Martin LutherThe Life of Martin Luther.Thisfamous man was born at Eisleben, then in Saxony, but now within the limits of Prussia. His father, Hans, or John Luther, was a native of Mora, near Eisenach; he was originally a woodcutter, and in very humble circumstances. His wife often carried the wood to market on her back. On the occasion of a fair at the latter place, the parents both went thither, and on the night of their arrival, November 10, 1483, the mother gave birth to a son. This occurred on the eve of St. Martin’s day, and hence the infant was called Martin. Six months after this event, the parents went to live at Mansfeld, and ten miles from Eisleben, where the father pursued the business of a miner with great success.Young Luther was brought up in the strict habits and under the severe discipline of the age. His father was accustomed to inflict on him cruel chastisements, and his mother, for a mere trifle, whipped him till the blood came. Such was the general system of family government at that day. When sufficiently advanced, Martin Luther was sent to Eisenach, where he had access to an institution which taught the learning of the time. But he had no friends, and was obliged to procure his own bread. For this purpose, he used to go about the streets, with some of his companions as poor as himself, singing at the door of such as would listen. He had a fine talent for music, and though he often chanted the favorite songs and balladsof the day, he also sometimes sung his own compositions. This he was accustomed to call “bread music.”In one of his excursions, he came to the house of a respectable man, named Conrad Cotta. Before it rose some lofty trees. In the shadow of these, young Martin threw himself down, and his heart being burdened with sadness, he poured forth his feelings in a strain of plaintive melody. The wife of Conrad, attracted by the melancholy tones, came to the door, and invited the youth to enter. She then placed before him the fare her humble house afforded. The boy’s gratitude, ardently expressed, touched her heart, and she invited him to come again. Thus an acquaintance began, and Luther was, after a short time, invited to take up his residence at the house, which he did; and thus, relieved from the evils of poverty, he was able to prosecute his studies. Long after, when his fame filled all Europe, these kind and efficient friends had the pleasure to reflect that the great Reformer was the hungry ballad-singer, whom they had comforted and cherished in the days of poverty.Having spent five years at Eisenach, Luther was sent, in 1501, to the university of Erfurth, then a respectable seminary, but since suppressed. His father wished him to study law, but he had little inclination for this, and devoted himself to general literature and music, which latter he continued to cultivate through life. At the university, he showed the jovial, careless disposition which generally marks the German student. He was, however, much struck when one day searching for an old book in the library, to meet with a copy of the Bible. He had before thought that all sacred writings were contained in the portions which were read in the churches. This discovery doubtless gave occasion to much reflection.In 1505, an event occurred, which changed the current of Luther’s thoughts, and gave direction to his future life. He was a lover of nature, and one day indulging his taste in this respect, he was rambling through the fields with a friend. A storm was gathering over their heads, but they continued the conversation, which had relation to some serious subject. In the mind of Luther, the pealing thunder was the type of the future judgment. He turned to speak to his companion, when, at the very instant, the latter was struck dead by a flash of lightning. Luther stood a moment in fear and awe; he then knelt by the side of his companion, and lifting his eyes to Heaven, he made a solemn vow to devote his future life to the service of God. Educated in the Catholic faith, this was equivalent to a vow that he would enter a monastery and become a monk, which he did in 1505, in spite of his father’s remonstrances.It was in the Augustine convent of Erfurth, that Luther had now taken his vows. With the ardor and sincerity of his character, he devoted himself to religious contemplation; but he did not, in the retirement of the cloister, find the peace he sought and anticipated. He was haunted by temptations, and distressed by scruples and doubts. He discovered what had not before been suggested to his mind, that, in the absence of substantial enemies found in the world,the mind may people the solitary cell with demons, which have the power as effectually to stab our peace.In the convent Luther at last found a friend, who understood his character and ministered to his spiritual wants. This was Staupnitz, the provincial of the order, or ecclesiastical governor of the Augustine convents in the district of Erfurth. He was an intelligent, honest, and kindhearted man, and by advice, instruction, and encouragement, cleared the mind and lightened the heart of the distracted votary.The talents of Luther were soon appreciated, and in 1508, at the instance of Staupnitz, he was appointed a professor of philosophy in the university of Wittenberg. He here delivered lectures, which were well attended, and which were marked by a freedom