The Life of Martin Luther.(Continued.)WhenLuther was fully informed of the operations of Tetzel and his associates, he drew up certain themes or propositions, setting forth his own views of the powers of the church, and denouncing the avarice, impudence and licentiousness of the priests who went about selling indulgences and extorting money, under the pretence of making collections for the church.Though there was nothing in these themes, but what many Catholics had maintained, they assailed in some points, especially the favorite doctrine of infallibility, the accepted creed of that day. He, however, boldly published them, challenged reply, and defended them in his own pulpit. Multitudes gathered to hear him, and his opinions were rapidly spread over Europe.Tetzel and his associates were greatly enraged; they formally burnt Luther’s theses, and then proceeded to answer them, chiefly by assuming the supreme authority and infallibility of the pope. This injured their cause, and their reply to Luther was publicly burnt by the students of Wittemberg. Such was the beginning of the storm which shook Europe to its foundation, and finally stripped the pope of his spiritual supremacy. Yet, when Leo heard of the dispute at Wittemberg, he only said, “It is a quarrel between monks;—but brother Luther seems to be a man of parts!”Luther’s fame was rapidly extended, but as yet he had no idea of separating from the Church of Rome. In 1518, he wrote a submissive letter to the pope, in which he says, “I throw myself prostrate at your feet, most holy father: call or recall me, condemn or approve, as you please: I shall acknowledge your voice as the voice of Christ, who presides and speaks in your person.”But the pope, who had once thought so lightly of Luther’s influence, was ere long seriously alarmed, and at last summoned him to appear at Rome, to be examined, within sixty days. The danger to Luther in doing this was obvious, and his friend the Elector of Saxony obtained permission to have his examination take place at Augsburg. Here Cardinal Cajetan, or Caietano, was commanded to examine him. Thither Luther went, accompanied by his friend Staupnitz. The cardinal required a recantation of what he had written; but this Luther refused. Warned of danger that threatened him, he left Augsburg, and returned to Wittemberg. The pope now issued a bull, declaring that he, as Christ’s vicar on earth, had power to deliver from all punishment due for sin, to those who repented and were in a state of grace, whether alive or dead. Luther now appealed from the pope to a general council of the church.Pope Leo now commissioned a prelate, named Milnitz, to endeavor to bring Luther to a recantation. This dignitary was a man of talent and skill, and in an interview with Luther, he greatly conciliated the feelings of the latter. Milnitz condemned the abuse of the sale of indulgences, threw the blame upon Tetzel and his associates, and finally induced Luther to write another submissive letter to the pope, acknowledging that he had carried his zeal too far, and promising toobserve silence upon the matter in debate, if his adversaries would adhere to the same line of conduct. This letter has subjected Luther to great scandal, as a retraction of his principles; but it must be regarded only as evidence of the profound reverence with which he regarded the institution of the Church of Rome, in whose faith he had been educated, and the difficulty with which his mind burst asunder the fetters which it had thrown around him. The pope himself at this period wrote a kind letter to Luther, and it is probable that the breach might have been healed, had not Luther’s enemies again opened the controversy.Eckius of Ingoldstadt challenged Carolstadt, one of Luther’s disciples, to an open discussion at Leipsic. Luther went thither himself, agreeing to take no part in the disputation. The debate attracted the great and the learned, from a vast distance. Among the listeners was the celebrated Melancthon, who was determined by what he here heard to devote himself to the cause of reform.Eckius was a man of brilliant eloquence, and seemed to have the advantage of his antagonist, after a dispute of six days. It was then agreed, by Eckius’ desire, that Luther himself should enter the lists. The debate was continued for several days, and different accounts were given of the result; but Hoffmann, the rector of the University of Leipsic, who had been appointed judge of the disputation, considering it to be so equally balanced, that he refused to pronounce a decision.Luther went on to write several works, mostly questioning the lofty assumptions of the Church of Rome. He exposed the fatuity of penance, and pilgrimages; the impiety of worshipping saints; and the abuses of the confessional; he condemned the celibacy of priests, and denounced monastic vows. Leo now assembled a congregation of cardinals, before whom Luther’s works were laid for adjudication. By their advice, a bull was drawn up, in which forty-one propositions, taken from his books, were denounced as heretical; his writings were condemned to be publicly burnt, and he himself was summoned to appear at Rome, and retract his writings on pain of excommunication. Luther again appealed to a general council of the church; and publicly separated himself from the communion of the Church of Rome, by burning the pope’s bull on a pile of wood, without the walls of Wittemberg, in presence of a vast multitude