History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume III Part 10

[136] Non enim ad fidem et ad ea quae fidei sunt, ullus cogendus est......L. Epp. ii. 151.

The next day was Sunday. On that day the doctor, whom for nearly a year the lofty ramparts of the Wartburg have concealed from every eye, will reappear before the people in the pulpit of the church. It was rumoured in Wittemberg that Luther was come back, that he was going to preach. This news alone, pa.s.sing from mouth to mouth, had already given a powerful diversion to the ideas by which the people were misled. They are going to see the hero of Worms. The people crowded together, and were affected by various emotions. On Sunday morning the church was filled with an attentive and excited crowd.

Luther divines all the sentiments of his congregation; he goes up into the pulpit; there he stands in the presence of the flock that he had once led as a docile sheep, but which had broken from him like an untamed bull. His language was simple, n.o.ble, yet full of strength and gentleness: one might have supposed him to be a tender father returning to his children, inquiring into their conduct, and kindly telling them what report he had heard about them. He candidly acknowledged the progress they had made in faith; and by this means prepared and captivated their minds. He then continued in these words:--

"But we need something more than faith; we need charity. If a man who bears a sword in his hand be alone, it is of little consequence whether it be sheathed or not; but if he is in the midst of a crowd, he should act so as to wound n.o.body.

[Sidenote: CHARITY--THE WORD.]

"What does a mother do to her infant? At first she gives it milk, then some very light food. If she were to begin by giving it meat and wine, what would be the consequence?......

"So should we act towards our brethren. My friend, have you been long enough at the breast? It is well! but permit your brother to drink as long as yourself.

"Observe the sun! He dispenses two things, light and heat. There is no king so powerful as to bend aside his rays; they come straight to us; but heat is radiated and communicated in every direction. Thus faith, like light, should always be straight and inflexible; but charity, like heat, should radiate on every side, and bend to all the wants of our brethren."

Luther having thus prepared his hearers, began to press them more closely:

"The abolition of the ma.s.s, say you, is in conformity with Scripture: Agreed! But what order, what decency have you observed? It behoved you to offer up fervent prayers to the Lord, and apply to the public authority; then might every man have acknowledged that the thing was of G.o.d."

Thus spake Luther. This dauntless man, who at Worms had withstood the princes of the earth, produced a deep impression on the minds of his hearers by these words of wisdom and of peace. Carlstadt and the prophets of Zwickau, so great and powerful for a few weeks, and who had tyrannized over and agitated Wittemberg, had shrunk into pigmies beside the captive of the Wartburg.

"The ma.s.s," continued he, "is a bad thing; G.o.d is opposed to it; it ought to be abolished; and I would that throughout the whole world it were replaced by the Supper of the Gospel. But let no one be torn from it by force. We must leave the matter in G.o.d's hands. His Word must act, and not we. And why so, you will ask? Because I do not hold men's hearts in my hand, as the potter holds the clay. We have a right to speak; we have not the right to act. Let us preach: the rest belongs unto G.o.d. Were I to employ force, what should I gain? Grimace, formality, apeings, human ordinances, and hypocrisy......But there would be no sincerity of heart, nor faith, nor charity. Where these three are wanting, all is wanting, and I would not give a pear-stalk for such a result.[137]

[137] Ich wollte nicht einen Birnstiel drauf geben. L. Opp. (L.) xviii. 225.

[Sidenote: HOW THE REFORMATION WAS EFFECTED.]

"Our first object must be to win men's hearts; and for that purpose we must preach the Gospel. To-day the Word will fall in one heart, to-morrow in another, and it will operate in such a manner that each one will withdraw from the ma.s.s and abandon it. G.o.d does more by his Word alone than you and I and all the world by our united strength.

G.o.d lays hold upon the heart; and when the heart is taken, all is won.

"I do not say this for the restoration of the ma.s.s. Since it is down, in G.o.d's name there let it lie! But should you have gone to work as you did? Paul, arriving one day in the powerful city of Athens, found there altars raised to false G.o.ds. He went from one to the other, and observed them without touching one. But he walked peaceably to the middle of the market-place, and declared to the people that all their G.o.ds were idols. His language took possession of their hearts, and the idols fell without Paul's having touched them.

"I will preach, discuss, and write; but I will constrain none, for faith is a voluntary act. See what I have done! I stood up against the pope, indulgences, and papists, but without violence or tumult. I put forward G.o.d's Word; I preached and wrote--this was all I did. And yet while I was asleep, or seated familiarly at table with Amsdorff and Melancthon, drinking and gossiping over our Wittemberg beer, the Word that I had preached overthrew popery, so that neither prince nor emperor has done it so much harm. And yet I did nothing: the Word alone did all. If I had wished to appeal to force, the whole of Germany would perhaps have been deluged with blood. But what would have been the result? Ruin and desolation both to body and soul. I therefore kept quiet, and left the Word to run through the world alone. Do you know what the devil thinks when he sees men resort to violence to propagate the Gospel through the world? Seated with folded arms behind the fire of h.e.l.l, Satan says, with malignant looks and frightful grin: 'Ah! how wise these madmen are to play my game!' But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the field of battle, then he is troubled, and his knees knock together; he shudders and faints with fear."

