1 ii 
 
 Ijimiiimi: I : 
 
 1 (Hlliniiii"': 
 
 liiIMMiii>d_ 
 
theological Seminary, [ 
 
 PlilNCETOX. X. J. 
 The Stephen Collins Douatiou. 
 
 BR 305 .C7 1844 
 Cramp, J. M. 1796-1881. 
 The history of the 
 Reformation in Europe 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 REFORMATION IN EUROPE. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 CHRONOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE COUNCIL OF TRENT.^ 
 
 
 LONDOx\ : 
 
 The Relig:iou8 Tract Society, 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL-STREET. 
 
 PITTSBURG:— 58 MARKET-ST. 
 
 1844. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Rise an«l progress of the coiruptions of Christianity, . 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 State of Europe at the beginning of the Refonnation, . 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 History of the German Reformation, . . 53 
 
 Section 1. The early life of Luther, ... 53 
 
 Section 2. The controversy respecting indulgences, . 69 
 
 Section 3. The Diet of Worms, .... 91 
 
 Section 4. The progress of Reform, . . . 102 
 
 Section 5. The estabHshment of the cause. . . 122 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 History of the Reformation in Switzerland, . . . 137 
 
 Section 1. The labors of Zuingle, .... 162 
 Section 2. Subsequent events, . . , .197 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Historj- of the Refonnation in Sweden, Norway, and 
 
 Denmark, ........ 171 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 History of the Reformation in the Low Countries, . . 137 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Page. 
 History' of the Reformation in France, . . . .201 
 
 SectioH 1. From the commencement to the peace 
 
 of St. Germain, 201 
 
 Section 2. From the peace of St. Germain to the 
 
 Edict of Nantes, 230 
 
 CHAPTER vnr. 
 
 Historv' of the Refoi-mation in Poland, ... 242 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 History of the Reformation in England and Ireland 
 Section 1. The reign of Henry VHI. 
 Section 2. The reign of Edward VI. 
 Section 3. The reign of Queen Mary, 
 Section 4. The reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
 
 2r,7 
 257 
 280 
 293 
 321 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 History of the Reformation in Scotland, . . « 326 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Results of tlie Reformation, ...... 3.53 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Exposure of misrepresentations, ..... 385 
 
 Chronology of the Reformation, . « . . . 425 
 
REFORMATION %^^SIiLO?K 
 
 CHAPTER I. ' 
 Rise and progress of the corruptions of Christianity. 
 
 Every one who is acquainted with the unin- 
 spired productions of even the early christian 
 writers, is compelled to admit the marked differ- 
 ence between them and the books of the New 
 Testament ; a difference, not merely arising from 
 the fact that inspiration had ceased, and with it 
 the divine style peculiar to those " holy men of 
 God" who spake and wrote " as they were mov- 
 ed by the Holy Ghost ;" but indicating the adop- 
 tion of sentiments and practices for which no au- 
 thority is found in the word of the Lord. 
 
 The apostle Paul prophesied of these times. 
 He foresaw the flood of corruption, and forewarn- 
 ed the church of its approach : see 2 Thess. 2 ; 
 1 Tim. 4 : 1-3 ; 2 Tim. 3 : 1-5. His words were 
 verified. The state of reHgion, during the second 
 and third centuries, exhibits melancholj pj-oof of 
 1* 
 
6 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 a gradual departure from the simplicity of tlie 
 Gospel. In perusing the memorials of the times 
 preceding the Council of Nice, we observe the 
 various developments of error and will-worship, 
 and learn the importance of simple adhesion to 
 Scripture. These memorials are faithful records 
 of the progress of opinions ; but the opinions 
 themselves must be brought to the infallible test, 
 that we may " prove all things," and " hold fast 
 that which is good." 1 Thess. 5 : 21. Tradition 
 embodies the vagaries of the wayward mind of 
 man : the Bible, and the Bible only, contains the 
 word of God. 
 
 It will be useful to fix on some important events 
 in church history, and point out the changes that 
 had taken place at their respective dates. The 
 Council of Nice may be first mentioned. That 
 celebrated assembly was held A. D. 324. Its prin- 
 cipal object was the suppression of Arianism. To 
 secure that object, the Ni cene Creed was framed, 
 subscribed by the bishops and published as the 
 standard declaration of the faith of the church ; 
 while the emperor Constantino performed his 
 part, by banishing Arius and all who adhered to 
 him. This was the beginning of much mischief. 
 Hitherto christians had been persecuted, and the 
 church had thriven in the storm. The sun of pros- 
 perity was now shining on her ; she was basking 
 in imperial favor ; but she bartered her freedom 
 ,and purity for gold, and, becoming an oppressor, 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 7 
 
 sought to defend the truth by the hand of power 
 and the weapons of worldly warfare. This policy 
 was not learned from Christ. *' My kingdom," 
 the Savior said, ** is not of this world : if my king- 
 dom were of this world, then would my servants 
 fight." John, 18 : 36. 
 
 But at this era a very considerable departure 
 from apostolic purity was discernible. Instead of 
 regarding the inspired writings as the sole depo- 
 sitory of truth, professing christians had acted as 
 though the Bible were only one of the sources of 
 religious knowledge. The opinions held by pagan 
 philosophers were in many respects utterly in- 
 compatible with the New Testament, and could 
 not be held by believers in Christ without surren- 
 dering important christian principles. It cannot 
 be too deeply deplored that Christianity was mo- 
 dified and mingled with philosophy, and that the 
 simple worship celebrated by the first christians 
 was quickly corrupted by the introduction of rites 
 and forms borrowed from Jewish or heathen ob- 
 servances. The consequences were fatally injuri- 
 ous. It was a dark day for the church. 
 
 The administration of baptism was connected 
 with many ceremonies, which were gradually in- 
 troduced, and deemed operative as well as sig- 
 nificant. The candidate was anointed with oil, 
 marked with the sign of the cross, presented, in 
 6ome places, with milk and honey, and for several 
 days after his baptism was attired in white gar- 
 
8 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 rnents. The Lord's supper began to be called a 
 sacrifice, the table was termed an altar, and the 
 minister a priest who offered on it. This led to 
 another innovation : christian ministers were look- 
 ed upon as substitutes for the priests of the law, 
 or of paganism ; and, therefore, the name as well 
 as the office was appropriated to them. Baptism 
 and the Lord's supper were treat-ed as ordinances 
 conferring salvation. Incautious language, used 
 in reference to the latter, paved the way after- 
 wards for the monstrous figment of transubstanti- 
 ation. The power of the bishops was continually 
 increasing. As their flocks grew larger, more mi- 
 nisters were required to instruct them, on whom 
 the duty of implicit obedience to the bishop was 
 carefully enjoined. The frequent assembling of 
 provincial synods tended to consolidate episcopal 
 power, inasmuch as on those occasions canons of 
 discipline were framed, which all the churches of 
 the district were expected to obey. The seeds of 
 the Romish primacy were also sown at this period. 
 An ascending scale of ecclesiastical dignity was 
 invented, answering to the political divisions of 
 the empire. The bishop of the chief city of a pro- 
 vince was styled a metropolitan, and took the first 
 place among his brethren. If the city was not 
 only the metropolis of the province, but also the 
 seat of government for one of the larger divisions 
 of the empire, the bishop of that city assumed a 
 more extensive jurisdiction, which was afterwards 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 9 
 
 culled a patriarchate. Tlius the Council of Nice 
 decided that the bishop of Alexandria should have 
 under him all Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis ; as, 
 in like manner, the bishop of Antioch presided 
 over tlie eastern provinces, and the Roman bishop 
 over Italy and some other provinces in the west. 
 As Rome was the ancient metropolis of the whole 
 empire, it will be easily perceived that these ar- 
 rangements were likely to prove the germ of an 
 extensive and pernicious usurpation. To these no- 
 tices may be added the extravagant honors paid 
 to martyrs, the anniversaries of whose deaths 
 were celebrated by religious services ; the ob- 
 servance of numerous fasts and festivals ; the in- 
 vention of new offices and degrees in the minis- 
 try; the severe, degrading, and unscriptural pe- 
 nances, or punishments, inflicted on oflenders 
 against the laws of the church ; and the rise of 
 the monastic system. The results of the whole 
 present a fearful picture. 
 
 Referring to this period, Milncr says : ** If we 
 look at the external appearance of Christianity, 
 nothing can be more splendid. An emperor, full 
 of zeal for the propagation of the only divine reli- 
 gion, by edicts restores to the church every thing 
 of which it had been deprived ; indemnifies those 
 who had suflered ; honors the pastors exceedingly ; 
 recommends to governors of provinces to promote 
 the Gospel; and though he will neither oblige 
 them nor any others to profess it, yet he forbid;* 
 
10 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 them to make use of the sacrifices commonly 
 made by prefects. He erects churches exceed- 
 ingly sumptuous and ornamental, with distinction?* 
 of the parts, corresponding in some measure to 
 those in Solomon's temple ; discovers with much 
 zeal the sepulchre of Christ at Jerusalem, real or 
 pretended, and honors it with a most expensive 
 Bacred edifice. His mother, Helena, iills the 
 whole Roman world with her munificent acts iu 
 support of religion ; and, after erecting churches 
 and travelling from place to place to evidence her 
 zeal, dies before her son, aged eighty years. Nor 
 is the christian cause neglected, even out of the 
 bounds of the Roman empire : Constantine zea- 
 lously pleads, in a letter to Sapor, king of Persia, 
 for the christians of his dominions. He destroys 
 idol temples ; prohibits impious pagan rites ; puts 
 an end to the savage fights of gladiators ; stands 
 up with respectful silence to hear the sermon of 
 Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, the historian; fur- 
 nishes him with the volumes of the Scriptures for 
 the use of the churches ; orders the obsen-ation 
 of the festivals of martyrs ; has prayers and read- 
 ing of the Scriptures at his court ; dedicates 
 churches with great solemnity; makes christian 
 orations himself, one of which, of a considerable 
 length, is presented by the historian, his favorite 
 bishop; directs the sacred observation of the 
 Lord's day, to which he adds that of Friday also, 
 the day of Christ's crucifixion. 
 
CORRUrTlONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 11 
 
 " It may seem invidious to throw any shade on 
 this picture : but though the abolition of lewd, 
 impious, and inhuman customs must have been of 
 great advantage to society ; and though the bene- 
 fits of Christianity, compared with paganism, to 
 the world appear very strong by these means ; 
 yet all this, if sound principle be wanting, is but 
 form and shadow. 
 
 " The great defectiveness of docti'ine failed not 
 to influence practice as usual. External piety 
 flourished ; monastic societies, in particular places, 
 were also growing ; but faith, love, heavenly- 
 mindedness appear very rare. Yet among the 
 poor and obscure christians I hope there was far 
 more godliness than could be seen at courts and 
 among bishops and persons of eminence. The 
 doctrine of real conversion was very much lost, or 
 external baptism was placed in its stead ; and the 
 true doctrine of justification by faith, and the true 
 practical use of a crucified Savior for troubled 
 consciences, were scarcely to be seen at this time. 
 There was much outward religion ; but this could 
 not make men saints in heart and life. The worst 
 part of the character of Constantine is, that as he 
 grew older he grew more culpable — oppressive 
 in his own family, oppressive to the government, 
 oppressive by eastern superfluous magnificence; 
 and the facts to be displayed will show how little 
 true humility and charity were now known in the 
 christian world : while superstition and self-righ- 
 
12 RfSE AND PROGRESS OP 
 
 teousness were making vigorous shoots, and the 
 real Gospel of Christ was hidden from men wh(» 
 professed it." History of the Church, cent. 4, 
 chapter 2. 
 
 We pass on lo the time of Gregory I. hishop 
 of Rome, commonly called Gregory the Great. 
 He died A. D. 604. In tlie period intervening be- 
 tween the Council of Nice and his deatli rapid 
 strides had been made in the establishment of ec- 
 clesiastical domination, and the assimilation of 
 christian to heathen worship in many points. The 
 bishops acquired the supreme direction of aifairs. 
 Another power, too, was fast gathering strength, 
 to which tliey were, in the first instance, compel- 
 led to yield, and whose usurpations they after- 
 wards upheld and defended as an integral part of 
 the system. The bishoj)s of Rome watched every 
 opportunity for new aggressions, and «killully 
 availed themselves of such events as might af- 
 ford them fresh pretexts for advancing their 
 claims to dominion. Their city had long fmnod 
 the central point of communication on all sub- 
 jects, and from all parts of the world. The rival 
 metropolis, Constantinople, it is true, drew off a 
 large portion of the benefits formerly accruing to 
 Rome, presenting greater attractions to the aspi- 
 rants after wealth and honor. Nevertheless, the 
 great city continued to command universal re- 
 spect. The very circumstance just alkided to — 
 the removal of the imperial residence, proved in 
 
CORRUPTIOxNS IS CHUISTIAMTY. 13 
 
 the issue favorable to the development of papal 
 ambition. It gave rise to a new assumption. The, 
 ])rincipal glory of the ancient city now was, that 
 it had been the scene of apostolic labors and suf- 
 ferings. It was the city of Peter and Paul. Tho.-e 
 great apostles, so ran the tradition, had fouiuled 
 the Roman churcli. Its bLshops were their suc- 
 cessors. The superiority of tho.se bishops over 
 tli<nr brethren, at lirst pleaded for on the ground 
 ol' the metropolitan dignity <jf the city, was ulti- 
 mately founded on that fiction, and Rome's usurp- 
 ed rule rests on it to the present day. The pro- 
 cess was slov/, but sine, Pii'st, the occurrence of 
 disputes, or the introduction of heresies, induced 
 distant })ishops to ask advice oi' their brother at 
 Icome. He took advantage of tlie deference ])aid 
 lilm, and soon began to shape his counsels in liio 
 furm of decrees, to which lie required prompt: 
 obedience. Another step v/as taken by the Coun- 
 cil of Laodicea, A. D. 347, which sanctioned ap- 
 })eals to the bishop of Rome, who, in sucii cases, 
 might order a new examination of the cause in 
 question by the neighboring bishops, and send a 
 member of his own churcli as his representative 
 'U* legate, and assessor with them in judgment. It 
 may be readily conceived that admirable facilities 
 ft>r aggrandizement w^ere thereby offered to jjoli- 
 tic and ambitious men. The removal of the seat 
 of government from Rome to Ravenna, A. D. 40i), 
 and the destruction of the western Roman em- 
 
14 RISE AND PROGRESS OP ^ -' 
 
 pire, A. D. 476, were events that still further en- 
 hanced the dignity of the occupants of the apos- 
 tolic see. The bishop became the principal man 
 in the city, and, in effect, its governor ; for though 
 the civic power seemed still to retain the supre- 
 macy, the superstitious reverence with which the 
 successor of the apostles was regarded, placed 
 the reins actually in his hands. Under the man- 
 agement of such men as Innocent I., Leo the 
 Great, and Gregory, successive steps were taken, 
 till at length the man of Rome held the sceptre 
 of dominion, controlling and overruling the whole 
 ecclesiastical body. 
 
 The state of religion at this time may be de- 
 Bcribed in few words. In the proper acceptation 
 of the term, godliness scarcely existed. The spi- 
 ritiial was sacrificed to the carnal. Barbarian de- 
 vastation had swept away learning, art, and, to a 
 great extent, civilization itself; while, amid the 
 prevailing ignorance and brutishness of the peo- 
 ple, the priesthood acquired increasing influence, 
 and erected their throne on the ruins of know- 
 ledge, morals, and piety. The sacraments were 
 loaded with additional ceremonies : many of them 
 were invented and first brouglit into use by Gre- 
 gory the Great, who may indeed be considered 
 the father of the pompous ritual of Rome. Mar- 
 tyrs and saints were increasingly adored. Church- 
 es were built in their honor. Their tombs were 
 .die resort of pilgrims. Their relics (bones, teeth, 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CHRISTIANITY 15 
 
 hair, rags, and such Uke) were held in high ven- 
 eration, deposited in churches, exhibited to the 
 gaze of the people, and made the instruments of 
 many a lying wonder.* Monasteries studded all 
 
 * Gregory was enthusiastic in his reverence for relics. The 
 empress Constantina had built a church at Constantinople in ho- 
 nor of the apostle Paul, and requested Gregory to send her the 
 apostle's head or some portion of his body to deposit in the 
 church. In his reply, Gregory states that *' he neither could nor 
 dared to grant that favor; for the bodies of the holy apostles, Pe- 
 ter and Paul, are so resplendent with miracles and terrific prodi- 
 gies in their own churches, that no one can approach them without 
 great awe, even for the purjiose of adoring them. When my 
 predecessor, of happy memory, wished to change some silver or- 
 nament wliich was placed over the most holy body of St. Peter, 
 though at the distance of almost fifteen feet, a warning of no 
 small terror appeared to him. Even I myself wished to make 
 some alteration near the most holy body of St. Paul, and it was 
 necessary to dig rather deeply near his tomb. The superior of 
 the place found some bones which were not at all connected with 
 that tomb, and, having presumed to disturb and remove them to 
 gome other place, he was visited by certain fearful apparitions, 
 
 and died suddenly Be it then known to you, that 
 
 it is the custom of the Romans, when they give any relics, not to 
 venture to touch any portion of the body; only they put into a 
 box a piece of linen, (called brandemn,) which is placed near 
 the holy bodies : then it is withdrawn, and shut up with due ven- 
 eration in the church which is to be dedicated; and as many pro- 
 digies are then wrought by it as if the bodies themselves had 
 been carried thither. Whence it happened, that in the time of 
 St. Leo, (as we learn from our ancestors,) when some Greeks 
 doubted the virtue of such relics, that pope called for a pair of 
 scissors, and cut the linen, and blood flowed from the incision. 
 
 . . . . But, that your religious desire may not be wholly 
 frustrated, I will hasten to send to you some part of those 
 
16 RISE AND rnOGHl-SS OF 
 
 lands, filled witli beings ^.vlio vainly sought to uc- 
 <|iiiro merit before God by living in disobedience 
 to his owa laws, and enduring severities which he 
 liad neither enjoined nor sanctioned. Literature 
 was at a very low ebb. Education was chiefly 
 confined to frivolous or useless attainments. Do- 
 nations to churches and monasteries were held to 
 atone for the worst crimes. The priests profited 
 by the vices of the people. Heathen festivals 
 wore retained under christian names ; and *' ex- 
 cess of riot " disgraced those holy days, the insti- 
 tution of which abridged the time given to man 
 to earn his daily bread, encouraged idleness and 
 beggary, and defrauded God of his own Sabbath. 
 To crown the whole, men were taught to exp(;ct 
 sharp purgatorial pains after death ; an invention 
 most cunningly contrived to rivet the chains of 
 bondage and lill the coffers of the church. For 
 who ^vould be niggardly to the priest, when it 
 
 <;<ia.tn3 which St. Paul wore on his neck and hand.-;, if, indeed, I 
 shall succwd in getting^ olFany fding3 from them. For since nrany 
 continually solicit, as h blessing, that lliey may carry oHT from 
 those c.liaiiia some small portion of their filings, a priest stands by 
 with a file; and sometimes it happens that some portions fall 
 off from the chains instantly, and without delay; while, at other 
 times, the fdc is long draw ii over the chains, and yet nothing is 
 at la?t scraped olV from them."' \Vaddiiii,'ton's Ili>tory of the 
 Ciuu-ch, p. I'xi. Sii.;h were the follies of Gregory, calle.l tht- 
 (ireat, a man who is omp of the principal saints of ll)e Koinish 
 ehurrh, and whose name is often mentioned by many Protestants 
 with great resp.^ct. 
 
CORRUPTIOXS IN CHRISTIANITY. 17 
 
 was said to be only by his intercession that the 
 soul could be rescued from the gloomy prison I 
 Resistance to the church exposed the hapless 
 mortal who was guilty of the crime to the fierce 
 vengeance of the state. The alleged heretic (of- 
 tentimes far more orthodox and christian than his 
 accusers) was turned over to the civil power and 
 treated most mercilessly. The Theodosian coda 
 was written in blood : its punishments for heresy 
 and schism would have satisfied Draco himself. 
 Alas ! how changed was the state of the body 
 still calling itself the church of God ! What a 
 mournful contrast between the times of the apos- 
 tles and those of Gregory the Great !* 
 
 ^ The case of Vig^llantius furnishes a melancholy illustration of 
 the njinarks in the text." That good man was a reformer. Ihi 
 " denied the sanctity of relics, refused to worship and burn lighn 
 at the tombs of martyrs, and to invocate saints ; disapproved of 
 vows of celibacy, of pilgrimages, and of nocturnal watchings i;j 
 cemeteries; doubted the presence of departed spirits at the pla- 
 ces where their bodies were buried ; questioned tlie tales of mii-a- 
 cles said to have been wrought at the sepulchres of the martyrs ; 
 and protested against the imputed efficacy of prayers, either for 
 or to the dead." For the expression of these opinions he was 
 pursued by Jerome with unrelenting malice. The vocabulaiy of 
 scurrility was exhausted in the controversy. The only wonder 
 was that Vigilantius escaped without suffering personal violence. 
 " He came off verj* well, if he suffered no greater harm than to 
 be called Fool, Blockhead, Madman, Demoniac, Lunatic, He- 
 retic, Arian, Eunomian, Samaritan, Jew, Pagan, Injidel, ApoS' 
 tate. Blasphemer, Calumniator, Despiscr of Martyrs, Bishops 
 and Emperors, Glutton, Sot, Liar, Ass, and Dog." Jortin's re- 
 
18 PISE AM) rRO(vi:rss or 
 
 The next step will be fo tlie age <>f Gregorv 
 VII. the celebrated Hildebrand. He became 
 pope A. D. 1073. The intenening period was 
 an age of dense darkness. The people were im- 
 raersed in gross ignorance, and none cared for 
 their souls. If they honored the Virgin Mary and 
 the saints, paid all ecclesiastical dues, and yielded 
 implicit submission to the dictates of the priests, 
 it was enough. Tiie public services of the church 
 became of little interest to them, being conducted 
 in Latin, a change which was gradually introduc- 
 ed, and at length universally enjoined. The effect 
 of it was to insulate the priests from the people, 
 destroy the social character of christian worship, 
 and exalt the ecclesiastics to an eminence which 
 cliristianity never prepared for them, constituting 
 them mediators between God and man, and tlms 
 obscuring the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The exaltation of the- clergy v/as manifestly the 
 main object of pursuit during the times now un- 
 der review. It had been greatly encouraged by 
 the so-called conversion of the Goths, Vandals, 
 Franks, and other barbarous tribes who succes- 
 sively invaded the Roman empire. Accustomed 
 to the domination of the pagan priests, and to 
 consider religion as the especial business of t)ie 
 priesthood, they transferred those notions to the 
 
 marks on Ecclesiastical History, i. 'MZ. Gilly's Waldrn^es, Val- 
 do and Vigilantius, p. GO. 
 
rOUKUPTIOXS IN CHRISTIANITY. 19 
 
 cliristianity which they professed to embrace, and 
 were content to lavish their treasures on the 
 church, and support any form of folly that was set 
 before them, so that they were assured of being 
 saved harmless, as they vainly expected to be, in 
 their spiritual concerns. As a necessary conse- 
 quence, clerical tyranny and exaction increased 
 continually. Churches and monasteries abounded 
 with wealth. The clergy obtained exemption 
 from tlie authority of the civil magistrate, and 
 were declared amenable only to their bishops ; 
 while the bishops were not only invested with su- 
 preme power over the clergy, but were also al- 
 lowed to take cognizance of causes between lay- 
 men, if one of the parties in a dispute appealed 
 to them. Clerical celibacy gained ground every- 
 where, and was rigidly enforced, as far as possible, 
 bv the superior ecclesiastical authorities. Grego- 
 ry VII. mainly devoted his energies to the attain- 
 ment of this, hiy favorite object. No one can 
 wonder that the standard of character among the 
 professed ministers of the church was become ex- 
 tremely lov/. The temptations to vice were so 
 ]>owcrful, and immunity from the consequences of 
 crime so eat^y to be obtained, that nothing but 
 genuine piety couhl haye preserved men from 
 gross delinquencies. Keal piety, it has been al- 
 ready stated, was little known and practised. 
 The descriptions of the prophet were fully appli- 
 cable to the state of morals and religion in the 
 
20 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 middle ages. " None calleth for justice, nor any 
 pleadetli for truth : they tnast in vanity, and speak 
 lies ; they conceive mischief, and bring forth ini- 
 quity. Their feet run to evil, and they make 
 haste to shed innocent blood : their thoughts are 
 thoughts of iniquity ; wasting and destruction are 
 in their paths. Judgment is turned away back- 
 ward, and justice standeth afar ofl': for truth is 
 fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, 
 truth faileth ; and he that departeth from evil 
 maketh himself a prey." Isa. 59 : 4, 7, 14, 15. 
 
 The image controversy became prominent in 
 tliese times. For many years there had been a. 
 gi'owing tendency to idolatrous worship, in the 
 form of honor to the pictures or images of the 
 saints. It was looked on with suspicion by some, 
 and feebly reprobated.* But idolatrous practices 
 went on gathering strength, and daily enlisting 
 fresh votaries. Paganism was reviving in the 
 form of Christianity. Though gods and heroes 
 were no longer adored, saints took their places : 
 
 ** Serenus, bishop of Marseilles, had tak^n Jowii and destroy- 
 ed some images which bad been placed in the churches, becaufio 
 the people worshipped them. (Gregory tho Great reproved him 
 Tor it. He told him that images might be allowed, as books for 
 the ignorant and the barbarian, who could not read, " that they 
 might see what they ought to ft)llow." It was only necessary to 
 warn the people not to worship them. This was dangerous doc- 
 trine, as the result proved. Men were not content to look at llic 
 images : they would " bow down '' and adore. 
 
CORIIUPTIOXS IN' CIIRIrJTIAMTV. 21 
 
 and tlius still the creature wns *' worshipped and 
 served more than the Creator." Uom. 1 : 23. Tlio 
 eastern emperor, Leo III, endeavored to check 
 the ton-ent by tlie interposition of the secuhir 
 ])o\ver. He published an edict, A. D. 72G, jh'o- 
 liibiting the worship of images. A furious contest 
 followed. Fanatical monks took the field in de- 
 fence of their idols. Curses loud and deep were 
 reciprocally fulminated. Slaughter and ruin deso- 
 lated the empire. The struggle lasted more than a 
 century, during which interval each side had by 
 turns the mastery. The Council of Constantino- 
 ])le, A. D. 754, declared against images; but an- 
 <iiiicr council, held in the same city, A. D. 787, 
 pronounced in their favor. Both claimed to be 
 general councils. 'J'he emperor Charlemagne op- 
 ])08cd the idolatry of the age, and had the misfor- 
 tune to meet with a pope, Leo IIL as an antago- 
 nist. In the issue, however, evil triumphed. Mhu 
 made his graven image, and bowed down to it, 
 riiid served it. Tlic abomination continues to this 
 day, iind will continue, till the Lord shall destroy 
 tlie wicked one " with the spirit of his mouth, 
 and with the bi-ightness of his coming." 2 Thess. 
 2 : 8. 
 
 The rise of iMohammedism, and the lightning- 
 like rapidity with winch it was spread by force of 
 uruis, cannot but be regarded as a judgment on a 
 backsliding and idolatrous people, whatever other 
 objects are to be secured by the permission of the 
 
22 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 cunning imposture. Persia, Syria, and other east- 
 ern countries, Egypt, Northern Africa, and Spain 
 were ravaged by fire and sword ; churches were 
 plundered and destroyed, priests murdered, and 
 the people reduced under a grinding tyranny. 
 Yet they " repented not of the works of theii 
 hands, that they should not worship devils, and 
 idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and 
 of wood ; which neither can see, nor hear, nor 
 walk : neither repented they of their murders, nor 
 of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of 
 their thefts." Rev. 9 : 20, 21. 
 
 Papal power and influence continued to ad- 
 vance. In the year GOG Boniface III. received 
 from the emperor Phocas the title of '* universal - 
 bishop." In less than thirty years after, Theo- 
 dore, one of his successors, affected to be called 
 '' sovereign pontifli?' At first all bishops had been 
 termed "popes," or fathers; but now the word 
 was exclusively applied to the Roman prelate. 
 And he suited the action to the word, dealing 
 with all Christendom as one spiritual family, of 
 which he required to be regarded as the natural 
 head. He claimed the right of universal control 
 and supervision. Other bishops derived their poAv- 
 er from him. In their disputes with princes, cler- 
 gy, or people, they might appeal to his decisions ; 
 and, on the other hand, if princes, clergy, or peo- 
 ple deemed themselves aggrieved by their bishops, 
 they also were invited to lay their complaints ac 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 23 
 
 the feet of their master at Rome. Thus all par- 
 lies unconsciously exalted the power by which all 
 were to be crushed. The exemption of the clergy 
 from civil jurisdictitm threw them more entirely 
 into the hands of the pope ; and the growing de- 
 sire of the monastic orders to be freed from epis- 
 copal control, and subject only to Rome, tended 
 mightily to confirm and enlarge the dominion of 
 the apostolic see. Nothing but temporal power 
 was wanted. It had been virtually possessed for 
 some time ; but, in the year 730 the Roman peo- 
 ple formally constituted their bishop chief magis- 
 trate of die city. Twenty-six years afterwards, 
 the exarchate of Ravenna, the last relic of the 
 Constantinopolitan emperor's possessions in the 
 west, was presented to the pope by Pepin oi 
 France, thus raising the bishop to the rank of an 
 independent and sovereign prince. Other dona- 
 tions of territory followed. The little horn began 
 to " speak great words against the Most High, 
 and to wear out the saints of the Most High, and 
 thought to change times and laws." Dan. 7 : 25. 
 Usurpations grew and multiplied. The pope be- 
 came daily more arrogant and ambitious. He in- 
 termeddled with every thing. He dictated laws 
 and policy to kings, exacted from the people, and 
 tyrannised over their spiritual guides, subduing 
 them to his will. He sat '* in the temple of God, 
 phowing himself that he was God." 2 Thess. 2 : 
 4 ; for he, and he only, could canonize saints, and 
 
24 RISE AND PROliKLSS OF 
 
 tell men whom and what to worship. Piinces 
 feared to contradict or thwart him, lest the ter- 
 lible thunder of his excommunication should hur?t 
 upon their heads, and hurl them to deienceless 
 ruin. The weapons of the church, aided and im- 
 pelled by the force ol'jniblic opinion, were far too 
 poweifiil for the mcmarchs of this world. How- 
 ever courageously they might make a show of re- 
 rtistance for a time, they were obliged in the end 
 to yield. The liisKuy of Henry IV'. of Germany, 
 which is familiar to every reader of ecclesiastical 
 history, furnishes a striking illusf ration «)f this 
 remark. 
 
 Of all the assertory of papal prerogative, Grego- 
 ry VH. was the most daring that had hitherto aj)- 
 peared. He had framed a scheme of universal 
 empire. According to him, the saints, so-called, 
 were literally to possess the kingdoms ; and liie 
 liead of the chiu'ch was to be, at the same linie, 
 and to the same extent, lord of the world. Nov 
 did he nuike any secret of his pretensions. Fairly 
 and fully did he put them forward, urging them 
 with a pertinacity worthy of a better cause. He 
 died a martyr to liis lavorile dogma.* 
 
 * A. D. 1085. " lie concluded a turbulent pontificate of 
 twelve year:!, in misfortune, in exile, with little lioiior, witli few 
 lamentations ; without ha%'ing witnessed tlie perfect accomplish- 
 ment of any portion of the project which had animated his ^xi^t- 
 ence, and even at the very moment when it appeiu-ed most hope- 
 less. He died ; but ho left behind hiui a name which has arrest- 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CIIllISTIANITY. 25 
 
 From the death of Gregory VII. to the end of 
 the great western schism, A. D. 1429, a period 
 of 344 years, the t}Tanny of the jjapacy continued 
 to assume a fiercer tone, and to load men with yet 
 more vexatious oppressions. The church (alas ! 
 tliat so venerable a name should be so misapphedj 
 l)ecame daily more greedy of power and money. 
 Nearly one-half of the wealtli of Euroj^e was in 
 the hands of the ecclesiastics. In the times of 
 8uch men as Innocent HI. and Boniface VIII. the 
 Komish yoke rested with galling and intolerable 
 pressure on the necks of the people. The maxima 
 of Hildebrand were acted on to tlie fullest extent. 
 Mightiest princes were treated with proud dis- 
 dain, and compelled to yield reluctant submission, 
 through fear of excommunication and interdict. 
 Like the insatiable horse-leech, the pope and the 
 clergy perpetually cried, " Give, give ;" oftering, 
 in exchange for the substantial possessions which 
 
 ed with singular force the attention of history ; wliich has been 
 strangely disligurpcl, indeed, by her capricious paitialitv ; but 
 which has never been overlooked, and will never be forgotten. 
 He did more than that; he left behind him his spirit, his exam- 
 ))Ie, and his principles ; and they continued, through many suc- 
 cessive generations, to agitate the policy and influence the des- 
 tinies of the whole christian world." . . . . " His claims of 
 temporal sovereignty, his usurpation of spiritual supremacy, his 
 lofry bearing and pontifical an-ogance were so widely at variance 
 with the spii-it of that book on which his church was originally 
 founded, that we must either suppose him wholly to Fiave dis- 
 dained its precepts, or to have strangc'ly misinterpreted them." 
 Waddington's Historj' of the Church, ch. IG. 
 
26 RISE AND PROGRESS OP 
 
 they coveted, the imaginary blessings of remission 
 of sins and deliverance from purgatorial pains. 
 The avarice of the clerical order knew no bounds 
 Benefice after benefice was heaped on the same 
 person, in defiance of all ecclesiastical laws. The 
 presentation to benefices was very commonly 
 forestalled at Rome by an act of reservation ; 
 meaning thereby, that whenever the liAdng should 
 become vacant, the pope reserved to himself the 
 right of presenting it to whomsoever he pleased. 
 He had also secured the gift of all livings whose 
 incumbents should die in certain months of the 
 year, called the pope's months, (eight out of the 
 twelve,) or should die at Rome. Such enormous 
 oatronage could not be safely placed in the pow- 
 ir of one man, nor was it likely to be exercised 
 with impartiality. Needy favorites put forward 
 their claims, and in return for benefits received, 
 exerted all their influence in support of the power 
 to which they were indebted. Thus the giver and 
 the receiver played the same unholy game ; and 
 the countries of Christendom suffered the loss, in 
 the transfer of immense property to rapacious 
 and unprincipled foreigners, the scandalous neg- 
 lect of clerical duties, the corrupting effects of 
 the vicious lives of ecclesiastics, and the universal 
 prevalence of disorders of every kind.* 
 
 * The fori^ery of charters was no uncommon device in the mid- 
 dle ages. '* Tlie monks prostituted their knov/ledge of writing to 
 the pui-posc of forging charters in their own favor, which might 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CUUISTIANITi'. 27 
 
 The invention of the scholastic tlieology was 
 another drawback on the spread of scriptural 
 views. Subtle speculations amused the ingenious. 
 " intruding into those things which they had not 
 seen, vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds." Col. 
 2 : 18. Many of them were men of gigantic pow- 
 ers, but they grievously misapplied them, inquir- 
 ing into essences and modes of existence, sporting 
 with trifles, or proposing questions which no hu- 
 man intellect can solve; instead of humbly search- 
 ing the word of God, that they might set before 
 their fellow-men the truths of the great redemp- 
 tion.* 
 
 Additions continued to be made to the existincr 
 
 o 
 
 forms of will-worship. The sacraments were au- 
 thoritatively pronounced to be seven in number : 
 viz. baptism, confirmation, penance, the eucharist, 
 orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. Men 
 were taught to kneel at the elevation of the host in 
 churches, and to place themselves in the same pos- 
 
 casily impose upon an igiiorant age, since it has required a pecu- 
 liar science to detect them in modern times." Hallam's Middle 
 Ages, fourth edition, ii. 204. 
 
 England was miserably fleeced by papal exactions. In the 
 time of Gregory- IX. A. D. 1227—1241, "the usurers of Cahors 
 and Lombardy, residing in London, took up the trade of agency 
 for the pope ; and in a few years he is said, partly by levies of 
 money, partly by revenues of benefices, to have plundered the 
 kingdom of 950,000 mai'ks ; a sum equivalent, I think, to not 
 less than fifteen millions sterling at present." Ibid. p. 30G. 
 
 * See D'Aubign6's History of the Reformation, book i. sect. 3. 
 
28 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 liiro in the streets, whenever the sacred elements 
 were carried to the sick. The festival of Corpus 
 Christi day was established.* Communion in one 
 kind only became the general practice. The ju- 
 bilee, first celebrated in the year 1300, proved a 
 most gainful institution ; and Home found such a 
 ready sale for her wares, and so many purchasers, 
 that she quickly adopted the expedient of increas- 
 ing the number of her market-days, which now 
 return every twenty-five years.t The doctrine of 
 indulgence was another artful contrivance for 
 wheedling the rich out of their money, and con- 
 finning all the trickery of anti-christ. Instructed 
 to believe that there is a sacred treasury, consist- 
 ing of " the superabundant merits of Christ and 
 the saints," and available for the benefit of all to 
 whom the pope may please to apply it, on such 
 conditions as he may choose to annex to the bless- 
 ing, those conditions always including a pecunia- 
 ry demand, men were eager to purchase remis- 
 sion of sins for themselves and their friends (for 
 it reached even to the dead) on such terms, and 
 
 * A. D. 1261 : coiifmnrd by a Gcnoral Council at Vioniif', 
 A. D. 1311. In popish countiies this festival i-* celebrated with 
 much pomp : the host is cuniod thvoujjh the streets in solemn 
 procession and universally adored. 
 
 t So much was collected at the jubilee in 1300. that two 
 priests stood at the altar of St. I'aul, with small rakes in their 
 liands, gathering together " an infinite aniount of money." Hal- 
 lani'fl Middle Ages, ii. 322. 
 
CORRUITIONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 2S 
 
 thought Httle of the expenditure, whatever sacri- 
 fices it might sometimes involve. Private con- 
 lession to the priest, another gainful manoeuvre, 
 was made obligatory by the General Council of 
 Lateran, A. D. 1215, at which it was enacted that 
 every member of the church should confess once 
 a year. Thus a universal control over the actions 
 and purposes of men was secured to the priest- 
 hood. The whole community was placed in their 
 hands, and subjected to their power. Those who 
 could grant or lefuse absolution, and who seemed 
 to have heaven and hell at their disposal, would 
 be feared by all men, and obeyed without reserve. 
 Auricular confession was the rivet which fastened 
 almost irrecoverably the chain of Rome's tyranny 
 on the human conscience. 
 
 But there were not wanting witnesses for truth 
 and godliness. Peter of Bruges, Henry of Lau- 
 sanne, Arnold of Brescia, and, above all, the Albi- 
 genses and Waldenses, lifted up their voices 
 against the enormities of the times, and pleaded 
 for scriptural piety in different ways and with va- 
 rious success. In Great Britain, Wicklif, at a later 
 period, testified boldly for Christ ; denouncing in 
 the strongest terms the errors, superstitions, and 
 vices of the ecclesiastical body, and calling upon 
 all to appeal fearlessly to the word of God. Many 
 noble spirits followed in his course, amongst 
 whom John Huss and Jerome of Prague deserve 
 most honorable mention. The former fell a vie- 
 
30 RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 lim to foul perfuly; his death reflects indehble 
 disgrace on the Council of Constance. The lat- 
 ter, sacrificed under the same authority, bore his 
 sufferings in a manner which extorted admiration 
 fiom his bitterest foes. Poggio's letter, describ- 
 ing his trial and execution, is a lasting monument 
 to the faith, meekness, and patience of the martyr.* 
 
 Affainst the servants of God a fiercer war was 
 waged. Unable to meet them in controversy, or 
 deny the truth of the accusations they brought 
 against anti-christian corruptions, the patrons of 
 those corruptions had recourse to arms, and de- 
 termined to crush those whom they could not con- 
 vince. It was easier to kill them than to reply to 
 their arguments ; to establish an inquisition than 
 to inquire after truth. The crusade against the 
 Albigenses, under the auspices of pope Innocent 
 III. is one of the darkest deeds of those dark 
 ages. It required a demon's heart to plan and a 
 demon's hand to execute the honid purpose. But 
 it is only a picture of the papacy drawn from the 
 life. 
 
 Other efforts to neutralize the testimony of the 
 early reformers were less liable to animadversion. 
 The establishment of the mendicant orders, the 
 most numerous and powerful of which were the 
 Dominicans and Franciscans, was partly intended 
 to counteract the influence of the new heretics, as 
 
 * Milner's History of the Church of Christ, cent. xv. ch. 2. 
 
CORRUPTIONS IN CHRISTIANITY. 31 
 
 the Waldenses and others were considered, and 
 partly to recover that hold on the affections of 
 men which the shameful conduct of the church 
 had loosened, and well nigh lost. By their pro- 
 fession of poverty, by affected blamelessness of 
 life, by seeming earnestness for religion, and espe- 
 cially by public preaching, in a plain and popular 
 style, and in the vernacular languages of the peo- 
 ple, they produced great effects wherever they la- 
 bored, and it may be hoped, were for a time the 
 instruments of some little real good. But in the 
 issue all their energies were devoted to the service 
 of the popedom and the fuller development of 
 anti-christian tyranny. The Dominicans obtained 
 the management of the newly-established inquisi- 
 tion. Their employers had no reason to complain 
 of the choice. The duties of the office were dis- 
 charged with unremitting diligence and relentless 
 zeal. A dominican was never more completely in 
 his element than when superintending the inflic- 
 tion of torture, or preaching at an Auto-da-fe. 
 
 Nevertheless, papal power was now beginning 
 to suffer reverses. If the crusades tended for a 
 time to enhance it, as was unquestionably the fact, 
 the favorable influence of those mad projects was 
 more than counterbalanced by other events of an 
 untoward character. Of these, the revival of learn- 
 ing was certainly one of the most important. The 
 human mind awoke out of its long sleep, and 
 quickly employed its renovated powers in detect- 
 
32 R1«E AND PROGRESS, Sec. 
 
 iiig and exposing abuses. Poetry and eloquence, 
 80 long neglected, found fruitful themes in the co- 
 vetousness and cruelty of the ecclesiastics, and 
 the follies of the current usages of the church. 
 Literature, though in some cases it was bribed or 
 gagged, did good service in the cause of reform ; 
 and the efforts of the pen were unconsciously se- 
 conded and sustained by the popes themselves. 
 It seemed as if they were given over to judicial 
 blindness. The removal of the papal court to 
 Avignon inflicted a heavy blow on Romish rule. 
 The vices of the papal court were seen in the 
 light of open day, calling for severest reprobation. 
 Then followed the great western schism, which 
 lasted fifty-one years, from 1378 to 1429. Asto- 
 nished EurojDe saw rival popes, each claiming to 
 ])e the true and only successor of Peter and infal- 
 lible head of the church, cursing one another in 
 the spirit of the devil, and denouncing each other's 
 adherents as children of wrath doomed to destruc- 
 tion. The scandal of these divisions ; the obsti- 
 nacy with which the several pretenders maintain- 
 ed their claims, and refused mediation j the fraud, 
 chicanery, lust of power, and shameless abandon- 
 ment of integrity daily manifested on all sides 
 during the progress of the contest, opened the 
 eyes of men, and compelled them to behold 
 abominations, the existence of which they would 
 have otherwise hardly dared to believe or suspect. 
 A universal cry for refonnation arose, resounding 
 
STATE OF EUROPE, &.e. 33 
 
 throughout Europe, and echoing from hill to hill, 
 till the throne of the triple-crowned one trembled. 
 " Reform, reform," was the demand : " reform both 
 in the head and in the members." The Councils 
 of Pisa, Constance and Basle responded to the 
 cry and began to speak, terrible things ; but means 
 were found to stifle their feeble voice. The time 
 was not yet come. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 State of Europe at the beginning of the Reformation. 
 
 The fifteenth century is one of the most re- 
 markable eras in the history of mankind. During 
 that period so many events took place destined to 
 exert a powerful influence on human happiness 
 and public weal, that it must be ever regarded 
 with deep interest by the philanthropist and the 
 christian. 
 
 The impulse already given to learning received 
 a mighty addition by the invention of printing, 
 A. D. 1440, whereby a great blessing, which had 
 been hitherto confined to the few, was offered to 
 the million. The capture of Constantinople by 
 the Turks, A. D. 1453, compelled many learned 
 Greeks to leave their country and seek an asylum 
 
34 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 in Europe. They settled chiefly in Italy, "wherd 
 they devoted their energies to the diftusion of 
 Greek literature. New universities were esta- 
 blished in almost every part of Europe.* Better 
 methods of teaching were invented. These im 
 provements, not confined, as learning had beeii 
 formerly, to the ecclesiastics and some few among 
 the rich and noble, but shared by the newly-form- 
 ed middle classes of society, shed a kindly influ- 
 ence on men and prepared for succeeding chan- 
 ges. The extension of commerce, especially to 
 the new world and to India,t materially aided the 
 great movement, bringing the inhabitants of dif- 
 ferent countries into friendly connexion, and add- 
 ing fresh stores to the acquisitions of the human 
 mind. 
 
 * At the following places: 
 
 Wm-tzburg . . A. D. 1403 
 
 Valentia 1410 
 
 St. Andrews . . . .1411 
 
 Rostock 1419 
 
 Louvain 1426 
 
 Caen ...... 1430 
 
 Poitiers 1431 
 
 Florence 1433 
 
 Bordeaux 1441 
 
 Eton College . . . 
 
 Catania 1445 
 
 Glasgow . . . . 1450 
 
 Treves . . . . A. D, 1454 
 
 Greisswald .... 1456 
 
 Freiburg 
 
 Basle 1460 
 
 Bourges 1463 
 
 Ingolstadt .... 1472 
 
 Saragossa 1474 
 
 Mentz 1477 
 
 Tubingen 
 
 Upsal 
 
 Copenhagen . . . .1479 
 
 Alcala 1499 
 
 t America was discovered by Columbus. A. D. 1492. Six years 
 after, Vasco di Gania doubled the Cupe of Good Hope, and thus 
 opened a new route to India. 
 
BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION'. 35 
 
 Luther entered on his career as a reformer in 
 the year 1517. Leo X. was then in the fifth year 
 of his popedom. Previous to the election the 
 whole body of cardinals had sworn that whoever 
 should be chosen would summon a general coun- 
 cil within two years ; but this promise, like many 
 others made on similar occasions, was quickly for- 
 gotten by the successful candidate. Pleasure and 
 pelf were the gods of Leo's idolatry. His patron- 
 age of learning has been extravagantly praised. 
 It procured him a reputation which was a set-oft' 
 to many irregularities. He knew little of religion, 
 and cared less. 
 
 The principal European potentates of that pe- 
 riod were Charles V. of Spain, Francis I. of 
 France, and Henry VIH. of England. Charles 
 and Francis were rivals. Tens of thousands were 
 slain in their quarrels. Charles however was the 
 mightiest monarch. Naples and the Netherlands 
 nad been added to his dominions during the reign 
 of his father Ferdinand; Granada had been con- 
 quered from the Moors ; and the coasts of Ame- 
 rica opened to commercial enterprise, giving pro- 
 mise of inexhaustible mines of wealth. Spain at 
 that time occupied a more commanding position 
 than she has attained at any subsequent period of 
 lier history. The character of Henry VIIL is 
 well known. Though his resources were not 
 equal to the sovereigns already mentioned, his al- 
 .iance was justly deemed important, and he dex- 
 
36 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 terously seized the advantages held out to him, 
 siding sometimes with one and sometimes with 
 the other, and affecting to hold in his hands the 
 balance of power, though he often became the 
 dupe of the party he supported. 
 
 Contemporary with these sovereigns were Max- 
 imilian I. emjieror of Germany; Emmanuel the 
 Great, king of Portugal ; James V. of Scotland ; 
 Christian II. of Denmark and Sweden ; and Si- 
 gismund I. of Poland. 
 
 All these had " one mind, and gave their pow- 
 er and strength" to Rome, Kev. 17 : 13. They 
 stood in awe of the pope, as a slave dreads his 
 task-master, and were ever prompt to do his plea- 
 sure. A consecrated rose, or some such paltry 
 triHe, annually bestowed on a royal or otherwise 
 illustrious personage, as a reward or a bribe, se- 
 cured the lasting attachment of the fortunate pos- 
 Kcssor, and fired his zeal for the church. Charles 
 was the greatest bigot. The establishment of the 
 Inquisition in Spain, in the year 14 SO, had pro- 
 duced the most injurious ejects, spreading univer- 
 sal distrust, offering a premium on treachery, and 
 converting high-minded men into crouching vas- 
 sals of the priesthood. The Auto-da-fe, at which 
 the king and his court were usually present, wa« 
 a school in which the church trained up royal and 
 noble pupils in hard-heartedness. Its discipline 
 was always efficacious, for the tutors were apt to 
 teach, and the scholars not slow to learn. 
 
nEQLXNlSQ OP THE IIEI'ORMATIOX. o7 
 
 Tlie religious state of the European population 
 Snay be described in few words. " Of the doctrine 
 of Christianity nothing almost remains but the name. 
 Instead of being directed to offer up their adora- 
 tions to one God, the people were taught to divide 
 ihem among an innumerable company of inferior 
 tjbjects. A plurality of mediators shared the hon- 
 or of procuring the Divine favor with the ' one 
 Mediator between God and man ;' and more pe- 
 titions Vv-ere presented to the Virgin Mary, and 
 oilier saints, than to ' Him whom the Father hear- 
 eih always.' The sacrifice of the mass was repre- 
 sented as procuring forgiveness of sins to the liv- 
 ing and the dead, to the infinite disparagement of 
 the sacrifice by which Jesus Christ expiated sin 
 and procured everlasting redemption ; and the con- 
 sciences of men were withdrawn from faith in the 
 merits of their Savior, to a delusive reliance upon 
 priestly absolutions, papal pardons, and voluntary 
 penances. Instead of being instructed to demon- 
 strate the sincerity of their faith and repentance, 
 by forsaking their sins ; and to testify their love to 
 God and man, by practising the duties of morality 
 and observing the ordinances of worship authorized 
 by Scripture : they were taught, that if they regu- 
 larly said their Avcs and Credos, confessed them- 
 selves to a priest, purchased a mass, went in pil- 
 jrrimaofes to the shrine of some celebrated saint, or 
 performed some prescribed act of bodily mortifi- 
 cation ; if they refrained from flesh on Fridays, 
 
38 STATE OF EUROPE AT Tiiii 
 
 and punctually paid their tithes and other perqui- 
 sites ; their salvation was infallibly secured in due 
 time : while those who were so rich and pious as 
 to build a chapel or an altar, and to endow it for 
 the support of a priest, to perform masses, obits, 
 and dirges, procured a relaxation of the pains of 
 purgatory for themselves or their relations, in pro- 
 portion to the extent of their liberality. It is diffi- 
 cult for us to conceive how empty, ridiculous, and 
 wretched those harangues were which the monks 
 delivered for sermons. Legendary tales concern- 
 ing the founder of some religious order, his woii- 
 <lerful sanctity, the miracles which he performed, 
 his combats wdth the devil, his watchings, fastings, 
 flagellations ; the virtues of holy water, chrism, 
 crossing, and exorcism ; the horrors of purgatory, 
 with the numbers released from it by the interces- 
 sion of some powerful saint : these, with low jests, 
 table-talk, and fireside scandal, formed the favor- 
 ite topics of the preachers, and were served up to 
 the people instead of the pure, salutary, and sub- 
 lime doctrines of the Bible."* 
 
 It might have been expected that religion would 
 flourish most in Italy. The head of the church on 
 earth, the vicar of Christ, would surely live in an 
 atmosphere of holiness. Rome must be the abode 
 
 * M'Crie's Life of Knox, i. 21-23, third edition. Such was 
 the state of religion ia Scotland ; the dcacription equally applies 
 to the other countries of Europe, 
 
BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 30 
 
 of purest morals and most fervent piety. But what 
 was the fact 1 Luther visited that city, on the bu- 
 siness of his order, in the year 1511. He found it 
 the seat of luxury, profaneness, and infidelity. 
 Society was in a frightfully disorganized state ; 
 robberies and murders were committed daily ; 
 the most scandalous vices were indulged in with 
 impunity. Disbelief in Christianity was openly- 
 avowed, even in the papal court. The services of 
 religion were performed in breathless haste, by 
 prie'sts who hated their task, and longed to return 
 to their pleasures. When Luther officiated one 
 day at the altar with his accustomed reverence, 
 other priests had said seven masses before he 
 had finished one. " Hurry on! hurry on 1" said 
 the priest ; " restore her Son to his mother with- 
 out delay." At another time he was dining with 
 a company of ecclesiastics, among whom were 
 several bishops ; their ribald jests and buffooneries 
 filled him with amazement, and pierced him to the 
 heart. They told, amid roars of laughter, how they 
 cheated the ignorant people. Instead of using the 
 words of consecration, by which, according to the 
 Romish faith, the bread and wine are changed into 
 the body and blood of the Lord, they often said, 
 in mockery of the solemn service, Pa7iis es, et pa- 
 nis vimtchis : vinum es, et vinum manchis : ** Bread 
 thou art, and bread thou wilt remain ; wine thou 
 art, and wine thou wilt remain." " Then," said 
 they, *' we elevate the host, and the people adore 1" 
 
40 STATE or EUROPK AT THE 
 
 Two years afrei this, Ulric Hutteu, a celeln-fr- 
 tecl German knight, by whose pungent satires the 
 enormities of the papacy were exposed to view, 
 and held up to general execration, spent some 
 time at Rome. On his return to Germany he pub- 
 lished a work, entitled, "The Roman Trinity;'* 
 abounding with just invective and biting sarcasm. 
 *' There are tliree things," lie observed, " which 
 a traveller commonly brings away from Rome — 
 a guilty conscience, a disordered stomach, and 
 an empty purse. There are three things whicli 
 are not believed in at Rome — the immortality of 
 the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and hell. 
 There are three things which ai^ traded in at 
 Rome — the grace of Christ, ecclesiastical digni- 
 ties, and women," alluding to the ])apal licenses 
 granted to brothels. — D'Aubigne, book i. sect. IJ. 
 
 The grossest superstitions every where pre- 
 vailed, and were uniformly fostered by the priests 
 for pecuniary gain. Some of them are thus de- 
 scribed by Tyndall : 
 
 "Some abstain from butter, some from eggfi, 
 some from all manner of white meat; some this 
 day, some that day; some in the honor of this 
 saint, some of that ; and every man for a sundry 
 purpose. Some for the tooth-ache, some for the 
 head-ache, for fevers, pestilence, for sudden death, 
 for hanging, drowning, and to be delivered from 
 the pains of hell. Some are so mad that they fas?, 
 one of the Thursdays between the two Saint Mary 
 
BEGINxNING OF THi: REFORMATION. 41 
 
 days, in the worship of that saint whose day is 
 hallowed, between Christinas and Candlemas, and 
 that to be delivered from the pestilence. All 
 those men fast without conscience of God, and 
 without knowledgre of the true intent of fasting:, 
 and do no other than honor saints, as the gentiles 
 and heathens worshipped their idols, and are 
 drowned in blindness, and know not of the testa- 
 ment that God hath made to man ward in Christ's 
 blood. In Gfod have they neither hope nor confi- 
 dence, neither believe his promises, neither know 
 his will, but are yet in cnptivity under the ^^I'ince 
 of darkness. 
 
 ** What reverence give we unto holy water, 
 holy fire, holy bread, holy salt, hallowed bells, 
 holy wax, holy bows, holy candles, and holy 
 ashes ! And last of all, unto the holy cantlle com- 
 mit we our souls at our last departing. Yea, and 
 of the very clout which the bishop or his chaplain 
 that standeth by, knitteth about children's necks 
 at confirmation, what lay person durst be so bold 
 Rs to unloose the knot 1 Thou v/ilt say. Do not 
 «uch things bring the Holy Ghost, and put away 
 Bin, and drive away spirits 1 I say that a steadfast 
 faith or belief in Chrir.t, and in the promises that 
 God hath sworn to give us for his sake, bringeth 
 the Holy Ghost, as all the Scriptures make men- 
 tion, and as Paul saith. Acts 19, * Have ye re- 
 ceived the Holy Ghost through faith,' or believ- 
 ing ] Faith is the rock whereon Clirist buildeth 
 4* 
 
42 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 liis congregation ; against which, saith Chnst, 
 Matt. 16, hell-gates shall not prevail. As soon 
 as thou believest in Christ the Holy Ghost Com- 
 eth, sin falleth away, and devils fly. When we 
 cast holy \vater at the devil, or ring the bells, 
 he fleeth as men do from young children, and 
 mocketli with us, to bring us from the true faith 
 that is in God's word unto a superstitious and a 
 false belief of our own imagination. If thou hadst 
 faith and threwest an unhallowed stone at his 
 head, he would earnestly flee and without mock- 
 ing ; yea, though thou threwest nothing at all, 
 he would not yet abide."* 
 
 " * Ye blind guides,' saith Christ, * ye strain 
 out a gnat, and swallow a camel.' Mat. 23. Do 
 not our blind guides also stumble at a straw, and 
 leap over a block — making narrow conscience;^ 
 at trifles, and at matters of weight none at all ] 
 If any of them do swallow his spittle or aily of the 
 water wherewith he washeth his mouth ere he 
 go to mass ; or touch the sacrament with his nose, 
 or if the ass forget to breathe on him, or hap- 
 pen to handle it with any of his fingers which are 
 not anointed, or say JiVduia instead of hau^i 
 fibi JDomine, or lie missa est instead of Beyiedica/mm 
 Domino, or pour too much w^ine in the chalice, or 
 read the gospel without light, or make not his 
 crosses aright — ^liow trembloth he ! How fearetli 
 
 * Obedience of a Christian Man; Works, p 131 
 
BEGIXNIXO OF THE REFORMATIOX. 43 
 
 he ! What a horrible sin is committed ! * I cry 
 God mercy/ sa.ith he, ' and you, my ghostly father.' 
 ]3ut to hold a whore or another man's wife to 
 ))ay a benefice, to set one realm at variance with 
 another, and to cause twenty thousand men to 
 (lie on a day, is but a trifle and a pastime with 
 them." 
 
 " Thousands, wliile the priest pattereth St. 
 John's Gospel over their heads, cross themselves 
 with I trow a legion of crosses behind and be- 
 fore ; and pluck up their legs, and 
 
 cross so much as their heels and the very soles 
 of their feet, and believe that if it be done in the 
 tim.e that he readeth the gospel, (and else not,) that 
 there shall no mischance happen them that day, 
 because only of those crosses. And such is the 
 confidence in the place or image, or whatsoever 
 bodily observance ^t may be. Such is St. Aga- 
 the's letter, written in the gospel time. And 
 such are the crosses on Palm-sunday, made in the 
 passion time. And such is the bearing of holy wax 
 about a man. And such is, that some hang a piece 
 of St. John's Gospel about their necks. And 
 8uch is to bear the names of God with crosses 
 ])etween each name about them. Such is the say- 
 ing of gospels unto women in childbed. Such is 
 the limeteriers' of ' In principle est verbum ' from 
 house to house. Such is the saying of the gospels 
 to the corn in the field in the procession week, 
 that it should the better grow. And such is holy 
 
44 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 bread, holy water, and serving of all ceremonies 
 and sacraments in general, mthout signification. 
 And I pray you how is it possible that the peo- 
 ple can worship images, relics, ceremonies, and 
 sacraments, save superstitiously, so long as they 
 know not the true meaning, neither will the pre- 
 lates suffer any man to tell them 1 Yea, and the 
 very meaning of some, and right use, no man 
 can tell."* 
 
 Confidence in relics was another feature of the 
 religion of the times. Il^'was carried to the most 
 extravagant lengths. Happy was he who could 
 procure the finger-bone of a saint, or a rag that 
 had once formed part of his clothing ! It was his 
 protection against all dangers, and his refuge 
 under the sorest calamities. Such articles were 
 purchased at a high price. As presents from one 
 illustrious personage to another, they were es- 
 teemed above all things. In 1192, Bajazet, the 
 Turkish sultan, sent an ambassador to the J^ope, 
 with the head of the " true lance " whicli had 
 pierced the Savior's side, and the sponge and 
 reed wherewith the vinegar had been conveyed to 
 his mouth. The Romish clergy v/ent forth in pro- 
 cession to receive the precious gifts, and " the 
 pontiff assisted in person at the miserable mum- 
 mery." In the same year, "some laborers repair- 
 
 * Tyndall, Works, cd. 1576. Parable of wicked Mammon, p. 
 81; Obed. of Chr. Man, p. 141; Ans. to Sir Thomas More, 
 p. 271. 
 
BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. 45 
 
 ing the foimdations of the church of Santa Crore 
 at Rome, discovered what was immediately pro- 
 claimed to be the original inscription on the cross 
 of Christ. The belief was propagated, that it had 
 been sent to Rome by St. Helena, mother of Con- 
 >^tantine ; and though there was no authority for 
 this tradition, and though the pious Catholics of 
 Toulouse pretended to have possessed the true in- 
 scription undisturbed for many ages, Alexander 
 VI. pronounced, four years afterwards, the authen- 
 ticity of the Roman title, and recommended it by 
 particular indulgences to the devotion of the faith- 
 ful." Waddington's Hist, of the Church, ch. 28. 
 The church of All Saints, at Wittemberg, was 
 richly supplied. The relic-worshipper might see 
 tliere a piece of Noah's ark, some soot from the 
 furnace into which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
 nego had been cast, a fragment of the cradle of 
 .Jesus, and nineteen other precious deposites, many 
 of which had been dearly bought. At Schaff hau- 
 een they showed St. Joseph's breath, said to have 
 been received by Nicodemus in his glove ! A 
 dealer in indulgences appeared one day at Wur- 
 temberg, with a large feather in his hat, taken, he 
 Haid, from one of the wings of Michael the arch- 
 angel ! But the recital would be endless, ^[any 
 persons farmed the use of relics, bargaining with 
 the proprietors for a certain sum for a given time, 
 during which they travelled from place to place, 
 exhibiting their treasures, sometimes in churches, 
 
46 STATE OE EUROPE AT THE 
 
 sometimes in houses ; and generally succeeded in 
 realizing a handsom.e profit. Abundant scope for 
 trickery was afforded, and the grossest impositions 
 were practised ; but the people loved their idols 
 too well to inquire too curiously into such matters. 
 Knowledge would have deprived them of many 
 an endeared consolation. In such circumstances^ 
 *' ignorance " seemed to be " bliss." Happily, 
 however, the time at length arrived when men no 
 longer thought it *' folly to be wise." 
 
 Education in the fifteenth century, though much 
 improved, was still in a very imperfect state, par- 
 ticularly in England. " The tuition of the day. 
 was rather scholastic disputation, than religious 
 knowledge or the learned languages ; for piety 
 and the classics Avere found to be creative of a 
 spirit too judicious and too honest to uphold the 
 existing superstitions. The complaints of Eras- 
 mus were unquestionably founded in truth. Skill 
 in Greek was disliked, and Hebrew still more. 
 The study of eloquence was despised. The Latin 
 tongue itself was so deformed by new barbarisms, 
 that it was any thing but Latin. Neither history, 
 geography, nor antiquity was cared for. All valu- 
 ed literature was contracted into a few sophistical 
 subtleties ; and the sum of erudition was confined 
 to collectors and excerptors of the logical topics 
 of the school-men, who had the more impudence 
 as they had less learning."* The mass of the peo- 
 
 * Sliavon Turner's Henry V'lII. i. l(jo. 
 
BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. 47 
 
 pie were wholly uiilnstructed. Very few of them 
 could read, and those who had the ability were 
 unsupplied with wholesome nutriment for the 
 mind, the Scriptures being absolutely forbidden, 
 and good books in the vernacular tongues as yet 
 unknown. 
 
 Divine service being conducted in Latin,* the 
 people depended on the priests for such instruc- 
 tion as they chose to give. It was deplorably 
 scanty. How could it be otherwise, when the 
 
 * " The sermons which thou readest in the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles, and all that the apostles preached, were no doubt preached 
 in the mother tongue. "Why then might they not be written 
 in the mother tongue ? As if one of us preach a good ser- 
 mon, why may it not be written ? Saint Jerome also ti-aiislated 
 the Bible into his mother tongue ; why may not we also ? They 
 will say, it cannot be translated into our tongue, it is so made. 
 ]t is not so rude as they are false liars. For the Greek tongue 
 agreeth more with the English than with the Latin, and the pro- 
 perties of the Hebrew tongue agree a thousand times more with 
 the English than with the Latin. The manner of speaking is 
 both one, so that in a thousand places thou needest not but to 
 translate it into the English, word for word, when thou must 
 seek a compass in the Latin, and yet shalt have much work to 
 translate it wellfavoredly, so that it have the same grace and 
 sweetness, sense and pure understanding with it in the Latin, 
 jis it hath in the Hebrew. A thousand parts better may it be 
 translated into the English than into the Latin." .... 
 
 Will ye resist God ? Will ye forbid liim to give his Spirit unto 
 the laity as well as unto you ? Hath he rot made the English 
 tongue .' Why forbid ye him to speak in the English tongue 
 then, as well as in the Latin?" Tyndal's Obedience of a Chris- 
 tian Man; Works, pp. 102, 104. 
 
48 statl: of eluope at the 
 
 very teachers were not only sworn foes to sacred 
 learning, but needed also to be taught " the first 
 principles of tlie oracles of God ]" They could 
 recite their ofTices, administer the sacraments, re- 
 ceive tithes, and hear confessions ; but scarcely 
 any of them understood the Gospel, or had expe- 
 rienced its saving benefits.* They u'cre dumb 
 dogs, that could not bark — greedy dogs, that could 
 never have enough — shepherds, that could not un- 
 derstand — looking "to their own way, every one 
 lor his gain, from his quarter." Isa. 56 : 10, 11. 
 
 The morals of the clergy v/ei'e at the lowest ebb. 
 Bishops, abbots, and others of the higher orders, 
 levelled in luxury, or committed with impunity 
 deeds of violence and blood. Their dwellings 
 were for the most part scenes of debauchery. Of- 
 ten did they appear in the field clad in mail and 
 with weapons of war in their hands, leading armed 
 hosts to plunder, and infdcting wretchedness on 
 the innocent and defenceless people. The com- 
 
 ^ '• Tiie cnrar,<"5 thomseivos (lur the most part) wot no more 
 wlat the New or Old Testament mranpth, than do the Turks : 
 neither know they of anj' more than that thoy road at mass, ma- 
 tins, and evensong, which yet they understand not ; neither care 
 they, but even to mumble up so much every day, (as the pye and 
 popinjay speak, they wot not what.) to fill up their bellies with- 
 nl. If they will not let the layman have the word of God in his 
 mother ton^^iie, yet let the priests have it, for a great part of 
 tlicm do miderstand no Latin at all, but sin" and say, and patter 
 all day, with the lins only, that which the h* art undcrslandcth 
 not." Ibid. p. 10-2. 
 
EEGl.NNIXC; OF THE REFOUMATIOX. 49 
 
 moil priesthood indulged their licentious joropen- 
 sities without the slightest regard to decorum. In 
 many places concubinage was the rule, and chas- 
 tity the exception. Habits of gluttony and drunk- 
 enness, and general dissoluteness of manners, dis- 
 tinguished those who should have been "patterns 
 of good works."* 
 
 Nor can a more favorable report be given of 
 the monks. Monasteries have been praised by 
 Romish writers as seats of learning and habita- 
 tions of piety. But it is an incontestable fact that 
 the monks were the fiercest enemies oflearnin"'. 
 and sought by all means to prevent its progress. 
 Their piety consisted in a constant dull round of 
 heartless ceremonies, and observances of fasts and 
 festivals. They were spiritual drones, fattening 
 on the crimes or weakness of men. Their rnan- 
 
 * Sometimes tlie priests paid a fine to the biahop ihv the wo- 
 men they kept, and for eveiy child bora to them. A Gennan 
 bishop boasted, in a public assembly, of having received pay 
 nients of thi:^ kind from eleven thousand priests in one vear ! 
 
 '• Jf ye profess chastity, why desire ye above all other men the 
 company of women ? 'W^hat do ye with whores openly in many 
 countries, and with secret dispensations to keep concubines ? 
 Wliy corrupt ye so much other men's wives ?" 
 
 " Their holiness is to forbid what God ordained to be received 
 with thanksgiving, as meat and matrimony. And their own 
 works they niauitain, and let God's decay. Break theirs, and 
 they persecute to the death. But break God's, and they either 
 look through the finger-!, or else give thee a flap with a fox tail 
 for a little monev." Tyndal's Exposition of Matt. 7. "Works, 
 pp. 212, - IG. 
 
 5 
 
60 STATE OF tUROPK AT THE 
 
 Tiers and morals were too commonly of a moat 
 disgi'acefiil character. Many a monastery was the 
 abode of all uncleanness. That migrht have been 
 
 o 
 
 expected. The laws of God are not to be violated 
 with impunity. It cannot be matter of surprise 
 that such men should have been delivered up to 
 ** vile affections." 
 
 Clerical exactions ground the people to powder. 
 On this subject Tyndal has furnished some curi- 
 ous information. It shall be given in his own plain 
 and pithy language : — '' They will forget nothing. 
 No man shall die in their debt; or if any man do, 
 he shall pay it wlien he is dead. They will lose 
 nothing. Why 1 It is Saint Cudbert's rents, Saint- 
 Alban's lands, Saint Edmond's right, Saint Pe- 
 ter's patrimony, say they, and none of ours. 
 Then, if a man die jn another man's parish, be- 
 sides that he must pay at home a mortuary for 
 forgotten tithes, he must there pay also the best 
 that he there hath ; whether it be a horse of twen- 
 ty pounds, or how good soever he be ; either a 
 chain of gold of an hundred marks, or five hundred 
 pounds if it so chance. It is much verily for so 
 little painstaking in confession and in ministering 
 the sacraments. Then bead-rolls. Item, chri- 
 som, churchings, bans, weddings, offering at wed- 
 dings, offering at buryings, offering to images, of- 
 fering of wax and lights, which come to their 
 advantage, besides the superstitious waste of wax 
 in torches and tapers throughout the land. Then 
 
BECIXXIXG OF THE REFORMATION. 51 
 
 brotherhoods and pardoners. What get they also 
 by confessions ! Yea, and many enjoin penance 
 to give a certain sum for to have so many masses 
 said, and desire to provide a chapJain themselves. 
 Soul-masses, dirges, month-minds, year-minds, all- 
 souls' day, and trentals. The mother church and 
 the high altar must have somewhat in every testa- 
 ment. Offerings at priests' fii-st masses. Item, no 
 man is professed, of whatsoever religion it be, but 
 he must bring somewhat. The hallowing, or rather 
 conjuring of churches, chapels, altars, superal- 
 tars, chalice, vestments, and bells. Then book, 
 bell, candlestick, organs, chalice, vestments, copes, 
 alter-cloths, surplices, towels, basins, ewers, cen- 
 ser, and all manner of ornaments, must be found 
 them freely : they will not give a mite there- 
 unto. Last of all, what swarms of begging friars 
 are there ! The parson sheareth, the vicar shaveth, 
 the parish priest polleth, the friar scrapeth, and 
 the pardoner pareth ; we lack but a butcher to 
 pull off the skin.* 
 
 * Obedience oF a Christian Man ; Works, p. 136. Some of 
 tliese words will prol>ably I'equire explanation. Tlie lollowiii'^ 
 hints may sei-vc that pui-pose : 
 
 Mortuary. A sum of money demanded after a person's death 
 ff>r tithes and offerings said to have been left unpaid. Some- 
 times the best horse or cow, or the most costly article of furni- 
 ture was required. 
 
 Chrisoin. A cloth blessed and anointed by the priest, worn 
 by the child till its baptism. 
 
 Brotherhood. Any religious frateniily 
 
52 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 The wealth of Europe flowed freely to Rome, 
 Every ecclesiastical movement, w^hether arising 
 from death, promotion, or other causes, produced 
 an addition to the papal revenue. And whose cof- 
 fers were filled by these exactions l Vv^hat pur- 
 poses of benevolence and righteousness were ac- 
 complished by such profuse expenditure 1 If these 
 questions could have been satisfactorily answered, 
 men would have regretted m,uch less the aliena- 
 tion of their property. But they were justly in- 
 dignant when they found that the money was 
 squandered in reckless extravagance, expended in 
 unrighteous contests, or employed in supporting 
 the infamous vices of a Borgia. That paragon of 
 wickedness, pope Alexander VI. had been dead 
 for some few years at the time to which these re- 
 marks principally refer. But he was not yet for- 
 o-otten. Nor should it ever be forgotten, that such 
 
 Pardoner. A vender of indulgences ; i. e. a sellci- of pardons. 
 
 Soul-masses. Masses said for the i-epose of the deceased per- 
 son's soul. 
 
 Dirges. Funeral services, either clianted or sung-. 
 
 Monih-miads. Services fjr the dead, at the end of a month 
 after the decease. 
 
 Year-minds. Similar services at tlie anniversary <f the 
 death. 
 
 All-sovW-day. Nov. 53. All Souls' day. Masses for the dead 
 are universally celebrated by the Romanists upon that day. 
 
 Trentals. A scries of thirty days' sei'vices for the dead. It 
 wns instituted by Gregory tlic Great, and was intended to sup- 
 plant the heathenish superstitions observed for the same period, 
 after the death of a person, among the heathen nations. 
 
BCGLNi\I\G OF THE RtF0R:MATIO.V. 53 
 
 a man once occupied the pretendeJ chnir of the 
 apostles, and dared to call himself the vicegerent 
 of God upon earth. 
 
 Koderic Borgia had been originally educated 
 for the la^v, but afterwards assumed the military 
 profession, a state of life much more agreeable to 
 his character, because it offered facilities for the 
 indulgence of the vices to which he was addicted. 
 Having lived some time with a Roman lady, with 
 whom he had formed an unlawful connexion, he 
 substituted for her, after her death, Rosa Vanoz- 
 za, one of her daughters, by whom he had five 
 children. In the pontificate of Calixtus III. his 
 uncle, he was invited to Rome, and entered intcj 
 the church, taking the usual vows ; but still re- 
 taining his connexion with Yanozza. He was cre- 
 ated cardinal, received rich benefices, and ail'ect- 
 ed great zeal and benevolence, visiting churclies 
 and hospitals, and putting on the manners of a 
 saint. On the death of pope Innocent VIII. he 
 bribed the majority of the cardinals, or entered 
 into simoniacal contracts with them, and bv such 
 means obtained the tiara. His subsequent life re- 
 vealed yet more fully the filthy and malignant pas- 
 sions by which he was distinguished amouf the 
 bad men who at that time found a congenial home 
 in the ecclesiastical metropolis of Europe. His 
 sons (he was not asliamed to own them) vrere cre- 
 ated cardinals, and enriched with the spoils of the 
 rlmrch. The pontifical palace was alternately tlie 
 
54 STATE OF EUROPE AT THE 
 
 scene of shameless debaucliery and deeds of 
 blood. The inferior clergy of Rome followed 
 the example of their head. " Every ecclesiastic 
 had a mistress, and every convent was a house of 
 ill fame." Infessura. 
 
 " Alexander's great aim, during the whole 
 course of his life, had been to gratify to the ut- 
 most his love of ease, his sensuality, and his am- 
 bition. The possession of the highest spiritual 
 dignity seemed to him the summit of felicity. 
 Old as he was, he seemed daily to grow younger 
 under the influence of this feeling. No importu- 
 nate thought troubled his repose for a night. He 
 only pondered on what could be of advantage to 
 himself, how he could advance his sons to dignity 
 and power ; no other considerations ever serious- 
 ly occupied his mind. 
 
 ******* 
 
 ** Alexander saw his warmest v/ishes fulfilled, 
 the barons of the land annihilated, and his house 
 about to found a great hereditary power in Italy. 
 But already he had begun to feel of what excess- 
 es hot and unbridled passions are capable. Caesar 
 (his youngest son) would share his power neither 
 with kinsman nor favorite. He had caused his 
 brother, who stood in his way, to be murdered and 
 thrown into the Tiber. His brother-in-law was 
 attacked and stabbed on the steps of the palace, 
 by his orders. The wounded man was nursed by 
 his wife and sisters ; the sister cooked his food, in 
 
BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION, 55 
 
 order to secure him from poison, and the pope set 
 a ouard before his house, to protect his son-in-law 
 from his son ; precautions which Ctesar derided. 
 He said, * What is not done by noon may be done 
 by evening.' When the prince was recovering from 
 his wounds Caesar burst into his chamber, drove 
 out the wife and sister, called an executioner, and 
 ordered the unfortunate prince to be strangled. 
 He used his father as a means to power ; other- 
 wise he was utterly regardless of him. He killed 
 Peroto, Alexander's favorite, while clinging to his 
 patron, and sheltered by the pontifical mantle. 
 
 " Rome trembled at his name. Caesar wanted 
 money, and had enemies ; every night murdered 
 bodies were found in the streets. Men lived in 
 seclusion and silence ; there was none who did not 
 fear that his turn would come. Those whom force 
 could not reach were taken off by poison. 
 