of thought and manner unusual at that day. In 1510, he was sent to Italy, on business connected with the order, which laid the foundation of a great change in his views.Luther was a sincere votary of the Catholic Church. With the simplicity of an honest mind, he supposed that he should find religion in its utmost purity at Rome, and that the Pope, the head of the church, would be a fit representative of the Holy Apostle of whom he claimed to be the successor. How was he doomed to be disappointed in these views!On his arrival at the city of Milan, he was received into one of the convents as a guest. Here he found his brethren, instead of devoting themselves to the austerities of religion, as was the case at Wittenberg, addicted to every species of luxury. In the seclusion of their cloisters, they sat down to sumptuous tables, loaded with luscious viands, delicious fruits and choice wines. Sheltered from the observation of the world, they cast aside the forms and ceremonies of their order, and gave themselves up to license and indulgence. Fasts were neglected—penances despised. Luther looked on with horror, and at last, unable to restrain his emotions, broke forth in terms of reprobation of these debaucheries.The monks, being alarmed lest they should be exposed, caused poison to be administered to Luther;—the dose was slight, and they intended to repeat it; but finding himself unwell in the night, he arose and set forward upon his journey. He thus unconsciously baffled his enemies, though his health suffered for a long time from the effects of the poison he had taken.Pursuing his way chiefly on foot, Luther at last arrived at Rome. When he reached the city, his heart burning with religious veneration, he knelt down, lifted his hands to Heaven, and exclaimed “I salute thee, Holy Rome, sanctified by the blood of the martyrs!” With an eagerness that nothing could repress, he now ran from place to place, all seeming in his pious imagination to be consecrated ground.The pope at that time was JuliusII.He was a man little calculated to satisfy the views of Luther. He had arisen from an humble condition to the loftiest pitch of earthly power. Nothing could be more directly opposed to the meek spirit of Christianity than his whole soul and character. He was a subtle politician, a bold and ambitious statesman, an impetuous and determined warrior. How was Luther shocked, when he expectedto hear of the pious virtues of his Holiness, to find him only spoken of for his gigantic ambition; his worldly policy; his achievements in the field, as commander of his own forces; his magnificent schemes of earthly aggrandizement, alike respecting himself and the papal see!One of his schemes of ambition was to erect a church at Rome, surpassing all others in magnificence. Accordingly, in 1506, four years before Luther’s arrival, the corner stone of St. Peter’s was laid. In a few months, pushed on by the zeal of the pontiff, the walls were towering over the other churches of Rome; but this precipitation caused the enormous masses to crack, and thus, the progress of the vast enterprise was retarded. It was not till long after that this edifice was finished. The expense was enormous, and it will hereafter be seen that this had a direct connection with the reformation of which Luther was the great instrument.During his short stay at Rome, Luther beheld the pope in a religious procession. He was raised on a platform, and carried on the shoulders of priests, who deemed it a favor thus to bear the sacred representative of God on earth. His head was bowed upon his breast in token of humility, but he was attired in the most gorgeous robes. His crown glittering with jewels, was borne on a cushion by the highest dignitaries. Then followed others with fans, of peacock and ostrich plumes, which they waved around the person of the pontiff, to guard it from every unhallowed mote. Then came the retinue of cardinals and bishops with crosses and relics, and incense, and music, and lighted tapers, and revered trophies, with all the pomp and circumstance, that human ingenuity, seeking to capture the imagination, could invent. The mighty pageant swept by, “and this,” said Luther, “was all I saw of religion in Rome.”He stayed but a fortnight in that city. He was disheartened and disgusted with what he saw. Rome was filled with vice of every horrid form, and every degree of enormity. He found, too, that the pope and his cardinals were mere men of the world, that the priests were generally voluptuaries, and many of them open infidels. Admitted as he was to intimacy with many of them, he found that they often made a jest and mockery of the most holy rites, and even while performing the offices of the sacrament, in a sort of by-play turned them into ridicule, and sneered at the deluded people who looked with reverence upon these ceremonies. He hastened back to Germany, his heart distressed, his mind bewildered, his faith shaken. It was this going to Rome, however, that laid the foundation of his subsequent career.Having returned to Wittenberg, Luther devoted himself to his professorship, seeking peace of mind in a vigorous discharge of its duties. Staupnitz, who saw his great powers, urged him to become a doctor of divinity. Luther consented, and Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and called the Wise, being proud of him, as a native of