for a ceremony of the Empire," said they, "as Grand-Marshal, and not
as a Christian, that you are summoned; the Word of God itself, in the
history of Naaman, authorizes you to comply with this invitation."[488]
The friends of Zwingle did not think so; their walk was more decided
than that of Wittemberg. "The martyrs allowed themselves to be put to
death," said they, "rather than burn a grain of incense before the
idols." Even some of the Protestants hearing that the _Veni Spiritus_
was to be sung, said, wagging their heads: "We are very much afraid
that the chariot of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, having been
taken away by the Papists, the Holy Ghost, despite their Mass, will
never reach Augsburg."[489] Neither these fears nor these objections
were listened to.
[488] 2 Kings v. 18. Exemplo Naamanis.--(Seck. ii. p. 167; Sarpi, p.
99.)
[489] Ne ablato Spiritus vehiculo, quod est verbum Dei, Spiritus
Sanctus ad Augustam præ pedum imbecillitate pervenire non
possit.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 116.)
[Sidenote: THE SERMON.]
On Monday the 20th June, the Emperor and his brother, with the
electors and princes of the Empire, having entered the cathedral, took
their seats on the right side of the choir; on the left were placed
the legate, the archbishops, and bishops; in the middle were the
ambassadors. Without the choir, in a gallery that overlooked it, were
ranged the Landgrave and other Protestants, who preferred being at a
distance from the Host.[490] The Elector, bearing the sword, remained
upright near the altar at the moment of the adoration. The acolytes,
having closed the gates of the choir immediately after,[491] Vincent
Pompinello, archbishop of Salerno, preached the sermon. He commenced
with the Turks and their ravages, and then, by an unexpected turn,
began suddenly to exalt the Turks even above the Germans. "The Turks,"
said he, "have but one prince whom they obey; but the Germans have
many who obey no one. The Turks live under one sole law, one only
custom, one only religion; but among the Germans, there are some who
are always wishing for new laws, new customs, new religions. They tear
the seamless coat of Christ; they abolish by devilish inspirations the
sacred doctrines established by unanimous consent, and substitute for
them, alas! buffoonery and obscenity.[492] Magnanimous Emperor,
powerful King!" said he, turning towards Charles and his brother,
"sharpen your swords, wield them against these perfidious disturbers
of religion, and thus bring them back into the fold of the
Church.[493] There is no peace for Germany so long as the sword shall
not have entirely eradicated this heresy.[494] O St. Peter and St.
Paul! I call upon you; upon you, St. Peter, in order that you may open
the stony hearts of these princes with your keys; and upon you, St.
Paul, that if they show themselves too rebellious, you may come with
your sword, and cut in pieces this unexampled hardness!"
[490] Abstinendo ab adoratione hostiæ.--(Seck. ii. p. 119.)
[491] Erant enim chori fores clausæ, nec quisquam orationi
interfuit.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 120.)
[492] Diabolica persuasione eliminant, et ad scurrilia ac impudica
quæque deducunt.--(Pallavicini, Hist. Trid. C. i. p. 23.)
[493] Exacuant gladios quos in perversos illos perturbatores.--(Corp.
Ref. ii. p. 120.)
[494] Nisi eradicata funditus per gladium hæresi illa.--(Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 120.)
This discourse, intermingled with panegyrics of Aristides,
Themistocles, Scipio, Cato, the Curtii and Scævola, being concluded,
the Emperor and princes arose to make their offerings. Pappenheim
returned the sword to the Elector, who had intrusted it to him; and
the Grand-marshal, as well as the Margrave, went to the offertory, but
with a smile, as it is reported.[495] This fact is but little in
harmony with the character of these princes.
[495] Protestantes etiam ad offerendum munuscula in altari, ut moris
erat, accessisse, sed cum risu.--(Spalat. Seck. ii. p. 167.)
[Sidenote: OPENING OF THE DIET.]
At length they quitted the cathedral. No one, except the friends of
the nuncio, was pleased with the sermon. Even the Archbishop of Mentz
was offended at it. "What does he mean," exclaimed he, "by calling on
St. Paul to cut the Germans with his sword?" Nothing but a few
inarticulate sounds had been heard in the nave; the Protestants
eagerly questioned those of their party who had been present in the
choir. "The more these priests inflame people's minds, and the more
they urge their princes to bloody wars," said Brenz at that time, "the
more we must hinder ours from giving way to violence."[496] Thus
spoke a minister of the Gospel of peace after the sermon of the priest
of Rome.
[496] Ut nostros principes ab importuna violentia retineamus.--(Corp.
Ref. ii. p. 120.)
After the mass of the Holy Ghost, the Emperor entered his
carriage,[497] and having reached the town-hall, where the sittings of
the diet were to take place, he took his seat on a throne covered with
cloth of gold, while his brother placed himself on a bench in front of
him; then all around them were ranged the Electors, forty-two
sovereign princes, the deputies from the cities, the bishops, and
ambassadors, forming, indeed, that illustrious assembly which Luther,
six weeks before, had imagined he saw sitting in the air.[498]
[497] Imperator cum omnibus in curiam vectus est.--(Sturm to Zw. Epp.
ii. p. 430.)
[498] Ex volucrum monedularumque regno.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 13.)
The Count-palatine read the imperial proposition. It referred to two
points; the war against the Turks, and the religious controversy.
"Sacrificing my private injuries and interests to the common good,"
said the Emperor, "I have quitted my hereditary kingdoms to pass, not
without great danger, into Italy, and from thence to Germany. I have
heard with sorrow of the divisions that have broken out here, and
which, striking not only at the imperial majesty, but still more, at
the commandments of Almighty God, must engender pillage,
conflagration, war, and death."[499] At one o'clock the Emperor,
accompanied by all the princes, returned to his palace.
[499] Nicht anders dann zu Raub, Brandt, und Krieg.--(F. Urkunden. i.
p. 307.)
On the same day the Elector gathered around him all his
co-religionists, whom the Emperor's speech had greatly excited, and
exhorted them not to be turned aside by any threats from a cause which
was that of God himself.[500] All seemed penetrated with this
expression of Scripture: "Speak the word, and it shall not stand; for
God is with us."[501]
[500] Cohortatus est ad intrepidam causæ Dei assentionem.--(Seck. ii.
p. 108.)
[501] Isaiah viii. 10.
[Sidenote: THE ELECTOR'S PRAYER.]
The Elector had a heavy burden to bear. Not only had he to walk at the
head of the princes, but he had further to defend himself against the
enervating influence of Melancthon. It is not an abstraction of the
state which this prince presents to our notice throughout the whole of
this affair: it is the most noble individuality. Early on Tuesday
morning, feeling the necessity of that invisible strength which,
according to a beautiful figure in the holy Scriptures, causes us to
ride upon the high places of the earth; and seeing, as was usual, his
domestics, his councillors, and his son assembled around him, John
begged them affectionately to withdraw.[502] He knew that it was only
by kneeling humbly before God that he could stand with courage before
Charles. Alone in his chamber, he opened and read the Psalms, then
falling on his knees, he offered up the most fervent prayer to
God;[503] next, wishing to confirm himself in the immovable fidelity
that he had just vowed to the Lord, he went to his desk, and there
committed his resolutions to writing. Dolzig and Melancthon afterwards
saw these lines, and were filled with admiration as they read
them.[504]
[502] Mane remotis omnibus consiliariis et ministris.--(Seck. ii. p.
169.)
[503] Precibus ardentissimis a Deo successum negotii
petiisset.--(Ibid.)
[504] Quæ cum admiratione legisse dicuntur.--(Seck. ii. p. 169.)
Being thus tempered anew in heavenly thoughts, John took up the
imperial proposition, and meditated over it; then, having called in
his son and the chancellor Bruck, and Melancthon shortly after, they
all agreed that the deliberations of the diet ought to commence with
the affairs of religion; and his allies, who were consulted, concurred
in this advice.
[Sidenote: VALDEZ AND MELANCTHON.]
The legate had conceived a plan diametrically opposed to this. He
desired to stifle the religious question, and for this end required
that the princes should examine it in a secret committee.[505] The
Evangelical Christians entertained no doubt that if the truth was
proclaimed in the great council of the nation, it would gain the
victory; but the more they desired a public confession, the more it
was dreaded by the Pope's friends. The latter wished to take their
adversaries by silence, without confession, without discussion, as a
city is taken by famine without fighting and without a storm: to gag
the Reformation, and thus reduce it to powerlessness and death, were
their tactics. To have silenced the preachers was not enough: the
princes must be silenced also. They wished to shut up the Reformation
as in a dungeon, and there leave it to die, thinking they would thus
get rid of it more surely than by leading it to the scaffold.
[505] Si acturi sunt secreto et inter sese, nulla publica disputatione
vel audientia.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 43.)
This plan was well conceived: it now remained to be put in execution,
and for that purpose it was necessary to persuade the Protestants that
such a method would be the surest for them. The person selected for
this intrigue was Alphonso Valdez, secretary to Charles V., a Spanish
gentleman, a worthy individual, and who afterwards showed a leaning
towards the Reformation. Policy often makes use of good men for the
most perfidious designs. It was decided that Valdez should address the
most timid of the Protestants--Melancthon.
On the 16th or 17th of June, immediately after the arrival of Charles,
Valdez begged Melancthon to call on him. "The Spaniards," said he,
"imagine that the Lutherans teach impious doctrines on the Holy
Trinity, on Jesus Christ, on the blessed Mother of God.[506]
Accordingly, they think they do a more meritorious work in killing a
Lutheran than in slaying a Turk."
[506] Hispanis persuasum esse Lutheranos impie de Sanctissima
Trinitate.--(Ex relatione Spalati in Seck. ii. 165.)
"I know it," replied Melancthon, "and I have not yet been able to
succeed in making your fellow-countrymen abandon that idea."
"But what, pray, do the Lutherans desire?"
"The Lutheran question is not so complicated and so unseemly as his
majesty fancies. We do not attack the Catholic Church, as is commonly
believed;[507] and the whole controversy is reducible to these three
points. The two kinds in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the
marriage of pastors, and the abolition of private masses. If we could
agree on these articles, it would be easy to come to an understanding
on the others."
[507] Non adeo per eos Ecclesiam Catholicam oppugnari, quam vulgo
putaretur.--(Ibid. 100.)
"Well, I will report this to his majesty."
Charles V. was charmed at this communication. "Go," said he to Valdez,
"and impart these things to the legate, and ask Master Philip to
transmit to you in writing a short exposition of what they believe and
what they deny."
Valdez hastened to Campeggio. "What you relate pleases me tolerably,"
said the latter. "As for the two kinds in the sacrament, and the
marriage of priests, there will be means of accommodation;[508] but we
cannot consent to the abolition of private masses." This would have
been in fact cutting off one of the greatest revenues of the Church.
[508] Mit beider Gestalt sacraments oder des Plaffen und Mönch
Ehe--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 123.)
On Saturday, June 18, Valdez saw Melancthon again. "The Emperor begs
of you a moderate and concise exposition," said he, "and he is
persuaded that it will be more advantageous to treat of this matter
briefly and privately,[509] avoiding all public hearing and all prolix
discussion, which would only engender anger and division."--"Well,"
said Melancthon, "I will reflect upon it."
[509] Die Sache in einer Enge und Stille vorzu nehmen.--(Ibid.)
Melancthon was almost won over: a secret conference agreed better with
his disposition. Had he not often repeated that peace should be sought
after above all things? Thus everything induced the legate to hope
that a public struggle would be avoided, and that he might be content,
as it were, to send mutes against the Reform, and strangle it in a
dungeon.[510]
[510] Cœlestin, Hist. Comit. August. p. 193. Intelligo hoc τους
αρχιερεας moliri, ut omnino nihil agatur de negotiis
ecclesiasticis.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 57.)
[Sidenote: EVANGELICAL FIRMNESS PREVAILS.]
Fortunately the Chancellor and the Elector Frederick did not think
fit to entertain the propositions with which Charles had commissioned
the worthy Valdez. The resolution of these lay members of the Church
saved it from the false step its doctors were about to take; and the
wiles of the Italians failed against Evangelical firmness. Melancthon
was only permitted to lay the Confession before the Spaniard, that he
might look into it, and in despite of the moderation employed in it,
Valdez exclaimed: "These words are too bitter, and your adversaries
will never put up with them!"[511] Thus finished the legate's
manœuvre.
[511] Ac plane putarit πικρὁτερον esse quam ut ferre possent
adversarii.--(Ibid. p. 140.)
VI. Charles, compelled to resign himself to a public sitting, ordered
on Wednesday, 22d June, that the Elector and his allies should have
their Confession ready for the ensuing Friday. The Roman party were
also invited to present a confession of faith; but they excused
themselves, saying that they were satisfied with the Edict of Worms.
