Departure for the Diet of Worms--Luther's Adieu--His
Condemnation Published--Cavalcade near Erfurt--Meeting of
Jonas and Luther--Luther in his old Convent--Luther Preaches
at Erfurt--Incident--Faith and Works--Concourse of
People--Luther's Courage--Luther to Spalatin--Halt at
Frankfort--Fears at Worms--Plan of the
Imperialists--Luther's Firmness.
[Sidenote: DEPARTURE FOR THE DIET OF WORMS.]
The 2nd of April had arrived, and Luther behoved to take leave of his
friends. After writing a note to Lange to intimate that he would spend
the following Thursday or Friday at Erfurt,[467] he bade adieu to his
colleagues. Turning to Melancthon he said to him, in a tone which
betrayed emotion, "If I do not return, and my enemies put me to death,
O, my brother, cease not to teach, and remain firm in the truth.
Labour in my stead, since I shall not be able to labour any longer for
myself. If you live, it matters little though I perish."[468] Then,
committing himself to the hand of Him who is faithful and true, Luther
took his seat and quitted Wittemberg. The town council had provided
him with a modest carriage with a cloth covering which might be put on
or off at pleasure. The imperial herald, clad in his insignia, and
wearing the imperial eagle, was on horseback in front, followed by his
servant. Next followed Luther, Schurff, Amsdorff, and Suaven in their
carriage. The friends of the gospel, the citizens of Wittemberg, in
deep emotion, were invoking God, and shedding tears. Such was Luther's
departure.
[467] "Omnem nunc Germaniam quasi ad genua provolutam tibi ..." (L.
Op. Lat. ii, p. 184.)
[468] L. Ep. i, p. 580.
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S CONDEMNATION PUBLISHED.]
He soon observed that the hearts of those whom he met were filled with
gloomy forebodings. At Leipsic no honour was paid to him. He only
received the usual present of wine. At Naumburg he met a priest,
probably J. Langer, a man of stern zeal, who carefully preserved in
his study the portrait of the famous Jerome Savonarola of Ferrara, who
was burnt at Florence in 1498, by order of pope Alexander VI, as a
martyr to liberty and morality, as well as a confessor of evangelical
truth. Having taken the portrait of the Italian martyr, the priest
came up to Luther, and held out the portrait to him without speaking.
Luther understood what the dumb figure intimated, but his intrepid
soul remained firm. "It is Satan," said he, "who, by these terrors,
would fain prevent a confession of the truth from being made in the
assembly of the princes, because he foresees the blow which this will
give to his kingdom."[469] "Adhere firmly to the truth which thou
hast perceived," said then the priest to him gravely, "and thy God
will also adhere firmly to thee."[470]
[469] "Terrorem hunc a Sathana sibi dixit adferri...." (Melch. Adam.,
p. 117.)
[470] Er wolle bey der erkandten Wahrbeyt mit breytem Fuss aushalten
... (Mathesius Historien, p. 23)--the quotation from the first edition
of 1566.
Having spent the night at Naumburg, where the burgomaster had
hospitably entertained him, Luther arrived next evening at Weimar. He
was scarcely a moment there when he heard loud cries in all
directions. They were publishing his condemnation. "Look," said the
herald to him. He looked, and his astonished eyes beheld imperial
messengers traversing the town, and posting up the imperial edict,
which ordered his writings to be laid before the magistrates. Luther
had no doubt that these harsh measures were exhibited before-hand, to
deter him from coming, that he might afterwards be condemned for
having refused to appear. "Well, doctor, will you go on?" said the
imperial herald to him in alarm. "Yes," replied Luther, "though put
under interdict in every town, I will go on: I confide in the
emperor's safe-conduct."
At Weimar, Luther had an audience of the Elector's brother, Duke John,
who was then residing there. The prince invited him to preach. He
consented, and from his heart, now under deep emotion, came forth the
words of life. John Voit, the friend of Frederick Myconius, a
Franciscan monk, heard him, and being converted to evangelical
doctrine, quitted the convent two years after. At a later period, he
became professor of theology at Wittemberg. The duke gave Luther the
money necessary for his journey.