his dominion, and an ornament of the university, paid the expenses of his inauguration.JuliusII.died February 13, 1513, and the Cardinal Jean de Medicis, under thename of LeoX., became the pope. In 1517, he authorized the sale of indulgences in Germany, as JuliusII.had done in France, Poland, &c. The avowed object was to raise money to defray the expenses of the Church of St. Peter’s at Rome, and to sustain the christian league against the Turks. Very little, however, of the vast sums of money obtained, was devoted to the objects for which it was avowedly raised.The practice of granting indulgences, had existed for centuries before the time of Luther. The Romish Church, assuming to embody the power of Christ, claimed the privilege of remitting the penalty and averting the punishment, here and hereafter, of any sin committed, provided it was confessed and repented of. A penance was often imposed, as the condition of such remission and forgiveness. This penance frequently was commuted for a sum of money, given to the church. Thus money, in the light of penance, became one of the means and instruments by which sin was to be pardoned. From this position, the next step, the sale of indulgences, was obvious and easy. The popes and priests wanted money, and holding the consciences of men in their grasp, they easily laid them under contribution.Leo’s chief agent in the sale of indulgences was a Dominican monk, by the name of Tetzel. He was a man of high rank and station in the church, and possessed all the address, cunning and effrontery necessary to success in such a business. Clothed with the full power of the pope, and encompassed by all the insignia of the church, his manner was lofty and his aspect imposing. He was paid eighty florins, or forty dollars, a month, beside all his expenses. He was allowed a carriage and three horses. His perquisites, however, far exceeded his regular pay. His success was so great, that at the town of Freyberg, he sold indulgences to the amount of two thousand florins, in two days.To show the effrontery of the man, thus employed by the pope, we may state that he was guilty of the most abominable profligacy, and though a priest, sworn to celibacy, carried about with him two of his own children! These things, however, did not prevent the success of his traffic. When he came to a place, he went into the church, and set up a cross, with the pope’s arms suspended upon it. He then ascended the pulpit, and addressed the multitude who gathered to hear him.He declared that indulgences “are the most precious and sublime gifts of God;” that “this cross has as much efficacy as the cross of Christ.” “Draw near, and I will give you letters, duly sealed, by which even the sins you shall hereafter devise and commit, shall all be forgiven you.” “I would not exchange my privileges for those of St. Peter in Heaven, for I have saved more souls with my indulgences, than he with his sermons.” “There is no sin so great that the indulgence cannot remit it”—“only pay largely, and the greatest crime shall be forgiven!” “Even repentance is not indispensable.”Having thus set forth the tempting qualities of his merchandise, he would appeal to the feelings of his auditors: he would draw terrible pictures of the torments of purgatory, to which they were all exposed, and bright ones of the bliss of the heaven they could so easilypurchase; he painted the torments of those already in the fires of hell, and appealed to friends around, to know if they would not buy an indulgence for them—for they could even reach such as had already entered into judgment. “Yes,” said he, “the very moment that the money clinks against the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies free to Heaven!”Thus every art and device was adopted, to cheat the people into the purchase of these impious, corrupting and fraudulent papers. At the present day, it would be matter of course, that such practices would be punished by confinement in the state’s prison; but at that period, under the high sanction of the church, the fraud was not detected by the mass, and multitudes readily availed themselves of the opportunity to appease their consciences for past crimes, and to fortify themselves in impunity for future iniquity. It is scarcely possible to conceive of the state of darkness into which the minds of men had sunk, at this period. Was it not necessary, that reformation should be wrought in that church, which had brought mankind to this condition?The people flocked in crowds to Tetzel and his coadjutors. Men and women, the young and the old, the poor, and even beggars, came—and with money too—for such was the eagerness to possess the proffered blessings, that all would in some way obtain the means. Close by the cross, and in the church, the seller had a counter, where he received his money and delivered the indulgences. Confession was administered to the purchaser, but this was a mere form; it was not insisted that penitence must be a condition of pardon. Kings, queens, princes, archbishops and bishops, were to pay twenty-five ducats; abbots, counts, barons, &c., ten ducats. Thus the prices were graduated to the condition of the purchaser; and indeed, special bargains were made suited to the ability of the applicant, and the nature of the sins he wished to expiate.