History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume II Part 17

[268] Rev. xxii, 11.

Luther narrates his intercourse with De Vio, Milt.i.tz, and Eck, and then continues.

"Now, then, I come to you, O Most Holy Father, and, prostrated at your feet, pray you, if possible, to put a curb on the enemies of the truth. But I cannot retract my doctrine. I cannot permit rules of interpretation to be imposed on the Holy Scriptures. The Word of G.o.d, the source whence all freedom springs, must be left free.[269]

[269] Leges interpretandi verbi Dei non patior, c.u.m oporteat verb.u.m Dei esse non alligatum, quod libertatem docet. (L. Ep. i, p. 504.)

"O, Leo, my father! listen not to those flattering Sirens who tell you that you are not a mere man, but a demi-G.o.d, and can ordain what you please. You are the servant of servants, and the seat which you occupy is of all others the most dangerous, and the most unhappy. Give credit not to those who exalt, but to those who humble you. Perhaps I am too bold in giving advice to so high a majesty, whose duty it is to instruct all men. But I see the dangers which surround you at Rome, I see you driven hither and thither, tossed as it were upon the billows of a raging sea. Charity urges me, and I cannot resist sending forth a warning cry.

[Sidenote: ON THE LIBERTY OF THE CHRISTIAN.]

"Not to appear empty handed before your Holiness, I present you with a little book, which has appeared under your name, and which will make you aware of the subjects to which I will be able to devote myself, if your flatterers permit me. It is a small matter as regards the size of the volume, but a great one in regard to its contents, for it comprehends a summary of the Christian life. I am poor, and have nothing else to offer; besides, you have no want of any thing but spiritual gifts. I commend myself to your Holiness. May the Lord keep you for ever and ever, amen."

The little book with which Luther did homage to the pope was his 'Treatise on the liberty of the Christian;' in which he demonstrates without any polemical discussion, how the Christian, without infringing on the liberty which faith has given him, may submit to every external ordinance in a spirit of freedom and love. Two truths form the basis of the whole discourse, viz., The Christian is free--all things are his: The Christian is a servant subject to all in every thing. By faith he is free, by love he is subject.

At first he explains the power of faith to make the Christian free.

"Faith unites the soul with Christ, as a bride with the bridegroom.

Every thing that Christ has becomes the property of the believer, every thing that the believer has becomes the property of Christ.

Christ possesses all blessings, even eternal salvation, and these are thenceforth the property of the believer. The believer possesses all vices and all sins, and these become, thenceforth, the property of Christ. A happy exchange now takes place. Christ who is G.o.d and man, Christ who has never sinned, and whose holiness is invincible, Christ, the Omnipotent and Eternal, appropriating to himself by his wedding ring--that is to say, by faith, all the sins of the believer; these sins are swallowed up in him and annihilated; for no sin can exist in presence of his infinite righteousness. Thus, by means of faith, the soul is delivered from all sins, and invested with the eternal righteousness of Jesus Christ the bridegroom. O happy union! Jesus Christ the rich, the n.o.ble, the holy bridegroom, takes in marriage this poor, guilty, contemned bride, delivers her from all evil, and decks her in the richest robes.[270]... Christ, a King, and Priest, shares this honour and glory with all Christians. The Christian is a king, and consequently possesses all things. He is a priest, and consequently possesses G.o.d. And it is faith, not works, which procures him this honour. The Christian is free from all things, and above all things--faith giving him every thing in abundance."

[270] Ist nun das nicht eine frohliche Wirthschaft, da der reiche, edle, fromme Brautigam Christus, das arme, verachtete, bose Huhrlein zur Ehe nimmt (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 385.)

[Sidenote: THE BULL IN GERMANY.]

In the second part of the treatise Luther presents the truth in its other point of view. "Although the Christian has thus been made free, he voluntarily becomes a servant that he may act towards his brethren as G.o.d has acted towards him through Jesus Christ. I desire," said he, "freely, joyfully, and gratuitously, to serve a Father who hath thus shed upon me all the riches of his goodness. I wish to become every thing to my neighbour, as Christ has become every thing to me."...

