14 A. D. PERVERSION OF SCRIPTURE DOCTRINES. Ch. 1. from prevailing customs, the popes resorted to tyrannical and cruel tribunals. The Inquisition was established, and the 1400 fires of persecution burned. The lights of the world were to extinguished, and daring spirits were crushed. A dreadfu 1500. spiritual despotism bound, in gloomy fetters, the souls and perse cution. the bodies of men, so that all reform became attended with Spirit of imminent danger, and good men were compelled to hold their peace, and hide their heads. The church looked with an evil eye on all intellectual independence, and on every effort to break the galley chains which kept the world in bondage. She was particularly hostile to the circulation of the Scriptures, and to every effort for the diffusion of light and knowledge. It was on popular ignorance that the throne of despotism was based, and therefore the whole energies of the hierarchy were employed in perpetuating what it should have been their glory and ambition to destroy. Indul Perhaps the grossest abomination which the popes engences. couraged was the doctrine that sins could be pardoned fo money hence the prevalence of indulgences, which were graduated to every form of iniquity of which conscience accused the transgressor. Proclamations were then made of years of jubilee, when plenary indulgence was promised to all who would make pilgrimage to Rome, and contribute to the necessities of popes. It was thus that the ecclesiastical monarch of Christendom, claiming infallibility and universal sovereignty, corrupted and enslaved his subjects. cessful ers. At last these innumerable forms of usurpation and wickedness arrested the attention of mankind, and indignant reUnsuc- formers could no longer hold their peace. But they were reform- uniformly unsuccessful, and generally perished as martyrs. John Huss, Jerome of Prague,† Savonarola ‡ alike fell victims to the rage of spiritual tyrants. The light which the new spirit of the age had kindled revealed the absurdities of antiquated superstitions, but did not remove them. There Jerome, 1408-1416. John Huss, 1407-1415. Savonarola, 1452-1498 CALL FOR REFORM. 15 A. D. was needed some peculiarly powerful genius, greatly assisted Ch. 1. by circumstance and supported by Divine power, to declare the truth, and fight the battles of reform. The various 1400 influences of the fifteenth century prepared such a man, and to Providence raised him up-a second Moses, born to deliver 1500 his brethren from bondage. The next chapter will present the experience and labours of Luther, the greatest champion of reform since the apostolic age. He may be regarded either as the author or as the product of the Reformation, for he was both; and it is equally philosophical and just to contemplate him in either light. He certainly was the master-spirit of the Reformation, and gave it its greatest impulse. Refor As this great event, the Protestant Reformation, contributed The more than any other in the history of Europe to disperse mation spiritual darkness, and to promote the welfare of society, it will be more fully treated than the narrow limits of this history may perhaps seem to warrant. Its influence, direct and indirect, in the promotion of liberty and learning, cannot be overrated. We may therefore well give our attention to its principle and developments, and especially to the men by whose genius and labours it was gradually accomplished. C 16 THE EARLY LIFE OF LUTHER. un. 2. CHAPTER II. MARTIN LUTHER AND HIS ASSOCIATES. MARTIN LUTHER was born the 10th of November, 1483, at Eisleben, in Saxony. His father was a miner, of Mansfeldt, A. D. and his ancestors were peasants, who lived near the summit of the Thuringian Forest. His early years were spent in 1545. extreme poverty, and he earned his bread by singing hymns 1483 to before the houses of the village. At the age of fifteen he Birth of went to Eisenach, to a high school, and at eighteen entered Luther. the University of Erfurt, where he made considerable progress in the sciences then usually taught, which, however, were confined chiefly to the scholastic philosophy. He did not know either Greek or Hebrew, but read the Bible in Latin. In 1505, he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts, and shortly after, his religious struggles commenced. He had witnessed a fearful tempest, which alarmed him, while on a visit at his father's house, and he was also much depressed by the death of an intimate friend. His reliIn that age, the serious and the melancholy generally gious- sought monastic retreats, and Luther, thirsting after divine rience. knowledge, and anxious to save his soul, resolved to forsake expe the world and become a monk. He entered an Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, soon after obtaining his first degree; but the duties and studies of monastic life did not give his troubled soul the repose he sought. His brethren encouraged his good works, his labours, fastings, austerities, self-lacerations, and all the various forms of self-expiation; still his perplexities and doubts remained. In this state of mind he was found by Staupitz, vicar-general of the order, who was THE EARLY LIFE OF LUTHER. 