The life of Martin Luther

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Rein, Wilhelm, 1847-1929.
The life of Martin Luther

THE LIFE

OF

MAETIN LUTHER

BY

DR. WlLLIAM'^REIlSr,

SEMINARY DIRECTOR AT EISENACH IK GERMANT.

TRANSLATED FBOM THE GERMAN AND EDITLD BT

Rev. G. F. BEHRINGER,

BROOKLYN, N. T.

NEW YORK:

FUNK & WAGNALLS, Publishers,

10 AND 12 Dey Street.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by

FUNK & WAGNALLS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.

,.. U >LJ U U A

PREFACE.

The history of mankind presents us with many great
names, but with few great men. And even among those
that are called great men, few there are whose records
will bear a close scrutiny. In most cases the character
of the private man is distinct from the influence of his
public career.

Among the immortal names that have honored their
kind and glorified their God, stands pre-eminently the
name of Martin Luther. Yet not in name alone does
his greatness shine forth in splendor after the lapse of
four centuries, but in word and deed, in character and
influence. His private life and public career are a unit,
for both were the manifestations of a sincere soul, a
generous heart, a true man.

The enlightened, civilized world celebrates the four
hundredth anniversary of this great man's birth. He
belongs to the world, to Church and State, for both
have felt the influence of his teachings. In the truest
estimate of his God-given work he belongs to no sect or
party, he is a man of and for the people. In what
better way can the memorial of his birth be observed
than by a study of his life, his character, and his works ;
and above all, by a practical appreciation of the influences
which have proceeded from him and blessed mankind ?

To that end this volume has been prepared : to present
an attractive life-picture of this representative of the

IV PREFACE.

people and servant of God. It is founded upon fact,
illustrated from experience, and written for popular
comprehension.

In tlie work of translation and preparation the editor
freely consulted and, where necessary, gratefully used,
the volumes of Kostlin, Meurer, Krauth, and others, in
additions and improvements to the original of Dr. Rein.

But, in the words of Herder, *' Of what use to learn
of past ages, to praise or to blame ? Let us remember
Luther's method of thought, his plain hints and his
strong truths, and let us apply them to our own times !"
In this spirit this book is sent out on its mission.

G. F. B.
Brooklyn, October 31, 1883.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. PAGE

Against Indulgences 7

CHAPTER n.
Luther's Youth 17

CHAPTER III.
Luther in the Monastery at Erfurt 27

CHAPTER IV.
Luther as Professor in Wittenberg 36

CHAPTER V.
L^^ther and the Papal Ambassadors 51

CHAPTER VI.
The Disputation at Leipsic 62

CHAPTER VII.

Concerning the Ban of Excommunication 67

CHAPTER VIII.
Luther Burns the Papal Bull of Excommunication 76

CHAPTER IX.
Luther before the Emperor at Worms 82

CHAPTER X.
Luther on the Wartburg 93

CHAPTER XI.
The Troubles at Wittenberg 101

CHAPTER XII.
Luther's Return to Wittenberg 105

Vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER Xin. P^B

Progress of the Reformation 117

CHAPTER XIV.

Dark Clonds 124

CHAPTER XV.

Luther's Marriage 132

CHAPTER XVI.
Luther's Reformatory Activity 136

CHAPTER XVII.
The Conference at Marburg 151

CHAPTER XVIII.
The Diet at Spire 158

CHAPTER XIX.

Luther in Coburg Castle 162

CHAPTER XX.
The Diet of Augsburg. 168

CHAPTER XXI.
Until the Death of John the Constant 172

CHAPTER XXII.
Preparations for a Council and Attempts at Union 175

CHAPTER XXin.
Luther in Smalcald 182

CHAPTER XXIV.
The Closing Years of Luther's Life 186

CHAPTER XXV.
The Death of Martin Luther 192

Opinions upon Lutheu 201

Chbonologicajl Tablk 213

Index 215

THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

CHAPTEE I.

AGAINST INDULGENCES.

It was tlie 31st of October, 1517. The evening mists
had already settled down upon the city of Wittenberg
and upon the river Elbe, flowing close by. The city
itself was yet alive with activity ; for to-morrow, the
first of November, being All Saints' day, would be cele-
brated as the anniversary of the consecration of the
Castle Church. A multitude of people, clergymen and
laymen, had congregated in the place. In dense groups
they stood along the street leading from the market-place
to the castle and awaited the beginning of evening ser-
vice. But before the bells announced the same, there
pressed through the scattered crowds, with rapid strides,
an Augustinian monk, pursuing his course directly to the
chief entrance of the Castle Church. Here he paused,
and drawing from his dark cloak a closely written docu-
ment, he nailed it to the church door. Then he disap-
peared within the entrance leading to the sacristy. His
act did not excite any particular attention, for it was
customary at that time, on the occasion of great festivals,
to publish the official announcement of special acts, as
well as of university disputations, and to use the church
doors for that purpose.

8 THE LIFE OF MAKTX^i LUTHER.

After the monk had disappeared, those standing near
])V liastened to. tlio portals of the church. One of the
foremost read the superscription and translated it into
German — for it was written in Latin : " A Disputation
to set forth the Yirtne of Indulgences. Actuated by
love and by a desire to bring the truth to light, a disputa-
tion will be held at Wittenberg, concerning the follow-
ing theses, under the direction of the Reverend Father
Martin Luther, Master of the Liberal Arts and of Sacred
Theology, and authorized Teacher of the same. There-
fore it is requested, that all who cannot be present in
person to discuss these theses may do so in writing. In
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." Scarcely
had the theses, thus pubhshed, been read by those nearest
the door, when the evening services began and the mul-
titude poured into the church.

Not long thereafter, the same Augustinian monk that
had nailed the Latin theses to the church door stood in
the pulpit and preached upon the festival text, Luke
19 : 1, etc., which records the history of Zacchfeus.
Keverently did the congregation listen to the simple,
calm, and heartfelt sermon of the Augustinian monk.
^' Christ must become everything to us," he said ; " and
unto those to V\'hom Christ is something, all else will
he nothing. lie inust be sought with a heart which,
with a feeling of its unworthiness, does not dare to invite
Jliin, but which, for that very reason, most urgently
im})lores His presence. Such a request, coming from
the heart, God will grant. Thus lie would have our
hearts. And thus every feast of dedication should not
be merely an outward consecration of a church, but
rather a consecration of the heart unto God." Then
the monk spoke concerning the display of the traffic
with indulgences which was approaching the gates of

AGAINST INDULGENCES. 9

Wittenberg. He said but little, however, about this
matter, and that without vehemence. ^' The fault of
man," he continued, '' to seek his own instead of Christ,
and to seek his own even in Christ, is universal ; but
especially at this time, w^hen seductive preachers of in-
dulgences endeavor to encourage this error." Then he
explained to the congregation the difference between
spiritual re]3entance and sacramental repentance, includ-
ing private confession and church penances. He in-
structed his hearers that indulgences could refer only to
the performance of penance. At the close, he w^arned
them against the error of an imaginary repentance, in
feeling sorrow over an imposed penance instead of over
the committed sin itself ; and that they should not allow
themselves to be deceived by the venders of indulgences,
so as to be deprived of the salutary effects of punishment
in the performance of penance.

This warning against the preachers of indulgences was
justified by good reasons. For in the neighborhood of
"Wittenberg, at the town of Jiiterbock, Tetzel, a Domini-
can monk, carried on his traffic. There were lively
times at that place, as at an annual fair and market.
The people danced and caroused, rejoicing that they
w^ere rid of their sins. And large multitudes flocked
from Wittenberg to patronize Tetzel.

The following circumstances led to the traffic in in-
dulgences. The Roman Catholic Church maintained
that the saints, during their life on earth, had accumu-
lated a treasury of merit because of their good works ;
tliat they had done more good than they were obliged to
do. Tliis surplus might be used for the benefit of sinful
men who had accomplished less good than was needed
for their salvation. The Pope claimed that he had re-
ceived authority from God to draw from this reservoir

10 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

of merit, and to apply it to those who had shown them-
selves worthy by their sorrow and repentance. But
soon sorrow and repentance were dispensed with, and
matters were satisfactorily arranged by the nse of money.
Thus arose the so-called trafiic in indulgences, which
proved to be a source of great revenue to the popes.
This was the case under Leo X., who at this time occu-
pied the papal chair. He was a descendant of the fa-
mous family of the Medici of Florence. He loved science
and art, learning and poetry, as well as splendor and
gayety. As for religion, he was not much concerned
about it ; for otherwise how could he have used it merely
as a solirce of revenue ?

After the example of his predecessor, Julius II.,*
Pope Leo X.f turned the faith of Christian believers in
the virtue of indulgences to profitable account by offer-
ing this new means of grace for sale, especially in Ger-
many. Kesistance to Turkish dominion, which under
the powerful influence of the then reigning sultan threat-
ened the overthrow of Christianized Europe, afforded a
good pretext. And yet, as touching a war with Turkey,
it was a vain pretence. For none of the popes ever
seriously entertained this idea, but used it as a cloak to
conceal their project of despoiling German lands of their
money by means of indulgences. The completion of
St. Peter's Church at Rome seems to have been a more
serious matter to Pope Leo. In order to acquire the
necessary means for this grandest of all buildings in

♦ Julius II. was born in 1441, and died in 1513. He was chosen
Pope in 1503. He laid the corner-stone of St. Peter's Church.

t Leo X. was born in 1475, and died in 1521. He was elected
to succeed Julius II. on the 11th of March, 1513. He was
ordained a priest March loth, consecrated a bishop on the 17th,
and crowned as Pope on the 19th of March, 1513.

AGAINST INDULGENCES. 11

Christendom, lie ordered the traffic in indulgences to be
carried on with pomp and display. He appointed as the
chief business manager of the enterprise Archduke and
Archbishop Albert of Majence, bj descent a Prince of
Brandenburg, in taste and Hfe a counterpart of the Pope.
As a mere youth he was clothed with the high dignity
of a triple office as Archbishop of Mayence and Magde-
burg, and Bishop of Halberstadt. But this threefold
promotion involved a large expenditure of money which
had to be paid in Kome. And the maintenance of the
splendor of his court called for a liberal outlay, so that
he was obliged to resort to extraordinary measures to
replenish his coffers. He welcomed Pope Leo's plan of
the disposal of indulgences, and gladly became his ser-
vant in its management ; for a division of the profits be-
tween Leo and Albert was a condition attached to the
business agreement.

The first thing to be attended to now was to secure
such subordinate officials as would understand how to
carry on the traffic with indulgences in the most effective
manner. And such were soon found. But the most
zealous and vigorous among them all was without doubt
the Dominican monk John Tetzel, born at Pirna in Sax-
ony. His father was John Dietz, a goldsmith. As a
child the son was called Dietzel, i. e. , little Dietz, from
which arose the name Tetzel. He attended the Univer-
sity of Leipsic, and obtained the first degree in philoso-
phy. Then he became a preaching friar. He had
already served as preacher of indulgences, and had done
a good business with the so-called papal ^^ milk-and-butter
letters." These were certificates granting permission,
during the Lenten season, to partake of victuals prepared
in part of butter and milk, though to do so was contrary
to the laws of the Church. This former effective service

12 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

secured for liim not only a new position as preacher and
seller of indulgences, but an appointment more honor-
able also, as Inquisitor, i.e., as judge over all such as
presumed to deviate from the faith of the Church. And
lie seems to have been well fitted by nature for his call-
ing. He presented an imposing appearance and pos-
sessed a loud, strong voice. Exceedingly well did he
understand how to talk in a common way to the common
people. His ignorance he concealed by his audacity,
which never left him in the lurch. Nor did he refrain
from falsehood and exaggeration. And what he declared
concerning the effects of indulgences surpassed every-
thing fhat had hitherto been said in their favor. In his
addresses to the people he maintained in plain speech :
*^ Christ has laid down His authority over all Christen-
dom, until tlie day of judgment, and has intrusted the
Pope with plenary power in His stead. The Pope there-
fore can forgive each and every sin, whether already
committed or yet to be committed, and that without sor-
row and repentance. The greatest guilt can be effaced
by purchasing a papal certificate of forgiveness. No
crime, however horrible and inconceivable in reality, is
excluded from this forgiveness. The indulgence cross
of the pope is not inferior in sacredness to the cross of
Christ, and hence the former must be honored as highly
as the latter." Even nature must be subject to the
power of these indulgences, said Tetzel. At Annaberg,
in Saxony, he declared that the hills surrounding the city
would be changed into solid silver if the people would
freely buy his indulgences. And whoever should pre-
sume to doubt the papal power to forgive sins, was
threatened with death at the stake, excommunication,
and eternal damnation.

The impression which his eloquence was calculated to

AGAINST IKDULGEN^CES. 13

produce was further strengthened by the glorious dis-
play and the splendid festivities prepared to greet the
advent of this preacher of indulgences. The region
round about Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Zerbst. and Halle
was traversed by Tetzel as if he were a distinguished
prelate of the Church. He rode in a magnificent wagon
surrounded by a mounted body-guard. He was met at
the gates of every city he entered by the monks and
other clergy, the municipal councillors, teachers and
students, men and women, old and young, amid the
ringing of bells, the singing of church choirs, and the
burning of torches. At the head of the procession was
carried the papal bull upon a velvet cushion and taken
into the church. Here was erected a red cross, on which
was fastened the papal banner. Then Tetzel mounted
the pulpit and importuned the people with his ad-
monitions and recommendations of indulgences : ^* Now,
now is the day of grace come to your very doors ! Ye
women, sell your veils and purchase indulgences with the
proceeds !" He classified sins and misdemeanors, and
fixed a definite tax for each and all. Thus, sacrilege or
church robbery and perjury were rated at nine ducats ; *
a murder already committed, at eight ducats ; adultery, at
six ducats, etc. It is said that upon his treasure -chest
was insciibed the motto :

" Soon as the coin in the box doth ring,
The soul can into heaven spring."

It was the Augustinian monk of Wittenberg who com-
manded this sinful traffic of the indulgence preacher to
cease. Yet little did he dream how great a tempest he
was conjuring up ! For the Pope himself, he entertained

*The Sliver ducat is about equal in value to the American dol-
lar, and the gold ducat to about twice that amount.

14 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

the greatest reverence, and believed tliat lie was at fault
in but one thing, and that was this traffic in indulgences.
In fact he persuaded himself to believe that the Pope
knew nothing of the scandalous proceedings of Tetzel,
and that, as soon as he should be informed of it, his right-
eous wrath would condemn the infamous traffic. Could
he have known how greatly he was deceiving himself in
this matter ?

Dr. Mai-tin Luther, Master of the Liberal Arts and of
Sacred Theology — thus he called himself in the super-
scription of his ninety-live theses. In these, however,
for the first time, he publicly attacked the papal power,
60 far -as it, according to his convictions, intrenched upon
that domain which the Lord of Heaven and the Judge
of earth had reserved unto himself.

*' When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says : ^ Ee-
pent,' etc., He wills that the believer's entire life shall
be one of repentance." Thus begins the first thesis.
And farther on he shows that God alone can forgive
sins, since they are violations of His divine laws. The
Pope has simply the right to pronounce and to declare
the forgiveness which God grants. Every true Chris-
tian can partake, through God's grace, of all the gifts of
Christ and His Church without any certificate of indul-
gence. Almsgiving and domestic economy are more
meritorious than a lavish expenditure for indulgences.
If the Pope knew how the Christians were being plun-
dered by these indulgence preachers, he would rather see
St. Peter's Church reduced to ashes than to have it
erected with the flesh and blood of his sheep. The real
treasure of the Church is the gospel of grace and of the
glory of God. But, on the other hand, Dr. Luther would
not suffer indulgence, as such, to be attacked. *'He
deserves punishment who resists the right of the Pope to

AGAIKST INDULGENCES. 15

declare the forgiveness of God and to remit ecclesiastical
penances. And he that withstands the impudent audac-
ity of the preachers of indulgences should be rewarded."
*' Blessed be he," says Luther, '' who does this ;" '^ac-
cursed be he who speaks against the truth of apostolic
indulgences." And at the close he says : ** Then away
with all those prophets who cry to Christ's people, Peace,
peace, when there is no peace ! A blessing upon those
prophets who say to Christ's flock, The cross, the cross,
though there be no cross ! Christians must be admon-
ished to follow their Master, Christ, through pains,
death, and hell ; and that they comfort themselves with
the truth, that through much tribulation, rather than
through assurance of peace, they must enter the king-
dom of heaven !"

In a short time — in little more than two weeks — the
theses of Dr. Martin Luther were read all over Germany.
Numerous strangers who attended the anniversary festi-
val of consecration at Wittenberg, in order that they
might adore the many relics and other sacred treasures
of the church, carried the news with them to their
homes. Up to this time no one had been willing to bell
the cat ! Great as was the discontent at the shameless
proceedings of the traders in indulgences, equally great
was the fear of opposing the Pope and the Church. But
Luther said : '^ Whoever will begin anything good, let
him see to it that he begin and venture it in reliance
upon the favor of God, and never upon human comfort
or assistance ; let him not fear any man, no, not the
whole world !" Everywhere Luther's theses found pre-
pared ground. Everywhere they were sjDoken of, and
with anxious concern was he regarded who had ventured
upon so bold a step ! Thus the name of the fearless
Augustinian monk passed rapidly from nation to nation,

16 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

and many an inquiry was heard about the antecedents
and the experiences of the man, who had presumed to
take issue with the Pope and his adherents. Let us also
review the days of his youth and follow the course of
his life, until he is called to teach in the university of the
Elector of Saxony, and there arises to protest against the
traffic in indulgences.

CHAPTEK II.

*^ 1 AM a peasant's son ; my father, grandfather, and
great-grandfather were real peasants." Thus did Dr.
Martin Luther express himself in a conversation with his
friend Melanchthon. Whereupon the latter jokingly re-
marked, that Luther, had he remained in the home of his
ancestors, might have been chosen chief magistrate of the
village, or else have become head-servant over the rest !

The old paternal home was Mohra, also called More or
More in the ancient chronicles. The village is located
in the very centre of Germany. Proceeding southward
about ten miles on the higliway leading from Eisenach to
Salzungen, Mohra is found, at some distance to the right
of the main road, situated at tlie foot of a hill, one of
the many mountain spurs which the Thuringian Forest
projects into the valley of the river Werra. The ruler
of that district is the Duke of Meiningen ; in former
days it was the Elector of Saxony. The village is a
small and quiet place, cut off from the great highways
of commerce, its most prominent building being the
church, close to which is located the old Luther family
mansion. The inhabitants of Mohra are a strong and
sturdy people who derive a comfortable income from
tilHng the soil and raising cattle.^

* Three families by the name of Luther are still living Iq Mohra,
engaged in the pursuit of farming.

18 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHKR.

And there it was that the father of Dr. Martin Luther,
Plans Luder or Liidher, as the name was then written,
resided with his wife, whose family name was Ziegler.
But little is known concerning his ancestors. His
grandfather was called Heine, which is the same as
Henry. His grandmother died in the year 1521. Long
before this Martin Luther's parents had removed from
Mohra to Eisleben. Father Hans Luther, being a
miner, was led to make the change by reason of his
occupation. Copper ore had always been mined among
the slate rock at Mohra, and to this day heaps of slate
and slag are found by the roadside. But as mining
may not have been very profitable there, Father Luther
removed to Eisleben, a town that was then growing very
rapidly. It is likely that the paternal inheritance did
not afford a sufficient income for all the members of the
family. Of two brothers information is at hand. One
of them, Heinz Luther, was the owner of the farm and
homestead.

An evil-minded, malicious report has of late years again
been circulated, that Hans Luther was obliged to leave
Mohra because he killed a peasant w^ho had pastured his
horses without permission on the meadows of the Luther
farm. But there is no foundation whatever for such a
story — even if the meadow is 2)ointed out where the
homicide is said to have occurred. The old inhabitants
of Mohra knew nothing of this legend. Besides, it is
difficult to see how Hans Luther could have saved him-
self from legal prosecution by his removal ; for Eisleben
was within easy reach — about seventy-five miles distant
— and under the same princely jurisdiction.

At Eisleben Martin Luther was born. His mother
knew the exact hour of his birth — between 11 and 12
o'clock at night — and the day also, the 10th of Kovem-

LUTHER'S YOUTH. 19

ber ; yet slio was not certain of the year. But the testi-
mony of Jacob Luther, a brother of Martin, as well as
the declaration of the latter, removes this uncertainty.
For, according to both, Martin Luther was born in the
year 1483. The house with the room in which he first
saw the light of this world is still shown. It is located in
the lower part of the city, near the church of St. Peter
and St. Paul, in which Luther was baptized on the 11th
of IS'ovember, 1483, receiving the name of Martin be-
cause of the saint whose fame the day commemorated.
In the year 1689 Eisleben was visited by a fearful con-
flagration, by which the Luther house was destroyed,
save the lowest story, containing the room in vdiich
Martin was born.

After a short sojourn in Eisleben his parents removed
to Mansfeld, but a few miles distant, also an important
mining centre. Tlie Earldom of Mansfeld embraced at
one time a large extent of territory and was a land
blessed from on high, so that an ancient chronicler
says : '^ Whoever has a residence in this earldom is ac-
counted happy." The little city is surrounded by hills,
projecting spurs of the Hartz Mountains, and dominated
by the battlements of the old castle of Mansfeld. The
noble family has long since passed away ; the castle like-
wise has fallen into decay. Creeping ivy has woven a
green net over its walls, and a luxurious growth of grass
covers the courtyard. The propliecy of Dr. Martin
Luther, when on a visit to the Counts of Mansfeld the
wine flowed in streams, has been fulfilled : *' My lords
are fertilizing well ; grass will grovv^ abundantly there-
after."

There, in yonder city, at the foot of the castle hill,
Hans Luther established his home. And a hard struggle
indeed it was for him, in the beginning, to provide for

20 THE LIFE OF MAliTII^ LUTHEK.

Ills family. ''My father," tlms narrates Dr. Martin
Luther, '' was a poor miner. My mother gathered wor)cl
and carried it liome on her back, in order that her chil-
dren might be educated. Both toiled slavishly for our
sakes. In these days people would not do so." But
after a little while they reached more comfortable cir-
cumstances. Hans Luther succeeded in purchasing a
house on the main street of the city, whose oval portals
surmounted by the Luther coat-of-arms, a rose and a
crossbow, and the number 1530, bear testimony to this
day. His numerous family — we read of six children
besides Martin — may have continued to be a source of
anxiety to Hans Luther. Yet, not only did he acquire
a comfortable competency in his occupation (becoming
the jDroprietor of two smelting furnaces), but he also
gained the confidence of his fellow-citizens, who elected
him a member of the town council.

The parents reared their son Martin in the fear of God
and in the love of good works. But their discij)line was
strict and severe, as they themselves endured hard toil in
gaining a livehhood. '^My father," relates Luther,
'^ on one occasion flogged me so severely that I ran
away, and was embittered against him imtil he gradually
regained my affections. On another occasion my mother,
because of a mere nut, whipj^ed me so liard that the
blood flowed. Ller severe and earnest treatment of me
led me to enter a clgister and become a monk. _But in
their hearts they meant it well with me, and made but
one mistake, in that they did not discern the different
dispositions according to which all punishments should
be administered. For we ought to punish so that the
apple go hand in hand with the rod. ' '

Thus was Martin Luther reared, so that he grew up to
be bashful and humble-minded. And yet love was by no

Luther's youth. 21

means wanting in his training. Often did lie speak, in
later years, of the sweet intercourse with his father, and
with touching words did he refer to the benevolent love
he enjoyed, even if his parents now and then went too
far in tlieir strict discipline. Indeed, the severity of the
parental training sharpened his own conscience, so that
he deeply felt his guilt before God, and never could he
lightly pass over any sin or faihng.

In Mansfeld he received his first instruction, being
sent to school at a very early age. It is said that a good
friend of the family many a time carried young Martin
to and from the school, which was located in the upper
part of the city. There he was instructed not only in
reading and writing, but also in the rudiments of Latin.
The discipline was so severe that Luther never forgot it.
He tells of severe tortures with declensions and con-
jugations. '^ The schoolmasters in my days," says he,
*' were tyrants and executioners ; the schools were jails
and heUs ! And in spite of fear and misery, floggings
and tremblings, nothing was learned. The young people
were treated altogether too severely, so that they might
well have been called martyrs. Time was wasted over
many useless things, and thus many an able mind was
ruined." Lie himself was innocently lashed fifteen
times in the course of a single morning because he did
not know what had not been taught him. On the other
hand, he commends the use and preservation, thanks to
God's might and providence, even under the Pope, of
Common Prayer, the Psalter, the Lord's Prayer, the
Creed and the Ten Commandments, also of many good
hymns, both Latin and German. And although every-
thing was in about the same disgraceful condition as in
the days of EUjah, he nevertheless calls the Pope's
church or house his '^ father-house," which he can never

22 THE LIFE OF MA11TI:N^ LUTHER.

forget, because in it he was baptized and liad learned tlie
Catechism and the Holy Scriptures. He also praised the
beautiful hymns which were sung in the papal church,
but lamented that there were no preachers that could
explain what they meant. Bitterly did he complain
that, from childhood on, he had been so trained that he
paled and trembled at the mere mention of the name of
Christ, whom he had been taught to regard as a severe
and angry judge.

His playmate and companion was Hans Eeinecke, who
afterward continued to reside, as citizen and overseer
of the furnaces, in Mansfeld. Luther and Eeinecke re-
mained life -long friends. Together, at the age of four-
teen, they went to Magdeburg, where there was a far-
famed school. Thither Hans Luther sent his son Martin,
because he wished him to become distinguished. Luther
attended the instruction of the '' Null-brothers. " These
^ ' Null-brothers, " or ' ^ Noll-brothers, ' ' were a pious
brotherhood, banded together in a common life, to labor
for the moral and religious welfare of the people, by
means of sermons, instruction, and pastoral care. Luther
remained but one year in Magdeburg. Why he left so
soon is not known. But as his father could furnish little
or nothing toward his support, he sent him to Eisenach,
because in that city and neighborhood Luther had numer-
ous relatives living who could assist him.

In the year 1498, a mere boy of the age of fifteen, he
entered the city of Eisenach, where he was to remain
four years. Here, at first, he had a very hard struggle
to undergo. His relatives, one of whom was sexton of
the church of St. Nicholas, were probably not in the
position to assist him for any great length of time. Ho
was therefore obliged, as a charity scholar, to appeal to
the common sympathy of all men, as he had already done

Luther's youth. 33

in Magdeburg. In later years lie liimself says : ^^ Do
not despise the boys that go from house to house asking
bread for the sake of God and singing the ' bread-
chorus.' 1 also was one of those 'bread-colts,' and
begged bread at the doors, especially in Eisenach, that
dear city. " At another time he relates the following
incident : ''It was at Christmas, and we were going
through the villages, from house to house, singing the
customary hymns about the Christ-child born at Bethle-
hem. It happened as we were singing before a farm-
house, at one end of the village, that the farmer
appeared, and, speaking in coarse, harsh language, in-
quired, ' "Where are you boys ? ' At the same time he
carried with him se\^eral sausages, which he wished to
give us. But we v/ere so badly frightened at his words
that we scattered and ran away, although we had no
good cause for so doing, especially since the farmer was
graciously inclined to present to us the sausages, and tliat
of his own good- will. But our hearts had grown timid
and fearful under the daily threatenings and tyrannizings
to which poor students were subjected by their teachers,
and hence our sudden fright. Meanwhile the farmer
hailed us again ; we dismissed our fears, returned, and
received the proffered gifts."

Tlius Martin Luther was obliged to help himself since
his parents could not provide a complete support. But
good -fortune awaited him. For, because of his singing *
and heartfelt praying, he won the favor of Ursula Cotta,
who invited him to a seat at her table. She was of the
family of Schalbe, and the wife of Conrad Cotta, one of
the foremost citizens of the town. He was of noble
Italian descent, of a family that had grown wealthy

* Luther ia said to have had a rich tenor voice.

24 TUE LIFE OF 3IAP.TI2q' LUTIIEK.

tlirongli commerce. The Cotta family mansion was
located in George Street, on the ground now occupied by
the residence of Mr. Julius von Eichel.

In the Schalbean College, an institution under the
control of the Franciscans, and which had been richly
endowed by the family of Schalbe, Martin Luther re-
ceived beneficiary aid, so that he could devote himself
entirely to his studies during his four years' sojourn at
Eisenach. The names of two of his teachers have been
handed down to us : Wiegand, subsequently a pastor,
who remained for many years in friendly correspondence
with Luther ; and John Trebonius, spoken of as a hand-
some and learned man and a poet. It is related of him,
that whenever he entered the school-room he would take
off his scholastic cap because, as he said, God had selected
from among the students present many a magistrate, or
chancellor, or learned doctor.

Luther, by reason of his superior perceptive faculties
and of his natural eloquence, soon surpassed his fellow-
students, and excelled them in linguistic exercises, as
well in prose as in poetry.

At the close of the fifteenth century there existed in
Eisenach three schools connected with the church of
St. Xicholas, St. Mary's, and St. George's. The first-
named was the oldest. The church of St. Nicholas, a
Romanesque basilica, had received from Count Hermann,
in the year 1208, a charter conferring the sole right and
privilege of maintaining a school within the walls of the
city. But this exclusive right does not seem to have
been exercised for any great length of time. For besides
St. Mary's, St. George's Church in the market-place
established a school which surpassed the rest. Into this
school Martin Luther was introduced in the year 1498.
In the year 1544 this same institution was removed to

Luther's youth. 25

tlie Dominican cloister, where it lias been continued as
the Latin School until this day.

After Martin Lnther had diligently pursued his studies
at Eisenach for four years, his parents sent him, at the
age of eighteen, to the University of Erfurt, in the year
1501. This institution had acquired so great a name
and reputation that all others, by way of contrast, were
regarded as primary schools. With joyful assurance he
passed out of the ancient gate of his beloved city,
Eisenach, on the way to Erfurt, little dreaming that the
castle (the Wartburg) which dismissed him with its fare-
well greeting would one day afford him a long-contin-
ued shelter.

In the meanwhile his parents had gained the means
with which to furnish him a liberal support. ^'My
dear father," relates Martin Luther, ^' in love and with
fidelity, supported me at the University of Erfurt, and
through his arduous labors I was enabled to go there."
But Luther applied himself with equal toil and ardor to
his task. Inspired by an eager desire for knowledge, he
devoted himself with zeal and energy to his studies.
His burning thirst for scholarly learning he could quench
at the source of all the sciences. His most prominent
teacher was Jodokus Trutvetter of Eisenach, a man of
universal information and the chief support of the
scholastic philosophy at Erfurt.

At the same time Erfurt was a principal seat and
centre of that tendency in the scholastic world which
sought to awaken the study of the ancient Greek and
Latin classics. Luther likewise deeply interested him-
self in the same, especially in Ovid, Virgil, and Cicero.
His object in reading them was to gain a variety of in-
formation, maxims of human wisdom, and a mirror of
life. He diligently cultivated the acquaintance of his

26 THE LIFE OF MARTIiC LUTHER.

teachers and the circle of young men pursuing similar
studies with himself. Among these he ranked as a
learned philosopher and as an able musician. Especially
did he cultivate music, learning how to sing and to play
on the lute.

On St. Michael's day, in the year 1502, he received
the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, which was the
lowest or first degree in philosophical honors. In two
years he exchanged the modest dignity of a Bachelor for
the higher eminence of a Master of Philosophy.* The
talent of young Luther was admired by the entire uni-
versity. It was now the wish of his father that he
should* become a jurist. With this object in view he
began to attend lectures in the department of law. But
suddenly the course of his life was turned into another
direction.

* Equivalent to our modern degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

CHAPTER III.

LUTHER IN THE MONASTERY AT ERFURT.

On the 16tliof July, 1505, Martin Luther invited his
nearest friends to a farewell meeting. He did not in-
tend to leave Erfurt, but rather to enter the Augustin-
ian monastery located in that city. '' To-day you see
me, but no more hereafter," said he to his friends.
These vainly endeavored to deter him from taking such
a step. On the following day he knocked at the portals
of the Augustinian cloister. His friends accompanied
him, and weeping, bade him farewell. In a little while
the gates of the monastery shut him off from the world.
He became an Augustinian monk.

But since his parents had decided that he should be-
come an advocate of the law, what led Luther to take a
step that was not in accordance with their wishes ? His
father moreover was strenuously oj)posed to the entire
system of monasticism. And why did Luther join the
Augustinians ?

His decision was suddenly made, and yet it had been
long considered. His very disposition naturally im-
pelled liim to take this step. He treated the matter of
an inner sanctification in a very serious manner, and
could not content himself with outward services and cer-
emonies. The severe discipline of home training had
sharpened his conscience. Again and again was he
filled with the thoughts of becoming pious, and of ful-
filling all the severe laws of God, in order that he might

2ii THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

atone for the sins of his life, and reconcile God, the
angry judge, to himself. He indulged in subtle in-
quiries upon religious questions of trifling import, was
much concerned about liis soul's salvation, and involved
in numerous doubts. These occasioned him many a
temptation. And yet he could not accuse himself of
being guilty of any gross sins. Although he had been a
jov^ial young fellow, he began his studies in the morning
with a heartfelt prayer and by attending a church ser-
vice. He also spent considerable of his time in the li-
brary of the university. Here, on one occasion, he found
a Latin Bible, a book that he had never seen until his
twentieth year. GreatV astonished, he noticed that
there were many more texts, epistles and gospels, than he
had read in the pericopes of the church or heard ex-
plained in the pulpit. And as he turned over the pages
of the Old Testament his attention was arrested by the
story of Samuel and Hannah, which he hurriedly read
with great joy.

About this time he was gi*eatly afiiicted with bodily
ailments. A long and serious illness confined him to
his bed. Thoughts of death troubled him. But one of
his student friends comforted him, saying, *^ My friend,
be of good cheer ; you will not die of this sickness.
God will yet make a great man of you, who will com-
fort many people. ' '

Not long after this a dangerous accident befell him.
He was on his way home to visit his parents at Easter-
tide. But a few miles distant from Erfurt, the sword
which he carried, student-fashion, accidentally wounded
him in the leg, injuring an artery. Wliile his com-
panion hastened to procure a surgeon, Luther, lying
upon his back, quenched the flow of blood. But the
leg began to swell, and overcome by the fear of deatii.

LUTHER IK THE MOifASTERY AT ERFURT. 29

he cried out, '' Help me, O Yirgin Mary !'' And
wiieii at night the wound again began to flow and he
grew faint, he prayed once more to the Yirgin Mary.
Had he died it would have been in the hope of St. Mary.

A short time after this experience he was again
greatly disturbed by the death of a friend, wlio was
either murdered or otherwise suddenly removed from
this earth. Luther mightily felt, as never before, the
pangs of conscience that had often troubled him. A
deep melancholy overcame him. Mournfully the youth-
ful scholar wandered about.

In addition to all this, another circumstance happened
which hastened his decision to seek his soul's salvation
in the monastic holiness recommended by the church.
He had been on a visit to his parents. On his return to
the university he had reached the village of Stotternheim,
near Erfurt, when a furious thunderstorm burst over
him, and he fell frightened to the earth, crying out,
*' Deliver me, St. Ann,* and I will become a monk."
Though he regretted having made this vow, he felt
himself bound to keep it. And this impelled him to
monkhood, for, as he said himself, he never could find
comfort in his Christian baptism, and was always much
concerned to obtain the favor of God through his own
piety.

And thus, in the year 1505, he entered the monastery
of the Augustinians,f an order which in Erfurt and else-

* St. Ann was the patron saint of the miners, and hence revered
by all in that section of country.

t The Augustinians, or Hermits of St. Augustine, trace their
origin to Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, who lived 354-430
A.D. In England they are called Black Friars from the color of
their habit. In Philadelphia they have a convent with church,
and at Villanova, about fifteen miles from the city, a college
with monastery.

30 THE LIFP: of MARTIX LUTEER,

where was liiglily respected. Its monks were free from
the corruptions of monastic life, from idleness, hypoc-
risy, and other evils. They were, on the other liand,
very active in preaching and in exercising pastoral care,
and zealously cultivated the study of theology.

For two days Luther's friends besieged the gates of the
monastery in hope that he would return to them again.
But he came not. He wrote to his parents informing
them of his entrance into the August! nian cloister, and
asking for their approval of his action. This the father
would not give. Luther informs us of the impression
which the letter made upon his parents : ^^ My father well-
nigh went mad over it, was badly displeased and would not
give his consent. He wrote to me in a very plain and
direct manner — whereas before this he had always ad-
dressed me very courteously — and withheld from me his
favor. ' '

About that time Father Luther lost two of his sons by
the plague. His friends entreated him to sacrifice unto
God his dearest treasure by permitting his remaining son
to enter into the divinely sanctified order of the ministry.
At last the father was persuaded to give his consent, saying,
' ' Let it be done ; God grant that the project may suc-
ceed." But he consented with an unwilling mind, a
sorrowful will, and an unhappy heart, because he would
rather have seen his son become a jurist, an advocate of
the law.

In the monastery every one was proud to see the youth-
ful and learned scholar in the garb of the order, the black
cowl with the scapulary. Yet the new arrival could not
be exempted from any of the most menial services which
it was customary to impose upon the novices in order to
break their self-will and to overcome their pride. Thus
Luther was obhged to assist in the cleanin«> of the cells.

' ^ LUTHER IN THE MO^ST ASTER Y AT ERFURT. 31

He was also sent out with the beggar's sack, through
the streets of the city, to soUcit food and money.
And aUhough he himself did not feel humiliated in the
performance of these menial duties — for he was inspired
with a burning desire faithfully to fulfil his vows of
poverty and obedience — yet the professors of the univer-
sity interposed their objections. Since he had been a
member of the university, they j)etitioned the prior of the
cloister that Luther might be excused from performing
such unclean and humiliating labors. The vicar of the
order, John von Staupitz,* also interposed on his behalf,
and requested that he be more gently treated, and that he
have time for study. And when an order was issued
enjoining upon all Augustinian monks diligent reading,
reverent hearing, and zealous learning of the Holy Script-
ures as a sacred duty, Luther entered upon their study
with extraordinary zeal. He read the Bible completely
so many times that he could turn immediately to any de-
sired passage, to the great astonishment of his noble
patron, John von Staupitz.

At the expiration of a year, his novitiate being ended,
he was solemnly received into the order, and in 1507 he
was ordained a priest. At this latter service he again
met his father, whom he had not seen since his entrance
into the monastery. Father Luther had accepted the in-
vitation of his son Martin, and was present at the festivities

* Johann von Staupitz was born at Meissen, and died in Salz-
burg, December 28th, 1524. He was instrumental in establishing
the University of Wittenberg, and became the first Dean of its
theological faculty. He was the intimate friend and supporter of
Luther until the latter finally broke with the papacy, when Stau-
pitz retired to Salzburg in the year 1519. Here he changed his
order and became Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St,
Peter, in which position he died in 1524.

