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Christendom. The elegant Pagan pope cared little about this monk and his doctrines; wished, however, to have done with the noise of him: in a space of some three years, having tried various softer methods, he thought good to end it by fire. He dooms the monk's writings to be burnt by the hangman, and his body to be sent bound to Rome--probably for a similar purpose. It was the way they had ended with Huss, with Jerome, the century before. A short argument, fire. Poor Huss he came to that Constance Council with all imaginable. promises and safe-conducts; an earnest, not rebellious kind of man: they laid him in stantly in a stone dungeon 'three feet wide, six feet high, seven feet long;' burnt the true voice out of this world; choked it in smoke and fire. That was not well done!

"I, for one, pardon Luther for now altogether revolting against the pope. The elegant Pagan, by this fire-decree of his, had kindled into noble, just wrath the bravest heart then living in this world. The bravest, if also one of the humblest, peaceablest; it was now kindled. These words of mine, words of truth and soberness, aiming faithfully, as human inability would allow, to promote God's truth on earth, and save men's souls, you, God's vicegerent on earth, answer them by the hangman and fire? You will burn me and them, for answer to the God's-message they strove to bring you? You are not God's vicegerent; you are another's, I think! I take your bull, as an emparchmented lie, and burn it. You will do what you see good next; this is what I do.--It was on the tenth of December, 1520, three years after the beginning of the business, that Luther, with a great concourse of people,' took this indignant step of burning the pope's fire-decree in the market-place of Wittenberg. Wittenberg looked on with shoutings; the whole world was looking on. The pope should not have provoked that shout!' It was the shout of the awakening of nations. The quiet German heart, modest, patient of much, had at length got more than it could bear. Formulism, Pagan popism and other falsehood and corrupt semblance had ruled long enough;

and here once more was a man found who durst tell all men that God's world stood not on semblances but on realities: that life was a truth, and not a lie!

"At bottom, as was said above, we are to consider Luther as a prophet idolbreaker; a bringer back of men to reality. It is the function of great men and teachers. Mahomet said, These idols of yours are wood; you put wax and oil on them, the flies stick on them: they are not God, I tell you, they are black wood! Luther said to the pope, This thing of yours that you call a par don of sins, it is a bit of rag-paper with ink. It is nothing else; it, and so much like it, is nothing else. God alone can pardon sins. Popeship, spiritual fatherhood of God's church, is that a vain semblance, of cloth and parchment? It is an awful fact. God's church is not a semblance. Heaven and hell are not semblances. I stand on this since you drive me to it. Standing on this, I, a poor German monk, am stronger than you all. I stand solitary, friendless, one man, on God's truth; you with your tiaras, triple-hats, with your treasuries and armories, thunders, spiritual and temporal, stand on the devil's lie, and are not so strong!

"The Diet of Worms, Luther's appearance there on the 17th of April, 1521, may be considered as the greatest scene in modern European history; the point, indeed, from which the whole subsequent history of civilization takes its rise.

The

After multiplied negotiations, disputations, it had come to this. young emperor, Charles Fifth, with all the princes of Germany, papal nuncios, dignitaries spiritual and temporal, are assembled there; Luther is to appear and answer for himself, whether he will recant or not. The world's pomp and power sits there on this hand; on that, stands up for God's truth, one man, Hans Luther, the poor miner's son. Friends had reminded him of Huss, advised him not to go; he would not be advised. A large company of friends rode out to meet him, with still more earnest warnings; he answered, Were there as many devils in Worms as there are roof-tiles, I would on.' The people, on the morrow,

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as he went to the hall of the Diet, crowded the windows and housetops, some of them calling out to him, in solemn words, not to recant: Whosoever denieth me before men!' they cried to him, -as in a kind of solemn petition and adjuration. Was it not in reality our petition, too, the petition of the whole world, lying in dark bondage of soul, paralyzed under a black spectral nightmare and triple-hatted chimera, calling itself father in God, and what not: Free us; it rests with thee; desert us not!' Luther did not desert us. His speech, of two hours, distinguished itself by its respectful, wise and honest tone; submissive to whatsoever could lawfully claim submission, not submissive to any more than that. His writings, he said, were partly his own, partly derived from the Word of God. As to what was his own, human infirmity entered into it; unguarded anger, blindness, many things, doubtless, which it were a blessing for him could he abolish altogether. But as to what stood on sound truth and the Word of God, he could not recant it. How could he? Confute me,' he concluded, by proofs of Scripture, or else by plain, just arguments: I cannot recant otherwise. For it is neither safe nor prudent to do aught against conscience. Here stand I; I can do no other: God assist me!'-It is, as we say, the greatest moment in the modern history of men. English Puritanism, England and its parliaments, Americas, and vast work these two centuries; Europe and its work every where at present; the germ of it all lay there: had Luther in that moment done other, it had all been otherwise! The European world was asking him: Am I to sink ever lower into falsehood, stagnant putrescence, loathsome, accursed death; or, with whatever paroxysm, to cast the falsehoods out of me, and be cured and live?"

