Sentiments of the Princes--Speech of Duke George--Character
of the Reformation--A hundred and one grievances--Charles
yields--Tactics of Aleander--The Grandees of Spain--Luther's
peace--Death and not Retractation.
A few days sufficed to wear off these first impressions, as always
happens when an orator shrouds the emptiness of his arguments in high
sounding phrases.
[Sidenote: SPEECH OF DUKE GEORGE.]
The majority of the princes were ready to sacrifice Luther, but none
were disposed to sacrifice the rights of the empire and the redress of
German grievances. There was no objection to give up the insolent monk
who had dared to speak so loud, but it was wished to make the pope so
much the more sensible of the justice of a reform which was demanded
by the heads of the kingdom. Accordingly, it was the greatest personal
enemy of Luther, Duke George of Saxony, who spoke most energetically
against the encroachments of Rome. The grandson of Podiebrad, King of
Bohemia, repulsed by the doctrines of grace which the Reformer
proclaimed, had not yet abandoned the hope of seeing a moral and
ecclesiastical reform, and what irritated him so much against the monk
of Wittemberg, was that he had spoiled the whole affair by his
despised doctrines. But now, seeing the nuncio sought to confound
Luther and reform in one common condemnation, George suddenly stood up
among the assembled princes, and, to the great astonishment of those
who knew his hatred to the Reformer, said, "The Diet must not forget
the grievances of which it complains against the Court of Rome. What
abuses have crept into our states! The annats which the emperor
granted freely for the good of Christendom now demanded as a debt--the
Roman courtiers every day inventing new ordinances, in order to
absorb, sell, and farm out ecclesiastical benefices--a multitude of
transgressions winked at; rich offenders unworthily tolerated, while
those who have no means of ransom are punished without pity--the popes
incessantly bestowing expectancies and reversions on the inmates of
their palace, to the detriment of those to whom the benefices
belong--the commendams of abbeys and convents of Rome conferred on
cardinals, bishops, and prelates, who appropriate their revenues, so
that there is not one monk in convents which ought to have twenty or
thirty--stations multiplied without end, and indulgence shops
established in all the streets and squares of our cities, shops of St.
Anthony, shops of the Holy Spirit, of St. Hubert, of St. Cornelius, of
St. Vincent, and many others besides--societies purchasing from Rome
the right of holding such markets, then purchasing from their bishop
the right of exhibiting their wares, and, in order to procure all this
money, draining and emptying the pockets of the poor--the indulgence,
which ought to be granted solely for the salvation of souls, and which
ought to be merited only by prayers, fastings, and the salvation of
souls, sold at a regular price--the officials of the bishops
oppressing those in humble life with penances for blasphemy, adultery,
debauchery, the violation of this or that feast day, while, at the
same time, not even censuring ecclesiastics who are guilty of the same
crimes--penances imposed on the penitent, and artfully arranged, so
that he soon falls anew into the same fault, and pays so much the more
money.[426]... Such are some of the crying abuses of Rome; all sense
of shame has been cast off, and one thing only is pursued ... money!
money! Hence preachers who ought to teach the truth, now do nothing
more than retail lies--lies, which are not only tolerated, but
recompensed, because the more they lie, the more they gain. From this
polluted well comes forth all this polluted water. Debauchery goes
hand in hand with avarice. The officials cause women to come to their
houses under divers pretexts, and strive to seduce them, sometimes by
menaces, sometimes by presents; or, if they cannot succeed, injure
them in their reputation.[427] Ah! the scandals caused by the clergy
precipitate multitudes of poor souls into eternal condemnation! There
must be a universal reform, and this reform must be accomplished by
summoning a general Council. Wherefore, most excellent princes and
lords, with submission I implore you to lose no time in the
consideration of this matter." Several days after Aleander's address,
Duke George produced the list of grievances which he had enumerated.
This important document is preserved in the archives of Weimar.
[426] Sondern dass er est bald wieder begehe und mehr Geld erlegen
musse. (Archives of Weimar, Seckend. p. 328.)
[427] Dass sie Weibesbilder unter mancherley schein beschicken,
selbige sodann mit Drohungen und Geschenken su fällen suchen, oder in
einen bosen verdacht bringen. (Weimar Arch. Seck., p. 330.)
Luther had not spoken more forcibly against the abuses of Rome but he
had done something more. The duke pointed out the evil, Luther had,
along with the evil, pointed out both the cause and the cure. He had
shown that the sinner receives the true indulgence, that which comes
from God, solely by faith in the grace and merits of Jesus Christ, and
this simple but powerful doctrine had overturned all the markets
established by the priests. "How can one become pious?" asked he one
day. "A Cordelier will reply, Put on a grey hood, and tie a cord round
your waist. A Roman will reply, Hear mass, and fast. But a Christian
will say, Faith in Christ alone justifies and saves. Before works we
must have eternal life. After we are born anew, and made children of
God by the word of grace, then it is we do good works."[428]
[428] L. Op. (W.) xxii, 748-752.