of people. This occurred, December 10th, 1520. Soon after, the pope thundered against him his bull of excommunication.The situation of the great Reformer was now one to put his moral courage to the severest test. Staupnitz, his early friend, had deserted him, and made peace with the church; Luther had written to Erasmus, of Rotterdam, who had written in behalf of reformation in the church, but that timid and irresolute scholar made him no answer. Even Spalatinus, once his ardent friend, was now seized with fear. Eckius, who had also been his friend, was, as we have seen, in open opposition to him. At the same time, society was violently torn with the questions which Luther had started. While some declared in his favor, the majority, including a vast preponderanceof the rich and powerful, continued, even in Germany, to oppose him. By the rigid Catholics he was looked upon with horror. No terms too harsh could be found to heap upon his name; no scandal so vile could be invented, that it did not find believers; he was withal denounced by the papal bull of excommunication, that formidable and fearful curse, which few minds in that age had the iron hardihood to withstand. He was accused in the view of millions, who would have deemed it a service worthy of heaven to have taken the life of one regarded as a disciple of the Devil. The “arch-fiend” was a common title, bestowed upon him by his enemies. Yet, amid these perils, Luther stood as undaunted as the oak before the tempest; and though the lightning fell and the thunder burst upon and around him, he met it all unscathed.Luther had, indeed, one powerful and steadfast friend,—Frederick the Elector of Saxony. The pope had endeavored to persuade him to give up the dreaded and hated priest, but in vain. He now sought to accomplish his object by other means. Maximilian, the Emperor of Germany, was dead, and Charles V., King of Spain, in 1518, had been elected in his place. Leo applied to him to make an example of Luther, as an obdurate heretic. Frederick interposed, and persuaded Charles to cause him to be tried by a diet of the empire at Worms. Having obtained the emperor’s safe-conduct, Luther set forward upon his journey to that place, for his trial.His friends trembled for the issue; every heart seemed burthened save his own. Melancthon, now his intimate friend, attended him. Luther, in the pulpit, seemed to breathe only of religion: in society, he was frank, cheerful, and engaging. He cultivated every innocent thing that could make life more agreeable. He went on his way to Worms, which many expected would prove his grave, with perfect equanimity, saying, “If it is God’s will that I die, I am prepared; yet I believe that my time has not yet come.”He arrived at Worms on the 16th of April, 1521. On entering the town, he began singing the hymn—“Our God is a strong citadel”—and this became the inspiring song of the Reformation. Numbers of Luther’s friends, who were with him, alarmed as they approached the city of Worms, deserted him; but his cheerfulness continued unchanged.Worms was at that moment the point to which the eyes of all Europe were turned. Thither multitudes had gathered, impelled by an intense desire to see the result of the trial. The questions at issue had evidently entered deeply into the hearts of men; and now the person who had caused this mighty movement was there. And what was he? A simple monk,—a man without station, office, rank or badge; but truth and courage had given him a power which made potentates tremble. They were as the Philistines, and he as Samson, with his arms around the pillars of the temple. With what a feeling of interest did the concourse of people look on Martin Luther that day!He was conducted, the day after his arrival, to the diet, by the marshal of the empire. There were the cardinals and princes in their badges of office andinsignia of rank. It was an august assembly, in which Charles V., Emperor of Germany and King of Spain, presided. Luther came in, wearing a simple black gown, with a belt around his waist. He moved with a modest but tranquil step. Melancthon, Spalatinus and other friends were at his side. Luther was now asked if he acknowledged himself to be the author of certain books bearing his name. When they were enumerated, he said he would not deny them. “Are you ready to retract what has been condemned in these books?” was now asked. He requested time for reply;—a day was given him. The enemies of Luther now triumphed, and his friends feared for him. It was apprehended that he would shrink from the fearful ordeal. When he went to the diet, he was cheered by thousands of voices; as he returned, the enthusiasm had passed away.The next day, Luther again appeared before the diet, and being asked if he meant to retract his writings, he replied mildly, yet firmly, in Latin, that he did not. He besought the assembly to hear with candor and judge him with fairness. He appealed to the youthful emperor, and mildly warned him against rash judgments.When one of the assembly demanded of him a direct answer to the question whether he would recant or not—he replied that he would retract nothing, unless it could be shown to be inconsistent with the Bible. To the Scriptures he appealed, as the word of God, and when that sustained him, he would yield nothing. “To act against my conscience,” said he, “is neither safe nor honest. Here I stand—I cannot do otherwise—may God help me. Amen!” The latter words