagan- 
 ism was extirpated in Samogitia by the king of Poland. 
 Historical justice required that this fact should be men- 
 tioned; — yet, I know no evidences of real conversion 
 among the Samogitians ; but, the very introduction of 
 Christian formalities among idolaters ought to be esteemed 
 a considerable advantage to a nation. 
 
 If the materials of evangelical history appear by no 
 means in quantity proportioned to the length of this chap- 
 ter, the importance of the salutary lessons connected with 
 the information it contains, may be thought a sufficient 
 apology for the defect. A great effort was made by the 
 united wisdom of Europe, but in vain, to effect that refor- 
 mation, which God alone in his own time produced in 
 such a manner, as to illustrate the divine declaration, sal- 
 vation is " not by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord 
 of hosts."J 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 THE HUSSITES, 
 UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 We have seen with what indignation the Bohemians 
 heard of the murder of John Huss and Jerom of Prague. 
 To this cause historians ascribe the commencement of the 
 Hussite war, which was carried on by the Bohemians for 
 three years under the famous Zisca, and for ten years after 
 hts death. 
 
 * From calix.' the cup. 
 + Zech. iv. 6. 
 
 t Gal. ii 20. 
 
A. D. l433.]Breach between the Calixtines and Taborites. 217 
 
 The historian of the Church of Christ withdraws from 
 a scene, crowded with almost incredible victories over the 
 emperor, and with inhuman cruelties on both sides. The 
 main body of the discontented Bohemians were at length 
 satisfied with the liberty of the cup in the sacrament, and 
 with the administration of the ordinance in their own lan- 
 guage. These points, after the effusion of a deluge of 
 blood, were given up by the papal party in the year 1433, 
 and a treaty of peace was made, of which they formed the 
 basis. In other respects, the Calixtines resembled the 
 papists, by whose artifices they were deluded, and induced 
 even to persecute the genuine followers of Huss. These 
 last mentioned, the true Hussites, besides the scriptural 
 celebration of the sacrament, desired to see a real reform- 
 ation of the church, and the establishment of purity of 
 doctrine and discipline. But, after a long series of mili- 
 tary confusion, they found themselves still a persecuted 
 body of men ; and those of them, who had been inclined 
 to have recourse to the sword, were gradually convinced, 
 that patient faith, and perseverance in prayer, are the pro- 
 per arms of a Christian soldier. Never indeed was there 
 a more striking instance of the ineflicacy of carnal weapons 
 in defending the Church of Christ. The Bohemians had 
 carried on war for thirteen years, often with great success, 
 and always with undaunted courage and fortitude ; and in 
 the end, they gained only two privileges, merely of an 
 external nature, in the administration of the Lord's sup- 
 per. With these the majority of the people remained 
 content, and still adhered to the papal abominations ; 
 while the real Christians were exposed as much as ever 
 to the persecutions of the church of Rome, and were 
 not only abandoned, but also cruelly treated by theii 
 brethren. 
 
 In the mean time the council of Basil succeeded that of 
 Constance. But the reader, who has with me examined 
 the motives which appear to have influenced the last- 
 mentioned council, will not perhaps be disposed to take 
 the same pains with that of Basil, which was conducted on 
 a similar plan of secular intrigue and ambition. Among 
 its other objects, the reduction of Bohemia to the papal 
 system was not forgotten ; and a compact or compromise 
 was agreed upon ; but the only article actually granted 
 by the council was, that the cup should be administered 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 25. u 
 
218 The council of Basil, — RoJcyzan, [Cent. 15. 
 
 in the Lord's supper, and divine worship celebrated in the 
 language of the people.* 
 
 Rokyzan, a Calixtine, was allured by the hopes of the 
 archbishopric of Prague, to second the views of the papal 
 party ; the genuine followers of Huss were, however, not 
 without hopes of engaging him to promote a more com- 
 plete reformation. His sister's son, Gregory, who was in 
 a great measure the founder of the unity of the Hussite 
 brethren, solicited Rokyzan in the most pressing manner 
 to promote vital godliness. But though he had light 
 enough to approve of the pious intentions of his nephew, 
 and was fully convinced of the truth of the doctrines taught 
 by Huss, the hope of being promoted to the archbishopric 
 of Prague induced him to be satisfied with the compact, 
 and in other respects to use his endeavours to preserve 
 the Bohemians i-n union with the Church of Rome. In 
 1435 he was elected archbishop, but the pope refused to 
 confirm the election unless he would give up the com- 
 pact, and relinquish the use of the cup in the sacra- 
 ment. 
 
 On receiving this decision, Rokyzan appeared willing 
 to promote a general reformation in religion, being zeal- 
 ously urged to this by the more pious of his hearers. By 
 
 * Some further particulars may be added. Both the Hussite par- 
 ties were invited to attend the council of Basil. In numbers, rank, 
 property, and worldly distinctions, the Calixtines exceeded theTabo- 
 rites, and their deputies showed more willingness to accommodate 
 their differences with the papacy. They promised obedience to the 
 pope upon four conditions; 1. That the word of God should be 
 freely preached by able ministers according to the holy Scriptures, 
 without human additions. 2. That the Lord's supper should be admi- 
 nistered to all in both kinds, and divine worship had in the mother 
 tongue. 3. Open sins should be punished according to the law of 
 God, without respect of persons. 4. That the clergy should exercise 
 no worldly dominion, but preach the gospel. 
 
 The council pretended to comply with these requests, but it only 
 actually granted the second, and even that was afterwards annulled 
 by the pope. Meanwhile emissaries were sent into Bohemia by the 
 popish party, with the professed object of bringing back the people 
 to the Komish faith, but they secretly widened the breach between 
 the Calixtines and Taborites. In this they succeeded too well. The 
 Calixtines were persuaded to be satisfied with the use of the cup in 
 the sacrament, and to take up arms against their brethren ; the Ta- 
 borites were defeated, Procop was slain, and a few of his followers 
 only escaped to Mount Tabor, where they were allowed to settle. 
 It may also be observed, that the concession of this council permit- 
 ting the use of the cup in the Lord's supper was directly opposed to 
 the decree of the council of Constance.— L'Enfant, Hist, du Concile 
 de Basile, lib. xviii. See Crantz. Holmes's Hist, p. 22.— Ed. 
 
A. D. 1457.] 
 
 The United Brethren. 
 
 219 
 
 his exertions he prevailed on the states of the kingdom to 
 solicit a reunion with the Greek Church, but before this 
 could be effected the Turks took Constantinople, and thus 
 terminated the Greek empire. The Taborites entreated 
 Rokyzan^with increased earnestness to undertake a gene- 
 ral reformation ; but though convinced of the truth, he was 
 of too temporizing a spirit to be willing to give up his 
 worldly honours, and suffer reproach for the name of 
 Christ,* yet he advised the Hussites to edify one another 
 in private, and gave them some good books for that 
 purpose. He also obtained for them permission to with- 
 draw to the lordship of Lititz, on the confines of Silesia 
 and Moravia, and there to regulate their plan of worship 
 according to their own consciences. 
 
 About the year 1453 a number of Hussites repaired to 
 Lititz, and chose Michael Bradazius for their minister.f 
 He with some assistants, under the direction of Gregory, 
 held a conference in 1457, in which the plan of the Hussite 
 church, or that of the United Brethren, was formed ; 
 idolatrous rites were prohibited, and a strictness of disci- 
 pline, resembling that of the primitive Christian Church, 
 was instituted. In one point, especially, they proved them- 
 selves the genuine followers of Christ ; they determined 
 to make use of no carnal weapons for the defence of reli- 
 gion ; and no more to suffer the name of Hussites to be 
 disgraced by such unchristian proceedings as formerly. 
 
 They were soon called to the exercise of that passive 
 courage which they professed. The increase of their 
 congregations in Bohemia and Moravia, was beheld with 
 suspicion both by Romish and Calixtine priests, and they 
 were accused of an intention to renew the Taborite tu- 
 mults, and to seize the government. The Hussites, 
 therefore, had now no remedy. Even George Podiebrad, 
 who was elected king of Bohemia in 1458, and who had 
 
 * See Crantz. Holmes's Hist. p. 24, 
 
 t In this assembly thev agreed on certain fundamental principles 
 founded on no human rules and traditions, but on the law of Christ. 
 These principles formed the basis of their ecclesiastical constitu- 
 tion. They called themselves Brethren and Sisters, and assumed 
 the general appellation of " Fratres legis Christi,*' that is, Brethren 
 of the law ot Christ. But as this was liable to be misunderstood, 
 and convey the idea of a new monastic order, they exchanged it for 
 that of Fratres (brethren), and after many persons of similar religi- 
 ous views in different parts of Bohemia had joined their union, they 
 adopted the name of Unitas Fratrum, that is, the Unity of the 
 Brethren, or the United Brethren, and this name has been ever 
 since retained. Holmes's Hist. p. 44, from Crantz. Ed. 
 
 U2 
 
'i20 Letter written to Rokyzan, [Cent. 15. 
 
 hitherto protected them, now consented to persecute the 
 United Brethren. 
 
 They had hoped for support in Rokyzan, whose ministry 
 had formerly been useful to their souls. With a degree of 
 evangelical light, this man still followed the world, and 
 lived in miserable grandeur, dearly purchased at the ex- 
 pense of a good conscience. The following is an extract 
 of a letter, which the brethren wrote to him while they 
 laboured under the imputation of promoting needless 
 divisions. It will give the reader some idea of their prin- 
 ciples and spirit.* " Your sermons have been highly 
 grateful and pleasant to us. You earnestly exhorted us 
 to flee from the horrible errors of antichrist, revealed in 
 these last days. You taught us, that the devil introduced 
 the abuses of the sacraments, and that men placed a false 
 hope of salvation in them. You confirmed to us, from the 
 writings of the apostles, and from the examples of the pri- 
 mitive church, the true doctrine of those divine institutions. 
 Being distressed in our consciences, and distracted by the 
 variety of opinions which prevailed in the Church, we 
 were induced to follow your advice, which was to attend 
 the ministry of Peter Chelezitius, whose discourses and 
 writings gave us a clearer insight into Christian truths, 
 insomuch, that when we saw that your life and practice 
 were at variance with your doctrine, we were constrained 
 to entertain doubts concerning your religious character. 
 When we conversed with you on this occasion, your an- 
 swer was to this effect : ' I know that your sentiments 
 are true ; but if I should patronise your cause, I must 
 incur the same infamy and disgrace which you do.' Whence 
 we understood, that you would desert us, rather than re- 
 linquish the honours of the world. Having now no refuge 
 but in God, we implored him to make known to us the 
 mystery of his will. As a gracious father, he hath looked 
 upon our afflictions, and hath heard our prayers. Trust- 
 ing in our God, we have assembled ourselves in the unity 
 of the faith by which we have been justified through Jesus 
 Christ, and of which we were made partakers in con- 
 formity to the image of his death, that we might be the 
 heirs of eternal life. Do not imagine that we have sepa- 
 
 * Joachim Canierarius de Ecclesiis in Bohemia et Moravia, p. 61. 
 I have consulted this treatise, and made use of it as my guide in 
 this chapter m connexion with Crantz's History of the Brethren, 
 published by La Trobe. 
 
A. D. 1461.] Svfftrings of the United Brethren, 221 
 
 rated ourselves from you on account of certain rites and 
 ceremonies instituted by men ; but on account of evil and 
 corrupt doctrine. For if we could, in connexion with you, 
 have preserved the true faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 we never should have made this separation." 
 
 Thus does it appear that the Hussite brethren were not 
 mere schismatics, but properly reformed Protestants, who 
 separated from the Church of Rome on account of the 
 essentials of godliness, and because in that church they 
 could not preserve the genuine faith of the gospel, and 
 purity of worship. And the constancy with which they 
 endured persecution, showed, that they had not received 
 the grace of God in vain. For now they were declared 
 unworthy of the common rights of subjects : and, in the 
 depth of winter, were driven out of the cities and villages, 
 with the forfeiture of all their effects. The sick were 
 thrown into the open fields, where many perished from 
 cold and hunger. Various sorts of torture were inflicted 
 on the brethren : numbers were barbarously murdered, 
 and many died in the prisons. 
 
 During these melancholy scenes, Gregory, the nephew 
 of Rokyzan, was distinguished by his zeal, fortitude, and 
 charity. To these virtues he added prudence and discre- 
 tion, of which he gave a remarkable instance.* The go- 
 vernor of Prague apprehending danger to the brethren to 
 be at hand, had the kindness to warn Gregory to withdraw 
 from Prague, which he did accordingly.f Some of the 
 brethren were disgusted at this conduct, and boasted, that 
 the rack was their breakfast, and the flames their dinner. 
 Part, however, of these men failed on the trial, and re- 
 canted, to save their lives ; though of the lapsed, some be- 
 moaned their fall, and were recovered by repentance. Gre- 
 gory himself, on another occasion, endured with patience 
 the tortures of the rack. In the extremity of his suffering- 
 he fell into a swoon, and was believed to have expired. J 
 His uncle Rokyzan hastened to the prison at the news, and 
 lamented over him in these words, My dear Gregory, I 
 would to God I w^ere where thou art." So strong was the 
 power of conscience still in this unhappy archbishop ! 
 
 * It is not easy to give a regular account of these transactions 
 according to the order of time. There is, I find, some diversity in 
 this respect between the two authors whom I follow. But 1 retain 
 the substance of the narrative collected from both. 
 
 t Joachim Camer, p. 85. 
 
 X Id. p. 80. 
 
 u 3 
 
Union between the faithful [Cent 15. 
 
 But Gregory recovered, and, being liberated by the inter- 
 ference of Rokyzan, was preserved by Providence to be a 
 nursing-father to the Church to a very advanced age. 
 
 The brethren, hearing of the sensibiKty discovered by 
 Rokyzan, addressed themselves to him again ; but his 
 answers were of the same kind as formerly. He was de- 
 termined not to suffer persecution ; and they, in their 
 farewell letter, said to him, with Christian faithfulness, 
 *' Thou art of the world, and wilt perish with the world." 
 The persecution now took a different turn ; the Hussites 
 were no longer tortured, but were driven out of the coun- 
 try; whence they were obliged to hide themselves in 
 mountains and woods, and to live in the wilderness. In 
 this situation, in the year 1467, they came to a resolution 
 to form a church among themselves, and to appoint their 
 own ministers. In 1480 they received a great increase 
 of their numbers from the accession of Waldensian re- 
 fugees who escaped out of Austria, where Stephen, the 
 last bishop of the Waldenses in that province, was burnt 
 alive , and where the vehemence of persecution no longer 
 allowed this people to live in security. A union was 
 easily formed between the Waldenses and the Hussites, 
 on account of the similarity of their sentiments and man- 
 ners. The refugees, however, found their situation but 
 little improved by a junction with a people, who were 
 obliged to conceal themselves in thickets and in clefts of 
 rocks ; and who, to escape detection by the smoke, made 
 no fires, except in the night, when they read the word of 
 God and prayed.* What they must have suffered in 
 these circumstances may be easily conceived. The death of 
 king Podiebrad, in 1471, had afforded them, indeed, some 
 relief ; and about the same time had died also the un- 
 happy Rokyzan, who, in his latter days, promoted the 
 persecutions against them, and who expired in despair. 
 
 » They sought an asylum in the mountains, the thickest forests, 
 and the clefts and recesses of rocks, far removed from the society 
 of other men They kindled their fires only in the night, lest their 
 places of retreat should be discovered by tlie smoke. And during 
 the winter, when snow lay on the ground, they used the precaution, 
 when going out, to walk one after tlie other, the last person drag- 
 ging a bush afttr him to erase the marks of their feet. It may easily 
 be conceived to what hardships the Brethren must have been ex- 
 posed during this period. Yet all the privations and sufferings they 
 endured were amply compensated to them by the rewards of a 
 good conscience, and the divine consolations they derived from the 
 perusal of the Scriptures, and from spiritual conversation. In these 
 exercises they often spent whole nights. — liolmes, p. 49. 
 
A. D. 1481.] among the Hussites and the Waldenses. 223 
 
 111 1481 the Hussites were banislied from Moravia, but 
 returned into that country six years afterwards. In the 
 beg:inning of the sixteenth century they counted two hun- 
 dred congregations in Bohemia and Moravia. Their most 
 violent persecutors were the Cahxtines, who certainly, for 
 the most part, resembled the papists in all things, except 
 in the particularity from which their name was derived. 
 
 And here I close, for the present, the history of the Hus- 
 sites, who doubtless, as a body of men, feared God and 
 served him in the gospel of his Son. They also main- 
 tained a degree of discipline among themselves vastly su- 
 perior to that of any others of the Christian name, unless 
 we except the churches of the Waldenses. Both of these, 
 however, were defective in evangelical light. There 
 wanted an exhibition of the pure doctrines of Christ, 
 luminous, attractive, and powerful, which should publish 
 peace and salvation to mankind through the cross of Christ, 
 and engage the attention of the serious and thoughtful, 
 who knew not the way of peace. God in his mercy was 
 now hastening this exhibition by the light of the reform- 
 ation, which, after we have very briefly surveyed the 
 fifteenth century in general, must engage our attention. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to observe that the plan of this 
 history will require that the account of the united bre- 
 thren be hereafter resumed. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 A BRIEF VIEW OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 The most remarkable events which distinguish this 
 period in general history appear to have been directed by 
 Divine Providence with a particular subserviency to the 
 reformation. Only in this view they will deserve the 
 notice of the historian of the church of Christ. In the 
 year 1453, Constantinople was taken by the Turkish em- 
 peror, Maliomet II. From the year 1299, when the four 
 angels were loosed, which had been bound in the river 
 Euphrates,* that is to say, when four Turkish Sultanies 
 were established in the east, the Turks had gradually in- 
 creased their power, and filled the world with carnage 
 and confusion. In the mean time the princes of Europe, 
 * Rev. ix. 14. 
 
224 Discovery of the art of printing. Cent. 15. 
 
 absorbed in the vortex of narrow and contracted politics, 
 and under the paralyzing domination of the pope, indo- 
 lently beheld these ferocious barbarians advancing further 
 and further to the west, and formed no generous plan of 
 defensive combination. It was in vain that the distressed 
 emperors of the east implored the aid of the western 
 princes. The common enemy overflowed and passed 
 OVER, — to use the prophetic language of Daniel, — and 
 having once gained a footing in Europe, he continued to 
 domineer over a large part of the countries where Chris- 
 tianity had been professed, and to desolate the nations. 
 The same unerring spirit of prophecy which foretold these 
 amazing scenes by St. John, foretold also the continued 
 obduracy and impenitence of the nominal Christians. 
 They repented not of their idolatry and practical wicked- 
 ness.* 
 
 There cannot be a more melancholy contemplation than 
 to observe the infatuation of nations, who have provoked 
 God to forsake them. Though the voice of Providence is 
 addressed to their senses, they consider not the works of 
 the Lord, and at the same time seem to be as destitute of 
 political sagacity as they are of religious principle. This 
 fifteenth century affords an awful instance of these things. 
 The Turks oppressed Europe with persevering cruelty; 
 but Europe neither humbled itself before God, nor took 
 any measures to check the ambition of the Mahometans. 
 The Sovereign of the universe, however, w^as bringing 
 order out of confusion, and light out of darkness. The 
 learned men who emigrated from Greece revived the study 
 of letters in Europe, and paved the way for that Hght of 
 general science, which was one of the most powerful of all 
 those subordinate means which were employed in the 
 demolition of idolatry and superstition. By the good 
 providence of God the noble art of printing was invented 
 about the year 1440. t Learning was cultivated with in- 
 credible ardour : the family of the Medici was raised up to 
 patronise science ; and towards the end of this same cen- 
 tury Erasmus arose, whose good sense, taste, and indus- 
 try were made serviceable to the Reformation. By his 
 labours, monastic superstition received a wound which 
 has never since been healed ; and learned men were fur- 
 nished with critical skill and ingenuity, of which they 
 failed not to avail themselves in the instruction of man- 
 • Rev. ix. 21. t Mosheim, vol. i. p. 761. 
 
Rhedon. — Savanarola. 
 
 225 
 
 kind to a degree beyond what Erasmus himself had ever 
 conceived. 
 
 Thus, under the care of Divine Providence, materials 
 were collected for that beautiful edifice, which be*^an to be 
 erected in the next century. In the fifteenth century the 
 great value and benefit of these materials scarcely ap- 
 peared ; the same corruptions, both of faith and of prac- 
 tice, which have so often been described, still prevailed in 
 all their horrors. 
 
 In the mean time there were some individuals who, 
 though not connected with any particular Christian so- 
 cieties, evidenced the power of godliness. Among these, 
 Thomas Rhedon, a Frenchman and a Carmelite friar, was 
 distinguished.* This man came to Rome with the Vene- 
 tian ambassadors, having undertaken this journey in the 
 hope of improving his understanding in religious concerns. 
 He had hitherto no conception of the enormous corrup- 
 tions of that venal city, and was therefore astonished to 
 find that even the habitation of St. Peter was become a 
 den of thieves. His zealous spirit was stirred up in him, 
 to give an open testimony to evangelical truth ; and at 
 length, by continual preaching, he incurred the hatred of 
 the ruling powers. In fine, he was degraded from the 
 priesthood, and was burnt four years afler his arrival at 
 Rome, in the year 1436, during the pontificate of Euge- 
 nius, the successor of that same Martin who was raised to 
 the popedom by the council of Constance. Several others, 
 who like him were enlightened, and Hke him were faith- 
 ful to their God, though unconnected with any particular 
 church, were executed in Germany, not long after the 
 burning of John Huss. 
 
 Jerom Savanarola, an Italian monk, by his zeal, learn- 
 ing, and piety, incurred, in an eminent manner, the hatred 
 of the court of Rome. Notwithstanding the repeated 
 menaces of the pope, he continued to preach the word of 
 God with great vehemence, and with a degree of light and 
 knowledge, which seems superior to that of most, if not of 
 all men, in that age. In 1496 he upheld the standard of 
 the gospel at Florence, though many warned him of the 
 danger to which he was exposed by his great boldness. 
 At length, in the year 1498,t he and two other friars, 
 named Dominic and Silvester, were imprisoned. During 
 his confinement, he wrote a spiritual meditation on the 
 * Fox, vol. i. p. 758. t Ibid. p. 830. 
 
226 
 
 Thomas ci Kempis, [Cent. 15. 
 
 thirty-first psalm, in which he described the conflict be- 
 tween the flesh and the spirit, a subject pecuharly evan- 
 gelical, and which needs some real exercise of practical 
 godliness, in order to be duly understood and relished by 
 mankind. The pope's legates arriving at Florence, Jerom 
 and his two companions were charged with maintaining 
 various heretical opinions, one of which deserves to be 
 distinctly mentioned, as characteristic of the times in 
 which they lived. For example, they were accused, in 
 explicit terms, of having preached the doctrine of free 
 justification through faith in Christ; and after they had 
 persevered in what was called an obstinate heresy, they 
 were degraded, delivered to the secular power at Florence, 
 and burnt to death in the year 1499. 
 
 There were also some souls who, in secret, served God 
 in the gospel of his Son ; and who knew what spirituality 
 in religion meant, though, from some particular circum- 
 stances, they were never exposed to suff'er, in any consi- 
 derable degree, for righteousness* sake. Among these was 
 the famous Thomas k Kempis, who died in 147L* In- 
 stead of entering into the tedious dispute concerning the 
 author of the well known book of *' The Imitation of Jesus 
 Christ," let us be content with ascribing it to this monk, 
 its reputed author. It would be impertinent in me to 
 enter into any detail of a performance so familiar to reli- 
 gious readers : let it suffice to say that it abounds with 
 pious and devotional sentiments, and could not have been 
 written but by one well versed in Christian experience, 
 though it partakes of the common defect of monastic 
 writers ; that is to say, it does not sufficiently illustrate the 
 doctrine of justification by faith. 
 
 Vincent Ferrer, though bred in the midst of darkness, 
 and connected with the worst of ecclesiastical characters, 
 was a shining model of piety. t He was born at Valentia 
 in Spain, became a Dominican friar, and a zealous 
 preacher of the word of God. A quotation from his book 
 on Spiritual Life will deserve the attention of students. 
 ** Do you desire to study to advantage? Consult God 
 more than books, and ask him humbly to make you under- 
 stand what you read. Study drains the mind and heart. 
 Go from time to time to be refreshed at the feet of Christ 
 under his cross. Some moments of repose there, give fresh 
 vigour and new light : interrupt your study by short, but 
 • Du Pin. t Butler, vol. iv. 
 
Vincent Ferrer. — A ntoninus. 
 
 227 
 
 fervent ejaculations. Science is the ^ift of the Father of 
 lights. Do not consider it as attainable merely by the 
 work of your own mind or industry. ' This holy person 
 was retained in the service of Peter de Luna, who, as 
 pope, took the name of Benedict XIII., and was one of 
 those three popes that were deposed by the council of 
 Constance. Very few men are represented in history to 
 have been of a more proud and deceitful character than 
 Peter de Luna. Vincent entreated his master to resign 
 his dignity. Benedict rather artfully eluded than directly 
 refused the request. Bishoprics and a cardinal's hat were 
 then offered to Vincent; but his heart was insensible to 
 the charms of worldly honours and dignities. He very 
 earnestly wished to become an apostolic missionary ; and, 
 in this respect, he was, at length, gratified by Benedict. 
 At the age of forty-two he began to preach with great 
 fervour in every town from Avignon towards Valentia. 
 His word is said to have been powerful among the Jews, 
 the Mahometans, and others. After he had laboured 
 in Spain, France, and Italy, he then, at the desire of 
 Henry IV., king of England, exerted himself in the same 
 manner throughout the chief towns of England, Scotland, 
 and Ireland. Still finding Peter de Luna entirely obsti- 
 nate in his ambition, he renounced his service, and, by 
 the desire of king Henry V. made Normandy and Bri- 
 tanny the theatre of his labours during the last two years 
 of his hfe. He died at the age of sixty-two. 
 
 How truly humble this man was appears from the whole 
 of this little account which I can collect concerning him ; 
 and particularly from his own confession ; " My whole hfe 
 is a sink of iniquity ; I am all infection ; I am corruption 
 throughout. I feel this to be so more and more. Who- 
 ever is proud shall stand without. Christ manifests his 
 truth to the lowly, and hides himself from the proud.'* 
 
 Antoninus, archbishop of Florence, born in the year 
 1389, seems to have been a similar character.* Great 
 things are related of his pastoral labours and services. 
 His secretary observing his indefatigable exertions, once 
 said to him, " The life of a bishop is truly pitiable, if he is 
 doomed to live in such a constant hurry as you live," 
 " To enjoy inward peace," replied he, " we must, amidst 
 all our affairs, ever reserve a closet, as it were, in our 
 hearts, where we are to remain retired within ourselves, and 
 * Butler, vol. v. 
 
 I 
 
228 
 
 Bernardin, 
 
 [Cent. 15 
 
 where no worldly business can enter." He died aged 
 seventy; and is said to have frequently repeated, in his 
 last moments, words which he had been accustomed to use 
 in the time of his health , namely, " To serve God is to 
 reign." 
 
 Bernardin,* of the republic of Sienna, was born in the 
 year 1380, and on account of his uncommon zeal in 
 preaching, was called " The burning Coal." He gave this 
 advice to clergymen : '* Seek first the kingdom of God ; 
 and the Holy Ghost will give a wisdom which no adver- 
 sary can withstand." This zealous man expressed an 
 earnest wish to be able to cry out with a trumpet through 
 the world, " How long will ye love simplicity ?" He died 
 aged sixty -three years. 
 
 John de Wesalia was a doctor of divinity of the fifteenth 
 century. He taught doctrines which much displeased the 
 Romanists. The archbishop of Mentz prosecuted him : 
 John was imprisoned, and an assembly of popish doctors 
 was convened to sit in judgment upon him in 1479. He 
 made a public recantation of his doctrines ; but neverthe- 
 less was condemned to a perpetual penance in a monas- 
 tery of the Augustine friars, where he died soon after, 
 
 A long catalogue of charges were brought against him, 
 from which it may be proper to select a few for the 
 reader's perusal. He was accused for maintaining that, 
 
 1. From everlasting, God hath written a book wherein 
 he hath inscribed all his elect ; and whosoever is not 
 already written there will never be written there at all. 
 Moreover, 
 
 2. He that is written therein will never be blotted out. 
 
 3. The elect are saved by the grace of God alone ; and 
 what man soever God willeth to save, by enduing him 
 with grace, if all the priests in the world were desirous to 
 condemn and excommunicate that man, he would still be 
 saved. Whomsoever likewise God willeth to condemn, he 
 would still be condemned, though the presbyters, the pope, 
 and others, were willing to save him. 
 
 4. If there had never been any pope in the world, they 
 who are saved would have been saved. The j)ope, and 
 bishops, and priests contribute nothing to salvation : 
 concord alone, and peace among men, and a peaceable 
 way of living, are sufficient. 
 
 Butler, vol. v. 
 
John de Wesalia, 
 
 229 
 
 5. Christ never appointed any particular fasts, nor for- 
 bade the use of flesh meat on any day. 
 
 6. If St. Peter appointed fasts, perhaps he did so for 
 the purpose of having a better sale for his fish.* 
 
 7. The holy oil is the very same as the oil which you 
 eat at home. 
 
 8. The Scriptures do not say that the Holy Spirit pro- 
 ceeds from the Son. 
 
 9. Those who undertake pilgrimages to Rome are fools. 
 
 10. I consider nothing as sinful which the Scriptures 
 have not declared to be so. 
 
 11. I despise the pope and his councils. I love Christ ; 
 and may his word dwell in us abundantly! 
 
 12. It is a difficult thing to be a Christian. 
 
 13. Indulgences are nothing. 
 
 14. That he feared the doctors expounded holy Scrip- 
 ture falsely. 
 
 It was further objected to him, in the course of his ex- 
 amination, that he had given it as his opinion that St. 
 Paul contributed nothing towards his conversion by his 
 own freewill. 
 
 John de Wesalia seems to have seen clearly through 
 several of the popish superstitions, and to have exposed 
 them with zeal and freedom. The Christian reader can- 
 not but wish there had been greater marks of personal 
 contrition of soul and of true humility at the cross of 
 Christ. However, very little is known concerning Wesa« 
 lia, except from the account of his examination before the 
 German inquisitors, who, most undoubtedly, treated him 
 with great harshness and severity, during an examination 
 which continued for five successive days. The writer of 
 that account was present, and says that Wesalia was an 
 aged man, and had long been afflicted with severe illness, 
 but the- examination was conducted with strictness. Some 
 things alleged against him he denied having said, others 
 he endeavoured to explain as well as his age and infir- 
 mities allowed. The writer adds, that, with the exception 
 of the article concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit,t 
 
 ♦ This was probably a false accusation, as well as some other 
 articles. 
 
 t It should be remarked, that Wesalia does not appear to have 
 spoken ajjainst the personality and the work of the Holy Spirit, and 
 what he said respecting the procession of the Holy Ghost was 
 only, that it did not appear to him to be pointed out in any text of 
 the Bible.— Ed. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 25. x 
 
230 
 
 John Wesselus, 
 
 [Cent. 15 
 
 there was nothing deservini^ of the severe treatment this 
 aged divine received, and that it chiefly arose from the 
 mutual ill-will which existed between different orders of 
 ecclesiastics. Two points which he maintained while 
 under examination were, that nothing was to be believed 
 which could not be found in the canon of Scripture ; and, 
 as expressed in the articles already mentioned, that the elect 
 are saved only by the grace of God, so that whoever God 
 willed to save, it was not in the power of the priesthood to 
 condemn. These doctrines were most distasteful to the 
 papacy, and the feeble old man was compelled to retract 
 them, as well as the others of which he had been accused ! 
 But in the course of his trial, he had the spirit to say to 
 the court, " If Christ were now present, and ye were to 
 treat him as ye do me, he might be condemned by you 
 as a heretic."* 
 
 John Wesselus of Groningen has sometimes been taken 
 for the same person as the preceding John de Wesalia. 
 And no wonder ; for besides the similarity of their names, 
 they lived about the same time, and both of them opposed 
 several of the errors and corruptions of popery. 
 
 Wesselus, however, seems to have been by far the supe- 
 rior character. He was one of the most learned men of 
 the fifteenth century, and was so celebrated for his talents 
 and attainments, as to have been denominated the light 
 OF the world. 
 
 He was born about the year 1419, not in 1400, as some 
 have supposed. He died in 1489. 
 
 The extraordinary religious knowledge of Wesselus, and 
 his truly Christian spirit, are indisputable. He has been 
 justly called the Forerunner of Luther. 
 
 That great reformer was so astonished when he first met 
 with some pieces of the composition of Wesselus, that in 
 the Leipsic edition of 1522, he wrote a preface to the 
 work, in which he says,t " By the wonderful providence 
 of God, I have been compelled to become a public man, 
 and to fight battles with those monsters of indulgences 
 and papal decrees. All along I supposed myself to stand 
 alone ; yet have I preserved so much animation in the 
 contest, as to be every where accused of heat and violence, 
 and of biting too hard. However, the truth is, I have 
 earnestly wished to have done with these followers of Baal 
 among whom my lot is cast, and to live quietly in some 
 ♦ Fascic. rer. vol. i. and Bayle, Grit. Diet. f Ep. ii. p. 89. 
 
Luther s preface to his works. 
 
 231 
 
 corner; for I have utterly despaired of making" any im- 
 pression upon these brazen foreheads, and iron necks of 
 impiety. 
 
 " But behold, in this state of mind, I am told that even 
 in these days there is in secret a remnant of the people of 
 God. Nay, I am not only told so, but I rejoice to see a 
 proof of it. Here is a new publication by Wesselus of 
 Groning-en, a man of an admirable genius, and of an un- 
 commonly enlarged mind. It is very plain he was taught 
 of God, as Isaiah prophesied that Christians should be :* 
 and as in my own case, so with him, it cannot be supposed 
 that he received his doctrines from men. If I had read 
 his works before, my enemies might have supposed thg.t I 
 had learnt every thing from Wesselus, such a perfect co- 
 incidence there is in our opinions. As to myself, I do not 
 only derive pleasure, but strength and courage from this 
 publication. It is now impossible for me to doubt whe- 
 ther I am right in the points which I have inculcated, 
 when I see so entire an agreement in sentiment, and 
 almost the same words used by this eminent person, who 
 lived in a different age, in a distant country, and in circum- 
 stances very unlike my own. I am surprised that this ex- 
 cellent Christian writer should be so little known. The 
 reason may be, either that he lived without blood and 
 contention, (for this is the only thing in which he differs 
 from me,) or perhaps the Jewsf of our times have sup- 
 pressed his writings as heretical. 
 
 " I recommend it therefore to the pious reader, to pe- 
 ruse this book with care and consideration. The writer 
 peculiarly excels in judgment ; and moreover he is admir- 
 ably calculated to improve the judgment of his reader. 
 Lastly, those who are displeased with my asperity, will 
 meet with nothing of that sort in Wesselus, to offend 
 them.'^ 
 
 A complete edition of the works of Wesselus was pub- 
 lished in 1641, with a short account of his life, by Albert 
 Hardenberg. The book is in quarto, and contains about 
 nine hundred pages, and is extremely scarce. 
 
 It is only a small part of his writings, to which Luther's 
 address to the reader is prefixed; but the subjects are 
 very important. For example: 1. On the kind provi- 
 dence of God. 2. On the causes, the mysteries, and the 
 effects of our Lord's incarnation and sufferings. 3. On 
 • Isaiah, liv. 13. t I'he Papists. 
 
 X 2 
 
232 
 
 The writings of JVesselus. [Cent 15. 
 
 the nature of ecclesiastical power ; and the degree of that 
 obligation which men are under to obey the rulers of the 
 church. 4. On the sacrament of repentance, and the 
 keys of the church. 5. On the true communion of saints. 
 6. On purgatory, and on indulgences. 
 
 It is true that his writings are considerably tarnished 
 with popish errors and superstitions ; but still the wonder 
 is, that of these blemishes there are not many more and 
 much greater. In general, he appears to have seen quite 
 as far as Luther saw, as to the errors of popery, about the 
 years 1518 and 1519. In regard to purgatory, his notion 
 seems to have been, that it was a place of purification, 
 but not of punishment. 
 
 I know not whether Luther ever saw the more elaborate 
 writings of Wesselus. They are extremely practical, and 
 very sound. 
 
 1. There are eleven chapters, taking up 184 pages, on 
 the nature and management of prayer. Here the writer 
 follows the order of the clauses in the Lord's prayer ; and 
 explains them with a simplicity and copiousness of lan- 
 guage, and an originality of thought that has rarely been 
 exceeded in any age. 
 
 2. The second treatise, which is somewhat longer, is 
 grave and useful throughout. The author calls it. Rules 
 for Meditation, or Directions for fixing the Mind in its 
 Contemplations, and for restraining irregular thoughts. 
 From the case of Mary and Martha,* he takes occasion, 
 in the first part, to make a comparison between busy and 
 quiet scenes, between an active and a contemplative life. 
 The rules laid down in the rest of this performance, though 
 they savour a little of the taste of the times, in being for- 
 mal and artificial, display nevertheless both great powers 
 of intellect and an extensive erudition. Every line 
 breathes a spirit of piety and devotion. But the depth of 
 the writer's religious thoughts and the warmth of his spi- 
 ritual affections are most evident in the examples, which 
 he subjoins, with a view to illustrate his rules for medita- 
 tion : and these he takes good care to support by appro- 
 priate quotations from Scripture. 
 
 3. But the work of Wesselus, which is most solid and 
 important, and which seems to have called forth the 
 greatest exercises both of his head and his heart, is. An 
 Inquiry into the reasons of the humiliation of Christ in 
 his incarnation and bitter pains. — This subject is briefly 
 
 * Luke, X. 
 
On the humiliation of Christ, 
 
 233 
 
 touched upon in the aforementioned small miscellaneous 
 publication of 1522 ; but in the edition of 16 14, it is again 
 handled with uncommon ability, and to the comprehensive 
 extent of twenty chapters on the incarnation, and eighty 
 chapters on the greatness and the severity of our Lord's 
 sufferings. 
 
 It is not possible to communicate a clear idea of the 
 author's manner of treating these mysterious and funda- 
 mental points of religion, without transcribing a large part 
 of his compositions. Suffice it to say, that he is in general 
 perfectly scriptural, and has a clear insight into the essen- 
 tial doctrines of Christianity. The fall of man, repentance 
 towards God, faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 justification by faith only, and sanctifieation by the Spirit, 
 are the revealed truths, which are constantly before his 
 eyes. And it may seem not a little remarkable, that he 
 should have understood perfectly how to reconcile the ap- 
 parent contradictions between St. Paul and St. James in 
 the matter of justification. " There is not," says he, ** the 
 smallest disagreement between these Apostles. They 
 concur in one common sentiment, That the just shall live 
 by a faith which worketh by love. Is it not by works that 
 our natural body is proved to be alive ? If there be no 
 signs of pulse, no respiration, no warmth about the prsB- 
 cordia, in short, if there be no vital actions whatever, do 
 we not pronounce the body to be dead ? These actions 
 are the proper proof that it is alive ; yet they are not the 
 CAUSE of its life. The soul, which is the source of these 
 actions, is the cause of life ; further, the more in number, 
 vigour, and excellence these actions are, the more tho- 
 roughly we say that the body is alive. So in spiritual things. 
 The LOVE of Christ is the noblest and most excellent of the 
 intellectual affections ; and, in this our mortal course, it is 
 the strongest proof of life in the soul of the Christian. 
 Moreover, love may exist even though the person sits 
 still ; does nothing ; meddles not with external matters, 
 as Martha did ; but sees and tastes how sweet the Lord 
 is^ as Mary saw and tasted when she obtained the part that 
 was not to be taken from her. But mark, there must be 
 a PRINCIPLE of love, otherwise the actions of the lover will 
 not be accepted. Faith is that principle ; and hence it is 
 that faith is accepted on account of its productive nature. 
 Now, where there is no operation of this sort, St. James 
 pronounces the faith to be dead : and St. Paul in »o wise 
 X 3 
 
234 
 
 Writings of TFesselus, |_Cent. 1 5 
 
 opposes that sentiment, when he says that a man is justi- 
 fied by the faith of Christ without works. However, this 
 is not to be understood as though the faith of a true be- 
 liever produced the righteousness of an angel ; no : the 
 man is justified for this reason, because it has pleased God 
 to BESTOW on the believer a righteousness superior to that 
 of an angel, namely, the satisfaction of Christ the great 
 High Priest. Hence also, no religious exercise contributes 
 more to a true justification, than frequent meditation on 
 our Lord*s passion, with a commemoration of the same. 
 It is an exercise of faith, in which the believer's object is 
 to become partaker of the benefits of Christ's sacrifice ; 
 and in that spirit, he confesses his sins, longs for deliver- 
 ance, wishes, waits, sits at the feet of Jesus, and, like Mary, 
 chooses the better part : such a faith, the more vigorous it 
 is in believing, commemorating, tasting, hungering and 
 thirsting : and the more ardent it is in producing spiritual 
 breathings and desires, the more completely will it apply 
 to the conscience the blood of the High Priest, and 
 thereby justify the sinner. — And here, may we not be al- 
 lowed to ask, whether the man who thus believes, desires, 
 wishes, and prays, can properly be said to produce no 
 works ?" 
 
 But we must not dissemble that sometimes, among very 
 fine and beautiful sentiments, the exuberant imagination of 
 this venerable divine leads him to advance positions, which^ 
 if not absolutely contrary to Scripture, are neither war- 
 ranted by it, nor capable of being proved by reason. An 
 instance of this sort may be founds I think, in his seventh 
 chapter, on the reasons of the incarnation of our Lord. 
 He there maintains, that the Word, the second person of 
 the Trinity, would have taken upon him our nature, even 
 though man had not sinned. But it will be unnecessary to 
 take up the reader's time with the subtiJe, abstruse, incon- 
 clusive arguments, which he makes use of on this and 
 similar occasions. 
 
 There is much less objection to the manner in which he 
 inquires (Chap. 65, on the great sufferings of our Lord,) 
 Whether Peter, in denying Christ, so fell as to lose all spi- 
 ritual life ? At the same time, I pretend not to determine 
 how far it may be either safe or laudable to indulge our 
 curiosity in prying into questions of this nature. 
 
 It is true, says he, Peter denied him thrice ; yet who 
 can doubt, but that he nevertheless retained in his heart a 
 
His last hours. 
 
 235 
 
 sincere iove for his Master through the whole of that most 
 trying and tempestuous season ? and especially after that 
 kind look of Jesus, which I verily believe awakened his 
 gratitude, and produced those undeniable proofs of affec- 
 tion, namely, his bitter, penitential tears. I wish, conti- 
 nues this good man, that I had as much love for the Lord 
 Jesus, even now, in these quiet times, as Peter had when 
 he cursed and swore, and denied his Master. I should 
 then certainly conclude myself to be a living member of 
 Christ, and indeed much more alive, than I can now pretend 
 to be. Further, in my opinion, Peter at that time had 
 much more spiritual life than many persons in our days 
 have, who yet are truly religious. 
 
 To some persons it may seem extraordinary, that a man, 
 whose life was so uniformly and so eminently Christian, 
 should have been harassed in his last illness with doubts 
 concerning the truth of revealed religion. The friend to 
 whom he owned the uneasiness and perplexity of his mind, 
 was prodigiously surprised, and exhorted Wesselus to di- 
 rect all his thoughts to Christ the only Saviour. This ad- 
 monition did not seem to please him at the moment ; and 
 his friend retired, deeply afflicted. A short time after, the 
 same friend returned, and Wesselus, with all the joy and 
 satisfaction that could be expressed by one in his weak 
 condition, cried out, " God be praised! all those vain 
 doubtings are fled ; and now all I know, is Jesus Christ and 
 him crucified." — He then resigned his soul to God. 
 
 Two reasons may be given, why Wesselus was not 
 crushed in that storm of persecution which in the year 1479 
 broke out upon his friend and contemporary, John de 
 Wesalia : 
 
 1. David of Burgundy, then bishop of Utrecht, is said 
 to have loved and protected him. 
 
 2. His reputation both for learning and piety was at a 
 great height. 
 
 Pope Sixtus IV. immediately after his inauguration at 
 Rome, told Wesselus that he would grant him any request 
 he should make. Wesselus answered thus : "Holy Father 
 and kind patron, I shall not press hard upon your holiness. 
 You well know I never aimed at great things. But as you 
 now sustain the character of the supreme pontiff and shep- 
 herd on earth, my request is, that you would so discharge 
 the duties of your elevated station, that your praise may 
 correspond with your dignity, and that when the Great 
 
236 
 
 Wesselus's reqmst to the pope. [Cent. 15. 
 
 Shepherd shall appear, whose first minister you are, he 
 may say. Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into 
 the joy of thy Lord : and moreover, that you may be able 
 to say boldly. Lord, thou gavest me five talents, behold I 
 have gained five other talents." 
 
 The pope replied, " That must be my care ; but do you 
 ask something for yourself." " Then," rejoined Wesselus, 
 ** I beg you to give me out of the Vatican library a Greek and 
 a Hebrew Bible." " You shall have them,*' said Sixtns : 
 '* but, tbolish man, why don't you ask for a bishopric, or 
 something of that sort ?" " For the best of reasons," said 
 Wesselus, because I do not want such things."* 
 
 The pious reader cannot fail to be interested in this 
 account of a very eminent Christian, so very little known. 
 — And here we shall conclude our review of the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 ♦ Vita Wess. ab Hardenb. 
 
Coinmencement of the Reformation, 237 
 
 CENTURY THE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 THE REFORMATION UNDER THE CONDUCT OF LUTHER. 
 PRELIMINARIES. 
 
 The sixteenth century opened with a prospect, of all 
 others, the most gloomy in the eyes of every true Chris- 
 tian. Corruption, both in doctrine and in practice, had 
 exceeded all bounds ; and the general face of Europe, 
 though the name of Christ was every where professed, 
 presented nothing that was properly evangelical. Great 
 efforts, indeed, had been made to emancipate the church 
 of Christ from the " powers of darkness and in conse- 
 quence many individual souls had been conducted into the 
 path of salvation. Still nothing like a general reformation 
 had taken place in any part of Europe. The external 
 branches, rather than the bitter root itself, which sup- 
 ported all the evils of false religion, being principally 
 attacked, no prominent or extensive change had ensued. 
 The Waldenses were too feeble to molest the popedom ; 
 and the Hussites, divided among themselves, and worn 
 out by a long series of contentions, were alm.ost reduced 
 to silence. Among both were found persons of undoubted 
 godliness, but they appeared incapable of making effectual 
 impressions on the kingdom of antichrist. The Roman 
 pontiffs were still the uncontrolled patrons of impiety. 
 Neither the scandalous crimes of Alexander VI., nor the 
 military ferocity of Juhus II., (pontiffs whose actions it is 
 foreign to the plan of this history to detail,) seem to 
 have lessened the dominion of the court of Rome, or to 
 have opened the eyes of men so as to induce them to make 
 a sober investigation of the nature of true religion. 
 
 But not many years after the commencement of this 
 
238 
 
 The historians referred to. 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 century, the world beheld an attempt to restore the light 
 of the gospel more evangelically judicious, more simply 
 founded on the word of God, and more ably and more 
 successfully conducted, than any which had ever been 
 seen since the primitive times. Martin Luther, whom Di- 
 vine Providence raised up for this purpose, was evidently 
 the instrument rather than the agent of this reformation. 
 He was led from step to step, by a series of circumstances, 
 far beyond his original intentions ; and in a manner which 
 might evince the excellency of the power to be of God and 
 not of man.* Even the reformations, which took place 
 in several other parts of Europe besides Germany, the 
 scene of Luther's transactions, were, in a great measure, 
 derived from the hght which he was enabled to diffuse 
 among mankind. And the peculiar excellency of the 
 revival of godliness now before us lay in this, that it 
 consisted in fundamentals of doctrine, rather than in the 
 correction of mere abuses of practice ; hence the history 
 of Lutheranism recommends itself in an especial manner 
 to the study of every theologian. 
 
 That I may be able to furnish the reader with a clear 
 and satisfactory view of this important part of ecclesiastical 
 history, I shall particularly avail myself of the labours of 
 the learned Seckendorf, who published a Latin translation 
 of Maimbourg's history,t and who, in a diffusive comment, 
 corrected and refuted it, and at the same time supplied, 
 from the very best materials, whatever might be wanted 
 to illustrate the progress of Lutheranism. The authentic 
 documents derived from the archives of the royal house of 
 Saxe Gotha, and the original papers of Luther, Melanc- 
 thon, and other reformers, are largely quoted by this 
 author. He adverts also continually to the opposite ac- 
 counts of the Romish writers. In fine, he seems to have 
 examined all the best sources of information on this sub- 
 ject, and to have placed before his readers whatever might 
 be needful to inform their judgments. I follow Secken- 
 dorf, therefore, as my principal guide, yet not exclusively ; 
 I also make use of father Paul, of Du Pin, of Sleidan> 
 Thuanus, &c. &c. The merely modern writers, who too 
 commonly treat these interesting matters in a superficial 
 manner, content with elegance of style, and an indulgence 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
 f Louis Maimbour^]^, a learned Jesuit, wrote celebrated histories 
 of Calvinism, Lutheranism, Arianism, &c. &c. 
 
Seckendorf's history of Luther anism. 239 
 
 to the popular taste, afford little service towards the exe- 
 cution of my plan. 
 
 In a manuscript history, extending from the year 1524 
 .o 1541, composed by Frederic Myconius, a very able 
 coadjutor of Luther and Melancthon, the author describes 
 the state of religion in the beginning of this century in 
 striking terms. " The passion and satisfaction of Christ 
 were treated as a bare history, like the Odyssey of Homer. 
 Concerning faith, by which the righteousness of the Re- 
 deemer and eternal life are apprehended, there was the 
 deepest silence. Christ was described as a severe judge, 
 ready to condemn all who were* destitute of the inter- 
 cession of saints, and of pontifical interest. In the room 
 of Christ were substituted, as saviours and intercessors, 
 the Virgin Mary, like a Pagan Diana, and other saints, 
 who, from time to time, had been created by the popes. 
 Nor were men, it seems, entitled to the benefit of their 
 prayers, except they deserved it of them by their works. 
 What sort of works was necessary for this end was dis- 
 tinctly explained ; not the works prescribed in the deca- 
 logue, and enjoined on all mankind, but such as enriched 
 the priests and monks. Those who died neglecting these, 
 were consigned to hell, or at least to purgatory, till they 
 were redeemed from it by a satisfaction made either by 
 themselves or by their proxies. The frequent pronunciation 
 of the Lord's prayer, and the salutation of the Virgin, and 
 the recitations of the canonical hours, constantly engaged 
 those who undertook to be religious. An incredible mass 
 of ceremonious observances was every where visible ; 
 while gross wickedness was practised under the encou- 
 ragement of indulgences, by which the guilt of the crimes 
 was easily expiated. The preaching of the word was the 
 least part of the episcopal function : rites and processions 
 employed the bishops perpetually when engaged in reli- 
 gious exercises. The number of clergy was enormous, 
 and their lives were most scandalous. I speak of those 
 whom I have known in the town of Gothen," &c. If we 
 add to this the testimony of Pellicanus, another of Luther's 
 followers, " that a Greek Testament could not be pro- 
 cured at any price in all Germany,"t what can be wanting 
 to complete the picture of that darkness in which men 
 lived; and in what did the Christian nations di tier from 
 Pagans, except in the name? It may be proper to 
 * Seckendorf, vol. i. p. 4. t Ibid. p. 132. 
 
240 
 
 Popish doctrine of indulgences. [Cent. 16. 
 
 mention that even the university of Paris, the first of all 
 the famous schools of learning, could not furnish a sin- 
 gle person capable of supporting a controversy against 
 Luther on the foundation of Scripture. And scarcely any 
 Christian doctor, in the beginning of this century, had a 
 critical knowledge of the word of God. The reader may 
 find it useful to be detained a little longer in contem- 
 plating the situation of the Christian world at the time of 
 Luther's appearance. The observations I have to ofTei* for 
 this purpose shall be arranged under four distinct heads ; 
 and they will, I trust, assist us in demonstrating the im- 
 portance of the reformation, and evince that the difference 
 between popery and protestantism is not merely verbal. 
 
 1. The popish doctrine of indulgences was then in the 
 highest reputation. We shall be in no danger of misre- 
 presenting this doctrine, if we state it according to the 
 ideas of one of the ablest champions of popery.* The 
 church, he tells us, imposes painful works or sufferings on 
 offenders ; which being discharged or undergone with 
 humility, are called satisfactions ; and when regarding the 
 fervor of the penitents, or other good works, she remits 
 some part of the task, this is called " an indulgence/' For 
 he pretends that the infinite satisfaction of Christ may be 
 applied in two ways, either by entire remission, without 
 the reservation of any punishment, or by the changing of a 
 greater punishment into a less. " The first, he says, is 
 done in baptism, the second in the cas-e of sins committed 
 after baptism." And here he gives us the authority of the 
 council of Trent to support his assertion, namely, " The 
 power to grant indulgences has been committed to the 
 church by Jesus Christ, and the use of them is beneficial 
 to salvation." Those, he observes, who depart this life 
 indebted to divine justice for some of the pains reserved, 
 must suffer them in another life in the state of purgatory. 
 
 Reliefs are, however, provided in this case also ; the 
 benefit of indulgences extends, it seems, beyond the grave, 
 and the doctrine of commutation for offences, applied in 
 real practice by the friends of the deceased, was held to be 
 valid in heaven. The foundation of all this system was 
 generally believed to be this : There was supposed to be 
 an infinite treasure of merit in Christ and the saints, which 
 was thought abundantly more than sufficient for themselves. 
 
 * Bossuet, bishop of Meanx, in an Exposition of the Doctrine of 
 the Catholic Church in matters of Controversy. 
 
Ignorance respecting gospel grace. 241 
 
 Thus what is strictly true of the Divine Saviour, w^as as- 
 serted also of saints, namely, that their righteousness could 
 be imparted to others ! This treasure was deposited in the 
 church, under the conduct of the see of Rome, and was 
 sold, LITERALLY SOLD FOR MONEY, at that sce's discretion, 
 to those who were able and willing to pay for it ; and few 
 were found willing to undergo the course of a severe 
 penance of unpleasant austerities, when they could aftbrd 
 to commute for it by pecuniary payments. The popes, 
 and under them the bishiops and the clergy, particularly 
 the Dominican and Franciscan friars, had the disposal 
 of this treasure ; and as the pontiffs had the power of 
 canonizing new saints at their own will, the fund was ever 
 growing; and so long as the system could maintain its 
 credit, the riches of their church, thus secularized under 
 the appearance of religion, became a sea without a shore. 
 No impartial examiner of authentic records will say that 
 this account of indulgences is overcharged, — a much 
 stronger representation might have been drawn. In fact, 
 these were the symptoms of the last stage of papal depra- 
 vity; and as the moral evils which they encouraged were 
 plain to every one not totally destitute of discernment, they 
 were soon perceived, and were the first objects assaulted 
 by the reformers. 
 
 2. But the views of those wise and holy persons were 
 far more extensive. They saw that a practice so scanda- 
 lously corrupt was connected with the grossest ignorance 
 of the nature of gospel-grace. The doctrine of justifica- 
 tion, in its explicit form, had been lost for many ages to 
 the Christian world. If men had really believed that 
 by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ salvation was ob- 
 tained, and that God " justifies the ungodly" through 
 faith alone, how could they have been imposed on by the 
 traffic of indulgences? In whatever manner the papist 
 might subtilize and divide, he was compelled by his sys- 
 tem to hold, that by a compliance with the rules of the 
 church, either in the way of indulgences, or by some 
 severer mode, pardon was to be obtained ; and that the 
 satisfaction of Christ was not sufficiently meritorious for 
 this end ; in other words, that the gift of God is not 
 eternal Ufe by Jesus Christ our Lord. (See Rom. vi. end.) 
 And, in fact, the preachers of indulgences, whether popes 
 themselves or their ministers, held out to the people, with 
 sufficient clearness, that the inheritance of eternal life was 
 Vol. IV.— No. 26. Y 
 
242 The knowledge of scriptural truths [Cent. 16. 
 
 to he PURCHASED by indulgences. Proofs of this have 
 already appeared in the course of this history, and more 
 will be given hereafter. The testimony of Sleidan, one of 
 the most judicious and dispassionate historians, as to the 
 nature of indulgences, well deserves to be transcribed in 
 this place. It is contained in the beginning of his excel- 
 lent history. " Pope Leo X., making use of that power 
 which his predecessors had usurped over all Christian 
 churches, sent abroad into all kingdoms his letters and 
 bulls, with ample promises of the full pardon of sins, and 
 of eternal salvation to such as would purchase the same 
 with money ! ! !" Even when the traffic of indulgences was 
 checked by the pontiffs, as being carried on in too gross 
 a manner, no clear account was given in what the abuse 
 consisted. In fine, it was evident that no reformation 
 could take place through the medium of qualifying and 
 correcting abuses of this traffic. The system itself was 
 wholly impious, and the right knowledge of justification 
 was the only remedy adequate to the evil. This, there- 
 fore, the reader is to look for, as the most capital object of 
 the reformation : and thus, in the demolition of one of the 
 vilest perversions of superstition, there suddenly arose and 
 revived, in all its infant simplicity, that apostolical doctrine 
 in which is contained the great mystery of the Scriptures. 
 
 3. The state of mankind at that time was peculiarly 
 adapted to the reception of so rich a display of gospel- 
 grace. God sent a plentiful rain, whereby he refreshed 
 his inheritance when it was weary. (Ps. Ixviii. 9.) Men 
 were then bound fast in fetters of iron : their whole reli- 
 gion was one enormous mass of bondage. Terrors beset 
 them on every side; and the fiction of purgatory was 
 ever teeming with ghosts and apparitions. Persons truly 
 serious, and such there ever were and will be, because 
 there ever was and will be, a true church on earth, 
 were so clouded in their understandings by the prevail- 
 ing corruptions of the hierarchy, that they could find 
 no access to God by Jesus Christ. The road of simple 
 faith, grounded on the divine promises, connected al- 
 ways with real humility, and always productive of hearty 
 and gratefvil obedience, was stopped up with briers and 
 thorns. No certain rest could be afforded to the weary 
 mind, and a state of doubt, of allowed doubt and anxiety, 
 was recommended by the papal system. What a joy- 
 fiil doctrine then was that of the real gospel of remission 
 
revived by the Eefurmation. 
 
 243 
 
 of sins through Christ alone, received by faith ! a doc- 
 trine, which is indeed to be found every where in the 
 Scriptures ; but the Scriptures were ahnost unknown 
 among the people at the beginning of the Reformation. 
 
 4. Should (he philosophical sceptic, or the pharisaical 
 formalist, express his surprise, that I should lay so great a 
 stress on the Christian article of justification, and wonder 
 that any person should ever be at a loss to discover the 
 way of obtaining true peace of conscience, it may be 
 useful towards satisfying his scruples, to remind such 
 a character of a fourth mark of corruption, which 
 much prevailed in the times previous to the Reform- 
 ation. This is, the predominance of the Aristotelian phi- 
 losophy in Europe at that period; a philosophy which knew 
 nothing of original sin and native depravity, which allowed 
 nothing to be criminal but certain external flagitious ac- 
 tions, and which was unacquainted with the idea of any 
 righteousness of grace, imputed to a sinner. How many 
 in this age, who neither know nor value Aristotle, do yet 
 altogether follow his self-righteous notions of religion ! 
 These are congenial to our fallen nature, and are inca- 
 pable, while they prevail in the mind, of administering any 
 cure to papal bondage, except that which is worse than- 
 the disease itself They tend to lead men into the depths 
 of atheistic profaneness. But the person whom God 
 raised up particularly at this time, to instruct an ignorant 
 world, was most remarkably eminent for self-knowledge. 
 Only characters of this sort are qualified to inform man- 
 kind in subjects of the last importance towards the attain- 
 ment of their eternal happiness. Luther knew himself ; 
 and he knew also the scriptural grounds on which he stood 
 in his controversies with the ecclesiastical rulers. His zeal 
 was disinterested, his courage undaunted. Accordingly, 
 when he had once erected the standard of truth, he con- 
 tinued to uphold it with an unconquerable intrepidity, which 
 merits the gratitude and esteem of all succeeding ages. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 the beginning of the controversy concerning 
 indulgences. 
 
 Pope Alexander VI., one of the most flagitious of 
 men, died in the year 1503. After the short interval of the 
 Y 2 
 
244 Controversy respecting indulgences, [Cent. 16. 
 
 dominion of Pius III,, whose pontificate lasted less than 
 a year, Julius II. was elected as his successor. A cir 
 cumstance attended this election which deserves to be re- 
 corded* as a memorable indication of those times. The 
 cardinals agreed upon oath before the election, and obliged 
 the new pontiff, after his election, to take the same oath, 
 that a general council should be called within two years, 
 to reform the church. The effect of this measure, which 
 so strongly implied the consent of the Christian world to 
 the necessity of a reformation, was the council of Pisa. 
 But nothing good was to be expected from Julius, a man, 
 in the language of worldly greatness, renowned for military 
 ambition. By his intrigues the council of Pisa was dis- 
 solved, and Julius died in 1513, after he had filled the 
 Christian world with blood and confusion by his violence 
 and rapacity. 
 
 Leo X.,t a man famous for the encouragement of letters 
 and the fine arts, and deservedly celebrated among the 
 patrons of learned men, succeeded But historical vera- 
 city can scarcely admit any further encomium on his cha- 
 racter. He was a Florentine of the illustrious house of 
 the Medici, and inherited the elegant taste and munificent 
 spirit of that family. He was elected pope in the thirty- 
 seventh year of his age. Though refined and humanized 
 by his love of the liberal arts, and extremely opposed 
 to the savage manners of Alexander and of Julius, he 
 possessed other qualities no less inconsistent than theirs 
 with the character of a pastor of the church of Christ. 
 An excessive magnificence, a voluptuous indolence, and, 
 above all, a total want of religious principle, rendered him 
 perhaps more strikingly void of every sacerdotal qualifi- 
 cation than any pontiffs before him. He has been ac- 
 cused of open infidelity; but the proofs are said to be 
 only negative ; certainly, however, he at no time took the 
 
 * Seckendorf, vol. i. p. 3. 
 
 t This prelate, the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was ordained 
 at the a^e of seven years, made an abbot before he was eight years 
 old, ana at the age of thirteen became a cardinal ! Such was the 
 influence of his father in the court of Rome ! Lorenzo, in a pruden- 
 tial letter to his son, tells him that he had heard with pleasure of 
 his attention to communion and confession ; and that there was 
 no better way for .him to obtain the favour of heaven than by 
 habituating himself to the performance of such duties. Roscoe's 
 Life of Lorenzo de Medici. — Lorenzo appears to have known the 
 art of rising in this world better than tue narrow road to eternal 
 life. 
 
A. D. 1517.] 
 
 Leo X. 
 
 245 
 
 least pains to discover to mankind that he had a sincere 
 reverence for religion. It was during the pontificate of 
 this man, that Providence gave the severest blow to the 
 authority of the Roman hierarchy which it had ever 
 received since the days of Gregory II. 
 
 Both before his exaltation and after it, he opposed with 
 dexterity and success the laudable attempts for a reform- 
 ation, which have been mentioned. A council called by 
 this pope, and held in the Lateran palace, was directed 
 under his auspices against the determinations of the council 
 of Pisa. Afterwards, in the year 1517, the university of 
 Paris, renowned at that time through Europe for learning 
 and knowledge, appealed from its decisions to a future 
 general council. It is not necessary to enter into the de- 
 tail of these transactions : they are here briefly mentioned 
 in a general way for the purpose of showing, that common 
 sense and the voice of natural conscience had agreed to 
 the necessity of a reformation, though men knew not the 
 principles on which it ought to proceed. The greatest 
 personages of the times had delivered their sentiments to 
 the same effect. The existence of the distempei was ad- 
 mitted. The true remedy was unknown ; that was to be 
 drawn only from the word of God ; and almost all par- 
 ties were equally ignorant of the contents of the sacred 
 volumes. In the same year, however, the spirit of Luther 
 was raised up to instruct the ignorant, to rouse the negli- 
 gent, and to oppose the scandalous practices of interested 
 and ambitious ecclesiastical rulers. 
 
 No reformer had ever an opportunity more favourable 
 to his designs. Such was the temerity of the existing 
 hierarchy, that they might seem even to have purposely 
 afforded to their opponents an advantage for the begin- 
 ning of a contest, or rather to have been providentially 
 infatuated. Leo X., after he had presided almost five 
 years, having reduced himself to straits by his prodigal 
 expenses of various kinds, and being desirous to complete 
 the erection of St. Peter's church, begun at Rome by his 
 predecessor, Julius II., after his example, had recourse to 
 the sale of indulgences, the general nature of which 
 Maimbourg describes much in the same manner as has 
 been done in the foregoing chapter.* These he published 
 
 ♦ Secken. p. 8. Let the reader remember that this incomparable 
 author, Seckendorf, gives us all along the very words of his antago- 
 ¥3 
 
246 
 
 Tetzel employed to sell [Cent. 10* 
 
 throughout the Christian world, granting freely to all who 
 would pay money for the building of St. Peter's church, 
 the licence of eating eggs and cheese in the time of Lent. 
 This is one of the many ridiculous circumstances which 
 attended Leo's indulgences, and it is gravely related by 
 the papal historians. The promulgation of these indul- 
 gences in Germany was committed to a prelate, the bro- 
 ther of the elector of Brandenburg. His name was Albert, 
 a man who, at that very time, held two archbishoprics, 
 namely, those of Mentz and of Magdeburg, and who himself 
 received immense profits from the sale. Albert delegated 
 the office to John Tetzel, a Dominican inquisitor, well 
 qualified for an employment of this kind. He was a bold 
 and enterprising monk, of uncommon impudence, and had 
 already distinguished himself in a similar transaction. He 
 had proclaimed indulgences in support of the war against 
 the Muscovites, and by that means had much enriched the 
 Teutonic knights, who had undertaken that war. " This 
 frontless monk," says a celebrated ecclesiastical histo- 
 rian,* " executed this iniquitous commission not only with 
 matchless insolence, indecency, and fraud, but even car- 
 ried his impiety so far as to derogate from the all-suffi- 
 cient power and influence of the merits of Christ. Myco- 
 nius assures us, that he himself heard Tetzel declaim with 
 incredible effrontery concerning the unlimited power of 
 the pope and the efficacy of indulgences. The people 
 believed that the moment any person had paid the money 
 for the indulgence he became certain of his salvation, and 
 that the souls, for whom the indulgences were bought, 
 were instantly released out of purgatory ! So Maim- 
 bourg allows ; and if the people really believed the current 
 doctrine of the times, and looked on the preachers of 
 indulgences as men worthy of credit, they must have 
 believed so. We have formerly seen popes themselves 
 hold this confident language. John Tetzel boasted that 
 he had saved more souls from hell by his indulgences than 
 St. Peter had converted to Christianity by his preaching ! He 
 assured the purchasers of them that their crimes, however 
 
 nfst, whence the papal as well as the protestant materials are con- 
 tinually held up to view. 
 
 Even Du Pin allows that Leo was naturally proud and lofty ; and 
 he confesses that the erection of St. Peter's church was the occasion 
 of that pope's having recourse to the sale of indulgences.— Book ii. 
 chap. i. 
 
 * Mosheim, 
 
A. D. 1517.3 
 
 indulgences in Saxony. 
 
 247 
 
 enormous, would be forgiven ; whence it became almost 
 needless for him to bid them dismiss all fears concerning 
 their salvation. For remission of sins being* fully obtained, 
 what doubt could there be of salvation ? In the usual form 
 of absolution, written by his own hand, he said, " May 
 our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve 
 thee by the merits of his most holy passion ! And I, by 
 his authority, that of his apostles Peter and Paul, and of 
 the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these 
 parts, do absolve thee, first, from all ecclesiastical cen- 
 sures, in whatever manner they have been incurred^ and 
 then from all the sins, transgressions, and excesses, how 
 enormous soever they may be, even from such as are 
 reserved for the cognizance of the holy see : and as far as 
 the keys of the holy church extend, I remit to thee all the 
 punishment which thou deservest in purgatory on their 
 account ; and I restore thee to the holy sacraments of the 
 church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence 
 and purity which thou didst possess at baptism ; so that 
 when thou diest, the gates of punishment shall be shut, 
 and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened ; 
 and if thou shalt not die at present this grace shall remain 
 in full force when thou art at the point of death. In the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost."* — Such was the style in which these formulas 
 were written. It is impertinent to blame the abuses com- 
 mitted by the officials ; it is not to be supposed that these 
 formulas were without papal authority ; neither has any 
 thing of that kind ever been asserted. In regard to the 
 effect of indulgences in delivering persons from the sup- 
 posed torments of purgatory, the gross declarations of 
 Tetzel in public are well known : " The moment the 
 money tinkles in the chest, your father s soul mounts up 
 out of purgatory." It does not appear that the rulers of 
 the hierarchy ever found the least fault with Tetzel as 
 exceeding his commission, till an opposition was openly 
 made to the practice of indulgences. Whence it is evi- 
 dent that the protestants have not unjustly censured the 
 corruptions of the court of Rome in this respect. Leo is 
 declared to have granted, immediately and without hesi- 
 tation,t the profits of the indulgences collected in Saxony 
 and the neighbouring countries, as far as the Baltic, to his 
 sister, the wife of prince Cibus, by way of gratitude for 
 • Seckend. p, 14. f Maimbourg, p. 11. 
 