[A]Although the mass of the people believed in the efficacy of indulgences, and the propriety of their sale, there were many who condemned the whole traffic as a cheat. Among these was a gentleman of Saxony, who heard Tetzel at Leipsic, and was much shocked at the imposture. He went to the church, andasked him if he was authorized to pardon sins of intention—or such as he intended to commit? Tetzel replied in the affirmative, and after some chaffing, the gentleman paid thirty crowns for an indulgence, by which he was to be forgiven for beating one against whom he had a grudge.Soon after this Tetzel set out from Leipsic, and this Saxon gentleman, overtaking him in the forests of Jutterbock, gave him a severe drubbing, and carried off the box in which he had his treasures. Tetzel raised a great clamor for this act of violence, and brought an action before the judges of the district against the perpetrator. The latter, however, pleaded the indulgence, and was fully acquitted.Luther, at this time, was professor of Theology at Wittenberg, and he soon had an opportunity of seeing the effects of Tetzel’s operations. Upon some persons under his spiritual charge, he enjoined penance; but they refused to submit to this, declaring that they had been released from every penalty by Tetzel. Luther having denied them absolution, because they would not submit to the prescribed penance, some of them went to Tetzel, and made complaints of Luther. Upon this, the former threatened with punishment, here and hereafter, all those who should deny the efficiency of his indulgences.(To be continued.)[A]The following is a copy of an indulgence, in the common form.“Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on thee, N. N., and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy sufferings! And I, in virtue of the apostolic power committed to me, absolve thee from all ecclesiastical censures, judgments and penalties that thou mayest have merited; and further, from all excesses, sins, and crimes, that thou mayest have committed, however great and enormous they may be, and of whatever kind,—even though they should be reserved to our holy father the Pope, and to the Apostolic See. I efface all the stains of weakness, and all traces of the shame that thou mayest have drawn upon thyself by such actions. I remit the pains that thou wouldst have had to endure in purgatory. I receive thee again to the sacraments of the church. I hereby reincorporate thee in the communion of the saints, and restore thee to the innocence and purity of thy baptism; so that, at the moment of death, the gate of the place of torment shall be shut against thee, and the gate of the paradise of joy shall be opened unto thee. And if thou shouldst live long, this grace continueth unchangeable, till the time of thy end.“In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.“The brother, John Tetzel, commissary, hath signed this with his own hand.”
Martin Luther
Thisfamous man was born at Eisleben, then in Saxony, but now within the limits of Prussia. His father, Hans, or John Luther, was a native of Mora, near Eisenach; he was originally a woodcutter, and in very humble circumstances. His wife often carried the wood to market on her back. On the occasion of a fair at the latter place, the parents both went thither, and on the night of their arrival, November 10, 1483, the mother gave birth to a son. This occurred on the eve of St. Martin’s day, and hence the infant was called Martin. Six months after this event, the parents went to live at Mansfeld, and ten miles from Eisleben, where the father pursued the business of a miner with great success.
Young Luther was brought up in the strict habits and under the severe discipline of the age. His father was accustomed to inflict on him cruel chastisements, and his mother, for a mere trifle, whipped him till the blood came. Such was the general system of family government at that day. When sufficiently advanced, Martin Luther was sent to Eisenach, where he had access to an institution which taught the learning of the time. But he had no friends, and was obliged to procure his own bread. For this purpose, he used to go about the streets, with some of his companions as poor as himself, singing at the door of such as would listen. He had a fine talent for music, and though he often chanted the favorite songs and balladsof the day, he also sometimes sung his own compositions. This he was accustomed to call “bread music.”
In one of his excursions, he came to the house of a respectable man, named Conrad Cotta. Before it rose some lofty trees. In the shadow of these, young Martin threw himself down, and his heart being burdened with sadness, he poured forth his feelings in a strain of plaintive melody. The wife of Conrad, attracted by the melancholy tones, came to the door, and invited the youth to enter. She then placed before him the fare her humble house afforded. The boy’s gratitude, ardently expressed, touched her heart, and she invited him to come again. Thus an acquaintance began, and Luther was, after a short time, invited to take up his residence at the house, which he did; and thus, relieved from the evils of poverty, he was able to prosecute his studies. Long after, when his fame filled all Europe, these kind and efficient friends had the pleasure to reflect that the great Reformer was the hungry ballad-singer, whom they had comforted and cherished in the days of poverty.
