[7] Many of the sayings which Tetzel gave out in his addresses to the
people have been preserved, and are amply attested by those who
listened to his harangues.
"I would not," said he, "exchange my privileges for those of St. Peter
in heaven. He saved many by his sermons; I have saved more by my
indulgences."
"Indulgences are the most precious and sublime of all the gifts of
God."
"No sins are so great that these pardons cannot cover them."
"Not for the living only, but for the dead also, there is immediate
salvation in these indulgences."
"Ye priests, nobles, tradespeople, wives, maidens, young men! the
souls of your parents and beloved ones are crying from the depths
below: 'See our torments! A small alms would deliver us; and you can
give it, and you will not.'"
"O dull and brutish people, not to appreciate the grace so richly
offered! This day heaven is open on all sides, and how many are the
souls you might redeem if you only would! Your father is in flames,
and you can deliver him for ten groschen, and you do it not! What
punishment must come for neglecting so great salvation! You should
strip your coat from your back, if you have no other, and sell it to
purchase so great grace as this, for God hath given all power to the
pope."
"The bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul, with those of many blessed
martyrs, lie exposed, trampled on, polluted, dishonored, and rotting
in the weather. Our most holy lord the pope means to build the church
to cover them with glory that shall have no equal on the earth. Shall
those holy ashes be left to be trodden in the mire?"
"Therefore bring your money, and do a work most profitable to departed
souls. Buy! buy!"
"This red cross with the pope's arms has equal virtue with the Cross
of Christ."
"These pardons make cleaner than baptism, and purer than Adam was in
his innocence in Paradise."
In the certificates which Tetzel gave to those who bought these
pardons he declared that "by the authority of Jesus Christ, and of his
apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, I do absolve thee
first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have
been incurred, and then _from all thy sins, transgressions, and
excesses, however enormous soever they may be_. I remit to you all
punishment which you deserve in Purgatory on their account, and I
restore you to the holy sacraments of the Church, union with the
faithful, and to that innocence and purity possessed at baptism; _so
that when you die the gates of punishment shall be shut and the gates
of the happy Paradise shall be opened; and if your death shall be
delayed, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the
point of death_."
The sums required for these passports to glory varied according to the
rank and wealth of the applicant. For ordinary indulgence a king,
queen, or bishop was to pay twenty-five ducats (a ducat being about a
dollar of our money); abbots, counts, barons, and the like were
charged ten ducats; other nobles and all who enjoyed annual incomes of
five hundred florins were charged six ducats; and so down to half a
florin, or twenty-five cents.
But the commissioner also had a special scale for taxes on particular
sins. Sodomy was charged twelve ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine;
murder, seven or eight; witchcraft and polygamy, from two to six;
taking the life of a parent, brother, sister, or an infant, from one
to six.