248 Profligacy ofTetzel [Cent. 16. 
 
 personal favours, which he had received from the family of 
 the Cibi ! The indulgences were farmed to the best bid- 
 ders, and the undertakers employed such deputies to carry 
 on the traffic as they thought most likely to promote their 
 lucrative views. The inferior officers concerned in this 
 commerce were daily seen* in public houses enjoying 
 themselves in riot and voluptuousness. In fine, whatever 
 the greatest enemy of popery could have wished, was at 
 that time exhibited with the most undisguised impudence 
 and temerity, as if on purpose to render that wicked 
 ecclesiastical system infamous before all mankind. 
 
 It may not be improper to introduce the following anec- 
 dote concerning Tetzel, the audacious vender of the papal 
 indulgences. 
 
 When the emperor Maximilian was at Inspruck he was 
 so offended at the wickedness and impudence of Tetzel, 
 who had been convicted of adultery, that he condemned 
 him to death, and had intended to have him seized and 
 put into a bag, and flung into the river QSnoponte ; but 
 he was prevented by the solicitations of Frederic, the 
 elector of Saxony, who, fortunately for Tetzel, happened 
 to be there at the time.f 
 
 Burnet informs us, that the scandalous sale of pardons 
 and indulgences had, in his day, by no means so completely 
 ceased in popish countries as is commonly taken for granted. 
 He says, that in Spain and Portugal there is every where 
 a commissary, who manages the sale with the most in- 
 famous circumstances imaginable. In Spain, the king, by 
 an agreement with the pope, has the profits. In Portugal, 
 the king and the pope go shares. 
 
 " In the year 1709, the privateers of Bristol took a gal- 
 leon, in which they found five hundred bales of bulls" for 
 indulgences . . . . " and sixteen reams were in a bale. So 
 that they reckon the whole came to 3,840,000. These 
 bulls are imposed on the people and sold, the lowest at 
 three ryals, a little more than twenty-pence, but to some 
 
 at about eleven pounds of our money All are obliged 
 
 to buy them in Lent.^J The author adds, " Besides the 
 account given of this in the cruising voyage I have a par- 
 ticular attestation of it by captain Dampier."§ 
 
 « Maimbourg, p. 12. + Melch. Adam. 
 
 X This continues in Spain at the present day ! See Blanco White's 
 Letters, and also his Evidences of C atholicism. Lond. 1825. — Eoi. 
 § Introd. p. 20 vol. iii. 
 
A.D. 1517.] 
 
 and the agents employed. 
 
 249 
 
 Protestants in our times are not sufficiently aware of 
 the evils from which, under the blessing of God, a great 
 part of Europe has been delivered by the rational, ani- 
 mated, and persevering exertions of Luther, his asso- 
 ciates, and other early reformers. 
 
 Indulgences were granted also under the pontificate of 
 Leo X. on many particular occasions. The consecrated 
 host had been lost at the parish church at Schiniedeberg, 
 in the diocese of Misnia : in consequence of which the 
 pastor had excommunicated the deacon and the porter of 
 the church. These men, whom the superstition of the 
 times had made culprits, had, however, recourse to the 
 generosity of Tetzel, who was in the neighbourhood, and 
 who furnished them with a diploma of absolution.* The 
 prices of these indulgences were accommodated to the 
 various circumstances of petitioners ; and thus a plan was 
 formed, and was successfully carrying into execution, which 
 would infallibly lay all orders of men under contribution. 
 The prodigious sale of indulgences evinces both the profound 
 ignorance of the age, and also the power of superstitious 
 fears, with which the consciences of men were then dis- 
 tressed. This, however, was the very situatiori of things 
 which opened the way for the reception of the gospel. 
 But who was to proclaim the gospel in its native beauiy 
 and simplicity ? To give a satisfactory answer to this 
 question was no easy matter. The princes, the bishops, 
 and the learned men of the times, all saw this scandalous 
 traffic respecting the pardon of sins ; but no one was 
 found who possessed the knowledge, the courage, and the 
 honesty, necessary to detect the fraud, and to lay open to 
 mankind the true doctrine of salvation by the remission of 
 sins through Jesus Christ. But at length an obscure pas- 
 tor appeared, who alone and without help, began to erect 
 the standard of sound religion. No man who believes that 
 " the preparation of the heart is from the Lord,'* will 
 doubt whether Martin Luther, in this great undertaking, 
 was moved by the Spirit of God. This extraordinary 
 person, at that time an Augustine monk, was professor or 
 lecturer of the university of Wittemberg, in Saxony. That 
 academy was at once a college of students and a society 
 of monks. Frederic the Wise, elector of Saxony, ardently 
 desirous of promoting literary knowledge, had added the 
 former character to the latter, and always showed a steady 
 * Seckend. p. 15. 
 
250 
 
 Luthtr opposes these abuses. 
 
 [Cent. 161 
 
 regard to Luther, on account of his skill and industry in 
 advancing the reputation of that infant seminary of know- 
 ledge, which then was very low and abject, both in its 
 revenues and its exterior appearance. Luther preached 
 also from time to time, and heard confessions.* In the 
 memorable year 1517, it happened that certain persons 
 repeating their confessions before him, and owning them- 
 selves to be atrocious offenders, yet refused to comply with 
 the penances which he enjoined them, because they said 
 they were possessed of diplomas of indulgences, Luther 
 was struck with the evident absurdity of such conduct, and 
 ventured to refuse them absolution. The persons thus 
 rejected complained loudly to Tetzel, who was preaching 
 in a town at no great distance. The Dominican inqui- 
 sitor had not been accustomed to contradiction. He 
 stormed and frowned, and menaced every one who dared 
 to oppose him ; and sometimes he ordered a pile of wood 
 to be constructed and set on fire, for the purpose of 
 striking terror into the minds of heretics. Luther was, at 
 that time, only thirty-four years old, vigorous both in mind 
 and body, fresh from the schools, and fervent in the Scrip- 
 tures. He saw crowds flock to Wittemberg and the neigh- 
 bouring towns to purchase indulgences, and having no 
 clear idea of the nature of that traffic, yet sensible of the 
 obvious evils with which it must be attended, he began to 
 signify, in a gentle manner, from the pulpit, that the 
 people might be better employed than in running, from 
 place to place, to procure indulgences. So cautiously 
 did this great man begin a work, the consequences of 
 which he then so little foresaw. He did not so much as 
 know, at that time, who were the receivers of the money. 
 In proof of this, we find he wrote to Albert, archbishop of 
 Mentz, who he understood had appointed Tetzel to this 
 employment, but with whose personal t concern in the gains 
 he was then unacquainted, entreating him to withdraw the 
 licence of Tetzel, and expressing his fears of the evils 
 which would attend the sale of indulgences. He sent him 
 likewise certain theses, which he had drawn up in the 
 form of queries, concerning this subject. He expressed 
 himself with the greatest caution and modesty. In fact, 
 he saw enough to alarm a tender conscience, but he knew 
 not well where to fix the blame. He was not, as yet, 
 fully satisfied in his own mind, either as to the extent of 
 » Seckend. p. 17. t See p. 245. 
 
A, D. 1 517.] His doubts and anxieties 
 
 251 
 
 the growing mischief, or the precise nature of its cause 
 In this state of doubt and anxiety he wrote also to other 
 bishops, and particularly to his own diocesan, the bishop 
 of Brandenburg,* with whom he was a particular fa- 
 vourite. 
 
 Nothing can be more orderly, candid, and open, than 
 this conduct of our reformer.! Zeal and charity were here 
 united with the most perfect regard to ecclesiastical dis- 
 cipline. The bishop of Brandenburg reverenced the 
 integrity of Luther, while he was aware of the dangerous 
 ground on which he was advancing. " You will oppose 
 the church,'* he replied, " you cannot think in what trou- 
 bles you will involve yourself ; you had much better be 
 still and quiet." This was not a language calculated to 
 repress the firm and intrepid spirit of the Saxon monk ; 
 for, though by no means as yet a competent master of the 
 points in debate, he saw they were of too great magnitude 
 for a conscientious pastor to pass them by unnoticed. He 
 also knew the manners of lower life, and could judge, far 
 better than the bishops in general could do, of the mis» 
 chievous consequences which were to be apprehended. 
 With deliberate steadiness he ventured therefore to perse- 
 vere ; and having tried in vain to procure the concurrence 
 of the dignitaries of the church, he published his Theses, 
 ninety-five in number ; and in fifteen days they were 
 spread throughout Germany. Their effect on the mihds 
 of men was rapid and powerful, though Tetzel, by threats, 
 had silenced some pastors who had faintly opposed him, 
 and though bishops and doctors, through fear of the 
 flames, remained perfectly silent. 
 
 " Thus,'* says Luther, — for much of the foregoing ac- 
 count is taken from his own words, — " T was commended 
 as an excellent doctor, who alone had the spirit to attempt 
 so great an undertaking: but the fame which I had 
 
 * Seckend. p. 16. 
 
 t Du Pin, in conjunction with all the Roman catholic writers, as- 
 serts that Luther's zeal for the interest of his own order led him to 
 oppose the doctrine of Indulgences. The best refutation of this 
 calumny is to be derived from a fair statement of facts. It has been 
 said likewise, that Staupitius, the vicar-g^eneral of Luther's order 
 of monks, and the elector of Saxony, stimulated Luther to com- 
 mence his opposition. But there is no where to be found the small- 
 est proof of these assertions. The love of truth itself appears from 
 his whole conduct to have influenced his measures, and the story 
 needs only to be fairly told in order to convince any candid persoo 
 that this was the case. 
 
252 
 
 Early life of Luther. 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 acquired was by no means agreeable to my mind ; because 
 1 had then some doubts concerning the nature of indul- 
 gences, and because I feared that the task was beyond my 
 powers and capacity."* 
 
 But the real motives of Luther will be discovered in the 
 surest manner by a brief review of the manners and spirit 
 of the man previous to his open declarations respecting 
 indulgences. This Saxon reformer was born in the year 
 1483, at Tsleben, a town belonging to the county of Mans- 
 field. His father wrought in the mines of Mansfield, 
 which were, at that time, very famous ; and, after the 
 birth of his son, Martin Luther, removed to that town, be- 
 came a proprietor in the mines, discharged public offices 
 there, and was esteemed by all men for his integrity. He 
 gave a very liberal education to Martin, who was remark- 
 able for dutiful affection to his parents in general, though, 
 in one instance, to be mentioned presently, he was led 
 away by the superstition of the times so as to offend his 
 father exceedingly. After he had made great proficiency 
 in his studies at Magdeburg, Eisenach, and Erfurt, he 
 commenced master of arts in the university of Erfurt at 
 the age of twenty ; and having now finished his course of 
 philosophy, he began to give close attention to the science 
 of the civil law, and is said to have intended to advance 
 himself by pleading at the bar ; but he was diverted from 
 his purpose by an accident.f As he was walking in the 
 fields with one of his most intimate friends, his companion 
 was suddenly killed by lightning, or by some violence ; 
 and Luther himself was so terrified, partly by this event, 
 and partly by the horrid noise of the thunder, that while 
 his mind was in the utmost consternation he formed the 
 sudden resolution of withdrawing from the world, and of 
 throwing himself into the monastery at Erfurt. His father, 
 a man of plain, but sound understanding, strongly remon- 
 strated against this resolution. The son as strongly 
 pleaded what he considered as a terrible call from heaven, 
 to take upon himself the monastic vow. " Take care," 
 replied the father, *' that you are not ensnared by a 
 delusion of the devil." But the mind of Martin Luther 
 was determined ; and filial disobedience, in such a case, 
 was looked on as a virtue, and encouraged by the church 
 
 * Seckend. p. 10. 
 
 t Du Pin. Moreri. Maimbourg. 
 
A. D. 1505.] Luther confers with Stavpitius, 
 
 253 
 
 of Rome. To the great grief and mortification of his 
 father, he entered the monastery in the year 1505.* 
 
 In one of his letters he owns, that from the very begin- 
 ning of his monastic life he was constantly sad and de- 
 jected ;t and being unable to give peace to his mind he, 
 at length, opened his griefs to John Stavipitius, vicar- 
 general of the Augustine monks in Germany, a man highly 
 esteemed by Frederic the Wise, and consulted by him 
 particularly in things which concerned the \miversity of 
 Wittemberg. Staupitius himself appears to have had 
 some serious views of religion, and a degree of knowledge 
 at that time very uncommon. After Luther had explained 
 to him the uneasy thoughts with which he was burdened, 
 " You do not know,'' said he, " how useful and necessary 
 this trial may be to you ; God does not thus exercise you 
 for nothing ; you will one day see that he will employ 
 
 * The various accounts of authors respecting the immediate 
 incidents which determined Luther to retire from the world into a 
 monastery, agree in the main, but not precisely in every circum- 
 stance. It is very remarkable that Melancthon, who speaks of the 
 occasion of this sudden resolution as a thing which was well known, 
 and which he himself had heard Luther relate, is not only silent 
 concerning any storm of thunder and lightning, but expressly says 
 he does not know by what accident Luther's companion was killed. 
 The story of the thunderstorm appears also to have had little weight 
 on the mind of Melchior Adamus, who wrote the lives of the German 
 divines that promoted the Reformation : yet, from the very respect- 
 able evidence collected by Seckendorf and others, the most pro- 
 bable conclusion seems to be, 
 
 1. That Luther's companion was not killed by lightning, but mur- 
 dered by some unknown person, who left him miserably bruised 
 and wownded. His name is said to have been Alexius. 
 
 2. That Luther himself, while walking at a distance from house 
 or town, was so alarmed by a storm of thunder that he fell upon the 
 ground, and in that situation made a sort of vow to lead a monastic 
 life in future, if he should be delivered from the impending danger. 
 
 3. That he afterwards considered this vow as binding on his con- 
 science, which was, at that time, in a remarkably tender state. 
 
 4. That soon after these events, which took place when he was 
 about twenty-one years of age, he called together his particular 
 friends and fellow-students, and entertained them in his usual way, 
 with music and a convivial treat ; and when they had not the small- 
 est suspicion of his intentions, he besought them to be cheerful with 
 him that evening, for it was the last time, he said, they would ever 
 see him in his present situation, as he had actually determined to 
 begin the monastic life. In the morning he wrote farewell letters to 
 them ; and sent his parents the ring and gown which belonged to 
 him as master of arts ; Hnd at the same time he unfolded to (hem, 
 in writing, the grounds of his resolution. They grieved excessively 
 that such great talents as his should be buried in a state of almost 
 non-existence. But for the space of a month nobody was admitted 
 to speak to him. Seek.— Luth. Ep.— Melch. Adam. 
 
 t Seckend. p. 19. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 26. z 
 
254 
 
 Luther studies the Scriptures, [Cent. 16 
 
 you as his servant for great purposes.' ' The event gave 
 ample honour to the sagacity of Staupitius, and it is very 
 evident that a deep and solid conviction of sin, leading 
 the mind to the search of Scripture truth, and the investi- 
 gation of the way of peace, was the main spring of Lu« 
 ther's whole after-conduct; and, indeed, this view of our 
 reformer's state of mind furnishes the only key to the 
 discovery of the real motives by which he was influenced 
 in his public transactions. Rash and prejudiced writers of 
 the popish persuasion choose to represent him as having 
 been under the dominion of avarice or ambition ; but till 
 they can produce some proofs beyond their own suspicions 
 or bare affirmations, all such slanderous accusations must 
 fall to the ground. In truth, no man was ever more free 
 from avarice and ambition : the fear of God predominated 
 to a very high degree in Luther's mind ; and a nice sensi- 
 bility of conscience, attended with an uncommon insight 
 into the depth of our natural depravity, allowed him no 
 rest. As yet he understood not the Scriptures ; nor felt 
 that peace of God which passeth understanding. He had 
 too much light to sit down in slothful content and indiffer- 
 ence, and too little to discern the rich treasures of the 
 gospel, and apply its healing promises to deep convictions 
 of sin and misery. He remained for above a year not 
 only in constant anxiety and suspense, but in perpetual 
 dread and alarm. All these things are abundantly evi- 
 dent, and beyond all contradiction, to those who are 
 acquainted with his writings. 
 
 In the second year after Luther had entered into the 
 monastery, he accidentally met with a Latin Bible in the 
 library. It proved to him a treasure. Then he first dis- 
 covered that there were more scripture-passages extant 
 than those which were read to the people ; for the Scrip- 
 tures were, at that time, very little known in the world. In 
 reading the word of God with prayer, his understanding 
 was gradually enlightened, and he found some beams of 
 evangelical comfort to dart into his soul. The same year 
 he was refreshed in his sickness by the discourse of an old 
 monk, who showed him that remission of sins was to be 
 apprehended by faith alone, and referred him to a passage 
 in Bernard's sermon on the annunciation, where the same 
 doctrine was taught. With incredible ardour he now gave 
 himself up to the study of the Scriptures and the books of 
 Augustine. He was, at length, regarded as the most 
 
A. D. 1507.] Is ordained. — Excels as a preacher, 255 
 
 ingenious and learned man of his order in Germany. But 
 the soul of Luther was constantly panting for something 
 very different from secular glory. 
 
 He was ordained in the year 1507, and in the next year 
 was called to the professorship at Wittemberg by Staupi- 
 tius, where an opportunity was afforded for the display of 
 his talents both as a teacher of philosophy and as a popular 
 preacher. He excelled in both capacities. Eloquent by 
 nature, and powerful in moving the affections, acquainted 
 also in a very uncommon manner with the elegances and 
 energy of his native tongue, he became the wonder of his 
 age. These things are allowed very liberally by his ene- 
 mies ;* but it ought to be observed, that the exercises of 
 his own mind, by which, under the guidance of the Holy 
 Spirit, he was led more and more into Christian truth, 
 would naturally add a strength to his oratory, unattainable 
 by those who speak not from the heart. Martin Polichius, 
 a doctor of law and medicine, exclaimed, " This monk will 
 confound all the doctors, will exhibit new doctrine, and 
 reform the whole Roman church ; for he is intent on 
 reading the writings of the prophets and apostles, and he 
 depends on the word of Jesus Christ ; this, neither the 
 philosophers nor the sophists can subvert." He who spake 
 thus was himself looked on as a prodigy of wisdom ; and, 
 I suppose, a degree of discernment, less than his, might, 
 have shown an attentive observer, that the didactic plan 
 of Luther was that of an original thinker, who was not 
 likely to confine himself to the beaten track, but to pro- 
 duce something new to mankind. Melancthon's concise 
 account entirely agrees with this statement : " Polichius," 
 says he, '* often declared, that there was a strength of in- 
 tellect in this man, which he plainly foresaw would pro- 
 duce a revolution in the popular and scholastic religion of 
 the times." Nor does it seem at all improbable, that if 
 Luther had followed merely the dictates of his own ad- 
 venturous genius, he might have been the inventor of some 
 novel theological schemes and doctrines. But all ten- 
 dency to fanciful excursions in the important concerns of 
 religion, was effectually restrained and chastised in the 
 mind of our reformer, by his profound reverence for the 
 written word : moreover, from his first entrance into the 
 monastery, he appears to have been taught of God, and to 
 have been led more and more into such discoveries of native 
 * Maimbourg, p. 18. Varillas, p. 22. 
 
 z 2 I 
 
256 
 
 Luther visits Rome, [Cent. 16* 
 
 depravity, as render a man low in his own eyes, and dispose 
 him to receive the genuine gospel of Christ. 
 
 In the year 1510 he was sent to Rome on some busi- 
 ness, which related to his own monastery ; and this he 
 discharged with so much ability and success, that on his 
 return he was compelled by the vicar-general to assume 
 the degree of doctor of divinity. He writes, that he did 
 this v/ith great reluctance, and entirely from obedience to 
 his superiors. It is easy indeed for a man to say this ; 
 but, from the mouth of Luther, it is with me decisive of 
 its truth. For veracity and integrity evidently ap- 
 pear to have remarkably entered into the character of this 
 reformer, as indeed these virtues are always to be emi- 
 nently found in those who have had the most genuine 
 experience of Christianity. The expenses attending this 
 high degree were defrayed by the elector of Saxony, who 
 always admired Luther, and was perfectly convinced of 
 the profundity of his learning, and the rectitude of his 
 views in religion. While he had been at Rome, he disco- 
 vered something of the singularity of his character, which 
 had attracted the attention of the Italian priests. The 
 external rites of religion, which to them were matter of 
 political formality, with him were serious exercises. 
 While they hurried over their exercises of the mass, he 
 performed his with a solemnity and devotion which excited 
 their ridicule, and they told him to repeat them with more 
 rapidity. A thoughtful mind like his, could not conceive 
 that reHgious employments should be discharged with 
 levity, and he returned to his monastery more fully con- 
 vinced than ever, that Rome was not the scene in which 
 a serious pastor could properly learn the rudiments of 
 religion. He studied and taught the Scriptures with in- 
 creasing ardour and alacrity, and after he had been created 
 a doctor, in the year 1512, he expounded the Psalms 
 and the epistle to the Romans, to the great satisfaction of 
 his audience. He studied the Hebrew and the Greek 
 languages, and highly valued the philological labours of 
 the famous Erasmus of Rotterdam, the renowned reviver 
 of classical literature ; and while he concurred with that 
 great man in his contempt of monastic trifles, he was 
 intensely studious to learn better and more scriptural 
 notions of God and his attributes, than those which 
 Erasmus so ingeniously satirized. To build was, how- 
 ever, found much more arduous, as it is certainly a far 
 
A. D, 1516.] His progress in scriptural truth, 257 
 
 more important work, than to pull down ; and from the 
 time that Luther was created a doctor of divinity, he con- 
 scientiously devoted his time and talents to the sacred 
 office. Already he was suspected of heresy, because of 
 his dislike to the scholastic doctrines ; and he was in- 
 duced, both from the natural soundness of his understand- 
 ing", and from the spiritual exercises of his own heart, to 
 reject the Aristotelian corruptions of theology, and to 
 study the genuine doctrines of Scripture. 
 
 In 1516 he thus wrote to a friend :* '* I desire to know 
 what your soul is doing ; whether, wearied at length of its 
 own righteousness, it learns to refresh itself and to rest in 
 the righteousness of Christ. The temptation of presump- 
 tion in our age is strong in many, and specially in those 
 who labour to be just and good with all their might, and 
 at the same time are ignorant of the righteousness of God, 
 which in Christ is conferred upon us with a rich exuber- 
 ance of gratuitous liberality. They seek in themselves to 
 work that which is good, in order that they may have a 
 confidence of standing before God, adorned with virtues 
 and merits, which is an impossible attempt. You, my 
 friend, used to be of this same opinion, or rather this same 
 mistake ; so was I ; but now I am fighting against the 
 error, but have not yet prevailed.'' 
 
 This interesting and instructive letter demonstrates what 
 was the religious frame of our monk at that time. He had 
 received the grace of Christ, and knew the true and only 
 way of salvation ; though, in his own eyes at least, he was 
 weak in the faith. He both felt and preached the funda- 
 mentals of the gospel, before he appeared in the field 
 against popery ; and if he had not been absolutely perse- 
 cuted into a secession, such was his modesty and love of 
 peace and order, and so little had he then studied the par- 
 ticular corruptions of the hierarchy, that he would, in all 
 probability, have continued to his death an obedient son 
 of the Roman church. Many excellent men had done so 
 before him ; because, through inadvertency, they had re- 
 mained unconscious of the absurdities of the predominant 
 religion. The methods of Providence were, however, 
 admirable in conducting Luther into the depths of a 
 controversy, to which he seems to have had no incli- 
 nation. Indulgences were preached, and he saw the evil 
 of them in a practical, rather than a theoretical light, and 
 * Seckend. p. 20. 
 
 i 
 
258 Luther appointed to visit monasteries, [Cent. 16. 
 
 was thence drawn undesignedly into a contest, the effects 
 of which were salutary to so many nations. Those, who 
 apprehend that when he began the contest he was igno- 
 rant of the nature of the gospel, appear not to have known 
 the order and method by which the mind of the Saxon 
 reformer was conducted into religious truth. 
 
 In the year 1516 Luther was appointed, by Staupitius, 
 subaltern vicar ; by which office he was authorized to visit 
 about forty monasteries in Misnia and Thuringia. Re- 
 turning to Wittemberg in June, he wrote to Spalatinus, 
 who was the secretary of the elector, and always showed 
 himself a steady friend of Luther, in terms which expressed 
 the frank effii»ions of his own heart, on a review of the 
 state of religion in the country, which the visitation had 
 given him an opportunity of accurately observing. " Many 
 things, said he, please your prince, and look great in his 
 eyes, which are displeasing to God. In secular wisdom, 
 I confess that he is of all men most knowing ; but, in 
 things pertaining to God, and which relate to the salvation 
 of souls, I must own that he is blind sevenfold.'' This 
 was the true character of Frederic, at that time, though 
 justly esteemed the wisest prince of the age ; and though 
 he was sincerely and ingenuously desirous of promoting 
 religion and virtue. In fact, his good understanding was 
 oppressed with a heavy load of the most pitiable supersti- 
 tions. He was, however, by no means displeased with 
 Luther for using freedom of speech; and there is reason 
 to believe that, afterwards, he learnt more of the true 
 nature of the gospel, though by very slow degrees. 
 
 As George Spalatinus appears to have been one of the 
 most intimate friends of Luther, it is desirable to introduce 
 some particulars respecting him. He was of all others 
 the person to whom the reformer, in his greatest difficul- 
 ties and dangers, intrusted his most secret feelings and 
 designs. Spalatinus by his good sense, his opportunity 
 of easy access to the elector of Saxony, and his sincere 
 attachment to Luther, was, on many occasions, useful to 
 the cause of the Reformation in general, as well as to his 
 friend in particular. 
 
 A private epistolary correspondence between them seems 
 to have been frequent and uninterrupted during many years : 
 tne historian frequently refers to certain parts of it, which 
 are extremely interesting. Hence the following short 
 account of Georgius Spalatinus \umself may have its use. 
 
His correspondence with Spalatinus, 259 
 
 He was a Franconian of considerable learning and great 
 discretion. He was about a year older than Luther, but 
 appears not to have begun the study of divinity with any 
 degree of earnestness, till he was more than thirty years 
 of age. He requested his friend to give him his advice 
 concerning the best method of acquiring sacred know- 
 ledge. The answer of Luther on this occasion well 
 deserves to be remembered and practised by every student 
 in divinity. After recommending to his jiotice certain 
 parts of the writings of Jerom, Ambrose, and Augustine, 
 he exhorts him always to begin his studies with " serious 
 PRAYER ;" for, says he, there is really no Interpreter of 
 THE Divine Word, but its own Author. He adds, Read 
 THE Bible in order from the beginning to the end. 
 
 Luther, in his letters to Spalatinus, addresses him 
 sometimes as librarian, and sometimes as registrar of the 
 elector of Saxony, but takes care, at the same time, to call 
 him minister of Jesus Christ. In fact, Spalatinus was 
 both secretary and privy-counsellor to the elector ; he ac- 
 companied him to several German diets ; and at his court 
 he preached and performed the duties of domestic chap- 
 lain. A stronger proof of the high estimation in which he 
 was supposed to be held by Frederic the Wise need not 
 be adduced, than that in the year 1519 the pope him- 
 self, Leo X., condescended to write a letter to his " Beloved 
 Son George Spalatinus," in which, after acknowledging, 
 in the most flattering terms, the great influence and 
 weight which Spalatinus had with the elector, and how 
 very much that prince valued the prudent and wholesome 
 advice of his secretary, he exhorts him " in the Lord, and 
 with his paternal authority requires him, to contribute 
 every thing in his power to repress the detestable temerity 
 of brother Martin Luther, that child of Satan, whose griev- 
 ous heresy was spreading among the credulous people.'' 
 
 In the affairs of religion, Spalatinus used all his influ- 
 ence to strengthen the party of Luther ; but he was often 
 so vexed and even dispirited on account of the little atten- 
 tion that was paid to his own ministerial exertions, that he 
 seriously thought of quitting his situation at the elector's 
 court. Luther opposed this intention in the most ani- 
 mated and decisive terms : " Take care,*' said he, " that 
 you get the better of these thoughts which harass your 
 mind, or, at least, learn to dismiss them. You must not 
 deser^ the ministry of the word of God. Christ has 
 
2f50 
 
 Account of Spalatinus, 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 called you to his service. Yield yourself to his *rood 
 pleasure. At present you do not understand the import- 
 ance of your situation ; you will understand it better by 
 and by. The desire you have to quit your post is a mere 
 temptation ; the reason of which, we, who are spectators, 
 see better than you do yourself. In a case of this sort, you 
 should rather trust the judgment of your friends than your 
 own. We are the means, which, on this occasion, the 
 Lord uses for your comfort and advice. We call God to 
 witness, that in wishing you to continue in your vocation 
 we have no other object but his will and his glory. I 
 consider it as a certain sign of your ministry being accept- 
 able to God, that you are thus tempted. If it were other- 
 wise, you would not be weary, and deplore your unfruit- 
 fulness ; you would rather bustle, and seek to please men, 
 as those do who talk much, though they were never sent 
 with a commission to preach the gospel.". . . . 
 
 On the same subject Luther writes thus : " You ask 
 niy advice, my dear Spalatinus, whether you should quit 
 your situation at the elector s court. This is my opinion. 
 I own there is reason in what you allege. ' The word of 
 God is disregarded.' And it is a wise rule, ' not to pour 
 out speeches where there is no attention.' But, I say, if 
 there be any persons that love to hear, you should not 
 cease to speak. I myself acted on the principle which I 
 now recommend to you ; otherwise I might long ago 
 have been silent amidst this prodigious contempt of the 
 word of God. Therefore, I affirm, that unless you have 
 some better reason, which lies heavy on your conscience, 
 this perverse and unreasonable inattention of wicked men 
 is not a sufficient cause for your leaving the court. Con- 
 sider of how much service you may be to many, from the 
 weight of your influence with the prince, and from your 
 long experience of the ways of courtiers. Whatever may 
 be the abilities of your successor, Frederic the Wise will 
 not trust him much, till time has furnished proofs of his 
 integrity. On the whole, I cannot so much as conceive 
 any reason that will justify the step you speak of, but one, 
 namely, marriage. Stay, therefore, where you are ; or if 
 you do depart, let a wife be the cause.*' 
 
 Spalatinus continued in his employments until his death, 
 which happened in his grand climacteric, sixty-three, in 
 the year of our Lord 1 545. Great grief and depression 
 of spirits are said to have hastened his end. There is 
 
Luther s sympathy with him, 261 
 
 extant a most judicious, consolatory letter, which Luther 
 wrote to him the preceding year, and which gave him 
 much comfort. Spalatinus, it seems, through ignorance 
 or inadvertency, had consented to the illegal marriage of 
 a clergyman of bad character ; and the matter hung heavy 
 on his mind. Luther first wisely cautions his friend against 
 giving way to too much sorrow. He was well acquainted, 
 he said, with the dreadful effects of it. He had felt those 
 effects in his own case : and he had seen them in the 
 cases of others. He instanced Melancthon, who fell into 
 a most dangerous disease, owing to great grief. He then 
 takes up the case at the worst, namely, on the suppo- 
 sition that Spalatinus had been really much to blame 
 in the affair ; and shows that still he ought not to despair 
 of the grace of God, who was ready to pardon not only 
 the slight faults, but the most grievous sins of the penitent. 
 He tells him, that formerly he himself had been in a simi- 
 lar affliction of mind, which had brought him to the very 
 edge of the grave ; but that Staupitius had been of great 
 use to him by saying, " you are endeavouring to quiet 
 your conscience by considering yourself as a slight, out- 
 ward, superficial sinner ; but you ought to know that Jesus 
 Christ is ready to save the greatest and the vilest of sin- 
 ners.'* Lastly, Luther, as a kind brother, exhorts him in 
 the sweetest and most emphatic language to derive his 
 comfort from a view of the gracious Redeemer. 
 
 Thus we find Luther always the same man. Exercised 
 in the school of adversity, he feels for others. Naturally 
 tender and grateful, he loves his friends, and administers 
 every comfort in his power. His eye is always fixed on 
 the next world ; and the proper business of this hfe, with 
 him, is the care of the soul. The account just given is an 
 admirable specimen of his talents as a spiritual adviser. 
 How many, in a like case, through a mistaken affection, 
 or through fear of giving offence to an aged, dying friend, 
 would have contented themselves with saying nothing but 
 " smooth things"* concerning human infirmity, general 
 sincerity, and the venial nature of sins of inadvertence, &c. 
 But Martin Luther, though behind no man in compassion 
 and benevolence, kept two things constantly in mind, the 
 glory of the Redeemer, and the salvation of men's souls. 
 Hence, on these subjects particularly, he always spoke 
 without disguise. 
 
 * Isa. XXX. 10. 
 
262 
 
 Letter to Spalatinus. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 In October, 1516, Luther communicated to his learned 
 friend, Spalatinus, his thoughts concerning certain of the 
 fathers, and also concerning Erasmus's method of inter- 
 preting* Scripture.* This memorable epistle deserves the 
 particular attention of the reader, as it furnishes judicious 
 and connected observations on Augustine and his con- 
 temporaries, and on the fathers both who preceded and 
 who followed them ; and as it likewise suggests very use- 
 ful reflections on the comparative merits of theologians 
 in different periods, from the days of Cyprian to those of 
 Luther and Erasmus. 
 
 Luther, to George Spalatinus : — " That which strikes 
 my mind in considering Erasmus, is this ; in interpreting 
 the apostle's account of the righteousness of works, or of 
 the law, he understands by these terms ceremonial ob- 
 servances ONLY. In the next place, though he admits the 
 doctrine of original sin, he will not allow that the apostle 
 speaks of it in the fifth chapter to the Romans. Now, if 
 he had carefully read Augustine's Anti-Pelagian tracts, 
 especially his account of the spirit and the letter, of the 
 guilt of sin and the remission of it ; and had observed 
 how he speaks in perfect unison with the best of the 
 fathers, from Cyprian to Ambrose, he might have better 
 understood the apostle Paul, and also have conceived 
 more highly of Augustine as an expositor, than he has 
 hitherto done. In dissenting from Erasmus's judgment 
 in this point, I must frankly declare that I as much prefer 
 Augustine's expositions to those of Jerom, as he prefers 
 those of Jerom to Augustine's. I am, it is true, an Au- 
 gustine monk ; but that circumstance has no influence on 
 my judgment ; for till I had read this father s works I had 
 not the least prejudice in his favour. But I see that 
 Jerom studiously endeavours to draw every thing to a 
 merely historical meaning ;t and, what is very extraordi- 
 nary, where he expounds the Scripture as it were occasion- 
 ally or accidentally, as in his epistles for instance, he does 
 it in a much sounder manner than when he interprets 
 professedly and on purpose. The righteousness of the 
 law is by no means confined to ceremonies ; for though it 
 includes these, it still more directly respects an obedience 
 
 * Lib. i. ep. 20. 
 
 t A merely historical meaninfi^. A mere narration of facts, as 
 opposed to a spiritual meaning, and a practical application to every 
 man's conscience. 
 
A. D. 1516.] Luther preaches at Dresden, 263 
 
 to the whole decalogue ; which obedience, when it takes 
 place to a certain degree, and yet has not Christ for its 
 foundation, though it may produce such men as yi)ur 
 Fabriciuses, and your Reguluses, that is, very upright 
 moralists according to man's judgment, has nothing in it 
 of the nature of genuine righteousness. For men are not 
 made truly righteous, as Aristotle supposes, by performing 
 certain actions which are externally good, — for they may 
 still be counterfeit characters ; — but, men must have 
 righteous principles in the first place, and then they 
 will not fail to perform righteous actions. God first 
 respects Abel, and then his offering.* I beg you would 
 put Erasmus in mind of these things. In so doing, you 
 will discharge the duties both of a friend and of a Christian. 
 As on the one hand I hope and wish that he maybe celebrated 
 through the Christian world, so on the other I fear many 
 may be induced, by the authority of his name, to patro 
 nise that literal and lifeless mode of interpreting Scripture, 
 into which almost all commentators have fallen since the 
 time of Augustine. 1 may be thought presumptuous and, 
 perhaps, severe in thus criticising many great men : my 
 apology is, that I feel a concern for the cause of true 
 theology, and for the salvation of the brethren." 
 
 A little before the controversy concerning indulgences, 
 George, duke of Saxony, entreated Staupitius to send him 
 some learned and worthy preacher. The vicar-general, 
 in comphance with his request, despatched Luther with 
 strong recommendations to^ Dresden. George gave him 
 an order to preach : the sum of Luther's sermon was 
 this ;t That no man ought to despair of the possibility of 
 salvation ; that those who heard the word of God with 
 attentive minds, were true disciples of Christ, and were 
 elected and predestinated to eternal life. He enlarged on 
 the subject, and showed that the whole doctrine of pre- 
 destination, if the foundation be laid in Christ, was of 
 singular efficacy to dispel that fear, by which men, trem- 
 bling under the sense of their own unworthiness, are 
 tempted to fly from God, who ought to be our sovereign 
 refuge. An honourable matron, who attended the palace, 
 and who had heard Luther, was asked by George, the 
 duke, at dinner, how she liked the discourse. " I should 
 die in peace," she said, " if I could hear such another 
 sermon." The duke, in much anger, replied, " I would 
 * Gen. IV. \ Seckend, p. 23. 
 
264 Enmity of duke George towards Liithcj. [Cent. 16 
 
 give a large sum of money that a sermon of this sort, 
 which encourages men in a licentious course of life, had 
 never been preached." And he repeated this several 
 times. Within the space of a month the lady was confined 
 in bed by sickness, and soon after died, rejoicing in her 
 prospects of future glory. Fabricius concludes the ac- 
 count with saying,* From that time liUther came no 
 more to Dresden." That capital of modern Saxony was 
 then part of the dukedom of George, who proved one of 
 the most virulent enemies of Lutheranism. He was the 
 uncle of prince Frederic the Wise. Like pharisaic for- 
 malists in all ages, he perversely misconstrued the doc- 
 trine of free salvation by Jesus Christ, which Luther 
 preached, and which is intended to enable humble and re- 
 penting souls to serve God with lively faith and cheerful 
 hope. The duke of Saxony, I observe, perversely mis- 
 construed this doctrine, as though it had a tendency to 
 persuade men to live in sin ; but the good matron above- 
 mentioned, who resided at his court, appears to have 
 tasted of that bitterness of true conviction of sin, which 
 only can render the doctrine of grace delightful and salu* 
 tary to the mind. 
 
 How precious this doctrine must have been to the mind 
 of Luther himself, may be conceived from a well authen- 
 ticated circumstance,t which evinces the state of mental 
 bondage in which he had been held. Having, for many 
 days, neglected, through the intenseness of his studies, to re- 
 cite the canonical hours,! he, in^compliance with the pope's 
 decrees, and to satisfy his conscience, actually shut himself 
 up in his closet, and recited what he had omitted with 
 punctilious exactness, and with such severe attention and 
 abstinence, as reduced his strength exceedingly, brought 
 on nearly a total want of sleep for the space of five weeks, 
 and almost produced symptoms of a weakened intellect. 
 Is it to be wondered at, that he who, at length, found relief 
 and liberty by the grace of Christ, should be zealous to 
 preach the mystery of the cross to his fellow-creatures.§ 
 
 ♦ Grig. Sax. lib. vli. + Vol. i. p. 344. Bavar. Seek. p. 21. 
 
 ; The Rev. Blanco White, himself formerly a Romish priest, states 
 that the daily service which each priest is required to repeat to him* 
 self in an audible voice every day, cannot, l)y ctmstant practice, or 
 the most rapid utterance, be brouj^ht within the compass of less than 
 an hour and a half in the twenty-four. — Ei). 
 
 ^ j iiere is a further account of Luther by Melancthon, which will 
 hereafter claim our attention. 
 
AbiliHes and learning of Luther, 265 
 
 I have now laid before the reader some interesting 
 particulars of the private life of Luther, previous to his 
 assumption of that public character, which has made 
 his name so illustrious. The serious Christian will adore 
 the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence, which, 
 by preparatory exercises of soul, had directed this ex- 
 traordinary personage into the true light and liberty of 
 the gospel of Christ, and fitted him for the great work to 
 which he was called. At the same time, it seems a certain 
 fact, that the Saxon reformer was not induced to act the 
 part, which has given so great a celebrity to his name, 
 from motives of personal malice, or of a?mbition, or of 
 avarice, but purely from the fear of God, from a consci- 
 entious regard to evangelical truth, from a zeal for the 
 divine glory, and for the profit of the souls of his fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 There are two points concerning Luther, on which all 
 the most respectable, even of the papal party, unanimously 
 concur in their testimony. The one is, that his learning, 
 genius, and capacity, were of the first magnitude. It may 
 seem proper to mention this, because some modern writers, 
 who appear almost wholly ignorant of the real character of 
 the man, have rashly represented him as a person of con- 
 temptible knowledge. But this is the common method of 
 treating many great men, whose studies and attainments 
 happened to be but little connected with the pursuits and 
 discoveries of the eighteenth century ; and till readers 
 learn the practice of so much candour as may dispose 
 them to make equitable allowances for the taste of the 
 times, in which men of great abilities and great accom- 
 plishments have made their appearance, such superficial 
 authors will ; Iways find admirers. The other particular rela- 
 tive to our illustrious reformer is this ; that his life is allowed 
 to be without blemish. In fact, the Romanists, for the 
 purpose of indulging the spirit of censure, are obliged to 
 have recourse to surmises for ,want of realities. When we 
 are much out of humour with a persojci, it is human na- 
 ture to ascribe his very best actions to bad motives. But 
 the slanderous representations of enemies ought never to 
 be substituted in the place of authentic documents. The 
 writers alluded to may fancy that Luther's conduct is 
 best accounted for on the supposition that pride, vanity, 
 ambition, and resentment, were the ruling passions of 
 the rnan they dislike ; nevertheless, all readers of copl 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 26. 2 a 
 
266 Defects and excellences ' [Cent. 16. 
 
 judg-ment will take care to distinguish between their 
 prejudiced, ill-natured conjectures, and substantial proofs. 
 
 Far be it, however, from the historian's design to in- 
 sinuate that there were no faults or defects in the character 
 which he so much admires. Besides the mcessant ebul- 
 litions of native depravity, in the confession of which no 
 man was ever more earnest than Luther, all real Chris- 
 tians, the most eminent saints not excepted, have their 
 infirmities and their faults, which cost them much inward 
 pain and sorrow. The very candid and accurate memo- 
 rialist, Seckendorf, who is so useful to my researches, 
 defies all the adversaries of Luther to fix any just censure 
 on his character, except what may be ranked under two 
 heads, namely, a disposition to anger, and an indulgence 
 in jesting. Beyond all doubt, the Saxon reformer was of 
 a choleric temper, and he too often gave way to this con- 
 stitutional evil, as he himself bitterly laments. Perhaps 
 also he too much encouraged his natural propensity to 
 facetiousness. The monks of his time were, in general, 
 guilty of the like fault, and often to so great a degree, as 
 very improperly to mix scurrilities with sacred subjects. 
 Moreover, the vices and the follies of those whom Luther 
 opposed afforded a strong temptation both to a spirit of 
 anger and of ridicule. For, however severe he may be 
 thought in many of his invectives, we are compelled, by 
 unquestionable evidence, to confess, that his keenest 
 satirical pieces never reached the demerits of those who 
 ruled the church in that age. But, after all that can be 
 said in mitigation, it must be owned that a reformer ought 
 to have considered not so much what they deserved, as 
 what became the character he had to support ; namely, 
 that of a serious Christian, zealous for the honour of his 
 God, displeased with the vices of the Romish priesthood, 
 and grieved on account of the pitiable ignorance of the 
 people, yet more desirous of curing the prevailing evils 
 than of exposing them. 
 
 But we ought to make considerable allowances for the 
 great difference between the manners and customs of our 
 times and those of the sixteenth century. These blemishes 
 in Luther, doubtless, appear much more offensive to us, 
 than they did in his own time among men of ruder man- 
 ners, and accustomed to a greater freedom both of action 
 and of expression in their mutual intercourse. 
 
 In contemplating the <4ualities and endowments of 
 
in Luther's character. 
 
 267 
 
 Luther, we have no hesitation in affirming", that it is not 
 easy to find a more blameless, or even a more excellent 
 character. No man, since the apostles' days, had pene- 
 trated into the sacred oracles with such singular felicity. 
 He was endowed with a greatness of soul far beyond the 
 common lot of men : dangerous gift in a fallen creature ! 
 It was through divine grace that he was enabled to dis- 
 play and persevere in a conduct the most consistent, 
 uncorrupt, and disinterested. His bold and adventurous 
 spirit never appears in any one instance to have made the 
 smallest encroachment on the most perfect integrity. 
 Humane, generous, and placable, he was rarely diverted 
 from the path of equity; and, notwithstanding the un 
 common vehemence of his temper, he was often submis- 
 sive and condescending. With an exquisite sensibility 
 and readiness of conception, with a zeal and an ima- 
 gination which never remitted their ardour for a single 
 moment, he was most perfectly free from enthusiasm ; and 
 with a great capacity and unparalleled intrepidity, he 
 seems to have been devoid of ambition, and contented to 
 live all his days in very moderate circumstances. Only 
 the Wise Disposer of all events, for the glory of his own 
 name, and for the revival of true religion in Europe, by 
 the effectual operation of his Holy Spirit, could have pro- 
 duced, at the season when most wanted, so faithful a 
 champion, one possessed of so much vigour of intellect, 
 of so daring a spirit, and of so truly humble and Christian- 
 like a temper. 
 
 Such was the illustrious Luther when he was called 
 upon by Divine Providence to enter the lists, alone and 
 without one assured human ally, against the hosts of the 
 pretended successor of St. Peter, who was then domineer- 
 ing over the Christian world in all his grandeur and pleni- 
 tude of power. 
 
 I shall conclude this chapter with laying before the 
 reader several concise testimonies to the talents and vir- 
 tues of Luther, extracted from the writings of popish authors, 
 who will not be suspected of any partiality towards the man, 
 whom they have been accustomed to consider as a detest- 
 able heretic. To transcribe the various encomiums which 
 have been written on this celebrated character by his 
 friends and admirers, by protestant authors, and by his- 
 torians in general, would be an endless labour. 
 
 The Jesuit Maimbourg, in his history of Lutheranism, 
 A 2 
 
268 
 
 Testimonies of his adversaries [Cent. 16. 
 
 records many particulars respecting the learning and abili- 
 ties of this celebrated heretic, as he calls him, which have 
 not yet been mentioned : 
 
 " He possessed a quick and penetrating genius : he 
 was indefatigable in his studies, and frequently so ab- 
 sorbed in them as to abstain from meat for whole days 
 together. He acquired great knowledge of languages and 
 of the fathers. He was remarkably strong and healthy, 
 and of a sanguine choleric temperament. His eyes were 
 piercing and full of fire. His voice sweet, and vehement 
 when once fairly raised. He had a stern countenance ; 
 and though most intrepid and high spirited, he could 
 assume the appearance of modesty and humility whenever 
 he pleased, which, however, was not often the case. In 
 his breast was lodged plenty of fuel for pride and pre- 
 sumption : hence his indiscriminate contempt of whatever 
 opposed his heresies ; hence his brutal treatment of kings, 
 emperors, the pope, and of every thing in the world that 
 is deemed most sacred and inviolable. Passionate, re- 
 sentful, and domineering, he was continually aiming to 
 distinguish himself by venting novel doctrines, and on no 
 occasion could be induced to retract what he had once ad- 
 vanced. He maintained, that Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, 
 Scotus, Bonaventura, and others, had undermined the 
 foundations of true philosophy and of Christian theology; 
 and he endeavoured to raise up a system of his own upon 
 the ruins of those very great geniuses. This is an exact 
 portrait of Martin Luther, of whom it may be truly said, 
 there was in the man a great mixture both of good and 
 of bad qualities : the bad predominated ; but he was 
 abundantly more corrupt in his thoughts and sentiments, 
 than in his life and manners. He was always reckoned 
 to live sufficiently blameless while he remained in the 
 monastery, and till he absolutely ruined all his good qua- 
 lities by his heresies." 
 
 Varillas, a celebrated French historian, in his diffuse 
 history of various heresies, as he terms them, speaks of 
 Luther in the following manner: " This Augustine monk 
 united in his single person all the good and all the bad 
 qualities of the heresiarchs of his time. To the robust- 
 ness, health, and industry of a German, nature seems 
 here to have added the spirit and vivacity of an Italian 
 Nobody exceeded him in philosophy and scholastic theo- 
 logy ; nobody equalled him in the art of speaking. He 
 
Maimbourg, Varillas, Moreri. 269 
 
 was a most perfect master of eloquence. He had com- 
 pletely discovered where lay the strength or the weakness 
 of the human mind ; and accordingly he knew how to 
 render his attacks successful. However various or dis- 
 cordant might be the passions of his audience, he could 
 manage them to his own purposes ; for he presently saw 
 the ground on which he stood ; and even if the subject 
 was too difficult for much argument, he carried his point 
 by popular illustration and the use of figures. In ordi- 
 nary conversations, he displayed the same power over the 
 affections, which he had so often demonstrated in the pro- 
 fessor's chair and the pulpit. He rarely attempted to 
 convince ; his method was to inflame men's passions, and 
 afterwards gradually to insinuate his opinions. No man, 
 either of his own time or since, spoke or wrote the Ger- 
 man language, or understood its niceties, better than Lu- 
 ther. Often, when he had made his first impression by bold 
 strokes of eloquence, or by a bewitching pleasantry of 
 conversation, he completed his triumphs by the elegance 
 of his German style. On the other hand, he was rude, 
 satirical, ambitious, and ungrateful. Disposed to anger 
 on the slightest occasions, and for the most part impla- 
 cable. He was much addicted to excesses at the table, 
 and was capable of the usual concomitant vices ; though 
 his monastic life deprived him almost entirely of oppor- 
 tunities of indulging himself in them.'* 
 
 No remarks need be made on these descriptions of 
 Luther by popish writers. The surmises and the exag- 
 gerations they contain are sufficiently obvious : the reader 
 will easily separate them from the truth, and will, at the 
 same time, perceive how much the account, which we 
 have given of our reformer, is corroborated by these 
 enemies of the reformation. 
 
 Moreri, in his Historical Miscellany, says of Luther, 
 *' This heresiarch gloried in his apostasy, and in the 
 lamentable schism of the church ; and filled his writings 
 with his poisons. He composed various works ; and it 
 cannot be denied that he was a man of much learning and 
 fire of genius. Vanity was his motive, whatever pains 
 may have been taken to represent him as a person of 
 integrity and moderation. Henry VIII., king of England, 
 in answer to Luther, had sent to pope Leo a learned 
 defence of the seven sacraments. Luther replied to the 
 monarch in so insolent a manner, that it was easy to see 
 2 A 3 
 
270 
 
 From Bayle. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 from this single instance, that a man of such a temper 
 could not be under the influence of the Spirit of God. 
 Besides, he published a seditious book against the bishops ; 
 and had the impudence to oppose the pope's bull, in 
 which he himself was excommunicated." 
 
 As my chief object in giving these extracts is to satisfy 
 the reader, from the testimony of Luther's enemies, of his 
 great learning and talents, I content myself with quoting 
 briefly the substance of what has been repeatedly and dis- 
 tinctly conceded by the most noted Roman Catholic 
 writers, in regard to these points ; and I entirely omit 
 many scandalous falsehoods, which have been invented 
 by malicious advocates for the papal system, with the view 
 of defaming the character of our reformer. His two 
 blemishes have been mentioned above, as allowed by the 
 incomparable Seckendorf* and these no judicious defender 
 of protestants, or of protestantism, will ever undertake 
 altogether to defend. 
 
 Those who wish to see a full account, and also a con- 
 futation, of the idle inventions and abominable falsehoods 
 here alluded to, may consult, with advantage, the cele- 
 brated Historical and Critical Dictionary by Peter Bayle. 
 This author, though justly esteemed an infidel in religion, 
 was a man of brilliant parts and acute intellect ; and he 
 has collected together much useful information respecting 
 Martin Luther, and both his friends and his adversaries. 
 
 " I," says this writer, " shall chiefly insist on the many 
 falsehoods which have been published respecting Luther. 
 No regard has been paid, in this point, to the rules of the 
 art of slandering. And yet the authors of them have as- 
 sumed all the confidence of those, who fully believe that 
 the public will impHcitly espouse their stories, be they 
 ever so absurd. They accuse him of having confessed 
 that he had struggled for ten years together with his con- 
 science, and at last had become perfectly master of it, and 
 fallen into atheism. They impudently maintain, that he 
 denied the immortality of the soul. They charge him 
 with having gross and carnal ideas of heaven, and with 
 composing hymns in honour of drunkenness. Most of 
 these calumnies are grounded upon some words in a 
 certain book published by Luther's friends, to which his 
 adversaries give a horrid meaning, and very different from 
 this ecclesiastic's real thoughts. His greatest enemies 
 could not deny that he had eminent qualities ; and history 
 
Slanders of Garasse. 
 
 21) 
 
 affords nothing' more surprising than his exploits. For a 
 simple monk to give so rude a shock to popery, is what 
 we cannot sufficiently admire. He had made great pro- 
 gress in scholastic learning ; yet no one fell so foul upon 
 the method of philosophizing at that time, nor was any 
 man more vehemently bent against the great Aristotle.** 
 
 The same author produces the following remarkable 
 citation from a noted French writer, who was one of 
 Luther's slanderers.* *' Luther was a perfect atheist. 
 His own disciple. Dr. Aurifaber, deposes, as an ear-wit- 
 ness, that he heard Luther himself say in the pulpit, he 
 thanked God he felt no longer any disturbance of his con- 
 science, and that he began to see the fruits of his gospel 
 among his disciples." *' Nam post revelatum evangelium 
 meum,'* said he, " virtus est occisa, justitia oppressa, 
 temperantia ligata, Veritas lacerata, fides clauda, nequitia 
 quotidiana, devotio pulsa, haeresis relicta." Mons. Ga- 
 rasse translates this passage thus : *^ I have fought with 
 such success that I have stifled the seeds of virtue, op- 
 pressed justice, extinguished sobriety, rent truth to pieces, 
 broken the pillars of faith, made villainy familiar, banished 
 devotion, and introduced heresy." Upon which P. Bayle 
 makes the following excellent observation ; " There is no 
 need to observe here, that all this is to be understood by 
 the rule of contraries ; the thing speaks for itself; and 
 I am certain there is no honest man, whatever religion he 
 is of, but will detest or pity the extravagance of such a 
 slanderer." It is not at all improbable that Luther might 
 use, in his pulpit, the very words here brought against 
 him in accusation ; nor is it necessary to suppose that, in 
 the warmth and haste of eloquence, and to make his 
 meaning clear, iie should even have used the words., they 
 SAID, or, MINE ENEMIES CRIED OUT, &c. Nothing cau be 
 more obvious than the sense of the citation, even as it 
 stands. " After my way of expounding the gospel be- 
 came known," says Luther,t they said, or, mine enemies 
 CRIED OUT, Virtue is stifled, justice is oppressed," and so 
 on ; and we are left to wonder how an omission, which is 
 quite common in all vehement harangues, whatever be the 
 language spoken, could possibly be made, by any reasonable 
 
 * Mons. Garasse. 
 
 t All becomes clear, by supposing the words here printed in 
 capitals to have been implied, though not actually said ; or it was 
 rhetorical irony, as 1 Cor. xv. 32, &c. 
 
272 Observations respecting Luther [Cent. 16. 
 
 man, the occasion of so much calumny. Those, how- 
 ever, will wonder less who have been accustomed to 
 observe, how frequently it happens in our times that sound 
 and zealous preachers of the gospel are misrepresented 
 and reviled, as though their interpretations of the nature 
 of Christ's salvation had a tendency to promote licen- 
 tiousness. 
 
 Let not the reader forget that my present object is to 
 produce evidences of Luther's learning and talents from 
 the mouths of his adversaries, or, at least, from the mouths 
 of those who have shown no particular predilection for 
 the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. It would be with much 
 pain and reluctance that I should be compelled to place 
 the famous Erasmus among either of these classes. His 
 o^reat learning, his elegant taste, and his acute under- 
 standing, are all unquestionable; neither is there any 
 doubt how very serviceable his writings proved in pre- 
 paring men's minds to approve the bolder and more 
 decisive measures of Luther,* But still, in my judgment, 
 the proofs of his love of ease, of fame, and of the esteem 
 of persons of rank and consequence, are far more nu- 
 merous than any examples which can be produced of his 
 sincere regard for the essential doctrines of Christianity, 
 or of the evangelical humility of his own mind. Though 
 it may be extremely difficult to delineate accurately a 
 character of this sort, his observations, nevertheless, on the 
 great men and great transactions of his own times, can- 
 not fail to be valuable. Moreover, as Erasmus at no 
 time, I believe, was very fond of Luther, and as they very 
 much opposed and controverted each other's opinions, 
 the judgment of this illustrious scholar respecting the 
 great Saxon reformer, may be laid before the reader in 
 this place with much propriety. Indeed, the following 
 extracts are the more important, and also suitable to be 
 cited here, because, first, they decisively prove the abilities 
 of Luther 3 and, secondly, they contain many facts and 
 circumstances which demonstrate the knowledge, learn- 
 ing, and integrity of our reformer ; and, lastly, they very 
 materially corroborate the preceding account of the state 
 of the religious world in general, when this extraordinary 
 man began his opposition to the existing ecclesiastical 
 tyranny. 
 
 Erasmus had so good an opinion of Luther's intentions 
 * See page 224 of this vol. 
 
by Erasmus. 
 
 273 
 
 that in one of his epistles he expresses his belief, " That 
 God had sent him to reform mankind/'* Melancthon, in 
 his Life of Luther, assures us from his own knowledge, 
 that the elector of Saxony besought Erasmus in the very 
 kindest manner, to tell him freely, whether he judged Lu- 
 ther to be mistaken, respecting the principal controversies 
 in which he was then engaged ; and that Erasmus on this 
 occasion spoke out, " That Luther's sentiments were true, 
 but that he wished to see more mildness in his manner." 
 In another letter he says, The cause of Luther is invi- 
 dious, because he at once attacks the bellies of the monks 
 and the diadem of the pope."t In various other letters, 
 and particularly in one written to Cardinal Campegius in 
 the year 1520, Erasmus opens his mind freely concerning 
 Luther and his proceedings. He acknowledges that he 
 possessed great natural talents ; and that he had a genius 
 particularly adapted to the explanation of difficult points 
 of literature, and for rekindling the sparks of genuine 
 evangelical doctrine, which were almost extinguished by 
 the trifling subtilties of the schools. He adds that men 
 of the very best character, of the soundest learning, and 
 of the most religious principles, were much pleased with 
 Luther's books ; further, that in proportion as any person 
 was remarkable for upright morals and gospel purity, he 
 had the less objection to Luther's sentiments. " Be- 
 sides," said he, the life of the man is extolled, even by 
 those who cannot bear his doctrines. — Some, indeed, in 
 hatred to his person, condemn what is true, pervert and 
 misinterpret what is right, and make him pass for a here- 
 tic, for saying the same things which they allow to have 
 been pious and orthodox in Bernard and Austin." Eras- 
 mus declares, that he had endeavoured, to the utmost of 
 his power, to hinder Luther from being oppressed by a 
 faction of raging zealots. It grieved him that a man of 
 such FINE PARTS should be rendered desperate by the mad 
 cries and bellowings of the monks. " We ought,'' conti- 
 nued this sagacious writer, " to take notice of the source 
 and spring of all this evil. The world was burdened with 
 human inventions in the business of rehgion, loaded with 
 the opinions and doctrines of the schools, and oppressed 
 with the tyranny of the monks and begging friars. I do 
 not condemn them all, but many of them are so mad, that 
 
 * Ep. Alberto pio. App. cccxxxiii. 
 t TLls letter is to the elector of Saxony. 
 
S74 
 
 Testimony of Erasmus, 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 for the sake of interest and rule, they hamper the con- 
 sciences of men on purpose. They lay aside Christ and 
 modesty, they preach nothing but their own innovations, 
 and oftentimes scandalous doctrines. They speak of in- 
 dulgences after such a manner, as is insupportable even 
 to the laity. By these, and such Hke methods, the power 
 of the gospel is dwindled to nothing ; and it is to be 
 feared, that matters becoming continually worse, the little 
 spark of Christian piety by which the stifled spirit of cha- 
 rity might be rekindled, will be entirely quenched. The 
 chief parts of religion are lost in ceremonies more than 
 judaical. Good men lament and weep for these things ; 
 and even divines, who are not monks, acknowledge the 
 truth of them, as also some of the monks in their private 
 conversations. These things, I believe, first put Luther 
 upon the dangerous work of opposing some of the most 
 intolerable and shameless abuses. For what can we 
 think otherwise of a person, who neither aims at worldly 
 honour nor riches ? I do not now consider the charges 
 which they bring against the man ; I speak only of the 
 apparent grounds of their animosity towards him. Luther 
 had the boldness to call in question the good of indulgen- 
 ces ; but others had first spoken too much and too boldly 
 for them. Luther has dared to speak indecently of the 
 power of the pope of Rome ; but others had first exalted 
 it too indecently ; and, in particular, three preaching 
 friars, Alvarus, Sylvester, and the cardinal of St. Sixtus. 
 He dared to despise the decrees of Thomas Aquinas; but 
 the Dominicans had extolled them almost above the gos- 
 pel. He dared to disclose some doubts in the matter of 
 confession ; but the monks continually perplexed the con- 
 sciences of men upon that head. He dared to reject the 
 conclusions of the schools in part ; but others ascribed 
 too much to them, and yet disagreed with them as well as 
 he, altering them often, and introducing new notions in 
 the place of those they abolished. It was matter of grief 
 to pious minds, to hear almost nothing said in the schools 
 of the doctrines of the gospel, and that, in the sermons, 
 little mention was made of Christ, but much of papal 
 power, and of the opinions of recent writers. Luther has 
 written a great deal that savours more of imprudence than 
 irreligion. But the greatest offence he has given is, his 
 want of respect to Thomas Aquinas; his lessening of the 
 profits of indulgences ; his despising of the mendicant 
 
A D . 1 5 1 7 .] Controversy concerning Indulgences, 27 5 
 
 friars ; his preferring" of the gospel to the doctrines of the 
 schools 5 his opposing of the sophistries of disputants : 
 all these are intolerable heresies."* 
 
 The reader, in this last instance, has had before him a 
 witness, perfectly competent to decide on many of the 
 points, whicn, usually, afford matter for much controversy 
 between papists and protestants ; and, we trust, the true 
 character of the Saxon reformer, in regard to his motives, 
 abilities, and learning is now fully ascertained. 
 
 CHAR III. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE CONTROVERSY CONCERNING INDUL- 
 GENCES, TILL THE CONCLUSION OF THE CONFERENCES 
 BETWEEN LUTHER AND CAJETAN. 
 
 Tetzel, the Dominican, alarmed at the publication of 
 Luther's theses, opposed to them one hundred and six 
 propositions, in which he attempted to refute the argu- 
 ments of the Augustine monk ; and not content with this, 
 by virtue of his inquisitorial authority, he also directed 
 Luther's compositions to be burnt. It appears from very 
 authentic documents,t that this shameless monk was an 
 experienced veteran in the traffic of indulgences. He 
 himself, in the year 1507, that is, ten years before the 
 present dispute with Luther, had collected at Friberg two 
 thousand florins in the space of two days by the iniquitous 
 sale of that article. The sale of indulgences, therefore, 
 was no new thing in the papal system ; and the instance 
 before us proves, that occasionally at least, the scandalous 
 practice might be carried to a very great extent. It is, 
 however, a relief to the indignant mind, to find that eccle- 
 siastical history furnishes some few examples of pious 
 Christians with enlightened understandings, who had 
 bravely withstood the growing corruption. To mention 
 one: John, bishop of Misnia, had effectually discharged 
 from his own diocese the popish proclaimers of indul- 
 gences, who, like merchants, had been vending every- 
 where their certificates of pardon of sins, as if they were 
 
 * See. Erasm. Epis. andBrandrs History of the Reformation, 
 t Moller Crou. Fribergen. 
 
276 
 
 Shameless conduct of TetzeL 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 an ordinary commodity.* He had blamed the people for 
 foolishly patting their money into a chest, of which they 
 had not the key ; and had declared that, by reading the 
 Bible, he had discovered the apostolical religion to be 
 very different from that which prevailed a* present. This 
 good prelate, a little before his death, happening to hear 
 that Tetzel was again employed in a similar way, prophe 
 sied he would be the last of the dealers in indulgences, on 
 account of his shameless audacity.f Notwithstanding 
 this, and every other warning or remonstrance, the Domi- 
 nican commissioner persevered in the traffic with aug- 
 mented industry ; and so much incensed the minds of 
 Luther's disciples at Wittemberg, that they ventured, by 
 way of retaliation, to burn publicly his propositions, or 
 theses,! as they were called, with every mark of disappro 
 bation and ignominy. Luther was much grieved at this 
 rash action ; and finding himself accused of instigating his 
 followers to commit it, he writes thus to a friend. *' J 
 
 ♦ Chytr. lib. ii. 
 
 t A soul," said Tetzel in his Theses, " may go to heaven, in the 
 very moment in which the money is cast into the chest. The man, 
 who buys off his own sins by indulgences, merits mere than he wiio 
 gives alms to the poor, unless it be in extreme necessity." Other 
 extraordinary assertions are hkewise contained in his tracts, which 
 demonstrate that Protestant writers have not misrepresented the 
 controversy before us. Suffice it to mention two sentences more. 
 
 The ministers of the church do not barely declare men's sins for- 
 
 fiven, but do really pardon them by virtue of the sacraments, and 
 y the power of the keys. — They may impose a punishment to be 
 suffered after death : and it is better to send a penitent with a 
 small penance into purgatory, than by refusing him absolution to 
 send him into hell." Du Pin. b. ii. Seek. lib. i. 
 
 X When Tetzel was at Leipsic, and had scraped together a great 
 deal of money Irom all ranks of people, a nobleman, who suspected 
 the imposture, put this question to him. " Can you grant absolution 
 for a sin which a man shall intend to commit in future ?" " Yes," 
 replied the shameless commissioner, *' but on condition that the pro- 
 per sum of money be actually paid down." The nobleman in- 
 stantly produced the sum demanded ; and in return, received a 
 diploma sealed and signed by Tetzel, absolving him from the unex- 
 plained crime which he secretly intended to commit. Not long 
 after, when Tetzel was about to leave Leipsic, the nobleman made 
 inquiry respecting the road he would probably travel, waited iox 
 him in ambush at a convenient place, attacked and robbed him ; 
 then beat him soundly with a stick, sent him back again to Leipsic 
 with his chest empty, and at parting said : " This is the fault 1 in- 
 tended to conmiit, and for which 1 have your absolution. "—This 
 story may seem scarcely worthy of the di<jnity of history ; but it is 
 recorded by the cautious Seckendorf, and may serve to show the 
 almost incredible lengths to which the popish agents proceeded in 
 rtie detestable traffic so clearly laid open by this anecdote. 
 
A. D. 1517 ] 
 
 Luther opposes him. 
 
 277 
 
 wonder, you could believe that I was the author of the 
 deed. Think you that I am so destitute of common 
 sense, as to stigmatize, in such a manner, a person in so 
 high an office ? I know better the rules of ecclesiastical 
 subordination, and have more regard to my own charac- 
 ter, both as a monk and as a theologian, than to act so/' 
 There were also persons, who pretendnig to be in posses 
 sion of court intrigues, were fond of circulating the report, 
 that Luther had published his theses by the secret instiga- 
 tions of the elector Frederic. Luther, with great concern, 
 takes notice of this false surmise. In a letter to his friend 
 Spalatinus he thus expresses his feelings : " I am heartily 
 vexed at the scandalous report, which is diffused with 
 much malignity, namely, that in all I do, I am only the 
 ENGINE of our illustrious prince, for the purpose of dis- 
 gracing the archbishop of Mentz. What do you think I 
 ought to do on the occasion ? Shall I open the matter to 
 the elector? I am extremely concerned, that the prince 
 should be suspected on my account, and I cannot bear the 
 thought of being the origin of contention among persons 
 of so great dignity." 
 
 " Luther also published a sermon, preached against in- 
 dulgences, which Tetzel answered ; and this produced a 
 reply from Luther. About the same time, Henry duke of 
 Brunswick, who was afterwards distinguished among the 
 most active enemies of Lutheranism, appeared in the con- 
 test ; and in a public writing accused Frederic of secretly 
 supporting Luther. The well known character of the 
 elector, for caution and prudence, seems however to have 
 prevented the report from gaining much credit. This 
 prince took extraordinary care not to involve himself un- 
 necessarily in the concerns of Luther. Our intrepid 
 reformer, in all his opposition to Tetzel, most certainly had 
 no colleague or assistant ; and he himself declared, that he 
 never had conversed with the elector Frederic in his whole 
 life. 
 
 Luther never did things by halves. Accordingly, as the 
 affair of selling indulgences had laid firm hold of his mind, 
 he could neither quiet his uneasiness, nor smother his in- 
 dignation. He still continued to preach and write on the 
 same subject, till the end of the year 1517. In the next 
 year he went to Heidelberg, and was courteously received 
 by Wolfgang, the brother of the elector palatine, who was 
 the scholar of Ecolampadius, a name afterwards renowned 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 26. 2 B 
 
278 
 
 Controversy of Luther 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 amon^ the reformers. Luther had been advised by his 
 friends not to go to Heidelberg, on account of the danger 
 to which he might be exposed. But, as a general assem- 
 bly of the Augustinian monks had been called at that 
 place, he thought it right to obey his superiors, whatever 
 might be the event. The official business of the assembly 
 w^as of no great moment ; and therefore we need not be 
 surprised that the zealous and active spirit of Luther was 
 not content with barely discharging the duties of his order. 
 A providential opportunity was offered of propagating 
 divine truth, and it behoved him not to neglect it. While, 
 therefore, he remained at this place, he wrote some pro- 
 positions, in which he opposed the prevailing notions* 
 concerning justification, faith, and works. His capital 
 object in them was to demonstrate the doctrine of justi- 
 fication, before God, by faith, and not by our works and 
 deservings. The theses or positions which he intended to 
 defend, were publicly exposed to view in writing, accord- 
 ing to custom ; and he called upon Leonard Bejar, a monk 
 of the Augustinian order, to be his respondent. The 
 professors of the university disapproved of the contro- 
 versy; and therefore it was held in the Augustinian mo- 
 nastery. A large concourse of people attended, and a 
 number of the learned bore a part in the disputation. 
 Among the hearers were Martin Bucer and John Bren- 
 tius, men afterwards eminent in the work of reformation. 
 These and other persons, who in process of time became 
 celebrated theologians, admired the acuteness, prompti- 
 tude, and meekness of Luther, were struck with the truths 
 of the gospel, which were new to their ears, and desired 
 further instruction of him in private. This was the seed- 
 time of the gospel in the palatinate ; and these were the 
 beginnings of the reformation in that electorate. Luther's 
 disciples cultivated and taught the same doctrines in 
 private, and after a time ventured to teach them publicly 
 in the university. 
 