17 tinian visiting Erfurt, in his tour of inspection, with a view to Ch. 2. correct the bad morals of the monasteries. He sympathized A. D. with Luther in his religious feelings, treated him with great 1505. kindness, and recommended the reading of the Scriptures, and also the works of St. Augustine, whose theological views he himself had embraced. Although St. Augustine was a great Augus authority in the Roman church, still his doctrines pertaining theo to personal salvation differed from those which were gene- logy. rally encouraged by the Roman Catholic divines. But Luther, deeply imbued with a religious spirit, found light, and repose, and joy, in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This became more and more the great theclogical idea of his life. The firmness of his convictions on this point became extraordinary, and his spiritual gladness now equalled his former depression and anxiety. He was soon to find a sphere for the development of his views. The religious experiences of Luther, before he had any intention of attacking the corrupt institutions of the church, thus, providentially, became the first great step towards a general reform; and the doctrine of justification by faith, revealed to Luther as old and inspired truth, became the most powerful spiritual agency in the changes of the sixteenth century. Philosophically considered, it was the first great idea of the Reformation. as pro and preach. Luther was consecrated as a priest in 1507, and in 1508 Luther he was invited by Frederic, Elector of Saxony, to become a fessor professor in the new university which he had established at Wittemberg. He was now twenty-five years of age; and the er. fact that he should have been selected at that early age to teach dialectics, is a strong argument in favour of his attainments and genius. He now began to apply himself to the study of Greek and Hebrew, and delivered lectures on biblical theology. His novel method, and great enthusiasm, attracted a crowd of students. But his sermons were even more striking than his lectures, and he was invited by the council of Wittemberg to 18 LUTHER'S EARLY RELIGIOUS STRUGGLES. Ch. 2. be the preacher for the city. His eloquence, his learning, and his zeal, now attracted considerable attention, and the 1512. Elector himself visited Wittemberg to hear him preach. A. D. Visit to Rome. Luther as doc tor. Preacn ing of inqu. In 1512 he was sent to Rome, and, while in Italy, obtained knowledge of the actual state both of the hierarchy, and of morals and religion. Julius II., a warlike pontiff, sat on the throne of St. Peter, and the "Eternal City" was the scene of folly, dissipation, and clerical extortion. Luther returned to Germany, completely disgusted with everything he had seen -the levity and frivolity of the clergy, and the ignorance and vices of the people. He was too earnest in his religious views and feelings to take much interest in works of art, or in the pleasures which occupied the attention of the Italians; so the impression of the general iniquity and corruption of Rome never passed away, and probably gave a new direction to his thoughts. On his return, he was made Doctor of Divinity, then a great distinction, and renewed his lectures in the university with great ardour. He gave a new impulse to the studies, and a new form to the opinions, of both professors and students. Lupinus and Carlstadt, his colleagues, became converts to his views. All within his sphere were controlled by his commanding genius and extraordinary force of character. He made war upon the schoolmen, and was peculiarly hostile to Thomas Aquinas, whom he accused of Pelagianism. He also attacked Aristotle, the great idol of the schools, and overwhelmed scholasticism with sarcasm and mockery. Such was the state of things when the preachers of indulgences, whom Leo X. had sent out to raise money for St. gences. Peter's Church, arrived in the country round the Elbe. They had already spread over Germany, Switzerland, and France. All crimes were to be pardoned for money. Among the most remarkable of these traffickers was Tetzel, a Dominican monk, an apostolical commissioner, an inquisitor, and a bachelor of theology. Uniting great pretentions to sanctity, with actual profligacy, this man was at once eloquent and haughty, |