The Emperor's order took the Protestants by surprise, for the
negotiations between Valdez and Melancthon had prevented the latter
from putting the finishing stroke to the Confession. It was not copied
out fair; and the conclusions, as well as the exordium, were not
definitively drawn up. In consequence of this, the Protestants begged
the Archbishop of Mentz to obtain for them the delay of a day; but
their petition was refused.[512] They therefore laboured incessantly,
even during the night, to correct and transcribe the Confession.
[512] Dasselbige abgeschlagen.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 127.)
On Thursday, 23d June, all the Protestant princes, deputies,
councillors, and theologians met early at the Elector's. The
Confession was read in German, and all gave their adhesion to it,
except the Landgrave and the Strasburgers, who required a change in
the article on the sacrament.[513] The princes rejected their demand.
[513] Argentinenses ambierunt aliquid ut excepto articulo sacramenti
susciperentur.--(Ibid. p. 155.)
[Sidenote: THE SIGNING OF THE CONFESSION.]
The Elector of Saxony was already preparing to sign, when Melancthon
stopped him: he feared giving too political a colouring to this
religious business. In his idea it was the Church that should appear,
and not the State. "It is for the theologians and ministers to propose
these things," said he;[514] "let us reserve for other matters the
authority of the mighty ones of the earth."--"God forbid that you
should exclude me," replied the Elector; "I am resolved to do what is
right without troubling myself about my crown. I desire to confess the
Lord. My electoral hat and my ermine are not so precious to me as the
cross of Jesus Christ. I shall leave on earth these marks of my
greatness; but my Master's cross will accompany me to heaven."
[514] Non principum nomine edi sed decentium qui theologi
vocantur.--(Camer. p. 120.)
How resist such Christian language! Melancthon gave way.
The Elector then approached, signed, and handed the pen to the
Landgrave, who at first made some objections; however the enemy was at
the door; was this the time for disunion? At last he signed, but with
a declaration that the doctrine of the Eucharist did not please
him.[515]
[515] Landgravius subscribit nobiscum, sed tamen dicit sibi, de
sacramento, a nostris non satisfieri.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 155.)
[Sidenote: COURAGE OF THE PRINCES.]
The Margrave and Luneburg having joyfully subscribed their names,
Anhalt took the pen in his turn, and said, "I have tilted more than
once to please others; now, if the honour of my Lord Jesus Christ
requires it, I am ready to saddle my horse, to leave my goods and my
life behind, and to rush into eternity, towards an everlasting crown."
Then, having signed, this youthful prince said, turning to the
theologians: "Rather renounce my subjects and my states, rather quit
the country of my fathers staff in hand, rather gain my bread by
cleaning the shoes of the foreigner, than receive any other doctrine
than that which is contained in this Confession." Nuremberg and
Reutlingen alone of the cities subscribed their signatures;[516] and
all resolved on demanding of the Emperor that the Confession should be
read publicly.[517]
[516] Confessioni tantum subscripserunt Nuremberga et
Reutlingen.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 155.)
[517] Decretum est ut publicæ recitandæ concessio ab Imperatore
peteretur.--(Seck. ii. p. 169.)
The courage of the princes surprised every one. Rome had crushed the
members of the Church, and had reduced them to a herd of slaves, whom
she dragged silent and humiliated behind her: the Reformation
enfranchised them, and with their rights it restored to them their
duties. The priest no longer enjoyed the monopoly of religion; each
head of a family again became priest in his own house, and all the
members of the Church of God were thenceforward called to the rank of
confessors. The laymen are nothing, or almost nothing, in the sect of
Rome, but they are the essential portion of the Church of Jesus
Christ. Wherever the priestly spirit is established, the Church dies;
wherever laymen, as these Augsburg princes, understand their duty and
their immediate dependence on Christ, the Church lives.
The Evangelical theologians were moved, by the devotedness of the
princes. "When I consider their firmness in the confession of the
Gospel," said Brenz, "the colour mounts to my cheeks. What a disgrace
that we, who are only beggars beside them, are so afraid of confessing
Christ!"[518] Brenz was then thinking of certain towns, particularly
of Halle, of which he was pastor, but no doubt also of the
theologians.
[518] Rubore suffundor non mediocri, quod nos, præ illis mendici,
&c.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 125.)
[Sidenote: MELANCTHON'S WEAKNESS.]
The latter, in truth, without being deficient in devotedness, were
sometimes wanting in courage. Melancthon was in constant agitation; he
ran to and fro, slipping in everywhere (says Cochlœus in his
Philippics), penetrating not only the houses and mansions of private
persons, but also insinuating himself into the palaces of cardinals
and princes, nay, even into the court of the Emperor; and, whether at
table or in conversation, he spared no means of persuading every
person, that nothing was more easy than to restore peace between the
two parties.[519]
[519] Cursitabat hinc inde, perreptans ac penetrans.--(Cochl. Phil. 4.
in Apol.)
One day he was with the Archbishop of Salzburg, who in a long
discourse gave an eloquent description of the troubles produced, as he
said, by the Reformation, and ended with a peroration "written in
blood," says Melancthon.[520] Philip in agony had ventured during the
conversation to slip in the word Conscience. "Conscience!" hastily
interrupted the archbishop, "Conscience!--What does that mean? I tell
you plainly that the Emperor will not allow confusion to be thus
brought upon the Empire."--"Had I been in Melancthon's place," said
Luther, "I should have immediately replied to the archbishop: And our
Emperor, ours, will not tolerate such blasphemy."--"Alas!" said
Melancthon, "they are all as full of assurance as if there was no
God."[521]
[520] Addebat Epilogum plane sanguine scriptum.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p.
126.)
[521] Securi sunt quasi nullus sit Deus.--(Ibid, p. 156.)
Another day Melancthon was with Campeggio, and conjured him to
persevere in the moderate sentiments he appeared to entertain. And at
another time, as it would seem, he was with the Emperor himself.[522]
"Alas!" said the alarmed Zwinglians, "after having qualified one half
of the Gospel, Melancthon is sacrificing the other."[523]
[522] Melancthon a Cæsare, Salisburgensi et Campegio vocatus
est.--(Zwi. Epp. ii. p. 473.)
[523] Ut cum mitigarit tam multa, cedat et reliqua.---(Ibid.)
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION IN DANGER.]
The wiles of the Ultramontanists were added to Philip's dejection, in
order to arrest the courageous proceedings of the princes. Friday,
24th June, was the day fixed for reading the Confession, but measures
were taken to prevent it. The sitting of the diet did not begin till
three in the afternoon; the legate was then announced; Charles went to
meet him as far as the top of the grand staircase, and Campeggio,
taking his seat in front of the Emperor, in King Ferdinand's place,
delivered a harangue in Ciceronian style. "Never," said he, "has St.
Peter's bark been so violently tossed by so many waves, whirlwinds,
and abysses.[524] The Holy Father has learnt these things with pain,
and desires to drag the Church from these frightful gulfs. For the
love of Jesus Christ, for the safety of your country and for your own,
O mighty Prince! get rid of these errors, deliver Germany, and save
Christendom!"
[524] Ne que unquam tam variis sectarum turbinibus navicula Petri
fluctuaverit.--(Seck. ii. p. 169.)
After a temperate reply from Albert of Mentz, the legate quitted the
townhall, and the Evangelical princes stood up; but a fresh obstacle
had been provided. Deputies from Austria, Carinthia, and Carniola,
first received a hearing.[525]
[525] Oratio valde lugubris et miserabilis contra Turcas.--(Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 154.)
Much time had thus elapsed. The Evangelical princes, however, rose up
again, and the Chancellor Bruck said: "It is pretended that new
doctrines not based on Scripture, that heresies and schisms are spread
among the people by us. Considering that such accusations compromise
not only our good name, but also the safety of our souls,[526] we beg
his majesty would have the goodness to hear what are the doctrines we
profess."
[526] Verum etiam ad animæ dispendium aut salutem æternam.--(Seck. ii.
p. 189.)
The Emperor, no doubt by arrangement with the legate, made reply that
it was too late; besides, that this reading would be useless; and that
the princes should be satisfied with putting in their Confession in
writing. Thus the mine, so skilfully prepared, worked admirably; the
Confession, once handed to the Emperor, would be thrown aside, and the
Reformation would be forced to retire, without the Papists having even
condescended to hear it, without defence and overwhelmed with
contumely.
[Sidenote: THE PROTESTANTS ARE FIRM.]
The Protestant princes, uneasy, and agitated, insisted. "Our honour is
at stake," said they; "our souls are endangered.[527] We are accused
publicly; publicly we ought to answer." Charles was shaken; Ferdinand
leant towards him, and whispered a few words in his ear:[528] the
Emperor refused a second time.
[527] Ihre Seele, Ehre und Glimpf belanget.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 128.)
[528] Viderant enim eum subinde aliquid illi in aurem
insusurrare.--(Seck. ii. p. 169.)
Upon this the Elector and princes, in still greater alarm, said for
the third time with emotion and earnestness:[529] "For the love of
God, let us read our Confession! No person is insulted in it." Thus
were seen, on the one hand, a few faithful men, desiring with loud
cries to confess their faith; and on the other, the great Emperor of
the West, surrounded by a crowd of cardinals, prelates, and princes,
endeavouring to stifle the manifestation of the truth.[530] It was a
serious, violent, and decisive struggle, in which the holiest
interests were discussed!
[529] Zum dritten mal heftig angehalten.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 128.)
[530] Circumsistebant Cæsarem magno numero cardinales et prælati
ecclesiastici.--(Seck. ii. p. 169.)
At last Charles appeared to yield: "His majesty grants your request,"
was the reply to the princes; "but as it is now too late, he begs you
to transmit him your written Confession, and to-morrow, at two
o'clock, the diet will be prepared to hear it read at the Palatine
Palace."
The princes were struck with these words, which, seeming to grant them
everything, in reality granted nothing. In the first place, it was not
in a public sitting at the town-hall, but privately in his own palace,
that the Emperor was willing to hear them;[531] then they had no doubt
that if the Confession left their hands it was all over with the
public reading. They therefore remained firm. "The work has been done
in great haste," said they, and it was the truth; "pray leave it with
us to-night, that we may revise it." The Emperor was obliged to yield,
and the Protestants returned to their hotels full of joy; while the
legate and his friends, perceiving that the Confession was inevitable,
saw the morrow approach with anxiety continually increasing.
[531] Non quidem publice in prætorio, sed privatim in palatio
suo.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 124.)
[Sidenote: MELANCTHON'S DESPONDENCE.]
Among those who prepared to confess the Evangelical truth, was one,
however, whose heart was filled with sadness:--it was Melancthon.
Placed between two fires, he saw the Reformed, and many even of his
own friends, reproach his weakness; while the opposite party detested
what they called his hypocrisy. His friend Camerarius, who visited
Augsburg about this time, often found him plunged in thought, uttering
deep sighs, and shedding bitter tears.[532] Brenz, moved with
compassion, coming to the unhappy Philip, would sit down by his side
and weep with him;[533] and Jonas, endeavouring to console him in
another manner, exhorted him to take the Book of Psalms, and cry to
God with all his heart, making use of David's words rather than of his
own.
[532] Non modo suspirantem sed profundentem lacrymas
conspexi.--(Camer. p. 121.)
[533] Brentius assidebat hæc scribenti, una lacrymans.--(Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 126.)
One day intelligence arrived which formed a general topic of
conversation in Augsburg, and which, spreading terror among the
partisans of the Pope, gave a momentary relief to Melancthon. It was
said that a mule in Rome had given birth to a colt with crane's feet.
"This prodigy," said Melancthon thoughtfully, "announces that Rome is
near its end;"[534] perhaps because the crane is a bird of passage,
and that the Pope's mule thus gave signs of departure. Melancthon had
immediately written to Luther, who replied that he was exceedingly
rejoiced that God had given the Pope so striking a sign of his
approaching fall.[535] It is good to call to memory these puerilities
of the age of the Reformers, that we may better understand the high
range of these men of God in matters of faith.
[534] Romæ quædam mula peperit, et partus habuit pedes gruis. Vides
significari exitium Romæ per schismata.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 126.)
[535] Gaudeo Papæ signum datum in mula puerpera, ut citius
pereat.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 4.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S PRAYER.]
These idle Roman stories did not long console Melancthon. On the eve
of the 25th June, he was present in imagination at the reading of that
Confession which he had drawn up, which was about to be proclaimed
before the world, and in which one word too many or too few might
decide on the approbation or the hatred of the princes, on the safety
or ruin of the Reformation and of the Empire. He could bear up no
longer, and the feeble Atlas, crushed under the burden of the world
upon his shoulders, gave utterance to a cry of anguish. "All my time
here is spent in tears and mourning," wrote he to Vitus Diedrich,
Luther's secretary in the castle of Coburg;[536] and on the morrow he
wrote to Luther himself: "My dwelling is in perpetual tears.[537] My
consternation is indescribable.[538] O my father! I do not wish my
words to exaggerate my sorrows; but, without your consolations, it is
impossible for me to enjoy here the least peace."