were pronounced in his native German, with a deep and affecting emphasis.Although the assembly, as Catholics, disapproved of Luther’s views, his noble bearing excited their respect and wonder. The Archbishop of Treves, touched with the sublimity of his conduct, paid him a visit, and sought to win him back to the church. This was, of course, in vain. Luther’s friends were now filled with enthusiastic admiration, and his enemies could not withhold their respect. The decision of the diet was of course against him, and the emperor ordered him forthwith to leave Worms. He left it on the 26th of April.An edict was now issued by the emperor, to go into effect as soon as his safe-conduct to Luther should expire. In this, he was denounced as the “Devil in the shape of a man and the dress of a monk. All the subjects of the empire,” continued the bull, “are required to seize upon him, and deliver him up to justice.” It may well be believed that dismay now seized upon the friends of Luther. What was their horror, soon after, to hear that as he was travelling with a single attendant towards his house, he was beset in the forests of Thuringia, dragged from his carriage by several men in masks, and hurried away. His companion had escaped to tell the tale. Consternation reigned throughout Germany, and in the town of Wittemberg, sorrow and wailing was in almost every dwelling.But it was not long before a new work from Luther’s pen was announced, and it was of a date subsequent to his alleged murder. Melancthon also received aletter from him—“Give yourself no uneasiness for me,” said he; “both you and your wife may rest assured of my welfare. I am not only supplied with all the necessaries of life, but if I chose I could command the luxuries; but I trust God will preserve me from such snares. I wish not to receive the reward of my labors in this world, but in the world to come.”The explanation of the mystery was this. The elector, foreseeing that, in consequence of the emperor’s proclamation, Luther’s life would be in danger, had caused him to be waylaid and carried in safety to the old castle of Wartburg, near Eisenach; while a story of his murder was propagated by his fugitive attendant. Luther, being supplied with every convenience, devoted himself to study, yet was required by the elector by no means to permit his retreat to be known. He was situated in an old castle, built upon a lofty eminence which commanded a delightful prospect. Freed from care and anxiety, his mind seemed to soar aloft like the birds around his dwelling. His letters written at this period are full of poetic fancy, and show that his mind sympathized with the lovely scenes around him.His confinement lasted for ten months. During this brief period, he translated the New Testament into German, besides writing treatises against auricular confession, monastic vows, clerical celibacy, prayers for the dead, &c. His works spread with amazing rapidity, and produced a wonderful effect, particularly in Saxony. Hundreds of monks quitted their convents and married; the Austin friars of Wittemberg abolished mass. The excitement soon ran into excess, and Carolstadt, a disciple of Luther, demolished the images in a church at Wittemberg, and proposed to banish all books from the university, except the Bible. He even affected to obey to the letter the sentence pronounced on Adam, and went to work a portion of each day in the fields. The mild and polished Melancthon caught the infection, and labored in a baker’s shop.Luther in his retirement heard of these follies, which were calculated to ruin his cause, and at the risk of his life immediately departed for Wittemberg. He now preached openly his doctrines, with amazing power and effect. He succeeded in quelling the violence of his fanatical followers. These sermons are patterns of moderation, wisdom and popular eloquence; they show a marked contrast to the violence and scurrility which soil his writings directed against the malignity and duplicity with which he had chiefly to contend.Luther was now the acknowledged head of the reformation. He continued by preaching and writing to aid the great cause of Protestantism. His productions were stained with coarse invective; but this was the taste of the age, and belongs equally to his opponents. In 1524, he threw off his monastic dress, and condemned monastic institutions. Convents both of men and women were now rapidly suppressed, and the reformation in some cases ran into fanaticism. A sect called Anabaptists ran into the wildest extremes at Munster. They made war upon property and law, and in their madness practised the grossest vices and crimes under the sanction of religion.Luther was sorely grieved at these things, and did all in his power to correct them, though not with complete success.In 1525, he married Catherine de Bora, a young nun, who had left her convent a year before, and resided with Melancthon. He was happy in this marriage, and though at the age of forty-two, seems to have entered into it almost with the affections of youth. In 1534, he completed his great work, the German version of the Bible, which is much admired for its elegance, force and precision, and has rendered the Scriptures really popular in Germany.The remaining years of his life were passed in comparative quiet. In 1546, being at Eisleben, he fell sick on the 17th of February, and seemed at once to be aware of his approaching end. He grew worse in the evening, and died