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him, and commended his disposition: but desired him to treat of religious matters with moderation and respect; for he observed with grief, that the professors disputed upon frivolous opinions, and questions of little consequence, with intolerable pride.

While Luther was vindicating himself to the emperor, and the bishops of Germany, judgement was passed upon his writings at Rome, where Eckius and Ubricus went on purpose to solicit his condemnation, which was resolved, upon, notwithstanding he had obediently reverenced the person of the Pope. Luther, at the request of the Augustines, wrote a long epistle to his holiness, full of submission and respect, wherein he told him, "That the court of Rome was visibly more corrupt than either Babylon or Sodom; but that his holiness was a lamb in the midst of wolves, a Daniel among lions, and an Ezekiel among scorpions: that there were not above three or four cardinals, who had any learning or piety; and that it was against these disorders of the court of Rome, that he was obliged to appear."

The writings of Luther were examined in a congregation of cardinals, who distinguished his doctrine, writings, and person. They condemned forty-one propositions taken out of his works; ordered him to appear in person; and agreed that his writings should be burnt. In consequence of this resolution, the bull was drawn up by the cardinal of Ancona, and published by the Pope, who invoked the aid of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and all the saints, against the new errors and heresies; and to preserve the faith, peace, and unity of the church. This bull was dated June 15, 1520, and condemned the forty one articles, extracted from the writings of Luther, as heretical, false, and scandalous. Indulgen ces, the papal supremacy, free will, purgatory, and the begging friers, were the principal things vindicated in this bull; and all Christians were forbid, under pain of excom. munication, to defend any of the propositions thus condemned Luther was admonished to revoke his errors by some public act, and cause his books to be burnt within sixty days; otherwise he, and his adherents, should incurr the punishments due to heretics.

Luther, now perceiving that all hopes of accommodation were at an end, threw off all reserve, and answered this bull which he called "The execrable bull of antichrist," by publishing a book called "The Captivity of Baby lon;" in

which he absolutely rejected indulgences; and asserted, that the papacy was the kingdom of Babylon. He denied there were seven sacraments; and said, there was properly only one, in three sacramental signs, the Lord'sSupper, baptism, and penance.

Luther was fully persuaded of the necessity of " Justification by faith alone:" which he looked upon as the basis of the whole Christian religion. When he first preached against indulgences, he intended no separation from the church of Rome: but the violence of his opponents, and the heat of the controversy, drew him so far into the dispute, that he carried it on with unparalleled spirit, and came at last to fix upon that scheme, which has been since adhered to by the Lutheran churches, with little variation. As the Pope had condemned Luther at Rome, Luther degraded the Pope in Germany. He compiled a history of the wars raised by the Popes against the emperors; and maintained, that the German princes had the same power over the clergy as over the laity. He advised the Germans to shake off the yoke of Popery; and assembled the students of Wittenberg together, and Aung the Pope's bull and decretals into a fire, December 10, 1620. The next day he expounded the Psalms, and earnestly charged his auditors, "that, as they loved the salvation of their souls, they should take heed of the Pope's decrees." He also defended what he had done in writing; and published, many errors in the Papal doctrine to the world; which publication gave (as it may be supposed) the highest offence to the Romanists; and the Pope resolved to crush him at once by his bulls, which commanded all secular princes to destroy him. Eckius carried the bull against Luther into Germany, and was entrusted by the Pope to carry it into execution; which was a smart blow given him by his mortal enemy, who was his adversary, accuser, and executioner.

Charles V. was crowned emperor, at Aix la Chapelle, October 21, 1520, and appointed a diet to be held at Worms on January 6, 1521. The nuncios, Martinus Caracciolus and Jerom Alexander, presented the elector of Saxony the brief which the Pope had sent him, to inform him of the decree which he had made against Luther, who was then more than ever protected by the elector, and the uni versity of Wittenberg. Luther renewed his appeal to a fu ture council; and called the Pope a tyrant and heretic. VOL. III.-No. 62. M in Erasmus,

Erasmus, and several other divines, foresaw that the fire, which was to burn the books of Luther, would put all Germany into a flame, and were for referring the whole cause to a general council: but the nuncious prevailed, and Luther's books were burnt at Mentz and Cologne. Ulricus Hultenus, a satirical poet, ridiculed the apal bull; Pwhich Luther called the execrable bull of antichrist, and caused it to be burnt at Wittenberg. Catharinus wrote five books in defence of the Papal supremacy; which Luther refuted; and Alexander obtained a new bull fro:n Rome, wherein Luther was declared contumacious, and to have incurred the pe nalty denounced by the Pope.