32 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

with a stately aiTay of friends and relatives. "Whilst at
table, the young priest turned the conversation upon
his entrance into the monastery, and thus addressed his
father : '^ My dear Father, why were you so angry at
and so bitterly opposed to my becoming a monk, and per-
liaps even now are not pleased with it ? Is it not a very
peaceful and divine occupation ?" Father Luther then
arose, and, not having changed his opinion upon the act
of his son, addressed himself to the learned doctors,
masters, and all others present, saying : ^' Ye learned
gentlemen, have ye not read in the Holy Scripture the
command. Honor your father and your mother" ? And
wheii Martin answered, supported by others, that he had
been called from heaven amidst fearful manifestations,
Father Luther replied : '' "Would to God that it be not
a deception and a spook of the devil !" From this it ap-
pears that he had given his consent, but very unwillingly.
And then he added : ^^ I am indeed obliged to be here,
both to eat and to drink, but I had rather be elsewhere."
The new office brought to the young priest new "cares
and new anxieties. For very seriously did he regard
his vow to dedicate himself and his life unto God.
^' True it is," says he, '^ that I was a pious monk, and so
strictly did I keep the vows of my order that I may say
if ever a monk has entered heaven through monkery,
then I also could have entered. All my fellow-monks
Avho knew me will confirm this statement. And if
I had continued much longer, I would have tortured
myself to death with vigils and prayers, reading, and
other work. If ever there was a man who, before the
gospel was made known unto him, highly esteemed the
teachings of the Fathers and the decrees of the Popes,
and with great earnestness contended for the same, then
it was 1 who did so in a peculiar manner. And with a

LUTHEK IN THE MOJTASTERY AT EKFURT. 33

hearty zeal did I maintain and detcnd them, as if they
had been so much of pure holiness, and especially neces-
sary for the soul's salvation. And I exei+.ed myself to
the utmost to obey such precepts, and to Dunish and
castigate my body with fasts and vigils, prayers and
other exercises, more than all those who are my bitterest
enemies and persecutors. Hence, I now teach that such
fool-works can never justify any one in the sight of
God. And so diligently did I practise such buffoonery
that I fell into superstition, and imposed more upon my
body than it could bear without injury to health. I
heartily and earnestly adored the Pope, not for the sake
of rich benefices, church endowments, and eminent pre-
ferments ; but what I did that I did in truth, out of a pure
and simple heart, and with a right earnest zeal, because I
thought it was doing good, and that it would redound to
the honor of God."

And yet, no matter how much he studied and prayed,
no matter how severely he castigated himself with fast-
ing and watching, he found no peace to his soul. Even
when he imagined that he had satisfied the law, he often
despaired of getting rid of his sins and of securing the
grace of God. In the hymn, ^' !N"ow rejoice ye Chris-
tian people," ^ we learn the condition of his heart.

Often did he engage in violent soul-conflicts. But
the quiet seclusion of the cloister and his zealous study
of the Holy Scriptures combined to further his spiritual
development so rapidly, that the turning-point of his
soul-conflicts was reached before he left the monastery.
More than by any one else was he assisted in this by the
noble Yicar- General of the Augustinian Cloisters, John

* In German: "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gemein."
This hymn is said to have been the means of converting hundreds
to the cause of the Reformation.

M TUK LIFE OF MAKTIX LUTHER.

von Staupitz, wlio had also made a special study of the
Scriptures to the guidance of his inner life. To him
Luther opened his heart, and unto him he revealed his
doubts and anxieties about religious matters. On one
occasion, when they were conversing about repentance,
Staupitz said, ^' There is no true repentance other than
that which flows from the love of God and His right-
eousness." This word penetrated Luther's soul as the
sharpened arrow of the warrior. lie searched in the
Scriptures and found to his sweet joy that all the words
of the Bible agreed with the above statement ; so that,
whereas formerly there was no word in Scripture more
bittep to him than repentance, there was now no other
word that was sweeter and that sounded more agreeable.

An old brother monk also made a deep impression
upon Luther with his words. When Luther bewailed
his temptations, the old monk referred him to the pas-
sage in the Apostles' Creed wdiich says, ^' I believe in the
forgiveness of sins." And furthermore, to a declaration
of St. Bernard the preacher : ^' But also believe that
through Christ thy sins are forgiven thee. That is the
testimony of the Holy Spirit in thy heart when lie says,
^ Thy sins are forgiven thee.' For it is the apostle's
teaching that man through grace is justified by faith."

Day and night, says Luther, the sense and the con-
nection of this apostolic word occupied his mind. Fi-
nally an all-merciful God granted him to see that Paul
and the Gospel proclaim a righteousness which is bestowed
upon us throngh God's grace. For God forgives the
sins of those who believe in His word of grace, justifies
them, and presents them with eternal life. With this the
gates of paradise were opened to him, and thenceforth the
whole import of the divine word of salvation was clearly
revealed.

LUTHER Ilf THE MONASTERY AT ERFURT. 35

This knowledge was the glorious fruit of his sojourn
in the monastery at Erfurt. Besides a valuable fund of
information which he there acquired, he was led to inde-
pendent research and personal investigation. And thus
it came to pass that John von Staupitz recommended
Martin Luther, at the age of twenty-five, to a professor-
ship in the newly founded University of Wittenberg.

CHAPTER IT.

LUTHER A8 PROFESSOR IN WITTENBERG.

The University of Wittenberg was founded in the year
1502 by the Elector of Saxony, Duke Frederick the Wise.*
A faithful care of his subjects, sincere love of science,
and a 'deep piety combined to ripen in him the resolve
to establish a university for his people. And first of all
he was concerned to procure eminent teachers for his new
institution. In this he made use of the counsel of John
von Staupitz. The latter immediately remembered the
distinguished Augustinian monk in the cloister of Erfurt,
and recommended him to the Elector as a young man of
excellent disposition and of comprehensive attainments.
The Elector approved of the choice, and called Martin
Luther to Wittenberg in 1508.

His departure from Erfurt was taken so suddenly that
his nearest friends were scarcely informed of it. The
city of Wittenberg, in contrast with Erfurt, made a poor
impression upon him. It numbered but 3000 inhabitants,

* Frederick III., surnamed the Wise, was born in Torgau, Janu-
ary 17th, 1463 ; died at Lochau, May 5th, 1525. After the death
of the Emperor Maximilian I, he declined the crown of Germany,
which, by his advice, was conferred upon Charles V. For this
act he has been variously judged by historical writers. On his
death-bed he received the Lord's Supper with both bread and
wine, and thus sealed his adherence to the cause of the Reforma-
tion.

LUTHEE AS PROFESSOR IN WITTEITBERG. 37

was badly built, and not in a flonrishing condition. At
the university Luther began by teaching the philosophical
sciences. This was not altogether agreeable to him. He
would gladly have exchanged philosophy for theology,
especially for that theology which penetrates to the ker-
nel of the nut, the flower of th'e wheat, and the marrow
of the bones. He at once made the necessary prepara-
tions for obtaining the several theological degrees, in order
that he might soon obtain his aim. The first degree,
Bachelor of Theology, he received in 1509. He now
began to contend against the fundamental principle of
casuistry, and to search for the true and certain ground of
our salvation. The writings of the prophets and apostles,
which have proceeded from the mouth of God, he re-
garded as higher, surer, and profounder than all sophis-
try and scholastic theology — at which well-informed men
were surprised ! Thus one of them often remarked :
^' This monk is leading all the learned doctors astray ; he
is bringing forth new doctrines, and is going to reform the
whole Eoman Church."

But scarcely had he begun to teach in his new position
when he was called back to Erfurt, for what reason is not
known. When after a short absence he had returned
to Wittenberg, he received instructions from his order to
proceed to Rome. His mission was to secure the settle-
ment of a dispute that had arisen within the Augustinian
order. This was an evidence of the confidence reposed
in the youthful monk.

And so Luther proceeded to the Eternal City, the seat
of the head of the Church. As a reverent pilgrim he ar-
rived at Rome, after a six weeks' journey. Seeing the
city from afar he fell upon the earth and cried oat,
" Hail ! thou sacred Rome !" And yet he found many
things different from what he had expected. His expe-

38 THE LIFE OF MARTIN" LUTHER.

rieuce there made a lasting impression upon him. *' I
would not have taken one hundred thousand florins not
to have seen Rome. Among other coarse talk, I heard
one reading mass, and when he came to the words of conse-
cration, he said, ' Thou art bread and shalt remain bread,
thou art wine and shalt remain wine.' What was I to
think of this ? And, moreover, I was disgusted at the
manner in which they could * rattle off ' a mass as if it
had been a piece of jugglery, for long before I reached
the Gospel lesson, my neighbor had finished his mass
and cried out to me, * Enough ! enough ! hurry up and
come away,' etc. !"

Filled with awe and reverence, he had come to Rome,
and had hoped to find peace for his soul. ^^ I was one
of those frantic saints in Rome ; I ran about all the
churches and crypts, and believed all their sliameless,
impudent lies. I also read mass, perhaps ten times, and
I very much regretted that my father and mother were
still alive, for I should have been delighted to deliver
them from purgatory with my masses, and with other
precious works and many prayers." On his knees
he crept up Pilate's staircase, the 8cala Sancta or holy
stairway, which was said to have been brought from the
judgment hall to Rome and placed in the chapel of St.
John's Church of the Lateran. Luther did this in order
to receive indulgence. And yet he felt, in doing such a
work, as if a voice in thunder tones were crying out to
him : '' The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1 : 17).

And yet, in spite of all the repulsive things Luther
saw in Rome, he did not lose his faith in the Papacy.
Later in life he used his experience in that city as a
sharp sword. The shameful cruelties and tlie immoral
life of the last Pope, Alexander, were still held in lively
remembrance. Concerning Julius IL he heard and saw

LUTHER AS PK0FES8UU IN WITTENBERG. 39

nothing but what was worldly. He writes as follows :
*^ Rome is now making a grand display. The Pope is
riding about in triumph, drawn by stallions, and the Sacra-
ment {i.e. the host or consecrated wafer) is carried around
with him U23on a beautiful white stallion !" Julius II.
had already begun the erection of St. Peter's Church.
Luther little thought at the time, that in a few years
that very building should lead to the outward provocation
for protesting against the abuses of the Papacy. His
national pride was often wounded in Pome by hearing
his fellow-countrymen contemptuously spoken of as the
* ^ stupid Germans, " or as the ' ' German beasts. ' ' After a
month's residence in the cloister of *' S. Maria del Popo-
lo," on the " Piazza del Popolo," Luther set out on his
return home. He had not tarried longer than was neces-
sary ; for, said he, ' ' Whoever goes to Rome for the first
time is looking for a rogue ; whoever goes again will find
him ; and whoever goes the third time will return with
liim."*

After Luther had returned to Wittenberg he applied
himself most zealously to the study of the Holy Scrip-
tures. At the urgent recommendation of Dr. Staupitz he
applied for and received the degree of Doctor of Sacred
Theology. '^I was called and compelled to take the
doctorate, without thanks and out of pure obedience.
I was obliged to assume the honor, and to vow and promise
to teach the most precious Holy Scriptures sincerely and
honestly" — thus whites Martin Luther.

Inasmuch as the scholastic theology then current neg-
lected the study of the Bible, Luther directed his whole
attention to the latter. He began with lectures upon

* During his short stay in Rome, Luther, always eager to learn,
took lessons in Hebrew from a noted rabbi, Ellas Levita.

•40 THE LIFE OP MAUTIN LL'THEK.

the Psalms, and he explained them in such a way that, in
the opinion of Melanchthon, a new light of doctrine
arose after a long dark night. In Luther's explanations
he showed the difference between Law and Gospel. He
confronted the error that men could merit the forgiveness
of their sins through their own works, or that they could
be justified before God through outward observances, as
the Pharisees had taught. To substantiate this he ap-
pealed to his own researches in the Scriptures, to the
epistles of the Apostle Paul, and to the writings of St.
Augustine, the great master of his order. His interpre-
tation of the Psalms was followed by lectures upon the
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. And while at
work npon these sacred books, that fundamental truth,
which he subsequently defined as the article of a standing
or a falling church, became firmly rooted in his heart and
mind.

But he did not anticipate that the question how sinful
man can prevail before God and secure salvation would
ever lead to a controversy between him and the Church.
More and more this truth developed into a certainty, that
a gracious God justified the believers by placing them in
their rightful relations to Him, and by inwardly trans-
forming them. It is faith in the heart of man which
carries with it a decisive significance for communion with
God. Faith is the central point, the marrow, the direct
path on which the grace of God through our Saviour
Jesus Christ can be secured. "With this faith, and be-
cause of this Saviour, we prevail before God, we possess
the certainty of sonship and salvation. Luther views the
law as the substance of God's holy demands with refer-
ence to man's will and works, which demands the sinner
cannot fulfill. He regards the Gospel as the joyful mes-
sage and presentation of that forgiving grace of God

LUTHER AS PROFESSOR IK WITTEKBERO. 41

■which must be received by a simple faith. By the law,
says Luther, sinners are judged, condemned, and executed.
He too had to perspire and agonize under its power as
in the hand of a taskmaster and hangman. The Gospel
lifts up those that are bowed down, and makes them ahve
through faith, begotten in the heart by the joyful mes-
sage. God works in both ; in the former, the law, which
is really foreign to him as a God of love ; and in the
latter, the gospel, his own peculiar work of love, for
which, however, he must first prepare the sinner through
the law.

But the more profoundly he studied the Scriptures,
the more positively did he turn away from Aristotle,
whose philosophy for a long time had prevailed in the
Church. In this he ran counter to the controlling teach-
ings of the scholastic theologians as well as of his former
instructors.

Hence the University of Wittenberg was subjected to
many a condemnatory criticism. But this did not discon-
cert Luther ; on the contrary, his views were strength-
ened by reading the sermons of the pious theologian
Tauler.* Over against a formal ecclesiasticism he found
in the writings of the latter the profoundest religious
convictions of a Christian mind. The strivings of Lu-
ther's soul for intimate communion with God awakened
a loud echo in the writings of this pious man. Such
depth and inwardness of soul were peculiar to Luther.
His first publication was a tract, entitled '^ German Theol-
ogy," which he issued in 1516 and again in 1518. His

* John Tauler, a German mystic, was born in Strasburg in 1290,
and died therein 1361. He was one of the so-called "friends
of God," an unorganized fraternity of mystic thinkers among the
clergy and laity. In his teachings he insisted upon heart and
soul worship, and freely denounced ecclesiastical abuses.

43 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

first original work was a translation of and commentary
upon the seven penitential Psalms (6th, 31st, 50th, 101st,
129th, 142d), which appeared in 1517.

The influence of Tauler upon Luther appears also in
the sermons of the latter. He zealously contended
against those who prided themselves upon their merito-
rious works and their self-conceived holiness ; he warned
against the presumption of self -righteousness as against
a most dangerous snare, and pointed out the way upon
which the soul, by simple faith in the proffered word of
grace, would be led to its God and Saviour. At the
same time he declaimed against the practical abuses and
errors- of the ecclesiastical religious life, and expressed
himself boldly against the lives of monks and priests, and
against the absurdity of saints' legends. But the divine
origin and the divine right of the hierarchical offices of
the Papacy, the episcopacy, and of the priesthood, and
the infallibility of the Church thus governed, remained
to him inviolable.- In his sermons, at this time, he still
prayed to the Virgin Mary. He regarded the Bohe-
mians, who had separated from the Church, as sinful
heretics.

And yet the turning-point in his career had come.
The scandalous proceedings of the traffic in indulgences
forced him into the arena of battle. And the first step
once having been taken, he could not retreat. For then
he must defend and maintain that which he had ex-
perienced in severe conflicts of the soul and proclaimed
in public sermons.

He now advanced beyond the narrow circle. AYith the
rapidity of the lightning's flash his name was carried
through all Germany, and the hearts of those who were
in earnest about their soul's salvation, about their faith
and tlieir inner purification, of those to whom the indul-

LUTHER AS PROFESSOR IN WITTENBERG. 43

gences and other abuses of the Church were a scandal and
a shame, beat in unison with his own.

The Church accepted the challenge and entered into
conflict. At first it was believed that the Monk of Witten-
berg would soon be crushed, as others had been before
him. Yet he proved himself to be a match for the Pope
and the Church. Luther' s own opinion upon his first step
we have in his own words : ' ' I have permitted
vcij ' dispositions and propositions, ' which I set up in
the beginning of my conflict against indulgences, to see the
light of day, especially because the importance and the
successful progress of the cause, which in the providence
of God may follow, shall not exalt me or render me proud.
For through these same theses I publicly proclaimed mj
shame — that is, the great weakness and ignorance which
overcame me in the beginning with great fear and
trembling. Heedless and alone I entered upon this
conflict, and because I could not retreat, I not only con-
ceded much to the Pope in many and important articles,
but I also willingly and earnestly revered him. For
I was a miserable, despised brother, who at that time
resembled a corpse more than a human being. In this
condition did I confront the majesty of the Pope, in whose
very presence the kings of this world, yea the whole earth,
stood abashed, and in accordance with whose will all was
done. What my heart endured and suffered during the
first two years, and by what genuine humility, I might
almost say despair, I was possessed — of this experience
little is known by those certain spirits who afterward
attacked the majesty of the Pope with great pride and
boldness. But I, who stood alone in the conflict, was not
so happy, confident, and sure of the result. For I was
in ignorance then of much that I now know, thanks be to
God ! I disputed, and was eager to be taught. And since

44 THE LIFE OF MAIiTIN LUTHER.

the dead and the dumb masters — that is, the books of the
theologians and jurists — could not satisfactorily inform me,
I demanded counsel of the living and desired to hear the
Church of God. There I found many pious men that were
pleased with my theses and highly esteemed them. But it
was impossible for me to regard and acknowledge them
as living members of the Church, endowed with the Holy
Spirit, but simply as Pope, cardinals, bishops, theologians,
jurists, monks, and priests. Hence I awaited the Spirit's
coming, for I had eagerly accepted their teaching, so that
I was benumbed and did not know whether I was awake or
asleep. And when I had overcome, by the Scriptures,
all the arguments that were in the way, it was with great
fear, trouble, and labor that I, by the grace of Christ,
finally overcame tliis last argument, viz., that one ought
to hear the Church. For with much greater earnestness,
with genuine reverence, and with my whole heart, did
I regard the Pope's church as the true Church far more
than do these shameful and blasphemous perverters who
now so highly exalt the Pope's church."

Soon after this he sent his theses, and a further ex-
planation of the same, to the Bishop of Brandenburg, and
through Staupitz to the Pope. To Staupitz he wrote :
'^Moreover, to my enemies I have but this to say, in the
words of Eeuchlin : * * Whoever is poor fears nothing,
for he can lose nothing. ' Possessions I have none ; fame
and honor, if I have ever enjoyed them, are only lost by
him who has long since begun to lose them. But one

* John Reuchlin was born in Pforzheim in 1455, and died in
Stuttgart in 1522. He was one of the foremost advocates of the
study of classical literature, and especially of Greek and Ilel/ew.
He is said to have published the first Hebrew work priul'id in
Germany. He secretly favored Protestantism, but never publicly
renounced his connection with the Roman Catholic Church.

LUTHER AS PROFESSOR IN WITTENBERG. 45

thing remains : my frail body weakened by constant
troubles. If with craft or force tliey deprive me of that,
thinking that they are doing God a service, they may per-
haps make me poorer by an hour or two of my life.
But I am content in having my dear Redeemer and Media-
tor, my Lord Jesus Christ. I will sing unto Him as long
as I live.

Concerning his theses Luther said, some he would
prove ; the rest he would discuss, and desire further in-
formation. Powerfully and emphatically he continued
to teach the evangelical doctrine of repentance and faith.
He denied to the saints the possession of any superfluous
merit which might be of benefit to us idle and indolent
sinners. But, on the other hand, he clung to a belief in
purgatory, and cared not what heretics might babble
against it. He had a good opinion of the reigning Pope,
and hoped that he would become his patron in the con-
flict against the bold-faced traders in indulgences. But
Rome itself he declared to be the true Babylon. For the
sake of God's order and appointment, it was necessary
to yield in all things with reference to the authority of
the Pope, even to respect his unrighteous judgments,
yet without approving them, but simply because of the
general command against self-help.

But to the contrary he speaks in another passage : *^ I
do not care whether the Pope is pleased or displeased :
he is but a man like other men. I hear and obey tlie
Pope as pope — that is, when he speaks in harmony with
the laws of the Church, and when he governs himself ac-
cordingly, or when he proclaims the decisions of a Church
council — but never when he simply utters his own indi-
vidual opinions. The Pope alone can create no new arti-
cles of faith, but can merely give his opinion in accord-
ance with those that have been established, and also

46 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

decide questions at issue conceniing the faitli." But in
no event did Luther wish to remain at variance with the
Church and the Pope. '' Accept or reject, grant life or
death, as it pleaseth thee" — thus did he subject himself
to the authority of the Pope. Deeply he bewailed the sad
condition of the Church. ' ' The Church, ' ' said he, * ' needs
a reformation ; but this should not be the work of one
man, like the Pope ; nor of many cardinals, as it was in
the last general Church Council ; but of the whole world,
or rather of God alone. The time of this reformation is
known only to Him who has created time."

Many regarded the appearance of Luther as the advent
of ^his time. Thus a monk of Steinlausig, when he had
read the theses, cried out with joy, '^He is the one that
will do it ; he has come for whom we have so long
waited." And others said, '^ Now has the time arrived
when the darkness must be expelled out of Church and
school, and the pure doctrine return to the churches."
And old Eeuchlin remarked, " Thank God they have
now found a man that will give them so much of hard
work to do that they will suffer me, poor old man that I
am, to depart in peace."

Others were not so confident. ^' Go to your cell and
pray, my brother, that the Lord will have mercy upon
you" — ^thus said many a one that thought so vast an
undertaking by an insignificant monk against the Pope —
of whose might and influence kings were afraid — would
surely come to grief. '^ My dear Brother Martin," said
an aged Westphalian clergyman, '^if you can do away
with purgatory and the tralfic in indulgences, you are
indeed a great man !"

Luther's prior and sub-prior came and entreated him
not to bring reproach upon his order, for the other orders
were already leaping with joy, saying that they were not

LUTHER AS PROFESSOR IN" WITTEITBERG. 47

the only ones guilty of offenses, but that now the Augus-
tinians \vere also in the fire and bearers of shame. Lu-
ther replied to them, '' Dear fathers, if this work has
not been begun in God's name, it will soon come to
naught ; but if it has been begun in His name, then let
Him rule as He will !"

The University of Wittenberg took his part. His sys-
tem of theology was the prevailing one ; his lectm-es
drew crowds of hearers.

The Elector of Saxony left the matter in the hands of
God, attentively followed its progress, and neither
praised nor blamed. What he recognized as good and
true he was not disposed to assist in suppressing. The
Emperor Maximilian, who had read Luther's theses, sent
a message to the Elector requesting him to take good care
of the monk, for it might yet come to pass that his ser-
vices would be needed. '' His theses are not to be de-
spised," said he; ^'he will make it very lively for the
priests. ' '

But above all others did the preachers and traders in
indulgences thunder against Luther, threatening that in
less than a fortnight he would be burned at the stake.
His enemies, foremost among them the mountebank Tet-
zel, sought to annihilate him with counter-theses. But
they failed in their efforts, for Luther quieted them in a
very forcible and expeditious manner. Others remarked,
that if he had received a good bishopric he would highly
exalt indulgences instead of rejecting them.

Luther replied, in turn, that if he had had a bishopric
in view he would not have spoken as he did ; for they
ought not to suppose him to be ignorant of the manner
in which bishoprics were obtained in Rome. He was now
charged with irreverence against the Pope. This he re-
pelled by saying, ^^ The Pope is a human being who

48 THK LIFE OF MARTIN LUTIIEK.

may be deceived, especially by cunning and hypocritical
people. But God is the truth, and cannot be deceived.
Hence I entreat my enemies not to frighten me hereafter
by flattering the Pope, nor by their renowned teachers ;
but that they instruct and conquer me by well-grounded
declarations of the Bible and of the Poj)e, if they are
indeed bent upon carrying off the victory at all haz-
ards."

But how did the Pope act in this violent conflict ? Two
of his utterances are recorded : ' ' Brother Martin is a very
ingenious fellow ; but the conflict itself is merely a quar-
rel between jealous monks. ' ' And again : ' ' A drunken
German must have written these theses ; as soon as he
becomes sober he will change his mind." The highest
circles of Kome, and the immediate attendants upon the
Pope were guilty of the same depreciative and contempt-
uous treatment of the Germans and of Luther's theses.
In their replies the '' obscure German" and his ^^dog-
biting" theses were treated in the most derogatory man-
ner. They viewed the Pope as the Church of Kome, and
the Poman Church as equivalent to the universal Chris-
tian Church. But whoever presumed to question the
right of the Church to do anything it 2:)leased, was a
heretic.

Thus were the}^ disposed in Pome, at least in the begin-
ning, to assume the position of a haughty security. It
was purposed, in a short time, by means of the papal
power, to put an end to this unruly German monk. A
court of inquisition was appointed, and Luther was cited
to appear before it on the Ttli of August — within 60
days he was expected to report himself personally in
Pome.

But before this time had expired the Pope took up
other measures a^rainst Luther. The tremendous ex-

LUTHER AS PROFESSOR IN WITTBiq-BERG. 49

citement which the 95 theses had caused no doubt im-
pelled him to more vigorous proceedings. Hence the
Pope wrote to the Elector and entreated him to avoid the
very appearance of the guilt of complicity, and to deliver
Luther, the child of wickedness, into the hands of his
legate, before whom he was to vindicate himself. But
secretly the Elector was ordered to secure the arrest of
the heretic with all the means in his power. His adherents
were also to be arrested, and an interdict laid upon every
place where Luther was tolerated.

But the movement was not to be so quickly and so easily
suppressed as the Pope imagined. He was obliged to
take into account the influential tendencies prevailing in
the German Empire at that time. And these were not
favorable to him ; for everywhere grievous charges were
preferred, and bitter complaints were heard concerning
the violent and unlawful proceedings of the Pope, and es-
pecially in reference to the immense sum of money that
was annually carried to Pome. Accordingly, when in the
year 1518 the Pope again desired the grant of a large
imperial tax, ostensibly for a war against the Turks, an
embittered feehng was manifested, and it was publicly
charged that the genuine Turks were to be found in
Italy ! The Imperial Parliament declined to accede to his
request, but drew up a long list of grievances against the
Pope : as touching the large sums of money which he
collected from German benefices, and which, under vari-
ous pretexts, he extorted ; as to the unlawful assumption
of power in making ecclesiastical appointments in Ger-
many ; as to a continued violation of the ratified con-
cordats, etc.

Luther profited by all this without being aware of it.
But the Pope was obliged to take these circumstances into
account, and therefore to treat him with consideration.

50 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

Thus, tlie papal legate Cajetan* was very careful not to
increase the universal feeling of excitement in his pro-
ceedings against Luther. Indeed he promised the Elec-
tor of Saxony to hear him in Augsburg, and to treat him
with fatherly kindness. And thus Luther, in accordance
with the desire of the university authorities, and agree-
ably to his own wishes, was cited to appear in Augsbm-g.

* Cajetanor Cajetanus (Italian : Gactano) was so called from his
birthplace, Galita, in Italy. His real name was Jacob de Vio, but
he afterward substituted Thomas for Jacob, in honor of Thomas
Aquinas, his scholastic master. Cajetan was a zealous Dominican,
and became general of his order. He was an able scholar, a very
skilful intriguer, a haughty diplomatist, and withal one of the
most prominent figures in the history of the Reformation. He
was born in 1469, and died in Rome in 1534.

CHAPTER Y.

LUTHER AND THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS.

In September, 1518, Luther set out on his journey.
On the 28th he arrived at Weimar, and lodged in the
monastery. On the following day he preached in the
castle church in the presence of the Elector, who at that
time had established his court in Weimar. Easing his
discourse upon the text, Matthew 18 : 1, etc., he warned
against a proud self-righteousness and sanctimoniousness,
and against the accompanying vices of envy and avarice.
In so doing he expressly castigated the bishops, who
ought to appear in the form of servants, but who, like
Antichrist, seated themselves in the temple of God, and
used the imparted powers of their office simply to their
own advantage.

He did not refer, however, to his own position. ^' My
thoughts, ' ' said he afterward, ' ' on the journey were
these : Now I must die ; and often did I remark. What a
reproach will I be to my parents !" He undertook the
journey on foot, in company with a young monk of Wit-
tenberg, by way of Nuremberg. Here his friend Link*
met him. When in the neighborhood of Augsburg
Luther was overcome by bodily weakness. Faint-heart-
ed friends had often warned him on the way not to enter

* Link was the successor of Staupitz as Vicar-General of the
Augustinian drder, and the Reformer of the Province of Alten-
burg.

52 THE LIFE OF MARTIN" LUTHEKi

Augsburg. But in reply to them lie said, ^^In Augs-
burg, even in the midst of mine enemies, Jesus Christ
also reigns. l^Iay Christ live, even if Martin should die. "
Arriving in the neighborhood of Augsburg, he informs
us that he became very uncomfortable, that a demon tor-
tured him with evil thoughts. On the Yth of October
he arrived in Augsburg, where he was hospitably enter-
tained, at first in the Augustinian and then in the Car-
melite monastery. He was already the subject of con-
versation everywhere in the city. Everybody, said he,
wislied to see this Ilerostratus "^ who had kindled so
great a conflagration.

Luther immediately announced his arriv^alto the papal
legate. But he did not venture to meet the latter until
his friends, to whom the Elector had recommended him,
had obtained a safe-conduct from the Emperor, who was
then on a hunt in that neighborhood ; for the Italians are
not to be trusted, said Luther. In the meanwhile a ser-
vant of the Cardinal Legate delivered the following mes-
sage to him : *' The Cardinal offers you his sincere favor ;
why do you fear? He is a very affable father."

An Italian, a friend of Cajetan, also called upon
Luther, sent, according to common belief, by the Cardinal
himself. Like a genuine Italian, said Luther, this one
regards the whole matter in a very light-hearted manner,
as if it turned about these six letters : revoca {i.e. recant).
Then the Italian added, laughingly :

' ' Do you really think the Elector Frederick would go
to war on your account V '

To which Luther replied :

* An Epliesian, who on the night in which Alexander the Great
•was born, in 356 b.c, set fire to the magnificent temple of Diana,
at Ephesus, which was completely destroyed. His self-confessed
motive was to render his name immortal.

LUTHER AIsTD THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS. 53

'^ That I would not desire."

'^Aiid where, then, will you remain ?" returned the
former.

'' Under the heavens," said the latter.

*^ But what would you do were the Pope and cardinals
to have you in their power ?" continued the Italian.

^'I would show them all honor and reverence," con-
cluded Luther.

Whereupon the former departed laughing, and with a
gesture of contempt. But Luther's resolve stood fast ;
rather would he die than to recall what he had taught
and written. The idea of appealing to a council, in case
of necessity, also occurred to him, and was developing in
his mind.

After the letter of safe-conduct had arrived, Luther
proceeded to the papal legate. His friends had directed
him as to the proper manner of meeting a cardinal and
a papal legate. Luther prostrated himself in the pres-
ence of the Cardinal, and even after he had been told to
arise he remained in a kneeling position until he was
again commanded. And since neither the Cardinal nor
any one else ventured to speak, Luther believed that
this silence was an intimation that he should begin.
Accordingly he delivered himself of the following :
*' Reverend Father, in obedience to the citation of his
Papal Holiness, and to the demand of my gracious Lord,
the Elector of Saxony, 1 have appeared and confess that
I published the 95 Theses. And I am in obedience
both ready and willing to hear what accusations have
been brought against me, and if I have erred, to be in-
formed and corrected." Tlie legate then addressed
him in a gracious and fatherly manner, and in the
name of the Pope plainly demanded of him that he re-
cant his errors and promise to abstain thereafter from the

54 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

promulgation of all views that might distract the Church.
Two articles he should recall and withdraw : first, the
denial that the 'Mndulgence-treasure" of the Church is
the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ ; secondly, his main-
tenance that a person who wishes to receive the Lord's
Supper must above all things possess the faith and the
inner conviction that his sins will be forgiven him.
Hereupon a discussion ensued between Luther and Caje-
tan. The attendants of the latter audibly tittered when
they heard the explanations of the Augustinian monk,
so strange and curious did they seem to the Italians. In
vain Tdid Luther appeal to the Bible and its declarations
concerning faith. The Cardinal then confronted Luther
with the papal authority, which was above that of coun-
cils, the Church and the Scriptures, and declared unto
him, '^ You must recant to-day, whether you will or will
not ; otherwise I will condemn all your theses for the
reason assigned above." But Luther did not recant,
lie concluded the interview with the request to grant
him a few days more for further consideration.

On the same day Staupitz also arrived in Augsburg.
All action now taken was first deliberated over in com-
mon. Luther submitted a written declaration, offering
publicly to defend his theses, and prepared to receive
the judgment of the faculties at Basel, Freiburg, Lou-
vain, and Paris upon them. Cajetan smiled at this pro-
posal, and admonished him to give up such idle thoughts,
but rather to refiect upon his couree and to retreat, for
he would find it " hard to kick against the pricks !" In
no case would he admit of a disputation ; but he per-
mitted Luther to submit another and a longer explana-
tion of the principal points at issue.

This document was sent to Cajetan on the following
day. In it Luther emphatically declares : that the papal

LUTHER Als'D THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS. 65

decretals may err and conflict with Holy Writ ; that
every individual Christian can exercise the right to
prove the papal decisions in the light of God's Word ;
and in conclusion, Luther entreats the legate to show
him a better way, and not to force him to act contrary to
his conscience, for we must obey God rather than man.
The cardinal legate rejected Luther's written declara-
tions without examination, and again urged him to re-
cant, whereupon a violent war of words ensued. The
cardinal threatened with ban and interdict, and dismissed
Luther, saying, '^ Go, and do not show your face again
to me, unless it be to recant. ' '

Thus was Luther sent away by the cardinal, who is
said to have added this remark : ^^ I will not confer with
this beast again, for it has deep eyes and wonderful
speculations in its head." Staupitz and Link now de-
parted from the city of Augsburg, not believing it to be
safe to trust the Italians. But Luther tarried and
awaited the pleasure of the legate. The latter, how-
ever, remained silent, even after Luther had written
again in a humble spirit asking forgiveness for his exhib-
ited violence, promising to remain silent if his opponents
would do the same, and professing himself as willing to
recant, provided he were better instructed. But al-
though he made all these concessions, he received no an-
swer. And after he had drawn up another declaration,
appealing from *^the badly informed Pope to the better-
to-be-instructed Pope," he sent it to Cajetan, and nailed
a copy of it to the door of the cathedral. He then left
the city on the 20th of October.

Luther's friends, fearing that he would not be per-
mitted to depart from the city, provided for him a
horse and an old companion at arms, and dismissed him
at night through a secret gate in the city walls. Thus he

56 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHER.

escaped upon a hard-riding trotter, in liis monk's coat,
witliout boots or pants, spurs or sword, travelling about
forty miles before he sought rest. When he dismounted
at the inn at Monheim* he could hardly stand, and for
weariness fell down upon the straw. In Griifenthal f he
met the friendly Count Albert of Mansfeld, who laughed
at Luther's feats of riding, and invited him to join his
company.

On the anniversary day of the nailing of the theses to
the church door, Luther returned to Wittenberg amid
the rejoicings of students and citizens. In the evening
he sent a message to his friend Spalatin, saying, " By
God's grace I have arrived safe and sound, but uncertain
how long I shall remain. For my cause is so situated
that I both hope and fear. I am filled ^vith joy and
peace, so that I am surprised that the trials which have
befallen me should appear to many to be something
great. ' '

In possession of inward joy and peace, and surrounded
by the circle of his friends at Wittenberg, Luther could
now continue the conflict against the papacy. Soon
there arrived a letter from the cardinal, Cajetan, prefer-
ring charges against Luther, and demanding his surrender
or expulsion from Wittenberg. But the Elector Frederick
did not accede to this demand. He carefully protected
Luther, and insisted upon it that the controversy should
be settled in Germany. Privately he felt a warm interest
in Luther's cause, but desired that he should desist from
further provocation.

Yet Luther did not refrain from new measures and
continued declarations. He publislied a report of his

* Augsburg and Monheim are in Bavaria,
t Griifenthal is in the Thuringian Forest.

LUTHER AND THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS. 67

interviews with Cajetan, and added a farther justification
of his procedure, in which he more positively than
ever before attacked the papacy. The doctrine of the
divine right of the papacy and of its necessary existence
as an essential part of the Church of Christ, he de-
clared to be ''the foolishness of silly people, who in op-
position to Christ's own words, that ' the kingdom of God
eometli not with observation,' would bind the church of
Christ to time and place ; and who would dare question
the Christian standing of any one not disposed to submit
to the Pope's domination."

Shortly thereafter Luther appealed, in a formal and
solemn proclamation, to a universal council of the Chris-
tian Church. By this act he forever severed his relations
to the papacy. Daily he expected to receive the ban of ex-
communication from Rome. He made all necessary prep-
arations, in order, as he wrote to Spalatin, that he might
be ready, on the arrival of the ban, to go out like Abraham,
not knowing whither, but certain that God is everywhere.
In one of his sermons he said to the congregation : "I
am now a very uncertain preacher, as you have already
experienced, and have often gone off without bidding
you farewell. If that should happen again, you may
take my present words as a farewell greeting, in case 1
should not return." He was prepared each moment for
flight and exile. He felt also that he must withdraw for
the Elector's sake, in order that no suspicion should at-
tach itself to the latter because of any supposed adherence
to Luther's teachings upon indulgences and the papal
authoritv. He also thousrht if he remained at Witten-
berg, that he could not speak and write as freely as he
would desire, whereas if he departed he could freely de-
liver himself and offer his life unto Christ. He was filled
with courage for the conflict and with the spirit of action.

58 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

'Far more extensive issues are being born of my pen,"
writes Luther ; " I do not know whence these thoughts
come ; in mj opinion this movement has not yet fairly
begun, instead of soon ending, as the noble lords at Rome
vainly imagine." '^ The more they rage and meditate
upon the use of force, the less do I fear, and the more
freely will I attack the E-oman serpents. I am prepared
for the worst that may happen and await the counsel of
God." '^ This I know, indeed ; that I would be treated
as the dearest and most agreeable person, did I but speak
one word : revoco ; that is, I recall. But I will not make
myself a heretic by the recall of that opinion by which
I became a Christian. . I would rather die, be burnt,
exiled, and accursed."

But the danger from Eome did not threaten as speedily
as was anticipated or feared. The project there enter-
tained, of bringing the rebellious monk back to a state
of obedience, had not been given up ; but the time had
not yet come for extreme measures.

Karl von Miltitz, a Saxon nobleman and chamberlain of
the Pope, was now sent as an ambassador to Germany,
with special instructions to the Elector of Saxony. In
the person of the latter the papal chair recognized the
secret protector of the dangerous monk. The mission
of Miltitz was to deprive Luther of his patron's support,
and then to lead him away to Rome.

To this end the papal ambassador appeared before the
Elector, presenting him with a distinguished emblem of
gracious favor, the golden rose. This was '' a very
precious and mysterious present,- ' which the Pope was
accustomed annually to bestow upon that eminent Chris-
tian prince who had rendered good service to the apos-
tolic authority, the Pope at Rome. Miltitz was commis-
eioned to present tliis golden rose to the Elector of

LUTHER AKD THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS. 59

Saxony, to the intent tliat the divine fragrance of this
flower should penetrate the heart of Frederick, so that he
might receive the requests of the ambassador with a pious
regard, and be disposed with glowing ardor to carry out
the sacred wishes of the Pope. At least this much was
expected in Rome from the fragrance of the golden rose.
Irreverent wits remarked, that if the rose had arrived
sooner in Wittenberg its perfume would have been more
agreeable ; for it had lost its fragrance on the long and
wearisome journey !

Miltitz was empowered to demand the following,
as expressed in a special communication : the Elector
should support Miltitz in the measures to be taken against
Luther, the child of Satan and the son of perdition,
because of his heretical preaching in the lands of
Frederick. Messages of similar import were addressed
to Spalatin, the magistrate of Wittenberg, and to many
others. It is said that Miltitz was armed with more than
seventy such papal communications.