 While the cause of evangelical truth was thus making 
 gradual advances in Germany, two celebrated Roman- 
 ists, Eckius of Ingolstadt, and Prierias a Dominican, 
 master of the sacred palace at Rome, took up their pens 
 against the theses of Luther, who by these means was led 
 into a fresh literary contest. Luther published elaborate 
 
 * Seckend. 29. from a MS. Hist, of the Palatine Churches, by 
 Altingius. 
 
A. D. 1518.] with Eckius and others 279 
 
 answers on all the disputed points ; and managed this 
 part of the controversy with so much moderation and 
 gentleness, that his inimical historian, Maimbourg, has 
 no way left of reviling the man he disHkes, but by saying, 
 On this occasion, he acted contrary to his natural dis- 
 position." Let the reader infer the real disposition of 
 Luther from authenticated facts, and not from the insinu- 
 ations of prejudiced papists. At this time, he wrote also 
 to his own diocesan, and to his vicar-general. To his 
 diocesan, the bishop of Brandenberg, he declared, that he 
 did not DETERMINE, but DISPUTE, usiug the liberty allowed 
 to scholastic men in all ages. " I fear not," says he, ** bulls 
 and menaces ; it is the audaciousness and the ignorance 
 of men that induce me to stand forth, though with much 
 reluctance : were there not a weighty cause for it, no one, 
 out of my own little sphere, should ever hear of me. If 
 the cause I defend, be not the work of God, I would have 
 nothing to do with it ; let it perish. Let him alone have 
 glory, to whom alone glory belongs.'* He endeavoured to 
 arouse the spirit of his vicar-general, thus : " When I first 
 heard you say, * that true repentance begins with a love of 
 righteousness and of God,' the words made a deep and 
 durable impression on my heart, as if they had come by a 
 voice directly from heaven." Hence, he said, he was filled 
 with grief to see the true doctrine of repentance super- 
 seded by indulgences. He expressed his great unwilling- 
 ness to be drawn into the contest ; but, being defamed as 
 an enemy of the pope, he felt himself constrained to defend 
 his own character. He therefore begged Staupitius to 
 transmit his trifling writings, as he calls them, to pope 
 Leo X., that they might speak for him at Rome. " Not," 
 says he, " that I would involve you in my dangers. I 
 desire alone to stand the shock of the contest. Let Christ 
 see to it, whether the cause be mine or his. To the kind 
 admonitions of my friends, who would warn me of danger, 
 my answer is, ' The poor man has no fears.' I protest, 
 that property, reputation, and honours, shall all be of no 
 estimation with me, compared with the defence of truth. 
 I have only a frail body to lose, and that weighed down 
 with constant fatigue. If, in obedience to God, I lose it 
 through violence or fraud, what is the loss of a few hours 
 of life ? Sufficient for me is the lovely Redeemer and 
 Advocate, my Lord Jesus Christ, to whose praise I will 
 sing as long as I live." 
 
 2 B 2 
 
280 concerning faiUi and justificatioji, [Cent. 16. 
 
 In a private letter of this kind, written to a friend much 
 older than himself, and whom he honoured as his father, 
 every candid person must see that Luther would open the 
 genuine feelings of his soul. This sin^^le fact, therefore, is 
 decisive against the constant, but groundless, assertion of 
 his adversaries, *' that he was secretly encouraged and 
 supported in this perilous contest by Staupitius." There 
 is no doubt that both his diocesan and his vicar-general 
 valued him extremely for his talents and piety ; nor were 
 either of them destitute of some evangelical light : the 
 latter especially, as we have seen, had been serviceable 
 the young Augustine monk in his early conflicts of temp- 
 tation. But neither the former, nor the latter, had the 
 knowledge, the courage, the faithfulness of Luther. 
 
 His controversial writings, published in the year 1518, 
 in explanation and support of the various doctrines he had 
 advanced, are full of important matter, and very much lay 
 open the real state of his mind at that time. And these 
 writings also, (such was his regard for ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline,) he thought proper to transmit both to his ordinary 
 and to his vicar-general. Among many other positions 
 maintained in them, are the following : " That every true 
 Christian may become a partaker of the grace of Christ 
 without pontifical indulgences. A Christian," says he, 
 *' may glory that in Christ he has all things ; that all the 
 righteousness and merits of Christ are his own, by virtue of 
 that spiritual union with him, which he has by faith : and, on 
 the other hand, that all his sins are no longer his, bjt that 
 Christ, through the same union, bears the burden of them. 
 And this is the confidence of Christians, this is the re- 
 freshment of their consciences, that by faith our sins cease 
 to be ours judicially, because they are laid on him the 
 Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." 
 
 " I was compelled," continues Luther, *' in my consci- 
 ence to expose the scandalous sale of indulgences. I saw 
 some seduced by them into mischievous errors, others 
 tempted into an audacious profaneness. In a word, the 
 proclaiming and selling of pardons proceeded to such an 
 unbounded licentiousness, that the holy church and its 
 authorities became subjects of open derision in the public 
 taverns. There was no occasion to excite the hatred of 
 mankind against priests to a greater degree. The avarice 
 and profligacy of the clergy had, for many years past, 
 kindled the indignation of the laity. Alas ! they have not 
 
A. D. 1518.] Luther mote to the pope, 
 
 281 
 
 a particle of respect or honour for the priesthood, except 
 what solely arises from fear of punishment 5 and I speak 
 plainly, unless their dislike and their objections be attended 
 to and moderated, not by mere power, but by substantial 
 reasons and reformations, all these evils will grow worse/' 
 From these extracts * the reader will be enabled to form 
 his own judgment of Luther, as a divine, as a statesman, 
 and as an honest man. He wrote a letter to the pope 
 himself, respecting the same transactions, in which he ex- 
 presses himself in so dutiful and ceremonious a manner, 
 and even in strains of such submissive and prostrate sub- 
 jection, as sufficiently show, that at that time he was far 
 from meditating a separation from the church of Rome. 
 Maimbourg himself appears to have very much felt the 
 force of Luther's ingenuous declarations and general con- 
 duct in these proceedings. He thinks, he probably might 
 have been sincere in his professions of obedience to the 
 Roman see, " because," says he, *' it was so contrary to 
 his nature to play the hypocrite for any considerable time 
 together." The same author adds, Whether he was 
 really sincere or not, his modest and plausible manner of 
 expressing his doubts, procured him the approbation of 
 many. He was looked on as an honest inquirer after 
 truth, who had detected the frauds of his adversaries, and, 
 in that way, had unjustly brought upon himself the name 
 of heretic."t 
 
 The preceding detail of facts and observations unavoid- 
 ably lead the mind to this conclusion. Luther was far 
 advanced in evangelical knowledge, and appears to have 
 been an experienced Christian some time before he became 
 known to the world. Yet was he still strongly wedded to 
 the habits of superstition; and he slowly admitted the 
 conviction of the antichristian character of the hierarchy. 
 He dreaded what he supposed was the sin of schism : and 
 the impetuous fire of his temper was perpetually checked 
 by the admonitions of conscience, and by the fear of 
 offending his Maker. In this singular character, there 
 was certainly united an assemblage of qualities, rarely 
 
 * The extracts here given are almost hteral translations. But 
 every one, who has been used to make extracts, knows that in many 
 cases where a great deal is omitted for the sake of brevity, it is ne- 
 cessary to add a few words to prevent obscurities. This, how- 
 ever, should always be done with the greatest care, so as not to 
 affect the sense. 
 
 t Maimb. p. 28. iji Seek. 
 
 2 B 3 
 
282 
 
 Luther s views 
 
 fCent. 16. 
 
 found together in the same person ; in particular, the 
 greatest caution in conduct with a temper remarkably 
 ardent and choleric. Too often this last betrayed him into 
 bl am able asperity of language, yet seldom does it seem 
 to have influenced his measures or plans of action. The 
 poet's simple, but sublime description of one of his dra- 
 matic heroes,* " he feared God, and he feared none be- 
 sides,*' is eminently true of the Saxon theologian. 
 
 Whoever keeps in view the natural and religious dispo- 
 sitions of Luther, while he contemplates the critical situ- 
 ation of this reformer, during the suspense of his contest 
 with the papal authorities, cannot fail to conclude, that he 
 must have experienced great anxiety and even perturba- 
 tion of mind in that memorable season. The precise 
 nature of his feelings will be best understood from his own 
 account of them, in a preface to the edition of his Theses, 
 which was published by himself many years after the ter- 
 mination of the dispute. *' T permit," says he, *' the pub- 
 lication of my Propositions against indulgences for this 
 reason, that the greatness of the success may be attributed 
 to God, and that I may not be exalted in mine own eyes. 
 For, by these propositions f it will appear how weak and 
 contemptible I was, and in how fluctuating a state of 
 mind, when I began this business. I found myself in- 
 volved in it alone, and, as it were, by surprise. And when 
 it became impossible for me to retreat, I made many con- 
 cessions to the pope ; not, however, in many important 
 points ; but, certainly, at that time I adored him in 
 earnest. In fact, how despised and wretched a monk 
 was I then ; more like a lifeless body than a human be- 
 ing ! Whereas in regard to the pope, how great was his 
 majesty ! The potentates of the earth dreaded his nod. 
 How distressed my heart was in that year, 1517, and the 
 following ; how submissive my mind was to the hierarchy, 
 not feignedly but really ; nay, how I was almost driven to 
 despair, through the agitations of care, and fear, and doubt, 
 which those secure spirits little know, who at this day 
 insult the majesty of the pope with much pride and arro- 
 gance ! But I, who then alone sustained the danger, was 
 not so certain, not so confident. I was ignorant of many 
 
 * Racine, Athaliah. 
 
 t It is not necessary to enter into a detail of these propositions or 
 theses, because the cause of indulgences, in the gross form then 
 practised, has now no advocates in tnis country. 
 
A. D. 1518.] at that period. 
 
 283 
 
 things, which now, by the grace of God, I understand. 1 
 disputed, and I was open to conviction. Not finding sa- 
 tisfaction in the books of theologians and canonists, I 
 wished to consult the living members of the church itself. 
 There were indeed some godly souls, who entirely ap- 
 proved my propositions, but I did not consider their 
 authority as of weight with me in spiritual concerns. The 
 popes, cardinals, bishops, and monks, were the objects of 
 my confidence. I waited for divine instruction with such 
 ardent and continued eagerness, and was so overloaded 
 with cares, that I became almost stupid or distracted : I 
 scarcely knew when I was asleep, or when awake. At 
 length, after I became enabled to answer every objection 
 that could be brought against me from the Scriptures, one 
 difficulty still remained, and only one ; namely, that the 
 CHURCH ought to be obeyed. By the grace of Christ, I at 
 last overcame this difficulty also. Most certainly I had 
 formerly a much greater veneration for the Roman church 
 than those have, who at this day, with a perverse spirit of 
 opposition, extol popery so exceedingly against me." 
 
 Let us now listen to a few sentences of Luther, written 
 so late as the year 1545, that is, about twenty-eight years 
 after the beginning of the dispute concerning indulgences.* 
 " Before all things, I entreat you, pious reader, for our 
 Lord Jesus Christ's sake, to read my writings with cool 
 consideration, and even with much pity. I wish you to 
 know, that when I began the affair of the indulgences at 
 the very first, I was a monk, and a most insane papist. 
 So intoxicated was I, and drenched in papal dogmas, that 
 I would have been most ready at all times to murder, or 
 assist others in murdering, any person, who should have 
 uttered a syllable against the duty of obedience to the 
 pope. I was a complete Saul ; and there are many such 
 yet. There were, however, and are now, others, who 
 appear to me to adhere to the pope on the principles of 
 Epicurus ; that is, for the sake of indulging their appe- 
 tites ; when secretly they even deride him, and are as 
 cold as ice, if called upon to defend the papacy. I was 
 never one of these : I was always a sincere believer ; I 
 was always earnest in defending the doctrines I professed ; 
 I went seriously to work, as one who had a horrible dread 
 of the day of judgment, and who, from his inmost soul, 
 was anxious for salvation. 
 
 * Latin preface to the first volume of Luther's works. 
 
284 Luther's account of his proceedivgs, [Cent. 16. 
 
 " You will find, therefore, in my earlier writings with 
 how much humility, on many occasions, I gave up very 
 considerable points to the pope, which I now detest as 
 blasphemous and abominable in the highest degree. This 
 ERROR, my slanderers call inconsistency ; but you, pious 
 reader, will have the kindness to make some allowance on 
 account of the times and my inexperience. I stood abso- 
 lutely alone at first ; and certainly I was very unlearned 
 and very unfit to undertake matters of such vast import- 
 ance. It was by accident, not willingly or by design, 
 that I fell into these violent disputes : I call God to 
 witness ! 
 
 " In the year 1517, when I was a young preacher, and 
 dissuaded the people from purchasing indulgences, telling 
 them they might employ their time much better than in 
 listening to the greedy procl aimers of that scandalous ar- 
 ticle of sale, I felt assured I should have the pope on my 
 side ; for he himself, in his public decrees, had condemned 
 the excesses of his agents in that business. 
 
 ** My next step was to complain to my own ordinary, 
 and also to the archbishop of Mentz ; but I knew not at 
 that time, that half of the money went to this last-men- 
 tioned prelate, and the other half to the pope. The re- 
 monstrances of a low, mean, poor brother in Christ, had 
 no weight. Thus despised, I published a brief account of 
 the dispute, along with a sermon in the German language 
 on the subject of indulgences ; and very soon after I pub- 
 lished also explanations of my sentiments, in which, for the 
 honour of the pope, I contended, that the indulgences were 
 not entirely to be condemned, but that real works of 
 charity were of far more consequence. 
 
 " This was to set the world on fire, and disturb the 
 whole order of the universe. At once and against me 
 single, the whole popedom rose !!".... 
 
 It will be needless to proceed further with this extract : 
 the account is in entire unison with the preceding one 
 written many years before. The candid and ingenuous 
 acknowledgments and declarations contained in each of 
 them cannot fail to alfect the reader's mind, particularly as 
 they were all made by our reformer long after the transac- 
 tions to which they relate, and at times when disguise and 
 misrepresentation could serve no imaginable purpose. A 
 more complete answer to the unwarrantable censures of 
 those, who accuse Luther of selfish motives in promoting 
 
The pope's observations upon them 285 
 
 the reformation, can scarcely be conceived. But after all, 
 the best use to be made of the information here given is, 
 to admire and adore the providence and grace of that 
 
 God VfnO IS WONDERFUL IN COUNSEL AND EXCELLENT IN 
 WORKING.* 
 
 While the literary contest was carrying on between 
 Luther and his antagonists, there were at Rome those 
 who blamed the pope for not interesting himself in a 
 controversy which, by exciting a spirit of resistance, and 
 producing divisions, daily increased in magnitude and 
 importance, and which, in its termination, might prove 
 extremely injurious to the authority of the Romish church. 
 With how much indifference and contempt Leo X. at first 
 beheld the ecclesiastical disputes in Germany, how indo- 
 lent was the disposition of this pontiff, and how improvi- 
 dent he showed himself as to defending the papal juris- 
 diction, all this appears in the strongest light from the 
 absurd and careless answer which he is said to have given 
 to Silvester Prierias,t when that zealous and learned 
 Dominican showed him some of Luther's publications 
 concerning indulgences. " Brother Martin," said he, 
 " IS A MAN OF A VERY FINE GENIUS, and thcsc squabblcs are 
 the mere effusions of monastic envy." Prierias, however, 
 undertook the support of the pontifical authority ; but, in 
 writing against the reformer, he managed the Romish cause 
 with so much heat and imprudence, that the pope himself 
 presently directed him to be silent in future. J This writer, 
 in the event, did much service to Lutheranism. In an 
 affair which required the utmost delicacy he expressed his 
 sentiments without the least caution or moderation ; and 
 exalted the pope's power even far beyond that of all 
 general councils. Luther availed himself of the temerity 
 of his adversary, and publicly exposed, with much seve- 
 rity, the odious doctrines which he had inculcated. 
 
 In the same year, 1518, a rash author of a similar 
 description attacked Luther with all the virulence of an 
 enraged and bigoted Roman catholic. This was Hogo- 
 stratus, a German Dominican inquisitor, who represented 
 the growing heresy as now become incurable by any of 
 the milder methods. Penal and compulsory remedies, he 
 
 * Isaiah xxviii. 
 
 t Prierias was master of the sacred palace, and general of his 
 order. He died of the plague in 1523. 
 % Erasmus, Epis. 
 
286 
 
 Luther summoned to Rome, [Cent. 16. 
 
 said, were absolutely necessary ; and he exhorted the pon- 
 tiff, by means of the sword and fire, to deliver mankind 
 from the detestable innovator.* Many of the monksf 
 joined in this clamour with incessant vociferation among 
 the people. Scarcely a word came from their mouths, except 
 Heresy! Blasphemy I Schism! I relate,^' says Eras- 
 mus, what I saw with my own eyes ; and I am con- 
 vinced that no one thing tended more to dispose the people 
 in Luther's favour than this imprudent conduct of the 
 clergy. His propositions concerning the indulgences 
 were soberly stated; and if they had but argued the 
 points in dispute in the same cool way, these ruinous 
 consequences would never have taken place." 
 
 At length the Roman pontiff was roused from his state 
 of indolence and security. Not only the avaricious 
 venders of indulgences vociferated against Luther, as 
 Demetrius and the silversmiths did against St. Paul, when 
 their craft was in danger, but from all quarters complaints 
 of the progress of heresy were sent to Rome. Even the 
 emperor Maximilian I. represented to the pope how ne- 
 cessary his interference was become. The Augustine 
 monk, he said, was disseminating heretical and destruc- 
 tive doctrines, was obstinate in adhering to his opinions, 
 and active in propagating them ; and he had made many 
 converts, even among persons of rank and distinction. J 
 
 The imprudence of Leo X. at this critical moment, 
 may seem almost the consequence of judicial infatuation. 
 At once he passed from the extremes of neglect and 
 indifference to those of tyrannical violence and blind 
 temerity. He ordered Luther to appear at Rome within 
 sixty days, to answer for himself before certain judges, of 
 whom his antagonist, Silvester Prierias, was appointed 
 one. Our reformer took the wisest method to protect 
 himself against the impending storm. He instantly sent 
 an account of the pope's citation to his friend Spalatinus, 
 who was then with the elector Frederic at the diet of 
 Augsburg ; and, in the strongest terms, requested that, 
 through the interposition of the prince, his cause might be 
 heard in Germany and not at Rome, Frederic the Wise 
 understood the arts and practice of the court of Rome, 
 and was convinced of the propriety, and even the necessity 
 of seconding Luther's wishes. Accordingly he urged the 
 
 * Maimb. p. 38. + Erasm. Epis. 
 
 X Maximilian's Letter, Op. Luth. vol. i. 
 
A. D. 1518.] The pope writes to the elector. 
 
 297 
 
 competency of a German tribunal in an ecclesiastical con- 
 troversy of that nature ; and it seems entirely owin^ to 
 the address, the penetration, and the firmness of this great 
 prince, that the Roman pontiff at last consented that car- 
 dinal Cajetan, who was then his legate at Augsburg*, should 
 take cognisance of the matter. If the delinquent showed 
 proper marks of penitence and submission, he was to be 
 kindly received again into the bosom of the church ; but 
 if he refused to appear before his appointed judge, the 
 legate was commissioned then to denounce publicly, 
 against him and his adherents, all the thunders and ana- 
 themas of papal indignation.* 
 
 Leo X. perceiving how great a favourite Luther was 
 with the elector of Saxony, judged it expedient, by all the 
 means in his power, to secure the support and concur- 
 rence of that prince in an affair, which he had now 
 begun to consider as of the greatest moment. For this 
 purpose he acquainted Frederic, in a polite and affec- 
 tionate, but very artful epistle, of the measures which he 
 had been compelled to adopt, through the disobedience of 
 an Augustine monk, whose very order and profession 
 should have perpetually reminded him of the duties of 
 humility and obsequiousness." He styles Luther a son 
 of iniquity, a prevaricator, who boasts of the protection of 
 the elector, but, in fact, reverences no superior whatever. 
 I know, says the pope, he has no ground for representing 
 you as one who encourages and supports him ; neverthe- 
 less, I exhort you in the Lord, and as you would preserve 
 the reputation and dignity of a good catholic prince, to 
 be on your guard, lest the lustre of your highly honoured 
 ancestors should be in any degree tarnished by this 
 calumny. I know of no blame respecting you ; but I 
 would wish you to avoid the very suspicion of blame, in 
 which the rashness of this man may involve you. He then 
 proceeds : As many learned and religious persons, and in 
 particular, our beloved son, Prierias, the master of our 
 sacred palace, have informed us of the heretical proceed- 
 ings of Martin Luther, we have ordered him to be called 
 upon to answer for himself ; and for this purpose we have 
 given EXPLICIT directions to cardinal Cajetan, our legate. 
 Lastly, he concludes with a strong exhortation and m- 
 junction, that Frederic, in virtue of the holy obedience 
 which he owed to the Roman church, should contribute 
 * The pope's directions to Cajetan, Luther, Op. vol. i. 
 
288 
 
 Luther declared a heretic. 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 his utmost to secure the person of Luther, and deliver 
 him up to the power of the holy see : he declared, how- 
 ever, at the same time, that if he were found innocent he 
 should be dismissed in peace and in favour ; and even if 
 he was guilty, he would exercise clemency towards him 
 largely upon repentance.* 
 
 It is well worthy of notice, that in this epistle the pope 
 suppresses a very material fact, namely, that Luther had 
 already, and without trial, been condemned at Rome as 
 a heretic, by the bishop of Ascoli, the auditor of the apos- 
 tolic chamber ! This clearly appears from the pope's 
 OWN BRIEF, which he sent to cardinal Cajetan along with 
 the above-mentioned directions ; and the poor persecuted 
 monk, in his writings, makes several pertinent obser- 
 vations upon the occasion. ** The pleasantest thing of 
 all," says he, is this : the pope's brief is dated August 
 the twenty-third. I was cited and admonished, on the 
 seventh of August, to appear at Rome within sixty days. 
 Thus it is very plain, that either before the citation was 
 delivered to me, or at most within sixteen days after, 
 the bishop of Ascoli proceeded against me, judged me, and 
 pronounced me an incorrigible heretic. Suppose I should 
 ask. What are become of the sixty days mentioned in 
 the citation delivered to me, which are to be reckoned 
 fron the seventh of August, and would end about the 
 seventh of October ? Is it the usage of the pope's court 
 to cite, admonish, accuse, judge, condemn, and pronounce 
 sentence, all on the same day, and especially when the 
 supposed culprit is at a considerable distance, and to- 
 tally ignorant of the proceedings ? Again, how can they 
 charge me with having abused the pope's kindness, and 
 with persevering obstinately in heresy ? Would they be 
 able to give any other answer to these questions than, 
 that when they fabricated the falsehoods respecting me 
 they had lost their memory, and stood in need of a few 
 doses of hellebore." 
 
 The condemnation of Luther at Rome, previous to his 
 examination before Cajetan, was so important a fact, and 
 implied so much violence and animosity in Leo and his 
 advisers, that it may well be doubted whether our re- 
 former, intrepid as he was, if he had been acquainted with 
 all the circumstances of his disgrace and danger, would 
 have ventured to have appeared at all at Augsburg. It 
 
 • The pope's letter to the elector of Saxony, torn, i Witt. p. 204. 
 
A. D. 1518.] He attends Cajetanat Augsburg, 289 
 
 is clear, from one of his letters to Spalatinus,* that, on 
 his return from that place, he first learnt at Nuremberg 
 the nature and extent of the papal commission to the car- 
 dinal, namely, that, already being: pronounced a pertina- 
 cious heretic, his person was to be secured and kept in 
 safety till further orders for his removal to Rome. 
 
 The elector of Saxony conducted himself throug:hout 
 this difficult transaction with the most extraordinary dis- 
 cretion. He was determined not to permit Luther to be 
 sent to Rome, where he would be at the mercy of his 
 enraged adversaries ; but, for the purpose of carrying* this 
 point the more easily, and also in the hope that an accom- 
 modation might take place with the Roman see, he pro- 
 mised the pope's legate that he would take effectual care 
 to place the supposed heretic before him, for examination, 
 at Augsburg. We have observed, indeed,t that it was 
 part of the pope's instructions to Cajetan to show every 
 kindness to Luther, provided he came voluntarily to con- 
 fess his fault and sue for pardon ; but what was to be 
 done in case he should refuse, which was the thing by far 
 the more probable to happen? Luther himself in his 
 account of this matter says, " Every thing, I doubt not, 
 would have been settled, in the most peaceable and affec- 
 tionate manner, if I would but have written down six let- 
 ters, REVOCO (I recant).' 
 
 Frederic provided for the safety of his favourite, Luther, 
 in the following manner: he gave him letters of recom- 
 mendation to the senate and principal inhabitants of 
 Augsburg; who, instantly on his arrival, exhorted him 
 not to appear before the cardinal till he had obtained a 
 promise of safe-conduct from the emperor, who was then 
 hunting at some distance from the city. Through the 
 influence of these same persons, this important request of 
 safe-conduct was granted ; and after three days the em- 
 peror's council announced to the cardinal, that the public 
 faith was pledged to Luther, and therefore he must take 
 no violent steps against him. The cardinal answered, 
 
 It is very well ; nevertheless I shall do my duty." 
 
 Luther informs us, that during those three days he was, 
 constantly pressed, by a very troublesome emissary of 
 Cajetan, to recant. If \ would but recant, he said, all 
 would be right. lie further relates a curious conversation 
 
 * Lib. i. Epist. t Page 287 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 26. 2 c 
 
290 Conversation with a poyish emissary , [Cent, 16, 
 
 which took place between himself and this emissary. He 
 came on the third day, and expostulated as follows : 
 
 Emissary. Why will you not go to the cardinal ? he is 
 waiting to receive you in the kindest manner. 
 
 Luther. I must listen to the advice of those excellent 
 persons to whom I am recommended by the elector ; and 
 they tell me I must by no means go to him till I have 
 obtained the public faith. The moment that is obtained 
 I am ready to go. 
 
 E. What, (said he, evidently in much agitation,) do 
 you think that prince Frederic will take up arms on your 
 account ? 
 
 L. It is very far from my wish. 
 
 E. Where do you mean to stay ? 
 
 L. In the open air. 
 
 E. Pray, suppose you had the pope and his cardinals 
 all in your power, what would you do with them ? 
 
 L. I would treat them with the greatest respect and 
 honour. 
 
 E. So ; — said he, waving his hand in the Italian man- 
 ner, and went away, and returned no more. 
 
 A short time before these transactions at Augsburg the 
 celebrated Melancthon had been received as Greek pro- 
 fessor at the university of Wittemberg, in the twenty-second 
 year of his age. The lectures of this truly learned and 
 good man, together with those of Luther, were attended 
 by crowds of students ; and the university of Leipsic, a 
 city wholly under Roman influence, on account of the 
 principles of its sovereign, George of Saxony, declined in 
 its lustre. The consequence was, that Luther became 
 still more odious to the hierarchy. Add to this, his de- 
 fence of his theses, and a sermon against the abuses of 
 officials in excommunications, just published, had exas- 
 perated his adversaries to the highest degree. We leain, 
 from his letters to Staupitius and Spalatinus, what were 
 the feelings and reflections of our hero at this alarming 
 conjuncture. To the former he said, " Doubt not but I 
 mean to be free in searching and handling the word of 
 God. These citations and menaces move me not." To 
 the latter he writes thus : ** From the bottom of my heart 
 I wish not to involve the elector in my perils. There is 
 but one thing which I hope he may be able to do for 
 me, — namely, to prevent any violence on my person. And 
 * Luth. Pr«f. 
 
A. D. 15 18. J Precautions of the elector, 291 
 
 if he cannot do even that conveniently, I would have all 
 the danger to be my own. — What I have undertaken to 
 defend, I trust I shall defend effectually. It may be 
 found necessary to pay some regard to self-preservation, 
 but a regard to truth is paramount to every consideration.*' 
 This is the language of one who was well instructed in 
 Christian principles, and knew the practice of holy men 
 in the purest times. 
 
 Certainly, at first, Luther seems to have doubted whe- 
 ther he should not be guilty of an unjustifiable temerity, 
 in stirring a single step towards Augsburg, without the 
 previous grant of a safe-conduct. But his scruples were 
 done away by the generous behaviour of the elector. 
 This excellent prince not only gave him the above-men- 
 tioned letters of recommendation, but also furnished him 
 with money for his journey ; informed him, by Spalatinus, 
 that he might proceed to Augsburg, without need of a 
 safe-conduct, such was the legate's benevolent intentions 
 towards him ; and encouraged him to believe that, what- 
 ever might happen, he would not permit him to be 
 dragged to the papal tribunal at Rome. It is most pro- 
 bable, however, that Frederic the Wise either foresaw the 
 effect which his letters of recommendation would produce 
 at Augsburg, or had otherwise secretly provided that 
 the public faith should be engaged for the persecuted 
 reformer. He was a prince, says Luther,* of incredible 
 capacity and penetration, and was accustomed to take 
 effectual measures for disconcerting the Romanists long 
 before they entertained the least suspicion that he was 
 aware of their designs. It was much against the incli- 
 nation of Cajetan that the emperor Maximilian granted 
 a safe-conduct on this occasion. That irritated legate 
 wrote to Frederic, and in much anger informed him, that 
 he had expressly told the imperial council he would not 
 have the name of Cajetan mentioned in that part of 
 the transaction. t He is usually called Cajetan, though 
 his real name was Thomas de Vio, of the town of Cajeta. 
 He is allowed by Luther himself to have been naturally a 
 man of a benevolent temper. Yet the choosing of this 
 cardinal for the purpose of reconciling matters must not 
 be produced as an example of discretion in Leo X. 
 Thomas de Vio was excessively superstitious, and also 
 
 * Luther, Op. vol. i. 
 
 T Epist. Cajet. ad San. due. Father Paul, C. Trent, b. i. 
 2 c 2 
 
292 
 
 Lidher appears 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 entertained the most lofty ideas of papal authority. He 
 wrote a book on the power of the Roman pontiff, which is 
 said to have procured for him the archbishopric of Palermo 
 and a cardinal's hat. Add to all this, he was a Domini- 
 can, and consequently the declared enemy of Luther and 
 the friend of Tetzel. Such a person was ill fitted to sit 
 as judge or arbitrator in this nice and perilous con- 
 troversy. 
 
 At the first interview Luther prostrated himself before 
 the cardinal, and was courteously received. But, at the 
 same time, he was required to retract his errors, to avoid 
 them in future, and to abstain from every thing* which 
 might disturb the peace of the church. And these three 
 things were stated expressly to be the order of the most 
 holy pope. Luther desired that he might be permitted to 
 see the pope's brief. But this request was peremptorily 
 refused. 
 
 The heaviest charge against him seems to have been, 
 that he had transgressed the bull of Clement VI., which 
 had defined the nature and extent of indulgences ; and it 
 may easily be conceived with how much indignation the 
 cardinal would hear the defence of Luther, namely, that 
 the Holy Scriptures, which he could produce in support 
 of his own doctrines, had abundantly more weight with 
 him than a pontifical bull, which, in fact, proved nothing, 
 but merely recited the opinion of Thomas Aquinas. — 
 Cajetan, in answer, exalted the authority of the pope 
 above all councils, above the church, and even above the 
 Scriptures themselves. To this Luther opposed the ap- 
 peal of the university of Paris, whose reputation had 
 always stood high as the parent of science, and the de- 
 fender of the purest Christianity. Cajetan, in a rage, 
 declared that the Parisians would meet with due punish- 
 
 * This important circumstance is not taken notice of by the eccle- 
 siastical historians ; though I find Luther himself in his celebrated 
 letter to the elector of Saxony, written after the conference with 
 Cajetan, uses the words " nam exemplar brevis petenti dene- 
 gabat Dominus legatus." It is easy enough to understand why 
 the legate, who was affecting to treat Luther with the greatest 
 kindness, should not choose to show him a brief, in which it ap- 
 peared that, at that very moment, he stood condemned as a heretic 
 at Rome, though he had never been heard. On a view of all the 
 circumstances, it seems by no means improbable that the cardinal, 
 pursuant to his instructions, was intending to make the poor heretic 
 a prisoner, notwithstanding the emperor's promise of safe-conduct 
 But a sight of the brief could not have (ailed to alarm and put on 
 his guard any man in so critical a situation. 
 
A. D. 1518.] 
 
 before Cajetan. 
 
 293 
 
 inent; and that Gersoii,* whose writings Luther liad 
 quoted, was damned, together with all his followers. So 
 extravagantly high were the ideas of papal power con- 
 ceived by this cardinal, that even the very moderate con- 
 tradiction, given in France to the pontiff, appeared in his 
 eyes an unpardonable sin. Little did he then imagine 
 how much more openly his magnificent lord and master 
 was to be opposed within the short space of a few 
 months. 
 
 Frowns and menaces were by no means adapted to 
 intimidate the determined mind of the Saxon reformer. 
 He continued to insist on the authority of Scripture. He 
 owned he might have erred, but he thought it reasonable 
 that his errors should be pointed out, on scriptural 
 grounds, before he should be required to retract. 
 
 When Luther found that not the smallest progress was 
 made by conversation with the cardinal, and that all his 
 fine promises of kind treatment amounted precisely to 
 this, you must either recant, or suffer punishment/' he 
 wisely determined to commit his answers to writing. In 
 so doing, says he, the oppressed find comfort in two 
 ways ; in the first place, what is written may be sub- 
 mitted to the judgment of others ; and in the second, one 
 has a better opportunity of working upon the fears and 
 the conscience of an arrogant despot, who would otherwise 
 overpower one by his imperious language.f 
 
 Agreeably to this resolution, he appeared before the 
 cardinal with a notary and witnesses, repeated his pro- 
 testations of general obedience to the church, and his 
 perfect readiness to recant any error of which he could be 
 convicted. Cajetan replied with so much acrimony, that 
 the accused monk had no opportunity of explaining or of 
 vindicating his sentiments. He absolutely refused to dis- 
 pute with Luther, either in public or in private ; he would 
 not even consent that a single word of his own answers 
 should be put down in writing. He continued to press 
 for a recantation. 
 
 Staupitius, who was present at the scene, and who 
 hitherto had acted the part of a steady friend of Luther, 
 rose up and entreated the legate to permit th& accused to 
 
 * The reader will remember, that this celebrated chancellor ot 
 the university of Paris maintained, at the council ot Constance, the 
 superiority of a general council over the pope. 
 Luther's Letter to P'red. 
 
 2 c 3 
 
294 Harsh behaviour of the legate, [Cent. 16. 
 
 return his answers at length in writing". To which re- 
 quest he, with great difficulty, at last acceded. 
 
 At the next conference Luther exhibited his written 
 explanation and defence, which the cardinal treated with 
 the greatest contempt. He told him, he had filled his 
 paper with passages of Scripture, which were irrelevant, 
 and in general, that his answers were those of a perfect 
 idiot. He condescended, however, to say, he would send 
 them to Rome. Lastly, he ordered Luther to depart, and 
 to come no more into his sight, imless he were disposed to 
 recant. 
 
 Notwithstanding this rough treatment, it was Luther's 
 firm opinion, that it would have given the cardinal great 
 pleasure to hear him recant. It may be thought some 
 confirmation of this sentiment, that in the evening of the 
 very day in which this last conference took place, he sent 
 for the vicar-general Staupitius, and desired him to per- 
 suade his young monk to retract. Staupitius promised to 
 do his utmost. " You must answer his scriptural argu- 
 ments," said Cajetan. Staupitius replied ingenuously, 
 " That is above my power. I am his inferior both in 
 capacity and in knowledge of the Scriptures.'^ 
 
 Throughout this whole conference at Augsburg, cardi- 
 nal Cajetan appears to have been conscious how ill quali- 
 fied he was to enter the lists with Luther, as a disputant 
 in theological questions. Indeed the doctrines of the 
 gospel, as far as we can judge, gave him little concern. 
 His anxiety was, how he might best insure obedience to 
 the pontifical mandates. He inquired not whether these 
 mandates were reasonable or repugnant to Scripture ; it 
 was sufficient for him to know that they were the dictates 
 of a pope. The decretal of pope Clement VI., which he 
 urged with so much heat and positiveness against Luther, 
 in the dispute respecting indulgences, maintained, that 
 *' One drop of Christ's blood being sufficient to redeem 
 the whole human race, the remaining quantity, that was 
 shed in the garden and upon the cross, was left as a le- 
 gacy to the church, to be a treasure from whence in- 
 dulgences were to be drawn and administered by the 
 Roman pontiffs.*'* The Augustine monk had, for some 
 time past, been too much enlightened to digest such wild, 
 superstitious inventions ; and the man, who could call 
 upon him, upon these grounds, to renounce his errors, was 
 * Maclaine in Mosheim, vol. ii. chap. ii. 
 
A. D. 1518.] Luther^ s arguments disregarded. 295 
 
 not to be reasoned with. Still, it required extraordinary 
 courage to deliver in a formal protest against the belief of 
 tenets, which at that time were both established by the 
 highest authority, and also supposed to have been dictated 
 by an infallible judgment. 
 
 Some objections were made to Luther's ideas of justifi- 
 cation by faith ; but Cajetan did not scruple to confess, 
 that if he would but have retracted his opposition to the 
 indulgences, all other differences might have been com- 
 posed in an amicable manner ; and that his opinions con- 
 cerning the efficacy of faith in justification and in the 
 sacrament, admitted of being modified and interpreted so 
 as to be inoffensive. When Staupitius was informed of 
 this circumstance, he expressed a wish, that the cardinal 
 had avowed that sentiment in the presence of the notary 
 and the witnesses ; because then, said he, there would have 
 been clear proof that, at Rome, money was held in greater 
 estimation than faith. 
 
 Luther, on the contrary, considered the scripture doc- 
 trine of justification by faith, as of infinite importance. 
 He declared, that he would rather retract every thing 
 which he had said upon other subjects, than that, which 
 he must adhere to with his dying breath. That in regard 
 to indulgences, their intrinsic nature, whatever it might 
 be, could not be altered by ostentatious praises and ho- 
 nours, but that if he gave up the article of justification by 
 faith, he should, in fact, deny Jesus Christ himself That, 
 though the cardinal had promised to conduct the inquiry 
 according to the Sacred Scriptures, and the rules of the 
 Church, he had not produced a single text of Scripture against 
 him, nor any one authority from the holy fathers. Lastly, 
 That he was confident no answer could ever be given to 
 the scriptural arguments and the authorities, which he 
 had produced in support of the doctrine in question.* " Our 
 peace," says he, " consists in coming to Christ in lively 
 faith : if a man believe not the promise, he may practise 
 confession to all the world, and he may be absolved a 
 thousand thousand times even by the pope himself, but he 
 will never obtain, on good grounds, a quiet conscience."t 
 
 It was on Friday the fourteenth of October, 1518, that 
 Luther made his last appearance before the pope's legate, 
 A report was spread, that notwithstanding the engagement 
 of a safe-conduct, he was to be seized and confined in 
 * Epist. ad Fred. t Resolut. de Indulg. 
 
296 
 
 Luther s letter to Cajetan, [Cent. 16. 
 
 irons. He remained, however, at Augsburg till the suc- 
 ceeding Monday. He heard nothing from the cardinal. 
 How great must have been his anxiety ! On the Monday, 
 by a letter couched in the most respectful terms, he begged 
 pardon for any irreverent or unbecoming language towards 
 the pontiff, which might have escaped him in the heat and 
 harry of the debate ; he even promised to desist from 
 treating the subject of indulgences any more, provided his 
 antagonists were enjoined to observe a similar silence. 
 But to retract his sentiment, or give up the truth, he ab- 
 solutely refused. He said, his conscience would not 
 permit him to act in that manner. He acknowledged that 
 his friends, and especially his vicar- general, had taken 
 great pains to make him think humbly, submit his own 
 opinion, and form a right judgment: " But," said he, 
 " neither the favour, nor the advice, nor the command of 
 any man, ought ever to make me do or say what is con- 
 trary to my conscience." To this letter he received no 
 answer. 
 
 On the next day he sent another letter to Cajetan, ex- 
 pressed in more spirited language and nearer to his usual 
 strain. " He conceived he had done every thing which 
 became an obedient son of the church. He had under- 
 taken a long and dangerous journey ; he was a man of a 
 weak body, and had very little money to spend. He had 
 laid the book, which contained his opinions, at the feet of 
 his holiness the pope ; he had appeared before his most 
 reverend father the cardinal ; and he was now waiting to 
 be instructed how far he was right in his opinions, and 
 how far wrong. — It could no longer serve any good pur- 
 pose to spend his time there, and be a burden to his 
 friends. He was really in want of money. Besides, the 
 cardinal had told him viva voce, to come no more into his 
 sight, unless he would recant; and," said Luther, " In 
 my former letter I have distinctly pointed out all the re- 
 cantation I can possibly make." He then signified his 
 positive determination to leave the place ; but not before 
 he had formally appealed from the pope's legate, nay, 
 from the p^pe himself, ill informed, to the same most 
 holy Leo X. that he might be better informed." In pro- 
 secuting this appeal he confessed that he acted rather 
 from the judgment of some persons of distinction than 
 from his own. If he had been left entirely to himself, he 
 should have thought an appeal unnecessary in this case. 
 
A. D. 1518.] Luther quits Augsburg. 
 
 297 
 
 He wished to refer every thing to the determination of the 
 church. What could he do more ? He was not a con- 
 tentious adversary, but a tractable scholar. Even the 
 elector Frederic, he knew, would be better pleased with 
 his appeal than his recantation. He therefore besought 
 the cardinal to consider both his departure and his appeal 
 as the effect of necessity and of the authority of his 
 friends. They said, what will you retract ? Is your re- 
 tractation to be the rule of our faith ? If any thing, 
 which you have advanced, is to be condemned, let the 
 church decide and do you obey. This reasoning, in his 
 mind, was irresistible. 
 
 Luther waited four whole days, reckoning from the day 
 of his dismission by the cardinal ; and still received no 
 further orders. The suspense was extremely afflicting ; 
 and both he and his friends began to suspect that this 
 TOTAL SILENCE portended violence to his person. To 
 avoid being seized and imprisoned, he quitted Augs- 
 burg very early in the morning of the nineteenth * of 
 October, 1518. A friendly senator ordered the gates of 
 the city to be opened, and he mounted a horse, which 
 Staupitius had procured for him. He had neither boots, 
 nor spurs, nor sword ; and was so fatigued with that day*s 
 iourney, that when he descended from his horse, he was 
 pot able to stand, but fell down instantly among the straw 
 in the stable. t He had, however, taken care before his 
 departure, that every thing relative to his appeal should 
 be done in a proper manner, and in the presence of a 
 notary pubHc. 
 
 Such was the conclusion of the conferences at Augsburg, 
 in which the firmness and plain dealing of Luther were no 
 less conspicuous than the unreasonable and imperious 
 behaviour of the cardinal. 
 
 Whatever might be the cause of that silence for several 
 days, on the part of Cajetan, which our reformer and his 
 friends beheld with so much just suspicion and jealousy ; 
 whether the legate still hoped to bring the affair to a happy 
 
 ♦ Some historians say, this happened on the 20th of October, 
 others on the 18th ; but I think Luther's own account of the pro- 
 ceedings at Augsburg show that he must have left that city on the 
 19th. It is iinnecessary to trouble the reader further respecting a 
 matter of so little consequence. 
 
 t Tom. i. Altemb. p. 150.— Paul Sarpi says, what is not at all 
 improbable, that Luther had John Huss's case in his head. 
 
298 Displeasure of the Romanists, [Cent. 16. 
 
 termination by the milder methods of influence and per- 
 suasion ; or whether his ambiguous conduct is best ex- 
 plained on the supposition that he was intending to seize 
 the person of Luther, but did not dare to proceed to ex- 
 tremities, in defiance of the imperial grant of safe-conduct, 
 without further orders from the Roman see ; on almost 
 every imaginable view of his motives, it seems natural to 
 conclude that he must have been much mortified at the 
 sudden departure of Luther. He had neither punished 
 the heretic, nor reduced him to submission. The court of 
 Rome would probably be highly displeased when they 
 heard of his escape ; and, in their disappointment, would 
 be apt to forget the difficult circumstances under which 
 the cardinal acted, and to attribute both the present and 
 the consequent mischiefs to his bad management. In 
 fact, as soon as the events at Augsburg were known at 
 Rome, the pope's legate was blamed exceedingly for his 
 severe and illiberal treatment of Luther, at the very mo- 
 ment, it was said, when he ought to have promised him 
 great riches, a bishopric, or even a cardinal's hat.* 
 
 Cajetan, no doubt, understood the disposition of the 
 court of Rome sufficiently to foresee how harsh a construe 
 lion would be put upon his conduct in a business, which 
 nad terminated so unfavourably to their wishes and expec- 
 tations. In the bittern-ess of his heart, he complained to 
 the elector of Saxony, of Luther's insolent and insincere 
 behaviour; and even reproached his highness for support- 
 ing such a character. He said, that he had conversed for 
 many hours privately with Staupitius, and one or two 
 more learned friends, respecting this business ; that his 
 object had been to preserve the dignity of the apostolic see, 
 without disgracing brother Martin; and that when he 
 had put matters into such a train, as to have reasonable 
 hopes of the success of his plan, he had found himself 
 completely deluded. Martin, his several associates, and 
 his vicar-general, had suddenly disappeared. Martin in- 
 deed had written letters, in which he pretended to beg 
 pardon, but he had not retracted one word of the scandal- 
 ous language he had used. Lastly, Cajetan warned the 
 prince to consider, how much he was bound in honour 
 and conscience, either to send brother Martin to Rome, 
 or to banish him from his dominions. As to himself, he 
 said, he nad washed his hands of so pestilential a business, 
 * Father Paul. 
 
A.D.I 518.] Staupitius — hu apprehensions. 299 
 
 but his highness might be assured the cause would go on 
 at Rome. It was too important to be passed over in 
 silence ;* and he entreated him not to sully the glory of 
 tiimself and his illustrious house for the sake of a paltry 
 mendicant monk. 
 
 Every pious reader will lament the effect which these 
 turbulent and contentious scenes produced upon the mind 
 of the venerable Staupitius. It should seem, that partly 
 an apprehension of danger, and partly his private conver- 
 sation with cardinal Cajetan, influenced this good man to 
 leave his friend, withdraw all further opposition to the 
 popedom, and retire to Saltzburg. Our more determined 
 and adventurous reformer did not hesitate to tell him, 
 that " he stuck fast between Christ and the pope."t Let 
 us hope, however, that this judgment of Ijuther was of the 
 harsher sort ; and that, in passing it, sufficient allowances 
 were not made for the different tempers and ages of men, 
 and for inveterate habits. 
 
 Two reasons induce me to conclude with certainty, that 
 Staupitius acted towards Luther with perfect faithfulness 
 at Augsburg. First, it is beyond all dispute, that he 
 affronted Cajetan by leaving that place suddenly and with- 
 out taking leave; which he would never have done, if he 
 had betrayed his friend by dishonourably entering into any 
 plans for seizing his person. Secondly, by way of en- 
 couraging the persecuted monk in his difficult circum- 
 stances, he used this language to him, " Remember, my 
 brother, you undertook this business in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." Luther himself, three years after- 
 wards, owned these precious words sunk deep into his 
 mind.'' The truth is, this reverend vicar -general was a 
 man of a timid temper, and advanced in years ; also his 
 views of the gospel were far from being bright or distinct ; 
 and lastly, the prospect of peace with the hierarchy, at least 
 at Wittemberg, was extremely gloomy. 
 
 Moreover, we cannot doubt that the pope's legate, in his 
 private conversation with Staupitius, would use both 
 conciliatory and threatening language. Each would tend 
 to shake the resolution of such a man. And besides the 
 direct and immediate effect of that conversation on the 
 mind of the timorous vicar-general, we may fairly trace 
 some other important consequences to the same origia. 
 
 * Luth. Op. vol. i. The letter is dated Oct. 25, 1518. 
 t Lib i. ep 
 
300 
 
 Luther s letters 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 While he was a^^'itated with the discussion, and perhaps 
 yieldini^ to the legate's menaces and advice, he exhorted 
 his less pliable monk to exhibit to his superiors some 
 plainer marks of obedience and humility. The firm 
 temper of Luther, which had resisted the imperious dic- 
 tates of a hauo:hty cardinal, instantly relented under the 
 entreaties of a mild and affectionate friend. Hence that 
 submissive letter, which our reformer wrote to Cajetan,* 
 on Monday the seventeenth of October ; and hence those 
 apologies and concessions which are contained in it, to the 
 very limit of what his conscience would permit. Probably 
 no part of his own conduct, on a review of the proceed- 
 inofs at Aujrsbure:, would afford him less satisfaction than 
 this ; and though Luther never reproached Staupitius for 
 having recommended so extremely injudicious and sup- 
 pliant a measure, yet the latter might possibly observe in 
 the former some dissatisfaction on that account ; and, at 
 any rate, he could not fail to be convinced, from many 
 circumstances, that his own disposition was not calculated 
 like that of his friend, to encounter such difficulties and 
 hazards as were likely to arise in a righteous and deter- 
 mined opposition to the popedom. 1 riese considerations 
 may help further to explain, why it might not be dis- 
 agreeable to Staupitius to remove from Wittemberg, and 
 thereby avoid the dangerous fellowship and importunities 
 of a man, who, in his opinion, was apt to be impetuous 
 and turbulent in his public conduct. 
 
 But perhaps the circumstance which may be thought 
 most unfavourable to the reputation of Staupitius, is that 
 in the year 1523 we find him preferred to an abbacy at 
 Saltzburg. Luther s affectionate regard and veneration 
 for his vicar-general, restrained him from saying any thing 
 harsh or severe on this occasion, but he could not dissem- 
 ble his doubts and anxieties respecting the consequences 
 of this preferment. We will conclude this chapter with 
 two valuable extracts of his letters. The first is dated 
 1522, and is an answer to a letter received from Staupi- 
 tius, at a time when Luther had heard an unfounded 
 rumour, that his friend was actually made an abbot. 
 
 *' The report of your being made an abbot is so general, 
 that if I had not received your own letter in contradiction, 
 I must have been compelled to believe it. It is, I suppose, 
 in the same way that you receive untruths concerning me. 
 ♦ Page 21)6. 
 
A.D. 1523.] 
 
 to Staupitins. 
 
 301 
 
 May the providence of God attend yon ! but, 1 confess, 
 my plain understanding" does not point out to me, how it 
 can be advisable for you to accept an abbacy at this present 
 time. I would not however interfere with your judgment. 
 One thing" I entreat you, by the bowels of Christ, not 
 readily to believe those who calumniate me. In regard 
 to what you inform me, that my doctrines are the delight 
 of debauchees, and that many scandalous practices have 
 been the consequences of my recent publications, I am 
 neither afraid of such censorious representations, nor sur- 
 prised to hear of them. Certainly I have laboured, and 
 am labouring, that the pure word of God may be spread 
 abroad without tumult. But you know that I am not 
 master of events. My object has been to attack, by means 
 of the written vtord, that system of impieties, which hath 
 been introduced in opposition to sound doctrine. The 
 abominations, my father, the abominations of the pope, 
 with his whole kingdo^i, must be destroyed. And the 
 Lord does this ^ without hand,'* by the word alone. The 
 subject exceeds all human comprehension ; and therefore 
 we need not wonder that great commotions, scandals, and 
 even prodigies, should arise. Let not these things disturb 
 you, my father. I cherish the best hopes. The counsel 
 and the stretched-out arm of God is plain in this matter. 
 Remember how my cause, from the very first, gave the 
 highest offence to the world, and yet it hath continually 
 prevailed, Satan feels his wound : hence he rages the 
 more, and endeavours to throw all into confusion.'' 
 
 The second letter, dated 1523, is addressed to the rever- 
 end abbot of St. Peter's in Saltzburg. 
 
 " Reverend father, Your silence is unkind. But though 
 I cease to find favour in your eyes, I ought never to forget 
 YOU, through whose means the light of the gospel first 
 dawned in my heart. I must tell you the truth ; it would 
 have been more agreeable to me, if you had not been ap- 
 pointed an abbot: but since it is so, let neither of us in- 
 terfere with our respective rights of private judgment. 
 Your best friends are sorry for your leaving us, but still 
 much more sorry that you are so near the infamous cardi- 
 nal Langius, and that you will be compelled to bear in 
 silence all his outrageous behaviour. I shall wonder if you 
 are not in danger of denying Christ .... We still hope 
 the best of you, though your long silence disheartens us. 
 * Dan. viii. 25. 
 
 Vol. IV.- No. 27. 2 [> 
 
302 
 
 Dangerous situation 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 If you are become another man, which may Christ forbid ! 
 I speak plainly, I shall throw away no more words, but • 
 have recourse to prayer, that God may be pleased to show .\ 
 mercy upon you, and us all. You observe, reverend fa- \ 
 ther, how doubtfully I express myself. The reason is, ; 
 your long silence leaves us ignorant of the disposition of ' 
 your mind ; whereas you very well know our most secret 
 thoughts and wishes. Permit me, however, to speak po- ' 
 sitively on one point, — We are confident, that we are not 
 really objects of your contempt, even though you should ' 
 dislike all our proceedings. I shall not cease to pray that 
 you may be as much estranged from the popedom, as I 
 am at this moment, and, indeed, as you were formerly 
 May the Lord hear me, and take you and us to himself.*' ■ 
 
 These letters may deserve the reader s diligent consi- 
 deration. They throw light on the general character 
 both of the writer and of his friend ; they intimate an evi- 
 dent progress of knowledge, in Luther's mind, respecting 
 the nature of the papacy, which took place between the 
 years 1518 and 1523; they manifest the strength of divine \ 
 grace, which enabled him to withstand that threatening ] 
 storm which alarmed Staupitius, and drove him into a 
 dishonourable shelter : and, lastly, they compel the mind 
 to entertain painful fears and conjectures respecting the 
 perfect uprightness of the new abbot of Saltzburg, how- 
 ever we may be inclined to indulge cheerful hopes, that at 
 the last day he will be found not to have gone the length 
 
 of actually denying his Lord and Master. Staupitius 
 
 enjoyed his abbacy only for a very short time. He died in 
 the year 1524. 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 THE CONTROVERSY CONTINUED. THE ATTEMPTS OF MILTITZ 
 
 AND OF ECKIUS. 
 
 The condition of Luther, after his return toWittemberg, 
 was peculiarly afflictive. He saw before him the total 
 ruin of his worldly circumstances, the hardships of poveii-y 
 and of exile, and the fear of a violent death from papal 
 vengeance. He was not without hope of the protection 
 of the elector, partly from the well-known justice and 
 humanity of that prince's character, and partly from the 
 
A. D. 1518.] of Luther — his firmness 
 
 303 
 
 good offices of his secretary Spalatinus. Moreover, as yet, 
 the interference of Frederic in the ecclesiastical contro- 
 versy had not only been firm and discreet, but also as 
 spirited and friendly as could reasonably be expected, in 
 behalf of one who was looked on by the hierarchy as a 
 turbulent and an abandoned heretic. Still, it behoved our 
 reformer not to be over-confident in his expectations of 
 future support. He had abundant cause to be thankful 
 for the past exertions of his prince, which had been found 
 so useful and effective ; but tryin;^ times were coming 
 on apace. Every day the contest grew more and more 
 perilous. Luther himself had a single eye to the prospe- 
 rity of the kingdom of Christ ; but he could not be answer- 
 able for the zeal or the perseverance of others : he was 
 well acquainted with the human heart ; and he foresaw 
 that political and secular concerns might clash with the 
 interests of the gospel. He would not wonder if the love 
 of many began to wax cold ;* even his much esteemed 
 friend Staupitius had already quitted Saxony ; and, though 
 the elector had hitherto manfully defended him against 
 the tyrannnical machinations of the court of Rome, it 
 might well be doubted, whether the chief motives of this 
 magnanimous conduct were a regard for the honour of 
 God and the religion of Jesus. t 
 
 It was an excellent part of Luther's character, that in 
 the most critical and difficult situations he could commit 
 his cause to the God whom he served, with firm and en- 
 tire reliance on HIS WILL ; and at the same time be as 
 active and indefatigable in using all prudential means, as 
 
 • Matt. xxiv. 12. 
 
 t Some account of the religious character of the elector is given 
 already in this volume. Seckendorf doubts vt^hether his principal 
 reason for supporting Luther, who was then the public teacher 
 of divinity and philosophy in the university of Wittemberg, might 
 not be the ardent desire which that prince always showed for the 
 prosperity of his favourite seminary of learning. Be this as it may, 
 it is certain, that even before the conferences at Augsburg, in a let* 
 ter to cardinal Raphael, he expressed himself with great caution re- 
 specting the DOCTRINES of Luther. I have never," says he, " taken 
 upon me to defend either the writings or the sermons of Dr. Martin 
 L. and I proved the same, which I now assert, both to Cajetan the 
 pope's legate, and to Miltitz his nuncio." Some authors consider 
 this as a confession on the part of Frederic, that he had not so much 
 as read a line of Luther's publications, or heard him deliver his 
 sermons : others suppose that, in his concerns with the papal agents, 
 he might dissemble his regard for the reformer, with a view of sup- 
 porting him and his cause more efifectually m the end. Luth. Op, 
 Witt. vol. i. p. 228. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
S04 
 
 Luther^s letters. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 if the events depended solely on human exertions. In his 
 present danger and perplexity, he cast his eyes on France, 
 where formerly some opposition had been made to the 
 fuhiess of papal domination ; and where he hoped that 
 he might profess and preach divine truth with greater 
 security than in Germany. " Not/' said he in a letter to 
 Spalatinus, " that I care much on my own account ; for, in 
 fact, I am concerned that I should not be thought worthy 
 to suffer for the truth ; especially as by going to Augs- 
 burg I exposed myself to many dangers, and almost 
 tempted God to bring evil upon me. It grieves me, how- 
 ever, to see the fair prospect of our rising seminary thus 
 suddenly clouded, and the studies of the young men at 
 Wittemberg, who are wonderfully zealous for the acquisi- 
 tion of sacred literature, blasted in the bud." — In another 
 letter to the same friend, he said, '* Every day I expect 
 from Rome the arrival of the ecclesiastical anathemas ; 
 and I am, therefore, disposing my affairs in such a man- 
 ner, that when those curses shall arrive, I may be ready, 
 like Abraham, to depart, not knowing whither. Yet, in 
 another sense, I do know whither I shall go, for God is 
 every where. However, I leave you this farewell letter. 
 See that you have the courage to read the letter of a man 
 excommunicated and accursed In a third letter he de- 
 clared he was ready either to go or stay. " Some friends," 
 said he, " advise me to deliver myself up to the elector, 
 who will protect me in some safe place, and at the same 
 time inform the pope's legate, that my person is under con- 
 finement, and that I am ready to give answers to such 
 questions as shall be proposed to me. I commit this plan 
 to your prudence. I am in the hands of God and of my 
 friends. It vexes me to think, that it should be so com- 
 monly believed, that the prince in secret supports me. 
 This report, if any thing can, will drive me hence, that 1 
 may not involve him in my dangers. To be brief: while 
 I remain here, my liberty, both of writing and of speak- 
 ing, is very much restrained ; whereas if I leave Germany, 
 I will open my heart to the world, and offer up my life 
 freely in the service of Christ." 
 
 Those who have most considered, how great a trial to a 
 thoughtful mind, a state of suspense is in dangerous and 
 critical seasons, will form the best judgment of Luther*s 
 situation towards the end of the year 1518. The forego- 
 ing extracts lay open his secret feelings and resolutions, at 
 
A. D. 1518.] He appeals to a General Council, 305 
 
 the same time that they also exhibit his extraordinary faith, 
 patience, and resignation. 
 
 In this conjuncture, the elector of Saxony signified his 
 earnest wish that Luther would not leave Wittemberg.* 
 This spirited resolution is to be ascribed, partly to the in- 
 terference and supplication of the university of that place 
 in behalf of their beloved professor, and partly to the im- 
 perious and threatening language of cardinal Cajetan. 
 Frederic, with a calmness and dignity suitable to his cha- 
 racter, declared that he could not expel Luther from VVit- 
 temberg, without doing much injury to his university, and 
 further, that he should not consider him as a heretic till he 
 had been heard and was convicted. Animated with this 
 favourable determination of the prince, the professor of 
 theology resolved to remain on the spot ; and, in a dis- 
 course from the pulpit, he requested the people, in case 
 his person should at length become the victim of papal 
 severity, not to harbour the east ill-will against the pope 
 or any human being whatever, but to commit the cause to 
 God. 
 
 It will be proper to mention here, that besides the lite- 
 rary and controversial employments of the professor at 
 Wittemberg, he had for some time discharged the office of 
 pastor of the same town, as the substitute of Simon Hein- 
 sius, the ordinary minister, who then laboured under bodily 
 infirmities ; and thus this industrious reformer supported 
 at once the character of a theological teacher and dis- 
 putant, and also of a popular preacher and parochial 
 clergyman. 
 
 Luther foreseeing the manner in which he should pro- 
 bably be treated at Rome, and desirous of anticipating 
 the papal censures, of which he was in daily expectation, 
 had recourse to the wise expedient of appealing formally 
 to a general council. In the instrument of his appeal, he 
 still professes obedience to the authority of the apostohc 
 see ; but as the pope was only a man, and, like other men, 
 liable to err, and as St. Peter, the most holy of all his 
 predecessors, had actually erred, he appealed to the next 
 general council, which, when legally assembled, was a 
 power superior to that of the pope, and could afford 
 redress to the oppressed. 
 
 It soon appeared, that Luther was not mistaken in his 
 conjectures respecting the intentions of the Uomish court. 
 * Melch. Adam. 
 9 D 3 
 
306 Sale of indulgences in Switzerland, [Cent. 16. 
 
 His appeal to a future council is dated November 28, 
 1518. But Leo X., without mentioning* the name of 
 Luther, on the 9th of November of the same year issued a 
 bull, in w^hich he confirmed the doctrine of indulgences in 
 the most absolute manner. By this step, no less im- 
 provident than impious, he put it out of the power of the 
 friends of the papacy to vindicate, or even to extenuate, its 
 conduct. The grossest venality and contempt of true 
 piety and salutary discipline had prevailed in Germany, 
 through the sale of indulgences. To maintain the recti- 
 tude of the practice, without the least correction of ex- 
 cesses, at a time when the remembrance of the transactions 
 was recent, prevented every attempt that might be made to 
 reconcile Luther to the hierarchy. The providence of God 
 was admirable in thus barring up his return to the church 
 of Rome, while, as yet, he was far from being convinced 
 of the totally antichristian state of the popedom.* 
 
 But the mercenary prostitution of indulgences had not 
 been confined to Germany. In the summer of this same 
 year 1518, Samson, a Franciscan of Milan, came to 
 Zurich, to prosecute the scandalous traffic. There he was 
 opposed by Huldric Zuinglius, afterwards the famous 
 Swiss i-eformer.f In the month of September, Samson 
 came to Zug, where a servant seeing the people press in 
 crowds, addressed them : *' Be not so importunate, I be- 
 seech you ; let those enter first, who are furnished with 
 money ; care shall be taken afterwards of the poor.^J At 
 Bern the enormities ex^^eeded, if possible, those which had 
 been practised in Germany. When the sale of the indul- 
 gences was over, the agents of the pope declared that 
 BAPTISMAL INNOCENCE was rcstorcd to all present, who 
 should confess their sins, and thrice recite the Lord's prayer 
 and the angelic salutation. Those also, who thrice went 
 round the great church daily, repeating prayers, might free 
 what souls they pleased from purgatory ! Still grosser 
 corruptions than these were practised. But the infatua- 
 tion of the hierarchy was incurable. Evangelical light 
 and liberty were fast advancing to the relief both ol Ger- 
 many and Switzerland, yet the rulers of the Romish church 
 shut their eyes, and hardened their hearts. Scarcely roused 
 
 • Op. Luth. i. 217- 232. Wit. Luther's first appeal was dated 
 Oct. 16, 15H. 
 t Father Paul, b. i. p. 8. 
 X Page (>0. Sf ckendorf -Hottinjsfer. 
 
A. D. 1519.] Death of the Emperor Maximilian, 307 
 
 from a state of shameful sloth and sensuality, they seem to 
 have instantly fallen into the opposite extreme of blind 
 presumption and impetuous rage. Pride, rashness, and a 
 most tyrannical ambition, appeared in all their councils. 
 
 During the whole progress of the reformation, the pious 
 reader has reason to admire the providential circumstances, 
 which, both in succession and in concurrence, favoured the 
 happy deliverance of the nations from papal captivity. We 
 have just seen how the conduct of the haughty Cajetan 
 tended to fix the mind of Frederic more steadily in the inter- 
 ests of the reformer ; and this was a consequence which 
 proved extremely influential upon the subsequent events. 
 Immediately this wise prince solicited the emperor to exert 
 all his authority at Rome, that the present ecclesiastical con- 
 troversy might be settled in Germany by impartial judges. 
 What would have been the ultimate effect of this prudent 
 step, we are unable to say. Maximilian died in the be- 
 ginning of the year 1519 ; and during the interregnum 
 the prince elector, duke of Saxony, as vicar of the empire, 
 possessed sufficient power to protect and cherish Lutheran- 
 ism in its infancy. " The violent tempest," says Luther, 
 *' subsided by httle and little ; and the pontifical thunders of 
 excommunication were gradually more and more despised."* 
 The resolutions of Frederic were not a little confirmed by 
 a letter which he received in the spring of 1519, from the 
 learned Erasmus. Brevity does not permit me to present 
 the reader with this elegant composition, in which the 
 writer manages his subject with wonderful address, dex- 
 terity, and politeness. By the following answer, however, 
 a judgment may be formed both of the matter contained 
 in it, and also of the effect it produced on the mind of the 
 prince. 
 
 *' The elector, duke of Saxony, to Erasmus : It gives 
 me the greatest satisfaction to be informed by you, that 
 Lutheranism is not disapproved by the learned, and that 
 the writings of doctor Martin are read with the greatest 
 avidity. He is a person almost unanimously admired, at 
 home and abroad, both for the integrity of his life and for 
 his solid erudition. That he has remained hitherto in 
 Saxony under our protection, is indeed owing rather to 
 the just cause he defends, than to the man himself. — 
 Nothing can be more contrary to our principles, than to 
 suffer a man, who has deserved reward, to be oppressed 
 * Luth. Op. praRf. 
 
308 
 
 MiUitz, a new legate y 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 and punished : nor, with the help of Almighty God, will 
 we ever allow an innocent person to become a victim to 
 the selfish malice of the wicked.'* 
 
 The court of Rome, finding- it impossible to stop the 
 proceeding's of Luther by mere authority and threatening", 
 had now recourse to the arts of negotiation. The haughty 
 pontiff had become sensible of his imprudence in having 
 intrusted the management of the controversy to such a 
 commissioner as Cajetan ; but we shall soon see that still 
 he had learnt no lesson.s of true wisdom and moderation 
 from what happened at Augsburg. He condescended 
 indeed to employ a person of a different stamp ; one who, 
 by his insinuating manners and gentle treatment of the 
 reformer, raised considerable expectations of, at least, a 
 temporary peace : but, happily for the reformation, this 
 judicious and temperate policy was presently succeeded 
 by measures most unaccountably imprudent and disgust- 
 ing: This new legate was Charles Miltitz, a Saxon 
 knight, who> as a lay character, might be supposed less 
 under the dominion of party and prejudice than the Domi- 
 nican cardinal, his predecessor. He was commissioned 
 to present to the elector Frederic the golden consecrated 
 rose;* and, if possible, to put an end to all the ecclesi- 
 astical disputes which had produced the rupture between 
 Luther and the Roman see. Frederic had formerly soli- 
 cited the favour of the rose with much earnestness ; but 
 on this occasion, he is said to have re-ceived it with a cool 
 and almost contemptuous politeness ; and in nowise could 
 he be induced to change his measures respecting his 
 favourite professor of Wittemberg. 
 
 Miltitz, thus foiled in his attempts to influence the mind 
 of the prince elector, repaired to Leipsic, and there 
 finding Tetzel, he twice rebuked him with the greatest 
 severity before his own provincial, t on account of his 
 iniquitous practices in the business of indulgences. It 
 appears from Miltitz's own letters that, as he passed 
 through Germany, he had obtained perfect intelligence of 
 the frauds and private vices of Tetzel ; and probably he 
 was the more desirous of exposing them, because, by 
 abandoning that audacious Dominican, he imagined he 
 should at once gratify the advocates for reformation, and 
 
 * This used to be considered as a peculiar mark of the pope's 
 favour and ( steem. 
 t Seek. p. 02. 
 