 " There wanted, indeed, no Luther to prove to 
 the world how diametrically opposed to all Chris- 
 tianity were such principles and actions. At the 
 very time v/e are speaking of, the complaint arose 
 that the pope prepared the way for antichrist ; 
 that he labored for the coming of the kingdom, 
 not of heaven, but of Satan. 
 
 *' We shall not follow into its details the history 
 of Alexander. It is but too certain that he once 
 meditated taking off one of the richest of the car- 
 dinals by poison : his intended victim contrived, 
 however, by means of presents, promises, and 
 
56 STATE OF EUIIOPE AT THE 
 
 prayers, to gain over his head cook, and the dibb 
 wliich had been prepared for the cardinal was 
 placed before the pope. He died of the poison ho 
 had destined for another."* 
 
 The state of the church of Rome in the early 
 part of the sixteenth century has been now de- 
 scribed. All that has been said is abundantly con- 
 firmed by the recorded confessions of the pai'ties 
 themselves, as uttered forty years afterwards, 
 when full opportunity had been given for amend- 
 ment and reformation.! 
 
 * Ranke's History of the Popes oi' Rome duri.ig the sixteenth 
 aiid seventeenth centuries, i. 47-52. 
 
 t The sermons delivered before the Council of Trent teem 
 with invectives against ecclesiastics, and are filled with de- 
 scriptions of the abuses and evils which then prevailed, expressed 
 in the strongest terms. Those who are curious in these mattt^rs 
 may consult Le Plat's " Amplissima Collectio," i. 16, 32-36, 41, 
 59-61, 70, 78, 81-83, 99, 101, 132, 323-32^;, 393-395, 441, 
 611, 723, 724, 723. 
 
 In 1538 Paul III. appointed a committee to consider and v*r 
 port respecting refonii. The repoit was published, not by the 
 parties concerned, but by some friend to Protestantism, to whom 
 a copy had been communicated. Its publication was opportune 
 and serviceable. Among other things, the committee stated that 
 persons of bad character were made priests; that simoniacal 
 contracts for benefices were common ; that the permission to 
 purchase dispensations and indulgences had promoted crime and 
 destroyed discipline ; that the monastic oi'ders were in so bad a 
 state as to render it desirable that no further additions shcjuld 
 be made to their numbers till a complete refonn had been accom- 
 plished ; that in Italy infidelity was publicly taught by the pro- 
 fessors of philosophy ; and tliat in Rome whei-e the gi'catest puri- 
 ty ou"-lit to prevail, harlots lived in splendid houses, and walked 
 
BEGIXXIXG OF TUB llErORMATIO?;. 57 
 
 '- 1 am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,'* 
 said the apostle Paul ; *■' for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to every one tliat bclieveth." 
 liom. 1 : IG. So it has proved in all ages, and in 
 all nations. But this blessed effect had not been 
 realized in the church of Rome. There was no 
 salvation. Men were called christians, and were 
 told to account themselves safe. But it v/as a vain 
 hope. The heart was unaffected. Repentance 
 tov/ards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 formed no part of the religion of*persons who en- 
 joyed all the privileges of the church, and fancied 
 that heaven was secured to them. As a necessary 
 consequence, scriptural holiness was unattainable. 
 Since faith only unites to the Savior, there is no 
 holiness without faith. Men could worship the vir- 
 gin and the saints, fast, do penance, keep the feasts 
 of the church, and curse and murder heretics. 
 But the " fruits of the Spirit " were not produced, 
 l^ecause faith, the root, W3.s wanting ; and " with- 
 out faith it is impossible to please God." Hel). 
 11: 6. 
 
 the streets publicly at noon-day, or rode upon mule?, attended by 
 g^entlemen belonging to the families oi" cardinals, and even by 
 clergymen ! The document may be seen entire in the " Preserva- 
 tive against Popen." i. 79-34. 
 
58 iiistohy of the 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 History of th-e German Reformation. 
 SPXTION I. 
 
 THE EARLY LIFE OF LVTHEK. 
 
 IMartin Luther was bom at Eisleben, die chief 
 town of the county of Mansfekl, Upper Saxony, 
 Nov. 10, 1483. His parents were poor, but well 
 instructed and pious. John Luther, his father, 
 evinced an eager thirst for knowledge, and sought 
 to gratify it by availing himself of every opportunity 
 to procure books, (at that time scarce and dear,) 
 which he read in tlie intervals of labor. His mo- 
 ther, Margaret Lindeman, a native of Ncustadt, 
 was a woman of exemplary character. The ma- 
 trons of the neighborhood regarded her as a mo- 
 del of maternal excellence. 
 
 About six months after Luther's birth, the fam- 
 ily removed to Mansfeld, the iron mines of which 
 place were in full work. John Luther settled 
 there a^ a miner. He gradually acquired proper- 
 ty, became a member of the town council of Mans- 
 feld, and was universally respected. 
 
 Luther was sent to school at a very early age. 
 The knowledge he obtained at Mansfeld was scan- 
 ty ; it comprised little more than the elements of 
 Latin grammar, together with a catecliism, the ten 
 commandments, the ap')stle5' creed, the Lord's 
 
GERMAN Ri:rORMATION\ ,59 
 
 prayer, and sundry ])ymns and forms of prayer, 
 laboriously committed to memory; but the pro- 
 gress he made induced his father to resolve on 
 giving him a learned education, in the hope that 
 his future eminence would justify an arrangement 
 scarcely compatible with his prospects in life. 
 
 In pursuance of his plan. Luther's father sent 
 him, in the year 1497, to Magdeburg, and in the 
 year following to Isenac. He had to endure great 
 hardships at both places. I'he supplies sent him 
 from home being insufficient for his maintenance, 
 he was compelled, to join other poor scholars in 
 begging from house to house. They often met 
 with rough treatment, and not unfrequently bore 
 the pains of hunger. It became doubtful Avhether 
 he would not be driven back to the mines of 
 Mansfeld. But God had provided better things 
 for him. 
 
 One day, while engaged in his humiliating em- 
 ployment, and having been harshly repelled from 
 three houses, he stood musing in the street, full of 
 anxiety and grief, and was about to return fasting 
 to his room, when the wife of a respectable citizen 
 opened the door of the house and beckoned him 
 to enter. Her name was Ursula Cotta. His be- 
 coming behavior at public worship, and his me- 
 lodious voice, (for he excelled in singing, in which 
 he took great delight,) had previously attracted 
 her attention. She had heard the rough language 
 of her neighbors, who had refused him assistance, 
 
60 HISTORY or TilE 
 
 and determined to relieve him. His company prov- 
 ed so agreeable to her hasband and herself, that 
 in the course of a few days he was invited to take 
 up his abode at their house, where he lived iu 
 comfort till the time arrived fur his entering 
 the university. 
 
 This providential event produced the happiest 
 effects. His studies, which had proceeded lan- 
 guidly while he was under the depressing inlhi- 
 ence of poverty, were pursued with unremitting 
 ea.n-erness. He soon acquired the hist place among 
 his associates. 
 
 It was determined that Luther should study the 
 law. Had that plan been realized, there is little 
 doubt that worldly wealth and honor would have 
 been his portion. Anticipating a brilliant career 
 for his son, John Luther sent him, in 1501, to the 
 university of Erfurt. 
 
 Again he distanced his companions. His pro- 
 rrress was so remarkable that he became the ob- 
 ject of universal admiration. Whatever he learn- 
 ed he understood and made his own. He did 
 not satisfy himself with acquiring the daily les- 
 sons, or fulfilling the course prescribed by the 
 professors, but eagerly drew from all the sources 
 of information within his reach. 
 
 He had been two years at Erfurt, when an 
 event occurred v/hich ultimately led to an entire 
 change of pursuit. He usually spent his spare 
 liours in the public library of the university, ac- 
 
GKIIMAN ULFORMATIOX. 61 
 
 quaiuting hiniselt* with the titles and subjects of 
 the works he found tliere. One day a large vol- 
 ume attracted his attention, and he took it down 
 to examine its contents. It was a Latin Bihlc, 
 the first he had ever seen. Till then, he had only 
 read the extracts in the Romish offices, and thou^dit 
 there was no other Bible. His astonishment and 
 delight were excessive. The book of God was 
 before him. Facts and truths, of which he had no 
 previous knowledge, were presented to his mind, 
 filling him with wonder, and awakening deep 
 emotion. Again and again he returned to the li- 
 brary, to read the holy volume. He had not yet, 
 it is true, a spiritual mind : it appears that he 
 was more interested in the histories than in the 
 doctrines of the word of God ; and it is not likely 
 that he, as yet, experienced any relish for the 
 soul-humbling peculiarities of the Gosj^el. But he 
 was accumulating a store of biblical knowledge 
 which was afterwards to be turned to the best 
 account. " The Reformation lay hid in that 
 Bible." D'Aubio-ne. 
 
 o 
 
 In the year 1505 Luther received his derrree of 
 master of arts, amidst universal conf/ratulation 
 and applause. It was believed and expected that 
 he would be one of the brightest ornaments of the 
 university : and so he was. But for a time, those 
 hopes appeared to be disappointed. He had visit- 
 ed his parents at iNIansfeld, and was returninf to 
 Erfurt, Vv'hen he was overtaken by a violent thun- 
 6 
 
•62 niSTOUY OF THE 
 
 cler-storm, and thought himself in imminent danger. 
 Death appeared to be at hand, and he was unpre- 
 pared for it. Falling on his knees, he implored 
 deliverance, and vowed, if God should spare his life, 
 to leave the world and devote himself to relisrion 
 He escaped the peril, and arrived in safety at Er. 
 furt. His resolution was at once carried into ef- 
 fect. To the utter dismay of his literary associ- 
 ates, it was announced that Luther was about to 
 embrace the monastic life. No entreaties could 
 prevail on him to change his mind. He entered 
 the Augustinian convent, August 17, 1505. 
 
 At first he was compelled to submit to the 
 meanest drudgery. Nor did he complain. He 
 thought to obtain pardon and peace by self-deny- 
 ing obedience ; for he was then ignorant of " the 
 righteousness of God." The intercession of some 
 frienus having procured him exemption from man- 
 ual labor, he resumed his beloved studies with 
 alacrity. Much of his time w^as spent in reading 
 the works of Augustine, and of the most celebra- 
 ted school divines ; and very frequent visits did 
 he pay to a Bible which he found chained to a 
 wall for public use. As yet, indeed, he had no 
 spiritual apprehension of the truths of the sacred 
 volume ; but he was acquiring extensive know- 
 ledge of its contents, and so was unconsciously 
 under preparation for the great work to which 
 God had chosen him. 
 
 It soon became evident that Luther would be a 
 
GERMAX REFORMATION. 63 
 
 first-rate tlieoloo^ian. Plis skill in resolvirifr diffi- 
 cullies and conducting disputations, after tho 
 fashions of the times, acquired for him extensive 
 popularity. The Augustinians were justly proud 
 of their new member. In the meantime his mind 
 was a prey to wretchedness. He had fondly 
 hoped that within the walls of a monastery he 
 should obtain permanent peace of conscience and 
 victory over sin. Most strenuously did he labor 
 for the accomplishment oi' these purposes. He 
 fasted ; he kej^t vigils ; he punished his body. 
 He was frequent at confession, and assiduous in 
 the observance of all ceremonies. Thus he hop- 
 ed to secure the salvation of his soul. But all his 
 efforts were in vain. The convictions which raged 
 within him were from God, and no human inven- 
 tions could give him relief. He became more and 
 more miserable. The other monks observed his 
 distress, and made many friendly attempts to com- 
 fort him ; but the case was far beyond their skill. 
 Staupitz, the vicar-general of the Augustines, 
 was a truly pious man. The study of the Bible 
 and of the works of Augustine had been blessed 
 to him. He lived in the exercise of faith in the Re- 
 deemer, and enjoyed the peace which can spring 
 from no other source. Visiting Erfurt in the dis- 
 charge of his official duties, he was informed of 
 Luther's state, and immediately obtained an inter- 
 view, which proved very beneficial to the mourn- 
 ing monk. " Look at the v.'ounds of Jesus Christ," 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 he said ; "at tlie blood wliicli he shed for you; 
 80 will the grace of God be manifested to your 
 soul. Instead of torturing yourself for your sins, 
 fall into the arms of the Redeemer. Trust in him 
 — in the righteousness of his life, in the sac.ri[ic(3 
 of his death. . . . If you would be filled with 
 the love of goodness you must first of all be filled 
 with the love of God. If you would be converted, 
 seek not the blessing by these penances and pains. 
 
 Love Him who has first loved you 
 
 Look at the wounds of Christ : we cannot com- 
 prehend God out of Christ. You will find him 
 110 where else, either in heaven or on the earth." 
 
 The conversations of the vicar-general pro- 
 duced a powerful effect on Luther's mind. His 
 researches into truth were prosecuted with re- 
 newed ardor. Having now a Bible of his own 
 (Staupitz had given him one,) it was his constant 
 study. The liglit of truth dawned on his soul. 
 He began to be happy. 
 
 But clouds returned. His mental anguish af- 
 fected his bodily frame, and brought on a severe 
 illness. The prospect of death filled him with 
 dismay. While in that state an old monk entered 
 his cell and repeated in a cheerful tone that 
 clause in the apostles' creed, *'I believe in the re- 
 mission c^f sins." ** And I also," replied Luther ; 
 "I believe in the remission of sins." "Ah!" re- 
 joined the old man, " we must not only believe that 
 the sins of David and Peter are foro-iven : the 
 
GERMAN REFORMATIOX. 65 
 
 devils believe that. God's commandment is, tliat 
 we believe that our sins are forgiven." These 
 words were *' spirit and life " to the yomig in- 
 quirer. He was enabled to commit himself unre- 
 servedly to the grace of God in Christ, and to 
 believe in Divine love. Thenceforth he experi- 
 enced consolation and joy. " The just shall live 
 h]/ faith;' Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1 : 16, 17: that is the 
 master-principle of the Gospel. It took full pos- 
 session of Luther's mind and moulded his whole 
 character. Every day brought fresh light and 
 growing conviction. He was " created anew in 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 Luther was ordained to the priesthood May 2, 
 ir>07. The next year he removed to Wittemberg 
 t(3 undertake a professorship in the university, to 
 which he was invited by Frederic the Wise, 
 elector of Saxony. The elector had heard of his 
 learning and genius, and rightly judged that sucli 
 a man ought not to be suffered to remain in a 
 cloister. His hopes were fully realized. Thy 
 new professor quickly attracted great attention. 
 In the following year, wlien he took his degree of 
 bachelor of divinity, and lectured daily on the 
 Scriptures, his career of usefulness was fairly open 
 before him. About the same time, in obedience 
 to the wishes of Staupitz, he began to preach. 
 Both his lectures and his sermons were attended 
 by crowds of hearers, and produced deep impres- 
 sions. There was a life, an energy, an unction in 
 C* 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 his addresses that placed them in most advanta- 
 geous contrast to the dry disquisitions to which 
 men had been accustomed. They were astonish- 
 ed and dehghted. 
 
 On returning from Rome, whither he had re- 
 paired in the year 1512 on business connected 
 with his order, and where his reverence for the 
 papacy was severely shaken by viewing the awful 
 state of things already described, Luther received 
 his doctor's degree. Doctors in divinity, in those 
 days, were publicly installed, and took a solemn 
 oath, binding them to the faithful discharge of 
 their duties. There were two kinds of divinity 
 degrees — the biblical and the scholastic. Luther, 
 as might have been expected, chose the former. 
 Plis oath imposed on him the obUgation to study 
 the word of God, to leach it purely, preach faith- 
 fully, and defend it against all foes: in other 
 words, to continue in the course which he had al- 
 ready marked out for himself; for he had long 
 been a Bible doctor. But from that time his 
 measures were more decisive. He devoted Inm- 
 self unremittingly to the Scriptures. With a 
 boldness that none but himself could assume, he 
 unmasked the sophistries by which the pure truth 
 had been hidden from the eyes of mankind, ex- 
 posed the evils and corruptions of the church, and 
 placed before his hearers the glorious treasures 
 of the sacred oracles, exhorting them to reject 
 the doctrines and commandments of men. His 
 
GERMAN REFORMATION. 67 
 
 favorite truth, if it may be so called, that which 
 had given peace to his own soul and continued to 
 nourish his piety— the free justification of the 
 sinner by the imputed righteousness of the Lord 
 Jesus, received by faith— was ever in the front 
 rank, and was explained, illustrated, and enforc- 
 ed in every possible way. As a specimen of his 
 manner of treating this subject, a letter to Spen- 
 lein, a brother monk, may be quoted. 
 
 *' I am desirous of knowing the state of your 
 soul. Is it not v/eary of its own righteousness ? 
 Does it not at length pant after and trust in the 
 lighteousness of Christ] Pride has seduced many 
 in our days, and especially those who strive with 
 all their might to be righteous. Not understand- 
 ing the righteousness of God, which is freely 
 given us in Jesus Christ, they would live before 
 him by their ov^n merits. But that cannot be. 
 O my dear brother, learn to know Christ 
 and him crucified. Learn to sing to him a new 
 song, to despair of yourself, and to say to him, 
 * Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, and I 
 am thy sin. Thou hast taken what is mine, and 
 hast given me thine ovvn. Thou didst become 
 what thou wast not, that I might become what I 
 was not.' If our works and our afflictions could 
 procure us peace of conscience, why did Christ 
 die 1 You will never find peace but in him ; re- 
 nouncing all trust in yourself and your own works, 
 and seeing with what love he opens his arms to 
 
irig you all his righteousness." Epist. Luth. (De 
 Wotte.) i. IG-IS. 
 
 The public and repeated announcement of such 
 triuhs could not be without effect. Theology was 
 ju-esented under a new aspect. It was no longer 
 an uninviting desert soil, a mere field for word- 
 battles. It became likelhe garden of Eden, where 
 man held communion with his Maker. Biblical 
 students attained a profitable understanding of 
 l>ivine truth. The light of the pure Gospel shed 
 its bright rays oa the mind, preparing for the 
 conflict which Avas shortly to take place. 
 
 In the year 1516 Staupitz was sent by the elecr- 
 tor into the Low Countries to collect relics for a 
 new church which he had built at Wittemberg. 
 In the absence of the vicar-general Luther was 
 deputed to visit forty monasteries belonging to his 
 order, in Misnia and Thurinoia. Six months were 
 spent in that visit. Luther exhorted the monks to 
 study the Scriptures, and to renounce all confi- 
 dence in their own works ; preaching Christ cru- 
 cified as the only hope for sinners of every class. 
 Many a cell was from that time occupied by a 
 Bible student. Some of the most useful advocates 
 <^f the Reformation were trained for their work in 
 the cloisters of the Augustinians 
 
GERMAN' REFORMATION. 69 
 
 SECTION IL 
 thf; controversy respecting indulgexck?. 
 
 \Ve now come to tlie turning-point of Luther's 
 history. In the year 1517 pope Leo X. issued 
 a bull, granting plenary indulgence to all who 
 should contribute to the building of St. Peter's 
 at Rome. Such was the alleged purpose for 
 which the money was to be raised. The truth 
 was, Leo's extravagance had emptied his coffers, 
 and this was the easiest way to fill them. 
 
 Agents were employed in every part of Europe 
 for the sale of these indulgences. They travelled 
 from place to place in great pomp, calling upon 
 the people to buy their valuable wares. Among 
 them was John Tetzel, a Dominican. He had 
 been engaged in the indulgence trade for many 
 years, on a small scale, and had acquired great 
 skill in the management of the business. Albert, 
 archbishop of Mayence, being at that time in want 
 of money, had farmed the indulgences for Germa- 
 ny, agreeing to divide the profits with the pope. 
 Tetzel offered his services to him, and was gladly 
 accepted. Soon all G ermany was in commotion ; 
 pardon, full pardon for sins, of whatever enormity, 
 was offered to all who could buy. The price va- 
 ried according to the station of the purchaser and 
 the nature of the crime.* And remission might be 
 
 * Royal personages, archbishops, and bishops, paid twenty-fiva 
 
also for souls in purgatory, whose release, it was 
 confidently affirmed, immediately followed the 
 conclusion of the bargain.* The indulgence waa 
 expressed in the following terms : 
 
 '* May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee, 
 through the merits of his most holy passion. And 
 I, by his authority and that of hi;^ blessed apos- 
 tles Peter and Paul, and of our holy master the 
 pope, granted and committed tro me in these parts, 
 do absolve thee : first, from all ecclesiastical cen- 
 sures, howsoever incurred : next, from, all sins, 
 faults, and excesses hitherto committed by thee, 
 howsoever enormous, even those reserved to the 
 apostolical see, in as far as the keys of holy mo- 
 ther church extend; remitting by plenary indul- 
 gence all punishment due to thee for the aforesaid 
 in purgatory. And I restore thee to the holy sa^ 
 craments of the church, and to the unity of the 
 faithful, and to the innocence and j)urity conferred 
 on thee by baptism; so that the gates of punish- 
 ment may be closed against thee at thy departure, 
 
 ducats ; abbots, counts, and baron?, six ; and so on in proportion. 
 An indulgence for polygamy cost six ducats ; for sacrilege and per- 
 juiy, nine ; for murder, eight ; for magic, two. 
 
 * ** I would not change my ^irivileges for those of St. Peter m 
 heaven," said Tctzel ; " for I have saved more souls by my in- 
 dulgences than he did by his sermons. . . . Indulgences 
 
 serve not only the living, but also the dead As 
 
 soon as the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the scml is 
 delivered from pui-gatory, aiid Hies into heaven." 
 
gt:kman REFOraiATIOX. 71 
 
 nntl those of the joys of paradise be opened. Or, 
 shoiildst thou not presently die, let this grace re- 
 main in full force, and await thee at the point of 
 death. In the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of 'the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Great excitement prevailed. Sensible men saw 
 the iniquity of the transaction. Some were indig- 
 nant; others ridiculed. Defenders and opponents 
 fiercely disputed on the subject. Meanwhile, how- 
 ever, Tetzel's progress through the country was 
 attended with his customary success. Multitudes 
 thronged to the sacred market, eager to buy pa« 
 don and heaven. Tetzel had reached Juttenbock 
 four miles from Wittemberg, but could not get 
 nearer, as the elector of Saxony had forbidden hini 
 to enter that state, and Juttenbock was in the te?- 
 ritory of his employer, Albert. Thither the in- 
 habitants of Wittemberg flocked to the merchant, 
 and bought freely. 
 
 One day Luther vvas seated in the confessional. 
 Some citizens went to him, acknowledging the 
 commission of many sins, but resolutely refusing 
 to submit to the usual penance. When he denied 
 them absolution they showed him the indulgences 
 they had purchased. He assured them that those 
 indulgences were worthless, and persisted in re- 
 fusing them absolution. They repaired forthwith 
 to Tetzel, and denounced him. But the monk's 
 fury was little regarded. Luther had already 
 learned the Gospel too well to be deceived by the 
 
trine of indulgences, and acted at once on the 
 principle by which his whole life was distinguish- 
 ed, by avowing his convictions as soon as they 
 were formed. In a sermon, v/hich was quickly 
 published and widely circulated, he expounded 
 the christian doctrine of forgiveness, and warned 
 his hearers against resting on earthly foundations. 
 
 A bolder attack followed. The relics which the 
 elector had deposited in the church of All Saints, 
 Wittemberg, were exhibited to public view on All 
 Saints' day, Nov. 1 ; on which occasion all persons 
 who visited the church and confessed, shared iu 
 a special indulgence granted by the pope. Luther 
 resolved to expose the entire system, founded 
 as it was upon error of the grossest kind, and 
 indulgent to sin. Accordingly, on the eve of the 
 great festival, Oct. 31, 1517, he affixed to the 
 o-ates of the church his celebrated theses, or pro- 
 positions on indulgences, ninety-live in number, 
 and thus began to undermine one of the strongest 
 bulwarks of the papacy. The next raoniing the 
 theses were read by wondering crowds. They 
 were afterwards printed and distributed by thou- 
 sands throughout Germany, producing a powerful 
 effect among all classes. In a very short time they 
 mi.Q^htbe purchased in almost every part of Europe. 
 
 Tetzel stormed and raved like a true inquisitor. 
 After some time he issued counter theses, in which 
 
GERMAN REFORMATION. 
 
 73 
 
 be was assisted by Conrad Wimpina, a professor 
 in the university of Frankfort on the Oder. He 
 vented his spite, also, by publicly burning Luther's 
 theses ; he would have burned the author, had he 
 been in his power. The students of Wittemberg re- 
 taliated. They seized a person who was employed 
 to circulate Tetzel's theses in the dominions of the 
 elector of Saxony, and took from him his whole 
 stock, amounting to eight hundred copies, w^hich 
 were consumed in the flames, in the presence of 
 aij immense crowd, and amid loud acclamations. 
 Other opponents soon appeared of a more for- 
 midable character. Sylvester Prierias, master of 
 llie sacred palace of Rome, saw that Luther's at- 
 tack struck at the authority of the pope, and he 
 sought to repel it by maintaining that authority in 
 the most extravagant manner. He did not scruple 
 to assert that the doctrine of the Roman church, 
 and of the pope of Rome, was an infaiUble rule 
 of faith, from w^hich Scripture itself derived 
 strength and authority ; that the authority of tiie 
 church and of the popes was greater than that of 
 Scripture ; that the same church was infallible, not 
 in word only, but in deed, in faith, and in morals ; 
 that the pope, through his indulgences, could re 
 mit any degree of sin, even to the violation, were 
 such an act possible, of the mother of God ; that 
 the indulgence, though not revealed in Scripture, 
 was no less certainly established by the authority 
 of the pope ; and that he who denied any of these 
 
from the path of salvation. Such effusions as these 
 tlid more good to Luther's cause than harm, as 
 they served to disclose more clearly and fully the 
 enormities of the system. John Eck, vice-chancel- 
 lor of the university of Ingolstadt, published a 
 work entitled *' Obelisks," in which he argued 
 against Luther's opinions in the style of the 
 schoolmen. James Hockstraten, a Dominican and 
 an inquisitor, issued a reply couched in very dif- 
 ferent language. Nothing but fire or sword could 
 satisfy him. He called upon the pope to exert the 
 power which God had given him, and destroy the 
 accursed heretic. 
 
 In a.nswering these productions, Luther entei'ed 
 upon new ground. Prierias, in particular, had 
 broached opinions adverse to the authority of 
 Scripture and the light of private inquiry. This 
 was too much for the reformer to endure. As he 
 owed every thing to the Bible, he could not bear 
 that any obstacles should be thrown in the way of 
 the most unlimited use of the holy book, or any 
 restrai'^t laid upon man's researches ; he claim- 
 ed for himself and for all men the liberty to read, 
 examine, and judge ; and pleaded, with his accus- 
 tomed vigor, for the supreme authority of the 
 word of God. These were the main principles of 
 the Reformation which he lived to accomplish. 
 They are identified with Christianity. They will 
 survive the downfall of the heresies of Rome. 
 
GERMAN REFORMATION. 75 
 
 The Augustinians of Wittemberg trembled for 
 tlie consequences of the dispute into which their 
 zealous brother had entered, and entreated him to 
 desist. But they neither understood his character 
 nor rightly appreciated the controversy. " Beloved 
 ftither/'said Luther to the prior of the convent, *' all 
 this affair will presently fall to the ground, if it be 
 not undertaken in the name of the Lord. But, if it 
 be so, we must leave it to the Lord to finish it." 
 
 Hitherto Leo disregarded the German move- 
 ment. He aiiected to treat it as a dispute be- 
 tween rival monks, utterly unworthy of his notice. 
 But he v/as compelled to interfere. Luther had 
 published an explanation of his theses, entitled 
 '• Resolutions," which he sent to the pope, with a 
 letter, written in the most respectful strain, laying 
 the whole case before him, and placing himself 
 and his cause at the disposal of the sovereign pon- 
 tiif; for as yet, notwithstanding the light and 
 •Trace he had received, he was a submissive sub- 
 ject of the Roman see. 
 
 The letter to Leo was dated May 22, 151S. On 
 the seventii of the following August Luther re- 
 ceived a citation to Rome, where Sylvester Prie- 
 rias, his first opponent, was appointed to hear and 
 decide the cause. The manifest injustice of this 
 appointment, and the apprehensions for his per- 
 sonal safety, which vvcre reasonably entertained 
 by his friends, should he repair to Rome, led to 
 an active interference in his behalf, in which the 
 
It was so far successful, that the summons to 
 Rome was withdrawn. Cardinal C:3Jetan, who 
 was at that time attendintr a diet of the empire at 
 Augsburg, as papal legate, was intrusted with a 
 commission to inquire into the merits of the case» 
 and take proj^er measures for the suppression of 
 nnj heresy he might detect in the opinions of Lu- 
 ther. In the brief addressed to him the most vio- 
 lent language was used. Should Luther refuse to 
 retract his error, he was to be forthwith seized 
 and sent to Rome. If it should be found impossi- 
 ble to get possession of his person, he was to be 
 irutlavred, and, with all his adherents, excommu- 
 nicated. If any princes, prelates, states, or cities 
 should venture to offer him an asylum, they were 
 to be placed under an interdict ; and whoever 
 should refuse or neglect to obey the legate's 
 order should be declared infamous, and stripped 
 of their possessions. But Luther was not appall- 
 ed. Many of his friends, alarmed on liis account, 
 advised him to withdraw from the conflict and 
 conceal himself for a while. But they could not 
 prevail. " Cowardly men," said he, " wish me not 
 To go to Auf^sburg ; but I am resolved to be there. 
 Let the will of the Lord be done ! Jesus Christ 
 reignf at Augsburg, and even in the midst of his 
 eneui'tes. Let Christ live ; let Luther and every 
 sinner die : according as it is written, ' Let the 
 God of my salvation be exalted.* " 
 
GCKMAN REFORMATION. 
 
 77 
 
 The crafty legate labored hard to get Luther 
 in his power, that he might deal with him accord- 
 ing to the papal brief; but his designs were mer- 
 cifully prevented. Advised by his friends, (Stau- 
 pitz and some others who heid joined him,) he 
 declined appearing till he had procured a safe-con- 
 duct from the emperor. Strenuous efforts were 
 made to induce him to change his mind, but iu 
 vain ; he would not stir from the Augustinian con- 
 vent, where he was entertained, till he was assur- 
 ed of security. At length the safe-conduct arrived, 
 and he immediately appeared before the legate. 
 On three successive days Cajetan exhausted his 
 powers in the fruitless attempt to persuade Lu- 
 ther to retract, or submit. He threatened, en- 
 treated, argued, promised, proposed conditions. 
 If the reformer would only recall what he had ad- 
 vanced against indulgences, and promise to keep 
 silence on that subject in future, he might preach 
 as he would about justification and faith, and hold 
 what sentiments he pleased; but neither the 
 pope's authority nor his coffers must be touched. 
 On the other hand, Luther required to be convinc- 
 ed. He must be shown his error from Scripture, 
 or he would not yield. This was more than the 
 cardinal could do ; to him, therefore, the close of 
 the conference was most unsatisfactory. The 
 German monk was too much for him. He could 
 not overcome in argument, and the imperial safe- 
 conduct prevented the employment of violent 
 
that Luther's safety might be compromised by a 
 longer stay at Augsburg. In compliance with the 
 suggestions of his friends, he left the place, escap- 
 ed whatever dangers were in his way, and reach 
 ed Wittemberg, Oct. 30. He left a letter addressed 
 to the legate, in which he respectfully stated the 
 reasons of his departure, and appealed from pope 
 Leo, misinformed as he then was in regard to the 
 true merits of the case, to the same pope, when 
 he should be better informed. A copy of this 
 singular appeal was affixed to the gate of the ca- 
 thedral. 
 
 Enraged at Luther's escape, Cajetan wrote to 
 the elector, requiring him to withdraw his protec- 
 tion from the reformer, and to send him to Rome 
 for trial. Both requests were refused. Luther 
 resumed his official duties with fresh ardor, en- 
 couraged by the immense influx of students, who 
 flocked to the university from all the surrounding 
 provinces, attracted by his gi'owing fame. His 
 lectures and sermons prepared many a generous 
 spirit for the approaching warfare. 
 
 Luther had ahvays declared his willingness to 
 eubmit to the church. Leo understood it to meaa 
 submission to himself, and therefore issued a new 
 bull, re-stating the Romish doctrine of indulgen- 
 ces, while he rebuked and disavowed the excesses 
 of such men as Tetzel, calling upon all men to 
 receive it, and threatening with excommunication. 
 
GERMAN RI'PORMATIOX. 79 
 
 nnd its terrible consequences, those who should 
 dare to refuse submission. But Leo was not the 
 church. He was as liable to error, sin, and false- 
 hood, as other men. Luther foresaw the storm, 
 and sought shelter ere it burst upon him. He ap- 
 pealed from the pope to a general council, the 
 church representative, according to the doctrine 
 of those days. The appeal was dated Nov. 28, 
 1518. 
 
 Three months before this, Melancthon settled 
 at Wittemberg, as Greek professor in the univer- 
 yity. Agreeing generally with Luther in theologi- 
 cal sentiments, he warmly seconded his efforts. 
 Their mutual attachment was strong, and their 
 confidence in each other continued unshaken. In 
 character, as well as in attainments, they differed 
 much ; yet the difference was not such as to pre- 
 vent union or harmony. If the gentleness of Me- 
 lancthon was apt to degenerate into indecision, 
 the boldness of Luther sometimes hurried him in- 
 to rash measures ; while, on the other hand, the 
 impetuosity of Luther was tempered by the pru- 
 dence of Melancthon. Luther was fitted for ac- 
 tion, Melancthon for counsel. The latter could 
 plan the battle ; the fonner would take the field 
 and fight. Each was admirably adapted for the 
 work assigned him, and each required the aid and 
 co-operation of the other. 
 
 Charles Miltitz, a noble Saxon, and chamber 
 lain to the pope, was despatched to Germany on 
 
ed by his holiness, which he was charged to pre- 
 .seut to the elector of Saxony, in the hope that hi^i 
 acquiescence in the determination to crush Lu- 
 ther might be thereby procured. The reli)rmer 
 was to be apprehended and conveyed to Rome, 
 tliere to meet his fate. But God had otherwise 
 t>rdered. Miltitz soon found that his errand was 
 hopeless. As he travelled through Germany he 
 ascertained, to his great mortification, that the po- 
 pular feeling was very generally on l^uther's side. 
 On his arrival at Altenburg, in January, 1519, he 
 sent for Tetzel and Luther : tiie former sent an 
 excuse, alleging the danger of exposing himself 
 in a part of the country where the influence of his 
 opponent was paramount ; the latter immediately 
 obeyed the summons. In the conference which 
 followed, the papal envoy treated Luther with 
 oreat respect, and so far prevailed upon him, tluit 
 lie consented to be silent for the future on the 
 subject in dispute, if the pope would enjoin tlie 
 like silence on his antagonist ; to refer the whole 
 matter in debate to the decision of certain Ger- 
 man prelates ; to write a submissive letter to the 
 
 • The golden rose, conspcrated by the poj)e, was annually sent to 
 gome foreign prince, as a mark of special friendship. It was al- 
 ways highly valued. Three or four years before, when the elector 
 of Saxony was a bigoted adherent of Rome, he ha*! earnestly soli- 
 cited this mark of favor, hut without success. Now it came too 
 late. 
 
GERMAN RKrORMATIOV. 81 
 
 pope ; and to publish an exhortation to the peo- 
 ple, urging them also to submission. This nego- 
 tiation proved fruitless. The conditions were ful- 
 lilled on Luther's part, who wrote to the pope in 
 a strain which he most certainly would not liave 
 adopted in following years ; but Cajetan, whom 
 Miltitz consulted, was not prepared to accede to 
 the proposed terms. Retractation was again of- 
 fensively suggested. The opportunity for agree- 
 ment was sacrificed, and never returned.* 
 
 The dispute at Leipsic was an event which 
 made a great noise at the time, and eventually 
 furthered the Reformation. Eck, Luther's former 
 opponent, and Carlstadt, one of the Wittemberg 
 divines, were the combatants. At iirst Luther 
 was only a hearer; duke George, in whose do- 
 minions Leipsic was situated, having refused to 
 allow him to speak. Afterwards, however, he 
 withdrew the prohibition, and the two doctors 
 entered the lists. The contest lasted several 
 days. Each party claimed the victory. In pri- 
 vate, Eck confessed that he was worsted, but 
 
 * Miltitz saw Tctzel at Leipsic, and used him very roughly. 
 He loaded him with reproaches for his indiscreet conduct, ac- 
 cused him of bcino: the author of all the mischief that had follow- 
 ed, and threatened him with the indignation of the pope. It ap- 
 })eared, also, that there was considerable discrepancy in his money 
 accounts. He had been either guilty of a most reckless expendi- 
 ture, or of embezzlement. He sunk under the storm, and died 
 auortlv afterward^, overwhehncd with grief and murtifjcution. 
 
It is certain that the cause of reform was ad- 
 vanced. Several distinguibhed men were gained 
 at Leipsic* 
 
 The light began to shine in other countries. 
 Zuinglo was preaching the Gospel in Switzerland 
 with encouraging success. Frobenias, of Basle, 
 printed an edition of such of Luther's works as 
 were then published, \vhich was extensively cir- 
 culated, and received by thousands with admira- 
 tion and joy. Six hundred copies were sold in 
 France and Spain. They were read with avi- 
 dity in the Low Countries and England. There 
 were not wanting admirers even in Italy. The 
 printer confessed that it was the best speculation 
 he had ever m.ade. 
 
 Continued study of the Scriptures increased 
 the distance between Luther and Rome. As his 
 Tnind became more enlightened he made known 
 his convictions in his own plain and forcible man- 
 ner, both from the pulpit and the press. His 
 commentary on the Galatians, and several smaller 
 works published in the year 1519, were highly ser- 
 viceable to the cause of evancrelical <2odliness. His 
 
 ♦ Among lliese may be mentioned Voliander, who afterwanl* 
 preached the Gospel at Lcipsif ; and Cellarius, Hebrew professor 
 i.i the university. George, prince or Anhalt, tlien only twelve 
 vears of age, was present, and received impressions which ulri- 
 m;itely led hini to embrace and ii[)hold the doctrines of the Ke- 
 foniiatlon. 
 
Cr.RMAN RCFORM.VTin.V. 83 
 
 l)ook,=; were not the productions of a scliool di- 
 vine — a mere dry practised thinker ; they bore 
 tlie impress of his fervid poul, appealed to the 
 best feeling-s of men, and soon engaged a large 
 ^amount of sympathy with the writer. But the 
 most extraordinary fruit of his pen was an ap- 
 peal to the emperor and the states of Germany, 
 i-especting reformation. In this important paper 
 ^ve are furnished with an index of the sentiments 
 of the reformer at that time. He had evidently 
 made large advances since the publication of his 
 celebrated theses. 
 
 Having observed that the power and authority 
 claimed for the pope and the hierarchy presented 
 the greatest obstacles to reformation, he proceeds 
 to show that those claims rested on an assumed 
 distinction between the clergy and laity, which 
 was altogether without warrant. "All christians," 
 said he, " constitute the spiritual estate, and there 
 
 is no diiference among them We have 
 
 all but one baptism, and one faith, and it is that 
 'which constitutes a man a spiritual person. The 
 anointing, the tonsure, ordination, consecration, 
 whether performed by a bishop or by the pope, 
 may make a man a hypocrite, but cannot make 
 
 him a spiritual man If ten brothers, 
 
 sons of a king, having equal right to the throne, 
 should choose one of their number to govern in 
 their name, they would all be kings, and yet one 
 ciilv would be the administrator of their common 
 
oi" pious laymen should be banished to a desert, 
 and while there, having among them no priest 
 consecrated by a bishop, should choose one ot' 
 themselves, married or single, that man would be 
 us truly a priest as if all the bishops in the world 
 had consecrated him. In this manner Augustine, 
 Ambrose and Cyprian were chosen. It follows, 
 that christians and priests, princes and bishops, 
 or, as we commonly say, the clergy and laity, 
 are distinguished from one another only by their 
 functions. All belong to the same estate, but all 
 have not the same work to do." Cited by D'Au- 
 blgne, i, 117. 
 
 This led him to maintain that the secular pow- 
 er ought to punish ecclesiastics, if they requir- 
 ed punishment, and not to regard their boasted 
 exemptions. He called upon the rulers of Chris- 
 tendom to strip tlie pope and cardinals of their 
 worldly wealth and honors, and put an end to 
 the innumerable exactions by ■which the kingdoms 
 of Europe had been reduced to poverty. " Let 
 the emperor give the pope a Bible and prayer- 
 book, so that he may let kings alone and content 
 iiimself with praying and preaching," 
 
 Having exposed the pride and avarice of the 
 papal legates, and the uselessness of the monks, 
 he assumed a still bolder tone, and deinanded for 
 the church a married priesthood, " according to 
 the institution of Jesus Christ and his apostles," 
 
GERMAN- REFOIIMATIOX. 85 
 
 fearlessly asscrtinj^ that " the devil had persuaded 
 the pope to prohibit the marriage of the clergy." 
 He proposed that the fasts and feasts of the 
 church should be abohshed, and no day but the 
 Loi'd's day religiously observed. He would have 
 lieretics convinced by Scripture, as the ancient 
 fathers did, and not conquered by lire. He 
 counselled all parents to he careful not to send 
 their children to any school or university where 
 the word of God v/as not supreme. Finally, he 
 urged the necessity of restraining the pope with- 
 in the bounds of purely spiritual rule, and forcing 
 him to cease from taxing and oppressing chris- 
 tian people. The appeal was published June 23, 
 l-3:20. It was quickly circulated throughout all 
 Germany, and produced a powerful excitement 
 everywhere. 
 
 Eight days before the publication of the appeal 
 the condemnation of Luther had been jnonounced 
 at Rome in a papal bull, containing forty-one 
 " propositions," said to be extracted from his 
 v^ritings, for which he was excommunicated as a 
 heretic, his books were to be burned, and he him- 
 self delivered over to punishment, unless he chose 
 to avert the blow by retractation. Eck, his ad- 
 versary at Leipsic, by whose persevering efforts 
 Leo liad been persuaded to issue the bull, was ap- 
 pointed pnpal nimcio, and commissioned to pub- 
 lish the bull in (icrmany and the Low Countries, 
 and empowered to enforce obedience to its in- 
 8 
 
proved. Wherever he went he encountered ob- 
 loquy and insult. In most places he was totally 
 unable to execute his commission, so strong was 
 the popular fe^eling in favor of Luther. In some 
 parts of the Low Countries he succeeded in pro- 
 curing submission, and publicly committed the 
 reformer's books to the flames, with great glee 
 and ill-concealed triumph. But his malice failed 
 in accomplishing its purpose. Luther's cause was 
 rather promoted than injured by these measures.* 
 
 * The Louvain divines sought an audience with Margaret, 
 Charles the Fifth's regent in the Low Conntries. " Luther 
 subverts the christian faith," they said. "Who is Luther?" 
 asked the princess. " An ignorant monk." " Very well," she re- 
 plied ; " do you, who are so learned and so numerous, write 
 against him. Tlie world will much rather believe a body of learn- 
 ed persons than a solitary ignorant man." This advice was not to 
 their taste. They preferred the fire to the pen. On an appoint- 
 ed day a huge pile of wood was prepared for the destruction of 
 Luther's books. During the ceremony a number of students and 
 citizens pressed hastily through the croud, bearing large vol- 
 umes which they threw into the flames. The attendant monks 
 applauded their zeal, supposing that those volumes contained the 
 writings of Luther. "We may easily imagine how they were 
 mortified when it was discovered that, instead of the works of 
 the reformer, certain productions of the school divines, and othei 
 popish ti-ash, had been thus ignominiously consumed. 
 
 The Dominicans of Holland applied to the count of Nassau, 
 the viceroy, for permission to burn Luther's books in obedience 
 to the bull. His only answer was, *' Go and preach the Goepei 
 
GERMAN nEFORMATION, 07 
 
 General inquiry was excited, and the condemned 
 books were read by many who otherwise would 
 not have heard of thej.i, or ventured to look into 
 their pages. 
 
 The pubUcationof thebnll was an open procla- 
 mation of war. So Luther understood it ; and he 
 was prepared. God had guided him into the truth 
 by slow degrees ; but he made good his footing 
 as he advanced, and did not hesitate to announce 
 his progress to the v/orld, however unpalatable it 
 might be to those who occupied the high places of 
 spiritual rule. A striking instance of this appesirs 
 in his work entitled, " The Babylonish Captivity," 
 which was published in October, 1520. This was 
 the hardest blow that had been yet given to the 
 doctrines and government of Rome. The oppres- 
 sions of the papacy were fearlessly exposed in lan- 
 jruasre of the boldest character ; christian truth was 
 clearly set forth ; and the rights and liberties of 
 the true church were asserted. Luther braved 
 the fury of the storm with undaunted courage. 
 He quailed before no man — prince, emperor, bi- 
 shop, or pope. " I am informed," in these words 
 he closed the volume, " that fresh papal excom- 
 munications are in preparation against me. If it 
 be so, the present work may be regarded as a part 
 of my future retractation. The rest will soon ful- 
 
 botter than Luther, and you will have no reason to coni[)Iain of 
 any one." 
 
which Rome has never yet seen or heard." 
 
 Shortly afterwards Luther solemnly appealed 
 once more from the pope to a general council. At 
 the same time he published a tract " Against the' 
 Kxecrable Bull of Antichrist," and a defence of 
 the articles condemned in it. In both these com- 
 positions he treated the pope and the cardinals 
 with little ceremony, " I admonish you all in the 
 Lord, that you return to your senses, and put an 
 end to your diabolical blasphemies and most au- 
 dacious impieties, and that speedily. For if you 
 fail ia this, be warned that I, and all who believe 
 in Christ, will hold your see, possessed as it is 
 and oppressed by Satan, for the condemned see 
 of antichrist ; so as not only to withdraw our obe- 
 dience, our subjection, our connexion, but to de- 
 test and execrate it as the first and foremost 
 among the enemies of Christ." 
 
 A bolder act followed. On the 10th of Decem- 
 ber a pile of wood was prepared in a public place, 
 near one of the gates of Wittembcrg. Thither 
 Luther repaired, at the head of a vast })rocession, 
 composed of the professors and students of the 
 university and the inhabitants of the place. Ar- 
 rived at the spot, he caused the pile to be lighted, 
 and then threw into the flames the book of the 
 canon law, the decrees, the decretals — the entire 
 statutes of the papacy. Last of all, the bull of 
 
GLI13IAN REFORMATION 89 
 
 condemnation was cast in : Luther exclaimed, 
 " Because thou hast troubled and put to shame 
 the Holy One of the Lord, so be thou troubled 
 and consumed by the eternal fires of hel]." Next 
 day, at the close of his accustomed lecture on the 
 Psalms, he addressed his hearers to the followint^ 
 effect : " Unless you resist with all your heart the 
 impious government of the pope, you cannot be 
 leaved. Whoever takes pleasure in the relinrion 
 and worship of the papacy will be eternally pun- 
 ished in the life that is to come." After this 
 there could be no peace with Rome. 
 
 The pope was now equally ready for the con- 
 flict. Two nuncios, Caraccioli and Aleander had 
 been sent into Germany, ostensibly for the pur- 
 pose of attending the coronation of the iievv' em- 
 peror, but really to use every effort for the execu- 
 tion of the bull against Luther. Aleander, who 
 took the lead, was admirably qualified for the 
 post he was called to fill. Skilled in intrigue, and 
 fired with indignation against the new heresv, he 
 was prepared for acts of negotiation or deeds of 
 vengeance, as opportunity might serve. As they 
 travelled from place to place, the nuncios signal- 
 ized their loyalty to Leo by burning Luther's 
 books, and thundering out the anathemas of the 
 church against their author. At Coloo-ne they 
 met the elector of Saxony returning from the 
 coronation of the emperor. In an interview with 
 that prince they demanded his obedience to the 
 
law. The elector's answer was far from satisfacto- 
 ly : lie told the nuncios that he was by no means 
 convinced t>at Luther was in error : when that was 
 ])roved, justice might take its course ; but till then 
 he should continue to protect his favorite divine. 
 
 Foiled in this attempt, they turned their atten- 
 tion to the emperor. His young- and ardent mind 
 was easily impressed. It was highly flattering to 
 be appealed to by the ministers of the pope, and 
 invited to execute the connnands of the head of 
 tlie church on earth. Charles Y. consented to bo 
 the instrument of Leo's vengeance. 
 
 Meanwhile the influence of Luther on the pub- 
 lic mind of Germany increased daily. The uni- 
 versity of Wittemberg was thronged with stu- 
 defits from every quarter ; its streets were filled 
 with visiters anxious to see the man whose writ- 
 ings were diffusing the light of truth throughout 
 Europe. Letters of congratulation poured in up- 
 on him from persons of high consideration in 
 learning and rank ; three presses were constantly 
 at work supplying the unparalleled demand for 
 his productions; and other friends of reform, ani- 
 mated by his boldness, hurled many a blow at the 
 common foe. All Germany was in commotion. 
 
 On the 3d of January, 1521, Leo issued a se- 
 cond bull. The iirst was conditional, giving Lu- 
 ther time to retract, and suspending the condem- 
 
GERMAN REFORMATION'. 91 
 
 nation on his submission. In the secwncl that con- 
 demnation was definitively pronounced. lie was 
 now declared to be an incorrigible heretic, fitted 
 for destruction. The time was artfully chosen. A 
 grand diet of the empire was about to be held, at 
 which the emperor and all tiie pi'inces of Ger- 
 many would be present. Aleander received di- 
 rections to attend it, and to demand, on the part 
 of his master, the employment of the secular arm 
 for the suppression of the rising heresy. The 
 publication of the bull at that juncture was well 
 calculated to alarm the timid, decide the unwaver- 
 inL^ and overawe all. 
 
 SECTION in. 
 
 THE D I E T or \V O R ?I S . 
 
 The Diet of Worms was opened January 
 6, 1521. A more splendid assembly has been 
 scarcely ever held. The nobles of Grermany 
 ^vere anxious to do honor to the court of their 
 young emperor, and to testify their dutiful re- 
 gards. They vied with each other in the costli- 
 ness of their equipments, and the number and 
 rank of their attendants. It seemed as if the 
 wealth of the empire had been collected together 
 at one place for proud display The occasion, too, 
 was unusually interesting and important. In ad- 
 dition to political affairs of jjressing urgency, the 
 
The cry for reform was heard on every hand. All 
 saw that the disease required prompt attention ; 
 but none knew what means to suggest, while dan- 
 ger was daily increasing. 
 
 Aleander, the papal nuncio, was true to his mas- 
 ter's interests. On his arrival at Worms he exert- 
 ed himself to the utmost to procure the immediate 
 condemnation of Luther. He would have had 
 him proscribed and put to the ban of the empire, 
 that his party might be crushed by one vigorous 
 blow. But this was found to be impracticable. 
 The reformer's opinions had taken too deep root 
 to be easily plucked up. Some even talked of 
 taking the whole matter out of the pope's hands, 
 and referring the decision to impartial judges, 
 chosen by the principal potentates of Europe. 
 Aleander was perplexed and enraged. Still he 
 persevered, sometimes applying to the emperor, 
 sometimes to his ministers and other members of 
 the diet, among whom he scattered profusely- 
 large sums of money intrusted to him by the 
 court of Rome. At length he succeeded, by foice 
 of bribes and intrigue, in obtaining permission to 
 address the assembled diet. He appeared before 
 them on the 13th of February, and spoke for three 
 hours in a strain of impassioned eloquence. Lu- 
 ther was described as a monster of iniquity, whose 
 crimes ought to be visited with the utmost severi- 
 ty of the laws. His opinions were artfully repre 
 
CKRMAN RKFOR.^IATrON', 03 
 
 Rented as ojiposed to the solemn doctrines of 
 the church, and fraught with peril to souls. He 
 had sinned against the powers below, the nuncio 
 jiiiirnied, by denying purgatory, though that doc- 
 trine had been established by the Council of FI07 
 7ence, in the presence of the emperor of Constan- 
 tinople, who had then acknowledged the pope as 
 liead of the whole christian church. lie had sin- 
 nod against the powers above ; for he had affirmed 
 tii;it if an angel from heaven were to teach other- 
 wise, he would not believe him. He had sinned 
 against the whole clergy ; because, in his book on 
 the Babylonish Captivity he had maintained that 
 all christians are priests; and to another of his 
 books a frontispiece was prefixed, representing 
 two dogs biting one another, whereby was denot- 
 ed the enmity existhig between the laity and the 
 clerical orders. He had sinned against the saints, 
 whose books he had despised. He had sinned 
 against the world, by prohibiting the infliction of 
 capital punishment on any Avho had not commit- 
 ted mortal sin. He had sinned against the coun- 
 cils, especially that of Constance, which he Itad 
 called " the sink of the devil !" His condemnation 
 was declared to be essential to ihe safety of (ier- 
 many. Seckendorf, Com. de Luth. lib. i. sect. 
 37, 91. 
 
 It was not the will of God that Luther should 
 be condemned unheard. He must bear his testi- 
 mony before princes. Much to the chagrin of 
 
that he might in person avow or retract the opi- 
 nions imputed to him, and be dealt with accord- 
 ingly. With the summons an ample safe-conduct 
 was transmitted, guaranteeing his security in go- 
 ing and returning ; signed, not only by the em- 
 peror, but also by those j^rinces through whose 
 states it Vv-ould be necessary for him to travel. 
 For this precaution he was indebted to the elec- 
 tor of Saxony, who knew the men with whom he 
 had to deal, and positively refused to allow the re- 
 former to leave Wittemberg without that security. 
 This was another mortification to Alcander, who 
 was fully prepared to act over again the iniqui- 
 ty of the infamoi^s Council of Constance, which 
 caused Huss to be seized and burned, notwith- 
 standing the assurance given for his safety. But 
 he was compelled to submit. 
 
 The friends of Luther expressed much alarm 
 on his account. He only was unmoved.* *' If Je- 
 sus Christ do but aid me," he exclaimed, '* I am 
 determined never to fly from the field, nor desert 
 the word of God Should they light 
 
 * Offers of protection had been already made to him by certain 
 powerful nobles who had embraced his sentiments. But he chose 
 rather to commit himself and the cause which was so dear to 
 him to the care of God, believing that he who had so wondoi- 
 fully directed his mind in his researches, and enabled him to 
 expose long-standing abominations, would not fail him in iho 
 hour of need. Thai hope was not disappointed. 
 
nKKMAX RKFOr.:MATION\ O;! 
 
 a fire which should blaze as high as heaven, an<l 
 reach from Witteniberg to Worms, at Worms I 
 will still appear in the name of the Lord, and over- 
 throw the Behemoth I hear that the 
 
 emperor has published a mandate to terrify me. 
 But Christ lives in spite of it; and I will enter 
 Worms, though all the gates of hell and the pow- 
 ers of darkness should oppose me." 
 
 Both friends and enemies feared his approacli. 
 The former, because they trembled for his safety; 
 the latter, dreading the influence of his reasoning 
 and eloquence. Strenuous endeavors were made 
 to prevent him from appearing at the diet. The 
 papal party tempted him with the hope of an 
 amicable adjustment: the advocates of truth 
 sought to excite his apprehensions. All their 
 efforts failed. '' Tell your master," he said to 
 a messenger from Spalatin, " that though there 
 should be as many devils in W^orms as there are 
 tiles on the roofs of the houses, I would go." 
 
 He entered the city on the 16th of April. The 
 day after his arrival he was summoned to attend 
 the diet. On the morning of that day his soul had 
 endured unwonted depression, almost amounting 
 to anguish. But in his distress he sought the 
 Lord with strong crying and tears, and was 
 graciously heard. Peace returned, and holy, un- 
 daunted courage again filled his spirit. He cheer- 
 fully attended the officer who was appointed to 
 conduct him to the hall of audience. He reached 
 
me place WILII &UI11C Umn^Ultji, c^j ^i»_a,i- T» uo 1.1.1KJ 
 
 crowd that thronged every avenue, m eap^er curi- 
 osity to see the man whose fame had spread 
 throughout Germany, and on whom the thunders 
 ot* the Vatican had hitherto fallen harmlessly. At 
 length he stood before the august assembly. The 
 emperor occupied the throne. Next to him sat 
 his brother, the arch-duke Ferdinand. Six elec- 
 tors of the empire were present ; twenty four 
 dukes ; eight margraves ; thirty prelates ; seven 
 ambassadors; the deputies of ten free cities; 
 princes, counts and barons; the papal nuncios; 
 in all, two hundred and four noble and illustrious 
 personages. The countenances of many betrayed 
 deep inward concern and anxiety. Luther had 
 held communion with God, and enjoyed " perfect 
 peace." 
 
 On the table was laid a collection of his writ- 
 ings. He w^as asked whether he acknowledged 
 them as his productions, and whether he was pre- 
 pared to retract the opinions they contained. To 
 the iirst question he answered in the afHrmative. 
 To the second he replied that the question Avas 
 very serious and important, and ought not to ho 
 answered without due consideration, lest he 
 should in any way injure the cause of truth ; he 
 asked, therefore, for a brief delay. So reasonable 
 a request could not be refused. Next day he ap- 
 peared again. The questions were repeated. Lu- 
 ther then adtlreiised the assembly. He had ac- 
 
GEIIMAN REFORMATION. 97 
 
 knowlotlgeti, he said, the hooks on the table to be 
 his. Their contents differed much from each 
 other. In some, he had treated of faith and 
 Avorks, mimasking the errors of the age; he could 
 not retract them without treachery to the Gospel. 
 A second class consisted of writings in which he 
 had exposed the enormous corruptions and abuses 
 of the papacy ; these were so notorious, and had 
 been so long and so justly the subjects of loud 
 complaint in Germany, that it would be worse 
 than folly to suppress the works in which thev 
 were held up to public reprobation. In the third 
 place, he had in some of his books attacked indi- 
 viduals who had advocated existing evils ; and ho 
 was willing to confess (for he could not pretend 
 to be free from fault) that he had sometimes writ- 
 ten with unbecoming violence : yet he could not 
 retract the sentiments advanced in those writings, 
 because such a course would encourage the ene- 
 mies of the truth, and embolden them in their 
 opposition. Wherefore he prayed that instead of 
 persisting in the demand for retractation, the diet 
 would take measures to couAince him, from the 
 Scriptures, of his error. As soon as he should be 
 convinced, he would immediately acknowledge it. 
 " You have not answered the question," said 
 the chancellor of the archbishop of Treves, to 
 whom the management of this part of the business 
 was intrusted. " A clear and express reply is re- 
 quired. "Will you or will you not retract V Tho 
 9 
 
your most serene majesty, and the princes, re- 
 quire a simple answer, I will give it thus : unless 
 1 shall be convinced by proofs from Scripture, oi 
 by evident reason, (for I believe neither in popes 
 nor in councils, since they have frequently erred 
 and contradicted themselves,) I cannot choose but 
 adhere to the word of God, which has possession 
 of ray conscience. Nor can I possibly, nor will I 
 ever make any recantation, since it is neither safe 
 nor honest to act contrary to conscience. Here I 
 take my stand ; I cannot do otherwise. God be 
 my help ! Amen." This speech made a deep im- 
 pression. The emperor himself was struck with 
 admiration. " If you will not retract," resumed 
 the chancellor, *' the emperor and the states of 
 I he empire will see what ought to be done with 
 an obstinate heretic." " God be my help," rejoin 
 ed Luther ; " I can retract nothing." He then 
 withdrev/, leaving the diet in deliberation. When 
 he w'as called in again, another effort was made. 
 His appeal to Scripture was treated with con- 
 tempt, since he had revived errors w^iich had 
 ])een condemned by the Council of Constance; a>5 
 if the authority of the Council of Constance were 
 superior to that of the word of God ! In conclu- 
 sion, the chancellor said, "The emperor commands 
 you to say simply, yes or no, whether you mean 
 to maintain whatever you have advanced, oi 
 v.-hether you wall retract a part V *' I have no 
 
GERMAN REFORMATIOX. 99 
 
 Other answer to give than what I have ah'eady 
 given," replied Luther, 
 
 Having thus borne a noble testimony to the 
 truth, he left the assembly amidst the acclama- 
 tions of his friends and the yells and hisses oftlio 
 Papists. His place of abode was the rendezvous 
 for kindred spirits, who pressed to offer their con- 
 gratulations and sympathy, and to encourage hini 
 in maintaining the conflict. But amongst the eni'- 
 my confusion and doubt prevailed. It was re- 
 solved to make another attempt. The archbishop 
 of Treves, to whom the affair was committed, was 
 very anxious for success. He had several inter- 
 views with Luther, and labored hard to induce 
 him to submit his opinions to the diet, or to a 
 general council. But his efforts were employed 
 in vain ; Luther would not sacrifice the word of 
 God. " I will put my person and my life in the 
 emperor's hands," said he ; " but the word of God 
 — never !" He claimed for every christian tlu^ 
 right of private judgment : if he consented t(j a 
 council, it would only be on condition that the 
 council should be compelled to judge according 
 to Scripture. 
 
 Protracted debates followed. Some counselled 
 the violation of the safe-conduct, and urged the 
 emperor to seize Luther, and put him to death 
 But the high-minded princes of Germany scorned 
 the base proposal. Charles himself, bigoted as ho 
 was, revolted at it. " If trood faith were baniiii- 
 
ought still to find refuge in the courts of kings." 
 
 Having received permission, Luther left Worms 
 on the 2Gth of April, and proceeded by gentle 
 stages on his v^^ayto Wittemberg. He had reach- 
 ed the borders of the Thuringian forest, near Al- 
 tenstein, when he was attacked by five armed and 
 masked horsemen, who placed him on a spare 
 liorse, and conducted him by a long and circuitous 
 route to an old castle, where he was to remain 
 in honorable confinement. 
 
 The castle of Wartburg, an ancient residence 
 of the landgraves of Thuringia, was the place of 
 his temporary exile. His seclusion there was 
 planned by his friends, with the knowledge of the 
 elector of Saxony ; and, as some supposed, with 
 the connivance of the emperor himself, who, how- 
 ever determined he might be to uphold the papa- 
 cy, would not incur the indignation of Germany 
 by laying the hand of violence on the reformer. 
 
 After Luther's departure the diet was torn with 
 fierce contentions ; ultimately, however, the Rom- 
 ish policy prevailed. The edict of Worms, pro- 
 cured by tlie indefatigable efforts of the papal nun- 
 cios, proscribed Luther and his adherents, order- 
 ing them to be seized and delivered up to the 
 authorities ; condemned his writings ; and pro- 
 claimed a war of extermination against the cause 
 lie advocated. The nuncios exulted in their tri- 
 umph, though they were well aware that in the 
 
GERMAN RKFORMATIOX. 101 
 
 rxLsling- tsfato of feoliug In (lermaiiy, it would 
 be impossible to execute the edict without exjjos- 
 irig the country to the horrors of civil war, J3ut 
 neither they nor their master cared what miserie?j 
 were inflicted on others, so that the treasury of 
 the church was replenished, and its authority 
 maintained. '* Two sayings are recorded of Ale- 
 andei-, which prove that ho was capable of him- 
 self inllicting the calamities which he affected to 
 deprecate. ' If you, Germans,* he said at an ear- 
 lier period, * who of all christian nations make 
 the poorest contributions to the court of Eome, 
 shall shake off the yoke of the pope, we, on our 
 parts, will carefully provide that you shall perish 
 ill your own blood, shed by each others' hands.' 
 And when the labors of the diet w^ere at last at 
 an end, he addressed to his colleague, Caraccioli, 
 the following words, as a sort of commentary on 
 their- -first disappointment, and their final success : 
 —' Well, .Caraccioli ! if we have effected nothing 
 very splendid at this diet, yet it is certain that by 
 this edict we have turned the whole country into 
 one great slaughter-house, in which the Germans, 
 raging against their own entrails, will be speedily 
 suffocated in their own blood!'" Waddington's 
 History of the Reformation, i. 369. 
 
 9* 
 
THE PROGRESS OF REFORM. 
 
 Wartburg is a hallowed spot. There Luther 
 composed works which mightily tended to shake 
 the Romish power in Germany. Auricular con- 
 fession, private masses, and monastic vows were 
 the themes on which his resistless eloquence was 
 employed. He held them up to the indignant 
 reprobation of men, and satisfactorily proved that 
 they are alike opposed to the word of God and to 
 christian freedom. But his orreatest work was the 
 
 o 
 
 translation of the New Testament into the Ger- 
 man language. That also was executed at Wart- 
 burg. It is the noblest monument of his genius, 
 and was the most precious gift that Germany had 
 yet received. The volume was published in Sep- 
 tember, 1522, and was received with gratitude 
 and joy by those who loved the truth ; but de- 
 nounced, vilified, and in many places publicly 
 burned by the bigoted Romanists. 
 
 The leaven worked powerfully at Wittemberg 
 during Luther's absence. Hitherto the friends of 
 reform had been satisfied with avowing and de- 
 fending their principles ; the application of those 
 principles to practice had not yet been contem- 
 plated. At length the time of action arrived. 
 Thirteen monks left the Augustinian convent 
 and renounced their vows. Feldkirchen, pastor 
 
GERMAN REFOllMATIOX. 103 
 
 of Kemberg, one of Luther's earliest associates, 
 married. Several other priests followed his ex- 
 ample. Or Christmas day, 1521, Carlstadt pub- 
 licly restored the Lord's supper to the people, 
 administering it in both kinds, and using the Ger- 
 man language. These were important events. 
 They were the beginnings of the actual reforma- 
 tion. Nor was it at Wittemberg only that the 
 great work advanced. At Erfurth, Friberg, and 
 other places, advocates for the Gospel were 
 raised up, by whom the doctrines of the Bible 
 were zealously maintained and widely dissemi- 
 nated. 
 
 Certain disorders which had broken out at 
 Wittemberg, in consequence of the haste and vio- 
 lence with which Carlstadt introduced external 
 reform, together with tlie rise of a fanatical spirit, 
 tlireatening for a time great danger, induced Lu- 
 ther to return to his post, though at the hazard of 
 his life. He re-entered Wittemberg, March 6, 
 1522, and immediately resumed his beloved la- 
 bors, with his accustomed success. 
 
 Of the many productions of his pen issued 
 about this time, a tract against the pope and the 
 bishops, and his reply to Henry the Eighth's book 
 on the seven sacraments, were the most power- 
 ful. The boldness of his manner and the free- 
 dom of his sentiments exasperated the foes of 
 the Gospel. But it was only by the force of 
 argument that he wished to prevail ; he abjured 
 
strange doctniin — strange even to real christians 
 ill that age, and still strange to some — that truth 
 is to he spread and defended, not by lire and 
 swoi'd, but by the word of God and the power 
 (jf moral suasion. Nor did he restrict the use 
 and interpretation of the sacred volume. He 
 maintained, in the most unreserved manner, the 
 right of private judgment. " The right," he said, 
 "of inquiring and judghie-, concernino; matters of 
 faitli, belongs to christians all and individually ; 
 and so entirely belongs to them, that cursed be 
 lie who would curtail this right by a single hair's 
 ])readtli. Christ has established it by many irre- 
 fragable declarations Then not only 
 
 is it their right but their duty to foi'm such judg- 
 ments ; and this authority easily overbalances the 
 opinions cjf all the pontiff's, of all the fathers, tlie 
 councils, the schools, which confine that right to 
 the bishops and ministers, and impiously and sa- 
 crilegiously ravish it from the people, who are in 
 truth the church." Waddington's Plist. ii. 26. 
 
 On the death of Leo X. December 2. 1521, the 
 papal throne was filled by Adrian \ L. a well- 
 meaning bigot, whose measures pleased neither 
 party. His nuncio, Clieregate, attended the Diet 
 of Nuremberg, and after exhorting the assembled 
 princes to carry into execution the edict of 
 Worms, expressed, in the name of his master, a 
 deep sense of the necessity of reform. The latter 
 
GERMAN REFOUMATIOV. 105 
 
 pnrt of Ills speech was promptly echoed by tlio 
 diet, in the piibhcation of the document styled, 
 " The Hundred Grrievances," announcing to tlio 
 world the enormities which had been long prac- 
 tised with impunity in Germany.* No practical 
 good resulted from this measure. Yet, on the 
 other hand, no evil followed. The diet declined 
 to respond to the admonitions they had received, 
 to put down this new movement by force ; and 
 
 * Ecclesiastical processes carried to Rome, instead of being 
 conducted on the spot ; interference with the rights of churchc's 
 by dispensations, and other measures of a similar tendency ; the be- 
 fitowrncnt of the best bcnclices on cardinals ; the ignorance nud 
 general incapacity of the priesthood; reservations of benefices; 
 the temporal punishments involved in the sentence of excomiini- 
 nicalion ; the payments demanded by the clergy for the administra- 
 tion of sacraments ; the oppressiveness of papal taxation ; the de- 
 moralization occasioned by absolutions and indulgences ; the li- 
 cences to tlie clergy to keep concubines ; the immorality of the 
 spiritual order; and their exemption from secular jurisdiction in 
 criminal causes. Such were some of the principal grievances 
 pointed out in this remarkable document. 
 
 'The grievances were divided under three heads: tl^ose 
 which enslaved the people ; those which plundered them ; those 
 which deprived them of legitimate access to justice. Thev 
 t(Kiched no doctrine ; ihey disturbed no ceremony or practice ; a'u 
 that department of the church might have continued to flouri.^h 
 with the perfect consent of the rulers of the people, if Rome 
 would have made some concession in rapacity and ambition. Yet 
 must it be mentioned that, even in these moderate representations, 
 made within tlie pale of the strictest orthodoxy— even after tlio 
 avowal of the pope himself— the ecclesiastics would take no part; 
 and that tlie Hundred Grievances of Nuremberg were drawn up 
 entirely by tlie hands of laymen." Waddington, ii. 4-1. 
 
some innovations in worsliip, embodying his weli- 
 known principles. His first efiorts were modest 
 and limited. The ceremonies used in bapti.siu 
 were retrenched ; the adoration oi' the host was 
 ])ruhibited ; communion in both kinds was estab- 
 lished ; numerous festivals were abolished ; por- 
 tions of Scripture were directed to be read in the 
 public service ; frequent preaching was recom- 
 mended, with catechetical instruction of communi- 
 cants. With a view to encourage singing, as an 
 important part of pubhc w^orship, the Psalms 
 were turned into German verse, and hymns com- 
 posed in the same language. All persons were 
 exhorted to read diligently the sacred Scriptures. 
 By these prudent and cautious measures the 
 way was prepared for further changes, when the 
 public mind should be fitted to receive them. 
 Precipitancy could not be laid to the charge of 
 Luther. His uniform policy was, to instruct the 
 people first, and then to reduce the instructions to 
 practice by gradual methods. The changes which 
 have been now mentioned were adopted in many 
 places, in compliance with his recommendations, 
 and with such modifications as the parties thought 
 fit to introduce. Their adoption was in every in- 
 stance preceded by the faithful preaching of the 
 Gospel. When the love of truth was deeply im- 
 planted in the hearts of men, they could no longer 
 practise the superstitions by which the truth was 
 
GCRMAN REFORM ATION'. 107 
 
 hicUIen or perverted. These ecclesiastical revolu- 
 lioiis took place at Frankfort-on-tlie-Maine, Stras- 
 l)urg, Ulm, Halle, Bremen, Magdeburg, Nurem- 
 berg, and Hamburg ; at Stettin, Sunda, and Stol- 
 pen in Pomerania ; and throughout the duchies 
 of Mecklenburg and Holstein. The bishops of 
 Samland and Brcslau favored the good cause ; and 
 Frederic, elector palatine, Louis, count palatine, 
 and tlie landgrave of Hesse, encouraged the pro- 
 j>agation of the Gospel and the suppression of su- 
 perstitious practices in their respective territories. 
 xA^drian VI. died in September, 1523, and was 
 succeeded by Clement VH. a man of very differ- 
 ent character, who immediately rescinded all the 
 reforming measures of his predecessor. Campeg- 
 gio, his nuncio at the Diet of Nuremberg, assem- 
 bled in the spring of the following year, was 
 extremely mortiMed to fmd that he was unable 
 to procure the suppression of the new opinions by 
 force. He succeeded, however, in forming a league 
 between the princes who continued faithful to the 
 papacy, by which they were mutually bound to 
 prevent all innovation in their dominions, and to 
 ♦extirpate heresy as far as possible. 
 
 The electorof Saxony died May 5, 152-3, in the 
 faith of the Gospel. His name will be ever rever- 
 ed for his faithful friendship to Luther. John 
 Frederick, his successor, trod in his steps. To his 
 fostering care the Reformation in Germany was 
 deeply indebted. 
 
event seemed to give a temporaiy triumph to the 
 enemies of the truth, who regarded it as the act 
 of a perjured monk. But it was entirely consist- 
 ent witli his altered views. He had some time be- 
 fore renounced the monastic profession, and his 
 marriage was therefore the practical develope- 
 ment of the sentiments which he now held to be 
 most consonant with the word of God. Katheiine 
 a Bora, the object of his choice, was one of nine 
 nuns who had voluntarily left their convent about 
 two years before, that they might re-enter into 
 life and fuUil the duties which Providence has as- 
 signed to the female sex. It was a wise and liap- 
 py union. 
 
 About the same time the cause of refonn re- 
 x:eived considerable addition of numbers and 
 strength. The city of Dantzic was gained. 01- 
 denbui'g, Hannau, and Tecklenburg joined the 
 followers of the truth. Albert, grand master of 
 the Teutonic order, embraced the principles of 
 the Reformation, with nearly all his knights, and 
 entered into the matrimonial state. The estab- 
 lishment of the dukedom of Pnissia was the re- 
 sult. Albert was the first duke. 
 
 In other parts of (xermany persecution did its 
 bloody work. The ecclesiastics stirred up the po- 
 pulace to execute summary vengeance on the 
 messengers of truth. At Buda, in Hungary, a 
 bookseller who had exerted himself to circulate 
 
tll-UMAN REFORMATTOX. 100 
 
 iKe New Testament and Luther's writings, wa3 
 fastened to a stake, around which a pile of liis 
 books was raised, and burned to death. The most 
 horrible cruelties were perpetrated in Wurberg, 
 »Some were hanged on the trees of the forest. 
 Many preachers were nailed to posts by their 
 tongues, and left to extricate themselves as they 
 could. Bavaria was desolated by tlie storm. Hol- 
 slein was the scene of the barbnrous murder of 
 Henry of Zutphcn, an eminent minister of Christ. 
 Having repaired to Mohldorf, at the invitation of 
 llie pastor, to preach the Gospel, he v,'as seized 
 in the dead of night by a savage mob, headed by 
 a Dominican monk, j^nd having undergone the 
 mockery of an unrighteous trial, was cruelly put 
 lo death. 
 
 If these events filled Luther with son-ow for 
 the sufferiRgs (jf his friends and brethren, he saw 
 in them the natural workings of the spirit of un- 
 godliness, and rejoiced in the assuraiice that Satan 
 was alarmed for his kingdom. The war of tho 
 peasarits affected him differently. That occasioned 
 immingled grief and indignation : grief for the mi- 
 series inflicted on the misguided people, who had 
 been goaded to rebellion by long-continued op- 
 y)i"essions ; and indignation at the fanaticism of the 
 leaders of the revolt, and the reproach most unde- 
 servedly cast on the principles of the L'eibrma- 
 tion, as though they had been the immediate and 
 direct cause of the movement. This has been fre- 
 
 Ref. in Eup. 1^ 
 
first rising took place in the domiiiionsi of those 
 ecclesiastical piinces who had withstood the Gos- 
 pel, and prohibited the efforts of the reformers. 
 That it asrfiraied a religious aspect is well known; 
 l)iit for this Luther was not accountable. Neither 
 liad the insurgents the slightest connexion with 
 him. If they misunderstood and misapplied the 
 principles he had inculcated, that surely was not 
 his fault : it is certain, that their employment of 
 force in the cause of religion was utterly at vari- 
 ance with his oft-repeated sentiments. This un- 
 happy warfare was another demand on his ener- 
 gies. A great part of the years 1524 and 1525 was 
 thus consumed. He visited many places %where 
 the insurrection had broken out, striving to re- 
 store the people to a peaceable state ; he exposed 
 the false pretensions of Muuzer and his associates ; 
 he exhorted the princes of Germany to gentleness, 
 conciliation, and justice. It was not till the pea- 
 sants proved wholly intractable, and were deso- 
 lating the country with their ruthless ravages, spar- 
 ing no man, that his temper changed ; and then, 
 it must be confessed, he wrote in a strain unbe- 
 coming the character of a minister of the Gospel 
 of peace, urghig the autliorities to adopt vigorous 
 measures, and to execute judgment without delay. 
 However desirous the emperor was to extirpate 
 heresy in Germany, he found it impossible to ac- 
 compli.'jh his v/ishes. Diets of the empire were 
 
GERMAN REFORVATION. Ill 
 
 held at Augsburg in 1525, and at Spires in the fol- 
 lowing year, on both which occasions the imperial 
 ambassadors strenuously urged the execution of 
 the edict of Vvorms. But they were entirely un- 
 successful. By the decree of the diet of Spires it 
 was declared that the existing difterences respect- 
 ing religion could only be adjusted by a national 
 or general council ; the emperor was solicited to 
 procure the convocation of such a meeting ; mean- 
 while the princes determined to govern their states 
 at their discretion, with due regard to previous 
 enactments and to individual responsibility. This 
 was vague enough ; but nothing more decisive 
 could be obtained, so powerful was the influence 
 of reforming principles in the assembly. 
 