[Sidenote: SATAN--THE LORD'S SUPPER.]

Luther went into the pulpit again on Tuesday; and his powerful voice resounded once more through the agitated crowd. He preached again on the five succeeding days. He took a review of the destruction of images, distinction of meats, the inst.i.tution of the Lord's Supper, the restoration of the cup, the abolition of confession. He showed that these points were of far less importance than the ma.s.s, and that the originators of the disorders that had taken place in Wittemberg had grossly abused their liberty. He employed by turns the language of christian charity and bursts of holy indignation.

He inveighed more especially against those who partook thoughtlessly of Christ's Supper. "It is not the outward manducation that maketh a Christian," said he, "but the inward and spiritual eating that worketh by faith, and without which all forms are mere show and grimace. Now this faith consists in a firm belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of G.o.d; that having taken our sins and iniquities upon himself, and having borne them on the cross, he is himself their sole and almighty atonement; that he stands continually before G.o.d, that he reconcileth us with the Father, and that he hath given us the sacrament of his body to strengthen our faith in this unspeakable mercy. If I believe in these things, G.o.d is my defender; with him, I brave sin, death, h.e.l.l, and devils; they can do me no harm, nor disturb a single hair of my head. This spiritual bread is the consolation of the afflicted, health to the sick, life to the dying, food to the hungry, riches to the poor. He who does not groan under his sins must not approach that altar: what can he do there? Ah! let our conscience accuse us, let our hearts be rent in twain at the thought of our sins, and then we shall not so presumptuously approach the holy sacrament."

[Sidenote: DISCRETION AND COURAGE.]

The crowd ceased not to fill the temple; people flocked from the neighbouring towns to hear the new Elijah. Among others, Capito spent two days at Wittemberg, and heard two of the doctor's sermons. Never had Luther and Cardinal Albert's chaplain been so well agreed.

Melancthon, the magistrates, the professors, and all the inhabitants, were delighted.[138] Schurff, charmed at the result of so gloomy an affair, hastened to communicate it to the elector. On Friday the 15th March, the day on which Luther delivered his sixth sermon, he wrote: "Oh, what joy has Dr. Martin's return diffused among us! His words, through Divine mercy, every day are bringing back our poor misguided people into the way of truth. It is clear as the sun that the Spirit of G.o.d is in him, and that by His special providence he returned to Wittemberg."[139]

[138] Grosse Freude und Frohlocken unter Gelahrten und Ungelahrten. L.

Opp. xviii. 266.

[139] Aus sonderlicher Schickung des Allmachtigen......Ibid.

In truth, these sermons are models of popular eloquence, but not of that which in the times of Demosthenes, or even of Savonarola, fired men's hearts. The task of the Wittemberg orator was more difficult. It is easier to rouse the fury of a wild beast than to allay it. Luther had to soothe a fanaticized mult.i.tude, to tame its unbridled pa.s.sions; and in this he succeeded. In his eight discourses, the reformer did not allow one offensive word to escape him against the originators of these disorders,--not one unpleasant allusion. But the greater his moderation, the greater also was his strength; the more caution he used towards these deluded men, the more powerful was his vindication of offended truth. How could the people of Wittemberg resist his powerful eloquence? Men usually ascribe to timidity, fear, and compromise, those speeches that advocate moderation. Here there was nothing of the sort. Luther appeared before the inhabitants of Wittemberg, braving the excommunication of the pope and the proscription of the emperor. He had returned in despite of the prohibition of the elector, who had declared his inability to defend him. Even at Worms, Luther had not shown so much courage. He confronted the most imminent dangers; and accordingly his words were not disregarded: the man who braved the scaffold had a right to exhort to submission. That man may boldly speak of obedience to G.o.d, who, to do so, defies all the persecution of man. At Luther's voice all objections vanished, the tumult subsided, seditious cries were heard no longer, and the citizens of Wittemberg returned quietly to their dwellings.

[Sidenote: DIDYMUS--CARLSTADT--THE PROPHETS.]

Gabriel Didymus, who had shown himself the most enthusiastic of all the Augustine friars, did not lose one of the reformer's words. "Do you not think Luther a wonderful teacher?" asked a hearer in great emotion. "Ah!" replied he, "I seem to listen to the voice, not of a man, but of an angel."[140] Erelong Didymus openly acknowledged that he had been deceived. "He is quite another man," said Luther.[141]

[140] Imo, inquit, angeli, non hominis vocem mihi audisse videor.