[536] Hic consumitur omne mihi tempus in lacrymis et luctu.--(Corp.
Ref. ii. p. 126.)
[537] Versamur hic in miserrimis curis et plane perpetuis
lacrymis.--(Ibid. p. 140.)
[538] Mira consternatio animorum nostrorum.--(Ibid.)
Nothing in fact presented so strong a contrast to the distrust and
desolations of Melancthon, as the faith, calmness, and exultation of
Luther. It was of advantage to him that he was not then in the midst
of the Augsburg vortex, and to be able from his stronghold to set his
foot with tranquillity upon the rock of God's promises. He was
sensible himself of the value of this peaceful hermitage, as he called
it.[539] "I cannot sufficiently admire," said Vitus Diedrich, "the
firmness, cheerfulness, and faith of this man, so astonishing in such
cruel times."
[539] Ex eremo tacita.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 51.) It is thus he dates his
letter.
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S ANXIETY.]
Luther, besides his constant reading of the Word of God,[540] did not
pass a day without devoting three hours at least to prayer, and they
were hours selected from those the most favourable to study.[541] One
day, as Diedrich approached the Reformer's chamber, he heard his
voice,[542] and remained motionless, holding his breath, a few steps
from the door. Luther was praying, and his prayer (said the secretary)
was full of adoration, fear, and hope, as when one speaks to a friend
or to a father.[543] "I know that thou art our Father and our God,"
said the Reformer, alone in his chamber, "and that thou wilt scatter
the persecutors of thy children, for thou art thyself endangered with
us. All this matter is thine, and it is only by thy constraint that we
have put our hands to it. Defend us then, O Father!" The secretary,
motionless as a statue, in the long gallery of the castle, lost not
one of the words that the clear and resounding voice of Luther bore to
his ears.[544] The Reformer was earnest with God, and called upon him
with so much unction to accomplish his promises, that Diedrich felt
his heart glow within him.[545] "Oh!" exclaimed he, as he retired,
"How could not these prayers but prevail in the desperate struggle at
Augsburg!"
[540] Assidue autem illa diligentiore verbi Dei tractatione
alit.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 159.)
[541] Nullus abit dies, quin ut minimum tres horas easque studiis
optimas in orationibus ponat.--(Ibid.)
[542] Semel mihi contigit ut orantem eum audirem.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p.
159.)
[543] Tanta spe et fide ut cum patre et amico colloqui
sentiat.--(Ibid.)
[544] Tum orantem clara voce, procul stans, audivi.--(Ibid.)
[545] Ardebat mihi quoque animus singulari quodam impetu.--(Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 159.)
Luther might also have allowed himself to be overcome with fear, for
he was left in complete ignorance of what was taking place in the
diet. A Wittemberg messenger, who should have brought him forests of
letters (according to his own expression), having presented himself:
"Do you bring any letters?" asked Luther. "No!" "How are those
gentlemen?" "Well!" Luther, grieved at such silence, returned and shut
himself up in his chamber.
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S TEXTS.]
Erelong there appeared a courier on horseback carrying despatches from
the Elector to Torgau. "Do you bring me any letters?" asked Luther.
"No!" "How are those gentlemen?" continued he, fearfully. "Well!"
"This is strange," thought the Reformer. A waggon having left Coburg
laden with flour (for they were almost in want of provisions at
Augsburg), Luther impatiently awaited the return of the waggoner; but
he returned empty. Luther then began to revolve the gloomiest thoughts
in his mind, not doubting that they were concealing some misfortune
from him.[546] At last another individual, Jobst Nymptzen, having
arrived from Augsburg, Luther rushed anew towards him, with his usual
question. "Do you bring me any letters?" He waited trembling for the
reply. "No!" "And how then are those gentlemen?" "Well!" The Reformer
withdrew, a prey to anger and to fear.
[546] Hic cœpi cogitare tristia, suspirans, vos aliquid mali me celare
velle.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 60.)
Then Luther opened his Bible, and to console himself for the silence
of men, he conversed with God. There were some passages of Scripture
in particular that he read continually. We point them out below.[547]
He did more; he wrote with his own hand many declarations of Scripture
over the doors and windows, and on the walls of the castle. In one
place were these words from the 118th Psalm: _I shall not die, but
live, and declare the works of the Lord_. In another, those of the
12th chapter of Proverbs: _The way of the wicked seduceth them_; and
over his bed, these words from the 4th Psalm: _I will both lay me down
in peace and sleep; for thou, O Lord, only makest me dwell in safety_.
Never perhaps did man so environ himself with the promises of the
Lord, or so dwell in the atmosphere of his Word and live by his
breath, as Luther at Coburg.
[547] 2 Tim. iii. 12; Philip. ii. 12, 13; John x. 17, 18; Matth. xvi.
18; Psalm xlvi. 1, 2; 1 John iv. 4; Psalm lv. 23; xxvii. 14; John xvi.
33; Luke xvii. 5; Psalm xxxii. 11; cxlv. 18, 19; xci. 14, 15; Sirach.
ii. 11; 1 Maccab. ii. 61; Matth. vi. 31; 1 Peter v. 6, 7; Matth. x.
28; Rom. iv. and vi.; Heb. v. and xi.; 1 Sam. iv. 18; xxxi. 4-8; ii.
30; 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18, 19; i. 12; Eph. iii. 20, 21. Among these
passages will be observed two verses taken from the Apocrypha, but
whose equivalents might easily be found in the Word of God.
[Sidenote: LUTHER TO MELANCTHON.]
At length letters came. "If the times in which we live were not
opposed to it, I should have imagined some revenge," wrote Luther to
Jonas; "but prayer checked my anger, and anger checked my
prayer.[548] I am delighted at that tranquil mind which God gives our
prince. As for Melancthon, it is his philosophy that tortures him, and
nothing else. For our cause is in the very hands of Him who can say
with unutterable pride: _No one shall pluck it out of my hands_. I
would not have it in our hands, and it would not be desirable that it
were so.[549] I have had many things in my hands, and I have lost them
all; but whatever I have been able to place in God's, I still
possess."
[548] Sed orandi tempus non sinebat irasci, et ira non sinebat
orare.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 46.)
[549] Nec vellem, nec consultum esset, in nostra manu esse.--(L. Epp.
iv. p. 46.)
On learning that Melancthon's anguish still continued, Luther wrote to
him: and these are words that should be preserved. "Grace and peace in
Christ! in Christ, I say, and not in the world, Amen. I hate with
exceeding hatred those extreme cares which consume you. If the cause
is unjust, abandon it; if the cause is just, why should we belie the
promises of Him who commands us to sleep without fear? Can the devil
do more than kill us? Christ will not be wanting to the work of
justice and of truth. He lives; he reigns; what fear, then, can we
have? God is powerful to upraise his cause if it is overthrown, to
make it proceed if it remains motionless, and if we are not worthy of
it, he will do it by others.
"I have received your Apology,[550] and I cannot understand what you
mean, when you ask what we must concede to the Papists. We have
already conceded too much. Night and day I meditate on this affair,
turning it over and over, perusing all Scripture, and the certainty of
the truth of our doctrine continually increases in my mind. With the
help of God, I will not permit a single letter of all that we have
said to be torn from us.
[550] The Confession revised and corrected.
[Sidenote: THE PALATINE CHAPEL.]
"The issue of this affair torments you, because you cannot understand
it. But if you could, I would not have the least share in it. God has
put it in a 'common place,' that you will not find either in your
rhetoric or in your philosophy: that place is called Faith.[551] It is
that in which subsist all things that we can neither understand nor
see. Whoever wishes to touch them, as you do, will have tears for his
sole reward.
[551] Deus posuit eam in _locum_ quendam _communem_, quem in tua
rhetorica non habes nec in philosophia tua; is vocatur _fides_.--(L.
Epp. iv. p. 53.)
"If Christ is not with us, where is he in the whole universe? If we
are not the Church, where, I pray, is the Church? Is it the Dukes of
Bavaria, is it Ferdinand, is it the Pope, is it the Turk, who is the
Church? If we have not the Word of God, who is it that possesses it?
"Only we must have faith, lest the cause of faith should be found to
be without faith.[552]
[552] Tantum est opus fide, ne causa fidei sit sine fide.--(Ibid. p.
61.)
"If we fall, Christ falls with us, that is to say, the Master of the
world. I would rather fall with Christ, than remain standing with
Cæsar."
Thus wrote Luther. The faith which animated him flowed from him like
torrents of living water. He was indefatigable; in a single day he
wrote to Melancthon, Spalatin, Brenz, Agricola, and John Frederick,
and they were letters full of life. He was not alone in praying,
speaking, and believing. At the same moment, the Evangelical
Christians exhorted one another everywhere to prayer.[553] Such was
the arsenal in which the weapons were forged that the confessors of
Christ wielded before the Diet of Augsburg.
[553] Wittembergæ scribunt, tam diligenter ibi Ecclesiam orare.--(L.
Epp. iv. p. 69.)
[Sidenote: RECOLLECTIONS AND CONTRAST.]
VII. At length the 25th June arrived. This was destined to be the
greatest day of the Reformation, and one of the most glorious in the
history of Christianity and of mankind.
As the chapel of the Palatine Palace, where the Emperor had resolved
to hear the Confession, could contain only about two hundred
persons,[554] before three o'clock a great crowd was to be seen
surrounding the building and thronging the court, hoping by this means
to catch a few words; and many having gained entrance to the chapel,
all were turned out except those who were not, at the least,
councillors to the princes.
[554] Capiebat forsan ducentos.--(Jonas, Corp. Ref. ii. p. 157.)
Charles took his seat on the throne. The Electors or their
representatives were on his right and left hand; after them the other
princes and states of the Empire. The legate had refused to appear in
this solemnity, lest he should seem by his presence to authorize the
reading of the Confession.[555]
[555] Sarpi, Hist. Council. Trent. i. p. 101.
Then stood up John Elector of Saxony, with his son John Frederick,
Phillip Landgrave of Hesse, the Margrave George of Brandenburg,
Wolfgang Prince of Anhalt, Ernest Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, and his
brother Francis, and last of all the deputies of Nuremberg and
Reutlingen. Their air was animated and their features radiant with
joy.[556] The apologies of the early Christians, of Tertullian and
Justin Martyr, hardly reached in writing the sovereigns to whom they
were addressed. But now, to hear the new apology of resuscitated
Christianity, behold that puissant Emperor, whose sceptre, stretching
far beyond the columns of Hercules, reaches the utmost limits of the
world, his brother the King of the Romans, with electors, princes,
prelates, deputies, ambassadors, all of whom desire to destroy the
Gospel, but who are constrained by an invisible power to listen, and,
by that very listening, to honour the Confession!
[556] Læto et alacri animo et vultu.--(Scultet. i. p. 273.)
One thought was involuntarily present in the minds of the
spectators,--the recollection of the Diet of Worms.[557] Only nine
years before, a poor monk stood alone for this same cause in a hall of
the town-house at Worms, in presence of the Empire. And now in his
stead, behold the foremost of the Electors, behold princes and cities!
What a victory is declared by this simple fact! No doubt Charles
himself cannot escape from this recollection.
[557] Ante decennium in conventu Wormatensi.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 153.)
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--PROLOGUE.]
The Emperor, seeing the Protestants stand up, motioned them to sit
down; and then the two chancellors of the Elector, Bruck and Bayer,
advanced to the middle of the chapel, and stood before the throne,
holding in their hands, the former the Latin, and the other the German
copy of the Confession. The Emperor required the Latin copy to be
read.[558] "We are Germans," said the Elector of Saxony, "and on
German soil; I hope therefore your majesty will allow us to speak
German." If the Confession had been read in Latin, a language unknown
to most of the princes, the general effect would have been lost. This
was another means of shutting the mouth of the Gospel. The Emperor
complied with the Elector's demand.
[558] Cæsar Latinum prelegi volebat.--(Seck. ii. p. 170.)
Bayer then began to read the Evangelical Confession, slowly,
seriously, distinctly, with a clear, strong, and sonorous voice, which
re-echoed under the arched roof of the chapel, and carried even to the
outside this great testimony paid to the truth.[559]
[559] Qui clare, distincte, tarde et voce adeo grandi et sonora eam
pronunciavit.--(Scultet. p. 276.)
"Most serene, most mighty, and invincible Emperor and most gracious
Lord," said he, "we who appear in your presence, declare ourselves
ready to confer amicably with you on the fittest means of restoring
one sole, true, and same faith, since it is for one sole and same
Christ that we fight.[560] And in case that these religious
dissensions cannot be settled amicably, we then offer to your majesty
to explain our cause in a general, free, and christian council."[561]
[560] Ad unam veram concordem religionem, sicut omnes sub uno Christo
sumus et militamus.--(Confessio, Præfatio. Urkunden. i. p. 474.)