At the close of December Miltitz* arrived in Alten-
burg. Well acquainted as he was with the condition of
affairs in Germany, he had informed himself on the way,
among the cultured as well as among the common people,
in regard to the popular opinion of the man against whom
he had been sent. He soon found that out of every five

* Miltitz had made an appointment to meet Tetzel at Alten-
burg, in Saxony, to reprimand him for his excesses. But the
latter, fearing the popular wrath, did not dare to undertake the
journey. After Miltitz had concluded his conference with Luther,
he went to Leipsic, and meeting Tetzel he administered so severe
a reproof that he sickened and died of chagrin in a Dominican
cloister, July 4th, 1519. Luther wrote Tetzel a comforting letter
during his sickness — an evidence of the nobility of soul and large-
heartedness of the great Reformer.

CO THE LIFE OF MARTINS' LUTHER.

persons, scarce two or three had remained loyal to Eome.
It is possible that because of this discovery he changed
his method of procedure, for he confessed that he
would not have dared to take Luther away w^ith him to
Eome, not even if he had had an army of 25,000 men.

In Altenburg Miltitz met Luther in the first week of
the new year, 1519. He addressed Luther amid tears
and Vv-ith many words, exhorting him to recant, and
showing all possible friendship and affection. He hoped
in this way to persuade Luther. But Luther did not trust
him. This apparent good-will seemed to him hypocriti-
cal ; the greeting, a Judas's kiss ; the lamentations, croc-
odile'^S tears ! Yet he promised to make concessions so
far as his conscience would permit him to do, but certain-
ly nothing more. They mutually agreed, furthermore,
*Hhat both parties should be forbidden to write and to
teach upon the questions at issue." Besides this, Miltitz
proposed to write to the Pope, requesting him to appoint
a learned bishop to act as arbitrator, having in mind the
Archbishop of Treves (Trier). The joint meeting was to
be held hereafter in the city of Coblentz.

Thus far the negotiations seem to have taken a favor-
able turn. Luther, likewise, addressed a meek epistle to
the Pope. He also published an address to the German
people, in which he seeks to refute the slanders of those
who had endeavored to prejudice him and his cause by
misrepresenting his teachings about intercession, purga-
tory, indulgences, the commands of the Holy Church,
good works, and the Eoman Cliurch ; he aims to show,
that in no wise does lie depart from the faith of all
Christendom ; that in order to maintain peace he is
willing to make sacrifices ; and he also professes his be-
lief in certain Eoman Catholic teachings which he after-
ward publicly rejected.

LUTHER AKD THE PAPAL AMBASSADORS. 61

Miltitz seems to have been satisfied with these declara-
tions of Luther, though it could not jet be known how
they would be regarded by the Papal authorities. Fur-
ther negotiations to induce Luther to go to Coblentz were
unsuccessful, for he would not venture to undergo the risk
upon an uncertainty, and hence declined. He pleasantly
remarked that he had not so much time to spare to take
so long a promenade ! Besides, the Archbishop of
Treves had received no mandate from Eome to hold the
proposed conference meeting.

In the meanwhile the Emperor Maximilian * had died,
and the Elector of Saxony had become Imperial Yicar,
an event which exercised a favorable influence upon
Luther' s cause. The papal authorities were obliged, now
more than ever, to take the Elector into account in all
their plans, for his position in Germany exercised a de-
termining influence. The successor of Maximilian was
his nineteen-year-old nephew, Eang X!harles f of Spain.
He was no friend to German life and institutions,
Luther and his cause experienced this on more than one
occasion.

* Maximilian I. was of the House of Hapsburg, born in 1459, and
died in 1519. He became Emperor of Germany in 1493.

t Charles I. of Spain, better known as Charles V., Emperor of
Germany, was bom in 1500, and died in 1558. He was chosen
Emperor in 1519, and retired into a convent in 1556, his brother
Ferdinand succeeding him as Emperor of Germany.

CHAPTEK YI.

THE DISPUTATION AT LEIPSIC.

"Whilst Miltit^ continued his attempts at reconciliation
and prepared tlie way for a meeting between Lutlier and
the Archbishop of Treves, Luther felt himself obliged
to get ready for a public debate with Dr. Eck."^ The
latter iiad been carrying on an epistolary war with one of
Luther's colleagues, Dr. Karlstadt. This was now to be
ended by a public disputation at Leipsic. To this end
Dr. Eck published a number of theses which he proposed
to defend against Karlstadt. But in these theses Luther
was attacked, rather than his colleague, especially in re-
gard to the supremacy of the Pope in the early centuries
of the Christian Church. On this point Karlstadt had
neither written nor spoken. Hence it was evident that
Eck's theses were directed against Luther, who felt him-
self obliged once more to enter the arena of conflict.
Since he had been attacked by Eck he demanded the
right to take part in the debate. His friends endeavored
to dissuade him from this step, but he soon convinced
them that he must go himself and defend his cause,
saying: '^Even should I perish, the world will not go
to destruction on that account. By the grace of God the
"VVittenbergers [meaning his adherents] have so far pro-
gressed that they do not need me."

* John Mayr von Eck was born in Eck, Swabia, in 1486, and
died in Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, in 1543. The latter part of his life
was devoted to effect a reunion of the conflicting parties.

THE DISPUTATION AT LEIPSIC. 63

The disputation was appointed for the 27th of June,
1519. Duke George of Saxony came from Dresden to
Leipsic and ordered the largest hall in his palace, the
Pleissenburg, to be used for that purpose, and handsomely
decorated. Dr. Eck arrived in time ; the Wittenbergers,
on Friday, June 24th. ^ ^ The latter entered by the Grim-
ma gate," thus writes an eye-witness, ^'escorted by 200
of their students, armed with spears and halberds. Dr.
Karlstadt rode first, followed by Luther and Melanchthon
in an open wagon. After they had entered the Grimma
gate and had reached the doors of St. Paul's church
cemetery. Dr. Karlstadt' s wagon broke down, and the
doctor was thrown into the mud. Dr. Martinus and his
companion, Philippus, rode by and continued their
course. The people that saw it remarked: *^ Luther
will triumph, but Karlstadt will be defeated. ' '

The day before the appointed time, it was agreed upon
that Karlstadt and Eck should open the debate. On the
27th of June the disputation was inaugurated with great
secular and religious festivities, beginning with an address
of welcome in Latin, continuing with a mass in St. Thom-
as's church, and concluding with a musical concert. A
large number of theologians, as well as educated and un-
educated laymen, had assembled to attend the proceed-
ings. During four days Eck and Karlstadt contended
about theological questions of the free-will of man and
his relation to the operations of divine grace, Eck had
the advantage over Karlstadt, both in dialectic ability
and in power of memory. The members of the Uni-
versity of Leipsic supported Eck and exalted him in
every possible way. But Luther and his Wittenberg as-
sociates they regarded at a distance. Between the stu-
dents of the two universities violent contentions arose
upon the questions at issue.

64 THE LIFE OF MARTIJf LUTHER.

On the 4th of July the debate began between Luther
and Eck. A contemporary and eve-witness has preserved
the following sketch of the contending parties : " Martin
Luther is of medium stature, meagre in body, and so ex-
hausted by his cares and studies that one can almost count
every bone in his frame. He is as yet in the strength of
manhood. His voice is cleai and distinct ; his learning
and knowledge of the Scriptures are wonderful, so that
he has full command.

*^ He understands Greek and Hebrew well enough to
judge of different interpretations of the Scriptures. Nor
is he lacking in material for his discourses, for he has pos-
session of an extraordinary amount of facts and words.
In social life and intercourse he is polite and friendly ;
there is nothing gloomy or proud about him ; and he has
the disposition to accommodate himself to different per-
sons and varying circumstances. In society he is cheer-
ful and witty. He is always lively, joyful, and positive,
and has a pleasing countenance, no matter how hard his
opponents threaten him ; so much so that one is obliged
to believe that the man cannot bear so heavy a burden
witliout the help of the gods. By many he is reproached
with being intemperate in his attacks and biting in his
criticisms, more so indeed than is becoming to a theologian,
and to one who is presenting something new in divine
things. In the case of Karlstadt all these characteristics
are very much reduced in degree ; he is smaller in stat-
ure, his face is dark and sunburnt, his voice hollow and
disagreeable. Eck, on the contrary, is tall, well-built, and
robust, has a full round voice proceeding from a large
chest, well-endowed either for an actor or a town-crier.
His features are such that he would sooner be taken for
a butcher or a soldier than for a theologian. His mem-
ory is excellent, and if his understanding ^vere likewise,

THE DISPUTATIOiq- AT LEIPSIC. 65

he would be regarded as a perfect work of nature. But
lie is lacking in quick perceptive faculties and in acute-
ness of judgment. His aim is to adduce a large amount
of stuff, to mystify liis hearers, and to produce the im-
lu-ession of great superiority. To this must be added his
incredible audacity, for as soon as he observes that he
has been caught in the net of his opponent, he seeks to turn
the discussion into another channel. And then he pos-
sesses great vivacity in speaking and shouting, and freedom
in gesticulating with the arms and the whole body."

The debate had reached its climax when Luther re-
ferred to the theses of Huss, condemned by the Coun-
cil of Constance, in 1415, and in bad repute all over
Germany. Eck endeavored to throw the suspicion of
sympathy with the Bohemian heresy upon Luther, in
discussing the question, whether the supremacy of the
Pope was based upon divine or human right. But
Luther guarded himself well, and yet maintained that
among the articles of Huss there were many that were
Christian and evangelical, such as these : that there is
but one universal Christian Church ; and that the belief
in the supremacy of the Eoman Catholic Church is
not necessary to salvation. Whilst Luther was thus
quoting the theses of Huss,* Duke George cried out with
a loud voice, audible to all, ^' May the deuce take that !"
shaking his head and planting his arms at his sides. At
another time, when Luther declared that the Pope derives
his authority not by divine but by human right, Duke
George again exclaimed, '^ The Pope ^> Pope, whether

* Duke George of Saxony remained all his life-time one of the
bitterest opponents of Luther and the Reformation. He perse-
cuted and punished his own subjects for espousing the new doc-
trines. At his death, in 1539, his brother Henry succeeded him
and formally introduced Protestantism.

66 THE LIFE OF MARTIlf LUTHBR.

by human or by divine right." The debate upon the
chief question, the supremacy of the Pope, was continued
for live days, but without any result. Further disputa-
tions concerning purgatory, indulgence, and repentance
were of minor importance ; likewise the closing debate
between Eck and Karlstadt. On the 15th of July the
disputation was closed. Eck claimed the victory. He
departed with a display of triumph, extolled by his
friends, and rewarded with favor and honors by Duke
George of Saxony. Luther left for home in ill-humor.
He thus expresses himself about the Leipsic disputation :
*^ Eck-and his friends did not seek truth, but fame. No
wonder, then, that the debate had a bad beginning and
worse ending."

But in truth this disputation was very helpful to the
dissemination of Reformation thoughts. Everywhere the
questions at issue were discussed. ' ' Luther's teachings, ' '
wTites a contemporary, ' ^ have aroused so much strife, dis-
sension, and disturbance among the people, that there
is scarce a country or a city, a village or a family, that hag
not been divided and agitated even unto blows. ' '

CHAPTER YTI.

OONOERNING THE BAN OF EXCOMMTuNICATION.

Another interval of time liad elapsed. Luther had
once more returned to "Wittenberg and zealously devoted
himself to his work in the professor's chair as well as in
the pulpit, where he clearly and impressively proclaimed
the new truths. In his writings, too, he was not idle.
And herein a new controversy developed itself.

As yet the Pope had passed no public sentence of
condemnation upon Luther, although he had often called
him a heretic deserving his anathema. The universities
of Cologne and Louvain, as well as the Bishop of
Meissen, now brought their complaints against Luther
before the Pope. The former maintained that Luther's
writings should be destroyed by fire, and he himseK
forced to recant. The latter called attention to a passage
in one of Luther's pamphlets, in which he contended
that the Church should again grant the cup (the wine)
to the laity in the Lord's Supper. For, why should the
priest be entitled to more than the layman ? Christ
knows of no such difference. In his profound study of
the Scriptures this conviction had grown upon him, and
in this point of doctrine he found himself in accord with
Huss and his followers. He was now stigmatized as a
fellow-heretic with Huss ; but he was not much troubled
about it. He replied to these accusations as follows :
" All that I have thus far taught, I have learned from

68 THE LIFE OF 3IARTI>q- LUTHER.

Jolin Huss * — but without knowing it. John Staupitz
lias done the same. In short, we are all Hussites, \vith-
out being aware of it. The Apostle Paul and Augustine
were also Hussites ! For fear and trembling, 1 do not
know what to think of the impending judgments of God
upon men, who, for more than one hundred years, have
condemned the clearest evangelical truth, and have
suffered no one to declare it." And at another time he
wrote to Spalatin : '^ Do not imagine that Christ's cause
upon earth can be furthered in sweet peace. The word
of holiness can never be proclaimed without unrest and
danger ; it is a word of eternal majesty, and accom-
plishes great tilings and w^onderful, among the high and
the great. It kilJs, as says the prophet, the fat and the
strong in Israel (Ezekiel xxxiv. 16). In this matter peace
must be given up or else the word of God denied. The
war is the Lord's, w^ho came not to bring peace into the
world. If thou dost rightly estimate the Gospel, then
do not believe that its cause can be conducted without
tumult, offence, and disturbance. The word of God is
a sword ; it is war, overthrow, vexation, poison. It will
meet the children of Ephraim, as Amos (v. 19) says, like
a bear in the way and a lion in the woods." And con-
cerning himself Luther says : ''I cannot deny that I
am more violent than I ought to be ; they know that,
and for that very reason ouglit not to have excited the
dug ! How hard it is to temper the heat and restrain

* John Huss, the Bohemian Reformer, was born in 1373, and
burned at the stake July Cth, 1415. On his way to the place of
execution he uttered this memorable prophecy : " You are to-day
roasting a lean goose (the meaning of his name) ; but after a hun-
dred years you will hear the song of a swan, arising from my
ashes, whom you will not be able to roast." Hence the swan ia
often found in pictures of Lutlier.

CON-CERN^IlfG THE BAN" OF EXCOMMUNICATIOIT. 69

the pen, tlion knowest from personal experience. This
is the reason why I have always been unwilling publicly
to proclaim my cause. And the more I am disposed
not to do so, the more I am compelled against my will ;
and this happens because of the severest accusations
wJiich are heaped upon God's word and myself. And
so shameful has this been, that even if my pen and my
impetuosity had not carried me away, a heart of stone
would have been moved to take up arms ; how much the
more I that am impetuous by nature, and possess not a
very dull pen !"

Luther soon had ample opportunity to set his pen in
motion. The entire Dominican order exerted its in-
fluence against Luther. Eck hastened to Rome to work
against him. The Bishop of Brandenberg in a moment
of excitement is said to have remarked that he would
not place his head to rest until he had thrown Martin
Luther into the fire ! Duke George of Saxony, shocked
at Luther's agreement with the Hussites, preferred
charges against him before his own ruler, the Elector of
Saxony. In short, mighty enemies appeared from all
quarters, bent upon his destruction.

As yet the Elector protected him. And from many
other parties did Luther receive active support. His
writings were scattered broadcast, in hundreds of copies,
all over the land, gaining for him many friends and
adherents. Many who had formerly been at enmity with
Rome now united their cause and fortunes with his own.
But the most renowned among the learned of his times,
Erasmus and Reuchlin, prudently kept in the back-
ground. On the other hand, Ulrich von Hutten, a
German knight, espoused Luther's cause with bolder
courage and a powerful activity. Daring and spirited,
he wielded a vigorous pen, and was prepared to serve

70 THK LIFE OF MAnTI^" LUTIIEK,

the Gospel with his sword. He glowed with ardor for
the honor and greatness of Germany, and hated the
Italian spirit. From early yonth he was an enemy to
monkery, and by his boldness he inflicted many a blow
upon the papacy. Among the circle of his friends and
equals he secured numerous supporters for Luther's
cause. At first he regarded the advent of the Augustinian
as a pitiable, monkish quarrel ; but soon he w\as better
informed. After many wanderings and manifold ex-
periences he found at last an energetic and powerful
friend in the person of Franz von Sickingen, experi-
enced in war and informed as to political questions.
Ulrich von liutten now united his fortunes with the
latter in order to make common cause a£:ainst the ob-
scurantists and the Eoman hierarchy. Landstuhl and
Ebernburg were the names of the strong castles of Franz
von Sickingen, which could afford a safe protection to
the oppressed. As such they were now offered to the
bold monk who had attacked the papacy with so keen
weapons. Should the ban of excommunication arrive,
and should Luther no longer be safe in Wittenberg, then
Sickingen' s burg would afford an excellent place of
refuge. And another knight, Sylvester von Schauen-
burg, wrote to him : ** Should the Elector and others in
authority demand of you to recede, do not let that
trouble you ; nor do you take refuge among the Bohe-
mians ; for I and hundreds of the nobility will protect
you from danger."

Such messages must have been highly welcome to
Luther. " Schauenburg and Sickingen," * said he, "have

* Schauenburg was a native and inhabitant of Ilolstein. Sick-
ingen was one of the last of the German knights who maintained
the right of private warfare. He was noted for his valor and
generosity. He died in 1523, of a wound received in defending

CONCERNIIsTG THE BAl^ OF EXCOMMUN-ICATIOK. 71

delivered me from the fear of men. I shall now have to
encounter the wrath of demons." He wished that the
Pope be informed that he, Luther, would now jB.nd pro-
tection from the shafts of his lightnings in the heart of
Germany ; and that, thus protected, he would attack the
Romanists in a manner far different from that in which
he had been able to attack them in his official position.
' ^ My opponents shall know," wrote Luther, 'Hhat what
I have not yet said against them has been owing, not
to my leniency, nor to their merit or tyranny, but to the
name and fame of the Elector and the common interests
of the University of Wittenberg. As far as I am con-
cerned, the die is cast ! Rome's favor and wrath are
contemned ! I will never become reconciled to them,
nor hold fellowship with them. Let them condemn and
burn my books !"

But Luther's adherents, and especially TJlrich von
Hutten,* said, ^' What have we to do with the Romans and
with their bishop ? Have we not archbishops and bishops
in Germany ? As if we were obliged to kiss the feet of the
Pope ! Let Germany return, and it will return, to its
own bishops and shepherds !"

'' The time for silence is passed, and the time for
speaking is come. " Thus Luther begins his pamphlet,
^' To the Christian JS'obles of the German Kation : About

his castle Landstuhl, near Kaiserslautern, in the Palatinate. His
other stronghold, Ebernburg, is now a picturesque ruin on the
Rhine.

* Hutten was born near Fulda in 1488, and died in Switzerland
in 1523. He was placed in a cloister to become a monk, but ran
away and led a short, wandering, and tempestuous career. His
intense national spirit, his bitter enmity against Rome, and his
caustic satires upon the immoral and superstitious clergy, aided
the cause of the Reformation.

72 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHER.

the Reformation of Christendom." He now appeals to
tlie laity, in the hojDe that God will use them to deliver His
Church, since the clergy have become altogether indif-
ferent. Xot through wantonness or temerity does he
presume to address the Emperor and Christian nobles of
the German nation ; but the need and the grievances
which afilict all classes in Christendom, and especially in
Germany, compel him to cry out and to ask whether God
would grant the Spirit to some one to extend the help-
ing hand to miserable humanity.

"The Romanists," says Luther, "have with great
adroitness built a triple wall about themselves, so that no
one lias been able to reform them, and because of which
all Christendom has fearfully' degenerated. Iq the first
place, whenever they have been threatened by the secu-
lar power, they have resisted and said. The secular power
has no right over the spiritual power ; but, on the con-
trary, the latter has control over the former. And when
the Holy Scripture was brought to bear upon them, they
contended that the Pope alone should interpret it. And,
in the third place, when they are threatened with a
council, they pretend that no one but the Pope can call
a council. Thus have they secretly stolen three of our
rods, that they may go unpunished ; and having fortified
themselves with this triple wall, they have carried on
their knavery and wickedness in security."

These three walls Luther now proposes to overturn and
demolish. He declares the difference between the spirit-
ual and secular orders to be fictitious and hypocritical ; he
maintains that all Christians belong to the spiritual order,
and that there is no difference between them other than
that of the respective ofiices which different members have
wherewith to serve one another, according to 1 Peter u. 9
and Rev. iii. 10. The secular power is not superior to

CONCERNING THE BAN OF EXCOMMUNICATION. 73

the spiritual power. The former is entitled to rule free
and unhindered upon its own territory. No Pope or
bishop herein can interfere ; no priest is exempt from its
control. The second wall is even weaker and more un-
safe, for they pretend to be masters of Scripture, when
during their whole lives they have learned nothing from
it. Christ has said of all Christians that they should be
taught of God. So that even an obscure man, if he be a
true Christian, may have the right understanding of the
Bible. And, on the other hand, the Pope, if he be not
a true Christian, will not be taught of God. If the
Pope were always and alone right, then we ought to
pray, ''I believe in the Pope of Rome." The Chris-
tian Church would thus, as it were, be concentrated into
one person, which would be nothing else than satanic
and infernal error. The third wall, however, falls with
the first two ; for where the Pope acts contrary to the
Scriptures, we are in duty bound to stand by the word of
God and to admonish Him according to Christ's command :
*^ If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault, between thee and him alone" (Matt, xviii. 15).
But if he is to be accused before the church, then the
church must be convened in a council, which should be
a free Christian council, bound by no vow to the Pope,
nor by any so-called canonical law, but subject only to
God's word in the Holy Scriptures.

Luther then considers in detail the several points upon
which the council is to act, and concerning Avhicli a
reformation must be insisted upon. He calls the Pope
the antichrist. He contrasts his self -exaltation, his
worldly pride, the idolatry practised with him, with the
life and person of Christ, who went about in poverty, and
offered himself a sacrifice on the cross. He considers at
length the tyranny exercised by the Roman court over

74 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

the local state clinrclies, and especially over those of
Germany, in frequent extortions. The churches of each
country should be permitted to regulate their own affairs
at home. Then he protests against the haughty and
insolent behavior of the Pope towards the German
Emperor, in presuming to control the latter, obliging
him to hold his stirrup and kiss his foot ! In his spiritual
office, in preaching, in dispensing the word of divine
grace, the Pope is indeed superior to the Emperor ; but
in all other things the Emperor is superior. Luther
demands, furthermore, the abolition of the state of celi-
bacy for the clergy ; restriction of the system of monas-
ticism, of festivals and holidays, as well as of pil-
grimages ; organization of charitable work, and the
erection of schools for hoys and girls. He is deeply dis-
tressed when he regards the condition of the youth, who,
in the very centre of Christendom, are languishing in
ignorance and going to destruction in sin. And after
touching upon many other questions, such as the extor-
tionate charges and usurious interest in the loaning of
money, he concludes: ^'I am well aware that I have
sung in too lofty a strain, and have said many things in
vain, attacking other things also too sharply. But what
shall I do ? I am at least obliged to express my opinion.
If I were able I would also do that which I claim should be
done. I would rather have the world angry at me than
have God angry. They can deprive me of nothing more
than my life. I have often offered peace to my op-
ponents, but God has obliged me to open my mouth
wider and give them enough to do to speak and to
write, to bark and to cry. There is one more song that
I can sing ; if they are itching for it they shall hear it,
and in the loudest strains." And his closing words
are: ''God give us all a Christian understanding, and

CONCERlTIi^^a THE BAIST OF EXCOMMUKICATION. 75

especially to the Christian nobles of the German nation
a right spiritual courage, to do the very best for our poor
Church. Amen."

In the course of a few weeks, in the month of August,
1520, four thousand copies of this " war-trumpet " were
circulated, and Luther was obliged to publish a new edi-
tion. Besides this, he also wrote a series of pamphlets for
instruction and consolation. He wielded a ready pen.
^' I have surely a rapid hand and a quick memory," says
Luther, ' ' so that what I write flows freely of its own
account, and not as if 1 had to produce it ; and yet I am
not able to get over the ground.' '

As to the new song he wished to sing of Rome, he no
doubt referred to his treatise about '' The Babylonian Cap-
tivity of the Church." In this he speaks, with clearness
and deep religious fervor, of the meaning of the Sacra-
ments. But he opposes the so-called sacraments of confir-
mation, marriage, ordination, and supreme unction. At
the close he says : ^ ' I hear that the papal anathemas are
ready to be hurled against me to compel me to recant.
If this be so, then I wish that this little book be consid-
ered a part of my future recantation, in order that they
may not vainly complain about their inflated tyranny.
And in a little while I will issue a recantation, by
the help of Christ, the like of which the Roman court
has hitherto neither seen nor heard, and therewith I shall
prove my obedience, in the name of my Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen !"

CHAPTER VIII.

LUTHER BURNS THE PAPAL BULL OF EXCOMMUNICATION.

"What had long been anticipated now came to pass.
Eck arrived in Germany with tlie papal bull of excom-
nmnication. On the 21st of September, 1520, he pub-
lished it in Meissen. It was also proclaimed elsewhere.
In the beginning of October it was published in Witten-
berg.

The papal bull begins as follows : * 'Arise, O Lord, and
judge thy cause ! Remember the reproach which the
foolish cast against Thee all day long ! St. Peter, St.
Paul, the congregation of saints, and the whole church
are called upon to arise. The foxes would lay waste the
Anneyard of the Lord ; a wild boar has entered therein ;
a savage beast would pasture there." Then forty-one of
Luther's theses are considered and condemned as hereti-
cal, lie himself is called upon to recant within sixty
days. If he and his followers refuse, they will be treated
as stiif -necked heretics. His writings are to be burned,
so that liis remembrance shall be totally blotted out of
the congregation of Christian believers. All intercourse
with him and his adherents is forbidden. Every one is
commanded to seize Martin Luther and to deliver him to
the Pope in Rome. There he shall be dealt with accord-
ing to law. Without doubt the punishment intimated
refers to death at the stake, for the papal bull expressly
condemns the declaration of Luther : to burn heretics is
against the w^ill of the Holy Spirit.

BURN"IKG THE PAPAL BULL OF EXCOMMUNICATIOlS". 77

Luther himself received the papal interdict with great
calmness of soul. What next wonld happen he did not
know ; he intrusted it to Him whose throne is in the
heavens, and who had foreseen this event, its beginning
and ending, from all eternity. He had but little hope
in the good- will of the Emperor. *' Would that Charles
were a man, ' ' he cried out, ' ' and that he would contend
for Christ and against Satan." He called to mind the
Biblical saying, ^' Put not your trust in princes" (Ps.
cxlvi. 3). ^' They are but men, and cannot help you.
If the Gospel were of such a nature that it could be dif-
fused and supported by the great men of this world, then
God would not have intrusted it to fishermen."

Eck, however, was badly received, with his bull, in
Germany. In Leipsic the citizens posted w^arnings
against him on every street-corner. To save himself
from personal violence he was obliged to take refuge in
the monastery of St. Paul's church. The students sang
satirical songs for his benefit. He did not meet with
better treatment in Erfurt, where the students, arms in
hand, made an attack upon him, seized the printed copies
of the bull, and threw them into the river Gera. Miltitz
was nevertheless encouraged to resume his attempts at
reconciliation between the Pope and Luther. And not-
withstanding the bull of excommunication, he did not
doubt that the conflict could be allayed. By the ad-
vice of the Elector, Luther agreed to make another
effort, and directed a letter to Pope Leo, inclosing a
new treatise, upon the Liberty of the Christian, compre-
hending the substance of Christian life. And thus does
Luther declare himself : '^ A Christian is a free man over
all things, and subject to no man. 'No external things
can make him pious and free, but the lioly Gospel only,
and a strong, pure faith in God and Jesus Christ.

78 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

Through this a Christian is exalted above all things, and
made his own master. Nothing can injure his salvation ;
everything must be subject to him and to his salvation.
Who can perfectly conceive the honor and the supreme
elevation of a Christian ? Through his kingdom he con-
trols all earthly things ; through his priesthood he con-
trols God, for God does what he asks and wills."

But, on the other hand, a Christian is also a ministering
servant in all things and subject to every one. For he
has still another will in his flesh that would lead him
captive in sin. Hence he dare not be idle. He must
labor with himself to expel his evil desires and to sub-
due his own body. Nor dare we despise the weakness
or the weak faith of our neighbor, but must serve him
in all things to his improvement. Thus the Christian,
who is a free man, becomes a ministering servant in all
things and subject to every one. And at the close he says :
^' A Christian does not live unto himself, but in Christ
and in his neighbor : in Christ through faith, in his
neighbor through love. Through faith he rises above
himself into God ; from God he returns again among his
own through love, and yet always remains in God and in
divine love."

This treatise is one of the finest that came from Luther's
pen. It stands on a level with and is equal to the other
two famous Reformation treatises, *' To the Christian
Nobles of the German Nation" and *' The Babylonian
Captivity of the Church." It is a glorious testimony
showing that, in spite of the Pope's anathema, his soul
was resting confidently in God. And hence he could
write to the Pope : '' From tliis treatise his Holiness
might perceive how he (Luther) would rather be engaged,
and much more profitably indeed, were he not hindered
by impious papal flatterers."

BURNING THE PAPAL BULL OF EXCOMMUIflCATION. 79

In the papal bull he found his teachings misrepresent-
ed. Hence he wrote another treatise entitled, '* Against
the Bulls of the Antichrist." Again he appealed to a
council of the Church, as he had done two years before
this, but from a different standpoint, and with a conscious
certainty of the justice of his cause.

In the meanwhile the judgment of the papal bull was
executed upon Luther's writings, in the city of Cologne
and in the presence of the Emperor. In Lou vain and
Mayence they were also publicly burned.

Luther hesitated no longer. On the 10th of November,
1520, he publicly announced that the bull of excommuni-
cation and the papal books of canonical law would be
burned on the following morning at nine o'clock. At the
appointed time, students, masters, and doctors were
assembled at the designated place, at the Elster Gate,
near the Augustinian monastery. A Master, i.e. an ad-
vanced student, prepared the place, piled on the fagots,
and applied the fire. Then Luther cast the Eoman
decretals, together with the papal bull, into the flames,
exclaiming, ^^ Because thou hast offended the Holy One
of the Lord, be thou consumed with everlasting^ fire."

This being accomplished, Luther returned with his
friends to the city. Several hundred students remained
at the fire feeding the flames with papal writings. Others
paraded the streets, deriding Eck and the papal bull.

On the following day, after the opening lecture at tlie
university, Luther earnestly addressed his hearers, warn-
ing them to beware of papal laws and statutes. To
burn the Pope's decretals was mere child's play. Ear
more important and necessary would it be to burn the
Pope, i.e. the Eoman authority, with all its teachings
and abominations. '^If ye do not," said he, *'with all
your heart, resist the blasphemous government of the

80 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHER.

Pope, je cannot be saved. For the Pope's dominion is
so contrary to Christ's kingdom and to the Christian
hfe, that it wonld be safer and better to live in an unin-
habited desert than to dwell in an anti-Christian empire.
To Stanpitz, who had retired to Salzburg, he wrote that
in burning the Pope's bull he at first feared and trembled.
But now he rejoiced as at no other act of his life. Luther,
by these proceedings, had formally severed his ecclesias-
tical relations with the Church of Pome. To complete
this act also externally, he now released himself from the
obligations of monastic laws.

But by his bold actions he had let loose a storm which
raged over all Germany — a storm which could not be
quieted imtil the Judgment Day. Thus were the ruling
spirits excited on both sides of the question. Germany
was divided into two hostile camps, that fought each
other most violently, with pictures and in writings, with
biting satire and in sober earnestness. In the Ger-
man nation, complains a contemporary, there prevailed
such controversy, disturbance, and disorder that no king-
dom, no city, no village, and no house was free from this
quarrel, but all w^ere divided, the one against the other.
Everywhere excitement and bitter feeling ! Here and
there wonderful, horrible stories were reported about wars
and insurrections ! Ulrich von Ilutten had really pur-
posed to resort to arms to assist the Gospel with the
sword, and to drive the Romanists from the land. But
Lutlier restrained him, saying, " AVe must not contend
for the Gospel with brute force and murder. Through
the Word the world has l)een overcome ; through the
Word tlie Church has been preserved ; through the
Word the Church will be purified and restored."

The time allotted for recantation had expired. On the

UUKNING THE PAPAL BULL OF EXCOMMUA^IC ATION". 81

3d of January, 1521, Pope Leo issued another bull against
Luther and his adherents. But the papal authority had
been so completely weakened that the anathema and in-
terdict were received in Germany with shouts of
laughter.

CHAPTER IX.

LUTHER IJEFOKE THE EMPEROR AT WORMS.

It was on the 16tli of April, 1521, at 10 o'clock In the
morning, that the watchman upon the tower of the cathe-
dra] at Worms on the- Rhine signalled the approach of
a strange cavalcade. At the head rode the herald, with
the insignia of the imperial eagle upon his breast. In an
open wagon followed Dr. Martin Luther, in his monk's
attire, with three companions, surrounded by a great
array of stately riders, who had joined him on the way
or had gone out from the city to meet him. Thousands
had hurriedly gathered from all sides to view the proces-
sion as it entered the city, to behold the daring Augus-
tinian monk who would appear before the Emperor and
the Imperial Diet. Young and old, high and low, crowd-
ed to see him. Mothers lifted their infants high into the
air. A great multitude of people surged about the wagon
and the accompanying horsemen. And thus they pro-
ceeded together to the mansion of the Knights of
St. John, where Luther secured lodgment. xVs he
descended from the wagon he remarked, " God will be
with me. ' '

Not for a moment had Luther ever been in doubt
what he would do if summoned to appear before the
Emperor. '' When I am called," said he, '* I will ride
there sick if I cannot go well ; for I dare not doubt
that the Lord calls if the Emperor desires me to do this.

LUTHER BEFORE THE EMPEROR AT WORMS. 83

And should they employ force, as seems likely — since
they have not called me to afford better information — we
must intrust ourselves to the hand of God. He that
preserved His three servants in the fiery furnace of the
King of Babylon still lives and reigns. If He will not
preserve me, little does it matter, especially when w^e
think of Christ, who, with so great ignominy, to the
offence of all and the destruction of many, was put to
death. But in this case, no reference is to be had to any
one's danger, nor to any one's welfare, but solely to the
cause of the Gospel, that it be not exposed to the scorn
of the godless ; in order that our enemies be not given
good cause to defame us, as if we dared not confess
what we taught or w^ere afraid to shed our blood on its
behalf. May Christ, out of mercy, save us from such
reproach, and save them from such glorying."

Luther received the summons of the Emperor at the
hands of the imperial herald, Caspar Sturm, of Op>pen-
heim, on the 26th of March, 1521. He was to appear
before the Emperor at Worms within twenty-one days,
and a safe-conduct was assured him. The city council
of Wittenberg provided w^agon and horses for the jour-
ney. On the 2d of April, Tuesday after Easter, Luther
departed for Worms, accompanied to the suburbs by his
friends and colleagues and several hundred students.
Li bidding them farewell he admonished them, as his
scholars, to hold fast to the pure doctrine of the Gospel.
He took leave of his friend Melanchthon in the following
words : ^'Should I not return again, and should my
enemies murder me, then I adjure thee, my dear
brother, do not cease to teach, nor to adhere to, the
truth of the Divine Word. Labor at the same time for
me during my absence. Thou canst do it better than
I. Hence there is not much lost if I am gone, so that

84 THE LIFB OF MARTIN LUTHER.

thou dost remain ! In thee our Lord God will yet have
a learned warrior."

After he had taken a touching farewell of his friends,
who believed that they had seen him for the last time on
earth, he continued his journey by way of Leipsic,
]S"aumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, Gotha, and Eisenach. In
the last named cities he preached. The people of Erfurt
had prepared a festive and glorious reception ; they
went out of the city to meet him, and received him
with great enthusiasm.

At Eisenacli, Luther's beloved city, he became very
sick.. Blood-letting was resorted to, and the burgo-
master gave him some '^ noble water" (^' edel Was-
serlein") to drink. On the following day he continued
his journey, but all the way to Frankfort he felt very
much indisposed, more so than he had ever felt before.
Whenever he approached a city or town the people
flocked to see the wonderful man who had been so bold
as to oppose the Pope and all the world besides ! To
those, however, who warned liim that he would speedily
be burned in Worms, as Huss had been in Constance, he
replied : ^^And even though they should kindle a fire
as high as heaven between Wittenberg and Worms, yet
would I go and appear in the name of the Lord ; yea, I
will confess Christ in the very mouth of Behemoth !"

As he was nearing the city of Worms, his friend
Spalatin, who was in the company of the Elector, sent
him a message warning him not to enter the city and to
incur so great danger. Luther replied to him: **To
Worms was I called, and to Worms must I go. And
were there as many devils there as tiles upon the roofs, yet
would I enter into that city." Sickingen invited him to
come to Castle Ebernburg, there to secure his life, and
to treat with the Emperor's confessor. Luther declined

LUTHER BEFORE THE EMPEROR AT WORMS. 85

the invitation, saying: ^^Not to Ebernburg, but to
"Worms have I been summoned. If the imperial con-
fessor have aught to say to me, let him seek me there."
Moreover, he was obliged to hasten to reach AVorms in
time before his safe-conduct had expired.

On the same day that he arrived in Worms he was
visited by a large number of the nobility, clergy, and
laity, until late at night. The Landgrave of Hesse also
called to see him, and in departing said, ^^If your
cause is a just one, Doctor, then may God assist you."

The Papists, on the other hand, sought to persuade his
Imperial Majesty to seize Luther and to put him to
death. They adduced the examj^le of John Huss, and
said, ^^ To a heretic one is under no obligation, either
to grant a safe-conduct or to keep it." But the Emperor
Charles replied, '^Whatever promise has been made
must be fulfilled."

Early on the following morning the imperial marshal
notified Luther to appear at four o'clock in the afternoon,
in the presence of the Emperor, the Elector, and other
nobles of the empire, to hear why he had been ordered
to appear.

At the appointed time Luther was sent for. Before
going he sought comfort and strength in earnest prayer
to God. Then, with cheerful countenance, he fol-
lowed the imperial marshal, by secret passage-ways, to
the assembly room of the episcopal palace, where the
Emperor lodged. The main street was impassable on
account of the great multitude of people that desired to
see him. Many had ascended to the roofs of the
houses, and vast throngs could with difficulty be kept
from the palace.

As Luther was passing to the assembly room of the diet,
a noted commander, George von Frundsberg, touched

86 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

him on the shoulder and said, "My dear monk, thou
art now about taking a step, the like of which neither
I nor many a commander on the hardest fought battle-field
has ever taken. If thou art right and sure of thy
cause, proceed in God's name, and be of good cheer ;
God will not forsake thee. ' '

After w^aiting for two hours, Luther was led into the
presence of the Imperial Diet. Here a glorious and
magnificent assemblage confronted him. In the centre
of the large hall the youthful Emperor, Charles V., was
enthroned under a purple canopy. Beside him was
seated his brother Ferdinand ; behind him there stood a
glittering array of the nobles of the imperial court. To
the riglit and to the left of the throne, extending along
the walls, were seated two hundred princes and nobles of
the realm, ordered according to rank.

When Luther entered the hall a universal murmur of
excitement was heard. Order being restored, the im-
perial marshal, in the name of the Emperor, reminded
Luther that he must confine his answers to the pro-
j^ounded questions.

An official representative of the Archbishop of Treves
then addressed him as follows: ''Martin Luther, his
sacred and invincible Majesty, with the advice and coun-
sel of the nobility of the Roman Empire, has summoned
you to appear before his Majesty's throne, to demand an
answer to these two questions : First, do you acknowl-
edge these books [heaped up on a bench at his side] to
be yours or not ? And secondly, do you recant, or do you
adhere to and maintain, the contents of the same ?"