 Atfairs remained in the same state for two or 
 three years. The interval of peace was improved 
 by Luther for the establishment of a settled church 
 order in those states which had received the Re- 
 formation. The changes which he made in the 
 ordinary sen-ice w-ere few. Such customs and ce- 
 remonies as were manifestly profane or ridiculous 
 were abolished. It was declared indifferent whe- 
 ther public worship was celebrated in German or 
 in Latin ; but the firmer was to be pi'eferred, if 
 the people were ignorant of the Latin language. 
 Popish confession was set aside. Homilies were 
 prepared for the use of such ministers as could 
 not preach, and catechisms for the young. Some, 
 festival days were still retained ; but the people 
 
being but one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Notorious sinners were to be excluded from the 
 Lord's supper. Images were not generally re- 
 moved from the churches. The vestments and 
 many of the old rites continued to be used. These 
 concessions to ancient prejudices were avov/edly 
 permitted for a time, till the people should be bet- 
 ter prepared for the more complete removal of 
 superstitions. AriTingements were made for the 
 extensive education of the young, to which pur- 
 pose a portion of the revenues of suppressed 
 monasteries was devoted. Insufficient preachers 
 were to be removed and pensioned. Such as 
 taught false doctrine were to be expelled, and, if 
 they still persisted in propagating their opinions, 
 to be banished. Superintendents were appointed, 
 whose duty it was to inspect the districts allotted 
 to them, and report from time to time to the su- 
 preme secular power. 
 
 These details v/ill show that tlie first outward 
 refomiation was advocated on very moderate prin- 
 ciples. Luther confessed that he (;ared little about 
 the ceremonies, unless they were Tiotoriously bad. 
 He thought that if pure truth -was assiduously 
 preached, and provision made for general instmc- 
 tion, superstition would die a natui^al death. It is 
 much to be regretted, however, that any restraint 
 was laid on the free expression of individual 
 opinion, although in less degree than formerly. 
 
GERMAN REFORMATION'. 113 
 
 Trwth, not force, is the proper antagonist of error. 
 
 Such was the reformation then established in 
 Saxony. Similar changes were made in the do- 
 minions of the landgrave of Hesse, and in the 
 other states and cities which had shaken off the 
 papal yoke. 
 
 At a diet of the empire, held at Spires in thi^ 
 spring of the year 1529, the popish party was 
 triumphant. The edict of the former diet was re- 
 scinded. Changes already made were to remain, 
 but no new ones to be permitted ; no alterations 
 were to be allowed in those states which were stiJl 
 faithful to the^ old system ; where the mass had 
 been abolished, it was to be restored for the bene- 
 fit of such as preferred tliat service; and the Gos- 
 pel was to be preached according to the interprc- 
 t.'jtion of the church, without allusions to disputed 
 points. 
 
 Against this decree the adherents of the Refor- 
 mation entered their solemn protest. They own- 
 ed no authority over the conscience, but that of 
 God himself; they could not agi'ee to subject the 
 Scripture to the interpretation of the church, since 
 the word of God was in itself sufficiently plain ; to 
 re-establish the mass would be to incur the guilt 
 of impiety ; all they demanded was, that every one 
 should be protected in the exercise of his religion, 
 whatever form of faith and worship he might 
 choose to adopt : therefore they appenled from 
 the diet to the emperor or to a free council, or 
 10* 
 
any competent judge. This protest was signed »j j 
 six princes, and by the deputies of fourteen impe- 
 rial cities.* It was immediately published and cir- 
 culated throughout Germany. Hence arose the 
 designation, " Protestant," as applied to those 
 wlio have separated from the church of Rome. 
 
 In the autumn of the same year was held the 
 conference of Marburg. Though Luther rejected 
 the popish doctrine of transubstantiation, he held 
 an opinion scarcely removed from it, except in 
 name. It is called " consubstantiation." The Ro- 
 manists believe that the bread and wine arc ac- 
 tually changed into the body and blood of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, including the flesh and bones, 
 and even the soul : Luther maintained that the 
 body and blood of the Savior are present in and 
 with the bread and wine, as light and heat pene- 
 trate diifcrent substances, those substances remain- 
 ing unchanged, l^ut Zuingle and other reformers 
 in Switzerland had gone much further, and reject- 
 ed these subtleties as unscriptural. They denied 
 the real presence altogether, holding that the Re- 
 deemer is with his people spiritually, and in no 
 other v/ay. This difference alienated Luther from 
 
 *' The prinros v.erc — thp elector of Saxonv ; George of Brnn- 
 denburg; Eniest and Fi-ancis of LumMiberg ; WdlYc^an^of Anlult; 
 and Philip, landgrave of Hesse. The cities were — Strasbur^, 
 Nuremberg, Ulm, Constance, Lindau, Memmingeii, Keinpten, 
 Nordlingen, Heilbrun, ReuiUngen, lane, Weissembuvg, Wiiis- 
 beim, and St. Gall. 
 
GF.RMAX KEFORMATION. 115 
 
 many of liis brethren. That he wns convinced of 
 the justness of his exposition, there is no doubt; 
 but he did not hold the truth, as he understood it, 
 in love ; he was very intemperate in spirit, and 
 uncharitable in conduct, towards those who pro- 
 fessed opposite views. An open rupture seemed 
 unavoidable, and as it would have proved highly 
 favorable to the Romish cause, the papists did 
 every thing in their power to promote it. The 
 landgrave of Hesse was extremely anxious to pre- 
 vent an occurrence so much to be deprecated. 
 He employed the mediation of Bucer, by whoso 
 means a conference was arranged between the 
 contending parties. It was held at Marburg, dur- 
 ing the first three days of the month of October, 
 1529. Luther and Melancthon appeared on one 
 side, and Zuingle and Ecolampadius on the other. 
 It was unproductive of the desired results, each 
 party remaining of the same ojDinion, and refusing 
 to yield or to approximate to the other in the least 
 degree. But they admitted each other's general 
 orthodoxy, and subscribed a form of concord, tes- 
 tifying their union in the faith in all essential 
 points. Thus, while reformers agreed on all the 
 leading and essential truths of the Gospel, they 
 differed as to their views and opinions on the or- 
 dinances. These differences did much to retard 
 the progress of the truth, from the undue stress 
 laid on them by Luther and others. 
 
 The emperor was resolved to put an end to the 
 
disputes about religion, either by gentle or violent 
 measures. The pope urged liim to the latter, 
 steadfastly refusing to summon a council, a mea- 
 sure v/hich he justly dreaded, as he was of ille- 
 gitimate birth, and therefore ineligible for the 
 popedom. After long negoti'ations it was deter 
 mined to convene another diet of the empire, at 
 which a final effort should be made to reclaim the 
 Protestants. If it failed, recourse was to be had 
 to f.:»rce. 
 
 Augsburg was the appointed place of meeting. 
 The diet was opened in May, 1530, and was very 
 numerously attended. Three protestant divines, 
 Melancthon, Spalatin, and Justus Jonas were se- 
 lected to assist in conducting the negotiations, and 
 to plead the cause of truth. Luther watched the 
 proceedings of the meeting from the castle of Co- 
 burg, a fortress which belonged to the elector of 
 Saxony, situated midway between Wittemberg 
 and Augsburg. It would have been obviously un- 
 wise, and probably unsafe, for him to ^e present 
 on the occasion. 
 
 A confession of faith had been prepared, as the 
 manifesto of the protestant party. It is now 
 known in history as the " Confession of Augs- 
 burg." Melancthon was its principal author ; but 
 it received the approval and sanction of Luther 
 and other divines. Great care had been taken in 
 preparing it, so as not needlessly to shock the pre- 
 judices of the Romanists. Of the twenty-eight 
 
«KRMAN REFORMATION'. 117 
 
 articles of which it was composed, twenty-one 
 treated of doctrines, and the remaining seven ex- 
 posed abuses. The doctrines of the Trinity, ori- 
 ginal sin, and the incarnation and atonement of 
 the Savior, were clearly set forth. Justification 
 by faith in Christ, in opposition to human works 
 or merits, yet uniformly producing obedience, 
 was firmly maintained. Uniformity in ceremo- 
 nies was declared to be unnecessary. In refer- 
 ence to the Lord's supper, it was affirmed " that 
 the true body and true blood of the Lord are in- 
 deed present, under the species of bread and wine, 
 in the Lord's supper." Private confession was 
 retained in the church, but without insisting on 
 an exact enumeration of the sins which had been 
 committed. Ceremonies were not to be inculcat- 
 ed as necessary for salvation, or as meriting grace. 
 Tlie merit of good works was wholly abjured. 
 The saints were to be imitated, but not invoked. 
 The abuses mentioned were — the retrenchment 
 of the cup ;* the celibacy of the clergy ; the exac- 
 tion of money for masses ; the enforcement of a 
 specific enumeration of sins in confession ; absti- 
 nence from peculiar meuts ; maonastic vows ; and 
 the encroachments of ecclesiastics on the secular 
 power. They stated, in conclusion, that other 
 abuses might have been mentioned, such as indul- 
 gences, prilgrimages, &c.; but that it was their 
 desire to say no more than was necessary to show 
 the agreement of the.ir doctrine and worship with 
 
introduced any new or impious notions * 
 
 * The following observations of Dr. Waddin-ton are comnjend- 
 ed to the special attention of the reader ; 
 
 " When we compare the tone of the confession of Augsbarg 
 vitli the coiitraversial %vritings, or exegetical treatises, or even 
 private correspondence, of the Reformers, we are struck not only 
 v;ith the modei-ation of its language, but N.ith the cautious, if not 
 timid exposition of ^iorne of the doctrines contained in it. It is evi- 
 dent that one sreut object with its composers was conciliation. 
 They nourished a hope, that by professions of good-will and gen- 
 eral orthodoxy, bv proclaiming their adherence to the church in 
 all essentials ; by making it dliBcult to detect in their creed any 
 indisputable tendency to schism or heresy ; they might at least 
 escape a positive sentence of condemnation. Therefore they took 
 pains to show that the dilTerences turned on questions not ma- 
 teriHl, matters of ceremony, or observance, or discipline, place<^ 
 for the most part within the dispensing power of the pope. 
 
 " To this end they did not e.xpressly reduce the number of 
 sacraments, while thev retained among them confession, absolu- 
 tion, and ordination. They refrained (in the 18th article) from' 
 pressing the doctrine of justificalion to the limits to which Lu- 
 ther carried it. In the fifth, ninth, and other articles, they dis- 
 claimed the Anabaptists. In the tenth they rejected, though not by 
 name, the Sacrament aries. Indeed, their doctrine on the naturs 
 of the elements was so generally expressed, without any disap- 
 proval of the catholic tenet, without any mention of the word 
 uansubstantiation, as to leave it at least doubtful whether they 
 cad any difference with the church on that most impf)rtant point. 
 Their article on the abuse of tlie mass was written in the same 
 spirit. They professed to repudiate certain ceremonies connected 
 with it. and also the celebration of private masses; but to retain 
 the substance as held by the church. And therefore, when they 
 came to treat of the sacrifice, which was indeed the essential 
 »art, they avoidc-d any express declaration of opinion, and cou- 
 
GEllMAN REFORMATIO.V. 119 
 
 Tho emperor was anxious to prevent the public 
 reading of this important document. But the pro- 
 testant leaders insisted on their right to be heard 
 by the whole diet, and they carried their point. 
 The confession was publicly read on the 25th of 
 June,^ by Christopher, the elector's chancellor, 
 both in Latin and German, in the presence of a 
 numerous assembly. It produced a powerful ef- 
 fect. The tenets of the reformers had been so 
 misrepresented and slandered, that men were as- 
 tonished at hearing such pure sentiments and just 
 claims expressed in language so moderate and 
 gentle. Even the emperor himself is said to have 
 thought much more favorably of Protestantism 
 from this time. But he was irrevocably pledg- 
 ed to the pope. Nor did he wish to say or do 
 any thing that might tend in the slightest 'degree 
 to lessen the esteem in which he was ambitious or 
 being held, as the grand protector of the faith. 
 At the same time he was anxious to avoid the 
 
 t"..ted themselves with asserting that the sacramem did not 
 l>o..ess any efficacy, which no intelligent Roman Catholic was 
 probably prepared to ascribe to it. 
 
 "As means of conciliating the pope and his hiorarcliv. such ex- 
 pe^hent. were worse than useless. By them they ..ere sure to 
 be received as proofs of conscious weakness rather than christian 
 humdity, as decent concessions pz-eparatory to absolute submis- 
 s,un. It ,s however, probable that they were not so much ad- 
 dressed to that intractable faction as to the imperial court and 
 cpecally to Charles himself. The dream of thl moment ^^t 
 §am the emperor. I Hstoo" of the Keformation, iii. 64 
 
 « 
 
ants to submit, undertaking to secure the conven- 
 tion of a general council for the settlement of the 
 controversy. AV'itli these viev/s, a labored confu- 
 taiiou of the confession \vas prepared by the po- 
 pish divines who were present at the diet, and 
 •attempts \\ ere made to efiect a union of the par- 
 ties. These i3rojects failed, as might have been 
 expected : the Protestants would not surrender 
 their consciences to any other authority than that 
 of the word of God, and the Papists were not dis- 
 posed to abate one jot of the pope's pretensions. 
 At the close of the diet in November, a fierce 
 edict was published; forbidding all chnngcs in 
 doctrine or worship ; enjoining the restoration of 
 images, and of the ancient rites and ceremonies: 
 comm.anding the invocation of saints, and the ob- 
 servance of fasts and feasts ; directing the rebuild- 
 ing of the monasteries which hnd been destroyed, 
 and the restoration of their revenues ; and provid- 
 ing for tlie execution of tliese decrees by military 
 force. 
 
 Amid the anxieties and alarm of this trying pe- 
 riod, Luther preserved liis wonted peace and con- 
 fidence. It was not surprising; for he dvrelt "in 
 the secret place of the Most High," and abode 
 •* under the shadow of the Almighty." A friend, 
 who was with him at the castle of Coburg, gave 
 the following account of his devotional habits — 
 ** Not a day passes but he spends three hours, and 
 
rERMAN IIEFORM.VTIO.V. 121 
 
 tlie very hours most suited to study, in prayer. It 
 once happened to me to hear liim at prayer. 
 Blessed God, what spirit, what faith there is in 
 his very words ! He offers his petitions with all 
 the reverence that is due to God, yet with such 
 hope and faith as if he felt that he was conversing 
 with a father and a friend. ' I know,' he said, 
 * that thou art our Father and our God ; I anj, 
 therefore, well assured that thou wilt destroy the 
 ])ersecutors of thy children. Bat if thou shalt not 
 do this, the peril is thine as well as ours. This 
 whole affair is thine. We engaged in it only by 
 compulsion. Thou, therefore, wilt defend it.' 
 AVhen I heard him from some distance praying 
 with a clear voice almost in these words, my own 
 8oul was likewise influenced with a peculiar emo- 
 tion ; with such seriousness, with such reverence 
 did he converse with God. And amidst his pray- 
 iu' he vehemently pressed the promises from the 
 Psalms, ns if he were sure that all his petitions 
 ■would be hrouglit to pass." Melchior Adam. 
 A'it. Germ. Theolog. Vita Lutheri. p. 68. 
 
 The Protestants deemed the occasion one on 
 v/hich it was lawful to appeal to arms, if necessa- 
 ry, and repel force by fcirce. Accordingly a meet- 
 ing was held at Smalcald, and on the 31st of J)e- 
 
 ce 
 
 mber the leae^ue of Smalcald was siirned 
 
 5— > •>>' 
 
 which the protestant princes and states were unit- 
 ed in one bodv for mutual defence. 
 
 11 
 
SECTION V. 
 
 THS ESTAULISHMENT OY THE CAUSE. 
 
 For some years after the diet of Aug-sburg tlie 
 course of affairs in Germany was undisturbed by 
 any event seriously tending to the injury of the 
 Protestant cause. The pope urged the emperor 
 to adopt violent measures ; the emperor pressed 
 the pope to call a council ; but the advance of the 
 Turkish army, which was then approaching tlie 
 confines of Austria, roused his fears, and he felt 
 constrained to agree to a truce willi the Protest- 
 ants, August 5, 1'532, which virtually abrogated 
 the decrees of Worms and Augsburg, and left 
 them in possession of their religious privileges. 
 Things continued in the same state till the death 
 of Clem.ent VII. Sept. 26, 1534. His successor, 
 Paul III. professed great zeal for reformation, 
 and appointed a committee of cardinals and pre- 
 lates to inquire into such abuses as needed correc- 
 tion. Their report unveiled iniquities which the 
 court of Rome v^^ould fain have concealed from 
 public gaze and scorn : by some means, however, 
 a copy fell into protestant hands, and it was im- 
 mediately published in Germany, with suitable 
 annotations. Tlie German edition was enriched 
 by the notes of Luther.* No step was taken in 
 
 * Among the abuses and corruptions exposed in this remark- 
 
<^CRMAN Ri:Ft)K.MATIOX. 12o 
 
 consequence of this report ; the time for reforiii 
 was not yet como. It was resolved to refer the 
 whole matter to a council which the new pope 
 had summoned to meet at Mantua, in the year 
 1537. That assembly was not held. The Pro- 
 testants indignantly rejected it. They objected to 
 the '[jlace ; Italy was not tlie country in which 
 Buch a meeting ought to be convened, nor could 
 they adventure themselves there v/ith any hope 
 of safety. They objected to the proposed presi- 
 dency to be vested in the pope by his legates : 
 for the pope, it was maintained, was an interest- 
 ed, nay more, an accused party, and ought not to 
 be allowed to be judge in his own cause. And, 
 finally, they objected to the principles on which 
 the decisions of the meeting were to be framed. 
 The authority of old canons and of the writing>^ 
 of the fathers v/as nothing to them : they would 
 
 able document, were — tha appointment of gro^-sly ignorant and 
 immoral priests ; the bestowment of benefices on foreig-ner^i ; thf^ 
 non-residence of the higher orders of the clerg\-, especiuily tlio 
 cardinals; the vicious lives of many monks and nuns; simony, 
 " which is now so common in the church," the committee etatci, 
 " that it is practised for the most part without shame; that tho 
 crime is expiated by money : and benefices, obtained by metiiod« 
 the most unjust and criminal, are retained without scrapie;" ai:d 
 certain enormities allowed to exi;?t at Rome, the metropolis nf 
 Christendom, which ought to have exhibited a bright pattern o^ 
 l^ire morality, but in which city a large number of conrtezai-s 
 lived, who habitually paraded the streets, sumptuousiy attirovl 
 and attended bv ecclesiastics I" 
 
insurmountQole Jlfliculties were also placed in 
 tlio way. Tlio duke of Mantua having refused 
 to receive a council into his city, the a-^.semhly 
 was prorogued, and appointed to meet at Vicen- 
 za ; but wlicn the papal legates arrived at that 
 city, m May, 1538, they found their mi^ssiou per- 
 fectly fruitless. The war then existing- between 
 tlio emperor and Francis I. prevented the bishops 
 of France and Germany from repairing to the ap- 
 pointed Kpot ; the refusal of submission on the 
 ]iMrt of the Protestants was v/ell iviiown ; in conse- 
 (juence, the pope v/as compelled to suspend the 
 council altogether. 
 
 During all this time Protestantism was quietly 
 making way. The designs of the blood-thirsty 
 were mercifully averted from year to year ; thus 
 triving time for the growth of the churches and 
 their confirmation in the faith they had received, 
 as well as for those disciplinary arrangements 
 which were necessary for the maintenance of pu- 
 rity and order. 
 
 There were some untoward events, but they 
 scarcely belong to the history of the Reformatioii. 
 Among these may be mentioned the troubles oc- 
 casioned by Munster and other fanatics, and the 
 disputes with the Sacramentarians, as the Swiss 
 divines, and those who held their opinions on the 
 Lord's supper, were called. Both operated inju- 
 riously : the first, by seemingly identifying the re- 
 
GERMAN KEFOllMATIO.V. 125 
 
 formers with muii wlio had cast off the restraiiita 
 of moraUty, and shown their entire unworthiness 
 of social privileges ; and the second, by placing 
 Luther and his coadjutors in the unlovely posi- 
 tion of virulent opponents to those Vvho would 
 have willingly remained friends and helpers in the 
 good cause. The refusal to unite with the Sacra- 
 mentarians as a religious body, or to admit them 
 to share in the presumed advantages of the League 
 of Smalcald, was altogether unjustifiable. It must 
 be deeply lamented that Luther suffered himself 
 to be influenced by unreasonable prejudices and 
 unscriptural feelings ; and that to his counsel the 
 policy adopted by the German reformers in this 
 matter may be chiefly ascribed. Such disclosures 
 of human weakness and imperfection should keep 
 us from trusting in the wisdom or holiness of any 
 fellow-creature. The wisest may err, and the ho- 
 liest may fall. 
 
 Attempts were frequently made to restore con- 
 cord, but they were ineffectual ; because they were 
 founded on principles which could not be mutual- 
 ly acknowledged. Charles would have crushed 
 the reformers by force, had he not been embar- 
 rassed by an exhausting war with France, and by 
 the menacing appearance of the Turks. lie v.as 
 constrained to yield to circumstances, and to con- 
 firm repeatedly the truce of Ratisbon. 
 
 At a diet held at Spires, in February, 1542, 
 Morone, the papal legate, proposed Trent as a 
 11* 
 
pected council. The Romish loarty immediately 
 acceded to it ; but the Protestants reiterated their 
 rejection, for reasons already assigned. Neverthe- 
 less, the bill of convocation was published, and 
 the council summoned to meet in the following 
 November. But the same causes which had hin- 
 dered its assembly before were still in operation. 
 In 1544 Charles and Francis, worn out with pro- 
 tracted warfare, signed the peace of Crespi. On 
 the removal of this obstacle another bill was issu- 
 ed for the convocation of the council, and it was 
 opened December 13, 154.3. 
 
 The Protestants persevered ii\ their refusal to 
 ackuowledgo this assembly, or to assist in any 
 way at its deliberations. They had been recently 
 strengthened by the accession of the elector pala- 
 tine to their cause, and by the advancement of 
 Henry, a confirmed Protestant, to the dukedom of 
 Saxony, vacant by the death of his brother George, 
 who had remained till his death a bigoted adlie^ 
 rent of the papacy. Luther was invited to Leipsic 
 on the occasion, and preached so powerfully that 
 the whole city embraced Protestantism, and the 
 dominions of the deceased duke were added to 
 the number of those governed by the advocatvs 
 of Gospel truth. 
 
 These advantages were counterbalanced by a 
 sorrowful event. It was the death of Luther. The 
 principal actors in the stormy scenes of the early 
 
GERMAN REFORMATIOX. 127 
 
 nistory of the German Reformation were now no 
 more. Tetzel's career ended miserably, in 1519. 
 Cardinal Cajetan died in 1534. The labors of Eras- 
 mus were terminated in July, 1536, at Easle, in 
 which city he had spent a large portion of his life, 
 and composed his principal works. Campeggio 
 lived till 1539, and Eck till 1543. Carlstadt, whose 
 hasty zeal had given Luther much trouble, enter- 
 ed into rest in 1544. Spalatin, the reformer's faitli- 
 ful friend, departed this life in January, 1545. 
 Luther's summons came the follov/ing year. He 
 exchanged earth for heaven, February 18, 1546. 
 The counts of Mansfeld, having some dispute 
 about their property, invited Luther to arbitrate 
 between them. He went to Eisleben for that pur- 
 pose about a month before his death, accompanied 
 by two of hid sons and Justus Jonas, and spent 
 the last days of his life in endeavors to accomplish 
 the object of his visit. On Wednesday, February 
 17, his friends perceived that he required rest, 
 and succeeded in persuading him to cease from 
 labor. He spent the day in his room, frequently 
 engaging in animated conversation, and was often 
 overheard offering fervent prayer. It appears that 
 he had some foreboding of the event which so 
 soon took place. " I was born at Eisleben," ho 
 said to Justus Jonas ; " what if I should remain 
 and die here ?" More than once he observed, " If 
 I succeed in effecting concord between the pro- 
 prietors of my native country, I shall return home, 
 
to the worms." In the evening he had complained 
 of a sense of oppression and pain at the chest, 
 which was relieved by friction with warm linen 
 cloths. At supper he was alternately cheerful and 
 fierious, according to his usual manner. It was 
 somewhat remarkable tliat, during the meal, the 
 conversation turned on the question whether the 
 saints would recognise in heaven those with whom 
 tliey had held fellowship on eai'th. Luther gave a 
 decided answer in the affirmative. After supper 
 his pain returned, but he declined medical assist- 
 ance, and lay down on a couch, where he slept for 
 two or three hours. He then retired to his cham- 
 ber, saying, as he took leave of those present, 
 *' Pray for the cause of God." About an hour after 
 midnight he av/oke, suffering violent pain. His 
 friends quickly gathered round him, eager to ad- 
 minister relief, and two physicians were speedily 
 in attendance ; but their efforts failed. Luther was 
 fully conscious of his approaching end. Some hope 
 of his recoven^ being expressed by the bystanders, 
 because he had fallen into a perspiration, he said, 
 " It is a cold sweat, the forerunner of death : 1 
 shall yield up my spirit." Then he prayed, in 
 words to the following effect : — " O etenial and 
 inerciful God, my heavenly Father, Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and God of all consolation ! I 
 thank thee that thou hast revealed to me thy Son 
 Jesus Christ, in whom I have believed, whom I 
 
GERMAN ri:formatio\. 1:^9 
 
 have preachcJ, whom I have confessed, whom I 
 love and worship as my dear Savior and Redeemer, 
 whom the un<rodly persecute, dishonor, and hhis- 
 j)]ieme. Take my soul unto thyself." Thrice ho 
 repeated the words, " Into thy hands I commend 
 my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God 
 of truth :" also, " God so loved the world, that he 
 ;^'-ave his only begotten Son, that whosoever belie v- 
 etli in him should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life ;" and, " Our God is the God of salvation : 
 God is the Lord by whom we escape death." After 
 this he was mostly silent, his strength failing fast. 
 " Beloved father," said Justus Jonas, *' you die in 
 the confession of Christ and his doctrine, whicli 
 you have constantly preached 1" He answered dis- 
 tinctly, *• I do," and spoke no more. About a quar- 
 ter of an hour afterwards, at three o'clock in the 
 morning, he fell asleep in the Lord.* 
 
 " The righteous is taken away from the evil to 
 come," Isa. 57 : L So it proved in the case of 
 Luther. At the time of his death the contending 
 parties were preparing for war. Charles had de- 
 
 * Three sons and a daughfrr survived him. His widow died 
 Bi\ years afterwards. One of hl3 sons, Paul, vas an eminent and 
 fions physician. 
 
 Luther died comparatively poor. The little pro])erty he had 
 was bequeathed to his wife, after the payment of his debts ; but it 
 was not sufficient for the support of the family without assistance 
 from the public purse, and that assistance was promptly and ]\h^ 
 rall^ aflbrded. 
 
to the council of Trent. The course which ho 
 adopted was marked by the injustice, perfidy and 
 cruelty which are the natural results of the intol- 
 erant principles of Popery. The details of tho 
 war belong to secular history. It is only neces- 
 sary to state that the elector of Saxony was de- 
 feated and taken prisoner at the battle of IMuhl- 
 berg, April 24, 1547. He and the landgrave of 
 Hesse w^ere held in captivity for five yeai's. jV 
 time of persecution followed that disastrous battle. 
 The emperor's armies overran Germany, inflict- 
 ing outrage and suflering on the servants of the 
 Lord. In the following year the celebrated 
 *' Interim" was published; a scheme of doctrine 
 and discipline framed by order of the emperor, 
 embodying almost every thing that is objection- 
 able in Romanism, only expressed in compara- 
 tively mild or ambiguous language. It was to be 
 observed throughout Germany till the conclusion 
 of the Council of Trent. Like most plans of com- 
 promise, it pleased no party. IMaurice of Saxony, 
 and some few others, who felt that they were 
 strong enough to resist, absolutely refused to 
 receive the Interim, The weaker states, and 
 many of the free cities, were overpowered by 
 force, and compelled to re-admit the mummeries 
 of Popery; but not till much blood had been 
 ehed, and horrible devastation committed. Tliia 
 state of things lasted upwards of throe years, dur- 
 
CLRMAN nKFOnMATIOX. 101 
 
 ing which time tho cause of apostolic Christianity 
 in Germany sufiered lamentable depi-ession. Pro- 
 testant worship was abolished, and protestant 
 ministers were driven from their homes and ex- 
 posed to great hardships. So great was the suf- 
 fering, and so general the persecution, that some 
 have imagined it was the time specified in the 
 Apocalypse, when the two witnesses were to be 
 slain, and their dead bodies to lie unbmied for 
 three years and a half. See Rev. 11. 
 
 But God " plentifully rewardeth the proud 
 doer." Charles aimed at something more than tho 
 restoration of Popery : he purposed to establish a 
 despotism on the ruins of the liberties of Germany, 
 and to be as arbitrary there as he was in Spain. 
 This roused the energies of Maurice of Saxony, 
 who had been hitherto his instrument in effecting 
 the humiliation of the Protestants. He suddenly 
 appeared in arms in defence of the rights of his 
 countrymen, took the emperor completely by sur- 
 prise, having almost succeeded in making him 
 prisoner, and ultimately compelled him to sign the 
 peace of Passau, August 2, 1552, by which Pro- 
 testantism v/as restored to its former state. It was 
 soon found that an adjustment of the differences be- 
 tween the Romanists and their opponents was en- 
 tirely out of the question. At the Diet of Augsburg", 
 lield in 1555, the "peace of religion" was agreed 
 to, bv which the rights of conscience were recocr- 
 
guaranteed to llie Protestants of Germany. They 
 were exempted from the jurisdiction of the pope 
 and the bisiiops of the Komi.sh church, and aUovv- 
 ed to enact .such regulations as they i)leai>ed re- 
 specting doctrine, discipline, and rites. All the 
 inhahitauU of llie German empire were permitted 
 to exercise freely the right of private judgment in 
 leligious matters, and to join those communities 
 which they regarded as most conformable in senti- 
 ment and mode of worship to the inspired pattern : 
 and it was declared that if any persons injured or 
 persecuted others on account of their religious 
 opinions, they should be proceeded against as j)ub- 
 lic enemies of the empire, invaders of its liberty, 
 and disturbers of its peace. ** The difficulties that 
 were to be surmounted before tliis equitable deci- 
 ision could be procured, the tedious dcliberatitms, 
 the warm debates, the violent animo.silies and 
 bloody wars that were necessary to engage the 
 greatest part of the German states to consent to 
 conditions so agreeable to the dictates of right 
 reason, as w^ell as to the sacred injunctions of the 
 Gospel, show the ignorance and superstition of 
 these miserable times, and stand upon record as 
 one of the most evident proofs of the necessity of 
 the Reformation." Mosiioim, cent. xvi. sect. i. 
 chap. 4. § 8. 
 
 Thus in less than forty years a very important 
 
GERMAN RCFORMATION. 133 
 
 portion of the European i-ontinent was wrested 
 Worn the donnnation of Rome.* Thu conflict is one- 
 of the most memorable that are recorded in the 
 innials of the church ; hut the full developement 
 of the results is yet to come.t 
 
 * " Tiirougiiont the uhnlf of Gt^rmany. from ea^t M west utal 
 (vom noith lo south, Prurcstnnrisin decidrrliy pix^doniinHted. Tiie 
 nobles were inclined lo ic from the very lir^ ; the official fiuir- 
 nonaries — evon then a numerous tiikI infltieniinl h(K\y — were edn- 
 <jite<i in the new belief; the common people \vrmld hear no more 
 of certain articles of faith — for example, the doctrine of purga- 
 tory ; or of certain ceremonies, such a-* pilgrimages; iK)t a con 
 vent could coijtinue to support itseli", nor<lid any one venture to 
 e\hibit the relics of saints to the ninititude. A Venetian ambas- 
 midor, in tiie year 1.358, reckons that only a tenth part of the in- 
 habitant.* of Germany had remaine.t faithful to the old reiition." 
 Ranke's History of tlie Popes of Rome during the sixleentli and 
 seventeenth centuries ii. 12- 
 
 t Some britf notices of Lxuher's fellow-laborers are hero sui»- 
 joined, 
 
 1. The fir-^t place betong": unquestionTibly to Mehjiicthov. Next 
 fo Luther, he was the most highly gifcetl and the most useful meni- 
 ber of the protcstant band. His extensive learning, clear judg- 
 ment, cons'immatc prudence, and unblemi'^hed characKn-, procured 
 f )r him universal respect and es^teem. During Luther's life he 
 was consulted on all occasions, and the greatest deference was 
 p'lid to his advice. After the death of the great reformer he was 
 by general consent considered the eccle.'^iastical chief of the Tro- 
 tentants. In his o{T»cc of professor of theology in the university 
 o( Wittemberg he contributed more than any man then living to 
 the diifusinn of sound principles. Thousands of students received 
 jii-riprin-al instruction from his lips, very many of whom ofter- 
 *. ardd iiiled important stations, and exercised a beneficial influ- 
 ence on sticiety ut large. His numerous and valuable writings 
 
testant princes i)f Grermany, and especially by the electors ot' 
 Saxony, his counsels were highly valued ; his advice was ii> 
 variably sought, whenever ecclesiastical enactments were under 
 considei-ation ; and his suggestions were seldom disregarded. 
 
 The brightest characters have their spots. If Luther was 
 some times inconsiderately bold, or even rash, and too much in- 
 clined to maintain his viev.'s with unyielding pertinacity, (all 
 which cannot be denied,) Melancthon was constitutionally timid, 
 and liberal to excess. He was willing to place among things in>- 
 different many articles which Luther and others held to be es-- 
 senlial to purity of doctrine or worship ; and it was his opinion 
 that in things thus deemed indifferent the laws of secular govern- 
 ments might be obeyed. Herein he differed from a large mim* 
 ber of his brethren. A sharp controversy arose on this subjr>ctt 
 which embittered the minds of many, and alienated from ono 
 another those whose energies should have been united in advo 
 eating the great cause. 
 
 Melchior Adam thus describes the last scenes of Melancthon's 
 life : — '-He frequently in his latter years, and particularly in the 
 last months of his life, bewailed with many tears the discords of 
 the reformed churches, and imjilored in ardent prayers that God 
 would heal these divisions. When his friend and physician 
 Winsheim visited him, and expressed his fears that with his 
 feeble and reduced frame he would ill sustain the attacks of his 
 disease, he replied, with a smile, * I desire to depart, and to be 
 with Christ.' To Bucer, his son-in-law, lie said the day before 
 his death, ' My illness does not disturb me ; I have no anxiety 
 or matter of care but one — that tho churches may be at peace in 
 Christ Jesus.' He frequently before his death repeated the Sa- 
 vior's prayer, ' That they may be one in us ;' and those words 
 <jf St. Paul, ' Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.' A little 
 lime before he expired, Eber, chief pastor of Wittemberg, re-. 
 citing to him the words, * As many as received him, to them 
 gave ho power to become tlio sons of God,' ho raised his hand* 
 
t 
 C£R."»IAN REFOItMATIO.V. IG.'J 
 
 «nd eyea and suid. ' That senteni-e i» over in my thotights.* 
 His son-in-law having asked if he wished for any thin{,% he said, 
 "■ Nothing but heaven ;' and begged that he might not be inter- 
 rupted. At the close, as long as he cuuld articulate, he repeatetl 
 the words, 'O God, compassionate me through thy Son Jesus 
 Christ!' And again, ' In thee, O Lord, have I trusted; let ini> 
 never be confounded!' His faculties were clenr to the last, and 
 his decease literally resembled a falling- asleep/* 
 Melancthon died April 19, 1560, aged sixty-three. 
 
 2. Frederic Myconins. He waa originally a nionk, havinpr 
 ♦■ntered the monastery of Annaberg at the early age of sixteen. 
 In the year 15 16 he became a priest, and settled at Weimar. 
 Luther's writings led him to the truth. The last twenty-two 
 years of his life were spent at Sai^e-Gotha, of which place he waii 
 pastor and superintendent. Luther often availed himself of his 
 advice and help, and esteemed him highly. He died Aj'ril 7, 
 1517, aged fify-five. 
 
 3. Caspar Crucigcr was a native of Leipsic. He studied at 
 VVittemberg, and in 1527 became preacher in one of the churches 
 of that city, and a lecturer in the university. When the Refor- 
 mation was established at Leipsic the senate would have secured 
 his services there, but Luther refused to part with him, es- 
 teeming him as one of his most valuable advisers and assistant <. 
 lie rendered important aid to the reformer in the translation of 
 the Scriptures, being eminently skilled in Hebrew. His last illness 
 continued three months, during which time he employed himi-elf 
 in various studies, and among other things completed a transla- 
 rion of Luther's commentary on the last words of David. Woi rs 
 out with labor and anxious care for the churches, he died iS'o- 
 vember 16, 1518, being only forty-five yeai-s old. 
 
 4. Justus Jonas was one of Luther's intimate friends. He was 
 many years rector of the university of Wittemberg, having l>een 
 appointed to that otfice by the elector of Saxony in 1.321. Ho 
 accompanied Luther to the Diet of Worms, and took part with 
 liim in all the leading transactions of the Reiorjiiation. He was 
 ail eloquent and powerful preacher. In 1511 ho removed to 
 
intondent of the clu^rchcs in the diichy of Coburs:. Many of Lu- 
 thm-'s works were translalrd by him from German into Latin. 
 He attended Luther to Eisleben, and wtih present at his death, 
 yiia own }ife was prolonged till the year 15j5, when he resied 
 from his labors at the U'^e of sixty- three. 
 
 r>. Bugenkagius. Ho wa» a sclHJolmaster at Treptore, in 
 Poinerania. AVhen Lnthcr'^s treaties on the Babylonish captivity 
 was published in 15:21, ho said, after he had read a few pagc-d, 
 " The author of this book is the most pestilent heretic that ever 
 infested tlie church of Christ." After reading^ the book throudi- 
 out he changed his opinion: "The whole worid is blind," said 
 he, " and this man alone sees the truth." In the following year 
 he went to ^Vittember{:J, and was chosen pastor of the givat 
 church. Ho continued in that post till the end of his life. His 
 assistance was frequently called for in establishing the Reforma- 
 tion in other parts of Saxony. Luther greatly prized his friend- 
 ship, and admitted him to the most unreserved Christian inter- 
 course. He was a remarkably pious man, abounding in prayer, 
 and diligently serving the Lord in all his ordinances. His end 
 was peace. He exchanged worlds, April 20, ISSS, in the seventy- 
 third year of his age. 
 
 The above-mentioned, with some others, whose miniet have 
 been already before the reader, were united to Luther in affec- 
 tion as well as in labor, and wtrc directly engaged with him iu 
 his most arduous enterprises. 
 
rp:foumvtio\ i\ switzluland. 137 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 lUstorij of the Reformation in Switzerland. 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE LABORS OF ZLINGLK. 
 
 About the middle of the ninth century a Ger- 
 Tiiaii monk, who sought complete retirement from 
 the world, withdrew to a sequestered spot be- 
 tween the lakes of Zurich and Walstetten, and 
 built a cell, where he lived some time in seclu- 
 sion. His retreat was discovered by robbers, who 
 murdered him. More than a iiundred years after 
 a convent was built there, with a clmrch, which 
 was to be dedicated to the virgin. On the eve of 
 the day appointed for the consecration, when the 
 bishop of Constance and his clergy were at pray- 
 ers in the church, voices were suddenly heard 
 singing the praises of God. Next morning, when 
 the bishop was about to begin the ceremony, 
 some invisible being accosted him. "Stop! stop, 
 brother !" the voice exclaimed ; " God himself 
 has consecrated the place !" He was given to 
 understand that the singing they had heard the 
 night before had proceeded from a quire of an- 
 gels, apostles and saints ; that Christ in person 
 had blessed the building; and that the virgin had 
 assisted, standing on the altar, bright as the light- 
 12* 
 
VIII. issued a bull forbidding the faithful to 
 doubt its truth. The convent of Eiusidlen quickly 
 attracted attention. A spot so holy was sure to 
 become the scene of pilgrim resort. Crowds of 
 persons from all parts thronged the road to the 
 hhrine of "Our Lady of the Hermits." Miracles 
 were said to be wrought there. An inscription 
 over the gate announced to the eager visiter that 
 v;ithin those favored walls he might obtain " full 
 remission of sins." 
 
 In the year 151G Ulric Zuingle became priest 
 and preacher in the convent. This celebrated 
 man was born in the year 1484, at Wildhaus, in 
 Switzerland. Perceiving in him the indication of 
 superior talents, his father placed him under the 
 care of his uncle, a dignitary in the church, who 
 8ent him to school, first at AVisen, and subse- 
 quently at Basle. Thence he removed to Berne, 
 where he was initiated into classical literature by 
 Lupulus, the reviver of learning in Switzerland. 
 His studies were continued at Vienne, and again, 
 in 1502, at the university of Basle, in which city 
 lie remained four years, and obtained a high repu- 
 tation. There, too, he began to inquire into evan- 
 gelical truth. He had studied scholastic theology, 
 but became utterly disgusted with its follies and 
 vain pursuits. Thomas Wittembach, a leanied 
 and good man, who settled at Basle towards the 
 close of the year 1505, gave the first impulse to 
 
HEFOUMATION' IN ^SWITZERLAND. 139 
 
 ^ninglc's scriptural researches. His discourses 
 produced a powerful effect on many minds. " The 
 time is not far distant," he was accustomed to say, 
 " when the scholastic theology shall be abolished, 
 and the ancient doctrine of the church restored. 
 
 The death of Christ is the only 
 
 ransom for our souls." 
 
 In 1506 Zuingle became pastor of Glarus, a 
 parish situated in the vicinity of Wildhaus. He 
 remained there ten years, diligently discharging 
 the duties of his office and adding to his stores of 
 knowledge. The best Latin and Greek authors, 
 including, besides the classics, the works of Je- 
 rome, Augustine, Chrysostom, and other fathers, 
 were carefully read. But his chief attention was 
 devoted to the Scriptures, especially the New 
 Testament, which he perused again and again 
 iu the original Greek, comparing one part with 
 another, and earnestly entreating the assistance 
 of the Holy Spirit that he might understand the 
 truth. Light gradually broke in upon his mind. 
 His preaching assumed a more scriptural charac- 
 ter, and thus became more useful. 
 
 Twice, during his residence at Glarus, Zuingle 
 visited Italy, being compelled to attend the Swiss 
 army in the pay of the pope, as chaplain to the 
 company drawn from his own parish. These visits 
 were instructive. He saw tlie pride, avarice, and 
 general corruption of the Romish church, and was 
 taught to sigh for reform. 
 
obtained as a preacher, the baron Geroldsek, ad- 
 ininisti*ator of Einsidlen, invited him to that place. 
 He accepted tlie charge. There he dwelt in the 
 very focus of superstition. But he did not conceal 
 the truth. To the crowds who flocked to the con- 
 vent in the hope of obtaining remission of their 
 sins, he proclaimed the Gospel of Christ, and 
 fiolemnly warned them against vain confidence. 
 Such ministrations could not fail to be successiul. 
 The revenues of the convent were indeed lessen- 
 ed ; fewer offerings were made to the virgin ; but 
 souls were saved. Pilgrims returned to their 
 houses, exclaiming with astonishment and delight, 
 *' Jesus Christ alone saves, and he saves everij 
 where'* The fame of the preacher spread abroad, 
 and the influence of the doctrines he preached 
 began to be felt in many parts of Switzerland. 
 
 Two papal legates, Ernius and Pucci, who 
 were engaged in Switzerland on the pope's af- 
 fairs, staid some time at Einsidlen, and labored 
 hard to dissuade Zuingle from joining the reform 
 movement. Wealth and honor were offered him. 
 He had for several years received a small pension 
 from the papal treasury, which he had expended 
 in the purchase of Ixjoks. But he was not to be 
 Ixjught. He intimated his intention to resign the 
 pension. "By God's help," said he, "I will con- 
 tinue to preach the Gospel, and the preaching will 
 cause Rome to shake to the very foundations." 
 
RHKORMATION IN SWlTZKRLAN'n. Ill 
 
 Samson, a Carmelite monk, entered Switzer- 
 land in LH8 to sell indulgences. He had tra- 
 versed the canton of Uri, and had commenced 
 operations in Schwitz, when he encountered the 
 opposition ofZuingle. ** Jesus Christ the Son of 
 <iod," exclaimed the preacher, *'has said, 'Come 
 unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
 and I will give you rest.* Is it not then audacious 
 folly and mad presumption to say, on the contrary, 
 ' Buy letters of indulgence ; run to Rome ; give 
 to the monks ; sacrifice to the priests ] If you do 
 these things I will absolve you from your sins.' 
 . Jesus Christ is the only offering ; Jesus 
 Christ is the only sacrifice ; Jesus Christ is the 
 only way." The impious traffic fell before the 
 force of truth, and the disappointed merchant was 
 compelled to change his route. 
 
 In December, 1518, ZuiuG^le was chonen to the 
 important office of preacher in the cathedral of Zu- 
 rich. He left his beloved retreat to enter on this 
 new sphere of effort, in the conviction that he was 
 divinely called to it. His first discourse was de- 
 livered on New Year's day, 1519. He began his 
 labors by an exposition of the Gospel by Matthew, 
 and soon had the pleasure to see a large congre- 
 gation gathered together to hear the word of God. 
 3t was a new thing in Zuricli. The effects were 
 the same as in apostolic times. " Some believed 
 ihe things that were spoken and some believed 
 jjut." Many " spake evil of that way before the 
 
measures ; nevertheless, the number of belicven-* 
 continued to increase. 
 
 Zuingle had not been long at Zurich when 
 Samson made his appearance in the neigVibor- 
 hood. After his repulse at Schwitz, he had car- 
 ried on his trade in the cantons of Zug, Lucerne, 
 Underwalden, and Berne. Refused admittance 
 into Bremgarten by the dean of the place, father 
 of the celebrated Henry Bullinger, Zuingle's suc- 
 cessor at Zurich, he was approaching the latter 
 city, full of indignation, and resolved to take ven- 
 geance on his opponents. Zuingle was not in the 
 least dismayed. He boldly preached against tlie 
 abomination, and completely succeeded. The au- 
 thorities of Zurich refused to allow the indul- 
 gence-monger to traffic in their city, and the pope 
 shortly afterwards recalled him. 
 
 When the plague ravaged Switzerland in 1-519 , 
 Zuingle caught the infection. His death seemed 
 inevitable. But God had mercy on him, and re- 
 stored him to the weeping church. The affliction 
 was greatly blessed to his soul. Thenceforth his 
 preaching was still more decidedly evangelical, 
 and was characterized by remarkable animatio.n 
 and fei'vor. Always distinguished for clearness 
 of conception, there was now superadded a 
 warmth of feeling which resulted from the near 
 view of death and eternity, ai)d the rich enjoy- 
 ment of the consolations of the Gospel under these 
 
REFOnMATlON IN SWITZERLAND. 143 
 
 feSectirig circumstances. Deligbtfiil effects follovveJ, 
 More than two thousand persons received the truth, 
 among whom were some of the wealthy inhabi- 
 tants of the city and several magistrates. 
 
 The priests, especially those connected with the 
 monastic orders, enraged at the success of the 
 new preacher, openly contradicted and opposed 
 liim so violently that the council of state inter- 
 fered. They issued an order prohibiting the pro- 
 mulgation of any opinions not derived from the 
 word of God. 
 
 In the spring of 1522 Zuingle attacked the 
 fasts of the Romish church. Personally he conti- 
 nued to observe the rites and ceremonies of the 
 church, thinking it proper and even necessary to 
 do so till the people should be sufficiently enlight- 
 ened ; an object which he was earnestly desirous 
 to accomplish. In fulfilment of this purpose, he 
 began to inveigh boldly against the superstitious 
 abstinence from meats, as inconsistent with gos- 
 pel truth and liberty. This brought upon him a 
 storm of indignation. Information was communi- 
 <!ated to the bishep of Constance, who immediately 
 seized the opportunity and sent a deputation, at 
 the head of which was Melchior Battli, his coad- 
 jutor, to investigate the charges brought against 
 5!^uingle. Battli was a proud and bigoted opponent 
 of the Gospel. ** The ceremonies alone," he said, 
 " are sufficient to bring men to the knowledge of 
 salvation. AU that the priests have to do, is' to ex- 
 
have put down the reformer Avithout allowinj^ biin 
 to be heard. But Zuinirle "vvas equal to llie eu- 
 counter. In a short hut powerful address he uu- 
 masked the folly and basetiess of his foes. Ad- 
 dressing the council, he observed : "In every 
 nation, whosoever believes with the heart on ihe 
 Lord Jesus is saved. Out of that church no per- 
 son can have life. Our duty, as ministers of 
 Christ, is to explain the Gospel and ohey it. Let 
 those who live by ceremonies undertake to ex[)lain 
 them !" The episcopal deputies were confounded ; 
 no further proceedings were taken: but Zuingle 
 pursued his advantage, and published a work on 
 the free use of meats, in which he explained the 
 christian doctrine on the subject. And he con- 
 tinued to preach, in no wise daunted by his ene- 
 mies, though repeated attempts were made to take 
 away his liie. 
 
 The bishop of Constance appealed fo tiie SwI.-^s 
 diet, and obtained a decree, that no piiest should 
 be allowed to preach whose instructions occasion- 
 ed discord among the people. Encouraged by 
 this, the hostile party in the great council of Zu- 
 rich at length procured an ordinance prohibiting 
 all persons to preach against the monks. An in- 
 terview between the principal civil authorities 
 and the ecclesiastics on both sides followed. The 
 burgomaster entreated both parties not to preacli 
 such doctrines as might tend to disturb the peaco 
 
REFOllMATION IN SV.'ITZnRLAXn. ] 45 
 
 of the community. Zuingle would not yield. " I 
 cannot accept these terms," he said. " I will preach 
 the Gospel freely, and without any condition, con- 
 iormably to your first decree. I am bishop aud 
 j)astor of Zurich ; the cure of souls is committed 
 to me. If the monks preach lies, I Aviil contradict 
 ihem, even in the pulpit of their own convent. ]\\ 
 on the other hand, I preach any doctrine contrary 
 to the Gospel, let me be censured, not only by 
 tiie chapter, but by any citizen whatsoever who 
 raay choose to peiform that duty ; nay more, let 
 me be punished by the council." His boldness 
 ]» re vailed. The former decree was confirmed, and 
 the preachers were enjoined to discontinue their 
 appeals to the authority of Thomas, Duns Sco- 
 lus, and other scholastic divines, and to confine 
 themselves to the New Testament. 
 
 While Zuingle was thus laboring at Zurich, the 
 I rath was introduced into other parts of Switzer- 
 land with various success. Oswald jNIyconias was 
 engaq^ed in tuition at Lucerne, aiul forwarded 
 the good cause by quietly circaiating the works 
 <■>£ Luther, though at great personal hazard. Eert- 
 hold Haller j^ublished the Gospel at Berne, nnd 
 Wassemburger at Basle.* In Apj^enzell, the Gn- 
 
 ♦ The credit of Pojiery wus fast declining- at Berne. '* A ir.ys- 
 tcry," or drama, entitled " The Devourcrs of the Dead," and 
 composed for the purpose of hoi ling- up to ridicule the doctrinf's 
 of pur^-atory and prayers for the departed, and exposing to pul>- 
 lic seoru th" avarice, pride avA yoir^p of the clci-iry, was repre- 
 
 13 
 
oiitja, aiiLi litiiui iii.3Lm^Li: 
 
 increasingly disaifected towards popish doctrinet* 
 and observances. The time was come when some 
 more decided step should be taken. Zuingle and 
 ten others met at Einsidlen, where Leo Juda, fol- 
 lowing the example of his friend, preached the 
 Gospel in its simplicity. The meeting was held 
 in July, 1522. After prayerful consideration of the 
 existinor state of affairs, it was resolved to address 
 the bishop of Constance, their ecclesiastical supe* 
 rior, and the Swiss diet, boldly avowing the truth, 
 and requesting full liberty to publish it, and to re- 
 store primitive purity ; it was determined also to 
 ask for the abolition of the forced celibacy of the 
 priesthood. There were powerful reasons for 
 
 gented in one of the streets of the city, amidst Universal applause. 
 Another event, which occurred about the same time, tended lo 
 open the eyes of the people to the trickery to which they had 
 been subjected. Albert of Steij:, a celebrated knight, had pro* 
 cured at Lyons a precious relic, the scull of St. Anne, mother of 
 the virgin Mary. On the day of the knight's entry into the city 
 the greatest excitement prevailed. He was met by the clergy, 
 the council, and an immense crowd of citizens ; a splendid pro- 
 cession was formed, the bells rung merrily, the people shoute<l 
 for joy, and the scull was conveyed to the church of the Domini- 
 cans, where it was reverentially placed on an altar prepared for 
 it, before which many a knee bowed in silent adoration. But the 
 joy was soon turned into mortification and shame. A letter ar- 
 . rived from the abbot of the convent of Lyons, stating that the 
 monks had cheated the knight, and sold him a common scull 
 taken from the churchyard. The true scull of St. Anne remain- 
 ed at Lyons still ! 
 
REFORMATION' llSf SWITZERLAND. 147 
 
 the latter demand. The crimes and disorders to 
 which celibacy had given rise in Switzerland had 
 long exposed ecclesiastics to general contempt 
 and hatred. Zuingle had already emancipated 
 himself, having married Anna, widow of Meyer 
 of Knonau, an excellent female, with whom he 
 lived in great happiness. Xylotect, canon of Zu- 
 rich, and several others, had taken a similar step. 
 
 The documents above mentioned were widely 
 circulated in Switzerland. The friends of corrup- 
 tion were highly indignant, and began to resort to 
 the measures usually adopted by advocates of a 
 bad cause. The bishop invoked vengeance on 
 the innovators. The diet, at a meeting held at 
 Baden, ordered that all priests and others who 
 sided with the reformers should be denounced to 
 the authorities. Urban Weiss, pastor of Fislis- 
 pach, suftered a long imprisonment in the bish- 
 op's prison at Constance. John Hollard, canon of 
 Friburg, was banished. Myconius was deprived 
 of his situation at Lucerne, and driven from the 
 canton. Other victims were marked out, and gi-eat 
 fears were entertained for the safety of ZuinHe.* 
 
 At a public assembly, held January 29, 1523, 
 at which Faber, vicar-general of the diocese of 
 Constance, and other deputies from the bishop, 
 assisted, and which was convened for the purpose 
 
 * I."o Judali pettlal at Zuricli at the end of this year, and 
 Mveuiiius «urcerded him at JCiiiftidlon. 
 
]>y tlie reformers, Zuingle pi-csented himself, pre- 
 pared to maintain and defend the evangelical doc- 
 tiinc. " I have preached salvation by Christ 
 ,)iily/' he said ; " and on that account have been 
 Bligmatised throughout Switzerland as a heretic, 
 a deceiver, and a rebel. Now then, in the name 
 of God, here I am." Faber cautiously avoided 
 discussion : ho was sent to liear, not to dispute ; 
 nothing could induce him to break silence. A re- 
 solution was passed, empowering Zuingle and his 
 associates to preach the Gospel as before. " Prais- 
 ed be God !" he exclaimed, " his word will have 
 dominion in heaven and on earth." At this Faber 
 could not repress his indignation. " The theses 
 of master Uiric," said he, (referring to sixty-seven 
 propositions which Zuingle had published in an- 
 ticipation of the meeting,) " are opposed to the 
 honor of the church and the doctrine of Christ, 
 and I will prove it." " Do," said Zuingle. The 
 vicar-general proposed to refer the matters in 
 dispute to the decision of a university. "I will 
 have no otlicr judge than the (xospel," said Zuin- 
 gle. " The Gospel !" replied Faber; " always iho 
 Gospel ! A man might live in righteousness, peace, 
 and charity, though there were no Gospel!" 
 
 A similar meethig, held in the month of Octo- 
 ber hi the same year, was very mujicrously at- 
 tended by ecclesiastics fnmi diderent parts of 
 Switzerland, The worship of imngcs and the 
 
REFORMATIOxNf IX SWITZKRLA.VD. 149 
 
 mass were the subjects discussed. Among those 
 who undertook to defend Popery, not one ventur- 
 ed to appeal to the Scriptures. They felt that 
 the word of God was at^ainst them. Tlie cause of 
 truth received additional impulse. Many priests 
 returned to their parishes enlightened and con- 
 \inced, and commenced laboring on behalf of tlie 
 Gospel. Myconius settled this year at Zurich. 
 
 The other cantons, Schafl'hauseii excepted, ad- 
 hered to the old system. An eftbrt was made ta 
 reclaim Zurich. At a meeting of the diet, held at 
 Lucerne, a deputation was appointed to visit that 
 city, in order to induce the authorities to retrace 
 their steps and banish Zuingle and his colleagues. 
 But it was too late. Tmth had now obtained a 
 firm hold on the minda and consciences of a large 
 proportion of the inhabitants, including the chief 
 men of the place. Instead of complying with the 
 request, they proceeded to bolder measures. Cer- 
 tain superstitious processions v/ere abolished. Re- 
 lics which had been adored for many ages were 
 buried. And an order was issued for the imme- 
 diate removal of all images from the churches, and 
 the appropriation of the proceeds of their orna- 
 ments to the relief of the poor. It gave universal 
 satisfaction, and was promptly obeyed. 
 
 Persecution had already begun. Claude Het- 
 tinger, whose too hasty zeal against idolatry led 
 him to assist at the removal of a crucifix without 
 first obtaining permission from the magistrates, 
 13* 
 
*JHAIA L/V^^li L/a.lll01iCil.L 11 Will y^^uin^ii 1«^1 tn V^ Ull Ull V. IT. 
 
 He was apprehended in another canton, condemn- 
 ed for heresy by the diet of Lucerne, and behead- 
 ed. Tliis was in February, 1523. In thc'auturan 
 of the next year, at a meeting of the diet at Zug, 
 where it was resolved to put down reform by 
 force, a worihy minister, named Oexlin, was ille- 
 gally seized and carried to prison. In an attempt 
 made to rescue him a tumultuous rising took 
 place, and the convent of Ittingen was unfortu- 
 nately plundered and burned. Vengeance was 
 loudly demanded. Four persons,'* who had dis- 
 tinguished themselves in the umisuccessful endea- 
 vor to rescue Oexlin, but who had used their ut- 
 most influence to prevent the outrage on the con- 
 vent, were imprisoned for the latter oficnce by the 
 authorities of Zurich, to which canton they be- 
 longed. The other cantons required them to be; 
 delivered up, and threatened war in case of refu- 
 sal. In a moment of fear the request was granted. 
 Tlie prisoners were sent away. Their fate was al- 
 ready decided. One only, John V/irth, was spared. 
 The other three, after suftering inhuman tortures, 
 were beheaded ; not for the destruction of the con- 
 ve-nt, in which it v.-as evident that they took no 
 part, but for their adherence to the Gospel. They 
 died rejoicingly. 
 
 * Wirlh, vicc-lvailif!" f)f Suimcuhcim ; his two sons, Adiian aiiJ 
 John, both priests ; and Ilutiman, baililY of liiissbauni. 
 
REFORMATION I\ S^VITZERLA^'D. 1/>1 
 
 The rejection of the mass soon followed that of 
 the images. It had been abolished at Mulhausen 
 in 1524. In April, 1525, the senate of Zurich issued 
 a decree, in compliance with the request of their 
 ministers, for the restoration of the Lord's supper 
 according to primitive observance. Three days — 
 Holy Thursday, Crood Friday, and Easter Sun- 
 day — were devoted to the first celebration. It was 
 a solemn and delightful service. The altars were 
 Te[)laced by tables. The bread was handed round 
 ia wooden dishes, and the wine was poured into 
 go])lets of the same material. The deacons read 
 rlie passages of Scripture which relate to the sa- 
 cred ordinance, while the pastors addressed the 
 listening multitudes. Universal joy prevailed. 
 The spirit of love descended on the people. Long- 
 standing enmities were renounced. Foes were 
 changed into friends. Tlie supper of the Lord be- 
 came a bond of union. Primitive times seemed to 
 be restored. 
 
 In the same year those portions of the Scrip- 
 tures vv-hich Luther had translated into German 
 •were adapted to the Swiss dialect, and printed at 
 Zurich. The remaining parts of the word of God 
 were translated by the Swiss reformers, and pub- 
 li.shed about four years afterwards. 
 
 Zurich was the source of the reformation in 
 Switzerland.* Its progress in the other cantons 
 
 * Conrad PclHcaii, a leaaieil divine, fonnerlv a F 
 
 ranciscari at 
 
was slower and more inteniipted. hcohnnpadui'i 
 had been preachint; at }3a.sle since November, 
 ] 522. Berthold Haller and Sebastian Meyer were 
 settled at Berne. Truth was gradually makini; 
 way in many parts ; but as yet the arm of power 
 suppressed its movements. A general meeting of 
 the Helvetic body was held at Baden, in May, 
 152G, expressly for the purpose of putting down 
 the new doctrines. A disputation took place, in 
 which Ecolampadius and Haller were chiefly en- 
 gaged on the one side, against Eck, Faber, and 
 some celebrated Romish controversialists on the 
 other. But it was before a packed and partial ju- 
 ry. The representatives of the cantons had met 
 avowedly to devise measures for the ruin of the* 
 Reformation. It was to be expected that they 
 would ascribe the triumph to their own cham- 
 pions.* They passed a decree, proscribing Zu- 
 injrle and his associates, and declaring their fix- 
 ed resolve to maintain unimpaired the ancient 
 faith. 
 
 Basle, became professor of Hebrew at Ziuicli, in 1526. and great- 
 ly aided the cause of truth. 
 
 * The disputation continued eighteen days. Fxk and his com- 
 panions were hospitably entertained by the vicar, and drank 
 abundance of wine, furnished by a neighboring aljbot. The rr- 
 fonners lodged at an inn. The landlord, who was curious ro 
 know how Ecolampadius jiassed his time when he was in his 
 chamber, often looked into the room, but always found the good 
 man rea<ling and praying. " It must bo confessed," said lie, 
 " that this is u very pious heretic." 
 
REFORMATIOV IN SWITZKRT.ANT). l-'j.^ 
 
 The Lord " maketh the devices of the pe(>])la 
 of none efiect," but his counsel " .staiidcth lor 
 ever." Psahn 33 : 10, 11. While the adversaries 
 of Gospel truth vainly thought to check its ad-, 
 vancement the hand ol" God was evidently stretch- 
 ed out in its defence. Instead of being discourage<l 
 by the unfavorable result of the meeting at Baden, 
 the reformers quietly pursued their course an<i 
 gained ground daily. Ecolampadius succeeded, in 
 1.126, in establishing at Basle the practice of sing- 
 ing hymns in the vulgar tongue, in public worship. 
 It was found greatly conducive to piety, and ad- 
 mirably adapted to coniirm the people in the 
 truths taught by the reformers. In 1528 images 
 were removed from the principal churches, though 
 allowed to be retained for a time in the others. 
 That indulgence was not long continued. In Feb- 
 ruary, lo29, the city was thorcmghly cleansed from 
 idolatry, and at the same time the mass was abo- 
 lished.* 
 
 Meanwhile the cause advanced in several of the 
 Fmaller cantons. Changes were gradually intro- 
 duced in many places, as far as the times would 
 
 * So many were tbo insults lieaprd upon the images and cruci- 
 fixfv, a? to make it strange, according to the sarcastic observa- 
 ti(»n of F'rasimis, tliat thoso holy saint #, who ha<l been wont to 
 display such prodigies of power on very slight ofTencr's, should 
 h ive refiuined, in this most important emergency, fnun the exer- 
 tion of their miraculous energies. Waddington's History of the 
 Heformatiun. ii. 3'21. 
 
Dear, ana me numDer oi evangeiicai predciit-ia wua 
 constantly on the increase. In some instances the 
 forms of popery continued to be observed, out of 
 deference to the secular authorities, long after 
 Gospel truth had been received : in other cases 
 a fierce struggle was maintained ; but on the whole 
 the onward movement gained ground daily.* 
 For a short time the papal party became pre 
 
 * Wolfgang Jouer, abbot of the monastery of Cappel, was tho 
 friend of Zuingle, and a supporter of the Reformation. In 1523 
 he appointed BuUinger lecturer in theology in the monaster}-, and 
 peiTnitted liim to preach frequently in the abbey church. Three 
 years after the mass was superseded by the Lord's supper. The 
 year following the monaster)^ was surrendered to the government 
 of Zurich, and converted into a college : the revenues were ap* 
 propriated to the three objects of supporting scholars, relieving 
 the poor, and improving the salaries of the ministers of the Gospel ; 
 and tlie church was made a parochial one, three neighboring vil. 
 lages being attached to it. Scott's Continuation of Milner, ii, 5G9. 
 '' The conversion of John Frick, parish priest of Maycnfeld, in 
 the Grisons, was brought about in a singular manner. Being a 
 zealous Catholic, and of great note among his brethren, he had 
 warmly resisted the new opinions when tliey first made tlieir ap- 
 pearance. Filled with chagrin and alarm at the progress which he 
 saw them making in his immediate neighborhood, he repaired to 
 Rome, to implore the assistance of his holiness, and to consult on 
 the best method of preventing his native country' from being over* 
 run with heresy. But he was so struck with the irreligion which 
 he observed in the court of Rome, and the ignorance and vic»^ 
 prevailing in Italy, that, returning liome, he joined the ]>arty 
 which he had opposed, and became the reformer of MayfMifeld, 
 In his old age he used to say to his friends that ho learned the 
 (lOHpol at Rome," ?trCrie's History of the Raformation in Iluiy 
 p. -Mo. 
 
nnFonMATio.v is swtTZF.uL.wn. 155 
 
 dominant at Bemo. It was enacted that no cliange 
 should be made in religion, and that the old forms 
 should be rigidly observed ; the decree was con- 
 firmed by the solemn sanction of an oath. But the 
 truth had taken such firm hold on the hearts of 
 men, that it was impossible to dislodge it. Tlie 
 government was soon compelled to yield to the 
 wishes of an enlightened people, and determined 
 to refer the whole question in debate to a public 
 disputation, open to champions on both sides from 
 every part of Switzerland, and to abide by the 
 issue. This is known in history as '* the great dis- 
 putation of Berne." On the appointed day, Janu- 
 ary 7, 152S, Zuingle and Ecolampadius appeared, 
 at the head of more than three hundred and fifty 
 evangelical teachers. The bishops of Constance, 
 Basle, Leon, and Lausanne had been summoned, 
 but did not deign to attend : in fact, the papal 
 cause was very feebly supported. Ten articles 
 had been prepared for discussion. The articles 
 were, in substance : That the church had no head 
 but Christ; that it sprang from the word of God, 
 and subsisted in that alone ; that traditions were 
 only binding when they agreed with God's word ; 
 that Christ was a sufficient expiation for the sins 
 of the vv'hole world; that there was no scriptural 
 proof of the real and corporeal manducation (eat- 
 ing) of the body and blood of Christ ; that the sa- 
 crifice of the mass was opposed to Scripture, and 
 insulting to the Redeemer a sacrifice ; that there 
 
^vas no other intercessor between Gad and man 
 except Christ; that the existence of a purgatory 
 could not be jn'oved from Holy AVrit ; that the 
 Monship of statues and images was contrary to 
 Scripture ; that marriage was forbidden to no clas8 
 of men, and that since fornication was expressly 
 denounced in Scripture, it was a vice least of all 
 becoming the sacerdotal order. These articles 
 were debated for eighteen days. The result was 
 victory to reform. Popery was immediately abo- 
 lished in the canton of Benie. The Episcopal au- 
 thority was disowned ; altars and images thrown 
 dcnvn : the mass suppressed ; fast-days, feast-days, 
 clerical costumes, organs, bells, and a long list of 
 u.'^ages and ceremoTiies peculiar to the dark ages, 
 involved in the same destruction ; and monasteries 
 converted into schools. The example of l^erne 
 was followed by Schaffliausen,* St. Gall, Giarus, 
 Brienne, Bremgarten, Thurgau, the Tockenburg, 
 and the city of Constance. The disputation of 
 }>erne deserved to be called " great," for its re- 
 sults were truly glorious. 
 
 " The Swiss Heformation," Dr. Waddington ob- 
 serves, "T)egan like that in Saxony, by an attack 
 on indulo:ences — that among all the abuses of th« 
 
 • At tins ]>iare an iniairr' of iminonse sizo, called " tlic pro?it 
 Lord Ciod of Scliafl'Jiausen," to^otiier with inunv others loss dis- 
 tinsfiiislied, Avas con.«ig'ned to the flames amidst givrit pojiular 
 fxulta'ion. 
 
RF.FOnMATIOX I.V SWITZEHLAN D. 157 
 
 church which was most obnoxiouss, as affecting" 
 the gi'eatest multitudes of people, and aiming 
 M'ith the least disguise at the most sordid object. 
 The circumstances of the attack were indeed 
 somewhat different ; but the very fact that the 
 bishop in Switzerland abetted the reformer, from 
 wliatsoever motive, was still a proof the more, 
 that that favorite outwork of the papal citadel was 
 no longer defensible. It fell almost without a 
 struggle ; that which in Germany was a fierce 
 and noisy conflict, was a mere skirmish and pro- . 
 lusion among the Swiss, 
 
 " But having once effected an entrance, the 
 Foidiers of the Gospel proceeded to the assault 
 upon other and somewhat more tenable positions. 
 First they turned their wrath against the mass of 
 imscriptural and vexatious observances which most 
 sensibly harassed them, especially the restriction 
 on meats ; matters in which their daily comforts 
 were concerned, which pressed most inquisitori- 
 ally upon all, and most of all upon the m.ultitude, 
 who were too poor to purchase dispensations. 
 
 **' The monastic system stood next in order, and 
 some of Zuingle's earliest efforts were directed 
 
 against it The revenues were not, 
 
 as in some other countries, confiscated for the im- 
 me<liate profit of the government or of undeserv- 
 ing individuals; but faithfully apjilicd, after just 
 regard to vested interests, to the maintenance of 
 ihc ministers of reliofion, to the establishment of 
 
 11 
 
table purposes. 
 
 " The images were next assailed 
 
 Some caution, some little respect for misguided 
 consciences, not the less earnest and zealous lor 
 being misguided, was required for a time, but for 
 a short time only. Perfect freedom of discussion 
 being permitted, the impostures which had been 
 so long practised in honor of those figures were 
 exposed, the miracles to which they pretended 
 were exploded, and the indignation of the dupes 
 themselves was presently raised against them : so 
 that they fell with universal approbation. 
 
 " Lastly fell the mass. This was an object like- 
 wise endeared to the people by ancestral usage, 
 and the notion of peculiar holiness and superna- 
 tural protection attested ])y miracles. The ques- 
 tion besides was in its nature more speculative 
 than the others, and therefore the reasons for its 
 abolition were less intelligible to the vulgar. 
 However, the previous successes prepared the 
 way for this ; and in every instance in which the 
 other objects had been achieved, the mass follow- 
 ed in its own season, and by its overthrow con- 
 Kummated the triumph of the reformation." Hist. 
 Ref ii. 338. 
 
 Five cantons — Lucerne, Zug, Schweitz, Uri, 
 and Unterwalden still retained their allegiance 
 to Rome. They had entered into an alliance with 
 Ferdinand of Austria fur the defence of Roman- 
 
REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND. 159 
 
 ism. This was contrary to the principles on which 
 the Helvetic cont'ederation was founded, and was 
 justly regarded as a hostile movement. Zurich 
 took the alann, and declared war ; and Berne, as 
 the ally of Zurich, sent into the fie^d 10,000 men. 
 The armies were ready for battle, when media- 
 tion was successfulh' interposed, which issued in 
 a treaty of peace signed at Aran, June 26, 1;329. 
 The alliance with Ferdinand was renounced ; all 
 parties were allowed the free exercise of religion ; 
 but no further changes were to take place unless 
 they were demanded by a clear majority of the 
 inhabitants of the district or town concerned. 
 
 Yet friendship was not restored. Irritation and 
 discontent alarmingly prevailed, and each party 
 was prepared to take advantage of any occurrence 
 that might be favorable to its separate interests. 
 The people of Zurich were too much inclined to 
 war. Trifling difterences were unduly magnified ; 
 the proffered mediation of other cantons was re- 
 fused ; mutual exasperation followed. At length 
 a measure was adopted which ought never to 
 have been resorted to but in the last extremity — 
 all commercial intercourse with the five popish 
 cantons was interdicted. This severity — for such 
 it was, those cantons being mainly dependent on 
 their neighbors even for the necessaries of life 
 — could only provoke retaliation, and lead to 
 open hostilities. The result was most disastrous 
 to Zurich. As that canton had been so forward 
 
Avar against Zurich, and Zurich only, and immedi- 
 ately invaded its territories. A battle ensued at 
 Cappel, in which the Papists were completely 
 victorious. The men of Zurich were found whol- 
 ly incompetent. Both skill and courage failed 
 thorn. The conflict was short, and the numlx^r 
 slain not large ; but among them was Zuingjc. 
 He had accompanied the army to the held, j^s 
 chief pastor, in compliance with immemorial cus- 
 tom, and exerted himself most zealously, though 
 \\ithout elicct, to inspire the troops with courage. 
 Left wounded on the field of battle, where he lay 
 among the heaps of slain, some soldiers asked if 
 he would have a confessor. He was speechless, 
 but his hand and eyes were continually raised to 
 lieaven, showing that he was engaged in prayer. 
 To the interrogation of the soldiers he could only 
 reply by shaking his head in sign of refusal. *' If 
 you cannot speak," said they, '' so as to confess, 
 invoke at least the mother of God and the other 
 saints for their intercession." Still he refused. 
 " He is an obstinate heretic," they exclaimed ; 
 and immediately an officer who came by at tho 
 time thrust a pike into his throat and killed him. 
 It was not till the next day that they ascertained 
 who he was. Then their cruel hatred vented it- 
 self in the infliction of numberless indignities on 
 his cf)rpse, which was burned at Lucerne by the 
 hands of the public executioner. 
 
RLFOllMATION IX SWITZERLAXD. IGl 
 
 Such was the melancholy end of Ulric Zuine^le. 
 " He died, Oct. 11, 1531, aged forty-seven year^, 
 in the vigor of life, in the maturity of his under- 
 standing, and the fulness of his learning; and, by 
 a violent death, the hopes of many years of inform- 
 ed and industrious piety were extinguished. And 
 when we regard the many ingenious and elabor- 
 ate compositions, polemical, exegetical, herme- 
 neutical, which he produced in scarcely twelve 
 years — years, too, distracted by a thousand other 
 cares and expectations, and which will remain an 
 everlasting memorial of an extensive erudition ; a 
 sound judgment; a temper, upon the whole, can- 
 did and charitable ; a calm, considerate, earnest 
 faith ; it is a matter for serious sorrow, even now, 
 that he was cut off thus unseasonably. 
 
 " Together with several just and profound views 
 of scriptural interpretation, his works contain many 
 noble sentiments, flowing from an enlarged and 
 elevated spirit. Gifted with much penetration, 
 incited by an honest zeal, regulated by consum- 
 mate prudence, firm, considerate, and forbearing, 
 he did not stain these great qualities by a single 
 
 bad fault He pursued with constancy 
 
 and fearlessness the dictates of his religion and 
 his patriotism : he showed great sagacity in ac- 
 complishing his purposes ; he was never guided, 
 either in his acts or in his writings, by any factious 
 spirit ; he was never suspected of any unworthy 
 motive ; he preserved to the very end the digni- 
 14* 
 
immediate successors, and to all posterity, the 
 model of an unblemished reputation." Wadd. iii. 
 242-244. 
 
 Having sustained another reverse at Zug, the 
 reformed cantons were compelled to have re- 
 course to treaty, and succeeded in obtaining more 
 favorable terms tlian might perhaps have been e.\- 
 j)ected. The popish and protestant cantons were 
 respectively left in full and undisturbed possession 
 of religious rights, abjuring all interference "\\*ith 
 each other ; in districts common to both parties 
 the refoniied were not to be molested ; and if, in 
 such places, they were numerous enough to fonn 
 separate congregations, the incomes of the livings 
 were to be divided between the popish and pro- 
 testant pastors, in proportion to the numbers of 
 their several flocks.* 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 SUB3EQUKNT EVENTS. 
 
