History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century
Chapter 39 : The courage of Luther communicated itself to others. Men of the greatest gentleness and

The courage of Luther communicated itself to others. Men of the greatest gentleness and timidity, on seeing the danger which threatened the witness for the truth, found words full of energy and indignation. The prudent and pacific Staupitz, on the 7th September, wrote to Spalatin: "Cease not to exhort the prince, your master and mine, not to be alarmed at the roaring of the lions. Let him defend the truth without troubling himself about Luther, or Staupitz, or the order. Let there be a place where men can speak freely and without fear. I know that the plague of Babylon--I had almost said of Rome--breaks forth against all who attack the abuses of those traffickers in Jesus Christ. I have myself seen a preacher of the truth thrown headlong from the pulpit; I have seen him, though on a festival, bound and dragged to a dungeon. Others have seen still greater cruelties. Therefore, my dear friend, strive to make his Highness persevere in his sentiments."[523]

[523] Jen. Aug. i, p. 384.

The order to appear at Augsburg before the cardinal legate at length arrived. Luther had now to do with one of the princes of the Church.

All his friends entreated him not to go.[524] They feared that on the journey snares might be laid for him, and an attempt made on his life.

Some employed themselves in looking out for an asylum to him. Staupitz himself, the timid Staupitz, felt moved at the thought of the dangers which threatened that friar Martin whom he had drawn from the obscurity of the cloister, and placed on the troubled stage where his life was now in peril. Ah! would it not have been better if the poor friar had remained for ever unknown? It was too late. Still, at least, he would do everything to save him. Accordingly, on the 15th September he wrote him from his convent of Salzburg, urging him to flee and seek an asylum beside himself. "It seems to me," said he, "that the whole world is enraged, and in coalition against the truth. In the same way crucified Jesus was hated. I see not that you have anything to expect but persecution. Shortly, no man will be able without the permission of the pope, to sound the Scriptures, and search for Jesus Christ in them, though this Christ himself enjoins. You have only a few friends; and would to G.o.d that the fear of your adversaries did not prevent those few from declaring in your favour. The wisest course is to quit Wittemberg for a time and come to me. Thus we will live and die together. This is also the prince's opinion," adds Staupitz.[525]

[524] "Contra omnium amicorum consilium comparui." I appeared contrary to the advice of all my friends.

[525] Ep. i, 61.

From different quarters Luther received the most alarming notices.

Count Albert of Mansfeld sent a message to him to beware of setting out, for some great barons had sworn to make themselves masters of his person, and to strangle or drown him.[526] But nothing could deter him. He never thought of availing himself of the vicar-general's offer. He will not go and hide himself in the obscurity of the convent of Salzburg, but will faithfully remain on the stormy scene on which the hand of G.o.d has placed him. It is by persevering in the face of adversaries, and proclaiming the truth with loud voice in the midst of the world, that the reign of truth advances. Why, then, should he flee? He is not one of "those who draw back to perdition; but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." The words of the Master whom he serves, and loves better than life, are incessantly echoing in his heart, "_Whosoever will confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven._" In Luther and in the Reformation we uniformly meet with that intrepid courage, that high-toned morality, that boundless charity, which the first preaching of Christianity manifested to the world. "I am like Jeremiah," says Luther, at the period of which we are now speaking; "Jeremiah, the man of quarrel and discord; but the more they multiply their menaces the more they increase my joy. My wife and children are well provided, (of course, meaning he had none;) my fields, my houses, and all my goods, are in order.[527] They have already torn my honour and my reputation to shreds. The only thing left me is my poor body, and let them take it; they will only shorten my life some few hours. My soul they cannot take from me. He who would publish the word of Christ in the world must expect death every hour; for our bridegroom is a bridegroom of blood."[528]

[526] "Ult vel stanguler, vel baptizer ad mortem." (Ibid. 129.) That I am either to be strangled or ducked to death.

[527] "Uxor mea et liberi mei provisi sunt." (Luth. Ep. i, 129.)

[528] "Sic enim sponsus noster, sponsus sanguinum n.o.bis est." (Ibid.) See Exodus, iv, 25.