"From faith," continues Luther, "flows love to G.o.d, and from love a life full of liberty, charity, and joy. O how n.o.ble and elevated a life the life of the Christian is! But, alas, none know it and none preach it. By faith the Christian rises even to G.o.d: by love he descends to man; still, however, remaining always in G.o.d. This is true liberty, a liberty as far above every other species of liberty as the heavens are above the earth."

Such was the treatise which accompanied Luther's letter to Leo X.

CHAP. VIII.

The Bull in Germany--Eck's Reception--The Bull at Wittemberg--Interposition of Zuinglius.

[Sidenote: ECK ARRIVES TO PUBLISH THE BULL.]

While the Reformer was thus addressing the Roman pontiff for the last time, the bull which anathematised him was already in the hands of the Germanic Church, and at Luther's own door. It would seem that no doubt was entertained at Rome as to the success of the measure which had thus been adopted against the Reformation. The pope had charged two high functionaries of his court, Carracioli and Aleander, to be the bearers of it to the Archbishop of Mentz who was requested to see to its execution. But Eck himself appeared in Saxony as the herald and executor of the great pontifical work. No man knew better than the doctor of Ingolstadt how formidable the blows were which Luther had struck. Alive to the danger he had stretched forth his hand to sustain the tottering edifice of Rome. In his own estimation he was the Atlas, destined to support the ancient Roman world on his robust shoulders, when on the point of falling to pieces. Proud of the success of his journey to Rome; proud of the charge which he had received from the sovereign pontiff; proud to appear in Germany with the new t.i.tle of protonotary and pontifical nuncio; proud of the bull which he held in his hand, and which contained the condemnation of his indomitable rival, he regarded his present mission as a triumph more splendid than all the victories which he had gained in Hungary, Bavaria, Lombardy, and Saxony, and from which he had previously derived so much renown. But this pride was soon to be humbled. The pope, in entrusting the publication of the bull to Eck, had committed a blunder which was destined to neutralise its effect. The proud distinction conferred on a man who did not hold high rank in the Church gave offence to sensitive and jealous spirits. The bishops, accustomed to receive the bulls directly from the pope, were offended at the publication of this one in their dioceses by an upstart nuncio. The nation who had hooted the pretended conqueror of Leipsic at the moment of his flight into Italy, were equally astonished and indignant when they saw him repa.s.s the Alps, decked in the insignia of pontifical nuncio, and with the power of crus.h.i.+ng whomsoever he chose. The sentence brought by his implacable adversary, Luther regarded as an act of personal revenge.

"He regarded it," says Pallavicini, "as the perfidious poniard of a mortal enemy, and not as the legitimate act of a Roman lictor."[271]

It was generally viewed as less the bull of the sovereign pontiff, than of Dr. Eck. In this way, the blow was obstructed and weakened before-hand by the very person at whose instigation it was struck.

[271] Non tanquam a securi legitimi lictoris, sed e telo infensissimi hostis.... (Pallavicini, i, p. 74.)

[Sidenote: THE BULL IN GERMANY.]

The chancellor of Ingolstadt had hastened back to Saxony, which, as having been the scene of battle, he was desirous should also be the scene of his victory. Having arrived he published the bull at Meissen, Merseburg, and Brandenburg towards the end of September. But in the first of these towns it was posted up in a place where n.o.body could read it; and the bishops of those three sees were in no haste to publish it. Even Duke George, Eck's great patron, prohibited the Council of Leipsic from making it public, before receiving orders from the Bishop of Merseburg, and these orders did not arrive till the following year. "These are only difficulties of form," said John Eck to himself at first, for every thing else seemed to smile upon him.

