24

PRINCIPLES OF THE LEIPSIC DISPUTATION.

Ch. 2. traces of the storms that had passed over his soul, and of the A. D. courage with which he was prepared to encounter those 1519. which yet awaited him. His whole aspect evinced profound

terofthe

thought, joyousness of temper, and confidence in the future. Charac- The battle immediately commenced on the question of the debate. authority of the papacy, which, at once intelligible and important, riveted universal attention." Eck, with great erudition and masterly logic, supported the claim of the Pope, from the decrees of councils, the opinions of scholastics, and even from those celebrated words of Christ to Peter-"Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my church." Luther took higher and bolder ground, denied the infallibility of councils, and appealed to Scripture as the ultimate authority. Eck had probably the advantage over his antagonist, so far as dialectics were concerned, being a more able disputant; but Luther set at defiance mere scholastic logic, and appealed to an authority which dialectics could not reach. The victory was claimed by both parties; but the result was, that Luther no longer acknowledged the authority of the Roman church, and admitted none but that of the Scriptures.

Autho

the

tures.

This Leipsic disputation was the grand intellectual contest rity of of the Reformation, and developed its second great idea-the Scrip- only principle around which all sects and parties of the Protestants rally,-viz., that the Scriptures are the only ultimate grounds of authority in religion, and that, moreover, every man has a right to interpret them for himself. Different sects have different views respecting justification, but all profess to trace them to the Scriptures.

of

Critical Luther's position was now critical. He was in the situa position tion of Huss and Jerome, and other reformers, who had Luther. been destroyed, with scarcely an exception. He was brought in direct conflict with the Pope, with the great dignitaries of the church, with the universities, and with the whole scholastic literature. He had to expect the violent opposition and vengeance of the Pope, of the monks, of the great ecclesiastical dignitaries, of the most distinguished scholars, and of those

A. D.

Ch. 2. but just passed away. No one could stand before that awful anathema, which consigned him to the wrath of incensed and 1520. implacable Deity. Much as some professed to despise the sentence, it could not be borne even by a monarch, without fear and trembling, especially if accompanied with an interdict. Children were then left unburied. The churches were closed. The rites of religion were suspended. A funereal shade was spread over society. Fears of hell haunted every imagination. No reason was strong enough to resist the sentence. No arm was sufficiently powerful to remove the curse. It hung over a guilty land, and doomed the unhappy offender wherever he went, and in whatever work he was engaged.

Luther's

But Luther was strong enough to resist it, and to despise intre- it. He saw it was an imposition, which only barbarous and pidity ignorant ages had permitted. Moreover, he perceived that

Burning of the

bull.

there was now no alternative but victory or death; that in the great contest in which he was engaged retreat was infamy. Nor did he wish to retreat. He was fighting for oppressed humanity, and death in such a cause was glory. He under stood fully the nature and the consequences of the struggle. He perceived the greatness of the odds against him, in a worldly point of view. No man but a Luther would have been equal to it, for no man before him had ever successfully rebelled against the Pope. It is only in view of this circumstance that his intrepidity can be appreciated.

What did the Saxon monk do, when the papal bull was published? He assembled the professors and students of the papal university, solemnly protested against the Pope as antichrist, and marched in procession to the gates of the Castle of Wittemberg, where he cast into a bonfire the bull which condemned him, the canon law, and some writings of the schoolmen, and then re-entered the city, breathing defiance against the whole power of the Pope, conscious that a battle had commenced, which would last as long as life, yet perfectly secure that the victory would finally be on the side of truth. This was on the 10th of December, 1520.

THE DIET OF WORMS.

27

23

The attention of the whole nation was necessarily drawn to Ch. 2 this open resistance, and the sympathy of multitudes was A. D. expressed for him. The spirit of innovation became con- 1521, tagious, and pervaded the German mind. It demanded the serious attention of the Emperor himself.

A great diet of the empire was convened at Worms, and Diet of Worms. thither Luther was summoned by the temporal power. He had a safe conduct, which even so powerful a prince as Charles V. durst not violate. In April, 1521, the reformer appeared before the collected dignitaries of the German empire, both spiritual and temporal, and was called upon to recant his opinions as heretical in the eyes of the church, and dangerous to the peace of the empire. Before the most august assembly in the world, without a trace of embarrassment, he made his defence, and refused to recant. "Unless," said he, 66 my errors can be demonstrated by texts from Scripture, I will not and cannot recant; for it is not safe for a man to go against his conscience. Here I am. I can do no otherwise. God help me! Amen.”

This declaration satisfied his friends, though it did not satisfy the members of the diet. Luther was permitted to retire. He had gained the confidence of the nation. From that time he was its idol, and the acknowledged leader of the greatest movement which modern times have seen. And yet his labours had but just commenced. Henceforth his life was toil and vexation. New difficulties continually arose. New questions had to be continually settled. Luther, by his letters, was everywhere. He commenced the translation of the Scriptures; he wrote numberless controversial tracts; his correspondence was unparalleled; his efforts as a preacher were prodigious. But he was equal to it all.

About this time commenced his friendly imprisonment at ImpriWartburg, among the Thuringian forests; he being probably at Wurt conducted thither by the orders of the Elector of Saxony. burg. Here he was out of sight, but not out of mind; and his retirement, under the disguise of a knight, gave him leisure