[561] Causam dicturos in tali generali, libero, et Christiano
concilio.--(Ibid. p. 479.)
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--JUSTIFICATION.]
This prologue being ended, Bayer confessed the Holy Trinity,
conformably with the Nicene Council,[562] original and hereditary sin,
"which bringeth eternal death to all who are not regenerated,"[563]
and the incarnation of the Son, "very God and very man."[564]
[562] Et tamen tres sunt personæ ejusdem essentiæ.--(Ibid. p. 682.)
[563] Vitium originis, afferens æternam mortem his qui non
renascuntur.--(Confessio, Præfatio. Urkunden. i. p. 483.)
[564] Unus Christus, vere Deus, et vere homo.--(Ibid.)
"We teach moreover," continued he, "that we cannot be justified before
God by our own strength, our merits, and our works; but that we are
justified by Christ through grace, through the means of faith,[565]
when we believe that our sins are forgiven in virtue of Christ, who by
his death has made satisfaction for our sins: this faith is the
righteousness that God imputes to the sinner.
[565] Quod homines non possint justificari coram Deo, propriis
viribus, meritis, aut operibus, sed gratis, propter Christum, per
fidem.--(Ibid. p. 484.)
"But we teach, at the same time, that this faith ought to bear good
fruits, and that we must do all the good works commanded by God, for
the love of God, and not by their means to gain the grace of God."
The Protestants next declared their faith in the Christian Church,
"which is," said they, "the assembly of all true believers and all the
saints,"[566] in the midst of whom there are, nevertheless, in this
life, many false Christians, hypocrites even, and manifest sinners;
and they added, "that it was sufficient for the real unity of the
Church that they were agreed on the doctrine of the Gospel and the
administration of the sacraments, without the rites and ceremonies
instituted by men being everywhere the same."[567]--They proclaimed
the necessity of baptism, and declared "that the body and blood of
Christ are really present and administered in the Lord's Supper to
those who partake of it."[568]
[566] Congregatio sanctorum et vere credentium.--(Ibid. p. 487.)
[567] Ad veram unitatem Ecclesiæ, satis est consentire de doctrina
Evangelii et administratione sacra mentorum, nec necesse est,
&c.--(Ibid. p. 486.)
[568] Quod corpus et sanguis Christi, vere adsint et distribuantur
vescentibus in cœna Domini.--(F. Urkund. i. p. 488.)
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--FAITH.]
The Chancellor then successively confessed the faith of the
Evangelical Christians, touching confession, penance, the nature of
the sacraments, the government of the Church, ecclesiastical
ordinances, political government, and the last judgment. "As regards
Free-will," continued he, "we confess that man's will has a certain
liberty of accomplishing civil justice, and of loving the things that
reason comprehends; that man can do the good that is within the sphere
of nature--plough his fields, eat, drink, have a friend, put on a
coat, build a house, take a wife, feed cattle, exercise a calling; as
also he can, of his own movement, do evil, kneel before an idol, and
commit murder. But we maintain that without the Holy Ghost he cannot
do what is righteous in the sight of God."
Then, returning to the grand doctrine of the Reformation, and
recalling to mind that the doctors of the Pope "have never ceased
impelling the faithful to puerile and useless works, as the custom of
chaplets, invocations of saints, monastic vows, processions, fasts,
feast-days, brotherhoods," the Protestants added, that as for
themselves, while urging the practice of truly Christian works, of
which little had been said before their time,[569] "they taught that
man is justified by faith alone; not by that faith which is a simple
knowledge of the history, and which wicked men and even devils
possess, but by a faith which believes not only the history, but also
the effect of the history;[570] which believes that through Christ we
obtain grace; which sees that in Christ we have a merciful Father;
which knows this God; which calls upon him; in a word, which is not
without God, as the heathen are."
[569] De quibus rebus olim parum docebant concionatores; tantum
puerilia et non necessaria opera urgebant.--(F. Urkund. i. p. 495.)
[570] Non tantum historiæ notitiam, sed fidem quæ credit non tantum
historiam, sed etiam effectum historiæ.--(F. Urkund. i. p. 498.)
"Such," said Bayer, "is a summary of the doctrine professed in our
Churches, by which it may be seen that this doctrine is by no means
opposed to Scripture, to the universal Church, nor even to the Romish
Church, such as the doctors describe it to us;[571] and since it is
so, to reject us as heretics is an offence against unity and charity."
[571] Nihil inesse quod discrepat a Scripturis vel ab Ecclesia
Catholica, vel ab Ecclesia Romana, quatenus ex Scriptoribus nota
est.--(Ibid. p. 501.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER ON THE CONFESSION.]
Here terminated the first part of the Confession, the aim of which was
to explain the Evangelical doctrine. The Chancellor read with so
distinct a voice, that the crowd which was unable to enter the hall,
and which filled the court and all the approaches of the episcopal
palace, did not lose a word.[572] This reading produced the most
marvellous effect on the princes who thronged the chapel. Jonas
watched every change in their countenances,[573] and there beheld
interest, astonishment, and even approbation depicted by turns. "The
adversaries imagine they have done a wonderful thing, by forbidding
the preaching of the Gospel," wrote Luther to the Elector; "and they
do not see, poor creatures! that by the reading of the Confession in
the presence of the diet, there has been more preaching than in the
sermons of ten preachers. Exquisite subtlety! admirable expedient!
Master Agricola and the other ministers are reduced to silence; but in
their place appear the Elector of Saxony, and the other princes and
lords, who preach before his imperial majesty, and the members of the
whole Empire, freely, to their beard, and before their noses. Yes,
Christ is in the diet, and he does not keep silence: _the word of God
cannot be bound_. They forbid it in the pulpit, and are forced to hear
it in the palace; poor ministers cannot announce it, and great princes
proclaim it; the servants are forbidden to listen to it, and their
masters are compelled to hear it; they will have nothing to do with it
during the whole course of the diet, and they are forced to submit to
hear more in one day than is heard ordinarily in a whole
year......When all else is silent, the very stones cry out, as says
our Lord Jesus Christ."[574]
[572] Verum etiam in area inferiori et vicinis locis exaudiri
potuerit.--(Scultet. p. 274.)
[573] Jonas scribit vidisse se vultus omnium de quo mihi spondet
narrationem coram.--(L. Epp. iv. p. 71.)
[574] L. Epp. iv. p. 82.
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--ABUSES.]
That part of the Confession destined to point out errors and abuses
still remained. Bayer continued: he explained and demonstrated the
doctrine of the two kinds; he attacked the compulsory celibacy of
priests, maintained that the Lord's Supper had been changed into a
regular fair, in which it was merely a question of buying and selling,
and that it had been re-established in its primitive purity by the
Reformation, and was celebrated in the Evangelical churches with
entirely new devotion and gravity. He declared that the Sacrament was
administered to no one who had not first made confession of his
faults, and he quoted this expression of Chrysostom: "Confess thyself
to God the Lord, thy real Judge; tell thy sin, not with the tongue,
but in thy conscience and in thy heart."
Bayer next came to the precepts on the distinction of meats and other
Roman usages. "Celebrate such a festival," said he; "repeat such a
prayer, or keep such a fast; be dressed in such a manner, and so many
other ordinances of men--this is what is now styled a spiritual and
christian life; while the good works prescribed by God, as those of a
father of a family who toils to support his wife, his sons, and his
daughters--of a mother who brings children into the world, and takes
care of them--of a prince or of a magistrate who governs his subjects,
are looked upon as secular things, and of an imperfect nature." As for
monastic vows in particular, he represented that, as the Pope could
give a dispensation from them, those vows ought therefore to be
abolished.
The last article of the Confession treated of the authority of the
bishops: powerful princes crowned with the episcopal mitre were there;
the Archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, Salzburg, and Bremen; the Bishops
of Bamberg, Wurzburg, Eichstadt, Worms, Spire, Strasburg, Augsburg,
Constance, Coire, Passau, Liege, Trent, Brixen, and of Lebus and
Ratzburg, fixed their eyes on the humble confessor. He fearlessly
continued, and energetically protesting against that confusion of
Church and State which had characterized the Middle Ages, he called
for the distinction and independence of the two societies.
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--DUTY OF THE BISHOPS.]
"Many," said he, "have unskilfully confounded the episcopal and the
temporal power; and from this confusion have resulted great wars,
revolts, and seditions.[575] It is for this reason, and to reassure
men's consciences, that we find ourselves constrained to establish the
difference which exists between the power of the Church and the power
of the sword.[576]
[575] Nonnulli incommode commiscuerunt potestatem ecclesiasticam et
potestatem gladii; et ex hac confusione, &c.--(Urkunden. Confes. Augs.
i. p. 539.)
[576] Coacti sunt ostendere discrimen ecclesiasticæ potestatis et
potestatis gladii.--(Ibid.)
"We therefore teach that the power of the keys or of the bishops is,
conformably with the Word of the Lord, a commandment emanating from
God, to preach the Gospel, to remit or retain sins, and to administer
the Sacraments. This power has reference only to eternal goods, is
exercised only by the minister of the Word, and does not trouble
itself with political administration. The political administration, on
the other hand, is busied with everything else but the Gospel. The
magistrate protects, not souls, but bodies and temporal possessions.
He defends them against all attacks from without, and, by making use
of the sword and of punishment, compels men to observe civil justice
and peace.[577]
[577] Politica administratio versatur enim circa alias res quam
Evangelium; magistratus defendit non mentes sed corpora----et coercet
homines gladio.--(Urkund. Confess. Aug. i. p. 541.)
"For this reason we must take particular care not to mingle the power
of the Church with the power of the State.[578] The power of the
Church ought never to invade an office that is foreign to it; for
Christ himself said: _My kingdom is not of this world_. And again:
_Who made me a judge over you?_ St. Paul said to the Philippians: _Our
citizenship is in heaven_.[579] And to the Corinthians: _The weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God_.
[578] Non igitur commiscendæ sunt potestates ecclesiasticæ et
civilis.--(Ibid.)
[579] Greek, πολιτευμα.--(Philip. iii. 20. Scott and Henry Comment.)
"It is thus that we distinguish the two governments and the two
powers, and that we honour both as the most excellent gifts that God
has given here on earth.
[Sidenote: THE CONFESSION--EPILOGUE.]
"The duty of the bishops is therefore to preach the Gospel, to
forgive sins, to exclude from the Christian Church all who rebel
against the Lord, but without human power, and solely by the Word of
God.[580] If the bishops act thus, the churches ought to be obedient
to them according to this declaration of Christ: _Whoever heareth you,
heareth me_.
[580] Excludere a communione Ecclesiæ, sine vi humana sed
verbo.--(Urkund. Confes. Augs. i. p. 544.)
"But if the bishops teach anything that is contrary to the Gospel,
then the churches have an order from God which forbids them to obey
(Matt. vii. 15; Galatians i. 8; 2 Cor. xiii. 8, 10). And St. Augustin
himself, in his letter against Pertilian, writes: 'We must not obey
the catholic bishops, if they go astray, and teach anything contrary
to the canonical Scriptures of God.'"[581]
[581] Nec catholicis episcopis consentiendum est, sicuti forte
falluntur, aut contra canonicas Dei scripturas aliquid
sentiunt--(Urkund. Confes. Augs. i. p. 544.)
After some remarks on the ordinances and traditions of the Church,
Bayer came to the epilogue of the Confession.
"It is not from hatred that we have spoken," added he, "nor to insult
any one; but we have explained the doctrines that we maintain to be
essential, in order that it may be understood that we admit of neither
dogma nor ceremony which is contrary to the Holy Scriptures, and to
the usage of the universal Church."
Bayer then ceased to read. He had spoken for two hours: the silence
and serious attention of the assembly were not once disturbed.[582]
[582] Mit grosser Stille und Ernst.--(Brüch's Apologie, p. 59.)
This Confession of Augsburg will ever remain one of the masterpieces
of the human mind enlightened by the Spirit of God.
[Sidenote: REMARKS ON THE CONFESSION.]
The language that had been adopted, while it was perfectly natural,
was the result of a profound study of character. These princes, these
warriors, these politicians who were sitting in the Palatine Palace,
entirely ignorant as they were of divinity, easily understood the
Protestant doctrine; for it was not explained to them in the style of
the schools, but in that of everyday life, and with a simplicity and
clearness that rendered all misunderstanding impossible.
At the same time the power of argumentation was so much the more
remarkable, as it was the more concealed. At one time Melancthon (for
it was really he who spoke through the mouth of Bayer) was content to
quote a single passage of Scripture or of the Fathers in favour of the
doctrine he maintained; and at another he proved his thesis so much
the more strongly, that he appeared only to be declaring it. With a
single stroke he pointed out the sad consequences that would follow
the rejection of the faith he professed, or with one word showed its
importance for the prosperity of the Church; so that while listening
to him, the most violent enemies were obliged to acknowledge to
themselves that there was really something to say in favour of the new
sect.