Luther answered in a low voice, and as if he were
frightened, that the books were his, l)ut whether he
should be prepared to defend or retract all alike would
be a question of faith, of his soid's salvation, and of God's

LUTHEK BEFORE THE EMPEROR AT >V0RM8. 87

Word, wliicli is the most precious treasure in heaven and
on earth. In such a case he must not speak thoughtlessly.
He therefore most humbly entreated his Imperial Majesty
to grant him a respite for further consideration.

This was granted him until the next day, although
with the rebuke that he had already had sufficient time
for reflection.

On Thursday, the 18th of April, Luther was again
ordered to appear before the diet, but was obliged to wait
amid a dense throng until six o'clock in the evening, be-
fore he was called into the presence of the Emperor.
The same official that had addressed him on the previous
day now demanded that he should give a final answer to
the question whether he would defend all his books or
withdraw some of them. Luther replied in a lengthy
and well-considered address, modest in character and with
great Christian joy and firmness. It could readily be
seen that his books were not all alike. In some he had
written about faith and good works, and in so simple and
Christian a manner that even his opponents must confess
that they were useful and innocent, and worthy to be
read by Christian people. Such books he could not re-
call. The second kind were directed against the papacy
and the papists, who were destroying all Christians, in
body and soul, with their evil doctrine and example ; who
had enslaved, burdened, and tortured the Christian con-
science, and devoured the possessions of the German
lands by incredible tyranny. If he were to retract these
writings he would but strengthen this tyranny and make
of himself a cloak of infamy to cover up all unchristian
living and teaching. The third kind of books was of such
as were written against individual persons who desired to
defend Roman tyranny and destroy the gracious teach-
ings of God. And these also he could not recall without

88 THE LIFE ©F MAKTIX LUTHEK.

approving of the despotic papal rule. Citing the words
of Christ in his defence, " If 1 have spoken evil, bear
witness of the evil " (John 18 : 23), he asked for counter
testimony from the evangelical and prophetical writings.
If thus convinced, he would very readily and willingly re-
cant all his alleged errors. He would then be the first
one to cast his writings into the flames.

Luther spoke in both German and Latin. After he
had finished, the princes held a short consultation.
Then the imperial representative reproached him for
having spoken disrespectfully, and for not having an-
swered^ the proposed questions. He repelled Luther's
demand for counter-evidence, and maintained that his
heresies had been condemned by the Church and by its
general councils. What was now demanded of him was
a plain and straightforward answer, whether he would
or would not recant.

Thereupon Luther replied : '' Since your Imperial
Majesty have desired a direct answer, I shall give such
an one as shall have neither horns nor teeth, viz., except
1 be convinced with clear and undoubted evidence of
Holy Scripture — for I believe neither in the Pope nor
in councils alone, since it is evident they have often
erred and contradicted themselves — and as my conscience
is bound by God's Word, I cannot and will not recant,
because it is neither safe nor advisable to act contrary to
conscience. Here I stand ; I cannot do otherwise ; God
help me ! Amen !"

At about eight o'clock in the evening the diet ad-
journed. Darkness had set in, and the hall was dimly
lighted by torches. The assembly broke up with a feel-
ing of excitement, which increased when Luther was
led away amid the hissing of the Spaniards. It was
generally believed that he would now be held as pris-

LUTHER BEFOHE THE EMPEROR AT WORMS. 89

oner. Whilst lie Avas standing in the midst of the
throncr, Duke Erich of Brunswick sent him a silver
tankard of Eimbeck beer, with the message that he
should drink and be refreshed. Luther enjoyed it right
w^ell, and said, " As Duke Erich has remembered me,
so may our Lord Jesus Christ remember him in his last
hour." Luther was now happy at heart. As soon as
he returned to his lodging-place, he lifted up both hands
and cried out, " I have done it ; I have done it !" And
continuing, he remarked : ^' If I had a thousand heads,
I w^ould lose them all rather than to recant."

The Elector was astonished at Luther's course. In
the evening he said to Spalatin : ' ' Well indeed has our
father. Dr. Martin Luther, spoken in the presence of the
Emperor and all the princes, both in Latin and Ger-
man ; but he is too bold for me." The Emperor
himself seems to have been very slightly impressed by
the Augustinian monk. When, however, he spoke
those memorable words, ^'Here I stand; I cannot do
otherwise," the Emperor was touched, and remarked,
'' The monk speaks without fear and with great courage. "
The day before he said, '' This monk will never make a
heretic of me. ' '

The Emperor Charles possessed a very inadequate un-
derstanding of German affairs ; his knowledge of the
German language was imperfect. He was a Spaniard at
heart, and by his early education firmly attached to the
doctrines of the Church. The new teachings of Luther,
and the movement emanating therefrom, he viewed
exclusively from a political standpoint.

On the following day the Emperor announced to the
assembled members of the diet that since Martin Luther
was not inclined to recede a finger' s-brcadth from his
errors, after the example of his predecessors, who had

90 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTUEK.

always been obedient to the Konian Church, he must
protect the ancient faith and maintain the authority
of the Pope.

He would therefore be obliged to prosecute Luther with
ban and interdict, and in every other available way.
Yet he would not violate his promise of safe-conduct,
but permit him to return to his home.

Before Luther left Worms another attempt was made
to heal the strife by a friendly interchange of opinions.
Yet after two days spent in negotiations Luther sent this
declaration to the Archbishop of Treves : '' Most gracious
sir, I cannot recede. Let God do unto me as He will.
^ If this council or this work be of men, it will come to
naught. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it.'
And thus, if my cause is not of God, it will not last
more than two or three years ; but if it be of God, it
cannot be overthrown.'' Then he added : *' I entreat
your Grace to secure for me from his Imperial Majesty
permission to return home ; for this is the tenth day of
my sojourn here, and nothing has been accomplished."

Within three hours Luther received a letter of safe-con-
duct, with instructions to return to Wittenberg within
twenty-one days, and on the way to abstain from exciting
the people either by preaching or by writing.

On the 2Gth of April Luther and the friends who had
accompanied him to Worms departed for home. He
rode in the same wagon in which he had come. The
imperial herald, Caspar Sturm, went with him as far as
Friedberg."^ Here Luther dismissed him w4th a letter to
the Emperor, in which lie returns thanks for the safe-con-
duct, and offers both to do and to sulfer all things for the
aake of his Majesty and the empire. But one thing, how-

* Not far from Frankfort.

LUTHER BEFORE THE EMPEROR AT WORMS. 91

ev^er, lie must reserve : the right to profess the Word of
God, free and untrammelled.

On the 30tli of October he reached Hersf eld, "^ where
in spite of ban and interdict he was received bj the abbot
with distinguished honors and very hospitably entertained.
Luther writes to Spalatin about his reception as follows :
^'The abbot sent his chancellor and chamberlain to wel-
come me a mile (German) from town ; he himself re-
ceived me with a great retinue near his castle and escort-
ed me into the city. At the gates I was greeted by the
chief magistrate. In the monastery I was gloriously
entertained and lodged ; the following morning at five
o'clock I was urged to preach, though I declined. The
next day the abbot accompanied us to the edge of the
woods and through his chancellor provided for us all a
farewell dinner at Berka."'^

Luther then continued on his journey to Eisenach,
whence many came out to meet him. Here he preached,
notwithstanding the imperial injunction. A portion of
his companions now left him, to take the direct route for
home.

But Luther, with two companions, visited some of his
relatives near Molira. Here he lodged with his uncle
Heinz, and preached on the 4th of May under a linden
tree near the church. From Mohra he had intended to go
through the woods to Gotlia. His relatives accompanied
him as far as the Castle Altenstein ; there they bade him
farewell. The wagon now disappeared into the woods
along a by-road that leads up to the Rennstieg, the ■
main thoroughfare. In the neighborhood of tlie ruins of
a chapel, where to-day a sparkHng spring gushes forth,

* Oil the road between Frankfort and Cassel, and not far from
Fulda.

92 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

close to ^'Lntlier's beech-tree," a company of armed
men suddenly burst out of tlie woods. As soon as one of
Luther's companions, his brother monk, saw them, he
jumped out of the wagon and fled, without a word of
farewell.

The armed horsemen surrounded the wagon, com-
manded the driver to halt, and seized Luther. They
allowed his other companion and the driver to continue
on their journey. Then, throwing a cloak about Luther,
they mounted him upon a horse, and led him about the
woods until night set in. It was nearly midnight when
the heavy drawbridge of the Wartburg Castle, near
Eisenach, was lowered, and when across it rode a weary
traveller, to be received within its sheltering walls.

CHAPTER X.

luthp:r on the wartbukg.

The news of Luther's capture spread with great ra-
pidity. Neither friend nor enemy knew what had be-
come of him, whether lie w^ere dead or yet alive. Even
the warder of the gate of the Wartburg Castle was under
tlie impression that an unknown offender had been
cauglit on the road and securely lodged.

^' Is he yet alive, or have they assassinated him ?" asks
the famous painter Albrecht Diirer,* as he continues his
daily memorandum, saying, " This I do not know ; but
if dead, tlien he has suffered for the sake of Christian
truth, and because he has punished the unchristian papacy
that resists the freedom of Christ with its grievous burdens
and human enactments. O God, if Luther be dead, who
will henceforth so clearly proclaim to us the Gospel ! O
God, what could he not have written during the next ten
or twenty years ? O all ye pious Christian people, assist
me to lament the loss of this inspired man, and to pray
God that he send us another illuminated man !"

Yet even the enemies of Luther could not rejoice.

* Albrecht or Albert Diirer was bom in Nuremberg May 20th,
1471, and died there April 6th, 1528. As CDgraver and painter, he
was one of the most remarkable men of his age. He embraced
the doctrines of the Reformation, and in his last and grandest
works, life-size figures of the apostles John and Peter, and Mark
and Paul, he is said to have entreated his countrymen to stand
fast in the new faith.

94 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

!N"ow that lie was believed to be dead it was seen how
greatly the people honored him, and how deep an im-
pression his teachings had already produced. One of his
enemies wrote to the Archbishop of Mayence (Mainz) :
** We have gotten rid of Luther, as we desired ; but the
people are so much excited about it that 1 fear we shall
•scarce escape with our lives, if we do not everywhere
seek him wuth lanterns and call him back again."

In the meanwhile, in the month of May, the imperial
edict against Luther had been proclaimed. In this he
is declared to be cut off from the Church of God, as a
hardened schismatic and a notorious heretic. Under
penalty of punishment for high treason, and of the im-
perial ban and outlawry, it was forbidden to harbor and
lodge, to entertain and nourish him, or to afford him
help or support, secretly or openly, in word or deed, in
any way whatsoever ; but on the contrary, to seize him
wherever found, and to deliver him to his Imperial Maj-
esty. ** No one shall buy or sell, read or retain his books ;
but they shall be blotted out of the memory of man."

In so severe and violent a manner did the Edict of
Worms proceed against Luther, but without accomplish-
ing anything. No one seemed to pay the least attention
to it, and it was soon discovered that nothing w^ould be
gained even if Luther were removed.

During this time, Luther was securely lodged in tha
old burg of the Landgraves, which in his letters he called
his Patmos (Rev. 1 : 9), at times his mountain and
desert, also his air-castle and home of the birds. He
appeared to the inmates as a new knight, under the name
of Squire George. He permitted his hair and beard to
^row so that his personal appearance was changed. ^ ' You
would hardly recognize me," he writes to Spalatin, ^' for
I scarcely recognize myself."

LUTHER ON THE WARTBUllG. 95

Tlius the plan of the Elector Frederick, to conceal
Luther for a season and to secure him against persecutions,
had well succeeded. Long before its execution the Elec-
tor had conceived of this idea, and at Worms he reached a
final decision. Spalatin furnishes the following particu-
lars of the event : ^'My gracious Lord, the Elector, was
as yet somewhat faint-hearted, but he loved Martin
Luther. He would not act contrary to God's Word, nor
would he incur the enmity of the Emperor. And so he
conceived the project of retiring Dr. Martin for a little
while in hope that the controversy might quietly and
peaceably be settled. Hence Luther was informed, on
the evening previous to his departure from Worms, of
the plan of seizing him, and expressed himself as con-
tented to honor the Elector by humble obedience, although
he would rather have gone straight forward without con-
cealment." The commandant of the Wartburg Castle,
Hans von Berlepsch, assisted by his friends Burkhard
Hund von Wenkheim and Von Altenstein, admirably
conducted and successfully executed the seizure and im-
prisonment of Luther.

The commander of the castle faithfully provided for
him. Two pages of honor were in attendance. When-
ever he left the burg a trusty and discreet knight accom-
panied him, and when disposed at any inn to lay aside
his sword and to take up his books, to admonish him.
On one occasion he joined a hunting party, but took no
pleasure in the sport. " I have been on a hunt," he
writes to Spalatin, ^'for the past two days, and have
tasted of that bitter-sweet enjoyment of our noble lords !
We got two rabbits and a couple of poor partridges, A
worthy occupation, in truth, for idle people ! I con-
tinued my theological studies amid the snares and the
dogs ; and as much pleasure as I derived from viewing^,

06 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHER.

such sport, the more sympathy and sorrow I had in think-
ing of the mysterious truth the picture concealed. For
the picture teaches nothing else tlian that the devil,
through his godless masters and, dogs — the bishops and
theologians — secretly hunts and catches the innocent little
animals — the common people. It is the picture of simple
and believing souls which is thus vividly presented to my
sorrowing heart. And once it happened that a poor
little rabbit took refuge in the sleeve of my coat lying by
the way. The dogs in their pursuit scented its hiding-
place, first wounded, and then killed it. Thus the Pope
and Satan rage in their efforts to ruin saved souls, without
concerning themselves about my labors."

He delighted to roam about the beautiful woods sur-
rounding the castle searching for strawberries. This pas-
time was conducive to his health, for as late as October
of that year (1521) his bodily ailments caused him so much
trouble that he at one time intended to leave his asylum
and visit Erfurt for medical advice. lie passed many a
day in melancholy and depression of spirits. At such
times he believed himself to be tormented by the Evil One.
Thus he relates the following incident : "It was in the
year 1521 that I was in Patmos on the Wartburg, alone
in my little room, no one being permitted to come to me
save two pages of honor who brought me food and drink.
They had bought me a bag of hazelnuts, of which I ate
from time to time, and which I locked up in a chest.
One evening on retiring, 1 heard some one at the hazel-
nuts, cracking one after another w^ith force against the
rafters ; then the noise approached my bed, but I cared
little for that. After I had fallen asleep there began
sucli a tumult on the stairway, as if threescore barrels
were being thrown down. I arose, went to the stairs,
and cried out, ' Art thou here ? (meaning the Evil One).

LUTHER Oiq- THE WARTBURG. 97

So be it !' I then commended my soul to the Lord
Jesus Christ, of whom it is said (Psahn viii. 6), ^ Thou
hast put all things under His feet,' and retired to rest.
For this is the best method to expel him (the devil) :
despising him and calhng upon Christ. That he can-
not endure." But finally, when Satan exceeded all
bounds, as the legend records, Luther threw his ink-
stand at him, and he never returned again ! ^

But neither sickness nor interdict could bend his will
or paralyze his working powers. Not long had he been
on the burg when he occupied himself with the transla-
tion of the Scriptures, as well as with other writings.
In a few weeks several works were ready for the press.
A treatise ' ^ About Confession, and whether the Pope is
entitled to command the same, " he dedicated to his
particular friend and firm patron, Francisco von Sick-
ingen.

Besides commenting upon selected portions of Holy
Scripture intended to instruct, comfort, and edify Chris-
tian people, Luther sent out many a heavy controversial
article from the "Wartburg. Thus he directed a vigorous
attack upon the Archbishop Albert of Mayence, brother
of the Elector of Brandenburg. This Church dignitary,
in need of money, had again set up the traffic with
indulgences in the city of Halle, estabhshing a great
shrine of relics, and inviting all to visit the same. He
had collected a multitude of glorious relics, about nine
thousand in number. Among these were remains of
saints, a portion of the body of the patriarch Isaac,
remnants of manna, pieces of Moses' burning bush, jugs

* The spot is still shown, in the Luther room of the Wartburg
Castle, where the inkstand struck the wall. The plastering, how-
ever, has disappeared, being dug out and carried off by vandal
visitors.

98 THE LIFE OF MARTIK LUTHER.

from tlie marriage feast at Cana, some of the wine
wJiicli Clirist made of water on that occasion, thorns
from Jesus' martyr crown, one of the stones with which
Steplien was killed, and many other glorious relics.
Against all this abomination Luther wrote a treatise
entitled, *' Against the Idol in Halle," and sent it to
Wittenberg for 23ublication. The Elector Frederick,
however, did not favor Luther's attack upon one of the
foremost imperial princes, since such a stej) might pro-
voke a serious conflict and endanger the peace of the
Empire. Spalatin informed him of this, to which Luther
replied as follows: '^ I have hardly ever read a more
disagreeable letter than your last. First of all, I cannot
endure to hear it, that the Elector will not permit my
writing against that man of Mayence, nor anything that
w^ill disturb the public peace. And yet, if I have with-
stood the Pope, wherefore should I retreat before his
creature?" But a little later on Luther listened to the
advice of his friends, and consented that the publication
of the treatise should be postponed. Then he sent a
written warning to the Archbishop, admonishing him
that if the traffic in indulgences were not immediately
stopped he would proclaim it to the whole world. He
would grant him two weeks' time for a proper answer.
After that he would issue his book, ^^ Against the Idol
in Halle." Luther received the desired answer, a clear
evidence what a mighty power the concealed monk had
already developed against the Elector and the Archbishop
and Cardinal in Mayence. In his reply the Archbishop
said that the cause which led to Luther's treatise was
removed. He did not deny that he was a poor, sinful
man. He could endure Christian admonition, and hoped
to receive grace and strength of God to live according
to His will. Luther put but little faith in the statements

LUTHER ON THE WAUTBURG. 99

of the Archbishop, although he desisted from publishing
his treatise.

Above all other writings Luther delighted to work
upon his German Church Postils, an explanation of the
Gospels and Epistles for Sundays and festival days,
which was the first collection of sermons .in the German
language.

But the finest and ripest fruit of Luther's leisure and
seclusion from the world was his translation of the 'New
Testament. It is the principal work and the crown
of all his Wartburg labors. He comments upon it as
follows: ''I will remain herein seclusion until Easter-
tide. In the meanwhile I will write the Church
Postils, and intend to translate the IS'ew Testament into
the German tongue, as many of my friends request.
O that every city had its interpreter, and that all
tongues, hands, eyes, ears , and hearts might concern and
busy themselves about this one book ! I will translate
the Bible, although in so doing I have assumed a task
which w^ill exceed my powers. I now perceive what it
is to translate, and why up to the present time it has
never been undertaken by any one who has subscribed his
name. But the Old Testament I will not touch, unless
you (meaning the professors and friends at Wittenberg)
will assist me. Indeed, if I could have a secret room at
Wittenberg I would go there at once, and with your
assistance translate the whole of it from the beginning.
But I would have such a translation as would deserve to
be read by all Christians, for I hope we would be able to
present to Germany a better translation than is the
Latin version. It is a great work, and worthy of our
united labors, since it ought everywhere to be found
and to conduce to the general welfare of the people."
In two months Luther had completed the translation

100 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

of the ]^ew Testament. ^^I translated not only St.
John's Gospel," says Luther, *^but the entire New
Testament, whilst I was in Patmos. And now Philip
(Melanchthon) and I have begun to jiohsh it off, and
with God's help it will be a line piece of work. For my
fellow- Germans was I born, and them will I serve !' '
And in order that he might do this right well, he ques-
tioned the mother at home, the childi-en in the streets,
and the common laborer in the market. The terms of
court and palace he could not use, said he. And thus
he accomplished the completion of a truly popular,
glorious work, which proved to be the foundation and
corner-stone of his Eef ormation labors.

CHAPTEE XI.

THE TKOUBLES AT WITTENBERG.

*^ O WOULD that I were in Wittenberg !" sighed Lnther,
as lie Avas seated at his study-table in his lonely room on
the Wartburg. Unrest and longing drew him back to
his old circle and sphere of activity at Wittenberg.

In the meanwhile his friends had quietly and faithfully
continued the work. They were resigned to the necessary
absence of their master when Melanchthon joyfully an-
nounced to them, "Our dearest Father still lives."
And Luther, in his seclusion, rejoiced to hear of the
effective labors of his colleagues, through whose influence
the university was visibly prospering. From all parts
of Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and from other lands,
young men flocked together and labored with zeal and
in perfect harmony. A beginning was made to carry out
in practice that for which Luther had contended in word.
To bring the Church life in accord with the new doc-
trines was the question of the day.

Luther himself assisted in its solution with counsel and
consolation. He was painfully aware of his personal
responsibility in the matter, for he acknowledged that it
was he who had first lighted the fires. He also felt that he
was under special obligations to the congregation at
Wittenberg as its teacher and spiritual shepherd. And
indeed his counsel was necessary. For a great excitement
had arisen, and the strain upon the public mind was daily
growing more intense. It happened on this wise.

102 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHEK.

The lirst step to be taken in the practical reform move-
ment was to abolish the system of monasticism, and to
change the administration of the Lord's Supper so as
to conform to the institution of Christ. To this end
Karlstadt, one of Luther's colleagues, labored with great
zeal. But his restless spirit was not content with the
slow devolopment of things. He appeared as a liery
preacher, and, notwithstanding his weak voice and un-
gainly appearance, he attracted a multitude of hearers.
After he had drawn around him a large number of follow-
ers, he forcibly entered the castle church one day, drove
out the priests that were reading mass, and began a furious
destruction of pictures, statues, and altars. He also de-
sired to establish a law making marriage obligatory upon
the clergy, and allowing none but married men to be
called to Church offices. He proposed to the Elector
that private masses should be abolished on his territory.
He exhorted monks and nuns to leave their cloisters. The
Lord's Supper was to be celebrated according to its
original institution, and moreover so that twelve com-
municants at a time should receive the bread and the
wine together. Melanchthon, mild and yielding in his
disposition, could not withstand these stormy and violent
proceedings. He wrote to Luther that he had entreated
Karlstadt to moderate his zeal, but that he alone could
not stem the current.

Thereupon Luther, in the attire of a knight, and ac-
companied by a single servant, secretly returned to
Wittenberg. For three days he lodged with his friend
Amsdorf,* none but his most intimate associates knowing

* Nicholas von Amsdorf was born Dec. 3d, 1483, and died May
14th, 1565. He was one of the most energetic, and at times most
violent, of Luther's adherents.

THE TROUBLES AT WITTENBERG. 103

aught of his arrivaL After he had comforted his friends
and strengthened them by his coimsels for their work, he
again secretly returned to the Wartburg.

The Elector was not yet willing that Luther should
leave his place of refuge. I^or was his presence in Wit-
tenberg absolutely necessary, although scenes of disorder
had occurred, and priests and monks had been abused by
students and townspeople.

In Zwickau* numerous disturbances, especially as
touching infant baptism, had occurred. Three of the
prime movers came to Wittenberg during the Christmas
holidays in the year 1521. They w^ere curious fellows in
warlike attire. Wonderful experiences did they relate :
God had conversed with them ; they could foretell future
events ; in short, they claimed to be prophets and apos-
tles ! Melanclithon thought that they were possessed of a
particular spirit, whatever be its nature, and that Luther
alone could determine its true character. But Luther
did not wish to return on that account, especially since
it was not the desire of the Elector. He wrote to Me-
lanclithon, and also to his friend Amsdorf , that the proph-
ets of Zwickau should not be heard at once, but that the
matter should quietly take its course. An investigation of
their claims to a special calling should be held, and their
spirits should be tried according to the advice of St. John
(I. 4:1), whether they be of God. To Luther it looked
very suspicious that they should boast of their intimate
conversations with God. To the people of Wittenberg
Luther wrote a letter reproving them for having

* Zwickau, a city of Saxony, about sixty miles south-west of Dres-
den, has a present population of about 30,000. Thomas Munzer,
one of the leaders of the Anabaptist disturbances, was pastor here
in 1520. The town suffered severely during the Thirty Years'
War, its population being reduced from 10,000 to less than 5000.

104 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

introduced iTinovations in connection witli the mass, for
destroying pictures, etc., all of which were matters of
no great consequence, and which faith and love could
tolerate.

But when Melanchthon and his friends saw that they
could not stem the current alone, they continued to entreat
Luther to return. He only could bring help and deliv-
erance. None but he could lead the devastating stream
back again into its proper course. Luther finally yielded
to these entreaties, though the Elector would not listen
to such a proposal. He commanded him to remain on
the Wartburg, since in Wittenberg he could not afford
him J>rotection. For in the event of his return to the
university, Duke George of Saxony in his wrath would
demand the immediate execution of the imperial edict.
But Luther could no longer be detained. He was im-
pelled to return to his congregation at Wittenberg and
with a firm hand to lead the Eeformation movement
back to its proper channel, and henceforth to guide it
in his own spirit.

CHAPTER XII.

Luther's return to wittenberg.

On tlie 1st of March, 1522, Luther left his cherished
refuge which had so securely protected him. From his
stopping-place at Borna, near Leipsic, on the second day of
his journey from the Wartburg to "Wittenberg, he in-
formed the Elector, by letter, of his departure from
the castle. This communication, which is a remarkable
memorial of faith, reads as follows :

*' Most August and Honorable Elector and Gracious Sire !

'' The gracious letter of Your Highness reached me on
Friday evening previously to my departure on the fol-
lowing morning. That you wrote with the very best of
intentions toward me, needs neither proof nor testimony,
for I honor myself by this conviction, so far as human
knowledge goes.

'' But for my part I would say, that your Lordshij) may
know, or you may not know — hence be it known unto
you — that I have received the Gospel not from men, but
from Heaven alone, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore I would be entitled to subscribe myself a ser-
vant and an evangehst, as indeed 1 propose to do hence-
forth. And that I exposed myself to trial and judgment
was not because I doubted the truth, but because of an
abundance of humility to attract others to the same. I
have done enough for you, in that I vacated my position
during the past year, to obey Your Grace. For the

lOG THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

devil knows full well that I did it not for fear. He knew
my heart when I arrived at Worms ; for had I known that
as many devils w^ere lying in wait for me as there were
tiles on the houses, I would nevertheless have joyfully
leaped in among them.

*' But now Duke George is not even equivalent to a
single devil ! And since the Father of unfathomable mer-
cies hath made us to be lords over death and all devils —
and since he hath given unto us the wealth of assurance
that we may say unto him, ^ Abba, Father,' you may
well judge that it would be the highest reproach unto
such a Father, did we not believe that we are also lords
over Duke George's wrath. As to myself, I am per-
suaded, that I would enter into his city, Leipsic — par-
don what may seem foolish to you — should it rain nothing
but Duke Georges for nine days, and if each one of them
were nine times more wrathful than this one. He seems
to regard my Lord Jesus Christ as a man of straw, which
reproach He, my Lord, and I can suffer for a while. But I
will not conceal from you the fact that I have often prayed
for and mourned over Duke George, that God might en-
lighten him. I will once more weep and pray for him,
and then never more. And I entreat you also to help and
pray that we turn the evil away from him, that — O Lord
God ! — is controlling him without respite. I would
quickly slay Duke George with a single word if any good
would come of it.

" 1 have written this with the intent that you may know
that I am going to AVittenberg under much higher protec-
tion than that of the Elector. Nor is it my purpose to ask
protection of the latter. On the contrary, I am inclined to
think that I can protect the Elector more and better than
he can me. Indeed, if I knew that you could and would
protect me I would not go to Wittenberg. No sword can

LUTHER'S EETURN TO WITTEKBERG. 107

help tills cause of mine. God alone can help, without
any human co-operation. Therefore, he that has the most
faith will be able to afford the most protection. And
since I perceive that you are yet weak in the faith, I can-
not regard you to be the man who can either protect or

save me.

<' And since you desire to know what assistance you can
render at this time, and are of the opinion that you
have done too httle, I answer most obediently, that you
have abeady done too much, and that you ought to do
nothing more. For God cannot and will not endure our
worrying and striving. He will have it all left unto
Him, and unto none other. Govern yourself accord-
ingly.

"U you believe this, you will be safe and enjoy peace.
But if you do not beheve this, then will I believe it,
and must see your unbelief torment you with cares, an
experience which all unbelievers righteously suffer. And
now, since I do not intend to obey your commands, you
are blameless before God, whether I am imprisoned or
killed. But over against man you are thus to conduct
yourself : as Elector you are to be obedient to the supe-
rior authority, and suffer His Imperial Majesty to rule in
city and country, according to the laws of the empire.
You are not to "^ defend me, or to resist or to interpose
any hindrance whatsoever against the power that is seek-
ing to capture or to kill me. For no one is entitled to
resist the powers that be save He who ordained the
same ; otherwise it would be rebellion, and against God.
Yet I hope you will be controlled by reason, and recognize
the fact that you were born of too noble ancestry to
become my jailer yourself.

<^ K you will leave the gate open and assure me of
your safe-conduct, in case my enemies or their represen-

108 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

tatives should come to fetch me, you will have rendered
sufficient obedience. They cannot demand of you more
than tliis, to ascertain Luther's abiding-place. And that
they may know without care, or work, or danger, on your
part. For Christ hath not taught me to be a Christian
to the injury of others. But should they be so unreason-
able as to command you to seize me, then I will declare
what shall be done. I will secure you, as touching my
cause, against danger to body and soul and possessions ;
you may believe this, or you may not.

^' Herewith I commend you to the grace of God. As
to other matters, we shall consider them when it becomes
necessary. I have hurriedly finished this letter in order
that you may not feel disturbed by the reports of my ar-
rival ; for I must be of comfort and not of injury to
every man, if I would be a time Christian. I am now
treating with a different man from Duke George ; he
knows me right well, and I am also tolerably acquainted
with him. If you had faith you would see the glory of
God ! But since you have not believed, you have as yet
seen nothing. May God be loved and praised in all
eternity ! Amen.

** Given at Borna, on Ash Wednesday, a.d. 1522.
*' Your Grace's '^ obedient servant,

' ' Martin Luther. ' '

The course of Luther's journey led him tlirough Jena.
Here, at the '^ Inn of the Black Bear," lie met two Swiss
students who were on their way to the University of TVit-

*The repetition of the titles " Your Grace," etc., -which occur
very frequently throughout the letter, is omitted in the above
translation. They add nothing to the meaning, but serve to mod-
erate the boldness of the spirit in which the epistle is written.

Luther's return to wittenberg. 109

tenberg. One of tliem, Jolm Kessler ^ of St. Gall, wlio
afterward figured as a reformer in his native country,
has preserved a very pleasing account of their meeting
with Luther. His narrative has come down to us, and
begins as follows : ^ ' While on our journey to "Witten-
berg, for the purpose of studying the Holy Scriptures,
we arrived at Jena, in Thuringia. "We sought about
town for an inn where we could lodge for the night, but
we were everywhere refused ; for it was Shrove Tuesday
(Fastnacht, carnival night), when not much attention is
paid to strangers and pilgrims. "We were about leaving
the city to seek lodgings in a neighboring village, when
we were met at the gates by an honorable gentleman, who
addressed us in a friendly manner and desired to
know whither we were bound at so late an hour of the
day."

After the two students had informed him of their
dilemma he showed them the Inn of the Black Bear,
where they obtained lodgment for the night.

Then Kessler continues the story : ^ ' In the waiting-
room of the inn we found a man seated alone at a table
poring over a little book that lay open before him.
He greeted us kindly, and asked. us to be seated at his
table [on account of their travel-stained clothing they
had seated themselves to one side, on a bench near the

* John Jacob Kessler was born at St. Gall in Switzerland in the
year 1502. He prepared himself for the priesthood at Basel, and
continued his studies at Wittenberg. On his return to his native
city he renounced his intentions to become a priest, but as a lay-
man rendered good service to the cause of the Reformation. He
finally consented to be ordained, at the age of forty, as Protestant
minister, and thereafter took a prominent part in developing the
interests of church and school in his canton. He died in 1574,
aged seventy-two years.

110 THE LIFE OF MARTIl*- LUTHER.

door]. Then lie offered us drink, wliicli we could not
well refuse. After tlius perceiving liis friendliness and
cordiality, we joined Iiim at his table and ordered some
wine, that we might offer to him in return. We took
him to be a knight, who, according to the custom of the
country, was clad in pants and doublet, w^ithout armor,
"with a little red leather cap on his head, a short sword at
his side, his right hand resting on the hilt, the left hand
grasping the manuscript. His eyes were black and
deep-set, lightening and sparkling hke the stars, so that
one could hardly look at them for any length of time.

'' Soon he began to ask us where we were born, but
answered the question himself by saying, ^ You are
natives of Switzerland, and of what part ? '

'' We answered, ' Of St. Gall.'

*' Then he remarked, ' If you intend to go to Witten-
berg you will find excellent fellow-countrymen there —
Jerome Schurf and his brother Doctor Augustine
Schurf.'

* ^ ^ We have letters of introduction to these gentle-
men,' said we ; and then asked him, 'Sir, can you tell
us whether Martin Luther is again at Wittenberg, or if
not there where he may be ? '

'^ 'I have been reliably informed,' was the stranger's
answer, ' that Luther is not in Wittenberg at the present
time, but he will soon be there. Philip Melanchthon
is there, and teaches the Greek language, and there are
others that teach Hebrew. Confidentially, I would
advise you to study both Greek and Hebrew, for they
are both necessary to understand the Scriptures.' "

The two students declared that they would not rest
content until they had seen and heard the man who had
attacked priestcraft and the mass. ''' We, too, have
been preparing for the ministerial office, at the wish of

LUTHER'S RETURN TO WITTENBERO. Ill

our parents, and we should Hke very much to know all
about these things. '

'' ' Where have you studied ? ' asked the stranger.

'"In Basel,' we rephed.

" ' Well, what is the outlook in Basel ? ' continued he.
' Is Erasmus still there, and how fares it with him ? '^

^^ ' As far as we know, matters are progressing right
well in Basel,' we answered. 'Erasmus is still there,
but what he is doing is unknown to every one, for he is
very quiet and uncommunicative.'

'' ' But what think they of that man Luther in Switzer-
land ? '

^'^ There are, as elsewhere, various opmions enter-
tained concerning him. Some cannot find words enough
to praise him, and to thank God that He revealed His
truth through him and uncovered error. Others condemn
him as an insufferable heretic -especially the clergy.'
'^'Methinks these are the priests,' remarked the

stranger."

Soon the strange knight became very intimate with
the two students. His learned conversation, especially his
acquaintance with the Schurf brothers, with Melanch-
thon and Erasmus, were both surprising and wonderful
to them. And their astonishment was still further in-
creased when one of them opened the book that lay
upon the table and found it to be a Hebrew Psalter.
He replaced it, and the stranger took it up.

' a would willingly lose one of my fingers," said one
of the students, ^'i^f I could understand that language."
" You may readily acquire it," replied the unknown
one, " if you will apply yourself with diligence. I, too,
desire to make progress with it, and daily exercise my-
self in it."

The day had now fairly ended, and thick darkness had

112 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

set in. The proprietor of the inn had entered the room
and approaclied tlie table at which Luther and the two
Swiss students were seated. When he observed their
ardent desire to learn of the whereabouts of Luther, he
remarked, ^' My dear fellows, had you been here two
days ago you would have seen him, for he was seated at
this table and in this very place," pointing with his
finger to the seat. *'We were chagrined at this,"
continues Kessler in his narrative, ^* and were angry
with ourselves that we had dallied by the way ; we
blamed the muddy and rough roads that impeded our
progress, and then said, ' Nevertheless, we rejoice that
we ape in the same house and at the same table where
he was. ' At this the host laughed and walked away. ' '

''After a little while the innkeeper called me out of
the room," continues Kessler. '' I was frightened and
bethought myself of what I had done or was suspected of.
But the host said to me, ' Since you so ardently desire to
see and hear Luther, know then that it is he that is sitting
w^ith you at table.' I was inclined to think that he was
imposing upon me, and so I said, ' You would like, no
doubt, to fool me, and to satisfy my desires with a coun-
terfeit of Luther.' But he assured me that he was
speaking the truth, yet entreated me to act as if I were
not aware of it. I returned to the waiting-room, but
could not refrain from whispering into the ear of my
companion, ' Tlie host tells me that this man is Luther.'
But he would not believe it, and replied, ' You have
misunderstood him ; perhaps he said it was Hutten.
And now since his apparel reminded me more of Hutten
than of Luther — for Luther was a monk — I was per-
suaded to believe that the innkeeper said, ' It is Ilutten,'
for the first syllables of the two names, Luther and
Hutten, resemble each other.' "

LUTHER'S RETURN TO WITTENBERG. 113

In tlie meanwhile two merchants entered the inn, and
after they had laid aside their wrappings, one of them
placed an unbound book upon the table. The unknown
knight asked them for the name and nature of the book.
''It is Dr. Luther's Explanation of the Gospels and
Epistles, recently printed and published ; have you not
yet seen it?" remarked one of the traders. ''I shall
soon receive a copy of the work," replied the stranger.
Just then the host approached and in^dted them all to
supper. ' ' But we requested him, ' ' says Kessler, ' ' to allow
us to eat by ourselves, evidently not feeling able to pay
for a full meal. ' My dear fellows, ' said the innkeeper,
' I will provide for you according to your means ; come
and be seated.' When the stranger heard these re-
marks, he added, ' Come and eat ; I will settle the bill
with our host. '

'' Whilst at table his conversation was so friendly and
blessed that we paid more attention to his words than to
our victuals. He spoke of the impending imperial diet
at [Nuremberg, but did not think much would come of
it, since the noble lords would rather spend their time
upon expensive tournaments, sleighing parties, and idle
display, than hear the Word of God. 'But I hope,'
said he, 'that the pure truth and God's Word will
bring more fruit among our children and posterity than
it does among their parents, in whom error is so deeply
rooted that it cannot be removed.'

"The merchants also expressed their opinion, the
older one of the two saying, 'I am a simple-minded,
straightforward layman, and do not imderstand much
about these quarrels. But as the thing appears to me,
Luther is either an angel out of heaven or a devil out of
hell. I would willingly spend ten florins here, for his
sake, if I could confess unto him, persuaded, as I am.

114: THE LIFE OF MAllTIX LUTHER.

that he could and would well enlighten my con-
science. '

''In the meanwhile the host drew near to us and
quietly whispered, * Do not be concerned about the
payment of the meal ; Martinus (meaning Luther) has
arranged for that. ' At this we were much rejoiced, not
because of the money, nor because of the enjoyment of
the meal, but because this man had treated us as his
guests. After the supper the merchants left the inn to
attend to their horses, leaving us alone with the
unknown one in the waiting-room. We thanked him
for the ev^ening meal, and gave him to understand that
we took Inm to be Ulrich von Hutten.

*^ ^I am not the man,' he replied; and to the inn-
keeper, who at that moment entered the room, he re-
marked, ' I have been created a nobleman this evening,
for these Swiss students take me to be Ulrich von
Hutten.'

'^ 'You are not he,' replied the host, 'but you are
Martin Luther.' At this he laughed in high glee, say-
ing, ' These take me to be Hutten ; you regard me as
Luther ; soon I shall be called JMartinus Marcolf us. '

'^ Thereupon he invited us to drink with him a friendly
and parting blessing. And as I was about taking a glass
of beer he proifered me a glass of wine, saying, ' You
are unaccustomed to beer, drink the wine.'

