History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century
Chapter 26 : Luther impelled equally by obedience to the truth of G.o.d, and by charity towards men,

Luther impelled equally by obedience to the truth of G.o.d, and by charity towards men, mounted the pulpit. He forewarned his hearers; but, as he himself says, he did it gently.[351] His prince had obtained particular indulgences from the pope for the church of the castle of Wittemberg, and it was possible that some of the blows which he was going to level at the indulgences in question might fall on those of the Elector. No matter; he will run the risk. If he sought to please men, he would not be the servant of Christ.

[351] Sauberlich.

"No man can prove by Scripture," says the faithful minister of the Word to the people of Wittemberg, "that the justice of G.o.d exacts a penalty or satisfaction from the sinner; the only duty which it imposes upon him is true repentance, sincere conversion, a resolution to bear the cross of Jesus Christ, and to be diligent in good works.

It is a great error to think we can ourselves satisfy the justice of G.o.d for our sins. He always pardons them gratuitously by his inestimable grace.

"The Christian Church, it is true, requires something from the sinner, and consequently has the power of remitting what she so requires, but that is all. Even these indulgences of the Church are tolerated, only on account of indolent and imperfect Christians, who will not zealously exercise themselves in good works. For they stimulate none to sanctification, but leave all in imperfection."

Then adverting to the pretext under which the indulgences were published, he continues:--"It would be much better to contribute to the erection of St. Peter's church from love to G.o.d, than to purchase indulgences in this view.... But you ask, Are we then never to purchase them? I have already said, and I repeat it; my advice is, Don't purchase. Leave them to sleepy Christians, but do you walk apart in your own path. The faithful must be diverted from indulgences, and urged to do the works which they neglect."

At last, glancing at his adversaries, Luther concludes thus:--"If some cry out that I am a heretic, (for the truth which I preach is very hurtful to their strong box,) their clamour gives me little concern.

They are dull and sickly brains, men who never felt the Bible, never read Christian doctrine, never comprehended their own teachers, and who turn to rottenness, wrapped up in the tatters of their vain opinions,[352] ... G.o.d grant them and us a sound mind. Amen." After these words, the doctor descended from the pulpit, leaving his hearers in astonishment at his bold language.

[352] "Sondern in ihren locherichen, und zerrissenen opinien, viel nahe verwessen." (Luth. Op. (L.) xvii, p. 119.)

This sermon was printed, and made a deep impression on all who read it. Tezel answered it, and Luther replied; but these discussions did not take place till a later period, (1518).

The feast of All Saints drew near. The chronicles of that day here relate a circ.u.mstance, which, though not important to the history of the period, may, however, serve to characterise it. It is a dream of the Elector, which in substance is unquestionably authentic, though several circ.u.mstances may have been added by those who have related it. It is mentioned by Seckendorf,[353] who observes, that the fear of giving their adversaries ground to say that the doctrine of Luther was founded upon dreams, has perhaps prevented several historians from speaking of it.

[353] It occurs also in Loscher, i, 46, etc.; Teuzel's Anfund Fortg.

der Ref.; Junker's Ehrenged, p. 148; Lehmann's Beschr. d. Meissn.

Erzgeb., etc., and in a ma.n.u.script of the Archives of Weimar, taken down from the statement of Spalatin. Our account of the dream is conformable to this ma.n.u.script, which was republished at the last jubilee of the Reformation, (1817).

The Elector Frederick of Saxony, say the chronicles of the time, was at his castle of Schweinitz, six leagues from Wittemberg. On the morning of the 31st October, being in company with his brother Duke John, who was then co-regent, and became sole elector after his death, and with his chancellor, the Elector said to the Duke,

"Brother, I must tell you a dream which I had last night, and the meaning of which I should like much to know. It is so deeply impressed on my mind, that I will never forget it, were I to live a thousand years. For I dreamed it thrice, and each time with new circ.u.mstances."

_Duke John._--"Is it a good or a bad dream?"