The duke spoke the language of a secular prince--Luther, the language
of a reformer. The great sore of the Church was that she had devoted
herself entirely to externals; had made all her works and her graces
to consist of outward and material things. Indulgences had carried
this to its extreme point, and pardon, the most spiritual thing in
Christianity, had been purchased in shops like meat and drink. The
great work of Luther consisted in his availing himself of this extreme
point in the degeneracy of Christendom, in order to bring back the
individual and the Church to the primitive source of life, and to
re-establish the reign of the Holy Spirit within the sanctuary of the
heart. Here, as often happens, the cure sprung out of the disease, and
the two extremes met. Henceforward the Church, which during so many
ages had been developed externally by ceremonies, observances, and
human practices, began again to be developed within by faith, hope,
and charity.
[Sidenote: LIST OF GRIEVANCES.]
The duke's address produced the greater effect from his opposition to
Luther being well known. Other members of the Diet stated different
grievances. The ecclesiastical princes themselves supported these
complaints.[429] "We have a pontiff," said they, "who spends his life
in hunting and pleasure. The benefices of Germany are given at Rome to
huntsmen, domestics, grooms, stable boys, body servants, and other
people of that class, ignorant unpolished people, without capacity,
and entire strangers to Germany."[430] The Diet appointed a commission
to collect all these grievances. Their number was found to be a
hundred and one. A deputation, consisting of secular and
ecclesiastical princes, presented the list to the emperor, imploring
him to give redress, as he had engaged to do at his election. "How
many Christian souls are lost?" said they to Charles V. "How many
depredations, how much extortion, are caused by the scandals with
which the spiritual chief of Christendom is environed? The ruin and
dishonour of our people must be prevented. Therefore, we all, in a
body, supplicate you most humbly, but also most urgently, to ordain a
general reformation, to undertake it, and to accomplish it."[431]
There was, at this time, in Christian society, an unseen power
influencing princes and their subjects, a wisdom from above dragging
forward even the adversaries of the Reformation, and preparing that
emancipation whose appointed hour had at length arrived.
[429] Seckend. Vorrede von Frick.
[430] Bücksenmeistern, Falknern, Pfistern, Eseltreibern,
Stallknechten, Trabanten... (Kapp's Nachlese nützl Ref. Urkunden, iii,
p. 262.)
[431] Dass eine Besserung und gemeine Reformation geschehe. (Ibid., p.
275.)
Charles could not be insensible to these remonstrances of the empire.
Neither himself nor the nuncio had expected them. His confessor had
even denounced the vengeance of Heaven against him if he did not
reform the Church. The emperor immediately withdrew the edict which
ordered Luther's writings to be committed to the flames in every part
of the empire, and in its place substituted a provisional order
remitting these books to the magistrates.
This did not satisfy the assembly, who were desirous that the Reformer
should appear. It is unjust, said his friends, to condemn Luther
without having heard him, and without knowing from himself whether he
is the author of the books which are proposed to be burnt. His
doctrine, said his opponents, has so taken possession of men's hearts,
that it is impossible to arrest their progress without hearing him.
There need be no discussion with him. If he avows his writings, and
refuses to retract them, then all of us, electors, princes, states of
the whole empire, true to the faith of our ancestors, will, in a body,
aid your majesty, by all the means in our power, in the execution of
your decrees.[432]
[432] L. Op. (L.) xxii, p. 567.
[Sidenote: TACTICS OF ALEANDER.]
Aleander, alarmed, dreading both the intrepidity of Luther and the
ignorance of the princes, immediately set himself to the task of
preventing the Reformer's compearance. He went from the ministers of
Charles to the princes who were most disposed to favour the pope, and
from these princes to the emperor himself.[433] "It is unlawful," said
he, "to bring into question what the sovereign pontiff has decided.
There will be no discussion with Luther, you say; but" continued he,
"will not the power of this audacious man, will not the fire of his
eye, and the eloquence of his tongue, and the mysterious spirit which
animates him, be sufficient to excite some sedition?[434] Several
already venerate him as a saint, and you everywhere meet with his
portrait surrounded with a halo of glory, as round the head of the
Blessed. If it is determined to cite him, at least let it be without
giving him the protection of public faith."[435] These last words were
meant to frighten Luther, or prepare his ruin.
[433] Quam ob rem sedulo contestatus est apud Cæsaris administros...