A. D. 1519.] his proceedings. 
 
 309 
 
 shelter the Roman pontiff from censure. With Luther 
 himself the new legate had several conferences, which 
 proved fruitless, as to the essential points : and the only 
 effect of these negotiations in the former part of 1519, 
 seems to have been, that the electors of Saxony and of 
 Treves agreed to defer the complete examination of the 
 matters in dispute to the first German diet of the new 
 emperor Charles V. ; and that, in the mean time, Luther 
 should write a submissive letter to the pope. To this our 
 reformer readily consented, for he was by no means dis- 
 posed to break with the pontiff; and it is not improbable 
 he would have continued an obedient subject of the 
 Roman see all his days, if he might have been permitted, 
 without molestation, to discharge the office of a faithful 
 pastor of Christ. The learned translator of Mosheim* 
 seems out of humour with him for having made " weak 
 submissions'' on this occasion; and yet he owns that, 
 " properly speaking, there was no retractation of his 
 former tenets, nor the smallest degree of respect shown to 
 the infamous traffic of indulgences." If so, every judi- 
 cious protestant, though he may entirely agree with this 
 excellent writer, that Luther's " views were not, as yet, 
 very extensive, his former prejudices entirely dispelled, or 
 his reforming principles steadily fixed,"t may, neverthe- 
 less, maintain that his submissive conduct at this time, 
 taken with all the circumstances which accompanied it, 
 indicated strength of mind, not weakness, and a spirit 
 of discrimination rather than of blind acquiescence. We 
 OUGHT NOT to judgc of this great man by the feelings and 
 habits of protestants of the eighteenth and nineteenth 
 centuries. 
 
 His inimical historian, Maimbourg,^ says, '* his letter 
 to the pope was rather civil than humble, but it con- 
 tained nothing to the purpose." Let the reader judge 
 from the following concise account of it whether Luther, 
 according to the light which he then possessed, did not 
 take effectual care not to entangle his conscience by any 
 improper concessions. 
 
 He said, it was a great grief to him to find himself 
 accused of want of respect to the church of Rome : that 
 his design, in all he had done, was to maintain the honour 
 of that church ; and that, as his writings were now spread 
 
 * Mosh. vol. ii. chaD. ii. sect, ix, t Ibid. 
 
 X Stict. 24. 
 
310 
 
 Miltitz treats Luther 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 throughout all Germany, he could not retract his asser- 
 tions without dishonouring the said church : that the 
 persons who really injured the holy see were the very 
 preachers whom he had opposed: they disgraced their 
 sacred office by the most absurd discourses, and by seek- 
 ing only to gratify their avarice under the protection of 
 his holiness. Lastly, he declared that he was ready to 
 observe silence in future respecting indulgences, provided 
 his adversaries would also forbear their provocations. In 
 concluding, he solemnly protested, that all along he had 
 aimed at nothing but to prevent the mother-church from 
 being polluted by the vile imputation of avarice, and the 
 people from being seduced by a false notion, that the in- 
 dulgences were preferable to truly benevolent actions.* 
 
 Of his personal conferences with Miltitz, the following 
 compressed account is extracted from his own letters, and 
 from the Latin edition of his works. " Charles Miltitz 
 saw me at Altenburg, and complained that I had united 
 the whole world to myself, and drawn it aside from the 
 pope ; that he had discovered this at the inns as he tra- 
 velled. ' Martin/ said he, * I took you for some solitary 
 old theologian ; •whereas I find you a person in all the 
 vigour of life. Then you are so much favoured by the 
 popular opinion that I could not expect, with the help of 
 twenty-five thousand soldiers, to force you with me to 
 Rome.* After this flattery, he entreated me to consult for 
 pacific measures, and promised that he would endeavour 
 that the pope should do the same. We supped together, 
 and I was treated with the greatest courtesy. I con- 
 ducted myself in such a manner as if I had not seen through 
 these Italian arts.t I could only promise that I would do 
 all which I could do, consistently with truth and a good 
 conscience ; that I also loved peace, and was driven into 
 these broils by mere necessity. This Charles Miltitz was 
 esteemed a frivolous character, and his advice was frivo- 
 lous ; nevertheless it is my judgment, that if the friends 
 of the papacy and the pope himself had treated me in this 
 manner at first, matters would never have come to so 
 great a rupture. Instead of that, the pope condemned 
 me unheard, and raged with his bulls ; and the crafty 
 archbishop of Mentz became the dupe of his own cunning. 
 All the blame is at his door; for his sole object in sup- 
 pressing my doctrine was to save his own part of the 
 • Luth. Op. vol. i.—Du Pin, cent. 16. 1 ttalitate». 
 
A. D. 1519.] courteously. — His doubts. 
 
 311 
 
 money, which should be collected by the indulgences. 
 But now all the papal plans and attempts are to no pur- 
 pose. The Lord hath awaked, and stands to judge the 
 people ; and though they slay us, they will not gain their 
 point." 
 
 Luther was always distinguished by a spirit of respect 
 and obedience towards his superiors, whether ecclesias- 
 tical or civil. In this negotiation with Miltitz, and also 
 in his letter to the pope, we discern much of this spirit, 
 joined to great tenderness of conscience, and an amiable 
 sensibihty of temper on account of the humane treatment 
 he had received. We must keep in view that, as yet, he 
 apprehended the papal power to have just foundations, 
 however it might have been abused ; we must also keep 
 in view his own description of his feelings,* penned in 
 moments of the greatest deliberation, and long after the 
 turbulent scenes were passed ; also the state of the rest of 
 mankind in Christendom, and we shall acknowledge the 
 Saxon reformer to have exhibited a rare example of cou- 
 rage and firmness in these memorable transactions. In 
 proposing a compromise of silence on both sides in the 
 affair of indulgences, he may be thought to have acted 
 inconsistently with his former declarations, and to have 
 conceded too much to the hierarchy; but the answer is, 
 he had already manfully resisted the Roman see in that 
 abominable traffic ; and he began to hesitate how far it 
 was HIS proper business to proceed further in a matter 
 of that sort : in a word, his conscience was at present 
 puzzled respecting the extent of the obedience which he 
 owed to the rulers whose authority he then allowed. 
 Harassed with doubts, and perfectly aware of the danger 
 that threatened him, he would have given the world for a 
 sound and discreet counsellor : of the danger, he sought 
 no partner : but, alas, his best and wisest friends, when 
 pressed closely concerning the most critical and perilous 
 part of the contest, absolutely stood aloof f After long 
 and diligent reflection on the best authenticated facts, and 
 the peculiar situation of Luther, the very doubts which 
 
 * Pages 283, 284. 
 
 t After he had conferred with Miltitz, he wrote to his friend Spa- 
 latinus ; and he also particularly entreated the elector Frederic, 
 that, f«)r the sake of Almighty God, he would use so much clemency 
 tovvards him as freely to say what he wished him to do in the pre- 
 sent circumstances. Seek. p. 63. 
 
312 
 
 Death ofTeizel 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 arose in his mind, appear to me, I confess, to imply both 
 extraordinary integrity of principle, and great vigour of 
 intellect. 
 
 But whatever were the secret motives of our reformer 
 in making his concessions, Leo X. disdained to accept 
 the submission, and open the door of reconciliation. The 
 serious reader will not be displeased at my repeatedly 
 drawing his attention to the kind providence of God, 
 which appeared so remarkably in many particulars of the 
 contest before us. While the Roman pontiff, rejecting 
 counsels of peace, was listening to enraged bigots, greedy 
 Dominicans, and ambitious cardinals, the inquisitive spirit 
 of the humble professor of Wittemberg was enabled, by de- 
 grees, and by a constant study of the Scriptures, to acquire 
 a practical conviction that the tyranny of the papal hier- 
 archy was no longer to be endured. Luther's letter to 
 the pope was written in the former part of 1519 ; and by 
 his two letters to Staupitius, we have seen how much 
 better he understood the true principles of the papal sys- 
 tem in 1522 and 1523.* It was undoubtedly this gradual 
 insight into the enormities of the popedom, which, co- 
 operating with the infatuation of the pontifical advisers m 
 their unaccountable aversion to healing and pacific mea- 
 sures, raised that general spirit of indignation, and of 
 opposition to the established religion, which, at length, 
 terminated in the blessed reformation 
 
 While the pope's nuncio was negotiating a reconcili- 
 ation in Germany, Tetzel, the wretched subaltern, whose 
 scandalous conduct had so much disgraced his employers, 
 met with the reward which frequently awaits the minis- 
 ters of iniquity. He found himself deserted by all the 
 world. 
 
 Miltitz, in particular, had treated him so roughly that 
 this daring and boisterous instrument of papal avarice and 
 extortion actually fell sick, wasted away, and at last died 
 of a broken heart. A dreadful lesson ! This unhappy 
 man left the world, as far as appears, destitute of comfort 
 in his own soul, after he had administered a false peace 
 to thousands ! It became necessary for those whom he 
 had served to discard him, and he had no resources in his 
 own conscience. The pontiff's displeasure is said to have 
 affected him exceedingly; but we have no evidence that 
 he searched the word of (lod in true penitence and 
 ♦ Page 300—4^02. 
 
A. D. 1519.] Erasmus's letter to Luther. 
 
 313 
 
 humility. A little before his death, Luther, hearing of his 
 anguish of mind, and sympathizing with him in his dis- 
 tress, wrote to him in the most kind and consolatory 
 strains, and begged him not to be distressed with the 
 recollection of any thing that had passed between them.* 
 If the letter had been extant, we should have found in 
 it, I apprehend, instructions concerning repentance, and 
 warm exhortations to lay hold of the promises of the 
 gospel. If the French Romish historians, Maimbourg 
 and Varillas, had been acquainted with this fact, they 
 would hardly, one would think, have represented Luther 
 as a man of a vindictive, implacable temper.f 
 
 About the middle of the year 1519 Erasmus wrote from 
 Lovain an epistle to Luther, which proves with what 
 caution and temper that great man had beheld the pro- 
 gress of the contest. He takes care not to appear a 
 partisan of Luther ; he speaks of him with a studied 
 ambiguity; commends him, so far as he could consistently 
 with his determined purpose, not to expose himself to 
 trouble or rebuke, and recommends to him moderation 
 and mildness in his proceedings. In this last poiftt he 
 certainly deserved the thanks of Luther. Let us remem- 
 ber, however, that timid and artful politicians were never 
 employed, to any good purpose, in the service of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 No man understood better than Erasmus the art of 
 suggesting advice, in nice and difficult cases, without 
 giving offence. The latter part of his letter to Luther 
 runs thus : " In England you have persons of the greatest 
 distinction who think highly of your writings. Here also 
 you have advocates, and among them there is one most 
 excellent character. For my part, I keep clear of all 
 party, with a view to be of as much service as I can to 
 the revival of literature. And I think one does more good 
 by civility and moderation than by violence. In that way 
 Christ has brought mankind under his government : in 
 that way St. Paul abrogated the Jewish ritual. It is better 
 to complain of those who abuse the authority of the pon- 
 tiffs, than of the pontiffs themselves ; and I would make 
 the same remark respecting kings. We may argue as 
 strongly as we can against notions that have long 
 prevailed, but we should never contradict them positively, 
 
 * Luth. Op. Witt. 
 
 Maitiib. in Seek. p. 18. — ^Varillas, in eod. p. 22. 
 Vol. IV.— No. 27. 2 e 
 
314 
 
 Erasmus. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 It is more effectual to treat acrimonious abuse with con- 
 tempt than to confute it. On every occasion we should 
 guard against arrogant and factious language ; nothing 
 can be more opposite to the spirit of Christianity. At the 
 same time we should keep a strict watch over our mo- 
 tives. Anger, hatred, vain-glory, lay snares for us, even 
 when we are most piously employed. I do not say these 
 things to you by way of admonition, for you do observe 
 the very rules here recommended. I mention them rather 
 for the purpose of exhorting you to persevere in the same 
 conduct always. Your commentaries on the Psalms please 
 me exceedingly; and I hope they V'/ill do much good. 
 The prior of the monastery at Antwerp says, he was for- 
 merly one of your scholars. He is a man of real primitive 
 Christianity, and loves you most cordially. He is almost 
 the only one who preaches Jesus Christ. The rest, in 
 general, either aim at lucre, or treat the people with old 
 wives' fables. May the Lord Jesus daily bestow upon you 
 more plentifully his own spirit, for the glory of his name 
 and the public good ! Farewell."* 
 
 There are many excellent observations interspersed 
 throughout this composition. It is written in Latin, 
 and is a good specimen of that elegant adroitness with 
 which the accomplished author always conducted himself 
 in affairs of peculiar delicacy, and of the anxiety with 
 which, for a considerable time, be endeavoured to avoid 
 giving offence to both parties. 
 
 It is a most painful and awful circumstance belonging 
 to the history of Erasmus, that the longer he lives, 
 the lower he sinks in the estimation of the Christian 
 reader. It is in the beginning of the reformation, while 
 he was exposing the scandalous practices of the indolent, 
 debauched, avaricious clergy, that he appears to the 
 greatest advantage. But when Luther and his associates 
 began to preach boldly the gospel of Christ in its purity, 
 Erasmus instantly shrunk back ; and not only ceased to be 
 a coadjutor of the reformers, but became gradually their 
 peevish and disgusted adversary. With inconceivable ad- 
 dress and management he steadily trode, as long as he 
 could, his favourite middle path of pleasing both sides ; 
 but when the contention grew sharp, when the doctrines 
 of grace were found to offend the great and the powerful, 
 
 ♦ Ep. Erasm. vol. i. p. 427. 
 
Remarks upon his character. 
 
 315 
 
 and when persecution was at the door, the cautious 
 evasive system was no longer practicable ; Erasmus wa-s 
 called upon to decide ; and there could be little doubt to 
 which party a character of his stamp would incline. 
 
 When we divest ourselves of prejudice, and view Eras- 
 mus as the most elegant scholar of his age, admired and 
 courted by princes, popes, and dignified ecclesiastics, we 
 are compelled to admit that his temptation to support the 
 established hierarchy was very great; and it is to be 
 lamented that he had not a clearer and more affecting 
 insior-ht into the deceitfulness of the human heart. If he 
 had really been taught and influenced by the Holy Spirit 
 he would have understood more of men's natural aliena- 
 tion from God by the fall, and have had a deeper prac- 
 tical sense of the evil of sin in his own case; he would 
 then have felt weary and heavy laden ; he would have 
 sought more diligently for deliverance from internal guilt 
 and misery ; he would have been enabled to resist tempt- 
 ations of every sort, and particularly those which were most 
 adapted to call forth the sins to which his heart was most 
 disposed ; and lastly, though he might still have differed 
 from Luther in subordinate matters or modes of expres- 
 sion, he would have had the same general views of the 
 nature of the redemption by Christ Jesus ; and instead of 
 raising captious objections against the doctrines of grace, 
 and quarrelling with the man whom Providence had or- 
 dained to be the instrument of their revival, he would 
 have applied those blessed healing truths to the distresses 
 of his own conscience, and would have rejoiced in that 
 " burning and shining hght" which arose amidst the thick 
 darkness of papal ignorance and superstition. 
 
 In one word; the different sentiments which these 
 great men entertained of the leading doctrines of the 
 gospel, was the real cause of their unhappy contention ; 
 every circumstance of which may be traced to this single 
 source. 
 
 The account already given of Luther, with the particu- 
 lars which are to follow, will contain ample materials to 
 enable the reader to form a judgment both of the sound- 
 ness of Luther's Christianity, and also of the earnestness 
 with which he taught his doctrines. With intense study 
 and fervent prayer he searches for light, and he attains it : 
 faithful to his convictions, he speaks without disguise ; he 
 exerts every nerve in support of Christian truth and 
 2 E 2 
 
316 
 
 Erasmus shrinks from [Cent. 16. 
 
 Christian liberty; and as he is eng^aged in a contest which 
 he considers as the cause of God, he is ever ready to hazard 
 all that in this life is dear to man. 
 
 From the foreg-oing observations concerning Erasmus, 
 the student of the history of the church of Christ will be 
 led to expect further documents relative both to his 
 religious sentiments, and to the part which he acted during 
 the progress of the reformation. The facts which are at 
 present before the reader, it must be owned, do not con- 
 vict that cautious and artful disputant of any decided 
 opposition to a change in the ecclesiastical system, or of 
 any settled alienation of mind from the reformer. On the 
 contrary, they must rather be considered, in the main, as 
 favourable both to Luther and to his doctrines. Yet, 
 enough has appeared already to raise considerable sus- 
 picions respecting the orthodoxy of the faith of Erasmus, 
 and the houest simplicity and disinterestedness of his 
 intentions. 
 
 As we proceed, we shall endeavour to throw light on 
 these matters. At present, we conclude with the sub- 
 stance of a passage extracted from one of his little con- 
 troversial tracts. The quotation, though but short, is of 
 itself sufficiently characteristic to furnish satisfactory evi- 
 dence that Erasmus differed very materially from Luther 
 in the spirit in which he received certain scriptural 
 doctrines, and also as to his contest with the Roman 
 hierarchy. It also shows how Erasmus trifled with his 
 convictions, and acted against his own judgment and 
 conscience. 
 
 " If," says he, I were called upon to suffer for the 
 truth of the gospel, I should not refuse to die ; but as yet 
 I have no disposition to suffer death for Luther's para- 
 doxes. The present disputes are not concerning articles 
 of faith ; but whether the pope*s supremacy is of Christ's 
 appointment ; whether the order of cardinals is a neces- 
 sary part of the church ; whether there is Christ's autho- 
 rity for the practise of confession : whether freewill con- 
 tributes to salvation ; whether faith confers salvation 
 . . . whether the mass can in any sense be called a 
 sacrifice : on account of these points, which are the usual 
 subjects of the scholastic contentions, I would neither 
 endanger my own life, nor venture to take away the life 
 
 of another During our endless quarrels, whether 
 
 • Conferat salutem. 
 
the contest with the papacy. 
 
 317 
 
 any human works should be denominated good, the con- 
 sequence is, we produce no good works. While we are 
 contending whether faith alone without works confers sal- 
 vation,* we neither reap the fruits of faith, nor the reward 
 of good works. Besides, there are some things of such 
 a nature, that, though they were ever so true, they ought 
 not to be mentioned in the hearing of the populace ; for 
 example; That freewill is nothing but an unmeaning 
 term ; That any person may do the office of a priest, and 
 has the power of remitting sins, and of consecrating the 
 body of our Lord ; That justification is by faith alone ;t 
 and that our works are of no use for that end. What can 
 be the effect of throwing out such paradoxical doctrines as 
 these before the vulgar, but schism and sedition ?"J 
 
 This language is so perfectly intelligible, that it cannot 
 be necessary to add any remarks by way of elucidation. 
 It is the striving of an unconverted heart against the 
 convictions of an enlightened conscience.§ 
 
 But it was not only the wary Erasmus and the timid 
 Staupitius who shrunk from the dangerous contest with 
 the hierarchy in which Luther was involved ; even Spala- 
 tinus himself was not a little intimidated by the daring 
 measures of his adventurous friend. Several of the elec- 
 tor's court also were alarmed in a similar way. And thus 
 the Saxon reformer, whose righteous cause was eminently 
 that of mankind in general, and who himself needed en- 
 couragement in his perils and anxieties, was called upon 
 to rouse and animate the drooping minds of his best 
 supporters, who began to waver, and complain that mat- 
 ters were carried too far. This departure from a steady 
 and consistent conduct in his more enlightened adherents 
 was, no doubt, a trial peculiarly severe and vexatious 
 to Luther. Men expect from their enemies reproach, 
 misrepresentation, calumny; they are prepared for these 
 things; they even triumph in them, and are stirred up by 
 them to defence and victory : it is when their friends be- 
 come tame or treacherous, when they deceive or desert 
 them in critical moments, that the firmest mind, acting on 
 principles merely human, is apt to give way. Conscious 
 
 * Conferat salutem. 
 
 t Sola fide conferri justitiam, opera nostra nihil ad rem facere. 
 t Erasm. Purg. ad exp. Hutten. 
 
 ^ It is evident that the fault of Erasmus was not in the headhwt 
 in the heart : he was convinced but remained unconverted, 
 2 E 3 
 
31S 
 
 Uneasiness ofSpalatinus 
 
 [Cent 16. 
 
 of integrity and disinterestedness, and overcome with 
 chagrin and disappointment, a man in such a case aban- 
 dons altogether a dangerous conflict, where his soHtary 
 efforts, against a host of adversaries, will prove inevitably 
 abortive. Not so, however, where the cause is that of 
 true religion, and where the gospel of Christ has laid 
 strong hold both of the understanding and the affections. 
 We then look for the operation of other motives besides 
 those of mere human nature. As we then serve a master 
 who MUST be obeyed, we have promises of help, directions 
 for resignation, and grounds of comfort in the issue of ill 
 success, such as belong to no worldly enterprises what- 
 ever, — The following extract of a letter to Spalatinus will 
 illustrate these observations. 
 Luther to Spalatinus : — 
 *' Do not give way to fear too much, my dear Spala- 
 tinus ; neither teaze your mind by filling it with human 
 imaginations. You know I must have perished long ago 
 in my various struggles with the supporters of papal abo- 
 minations, unless Christ had taken care of me and my 
 concerns. Was there a single person who did not expect 
 that my ruin would have taken place before this time ? I 
 assure you I suppress many things which, if I were else- 
 where, I should freely publish, concerning the enormities 
 of Rome. But you must never hope that I shall be free 
 from persecution and danger, unless I were entirely to 
 give up the cause of sound divinity. My friends, if they 
 please, may suppose me beside myself; nevertheless, I 
 say, if this contest be really of God it will not be ended 
 till TRUTH effectually save itself by its own right hand ; 
 not by mine, nor by yours. From the very first I have 
 been expecting matters to come to the situation in which 
 they are at this moment. However, I always told you 
 that I would quit the country if my residence in Saxony 
 were attended with any danger to the prince.'* 
 
 From this letter, which plainly implies a previous com- 
 munication from Spalatinus, expressive of much appre- 
 hension and uneasiness, a judgment may be formed of the 
 sentiments respecting Luther, which probably prevailed 
 at the electors court in the former part of the year 1519. 
 Spalatinus resided with Frederic in the capacity both 
 of secretary and domestic chaplain ; and therefore would 
 take no step of importance without the secret knowledge 
 and approbation of that prince. Luther was perfectly 
 
A. D.1519.] 
 
 Eckius opposes Luther, 
 
 319 
 
 aware of this ; and in his letter to his friend would, no 
 doubt, consider the fears and anxieties which he was 
 endeavouring" to quiet, as in reality the fears and anxieties 
 of the elector himself. Hence he wisely repeats his rea- 
 diness at all times to quit Saxony, if his presence there 
 should be judged injurious to the interests of the prince. 
 
 On this occasion, however, neither the elector of 
 Saxony nor his court should be accused of downright in- 
 sincerity. In the main, they certainly favoured the prin- 
 ciples of Luther, and rejoiced in his success ; but they 
 disliked any material share of the hazard of the contro- 
 versy. Hence they became cold, supine, and irresolute ; 
 and hence their communications, which ought to have 
 furnished spirited counsel and encouragement, dwindled 
 into prudential lessons of caution and remonstrance. 
 Modern protestants should know the extreme disadvan- 
 tages under which the great champion of Christian liberty 
 laboured in the beginning of the reformation. 
 
 The immediate circumstance which seems to have 
 given the alarm at this time* to the friends of Luther, 
 was the bold declarations of this theologian, in his 
 answ^ers to the positions of Eckius, respecting the found- 
 ation of the pope's authority. He had written to Spala- 
 tinus very explicitly on this subject, but seems not com- 
 pletely to have satisfied his scruples. To call in question 
 the origin of the power of the pope, was to tread on tender 
 ground ; the nations, as yet, secretly revered his majesty, 
 and dreaded his vengeance ; though, in regard to eccle- 
 siastical abuses in general, they had indeed begun to open 
 their eyes, and were receiving fresh hght apace. 
 
 The name of Eckius, of Ingoldstadt, has already been 
 mentioned among the adversaries of Luther. This able 
 and learned doctor of divinity had formerly been the friend 
 of our reformer ; but a thirst of fame, and a prospect of 
 worldly advantages, seduced him from the cause of truth. 
 The facts we have to produce indicate but too plainly the 
 motives of Eckius. After his literary defeat in the affair 
 of indulgences, he circulated thirteen propositions, all of 
 them levelled against the heresies of Lutheranism. One 
 of these propositions affirmed the grand article of a 
 papist's faith, namely, " That the pontiff's are vicars of 
 Christ, and the successors of St. Peter."t Luther had the 
 
 * Viz. about the middle of 1519. 
 t Propos. Ecc. Luth. Op. vol. i. 
 
320 
 
 Eckius disputes publicly [Cent. 16, 
 
 sagacity instantly to see through his design, and expressed 
 himself to the following effect : " I nevei* so much as 
 touched upon this subject in any of my discourses. 
 Eckius now brings it forward to serve several purposes. 
 He thinks he shall hereby cast an odium upon me, and 
 at the same time flatter the court of Rome to his own 
 profit, and to the ruin of his brother Martin Luther.'' 
 
 It will here be proper to give a brief account of the 
 famous disputation which was carried on publicly at Leip- 
 sic, for many days together, in the course of this year. 
 
 Eckijus, relying on the brilliancy of his own talents 
 and the popularity of his cause, earnestly sought for a 
 public exhibition of theological skill ; and, with this view, 
 challenged Carolstadt, the colleague and adherent of 
 Luther, and even Luther himself, to try their strength 
 with him in a contest on the points in dispute. Carol- 
 stadt was a doctor of divinity, and archdeacon of Wittem- 
 berg, and is esteemed one of the first open defenders of 
 Luther. The challenge was accepted ; and George, duke 
 of Saxony, uncle of the elector, offered the combatants 
 his city of Leipsic as the scene of debate, with an engage- 
 ment for their security, and a promise of every conve- 
 nience. He was himself a strenuous Roman catholic, 
 and he expected that great glory would accrue to the 
 papal cause from the well-known abilities and attainments 
 of Eckius. Luther obtained leave to be present at the 
 contest as a spectator, but was expressly denied the grant 
 of a safe-conduct, if he attempted to appear in the cha- 
 racter of a disputant. The assembly was splendid, the 
 expectations of mankind were strongly fixed ; and it was 
 vainly imagined that some decision would be made con- 
 cerning the objects of contention. 
 
 The first subject of debate between Eckius and Carol- 
 stadt, respected the limits of nature and grace. The latter 
 disputant defended the whole doctrine of Augustine con- 
 cerning grace, which, Luther observes, Eckius did not 
 oppose by argument, or with any real difference of senti- 
 ment, but only in mere words and in appearance. He 
 granted that freewill without grace could effect nothing 
 but sin. ** It avails then," continues Luther, " not to 
 gcjd but evil. Where then is its liberty? Moreover, 
 every illiterate person, who hears the expression free- 
 will, naturally supposes that it implies man to be equally 
 capable of good and evil ; whence he will presume on his 
 
A.D. 1519.J 
 
 with Carolstadt. 
 
 321 
 
 own streiip^th, and think that he can convert himself to 
 God. Eckius knows very well the impiety of this notion, 
 yet he supports and spreads it. I too admit that man's 
 will is free in a certain sense ; not because it is now 
 in the same state as it was in Paradise, but because it 
 was made free originally, and may, through God's grace, 
 become so again." 
 
 Such were the sentiments of Luther on this important 
 subject ; and his ideas appear sufficiently in harmony 
 v^ith what the most evangelical persons, in all ages, have 
 maintained. The whole controversy was carried on with 
 much clamour and confusion ; the Roman party prevailed 
 in popularity at Leipsic ; Eckius delivered what he had 
 to say with prodigious animation, and is allowed to have 
 far exceeded Carolstadt in energetic exertions of voice 
 and action. Luther protests, in the most solemn man- 
 ner, that as long as an appeal to books and written docu- 
 ments were admitted, his friend, Carolstadt, defended 
 himself with a rich variety of apt and excellent quotations. 
 ** But,'' says he, " Eckius made a proposal, that all books 
 should be laid aside, and the dispute go on without them ; 
 the multitude gave a shout of approbation ; and then, I 
 freely own, that Eckius, who had the better memory and 
 a greater flow of words, supported his side of the question 
 in a more plausible manner than his opponent."* 
 
 This disputation continued for six days ;t during which 
 time the superior eloquence and acuteness of Eckius 
 seem to have afforded a temporary triumph to the enemies 
 of the reformation. Flushed with success, and thirsting 
 for glory, this champion of the papal system came to 
 Luther at his lodgings, and with an air of confidence said, 
 " I understand you will not dispute with me in public.'' 
 " How can I dispute with you," said Luther, when the 
 duke George refuses me my request of a safe-conduct 
 Eckius replied, " If I am not to combat you, I will spend 
 no more time on Carolstadt. It was on your account 
 that I came here. Suppose I could obtain the public 
 faith for your safety, would you then meet me and try your 
 strength ?"J Luther consented; and very soon after, he 
 had the duke's leave to take Carolstadt's place in the 
 public debate. 
 
 This second theological conflict was carried on for ten 
 
 * Seek. 73. t From June 27, 1519, to July 4. 
 
 X Melch. Ad. 
 
322 
 
 Eckius disputes with Luther [Cent. 10. 
 
 days with uncommon ardour and without intermission. 
 Among' the articles of controversy were the doctrines of 
 pur^^atory and indulgences, the nature of repentance and 
 remission of sins, and, particularly, the foundation of the 
 supremacy of the Roman pontiffs. It was in this last 
 article of the controversy that Eckius placed his chief 
 strength and expectation of victory. His numerous audi- 
 ence in general, with the duke of Saxony at their head, 
 favoured the papal cause. Long habits of ignorance, 
 superstition, and prejudice, in religious matters, had 
 established the Romish doctrines ; and the few who ven- 
 tured to inquire for reasons of their faith were deemed 
 impious and accursed, and worthy of expulsion from the 
 community. 
 
 Moreover, this question concerning the superiority of 
 the Roman see was well contrived to promote the ambi- 
 tious designs of Eckius in every way. Luther, it was 
 foreseen, must either shun the main point in debate by 
 disgraceful evasions ; or, by a direct avowal of his doc- 
 trines, expose himself to the charge of open heresy. He 
 must either yield the palm of eloquence and of theological 
 skill to his crafty adversary, or he would inevitably furnish 
 such decisive proofs of rebellion against the hierarchy as 
 would ensure his own condemnation at the court of Rome. 
 Thus the troublesome innovator was supposed to be en- 
 tangled in an inextricable dilemma ; while the prudent 
 defender of the established religion, looking forward to 
 nothing but conquest and glory, anticipated the praises 
 and honours of the Roman pontiff*. Luther, whom we 
 have observed to have been fully sensible in how nice 
 and critical a situation he was placed, was much hurt by 
 the ungenerous conduct of Eckius in this business, and 
 severely reproached him for it afterwards. 
 
 To the talents and the artifices of the popish advocate, 
 the Saxon reformer, besides his superior abilities and more 
 intimate knowledge of the Scriptures, opposed a good 
 conscience, a firm determination to hazard every thing in 
 the cause of truth, and a confident expectation of the 
 blessing of the Almighty. In particular, against Eckius's 
 doctrine of the divine right of the popes, he advanced the 
 following proposition : " All the proofs which can be pro- 
 duced to show that the church of Rome is superior to 
 other churches, are taken out of the decretals of the popes 
 themselves, made within these four hundred years ; ap'^ 
 
A. D. 1519.] concerning the j>ope^s supremacy. 323 
 
 AGAINST this notion of supremacy, there are passages of 
 the Holy Scriptures, approved histories for eleven hundred 
 years, and the determinations of the council of Nice." 
 
 When Eckius contended that the expressions, " Thou 
 art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church," 
 "And I will give unto thee the keys," evinced the supre- 
 macy of St. Peter and his successors ; that this was the 
 explanation given by the holy fathers, and that the con- 
 trary opinion was among the errors of WicklifF and John 
 Huss ; Luther in reply said, that he coul^ produce more 
 passages from the fathers in support of his own inter- 
 pretation of the passages in question than Eckius could 
 of his ; but that he had no hesitation to add, that even if 
 all the fathers, without exception, had understood the pas- 
 sages in that sense, he would confute them by the autho- 
 rity of St. Paul, and St. Peter himself, who say that Jesus 
 Christ is the only foundation and corner-stone of his 
 church. He further observed, that the words '* Thou art 
 Peter,". ... if construed strictly, must be confined to the 
 person of Peter, and therefore the authority conveyed by 
 them ceased when that apostle died ; and that if their 
 meaning was to be extended to the church and to Peter's 
 successors, no reason could be given why all the apostles 
 and ALL their successors should not be understood to be 
 the successors of Peter. Lastly, he intimated that his 
 adversary had been very unfortunate in appealing to the 
 authority of Cyprian. If," said Luther, the learned 
 doctor will agree to stand or fall by the authority of 
 Cyprian, we shall quickly put an end to this controversy : 
 for, in the first place, Cyprian never addresses Cornelius, 
 the bishop of Rom.e, in any other manner than * My dear 
 brother and in the second, he expressly says that every 
 bishop has a distinct jurisdiction of his own, and that 
 bishops ought not to interfere with each other, but wait 
 for the day of judgment by our Lord Jesus Christ."* 
 
 Eckius was so much struck with the reasonings of 
 Luther, and especially with the neat and well digested 
 order in which his materials were arranged, that he was 
 compelled to acknowledge, before a splendid audience, 
 the " qualifications and attainments of his reverend oppo- 
 nent." He even besought their illustrious and magnifi- 
 cent mightinesses to pardon himself, who was so much 
 occupied with other concerns, if he should not be able to 
 ♦ Revolut. Lutheri« 
 
324 
 
 Luthers doubts concerning {^Cent. IG. 
 
 produce such a mass of accurate testimonies as the learned 
 doctor had laid before them. He came to Leipsic, he said, 
 not to write books, but to dispute. 
 
 It will be unnecessary to trouble the protestant reader 
 with a minute detail of a multitude of arguments, which 
 were brought forward in this debate, with great warmth, 
 eloquence, and dexterity, on both sides. We shall make 
 a few concise observations on several of the controverted 
 points, and also take notice of some instructive facts and 
 qircumstances which are connected with this famous dis- 
 putation at Leipsic, and then dismiss the subject. 
 
 Though Luther judged it impious to maintain the 
 DIVINE RIGHT of the popc in that strict sense, which 
 makes him the successor of St. Peter and vicar of Christ, 
 his extreme, reverence for the Scriptures, and his tender- 
 ness of conscience, disposed him, as yet, to allow the su- 
 periority of the Roman see, but on different grounds. It 
 could not be denied that the pontiffs had possessed a 
 decided preeminence from age to age, and therefore he 
 conceived it was his duty not to resist " the powers that 
 be." This scriptural argument which, for a long time, 
 appeared to his mind in itseL unanswerable, was still fur- 
 ther strengthened by two powerful reasons. First, the 
 will of God, he thought, might be clearly collected from 
 the facts, independent of Scripture. Unless it had been 
 the will of God, the popes could never have attained so 
 great and durable a dominion. Secondly, The whole 
 body of Christians,'' he said, *' own themselves to be under 
 the Roman pontiff : this universal consent is a consi- 
 deration of the greatest weight : the unity of the church 
 should be preserved in every thing that is not directly 
 contrary to the word of God.''* 
 
 Entirely agreeable to these sentiments is the declaration 
 of Luther in one of his letters to Spalatinus, who, it 
 should seem, had been directed by the elector of Saxony 
 to admonish him most seriously, in all things to observe a 
 reverential obedience towards the pope. " To separate 
 myself,'' says he, from the apostolical see of Rome is a 
 thing that has never yet entered my mind."t However, his 
 next letter to the same friend intimates a further insight 
 into the essence of popery. " That I may be the better 
 qualified," says he, " for the ensuing debate at Leipsic, I 
 am turning over the decretals of the popes ; and I would 
 ♦ Revolut. Lutheri. 7 Ep. 99. 
 
A - D. 1 5 19.] the papal suprema(Vj. 
 
 325 
 
 whisper into your ear, that I be^iii to entertain doubts, 
 whether the Roman pontiff be not the very Antichrist of 
 the Scriptures, or his Messenger ; so wretchedly corrupted 
 by him, in the decretals, are the pure doctrines of Christ."* 
 As long as this new sentiment remained crude and un- 
 settled in the mind of Luther, it certainly behoved him 
 not to act upon it ; but it is not difficult to understand 
 how the divulging of so important a secret to Spalatinus 
 must have startled the elector Frederic and his court, who, 
 as we have seen, were sufficiently alarmed with the liberties 
 which had already been taken with the pontifical autho- 
 rity. 
 
 How different were the views and motives of the per- 
 sons who took part in the affairs of religion, about the 
 time of the public controversy at Leipsic, and some 
 months before I Leo X. was indolent and ill advised ; 
 perfectly indifferent in regard to religion and piety ; only 
 anxious to advance the opulence, grandeur and dominion 
 of the Roman see. His ostentatious champion Eckius, 
 on the one hand, flattered and misled his lordly master, 
 who pretended to be infallible ; and, on the other, me- 
 naced and calumniated the Augustine monk, while in 
 reality he was seeking only his own aggrandisement. 
 Frederic the Wise, and some of his court, grieved for 
 several of the reigning abuses, which were obvious and 
 undeniable, but still remained in a wretched bondage, 
 confirmed by long habits of superstitious submission. 
 Though friendly to improvements in religion, they dreaded 
 the rude hand of the Saxon reformer, and were in general 
 too much disposed to bow to the majesty of the pope. 
 Lastl)% Luther was daily approaching, by firm but gra- 
 dual advances, to that evangelical liberty, of which he 
 became, under God, the principal reviver in Europe. Let 
 these facts and observations be kept in mind, and they 
 will help us to discover, what must have been the feelings 
 of our reformer at Leipsic, while he was disputing with 
 Eckius concerning the pope's supremacy. To have de- 
 nied the DIVINE RIGHT of the pontifical jurisdiction, ac- 
 cording to the fullest and most extended interpretation of 
 the words, was sufficiently dangerous ; but to have dropped 
 the slightest insinuation that the bishop of Rome was 
 actually the Antichrist of the New Testament, or that the 
 
 • Ep. p. too. 
 
 Vol. IV —No. 27. 2 f 
 
326 
 
 Remarks 
 
 LCent. 16. 
 
 Roman church was anti christian in principle, would 
 probably have cost him his life. 
 
 The more thoroughly we examine the principles of 
 Luther, the more exactly consistent do we find them with 
 his practice, even in the most difficult circumstances. So, 
 in the present instance, he seriously believed, that long 
 possession and the consent of the faithful,* were solid ar- 
 guments for the papal supremacy ; but some rays of fresh 
 light burst in upon the mind of the honest inquirer at the 
 very time when he was arming for the combat at Leipsic. 
 He was then in no condition either to confirm or to do 
 away his new suspicions of the antichristian character of 
 the popedom. What was to be done ? He determined 
 to dismiss those suspicions for the present, till he should 
 have leisure to weigh them ; and in the mean time he 
 adhered to the only principle, by which, in his judg- 
 ment, the duty of obedience to the existing hierarchy 
 could be supported. He dared openly to assert, t that 
 it was far better the Roman pontiffs should, with fear 
 and trembling, see the foundation of their authority in the 
 permission of God and the consent of their subjects, than 
 that, under a notion of divine right, they should feel 
 themselves secure, depend upon force and terror, and by 
 degrees exercise an odious tyranny. 
 
 This declaration, though it fell greatly short of ilie 
 creed of a true Roman catholic, yet, by containing an 
 actual acknowledgment of the pope's supremacy, mani- 
 fested a spirit of obedience and reconciliation on the part 
 of the reformer. Nor was it possible for him, without 
 doing the utmost violence to his conscience, to exhibit 
 a nearer consent to the doctrines of Eckius. There is 
 even some reason to believe, that if his friends, namely, 
 the elector of Saxony and his court, had not discovered so 
 excessive an anxiety lest he should offend the pope by 
 disrespectful treatment, he would have conceded less at 
 this time to his opponent, respecting the grand article of 
 Roman catholic doctrine ; or, at least, would have acted 
 with more reserve on a point where his own faith, though 
 modified and less offensive, was certainly beginning to 
 waver. Before the public disputation at Leipsic, Luther 
 printed and circulated his sentiments on the pope's supre- 
 macy, the same in substance as is related in the preceding 
 T>a«Tes. He took that step, he tells us, because he had 
 " il^nth. Op. ResoL t Resolut. de potest. Papoe. 
 
A. D. 1519.] 
 
 071 Luther^s views. 
 
 327 
 
 great doubts, whether he should be allowed to enter the 
 lists with Eckius as a public disputant. Three times by 
 letters, he says, he put the question to the duke George, 
 but could obtain no answer.* All this is, no doubt, 
 strictly true. Yet whence, it is asked, arose the solici- 
 tude of Luther to appear, at all and on any principles, as 
 the public defender of pontifical authority ; the public de- 
 fender of an unscriptural opinion, which he was soon going 
 to abandon with abhorrence and detestation ; and which, 
 in his private letters, he was already beginning to reprobate 
 in very significant language? 
 
 Seckendorf ascribes thes'e conciliatory measures entirely 
 to the fears and remonstrances of the elector Frederic and 
 his court ; and thinks that Luther in this instance acted 
 contrary both to his own judgment and his inclination. t 
 To differ from this very judicious and candid memorialist 
 can never be pleasant, and will, in general, be found un- 
 safe : nevertheless, I cannot but think that, in estimating 
 the motives of the Saxon reformer, his friends as well as 
 his adversaries have, on this and several other occasions, 
 too much overlooked his profound veneration for estab- 
 lished authorities. They s'eem to have scarcely supposed 
 it possible, that a man, who was so deeply concerned in 
 the confusions and divisions of the church, should still 
 have been a friend to peace and good order. Whereas in 
 fact, Luther's spirit of submission to legal establishments 
 is as unquestionable, as his courage and resolution in 
 defending Christian liberty is truly wonderful and unpa- 
 ralleled. A proper attention to this part of his character 
 will lead the candid inquirer to satisfactory explanations 
 of his conduct in some cases where he has been too hastily 
 accused of inconsistency. 
 
 Luther's own description of his feelings respecting the 
 matters in dispute between Eckius and himself ought not 
 to be omitted here ; as it will, doubtless, be preferred to 
 any conjectures either of Roman Catholics or of Protest- 
 ants ; especially by those who have observed the integrity 
 and the precision with which this faithful servant of God 
 always lays open his mind on serious occasions. " My 
 own case," says he« *' is a notable example of the difficulty 
 with which a man emero^es from erroneous notions of Ions: 
 standing. How true is the proverb, Custom is a second 
 
 Lib i. Ep. t Seek. p. 71. 
 
 2 F 2 
 
328 
 
 Particulars respecting [Cent. 16. 
 
 nature ! How true is that saying of Augustine, Habit, if 
 not resisted, becomes necessity ! I, who, both publicly 
 and privately, had taught divinity with the greatest dili- 
 gence for seven years, insomuch that I retained in my 
 memory almost every word of my lectures, was in fact at 
 that time only just initiated into the knowledge and faith 
 of Christ ; I had only just learnt that a man must be jus- 
 tified and saved, not by works, but by the faith of Christ : 
 and, lastly, in regard to pontifical authority, though I 
 publicly maintained that the pope was not the head of the 
 church by a divine right, yet I stumbled at the very next 
 step, namely, that the whole papal system was a Satanic 
 invention. This I did not see, but contended obstinately 
 for the pope's right, founded on human reasons ; so 
 thoroughly deluded was I, by the example of others, by ' 
 the title of holy church, and by my own habits. Hence 
 I have learnt to have more candour for bigotted papists, 
 especially if they are not much acquainted with sacred or 
 perhaps even with profane history.* 
 
 The victory in the theological contest at Leipsic, as 
 might have been expected, was claimed by both sides. 
 But, instead of repeating many contradictory and positive 
 assertions, that have originated in prejudice and party 
 zeal, it will be better to mention several undeniable facts, 
 which may assist the judgment in discovering what were 
 the real sentiments of mankind at the time of this trans- 
 action, so celebrated in ecclesiastical history. 
 
 1. George, the duke of Saxony, who on all occasions 
 was warmly attached to the papal interests, invited the 
 disputants, after the debate was finished, to a convivial 
 entertainment, and treated them with the greatest libera- 
 lity and condescension. During dinner he laid his hands 
 on the shoulders of Luther and Eckius, and, gently 
 stroking them, said, " Whether the pope exists by divine 
 or by human right, he is, however, the pope." " This 
 prince,'* said Luther, " would never have made this obser- 
 vation, if he had not felt the force of my arguments.^f 
 
 2. Luther complains bitterly of the uncivil treatment 
 which he met with in general from the inhabitants and the 
 university of Leipsic ; and, he observes, on the contrary, 
 what kindness and honours they heaped upon his adver- 
 sary, Eckius. Yet, notwithstanding both their aversion to 
 
 * Lath. Op. vol. i. prsef. 
 t Luth. Op. vol. i. Melch. Adam. Seek. p. 74. 
 
A. D. 1519.] the disputation at Leipsic, S29 
 
 the reformer, and their attachment to the popedom, Hoft- 
 man, who was at that time rector of the university, and 
 who had been appointed judge of the arguments alleged 
 on both sides, refused to declare to whom the victory be- 
 longed ; so that the decision was left to the universities of 
 Erfurt and Paris.* The former of these, in spite of the 
 importunate solicitations of George the duke of Saxony, 
 remained perfectly silent ; the latter, also, gave no judg- 
 ment concerning the controversy at Leipsic, though, some 
 time afterwards, t contrary to the favourable hopes which 
 Luther had conceived of that learned body, they censured, 
 as heretical, several of his positions or theses, collected 
 from his various writings. 
 
 3. The Romish advocate Maimbourg allows, " that 
 both the disputants displayed much ingenuity and erudi- 
 tion during their combat in the castle of Leipsic, but with 
 this difference ; that the truth, defended by a man of 
 sound principles, like Eckius, vanquished error, though 
 supported with all the knowledge and subtlety of a fine 
 genius." This testimony of an inimical historian, proves 
 the celebrity of the talents of Luther. But the fact of 
 which 1 would here particularly take notice, is, the unde- 
 niable consequence which the exertion of those talents, in 
 vehement and subtle disputation for ten days together, 
 produced on the mind of Eckius. His bitterness and 
 enmity against his opponent is well known to have sud- 
 denly increased, from this period, beyond all bounds. The 
 sequel of our narrative will show, with how much personal 
 malice and resentment he sought the destruction of the 
 Saxon reformer, and also how mischievous his rash coun- 
 sels proved to the interests of the Roman see. The 
 reader will then judge for himself, whether the furious 
 conduct of the papal champion is best explained, on the 
 supposition of his consciousness of superiority and of vic- 
 tory in the affairs at Leipsic, or a revengeful sense of the 
 humiliation and defeat which he suffered in that memorable 
 contest. I 
 
 It was in an accurate acquaintance with the Holy 
 Scriptures, and with ecclesiastical history, that Luther 
 more particularly manifested his superiority over Eckius, 
 Very full and exact documents are in existence, both of 
 what was said and what was written in the disputation ; 
 
 * Mdsheira, vol. ii. t Not till the year 1521. 
 
 i Mosheira, vol. ii. chap. ii. sect, x. and Maclaine's note* 
 2 F 3 
 
330 
 
 The system of popery. [Cent. 16. 
 
 and no well-informed Roman catholic will deny this to be 
 a fair statement of the case. But, notwithstanding the 
 increased reputation with which the German theologian 
 departed from the scene of controversy, it was easy to 
 foresee, that the court of Rome would now be more in- 
 censed against him than ever. He had indeed almost 
 agreed with his adversary on some of the disputed points ; 
 he had even defended the authority of the Roman see, by 
 placing it on the best foundation in his power ; in short, 
 he had exhibited a spirit of fidelity, moderation and obe- 
 dience ; but all this could not expiate the unpardonable 
 offence of searching the sacred oracles for himself, of con- 
 futing the papal pretensions to Divine appointment and 
 infallibility, and what was deemed, perhaps, if not the 
 most heinous, the most dangerous crime of all, of resisting 
 and exposing the flagitious practices of the inferior agents 
 and instruments of ecclesiastical rapine and tyranny. The 
 man, who had proceeded to such extremities, was not to 
 be managed by mild and gentle admonitions ; neithei 
 was he to be gained over by bribes and flattery ; he was 
 an enemy of the holy church, and justly merited all she 
 could inflict in her utmost fury and indignation. 
 
 Moreover, popery was not a religion which betrayed 
 only occasional defects and errors : it had long been a 
 SYSTEM of corruption ; all the parts of which were tho- 
 roughly connected with each other, and conspired toge- 
 ther, to deceive, defraud, and domineer over man- 
 kind. The members of the system sympathized with 
 their head in a remarkable manner : they saw their very 
 existence in its safety ; and flew to its defence on the 
 slightest appearance of danger. In return, the sovereign 
 head of this vast body superintended the respective inter- 
 ests of all the members with exquisite care, and even with 
 paternal solicitude. If, in some instances, the conduct of 
 the Roman pontiffs does not exactly accord with this re- 
 presentation, the deviation will be found to have arisen, 
 never from a relaxation or a change of principle, but from 
 pride, contempt, indolence, and a sense of security. This 
 was the case, we have seen, with LeoX. in the very early 
 stages of Lutheranism. 
 
 Striking examples of this reciprocal sort of sensibility 
 and mutual protection were furnished, in the latter part of 
 this year, 1519, by the two universities of Louvain and 
 Cologne, and the cardinal de Tortosa. There can be no 
 
A. 1). 1 51 Q ] The universities. — Purgatory. 33 ! 
 
 doubt that this dignified ecclesiastic, who himself after- 
 wards succeeded Leo X. in the pontificate, acted, in all 
 he did, by the direction of the court of Rome. Ac- 
 cordingly we find one of his letters, addressed to the prin- 
 cipal academies of Louvain, full of hard terms against 
 Luther and his writings, at the same time containing sti- 
 mulating exhortations and admonitions, to induce them to 
 give a public testimony of their disapprobation of such 
 mischievous heresies. The divines of Louvain appear to 
 have been of themselves sufficiently disposed to this mea- 
 sure, and even to have consulted the cardinal respecting 
 its propriety. He commended their faithful zeal ; and 
 the result of this mutual communication was a public 
 decree of the rulers of the university, in which they con- 
 demned many of Luther's propositions and doctrines, and 
 pronounced them false, scandalous, and heretical. These 
 warm advocates for the established faith did not stop 
 here. They sent one of Martin Luther s books to the 
 divines of Cologne, and requested them to censure its 
 heretical contents in a public manner. These presently 
 pronounced it full of errors and heresies ; directed it to be 
 suppressed ; and declared, that it ought to be burnt, and 
 the author of it obliged to make a public recantation.* 
 Thus, by management of this sort, the friends of the 
 papacy, very soon after their defeat and disgrace at 
 Leipsic, obtained the sanction of two universities in favour 
 of the reigning corruptions ; while those learned semina- 
 ries, on their part, failed not to secure to themselves the 
 approbation and applause of the Roman see. 
 
 It would be a useless employment to detail the parti- 
 culars of what passed at the conferences at Leipsic, re- 
 specting several Romish doctrines, which in our times 
 give not the smallest concern to any intelligent Protestant. 
 
 On the superstitious notion of purgatory, many argu- 
 ments and distinctions were produced on both sides. In 
 general, Luther admitted his firm belief of the existence 
 of such a place, and even that some obscure hints of it 
 were to be found in Scripture. But he denied that any 
 thing clear and convincing was revealed in any part of the 
 sacred writings, concerning this doctrine, t As the re- 
 searches of this great man grew deeper, he gradually 
 doubted of several points, which he then held sacred ; 
 and, in process of time, he dismissed them from his creed 
 • Vol. ii. Luth. Op. Witt f Disput. Leip. 
 
332 
 
 EcMus^s views of indulgences. [Cent. 16. 
 
 entirely. The Roman catholic sentiment, of the number 
 of the sacraments, and of the communion under one kind, 
 might be addu(!red as proofs of this. 
 
 It was not by accident that Eckius broug;ht forward se- 
 veral propositions concerning the nature of indulgences. 
 This was the grand question which had produced all the 
 present dissensions in the church. It was closely con- 
 nected with every inquiry that related to pontifical autho- 
 rity : it was, in practice, the exercise of a very material 
 part of that power, which, in theory, was pretended to 
 originate in a divine right. To entangle, therefore, or 
 crush the reformer on this point, in a public debate and 
 before a splendid audience, would furnish such a proof of 
 zeal for the faith, of ability to defend it, and of obedience 
 to the hierarchy, as would infallibly ensure every reward 
 which ambition could wish for, or which gratitude could 
 bestow. 
 
 Luther extricated himself from the diificulty in which 
 his artful adversary had placed him with a success which, 
 before the conflict, he had not ventured to expect. Eckius 
 happened to affirm, that a sort of medium of opinion 
 ought to be held wiih respect to indulgences ; *' On the 
 one hand, they ought not to be condemned, and, on the 
 other, they should not be entirely relied on." To the 
 same effect he taught the people in the most public man- 
 ner. In fact, he seems not to have foreseen, how great 
 an advantage he gave his adversary by this unwary con- 
 cession. " I had supposed,'^ says Luther, " that this 
 affair of the indulgences would be by far the most difficult 
 point that I should have to manage, and that our disputa- 
 tion would have turned chiefly upon it ; whereas it created 
 little or no trouble. I found I could nearly agree to 
 Eckius's explanation. Never on any occasion did papal 
 indulgences receive a more wretched and unfortunate sup- 
 port. They were treated in a way that almost produced 
 laughter. If the proclaimers of the indulgences had held 
 the same doctrine at the time of vending them, the name 
 OF LUTHER would probably have remained unknown. I 
 say, if the people had been informed that the diplomas of 
 indulgence were not to be relied on, these imaginary 
 pardons would have lost all their reputation, and the com- 
 missioners, who conducted the sale of them, would have 
 died of hunger." — The acuteness of Luther, as a theolo- 
 gical disputant, ready to avail himself of the smallest 
 
A. D. 1519.] Luther s Positions, 
 
 333 
 
 indiscretion ot his adversary, appears very manifest from 
 this instance. 
 
 His heart, however, was not in these noisy and conten- 
 tious scenes. The instruction of youth in divinity, and 
 preaching of the gospel of Christ, he considered as his proper 
 business. He used to lament the peculiar infelicity of the 
 age, by which he was obhged to waste in controversy so 
 many hours, that might have been far better employed in 
 guiding souls into the way of salvation. " How long," 
 cried he, " am I to spend my time and strength in frivo- 
 lous discussions about indulgences and pontifical autho- 
 rity, — subjects, which have not the remotest tendency to 
 benefit the church, or promote practical godhness."* 
 
 That some good might result from the contentions at 
 Leipsic, and that mankind might be less bewildered in the 
 mazes of subtle disputation, this diligent servant of God 
 determined to review carefully all his own positions, 
 which had been the subject of debate in his conference 
 with Eckius, and to publish them with concise explana- 
 tions, and with arguments in their support, consisting of 
 appeals to Scripture and ecclesiastical history. These 
 positions, or, as they were sometimes called, theses or con- 
 clusions, amounted in number to thirteen, and related 
 chiefly to Roman catholic peculiarities. Several of them, 
 however, gave the author occasion to state and studiously 
 illustrate the scriptural doctrine of grace, and the nature 
 of in-dwelling f sin, as described by St. Paul in the seventh 
 chapter to the Romans. " In fallen man," he observes, 
 *' there remains an internal principle of evil, even after he 
 is renewed by the grace of God. Every Christian needs 
 daily repentance, because he sins daily; not indeed by 
 daily perpetrating flagrant crimes, but by falling short of 
 perfect obedience. Hence there is not a just man upon 
 earth, because even in actions that are good in themselves, 
 there is precisely so much sin as there is repugnance, or 
 difficulty, or want of dheerfulness in the will. He owns 
 that divines were accustomed to evade the positive testi- 
 mony of such passages of Scripture, as, * There is not a 
 just man upon earth, who doeth good and sinneth not 
 but, says he, let us listen to St. Paul : ' The good that I 
 
 • Luther's Letter to Emser. 
 
 t This word, though not a very common one, has been thought, by 
 excellent divines, to express St. Paul's meaning in Romans viu 
 verse 20, better than any other . . . . " Sin that dwelleth in me '* 
 
334 
 
 On indwelling sin- [Cent. J 6, 
 
 would, I do not ; but the evil which I would not, that I 
 do.' And again : ' I delijjrht in the law of God after the 
 inward man, but I see another law in my members warrino^ 
 against the law of my mind.* Let human reasoning and 
 human authority, whether of the church or of councils, 
 give place and submit : if an angel from heaven should 
 teach the contrary, I would not believe him/' 
 
 ** If," continues Luther, *' the evil principle, called the 
 flesh, prevented the operation of the good principle, called 
 the spirit, in a man so holy and full of grace as the apostle 
 Paul, how can our theologians maintain that there is no 
 sin in good works ? ' It is not,' say they, ' sin ; it is de- 
 fect, it is infirmity.' — This is an unscriptural and a dan- 
 gerous way of speaking. In fact, every Christian feels a 
 continual conflict between the flesh and the spirit as long 
 as he lives ; and therefore in the very best actions there is, 
 in this world, a mixture of the effects of the flesh : but it 
 is not so in heaven. Wherefore, what knowledge other 
 persons may have derived from the scholastic divinity of 
 the times, it is for them to consider : in regard to myself, I 
 am sure I learnt from it nothing of the real nature of sin, 
 of righteousness, of baptism, or of the whole Christian life; 
 nor any thing of the excellency of God or his works, his 
 grace, his justice. Faith, hope, charity, were to me words 
 without meaning. In short, I not only learnt nothing 
 right ; but I had to unlearn every thing which I had 
 acquired in that way. I shall be much surprised if others 
 have succeded better ; but should there be any such, I sin- 
 cerely congratulate them. In the schools I lost Jesus 
 Christ ; I have now found him in St. Paul. 
 
 " Search the Scriptures" is the precept, which of all 
 others seems to have most deeply impressed the anxious, 
 inquisitive mind of Luther. And further in his inquiries, 
 he never forgot that he himself was personally interested in 
 the great truths of revealed religion. He studied the 
 Bible, not through curiosity, or the love of fame, but from 
 a sense of the importance of its contents, and of his own 
 dangerous situation. How little have those understood 
 the real character of this Reformer, who have looked on 
 him as a turbulent, ambitious innovator, impelled by sel- 
 fish and worldly motives ! Nothing can be more affecting 
 than the following account, which he himself gives of his 
 own internal troubles. " However blameless a life I 
 might lead as a monk, I experienced a most unquiet 
 
The writings of St. Paul. 
 
 335 
 
 conscience ; I perceived myself a sinner before God ; I 
 saw that I could do nothing to appease him, and I hated 
 the idea of a just God that punishes sinners. I was well 
 versed in all St. Paul's writing^s ; and, in particular, I had 
 a most wonderful desire to understand the epistle to the 
 Romans. But I was puzzled with the expression, 
 ' THEREIN is the righteousness of God revealed.' My 
 heart rose almost against God with a silent sort of blas- 
 phemy: at least in secret I said with great murmur and 
 indignation. Was it not enough that wretched man, al- 
 ready eternally ruined by the curse of original depravity, 
 should be oppressed with every species of misery through 
 the condemning power of the commandment, but that, 
 even through the gospel, God should threa'ten us with 
 his anger and justice, and thereby add affliction to afflic- 
 tion ? Thus I raged with a troubled conscience. Over 
 and over J turned the above mentioned passage to the 
 Romans most importunately. My thirst to know the 
 apostle's meaning was insatiable. 
 
 " At length, while I was meditating day and night on 
 the words, and their connection with what immediately 
 follows, namely, ' The just shall live by faith,' it pleased 
 God to have pity upon me, to open mine eyes, and to 
 show me, that the righteousness of God, which is here 
 said in the gospel to be revealed from faith to faith, re- 
 lates to the method by which God, in his mercy, justifies 
 ii sinner through faith, agreeably to what is written, ' The 
 just shall live by faith.' Hence I felt myself a new man, 
 and all the Scriptures appeared to have a new face. I 
 ran quickly through them as my memory enabled me ; I 
 collected together the leading terms ; and I observed, in 
 their meaning, a strict analogy, according to my new 
 views. Thus, in many instances, the work of God means 
 that which he works in us ; and the power and wisdom of 
 God, mean the power and wisdom which his Spirit ope- 
 rates in the minds of the faithful ; and in the same manner 
 are to be understood the patience, the salvation, the 
 clory, of God. 
 
 " The expression, ^righteousness of God,' now became 
 as sweet to my mind as it had been hateful before ; and 
 this very passage of St. Paul proved to me the entrance 
 into paradise."* 
 
 This interesting account of the steps by which Luther 
 * Luth. Op. prasf. vol. i 
 
836 
 
 Luther opposes [Cent. 16. 
 
 was led to evang^elical light in the important doctrine of 
 justification by faith, evidently refers to what passed in 
 his mind about the time of the celebrated disputation at 
 Leipsic ; and for that reason may seem not improperly 
 introduced in this place. One of his conclusions in that 
 contest led to a discussion on faith, repentance, and free- 
 will ; and we find, in his defence of that conclusion, a si- 
 milar mode of argumentation. He even produces the 
 very same passage of St. Paul, from the first chapter to 
 the Romans ; and blames divines of the stamp of Eckius, 
 for adding to the words, ' The just shall live by faith,* 
 other words, namely, ' but not by faith only,' as necessary 
 to prevent mistakes. He quotes also the tenth chapter of 
 the same epistle, ' With the heart man believeth unto 
 righteousness,' and takes notice that, likewise in this verse, 
 righteousness is attributed to faith only. ** The works of 
 faith,'' continues he, *' do not produce the faith, but the 
 faith produces the works. The meaning of the apostle is 
 not, that justified persons neglect good works, but that 
 justification is prior to good works; and that good works 
 can be performed by justified persons only." 
 
 Eckius had maintained, that some of the actions of good 
 men, and particularly their last actions in dying were per- 
 fectly free from sin. Luther had too high ideas of the 
 holiness of the divine law, and too deep a sense of the 
 evil of sin, and of the depravity of human nature, to admit 
 this position. Accordingly he opposed it with all his 
 might, and used strong language in support of the con- 
 trary sentiment. " There has not," said he, " for these 
 thousand years, been started a more mischievous, pesti- 
 lential notion, than that God does not demand a perfect 
 fulfilling of all his laws. This is directly to contradict 
 Jesus Christ. God never alters his perfect law ; though 
 he pardons us when we break it. Observe, however, he 
 does not pardon those who are asleep, but those who 
 labour, those who fear, and who say with Job, ' I know 
 thou wilt not hold me innocent.' Never suppose that God 
 does not require an exact regard to every tittle of his law; 
 such a notion will soon engender pride, and make you 
 despise that grace, through which his holy law, as a 
 schoolmaster, should compel you to seek deliverance." 
 
 One of Eckius's propositions, concerning thp natural 
 powers of the human mind since the fall of our firsi pa- 
 rents, seemed strongly tinctured with Pelagian sentiments; 
 
A. D. 1519.] Eckiuss Pelagian sentiments. 337 
 
 and these were iiametrically opposite to Luther's views of 
 the gospel. In this matter, therefore, he did not confine 
 himseh"* merely to the defence of his own conclusions, but 
 exposed the doctrines of Eckius with force and animation, 
 terming" them impious and heretical in the highest degree, 
 and inconsistent with the apostle Paul, and the whole 
 gospel of Christ. Again, he pressed the grand doctrine 
 of Christianity, that we are justified, before God, by faith 
 only ; he showed, that this article of belief was the test of 
 orthodoxy or heresy, according as it was held soundly or 
 corruptly; that all other points were subordinate and 
 centered in this ; and that every objection to it, which 
 could possibly be devised, was done away by this single 
 consideration, namely, that a right faith was necessarily 
 productive of good works. *' St. Paul," says he, " speaks 
 of a living, not a dead, faith ; for a dead faith is merely a 
 speculative opinion. But observe how theologians, build- 
 ing on a solitary passage of St. James, in his second 
 chapter, have dared to oppose the whole current of Scrip- 
 ture. Mankind are exceedingly prone to place confidence 
 in their own works : hence, the great danger of phari- 
 saical doctrine. On the contrary, if you do but take care 
 to instruct the people properly concerning the nature of 
 pure Christian faith, they will then understand the power 
 of such a faith to produce good works ; they will see that 
 good works can be produced in no other way ; and lastly, 
 that these works are, in fact, the spontaneous and infalUble 
 consequence of a right faith.*' 
 
 The contemplation of the ways of .Providence is never 
 more instructive than when we can trace the gradual 
 progress of divine light, as it breaks in upon the mind of 
 honest, industrious inquirers after religious truth. Let 
 not therefore the modern critic, whose ideas of the justi- 
 fication of a sinner may, perhaps, be more exact and 
 digested than those of Luther were at the time of his 
 controversy with Eckius, hastily contemn, or treat with 
 disrespect, the sentiments and explanations which have 
 been laid before him on this essential point. Let him ra- 
 ther, first, advert to the prevailing ignorance and errors of 
 the clergy in the days of the Reformer ; and then, with 
 pleasure and surprise, he will observe the immense strides, 
 towards a complete system of Christian principles, which 
 were taken by an Augustinian monk during the year 1519, 
 in the midst of his persecutions : and moreover, on a 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 27. 2 g 
 
338 
 
 The publications of Luther [Cent. 16. 
 
 stridt examination, he may be astonished to find how per- 
 fectly evangelical also at that time Luther was, in the par- 
 ticular article of justification by faith, as to the substance 
 and general view of this important doctrine. Afterwards 
 he defended and explained it with probably as much accu- 
 racy and precision, as most succeeding divines have done, 
 though the question has now been agitated and debated 
 for several centuries. 
 
 The laws of history oblige us not to omit, that Luther, 
 in the same treatise which contains the defence of his own 
 conclusions against Eckius, hastily expressed a doubt of 
 the divine authority of the epistle of St. James.* Want of 
 a just insight into the views of the inspired writer may 
 account for this temerity, but will not excuse it ; howevei, 
 he seems not to have insisted on his scruples, much less 
 to have persevered in them. In regard to his misappre- 
 hension of the meaning of this part of Holy Writ, we may 
 the less wonder, when we reflect, that even the very best 
 modern interpreters of the Bible do not agree in their 
 explanation of the second chapter of St. James.t Luther 
 conceived that chapter to militate against the doctrine of 
 justification by faith. Truth is seldom seen at once in its 
 full order and proportion of parts. But who can doubt 
 that the Saxon Reformer was under a divine influence, 
 which daily taught him his natural sinfulness ? None 
 who know themselves as he did, can ever find rest to 
 their consciences but in Christ alone. Necessity, experi- 
 ence, and the word of God, unite in convincing them, that 
 no other way of peace can be found for sinners but through 
 the Redeemer ; and, also, that this is the only way by 
 which they can heartily serve God, love their neighbours, 
 and, in general, be fruitful in good works. But more of 
 this important subject hereafter. 
 
 In his literary contest with Eckius, Luther apologizes 
 for the inelegance of his style. He confesses that it was 
 negligent and slovenly, and that he had taken no pains to 
 make it accurate, because he had no expectation of im- 
 mortal fame, nor a desire for it. " 1 am drawn," says he, 
 " by force into this contest. I mean, as soon as I can 
 consistently with my conscience, to retire into a corner. 
 Some other persons shall appear on the stage, God 
 
 ♦ Resol. Lips. disp. 
 
 •*• 'J'he unlearned Christian escapes all this difficulty by receiving 
 tne mbie, and acting upon it in simplicity. — Ed. 
 
A. D. 1519.] are read with great avidity, 339 
 
 willing"." Such was the real modesty of Luther; and so 
 little did he apprehend, that the less he soug-ht for glory, 
 the more he should attain it. 
 
 In fact, the yjublications of Luther were circulated 
 throughout Germany, and were read with the greatest 
 avidity by all ranks and orders. Eckius and other advo- 
 cates of the Roman Catholic cause, answered their oppo- 
 nent with great heat and indignation. Luther replied with 
 promptitude and precision, and also with the zeal and 
 confidence of a man who was perfectly master of the 
 arguments on both sides of the questions in dispute, and 
 who felt deeply interested in the establishment of truth, 
 and who had thoroughly examined the foundations of his 
 opposition to the prevailing corruptions. By these means 
 the discussions at Leipsic were detailed with minuteness, 
 and continued with spirit ; they every where became topics 
 of common conversation ; and, as Luther constantly appealed 
 to plain sense, and the written word of God, the scholastic 
 subtleties of Eckius lost their weight and reputation among 
 the people. It is not difficult to see, that the advantages, 
 which, in this way, the cause of the Reformation derived 
 from the public contest at Leipsic, and its consequences, 
 must have been very considerable. 
 
 Particular and important instances might be mentioned. 
 
 The elector of Saxony was the only prince who publicly 
 favoured the Reformation ; and there is good reason to 
 believe, that both his knowledge of the Scriptures and his 
 kindness towards Luther were much increased by what he 
 read and heard from others, relative to the controversy in 
 1519. It appears from very authentic memoirs by Spala- 
 tinus, that the mind of Frederic had been much exercised 
 about divine things, even before his Wittemberg theolo- 
 gian had dared to expose and withstand the corrupt prac- 
 tices of the Roman see. With much diligence and constant 
 prayer he had read the word of God, and was extremely 
 displeased with the usual modes of interpreting it. And 
 when, through the grace of God and the. instrumentality 
 of Luther, some rays of evangelical light began to break 
 forth, he opened himself explicitly to his chaplain, Spala- 
 tinus, to this effect : " I have always indulged a secret 
 hope, that in a short time we should be blessed with a 
 purer knowledge of what we ought to believe." Mean- 
 while he gave attention to practical sermons, and read the 
 Scriptures with the greatest delight, especially the four 
 2 G 2 
 
340 
 
 The elector Frederic, [Cent. ] 6. 
 
 gospels, from which he collected many excellent passages, 
 and so impressed them on his memory, that whenever 
 occasion required, he could readily apply them with great 
 advantage and comfort. He used particulaily to insist on 
 that saying of our Lord in the fifteenth chapter of St. 
 John, '* Without me ye can do nothing." " He would 
 dwell on this passage,'' says Spalatinus, *' more than any 
 other. He considered it as decisive against the vulgar 
 notion of free-will ; and on this very ground he argued 
 against it, long before Erasmus had dared to publish his 
 miserable, unscriptural performance on the natural liberty 
 of the human mind." '* How can it possibly be," said the 
 prince, that mankind should be perfectly free from all 
 corrupt bias, when Christ himself says. Without me ye can 
 do nothing?" 
 