From Weimar the Reformer proceeded to Erfurt. It was the town of his
youth, and he hoped to see his friend Lange, provided, as he had
written him, he could enter the town without danger.[471] He was still
three or four leagues off, near the village of Nora, when he saw a
troop of horsemen appear in the distance. Were they friends, or were
they enemies? Shortly Crotus, the rector of the university, Eobanus
Hesse, Melancthon's friend, whom Luther called the king of poets,
Euricius Cordus, John Draco, and others, to the number of forty,
members of the senate, the university, and the municipality, all on
horseback, saluted him with acclamation. A multitude of the
inhabitants of Erfurt covered the road, and gave loud expression to
their joy. All were eager to see the mighty man who had ventured to
declare war against the pope.
[471] "Nisi periculum sit Erfordiam ingredi." (L. Ep. i, p. 580.)
[Sidenote: JUSTUS JONAS.]
A young man of twenty-eight, named Justus Jonas, had got the start of
the party.[472] Jonas, after studying law at Erfurt, had been
appointed rector of the university in 1519. Illumined by the
evangelical light which then radiated in all directions, he felt
desirous to become a theologian. "I believe," wrote Erasmus to him,
"that God has elected you as an instrument to spread the glory of his
Son Jesus."[473] All Jonas' thoughts were turned to Wittemberg and
Luther. Some years before, when only a student of law, being of an
active enterprising spirit, he had set out on foot, accompanied by
some friends, and in order to reach Erasmus, then at Brussels, had
traversed forests infested by robbers, and towns ravaged by the
plague. Will he not now confront other dangers in order to accompany
the Reformer to Worms? He earnestly begged the favour, and Luther
consented. Thus met these two doctors, who were to labour through life
in the renovation of the Church. Divine Providence gathered around
Luther men destined to be the light of Germany: the Melancthons, the
Amsdorffs, the Bugenhagens, the Jonases. On his return from Worms,
Jonas was appointed provost of the Church of Wittemberg, and doctor in
theology. "Jonas," said Luther, "is a man whose life would deserve to
be purchased at a large price, in order to detain him on the
earth."[474] No preacher ever surpassed him in the gift of captivating
his hearers. "Pomeranus is an expositor," said Melancthon, "and I am a
dialectitian,--Jonas is an orator. The words flow from his lips with
surpassing grace, and his eloquence is overpowering. But Luther is
beyond us all."[475] It seems that nearly about the same time a
companion of Luther's childhood, one of his brothers, joined the
escort.
[472] Hos inter qui nos prævenerant, ibat Jonas,
Ille decus nostri, primaque fama Chori.--(Eob. Hessi Elegia
secuada.)
[473] "Velut organum quoddam electum ad illustrandam filii sui Jesu
gloriam." (Erasmi Ep. v. 27.)
[474] Vir est quem oportuit multo pretio emptum et servatum in terra.
(Weismanni, p. 1436.)
[475] Pomeranus est grammaticus, ego sum dialecticus, Jonas est orator
... Lutherus vero nobis omnibus antecellit. (Knapp. Narrat. de. J.
Jona, p. 581.)
The deputation turned their steeds, and horsemen and footmen,
surrounding Luther's carriage, entered the town of Erfurt. At the
gate, in the squares and streets, where the poor monk had so often
begged his bread, the crowd of spectators was immense. Luther
dismounted at the Augustin convent, where the gospel had consoled his
heart. Lange received him with joy; Usingen, and some of the more aged
fathers, showed great coolness. There was a general desire to hear him
preach, and though he was interdicted from doing it, the herald
himself could not resist the desire, and consented.
[Sidenote: LUTHER PREACHES AT ERFURT.]
Sunday after Easter, the Augustin church at Erfurt was crowded. That
friar who formerly opened the doors and swept the church, mounted the
pulpit, and having opened the Bible, read these words: "_Peace be with
you; and when he had so said, he showed_ _them his hands and his
side_." (John, xx, 19, 20.) "All the philosophers, doctors, and
writers," said he, "have exerted themselves to show how man may obtain
eternal life, and have not succeeded. I will now tell you."
This has, in all ages, been the great question; accordingly Luther's
hearers redoubled their attention.
"There are two kinds of works," continued the Reformer; "works foreign
to ourselves--these are good works; and our own works--these are of
little value. One builds a church; another goes on a pilgrimage to St
James or St. Peter; a third fasts, prays, takes the cowl, walks
barefoot; a fourth does something else. All these works are nothing,
and will perish: for our own works have no efficacy in them. But I am
now going to tell you what is the genuine work. God raised a man again
from the dead, even the Lord Jesus Christ, that he might crush death,
destroy sin, and shut the gates of hell. Such is the work of
salvation. The devil thought that he had the Lord in his power when he
saw him between the two thieves, suffering the most ignominious
martyrdom, accursed of God and men.... But the Divinity displayed its
power, and annihilated sin, death, and hell....