** Then he arose, and throwing his tabard over his shoul-
ders he took leave of us, grasping us by the hand and
saying, ' When you reach AVittenberg present my greet-
ing to Doctor Jerome Schurf. '

'''We shall willingly do so,' we replied, 'but fi-om
whom shall we say does the greeting come ?' Whereupon
he concluded :

" ' Tell hiin pimply this : He that cometh, sends his

Luther's rktukn to wittekberq. 115

greeting. ' "With tliis final word he parted from us and
retired to rest. "

The merchants, returning to the room, resumed their
social intercourse, and continued their inquiries concern-
ing the unknown guest. The innkeeper still held him
to be Luther, and the merchants at length were persuad-
ed to believe him ; but they were worried about their
awkward remarks in his presence. They concluded to
arise betimes, and to beg his pardon ; and this they did.

They found him in the stable early in the morning,
presented their apology, and received the following reply :
' ^ You said last evening that you were willing to spend ten
florins on Luther's account to be permitted to confess to
him ; if you should ever confess to him, then you will see
and know whether or not I am Martin Luther." With
this he mounted his horse and rode toward Wittenberg.

'^ Upon our arrival in Wittenberg we presented oiir let-
ters of introduction to Dr. Jerome Schurf . And when we
entered the reception room we beheld Martin Luther, the
same man whom we had seen in the inn at Jena. And
in his company were Philip Melanchthon," Justus Jonas,
!Nichola,s Amsdorf , and Doctor Augustine Schurf, recount-
ing to him the events which had transpired in Witten-
berg during his absence from the university. Luther

* Philip Melanchthon has been aptly termed the second leader of
the Protestant Reformation. He was born at Bretten, in Baden,
in 1497, and died at Wittenberg in 1560. His family name was
Schwarzerd (black earth), but his uncle, the famous Reuchlin,
translated it into Greek, and hence Melanchthon, He was pre-
eminently the scholar and theologian as Luther was the hero and
the advocate of the Reform movement. Modest, gentle, and peace-
ful, he supplemented Luther's fiery zeal and determined will. To
the end of his life his fervent prayer was for the unity of Chris-
tian believers.

116 THE LIFE OF MARTIN" LUTHER.

greeted us, and, smiling, pointed at Philip Melanchtlion
and said : ' This is he of whom I spake nnto jou. ' Tlie
latter then conversed with us, inquiring about many
things, upon which we informed him to the best of our
knowledge. And thus we passed the day with these men,
to our great delight. "

CHAPTER XIII.

THE PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION.

After Lntlier returned to Wittenberg tlie excitement
soon subsided, and order was restored. With a firm and
steady hand he laid hold upon the control of affairs. He
again made his residence in the monastery, and exchanged
his knight's attire for the monk's cowl, which he did not
finally lay aside until two years thereafter. For eight
days in succession he preached against the disturbers of
the peace with marked power and great success. He ex-
horted all to maintain love and concord, and that believ-
ing Christians should treat one another, as Cod had
treated them, in love, which love they enjoyed by faith.
He pointed out the difference between things necessary
and things permissible, and instructed his hearers upon
the administration of the Lord's Supper and upon Con-
fession. And thus in a short time the storm was al-
layed.

He did not spend much time upon the prophets of
Zwickau. He allowed them to present their cause, and
then said that nothing which they had offered was
founded upon the Holy Scriptures, and that their views
w^ere but the pernicious suggestions of a deceitful spirit
and the imagination of inquisitive dispositions. '' I have
also detected them in obvious falsehoods," writes Luther.
'' And when they endeavored to evade my statements
with miserably smooth words, I commanded them to
substantiate their teachings with miracles, of which they

1J8 THK LlFii OF MAKTIX LLTHKR.

boasted even against Scripture. Tliej refused to do so,
but threatened tliat I would jet be obliged to believe
them. Thereupon I charged their god not to perform
any miracles against the Avill of my God, and thus we
separated. " On the same day they left AVittenberg, and
afterward sent a letter to Luther full of reviling and
im})recation.

After j)eace and order had been restored in Wittenberg,
upon invitation of John,* brother of the Elector Frederick,
Luther proclaimed his doctrines in Zwickau, Borna,
Erfurt, and Weimar. He resumed the delivery of his
university lectures, and also devoted himself to literary
labors and controversial writings. lie entered upon a
severe conflict with Henry YIIL, King of England, who
in reply to Luther's treatise about the Babylonian Cap-
tivity had written a book entitled '' Defence and Ad-
ministration of the Seven Sacraments against Martin
Luther.'' For this he received from the Pope the hon-
orary title of " Defender of the Faith."

In the course of the year (1522) there appeared
Luther's German version of the Xew Testament. It had
been finished on the Wartburg, revised with the aid of
Melanchthon and issued from the ])Yess on the 21st of
Septeml)er. Thousands eagerly called for it, in spite of
the high selling price, one and a half florins, f In no

* John the Constant was born in 1468, and died in 15o3. He
was the personal friend and ardent supporter of Luther aud the
lleformation. lie succeeded his brother Frederick as Elector of
Saxony, in the year 1025.

f The florin was originally a silver coin of Florence, llrst coined
there in the twelfth century. The name was adcrpted in different
European countries and applied to gold and silver coins varying
in value, the single florin being worth from about 25 to 50 cents.
Estimating the purchasing power of money then at double what
It is now, a copy of Luther's Testament woidd have cost $1.50.

THE PBOGKESS OF THE REFORMATION. 119

otlier way was the gospel so generally diffused and the
cause strengthened as through the Holy Scriptures,
which could now be read by all classes of the people.
The Roman Catholic Church recognized the danger, and
immediately prohibited its circulation.

One of the most violent enemies of Luther writes as
follows : ^' In a marvellous manner did the printers mul-
tiply the copies of Luther's New Testament, so that cob-
I biers and women, and every layman acquainted with
German letters, most eagerly read it as the source of
truth, and by frequent reading impressed it upon their
memory. Many indeed presumed to obtain so much
knowledge within a few weeks that they ventured to
dispute about the faith and the Gospel with masters and
doctors of sacred Theology ; for Luther has long taught
them that even Christian women are priests, and indeed
that every one that is baptized is as much a priest as
Pope, bishop, and presbyter. The great mass of Luther-
ans give themselves a great deal more trouble to learn
the Scriptures thus translated than do the Catholic people,
who let the priests and monks attend to that. "

Li the same year portions of the Old Testament, sucli
as the five books of Moses, were finished and issued in
parts. Additional portions were published in 1524.
But the work of translating the prophets delayed the
issue of the whole Bible for several years.

Leo X. was dead, and a new Pope, Adrian YI.,* had

* Pope Adriaa VI. was born in 1459, became Pope in 1522, and
died in 1523. He is said to have been the son of an obscure me-
chanic of Utrecht, named Boeijens, The simplicity of his court,
his attempted ecclesiastical reforms, and his humble acknowledg-
ment of errors in the Church gave great offence to the clergy. In
one of his published works he held that a Pope might err even in
matters of faith. . . ., v

120 THE LIFE OF MARTIiN" LUTHER.

ascended tlie papal tlirone. Earnest and severe in dis-
position, lie sought most empliatically to crush Luther's
heresy, which, in spite of ban and edict, was making con-
tinual progress. Nor did he hesitate to attack Luther's
personal cliaracter, and to heaj? abuse uj^on him. Luther
was not disturbed at this ; he was accustomed to call
Adrian ^' the jackass !' ' At the meeting of the Imperial
diet in Nuremberg (1522) Adrian met with no favor.
He was plainly told that the numerous abuses of the papal
court and of the Roman clergy, by means of which the
German people were insufferably burdened, were the
main causes wlij^ the Pope's decrees and Emperor's edicts
against Luther could not be enforced. At the same time
a free council of the universal Christian Church was de-
manded.

The Pope now addressed a violent communication to
the Elector, abounding in serious threats. '' Did I but
know of a Avay," writes Luther, ^' how to deliver the Elec-
tor out of all this difficulty, without reproach to the Gospel,
I would not spare my life. One year ago I anticipated
losing my life for the cause, and I thought that this
might be the way of deliverance for him. But now, since
we are not able to fathom and comprehend God's plans, we
shall rest in safety when we say : Thy will be done. And
I doubt not that the Elector will escape unharmed so
long as he does not openly confess and approve of my
cause. But God alone knows why he must bear my
shame, Tliis much, however, is certain, that it will do
liim no harm ; on the contrary, it will be his greatest
blessing." The next Lnperial Diet, held in 153^, like-
wise refused to proceed against Luther, as demanded by
the new Pope, Clement YIL, a counterpart of Leo X.
But the Elector entertained the hope that all would yet
peacefully unite upon Luther's doctrine.

THE PROGRESS OF THE REPORilATIOiT. 121

The influence of Lntlier's activity was everywhere felt.
Many noblemen and a number of cities espoused his cause,
and called Lutheran pastors. Among the former was
Albert, Earl of Mansfeld. Among the latter, Magde-
burg, Frankfort, Nuremberg, Ulm, Strasburg, Breslau,
and Bremen. In Saxony Zwickau, Altenburg, and Eis-
enach headed the list. But the first country that, as a
whole, accepted the evangelical teachings was Prussia,
the land of the Teutonic Knights.* Albert of Branden-
burg, the grand-master of the order, brother of the Elec-
tor of Brandenburg, corresponded with Luther, and also,
through oral communication with him, became well
grounded in the evangelical doctrines. He, together
with two bishops, George von Polenz and Erhard von
Queiss, accepted Luther's doctrine. The dominion of
the order was converted into a civil government, and its
grand- master became Duke of Pi'iissia.

Thus there was erected in tho north-eastern ]3art of
Germany a firm bulwark of Protestantism. But at the
same time there arose violent and bloody persecutions of
the Lutherans. The Emperor was not favorably disposed.
Li the Netherlands cruel punishments were inflicted,
and elsewhere the zealots of Romanism were also active.
The greater the number of adherents secured by the new
doctrines, the sharper were the issues drawn and the more
determined the oj^position. Many that in the beginning

* The Teutonic Knights were a religious and military order
which originated during the crusades. It acquired extensive
landed possessions in the north-eastern part of Germany in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and reached its greatest pros-
perity in the fifteenth century, when its territory extended from
the River Oder to the Gulf of Finland. Internal dissensions, a spirit
of luxury, and warfare with the Kings of Poland completed its
downfall in the sixteenth century.

122 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

favored Lutlier's teachings, afterward withdrew their
support, so firmly were they attached to old forms and
nsages. Thus, for example, Luther's old friend and
spiritual adviser, John von Staupitz, retired to Salzburg.
To him there was nothing at stake in the Reforma-
tion movement of so much importance that the peace
and the unity of the Church should be endangered. This
alienation and retirement of his paternal friend painfully
affected Luther. But with equanimity he endured the
attack of Erasmus,* who in the beginning had apparently
supported him. He regarded him as a man possessed
of a sui^erficial, worldly mind, and blind to the highest
truths of salvation.

But Luther was now less concerned about contro-
versy than he was about the work of planting and
building. His chief aim was to have the "Word of
God proclaimed in the congregations, so that the
latter might be built up with faith and prayer, petition
and thanksgiving. In this sense he proceeded to reform
the order of service, excluding all unchristian additions.
To make good this loss he endeavored to secure real
German church chorals. He besought his friends to
transpose the Psalms for tliis pur|)ose, he himself setting
the example. In the year 1524 there appeared in Wit-
tenberg the first German hymn-book, consisting of eight
hymns, among them the one beginning, ^^Now, rejoice,
ye Christian j^eople." In the preface he remarlvs : ^' 1 am

* Erasmus was born in Rotterdam L4G7, and died in Basel 1536.
He was the foremost linguist of his times, and indirectly aided the
Reformation as a scholar rather tlian as a thinker. He pursued a
middle course, agreeable to neither party — in favor of reforming
the vices of the clergy, but opposed to doctrinal changes or re-
forms. He was timid in disposition and compromising in char-
acter. «^

THE PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION". 123

not of tlie opinion tliat all tlie arts should be suppressed
by the Gospel, and should perish, as several high ecclesi-
astics maintain ; but I would rather that all the arts,
especially music, should be enlisted in the service of
Him who has created them and bestowed them upon
us." And he was forced to view with deep regret the
arts and sciences endangered by those intemperate fa-
natics, who, in their false zeal, would have destroyed all
the external decoration of the churches.

He also greatly emphasized the need of the correct train-
ing and the proper instruction of the young. He published
a treatise in 1524, entitled, '' To the Councillors of all
the cities in Germany, to establish and maintain Chris-
tian Schools. " And thus there went out from him an
influence which has had the most powerful, glorious,
and far-reaching effect. Luther was not only the re-
newer of the religious life of the German people, but he
was also the father and creator of its common schools,
that gigantic tree whose branches have spread over all
Gei-many — and it may fairly be said over all Prot-
estantism— scattering blessings over all classes of so-
ciety, to the glory of God and the welfare of mankind.

CHAPTER XIY.

PAKK CLOUDS.

But a new clanger threatened tlie cause of tlie Eefor-
mation. It did not proceed from its ontward foes, nor
even from the imperial or papal powers, but from its
own adherents. '^All mj enemies heretofore," writes
Luther, '' as hard as some have pressed me, have not
hurt me as much as have some of our own people."

But above all others did Karlstadt's* behavior occasion
him care and sorrow. Upon Luther's return from the
"VYartburg, Karlstadt openly maintained peace and order,
but secretly favored the fanatics of Zwickau. The
parish of Orlamiinde, a dependency of Wittenberg, be-
coming vacant, Karlstadt took possession in his own name
and right, and began to introduce reforms. Pictures and
crucifixes were removed from the church and destroyed.
He taught his own views, and carried out his own
practices relative to the Lord's Supper, and endeavored
to enforce many Old Testament teachings. Thus, he

* Andrew Rudolph Bodensteia was born in Karlstadt,
Frauconia, and, according to the custom of the times, he added
the birthplace to his name, and was known by the former. He
was somewhat older than Luther. He studied at AYittenberg,
secured his academical degrees, and obtained a professorship in
the same institution. After his expulsion from Germany he lived
for a while at Strasburg and Zurich, and was subsequently ai>
pointcd professor in the University of Basel, which position he
held until his death in 1541.

DARK CLOUDS. 125

forbade tlie paying and taking of interest on money
loaned, and even went so far as to recommend tlie intro-
duction of tlie system of polygamy as practised by the
ancient Hebrews.

Spiritually related to Karlstadt was Thomas Miinzer.*
In the year 1523, about Easter-tide, he had managed to
secure the parish of Allstedt. His <5bject was to set
up a kingdom of saints on earth, with external power and
pomp. He proposed to destroy the godless and the
tyrannical, appeahng to the Word of the Old Testament,
in which the chosen people of God were obliged to
extirpate the heathen inhabitants of the promised land,
to destroy their altars and burn their idols. And, like
Karlstadt, he also preached communism. "Whoever
among the princes or nobles would not consent to this
arrangement should be decapitated or hanged. His
principal associate was the former monk, Pfeiffer of
Miihlhausen. Mlinzer accused Luther of a free-and-
easy, carnal life. The latter retorted, ' ' Let them alone
to preach what they will ; if any be led astray, it happens
as in war, where there is conflict and battle, some will
be wounded and fall." Antichrist must be destroyed
without the sword. Christ contends with the Spirit.
So thought Luther. But when he heard that Miinzer
and his followers intended to use force, he desired the
authorities to intervene and to say, ^^ Desist from the use
of force ; the power is ours ; otherwise, leave the
country."

At the request of the Elector, Luther undertook a
journey, in the year 1524, to Weimar, Jena, and

* Thomas Miinzer was born in 1490, at Stolberg, in the Harz
Mountains. In early youth he developed an adventurous disposi-
tion, which clung to him until death.

126 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

Orlamiinde.'* At Weimar lie wrote and sent a commu-
nication to tlie council and congregation at Miililliausen,
warning them against Thomas Miinzer. In Jena, where
he airain Iodised at the Inn of the Black Bear, he de-
livered a sermon directed against insurrection and icono-
clastic destruction. Here also he met Karlstadt, and
held a stormy interview with him. He accused him of
being in league with the fanatical "new prophets," and
demanded of him that he should openly write and preach
against them. Karlstadt complained, on the other
hand, that Luther had treated him too vehemently, and
that he had classified him with the rebellious and mur-
derous spirits.

After this interview Luther continued on his journey,
by way of Kahla and Neustadt, to Orlamiinde, head-
quarters of Karlstadt. But he accomplished nothing
here ; he narrowly escaped bodily violence. He himself
narrates this experience : ''When I reached Orlamiinde
I soon discovered what kind of seed Karlstadt had sown ;
for I w^as greeted with such a blessing as this : ' Depart in
the name of a tliousand devils, and may you break your
neck before you leave the city !' "

Luther reported to the Elector on his return home.
As to Karlstadt,. he wrote that he had completely gone
astray, and that there w^as but little hope of his restora-
tion. He thought that Karlstadt had always ignored
the praise of Christ, and that he would always do so.
" His own insane desire for fame and praise has brought
him to this. He has ])roved to be our most dangerous
enemy, so that I am inclined to believe the poor, miser-

* Orlamunde, Weimar, Jena, Kalila, Neustadt, Miihlhausen, and
Frankenhausen are all located in Thuringia. Miihlhausen has
recently again come into notice as being the birthpluco of the elder
Koebling, the engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

DAKK CLOUDS. 127

able wretcli is possessed of an evil spirit. God have
mercy on his sins with which he is offending unto
death."

The Elector then determined that Karlstadt must
leave the country. He complied with this order, going
first to Strasburg, and thence to Basel. From the latter
city he issued a number of pam.phlets against Luther, in
which he terms him a double papist and a friend of
Antichrist. Luther replied with a pamphlet entitled,
'^ Against the Celestial Prophets. " He warned against
them because they taught without authority, and because
they avoided and were silent upon the principal part of
Christian doctrine, viz. , how we should be delivered of
our sins, obtain a good conscience, and a happy heart at
peace with God. On the other hand, they frightened
and deceived the conscience with new and curious teach-
ings.

And in a short time the harvest of the seed which the
false prophets had sown was fully ripe, and the storm
broke witli fury.

Miinzer, after having preached insurrection in south-
western Germany, arrived in Miihlhausen. By means
of his public addresses and specious promises he attracted
and attached the people to himself. A parish was given
him, and a new magistrate, favorable to his cause, was
appointed. From the regions round about the peasants
swarmed in throngs to hear the new revelations. Miinzer
soon became, as Luther said, both king and emperor of
Miihlhausen !

Among the peasants the elements had been in a dis-
turbed condition for some time past, and now a fearful
storm was gathering. In South Germany an insuri-ec-
tion broke out, extending east and west, and also north-
ward into the central parts. The demands of the

128 THE LIFE OF MARTIX LUTHER.

peasants were summed up in twelve articles, many of
which were moderate and just in their terms. Thus
they demanded that each congregation should possess
the right to choose its own pastor. Henceforth they did
not wish to be considered as serfs, but treated as free-
men, because Christ had redeemed all with His own
blood. When Luther heard of these Twelve Articles,
he wrote '^An Admonition to Peace in Reply to the
Twelve Articles of the Peasants in Swabia." He directs
his statements at first to the princes and nobles, and
says that they, and especially the blind bishops, mad
priests and monks, are to blame for this mischief and
insurrection, because they do not cease to rave and rage
against the holy Gospel ; and that in their secular
governments they did nothing but assess and extort,
displaying their ]3ride and splendor to such an extent
that the common laborino; man could endure it no lono^er.
They could not lay the blame of this upon the Gospel,
for he had always contended against insurrection and
had exhorted to obedience even against tyrannical au-
thority. He therefore entreated them to heed his
warning, not to despise this revolt, and yet not to fear
the peasants ; but rather that they should fear God
and for His sake make some concessions, and treat the
peasants as one would drunken and erring men, in a
kindly spirit, for kindness never suffers any loss.

But the peasants he admonished not to think of their
right or power, nor even of the wrongs they had suffered.
He warned tiiem against abusing the divine Name, quoted
passages frcm God's Word concerning the rights and
powers of the ordained authorities, and showed that the
excuse sometimes offered, that the government was a bad
one, could in no wise justify conspiracy and rebellion.
They might do what God did not forbid, but they should

PARK CLOUDS. 129

not bring disgrace upon the Christian name, nor make it
the sinful cloak of their impatient, contentious, and un-
christian imdertaking. For true Christians did not con-
tend with the sword nor with guns, but with the cross
and affliction. In fact, with the exception of the iirst
article, their demands had nothing in common with the
Gospel. And if they persisted in their revolt they
would be worse enemies of the Gospel than Pope and
Emperor.

But the peasants persisted in their insurrection.
^' Hardly do 1 look about me," said Luther, ^^ when they
come to blows, steal and rage, and act like raving dogs ;
but especially violent is that arch iiend that rules at
Miihlhausen" (Mlinzer). The latter had marched out,
on the 26th of April, 1525, with four hundred armed
men, to do battle for the Lord, as he said. Multitudes
flocked to his standard. Cloisters and castles were re-
duced to ashes. And as yet the princes and nobles were
not sufficiently strong to encounter and subdue them.

Amid these lawless disorders the Elector died in peace,
May 5th, 1525. ^ ^ Under his firm protection' ' says Luther,
'^ the Gospel everywhere happily gained the day. His
name and his great reputation exerted a good influence.
And since he was a wise and prudent prince, no one could
accuse him of harboring heresy or protecting heretics in
his realm. He was a child of peace, and peacefully did
he enter into rest. ' ' Luther had charge of the funeral
arrangements. All superstitious ceremonies were exclud-
ed. Before his interment Luther delivered two sermons
in the castle church at Wittenberg. To Duke John, the
successor of Frederick the Wise, he wrote : ^' It looks as
if God had purposely removed him, as he did King
Josiah, that he might no longer behold the wickedness of
the world. During his whole life he governed in a

130 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

quiet and peaceful manner, well meriting his name,
Frederick, in word and deed. And sucli peaceful souls
are not to be begrudged that they no longer live in this
unrest and strife ; for they would occasion us more misery
did we see them passing their last days amid such
turmoil. "

But when the revolt and the lawless proceedings of
the peasants grew worse, Luther issued an address
** Against the Plundering and Murderous Hordes of
Peasants. ' ' Among other things he said : that the peasants
had merited death in body and soul because of their atro-
cious, sins ; that they had sworn to be faithful and true to
their superiors, but that they had broken their vows of
obedience in a wanton and mischievous manner ; that
they instigated insurrections and plundered cloisters and
castles like highway robbers ; and that they endeavored to
cover up such fearful sins with the Gospel, calling them-
selves Christian brethren, and obliging people to join them
in their outrages. Luther exhorted all Christian authorities
to take up the sword against these mad peasants. They
should be of good courage and use force with a clear con-
science. Whoever would fall on the side of law and
order would be a true martyr in the sight of God, because
he would be acting in the pathway of obedience to the
Divine Word. Another reason to justify vigorous action
on the part of the authorities was the circumstance that
the peasants compelled many pious people to join their
infernal league. '' To save these jDoor souls, let every one
w^ho can, strike and slay."

On the 15th of May, 1525, Miinzer's army of eight
thousand men was completely defeated in the battle of
Frankenhausen in Thuringia. He himself was captured
and executed. Shortly before this the principal army of
the Swabian peasants was entirely destroyed. Soon the re-

DARK CLOUDS. 131

volt was suppressed. The atrocities of which the peasants
had been guilty were ofttimes fearfully avenged.

Luther's enemies were soon ready to charge him with
the blame of these atrocities. They maintained that his
treatise against the peasants was severe and unchristian,
alleging that he had preached the shedding of blood with-
out mercy. Even among his friends many were offended.
Luther vindicated himself in his '' Letter about that se-
vere Book against the Peasants," in which he declared,
that if he had advised the slaying of the rebellious
peasants without mercy, he certainly did not teach that
the prisoners should receive no mercy. !N"or would he
defend the acts of infuriated tyrants, nor commend their
ravings.

And over against the accusations that he liimseK had
incited this conflagration, he could say, ''I am of the
opinion that no teacher ever wrote so powerfully in favor
of the civil authority, for which even my enemies are
indebted to me. And who stood up more resolutely
against the peasants, with sermons and in writings, than
did I?"

CHAPTER XY.

LUTHER S MARRIAGE.

The step that Luther now took afforded his enemies
both material and opportunity for libellous reproaches.
In lb24: he had laid aside his monk's cowl and assumed
a black ministerial coat. Releasing himself from his
monkish vows, he entered into the marriage state on the
13th of June, 1525, at the age of fortj-one years.

While he was sojourning on the Wartburg he reject-
ed the very suggestion of such a step. " Good God !"
wrote he, '^ our Wittenberg friends are furnishing their
monks w^ith wives ; but they shall not force any upon
me." And to Melanchthon — to whom he had recom-
mended a wife — he jokingly asked whether he would
avenge himself upon Luther by returning the favor ; if
so, he would be on his guard. Many of his friends and
fellow -laborers had already married. And many inquired
if Luther did not contemplate taking unto himself a
wife. But as late as tlie 30tli of Kovember he wrote :
" lam far removed from marrying, for I daily anticipate
deatli and tlie well-merited punishment of a heretic."
And now he took unto himself a wife ! lie expLained his
action by saying, ^' Tlie Lord fairly threw me into the
marriage state at a time when 1 was of a contrary opin-
ion." He speaks of his intention with positiveness, for
the first time, in a letter of May 4th, 1525 :

^^ And if lean accomplish it, to spite the devil, I will
marry my Katie before I die, since I hear that the peasants

LUTHER'S MAimiAGE. 133

are continuing tlieir operations. I hope they will not de-
prive me of my com^age and my joy." And to Spalatin
he wrote on the lOtliof April : '^I have urged so many
others, for various reasons, to marry, that I shall soon he
brought to it myself, especially since my enemies do not
refrain from condemning such a step, and our ^ wonder-
fully wise little people ' daily make sport over it." The
persuasive efforts of his father must have exerted an in-
fluence in leading him to this determination, for it
seemed to him as if he had regained his son since he had
ceased to be a monk.

On the evening of the 13th of June, 1525, Luther in-
vited his friends — among them Bugenhagen, Jonas, and
Lucas Kranach* — to his dwelling, to witness his marriage
with Catharine von Bora. She was born January 29th,
1449, of an old noble family, and as a mere child she had
entered Cloister Nimptsch, nearGrimma, in Saxony. In
the year 1523 she, together with eight other nuns, had
escaped fit)m the cloister and had come to Wittenberg.
Here she sojourned in the family of Philip Reichenbach,
the town-clerk, afterward burgomaster. Many years
subsequent to this act, Luther remarked at table, ^^ If 1
had wished to marry some thirteen years ago, I would
have taken Eva Schunfeld. My Katie did not love me
at the time, for I susj)ected her to be proud and haughty.
But it pleased God that I should have mercy upon her.
And I was blessed in the step I took, for I have a pious,

* Lucas Sunder was born in Kranach, in Bavaria, in 1472, and
died in "Weimar, Saxony, in 1553. He substituted the name of
his birthplace for his family name. As a painter he was distin-
guished for graceful simplicity, and stood at the head of the
Saxon school. He enjoyed the friendship of Luther and the
other Reformers at Wittenberg, and frequently introduced them
into his pictures.

134 THE LIFE OF MARTIiT LUTHER.

faithful wife, upon whom a man can depend, and, as
Solomon sajs, she will do me no evil." The wedding
ceremony took place in the customary manner. Bugen-
hagen pronounced them man and wife and added God's
blessing. Tlie wedding-rings of Luther and Catharine,
the gift of a friend, have been preserved in the museum
of Brunswick. They are artistically made, and bear the
inscription : ^'What God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder."

In a fortnight thereafter the usual wedding festivities
were held, to which Luther invited his parents and
friends. From the university Luther received a finely
engfaved silver tankard, now in possession of the Uni-
versity of Greifswald. The electoral court furnished a
roast of venison, and the city authorities a generous supply
of wine.

And thus the unprecedented had happened — an ex-
pelled monk had married a runaway nun ! Great was
the talk and the commotion that ensued ! • Luther's
enemies derisively reminded him of the old legend that
of such a union antichrist would be begotten. Many of
his best friends, Melanchthon among the number, were
troubled about his act. And yet it soon appeared that,
as in other matters, Luther had shown himself to be a
man of firm character, and as one who had done what
w^as right.

In accordance with the order of the Elector, Luther
remained in the monastery building, which had been
vacated by all the monks. Here Katie established her
household. To-day this stately dwelling still stands,
close to the gate and to the city walls, altered within,
but firm and towering without, a genuine German
home, from which have issued streams of blessing for
the whole world. His married life has become the

Luther's marriage. 135

model for many thousands. ^ ' From that time, ' ' says
Gustav Freytag, ^'the husband, the father, the citizen,
became likewise the Reformer of the domestic life of
his nation, a pattern for filial reverence, marriage, the
training of children, as well as for the social family
life — the very blessings of his life on earth, of which
Protestants and Catholics may alike partake, have sprung
from Luther's marriage. "

CHAPTER XYI.

Luther's reformatoky actiyity.

The year 1525 characterized an important epoch in
Luther's life. A controversy with some of his own
adherents had been added to his conflict against Home.
Hitherto his activity had been essentially destructive ;
from this time forth it must needs be constructive.
Over against the fanatics and iconoclasts, as well as the
rebellious peasants, it was necessary to establish fixed
limits, which could not be transcended without endan-
gering the work of the Eeformation. The sad experi-
ences of the past few years did not subdue Luther's
spirit — for the consciousness that his cause was of God
was to him immovable. Yet his tone was not so confi-
dent, his spirit and his words not so bold as in the
beginning, Avhen he aj^pealed to the German people.
Then, the controversies among the adherents of the Re-
formation, concerning the doctrine of the Lord's Supj^er,
began to separate them into hostile camps, and even to
fill their hearts with bitterness.

And yet Luther daily rejoiced to see the Gospel
gaining a firmer foothold and developing itself both in-
wardly and outwardly. The measures of the Elector
John, the successor of Frederick the Wise, contributed
largely to this result. As chief ruler of the countrv he
showed a willingness to establish a new order of things
in the Church, according to the fundamental principles
of the Gospel. In these efforts he was powerfully assisted

137

by the Landgrave, Philip of Hesse. By means of such
assistance on the part of the ruling princes the cause of
the Keformation not only grew stronger in itself, bnt
also as against the Emperor and the imperial princes.
But for this new church structure there was demanded
less boldness and more persevering patience and a rever-
ent conservatism.

And still in another direction the picture suffered a
change. In place of the monk's cowl the habit of the
citizen was assumed. Because of this the heart of the
German people went out to the great Reformer. As a
struggling monk he excited wonder and surprise. But
as a husband and father he is loved and revered by the
German people. In the times of conflict and develop-
ment his life was productive of far-reaching experiences
and marvellous occurrences. But henceforth a more
peaceable career was unfolded, even if numerous conflicts
and temptations had still to be endured.

His constructive activity first of all was devoted to
the arrangement of the order of Divine Service. Much
had already been accomplished in this direction. The
congregation took part in the singing of German hjmms,
but the liturgical services were yet conducted in Latin.
Luther established a full order of service in German, and
published the new liturgy in a book entitled ' ' The
German Mass (Communion) and Order of Service as
established at Wittenberg." But he declared explicitly
that it was not his intention to oblige all Germany to
adopt this order of serdce. He had in mind another
kind of evangelical service, which should be simply
composed of the Word and Prayer, and ordered in
love. ''But as yet," said he, ''the people are wanting
to carry out such an order of service." He will wait
*' until the Christians are found who will earnestly

138 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

accept of tlie Word and firmly exercise it ;" otherwise a
factious sect might grow out of it, if he were to carry
out his o^vn notions. For the Germans are an intractable
people, with whom it is not easy to begin a new move-
ment unless they are impelled by necessity.

Having finished the work of establishing an order of
divine service in German, he next turned his attention
to a reform of the parishes. On the anniversary of
the 95 Theses, in the year 1525, he submitted the
following to the Elector : '^ Two things yet remain to be
done, which demand from your Grace, as the ruling
civil authority, order and oversight. The one thing is
the miserable condition of the church parishes ; the
other, that the Elector should order an investigation of
the civil administration of his councillors and other
ofiicials, because of the complaints preferred against
them in city and country."

The Elector agreed to carry out these wishes, but
more than a year elapsed before the matter was thor-
oughly taken in hand. In November, 1526, Luther
again presented the question to the Elector, and main-
tained that the cities and towns that were able should be
obliged to maintain schools and churches, as much so as
their bridges, higliways, and other necessary arrange-
ments of civil life. The ruhng prince should have the
sole right to dispose of tlie monasteries and endowed
institutions, and tlie duty of governing such establish-
ments should devolve upon him, for otherwise no one
Avould care for them. At last, in February, 1527, this
matter was earnestly taken in liand, and inspectors
appointed. In the month of July the first general in-
spection was made in Tliuringia.

The political situation in Germany contributed no
little to the development of the Reformation cause.

Luther's reformatory activity. 139

The Emperor was liard puslied by France and by
Tarkey. He could not tliink of executing tlie Edict of
Worms in all its severity. At the imperial diet of Spire
(1526) the resolution was passed that until a general
council of the Christian Church be held, or at least until
a German national council could meet and decide, each
member of the diet should live, govern, and conduct
himself in matters pertaining to the said edict, in view
of his accountability to God and His Imperial Majesty.

While the cause of the Keformation was thus peace-
ably making good progress and establishing itself firmly
both inwardly and outwardly, Luther was sorely afflicted
in body and soul — just after ''his dear Katie, by the
grace of God, had presented him with a boy, Hans
Luther, on the 7th of June, 1526."

In January, 1527, he was attacked by a violent rush of
blood to the heart, which well-nigh killed him. But
happily, the attack soon passed over. Then he was over-
come by anxious forebodings. Great anguish of soul
seized upon him, and then followed another rush of
blood to the heart.

Concerning the spiritual temptations, Luther says that
they were severer and more dangerous than the bodily
weakness which overcamic him. '' And when the spirit-
ual temptation had passed away, early on Saturday
morning," thus relates Luther's friend, Bugenliagen,*

* John Bugenlicagen, known as Dr. Pommer, or Pomeranus,
was born near Stettin in 1485, and died in Wittenberg in 1558.
He founded a high school at Belbuck in Pomerania, and started
the work of the Reformation. He joined Luther in 1521, being
appointed shortly thereafter professor in the university and pastor
of the principal church. He became one of the foremost workers
of the cause, operating as reformer in Church and school in Ger-
many and Scandinavia.

140 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

'' the pious Job feared that if the hand of God should
again return so strongly he would not be able to endure
it, and imagined that the Lord Jesus Christ was about
calling him home."

'' And so he sent his servant to me early in the morning,
bidding me to come to him in haste. Since he said ' in
haste' I was surprised, but found the Doctor appearing
as usual, standing by the side of his wife, with a quiet
and retiring disposition, commending all things to God.
For he was accustomed not to bring his complaints
before men that could not help him, and whom he also
could not help with his complaints. I asked the Doctor
why* he had sent for me. ' Not because of any evil
thing, ' answered he.

^ ' After we had ascended to the upper part of the house
and had reached a retired spot, he began with great
earnestness to acknowledge and confess his sins. The
master then desired from his pupil comfort out of the
Divine Word — that is, deliverance and absolution from
all lus sins ; he also asked that I should pray for him,
which I likewise desired of him. He requested per-
mission, on the following Sunday, to receive the Holy
Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ ; he hoped
to preach on that day, and did not seem to be concerned
about the attack of sickness on the previous afternoon ;
he then immediately remarked, ' If God will call ine
now. His will be done.' I was astonished at this and
other statements. After he had confessed and had con-
versed about the spiritual temptations that had befallen
him that morning, with utterable fear and trembling, he
continued : ' Many think because at times I manifest
a very happy disposition that my pathway is strewn with
roses. But God knows what experiences I have had. I
have often resolved, for the sake of the world, Uj mani-

Luther's reformatory activity. 141

fest a more serious and holy disposition (1 hardly know
what to call it) ; but God has not thus endowed me.
Thank God, the world cannot truthfully charge me with
any vice or immorality, and yet it is offended because of
me. Daily and earnestly I implore Him to grant me
grace that I may not, because of my sins, give any one
just cause of offence.'

'' It was now noon, and, at the suggestion of his wife,
Luther accompanied Bugenhagen to a dinner at the
home of one of the nobility. He ate and drank but
little, yet was very agreeable to all at table. After
dinner he spent several hours with Dr. Jonas* in his
garden, endeavoring to rid himself of his sadness and
melancholy. He conversed with the latter upon a
variety of subjects, and invited him and his wife to
supper. But when Dr. Jonas and his wife arrived at
fiv^e o'clock, Luther had retired to rest and to refresh
himself. He at once arose, but could not remain at
table because of the buzzing and ringing in his ears. In
company with Dr. Jonas he returned to his room, where
a faintness overcame him. He cried out suddenly,
' Oh, Doctor, I am feeling badly ; bring me some
water, or I shall die.' Frightened and trembling, I
hurriedly seized a pail of cold water and dashed some of
it into his face and neck as well as I could. In the
meanwhile he began to pray : ' Dearest God, if thou
hast willed this to be my last hour upon earth, thy

* Justus Jonas was born in Nordhausen, Saxony, in 1493, and
died in Eisfeld in 1555. He studied law and then theology at
Erfurt, and became professor at Wittenberg in 1531. He was
present at the Diet in Worms, and also in Augsburg. In 1541 he
was appointed pastor at Halle, and accompanied Luther on his
last journey to Eisleben. At the time of his death he was pastor
and superintendent at Eisfeld in Saxony,

142 THE LIFE 01' MAIITIN LUTHER.

gracious will he done.' And lifting np his eyes to
heaven, with heart-felt fervency he continued praying,
repeating the Lord's Prayer and the sixth Psalm. His
wife noAV appeared, and seeing that he was so deadly
faint, she was amazed and called loudly for the servants.
He then lay down and longed for rest, but compLained
of great weakness. We rubbed him, cooled him off,
gave him refreshing drinks, and did what we could
until the physician arrived. Shortly after that he again
commenced to pray, saying : ' O Lord and dearest
God, thou knowest how willingly I would have shed my
blood for the sake of thy Word ; but perhaps I am not
worthy of it ; thy will be done. If thou hast so ordered
it, I will gladly die ; but so that thy Holy Name be
praised, whether I Hve or die. But if it were possible,
dear God, I would yet wish to live for the sake of thy
chosen people. Yet if my last hour has come, do as
thou wilt ; thou art Lord over life and death. Dearest
God, thou hast led me in my work ; thou knowest that
it is thy Word and Truth ; do not permit my enemies
to rejoice, and to boast : where is now your God ? But
glorify thy Holy Name against the enemies of thy
blessed, healing Word. Dearest Lord Jesus, thou hast
graciously vouchsafed unto me the knowledge of thy
Holy Name ; thou knowest that 1 believe in thee, to-
gether with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and that I
comfort myself with the truth that thou art our Mediator
and Saviour. O thou that didst shed thy precious blood
for us sinners, support me at this time and comfort me
with thy Holy Spirit.' And again he continued :
*'Lord, thou knowest that many unto whom thou hast
given it have shed tlieir blood for the Gospel's sake. I
had hoped likewise to be enabled to shed my blood for
the sake of thy Holy Name, but I am not worthy of it ;

Luther's reformatory activity. 143

til J will be done. Lord, thou knowest that Satan has
persecuted me in many ways, seeking to kill me bodily
by tyrants, kings, and princes, and spiritually by his fiery
arrows and by fearful satanic temptations. But against
all their raving and raging thou hast wonderfully pre-
served me. Preserve me henceforth, thou faithful God,
if it be thy will.'