 Such were the reflections, which the disputation at 
 Leipsic, concerning the necessity of grace, and the natu- 
 ral condition of man, since the fall of Adam, appear to have 
 produced in the pious mind of Frederic the Wise. While 
 they imply considerable insight into several of the essen- 
 tial doctrines of Christianity, they also throw much light 
 on the religious character of this prince. Frederic had a 
 deep sense of his own weakness and sinfulness ; which is a 
 never-failing preparative for the hearty reception of the 
 glad tidings of the gospel ! He felt much anxiety that 
 the faith of Christ might be preached among the people in 
 its purity ; and this anxiety kept pace with his own pro- 
 gress in practical religion; another excellent symptom 
 of a divine teaching, and of truly spiritual affections. Still 
 this excellent personage remained in bondage to papal 
 authority and papal superstitions ; and hence, though his 
 views of the Bible were in perfect harmony with those of 
 Luther, and though he further agreed with the Reformer, 
 that shameful abuses ought to be corrected, dangerous 
 errors exposed, salutary truths propagated, and mankind 
 put into possession of the words of eternal life, he never- 
 theless continued to feel most disquieting apprehensions, 
 lest, in compassing these important purposes, offence 
 should be given to the majesty of the Roman pontiffs. 
 
 It may deserve notice, that soon after the conferences 
 at Leipsic, the elector of Saxony had a severe illness ; and 
 that the industrious Luther, notwithstanding the multi- 
 plicity of his necessary employments, found time to com- 
 pose a small tract, for the express purpose of comforting 
 
A. D. 1519.] 
 
 Melancthon. 
 
 341 
 
 this good prince in his afflictions. The wisdom, the sin- 
 cerity, and the Christian affection, which the author 
 exhibited in this little treatise, w^ould, no doubt, have a 
 tendency to increase the estimation in which he was 
 already held by Frederic* 
 
 The celebrated Philip Melancthon, who is always num- 
 bered among the most illustrious and respectable instru- 
 ments of the Reformation, was actually present at the 
 public disputations with Eckius. Some say, that he placed 
 himself near Carolstadt, and suggested so many things to 
 him during the combat, that Eckius called out to him, 
 " Philip, hold your tongue : mind your own business, and 
 don't interfere with mine." However, he himself tells us, 
 that he was a mere spectator and hearer ; and that he sat 
 among the crowd. As the dispute continued many days, 
 the different accounts might perhaps appear sufficiently 
 consistent, were we acquainted with all the circumstances. 
 Melancthon concludes one of his letters to Ecolampadius 
 in the following manner : Eckius was much admired for 
 his many and striking ingenuities. You know Carolstadt; 
 he is certainly a man of worth and of extraordinary eru- 
 dition. As to Luther, whom I have long known most 
 intimately, his lively genius, his learning, and eloquence, 
 are the objects of my admiration ; and it is impossible not 
 to be in love with his truly sincere and pure Christian 
 spirit.'* 
 
 As the reader by this time must be tolerably acquainted 
 with the ecclesiastical combat at Leipsic, it will be unne- 
 cessary to detain him any longer with particulars from 
 Melancthon's report of that famous controversy. The 
 name of this great man is here introduced, chiefly for the 
 purpose of showing, how the Roman Catholic expecta- 
 tions of the effect of the ostentatious challenge of Eckius 
 were frustrated in every way. Melancthon was then only 
 
 * The opinion which Erasmus entertained of this little tract, is 
 expressea in a letter, written several years after, to the bishop of 
 Basil. " I send you a little book, of which Luther is the author. It 
 is divided into fourteen heads, and is extremely approved, even by 
 those, who, in general, have the greatest possible aversion to his 
 doctrines. He wrote it before matters came to the present extremi- 
 ties. The man has been enraged by hostile treatment ; I heartily 
 wish, that, by the means of friendly admonitions, he might be 
 brought back to moderate sejitiments." Seckendorf observes on 
 this extract from Erasmus, " The disease of the chureh at that time 
 was not of such a nature, that it could be cured by any of Erasmus's 
 plasters.'' 
 
 2 G 3 
 
S42 
 
 Effects of the disputation 
 
 about twenty-three years of age ; and, as yet, had em- 
 ployed his time principally in the duties of his Greek 
 professorship, and in the cultivation of general literature, 
 Already, indeed, he had favoured Luther's intentions of 
 teaching pure Christianity, and of delivering it from the 
 reigning darkness and superstition; but his wishes in 
 this respect had hitherto originated in the native candour 
 and benevolence of his temper, and in his abhorrence of 
 all disguise, artifice, and tyranny, rather than in any distinct 
 insight which he had acquired into particular instances of 
 the corruption of Christian doctrine, or of the shameful 
 practices of the ecclesiastical domination. The confer- 
 ences at Leipsic seem to have had a mighty effect in first 
 determining this elegant scholar to employ his talents in 
 the study of theology. As Melancthon is said to have 
 possessed the rare faculty of " discerning truth in its most 
 intricate connections and combinations/' it was not pro- 
 bable that such a person should be moved either by the 
 flimsy objections of Eckius, or by his pompous display of 
 scholastic arguments. He was not, however, blind to the 
 dangerous influence of a man, who had some pretensions 
 to learning, who had a strong memory, and who, being 
 constantly impelled by ambitious hopes of advancement, 
 and unrestrained by modesty or conscience, was ever 
 ready to make the most positive assertions. In listening 
 to the sophistry of this papal advocate, Melancthon became 
 better acquainted than before with the argumentative 
 resources of the Romish religion ; at the same time that 
 the solid reasonings of Luther, supported by constant 
 appeals to the Scriptures, effectually convinced his mind 
 of the soundness of the principles of his industrious and 
 persecuted friend, and determined him to embark, in the 
 cause of religious liberty, with zeal and fidelity. From the 
 period of this famous public disputation, he applied himself 
 most intensely to the interpretation of the Scriptures, and 
 the defence of pure Christian doctrine ; and he is justly 
 esteemed by Protestants to have been, under Divine Pro- 
 vidence, the most powerful coadjutor of the Saxon Re- 
 former, His mild and peaceable temper, his aversion to 
 schismatic contention, his reputation for piety and for 
 knowledge, and, above all, his happy art of exposing 
 error and maintaining truth in the most perspicuous 
 language, all these endowments concurred to render him 
 eminently serviceable to the revival of the religion of 
 
A. D . 1 5 1 9 .] upon Melancthon 
 
 343 
 
 Christ. Little did Eckius imagine, that the public dispu- 
 tation, in which he had foreseen nothing but victory, and 
 exultation, and the downfal of Lutheranism, would give 
 rise to another theological champion, who should contend 
 for Christian truth and Christian liberty with the primi- 
 tive spirit of an apostle. At Wittemberg, Melancthon had 
 probably been well acquainted with Luther's lectures on 
 divinity ; but it was in the citadel of Leipsic, that he heard 
 the Romish tenets defended by all the arguments that in- 
 genuity could devise : there his suspicions were strength- 
 ened respecting the evils of the existing hierarchy ; and 
 there his righteous spirit was roused to imitate, in the 
 grand object of his future inquiries and exertions, the 
 indefatigable endeavours of his zealous and adventurous 
 friend. 
 
 The pious reader will not think this relation tedious. In 
 the event and consequences of the ecclesiastical conflict 
 between the Romish and the Protestant advocates, he will 
 see much cause to adore the wisdom and goodness of that 
 Being, " who worketh all things after the counsel of his 
 own will." 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 FROM THE ATTEMPTS OF MILTITZ AND ECKIUS, TO THE 
 CRITICAL SITUATION OF LUTHER IN 1520. 
 
 FURTHER ATTEMPTS OF MILTITZ. 
 
 THE COURAGE AND RESOLUTION OF LUTHER. 
 
 HIS LETTER TO LEO X. 
 
 HIS CRITICAL SITUATION IN 1520. 
 
 The contest with Eckius, if we include the necessary 
 preparations for the public debate at Leipsic, and also the 
 continuation of the controversy, lengthened, as it was, 
 by polemical tracts and letters, took up a considerable 
 part of the year 1519. The abilities of this papal dispu- 
 tant had been candidly acknowledged by Melancthon, in 
 a letter to his friend Ecolampadius ; nevertheless, the 
 general account which that letter contained of the Leipsic 
 * Ephes.i. 11. 
 
344 
 
 The negotiations of Miltitz 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 conflict provoked him so exceedingly, that, in the short 
 space of three days, he published a most acrimonious 
 reply to its author, in which he affects to treat this learned 
 and excellent reformer as a mere paltry grammarian, that 
 might have some knowledge of Greek and Latin, but was 
 unworthy the notice of a divine who had any good 
 pretensions to theological knowledge. 
 
 Melancthon's rejoinder to Eckius is elegant, acute, and 
 temperate. It displays the scholar and the Christian ; 
 and at that time must have afforded a prognostication 
 of the advantages which the Church of Christ would one 
 day derive from the writings of a person of such extraor- 
 dinary talents and religious dispositions. This perform- 
 ance consists of only five folio pages ; but it did excellent 
 service to the Lutheran cause.* 
 
 In the mean time, Miltitz, the pope's nuncio, was not 
 inattentive to the object of his commission. Early in this 
 year he had agreed with Luther, that the points in dis- 
 pute should be discussed before some learned and dignified 
 ecclesiastic in Germany, such as the archbishop elector of 
 Treves, or the bishop of Nuremberg. He had also per- 
 sonally conferred on this subject with the former prelate, 
 who approved the plan, wrote to the elector of Saxony in 
 prosecution of it, and made Luther himself the fairest 
 promises of safe conduct and handsome treatment. The 
 unsuccessful effect of these negotiations is to be ascribed 
 to several causes. \. The ensuing debates at Leipsic 
 excited the attention of all Germany. The questions con- 
 cerning the pope's supremacy and the nature of pontifical 
 indulgences were then of immense importance ; and it 
 was not consistent with the reputation of Luther, that he 
 should be absent from such a scene. 2. Moreover, during 
 the INTERREGNUM of the empire, it appeared doubtful 
 whether any safe conduct could be obtained, in which it 
 might be prudent for him to confide. 3. Then he augured 
 no good from the information which he had received, that 
 cardinal Cajetan was certainly at Cobientz with the arch- 
 bishop of Treves. 4. Cajetan, while at Cobientz, wrote a 
 most flattering letter to the elector of Saxony, but took 
 care not to say a single syllable concerning Luther's busi- 
 ness. — Frederic the Wise understood this suspicious 
 silence, and contrived to meet the archbishop of Treves at 
 Francfort, where, as we have already observed, it was 
 ♦ Op. Luth. i. 840, b. 
 
A.D. 1519.] 
 
 are ineffectual. 
 
 345 
 
 agreed that the examination of the ecclesiastical matters 
 should be postponed till the next German diet. 5. Miltitz 
 himself, through the persuasions and authority of Frederic, 
 at length acceded to the same plan, and advised Luther to 
 remain in Saxony, and not to think at present of under- 
 taking a journey to Coblentz. 
 
 The Roman pontiff, it nmst be owned, had imposed on 
 his nuncio a task which was not very easy to be per- 
 formed. Miltitz at first came armed with seventy attend- 
 ants, for the express purpose of seizing the heretic, and 
 carrying him prisoner to Rome. When this scheme had 
 failed, on account of the extreme popularity of Luther, he 
 appears to have done his utmost, in the way of kindness 
 and condescension, to draw a recantation of errors from 
 the reformer. He told the elector of Saxony, that " peace 
 and reconciliation -were the objects of his wishes, but that 
 he had great fears he should be driven to extremities. The 
 pontiff," he said, *' was highly indignant, that Luther s 
 cause had been so long delayed, and that the culprit in the 
 mean time should be allowed to continue his offensive 
 sermons."* 
 
 Neither promises nor threatenings appear to have mate- 
 rially affected the firm determinations of Martin Luther. 
 When, through humane treatment, he was most softened 
 and most inclined to make concessions, he never sur- 
 rendered unwarily a single article of that belief which he 
 thought authorized by the revealed word ; and when most 
 pressed and most alarmed by tyrannical and insolent 
 mandates, still he always resisted the unchristian proposal 
 of unconditional retraction. Invariably he offered to sub- 
 mit his tenets to the authority of the word of God, and 
 continued to insist on the unreasonableness of requiring 
 him to yield implicitly to the mere dictates of arbitrary 
 power. Finding that no means were employed but those 
 of imperious, pontifical despotism, he began more and 
 more to suspect that the ecclesiastical monarch, who do- 
 mineered in the church in so absolute and presumptuous 
 a manner, must be the very antichrist described in Scrip- 
 ture. But the conviction was gradual ; the effect of 
 sober thought and study. Sudden impressions on the 
 imagination were little regarded by Luther. He particu- 
 larly informs us, that he was not one of those who pretended 
 
 * Seek. p. 63. 
 
346 
 
 Luther urges the right 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 to see, at the first glance, the full force and meaning of the 
 word of God.* 
 
 What might have been the result of a conference at 
 Coblentz, under the direction of the elector of Treves, w 
 are left to conjecture. Certainly Luther himself appre- 
 hended much danger from that measure, as circumstances 
 then were. Charles Miltitz,'' said he, ** is so ridiculous, 
 that he would have me go to Coblentz, and defend myself 
 before the archbishop elector of Treves, in the presence of 
 cardinal Cajetan ; and yet this man owns, that he has 
 received no precept from Rome concerning the matter. 
 Every where, from all quarters, and b/ any method, I 
 perceive, my life is sought ! ! t 
 
 Towards the end of this same year 1519, Luther began 
 to preach on the propriety of administering to the laity the 
 communion in both kinds. This step gave great offence 
 to George duke of Saxony, who complained to his nephew, 
 the elector, of the violent proceedings of the Wittemberg 
 theologian. He accused him of having published a ser- 
 mon on the Eucharist, which contained great marks of 
 pride and self-sufficiency. He admonished Frederic to 
 beware of supporting a man, however eminent for learn- 
 ing and talents, who had the presumption to suppose that 
 nobody but himself was sufficiently enlightened by the 
 grace of God to teach true religion. The tenets of Luther, 
 concerning the sacrament, he said, very much resembled 
 those of the Bohemian heretics ; and that in fact, since 
 the publication of his sermon on that subject, it was 
 reported, the number of those disobedient sectarians 
 amounted to more than six thousand. Lastly, he put the 
 elector in mind, that for a long time he had justly merited 
 the reputation of a wise prince and good Christian ; but 
 that at present he was in considerable danger of dis- 
 gracing both himself and his country, by supporting 
 licentious innovations in religion. " If he did not take 
 care, Luther would soon cease to be called the professor 
 of Wittemberg, and would become the bishop, or rather 
 the heresiarch, of Bohemia." 
 
 The elector of Saxony replied with his usual caution, 
 declaring, that he had never ventured, nor would venture, 
 to defend either the sermons or the disputations of his 
 Wittemberg professor of divinity. On that point, he said, 
 he had constantly heid precisely the same language, both 
 ♦ Luth. Oi). praef. vol. i. r Luth. Epist. 110, HI. lib. i. 
 
4. D. 15 19. J admmistration of the sacrament, 347 
 
 to the cardinal legate, and also to Miltitz the nuncio of 
 his holiness ; and that he should continue to pursue the 
 same system of conduct ; — that is, he should not say one 
 word on the merits of Luther's publication, but leave it to 
 be defended by the author himself, who had appealed to 
 the wisdom and authority of learned and impartial judges, 
 and who was certainly bound to wait respectfully the event 
 of their inquiry and decision. The elector owned, that, 
 notwithstanding much clamour had been raised against 
 the discourse or little treatise of his learned professor, he 
 had heard that it was highly approved by many wise and 
 skilful persons as a truly Christian composition. Whether 
 the report was well founded, he knew not ; but he felt it 
 painful to be told, that in his own dominions heresies 
 were spreading ; and still more painful to be suspected of 
 giving them his countenance. 
 
 In this business the dukes of Saxony conducted them- 
 selves agreeably to their respective characters. George 
 was bigoted to the superstitious maxims in which he had 
 been educated, and wished to restrain Luther by the 
 strong hand of despotic power. Frederic, both more 
 enlightened and more conscientious, at all times gladly 
 promoted the progress of evangelical truth, but dreaded 
 to be held up as a principal actor in scenes of so much 
 contention and danger, and which called for clearer and 
 better digested principles than he had yet acquired. Li 
 the mean time Luther steadily followed the track pointed 
 out to him by a diligent and persevering study of the 
 Holy Scriptures. He had broached the question concern- 
 ing the communion in both kinds, and it was not his way 
 to abandon, for slight causes, such pursuits in religion as 
 he conceived important. Early therefore in the year 
 1520, he defended his sermon concerning the nature of 
 the sacrament, by publishing in the German language an 
 explicit declaration of his sentiments on that subject. He 
 did not insist upon the point as matter of strict right, but 
 contented himself, as yet, with expressing a wish that the 
 Church would pass a decree, for the purpose of granting 
 to the laity the communion in both kinds. He said, that 
 the Bohemians, who had obtained liberty from the Church 
 to administer the Lord's supper in the manner which he 
 now recommended, ought not to be accounted heretics ; 
 and that in regard to the remainder of the Hussite multi- 
 tudes, he had no certain information of their doctrines. 
 
348 
 
 Letter to Spalatinus. [Cent. 16. 
 
 All he knew was, that they were a persecuted people, and 
 were compelled to perform their religious services in dens 
 and caverns. They were accused, indeed, of committing 
 the most horrid crimes in those secret recesses ; but the 
 truth of the charges might well be doubted, as it was no 
 new thing for those, who had been condemned by the 
 court of Rome, to be calumniated with the most scandal- 
 ous reports. '* Take notice, reader," says Luther, " how 
 peculiarly unfortunate I am ! Hitherto I have been per- 
 secuted for my faith, and my conjectures. But now they 
 find fault witli me, merely because I express a wish that 
 some new regulations might be made by a future council.'* 
 Then in support of his own conduct, he alleged the ex- 
 ample of Pius IT. who, before he was chosen pope, had 
 most earnestly desired that a general council would decree 
 liberty of marriage to the clergy.* 
 
 These spirited declarations of the reformer did not alto- 
 gether suit the temper of the elector's court. They again 
 exhorted him to peace and caution. But the tender con- 
 science of Luther was not to be lulled by specious pruden- 
 tial lessons concerning moderation and decorum. We 
 have not Spalatinus' s letters on this occasion, but Luther's 
 answer will afford the necessary information. " I am 
 oppressed with a multitude of concerns ; and I heartily 
 wish I could be relieved from the duty of teaching and 
 reading lectures. Nothing could be more agreeable to 
 me than to be released from this employment. But if I 
 am to continue a teacher, I cannot comprehend the notion 
 of yourself, my Spalatinus, and of the friends you mention, 
 namely, that sacred theology may be taught without 
 giving offence to the pontiffs. The Scriptures themselves, 
 in the most explicit manner, lay open men's abuses of the 
 Scriptures, which abuses the pontiffs cannot bear to have 
 mentioned. I have given up myself to this work in the 
 name of the Lord. May his will be done ! The cause is 
 that of mankind in general ; let us, in faith and prayer, 
 commit the event to God, and we shall be safe. For 
 what can our adversaries do ? Will they murder us ? 
 They cannot do that twice. Will they asperse us as 
 heretics? Was not Christ himself treated as a malefac- 
 tor ? When I contemplate his sufferings, I blush for 
 shame to think that my trials should be thought so consi- 
 derable, when in reality they are nothing; and so we 
 * Seek. p. 95, 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 Letter to the Emperor, 
 
 349 
 
 should reckon such trials, had we rij^ht views of mortifi- 
 cation, of seif-denial, and, in a word, of the Christian cross, 
 to which in our days we are perfect strangers. Cease 
 then your attempts to divert me from my purpose. My 
 enemies may rage, but I shall smile in security. I am 
 determined to abide the event, and not to give way to any 
 unbecoming fears. I should, indeed, be sorry to involve 
 the prince in my concerns ; otherwise, at this moment the 
 world should see a very explicit publication of my senti- 
 ments, a pubHcation, which though it might still more 
 provoke the furies, would at the same time expose tlieir 
 folly." 
 
 In much the same spirit of determined resolution and of 
 confidence in the justice of his cause, he wrote to the new 
 emperor Charles V., imploring however, in modest and 
 submissive terms, the assistance and protection " of so 
 great a prince/' " Nothing," he said, " was nearer his 
 heart, than that he might be permitted to discharge his 
 duty quietly in his own little sphere. The violent and 
 deceitful practices of others had compelled him to appear 
 in public ; but the very best men living, as well as his 
 own conscience, would witness, that his sole object was, 
 the propagation of evangelical truth, in opposition to the 
 superstitions of human tradition. For this cause, conti- 
 nues he, during almost three years I have been persecuted 
 in every way that my enemies could invent. In vain have 
 I proposed terms of peace, in vain have I offered to be 
 silent, in vain have I begged for information and the correc- 
 tion of my errors. After having tried all methods without 
 success, I have judged it advisable to follow the example 
 of St. Athanasius, in applying to your imperial majesty, if 
 so be it may please God in that way to protect his own 
 cause. I humbly therefore beseech your most Serene 
 Majesty, that as you bear the sword for the praise of the 
 good and the punishment of the bad, you would deign to 
 take under the shadow of your wings the cause of truth ; 
 mid as to myself, I crave your support not one mon^ent 
 longer than while I shall appear to have reason on my 
 side. Abandon me the instant I am found impious or 
 heretical. All I beg is, that my doctrines, whether true 
 or false, may not be condemned unheard and without 
 examination. If your most sacred Majesty, by your in- 
 terposition, should prevent the exercise of tyrannical power, 
 such a conduct would be worthy of your royal and imperial 
 Vol. IV.- No. 27. 2 h 
 
350 
 
 Luther*s reply to the 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 throne, would adorn your government, and consecrate to 
 posterity the age in which you live/'* 
 
 The various letters and publications of Luther, at the 
 critical periods of these memorable years, contribute more 
 towards laying open the real disposition and secret views 
 of this reformer, than whole volumes of controversial 
 writing's. The reader will, therefore, excuse me for de- 
 tailing many circumstances of this part of ecclesiastical 
 history with more than ordinary minuteness. They are 
 closely connected with the very essence of the Reformation 
 and the revival of evangelical doctrine. 
 
 When men's principles are unsettled, we naturally 
 look for inconsistency in their practice. Yet, after a very 
 diligent review of the most authentic records concerning 
 the great Saxon reformer, I am convinced, that it will be 
 found no easy matter to fix. on his character any charge 
 of inconsistent conduct. Luther never does violence to 
 his conscience ; he is always in quest of information from 
 the purest sources ; and he is constantly obedient " to the 
 powers that be," as long as submission to those powers, in 
 his judgment, does not clash with the Divine Will. On 
 these grounds let his life be examined and tried, and it 
 will not disappoint his greatest admirers. The reformer 
 will appear as honest and indefatigable in investigating 
 truth, as he was resolute and intrepid in defending it. 
 
 It may be almost superfluous to mention, how entirely 
 the preceding letters and declarations of Luther harmo- 
 nize with this representation of his motives; and a similar 
 observation is applicable to several other of his per- 
 formances, which made their appearance about the same 
 time.f 
 
 L To the censures of the divines of Louvain and Co- 
 logne, he published a very animated reply, following their 
 strictures article by article. He said, they had not pro- 
 duced against him the shadow of a reason ; but had 
 treated him with more than Turkish cruelty and arro- 
 gance. In opposing Eckius and his advocates, he owned, 
 he had been compelled to use some exertion ; but, on the 
 contrary, in reading the empty and wretched sentence of 
 these universities he felt his spirits depressed, so as to be 
 more disposed to weep over them, than to write a reply. 
 Antichrist could not be far off, when men set up themselves 
 so impudently above the written word of God. It was to 
 ♦ Epistol. Luth. ad Carol. V f The beginning of 1520. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 divines of Louvain. 
 
 351 
 
 him a consolatory reflection, that many worthy men had 
 been unjustly condemned in a similar way, as Occam, 
 Valla, Picus, Wesselus, and even the great Erasmus. He 
 had no hesitation in adding to the list the names of John 
 Huss, and Jerom of Prague, whose victorious fame at the 
 council of Constance, — not to mention the celebrated 
 letter of Poggius the Florentine,* — neither all the popes 
 nor universities together would ever be able to extinguish. 
 The theologians of Louvain and Cologne had been want- 
 ing both in charity and in justice. They had condemned 
 him without warning, admonition, or hearing: all this 
 was directly contrary to the maxims of Christianity. In 
 regard to the pope, they had treated him with the greatest 
 indecorum. They had passed sentence on a book which 
 was dedicated to him, and humbly laid at his feet; and 
 this at the very time when the author was waiting for the 
 judgment of his holiness. On the whole, Luther considers 
 these divines as decidedly of the Pelagian stamp ; as per- 
 sons who did not submit cordially to Scripture, but 
 fabricated a religion of their own imagination, which in its 
 nature was opposite to the grace and gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 2. In the negotiations between Miltitz and Luther, it 
 had been agreed that the latter should publish a concise 
 protestation of his faith, and of his firm adherence to the 
 Roman catholic church ; and that he should endeavour to 
 express himself in the most obsequious and conciliatory 
 terms. This protestation came out in January 1520, and 
 runs very much in the same strain as the letter to the new 
 emperor Charles V., which is already before the reader. 
 He also calls God to witness, That, as far as he knew, he 
 had never said a word, either in his school or the pulpit, 
 which was adverse to the word of God, or the salvation of 
 men's souls ; that he was so sincere and obedient to the 
 Holy Church, as to be wiUing to die in her cause ; that at 
 any time, upon a safe-conduct being ensured to him, he 
 was ready to appear before judges both secular and spiri- 
 tual ; and that, though every thing he had done was for 
 the glory of God, and the good of all the Christian world, 
 without the least prospect of private advantage m any 
 imaginable way, still he met with no other return than to 
 be traduced as a heretic. From the bottom of his heart, 
 he said, he forgave his enemies ; and he entreated them in 
 * See p. 200 of this vol. 
 2 H 2 
 
352 
 
 Luther s letters to 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 the name of Almig'hty God, to form a more favourable 
 judgment of his motives, and to abstain from calumniating 
 him in so rash and unbecoming a manner.* 
 
 The native good sense of Luther, as w^ell as his grati- 
 tude to the elector of Saxony, vt^ould, doubtless, induce 
 him to be as temperate and conciliatory in his language, 
 as vi^as consistent with the convictions of a man who regu- 
 lated his actions entirely by the will of God. Therefore, 
 among his reasons for writing, at this same time, modest 
 and submissive letters to two German bishops, we may 
 reckon his respect for the Saxon court. He entreated the 
 archbishop of Mentz, not to give credit to his cahimnia- 
 tors, who, he said, consisted of two classes ; — one of which 
 liad never read his writings, and the other were actuated 
 altogether by the most bitter animosity. O n the same day and 
 to the same purport, he addressed the bishop of Mersburg. 
 
 The archbishop replied, that as he had never read 
 his writings, he was not disposed to censure them ; but 
 it was with great grief, that he heard of the violent 
 disputes of celebrated professors respecting frivolous opi- 
 nions and points of little consequence, as he termed them, 
 such as of free-will, and the pope's power, whether it be 
 of divine or of human authority I Such amusements were 
 by no means becoming a true Christian ; but rather 
 tended to excite a hurtful curiosity, and to foment disobedi- 
 ence among the people. He understood also, that the 
 authority of general councils had been disparaged by 
 some persons, who adhered to their own opinions most 
 pertinaciously. This sort of conduct produced much mis- 
 chief In private, and among learned persons, questions 
 of that nature might, perhaps, be handled advantageously, 
 and certainly with less danger than before an ignorant and 
 illjudging multitude. Lastly, he highly approved of his 
 teaching the great truths of Scripture, provided he gave 
 his lectures in a spirit of peace and obedience to the 
 established church ! 
 
 The answer of the bishop of Mersburg is concise, and 
 borders on severity. He could not understand, and he 
 exceedingly disliked, those heavy censures of the Roman 
 pontiff. He lamented that Luther had injected scruples 
 into the minds of the people concerning the Sacrament : 
 and, in his judgment, a man of such signal industry might 
 employ his talents in a manner, that should be more 
 * Stf' k. p. 95. Luth. Op. vol. i. 
 
A.D.I 520.] the bishops of Mentz and Mershurs^, 353 
 
 conducive to the promotion of Christian charity, and the 
 salvation of mankind. — This bishop calls Lather his 
 *' venerable brother." — The archbishop of Mentz addresses 
 him with the terms, " honourable, religious, and beloved 
 in Christ." 
 
 But besides what have been mentioned, there are other 
 writings of Luther, of nearly the same date, and of much 
 greater importance. 
 
 His celebrated letter to the pontiff Leo X., in the year 
 1520, and his treatise on Christian Liberty, were the 
 effects of the last effort of Charles Miltitz, to produce a 
 reconciliation between the reformer and the court of Rome. 
 As Luther was an ecclesiastic of the Augustine order, 
 Miltitz endeavoured to persuade the fathers of that fra- 
 ternity to depute, from their general assembly, then hel^ 
 in Saxony, some persons who should persuade their re- 
 fractory brother to desist from his opposition to the 
 lawful commands of his superiors. This measure was 
 tried ; and Luther received the deputation with the most 
 kind and dutiful attention ; and very soon afterwards he 
 had a friendly conference with Miltitz himself. A distinct 
 account of this part of the negotiation of the pope's 
 nuncio is contained in the following letter of Luther to 
 Spalatinus 3* and it is the more expedient that we should 
 have recourse to this authentic document, because the 
 whole affair has been miserably misrepresented by papal 
 writers, and particularly by Maimbourg,t who compares 
 Luther to the traitor Judas, and the Augustinian fathers 
 to the holy apostles. " Miltitz and myself," says Luther, 
 " met at Lichtemberg ; and we have agrees upon the 
 following terms, — from which he entertains the most 
 sanguine hopes. I am to print and publish dome little 
 tract, and preface it with a letter to the pontiff. That 
 letter is to contain a narrative of my proceedings, and an 
 assurance that I never intended any personal affront to 
 his holiness ; at the same time I am allowed to lay a 
 heavy load of blame upon Eckius. As this plan is 
 founded in the most perfect truth, it is impossible that I 
 should have the smallest objection to it. In the most 
 submissive manner, I mean to propose silence on both 
 sides ; in order that nothing of a conciliatory nature may 
 be omitted on my part. I need not tell you, that it has 
 always been my wish to bring about peace. I shall have 
 * Lib. i. Ep. 141. t Maimbourg, in Seek, p. 94. 
 
 2 H 3 
 
354 
 
 Luther begi?is to view 
 
 [Cent. 15. 
 
 every thing ready in a few days. If the event should an- 
 swer our hopes, all will be well ; but if it should not, I 
 still have no doubt but good will be the consequence."* 
 
 This is evidently the language of a man, who was not 
 very anxious concerning the success of the project in 
 contemplation. The popish advocates go much further 
 and accuse the reformer of actual insincerity towards the 
 Roman see. His humble professions of obedience, his 
 wishes for peace and unity, and his decorous treatment 
 of the person of Leo X., they think, were all downright 
 hypocrisy, and designed to serve no other purpose than 
 that of gaining time, and of rendering the pontificate ridi- 
 culous.t But these rash charges will not be regarded 
 for a moment by any one who attends to the unfeigned 
 disclosures, w^hich Luther repeatedly made of his most 
 secret sentiments. Early in the year 1520, he writes to 
 Spalatinus thus : '* I am extremely distressed in my mind, 
 I have not much doubt but the pope is the real anti- 
 christ. The lives and conversation of the popes, their 
 actions, their decrees, all agree most wonderfully to the 
 descriptions of him in Holy Writ." It is to these views 
 of the true nature of the papacjr, — which were every day 
 becoming clearer in Luther's mind, — that we are to 
 ascribe that species of indilference with which he looked 
 to the termination of the present negotiation. The man, 
 who was almost convinced of the antichristian character 
 of the whole Romish system, could feel no great anxiety 
 to obtain the approbation of the sovereign pontiff. With 
 a truly Christian spirit he seems to have resigned the 
 event to the Divine disposal, and to have cherished a full 
 persuasion in his own mind, that some great good to the 
 Church of God would result from the step which he was 
 about to take. If the court of Rome should adopt pru- 
 dent and temperate counsels, a reformation of abuses and 
 a revival of pure religion might still take place under the 
 established hierarchy ; and if they continued to turn a 
 deaf ear to entreaty, advice, and remonstrance, such pre- 
 sumption and arrogance would more strongly mark the 
 features of Antichrist, and hasten his downfal. 
 
 It must be owned, however, that it was no easy matter 
 for the Saxon reformer, in his present state of mind and 
 circumstances, to devise an epistle to a haughty pontiff, 
 which should exhibit the required degree of submission, 
 ♦ Seek. p. 96. * Pallavicini.—- Maimbourg. 
 
A. D. 1520.] the pope as Antichrist, 355 
 
 do justice to his own conscience and cause, and, at the 
 same time, escape the animadversion and censures of his 
 enemies. But the honest mind of Luther, by simplicity 
 and plain dealing", often effected that, which it would have 
 puzzled an intriguing- minister of state to compass by the 
 most artful policy. He has not, indeed, on this occasion, 
 escaped the opposite charges of hypocritical courtesy, and 
 of audacious insolence ; but as these have been made only 
 by bigoted and ill-informed zealots of the Roman reli- 
 gion, we may dismiss the slander without further notice.* 
 The epistle to Leo, as well as the treatise on Christian 
 Liberty which accompanied it, are extant ; and are lasting 
 monuments of the good sense, integrity, and firmness of 
 their author. They also merit particular attention, on 
 account of their being among the last, if not the very last, 
 of Luther's writings, in which he professes obedience to 
 the Romish church and to pontifical authority. Having- 
 already adverted, more than once, to the motives which 
 probably induced him to treat the rulers of that church in 
 a reverential manner, long after he had seen just cause to 
 mourn over their scandalous practices, it will be unneces- 
 sary to make further remarks on the civil and dutiful 
 terms in which he addresses Leo X. Every considerate 
 person must allow, that while Luther remained a member 
 of the Roman catholic communion, he was bound upon 
 all occasions of intercourse with his superiors to use the 
 decent and customary language of a subordinate eccle- 
 siastic. 
 
 That truly excellent and judicious protestant, Secken- 
 dorf, in his Historical Commentary on Lutheranism, calls 
 on all the bitterest enemies of the Reformation, to lay 
 aside their prejudices, to read over and over again Luther's 
 last letter to the pontiff, and not to stifle the honest con- 
 victions of their judgment and conscience. They cannot, 
 he thinks, but admit, how well contrived it was to stir up 
 the mind of Leo to a serious investigation and correction 
 of abuses. It treated the pope himself with the greatest 
 tenderness and respect, while the rash, impolitic proceed- 
 ings of Cajetan and Eckius were exposed in just strains of 
 censure and reproach. The whole letter is much too long 
 to find a place in this history. A general account of it 
 will, however, be expected ; and the rather, as it may 
 seem surprising that Seckendorf, who on most occasions 
 * Pallavicini.— Maimboiirg. 
 
356 
 
 Luther's letter to [Cent. 16. 
 
 is sufficiently copious in his extracts, and who reckons this 
 composition among the few writings which are truly 
 admirable, does not produce a syllable of it among his 
 numerous articles and additions.* 
 
 In the exordium of his letter, Luther declares, that 
 though he had been compelled, by the persecutions of 
 such as flattered his holiness, to appeal from the Roman 
 see to a future council, yet he had never harboured the 
 least ill will to the pontiff, but had always prayed God to 
 bestow upon his person and his see every kind of blessing. 
 He had learnt, he said, to despise, in general, the threats 
 of those who were continually alarming him with the 
 pontifical vengeance ; nevertheless it gave him pain to be 
 represented as one who had not spared even the pope 
 himself Such an accusation he could not treat lightly, as 
 it was in fact, he said, the true cause of that very letter to 
 his holiness, which he was then writing. 
 
 He owned, that he had treated the impious doctrines of 
 his adversaries with much severity ; and he was so far 
 from repenting of what he had done in that respect, that, 
 whatever man's judgment might be, he intended zealously to 
 persevere in the same practice. He was supported by the 
 example of Christ, of St. Paul, and the prophets ; whereas 
 the delicate ears of the present age, accustomed to nothing 
 but most pernicious flattery, could not endure plain truths. 
 He was not, however, conscious that he had in any in- 
 stance spoken of the person of the present pontiff in a 
 manner which was not highly respectful ; and if he had 
 really done otherwise, there was nothing which he more 
 thoroughly disapproved, or would be more ready to retract. 
 Moreover, he said, that Leo X. was so generally cele- 
 brated for leading a blameless life, that it would not be in 
 the power of the greatest character to injure his unsullied 
 reputation. He was not yet so stupid as to think of 
 attacking a man, whom every body praised. Besides, it 
 had never been, nor ever should be his practice, to inveigh 
 even against those who were notorious for bad morals. 
 It gave him no pleasure to dwell on the faults of any man ; 
 he was sufficiently conscious of the beam in his own eye, 
 and would never be the first to cast a stone. (John viii. 7.) 
 His sole object, his sole contention, related to the 
 DIVINE WORD. Every thing else he was ready to give 
 
 * Sleidan gives the substance of it in brief; and the whole is to 
 be found in Luther's Works, vol. ii. Witt. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 pope Leo X, 
 
 357 
 
 up to any person, but he oould never give up his right 
 to set forth the word of truth. Whoever had conceived 
 differently, either of him or his writings, had mistaken the 
 matter. 
 
 But the pope's see, or, in other words, the court op 
 Rome, neither Leo nor any man living could denv, was 
 more corrupt than Babylon and Sodom. Luther declared, 
 that he considered that court as desperately wicked : he 
 detested it ; he had withstood it, and should continue to 
 withstand it as long as he preserved any thing of the spirit 
 of the gospel. It was a most licentious den of thieves : 
 Antichrist could add nothing to its impiety. What can a 
 pope do among such monsters of wickedness, even sup- 
 posing him to be supported by three or four learned and 
 excellent cardinals ? He is like a lamb in the midst of 
 wolves, as a Daniel among the lions, or as an Ezekiel 
 among scorpions. 
 
 He most sincerely wished that Leo X. could be induced 
 to live on his own patrimony, or on some small ecclesias- 
 tical preferment, and resign the pontificate, which in 
 reality was now only fit for those sons of perdition who 
 flattered him on account of his glorious pre-eminence. 
 *' O Leo !" said he, you sit on a most inauspicious and 
 dangerous throne. The more wicked and execrable your 
 court is, the more readily do they use your name and 
 authority, to ruin the fortunes and the souls of the people, 
 to multiply their villanies, and to oppress the whole Church 
 of God. I speak the truth, because I wish you well. If 
 Bernard, with an honest freedom, deplored the situation 
 of pope Eugenius, at a time when there was room for 
 better hopes of the court of Rome, — though even then 
 very corrupt ; — why may not we, after an accumulation of 
 most ruinous corruptions for upwards of three hundred 
 years, be allowed to speak freely ? Those, who thus 
 complain and execrate the court of Rome, are your best 
 friends, and do you the best services. Nothing can be 
 more opposite to Christ and his rehgion, than the practices 
 of the Roman see." 
 
 He said, he could go still further, and honestly declare, 
 that to inveigh even against the corrupt court of Rome, 
 was a thought which had never entered his mind. He had 
 considered the case of that court as desperate ; he had 
 said, " He that is filthy, let him be filthy still and he 
 * Revel, xxii. IJ. 
 
358 
 
 Luther s letter to 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 had actually given himself up to the study of the holy 
 Scriptures, with the view of being useful to his brethren 
 with whom he lived in the university. 
 
 While he was prosecuting this plan, in a peaceable and 
 quiet manner, and with a fair prospect of success, John 
 Eckius, laying hold of a single word, which had casually 
 escaped him, concerning the supremacy of the Roman 
 church, had drawn him unexpectedly into a public disputa- 
 tion. This ostentatious Thraso pretended to venture every 
 thing for the glory of God and the honour of the apostolic 
 see ; whereas in reality he was seeking, not the supremacy 
 of St. Peter, but his own rank and aggrandizement among 
 the divines of the age ; and, in this view, he had sup- 
 posed it might be of considerable use to him, if he could 
 drag Luther in triumph. Puffed up with the idea of 
 being able to abuse the papal authority to his own pur- 
 poses, the sophist had looked forward to certain victory ; 
 and now that he had utterly failed, he was carried away 
 with the most outrageous passion, conscious that it was 
 by his own fault, and not Luther's, if the latter, in defend- 
 ing himself, had said any thing which might discredit the 
 Roman see. 
 
 Luther then entreated the pope, that he might be per- 
 mitted to say a word in support of his own cause, and 
 also to point out those who were the real eneiniies of his 
 holiness. He took it for granted that Leo was well ac- 
 quainted with the proceedings of his imprudent, unfortu- 
 nate, nay, unfaithful legate, cardinal Cajetan. This man, 
 he said, might have composed all the differences with a 
 single word. He had only to prescribe to Luther's adver- 
 saries the same silence, which, on that condition, Luther 
 had promised to preserve. Whereas, not content with 
 this fair compromise, he began to justify the licentious 
 practices of his enemies, and to insist upon a recantation 
 from him, even when the pontifical mandates by no means 
 warranted so tyrannical a demand. Thus the pleasing 
 hopes of an accommodation had been ruined, and the 
 dissension much exasperated. All the mischief which 
 followed was to be ascribed entirely to Cajetan and not to 
 Luther, who in vain had exerted every nerve to procure 
 peace and silence. 
 
 Charles Miltitz, he said, had used his utmost endeavours 
 to repair the harm which had been caused by the pride 
 and temerity of Cajetan ; but had been prevented from 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 pope Leo X, 
 
 359 
 
 bringing matters to a successful iss<ue, by the unseason- 
 able disputations of Eckius. This was the name of the 
 pope's real enemy. He was a man who did not seek 
 truth, but glory ; a man, who, by falsehood, pretence, and 
 artifice, had, from the beginning of these troubles, done 
 every thing he could to confound men's judgments and 
 inflame their passions ; and who, it could not be denied, 
 had brought to light, through his selfish and intemperate 
 conduct, many of the ignominious corruptions of the court 
 of Rome. 
 
 From this instance, he said, the pope might learn, that 
 no enemy was more pernicious than a flatterer. At this 
 very time the papal authority languished ; even the name 
 of the Roman court excited disgust; while its disgraceful 
 ignorance was the topic of common conversation. Little 
 or nothing might have been said of these things, if the 
 concihatory measures of Miltitz and himself had not been 
 defeated by Eckius. 
 
 Lastly, Luther informed the pope, that some principal 
 persons of his own order, at the particular instance of 
 Miltitz, had requested him to address his hoHness in 
 respectful terms ; to defend, at the same time, his inno- 
 cence with becoming humility ; and to express a hope, 
 that the native goodness of Leo X. would devise some 
 expedient by which the misunderstanding between them 
 might be prevented from being pushed to the last extre- 
 mity. He said, this measure so entirely harmonized with 
 what he had always offered and wished, that now, with 
 the greatest humility, he besought his holiness to impose 
 silence upon those flatterers, who, while they pretended 
 peace, were the enemies of peace. But no person, he added, 
 must desire him to recant, unless he intended to increase 
 the dissensions. He further distinctly stated, that he 
 could not permit any rules to be prescribed to him for 
 the interpretation of the word of God : the word of God 
 ought not to be fettered. If these two points were 
 granted, there was nothing that he would not most will- 
 ingly either do or suffer. He hated contests, and would 
 take care to irritate no man. His holiness, by an easy 
 mandate, could bring the present cause before himself, 
 and enjoin the parties to be silent and to live in peace. 
 It had long been his wish that this step might be taken. 
 
 He concluded with admonishing Leo not to be seduced 
 by those flatterers, who would make him a sort of god, 
 
360 
 
 Luther s Treatise 
 
 [Cent. ] 6. 
 
 and would persuade him, that he can command and re- 
 quire everything; who call him the lord of the whole 
 world, deny that any thing truly Christian can exist with- 
 out his authority, and idly prate concerning his power in 
 heaven, in hell, and in purgatory. These, Luther said, 
 were the real enemies of the pope, and sought the destruc- 
 tion of his soul : so says the prophet Isaiah, " O my 
 people, they which call thee blessed, cause thee to err.''* 
 Those greatly erred, who placed the pope above a general 
 council and the universal Church, and who attributed to 
 him alone the right of interpreting Scripture. All such 
 persons were at this moment endeavouring to establish 
 their own impieties in the Church under the protection of 
 Leo ; and it was much to be I'amented that, through 
 people of this description, Satan had had great success, 
 during the times of the predecessors of the present pope. 
 
 If he should be thought to have used too great freedom 
 in addressing so dignified a personage, a strong sense of 
 duty must be his apology. He well knew the infinite 
 dangers to which Leo was exposed at Rome, insomuch 
 that the smallest assistance, even from his meanest bro- 
 ther, might be serviceable. He might perhaps have for- 
 gotten the majesty of the pope, while he was discharging 
 the duty of benevolence ; i)ut he had determin-ed to avoid 
 ail flattery in a business so weighty and full of danger ; 
 and if, in what he had said, he was not considered as 
 something more than the pope's most obedient subject, 
 if he were not understood to be his true friend. There was 
 One, who could both understand and judge. 
 
 That he might not approach his holiness empty, Luther 
 said, he presented him a little treatise on Christian 
 Liberty. As an omen of his good hope and future recon- 
 ciliation, he had ventured to dedicate it to Leo X. himself. 
 From the perusal of it a judgment might be formed, in 
 what kind of studies its author would have chosen to 
 spend his time, if he might have been permitted. 
 
 The small treatise on Christian Liberty was regarded 
 by its author as a compendium of the Christian life. In 
 the beginning of it he says. He was conscious of his want 
 of knowledge, and he had no pretensions to elegance ; but 
 having struggled through many and various temptations, 
 
 * Chap. iii. ver. 12. niere is a peculiar propriety in this quota- 
 tion ; JJeatissinip, et Beatitudo, being" the terms commonly uaed ifl 
 addressing the pope. See tiie English marginal reading. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 on Christian liberty. 
 
 361 
 
 he hoped he had learnt something of tlie nature of faith, 
 and could speak of it more practically, than those subtle 
 verbal disputants, who scarcely understood their own 
 meaning. 
 
 He premises two axioms, which, in appearance, contra- 
 dict each other, but which in reality, he said, would be 
 found perfectly consistent. 
 
 1. A Christian man is of all men the most completely 
 free; and is subject to none. 
 
 2. A Christian man is of all men the most ready to serve 
 others, and is subject to every one.* 
 
 In illustration of the former, he shows that the Christian 
 is justified and filled with all good, and made a true son 
 of God by faith alone. *' And though," says he, " he is 
 abundantly justified inwardly, according to the Spirit, 
 through faith, possessing whatever he ought to have, — 
 except that the principle of faith ought to gTOw stronger 
 in him day by day — yet, while he remains upon earth in 
 this mortal state, he must keep his body in subjection, 
 and perform those duties which result from an intercourse 
 with his fellow-creatures. Here then it is, in the Christian 
 scheme, that works are to be placed ; here it is that 
 sloth and indolence are forbidden ; and here the convert 
 is bound to take care that, by fasting, watching, labour, 
 and other suitable means, his body be so exercised and 
 subdued to the spirit, that it may obey and conform to the 
 inward and new man, and not rebel and obstruct the ope- 
 rations of faith, as it is naturally inclined to do, if not 
 restrained. For the inward man, being created after the 
 image of God, by faith rejoices through Christ, in whom 
 he possesses so great treasure ; and hence his only employ- 
 ment and delight are to serve God freely in love." 
 
 He elucidates the second axiom by describing the 
 secret reflections of a truly humble Christian. Behold; 
 on me, a miserable mortal and worthy of condemnation, 
 God, of his mere pity and kindness, without the least 
 merit on my part, hath bestowed all the riches of his 
 righteousness and salvation, so that I no more stand in 
 need of any thing except faith, by which I may appro- 
 priate and secure these blessings. To such a Father, who 
 overwhelms me with his inestimable loving kindness, must 
 I not liberally, cheerfully, and with my whole heart do 
 every thing which I shall know to be pleasing in his 
 * 1 Cor. ix. 19 ; vii. 22. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 27. 2 i 
 
362 
 
 Importance of avoiding [Cent. 16. 
 
 sight? I therefore, after the example of Christ, and as 
 far as I am capable of imitating him, would give up my- 
 self to my neighbour, as Christ hath given up himself for 
 me; I am determined to do nothing in this life, except 
 what I shall see to be conducive to his interests, since by 
 faith I myself abound in all blessings through Christ.*' 
 
 He proceeds to state, that papal, episcopal, monastic, 
 ecclesiastical, and political mandates, ought to be obeyed 
 in many instances, from a regard to the express will of 
 God ; in others, from a sense of the expediency of the 
 injunctions ; and again in others, from a principle of pure 
 benevolence, which, in imitation of our Lord, performs 
 and endures many things not in their own nature neces- 
 sary, for the sake of peace and order, and that offence may 
 not be given to our fellow-creatures. 
 
 There were some, he said, who would vitiate the very 
 best doctrines, and the very best discourses, by misunder- 
 standing them. Let such persons try if they could un- 
 derstand the few words he was about to say. " Many 
 impure characters, when they hear of this liberty of the 
 gospel, use it for an occasion to the flesh, and form no 
 other idea of Christian freedom than an exemption from 
 all rules and ordinances. They greedily lay hold of this 
 exemption, and pay no regard to things, which relate 
 essentially to the Christian religion. — Let us hearken to 
 the Scripture, and turn not from it to the right hand, or 
 to the left.* By that unerring guide it appears, that as 
 no man is justified by his attention to works and ritual 
 observances, so neither is he justified by the neglect and 
 contempt of them. The faith of Christ does not free us 
 from the necessity of performing good works, but from 
 the presumption of seeking justification by them. Rules 
 and precepts are necessary to be observed in human life. 
 Impetuous and inexperienced youth must be disciplined 
 by useful labour, and the body must be brought into sub- 
 jection by these means. A prudent and faithful minister 
 of Christ will instruct his people in these things, but in so 
 guarded a manner, as to prevent, so far as in him lies, 
 the prevalence of a self-righteous spirit. For this is 
 easily introduced, unless faith be constantly inculcated. 
 If faith be kept out of sight, and human constitutions 
 alone be taught, pestilent and impious traditions, which 
 ruin the soul, will bear all the sway in the Church, as is 
 * (aalatians v. 
 
A. D. 1520.] self-righteomness and antinomianmn, 36 J 
 
 at present the case of the Christian world; pontiffs and 
 schoolmen will confound the minds of men by their de- 
 crees and sentences : and an infinite number of souls will 
 be dragged into perdition ; so that Antichrist will appear 
 indeed in all his horrors.'* 
 
 Luther had repeatedly expressed a wish that he might 
 have leisure to attend to useful subjects, and not be conti- 
 nually diverted from them by polemical disputes. In the 
 treatise, of which the substance of some remarkable pas- 
 sages has been laid before the reader, he seems to have 
 given a specimen of what he conceived to be salutary, 
 practical doctrine : and, though he cannot as yet be sup- 
 posed to have arrived at perfect accuracy in his views ot 
 the gospel, every intelligent student of divinity will see the 
 lineaments of true Christianity. The subjects, which he 
 treats, are in their own nature mysterious; and by no 
 means agreeable to the prejudices of human nature in its 
 present state. Evangelical truth itself appears to 
 stand between two precipices, equally destructive, Self- 
 righteousness and Antinomianism. To describe it in 
 such a manner as to leave it hable to neither of these im- 
 putations, is no easy matter. Even those who, by sound 
 experience, are practical adepts in the gospel- mystery, are 
 not always happy in conveying wholesome instruction to 
 others. Language itself is apt to sink under the weight 
 of the real doctrines of grace, and proves unequal to the 
 description of that spiritual understanding which furnishes 
 the Christian heart with conceptions peculiarly scrip- 
 tural. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, that the man, 
 who, after a silence of many centuries, first undertook to 
 arrange and methodize the doctrines of the gospel accord- 
 ing to the principles of the New Testament, should not 
 always be able to do full justice to his subject ? In ex- 
 plaining however the principles of Christian liberty, and 
 in guarding them against evils and abuses on the right 
 hand and the left, he seems, on the whole, to have pre- 
 served the due medium ; and it is a marvellous instance 
 of divine goodness, that the first completely evangelical 
 reformer could unite such uncommon vehemence of spirit 
 with so much good sense, and such great nicety of judicious 
 discrimination. 
 
 From these extracts and quotations we also see how 
 far remote the author was from being a mere turbulent, 
 2 I 2 
 
364 
 
 Remarks on the tract [Cent. 16. 
 
 licentious demagogue. Convinced as he now was, that 
 the bishop of Rome had no divine jurisdiction, still he so 
 far reverenced the providence of God in permitting this 
 system to continue for ages among mankind, that he 
 was wilHng to try, whether scriptural truths might not 
 he taught and supported in the Christian world without 
 the convulsion of a complete separation. Nor were his 
 suspicions of the entirely antichristian nature of the pope- 
 dom confirmed, till he found by experience that an 
 evangelical ministry could not subsist under so corrupt 
 a hierarchy. 
 
 The Romish writer, Maimbourg, gives the following 
 account of the Treatise on Christian Liberty. " Luther 
 sent it to the pope for the purpose of insulting him. He 
 represents faith as doing every thing. It justifies us, it 
 makes us free, it saves us ; and all this without the help 
 of good works, which are of no use towards salvation, 
 even though they proceed from faith." 
 
 From Du Pin, who, of all the papal advocates, is in ge- 
 neral by far the most candid, and the most to be relied on, 
 one might have expected a more ingenuous and instructive 
 criticism, especially on a work which lays aside all specu- 
 lative disquisition, and treats only of the essential doctrines 
 of the gospel, and the way in which every individual sinner 
 must seek eternal salvation. Though sufficiently prolix 
 in other matters, he gives but a sentence or two respecting 
 this treatise. " It is,^' says he, " full of pious maxims, 
 but he maintains in it his error of justification by faith 
 alone. Yet, he tells us, he does not reject good works, 
 but, on the contrary, exhorts men to the practice of them ; 
 but he condemns those who do them with an opinion to be 
 justified by them, and is persuaded that they make no 
 man just.*' .... 
 
 The pious Christian will have no difficulty in determin- 
 ing WHERE, in these instances, the charge of error and 
 misrepresentation ought to rest, though he may, perhaps, 
 be a little surprised to see, that in former, as well as in 
 modern times, the leading truths of the gospel, in spite of 
 every care to interpret them clearly, and guard them from 
 erroneous construction, were opposed, misunderstood, and 
 misrepresented. The fact is, men, in all ages and under 
 all circumstances, naturally dislike the pure doctrines of 
 grace ; they are ignorant of God's righteousness ; they 
 
A. D. 1520. 1 on Christian liberty. 
 
 365 
 
 go about to establish their own righteousness, and do not 
 submit themselves to the righteousness of God.* It was, 
 I conceive, a strong conviction of this natural dislike, 
 which induced the author of the treatise we have now 
 reviewed, to put his readers, at the conclusion, in mind of 
 the important truth, — namely, 
 
 " That there was therefore need of prayer to God, that 
 he would be pleased to incline us towards himself and 
 make us teachable, and write his laws in our hearts, ac- 
 cording to his promise : otherwise we are ruined for ever. 
 For unless he himself inwardly teach us this wisdom, 
 which is so hidden in mystery, mere nature will constantly 
 disapprove it and reject it. The reason is, nature looks 
 on it as foohshness, and takes offence at it.*' — This is a 
 most valuable observation of Luther. He had his eye on 
 the great, essential, doctrine of justification by faith, which 
 was always his favourite theme. He had taken peculiar 
 pains to secure it both from abuse and from misconcep- 
 tion. It was only a httle before, that he had said, " We 
 are so far from rejecting good works, that we teach the 
 necessity of them, and lay very great stress on their being 
 done. We never say any thing against them on their 
 own account; it is the impious notion that they can 
 justify, which we condemn.'' Still he well knew, that 
 nothing he could say would be effectual to reach the 
 hearts, or even the understandings of mankind. Still 
 they would infallibly exclaim, " This is a dangerous tenet, 
 this is faith without works." He therefore wisely admo- 
 nishes us to pray for a divine influence ; and he beseeches 
 God to " show the light of his countenance, that hjs way 
 may be known upon earth, his saving health among all 
 nations." 
 
 If the least doubt could be entertained, whether the 
 Saxon reformer was a man both of acute understanding, 
 and indefatigable industry, it would be easy to particula- 
 rize several of his excellent pubhcations, during the years 
 1519, &c. which have not been mentioned. The esta- 
 blished hierarchy had, as it could not fail to have, many 
 supporters. The so called heretical innovator was attacked 
 from all quarters ; and it may be sufficient to add, that 
 Luther always answered his enemies with perspicuity and 
 vigour, and in several instances with great brilliancy of 
 
 * Rom. \. 3. 
 2 I 3 
 
366 
 
 Melancthon defends Luther. [Cent. 16. 
 
 wit and poignant sarcasm : never was it more truly said 
 of any man, That he was himself a host. 
 
 Doubtless this extraordinary servant of God is the 
 object of our admiration, much more than of our pity ; 
 nevertheless, when I view the champion of that Christian 
 liberty which we at this day enjoy, calumniated, irritated, 
 and provoked, hunted down, and almost struggling for 
 his life, it is with vast satisfaction that I find the elo- 
 quent pen of Melancthon begins about this time to 
 appear, in reply to some of Luther's adversaries. With 
 what spirit he was treading in the steps of his academical 
 friend, may in some measure be inferred from his answer 
 to a declamatory composition which was published at 
 Leipsic under the name of Thomas Radin. A short ex- 
 tract must however suffice ; for important materials crowd 
 upon us. " The very terms, grace, faith, hope, and 
 charity, have an entirely different meaning in the Scrip- 
 tures, from THAT which fashionable divines give them in 
 their scholastic discussions. We have not only lost the 
 doctrine, but even the very language of Christianity. 
 Grace is a word, which denotes some gift of God 
 through Christ; but where does it signify, as they inter- 
 pret it, A FORM OF SOUL ?* Or whence came the terms of 
 
 FAITH INFUSED and ACQUIRED ; FORMED and UNFORMED? 
 
 Where is their authority for teaching, that Christian minds 
 should hope for salvation from human merits? Nay, 
 whence is the origin of the term itself, the profane term of 
 MERIT ? Witness this madness of attributing virtue to 
 human endeavours rather than to the work of the Divine 
 Spirit ? The Church, ye princes ! appeals to your faith 
 and piety : she entreats you, enslaved as she is by philo- 
 sophy and human traditions, to emancipate her at length 
 from her two-fold Babylonian servitude.'' Melancthon 
 then makes heavy complaints of the vices tolerated in the 
 universities, and the corruptions there imbibed by youth. 
 
 I have seen," says he, some young men, not ill-dis- 
 posed, who would have wished to live and die in total 
 ignorance of letters, rather than to have purchased know- 
 ledge at so dear a rate, who carried nothing away with 
 them from the universities, except a guilty conscience.'' 
 
 If the conduct of Frederic the Wise had been influenced 
 only by prudential and political considerations, he may 
 seem to have been sufficiently tempted, about this period, 
 * This is a most important distinction. 
 
A. D. 1520.] The elector's letter to Rome, 
 
 367 
 
 to have entirely withdrawn his protection from Luther* 
 He was informed by Valentine Deitleben, who was then 
 his agent at Rome for the management of some particular 
 business, — That he could bring nothing to a successful 
 issue with the Roman pontiff ; That whatever the pre- 
 tence might be, he believed the real obstacles were, the 
 offence which the new doctrines of Luther had given to 
 the pope and his cardinals, and the public report of the 
 encouragement and assistance which Luther himself had 
 received from the prince. 
 
 The answer of the elector is, in substance, as follows. 
 " We never undertook to defend or patronize the opinions 
 or writings of Luther ; nor have we at this moment any 
 such intention. We do not consider it as our business to 
 pronounce what is right, or wrong, on religious subjects : 
 nevertheless, we will not dissemble, that we hear the 
 tenets of this man are approved by many learned and 
 inteUigent persons. Some time ago we so far interfered, 
 as to obtain from him a voluntary promise that he would 
 leave our university and jurisdiction ; which he would 
 certainly have done, had not C. Miltitz, the pope's own 
 nuncio, entreated us in the most earnest manner not to 
 permit him to go away; for he expressed his fears, 
 lest, in a different situation, where the man was not re- 
 strained by our authority, he might proceed to greater 
 lengths. 
 
 " As, therefore, there is not the smallest ground for sus- 
 pecting us to be ill affected to the Roman see, we trust 
 that our affairs will not meet with any obstruction from his 
 holiness, on account of false charges and insinuations. 
 
 *' To you however we may speak without disguise. It is 
 the common conversation here, that Martin Luther was 
 drawn into this dispute about the pope's supremacy by 
 doctor Eckius, and that he has been so repeatedly pro- 
 voked by abusive publications, at Rome and other places, 
 that he found himself compelled to answer them. More- 
 over, as there are now in Germany abundance of ingeni- 
 ous and learned persons, and as the laity begin to grow 
 skilful and have a desire to understand the Scriptures, 
 there is, in the opinion of many, great reason to fear, that 
 if the pope should continue to reject the equitable propo- 
 sals of Luther, and will not submit the cause to a fair and 
 unbiassed examination, but depend merely on ecclesias- 
 tical censures, the dissensions and contests may be 
 
368 
 
 Pope Leo's artful 
 
 [Cent. 16, 
 
 exceedingly exasperated, and a return to peace and har- 
 mony rendered very difficult. The doctrines of Luther 
 have taken deep root every where, and the effect must be 
 done away by perspicuous and incontestable testimonies 
 of Scripture, not by ecclesiastical processes contrived to 
 oppress him and to excite terror ; otherwise, it is most 
 probable that the bitterest animosities, and the most hor- 
 rible and destructive convulsions will arise in Germany, 
 which can be of no service either to his holiness the pope, 
 or to any one else."* 
 
 This letter, thoug^h addressed only to the elector's own 
 agent or commissioner, Deitleben, would doubtless find 
 its way to the pontiff and his cardinals. Happily for the 
 cause of Christian liberty, these continued to despise 
 every kind of salutary advice, and it is well known how 
 the subsequent events corresponded with the intimation of 
 the sagacious Frederic. 
 
 In effect, Leo X. listened to the advice of his most 
 pernicious counsellors, and at length, as we shall soon see, 
 suffered himself to be overcome by their importunity. 
 Among these we may reckon Sylvester Prierias and Caje- 
 tan, and especially Eckius, who, from the time of his 
 defeat, in the disputation at Leipsic, breathed nothing but 
 fury and resentment against Luther, and, without losing a 
 moment, had repaired to Rome, in the full purpose of 
 executing vengeance on the man who had lowered his 
 pride and checked his ambitious expectations. Instead 
 of profiting by the prudent suggestions of Frederic, 
 w^hich were conveyed to the court of Rome, through Dei- 
 tleben, in language sufficiently respectful, though, at the 
 same time, firm and significant, the pontiff affected to un- 
 derstand the elector's letter of instruction to his agent in 
 a sense directly opposite to the real one. He extolled that 
 prince in the highest terms of commendation for having 
 opposed the wicked attempts of Martin Luther with so 
 much piety and zeal ; he suppressed his knowledge of any 
 protection that had been afforded the heretic by the court 
 of Saxony; and, with incredible effrontery and dissimu- 
 lation, he desired the elector to be assured that his spi- 
 rited conducjt on the present emergency, in resisting inno- 
 vation and supporting the orthodox faith, had very much 
 increased that good opinion which the Roman see had 
 always entertained of his distinguished merit. In the 
 * Luth. Op. vol. ii. p. 49. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 reply to the elector. 
 
 369 
 
 same letter Leo declares, that he had received from the 
 very best characters so many testimonies in praise of 
 Frederic, as made it hard for him to say whether the wis- 
 dom or the religion of the prince had lately been more 
 conspicuous. It was a proof of singular wisdom that he 
 had given no countenance to that pestilential, poisonous 
 madman, wlio was reviving the seditious heresies of the 
 Wickhtfites and Hussites, which had already been con- 
 demned by the general church ; but it was the soundness 
 of his religious principles which only could account for 
 his steady adherence to the orthodox faith. 
 
 The pope concludes with informing the elector, that he 
 had sent him a copy of the determination* of the court 
 of Rome respecting this notorious heretic and his detest- 
 able opinions ; and that he now relied upon his highness, 
 in the first place, to exhort Luther to recant with a be- 
 coming humility ; and secondly, if the man persisted in his 
 wickedness beyond the term of sixty days, to seize his 
 person and keep him safe for the disposal of his holi- 
 ness. 
 
 This and the preceding letter are curious specimens of 
 that species of epistolary correspondence, which frequently 
 takes place among persons in elevated situations, where 
 the writers perfectly understand each other, though they 
 by no means express in words the ideas they intend to 
 communicate. The letter of Frederic, which, though 
 addressed to his agent at Rome, we may consider as 
 designed for the pope himself, displays throughout both 
 the extraordinary sagacity and the manly resolution which 
 characterised that great prince ; while the pope's answer, 
 under the disguise of a disgusting flattery, betrays the 
 most presumptuous and arbitrary designs. Frederic, 
 though his expressions are modified with a courtly dex- 
 terity, and with that obsequiousness to the hierarchy in 
 which he was educated, breathes nothing but sincerity, 
 moderation, and peace : whereas Leo X., even in his con- 
 descension, is insolent ; and by his ridiculous inconsist- 
 ency in praising the elector, and at the same time adopt- 
 ing violent counsels, demonstrates both the ignorance and 
 the temerity of his advisers. The intelligent reader, who 
 is accustomed to exercise his own understanding on the 
 
 * This was the pope's bull in which Luther was condemned. 
 An account of it, and its consequences, will be given in the next 
 chapter. 
 
370 Luther is encouras^ed hy several [Cent, 16. 
 
 facts before him, will, by attentively weighing* these two 
 letters, see more into the real state of the Reformation and 
 the character of the elector of Saxony and of the Roman 
 court, than by reading many pages of historical specu- 
 lation and conjecture. But, 
 
 Let us now hear the sentiments of one who neither 
 loved courts nor practised their arts. — When Luther was 
 informed by Spalatinus that the prince's agent at Rome 
 could transact no business with the pope, because his 
 holiness was offended on account of the protection afforded 
 by the elector to so notorious a heretic, his answer was in 
 substance as follows, and well deserves our notice. " It 
 is entirely agreeable to my wishes that our illustrious 
 prince should separate himself from my cause as he has 
 hitherto done, and expose me to the pubHc, either to be 
 instructed or convicted of error. Let them punish Sylves- 
 ter, Eckius, Cajetan, and others, who have raised these 
 disturbances in the church, merely to enhance their own 
 consequence and reputation. Whatever I have done, or 
 now do, I do by compulsion. I am always ready to be 
 quiet, provided they do not insist upon evangelical truth 
 lying dormant. If they will but permit Christians to walk 
 in the path of salvation without persecution, I will give up 
 every thing else ; and that spontaneously. This is all I 
 ask. What can be more equitable ? I ask not for a 
 cardinal's hat, nor for gold, nor whatever at this day is 
 deemed precious at Rome. — You will observe that a mind 
 thus disposed can neither fear threats nor be allured by 
 promises."* 
 
 However, amidst the various distresses which the at- 
 tacks of persecutors on all sides occasioned, several cir- 
 cumstances took place about the beginning of the year 
 1520, which tended greatly to encourage the Saxon re- 
 former. ]. The appearance of Melancthon against the 
 papal advocates has already been mentioned. 2. Several 
 elaborate epistles of Erasmus, written about the same 
 period, to persons of learning and eminence, represent 
 Luther in the most respectful terms. Some of these are 
 already, in substance, before the reader,t who cannot fail 
 to observe, that they must have proved the more service- 
 able to the cause of the Reformation, because, as Luther 
 himself says, Erasmus, with his usual dexterity, did not 
 seem to take his part, and yet, in fact, defended him in 
 * Lib. i. Epist. t See page 273. 
 