The Elector was then at Augsburg. A short time before quitting that town after the Diet, he had of his own accord paid a visit to the legate. The cardinal, greatly flattered by this mark of respect from so ill.u.s.trious a prince, promised that if the monk presented himself he would listen to him like a father, and kindly dismiss him.

Spalatin, on the part of the prince, wrote to his friend that the pope had named a commission to try him in Germany; that the Elector would not allow him to be dragged to Rome; and that he must prepare to set out for Augsburg. Luther resolved to obey; but the warning which he had received from Count Mansfeld made him apply to Frederick for a safe-conduct. Frederick replied that it was unnecessary, and merely gave him recommendations to some of the leading counsellors of Augsburg. He also sent him some money for the journey. The Reformer, poor and defenceless, set out on foot to place himself in the hands of his adversaries.[529]

[529] "Veni igitur pedester et pauper Augustam." (Luth. Op. Lat, in Praef.)

What must have been his feelings on quitting Wittemberg, and directing his steps towards Augsburg, where the legate of the pope was waiting for him! The object of this journey was not like that of Heidelberg, a friendly meeting. He was going to appear in presence of the legate of Rome without a safe-conduct; perhaps he was going to death. But in him faith was not a mere matter of show. Being a reality it gave him peace, and in the name of the Lord of Hosts he could advance without fear to bear testimony to the Gospel.

He arrived at Weimar on the 28th of September, and lodged in the convent of the Cordeliers. One of the monks was unable to withdraw his eyes from him. It was Myconius. This was the first time he had seen Luther, and he longed to approach him, and tell that he owed the peace of his soul to him, and that his whole desire was to labour with him.

But Myconius being closely watched by his superiors, was not permitted to speak to Luther.[530]

[530] "Ibi Myconius primum vidit Lutherum: Sed ab accessu et colloquio ejus tunc est prohibitus." (M. Adami, Vita Mycon. p. 176.)

The elector of Saxony was then holding his court at Weimar, and this is probably the reason why the Cordeliers gave admittance to the doctor. The day after his arrival the feast of St. Michael was celebrated. Luther said ma.s.s, and was even invited to preach in the church of the castle. It was a mark of favour which the prince wished to give him. He, accordingly, in presence of the court, preached a long sermon, on the text of the day, which is taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, (chap, xviii, 1-11.) He spoke forcibly against hypocrites, and those who boast of their own righteousness; but he did not speak of the angels, though this was the customary topic on St.

Michael's day.

The courage of the doctor of Wittemberg, in calmly setting out on foot to obey a summons, which in the case of so many before him had issued in death, astonished those who saw him. Interest, admiration, and compa.s.sion, succeeded each other in their minds. John Kestner, superintendant to the Cordeliers, alarmed at the idea of the dangers which awaited his guest, said to him, "Brother, you will find at Augsburg Italians, men of learning, and subtle antagonists, who will give you much to do. I fear you will not be able to defend your cause against them. They will cast you into the fire, and with their flames consume you."[531] Luther replied gravely, "Dear friend, pray to our Lord G.o.d, who is in heaven, and present a _Pater noster_ for me, and his dear child, Jesus, whose cause my cause is, that he may be gracious toward me. If he maintain his cause, mine is maintained. But if he pleases not to maintain it, a.s.suredly it is not I who can maintain it; and it is he who will bear the affront."

[531] "Profecto in ignem te conjicient et flammis exurent." (Melch.

Adam. Vita Mycon. p. 176; Mycon. Hist. Ref. p. 30.)

Luther continued his journey on foot, and arrived at Nuremberg. He was going to present himself before a prince of the Church, and wished his dress to be suitable; but his clothes were old, and, besides, had suffered much by the journey. He borrowed a frock from his faithful friend, Winceslaus Link, preacher at Nuremberg.

Luther, doubtless, did not confine his visit to Link, but also saw his other friends in Nuremberg, secretary Scheurl, the celebrated painter, Albert Durer, to whom Nuremberg is now erecting a statue, and many others. He strengthened himself by intercourse with the excellent of the earth, while many monks and laymen expressed alarm, and endeavoured to shake him by representing the difficulties in his way.