Having spent five years at Eisenach, Luther was sent, in 1501, to the university of Erfurth, then a respectable seminary, but since suppressed. His father wished him to study law, but he had little inclination for this, and devoted himself to general literature and music, which latter he continued to cultivate through life. At the university, he showed the jovial, careless disposition which generally marks the German student. He was, however, much struck when one day searching for an old book in the library, to meet with a copy of the Bible. He had before thought that all sacred writings were contained in the portions which were read in the churches. This discovery doubtless gave occasion to much reflection.
In 1505, an event occurred, which changed the current of Luther’s thoughts, and gave direction to his future life. He was a lover of nature, and one day indulging his taste in this respect, he was rambling through the fields with a friend. A storm was gathering over their heads, but they continued the conversation, which had relation to some serious subject. In the mind of Luther, the pealing thunder was the type of the future judgment. He turned to speak to his companion, when, at the very instant, the latter was struck dead by a flash of lightning. Luther stood a moment in fear and awe; he then knelt by the side of his companion, and lifting his eyes to Heaven, he made a solemn vow to devote his future life to the service of God. Educated in the Catholic faith, this was equivalent to a vow that he would enter a monastery and become a monk, which he did in 1505, in spite of his father’s remonstrances.
It was in the Augustine convent of Erfurth, that Luther had now taken his vows. With the ardor and sincerity of his character, he devoted himself to religious contemplation; but he did not, in the retirement of the cloister, find the peace he sought and anticipated. He was haunted by temptations, and distressed by scruples and doubts. He discovered what had not before been suggested to his mind, that, in the absence of substantial enemies found in the world,the mind may people the solitary cell with demons, which have the power as effectually to stab our peace.
In the convent Luther at last found a friend, who understood his character and ministered to his spiritual wants. This was Staupnitz, the provincial of the order, or ecclesiastical governor of the Augustine convents in the district of Erfurth. He was an intelligent, honest, and kindhearted man, and by advice, instruction, and encouragement, cleared the mind and lightened the heart of the distracted votary.
The talents of Luther were soon appreciated, and in 1508, at the instance of Staupnitz, he was appointed a professor of philosophy in the university of Wittenberg. He here delivered lectures, which were well attended, and which were marked by a freedom of thought and manner unusual at that day. In 1510, he was sent to Italy, on business connected with the order, which laid the foundation of a great change in his views.
Luther was a sincere votary of the Catholic Church. With the simplicity of an honest mind, he supposed that he should find religion in its utmost purity at Rome, and that the Pope, the head of the church, would be a fit representative of the Holy Apostle of whom he claimed to be the successor. How was he doomed to be disappointed in these views!
On his arrival at the city of Milan, he was received into one of the convents as a guest. Here he found his brethren, instead of devoting themselves to the austerities of religion, as was the case at Wittenberg, addicted to every species of luxury. In the seclusion of their cloisters, they sat down to sumptuous tables, loaded with luscious viands, delicious fruits and choice wines. Sheltered from the observation of the world, they cast aside the forms and ceremonies of their order, and gave themselves up to license and indulgence. Fasts were neglected—penances despised. Luther looked on with horror, and at last, unable to restrain his emotions, broke forth in terms of reprobation of these debaucheries.
The monks, being alarmed lest they should be exposed, caused poison to be administered to Luther;—the dose was slight, and they intended to repeat it; but finding himself unwell in the night, he arose and set forward upon his journey. He thus unconsciously baffled his enemies, though his health suffered for a long time from the effects of the poison he had taken.
Pursuing his way chiefly on foot, Luther at last arrived at Rome. When he reached the city, his heart burning with religious veneration, he knelt down, lifted his hands to Heaven, and exclaimed “I salute thee, Holy Rome, sanctified by the blood of the martyrs!” With an eagerness that nothing could repress, he now ran from place to place, all seeming in his pious imagination to be consecrated ground.
The pope at that time was JuliusII.He was a man little calculated to satisfy the views of Luther. He had arisen from an humble condition to the loftiest pitch of earthly power. Nothing could be more directly opposed to the meek spirit of Christianity than his whole soul and character. He was a subtle politician, a bold and ambitious statesman, an impetuous and determined warrior. How was Luther shocked, when he expectedto hear of the pious virtues of his Holiness, to find him only spoken of for his gigantic ambition; his worldly policy; his achievements in the field, as commander of his own forces; his magnificent schemes of earthly aggrandizement, alike respecting himself and the papal see!