 A reaction in favor of popery followed the ca- 
 lamitous war in which the men (jf Zurich had ro 
 
 * The following ob?e^-^'ati()ns on wars for religion dcser\e an 
 attentive perusal: — "If ve may .incl;:;e from the coso both of 
 Germanv and Switzerland, Httle encouragement is aflbrdedto main- 
 taining the cause of religion by an appeal to arms. Never was a 
 military enterprise more mi»conduct(^d, or with worse success, lliau 
 
REFORMATION IX SWITZERLAND. 16o 
 
 unadvisedly engaged. The rjnemies of the Refor- 
 mation were frantic with joy. Altars were erect- 
 ed and offerings made to the saints — by whose in- 
 tercession these successes were supposed to have 
 been obtained — and the victories were celebrated 
 by pompous processions and other manifesta- 
 tions of exulting gladness, not only in Switzer- 
 land, but even in distant countries, and at Rome 
 itself. The permanent loss sustained by the cause 
 of the Reformation was not however so great 
 03 had been feared. Rapperschwyl, Mellingen, 
 Bremgarten, and a few other places of small im- 
 portance, were restored to Romish dominion. 
 Somo faint efforts were made at Zurich and 
 -Berne to re-establish the old order of things, but 
 they were quickly suppressed. Yet it cannot be 
 denied that a check was put to the fiuther spread 
 of reform. German Switzerland has continued to 
 be popish to the present day. 
 
 the wars both of CapjK?! and of Smalcald. Little is in ;K:encral to 
 be expected from a religious body undertaking to fight for their 
 religion. Conscientious men, in such cases, form but an unequal 
 match for men of the world; who will proceed with less scruple, 
 and very probably acquit themselves with more address, and 
 therefore with a better prospect of success : and eppeciaily this is 
 rot the means, unless in soms cases of absolute and unavoidable 
 necessity, (such as the Vaudois might at times be exposed to, 
 to preserve themaclves from absolute extirpation,) on which 
 the blessing of heaven is to bo expected. * The weapons of o\ir 
 warfare aio not carnal ;' and ' the children of this world are, 
 tn their generaiioyi, wiser than the children of light.' '* Scott's 
 Continuation of Milner, iii. 119. 
 
time in a decliniTig state, was so much affected by 
 the death of Zuiiiirle that he rapidly sunk, and 
 ill a few weeks was laid in the grave; Nov. 2o, 
 15\l, in the forty-ninth year of his age. Myconius 
 f^ucceeded him at Basle. Zuingle had filled the 
 two offices of chief pastor and professor of divi- 
 nity. BulUnger took his place as pastor at Zurich, 
 uud held it with distinguished rejiiutation for forty- 
 four years. Bibliander became professor of divi- 
 nity, in which office ho rendered eminent ser- 
 vices to the church of God from that time till 
 his death, thirty-two years afterwards. 
 
 The principles of the Reformation were silently 
 nt work at Geneva for some time before any pub- 
 lic demonstration was expedient or safe. Three 
 of its ministers Avere present at the great dispu- 
 tation of Berne, and returned home very favora- 
 bly impressed towards the Gospel. The know- 
 ledge of the truth was gradually spread among 
 the citizens. In the year 1532 a considerable 
 number had embraced protestant views. Farel 
 visited the city in the autumn of that year, but was 
 compelled to leave it without effecting any thing.* 
 
 * He wan summoned before the grand vicar and the epidcopal 
 council. "When he oficred to discuss the disputed points, one of 
 the judges replied, " That would not answer our purpose : if we 
 enter into dispute, our whole ministry will be subverted." Others 
 cried out, ''To the Rhone, to the Rhone with him I kill him, 
 kill him! kill ibis new Lutlier I" adding, " It is better that this 
 
Rr.FORMATrON IK SUITZr.RLAND. 105 
 
 Anthony Frornent, a yoaiig fiieiul of his, a native 
 oT Dauphinv, fi)llowed him soon ailrr, and e«- 
 tahlished himself as a schoolmaster, with the ul- 
 t(^rior object of diffusing evangelical truth, lie 
 soon gathered a congregation, and labored with 
 very great acceptance and encouraging success. 
 But he aldo was obliged to quit the city in con- 
 ^oquence of some tumultuous proceeding excited 
 b-y the Romanists. After his departure the friends 
 uf reform met privately for worship and edifi- 
 cation, often by night, to avoid the intrusion of 
 persecutors. Several of them were denounced 
 to the authorities, and banished. The greatest 
 excitement prevailed in the city, in the midst of 
 which the bishop, who liad been several years ab 
 Rent, visited the place. But he conducted himself 
 in so arbitrary a manner, and showed such hos- 
 tility to reform, that his presence was veiy un- 
 acceptable; and lie departed, after a stay of fif- 
 teen dayp, never more to return. In his absence 
 he still ventured to legislate and command. He 
 eveu went so far as to prohibit the reading of the 
 Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, and to require cdl 
 persons who possessed Bibles, either in German 
 or in French, to bura them immediately, on jiain 
 of excommunication. Such decrees were harmless, 
 ])ecause they were not obey^jd ; but they showed 
 
 wicked Lutlieran should die, than that all the people should bo 
 disturbed." A servant of the grand vicar snip^X'd an arquebuae 
 at liim, but happily without elYect. 
 
tne disposiiion oi uie Jrvomisn party — iiieir un- 
 changing and unchangeable enmity to the word 
 of God. These proceedings tended to alienate the 
 minds of the Genevesc from their bishop: their 
 «Iislike was increased when they saw him connect 
 himself with the duko of Savoy, their sworn ene- 
 my, and the removal of the bishop's court from 
 Geneva to Gex, a town in the dominions of the 
 duke, brought affairs to a crisis. A decree was 
 passed in September, 153-1, declaring that the 
 bishop had abdicated his authority, and that the 
 see was vacant. Thus the ground was cleared for 
 the further progress of the Reformation. 
 
 Geneva was in alliance with the cantons of 
 Berne and Friburg; the one a reformed, the other 
 a popish canton. Berne was the more powerful 
 body. Its interference during the last struggle 
 between truth and error rendered important ser- 
 vices to the good cause. Farel, Viret, and Fro- 
 ment accompanied a deputation from Berne, 
 preached the Gospel under its protection, and in 
 many ways furthered the Reformation. They re- 
 mained at Geneva till the separation was fully 
 accomplished. Their labors were eminently suc- 
 cessful.* The finishing stroke was given at a 
 
 * A woman entered into the >>ervice of the landlord of tlio 
 liouse where they lodged, who pretended to have been driv»u 
 from Lyons by persecution, but who was in reality employed by 
 the Romish priests to procure the death of the refurnied ministers. 
 She mixed poii.on with sume food ihcy were e>;])f^ctcd to partake. 
 
'ii:formatio\ in .switzerT.w'd. 1G7 
 
 public disputation held in May and June, 153o, 
 Qt the close of which the Romish champions con- 
 fessed that tliey were vanquished, and gave iu 
 their adhesion to Protestantism. Their example 
 was followed by the people generally : an edict 
 was issued, August 27, establishing the Reforma- 
 tion by law. The ministers above mentioned con- 
 tinued at Geneva, and Farel became chief pastor. 
 The monasteries were suppressed. One was con- 
 verted into a public school ; another into a hos- 
 pital. Superfluous ecclesiastical property was ap- 
 plied to the maintenance of the clergy and tho 
 poor, and the advancement of education. 
 
 The political liberties of Geneva were secured 
 soon after its profession of Protestantism. The 
 duke of Savoy having avowed his intention to an- 
 nex the place to his dominions, and overturn the 
 newly established Reformation, war was declared 
 against him by the Canton of Berne. In less 
 than a month, Geneva was delivered from its 
 oppressor, and its independence fixed on a firm 
 foundation. 
 
 The final measures adopted for the establish- 
 ment of the Reformation in Geneva are thus enu- 
 merated by a modern historian : — " The council 
 next proceeded to regulate the times and places 
 
 Viret waa the only one who tastfd it ; ho took but little, and rp- 
 covcr8(i aftLT a severe illnesa, but Mt the effect of the poisou till 
 tlie eud of his life. The woman suifcneU death for her crime. 
 
of public worsliip, tlie observation of the Snb- 
 ])ath, and other thini^s connected with religion 
 and morals. They established and provided for ihiir 
 pastors and two assistants ; commanded the Sab- 
 >)ath to be strictly obyerved ; a})p<>inted an early 
 service on that day for the benelit of servants, 
 and allowed public worship and preaching in tho 
 (German and Italian languages, for the numerous 
 refugees to whom those tongues were vernacu- 
 Inr. They enacted laws against profaneness and 
 licentiousness, and against public dances, fairs^ 
 nnis(picrades, and other entertainments tending 
 to the coiTU])tion of manners. They showed 
 Home solicitude also for the education of youth ; 
 and for this end established a public school in the 
 late convent of the Franciscans, at the head of 
 which was placed Anthony Saunier, a friend and 
 fellow-countryman of Farel. On the same day 
 that the decree was passed for the establishment 
 of the school, the whole body of the citizens were 
 called upon to take a solemn oath to renounce 
 popish rites and errors, and to live according to 
 the rules of the Gospel." But ''some want of tole- 
 ration was shown in punishing Roman Catholic 
 priests who lemained in the city, and were de- 
 tected from time to time saying mass and admin- 
 istering the sacraments after the manner of their 
 church, and even those who went abroad to other 
 j)laces in the neighborhood to attend these cere- 
 monies." kScott's Continuation of Miliicr, iii. 30S. 
 
RKFor..MATi(?\' JS 8\VIT/,ERLA\D. 1G9 
 
 Farol, assisted ])y some excellent and zealous 
 coadjutors, had labored f<:>r several year^ in tlio 
 Pays de Vaud, amidst much contempt and oppo- 
 sition, and oilen at imminent hazard, yet not with- 
 out many tokens oi* success. The favorable ter- 
 mination of the war ultli the duke of Savoy trans- 
 ferred that district, including the city of Lusanne 
 and other important j)lace8, to tlie j^ovei'nment of 
 IJerne. Means were immediately adopted for the 
 furtherance of Protestantism.* Ministers were 
 htationed in the principal towns. Public discus- 
 sions took place, among Mhich a disputation 
 at Lausanne in October, 1556, deserves to be 
 [)articularly mentioned, as havinjr produced a 
 f)owerful effect on the citizens, who, almost to a 
 man, embraced the Reformation immediately af- 
 terwards. Peter Caroli became their chief pas- 
 tor. He was succeeded in the following year by 
 A^'iret, the associate of Farel, who labored at Lau- 
 sanne for twenty-three years, and ^vas remarka- 
 bly blessed in his work. 
 
 Calvin settled at Geneva in August, 1536. It 
 w»uld have been highly interesting to trace the 
 
 * The iqiiorawce of the people was deplordble. Super.-Jtition, 
 its natural ofiVpring, throve amazingly. At Lntry the land wfn 
 to infested with grubs that the cultivators were nearly r«nf^l. 
 After trying various plans without success, they soug^ht advico 
 m" tlie clergy of Lausanne, who gravely counselled them to put 
 t]ie grubs into the ecclesiar^tical rouit and get them excommuni- 
 cated I ! This io not a suliuiiy ins;tancc in ecclesiailical history ! 
 
 L5 
 
evfiils ot 1118 important and usetul lire, and pfJinc 
 out the influence of his writings on the protestant 
 churches of Europe : but it does not come within 
 the limits of the present work ; it belongs to a 
 more advanced period. 
 
 The Reformation wa.s carried farther in Swit- 
 zerland than in Germany. Luther retained pri-. 
 rate confession, the use of the wafer in the Lord'H 
 eupper, and other rites essentially popish, on 
 which he was inclined to look with indulgence, an 
 indifierent things. All these were swept away by 
 Zuingle and his associates. It was their wish to 
 reduce christian worship to the simple rites indi- 
 cated in the New Testament. 
 
 The ecclesiastical government adopted in Swit- 
 zerland was presbyterian. All ministers were 
 considered equal in power and authority. Assem- 
 bled in presbyteries and synods, and assisted 
 by lay elders, they regulated the affairs of the 
 churches and enacted laws of discipline. Epis- 
 copacy was absolutely abolished. The hierarchy 
 with one mind were opposed to the Reformation. 
 
RLFORMATION IN SWKDLN, A,c. 171 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 History of the licforma/ion in Sireden, Norway, and 
 Denmark. 
 
 The northern parts of Europe received the 
 knowledg'o of the truth from Germany. As early 
 as the year 1521, Swedish merchants, who had 
 visited that country for purposes of trade, em- 
 braced the principles of the Reformation, and on 
 their return home zealously propagated the Gos- 
 pel. About the same time the fame of the univer- 
 sity of VYittemberg reached Sweden, and many 
 students were induced to repair to that city. 
 Among them were tv/o brothei^, Laurentius and 
 Olaus Petri, by whose labors chiefly, under tlie 
 Divine blessing, the moral regeneration of their 
 country was subsequently effected. Olaus was at 
 first a pastor, but soon acquired high reputation, 
 and occupied important posts under the govern- 
 ment. Laurentius filled vaiious ecclesiastical of- 
 fices, and at length obtained the archbishopric of 
 Upsal. 
 
 Gustavus Vasa, who was cliosen king of Swe- 
 den in lo2'i, was a warm admirer of Luther. 
 While in exile at Lubeck he had studied the doc- 
 trines taught by the great reformer, and eagerly 
 received them. As he coidd not but ])erceive that 
 Protestantism was much m.ore lavurable to tho 
 
atlvaiiccment of kncnvlcdge and frredom tlian Po- 
 pery, he soon formed a resolution to promote its 
 interests. One of the first measures adopted was 
 the translation of the New Testament into Swe- 
 dish, which was undertaken by Laurcntius An- 
 dreas, a learned priest, who afterwards attainetl 
 tlie dij^nity of chancellor. His translation was 
 published in 152G. The king had ordered the 
 archbishop of Upsal, who continued to adhere to 
 Popery, to prepare another version, that by the 
 comparison of both with the original the trutli 
 might bo better ascertained. The archbishop 
 contrived, however, to evade a compliance with 
 tlie royal command, and when he found that it 
 was impossible to ofler effectual resistance to the 
 progress of the Reformation, left the kingdom, 
 carrying with him much treasure. 
 
 A disputation, held at Upsal in lo26, between 
 Olaus Petri and Peter Cfalle, a Romish divine, 
 was eminently serviceable to tlie cause of reform. 
 The publication of its ** Acts " enlightened the 
 minds of many. Great numbers of priests cm- 
 braced protestant views, and being encouraged 
 by the nobility, who employed them as chaplains 
 and otherwise l)efriended them, they were ena- 
 bled to brave the fury of tlieir ecclesiastical su- 
 ])erlors, by whom all change v/as obstinately 
 fjpposed. 
 
 By working on the superstitious feai^ of the 
 people, especially in times of sickness, the clergy 
 
\OllWAV, AM) DrXMARK. 173 
 
 Iiad succoeded in alienating from their rightful 
 })0,sscssors estates, castles, and other property of 
 immense value, and had thereby acquired a daii- 
 gcrous amount of political power and inlluenco. 
 The straitened circumstances of the kingdom call- 
 ed for large sacrifices, in order to carry on tlie 
 government. It was only just that the heaviest 
 ])art of the burthen should be borne by the woal- 
 lliiesr, and that those who were revelling in abun- 
 dance, and were spared the necessity of personal 
 exertion or peril, should contribute a fair share to 
 the supply of the nation's wants. But Gustavus 
 appealed to a pampered clergy in vain. 
 
 They were not contented with refusing aid to 
 their king, and striving to thwart his measures. 
 They resisted every change, however beneficial. 
 Had denounced Gustavus to his own people as a 
 lieretic. They excited tumults, and fomented se- 
 dition in every part of the kingdom. Sweden was 
 on the brink of ruin. 
 
 It became necessary to take a decisive step. A 
 general convocation of the states of the kingdom 
 was summoned to meet at Arosen, in 1527. At 
 first there seemed to be no probability of a paci- 
 fic adjustment of the existing differences. Tho 
 ecclesiastics, headed by John Braske, bishop of 
 Lincoping, obstinately refused ail concession, and 
 held a private meeting, at which they bound them- 
 selves by solemn oath to defend the privileges of 
 their order, to retain their ill-gotten wealth, to do- 
 15 
 
king's attempt at reformation. This engagcmcnr, 
 with their signatures attaclied, was deposited in a 
 .omb in the church of St. Giles, where they had 
 iiet, and was found there iifteen years afterwards. 
 Having thus encouraged one anotlier, they rejoin- 
 ed tlie pubhc assembly. The debate was both long 
 and furious. At length the king, perceiving lliat 
 he had made no impression, and that a satisfacto- 
 ry settlem.cnt was not to be hoped for, rose and 
 feaid that it would be utterly impossible for him lo 
 continue on the throne, subjected to the diificul- 
 ties and restraints which had brought the kingdom 
 into such peril, and that, therefore, it was his in- 
 tention to abdicate and retire into voluntary exile, 
 only requesting that they would reimburse to him 
 the costs and charges he had incurred in the de- 
 fence of the realm, and pui'chase his family estate 
 at a fair valuation. He then withdrew, accom- 
 panied by his principal military oilicers. Vio- 
 lent discussions ensued. The prelates kept their 
 ground for a long time, and sturdily refused to 
 yield in the least. But their obstinacy was subdu- 
 ed, the nobility being convinced of the reasonable- 
 ness of the king's requirements. On the fourth day 
 (justavus received a deputation from the states, 
 and in compliance with iheir unanimous solicita- 
 tions consented to resume the reins of government, 
 Decrees were passed, prohibiting for the future 
 the interference of the bishops in state aftairs, 
 
NORWAY, AND DENMAF.K, 175 
 
 ami restoring to their lawful owners the castles 
 •and estates which had fallen into the hands of the 
 clergy. J{,egulations were also made for providing; 
 the churches with suitable ministers ; no one wa-s 
 to be ordain':;d who was unable or unwilling to 
 ** preach the pure word of God;" the revenue-a 
 oi' the church were placed at the disposal of the 
 king and his council, by w'hom sufficient payments 
 were to be made for the support of the clergy 
 and the discharge of necessary expenses, the sur- 
 })lus being devoted to national purposes. Injunc- 
 tions were given that the Scriptures should be 
 read in all schools ; and wholesome restraints were 
 laid on the mendicant monks. By further arrange- 
 ments a check was put to the exorbitant preten- 
 eions of the ecclesiastics, who had hitherto enjoy- 
 ed immunity from civil processes, and set at 
 defiance the authority of the constituted tribu- 
 jials. Gerdes. Hist. iii. 304-313. 
 
 From that time the Reformation prospered in 
 Sweden. The finishing stroke w^as given in 1529, 
 at a meeting of the states, held at Orebro, at 
 which it w^as resolved to abolish the papal autho- 
 rity, and establish a form of religion agreeable to 
 the Scriptures. A directory for worship was pub- 
 lished, prepared by Glaus Petri, which contain- 
 ed, in addition to minute directions for the per- 
 formance of the church service, a compendious 
 summary of christian doctrine. In regard to cere- 
 monies, too great deference was paid to Romish 
 
iioiiOTiS ana praciices. Jium^es wcic uiiuwuu ic tny 
 retained, " in memory of Chnst and the saints." 
 Holy wat€;r and extreme unction were still used, 
 and some other papal rites were preserved ; 
 though care was taken to explain their design and 
 object in such a way as to prevent, ifpoHsible, su- 
 perstitious abuses. It is more gratifying that tho 
 doctrines professed by the Swedish Protestants 
 were in full harmony witb evangelical Irsith. On 
 justiiication, in particular, Oiuus Petri wrote with 
 admirable cleai^ness. 
 
 In Denmark, as well as in many other comrtrJei?, 
 the preaching of indulgences was one of the first 
 means of opening the eyes of men to the errors 
 and abominations of Romanism. Arcimbold, the 
 papal legate, excited general disgust by his pro- 
 ceedings, and left the people fully disposed tcy 
 receive the doctrines of Luther, which weic 
 preached among them by several persons who 
 had studied the reformer's writings, or had heard 
 him at Wittemberg. Among them was Martin, a 
 learned man, who was sent to Copenhagen by the 
 elector of Saxony, at the request of Christiem 11. 
 king of Denmark, and appointed preacher in the 
 cathedral of that city. The effects of his labors 
 may be estii^ated by the measures employed to 
 put a stop to them. Unable to convince him of 
 I'rror, or to withstand the force of the trutlis which 
 he preached, the canons of the cathedral hired a 
 boy who was known as a clever mimic, and in- 
 
NORWAY, AND DENMARK. 177 
 
 structed liim to ]earn to imitate Martin's manner 
 ot* speaking and gestures, wiiich unfortunately 
 v/ere not very gi'aceful. The lad was then eni- 
 jdoyed to go about the city and amuse the people 
 Avith mock sermons on ludicrous subjects, deliver- 
 «'d in jNIartin's style, caricatured. He was well 
 ied, and liberally plied with intoxicating drink, 
 that he might play his part effectively. The 
 8cheme, unworthy as it was, succeeded. Martin 
 returned shortly afterwards to Wittemberg. Ger- 
 des. Hist. iii. 343. 
 
 Yet the king persevered in promoting the Re- 
 formation. He prevented the condemnation of 
 i^uther's writings by the university of Copenha- 
 gen. He issued laws restraining the pomp and 
 luxury of the prelates. And when he was depos- 
 ed and driven into exile, he procured a transla- 
 tion of the New Testament into the Danish lan- 
 guage, which was published at Leipsic in 1524.* 
 
 * This translation was executed by Hans Mikkelsen, who had 
 been Kome time mayor of MaJmoo, and w as afterwards appointed 
 secretai^ to the king, with whom he went into exile. Xhoug^h 
 tlie work was printed at Leipsic, Mikkelsen lived in the Low 
 Countries, and copies of the Danish New Testament were trans- 
 mitted in considerable numbers from Antwerp tf) difterent places 
 in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The efi'ects produced were 
 fio injurious to the interests of poper}', that the ruling powers 
 thought it necessarv' to interfere. " The counsellors of the king- 
 dom, in company with the bishops, among other measures which 
 tliey resolved to adopt in order to put a stop to the spread of the 
 uew heresv, unanimously determined to ' interdict new and dan 
 
rredenc i. wno succeedea v^nnstiera, wns pre- 
 disposed in favor of evangelical truth, and soon 
 fihowed an inclination to patronise the reformers. 
 George Sadolin, who had visited Witteniberir, 
 and returned to his native city, YV'ibourg, in 15^25., 
 opened a protestant seminary, encoui'aged liy the 
 king, under whose protection he persevered ia 
 his useful labors, notwithstanding the opposition 
 of the bishop of the diocese. Many other persons 
 were also diligently engaged in the good work. 
 
 John Taussen held a high rank among the Da- 
 nish reformers. He was born at Birkinde, in the 
 year 1494, of poor parents, who were totally un- 
 able to defray the expenses of his education. His 
 aptitude for learning was so manifest that he ob- 
 tained admission into a monastery at Antrorscov, 
 where the highest hopes were entertained re- 
 specting him, and provision was made for the 
 completion of his studiefs at any foreign universi- 
 ty he might select, Wittcmberg excepted, which 
 at that early period was considered as tainted 
 with heresy. He went to Cologne ; but soon 
 grew dissatisfied with the writings of the schf)oi 
 divines, wliich were then chiefly studied at that 
 university. Some of the works of Lnther falling 
 
 gerous bwjks vliich are daily imported Ironi Antwevp and otlior 
 places.' This prohibition, however, produced biit littie eireci, 
 and the word of God conliiiuctl to be inoiv or loss lead by tbe 
 inhabitants of Donniiirk and its deppiidoiic-les.'' Townlev's lllu»- 
 trdtioiis of Biblical Literature, ii. !J15>. 
 
NORWAY, AND DF.NMARK. 179 
 
 into bis liands, he quickly received tho truths 
 taught by the great reformer, and, in deliance of 
 the prohibition of his superiors, repaired to Wit- 
 temberg. He returned in 1521, and remained 
 some time at Rostock, where he obtained his de- 
 gree as master of arts, and began to preach. Re- 
 fiuming his place in the monastery at Antvorscov, 
 he unsparingly denounced the superstitions and 
 vices of the monastic orders, and urged the neces- 
 sity of a thorough reformation. His discourses 
 were heard with much chagrin. One, delivered 
 on Palm Sunday, 1524, in which he enlarged on 
 the insufficiency of all human wo^-ks, and inculcated 
 the doctrine of salvation by grace, through the 
 atonement of Christ, was so distasteful to his 
 monkish audience that it was determined to cret 
 
 o 
 
 rid of him at once. In obedience to the com- 
 mands of the prior, he went to reside in a monas- 
 tery at Wibourg. The prior of that monastery 
 imprisoned him. But nothing could repress Taus- 
 sen's zeal. He preached the Gospel from the 
 windows of his dungeon, and turned many to the 
 truth. His fame reached the king, who apj^ointed 
 him one of his chaplains, and gave him special 
 permission to preach in any of the churches of 
 Wibourg. Expelled from the monastery as an 
 incorrigible heretic, he proclaimed the glad tiding* 
 of redemption to listening multitudes, who flocked 
 from all parts to hear him. The bishop and his 
 clergy took the alarm ; the use of the churches 
 
yMia loruiuaeu; upon wnicu x uuHsen ji^atueiea 
 the people in the churchyard and ]7reached from 
 a gravestone. They then endeavored to repress 
 .the meetings by the aid of the civil power ; hut 
 ihe people were not to be daunted ; they went 
 armed to their assemblies, prepared to repel force 
 by force, and appeared so determined that oppo- 
 sition was fruitless. A royal decree was obtained, 
 securing the free publication of the Gospel to the 
 citizens of Wibourg. Gerdes. Hist. iii. 355-359. 
 The proceedings of an assembly of the states, 
 held at Odensee in 1527, indicated considerable 
 advance in the right direction. Frederic's address 
 was remarkably apposite and well-timed. Having 
 reminded the bishops of the obligations under 
 which they were laid to i'eed the churcli of Christ 
 with the pure word of God, and watch over its 
 interests with unremitting diligence, he adverted 
 to the astonishing spread of Lutheran doctrine.-^, 
 which could not, he said, be wondered at, seeing 
 that the ministers of the Romish church had for- 
 saken the fountain of heavenly truth, and led the 
 people to the muddy pools of human traditions ; 
 and that wretched^ fables and absurd tales of mira- 
 cles had been circulated among them to such an 
 extent, and with such perverse activity, as to ex- 
 cite disgust and loathing even in the untaught 
 multitude. He knew that he had sworn to main- 
 tain the Catholic and Roman faith, but he could 
 not regard that oath as binding him to sanction 
 
NORWAY, A.VD DF.N'MARK. 181 
 
 Tie errors, abuses and superstitions which had 
 rradually crept iij, and had obtained pernjanence 
 throughout Christendom. He had promised to 
 preserve the rights and privileges of the clergy, 
 and intended to keep his promise. They, how- 
 ever, must be fully aware that the principles of 
 the Reformation had taken deep root in Denmark, 
 tmd could not be eradicated without much blood- 
 shed and the infliction of great distress and inju- 
 ry on his subjects. He was not prepared to adopt 
 such measures ; and it was, therefore, his desire 
 that all men should be permitted the free exer- 
 cise of their religion till a general council should 
 be convened, to whose pious decrees he would 
 render cheerful obedience. 
 
 The king's address was received by all, the 
 clergy excepted, with great satisfaction. Decrees 
 were passed, by which full liberty of conscience 
 was granted ; ample and equal protection was to 
 be afforded to Papists and Lutherans ; monks and 
 nuns were allowed to leave their convents and 
 enter iuto secular life ; the clergy were permitted 
 to marry ; bishops were forbidden to send to 
 Rome for the pallium, thus acknowledging the 
 jurisdiction of the pope ; and ecclesiastical jurls- 
 tliction was restrained to ecclesiastical matters. 
 Gerdes. Hist. iii. 3G3-3G5. 
 
 Malmoe, in the island of Funen, was the first 
 town in which tiie Reformation was fully es- 
 tablished. Martin and Spandermager zealously 
 16 
 
preacnea me urospei laere, ana wiin a great Diess- 
 ing. In the year 1528 they wisely introduced 
 congregational singing into public worship, and 
 published a psalm-book for the use of the people. 
 This was a highly popular step. A version of 
 the psalms was printed about the same time. So 
 powerful was the effect of these measures, that in 
 the following year Romanism was utterly abolish- 
 ed in Malmoe. 
 
 Norway received the Gospel from Danish 
 preachers ; that country being then politically 
 connected with Denmark. Bergen v/as first evan- 
 gelized, and from that city the light gradually dif- 
 fused itself to other parts. 
 
 A new edition of the Danish New Testament 
 was published in 1529, by Christian Pedersen, a 
 canon of Lund, who had recently embraced pro- 
 testant principles. It was a much improved ver- 
 sion, and was very acceptable to the lovers of 
 truth in Denmark. In the same year Taussen 
 was appointed preacher of the church of St. Ni- 
 cholas in Copenhagen, where his eloquent and 
 forcible discourses, unmasking the abominations 
 of Rom.e, and expounding evangelical doctrine 
 in the fer%-id style of one who had "tasted the 
 good word of God," attracted crowds of hearers, 
 and contributed greatly to the prosperity of the 
 cause. 
 
 So general and deep was the impression in fa- 
 vor of the Gospel, that the king judged the time 
 
NORWAY, AND DENMARK. 183 
 
 was come to make a public demonstration. Hav- 
 ing intimated that at the meeting of the states, in 
 1530, tne subject of religion would be specially 
 brought before them, the Romish prelates sent a 
 deputation to Cologne, and procured the assist- 
 ance of a body of German divines.* Tausseu 
 headed the protestant party, and delivered in, on 
 their behalf, a luminous confession of faith. The 
 Romanists presented a counter confession, de- 
 nouncing their opponents as heretics, and urged 
 the king to put them dowTi by force. A public 
 disputation was then proposed. Taussen and his 
 friends readily agreed to it ; but insurmountable 
 diiticulties were quickly thrown in the way. The 
 Papists determined to dispute in the Latin lan- 
 guage ; the Protestants prefened the Danish. 
 The fonner required submission to the pope as 
 the final judge in controversy, or to the decisions 
 
 * When Tau3s«n was at ^Vibourg, the bishop sent to Eck, 
 hoping by his aid to silence his opponent; but Eck declined tho 
 doubtful honor. Application was then made to CccWfeus; he 
 asked the advice of Erasmus, and in compliance with his sugges- 
 tion, refused to accept the invitation. " The journey is long," 
 Gaid Erasmus ; " the people are said to be of a savage disposi- 
 tion, and winter is at hand. If it were the kingdom of Christ 
 the bishops were contending for, and not their own, we should 
 be more ready to join in the contest. The only advice I can 
 therefore give in the matter is, that you regard it as the cause 
 of Christ, and not that of man, and that you bo more intent on 
 the salvation than the punishment of men." Quoted in Towiiley's 
 iilustrations (if Biblical Literature, ii, 329, 
 
any authority but that of the Scriptures, only con- 
 ceding that the secular po\ver should dcclai-« 
 which of the contending parties delivered senti- 
 ments most nccordnnt with the sacred book. A? 
 neither would yield, no discussion took place. 
 But it was easy to see that ihe Protestants had 
 the advantacce, and from that time their senti- 
 ments made rapi<I progress. Gerdes. Hist. iii. 385. 
 Frederic I. died April 10, 1533. After hi»* 
 death on interregnum of nearly two years follow 
 ed, during which the bishops got the upper hand 
 usurped the government, and attempted to rein 
 Ftate Popery in its former power and honor 
 They partially succeeded, but not to the extent 
 of their wishes, public opinion being generally 
 against them. The fury of the storm was mainly 
 directed against Taussen. " His enemies exert- 
 ed their influence against him, and occasioned 
 him to be summoned to appear before the states 
 of the kingdom. Here he was accused in the bit- 
 terest manner ; and though he defended himself 
 with great ability, the prelates sentenced him to 
 lose his life, honor, and goods. This sentence the 
 council refused to confirm ; though he was order- 
 ed to leave the island, and never appear more 
 either in Zealand or Skonia. Jnit the citizens, 
 having been apprized of tlio manner in which he 
 was treated, assembled before the chamber and 
 demanded that he should be delivered to them 
 
NOinVAY, AND DENMARK. X85 
 
 eafe and sound. An amiable trait in Tausscn'« 
 character displayed itself on this occasion. The 
 populace were so exasperated at bishop Ilonnow, 
 whom they regarded as the author of the j^rosecu- 
 tion, that they were determined to wreak their 
 vengeance on him as he returned to his residence. 
 Taussen, however, calmed their fury, and con- 
 ducted his enemy by the arm through the mob 
 to the door of his house." Townley's Illustra- 
 tions, ii. 331. 
 
 After the election of Christiern III. son of the 
 late king, in 1535, the bishops persevered in their 
 machinations, and involved the kingdom in the 
 horrors of civil v/ar. lis issue was fatal to them. 
 The new king established his power in spite of 
 all opposition. One of the first results of his suc- 
 cess was the arrest and consequent deprivation 
 of the rebellious prelates. The opportunity was 
 taken to bring the whole question of reformation 
 before the assembled states of the kingdom, at a 
 diet held at Copenhagen. The episcopal order 
 was abolished. All ecclesiastical property was 
 placed under the management of the state, with 
 the understanding that after sufficient provision 
 had been made for the support of the clergy, and 
 the establishment of colleges, hospitals, poor- 
 houses, and reformed monasteries, the suqidus 
 should be devoted to the discharge of debts in- 
 curred in the late war, and the remission of taxes. 
 Other important measures were adopted to con- 
 16* 
 
r" ^ fe.v...w 
 
 Luther was frequently consulted. At his recom- 
 mendation Bugenhagius went to Copenhagen, 
 where he remained a considerable time. He pre- 
 Bided at the coronation, substituting for popish 
 forms a ceremonial less superstitious and in bet- 
 ter harmony with Scripture. He prepared a new 
 ordination service on protestaut principles, which 
 was used at the ordination of seven superinten- 
 dents placed over the dioceses of the deprived 
 bishops. He re-organized the university of Co- 
 penhagen, which had fallen into decay, and vt^as 
 now revived by the king's cjmriiand, and munifi- 
 cently endowed. His services were so valuable 
 that the king earnestly desired to retain him in 
 Denmark, but ho declined the liberal oilers that 
 were made him and returned to his parochial 
 charge at Wittemberg. 
 
 The final settlement of the Iteformation was 
 accomplished at a meeting of the states held at 
 Odensee, in 1539. All that had been done by 
 Bugenhagius was then solemnly ratified, and Pro- 
 testantism was declared the established religion of 
 Denmark. Gerdes. Hist. iii. 414. 
 
 Taussen continued zealous in advancing the 
 cause of truth. In 1535 he had published a ver- 
 sion of the Pentateuch, which proved highly ac- 
 ceptable to the friends of religion. Two yeans 
 afterwards he was appointed professor of theology 
 at Roskilde. He was promoted to the snperiu- 
 
NORWAY, AND DKNMARIv. 187 
 
 tendency o{ the diocese of Ripen in 1542, where 
 he labored till November 9, 1561, when death 
 terminated his arduous and useful career. 
 
 In compliance with the earnest recommenda- 
 tion of Bugenhagius, the king undertook to furnish 
 Denmark with the entire Scriptures in the ver- 
 nacular tongue. The theological faculty of the 
 university of Copenhagen were engaged to super- 
 intend the work. No expense was spared. It 
 was finished in 1550 : Luther's version was chief- 
 ly fuUov/ed. 
 
 The establishment of the Reformation in Den- 
 mark was comparatively unstained by violence and 
 blood. A civil war has been mentioned, but that 
 did not last long. No scaffolds were erected for 
 the execution of the innocent. No martyrs' piles 
 blazed. The progress of truth was gradual, and 
 a peaceful triumph crowned the holy enterprise. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "History of the. Reformation in the. Low Countries. 
 
 The Low Countries, or Netherlands, (including 
 the present kingdoms of Holland and Belgium,) 
 formed part of the extensive dominions of Charles 
 V. At the rise of the Reformation they were 
 governed by Margaret of Austria, the emperor's 
 
Ill 1512. 
 
 Luther's doctrines were disseminated by liia 
 followers with eager zeal. The printers, too, 
 found it advantageous to re-publish his works. 
 The wi-itings of the reformers were in consequence 
 widely circulated in the Netherlands, and with 
 great efiect, as may be judged by the eiTorts made 
 to suppress the truth. An edict issued in 1521, 
 prohibiting the publication of any theological work 
 without the permission of the bishops, having 
 proved fruitless, the emperor appointed two com- 
 missioners, with full power to make inquisition 
 for heresy, and punish ail delinquents. I^Iany 
 persons were thrown into prison. The case of 
 Cornelius Grapheus, secretary to the city of Ant- 
 werp, was peculiarly hard, and forcibly illustrates 
 the malignity of Romanism. His alleged offence 
 was that, several years before, he had written a 
 preface to a work published by John van Gooch,* 
 in which he censured some enactments and cere- 
 monies of the church as a yoke needlessly placed 
 on christian people. The book fell into the hands 
 of the commissioners, who quickly detected here- 
 
 * He was prior of a monastery in Meclilin, where lie died in 
 the year 1475. In the work edited by Grampheus he had main- 
 tained that the Scriptures only luivc authority in matters of faith 
 This was sufficient to procure the condemnation of the unior- 
 tunate editor. 
 
Tirl! I.OW COfNTRtftS. 189 
 
 «y ill the preface. Grapheus was imprisoned. 
 Affriglited at his situation, he offered to retract. 
 Hut it was in vain. Men might publish *' comedies, 
 farces, and lampoons, though never so sharp and 
 indecent," as Grapheus justly observed, with full 
 impunity : it was only when they ventured to at- 
 tack the church that they were to be restrained. 
 To doubt the truth of any doctrines held at Rome, 
 however absurd ; or to question the propriety 
 of any observances, however ridiculous, was an 
 offence not to be forgiven. Tho sentence passed 
 on Grapheus was, that he should make a public 
 recantation at Brussels and Antwerp, and cast 
 the obnoxious preface into the fire with his own 
 hands ; that all his property should be confiscated ; 
 that he should be for ever incapable of holding 
 any public office ; and that he should suffer per- 
 petual im2)risonmenr. 
 
 Others were still more severely punished. 
 Many of the Augustinian friars at Anvers having 
 embraced the principles of the Reformation, they 
 were imprisoned and brought to triah Some re- 
 canted. Three persevered, and were sentenced to 
 the flames. Two of them, Henry Voes and John 
 Kcht, suffered joyfully at Brussels July 1, 1523, 
 Three days afterwards, Lambert Thorn, their 
 companion, who had been induced by fear to re- 
 quest a short respite, endured the same fate, 
 (ithers were similarly put to death by order of 
 Aleander, the papal nuncio, in different parts of 
 
Hit! xM etuciidiiua. x ucac c.vuiyum^ii') \.niu wn;u.u 
 
 service to the cause of truth. Erasmus did not 
 Rcniple to affirm, and doubtless with good reason, 
 that wherever Aleander Hghted the fires of mar- 
 tyrdom the soil was at the same time sown with 
 heresy. 
 
 " All the accounts agree that, in the years 1523 
 and 1524, the persecutions were excessively se- 
 vere. A single well-authenticated instance will of- 
 ten demonstrate both the temper of the rulers and 
 the prevailing sentiments of the people. For ex- 
 ample, at Antwerp, a certain person had been in 
 the habit of explaining the Gospel on Sundays to 
 a vast concourse of people. An express order was 
 issued to forbid the practice. The people, liow- 
 ever, met in the dock-yards ; and, as their usual 
 preacher or expositor did not make his appear- 
 ance, a zealous youth, named Nicolaus, placed 
 himself in a boat near the shore and addressed 
 the audience in a ver\' pious manner, from the 
 chapter concerning the five loaves and two fishes. 
 The veiy next day he was ordered to be seized 
 and put into a sack, lest he should be known by 
 the people ; and in that stale he was suddenly 
 thrown into the river." Miiner's History of the 
 Church, cent. xvi. chap. 10. 
 
 It would be a sickening task to detail the hor- 
 rors of the numerous martyrdoms, the narrative 
 of which constitutes 80 large a portion of the ec- 
 clesiastical history of the Netherlands, The suf- 
 
THE LOW COU.NTRinS. 191 
 
 ferlngs of the servants of God were more severe, 
 and the strus^gle longer protracted there than in 
 any other country. There was but one way of 
 dealing with presumed heretics : they must re- 
 cant, or be beheaded, strangled or burned, at the 
 discretion of their inhuman judges. In spite of 
 these terrible inflictions, the separations from 
 Rome became more and more numerous ; many 
 monks and nuns left their convents and entered 
 into social life. It was calculated that a majority 
 of the inhabitants of Holland, Zealand, and Flan- 
 ders had imbibed the doctrine taught by the re- 
 formers. Exasperated by this, the persecutors 
 adopted yet more severe measures. By an edict 
 published October 14, 1529, all persons convicted 
 of Protestantism were condemned to die — the 
 men to be beheaded, the women to be buried 
 alive — and such as had recanted, and afterwards 
 relapsed, to be burned. Those who received al- 
 le2;ed heretics into their houses were adjudged to 
 suffer death and confiscation of goods. Persons 
 suspected of heresy were excluded from all pub- 
 lic employments, and liberal rewards were pro- 
 mised to informers. Nevertheless, the word of 
 God gi'ew and multiplied. 
 
 Jacob Liesveldt, a printer, published an edi- 
 tion of the Bible in the Belgic language in 1526. 
 It. was a most acceptable boon to the suffering 
 people of God, and a fountain of living waters to 
 many souls thirsting for knowledge and grace. 
 
spersed some brief annotations, one of which was 
 to this effect : — " that salvation proceeds from 
 Christ alone." The full reception of this truth is 
 a death-blow to tije superstitions of Rome ; those 
 who held it were, therefore, marked out for ven- 
 geance. Liesveldt was beheaded at Antwerp, and 
 successive proclamations vi'ere issued against those 
 who met to read and converse about the Scrip- 
 tures, or even possessed the prohibited transla- 
 tion. The penalty was forfeiture of life and goods. 
 It was further enacted, that whoever published 
 any new book, on any subject, without permis- 
 sion, should be set in the pillory, or branded w-ith 
 a red-hot iron, or have one eye plucked out, or a 
 hand cut off. 
 
 On the death of Margaret of Austria in 1530, 
 Mary, widow of Lewis, king of Hungary, sister to 
 Charles V. succeeded to the regency, and carried 
 on the persecution with equal rigor. In the first 
 Year of her government nine men were beheaded 
 at the Hague at one time ; and in the next year 
 a whole family, consisting of the father and mother, 
 and two daughters, with' their husbands, v/ere 
 burned in the same fire, at Leinburg, joyfully 
 singing the praises of God and calling upon tho 
 Savior with their latest breath. The impressions 
 produced upon the spectators on such occasions 
 were so unfavorable to the dominant religion, that 
 the courts of judicature ^^c^titioned the regent to 
 
THE LOW COUNTRIES. 193 
 
 order that heretics should be privately executed. 
 
 For upwards of twenty years similar scenes 
 were continually before the eyes of the people : 
 but the truth steadily advanced ; the number of 
 its friends daily increased; the Scriptures and 
 useful theological works obtained wide circulation. 
 There was no slackening of the opposition,* nor 
 did the servants of the Savior flinch from the trials 
 uf their faith. They •* loved not their lives unto 
 the death;" and they were graciously sustained 
 by the faithfulness of their Lord. 
 
 In 1555 Philip II. succeeded to the govern- 
 ment by the resignation of Charles V. He imme- 
 diately confirmed all his father's edicts against 
 Protestantism ; and under his auspices the perse- 
 cution was revived, and continued to rage with 
 increased vigor. 
 
 The case of Angelas Merula desers'es a full 
 narration, as an illustration of the cruelty and craft 
 10 which the adherents of Rome had recourse in 
 t^upporting their anti-christian system. Merula 
 was born at Brill, in tlie year 1482. He was ap- 
 pointed to the living of Henfleet, where he spent 
 iii.s life in assiduous study of the Scriptures and 
 diligent attention to the duties of his office, be- 
 loved and revered by all. The more carefully he 
 
 * Portraits of the reformers were hung up at the gates of 
 towns and cities, and in other public places, that they nii^ht bo 
 tiie more casilv discovered and apprehended. 
 17 
 
eearchod llie word of God, the more fully was lie 
 convinced of the great need of reformation. In 
 1552 he went so far a.s to make alterations in that 
 part of the office of the mass which recognises the 
 merits and intercession of the saints; he preached 
 on the necessity of the reformation, and was evi- 
 dently advancing towards Protestantism. The 
 next year liis books and papers were seized, and 
 he was cast into prison. He was accused of various 
 80-called heresies, such as these : — " that it is bet- 
 ter to neglect ten masses than one sermon; that 
 nothing is necessary to salvation but what is found 
 in the word of God ; that faith without charity is 
 not true faith ; that men ought to live according 
 to the rules of the Gospel, without following any 
 other rule." His manuscripts were examined and 
 re-examined with Jesuitical sagacity, in order to 
 discover fresh proofs of guilt ; but he boldly de- 
 fended himself, and refused to retract any senti- 
 ments he had maintained. His sufferings excited 
 universal sympathy ; crowds flocked to the jirison 
 to see him ; and the inquisitors began to fear 
 that he would eventually triumph, since it was 
 evidently perilous to adopt extreme measures 
 against a man whom all loved and honored. 
 
 A villanous expedient was devised, which un- 
 happily proved too successful. One day a dignified 
 ecclesiastic, bearing the title of bishop of Hebron, 
 entered Merula's cell, pretending to be in a state 
 of the greatest anxiety and gi'ief on his account. 
 
THE LOW COUXTRIE3. 195 
 
 Prostrating himself before the prisoner, and shed- 
 ding abundance of tears, he besought him to yield 
 and be reconciled. After some flattering encomi- 
 ums on his learning and piety, he proceeded to 
 state, that in regard to doctrinal matters there was 
 no difference between them — -it was confessed that 
 lie was perfectly orthodox. It was only necessary 
 that he should confess his fault in alterinsf certain 
 ceremonies which, being enjoined by the church, 
 ought to be reverently observed by all her chil- 
 dren. *' Submit, therefore, I beseech you," said 
 the bishop, " to the church and her decisions, to 
 avoid tumults and disorders. You see the people 
 are very much incensed : would you expose us to 
 the violence and fury of the mob 1 Preserve your 
 life for the sake of the poor, who desire the pre- 
 servation of it with so many tears. Preserve ours ; 
 for it depends upon you. The only thing we re- 
 quire from you is, that you would be pleased to 
 acknowledge that you have irai:>rudently under- 
 taken to abolish some customs and ceremonies 
 v/hich are indifferent in their own nature, and that 
 vou are sorry for it." 
 
 This plausible speech produced the desired 
 effect. Merula was persuaded into compliance,^ 
 On an appointed day he was led from his prison 
 to a scaffold erected in a public place, which was 
 surrounded by a multitude of people who had as- 
 sembled to hear his confession, and expected that 
 it would be expressed in terms answerable to tho 
 
produced a document, which was said to be the 
 confession, and proceeded to read it, but in a low- 
 voice, and so fast, that Morula, who was very deaf, 
 could not hear a word. He was represented as 
 saying that he abjured the heresies of Luther, and 
 all errors contrary to the faith of the church of 
 Rome ; that he believed all the doctrines of that 
 church, and would live and die in her communion, 
 out of which ho believed no ono could be saved ; 
 and fuially, he solicited the prayers of the people 
 and begged pardon of those whom he had seduced 
 into error. 
 
 When the contents of the paper were made 
 known to the assembled throng, admiration gave 
 way to disgust, and pity to indignation. They had 
 looked upon Morula as a martyr, and now they 
 regarded hira as an impostor. Neither he nor they 
 knew at the time the infamous cheat which had 
 been practised. lie asked to read the confession; 
 but that v/ould have disco%'ered the whole. There 
 was not time, they said ; they were in haste ; a riot 
 might break out; he must sign at once, and might 
 read it afterwards. It was done, and then sentence 
 was passed ; which was, that he should be deprived 
 of his benefice, and degraded ; that he should pub- 
 licly read his confession in his own church ; that 
 he should suffer perpetual imprisonment ; spend 
 las life in a state of penitentiary discipline, and 
 pay all the costs of his iniquitous prosecution. 
 
TIIL LOW COLNTKir.S. 197 
 
 When the poor old man returned to his dun- 
 geon the truth was disclosed, and he was over- 
 whelmed with grief at the discovery. Justly indig- 
 nant at the deception of which he had been the 
 subject, he loudly complained of the wrong, pro- 
 tested his innocence of the apparent act of apos- 
 tacy, and declared that he still believed, and would 
 maintain till death the truths which he had preach- 
 ed and published before his imprisonment. Many 
 attempts were made to shake his constancy, but 
 in vain. He was removed from prison to prison, 
 and subjected to great sufferings for several years ; 
 yet he still continued firm, and was at length con- 
 demned to be burned as a relapsed heretic. 
 
 The sentence was executed July 27, 1557, at 
 Mens, in which place he had endured his last im- 
 prisonment. On the morning of that day his ne- 
 phew, whom he had treated as a son, and to whom 
 he was tenderly attached, arrived at Mons, quite 
 ignorant of his uncle's condemnation. They met 
 on the road as the martyr was going to the stake. 
 His soul was in a peaceful frame, He longed to 
 be with Christ, and bade the young man convey 
 to his friends the assurance that he was happy in 
 being permitted to seal with his blood the truths 
 he had held and taught. Arrived at the place of 
 execution, he requested permission to pray. 
 Kneeling down close to the stake, the whole de- 
 sires of his soul were poured forth in ardont sup-^ 
 plications. While thus engaged, ho suddenly fell,' 
 17* 
 
proached, thinking that he had swooned; but tlie 
 spirit had departed. God had granted a gentler 
 dismission : the flames consumed his lifeless flesh, 
 but the soul was already with the Savior. Brandt's 
 History of the Reformation in the Low Countries : 
 abridged edition, pp. Sl-SS. 
 
 Philip remained in the Low Countries four 
 years, urging on the work of death. But his efibrta 
 were in vain. In 1559 he took up his residence 
 in Spain, leaving Margaret, duchess of Parma, at 
 the head of the government, and enjoining on the 
 members of the administration the moat ligid ad- 
 herence to the exterminating policy he had adopt- 
 ed. His directions were complied with, yet still 
 the work of God advanced. 
 
 The Reformed published a confession of faith, 
 showing that their principles were sound and 
 scriptural. On their re-issuing it, three years after- 
 wards, an address to Philip was prefixed, in which 
 they told him that at that time there were upwards 
 of one hundred thousand persons in the Low Coun- 
 tries who professed Protestantism — a proof of the 
 power of truth, and the strong influence of reli- 
 gious feeling. 
 
 At length the hori'ible suflerings endured by 
 the servants of God, and the frightful waste of 
 property and life, produced a re-action which in- 
 volved the Low Countries in the horrors of civil 
 war. The notorious duke of Alva, who ajssumfed 
 
THE LOW COUNTRIES. 199 
 
 the government in 1.507, perpetrated enormiticp, 
 the recital of which would make the stoutest heart 
 shudder. In the course of five years this demon 
 in human shape put to death eighteen thousand 
 pei*sons by the hands of the common executioner. 
 The nobility and gentry were beheaded. Others 
 were hanged or burned. Trees were often loaded 
 with dead bodies suspended from their branches. 
 The very beams of the protestant churches were 
 made use of for this horrid ♦purpose. In many 
 places the atmosphere was infected by the stench 
 arising^from the carcasses of the victims. By a re- 
 finement of cruelty peculiar to popish persecu- 
 tions, the martyrs were gagged, that no expres- 
 sions of their joy and steadfastness in death might 
 be heard by the multitude. But sometimes tho 
 gags were not inserted, or dropped out of their 
 mouths. Another expedient was then adopted, 
 worthy of the infernals themselves. The ends of 
 the tongues of the sufferers were burned with red- 
 hot irons, by which means they were effectually 
 incapacitated fi-om speaking. 
 
 A hundred thousand persons, it was computed, 
 left their homes and took refuge in Germany and 
 other countries, to avoid the fate which impended 
 over them. This might have convinced the duke 
 of Alva of the impracticability of his schemes. But 
 he persevered in his blood-thirsty career. By un- 
 just and oppressive taxation, and other tyrannical 
 measures, he goaded the people to desperation. A 
 
and Zealand were drenched with blood. Alva was 
 superseded in the government in lo73 by Re- 
 quesens, a man of much milder character, who 
 died in 1576, and was succeeded by Don John of 
 Austria ;* but it was too late to repair the rni.s- 
 chief. Spanish misrule had excited universal dis- 
 gust and hatred. After a protracted and hard- 
 fought contest, the provinces achieved their inde- 
 pendence. Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Friseland, 
 Groningen, Overyssel and Guelderland, in which 
 Protestantism chiefly prevailed, formed the con- 
 federation of the *' Seven United Provinces," and 
 were linall}'' separated from Spain. The other 
 provinces, constituting what were then called the 
 Spanish Netherlands, remained in connexion with 
 the monarchy, and in them there were occasional 
 outbreaks of persecution for many years. The last 
 martyrdom in the Low Countries took place in 
 1595. The sufferer was a female servant, named 
 Anne von der Hoor. She was buried alive near 
 Brussels. After the executioner had laid her in 
 the grave, and thrown some earth upon her, be- 
 ginning at the feet, and covering the body as far 
 as the shoulders, some priests approached and as- 
 
 ** Pope Gregory- XIII. issued a bull granting plenary induU 
 pence lo all who fought under Don .John against the Protestants. 
 There was a cross on his standard, with this motto, hi hoc signn 
 nci Turcas : in hoc sipio vivcam literciicos. " By this sign I 
 pveroame the Turks : by this sign I shall overcome the hennics," 
 
IN FRANCE. 201 
 
 Bured her that hor life would be spared if she re- 
 turned to the church of Rome. But she refused to 
 listen, saying, " Those who seek to save their lives 
 here shall lose them hereafter ;" and commended 
 lierself in prayer to the Lord. The executioner 
 then threw a quantity of earth on her face, and 
 trod upon it. A groan was heard — and all was 
 over. 
 
 The United Provinces struggled hard to main- 
 tain and preserve their freedom, and eventually 
 succeeded. The energies of Protestantism were 
 fully developed in their history. Civil and religious 
 liberty were found to be inseparably connected ; 
 knowledge, truth, and godliness prevailed ; and 
 the people were happy and prosperous. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 History of the Reformation in France. 
 SECTION I. 
 
 FROM THE COMMTSCEMEMT TO THE PEACE OF ST. GERMAIN. 
 
 Lefevre d'Etaples had been seventeen years 
 professor of theology in the university of Paris 
 when William Farel arrived in that city to pursue 
 bis studies. Lefe\Te was no common man : he de* 
 
202 HISTORV OF THE 
 
 rived his knowledge of divinity cliiefly from tho 
 Scriptures, and exhorted the students to search 
 the sacred volume for themselves. He was also 
 well versed in classical literature. His lecturer 
 were listened to with eagerness, and very nume- 
 rously attended. Nevertheless he was a devout 
 worshipper of the saints. He spent almost as much 
 time in the churches, kneeling at the altars of tho 
 Virgin Mary and other deified personages, as in 
 his study ; for as yet he was tied and bound by 
 the chain of the papacy. 
 
 William Farel was bora in a village of the same 
 name in Dauphiny, in the year 1489. His family 
 was ancient and noble. His parents trained him 
 up in superstition. Much of his early life was spent 
 in pilgrimages and other acts of devotion. It had 
 been hoped that he would choose the profession 
 of arms ; but, greatly to the disquietude of his fa- 
 ther, he evinced an irrepressible desire for learn- 
 ing. He proceeded to Paris in the year 1510, 
 There Lefevre honored him with his intimate 
 friendship. Many an hour did they spend together 
 in literary conference, and many a visit did they 
 pay to the holy images. " At that time," said Fa- 
 rel, " I believed in the cross, in images, in vows, 
 in bones. The wafer which the priest held in his 
 hands, placed in the box, shut up there, eaten, and 
 given to others to eat, was to me the true God, 
 and there was no other, eitlier in heaven or on 
 the earth." D'Aubigne, iii, 17G. 
 
tlEFORMATIO.V TN FRANCr. *20r{ 
 
 About the year ir)12 a great change took place 
 ill Lefevre's views. He had undertaken to compile 
 the lives of the saints and martyrs, arranged in the 
 order in which they are adored throughout the 
 year. It was a work of great toll. Two months of 
 the series were completed, when the author sud- 
 denly relinquished his labor. He became so dis- 
 gusted with the childishness of the legends that 
 he could proceed no further. Abandoning his task, 
 he devoted himself exclusively to the study of the 
 Scriptures. It was not long before he discovered 
 the doctrine of justification by faith. He received 
 it with joy, and immediately communicated the 
 truth to the youth of the university. The effects 
 v/ere shnilar to those produced in apostolic times. 
 Some derided; some opposed; a few were sub- 
 dued to Christ, and am.ong them -was Farel. At 
 first the new doctrine, for such it v/as regarded, 
 repelled and shocked him, overturning, as it did, 
 all his cherished notions of human merit. But the 
 conflict was short. The Spirit of the Lord con- 
 vinced him "of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
 ment." Farel was gained to the truth, and thence- 
 forward maintained it with undiverted zeal. 
 
 Important accessions were soon gained. Among 
 those who joined the evangelical ranks at this early 
 period was Briqonnet, count of Montbrunn and 
 bishop of Meaux. He had just returned from an 
 embassy to Rome, and found that great alterations 
 had taken place in the state of religion in the uni- 
 
wiaiioii ana iiiiiuLiiift; piuuuccu puwexiui eiieLu-*, 
 Through his connexion with the court, the truths 
 of the Gospel were introduced to man v persons of 
 noble bii-th, and in numerous instances with the 
 happiest results. But the most splendid triumph 
 was the conversion of Margaret of Valois, duchess 
 of Alen(;on, and sister to the king. She possessed 
 great talents ; her mind was well cultivated ; and 
 Khe was held in such high esteem by her brother 
 that her advice was often sought in affairs of state. 
 It was not to be doubted that she would render 
 essential service to the cause of Gospel truth. 
 
 For several years this movement was confined 
 to Paris. The friends of truth had to struggle witli 
 much opposition. Beda, syndic of the Sorbonne, a 
 proud bigot, a man of fierce passions and implaca- 
 ble in resentment, was at the head of the Romish 
 ])arty. Influenced by him, the university of Paris 
 undertook an examination of the works of Luther, 
 which issued in a decree of condemnation, pub- 
 lished in Apiil, 1521, whereby the writings of the 
 reformer were ordered to be burned. Otlier mea- 
 sures followed. Beda thirsted for blood. Not coji- 
 tent with subjecting the reformers in the univer- 
 sity to every kind of vexation, he attempted to ex- 
 cite the king to open persecution. At that time, 
 however, tlie attempt was unsuccessful. Francis I 
 
REFOttMATtON" IX FRANCE. 20r» 
 
 kne\v that the accused persons were some of the 
 hrightest ornaments of the university, and that 
 there was nothing to object to them but their re- 
 ligion ; under this conviction, he resolutely re- 
 t'usied to interfere. Foiled and mortified, lie».la re- 
 doubled his activity, determined to etfect his ob- 
 ject by repeated acts of petty molestation. He 
 bucceeded. L,efevr<3 accepted the invitation of Bri- 
 yonnet, and souglit an asylum at Meaux. Farel 
 uud some others remained awhile at Paris, boldly 
 braving their foes; but at length tliey also left the 
 *cene of conflict. 
 
 13ri^x»nnet welcomed .the servants of the Lord, 
 and availed him.self of their labors. Under his 
 protection they preached the truth in Meaux and 
 its neighborhood, announcing every where the glud 
 tidings of free justification, and inviting their hear- 
 ers to the Savior. " The word of God is sufii- 
 clent ;'' — that W'as their foundation principle. They 
 jn'oclaimed it with unyielding boldness. '* The 
 knov/ledge of Christ and his word," said they, 
 " is the universal theology — the only life-giving 
 system." These truths were not published in vain. 
 The Lord gave testimony to the word of his grace, 
 both in Meaux and in the surrounding: districts. A 
 powerful impulse was given to the work by the 
 translation and printing of the New Testament. 
 This iTP.portant undertaking ^vas accomplished by 
 Leievre in tlie year 1522 ; a version of the psalms 
 was issued two years ai>erwards. The usual con- 
 IS 
 
scnooi aivinity. i ney received tne precious gut 
 with joy and thankfulness. The New Testament 
 became tlie constant companion of many an in* 
 dustrious mechanic. The furniture of the work- 
 shop was not complete without it. In the intervals 
 of labor its pages were eagerly read. On Lord's 
 days and saints' days, hour after hour was em- 
 ployed in searching the Scriptures, comparing one 
 part with another, that they might know the whole 
 counsel of God. The bishop greatly encouraged 
 the faithful preachers of the Gospel. Sometimes 
 he himself ascended the pulpit, proclaimed the:? 
 truth, and warned his flock not to forsake the 
 good way, even if he should apostatize ; a warn* 
 ing which some of them had reason afterwards to 
 remember. " Not only was the word of God 
 preached," says an old chronicle of the times, 
 ** but it was practised ; all works of charity were 
 performed; the morals of the people were im- 
 proved ; and superstition declined." 
 
 The Franciscan monks were alarmed. They 
 eaw that if this state of things continued, their 
 gains, already much lessened, would dwindle 
 quite away. Determined to strike a heavy blow, 
 they accused Briyonnet before the Sorbonne, as 
 an encourager of heresy. The bishop escaped, 
 but at the expense of consistency and friendship. 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 207 
 
 Unable to brave persecution, he consented to sa- 
 crifice his faithful coadjutors, and withdrew their 
 licences to preach. Farel, who was the most ob- 
 noxious, was obliged to quit Meaux. The rest 
 were silenced. 
 
 But " the word of God was not bound." Those 
 who had believed ** through grace," resolved to 
 stand by one another. They met in secret to read 
 the word and pray. Such as were able exhorted 
 tlie brethren. Among them, John Leclerc, a 
 wool-carder, was distinguished for piety and zeal. 
 He went from house to house, ** confirming the 
 souls of the disciples, and exhorting them that 
 through much tribulation they must enter into the 
 kingdom of God." A bold step brought down 
 upon him the vengeance of his foes. He wrote a 
 placard, containing a denunciation of the Romish 
 antichrist, whom the Lord would soon destroy, 
 and affixed it to the gates of the cathedral. The 
 monks were frantic with rage. Leclerc was forth- 
 with seized and cast into prison. He was quick- 
 ly condemned, and sentenced to be thrice whipped 
 through the city, on three successive days, and 
 branded on the forehead as a heretic. 
 
 The sentence was executed in the presence of 
 an immense crowd ; some cursing, some comfort- 
 ing him. On the third day after the last whip- 
 ping he was taken to the common place of exe- 
 cution to be branded. When a red-hot iron was 
 applied to his forehead, a piercing cry was heard 
 
of his af^onies. But faith triumphed. ** Christ ariti 
 hiis marks for ever !"* she exclaimed, and thou 
 Hknvly and sorrowfully made her way through the 
 croud to her humble home. Many sympathized 
 witli her ; all pitied ; none ventured to molest. 
 Even the hard-hearted monks repressed their 
 fury and forbore to call for punishment. Le- 
 clerc was released, and withdrew to the neighbor- 
 hood of Metz. The little flock continued to hold 
 its meetings as before, but the greatest secrecy 
 was observed. 
 
 Encouraged by this success, the enemies of 
 truth sought a nobler prey. Louis Berquin, a gen- 
 tleman of noble birth, and connected with the 
 court, had early embraced the Gospel, and evinc- 
 ed great zeal in the propagation and defence of 
 its doctrines. Not only did he encourage Farel 
 and his associates in their efforts while they re- 
 mained in Paris, but, after their departure he 
 stood his ground singly and alone, employing all 
 the means in his power to enlighten the minds of 
 his fellow-countrymen, and rouse them to an ef- 
 fective opposition to ecclesiastical tyranny. Being 
 liimself a learned man and a powerful writer, be 
 
 * Vive Jesus Christ et ses eftstngncs ! " I bear in my body 
 the marks of the Lord Jesus." Gal. 6 : 17. 
 
REFORM ATrOX IX FRANCE. 209 
 
 used bis pen so skilfully that tlie advocates of er- 
 ror •were filled with rage and fear. The keen wit 
 of his epigrams exasperated them almost to mad- 
 ness. Besides this, he was an industrious collect- 
 or of the works of Luther, and other German re- 
 formers, which he translated into French, and 
 published and circulated, to the no small dismay 
 of the doctors of the Sorbonne. 
 
 He was marked for vengeance. One day, as ho 
 was sitting in his study, engaged in his beloved 
 work, the house was forcibly entered and his 
 books and papers seized. After an examination 
 of the books, which were declared to be heretical, 
 Berquin was apprehended and committed to pri- 
 son. His fate seemed to be sealed ; but the king 
 interposed oti his behalf, evoked the cause before 
 himself in council, and set the prisoner at liberty. 
 
 Lcclerc labored at Metz, with much zeal and 
 very encouraging indications of the Divine bless- 
 ing. He still pursued his occupation as a wool- 
 carder, employing all the time he could spare from 
 maimal labor in m.aking known the Gospel among 
 the artizans of the city. Chatelain, an Augustini- 
 an monk, a doctor in theology, and a popular 
 preacher, having received the truth, announced it 
 from the pulpit with great effect. Converts be- 
 came numerous, and it appeared likely that Metz 
 would be a flourishing and important station, 
 when this pleasing prospect was suddenly over- 
 shadowed with darkness. At a short distance 
 IS* 
 
city. On that occasion it was vsupposed that they 
 obtained plenary induln^ence. The eve of the day 
 had arrived. Leclerc liad long beheld the idola- 
 try of the people with grief and holy anger. His 
 spirit was stiri'ed within him, when he thought of 
 the sin that was about to be committed in bow- 
 ing down before and serving images. He repair- 
 ed in the dead of the night to the chapel, obtain- 
 ed entrance, broke in pieces all the idols, and 
 returned to the city just as the morning dawned. 
 At the appointed hour the procession was 
 formed. Priests and mcrnks in abundance were 
 there, chanting the accustomed prayers. Glitter- 
 ing crosses were carried before them. Rich ban- 
 ners floated in the breeze. Melodious music filled 
 the air. The gates of Metz poured forth its thou- 
 sands on that joyous day, all eager to testify their 
 attachment to the virgin and the saints, and secure 
 for themselves the fancied blessings of the indul- 
 gence. What was their consteniation to find the 
 gods of their idolatry hufled from their jiedestals, 
 and their mutilated limbs covering the pavement 
 of the chapel ! The singing ceased ; the music was 
 beard no more ; the crosses and banners were low- 
 ered. Grief, tenor and indignation filled every 
 .breast. *' Death to the sacrilegious wretch!" was 
 
IlLFORMATION IN FRANCE. 211 
 
 ihe universal cry ; and they rushed back tumul- 
 ruously to Metz, resolved to discover and punish 
 the ofiendcr. 
 
 Suspicion immediately fell upon Leclerc. He 
 was apprehended and examined, and at once ac- 
 knowledged the deed, glorying in it. Instant death 
 was demanded by the furious multitude, and ho 
 was dragged to the place of execution without de- 
 lay. His sufferings were frightful. First, his right 
 hand was cut ofi"; then his flesh was torn from his 
 body ill several places by red-hot pincers ; then 
 liis arms were broken. Finally, he was burned to 
 death at a slow fire. But his spirit quailed not. 
 ^Sustained by the grace of God, he endured pa- 
 tiently, and repeated with a loud voice the words 
 of the Psalmit^t, " Their idols are silver and gold, 
 the work of men's hands," «Scc. Psalm 115 : 4-9. 
 lie died in peace and joy. 
 
 Chatelain soon followed him. He was imprison- 
 ed and degraded, and shortly afterwards commit- 
 ted to the flames. Other victims would have 
 been added to the list, had they not sought safety 
 by flight. Thus the Gospel was driven from Metz 
 as well as from Meaux. The north of France 
 relapsed into gross Popery. 
 
 Meanwhile Farel was actively engaged in the 
 fiouth. When he was compelled to quit Meaux 
 he returned to his native place, and commenced 
 a course of indefatigable labor, making known the 
 Gospel in all directions, and turning men " from 
 
living on course fare, and often sleeping in the 
 ^voot]s. His efforts were not unblessed. Several 
 members of liis own family received the truth. 
 Many other persons in different parts of the coun- 
 try were converted ; among whom may be paiti- 
 culary mentioned the Chevalier Anemond, a gen- 
 tleman of Dauphiny, to whom the cause of the 
 Reformation was ultimately much indebted ; and 
 Sebville, a priest of Grenoble, a very popular 
 preacher. But the best proof of the effects pro- 
 duced by Farel's endeavors is furnished by tiie 
 fact, that he was soon obliged to leave France al- 
 together, in order to avoid falling into the hands 
 of the persecutor. Having spent some time at 
 Basle, where he formed a lasting friendship with 
 Ecolampadius, and visited Switzerland, he became 
 pastor of Montbelliard, a town belonging to the 
 duchy of Wurtemburg, but surrounded by the 
 French and Swiss territories. This was a very 
 important station ; he could labor there unmo- 
 lested, and still have access to the neighboring 
 French provinces. 
 
 At the same time an interesting movement took 
 place at Lyons. Margaret of Valois accompanied 
 the king, her brother, as far as that city, when he 
 went on his unfortunate expedition into Italy. 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCK. 213 
 
 Slie remaineil there some time. In her suite were 
 several warm-lieartcti servants of the Lord, who, 
 iiuder her auspices and protection, preached the 
 Gospel, and otherwise exerted themselves in the 
 cause of tinitli, in Lyons and its neighborhood, 
 as far as Grenoble. Very encouraging results 
 fv)llovved. Again, however, opposition was excited. 
 At Grenoble, Sebville was forbidden to preach, 
 on pain of death ; and the friends of truth in that 
 quarter were obliged to meet secretly, in the dead 
 of night, in unfrequented places and lonely houses. 
 Maigi-et, an eloquent preacher, whose sermons 
 had produced a great sensation at Lyons, was 
 charged with heresy, apprehended, even in the 
 ])resence of Mai'garet, and cast into prison. The 
 duchess began to fear the consequence, and 
 thought it prudent to abstain for a time from 
 making any outward demonstration in favor of 
 the evangelical party. 
 
 Anemond and several others found refuge in 
 Basle, where they set on foot a series of opera- 
 tions excellently adapted to the existing wants of 
 France. The works of Luther and his coadjutors 
 were procured, translated into French, printed at 
 Basle, under the superintendence of Anemond, 
 and then forwarded to Farel for distribution. An 
 edition of the New Testament was also published. 
 The same plan was adopted which has proved so 
 fiuccessful in our own times. Trust-worthy per- 
 sons were employed as colporteurs, or pedlars, to 
 
])rovmces or r ranee were perperuauy traversecu 
 and religious truth v/idely circulated, in the year 
 
 1524, by means of efforts exactly similar to those 
 now conducted by the Bible and Tract Societies 
 of the present age. The benefits realized by 
 thousands would have been still more extensive 
 and lasting, had not Farel committed himself by 
 tin act of indiscreet boldness, which necessitated 
 his abandonment of the station where he had been 
 so usefully employed. On St. Anthony's day, 
 January 17, he was crossing the bridge over the 
 river, when he met a procession in honor of the 
 saint, headed by priests, who carried the image 
 and other idolatrous paraphernalia, and chanted 
 the service appointed for the festival. Filled with 
 pious indignation, Farel yielded to the first impulse, 
 seized the imajTe and threw it into the river. In 
 
 o 
 
 the confusion that followed he contrived to get 
 out of the reach of the enraged multitude ; but his 
 work at JMontbelliard was iinished. 
 
 The disastrous battle of Pavia, Febuary 24, 
 
 1525, and the consequent captivity of Francis I. 
 phmged France in distress and consternation. 
 Beda and his colleagues in the Sorbonne availed 
 themselves of the excited state of feeling wliich 
 prevailed, to stir up afresh the spirit of persecu- 
 tion. " The kincrdom was infected with heresv," 
 
REPonMATlON IN' PRANCE. 21,5 
 
 tlicy said ; " who could wonder at. its misfortunes ?• 
 was it not the just judgment of God ? And did 
 it not become an imperative duty to purge the 
 land of the infection 1" Such reasoning accorded 
 too well with the depraved passions of men to be 
 gainsaid. A furious storm was raised. The par- 
 liament appointed a commission of inquiry, in 
 many respects resembling the inquisition, and the 
 appointment was sanctioned by the pope. Bri9on- 
 net was cited beforip the commission as an en- 
 courager of heretics, and therefore suspected to 
 lean to heresy. He shrunk from the trial. He 
 liad not the spirit of martyrdom. Though he saw 
 the truth clearly, he did not love it sufficiently to 
 sufTer for its sake. He retracted, submitted, and 
 •* built again the things that he destroyed." Le- 
 fevre was next sought after ; but he escaped, and 
 found refuge in Strasburg, where many others, 
 driven in like manner from their native country, 
 were kindly received. All were not so fortunate. 
 Berquin was cast into prison, and was indebted 
 for his life to Margaret of NavaiTe, to whose so- 
 licitations Francis I. yielded. It was but a short 
 respite. In 1529 Berquin was again seized, con- 
 demned, and burned, suffering joyfully for Christ. 
 Shuch, minister of St. Hippolyte, in LoiTaine ; 
 James Pavanne, who had formerly recanted 
 through fear of death, and whose soul had been 
 pierced with grief from that moment ; and a pious 
 hermit, whose name has not been preserved, but 
 
ppirit of ancient martyrs. Universal distrust and 
 dread prevailed. The spies of the clergy haunt- 
 ed all places. The slightest indication of approval 
 of the doctrines of the Reformation, or of sympa- 
 thy with the reformers, was sufficient to expost» 
 the individual to persecution, which might end in 
 death. For a time truth was silenced in France. 
 It seemed doubtful whether her voice would be 
 heard any more. 
 
 It was the trniU that was thus mercilessly per- 
 secuted. The adversaries of the Gospel were not 
 ashamed to confess that the doctrine of grace, as 
 taught by the reformers, was the special object of 
 their hatred. " Let us banish from France/' said 
 Beda; "let us banish from France this odious 
 doctrine of grace. Neglect of works of merit is 
 a fatal deceit of the devil." D'Aubigne, iii. 621. 
 
 The German reformers labored hard to enlist 
 Francis I. on the side of truth, or at least to per- 
 suade him to forbearance towards the Protestants. 
 He temporized for some years, anxious to secure 
 the advantages of the political alliance into which 
 he had entered with the 2:)arties to the League of 
 Smalcald. His true character manifested itself in 
 1534, the ytar of iilacards. In the night of tho 
 18th of October placards were posted up in tho 
 streets of Paris, and of other chief towns of 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 217 
 
 France, and even on the gates of the royal palace 
 at Blois, exposing in strong terms the doctrines 
 of the real presence and the idolatry of the ma^s.* 
 Great horror was affected on the occasion : twenty- 
 four persons, well-known as adherents to sacia- 
 rnentarian opinions, were arrested in Paris and 
 throvvn into prison ; and reports were industriou-s- 
 ly spread abroad that they were leagued with 
 others in a foul conspiracy against the friends of 
 tlie ancient system. The most absurd rumors 
 were invented, and the king himself was willingly 
 borne away by the current. He hastened to Paris 
 in the midst of winter, assisted at a public pro- 
 cession that was intended to expiate the guilt 
 brought upon the city by the outrage that had been 
 otiered to the holy sacrament, dined afterwards 
 with the archbishop, at whose table he asserted,! 
 
 * The style of the placards was cevtainiy very violent ; unne- 
 cessarily so. The priests were styicd •' bliiid sacriflcers ;" 
 '• mockers ;" " plagues ;" " perverse antichiists ;" " ravening 
 wolves ;"" thieves ;" and "whoremongers." Tue mass and its 
 accompanying ceremonies were spoken of in the most contemp- 
 *,uous strains, and made the subject of stinging sarcasms, express- 
 ed in language too coarse and stringent to be translated. Gerdesii 
 Historia ilcfunn. iv. Monunienta, pp. 60-C7. 
 
 t He "addressed the assembly in a speecli expressive of the 
 acute anguish which he felt at the outrage offered to the King of 
 kings by perverse men, unworthy of the name of men, who had 
 blasphemed the Supreme Being, and publicly outraged the most 
 august of his mysteries, his true body and true blood. While his 
 words were interrupted by the frequent sobs and groans of Lis 
 
 19 
 
heretics, who were burned in as many different 
 parts of the city.* 
 
 After this, the progress of the Reformation in 
 France was for a time slow and secret. Indivi- 
 duals were converted to God in many places, and 
 testified privately against en'or and idolatry ; but 
 no public or united demonstration in favor of Pro- 
 testantism was made for a considerable period.t 
 
 In 1540 a decree was passed by the parliament 
 of Provence, devoting to extermination the town 
 of Merindol, and the surrounding villages, about 
 
 auditors, he urged them in continuation to denounce, without 
 pity, all whom they knew to be heretics. ' Before God !' lie 
 exclaimed, * if my right arm were gangrened, I would cheerfully 
 cut it off and cast it from me ; and if my own sons were unhappy 
 enough to be seduced by these detestable novelties, I myself 
 would be the first to furnish proofs of their guilt !' " Smedley's 
 History of the Reformed Religion in France, i. 30. 
 