in the midst of his friends, expressing a firm conviction of the truth of that faith, which he had taught. His body was carried to Wittemberg, and buried with great honors.Luther’s works are voluminous, and great favorites in Germany. In company, he was always lively, and abounded in sallies of wit and good humor; he gave advice and assistance wherever it was needed; he interested himself for every indigent person who applied to him, and devoted himself with his whole soul to the pleasures of society. Rough and stormy as are his controversial writings, he was no stranger to the elegant arts. His soul was filled with music, and he often solaced himself by singing and playing upon the flute and lute.Nor is Luther to be regarded only in the light of a religious reformer. He not only burst the bonds of religious tyranny throughout Christendom, but he created in Germany that impulse towards spiritual philosophy, that thirst for knowledge, that logical exercise of the mind, which have made the Germans the most intellectual people in Europe. He was the friend of education, of mental freedom, of religious light, of civil liberty. He rescued the Bible from the exclusive grasp of the Church of Rome; by a gigantic effort he translated it into his native tongue; he not only made it acceptable to forty millions who spoke his native language, but he made it the common property of the people of all Europe. He was no courtly flatterer—but the friend of the poor and the humble; he was as ready to condemn cupidity and extravagance among his followers, as among those who adhered to the Church of Rome.The life which Luther led was calculated to develop the sterner parts of his character, and we must admit that his writings display many gross and abusive passages; yet he possessed many gentle and attractive qualities. His love of music amounted to a passion; “Old Hundred,” a tune which has guided and elevated the devotion of millions, was his composition, and some of our sweetest hymns were written by him. His familiar letters are full of gentle affections. Even when Tetzel, his special enemy, was deserted by those who had used him, and now, in poverty and desolation, was upon his deathbed, Luther was at his side, pouring into his harassed soul the oil of consolation. One of his last acts, was that of reconciliation, in a noble butdistracted house. When we look through the steel mail of the controversialist, the reformer, and observe traits of character like these, we cannot but lift our thoughts with thanks to Heaven, that human nature—with all its drawbacks—when elevated by religion, has such capacities as these.To estimate Luther’s character, and the work he accomplished, we must bear in mind the circumstances under which he acted. He was educated a Catholic, in a country where the dominion of the Romish Church was complete, as well over the government as the people. All around him, father, mother, friends, society were living in abject submission to the established creed. Doubts were held as the suggestions of the Devil; freedom of thought was infidelity; denial of any received dogma was heresy, and worthy the judgments of the Inquisitor—of punishment here and hereafter. These were the orthodox notions of the age, and Luther was a priest of that church which bound the civilized world to such a system.What a fearful struggle in his own mind, with his own habits of thought, his associations and convictions, did it involve, for the Reformer first to doubt, and then to repudiate, the faith which thus enthralled him! What courage of soul, to meet the fears that spring up in the bosom; what energy of mind, to rend asunder the chains that fetter the reason, in such a condition! And when he had triumphed over internal difficulties, what a work was still before him! The pope, by the invisible cords of spiritual despotism, held all Europe in subjection. Every monarch was more or less his slave; every prison, like some fearful monster, was ready to open its jaws at his command, and close them upon whomsoever he might designate: the jealous inquisition, with all-seeing eyes, all-hearing ears, spread its net on every hand. All the united powers and prejudices of society—public opinion, laws, institutions, armies, prisons, chains, fire, the rack—were in the hands of the church, and it was against this that one man was called to contend. It was as if a single knight, and he without arms, were called to attack the lordly castle, whose massive walls and towering battlements might look down with disdain upon the assailant.And yet Luther triumphed. We cannot doubt that he was sustained by a deep conviction of the rectitude of his cause; that a sense of duty raised him above the considerations of personal interest and safety; that he acted as if in the presence of God, and in the hope of a heavenly, not an earthly, recompense. We must not only admit that his abilities were great; his qualities rare and well adapted to his work; that he was a man of peculiar singleness and sincerity of aim; and that he was endowed with the richest graces of religion; but we must admit something more—that truth is mighty; that the abuses of the Church of Rome had risen to such a pitch as to furnish the very elements of revolution; and finally, that the good providence of God shaped events to their great issues in behalf of liberty and light. Can any one explain the revolution achieved by Luther, on any grounds short of these?
(Continued.)