One of his schemes of ambition was to erect a church at Rome, surpassing all others in magnificence. Accordingly, in 1506, four years before Luther’s arrival, the corner stone of St. Peter’s was laid. In a few months, pushed on by the zeal of the pontiff, the walls were towering over the other churches of Rome; but this precipitation caused the enormous masses to crack, and thus, the progress of the vast enterprise was retarded. It was not till long after that this edifice was finished. The expense was enormous, and it will hereafter be seen that this had a direct connection with the reformation of which Luther was the great instrument.
During his short stay at Rome, Luther beheld the pope in a religious procession. He was raised on a platform, and carried on the shoulders of priests, who deemed it a favor thus to bear the sacred representative of God on earth. His head was bowed upon his breast in token of humility, but he was attired in the most gorgeous robes. His crown glittering with jewels, was borne on a cushion by the highest dignitaries. Then followed others with fans, of peacock and ostrich plumes, which they waved around the person of the pontiff, to guard it from every unhallowed mote. Then came the retinue of cardinals and bishops with crosses and relics, and incense, and music, and lighted tapers, and revered trophies, with all the pomp and circumstance, that human ingenuity, seeking to capture the imagination, could invent. The mighty pageant swept by, “and this,” said Luther, “was all I saw of religion in Rome.”
He stayed but a fortnight in that city. He was disheartened and disgusted with what he saw. Rome was filled with vice of every horrid form, and every degree of enormity. He found, too, that the pope and his cardinals were mere men of the world, that the priests were generally voluptuaries, and many of them open infidels. Admitted as he was to intimacy with many of them, he found that they often made a jest and mockery of the most holy rites, and even while performing the offices of the sacrament, in a sort of by-play turned them into ridicule, and sneered at the deluded people who looked with reverence upon these ceremonies. He hastened back to Germany, his heart distressed, his mind bewildered, his faith shaken. It was this going to Rome, however, that laid the foundation of his subsequent career.
Having returned to Wittenberg, Luther devoted himself to his professorship, seeking peace of mind in a vigorous discharge of its duties. Staupnitz, who saw his great powers, urged him to become a doctor of divinity. Luther consented, and Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and called the Wise, being proud of him, as a native of his dominion, and an ornament of the university, paid the expenses of his inauguration.
JuliusII.died February 13, 1513, and the Cardinal Jean de Medicis, under thename of LeoX., became the pope. In 1517, he authorized the sale of indulgences in Germany, as JuliusII.had done in France, Poland, &c. The avowed object was to raise money to defray the expenses of the Church of St. Peter’s at Rome, and to sustain the christian league against the Turks. Very little, however, of the vast sums of money obtained, was devoted to the objects for which it was avowedly raised.
The practice of granting indulgences, had existed for centuries before the time of Luther. The Romish Church, assuming to embody the power of Christ, claimed the privilege of remitting the penalty and averting the punishment, here and hereafter, of any sin committed, provided it was confessed and repented of. A penance was often imposed, as the condition of such remission and forgiveness. This penance frequently was commuted for a sum of money, given to the church. Thus money, in the light of penance, became one of the means and instruments by which sin was to be pardoned. From this position, the next step, the sale of indulgences, was obvious and easy. The popes and priests wanted money, and holding the consciences of men in their grasp, they easily laid them under contribution.
Leo’s chief agent in the sale of indulgences was a Dominican monk, by the name of Tetzel. He was a man of high rank and station in the church, and possessed all the address, cunning and effrontery necessary to success in such a business. Clothed with the full power of the pope, and encompassed by all the insignia of the church, his manner was lofty and his aspect imposing. He was paid eighty florins, or forty dollars, a month, beside all his expenses. He was allowed a carriage and three horses. His perquisites, however, far exceeded his regular pay. His success was so great, that at the town of Freyberg, he sold indulgences to the amount of two thousand florins, in two days.
To show the effrontery of the man, thus employed by the pope, we may state that he was guilty of the most abominable profligacy, and though a priest, sworn to celibacy, carried about with him two of his own children! These things, however, did not prevent the success of his traffic. When he came to a place, he went into the church, and set up a cross, with the pope’s arms suspended upon it. He then ascended the pulpit, and addressed the multitude who gathered to hear him.