 * " As if the ordinary ten'ors of the stake were inadequate 
 for the punishment now required, tliese martyrs, bound to the 
 extremity of long poles, were alternately lowered to and with- 
 drawn from the blazing pile, till the ropes by which they were 
 fastened caught tire, snapped asundei-. and plunged their already 
 half-burned limbs into the devouring flame." Smedley, ut 
 sup. p. 31. 
 
 t Calvin's Institutes were published in 1536. His eloquent de- 
 dication of that great work to Francis I. has been highly and de 
 Bervedly eulogized ; but it made no impression on the bigoted 
 and brutal monarch. 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 219 
 
 thirty in number, which had been colonized by 
 the Vaudois. This cruel edict was so manifest- 
 ly unjust that the governor refused to execute it 
 without express orders from the king. The only 
 crime alleged against the unoffending people was 
 their conscientious adherence to Scripture in op- 
 position to Rome. The inquiries instituted by the 
 royal command elicited facts most honorable to 
 the accused parties.* Notwithstanding this, a short 
 respite was all that could be obtained from Fran- 
 cis. If they were not reconciled to the church, the 
 edict must take its course. " I do not burn here- 
 tics in France," said the king, " in order that they 
 may be nourished in the Alps." The threatened 
 destruction was however averted for several years. 
 In 1545, D'Oppeda, then governor of the province, 
 executed the decree. The country was wasted by 
 fire and sword ; four thousand persons were inhu- 
 
 * " The Vaudois," said William de Bellay, g-ovemor of Pro- 
 vence, " diffei- from our communion in many parts of their creed; 
 but they are irreproachable in their morals, laborious, sober, be- 
 nevolent, and of unshaken loyalty. Agriculture is their pride and 
 sole occupation ; and so marvellous is tlicir industry, that, in ini- 
 inerous cases in which landed proprietors have been contented 
 with a small quit-rent, or have granted i-enewable leases on long 
 terms, estates formerly rated at four crowns per annum have pro- 
 duced three hundred and fifty ; the tenants all the while having 
 cheerfully and regularly paid their dues, both to the crown and 
 to the landholder. Hospitality is one of their proverbial virtues, 
 and not a beggar is ever known in their settlements." Smedley 
 ut sui). n. ill. 
 
v/retchcs whose iiands were reeking with human 
 gore. 
 
 Francis I. died Mardi 4, lo47. Ho continued a 
 savage persecutor to the last. His son and suc- 
 oessor, Henry H. though a man of more gentle 
 spirit, was so completely under the influence of 
 the house of Guise, that his reign also was distin- 
 guished by its cruelties. On the occasion of his 
 public entry into Paris, in July, 1549, four scaffolds 
 were erected in different public places of the city, 
 where, at night, the blazing piles consumed the 
 hapless victims of popish bigotry. Two years after 
 a furious edict was issued, proscribing the reform- 
 ers, and enacting regulations designed to clear the 
 land of heresy, and especially to preserve all pub- 
 lic offices from its contamination. Nevertheless, 
 the word of God grew and prevailed ; the church 
 in France, like the bush which Moses saw, though 
 exposed to fiercest flames, was not consumed. 
 
 It was not till the year loijo that attempts 
 were made to form separate christian societies, or 
 churches, in France. The flrst of the kind was at 
 Paris, after the presbyterian model of Geneva, 
 having a minister, deacons, and elders. The for- 
 mation of others in different parts of the kingdom 
 followed soon after. 
 
 Two years after the time just specified, tv^hen 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCK. 221 
 
 one of tlie protestant congregations in I'aris was 
 attacked by the mob, it was ascertained that the 
 principles of the Reformation had been embraced 
 by many persons of distinction, including tlie prince 
 of Conde, the admiral Coligny, and others of noble 
 birth. The king of Navarre frequently attended 
 protestant worship. At a solemn procession of the 
 Reformed, in 1558, the ilkistrious personages above 
 mentioned assisted, and nearly four thousand faith- 
 ful followers of tlie truth made open avowal of the 
 cause on that occasion. 
 
 The first national synod of the reformed church 
 in France was held at Paris, in May, 1559. The 
 representatives of eleven churches were present. 
 A confession of faith was framed and published, 
 accompanied by sundry canons of discipline, and 
 decisions on cases of conscience proposed by seve- 
 ral of the members. The whole evinced an anx- 
 ious desire to be solely guided by the word of 
 God.* 
 
 Outbreaks of persecution continued to distress 
 the Reformed. An order, issued for tho' destruc- 
 tion of every house in which a protestant meeting 
 had been held, was mercilessly executed, involved 
 many in ruin, and inflicted unrighteous suffering 
 on great numbers of innocent persons. The mar- 
 tyrdom of Anne Dubourg, a distinguished eccle- 
 
 * The readpr is i-eferred to (Quick's " Syno;licori." (Folio, A. I) 
 1(J!}2,) for a full account uf llio Synods of tuc Fivach church. 
 
whomsoever they chose to suspect of Protest- 
 antism, spread universal alarm, aiid widened the 
 breach between the antagonist parties. 
 
 In the year 1560 the Protestantism of France 
 assumed a political complexion, and began to be 
 sustained by measures of worldly policy. Two 
 parties were ambitious of directing the national 
 affairs during the minority of the king, Francis IL 
 At the head of the one were the king of Navarre 
 and the prince of Conde, Protestants : at the head 
 of the other, the Guises, fierce Papists. Both par- 
 ties were nearly related to the king, and might 
 plausibly claim the regency. It was this rivalship 
 that first led to intrigue and violence. Religious 
 differences embittered the enmity, and soon be- 
 came its chief exciting cause. The accession of 
 royal and noble proselytes tempted the Protest- 
 ants to have recourse to the appliances of earthly 
 
 * December 15, 1551). He had been in prison, and that prison 
 the horrid Bastile, six months. His diet was bread and water ; 
 all intercourse with his friends was forbidden ; and he was occa- 
 sionally shut up in an iron cnge. When he aiTived at the place 
 of execution he briefly addressed the spectators, telling them that 
 he did not die as a malefactor, but as a witness for the truth of 
 the Gospel. His last words were, " Fatlier, abandon me not, nei- 
 ther will I abandon thee!" The friends of the Kefonnafion in 
 France were greatly confirmed in their faith by witnessing his 
 const.incv in sufTorin:?. 
 
RKrORMATIO.V IX FRANCE. 223 
 
 warfare ; aigunients were soon fouiiJ lu justify the 
 jiroceedings ; and henceforth it is a mixed strug- 
 gle — truth on one side, and error on the other — 
 fire and sword on both sides. It will be foreign to 
 the purpose of these pages to describe scenes of 
 strife and bloodshed. The progress of the cause 
 of God, and that only, as far as possible, v/ill be 
 narrated. 
 
 Various edicts were passed, with a view to put 
 down Protestantism. The measures adopted were 
 very severe. All meetings of the Protestants were 
 prohibited, under penalties similar to those in- 
 flicted for high treason, and the cognizance of spi- 
 ritual offences was transfen'ed from the secular 
 powers to the bishops. Yet the Huguenots, as 
 they were now generally called,* increased in 
 immbers and in influence. Their second national 
 synod was held at Poitiers, in March, 1561, and 
 was numerously attended. Some idea of their 
 growing importance may be formed from the fact; 
 that at that time the church of Orleaiis maintained 
 
 * An ancient gate in Tours had been named after a certain 
 count Hugo, whose ghost, it was said, rode through that quarter 
 of the city every night und roughly handled those who were pass- 
 ing at the time. In some vaults near that gate the Reformed held 
 tlieir meetings secretly, for fear of the Papists. Hence they were 
 called Hug7tcnots. It was at first a word of mockery, and was 
 afterwards adopted by them as a testimony of their adherence to 
 the reigning family descended from Hugh Capet, and of their 
 opposition to the Guises, who caballed to get tlie succeasidn intd 
 their line. 
 
consequence, though the results were not so im- 
 portant as had been anticipated. It was a pubUc 
 conference between the popish and the reformeil 
 parties, held in the presence of the court, in Sep- 
 tember, 1561. The protestant cause was admira- 
 l)ly sustained by Beza, who, ^^ ith Peter INIartyr, 
 had been brought from Switzerland for the pur- 
 pose. Ten ministers of the French church and a 
 number of deputies assisted and encouraged them. 
 On the other side were the cardinal of Lorraine, 
 the cardinal of Tournay, thirty-six archbishops 
 and bishops, and a crowd of ecclesiastics of every 
 grade. The reasons for secession from the Ro- 
 mish church were stated by Beza in a powerful 
 discourse, which evidently made a deep impres- 
 sion ; but the principal topic of discussion be- 
 tween him and the popish champions was the 
 real presence. Neither party was convinced by 
 it; nor was the colloquy at Poissy productive of 
 any other advantage to Protestantism than this, 
 that France enjoyed for a short time the labors 
 of Beza, who took up his abode at Paris, and 
 preached to large congi'egations. There also he 
 engaged in a second disputation on the subject 
 of imageS;* and boldly unveiled the abominations 
 
 * A French autlior, whose work the Sorbonne had recently 
 licensed, had thus laUUled the second conimandmcut. 
 
 I 
 
nr.FonMATiox i\ vrxsck. 225 
 
 of Romish idolatry in the presence of the cissem- 
 bled court. 
 
 These harmless conflicts were soon followed by 
 others of a much more serious khid. The massa- 
 cre at Vassy was the first of a series of events 
 which provoked a state of feeling that shortly is- 
 sued in civil war * For tv*^elve months whole- 
 sale butcheries and horrible devastations spread 
 " mourning, lamentation, and wo " throughout 
 the kingdom.! A stop was put to these horrors 
 
 '• Thou shait make a graven image, 
 •* At your choice, of every kind ; 
 " Honor it and pay it homage : 
 
 '' God in thai great joy shall find." 
 
 Smedley's Historj', i. 212. 
 ♦ The massacre at Vaitsy took place on Lord's day, March 1, 
 1562. Vassy is a town on the borders of Champagne. A llour- 
 idhing congregation of Huguenots had been established there. 
 The duke of Guise passed through the town, accompanied by a 
 numerous suite, on the day above mentioned. The Huguenots 
 were then assembling for worship. The duke's retainers first in- 
 sulted them, and then rushed into the bam which served for a 
 meeting-house, and attacked the unarmed, unoffending congrega- 
 tion, killing some and wounding others ; destroying the pulpit, 
 seats, Bibles and other books; and stripping and plundering 
 those who had fallen. Sixty were killed, and more than two 
 liundred wounded. 
 
 t Blaise de Montluc, governor of Cayenne, distinguished him- 
 self above all others for diabolical cruelty. " This savage, whose 
 reckless perpetration of wholesale butchery obtained for him th 
 distinguished honor of a marshalship of France, has taken pains 
 to blazon the atrocities of which he felt himself proud ; and 
 every step in hia career of blood has been traced by his own peu 
 
the commission by which lie was authonzed to ravage Ins pro- 
 vince, than he began to make strict inquisition into the ' strange 
 names ' of over-seers, deacons, consistories, synods, and confer- 
 ences ; * food of which kind,' he added, ' none yet" had furnished 
 me with a breakfast.' In a similar strain of bitter sportiveness 
 he proceeds to inform us that in the outset he secretly provided 
 himself with two executioners ; that, from their constant attend- 
 ance upon him, tliey went familiarly by the name of his lac- 
 queys, and that both were completely ecjuipped for their trade, 
 and furnished above all with a very keen-edged axe. Thus es- 
 quired, he issued forth on his first adventure, and at St. Mezaid 
 he encountered four Huguenots, who wore accused of having spo- 
 ken disrespectfully of the king. Seizing one of them by the 
 throat, and loading him with tenns of execration, he dashed him 
 forciby to the ground, when he fc-ll against the stump of a bro- 
 ken cross. Then calling out to the executioner, ' Strike, scoun- 
 drel !' it was not easy to tell whether the words or the blow 
 were Hi*st ended, and half a foot of the broken cross was cut 
 through at the same time with the neck of the victim. Of the 
 others, two were hanged on the next tree; the last, a deacon but 
 eighteen years of age, received assurance that his life should be 
 spared, but was so severely beaten that he expired ten days 
 afterwards. ' And this,' concludes Montluc triumphantly, ' wa* 
 my first achievement when I set out from home, without either 
 sentence or writing, for I had heard say that it was wisest to be- 
 gin with execution.' At Cahors, in one day, ' to make short 
 work,' thirty or ' perhaps forty ' Huguenots (so carelessly did he 
 , keep account of human life!) were hanged or broken on the 
 wheel. At Gironde, sixty were strung up at once to the colon- 
 nade of the Town Hall. At the storming of Montsegur he num- 
 bered seven hundred dead bodies in the streets, and rejoiced in 
 tlje further assurance that a great many other victims had peri.-h* 
 ed by leaping over the walls. At Pene, and aficrwaid< ul Lcc- 
 
 i 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 227 
 
 coTiceJiiig to the Protestants a partial and un- 
 satisfactory recognition of their worship.* 
 
 Persecution soon re-commenced. By the edict 
 of Roussillon, issued in August, 1564, additional 
 restraints were laid upon the Huguenots. Their 
 ministers were already forbidden to preach with- 
 in ten leagues of the abode of the court, or to re- 
 side in any places except those in which they 
 severally officiated ; and no Protestant was allow- 
 ed to open a school. The edict of Roussillon re- 
 stricted the liberty formerly granted, to celebrate 
 Divine worship in the residences of the nobility, 
 tu their immediate tenants and dependants, levy- 
 ing a heavy fine on other persons who might at- 
 tend ; prohibiting the collection of money on 
 those occasions, for any purposes whatsoever; 
 
 tuure, he filled up very deep wells with the corpses of the slain; 
 ill the latter place the festering piles were heaped so near the 
 mouth that they might be touched by the hand. In both cases 
 he chuckles at the remembrance, ' that it was an excellent meth- 
 od of disposing of those naughty boys.' But the consummation of 
 his brutal delight wa=; reserved for Toulouse, in which city, as he 
 records with oveiflowing satisfaction, he ' saw more heads fly 
 than ever he had seen before !' " Smedley, i. 238-240. 
 
 * That the ref )rmed church of France survived the repeated 
 horrors through which she passed, can only be ascribed to the in- 
 terposing care of a gracious Providence. We are reminded of 
 the memorable words of Beza, addressed to the king of Navarre : 
 " Sii-e, it belongs in Inith to the church of God, in the name of 
 which I address you, to sitjfer blows, not to strike them. But, 
 at the same time, let it be your pleasure to remember that thr 
 
 CUUUCH IS AS A.SVIL WHICH HAS WORN OUT MANV A HAMMER." 
 
eration of tliis edict was extremely galling to the 
 Huguenots. 
 
 Catherine, the queen dowager., cherished re- 
 lentless hatred of the Protestants, and spared no 
 pains to compass their ruin. She had no scruples 
 about the means. Intrigue, treachery, open vio- 
 lence, all were alike to her. She would smile and 
 flatter one day, and coolly direct a massacre the 
 next. Under the conviction that she was medita- 
 ting some dark deeds of cruelty, the Huguenots 
 took up arms again in the autumn of 15G7. The 
 second civil war was of short continuance : it was 
 terminated by the treaty of Longjumeau, March 
 23, 1568. But peace was more fatal than war. 
 On a sudden the lire of frantic zeal broke out in 
 every part of the kingdom. The pulpits resound- 
 ed with furious invectives against heretics ; the 
 Jesuits exerted themselves to the utmost in fan- 
 ning the flame ; and, in consequence, many more 
 perished by assassination than in battle. It was 
 computed that no fewer than ten thousand Hu- 
 guenots were murdered within three months after 
 the treaty of Longjumeau. 
 
 It was a treacherous peace, and could not be 
 lasting. The third civil war began before the end 
 of the year. It was more disastrous than the pre- 
 ceding. At the battle of Jarnac, March 13, 1569, 
 
RKFORMATION' IN FRANCE. 229 
 
 the prince of ConJe was killed.* Henry, die young 
 prince of Bearne, son of' the queen of Navarre, 
 succeeded him as protector of the Huguenots. 
 In the following October their power was much 
 broken by the battle of Moncontour, in which they 
 v/ere defeated with great loss. Yet they recover; 
 ed themselves, and were soon enabled to take 
 offensive measures. Such success attended their 
 operations, that peace was felt to be desirable, and 
 the treaty of St. Germain was signed, August 15, 
 1570. By tliis treaty the Huguenots gained some 
 important advantages. Their worship was still sub- 
 jected to many restrictions ; but the universities, 
 schools and hospitals were thrown open to them ; 
 and they were declared capable of holding all dig- 
 nities and public offices. 
 
 * Pope Pius V. evinced extravagant joy on this occasion. 
 Wriling^ to the king, he said. " Raising my hands to heaven, I 
 fTdve thanks to the Almighty with all lowliness of heart, for that 
 he had vouchsafed you success, and had graciously poured out 
 upon us also the riches of his loving-kindness. But in propor- 
 tion as God has dealt thus mercifully, so ought you with greater 
 diligence and strenuousness to employ this opportunity, that you 
 may follow up and destroy the remnant of the enemy ; that you 
 may utterly cxUrpate all the roots, and even the offsets from the 
 roots, of that so great and so confirmed an evil." In another let- 
 ter, written a fortnight afterwards, the pope further urges this 
 duty of extermination, and stimulates the king, by a " fatherly 
 admonition," to be " deaf to every prayer," to '* reject every 
 claim of consanguinity and kindred," and to be " inexorable to 
 even' voice which may dare to petition " for the poor Huguenots I 
 Srnedlcy. i. 328-330. 
 
 20 
 
FROM TIIK I'hACi; UK 
 
 At the seventh national synod of the reformed 
 'church, held at Rochelle in the spring of 1571, 
 under the presidency of Beza, who was invited 
 from Geneva for that purpose, the confession of 
 faith, published in lo59, was confirmed, with 
 some slight amendments, and the doctrines of 
 Socinus and his followers condemned. There 
 were present the queen of Navarre, the prince 
 her son, the young prince of Conde, the count of 
 Nassau, Coligny, admiral of France, and a large 
 number ofthenobiHty and gentry who had em- 
 braced the principles of the Reformation. The 
 number of Huguenot churches in France was 
 then 2150, and many of them had two or more 
 ministers. 
 
 Foiled in their attempts to put down Protest- 
 antism by open violence or honorable warfare, 
 the Papists had recourse to treachery. The mas- 
 sacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572, so far from being 
 an unforeseen accident, as it is sometimes studi- 
 ously misrepresented, was the result of a deep- 
 laid plot. Catherine and the young king Charles 
 IX. planned the whole. The object was to get 
 the protestant chiefs and their immediate connec- 
 tions and dependents into the power of the Eo- 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 231 
 
 manists, that they might be cut off at one stroke, 
 and the whole body, thus deprived of leaders, lie 
 at the mercy of theit foes. In order to accomplish 
 this, a marriage was proposed between Henry of 
 Navarre and Margaret of Valois, the king's sister. 
 It was pretended that this alliance would remove 
 ancient enmities, unite the opposing parties, and 
 produce lasting peace ; but the real design has 
 been already mentioned. The pope strongly re- 
 monstrated, both on account of the consanguinity 
 of the prince and princess, and tlie difference of 
 religion. In reply to his remonstrance, Charles did 
 not hesitate to say that he had adopted this plan 
 as the only one by which he could get his ene- 
 mies (meaning the Huguenots) into his power. 
 •'You may assure his holiness," said the king to 
 cardinal i^les^andrino, " as the event will prove, 
 that my only object in concluding this marriage is 
 to avenge myself on GocVs enemies and to chastise 
 those great rebels.''^ Smedley, i. 359. 
 
 The marriage was celebrated on the ISth of 
 August, 1572. So earnest and apparently sincere 
 were the king's protestations of friendship, that 
 the Huguenots were for the most part entirely 
 deceived. Their principal nobility and gentry 
 repaired to Paris, to grace the train of the king of 
 Navarre and share in the festivities of the joyful 
 (jccasion. They were received at court in the 
 most gracious manner, and flattering attentions 
 were lavished upon them. The king v/as pecu- 
 
uvdi suspicious unu leuis wfr« coiupieiuiy lUJied. 
 When some temporary excitement was produc- 
 ed by the entry of additional troops into Paris, 
 the king succeeded in persuading the admiral and 
 his friends that he feared the machinations of 
 the Guises, and was determined to put himself 
 in a posture of defence ; for which purpose he 
 had increased the military force in the capital. 
 This explanation was received as perfectly sa- 
 tisfactory, and the soldiers were distributed in 
 ditlerent parts of the city, ready to do the work 
 of assassins as soon as orders should be issued. 
 On the 21st of August, as the admiral was re- 
 turning from the palace, where he had had an audi- 
 ence with the king, he was fired at by one Mau- 
 revel, a miscreant emj^loyed for the murderous 
 intent by the queen-mother and the duke D'An- 
 gouleme. 1 wo bullets struck him ; one lodged 
 in his left arm, and the other shattered a finger of 
 his right hand, which it was found necessary to 
 amputate immediately. Yet even then the alaiTns 
 of the Huguenots were quelled by the villanous 
 hypocrisy of the king. He affected the deepest 
 concern and indignation, and visited the admiral, 
 to tender in person his sympathy ; assured him of 
 his faithful regard to the many promises which be 
 had before lavished upon him, and declared his 
 
REFORMATION IX FRAXCL. 233 
 
 resolve to inflict the severest vengeance on the 
 assassin, wherever he should be found. The suf- 
 ferer was soothed. The rising apprehensions of 
 the protestant party were too easily allayed ; and 
 while the victims were thus deceived into fatal re- 
 liance on the royal word, preparations were se- 
 cretly going on in every part of Paris for the hor- 
 rible butcheries of St. Bartholomew's day. 
 
 At midnight the tocsin sounded, which was the 
 preconcerted signal for the commencement of the 
 work of blood. The admiral's apartments were 
 forced by a band of assassins, by whom he was 
 quickly despatched, and his dead body thrown out 
 of the window into the court-yard below, in obedi- 
 ence to the commands of the duke of Guise, who 
 would not be satisfied without ocular demonstra- 
 tion of his death. The Huguenots residing at the 
 time in the palace and its neighborhood were 
 next searched out, and murdered in the most 
 barbarous manner. It was soon made known 
 throughout the city that the whole party was pro- 
 scribed, and that they might be slain with impu- 
 nity. The blood-thirsty eagerly rushed forth upon 
 their prey. House after house was ransacked. Re- 
 fuge or concealment was vainly sought. The pub- 
 lic places were covered with dead bodies, strip- 
 ped of their clothes, and gashed with wounds. 
 Blood ran down the streets like water. The river 
 was almost choked with human carcasses, which 
 being carried down the stream to the provinces, 
 20* 
 
which the young king, accompanied by the queen- 
 mother and the ladies of the court, took a walk in 
 the precincts of the palace, that they might glut 
 their eyes with the spectacle of murdered Protest- 
 ants, and triumph in the success of their diabo* 
 lical treachery ! 
 
 Instructions were sent to the authorities in 
 every part of the kingdom to follow the example 
 of Paris, and rid them.selves of the Protestants by 
 indiscriminate slaughter Those instructions were 
 obeyed. Men, women and children were inhu- 
 manly massacred. Some were drowned ; some were 
 shot ; some were stabbed ; some had their throats 
 cut ; some were hacked to pieces with swords or 
 halberds. The number of the victims has been 
 variously estimated. The lowest calcujation is 
 30,000 ; the highest, (they are both given by 
 Romanist historians, De Thou and Perefixe.) 
 100,000. The latter is probably nearest the truth, 
 as it is stated on good authority that ten thousand 
 persons perished in Paris alone. In fact, very 
 few Protestants then escaped.* 
 
 In his first despatches to the provincial gover* 
 
 * The marshal de Tavannes. with several others, rode from 
 street to street, calling upon the people to kill the Huguenots, 
 and tellinf them that ^uch was the command of the king, whose 
 
REFORMATION IX FRAXC!:. 23t> 
 
 nors the king stated that a tumuit had arisen 
 in the city, in consequence of a quarrel between 
 the two rival factions, and that the Guises, having 
 the upper hand, were v.reaking their vengeance 
 on the other party, while he strove in vain to quell 
 their rage. This was too barefaced a lie to be per- 
 severed in. It was well known that the massacre 
 had been premeditated, and that the king had taken 
 part in the work of deatli. Another story was 
 therefore invented. The parliament of Paris was 
 assembled, and in their presence the king assert- 
 vd that the Huguenots, headed by the admiral, 
 had entered into a conspiracy to kill him, his 
 mother, his brothers, the Guises, and other dis- 
 tinguished individuals, and thus to place the king* 
 dom at their own disposal ; and that he had been 
 compelled to order the massacre to save his own 
 life, and deliver the nation from the dangers that 
 threatened it. Such was the explanation trans- 
 
 wish it was that not a single heretic should esw.pe. " Bleed ! 
 bleed !" exclaimed the ruffian : " bleeding is as good in the 
 month of August as in tlie month of May !" 
 
 A gold wire-drawer, named Cruc^, boasted that he had him- 
 self slaughtered four hundred persons during the ma?sacre. 
 
 The king not only joined his mother in contriving the bloody 
 plot, but encouraged the soldiers while they wei-e engaged in the 
 massacre, and even fired on the hapless victims with his own 
 hands. He stood at a window of the Hotel de Bourbon, receiv- 
 ing the guns from his attendants and discharging them as fast as 
 ihev could be loaded. 
 
ments received the account with undissembled in- 
 dignation and disbelief. Popish states were fran- 
 tic with joy. 
 
 AH was exultation at Rome. The cardinal of 
 Lorraine gave a thousand pieces of gold to the 
 messenger who brought the news. " The pope 
 and cardinals proceeded at once, from the conclave 
 in which the king's despatches had been read, to 
 offer thanks before the altar for the great blessing 
 which Heaven had vouchsafed to the Romish see 
 and to all Christendom. Salvoes of artillery thun- 
 dered at nightfall from the rampart of St. Angelo, 
 the streets were illuminated, and no victory ever 
 achieved by the arms of the pontilicate elicited 
 more tokens of festivity. The pope, also, as if 
 resolved that an indestructible evidence of the 
 perversion of moral feeling which fanaticism natu- 
 rally generates should be transmitted to posterity, 
 irave orders for the execution of a commemorative 
 
 o 
 
 medal. He had already been anticipated in Paris ; 
 and the effigies of Gregory XHI. and of Charles 
 IX. may still be seen in numismatic cabinets, con- 
 nected with triumphant legends and symbolical de- 
 vices illustrative of the massacre." Smedley, ii. 35. 
 Terrible as was the blow, the power of the 
 Huguenots was not entirely broken. The rem- 
 nant flew to arms, and occupied some strongly 
 fortified places, the reduction of which (or the at- 
 
UEFORMATION I\ FRANCK. 237 
 
 tempt to reduce them, for Kochelle successfully 
 resi.sted,) cost an immense umouiit of blood and 
 treasure. This was the fourth civil v.'ar. Peace 
 was restored in July, 1573. 
 
 Charles IX. died May 00, 1574. Rivers of 
 i)'.i>od had been shed by his command : it pleased 
 < rod that the disorder which caused his own death 
 hhould drain the blood from his body, and that he 
 should endure the most exquisite tortures. His 
 pliort slumbers were disturbed by frightful dreams. 
 Tiie horrors of St. Bartholomew's day were almost 
 constantly present to his memory, and excited the 
 most racking anguish. He died a victim to re- 
 morse and despair. " A few days before be 
 breathed his last, we are told, that summoning 
 his physicians long after midnight, he complained 
 that he was * most horribly and cruelly tortured;' 
 and received a distressing assurance in return, 
 that their art had been exhausted in unavailing 
 endeavors to procure his relief. Then, as his fa- 
 vorite nurse stood by his bedside, he addressed her 
 in a riolent burst of despair : * What blood ! what 
 murder ! How evil are the counsels that I have 
 followed ! O my God, pardon and pity me ! I know 
 not where I am, bo grievous is my agony and per- 
 plexity. What will be the end of it 1 What will be- 
 come of me ? I am lost forever !' " Smedley, ii. 104. 
 
 Henry HI. who succeeded Charles, was a weak- 
 minded, effeminate and superstitious prince. His 
 reign v.as a series of mistakes and disasters. The 
 
Huguenots liad oblained far more favorable terms 
 than they had hitherto secured. Free exercise of 
 worship was permitted in every town throughout 
 the kingdom, Paris excepted ; books were al- 
 lowed to be published by the Huguenots, church- 
 es erected, schools opened, and marriages celebra- 
 ted ; several towns were given up to them ; and 
 all posts of honor and profit in the state were de- 
 clared open to eligible candidates irrespective of 
 their religious peculiarities. The Papists, head- 
 ed by the Guises, were indignant at these conces- 
 sions. Numerous associations were formed by 
 zealous individuals, who mutually engaged to ex- 
 ert their utmost endeavors to secure the uncon- 
 trolled supremacy of the Romish faith, and sup- 
 press all error and heresy, meaning thereby the 
 reformed religion. The duke of Guise resolved 
 to unite these scattered associations into one body, 
 which should extend its ramifications throughout 
 the kingdom, and bring into action all the energy 
 and bigotry of party zeal. He accomplished his 
 object. In a short time the League reckoned 
 among its members nearly the whole of the nobility 
 and gentry of France, of the Romish persuasion, 
 with a large proportion of the inhabitants. It be- 
 came the ruling power of the kingdom. Even the 
 king was not ashamed to descend from his proper 
 
REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 239 
 
 Station as the father of liis people, and to put 
 himself at the head of a faction. He was declared 
 chief of the League, but was in reality its puppet, 
 while his high office made him responsible for the 
 miseries which the anomalous association inflicted 
 upon France. 
 
 The reign of Henry IH. was a succession of 
 conflicts and negotiations with the Huguenots. 
 It was a period of great suffering and enormous 
 wickedness. The wars of the league blasted the 
 country with the curse of intolerance, and entailed 
 untold miseries upon all parties. After the assassi- 
 nation of Henry IH. August 1, 1589, the strife be^ 
 came fiercer than ever. The king of Navari'e was 
 the legitimate heir to the throne, and was acknow- 
 ledged by his own party and many others. The 
 Huguenots were now no more a persecuted body : 
 their chief men were intrusted with important of- 
 fices of state, and the laws against them were not 
 enforced. But the League set up the cardinal of 
 Bourbon as a pretender to the throne, under the 
 title of Charles X. His early death, May 9, 1590, 
 somewhat disconcerted their projects ; yet they 
 vigorously persevered in their opposition to a he- 
 retic king ; and the sanguinary contest ccmtinued, 
 desolating the country in every part. At length 
 Henry IV. unwilling to hold the throne by so pre- 
 carious a tenure, and convinced of the hopelessness 
 of the attempt to secure undisturbed possession, 
 or put an end to the civil war while he remained 
 
aojurea rrorestantism, JUiy ^o, lojo, uut aiu lun 
 receive the pope's absolution till three years afler- 
 wards. The conditions on which that imaginary 
 benefit was bestowed were sufficiently hard. The 
 king was to attend a private mass every day, and 
 a conventual mass on Sundays and festivals; to 
 repeat the litanies on Wednesdays, the rosary of 
 the Virgin on Saturdays, and her chaplet daily ; 
 to fast on Fridays ; and to confess and communi- 
 cate publicly at least four times in the year. Be- 
 sides all this, 1)6 was enjoined to prefer Papists 
 to Huguenots in appointments to state offices ; to 
 restore all ecclesiastical property which had been 
 seized by the Reformed ; to enforce the reception 
 of the Council of Trent ; and to re-establish the 
 Jesuits in France. Smedley iii. 33. 
 
 Though the Huguenots had gained much by the 
 accession of Henry IV. and open persecution was 
 at an end, they were still subjected to many petty 
 annoyances, and felt that they had not attained 
 that standing in the kingdom to which they were 
 justly entitled. They presented their claims to 
 the notice of the king in the form of a free re- 
 monstrance, and received in return the celebrated 
 edict of Nantes, the charter of the French reform- 
 ed church, April 7, 1598 ; registered by the par- 
 'iiament of Paris, February 25, 1 '>99. Under the 
 
RF.rorvMATION IN FIIANCE. •^41 
 
 protection of this edict they enjoyed religious 
 freedom, and worshipped God according to their 
 consciences, with very little restraint. They were 
 excused from the observance of Ilomish holidays 
 and festivals. Schools, hospitals, charitable insti- 
 tutions, state offices and honors were open to 
 them as well as to the Romanists ; and special 
 arrangemeqits wei*e made for the impartial settle- 
 ment of all suits at law in which they were con- 
 (-•erned. The entire edict is published by Quick, 
 ill his '• Synodicon." 
 
 It has been computed that, besides those who 
 jjerished in the wars, no fewer than two hundred 
 tiiousand persons suffered death in France for 
 the sake of religion, between the years 1555 and 
 1-598. Nevertheless, there still remained seven 
 hundred and sixty churches, some of them large 
 and wealthy. 
 
 Here our narrative must close. The history of 
 the Edict of Nantes and of its revocation by Lou- 
 is XIV. October 8, 1G85, belongs to a period not 
 to be included in these pages. Whoever desires 
 to obtain correct views of the spirit and influence 
 of Popery will do well to study closely the histo- 
 ly of Protestantism in France. But the devout 
 christian will regret the worldly character of the 
 conflict in that country. When the Protestants 
 had recourse to arms, and enQ-ac^ed in civil war, 
 they inflicted immense injury on the cause of 
 truth. 
 
 21 
 
Ihstory oj the Kejormation in roiand. 
 
 Gospel truth was known in Poland long before 
 the rise of Luther. Christianity had been intro- 
 duced into that country in the tenth century. For 
 several hundred years the national language was 
 used in public worship. This was a concession to 
 which the popes were compelled to agree, though 
 very reluctantly. The practice had prevailed prior 
 to the connection of the Polish church with Rome, 
 and the Poles were unwilling to surrender so 
 valuable a privilege. It was enjoyed till the four- 
 teenth century, and proved highly conducive to 
 the spiritual advantage of the population. 
 
 In the twelfth century many Waldensian teach- 
 ers settled in Bohemia and Moravia. Some of 
 them penetrated as far as Poland, and scattered 
 the seeds of the Gospel with that quiet diligence 
 for which they were distinguished. Three hun- 
 dred years afterwards, the followers of John Huss 
 found the soil ready prepared for their efforts. 
 Strong measures were adopted to prevent the in- 
 troduction of Bohemian itinerants, whose simple 
 imd affectionate modes of communicating religious 
 truths secured the attention and won the regards 
 of the people. 
 
 Their efibrts were not unsuccessful. About tho 
 
REFORMATION IN POLAND, 243 
 
 year 14-49, Andreas Galka Dobszynski expound- 
 ed the works of VViclif in the university of Cra- 
 cow, and wrote a hymn in honor of the English 
 reformer.* His boldness was in advance of the 
 
 * The following is a translation of the liynm : 
 
 "Ye Poles, Germans, and all nations! Wicliff speaks tlio 
 tradi ! Heathendom and Christendom had never a greater man 
 than he, and never will have one. 
 
 " Whoever wishes to know himself, let liim approach \S iclifi; 
 whoever will enter the ways which he has pointed out will never 
 leave them, and never will err. 
 
 " He has unveiled Divine wisdom, human knowledge, and 
 things that were hidden to philosophers. 
 
 " He has written hy insjjiration about the ecclesiastical digni- 
 ty, the sanctity of the church, the Italian antichrist, and the 
 wickedness of the popes. 
 
 " Ye priests of Christ, who were called in by Christ, follow 
 Wicljff. 
 
 "The imperial popes are antichrists; their power is derived 
 from the antichrist — from imperial German grants. 
 
 " Sylvester, the first pope, took his power from the dragon 
 Constantino, and difiu-sed his venom over all the churches. 
 
 " Led by Satan, Sylvester deceived tlie emperor, and got pos- 
 session of Rome by fiTiud. 
 
 " We wish for peace — let us piay to God; let us shai-pen the 
 swords, and we shall conquer the antichrist. ' Let us strike tlie 
 antichrist with the sword, but not with one made of iron.' St. 
 Paul says, ' Kill the antichrist with the sword of Christ.' 
 
 " Truth is the heritage of Christ. The priests have hiddcij 
 the ti"uth ; they are afraid of it, and they deceive people w ith 
 fables. 
 
 " O Christ ! for the sake of thy wounds, send us such priests 
 as may guide us towards the truth, and may bury the antichrist." 
 Krasiuski's History of the Reforn)ati(m in Poluiid, i. G8. 
 
were not felt in Poland till the twelfth century, 
 such progress had been made, that in 1459, when 
 John Ostrorog, the palatine of Pozuania, proposed 
 Home sweeping reforms, there were 576 monaste- 
 ries, 117 nunneries^ 246 seminaries, and 31 ab- 
 beys ; and it was said that not less than two- 
 thirds of the revenue accruing from land vras ap- 
 propriated to ecclesiastical purposes ! Large sums 
 of money were sent annually to Rome, to the 
 great impoverishment of the country. The pre- 
 lates interfered in the affairs of state and secured 
 the best offices for themselves. The clergy claim- 
 ed exemption from taxes. All classes groaned 
 under the tyranny of the ecclesiastics. 
 
 At synods held in the early part of the six- 
 teenth century, regulations were made for the 
 prevention of the spread of anti-Romanist opin- 
 ions, for the spirit of inquiry was abroad. Works 
 were published, avowing sentiments entirely op- 
 jiosed to the policy of Rome. One author main- 
 tained (this was in 1515) ** that the Gospel only 
 was to be believed, and that human ordinances 
 may be dispensed with." Luther's works were 
 widely circulated, and read with great interest. 
 In spite of all endeavors to hinder their introduc- 
 tion into the country, they were imported in large 
 iiui7ibers, and the Papists were compelled to have 
 
REFORMATION IN POLAND. 215 
 
 recourse to the press in self-defence ; but they 
 often railed rather than reasoned, and supplied 
 the deficiency of argument by foul abuse. Some 
 suggested the propriety of introducing the inqui- 
 sition. The craft of Popery was evidently in 
 great danger. 
 
 The principles of the Reformation made rapid 
 progress in Polish Prussia. Public opinion was so 
 unequivocally manifested at Dantzic, in the year 
 1.525, that the magistrates yielded to the demands 
 of the people. The monastic buildings were con- 
 verted into schools and hospitals. The churches 
 were occupied by protestant preachers. Popery 
 was entirely abolished. But the happy change 
 was short-lived. In April, 1520, Sigismund I. 
 king of Poland entered the city with a powerful 
 army, and eflected a counter revolution. The 
 popish worship was restored, and the leaders of 
 the late movement were capitally punished ; cruel 
 enactments were issued against the friends of 
 evangelical truth, and those who should aid and 
 abet them. 
 
 Yet the good leaven continued to work. The 
 acts of the synod of Piotrkow, in 1542, unwit- 
 tingly betrayed a state of aiiairs which the clergy 
 tshould have had the prudence to conceal from 
 the public eye. Parents were prohibited from 
 sending their children to heretical schools. All 
 persons were forbidden to read the works of 
 Luther and Melancthon. The authorities wiere 
 21* 
 
to seize any protestant publications. The charac- 
 ter of these decrees indicated a considerable ad- 
 vance in the right direction.* 
 
 A secret society, formed about the same time at 
 Cracow, under the leadership of Francis Zismani- 
 ni, provincial of the Franciscans, and confessor to 
 the queen, and comprising' among its members 
 many men of great learning and high rank, gave 
 a powerful impulse to free inquiry. At the meet- 
 ings of the society all kinds of questions in divini- 
 ty were discussed. The tenets of Popery were 
 l>oldly examined, and their injurious tendencies 
 exposed. The influence of the inquiries on the 
 future lives of the members could not but be great. 
 The ecclesiastics became protestant preachers; 
 the nobles patronized them. But some pushed 
 their speculations beyond legitimate bounds. Hu- 
 man reason was suffered to usurp prerogatives 
 which God has not granted. Rejection of impor- 
 tant truths was the result. The foundation of the 
 anti-trinitarian movement, which had its head- 
 
 * When the archbishop Laski boasted in the presence of kini; 
 Sigisnmnd I. of" havuii^ covered the churchyard of his hcreditan,' 
 town Lask with earth brought from Jci-usaleni the king said, 
 '•You would have done much better by manuring your sandy 
 ground willi the rich soil of Proszowica" — a district celebrated 
 for it3 fertility. Krasinski, i. 134. 
 
REFORiMATlONT IN POLAXU. 247 
 
 quarters for some years in Poland, was laid at 
 Cracow. 
 
 Sigismund I. died in 1548. At tlie time of liis 
 death Protestantism had been embraced by a 
 goodly number of persons of all classes, but as 
 yet there was no regular organization. Individu- 
 als, convinced of the unscriptural character of 
 Popery, were to be found in most parts of Po- 
 land: but the churches generally were in the 
 liands of the Papists ; and christian communities, 
 properly so called, did not exist. 
 
 More decided changes began to be developed 
 in the early years of the reign of Sigismund Au- 
 gustus. In lo49, Valenty, rector of Krzczonow, 
 a parish in the diocese of Cracow, married. 
 AVhen summoned to the bishop's court for this 
 oflence, he proceeded to the place of hearing at- 
 tended by so many persons of wealth and influ- 
 ence that the bishop was afraid to persevere in 
 the prosecution. About the same time, Nicholaus 
 Olesnicki, lord of Pinczov, ejected the monks 
 from the convent in his town, pulled down the 
 images in the church, and established protestant 
 worship there, according to the Genevan usage. 
 
 These and other events of a similar kind arous- 
 ed the indignation of the popish clergy. They re- 
 solved to adopt violent measures, and to call in 
 the aid of the civil power. At a synod held at 
 Piotrkow, in 1552, Hosius, bishop of Warmia, 
 (afterwards created cardinal, and one of the papal 
 
by all public officers, and by the members of the 
 Polish diet.* It was further resolved to attempt 
 to put down the heretic nobles by force of arms, 
 for which purpose a heavy tax was to be laid upow 
 the clergy. Protestants belonging to the lower 
 classes were to be destroyed by the ordinary 
 methods of persecution. 
 
 These blood-thirsty designs could not be fully 
 accomplished. Nicholaus, rector of Kurow, who 
 had preached the Gospel since the year 1550, and 
 established communion in both kinds in his parisli, 
 suffered martyrdom. Some few others endured 
 various hardships, and naiTowly escaped death. 
 But the free spirit of the Poles revolted against 
 such cinielties. Instead of co-operating with the 
 clergy, or encouraging them, they successfully re- 
 sisted the persecuting policy; and, in the very- 
 same year in which the above-mentioned synod 
 was held, a decree was passed in a national diet, 
 " that the clergy should retain the right of judg- 
 ing heresy, without any power of inflicting civil 
 
 * Tlie substance of tho popish creed was contaiiipcl in these 
 questions : — " Dost thou believe in the efficacy of holy water, 
 jiruyers to the saints, and tho consecration of herbs? Dost 
 ilioii believe in purgaton,', the pope, the mass, fasts, vows and 
 cclibar.y V 
 
REFORMATION IN POLAND. 240 
 
 or criminal penalties on the condemned persons ;'* 
 thus taking out of their hands the temporal 
 Kword, which they had hitherto used with utter 
 recklessness.* 
 
 Details respecting the advancement of Pro- 
 testantism in Poland cannot be easily furnished. 
 When the Jesuits obtained the ascendancy, all 
 records that could be seized for the purpose 
 were destroyed ;t and the result is, that little 
 remains besides those formal public do«uments, 
 which, however useful and even necessary to the 
 historian, render him scarcely any aid in weaving 
 an interesting narrative. We know that for many 
 years popery was on the decline. A large number 
 of nobles abandoned Romish principles, and in- 
 troduced evangelical preachers to the towns and 
 districts under their rule. Some embraced Lu- 
 theranism. Others adhered to the Helvetic con- 
 fession. A third party sided with the Bohemians. 
 It was computed that two thousand churches were 
 
 * When mass was performed at the opening of the diet, many 
 of the members turned away their heads during the elevation of 
 the host. One of them, who stood near the king, remained 
 covered during the ceremony. 
 
 t " The Jesuits invariably exacted from tlie families wliich had 
 relapsed into Romanism the surrender of all books and docu- 
 ments connected in any way with their former persuasion, and 
 which they always committed to the flames. They even pur- 
 chased at a high price similar documents whenever they could 
 get them, in order to devote them equally to deslniction." Kra- 
 sinski, Preface, p. xiii. 
 
Modrzewski holds a distinguished pLice. Thougli 
 he was not actually connected with any of the 
 })rotestant confessions, he was a hold advocate of 
 their principles. As secretary to king Sigismund 
 Augustus, he was employed in important affairs 
 of state, and represented his sovereign at seve- 
 ral foreign courts. By his numerous writings, 
 composed with mvich learning and eloquence, he 
 sought to enlist the upper classes in the cause of 
 reform. AVhen the Council of Trent was about 
 to assemble the second time, he laid before the 
 king a remarkable document, in which he enu- 
 merated the changes desirable to be made in ec- 
 clesiastical affairs, and urged the sovereign to de- 
 mand them of the pope. His views were warmly 
 seconded ; a letter was sent to pope Paul IV. 
 in the name of the diet, requiring for Poland the 
 following concessions, namely : — 1. The celebi-a- 
 tion of mass in the national language. 2. The 
 communion in both kinds. 3. The marriage of 
 priests. 4. The abolition of the annates (or tithes.) 
 o. The convocation of a national council, for the 
 further reform of abuses and the union of the dif- 
 ferent sects. The efforts of such a man could not 
 but exert a powerful influence in favor of religious 
 truth and freedom. 
 
refoHmation in Poland. 251 
 
 But .T<ilin Laski, if not a gi'eatcr man, in the 
 ordinary acceptation of the word, was better quali- 
 fied, by sound judgment and ardent piety, to di- 
 rect the movements of the friends of the Ref(n'- 
 mation. He was a member of a noble family, 
 destined to the clerical life from his childhood. 
 Havino- received the best education which Poland 
 could supply, he visited Germany, Italy, Switzer- 
 land, France and'Belgium, and became acquainted 
 with the most eminent scholars of the age. Eras- 
 mus was particularly attached to him. Laski pur- 
 chased his library, and then liberally allowed him 
 the use of it during his lifetime. Returning to Po- 
 land in 1526, he obtained important offices in the 
 church, and in 1529 was created bishop of Ves- 
 ]->ien in Hungary. But the impressions he had re- 
 ceived in conference with the reformers, particu- 
 larly with Ziiinglius, were too deep to be effaced. 
 For some time he hoped that the changes which 
 he saw to be necessary to the purity of the church 
 would be effected in Poland ; but when that hope 
 failed, he did not "confer with flesh and blood." 
 Judging that he would have better opportunities 
 of promoting the Reformation abroad than at 
 home, he left Poland in 1537. On his arrival in 
 Germany he publicly avowed Protestantism, and 
 married. In compliance vs^ith the urgent request 
 of Anna, princess of East Friesland, he settled at 
 Emden, the capital of that country, in 1543, and 
 continued there six years, superintending the in- 
 
osteera. Arclibisliop Cranmer having- invited him 
 to England to assist in the settlement of the 
 English Reformation, he became, in 1550, super- 
 intendent of the foreign Protestants resident in 
 London, and rendered valuable service to tluj 
 archbishop and his coadjutors, who crladly availed 
 themselves of his judicious advice. On the acces- 
 sion of Mary he left England, and lived some time 
 at Frankfort on the Maine. In 1556 he returned 
 to Poland, and spent the remainder of his life in 
 unremitting endeavors to advance the Reforma- 
 tion in his own country, and effect the union of 
 the three confessions. He was intrusted Avith the 
 superintendence of all the reformed churches in 
 Little Poland. His learning, piety and zeal con- 
 tributed greatly to the success of Protestantism. 
 Worn out with continuous toil, he expired, Janu- 
 ary 8, 1560, aged sixty-one, deservedly lament- 
 ed by all who loved the truth. 
 
 In 1555, the pope sent Aloysius Lipj^omani as 
 his legate, into Poland, avowedly to check the 
 progress of Protestantism. He was the bearer of 
 a letter to the king, in which his holiness severe- 
 ly reproached Sigismmid for his lenity to the 
 heretics, commanded him to restore Romanism to 
 .ts former power and pre-eminence, and threaten- 
 
REFORMATIOX IN POLAND. 25'i 
 
 ed him with the fiercest vengeance of the apostol- 
 ic see, in case of neglect or refusal. The legate 
 was a faithful representative of his master's views 
 and wishes. He urged the king to cut oft* the 
 protestant leaders at once. But S^gismund was 
 neither able nor inclined to adopt such a measure. 
 Lippomani, however, rendered good service to 
 Popery in Poland, though he failed to accomplish 
 the great object of his mission. lie quickened 
 the zenl of the Komish clergy, and persuad- 
 ed them to renounce the spiiit of concession 
 which they had begun to manifest. He endea- 
 vored also to alienate some of the protestant 
 nobles from the cause in which they were engag- 
 ed ; but he was defeated. 
 
 Commendoni, Lippomani's successor, pursued a 
 similar policy. Tlie arts of intrigue and strata- 
 gem w^ere always in requisition ; and the Polish 
 bishops, under his tuition, became adepts in eccle- 
 siastical cunning. A proof of this was afforded 
 liy a j)roposal they made to the Protestants in 
 15G6. They offered to admit the Scriptures as 
 the only unerring foundation of faith, on condition 
 that they should be expounded in the sense au- 
 thorized by Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome, and 
 Augustine. But when they were asked in what 
 sense the writings of those fathers were to be un- 
 <lerstood, they confessed that they could only al- 
 low the interpretation w^hich the Roman church 
 liad already authorized. Scripture was to be the 
 
mians — had been long deplored ; it was regarded 
 by many as injurious to the cause of evangelical 
 religion. Too frequently those energies were ex- 
 hausted in mutual contentions, which ought to 
 have been employed against the common foe. 
 Various attempts were made to unite all parties 
 in one brotherhood ; but the Lutherans refused 
 to co-operate. At length they gave way. At a 
 meeting held at Sandomir in 1570, the union, 
 called " the Consent of Sandomir " was establish- 
 ed. The three confessions acknowledged each 
 other as orthodox ; intercommunion between 
 their congregations was permitted ; and they 
 agreed to form a confederation for mutual sup- 
 port and defence. 
 
 The Romanists, finding it useless to attempt to 
 crush Protestantism, consented at last to cease for 
 a. while from opposition. By the confederation of 
 1573, established at a diet held at Warsaw^ per- 
 fect equality of rights and privileges was ensured 
 to all religious professions. This was declared to 
 be a fundamental law of Poland.* 
 
 * At the coronation of Heniy of Valois, the king, instigated by 
 the Romish prelates, hesitated to take an oath to obsci-ve the 
 confederation of 1573 ; Firby, grand marshal of Poland, instantly 
 stopped the proceedings. " If you will not swear," said he, 
 " you shall not reign !" The king submitled. 
 
REFORMATION IN POLAND. 255 
 
 But causes of decline were already in opera- 
 tion. One of these was the rise of Socinianism. 
 Some of the members of the secret society of Cra- 
 cow having embraced anti-trinitarian sentiments, 
 abundant controversy followed. The numbers of 
 the party continued to increase till it assumed a 
 truly formidable appearance, and some of the 
 leading men of the country had joined its ranks. 
 This was a heavy blow to evangelical truth. The 
 Protestants were divided and weakened. The 
 evangelical confessions were reproached, however 
 unjustly, for encouraging opinions directly sub- 
 versive of the distinguishing truths of Christia- 
 nity. Socinianism is justly reckoned among those 
 *' profane and vain babblings," which " increase 
 unto more ungodliness," and " eat as doth a 
 canker," 
 
 A still more powerful antagonist was brought 
 into the field by cardinal Hosius. Perceiving, on 
 his return from Trent, the imminent danger to 
 which Popery was exposed, he resolved to intro- 
 duce the order of Jesuits, as the most effectual 
 counteractive of the impending mischief. A few 
 members of the order arrived in 1564, and settled 
 in his diocese. They were followed by many 
 more, particularly after the death of Sigismund 
 Augustus, in 1572. Gradually gaining the confi- 
 dence of the most powerful of the nobles, they 
 acquired a commanding influence, both in the 
 church and state, and wielded it in the cause of 
 
their ceaseless exhortations, the zealous friends 
 of Romanism seized every opportunity to annoy 
 the Protestants. Open deeds of violence soon 
 followed. Actual persecution rc-oppeared under 
 ^^pecious pretexts, and in tlie forms of strictly le- 
 gal process. Weak-minded monarchs obeyed the 
 commands of their Jesuit confessors. Protestant- 
 ism sunk ; for it wanted, in Poland, the vigor 
 and elasticity of evangelical godliness, having 
 been, from the beginning, among the upper ranks, 
 more speculative and political than in other Eu- 
 ropean countries. Popery is now dominant. The 
 number of Protestants in Poland is small, and 
 their influence feeble. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 257 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 History of the Reformation in England and Ireland. 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THK REIGN OF HENRY VIIK 
 
 (^ When Henry VIII. came to the throne he waa 
 as bigoted a Papist as any king then ruling in 
 Europe. During the first nineteen years of his 
 reign persecution raged furiously. Great numbers 
 were prosecuted in the ecclesiastical courts for 
 heresy, and variously punished. Some, terrified 
 by the prospect of a cruel death, recanted ; but 
 many ** endured joyfully the spoiling of their 
 goods," and, in several instances, the barbarous 
 infliction of death by fire. The names of the 
 martyrs of those days will be held in everlasting 
 remembrance, for " the memory of the just is 
 blessed."* 
 
 * Til 1519 seven persons were burned in one fire at Coventr}-, 
 for teaching their children and servants the Lord's prayer and the 
 ten commandments in Enghsh. Longland, bishop of Lincoln, 
 was a savage persecutor. The register of his diocese for 1521 
 contains the names of seveml hundred persons who were sued ia 
 the ecclesiastical courts for reading the Scriptures in English, 
 and offences of a similar nature. Four were committed to the 
 flames. In one instance the children of the sufferer wei-e com 
 pelled to set fire to the pile I 
 
 22* 
 
galling to the clergy. The latter adopted prompt 
 measures for the suppression of the new effort. 
 In obedience to the papal bull, by which the Re- 
 former's books were condemned to the flames, 
 cardinal Wolsey convened a numerous assembly 
 of nobles, prelates, and ecclesiastics of eveiy grade, 
 with whom he repaired in solemn procession to 
 St. Paul's, May 12, 1521, where bishop Fisher 
 preached against heresy. After the service a fire 
 was kindled, and copies of Luther's books, whicli 
 had been procured for the occasion, were public- 
 
 ! ly consumed. 
 
 • Henry himself entered into the lists — a mighty 
 king against a poor monk. Popery found in him 
 a sturdy champion. His book on the seven sacra- 
 ments,* in reply to Luther, wns immoderately 
 praised, as a masterpiece of learning and skill, nn 
 unanswerable production. Leo X. was so much 
 pleased with it that he bestowed on the author 
 the title of " Defender of the Faith," (a title which 
 our s'vereigns still continue, however inconsis- 
 tently, to assume,) and granted indulgences to all 
 
 * " Assertio spptem sacrampntorum adversus INIarfiimm Lnth- 
 erum." It was written in Latin, and was publislied in ICfil. 
 The original manuscript is yet to be seen in the Vatican at Rome. 
 
ENGLAND AXD IRELAND. 250 
 
 \vho should read the book. But Luther cared lit- 
 tle lor the rauk or power of his op>ponent. He 
 treated him with as much contempt as if he had 
 been the meanest hired scribbler of the age ; and, 
 in reply, poured upon the royal production a full 
 stream of bitter and indignant vituperation Sir 
 Thomas More hastened to take part in the com- 
 bat ; but, if he exceeded Luther in the art of in- 
 vective, he was immeasurably his inferior in argu- 
 ment. It was easier to bespatter the Reformer 
 with abuse than to disprove his reasonings, or de- 
 fend superstition against his vigorous and well- 
 directed assaults. 
 
 One result of this controversy was the v/ider 
 diffusion of the doctrines of the Reformation : 
 books and phamphlets, exposing the errors, cor- 
 ruptions, and abuses of the church of Rome were 
 issued in great numbers, and read with much 
 avidity, producing every where powerful effects. 
 
 The most important measure was the transla- 
 tion and printing of the New Testament. John 
 AV^iclif 's version of the Scriptures had been in ex- 
 istence nearly 150 years ; but it was only to be 
 met v/itli in public libraries and the houses of the 
 wealthy : no part of it had been then printed. The 
 honor of first presenting the English with the 
 word of God in their own tongue, by means of 
 the press, was reserved for William Tyndall, a 
 great and good man, to whom, under God, the 
 Reformation was much indebted. As it was then 
 
tlie worK was executed on tiie continent, wintner 
 Tyndall had been compelled to retire. The first 
 edition of the New Testament was printed at 
 AVittemberg, in 1525 ; and the second at Cologne, 
 in the following year. From those places copies 
 were forwarded to Antwerp, whence tliey were 
 afterwards shipped for England, and consigned 
 to trustworthy persons, by whom they were gra- 
 dually dispersed throughout the country. Great 
 was the joy of the people at the reception of the 
 precious gift ; and great were the sufferings whicli 
 many were called to endure in consequence. Ton- 
 stall, bishop of London, labored hard to suppress 
 the word of God. Under his direction, strict 
 search was made for copies of the interdicted 
 book, great numbers of which were burned at 
 Paul's Cross ; imprisonment, heavy fines, or even 
 sharper inflictions, awaited those in whose posses- 
 sion the sacred volume was found. 
 
 In 1526, Henry VIII. avowed his doubts re- 
 specting the lawfulness of his marriage with 
 Katherine his queen, who had been previously 
 married to his brother Arthur. His desire for 
 male issue was probably the origin of these scru- 
 ples, which were encouraged, if not excited by 
 Wolsey. Katherine had born him several chil- 
 dren, but one only, INIary, was living ; the others 
 
K\Gi.A.\n AVD iui:i.A\n. 261 
 
 liaJ (JieJ in early iiifdiicy. Despairing of the ar- 
 complislnnent of his wishes, he resolved to take 
 ])roceedings for a divorce, on the ground of the 
 unlawfulness of the union with his brother's wife. 
 The papal disi:)ensation had sanctioned the mar- 
 liugc, and the same power he believed could an- 
 nul it. At first, his attention was directed to the 
 duchess d'Alen^on, sister to Francis I. king of 
 France; and afterwards to the princess Renee, 
 daughter of Louis XIT. and sister to Claude, the 
 deceased wife of the French king. Ultimately he 
 fixed on the celebrated Anne Boleyn, They were 
 married in January, 1533. In May following, 
 (^ranmer, recently consecrated archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, pronounced sentence, declaring that t})e 
 marriage with Katherine, being contrary to God's 
 law, had been null and void from the beginning. 
 
 It would be foreign to our purpose to detail 
 the negociations, intrigues, contrivances, plots, 
 and counterplots, by which the proceedings re- 
 t?pecting the divorce were diversified. They were 
 discreditable to all parties. When Henry had de- 
 termined on the course he should adopt, he pur- 
 sued it with unabated perseverance, till that which 
 appeared to begin in principle became a passion, 
 and in the choice of means there was but little 
 regard to propriety or rectitude. On the other 
 hand, the pope shufilcd and evaded, promised 
 and broke his word — in short, acted like a poj^e. 
 If he granted tha divorce, he woidd make the 
 
lit; uu i iit; vvuuiu minxiiy iiave ^iveii iJcmiiBsiuii 
 to the king to have two wives, not questioning 
 his own power to alter the law of God in that re- 
 spect ; see Dan. 7 : 25 ; 2 Thess. 2:4; but as this 
 Avould not be accepted, he resolved to protract 
 the cause indefinitely, in the hope of wearing out 
 the parties. Henry was not to be overreached in 
 this manner; he took the case into his own hands, 
 and cut the knot which it was so difficult to untie. 
 
 During the seven years that elapsed between 
 the commencement and the close of this affair, 
 the Reformation made considerable progress iu 
 England, notwithstanding the violence with which 
 the persecution continued to be carried on. Bil- 
 ney, and other men of God, yielded their lives for 
 the Gospel ; severe sufferings were endured by 
 great numbers, both in person and substance. 
 
 At the same time God was raising up instru- 
 ments for his work. Tyndall, who had settled at 
 Antwerp, employed his pen in the cause of truth, 
 and composed tracts and larger works, both con- 
 troversial and practical, which were eminently 
 serviceable to the Reformation. In the latter years 
 of his life he was assisted by John Rogers, chap- 
 lain to the English merchants at Antwerp, a 
 learaed and godly man, who afterwards settled in 
 England, ^v•as appointed prebendary at St. Paul's, 
 
r.NGLAND ANT) IRELAND. 263 
 
 and led the van of the glorious army of martyrs 
 in queen Mary's reign. Latimer was usefully en- 
 gaged in Wiltshire, where his plain, honest faith- 
 fulness and homely eloquence attracted much at- 
 tention, and prepared the minds of many for ulte- 
 rior changes. Others were studying for the min- 
 istry at the universities, often amidst much con- 
 ention and fierce struggles between truth and 
 ;-!rror. Cranmer had been appointed archbishop 
 of Canterbury in 1532. 
 
 It cannot be wondered at, that, in the course 
 of the discussion respecting the divorce, the na- 
 ture and extent of the papal supremacy should 
 become the subject of debate. The popes had 
 greatly endangered their authority by unwar- 
 rantable stretches of power and enormous exac- 
 tions. More money went to Rome every year 
 than was contributed for the support of govern- 
 ment.* Incalculable injury was inflicted on the 
 
 * It is not easy to calculate the exact amount. Annates, or 
 first fruits, being the presumed amount of one year's income, 
 were remitted to the pope by all ecclesiastics, on their appoint- 
 ments to living's, offices or dioceses. Appeals, dispensations, in- 
 lulgences, pardons, and mortuaries at the decease of prelates, 
 'iroduced immense sums. A revenue equal to £70,000 per nn- 
 ium in these times was derived from Peter pence, a levy of a 
 _>enny on evei^ chimney, first granted by Ina, king of the West 
 laxons, to pope Gregory II. A. D. 626. To these must be add- 
 fd the sums spent by Enghsh pilgrims who visited Rome and 
 other holy places ou the continent, and the annual incomes of 
 foreigners holding ecclesiastical preferments in England, andrcsi- 
 
wRs a V)urdensome curse on the kingdom, llesist- 
 nnce to its monstrous claims M'as the dictate of 
 patriotism and l)enevolence as well as of real 
 piety. 
 
 The first blow was the suppression of the pay- 
 ment of annates. In 1532 these payments were 
 transferred from the pope to the king. Two years 
 afterwards the decisive step was taken. Apjieals 
 to the pope and remittances of money for bulls, 
 dispensations, &:c. had been already forbidden. 
 By an act of parliament, passed March 20, 1534, 
 the king was declared supreme head of the 
 <!hurch of England, with full power to con-ect all 
 abuses, root out all errors and heresies, and exer- 
 cise all prerogatives in things spiritual, as the 
 popes had done beibre him. ])Ut no change was 
 as yet made in doctrine or worship. Thoun:h 
 Henry had thrust out the pope, he was as bigot- 
 ed a Papist as ever. Early in 1535 he issued a 
 proclamation, adjudging death to all who denied 
 or disputed against the doctrine of transubstantia- 
 tion, or any other of the doctrines or rites of the 
 church of Rome. Tlie flames of persecution were 
 
 dent abroad, from which source only an amount equal to tlirre 
 times the roval revenue was derived in the rei^ of Heiin- III. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRLLAND. 265 
 
 relighted, and many suffered in consequence. 
 Others lost their lives for refusing to take the 
 oath of supremacy. These were Papists, who 
 regarded the oath as inconsistent with the spiri- 
 tual allegiance they gave the pope. Their plea 
 v.as rejected, and they were doomed to the trai- 
 tor's death. The most illustrious victims to this 
 cruel and unrighteous policy were Fisher, bishop 
 of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More. Tlieir death 
 excited profound regret throughout all Europe. 
 
 A large portion of the wealth of the kingdom 
 was attached to the monasteries. The inmates of 
 those estahlishments were almost to a man strong- 
 ly prejudiced in favor of the ancient system, and 
 averse to any religious change. They did not con- 
 ceal the indignant feelings with which they viewed 
 the king's ecclesiastical supremacy. Their influ- 
 ence was great; and it was justly apprehended 
 that they would exert that influence in hindering 
 ilie furtljer progress of reform, if not in attempt- 
 ing to restore the reign of the pope. In resolving 
 to eft'ect their ruin, Henry was probably influenc- 
 ed by covetous as well as political considerations. 
 He scented a rich prey. Cranmer, and those who 
 acted with him, had other views. They wished 
 to see the revenues of the religious houses devoted 
 to truly religious purposes, from which a large 
 jiortion of them had been diverted, and particu- 
 larly counselled the erection of a consideral)le 
 number of new bishoprics, and the establishment 
 93 
 
A \-isitation of the monasteries discovered im- 
 mense mines of wealth, and brought to light many 
 deeds of darkness, as well as absurd and knavish 
 superstitions. In a few cfises, the inhabitants were 
 found to lead honorable and useful lives ; those 
 establishments were in some respects beneficial to 
 the neighborhoods in which they were located. 
 But, generally speaking, they were nurseries of 
 ignorance, fraud, and vice : nor can that be won- 
 dered at, when it is considered that the monastic 
 vow of celibacy is an act of resistance to the Di- 
 vine constitution, and necessarily exposes those 
 "who take it to temptations against which it is diffi- 
 cult to strive. Had the property possessed by 
 the monasteries been diverted to truly national 
 uses, and thus made subservient to the welfare of 
 the community at large, their suppression would 
 have been regarded as a great blessing to the 
 country. But when so much treasure was turn- 
 ed into private channels, discontent was awaken- 
 ed, and many were induced to suspect that the 
 love of money rather than the love of righteous- 
 ness had persuaded the king and his advisers to 
 take a step so bold and unprecedented. 
 
 By an act of parliament, passed in the early part 
 of 1536, all monasteries, whose yearly income was 
 less than d€200, w^ere placed at the disposal of the 
 
EAGLAND AND IRELAND. 267 
 
 king. It was calculated that an addition of about 
 eC32,000 a year, equivalent to more than ten times 
 the amount in these days, would thereby accrue 
 to the royal revenue, besides a large quantity of 
 plate and jewels, valued at c£100,000. The larcrer 
 monasteries and abbeys were spared three years 
 longer ; but at length they shared the same fate. 
 In 1539 a bill was passed, vesting in the king the 
 property of all existing monastic foundations. By 
 the spring of 1540 they had ceased to exist. In 
 most cases the buildings were stripped of all that 
 was valuable, and in that dismantled state were 
 suffered to go to decay. The lands were given to 
 royal favorites, or purchased, on easy terms, by 
 men who were glad to find a ready method oV 
 making their fortunes. Pensions were granted to 
 the abbots, priors, and other officers, and the elder 
 and more deserving of the monks, or church pre- 
 ferment was bestowed on them; an economical 
 but pernicious measure, by which the ignorant 
 and prejudiced people were subjected to the in- 
 fluence of those who would be urged by their ex- 
 asperated feelings to resist the further progress 
 of truth and reform in every possible way. But a 
 small portion of the proceeds of this wholesale con- 
 fiscation was appropriated to the sen-ice of reli- 
 gion.* It was for the most part rapacious men 
 forcing robbers to give up their prey. 
 
 ■* Six bishopric? were established ami endowed — those of ^Vost- 
 niinslcr, O.'itard. Pelerborouih. Bristol, Cliester. and GloucPiter. 
 
fying, in upwards of fifty particulars, tliose devia- 
 tions from tlie established faith and practice which 
 demanded, in their judgment, instant attention. It 
 is gratifying to observe in the list those jirotestani 
 principles which we justly hold dear.* The num- 
 ber of their advocates must have been considera]>lo 
 to have attracted the notice of the convocation. 
 But few records of tlicir labors now remain; yet 
 we may be assured that the Divine blessing rested 
 on the endeavors of men who exposed themselves 
 in such a manner to oblormy and violence for the 
 bake of truth. 
 
 Fourteen abbeys and priories wme converted into cathedral and 
 collegiate churches, with a dean and }>rebendarics atfiched to 
 pach. 
 
 " Among the articles romplniiied of are the following: " Tliat 
 all cljiirch ceremonioa not expn;ssly wananted in Scripture are 
 human inventions, and for llisit reason to be laid aside;" — "that, 
 I)roper]y speaking, the rhurch consists only of good people;" — 
 " that all moiajitic distinctions are .1 phiin ronli-adiction to the 
 christian religion ;'' — '' thnt no reverence ouglit to be paid to tlm 
 images of the saints;" — "that auriculur confessioTi, absolution 
 and penance are neither necessary nor beneficial;" — "that tiw; 
 saints are not to be honortnl with invocation," and, ** that they 
 understand nothing of our prayers, nor are in a condition to me- 
 <liate between God and us;" — and " that there is no third placf. 
 dislinc^t froin heaven and hell, for the punishment of departed 
 spirits." Colliers Lcclesiuslical Iliston-, ii. 119-101. 
 
KNCn.AND AM) IRELAND. 269 
 
 Cranmer, Latimer, (who had been created bi- 
 shop of Worcester,) Shaxton, of Salisbury, and 
 Fox, of Hereford, favoied the Reformation, and 
 encouraged all measures tending to further its pro- 
 gress. They were sturdily opposed by Lee, arch- 
 bishop of York ; Gardiner, of Winchester ; Stokes- 
 ley, of London; Tunstall, of Durham; and Clark, 
 of Bath and Wells. Each party was zealous and 
 persevering; but all were kept in check by the 
 king, and compelled to yield to his will. Under 
 his directions, certain articles of religion were 
 drawn up, and signed by the bishops on both sides, 
 and by the principal members of the convocation. 
 They constituted the existing standard of ortho- 
 doxy, and were read in the parish churches for 
 the information of the people. 
 
 In the following year a Avork appeared entitled 
 " The godly and pious Institution of a Christian 
 Man." It was prepared at the suggestion of Cran- 
 mer, to whose memorial on the subject the king 
 responded by appointing a commission, consisting 
 of the two archbishops, several bishops and other 
 learned men. The book was revised and correct- 
 ed, but not improved by the king himself The 
 articles above mentioned, and this book, contained 
 Henry's further concessions to the Reformation. 
 They were extremely meagre and unsatisfactory. 
 The essentials of popery were suffered to remain 
 untouched. Men were to believe in transubstanti- 
 ation and purgatory, to confess their sins to the 
 
stitioiis aiKi Idolatrous jn'actices ot tlie age, bnt it 
 left things almost exactly in the same state ; for 
 the people at large neither understood nor cared 
 for nice distinctions, and the priests would lake 
 no pains to set the matter in a clearer light. A^ 
 long as it was affirmed that *' s])rinkling holy wa- 
 ter, giving holy bread, bearing candles on Camlle- 
 raas day, giving ashes on Ash Wednesday, benr- 
 ing of palms on Palm Sunday, creeping to the 
 cross and kissing it, and otfering unto Christ be- 
 fore the same on Good Friday, setting up the se- 
 jjulchre of Christ, hallowing of the font, and other 
 like exorcisms and benedictions," were " laudable 
 customs'* — "not to be contemned and cast away, 
 but continued, to put us in remembrance of spiri- 
 tual things " — they would be assiduously observed, 
 and no heed would be given to any preventive 
 check in the shape of cautions or explications.* 
 The martyrdcmi of William Tyndall, at Ant- 
 werp, in September, 1536, was deeply disgT-aceful 
 
 * Strypo's Life of Cranmor, pp. 41-14. Edit. 1691. The book 
 wft.-( published in V}']7. In 1543 a revised and enlarged editinti 
 was issued, not improved, but ninde more popish than before. It 
 was then entitled. " A necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any 
 Christian Man." To distinguish it from the former volume, the 
 '• Institution," commonly called " The Bishop's Book," it went 
 by the name of " The King's Bouk." 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 271 
 
 to all parties, especially to Henry, by whose in- 
 terference (lie was urged to it by the persecuting 
 malice of Sir Thomas More) the reformer had 
 been betrayed into the hands of his enemie^ and 
 immured in prison, where he remained a year and 
 a half. During the time he was repeatedly ex- 
 amined by the emperor's officials. His piety and 
 learning were undoubted ; even the imperial pro- 
 rurator confessed that he was " a very learned, 
 pious and good man." But he had committed the 
 unpardonable sin of translating and publishing the 
 word of God. He also exposed the errors and abo- 
 minations of Rome in a style of bold, impassioned, 
 and pungent eloquence. As soon as he was within 
 the grasp of the popish authorities his fate was 
 sealed. With his last breath he prayed that the 
 Lord would " open the king of England's eyes." 
 The guilt of his murder rests with Henry and 
 More.* 
 
 Notwithstanding the determined opposition of 
 the clergy, the demand for the Scriptures conti- 
 nued to increase. New editions were issued, and 
 readily found purchasers. Coverdale's translation, 
 issued at Zurich in 1535, received the royal sanc- 
 tion, and was ordered to be placed in the jiarish 
 churches. The backwardness of the ecclesiastics 
 
 * Tyndall's version of the Now Testament was re-publishetl in 
 London in 1830. An interesting memoir is prefixed, written by 
 (ieorge Offor, PLsq. of Hackney, and containing some particulars 
 not before published. 
 
sisting in the luitlier improvement of the work, 
 and interiering with the king to prevent the suc- 
 cess of popish machinations. His eftbrts prevailed 
 so far that, for several years, the people of Eng- 
 land enjoyed the privilege of reading the word of 
 God in their own tongue. It is true that the num- 
 ber of those who actually possessed the Scriptures 
 was for some time comparatively small ; but many 
 who could not buy could read, and tliey were fro- 
 (juently employed by their uneducated neighbors, 
 who were accustomed to meet in the churches for 
 the purpose of listening to the oracles of heaven. 
 Bishop Bonner was compelled to place six Bibles 
 in St. Paul's cathedral, for the use of the people. 
 *' It was wonderful to see," says Strype, *' with 
 what joy this book of God was received, not only 
 among the more learned, and those that were no- 
 ted for lovers of the Reformation, but generally 
 all England over, among all the vulgar and com- 
 mon people; and with what greediness God's 
 word was read, and what resort to places where 
 the reading of it was. Every body that could, 
 bought the book, or busily read it, or got others to 
 read it to them, if they could not read themselves ; 
 and divers more elderly people learned to read on 
 ])urpose."* 
 
 ♦ Lii'e ol'Cranmer, p. 64. C'uverdalc's traurfhuion of the Biblo 
 
KXr.LAXD AND IRELAND. 273 
 
 In lu'oS some progress was made in tlje remo- 
 val of superstitions. The number of holyJays was 
 abridjTed, the king- having enjoined that during tlio 
 i'our law terms, and in harvest, no saints' dav^^ 
 should be observed, unless such as were dedicated 
 To the Virgin Mary or the apostles. Many shrines 
 nf supposed saints were destroyed, and some abo- 
 minable trickeries brought to light, by which the 
 ignorant had been hoodwinked and deluded for 
 ages.* Images were directed to be used only for 
 
 has been ahxady mentioned. In 1537 another version was pub- 
 lished, conimouly called *' Matthews's Bible;" it was a revision 
 of Tyndall's and Coverdole's, and its jmblication was superin- 
 tended by John Rog-ers, under the assumed name of " Thomas 
 Matthews." This was followed, in 1539, by the " Great Bible," 
 printed by Grafton and Whitchurch, and another called " Ta- 
 vemer's Bible." Cranmer prefixed a preface to an edition issued 
 in 1510, wliich was thence called " Cranmer's Bible." Fourteen 
 i-diliors of the Old Testament and eighteen of the New Testament 
 ^^ere published during- the reign of Henry VIII. 
 
 • There was a wonderful crucifix at BexJey, in 10>nt, wlilcu 
 peemed to possess miraculous power?. The head of the ima;:^ 
 bowed; sometimes its body was bent; the hands and feet were 
 moved, the eyes rolled, the lips opened. All this was done bv in- 
 visible springs and wires, set in motion by a person concealed for 
 the pui'pose. There were several others discovered, fitted up wirji 
 f-imilar contrivances, which were ]>ublicly broken at Baul's Cro;^«. 
 
 At Hailes Abbey, in Gloucestershire, a glass bottle was exhi- 
 bited which was said to contain a portion of the blood of our 
 Savior. But no person in a state of mortal sin could see it. Til- 
 prims flocked thither in great numbers, and after obtaining par- 
 don by liberal payments to the monks for j)rayers and masses, 
 were gratified with a sight of the blood, and returned home sati.r 
 
274 THE KLFOllMATION IN 
 
 memorials of virtue and incentives to devotion, 
 and not to be venerated or adored. Some other 
 regulations of a minor kind were added. The 
 amount of real information was small ; but the 
 friends of the Gospel, being opposed in every di- 
 rection, were thankfld for any measure of success, 
 trusting that one advantage would lead to another, 
 and that increased light would reveal the abomi- 
 nations of Rome in all their deformity.* 
 
 During the last eight years of Henry's reign 
 very little was done for the advancement of truth. 
 The popish party, headed by Gardiner, regained 
 the ascendancy. It was under their influence that 
 the act of six articles was passed, enforcing belief 
 in transubstantiation, communion in one kind, 
 priestly celibacy, private masses, and auricular 
 confession. On this Latimer resigned his bishop- 
 ric, and retired into private life. Cranmer retained 
 his post, anxious to hinder a retrograde movement 
 
 fled and happy. The bottle haJ one side thick and the other tliin ; 
 and \va<; secretly turned by a person who was hidden behind the 
 aJtar. The blood of a duck was used, which was renewed cveiy 
 week. 
 