WhenLuther was fully informed of the operations of Tetzel and his associates, he drew up certain themes or propositions, setting forth his own views of the powers of the church, and denouncing the avarice, impudence and licentiousness of the priests who went about selling indulgences and extorting money, under the pretence of making collections for the church.
Though there was nothing in these themes, but what many Catholics had maintained, they assailed in some points, especially the favorite doctrine of infallibility, the accepted creed of that day. He, however, boldly published them, challenged reply, and defended them in his own pulpit. Multitudes gathered to hear him, and his opinions were rapidly spread over Europe.
Tetzel and his associates were greatly enraged; they formally burnt Luther’s theses, and then proceeded to answer them, chiefly by assuming the supreme authority and infallibility of the pope. This injured their cause, and their reply to Luther was publicly burnt by the students of Wittemberg. Such was the beginning of the storm which shook Europe to its foundation, and finally stripped the pope of his spiritual supremacy. Yet, when Leo heard of the dispute at Wittemberg, he only said, “It is a quarrel between monks;—but brother Luther seems to be a man of parts!”
Luther’s fame was rapidly extended, but as yet he had no idea of separating from the Church of Rome. In 1518, he wrote a submissive letter to the pope, in which he says, “I throw myself prostrate at your feet, most holy father: call or recall me, condemn or approve, as you please: I shall acknowledge your voice as the voice of Christ, who presides and speaks in your person.”
But the pope, who had once thought so lightly of Luther’s influence, was ere long seriously alarmed, and at last summoned him to appear at Rome, to be examined, within sixty days. The danger to Luther in doing this was obvious, and his friend the Elector of Saxony obtained permission to have his examination take place at Augsburg. Here Cardinal Cajetan, or Caietano, was commanded to examine him. Thither Luther went, accompanied by his friend Staupnitz. The cardinal required a recantation of what he had written; but this Luther refused. Warned of danger that threatened him, he left Augsburg, and returned to Wittemberg. The pope now issued a bull, declaring that he, as Christ’s vicar on earth, had power to deliver from all punishment due for sin, to those who repented and were in a state of grace, whether alive or dead. Luther now appealed from the pope to a general council of the church.
Pope Leo now commissioned a prelate, named Milnitz, to endeavor to bring Luther to a recantation. This dignitary was a man of talent and skill, and in an interview with Luther, he greatly conciliated the feelings of the latter. Milnitz condemned the abuse of the sale of indulgences, threw the blame upon Tetzel and his associates, and finally induced Luther to write another submissive letter to the pope, acknowledging that he had carried his zeal too far, and promising toobserve silence upon the matter in debate, if his adversaries would adhere to the same line of conduct. This letter has subjected Luther to great scandal, as a retraction of his principles; but it must be regarded only as evidence of the profound reverence with which he regarded the institution of the Church of Rome, in whose faith he had been educated, and the difficulty with which his mind burst asunder the fetters which it had thrown around him. The pope himself at this period wrote a kind letter to Luther, and it is probable that the breach might have been healed, had not Luther’s enemies again opened the controversy.
Eckius of Ingoldstadt challenged Carolstadt, one of Luther’s disciples, to an open discussion at Leipsic. Luther went thither himself, agreeing to take no part in the disputation. The debate attracted the great and the learned, from a vast distance. Among the listeners was the celebrated Melancthon, who was determined by what he here heard to devote himself to the cause of reform.
Eckius was a man of brilliant eloquence, and seemed to have the advantage of his antagonist, after a dispute of six days. It was then agreed, by Eckius’ desire, that Luther himself should enter the lists. The debate was continued for several days, and different accounts were given of the result; but Hoffmann, the rector of the University of Leipsic, who had been appointed judge of the disputation, considering it to be so equally balanced, that he refused to pronounce a decision.
Luther went on to write several works, mostly questioning the lofty assumptions of the Church of Rome. He exposed the fatuity of penance, and pilgrimages; the impiety of worshipping saints; and the abuses of the confessional; he condemned the celibacy of priests, and denounced monastic vows. Leo now assembled a congregation of cardinals, before whom Luther’s works were laid for adjudication. By their advice, a bull was drawn up, in which forty-one propositions, taken from his books, were denounced as heretical; his writings were condemned to be publicly burnt, and he himself was summoned to appear at Rome, and retract his writings on pain of excommunication. Luther again appealed to a general council of the church; and publicly separated himself from the communion of the Church of Rome, by burning the pope’s bull on a pile of wood, without the walls of Wittemberg, in presence of a vast multitude of people. This occurred, December 10th, 1520. Soon after, the pope thundered against him his bull of excommunication.