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How eloquently Carlyle throws back the imputation of all the wrong done in the world, since Luther's days, to Protestantism. "Great wars," he says, "contentions and disunion followed out of this Reformation; which last down to our day, and are yet far from ended. Great talk and crimination has been

made about these. They are lamentable, undeniable; but, after all, what has Luther or his cause to do with them? It seems strange reasoning to charge the Reformation with all this. When Hercules turned the purifying river into King Augeas's stables, I have no doubt the confusion that resulted was considerable all around: but I think it was not Hercules's blame; it was some other's blame. The Reformation might bring what results it liked when it came, but the Reformation simply could not help coming. To all popes and popes' advocates, expostulating, lamenting and accusing, the answer of the world.is: Once for all, your popehood has become untrue. No matter how good it was, how good you say it is, we cannot believe it; the light of our whole mind, given us to walk by from Heaven above, finds it henceforth a thing unbelievable. We will not believe it, we will not try to believe it,— we dare not! The thing is untrue; we were traitors against the Giver of all truth, if we durst pretend to think it true. Away with it; let whatsoever likes come in the place of it; with it we can have no farther trade!-Luther and his Protestantism is not responsible for wars; the false Simulacra that forced him to protest, they are responsible. Luther did what every man that God has made has not only the right, but lies under the sacred duty, to do: answered a falsehood when it questioned him, Dost thou believe me?-No!-At what cost soever, without counting of costs, this thing behooved to be done. Union, an organization spiritual and material, a far nobler than my popedom or feudalism in their truest days, I never doubt, is coming for the world; sure to come. But on fact alone, not on semblance and simulacrum, will it be able either to come, or to stand when come. With union grounded on falsehood, and ordering us to speak and act lies, we will not have any thing to do. Peace? A brutal lethargy is peaceable, the noisome grave is peaceable. We hope for a living peace, not a dead one!”

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so long as he continued living. The controversy did not get to fighting so long as he was there. To me it is proof of his greatness in all senses, this fact. How seldom do we find a man that has stirred up some vast commotion, who does not himself perish, swept away in it. Such is the usual course of revolutionists. Luther continued, in a good degree, sovereign of this greatest revolution; all Protestants, of what rank or function soever, looking much to him for guidance; and he held it peaceable, continued firm at the centre of it. A man to do this must have a kingly faculty; he must have the gift to discern, at all turns, where the true heart of the matter lies, and to plant himself courageously on that, as a strong true man, that other true men may rally round him there. He will not continue leader of men otherwise. Luther's clear, deep force of judg ment, his force of all sorts, of silence, of tolerance and moderation, among others, are very notable in these circumstances.

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"Tolerance, I say; a very genuine kind of tolerance: he distinguishes what is essential and what is not; the unessential may go as it will. A complaint comes that such and such a reformed preacher will not preach without a cassock.' Well, answers Luther, what harm will a cassock do the man? Let him have a cassock to preach in let him have three cassocks if he find benefit in them!' His conduct in the matter of Karlstadt's wild image breaking; of the Anabaptists; of the peasant's war, shows a noble strength, very different from spasmodic violence. With sure, prompt insight he discriminates what is what: a strong, just man speaks forth what is the wise course, and all men follow him in that. Luther's written works give similar testimony of him. The dialect of these speculations is now grown obsolete for us; but one still reads them with a singular attraction. And indeed the mere grammatical diction is still legible enough; Luther's merit in literary history is of the greatest: his dialect became the language of all writing. They are not well written, these four-and-twenty quartos of his; written hastily, with quite other than literary objects. But in no books have I

found a more robust, genuine, I will say noble faculty of a man than in these. A rugged honesty, homeliness, simplicity; a rugged, sterling sense and strength. He flashes out illumination from him; his smiting idiomatic phrases seem to cleave into the very secret of the matter. Good' humour, too, nay, tender affection, nobleness and depth: this man could have been a poet, too! He had to work an epic poem, not write one. I call him a great thinker; as indeed his greatness of heart already betokens that."