Camer. p. 12.

[141] In alium virum mutatus est. L. Epp. ii. 156.

It was not so at first with Carlstadt. Despising learning, pretending to frequent the workshops of the Wittemberg mechanics to receive understanding of the Holy Scriptures, he was mortified at seeing his work crumble away at Luther's appearance.[142] In his eyes this was checking the reform itself. Hence his air was always dejected, gloomy, and dissatisfied. Yet he sacrificed his self-love for the sake of peace; he restrained his desires of vengeance, and became reconciled, outwardly at least, with his colleague, and shortly after resumed his lectures in the university.[143]

[142] Ego Carlstadium offendi, quod ordinationes suas cessavi. Ibid.

177.

[143] Philippi et Carlstadii lectiones, ut sunt optimae. Ibid. 284.

[Sidenote: CONFERENCE BETWEEN LUTHER AND THE PROPHETS.]

The chief prophets were not at Wittemberg when Luther returned.

Nicholas Storch was wandering through the country; Mark Stubner had quitted Melancthon's hospitable roof. Perhaps their prophetic spirit had disappeared, and they had had _neither voice nor answer_,[144] so soon as they learnt that the new Elijah was directing his steps towards this new Carmel. The old schoolmaster Cellarius alone had remained. Stubner, however, being informed that the sheep of his fold were scattered, hastily returned. Those who were still faithful to "the heavenly prophecy" gathered round their master, reported Luther's speeches to him, and asked him anxiously what they were to think and do.[145] Stubner exhorted them to remain firm in their faith. "Let him appear," cried Cellarius, "let him grant us a conference,--let him only permit us to set forth our doctrine, and then we shall see......"

[144] 1 Kings xviii. 29.

[145] Rursum ad ipsum confluere......Camer. p. 52.

[Sidenote: END OF THE CONTEST--IMPORTANCE AND RESULTS.]

Luther cared little to meet such men as these; he knew them to be of violent, impatient, and haughty disposition, who could not endure even kind admonition, and who required that every one should submit at the first word, as to a supreme authority.[146] Such are enthusiasts in every age. And yet, as they desired an interview, the doctor could not refuse it. Besides, it might be of use to the weak ones of the flock were he to unmask the imposture of the prophets. The conference took place. Stubner opened the proceedings, explaining in what manner he desired to regenerate the Church and transform the world. Luther listened to him with great calmness.[147] "Nothing that you have advanced," replied he at last gravely, "is based upon Holy Scripture.--It is all a mere fable." At these words Cellarius could contain himself no longer; he raised his voice, gesticulated like a madman, stamped, and struck the table with his fist,[148] and exclaimed, in a pa.s.sion, that it was an insult to speak thus to a man of G.o.d. Upon this Luther observed: "St. Paul declares that the proofs of his apostles.h.i.+p were made known by miracles; prove yours in like manner."--"We will do so," answered the prophets.[149] "The G.o.d whom I wors.h.i.+p," said Luther, "will know how to bridle your G.o.ds." Stubner, who had preserved his tranquillity, then fixed his eyes on the reformer, and said to him with an air of inspiration, "Martin Luther!

I will declare what is now pa.s.sing in thy soul......Thou art beginning to believe that my doctrine is true." Luther, after a brief pause, exclaimed: "G.o.d chastise thee, Satan!" At these words all the prophets were as if distracted. "The Spirit, the Spirit!" cried they.

Luther, adopting that cool tone of contempt and cutting and homely language so familiar to him, said, "I slap your _spirit_ on the snout."[150] Their clamours now increased; Cellarius, in particular, distinguished himself by his violence. He foamed and trembled with anger.[151] They could not hear one another in the room where they met in conference. At length the three prophets abandoned the field and left Wittemberg the same day.

[146] Vehementer superbus et impatiens......credi vult plena auctoritate, ad primam vocem......L. Epp. ii. 179.

[147] Audivit Lutherus placide. Camer. p. 52.

[148] c.u.m et solum pedibus et propositam mensulam manibus feriret.

Ibid.

[149] Quid pollicentes de mirabilibus affectionibus. Ibid. p. 53.

[150] Ihren Geist haue er uber die Schnauze. L. Opp. Altenburg. Ausg.

iii. 137.

[151] Spumabat et fremebat et furebat. L. Epp. ii. 179.

Thus had Luther accomplished the work for which he had left his retreat. He had made a stand against fanaticism, and expelled from the bosom of the renovated Church the enthusiasm and disorder by which it had been invaded. If with one hand the Reformation threw down the dusty decretals of Rome, with the other it rejected the a.s.sumptions of the mystics, and established, on the ground it had won, the living and unchangeable Word of G.o.d. The character of the Reformation was thus firmly settled. It was destined to walk for ever between these two extremes, equally remote from the convulsions of the fanatics and the death-like torpor of the papacy.