A.D.I 520.] circumstances. — Schaumburg, 371 
 
 the very ablest manner.* 3. Some German noblemen, 
 who had imbibed Lutheran principles, and had heard of 
 the dangers to which, from the violent machinations of 
 bigoted Roman catholics, the reformer's life was exposed, 
 stepped forward at this crisis, and generously offered him 
 their protection. Among these, in particular, is recorded 
 the name of Sylvester Schaumburg, a Franconian knight, 
 who sent his son to Wittemberg, to be instructed by Me- 
 lancthon ; and, at the same time, by a letter, most ear- 
 nestly requested Luther to accept an asylum in his neigh- 
 bourhood, where he might be preserved from all harm, by 
 Schaumburg himself and a hundred other noblemen, till 
 the storm was over, and the doctrinal points had under- 
 gone a legal examination. Luther had the prudence to 
 transmit to his friend Spalatinus the knight's letter for the 
 inspection of the elector ; and along with it a very sig 
 nificant note, which shows how much his hopes and con- 
 fidence were improved upon receiving information that he 
 had so many friends in Germany. "If it would not," 
 says he, *' give the prince too much trouble, I could wish 
 he would be pleased to give a hint to his friend, cardinal 
 St. George, at Rome, respecting the contents of the en- 
 closed letter from sir Sylvester Schaumburg, that my ene- 
 mies may see they will only make bad worse by driving 
 me from Wittemberg ; for there are those, not in Bohemia, 
 but in the middle of Germany, who both can and will pro- 
 tect me against all their ecclesiastical thunders. There, 
 most certainly, I should expose the Roman errors and 
 abuses with greater severity than I have thought it prudent 
 to do at Wittemberg, where the authority of the prince 
 and the interests of the university are some restraint to my 
 proceedings. As far as respects myself, the die is cast. — 
 Papal wrath and papal favour are equally despised by me. 
 I no longer wish to communicate with the Romanists, or 
 to be reconciled to them. Let them con-demn me and 
 burn my books ; and if, in return, I do not publicly con- 
 demn and burn the whole mass of pontifical law, it will be 
 because T cannot find fire. They will not succeed in this 
 contest. The Lord, who knows me to be a most grievous 
 sinner, will, I doubt not, finish his own work, either 
 through me as his instrument, or through another." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to mention, that the Saxon re- 
 former, when he wrote this note, had made up his mind 
 * Lib. i. Epist. 143. 
 
372 
 
 Luther's desire for peace. 
 
 [Cent. 16 
 
 respecting an accommodation with the court of Rome. In 
 various ways he received almost daily information of their 
 violent proceedings against his doctrines, his writings, and 
 his person ;* he soon expected to hear of a cruel and 
 unjust sentence ; and it behoved him to make some pro- 
 vision for his safety. Under these circumstances, the 
 generous proposal of protection by Schaumburg and his 
 associates must have been grateful news ; and though 
 Divine Providence directed his valuable life to be pre- 
 served in a different manner, yet the certain knowledge 
 of having so many powerful friends in the heart of Ger- 
 many, together with the pleasing option of taking shelter 
 among them in case of emergency, produced a most visible 
 and decisive effect on his mind. We may judge of this 
 by comparing the spirit of the preceding short letter to 
 Spalatinus with that of the following, which was written 
 to the same friend, just before the kind intentions and 
 voluntary support of the German noblemen were made 
 known to him. Alluding to the bitter accusations of the 
 Romanists, he expresses himself to the following effect : 
 " You know that I have much more right to complain 
 than they. Proofs of this assertion may be found in my 
 little publications ; in which I so often own and complain, 
 that I am dragged into this contest by force. How fre- 
 quently have I proposed peace and silence. Nay, when 
 do I cease to beg for better information ? My disposition 
 is still the same ; still I am ready to be silent, if I may be 
 permitted to be so ; that is, if my enemies shall also be 
 restrained from attacking me. All the world knows that 
 Eckius drew me into the dispute about the pope's supre- 
 macy, for no other reason but to injure my person, and all 
 my concerns, and expose to ridicule both my reputation 
 and our university at Wittemberg. And now, when they 
 see that the man is providentially opposed, they accuse 
 me of vain glory. How is it that a person so low and 
 miserable as I am should be suspected of a passion for 
 glory; I, who ask for nothing more but that I may be 
 suffered to live in private, altogether unknown to the 
 world? Let those, who please, succeed me in my func- 
 tions ; let those, who please, burn my books. What can 
 I say more? However, I desire that one thing may be 
 taken along with what J here say, namely, that if I may 
 not be released from the oflice of teaching and explaining 
 * Du Pin, book ii. chap. ix. 
 
A. D. 15:?0.] 
 
 Remarks, 
 
 373 
 
 the word of God, most assuredly I will not be fettered in 
 the discharge of my ministry, I am already safficiently 
 burdened with my sins ; I mean not to add to them the 
 unpardonable crime of remaining in the ministry, and of 
 being unfaithful in it, of being guilty of an impious silence, 
 and of the neglect of divine truth and of so many thousand 
 precious souls," 
 
 Such appears to have been the pious and truly benevo- 
 lent determination of the man, whom one of our histo- 
 rians, with most deplorable prejudice, in direct opposition 
 to the facts, accuses of indulging a spirit of selfish resent- 
 ment, when he began to oppose the practice of indul- 
 gences.* 
 
 Whoever reflects on the state of ecclesiastical affairs in 
 the latter part of the year 1520, and the former part of 
 1521, the important crisis which was fast approaching, 
 the wise and resolute conduct of Martin Luther, and the 
 glorious and happy consequences of his opposition to the 
 reigning corruptions, will look on these authentic docu- 
 ments as extremely interesting, and well deserving the 
 notice of every pious and grateful protestant. It is indeed 
 much to be lamented that these, and many other instruc- 
 tive particulars contained in this chapter, have not, as yet, 
 found their way into regular ecclesiastical histories, where 
 they might prove, in some degree, an antidote to the pert 
 and positive assertions of profane and infidel authors, who 
 set no bounds to their misrepresentations of religious 
 characters and religious transactions. f 
 
 * Hume, Henry VIII. 
 
 f Thus Mr. Hume, besides his odious misrepresentation respect- 
 ing INDULGENCES, which has long ago received a most complete 
 answer from Dr. Maclaine in his notes on Mosheim, makes not the 
 least scruple to speak of the Reformation in the following manner : 
 
 '* Not that reason bore any considerable share in opening men's 
 eyes with regard to the impostures of the Romish church.'' 
 
 Again, " Many of the reformers adopted an enthusiastic strain of 
 devotion, which admitted of no observances, rites^ or ceremonies, 
 but placed all merit in a mysterious species of faith, in inward 
 vision, rapture, and ecstacy." 
 
 Soon after, he speaks of Leo X. as follows : His " sound judg- 
 ment, MODERATION, and TEMPER, wcro wcU qualified to retard its 
 progress that is, the progress of the sect of reformers. 
 
 I will venture to affirm, that it will not be easy to produce, from 
 any other -vriter of tolerable reputation, assertions that have so little 
 foundation in fact as these. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 
 
374 
 
 Luther's tract 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION, TILL THE CONCLU- 
 SION OF THE DIET OF WORMS. 
 
 Luther's Treatise on the Babylonish Captivity. 
 
 He is condemned by the Bull of LeoX. 
 
 The Elector's Interview at Cologne with Alean- 
 
 DER. 
 
 The Elector's Interview also with Erasmus. 
 
 Defences of Luther. 
 
 The Asperity of his Style. 
 
 He burns the Pope's Bull. 
 
 Election of Charles V. 
 
 Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Gala- 
 
 TIANS. 
 
 Diet of Worms. 
 
 The active spirit of Luther was continually engaged in 
 the investigation of evangelical truth. Hearing of the 
 design of the court of Rome to publish his condemnation, 
 and discovering more and more of the abuses of popery, 
 he found himself compelled to proceed in his opposition 
 to its established system. He saw no possibility of re- 
 treating with a safe conscience ; all his offers of peace and 
 reconciliation were rejected with contempt and disdain ; 
 and his bitterest enemies were countenanced and ap- 
 plauded by the pontiff. He determined, therefore, to do 
 his utmost to open the eyes of all ranks and orders of 
 men respecting the abominable practices of the Roman 
 hierarchy. 
 
 Accordingly, about the middle of the year 1520, he 
 published, in his native language, a little treatise, in which 
 he addressed the emperor and German nobiUty. His 
 own description of it is concise and significant : " My 
 little tract," says he, against the popedom, is now 
 before the public. The subject is^ the necessity of a 
 reformation in the church. It will give great offence at 
 Rome, because it exposes the impious arts and violent 
 abuses of the pontifical power." 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 against the 'popedom. 
 
 375 
 
 In this work Luther collects a history of the numerous 
 corruptions which, for many ages, had crept into the 
 church ; and in particular he describes the miseries which 
 Germany had suffered from the various wars that had 
 been raised against the emperors by intriguing and am- 
 bitious pontiffs, for the purpose of increasing their wealth 
 and power. He denies the authority of the pope in in- 
 terpreting Scripture, since he was fallible as well as other 
 men ; and asserts, that the civil, and not the ecclesias- 
 tical, governors possessed the right of convening general 
 councils. He exhorts the whole nation to make a stand 
 against the pope's encroachments ; he lays open the scan- 
 dalous manners and practices of the court of Rome ; and 
 describes the cardinals as a company of useless men, who 
 disgraced the clerical profession by their vices, and drained 
 the riches of Italy and Germany. 
 
 This treatise comprehends likewise a selection of dis- 
 tinct articles concerning the reformation of ecclesiastical 
 affairs, the encouragement of useful seminaries of learn- 
 ing, and the study of theology. The primary object of 
 theology, he said, ought to be the interpretation and un- 
 derstanding of the sacred Scriptures ; and the public 
 schools should attend to the pious education of young 
 persons of both sexes ; and the extirpation, or at least the 
 correction, of various pernicious customs, which antiquity 
 itself had now rendered venerable in the Christian world. 
 Still he declared, that he did not reject the authority of 
 the pontiff, provided it was regulated by wholesome laws. 
 He recommends most particular care to be taken in the 
 choice of the college of cardinals, that that body may con- 
 sist of pious and skilful persons ; and he thinks their 
 number should be confined to twelve. 
 
 Thus by a persevering opposition, equally firm and pru- 
 dent, the Saxon reformer gradually subverted the found- 
 ations of popery ; and Germany saw with admiration the 
 display of a profound, practical knowledge in ecclesiastical 
 subjects, from a person whose hours had chiefly been spent 
 in the schools and in the monastery. Some, however, 
 there were, and those the friends of Luther, who were 
 startled at the boldness of the publication, and considered 
 it as the signal for war; but the more thinking and 
 judicious part of mankind looked on this measure as 
 the wisest step which, even in a mere worldly and pruden- 
 tial light, could possibly have been taken, to render 
 2k 2 
 
376 On the Babylonish Captivity, [Cent. 16. 
 
 contemptible and abortive the expected fulminations of 
 the Roman court. 
 
 In the autumn of the same year our industrious re- 
 former printed a small treatise concerning the Babylonish 
 captivity of the church. He begins this book with an 
 ingenuous acknowledgment, that he now most sincerely 
 repented of the concessions he had made two years ago 
 respecting the nature of indulgences. He was so con- 
 stantly exercised, he said, in disputes and contentions, that 
 whether he would or would not, he was compelled to be- 
 come daily more and more learned. He could not, at that 
 time, think of rejecting indulgences entirely, so general 
 was the consent of mankind in their favour, and so 
 addicted was he himself to the superstitions of Romish 
 tyranny. But he now understood them to be mere im- 
 postures, originating in iniquitous flattery. Their object 
 was to rob men of their money, and to pervert the faith of 
 the gospel. He heartily wished he could persuade the 
 booksellers, and all others, to commit to the flames every 
 line that he had written on that subject, and to substitute 
 in their place this proposition, — Indulgences are the 
 
 WICKED CONTRIVANCES OF ROMISH FLATTERERS.* 
 
 It is in this animated composition that Luther, for the 
 first time, I think, calls the papacy The kingdom op 
 Babylon. The progress of his sentiments was in perfect 
 unison with the natural motions of the human mind, at- 
 tending to the dictates of conscience, and directed by 
 serious reflection. It was altogether agreeable to right 
 reason, that he, who had for some time suspected the 
 papacy to be antichristian on account of its multiplied 
 enormities, should at length firmly believe it to be so, 
 when it reformed no abuses, acknowledged no mistakes, 
 and exhibited no ecclesiastical authority but in perse- 
 cuting those who endeavoured to promote the good of the 
 church of Christ. 
 
 Notwithstanding the generous and seasonable protec- 
 tion which had lately been offered to Luther by the Ger- 
 man nobility, his real situation at this time was sufficiently 
 perilous to have hlled any other person with the most 
 uneasy apprehensions. His artful, bitter, and chagrined 
 adversary, Eckius, had gone to Rome, for the express 
 purpose of soliciting the papal censures against him. He 
 knew the man's pride and boundless ambition, his per- 
 * Lulli. Op. vol. ii. 
 
\. D. 1520.] Many students attend the reformers, 377 
 
 severing industry, his implacable resentment. The bull 
 of Leo X., which was to put an end to the dissensions m 
 the church, and perhaps to the existence of the reformer, 
 was daily expected in Germany; and Luther might well 
 doubt whether the cautious elector would not shrink from 
 the dang-er of hazarding an open rupture with the Roman 
 see, whose enormous power had already crushed some of 
 the most potent German emperors. He had indeed good 
 reason to beheve that Frederic was his disciple from con- 
 viction, as well as his protector from policy; but that 
 excellent prince might not be able to support him in an 
 avowed contest of force, though by prudential and dex- 
 terous management he had hitherto shielded him from 
 mischief. In this state of suspense and peril, it was im- 
 possible for Luther to remain unconcerned ; yet he dis- 
 covered no symptoms either of timidity or remissness. He 
 continued to vindicate his own conduct and opinions with 
 spirit, and to inveigh against those of his adversaries with 
 vehemence. 
 
 From the epistolary correspondence of Spalatinus 
 about the end of the year 1520, we have an opportunity 
 of learning the exact state of Luther's mind, after he had 
 received certain intelligence of the arrival of his condemna- 
 tion from Rome. Spalatinus had been sent by the 
 elector to examine the condition of the university of Wit- 
 temberg, and also to ask Luther what steps he intended 
 to take respecting the pope's bull. " I found him," says 
 he, " altogether cheerful, and even in high spirits. He 
 is determined to write against the bull, but with modera- 
 tion, for the elector's sake. He has resolved, as soon as he 
 hears of the burning of his own books, to treat the ponti- 
 fical decrees in the same way. I have seen more than 
 thirty letters addressed to Luther from Suevia, Helvetia, 
 and Pomerania. They are written by princes and persons 
 distinguished by rank and learning, and are, all of them, 
 full of pious and consolatory reflections. Though two 
 hundred students are said to have left the university, the 
 danger of the plague was the chief reason of their depar- 
 ture. Moreover, the principal part of them remain, and 
 new ones are daily coming in crowds ; insomuch that I 
 myself have seen six hundred scholars attend the lectures 
 of Melancthon, and four hundred those of Luther. Lastly, 
 neither the parish church, nor that of the monastery, is 
 2 K 3 
 
378 
 
 The popes damnatory bull [Cent. 16. 
 
 large enough to contain the multitudes who flock to hear 
 the sermons of Luther." 
 
 After the court of Rome had hesitated almost three 
 years, during all which time the word of God had grown 
 AND MULTIPLIED, it was on the fifteenth of June, one 
 thousand five hundred and twenty, that Leo X. published 
 that famous damnatory bull against Luther, which in the 
 event proved so fatal to the established hierarchy. Forty- 
 one propositions extracted out of Luther's works are 
 therein condemned as heretical, scandalous, and offensive 
 to pious ears ; all persons are forbidden to read his 
 writings, upon pain of excommunication : such as had 
 any of them in their custody, are commanded to burn 
 them ; and he himself, if he did not, within sixty days, 
 send or bring his retractation in form to Rome, is pro- 
 nounced an obstinate heretic, is excommunicated, and 
 delivered unto Satan for the destruction of his flesh ; and 
 all secular princes are required, under pain of incurring 
 the same censures, and of forfeiting all their dignities, to 
 seize his person, that he might be punished as his crimes 
 deserved.* 
 
 There was a time when the most powerful monarchs 
 would have trembled at such a sentence. That time was 
 now gone by ; and though Eckius and his party tri- 
 umphed, as if by one decisive blow they had at length 
 annihilated Lutheranism, the more judicious and dispas« 
 sionate part of mankind beheld this rash step of the 
 Roman court as the certain prognostic of increased 
 tumults and distractions. 
 
 The bull met with different kinds of reception in different 
 parts of Germany. In some places the pubUcatioii of it 
 was delayed, in others eluded in part ; and so odious were 
 the proceedings of the court of Rome in this business, 
 that fear alone dictated to many a reluctant and partial 
 obedience to its mandates. For some time past the fol- 
 lowers of Luther had been gradually learning to treat 
 ecclesiastical anathemas with little respect if and, on this 
 occasion, they read them with the most lively indignation. 
 Even at Leipsic, Eckius experienced a very violent oppo- 
 sition to the promulgation of the bull ; and at Erfurt it 
 was forcibly wrested from him, torn to pieces, and 
 
 • Luth. Op. ii Wit. Palavic. 27. f Lutb. Op. i. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 against Luther. 
 
 379 
 
 thrown into the river by armed academicians, who 
 assembled together and besieged his house for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Spalatinus has informed us how little intimidated or 
 disconcerted he found his friend Luther on the arrival 
 of the bull ; but, it should seem, that some weeks be- 
 fore their interview, Luther knew the long-expected event 
 had actually taken place. We collect this from one of 
 his letters to Spalatinus, dated October the thirteenth, 
 1520 ; an extract of which we shall lay before the reader, 
 wrho will, doubtless, be gratified to see his very first 
 thoughts and resolutions on this memorable occasion. 
 ** At last the Roman bull is come ; and Eckius is the 
 bearer of it. I treat it with contempt. I consider it in 
 all respects as a machination of Eckius, and I attack it as 
 impious and false. You see, that the express doctrines of 
 Christ himself are here condemned ; no cause assigned 
 why I should be deemed a heretic ; and, lastly, I am 
 called, not to a hearing, but to a retractation. I shall 
 however, as yet, not seem to know that it is a papal bull, 
 but treat if as a fiction and forgery. Oh ! how I wish 
 that the emperor Charles V. would act like a man ; and 
 in behalf of Christ oppose the emissaries of Satan. On 
 my own account I have no fear. Let the will of the 
 Lord be done. Neither do I see what steps the prince 
 should take ; perhaps, a silent connivance is his truest 
 wisdom. Every where, even at Leipsic, I understand that 
 both the bull and Eckius are extremely despised ; so that 
 I almost suspect it will, of itself, come to nothing, if we 
 ourselves do not procure it importance, by discovering too 
 great an anxiety. I send you a true copy of the bull, that 
 you may see what these Romans are. If they prevail, 
 there is an end of the Church, and of the faith of the 
 gospel. From the bottom of my heart I rejoice that I 
 suffer this persecution in the best of causes ; though I am 
 not worthy to undergo tribulation in so holy a conflict. I 
 feel myself now more at liberty, being assured that the 
 popedom is antichristian, and the seat of Satan. My 
 only prayer is, that God may preserve his own people 
 from the impious seductions of Romish adherents. Eras- 
 mus writes, that the emperor's court overflows with 
 beggars and dependants, all disposed to promote tyran- 
 nical principles, so that there is no hope in Charles. No 
 
380 
 
 Luther s courage. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 wonder ! Trust not in princes, or in any child of man, 
 for there is no help in them/'* 
 
 Historians, on both sides the question, censure without 
 mercy the imprudent conduct of the Roman court in 
 almost all their transactions with Luther. Moreover, they 
 also su^g-est ingenious plans of different kinds,t by which, 
 if the papal counsels had been steadily directed, they sup- 
 pose all opposition to the reig-ning ecclesiastical powers 
 might have been crushed in the bud. The pious reader, 
 however, while he reflects with astonishment on the pre- 
 sumptuous folly and blind infatuation of the Roman 
 hierarchy, will take care always to keep a reverential eye 
 on the overruling" hand of Providence, which, for the wick- 
 edness of men, often shuts their eyes that they cannot see, 
 and makes their ears heavy that they cannot hear.J If this 
 important caution, so constantly enjoined in Scripture, be 
 totally neglected, or but carelessly regarded, the study of 
 history, otherwise so beneficial an employment, may easily 
 obtain a malignant influence over both the understanding 
 and the affections. An habitual attention to secondary 
 CAUSES, where the mind has not obtained, from Divine 
 revelation, any true knowledge of the first grand cause, 
 nor been duly humbled on account of internal depravity, 
 has been observed, in many instances, sadly to increase a 
 sceptical, profane, and atheistical way of thinking. On 
 the contrary, when the God of the Scriptures is the God 
 in whom we firmly believe and humbly trust, and whose 
 attributes we expect to see displayed in his government of 
 the world, we then derive useful lessons of instruction 
 from the contemplation of almost every event, which 
 either we ourselves diligently observe, or which is faith- 
 fully recorded by human industry. In effect, the religi- 
 ous PRINCIPLE is the KEY to truc wisdom, and to true 
 happiness ; the door of both is shut to the profane 
 unbeliever. 
 
 The reformer s cause from the beginning was the cause 
 of God and his Christ ; and the Roman see had well 
 nigh filled up the measure of its iniquity. On the sup- 
 position of any other principle but a judicial hardening 
 of the heart through Divine vengeance, the strange infa- 
 tuation of Leo X. seems altogether unaccountable. Most 
 certainly he was extremely anxious to have the bull of 
 
 • Seek. 114. t Robertson, Charles V. X Isaiah, vi. 10. 
 
A. D. 1520.] Account of the bull. 381 
 
 Luther's condemnation well received among the nations : 
 but MARK the means which that pontiff, so celebrated for 
 penetration and dexterity, employed to bring about so 
 important a purpose. 
 
 1. The bull itself was ill calculated either to convince or 
 to silence. The holy Scriptures had begun to be read in 
 Germany. To these Luther constantly appealed, and to 
 nothing else. By these he repeatedly requested that his 
 doctrines might be tried. The elector Frederic had inti- 
 mated to the pope, with sufficient clearness, how dan- 
 gerous it would be, in the business of Luther, to neglect 
 the testimony of Scripture, and to rely merely on eccle- 
 aiastical censures. Leo, however,stimulated by Eckius, 
 and other interested ecclesiastics, would listen to nothing 
 that was healing or pacific. Instead of confuting the 
 doctrines of Luther and exposing his heresies by scriptural 
 arguments, he invokes Jesus Christ, St. Peter, St. Paul, 
 and all the saints of heaven, and in the most pompous 
 and unmeaning language entreats them to preserve the 
 purity of the sacred church. He then declares that his 
 cardiiials, and his generals of the regular orders, with 
 other divines and doctors of law, had agreed with him 
 in condemning and rejecting forty-one propositions of 
 Luther, and in pronouncing them false, heretical, and 
 scandalous. But, as father Paul observes,* not a word 
 was said by which men could infer, which were heretical, 
 which false, and which scandalous ; and thus matters were 
 left in greater doubt than before the publication of the 
 bull. This was not to appease, but to exasperate the dis- 
 contents of the Germans ; who thought it an extraordi- 
 nary proceeding, that nice questions relative to faith and 
 discipline should be decided at Rome by courtiers only, 
 without the concurrence and advice of other bishops and 
 learned persons, and especially the universities of Europe. 
 — Considerations of this kind showed the necessity of that 
 general council to which Luther had appealed soon after 
 the conferences at Augsburg. 
 
 2. The wisest and best part of the Roman catholics 
 themselves acknowledge the culpable imprudence of Leo 
 m this violent proceeding against Luther. But besides 
 the offensive contents of the bull, it was brought into 
 Germany by Eckius himself, the avowed enemy of the 
 reformer and his friends. A step more indiscreet than 
 * Council of Trent. 
 
382 
 
 The hull is sent by Eckius. 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 this, or more inflammatory in its tendency, could scarcely 
 have been devised. Even the popish advocate Pallavi- 
 cini owns, that the court of Rome did not herein act 
 wisely, and " that it would have been more convenient to 
 have made use of some other person, because it provoked 
 Luther, and made him regard the execution of the pope's 
 bull not as a just punishment received from the hands 
 of the executioner, but as a smart blow given him by his 
 mortal enemy." Eckius all the while pretended to be an 
 involuntary agent in the business, alleging, that only the 
 cause of religion could have induced him to submit to so 
 much labour and expense. One of his private letters, 
 however, sent from Rome, happened to fall into Luther's 
 hands ; who instantly published its contents, and at the 
 same time made pertinent remarks on the hypocritical and 
 interested motives of the writer, which were completely 
 laid open by this accident. In fact, the credit of Eckius 
 in Saxony was now at the lowest ebb. He sent a copy 
 of the bull to the university of Wittemberg, and entreated 
 them to be obedient to the papal injunctions ; but that 
 learned body paid no other regard to his solicitations, than to 
 inform the elector of the circumstances, and to intimate to 
 that WISE prince, that as Eckius had not ventured to 
 bring the bull himself, they suspected he had been guilty 
 of some unfair practices in the business. 
 
 These sentiments of the academicians of Wittemberg 
 were communicated in writing to the elector by Peter Bu- 
 card, at that time rector of the university; and as no 
 answer is known to have been returned, it is most pro- 
 bable that Frederic, satisfied with the favourable disposi- 
 tion of his university towards Luther, left them to the 
 direction of their own judgment in this delicate affair. 
 
 3. Among the unwise measures at this time adopted by 
 the Roman court, for the purpose of securing a good 
 reception throughout Germany to the sentence of Luther's 
 condemnation, may justly be reckoned the vain attempts 
 which they made to influence the elector of Saxony and 
 obtain his concurrence in publishing the pope's bull. 
 Nothing could be worse calculated to effect this design, 
 than the letter which Leo himself sent to Frederic on that 
 occasion. A weak, unprincipled character might easily 
 have been seduced from the path of duty by the insincere, 
 adulatory expressions of the pontift'. But the firm, pene- 
 trating, conscientious mind of the elector of Saxony was 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 Aleander, 
 
 383 
 
 more than a match for Leo and all his profligate advisers. 
 This excellent prince despised their flattery as he detested 
 their hypocrisy ; and, though by nature and habit uncom- 
 monly cautious and temperate, he appears to have been so 
 much provoked by their unjust and barbarous treatment 
 of his favourite Luther, as to discover unequivocal marks 
 of dissatisfaction and resentment. Matters w^ere now 
 come to a crisis. Either the hero of the reformation w^as 
 to be abandoned to the rage and malice of his enemies, or 
 the decisions of an iniquitous and despotic hierarchy must 
 be withstood with vigour and resolution. The honest 
 side of this alternative might be attended with danger ; 
 but happily for the cause of Christian liberty, Frederic 
 feared God, increased in the knowledge of true religion, 
 and grew bolder in its support. 
 
 Thus, neither in the subject-matter of the bull, nor in 
 the choice of Eckius as nuncio for the publication of it in 
 Germany, nor, lastly, in the pope's epistolary solicitation 
 of the elector's concurrence, did the Roman court display 
 the smallest portion of wisdom or foresight. And it is to 
 the same sort of infatuation continuing to pervade their 
 counsels, that we are to ascribe the rash and insolent de- 
 mands which they directed Aleander* to make from the 
 elector. This prince was at Cologne, on his return from 
 the coronation of the new emperor Charles V., where 
 Aleander, a man of ability, learning, and eloquence, but 
 of unsound principles and profligate morals, having ob- 
 tained an audience, opened his commission in the follow- 
 ing manner. He said, the pope had intrusted himself 
 and Eckius with the affair of Luther, which was of great 
 consequence to the empire and to the whole Christian 
 world. He did not doubt but the elector would imitate 
 the emperor and the other princes, who had received the 
 pope's determination with respect. In the pope's name 
 he insisted on two things; — L That he would cause all 
 Luther's books to be burnt ; and, 2. That he would either 
 put the author of them to death, or imprison him till he 
 should be sent to Rome. 
 
 Frederic, after due consideration, and by the advice of 
 his privy counsellors, replied with great prudence, firm- 
 ness, and spirit. He expressed much surprise, that after 
 the many proofs he had given of piety and obedience, the 
 
 • Luther and Erasmus, as well as Seckendorf, describe him as 
 a man cf very indifferent character. 
 
384 
 
 The pope requires that Luther [Cent. 16. 
 
 pope should make such extraordinary demands. He had 
 been informed, he said, that during* his absence from his 
 own dominions, on account of the emperor s coronation. 
 Eckius had brought several of his subjects into trouble and 
 danger ; and, that as this was entirely contrary to the 
 intention even of the bull itself, which specified no person 
 w^hatever but Luther, he left it to the pope's nuncios to 
 judge, how very disgusting such things must be to a 
 prince who had merited a very different treatment. He 
 could not pretend to say, what steps had been taken in 
 his absence by his subjects in general, or by Luther in 
 particular, against these severe proceedings. He believed 
 it possible that vast multitudes of all ranks and orders 
 might adhere to Luther, and favour his appeal. The 
 elector, himself, however, and his brother John, he said, 
 always reverenced the holy see ; and if Luther had done, 
 or said, or written, any thing unworthy of a Christian or a 
 divine, he should meet with no support from his prince. 
 Frederic then put Aleander in mind, that in consequence 
 of a promise from Cajetan, that the differences should be 
 settled in the kindest manner, he had directed Luther to 
 make his appearance before that cardinal at Augsburg: 
 that at the express desire of Miltitz he had retained 
 Luther, who was otherwise on the very point of being 
 dismissed from the university. Moreover, that the arch- 
 bishop of Treves had been appointed apostolical commis- 
 sary to try this cause; and that Luther would unquestion- 
 ably have appeared before him, if he had been properly 
 summoned and had obtained a safe-conduct. *' Luther,'' 
 continued Frederic, " has made many promises, and some 
 credit ought to be given him for the performance. His 
 account of the matter is, that the scurrilous writings of 
 his adversaries have compelled him to take up his pen in 
 his own defence ; and that is said to be the judgment 
 also of many learned, many honest, and many pious cha- 
 racters : nevertheless, as far as I am concerned, he must 
 stand on his own merits and his own reputation. Neither 
 the po])e nor the emperor have yet made it appear that 
 his books deserve to be burnt : when I am once convinced 
 of that, I will not fail to do every thing that becomes a 
 Christian prince. 
 
 " I beg therefore you w^ould no longer persist in these 
 measures ; but commit this business to learned, pious, 
 impartial, and disinterested judges, who may meet in a 
 
A D. 1520.] should he put to death or imprisoned, 385 
 
 convenient place, and have the parties before them, v^^ith 
 the public faith pledged for their safety. Whenever this 
 supposed heretic shall have been convicted by solid scrip- 
 tural arguments, the elector of Saxony will be the last 
 person to protect him ; and I must believe that even then 
 his holiness will not require me to do any thing dis- 
 honourable." 
 
 After this conversation, * Aleander and Carracciolus t 
 had an interview with the elector s council, in which they 
 pressed with great earnestness for a compliance with the 
 demands of the pontiff. Carracciolus exclaimed, that 
 Luther had kept none of his promises. Aleander alleged 
 the many and various endeavours of the pope to recall 
 this man from his errors. He said the commission of the 
 archbishop of Treves was at an end. It was a cause in 
 which THE FAITH was concerned, and therefore the pope 
 had very properly taken it into his own hands. 
 
 Frederic still persisted in his sentiments : upon which 
 Aleander, anxious to retire with as good a grace as 
 he could, declared, " that the pope, having no wish to 
 embrue his hands in the blood of Luther, had never de- 
 signed to proceed against his person ; but that in regard 
 to Carracciolus and himself, he contended they had no 
 choice left to them : they were bound to obey the injunc- 
 tions of the bull, and, in so doing, to burn the books of 
 Martin Luther." 
 
 It required, however, no little effrontery to make that 
 part of this declaration, which regarded the person of 
 Luther ; for it was in direct contradiction to the demands 
 which the nuncio himself, in the pope's name, had so 
 recently made, as well as both to the spirit and letter of 
 the bull itself. But it was no part of Aleander s disposi- 
 tion to be very solicitous respecting honour, veracity, or 
 consistency of conduct. In his eloquent speech to the 
 
 * It is in reference to this conversation that Luther says, the 
 elector handled the pope's nuncios so roughly at Cologne, that they 
 were obliged to leave him with shame and disgrace. And he adds, 
 this prince was a man of exquisite discernment, and knew how to 
 treat the artifices of the Roman court as they deserved. Luth. 
 tom. i. 
 
 t Carracciolus was also a nuncio of the pope, who had been sent 
 to the emperor on other business. He was present during Alean- 
 der's conversation with the elector, but does not appear to have 
 interfered. Indeed Aleander was pitched upon for the particular 
 affair of Luther, and was supposed to be eminently qualified for the 
 management of it. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 l 
 
386 
 
 The reply of the emperor. [Cent. 16. 
 
 elector, he urged the necessity, which the two nuncios 
 were under, of burning Luther's writings; yet it is certain 
 that, in the conclusion of these conferences at Cologne, he 
 promised that he would suspend the execution of the pon- 
 tifical sentence in that respect.* In the same harangue, 
 he also represented the new emperor, Charles V., as alto- 
 gether obedient to the mandates of the pope : whereas the 
 truth is, he repeatedly pressed that monarch to take part 
 against Luther, and to give full effect to the pope's bull; 
 but Charles, whatever might be his real sentiments or 
 wishes, at present thought proper to refuse compliance 
 with the insolent pontifical demands respecting the seizure 
 of Luther's person. In fact, he was then under the 
 greatest obligations to Frederic, being actually indebted 
 to this prince for his recent election to the imperial dig- 
 nity. Accordingly, he replied to Aleander without hesita- 
 tation, that he must first hear what the elector of Saxony 
 had to say on the subject, and then he would give his 
 answer to the pope.f In regard to the burning of 
 Luther's writings, he appears at last to have given way 
 to the zeal and solicitations of Aleander, who having so 
 far carried his point with the new emperor, attended him 
 after his coronation from city to city, filling the Nether- 
 lands with the smoke and flames of innumerable books 
 and papers, and threatening all ranks and orders with the 
 papal vengeance.^ A like partial submission to the pope's 
 bull was obtained by Aleander in the ecclesiastical elec- 
 torates of Cologne and Mentz. The hatred of this furi- 
 ous popish executioner towards Luther was cordial and 
 extreme ; and is by no means to be ascribed to bigotry or 
 superstition exclusively. He evidently disliked the man, 
 for the soundness and purity of his morals. He is 
 known to have said, " It is impossible to soften Luther 
 by money. He is a brute, who will not look either at 
 bribes or honours ; otherwise, he might long ago have 
 had many thousands paid to him at the bankers by the 
 pope's orders. "§ 
 
 How very different from those of Aleander were the 
 principles which influenced the conduct of the elector of 
 Saxony ! The more we know of this good prince, the 
 more are we compelled to admire the integrity and the 
 tenderness of his conscience. — The following curious 
 
 * Comment, de Luth. p. 142. f Luth. vol. ii. p. 117. 
 
 I Erasm. Letter to Card. Sadoletus, § Selneccer, in Seek. 
 
A. D. 1520.] The conduct of the elector. 387 
 
 anecdote throws further light on his character, and is at the 
 same time in close connection with our main subject. 
 
 A short time after the preceding conferences with 
 Aleander, Frederic sent a pressing message to the cele- 
 brated Erasmus, who happened to be then at Cologne, in 
 which he solicited an interview at his own apartments. 
 Erasmus compHed with the summons, and was accord- 
 ingly introduced to his highness. It was in the month 
 of December ; Spalatinus also was present ; and as the 
 THREE were standing before the fire, a conversation took 
 place, in the course of which the elector earnestly en- 
 treated Erasmus to give him his unfeigned opinion of 
 Luther. Erasmus pressed together his lips, and endea- 
 voured to evade the question ; but the prince looked at 
 him full in the face, and gravely said, " I would rather the 
 earth should open and swallow me up, than that I should 
 be found favouring any false doctrines. But if Luther 
 has the truth on his side, whatever danger I may run, he 
 shall not reckon me among his adversaries. Neither do 
 I think myself qualified to decide in so important a mat- 
 ter ; and for that reason I wish to know the real judgment 
 of wise and learned men concerning the whole contro- 
 versy." It was on this occasion that Erasmus said ironi- 
 cally, " Luther has committed two great faults 5 he has 
 touched the pope on the crown, and the monks on the 
 belly.'* The elector smiled ; and was so much impressed 
 with the sarcastic observation, that he mentioned it a little 
 before his death. Erasmus then subjoined, with great seri- 
 ousness, " That Luther was just in his animadversions on 
 the ecclesiastical abuses ; that a reformation of the church 
 was become absolutely necessary; that the reformer's 
 doctrine was true in the main ; but that there was a want 
 of mildness in his manner."* 
 
 * This account is taken partly from a MS. of Spalatinus, and 
 partly from the Annals of Melancthon. The latter author makes 
 the following^ very important reflections on the conduct of Frederic 
 in these transactions : — 
 
 " This most excellent prince was much concerned at the foresight 
 of the contests and disorders which would ensue, though the first 
 attacks made by Luther were upon very plausible grounds. By 
 his own judgment and sagacity, and by long experience in the art 
 of government, he well knew the danger of revolutions. But being 
 a truly religious man, and one who feared God, he consulted not 
 the dictates of merely worldly and political wisdom, which might 
 have inclined him to stifle at once all symptoms of innovation. He 
 determined to prefer the glory of God to all other considerations, 
 2 L 2 
 
388 
 
 Axioms of Erasmus, 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 When Erasmus had withdrawn, he sat down with Spa- 
 latinus, and instantly wrote a few concise axioms, as they 
 have been called, respecting* Luther and his cause. The 
 substance of several of them is as follows : 
 
 1. A love of tyranny, and a hatred of learning, is the 
 vile source of all these commotions. 
 
 2. Hence clamours and plots, bitter enmities, and acri- 
 monious publications. 
 
 3. Persons of the best morals, and of the purest faith, 
 are the least offended with Luther. 
 
 4. There are some who take advantage of the pope's 
 good nature. 
 
 5. The pope prefers the glory of Christ to his own ; and 
 the salvation of souls to any other gain. 
 
 6. It would be both for the dignity and the interest of 
 the pope, that this contest should be settled by wise, grave, 
 and unsuspected characters. 
 
 7. The barbarity of this bull against Luther offends all 
 good men, as it is indeed unworthy of a mild vicar of 
 Christ. 
 
 8. Only two of the universities, out of so many, have 
 condemned Luther; and these have not convicted him, 
 nor do they themselves agree as to their reasons. 
 
 9. Luther's proposals, — to defend himself publicly, or 
 to submit his case to unsuspected judges, — seem perfectly 
 fair to all reasonable men. 
 
 10. The man aims at neither rank nor profit, — and 
 therefore he is the less suspected. 
 
 11. What has hitherto been written against Luther is 
 disapproved even by those divines who dissent from the 
 reformer's tenets.* 
 
 The paper containing these axioms was put into the 
 
 and to listen to the divine command which enjoins obedience to the 
 gospel. He knew that it was a horrible profaneness to resist the 
 truth, when plainly seen and known. He had studiously examined 
 Luther's works, and accurately weighed his proofs and testimonies ; 
 and he would not suffer doctrines to be oppressed and smothered 
 which he judged to be the word of God. Tne Holy Spirit confirmed 
 and supported him in these excellent resolutions ; insomuch that, 
 though the emperors Maximilian and Charles, and the Roman pon- 
 tiffs, urged this prince, — and not without menaces, — to hinder Lu- 
 ther from preaching and writing in his dominions, he was not in the 
 least degree shaken or intimidated. Yet he presumed not to rely 
 entirely on his own judgment in a matter of so great importance, 
 but took the advice of other persons, who were venerable for their 
 rank, learning, and experience." 
 
 * Luth. Op. ii. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 His opinion of Luther, 
 
 389 
 
 hands of Spalatinus by Erasmus himself ; but the cautious 
 author of them soon after wrote a most pre>«sin^ note to 
 Spalatinus, in which he entreated him to return it ; al- 
 leging* as a reason, " lest Aleander should make a bad 
 use of its contents.'** 
 
 There is, however, no doubt that Erasmus heartily dis- 
 approved the severe and despotic proceedings of the 
 Roman court in the condemnation of Luther. The popish 
 historians inform us, that he held the pope's bull to be 
 a forgery, and would not be convinced of the contrary till 
 Aleander had permitted him to examine it. That after 
 this he went about by night to the princes and their friends^ 
 for the purpose of alienating their affections from the pope 
 and from Aleander, telling them the bull had been extorted, 
 contrary to the pontiff's real inclinations, by the arti- 
 fices of malevolent persons; and that in a conversation 
 with Aleander, he was very pressing that the resolution 
 to burn Luther's books might be dropped, or at least 
 retarded, t 
 
 The legates of the pope, in their turn, are said to have 
 plied Erasmus closely with the offer of a rich bishopric, 
 if he would undertake to write against Luther : but he 
 answered them : " Luther is too great a man for me to en- 
 counter. I do not even always understand him. However, 
 to speak plainly, he is so extraordinary a man, that I learn 
 more from a single page in his books than from all the 
 writings of Thomas Aquinas." — Such was the reputation 
 of Luther for profound knowledge in divinity. 
 
 From httle anecdotes of this kind we often learn more 
 of the real judgment of mankind concerning extraordinary 
 characters, than from long historical details. 
 
 For example : Count Nassau, governor of Flanders, 
 Brabant, and Holland, exhorted the divines at the Hague 
 
 * Seckendorf informs us, that Jerome Aleander had formerly been 
 secretary to the infamous Csesar Borgia ; and he calls him a servant 
 worthy of such a master. He was made archbishop of Brindisi by 
 Clement VII., and a cardinal by Paul III. Luther also gives him 
 a very bad character. He represents him as covetous, proud, and 
 passionate, and as one who did not believe in the immortality of the 
 soul, and wallowed in the most infamous voluptuousness. He owns, 
 however, that he was well skilled in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 
 Erasmus often speaks of him, and generally to his disadvantage ; 
 e. g. " Aleander is a man, to say no worse of him, not supersti- 
 tiously addicted to truth." He acted a conspicuous part at the Diet 
 of Worms. — Ep. Eras. p. 1095, " non superstiiiose verax." 
 
 t Pallavic. and Comment, de Luth. 
 
 2 L a 
 
S90 
 
 Luther appeals to a council [Cent. 16. 
 
 in the following manner ; " Go and preach the gospel in 
 simplicity and truth, as Luther does ; and you will offend 
 nobody, nor suffer any molestation." 
 
 Again : The academicians of Louvain complained to 
 Margaret, the emperor's sister, governess of the Nether- 
 lands, that Luther, by his writings, was subverting Chris- 
 tianity. " Who is this Luther ?" said she. They replied, 
 •* He is an iUiterate monk." *' Is he so ?" said she : 
 " Then do you, who are very learned and numerous, write 
 against this illiterate monk ; and surely the world will pay 
 more regard to many scholars than to one ignoramus." 
 
 Another instance : At the emperor s table, mention 
 being made of Luther, Ravenstein said ; " Here is one 
 Christian arisen among us at last, after four hundred 
 years ; and the pope wishes to kill him. Our teachers at 
 Louvain, by dint of bribes, obtained the burning of Lu- 
 ther's books. The pile was kindled, and great was the 
 concourse of the students and others around it. But what 
 books, think ye, did they bring ? Not those of Martin ; 
 but a great deal of monkish trash was committed to the 
 flames."* 
 
 While the minds of men of all ranks and orders were 
 thus agitated with the ecclesiastical contention, it was not 
 to be supposed that the active, ardent disposition of Lu- 
 ther himself would permit him to be an indolent spectator. 
 The interests of the pure gospel of Christ, the reputation of 
 the reformer as a profound divine, and even his personal 
 safety, were all at stake. Add to this, that Luther's views 
 of the nature and importance of religious truth, as well as 
 the tenderness of his conscience, did not at all dispose 
 him to adopt that conciliatory, middle sort of plan, which 
 was constantly the object of Erasmus's wishes. — Accord- 
 ingly, 
 
 The first defensive step of our reformer was to appeal 
 from the sentence of the Roman pontiff to the superior 
 authority of a general council. The contents of this ap- 
 peal are much the same as of the former at Wittemberg 
 in 1518.t 
 
 There is, however, this difference, that he now abso- 
 lutely ceases to preserve any measures with the pope. — 
 He appeals from him, — 1. As a rash, iniquitous, tyran- 
 nical judge; — 2. As a hardened heretic and apostate ; — 
 
 * Ex Libell. in IMblioili. Paul. Lips per Seek. 
 tPage 306ofUiis vol. 
 
A. D. 1520.] against the pope. 
 
 391 
 
 3. As an enemy, antichrist, and opposer of the Sacred 
 Scriptures ; — 4. As a proud and blasphemous despiser of 
 the sacred Church of God, and of all legal councils. 
 
 Soon after, he published, in answer to the bull, two 
 small tracts, in which he exposes, with great spirit, the 
 injustice, arrogance, and despotism of the Roman court. 
 ITie FIRST is entitled, Martin Luther against the execrable 
 Bull of Antichrist. In this he affects to entertain some 
 suspicion that the bull itself is a wicked forgery of Eckius 
 and his party. How, said he, is it possible that so wild 
 and unchristian a composition should be the production of 
 the pontiff and his learned cardinals ? If indeed the fact 
 should turn out to be so, if indeed the bishop of Rome 
 should be actually found to rage against him in the man- 
 ner which the terms of the bull implied, he congratulated 
 himself for being called to suffer in so righteous a cause. 
 He could have but one wish, namely, never more to be re- 
 conciled to so impious an Antichrist ; never more to desire 
 communication with him ; but to surrender his life, if it so 
 pleased God, with grateful joy and thanksgiving. On 
 account of his sins, he said, he merited other treatment 
 than so distinguished and honourable a martyrdom. The 
 author of this damnatory bull, continued he, does not un- 
 derstand Luther. Luther has been, long used to contro- 
 versies ; and is not to be frightened by vain threatenings 
 He knows the difference between an unsatisfactory, un- 
 meaning paper, and the powerful written word of God. 
 
 Luther then calls on all Christian kings and princes, 
 and particularly on the emperor Charles V., and puts them 
 in mind of their engagements at their baptism. He ad- 
 dresses bishops, learned doctors, and all who confess the 
 name pf Christ, and entreats them to come forward and 
 defend the distressed church of God from the machinations 
 of the papists. Lastly, with the greatest seriousness he 
 admonishes the pope himself, and his cardinals, no longer 
 to persevere in their madness, no longer to act the un- 
 doubted part of the antichrist of the Scriptures. 
 
 Our reformer calls his second tract, A defence of the 
 articles of Martin Luther, which are condemned by the 
 Bull of Leo X. 
 
 It is much longer than the former ; for in this the au- 
 thor defends, in their order, all the forty- one articles of his 
 writings which had been censured by the bull. We need 
 not be particular Here, as the work chiefly relates to 
 
392 
 
 Luther's arguments for [Cent. 16. 
 
 papal dogmas, concerning which no protestant can be in 
 doubt. 
 
 Perhaps the most edifying part of this performance is 
 his reasoning in support of the authority of Scripture : 
 " The sacred writings," says he, " are not to be understood 
 but by that Spirit with which they were written ; which 
 Spirit is never felt to be more powerliil and energetic than 
 when HE attends the serious perusal of the writings which 
 HE HIMSELF dictated. Setting aside an impHcit depend- 
 ence on all human writings, let us strenuously adhere to 
 the Scriptures alone. The primitive church acted thus : 
 she must have acted so ; for she had seen no writings of 
 the fathers. The Scripture is its own interpreter, trying, 
 judging, and illustrating all things. If it be not so, why 
 do Augustine and other holy fathers appeal to the Scrip- 
 ture as the first principles of truth, and confirm their own 
 assertions by its authority? Why do we perversely inter- 
 pret the Scriptures, not by themselves,butby human glosses, 
 contrary to the example of all fathers ? If these fashion- 
 able modes of exposition be right, we had better at once 
 admit, that the writings of the fathers are more perspi- 
 cuous than the Scriptures. Again : If this be the case, 
 the fathers themselves acted very absurdly when they un- 
 dertook to prove their own writings by the authority of 
 Scripture ; and it will follow that we ought to pay more 
 regard to expositors than to the word of God. The apos- 
 tles themselves proved their assertions by the Scriptures ; 
 yet they surely had more right to plead their own autho- 
 rity than any of the fathers had. Let the fathers be 
 allowed to have been holy men ; still, they were only men, 
 and men inferior to apostles and prophets : let them, how- 
 ever, be an example to us ; and, as they in their time 
 laboured in the word of God, so let us in our days do the 
 same. There is one vineyard, and there are labourers 
 employed at different hours. It is enough that we have 
 learned from the fathers the duty of studying, and dili- 
 gently labouring in the Scriptures ; it is not necessary that 
 we should approve of all their works. There are seasons 
 when the diligence of many does not afford what a critical 
 opportunity alone gives to one, — provided that that oppor 
 tunity be connected with the incomprehensible energy of 
 the Holy Spirit.'' 
 
 Sentiments like these had scarcely, for many ages, been 
 whispered in the Christian world. Even the best and 
 
A. D. 1520.] the authority of Scripture. 
 
 393 
 
 wisest of men had \on^ been accustomed to lay an undue 
 stress on human authority; and, in many instances, the 
 most unwarrantable tenets had rested on the credit of real 
 or pretended fathers. The various mischiefs which had 
 arisen from this practice, have been repeatedly deplored 
 in the course of this history; but the time was now ap- 
 proachin£^, when the majesty of the Divine word began 
 to be revered as decisive in all cases of doubt. It was 
 reserved to an excommunicated monk to explain to man- 
 kind THE RIGHT USE of ScHpturc, and to impress on their 
 minds its immense importance: indeed the lip;ht of the 
 apostolic a^e bei^an to beam on the nations of Europe ; 
 and we may justly consider the years we are reviewing, as 
 marked by a revolution in relig'ion, which is highly me- 
 morable in the annals of the church, and productive of the 
 most salutary consequences to millions of such individuals 
 as have thought, or may think, the care of an immortal 
 soul to be a weighty and a rational employment. 
 
 But the asperity of Luther's style of writing threw a 
 shade over all his virtues ; and, though the rudeness and 
 indelicacy of the age in which he lived will account, in 
 great part, for this defect, and though the same expres- 
 sions which he used, would, at this day, indicate a far 
 greater acrimony of temper, even his friends could not, 
 perhaps, fully justify his want of mildness and moderation. 
 The court of the elector more than once reproved his ex- 
 cessive fervour ; and those who admired the shrewdness, 
 the solidity, the sincerity, and the magnanimity of his 
 conceptions, could not commend the manner in which he 
 often conveyed them. But far too much stress has been 
 laid upon this defect — let us hear him, for once, speak 
 for himself. 
 
 " I own," said he to Spalatinus, *' that I am more vehe- 
 ment than I ought to be: I have to do with men who 
 blaspheme evangelical truth ; with wolves ; with those 
 who condemn me unheard, without admonishing, without 
 instructing me ; and who utter the most atrocious slanders 
 against myself and the word of God : even the most 
 senseless spirit might be moved to resistance by their 
 unreasonable conduct ; much more I, who am choleric by 
 nature, am possessed of very irritable feelings, and of a 
 temper easily apt to exceed the bounds of moderation. T 
 cannot, however, but be surprised whence this novel taste 
 arose, to call every thing spoken against an adversary 
 
394 
 
 The asperity [Cent. 16. 
 
 abusive language. What think ye of Christ ? Was he a 
 reviler, when he calls the Jews an adulterous and perverse 
 generation, a pros^eny of vipers, hypocrites, the children 
 of the devil ? What think ye of Paul, who calls the 
 enemies of the gospel, dogs and seducers ; who, in the 
 thirteenth chapter of the Acts, inveighs against a false 
 prophet in this manner : ' O full of all subtlety and all 
 malice, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righte- 
 ousness/ Why does not Paul gently soothe the impostor, 
 rather than thunder at this rate ? A mind conscious of 
 truth cannot with easy indifference endure the obstinate 
 enemies of truth. — I see that all persons demand of me 
 moderation, and especially those of my adversaries who 
 least of all exhibit it ! If I am too warm, I am yet frank 
 and open ; in which point I think that I excel those, who 
 always act with artifice and guile.''* 
 
 In another letter to the same friend, he expresses him- 
 self thus : " I see clearly that Erasmus is very far from 
 a right knowledge of the nature of saving grace. In all 
 his writings his grand object is to avoid the cross, give no 
 offence, and live at peace. Hence he thinks it proper, on 
 all subjects, to display a sort of civility, good nature, and 
 good breeding; but I say, Behemotht will pay no regard 
 to such treatment, nor ever be amended by it. Popery 
 will NEVER be reformed one tittle by writings, that give no 
 offence, that make no attack ; in a word, that do not bite. 
 For the pontiffs consider these very gentle and civil ad- 
 monitions as a species of servile cringing ; they are con 
 tent to be feared ; and they persevere in their courses, as 
 though they had an absolute right to remain incorri- 
 gible."]: 
 
 Again, in a dedication to the e ector, of one of his Com- 
 mentaries on a portion of the Gospels, he freely acknow- 
 ledges that he had not obeyed that prince's admonitions 
 to avoid all acrimony in his controversies ;§ still he said, 
 
 * Lib. 1. Ep. 
 
 t Job xl. He means popery. % T.ib. i. Ep. 
 
 § Melancthou informs us, that after the conversation at Cologne 
 (mentioned at page 387 of this volume) between the elector and 
 Erasmus, in which the latter blamed Luther for want of greater 
 mildness in his controversies, the elector wrote to our reformer on 
 the subject, and admonished him, in the most serious manner, to 
 desist trom the use of acrimonious language. 
 
 Erasmus, in one of his controversial tracts, alludes to the conver- 
 sation at Cologne :— " I frankly," says he, told the duke of 
 Saxony, in the presence of George Spalatinus, how olfensive 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 of Luther^ s style. 
 
 395 
 
 " though he might have transgressed the bounds of reli- 
 gion and moderation in his answers to the impertinencies 
 of his abandoned adversaries, he trusted some allowance 
 would be made, when it was considered how numerous 
 were the virulent invectives which he alone had to sustain/' 
 The reader will judge for himself how far these argu- 
 ments and suggestions of Luther afford a satisfactory- 
 apology for the vehemence of his style. We shall have a 
 future opportunity to observe him more humbled under it. 
 But the excellency of Divine wisdom appears the greater 
 and the more admirable, in executing, by an instrument 
 who was a stranger to the false maxims of human policy, 
 such marvellous things as have rarely been effected by 
 contrivances the most artful and well digested. In justice 
 to the Saxon reformer, it ought to be added, that the heats 
 and commotions of his mind appear to have been always 
 of a transient nature, to have evaporated in words, never 
 to have left any stains on his general conduct or measures ; 
 and, — if we except the mere use of severe terms and expres- 
 sions, — to have seldom either injured his argumentation, 
 or led him, even in the most trying scenes, to transgress 
 the rules of charity, moderation, and decorum. — His great 
 historical adversary, the Jesuit Maimbourg, says, " Luther 
 wrote against the pope's bull, and defended all his errors. 
 He treated the author of the bull as antichrist ; and, hk€ 
 a madman, filled his book with the most atrocious and 
 injurious expressions. Yet it cannot be denied that, not- 
 withstanding this heat and impetuosity, which were natu- 
 ral to him, he always considered well what he wrote, and 
 always in his writings displayed the man of genius and 
 erudition.'* 
 
 The church of God, we may conclude, would lose but 
 little by this warmth of Luther's temper; as it neither 
 affected the acuteness of his talents, nor betrayed him into 
 unchristian principles. In regard to his adversaries, the 
 supporters of the existing ecclesiastical domination, they 
 had attained a height of wickedness in theory, and an 
 effrontery in practice, which could scarcely be described in 
 too strong terms by the most keen and severe satirist.* 
 
 Luther's acrimonious language was to me, and to others. They an- 
 swered, that in his sermons and lectures he was as mild as pos- 
 sible." — Erasm. Purg. ad. Expos. Hutteni. 
 
 * The strongest expressions used by Luther must be considered 
 by no means beyond what the proceedings of his adversaries would 
 justify, if considered mly in that view.— Ed. 
 
396 Luther s books burnt by the papists, [Cent. 16. 
 
 When Luther, by his publications, had opened men's 
 eyes to the impiety and injustice of the sentence of the 
 Roman court, he proceeded to perform one of the boldest 
 actions recorded in history. He was convinced that his 
 appeal to a general council would be disregarded by the 
 pope and his cardinals ; and he foresaw that if he did not 
 soon recant his heresies, the thunder of actual excommu- 
 nication would be levelled against the man who had so 
 long been the object of ecclesiastical indignation. He 
 determined, therefore, to separate himself from the com- 
 munion of the church of Rome : and as Leo, in the exe- 
 cution of the bull, had appointed Luther s books to be 
 burnt, he, by way of retaliation, erected an immense pile 
 of wood without the walls of Wittemberg, and there, in 
 the presence of the professors and students of the univer- 
 sity, and of a vast multitude of spectators, committed to 
 the flames the papal bull of his excommunication, toge- 
 ther with the volumes of the decretals and canon law 
 which relate to the pontifical jurisdiction. It has been 
 thought probable that Luther was directed in this spirited 
 measure by persons well skilled in the law. For, by thus 
 voluntarily withdrawing himself in a public manner from 
 the Romish church, it was supposed he had eluded and 
 rendered insignificant any further exercises of papal au- 
 thority against his person. The man was now no longer 
 a subject of the pontiff, and therefore it must be deemed 
 superfluous and absurd to eject him by force from an 
 ecclesiastical community of which he had ceased to be a 
 member.* To me I confess this reasoning appears to be 
 neither sound nor necessary. Not sound, — because, on 
 the supposition that the papal hierarchy was in the right, 
 and Luther in the wrong, his separation from the church 
 must have been considered as a vain and futile evasion. 
 For if an offender, however grievous, should be allowed, 
 in the moment before he is going to suffer punishment, to 
 plead his just right to withdraw himself from the society 
 whose laws he has broken, there is at once an end of all 
 penal sanctions, and, by consequence, a dissolution of 
 government. Not necessary — because the explanation of 
 Luther's conduct in no case requires nice and subtle dis- 
 tinctions. In this instance, he left the Romish commu- 
 nion because he considered that church as corrupt and 
 impious, Already he had declared war against the pope ; 
 * Mosheim. 
 
A. D. 1520.] He hums the popes bull and decretals, 397 
 
 he had boldly denominated him the man of sin, and ex- 
 horted all Christian princes to shake off his usurpations. 
 Under such circumstances, it was not like Luther to have 
 recourse to the dubious argumentations of lawyers : it 
 was more like a true servant of God, more like a student 
 of his Bible, well versed in the stories of the worthies 
 of the Old Testament, and inflamed with a holy zeal 
 to imitate Phineas, Samuel, Daniel, and the rest; and 
 abundantly more in harmony with the natural temper of 
 the man, to act the part of a determined adversary, to rest 
 his personal defence on the vigour and perseverance of his 
 attacks, and to aim at nothing short of victory in his con- 
 test with the pontiff. Moreover, to defy the court of 
 Rome, and pubUcly burn the sentence of Leo X., was the 
 wisest resolution which could possibly have been adopted, 
 even if Luther had regarded only his own individual 
 safety. At once it encouraged his friends and astonished 
 his enemies. The die was cast : and his life was to be 
 saved, not by a vain assertion that he was no longer a 
 subject of the pope, but by putting it out of the power ot 
 antichrist to do him harm. Every step which the reformer 
 took relative to this important and interesting transaction 
 accords with these ideas. That the bold thought had been 
 conceived in his mind for some time past appears clearly 
 from his letter to Spalatinus already mentioned. That 
 letter was dated the tenth of July, 1520. Let the curious 
 reader attend also to the dates of some other things which 
 are already before him, and he will be enabled to form a 
 judgment of Luther's vigour and activity in this critical 
 business. He is to be informed, then, 
 
 1. That Luther published the tract mentioned page 374 
 of this volume, in June, 1520, the very month in which 
 the pope's bull was actually issued at Rome ; and the tract 
 mentioned page 376, in the succeeding August. 
 
 2. That in October he was first informed that Eckius 
 had brought the bull into Germany, and was doing his 
 utmost to promote the reception of it.* 
 
 3. That on the seventeenth of November Luther ap- 
 pealed in form to a general council. 
 
 4. That on the first of December, in two distinct trea- 
 tises,t he attacked the author of the bull as antichrist, and 
 
 * Letter to Spalatinus, pa^e 379 of this volume, 
 t A brief account of thera is given in pp. 391,392. 
 Vol IV.— No. 28. 2 m 
 
398 
 
 Iniquitous doctrines [Cent. 15. 
 
 defended such of his own doctrines as had been pronounced 
 heretical. 
 
 5. And lastly, That it was on the tenth of December, 
 ] 520, that he burnt publicly the pontifical law and the 
 pope's sentence. 
 
 This last extraordinary action of Martin Luther, taken 
 with all the circumstances that accompanied it, maybe con- 
 sidered as carrying his opposition against the sovereign 
 pontifF to the highest pitch. For besides the instances of 
 contempt and defiance, which took place on the day itself 
 of the burning of the papal law and papal decrees, there 
 were others which soon followed that memorable spec- 
 tacle, and which must have been deemed still more 
 affronting to the majesty of the pope. To convince man- 
 kind that the measure which he had just executed with so 
 much firmness and intrepidity, was not a hasty thought, 
 or the ebullition of a sudden gust of passion, he imme- 
 diately selected thirty articles from the code of papal 
 laws, as a specimen of the iniquitous contents of the books 
 which he had just consumed. Upon these he wrote con- 
 cise and pointed remarks ; he then printed the whole, and 
 circulated the little tract among the people, calling upon 
 them in the most animated strains to exercise their own 
 judgments in matters of such vast importance. *' Let no 
 man's good sense," said he, " be so far seduced as to re- 
 verence the volumes which I have burnt, on account of 
 their great antiquity or their high titles. Let every one 
 first hear and see what the pope teaches in his own books, 
 and what abominable, poisonous doctrines, are to be found 
 among the sacred, spiritual laws ; and then let him 
 freely judge whether I have done right or not in burning 
 such writings." 
 
 The two last of the articles selected by Luther were as 
 follows : 
 
 Art. 29. The pope has the power to interpret Scripture, 
 and to teach as he pleases ; and no person is allowed to 
 interpret in a different way. 
 
 Art. 30. The pope does not derive from the Scripture, 
 but the Scripture derives from the pope, authority, power, 
 and dif>nity. 
 
 Luther then affirms, that, comparing together the differ- 
 ent parts of the canon law, its language amounts to no less 
 than this ; *' That the pope is God on earth ; above all 
 that IS earthly or heavenly, temporal or spiritual ; That all 
 
A. D. 1520.] of the Romish canon law. 399 
 
 things belonc^ to the pope ; and, That no one must ven- 
 ture to say, What doest thou 
 
 " Let these articles," continues he, " suffice for the 
 present. If any papal advocate shall be so wanton as 
 to defend them, I will then not fail to place the picture I 
 have given in a much clearer light. Nothing can be easier 
 to me than to produce many more passages of the same 
 stamp. Were I to proceed with the sad tale I have to tell, 
 it would appear that all which hitherto I have advanced 
 against the popedom, was but jest and diversion. 
 
 " I undertook this cause at first in the name of God ; 
 and in the confident hope that the favourable moment was 
 arrived when of itself, and without further help from 
 me, it would proceed, as the cause of God, to certain 
 victory."* 
 
 Thus does it appear that the grace of God directed 
 Luther, in this instance, as in many others, to pursue such 
 measures as v/ere best calculated to defeat the crooked 
 pohtics of his unprincipled adversaries. To expose to 
 every eye those secrets of the canonical volumes, which 
 sanctioned the proceedings of the Roman court, was to 
 shake the whole papal edifice to its foundations ; nor was 
 it possible that a hierarchy so corrupt and despotic could 
 long survive the free publication and dispersion of its 
 principles among the people. Daily, men were accus- 
 tomed to submit without remedy, and often without mur- 
 muring, to the most shameful abuses of ecclesiastical 
 authority ; but when they were shown that their sufferings 
 were the result of an iniquitous system, when they read 
 the extravagant propositions which proclaimed the abso- 
 lute power of the pope, and their own ignominious bond- 
 age, their patience started and began to mutiny against a 
 jurisdiction, which their understandings, as well as Luther's 
 observations and comments, convinced them was founded 
 altogether in injustice and impiety. — Hence it was, that 
 many, even of the Roman catholics in Germany, who were 
 zealous for the liberty and independence of their country, 
 were disposed to countenance the Reformer in his resist- 
 ance to the pope's tyrannical bull ; and hence also, though 
 Aleander procured a second bull against him, couched in 
 the most peremptory and definitive terms, it proved almost 
 entirely inefficient. Seckendorf informs us, that in Saxony 
 there is not the smallest vestige of it to be found. 
 
 * Luth. Op. ii. 
 2 M i 
 
400 Dej^raded state of the popedom. [Cent. 16. 
 
 This second bull was issued in a little more than three 
 weeks from the burning of the pontifical books, namely, 
 on January the third, 1521. In it the pope, most arro- 
 gantly and impiously, styles himself, the divinely ap- 
 pointed DISPENSER OF SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL PUNISH- 
 MENTS. He then repeats the former bull ; and tells us, 
 that some persons, upon the publication of it, had repented 
 of their sins, and obtained absolution. But on Luther 
 and his followers, whatever might be their rank or dignity, 
 he pronounces his eternal anathemas. 
 
 Mankind, however, could not but take notice how low 
 the pontifical majesty was fallen. The pope had pub- 
 licly burnt the doctrinal articles of a monk ; the monk in 
 return had burnt as publicly the bull and decretals of the 
 pope ; and they appear to be on a footing of equality. 
 Aleander also had obtained leave to burn the Reformer's 
 books in several cities of Belgium ; and the friends of 
 Lutheranism retaliated on the pope in Saxony, and even 
 at Leipsic, in defiance of the duke George, who always 
 showed himself much attached to the papacy. 
 
 I studiously avoid secular history ; but a brief reference 
 to the political state of Europe seems necessary on this 
 occasion, in order to illustrate that wonderful concurrence 
 of providential events, which enabled Luther thus to brave 
 the pope with impunity. The pontifical character had 
 been debased extremely by the vices and enormities of 
 Alexander VI. and Julius II. Leo X. who now filled 
 the papal chair, brought not so much honour to the see 
 by his elegant and literary taste, as he disgraced it by his 
 prodigality and profaneness, and enfeebled it by his indo- 
 lence. Frederic the wise had an established character m 
 Europe for wisdom and probity, which rendered him far 
 more respectable than any pope of Rome had been for a 
 long time. Hence the silent protection afforded by this 
 prince to Luther, proved his sufficient defence, not only 
 against the tyranny and indignation, but even against the 
 dexterity and management of the Roman court. The 
 pope, his cardinals, his doctors of divinity and of law, had 
 met together, deliberated and passed sentence with the 
 greatest formality ; but nobody appeared to execute the 
 pontifical mandates. We have observed that the empe- 
 ror Charles V. had recently been obliged to the generosity 
 of Frederic for his elevation to the imperial throne, this 
 disinterested prince having resolutely refused that dignity 
 
A. D. 1520.] The political state of Europe, 401 
 
 when offered to him, and having; at the same time de-^ 
 clared that the German empire, on account of the formi- 
 dable strength and hostile designs of the Turkish monarch, 
 required a head of far greater power to defend it, than he 
 could pretend to possess. It was this reason chiefly that 
 seems to have influenced the electors in giving their suf- 
 frages to Charles. For, by inheritance from his father 
 Philip, son of the last emperor Maximilian, he had the 
 possession of Austria and the Netherlands ; and by his 
 mother he had the kingdom of Spain. Add to this, his 
 dominions stretched along tha^ frontier, which lay most 
 exposed to the enemy ; and he was also a prince remark- 
 able for his great personal qualities and endowments ; and 
 still more so for the uncommon lustre which was shed 
 on the age in which he lived by a number of marvellous 
 events, — events too in which his genius and capacity had 
 no share. It was natural therefore that this illustrious 
 prince, singularly and greatly indebted as he was to the 
 elector of Saxony, should by no means be inclined hastily 
 to compel him to persecute his highly esteemed professor 
 of the university of Wittemberg. Moreover, as if all the 
 world had conspired to favour the Reformation — that 
 rivalry, which soon commenced between Francis I. of 
 France and Charles V. — the former having been also a 
 candidate for the empire, produced such hostihty be- 
 tween these two powerful monarchs, as effectually pre- 
 vented them from uniting to crush protestantism in the 
 bud. Even the growing power of Mahometanism intimi- 
 dated the papal sovereignties, and checked their rage for 
 persecution. In fine, the determined temper and peculiar 
 situation of Henry VIII. of England, were soon overruled 
 by HIM, in whose hand are the hearts of princes, to 
 favour the progress of divine truth in Europe. 
 
 It is perhaps in the artful and extensive politics of 
 Charles V. that we are to look for a complete explanation 
 of that middle course which he held respecting the eccle- 
 siastical dissensions, immediately after the imperial sceptre 
 was placed in his hands. If he had possessed no other 
 dominions but those which belonged to him in Germany, 
 he might probably have favoured the man who boldly 
 asserted many privileges and immunities for which the 
 empire had long struggled with the popes.* But the 
 dangerous schemes which his rival Francis I. was 
 • Robertson, Charles V. 
 2 M 3 
 
402 
 
 Policy of the Emperor ; [Cent. IfJ. 
 
 forming against him, made it necessary that he should 
 secure the friendship of Leo X. Accordingly he acceded to 
 the first demand of Aleander, which regarded the burning 
 of the heretic's writings ; but the second demand, which 
 would have endangered the life of Luther, his grateful 
 sense of the important services of Frederic induced him to 
 refuse, or at least to evade, by deferring the consideration 
 of the whole question till the next imperial diet, which he 
 had ordered to be held at Worms on the sixth of January 
 152L This suspension of severities against Luther was 
 by no means pleasing to the haughty pontiff, who was 
 accustomed to hear of nothing but a prompt obedience to 
 his commands from all quarters : the emperor however 
 adhered steadily to this resolution ; for besides the mo- 
 tives, just mentioned, of gratitude towards Frederic, his 
 own good understanding pointed out to him, first, the 
 justice and reasonableness of the thing itself, and in the 
 next place, if Luther was indeed to be condemned, the 
 expediency of having the public opinion on the side of so 
 harsh a measure. Charles clearly saw, that as matters 
 then stood, there were in the minds of many impartial 
 persons, strong prejudices in favour of Lutheranism ; and 
 still stronger suspicions, that in the cause of Luther him- 
 self, partiality, private interest, and private resentment, 
 had influenced the determinations of the Roman court. 
 Moreover, it was a plausible, a persuasive, and a sound 
 part of the Reformer's defence, that he had constantly 
 requested to have his cause tried, before unsuspected 
 judges in Germany, by the ecclesiastical laws and customs 
 of the empire ; and that, though he had been compelled, 
 for conscience sake, to separate himself from the Roman 
 church, he remained notwithstanding a member of the 
 Catholic church, whose representative was that general 
 council to which he had actually appealed, and to whose 
 impartial decisions he was ready to submit.* 
 
 * This judicious distinction appeared to Luther lobe solid, and 
 of the utmost importance. — The church of Rome considered the popes 
 as infallible ; whereas Luther maintained that they were fallible, 
 like other men ; and that even St. Peter himself had actually erred 
 in his conduct, as appears from Scripture. A general council, le- 
 gally convened, Lutner held to be the highest human ecclesiastical 
 authority ; and of course superior to that of the pope. To such a 
 council, and not to a partial and prejudiced assembly of the pontiff 
 and his friends, our Reformer appealed from the cruel and iniqui- 
 tous sentence of Leo X. The sentiments of Luther on this point 
 
A/D. 1520.] he refuses to condemn Luther, 403 
 
 On these various accounts, the emperor considered the 
 obstacles to a hasty procedure against Luthei* as insuper- 
 able. 
 
