in that sense which makes him the successor of St.
Peter and the vicar of Christ.
It was here that his argument was weak and faltering.
No middle ground on this point was tenable, and only what Maimbourg terms " the knowledge and subtlety of his fine genius" enabled him to keep his ground against Eck's impetuous onset.
Still, his argument on that point, so far as it went, was very strong.
" I can produce," he said, " more authorities from the fathers in support of my interpretation of those scriptural jDassages, than my opponent can possibly cite
: if I could not, I have no hesitation in affirming that I can refute this error on the authority of St. Paul, yes, and of St. Peter himself
; these, apostles both sa}^ that Jesus Christ is the onlj' foundation and corner-stone of his church.
As for the expression, Peter,' if construed strictly, it must be confined to the person of ; it was not delegated, and it ceased, if it ever existed, when that apostle died."^'
Eck is said to have been much struck by the luminous reasonings of Luther, and especially with the neat and admirably digested order in which his materials Avere arranged.
He openly acknowledged the splendid qualifications and attainments of his reverend antagonist, and even besought his audience to pardon his manifest inferiority.
He said that he was so much engrossed in other matters—he who spent his life in the discussion of scholastic subtleties—that if he should not succeed in producing
I such a mass of accurate testimonies as the learned doctor of Wittemberg had laid before them, he must be pardoned, for he came to Leipsic not to write books, but to dispute."'^ jf
The fact is, that Eck was greatly overmatched.
In acquaintance with the Scrij)tures, in familiarity with ecclesiastical histor}*, in eloquence, in wit, in fertility of resource, and even in mastery of the subtleties of the schools,
Eck's strongest point, Luther was to his opponent as " Hyperion to a satyr."
Luther's only weakness was, that he still remained vredded to many popish errors.
Like Milton's lion, his head was free, but he still pawed to clear his hinder parts.
He halted between the errors of his monastic cell and the radical tenets of the perfected Reformation.
He said himself, years afterwards, " My case is a notable example of the difficulty with Avhich a man emerges from erroneous notions of long standing.
How true is the proverb. Custom is a second nature.
How true is that saying of x4.ugustine. Habit, if not resisted, becomes necessity.
I who, both publicly and privately, had taught divinity with the greatest diligence for seven years, insomuch that I retained in m}^ memory almost every word of mj lectures, was in fact at that time only just initiated into the knowledge of faith in ; I had only just learned that man must bo justified and saved, not by works, but by faith iji
In regard to the pontifical authority, though I pubHclj maintained that the pope was not the head of the church by divine right, I stumbled at the very next step, namely, in not perceiving that the whole papal system was a Satanic invention.
Hence I have learned to have great charity for papists who are unfamiliar with sacred and jarofane history.""
This criticism of Luther upon himself is eminently just, and is another proof of the noble candor and integrity with which he alwaj^s lays open his mind and exposes his errors on serious occasions.
The debate was carried on through ten excited days.f Although defective in thoroughness and radical discussion of the controverted points, it was still so far in advance of any preceding dispute in these respects, that it created a great sensation throughout Germany, and indeed throughout Christendom.
Of course both sides claimed the victor^-.
The judges, although inimical to Luther, would give no decision.
The Erfurth doctors were jDcrsonally importuned by duke George to give judgment, but they maintained an unbroken silence
Paris schoolmen would not decide at the time, yet several years afterwards, they selected several propositions culled from the body of Luther's writings, and pronounced them heretical, though not appai^ ontly with any reference to the Leipsic discussion. o Luther 0pp., Vol. I., Praef.
T From July 4tli to July 15th.
Eck was loud in his protestations of triumph, but his real opinion may be unerringly detected by his after course.
From this time his bitterness and enmity towards Luther increased tenfold.
It will be seen, as this narrative progresses, with what incessant personal malice and resentment he labored for the destruction of that foeman whose defeat at Leipsic he so brazenl}" proclaimed.
It will, we apprehend, be found difficult to reconcile this splenetic and furious conduct of the papal champion with the supposition of his consciousness of superiority and victory.
