but to the layman, who looked more to results than to methods, the difference between intercession and jurisdiction was trifling. To him the important thing was that the Pope, whether by jurisdiction or intercession, was able to release the soul of a departed Christian from the penalties of purgatory. It is needless to say that these indulgences for the dead were eagerly purchased. In filial love and natural affection the indulgencevender had powerful allies.

3. The Indulgence of 1515.-The XCV Theses were called forth by the preaching of the "Jubilee Indulgence" of 1510, which was not placed on sale in central Germany until 1515. The financial needs of the papacy were never greater than in the last years of the XV. and the first years of the XVI. Century, and they were further increased by the resolve of Julius II. to erect a new church of St. Peter, which should surpass in magnificence all the churches of the world. The indulgence of 1510 was an extraordinary financial measure, the proceeds of which were to pay for the erection of the new Basilica, but when Julius died in 1513, the church was not completed, and the money had not been raised. The double task was bequeathed to his successor, Leo X. On the 31st of March, 1515, Leo proclaimed a plenary indulgence for the Archbishoprics of Magdeburg and Mainz, and appointed Albrecht, of Brandenburg, who was the incumbent of both sees and of the bishopric of Halberstadt as well, Commissioner for the sale of this indulgence. By a secret agreement, of which Luther was, of course, entirely ignorant, one-half of the proceeds was to be paid to the Fuggers of Augsburg on account of moneys advanced to the Archbishop for the payment of the fees to Rome, and of the sums demanded in consideration of a dispensation allowing him to occupy three sees at the same time; the other half of the proceeds was to go to the papal treasury to be applied to the building of the new church. The period during which the indulgence was to be on sale was eight years.

The actual work of organizing the "indulgence-campaign" was put into the hands of John Tetzel, whose large experience in the selling of indulgences fitted him excellently for the post of Sub-commissioner. The indulgence-sellers acted under the commission of the Archbishop and the (directions of Tetzel, who took personal charge of the enterprise. The preachers went from city to city, and during the time that they were preaching the indulgence in any given place, all other preaching was required to ease. They held out the usual inducements to prospective buyers. The hary nature of the indulgence was made especially prominent, and the ople were eloquently exhorted that the purchase of indulgence-letters as better than all good works, that they were an insurance against the

2

pains of hell and of purgatory, that they availed for all satisfactions, even in the case of the most heinous sins that could be conceived.1 "Confessional letters" were one of the forms of this indulgence. They gave their possessor permission to choose his own confessor, and entitled him to plenary remission once in his life, to absolution from sins normally reserved, etc. The indulgences for the dead were zealously proclaimed, and the duty of purchasing for departed souls release from the pains of purgatory was most urgently enjoined. So great was the power of the indulgence to alleviate the pains of purgatory, that the souls of the departed were said to pass into heaven the instant that the coins of the indulgence-buyer jingled in the money-box.3

4. Luther's Protest.-The Theses were Luther's protest against the manner in which this indulgence was preached, and against the false concept tion of the efficacy of indulgences which the people obtained from such preaching. They were not his first protest, however. In a sermon, preached July 27th, 1516,* he had issued a warning against the false idea that a man who had bought an indulgence was sure of salvation, and had declared the assertion that souls could be bought out of purgatory to be “a piece of temerity." His warnings were repeated in other sermons, preached October 31st, 1516, and February 24th, 1517.5 The burden of these warnings is always the same: the indulgences lead men astray; they incite to fear of God's penalties and not to fear of sin; they encourage false hopes of salvation, and make light of the true condition of forgiveness, viz., sincere and genuine repentance.

These warnings are repeated in the Theses. The preaching of indulgences has concealed the true nature of repentance; the first thing to consider is what "our Lord and Master Jesus Christ means," when He says, "Repent." Without denying the pope's right to the power of the keys, Luther wishes to come into the clear about the extent of the pope's jurisdiction, which does not reach as far as purgatory. He believes that the pope has the right to remit "penalties," but these penalties are of the came sort as those which were imposed in the early Church as a condition precedent to the absolution; they are ecclesiastical penalties merely, and do not extend beyond the grave; the true penalty of sin is hatred of self, which continues until entrance into the kingdom of heaven.'

The Theses are formulated with continual reference to the statements of the indulgence-preachers, and of the Instruction to the Commissarie

1 See Thesis 75.

2 See Thesis 35.

3 See Thesis 27.

4 Weimar Ed., I, 63 ff.; Erl. Ed., I, 101 ff.

5 Weimar Ed., I, 94 ff., 138 ff.; Erl. Ed., I, 171 ff., 177 ff.

• See Thesis 1.

7 See Thesis 4.

issued under the name of the Archbishop of Mainz.1 For this reason there is little logical sequence in the arrangement of the Theses, and none of the attempts to discover a plan or scheme underlying them has been successful.2 In a general way it may be said that for the positive views of Luther on the subjects discussed, Theses 30-37 and 42-52 are the most vital, while Theses 92-95 are sufficient evidence of the motive which led Luther to make his protest.