In an article published in Fraser's Magazine, in 1831, and reprinted in the second volume of his Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, Mr. Carlyle speaks more largely of Luther's literary charac ter, and gives us a translation of his famous Psalm, together with the original, which we here quote.

"Among Luther's Spiritual Songs, of which various collections have appeared of late years, the one entitled Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott, is universally regarded as the best; and, indeed, still retains its place and devotional use in the Psalmodies of Protestant Germany. Of the Tune, which also is by Luther, we have no copy, and only a second-hand knowledge: to the original words, we subjoin the following translation; which, if it possesses the only merit it can pretend to, that of literal adherence to the sense, will not prove unacceptable to our readers. Luther's music is heard daily in our churches, several of our finest Psalm-tunes being of his composition. Luther's sentiments, also, are, or should be, present in many hearts; the more interesting to us is any the smallest arti culate expression of these.

"The great Reformer's love of music, of poetry, it has often been remarked, is one of the most significant features in his character. But, indeed, if every great man, Napoleon himself, is intrinsically a poet, an idealist, with more or less completeness of utterance, which of all our great men, in these modern ages, had such an endowment in that kind as Luther? He it was, emphatically, who stood based on the Spiritual World of man, and only by the footing and miracu lous power he had obtained there, could

work such changes in the Material blage, before all emperors and princiWorld. As a participant and dispenser palities and powers, spoke forth these of divine influences, he shows himself final and for ever memorable words: It among human affairs a true connecting is neither safe nor prudent to do aught medium and visible Messenger between against conscience. Here stand I, I canHeaven and Earth; a man, therefore, not not otherwise. God assist me. Amen!'* only permitted to enter the sphere of It is evident enough that to this man all Poetry, but to dwell in the purest centre Popes' conclaves and imperial Diets, and thereof: perhaps the most inspired of all hosts and nations were but weak; weak Teachers since the first apostles, of his as the forest, with all its strong Trees, faith; and thus not a Poet only, but a may be to the smallest spark of electric Prophet and God-ordained Priest, which Fire." is the highest form of that dignity, and of all dignity.

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Unhappily, or happily, Luther's poetic feeling did not so much learn to express itself in fit Words that take captive every ear, as in fit Actions, wherein truly, under still more impressive manifestation, the spirit of spheral Melody resides, and still audibly addresses us. In his written Poems we find little, save that Strength of one whose words,' it has been said, were half-battles;' little of that still Harmony and blending softness of union which is the last perfection of Strength; less of it than even his conduct often manifested. With Words he had not learned to make pure music; it was by deeds of Love or heroic Valour that he spoke freely; in tones, only through his Flute, amid tears, could the sigh of that strong soul find utterance.

"Nevertheless, though in imperfect articulation, the same voice, if we will listen well, is to be heard also in his writings, in his Poems. The following, for example, jars upon our ears; yet is there something in it like the sound of Alpine avalanches, or the first murmur of Earthquakes; in the very vastness of which dissonance a higher unison is revealed to us. Luther wrote this Song in a time of blackest threatenings, which, however, could in no wise become a time of Despair. In those tones, rugged, broken as they are, do we not recognize the accent of that summoned man, (summoned not only by Charles the Fifth, but by God Almighty, also,) who answered his friend's warning not to enter Worms, in this wise: Were there as many in Worms as there are roof-tiles, I would on;'-of him who, alone in that assem

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EINE FESTE BURG IST UNSER GOTT.

Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott,
Ein' gute Wehr und Waffen;
Er hilft uns frey aus aller Noth,
Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alte böse Fiend,
Mit Ernst ers jetzt meint;
Gross Macht und viel List
Sein grausam' Rüstzeuch ist,
Auf Erd'n ist nicht seins Gleichen.

Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts gethan,
Wir sind gar bald verloren :
Es streit't für uns der rechte Mann,
Den Gott selbst hat erkoren.
Fragst du wer er ist?
Er heisst Jesus Christ,
Der Herre Zebaoth,

Und ist kein ander Gott,
Das Feld muss er behalten.

Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär,
Und wollt'n uns gar verschlingen,
So fürchten wir uns nicht so sehr,
Es soll uas doch gelingen.
Der Fürste dieser welt,
Wie sauer er sich stellt,
Thut er uns doch nichts;
Das macht er ist gerichtt,
Ein Wörtlein kann ihn fällen.

Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn
Und Keinen Dank dazu haben
Er ist bey uns wohl auf dem Plan
Mit seinem Geist und Gaben.
Nehmen sie uns den Leib,
Gut', Ehr', Kind und Weib,
Lass fahren dahin.

Sie haben's kein Gewinn,
Das Reich Gottes muss uns bleiben.

"Till such time, as either by proofs from

Holy Scripture, or by fair reason or argument

I have been confuted and convicted, I cannot, and will not recant, weil weder sicher noch

gerathen ist, etwas wider Gewissen zu thun.

Hier steche ich, ich kann nicht adders. Gott helfe mir. Amen!"

TRANSLATION.

A safe stronghold our God is still,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He'll help us clear from all the ill
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The ancient Prince of Hell,
Hath risen with purpose fell;
Strong mail of Craft and Power
He weareth in this hour,
On Earth is not his fellow.

With force of arms we nothing can,
Full soon were we down-ridden;
But for us fights the proper Man,
Whom God himself hath bidden.
Ask ye, Who is this same?
Christ Jesus is his name,
The Lord Zebaoth's Son,
He and no other one
Shall conquer in the battle.

And were this world all Devil's o'er
And watching to devour us,
We lay it not to heart so sore,
Not they can overpower us.
And let the Prince of Ill

Look grim as e'er he will,
He harms us not a whit,
For why? His doom is writ,
A word shall quickly slay him.

God's Word, for all their craft and force,
One moment will not linger,

But spite of Hell, shall have its course,
"Tis written by his finger.
And tho' they take our life,
Goods, honour, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;
These things shall vanish all,
The City of God remaineth.

To return to Mr. Carlyle's Book on Heroes. He remarks further of Luther's character, commencing on page 172.

"Richter says of Luther's words, 'his words are half-battles.' They may be called so. The essential quality of him was that he could fight and conquer; that he was a right piece of human Valour. No more valiant man, no mortal heart to be called braver, that one has record of, ever lived in that Teutonic Kindred, whose character is valour. His defiance of the Devils' in Worms was not a mere boast, as the like might be if now spoken. It was a faith of Luther's that there were Devils, spiritual denizens of the Pit, continually besetting men. Many times, in his writings, this turns up; and a most small sneer has been grounded on it by some. In the room of the Wartburg, where he sat translating the Bible, they

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still show you a black spot on the wall; the strange memorial of one of these conflicts. Luther sat translating one of the Psalms; he was worn down with long. labour, with sickness, abstinence from food: there rose before him some hideous indefinable Image, which he took for the Evil One, to forbid his work: Luther started up, with fiend-defiance; flung his ink-stand at the spectre, and it disappeared! The spot still remains there; a curious monument of several things. Any apothecary's apprentice can now tell us what we are to think of this apparition, in a scientific sense: but the man's heart that dare rise defiant, face to face, against Hell itself, can give no higher proof of fearlessness. The thing he will quail before, exists not on this Earth or under it. Fearless enough! They spoke once about his not being at Leipzig, as if

Duke George had hindered him,' a great enemy of his. It was not for Duke George, answered he: No; if I had business at Leipzig, I would go, though it rained Duke Georges for nine days running.'

"At the same time, they err greatly who imagine that this man's courage was ferocity, mere coarse, disobedient obstinacy and savagery, as many do. Far from that. There may be an absence of fear which arises from the absence of thought or affection, from the presence of hatred and stupid fury. We do not value the courage of the tiger highly! With Luther it was far otherwise; no accusation could be more un than this of mere ferocious violence brought against him. A most gentle heart withal, full of pity and love, as indeed the truly valiant heart ever is. The tiger before a stronger foe-flies: the tiger is not what we call valiant, only fierce and cruel. I know few things more touching than those soft breathings of affection, soft as a child's or a mother's, in this great, wild heart of Luther. So honest, unadulterated with any cant; homely, rude in their utterance; pure as water welling from the rock. What, in fact, was all that downpressed mood of despair and reprobation, which we saw in his youth, but the outcome of preeminent, thoughtful gentleness, affections

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