Eather, should we not accept Mosheim's query ? " Was not his course the result of a revengeful sense of the humiliation and defeat whicli he suffered in that memorable contest ?"*
Musellanus, who had designed to attend this discussion only to scoff, became intensely interested in the proceedings as they progressed, and at the close he wrote this impartial judgment
" Eck is conqueror in the eyes of those who do not understand the matter, and who have grown gre}' under the old schoolmen
; but Luther and Carlstadt are victorious in the opinion of all those who possess any learning, understanding, and modesty."t
Musellanus has also sketched for us the personal appearance of the three debaters of the Leipsic tournament " Martin Luther is of middle stature, and so thin, in consequence of his studies, that his bones t Seckendorf, p. 207. may almost be counted.
He is in the prime of life, and has a clear, sonorous, and finely modulated voice.
As an oratorical debater lie cannot be surpassed.
His knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures is unparalleled ; he has the word of God at his fingers' ends.
Besides this, he possesses a great store of arguments and ideas.
In conversation he is pleasing and affable, there is nothing harsh or severe about him ; he can accommodate himself to every one
; his manner in speaking is very agreeable and unembarrassed.
He displays great firmness, and has always a cheerful air, whatever may be his adversaries' threats; so that it is difiicult to believe that he could undertake such great things without the divine protection.
He is blamed, however, for being more caustic when reproving others than becomes a theologian, particularly when putting forward novelties in religion.
" Carlstadt is of shorter stature ; his complexion is dark and sunburnt, his voice is unpleasant, his memory less quick and trustworthy than Luther's, and he is more inclined to be angry.
He possesses however, though in a smaller degree, the qualities that distinguish his friend.
" Eck is tall, broad-shouldered, and has a strong and thorough German voice.
He has good lungs, so that he would be heard well in a theatre, and would even make an excellent town-crier.
His accent is rather vulgar than elegant.
He has not that gracefulness so much extolled by Fabius and His mouth, his eyes, and his whole counTHE LIFE AND TIMES tenance give you the idea of a soldier or a butcher, rather than of a divine. He has an excellent memory, and if he had only as much understanding, he would be really a perfect man.
But he is slow of comprehension, and is wanting in judgment, without which all other qualities are useless.
Hence, in disputing, he heaps together without selection or discernment a mass of passages from the Bible, quotations from the fathers, and proofs of all kinds.
He has besides an impudence almost, beyond conception.
If he is embarrassed, he breaks off from the subject he is treating of, and plunges into another ; he sometimes even takes up his adversary's opinion, clothing it in other words, and with extraordinary skill attributes to his opponents the absurdity he has been himself defending."^
Such, according to the elegant, witty, and satii'ical Greek professor of the Leipsic university, were the three heroes of this celebrated ecclesiastical dispute.
At the conclusion of the controversy, Luther first quitted Leipsic ; Carlstadt followed him, while Eck remained to blow his trumpet.
When these selfcongratulations reached Luther's ears, he wrote "Eck is trumpeting everywhere; but in the camp of Bome each man disputes his laurels, and claims the crown for himself.
' If tee had not come to Eck's support,' so say the doctors of Leipsic, ' the illustrious doctor would have been overthrown.'
' The Leipsic divines are very good sort of o Masellamis, qnotcnl iu Seckemlorf, p. 206. people,' retorts Eck, ' but I expected too mucli of them.
I did every thing single-handed.'
So you see they are singing a new Iliad and a new ^neid.
They are so kind as to make a Hector or a Turn us of me ; while Eck, in their eyes, is Achilles or J^^neas.
They have but one doubt remaining, whether the victory was gained by the arms of Eck, or b}' those of Leipsic.
All that I can say to clear up the subject is this : Doctor Eck never ceased bawling, and the Leipsic divines did nothing but hold their tongues."*
The result of this famous controversy was twofold : the fires of debate Vv'ere relighted throughout Germany, where they blazed with redoubled brightness
; many new adherents were won by Luther's eloquence to embark with zealous fidelity in the cause of the Reformation, The effect of the contest upon Melancthon was especially marked.