"■ He then inquired for the physician. We informed
him that he would soon be here. In a short time he ar-
rived, applied hot cloths to Luther's body, administered
other remedies, and comforted him with the hope that,
please God, there was no danger to be apprehended at
this time. In the meanwhile Dr. Pomeranus (Bugen-
hagen), to whom Luther had confessed in the morning,
arrived, and anxiously addressed him : ' Dear Doctor, do
you also unite with us in praying that you may yet long
be spared, a comfort to us and to many others ? ' To which
Luther replied : ^ As for myself personally, to die
would be gain ; yet to continue in the flesh is necessary
for the sake of many. Dear God, thy will be done.' "

Then turning to both friends (Jonas and Bugenhagen)
he said, '^ Since the world delights in lies, many will
say that I retracted my teachings before I died. I there-
fore desire most earnestly that you will be witnesses to
my present confession of faith. I say it with a good con-
science, that I have taught from out of God's Word, ac-
cording to God's command, to which work He has con-
strained me without my will. I have taught right and
wholesome doctrine concerning faith and love, the cross
and the sacraments, and other articles of Christian truth.
Many accuse me of being too violent and severe in writing
against papists and factions spirits, and when I castigate
their false teachings, impious living, and hypocrisy. 1
have indeed been too violent at times and have severely

144 THE LIFE OF ^lAKTIJS' LUTHER.

attacked my opponents, and yet in sncli a manner that
I never regretted it. But whotlier I liav^e been vio-
lent or temperate, I liave never sought to inflict an
injury, nor to endanger a human soul, but have rather
sought the welfare and salvation of every one. I had
purposed to write about Baptism, and also against Z^vingli
and other fanatics, and I have often complained in tears
that so many sects and factions have arisen that corrupt
and pervert God's Word, and that would not spare His
own flock which lie has redeemed with His blood. God
has bestowed upon me, unworthy that I am, many beauti-
ful^gifts, which he has not given to thousands of others,
and which I would indeed like to employ to His honor,
and for the use and comfort of God's people, if it be
His will. You will not be able to contend against so
many fanatics that now everywhere show themselves ;
yet I comfort myself with this, that Christ is stronger than
very Satan."

When the feeling of faintness increased he repeated in
his prayer comforting words and passages from the Holy
Scripture, which he delivered with a fervent heart and
with a firm faith and certain confidence in God's grace
and mercy. Not long after this he said to his wife :
*' My dearest Katie, if God at this time will take me to
Himself, I entreat you to be reconciled to His gracious
will ; you are my lawful wife — concerning which fact
you are to have no doubt. Let the blind, godless world
say what it will to the contrary ; govern yourself accord-
ing to God's AVord, and hold fast to the same, then you
will have certain and constant comfort ai^ainst the devil
and all his calumniators." Soon he again began to pray.
^' () my dear Lord Jesus, thou who hast said, ^ Ask and
ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it will
be opened unto you,' grant unto me, in virtue of this

LUTHER'S IlEFORMATORY ACTIVITY. 145

promise, not gold nor silver, but a strong, firm faitli ; let
me find, not the desire nor the joy of this world, but
comfort and refreshing through His blessed saving "Word ;
open unto me who am knocking ; nothing do I desire
which the world regards as great ; but grant unto me thy
Holy Spirit, to enlighten my heart, to comfort and
strengthen me in my fear and distress, and to preserve
me in the right faith and confidence in thy grace until
the end of my life. Amen. "

Hot cloths were again applied to warm his chilled
body, and after this had been done Luther asked to see
his ^^ dear little son Johnnie" (allerliebstes Hansichen).
The child laughingly regarded its father, who said, ^^ O
you dear, poor little child ! I commend you, dearest
Katie, and you, poor little orphan, to my beloved and
faithful God. You are poor, but God, who is a ^ Father
of the fatherless and a Judge of the widows,' will provide
for and protect you." He then conversed with his wife
about his silver tankards. She was much frightened and
disturbed at these remarks of her husband, but did not
manifest her fears outwardly at being obliged to witness
his sufferings. On the contrary, she comforted herself
by saying, ^' Dear Doctor (Luther), if it be God's will,
I would rather see you with Him than with me. But
it is not myself and child alone that are concerned about
your life-; many pious Christian people still have need
of you. Do not, then, be worried on my behalf ; I com-
mend you to His divine will, and I hope and trust God
will graciously j^reserve me. ' '

When Luther had partially recovered his strength, on
the advice of the physician his friends left him to gain
much-needed rest. On the following day they foimd
him very much better, and in the evening he was able
to arise and dine with them. To Dr. Jonas he then and

14G THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

there remarked, " I must make a note of yesterday, for
I received severe instructions, seated, as it were, in a hot
sweat-bath. The Lord leadeth into hell and leadeth out
again. The Lord killeth and inaketh again alive. For
He is Lord of life and death. To Him be thanks, hon-
or, and praise forevermore. Amen."

But the end was not yet. That inward feeling of op-
pression returned, and even increased in violence. He
complained to his friends that he was obhged to endure
the severest attacks. To Melanchthon he wrote, in the
beginning of August, that for more than a week he
was tossed about in heaven and hell, and that he still
trembled from the effects of his sickness.

While Luther was thus enduring such grievous suffer-
ings, the plague broke out in Wittenberg. At the com-
mand of the Elector the university was removed to Jena.
Luther, however, remained with his friend Bugenhagen
in Wittenberg, though the epidemic reached his very
doors. Luther writes concerning those days: *' Thus
there are conflicts without and fears within. One com-
fort, nevertheless, we have, over against the ragings of
Satan, and that is the word of God, by which we may
save the souls of the faithful, even if Satan should
destroy their bodies. Pray for us that we valiantly
endure the visitation of God, and overcome the devil's
might and craft, be it for life or death. Amen." And
shortly thereafter he wrote: ^^1 bear God's wrath be-
cause I have sinned before Him. The Pope and the
Emperor, the princes and the bishops, yea the w^hole
world hate me. And more than that, my own brethren
[those differing from him on the Lord's Supper] torment
me. My sins, death, Satan with his angels, rage without
end. And what indeed could comfort me should Christ
also forsake me, on whose account all my enemies hate

LUTHER'S REFORMATORY ACTIVITY. 147

me ? But He (Christ) will never forsake a poor sinner
like me."

Before the end of the year (1527) the plague had
ceased. Luther's infant son Hans recovered from his
sickness, and his wife bore him a daughter which was
named Elizabeth.

During these troublous times Luther wrote that grand
choral, ^^the Battle-Hymn of the Reformation,"

*'EINE FESTE BURG 1ST UNSER GOTT. *

1. "A mighty stronghold is our God,

A sure defense and weapon ;
He helps us free from ev^ery need
Which hath us now o'ertaken.
The old angry foe
Now means us deadly woe ;
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight —
On Earth is not his equal.

2. " In our own strength can naught be done —

Our loss were soon effected ;
There fights for us the Proper One,
By God himself elected.
Ask you who frees us ?
It is Christ Jesus —
The Lord Sabaoth,
There is no other God ;
He'll hold the field of battle.

* The English version following is that of Rev. Dr. Joel Swartz.
The Rev. Dr. B. Pick has issued a collection of versions, fifty-six in
number, in different languages, including Hebrew, Russian, Zulu,
etc. It is published by Severinghaus & Co., Chicago, 111., in pam-
phlet form.

148 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHEFv.

3, '' And were the world with devils filled,

All waiting to devour us ;
We'll still succeed, so God hath willed—
They cannot overpower us :
The Prince of this World
To hell shall be hurled ;
He seeks to alarm,
But shall do us no harm ;
The smallest word can fell him.

4. '* The Word they must still let remain,

And for that have no merit ;
For He is with us on the plain,
By His good gifts and Spirit :
Destroy they our life,
Goods, fame, child, and wife ?
Let all pass amain,
They still no conquest gain.
For ours is still the kingdom."*

In the montli of October, 1528, the long-prepared and
extensive work of inspection was begun. Luther himself
took charge of Wittenberg and vicinity, and found the
condition of things somewhat favorable. But other
sections of the country were not in so good a condition.
Tlius a contemporary narrates : "Dr. Luther examined
the peasants on the subject of prayer, and also in the
catechism, and that very gently and patiently ; he also
instructed them very kindly in Bible liistory. On one
occasion he required a Saxon peasant to repeat the
Creed. lie began, "I believe in God the Father Al-
mighty," when Luther stopped him and asked, ^'What
is Almiglity V The peasant replied, " I do not know."
"You are riglit, my dear fellow," responded Luther;

* The mrlody to whicli this liymu is sung was composed by
.Tohn Walthcr, musical director of Torgtui. in lo3i).

ACTIVITY. 149

'' neither I nor all the learned men can tell what God's
power and might is. But do you continue to beheve in
all simplicity that God is your beloved and faithful
Father, w^ho as the Only Wise can and will help your
wife and children in every hour of need."

But not only among the common country people, but
also among the clergy, did Luther find the densest igno-
rance. Thus, for example, he found one that could
scarcely repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Some
had become notorious hj their immoral course of life ;
others had to be enjoined from pursuing secular business,
such as keeping saloon and the like occupations. In
the country districts but few schools were to be found.
This crying need led Luther to prepare his two Cate-
chisms in the year 1529. '' Help, dear God !" says he,
in his preface to the smaller Catechism. '^How much
misery have I seen, especially in the country villages,
because the common layman knows nothing at all about
the Christian doctrines ; and many of the clergy are both
unapt and unfit to teach. And yet they are all called
Christians, have been baptized, and j)artake of the Lord's
Supper, though they know nothing about the Creed, the
Lord's Prayer, or the Ten Commandments. They live
like cattle and irrational swine, and now that the pre-
cious Gospel has come to them they understand how to
abuse their liberty in a masterly manner ! O ye bishops,
how will ye be able to give an account to Christ, that
ye have suffered the common people to be degraded in
ignorance, and have not given full proof of your ministry ?
Ye permit of but one kind (bread) in the Communion
and enforce your human enactments, but ye care nothing
whether the people know the Lord's Prayer, the Ci-eed,
the Ten Commandments, or anything about God's Word.
Woe unto your necks forever !" lie then admonishes

loU THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTUEU.

his fellow-clergymen to have mercy upon the poor
people, and to introduce the Catechism among them.
And, indeed, next to the Bible, his Catechism, with its
pitliy, poj)ular language, was most influential in leading
to an apprehension and contirmation of the teachings of
the Gospel.

CHAPTEE XYII.

THE CONFERENCE AT MARBURG.

In tlie fall of 1529 Luther accepted an invitation
of the Landgrave Philip of Hesse* to Marburg. Here a
meeting had been called of all the prominent advocates
of the Gospel and the Kef ormation who were opposed to
the domination of Rome. An intimate union of all such
into one solid phalanx was an urgent necessity. The
friends of the Reformation were divided into two hostile
camps. This division gave the enemy frequent advan-
tage for attack. By combating and condemning each
other the advocates of the Reformation were inviting
the overthrow of their cause.

We have already heard Luther express himself, during
his severe illness, concerning the Sacramentarians, i.e.^
those Protestants who differed from him in their views
of the Lord's Supper. At their head, as leader, stood
Zwingli,f a native of Switzerland. He had developed

* Among all the German princes of Reformation times, Philip
of Hesse was the most talented and energetic. Upon many ques-
tions and movements he exercised a determining influence, but not
always for the good of the cause. His second marriage, though
sanctioned by many theologians, occasioned great scandal. He
was born in 1504, and died in 1567.

f Ulric Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, was born at Wildhaus, in
the Canton of St. Gall, January 1st, 1484. He studied at Vienna
and Basel, and was ordained a priest in 150G, but not until 1516
did he begin to preach the Gospel of the Reformation. In 1518
he was called to the Cathedral of Zurich, which city henceforth

152 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

an independent Reformation movement in Zurich, had
gained many friends to the cause, and liad procLaimed the
Gospel throughout liis native land. In many important
points he was in accord with Luther, but upon one point
they disagreed, upon the doctrine of the Holy Com-
munion. Zwingh denied the presence of the body of
Christ in the Lord's Supper. He maintained that the
words of Christ, " This is my body," etc., denote, *' This
signifies my body," etc. He admitted nothing but a
spiritual reception on the part of the believer. Luther,
on the other hand, maintained that the salvation wrought
out* by Christ's death was presented to the individual
through the distribution of the broken body of Christ
under the sensible mediation of bread, and that faith
w\as thereby strengthened. Different explanations con-
cerning the doctrine of the Lord's Supper had given rise
to a violent controversy, and many treatises had been
written on both sides of the question. Marburg in
Hesse was selected as the place w^here, it was hoped,
the controversy might possibly be settled. Zwingli and
Ids friend Okolompad* arrived on the 29th of September,
1529. Luther and Melanchthon, with a few friends,
followed on the next day. All were royally entertained

became the center of his reformatory activity. Ou his return
from Marburg he took an active part in the liostilities between
the Roman Catholic and Protestant cantons, and died as chaplain
on the battle-field of Kappel, October 11th, 1531.

* John Oekolompad, whose real name is said to have been
Hussgen or Ileussgen, was born in Swabia 1482, and died in
Basel 1531. He studied theology at Heidelberg, and under
Erasmus at Basel. For a while he was chaplain to Franz von
Sickingen at the Castle of Ebernburg. Called as curate to the
Church of St. JNIartin's in Basel, in 1525, he remained there until
his death. He has been termed the Melanchthon of Switzerland.

THE CONFERENCE AT MARBUHG. 153

in the castle and palace of the Landgrave, Philip of
Hesse. Luther had reluctantly accepted the invitation,
for he anticipated no good result from the interview.
Zwingli, on the contrary, had gladly accepted the in-
vitation, and had come filled with joyful expectations
that a union could be effected, in spite of a continuance
of doctrinal differences. It seemed, therefore, as if every-
thing depended upon Luther.

A friendly and confidential interview having taken
place between Luther and Okolompad on the one hand,
and Zwingli and Melanchthon on the other, the great
colloquium between these four distinguished theologians
was solemnly opened on the 2d of October, 1529, in the
presence of the Landgrave, his councillors, and invited
guests. In the beginning Luther had written with chalk
upon the table these words : " This is my body." He
accepted and insisted upon the literal meaning of these
words, and said that his opponents should honor God
and believe the j^ure and simple "SYord of the Lord.
Zwingli sought to prove by a number of illustrations
from the Bible that the word '' Z^" could not have this
literal meaning. Thus, when Christ says, ^^ I am the
vine, ye are the branches" (John 15 : 5), He does not
mean that He and His disciples are actual and real wood
of the vine. When he calls Peter a rock (Matthew
16 : 18), he does not mean that the apostle, instead of
being a real man of flesh and bones, is a bare stone.
But the more Zwingli endeavored to convince Luther of
the impossibility of the bodily presence of Christ, the
more firmly did Luther adhere to the literal interpreta-
tion of tlie words of institution. And when Zwingli
quoted the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel in his
favor, venturing ratlier boldly to remark, '' This pas-
sage will break your neck. Doctor !'' Lutlier replied,

154 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

^' Do not exalt yourself too highly ; you are in Hesse and
not in Switzerland. Necks are not so readily broken
here ; sjDare your proud and defiant words until you
return home to your fellow-countrymen. If not, I will
administer a blow which will cause you to repent of
your remark." "Whereupon Zwingli responded : ^' In
Switzerland also justice is administered in equity, and no
one's neck is endangered without due process of law.
I simply made use of a proverbial saying, which signifies
that a person has lost his cause," The Landgrave like-
wise interposed at this point and entreated Luther not to
understand such an expression so seriously.

Zwingli then read a passage from one of Luther's
sermons upon John 6, in which he had entertained the
same view as Zwingli held, that Christ speaks solely of
a spiritual eating, and that the flesh proilteth nothing.
To eat the flesh of the Son of God and to drink His
blood mean nothing else than to believe that Christ died
for us. But now, when Zwingli quoted this passage in
his favor, Luther replied : "I care not how Melanch-
thon and I formerly exj^lained this passage. Prove to
me that, when Christ says, This is my body, it is 7iot
His body." And wdien Zwingli appealed to and quoted
the Church Fathers, Luther again replied : ''I care not
what the Church Fathers teach upon this point ; for we
have sufficient proof in the Word of the Lord : this is
my body." The debate was continued in the afternoon
and on the following day, but without leading to the
end sought for, viz., union. Luther insisted upon it :
"It is written. This is my body ; the rest I leave to
God."

Finally Zwingli and Okolompad requested that they
mifrht all acknowledge one another as brethren. And
Philip the Landgrave also exerted himself to bring about

THE C02s'"FEREN-CE AT MARBURG. 155

a harmonious agreement. Zwingli declared with tears
in his eyes : ^^ There are no other people on earth with
whom I would rather agree than with the Witten-
bergers. " But Luther rejected the proffered hand of
union, with the words, '' Your spirit is different from
our spirit. I am surprised that you are willing to recog-
nize in me, who regard your teaching to be false, a
brother. It cannot be that you think very highly of
your own doctrine. ' '

Then Bucer,"^ who had come from Strasburg, advanced
and said, '^ Take your choice ! Either you will ac-
knowledge no one as brother who may deviate from
you in a single point — in which case you have no
brethren, not even in your own party — or else if you
recognize some who differ from you, then you must also
acknowledge us." And when at last the Landgrave
exhorted them all not to withhold the fraternal love
which they owed one another as brethren, Luther re-
marked, he would not deny his opponents that love
which he owed to all his enemies.

But in order that this disputation should not have
been held in vain, fifteen propositions, upon which both
parties could agree, were drawn up and signed. These
are called the ^^ Marburg Articles." The 15th article
treats of the Lord's Supper, and reads as follows :

* Martin Bucer was born in Alsace in 1491, and died in Cam-
bridge, England, in 1551. He was educated in a Dominican
convent, but afterward espoused the cause of Luther. In 1520
he became pastor at Strasburg, and for twenty years figured as one
of the leaders of the Reformation. Invited by Cranmer, he went
to England in 1549, and was appointed jirofessor at Cambridge,
where he died. During Queen Mary's reign, in 1557, his body
was exhumed and burned, together with that of Fagius, who had
left Germany at about the same time with Bucer,

156 THE LIFE OF MAIlTIN" LUTHER.

*^ Concerning the Supper of our beloved Lord Jesns
Christ, we all believe and maintain that, in accordance
with its institution, both bread and wine are to be used ;
that the mass is not a work with which grace can be
obtained, either for the living or for the dead ; that the
Sacrament of the Altar is the Sacrament of the real body
and blood of Christ, and that the spiritual reception of
the said body and blood is necessary to every Christian.
And like the Word, so has the use of this Sacrament been
ordained by Almighty God, to move the weak consciences
through the Holy Spirit unto faith and love. And
although w^e have not at this time been agreed, whether
the real body and blood of Christ are bodily present in
the bread and wine, nevertheless Christian love is to be
mutually exercised, so far as conscience will permit ; and
both parties are diligently to pray to Almighty God that
He will confirm us through His Spirit in the right appre-
hension of the truth."

A contagious disease having broken out in the city,
the Landgrave dismissed the conference. Luther de-
parted in a depressed state of mind. He said that he
had twisted himself like a worm in the dust, and that
Satan tormented him so that he feared he would never
see his wife and children again. In later years Luther,
reviewing these conflicts, said, *^I hold that I have en-
dured more than twenty tempests and factions which the
devil excited — not to mention those of bygone days.
First came tlie papacy. I think tliat all the world should
know with how many tempests, bulls, and books Satan
has raged against me ; and when I at times had caught my
breath again, they raged all the jnore violently, and
sputter without ceasing to this day. Then when my
fears were exhausted, the devil broke in again by means
of Miinzer's insurrection, and came near blowing out my

THE COKFEREKCE AT MARBURG. 157

light. But when Christ had stopped up tliis hole, Satan
through Karlstadt broke several of my window-panes,
and it blew and stormed as if light, wick, and candle
should all be blown away. But God assisted his poor
torch that it should not be put out. Then came the
Sacramentarians, and forcibly opened window and door
to put out the light. They endangered everything, but
they did not have their own will and way."

To all outward appearances the Reformers parted in
concord at Marburg, and in hope of a fraternal union in
the future. But this hope in the realization of an inti-
mate fraternal unity was never fulfilled. Various steps
were taken to reach this end. Thus, a conference of
Protestants was held in Schwabach (1528), where the
articles which Luther drew up, and known as the
'^Schwabach Articles," were proposed as the basis of a
possible league or union. Yet an intimate union between
the different leaders and parties was never realized.

CHAPTER XYIII.

THE DIET AT SPIRE.

While tlie adherents of the Reformation were thus
contending witli each other, threatening clouds were
again arising on the political horizon. The Emperor
called an imperial diet to assemble at Spire ^ (Speier) on
the 21sl: of Februarj, 1529, in order to adopt decisive
measures to suppress heresy. The j^rincipal subject
named for discussion and action was to make necessary
preparation for defence against the Turks. The latter
were crowding hard upon the empire and were making
steady progress. Hence Luther felt himself called upon
to consider the danger. In his pamphlet entitled ' 'About
a War against the Turks," he appealed to the nation,
with power and energy, to take up the conflict of battle
against this fearful and terrible enemy. And in the
same year, when the Turks were obliged to withdraw
without having accomplished their object, Luther issued
another pamphlet called, *' Martial Sermon against the
Turk." His beloved Germans, said he, would now
quietly repose in their accustomed manner, and with a
good courage, in all security, would *' drink and live
high," abusing such great grace, and forgetting it with

* Speier or Speyer is a town in tlie Bavarian Palatinate, on the
left bank of tlie Rhine, near Mannheim, with a population of
about 15,000. In 1689, during an invasion by the French, it was
laid in ashes. Little remains of the imperial palace where the diet
was held.

THE DIET AT SPIRE. 159

ingratitude, saying, *^ Aha ! the Turk has gone and fled ;
what need we care, and involve ourselves in unnecessary
expense !"

Tlie Imperial Diet, inclined as the majority of its
members were to f^vor the old Church, paid less attention
to the common enemy of Christianity and of Germany
than it did to the suppression of the Reformation.
The decree of the previous diet of Spire, held in
1526, according to which every ruler was pledged to
act in conformity with his obligations to God and the
Emperor, until a general Church Council could be con-
vened, was annulled. It was now resolved that all
who had thus far abided by the Edict of Worms should
continue to do so. The other princes and rulers should
refrain from further innovations, should not abolish the
services of the mass, nor hinder any one from attending
the same, and should not harbor or protect the subjects
of another ruler where such persons had escaped from
liis control.

By this act all further progress of the Reformation
was hindered ; indeed, the way was open for the return
of the Roman Catholic Church to the countries where the
reforms had been introduced. The Evangelical princes
and rulers could not approve of this resolution, and hence
presented a solemn Protest against it, from which act
they were first called Protestants. Their Protestation
included the following points :

1. That it was not at all necessary to depart from the
action taken at the previous diet, in accordance with
which the free exercise of religion was granted to every
one, until a general council of the Cln-istian Church
should convene. No measures should now be adopted
contrary to that decree, which was confirmed by oath and
eeal.

IGO THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

2. The Protestants desire to remain true and faithful
subjects of his Imperial Majesty in all things. But the
present questions at issue do not concern their worldly
affairs or civil matters, but the welfare of their souls and
their eternal salvation.

''3. It has always been found that only a free, general
council of the whole Christian Church, independent of
the Pope, could definitely decide religious controversies.
But no preparation is being made for such a council ; on
the contrary, it is now proposed to forbid all those who
deviate from the teachings and practices of the Roman
Catholics, to develop in their better views — a command
which they could not obey because they must then declare
their present faith to be erroneous ; such a step would be a
denial of Christ and His holy name. If now their oppo-
nents, the majority in the diet, should not take these
statements into consideration, they, the Protestants,
must herewith protest openly before God, their Eternal
Creator and Preserver, who alone searcheth the hearts of
men and will execute righteous judgment upon all ; and
furthermore, they protest before all men and living
creatures, that they will not consent to the aforesaid res-
olution of this Imperial Diet."

Ferdinand, the brother of the Emperor Charles V., de-
clined to receive this protest. In fact, the majority of the
diet refused to acknowledge the right of the minority to
protest. The Protestants could therefore expect nothing
else than the employment of force against them. In
order not to be wholly unprepared to meet such a con-
tingency, the Elector of Saxony and the Langrave of Hesse
entered into a defensive league with the cities of iNurem-
berg, Strasburg, and Ulm. Luther, however, would not
consent to warlike measures for the cause of the Gospel.
He advised all to build upon the help of God, and not

THE DIET AT SPIRE. 161

upon the wit or the power of man. Over against the
Emperor, the confessors of the Gospel must keep their
hands free from blood and crime, even if his actions
should prove to be pure threatenings of the Devil. He
exhorted them to cling to God with prayer and in hope,
for they had hitherto often experienced His deliverance.
Luther still continued to repose the fullest confidence in
the Emperor. ^* The Emperor Charles," writes Luther,
'' will be present at Augsburg, and will adjust all things
in a friendly manner."

CHAPTER XIX.

LUTHER IN COBURG CASTLE.

The Emperor had ordered a diet to convene in the city
of Augsburg* on the 8th of April, 1530. The object of
the assembly was to deliberate upon the steps to be taken
to adjust the differences and reconcile the conflicting
parties 'within the Christian Churcli in matters of faith
and religion. Every one's opinion and best judgment
should be heard and received in love and kindness, in
order that the real Christian truth might be arrived at.

Before the Elector and his company set out for Augs-
burg, he requested a meeting of Luther and his friends, at
Torgau. f A number of articles should be drawn up, in
which the evangelical doctrines should be clearly and
firmly expressed, with a view of presenting them to the
diet to be convened. They were also to hold themselves
in readiness to accompany the Elector on his journey to
Augsburg.

On the day appointed Luther submitted to the Elector
seventeen articles of Christian doctrine as they had

* Augsburg is one of the oldest German cities. It is situated in
Bavaria, about thirty miles north-west of Munich, and has a present
population of more than 50,000. It has always been, and is yet,
a commercial and financial centre.

f Torgau is now a town of Prussia, situated on the Elbe, about
twenty-five miles south-east of Wittenburg. Luther's wife, Cath-
arine de Bora, died and is buried here. During the Thirty Years'
War the town was almost completely destroyed, and in subsequent
■wars it suffered severely. Its present population is about 10,000.

LLTHER IN" COBURG CASTLE. 103

already been formulated in the Scliwabacli Articles. On
theStliof April, 1530, the entire company departed from
Torgau and journeyed to Coburg ^ by way of Weimar,
where they arrived on the 15th and awaited the summons
of the Emperor. This was soon received, and on the
23d the Elector resumed his journey to Augsburg, accom-
panied by a numerous retinue of followers.

Luther remained in Castle Coburg, for the ecclesiasti-
cal ban and the imperial outlawry still rested upon him.
He would hardly have been granted a letter of safe-con-
duct. But in order that he might not be too far distant
from Augsburg, the Elector took him along as far as
Coburg. In four days a message could be sent from
Augsburg to Coburg.

Luther was well contented with his temporary abiding
place. He delighted in the glorious prospect, to be had
from the castle, over the productive districts of Thuringia
and Franconia, and of the wooded hills which inclose
them. The largest building in the castle was vacated for
his use ; every room was at his disposal, and he was hos-
pitably entertained. '^It is a very attractive place," he
wrote to his friends, ^' and well adapted for study. But
your absence saddens me. There is a cluster of trees in
sight of my window, resembling a small forest, where
the daws and the crows are holding an imperial diet.
And such coming and going, and such noise and tumult
by day and by night, as if they were all intoxicated ! Old
and young are cawing in such melody and confusion that
I have often wondered how throat and lungs could stand

* Coburg is the capital city of the Dukedom of Coburg, situ-
ated about 175 miles south-west of Berlin, not far from tlie Bava-
rian frontier. It has a population of 12,000. The old castle in
which Luther resided for a time is now parti}' used as a prison
and reformatory institution.

lii-i THE ],IFE OF MAItTIX l.LTHEIt.

it SO long. I have not yet seen their Emperor, but tlieir
nobility and the commoners are constantly in sight. They
are not very elaborately attired, but plainly in a single
color, all alike black, with gray eyes. They all sing one
and the same song, and yet with a pleasing difference as
between old and young, great and small. Xor do they re-
gard the palaces and halls of the high and lofty, for their
hall is arched by the beautiful and far-reaching lieavens,
and their floor is the meadows inlaid with fine green
branches, and their walls extend as far as the end of the
world.

''They care nothing for horses or armor ; they have
feathered wheels that aid them to escape from the range
of guns. They are great and mighty lords, but what
they have resolved upon I do not as yet know. This
much, however, 1 have understood, by means of an inter-
preter, that they have in view an extensive foraging
expedition against wheat, barley, oats, and other varieties
of grain, and many of their brave knights will execute
valiant deeds. And I am seated here in the presence of
this imperial diet, to hear and to see, with love and pleas-
ure, how the 2>rinces and lords and all other orders of this
empire sing so happily and live so contentedly. I wish
them good fortune and welfare that they might all be
transfixed on a hedge-fence ! I imagine these are the
Sophists and Papists, with their j:)reaching and writing,
whom I must have about me in a throng, in order that
I may hear their lovely voices and sermons, and behold
how useful they are to consume everything upon earth,
and impudently to bid for the whole Avorld."

As soon as Luther had received his books from home
lie was again diligently at work. He took hold in such
good earnest upon the translation of the prophets that
he thought of finishing the work by Whitsuntide. But

LUTHER IN COBURG CASTLE. 1G5

liis former sickness again befell him, so that he could no
longer work.

It was here that he received the news of the death of
his father, who ended this life at Mansf eld, in the faith of
the Gospel, on the 29th of May, 1530.

He was deeply moved by this affliction of death, for,
as he remarked, all that he was and had, under God, he
had received from his dear father. His mother died on
the 30th of June, 1531, after he had sent her a comfort-
ing letter during her last illness.

Luther, though separated from family and friends,
corresponded with his wife and with his friend Weller, who
had been received into the family as private tutor of his
little son Johnnie (" Hiinschen"). It was to the latter
that Luther wrote his well-known letter of June 19th :

" Or ace and Peace in Christ.

" My Dear Little Son : I rejoice to hear that thou art learn-
ing diligently and praying faithfully. Continue to do this, my
son, and when I return home I will bring you some beautiful
toys, representing an annual fair. I know of a delightful garden
in which many children are found, dressed in golden clothing ;
they gather beautiful apples, j)ears, cherries, and plums ; they
also sing and leap, and are happy ; they have beautiful little
horses, with golden bridles and silver saddles. Thereupon I
asked the man, whose garden it is, to whom these children
belonged. He answered, ' These are the children that love to
pray and learn, and that are pious.' Then said I, ' My dear sir,
I too have a son, named Johnnie Luther ; could not he also como
into this garden and eat such beautiful apples and pears, and ride
such little horses and play with these children ? ' And the man
said, 'If he loves to pray and to study, and is pious, he shall
likewise go to Heaven, and with him Lippus and Jost [sons of
Melanchthon and Jonas] . And when they all return they shall
have fifes and flutes and drums, and all sorts of stringed instru-
ments; they shall also dance, and shoot with small cross-bows.'
And he showed me a beautiful plot in the garden set apart for

IGC aJlE LIFE OF IMAltXIN LL'TIIEIl.

dancing ; there I saw hanging real golden fifes and drums, and
fine silver cross-bows. But it was quite earl}^ so that the children
liad not yet eaten their meal. Hence I could not wait to see
them dance, and I said to the man, *I will hurriedly go and
write my little son Johnnie all about these things, so that he may
pray diligently, study well, and be pious, and also come into this
garden. But he has an aunt, Lena, whom he must take along
with him.' Then the man replied, 'Let it be so ; go and write
him all about it.' Therefore, my dear little son Johnnie, keep on
studying and praying, and tell Lippus and Jost that they also
study and pray, and then you will all together come into this
garden. Herewith I commend thee to Almighty God. Greet
Aunt Lena with a kiss from me.

" Thy dear father,

" Matitixus LrTHEU."
"A.D. 1530."

Luther also maintained a lively correspondence with
his friends in Augsburg. Here Melanchthon was ear-
nestly at work upon a document which should be both
a defence and a confession of faith, and which was to be
presented to the Imperial Diet. Following his own incli-
nation and disposition, Melanchthon sought to present
the evangelical teachings as agreeing with the universal
Christian and traditional teachings of the Church, and
the reforms adopted by the Protestants simply as the
correction of certain practical abuses. Luther, to wdiom
this document of Melanchthon's was submitted, apj^roved
of it in these w^ords : ''It pleases me right well, and
there is nothing that 1 would change or improve. Nor
would it be expedient for me to do so, for 1 cannot
tread [i.e., write or speak] so gently and so quietly.
May Christ our Lord grant that it bring forth much fruit,
as Avc all hope and pray it will."

r>ut at this time it was also necessary to comfort and
ptrengthen Melanchthon, who, because of his anxiety
about the proposed confessirni, the thrcatfi of his oppo-

LUTHEU AT COBUllG CASTLE. 1G7

nents, and his bodily sufferings, liad been troubled with
fears and misgivings. Luther wrote to him: *'That
you should be controlled in your heart by these sorrows
is caused, not by the greatness of the work, but by the
greatness of our unbelief. For this cause was greater
under John Huss, and under many others, than it is with
us. But no matter how great the cause luay be. He that
leads, and from whom the cause originates, is also great ;
for the cause is not ours. But why should you tor-
ment yourself without ceasing ? Is our cau.se false ? Then
let us retract. But if our cause be true, do we not make
Him to be a liar, who with so many promises commands
us be still and patiently wait ?" And when the Confession
was finished, and Luther was requested to give his
opinion upon it, he ^\Tote : ^' By day and by night I am
occupied with it ; I consider it from all sides, meditate
over it, discuss it by myself, search the Scriptures for
proof, and daily the full assurance of our doctrines is
growing stronger ; and I am daily growing firmer in my
convictions, and will abate nothing, no matter what the
result [of the diet] may be. " And then he writes again
to Melanchthon : ''In conflicts that concern my own per-
son I am the weaker, thou the braver ; but in those that
concern the welfare of the common cause, it is just the
contrary. For thou dost undervalue thy life, but hast
fears about the common cause ; whereas I am possessed
of a good courage, because I know that our cause
is righteous and true ; yea, that it is the cause of
God, that must not pale before sin and guilt as I do for
my own person. Hence I am here like an observer, free
from care, and regard the ravings and threatenings of
Papists as nothing. If we fall, then Christ falls with
us — Christ, the ruler of the world. And if He should
fall, then I would rather fall with Christ than stand with
the Emperor."

CHAPTER XX.

THE DIET OF AUGSBUKG.

On the 25tli of June, 1530, tlie Confession of the
Protestants, known as the Augsburg Confession, was
read in the German language before the Emperor and
members of the Imperial Diet. Dr. Jonas submitted a
detailed report of the event to Luther. The latter
greatly rejoiced that lie had lived to see the day when, in
such an assemblage, Christ was proclaimed by His fol-
lowers in so excellent a Confession of Faith ; and he
regretted that he could not have been present to witness
this beautiful presentation of their faith. And as little
as he anticipated an agreement in matters of faith — for
herein they must not yield a hair's-breadth, nor undo
wdiat had been done, but rather suffer to the utmost — he
nevertheless spoke of a iDcaceable existence of both Con-
fessions, side by side, within the German Empire. And
how deeply he felt concerned about the welfare of his
fatherland, we read in his own words when he writes :
^' AVe Germans shall not cease to trust the Pope and his
Italians, until they bring us not only into a ' sweat-
bath,' but also into a ^ blood-bath.' If German j^rinccs
should war against each other, that would delight the
Pope, that Florentine Scapegrace, so that he would
Maugh in his fist,' and say, 'There, ye German
beasts, if ye will not have me as Pope, then take that !'
I cannot but care for this poor, miserable, abandoned,
despised^ betrayed, and purchased Germany ; for I can-

THE DIET OF AUGSBUlia. 169

not wjsli it evil, but everything that is good, as indeed I
am bound to do for my dear fatherland."

Since there was no hope of an agreement and union
in matters of faith, Luther advised his friends to return
home. '^ You have accomplished more," he writes,
'^ than you could have expected ; for you have rendered
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God
the things that are God's. You have rendered obe-
dience to the Emperor by appearing at the diet in face
of trouble, difficulties, and expenditure. And unto God
ye have rendered the chosen sacrifice which will 23ene-
trate to the courts of kings and princes to rule in the
midst of its enemies and resound through all lands.
Hence, I release you, in the name of the Lord, from
further attendance upon this assembly. Return home
again ; return home !"

But Luther's friends could not immediately leave
Augsburg. They were obliged to await a refutation of
their Confession which the Emj^eror had intrusted to
several strict Roman Catholic theologians. On the 3d
of August their answer was presented to the diet. The
Emperor then demanded that the Protestants should
consider the statements of their Confession as having
been refuted, and that they should submit to the proper
ecclesiastical authorities. Upon this. Landgrave Philip
of Hesse secretly departed, although in disobedience of
the Emperor's commands. The latter, surprised and
disturbed by this act, ordered another attemjDt to be
made to come to an understanding. Melanchthon was
inclined to yield in external matters, such as the order
of Divine service. But Luther warned him, saying,
^' I hear that you have undertaken a marvellous work,
to unite the Pope and Luther. But the Pope will prob-
ably decline, and Luther begs leave to be excused. See

170 THE LIFE OF MAFvTIiN" LUTHER.

you to it that your wliole work be not thrown away. If
you can succeed in accomphshing this thing against the
will of both interested parties, then I will soon follow
your example and unite Christ with Belial. . . .
Luther is free ; and the Macedonian [Philip of Ilessc]
is free. Be courageous, and contend manfully."

Nej^otiations were soon terminated, and the dano^er
which threatened Protestantism from too great con-
cession was now averted. The Evangelical Princes
maintained their protest of the year 1529 and the resolu-
tions of the diet of 1516. In closing the diet the Em-
peror, in his parting address, gave the Protestants a
respite for further consideration until the 15tli of April,
1531, that they might return to the unity of the faith of
the Church, the Pope, and the Empire. This respite
was accepted by the Protestants, but objections were
entered against the claim that their Confession had been
refuted. At the same time Melanchthon wrote and pub-
lished an Apology to the Augsburg Confession.

Then the Elector John also departed from Augsburg.
Yery justly had the surname of ''the Constant" been,
given him. On one occasion he declared that '' the
cross of Christ was worth to him moi'C than his official
ermine ; the latter would remain in this world, but the
former would accompany him to the stars." To the
Emperor he said, " You will find me in all things to be
a true and peaceful prince ; but you will never be able
to alienate me from God's Word. For I know most
assuredly that the doctrines contained in our Confession
will prevail against the portals of hell."

In taking leav^e of the Emperor, the latter remarked
to the Elector, "Uncle, uncle, I did not expect this
of you" — a remark which lie received silently and in
tears. Luther was found in good spirits in Castle Coburg.

THE DIET OF AUGSBtTEO. 171

On tho 5th of October the entire company left Coburg
and proceeded by way of Altenbnrg to Torgau. Tiience
Lntnev continued and safely reached his family and home
in Wittenberg after a long absence.

CHAPTER XXL

UNTIL THE DEATH OF JOIIX THE CONSTANT.

Upon his return to "Wittenberg, Luther took the place
of Bugenhagen as pastor of the principal city church. The
latter had been sent on a mission to introduce and es-
tablish the Reformation in Lubeck, as he had already done
in Brunswick and Hamburg. Luther finished his trans-
lation of the prophets, "and also acted as adviser to his
ruler. Prince John, upon political and reformatory ques-
tions.