Duke George sent him a golden cup and some ducats. Even Milt.i.tz, who had hastened to Leipsic, on learning that his rival had arrived, invited him to dinner. The two legates were boon companions; and Milt.i.tz thought he could not have a better opportunity of sounding Eck than over their wine. "After he had drunk pretty freely, he began,"

says the pope's chamberlain, "to boast in grand style--he displayed his bull, and told how he meant to bring that droll fellow Martin to his senses."[272] But the Ingolstadt doctor soon had occasion to observe that the wind was veering. The course of a year had produced a great change in Leipsic.[273] On St. Michael's day some students posted up placards, in ten different places, containing a severe attack on the new nuncio, who, in amazement, took refuge in the cloister of St. Paul, where Tetzel had previously found his asylum, and declining every visit, induced the rector to call his youthful opponents to account. By this poor Eck gained little. The students composed a song upon him, and sang it in the streets. Eck must have heard it in his prison. On this all his courage failed him, and the redoubtable champion trembled in every limb. Every day brought him threatening letters. One hundred and fifty students, who had arrived from Wittemberg, spoke out boldly against the papal envoy. For once the poor apostolical nuncio could hold out no longer. "I would not have them kill him," said Luther, "though I wish his designs to fail."[274] Eck, quitting his retreat at night, clandestinely escaped from Leipsic to go and hide himself at Coburg. Milt.i.tz, who gives the account, triumphed more than the Reformer. His triumph, however, was not of long duration. All the chamberlain's projects of conciliation failed, and he came at last to a miserable end. One day, when drunk, he fell into the Rhine at Mentz, and was drowned.

[272] Nachdem (writes Milt.i.tz) er nun tapfer getrunken hatte, fleng er gleich an trefflich von seiner ordre zu prahlen, etc. (Seckend., p.

238.)

[273] Longe aliam faciem et mentem Lipsiae eum invenire quam spera.s.set .... (L. Ep. i, p. 492.).

[274] Nollem eum occidi, quanquam optem ejus consilia irrita fieri.

(Ibid.)

Eck gradually recovered courage. Repairing to Erfurt, whose theologians had on more than one occasion betrayed their jealousy of Luther, he insisted on having his bull published in this town, but the students seized the copies, tore them to pieces, and threw them into the river, saying, "since it is a bull, let it swim."[275] "Now," said Luther, on being informed of this, "the pope's paper is a true bull."

Eck durst not make his appearance at Wittemberg; but he sent the bull to the rector with a threat, that if it was not conformed to, he would destroy the university. At the same time he wrote Duke John, Frederick's brother, and co-regent, "Do not take what I do in bad part, I am acting in behalf of the faith, and it costs me many cares, great labour, and much money."[276]

[275] A studiosis discerpta et in aquam projecta, dicentibus: Bulla est, in aquam natet! (L. Ep. i, p. 520.)

[276] Mit viel Muhe, Arbeit, und Kosten. (L. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 317.)

[Sidenote: ULRICK ZUINGLIUS.]

The bishop of Brandenburg, supposing him inclined, was not ent.i.tled to act at Wittemberg in his capacity of ordinary, the university being protected by its privileges. Luther and Carlstadt, who were condemned by the bull, were asked to take part in the meetings which were held to deliberate on its contents. The rector declared that, as he had not received a letter from the pope along with the bull, he declined to publish it. The university had already acquired greater authority in the surrounding countries than the sovereign pontiff himself. Its declaration served as a model to the government of the Elector; and thus the spirit which was in Luther triumphed over the bull of Rome.

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S SELF-EXAMINATION.]