He was then but twenty-three, and as yet had employed his time principally in the duties of his Greek professorship, and in the cultivation of general literature.
Already, indeed, he had favored Luther's projects ; he too thought that Christianity should be delivered from the impurity and bigotry of superstition
; but his wishes had hitherto originated rather in the native candor and sweetness of his disposition, than in any insight into the intricate and abominable ways of the papal hierarchy.
But the conference at Leipsits had a wonderful effect upon his intellect.
THE LIFE AND TIMES culiglitened and fired by Luther's eloquence.
This debate first turned his attention to theology, and determined Jiira to devote his elegant attainments and his fine talents to ecclesiastical pursuits.
Luther's sound reasonings, supported by constant appeals to the Scripture, instantly convinced him of the majesty of the new tenets, and won him to their life-long and enthusiastic advocacy.
Luther in the complete acquisition of Melancthon to his cause, richly repaid him for all the vexation and turmoil of the debate.
In one of his letters, Melancthon thus refers to the actors in the conference "Eck was much admired for his many and striking ingenuities.
; he is certainly a man of worth, and of extraordinary erudition.
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 Christian spirit."'"
We are confident that this recital will not seem tedious, for the ecclesiastical contest at Leipsic was the entering wedge which split the boasted unity of the Roman see in twain
; it was a rent in the seamless garment of the papacj-, which God meant should never again be reunited.
* Melancthou, 0pp., Letter to Ecolampu'lius.
The Leipsic disputation, counting the numberless polemical writings to wliicli it gave birth—letters from Eck and his friends, replies bj Luther and his associates—occupied the remaining portion of the year 1519.
Eck had been especially angered by Melancthon's presumption in assuming to meddle with topics of divinity.
The brave assistance which the " boyish grammarian," as the inflated schoolman contemptuously styled the St. John of the Keformation, had lent Carlstadt in his straits, prevailed upon him to pen an acrimonious attack upon " this feeble mutterer of trite Greek maxims."
Melancthon's reply, though it occupied but five foho pages, was temperate, elegant, acute, and crushing.
It displayed the consummate scholar, and the charitable Christian ; and although it was the first time that Eeuchlin's pupil had fleshed his sword in this contest, it gave convincing proof of his tremendous power as a controversialist,
" able to discern truth in its most intricate connections and combinations," and able to uncloak error even when it masqueraded in the subtlest garb of sanctity.
In the meantime Eck had written to the elector, and endeavored to persuade that sagacious prince to burn Luther's writings, as infamous Bohemian heresies, and to thrust him forth from his domains
THE LIFE AND TIMES as a contumacious scliolastic.^ Frederick contented himself with placing this letter in the hands of Luther and Carlstadt, and with forwarding to the furious Ingolstadt doctor a cold, formal expression of his desire, as a sovereign, to establish peace and religion by suj)pressing fierceness, malignity, and dogmatism."'
Luther responded to these assaults by the publication of a work in which he unfolded the reasons, scriptural and other, upon which his Leipsic theses were based, and to which he appended a terse and keen account of the recent dispute, and appealed from the senseless ravings of his adversaries to the candor and common-sense of mankind.f
About this time the war broke out between Luther and Emser, who had now^ grown from a confidential chancellor to a professor at The Wittemberg doctor's former host of Dresden wrote Dr.
Zack, a zealous Romanist of Prague, a letter, in which his design appeared to be to deprive the Hussites of their notion that the new lieresiarch belonged to their party.
Luther saw that the cunning Leipsicer, by appearing to clear him from the suspicion of adhering to the unpopular tenets of John Huss, meant to ally him with tlie yet more unpopular dogmas of Bohemia
; and he accordingly tore aside the veil under which Emser concealed his hostility.
AYitli this view^ he wrote a letter to the new-fledged professor, which he con- • Stebbing, Hist. Eef.
; Seckendorf, ]Meloh. Ad., etc.
Epist. Lutheri, liber I., p. 122 eluded with these words, so indicative of his character : "My maxim is, to love all men, but to fear none."'^'
1520, the electors of the German empire assembled at Maximilian's successor.