The diet of Worms assembled on the day appointed, when Alexander exerted all his interest and eloquence, to per suade the emperor, and the princes of the empire, to put the bull against Luther into execution; without suffering him to appear, or hear his vindication. The diet resolved, that Luther should be summoned, and have a safe conduct; which was granted by the emperor, who sent with it a private letter, directed "To the honourable, beloved, devout, doctor Martin Luther, of the order of St. Augustine." This letter was dated March 6, and Luther was thereby ordered to appear at Worms within twenty-one days. The tragical end that John Huss had met with at Constance, in 1415, was remembered by the friends of Luther on this occasion: but he answered those, who dissuaded him from appearing, that he would go, though there should be as many devils at Worms as there were tiles upon the houses." He was accompanied from Wittenberg by some divines, and one hundred horse: but he took only eight horsemen into Worms, where he arrived April 16; and when he stepped out of the coach, he said, “God shall be on my side," in the presence of a great multitude of people, whom curiosity had brought together to see the man, who had made such a noise in the world.

Luther had his apartments in the house belonging to the knights of the Teutonic order, near those of the elector of Saxony. He was visited by many princes, noblemen, and divines; and the next day appeared before the diet. Eckius acted as prolocutor, and told Luther, that the emperor had sent for him, "to know whether he owned those books that bore his name; and if he intended to retract, or maintain, what was contained in them?" Luther is said to have

had

had as much courage, as Alexander and Julius Cæsar put together. He answered, he owned the books: but desired time to consider the other question: "so that he might make a satisfactory answer, without prejudice of the word of God, and prejudice of his own soul." The emperor granted him a day to consider the matter: and some of his principal friends encouraged him with this sentence; "When thou art before kings, think not what thou shalt speak, for it shall be given to thee in that hour." Luther appeared again before the diet the following day, when Eckius repeated the same question, to which Luther replied with modesty and constancy. He protested, that all he had wrote, was for the glory of God, and the instruction of the faithful; but desired the assembly to observe, that his books were of three kinds; "that in some, he treated only of piety and morality, in such a plain and evangelical manner, that his adversaries acknowledged, they were innocent, profitable, and worthy to be read by all Christians; that in others, he had wrote against Popery; and in a third sort against those private persons, who opposed the truths which he taught." He asserted, that the bull itself had condemned nothing in particular which was taken out of those books; though all his books in general were condemned: and declared, "that, as a man, he might err; and if any one could convince him, by Holy Scripture, of any error, he was ready to revoke it, and burn his writings." "Eckius passionately said, he had not answered the question; therefore he insisted that Luther would give a plain and direct answer, "whether he would retract, or not?" Luther replied, "that he was not obliged to believe the Pope, nor his councils, because they erred in many things, and contradicted themselves; that his belief was so far settled by the texts of Scripture, and his conscience engaged by the word of God, that he neither could, nor would, retract any thing; because it was neither safe, nur innocent, for a man to act against his conscience." Eckius then said, that Luther had revived the errors condemned in the council of Constance; and the emperor declared he would proceed against him as a heretic; thus prejudging the cause, contrary to the established rules of the diet.

As Luther undauntedly refused to recant at Worms, as he had done three years before at Augsburg; the clergy

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insinuated

insinuated to the emperor, "that faith was not to be kept with heretics." They wanted him to revoke the safe conduct he had granted to Luther; but Charles made this generous answer, "that if no faith was to be found in the rest of the world, it ought at least to be seen in a Roman emperor." The elector Palatine also opposed the violation of the safe conduct, as had been done at the council of Constance. The electors of Brandenburg and Triers, with Eckius, Cochlæus, and others, had a private conference with Luther, to persuade him to desist from his enterprize; but he declared, he was resolved to die, ' rather than recede from the word of God. The elector of Triers desired Luther to propose some means of ending this matter himself; to which Luther answered he had no other way than the council of Gamaliel, "If this work be of men, it will come to nought, and fall of itself; but, if it be of God, ye cannot hinder the execution of it.”

The emperor, on April 26, ordered Luther to depart immediately from Worms, under a safe conduct for twenty-one days; and the elector of Saxony imagined, that Charles would issue a severe edict against Luther; but the elector was resolved to protect him from the prosecution of the emperor and Pope. Luther was purposely seized on the road by a troop of masked horsemen, and carried, as if by violence, to the castle of Wartburg, near Eisenach, where the elector concealed him ten months. Luther called this retreat his Patmos, and wrote several useful treatises there; while his enemies employed reputed wizards to find out the place of his concealment. Here he held a constant correspondence with his friends at Wittenberg, and employed himself in composing several of his works. He frequently made excursions into the neighbourhood, though always in disguise. Weary, however, of this confinement, he appeared March 6, at the end of ten months at Wittenberg.

The emperor published an edict against Luther, May 26, ..when the electors of Saxony and the Palatine were absent from the diet. He declared, "it was his duty to extinguish heresies; that Luther was a schismatic and heretic; that the sentence of the Pope should be put in execution against him; and that no person should revive, defend, maintain, or protect him, under the penalty of high treason, and being put to the ban of the empire." This edict

was

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