_The Elector._--"I know not; G.o.d knows."

_Duke John._--"Don't be uneasy at it; but be so good as tell it to me."

_The Elector._--"Having gone to bed last night, fatigued and out of spirits, I fell asleep shortly after my prayer, and slept quietly for about two hours and a half; I then awoke, and continued awake till midnight, all sorts of thoughts pa.s.sing through my mind. Among other things, I thought how I was to observe the feast of All Saints. I prayed for the poor souls in purgatory, and supplicated G.o.d to guide me, my counsels, and my people, according to truth. I again fell asleep, and then dreamed that Almighty G.o.d sent me a monk, who was a true son of the Apostle Paul. All the saints accompanied him by order of G.o.d, in order to bear testimony before me, and to declare that he did not come to contrive any plot, but that all that he did was according to the will of G.o.d. They asked me to have the goodness graciously to permit him to write something on the door of the church of the castle of Wittemberg. This I granted through my chancellor.

Thereupon the monk went to the church, and began to write in such large characters, that I could read the writing at Schweinitz. The pen which he used was so large that its end reached as far as Rome, where it pierced the ears of a lion that was couching there,[354] and caused the triple crown upon the head of the pope to shake. All the cardinals and princes running hastily up, tried to prevent it from falling. You and I, brother, wished also to a.s.sist, and I stretched out my arm ... but at this moment I awoke, with my arm in the air, quite amazed, and very much enraged at the monk for not managing his pen better. I recollected myself a little: it was only a dream.

[354] Leo X.

"I was still half asleep, and once more closed my eyes. The dream returned. The lion, still annoyed by the pen, began to roar with all his might, so much so that the whole city of Rome and all the states of the holy empire, ran to see what the matter was. The pope requested them to oppose this monk, and applied particularly to me, on account of his being in my country. I again awoke, repeated the Lord's Prayer, entreated G.o.d to preserve his Holiness, and once more fell asleep.

"Then I dreamed that all the princes of the empire, and we among them, hastened to Rome, and strove one after another to break the pen; but the more we tried the stiffer it became, sounding as if it had been made of iron. We at length desisted. I then asked the monk (for I was sometimes at Rome and sometimes at Wittemberg) where he got this pen, and why it was so strong. 'The pen,' replied he, 'belonged to an old goose of Bohemia, a hundred years old.[355] I got it from one of my old school-masters. As to its strength, it is owing to the impossibility of depriving it of its pith or marrow, and I am quite astonished at it myself.' Suddenly I heard a loud noise; a large number of other pens had sprung out of the long pen of the monk.... I awoke a third time; it was daylight...."

[355] John Huss. This circ.u.mstance may perhaps have been afterwards added in allusion to the saying of John Huss, which we have quoted.

See the First Book.

_Duke John._--"Chancellor, what is your opinion? Would we had a Joseph or a Daniel enlightened by G.o.d!"

_Chancellor._--"Your Highnesses know the common proverb, that the dreams of young girls, learned men, and great lords, have usually some hidden meaning. The meaning of this dream, however, we will not be able to know for some time; not till the things to which it relates have taken place. Wherefore, leave the accomplishment to G.o.d, and place it wholly in his hand."

_Duke John._--"I am of your opinion, Chancellor; 'tis not fit for us to annoy ourselves in attempting to discover the meaning; the G.o.d will overrule all for his glory."

_Elector._--"May our faithful G.o.d do so; yet I will never forget this dream. I have indeed thought of an interpretation, but I keep it to myself. Time, perhaps, will show if I have been a good diviner."

Thus, according to the ma.n.u.script of Weimar, the morning of 31st of October was spent at Schweinitz. Let us see how the evening was spent at Wittemberg. We again return to the province of History.

CHAP. V.

Feast of All Saints--The Theses--Their Force--Moderation--Providence--Letter to Albert--Indifference of the Bishops--Dissemination of the Theses.