To this ancient city all eyes were directed.
The reformers hoped that some friendly head might wear the imperial coronet Vatican had spread the web of its subtle policy over Europe to prevent the sceptre of the mediaeval
Cffisars from passing into hostile hands ; while three powerful princes lavished their gold with unstinted hand, and intrigued with Machiavellian cunning to secure the imperial purple. of France, Henry VIII. of England, and the young king of Spain, all aspired to succeed to Maximilian's throne.
After a prolonged and doubtful consideration, during which the imperial purple Avas repeatedly pressed upon the acceptance of Frederick of Saxony, the choice fell upon the Spanish king, afterwards so celebrated as the emperor
This was Frederick's earnest advice.
He felt himself, so he said, inadequate to the position.
Turk was at the gates of the empire, and the intrepid Charles, whose hereditary possessions of Austria bordered on the threatened frontier, was its natural defender.'!"
Leo, who had employed the whole pontifical interest to prevent this selection, no sooner learned » D'Aiibigue, Vol. n., pp. f PaUa^acini. I., 79.
THE LIFE AND TIMES tlirougli his legate that Charles "uas certain to be elected, than, by one of those adroit and politic turns which have always distinguished the tortuous statesmanship of the Vatican, he sped with volunteer haste to congratulate this new-crowned Caesar
Avho had refused to succumb to his arts.
Charles was in Sj)aiu at the time of the electoral convention.
Quitting Madrid in May, 1520, he was crowned at Aix-la^-Chapelle on the 22d of the following October.'"
The reformers were greatly depressed by the selection of the young Spanish king.
They thought rightly, as the sequel proved, that it boded no good to the new theology.
They could not understand why the friendly elector had so resolutely put aside the thrice-proflfered crown of the empire.
Avas hid from human vision, was clear to "He selected," if we may borrow the elegant language of D'Aubign^, " a prince in the fi-eshness and vigor of youth, and to whom every thing seemed to announce a long reign—a prince whose sceptre extended over a considerable part of the old world, and the new world which Christopher Columbus had recently added to Christendom, so that, according to a celebrated saying, the sun never went down upon his vast dominions
; and to this imperial colossus he opposed that lowly Eeformatiou begun in the secluded cell of a convent at Erfurth by the anguish and the sighs of a poor monk.
See the various historians of the empire under Charles V.
" The history of this monarch was destined, it should seem, to teach the world a new lesson.
It was to show the nothingness of human strength when opposed to the veriest weakness of God.
If a prince friendly to Luther had been called to the imperial throne, the success of the Reformation might have been ascribed to that protection.
If even an emperor oj^posed to the new doctrines, but yet a weak ruler, had worn the diadem, the triumph might have been attributed to the imperial imbecility.
But it was the haughty conqueror at Pavia who was destined to veil his pride and lower his crest before the omnipotence of the sacred oracles
; and Christendom beheld with awe the man who found it an easy task to drag Francis I. a prisoner to Madrid, obliged to lower his sword before the son of a poor miner."Luther early foresaw that his cause must appear before Charles for final adjudication ; he determined therefore to reach the ear, and, if possible, to enlist the heart of this monarch in the Reformation before the clamors of his enemies imbittered him with prejudice.
His letter to Charles was modest and submissive, but earnest and eloquent.
" Nothing," he said, " is nearer my heart than that I may be permitted to discharge my duty quietly in my own little sphere.
The violent and deceitful practices of others have compelled me to appear in public ; but the very best men living, as well as my own conscience, would witness that my
THE LIFE AND TIMES sole object is the propagation of evangelical truth, in opposition to the superstitions of human tradition.
For this cause during almost three years I have been persecuted in exerj way that my enemies could invent.
In vain have I proposed terms of peace, in vain have I offered tobe silent, in vain have I begged for information and correction 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
; and as to myself, I crave your support not one moment longer than I shall appear to have reason on my side.
Abandon me the moment I am found impious or heretical.