 * In 1533 pope Paul III. issued a bull agiiinst Henn,-, sum- 
 moning him to Home, to give an account of liis actions. Should 
 he refuse to appear, his crown was declared to be forfeited, his 
 kingdom placed imder an edict, and his subjects absolved from 
 their allegiance. Disobedience ti> the decree would expose tln' 
 otfender, it was profanely said, to the vengeance of Almighty God, 
 and that of hi.s apo-'tles I'eter and I'aul. The decree iras diso- 
 beyed, but no harm foUoucd. 
 
F.NGLAND AND IRELAN'D. 275 
 
 as far as possible. But he seldom appeared in pub- 
 lic. He employed liimselF, for the most part, in the 
 duties of his office. By appointing faithful men to 
 vacant parishes, he sought to stem the torrent of 
 ignorance and vice. By curbing the insolence of 
 bigoted and headstrong ecclesiastics, (and there 
 were many of that sort in his diocese,*) he pre- 
 vented much mischief. By seizing those favorable 
 opportunities of gaining the royal ear, which now 
 and then occurred, he obtained some fresh con- 
 cessions in favor of scriptural knowledge and pie- 
 ty. As late as the year 1544, a proclamation was 
 issued, ordering that two chapters of the English 
 version of the Scriptures should be read in the 
 churches every Lord's day. In the same j^ear some 
 of the prayers were translated, and men were en- 
 couraged to offer their requests to God in their 
 own tongue. 
 
 These advantages, however, were counterba- 
 lanced by many evils. The free use of the word 
 of God by the people themselves was forbidden. 
 An act passed in the beginning of 1543, intended 
 by Cranmer for the advancement of religion, but 
 turned to the contrary by Gardiner and his party, 
 prohibited the reading of the Scriptures by all per- 
 sons under the rank of a nobleman or gentleman, 
 
 • The efforts these men made to ruin the archbishop, and his 
 deliverance from the conspiracy which they formed ag-ainst him, 
 are narrated by Sfr}-pe, in his Life of Cranmer, book i. chap. 
 2(3, 27. 
 
276 THE RKFORMATIOX IN 
 
 Strictly enjoining all women, except such as be- 
 longed to tlie families of the nobility and gentry, 
 all artificers, apprentices, journeymen, servants, 
 husbandmen, or laborers, to abstain from reading 
 the word of God in English, either to themselves 
 or other persons, privately or openly, on pain of 
 death, if they were thrice convicted of the offence. 
 These prohibitions continued in force throughout 
 the remainder of Henry's reign. Nor was this all. 
 Tlie fires of martyrdom still blazed. Papists, who 
 scrupled to admit the king's ecclesiastical supre- 
 macy, were executed as traitors; and Protestants, 
 who denied transubstantiation and other popi.'ih 
 tenets, were burned as heretics. 
 
 Cranmer himself narrowly escaped. Embolden- 
 ed by their recent successes, the popish cabal re- 
 solved to make an attempt on the primate. An ac- 
 cusation was lodged against him by the Papists 
 in the privy council. They assured the king that 
 Cranmer, "with his learned men, had so infect- 
 ed the whole realm with their unsavory doctrine, 
 that three parts of the land were become abomi- 
 nable heretics." Affecting great fear of disturb- 
 ances and insurrections, as likely to arise from the 
 spread of anti-popish doctrines, under the auspices 
 of so great a man as the archbishop, they requested 
 that he might be committed to the tower, in order 
 to be examined ; alleging, as a reason for such a 
 rigorous proceeding, that no one would dare to 
 
 app 
 
 ear as a witness acrninst him " unless he were 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 277 
 
 first committed to durance !" The king granted 
 them permission to cite the archbishop before them 
 the next day, and if they found sufficient cause, to 
 send him to the tower. Reflecting afterwards on 
 the probable consequences of this concession, hcj 
 sent for Cranmer late at night, and told him what 
 had been done. Cranmer respectfully thanked the 
 king for his kindness in giving him timely warn- 
 ing, and said that he would willingly go to the 
 tower for the trial of his doctrine, not doubting 
 that his majesty would secure him an impartial 
 hearing. The king expressed great surprise at his 
 unsuspecting simplicity. " No ; not so, my lord," 
 said he : "I have better regard unto you, than to 
 permit your enemies so to overthrow you." Di- 
 recting him to demand, when brought before the 
 council, that his accusers should be produced, he 
 gave Cranmer a ring, and added, ** If they stand 
 with you, without regard of your allegations, and 
 will on no condition condescend to your request, 
 but will needs commit you to the tower, then ap- 
 j)eal you from them to our person, and give to 
 them this my ring, by the which they shall well 
 understand that I have taken your cause into my 
 hand from them." 
 
 Next morning Cranmer was cited before the 
 council. He was treated in a very disrespectful 
 manner, being allowed to remain in an anticham- 
 ber among the attendants for nearly an hour, 
 while other business was transacted. This was 
 24 
 
278 lITK REFORMATIOX IN 
 
 reported to the king, who was greatly enraged at 
 it. When the archbishop was at length admitted, 
 he was informed that the council had resolved to 
 commit him to the tower, to abide his trial for he- 
 resy. He endeavored to show the injustice of 
 the decision, and demanded to be confronted with 
 his accusers. His objections were overruled, 
 upon which he produced the ring, and appealed 
 to the king in person. They repaired at once to 
 the royal presence. Henry received them in a 
 manner which indicated his displeasure. "I would 
 you should well understand," he said, " that I ac- 
 count my lord of Canterbury as faithful a man to- 
 wards me as ever was prelate in this realm, and 
 one to whom I am many ways beholden, by the 
 faith I owe unto God. And therefore, who loveth 
 me will upon that account regard him." Thus 
 was Cranmer delivered. Had it not been for the 
 king's personal interposition, he would have been 
 soon conveyed from the tower to a scattbld or a 
 stake. 
 
 Katherine Parr, Heni-y's last queen, encounter- 
 ed a similar peril, and would have fallen into tlie 
 Bnare which Gardiner and his bloodthirsty associ- 
 ates laid for her, had she not received intimation 
 of their designs, and contrived by dexterous man- 
 ajrement to remove from the kinsr's mind the in- 
 jurious suspicions which he had been led to en- 
 tertain.* 
 
 A full and interesting account, of ihr traasactioa i^ given in 
 
ENGLAND AND IRLLAxN'D. 279 
 
 Henry Ylll. died January 28, 1547. He was 
 a Papist and a persecutor to the last. The abolition 
 of papal authority in England was no act of 
 homage to the truth. The pope stood in the way 
 of the accomplishment of Henry's wishes, and 
 was therefore removed. Power and wealth were 
 the king's idols, at whose altars he offered many a 
 bloody sacriiice. 
 
 The amount of reformation accomplished by 
 the authority of Henry may be stated in few 
 words. The authority of the pope was utterly 
 abolished. Monasteries and kindred institutions 
 were suppressed.* The Scriptures were transla- 
 ted and printed, set up in churches, and for some 
 years allowed to be freely circulated among the 
 people. Gross superstitions were put down, and 
 creature worship was partially discouraged. Some 
 few prayers were translated into English. The 
 Gospel was preached in some few parishes ; but po- 
 pish doctrine was still taught by the majority of 
 the clergy ; nor were the people at large as yet 
 inclined to look with favor upon a system which 
 inculcated humbling and self-denying truths, and 
 stripped religion of the pomp and finery which 
 present such powerful attractions to weak minds. 
 
 " The Lollards," published by the Relijjiou:* Tract Society, ^p. 
 323 327, new edition. 
 
 * The institutions included in l\m suppres.-*Ion were — convent.^, 
 645; coileges, 90; chantries and free chupeb, 237 4 ; hospitals, 
 UO. 
 
280 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 The pope was banished from England, but Po- 
 pery remained. 
 
 Ireland participated in the changes effected 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. In 1536 Robert 
 Brown, who had been provincial of the Augus- 
 tinians, was appointed archbishop of Dublin. In 
 compliance with the directions he received from 
 England, he engaged very zealously in the work 
 of Reformation, and was particularly active in pro- 
 curing the removal of images and other relics of 
 superstition from the churches. Dowdal, arch- 
 bishop of Armagh, violently opposed him. He 
 called an assembly of his clergy, and denounced 
 fierce curses against all who should own the 
 king's supremacy in things ecclesiastical. It can- 
 not be denied that the feeling of the Irish people 
 was mostly on his side. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE REIGN OF EDWARD VI. 
 
 No sooner were Cranmer and his friends freed 
 from the restraints laid upon them by Henry 
 VIII. than they set about the work of Reforma- 
 tion in earnest. The young king entered heartily 
 into their views, and encouraged them to take 
 vigorous measures. Some important changes 
 were accomplished in the first year of his reign. 
 
 A royal visitation of the dioceses took place 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 
 
 281 
 
 The in] unctions given to the commissioners em- 
 ployed for that purpose * showed that sweeping 
 alterations were deteraiined upon. The clergy 
 were directed to *' make, or cause to be made, in 
 their churches, and every other cure they have, 
 one sermon every quarter of a year at the least, 
 v.'herein they shall freely and sincerely declare 
 the word of God ; and in the same exhort their 
 hearers to the works of faith, mercy and charity, 
 {specially prescribed and commanded in Scrip- 
 ture ; and that works devised by men's phantasies, 
 besides Scripture, as wandering to pilgrimages, 
 offering of money, candles or tapers, to relics or 
 images, or kissing and licking of the same, pray- 
 ing upon beads, or such like superstition, have 
 not only no promise of reward in Scripture for 
 doing of them, but contrariwise, great threats and 
 maledictions of God, for that they be things tend- 
 ing to idolatry and superstition, which of all other 
 things God Almighty doth most detest and abhor, 
 for that the same diminish most his honor and 
 glory." All images that had been abused by pil- 
 grimages, offerings, or incense, were to be taken 
 down and destroyed. Eveiy parish church was 
 to be provided with a copy of the Bible, " of the 
 largest volume," and of Erasmus' Paraphrase on 
 J 
 
 * They were thirty in number. The kingdom was divided into 
 six districts, to each of which a certain number of commissioners 
 was allotted, and it was so arranged that in every case one of 
 
 them should he a pveaclier. 
 
 24-* 
 
282 THE RKFORMATION IN 
 
 the New Testament. Ecclesiastical persona were 
 admonished to avoid taverns and alehouses, and 
 '* at all times (as they shall liave leisure) to hear 
 and read somewhat of Holy Scripture, or occupy 
 themselves in some other honest exercise ; and 
 that they always do the things that appertain to 
 lionesty, with endeavor to profit the common weal ; 
 having always in mind that they ought to excel 
 all others in purity of life, and should be an ex- 
 ample to the people to live well and christianly." 
 Every clergyman, "being under the degree of a 
 bachelor of divinity," was enjoined to "provide 
 and have of his own," within three months, the 
 New Testament both in Latin and English, with 
 Erasmus' Paraphrase, " and diligently study the 
 same, conferring the one with the other." The 
 epistle and gospel for the day were always to be 
 read in English, and two chapters eveiy Lord's 
 day, one taken from the Old Testament, and one 
 from the New. And it was ordered, that " be- 
 cause through lack of preachers in many places 
 of the king's realms and dominions, the people 
 continue in ignorance and blindness, all parsons, 
 vicars and curates shall read in their churches 
 every Sunday one of the homilies, which are and 
 shall be set forth for the same purpose by the 
 king's authority." The first book of homilies 
 was prepared and published on this occasion.* 
 
 * See bishop Sparrow's Colleotion of Articles, Injunclioiis^ 
 Sec. pp. 1-13. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 283 
 
 The act of the six articles, and several otliera, 
 whereby new treasons had been created, and the 
 lives of the people placed in the utmost jeopardy, 
 were repealed. Private masses were abolished. 
 Funds invested for superstitious purposes, and 
 especially for the supposed deliverance of deceas- 
 ed persons from purgatory, were confiscated and 
 placed at the king's disposal. Sundry practices, 
 tending to " abominable idolatry " (enumerated 
 in the third part of the homily " of good works") 
 were put down. But the most important innova- 
 tion was the restoration of communion in both 
 kinds. The people had been long deprived of the 
 cup, and had been taught to worship the bread. 
 The Clip was now restored, and the idolatry sup- 
 pressed. This was most probably the result of 
 Cranmer's altered views. During the reign of 
 Henry VIII. he had been a firm supporter of the 
 popish doctrine of transubstantiation, or of the 
 modified error of consubstantiation. He had even 
 labored, though unsuccessfully, to confute Lam- 
 bert, who suffered for holding contrary opinions, 
 and to whose sentence of condemnation the arch- 
 bishop's signature was attached : so powerful was 
 the influence of the bigotry and intolerance he had 
 derived from the church of Rome. The change 
 is commonly ascribed to the efforts of Ridley, 
 who first discovered the absurdity and impious 
 tendencies of the popish notion, and quickly ex- 
 erted himself to i-emove from the primate's mind 
 
2Si TilL ICKIORMATION IN 
 
 an error which he saw was fraught with peril to 
 souls. His endeavors succeeded. Cranmer em- 
 braced more scriptural views. The Lord's sup- 
 per was thenceforth administered in a manner far 
 more accordant with apostolic usage. 
 
 Such was the progress made in the first year 
 of Edward's reign. Still greater changes fol- 
 lowed. In 1548 all images were removed from 
 the churches.* J3y virtue of a royal commission, 
 
 * " There were every where gi'cat heats about the removing of 
 imitjes which had been abused to superstition, some aflimiing 
 and others denying that their images had been so abused. There 
 were in the ciiurches some images of so strange a nature that it 
 could not be denied that they had been abused. Such was tho 
 image of the Blessed Trinity, which was to be censed, on tho 
 day of the Innocents, by him that was made bishop off the chil- 
 dren : tliis shows it was used on other days, in which it is like 
 it was censed by the bishop where he was present. How this 
 image was made, can only be gathered from the prints that were 
 of it at the time ; in which the Father is represented sitting on 
 the one hand as an old man with a triple crown and rays about 
 him, the Son on the other hand as a young man with a crown 
 and rays, and the blessed virgin between them, and the emblen-i 
 of the Holy Ghost, a dove spread over her head. So it is repre- 
 sented in a fair book of the hours according to the use of Sarum, 
 printed A. D. 152(). The impiety of this did raise honor in 
 most men's minds, when that inconceivable mystery was so 
 grossly expressed. Besides, the taking tho vii^n into it was 
 done in pursuance to what had been said by some blasphemous 
 fnars, of her being assumed into the Trinity. In another edition 
 of these, it is repi-esenled by three faces formed in one head. 
 These things had not been set up by any public wunant ; but, 
 liaving been so lung in practice, they stood upon the general plea 
 t!iat was for keeping the traditions of die church ; for it was 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 28/> 
 
 giantecl to the archbishops of Canterbury and 
 York, sixteen bishops, and six doctors of divinity, 
 for the compilation of a new liturgy in the Eng- 
 lish language, the various Latin offices used in 
 different parts of the kingdom (for at that time 
 there was no exact uniformity in the celebration 
 of Divine worship) were collected and compared 
 vv^ith one another. Such portions were selected 
 as were deemed most suitable, and translated, 
 needful alterations or additions made ; and in 
 this way a service-book constructed, which after 
 some opposition was adopted by the parliament, 
 nnd ordered to be brought into use on Whit Sun- 
 day, 1549. This was the severest blow that Po- 
 pery had received since the death of Henry VIII. 
 The translation of the j^^aycrs into English, and 
 the adaptation of the service to congregational 
 uses, justly entitling the work to the appellation 
 of " The Book of Common " (that is, united) 
 *' Prayer," tended at once to enlighten the public 
 
 said that the promises made to the church were the same in 
 all ages, and that therefore every age of the church had an 
 equal right to them. But for the other images, it was urged 
 against them that they had been all consecrated with such rite^^ 
 and prayers that it was certain they were eveiy one of them su- 
 jierstitious : since it was prayed that they might be so blessed 
 and consecrated, that whosoever worshipped them might, by the 
 saints' prayers and aid, whom they represented, obtain every 
 thing that he desired. So they resolved on an entire removal 
 of all images." Buniet's Historj- of the Refurmarion, ii. 112. 
 Oxford Edition. 
 
286 THE REFOHMATIUN IN 
 
 mind. The priest was no more tlie sole })erf<)rm- 
 er. He still continued to lead the devotions of 
 the people, but they were now allowed to share 
 in the service, instead of remaining, as before, 
 mere spectators of his doings ; and the whole was 
 carried on in a language which they understood. 
 Some relics of the old system were still retained, 
 which were afterwards further got rid of; it was 
 thought necessary to deal gently with deep-seated 
 prejudices and habits which had existed from 
 time immemorial. An act was also passed, legal- 
 izing the marriage of the clergy. This was an- 
 other advance in favor of right principles. ltj» 
 beneficial influence could not but be great. 
 
 The government found no great difficulty in pro- 
 curing the enactment of these laws. But it wa.*5 
 not so easy to make them palatable to the people. 
 Popery had pandered to sensual habits and lov/ 
 vices. Its pomp and pageantry dazzled the weak- 
 minded. It was a glorious thing to be " arrayed 
 in pui*ple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and 
 precious stones, and pearls." Rev. 17 ; 4. The 
 revellings of saints' days, and other periods of 
 ecclesiastical gatherings, were congenial to the 
 tastes of those who were studiously restrained 
 from aspiring after higher delights. When feasts, 
 and processions, and image-worship were abolish- 
 ed, a large amount of enjoyment was cut ofl'. 
 Added to this, the clergy, though compelled to 
 submit to the new order of things, were gencrallv 
 
EN*GT,AXD AND IRELAND. 287 
 
 disaffected. Thoy longed for the restoration of 
 their former power and authority, and of the 
 amazing influence over the people -which super- 
 stitious usages gave them. A rebellious rising 
 was the consequence. It originated in Devon- 
 shire, and spread into many other counties, but 
 was most violent in the northern and southeni 
 parts of the kingdom, and in Norfolk. It was not 
 quelled without the loss of many lives.* 
 
 There was opposition in higher quarters. Bon- 
 ner and Gardiner, so far from sympathizing with 
 the recent proceedings, did not scruple to avow 
 their dissent, and threw every possible hinderance 
 in the way. They were both deprived of their 
 bishoprics ; Bonner in 1549, Gardiner in 1551. 
 Heath and Day, who followed their example, 
 shared the same fate. Ridley became bishop of 
 London, and an active agent in the Reformation. 
 Hooper received the bishopric of Gloucester, but 
 did not enter upon his duties for some time, on 
 account of his objections to certain popish habits 
 and oaths which were still retained. He was 
 
 * The rebels defmanded the re-enactment of the law of the six 
 orticles; tho restoration of the mass in Latin, and of commu- 
 nion in one kind ; the replacing' of images in the churches, and 
 the revival of all "old ceremonies used heretofore bv our mother, 
 holy church ;" the re-establishment of prayers and masses for 
 the souls in purgator}' ; the suppression of the Englisli version of 
 the Scriptures; the restoration of a portion of the abh«'v lands; 
 in a word, they clamored for tlie repeal of the Reformation and 
 the retiu-n of Popery. 
 
288 THE REFORMATION IS 
 
 hardly used on the occasion, being committed to 
 prison, and threatened with worse treatment. 
 The oath by the saints was struck out by the 
 king. A reluctant submission to the vestments 
 was at length extorted from him ; and he took 
 possession of his see, where he labored with pri- 
 mitive zeal, and did excellent service in the cause 
 of the Gospel.* 
 
 If the harshness which Hooper met with can- 
 not be defended, still less can any justification be 
 offered for other measures, the adoption of which 
 was highly discreditable to the Reformation, and 
 brought much obloquy upon Cranmer and his co- 
 adjutors. Observance of the new service was en- 
 ioined under severe penalties, (a third offence 
 Bubjected the party to imprisonment fur life,) and 
 resistance or ridicule exposed the oflender to sim- 
 ilar punishment. But the execution of Joan Bo- 
 
 * Hooper found the clergy of the diocese of Gloucester in ii de- 
 plorable state of ignorance. Among the '' injunctions " and " iii- 
 li'rrogatories " issued on his first visitation, were these : " I . 
 Concealing the commandments ; how many commandments — 
 where they are written — whether they can recite them by heart / 
 2. Concerning the christian faith ; what are the articles of the 
 christian faith — whether they can recite them by heart — that 
 they corroborate them by authority of Scripture. 3. Concerning 
 the Lord's prayer ; whether they can say the petitions by heart — 
 liow tliey know it to be the Lord's jjrayer — where it is writ- 
 ten ?" "Some could say the paternoster in Latin, but not in 
 fJnglish. Few could say the ten commandments. Few could 
 prove the articles of faith by Scripture. Tiiat was out of their 
 way." Stiype's Life of Cranmer, p. 217. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND 289 
 
 clier (commonly called Joan of Kent) and Van 
 Paris, a Dutchman, for alleged heresy, cannot 
 be reprobated in too strong terms. Though their 
 errors were gross and pernicious, no such power 
 of punishment as was exercised in their cases has 
 been granted to any authorities, civil or ecclesias- 
 tical. The assumption was a manifest infringe- 
 ment of the inalienable prerogative of the *' King 
 of kings ;" and the only excuse that can be ten- 
 dered is that the lesson of persecution had been 
 learned in the school of Rome. It is easier to ac- 
 quire unchristian tempers and liabits than to re- 
 nounce them. 
 
 Cranmer, and Uie other prelates who acted with 
 him, strove to consolidate the Reformation by dif- 
 fusing as widely as possible the benefits of scrip- 
 tural knowledge and sound learning. As vacan- 
 cies occurred in parishes, they were filled with 
 trustworthy preachers of the Gospel. Bucer, 
 Peter Martyr, Fagius, and other eminent protest- 
 ant divines were invited over from Germany, and 
 appointed to important posts in the universities 
 of Oxford and Cambridge.* Six royal chaplains 
 were appointed, two of whom were always in at • 
 tendance at court, while four were employed iu 
 
 * Peter Martyr was appointed professor of theology at Oxford, 
 and Bucer at Cambridge. Fagius was professor of Hebrew in 
 the latter university. But he was not permitted to engage in tho 
 work ; be wns removed by death, Nov. 15, 1549, ten days after 
 his an^vaJ at Cambridge. Bucer died Feb. 28, 1550. 
 
 or. 
 
290 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 itinerating in those parts of the kingdom where 
 the ignorance and superstition of the people, or 
 the incapacity of the resident priesthood, render- 
 ed it desirable that a measure of this kind should 
 be put in force. One of them was the celebrated 
 John Knox, afterwards the chief mover of the 
 Reformation in Scotland. He received his ap- 
 pointment in December, 1551 ; and labored dili- 
 gently, with great acceptance and success, till the 
 close of Edward's reign. Northumberland and 
 Durham in the north, and Buckinghamshire and 
 Kent in the south, were the counties chiefly favor- 
 ed with his ministrations. He had preached at 
 Berwick for two years before this appointment, 
 under the sanction of the privy council ; and had 
 otherwise greatly assisted the good cause by judi- 
 cious advice and warm exhortations. 
 
 Articles of religion, forty-two in number, were 
 published in 1552. They difler very little from 
 the thirty-nine articles now in use in the church 
 of England. In the same year an amended edi- 
 tion of the Book of Common Prayer was issued. 
 It was enlarged by the addition of some devotion- 
 al forms, and retrenched by the removal of certain 
 relics of Romish superstition which had been 
 hitherto tolerated. An act was passed, enjoin- 
 inf the universal adoption of this book, and inflict- 
 ing heavy penalties on those who should be pre- 
 sent at any other foiTn of worship than that which 
 was therein prescribed. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 291 
 
 A board of commissioners wiia appointed for 
 the reform of the ecclesiastical laws. Cranmer 
 was at its head. They had completed their work, 
 and were on the point of presenting it for approv- 
 al, when the king's death frustrated the project, 
 and put a stop for some time to the further re- 
 formation of the church. 
 
 Edward VL died July 6, 1553. As much pro- 
 gress was made in religious reform during his 
 reign as could have been reasonably expected, 
 under all the circumstances. The reformers had 
 to contend with immense difficulties. Ambition 
 and covetousness among statesmen, and intolerant 
 prejudices in the prelacy and priesthood, together 
 with general ignorance, all but invincible, seem- 
 ed to present insurmountable barriers to their 
 progress. We should rather wonder that they ac- 
 complished so much, than complain that they did 
 eo little. 
 
 Had Edward lived a few years longer, the 
 Reformation would have been carried to a much 
 rrreater extent. There is sufficient evidence of 
 the intentions of the reformers to justify this asser- 
 tion.* But the premature death of the king (if in- 
 deed it be lawful to call that premature which the 
 all-wise providence of God ordains) blighted for 
 a while the hopes of the pious, and intei-posed an 
 effectual check to all further advance. 
 
 * Full infonnation on this ])ouit is containetl in the first vo- 
 lunio of M- Clio's Life of John Knox. 
 
202 THi: RLFORMATION IN 
 
 The Reformation made but little real progress 
 in Ireland. The Protestants were few in number, 
 ajid were exposed to annoyances of every descrip- 
 tion from the bigoted and furious Papists. Tho 
 archbishop of Dublin persevered in his useful ef- 
 forts, introduced the English Common Prayer 
 Book, and exerted himself in the most praisewor- 
 thy manner for the promotion of Protestantism. 
 Dowdal, who continued to thwart him, was ban- 
 ished, and the primacy of the Irish church was 
 transferred, for a time, from Armagh to Dublin. 
 .John Bale, appointed bishop of Ossory in 1552, 
 was a devoted laborer in the good cause. During 
 the short time that he held the see of Ossory his 
 proceedings resembled those of a primitive bishop. 
 He preached repeatedly, with characteristic plain- 
 ness, fidelity, and unction ; visited every part of 
 his diocese ; and endeavored, to the utmost of 
 his power, to convince the people of the folly and 
 peril of Popery. But his good intentions were for 
 the most part defeated. The priesthood resolutely 
 set themselves against him. They were almost to 
 a man ignorant and licentious, and thoroughly su- 
 perstitious. Their influence over the people was 
 constantly exerted in favor of the old system. 
 Deeds of violence and blood were frequently per- 
 petrated. Goodacre, archbishop of Armagh, was 
 poisoned ; and many Protestants were waylaid 
 and murdered in dilfercnt parts of the countn,'. 
 Bale's life was often in peril. He would have fal- 
 
ENGLAND AND lEELAND. 
 
 203 
 
 Icn a victim to popish rage, after the death of Ed- 
 ward VI. had he not concealed himself from his 
 enemies. At length he effected his escape, and 
 reached tlie continent in safety. Protestantism 
 was legally eRtabhshed in Ireland, but the hearts 
 of the people were in bondage. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE KKKJN OF qUEKN MART. 
 
 Mary was a stem Romanist. The changes made 
 in her brother's reign were entirely repugnant to 
 her wishes, and the treatment she had received in 
 consequence of her inflexible attachment to Pope- 
 ry had soured her temper, and converted dislike 
 into exasperation. Persecution under any form 
 is as impolitic as it is unchristian. 
 
 At first Mary assumed the appearance of great 
 moderation. She assured the lord mayor and re- 
 corder of London, that " albeit her conscience was 
 fitayed in matters of religion, yet she meant gra- 
 ciously not to compel and constrain other men's 
 consciences otherwise than God should put in their 
 hearts a persuasion of the truth that she wa-s in, 
 through the opening of his word unto them by 
 godly, virtuous, and learned preachers."* But in 
 less than two months after Edward's death tho 
 
 ^"Sh^on Turuer's Modem History of i:n3hnd, iii. 307. 
 
294 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 mask was thrown off, and the queen's intentions 
 fully declared. Gardiner, Bonner, and other po- 
 pish bishops were restored to their sees, and th« 
 protestant occupants displaced. A royal proclama- 
 tion was issued, announcing to the people that 
 Romanism would shortly be re-established. Com- 
 mendone, the pope's chamberlain, who was in at- 
 tendance on Dandino, legate at Brussels, visited 
 England in disguise, succeeded in obtaining an 
 interview with the queen, and was the bearer of 
 a message to Rome, assuring his holiness that tho 
 restoration of England to the apostolic see would 
 be effected as soon aa possible. 
 
 Decisive measures were quickly adopted. Par- 
 liament met in October, and proceeded at once 
 to the all-important subject of religion. The ad- 
 herents of Protestantism were so few, that no 
 effectual resistance could be made, the powerful 
 interference of government in the elections having 
 secured an overwhelming majority. The only 
 practical difficulty arose out of tho alienation of 
 church property. It was discovered that any at- 
 tempt to restore it would occasion such heart- 
 burning and discontent as might prove feital to 
 the project of reconciliation with Rome. The 
 change from Protestantism to Popery was easy 
 enough : too many were prepared for that, or 
 any other change that might advance their world- 
 ly interests ; but none were willing to disgorge 
 their ill-gotten wealth. Mary was compelled to 
 
EXGLAXn AND IRELAND. 205 
 
 yiokl, tliough much against her will, and llic pope 
 himself found it necessary to forego the claims of 
 the church. But, as far as the crown was concern- 
 e<l, those claims were scrupulously regarded : tho 
 queen surrendered all church property that had 
 come into her possession. But her rich and lordly 
 subjects would not loosen their grasp ; the lay 
 impropriations created in Henry's reign remain- 
 ed untouched. This adjustment being made, the 
 course of legislation was smooth and rapid. Lit- 
 tle more than a month had elapsed from the 
 opening of parliament, when the whole fabric of 
 reform, which had been erected with so much 
 pains by Cranmer and his fellow-laborers, was 
 levelled to the ground. 
 
 If the reader should feel surprise at a re-action 
 go sudden and complete, it may be observed that 
 very much of the Reformation under Edward 
 was rather the v/ork of power than the effect of 
 persuasion. The government went before public 
 opinion, and estabUshed a religion by force, for 
 which the people were not prepared. The early 
 death of Edward disappointed the hopes of the 
 reformers. They did all they could in the brief 
 space allotted to them ; but there was no suffi- 
 cient time for their principles to become deeply 
 rooted, or extensively prevalent in the kingdom. 
 The clergy in general reluctantly submitted, and 
 hailed with joy the restoration of the old order of 
 things ; the people participated in the same feel- 
 
296 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 ings. An ignorant and irreligious populace 
 would prefer that mode of profession which 
 gratified tlieir love of splendor and show, and 
 interfered least with their cherished pleasures. 
 
 But Mary was not satisfied with re-establishing 
 Popery. She thirsted for the blood of those she 
 deemed heretics. It seemed to her as if little was 
 done till the engines of torture were set in action, 
 and the fires of martyrdom blazed again to con- 
 sume the bodies of the refractory. She had no 
 confidence in argument and persuasion, unle^^s 
 they were backed by the terror of death. The 
 subject was debated in the privy council shortly 
 after her marriage wath Philip ; and when in tho 
 beginning of November, 1554, it was announced 
 to her that persecuting measures had been resolv- 
 ed on, she returned the following answer in wri- 
 ting : " Touching the punishment of heretics, we 
 thinketh it ought to be done without rashness, 
 not leaving in the mean time to do justice to such 
 as, by learning, would seem to deceive the sim- 
 ple ; and the rest so to be used, that the people 
 might well perceive them not to be condemned 
 without just occasion: by which they shall both 
 understand the truth, and beware not to do the 
 like. And especially within London I would wish 
 none to be burned without some of the council's 
 presence, and both there and every where good 
 sermons at the same time." Lingard's History 
 of England, vii. 1S9. This message fixes the 
 
 I 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 297 
 
 guilt of murder on the queen, and justifies the 
 appellation " bloody " commonly bestowed upon 
 her. She willed the servants of God to be burn- 
 ed ; she expressed her pleasure on the subject 
 before the law had been altered to please her; 
 and, with affected piety, she ordered " good ser- 
 mons to be preached at the time." As though it 
 were possible to prepare " good sermons " in 
 vindication of the horrible barbarity of burning a 
 fellow- creature to death for worshipping God ac- 
 cording to his conscience ! 
 
 Cardinal Pole arrived in London, November 
 24, 1554. On the 30th of the same month he met 
 the two houses of parliament, received their hum- 
 ble submission and protestations of fidelity to the 
 church, absolved the kingdom, by virtue of his 
 authority as papal legate, from the guilt of the late 
 schism, and restored its fellowship with the holy 
 see. Other proceedings of corresponding charac- 
 ter soon followed. Early in January, 1555, an 
 act was passed restoring the papal authority and 
 bringing back the kingdom to the state in which 
 it was before Henry VIII. assumed the headship 
 of the church. The revival of the penal 6tatute« 
 formerly enacted against the Lollards, and which 
 expressly directed that they should be burned, 
 developed the design of the sovereign, and fur- 
 nished the legate and his minions with full oppor- 
 tunity of glutting their revengeful desires. 
 
 They were not slow in availing tliemselves of 
 
298 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 that opportunity. Many of the reformers, it is 
 true, had quitted the realm when danger began 
 to threaten, and thus saved their lives, returning 
 in the next reign to resume their labors. But vic- 
 tims in abundance remained in the power of 
 their enemies. Numbers had been shut up in pri- 
 son, that they might be ready for tlie slaughter, 
 and had endured severe handling in their confine- 
 ment. They were led forth to the stake after 
 mock trials, and suffered joyfully for the truth. 
 
 J ohn Rogers had the honor to suffer first in the 
 cause of truth. He was a diligent and faithful 
 preacher of the Gospel. Ridley made him one of 
 the prebendaries of St. Paul's, where he labored 
 during the reign of Edward VI. greatly to the 
 edification of many. On queen Mary's accession 
 he continued preaching and earnestly exhorted 
 the people to remain steadfast in the true faith. 
 For this he was placed in confinement; first in 
 Ids own house, and afterwards in Newgate. After 
 several examinations and much cruel usage, he 
 suflered in Smithfield, Feb. 4, 1555. On his way 
 to the stake he was met by his wife and children, 
 eleven in number, " ten able to go, and one suck- 
 ing on her breast. Tliis soiTowful sight of liis 
 own flesh and blood, dear as they were to him, 
 could yet nothing move him, but that he constant- 
 ly and cheerfully took his death with wonderful 
 patience, in the defenre and cause of Chri^>t'3 
 Gospel." 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 299 
 
 Oi tiie 8th of the same month Lav/rcnce Saun- 
 deirt was burned; and on the following day Dr. 
 Rowland Taylor bore his testimony in the flames. 
 
 Hooper was burned at Gloucester.* He en- 
 dured excruciating torments, being more than 
 three qiiarters of an hour in the fire, which was 
 lighted three times, the faggots used being green, 
 and the wind high. His last words were, Lord Je- 
 6US, have mercy upon me ; Lord Jesus, have mercy 
 
 * Foxe givea an interesting account of Hooper's conduct as a 
 bishop. '* Ho employed his time witii such diligence as to be a 
 tipectacle (or pattern) to all bishops. So careful was he in his 
 cure, tliar he left no pains untaken, nor ways unsought, how to 
 train up the flock of Clu^ist in the true woi-d of salvation, con- 
 tiruially laboring in the same. No father in liis household, no 
 gardener in his garden, no husbandman in his vineyard, was 
 more or better occupied than he in his diocese amongst his flock, 
 f^oing about his towns and villages in teaching and preaching to 
 t)ie people there. Although he bestowed the most part of his 
 care upon the public flock and congregation of Christ, for which, 
 also, he spent his blood ; yet there lacke<l no provision in him to 
 bring up his own children in learning and good manners ; so that 
 you could not discern whether he deserved more praise for his 
 fatherly usage at home, or for his bishop like doings abroad. For 
 ever}' wiiere he kept one religion, in one uniform doctrine and 
 integrity ; so that if you entered into the bishop's palace, you 
 would suppose you had entered into some church or temple. In 
 every comer there was some savor of virtue, good example, 
 honest conversation, and reading of holy Scriptures. There was 
 not to be seen in his house any courtly roystering or idleness, no 
 pomp at all, no dishonest word, no swearing could there bo 
 heard. As for the revenues of liis bishopric, he purseil notliing, 
 but bestowed it in hospitality." 
 
300 THE REFORMATION IN 
 
 upon me ; Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The 
 martyrologist adds : — " But when he was black in 
 tlie mouth, and his tongue swollen, that he could 
 not speak, yet liis lips went till they were shrunk 
 to the gums ; and he knocked his breast with his 
 hands until one of his arms fell oft* and then 
 knocked with the other, until, by renewing of the 
 fire, his strength was gone, and his hand did 
 cleave fast with knocking to the iron upon hi* 
 breast. So immediately, bowing forwards, ha 
 yielded up his spirit." 
 
 *^ Lawrence Saunders preached successively at 
 Fotheringay, Lichfield, and Church Langton in 
 Leicestershire. He was appointed to the living 
 of All Hallows, Bread-street, London, just before 
 queen Mary's accession to the throne. After a 
 Hermon in the church of that parish, from 2 Cor. 
 J 1 : 2-4, in which he faithfully warned the people 
 against the corruptions of Popery, he was appre- 
 licnded and committed to the Marshalsea, where 
 he remained fifteen months. He was burned at 
 Coventry. When he reached the place he fell to 
 the ground and prayed ; rising up again, he took 
 in his arms the stake to which he was about to be 
 chained, kissed it, and said, ** Welcome, the cro.ss 
 of Christ ; welcome, everlasting life." And so he 
 joyously passed into eternity. 
 
 Dr. Rowland Taylor was an eminently pious 
 and learned man. Archbishop Cranmer appoint- 
 ed him one of his chaplains, and employed him in 
 
ENGLAND AND IHELAND. 301 
 
 ecclesiastical affairs, for which he was admirably 
 qualified by extensive reading and almost univer- 
 sal knowledge. When the living of Hadleigh, in 
 JSufTulk, was presented to him, he went immedi- 
 ately to reside there, and spent his time most 
 diligently in tending the flock committed to his 
 charge.* On tlie re-establishment of Poj>ery he 
 
 * Foxe describes his pastoral depoitniont in tbo following 
 words: — ''As a gou<l sheplierd, abiding aiid dwelling among his 
 sheep, he frnvo himself wholly to the study of Holy Scriptures, 
 in.ist faithvblly endeavorinij himself to fulfil that chari^e which 
 the Lord g-ave unto Peter, sajiiig, * Peter, lovest thou me ? 
 Keed my lambs; fec;d my sheep.' Thi;* love of Christ .so 
 \rrought in him, that no Sunday nor holyduy passed, nor other 
 time when ho rni_^ht get the people togetlier, but he preached to 
 Lrit-m the word of God, the doctrine of their Milvation 
 
 " Not only was his word a preaching unto them, but all his 
 life njid conversation was an example of unfeigned christian life 
 and triK! holiness, He was void of all pride, humble and meek 
 a.:S anv child; so that rwne were so poor but they might resort 
 imto him boldly, as unto their father: neither was h'n lowliness 
 rtiildish or fearful ; but as occasion, time and place required, ho 
 WHuld br; stout in rebuking- the sinful and evil dfjers, so that 
 none was so rich but he would tell him plainly his fault, with 
 such earnest and grave rebukes as became a good curate and 
 pnstor. He w as a man very mild, void of all rancor, grudge^ 
 or evil will, ready to do good to all men, readily forgiving his 
 ciieniie?, and never sought to do evil to any. 
 
 • ••««• 
 
 '• To conclude, he wa'* a rijht and lively image or pattern of 
 
 all tliose virtuous rjiialitif^s described by St. Paul in a true bishoj): 
 
 gofid salt of the earth, savorily biting the conniyit manners of 
 
 evil men ; a liglit in Goil's house, set upon a candlestick for ell 
 
 SO 
 
302 THE RliKORMATION l.V 
 
 wa8 advised to seek.Hafety by flight, iis his known 
 Keal in the cause of Reformation would infallibly 
 expose him to danger. But he refused to avail 
 himself of the facilities offered him, and patiently 
 prepared for the worst. He was kept in prison 
 upwards of a year, chiefly in Newgate. On Old- 
 ham Common, near Hadleigh, he finished his 
 course, in the presence of an immense multitude, 
 meekly enduring the brutal treatment by which his 
 persecutors sought to embitter his last agonies.* 
 
 The work of blood v/as begun under the direc- 
 tion of Gardiner, who held the ofHce of chancellor. 
 After his death, November 12, 1555, Bonner was 
 the chief agent. It was a congenial employment, 
 bringing into action all the ferocious elements of 
 
 xnen to imitato and follow. Thus continued this good shepherd 
 among hU flock, governing and leading them through the wilder- 
 la-es of this wicked world all the days of the most innocent and 
 holy king of blessed memor)-, Edward VI." 
 
 * In his last will and testament, written three days before his 
 death, he gave the following exhortation to his wife and chil- 
 dren: — " I say to my wife and children ; the Lord gave you un- 
 to me, and the Lord hath taken me from you, and you from mo ; 
 blcRsed be the name of the Lord. I believe that they are blesso.1 
 rr-hich die in the Lord. God careth for eparrowB. and for the 
 hairs of our heads. I have ever found him more faithful and fa- 
 vorable than any father or husband. Tnist ye therefore in him, 
 by the means of our doar Savior Christ's merits ; believe, love, 
 fear, and obey him ; pray to him, for he hatk promised to help. 
 I go before, and you shall follow after, to our long home. I go 
 to the rest of my children, Susan, George, Ellen, Robert, and 
 Zacliary. I have bequeathed you to the only Omnipotent." 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 303 
 
 his cliaracler. He was lUiver so much at home as 
 when browbeating a faithful witness for the truth, 
 superintending the infliction of punishment or tor- 
 ture, (he was even known to wield the instrument 
 with his own hand,) or passing the sentence which 
 delivered the irreclaimable Protestants to the civil 
 power. Mary had not in all her kingdom a person 
 better fitted for the diabolical undertaking ; and 
 the legate found the exercise of his authority quito 
 easy, for Bonner was fully prepared to second the 
 real of his royal mistress, and extii*pate heretics, 
 root and branch, in obedience to the command* 
 of his spiritual superior. 
 
 That cardinal Pole directed the persecution, is 
 an historical fact that cannot be denied. In the 
 constitutions issued by him in his legatine capaci- 
 ty, in 1555, he declared " that all heretics, who 
 held or taught otherwise than the Roman church 
 believed and held, were condemned and anathe- 
 matized ;" and commanded that " all censures and 
 punishments appointed by law or by man against 
 heretics and their defenders, and also against all 
 ordinaries and others who should be negligent in 
 extirpating heresies, should be exacted." In Sep- 
 tember, the same year, he sent his commission to 
 Oxford to examine and judge Ridley and Latimer, 
 and deliver them over to the secular power to 
 be punished. He presided at the meeting of the 
 convocation of the province of Canterbury, in Ja- 
 nuary, 155S, when two bishops were directed to 
 
304 
 
 TT!i: KEFORMATION IN* 
 
 inquire into and punish lieretical pravity in Ox- 
 lord and Canibridf^c, and annually to demand the 
 execution of the statutes for burning heretics. In 
 ?'Iarch following lie gave directions to Dr. Har- 
 persfield, his commissary-general, and five others, 
 to make inquisition into heresy, and deliver all ol)- 
 stinate heretics to the secular power : fresh burn- 
 ings were the consequence of this inquisition ; three 
 men and two women were consigned to the flames 
 in the last week of the queen's life, the writ f(^r 
 whose execution could not have been issued with- 
 out his knowledge. As Mary's prime minister and 
 director of her conscience, he was responsible for 
 tlie murders perpetrated under color of law dur- 
 ing her reign. These particulars have been men- 
 tioned, because attempts have been made in mo- 
 dem times to whiten Pole's character, and repre- 
 sent him as adverse to the persecuting policy of 
 Rome. Turner, iii. if)!. Lingard, vii. 204. 
 
 Two hundred and cight7/-eight 2^cr.sons glorified 
 r4od in the lires of martyrdom in less than three 
 years. Tlie list of the sufTerers includes bishops, 
 doctors, and clergymen; gentlemen, mechanics, 
 and laborers ; men and women. The names of 
 j^omeofthe most distinguished, and the dates of 
 llieir deaths, are given below.* 
 
 * In 1555. 
 Feb. 4. .lolin Rogers, probrnflary of St. Paul's. 
 ** 8. Lawrence Saunders, vic.ir of All Hallows. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 305 
 
 Some of these deserve more distinct mention. 
 John Bradford, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, 
 and Thomas Cranraer are names which are justly 
 held dear by all sincere Protestants. 
 
 Feb. 9. John Hooper, bishop of Gloucester. 
 
 " " Dr. Rowland Taylor, vicar of Hadleij^h. 
 March 30. Robert Farrar, bishop of St. David'.-i. 
 May 30. John Cardmaker, prebendary of Welb. 
 
 " '* John Wame, upholsterer, London. 
 June 10. Thomas Hawkes, gentleman, Cogg^eshalL 
 July 1. Jolm Bradford, prebendaty of St. Paul's. 
 
 *' 22. Dirick Carver, brewer, Lewes, 
 Sept. 20. Robert Glover, gentleman, Coventry. 
 Oct. 16. Nicholas Ridley, bishop of London. 
 
 " " Hugh Latimer, formerly bishop of Worcester. 
 Dec. IS. John Philpot, archdeacon of Winchester. 
 
 In 1556. 
 March 21. Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 April 28. John Mace, apothecary, and five others, Colchester. 
 May 15. Hugh Laverock, a cripple, and John Aprice, a l>lind 
 
 man, Stratford-le-Bov.-. 
 June 27- Eleven men and two women, in one fire, Stratford-lty 
 
 Bow. 
 July 16. Julius Palmer, fschoolmaster, Newbury. 
 *• 17. Catherine Cawche-?, and two daughter*, Guernsey, 
 
 with an infant, bom in the flames. 
 
 In 1557. 
 June 13. Edmund Allin, miller, his wife, and five others, Can- 
 terbury. 
 '• 22. Richard Woodman, iron-founder, and nine oliier* 
 Lewes. 
 Aug. 2. Five men and five women, Colcheater. 
 
 " " Joyce Lewis, gentlewuman, Lichfield. 
 Dec. 22. John Rough, minister, Smithficld. 
 26* 
 
306 TnE REFORMATION- IN 
 
 Jonx Bradford was a " holy man of God." His 
 early life was spent in tlie service of the state, in 
 which he might have continued, and obtained 
 wealth and worldly honor, had not the grace of 
 God provided better things for him. Soon after 
 his conversion he entered the university at Cam- 
 bridge, where he quickly made such progress that 
 he obtained a degree at the end of a year, and a 
 fellowship very soon afterwards. Having been 
 urged by Martin Bucor to enter into the ministry, 
 he received ordination from bishop Ridley, vrlio 
 gave him a prebendal stall in St. Paul's cathedral, 
 and licensed him to preach. " In this preaching 
 office," says John Foxe, '' by the space of three 
 years, how faithfully Bradford walked, how dili- 
 gently he labored, many parts of England can tes- 
 tify. Sharply he opened and reproved sin, sweet- 
 ly he preached Christ crucified, pithily he impugn- 
 ed heresies and errors, earnestly he persuaded 
 to godly life." He was appointed one of the six 
 preachers employed by Edward VI. in itinerating 
 in different parts of the kingdom. His labors in 
 that engagement were toilsome and unremitting, 
 
 In 1558. 
 .Tan. Cntlibcrt Sympsoii, deacon of a Cliristian churcli, 
 
 Smithfield. 
 June 27. Roger Holland, tradesman, and five others. Smithfield. 
 July 10. Richard Yeoman, fornacrly ciu-ate to Dr. Taylor, 
 
 Norwich. 
 Nov. 15. Tiro days before queen Mary's death. — Tliree mi^a 
 
 and two women. Canterbui-v. 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELA!VD. 307 
 
 and his success great. No preacher was so popu- 
 lar, none so beloved aud honored. His eminently 
 holy life confirmed the truths which he inculcated, 
 and attracted universal admiration. But the bigot- 
 ed papists feared and hated him, and resolved to 
 seize the iirst opportunity to compass his death. 
 Soon after Mary's accession, one Bourne, a 
 priest, preached a violent sermon at Paul's Cross, 
 vilifying the reformers, and speaking contemptu- 
 ously of the late king. A tumult ensued. Terrifi- 
 ed by the threatonings of the people, and fearing 
 that an attempt would be made on his life, (a dag- 
 er had already been hurled at him,) Bourne en- 
 treated Bradford, who was present, to exert liis 
 influence in allaying the irritated feelings of the 
 congregation. Bradford complied with his request, 
 and not only protected the preacher, but in a ser- 
 mon delivered the same afternoon at Bow Church, 
 i^harply reproved the people for their riotous pro- 
 ceedings. But, instead of receiving the thanks of 
 the government for his conduct on that occasion, 
 to v.-hich he was justly entitled, he was summoned 
 before the council three days afterwards, August 
 16, 1553, and committed to the Tower on a charge 
 of seditious conduct ! As the people yielded to 
 his persuasions when he exerted himself to allay 
 the tumult, it was most unrighteously argued that 
 they had acted before under his influence. The 
 Papists were glad to avail themselves of any pre- 
 tence, however iniquitous, for silencing and ruin- 
 inrr so frood a man. 
 
503 TUE REFORMATION- IN 
 
 Foxe gives the following account of Bradford's 
 imprisonment : — ** He was committed first to the 
 Tower, then unto other prisons, out of which 
 neither liis innocency, godliness, nor charitable 
 dealing could purchase him liberty of body, till 
 by death, which he suffered for Christ's cause, ho 
 obtained the heavenly liberty of which neither 
 pope nor papist shall ever deprive him. From the 
 Tower he came to the King's Bench in South- 
 wark ; and after his condenmation he was sent to 
 the Compter, in the Poultry, in London ; in the 
 which two places, for the time he did remain pri- 
 Boner, he preached twice a day continually, unless 
 iiickness hindered him ; where also the Lord's 
 Supper was often ministered, and through his 
 means, the keepers so well did bear with him, such 
 resort of good folks was daily to his lecture, and to 
 the ministration of the sacrament, that commonly 
 his chamber was well nigh filled. Preaching, read- 
 ing, and praying was all his whole life. He did 
 not eat above one Tiieal a day, which was but very 
 little when he took it, and his continual study wa:* 
 upon his knees. In the midst of dinner he used 
 often to muse with himself, having his hat over his 
 eyes, from which came commonly plenty of tears 
 dropping on his trencher. Very gentle he was to 
 man and child, and in so good credit \vith his 
 keepers, that at his desire, in an evening, when 
 piisoner in the King's Bench in Southwark, he 
 had licence, upon his promise to return again that 
 
ENGL AM) A\D IRKLA.VP. 309 
 
 niiilit, to >yo into London witliout any keeper, to 
 visit one that was sick, lying by the Steel-Yard. 
 Xcitlier did be fail his promise, but returned unto 
 liis prison again, rather being before his hour than 
 breaking his lidelity ; so constant was he in word 
 and in deed." 
 
 In addition to the labors already mentioned, 
 ] Bradford employed hinise4f while in prison in 
 ■vvi-iting letters to his friends in different parts of 
 the country, by which they were abundantly con- 
 ilrmed in the faith, and encouraged to maintain their 
 .steadfastness. These letters produced such power- 
 ful effects that the earl of Derby affirmed, in hi^ 
 })iace in parliament, that Bradford *' had done 
 more hurt by letters, and by exhorting those that 
 had come to him in religion, than ever he did 
 when he was abroad by preaching." 
 
 After remaining in prison till January, 155/), 
 }>radford was examined and condemned to be 
 burned. The sentence was not canied into effect 
 till July 1, following. During the interval he was 
 frequently visited by the archbishop of York, Bon- 
 ner, and other ecclesiastics, with whom he held 
 long disputations. His conversion to Popery would 
 have been a splendid triumph ; but the enemies of 
 tnith were disappointed. Bradford continued iirnf, 
 and confounded his adversaries with arguments 
 which they could not gainsay or effectually resist. 
 
 An immeiise concourse of people flocked to wit- 
 ness his execution. Thev saw him suffer iovfullv 
 
310 THE REFORMATION" IS 
 
 for the Lord's sake, and heard him utter words 
 full of peace and joy. *' Be of good comfort, bro- 
 ther," he said to John Leaf, an apprentice, who 
 was burned with him, •* for wc shall have a merry 
 8upper with the Lord this night." Then, embrac- 
 ing the reeds by which they were surrounded, he 
 exclaimed, " Strait is the way and narrow is tho 
 gate that leadeth to eternal salvation, and lew 
 there be that find it." In less than an hour after- 
 wards he had finished his course. 
 
 Nicholas Ridley labored many years in tho 
 cause of the Reformation. In 1537 Cranmer ap- 
 pointed him one of his chaplains, and in the fob 
 lowing year he was collated to the vicarage of 
 Heme, in Kent, where he preached with gi'eat 
 fiuccess. He held that living, with other prefer 
 ment, till 1547, when he was promoted to the bi 
 shopric of Rochester, from which he was trans 
 lated to the see of London, in 1550. He was a la* 
 borious bishop. The martyrologist says, " He bq 
 labored and occupied himself in preaching: an J 
 teaching the true and wholesome doctrine of 
 Christ, that a good child never was more loved 
 by his dear parents than he was by his flock and 
 diocese. Every Sunday and holy day he prearhe<l 
 in some place or other, unless hindered by weigh- 
 ty business. To these sermons the people resorted, 
 swarming about him like bees, and coveting tho 
 Kweet flowers and wholesome juice of the fruitful 
 doctrine, which he not only preached, but showed 
 
KNGLAXD AND IRLLAND. 311 
 
 the same by his lift', as a shining light, in such pure 
 order, that even his verj' adversaiies coukl not re- 
 prove him in any one jot thereof." In the advance- 
 ment of the Reformation, during the reign of Ed- 
 ward VI. he necessarily acted an important part, 
 and was the most efficient of Cranmer's zealous 
 coadjutors. On the accession of Mary he was com- 
 mitted to the Tower, where ho had for liis com- 
 panions Latimer, Cranmer, and Bradford. They 
 spent their time in searching the Scriptures and 
 etudying anew those doctrines which they had 
 striven to establish, and for which they expected 
 to yield their Hves. 
 
 After his resignation of the bishopric of AVor- 
 cester, Latimer was imprisoned in the Tower, 
 through the intervention of Gardiner, and conti- 
 nued there till the death of Henry VIII. a period 
 of six years. Being released on the accession of 
 Edward, he declined resuming his bishopric, pre- 
 ferring to bo engaged solely in preaching, and to 
 have a wide range of effort. He travelled from 
 place to place, proclaiming the great truths of the 
 Gospel with characteristic simplicity and holy fer- 
 vor, and sometimes preached before the king, or 
 assisted Cranmer and his friends in consultation. 
 These exertions were incalculably beneficial to the 
 good cause. When the tide of affairs turned, after 
 the death of Edward, he was a marked man. The 
 Tower once more received him within its gloomy 
 walls. 
 
3V2 THE ntroRjiATTox i\ 
 
 In April, 1j54, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer 
 were sent down to Oxford to hold a public dispu- 
 tation with the Papists. As far os the Reformrrs 
 were concerned it was a mere farce, and was only 
 designed to amioy them, and expose them to pub- 
 lic oaze and contempt. They were condemned as 
 heretics, and left in prison to await their death. 
 Their time was not wasted in idleness. Cranmer 
 revised and enlarged his writings on the sacra- 
 ment. Latimer, who was now aged and feeble, 
 and unfit for study, read the New Testament 
 tlirough seven times, Ridley was treated with 
 great harshness ; most of his books were taken 
 away, and he was deprived the use of pen, ink 
 and paper. When other materials failed him, ho 
 cut the lead from his prison windows and wroto 
 his observations on the margins of tlie books which 
 had been suftered to remain in his hands. 
 
 RiDLCY and Latimer were burned in the ?amo 
 iire, at Oxford, October IG, loo.'}. The Lord wa«5 
 with them at that awful season. Ridley reached 
 the place of burning first. When Latimer arrived 
 he kissed him and said, " Be of good heart, bro- 
 ther, Ibr (iod will either assuage the fury of the 
 fiame, or else strengthen us to al)ido it." After a 
 scurrilous sermon by Dr. iSmith, a popisli cham- 
 pion, they were led to the stake. xVs the execu- 
 tioner was kindling the fire, Latimer turned to his 
 fellow-suft'erer and said, " Be of good comfort, 
 Master Ridley, and play the man ; ice shall this 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 313 
 
 day light such a candle, by God's grace, in Eng- 
 land, as I friLst sJiall neter he put out.''' Then ex- 
 claiminf]^. " O Father ofheaven, receive my soul !" 
 and bending towards the flames, which iiercely 
 ascended at that part of the fire, he quickly ex- 
 pired. Ridley's sufrcrings were horrible. The fa- 
 gots being heaped up too high, the fire was kept 
 down, and Inirned his legs without reaching his 
 body. He entreated those around to remove the 
 obstruction, and let the fire come to him ; but 
 they, misunderstanding him, added more fagots to 
 the heap, and thereby increased his torments. At 
 length one of the bystanders discovered the mis- 
 take, and pulled away some of the u})per fagots. 
 The fire blazed up immediately, and the agonies 
 of the martyr were soon ended. 
 
 CuAXMER was not put to death till March 21, 
 lo,>G. His history during the interval affords a me- 
 lancholy illustration of human weakness. Havinir 
 been cited to apjiear at Rome within eighty days, 
 lie was declared contumacious for non-appearance, 
 ulthough he had been kept in prison all the while, 
 and condemned to death. On the 14lh of Februa- 
 ry he was publicly degraded. From that time the 
 most strenuous efforts were employed to induce 
 him to recant. He was lemoved from prison to 
 the dean's residence, treated with all the respect 
 and indulgence due to his former station, flattered, 
 cajoled, his life ])romised him. Life was dear; 
 perhaps he hoped to be yet serviceable in some 
 27 
 
314 THE REFaRMATIOK IN" 
 
 degree to the cause of Christ, and he desired to 
 print a reply to the sophistries of Gardiner. In aix 
 evil hour he affixed his signature to a paper sig- 
 nifying his son'ow for having forsaken Popery, and 
 his return to the Romish church. Other papers of 
 a similar kind, but more full and stringent, were 
 successively signed. The seventh and last was 
 submitted to him on the morning of the day ap- 
 pointed for his execution, by Garcina, a Spanish 
 friar, who had already promised him his Hfe if he 
 would recant, and now, having failed in the fulfil- 
 ment of the promise, required him to sign a final 
 retraction of heresy, and read it to the multitude 
 before his death. Cranmer transcribed two copies, 
 one of which was delivered to Garcina, and the 
 other retained. Bitterly repenting of his fall, he 
 resolved to retract his recantations in public, and 
 thus disappoint the hopes of the Papists, who were 
 glorying in the victory they had achieved, and im- 
 patiently waited for the open demonstration of 
 their success. An immense crowd had assembled 
 in St, Mary's church, where Cranmer was placed 
 on a high platform near the pulpit. Dr. Cole 
 preached. In the close of his sermon he dwelt at 
 large on Cranmer's supposed penitence, assured 
 the congi'egation that he would die in the faith of 
 the Romish church, and called upon him to con- 
 firm all that had been said by reading his final 
 recantation. During this discourse Cranmer was 
 dee])ly aficcted. The tears ilowed abundantly; ho 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. G15 
 
 was evidently laboring under j)o\verfu] emotions 
 of distress and remorse. Taking- a paper from his 
 bosom, he first kneeled down and prayed, confess- 
 ing his sin and earnestly imploring forgiveness. 
 Then he read a pious exhortation to the people ; 
 at the end of which he said, " And now, forasmuch 
 us I am come to the last end of my life, wliere- 
 upon hangetb all my life past, and all my life to 
 come, either to live with my Master, Christ, for 
 ever in joy, or else to be in pain for ever with 
 wicked devils in hell, and I see before mine eyes 
 presently, either heaven ready to receive me, or 
 else hell ready to swallow mo up ; I shall there- 
 fore declare unto you my very faith how I believe, 
 without any color or dissimulation ; for now it is no 
 time to dissemble, whatsoever I have said or writ- 
 ten in time past." Having recited the apostles* 
 creed, he added, ** And I believe every article of 
 the catholic faith, every word and sentence tau^'^ht 
 by our Savior Jesus Christ, his apostles and iiio- 
 phets, in the New and Old Testament." 
 
 " And now," said he, " I come to the gre:?t 
 thing that so much troubleth my conscience, moro 
 than any thing that ever I did or said in my v/holo 
 life ; and that is, the setting abroad of a writing 
 contrary to the truth : which now here I renounce 
 and refuse, as things written with my hand, con- 
 trary to the truth which I thought in my heart, 
 and which were written for fear of death, and to 
 gave my life, if it might be : and that is, all such 
 
316 THE RI'FORMATIOX I.V 
 
 bills and papers, which I have written or signed 
 with my hand since my degradation, wherein I 
 have written many things untrue. And forasmuch 
 ns my hand ofrended, writing contrary to my 
 heart, my hand shall lirst be punished therefore ; 
 for may I come to the fire it shall first be burned. 
 And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's en- 
 emy and antichrist, with all his false doctrine. 
 And as for the sacrament, I believe as I liave 
 taught in my book against the bishop of Win- 
 chester, the which, my book, teacheth so true a 
 doctrine of the sacrament, that it shall stand at the 
 last day before the judgment of God, where the 
 ]mpistical doctrine, contrary thereto, shall be 
 ashamed to show her face." 
 
 This unexpected avowal disconcerted and coii- 
 founded the popish party, and exasperated them 
 in the highest degree. Some reproached the mar- 
 tyr ; others entered into argument with him ; but 
 nil other feelings gave wjiy to cruel rage. They 
 pulled liim down from the platform and hurried 
 him at once to the stake, reviling as they went. 
 AVhen the fire was applied to the pile, he stood 
 unmoved, stretching out his right hand in the 
 midst of the flames, and re2)eated]y exclaiming, 
 "This hand hath offended; oh! this unworthy 
 right hand !" His last moments were spent in 
 pryyer. Calling upon the Savior in the language 
 of the first martyr. *' Lord Jesus, receive my 
 spirit," he ceased to suffer and entered into rest. 
 
EXGLAND A.VD IRELAND. 317 
 
 Two liundred and eighty-eight persons, a3 al- 
 ready said, suftered death during the reign of 
 Mary. Add to this the anguish inflicted on their 
 surviving relatives — the wretchedness to which 
 those were reduced whose natural protectors, 
 husbands or fathers, were consumed in the flames 
 — ihe devastation of property — the numberless 
 iijstances of lingering imprisonment, brutal scourg- 
 iiigs, and other cruelties not to be fully known 
 till the day when all secrets will be disclosed*' — 
 the penury, privations, and multiform endurances 
 experienced by exiles abroad, and such as con- 
 trived to elude detection at home — and what a 
 frightful amount of misery is placed before us ! 
 No part of the kingdom was exempt. The bish- 
 ops, in their respective dioceses, imitated the ex- 
 ample of Bonner, and sought favor with the queen 
 and cardinal Pole by hunting down the friends 
 of truth, and wreaking vengeance on them. Magis- 
 
 * Coveniale thus describes these punishmentd : •' Some were 
 t}»ro\vn into dungeons, iigsome holes, dark, loathsome, and stink- 
 ii];; corners. Others lay ia fetters and chains, and loaded \vith so 
 many irons that they could scarcely Ftir. Some were tied in the 
 s)(x-ks with their heels upwards. Some had their legs in tho 
 Ptix'ks and their necka chained to tho wall with g^orgets of iron, 
 having neither stool nor stone to sit upon to ease their wearied 
 bodies. Others stoml in Skevington's gjves, which were moat 
 painful engines of iron, with their bodies doubled. Some wero 
 whipped and scourged, beaten with rods, and buffeted with fists 
 .Some had their hands burned with ii candle, and s^omo were mi*- 
 crdl'ly famished and starved." 
 
313 THE ni^rOUMATION IN' 
 
 trates were urged to more zealous co-o})eration, 
 HTid in many instances it became necessary to 
 quicken their slumbering zeal.* ISIen who had 
 
 • " TluMV were soine complainta in all places." (this relate* to 
 the year 1555,) " that the justices of the peace wt-re remiss iu 
 the matters of religion; and particularly in Norfolk, that theso 
 thino;s were ill looked to: so instructions were sent thither, re- 
 <|uirin^ t\io justices to divide themselves into ten or twelve di^i- 
 tricts, that they might more narrowly look into all particulars ; 
 ti)at they should encourago tiie preachers sent to instruct that 
 rounty, and tuni out sucli as did not come to church, or conform 
 i:i all thino^s, but chiefly the preachers of heresy ; that the justi- 
 ces and their families should be good examjiles to the rest ; that 
 tJiey should havo one or two in everj' parish to be secretly in 
 structed for giving information of every thing in it ; and should 
 look strictly to all vagabonds that wandered about, and to such 
 as sj;read. false reports." Burnet adds, " This was thought to 
 have 80 much of the inquisition in it, tkit it was imputed to die 
 counsels of the Spaniards." 
 
 Jn 1557 a commission was issued to the bishops of London 
 and Ely, the lord North, secretary Bourne, and seventeen others, 
 to the following effect: "That since many false rumors wei-o 
 published, among the subjects, and many heretical opinions were 
 also spread among them ; therefore they, or any three of them, 
 were to inquire into those, cither by presentments, by witnesses, or 
 any other politic way they could devise ; and to search after all 
 heresies ; the bringers in, the sellers, or readers of all heretical 
 books. They were to examine and punish all misbehaviors or 
 negligences in any church or cha[x'l, and to try all priests that 
 did not preach of the sacrament of the altar ; all persons that did 
 not hear mass, or come to their parish church to service ; that 
 would not go in procession, or did not take holy bread or holy 
 water ; and if they found any that did obstinately persist in such 
 here,sieB, they were to put them into the hands of their ordinaries, 
 to be proceeded against according to the laws ; giving them fuU 
 
ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 319 
 
 wives and cliildren shrunk from duties, the per- 
 formance of which made wives widows and chil- 
 dren fatiierless. Lord Bacon showed his know- 
 ledc^e of human nature, when he said "Wife and 
 children are a kind of discipline of humanity ; and 
 single men, though they be many times more cha- 
 ritable, because their means are less exhaust, yet, 
 on the other side, they are more cruel and hard- 
 hearted, good to vmke severe inquisitors^ Essays. 
 "Of marriage and single life." 
 
 It pleased God to cut short the life of the per- 
 secutor. Mary died, Nov. 17, 1558, in the forty- 
 third year of her age. Cardinal Pole expired the 
 next day. Some historians have spoken in favor- 
 able terms of Mary, and extolled her virtues and 
 piety. But the black brand of persecution is on 
 her. Popery hardened her heart. Under its in- 
 fluence she suQered two hundred and eighty-eight 
 jiersons to perish in the flames in a very short 
 gpace of time, and inflicted untold miseries on 
 many more. And yet some will have us believe 
 tliat Popery is Christianity, and that Mary was a 
 clement and excellent queen ! 
 
 power to proceed, as their cliscretions and consciences should di- 
 rect them ; and to use all such means as tliey could invent for 
 the searching of the premises : empowering them also to call 
 befoi-e them such witnesses as they pleased, and to force them to 
 make oalh of such things as might discover what they sought af- 
 ter." Burnet's History of the Reformation, ii. 5G1, 627. It 
 wanted but another step to the Inquisition, 
 
o2D THE REFORM ATIOiV I.V 
 
 The persecution under Mary did not reach Ire- 
 land, though Popery was re-established there im- 
 mediately after her accession. A singular dispen- 
 sation of Providence prevented it. Towards the 
 end of her reign, when the persecutions in Eng- 
 land rao^ed with increased vigor, a commission 
 was addressed to the lord deputy of Ireland, 
 ordering similar proceedings to be adopted there, 
 and appointing commissioners or inquisitors for 
 ihat purpose. The order was given to Dr. Cole, 
 who was directed to proceed to Ireland on thi.-* 
 errand. Such a journey then was far more tedious 
 than it is now. Dr. Cole travelled at the usual 
 rate, and ariived at Chester, where he was wait- 
 ed upon by the mayor of that city, a zealous 
 liomanist. In the course of conversation the doc- 
 tor produced a leather box, which contained the 
 commission, and said, " Here is that which shall 
 lash the heretics of Ireland." The mistress of 
 the inn, named Edmunds, overheard these words 
 and was much troubled, being a Protestant, and 
 having a brother residing in Dublin. When the 
 mayor took his leave, Dr. Cole v/aited on him 
 down stairs with much ceremony ; the mistress 
 seized the opportunity ; she opened the box and 
 took out the commission, placing in its stead a 
 pack of cards. Dr. Cole not susjjecting what had 
 been done, pursued his jonrney, and amved at 
 Dublin on the 7th of October. The council being 
 assembled, he declared his errand ; and the lord 
 
r.XGLAXD AND IRELAXD. 321 
 
 deputy desiring that the commission might he 
 read, the secretary opened the box ; hut only 
 found a pack of cards, with the knave of clubs 
 ])laced uppermost. All were startled ; and as they 
 could not proceed without a commission, Dr. Cole 
 went back to England to procure another; but 
 queen Mary died before he could return to Dub- 
 lin, and the papal persecutions were stopped. 
 
 The struggles of Popery in Ireland, in the reign 
 of Elizabeth, were decidedly of a political charac- 
 ter, and the papacy was enabled to maintain the 
 contest by foreign aid ; but the particulars belong 
 not to our plan. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 THE RF:IG>' of queen ELIZABETH. 
 
 Elizabeth had been compelled by her sister to 
 yield outward conformity to popish ceremonies. 
 But her real sentiments were pretty well known. 
 Her accession to the throne was the welcome sig- 
 nal for the return of the exiles, who hastened home 
 to resume the work of evangelical instruction and 
 assist in re-establishing that reform which Mary 
 }iad endeavored to crush. The friends of truth in 
 England came forth from their concealment, pre- 
 pared to co-operate in the restoration of the good 
 cause. Popish prelates and priests saw their hopes 
 dashed to the ground ; unless the tei-ms of con- 
 
322 THE Rri'ORMATION IN 
 
 formity should prove easier than they had reaaon 
 lo expect, they could only anticipate the necessity 
 of vacating their posts, and the grief of beholding 
 the tiiumph of what they called heresy and schism. 
 Their worst fears were soon to be realized. 
 
 With a view to prevent angry disputes, preach- 
 ing was forbidden for a time ; but it was ordered 
 that, in the public services of the church, the gos- 
 pels and epistles, the apostles' creed, the Lord's 
 prayer, the ten commandments, and the litany, 
 should be read in EngUsh. This imperfect state 
 of thincrs did not last long. In less than six montlis 
 after the queen's accession the Reformation wa^ 
 nermanontly settled. The liturgy and offices used 
 in the time of Edward VI. were restored, with 
 some slicrht alterations for the worse, by which it 
 was hoped, but vainly, to conciliate the more 
 moderate Papists. Images, which had been set up 
 acrain in the days of Mary, were once more re- 
 moved The royal supremacy in things ecclesias- 
 tical was re-enacted, and an oath of submission to 
 it required. And finally, after some further delay, 
 the articles of reUgion, which had been pubhshed 
 in the reign of Edward, were re-issued m a revis- 
 ed form, reduced in number to thirty-nine, (there 
 were origuially forty-two.) and constituted the 
 standard doctrine of the church. 
 
 These changes (xvith the exception of the ar- 
 ticles, which were not i)ublished till the yeai 
 15G'^) took effect May 1, 1550. Before that tune 
 
EXGl.AXD AND IRELAND. 32.** 
 
 The decision of tlie 2)opisli bishops was known. 
 Kitchin of Llandaif was the only one who retained 
 office. When the oath of supremacy was tender- 
 ed to the others they unanimously refused to take 
 it, and were consequently deprived of their sees. 
 Their example was followed by three bishops 
 elect, one abbot, four priors, one abbess, twelve 
 deans, fourteen archdeacons, sixty canons or pre- 
 bendaries, one hundred beneficed clergymen, and 
 fifteen heads of colleges in Oxford or Cambridge.* 
 But upwards of nine thousand beneficed clergy 
 yielded to the times and retained their livings. 
 Many of them, there is just reason to believe, 
 were men of no religious principles. Papists in 
 heart, they had submitted to the reforms of king 
 Edward, which however they hindered in eveiy 
 possibls way. Under Mary they resumed their 
 first profession. Now they became Protestants 
 again, in name only, not in reality. Truth and 
 godliness suffered much from the continuance of 
 Buch men in their stations. Few of them could 
 preach. Their duties were discharged carelessly. 
 True spiritaal instruction was scarcely to be had 
 
 * In all, 224. Bishop Burnet reckons 199. The larger enu- 
 Tneratiou is adopted by Camden and cardinal Allen. Dr. Lingard 
 *ays (Hist. vii. 264,) that " among the lower orders of the clergy 
 many thought proper to conform." He carefully conceals th<? 
 numbers. An uninformed n-ader of his work would not imagino 
 that nincteen-tweniicths of the clergy of England conformed ; yet 
 ffich was the fact. 
 
324 THE RLFORMATION IN 
 
 " The hungry sheep looked up, and were not fed." 
 There was a general famine of the word of the 
 Lord. And as the act of unifonnity required full 
 obedience to the prescribed forms, without allow- 
 ing any discretion or alteration in the least par- 
 ticular, many excellent men, whose conscientious 
 Kcruples forbade such subjection, were kept out ot 
 the church, and their valuable services lost at a 
 time when they might have rendered essential 
 aid. It was long before the wants of the country 
 ■were even imj^erfectly supplied. Popish writers 
 ascribe the spiritual destitution which prevailed 
 for many years in England to the influence of the 
 Reformation ; but the truth is, that it is to be trac- 
 ed mainly to the ignorance and inefficiency of the 
 men who chose to profess what they did not seri- 
 ously believe, and undertook offices for which 
 they were absolutely disqualiiled. 
 
 The Reformation was established in 1,^59. For 
 several years the Papists fondly hoped that somo 
 re-action would take place, by which they might 
 again obtain ascendancy. They attended the pa- 
 rish churclies, and generally submitted in quietness 
 to the existing order of things. But when, in lo70, 
 j)ope Pius V. issued his infamous bull, excommu- 
 nicating and deposing Elizabeth, releasing her 
 Bubjects from the oath of allegiance, and encou- 
 raging popish monarchs to invade and seize the 
 kingdom, the case was materially altered. From 
 that time Pojicry and I reason were closely, nay, 
 
LNGLAND AND IIILLANO. 325 
 
 inseparably allied. No man could be true botli 
 to the pope and the queen. Elizabeth's life was 
 embittered and the safety ofthe kingdom seriously 
 compromised by the incessant efforts that were 
 made to carry into effect the hostile decree. The 
 queen was regarded as a usurper, and an anathe- 
 matized heretic, whose deposition and death it 
 was a solemn duty to endeavor. Plots of assassina- 
 tion were discovered, which had evidently origi- 
 nated at Rome. Conspiracies were formed for 
 the express purpose of dethroning the (lueen, and 
 substituting in iier 2:)lace a foreign popish j^rince. 
 Under such circumstances the severe edicts which 
 were passed during the latter years of the reign 
 nfEhzabeth were but measures of self-defence. 
 The preservation ofthe queen's life, nit6. the de- 
 liverance ofthe country from the awful consequen- 
 ces of invasion and the re-imposilion of the ])apal 
 yoke, can only be attributed to the providential 
 cai"e and goodness of God, by whose gracious dis- 
 pensation Great Britain has been constituted the 
 chief depository ofthe "lively oracles," and the 
 messenger of peace to distant lands. 
 
 28 
 
3^6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 History of the Reformation in Scotland, 
 
 Scotland was a rich inheritance to the Papists. 
 Half the kingdom belonged to the clergy. They 
 were gorged with wealth, and spent it on their 
 lusts, revelling in sensual indulgence, in utter dis- 
 regard of the warnings of conscience or the voice 
 of public opinion. The land swarmed with igno- 
 rant and idle monks of all orders, whose immorali- 
 ties disgusted the virtuous, and who fostered with 
 sedulous care every absurd superstition, by which 
 they might perpetuate the debasement of the 
 people and divert attention from their own scan- 
 dalous conduct. Even bishops were unacquaint- 
 ed with the word of God. *' I thank God," said 
 the bishop of Dunkeld, addressing Thomas For- 
 rest, vicar of Dollar, who was burned at Edin- 
 burgh, " that I have lived well these many years, 
 and never knew either the Old or New Testa- 
 ment. I content myself with my portesse and 
 my pontifical."* 
 
 This darkness was not to continue. The works 
 of Luther were brought into the country, and such 
 
 * Tlie portesse, porfasse, or porleous, (the name is spelt diffe- 
 rently by the writers of those times,) was the Romish Breviary, 
 in a portable form. The pontifical was the book of rites and 
 ceremonies, tlie Romish rubric. 
 