 Still, it is not easy to determine, how far either the 
 judgment or the passions of Charles V. were really con- 
 cerned in the part which he acted in regard to the German 
 reformer and his friends. When we view the young mo- 
 narch surrounded with a multiplicity of vast and compli- 
 cated affairs, possessing already immense dominion and 
 territory, and urged by a restless ambition to acquire 
 more, it may seem the most probable supposition, that he 
 beheld the increase of Lutheranism with neither much 
 dislike nor much satisfaction, but rather with the curious 
 and watchful eye of a politician, who would be disposed, 
 whenever it was in his power, to make the interests of the 
 church subservient to his worldly purposes. However, if 
 any one feels inclined to give Charles credit for a 
 greater and more sincere religious zeal in favour of the 
 established system, he will not be in want of plausible 
 arguments on that side of the question. These, it must 
 be owned, will readily occur, — whether we consider the 
 youth and inexperience of the newly elected emperor; for 
 he was but about twenty years old, and probably little 
 informed respecting the reigning corruptions of" the 
 church ; — or whether we reflect on his early habits, his 
 education and prejudices, and the influence of his Italian 
 and Spanish ministers ; — or lastly, whether we advert to 
 the decisive measures which he soon adopted in support 
 of the papal domination. 
 
 Be this point as it may, it was of immense consequence 
 to the infant reformation, that the head of the empire 
 constantly refused to publish any conclusive edict against 
 Luther, before the discussion of his case at the approach- 
 ing diet of Worms. By this means a little time was 
 gained ; and so critical were the circumstances, that that 
 little was found sufficient for the production of the most 
 important effects. The reader will understand me to 
 allude to the progress of that amazing revolution of 
 
 entirely accorded with the determinations of the councils of Basil 
 and Constance ; and it may be added, with the judgments of the 
 most moderate and most learned persons of the German, Flemish, 
 French, and British nations. We need not therefore wonder that 
 his appeal from the inferior power of the pope, to the supreme 
 Jurisdiction of a council, found many advocates. Apell. Mart. Luth. 
 vol. i. 
 
404 
 
 Progress of the Reformation, [Cent. IC. 
 
 sentiment, which was taking place in the minds of the 
 people. Their attention had been awakened ; and a 
 considerable impression made on their judgments. Their 
 reverence for the ancient doctrines and systems was ex- 
 tremely weakened ; and the controversies were carried on 
 with warmth and freedom. The knowledge of true theo- 
 logy and of the divine truths of the gospel was rapidly 
 advancing at Wittemberg. The fame of Luther's wisdom 
 and of Melancthon's learning filled that university with 
 students, who imbibed their masters' opinions, and on their 
 return home propagated them among their coimtrymen 
 with the most astonishing zeal and success. To be brief ; 
 by the judicious and diligent explication of the written 
 word of God, during the short space of the years 1518, 
 1519, and 1520, the systematic prejudices of many centu- 
 ries were almost overturned in the minds of multitudes of 
 the inhabitants of various parts of Europe. 
 
 To carry forward, and, if possible, to accelerate this 
 glorious REVOLUTION in favour of Christian truth was the 
 great object of Luther. While the several illustrious mo- 
 narchs of the sixteenth century * were struggling for 
 pre-eminence in power and grandeur, his contest was en- 
 tirely with the rulers of the darkness of this world and with 
 spiritual wickedness in high pi aces, t Few men, of those 
 who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, have 
 surrendered themselves and their cause into the hands of 
 God with more perfect resignation than Luther did. His 
 affairs were coming fast to a crisis ; his life was in the 
 most imminent danger ; and he had but one patron of any 
 considerable rank or distinction ; yet can we nowhere 
 trace in him the smallest anxiety on account of his mere 
 personal safety. Those moments of suspense in which 
 most persons are usually found incapable of continued 
 study or cool deliberation, our industrious theologian con- 
 sidered as a precious little interval of time, granted to him 
 by Providence for the most important purpose of further 
 enlightening mankind ; and while his friends trembled for 
 the issue of the next German diet, he himself seems to 
 have rejoiced that even so short a season was thus afforded 
 him for pursuing his studies in divinity. In his judg- 
 ment, the WRITTEN WORD of God, laid open, and rightly 
 explained to the people, was always the most lawful and 
 
 * Leo X. Charles V, Francis I. Henry Vlll. Solyman, &c. 
 t Ephes. vi. 12. 
 
A. D. 1520.] 
 
 Luther^s publications. 
 
 405 
 
 the most powerful enp;ine for the destruction of the king- 
 dom of Satan. All his success on the minds of the public, 
 both before and after the conferences with Cajetan, he 
 ascribed to the use and application of this engine. It 
 behoved him therefore to make fresh efforts, without losing 
 a single moment of time. Both the heads and the hearts 
 of the nations were in a state of remarkable preparation 
 for the reception of pure doctrine. The divine blessing 
 attended his labours ; and it seemed not unreasonable to 
 hope, that from the circulation of judicious expositions of 
 various parts of the Scriptures in the present critical con- 
 juncture, the cause of Christian truth and knowledge 
 might very soon have to triumph, on account of more 
 rapid and complete victories than had yet been obtained 
 over papal ignorance and papal superstition. Deeply 
 impressed with these views, the Saxon theologian applied 
 himself to the study of the sacred pages with redoubled 
 ardour and assiduity. Aleander had burnt many of his 
 books ; but that very circumstance served to increase 
 men's curiosity for reading them, as it did their author's 
 zeal and industry in reconsidering and republishing the 
 doctrines he had taught, in confirming them by new argu- 
 ments, and rendering his compositions more correct and 
 worthy of the approbation of the public. 
 
 Charles V. was elected emperor in the summer of 1519, 
 and his first diet was expected to be held in the course of 
 the same year ; but the meeting of that assembly was 
 postponed by various causes for more than a twelvemonth. 
 Luther, during this short period, published an incredible 
 number of sermons, paraphrases, and polemical tracts. 
 To furnish the reader with even a very brief account of 
 them all, would require no little time and labour. His 
 adversary, the papal historian, Maimbourg, testifies 
 abundantly to the general effects of his sermons and other 
 writings. " Luther," says he, '* in his sermons, attacked 
 the vices of men with great acrimony : he likewise pub- 
 lished, in the German and in the Latin languages, a 
 number of pious books; for example. Expositions of the 
 Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments ; of certain 
 portions of the Epistles and Gospels; of the Song of the 
 blessed Virgin ; of the Psalms ; and particularly of the 
 Epistle to the Galatians, wherein he says very good things. 
 Moreover, as he lived a moral life, and was not given in 
 the smallest degree to covetousness or any other vice, he 
 
406 Luther^ s Commentary [Cent. 16. 
 
 was universally held to be a good and great and even a 
 holy man ; insomuch, that it was the custom to paint his 
 portrait with rays (or a circle) of glory around the head, 
 as if he had been a canonized sainf * 
 
 Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians 
 is in itself so excellent a performance, it was read with such 
 great avidity immediately after its publication, and was so 
 instrumental in promoting the glorious cause of protest- 
 antism, that it seems to have a superior claim to the 
 attention of the historian. I have repeatedly read and 
 meditated on this treatise ; and, after the most mature 
 reflection, am fully convinced, that as it was one of the 
 MOST powerful means of reviving the light of Scripture in 
 the sixteenth century, so it will, in all ages, be capable of 
 doing the same, under the blessing of God, whenever a 
 disposition shall appear among men to regard the oracles 
 of divine truth, and whenever souls shall be distressed 
 with a sense of in-dwelling sin. It will assuredly never 
 be approved of, or even understood, by any but serious, 
 humble, and contrite spirits, such being indeed the only 
 persons in the world, to whom the all-important article of 
 justification will appear worthy of all acceptation. The 
 AUTHOR himself had ploughed deep into the human heart, 
 and knew its native depravity ; he had long laboured, to 
 no purpose, to gain peace of conscience by legal observ- 
 ances and moral works ; and had bee-n relieved, from the 
 most pungent anxiety, by a spiritual discovery of the doc- 
 trine just mentioned. He was appointed in the counsels 
 of Providence, — by no means exclusively of the other 
 reformers, but in a manner more extraordinary and much 
 superior, — to teach mankind, after upwards of a thousand 
 years' obscurity, this great evangelical tenet, — compared 
 with which how little all other objects of controversy ap- 
 pear ! namely. That man is not justified by the works of 
 the law, but by the faith of Christ.t How this is taught 
 in the epistle before us, has been briefly shown in a former 
 volume,]: and Luther's Commentary is perfectly consonant 
 with that short abstract. In this admirable piece of divinity, 
 the author, by numberless arguments, and particularly by 
 the marked opposition between law and faith, || law and 
 grace, § proves that, in justification before God, all sorts of 
 human works are excluded, moral as well as ceremonial. 
 
 * Sect. 35. t Gal. chap. ii. 16. % See vol. i. p. 43. 
 II Gal. iii. 12. % Gal. v. 4. 
 
A. D. 1519.] on the epistle to the Galatians, 407 
 
 He restores likewise to the Christian world the true fo- 
 rensic sense of the term Justification, and rescues it from 
 the erroneous sense, in which, for many ages, it had been 
 misunderstood, as though it meant infused habits of 
 virtue, whence it had been usual to confound justification 
 with sanctification. Taught by the Holy Spirit he traced 
 the true distinction between the law and the gospel, and 
 pointed out the difference between acceptance with God 
 and personal holiness. The former, he shows, is received 
 as a free gift on Christ's account alone, by faith in the 
 heart of a humbled sinner, and implies complete pardon 
 and reconciliation with God ; — the latter, which he insists 
 on as equally necessary for eternal happiness, he describes 
 as conjoined, but not compounded, with the former, im- 
 perfect always in this life, but sincerely pressed after and 
 delighted in. By this doctrine, rightly stated and applied 
 by the Holy Spirit, a new light breaks in on the mind ; 
 and Christianity appears singularly distinct not only 
 from popery, but also from all other religions. Neither 
 the superstitions of the papist, nor the sensibility of the 
 humane, nor the splendid alms of the ostentatious, nor 
 the most powerful efforts of unregenerate nature, avail 
 in the smallest degree to the purchase of pardon and 
 peace. The glory of this purchase demonstrably belongs 
 to Christ ALONE : and he, who in real humility approves 
 of, acquiesces in, and rests on Christ alone, is the true 
 Christian. Thus self-righteous persons are rebuked : thus 
 distressed consciences are relieved; and thus men are 
 enabled to bring forth all the fruits of righteousness. An 
 ill use, no doubt, has frequently been made of the pre- 
 cious doctrine here stated ; and St. Paul's writings abound 
 with admirable cautions on this subject. The sixth chap- 
 ter to the Romans is full to the point. But this very 
 circumstance, namely, that the true Christian notion of 
 justification is apparently liable to a charge of antinomi- 
 anism, unquestionably demonstrates that Luther, and the 
 other reformers, did not mistake that apostle's meaning , 
 because, — on the supposition that St. Paul really meant 
 to ascribe the justification of a sinner before God to human 
 works, in any sense of those terms, — the very plausibility 
 of the objection loses all foundation. However, not to 
 insist further on this argument, let him that would be wise 
 in the things of God study this great Christian article of 
 
408 
 
 Luther's Commentary [Cent. 16. 
 
 the revealed method of fallen man's acceptance with his 
 Maker ; and let him do this with prayer for divine illumi- 
 nation. Let not any man suppose, as ignorance is ever 
 apt to do, — that evangelical truth is so plain and obvious, 
 that every one may attain it without attention, industry, 
 or effort. Let him rather be told, that the way of life is 
 deeply mysterious, and has great difficulties belonging to 
 it, though nevertheless of infallible attainment to every 
 humble, seeking, persevering soul. 
 
 The first edition of this Commentary, dedicated to the 
 president Peter Lupin and to Carolstadt, was printed at 
 Wittemberg in the autumn of the year 1519 ; and contains 
 some things which I do not find in the later and more 
 improved edition of 1536. I select the following passage, 
 because in it the order and method of practical Chris- 
 tianity are beautifully and concisely delineated. " You 
 now see, therefore, how it is that faith alone is not suf- 
 ficient ; and yet that faith alone justifies ; because if the 
 faith be of the right sort, it is infallibly connected with a 
 spirit of true benevolence. But this spirit of benevolence 
 or LOVE cannot endure the works of the flesh ; and thus 
 it obeys the law, and attains the kingdom of God. Hence 
 every thing is to be ascribed to faith, as faith is to the 
 WORD, and the word to the divine compassion in the 
 sending of apostles and preachers ; so that all our suffi- 
 ciency is of God, from whom cometh every best gift. 
 
 " These are the points of doctrine which ought to 
 be explained to the people : and in the very order in which 
 the apostle lays them down in this epistle. For example ; 
 let a man first learn to despair of his own strength ; let 
 him hear the word of evangelical faith ; hearing, let him 
 believe it ; believing, let him call upon God ; calling upon 
 him, let him find, as he will find, that he is heard ; being 
 heard of God, let him receive the Spirit of love ; receiving 
 this Spirit, let him walk in the same, and not fulfil the 
 lusts of the flesh ; but let him crucify them ; lastly, being 
 crucified with Christ, let him rise from the dead, and pos- 
 sess the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 The Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians was 
 printed both in Latin and in German, and thus became 
 extensively diffused. It was also one material subject of 
 Luther's lectures, viva vocey to the students of Wittem- 
 berg, for many years after its first publication. We are 
 
on the Epistle to the Galatians. 409 
 
 indebted to the zeal and industry of George Rorar, 
 a deacon of the university there, for the best of the old 
 editions of this excellent work. Rorar, it seems, was a 
 diligent ecclesiastic, who, with the help of some of the 
 academics, wrote down what Luther said during his public 
 lectures, and then submitted what he had written to the 
 inspection and judgment of the lecturer. Luther ex- 
 pressed his astonishment at the bulk to which his expo- 
 sition of this short epistle had grown. He wrote a pre- 
 face to it, carefully revised the whole performance, and 
 printed it in 1535 or 1536, from which later edition the 
 following extracts are taken. 
 
 Those who feel interested for the successful progress of 
 real evangelical truth, will not deem this account super- 
 fluous. It proves that this Commentarv was not the hasty 
 effusion of a turbulent or enthusiastic sectary, but the 
 well- digested result of at least fifteen years' meditation on 
 the epistle, and of fifteen years' experience in interpreting 
 Scripture. The treatise itself will abundantly satisfy every 
 inquirer, that the grand fundamental point, — the point 
 which the reformer had most at heart in all his labours, 
 contests, and dangers, — was the doctrine of Justification 
 by faith alone. 
 
 ** Once more,'* says Luther, " I have undertaken, in the 
 name of the Lord, to expound the Epistle of Paul to the 
 Galatians ; not that I have any wish to teach novel doc- 
 trines, — especially as Paul is now thoroughly known and 
 familiar to us ; — but because, as I have often forewarned 
 you, our greatest and most pressing danger is, lest the 
 devil should contrive to take away from us the pure doc- 
 trine of FAITH, and bring back into the church the ex- 
 ploded notions of works and human traditions. It is 
 of great moment, therefore, that this doctrine of faith 
 should be kept in the constant and public exercise both of 
 reading and hearing. For although it be ever so well 
 known a^d digested, yet the devil is not dead, but walketh 
 about constantly, and seeketh to devour us. Moreover, 
 the FLESH is yet alive ; and all sorts of temptations vex 
 and oppress us on every side. Wherefore this christian 
 article can never be handled and inculcated enough. If 
 this doctrine fall and perish, the knowledge of every truth 
 in religion will fall and perish with it. On the contrary, 
 if this do but flourish, all good things will also flourish, 
 namely, true religion, the true worship of God, the glory 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 n 
 
410 Luther^s Commentary [Cent. 16- 
 
 of God, and a rio;ht knowledge of every thing which it 
 becomes a Christian to know.'** 
 
 In his preface to the Commentary, he calls the ar- 
 ticle of Justification, " the ONLY SOLID rock; as being' 
 the doctrine which shows how we are redeemed from sin, 
 death, and the devil, and how we become partakers of 
 eternal life, — not by our own works, but by the help of 
 another, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. 
 
 " This rock," continues he, " did Satan shake in para- 
 dise, when he persuaded our first parents that by their 
 own wisdom and power they might become like unto God; 
 and thereby induced them to forsake true faith in God, 
 who had given them life and a promise of its continu- 
 ance. 
 
 " In opposition to the same principle of faith, this liar 
 and murderer, the devil, who will be always like himself, 
 stirred up Cain to murder Abel ; and for no other reason 
 but because his pious brother had, by faith, offered up a 
 more excellent sacrifice ; whereas Cain, by offering up his 
 own works, without faith, had not pleased God. 
 
 " By the very same abominable satanic spirit, which 
 induced Cain to kill Abel, is Christ opposed and derided 
 at this day, among those who would still be called by his 
 name. So that there is abundant cause for diligently re- 
 sisting the devil, by means of this fundamental article. 
 Whether we be rude or eloquent, learned or unlearned, 
 THIS ROCK must be published abroad in animated strains. 
 If men should be silent, the very stones would cry out. 
 
 *' It is written of Satan, * Thou shalt bruise his heel.' 
 And it should seem that Satan, at this very day, has no 
 other business in hand, but this only, which is always 
 peculiar to himself, — to persecute and vex our Saviour 
 Christ, who is our perfect righteousness, without any 
 OF OUR works. 
 
 " He does not rage in this manner against the lives and 
 opinions of others ; for example, against whoremongers, 
 thieves, murderers, rebels against GocJ, and unbelievers. 
 To these he rather gives peace and quiet ; and he even 
 indulges such characters with all manner of delights ac- 
 cording to their taste. And so it was in the primitive 
 times. He not only suffered the idolatries and false reli- 
 gions of the whole world to be quiet, but he also mightily 
 maintained and supported them. It was the church and 
 ♦ Luth. Op. V. p. 272. 
 
on the Epistle to the Galatians, 411 
 
 religion of Christ alone which he tormented in every 
 way. 
 
 " To this moment the papists continue to insist on the 
 efficacy of works, and the worthiness of man, in direct 
 opposition to the doctrine of salvation by grace. For 
 they teach, think, and act against our Saviour Christ, 
 who is our only righteousness. Let him, therefore, who 
 can, hold fast to this one article of justification. And 
 as to those who have made shipwreck of their faith, we 
 must let them be carried whither the sea and wind shall 
 drive them, until they either return to the ship, or swim to 
 the shore. 
 
 *' The conclusion is, there can be no peace as long as 
 Christ and Belial disagree. If one heresy dies, another 
 springs up. The reason is, the devil neither slumbers nor 
 sleeps. It is now about twenty years that I have been a 
 minister of Christ, and I can truly say, that I have been 
 assailed by more than twenty sects, some of which are 
 completely extinct, and others pant for life. Satan, the 
 god of all dissensions, daily raises up new heresies ; the 
 last of which is one that I should never have foreseen, or 
 even once suspected ; namely, the sect of the x\ntinomians, 
 who maintain that the ten commandments ought to be 
 taken out of the church ; and that men are not to be 
 terrified by the law, but gently exhorted by the grace of 
 Christ. The truth is, — what we have constantly taught, 
 namely,^ — That broken and contrite spirits are to be com- 
 forted by Christ ; but that hardened Pharaohs, to whom 
 the gospel has been long preached in vain, must be 
 alarmed by the terrors of the law."* 
 
 A few extracts from the Commentary itself shall close 
 this account. 
 
 ** I remember, when I first began the contest with the 
 papists. Dr. Staupitius, at that time an eminent person, 
 and vicar of the Augustine order, said to me : ' On one 
 account I like the doctrine you preach exceedingly. It 
 gives the glory and every thing else to God alone, and no- 
 thing to man. Now it is clearer than the day, that it is im- 
 possible to ascribe too much glory, goodness, and mercy 
 to God.' This saying very much comforted and strength- 
 ened me." 
 
 The following was a favourite passage with the excel- 
 leut Seckendorf ; who seems to have thought it more to 
 * Praefat. Mart. Lut. in Epist. ad Galat. 
 2 N 2 
 
412 
 
 Lutker^s Commentary 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 the purpose than any thing that had been said on the sub- 
 ject of the union of believers with Christ, by the most 
 celebrated mystics : — " This doctrine, therefore, of faith, 
 must be tauo^ht in its purity ; namely, That as a believer, 
 thou art by faith so entirely united to Christ, that he and 
 thou are made as it were one person. That thou canst 
 not be separated from Christ ; but always adhere so 
 closely to him, as to be able to say with confidence, I am 
 one with Christ ; that is, Christ's righteousness, his vic- 
 tory, his life, death, and resurrection, are all mine. On 
 the other hand, Christ may say, I am that sinner ; the 
 meaning of which is, in other words, his sins, his death, 
 and punishment, are mine, because he is united and joined 
 to me, and I to him. For by faith we are so joined to- 
 gether as to become one flesh and one bone. We are 
 members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones ;* so 
 that, in strictness, there is more of an union between 
 Christ and me than exists even in the relation of husband 
 and wife, where the two are considered as one flesh.f 
 This faith, therefore, is by no means an ineffective quality ; 
 but possesses so great excellency, that it utterly confounds 
 and destroys the foolish dreams and imaginations of the 
 sophisters, who have contrived a number of metaphysical 
 fictions concerning faith and charity, merits and qualifi- 
 cations. — These things are of such moment, that I would 
 gladly explain them more at large if I could. 
 
 '* A true and lively faith is opposite to the feigned faith 
 of the hypocrite ; and a true faith incites a man to good 
 works, through love. He who would be a Christian must 
 be a believer ; but ho man is a sound believer, if works of 
 charity do not follow his faith. Thus, on both hands, the 
 apostle shuts hypocrites out of the kingdom of God. On 
 the left hand, he shuts out all such as depend on their 
 works, for salvation, when he says, ' Neither circumcision 
 nor uncircumcision that is, no kind of work, but faith 
 only, without any dependence on what we do, avails 
 before God. On the right, he excludes all slothful, idle 
 persons, who are disposed to say. If faith justifies us 
 without works, then let us have no anxiety respecting good 
 .actions ; let us only take care and believe that we may do 
 whatever we please. — Not so, ye enemies of all godliness. 
 It is true, Paul tells you that faith only, without works» 
 justifies i however, he also tells you that a true faith, after 
 * Ephes. \. 30. t Ibid. v. 31. 
 
on the Epistle to the Galatians. 
 
 413 
 
 it has justified, does not permit a man to slumber in indo- 
 lence, but that it worketh by love. 
 
 '* The liberty of the gospel is an inestimable thing ; but 
 take care that ye use it not as an occasion to the flesh. 
 
 " Satan has not stirred up an evil either more extensive 
 or more destructive than this ; namely, when men abuse 
 their Christian liberty to licentiousness. So the apostle 
 Jude laments : There are crept in unawares certain un- 
 holy men, which turn the grace of our God into lascivi- 
 ousness.'* For the flesh does not understand the doc- 
 trine of grace. Therefore when it hears that we are 
 justified by faith only, it abuses and perverts the doctrine 
 by reasoning thus ; ' If we are without law, we may live 
 just as we please/ 
 
 Wherefore there is danger on both sides. However, 
 the one is more tolerable than the other. If the doctrine 
 of grace or faith be not preached, no man can be saved ; 
 for it is faith only that justifies and saves. On the con- 
 trary, if faith be preached, as of necessity it must be, the 
 greater part of mankind will interpret the doctrine in a 
 carnal way, and so understand spiritual liberty as to allow 
 indulgences of the flesh. This we may see in all ranks of 
 life. All profess themselves to be evangelical ; all boast 
 of their Christian liberty ; and yet give way to their lusts 
 and passions, for example, to covetousness, pride, envy, 
 pleasures, and such like. Who discharges his duty faith- 
 fully? Who serves his brother in a true spirit of charity? 
 The disgrace which such conduct brings on the profession 
 of the gospel puts me sometimes so out of temper, that I 
 could wish these swine, that tread precious pearls under 
 their feet, were still under the tyranny of the pope ; for it 
 is impossible that a people, so much resembling those of 
 Gomorrah, should be kept in due subjection by the mild 
 maxims of the gospel of peace. 
 
 " Moreover, we ourselves, the ministers of the gospel, 
 are not so active and zealous in doing our duty, now that 
 we have the light of the truth, as we were before, 
 during the darkness of our ignorance. We are grown 
 cold and negligent in handling the word, and in prayer 
 also, and lastly, both in well-doing and in suffering ; inso- 
 much, that if Satan did not torment us internally with spi- 
 ritual temptations, and externally with hostile persecutions, 
 and above all, with the contempt and ingratitude of our 
 ♦ Jude, ver. 4. 
 2 N 3 
 
414 
 
 Luther^ s Commentary [Cent. 16, 
 
 own congregations, we should become, I fear, quite care- 
 less, and lazy, and lost to every good work. 
 
 " It is very useful for sincere and pious persons to know 
 and meditate on Paul's doctrine concerning the contests 
 of the flesh and the spirit. It is an admirable comfort to 
 the tempted. When I was a monk, if at any time I hap- 
 pened to feel the motions of a bad passion, I used to think 
 my prospect of salvation was completely over. I struggled 
 in a variety of ways, both to overcome the bad passion 
 and to quiet my conscience. All in vain. The lust of the 
 flesh returned, and I was harassed with thoughts of this 
 sort ; — * Thou hast committed this or that sin ; thou art 
 impati.ent ; thou art envious ; in vain hast thou entered 
 into holy orders.' Now if I had rightly understood Paul's 
 doctrine of the flesh lusting against the spirit I should 
 not, so long and so miserably, have afflicted myself I 
 should have reflected, and said, as I do at this day, in 
 similar situations : Martin, as long as thou remainest in 
 the flesh thou wilt never be entirely without sin ; thou art 
 now in the flesh, and therefore thou must experience a 
 contest with it : and this is agreeable to what Paul says, 
 the flesh resisteth the spirit. Despair not thou, then, but 
 strive manfully against all carnal dispositions, and fulfil 
 not their lustings. Do thus, and the law shall have no 
 condemning dominion over thee. 
 
 " Truly religious persons crucify the flesh with its aff'ec- 
 tions and lusts; and hence their sins do not finally ruin 
 them. For if they obey the flesh by gratifying its concu- 
 piscence, they infallibly lose their faith and the Holy 
 Ghost. Moreover, if they do not abhor their sins, sin- 
 cerely repent, and return to Christ, that they may recover 
 their faith and the Holy Ghost, they will die in their sins. 
 Wherefore I can speak no comfort to those who dream 
 they have faith, and yet live in sin. Against all such there 
 is a dreadful sentence in force ; namely. They that live 
 after the flesh, shall die. And furthe**. The works of th^ 
 flesh are manifest ; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 
 lasciviousness, idolatry, &c., and such like : they who 
 do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 The severe threatenings of Almighty God against sin 
 have a due effect upon the minds of true believers, so as 
 to deter them from breaking his laws. They arm them- 
 selves with the word of God with faith and with prayer, 
 
on the Epistle to the Gdlatians, 
 
 415 
 
 and do not ^-ive way to the lusts of the flesh. In fact, 
 they so resist the flesh as to nail it to the cross with all its 
 sinful desires. Hence it is that the flesh, though yet alive, 
 and capable of showing some signs of motion, cannot 
 perform what it would, being bound hand and foot, and 
 nailed fast to the cross. Such are the principles and such 
 the practice of truly pious persons. The same important 
 truths may be expressed a little differently, thus : The 
 faithful, while they live on the earth, do actually crucify 
 the flesh ; that is, though they are sensible of its lustings, 
 they do not obey them. Furnished with the armour of 
 God, namely, faith, hope, and the sword of the Spirit, they 
 oppose the natural, or carnal man ; and with these spiri- 
 tual arms, as it were with nails, fix him to the cross of 
 Christ ; and compel him, against his will, to be subject to 
 the spiritual man or new creature. Afterwards, when they 
 die, they entirely put off" the carnal man ; and they will 
 rise from the dead with a body incorruptible, and free from 
 sinful affections and lusts. 
 
 To teach the doctrine of Justification by faith without 
 works, and at the same time to insist on the necessity of 
 good works, it must be owned, is a matter of considerable 
 difficulty and danger. For unless the ministers of Christ 
 be wise and faithful dispensers of the Divine mysteries, 
 and know how to divide the word of Truth rightly, the 
 distinct provinces of faith and works will be confounded. 
 Both these provinces should be explained and impressed 
 on the mind with the greatest diligence, yet in such a 
 manner, that each of them may preserve its proper bounds. 
 Otherwise, if works only are taught, as is the case in the 
 pope's kingdom, faith is lost. Again, if nothing but faith 
 is inculcated, carnal men soon begin to dream that there 
 is no need of good works. How careful is Paul to avoid 
 being misunderstood! In the fourteenth verse of the 
 fifth chapter he had observed that the whole law was ful- 
 filled in one word : ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
 thyself.' Indeed ! ! an objector might say, — Then if so, 
 a man, by works of charity, may fulfil the law and be jus- 
 tified ! — which is contrary to the whole epistle. No, says 
 the apostle, I have neither forgotten, nor do I now con- 
 tradict, my former argumentation concerning faith. I am 
 precisely of the same opinion ; and that ye may perceive 
 me to argue consistently, I add, Walk in the Spirit, and 
 
416 Luther's consolatory tract, [Cent. 16. 
 
 ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.* I do not mean 
 that ye can be justified by the law; but this I mean: 
 there are two principles of action within you, flesh and 
 spirit ; and I exhort you to obey the latter, that ye may 
 be enabled to resist the former. It is but to a certain 
 degree that ye can resist it ; ye cannot entirely put off the 
 flesh or kill it ; and therefore, when I direct you to walk 
 in the spirit, I sufficiently indicate to you the impossi- 
 bihty of your being justified by works of charity.'^t 
 
 In furnishing the reader with these specimens of Luther's 
 method of expounding Scripture, I have constantly aimed 
 at giving the author's meaning, without adhering very 
 closely to the letter. Certain allusions to the scholastic 
 niceties of the times, and some other things of a like na- 
 ture, which would have required long explanations, and 
 contributed nothing to edification, are entirely omitted ; 
 and a few words are sometimes inserted for the sake of 
 preserving the connection. No apology needs be made 
 for placing in this part of the narrative a brief accoilnt of 
 our reformer s Commentaries on the Epistle to the Gala- 
 tians. The pious student of the history of the Reform- 
 ation can scarcely be considered as forsaking his proper 
 subject, and much less as misemployed, while he is perusing 
 a few striking passages from a book which was of such 
 signal service to the church of Christ, in the sixteenth 
 century. J 
 
 About the beginning of the year 1 520 Luther wrote an 
 
 * Gal. V. 16. t Luth. Op. v. 417, et se 
 
 % The only English translation of Luther's Commentaries on the 
 Epistle to the Gaiatians, which I have seen, was the work of several 
 pious persons. It has many defects, but is nevertheless a very use- 
 ful performance. The book is scarce ; and 1 cannot but observe, that 
 a modern translation of both the editions of Luther's commentaries 
 on this epistle, with a few judicious notes, would be a most valuable 
 present to the Christian world. Bucer writes thus to Spalatinus: 
 
 Luther, by the divine lucubrations which he has published, stands 
 so high in my opinion, that I look up to him as an angelic guide in 
 the interpretation of difficult passages of Scripture. How then, think 
 you, did I rejoice when one of our brethren brought me his Com- 
 mentary on the Gaiatians ! After a very slight perusal of it, I 
 was almost ready to dance for joy." — So tar the learned protestant 
 Bucer.— Seek. 138. d. 
 
 In modern times it has been the fashion to treat this work rather 
 roughly, and to suggest the necessity of many cautions. The reader 
 will determine for himself, whether more judicious or more effica- 
 cious cautions have been given by others, than those interspersed 
 throughout the Commentaries by Luther himself. 
 
A. D, 1 52 1 .] The Diet of Worms. 
 
 417 
 
 excellent consolatory tract for the particular use of the 
 elector Frederic, who had lately endured a severe illness. 
 Erasmus himself sent it to the bishop of Basle, in 1523, 
 and commends it in these terms : " Luther's little book is 
 exceedingly approved, even by those who have the great- 
 est aversion to his doctrine ; for he wrote this piece before 
 matters were come to these extremities."* It is indeed 
 an excellent performance, and deserves to be wholly tran- 
 scribed. It consists of fourteen chapters, seven of which 
 contain an account of the afflictions to which the Christian 
 is exposed ; and the other seven point out the effectual 
 remedies and comforts which he should use.f He pub- 
 Jished a Commentary on the first twenty -two Psalms ; 
 also on some parts of the evangelists, and particularly on 
 the Lord's Prayer. J Among his numerous sermons, I 
 observe one on Matrimony; which proves that at that 
 time, namely, 1519, he considered marriage as a sacra- 
 MENT.§ He also wrote many controversial treatises about 
 this period. 
 
 THE DIET OF WORMS. 
 
 The eyes of all Europe were fixed on the diet of 
 Worms. That general and astonishing revolution of 
 sentiment which, we have observed, was taking place in 
 the minds of the people, had proceeded, in regard to their 
 rehgious views, with such incredible rapidity, that the 
 emperor and the princes thought it necessary to take pub- 
 lic cognizance of transactions which could now no longer 
 be buried in obscurity. Accordingly Charles V., in his cir- 
 cular letters to the electors and other members of the 
 Diet, informed them that he had summoned the assembly 
 of the empire, for the purpose of concerting with them the 
 most proper measures for checking the progress of those 
 new and dangerous opinions, which threatened to disturb 
 the peace of Germany, and to overturn the religion of their 
 ancestors. |[ 
 
 After the diet had met, a considerable time was spent in 
 formalities, and in making some general regulations 
 respecting the internal police of the empire. They then 
 proceeded to take into consideration the religious questions 
 and controversies. The papal legates pressed hard for an 
 immediate edict of condemnation against the man who 
 
 * Eras. p. 775. t Op. Jen. i. g95. b. % Witt. vu. 99. 
 
 % Jen. i. 296. || Robertson. 
 
418 
 
 Conference between 
 
 [Cent. 10. 
 
 had so long disturbed the peace of the Church, and who, 
 for more than six months, had been under actual sentence 
 of excommunication, as an incorrigible heretic. It would 
 be endless to recite the various artifices and manoeuvres of 
 the leading actors in the scenes at Worms ; nor w ould 
 this be so properly pertinent to the plan of our history, as 
 to describe the progress of real rehgion itself in the hearts 
 and understandings of mankind. Our industrious memo- 
 rialist * details with great exactness the conferences be- 
 tween Pontanus, the elector's chancellor, and Glapio, a 
 confessor of Charles V., in which fruitless pains were taken 
 to compose the differences. Frederic, in his instructions 
 to his chancellor, appears to have been governed by the 
 same maxims, which had uniformly regulated his conduct 
 throughout this business : that is, he continued firm, but 
 cautious, insisting in general on an equitable hearing 
 in behalf of his subject Luther, and declaring that he him- 
 self did not pretend to be a judge of theological doctrines 
 and disputes. 
 
 The conferences just mentioned were of a private nature, 
 and were carried on with the utmost secrecy ; one of them 
 was as follows ; it was at the time kept secret, even from 
 Spalatinus himself. It was in substance as follows. 
 
 Glapio. *' I was delighted with the first publications of 
 Luther. I said. What rich fruit the church may expect, 
 if we judge from the buds and shoots which Luther has 
 already thrown out. But when his book on the Baby- 
 lonish Captivity came out, I was vexed as if any one had 
 flogged me from head to foot. Indeed, I do not believe 
 Luther will own it to be his : it is neither in the style, nor 
 has it the polish of his writings. If it be really his, he 
 must have written it when provoked by the Pope's bull. 
 However, the case is not without remedy. — I wish I might 
 be allowed to talk with the elector." 
 
 Pontanus. *' My master is too much engaged ; I pray, 
 open your mind to me." — Then, with a most sanctimonious 
 countenance, Glapio said: — 
 
 Glap. " I protest, it was the emperor's most ardent 
 wish, before the publication of the Babylonish Captivity, 
 that such a man should be reconciled to the church. 
 Therefore, if Luther will but own, that in this tract some 
 improper expressions have escaped him through passion, 
 and that he meant nothing against the church, he will 
 * Seckendorf. 
 
A. D. 1521.] Ponianus and Glapio, 
 
 419 
 
 have all learned men in all nations on his side. His 
 attempts to reform abuses have great merit in them ; but 
 in the Babylonish Captivity he tries to roll a stone beyond 
 his strength. His intentions are the best possible, but he 
 does not consider the times and circumstances, and espe- 
 cially the princes. I wish the elector w^ould depute trusty 
 persons to settle the business in a private way." 
 
 Pojit, " My master never undertook to defend Luther ; 
 nor has Luther desired him to do so. But what do you 
 suppose would settle the business 
 
 Glap, If Luther does not choose to recall this book as 
 being written in a passion, let him say at once it is not his 
 — for it really is not in his style." 
 
 Pont. " Well, but still there would be the pope's bull in 
 force against him ; and the bull condemns his works before 
 this was published." 
 
 Glap, " That may be got over. The bull was issued 
 upon a supposed contumacy, when he really had not been 
 heard ; and therefore the pope, in the plenitude of his 
 power, can restore Luther ; and the rest may be settled by 
 impartial judges : for he ought to be heard, and heard by 
 learned Germans. I would not have him leave the prince, 
 who protects him. My advice is sound ; and there is 
 nothing I more wish for, than a reform of the church. 
 Luther, however, I must say, lays too much stress on 
 scriptural arguments. The Scripture is like soft wax. 
 One may prove any thing by it : for example, * Pluck out 
 your eye, and cast it from you.' — Can your master pro- 
 pose any better plan than this of mine ? Mine, I hope, 
 will please the emperor ; for yesterday I said to his ma- 
 jesty, God will flagellate the emperor and all the princes, 
 if the spouse of Christ is not freed from the loads which 
 oppress her. Moreover, I added, this Martin is sent by 
 God as a scourge, on account of our sins."* 
 
 The members of the diet openly withstood the pope's 
 advocates, in their attempts to procure Luther's con- 
 demnation without deliberation or inquiry. Such a pro- 
 ceeding they considered as inconsistent with justice, and 
 unauthorized by precedent. Moreover, the emperor him- 
 self admonished the principal nuncio, Aleander, that it 
 behoved him to explain to the diet some just and weighty 
 causes of Luther's excommunication ; causes, too, which 
 should be abstracted from the particular interests of the 
 * Seek. 143.— Add. ii. f. 
 
420 
 
 Aleanders speech 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 court of Rome and of the pope, and be evidently con- 
 nected with the general concerns of religion. At present, 
 he said, an opinion very much prevailed in Germany, that 
 because Dr. Luther had defended the rights and privileges 
 of his countrymen, and had declaimed against those odious 
 and arbitrary impositions of which the princes themselves 
 had complained more than once, he was on that very 
 account disliked and censured at Rome, and that, in fact, 
 this was the real foundation of all the harsh and peremp- 
 tory proceedings against him. So important a point must 
 be cleared up belbre any further steps could be taken ; 
 and an opportunity therefore was now afforded the nuncio, 
 of proving, to the satisfaction of a full diet, that the 
 pontiff 's damnatory edicts against Luther did not originate 
 in partiality and injustice.* 
 
 Aleander undertook this business, and acquitted him- 
 self with considerable ability and effect. The papal his- 
 torians magnify his eloquence and address on the occasion 
 beyond all bounds. Pallavicinus, in particular, has given 
 us a long and laboured philippic of his own making, which 
 he supposes to have resembled the speech delivered by 
 Aleander. The writers of the same class have in general 
 followed the Italian author with confidence, and copied 
 his misrepresentations without hesitation. They tell us, 
 that he spoke for three whole hours with the greatest force 
 and eloquence. But the Protestant reader, who has a 
 relish for the instruction contained in Luther's Commen- 
 tary on the Galatians, would probably think his time 
 mispent in reading minute details of arguments in sup- 
 port of papal doctrines and papal authority. It will be 
 proper, however, to subjoin a concise account of this 
 celebrated speech. 
 
 1 . He produced Luther's writings to the assembly ; and, 
 by quotations from them, endeavoured to prove that the 
 whole sect of this notorious heretic, as he called Luther, 
 ought to be abolished. He said that their principles were 
 equally destructive to both the civil and ecclesiastical 
 power ; for they annihilated the spiritual jurisdiction of the 
 head of the church, and even the authority of a general 
 council : and if these were taken away, who would be left 
 to interpret Scripture in doubtful cases? There would 
 soon be as many religions, as there were men of fancy and 
 imagination. 
 
 • Maimbourg, sect. 37, 
 
at the Diet, 
 
 421 
 
 2. He said this was not the worst. The Saxon heretic 
 subverted the foundations of morality, by denying the very 
 ♦ existence of human liberty, and by maintaining that 
 good and evil depended on a fatal and inevitable neces- 
 sity. Thus a door was opened to the most unbounded 
 licentiousness, when men had at hand this ready defence, 
 or at least this excuse, for every crime they could commit, 
 *' Our fate did not permit us to do otherwise." — He then 
 accused Luther of overturning the efficacy of the sacra- 
 ments, and of inculcating a notion of Christian liberty, 
 which gave the reins to vice and wickedness. If you be- 
 lieve this heretic, said he, there is no obligation in vows 
 that have been made with the greatest solemnity. In fine, 
 if his notions prevail, there is an end both of Christian 
 piety and the tranquillity of kingdoms. The whole world 
 will be thrown into confusion ; there will be left no ties of 
 obedience, either to princes, or even to God himself ; be- 
 cause, according to this novel system, the commandments 
 of the Supreme Being are incompatible with the powers 
 and capacities of his creatures. 
 *. 3. Aleander then observed ; that in spite of the pontiff's 
 utmost endeavours, for four years past, to free the world 
 from this great evil, it was daily spreading itself more 
 and more, and appeared to be desperate and incurable. 
 This detestable heresy ought to be exposed to public 
 execration ; and so ought its deceitful, rash, obstinate and 
 furious author. An imperial edict for this purpose, was 
 now, he said, the only remedy that remained. Nor was 
 there any reason to apprehend lest such an edict shouTd 
 be attended with troublesome consequences. It would be 
 " made with the consent of the diet, and, no doubt, would 
 be executed in all the states of the empire. The catholic 
 party, he added, was infinitely the strongest ; and it was 
 not likely that those powers, who had hitherto supported 
 Luther's cause, would incur the emperor's displeasure, by 
 Continuing to protect him.* 
 
 In our times, there can be no necessity to answer each 
 of these positions of the papal orator by a regular course 
 of argument. The real Christian wiH conclude, that taken 
 together, they constitute the most solid encomiuiM on the 
 labours of the man, who, by the ruling ecclesiastics of his 
 own time, was represented as an object of universal de- 
 testation. He will not suffer his judgment to be warped 
 * Du Pin. Maimbourg. 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 o 
 
422 
 
 On Aleander^s defence [Cent. 16. 
 
 by the specious terms which Aleander introduced into his 
 harangue, but will reflect on the real force and meaning 
 of those terms when thus used by a Roman catholic in 
 defence of his peculiar tenets. The ambiguity of Scrip- 
 ture ; the infallibility of the pope's interpretations ; the 
 intrinsic virtue of the sacraments ; the natural strength 
 and power of man ; the merit of good works, and the ob- 
 ligation of monastic vows : these are among the avowed 
 doctrines of the papal system ; and as they were evidently 
 at the bottom of Aleander s ostensible creed, we need not 
 wonder that Luther's opposition to them should have 
 been uppermost among the complaints of this zealous 
 nuncio, strenuously defending the established corruptions. 
 The enlightened Protestant, however, with these facts in 
 view, will have no difficulty in determining how much 
 our PERSECUTED REFORMER descrvcs the thanks of Chris- 
 tian posterity, for setting forth and confirming the supre- 
 macy of Scriptural authority, and for unfolding to mankind 
 the long-lost doctrine of the desperate corruption of fallen 
 human nature, and the preciousness of redemption by 
 grace. These fundamental doctrines Luther taught with 
 great zeal and precision. It was impossible therefore 
 that he should not at the same time teach, that *' it is not 
 of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God 
 that showeth mercy.'** And how could this be done with- 
 out calling forth the objection, " Why then doth he yet 
 find fault, for who hath resisted his will ?" Or how could 
 our theologian have established the grand Christian peculi- 
 arity of justification by faith in Jesus, and have laid down the 
 true principle of obedience, — faith which worketh by love, 
 — without overturning that idol of self-sufficiency, the 
 Pelagian notion of free-will, which even from the days 
 of Justin Martyr had made some encroachment on the 
 church ? t 
 
 Well would it be, if Christian people better understood 
 their obligations to kind Providence for having raised up, 
 at the critical moment, so penetrating a spirit, and so 
 soujid a divine, as Luther. These obligations would be 
 better known, and also felt more sensibly, were we in 
 general more accurately acquainted with the improve- 
 ments and discoveries which Luther made. The pride 
 and vanity of the human heart lead us to think highly of 
 modern attainments in religious knowledge, and to 
 • Kora. ix. 16. t See Vol. i. p. 142. 
 
A. D. 1521. ' of the Popes hull against Luther, 423 
 
 depreciate the productions of the sixteenth century. — '* The 
 reformers of that period did g;reat things for the times and 
 circumstances in which they Uved, but their notions were 
 in many respects crude and inaccurate, and liable to great 
 abuse." — Such things are easily said, and by being often 
 said, they are apt to make durable impressions. It is 
 very true that Martin Luther, as well as all the reformers, 
 did say things which are liable to abuse. I know nothing 
 that is not hable to abuse. Even the Holy Scriptures 
 themselves are thus liable in the hands of depraved men. 
 Nevertheless, I am by far more confident that the conceits 
 and refinements, and attempts at system, which abound 
 in modern divinity, are hurtful to religious minds, and 
 have a direct tendency to corrupt the pure word of God, 
 than I am that the plain and manly expositions of Scrip- 
 ture by Luther have any such tendency ; or that these 
 are so likely as the former to mislead humble, contrite 
 souls, who are seriously seeking peace of conscience 
 and eternal salvation. Again: " Several expressions of 
 Luther, it is said, were chiefly levelled against popery, 
 and might be proper enough in his time ; but they ought 
 not to be trusted to the bulk of readers in our age, with- 
 out many necessary guards and cautions." Something 
 like this has frequently been said of his Commentary on 
 the Epistle to the Galatians. It is much to be wished, 
 that such censures were not hazarded without a thorough 
 examination of the merits of the case. For my part, after 
 a most diligent perusal of that Commentary, I am well 
 convinced, that no subsequent writer whom I have seen, 
 has treated the important subject of the Epistle to the 
 Galatians with greater perspicuity, or illustrated the 
 mind of the apostle more happily, or inculcated a spiritual 
 and holy practice more forcibly, or interspersed his expo- 
 sitions with more safe, and sound, scriptural cautions 
 against abuses of every sort, than the author himself 
 has done throughout this admirable work. — Let this hint 
 suffice. 
 
 The papal historians* would persuade us, that the 
 emperor and the other princes were so terrified by Alean- 
 der's representation of Luther's impieties, that they instantly 
 proceeded to deliberate on the very important subject, and 
 resolved to condemn the growing heresy as subversive of 
 the fundamentals of the Christian religion. But from the 
 * Maimbourg. Du Pin. Pallavicini. 
 2 o 2 
 
424 
 
 Transactions of [Cent. 16. 
 
 accounts of these writers themselves it is not difficult to 
 collect, that besides the eloquence and arguments of 
 Aleander, there were other weapons which the orator con- 
 descended to use, for the purpose of influencing the 
 decision of the Diet of Worms. 
 
 We are informed, by an authority which in this instance 
 is not to be disputed, that Aleander acquainted the cardi- 
 nal Julius de Medicis, then at Rome,* how the Lutheran 
 party increased daily in strength, how the minds of the 
 Germans were alienated from the Roman court, and how 
 great was become the danger, lest all that nation should 
 be lost to the pope through a want of care and timely 
 exertions. These tidings roused the pope's advisers to 
 adopt vigorous measures. They augmented the autho- 
 rity of Aleander, the legate ; they supplied him with 
 MONEY ; and they impowered him to distribute, among 
 persons of distinction, the most efficacious diplomas, with 
 a view to obtain their assistance in the papal cause. Our 
 author does not scruple to avow, that it was by the opera- 
 tion of this threefold engine that Aleander gained over to 
 Ids own purposes the members of the German diet.f 
 
 After all, it does not appear that this celebrated diet 
 came to any regular voting on the business of Luther in 
 full assembly. The records of their proceedings, published 
 by authority at the dissolution of the Diet, take notice of 
 many weighty affairs which were then considered and 
 brought to a conclusion ; but they contain not a single 
 word on the subject of religion : which silence may seem 
 the more remarkable, when we attend to the circular letters 
 of Charles V. in calling together the members of the as- 
 sembly.J The original materials of this important part of 
 the history are so imperfect and inconsistent, that much 
 care and study are requisite to develope the truth, and to 
 separate it from the very partial and erroneous represen- 
 tations of the popish writers. — The learned reader will be 
 the best qualified to appreciate the success of my labours. 
 
 A patient examination of the evidence relative to the 
 Lutheran transactions at Worms, has convinced me that 
 the following account, connected- with the preceding, is 
 more full and satisfactory, and also more consistent, and 
 nearer the truth, than any statement of the same events 
 which has fallen in my way. 
 
 * This cardinal was afterwards pope Clement VIL 
 f Pallav. i. 25. % Page 417 
 
A. D. 1 521 .] the Diet at PForms, 425 
 
 The elector of Saxony, foreseeing the important ques- 
 tions, of a political as well as of a religious nature, which 
 would be agitated at the next Diet, took care to be at 
 Worms some weeks before the meeting of the general as- 
 sembly. There this wise and good prince, from conver- 
 sations with the emperor and others, soon discovered that 
 mischief was meditated against Luther. His enemies, in 
 general, were contriving to have him brought before the 
 Diet, with the design, no doubt, of securing the person of 
 the heretic : and we find that the emperor had once so far 
 acceded to their wishes, as to issue express orders for his 
 appearance. The summons for this purpose was sent to 
 the elector; but this prince refused to concur in that 
 mode of conducting the business, and Charles recalled 
 his summons. All this took place before the middle ot 
 January 1521.* In fact, at this moment the cautious 
 Frederic scarcely knew what course to steer. Perfectly 
 upright and conscientious, he wished for nothing so much 
 as an impartial hearing of the whole cause, and an equi- 
 table sentence in consequence ; but he had great fears, lest, 
 by calling Luther to Worms, he should entangle him in 
 the dangerous snares of his adversaries; and moreover, 
 he did not then know what Luther himself might think of 
 such a proposal. In this obscurity of circumstances, the 
 good sense and good principles of the elector determined 
 him to adhere steadily to two points : I. By no means to 
 compel Luther to appear among his adversaries against 
 his own will ; and, 2. In every event, not to permit him 
 to stir a step towards Worms without a complete and 
 unequivocal safe-conduct, nor to write any letters of pass- 
 port in his behalf without the express directions of the 
 emperor. — In the mean time he caused Luther to be made 
 acquainted with the intentions of his maUgnant adversa- 
 ries ; and the question to be put to him, What he would 
 do if he should be cited to appear at the Diet? 
 
 The answer of our intrepid Reformer was perfectly in 
 character. He said, if he should be called by so high an 
 authority as that of the emperor, he would conclude it to 
 be the divine will that he should go ; and if violence were 
 done to him, as probably might be the case, he would re- 
 commend his cause to God, who had saved the three 
 children from the fiery furnace. And if it should not 
 please God to preserve him, his life was but a small thing 
 * Com. de Luth. xc, 
 2 o 3 
 
426 
 
 Luther*s intrepid letter [Cent. 16. 
 
 compared with that of Christ and with HIS sufferings. 
 '* Though kings and princes," said Luther, " conspired 
 together against the Lord and his Christ, yet as it is 
 written in the same psalm, * Blessed are they that put 
 their trust in him.' It is not our business to determine 
 whether more or less benefit will accrue to the Church 
 from my life or my death ; but it is our bounden duty to 
 beseech God that the reign of Charles may not commence 
 with blood, shed in an impious cause. And for my part, 
 as I have often said, I would much rather die by the Ro- 
 manists alone, than that he should be involved in this 
 business. But if I must die, not only by pontifical but 
 also by civil injustice, God's will be done. You have 
 here my resolution. Expect from me any thing rather 
 than flight or retractation. I mean not to flee; much 
 less to retract. So may the Lord Jesus strengthen me . 
 I can do neither without scandalizing godliness, and hurt 
 ing the souls of many." This letter was addressed to his 
 friend Spalatinus, the elector's secretary.* 
 
 To the elector himself he writes, as being the subject of 
 this prince, with more ceremonious respect ; and probably 
 with a suspicion also, that his letter might be shown to 
 the emperor. He calls the elector his most illustrious 
 prince and gracious master, and says, 
 
 " I rejoice from my heart that his imperial majesty is 
 likely to undertake the management of this cause, which 
 is indeed the cause of the Christian world in general, and 
 of the whole German nation in particular. — I have ordered 
 copies of all my writings to be transmitted to your grace ; 
 and I now most humbly offer again, as I have repeatedly 
 offered before, to do every thing which becomes a servant 
 of God and of Christ to do, the moment I shall be in- 
 formed what my duty is from the clear evidence of the 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 I have therefore with all submission to entreat your 
 grace to present my humble petition to his imperial 
 majesty, that he would graciously be pleased to grant me 
 a safe-conduct, and sufficient security against every kind 
 of violence, as I have great reason to be apprehensive on 
 this account ; and that he would also appoint learned 
 and good men, unsuspected, and well skilled in the know- 
 ledge of their Bibles, to try this cause ; and that for the 
 sake of Almighty God 1 may be protected from every 
 • Com. de Luth. xc. 
 
A. D. 1521.] fo Spalatinus and the Elector. 427 
 
 outrage till I have been indulged with a fair hearing, and 
 have been proved to be an unreasonable, ungodly man, 
 and, in short, no Christian. 
 
 '* I humbly beg also, that the secuUir power may so 
 far interfere in my behalf, that my adversaries, the defend- 
 ers of the Roman see, may be compelled, during this state 
 of the business, to desist from their wicked and malicious 
 attempts against my life, honour, and dignity, and in parti- 
 cular from publicly burning my writings ; though as yet 
 I have never been tried, much less convicted of any 
 crime. 
 
 " In regard to myself, if I am but allowed a safe- 
 conduct, I shall, in humble obedience to the emperor's 
 summons, most cheerfully appear before the next ge- 
 neral Diet at Worms ; and there, by the help of Almighty 
 God, so conduct myself before just, learned, and impartial 
 judges, that all may be fully convinced that I have done 
 nothing from an inconsiderate, rash, refractory spirit, or 
 with a view to temporal honours and advantages ; but 
 that every line I have written, and every doctrine I have 
 taught, has proceeded from a conscientious regard to my 
 oaths and obligations. I own myself unworthy to be 
 styled a doctor in sacred learning ; nevertheless, it will 
 appear that I have constantly intended to promote the 
 praise and glory of God, the happiness and salvation of 
 the cathohc church, the prosperity of all Germany, the 
 overthrow of dangerous abuses and superstitions, and the 
 emancipation of the whole Christian world from innumer- 
 able, tyrannical, impious, and disgraceful grievances. 
 
 " That the gracious elector of Saxony, together with 
 his imperial majesty, may deign to turn a Christian eye to 
 the present state of religion, burdened and enslaved as it 
 is in so many ways, is the prayer of, 
 
 " The elector^s obedient and suppliant chaplain, 
 
 '* Martin Luther.'' 
 
 The extraordinary piety and firmness so manifest in 
 these letters, must have been highly pleasing to the elector 
 of Saxony ; especially as both the public and private pro- 
 ceedings at Worms every day convinced him more and 
 more of the necessity of our Reformer's presence. He 
 was disgusted to find that secret consultations, to which 
 he was not admitted, were continually held at the empe- 
 ror's apartments, for the purpose of ruining Luther : 
 moreover an imperial mandate was issued, by which the 
 
428 
 
 Luther required to attend 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 magistrates were commanded to collect together all the 
 writings of the heretic. Lastly, attempts, though fruit- 
 less, were made by the emperor to persuade Frederic, that 
 it was his pecuhar duty to call his own subject, Dr. Luther, 
 before the assembly by his single authority, and also to 
 supply him with the necessary passports.* The tendency 
 of these machinations was sufficiently evident ; and no- 
 thing was so likely to disconcert them all, as the actual 
 appearance of the accused, secured by an effectual safe- 
 conduct. Also, if Aleander's malignant sophisms and 
 gross misrepresentations had impressed or puzzled the 
 minds of any of his hearers, nobody could so soon or so 
 completely undeceive them as Luther himself, by his 
 knowledge, his eloquence, and his plain dealing. 
 
 Influenced by these and similar considerations, the 
 elector of Saxony, in full Diet, urged the propriety of pro- 
 ceeding no further in the affairs of Luther, till he himself 
 could be heard in his own cause. The question before 
 them, he said, was not merely, whether certain doctrines 
 were false, and ought to be proscribed, but also whether 
 Martin Luthar was the author of them. Common justice 
 therefore required that he should be called before the diet, 
 that they might learn from himself whether he really 
 avowed and propagated the sentiments which were said to 
 be found in his books. 
 
 It was impossible on any decent grounds to resist so 
 wise and reasonable a proposition. In fact, the whole 
 Diet almost without exception, though for various and 
 even opposite reasons, concurred in this sentiment of the 
 elector. The different imperial orders thanked the empe- 
 ror for his good intentions in securing by his mandate the 
 books of Luther, and in general expressed their approba- 
 tion of the measure. But still, they feared no material 
 good was to be expected from the publication of that 
 mandate. Luther's doctrines had spread throughout 
 Germany, and had excited much thinking, much specu- 
 lation and design ; for all which there now seemed no 
 remedy but to, give the author a fair hearing. " Let him 
 have a safe-conduct," said they, " and let the question be 
 put to him, * Whether he will retract such articles *as 
 militate against the holy Christian faith which we have 
 received from our ancestors and preserved until this time/ 
 When that business is over, he may be heard on other 
 * Id. Add. ii. Ixxxviii. and Add. xc. 
 
A, D. 1521.] the Diet. — Aleanders alarm. 
 
 429 
 
 points, and the Diet may come to such equitable resolutions 
 as the case shall require. If indeed he should refuse to 
 recant, then, no doubt, the orders of the empire will stre- 
 nuously support the emperor's decree with all their might." 
 They concluded with entreating his imperial majesty to 
 adopt some measures by which many practices of the 
 Roman see might be effectually corrected :* for, said they, 
 they are become highly injurious and intolerable to the 
 German nation. 
 
 Aleander, however, was excessively alarmed at the 
 prospect of Luther's appearance, and strenuously ex- 
 erted every nerve to prevent it. The reasons, in oppo- 
 sition, adduced by this popish champion, might seem too 
 futile and ridiculous to merit notice, if the most celebrated 
 Roman catholic historians had not astonished posterity by 
 recording them with apparent approbation and triumph. 
 On few occasions has the weakness of the papal cause 
 been more manifest ; or the blindness and obstinacy of its 
 advocates more inexcusable. The pope, said Aleander, 
 who is supreme judge in religious concerns, has already 
 determined this matter ; his decisions ought not to be 
 questioned. Besides, this Diet must be considered not as 
 a sacred, but profane assembly, and therefore not compe- 
 tent to the trial of such causes : neither will Luther himself 
 acknowledge the authority of the tribunal. 
 
 The conduct of Charles V. on this occasion, appears to 
 have been regulated chiefly by artful political maxims. 
 One historian indeed informs us, that he expressed a great 
 desire to see the manf who had caused such commotion 
 in the church ; and this curiosity in the young monarch 
 may seem neither unnatural nor improbable. We are 
 sure, however, that by calling Luther before the Diet, he 
 gratified his grand patron, the elector of Saxony ; and in 
 regard to the court of Rome, he preserved his peace with 
 them by dexterously compromising the matter in the fol- 
 lowing way. He declared, that though it was absolutely 
 necessary to bring the accused before the Diet, lest it 
 should be said that he had been condemned unheard, still 
 that he was only to be heard so far as to answer, Whether 
 
 * These and many other interesting particulars in this account 
 are not so much as hinted at by the popish writers. They are taken 
 from very authentic accounts of the proceedings at Worms, deposited 
 among the Saxon archives at Weimar. 
 
 t Varillas. 
 
430 
 
 Artful ccnduct of Charles V,; [Cent. 16. 
 
 he would or would not recant the errors which he had 
 published. 
 
 Nevertheless, Aleander bitterly complained • that a 
 downright heretic, already condemned by the Roman 
 pontiff, should be treated with so much lenity and con- 
 cession. *' He ought to have been heard no further ; or 
 if it were thought proper to condemn him again with new 
 formahties, most certainly that public faith ought not to 
 be granted to him, which would have been denied to any 
 man who was only accused of the crimes for which Luther 
 stood condemned at the present moment. He was more- 
 over a factious man, of great volubility of language, and 
 great presence of mind ; a man who spoke with such 
 tones of voice and such ardent looks as to be capable of 
 raising a sedition." Then there was nothing, he added, 
 which Luther so eagerly longed for as a solemn public 
 disputation, where he might have an opportunity of ex- 
 hibiting his talents, and confounding such an assembly as 
 the Diet of Worms ; the members of which were so little 
 informed in theological questions that he would easily 
 puzzle and deceive them by his address and subtleties ; 
 and make them doubt whether in condemning him they 
 had given to his expressions the right sense in which their 
 author intended them to be understood.* 
 
 Such a representation, when stripped of all disguise, 
 amounts briefly to this : That Luther ought to have been 
 crushed at once by the strong hand of despotic power ; 
 and that the truth would be most effectually stifled by his 
 non-appearance at Worms. It may be added, that the 
 papal legate was not a little concerned for the credit and 
 honour of the Roman see. The sixty days, allowed 
 by pontifical lenity for the heresiarch's repentance, had 
 elapsed long ago ; and Luther was now deemed a detest- 
 able and excommunicated heretic, to whom no kindness 
 or respectful consideration could be shown, without in- 
 curring the manifest displeasure of the pope. 
 
 It may, therefore, be considered as a clear proof of the 
 great decline of the papal authority, that, notwithstanding 
 all the arts and all the menaces of Aleander, Charles ven- 
 tured to grant Luther a safe-c onduct to Worms, and again 
 in return to Wittemberg. He even with his own hand 
 wrote to the heretic, and calls him our honourable, be- 
 loved, DEVOUT, doctor Martin Luther, of the Augus- 
 ♦ Pallav. 
 
A. D. 1521.] he grants Luther a safe-conduct 431 
 
 TINE ORDER. He then proceeds to inform him, that the 
 emperor and the sacred imperial orders, then met in 
 congregation, had determined to examine him respecting 
 certain books which he had pubhshed ; that they had 
 joined in granting him a safe-conduct ; and that he must 
 not fail to appear before the Diet within twenty-one days, 
 reckoning from the sixth of March, the date of the letter. 
 The emperor concludes with repeating his assurances of 
 protection from every injury and violence.* 
 
 Still the friends of Luther remained dissatisfied with 
 even these pledges for his safety; so deeply were their 
 minds impressed with what had happened to John Huss 
 at Constance. It was agreed, therefore, that several of 
 the princes of the empire should also particularly and dis- 
 tinctly sign the safe-conduct, as a further security against 
 the hostile designs of the Romans. Lastly, the sagacious 
 elector of Saxony had the spirit to demand, and the per- 
 severance to obtain from the emperor, in writing, an ex- 
 press renunciation of the detestable popish tenet, that 
 
 GOOD FAITH IS NOT TO BE PRESERVED WITH HERETICS.f 
 
 This very curious fact, which originated in the wise pre- 
 caution of Frederic, seems to have been kept a most 
 profound secret till about the year 1541, when it was 
 revealed to Pontanus, the elector s chancellor, by Conrad 
 Pius P., son of C. Peutinger, one of Charles's privy coun- 
 sellors. J 
 
 Though this explicit grant of a safe-conduct was so 
 important a point gained for Luther, that probably his 
 life depended upon it, yet the elector of Saxony had by 
 this time seen too much of the dispositions, both of the 
 emperor and of the members of the Diet, to indulge any 
 great hope of a favourable issue of the pending contest. 
 The following short extracts from his letters are highly 
 instructive : — 
 
 1. The Romans with their adherents, particularly the 
 men who wear red hats,§ attack Luther in every way. 
 
 2. Dr. Martin is summoned hither, but I know not 
 whether he will choose to come. Matters proceed slowly ; 
 and I augur no great good. 
 
 3. The cardinals and bishops oppose Luther with all 
 their might. May it please God to order every thing for 
 good ! I wish it were in my power to serve Martin , 
 
 • Lulh, Op. ii. 163. t See account of the Council of Constance. 
 ± Com. de Luth xcii. § Cardinals. 
 
432 
 
 The Elector's letters. [Cent. 16, 
 
 Most certainly I would omit nothing that is proper to 
 be done which might at the same time be useful to his 
 cause. 
 
 4. Were it in my power I would most readily assist 
 Martin in every thing which he could reasonably require. 
 But, believe me, I am pressed to take part against him 
 by such persons and in such a way as will astonish you 
 when I come to explain the truth. The grand object here 
 is to drive him into exile. Whoever appears in the small- 
 est degree to wish him well is instantly deemed a heretic. 
 May God order all things for good: and no doubt HE 
 will not desert the right cause. 
 
 5. Martin's cause turns on this point, — whether he is to 
 l)e sent into banishment? There is no remedy against 
 these things. The event, hov/ever, is in God's hands ; and 
 if through HIS help, I should be able to come to you, I 
 shall have surprising things to tell. We have peculiar 
 need of the Divine, not human assistance. I would have 
 you to know, that not only Annas and Caiaphas, but also 
 Pilate and Herod, are the adversaries of Luther.* 
 
 The doubt expressed by the elector, respecting the re- 
 former's obedience to the mandate which had summoned 
 him to Worms, did not arise from any suspicion of timi- 
 dity, or of feeble resolution in his character, but from a just 
 apprehension that he might conclude his appearance be- 
 fore a court, which had already predetermined not to hear 
 his defence, would prove altogether vain and nugatory. 
 It appears from a letter to Spalatinus, that a temporary 
 hesitation of this sort was actually produced in Luther's 
 mind, by the information which he had received of the 
 transactions at Worms. He writes thus on the 19th of 
 March, 1521 :— 
 
 " My kind friend — I have received your account of the 
 various things which I shall be commanded to do at 
 W^orms, y)articularly of the doctrinal articles, which I must 
 recant. Depend upon it T will recant no one thing, unless 
 they produce better arguments against me, than that I 
 have maintained things in my books which are contrary to 
 
 * The letters, of which these are extracts, are addressed by Fre- 
 deric to his brother John, who succeeded him. 1, 2, and 3, were 
 written before Luther carne to W orms ; 4, while he was there ; and 
 5, after lie had left that place. It appears clearly from 4 and 5, that 
 the elector was not then aware that the enemies of Luther designed 
 any thin^? against him severer than a «eatence of banishment. 
 
A. D. 15:21.] Luther proceeds to JVorms, 
 
 433 
 
 what they are pleased to call the rights and customs of 
 the church. I shall not scruple to answer the emperor, 
 that if I am called merely for the sake of recanting, I shall 
 not come ; since precisely the same thing may be done 
 without this journey to and fro. Certainly if recantation 
 be all that is wanted, I may recant here. Now if, in con> 
 sequence of this answer, his majesty should denounce me 
 as an enemy of the empire, and should cite me to appear 
 for the purpose of taking away my life, I shall obey the 
 summons. For if Christ Jesus do but favour me, I am 
 determined never to flee, or desert the word of God by 
 leaving the field of battle. However, I see most distinctly 
 these bloody-minded men will never rest till they have 
 taken away my hfe. I own I could wish that the papists 
 ALONE might be guilty of my blood."* 
 
 Notwithstanding this pause, Luther presently resolved 
 upon his journey to Worms. Perhaps his great patron, 
 the elector of Saxony, secretly directed his motions ; or 
 perhaps further reflection convinced him that to appear 
 before the Diet, secured as he was by safe-conduct, was 
 the wisest step he could take. Possibly on the one hand 
 he might indulge a hope, that after all, when he should 
 once look his adversaries in the face, they would be 
 ashamed to bid him hold his tongue ; and on the other, 
 he could not but foresee that his non-appearance would 
 certainly be construed into contempt, or timidity and con- 
 sciousness of guilt. It would be said, that after having 
 so often and so long demanded a fair hearing of his cause, 
 and after having received a direct challenge from the papal 
 advocates, he had now refusd to meet them before so im- 
 partial and, in every respect, unexceptionable a tribunal as 
 the general Diet of the empire. 
 