All I beg is, that mv doctrines, whether true or false, mav not be condemned unheard and without examination.
If your most sacred majesty, by your interposition, should prevent the exercise of tyrannical power, such a conduct would be worthy of your royal and imperial throne, would adorn your government, and consecrate to posterity the age in which you live."*
Charles received and laid aside this singular letter, but he did not deign to reply to it.
But while Luther was thus endeavoring to secui*e * Epistol. Luthori ad Caroluni. V the cooperation of the boyish emperor, tbe assaults of his fanatical opponents were continued without cessation.
The two inimical universities of Cologne and Louvain had recently not only branded his writings as heretical, but their infamous doctors openly proclaimed that any one who should kill Luther would be without sin."'-'
" These homicidal words were destined to produce their fruit," says one of Luther's biographers.
" Standing one day in front of the Augustine cloister, a desperado, who held a cocked pistol concealed under his cloak, accosted the Saxon monk with menacing brutality.
' Why do you go thus alone ?' he queried.
' I am in God's hands,' was the calm response ' he is my strength and shield.'
At these words the would-be assassin turned pale, and fled trembling away."t Stimulated by these bigoted assaults, Luther's militant disposition was not likely to decrease.
He grew daily in his knowledge of the truth, and in his detestation of the chicanery of Eome.
He developed rapidly under the painful tuition of persecution, and under the necessity of incessant inquiry in order fitly to respond to his assailants.
" I have taken my part," he wi'ote at about this time.
" I despise the fury of Eome, and contemn her forms.
No more reconcihation, no more communication with her for ever.
Let her condemn me, let her burn my writings.
Li my tiu-n, I will condemn and publicly burn the pontifical law, that Keith, E. Umstande, p.
THE LIFE AND TIMES nest of every heresy.
The moderation I have hitherto shown has befen unavaiHng ; I now renounce it."^=These bold words startled the empire, and made
Wittemberg heave in an earthquake of excitement.
Many of the daring monk's best friends trembled for him, and esteemed him lost both in this world and the next.
"We are," wrote Melancthon, "in a state of extraordinary expectation.
I would rather die than be separated from Luther ; but if God does not help us, we shall all perish."t A little later he wrote again
: " Our dear Luther is still alive, but the Eoman sycophants are making exery exertion to put him to death.
Let us pray that this sole avenger of sacred theology may long survive.";}:
But if the parasites of Rome howled hke hungry jackals for the blood of the reformer, God sent him some consolation in this threatening hour.
A number of new friends wrote him sympathizing and hopeful letters, in which they unhesitatingly es^Doused his cause.
The sword intended to slay him was forging in the Vatican, but heroes were springing up in Germany to shield him with their bodies.
At the moment when the bishops were chal&ng with rage, when princes kept silence, when the people were in expectation, and when the first murmurs of the thunder were beginning to be heard from the seven hills,
God aroused the German nobles to make a rampart for liis servant.
Sylvester of Scliaumburg, one of the most powerful knights of Franconia, sent his son to TVittemberg at this time with a letter for the reformer.
•' Your life is in danger," Avrote he.
" If the support of the elector, the princes, or the magistrates fail you, I entreat you to beware of going to Bohemia, where in former times learned men have had much to undergo
T shall soon have collected more than a hundred gentlemen, and with their help I shall be able to protect you from every danger."
Sickingen, the hero of his age, whom Melancthon pronounced a 'peerless ornament of German knighthood,' and to whose intrepid courage the romaucists and minnesingers have borne abundant witness, loved Luther because he found him worthy of being loved, and also because he was hated by the monks.
'My services, my goods, my body, all that I possess,' wrote he to ' are at your disposal.
You desire to maintain the Christian truth ; I am ready to aid you in that work.'
Harmurth of Cronberg, another influential noble, held a similar purpose.
" Ulric Van Hiitten also, the poet, orator, and valiant knight of the sixteenth century, never ceased speaking in Hutten wrote the reformer,
' Let us have done with words ; it is with swords and bows, with javehns and bombs, that we must cmsh the fury of the devil.'