The words of Luther had produced little effect. Tezel, without troubling himself, continued his traffic and his impious harangues.[356] Will Luther submit to these crying abuses, and keep silence? As a pastor, he has earnestly exhorted those who have had recourse to his ministry, and, as a preacher, he has lifted his warning voice in the pulpit. It still remains for him to speak as a theologian--to address, not individuals in the confessional, not the a.s.sembly of the faithful in the church of Wittemberg, but all who, like himself, are teachers of the word of G.o.d. His resolution is taken.

[356] "Cujus impiis et nefariis concionibus incitatus Lutherus, studio pietatis ardens, edidit propositiones de indulgentiis." (Melancth.

Vita Luth.) Luther, stimulated by his impious and nefarious harangues, and glowing with pious zeal, published his Theses on Indulgences.

He has no thought of attacking the Church, or of putting the pope on his defence. On the contrary, it is his respect for the pope that will not allow him to be any longer silent with regard to claims by which he is injured. He must take the part of the pope against audacious men, who dare to a.s.sociate his venerable name with their disgraceful traffic. Far from thinking of a revolution which is to destroy the primacy of Rome, Luther expects to have the pope and Catholicism for his allies against impudent monks.[357]

[357] "Et in iis certus mihi videbar, me habiturum patronum papam, cujus fiducia tune fort.i.ter nitebar." (Luth. Op. Lat. in Praef.) And in these I thought myself certain that I would have the patronage of the pope, in whom I had then great confidence.

The feast of All Saints was an important day for Wittemberg, and especially for the church which the Elector had there erected and filled with relics. On that day these relics, adorned with silver and gold, and precious stones, were brought out and exhibited to the eyes of the people, who were astonished and dazzled by their magnificence.[358] Whoever on that day visited the church and confessed in it obtained a valuable indulgence. Accordingly, on this great occasion, pilgrims came in crowds to Wittemberg.

[358] "... Quas magnifico apparatu publice populis ostendi curavit."

(Cochlus, 4.)

On the 31st of October, 1517, Luther, who had already taken his resolution, walks boldly towards the church to which the superst.i.tious crowds of pilgrims were repairing, and puts up on the door of this church ninety-five Theses or propositions against the doctrine of indulgences. Neither the Elector, nor Staupitz, nor Spalatin, nor any, even the most intimate of his friends, had been previously informed of this step.[359] In these theses, Luther declares, in a kind of preamble, that he had written them with the express desire of setting the truth in the full light of day. He declares himself ready to defend them on the morrow at the university, against all and sundry.

The attention which they excite is great; they are read and repeated.

In a short time the pilgrims, the university, the whole town is ringing with them. The following are some of these Propositions, written with the pen of the monk, and fixed on the door of the church of Wittemberg.

[359] "c.u.m hujus disputationis nullu etiam intimorum amicorum fuerit conscius." (Luth., Ep. i, p. 186.)

1. "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says 'repent,' he means that the whole life of his followers on the earth is a constant and continual repentance.

2. "This expression cannot be understood of the sacrament of penitence, (that is to say, of confession and satisfaction,) as administered by the priest.

3. "Still the Lord intends not to speak merely of internal repentance.

Internal repentance is null, if it does not manifest itself externally by the mortification of the flesh.

4. "Repentance and sorrow--that is to say, true penitence--continue so long as a man is displeased with himself--that is, until he pa.s.ses from this life into life eternal.

5. "The pope is not able, and does not wish to remit any other penalty than that which he has imposed of his own good pleasure, or conformably to the canons, that is to say, the papal ordinances.

6. "The pope cannot remit any condemnation, but only declare and confirm the remission which G.o.d himself has given. At least he can only do it in cases which belong to him. If he does otherwise, the condemnation remains exactly as before.

8. "The laws of ecclesiastical penance ought to be imposed on the living only, and have nothing to do with the dead.

21. "The commissaries of indulgence are mistaken when they say that the pope's indulgence delivers from all punishment and saves.