The situation of the great Reformer was now one to put his moral courage to the severest test. Staupnitz, his early friend, had deserted him, and made peace with the church; Luther had written to Erasmus, of Rotterdam, who had written in behalf of reformation in the church, but that timid and irresolute scholar made him no answer. Even Spalatinus, once his ardent friend, was now seized with fear. Eckius, who had also been his friend, was, as we have seen, in open opposition to him. At the same time, society was violently torn with the questions which Luther had started. While some declared in his favor, the majority, including a vast preponderanceof the rich and powerful, continued, even in Germany, to oppose him. By the rigid Catholics he was looked upon with horror. No terms too harsh could be found to heap upon his name; no scandal so vile could be invented, that it did not find believers; he was withal denounced by the papal bull of excommunication, that formidable and fearful curse, which few minds in that age had the iron hardihood to withstand. He was accused in the view of millions, who would have deemed it a service worthy of heaven to have taken the life of one regarded as a disciple of the Devil. The “arch-fiend” was a common title, bestowed upon him by his enemies. Yet, amid these perils, Luther stood as undaunted as the oak before the tempest; and though the lightning fell and the thunder burst upon and around him, he met it all unscathed.
Luther had, indeed, one powerful and steadfast friend,—Frederick the Elector of Saxony. The pope had endeavored to persuade him to give up the dreaded and hated priest, but in vain. He now sought to accomplish his object by other means. Maximilian, the Emperor of Germany, was dead, and Charles V., King of Spain, in 1518, had been elected in his place. Leo applied to him to make an example of Luther, as an obdurate heretic. Frederick interposed, and persuaded Charles to cause him to be tried by a diet of the empire at Worms. Having obtained the emperor’s safe-conduct, Luther set forward upon his journey to that place, for his trial.
His friends trembled for the issue; every heart seemed burthened save his own. Melancthon, now his intimate friend, attended him. Luther, in the pulpit, seemed to breathe only of religion: in society, he was frank, cheerful, and engaging. He cultivated every innocent thing that could make life more agreeable. He went on his way to Worms, which many expected would prove his grave, with perfect equanimity, saying, “If it is God’s will that I die, I am prepared; yet I believe that my time has not yet come.”
He arrived at Worms on the 16th of April, 1521. On entering the town, he began singing the hymn—“Our God is a strong citadel”—and this became the inspiring song of the Reformation. Numbers of Luther’s friends, who were with him, alarmed as they approached the city of Worms, deserted him; but his cheerfulness continued unchanged.
Worms was at that moment the point to which the eyes of all Europe were turned. Thither multitudes had gathered, impelled by an intense desire to see the result of the trial. The questions at issue had evidently entered deeply into the hearts of men; and now the person who had caused this mighty movement was there. And what was he? A simple monk,—a man without station, office, rank or badge; but truth and courage had given him a power which made potentates tremble. They were as the Philistines, and he as Samson, with his arms around the pillars of the temple. With what a feeling of interest did the concourse of people look on Martin Luther that day!
He was conducted, the day after his arrival, to the diet, by the marshal of the empire. There were the cardinals and princes in their badges of office andinsignia of rank. It was an august assembly, in which Charles V., Emperor of Germany and King of Spain, presided. Luther came in, wearing a simple black gown, with a belt around his waist. He moved with a modest but tranquil step. Melancthon, Spalatinus and other friends were at his side. Luther was now asked if he acknowledged himself to be the author of certain books bearing his name. When they were enumerated, he said he would not deny them. “Are you ready to retract what has been condemned in these books?” was now asked. He requested time for reply;—a day was given him. The enemies of Luther now triumphed, and his friends feared for him. It was apprehended that he would shrink from the fearful ordeal. When he went to the diet, he was cheered by thousands of voices; as he returned, the enthusiasm had passed away.
The next day, Luther again appeared before the diet, and being asked if he meant to retract his writings, he replied mildly, yet firmly, in Latin, that he did not. He besought the assembly to hear with candor and judge him with fairness. He appealed to the youthful emperor, and mildly warned him against rash judgments.