 He was accompanied in his journey by several friends, 
 among whom is mentioned Jodocus Jonas, a name pre- 
 cious in the annals of German reformation. Jonasf w^s 
 
 • Com. de Luth. xci. 
 
 t Justus Jonas was a doctor of divinity, and a canon of the col- 
 legiate church of Wittemberg. He was made president or principal 
 by the elector in 1521. The profession of the canon law belonged to 
 this presidency, but Jonas chose to employ his time in studying the 
 Scriptures. He read lectures in divinity to the students every day ; 
 and gave up a portion of his salary to a lecturer in the canon law. 
 He refused to accept the presidency on any other terms. He was 
 one of the most intimate friends both of Luther and Melantthon.-- 
 JSeck. Sup. Ind. xli. — Melch. Adanx. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 p 
 
434 
 
 TJndannted courage [Cent. 16. 
 
 at that time principal of the collegiate church of Wittem- 
 berg, and was afterwards called Justus Jonas. Some 
 others joined them on the road. Luther was expressly 
 forbidden to preach at any of the towns through which he 
 had to pass ; but our reformer declared, that he had never 
 promised to obey that injunction, and that the word of 
 God ought not to be fettered. Accordingly he preached 
 at Erfurt as he went, and at Eisenach as he returned, and 
 in various other towns.* The hilarity and musical enter- 
 tainments, in which he indulged himself as he travelled, 
 are invidiously spoken of by writers devoted to the pope- 
 dom. In fact, music with him was a favourite and use- 
 ful amusement ; and it is certain that his temper was 
 more cheerful, courteous, and sociable, than might have 
 been expected in one who, with a superstitious conscience, 
 had been so long addicted to Romish austerities. What 
 we have formerly observed of his moral character need 
 not be here repeated ; and in regard to his diversions, it 
 will be allowed that so hard a student required a due pro- 
 portion of these ; and no proof can be adduced of his ever 
 exceeding the bounds of moderation, temperance, and 
 decorum. 
 
 Luther was considerably indisposed in the course of this 
 journey. In a letter to Spalatinus, who was then at 
 Worms, he says, '* All the way from Eisenach to Franc- 
 fort, I have experienced such languor as I never felt 
 before. Besides, I hear the emperor has published a 
 mandate to frighten me.t But Christ nevertheless lives ; 
 and I will enter Worms though all the gates of hell and 
 all the powers of darkness oppose. I mean to terrify and 
 to despise the prince of darkness. 
 
 Let the student of ecclesiastical history scrutinize as 
 narrowly as possible the behaviour of the champion of 
 protestantism at this critical moment. The more 
 
 * Du Pin, the most moderate of all Luther's adversaries, accuses 
 him of declaiming, in the course of this journey, " in his usual man- 
 ner against good works and human laws. One, says he, builds a 
 temple, the other goes a pilgrimage to^St James or to Rome ; a third 
 fasts, prays, and goes barefoot : all this is of no use^ and ought to 
 be put an end to ; for whatever comes from the pope is only to oblige 
 us to Givi:. This were a small matter, if they did nothing but pil- 
 lage men ; but the worst is, they would persuade them that these 
 bodily works can justify and save them.'* Such is Du Pin's quota- 
 tion from Luther, and such his complaint. 
 
 t This was the order above mentioned, issued by Charles, for 
 collecting together all Luther's books. 
 
A. D. 1521.] 
 
 of Luther. — Bucer, 
 
 435 
 
 rigorous his inspection, the greater, if I mistake not, will 
 be his admiration and satisfaction. The hearts of Luther's 
 best friends began to fail them as the danger approached. 
 At Oppenheim, near Worms, they solicited him in the 
 most vehement manner to venture no further. What 
 favour could he expect from men who already began to 
 break their word with him? The pope had published a 
 definitive bull against him on January the third;* and the 
 emperor, in compliance, had ordered all his writings to be 
 seized ; and, to disgrace him still more, the imperial man- 
 date, as well as the papal bull, was every where put up 
 for the public information.! Neither was it yet forgotten 
 that an imperial safe-conduct had not been sufficient to 
 protect John Huss from Romish deceit and cruelty. 
 
 When a great man is actually in the hands of his ene- 
 mies, the die may be considered as cast ; and in such 
 cases it happens not unfrequently that courage and firm- 
 ness appear to be the natural offspring of extreme and 
 unavoidable danger. But while Luther was at Oppen- 
 heim, which is the moment now in the readers con- 
 templation, we are to remember it was in his power, as 
 yet, to have turned aside from the road to Worms, and 
 sheltered himself from the fury of the papists. In fact, he 
 was here met by Martin Bucer,J: who had been sent with 
 
 * Page 400 of this volume, t Du Pin, c. x. 
 
 X Bucer was a very learned and able protestant divine, born at 
 Shelestadt, in Alsace. He was uncommonly well qualified for 
 business, and concerned in many of the ecclesiastical negotiations 
 respecting the Reformation. He came to see Luther at the Diet of 
 Worms, spent some days with him, embraced his opinions, and in a 
 short time professed them openly. — Melch. Ad. Afterwards he 
 preached the protestant doctrines at Strasburg. He was indefati- 
 gable in his endeavours to reconcile the Lutherans and Zuinglians ; 
 and his great desire to effect a lasting peace between the parties, 
 seems to have led him to use general,and perhaps, ambiguous expres- 
 sions in his writings. If I am not mistaken, he thought Luther's 
 notions of the sacrament too strong, and that of Zuingle s too weak. 
 Justus Jonas is much too hard upon him, when he describes Zuingle 
 as something rustic and a little arrogant; Ecolampadius and Hedio 
 as very mild and good-natured ; but Bucer, as cunning as a fox. — 
 Seek. ii. p. 140. Jonas, however, was at that time heated with the 
 disputes at Marpurg. The reputation of Bucer for learning, wis- 
 dom, and integrity was so great, that he was invited into England 
 by archbishop Cranmer in 1549, and appointed lecturer in divi- 
 nity in the university of Cambridge, with triple the usual sti- 
 pend. His lectures vyere solid and full of erudition ; he continued 
 to read them till the year 1551 ; when, at the age of sixty-one, he 
 died of the stone and several other painful disorders. He was 
 buried with the greatest respect in St, Mary's church ; and the 
 2 p 2 
 
436 
 
 Luther s appearance 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 several horsemen on the express errand to entreat him to 
 take refuse in the castle of a neig-hhouring kni^rht. Here 
 also we find that he received letters from his friend Spa- 
 latinus, the contents of which must have been peculiarly 
 distressing to his mind ; as in a similar way they fervently 
 entreated this persecuted servant of God to desist fi-om 
 proceeding further in this journey. 
 
 It was under such circumstances, and to such solicit- 
 ations, that this faithful servant of Christ, with his usual 
 intrepidity, supported by divine grace, returned that ever- 
 memorable answer, " That though he should be obliged 
 to encounter at Worms as many devils as there were tiles 
 upon the houses of that city, this would not deter him 
 from his fixed purpose of appearing there : that these fears 
 of his friends could only arise from the suggestions of 
 Satan, who apprehended the approaching ruin of his king- 
 dom by the confession of the truth before such a grand 
 assembly as the Diet of Worms."* Luther is said to have 
 mentioned the circumstance a little before his death, and 
 to have made this observation : "So fearless can God 
 render a man : — I do not know whether at this day I 
 should be so bold." 
 
 The fire and obstinacy that appeared in Luther's an- 
 swer to the kind remonstrances of his friends at Oppen- 
 heim, seemed to prognosticate much warmth and vehe- 
 mence in his conduct before the assembly. f But it was 
 not so. On the contrary, the reader may be surprised to 
 find how much the zeal which animated our reformer was 
 tempered on this occasion, notwithstanding the fervour of 
 his natural constitution, with a laudable moderation and 
 decorous respect both for his civil and ecclesiastical supe- 
 riors, proving that the whole was the effect of divine grace^ 
 and not the consequence of natural intrepidity of mind. 
 
 Luther arrived at Worms on the sixteenth of April, 
 1521 ; and as he stepped from his open vehicle he said 
 these words, in the presence of a prodigious concourse of 
 people, " God will be on my side."i 
 
 It has been truly observed,§ that the reception he there 
 met with was such as he might have esteemed a full 
 reward of all his labours, if vanity and the love of applause 
 
 vice-chancellor ordered the members of all (he colleges to attend hia 
 funeral. — Melch. Ad. and Bayle's Diet. 
 
 ♦ Luth. Op. ii. Du Pin, c. x. t Maclaine in Mosh. 
 
 X Pallav. Du Pin. § Robertson. 
 
A.D. 1521.] 
 
 before the Diet. 
 
 437 
 
 had been the principles which influenced his conduct. 
 Spalatinus, who was on the spot, assures us that no prince 
 ever experienced such honours. Immense crowds daily 
 flo<jked to see him; and his apartments were constantly 
 filled with visitors of the highest rank. In short, he was 
 looked on as a prodig'y of wisdom, and respected as one 
 who was born to enlighten the understandings of mankind, 
 and direct their sentiments ; — a homage more sincere as 
 well as more flattering than any which pre-eminence in 
 birth or condition can command. Luther lodged with the 
 Teutonic knights, near the elector of Saxony; and on the 
 day after his arrival was conducted to the Diet by the mar- 
 shal of the empire.* 
 
 On his appearance before that august assembly he was 
 directed to be silent till questions should be put to him. 
 The official of the archbishop of Treves, who was the 
 emperor's speaker on the occasion, then produced a bun- 
 dle of books, and informed Luther that, by order of his 
 imperial majesty, he was directed to propose two ques- 
 tions to him. The first was, whether he acknowledged 
 those books which went by his name to be his own ; 
 and the second, whether he intended to defend or to re- 
 tract what was contained in them ? Upon this, before 
 any reply could be made, Jerome Schurff, a celebrated 
 doctor of the civil laws, who had come from Wittemberg 
 in the character of Luther's advocate, called out with a 
 loud voice, " You ought to recite the titles of the books." 
 The official then read over the titles in succession. 
 Among which were Commentaries on the Psalms ; a little 
 Tract on Good Works ; a Commentary on the Lord's 
 Prayer ; and other books on Christian subjects, in no way 
 related to controversy. f 
 
 " I shall answer the question," said Luther, " as con- 
 cisely, and as much to the purpose, as I possibly can. 1st. 
 Unless the books have been mutilated or altered by fanciful 
 
 * The crowd was so great that it was found necessary to conduct 
 Luther privately through a garden, and by back stairs, to the hall, 
 where the emperor and the Diet were assembled. — Luth. Op. ii. 
 
 f The reader may smile at the management of Dr. Schurff, who, 
 quite in the character of a practitioner of the law, took this very fair 
 opportunity of bringing into view and exposing the unjustifiable 
 lengths to which the enemies of his client had proceeded in con- 
 demning to the flames even his most unexceptionable writings. The 
 official called on Luther to own or disown such books as went by hig 
 name. " Let us hear the titles, let us hear the subjects oi the 
 books " said the lawyer. 
 
 2 p 3 
 
438 
 
 Luther is questioned [Cent. 16, 
 
 sciolists, or by the arts of my adversaries, they are certainly 
 mine. 2ndly. Because this question relates to faith and 
 the salvation of souls, and because it concerns the word of 
 God, the most important of all objects in heaven and in 
 earth, and which deservedly requires of us all the most 
 profound reverence, it would be equally rash and danger- 
 ous for me to give a sudden answer to such a question ; 
 since, without previous deliberation, I might assert less 
 than the subject demands, and more than truth would 
 admit ; both which would expose me to condemnation 
 from that sentence of Christ, * Whosoever denieth me be- 
 fore men, him will I deny before my Father which is in 
 heaven.' For this reason I humbly beseech your imperial 
 majesty to grant me a competent time for consideration, 
 that I may satisfy the inquiry without injuring the word 
 of God, and without endangering my own salvation." 
 After some deliberation, he was allowed to defer his 
 answer till the next day, on the express condition, however, 
 that he should deliver what he had to say \vik voce, and 
 not in writing. 
 
 On the following day he was told that he ought not to 
 have petitioned for delay, because he had well known, for 
 a long time, what would be the nature of his examina- 
 tion ; and, moreover, that every one ought to be able at 
 any moment to give an account of his faith ; and much 
 more a doctor of great reputation, like Luther, who had 
 been long exercised in theological discussions. At length 
 however, said the official, return an answer to the ques- 
 tion of the emperor, who has so kindly granted you your 
 request. 
 
 Luther then rose, and spoke before the emperor and 
 the princes, in the German language, to the following 
 effect : 
 
 " I stand here in obedience to the commands of his 
 most serene imperial majesty and the most illustrious 
 princes, and I earnestly entreat them that they would 
 deign to listen to this cause with clemency. It will ap- 
 pear, I trust, to be the cause of truth and justice ; and 
 therefore if, through ignorance, I should fail to give 
 proper titles to each of the dignified personages who hear 
 me, or if in any other respect I should show myself de- 
 fective in politeness, they will be pleased to accept my 
 apology with candour. I have not been accustomed to 
 the refinements of the court, but to the cloisters of the 
 
A.D.I 521.] respecting his publications, 43d 
 
 monastery ; nor of myself have I any thing further to say, 
 than that hitherto I have read lectures and composed 
 books with that simplicity of mind which only regards 
 the glory of God and the instruction of mankind. 
 
 " To the first question," continued Luther, " I gave a 
 plain and direct answer ; and in that I shall persist for 
 ever. I did publish those books, and I am responsible 
 for their contents, so far as they are really mine ; but I do 
 not answer for any alterations that have been made in 
 them, whether by the crafty malice of enemies or the 
 imprudent officiousness of friends. 
 
 " In regard to the second question, I humbly beg your 
 most serene majesty and their highnesses to take especial 
 notice, that my publications are by no means all of the 
 same kind. Some of them treat only of piety, and of the 
 nature of faith, and morals ; and these subjects are 
 handled in so evangelical a manner, that my greatest ad- 
 versaries are compelled to pronounce them innocent, pro- 
 fitable, and worthy to be read by Christians. The pope's 
 bull, indeed, though it actually declares some of my 
 books innocent, yet, with a monstrous and cruel indiscri- 
 mination, CONDEMNS THEM ALL. Now Were I to retract 
 SUCH writings, I should absolutely stand alone, and con- 
 demn those truths in which friends and foes most perfectly 
 agree. 
 
 " There is another species of my publications, in which 
 I endeavour to lay open the system of the papal govern- 
 ment, and the specific doctrines of the papists, who, in 
 fact, by their corrupt tenets and bad examples, have made 
 havoc of the Christian world, both in regard to body and 
 soul. There is no denying this : witness the universal 
 complaints now existing, how the papal laws and tradi- 
 tions of men most miserably entangle, vex, and tear to 
 pieces the consciences of the faithful, and also plunder the 
 inhabitants of this famous country in ways most shameful, 
 tyrannical, and scarcely credible ; notwithstanding that 
 Germany by her own laws has declared, that any doctrines 
 or decrees of the pope, which are contrary to the Gospel 
 or the sentiments of the fathers, are to be deemed erro- 
 neous, and in no degree obligatory. — If, therefore, I 
 should revoke what I have written on these subjects, I 
 should not only confirm the wicked, despotic proceedings 
 to which I allude, but also open a door to further abuses 
 of power, that would be still more licentious and 
 
440 
 
 His reply. 
 
 [Cent, 16. 
 
 insupportable ; especially if it were said among the 
 people, that what I had done was confirmed by the autho- 
 rity of his most serene majesty and a general meeting of 
 the empire. 
 
 " Lastly, the defences and replies which I have com- 
 posed against such individuals as have laboured either to 
 establish the Roman tyranny, or to undermine my expla- 
 nations of the fundamental principles of religion, constitute 
 a third class of my publications. And in these, I freely 
 confess, I have been betrayed into an asperity of expres- 
 sion, which neither becomes me as a clergyman, or as a 
 Christian : however, I pretend not to set myself up for a 
 saint, neither do I plead for the strictness of my Hfe, but 
 for the doctrines of Christ. But, it is not in my power to 
 retract even these writings as far as the matter contained 
 in them is concerned ; lest by such a step I should be- 
 come the patron of the most arbitrary and impious usurpa- 
 tions, which in consequence would soon gather strength, 
 and spend their fury on the people of God in more violent 
 outrages than ever. Yet, since I am but a man, and 
 therefore fallible in judgment, it would ill become me, in 
 supporting my poor paltry tracts, to go further than my 
 Lord and Master Jesus Christ did, in the defence of his 
 own doctrines ; who, when he was interrogated concern- 
 ing them before Annas, and had received a blow from one 
 of the officers, said, " If I have spoken evil, bear witness 
 of the evil ; but if well, why smitest thou me ?" If then, 
 our Lord, who was infallible, did, nevertheless, not disdain 
 to listen to any thing that could be said against his doc- 
 trine even by a person of the lowest condition, how much 
 more ought such a contemptible being as I, who am all 
 imperfection, to be ready to attend to whatever arguments 
 can be brought in the way of objection to my positions ! 
 I entreat therefore your majesty and the members of this 
 illustrious assembly, to produce evidence against me ; and 
 however high, or however low, be the rank of the person wfio 
 shall be able, from the sacred Scriptures, to convict me of 
 error, I will instantly retract, and be the first to throw the 
 book into the fire. 
 
 " Permit me to suggest for the consideration of us all, 
 that as Almighty God is wonderful and terrible in counsel, 
 surely it behoves this august assembly to examine with 
 especial care, whether the object which my enemies so 
 ardently long to compass, does not in fact amount to a 
 
A.D. 1521.] 
 
 The impression it produced. 
 
 441 
 
 condemnation of the divine word ; and whether such a 
 measure, adopted by the first German Diet of the new 
 emperor, mii^ht not lead to a dreadful deluire of evils. 
 Under the protection of God, there is reason to augur 
 well of this excellent young prince ; but take care that you 
 do not render the prospect of his government unfavourable 
 and inauspicious. 
 
 " By a variety of instances from Holy Writ, and parti- 
 cularly by the cases of Pharaoh, of the king of Babylon, 
 and of the kings of Israel, I could prove this important 
 point, namely, that men have ruined themselves at the 
 very moment when they imagined they had settled and 
 established their kingdoms in the most prudent manner. 
 The ruling principle should be, the fear of God. HE 
 it is who taketh the wise in their craftiness, and removeth 
 the mountains and they know not, and overturneth them 
 in his anger.* 
 
 " In saying these things, I mean not to insinuate, that 
 the great personages, who condescend to hear me, stand 
 in need of my instructions or admonitions : no, — but there 
 was a debt which I owed to my native country, and it was 
 my duty to discharge it. The reasons, which I have now 
 alleged, will, I trust, be approved by your serene majesty 
 and the princes ; and I humbly beg that you will disap- 
 point my enemies in their unjust attempts to render me 
 odious and suspected. I have done."t 
 
 As soon as Luther had finished his speech, which was 
 delivered in the German language, he was ordered to say 
 the same things in Latin. But he was so much out of 
 breath, and so overcome with heat and the pressure of 
 numerous persons of quality, that he found it necessary to 
 pause a little. Upon which a courtier of the elector of 
 Saxony, supposing him to be disconcerted and afraid to 
 proceed in the Latin language, kindly admonished him to 
 desist from the attempt, and assured him that he had said 
 enough. Luther, however, did not relish this advice ; but 
 having quickly recovered himself, he again went over the 
 same ground in Latin with prodigious animation, and to 
 the very great satisfaction of all his friends, and particu- 
 larly the elector of Saxony. It appears that this prince 
 was so dehghted with the piety, confidence, and ability of 
 Luther on this occasion, that he took Spalatinus aside 
 into his bedchamber, and there expressed his approbation 
 * Job. t Acta Worm. 
 
442 Luther agauL required to retract, [Cent. 16. 
 
 and astonishment in the following manner : *' O, how ex- 
 cellently did father Martin speak, both in German and 
 Latin, before the emperor and the imperial orders. He 
 was sufficiently if not rather too animated !"* 
 
 We may be sure that that part of Luther's harangue, in 
 which he asserted the ancient honour and independence of 
 the empire, and endeavoured to rouse the princes to vin- 
 dicate their just rights against the encroachments of Rome, 
 must have been peculiarly grateful to German ears. His 
 adversaries acknowledge that he spoke for two hours with 
 the applause of one half of the assembly ; until John 
 Eckius,t the emperor's speaker, having lost almost all 
 patience, before Luther had well concluded, cried out, in 
 much heat and passion. That he had not answered to the 
 point ; That he was not called upon to give an account of 
 his doctrines ; That these had already been condemned in 
 former councils, whose decisions were not now to be ques- 
 tioned : That he was required to say simply and clearly, 
 whether he would or would not retract his opinions. " My 
 answer,*' said Luther instantly, shall be direct and plain. 
 I cannot think myself bound to believe either the pope or 
 his councils ; for it is very clear, not only that they have 
 often erred, but often contradicted themselves. There- 
 fore, unless I am convinced by Scripture or clear reasons, 
 my belief is so confirmed by the Scriptural passages I 
 have produced, and my conscience so determined to abide 
 by the word of God, that I neither can nor will retract 
 any thing; for it is neither safe nor innocent to act 
 against a man's conscience." — Luther then pronounced 
 these words in the German language : flic f^ttl^t ict)t ic^ 
 fean nict)t antitv^j &ott l)dK mix/ ^men. " Here I stand, 
 I cannot do otherwise. God help me ! Amen." 
 
 After the Diet had taken Luther's speech into consider- 
 ation, their speaker told him 3 — That he had not answered 
 with the modesty that became his character and situation. 
 That if he had retracted those books which contained the 
 main part of his errors, he would have suffered no perse- 
 cution for the rest. That for him who had revived the 
 errors condemned at Constance, to require a refutation 
 and conviction from Scripture, was the wild proposal of a 
 man scarcely in his senses. That, on such principles, no- 
 thing would be left certain in the Church. That for these 
 reasons, he was once more asked, whether he intended to 
 * MS. Spal. t Not Eckius, the Leipsic disputant. 
 
A. D. 1521.] The Emperor gives his opinion, 443 
 
 defend all he had written as orthodox, or whether he would 
 retract any part as erroneous. 
 
 Luther persisted in his former answer ; and entreated 
 the emperor not to permit him to be compelled to do 
 violence to his conscience, by recanting^ what he felt him- 
 self bound to believe on the authority of the word of God, 
 unless he was proved to be mistaken by evident arguments 
 from Scripture. Councils, he repeated, have erred fre- 
 quently. " You cannot prove that," said Eckius. " I will 
 pledge myself to do it," replied Luther. But night coming 
 on, the Diet broke up. 
 
 During the whole of this interesting scene, the special 
 partisans of the pope were filled with indignation ; and 
 many of the Spanish Roman catholics followed Luther as 
 he returned home from the tribunal, and showed their 
 enmity by long-continued sneers and hisses. 
 
 On the next day, April 19, the emperor directed a sche- 
 dule, written with his own hand, to be read to the princes 
 in full congregation. The purport of the schedule was 
 this : '* His ancestors had always respected the Roman 
 church, which Luther now opposed : he could not with 
 any propriety depart from their example : he was bound 
 to defend the ancient faith, and support the papal see : 
 and as Martin Luther could not be induced to give up 
 any one of his errors, he was determined to proceed against 
 him as a notorious heretic : nevertheless he by no means 
 intended to violate the safe-conduct which had been 
 granted to him.'** 
 
 This hasty and indiscreet measure, which was partly 
 owing to the juvenile impetuosity and inexperience of 
 Charles, and partly to the incessant solicitation of the 
 papal party, produced complaints and murmurs in the 
 assembly.t The emperor, by giving his opinion first, had 
 broken the established rules of the Diet. He ought not to 
 have given his judgment, till all the other states had given 
 theirs. Such a procedure was esteemed a prejudging of 
 Luther's cause, and manifestly tended to abridge the 
 electors and princes of their right of voting freely in the 
 matter before them. Party-spirit ran high at this moment. 
 Acrimonious papers on both sides of the question were 
 publicly affixed to the walls ; and the most violent and 
 even threatening expressions are said to have been used. 
 Had Luther been a man of a worldly temper, or actuated 
 * Acta Worm. t Du Pin. 
 
444 
 
 The princes privately exhort [Cent, 16. 
 
 by political considerations, he might easily have turned 
 these critical circumstances to his own advantage. Could 
 he have been persuaded only to temporize a little, and to 
 explain away or even soften a few of the most offensive 
 positions in his publications, there seems abundant reason 
 to conclude, that he might have gained an easy victory 
 over his enemies at Worms, and at the same time have 
 given a severe blow to the papal authority — so great was 
 the impression he had produced on the members of the 
 Diet, and so odious was become the systematic oppression 
 of the Roman see. 
 
 But a true servant of God rarely suffers himself to be 
 influenced by w^hat are called the prudential maxims of 
 men of the world. His conduct is straight and steady ; 
 and he commits the event to God. This holy, this Chris- 
 tian temper of mind, was eminently exemplified in the 
 behaviour of Luther, during the remaining conferences at 
 Worms. 
 
 Charles V. no doubt soon perceived the mistake he had 
 committed, in having sent so premature a message to the 
 Diet. That assembly, notwithstanding the peremptory 
 declaration of the emperor, continued all that day, and all 
 the next, in consultation, and no official information was 
 sent to Luther, respecting a matter in which he was so 
 deeply interested. This misunderstanding, however, was 
 compromised in this way : Charles, at the instance of the 
 Diet, consented that the heretic should be allowed a few 
 days longer delay, during which time such of the princes 
 as pleased might endeavour to persuade him to recant his 
 errors ; and if they succeeded, he promised that he him- 
 self would take care he should be pardoned by the Roman 
 pontiff.* 
 
 Accordingly, on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of 
 April, incredible pains were taken by the princes, electors, 
 and deputies of various orders, to shake the resolution of 
 this instrument of the Reformation. In particular, the 
 archbishop of Treves summoned him to his own lodgings, 
 where, in the presence of several persons of the greatest 
 distinction, he was earnestly exhorted to be less obstinate, 
 and to submit his own judgment to that of holy councils. 
 He was told, that though he had written many good 
 things, yet some of his books had excited incredible dis- 
 sensions and tumults ; and that if he persisted in those 
 • Pdllav 
 
A. 1). 1521.] 
 
 Luther to retract 
 
 445 
 
 sentiments, the emperor would assuredly proceed to banish 
 him from the country. Much was added concerning the 
 necessity of laws, and of obedience. 
 
 Luther humbly thanked the princes for their clemency and 
 good-will towards him. He said, " he by no means cen- 
 sured councils in general, but only a part of the proceed- 
 ings at Constance in' regard to John Huss. If the faith of 
 Christ were truly set forth, and Christ's flock were fed in a 
 real gospel pasture, there would be no need to burden the 
 Church with human traditions. He allowed that he 
 ought to obey magistrates, even wicked magistrates ; that 
 the precepts for this purpose were to be taken in their 
 plain meaning, and that he had often taught this doc- 
 trine in his writings. He was ready to do any thing, 
 provided he was not urged to deny the clear word of 
 God.'' 
 
 Luther was then ordered to withdraw ; and the princes, 
 afler consultation, called him again before them, went 
 over the same ground, and concluded with again exhorting 
 him to submit his writings to the judgment of Charles, and 
 of the princes of the empire. 
 
 Luther replied. That it should never be said that he 
 decUned the judgment of the emperor and the leading 
 orders of the state. He was so far from dreading a scru- 
 tiny of that sort, that he wished it to be as accurate as 
 possible, provided always, that every thing was to rest on 
 the authority of the Holy Scriptures. He humbly be- 
 sought them, therefore, to do no violence to his conscience, 
 by urging him to deny the express declarations of the divine 
 word. They should find him completely obedient in all 
 other respects. 
 
 Are we to understand, then, said the elector of Bran- 
 denburg, that you will not give way, unless convinced 
 from the Holy Scriptures ? " Yes, most kind and gentle 
 sir," replied Luther, *' or by very clear and evident 
 reasons.'' 
 
 Upon this the assembly broke up. When it immedi- 
 ately occurred to the archbishop of Treves, that possibly 
 he might succeed better at a private, than a public meet- 
 ing. He therefore took Luther into his chamber, with 
 two doctors, namely, Eckius, his official, as above men- 
 tioned, and Cochleus, the dean of Francfort, a celebrated 
 papal advocate, who had come to Worms on purpose to 
 oppose the Saxon reformer. 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 Q 
 
446 
 
 The elector of Treves, 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 Luther, however, had the good sense and caution to 
 object to a secret conference of this kind, unless several 
 creditable persons, of his own friends, were likewise ad- 
 mitted. This being" agreed to, a dispute of some length 
 ensued concerning the rise of various heresies and the 
 decrees of councils ; but not the smallest advance was 
 made towards an accommodation.* 
 
 It was on the 25th of April 1521, that the archbishop of 
 Treves made his last efforts to reclaim 'this obstinate he- 
 retic.'t He commissioned two learned doctors, one of 
 whom was Ponrad Peutinger, privy-counsellor to the em- 
 peror, to try to the utmost, whether they could not per- 
 suade him to submit to the judgment which Charles V. 
 and the several imperial orders should pass upon his 
 writings. Luther, as usual, agreed, provided they would 
 depend solely on scriptural authority ; otherwise, he said, 
 nothing could be more opposite to his principles. " Trust 
 not," continued he, *' princes, or the sons of men, for there 
 is no safety in them. Cursed is he who putteth his trust 
 in man." 
 
 The same persons then entreated him to consent that a 
 selection of various articles should be made from his pub- 
 lications, and that these should be submitted to the judg- 
 ment of a general council. Luther continued inflexible. 
 Neither threats, nor exhortations, nor promises, availed to 
 make him change his resolution, or vary from the answer 
 he had so often given, respecting the absolute necessity he 
 was under of abiding by the sole authority of the sacred 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The elector, archbishop of Treves, appears to have been 
 a bigoted Roman catholic, but a man of gentle manners, 
 and of a humane disposition. His conduct at Worms, in 
 regard to Luther's cause, has been ascribed to different 
 motives, as natural timidity, or friendship for the elector of 
 Saxony. There is, however, no imputation on his since- 
 rity in his negotiations with Luther. So earnestly did 
 this prelaie wish for an accommodation of the diflerences, 
 that when all other methods had failed, he took Luther 
 into his closet, and there, in the kindest manner, — no other 
 person being present, — exhorted him to submit to some of 
 
 * Spalatinus and Justus Jonas were among the friends of Luther 
 who were present at this meeting. 
 
 t This is the name which had long been given to Luther by the 
 p;ipaA party. 
 
A. D. 15r21.] Luther ordered to leave JVorms. 447 
 
 the proposals that had been made to him, respecting the 
 final judgment of the emperor and the imperial orders, or 
 of a general council. Luther answered roundly. That he 
 by no means thought it safe to intrust the decision of so 
 important a matter to persons, who, when he was called 
 before them under the public faith, had yet persecuted 
 him afresh, had already given judgment against him, 
 and had even approved of the pope's bull. — Lastly, the 
 archbishop called in Spalatinus, and, in his presence, 
 asked Luther, whether he himself could suggest any heal- 
 ing measures, that were likely to succeed. *' Nothing 
 better," replied Luther, instantly, " than the advice of Ga 
 maliel ; ' If this work be of men, it will come to nought ; 
 but if it be of God, ye cannot resist it.' The emperor and 
 the princes may inform the pope, that I feel perfectly as- 
 sured this whole religious agitation and controversy, in 
 which I am now concerned, will of itself die away in less 
 than two years, unless God be actually on my side." 
 
 What would you do, said the archbishop, suppose an 
 extract of certain propositions from your books should be 
 made, and the articles so extracted be submitted to the 
 judgment of a future council ? I hope, kind sir," re- 
 plied Luther, *' they would not be those which were con- 
 demned by the council of Constance." I fear they would, 
 said the archbishop. " Then," rejoined Luther, " I nei- 
 ther can nor will be silent, in regard to such a proposal ; 
 for I am sure that the decrees of that council condemned 
 the word of God ; and rather than give up the word of 
 God, when the case is quite clear, I would lose my 
 
 LIFE." 
 
 In about three hours after this conversation, Luther re- 
 ceived a message from the emperor, which directed him to 
 leave Worms, "because, notwithstanding the most friendly 
 admonitions and entreaties, he persisted in his contumacy, 
 and would not return into the bosom of the church He 
 was allowed twenty-one days to return home ; during 
 which time the public faith was pledged for his safety; but 
 he was strictly enjoined not to preach to the people in the 
 course of his journey. 
 
 " This is the Lord's will," said Martin, " and blessed be 
 the name of the Lord !" He then, through the official, 
 returned most respectful thanks to the emperor, and the 
 members of the assembly, for their patience in hearing 
 "2 Q 2 
 
448 
 
 The German princes object [Cent. 16. 
 
 him, and their liberal treatment in g-eneral. He said, he 
 had wished for nothing but a reform in religion, on the 
 plan of the Holy Scriptures ; nor did he now request any 
 thing for himself, but to be allowed the free use of the 
 word of God. Let that only be granted, and he was 
 ready to undergo every thing without exception, for the 
 sake of his imperial majesty and the imperial orders. — He 
 left Worms on the following day, the twenty-sixth of April. 
 
 The elector of Saxony, among all the leading charac- 
 ters assembled at Worms, was the only assured patron on 
 whom Luther could depend. And even this virtuous 
 prince by no means openly avowed the reformer s prin- 
 ciples. He contended only for a fair hearing, and an 
 equitable decision. 
 
 The landgrave of Hesse, though favourably disposed to 
 reformation, as yet stood aloof, not venturing to join the 
 persecuted party. Luther however informs us, that the 
 landgrave visited him at Worms, conversed on doctrinal 
 points with a jocose levity, and on his departure gave him 
 his hand, using these very remarkable words, " If your 
 cause be good, may God protect you 
 
 Lewis, the elector Palatine, also, when several members 
 of the diet proposed to imitate the example of the council 
 of Constance, by delivering the church at once from the 
 author of the pestilent heresy, who was then in their 
 power, went so far as nobly to withstand this infamous 
 design, declaring, it was intolerable, that, for the sake of 
 gratifying certain ecclesiastics, the public faith should be 
 violated ; it was a thing which would brand the German 
 name with eternal disgrace." 
 
 Even George the duke of Saxony,* a rigid Roman ca- 
 tholic, expressed himself on the same occasion in the 
 strongest terms of disai)probation : *' The morality," said 
 he, " of the ancient Germans, forbade them to violate pro- 
 mises ; and the princes ought to avoid a scandalous trans- 
 action of this sort, particularly in the first Diet of the new 
 emperor." 
 
 When we reflect on the very few sincere friends whom 
 Luther could number at Worms, it may seem a remark- 
 able part of the history of this memorable Diet, that a poor, 
 private monk, already condemned, and solemnly excom- 
 municated by the pope, should have obtained a safe- 
 * Paul Sarpi, and Seckend 
 
A. D. 1521.] to violate Luther's safe-conduct, 449 
 
 conduct for this journey, be visited in the manner above 
 described * by the moet respectable personages, be admitted 
 into that august assembly of the emperor and princes, be 
 allowed to speak there for hours, be heard with patience 
 and candour, defending his cause, and after all be dis- 
 missed in safety, under the public faith, and in spite of 
 numerous and most powerful enemies, who thirsted for his 
 blood, and exerted every nerve to exhibit afresh the horrid 
 scenes of the council of Constance. — The splendid talents 
 and attainments of Luther, the tyrannical oppressions and 
 profligate morals of the Romish clergy, and lastly the state 
 of preparation for a truly evangelical reform, into which 
 men's minds had been brought by the agitation of various 
 religious questions, all these circumstances, no doubt, 
 concurred to procure for the reformer a more gentle and 
 humane treatment than might otherwise have been ex- 
 pected. Pious minds, however, will be disposed to look 
 further than secondary causes. Both in these and the 
 subsequent events they will recognise the hand of an 
 overruling Providence, secretly controUing the designs of 
 wicked men, and directing a variety of critical junctures 
 in human affairs, apparently independent of each other, to 
 co-operate wonderfully in the formation of one great crisis, 
 that should be favourable to the establishment of pure 
 religion in Germany. 
 
 As an instrument of promoting the German reforma- 
 tion, Martin Luther was of immense importance ; accord- 
 ingly, his life seems to have been under the divine 
 protection in a peculiar manner. It is true the public 
 faith was pledged for his security in returning home ; but 
 the operation of his safe-conduct was to terminate in 
 twenty-one days : also his adversaries at Worms were me- 
 ditating a bloody edict against him ; and in a very short 
 time, therefore, it was expected that all their violence, 
 maUce, and revenge, would be supported with the strong 
 arm of the secular power. 
 
 The elector of Saxony foresaw the rising storm ; and 
 finding it impossible to protect his subject in the open man- 
 her that he had hitherto done, he contrived a plan of con- 
 cealing him for a season, from the fury of all his enemies. 
 Luther did not much approve the scheme ; and would rather 
 have met the difficulty and danger in an open way, and 
 trusted the event to God : but as it originated in 
 * Pages 4E6, 437. 
 2 Q 3 
 
450 
 
 Luther is concealed 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 Frederic's kindness, he thought it only a becoming respect 
 to his prince to acquiesce in his advice. The secret was 
 revealed to him by Spalatinus on the evening before he 
 left Worms. Three or four persons, in v^hom Frederic 
 could confide, disguised themselves in masks, and con- 
 trived to meet the persecuted monk near Eisenach, on his 
 return home, on the third of May They played their part 
 well. They rushed out of a wood, secured Luther as it 
 were by force, and carried him into the castle of Wart- 
 burg. This business was managed with so much address 
 and fidelity, that he was completely secured from the 
 effects of the impending persecution ; his implacable ad- 
 versaries missed their blow, and became doubly odious to 
 the Germans, who, as they were unacquainted with the 
 wise precaution of Frederic, imagined their favourite 
 countryman was either imprisoned or perhaps murdered 
 by Roman emissaries. It has however been conjectured, 
 and on no improbable grounds, that the whole transaction 
 respecting Luther's concealment, was planned and ex- 
 ecuted with the knowledge, and even the approbation of 
 his imperial majesty. 
 
 Though Charles V. to serve his political purposes * by 
 gaining the friendship of Leo X. seems to have had no 
 scruples in sacrificing Luther to the vengeance of that 
 enraged pontiff and his cardinals, he had yet the precau- 
 tion not to push matters to extremities against the heretic, 
 till he had first secured an important vote f of the diet in 
 his own favour, and against the interests of his grand rival 
 Francis I. Even his Italian encomiasts allow, that the 
 German princes would probably have resisted the empe- 
 ror's wishes, respecting the measure just mentioned, if he 
 had previously exercised any severity towards the intrepid 
 defender of their religious liberties. On the other hand, 
 the papal ministers, who did not comprehend the secret 
 reason of the delay of the formalities of Luther's condem- 
 nation, became excessively uneasy, lest, after all, they 
 should be disappointed of that complete victory which 
 they had supposed themselves to have actually gained 
 over the reformer and the infant reformation. Moreover, 
 the heretic had been suffered to depart under the protec- 
 tion of a safe-conduct; and the emperor, after having 
 
 * See p. 401, for tlie political motives of the emperor, 
 t A vote for raising 24,000 German soldiers^ in case the king of 
 France should molest the emperor. Pallav. 
 
A. D. 1521.] in the castle of TVarthurg. 
 
 451 
 
 settled the most material civil affairs, had now dismissed 
 the members of the Diet with a gracious speech. 
 
 Besides these, there were also other circumstances which 
 had contributed to put Aleander, in particular, very much 
 out of humour. Luther had been treated, he thou^^ht, 
 with too much respect and kindness throughout. The 
 dignity and authority of the Roman pontiff, whose cause 
 the nuncio was bound to plead, had not been sufficiently 
 supported : and the archbishop of Treves had used by far 
 too much entreaty and submission in the course of the 
 private conferences. All tlfis, he said, had only served to 
 increase the confidence, the audacity, and the obstinacy of 
 the heretic, while it had weakened in a very great degree 
 the supremacy of the apostolic jurisdiction. 
 
 To pacify this offended legate, Charles V. employed him 
 to draw up the final sentence against Luther, usually 
 called the Edict of Worms. In the mean time, under 
 the pretence of having certain questions of lesser import- 
 ance to propose, he requested the members of the Diet to 
 remain in the city three or four days longer. — These dark 
 manoeuvres succeeded. — The bulk of the Italian and Spa- 
 nish nobles remained on the spot, while many of the 
 German princes and electors went away, among whom 
 were Frederic of Saxony and the elector Palatine.* Th^ 
 latter of these, when he heard of the publication of the 
 severe sentence, declared with indignation that the thing 
 was done without his knowledge. 
 
 The edict, as might be expected, was penned by Alean- 
 der with all possible rancour and malice. The first part 
 of it states, that it is the duty of the emperor to protect 
 religion and extinguish heresies. The second part relates 
 the pains that had been taken to bring back the heretic to 
 repentance. And the third proceeds to the condemnation 
 of Martin Luther in the strongest terms. The emperor 
 says, that by the advice of the electors, princes, orders, 
 and states of the empire, he had resolved to execute the 
 sentence of the pope, who was the proper guardian of the 
 cathohc faith. He declares, that Luther must be looked 
 on as excommunicated, and as a notorious heretic ; and 
 he forbids all persons, under the penalty of high treason, 
 to receive, maintain, or protect him. He orders, that 
 after the twenty-one days allowed him, he should be pro- 
 ceeded against in whatever place he might be ; or at least 
 * Com. de Luth. xcvii. 
 
452 
 
 The edict of Worms 
 
 [Cent. 16. 
 
 that he should be seized and kept prisoner till the plea- 
 sure of his imperial majesty was known. He directs the 
 same punishments to be inflicted on all his adherents or 
 favourers ; and that all their goods should be confiscated. 
 Unless they can prove that they have left his party and 
 received absolution. He forbids all persons to print, sell, 
 buy, or read any of his books, and he enjoins the princes 
 and magistrates, to cause them to be burnt.* 
 
 Aleander introduces into this composition the most 
 acrimonious personal invectives he could invent. He 
 represents Luther not as a man, but a devil in the shape 
 of a man, who had put on the habit of a monk for the 
 express purpose of ruining mankind ; and who had re- 
 vived, collected together, and digested into one vile mass, 
 numbers of heresies condemned long ago ; and had also 
 added new ones of his own invention. His preaching 
 about faith was all a pretence, and a contrivance to cover 
 his deceits. He was in reality a subverter of the true 
 faith. Instead of bringing men into the liberty of the 
 Gospel, as he promised to do, he put them under the 
 devil's yoke ; and under the specious name of an evan- 
 gelical profession, he destroyed the peace and charity of 
 the gospel, inverted the order of every thing, and demo- 
 lished the beautiful fabric of the whole church ! 
 
 Du Pin was so ashamed of these flowers in Aleander's 
 rhetoric, that he has entirely suppressed them in his 
 account of these transactions. 
 
 But the grand papal advocate t boasts that this edict 
 expressed the sentiments of the universal nobility and 
 senate of Germany. He tells us, that when it was read 
 to the electors and princes for their approbation, there 
 was not a single dissentient. — There are, however, two 
 circumstances, mentioned incidentally by this author, 
 which alone would lead a careful reader to suspect the ac- 
 curacy of this representation: 1. He says, that after the 
 emperor had dissolved the Diet, he held the subsequent 
 meetings, not in the hall, where the assembly had 
 usually met, but in iiis own apartments. 2. He also 
 says, the edict was voted on the twenty-fifth of May, and 
 signed by the emperor on the morning of the twenty- 
 
 * Pallavicini. Du Pin, Gerdes ii. Goldast. Stat. Imp. i. 6, 
 and ii. 143. 
 t Pallavicini. 
 
A. D. 1521.] condemns Luther and his publications. 453 
 
 sixth, but that it was dated May the eighth.* A full 
 Diet could not conveniently, perhaps not possibly, have 
 assembled at the emperor's apartments: but the ante- 
 dating* of the edict of Luther's condemnation would, when 
 that instrument came to be published, naturally induce a 
 belief, that it was the general sense of all the members, 
 taken before their dissolution. The reader will probably 
 have anticipated these obvious inferences, and may be in- 
 cHned to feel some surprise that they did not force them- 
 selves on the attention of so able a writer as Pallavicini. 
 — This instance, among" many others, shows how difficult 
 it is for a prejudiced historian to be always on his g"uard ; 
 for, in whatsoever degree he may excel in the arts of 
 misrepresentation and concealment, he will frequently fail 
 to smother the truth effectually, provided his narrative is 
 but full and circumstantial. 
 
 The following is a brief review of the leading charac- 
 ters who were present at the Diet of Worms, 
 
 1. The duke George of Saxony — . 
 
 How very different were the motives which influenced 
 the principal actors in these interesting scenes at Worms ! 
 — There wanted not some, who, though zealously devoted 
 to the popedom, insisted strenuously on the necessity of a 
 general reformation of the Church. But as they confined 
 their views chiefly to discipline or external morals, and 
 continued to build on the foundation of the self-righteous 
 system, their schemes proved totally abortive. Among 
 these the duke George of Saxony f distinguished 
 
 * Maimbourg states that it was published on the 26th May in the 
 great church of the city.— Ed. 
 
 t The judicious student of ecclesiastical history will observe, that 
 I constantly endeavour to draw my proofs from the most unexcep- 
 tionable sources. For example : to prove the corrupt state of the 
 clerajy, and the abominable practices of the Roman see, I would 
 produce the evidence of George of Saxony, a most bigoted papist, 
 whom the Roman catholics always reckon among the most sincere 
 and most active of the holy defenders of their religion. Now, as 
 with them the assertions of Luther and the other reformers go for 
 nothing but exaggerations, misrepresentations, or direct falsehoods, 
 let them listen at least to this duke, their steady friend and advo- 
 cate, who generally, in religious concerns, opposed his relation the 
 elector of Saxony, and who also entirely approved of Luther's con- 
 demnation at Worms. This George of Saxony exhibited to the Diet 
 TWELVE HEADS of the grievances which called loudly for reform. 
 Two of these are briefly as follows: 1. Indulgences, which ought 
 
454 
 
 George of Saxony, — Aleander, LCent. 16. 
 
 himself. Of this singular character it must be allowed, 
 that he had zeal for God, though not according to know- 
 ledge. In a religious light, he appears to have been the 
 very image of St. Paul before his conversion ; to have 
 united a desire of defending establishments and promoting 
 decency of manners, with the most intolerant spirit of 
 bigotry, and the fiercest barbarity of persecution. 
 
 2. Aleander, and the leading ecclesiastics. 
 
 The more we scrutinize the conduct of the leading ec- 
 clesiastics in general, and especially of the pontiff s legate, 
 Aleander, the more thoroughly must we disapprove the 
 principles which governed them in the affair of Luther. 
 The honour of God, the propagation of the pure gospel 
 of Christ, the instruction of the poor and illiterate, and a 
 tender sense of the value of immortal souls, all these 
 things seem to have been purposely excluded from their 
 very thoughts. Then how little regard did these same 
 men pay to the Holy Scriptures ! How often did Luther 
 desire them to reason with him on that ground, and to 
 inform his understanding better ! solemnly declaring, that 
 if they could prove his doctrines erroneous, he would 
 
 to be obtained by prayers, fastings, benevolence towards our neigh- 
 bour, and other good works, are sold for money. Their value is 
 extolled beyond all decency. The sole object is to gain a deal 
 of money. Hence the preachers, who are bound to set forth truth, 
 teach men nothing but lies and frauds. They are not only suffered 
 to go on thus, but are well paid for their fraudulent harangues. The 
 reason is, the more conviction they can produce among their hearers, 
 the more money flows into the chest. Rivers of scandalous proceed- 
 ings arise from this corrupt fountain. The officials of the bishops 
 are equally attentive to scrape money together. They vex the poor 
 with their censures for great crimes, as whoredom, adultery, blas- 
 phemy ; but they spare the rich. The clergy commit the very same 
 crimes, and nobody censures them. Faults which ought to be ex- 
 piated by prayers and fastings are atoned for by money, in order 
 that the officials may pay large sums to their respective l)ishops, and 
 retain a portion of the gain for themselves. Neither when a mulct 
 is inflicted, is it done in a way to stop the commission of tlie same 
 fault in future, but rather so that the delinquent understands he 
 may soon do that very thing again, provided he be but ready to pay. 
 Hence all the sacraments are sold for money ; and where that is 
 not to be had, they are absol^iVely neglected. — 2. Another distinct 
 head of the grievances produced by this zealous duke was expressed 
 thus : the scandalous conduct of the clergy is a very fruitful source 
 of the destruction of poor souls. There must be a universal refor- 
 mation ; and this cannot be better effected than by a general 
 council. It is therefore the most earnest wish of us all, that such a 
 measure be adopted. Arch. Vin. 
 
A. D. 1521.] The emperor Charles F. 455 
 
 instantly renounce them. No return was made to all his 
 patient and fervent remonstrances, except a despotic order, 
 conveyed in the most insulting language, namely, " That 
 he must recant and submit." They had hoped, by the 
 recent publication of the pope's bull, and by the emperor's 
 mandate for seizing his books, to terrify him, so that he 
 should not venture to appear at Worms ; and when this 
 plan had failed, they saw no way left, but to say as little 
 as possible, and proceed, as soon as they could, to crush 
 the Saxon hero by a damnatory edict. This they called 
 standing up for the holy church and dignity of the sove- 
 reign pontiff. Nobody is surprised that so sensual and 
 debauched a character as Aleander, who aimed at nothing 
 but his own aggrandizement and the gratification of his 
 passions, should have left no stone unturned to please his 
 great master at Rome, upon whom his promotion de- 
 pended ; but it is a deplorable consideration to view the 
 bulk of the clergy of those times concurring in and sup- 
 porting the corrupt, systematic plans of such a pope as 
 Leo X., and such a nuncio as Aleander, — whether they 
 did so from a blind bigotry, a profound ignorance, or an 
 exorbitant ambition. 
 
 3. The emperor Charles V. 
 
 We have already assigned the probable reasons which 
 determined this prince to take so decided a part against 
 Luther and his friends. The succeeding events justify the 
 accounts we have given. The whole history of Charles 
 shows, that, to accomplish his projects, he made a con- 
 science of nothing. Hence the bloody wars which he 
 waged under religious pretences. At Worms his great 
 object was to keep two sets of men, who thoroughly dis- 
 Hked each other, in good humour with himself, and to 
 make them concur in supporting his pohtical views. 
 These, on the one hand, were the pope's ministers, witL 
 many Spanish and Italian noblemen ; and on the other, 
 the elector of Saxony and the rest of the German princes. 
 In the beginning of the negotiations of the Diet, Charles 
 is said to have exhibited some symptoms of a disposition 
 towards a reform of the ecclesiastical discipline ; a politi- 
 cal artifice, which had the intended effect. The papal* party 
 were alarmed, and considered their craft as in danger.t 
 * Comment, de Luth. p 146. f Acts xix. 27. 
 
456 
 
 The German princes, [Cent. 1(5. 
 
 Chievres also, the emperor's favourite and minister, let fall 
 an expression which inoreased their anxiety, and convinced 
 them how absolutely necessary it was now become, that a 
 good understanding, and even friendship, should subsist 
 between the Roman pontiff and his imperial majesty. 
 Thedownfal of heresy, and the protection of the hierarchy, 
 perhaps its very existence, depended upon it. Chievres 
 had hinted, " that the emperor's conduct towards the 
 pope would be regulated by the pope's conduct towards 
 the emperor, and particularly by his assisting or not as 
 sisting Charles's grand rival, Francis the king of France." 
 We are told that Aleander was highly offended with this 
 speech,* as disrespectful to the sovereign dignity and 
 authority of the pontiff. The advisers of Leo, however, 
 thought proper to dissemble the affront ; and Charles re- 
 ceived a most gracious diploma from his holiness, ex- 
 pressed in the strongest term_s of cordiality and satisfaction. 
 The pope even condescended to thank him for having 
 commenced at Worms the consideration of the important 
 ecclesiastical concerns, and entreated him to finish the 
 business which he had so properly undertaken. 
 
 The price which purchased these smiles from the pope, 
 was the harsh treatment of Luther, and the various mea- 
 sures preparatory to his condemnation. For the purpose 
 of still further soothing Leo X. and fixing him in the em- 
 peror s interests, the final damnatory sentence was passed 
 in the terms of that edict which was obtained in the man- 
 ner above related ; an edict which, when all the circum- 
 stances connected with it are considered, casts an indelible 
 stain on the memory of Charles V., and which for its 
 irregularity, injustice, and cruelty, was highly disapproved, 
 even at the time of its promulgation, by dispassionate 
 persons of all descriptions. 
 
 4. The German electors and princes. 
 
 The clergy, on account of their avarice, ambition, and 
 profligate manners, were in general, throughout Germany, 
 become exceedingly odious and contemptible. The ec- 
 clesiastical dignitaries daily offended the German 
 electors and princes by their excessive insolence ; and 
 the court of Rome vexed both them and their subjects by 
 the most intolerable exactions and tyrannical oppressions. 
 • Pallav. 
 
A. D. 1521.] The elector Frederic 
 
 457 
 
 There must, therefore, have been present at Worms, many 
 members of the Diet, who, as they could vouch for the 
 truth of Luther's accusations, would be inclined to go 
 o;reat lengths in supporting him in his spirited attacks on 
 the hierarchy, and in his manly zeal for the reformation 
 of abuses. Add to this, the learning, the good morals, 
 and the acknowledged disinterestedness of the Augustine 
 monk, would dispose not a few of these same members to 
 believe him right also in his doctrinal sentiments ; their 
 eyes were half opened to the bigotry and superstition of 
 the established system ; and their minds could not fail to 
 be much impressed with the reasonableness of Luther's 
 constant appeal to the Scriptures. But not to dissemble 
 the truth, it by no means appears that the pure gospel of 
 Christ had as yet either fully reached their understandings, 
 or deeply laid hold of their affections. The gospel, consi- 
 dered as a practical thing, had made progress chiefly 
 among the lower and middle orders of the Germans. 
 Luther, it is to be feared, coiild reckon at the Diet of 
 Worms only a very small number of those who had learnt 
 ^o *' count all things but dross and dung to win Christ." 
 He was exposed to a storm of terrific violence : and 
 only those who made a conscience of godliness would 
 voluntarily partake in the danger ; the rest would rather 
 stand aloof, watch the effects of the tempest, and wait for 
 its termination. Thus, this reformer, viewed as a bold 
 assertor of the rational liberties of mankind, had the zeal- 
 ous concurrence of most of his countrymen ; whilst as a 
 spiritual man, displaying a spiritual understanding and 
 spiritual desires, and defending the simplicity of the faith 
 of Christ, like one of his Master's little flock, he stood 
 almost alone in the august and numerous assembly ot 
 Worms. 
 
 5. The elector Frederic the Wise. — 
 
 In this review of the component parts of the Diet, we 
 must not omit this excellent prince, who showed himself 
 so blessed an exception to the predominant character of 
 the members of that assembly. We need not repeat the 
 observations which we have frequently made concerning 
 the dispositions of Frederic. It may be sufficient to say, 
 that, as far as appears, he had a greater insight into true 
 Christian doctrine than any of the princes, and far excelled 
 
 Vol. IV.— No. 28. 2 r 
 
458 
 
 His prudent firmness, [Cent. 16, 
 
 them all, both in a pious regard to the Scriptures, and in an 
 exquisite tenderness of conscience. Throughout all the 
 scenes of Roman intrigue and perfidy, in the affairs at 
 Worms, the conduct of the elector of Saxony displays a 
 consistent firmness and a decorous dignity. He was not 
 present in the Diet on the day when Aleander made his 
 celebrated speech against Luther ; and the papal histo- 
 rians say that he pretended to be very ill. It is very 
 possible he might have been so disgusted with what he 
 knew of Aleander's proceedings, as to judge him unworthy 
 of a hearing ; but the more probable supposition is, that 
 his absence was owing to real ill health. He is well 
 known to have left Worms in an extremely debilitated 
 state of body on May the twenty-third.* A few days 
 after, in a letter to his brother John, written during his 
 journey, he says, that he is so weak he is obliged to be 
 carried in a litter ; and intimates, that, in regard to 
 Luther, he knows nothing for certain respecting the ulti- 
 mate resolutions of the emperor and such members of the 
 Diet as remained at Worms.f Thus the integrity and the 
 plain dealing of this prince are established by every docu- 
 ment, even of the most private nature, which has come to 
 light. He encountered the crafty schemes of the pope's 
 advocates, as long as he could, by a direct appeal to com- 
 mon sense and the justice of the case ; and when this 
 method failed, he appears to have been concerned in no 
 secret but one, namely, the concealment of the person of 
 Luther ; a secret this, as honourable to the conscientious 
 and humane feelings of the elector, as the imperial edict 
 was in the highest degree disgraceful to every individual 
 who promoted its promulgation. If Charles V. connived 
 at the contrivance for protecting Luther, or even actually 
 agreed to that prudent measure, this consideration will go 
 but a very little way towards justifying him from the foul 
 charge of having put the life of our excellent reformer 
 into the most imminent peril : and, moreover, the think- 
 ing reader will, after all, be disposed to ascribe that lenity 
 rather to the emperor's fears of offending the German 
 nobility, than to any disquieting qualms of conscience 
 which may be supposed to have harassed his mind on the 
 reflection of having consented to so iniquitous and bloody 
 a sentence. 
 
 ♦ Arch. Vin. 
 
 \ Comment, de Luth. 158. 
 
A. D. 1521.] Martin Luther, 
 
 459 
 
 6. Martin Luther. — 
 
 There was nothing in the transactions at Worms, which 
 more astonished all persons of serious reflection, than that 
 this Augustine monk should have been enabled to acquit 
 himself with so much decorum and propriety in a scene, 
 for which, by his natural temper and habits of life, he 
 seemed entirely unqualified. A circumstance truly mar- 
 vellous! A mouth and wisdom were given him, which 
 all his adversaries were not able to resist. Such ** ho- 
 nour have all his saints.'' From this time the cause of 
 God became more respected in Europe, Take notice, 
 however, that while others were admiring the talents, the 
 intrepidity, and the Christian graces exhibited by Luther 
 in this contest, he himself alone was dissatisfied with the 
 exertions he had made. He thought he had not suffi- 
 ciently honoured his Redeemer. " I have great misgiv- 
 ings,'' says he, in a letter to Spalatinus some months 
 after, ** and am greatly troubled in conscience, because, 
 in compliance with your advice, and that of some other 
 friends, I restrained my spirit at Worms, and did not 
 conduct myself like an Elijah, in attacking those idols. 
 Were I ever to stand before that audience again, they 
 should hear very different language from me." In ano- 
 ther letter he expresses his dissatisfaction thus : •* To 
 please certain friends, and that I might not appear unrea- 
 sonably obstinate, I did not speak out at the Diet of 
 Worms ; I did not withstand the tyrants with that decided 
 firmness and animation which became a confessor of the 
 gospel ! Moreover, I am quite weary of hearing myself 
 commended for the moderation which I showed on that 
 occasion."* Here we observe a humility of spirit un- 
 known to men of the world. The truly godly, and they 
 only, discern such an admixture of sin, even in their best 
 performances, and are so quicksighted in the detection of 
 their own internal evils, that in the very moments while 
 the praises of their extraordinary virtues are resounding 
 from all quarters, they themselves often find little to 
 commend ; often they see much to blame, and are hear- 
 tily ashamed ; and so far from glorying in any thing they 
 have done, they have ever recourse to the cross of Christ, 
 as the only sure relief to their burdened consciences. 
 * Epist. torn, ii, 
 2r 2 
 
460 Hopes of the papists disappointed. [Cent. 16. 
 
 The court of Rome and their advocates had vainly 
 hoped, by the rigorous edict of Worms, to crush at once 
 the infant reformation. But the effects produced by it 
 were very inconsiderable. Several reasons are to be as- 
 signed for this failure ; the first and chief of which, as is 
 observed by the pious Seckendorf, should always be reck- 
 oned the good providence of Almighty God. Among the 
 subordinate causes, we may enumerate both the disposi- 
 tion and the occupations of the emperor. He could not 
 be sincerely zealous for the execution of a sanguinary and 
 unjust decree, which was obtained by artifice and manage- 
 ment, and was much disliked by most of his German 
 subjects. Then he was obliged, after the close of the Diet, 
 to return into Spain, to quiet the civil commotions with 
 which that kingdom was convulsed. The absence of the 
 emperor, during the critical season of the first impressions 
 made on men's minds by the edict, had considerable influ- 
 ence in preventing its execution ; and there can be no 
 doubt but his various distractions also, on account of the 
 wars in Italy and the Low Countries, must have had the 
 like effect. The papal historians represent it as a most 
 unfortunate circumstance, that the legal administration 
 of the government, as soon as Charles had left Germany, 
 devolved of right upon the elector of Saxony, and the 
 elector Palatine. Hence it was^ they tell us, that the Lu- 
 therans triumphed in Saxony ; and were allowed to go on 
 in their own way in most other parts of Germany. Some 
 of the princes and magistrates absolutely refused to 
 execute the edict, and others took no notice of it. At 
 Rome there was almost an end of the rejoicings on the 
 supposed extinction of heresy, when the papists heard that 
 the disciples of the Saxon theologian were become, in 
 their language, writings, and actions, more insolent and 
 rebellious than ever!* Aleander received most explicit 
 orders from the cardinal JuHus de Medicis to complain of 
 these things to the emperor while he remained in Bel- 
 gium, and to represent to him, in the strongest manner, 
 — " That if, almost in his own presence, and before the 
 ink, with which his imperial majesty had signed the edict, 
 was dry, the Lutherans had dared to treat so solemn a de- 
 cree with contempt, what was to be expected from them 
 when the first alarm had subsided, and the emperor was 
 employed in his remote dominions ? In fact, from this 
 * Pallav. ii. 1. Maimbourg, 44. Dupin, c. xii. 
 
A.D.I 521.] Misrepi esentations of Romish writers, 461 
 
 celebrated edict of Charles V., and of the whole German 
 empire, no advantage would arise, except that an auda- 
 cious sect of innovators would have to boast, that they 
 had rendered ridiculous both his imperial majesty, and the 
 Roman pontiff."* 
 
 There is much truth in this representation, provided 
 due allowance be made for the prejudices of the writers 
 devoted to the popedom. Certainly the pope became 
 truly ridiculous ; but in regard to the emperor, whose 
 conduct was equally reprehensible and more inconsistent, 
 we must allow, I fear? that an enterprising prince ex- 
 tending his dominions, and surrounded with the splendour 
 of great transactions, will always, according to the max- 
 ims of the present world, be sufficiently protected from 
 the imputation of ridicule. The adversaries of protest- 
 antism, in their representation of the ecclesiastical differ- 
 ences of these times, never advert to that illumination of 
 the understanding in religious concerns which every day 
 was powerfully influencing the conduct of the Germans. 
 The existing hierarchy, though a compound system of 
 despotism, corruption, and superstition, they consider as 
 perfect in principle, and infallible in operation ; and any 
 doubt of its authority, or disobedience to its commands, or 
 deviation from its example, they deprecate as a rebellious 
 attempt to alter what is deemed already complete, and 
 sanctioned by the Divine appointment. And because, in 
 the early opposition to the reigning evils, some excesses 
 or irregularities broke out among the people — which in- 
 deed is always almost sure to happen during the efferves- 
 cence of an incipient reformation, — instead of ascribing 
 these things to the vices of men and the imperfection of 
 human nature, or to the dexterous snares and frauds of 
 Satan, they constantly treat them as the genuine offspring 
 of the principles of the reformers. — Thus do they at first 
 voluntarily shut their eyes to that flood of pure scriptural 
 light which spread itself through Germany ; and thus 
 afterwards, by partial and prejudiced views, do they con- 
 firm themselves in their deplorable state of darkness and 
 ignorance. It is very necessary, that the student of 
 ecclesiastical history should be well guarded against the 
 delusions and the delusive arts of the papal writers, during 
 his researches into the grounds and reasons of protest- 
 antism. Yet after all, the best guard will ever be, — an 
 ♦ Pallav. 
 
462 Rapid progress of the Reformation. [Cent. 16. 
 
 accurate, circumstantial knowledge of the leading charac- 
 ters and transactions, which were concerned in the reco- 
 very and establishment of religious doctrine and religious 
 liberty. It is a strong conviction of this sort which 
 has induced the writer of this history to employ so 
 much of his reader's attention in a thorough investiga- 
 tion of the principles and motives of the great Saxon 
 theologian. In many other parts of the sequel of this 
 work, he may, consistently with his plan, be extremely 
 concise ; but in this part, which should exhibit the causes 
 of the rise and progress of Lutheranism, he finds himself 
 involved in a mass of materials, hitherto indeed totally 
 indigested in any language, yet at the same time so inter- 
 esting, so instructive, and so precious, that his great 
 difficulty is to condense and communicate, within mode- 
 rate limits, the substance of the inestimable information 
 they contain. 
 
 To conclude this long chapter ; let it then be ever re- 
 membered with humble gratitude, that, by the blessiffg 
 of God chiefly through the instrumentality of Martin 
 Luther, it was the revival and the display of gospel light 
 and TRUTH, which brought about that blessed change in 
 Germany, and afterwards in other parts of Europe, which 
 the papal advocates to this day denominate sedition, 
 heresy, and innovation. While the advocates of papal 
 despotism were endeavouring at Worms to take away the 
 life of the intrepid reformer, his books, which had been 
 dispersed in abundance among the distant nations, and 
 translated into various languages, were producing the 
 most surprising and happy effects. Not only in Saxony, 
 but in Denmark, Bohemia, Pomerania, and the towns 
 situated on the Rhine, there were found intelligent ex- 
 j>ounders of the word of God in simplicity, and faithful 
 preachers of the glad tidings of salvation. — At Strasburg, 
 Matthias Cellius defended the principles of Luther with 
 great spirit and freedom. In his Apology, published in 
 1523, he had the courage to declare. That the example of 
 all Germany was in his favour ; and that, notwithstanding 
 the edict of Worms, there was not a city, or town, or 
 mohastery, or university, or even a house or family, in 
 which there were not some of Luther's followers.* Even 
 in many cities of Belgium, where the greatest severities 
 
 • Com. de Lulh. c. x. 
 
A. D.1521.] 
 
 Remarks^ 
 
 463 
 
 were used to extirpate the new sect,* the pure doctrine 
 of the Gospel maintained its ground against all the powers 
 of darkness. This was a glorious season. The Spirit of 
 God was at work with many hearts ; and to those pious 
 souls who, amidst the thick clouds of superstition and 
 ignorance, were sincerely intending to serve God, the 
 light of the DIVINE word must have been an unspeakable 
 consolation. The operation of this heavenly light is 
 always to be considered as two-fold ; first, as it respects 
 the individual, and secondly, communities. Through 
 *' joy and peace in believing,''t it gives ease to the bur- 
 dened conscience of the individual ; it dispels all his 
 slavish fears ; and puts his mind in possession of the king- 
 dom of God. J Then in regard to such countries or com- 
 munities as are truly blessed with its salutary influence, it 
 never fails to diffuse over them a spirit of mutual charity, 
 in every view directly opposite to the oppressive, doihi- 
 neering principles of papal superstition and papal tyranny. 
 
 ♦ The reader may remember, that in a compHmentary letter of 
 Erasmus to Luther, page 314 of this volume, the prior of the mo- 
 nastery at Antwerp is highly commended, as bein^ almost the 
 only one who preached Jesus Christ." He had been formerly one 
 of Luther's scholars. The name of this man was James Spreng". 
 He appears to have preached evangelically on Luther's plan for 
 more than two years ; when he was dragged to Brussels, and there 
 suffered much persecution ; and, at last, through fear of the flames, 
 made a public recantation, February 1522, in the presence of Aleander, 
 who was the pope's commissioner. His recantation was published 
 at Leipsic, and remains a memorable testimony both of papal 
 cruelty and papal corruption of doctrine. The poor man to save his 
 life was induced to abjure thirty of Luther's propositions ; among 
 which are the following : — 1. Every action of the best men has the 
 nature of sin, and needs the pardoning mercy of God. 2. Every 
 action also proceeding from the human will needs the same par- 
 doning mercy. 3. A partial sorrowing for sins is blamable. — Not 
 content with this, his persecutors compelled him to pronounce his 
 belief in what they called the doctrine of the holy catholic church, 
 — thus : I believe that the works of holy men are free from sin, and 
 therefore meritorious to the obtaining of eternal life. And I also 
 believe that there are some Avorks of man's free-will, which are 
 faultless, meritorious towards eternal life, and need no pardoning 
 
 mercy. " I hope, however," says Seckendorf, " there are many 
 
 Homan catholics who will deem these horrid doctrines unworthy 
 of the name of Christian." This same James Spreng, being dis- 
 missed upon his recantation, began again to preach true Christianity 
 in Flanders, and was again imprisoned at Brussels. He escaped 
 by the assistance of a friend ; published the account of his persecu- 
 tions ; deplored his former weakness and fall ; and was afterwards, 
 during many years, a preacher of the gospel at Bremen in Lower 
 Saxony. — Scult. 
 
 t Rom. XV. i Luke xvii. 2L 
 
464 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 [Cent. 16, 
 
 — Here then we are supplied with infallible rules for self- 
 examination ; and well would it be, if both individijals 
 and nations, professing to be Christian, were accustomed 
 to try their own conduct and condition by such tests as 
 could not deceive them. — *' By their fruits ye shall know 
 them.''* 
 
 * Matt. vii.'20. 
 
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