To this force of reasoning the Apology added a prudence no less
remarkable. Melancthon, while declining with firmness the errors
attributed to his party, did not even appear to feel the injustice of
these erroneous imputations; and while pointing out those of Popery,
he did not say expressly they were those of his adversaries; thus
carefully avoiding every thing that might irritate their minds. In
this he showed himself wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.
But the most admirable thing of all is the fidelity with which the
Confession explains the doctrines most essential to salvation. Rome is
accustomed to represent the Reformers as the creators of the
Protestant doctrines; but it is not in the sixteenth century that we
must look for the days of that creation. A bright track of light, of
which Wickliffe and Augustin mark the most salient points, carries us
back to the Apostolic age: it was then that shone in all their
brilliancy the creative days of Evangelical truth. Yet it is true (and
if this is what Rome means, we fully concur in the idea) never since
the time of St. Paul had the Christian doctrine appeared with so much
beauty, depth, and life, as in the days of the Reformation.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
Among all these doctrines, that of the Church, which had been so long
disfigured, appeared at this time in all its native purity. With what
wisdom, in particular, the confessors of Augsburg protest against that
confusion of religion and politics which since the deplorable epoch of
Constantine, had changed the kingdom of God into an earthly and carnal
institution! Undoubtedly what the Confession stigmatizes with the
greatest energy is the intrusion of the Church into the affairs of the
State, but can it be thought that it was to approve the intrusion of
the State in Church affairs? The evil of the Middle Ages was the
having enslaved the State to the Church, and the confessors of
Augsburg rose like one man to combat it. The evil of the three
centuries which have passed away since then, is to have subjected the
Church to the State; and we may believe that Luther and Melancthon
would have found against this disorder thunders no less powerful. What
they attack in a general sense, is the confusion of the two societies;
what they demand, is their independence, I do not say their
separation. If the Augsburg confessors were unwilling that things from
above should monopolize those of the earth, they would have been still
less willing for things of earth to oppress those from heaven.
There is a particular application of this principle, which the
Confession points out. It wills the bishops should reprimand those who
obey wickedness, "but without human power, and solely by the Word of
God." It therefore rejects the use of the sword in the chastisement of
heretics. This we see is a primitive principle, fundamental and
essential to the Reformation, as the contrary doctrine is a primitive
principle, fundamental and essential to the Papacy. If among
Protestants we find some writing, or even some example opposed to
this, it is but an isolated fact, which cannot invalidate the official
principles of the Reform--it is one of those exceptions which always
serve to confirm the rule.
[Sidenote: MODERATE TONE OF THE CONFESSION.]
Finally, the Augsburg Confession does not usurp the rights of the Word
of God; it desires to be its handmaid and not its rival; it does not
found, it does not regulate the faith, but simply professes it. "Our
churches teach," it says; and it will be remembered that Luther
considered it only as a sermon preached by princes and kings. Had it
desired more, as has since been maintained, by that very circumstance
it would have been nullified.
Was, however, the Confession able to follow in all things the exact
path of truth? We may be permitted to doubt it.
It professes not to separate from the teaching of the Catholic Church,
and even from that of the Romish Church--by which is no doubt
signified the ancient Roman Church--and rejects the popish
particularism which, for about eight centuries, imprisoned men's
consciences. The Confession, however, seems overlaid with
superstitious fears when there is any question of deviating from the
views entertained by some of the Fathers of the Church, of breaking
the toils of the hierarchy, and of acting, as regards Rome, without
blameable forbearance. This, at least, is what its author, Melancthon,
professes. "We do not put forward any dogma," said he, "which is not
founded on the Gospel or on the teaching of the Catholic Church; we
are prepared to concede everything that is necessary for the episcopal
dignity;[583] and, provided that the bishops do not condemn the
Gospel, we preserve all the rites that appear indifferent to us. In a
word, there is no burden that we reject, if we can bear it without
guilt."[584]
[583] Concessuros omnia quæ ad dignitatem Episcoporum stabiliendam
pertinent.--(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 431.)
[584] Nullum detractavimus onus, quod sine scelere suspici
posset.--(Ibid.)
Many will think, no doubt, that a little more independence would have
been proper in this matter, and that it would have been better to have
passed over the ages that have followed the times of the apostles, and
have frankly put in practice the grand principle which the Reformation
had proclaimed: "There is for articles of faith no other foundation
than the Word of God."[585]
[585] _Solum verbum Dei condit articulos fidei._
[Sidenote: DEFECTS OF THE CONFESSION.]
Melancthon's moderation has been admired; and, in truth, while
pointing out the abuses of Rome, he was silent on what is most
revolting in them, on their disgraceful origin, their scandalous
consequences, and is content to show that they are in contradiction to
the Scripture. But he does more; he is silent on the divine right of
the Pope, on the number of the sacraments, and on other points
besides. His great business is to justify the renovated, and not to
attack the deformed, Church. "Peace! peace!" was his cry. But if,
instead of all this circumspection, the Reformation had advanced with
courage, had wholly unveiled the Word of God, and had made an
energetic appeal to the sympathies of reform then spread in men's
hearts, would it not have taken a stronger and more honourable
position, and would it not have secured more extensive conquests?
The interest that Charles the Fifth showed in listening to the
Confession seems doubtful. According to some, he endeavoured to
understand that foreign language;[586] according to others, he fell
asleep.[587] It is easy to reconcile these contradictory testimonies.
[586] Satis attentus erat Cæsar. (Jonas in Corp. Ref. ii. p. 184.)
[587] Cum nostra confessio legeretur, obdormivit. (Brentius in Corp.
Ref. ii. p. 245.)
When the reading was finished, Chancellor Brück, with the two copies
in his hand, advanced towards the Emperor's secretary and presented
them to him. Charles the Fifth, who was wide awake at this moment,
himself took the two Confessions, handed the German copy, considered
as official, to the elector of Mentz, and kept the Latin one for
himself.[588] He then made reply to the Elector of Saxony and to his
allies that he had graciously heard their confession;[589] but as this
affair was one of extreme importance, he required time to deliberate
upon it.
[588] The Latin copy, deposited in the archives of the imperial house,
should be found at Brussels; and the German copy, sent afterwards to
the Council of Trent, ought to be in the Vatican.
[589] Gnedichlich vernohmen. (F. Urkunden, ii. p. 3.)
[Sidenote: THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION.]
The joy with which the Protestants were filled shone in their
eyes.[590] God had been with them; and they saw that the striking act
which had so recently been accomplished, imposed on them the
obligation of confessing the truth with immovable perseverance. "I
thrill with joy," wrote Luther, "that my life was cast in an epoch in
which Christ is publicly exalted by such illustrious confessors and in
so glorious an assembly."[591] The whole Evangelical Church, excited
and renovated by this public confession of its representatives, was
then more intimately united to its divine Chief, and baptized with a
new baptism. "Since the apostolic age," said they (these are the words
of a contemporary), "there has never been a greater work or a more
magnificent confession."[592]
[590] Cum incredibili protestantium gaudio. (Seck. ii. p. 170.)
[591] Mihi vehementer placet vixisse in hanc horam. (L. Epp. iv. p.
71.)
[592] Grösser und höher Werk. (Mathesius, Hist. p. 93-98.)
The Emperor, having descended from his throne, approached the
Protestant princes, and begged them in a low tone not to publish the
Confession;[593] they acceded to his request, and every one withdrew.
[593] In still angeredet und gebethen. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 143.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER DEMANDS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.]
VIII. The Romanists had expected nothing like this. Instead of a
hateful controversy, they had heard a striking confession of Jesus
Christ; the most hostile minds were consequently disarmed. "We would
not for a great deal," was the remark on every side, "have missed
being present at this reading."[594] The effect was so prompt, that
for an instant the cause was thought to be definitively gained. The
bishops themselves imposed silence on the sophisms and clamours of the
Fabers and the Ecks.[595] "All that the Lutherans have said is true,"
exclaimed the Bishop of Augsburg; "we cannot deny it."[596]--"Well,
doctor," said the Duke of Bavaria to Eck, in a reproachful tone, "you
had given me a very different idea of this doctrine and of this
affair."[597] This was the general cry; accordingly the sophists, as
they called them, were embarrassed. "But, after all," said the Duke of
Bavaria to them, "can you refute by sound reasons the Confession made
by the Elector and his allies?"--"With the writings of the Apostles
and Prophets--no!" replied Eck; "but with those of the Fathers and of
the Councils--yes!"[598] "I understand," quickly replied the Duke; "I
understand. The Lutherans, according to you, are in scripture; and we
are outside."
[594] Brücks Geschichte der Handl. in den Sachen des Glaubens zu
Augsbourg. (Förstemann Archiv. p. 50.)
[595] Multi episcopi ad pacem sunt inclinati. (L. Epp. iv. p. 70.)
[596] Illa quæ recitata sunt, vera sunt, sunt pura veritas; non
possumus inficiari. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 154.)
[597] So hab man Im vor nicht gesagt. (Mathes. Hist. p. 99.)
[598] Mit Propheten und Aposteln schriften----nicht. (Ibid.)
The Archbishop Hermann, elector of Cologne, the Count-palatine
Frederick, Duke Erick of Brunswick-Luneburg, Duke Henry of
Mecklenburg, and the Dukes of Pomerania, were gained over to the
truth; and Hermann sought erelong to establish it in his electorate.
The impression produced in other countries by the Confession was
perhaps still greater. Charles sent copies to all the courts; it was
translated into French, Italian,[599] and even into Spanish and
Portuguese; it circulated through all Europe, and thus accomplished
what Luther had said: "Our Confession will penetrate into every court,
and the sound thereof will go through the whole earth."[600] It
destroyed the prejudices that had been entertained, gave Europe a
sounder idea of the Reformation, and prepared the most distant
countries to receive the seeds of the Gospel.
[599] Cæsar sibi fecit nostram confessionem reddi Italica et Gallica
lingua. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 155.) The French translation will be found
in _Förstemann's Urkunden_, i. p. 357.--_Articles principaulx de la
foy._
[600] Perrumpet in omnes aulas Principum et Regum. (L. Epp. iv. p.
96.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER'S DOMINANT IDEA.]
Then Luther's voice began to be heard again. He saw that it was a
decisive moment, and that he ought now to give the impulse that would
gain religious liberty. He boldly demanded this liberty of the
Roman-catholic princes of the diet;[601] and at the same time
endeavoured to make his friends quit Augsburg. Jesus Christ had been
boldly confessed. Instead of that long series of quarrels and
discussions which was about to become connected with this courageous
act, Luther would have wished for a striking rupture, even should he
seal with his blood the testimony rendered to the Gospel. The stake,
in his idea, would have been the real catastrophe of this tragedy. "I
absolve you from this diet, in the name of the Lord,"[602] wrote he to
his friends. "Now home, return home, again I say home! Would to God
that I were the sacrifice offered to this new council, as John Huss at
Constance!"[603]
[601] Epistle to the Elector of Mentz. (Ibid. p. 74.)
[602] Igitur absolvo vos in nomine Domini ab isto conventu. (L. Epp.
iv. p. 96.)
[603] Vellem ego sacrificium esse hujus novissimi concilii, sicut
Johannes Huss Constantiæ. (Ibid. p. 110.)
But Luther did not expect so glorious a conclusion: he compared the
diet to a drama. First, there had been the exposition, then the
prologue, afterwards the action, and now he waited for the tragic
catastrophe, according to some, but which, in his opinion, would be
merely comic.[604] Everything, he thought, would be sacrificed to
political peace, and dogmas would be set aside. This proceeding,
which, even in our own days, would be in the eyes of the world the
height of wisdom, was in Luther's eyes the height of folly.
[604] Sed catastrophen illi tragicam, nos comicam expectamus. (Ibid.
p. 85.)
[Sidenote: SONG OF TRIUMPH.]
It was the intervention of Charles which especially alarmed him. To
withdraw the Church from all secular influence, and the governments
from all clerical influence, was then one of the dominant ideas of the
great Reformer. "You see," wrote he to Melancthon, "that they oppose
to our cause the same argument as at Worms, to wit, still and for ever
the judgment of the Emperor. Thus Satan is always harping on the same
string, and that emaciated strength[605] of the civil power is the
only one which this myriad-wiled spirit is able to find against Jesus
Christ." But Luther took courage, and boldly raised his head. "Christ
is coming," continued he; "he is coming, sitting at the right
hand......Of whom? not of the Emperor, or we should long ago have been
lost, but of God himself: let us fear nothing. Christ is the King of
kings and the Lord of lords. If he loses this title at Augsburg, he
must also lose it in all the earth, and in all the heavens."