5. Conclusion.-The editors of this Translation present herewith a new translation of the Theses, together with three letters, which will help the reader to understand the mind of Luther at the time of their composition and his motive in preparing them. The first of these letters is that which was sent, with a copy of the Theses, to Albrecht of Mainz. The second and third are addressed respectively to Staupitz and Leo X., and were written to accompany the "Resolutions,”3 an exhaustive explanation and defense of the Theses, published in 1518, after the controversy had become bitter.

6. Literature. (a) Sources. The source material for the history of indulgences is naturally widely scattered. The most convenient collection is found in KOEHLER, Dokumente zum Ablassstreit, Tübingen, I 900. For the indulgences against which Luther protested, see, beside the Editions of Luther's Works, KAPP, Schauplatz des Tetzelischen Ablass-Krams, Leipzig, 1720; Sammlung einiger zum päbstlichen Ablass gehörigen Schriften, Leipzig, 1721; Kleine Nachlese zur Erläuterung der Reforma

1 See Letter to Archbishop, below. The text of this Instruction in KAPP, Sam mlung, etc. (1721), pp. 117-206. Tschackert has surmised that even the number of the Theses was determined by the number of the paragraphs in this Instruction. There were 94 of these paragraphs, and of the Theses 94 + 1. Entstehung d. luth. u. ref. Kirchenlehre (1910), p. 16, note 1.

2 The following, based on an unpublished manuscript of Th. Brieger, is an interesting analysis of the contents and subject-matter of the Theses. For the sake of brevity the minor subdivisions are omitted:

Introduction. The ideas fundamentally involved in the conception of po e nitentia (Th. 1-7).

I. Indulgences for souls in purgatory (Th. 8-29).

1. Canonical penalties and the pains of purgatory (Th. 8-19).

2. The relation of the Pope to purgatory (Th. 20-29).

II. Indulgences for the living (Th. 30-80).

1. The content and nature of the preaching of indulgences (Th. 30-55). 2. The treasury of the Church (Th. 56-66).

3. The duty of the regular church-authorities in the matter (Th. 67-80). onclusion (Th. 81–95).

1. The objections of the laity to the indulgence-traffic (Th. 81-91).

2. The evil motive of the traffic in indulgences, with special reference to the statements of Th. 1-4 (Th. 91–95).

HERMELINK, in KRÜGER'S Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte 11), III, 66.

3 Weimar Ed., I, pp. 525 ff.

tionsgeschichte, Leipzig, 1730 and 1733; also LOESCHER, Vollständige Reformationsacta, I, Leipzig, 1720.

(b) Secondary Works. Beside the general works in Church History and History of Doctrine, see the Lives of Luther, in German especially those of Köstlin-Kawerau, Kolde, Berger and Hausrath; in English those of Beard, Jacobs, Lindsay, Smith and McGiffert; also BOEHMER, Luther im Lichte der neueren Forschung, 2d ed., Leipzig, 1910.

On the indulgences in their relation to the Sacrament of Penance, H. C. LEA, History of Confession and Indulgence, especially Vol. III, Philadelphia, 1896; BRIEGER, Das Wesen des Ablasses am Ausgang des Mittelalters, Leipzig, 1897, and Article I n dulgenzen in PRE.3 IX, pp. 76 ff. (Eng. in SCHAFF-HERZOG V., pp. 485-88); GOTTLOB, Kreuzablass und Almosenablass Stuttgart, 1906 (especially valuable for the origin of indulgences).

On the indulgences and the XCV Theses, KOESTLIN, Luther's The ologie, Leipzig, 1883 (Eng. Trans. by HAY, The Theology of Luther, Philadelphia, 1897); BRATKE, Luther's XCV Thesen und ihre dogmengeschichtlichen Vorausset zungen, Göttingen, 1884; DIECKHOFF, Der Ablassstreit dogmengeschichtlich dargestellt, Gotha, 1886; LINDSAY, History of the Reformation, I, New York, 1906; TSCHACKERT, Entstehung der lutherischen und reformierten Kirchenlehre, Göttingen, 1910.

On the financial aspects of the indulgence-traffic, SCHULTE, Die Fugger in Rom, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1904. CHARLES M. JACOBS.

ALLENTOWN, PA.

I

LETTER TO THE ARCHBISHOP ALBRECHT OF MAINZ

OCTOBER 31, 1517

To the Most Reverend Father in Christ and Most Illustrious Lord, Albrecht of Magdeburg and Mainz, Archbishop and Primate of the Church, Margrave of Brandenburg, etc., his own lord and pastor in Christ, worthy of reverence and fear, and most gracious.

The grace of God be with you in all its fulness and power! Spare me, Most Reverend Father in Christ and Most Illustrious Prince, that I, the dregs of humanity, have so much boldness that I have dared to think of a letter to the height of your Sublimity. The Lord Jesus is my witness that, conscious of my smallness and baseness, I have long deferred what I am now shameless enough to do,moved thereto most of all by the duty of fidelity which I acknowledge that I owe to your most Reverend Fatherhood in Christ. Meanwhile, therefore, may your Highness deign to cast an eye upon one speck of dust, and for the sake of your pontifical clemency to heed my prayer.

Papal indulgences for the building of St. Peter's are circulating under your most distinguished name, and as gards them, I do not bring accusation against the outes of the preachers, which I have not heard, so much as

he original editions the word JESUS appears at the head of each of the and the present editors have retained the use, which was apparently an bedience to the command, Whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all me of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17).