Hepormation in Scotland. 327 
 
 effects soon followed, that an act of parliament 
 was passed in 1525 prohibiting the importation 
 of the Reformer's writings, for Scotland, as the 
 act alleged, had always " bene clene of all sic filth 
 and vice !" 
 
 Acts of parliament could not exclude the truth. 
 
 Among those to whom the writings of Luther 
 had been useful was Patrick Hamilton, a young 
 man of illustrious biith, who had been destined to 
 the priesthood while a child, appointed abbot of 
 Feme, and educated accordingly. Having incur- 
 red the suspicion of heresy, by the freedom with 
 which he spoke of the corruptions of the church, 
 he found it expedient to withdraw for a time from 
 his native land and travel on the continent. The 
 fame of Luther attracted him to Wittemberg, 
 where he received great benefit from intercourse 
 with that refonner and with Melancthon, at whose 
 joint recommendation he repaired to Marburg, 
 and placed himself under the instruction of Lam- 
 bert of Avignon, the learned and pious principal 
 of the university then newly established in that 
 city. He did not remain long, for his soul yearn- 
 ed v/ith agonizing compassion over the spiritual 
 wretchedness and destitution of his country. Re- 
 turning to Scotland, he went from place to place, 
 declaiming against the errors of the times, expos- 
 ing the vices of the ecclesiastic?.; and preaching 
 free justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The success of his efforts alarmed the clergy. 
 
328 IIISTOKY OF THE 
 
 They laid a snare for him, into whidi he felh One 
 Campbell, a Domiuican friar, was instnicteil to 
 seek his friendship, nuder pretence of a desire to 
 know tiie truth, and thus to obtain from his own 
 mouth an avowal of his opinions. The stratagem 
 succeeded ; Campbell revealed all he learned ; 
 and Hamilton was seized, imprisoned, brought 
 before the archbishops of St. Andrews and Glas- 
 gow, February 29, 1-328, condemned and burned 
 the same day. He suffered with calm intrepidity, 
 steadfastly refusing to renounce the tniths he had 
 taught, and expressing his unshaken assurance in 
 the mercy of the Savior. 
 
 The mart3'rdom of Hamilton did great service 
 to the cause of truth. Some were indignant at 
 tlic outrageous injustice of his condemnation, and 
 became gradually alienated from the priesthood. 
 Many more were induced to inquire into the truth 
 of the sentiments for which he suffered. The 
 means of pursuing these inquiries were supplied 
 by the friends of the Reformation in England and 
 on the continent. Copies of Tyndall's New Tes- 
 tament, and of other protestant works, were im- 
 ported, which v/ere consigned to persons of 
 known prudence, and by them circulated in the 
 most efficient manner. " One copy of the Bible, 
 or of the New Testament, supplied several fami- 
 lies. At the dead hour of night, wdien othej^ 
 were a,-leep, they assembled in one house ; the 
 sacred volume was brought from iis concealment; 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 329 
 
 anJ, while one read the rest listened with mute 
 attention." M'Crie, i. 32. 
 
 At this time teachers were scarce ; but some few 
 of the clergy, who had embraced the truth, and 
 others, who were qualified to impart instruction, 
 zealously committed themselves to the work, and 
 traversed the country in every direction, pro- 
 claiming the glad tidings of salvation. " The 
 caoerness with which the multitudes listened to 
 these preachers was very striking. They were 
 constantly surrounded by numbers thirsting for 
 instruction ; and who, in the imperfect state of 
 government which then existed, entertained no 
 fear that conversion would be attended with con- 
 sequences fatal to their tranquillity. Under the 
 eye and the patronage of their own chieftains, they 
 could remain in security ; and if they did not at- 
 tract public notice, by taking an active and open 
 part in spreading the knowledge of Scripture, 
 they were left without molestation, to prosecute 
 and to increase that knowledge. The consequence 
 was, that at a very early period the great mass 
 of the community in Scotland were disposed to 
 embrace the protestant faith." Cook's Hist. Ref. 
 in Scotland, i. 183. 
 
 Persecution, however, at length fell upon the 
 early champions of reform. JNIany of them, find- 
 ing it impossible to remain in safety in Scotland, 
 abandoned their homes and went into voluntary 
 exile : some to England ; some to Denmark, Ger- 
 2S* 
 
330 HISTOUi' OF THE 
 
 many, anJ olhcr parts of the continent. Aniontr 
 them was George Buchanan, afterwards the cele- 
 brated historian. Others were unsuccessful in 
 their endeavors to escape, or preferred to remain 
 and labor for C4od, leaving the issue with him ; 
 and several of them testified to tlie truth at the 
 stake. But these severities only injured the cause 
 they were intended to promote. The number of 
 Protestants still continued to increase, and many 
 noblemen and gentlemen, of large property and 
 extensive influence, were "obedient to the faith."* 
 During tho regency of the earl of Arran an 
 important act was j^assed, granting full liberty to 
 all persons to read the Scriptures in the vulgar 
 tongue. The prelates warmly protested against 
 it, but their opposition was fruitless. At that time 
 the regent favored the Reformation. He chose 
 protestant chaplains, by •whose zealous efforts 
 many were induced to embrace the GJospel. Tho 
 press, too, began to be employed in Scotland 0!i 
 
 * In 1541 cai-diual Boston procured acts of parliament to bo 
 passed, by wbicli "coiiHscation of goods was to be incurred by ail 
 vho Cw-cpressed any doubt with regard to tho jurisdiction of the 
 pope; assemblies for inquiring into tho Scriptures wero inter- 
 dicted, none being allowed to give their judgment upon them 
 but those who wero lawfully called to do so; tho harboring or 
 concealing of heretics was proscribed ; rewards were oiTered to 
 f\crv one who informed against tlieni ; and nil were prohibited 
 fi-om making any solicitation in their favor, or from giving them 
 the relief which every human beiTig in distress might expect from 
 Ills fellow-creatures."' Cook, i. W2. 
 
IICI'ORMATION IX SCOTLAND. 331 
 
 the sido of truth, nnd many useful publications 
 were issued, whicli were widely disseminated 
 among the people. 
 
 Another storm arose. Arran apostatized from 
 tlie faith, and surrendered himself to the influ- 
 ence of cardinal Beaton. Former indulgences 
 were revoked. Adherence to Protestantism was 
 again treated as a crime deserving severe punish- 
 ment. Great numbers of persons were summon- 
 ed before the cardinal, merely for reading the 
 New Testament, for which offence ihey were 
 doomed to protracted imprisonment. Others suf- 
 fered the last penalty of the law. Four men were 
 burned at Perth : one because he had interrupted 
 a friar, ^\'ho taught that none could be saved v/ith-' 
 out praying to the saints ; and the other three 
 because they had treated disrespectfully the im- 
 age of a saint, and eaten flesh on a forbidden day. 
 The wife of one of the four was drowned for re- 
 fusing to pray to the Virgin Mary during the 
 pains of childbirth, affirming that she would pray 
 to God alone, in the name of Jesus Christ. ** The 
 circumstances attending the last scene of this un- 
 fortunate woman's life must move every heart 
 from which the best feelings of our nature have 
 not been eradicated. Warmly attached to her hus- 
 band, with Avhom she had enjoyed some years of 
 uninterrupted domestic happiness, she implored 
 that they might die together. This aflecting re- 
 quest having been barbarously refused, she sooth- 
 
HIST OR V OF THE 
 
 ed, by the most impressive consolations, his de- 
 jiarting moments ; and after witnessing his execu- 
 tion, she prepared for lier own. The tenderness 
 of a parent agitated her mind. She entreated her 
 neighbors to show humanity to lier children; and, 
 10 complete her anguish, she took from her bosom 
 tlie infant whom she suckled, and gave it to the 
 imrse whom she had provided. Yet all this did 
 not overpower her fortitude, or shake her faith ; 
 she rose superior to her sufferings, and she died 
 with courage and with comfort." Cook's Histo- 
 ry, i. 268. 
 
 The most illustrious victim of this period wns 
 George Wishart. This excellent man was de- 
 scended from an ancient and respectable family, 
 who held the estate of Pitarrow, in the county of 
 Mearns. He embraced the principles of the Re- 
 formation at an early age. Being persecuted by 
 the bishop of Brechin for teaching the Greek 
 Testament in the school of Montrose, he went 
 into England, and studied for some time at Cam- 
 bridge. He returned in 1544 full of zeal for the 
 truth, and immediately commenced a course of 
 arduous and useful labor. At Montrose, Dundee, 
 and throughout the western part of Scotland he 
 preached the Gospel with extraordinary success. 
 " Excelling all his countrymen at that period in 
 learniu'T^ — of the most persuasive eloquence — irre- 
 proachable in life — courteous and affable in man- 
 ners — his fervent piety, zeal, and courage in the 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 333 
 
 cause of truth, were tempered with uncommon 
 meekness, modesty, patience, prudence, and cha- 
 rity. In his tour of preaching he was usually ac- 
 companied by some of the principal gentry ; and 
 the people, who flocked to hear him, were ravish- 
 ed with his discourses." M'Cne, i. 41. Cardinal 
 .15eG.ton and the clergy were greatly alarmed at 
 the reports which reached them of Wishart's po- 
 pularity, and determined to crush him at once. An 
 attempt at assassination having failed, he was ar- 
 rested, cast into prison, sulrjected to the indigni- 
 ties of an illegal trial, and sentenced to be burned. 
 Tlie sentence \va3 executed at St. Andrews, 
 March 1, 1546, in the presence of the cardinal 
 and other prelates. In less than three months 
 afterwards, May 29, the murdered body of Beaton 
 was exhibited from the very window wh.ence he 
 had beheld the sufterings of the martyr. Hif< 
 ambition, injustice and cruelty had engendered 
 universal discontent and hatred. A conspiracy 
 was formed against him, and his life was tha 
 forfeit. 
 
 Joiin Knox had accompanied Wishart in his 
 l-'st tour, and narrowly escaped sharing his fate.* 
 This great man had avowed protestant opinir.ns 
 a])0ut the year 15-liJ. He was then in the thirty- 
 
 * \\ishai-t ha'l i prescnfiment of his death, and woujd not ft!- 
 P)w Knox to proceed. IL? sent him bark \vitij tho>o words: 
 " One is sufficient for a sacrifice." 
 
334 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 seventh year of his age. Having received a libe- 
 ral education, he had entered into the priesthood, 
 and high hopes were entertained of his future 
 eminence. But his ardent inquisitive mind could 
 not be satisfied with the barren subtleties of the 
 schools. He studied the works of Jerome and 
 Augustine, and other fathers, and was thence led 
 to the Scriptures. The result was his abandon- 
 ment of the Romish system. Being compelled on 
 this account to leave St. Andrews, in the univer- 
 sity of which city he had been usefully engaged 
 in tuition for many years, he entered into the 
 family of Hugh Douglass, of Langniddrie, in East 
 Lothian, as tutor to his sons. But he was already 
 a marked man. Many attempts were made on his 
 life, and it became necessary to seek a place of 
 refuge. The conspirators against cardinal Beaton 
 had seized and held possession of the castle of St. 
 Andrews. Many others, who had been harassed 
 by persecution, took shelter there, and Knox join- 
 ed them, about Easter, 1547, with his pupils. 
 He soon found congenial employment. By the 
 unanimous vote of the garrison he was invited to 
 become colleague to John Rough, who had hith- 
 erto acted as sole chaplain. He entered on tJiis 
 office with much fear and trembling ; but his emi- 
 nent fitness for the work was universally acknow- 
 ledged. His lucid expositions of Scripture, and 
 the boldness with Avhicli he denounced the errors 
 of Poper}', wore remarkably useful. A great 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 335 
 
 number of tlie inhabitants of St. Andrews were 
 convinced that Romanism is essentially anti-chris- 
 tian, and openly forsook the church. Extensive 
 changes would have taken place, had it not been 
 for the disastrous issue of the conflict in which 
 the conspirators against Beaton and those who 
 sided with him were engaged. The assistance of 
 a French fleet having been procured, they were 
 compelled to surrender; and Knox, with many 
 others, was kept in confinement a considerable 
 time in the French galleys. Knox was liberated 
 in 1549, and proceeded to England, where he 
 remained, diligently laboring in the cause of the 
 Reformation, under the patronage of Edward VI. 
 till 1554. 
 
 The progress of the Reformation in Scotland 
 v/as checked for several years. The clergy, hav- 
 ing got the upper hand, used their power with 
 characteristic vigor. Some of the most influential 
 of the supporters of evangelical religion w^ere pro- 
 secuted, under various pretences, and banished, 
 or put to death. The laws against heresy were 
 renewed, and fresh enactments added. And, in or- 
 der to satisfy the growing demand for reform, pro- 
 vincial councils were held in 1549, 15^^ , and 1552, 
 when many I'egulations were maue, which, had 
 they been observed, would have ortected great 
 improvements in the lives and manners of the 
 clergy, and in the quality of the instruction they 
 communicated. They wei'e admonished not to 
 
336 HISTORV OF THE 
 
 retain in their houses tlieir illegitimate children, 
 nor to procure benefices for iheni. Bishops and 
 rectors ^v'ere enjoined to preach personally, four 
 times in the year at least. If any of them were 
 unfit for the duty, througli vrant of practice, they 
 were to entertain in their houses learned divines 
 for the purpose of instructing them. In every bish- 
 opric a benefice was to be set apart for the sup- 
 port of a preacher, or a pension allotted ; and the 
 preacher so provided for, was to preach in the par- 
 ishes of that district where the greatest necessity 
 existed. A catechism was compiled by archbishop 
 Hamilton, who had succeeded Beaton at St. An- 
 drews ; and copies were sent to all rectors, vicars, 
 any] curates, with directions to read a portion of it, 
 instead of a sermon, on every Sunday and holy day 
 when no person qualified to preach was ^^I'esent. 
 They were further instructGd to " practise daily 
 in reading their catechism, lest, on ascending the 
 pulpit, they should stammer and blunder, and 
 thereby expose themselves to the laughter of the 
 people." The canons of these councils contain- 
 ed many excellent provisions, but they v/ere en- 
 tirely inefficacious. The licentious lives of the 
 clergy were unreformed; and the iwopninij faith, 
 as the catechism was derisively called, from the 
 price at which it was sold, was quickly neglected 
 and forgotten.* 
 
 A controversy was carried on at this time in St. Aiidiev-s, 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 337 
 
 The friends of the Gospel, though cast down, 
 were not in despair. A goodly number yet re- 
 mained, who met in private for mutual edification. 
 The accession of the queen-dowager to the regen- 
 cy, on the resignation of the earl of Arran, in 
 1554, was favorable to their cause ; as, in order 
 to induce them to support her pretensions to the 
 high office, she had promised, in the event of suc- 
 cess, to protect them agninst the malice of the 
 clergy. The persecution in England, too, under 
 Mary, helped forward the progress of the Gospel 
 in the Scottish territory. Some of the good men 
 who lied from the storm sought refuge in Scotland, 
 '' where they were suffered to remain undisturbed, 
 and even to teach in private, through the conni- 
 vance of the new regent, and in consequence of 
 the security into which tbe clergy had been lulled 
 by success. Travelling from place to place they 
 instructed numbers, and by their example and ex- 
 hortations fanned the latent zeal of those who had 
 formerly received the knowledge of the truth." 
 M'Crie, i. 170. 
 
 The arrival of Knox was a still more import- 
 
 pliall, prior of the Black Friars at Newcastle, had visited St. An- 
 drew?, and preached a sermon, in whicli lie taug^ht that the 
 Lord's prayor was to be addressed to God only. The doctors of 
 the university were indignant at such an assertion, and another 
 fiiar was employed to confute Marshall, who actually maintained 
 th;it the Lord's prayer mipht be offered to the saints, and ex- 
 pounded all its petitions on that principle ! Cook's History, i. 361. 
 20 
 
338 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ant event. When he left England, after the death 
 of Edward, he went iirst. to Geneva, where he 
 ^vas very kindly received by Calvin and his 
 friends. In November, 1554, he undertook the 
 office of superintendent of the English church 
 which had been founded by the exiles who had 
 settled at Frankfort on the Maine. The divisions 
 which ultimately broke out among them rendered 
 liis removal necessary, and he returned to Geneva. 
 When he received information of the encouraging 
 aspect of affairs in Scotland, he deemed it his duty 
 to re-visit his native country. He left Geneva in 
 August, 1555, and continued in Scotland till the 
 following July. The interval was spent in unin- 
 termitting labors ; preaching, teaching, writing, 
 travelling from place to place, and otherwise ex- 
 erting himself for the promotion of the great anc] 
 good cause. Erskine of Dun, Maitland of Leith- 
 ington, lord Loin, afterwards earl of Argyle, lord 
 Erskine, afterwards earl of Mar, and lord James 
 Stewart, subsequently created earl of Murry, with 
 many other distinguished personages, attended 
 his ministry. He preached in private houses and 
 in the mansions of the great, and was obliged to 
 travel in secrecy, yet great numbers contrived to 
 hear him: on several occasions the Lord's supper 
 was administered according to the New Testa- 
 ment; and those who had received the truth agreed 
 that for the future they would not attend the cele- 
 bration of mass as they had been used to do, but 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 339 
 
 separate entirely from the Romish church, and 
 meet privately ibr worship till God should send 
 ihem better tim.es. Some also entered into a so- 
 lemn engagement, or covenant, to the same efiect 
 — an example which was afterwards frequently 
 followed in Scotland. 
 
 All this could not be done in secret. Knox's 
 proceedings were reported to the bishops, and he 
 was summoned to appear before a convention of 
 the clergy, at the church of the Black Friars, 
 Edinburgh. He went on the day appointed, ac- 
 companied by Erskine of Dun and other gentle- 
 men ; but no meeting was held ; for when the 
 clergy, who did not expect that he would appear, 
 and meant to condemn him unheard, ascertained 
 that he was likely to obey the summons, they set 
 it aside, under pretence of some informality, and 
 did not venture to show themselves. This gave 
 the reformer^ a great advantage. On the very 
 day on which he was to have stood at the bar 
 as a criminal, he preached at the bishop of Dun- 
 keld's lodgings to a far more numerous audience 
 tlian he had before seen; and he continued to 
 preach in the same place twice a day, for the 
 ten following days, without the least molestation. 
 
 The English congregation at Geneva having in- 
 vited Knox to become their pastor, he accepted 
 their invitation. It would have been obviously at 
 too great risk of his liberty, and perhaps of hi:* 
 life, to have remained lonnrer in Scotland. On 
 
310 HISTOIIY OF THE 
 
 his departure he addressed a letter to his frieiul^, 
 to be circulated in the places where he had 
 preached during- his late visit. It contained such 
 directions for their conduct as he judged most 
 suitable under their circumstances. After recom- 
 mending frequent perusal of the Scriptures, and 
 the observance of family worship, he exhorted 
 them to meet together once a week for religious 
 exercises. He advised tiiat their meetings should 
 be opened by prayer and reading the Scriptures. 
 Then, "if an exhortation, interpretation, or doubt 
 occurred to any brother, he might speak ; but he 
 ought to do it with modesty, and a desire to edify, 
 or to be edified ; carefully avoiding * multiplica- 
 tion of words, perplexed interpretations, and wil- 
 fulness in reasoning.' If, in the course of reading 
 or conference, they met with any difficulties whicli 
 they could not solve, lie advised them to commit 
 these to writing before they separated, that thoy 
 might submit them to the judgment of the learn- 
 ed ; and he signified his own readiness to give 
 them his advice by letters, vrhencver it should be 
 required." M'Crie, i. 193. 
 
 Tlie number of Protestants contiimed steadily 
 to increase, and their leaders felt so much en- 
 couraged by existing appearances, that a letter 
 was sent to Knox soliciting his return. He re- 
 ceived it in May, 1557, and, taking time for con- 
 sideration and advice, resolved to comply with 
 the request. He arrived at Dieppe, on his way 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 311 
 
 to Scotland, in October. There lie received ano- 
 ther letter, informing him that some who had ap- 
 peared decided had begun to waver, fearing the 
 consequences of so bold a step, and apprehen- 
 sive that their party was not yet strong enough 
 to incur the hazard which such a proceeding 
 would involve. Disappointed, though not dis- 
 mayed, the Reformer returned to Geneva, but 
 not till he had transmitted to his friends an ear- 
 nest remonstrance and solemn reproof for their 
 pusillanimity, couched in his own peculiarly fer- 
 vid style. It produced an astonishing effect. They 
 met immediately, and entered into covenant to 
 devote themselves and their all to the work of 
 reformation. Decisive measures followed. The 
 Protestants assumed the distinctive name of "the 
 congregation," and the noblemen to whom the 
 management of their affairs were intrusted were 
 styled the " lords of the congregation." They 
 passed the following resolutions, which were sent 
 to all who were known to profess Protestantism : 
 — 1. It is thought expedient, that in all parishes 
 of this realm the common prayer [according to 
 the English form] be read weekly on Sunday, 
 and on other festival days, in the churches, with 
 the lessons of the Old and New Testament, 
 conform to the order of the Book of Common 
 Prayer ; and if the curates of the parishes be 
 qualified, that they be caused to read the same ; 
 and if they be not, or if they refuse, that tlje 
 
342 HTSTOIIY OP THE 
 
 most qualifiocl of the parish uso and read them. 
 2. It is thought necessary that doctrine, preach- 
 ing-, and interpretation of Scriptures be had and 
 used privately in quiet houses, without great 
 conventions of people, till God move the prince 
 to grant public preaching by faithful and true 
 ministers." Cook, ii. 35. And they acted on 
 these resolutions in all parishes under their con- 
 trol, and in their ov/n mansions. The clergy 
 viewed these changes with much apprehension. 
 Furious at such an attempt, they vainly thought 
 to intimidate those whom they could not con- 
 vince. Walter Mill, an aged priest, who had 
 been compelled to abscond in cardinal Beaton's 
 time, through suspicion of heresy, and had lived 
 in concealment, being discovered, v/as appre- 
 hended and brought to trial before the archbi- 
 shop of St. Andrews. Contrary to the expecta- 
 tions of the prelate and his clergy, the old man, 
 though he had reached his eighty-second year, 
 ilefcnded himself with surprising propriety and 
 force. But it availed him not. He was con- 
 demned as an obstinate heretic, and bunied, Au- 
 gust 28, 1558. When he was fastened to the stake 
 he said, "As for me, I am four-score and two 
 years old, and cannot live long by course of na- 
 ture ; but a hundred bettor shall rise out of the 
 ashes of my bones. I trust in God I shall be the 
 last that shall suiler death in Scotland for this 
 cause." M'Cric, i. 234. 
 
RP:rOIlMATION IN SCOTI-AXD. 343 
 
 This barbarous execution excited universal hor- 
 ror and indignation. The Protestants, so far from 
 being deterred, were confirmed and emboldened. 
 The lords of the congregation presented an ad- 
 dress to the queen regent, imploring protection 
 against the tyrannical j^roceedings of the cler- 
 gy, and soliciting tlie following concessions : that 
 their worship might be legalized ; that baptism 
 and the Lord's supper might be administered in 
 the language of the country, and the latter in both 
 Ivinds ; that the wicked and scandalous lives of the 
 clergy should be reformed, so that the people 
 might no longer contemn their ministry ; " and 
 tliat this Reformation should be regulated by the 
 precepts of the New Testament, the writings of 
 the ancient fathers, and the godly lav/s of the em- 
 peror Justinian." Cook, ii. 46. 
 
 The regent affected a friendly feeling, promised 
 them protection, and permitted worship to be cele- 
 brated in the vulgar tongue. But it soon appeared 
 that she was only dissembling to gain time, and that 
 she secretly purposed to put down Protestantism, 
 in compliance with the instructions she had receiv- 
 ed from her uncles in France, (the Guises,) as soon 
 as her plans should be sufficiently matured. After 
 sundry negociations, she throw aside reserve, is- 
 sued a proclamation commanding all persons to 
 profess Romanism, resort daily to mass, and make 
 confession to the priests ; and summoned the most 
 eminent of the reformed preachers to appear before 
 
3i4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 a parliament to be held at Stirling, and there to 
 answer any accusations that might be brought 
 against them. Endeavors were made to induce her 
 to abandon her hostile purposes, and for a time 
 she again dissembled, but soon resumed her in- 
 tentions, and renewed the summons to the preach- 
 ers. The Protestants resolved to attend the min- 
 isters on the occasion, unarmed, but in sufficient 
 numbers to show their importance and the firm- 
 ness of their attachment to the cause in which 
 tliey had embarked. Perth was the place of ren- 
 dezvous, to which they repaired from the adjoining- 
 counties. Anxious to remove any unfavorable 
 impression that might be produced by the appear- 
 ance of a large assembly, Erskine of Dun was sent 
 to the regent to explain the object of their meet- 
 ing. Once more she dissembled. Erskine was as- 
 sured that if the people would disperse, the prose- 
 cution against the preachers should be relinquished, 
 and such provisions made for the future as would 
 secure protection to the protestant party. He re- 
 lied on her word, and advised his friends to re- 
 turn home. The majority complied, and separat- 
 ed ; but the principal barons and gentlemen, with 
 the preachers, remained at Perth. No sooner did 
 the regent learn that her insidious request had 
 l)een acceded to, than she took off the mask. On 
 the very day on which the preachers were to have 
 appeared, she issued a proclamation, denouncing 
 them as outlaws i'or tlieir non-nppearance, and 
 
RLl'OKMATION IN SCOTI,AXD. 343 
 
 forbidding all persons, under severe penalties, to 
 liarbor or assist them. This abominable perfidy 
 opened the eyes of the protestant leaders. They 
 ^vcre now convinced that there must be an end to 
 negociations and petitions, and that the most bold 
 and determined course of action must be adopted. 
 At this critical period Knox arrived in Scot- 
 land. He landed, May 2, 1559, eight days before 
 the time apj^ointed for the appearance of the 
 }>reachers at Stirling ; and, having staid one night 
 lit Edinburgh, he hastened to Dundee, and thence 
 to Perth, where he was received with great joy 
 and abundant thanksgiving to God for bringing 
 him back to his country at such a juncture. On 
 the 11th of May, the day after the condemnation 
 of his brethren, Knox preached in his usual strain 
 of vehement eloquence against the idolatry prac- 
 tised in the church of Rome, both in the mass and 
 in image-worship, and reminded his audience of 
 the numerous commands God had given to de- 
 stroy idols. After the service most of the congre- 
 gation had quietly dispersed, when a priest who 
 Avas present, " v/ishing either to try the disposi- 
 tion of the people, or to sliovv- his contempt of the 
 doctrine which had been delivered by the preach- 
 er, uncovered a rich altar-piece decorated wirli 
 images, and prepared to celebrate mass. A boy 
 having uttered some expressions of disapprobation 
 was stinick by the priest. He retaliated by throw- 
 ing a stone at the aggressor, which, falling on tlip 
 
346 HISTORY OF the 
 
 altar, broke one of the imnges. This operated 
 like a signal upon the people present, who had 
 taken part with the boy ; and, in the course of a 
 few minutes the altar, images, and all the orna- 
 ments of the church, were torn down, and tramp- 
 led under foot. The noise soon collected a mob, 
 who, finding no employment in the church, by a 
 sudden and irresistible impulse flew upon the 
 monasteries ; and although the magistrates of the 
 town and the preachers assembled as soon as they 
 heard of the riot, yet neither the persuasions of 
 the one nor the authority of the other could re- 
 strain the mob, until the houses of the grey and 
 black friars, with the costly edifice of the Carthu- 
 sian monks, were laid in ruins." M'Crie, i. 259. 
 This was the si"-nal for war. The re2:ent im- 
 mediately assembled forces, vowing vengeance on 
 the destroyers of holy buildings, and marched to 
 Perth with the determination to raze tlie town. 
 The lords of the congregation armed in defence, 
 and presented so formidable an appearance that 
 it was deemed imprudent to venture on an attack. 
 Negociations followed, only to be succeeded by 
 the renewal of hostilities, the design of the regent 
 l)eing evidently to gain time and overreach her 
 opponents by intriguing policy, so as to be able 
 ultimately to crush tliem. More than once she 
 seemed on the point of accomplishing her purpose. 
 The cause of the Keformatiou in Scotland would 
 liave been irretrievably ruined had not its leaders 
 
PI-.rORMATION IX SCOTLAND. 347 
 
 Bucccecled in obtai'iing the assistance of queen 
 Elizabeth, who lii\st sent them money, and after- 
 wards entered into a treaty with them, in virtue 
 of which an Enj^lish army was added to their own 
 forces, and final success achieved. The civil war 
 lasted about a year. Peace v/as signed, July 7, 
 1560. All foreign troops left the country, (the 
 French, by whose aid the regent's cause had been 
 upheld — and the English, whose opportune arri- 
 val had decided the contest ;) the regent had died 
 shortly before the termination of the conflict ; Ma- 
 ry, the queen, being resident in France, the go- 
 vernment devolved on a council ; and in the exist- 
 ing state of the kingdom the balance of power was 
 evidently on the side of the Reformers. 
 
 The Reformation had continued to advance, 
 even while the war was raging. The example set 
 at Perth was followed at St. x'\.ndrews, Edinburgh, 
 Stirling, Cupar, and other considerable places. 
 The monasteries were pulled down. Images, pic- 
 tures, and all incentives to idolatry were destroy- 
 ed. Protestant worship was established. Many 
 eminent ecclesiastics, distinguished for learning 
 and piety, joined the reformers, and engaged 
 heartily in the v/ork. At the close of the war the 
 Protestants constituted the majority of the nation. 
 
 This success was mainly attributable to the bold- 
 ness, prudence, and indomitable enerp-y of Knox. 
 He was constantly in attendance on the lords of 
 the congregation, both in the field and in the for- 
 
3-18 IlISTORV OF THE 
 
 tress. In their difficulties he counselled them ; in 
 their discouragements he revived declining ener- 
 gy, enkindling the liame at the fire of his own 
 enthusiasm. In the autumn of IGrA) he undertook 
 a preaching tour through a considerable pait of 
 the kingdom,, the result of which was a large ac- 
 cession to the ranks of the Reformers. During 
 the following winter he conducted the negociation 
 with the English court. *' His zeal and activity 
 in the cause of the congi'egation exposed him to 
 the deadly resentment of the queen-regent and the 
 Papists. A reward was publicly oflered to any 
 one who should apprehend or kill him ; and not a 
 few, actuated by hatred or avarice, lay in vv^ait to 
 seize his person. But this did not deter him from 
 appearing in public, nor from travelling through 
 the country in the discharge of his duty. His ex- 
 ertions at this period were incredibly great. By 
 day he was employed in preaching ; by night in 
 writing letters on public business. He was always 
 ♦llslbund at the post of danger ; and, by his j^resence, 
 his public discourses and private advices, animat- 
 ed the whole body, and defeated the schemes em- 
 ployed to corrupt and disunite them." M'Crie, 
 i. 29G. 
 
 At a meeting of the parliament, held in August, 
 1560, the Reformation was established in Scotland. 
 A confession of faith, drawn up by Knox and his 
 brethren, was approved, and three acts were pass- 
 ed. By the first, the power and jurisdiction of the 
 
REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 34^ 
 
 pope in Scotland were abolished ; by the second, 
 all acts in favor of the Romish church were repeal- 
 ed ; and by the third, it was ordained that all who 
 said mass, or were present at the celebration of it, 
 should be punished, for the first ottence, by confis- 
 cation of goods or bodily suffering ; for the second, 
 by banishment from the kingdom ; and for the 
 third, by death. Knox had also prepared a scheme 
 of ecclesiastical government, since called ** The 
 First Book of Discipline." It was submitted to 
 the parliament, but the changes proposed were too 
 sweeping to obtain unanimous concurrence, and 
 on that account the further consideration of the 
 document was postponed ; nevertheless, it was 
 subscribed and adopted by the principal Protest- 
 ants, and its provisions were generally carried 
 into effect. 
 
 Mary queen of Scots took possession of her 
 kingdom in August, 156L* From that time till 
 
 * Soon after Mary's arrival in Scotland she sent for Knox, and 
 held a long conversation with him. " She accused him of rai.^ing 
 her subjects against h(?r mother and herself; of writing a book 
 against her just authority, which (she said) she would cause tho 
 most learned in Europe to answer; of being the cause of sedi- 
 tion and bloodshed v.'hen he was in England ; and of accomplish- 
 ing his purpose by magical arts. When he had answered these 
 charges she changed the subject, and accused him of teaching 
 the people to receive a religion different from that which was al- 
 lowed by their princes; and she asked if this was not contrary 
 to the Divine command, that subjects should obey their rulers. 
 He replied, that true religion derived its origin and authority not 
 30 
 
3r50 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 1.567, when she resi,<>-ned the goverament, tbe 
 cause of the Reformation was often exposed to 
 peril through her inveterate hostility. But at 
 
 from princes, but from the eternal God ; that princes were often 
 most ignorant of the true religion ; and that subjects were not 
 bound to frame their religion according to the arbitrary will of 
 their rulers, else the Hebrews would have been bound to adopt 
 the religion of Pharaoh, Daniel and his associates tiiat of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar and Darius, and the primitive christians that of tlie 
 Koman emperors. 
 
 " ' Well then,' said the queen, ' I perceive that my suliject'? 
 phall obey you, and not me; and will do what they please, and 
 not what I command : and so must 1 be subject to tiiem, and not 
 they to me.' ' God forbid !' replied the refomier, ' that ever I 
 take upon me to command any to obey me, or to set subjects to 
 do wliateVer pleases them. But my travail is, that both pi-incet» 
 and subjects may obey God.' 
 
 " ' But you are not the church that I will nourish,' said the 
 queen ; ' I will df'fend the church of Rome ; for it is, I think, the 
 true church of God.' ' Your 7rj7/, madam, is no reason; neither 
 doth your thought make the Roman harlot to be the true and im- 
 maculate spouse of Jesus Christ. V/onder not, m.adam, that I call 
 Rome an harlot, for that church is altogether polluted with all 
 kinds of spiritual foniication, both in doctrine and manners.' Hh 
 added, that he was ready to prove that the Romiah church had 
 declined farther from the purity of religion taught by the apostles, 
 than the Jewish church had degenerated from the ordinances 
 which God gave them by Moses and Aaron, at the time when 
 they denied and crucihcd the Son of God. ' My conscience is not 
 8o,' said the queen. ' Conscience, madam, requires knowledge; 
 and I fear that right knowledge you have none.' * But I have 
 both heard and road.' * So, matlam, did the Jews, who ci-ucified 
 Christ Jesus, read the law and the prophets, and hear the same 
 
REFORMATION IS SCOTI.AXD. 351 
 
 length fall triumph was secured.* The first pai- 
 liaraent which was held under the government of 
 
 interpreted after their manner. Have you heard any teach but 
 tuch as the pope and the cardinals have allowed ? And yoa may 
 he assured that such will speak nothing to offend their own 
 estate.' 
 
 " He proceeded to show that the popish doctrine of the sacri- 
 fice of the mass was destitute of all foundation in Scripture. But 
 the queen, who was determined to avoid all discussion of the arti- 
 cles of her creed, interrupted him by saying that she was unable 
 to contend with him in argument, but if she had those present 
 whom she had heard, they would answer him. * ]\Iadam,' replied 
 the i-eformer fervently, ' would to God that the most learaed Pa- 
 pist in Europe, and he whom you would best believe, were pro- 
 Bcnt with your grace to sustain the argument, and that you would 
 wait patiently to hear the matter reasoned to the end ; for then, 
 I doubt not, madam, but you would hear the vanity of the papis- 
 tical religion, and how little ground it hath in the word of God.' 
 ' Well,' said she, ' you may perchance get that sooner than yo« 
 believe.' * Assuredly, if ever I get that in my life, I get it sooner 
 than I believe ; for the ignorant Papist cannot patiently reason, 
 and the learned and crafty Papist will never come in your audi- 
 ence to have the ground of their religion searched out. When 
 you shall let me see the contrary I shall grant myself to have been 
 ueceived in that point.' 
 
 " The hour of dinner afforded an occasion for breaking off this 
 eingular conversation. At taking leave of her majesty the reformer 
 eaid, ' I pray God, madam, that you may be as blessed within the 
 commonwealth of Scotland as ever Deborah was in the common- 
 wealth of Israel!' " M'Crie, ii. 31-39. Knox had other inter- 
 views with the queen, and faithfully proclaimed the truth in her 
 hearing ; but she was hardened against it to the last. 
 
 • John Knox died November 04, 1.572, in the sixty-seventh 
 year of his age. The narrative of his death is deeply interesting. 
 
352 REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 the regent Murray, confirmed all that had been 
 enacted respectmg religion in 1560, and added 
 other statutes, more clearly defining the rights, 
 powers, and privileges of the establishment, and 
 fully securing them to their protestant purposes. 
 
 (Seo. M'Cric, ii. 218-232.) He viewed the approach of dissolu- 
 tion with the utmost calmness, and was favored with the conso- 
 lations of the Gospel in a remarkable degree. A few hours before 
 lie breathed his last, being asked the cause of his sighing so deep- 
 ly, he rejjlied, '' I have formerly, during my frail life, sustained 
 many contests, and many assaults of Satan; but at present that 
 roaring lion hath assailed mc most furiously, and put forth all his 
 strength to devour and make an end of mc at once. Often before 
 has he placed my sins before my eyes, often tempted mc to des- 
 pair, often endeavored to ensnare me by the allurements of the 
 world ; but these weapons being broken by the sword of the Spi- 
 rit, the word of God, ho could not prevail. Now he has attacked 
 me in another way : the cunning serpent has labored to persuade 
 mo that I have merited heaven aiid eternal blessedness by the 
 faithful discharge of my ministry. But, blessed be God, who has 
 enabled me to beat down and quench this fiery dart, by suggest- 
 ing to me such passages of Scripture as these : — ' What hast 
 ihou, that thou Ijast not received? By the grace of God I am v\hat 
 I am. Not I, but the grace of God in me.' Being thus vanquish- 
 ed, he left me. Wherefore I give thanks to my God, through 
 Jesus Christ, who was pleased to give me the victoiy ; and I am 
 persuaded that the tempter shall not again attack mc ; but within 
 a short time I shall, without any great bodily pain or anguish of 
 mind, exchange this mortal and miserable life for a blessed im- 
 mortality, through Jesus Christ." 
 
RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION. 353 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Results of tJie Rfformat'wn. 
 
 Ar the beginning of the sixteenth century all 
 Europe lay prostrate at the feet of antichrist, 
 ^\''ith the exception of here and there a few indi- 
 viduals wlio mourned in secret over the abomina- 
 ble idolatries of the people — the Albigenses and 
 Waldenses in the south of France and its neigh- 
 borhood, and the Hussites in Bohemia — the na- 
 tions were fast bound in the chains of the papacy. 
 But before the close of that century a mighty re- 
 volution had taken place. Sweden, Norway and 
 l^enmark had entirely shaken off the yoke. In 
 Poland, Prussia, and the most important of the 
 German states, vast numbers had asserted their 
 rights and secured their spiritual emancipation. 
 The most powerful of the Swiss cantons had be- 
 come protestant. The Low Countries had been 
 deluged with sufferings, and paid dearly for liber- 
 ty ; yet, in the issue, they obtained a glorious tri- 
 umph. The principles of the Reformation had tra- 
 versed the length and breadth of France, enlisting 
 the sympathies of all ranks and classes, and awak- 
 ening deadliest hatred in the adherents of the old 
 superstition. Great Britain and Ireland were se- 
 vered from Rome. 
 
 In all this the devout mind will trace the work 
 
354 RESULTS OF 
 
 of God. It was the beginning of his vengeance on 
 the apostacy of the last (lays, and the first general 
 beaming of light on a darkened world since the 
 ** times of refreshing" enjoyed by the early church. 
 That the instruments mainly employed in bringing 
 about this great change were holy men, whose 
 souls were deeply imbued with the spirit of the 
 Gospel, will be also acknowledged by all impar- 
 tial persons. Luther, Mclancthon, Zuingle, Tyn- 
 dall, Cranmer, Ridley, Knox, and their illustrious 
 fellow-laborers, were spiritually-minded christians. 
 They were not satisfied with removing the veil of 
 ignorance and breaking the fetters of superstition. 
 The ardent desires of their souls were not realized 
 till they saw the objects of their solicitude convert- 
 ed to God. In thousands of instances those desires 
 were accomplished. The outward reformation was 
 accompanied by a manifest and glorious revival of 
 true godliness. 
 
 The principal means used, and those to which the 
 Divine blessing was most signally granted, were 
 the preaching of the Gospel, the circulation of the 
 Scriptures, and the press. There were other sub- 
 ordinate measures brought into action, which 
 proved more or less efficacious ; but to the above- 
 mentioned the greatest importance must be un- 
 questionably attached. 
 
 Preaching occupied the chief place. The first 
 agents in this grand enterprise were eloquent, for- 
 cible speakers. Having received the truth in the 
 
THE REFOUMATIOX. 355 
 
 love of it, theirs was the eloquence of the heart, 
 and it produced astonishing effects. Luther's ser- 
 mons were attended by immense crowds of eager 
 listeners. Plain, popular, and fervent, they incul- 
 cated Scripture truth in a language which all 
 could understand, and in a manner as far as pos- 
 sible removed from the drowsy dulness of monk- 
 ish discourses. Zuingle commended the Gospel to 
 his hearers in strains of fervid eloquence. The 
 homely style adopted by Latimer was admirably 
 calculated to secure the attention of the numerous 
 audiences which he never failed to gather at Paul's 
 Cross and other public places. The thunders of 
 Knox made many a stout heart tremble ; even 
 proud, bigoted royalty quailed before him.'* 
 
 ^ On one occasion, when Lutiier was on a journey, lie stopped 
 for a short time at Levickau. The news of his arrival quickly 
 spread abroad in the neighboring towns, and the people hastened 
 to Levickau to hear the Reformer preach. No building would 
 contain the throng. When Luther appeared in the balcony of the 
 hotel, from which he addressed the immense congregation, it was 
 computed that twenty-five thousand persons were present. So 
 effective was his discourse that the monks, who had hitherto con- 
 trolled the pviblic mind in Levickau, were compelled to leave the 
 place. " The hope of their gains was gjjne." 
 
 When the persecuting edict of Worms was passed, the magis- 
 trates were afraid to countenance Lutheran preachers, and all the 
 churches were shut against them. But the friends of truth adopted 
 an expedient by means of which they continued to enjoy the pri- 
 vilege of hearing their favorite preachers. A plain portable pulpit 
 was provided, which was conveyed to any unoccupied space that 
 might be chosen for the purpose. As soon as the puljnt was seen 
 
356 RESL'I/IS OF 
 
 The translations of the Scriptures were fraught 
 with incalculable advantages. Hitherto the word 
 of God had been kept from the people at large. 
 Editions of the Vulgate had been printed, but 
 they were available only to those who understood 
 Latin ; besides which, their high price placed them 
 entirely out of the reach of the bulk of the com- 
 munity. This was equally true of the existing trans- 
 
 !i liirg-n congregation gathered arounrl it, and the prracher pro- 
 «!eeded to address them. If the niilitary or the police interfered 
 the pulpit was easily i-emoved, and the minister, inin<jHng among 
 liie crowd, was undetected. 
 
 .lames Melville gives the following description of Knox's preaeli- 
 ing. " Of all the henefits 1 had that year, [157],] was the com- 
 ing of that maist notable prophet and apostle of our nation, Mr. 
 .luhne Knoxa to St. Andrews, who, be the faction of the queen 
 occupeing the castell and town of IMinburgh, was compeliit to 
 remove therefra, with a number of the best/ and chusit to como 
 to St. Andrews. I heard him teache there the prophecies of 
 Daniel, that simmer and the wintar following. I had my pen and 
 my little buike, and tuk away sic things as I could comprehend. 
 In the opening up of his text he was moderat the space of an 
 halfe houre; but when he enterit to application, he made me so 
 to gretc (thrill) and tremble, that I could not ha!d a pen to wryr. 
 lie was very v/eik. I saw him cverie day of his doctrine, go Juilie 
 and fear, (slowly and warily) with a furring of martichs about 
 liis neck, a stafie in the an hand, and gud, godlie Richcrt Bal- 
 liiiden, his servand, haldin up the utlier oxter, (arm pit) from the 
 a!)bey to the parish kirk, and, be the said Richavt and another 
 Bervund, lifted up to the pulpit, whar he behovit to lean at his first' 
 ontrie ; hot, er he haid done with his sermone, he was sa active 
 and vigorous that he was lyk to dinp- ike pnlpii in. Mads, (beat 
 t he pulpit in pieces,) and flie out of it.'' Diary, pp. 23, 28, quoted 
 iu r.l'Cri;-"i Life of Knox, ii. 205. 
 
THE REFORiNIATION. 357 
 
 lations into die vernacular languages. It will be 
 borne in mind, in addition, tliat but few could read. 
 But when the Reformers engaged in their glorious 
 undertaking, their constant appeal to the Scrip- 
 lures soon showed the necessity of an acquaintance 
 with the sacred book. AVhercver the Reformation 
 took root the Bible was forthwith translated ; and 
 the general use of the Bible never failed to pro- 
 mote the Reformation. Persons of all classes were 
 eager to obtain possession of the sacred volume ; 
 they read it with deep interest and delighted as- 
 tonishment ; they learned to " prove all things, 
 and hold fast that which is good;" and they v^ill- 
 ingly cast off their allegiance to Rome, when they 
 discovered, by searching the Scriptures, that it was 
 incompatible with the obedience they owed to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ.* 
 
 * The protestant versions of the Scriptures published dui-ing 
 
 the progress of the Reformation have been already mentioned. 
 Tliey were issued in the following order : 
 
 Luther's German New Testament, A. D. . 1522 
 
 Danish New Testament, .... lf)24 
 
 ]:^ngUsh New Testament, (Tyndall) . . " 
 
 Helvetic New Testament, . . . . " 
 
 Do. Entire Bible, .... 1525 
 
 Swedish New Testament, . . . 15'26 
 
 Belgic Bible, " 
 
 Luther's German Bible .... 1534 
 
 English Bible, (Coverdale) .... 1585 
 
 French Bible, (Olevitan) .... " 
 
 Danish Bible, 1541 
 
o58 RESULTS OF 
 
 Preaching awakened concern and stimulated in- 
 quiry. The pubhcation of the Scriptures brough 
 into the field a host of disputants. All parties hai 
 recourse to the j^ress. Books and Tracts multi- 
 plied beyond all former precedent. The Reform- 
 ers wisely threw into circulation an immense num- 
 ber of publications, small in size, but rich in Gos- 
 pel truth, and thereby exerted a powerful intiu- 
 ence on the public mind. By brief expositions of 
 select portions of Scriptures, practical treatises, 
 pithy exhortations, and unsparing exposures of pa- 
 pal misdoings, thousands were enlightened and 
 convinced, and the excitement so necessary to suc- 
 cess was sustained. The Romanists railed at the 
 press, and complained loudly of its alleged licen- 
 tiousness. " We must put down printing," they 
 said, *' or else printing will put us down." Thus 
 they unwittingly betrayed the weakness of their 
 cause, confessing that it would not abide the scni- 
 tiny of free inquiry and unbiassed judgment.* 
 
 A powerful stimulus was given to education. 
 In many places the revenues of suppressed mo- 
 
 Sued ish Bible, 15'i0 
 
 Polish New Testament, .... ]r35'2 
 Do. Entire Bible, 1,:G3 
 
 * Luther's publications — all i'^sncd within the S]jaee of thiity 
 years — were nearly live hunched in uiunber. His letters ni-e not 
 included in this statement. They are now collected in live octavo 
 volumes. 
 
THE REFORMATION'. 359 
 
 nasteries were appropriated to the establisbinent 
 of schools. On this point the Reformers were just- 
 ly anxious. The very existence of Protestantism 
 depended, under God, on the general difiusioii 
 of knowledge. Without learning, the Scriptures 
 could not be translated and explained. The Bible 
 would be a useless gift to a people who could not 
 read, or had not been trained to think and judge 
 for themselves. " Grentlemen," said Luther, in a 
 circular addressed to the members of the city and 
 town councils of Germany, " much money is spent 
 every year on weapons of war, roads, and fortifi- 
 cations ; can you not spare a little for the support 
 of a few schoolmasters 1 God is knocking at our 
 door : happy are we if we open to him. The pros- 
 perity of a city does not merely consist in abun- 
 dant treasures, strong walls, fine houses, and a 
 splendid magazine of arras. If it is inhabited by 
 fools, its misfortune will only be the greater for 
 these advantages. The true welfare, the safety 
 and strength of a city, is in proportion to the num- 
 ber of learned, pious, upright and well-instructed 
 citizens who dwell therein." Luther urged the 
 civic authorities to establish schools and libraries 
 in every place. All the Reformers were of one 
 mind on this subject. The rapacity of covetous 
 men often hindered the full accomplishment of 
 their wishes ; yet very much was done wherever 
 Protestantism was planted, Sound, useful learn- 
 ing was imparted to vast numbers, to v.'hom, but 
 
360 RESULTS OK 
 
 for the Reformation, its blessings would have been 
 utterly unknown. 
 
 If we make no reference to the employment of 
 secular force and the patronap^e of governments, 
 it is because our sole object is to treat of the Re- 
 formation as a religious movement, and to point 
 out the efficiency of spiritual moans, and of such 
 measures as harmonize with simply spiritual de- 
 signs. We may be allowed, however, to express the 
 deep regret which as cln'istians we cannot but feel, 
 that conformity to outward rites was ever enforc- 
 ed by penalties, and that fines, imprisonment, and 
 sometimes death, awaited the disobedient. Per- 
 secution, by whomsoever encouraged, is a flagrant 
 outrage on christian principle, and a high crime 
 and misdemeanor a^jainst the " Kins^ of kings." 
 
 The rapid progress of reform aroused fierce in- 
 dignation among the friends of the papacy. Theij 
 had no scruples about the employment of fire and 
 s-word. It mattered not by what means — lawful 
 or unlawful — at all events the Reformation must 
 be crushed. Fearful was the encounter. Plunder, 
 tortures, assassination, massacre, were familiar 
 to the Papists. The heart sickens at the recitals 
 of the historians of those times. Scenes of bar- 
 barity were enacted to which there is no j^arallcl 
 in any previous period of the world's history. At- 
 tached friends and near relatives conspired against 
 each other's lives. Parents betrayed their chil- 
 dren, and children their parents. New varieties 
 
THE REFORMATION. 361 
 
 of torture were invented, exhausting the ingenuity 
 of the inventors, and discovering methods by 
 ^vhich acute sufiering might be prolonged to the 
 utmost verge of endurance. The servants of G«kI 
 lell by hundreds and by thousands : many by tlie 
 Jiands of the pubUc executioner; many in the 
 dungeons of the inquisition ; more by the swonl 
 of war. Neither age nor sex was spared. Wives 
 were made widows, and children orphans ; and a 
 far greater number than those who actually suf- 
 fered the penalties inflicted by unrighteous laws 
 were reduced to destitution and ruin. 
 
 Still the cause of truth prospered. Sufiering 
 excited sympathy. Inquiry was favorable to truth. 
 Persecution generally failed in accomplishing its 
 oijject, or promoted the interests which it aimed 
 lo destroy. Italy and Spain were the only excep- 
 tions. In those countries the adversary succeed- 
 ed in fully efiecting his purpose by means of tlie 
 inquisition. The doctrines of Scripture never 
 reached the great mass of the people. Truth was 
 uprooted, and all its friends were either silenced, 
 banished, or murdered. See the late Dr. M'Crie's 
 Histories of theSuppressioii of the Keformailon in 
 Italy and Spain. 
 
 Rome has been always prepared lo adapt her 
 measures to times and circumstances, and to 
 ciiange them as expediency requires. Policy may 
 succeed where power fails. The institution oi the 
 order nf the Jesuits was a most opportune c\ent, 
 
 :n 
 
3G2 RESULTS OP 
 
 and was doubtless hailed with joy by the partizans 
 of the papacy. That order has done more effec- 
 tual service to Popery than any other, the Domi- 
 nicans and Franciscans not excepted. The sole 
 object of its institution was the propagation and 
 defence of popish tenets. In addition to the three 
 monastic vows, of chastity, poverty, and obedience 
 to the superior, a fourth was added, binding the 
 members to hold themselves at the disposal of the 
 pope, to go any where and do any thing at his 
 bidding, for the advancement of the interests of 
 Rome. They have lived for that purpose. Through 
 their strenuous efforts a mighty reaction took place 
 in favor of the old system. Lost ground was re- 
 covered. New ground was occupied. The wa- 
 vering were confirmed, the half-hearted revived, 
 slumbering energies aroused, and a powerful im- 
 pulse given to party spirit and zeal. In India, 
 China, and other eastern countries, the missions 
 conducted by the Jesuits were characterized by 
 an heroic self-devotion seldom if ever equalled. 
 In South America they to a certain extent I'e- 
 claimed the barbarian, and scattered abioad the 
 blessings of civilization. Their labors in the cause 
 of education were unremitting, nor can it be de- 
 nied that they were productive of much general 
 good. But here we stop. The mischievous ten- 
 dencies of the principles and practices of the Jo 
 suits ought not to be concealed nor palliated. 
 They avowed maxims which would subvert the 
 
THE REFORMATIOX. 363 
 
 very foundations of society. It was held to be 
 lawful to lie ; to take an oath with mental reser- 
 vation ; and even to commit murder, if by so do- 
 ing the interests of the papacy might be promo- 
 ted. And their actions corresponded with their 
 principles. They lied ; they peijured themselves; 
 they committed murder ; aided and abetted in 
 murder ; contrived dark conspiracies against truth 
 and freedom, and against rulers, when opposed to 
 their views ; embroiled countries with one an- 
 other ; and succeeded at length in raising against 
 themselves such a storm of virtuous indignation, 
 that they were expelled in turn from every nation 
 of Europe, and their order suppressed by pope 
 Clement XIV. in 1773. Pope Pius VII. restored 
 it in 1814 ; and it is now again most actively at 
 work, concocting evil every where. Popery wel- 
 comes its assistance, and cloaks its crimes. No sys- 
 tem but Popery would tolerate such an institution.* 
 
 • "In 1540, when they presented their petitions to Paul III. 
 they only appeared in the number of ten. In 1543 they were 
 jiot more than twenty-four. In 1545, they had only ten houses : 
 hut in 1549 they had two provinces, one in Spain and the other 
 in Portugal, and twenty-two houses; and at the death of Igria 
 tius, in 1556, they had twelve large provinces. Jn 1603, Ribade- 
 neira reckoned 29 provinces and two vice-provinces, 21 houses 
 of profession, 293 colleges, 33 houses of probation, 93 other re- 
 sidences, and 10,531 Jesuits. In the catalogue printed at Rome 
 in 1629, are found 35 provinces, two vice-provinces, 33 houses 
 of profession, 578 colleges, 48 houses of probation, 88 seminaries, 
 160 residences, lOG missions, and in all 17,655 .Jesuits, of whom 
 7,870 were pnests. At last, (according to the calculation of fatliex 
 
3G1 r.T:su/.T3 of 
 
 The assembly of the Council of Tront was next 
 in importance to the establishment of the order of 
 the Jesuits. Successive popes had contrived to 
 evade the universal demand for a council, natural- 
 ly fearing that the results of such an assembly 
 v.-ould be injurious to their power and authority. 
 )3ut Paul III. found it impossible to withstand 
 the pressure of public opinion. In obedience to 
 his call, the prelates of the Romish church, or 
 leather a miserable fragment of them, met at 
 Trent. The council was opened Dec. I'J, 1515. In 
 1518 a sudden stop was put to its proceedings by a 
 pretended alarm of tlie plague. Three years after- 
 Avards the fathers re-assembled, but were again 
 dispersed in 1552 by the approach of the army of 
 INIaurice of Saxony, who was pursuing Charles V. 
 Tliey did not resume their deliberations till 15G2. 
 The last session was held Dec. 4, 1563. 
 
 By the decrees of this celebrated council the 
 doctrines held by the church of Rome were defi- 
 nitively fixed. The most obnoxious tenets of !'<►- 
 ]>ery were retained, though expressed in guarded 
 and plausible language; and thenceforth differ- 
 ence of opinion, which had been connived at to a 
 considerable e.xtent, even in the church of Rome, 
 was absolutely forbidden. The innovations ami 
 
 Jouvenny,) thoy h;id ia 1710, 2-4 liouse^ of profession, 59 housps 
 of probation, 310 i-csi<Ienccs, 612 collegp>, f)f whidi 80 were in 
 Fraiicr, 200 iDissimis, 157 spiniiiaries ami boardiiig-liou3«^s, and 
 l.'i,99'J .lesuit-;." History of the Jesuits, i. 37'J. 
 
THE REFORMATION. 365 
 
 inventions ID t* Popery were fixed ; they were ste- 
 reotyped ; that they might be handed down to 
 posterity in their final form. See History of the 
 Council of Trent. 
 
 The decisions of the Council of Trent were de- 
 signed to operate on Romanists, and preserve 
 them from heresy by placing in their hands -a 
 comprehensive summary of the doctrines they 
 Avere expected to hold and profess. For tlui 
 same purpose the catechism of the council was 
 compiled. It was not a catechism, in the usual 
 sense of that word, but a series of theological es- 
 says on the apostles' creed, the sacraments, the 
 decalogue, and the Lord's prayer, written in a 
 terse and elegant style, and well fitted for the in- 
 struction and confirmation of those for whom it is 
 designed. A new creed was also prepared by 
 order of pope Pius V. and since called by his 
 name, embodying in a condensed form the doctrinal 
 decrees of Trent. It is subscribed by all persons 
 who take office in the church, and by all who enter 
 it from other communities. 
 
 Other measures, of a directly aggressive cha- 
 racter, and more in harmony with papal policy, 
 were adopted. By the index of prohibited booivs, 
 all the works of the Reformers, and all publica- 
 tions, by v/homsoever written, containing senti- 
 ments differing from or hostile to those of the 
 church of Rome, were proscribed ; and this pro- 
 scription extended even to translations of tho 
 
3G6 lir.suLTS op 
 
 Scriptures executed by Protestants. It was un- 
 blushingly asserted that the indiscriminate peru- 
 sal of the word of God in the vernacular langna- 
 ges was productive of more evil than good, and 
 therefore was not to be peiTnitted, except to such 
 persons, and under such restrictions, as the clergy, 
 guided by their superiors, might direct. Theso 
 (jiiactments are in full force at the present day. 
 
 Even this was not enough. The separate ex- 
 istence of Protestantism was deprecated. It was 
 regarded as a nuisance, the removal of which 
 must be endeavored at all hazards and by any 
 means. The affairs of nations must be thrown in- 
 to confusion — bloody wars excited — and horrible 
 crimes perpetrated. The exaltation of Popery 
 was to be regarded as a matter of paramount im- 
 portance, to which every thing else must give 
 way. Hence the wars of the League in France — 
 the assassination of Henry IV. — the butcheries of 
 the duke of Alva in the Low Countries — htkI the 
 iniceasing attempts made on the government and 
 life of our own Elizabeth, both by foreign powei-s 
 and domestic traitors, goaded and encouraged l)y 
 the execrable bull of pope Pius V. Popery fully 
 proved itself to be not only the enemy of christian 
 truth, but also of freedom and national rights. All 
 was to be sacrificed at the shrine of ecclesiastical 
 power. Rom(? will "sit as a queen." She will al- 
 low no co-ordinate authority. She claims to be 
 supreme directress of the nations, and will bo 
 
THE REFORMATION. 367 
 
 satisfied with notliing less, however expedient it 
 may be for a time to conceal lier pretensions and 
 assume the mask of moderation. The exact style 
 of Gregory VII. Boniface VIII. and Innocent III. 
 may not be adopted again, nor their example fol- 
 lowed ; but the end may be attained as surely by 
 other means. Directly or indirectly, an interfer- 
 ence with every government will be sought ; and 
 the danger to the rights and consciences of men 
 may not be less imminent, should the pope's influ- 
 ence and authonty lose their accustomed force, 
 and intriguing priests take his place. The state 
 of France at the present time may illustrate these 
 observations. Though the thunders of the Vati- 
 can have ceased to spread terror as in former 
 ages, the population of that countiy is almost en- 
 tirely in the power of the priests, and the foreign 
 policy of the government is evidently the fruit of 
 ecclesiastical influence. The recent aggressions 
 of the French navy in the South Seas, and in Ma- 
 dagascar, prove that the powers of this world aie 
 beginning to truckle again to the "man of sin," 
 and selling themselves to worlc iniquity. Wo un- 
 to them ! They may make war with the Lamb, and 
 for a time seem to prevail ; but in the end he will 
 overcome them, and " break them in pieces as a 
 potter's vessel," for he is " King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords." 
 
 In estimating the results of the Reformation, 
 we may consider, in the first instance, the effects 
 
368 RESULTS OP 
 
 which that revolution lias produced on the Romisli 
 church itself. The sphere of its influence has 
 been greatly narrowed by the entire subtraction 
 of many powerful kingdoms, and the succession 
 of millions of people in those countries which 
 have tolerated Protestantism. Nor can it be 
 doubted that, even among the faithful children of 
 that corrupt church, there is far less willingness 
 than formerly to submit to priestly domination. 
 Extensive concessions must be made to the spirit 
 of the times, and many things connived at, which 
 would have been promptly suppressed in darker 
 ages. Literature and science, which were before 
 confined to a few learned men, are now univer- 
 sally diffused. Romanists concur in the demand 
 for general education, and co-operate in efforts to 
 extend the blessing. The gross abuses which 
 prevailed among the ecclesiastics, and the shame- 
 less abandonment of all correct principle which 
 had rendered them infamous in the eyes of the 
 people, have been to a great extent corrected. 
 The theological errors of Romanism are put forth 
 in a less repulsive form. The startling claims of 
 the papacy to the right of interference in the af- 
 fairs of the nations are no longer advanced. Tlie 
 pope, as a temporal ruler, is scarcely to be reck- 
 oned among European sovereigns, since the pro- 
 tcction of Austria, the dominant power in Italy, 
 has reduced him to a state of dependance. 
 
 Nevertheless, tliere is no withdrawment of the 
 
THE REFOnMATlON. 3G9 
 
 obnoxious tenets which the Reformers so success- 
 fiilly opposed. An infallible church cannot admit 
 of change or improvement. It is nearly threo 
 Imndred years since the Council of Trent was 
 opened, but the dogmas then declared to consti- 
 tute the creed of the church are tenaciously held 
 to this day. Dominion over conscience, involving 
 the right to persecute, has never been disavowed. 
 The decisions of the fourth council of Lateran are 
 Htill the law of Rome. The lion is a lion still, 
 though caged and chained. And if liberal princi- 
 ples are professed, and decorous conduct mani- 
 fested by adherents of Rome resident in protest- 
 ant countries, it is very different in those parts of 
 the v/orld which are still entirely subject to Ro- 
 mish sway. Gross immoralities among the priest- 
 hood, which here in England would expose the 
 individual committing them to public scorn, and 
 deprive him of his place in society, are venial 
 matters in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. There, 
 and in Austria, Popery reigns supreme, enthrall- 
 ing the intellect, debasing the heart, re-enacting 
 the follies of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 
 and striving to perpetuate ignorance and supersti- 
 tion. It is not a nuisance that can be abated : it 
 must be swept from the face of the earth. But 
 that will be the Lord's own work. 
 
 It is cheering to turn from this view of the sub- 
 ject to contemplate the benefits accruing to man- 
 kind from the blessed Reformation. 
 
370 RTSSULTS OF 
 
 While it is confessed that a revival of learning 
 had already taken place, and was happily pro- 
 ceeding, no one acquainted with history can deny 
 that the influence of the Romish church was hos- 
 tile to its full developement. Free inquiry was 
 inconsistent with the policy of the Vatican. The 
 literati of Europe were checked and repelled at 
 every step. They were constantly venturing on 
 forbidden ground, and giving utterance to prohi- 
 bited thoughts. The church had interfered with 
 philosophy. It was heresy to maintain even the 
 true theory of the earth's motion ! It is heresy 
 still ! The persecution of Galileo would have been 
 followed by similar enormities but for its contra- 
 riety to the spirit of the age. In a word, if Rome 
 allows her sons to be learned, it is under protest 
 and restraint ; they must be tethered to a particu- 
 lar spot, and not venture to stretch beyond the 
 circle she has drawn around them. But she cares 
 not for the mass. For books she gives them ima- 
 ges and pictures, and the confessional is her 
 school, where they are taught to become submis- 
 sive slaves to the priesthood. 
 
 How glorious the change produced by Protest- 
 antism ! The human mind is unmanacled, and may 
 roam at large in the fields of knowledge. Our 
 philosophers pursue their researches without dread 
 of the inquisition. No Index Expurgatorius stands 
 in the way of our authors, tlireatening to put their 
 works to the ban, and robtlicm of the fruit of their 
 
THE REFORMATION. 371 
 
 labors. Thought is free. PubUcatlon is free. 
 Langua^^e is free. Protestantism lives and thrives 
 by knowledge, hails its extension with unmingled 
 joy, and promotes its triumphs by all suitable 
 means. The marvellous advancement of litera- 
 ture and science, since the beginning of the Re- 
 ; formation, attests the truth of these remarks. In 
 addition to its co-operating influence on learning 
 in general, the Reformation has created a litera- 
 ture of its own, which has employed the mightiest 
 minds, and opened up the hidden springs of intel- 
 lect. Biblical criticism has advanced with gigan- 
 tic strides, solving difficulties which had existed 
 for ages, and clearing the path of interpretation 
 for future travellers. Modern translators of the 
 Scriptures, availing themselves of the labors of 
 their predecessors, have produced versions of sur- 
 passing excellence. In practical theology, stand- 
 ard productions of high merit and lasting useful- 
 ness are constantly issuing from the press. In all 
 the branches of physical science the career of dis- 
 covery has been unexampled. Natural philoso- 
 phy and chemistry, especially the latter, have 
 been cultivate;! with success far exceeding the 
 most sanguine expectations. The revelations of 
 the nineteenth century have thrown all antiquity 
 into the shade, eclipsing the glory of the venera- 
 ble men of former days, and exj^loding systems 
 which had been cherished and admired from time 
 immemorial. M-jny eminent men, members of 
 
372 RESULTS OF 
 
 the churc-li of Kome, have assisted in this enter- 
 prise, and gained for themselves immortal fame ; 
 but, though unconcious, it may be, of their obli- 
 gations, they have been in fact indebted to the Re- 
 formation for the favorable circumstances under 
 \diich they have pursued their researches. Their 
 church has never encouraged them ; she has only 
 refrained from proscription and anathema, in de- 
 ference to the times. Even this appearance of 
 liberality is confined to those parts of Europe in 
 which Protestantism prevails, or is established. 
 In popish countries, the iron hand of spiritual 
 despotism, aided by the secular power, crushes 
 the rising genius, and snatches from the learner 
 every help to liis inquiries which has the least 
 protestant taint. There, too, the population at 
 large is left to grovel in ignorance. But it is the 
 glory of the Ifeforraation, tliat in this respect es- 
 pecially it is indentiiied with Christianity itself. 
 " To the poor the Gospel is preached." And not 
 only is it preached " publicly, and from house to 
 house ;" its saving truths are also communicated 
 to children, who are thus brought up ** in the nur- 
 ture and admonition of the Lord." Thousands 
 have had cause to bless God that the instructions 
 ihey have received in youth, and the pious im- 
 pressions produced, have proved their sure safe- 
 guard amidst the temptations of the world, and 
 their comfort under its trials. Nor is general in- 
 formation withheld. The works of God are stu- 
 
THK REFORMATION. 373 
 
 died, as well as his word. The fountain of know- 
 ledge, long sealed, is now open to all classes.* 
 
 Freedom is akin to knowledge, and lives and 
 dies with it. When the mind of man is fettered 
 or unenlightened, poHtical thraldom is commonly 
 nis fate. He does not understand his rights, and 
 would not know how to seek their attainment. It 
 is the policy of arbitrary governments to with- 
 hold their patronage from all measures which 
 are adapted to enlighten and expand the human 
 mind. Now, Popery is friendly to that arbitrary 
 power in the state, which it exercises in the 
 church ; and where its influence is unrestrained, 
 free institutions cannot prosper. This assertion 
 cannot be rebutted by an appeal to cases in which 
 ])opular liberty has been found in conjunction with 
 Romanism, because it is a well-known fact that in 
 uU such instances freedom has flourished in spite of 
 ])opery, not as the result of its influence, and has 
 commonly had to struggle hard for existence 
 against the machinations of the priesthood and 
 
 * It has been computed that about a thousand schools, attach- 
 ed to monasteries, were destroyed when those institutions were 
 eijpprcsscd in the reign of Henry VIII. But those labor under a 
 great delusion v/ho imagine that the instructions given in mo- 
 nastic schools were of a useful kind, or could be enjoyed by the 
 lower classes. They chiefly consisted of the elements of gram- 
 mar and church music. The schools wei-e rallier nurseiies fur 
 monks, than seminaries for education. Sound, serviceable know- 
 ledge was not communicated : the tutors could not give what 
 tlicy did not possess. 
 
374 RESULTS OP 
 
 of those who have acted under its dictation. 
 Where, at the present time, are the rights of 
 men most respected, and the benefits of constitu- 
 tional government most fully enjoyed ] Who 
 would prefer, in this respect, Austria or Italy 
 to Great Britain ? 
 
 Similar observations might be made in refer- 
 ence to general industry, trade, and commerce. 
 Travellers on the continent of Europe point out 
 the marked difference between popish and pro- 
 testant countries. The frequent occurrence of 
 saints' days, on which partial or entire abstinence 
 from labor is enjoined, is a very injurious inter- 
 ference with industry, producing neglect and idle- 
 ness, and tending to poverty. The habits of de- 
 pendence and subjection inculcated by the priests, 
 and sustained by periodical confession, are highly 
 imflivorable to the spirit of enterprise and the 
 efforts of inventive genius. There can be no long- 
 continued league between science and supersti- 
 tion. Again we appeal to history and fact. Where 
 has manufacturing ingenuity been carried to the 
 highest pitch, increasing the demand in propor- 
 tion to the cheapness of production, and furnish- 
 ing employment to tens of thousands by the effect 
 of that very machinery which substitutes mechan- 
 ism and steam for human labor. In what coun- 
 tries is trade in the most healthy state, the mid- 
 dle class of society the most numerous, and in 
 the most prosperous condition ? Whose ships are 
 
THE REFORMATION. 375 
 
 seen crossing the ocean in all directions, and 
 filling the harbors of the world, freighted with 
 the productions of every clime 1 Do they chiefly 
 belong to protestant or to popish owners 1 Are 
 the astonishing inventions and mercantile enter- 
 prises which distinguish the present age to be 
 traced to minds which confess the authority of 
 priestly rule, and fear to devise and act but under 
 ecclesiastic correction ; or to such as allow no 
 intermeddhng of the kind, and rejoice in the free 
 and unbiassed exercise of their powers 1- It is 
 true, as has been before observed, that Papists 
 share with Protestants the benefits of the world's 
 enlightenment ; but it is equally true, that by the 
 Reformation the mind of man was untrammelled 
 and prepared for high achievements. Protestants 
 have ever taken the lead in discovery and inven- 
 tion ; they have opened paths to wealth, honor, 
 and national aggrandizement, which other men 
 have been contented to walk in, though not always 
 ingenuous enough to acknowledge their obligations 
 to the first explorers. 
 
 These, however important and intimately con- 
 nected with the well-being of soc^iety, are minor 
 matters. The influence of the Reformation on 
 personal piety and the salvation of souls will be 
 regarded by the true christian with still deeper 
 interest. Granting that some few of the priests 
 experienced the power of godliness, and that 
 among them might be found, notwithstanding all 
 
3 76 RESULTS OF 
 
 their disadvantages, a remnant who " served God 
 in the spirit," it must be obvious to every impar- 
 tial person that Popery, as a system, cannot be 
 productive of intelligent and scriptural piety. 
 The state of society in Europe before the Refor- 
 mation fully justifies this remark. Men cannot 
 "gather grapes from thorns, nor figs from this- 
 tles." How delightful was the change witnessed, 
 when gospel truth was once more unveiled to hu- 
 man view, and men were " purged from dead 
 w^orks to serve the living Uod!" They were not 
 merely convinced of error, they were convinced 
 of sin. They saw the worthlessness and ruinous 
 tendency of those observances in which they had 
 been taught to trust, and " fled for refuge to lay 
 hold on the hope set before them." Receiving the 
 truth in the love of it, they " denied ungodliness 
 and worldly lusts, and lived soberly, righteously, 
 and godly in this present world." They pro- 
 claimed the great salvation, sought to deliver 
 their fellow-ci-eatures IVom refuges of lies, and 
 labored unweariedly, even to suflering, bonds, 
 and death, in the good cause. We know and 
 enjoy the bles^d results. Throughout Protest- 
 ant Europe worship is offered to God iu the 
 languages spoken by the people, and all men 
 may read in their own tongues of his wondrous 
 works and ways. Great numbers are Protestants 
 only in a political sense ; the profession of many 
 more is nothing better than a worldly profession ; 
 
THE REFORMATIOX. 377 
 
 all which, however, is equally true of ilomanista ; 
 yet there are thousands upon thousands whose 
 holy lives testify that they have been "washed, 
 and sanctified, and justified in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." The 
 fruits of their piety are manifest, and their influ- 
 ence is felt, directly or indirectly, in every part of 
 the world. 
 
 Who can contemplate the history of the last 
 fifty years without cherishing devout thankful- 
 ness to G-od for the grace whicli dwelt in Lu- 
 ther, Calvin, Tyndall, Cranmer, and their distin- 
 guished associates, producing effects which ulti- 
 mately issued in the glorious deeds of the nine- 
 teenth century ] Protestant translators have ren- 
 dered the word of God into the languages of the 
 heathen. Since the year 1804, fifteen millions 
 of copies of the sacred Scriptures, in whole or 
 in part, have been circulated, in upwards of one 
 hundred and fifty languages. In very many in- 
 stances the written word has been blessed to the 
 conversion of souls, even when the living voice 
 of the preacher has not been heard. Protest- 
 ant missionaries have circumnavigated the globe, 
 evangelized the "dark places of the earth," pene- 
 trated to the strong holds of idolatry, and planted 
 the standard of the cross where the " god of this 
 world" has maintained for ages his usurped do- 
 minion. Cheering success has attended their la- 
 bors. The once effeminate,- licentious Hindoo 
 
37S - RESULTS OF 
 
 walks liolily bcflire the Lord. The once barba 
 rous New Zealander sits at the feet of Jesus, 
 " clothed, and in his right mind." The islands of 
 the Pacific are studded with christian churches. 
 The negro rejoites in the liberty " wherewith 
 Christ has made him free." Hottentots and Es- 
 quimaux are enlightened, civilized, and sanctified. 
 Burmah, that land of blood, has received thb 
 truth ; many of its inhabitants have become chil- 
 dren of God by faith in Christ. Finally, the mes- 
 sage of mercy has been conveyed to the shores ol 
 China, nor has it been delivered in vain. Pro- 
 testant writers are continually preparing useful 
 works, adapted to explain and enforce scripture 
 truth, arouse the careless, instruct the inquiring, 
 and edify the believer. Tracts and books of this 
 character, which are sent forth annually, in vast 
 numbers, to every part of the world, have been 
 productive of incalculable good. By one society 
 only, (the Religious Tract Society in London,) 
 sixteen millions of publications have been issued 
 in one year, every one of which contained the 
 words of salvation. Protestant schools, both day- 
 schools and Sunday-schools, supply scriptural 
 knowledge and wholesome mental and moral dis- 
 cipline to untold myriads of children. Protestant 
 men and women of every class are diligently em- 
 ployed, as God gives them opportunity, in dis- 
 interested and zealous endeavors to ameliorate 
 the miseries of their fellow-creatures, and direct 
 
T}IE RLFORMATION. 379 
 
 them to flic only true source of peace and hap- 
 piness. Who can estimate the blessings bestowed 
 upon mankind by means of protestant effort since 
 the beginning of the present century ? Surely it 
 will be confessed that the Reformation was the 
 severest blow which Satan's kingdom received 
 since the times of the apostles. Of all the calami- 
 ties which could befall the world, the extinction 
 of the light of Protestantism would be unques- 
 tionably the greatest. Under God, the preserva- 
 tion of all that is valuable to us as a nation de- 
 pends on the maintenance and developement of 
 the principles of the Reformation. 
 
 It was not to be expected that a change so 
 great, and so ruinous to papal interests, would be 
 regarded with complacency by Romanists, or that 
 they would suffer it to take place without attempts 
 at prevention. Ever since the event, their utmost 
 energies have been put forth to create a counter 
 feeling, and in fact to represent it as a calamity 
 and a curse rather than a blessing. 
 