When one of the assembly demanded of him a direct answer to the question whether he would recant or not—he replied that he would retract nothing, unless it could be shown to be inconsistent with the Bible. To the Scriptures he appealed, as the word of God, and when that sustained him, he would yield nothing. “To act against my conscience,” said he, “is neither safe nor honest. Here I stand—I cannot do otherwise—may God help me. Amen!” The latter words were pronounced in his native German, with a deep and affecting emphasis.
Although the assembly, as Catholics, disapproved of Luther’s views, his noble bearing excited their respect and wonder. The Archbishop of Treves, touched with the sublimity of his conduct, paid him a visit, and sought to win him back to the church. This was, of course, in vain. Luther’s friends were now filled with enthusiastic admiration, and his enemies could not withhold their respect. The decision of the diet was of course against him, and the emperor ordered him forthwith to leave Worms. He left it on the 26th of April.
An edict was now issued by the emperor, to go into effect as soon as his safe-conduct to Luther should expire. In this, he was denounced as the “Devil in the shape of a man and the dress of a monk. All the subjects of the empire,” continued the bull, “are required to seize upon him, and deliver him up to justice.” It may well be believed that dismay now seized upon the friends of Luther. What was their horror, soon after, to hear that as he was travelling with a single attendant towards his house, he was beset in the forests of Thuringia, dragged from his carriage by several men in masks, and hurried away. His companion had escaped to tell the tale. Consternation reigned throughout Germany, and in the town of Wittemberg, sorrow and wailing was in almost every dwelling.
But it was not long before a new work from Luther’s pen was announced, and it was of a date subsequent to his alleged murder. Melancthon also received aletter from him—“Give yourself no uneasiness for me,” said he; “both you and your wife may rest assured of my welfare. I am not only supplied with all the necessaries of life, but if I chose I could command the luxuries; but I trust God will preserve me from such snares. I wish not to receive the reward of my labors in this world, but in the world to come.”
The explanation of the mystery was this. The elector, foreseeing that, in consequence of the emperor’s proclamation, Luther’s life would be in danger, had caused him to be waylaid and carried in safety to the old castle of Wartburg, near Eisenach; while a story of his murder was propagated by his fugitive attendant. Luther, being supplied with every convenience, devoted himself to study, yet was required by the elector by no means to permit his retreat to be known. He was situated in an old castle, built upon a lofty eminence which commanded a delightful prospect. Freed from care and anxiety, his mind seemed to soar aloft like the birds around his dwelling. His letters written at this period are full of poetic fancy, and show that his mind sympathized with the lovely scenes around him.
His confinement lasted for ten months. During this brief period, he translated the New Testament into German, besides writing treatises against auricular confession, monastic vows, clerical celibacy, prayers for the dead, &c. His works spread with amazing rapidity, and produced a wonderful effect, particularly in Saxony. Hundreds of monks quitted their convents and married; the Austin friars of Wittemberg abolished mass. The excitement soon ran into excess, and Carolstadt, a disciple of Luther, demolished the images in a church at Wittemberg, and proposed to banish all books from the university, except the Bible. He even affected to obey to the letter the sentence pronounced on Adam, and went to work a portion of each day in the fields. The mild and polished Melancthon caught the infection, and labored in a baker’s shop.
Luther in his retirement heard of these follies, which were calculated to ruin his cause, and at the risk of his life immediately departed for Wittemberg. He now preached openly his doctrines, with amazing power and effect. He succeeded in quelling the violence of his fanatical followers. These sermons are patterns of moderation, wisdom and popular eloquence; they show a marked contrast to the violence and scurrility which soil his writings directed against the malignity and duplicity with which he had chiefly to contend.
Luther was now the acknowledged head of the reformation. He continued by preaching and writing to aid the great cause of Protestantism. His productions were stained with coarse invective; but this was the taste of the age, and belongs equally to his opponents. In 1524, he threw off his monastic dress, and condemned monastic institutions. Convents both of men and women were now rapidly suppressed, and the reformation in some cases ran into fanaticism. A sect called Anabaptists ran into the wildest extremes at Munster. They made war upon property and law, and in their madness practised the grossest vices and crimes under the sanction of religion.Luther was sorely grieved at these things, and did all in his power to correct them, though not with complete success.
In 1525, he married Catherine de Bora, a young nun, who had left her convent a year before, and resided with Melancthon. He was happy in this marriage, and though at the age of forty-two, seems to have entered into it almost with the affections of youth. In 1534, he completed his great work, the German version of the Bible, which is much admired for its elegance, force and precision, and has rendered the Scriptures really popular in Germany.