THE LIFE AND TIMES ceiving this letter, exclaimed, ' I will not liave recourse to arms and bloodshed in defence of the gospel.
Bj the word the earth has been subdued, by the word the church has been saved, and by the word also it shall be reestablished.'
' I do not despise his offer,' he said again, when Schaumberg's letter reached him, ' but I will rely upcdi nothing but " It was not thus that the Roman pontiffs spoke when they waded in the blood of the Albigenses and the Waldenses.
Htltten recognized the difference between Luther's method and his own.
He accordingly wrote him, with noble-mindedness, 'As for me, I am busied with the affairs of men ; but you soar far higher, and are occupied with those of He then set out to win, if possible, Charles and Ferdinand to the cause of truth."-'
At this same time two distinguished priests, afterwards powerful auxiliaries, rallied to Luther's side.
The first of these. Doctor Botzhemus Abstemius, canon of Constance, wrote him, "Now that you have become the friend of the universe, or at least of the better part of it, that is, of good and true Christians, you must also become mine, whether you will or not.
I am so delighted with your writings, that nothing gives me greater pleasure than to be living at a time when not only profane, but also sacred literature is resuming its pristine splendor."!
M-as Gaspard Hedio, a preacher at o D'Aubigne, Vol.
T Botzlieiin and his Friends, by W'acliner, p.
Basle, who said, "Most dear sir, I see that your doctrine is of God, and that it cannot be destroyed; that it becomes daily more efficacious, and that every hour it is winning souls to Christ by turniug them away from sin, and attracting them to real piety.
Go on then, O liberator; exert all your power to restore the yoke of Christ, so light and easy to bear.
Be yourself the general, and Ave will follow after you, like soldiers whom nothing can tear from you."* These letters cheered
Luther almost bej^ond belief.
Of an ardent temperament, he singularly enjoyed the expression of the good Avill and sympathy of others.
His iron firmness and his rigid adherence to those principles which he esteemed right, would have carried him single-handed through a combat with the whole opposing universe.
So long as conscience cried Amen to his actions, nothing could daunt him.
Still he appreciated to the full auxiliary assistance, and his spirits were alwaj-s at high or ebb tide as his friends smiled or frowned upon him.
Luther was emboldened by these commendations from the clergy, and especially by the cordial support of Hlitten, and others of the German nobility, to write and publish in 1520, his famous Appeal to His Lyipericd Majesty, and to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, on the Reformation of Christianity .^
* Kappen's Naclilese, quoted in D'Aubign^, at p. 91. t L. 0pp. (L.) XVII. , 457, 502.
In this pamphlet, one of the most eloquent and magnificent of his writings, Luther portrayed the prevailing abuses with a pen of fire ; his glittering rhetoric absolutely stung the Eoman see to death.
The vigor, life, perspicuity, and generous boldness that breathed through it, made the appeal singulary popular ; four thousand copies were sold within a week;* an unprecedented sale for that age, and ere long it had reached the most distant castles of those lords to whom it was addressed.
In his exordium to this remarkable pamj^hlet, " It is not through presumption that I, a man of the people, venture to speak to your lordships.
The misery and oppression which at this hour weigh down all the states of Christendom, and particularly Germany, extort from me a cry of distress.
I must call for help ; I must see if God will not give his Spirit to some man in our country, and thus stretch forth his hand to save our wretched nation.
" But the first requisite is, not to jjut confidence in our own strength, or in our lofty wisdom.
If we begin a good work with confidence in ourselves, Frederick I., Frederick IL, and many other emperors besides, before whom the world has trembled, have been trodden under foot by the popes, because they trusted more in their own strength than in God."
Luther then proceeded to a description of the "The Eomaiis have raised around themselves three walls to protect them against every kind of reformation.
Have they been attacked by the temporal power? they have asserted that it had no authority over them, and that the spiritual power was superior to it.
Have they been rebuked by Holy Scripture? they have replied, that no one is able to interpret it except the pope.
Have they been threatened with a council? the answer was ready: no one but the sovereign pontiff has authority to convoke one.