Letters which he wrote from this town show the spirit by which he was animated. "I have met," says he, "with pusillanimous men, who would persuade me not to go to Augsburg; but I have determined on going. The will of the Lord be done. Even at Augsburg, even in the midst of his enemies, Jesus Christ reigns. Let Christ live; let Luther and every sinner die. According as it is written: Let the G.o.d of my salvation be exalted! Behave well, persevere, stand firm; for we must not be reproved either by men or by G.o.d; G.o.d is true, and man a liar."[532]

[532] "Vivat Christus, moriatur Martinus.... "(Weismanni, Hist. Secr.

Nov. Test. p. 165.) Weismann had seen this letter in MS., but it is not in M. de Wette's Collection.

Link and an Augustin monk could not consent to allow Luther to travel alone and meet the dangers which threatened him. They were acquainted with his bold and fearless character, and suspected he would fail in due precaution. They, therefore, accompanied him. When they were about five leagues from Augsburg, Luther, exhausted, no doubt, by the fatigue of travelling, and the varied emotions of his heart, was seized with violent pains in the stomach. He thought he was dying, and his friends becoming very uneasy, hired a car to transport him. They arrived at Augsburg on the evening of Friday the 7th of October, and lighted at the Augustin convent. Luther was greatly fatigued, but soon recovered; his faith and mental energy speedily recruiting his exhausted body.

CHAP. V.

Arrival at Augsburg--De Vio--His Character--Serra-Longa--Preliminary Conversation--Visit of the Counsellors--Return of Serra-Longa--The Prior--Luther's Wisdom--Luther and Serra-Longa--The Safe-Conduct--Luther to Melancthon.

The instant he was at Augsburg, and before he had seen any one, Luther, wis.h.i.+ng to pay all due respect to the legate, begged Winceslaus Link to go and announce his arrival. Link did so, and humbly declared to the cardinal, on the part of the doctor of Wittemberg, that he was ready to appear at his order. The legate was delighted with the news. At last he had a hold of this boisterous heretic, who, he a.s.sured himself, would not quit the walls of Augsburg as he had entered. At the same time, when Link went to the legate, the monk Leonard set out to announce Luther's arrival to Staupitz. The vicar-general had written the doctor, that he would certainly come as soon as he should know of his being in the town, and Luther was unwilling to lose an instant in giving him intimation.[533]

[533] Luth. Ep. i, p. 144.

The Diet was closed, and the Emperor and the electors had already separated. The Emperor, it is true, had not left but was hunting in the neighbourhood. The amba.s.sador of Rome was thus at Augsburg alone.

Had Luther come during the Diet, he would have found powerful protectors, but now it seemed that every thing must bend under the weight of papal authority.

The name of the judge before whom Luther had to appear was not fitted to increase his confidence. Thomas de Vio surnamed Cajetan, from the town of Gaeta, in the kingdom of Naples, where he was born, had, from his youth, given great hopes. Having at sixteen entered the Dominican order, against the express wish of his parents, he afterwards became general of his order, and a cardinal of the Roman Church. But what was worse for Luther, this learned doctor was one of the most zealous defenders of the scholastic theology, which the Reformer had always treated so unmercifully. His mother was said to have dreamt during her pregnancy, that St. Thomas would in person educate the child to which she was to give birth, and introduce him to heaven. Hence De Vio, on becoming Dominican, had changed his name from James to Thomas. He had zealously defended the prerogatives of the papacy, and the doctrines of Thomas Aquinas, whom he regarded as the most perfect of theologians.[534] A lover of pomp and show, he almost gave a literal meaning to the Roman maxim that legates are above kings, and surrounded himself with great state. On the first of August, he had celebrated a solemn ma.s.s in the cathedral of Augsburg, and in presence of all the princes of the empire, had placed the cardinal's hat on the head of the Archbishop of Mentz while kneeling before the altar, and had delivered to the Emperor himself the hat and sword consecrated by the pope. Such was the man before whom the monk of Wittemberg was going to appear, clothed in a frock which was not even his own.

