Luther now realized that the true Gospel of God's salvation and the
pontifical system were vitally and irreconcilably antagonistic; that
the one could never be held in consistency with the other; and that
there must come a final break between him and Rome. This much
depressed him. He showed his spiritual anguish by his deep dejection.
But he soon rose above it. If he had the truth of God, as he verily
believed, what were the pope and all devils against Jehovah? And so he
went on lecturing, preaching, writing, and publishing with his
greatest power, brilliancy, and effectiveness.
Some of the best and most telling products of his pen now went forth
to multitudes of eager readers. The glowing energy of his faith acted
like a spreading fire, kindling the souls of men as they seldom have
been kindled in any cause in any age. His _Address to the Nobility_
electrified all Germany, and first fired the patriotic spirit of
Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer. His book on _The Babylonian
Captivity of the Church_ sounded a bugle-note which thrilled through
all the German heart, gave Bugenhagen to the Reformation, and sent a
shudder through the hierarchy.[9] Already, at Maximilian's Diet at
Augsburg to take measures against the Turk, a Latin pamphlet was
openly circulated among the members which said that the Turk to be
resisted was living in Italy; and Miltitz, the pope's nuncio and
chamberlain, confessed that from Rome to Altenberg he had found those
greatly in the minority who did not side with Luther.