[605] Sic Satan chorda semper oberrat eadem, et mille-artifex ille non
habet contra Christum, nisi unum illud elumbe robur. (Ibid. p. 100.)
Thus a song of triumph was, on the part of the Confessors of Augsburg,
the first movement that followed this courageous act, unique doubtless
in the annals of the Church. Some of their adversaries at first shared
in their triumph, and the others were silent; but a powerful reaction
took place erelong.
On the following morning, Charles having risen in ill-humour and tired
for want of sleep, the first of his ministers who appeared in the
imperial apartments was the Count-palatine, as wearied and embarrassed
as his master. "We must yield something," said he to Charles; "and I
would remind your majesty that the Emperor Maximilian was willing to
grant the two kinds in the Eucharist, the marriage of priests, and
liberty with respect to the fasts." Charles the Fifth eagerly seized
at this proposition as a means of safety. But Granvelle and Campeggio
soon arrived, who induced him to withdraw it.
[Sidenote: AN INGENUOUS CONFESSION.]
Rome, bewildered for a moment by the blow that had struck her, rose up
again with energy. "I stay with the mother," exclaimed the Bishop of
Wartzburg, meaning by it the Church of Rome; "the mother, the mother!"
"My lord," wittily replied Brenz, "pray, do not, for the mother,
forget either the Father or the Son!"--"Well! I grant it," replied the
Archbishop of Salzburg to one of his friends, "I also should desire
the communion in both kinds, the marriage of priests, the reformation
of the Mass, liberty as regards food and other traditions......But
that it should be a monk, a poor monk, who presumes to reform us all,
is what we cannot tolerate."[606]--"I should have no objection," said
another bishop, "for the Divine worship to be celebrated everywhere
as it is at Wittemberg; but we can never consent that this new
doctrine should issue from such a corner."[607] And Melancthon
insisting with the Archbishop of Salzburg on the necessity of a reform
of the clergy: "Well! and how can you wish to reform us?" said the
latter abruptly: "we priests have always been good for nothing." This
is one of the most ingenuous confessions that the Reformation has torn
from the priests. Every day fanatical monks and doctors, brimful of
sophisms, were seen arriving at Augsburg, who endeavoured to inflame
the hatred of the Emperor and of the princes.[608] "If we formerly had
friends," said Melancthon on the morrow of the Confession, "now we
possess them no longer. We are here alone, abandoned by all, and
contending against measureless dangers."[609]
[606] Sed quod unus monachus debeat nos reformare omnes. (Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 155.)
[607] Aus dem Loch und Winckel. (L. Opp. xx. p. 307.)
[608] Quotidie confluunt huc sophistæ ac monachi. (Corp. Ref. ii. p.
141.)
[609] Nos hic soli ac deserti. (Ibid.)
[Sidenote: FAILURE OF THE POPISH INTRIGUES.]
Charles, impelled by these contrary parties, affected a great
indifference. But without permitting it to be seen, he endeavoured,
meanwhile, to examine this affair thoroughly. "Let there not be a word
wanting," he had said to his secretary, when requiring from him a
French translation of the Confession. "He does not allow anything to
be observed," whispered the Protestants one to another, convinced that
Charles was gained; "for if it were known, he would lose his Spanish
states: let us maintain the most profound secresy." But the Emperor's
courtiers, who perceived these strange hopes, smiled and shook their
heads. "If you have money," said Schepper, one of the secretaries of
state, to Jonas and Melancthon, "it will be easy for you to buy from
the Italians whatever religion you please;[610] but if your purse is
empty, your cause is lost." Then assuming a more serious tone: "It is
impossible," said he, "for the Emperor, surrounded as he is by
bishops and cardinals, to approve of any other religion than that of
the Pope."
[610] Nos, si pecuniam haberemus, facile religionem quam vellemus
emturos ab Italis. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 156.)
This was soon evident. On the day after the confession (Sunday, 26th
June), before the breakfast hour,[611] all the deputations from the
imperial cities were collected in the Emperor's antechamber. Charles,
desirous of bringing back the states of the Empire to unity, began
with the weakest. "Some of the cities," said the count palatine, "have
not adhered to the last Diet of Spire: the Emperor calls upon them to
submit to it."
[611] Heute vor dem morgenessen. (Ibid. p. 143.)
Strasburg, Nuremberg, Constance, Ulm, Reutlingen, Heilbronn,
Memmingen, Lindau, Kempten, Windsheim, Isny, and Weissemburg, which
were thus summoned to renounce the famous protest, found the moment
curiously chosen. They asked for time.
The position was complicated; discord had been thrown in the midst of
the cities, and intrigue was labouring daily to increase it.[612] It
was not only between the Popish and the Evangelical cities that
disagreement existed; but also between the Zwinglian and the Lutheran
cities, and even among the latter, those which had not adhered to the
Confession of Augsburg manifested great ill-humour towards the
deputies of Reutlingen and Nuremberg. This proceeding of Charles the
Fifth was therefore skilfully calculated; for it was based on the old
axiom, _Divide et impera_.
[612] Es sind unter uns Städten, viel practica und Selt Sames wesens.
(Corp. Ref. ii p. 151.)
But the enthusiasm of faith overcame all these stratagems, and on the
next day (27th June), the deputies from the cities transmitted a reply
to the Emperor, in which they declared that they could not adhere to
the _Recess_ of Spire "without disobeying God, and without
compromising the salvation of their souls."[613]
[613] Ohne Verletzung der gewissen gegen Gott. (F. Urkunden. ii. P.
6.)
[Sidenote: THE EMPEROR'S COUNCIL.]
Charles, who desired to observe a just medium, more from policy than
from equity, wavered between so many contrary convictions. Desirous
nevertheless of essaying his mediating influence, he convoked the
states faithful to Rome on Sunday, 26th June, shortly after his
conference with the cities.
All the princes were present: even the Pope's legate and the most
influential Roman divines appeared at this council, to the great
scandal of the Protestants. "What reply should be made to the
Confession?" was the question set by Charles the Fifth to the senate
that surrounded him.[614]
[614] Adversarii nostri jam deliberant quid velint respondere. (Corp.
Ref. ii. 26th June.)
Three different opinions were proposed. "Let us beware," said the men
of the Papacy, "of discussing our adversaries' reasons, and let us be
content with executing the Edict of Worms against the Lutherans, and
with constraining them by arms."[615]--"Let us submit the Confession
to the examination of impartial judges," said the men of the Empire,
"and refer the final decision to the Emperor. Is not even the reading
of the Confession an appeal of the Protestants to the imperial power?"
Others, in the last place (and these were the men of tradition and of
ecclesiastical doctrine), were desirous of commissioning certain
doctors to compose a refutation, which should be read to the
Protestants and ratified by Charles.
[615] Rem agendam esse vi, non audiendam causam. (Ibid. p. 154.)
[Sidenote: VIOLENT DISCUSSIONS.]
The debate was very animated: the mild and the violent, the politic
and the fanatical, took a decided course in the assembly. George of
Saxony and Joachim of Brandenburg showed themselves the most
inveterate, and surpassed in this respect even the ecclesiastical
princes.[616] "A certain clown, whom you know well, is pushing them
all from behind,"[617] wrote Melancthon to Luther; "and certain
hypocritical theologians hold the torch and lead the whole band." This
clown was doubtless Duke George. Even the Princes of Bavaria, whom the
Confession had staggered at first, immediately rallied around the
chiefs of the Roman party. The Elector of Mentz, the Bishop of
Augsburg, the Duke of Brunswick, showed themselves the least
unfavourable to the Evangelical cause. "I can by no means advise his
majesty to employ force," said Albert. "If his majesty should
constrain their consciences, and should afterwards quit the Empire,
the first victims sacrificed would be the priests; and who knows
whether, in the midst of these discords, the Turks would not suddenly
fall upon us?" But this somewhat interested wisdom of the archbishop
did not find many supporters, and the men of war immediately plunged
into the discussion with their harsh voices. "If there is any fighting
against the Lutherans," said Count Felix of Werdenburg, "I
gratuitously offer my sword, and I swear never to return it to its
scabbard until it has overthrown the stronghold of Luther." This
nobleman died suddenly a few days after, from the consequences of his
intemperance. Then the moderate men again interfered: "The Lutherans
attack no one article of the faith," said the Bishop of Augsburg; "let
us come to an arrangement with them; and to obtain peace, let us
concede to them the sacrament in both kinds and the marriage of
priests. I would even yield more, if it were necessary." Upon this
great cries arose: "He is a Lutheran," they exclaimed, "and you will
see that he is fully prepared to sacrifice even the private
masses!"--"The masses! we must not even think of it," remarked some
with an ironical smile; "Rome will never give them up, for it is they
which maintain her cardinals and her courtiers, with their luxury and
their kitchens."[618] The Archbishop of Salzburg and the Elector of
Brandenburg replied with great violence to the motion of the Bishop of
Augsburg. "The Lutherans," said they abruptly, "have laid before us a
Confession written with black ink on white paper. Well! If I were
Emperor, I would answer them with _red ink_."[619]--"Sirs," quickly
replied the Bishop of Augsburg, "take care then that the red letters
do not fly in your faces!" The Elector of Mentz was compelled to
interfere and calm the speakers.
[616] Hi sunt duces, et quidem acerrimi alterius partis. (Ibid.)
[617] Omnes unus gubernat rusticus. (Corp. Ref. 26th June p. 176.)
[618] Cardinel, Churstusanen, Pracht und Küchen. (Brück Apol. p. 63.)
[619] Wir wokten antvorten mit einer Schrift mit Rubricken
geschrieben. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 147.)
[Sidenote: A REFUTATION PROPOSED.]
The Emperor, desirous of playing the character of an umpire, would
have wished the Roman party at least to have placed in his hands an
accusation against the Reform: but all was now altered; the majority,
becoming daily more compact since the Diet of Spire, no longer sided
with Charles. Full of the sentiment of its own strength, it refused to
assume the title of a party, and to take the Emperor as a judge. "What
are you saying," cried they, "of diversity between the members of the
Empire? There is but one legitimate party. It is not a question of
deciding between two opinions whose rights are equal, but of crushing
rebels, and of aiding those who have remained faithful to the
constitution of the Empire."
This haughty language enlightened Charles: he found they had
outstripped him, and that, abandoning his lofty position of arbiter,
he must submit merely to be the executer of the orders of the
majority. It was this majority which henceforward commanded in
Augsburg. They excluded the imperial councillors who advocated more
equitable views, and the Archbishop of Mentz himself ceased for a time
to appear in the diet.[620]
[620] Non venit in senatum. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 175.)
The majority ordered that a refutation of the Evangelical doctrine
should be immediately drawn up by Romish theologians. If they had
selected for this purpose moderate men like the Bishop of Augsburg,
the Reformation would still have had some chance of success with the
great principles of Christianity; but it was to the enemies of the
Reform, to the old champions of Rome and of Aristotle, exasperated by
so many defeats, that they resolved to intrust this task.
[Sidenote: ITS AUTHORS.]
They were numerous at Augsburg, and were not held in great esteem.
"The princes," said Jonas, "have brought their learned men with them,
and some even their _unlearned_ and their fools."[621] Provost Faber
and Doctor Eck led the troop; behind them was drawn up a cohort of
monks, and above all of Dominicans, tools of the Inquisition, and
impatient to recompense themselves for the opprobrium they had so long
endured. There was the provincial of the Dominicans, Paul Hugo, their
vicar, John Bourkard, one of their priors, Conrad Koelein, who had
written against Luther's marriage; with a large body of Carthusians,
Augustines, Franciscans, and vicars of several bishops. Such were the
men who, to the number of twenty, were commissioned to refute
Melancthon.
[621] Quidam etiam suos ineruditos et ineptos.
One might beforehand have augured of the work by the workmen. Each one
understood that it was a question, not of refuting the Confession, but
of branding it. Campeggio, who doubtless suggested this ill-omened
list to Charles, was well aware that these doctors were incapable of
measuring themselves with Melancthon; but their names formed the most
decided standard of Popery, and announced to the world clearly and
immediately what the diet proposed to do. This was the essential
point. Rome would not leave Christendom even hope.
It was, however, requisite to know whether the diet, and the Emperor
who was its organ, had the right of pronouncing in this purely
religious matter. Charles put the question both to the Evangelicals
and to the Romanists.[622]
[622] See the document extracted from the archives of Bavaria in F.
Urkunden. ii. p. 9.
"Your highness," said Luther, who was consulted by the Elector, "may
reply with all assurance: Yes, if the Emperor wish it, let him be
judge! I will bear everything on his part; but let him decide nothing
contrary to the Word of God. Your highness cannot put the Emperor
above God himself.[623] Does not the first commandment say, _Thou
shalt have no other Gods before me_!"
[623] Konnen den Kaiser nicht uber Gott setzen. (L. Epp. iv. p. 83.)
[Sidenote: ROME AND THE CIVIL POWER.]