" They have thus deprived us of the three rods destined to correct them, and have given themselves up to every wickedness.
But now, may God be our helper, and give us one of those trumpets that overthrew the walls of Jericho.
With our breath let us throw down these barriers of paper which the Romans have built around them, and upraise the rods which punish the wicked by exposing the wiles of the devil."
Luther then assails the sacerdotal caste, and asserts the democracy of Christianity "It has been said that the pope, the bishops, the priests, and all those who people the convents, form the ecclesiastical or sjDiritual state; and that the princes, the nobility, the citizens, and the peasants form the secular or lay estate.
This is a fine story.
Let no one, however, be grieved.
All Christians belong to the spiritual state, and there is no other difference between them than that which arises from the functions which they discharge. We have
THE LIFE AND TIMES all one baptism, one faith, and it is this which constitutes the spiritual man.
The unction, the tonsure, the cowl, ordination, consecration, by a bishop or the pope, may make a hypocrite—they cannot of themselves make a We are all consecrated priests by baptism, as St. Peter says.
Ye arc priests and kings; although it does not belong to all to exercise such offices, for no one can take what is common to all without the consent of the community.
But if we possess not the divine consecration, the pope's anointing can never make a priest.
" If ten brothers, sous of a king, having equal claims to the inheritance, select one of themselves to administer it for the whole, they would all be kings, yet only one of them would be the administrator of the common power.
So it is with the church.
If a few pious laymen were banished to a desert place, and if, not having among them a priest consecrated by a bishop, they should agree to choose one of their number, married or not, this man would be as truly a priest as if all the bishops in the world had consecrated him.
Thus Augustine, Ambrose, and Cyprian were elected.
" Hence it follows that laymen and priests, princes and bishops, or, as they say, the clergy and the laity, have nothing to distinguish from each other but their functions."
Luther in like manner overthrew the two other Roman assumptions, that the pope alone was competent to interpret the Scriptures, and that no council could be convoked but through the pontiff'.
He then pressed ou to a direct attack upon the papacy "It is a horrible thing to behold the man who styles himself Christ's vicegerent displaying a magnificence that no emperor can equal.
Is this like the poor Jesus, or the humble Peter ?
He is, they say, the lord of the universe ; but Christ, whose vicar he boasts of being, has said, My kingdom is not of this world.
Can the dominions of a vicar extend beyond those of his superior ?
" But of what use is this ponderous ecclesiastical machinery of Eome?
Germany have many convents, religious foundations, and richly endowed benefices. How can this wealth be drawn to Rome?
Cardinals have been created; these cloisters and prelacies have been given to them, and now Italy is almost deserted; the convents are in ruins, the bishoprics devoured, the cities decayed, the inhabitants corrupted, religious worship is expiring, and preaching is abolished.
That all this wealth must go to feed pampered Bome."
The dreaded Turk himself would never have so ruined Italy.
"And now that they have thus sucked all the blood from the veins of their own hapless country, these vampires hasten Avith greedy appetite into undrained Germany.
; but let us be on our guard, or Germany will ere long he hke Italy.
We have already our quota of cardinals.
Before the dull Germans comprehend our design— so they reason with pernicious glee—they will have THE LIFE AND TIMES neither penny nor farthing left.
Antichrist must possess the treasures of the earth.
Thirty or forty cardinals will be created in one day.
Bamberg wiU be given to one, the bishopric of Wirtzberg to another ; rich cures will be attached to them, until the cities and churches are desolate.
Then the pope will say, Christ's vicar, and the shepherd of his Hock.
Let the Germans be submissive.'
" What, shall we Germans endure such robberies and extortions from the pope ?
France has been able to defend itself, why should we permit ourselves to be thus ridiculed and laughed at ?
Oh, if the}' contented themselves with despoiling us of our goods.
But they lay waste the churches, fleece the sheep of Christ, abolish religious worship, and annihilate the word of God.
" Hear this, Oh denizens of the empire.
Let us check this desolation and wickedness.