"Christ has vanquished; this is the grand news; and we are saved by
his work, not by our own. The pope gives a very different account. But
I maintain that the holy Mother of God herself was saved neither by
her virginity nor maternity, neither by her purity nor her works, but
solely by means of faith and by the works of God...."
While Luther was speaking, a sudden noise was heard; one of the
galleries gave a crack, and seemed as if it were going to give way
under the pressure of the crowd. Some rushed out, and others sat
still, terror-struck. The orator stopped for a moment, and then,
stretching out his hand, exclaimed, with a loud voice, "Fear nothing;
there is no danger; the devil is seeking, in this way, to prevent me
from proclaiming the gospel, but he shall not succeed."[476] At these
words, those who were running out, stopped astonished and rivetted to
the spot; the assembly calmed, and Luther, without troubling himself
with the attempts of the devil, continued. "You will perhaps say to
me, You tell us a great deal about faith. Tell us, also, how we can
obtain it. Yes; well, I will tell you. Our Lord Jesus Christ says,
'_Peace be with you; behold my hands_:' in other words, 'Behold, O
man, it is I, I alone who have taken away thy sin, and ransomed thee,
and now thou hast peace, saith the Lord.'
[476] Agnosco insidias, hostis acerbe, tuas. (Hessi Eleg. Tertia.)
Bitter foe, your wiles I see.
[Sidenote: LUTHER PREACHES AT ERFURT.]
"I did not eat the fruit of the tree," resumed Luther; "neither did
you eat it; but we received the sin which Adam has transmitted to us,
and are guilty of it. In like manner, I did not suffer on the cross,
nor did you suffer on it; but Christ suffered for us; we are justified
by the work of God, and not by our own.... 'I am,' saith the Lord,
'thy righteousness and thy redemption.'...
"Let us believe the gospel, let us believe St. Paul, and not the
letters and decretals of the popes."
Luther, after having preached faith as the means of the sinner's
justification, preaches works as the consequence and evidence of
salvation.
"Since God has saved us," continues he, "let us so order our works
that he may take pleasure in them. Art thou rich,--let thy wealth be
useful to the poor. Art thou poor,--let thy service be useful to the
rich. If thy toil is useful only to thyself, the service which thou
pretendest to render to God is mere falsehood."[477]
[477] L. Op. (L.) xii, p. 485.
There is not a word in the sermon on Luther himself; no allusion to
the circumstances in which he is placed; nothing on Worms, on Charles,
or the nuncios; he preaches Christ, and Christ only; at this moment,
when the world has its eyes upon him, he is not in the least occupied
with himself; and herein is the mark of a genuine servant of God.
Luther set out from Erfurt, and passed through Gotha, where he again
preached. Myconius adds, that at the moment when the people were
coming out from the sermon the devil detached from the pediment of the
church some stones which had not budged for two centuries. The doctor
slept in the convent of the Benedictines, at Rheinhardsbrunn, and
thence proceeded to Eisenach, where he felt indisposed. Amsdorff,
Jonas, Schurff, and all his friends, were alarmed. He was bled, and
the greatest possible attention was paid him. Even the Schulthess of
the town, John Oswald, hastened to him with a cordial. Luther, after
drinking it, fell asleep, and was thereby so far recovered that he was
able to proceed on the following day.[478]
[478] Iter faciente occurrebant populi. (Pallavicini, Hist. C. Tr. i,
p. 114.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER TO SPALATIN.]
Wherever he passed the people flocked to see him. His journey was a
kind of triumphal procession. Deep interest was felt in beholding the
intrepid man who was on the way to offer his head to the emperor and
the empire. An immense concourse surrounded him.[479] "Ah!" said some
of them to him, "there are so many cardinals and so many bishops at
Worms, they will burn you; they will reduce your body to ashes, as was
done with that of John Huss." But nothing terrified the monk. "Were
they to make a fire," said he, "that would extend from Worms to
Wittemberg, and reach even to the sky, I would walk across it in the
name of the Lord; I would appear before them; I would walk into the
jaws of this Behemoth, and break his teeth, and confess the Lord Jesus
Christ."[480]
[479] Quacunque iter faciebant, frequens erat concursus hominum,
videndi Lutheri studio. (Cochlœus, p. 29).