 Sometimes, in their indiscreet zeal, Romish 
 writers venture upon a denial of historical facts. 
 The thick darkness of the middle ages all at once 
 disappears, and the reader is introduced to an 
 imaginary scene of light and purity. Popes be- 
 come saints ; councils are apostolic gatherings of 
 holy men ; monks are paragons of perfection ; 
 while the people at large are wise, happy, and pi- 
 ous, and would have remained so, if the wicked 
 
3S0 RESULTS OP 
 
 Reformers had not interfered witli them, and de* 
 faced the loveliness of the prospect ! All this is 
 gravely asserted, and eagerly listened to by the 
 credulous. It only wants reality. Stem truth 
 dispels, the illusion. Notwithstanding all efforts 
 to prove the contrary, or to conceal unpalatable 
 narratives, it is unquestionably certain that the 
 statements commonly made by protestant writers, 
 respecting the ignorance, the superstition, and the 
 immorality of the periods during which Romish 
 tyranny existed in its full strength, are most fully 
 borne out by records, the credibility of which 
 cannot be impugned.* 
 
 * "Can it bo said," Mr. Butler asks, "that even in tJje limes 
 of the greatest darkness, the Roman pontiff's were not generally 
 distinguished by superior virtue and superior acquiremetita V' 
 Book of the Roman Catholic Church, p. 96. It will be admitted 
 that the tenth cenlurj' was the time "of the greatest darkness." 
 Baronius says, that " by reason of its asperity and barenness of 
 good it has been wont to be called the iron age, and by the de- 
 formity of its exuberant evil the leaden age, and by its poverty 
 of writers the dark age.^' Speaking of the character of the 
 popes of Rome in that centuiy the same author observes : — "What 
 was then the face of the holy Roman church ! Kow exceedingly 
 foul was it, when most powerful and sordid and abamloncd wo- 
 men ruled at Rome, at vv'hoso will the sees were changed, bi- 
 shops presented, and, v:haf. is horrid to hear, and ■unuitcrabley 
 ^ahe pontiffs, their lovers, were intruded info the chair of 
 Peter, who are only written in the catalogue of Roman Pon- 
 tiffs for the sake of marking the times ! Thus lust, 
 
 relying upon the secular power, and mad and stimulated with 
 
 tho rasre of dominion, claimed every thing for itself. 
 
 Clirist evidfMitly wm in a deep sleep in the ^liip." AVhatcver 
 
THE REFORMATIOX. oSl 
 
 The dissolution of monasteries lias been the 
 subject of many a mournful page. Controversial- 
 ists would fain persuade us that those build inos 
 were seats of learning, and abodes of piety and 
 virtue ; that they diffused peace and prosperity all 
 around them ; and that their destruction was an 
 irretrievable misfortune, an act of impious cruelty. 
 Even protestant wiiters have sometimes made si- 
 milar representations. It is easy to reply. As for 
 the learning of the monasteries, it consisted, with 
 few exceptions, of an acquaintance with the mi- 
 serable dialectics of the schools, and the silly le- 
 gends of supposed saints. Superstitious follies 
 were misnamed piety ; vicious propensities of the 
 grossest kind were indulged under the mask of 
 virtue. Instead of poverty and beggary result- 
 ing from the demolition of the monasteries, it is 
 a fact which cannot be contradicted, that before 
 the Reformation was known in England, exten- 
 sive districts were reduced to destitution by the 
 avaricious practices of lordly abbots, who turned 
 large quantities of arable land into pasture for 
 the profit of the wool, razed the habitations of 
 the poor, and even converted churches into sheep- 
 folds, for their gain. 
 
 From denial of facts our opponents proceed 
 to defamation of character. The Reformation, 
 
 might be the " acquirements " of tlio popes of that age, it is 
 evident that they were nut men of " superior virtue." 
 
382 RESULTS OF 
 
 say they, was brought about by immoral men , 
 therefore, it is not the work of God. This is 
 a common and stale calumny. The characters 
 of some of the royal and other personages who 
 protected or patronized the Reformation were 
 not so exemplary as could have been wished. It 
 is not attempted to deny it. Who would screen 
 such a man as Henry VII1 1 But these men 
 were not the "founders" of the Reformation.* 
 That title belongs only to Luther, Melancthon, 
 Zuingle, Cranmer, Knox, and their holy and no- 
 ble coadjutors in the blessed, work : that they 
 were immoral men has never yet been proved, 
 nor ever will be. They were men of God, called 
 by him to protest against an immoral system, and 
 honored as the instruments in his hands of restor- 
 ing the truth and worship of the new covenant. 
 
 Tendencies are next objected to. Some wri- 
 ters have labored hard to prove that Protestant- 
 ism is unfavorable to liberty ; that Popery is op- 
 posed to arbitrary power ; and that the doctrine 
 of the divine right of kings, and the sinfulness of 
 resisting them, is the ** distinguishing badge and 
 glory of the Reformation." A serious refutation 
 f)f propositions so palpably absurd, so entirely un- 
 founded in fact, is unnecessary. It is proper, how- 
 ever, to remark, that the Reformation was a reli- 
 
 * The "founders" nf Protestantism are described as "im- 
 moral and proud men." Tracts of the Catholic Institute, No. 10, 
 
1 
 
 THE REFORMATIOX. 383 
 
 gious, not a political change ; and that Protestant- 
 ism cannot be fairly made answerable for the 
 opinions or practices of its professors, otherwise 
 than as they can be proved to form part of its re- 
 ligious system, or to be its legitimate fruits. If 
 Protestants have ever pandered to tyrants, they 
 are justly censurable, but not as Protestants. 
 Their Protestantism had no necessary connection 
 with their politics. This is more than can be said 
 of Popery. The annals of the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries justify the observation. 
 
 Of all the calumnious statements ever put forth 
 against the Reformation, this exceeds the rest in 
 falsehood and malignity — that Protestantism was 
 the parent of the infidelity which led the way to 
 the French revolution. Honor and reverence for 
 the word of God, and its daily use, productive of 
 infidelity ! A lie so monstrous might be safely left 
 to its own refutation.* This, however, is a case 
 
 * " I do marvel greatly, dearly beloved in Christ, that ever any 
 man should repugn or speak against the Scripture to be had in 
 eveiy language, and that of every man. For I thought that no 
 man had been so blind to ask why light should be showed to them 
 fliat walk in darkness, where they cannot but stumble, and wjicro 
 to stumble is the danger of eternal damnation; other [either] so 
 despiteful that he would envy any man (I say not his bro- 
 ther) so necessary a thing ; or so Bedlam mad to affirm that 
 good is the natural cause of evil, and darkness to proceed out of 
 light, that lying should be gi-ounded in truth and verity ; and not 
 rather clean contraiy, that light deslroyeth darkness, and verity 
 reproveth all manner [of J lying." Tyndall's pathway into the 
 Holy Scripture. Works, p. 377. 
 
o84 RESULTS or 
 
 for just and indignant retort. No one acquainted 
 Avitli history requires to be informed that Popery, 
 not Protestantism, leads to infidelity. The pro- 
 cess is natural and easy. Men are educated in tlie 
 belief that Popery, as held and practised by its 
 adlierents, including all its mummeries, absurdi- 
 ties and idolatry, is Christianity in the only author- 
 ized and true form. But reason cannot be whol- 
 ly blinded. Tlie tyranny of the system repels 
 them ; its assumptions offend ; its fooleries excite 
 their ridicule ; its demands on their credulity 
 shock their understandings. First, they waver — 
 then they disbelieve. " If this is Christianity," 
 they argue, *' the sooner we reject it the better. 
 It is at once too childish and too tyrannical to claim 
 our resjDect." They become unbelievers, while 
 in innumerable instances they are compelled to 
 conceal their unbelief ; thus the guilt of hypocrisy 
 is added to it. Outwardly, they are good catho- 
 lics ; inwardly, they curse their fate, and stand 
 before God as deniers of his truth. Great num- 
 bers of the priests are engulphed in this awful 
 ruin. It has been aptly observed that " iiifuMlty 
 is Pope?'!/ run to seed.'' 
 
 Let us sum up all in a few words. The Re- 
 formation has given to the people the Scriptures 
 in their own languages: it restored christian 
 truth, purified christian worship, originated chris- 
 tian education, removed the veil from the minds 
 of men, and unloosed the fetters by which their 
 
THE RKFOIIMATION. oSo 
 
 consciences were bound. To the influence of this 
 glorious revolution may be traced tliose ustonisli- 
 ing improvements and noble enterprises, by wliicli 
 knowledge had been enlarged and generally dil- 
 fused, science newly created, useful inventions 
 multiplied, trade and commerce extended, benevo- 
 lent institutions of all kinds established, freedom 
 preserved, the rigors of criminal law mitigated, 
 barbarous nations civilized, true piety promoted 
 in an unprecedented degree in countries already 
 considered christian, and hundreds of thousands 
 of the heathen, in different parts of the world, sav- 
 ingly converted to God. The wilderness and the 
 solitary place have been glad; and the desert 
 has rejoiced, and blossomed as the rose : it has 
 blossomed abundantly, and rejoiced even with joy 
 and singing. Isa. 35 : 1, 2. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Exposure of Misrejv'csoUat'ions, 
 
 It would be an endless task to enumerate and 
 expose all the misrepresentations contained in the 
 works of popish writers. Their hatred of Protest- 
 antism is so fierce, that they seem to have cast off 
 
386 EXPOSURE or 
 
 all regard to truth and honor, and Lo deem them- 
 selves justified in propagating any calumny, how- 
 ever barefaced and malignant, by which the cha- 
 racter of the great ecclesiastical change wrought 
 in the sixteenth century may be damaged. If they 
 are to be believed the church of Rome is, and has 
 ever been, gentle and pure ; the protector of free- 
 dom ; the patroness of learning ; the friend of the 
 Bible ; the nurse of piety. On the other hand, the 
 Keformation is charged with every crime of which 
 fallen human nature is capable, and stigmatized 
 as the greatest calamity that could have befallen 
 mankind. Nothing is wanted (so Romanists affirm) 
 to restore harmony among the nations, correct pre- 
 vaiHng disorders, and renew the pristine innocence 
 of society, but the reinstatement of the Romish 
 church in its ancient privileges, power, and pre- 
 eminence. 
 
 In support of assertions such as these, history 
 has been enormously per\'erted or falsified. A 
 few instances may be adduced, with a view to put 
 Protestants on their guard against popish sophis- 
 try and slander. 
 
 1. Mr. Butler affirms that England owes her 
 Magna Charta to Popery. Whatever her obliga- 
 tions to that system may be, (certainly they are of 
 a peculiar kind !) a more unfortunate illustration 
 could not have been selected. Magna Charta the 
 gift of the Romish church ! Why, the existino^ 
 head of that church, pope Innocent III. annulled 
 
MISREPRKSEXTATIOXSI. 3S7 
 
 the grant by a stroke of his pen, as soon as its con- 
 tents were reported to him, and declared that the 
 barons, by whom it had been extorted from the 
 king, were instigated by the devil ! Book of the 
 Roman Catholic Church, p. 168 — Southey's Book 
 of the Church, p. 167. 
 
 2. The great John Wicliffe has been foully li- 
 belled by popish authors. He has been charged 
 with holding opinions incompatible with the peace 
 and good order, nay, the very existence of civil 
 society. " Few inflammatory writers," says one, 
 " have approached to the seditious excesses of 
 Wicliffe, where he teaches the people, that if they 
 can discover any mortal sin — that is to say, any 
 signal violation of sobriety, chastity, piety, meek- 
 ness, or humility — in their rector, bishop, magis- 
 trate, or sovereign, they are at liberty to disclaim 
 his authority, and depose him if it be in their 
 power ; or have, like him, instructed us, that we 
 are not obliged to pay our taxes or our tithes, or 
 to regard any laws or statutes, unless the justice 
 of them can be demonstrated from the Scriptures ; 
 or have proclaimed the sinfulness of the clergy 
 possessing any temporal property, and tumultu- 
 nusly called upon the people to assist in despoil- 
 ing them of it," 
 
 If sentiments so monstrous had been really held 
 by the reformer, no terms of reprobation would 
 have been sufficiently strong. His writings would 
 have been deservedly marked with the brand of 
 
3S8 rxposuRF. or 
 
 infamy. Happily, however, we are fully furnish- 
 ed with the means of repelling the base insinua- 
 tion. *' Were it needful," Dr. V'aughan observes, 
 •' it. would not be difficult to collect a volume of 
 extracts from his writings, to demonstrate that 
 no doctrine was ever embraced by him in the least 
 degree affecting the legal possession of property. 
 He knew that many things may be lawful, as done 
 by the Supreme Judge, which would be flagrant 
 injustice, as performed by man, except in obedi- 
 ence to a mandate from above ; and to illustrate 
 his meaning, ho appeals to the case of the Israelites 
 and the nations of Canaan. This distinction, how- 
 ever, which was never absent from the reformer's 
 mind, appears to have wholly escaped the discern- 
 ment of his accuser. It is true, the churchman 
 convicted of mortal sin he viewed as having forfeit- 
 ed his office. In every such case, the office so de- 
 graded, with its jurisdiction and revenue, he would 
 have transferred to other and more worthy hands ; 
 and this maxim it was which brought upon him 
 the reproach of favoring the disruption of the so- 
 cial system. To save themselves from the conse- 
 quences of thi:^ projected discipline, the clergy 
 employed every conceivable device to make it 
 appear that the opinions of their assailant were 
 revolutionary novelties, which must apply to civil 
 no less than to ecclesiastical offices, and prove as 
 perilous to the possessions of the laity as to those 
 of the church. 
 
MISRKPRESEXTATIOXS. liSO 
 
 ** It is in ihe following language that Wiciiffe 
 complains of tlie injury thus done to himself and 
 his followers. ' Prelates slander poor priests and 
 other christian men, saying, they will not obey 
 their sovereigns, nor fear the curse, nor keeji the 
 laws, but despise all things that are not to their 
 liking; and that they are therefore worse than 
 Jews or pagans ; and that all lords, and prelates, 
 and mighty men, should destroy them, or else they 
 will destroy holy church, and make each man to 
 live as him liketh,. and nothing may more destroy 
 Christendom.' In meeting these serious charges, 
 it is admitted that ' the fiend moveth some men 
 to say that christian men should not be servants 
 nor vassals to heathen lords, since they are false to 
 God, and less worthy than themselves. Neither 
 should they be such to christian lords, since they 
 are brethren in kind, and Jesus Christ bought 
 clivistian men on the cross, and made them free.' 
 In reply, however, it is observed that * the apos- 
 tles Peter and Paul have written against this her- 
 esy in God's law^' and their various lessons on obe- 
 dience to magistrates are so explained as to favor 
 a submission which, if faulty at all, is so from ex- 
 cess. Conscious of injury, it is with becoming 
 feeling he remarks, * Yet some men who are out 
 of charity, slander poor priests with this error, 
 namely, that servants or tenants may lawfully 
 withhold rents and services from their lords, when 
 lords are openly wicked in their living. And they 
 
300 Exposurir or 
 
 invent this treacherous lalseliood against poor 
 priests, to make lords to hate them ; and not to 
 maintain that truth of God, which they teach 
 openly for his honor, for the profit of the realm, for 
 the establishincr of the kinj^'s power and the de- 
 stroying of sin.' He afterwards exposes the so- 
 phistry by which the enemies of the poor priests 
 frequently succeeded in procuring a cun-ency of 
 this slander among the laity. ' The' feigned rea- 
 soning of the clerks of antichrist is this : — if sub- 
 jects may lawfully withhold tithes and offerings 
 from curates who live in open lechery, or in other 
 great sins, and do not the office, then servants and 
 tenants may lawfully withdraw their service and 
 rents from their lords, who live openly an accurs 
 ed life.' In answer to this it is stated, that * men 
 are charged of God, by St. Peter and St Paul, to 
 be thus subject to wichecl lords ; and therefore 
 Christ paid tribute, for himself and his apostles, to 
 the heathen emperors. Yet v/e read not that he, or 
 any apostle, paid tithes to the wicked high 2>ricstSy 
 after the time tliat he began to preach.' " Life of 
 AVicliffe, ii. 271-274. 
 
 3. The E,ev. J. Waterworth states that it is a 
 fact to which history bears testimony, " that there 
 was no restraint on the Scriptures before the Re- 
 formation." Historical Lectures on the Reforma- 
 tion, p. 145. 
 
 Were the fact as the writer alleges, it would 
 render little service to his cause, since it would 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS- 591 
 
 only prove that wliile the Scriptures existed only 
 in manuscript, and were therefore out of the reacli 
 of the people at large, they were not prohibited, 
 simply because, being used by so few persons, 
 the dangerous effects of their use attracted no no- 
 tice. When, by the efforts of the Reformers, the 
 word of God was restored to its just estimation, 
 it was soon extensively circulated, and then its in- 
 fluence was found so prejudicial to the Romish 
 cause, that restrictive enactments were forthwith 
 issued, and rigorously executed. 
 
 But the statement made by Mr. Waterworth 
 is wholly contrary to fact. The reading of the 
 Scriptures was discountenanced, and as far as 
 possible prevented, in all countries which ac- 
 knowledged the pope's authority. In the year 
 1229, at the council of Toulouse, over which a 
 })apal legate presided, it was expressly decreed 
 that the laity should not be allowed to possess 
 any portion of the Scriptures. They might, if 
 they greatly v/ished it, " have the Psalter, or the 
 Breviary for the divine offices, or the Hours of 
 the Blessed Virgin :" but even these might not be 
 had in the vulgar tongue. And in 1514, when ar- 
 ticles of accusation were exhibited against Rich- 
 ard Hunne, by order of Fitzjames, then bishop of 
 London, in order to blacken him as a heretic, and 
 thereby stifle an inquiry into the mode of his 
 death, (he was cruelly murdered in prison^) the 
 last article was, that in the prologue to his Bible 
 
392 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 *' he defended the translation of the Bible and the 
 Holy Scripture into the English tongue, ivhich is 
 'prohihitc.d hy the laws nf our most holy church^ 
 Concilia, (Labbe and Cossart,) xxiii. 197. Foxe'a 
 Acts and Monuments, ii. 13-25. 
 
 4. The same writer affirms, that no prohibition 
 of reading the Scriptures *' was heard of in Eng- 
 land until the Reformation." 
 
 Either Mr. Waterworth is ignorant of the his- 
 tory of his own country, or he calculates on the 
 ignorance of others. If the first supposition be 
 correct, he should have refrained from obtruding 
 himself on the public as an author; if the second, 
 the nefariousness of his endeavor cannot bo too 
 indignantly exposed. 
 
 In the year 1408 a convocation of the clergy 
 of the diocese of Canterbury was held at Oxford, 
 under the presidency of archbishop Arundel, by 
 which it was enacted and ordained, ** that no one 
 hereafter do by his own authority translate any 
 text of Holy Scripture into English, or any other 
 tongue, by way of book, libel, or treatise ; and 
 that no one read any such book, libel, or treatise, 
 now lately set forth in the time of John Wiclifte, 
 or since, or hereafter to be composed, in public 
 or in private, in whole or in part, under pain of 
 the greater excommunication, until the said trans- 
 lation be approved by the diocesan of the place, 
 or, if occasion require, by a provincial council." 
 Concil. (Labbe and Cossart,) xxvi. 1038. 
 
MISllEPllESEXTATIOXS. 393 
 
 Seven years after a law was passed (no doubt 
 under the intiuencc of the same prelate) which h 
 thus adverted to in the language of the times : — 
 "In the said parliament," (held at Leicester,) 
 " the king made this blasphemous and most cruel 
 act to be a law for ever : — That whosoever they 
 were that should read the Scriptures in the mo- 
 ther tongue, (which was then called Wicliffe's 
 learning,) they should forfeit land, cattle, body, 
 life, and goods, from their heirs for ever, and 
 be condemned for heretics to God, enemies to the 
 crown, and most arrant traitors to the land. Be- 
 sides this, it was enacted that never a sanctuary 
 nor privileged ground within the realm should 
 hold them, though they were still permitted to 
 thieves and murderers. And if in case they 
 would not give over, or were after their pardon 
 relapsed, they should suffer death in two manner 
 of kinds ; that is, they should first be hanged for 
 treason against the king, and then be burned for 
 heresy against God, and yet neither of both com- 
 mitted." 
 
 liunne's case has been already mentioned. 
 Longland, bishop of Lincoln, prosecuted many 
 persons in the year ]521 for possessing and read- 
 ing the Scriptures in English. Townley's Illus- 
 trations of Biblical Literature, ii. 70-81, 238-242. 
 
 Every one acquainted with the ecclesiastical 
 history of England well knows that for a hun- 
 dred and fifty years before the Reformation the 
 
39i EXPOSURE OF 
 
 Lollards were mercilessly persecuted, and that 
 among the crimes laid to their charge, the read- 
 ing of the Scriptures is continually alleged. It 
 was regarded as a crime, a great crime, and was 
 punished as such. To deny the fact is worse than 
 useless. The audacity of such attempts to impose 
 on the ignorance or forgetfulness of the public, 
 can only be equalled by the folly of the expecta- 
 tion that the guilt would be undetected. 
 
 5. It is not often that we detect such an amount 
 of misrepresentation in a few lines, as is found in 
 the following paragraph. " At the Reformation 
 
 . . . , education was discouraged in every 
 possible manner — was allowed only to the rich, 
 and positively forbidden to the poor, as a most 
 dangerous and pernicious article." 
 
 An uninformed reader would suppose, if these 
 statements are correct, that education was more 
 general before the Reformation than after it. 
 Such a supposition, however, is entirely contraiy 
 to fact. That great numbers of persons resorted 
 to the principal universities of Europe during the 
 latter part of the middle ages, is admitted. But 
 the mass of the people were still immersed in 
 gross ignorance. Vernacular literature scarcely 
 existed, learning being confined to the Latin lan- 
 guage, with which the poorer classes were neces- 
 Barily unacquainted. Besides this, the quality of 
 the learning acquired is much more to bo consi- 
 dered than the number of scholars. The studtjnts 
 
MISREPRESENTATIOXg. 395 
 
 of the times now referred to, wasted their ener- 
 gies in busy and profitless trifling, rather than in 
 gaining useful knowledge. 
 
 That at the Reformation the benefits of educa- 
 tion were " allowed only to the rich, and posi- 
 tively forbidden to the poor," is a base, unfound- 
 ed calumny. It is indeed true, that Henry VIII. 
 in the latter part of his life, v/hen he was more 
 under the influence of the Romish priesthood, at 
 the instigation of Gardiner and others, discou- 
 raged the reading of the Scriptures, and re-esta- 
 blished some of the most obnoxious tenets of Po- 
 pery ; but the acts of an individual are not to be 
 charged upon the system he has adopted, unless 
 they can be proved to be its natural fruits ; and in 
 this instance it is evident that the contrary infe- 
 rence to that drawn by our opponents is the just 
 one. The English monarch was liberal as long as 
 he listened to the Reformers : as soon as popish 
 principles regained their sway, he relapsed into the 
 bigotry of the system. Let popery bear the blame. 
 
 If in some instances education suffered a tem- 
 porary check, it was not owing to any adverse 
 interference employed by the Reformers, for both 
 their interest and their inclination led them to en- 
 courage learning, but to the disturbed state of 
 society resulting from the opposition to the new 
 movement, or to other causes over which tbey 
 bad no control, among which the spoliation of 
 the monasteries may be mentioned, the revenues 
 
396 Exposufii: op 
 
 of which should have been appropriated to ec- 
 clesiastical and educational purposes, as in Swit- 
 zerland and other parts of Europe. As soon as 
 they could obtain sufficient influence, they ex- 
 erted themselves in favor of popular instnictiou. 
 Their own works, commonly written in the vul- 
 gar tongue, contributed to the promotion of this 
 object, by exciting a more general desire for the 
 attainment of the art of reading. Their cause, 
 too, rested on j^ublic opinion, v/hich they were 
 anxious to secure by the enlightenment of the 
 public mind. Popery produced a blind devo- 
 tion, by withdrawing the means of information 
 from the people. Protestantism sought to con- 
 nect faith with knowledge. Before the Refor- 
 mation learning^ was reoarded as hostile to re- 
 ligion, and therefore discountenanced by the bulk 
 of ecclesiastics ; since that event, it has been 
 esteemed, at least by Protestants, as the hand- 
 maid of piety, and deserving universal encou- 
 ragement. 
 
 G. That Luther engaged in the controversy 
 about indulgences, under the influence of inte- 
 rested motives ; because the publication and sale 
 of those indulgences were intrusted to the Domi- 
 nicans rather than to his own order, (the Angus- 
 tinians,) which had till then, as has been affirmed, 
 enjoyed the privilege, is a stale calumny, and haa 
 been often exposed. An impartial writer would 
 not have revived it. But Dr. Lingard has the hardi- 
 
Ml^UtPKLSENTATION!!!. 397 
 
 hood to assert, in the teeth of the clearest evidence 
 to the contrary, tiiat Lutlier was only the " agent" 
 of Stanpitz, vicar-general of the Augustinians, and 
 rliat he " eagerly undertook the task assigned to 
 l»im by the zeal or tlie envy of his superior." His- 
 tory of England, vi. 91. 
 
 The true liistory of the trnnsaction has been al 
 ready given. It lias been clearly shown, that Lit- 
 ther's opposition to indulgences was excited by 
 their interference with his duties as confessor, and 
 tlie discipline v^hich he held himself bound to 
 maintain. Neither is it true that the Augustinians 
 considered themselves ill used by the appointment 
 of the Dominicans, So far* from being deprived of 
 ;\n honor which they had long enjoyed, it had never 
 yet been conferred upon them. In the present in- 
 Ktancc, the Dominicans were not selected for tlie 
 purpose, as a more favored order, the offer hav- 
 ing been first made to the Franciscans, who de- 
 clined it. 
 
 7. Romanists have expatiated with great cou)- 
 placency on l^uther's siipposed account of his con- 
 ierence with the devil, during which, it is said, 
 Satan suggested to the reformer the chief argii- 
 ments against the mass. ** See," say they, *' the 
 devil prompts the opposition to the mass ! Th« 
 Reformation is the work of the devil !" 
 
 It is proper to set this matter in a clear light. 
 
 '* As so(m as Luther had convinced himself thnt 
 the sacrifice of the Lord's supper was unscriptu- 
 
 ul 
 
398 EXPOSURE OP 
 
 ral, and therefore impious, he began to reflect 
 with tenor on the consequences which seemed to 
 threaten iiimself. He had been continually engag- 
 ed since tne hour of his ordination, a space of fif- 
 teen years, in perpetrating that impiety, and in 
 leadins: oth-^rs into the same abomination. Could 
 he hope foi- mercy at the hands of his Judge ] 
 Was his ignjrance a suflicient excuse for his sin 1 
 Could he now make any atonement for it I Or 
 must he regard himself as already lying under 
 irrevocable condemnation ] 
 
 *' His soul was vehement and his belief earnest. 
 The melancholy tendencies of his temper were 
 increased by ill health, by solitude, by the gloom 
 of surrounding objects. Hence those fierce agita-- 
 tions of soul, those convulsions of the entire spiri- 
 tual man, which in the eye of reason and philoso- 
 phy are indeed extravagant and absurd ; but wliich 
 may nevertheless be the extravagance of noble 
 qualities, and allied to the purest motives that 
 can influence human actions. Under such circum- 
 stances of internal disorder and irresolution the 
 tempter presented himself tj the heart rather than 
 to the eye of Luther; and, in the design of urging 
 him to utter despair, suggested to him five argu- 
 ments. These arc distinctly stated by the writer ; 
 and their object was, to prove to him that the oflice 
 of the sacrifice, in which he had been so long and 
 8o devoutly engaged, was in irreconcilable oppo- 
 sition to the institution of Christ, The temptation 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. 399 
 
 was one of terror : if his new opinion were true, 
 to what penalties might he not be liable for the 
 impieties perpetrated during his error ! And thus 
 a wish that it might not be true, a partiality for his 
 original belief might be roused in opposition to his 
 reason, through a sense of everlasting peril." Wad- 
 dington's Hist. Ref. i. 398-400. 
 
 It is to be observed — First, That Luther's con- 
 viction of the impiety of the mass was not pro- 
 duced by this supposed conference with the devil, 
 but already existed. Secondl}', That he does not 
 say " the devil appeared to him," but describes an 
 internal conflict — " Satan commenced a disputa- 
 tion within mij hearth Thirdly, That the tempter 
 is not represented as endeavoring to persuade him 
 into a belief that the mass was idolatrous, but ra- 
 ther as laboring to drive him to despair for having 
 ])ersevered so long in the performance of an im- 
 pious service. *' You know that for fifteen years 
 together you celebrated private masses ; what then 
 if such masses were a horrible idolatry % You have 
 had no knowledge of God, nor true faith. You 
 have been no better than a Turk." " Convicted 
 by the law of God," Luther says, '* I confess be- 
 fore my adversary that I had sinned, and was con- 
 demned, like Juda5>; but I turn me to Christ, like 
 Peter; I regard his infinite merit and mercy; and 
 immediately he abrogates all my dreadful condem- 
 nation." 
 
 We do not wonder that Seckendorf, Luther's 
 
400 ^ r,xpo.<<rKi; or 
 
 bloo^rnpher, slionLl indii^naiitly exclaim, *' Tney 
 M'ho alHrm that Jjiither acknowledged himself to 
 have been convinced by the devil that the ma^s 
 was no sacrifice, j^re guilty of a palpable and 
 gross falsehood." Scott's Continnation of Milner, 
 i. '>i9. 
 
 8. Speaking of the decree of llie Diet of Spires, 
 A. D. i-3'39, and of the memorable protest against 
 it, whence originated tho designation " Protect- 
 ant," Dr. Lingard says, " This instrument displays 
 in strong colors the intolerance of the first Re- 
 formers. The decree, among other things, forbade 
 any person, layman or ecclesiastic, to employ vio- 
 lence or constraint in matters of religion, to abo- 
 ■^lish the mass by force, or t-o prohibit, command, 
 or compel any one to assist at it. They replied, 
 that they could not consent to this article ; that 
 conscience forced them to abolish the mass ; nor 
 would ihey permit any of their subjects to be pre- 
 sent at it." History of England, vi. 270. 
 
 An unpractised reader would necessarily como 
 to the conclusion that the Edict of vSpircs was to- 
 lerant, and the protest intolerant : or, in other 
 words, that the Papists who enacted it were in fa- 
 vor of liberty of conscience ; and the Protestants, 
 who resisted it, opposed to that liberty. Exactly 
 the contrary is the fact. The Edict expressly pro- 
 hibits all further changes in matters of religion till 
 the assembly of a general council, enjoining obe- 
 dience meanwhile to the persecuting Edict of 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. 401 
 
 Worms ; it permits, indeed, the cbtitinuance of 
 Protestant worship in those places from which it 
 could not be expelled without occasioning great 
 tumults and disorders, that is, very sagely advises 
 the Papists to he quiet when their opponents were 
 the strongest party; but at the same time it re- 
 (juires that every one should have the opportunity 
 of attending mass, and that provision should be 
 made for that purpose. Instead of being a liberal 
 decree, it was essentially anti-reforming, and was 
 no doubt designed to prevent the further progress 
 of Protestantism. So the protesting princes and 
 Rtates understood it. They were to be prevented 
 from following the light which had begun to shine 
 upon their path ; and whereas the idolatry of the 
 mass had been for just causes abolished in their 
 several dominions, and the scriptural mode of cele- 
 brating the Lord's supper substituted for it, they 
 could not conscientiously employ their power in 
 restoring that which they held to be contrai'y to 
 the word of God. 
 
 It is not necessary to defend every position taken 
 by the Reformers of the sixteenth century, nor to 
 approve all their maxims. If they were intolerant 
 to those v/ho differed from them, Rome had taught 
 them the lesson. But let them be fairly represent- 
 ed. To sa}^ of a papistical, persecuting edict, that 
 it " forbade to employ violence or constraint in 
 matters of religion," and o/i that account was op- 
 posed and protested against by the heads of the 
 
402 rxrosujJK of 
 
 reform raovomei)t, is little better tliaTi tellini^ a lie 
 for the cause, or " doing evil that good may come." 
 The Edict of Spires is given at length by Le Plat, 
 ii, 301-321. 
 
 9. Dr. Wiseman mentions several Italian ver- 
 sions of the Scriptures, executed during the fif- 
 teenth and sixteenth centuries, and among them 
 that of Bruccioli, published A. D. 1532. He says, 
 " Every one of these came out, not only with tli« 
 approbation of the ordinaiy authorities, but with 
 that of the inquisition, which approved of their 
 being published, distributed, and promulgated." 
 Lectures, i. '>3, But he does not add, tliat \vhen 
 tlie index of prohibited books was published by 
 the authority of the Council of Trent, A. D. 15G4, 
 Bruccioli was placed among heretics of the first 
 class, none of whose works, of any khid whatso- 
 ever, are allowed to bo possessed or read ! To say 
 nothing of the other prohibitions of the Bible in 
 the vernacular tongues. 
 
 10, We are not desirous of becoming apologists 
 for Ilcnrj' VHI. Yet the fierceness witli whi<'}i 
 he has been assailed by the adherents of the papa- 
 cy is sufficient proof that something more than a 
 regard to truth has induced them to speak so bit- 
 terly of him and his proceedings. In fact, he is not 
 forgiven f(3r dismembering England from Rome, 
 and depriving covetous priests of the rich prizes 
 with which this country had for so many ages sup- 
 plied them. It is on that account that the mention 
 
MISRKI»Ki:SEiNTVTIO\S. 40*J 
 
 of his name becomes tlie signal for tlie pouring 
 fijrtli of the bitterest venom. True or false, it mat- 
 ters not ; it is always right in the eyes of Romish 
 authors to blast the reputation of this monarch. 
 
 In this spirit Dr. Lingard has retailed the old 
 slander that Henry seduced Mary, Anne Boleyn'« 
 sister, in the early part of his reign. He must 
 have known that the only authority for this state- 
 ment is the unsupported assertion of Pole, in his 
 treasonable book Dc XJ/tilatc. When ho adds, in 
 another place, that Henry cohabited with Anne 
 three years beforovhe married her,* he produces 
 no proof, nor has he any to produce. It is alto- 
 jrether his own unwarrantable surmise ; a gratui- 
 tous calumny; an unmanly attack; such an at- 
 tack as none but a popish priest would venture to 
 make. It has been justly remarked, that *' we are 
 often tempted to censure ^vhen we ought to be 
 forbearing ; though the more we ourselves become 
 v.'liat we ought to be, we are less acute and less 
 gratified in marking or mentioning the failings of 
 others. But there are so many characters whose 
 flagrant delinquencies compel the writer to exhibit 
 them like moral anatomies, to deter unprincipled 
 selfishness from a pernicious imitation, that every 
 right fgcling calls upon us not to criminate iu other 
 cases without certainty, or to suspect where the 
 
 * Ili?toi7 of F'nnlaiid, vi. 110 ami 188. Sec also Sharon Tur- 
 ner's Historv of the Reisn of Henry "S'lII. ii. 430-432. 
 
404 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 suspicion has neither evidence nor necessity." 
 History of Henry VHI. ii. 199-206. 
 
 11. or all the murders committed under the 
 pretence of religion, that of Anne Askew who 
 suffered July 16, 1546, was one of the most atro- 
 cious. Yet Dr. Lingard is not ashamed to pen 
 insinuations intended to destroy the character of 
 that martyr ; and, by impeaching her integrity, to 
 lessen the abhorrence with which her sufferings 
 must be regarded by all persons of humanity and 
 right christian feeling. History, p. 352. 
 
 He says that she '* had abandoned her husband to 
 exercise the office of an apostle, under her maiden 
 name of Askew." The reader will judge how far 
 this historian's statements are worthy of credit, 
 when he is informed that Kyme, Anne Askew's 
 husband, was a worthless man and a bigoted Papist. 
 He persecuted her for her religion, and when ho 
 found that he could not injluce her to return to 
 Popery, turned her out of doors. 
 
 Anne Askew's examinations are related by her- 
 self. She expressly states, that when she was in the 
 Tower, the lord chancellor Wriothesley, and Rich, 
 a member of the council, " took pains to rack her 
 with their own hands till she was nigh dead ;" 
 and Foxe adds some particulars further explain- 
 ing and confirming the narrative. The Romanist 
 historian says : " To me neither story appears 
 worthy of credit. For (1.) Torture was contrary 
 to law, and therefore was never inflicted without 
 
MISRl'.PRESENTATIOXS!. 40o 
 
 a. written orjer subscribecl by the lords of tlie 
 council. (2.) The person who attended on such oc- 
 casions U) receive the confession of the sufferer, 
 was always some inferior ofKcer appointed by the 
 council, and not the lord chancellor or other mem- 
 bers of that body. (3.) There is no instance of a fe- 
 male being stretched on a rack, or being subjected 
 to any of those inflictions which como under tht» 
 denomination of torture." 
 
 This attempt to throw discredit on a plain testi- 
 mony is utterly unworthy of a writer of Dr. Lin- 
 gard's reputation. The martyr either uttered 
 truth or a lie. What induccmeut cf>uld she Ijave 
 to invent a tale which, if it were not true, would 
 be exposed as soon as it was published ? And 
 why was it n(jt contradicted at tlie time ? Bale's 
 account of Anne Askcw's martyrdom, including 
 her own narrative, was published in less than 
 three years after the event, and some time before 
 AVriothesley's death, which occurred in loGO ; so 
 tliat he had ample opportunity to contradict it, 
 had he been able to do so. But he was not able.* 
 
 " That she was racked," bisliop Burnet writes, 
 ** is very certain ; for I tind it in an original jour- 
 nal of the transactions of the Tower, written by 
 
 ■* Fullor say<, " ^^llethel•it was noble in tlieso lords, or legal itj 
 these lawyer?, or ron>cientiiji]s in these cliaiicellors;," (Rich av»s 
 made chancellor alter Wriothe.--ley'3 death,) " to ruck one alrea- 
 dy condemned to death, belonijeth to others to determine." 
 Church Historv, v. 24x1. 
 
406 EXPOSURE OF ^ 
 
 Anthony Anthony." History of the Reformation, 
 i. 619. That the lord chancellor and Rich inflict- 
 ed the torture with their own hands, is positively 
 asserted by the sufferer herself; nor is there any 
 just ground for doubting her veracity. 
 
 The reasons assisrned bv Dr. Ling-ard for de- 
 murring to the truth of the account may be very 
 Boon and easily disposed of. 
 
 (1.) Though torture was not according to law, 
 it is a matter of fact that it was not unfrequently 
 inflicted. That Campion and other Romish priests 
 were racked, with a view to extort confessions, 
 cannot be questioned. Dr. Lingard would not 
 have us doubt it. 
 
 (2.) The peculiar circumstances of the case 
 satisfactorily account for the presence of the par- 
 ties on this occasion. They were both members 
 of the council ; and, being nrmly attached to Po- 
 pery, were just then busily engaged in endeavor- 
 ing to criminate the queen, Katherine Parr, and 
 compass her ruin, as a favorer of heretics. Anne 
 Askew had received kindness from her, and was 
 besides known to be on terms of intimacy with 
 many of the ladies of the court. If they could 
 force from her any communications which might 
 be used with effect against the queen, their object 
 \vould be materially furthered. It was too deli- 
 cate an affair to be intrusted to inferior officers. 
 The chancellor and his creatures were, therefore, 
 not unwillinij to become the instruments of the 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. 407 
 
 fiendish barbarity. The fullest account of this 
 transaction is in Foxe's Acts and Monuments, ii. 
 48S. Ed. 1684. 
 
 (3.) Dr. Lingard's historical recollections have 
 failed him. He might have supposed that those 
 ; who could burn women, would not shrink from 
 'racking them. But there are other modes of tor- 
 , ture besides the rack, and which have been equally 
 inflicted for the purpose of wringing confessions 
 from the miserable objects of cruelty. A refusal 
 to plead to an indictment, formerly subjected the 
 accused person to the horrible punishment of pres- 
 sure by heavy weights, which was certain and 
 speedy death, unless the refusal was recalled. A 
 lady of the Romish persuasion, named Clithero, 
 was punished in this way in the time of queen 
 Elizabeth. Challoner's Memoirs of Missionary 
 Priests, p. 9-3. But even if there had been no 
 instance of a female being "subjected to any of 
 those inflictions which come under the denomina- 
 tion of torture," except that of Anne Askew, her 
 narrative would not be invalidated thereby. Let 
 it be granted that no similar barbarity is recorded 
 in our annals : that it is a solitary case, without 
 precedent, and without imitation. Then the brutal 
 beings wlio perpetrated the outrage stand alone. 
 They have attained an eminence which no other 
 persecutor, at least in England, has reached. 
 And the system which hardened their hearts and 
 strengthened their hands for the villany, has been 
 
408 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 aptly cliavtictcrized as the "masterpiece" of him 
 who is characterized in Scripture as *' a murderer 
 from tiie beginning-." 
 
 12. Dr. Lingard states, lliat in the early pait 
 nf Mary's 7*ei,fTn, Elizabeth, atrerwards queen, \vaf< 
 converted to Popery "in tlie short course of a 
 week;" and that, to prove her sincerity, she 
 "opened a chapel in her own lioiise, and wrote to 
 the emperor for leave to purchase, in Flanders, a 
 chalice, cross, and the ornaments usually employ- 
 ed in the celel)ration of thc^ Catholic worship/' 
 History, vii. 13/5. 
 
 That Ehzabeth outwardly conformed to popisli 
 rites, is undeniable ; but it is equally certain that 
 her conformity was the result of compulsion. She 
 yielded to save her life. A sister's hand woulil 
 have been imbrued in her blood, had she continu- 
 ed to refuse compliance ! She attended mass with 
 t)ie utmost reluctance, and went as seldom as pos- 
 Kible. As to the assertion that she "opened a 
 cliapel in her own house," thei'e docs not appear 
 to be a particle of truth in it. She had already 
 lier private chapel, into ^Nhlch she unwillingly 
 introduced the heathenish ceremonies of Rome. 
 There is no reason to believe that she opened a 
 chapel for the purpose. Sharon Turner's Moderii 
 History of England, iii. 41o-41S. 
 
 13. The inhuman execution of three women in 
 (ruernsey, in July, lo5G, has been always advert- 
 ed to in terms of indignant reprobation, as far ev 
 
MISREPRESENTATIOXS. 400 
 
 ceeding in diabolical cruelty the ordinary mani- 
 festations of Romish vengeance against heresy. 
 Foxe's narrative being impugned by the Jesuit 
 Harding, the martyrologist re-examined the whole 
 case, adduced corroborative evidence, and pub- 
 lished the legal documents. Notwithstanding this, 
 Jiovvever, Dr. Lingard has the hardihood to avow 
 his disbelief; and, as usual, seasons his denial 
 with calumny. " I have no doubt," he says, *' that 
 the vromen were hanged as thieves, and after- 
 wards burned as heretics ; that no one knew of 
 the pregnancy of one of them, a woman of loose 
 character, and that the child was found dead in 
 the flames after the body of the mother had fallen 
 from the gibbet. The rest we owe to the imagi- 
 nation of the martyrologist, or of his informer." 
 History, vii. 376. 
 
 Such readers of the doctor's history as are un- 
 acquainted with other sources of information, or 
 place implicit confidence in his integrity, will 
 necessaiily retain a very unfavorable impression 
 respecting the character of these much-injured 
 females ; and, in fact, of protestant martyrs gene- 
 rally. But what, after all, is the true statement ] 
 That Katlierine Kawches, and Guillemine and 
 Perotine, her daughters, having been charged 
 ^\•ith a trifling felony, were acquitted of the charge, 
 but remanded to prison on an accusation of he- 
 resy ; that they were examined by Amy, dean of 
 the island, assisted by his curates, pronounced 
 
410 EXPOSURE or 
 
 heretics, and delivered to the secular power ; that 
 they were sentenced to be strangled, and then 
 burned ; that the rope breaking, they were cast alive 
 into the fire, where Perotine was delivered of a 
 male child, which fell out of the burning pile, and 
 was thrown back into it by one of the attending 
 officers ; and that Perotine, instead of being " a 
 woman of loose character," as Dr. Lingard most 
 maliciously and groundlessly affirms, was the wife 
 of David Jous, a christian minister, to whom 
 she had been married in the reign of Edward 
 VI. Six years afterwards, ISIatthevv Kawches, 
 brother of the slandered woman, memorialized 
 queen Elizabeth on the subject, and prayed for 
 an investigation of the affiiir. Inquiry being insti- 
 tuted, it was ascertained that the whole process 
 was illegal ; the dean was imprisoned and depriv- 
 ed, and the civil authorities by whom the sentence 
 had been executed, sued out a pardon in the 
 queen's court. Still Dr. Lingard disbelieves! and 
 not content with disbelieving, he misrepresents 
 and calumniates 1 This, and the case of Anne 
 Askew, are full and fair specimens of the misre- 
 presentations as to protestant martyrs by modern 
 and ancient popish historians. 
 
 14. The name of the duke of Alva is connected 
 %vitb bloodthirsty vengeance and cruelty of the 
 most appalling character. The wretch boasted, 
 that during the war in the Low Countries he had 
 delivered 18,000 persons to the executioner, be- 
 
MISREPRESENTATION'S. 41] 
 
 sides tliose who had perished in the field of battle. 
 Wherever he went, terror marched before him, 
 and desolation followed his steps. But he was a 
 jj^ood Papist, and the victims of his barbarity were 
 godless heretics. This redeems him from censure. 
 Dr. Lingard can sketch the histoiy of the revolu- 
 tion in the Low Countries without once advertinsr 
 to the abominations which have consiorned their 
 author to infamy; and Dr. Milner, while he affects 
 to condemn and execrate ** the sanguinary ven- 
 geance of the Spanish governor," seeks to extenu- 
 ate his guilt by referring to the " provocations " lie 
 had received from the *' seditious" Protestants ; la- 
 bors to make it appear that his violences were re- 
 jnisaLs for deeds of a similar kind; and quotes a 
 ** celebrated biographer," who says that Vander- 
 inerk, one of the generals in the service of the 
 prince of Orange, " slaughtered more unoffending 
 Catholic priests and peasants in the year 1572, 
 than Alva executed Protestants during his whole 
 government." The intent of this falsehood is to 
 persuade us that Alva was a slandered man, and that 
 Protestantism is more barbarous than Popery. 
 
 These are positions too monstrous to require 
 exposure and refutation. No well-informed ])er- 
 son has any doubt on the subject, nor would it 
 have been introduced in this place but for the per- 
 tinacity with which such statements are still 
 brought before the public. Let it be understood, 
 then, that the insurrection in the Low Countrit;s, 
 
412 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 which were at that time in the possession of Spain, 
 was caused by the tyranny and extortion of the 
 government, by which the unhappy people had 
 been for years most grievously oppressed. They 
 did not resist till they were stung to madness by 
 their wrongs. The rising was not an exclusively 
 protestant movement, though the deliverance of 
 the Protestants from persecution was one of its 
 objects. All classes and persuasions united in re- 
 solving to shake off the Spanish yoke, and after 
 many a hard struggle succeeded in the attempt. It 
 is not to be denied that on some occasions the 
 victorious soldiery copied the example of their 
 popish predecessors, and massacred unoffending 
 persons. But that such actions were approved by 
 the leaders of the enterprise is notoriously false. 
 As soon as the prince of Orange was informed of 
 the excesses of Vandcrmerk, he ordered him to 
 be dismissed from the service, nor could he ever 
 appear again in the country which he had pollut- 
 ed with his deeds. His agent, a man who seems 
 to have taken pleasure in works of blood, was de- 
 livered up to the vengeance of the law, and pub- 
 licly executed. 
 
 Brandt has some sensible remarks on this sub- 
 ject. He says : " Four things are to be observed. 
 (1.) The Protestants were not the aggressors. It 
 is certain that the Catholics began by treating the 
 reformed in a most barbarous manner : they hung 
 liiem, beheaded them, drowned them, buried them 
 
MISREPRESENTATIOXS. 413 
 
 alive, burned them. (2.) For one Catholic put to 
 death by Protestants, hundreds, or rather thou- 
 sands of Protestants were slain by Catholics. (3.) 
 The cruelties exercised among the Protestants 
 resulted fi*om the brutality and fury of the sol- 
 diers ; the magistrates and divines had nothing to 
 do with them. Not so with the cruelties of the 
 Catholics : the magistrates and the clergy were 
 the authors of those cruelties. (4.) The protest- 
 ant magistrates, so far from approving the vio- 
 lence of the soldiers, did all they could to repress 
 it, and even punished with death several persons, 
 simply for having killed Catholics." To this it may 
 be added, that persecution is the cherished child 
 of Popery ; but whenever Protestants have avail- 
 ed themselves of the dark alliance, it has been in 
 opposition to their avowed principles. Whether 
 adopted by Papists or Protestants, it is an im- 
 pious thing — the first-born of hell. See Histoire 
 Abregce de la Reformation des Pais-Bas, i. 2]1. 
 15. Romanists are justly charged with intoler- 
 ance, in treating all persons as heretics who differ 
 from themselves, and invoking the aid of the civil 
 power, whenever practicable, to put down alleged 
 heresy. But " we know of no such doctrine," ob- 
 serves a writer in the Dublin Review : " we re- 
 pudiate it as a calumny of the most malignant de- 
 scription." Dr. Kelly, then titular archbishop of 
 Armagh, gravely asserted before a committee of 
 the House of Commons, that " in order to con- 
 
414 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 stitute a heretic, contumacy in error concerning 
 matters of faith is necessary. By contumacy," he 
 added, *' I mean a refusal on the part of an indi- 
 vidual to embrace doctrines necessary to salvation, 
 after having had a sufficient opportunity of being 
 convinced of their truth." And *' how are we to 
 know," it is asked, " who is, or who is not, contu- 
 macious 1 Who of us has the power to dive into 
 tlie heart of his fellow-man, to read his thoughts, 
 to discover whether, if we sought and found what 
 we believe to be the truth, he would obstinately 
 reject it ?• Without this power, which belongs to 
 God alone, no man who is not rendered vicious 
 by an extraordinary degree of presumption, can 
 venture to say of anotlier, * That man is a here- 
 tic' " All this sounds very charitable and kind. 
 We have been mistaken, no doubt. The awful 
 word " heretic " was never meant to apply to us. 
 True, we reject the 'novelties of Rome, and brand 
 the whole system as anti-christian. But " who has 
 the power to dive into the heart of his fellow- 
 man?" 
 
 It seems u pity to unmask tliis apparent cha- 
 rity. Yet we must not be deceived by fair 
 words. Nor can we allow modern Papists to 
 substitute their own individual opinions or inter- 
 pretations for the published doctrines of their 
 church. **A person is not to be called a here- 
 tic," say the compilers of the Catechism of the 
 Council of Trent, *' so soon as he errs in matters 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. 415 
 
 of faith," well knowing that if this were done 
 many would bear the name who are still permit- 
 ted to retain their communion ; *' then only is he 
 to be so called, when, in defiance of the authority 
 of the church, he maintains impious opinions with 
 unyielding pertinacity."* But is not every Pro- 
 testant in this predicament ] The fact of his Pro- 
 testantism stamps him at once as a heretic. These 
 nice distinctions are never thought of at Rome. 
 The •* holy apostolic church" does not wait to 
 inquire whether there is " contumacy " or not. 
 The publication or profession of opinions adverse 
 to her decrees is sufficient to call down her ven- 
 geance. More than six hundred years ago she 
 denounced all heretics in solemn council, and 
 doomed them to extermination. (The General 
 Council of Lateran, A. D. 1215.) She has ne- 
 ver altered. All her sons declare their adher- 
 ence to the decrees of the general councils, 
 among which that just mentioned is one, and 
 uniformly regard as heretics all who bear the 
 Protestant name. Her '* Index Expurgatorius " 
 expressly condemns as "heretics of the first 
 class" ail our best writers. Her fires would 
 consume them still, if she dared to light the 
 flames again. To affirm that the denouncement 
 of destruction to heretics is only ** a species of 
 admonition, which, even if he wished it," the 
 
 * Catechism of the Council of Trent, translated by the Rev, J 
 Donovan, p. 91. 
 
416 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 Papist, " could not, consistently with his religion, 
 carry into effect," is to fly in the face of all au- 
 thority, and utter deliberate falsehood. At best, 
 it is a miserable subterfuge, intended to hide the 
 naked, hideous fact. Meanwhile, since they can- 
 not just now burn us, they are content with ad- 
 judging us to perdition. The little child is in- 
 structed to believe that we wretched Protestants 
 have nothing but misery before us. We are in- 
 fallibly destined to " hell for all eternity." Ab- 
 stract of Douay Catechism, p. 71. And then, 
 when we charge them with a persecuting spirit 
 they turn round and exclaim, " Oh, but we only 
 refer to the contumacious. And how can we de- 
 termine who the heretic is V* Away with such 
 hypocrisy ! 
 
 16. Speaking of the ** extension of printing," a 
 writer asks, " Was not its utility utterly neutrali- 
 zed, or rather, was it not rendered pernicious, by 
 the censorship of the press, which existed by sta- 
 tute or prerogative from the time of Henry VIII. 
 till after the Revolution, and was exercised with 
 ?, strictness and severity quite in character with 
 tne principles of the established church V It is 
 not our present business to pass judgment on the 
 policy of an age which was just emerging from 
 the midnight darkness of popery. The spirit of 
 the old system remained long after its forms had 
 been abolished. Popish habits retained their hold 
 upon men who had abjured popish doctrines ; 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. 417 
 
 nor is this surprising, since the love of power 
 is congenial to our depraved hearts, and ita 
 wanton exercise has peculiarly distinguished ec- 
 clesiastical ailairs. But to the question before us. 
 The incorrectness, to say the least, of the state- 
 ment just quoted, is easily shown. 
 
 (1.) During the period under notice, that is, 
 from A. D. 1526, when Tyndall's translation of 
 the New Testament was published, to A. D. 
 1G8S, the era of the Revolution, the following 
 English authors flourished, and their works were 
 freely circulated, notwithstanding the " censorship 
 of the press," to the great advantage of the com- 
 munity : — Sir Thomas More, Linacre, Cranmer, 
 Latimer, Hooper, Ridley, Jewell, Foxe, Leland, 
 Ascham, Sir Philip Sydney, Hooker, Shakspeare, 
 Spencer, Camden, Gataker, Harvey, Lord Bacon, 
 Chillingvvorth, Lightfoot, IMede, Usher, Jeremy 
 Taylor, Ainsworth, bishop Hall, Cave, Walton, 
 Prideaux, Milton, Sir Thomas Browne, Bunyan, 
 Owen, Baxter, Howe, Stillingfleet, bishop Beve- 
 ridge, Charnock, Flavel, Pool, Locke, Algernon 
 Sydney, Wilkins, Barrow, South, Tillotson, Ray, 
 Selden, Boyle, and many others. These works 
 still exist, and speak for themselves. 
 
 (2.) During the same period, the index of pro- 
 liibited books was repeatedly published at Rome. 
 The edition issued by command of pope Innocent 
 XL in 16SL is now before the writer. It contains 
 the names of the following authors, the perusal of 
 
418 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 whose works, in whole or in part, is expressly 
 forbidden to all members of the Romisli church : — 
 Lord Bacon, Bale, Beza, Walton, Robert Ste- 
 phens, Tun-etin, Bucer, Buchanan, Bullinger, 
 Buxtorf, Calvin, Cartwright, Castalio, Chemnitz, 
 Coverdale, Copernicus, Casaubon, Cranmer, 
 Daille, Erasmus, Grindal, Perkins, Guicciardini, 
 Grotius, Farel, Tyndall, Whitaker, Heidegger, 
 Savonarola, Hospinian, Ilottinger, Huss, De 
 Thou, Usher, bishop Hall, Tremellius, Polydore 
 Virgil, Bradford, Brentius, John Foxe, Hooper, 
 Jewell, Knox, Ecolampadius, Sleidan, Wicliffe, 
 Scapula, Scaliger, Justus Jonas, Latimer, Luther, 
 Melancthon, Melchior Adam, Meno Simon, De 
 Mornay, Sarpi, Jerome of Prague, Sir Thomas 
 Browne, Claude, Sanderson, Henry Stephens, 
 Zuingle, Vossius : and it prohibits the perusal of 
 all versions of the Holy Scriptures made by al- 
 legred heretics, and of all notes and commentaries 
 on the Scriptures written by them; of all their 
 catechisms and confessions of faith ; and of all 
 books, by whomsoever written, whether Papists 
 or Protestants, teaching the motion of the earth 
 round the sun. 
 
 The reader will now be enabled to decide 
 which is most "pernicious:" the censorship of 
 the press, during the existence of which the wri- 
 ters first mentioned conferred benefits so great 
 and manifest upon their country ; or the Romish 
 index, in whose pages they and very maiiy more 
 
MrSRIiPKESEXTATIOXS. 419 
 
 are proscribed, and whose fatal restrictions conti- 
 nue to deprive the members of the papal commu- 
 nity of the advantages they might derive from 
 an acquaintance witli such valuable productions. 
 They suffer themselves to be frightened by the 
 bugbear of imagined heresy. It is hard to say 
 whether such submission to priestly rule deserves 
 pity or contempt. 
 
 17. Romish writers persist in affirming that the 
 Papists executed in queen Elizabeth's reign suf- 
 fered solely for their religion, and that therefore 
 those executions were so many acts of persecution 
 for conscience sake. Lingard's History, viii. 290, 
 29 C), &c. A more flagrant perversion of historical 
 truth cannot be imagined. It is a fact which no 
 impartial person thinks of denying, that in those 
 unhappy times popery and treason were fast 
 linked together. All ecclesiastics, from the man 
 who occupied the papal throne to the lowest 
 ranks of the priesthood, were sv/orn foes to Eli- 
 zabeth. Her deposition and murder were the ob- 
 jects of their earnest desire and constant endea- 
 vor, being commanded by a papal bull, reco<T. 
 nized by every Romanist as an authority not to be 
 questioned. The Seminary priests in particular, 
 and the Jesuits, vied with each other in malice, 
 and exerted all their influence to stir up the laity 
 to deeds of treason and blood. The statutes by 
 which their crimes were punished were severe, it 
 is confessed, but necessary. Every one of them 
 
420 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 might have been entitled, ** An act for the protec- 
 tion of the queen's jierson and the preservation 
 of her life."* 
 
 This disclaimer of treason is modern policy. 
 The parties immediately concerned did not ven- 
 ture to put it forth. At the Hampton Court confer- 
 ence, in 1G03, when Dr. Reynolds applied for the 
 suppression or restraint of unlawful and seditious 
 books, reasons were given for permitting their 
 circulation ; and, among others, the lord treasurer 
 remarked that the books had this use, "namely, 
 that now by the testimony of those ^friests- them- 
 selves, her late majesty and the state were cleared 
 of the imputation of putting papists to death for 
 conscience only, seeing in' those books thev 
 
 THEMSELVES CONFESS THAT THEY WERE EXECUTED 
 
 roR TREASON." Sharon Turner, ut sup. i. Pre- 
 face, xii. 
 
 * " To be at that time a Catholic, and to think Elizabeth an 
 usurper, and Maiy the rightful queen, and to desire to have a 
 Catholic sovereign on the throne of England, were inseparable 
 circumstances. There was not perhaps one member of tho 
 Romish Church in Europe who had other sentiments. Their 
 ptjpe and hierarchy in all its branches held and taught unvar}- 
 ingly such opinions. That it would bs meritorious to depose 
 Elizabeth, and that it was meritorious to conspire and to exert 
 themselves to do so, became a regular inference from these opin- 
 ions in the Romish church, and was zealously inculcated by its 
 priesthood and agents on all their adherents ; nor did such tuition 
 fall at that time on averted ears." Sharon Turner's Modern 
 History of England, iv. 342. 
 
MlSRLrRKSKNTATIONiJ. 4 SI 
 
 The Reformation from Popery is one of those 
 events which cannot fail to be contemplated by 
 the christian with deep interest and fervent grati- 
 tude. Clod did then evidently interpose on behalf 
 of the long-oppressed church of Christ, The ap- 
 pearance of gifted men eminently qualified for 
 the great work, in different parts of Europe and 
 at the same time, together with the success which 
 attended their labors, notwithstanding the dread- 
 ful persecutions to which they were exposed, 
 strikingly displayed the power and goodness of 
 that great Being who is " wonderful in counsel 
 and excellent in working." Long had he heavd 
 the cries of the "souls under the altar" plead- 
 ing for the cause of truth. At length he arose, 
 in his miqlit and in his mercy, to vindicate the 
 honor of his word, and restore his worship to 
 its lirst purity. The results far exceeded the 
 hopes of the pious, while unutterable dismay 
 seized " the armies of the aliens." 
 
 It is of great importance to distinguish be- 
 tween the religious and the political aspects of 
 the Reformation. In its origin luid progi'ess, so 
 lar as regarded itself, it was wholly a religious 
 iTiovement. It was a great conflict between truth 
 and error, between carnality and spiritual-mind- 
 e^lness — a glorious revival of religion. If some 
 of the royal and noble personages by whom it 
 was befriended deemed it right and necessary 
 to take u]) arms in drfenco vi' the cause, and to 
 
422 EXPOSURE OF 
 
 give it the support of worldly policy, so that Pro« 
 testantism and Popery became the railying-points 
 for hostile parties; that result, and any political 
 consequences, are not to be regarded as an effect 
 of the religious principles of the Reformation, 
 ■which like those of the New Testament, are prin- 
 ciples of peace and holiness. Assuredly, Papists 
 have no right to criminate the Reformation on 
 this account, since they have never scrupled to 
 employ violent measures for the accomplishment 
 of the purposes of Rome, and have even incul- 
 cated the use of fire and sword for the suppres- 
 sion of what they call heresy, as a solemn and 
 meritorious duty. 
 
 The truths for which the Reformers contended 
 demand our most zealous support. Those holy 
 men pleaded for Christ ; for the honor of his 
 finished work, which Popery had thrown into 
 the shade; and for his supremacy in the church, 
 which had been for ages practically denied. 
 Among the '* forgotten truths " which they 
 brought to light, the doctrine of justification hy 
 faith held the first place, and was ever associated 
 in their minds v/ith scriptural views of the neces- 
 sity and fruits of the Holy Spirit's influence. 
 They taught the people, that without engaged- 
 ness of heart in the service of God, all outward 
 acts of worship are unacceptable and profitless. 
 They denounced the manifold inventions of super- 
 Btition, as opposed to the simplicity of the New 
 
MISREPRESENTATIONS. '123 
 
 Testament ritual, and tending to divert the mind 
 from the contemplation of truth, and to delude 
 men into a belief of their worthiness in the siofht 
 of God. They affirmed the entire sufficiency of 
 Scripture, as the rule of faith and j^ractice, boldly 
 asserting the right of private judgment, unshack- 
 led by deference to fathers or councils. They di- 
 rected their keenest shafts against the idolatry of 
 the popish system, exposing in strains of irresisti- 
 ble argument, or powerful satire, the folly and 
 impiety of saint-worship, and the vanity of the 
 confidence placed in saintly intercession ; they 
 taught men to present their prayers and praises 
 to God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the aid 
 of the Holy Spirit, in full assurance of obtaining 
 the blessings implored. 
 
 Truth is not local or temporary. Apostolic 
 principles cannot become obsolete. The way in 
 which ive ought to " walk and please God," is the 
 same as was prescribed to the first churches. Our 
 souls must be sustained in duty or in trial, by the 
 truths and promises which comforted the chris- 
 tians of those times. Like them, we must " live by 
 the fiith of the Son of God ;" Gal. 2 : 20 ; we 
 must " worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in 
 Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh ;" 
 Phil. 3:3; as risen with our victorious Lord, we 
 must ** seek those things which are above." Col. 
 3:1. Li order to all this, there must be diligent 
 study of the Scriptures, careful comparison of 
 
424 K.xrosuKK or, &c. 
 
 l.bcir (livcrsifiod yet hannouious staremouts, and 
 c^arnest prayer for llio teaching of the Holy Spi- 
 rit, that- we may not only ''read," but "mark, 
 learn, and inwardly digest" the words of the 
 ]jord, and experience their blessed effects. These 
 are privileges to be enjoyed by all believers, with- 
 out distinction, as well as duties to be performed 
 by them. No system can be scriptural which in- 
 terferes with the enjoyment of the privilege, or 
 discourages the discharge of the duty. Popery 
 does both. It robs the christian of his freedom, 
 and Christ of his glory. We are mercifully de- 
 livered from the mental and corporeal tyranny 
 and bondage of Popery. May we be also pre- 
 served from all views and practices which have a 
 popish tendency ! '* To the law and to the testi- 
 mony." " Believe not every spirit, but try the 
 spirits whether they are of God." Isa. S : 20 ; 
 1 John, 4:1. 
 
CHRONOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 ir;c4 Death of Wioliffe, December 31. 
 
 ] 401 Martyrdom of ^Villiam Sautre. 
 
 1417 " Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham. 
 
 1432 Birth of Ecolampadius. 
 
 1483 " Luther, November 10. 
 
 1484 " Zuingle, January- L 
 1489 " P'arel. 
 
 " Crar.mer, July 2. 
 1404 " John Taussen. 
 
 1497 " Melancthon, February 16. 
 
 1409 " Jolm Laski. 
 
 150,') " Knox. 
 
 Luiher entered the Augustinian monaster)' at Erfurt, Au- 
 ^ist 17. 
 :.')07 Ordination of Luther, May 2. 
 3.j09 Birth of Calvin, July 10. 
 loll Luther'3 journey to Rome. 
 1512 Luther made doctor in divinity, October 9. 
 
 Justification by faith taught by Lefevre in the University 
 of Paris. 
 15 IG Publication of the Greek New Testament by Erasmus. 
 
 The Gospel preached by Zuingle at the convent of Ein- 
 sidleii. 
 1517 Publication of Luther's Theses against indulgences, Oc- 
 tober 31. 
 \518 Appti^ranco of Luther at Augsburg before cardinal Caje- 
 tan, the papal legate, October 7. 
 Luther's appeal from the pope to a general council, No- 
 vember 28. 
 Zuingle appointed preacher in the cathedral of Zurich, 
 December. 
 
42G CHRONOLOGY OF 
 
 A. r». 
 
 1519 Interview between Luther and Miltitz at Alteubnrg, 
 January. 
 Publication of Luther's Commentary on the Galatians, 
 October. 
 IW") Bull of condemnation issued against Luther by the pope, 
 
 Juno L5. 
 ^ The Bull publicly burned by Luther at Wittemberg;, De- 
 
 cember 10. 
 lo'2l A second and more decisive Bull issued ag'ainst Luther, 
 January 3. 
 The Gospel preached in Sweden. 
 BubUcation of Henry the Eighth's book on the Seven 
 
 Sacraments. 
 Arrival of Luther at the Diet of Worms, April J 6. 
 Luther's abduction to ^Vartbvu•g, April 23. 
 Biiblication of the Ldict of Worms, May 26 
 Death of Leo X. December. 
 
 1522 Inquisitors sent by Charles V. into the Netherlands. Nu- 
 
 merous martyrdoms there. 
 
 Publication of Zuingle's first book, On the Clioice and Free 
 Use of Meats, April 16. 
 
 Man-iage of Zuingle. 
 
 Publication of Luther's reply to the book of Henry VIII. 
 on the Seven Sacraments, July 15. 
 
 Publication of Luther's translation of the New Testament, 
 September. 
 
 Publication of the document called " The Hundred Griev- 
 ances," Germany, November 25. 
 
 Publication of the French New Testament by Lefevre. 
 
 1523 Martyrdom of Henry Voes and John Echt at Brussels, 
 
 July 1. « 
 
 Ecolampadius appointed professor of divinity at Basle. 
 Martyrdom of Leclerc at Metz. 
 
 1524 The Danish New Testament published. 
 
 The Gospel preached by Taussen at ^Vibourg. 
 
THE REFORMATIO.V. 427 
 
 A. V. 
 
 1524 Images removed from tlie churches at Zurich by the au- 
 
 thorities, June. 
 
 Suppression of the mendicant orders at Zurich, Dec. 
 
 Tracts printed at Basle and circulated in France by col- 
 porteurs. 
 
 1525 Publication of Tyndall's New Testament. 
 
 The New Testament and some books of the Old Testa- 
 ment published in the Helvetic dialect. 
 French version of the Psalms published. 
 The mass abolished at Zurich, April 1 1. 
 Marriage of Luther, June 18. 
 The convents opened at Basle. 
 
 1526 The Swedidh New Testament published. 
 The Belgic Bible publislied. 
 
 The disputation of Baden, May 16. 
 The disputation at Upsal. 
 
 1527 Images removed from the churches in various parts of 
 
 Switzerland. 
 
 1528 The great dit^putation at Berne, and triumph of the Re- 
 
 formation, January 7. 
 Martyrdom of Patrick Hamilton, at St. Andrev/s, Feb- 
 i-uary 29. 
 
 1529 The Reformation completed at Basle. 
 Martyrdom of Louis Berquin at Paris. 
 
 Edict of the Diet of Spires. Protest of the Reformers 
 —whence they were called Protestants, April 20. 
 
 Conference between Luther and Zuingle at Marburg, Oc- 
 tober. 
 
 John Taussen appointed preacher at the church of Su 
 Nicholas, Copenhagen. 
 
 1530 The Diet of Augsburg opened, May. 
 
 The Protestant Confession read before the Diet at Augs- 
 burg, June 25. 
 The Recess of the Diet published, November 19. 
 The League of Smalcald, December 31. 
 
 1531 Death of Zuingle at the battle of Coppel, October 11. 
 
428 CHRONOLOGY OF 
 
 A. n. 
 
 1531 Death of Ecolampadius, November 23. 
 
 1532 The Gospel preached at Geneva. 
 
 Payment of annates to the pope forbidden in England and 
 
 transferred to the king. 
 Cranmer appointed archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 1533 Marriage of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn. 
 
 1534 The pope's power talien away in England. The king 
 
 constituted head of the church. 
 
 1535 Many martyrdoms in France, January. 
 
 The Reformation established at Geneva, August. 
 Coverdale's Bible published, October 4, and ordered to be 
 placed in churches. 
 
 1536 Calvin's Institutes published. 
 Anne Boleyn beheaded, May 19. 
 
 The lesser monasteries suppressed in England. 
 
 Death of Erasmus, July 12. 
 
 Calvin settled at Geneva, August. 
 
 Tyndall burned at Antwerp, September. 
 
 The Reformation establisbed in the Pays de Vaud. 
 
 1537 Papal Bull issued against Henry VIH. 
 1533 Calvin andFarel banished from Geneva. 
 
 1539 The Reformation established in Denmark at a meeting of 
 
 the states at Odensee. 
 The act of the Six Articles, July 1 . 
 The larger monasteries suppressed in England. 
 The " Great Bible " published. 
 Martyrdom of John Lambert, November 20. 
 
 1540 Man-iage of Calvin. 
 
 Publication of the Icelandic New Testament. 
 
 1541 The Swedish Bible published. 
 
 Calvin returned to Geneva. The Presbyterian discipline 
 established there, September. 
 154"2 Knox embraced Protestanism. 
 
 Synod of Piotrkow, in Poland. The Reformation opposed. 
 1543 The Reformation established in Fripseland by John Laski. 
 The reading nf the Scriptures forbidden in England to all 
 but the hi-her orders. 
 
THE REFORMATION. 429 
 
 A. P. 
 
 1513 The circulation of tbo Scriptures pcrmittfd in 5>collan(]. 
 154 t A portion of i\\c Liturgy translated into English. 
 
 1515 Massacres of the Vaudois at Cabrieres and Merindol by 
 
 order of the French king. 
 The Council of Trent opened, December 13. 
 
 1516 Death of Luiher, Februai-y 13. 
 
 Martyrdom of ^N'ishart at St. Andrews, in the presence of 
 
 cardinal Beaton, March 1. 
 Martyrdom of Anne Askew, July 16. 
 
 1517 Death of Henrj' VIII. January 28. 
 Commencement of Knox's public labors at St. Andrews. 
 The first book of Homilies compiled. The persecuting 
 
 acts of Henry the Eighth's reign repealed. Communion 
 
 in both kinds established. 
 1513 The Council of Trent suspended, March 11. 
 
 Images removed from the churches in England. The Book 
 
 of Common Prayer published. Priests permitted tc 
 
 marry 
 154f) Beza settled at Lausanne. 
 
 1550 Form of English ordination settled. 
 Martvi-dom of Nicholaus, rector of Kurow, Poland. 
 The Danish Bible published. 
 
 John Laski settled in London. 
 
 1551 The Council of Trent re-opened, May 1. 
 
 1552 English iVrticles of Religion published. Act of Unifor- 
 
 mity passed. 
 The Council of Trent suspended a second time. April 23. 
 Polish New Testament publishea. 
 National Diet in Poland. Sundi7 reforms enacte<l 
 
 1 553 John Laski left England. 
 Death of Edward VI. July 6. 
 
 Popish bishops restored. King Edward's laws repealed. 
 
 1554 Marriage of queen Mary with Philip of Spain, July 25. 
 England reconciled with Rome by cardinal Pole, Nov. 30. 
 The acts agiiinst heretics revived by the EngliBh Par- 
 
 liament. 
 
430 CHRONOLOGY OF 
 
 A. V. 
 
 1555 First protestant church formed in France on the Genevan 
 
 model. 
 Lippomani, a papal legate, sent to check reform in Poland 
 The pope's power restored in England by Act of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 Martyi'dom of John Rogers, February 4. 
 
 " of l>ishop Hooper and Saunders, Feb. 8. 
 
 " of Dr. Taylor, February 9. 
 
 " of bishop Farrar, March 30. 
 
 of Bradford, July 1. 
 *' of Ridley and Latimer, October 15. 
 
 1556 " of Cranmer, March 2 1 . 
 John Laski returned to Poland. 
 
 Diet of \Var9aw, Nobles perniitted to introduce what 
 form of worship they pleased in their own houses. 
 
 Protestant congregations established in Edinburgh and 
 other parts of Scotland. 
 
 1557 Martyrdom of Angelns Merula, at Mons, .July 27. 
 
 The first Solemn League and Covenant framed in Scot- 
 land, December 3. 
 
 1558 Martyrdom of Walter Mill, an aged priest, at St. An- 
 
 drews, August 28. 
 
 Five martyrs, the last in Mary's reign, bunied at Canter- 
 bury, November 15. 
 
 Deatli of queen ^lary, November 17. 
 
 1559 The Reformation settled in England under queen Eli- 
 
 zabeth. 
 First National Synod of the French Reformed chui-ch, at 
 
 Paris, May 20. 
 University of Geneva established. 
 Arrival, of Knox in Scotland. Monasteries destroyed by 
 
 the populace, at Perth, St. Andrews, and other places. 
 Civil war in Scotland on account of religion. 
 Martyrdom of Aiuie Dubourg, at Pari?, Dec. 15. 
 15G0 Death of John Laski, January 8. 
 Death of Melancthon, April ID. 
 
THE REFORMATION. 431 
 
 lijiiQ Peace restored in Scotland. 
 
 Piotestant Confession of Faith received by the Scotch 
 Parliament, August .17. 
 
 The jurisdiction of the pope abolished in Scotland, Au- 
 gust 24. 
 15G1 Death of John Taussen, November 9. 
 
 Colloquy at Poissy, September. 
 
 The First Book of Discipline, compiled by John Knox, 
 and approved by the General Assembly of the Church 
 of Scotland. 
 
 1562 The Council of Trent re-opened the second time, Jan. 18. 
 I\Iassacre of a congregation of Huguenots, at Vassy, 
 
 March I. 
 Commencement of the civil wars in France on account of 
 religion, April. 
 
 1563 Belgic Confession of Faith published. 
 
 The last session of the Council of Trent is held, Dec. 4. 
 The Polish Bible published. 
 
 1564 The Jesuits introduced into Poland. 
 Death of Calvin, May 27. 
 
 1565 Death of Farel. 
 
 1566 The Reformation established in many parts of the Ne- 
 
 therlands. 
 15C7 The duke of Alva sent into the Netherlands. Horrible bar- 
 barities perpetrated by him. 
 The Reformation finally settled in Scotland under regent 
 
 Murray, December. 
 Publication of the Welsh New Testament. 
 1570 The " Consent of Sandomir " — a union between the tliree 
 Prntestant Confessions of Poland. 
 Pajial Bull issued, excommunicating and deposing queen 
 Elizabeth. 
 1572 T\ie ma>sacre of St. Bartholomew's day, at Paris, Au- 
 gust 24. 
 Death of Kno.x, November 24. 
 
432 CHRONOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION. 
 A. Tl. 
 
 15.73 Diet of Warsaw. Equality of rights and privileges grant- 
 ed to all pai'ties in Poland. 
 The duke of Alva recalled from the Netherlands, and suc- 
 ceeded by Requesens. 
 1577 The pacification of Ghent, November 3. 
 1580 The Seminaries of Louvain and Douay founded. 
 1585 Bull of Sixtus V. excommunicating and depriving tlie 
 
 king of Navarre and the prince of Cond^. 
 1588 Martyrdoms at Paris. 
 The Spanish Armada. 
 The Welsh Bible published. 
 1593 Hemy IV. abjured Protestantism, July 25. 
 
 1595 The Jesuits expelled from France, January 9. 
 
 1596 Henry TV. absolved by the pope, September 17. 
 1598 The Edict of Nantes published. April 7. 
 
 1610 Assassination of Henry IV. by Ravaillac, IMay 14. 
 1635 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, Oc- 
 tober lo. 
 
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 The history of the Reformation in Europe 
 
 Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00077 0174