He declared that indulgences “are the most precious and sublime gifts of God;” that “this cross has as much efficacy as the cross of Christ.” “Draw near, and I will give you letters, duly sealed, by which even the sins you shall hereafter devise and commit, shall all be forgiven you.” “I would not exchange my privileges for those of St. Peter in Heaven, for I have saved more souls with my indulgences, than he with his sermons.” “There is no sin so great that the indulgence cannot remit it”—“only pay largely, and the greatest crime shall be forgiven!” “Even repentance is not indispensable.”
Having thus set forth the tempting qualities of his merchandise, he would appeal to the feelings of his auditors: he would draw terrible pictures of the torments of purgatory, to which they were all exposed, and bright ones of the bliss of the heaven they could so easilypurchase; he painted the torments of those already in the fires of hell, and appealed to friends around, to know if they would not buy an indulgence for them—for they could even reach such as had already entered into judgment. “Yes,” said he, “the very moment that the money clinks against the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies free to Heaven!”
Thus every art and device was adopted, to cheat the people into the purchase of these impious, corrupting and fraudulent papers. At the present day, it would be matter of course, that such practices would be punished by confinement in the state’s prison; but at that period, under the high sanction of the church, the fraud was not detected by the mass, and multitudes readily availed themselves of the opportunity to appease their consciences for past crimes, and to fortify themselves in impunity for future iniquity. It is scarcely possible to conceive of the state of darkness into which the minds of men had sunk, at this period. Was it not necessary, that reformation should be wrought in that church, which had brought mankind to this condition?
The people flocked in crowds to Tetzel and his coadjutors. Men and women, the young and the old, the poor, and even beggars, came—and with money too—for such was the eagerness to possess the proffered blessings, that all would in some way obtain the means. Close by the cross, and in the church, the seller had a counter, where he received his money and delivered the indulgences. Confession was administered to the purchaser, but this was a mere form; it was not insisted that penitence must be a condition of pardon. Kings, queens, princes, archbishops and bishops, were to pay twenty-five ducats; abbots, counts, barons, &c., ten ducats. Thus the prices were graduated to the condition of the purchaser; and indeed, special bargains were made suited to the ability of the applicant, and the nature of the sins he wished to expiate.[A]
Although the mass of the people believed in the efficacy of indulgences, and the propriety of their sale, there were many who condemned the whole traffic as a cheat. Among these was a gentleman of Saxony, who heard Tetzel at Leipsic, and was much shocked at the imposture. He went to the church, andasked him if he was authorized to pardon sins of intention—or such as he intended to commit? Tetzel replied in the affirmative, and after some chaffing, the gentleman paid thirty crowns for an indulgence, by which he was to be forgiven for beating one against whom he had a grudge.
Soon after this Tetzel set out from Leipsic, and this Saxon gentleman, overtaking him in the forests of Jutterbock, gave him a severe drubbing, and carried off the box in which he had his treasures. Tetzel raised a great clamor for this act of violence, and brought an action before the judges of the district against the perpetrator. The latter, however, pleaded the indulgence, and was fully acquitted.
Luther, at this time, was professor of Theology at Wittenberg, and he soon had an opportunity of seeing the effects of Tetzel’s operations. Upon some persons under his spiritual charge, he enjoined penance; but they refused to submit to this, declaring that they had been released from every penalty by Tetzel. Luther having denied them absolution, because they would not submit to the prescribed penance, some of them went to Tetzel, and made complaints of Luther. Upon this, the former threatened with punishment, here and hereafter, all those who should deny the efficiency of his indulgences.
(To be continued.)
[A]The following is a copy of an indulgence, in the common form.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on thee, N. N., and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy sufferings! And I, in virtue of the apostolic power committed to me, absolve thee from all ecclesiastical censures, judgments and penalties that thou mayest have merited; and further, from all excesses, sins, and crimes, that thou mayest have committed, however great and enormous they may be, and of whatever kind,—even though they should be reserved to our holy father the Pope, and to the Apostolic See. I efface all the stains of weakness, and all traces of the shame that thou mayest have drawn upon thyself by such actions. I remit the pains that thou wouldst have had to endure in purgatory. I receive thee again to the sacraments of the church. I hereby reincorporate thee in the communion of the saints, and restore thee to the innocence and purity of thy baptism; so that, at the moment of death, the gate of the place of torment shall be shut against thee, and the gate of the paradise of joy shall be opened unto thee. And if thou shouldst live long, this grace continueth unchangeable, till the time of thy end.
“In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“The brother, John Tetzel, commissary, hath signed this with his own hand.”