The remaining years of his life were passed in comparative quiet. In 1546, being at Eisleben, he fell sick on the 17th of February, and seemed at once to be aware of his approaching end. He grew worse in the evening, and died in the midst of his friends, expressing a firm conviction of the truth of that faith, which he had taught. His body was carried to Wittemberg, and buried with great honors.
Luther’s works are voluminous, and great favorites in Germany. In company, he was always lively, and abounded in sallies of wit and good humor; he gave advice and assistance wherever it was needed; he interested himself for every indigent person who applied to him, and devoted himself with his whole soul to the pleasures of society. Rough and stormy as are his controversial writings, he was no stranger to the elegant arts. His soul was filled with music, and he often solaced himself by singing and playing upon the flute and lute.
Nor is Luther to be regarded only in the light of a religious reformer. He not only burst the bonds of religious tyranny throughout Christendom, but he created in Germany that impulse towards spiritual philosophy, that thirst for knowledge, that logical exercise of the mind, which have made the Germans the most intellectual people in Europe. He was the friend of education, of mental freedom, of religious light, of civil liberty. He rescued the Bible from the exclusive grasp of the Church of Rome; by a gigantic effort he translated it into his native tongue; he not only made it acceptable to forty millions who spoke his native language, but he made it the common property of the people of all Europe. He was no courtly flatterer—but the friend of the poor and the humble; he was as ready to condemn cupidity and extravagance among his followers, as among those who adhered to the Church of Rome.
The life which Luther led was calculated to develop the sterner parts of his character, and we must admit that his writings display many gross and abusive passages; yet he possessed many gentle and attractive qualities. His love of music amounted to a passion; “Old Hundred,” a tune which has guided and elevated the devotion of millions, was his composition, and some of our sweetest hymns were written by him. His familiar letters are full of gentle affections. Even when Tetzel, his special enemy, was deserted by those who had used him, and now, in poverty and desolation, was upon his deathbed, Luther was at his side, pouring into his harassed soul the oil of consolation. One of his last acts, was that of reconciliation, in a noble butdistracted house. When we look through the steel mail of the controversialist, the reformer, and observe traits of character like these, we cannot but lift our thoughts with thanks to Heaven, that human nature—with all its drawbacks—when elevated by religion, has such capacities as these.
To estimate Luther’s character, and the work he accomplished, we must bear in mind the circumstances under which he acted. He was educated a Catholic, in a country where the dominion of the Romish Church was complete, as well over the government as the people. All around him, father, mother, friends, society were living in abject submission to the established creed. Doubts were held as the suggestions of the Devil; freedom of thought was infidelity; denial of any received dogma was heresy, and worthy the judgments of the Inquisitor—of punishment here and hereafter. These were the orthodox notions of the age, and Luther was a priest of that church which bound the civilized world to such a system.
What a fearful struggle in his own mind, with his own habits of thought, his associations and convictions, did it involve, for the Reformer first to doubt, and then to repudiate, the faith which thus enthralled him! What courage of soul, to meet the fears that spring up in the bosom; what energy of mind, to rend asunder the chains that fetter the reason, in such a condition! And when he had triumphed over internal difficulties, what a work was still before him! The pope, by the invisible cords of spiritual despotism, held all Europe in subjection. Every monarch was more or less his slave; every prison, like some fearful monster, was ready to open its jaws at his command, and close them upon whomsoever he might designate: the jealous inquisition, with all-seeing eyes, all-hearing ears, spread its net on every hand. All the united powers and prejudices of society—public opinion, laws, institutions, armies, prisons, chains, fire, the rack—were in the hands of the church, and it was against this that one man was called to contend. It was as if a single knight, and he without arms, were called to attack the lordly castle, whose massive walls and towering battlements might look down with disdain upon the assailant.
And yet Luther triumphed. We cannot doubt that he was sustained by a deep conviction of the rectitude of his cause; that a sense of duty raised him above the considerations of personal interest and safety; that he acted as if in the presence of God, and in the hope of a heavenly, not an earthly, recompense. We must not only admit that his abilities were great; his qualities rare and well adapted to his work; that he was a man of peculiar singleness and sincerity of aim; and that he was endowed with the richest graces of religion; but we must admit something more—that truth is mighty; that the abuses of the Church of Rome had risen to such a pitch as to furnish the very elements of revolution; and finally, that the good providence of God shaped events to their great issues in behalf of liberty and light. Can any one explain the revolution achieved by Luther, on any grounds short of these?