The reply of the Papal adherents was quite as positive in a contrary
sense. "We think," said they, "that his majesty, in accord with the
electors, princes, and states of the Empire, has the right to proceed
in this affair, as Roman Emperor, guardian, advocate, and sovereign
protector of the Church and of our most holy faith."[624] Thus, in the
first days of the Reformation, the Evangelical Church frankly ranged
itself under the throne of Jesus Christ, and the Roman Church under
the sceptre of kings. Enlightened men, even among Protestants, have
misunderstood this double nature of Protestantism and Popery.
[624] Romischen Kaiser, Vogt, Advocaten und Obristen Beschirmer der
kirken. (F. Urkunden. ii. p. 10.)
The philosophy of Aristotle and the hierarchy of Rome, thanks to this
alliance with the civil power, were at length about to see the day of
their long-expected triumph arrive. So long as the schoolmen had been
left to the force of their syllogisms and of their abuse, they had
been defeated; but now Charles the Fifth and the diet held out their
hands to them; the reasonings of Faber, Eck, and Wimpina were about to
be countersigned by the German chancellor, and confirmed by the great
seals of the Empire. Who could resist them? The Romish error has never
had any strength except by its union with the secular arm; and its
victories in the Old and in the New World are owing, even in our days,
to state patronage.[625]
[625] Tahiti for instance.
[Sidenote: PERILS OF THE CONFESSORS.]
These things did not escape the piercing eye of Luther. He saw at once
the weakness of the argument of the Papist doctors and the power of
Charles's arm. "You are waiting for your adversaries' answer," wrote
he to his friends in Augsburg; "it is already written, and here it is:
The Fathers, the Fathers, the Fathers; the Church, the Church, the
Church; usage, custom; but of the Scriptures----nothing!"[626]--"Then
the Emperor, supported by the testimony of these arbiters, will
pronounce against you;[627] and then will you hear boastings from all
sides that wilt ascend up to heaven, and threats that will descend
even to hell."
[626] Patres, Patres, Patres; Ecclesia, Ecclesia; usus, consuetudo,
præterea e Scriptura nihil. (L. Epp. iv. p. 96.)
[627] Pronuntiabit Cæsar contra vos. (Ibid.)
Thus changed the situation of the Reform. Charles was obliged to
acknowledge his weakness; and, to save the appearance of his power, he
took a decisive part with the enemies of Luther. The Emperor's
impartiality disappeared: the state turned against the Gospel, and
there remained for it no other saviour than God.
At first many gave way to extreme dejection: above all, Melancthon,
who had a nearer view of the cabals of the adversaries, exhausted
moreover by long vigils, fell almost into despair.[628] "In the
presence of these formidable evils," cried he, "I see no more
hope."[629] And then, however, he added--"Except the help of God."
[628] Quadam tristitia et quasi desesperatione vexatur. (Corp. Ref.
ii. p. 163.)
[629] Quid nobis sit sperandum in tantis odiis inimicorum. (Ibid. p.
146.)
The legate immediately set all his batteries to work. Already had
Charles several times sent for the Elector and the Landgrave, and had
used every exertion to detach them from the Evangelical
Confession.[630] Melancthon, uneasy at these secret conferences,
reduced the Confession to its _minimum_, and entreated the Elector to
demand only the two kinds in the Eucharist and the marriage of
priests. "To interdict the former of these points," said he, "would be
to alienate a great number of Christians from the communion; and to
interdict the second would be depriving the Church of all the pastors
capable of edifying it. Will they destroy religion and kindle civil
war, rather than apply to these purely ecclesiastical constitutions a
mitigation that is neither contrary to sound morals nor to
faith?"[631] The Protestant princes begged Melancthon to go himself
and make these proposals to the legate.[632]
[630] Legati Norinberg ad Senatum. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 161.)
[631] Melancthon ad Duc. Sax. Elect. (Ibid. p. 162.)
[632] Principes nostri miserunt nos ad R. D. V. (Ibid. p. 171.)
[Sidenote: THE EMPEROR'S SISTER.]
Melancthon agreed: he began to flatter himself with success; and, in
truth, there were, even among the Papists, individuals who were
favourable to the Reformation. There had recently arrived at Augsburg,
from beyond the Alps, certain propositions tolerably Lutheran;[633]
and one of the Emperor's confessors boldly professed the doctrine of
justification by faith, cursing "those asses of Germans, who cease
not," said he, "from braying against this truth."[634] One of
Charles's chaplains approved even the whole of the Confession. There
was something farther still; Charles the Fifth having consulted the
grandees of Spain, who were famous for their orthodoxy: "If the
opinions of the Protestants are contrary to the articles of the
faith," they had replied, "let your majesty employ all his power to
destroy this faction; but if it is a question merely of certain
changes in human ordinances and external usages, let all violence be
avoided."[635] "Admirable reply!" exclaimed Melancthon, who persuaded
himself that the Romish doctrine was at the bottom in accordance with
the Gospel.
[633] Pervenerunt ad nos propositiones quædam Italicæ satis Lutheranæ.
(Ibid. p. 163.)
[634] Istis Germanis asinis, nobis in hac parte obgannientibus.
(Ibid.)
[635] Hispanici proceres præclare et sapienter responderunt Cæsari.
(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 179.)
The Reformation found defenders in even still higher stations. Mary,
sister of Charles the Fifth, and widow of King Louis of Hungary,
arriving at Augsburg three days after the reading of the Confession,
with her sister-in-law the Queen of Bohemia, Ferdinand's wife,
assiduously studied the Holy Scriptures; she carried them with her in
the hunting parties, in which she found little pleasure, and had
discovered therein the jewel of the Reform,--the doctrine of
gratuitous salvation. This pious princess made her chaplain read
evangelical sermons to her, and often endeavoured, although with
prudence, to appease her brother Charles with regard to the
Protestants.[636]
[636] Ἡ ἁδελφἡ ἁυτοκρατορος studet nobis placare
fratrem. (Ibid. p. 178.)
[Sidenote: VACILLATION OF MELANCTHON.]
Melancthon, encouraged by these demonstrations, and at the same time
alarmed by the threats of war that the adversaries did not cease from
uttering, thought it his duty to purchase peace at any cost, and
resolved in consequence to descend in his propositions as low as
possible. He therefore demanded an interview with the legate in a
letter whose authenticity has been unreasonably doubted.[637] At the
decisive moment the heart of the Reform champion fails--his head
turns--he staggers--he falls; and in his fall he runs the risk of
dragging with him the cause which martyrs have already watered with
their blood.
[637] See the Corp. Ref. ii. p. 168
Thus speaks the representative of the Reformation to the
representative of the Papacy:--
"There is no doctrine in which we differ from the Roman Church;[638]
we venerate the universal authority of the Roman Pontiff, and we are
ready to obey him, provided he does not reject us, and that of his
clemency, which he is accustomed to show towards all nations, he will
kindly pardon or approve certain little things that it is no longer
possible for us to change......Now then, will you reject those who
appear as suppliants before you? Will you pursue them with fire and
sword?......Alas! nothing draws upon us in Germany so much hatred, as
the unshaken firmness with which we maintain the doctrines of the
Roman Church.[639] But with the aid of God, we will remain faithful,
even unto death, to Christ and to the Roman Church, although you
should reject us."[640]
[638] Dogma nullum habemus diversum ab Ecclesia Romana. (Ibid. p.
170.)
[639] Quam quia Ecclesiæ Romanæ dogmata summa constantia defendimus.
(Ibid.)
[640] Vel si recusabitis nos in gratiam recipere. (Ibid.)
[Sidenote: LUTHER OPPOSES CONCESSION.]
Thus did Melancthon humble himself. God permitted this fall, that
future ages might clearly see how low the Reform was willing to
descend in order to maintain unity, and that no one might doubt that
the schism had come from Rome; but also assuredly that they might
learn how great in every important work is the weakness of the
noblest instruments.
Fortunately there was then another man who upheld the honour of the
Reformation. At this very time Luther wrote to Melancthon: "There can
be no concord between Christ and Belial. As far as regards me, I will
not yield a hair's breadth.[641] Sooner than yield, I should prefer
suffering everything, even the most terrible evils. Concede so much
the less, as your adversaries require the more. God will not aid us
until we are abandoned by all."[642] And fearing some weakness on the
part of his friends, Luther added: "If it were not tempting God, you
would long ago have seen me at your side!"[643]
[641] At certe pro mea persona, ne pilum quidem cedam. (L. Epp. iv. p.
88.)
[642] Neque enim juvabimur ni deserti prius simus. (Ibid. p. 91.)
[643] Certe jamdudum coram vidissetis me. (Ibid. p. 98.)
Never, in fact, had Luther's presence been so necessary, for the
legate had consented to an interview, and Melancthon was about to pay
court to Campeggio.[644]
[644] Ego multos prehensare soleo et Campegium etiam. (Corp. Ref. ii.
p. 193.)
The 8th July was the day appointed by the legate. His letter inspired
Philip with the most sanguine hopes. "The cardinal assures me that he
will accede the usage of the two kinds, and the marriage of priests,"
said he; "I am eager to visit him!"[645]
[645] Propero enim ad Campegium. (Ibid. p. 174.)
[Sidenote: SCHEME OF THE ROMISH DOCTORS.]
This visit might decide the destiny of the Church. If the legate
accepted Philip's _ultimatum_, the Evangelical countries would be
replaced under the power of the Romish bishops, and all would have
been over with the Reformation; but it was saved through the pride and
blindness of Rome. The Papists, believing it on the brink of the
abyss, thought that a last blow would settle it, and resolved, like
Luther, to concede nothing, "not even a hair's breadth." The legate,
however, even while refusing, assumed an air of kindness, and of
yielding to foreign influence. "I might have the power of making
certain concessions, but it would not be prudent to use it without the
consent of the German princes;[646] their will must be done; one of
them in particular conjures the Emperor to prevent us from yielding
the least thing. I can grant nothing." The Roman prince, with the most
amiable smile, then did all he could to gain the chief of the
Protestant teachers. Melancthon retired filled with shame at the
advances he had made, but still deceived by Campeggio. "No doubt,"
said he, "Eck and Cochlœus have been beforehand with me at the
legate's."[647] Luther entertained a different opinion. "I do not
trust to any of these Italians," said he; "they are scoundrels. When
an Italian is good, he is very good; but then he is a black swan."
[646] Se nihil posse decernere, nisi de voluntate principum Germaniæ.
(Corp. Ref. ii. p. 174.)
[647] Forte ad legatum veniebant Eccius et Cochlœus. (Ibid. p. 175)
It was truly the Italians who were concerned. Shortly after the 12th
of July arrived the Pope's instructions. He had received the
confession by express[648] and sixteen days had sufficed for the
transmission, the deliberation, and the return. Clement would hear no
mention either of discussions or of council. Charles was to march
straight to the mark, to send an army into Germany, and stifle the
Reformation by force. At Augsburg, however, it was thought best not to
go so quickly to work, and recourse was had to other means.
[648] Nostra Confessio ad Romam per veredarios missa est. (Corp. Ref.
ii. pp. 186, 219.)
[Sidenote: MELANCTHON'S EXPLANATION.]
"Be quiet; we have them," said the Romish doctors. Sensible of the
reproach that had been made against them, of having misrepresented the
Reformation, they accused the Protestants themselves as being the
cause. "These it is," they said, "who, to give themselves an air of
being in accord with us, now dissemble their heresy; but we will now
catch them in their own nets. If they confess to not having inserted
in their Confession all that they reject, it will be proved that they
are trifling with us. If, on the contrary, they pretend to have said
everything, they will by that very circumstance be compelled to admit
all that they have not condemned." The Protestant princes were
therefore called together, and they were asked if the Reformation was
confined to the doctrines indicated in the Apology, or if there was
something more.[649]
[649] An plura velimus Cæsari præponere controversa quam fecerimus.
(Ibid. p. 188.)
The snare was skilfully laid. The Papacy had not even been mentioned
in Melancthon's paper; other errors besides had been omitted, and
Luther himself complained of it aloud. "Satan sees clearly," said he,
"that your Apology has passed lightly over the articles of purgatory,
the worship of saints, and, above all, of the Pope and of Antichrist."
The princes requested to confer with their allies of the towns; and
all the Protestants assembled to deliberate on this momentous
incident.
They, looked for Melancthon's explanation, who did not decline the
responsibility of the affair. Easily dejected through his own anxiety,
he became bold whenever he was directly attacked. "All the essential
doctrines," said he, "have been set forth in the Confession, and every
error and abuse that is opposed to them has been pointed out. But was
it necessary to plunge into all those questions so full of contention
and animosity, that are discussed in our universities? Was it
necessary to ask if all Christians are priests, if the primacy of the
Pope is of right divine, if there can be indulgences, if every good
work is a deadly sin, if there are more than seven sacraments, if they
may be administered by a layman, if divine election has any foundation
in our own merits, if sacerdotal consecration impresses an indelible
character, if auricular confession is necessary to salvation?......No,
no! all these things are in the province of the schools, and by no
means essential to faith."[650]
[650] Melancthonis Judicium. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 182.)