Since constant danger threatened the cause of the
Reformation from both Emperor and Pope, the Prot-
estants sought to protect themselves by a strong and well-
organized league, pledging themselves tomutujd defence
for a period of six years. To this league belonged Elector
John, Landgrave Philip, three dukes of Brunswick-
Luneberg, Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt, Dukes Albert
and Gebhard of Mansfeld, the Xorth German cities of
Magdeburg, Bremen, and Lubeck, and the South German
cities of Strasburg, Constance, Lindau, Ulni, Reutlingen,
etc. This union was formed at Smalcald (Schmalcalden)
near Fulda, in Hesse, Christmas, 1530, and was ratified
by all the contracting parties in March, 153L It is
know^n in history as the Smalcald League.

About this time Luther issued a '^ Warning to his Be-
loved Germans," in which he desires to inform them
how they are to conduct themselves, if the Emperor,
instigated by his devils, the Papists, should begin war

UNTIL THE DEATH OF JOHN" THE CONSTANT. 1T3

against the Evangelical party. In sucli a case no man
should allow himself to be forced into obedience to the
Emperor ; for whoever should do this would be disobedi-
ent to God and lose his body and soul forever. For the
Emperor would then act contrary, not alone to God and
divine right, but also to his imperial rights, vows, obli-
gations, seals, and letters. And at the close he says :
" This will I say as a warning to my beloved Germans,
that I will incite no one to war or rebellion, but alone
to peace. Bat where our devils, the Papists, will
not preserve peace, preferring war, I desire to have it
publicly understood, that I have not done this, nor have
I given cause to do it, but they have desired it. Their
blood be u]3on their own head. I am not to blame, and
have most faithfully done my part. ' '

Yet the Emperor could not for a moment entertain
the thought of waging w^ar against the Protestants, for
he vfas harassed on all sides, ^particularly by the Turks.
His brother Ferdinand, chosen king of Rome on the 5th
of January, 1531, advised him most urgently to maintain
peace with the Protestants in order that he might be as-
sured of their assistance against the Turks. Thus the
time appointed, April 15th, for the submission of the
Protestants, quietly passed by. Nor were the enemies
of the Reformation encouraged to proceed against them,
except it were by their defeat of the Swiss Protestants
in the battle of Kappel and the death of Zwingli, on the
11th of October, 1531.

In the spring of 1532 the Sultan made preparations for
an extensive campaign against Austria. In view of this
a war of German Catholics against German Protestants
was out of question. And so it came to pass, after many
attempts at negotiation, held in the beginning of the
year at IS^uremberg and Schweinfurt (in Bavaria), that the

174 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

question of union npon matters of religion was postponed
until the expected Council should convene ; and thus
both parties agreed to accept and content themselves with
a political peace and union, which Luther had always de-
sired. This peace was concluded at Nuremberg July
23d, 1532, and afterward ratified by the Emperor.

Luther again had to endure grievous bodily afflictions.
His friends already began to speak of the probable influ-
ence which his death would have upon the Papists. But
he said, ^' I am certain that I shall not die at this time ;
for God will not surely increase the papal abomination
just now, when Zwingli and Oekolompad have died, by
calling me away. Satan indeed would be well pleased, for
lie is constantly pursuing me ; yet not his wishes but God's
desires will be fulfilled." At the same time Luther was
much troubled about the Elector. The latter lived to
enjoy the beginning of the religious peace of Nuremberg,
by which a peaceable development of the Eeformation
cause Avas assured for a little while, and the German
people were spared the horrors of a ruinous civil war.
Shortly after that, on the 15th of August, 1532, he was
struck with apoplexy while on a hunt, and died on the
following day. His remains were brought to Wittenberg
and buried alongside those of the Elector Frederick, in
the Castle Church. Luther delivered a funeral sermon
in honor of him who was jnstly termed the ^' Constant"
or the *' Steadfast." Piety and goodness were the fun-
damental traits of his character, whereas Frederick was
distinguished by wisdom and understanding. ''If both
men," said Luther, " had been one person, it would have
been a marvel. Wisdom died with the Elector Frederick,
but piety with the Elector John."

CHAPTEE XXII.

PEEPARATIOXS FOE A COUNCIL AND ATTEMPTS AT UNION.

Luther lived on terms of liappy intimacy witli the suc-
cessor of John the Constant, John Frederick"^ the Mag-
nanimous. The latter was in hearty sympathy with the
cause of the Reformation, and considered Luther to be
his spiritual father. The wife of the Elector, Sybil, a
princess of the house of Cleve, also took a sincere interest
in the Reform movement and in the fortunes of Luther
and his family. Luther commended them as follows :
'' In them, thank God, you will find a pure married life
and course of conduct, a true voice and a benevolent hand ;
they help the poor, build churches and schools, preserve
an earnest, faithful heart, honor the Word of God,
protect the good and punish the bad, and maintain peace
and good government ; their married life is so pure and
praiseworthy that it is a good pattern for princes,
nobles, and every one else ; the princess is a quiet Chris-
tian housewife, that resembles, as it is said, a cloister ; at
home they daily read God's Word and have it expound-
ed, the}' pray to and praise God, to say nothing of what

* John Frederick was born at Torgau in Saxony in 1503, and
died in 1554. He became Elector in 1532. Meeting the Imperial
forces at the head of the Smalcald League on the battle-lield of
Miihlberg in Saxony, 1547, he was defeated, taken prisoner, and
deprived of his Electorate. He suffered a harsh confinement for
five years, but bravely endured its trials, and was released and re-
stored to his family in 1553.

176 THE LIFE OF MARTIiT LUTHER.

tlie Elector himself otherwise reads and writes every
day."

Since 1631 Lnther had been diligently occupied with
his lectures upon St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians.
With soul-power and earnestness he presented the fun-
damental doctrine it contains upon Justification by Faith.
But the greatest work that he undertook, the translation
of the Bible, was nearing completion. In 1531: the
entire German Bible appeared in print. It was a stu-
pendous undertaking, and in spite of the many inter-
ruptions and the length of time spent upon its preparation,
it is permeated by a single spirit, and is a model of Ger-
man industry and German conscientiousness. Multiplied
by the printing-press, God's Word was put into the hands
of millions of German Christians. It was now within
reach even of the poor man. An immense number of
copies were disposed of, not only in Germany but also in
adjacent countries. Luther's friend Bugenhagen was so
delighted with the completion of the work that he gave
an entertainment at his home, and with his children and
friends thanked God ^^ for the blessed and precious treas-
ure of the translated Bible."

Shortly before this the Emperor, Charles Y., had
succeeded in moving the Pope, Clement YII., to take
in hand the matter of calling a council of the Church.
Luther advised his friends to coniine themselves pru-
dently to necessary expressions of opinion, and to await
further developments. It was soon manifest that
Clement was not in earnest about the council. Ilis
successor, Paul III.,* seemed disposed to bring it to pass.

* Paul III. was elected Pope in 1534. lie called a general
council to meet at Mantua, adjourned it to Vicenza and then
to Trent, wliere it convened in December, lolo. lie was born in
14G8, and died in 1549.

PREPAUATIOXS roil A COUNCIL. 177

For this purpose lie sent liis legate, Paul Yergerius, to
Germany to confer about the j^lace of holding the Coun-
cil. In the beginning of November, 1534, he came to
Wittenberg, and entered the city in stately array. He
was festively received and entertained at the castle. At
his request Luther and Bugenhagen were invited to
breakfast Vs^ith him. An account of their interview has
been preserved, and reads as follows :

''On Sunday, following All Saints' Day, Dr. Martin
Luther was summoned to an interview with the Papal
ambassador, who entered Wittenberg on the previous
evening with twenty-one horses and one donkey, and
was hospitably received and entertained by the com-
mandant of the castle. On Sunday morning early
Luther sent for his barber. When he had arrived he
asked Luther, ' Doctor, how comes it that you desire to
be shaved at so early an hour ? '

"Luther replied, 'lam called to meet the ambassa-
dor of his Holy Father, the Pope ; hence, I must pre-
pare and adorn myself to appear before him as if I were
young; then the legate will think, "The deuce! if
Luther in his youth has done us so much mischief, what
may he not do hereafter ? " '

"After the barber had finished his work Luther put
on his best clothes and hung a precious jewel about his
neck. Thereupon, the barber said, ' Doctor, that will
make them angry.'

"Luther responded, 'It is for that very reason I do
it. They have more than angered us. Serpents and
foxes must be treated in this manner. '

" The barber then concluded, ' Well, Doctor, go
with God's peace, and may the Lord iielp you to convert
them. ' To which Luther replied :

178 THE LIFE OF MARTIK LUTHER.

'^ * That I will not do ; but it may well happen that I
shall read them a lesson and then dismiss them.' "

Luther, accompanied by his friend Bugenhagen,
rode to tlie castle, remarking laughingly on the way,
"Behold, here is the German Pope, and his Cardinal
Pommeranus ; these are God's work and instruments."
They then entered the castle and announced their ar-
rival. Forthwith they were received and exchanged
salutations with the papal, ambassadors, but they did not
bestow such splendid titles upon him as was formerly the
custom.

Among other topics discussed was that of a council,
when Luther said, "You are not in earnest about call-
ing a council ; it is only sport on your part. But even
if a council should be held, you would simply talk about
hoods and tonsure, eating and drinking, and similar
fool-work, vv'hich we all know beforehand, and which
amounts to nothing. But about faith and righteousness,
and about other useful and necessary questions, how be-
lievers may live in a harmonious faith and spirit — about
such questions nothing would be said, for such things do
not concern you. We have no need of a council, for we
are led by the Holy Spirit unto certainty in all things ;
but other poor people w^ho are oppressed by your
tyranny may need one, for you do not know what you
believe. But if it pleases you, by all means call a coun-
cil ; I will attend it, please God, and even if 1 knew
that you would burn me at the stake."

" But in what city would you have the council con-
vene V asked the Legate.

" Wherever it pleases you, be it in Mantua, or Padua,
or Florence," replied Luther.

''Would you go to Bologna?" again asked the Le-
gate.

PREPARATIOi^'^S FOR A COUNCIL. 179

'^ To whom does Bologna belong?" inquired Lutlier.

*' To the Pope," was the reply.

*^ Great God !" exclaimed Luther, '' has the Pope also
seized Bologna ? Yes, I will go there."

Thereupon the Legate remarked that the Pope would
not refuse to meet Luther here at Wittenber^: ; to which
the latter responded:

'^ Yerj well, let him come ; we shall be glad to see
him. ' '

''But how would you like to meet him?" continued
the Legate ; '' with or without an army V To which
Luther replied :

" Just as it pleases him ; we shall be ready to receive
him in either way. ' '

" Do you ordain any priests ?" asked the Legate.

'' Indeed we do," said Luther, '' for the Pope will not
ordain any for us.

'' And there," pointing to Bugenhagen, '' sits a bishop
whom we have consecrated."

And many other things were said — the record of which
has not been preserved. Li short. Dr. Martin Luther told
him all that was in his heart, and whatever else was nec-
essary, without fear or hesitation, and with great earnest-
ness. And when the Legate was about to depart, he
called out to Luther : '' See to it that you be ready to
attend the council. " To which Luther replied : "I will
be there with this neck of mine." Then the ambassa-
dor rode away. Ten years after this, this same man,
Yergerius, became a Protestant, one of the boldest con-
fessors of the Gospel and an irreconcilable opponent to
the papacy.

While the negotiations for a council were being carried
on and claimed the popular attention, the cause of
Protestantism was steadily progressing. And yet the

180 THE LIFE OF MARTIK LUTHER.

greatest liindrance to a more powerful manifestation of
its influence was the division upon tlie question of the
Lord's Supper. The conference at Marburg led to no
united co-operation of the two parties. And since the
diet of Augsburg, Catholics and Protestants being ar-
rayed against each other in hostile camps, it became
evident that there was urgent need of a union on the
part of all the Evangelical forces. For their dissensions
and the lack of agreement in their doctrines was the very
reproach cast at them by their opponents, and made the
most effective but unfavorable impression upon Catholics.
Luther himself acknowledged this, when he said, " The
gates of hell, the entire papacy, the Turks, the world,
the flesh, and the devil, could not have injured the cause
of the Gospel so much as these dissensions.

Hence Luther now showed a greater inclination than he
did at Marburg to favor these attempts at union. Among
those who were most interested in this work was Martin
Bucer, of Strasburg. To this end he visited Luther at
Coburii: in 1530, and afterward declared that he as^reed
with Luther that the body of the Lord was really present
in the Lord's Supper, yet so as not to be food for the
stomach. Luther w^as satisfied with this explanation.
Yet he would not have an immediate union concluded, but
would rather aiford more time for mutual conference and
a pacifying of the contending elements. *' Thus," said
he, '^ the suspicion and resentment on our side could
subside and eventually disappear ; and then ^vhen the
turgid waters on both sides had become clear, a genuine
lasting union could be effected."

Since the return and proclamation of the old Gospel,
nothing gave him more joy and delight than the ex-
pectation of realizing a sincere concord after so much
Bad dissension. ^' When this concord shall have been

PREPARATIONS FOR A COUNCIL. 181

firmly established, I will sing with tears of joy, ' Lord,
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' "

In the fall of 1535 he addressed communications to
a number of South German cities, inviting them to send
delegates to a conference at Eisenach in the spring of
1536. These invitations were gladly accepted. But
Luther, being afflicted with severe illness, could not go
to Eisenach. Hence the representatives of Strasburg,
Augsburg, Meiningen, Ulm, Esslingen, Reutlingen,
Frankfort, etc. continued their journey to Wittenberg,
where they arrived in May, 1536. The conference led
to good results, and Luther declared, after he had heard
all their answers and confessions, that they w^ere now
agreed, and that they would be accepted as dear brethren
in the Lord. He spoke these w^ords with great fervor
and spirit. Capito* and Bucer, the leading representa-
tives from South Germany, began to weep, and then all
thankfully united in the Lord's Prayer. Thereupon
they partook of the Lord's Supper, and on the 29th of
May, 1536, they subscribed to a number of articles drawn
up by Melanchthon, and known as the '^ Wittenberg
Concord." The Augsburg Confession and its Apology
were received by all as their common confession of faith.
By this act unity of belief was established among all
German Protestants, with the exception of the Swiss,
who adhered to their own confessions of faith.

* Wolfgang Fabricius Capito (Kopfel or Kopflin in German)
was born in Alsace in 1478. He was for a time professor at Basel
and associated with Erasmus. But, called to Strasburg, he em-
braced the cause of the Reformation, and labored with zeal and
energy to advance its interests in that city and throughout Alsace.
He died in Strasburg in 1541.

CHAPTER XXIII.

LTJTHEK IN SMALCALD.

Scarce had this Tinion been efcected when the Pope,
Paul III., called a general conncil to meet at Mantua,
by which the ^' Lutheran Pest" was to be stamped out.
Upon this the Elector requested Luther to reconsider the
evangelical articles of faith, and, in view of an appointed
conference at Smalcald, clearly to determine what con-
cessions to make to the papists and what to maintain
over against them. Luther himself prepared the so-
called " Smalcald Articles," which consist of three
parts : 1. About the Chief Articles of the Divine
Majesty — articles concerning which there is no contro-
versy ; 2. About Articles that refer to the office and
work of Jesus Chi'ist, or to our salvation, from which
we can not deviate, no matter v\'hat may happen ; 3.
About Articles which learned and sensible people niay
discuss. As the first and most important of all articles,
he would maintain the proposition that we are justified
l)y faith in Jesus Christ ; that must not be given up,
even if heaven and earth should fall. He declared the
mass to be the greatest and most fearful abomination,
because it conflicted directly and forcibly against tlie
principal article. It is the foremost of all papal idola-
tries. Moreover, this dragon's tail has generated a
variety of idolatrous vermin. The Pope is not the
iiead of all Christendom by divine right or because of
God's Word, for that belongs alone to one, Jesus Christ.

LUTHER m SMALCALD. 183

In his reply to Luther, tlie Elector thanked God that
He had given him the power to prepare such pure and
Christian articles. He himself was ready to confess
them before a council, or before the whole world. But
how to act at such a council, this would be the subject
of mutual deliberation at a meeting of the members of
the leas^ue at Smalcald.

In the month of February, 1537, Luther arrived at the
designated place. He rejoiced to see so large a meeting
of excellent and learned men, such a body, according to
the opinions of many, as could not have been assembled at
Mantua. A representative of the Emperor was also
present.

When Luther had been about a week in Smalcald?
enjoying the wholesome surroundings and the bracing
atmosphere, he was again overcome by violent pains,
which threatened to end in death. On the first Sunday
in Lent he had delivered a glorious sermon to a vast
assemblage. After that his sickness became so serious
that he cried out, '' O Lord God, behold I die, an
enemy of thine enemies, an accursed and excommuni-
cated one of thine enemy and of Antichrist, the Pope, in
order that thine enemy should die under thine anathema,
and both of us be judged in that great day !" The
Elector hastened to him, and stood at his bedside deeply
moved. He sought to comfort him with these words :
'' Our Beloved Lord and God, for the sake of His Name
and AVord, will be gracious unto us, and will preserve
your life, dear father." Then he turned away, for
his eyes were running over. Luther thanked him for
his kind visit, and also that he had endured so much for
the sake of the Gospel, which precious treasure he de-
sired him to guard hereafter as he had done heretofore.

The Elector replied : *' I am afraid, dear Doctor, that

184 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

if God should take you awa}^, He will also take away His
precious Word."

^' Oil no, my gracious Sire," said Lutlier, " there are
yet many learned and faithful men with sincere inten-
tions and good understandings ; and I hope tliat God will
grant His grace that they may become a strong wall of
defence for the Gospel. May the Almighty God vouch-
safe this !"

In taking leave of Luther the Elector again comforted
him, saying, *' If it be God's will to take you to Him-
self, do not be concerned about your wife and children.
For your wife shall be my wife, and your children shall
be my children."

For one whole week the severest pains afflicted Luther.
And as he did not improve he requested that he be
removed from Smalcald. The doctors offering no objec-
tion to this, he bade his friends farewell, and in depart-
ing exclaimed, " When I am dead and gone, remember
this : if the Pope should lay aside his crown, if he
should descend from the papal throne and renounce his
primacy, and if he should confess that he has erred and
has plunged the Church into destruction, then receive
him into our Church ; but otherwise he shall always be
considered by you as the Antichrist."

In company with Bugenhagen and other friends Luther
pursued his journey homeward through the woods to
Gotha. On the way his condition materially improved,
so that he could joyfully write to his wife : ''I had been
well-nigh dead, and had commended thee and the little
ones unto God and my gracious Lord. But God has
wrought a miracle upon me ; I am as one new born ;
therefore do thou and the children thank God their true
Father, without whom they had surely lost their earthly
father."

LUTHER 11^ SMALCALD. 185

But now, when tliey had safely reached Gotha, his
condition grew so much worse that he bade them all
farewell. To his friend Bugenhagen he dictated the
following in great haste : '^ I know, God be praised, that
I have done right in attacking the papacy with God's
Word ; for it (the papacy) is a blasphemy of God,
of Christ, and the Gospel. I am ready to die, if it be
God's will"

But he was yet to live. He improved, and slowly
continued his journey homeward to Wittenberg. Arriv-
ing there in safety, he sent word to his friends that he
was gradually convalescing, and that his apj^etite was
slowly returning, although his legs and knees would not
yet sustain his body, for he had lost more of his strength
than he was aware of.

At Smalcald the allied Protestants resolved that they
would not accept the papal invitation to the council..
To the Emperor they replied, that the council which the
Pope now offered was not at all such an one as had been
demanded fol* so long a time in the German Imperial
Diets. They, on the other hand, desired a free council,
not in Italy, but on German soil. The Emperor, how-
ever, being threatened by new wars, had no intention
to compel the Evangelical party to take part in a Church
Council. Hence, for the present, it was of none effect.

CHAPTER XXIY.

LuTHEE, having fully recovered from liis sickness,
resumed liis former occupation. He was aware that his
powers were on the wane, but in spite of this lie mani-
fested with his usual energy a great activity in preaching,
in lecturing at the university, and in general literary
activity. Although old, tired, and exhausted by so
many labors, he was always growing young again ; thus
he wrote. And when Bugenhagen was called to Den-
mark in 1537, Luther again supplied his place in
Wittenberg. ''He preaches,'-' relates a conterajDorary,
*' regularly three times a week in the city church. And
such excellent sermons does he deliver, that all concede
that he has never preached so powerfully before. He
points out especially the errors of the papacy, and has a
large number of hearers. At the close of his sermons
lie prays against the Pope, his cardinals and bishops, and
for our Emperor, that God will grant him the victory
and witlidraw him from the influence of the papacy."

Among his literary labors may be noted a thorough
revision of his translation of the Bible, a new edition of
which appeared in 1541. He spent two years upon this
work. In 1538 he publislied his Smalcald Articles, and
in 1539 wrote a treatise "About the Councils and the
Churches." In this he developed his idea of the Chris-
tian Church as follows : It is the congregation of be-

THE CLOSING YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 187

lievers, a liolj Christian people wliich believes in Clirist,
and possesses the Holy Spirit, who daily sanctifies it
through the forgiveness of sins and the laying aside and
expulsion of the same.

Nor did he neglect questions of civil and secular inter-
est. Tlius, in 1539 he wrote against usury, remarking,
however, that his book might touch the consciences of
the lesser usurers, but the great oppressors of the people
would laugh in their sleeves.

The cause of the Reformation continued to progress,
favored by the pohtical situation of aifairs, and notwith-
standing the controversies and oifences within the
Evangelical Church. New dangers threatened the Prot-
estants from the Catholic party, but these soon passed
aw^ay. In Nuremberg a league was formed against the
Evangelical party by Eoman Catholic princes, with Dukes
Ludwig of Bavaria and Henry of Brunswick at the head.
The latter strenuously urged a war against the Protestants.
It was also rumored that as soon as the imperial armies
had defeated the Turks they w^ould turn their attention
to the Evangelical princes and their followers. Luther,
whose opinion was solicited upon this question, answered
that his gracious ruler, the Elector, had a safe and a secure
conscience to defend himself, if necessary, against the
malice of the adverse princes ; he was also bound to pro-
tect his subjects. But it would not be advisable to
attack them, for that would be contrary to God's Word,
which says : '^ For all they that take the sword shall
perish with the sword" (Matt. 26 : 52). But he no
longer opposed resistance to the Emperor, in case of
necessity, as he had formerly done ; for the Emperor,
said he, in such a war, would no longer be Emperor, but
a hireling soldier of the Pope.

188 THE LIFE OF MARTII^ LUTHER.

But the death of Dnke George ^ of Saxony (in 1539)
brought to naught tlie projects of the Roman Catliohc
party. Duke Henry of Brunswick, in receiving the news
of tlie death of Duke George, is said to have exclaimed,
'' I would rather that God in heaven had died." But
Luther said, " Duke George presents an illustration in
these latter days that is worthy of consideration ; for in
a short time a father with two handsome sons has gone
to destruction." The oldest of these sons was so embit-
tered that he once sent word to Luther through the
renowned painter, Lucas Kranach, saying, " When I
shall take the place of my father in power, he shall have
a severer enemy in me ; if my father has been like iron
to Dr. Luther, I will be like steel." Luther smiled
when Kranach delivered to him this message, and said,
" Duke Hans had better see to it that he die in a state
of salvation ; his threats cause me no fears, for T know
full well that Duke Hans will not outlive his father."
And so it happened ; for Duke Hans, or John, died in
1537, and his brother Frederick in 1539— both without
heirs, and both preceding their father into eternity.

Thus the land and possessions of Duke George were
inherited by his brother Henry, w^ho for many years had
favored and introduced the Eeformation on his own
domain ; and thus, after the death of Duke George, the
Evangelical doctrines were accepted and the Eeform
measures carried out in the whole dukedom of Saxony.
AVhen some one remarked to Luther that Duke George
had died at about the right time, and that thereby the
tinder and lunt, which might have caused a great confla-

* Duke George, the Bearded, as he was called in later life, was
born in 1471. He was an implacable enemy of Luther and the
Reformation, and persecuted his own subjects for their adherence
to the new cause.

THE CLOSIlsG YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 189

gration, liacl been extinguislied, he tlianked God and
said, " The thoughts and projects of the' papists are all
bent upon this, that they would be willing to destroy the
Church if they could only exterminate us Lutheran
fellows. But the Lord hath brought their counsels to
naught and made their devices of none effect (Psalm
33 : 10). For He can deprive the mighty of their ^^ower
and exalt the lowly ; he can also scatter the j)eople that
dehght in war (Psalm 68 : 30)."

When Duke Henry was solemnly inducted at Leipsic,
Luther was invited to be present, and preached in the
Court Chapel of the Pleissenburg and in the Church of
St. Nicholas. The entire service was conducted in tlie
German language. Luther's hymns v/ere sung before
and after the sermon, and all the prayers were offered in
German. There was such an immense throng of people
tliat ladders were brought and set np against the outside
of the cliurcli, that the sermon might be heard through
the broken window-j^anes. And thus was fulfilled what
Luther had prophesied a few years before : " I see that
Duke George will not cease to persecute God's Word,
His preaching, and the poor Lutherans. But I will
live to see himself and family become extinct, and I will
yet preach the Word of God in Leipsic."

In the Electorate of Brandenburg, likewise, was the
Reformation cause introduced, in the year 1539, by
Joachim IL, who had become a convert to the new doc-
trines.

Under such circumstances, and again harassed by the
Turks, the Emperor acknowledged and ratified the
Nuremberg compact of a religious peace. This occurred
at the diet of Eegensburg in 1541, previous negotiations
having taken place at Hagenau, Worms, and Regens-
burg. Luther did not anticipate great results from these

190 THE LIFE OF MABTIK LUTHER^

negotiations. ^ The formula adopted at Tlegensbnrg
seemed to him to be a vague and a patched-up affair.
The papal doctrines have been deprived of their evil
meaninor and adorned to make them more attractive.
*' Nevertheless, it will come to pass as Christ says in
Matthew 9, the new cloth upon the old garment makes
the rent worse, and the new wine breaks the old bottles.
Either make it all new or quit patching, as we have
done ; for otherwise the work will be in vain."

At the Imperial Diet of Spire in the year 1544, the
Emperor treated the Protestants very graciously. In
accordance with a resolution then adopted, Melanch-
tllon's plan of reformation was ordered to be submitted
to a new parliament, to meet at Worms in 1545. Luther
signed this document. The Pope violently reproached
the Emperor for his concessions to the heretics, upon
which Luther wrote his treatise, '' Against the Papacy
at Pome, Founded by the Devil." In this he calls the
Pope the most infernal father. In the strongest expres-
sions he vents his wrath upon the papacy and against tlie
Antichrist. And when the Pope summoned a council
to meet at Trent, in the year 1545, Luther derided the
same. Hearing that the Emperor insisted upon the
appearance of the Protestants at this Council, and that
he was displeased at their refusal to go, Luther said,
'^ I know not what a curious thing this is. The Pope
cries out that, as heretics, we are not entitled to seats in
the Council ; and the Emperor desires that we should
attend its sessions and submit to its decrees. If we con-
sent to such a council now, why did we not submit to
the lords of the councils, the Pope and his bull, twenty-
five years ago ? First let the Pope acknowledge that
the Council is superior to him, and let him hear the testi-
mony of the Council against him, as his own conscience

THE CLOSIl^rG YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 191

testifies against him, then will we discuss the whole
question. Thej are mad and foolish. God be praised !' '
The Council of Trent actually began its sessions in
December, 1545, but without participation of the Prot-
estants, whose teachings were steadily conquering new
territory in Germany. Thus Halle"^ (the favorite resi-
dence of Cardinal Albert and the chief seat of his wanton
operations) and the dukedom of Brunswick (after its
prince was expelled by the Landgrave Philip and the
Elector John Frederick) were w^on over to the cause of
the Keformation. The Archbishop of Cologne and the
Bishop of Miinster likewise introduced reform measures
upon their territory. Hence, in view of all this, the
expectation was entertained that the doctrines of the
Reformation would yet become the faith of the great
majority of the German nation.

* The seat of a university, founded in 1694 by the Elector
Frederick, with which the University of Wittenberg was united,
by order of King Frederick William III., in the year 1817.

CHAPTEE XXY.

THE DEATH OF MAKTIN LUTHEE.

[N'oTWTTH STANDING tlic Steady and continued progress
of the Reformation cause there was much lacking to
complete perfect unity and peace among the Evangelical'
party. Among many conflicts and trials, Luther had
reached his sixty-third year. Frequent attacks of sick-
ness had seriously weakened his bodily frame. Added
to this was the anxiety that he felt on account of the
course of ecclesiastical affairs, so that at times a weari-
ness of life overcame him. Thus he writes a few
months before his death : '^ I, an aged, used-up, idle,
tired, and unimpressive man, write to you. And though

had hoped that they would grant me, decrepit man
that I am, a little rest, I am nevertheless overwhelmed
with writing and speaking, acting and performing, as if
I had never transacted, written, spoken, or done any-
thing. But Christ is to me all in all ; He can and will
do it. His name be praised in all eternity."

In a sermon he says : " I am tired of the world and the
world is tired of me. Hence it will not be hard for us
to part, about as a guest leaves his inn." And yet,
although he was so tired of work and life, he now under-
took to arbitrate in a controviersy between the Counts of
Mansfeld, concerning certain privileges and revenues.
They finally agreed to call upon Luther to act as arbitra-
tor. He readily accepted the invitation. In company

THE DEATH OF MAIITIN LUTHER. 193

with Jonas and Melanclitlion he visited Mansfeld in
October, 1545, but as the attempt at reconciliation was
fruitless, he repeated his visit at Christmas time. But
for the second time it was unsuccessful.

In January, 15tl:G, he went for the third time to
Eisleben by v/ay of Ilalle. In the latter city he so-
journed with Dr. Jonas. The river Saale having risen
to a flood, he was detained three days among his friends.
To his wife he v\Tote : '^Dear Katie: We arrived at
eight o'clock this morning in Ilalle, but could not pro-
ceed to Eisieben ; for an Anabaptist met us with waves
of water and great blocks of ice, which covered the land
and threatened to baptize ns. Nor could we retrace our
steps on account of the river Mulda, but were obliged to
remain at Halle between two streams. 'Not as if we
were anxious to drink of these waters, for we substitute
good beer of Torgau and good Eliine Avine for the water,
and refresh and comfort ourselves therewith, nntil the
Saale shall have exhausted her anger."

To his friends he said, '^ Dear friends, we are mighty
good fellows ; we eat and we drink with one another, but
the time will come when we must die. I am going on a
visit to Mansfeld to reconcile the Counts of Mansfeld,
whose temper of mind I know. When Christ reconciled
the world to God He received His reward in the death
which He suffered. God grant that it may be the same
with me."

At the Castle Giebichenstein, near Halle, they crossed
the Saale and arrived in the evening at Eisleben. But
before he reached that city such a great weakness over-
came him that grave fears were entertained as to his life.
He had gone some distance on foot, had become over-
heated, and had then resumed his place in the wagon.
" But after that," he writes to his dear Katie, ^^ there

194 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

Btnick me such a chill blast from the rear of the wagon
that it seemed as if my brain would turn to ice. This
may have aggravated my dizziness." At Eisleben he
quickly recovered and preached again three days after
his arrival. The business connected with the arbitration
proceedings began forthwith, concerning which Luther
WTites to his w4fe : '' Here we sit and lie both idle and
busy ; idle, because we do not accomplish anything ;
busy, because we are enduring untold sufferings, for thus
Satan's wickedness torments us. Among so many ways
out of the difficulties surrounding us, we at last found
one that was promising ; but Satan hindered us again.
"We then tried another, thinking that we had accom-
plished it, when Satan once more interfered. We have
now entered upon a third, which seems safe and reliable,
but we shall see w4iat the end thereof may teach. I beg
of you to induce Dr. Briick to persuade the Elector to
send for me on some urgent business ; perhaps I may in
this way hasten the conclusion of peace. For I am
under the impression that they will not permit me to
depart without having accomplished the object of this
meeting. I will grant them the rest of this week, but
tlicn I will threaten them with the Elector's letter. He
complnins of the jurists as well as of the Jews, to whom
the counts conceded too much ; the latter blaspheme
Jesus and Mary, call the Christians imj)s of Satan, drain
them of their money, and indeed would kill them if they
could." He wrote repeatedly to his wife in order to
relieve her anxiety concerning him. Soon he could
inform her of his anticipated journey home, since the
negotiations would be successfully ended. He could
not, howevei', attend the closing session, held February
17th. He was present at the evening meal, but later on
he complained of an oppressive feeling in the chest. To

THE DEATH OF MAllTlN LUTHER. 195

his friends he had often said that in Eisleben where ho
was born he would also die.

And so it happened. Happily had he partaken with
his friends of the evening meal. He retired early, as was
his custom. At one o'clock in the morning he awoke
exclaiming, '^ O Lord God, Dr. Jonas, I am in j)ain3
and fears. I shall now die in Eisleben, where I was born
and baptized." Then his friends comforted him, and.
administered medicines. But again he spoke : '* I am
passing away; I shall give up my spirit." Then he
repeated in Latin, quickly and three times in succession,
the words, '^ Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit : thou hast redeemed me, thou faithful God."

Then he rested quietly and closed his eyes. Jonas and
Ccelius asked him, *' Beloved Father, will you die faith-
ful to Christ and to the doctrine you have preached ?'*
He answered distinctly, *' Yes." Then he turned over
on his right side and slept, so that an improvement
was looked for. But his countenance was growing paler
and his feet colder. He breathed once more deeply and
easily, and then peacefully fell asleep. It was between
three and four o'clock in the morning of the 18th of
February, 1546.

Scarcely had he died when there arrived the Counts of
Mansfeld, Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt, and other lords.
And from the city many hastened to the house to see
their beloved dead.

On the 19th his remains were exposed to view in the
church of St. Andrew's, where Dr. Jonas delivered an
excellent sermon. At the command of the Elector the
mortal remains of Luther were taken to Wittenberg.
On the 20th a solemn funeral procession set out from
Eisleben to accompany the body to its last resting-place.
On the 22d Wittenberg was reached. At the Elster

196 THE LIFE OF MAKTIN LUTHEH.

Gate the remains were met by an immense throng and
solemnly escorted through the length of the city to the
Castle Church, where they were deposited. Luther's
wife and her sons rode in the procession.

After several funeral hymns had been sung, Bugen-
hagen, in the presence of several thousand people,
delivered an impressive sermon upon 1 Thess. 4 : 13,
14 : ^' But I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
He said that they had doubtless great cause to be heartily
sorry, but that in their affliction they should acknowledge
God's goodness and mercy who had awakened this man ;
and that he had now secured what he had often sincerely
desired. He then related the incidents connected with
the closing days of the great Beformer's life, and in con-
clusion, against his enemies, quoted Luther's prophecy
and memorial inscription : *^ Living was I thy plague,
and dying v/ill I be thy death, oh Pope !" '

Then Melanchthon delivered a funeral address, speak-
ing of the office wdiich Luther had held in the Church.
'^ He is to be reckoned," said he, ^" among the glorious
company of elect men whom God has sent to gather and
to build up His Church. Dr. Luther again brought to
the light of day the true and pure Christian doctrines
which had been obscured in so many points, and he also
diligently explained them. Especially did ho teach what
real Christian repentance is, and what that certain, real,
and constant comfort of the heart and the conscience
may be that is troubled because of God's wrath against
sin. Thus, too, did he declare the genuine Pauline doc-
trine, that man is justified before God through faith

THE DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER. 197

alone. Likewise he taught the true adoration of God,
and how this is exercised in faith and a good conscience,
and led us to the only Mediator, the Son of God, and not
to i^ictures and images of stone and wood, nor yet unto
dead men or departed saints.

'' And in order that the pure doctrine might be pre-
served and transmitted unto our posterity he has trans-
lated the writings of prophets and apostles into the
German language, so clearly and distinctly, that this
translation affords more light and understanding to the
Christian reader than many other large books and com-
mentaries. And as it was said of those that rebuilt Jeru-
salem, that with one hand they builded thev/all, and with
the other they wielded the sword, so did Luther also
contend against the enemies of the pure doctrine, and
yet wrote so many beautiful explanations, full of comfort-
ing teachings, and also with Christian deed and comisel,
assisted many poor, wandering, and burdened con-
sciences.

^' But that some have complained that Luther was too
rough and severe in his writings, this 1 will not discuss,
whether to praise or to blame ; but I will rather answer,
in the language of Erasmus, ' God gave the world at
this time, when grievous plagues and ills had gained the
upper hand a sharp and severe doctor. '

^' And every one that knew him must acknowledge that
he was a very gracious man, amiable in speech, friendly
and pleasing, and not at all boisterous, self-willed, and
quarrelsome ; and yet withal earnest and brave in his
words and gestures. In short, his heart was faithful and
without deceit ; his words friendly and agreeable.

' • It would take too long to narrate all his virtues ; and
yet I will point out a few. I have often found him
bathed in hot tears, praying for the whole Church.

198 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

And we have seen how great courage and manliness he
has shown, not permitting himself to he frightened at a
little noise, nur discouraged hecaiise of threats and
danger, for he trusted a sure foundation, viz., God's
help and support. He j^ossessed also a clear and power-
ful understanding, by means of which he could soon sec
the best course to pursue upon all dark, grievous, and
complicated questions, misunderstandings, and cpiarrels.

"His books and writings also show how eloquent he
w\as, and that he m^ay well be compared with excellent
and renowned orators.

*^ AYe therefore justly sorrow and lament that so true a
man and endowed v/ith such virtues, who loved us
heartily as a father, is taken out of our midst, away from
life and society ; for we are now like poor, miserable,
abandoned orphans, to have had so excellent a man as
our father, and now to be deprived of him. Hence we
should keep our belov^ed father in everlasting ren:iem-
brance, and acknowledge and consider that he was a
precious, useful, and blessed instrument in the hands of
God. "We should also with true dilio-ence studv and
preserve his teachings, as well as his virtues, which we
need, and which we should take as our pattern, earnestly
and according to our ability instating the same."

Close to the pulpit from which Luther had preached,
the coffin was lowered into the vault.

The loss of Luther was most deeply felt, with grief
and sorrow, throughout all Germany. Upon Melanch-
thon his death had made the greatest impression. " The
pain that rages in my soul is indescribable," said he.
'' As when two travellers arc journeying one and the
same way, and after they liave gone a long while
together one of them should fall down dead and tho

THE DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER. 199

other lament ; so do I bewail my Luther. And I had
always believed that I should be the first to leave this
world ; and now I am obliged to survive him ! Who
knows what God may yet have in store for iis ! For
now I see clearly that I have not yet accomplished my
work ; therefore the Lord suffers me to live. And I
must work while it is called day. I count Luther happy
that he did not live to experience a religious w^ar. Per-
haps I shall not be so fortunate."

Luther's widow^ wrote to her sister-in-lav/ : ^^ I readily
believe that you feel a hearty sympathy for me and my
poor children. For who would not be greatly bereaved
and troubled at the loss of so faithful a man as my dear
husband has been, who belongs not to a single city or
country alone, but who has truly served the whole world.
For which reason I am in truth so deeply bereaved, that
I cannot reveal my great heart-sorrow to any one ; in-
deed I know not, and cannot express, my feelings. And
had I possessed a kingdom or an empire, I would have
given up all rather than to experience such loss and sor-
row, as when our dear Lord and God deprived not only
me but the entire world of this beloved, precious man.
Whenever I think of it, I can neither read nor write,
because of sorrow and tears, which God knows, and
which you, dear sister, can easily realize."