Besides, the acquirements of the legate, the austerity of his disposition, and the purity of his morals, gave him in Germany an influence and authority which other Roman courtiers would not have easily obtained. To this reputation for sanct.i.ty he doubtless owed his mission. Rome saw that he would serve her purposes admirably. Thus the personal qualities of Cajetan made him still more formidable.

Moreover, the business entrusted to him was not complicated. Luther had already been declared a heretic.[535] If he refused to retract, the duty of the legate was to put him in prison; or if he escaped, to launch excommunication at every one who should dare to give him an asylum. This was all that Rome required to be done by the legate before whom Luther was cited.[535]

[534] Divi Thomae Summa c.u.m Commentariis Thomae de Vio. Lugduni, 1587.

[535] Bull of the pope. (Luth Op. (L.) xvii, p. 174.)

Luther had recovered strength during the night, and on Sat.u.r.day morning 8th October, being somewhat rested from his journey, began to consider his strange situation. He felt resigned, and waited till the will of G.o.d should be manifested by the event. He had not long to wait. A personage who was unknown to him sent in a message, as if he had been entirely devoted to his service, to say that he was coming to wait upon him, and that Luther must take good care not to appear before the legate without having seen him. This message came from an Italian named Urban of Serra-Longa, who had often been in Germany, as envoy of the Margrave of Montferrat. He was known to the Elector of Saxony, to whom he had been accredited, and after the death of the Margrave had attached himself to Cardinal de Vio.

The finesse and manners of this man formed a very striking contrast to the n.o.ble frankness and generous integrity of Luther. The Italian shortly after arrived at the Augustin convent. The cardinal had sent him to sound the Reformer, and prepare him for the retractation which he was expected to make. Serra-Longa imagined that his residence in Germany gave him great advantages over the other courtiers in the suite of the legate, and he hoped to have good sport with the German monk.

He arrived attended by two servants, and pretended to have come of his own accord, because of the friends.h.i.+p which he felt for a favourite of the Elector of Saxony, and because of his attachment to the Holy Church. After paying his respects to Luther in the warmest terms, the diplomatist added, in an affectionate manner,--

"I come to give you sage and good advice. Re-attach yourself to the Church. Submit unreservedly to the cardinal. Retract your injurious expressions. Remember the Abbot Joachim of Florence. He, you know, had said heretical things, and yet was declared not heretical, because he retracted his errors."

Luther spoke of defending himself.

_Serra-Longa._--"Beware of doing so!... Would you pretend to fight with the legate of his holiness, as if you were tilting at a tournay?"

_Luther._--"When it is proved that I have taught anything contrary to the Roman Church I will pa.s.s judgment on myself, and retract instantly. The whole question will be, Whether the legate leans more upon St. Thomas than the faith authorises him to do? If he does, I will not yield to him."

_Serra-Longa._--"Ah! Ah! Do you pretend, then, to break lances?"

Then the Italian began to say things which Luther designates horrible.

He pretended that false propositions might be maintained, provided they produced money and filled the strong box--that the universities must take good care not to dispute on the authority of the pope--that their duty, on the contrary, was to maintain that the pope can, at his beck, alter or suppress articles of faith;[536] adding other things of the same nature. But the wily Italian soon perceived that he was forgetting himself. Returning to soft words, he strove to persuade Luther to submit to the legate in every thing, and retract his doctrines, his oaths, and his theses.

[536] "Et nutu solo omnia abrogare, etiam ea quae fidei essent." (Luth.

Ep. i, 144.)

The doctor, who, at the outset, had given some credit to the fine protestations of orator Urban, (as he designates him in his account of the interview,) was now convinced that they were of very little value, and that Serra-Longa was much more on the legate's side than on his.

He, therefore, became less communicative, and contented himself with saying that he was quite disposed to exercise humility, give proof of obedience, and make satisfaction in whatever matters he had been mistaken. At these words Serra-Longa, overjoyed, exclaimed, "I am off to the legate, and you will follow me; everything will go off most admirably; it will be soon finished...."[537]

[537] Luth. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 179.