[480] "Ein feuer das bis an den Himmel reichte"... (Keil, i, p. 98.)
One day, when just going into an inn, and while the crowd were as
usual pressing around him, an officer came up to him and said, "Are
you the man who undertakes to reform the papacy? How will you
succeed?" "Yes," replied Luther, "I am the man. I confide in Almighty
God, whose word and command I have before me." The officer, affected,
gave him a milder look, and said, "Dear friend, there is something in
what you say; I am the servant of Charles, but your Master is greater
than mine. He will aid you and guard you."[481] Such was the
impression which Luther produced. Even his enemies were struck at the
sight of the multitudes that thronged around him, though they have
painted the journey in different colours.[482] At length the doctor
arrived at Frankfort, on Sunday, 14th April.
[481] "Nun habt Ihr einen grössern Herrn, denn Ich." (Ibid., p. 99.)
[482] "In diversortis multa propinatio, læta compotatio, musices
quoque gaudia; adeo ut Lutherus ipse alicubi sonora testudine ludens,
omnium in se oculos converteret, velut Orpheus quidam, sed rasus adhuc
et cucullatus, eoque mirabilior." (Cochlœus, p. 29.) "In the inns
there was much quaffing and joyous carousing, nor were the pleasures
of music wanting; Luther himself sometimes playing on a sonorous harp,
turned all eyes upon him, as if he had been a kind of Orpheus, shaven
and cowled, no doubt, but on that account the greater wonder."
News of Luther's advance had reached Worms. The friends of the pope
had thought he would not obey the summons of the emperor. Albert,
cardinal-archbishop of Mentz, would have given anything to stop him by
the way, and new schemes were set on foot for this purpose.
Luther, on his arrival at Frankfort, took some repose, and then
announced his approach to Spalatin, who was at Worms with the Elector.
It is the only letter which he wrote during his journey. "I am getting
on," says he, "though Satan has striven to stop me on the way by
sickness. From Eisenach to this I have never been without a feeling of
languor, and am still completely worn out. I learn that Charles has
published an edict to frighten me. But Christ lives, and we shall
enter Worms in spite of all the barriers of hell and all the powers of
the air.[483] Therefore, make ready my lodging."
[483] Intrabimus Wormatiam, invitis omnibus portis inferni et
potentaribus æris. (L. Ep. i, p. 987.)
[Sidenote: COCHLŒUS. NEW TACTICS.]
The next day Luther visited the learned school of William Nesse, a
celebrated geographer of that time. "Be diligent," said he to the
scholars, "in the reading of the Scriptures, and the investigation of
truth." Then placing his right hand on the head of one of the
children, and his left on another, he pronounced a blessing on the
whole school.
While Luther blessed the young, he was also the hope of the old.
Catharine of Holzhausen, a widow advanced in years, and serving God,
went to him, and said, "My father and mother told me that God would
raise up a man who should oppose the papal vanities, and save the Word
of God. I hope you are that man, and I wish you, for your work, the
grace and the Holy Spirit of God."[484]
[484] Ich hoffe dass du der verherssene.... Cypr. Hilar. Ev. p. 606.
These were by no means the sentiments universally entertained at
Frankfort. John Cochlœus, dean of the church of Notre Dame, was one
of those most devoted to the Roman Church. On seeing Luther pass
through Frankfort on his way to Worms, he could not suppress his
fears. He thought the Church was in want of devoted defenders, and
scarcely had Luther quitted the town than Cochlœus set out in his
track, ready, as he says, to give his life in defence of the honour of
the Church.[485]
[485] Lutherum illac transeuntem subsequutus ut pro honore ecclesiæ
vitam suam....exponeret (Cochlœus, p. 6.) This Cochlœus is the
writer whom we frequently quote.
[Sidenote: ATTEMPT TO STOP LUTHER.]
There was great alarm in the camp of the pope's friends. The
heresiarch was at hand--every day, every hour brought him nearer
Worms. If he entered, all was perhaps lost. The Archbishop Albert, the
confessor Glapio, and all the politicians about the emperor, felt
uneasy. How can the arrival of this monk be prevented? It is
impossible to carry him off, for he has the emperor's safe-conduct.