While the German mind was thus strongly agitated by this affair, a grave voice was heard in another quarter of Europe. An individual, foreseeing the immense rent which the papal bull was about to make in the Church, came forward to give a solemn warning, and to defend the Reformer. It was that of the Swiss priest, of whom we have already spoken, viz., Ulrich Zuinglius, who, though not united to Luther by any friendly tie, published a treatise full of wisdom and dignity, the first of his numerous writings.[277] A kind of fraternal affection seemed to draw him towards the doctor of Wittemberg. "The piety of the pontiff," said he, "requires that he shall joyfully sacrifice whatever is dearest to him for the glory of Christ his King, and for the public peace of the Church. Nothing is more injurious to his dignity than to defend it by pensions or terror. Even before the writings of Luther were read, he had been calumniated to the people as a heretic, a schismatic, and as Antichrist himself. Not one gave him warning, none refuted him. He called for a discussion; but all he could get was a sentence of condemnation. The bull which is published displeases even those who honour the majesty of the pope. For it is everywhere regarded as an expression of the impotent hatred of some monks, and not of the mildness of a pontiff, who ought to be the vicar of a Saviour full of love. All acknowledge that the true doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ has greatly degenerated, and that a public and thorough reformation of laws and manners is required.[278] Consider all men of learning and virtue--the more sincere they are, the stronger is their attachment to evangelical truth, and the less their dissatisfaction with Luther's writings.[279] There is not one who does not acknowledge that he has derived benefit from these books, though he may have met with pa.s.sages which he was unable to approve. Let men of sound doctrine and acknowledged probity be selected. Let three princes above all suspicion--the emperor Charles, the King of England, and the king of Hungary--name the judges. Let these judges read Luther's writings. Let them hear his defence, and then let their decision, whatever it be, be confirmed. ????sat?

e t?? ???st?? pa?de?a ?a? a???e?a."[280]

[277] Consilium cujusdam ex animo cupientis esse consultum et pontificis dignitati, et Christianae religionis tranquillitati (Zuinglii Opera, curant. Schulero et Schulthessio, iii, p. 1-5.)

[278] Multum degenera.s.se ab illa sincera Christi evangelica doctrina, adeo ut nemo non fateatur opus esse publica aliqua et insigni legum ac morum instauratione. (Ibid., p. 3.)

[279] Nemo non faletur se ex illius libris factum esse meliorem (Ibid., p. 4.)

[280] Let the teaching and truth of Christ prevail.

This proposal, which came from the country of the Swiss, led to no result. It was necessary that the great divorce should take place. It was necessary that Christendom should be rent in twain. Her very wounds were destined to be the cure of her diseases.

CHAP. IX.

Luther Examines himself in the presence of G.o.d--Luther's opinion of the Bull--A neutral Family--Luther on the Bull, and against the Bull of Antichrist--The Pope prohibits Faith--Effects of the Bull--The f.a.ggot pile of Louvain.

[Sidenote: A NEUTRAL FAMILY.]

But what signified all this resistance by students, rectors, and priests. If the mighty arm of Charles V is joined to the mighty arm of the pope, will they not crush these scholars and grammarians? Will any one be able to resist the combined power of the pontiff of Christendom and of the emperor of the West? The blow has been struck. Luther is excommunicated, and the gospel seems lost. At this solemn moment the Reformer does not disguise to himself the magnitude of the danger to which he is exposed; but he looks upward, and prepares to receive, as from the hand of the Lord himself, a blow which seems destined to annihilate him. He retires within himself, and meditates at the footstool of the throne of G.o.d. "What the result is to be," says he, "I know not, and I am not anxious to know; certain as I am that He who sits in heaven has from all eternity foreseen the beginning, the progress, and the end of this affair. Wherever the blow is to strike, I am without fear. The leaf of a tree falls not without our Father's will. How much less shall we fall. It is a small matter to die for the Word, since this Word which became incarnate and that for us has itself first died. If we die with it, we shall rise again with it; and, pa.s.sing along the same road by which it pa.s.sed, will arrive where it has arrived, and remain with it throughout eternity."[281]

Sometimes, however, Luther could not restrain the contempt which he felt for the manuvres of his enemies. On these occasions he displays his characteristic combination of sublimity and sarcasm. "I know nothing of Eck," says he, "except that he arrived with a long beard, a long bull, and a long purse.... But I will laugh at his bull."[282]

[281] Parum est nos pro verbo mori, c.u.m ipsum incarnatum pro n.o.bis prius mortuum sit.... (L. Ep. i, p. 490.)