(Pallavicini, i, p. 113.)
[434] Lingua promptus, ardore vultus, et oris spiritu ad concitandam
seditionem... (Ibid.)
[435] Haud certe fidem publicam illi præbendam... (Ibid.)
The nuncio found easy access to the grandees of Spain. In Spain, as in
Germany, the opposition to the Dominican inquisitors was national. The
yoke of the inquisition, which had been discontinued for a time, had
just been re-established by Charles. A numerous party in the Peninsula
sympathised with Luther; but it was not so with the great, who, on the
banks of the Rhine, again met with what they had hated beyond the
Pyrenees. Inflamed with the most violent fanaticism, they were bent on
annihilating the new heresy. In particular, Frederick, Duke of Alba,
was transported with rage whenever the subject of Reformation was
mooted.[436] His wish would have been to wade in the blood of all its
adherents. Luther had not yet been called to appear, and yet his mere
name was already agitating all the grandees of Christendom then
assembled at Worms.
[436] Albæ dux videbatur aliquando furentibus modis agitari...
(Pallavicini, i, p. 362.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S PEACE.]
The man who was thus agitating the mighty of the earth was the only
one who seemed to be at peace. The news from Worms were alarming. Even
Luther's friends were frightened. "Nothing now is left us but our
wishes and our prayers," wrote Melancthon to Spalatin. "Oh! if God
would deign to ransom the safety of the Christian people by my
blood."[437] But Luther was a stranger to fear. Shutting himself up in
his peaceful cell, he sat down to meditate, applying to himself the
words of Mary, the mother of our Lord, when she exclaimed, "_My soul
doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he that is mighty has done for me_ _great things, and holy is His
name. He has shown strength with his arm; he hath put down the mighty
from their seats, and exalted them of low degree._"[438] The following
are some of the thoughts which filled Luther's heart.... "'He that is
mighty,' says Mary. Oh! how great boldness on the part of a young
girl! With a single word she strikes all the strong with languor, all
the mighty with feebleness, all the wise with folly, and all those
whose name is glorious on the earth with ignominy, and lays at the
feet of God all strength, all power, all wisdom, all glory.[439] 'His
arm,' continues she, and she thus appeals to that power by which he
acts of himself, and without the agency of his creatures--a mysterious
power operating in secrecy and in silence, until his purpose is
accomplished. Hence destruction comes before any one is aware of its
approach; hence elevation, when no one is thinking of it. He leaves
his children in oppression and feebleness, so that each of them says
to himself, 'We are all lost!' Then, however, they are most strong.
For it is where the power of man ends that the power of God begins.
Only let faith wait upon Him.... And, on the other hand, God permits
his adversaries to increase their power and grandeur. He withdraws
from them the aid of his strength, and leaves them to be inflated with
their own.[440] He leaves them void of his eternal wisdom, and lets
them fill themselves with their wisdom of a day. And while they rise
up in the greatness of their might, the arm of the Lord keeps back,
and their work ... vanishes like a soap bubble when it bursts in the
air."
[437] Utinam Deus redimat nostro sanguino salutem Christiani populi.
(Corp. Ref. i, p. 362.)
[438] Luke, i, 46-55.
[439] _Magnificat._ L. Op. Wittemberg, Deutsch. Ausg. iii, p. 11, etc.
[440] Er zieht seine Krafft heraus und laesst sic von eigener Krafft
sich aufblasen. (L. Op. Wittemb. Deutsch. Ausg. iii, pp. 11, etc.)
It was on the 10th of March, at the moment when his name was filling
the imperial city with alarm, that Luther finished this exposition of
the Magnificat.
[Sidenote: WILL A SAFE-CONDUCT BE GIVEN?]
He was not allowed to remain tranquil in his retreat. Spalatin, in
conformity to the orders of the Elector, sent him a note of the
articles of which it was proposed to demand a retractation from him. A
retractation after the refusal at Augsburg![441]... "Fear not," he
wrote to Spalatin, "that I will retract a single syllable, since their
only argument is to insist that my writings are opposed to the rites
of what they call the Church. If the Emperor Charles summon me merely
for the purpose of retracting, I will answer him that I will remain
here; and it will be just the same thing as if I had been to Worms and
come back again. But if, on the contrary, the emperor chooses to
summon me in order that I may be put to death, I am ready to repair at
his call; for, with the help of Christ, I will not desert his word on
the battle-field. I know it: these bloody men will never rest till
they have deprived me of life. Oh, that none but papists would become
guilty of my blood!"
[441] Si ad me occidendum deinceps vocare velit...offeram me venturum.
(L. Ep. i, p. 574.)