If we desire to march against the Turks, let us first march against these, the worst of If we hang thieves, and decapitate highway robbers, let us not permit Bomish avarice to escape, which is the greatest of thieves and robbers, and that too in the name of St. Peter and of Jesus Christ.
All that the pope possesses, has he not gained it by plunder? for he has neither bought it nor inherited it from Peter, nor gained it by the sweat of his brow.
Whence then has he all this ?
"And now I come to that sluggish troop the monks, who promise much, but do little.
Do not be angry, my dear sirs, my intentions are good; what I say is a truth, at once sweet and bitter—this : no more cloisters, and no more monasteries for mendicant friars.
We have indeed too many alread}-, and would to God they were all pulled doAvn, Strolling through a country like beggars never has done, and never can do good."
Luther next advocated a startHng innovation— nothing less than the marriage of the clergy; this, he thought, would prove a panacea for the prevailing licentiousness of the priesthood.
Since he was the first of the mediaeval reformers who assailed the Eoman doctrine of clerical celibacy, it is of interest and imj)ortance to quote his first crude words upon emerging from the barbarism of that error
" To what a sad state have the clergy fallen, and how many priests do w^e find burdened with women and children and remorse, and yet no one comes to their aid.
It is all very well for the pope and the bishops to let things go on as before, and for that to continue lost which is now lost
; but I am determined to save my conscience and to ojjen my mouth freely; after that, let the pope, the bishops, and any one else who pleases, take offence at it.
I assert that according to the appointment of Christ and his apostles, each city should have a pastor or bishop, and that this pastor may have a wife, as St.
Paul writes to Timothy : A hisliop must he the husband of one ivi/e* and as is still practised in the But the devil has persuaded the pope, as that same aj^ostle says again to Timothy,* to forbid the clergy to marry.
And hence have proceeded miseries so numerous that we cannot mention all.
Ave save so many pastors in whom we have no fault to find, save that they live with a woman to whom they would with all their heart be legitimately married ?
Ah, let them quiet their consciences.
Let them take this woman as their lawful wife, and let them live virtuously with her, not troubling themselves whether the pontiff be pleased or not.
The salvation of your souls, Oh pastors, is of greater consequence to you than tyrannical, unnatural, and arbitrary laws, that do not emanate from the Lord."
Luther then condemned the multitudinous festivals of the church, attacked the frequent fasts, and the religious fraternities, proposed a sweeping and radical reformation of the entire ecclesiastical system, and added,
" We must expel from every German state these Roman satelhtes, with their pretended benefits, which they sell us at their weight in gold, and which are downright impositions.
They take our money, and for what ?
To legalize their ill-gotten gains, to absolve man from all just oaths, to teach us to " be wanting in fidelity, to instruct us how to sin with ease, and to lead us direct to hell.
; let the j)ope restore to Germany what belongs to it.
Let him resign to us our empire. him put an end to Lis taxes and extortions.
Let bim restore our liberty, our power, our propert}^ our bodies, our honor, and our souls.
Let the German empire be all that an empire ought to be, and let the sword of native honor and government no longer be compelled to bow in homage to the hypocritical pretensions of a pope.
"Hearest thou this, O pontiff—not most holy, but most impious.
May God, from his throne in heaven, soon hurl thee from thy throne into the bottomless abyss."^"
This tremendous indictment, so new, so unheard of, so magnificent in its audacity, so overjDOwering in its lofty logic, outdid the Roman termagant even in the favorite pontifical arena of anathemas.
Did the most famous of the antique orators ever inveigh in such heroic strains in the forums of the " fierce democracie ?"'
Far from being surprised that so many of the German states separated from Eome, ought we not rather to feel astonished that all Germany did not march to the banks of the Tiber to resume that imperial power whose attributes the popes had so impudently usurped ?t
"By this writing," says an eloquent historian, " the confused views of a great number of wise men were cleared up.
The Romish usurpation became palpably evident to every mind.
No one at Wittemberg doubted longer that the pope was antichrist.
Even the elector's court, so circumspect and * L. 0pp., (L.O XVII. , 457, 502.