Stratagem alone can arrest him. These intriguers immediately arranged
the following plan. The emperor's confessor, and his high chamberlain,
Paul of Armsdorff, quit Worms in great haste, and proceed about ten
leagues distant, to the castle of Ebernburg, the residence of Francis
de Seckingen, the knight who had offered Luther an asylum.[486] Bucer,
a young dominican, chaplain to the Elector-Palatine, and who had been
gained to the evangelical doctrine at the Heidelberg discussion, had
then taken refuge in "this hôtel of the just." The knight, who had no
great knowledge of the affairs of religion, was easily imposed upon,
while the disposition of the Palatine chaplain favoured the designs of
the confessor. In fact, Bucer was inclined to pacific measures.
Distinguishing between fundamental and secondary points, he thought he
might sacrifice the latter to unity and peace.[487]
[486] Dass der Keyser seinen Beichtvater und Ihrer Majest.
Ober-Kammerling, zu. Seckingen schickt. (L. Op. xvii, p. 587.)
[487] Condoce faciebat τα αναγκια a probabilibus
distinguerie, ut scirent quæ retinenda ... (Melch. Adam. Vit. Buceri,
p. 223.) He taught that a distinction should be made between the
necessary and the probable in order to ascertain what ought to be
retained.
The chamberlain and confessor begin their attack. They give Seckingen
and Bucer to understand that it is all over with Luther if he goes to
Worms. They assure him that the emperor is ready to send certain
learned men to Ebernburg there to confer with the doctor. "Under your
charge," say they to the knight, "the two parties will be placed." "We
are at one with Luther on all essential points," say they to Bucer:
"only some secondary points remain; and as to these you will be
mediator." The knight and the chaplain are shaken. The confessor and
chamberlain continue. "The invitation addressed to Luther must come
from you," say they to Seckingen, "and let Bucer be the bearer of
it."[488] Every thing was arranged according to their wish. Let Luther
only be credulous enough to come to Ebernburg; his safe-conduct will
soon expire, and then who will be able to defend him?
[488] Dass er sollte der Luther zu sich foderu. (L. Ep. xvii, p. 587.)
Luther had arrived at Oppenheim. His safe-conduct was available only
for three days longer. He sees a troop of horsemen approaching, and
soon recognises at their head the Bucer with whom he had such intimate
conference at Heidelberg.[489] "These horsemen belong to Francis of
Seckingen," said Bucer to him after the first expressions of
friendship. "He sends me to you to conduct you to his strong
castle.[490] The emperor's confessor is desirous of a conference with
you. His influence over Charles is unbounded: every thing may be
arranged. But beware of Aleander!" Jonas Amsdorff and Schurff knew not
what to think; Bucer insisted; but Luther hesitated not. "I continue
my journey," was his answer to Bucer; "and if the emperor's confessor
has any thing to say to me, he will find me at Worms. I go where I am
called."
[489] Da kam Bucer zu, mit et lichen Reutern. (Ibid.)
[490] Und wollte mir überreden zu Seckingen gen. Ebernburg zu kommen.
(Ibid.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER ENTERS WORMS.]
Meanwhile Spalatin himself began to be troubled and afraid. Surrounded
at Worms by the enemies of the Reformation, he heard them saying that
no respect should be paid to the safe-conduct of a heretic. He became
alarmed for his friend; and at the moment when the latter was
approaching the town a messenger presented himself and said to him on
the part of the chaplain, "Don't enter Worms!" This from his best
friend, the Elector's confidant, Spalatin himself! Luther unmoved,
turns his eye on the messenger, and replies, "Go and tell your master,
that were there as many devils in Worms as there are tiles upon the
roofs, I would enter."[491] Never, perhaps, was Luther so grand. The
envoy returned to Worms with his extraordinary message. "I was then
intrepid," said Luther a few days before his death, "I feared nothing;
God can give man such boldness; I know not if at present I would have
as much liberty and joy."--"When the cause is good," adds his disciple
Mathesius, "the heart expands, giving courage and energy to
evangelists and soldiers."[492]
[491] Wenn so viel Teufel zu Worms wären, als Ziegel auf den Dächern,
noch wollt Ich hinein! (L. Opp. (L.) xvii, p. 587.)
[492] So wächst das Herz im Leibe ... (Math. p. 24.)