[Sidenote: THE REFUTATION.]
It cannot be denied that in the questions thus pointed out by
Melancthon there were important points. However that may be, the
Evangelical committee were soon agreed, and on the morrow they gave
an answer to Charles's ministers, drawn up with as much frankness as
firmness, in which they said "that the Protestants, desirous of
arriving at a cordial understanding, had not wished to complicate
their situation, and had proposed not to specify all the errors that
had been introduced into the Church, but to confess all the doctrines
that were essential to salvation; that if, nevertheless, the adverse
party felt itself urged to maintain certain abuses, or to put forward
any point not mentioned in the Confession, the Protestants declared
themselves ready to reply in conformity with the Word of God."[651]
The tone of this answer showed pretty clearly that the Evangelical
Christians did not fear to follow their adversaries wherever the
latter should call them. Accordingly the Roman party said no more on
this business.
[651] Aus Gottes Wort, weiter bericht zu thun. (F. Urkundenbuch, ii.
p. 19.)
IX. The commission charged to refute the Confession met twice a
day,[652] and each of the theologians who composed it added to it his
refutation and his hatred.
[652] Bis die convenire dicuntur. (Zw. Epp. ii. p. 472.)
On the 13th July the work was finished. "Eck with his band,"[653] said
Melancthon, "transmitted it to the Emperor." Great was the
astonishment of this prince and of his ministers at seeing a work of
two hundred and eighty pages filled with abuse.[654] "Bad workmen lose
much wood," said Luther, "and impious writers soil much paper." This
was not all: to the Refutation were subjoined eight appendices on the
heresies that Melancthon had dissembled (as they said), and wherein
they exposed the contradictions and "the horrible sects" to which
Lutheranism had given birth. Lastly, not confining themselves to this
official answer, the Romish theologians, who saw the sun of power
shining upon them, filled Augsburg with insolent and abusive
pamphlets.
[653] Eccius cum sua commanipulatione. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 193.)
[654] Longum et plenum conviciis scriptum. (Ibid.)
[Sidenote: CHARLES'S DISSATISFACTION.]
There was but one opinion on the Papist Refutation; it was found
confused, violent, thirsting for blood.[655] Charles the Fifth had too
much good taste not to perceive the difference that existed between
this coarse work and the noble dignity of Melancthon's Confession. He
rolled, handled, crushed, and so damaged the 280 pages of his doctors,
that when he returned them two days after, says Spalatin, there were
not more than twelve entire. Charles would have been ashamed to have
such a pamphlet read in the diet, and he required, in consequence,
that it should be drawn up anew, shorter and more moderate.[656] That
was not easy, "for the adversaries, confused and stupified," says
Brenz, "by the noble simplicity of the Evangelical Confession, neither
knew where to begin nor where to end; they accordingly took nearly
three weeks to do their work over again."[657]
[655] Adeo confusa, incondita, violenta, sanguinolenta et crudelis ut
puduerint (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 198.)
[656] Hodie auctoribus ipsis Sophistis, a Cæsare rursus esse redditam
ut emendetur et civilius componatur. (Ibid.)
[657] Nostra confessione ita stupidos, attonitos, et confusos. (Ibid.)
Charles and his ministers had great doubts of its success; leaving,
therefore, the theologians for a moment, they imagined another
manœuvre. "Let us take each of the Protestant princes separately,"
said they: "isolated, they will not resist." Accordingly, on the 15th
July, the Margrave of Brandenburg was visited by his two cousins, the
Electors of Mentz and of Brandenburg, and by his two brothers the
Margraves Frederick and John Albert. "Abandon this, new faith," said
they to him, "and return to that which existed a century ago. If you
do so, there are no favours that you may not expect from the Emperor;
if not, dread his anger."[658]
[658] Corp. Ref. ii. p. 206; F. Urkund. ii. p. 93.
[Sidenote: THE SWISS AT AUGSBURG]
Shortly after, the Duke Frederick of Bavaria, the Count of Nassau, De
Rogendorf, and Truchses were announced to the Elector on the part of
Charles. "You have solicited the Emperor," said they, "to confirm the
marriage of your son with the Princess of Juliers, and to invest you
with the electoral dignity; but his majesty declares, that if you do
not renounce the heresy of Luther, of which you are the principal
abettor, he cannot accede to your demand." At the same time the Duke
of Bavaria, employing the most urgent solicitations, accompanied with
the most animated gestures[659] and the most sinister threats,[660]
called upon the Elector to abandon his faith. "It is asserted," added
Charles's envoys, "that you have made an alliance with the Swiss. The
Emperor cannot believe it; and he orders you to let him know the
truth."
[659] Mit reden und Gebehrden prächtig erzeigt. (Ibid. p. 207.)
[660] Minas diras promissis ingentibus adjiciens. (Zw. Epp. ii. p.
484.)
The Swiss! it was the same thing as rebellion. This alliance was the
phantom incessantly invoked at Augsburg to alarm Charles the Fifth.
And in reality deputies or at least friends of the Swiss, had already
appeared in that city, and thus rendered the position still more
serious.
[Sidenote: ZWINGLE'S CONFESSION.]
Bucer had arrived two days before the reading of the Confession, and
Capito on the day subsequent to it.[661] There was even a report that
Zwingle would join them.[662] But for a long time all in Augsburg,
except the Strasburg deputation, were ignorant of the presence of
these doctors.[663] It was only twenty-one days after their arrival
that Melancthon learnt it positively,[664] so great was the mystery in
which the Zwinglians were forced to enshroud themselves. This was not
without reason: a conference with Melancthon having been requested by
them: "Let them write," replied he; "I should compromise our cause by
an interview with them." Bucer and Capito in their retreat, which was
like a prison to them, had taken advantage of their leisure to draw up
the _Tetrapolitan Confession_, or the confessions of the four cities.
The deputies of Strasburg, Constance, Nemmingen, and Lindau, presented
it to the Emperor.[665] These cities purged themselves from the
reproach of war and revolt that had been continually objected against
them. They declared that their only motive was Christ's glory, and
professed the truth "freely, boldly, but without insolence and without
scurrility."[666]
[661] Venimus huc, ego pridie solemnitatis Divi Johannis, Capito die
dominica sequente. (Zw. Epp. ii. p. 472.)
[662] Rumor apud nos est, et te cum tuis Helvetiis comitia
advolatarum. (Ibid. pp. 431, 467.)
[663] Ita latent ut non quibuslibet sui copiam faciant. (Corp. Ref. p.
196.)
[664] Capito et Bucarus adsunt. Id hodie certo comperi. (Ibid.)
[665] Cinglianæ civitates propriam Confessionem obtulerunt Cæsari.
(Corp. Ref. p. 187.) This Confession will be found in _Niemeyer_,
Collectio Confessionum, p. 740.
[666] Ingenue ac fortiter; citra procaciam tamen et sannas, id fateri
et dicere quod res est. (Zw. Epp. ii. p. 485.)
Zwingle about the same time caused a private confession to be
communicated to Charles,[667] which excited a general uproar. "Does he
not dare to say," exclaimed the Romanists, "that the _mitred and
withered race_ (by which he means the bishops) is in the Church what
hump-backs and the scrofula are in the body?"[668]--"Does he not
insinuate," said the Lutherans; "that we are beginning to look back
after the onions and garlic of Egypt?"--"One might say with great
truth that he had lost his senses," exclaimed Melancthon.[669] "All
ceremonies, according to him, ought to be abolished; all the bishops
ought to be suppressed. In a word, all is perfectly _Helvetic_, that
is to say, supremely barbarous."
[667] See Niemeyer Coll. Conf. p. 16.
[668] Pedatum et mitratum genus Episcoporum, id esset in Ecclesia,
quod gibbi et strumata in corpore. (Ibid.) Zwingle compares the
bishops to the dry and fruitless props that support the vines.
[669] Dicas simpliciter mente captum esse. (Corp. Ref. p. 193.)
One man formed an exception to this concert of reproaches, and this
was Luther. "Zwingle pleases me tolerably," wrote he to Jonas, "as
well as Bucer."[670] By Bucer, he meant no doubt the Tetrapolitan
Confession: this expression should be noted.
[670] Zwinglius mihi sane placet, et Bucerus. (L. Epp. iv. p. 110.)
[Sidenote: AFFLICTING DIVISIONS.]
Thus three confessions laid at the feet of Charles the Fifth, attested
the divisions that were rending Protestantism. In vain did Bucer and
Capito endeavour to come to an understanding with Melancthon, and
write to him: "We will meet where you will, and when you will; we will
bring Sturm alone with us, and if you desire it, we will not even
bring him."[671] All was unavailing. It is not enough for a Christian
to confess Christ; one disciple should confess another disciple, even
if the latter lies under the shame of the world; but they did not then
comprehend this duty. "Schism is in the schism," said the Romanists,
and the Emperor flattered himself with an easy victory. "Return to the
Church," was the cry from every side, "which means," interrupted the
Strasburgers, "let us put the bit in your mouths, that we may lead you
as we please."[672]
[671] Veniemus quo et quando tu voles. (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 208.)
[672] Una tamen omnium vox: _Revertimini ad Ecclesiam_. (Zw. Epp. ii.
p. 484.)
All these things deeply afflicted the Elector, who was besides still
under the burden of Charles's demands and threats. The Emperor had not
once spoken to him,[673] and it was everywhere said that his cousin
George of Saxony would be proclaimed Elector in his stead.
[673] Colloquium ejus nondum frui potuisse. (Seck. ii. p. 154.)
On the 28th July, there was a great festival at the court. Charles,
robed in his imperial garments, whose value was said to exceed 200,000
gold ducats, and displaying an air of majesty which impressed respect
and fear,[674] conferred on many princes the investiture of their
dignities; the Elector alone was excluded from these favours. Erelong
he was made to understand more plainly what was reserved for him, and
it was insinuated, that if he did not submit, the Emperor would expel
him from his states, and inflict upon him the severest punishment.[675]
[674] Apparuit Cæsar majestate......insignitus vestibus suis
imperialibus (Corp. Ref. ii. p. 242.)
[675] Müller, Gesch. der Protestation, p. 715.
[Sidenote: THE ELECTOR'S FAITH.]
The Elector turned pale, for he doubted not that such would certainly
be the termination. How with his small territory could he resist that
powerful monarch who had just vanquished France and Italy, and now saw
Germany at his feet? And besides, if he could do it, had he the right?
Frightful nightmares pursued John in his dreams. He beheld himself
stretched beneath an immense mountain under which he struggled
painfully, while his cousin George of Saxony stood on the summit and
seemed to brave him.
John at length came forth from this furnace. "I must either renounce
God or the world," said he. "Well! my choice is not doubtful. It is
God who made me Elector,--me, who was not worthy of it. I fling myself
into his arms, and let him do with me what shall seem good to him."
Thus the Elector by faith stopped the mouths of lions and subdued
kingdoms.[676]
[676] Hebrews xi. 33, 34.
All evangelical Christendom had taken part in the struggle of John the
Persevering. It was seen that if he should now fall, all would fall
with him; and they endeavoured to support him. "Fear not," cried the
Christians of Magdeburg, "for your highness is under Christ's
banner."[677] "Italy is in expectation," wrote they from Venice; "if
for Christ's glory you must die, fear nothing."[678] But it was from a
higher source that John's courage was derived. "I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven," said his Master.[679] The Elector, in
like manner, beheld in his dreams George fall from the top of the
mountain, and lie dashed in pieces at his feet.
[677] Unter dem Heerpannyr Jesu Christi. (Ibid. p. 134.)
[678] Etiamsi more subeunda tibi foret ob Christi gloriam. (Corp. Ref.
ii. 228. L. P. Roselli.)
[679] Luke x. 18.
[Sidenote: THE EMPEROR'S FAITH.]
Once resolved to lose everything, John, free, happy, and tranquil,
assembled his theologians. These generous men desired to save their
master. "Gracious lord," said Spalatin, "recollect that the Word of
God, being the sword of the Spirit, must be upheld, not by the secular
power, but by the hand of the Almighty."[680]--"Yes!" said all the
doctors, "we do not wish that, to save us, you should risk your
children, your subjects, your states, your crown......We will rather
give ourselves into the hands of the enemy, and conjure him to be
satisfied with our blood."[681] John, touched by this language,
refused, however, their solicitations, and firmly repeated these
words, which had become his device: "I also desire to confess my
Saviour."
[680] Gottes Wort keines wegs durch weltlich Schwert. (F. Urkund. ii.
p. 82.)
[681] Sie wollen ihnen an ihrem Blüte genügen lassen. (Ibid. p. 90.)