'' The death of great heroes is said to be the precursor
of sad events ; what shall we anticipate, after so great a
hero has been taken away from us?" Thus writes
a friend of Luther to Wittenberg. A year after this the
Emperor Charles Y. stood at the grave of Luther, hav-
ing entered Wittenberg as victor of the battle of Miilil-
berg (April 24th, 1547), over the forces of the Protestant
League of Smalcald. One of his companions endeavored

200 THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

to persuade liim to take vengeance upon the dead her-
etic. To which he replied, "My work with Luther is
done ; lie has now another Judge whose domain 1 may
not invade. I war with the living, and not with the
dead."

OPINIONS UPON LUTHER.

KEAUTH.

*' The greatness of some men only makes us feel that
though they did well, others in their place might have
done just as they did. Luther had that exceptional
greatness which convinces the world that he alone could
have done the work. He was not a mere mountain-top,
catching a little earlier the beams which, by their own
course, would soon have found the valleys ; but rather,
by the divine ordination under which he rose like the
sun itself, w^ithout which the light on mountain and valley
would have been but a starlight or moonlight. He was
not a secondary orb, reflecting the light of another orb,
as was Melanchthon, and even Calvin ; still less the
moon of a planet, as Bucer or Brentius ; but the centre
of undulations which lilled a system with glory. Yet,
though he rose wondrously to a divine ideal, he did not
cease to be a man of men. He won the trophies of
power and the garlands of affection. Potentates feared
him, and little children played with him. He has
monuments in marble and bronze, medals in silver and
gold ; but his noblest monument is the best love of the
best hearts, and the brightest, purest impression of his
image has been left in the souls of regenerated nations.
He was the best teacher of freedom and of loyalty. He
has made the righteous throne stronger, and the innocent

202 OPINIONS rpoN luther.

cottage happier. He knew how to laugh and how to
weep ; tlierefore millions langlied with him, and millions
wept for him. He was tried by deeyj sorrow and brill-
iant fortune ; he begged the poor scholar's bread, and
from emperor and estates of the realm received an
embassy, with a prince at its head, to ask him to imtie
the knot which defied the power of the soldier and the
sagacity of the statesman ; it was he who added to the
Litany the words : ' In all time of our tribulation, in all
time of our prosperity, help us, good Lord ; ' but whether
lured by the subtlest flattery or assailed by the powers of
hell,- tempted with the mitre or threatened with the
stake, he came off more than conqueror in all. He
made a world rich forevermore, and, stripping himself
in perpetual charities, died in poverty. He knew how
to command, for he had learned how to obey. Had he
been less courageous, he would have attempted nothing ;
had he been less cautious, he would have ruined all ; the
torrent vras resistless, but the banks were deep. He tore
up the mightiest evils by the root, bat shielded with his
own life the tenderest bud of good ; he combined the
aggressiveness of a just radicalism with the moral re-
sistance —which seemed to the fanatic the passive weak-
ness— of a true conservatism. Faith-inspired, he was
faith-inspiring. Great in act as he was great in thought,
proving himself fire with fire, ' inferior eyes grew great
by his example, and put on the dauntless spirit of resolu-
tion.' The world knows his faults. He could not hide
what he was. His transparent candor gave his enemies
the material of their misrepresentation ; but they cannot
blame his infirmities without bearing witness to the
nobleness which made him careless of appearances, in a
world of defamers. For himself he had as little of the
virtue of caution as he had, toward others, of the vice

OPI2!3^IOXS UPON LUTHER, 203

of dissimulation. Living under thousands of jealous and
hating eyes, in the broadest liglit of day, the testimony
of enemies but fixes the result, that his faults were those
of a nature of the most consunnnate grandeur and f ul-
ness, faults more precious than the virtues of the com-
mon great. Four potentates ruled the mind of Europe
in the Keformation— the Emperor, Erasmus, the Pope,
and Luther. The Pope wanes, Erasmus is little, the
Emperor is nothing, but Luther abides as a power for all
time. His image casts itself upon the current of ages,
as the mountain mirrors itself in the ris^er that winds at
its foot— the mighty fixing itself immutably upon the
changing."

BUNSEN.

" Luther's life is both the epos and the tragedy of
his age. It is an epos because its first part . presents a
hero and a prophet, Avho conquers apparently insuperable
difficulties and opens a new world to the human mind,
without any power but that of divine truth and deep
conviction, or any authority but that inherent in sincerity
and undaunted, unselfish courage. But Luther's life is
also a tragedy ; it is the tragedy of Germany as well as
of the hero, her son, who in vain tried to rescue his
country from unholy oppression, and to regenerate her
from within, as a nation, by means of the Gospel ; and
who died in unshaken faith in Christ and in His king-
dom, although he lived to see his beloved fatherland
going to destruction, not through but in spite of the
Pweformation. Both parts of Luther's life are of the
highest interest. In the epic part of it we see the most
arduous work of the time— the work for two hundred
years tried in vain by councils, and by prophets, and
martyrs, with and without emperors, kings, and princes

204 OPINIONS UPON LUTHER.

— undertaken by a poor monk alone, who carried it ont
under the ban both of the Pope and the empire. In the
second we see him surrounded by friends and disciples,
always the spiritual head of his nation, and the revered
adviser of princes and preacher of the people ; living in
the same poverty as before, and leaving his descendants
as unprovided for as Aristides left his daughter. So
lived and died the greatest hero of Christendom since
the apostles ; the restorer of that form of Christianity
which now sustains Europe, and (with all its defects)
regenerating and purifying the whole human race ; the
found^er of the modern German language and literature ;
the first speaker and debater of his country ; and, at the
same time, the first writer in prose and verse of his age."

. HAEE.

*' As he has said of St. Paul's words, his own are not
dead words, but living creatures, and have hands and
feet. It no longer surprises us that this man who wrote
and spoke thus, although no more than a poor monk,
should have been mightier than the Pope, and the
Emperor to boot, with all their hosts, ecclesiastical and
civil — that the rivers of living water should have swept
half Germany, and in the course of time the chief part
of Northern Europe, out of the kingdom of darkness
into the region of Evangelical light. No day in spring,
when life seems bursting from every bud and gushing
from eveiy pore, is fuller of life than his pages ; and if
they are not without the strong breezes of spring, these
too have to bear their part in the work of purification.
How far superior his expositions of Scriptures are in the
deep and living apprehension of the primary truths of
the Gospel to those of the best among the Fathers, even
of Augustine. If we would do justice to any of the

OPIIS'IONS UPOK LUTHER. 205

master minds in history, we mnst compare them with
their predecessors. When we come upon these truths in
Luther, after wandering through the dusky twihght of
tlie preceding centuries, it seems ahnost like the sun-
hurst of a new revelation or rather as if the sun, which
set when St. Paul was taken away from the earth, had
suddenly started up again. Yerily, too, it does us good,
when we have been walking about among those who
have only dim guesses as to where they are, or whither
they are going, and who halt and look back, and turn
aside at every other step, to see a man taking his stand
on the Eternal Eock, and gazing steadfastly with un-
sealed eyes on the very Sun of righteousness."

HEINE.

*' He created the German language. He was not only
the greatest but the most German man of our history.
In his character all tlie faults and all the virtues of the
Germans are combined on the largest scale. Then ho
had qualities which are very seldom found united, which
we are accustomed to regard as irreconcilable antago-
nisms. He was, at the same time, a dreamy mystic and
a practical man of action. His thoughts had not only
wings, but hands. He spoke and he acted. He was not
only the tongue, but the sword of his time. When he
had plagued himself all day long with his doctrinal dis-
tinctions, in the evening he took his flute and gazed at
the stars, dissolved in melody and devotion. He could
be as soft as a tender maiden. Sometimes he was wild
as the storm that uproots the oak, and tlien again he was
gentle as the zephyr that dallies with the violet. He
was full of the most awful reverence and of self-saci"ifice
in honor of the Holy Spirit. He could merge himself
entire, in pure spirituality. And yet lie was well ac-

206 OPINIOXS UPON LUTHER.

quainted with the glories of this world, and knew how
to prize them. He was a complete man, I would say an
absolute man, one in whom matter and spirit were not
divided. To call him a spiritualist, therefore, would
be as great an error as to call him a sensualist. How
shall I express it ? He had something original, incom-
prehensible, miraculous, such as we find in all providen-
tial men — something invincible, spirit-possessed."

HALLAM.

'^A better tone began with Luther. His language
was- sometimes rude and low, but persuasive, artless,
powerful. He gave many useful precepts, as well as
examples, for pulpit eloquence. In the history of the
Reformation, Luther is incomparably the greatest name.
"We see him, the chief figure of a group of gownsmen,
standing in contrast on the canvas with the crowned
rivals of France and Austria, and their attendant war-
riors, but blended in the unity of that historic picture.
It is admitted on all sides that he wrote his own language
with force, and he is reckoned one of its best models.
The hymns in use with the Lutheran Church, many of
wdiich are his own, possess a simple dignity and devout-
ness, never before excelled in that class of poetry, and
alike distinguished from the poverty of Stemhold or
Brady. It is not to be imagined that a man of his
vivid parts fails to perceive an advantage, in that close
grappling, sentence by sentence, with an adversary,
which fills most of his controversial writings, and in
scornful irony he had no superior."

CARLYLE.

'^ There was born here, once more, a mighty man ;
whose light was to flame as the beacon over long cen-

0PINI0N3 rPON LUTHER. 207

tuHes and epochs of the world ; the whole world and its
history was waiting for this man. It is strange, it is
great. It leads us back to another birth-hour, in a still
meaner environment, eighteen hundred years ago, of
which it is fit that we say nothing, that we think only in
silence ; for what words are there ! The Age of Mira-
cles past ? The Age of Miracles is forever here !

^' I will call this Luther a true great man, great in
intellect, in courage, affection, and integrity, one of our
most lovable and precious men. Great not as a hewn
obelisk, but as an Alpine mountain, so simple, honest,
spontaneous, not setting up to be great at all ; there for
quite another pur^^ose than being great ! Ah, yes,
unsubduable granite, piercing far and wide into the
heavens ; yet in the clefts of it fountains, green beauti-
ful valleys with flowers ! A right spiritual Hero and
Prophet ; once more a true son of Nature and Fact, for
whom these centuries and many that are to come yet
will be thankful to heaven."

EOSSUET.

^' In the time of Luther, the most violent rupture and
greatest apostasy occarred which had perhaps ever been
seen in (yhristendom. The two parties who have called
themselves reformed have alike recognized him as the
author of this new Reformation. It is not alone liis
followers, the Lutherans who have lavished upon him
the highest praises. Calvin frequently admires his vir-
tues, his magnanimity, his constancy, the incomparable
industry which he displayed against the Pope. lie is
the trumpet, or rather he is the thunder — he is the
lightning which has roused the world from its lethargy :
it was not so much Luther that spoke, as God whose
lightnings burst from his lips. And it is true tliat he

208 OPI^'IONS upox luther.

had a strength of genius, a vehemence in his discourses,
a living and impetuous eloquence which entranced and
ravished the people."

CALVIN.

** We sincerely testify that we regard him as a noble
apostle of Christ, by whose labor and ministry the purity
of the Gospel has been restored in our times. If any one
will carefully consider what was the state of things at
the period when Luther arose, he will see that he had to
contend with almost all the difficulties which were en-
countered by the apostles. In one respect, indeed, his
condition was worse and harder than theirs. There was
no kingdom, no principality against which they had to
declare war. Whereas Luther could not go forth, ex-
cept by the ruin and destruction of that empire which
was not only the most powerful of all, but regarded all
the rest as obnoxious to itself, ' '

BANCROFT.

'' Luther was more dogmatical than his opponents ;
though the deep philosophy with which his mind was
imbued repelled the use of violence to effect conversion
in religion. He was wont to protest against propagating
reform by persecution and massacres ; and with wise
moderation, an admirable knowledge of human nature, a
familiar and almost ludicrous quaintness of expression,
he would deduce from his great principle of justification
by faith alone, the sublime doctrine of freedom of con-
science."

d'aubigne.

" Luther proved through divine grace the living in-
lluence of Christianity, as no preceding doctor, perhaps,

OPINIONS UPON" LUTHER. 209

Lad ever felt it before. The Eeformation sprang living
from his own heart, where God Himself had placed it :
' Some advised the Evangelical princes to meet Charles
sword in hand. But this was mere worldly counsel, and
the great Reformer Lnther, wdiom so laany are pleased
to represent as a man of violent temper, succeeded in
silencing these rash counsellors.' If in the history of
the world there be an individual we love more than
another, it is he. Calvin we venerate more, but Luther
we love more. ' '

GELZER.

'^ If we recall among other great names in German
history the Reformers Melanchthon and Zwingli, the
Saxon Electors, Frederick the Wise and John the Con-
stant, Gustavus Adolphus and Frederick the Great, or
among intellectual celebrities, Klopstock and Lessing,
Haman and Herder, Goethe and Schiller, or turn to the
great religious reformers of the last centuries, Spener,
Franke, Zinzendorf, Bengel, and Lavater, they all ex-
hibit many features of relationship with Luther, a,nd in
some qualities may even surpass him, but not one stands
out a Luthe7\ ' '

HERDER.

*^ Luther has long been recognized as teacher of the
German nation, nay, as co-reformer of all of Europe that
is this day enlightened. He was a great man and a great
patriot. Even nations that do not embrace the principles
of his religion, enjoy the fruits of his Reformation. As
a preacher, Luther spoke the simple, strong, unadorned
language of the understanding ; he spoke from the heart,
not from the head and from memory. His sermons have
long been the models especially of those preachers in our
Church who are of stable minds."

210 OPINIONS UPON LUTHER.

EANKE.

" TliroTighout we see Liitlier directing liis weapons on
both sides — against the Papacy, which sought to re-
conquer the world then struggUng for its emancipation —
and against the sects of many names wliich sprang np
beside liim, assailing Church and State together. The
great Reformer, if we may use an expression of our
days, was one of the greatest conservatives that ever
lived."

MELANCHTHON.

*' Luther is too great, too wonderful for me to depict
in words. If there be a man on earth I love with my
whole heart, that man is Luther. One is an interpreter,
one a logician, another an orator, affluent and beautiful
in speech, but Luther is all in all — whatever he writes,
whatever he utters, pierces to the soul, fixes itself like
arrows in the heart — he is a miracle among men."

ERASMUS.

'' All the world is agreed among us in commending
his moral character. He hath given us good advice on
certain points ; and God grant that his success may be
equal to the liberty which lie hath taken. Luther hath
committed two unpardonable crimes : he hath touched
the Pope upon the crown, and the monks upon the
belly."

COLEKIDGE.

*' How would Christendom have "fared without • a
Luther ? What would Rome have done and dared but
for the ocean of the Reformed that rounds her. Luther
lives yet — not so beneficially in the Lutheran Churcli as

OPINIONS UPON LUTHER. 21J

out of it — an antagonistic spirit to Rome, and a purify-
ing and preserving spirit in Christendom at large."

FROUDE.

'' Had there been no Lutiier, tlie English, American,
and German peoples would be thinking different!}',
would be acting differently, would be altogether different
men and women from what they are at this moment."

LESSING.

'^ In such reverence do I hold Luther that I rejoice in
having been able to find some defects in him ; for I
have, in fact, been in imminent danger of making him
an object of idolatrous veneration.' '

6TOLBEEG.

*' Against Luther's person I would not cast a stone.
In him I honor, not alone one of the grandest spirits
that ever lived, but a great religiousness also, which
never forsook him."

KAHNIS.

*^ Xothing but the narrowness of party can deny that
there are respects in which no other reformer can bear
comparison with Luther, as the person of the Reforma-
tion."

WIELAND.

^^ So great was Luther, in whatever aspect we view
him, so worthy of admiration, so deserving of universal
gratitude, alike great as a man, a citizen, and a scholai'."

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS IN
THE LIFE OF MAETIN LUTHER.

1483. November 10th. Martin Luther is born at Eisleben, and is
1483. " 11th. Baptized in the Church of St. Peter and St.

Paul.

1497. Attends the instruction of the " Null-brothers" at Magdeburg.

1498. Is sent to school at Eisenach— Ursula Cotta.

1501. Attends the University at Erfurt.

1502. Obtains his first degree : Bachelor of Philosophy.

1504. Secures his second degree : Master of Arts or Philosophy.

1505. July 16th. Enters tbe Augustinian Cloister at Erfurt.

1506. Ends his novitiate and becomes a monk.

1507. May 2d. Is ordained a priest.

1508. Appointed Professor of Philosopby in Wittenberg University.

1509. March 9th. Receives his degree as Bachelor of Theology.

1511. Visits Rome on business for the Augustinians.

1512. October 18th. Receives his degree as Doctor of Sacred The-

ology.

1516. Publishes " German Theology."

1517. Translates and publishes the Penitential Psalms.

1517. October 31st. Attaches his 95 Theses to the doora of the Castle

Church.

1518. August 7th. Summoned to appear in Rome.

1518. October. Meets Cajetan in Augsburg.

1519. January. Confers with Miltitz at Altenburg.

1519. July 4th-16th. Disputes with Eck at Leipsic.

1520. August. Publishes : " To the Christian Nobles of the German

Nation ;" " The Babylonian Captivity of the Church ;" " The
Liberty of the Christian."

1520. November 10th. Luther burns the Papal Bull.

1521. April 17th and 18th. Appears at the Diet of Worms.
1521. May 5th. Luther on the Wartburg.

1521. May 8th. Charles V. issues his edict against Luther.

314 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

1521. May. Begins the Translation of the Scriptures.

1523. September 21st. The New Tesiameut published.

1522. Luther visits Wittenberg and preaches a;iainst the iconoclasts.
1522. March. Returns to Wittenberg and restores order.

1524. Publishes a German hymn-book.

152*. Proceeds against the fanatical " New Prophets."

1524. October 9th. Lays aside his monk's cowl.

1525. June 13th. Marries Catharine de Bora and establishes a home.
152G. June 7th. Hans Luther is born.

1527. January. Suffers from serious illness.

1528. October. Inspects the churches of Wittenberg and vicinity.

1529. Prepares and publishes his two Catechisms.

1529. October. Attends the conference at Marburg.

1530. April-October Lather in Coburg. (Diet at Augsburg.)
1534. Publishes the entire Bible in German.

1680. May. Confers with South German theologians. Wittenberg

Concord.
1537. February. Luther in Smalcald. Smalcald Articles.
1545. October. Called to arbitrate between the Counts of Mansfeld,

1545. Christmas. Goes again to Mansfeld.

1546. January, llepeats his visit to Mansfeld.

1540. January 17th. Preaches for the last time in Wittenberg.

1540. January 28th. Arrives in Eisleben.

1546. February 16th. Establishes peace between the Counts of Mans-
feld.

1540. February 18th. Dies in Eis^leben.

1546. February 22d. Martin Luther is buried in the Castle Church
at Wittenberg.

INDEX

Adrian VI., Pope, 119; threatens Lu-
ther, 120.

Albert, Archbishop of Mayence, 11 ;
sells indulgences at Halle, 97.

Albert, of Brandenbui^, 121.

All-Saints'* Day, observed, 7.

Altenburg, 60.

Amsdorf, 102.

Antichrist, 73 ; against his balls, 79.

Apologt to the Augsburg Confession,
170 ; adopted at Wittenberg, 181.

Aristotle, rejected by Luther, 41.

Augsburg, 52; the present city of, 162.

Augsburg, Confession of, drawn up by
Me'anchthon, 166 ; approved by Lu-
ther, 166; presented to the Diet, 168;
adopted ar Wittenberg, 181.

Augsbueg, The Diet of, 163.

Augustikian monks, 27 ; their reputa-
tion, 29 ; origin, 29 ; dispute within
the order, 37.

"Babylonian Captivity of the Church,"
75.

B-\NCROFT, 208.

"Battle-Hymn of the Reformation,"
147 ; it'* ver-ions, 147 ; its melody. 148,

" Bear, The Black," inn at Jena, 108.

Beuka, 91.

Bkulei'sch;, Hans von, 95.

Bible, The, discovered by Luther, 28 ;
transla'ed by, 97 ; the whole in print,
17(i ; revised, 186.

Bishops conveited to Protestantism,
121.

Borna, 105.

BossuET, 207.

Brandenburg, The Bishop of, 69.

Brunswick, Reformation adopted in,
191.

BucER, Martin, at Marburg, 155 ; visits
Luther at Cobnrg, 180.

Bugenhagen. 133; at Luther's marriage,
134 ; note upon, 139 ; sent to Lubeck,
ir2 ; calK'd to Deiim .rk, 186 ; preaches
Luther's funeral sermon, 196.

Bull of Excommunication, 76 ; how re-
ceived, 77 ; how executed, 79.

BUNSEN, 208.

Cajetan, 50 ; meet8,Lutber, 53 ; threat-
ens him, 54 ; prefers charges, 66.

Calvin, 208.

Capito, Wolfgang, 181.

Carltlk, 206.

Castle Church at Wittenberg, 7.

Catechisms of Luther, 149 ; their won-
derful influence, 150.

Charity students, 23.

Charles V., 61 ; summons Luther, 83 ;
keeps his word, 85 ; at Worms, 86 ;
opinion of Luther, 89; pronounces
sentence, 90 ; issues an edict, 94 ;
grants a respite, 170; at his grave, 200.

Church, The, in need of reform, 46 ; not
the Pope alone, 73.

Cities espousing the Reformation cause,
121.

*' Christian nobles of the German na-
tion. To the,'' 71.

" Christian. The. a free man," 77,

Clement VII., Pope, 120.

Confession of sin, 97.

CoBURG, City and Castle of, 163.

Coleridge, 210.

Cotta, Ursula, 23 ; protects Luther, 24.

D'AUBIGNE, 208.

De Bora, Catharine, 133 ; her comfort in
Luther's sickness, 145 ; buried at
Torgau, 162; effect of Luther's death
upon, 199.

Dominicans, The, 69.

DtjRER, Albert, 93.

Ebernburg, 70.

EcK, Dr., 62 ; disputes with Karistadt,

63 ; with Luther, 64 ; goes to Rome,

69 ; returns with the Pope's bull, 77.
Edict of Spire (1526), 139.
EmcTof Worms, 94.
" Eine Feste Burg." 147 ; its versions,

147 ; its nu-lody, 148.
Eisenach, 22 ; its church schools, 24 ;

Luther's sickness at, 84; Luther's

preaching at, 91.

216

INDEX.

EisLKBEV, 18 ; visited by a conflagra-
tion, 19.
Ep.asmts, 122 ;opininniipon Luther, 210.
EuFUiiT. Univeisify ot, 20.
E icw, Duke of Btnn-wick, 89.

liXCOMJIUNiCATU'.N, ()7.

F.

F.ArLE abont the crows, 10.3.

F.> iTii, tlic cenirji) point, 40 ; a rcmark-
.•tl)le nT'mo'ial of. 10.>.

F..I.SE l'rophct>, 10.3 ; tlieir viewg. 12.5.

Fanaticism, Keligloui?, 103 ; illustrated,
154.

FfiUDiNAND at "Worms, 85; at Spire,
IGO.

Foi^Gi-VENESS of sins, <0 ; alone by God,
14.

FoucK. The use of, protester! against
by Lnther, 160; reiterated, 187.

Fkedkrick the Wise, 36: receives Lu-
ther's these'-. 47; refuses Cajetan's
demands, 56; Imperial Vicar, 61;
conceives the seizure of Luther, 95 ;
restrains Lu'her, 98; forbids his re-
turn, 104 ; his death, 129.

Freytag, Gusiav, on Luther's home,
1:35.

Froude, 211.

FnuNDSBERG, Georgc von, 85.

G.

Galatianh. Lectures upon, 17G.

Gi:lzeu, 209.

George, Duke. G5: prefers charges, C9 ;

commented upon by Luther, 106 ; his

treatment of Luther, IHS; his death,

188
" German Ma^s, The," 137.
Germans despised in JRome, 39 ; "anin-

traciahle people," 138.
Good works, 9.

II.

IIaixam. 206.

Halle, in'iuljrence? sold nt. 97 ; Kefor-

mnii(m introduce d. 191 ; its university

united with Wittenberg, 191 ; visited

by Luther, 193.
ITari:, 204.
Heine, 205.

llKNRV VIII. of Engl.ond, 118.
llRNRT, Elector of Saxony, 188; in-

dncted, 189 ; assists tlic Reformation,

188.

llKRDER. 209.

I1;:ro>trati-9, 52.

Herspki.I). 91.

Ilc.NTiNo, Sport of. 95.

lifss. John, ()5: note upon, 63.

UUTTEN. Ulrich von. (i9; against the
Komans. 71 ; nolo npun, 71 ; advises
the use of force. fcO.

Hymns, Influence of, a3 ; first collec-
tion of German, 122 ; used at Leipsic,
189.

Icovocla.=m. 102.

JoNouANCE, L'eiigiou". illnstrafod, 149

iNntLGENCKi^, s ; warrCil aLa'nst by

Luther, 8 : their « n^'iii. 9 ; a matter

of i)roilt, i;i: fold at taria lates. 13 ;

dcu' unced bv J.ullur, 14 ; told at

Ilalle. '.7.
InivStani) story. 97.
Inspection. General, of the churches

ordered, 138.

Jena, 108.

JouN the Constant, 118: helpful to
the Keformation. 136; his character,
170; parts with Charles V., 170: his
private and family life, 175 ; comforts
Luther, 184.

rlUTEKBOCK. 9.

Jonas, Justus, 141 ; preaches Luther's

funeral sermon, 195.
JuLii;s, II.. Pope, 28 : bedns St. Peter's

Chuich, 39 ; Jays its corner-stone, 10.
JrsTiFicATioN by Faith, 38 ; becomes

fixed in Lnther's soul. 40 ; the doc-

ti-ine lully developed, 176.

Kahnis, 211.

Karlstadt. Dr., C2 ; disputes with Eck.
63 ; begins radical refoims, 102 ; nL'ain
creates di^^turbances, 124 ; note upon,
124; stormy interview with Luther,
126 : leaves tlie conntry, 127.

Kessler, John Jacob, 109.

KuANACH. Lucas, 133.

Krauth, 2U1.

Landstuhl. 70.

League, A Defensive, formed at Spire,

160.
l.EIPBIC, G3.

Leo X., Pope, completes St. Peter's
Chnrch. li»; his record, 10; partner
with Albert of Maytnce. 11 : Ins opin-
ion of Luther, 48 :"cites Lnther to ap-
pear, 4H; instructs the Elecior, 49;
requests an Imperial tax, 49 ; pro-
ceeds a<rainst Luther, 76 ; issues an-
other bull, 81.

Lessino, 211.

'* LiBKRTY of the Christian, The," 77.

Link, 51 ; at Augt-burp, 5r^.

Lord's Supper, The, 67 ; Zwinpli's view
of. 152 : Lutliers view of, 1.53 ; in the
Marburg AriicleP, 1.56; diflercnces
among i'rotestant< upon, 180.

LuTiiER. Uni s. at Mfihra, IH ; false re-
iiorts concerning IS : ^emo^e8 to Eis-
lebon, 18; to Mansfeld, 1;): strnpelo
for existence ; 20 ; is prosperous, 25 ;
designs with Manln, 26; refuses bis

I1?^DEX.

217

consent. 30 ; loses two sons, 30 ; pres-
ent at MartiuV ordiiuition, 32 ; desires
lii< inarriaiio, 133 ; dies, 16").

Luther, Heinz, 18; visited by Martin
LnllK-r, 91.

LuTHKiJ, Jacob, 10.

LuTiiEit, Martin, lii'^ birth and parent-
agi', IT: liisance:-tors,18 ; isb.iiitized,
19 ; at Man>.feld, 19 ; his liome train-
iiiir. 20: school training, 21 ; at Mag-
debiirg,22: at Eisenacii. 22 ; a charity
scholar, 22; i-^ befriended by Ursula
Cotta, 23; receives fnrlher aid, 24;
goes to Errnrt University, 25 ; his
favorite st lilies, 25; obtains his de-
grees. 26; studies law, 26; enters a
monaster V', 27 ; reasons for the step,
27-29 : di-covers a Latin Bible, 28 ;
his providential expt rienc^s, 29; in

. the cloister. 30 ; menial labors, 31 ;
becomes anionic and ordaiiud a priest,
31: his soul conllicts, 32; leceives
light. 33 ; appointed profissnr at Wit-
tenberg. 36; impressions of the city,
3^5; ol)tains his first theolo;_'ical degree,
37; retarnsto Erfurt, 37; visits Rome,
37 ; soul experiences, 38 : studies
Hebrew, 39 ; n'tnrns to Wittenberg,
39; obtains his seconl the logical
degree, 3v) ; lectures upon the Psalms,
40; expliins law and gosptl, 40;
reads Tauler, 41 ; publishes his
" German Theolo-iy," 41 : publishes
his 95 Theses, 7 ; preaches against
influlg.Mices.8 ; attacks Tetzcrstrathc,
14; intbienced by Tauicr, 42 ; stands
alone at first, 43 ; sends theses to
Fope and bishops, 44 ; ttill respects
the Pope, 46 ; replies to Totzel's
counter-theses, 47 ; preaches at Wei-
mar, 51 ; meets Cajetan, .53; leavo
Augsburg on horsebac k, 56 : appeals
to a coimcil, 57; confers with Miltitz,
60 ; disputes with Kck. 64 ; his person-
al appetrance, 64; accnsid of luing
a Hussite. 68 ; appeals to the Chris-
tian nobility, 71 ; receives tiie papal
bull. 77 ; writ''S to the Pope. 77 ; burns
the Pope's bull, 79 ; releases himself
from monastic vows, 83 : opposes the
use of force, 8) ; at Worms, 80-82,
sick at Eisenach, 81 ; confronts the
diet, 83 ; journey home, 91; visits
Mohra,9l ; Js carried to the Wartburg,
92 ; liis treatmen'. tliere. 95 ; tormented
by the devil, 93 ; begins transhitnig
the P.ible, 97; writes against Albert
of Mayence, 97 ; publishes the New
Testament, 101 ; visits Wittenberg
pud lenly, 102; loaves the Wartburg,
104; addresses the Flector, 105;
incident at Jena, 109 ; hishospitaM y,
114; meets the false prophets, 117 ;
cont'-nds with Henry VIiI., 118: re-
forms the Churcii service, etc., 122 ;
proceeds against the fanatics, 125 ;
admtmishes the nobles and pea--ants,
128; lays aside his monk's cowl and
marries Catharine de Bora, 132 ; estab-

lishes a home, 134 ; orders a full service
in German. 137 ; recommends civil
and cloricjil inspection, 13-^; receives
a son. 139; serious illness. 140: confirms
his faith, 143; composes "Eine feste
Burg," 147; inspicts the churcl.es,
148; goes to Marburg. 152; is tor-
mented with troubles. ir.0 : draws up
the Sehwabach Articles. 157; writes
against theTiirks, 158; protests against
using force, 160 ; goes to Cobnrir. 162 ;
translates the Prophets. 164; loses his
parents, 165; writes to his son Johnnie,
165; strengthens Melanchthon, 166 ;
retmns to Wittenberg, 172 ; takes the
place of Bugenhagen. 172 ; warns
asainst theKinperor, 173; lectures nn
Galatians, 176; the whole Bible in
German. 176 ; interview with Ver-
gerius, 177 : unites wiih the South
German Theologians, 181 ; jjrcparcs
the Smalcall Articles. 1S2; visits
Smalcaid, 183 ; again afflicted, 183 ;
restored and resumes labors. 186 ;
writes against usuiy, 187; preaches
at Leip-ic. 189; writes aL'ainst the
patiacy, 190; weary of ]i\ing, 192;
(ailed as arbitrator, 192; eoes to
Mansfeld, 193 : detained at nalle.193 ;
preaches at Eisleben, 194; acts. as
: rbitrutor, 194 ; attacked bv sickness,
195; confesses his faith. 1^5; dies at
Eisleben, 196; is buried at Witten-
berg, 197; funeral sermons upon,
195 and 196.

M.

Magdeburg, 22.

M.\NSFEi.D. city and country, 19.

Mansfkld, Counts of, 19 ; meet Luther,

53 ; CO- troversy between, 192.
Marburg, Conference at, 151 ; Articles

Of, 1.55.
Maiiriage of Luther, 132 ; variously

received, 134.
Maximilian I., 47 ; death of, 61.
Mrissen, Bishop of, 07.
Melanchthon, 102 : urges Luther's rc-

tnrii, 104 ; note upon. 115 ; opposed to

Luther's marriage, 134 ; atiMar'nirg,

152; at Augsburg. 166 ; loo yi-^Ulinir,

169: funeral address, 196; effect of

Luther's death tipon, 198 ; opinion

npcm Luther, 210.
" Mii-K and Butter letters." 11.
Mining at Mohnt, 18: at lusleben. 18.
Mii.rn Z.Karl von, .':'8 ; reproves Tetzel,

59: meets Luther, 60; cticmpts to

reconc le, 77.
I\I6iiRA. its situation, 17; its population.

17 ; its mining industry, 13 ; is visited

by Lnther. 91.
IMoitAL victory. A, 98.
MoTiiEii, Ti'ither's, 18 ; her Iraininfj of

■Martin. 20 ; her death, 1(15.
Muiii.HAUS'^N, 120.

MuNZER. Thomas, 125 ; his seditious
. pleaching. 127; lawless proceedings,

128; killed in battle. 130.

218

IKDEX.

N.

"New rrophPta,'' Tlie, 12").

ISKW Te-ijimcnr, 'Ihe. trariplatecl, 93;
the i)iice of, 118; p:oliil)itc(l byilie
Iio'iiiii CiUliolic Chnrrh, 119; com-
ments bytlni enemy. 119.

NnirTscH, CloisttT. 183.

'•Nri.I.-BKOTHERS." 22.

IsiKEMREKG, Diet of, in 1522, 120 ; the
n li'.'ion? peace of, 174 ; the Eoman
Catholic league of, 187.

Okolompad, John, 152 ; present at
"Marl urj?, 153; hisiciiiopt, 154.

Opinions npoii Liithc r, 201-211.

Ordeu of Chu'ch service, 122 ; further
improved, 1:!7 : fr.e .service con-
ceived. I8T : in German, complete, 189.

Orlamunde, 124.

P.

PAnENTAi, Iraininp. 20.

Paul in., Pope, 176 ; calls a council,

182.
Feas.^nt War, 127; bloody scenes, 129;

en led in atrocities, 1.31.
PEnsEcuTioNS agiiinst Protestants, 121.
Philip of Hcse. 85 ; assists the Kefor-

niati.in, 137 ; calls a conference, 151 ;

ileparts from Augsburg, lf)9.
Pleissenbuhg, 63.
Pope, The, as a man, 45 ; his opinion

of Luther, 48 ; cites Luther to appear,

48 ; supremacy of, 02 ; by human

right, 65 ; confessing sins, 97.
Pos'iiLS, German Church, 99.
Prayeu of Luther, 142 ; in sickness,

183.
PnoTEST at Ppire. 1.'9.
Protestant, Origin of the name, 159.

PliUSSIA, 121.

Psalms, The Penitential, translated. 42.

Rankr, 210.

Kefop.mation, The, begun, 7; eprend-
ing. (;6; causing disturbance, 80;
radical measures of, 102 ; progress of,
117; in ilie cities. 121; retarded by
the Diet of Spire (1529\ 1.50 ; by dis-
sensions on the Lord's Sui.p^r, ISO ;
introduced in Halle, I5runs\vick, Co-
logne. 191.

PKGFNsnuno, Diet of, ISf).

RKICIIENIiACII. Pliilip, 133.

IIeine<ke. Ilai'S. 22 ■

Kei.ics at Witteul cr?. 15 ; at ITalle, 97.

Repentance, the firsi tlicsi-^. 14.

Recchi.in, John. 44 ; on Luther. 40.

Rome, 37 ; its churclies and clergy, 88 ;
the true Babvlon, 45.

Rose, The Golden, 58.

S.

SACRAMENTAriANs, The, 151.

Sachaments, 7.').

Satan on the Wartbu^g, 90.

SaYiNGs. LutberV bold. 84 : at 'Vrcrm?,
8S! ; ai Friedberg, 90 ; on Duke George,
106.

ScAi A Fancta. 38.

ScHALBEAN Colbge, 24.

Sciiauencurg, Sylvester von. 70.

Scholastic learning, at Erfurt, 25 ;
neglects Bible stnriy, S9.

ScHooi s and schoolinjisfers. 21 : asked
for, 74 ; urgently demanded, 12J.

ScnwABACH .Articles. 1.57.

Si( KEVGEN. Fianz von, 70 ; oilers a ref-
uge to L'ltlier. 84.

Sins classified and paid for. 13.

S.AiALrALD, 'i'lie League of. 172; the
Articles of, 182; the League defeated,
199.

Spalatin, 56 : ^arns Luther. 84 ; his
account of Lntlier's seizure. 95

Spire, Diet of. (15C6), 139 ; •• noiher in
1529, 158 : a third in 1514, 190.

Squiue George, 94.

St. Ann, 29.

Staupitz, John von, 31 : advises Luther,
33 ; recommends Itiin, 35 : urges l>im,
39 ; at Augsburg, 54 ; retires to Salz-
burg, 80.

Stolberg, 211.

Stotternhfim. 29.

St. Peter's Church, 39 ; built by indul-
gences, 10.

Students, The, and Luther at Jena,
109-114.

Swan Legend, 68.

T.

Tauler, John, 41 ; his influence upon
Luther. 42.

Tetzel, John 9 ; his origin, 11 ; indul-
gence preacher and inquisitor, 12 his
appearance ami manner of work, 12 ;
issues counter-theses, 47; dies of
chaLTin. .59.

Teutonic Knights. The, 121.

TiiR-Es. LuthcrV. 8 ; the fir^t on repent-
ance. 14; rtad jill over (Jermany, 15 ;
met by the Cburcli, 43; f-eut to the
Pope, 4 t ; va'iou!-lv received, 40.

ToRGAU, The city of. 1('2.

ToiiGAU, Article-- of, 162.

Trebonius. Jolin, 24.

Trent, Council of, called, 190 ; con-
venes, 191.

Tre. K>^. y\rehbi-hop of, CO ; negotiates
with Ln flier, 90.

TRir.ui.ATioN, the Christian's lot, 15.

Trutvetter, Jodokus, 25.

TuHKs. The. used ns a pretext, 10 ; the
genuine kind of, 49 ; Luther writes
against them, 158 ; begin war against
Austria, 173.

INDEX.

S19

Union, refiipcd at Marburg, 155 ; at-
tempted at Scbwabach, 157; accom-
pli:<hed at Witicnberg, 181.

Usury and usurers, 187.

Vehemence of Lutber, 143 ; explained
by himself. 144 ; by Erasmus, 197.

YtBGEUius visits Wittenberg, 177; in-
terview with Lutber, 178 ; becomes a
Protestant, 179.

Virgin Mary. The, 29 ; prayed to, 42.

Wartbttrg Castle, 92 ; the refuge of

Luther, 93.
Wedding, Luther's, 134 ; rings and

gifts, 134.

WiEGAND, 24.

WlEI.AND. 211.

WiTTENBEKo, City of, 36; troubles at,
101 ; plague in, 146.

WiTTENBEuo, University of. founded,
36; takt.'S Lntlier's part, 47; crowded
with students, 101 ; temporarily re-
moved to Jena, 146 ; united with Halle,
191.

Wittenberg Concord. The, 181.

Worms, Diet of, 82 : the grand assem-
blage, 86.

Zwickau, City of, 103.

Zwickau, Prophets of, 103 ; treatment

of, by Luther, "<17.
ZwiNGLi, 151 ; his view of the Lord's

Supper, 152; disputes with Luther,

153.

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