CHAPTER IX. LUTHER AT WORMS AND THE WARTBURG CASTLE. THE death of Maximilian I, January 12, 1519, brought forward a number of candidates for the imperial throne. Maximilian had indeed secured pledges from the electors for his nephew Charles, as king of the Romans. Francis I of France now pressed his claims also, and was favored by the pope. When it became apparent that Francis could not be elected, the pope strove at the last moment to secure the election of Joachim I of Brandenburg, or Frederick the Wise. The latter would probably have been chosen had he not declined because of the fear that his wealth and influence were not sufficient for the task. On June 28 Charles V was unanimously elected emperor of Germany. He was of the house of Hapsburg and was no friend to the spirit of reform. Though his selection was unwelcome to the pope, he was too loyal to the Church to favor the Reformation for the sake of revenge. He religiously regarded his new duties as God-given, and he conscientiously strove to banish heresy and to defeat the oncoming Turk. Had the pope been as solicitous for the welfare of the Church, the Reformation might have been less successful. LUTHER DIET. On October 23 the emperor was crowned in Aachen,' when he pledged himself to the maintenance of the traditional Roman Catholic faith and to subjection to the pope and the Church. Immediately thereafter he departed for Worms, where a BEFORE THE diet was to be opened on November 1. The question whether to condemn Luther unheard was long considered, but finally, out of deference to the German States, it was decided to hear him. The notification to appear before the diet was carefully worded. He was addressed as "Worthy of honor, beloved and pious." The papal nuncio Aleander strove to the last moment to prevent his appearance. He arrived in Worms on April 16, 1521, and on the afternoon of the 17th he stood for the first time in the presence of the emperor and the 1 Or Aix-la-Chapelle. For an account of the places of the coronation ceremonies, together with the crowns, see Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, p. 313 f., note, and p. 442. imperial representatives.' Johann von Eck (not Luther's bitter enemy), acting under instruction from Aleander, pointing to his books, asked Luther if he would recant. The monk of Wittenberg, so bold, seemed now overawed. He had not anticipated the exact form of procedure, and was unprepared for it. Hence he asked for time in which to reflect. LUTHER'S The request was granted, and on the next day, the memorable 18th of April, he appeared once more before the diet. He now exhibited none of yesterday's timidity. He had considered his answer, and he had come fresh from the place of prayer.' He apologized for his uncouth manners, and said he had been brought up in a monastery. In answer to the question whether he would defend all his books or recant some part of them he replied that his books were of three classes: those which were purely for edification, and which even his enemies would not condemn; those in which he had attacked the pope and papists, and which he could not possibly retract; and those against individuals, in which he might possibly have spoken with undue severity. He could recant only if overcome by a scriptural proof. Eck reminded him that his errors had already been condemned by the council of Constance. Luther retorted that neither the opinion of the pope nor of councils was sufficient for him.' The council of Constance had in several instances gone contrary to the Scriptures. Being required to do so, he gave a direct answer in the following words: "Unless I am refuted and convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, or by open, clear, and distinct grounds and reasons-since I trust neither pope nor councils, both 1 His friends feared for his life and warned him not to go to Worms, but he returned them the famous reply that he should go, though there were as many devils there as tiles upon the housetops. The man who used so much to fear death had gained courage since finding the true source of comfort. Schaff beautifully describes Luther's journey-vi, 294-300. 'It is reported that on his way to the hall George von Frundsberg said to him, "My poor monk, my poor monk, thou art going to make such a stand as neither I nor any of my companions in arms have ever made in our hottest battles. If thou art sure of the justice of thy cause, then forward in God's name and be of good courage; God will not forsake thee." Mathesius stands sponsor for this incident. Something like it may have occurred, but the language is not such as men use under circumstances like these. It is too formal and dramatic. 3 He had spoken at first in German, but upon request repeated his speech in Latin to the great satisfaction of the elector. So Luther himself says. See the Erlanger ed. of his works, lxiv, 370. Spalatin confirms this. Köstlin, following other sources, reverses the order. of whom have evidently often erred and contradicted themselves -in which case I am overpowered by the Holy Scriptures to which I have just referred, and my conscience led captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant, because it is dangerous to deal contrary to one's conscience." At this point in the procedure there was some uproar in the diet, and the emperor arose and cut off farther disputation. Meanwhile Luther was heard to say, "Here I stand, I can do no otherwise; God help me. Amen."" Aside from any of the dramatic elements of this scene, Luther's courage and constancy must be admired, and he persisted even in the face of farther effort to bring him over. The repeated attempts in the days immediately following April 18 to secure this by persuasion, and even by bribe,' were vain. The Bible was the final resort to which all questions of faith and practice must be submitted. His conduct can be accounted for only on the supposition of profound conviction and unswerving loyalty to conscience. The emperor, on the 19th, had declared his purpose to proceed against him as a heretic. To all human appearances Luther could benefit no one by persisting; death and ruin were before him and his followers. The whole matter, therefore, resolved itself, as he said, into the question of faithfulness to conscientious convictions. He spoke the truth when he said to Spalatin that if he had a thousand heads he would rather have them all cut off one by one than make one recantation. VARYING Varying opinions were held of Luther as he appeared to the diet. The emperor thought him a man of little power, and could not believe him to be the author of the books attributed to him. The papal legates, the Venetian ambassador, and the Spaniards and Italians generally, were disappointed or disgusted with him. The Germans, on the other hand, were pleased with his manner of conducting himself. The whole question was one of national prejudice. No opportunity was offered for him to display either ability or prudence. He had not been called to debate the matters in question, but to answer whether he would recant. The judgment of history is that for combined 1 Both the German and the Latin text may be seen in Schaff, vi, 305. It will be noticed that there are some changes in construction which indicate that Luther was under excitement when he spoke. 'On the exact language used at this point there has been much dispute, and the sources do not agree. See Köstlin, Luthers Rede in Worms, in literature given above. Schaff gives a full statement of the case-vi, p. 309 f. 3 The Archbishop of Tréves offered him a benefice if he would retract his position that a council could err. modesty and firmness the world has never witnessed but one scene which is its equal. The confessor or martyr exhibits greatness only by the dignity with which he adheres to the truth. LUTHER The emperor's counselors wished his majesty to revoke the safeconduct of the heretic, but Charles was too wise, if not too conscientious, for such a deed. Many of the nobles, most of the Humanists, and the masses of the people were on Luther's side. The emperor feared to anger the princes, in view of the many troubles in which he would need their help. Already had begun that long series of hindrances to the execution of the edict which in the providence of God were to give the Reformation ample time for development. On May 25, Frederick and the elector Palatine being absent, when the princes and the emperor were accidentally together, the edict prepared by the papal nuncio Aleander was read, and, without formal consideration or vote, declared. The emperor signed it with his own hand the next day. It was dated back to May 8 in order to give it the appearance of unanimity. The edict condemned Luther in the most violent language, demanded his delivery to the emperor, the arrest of his followers and confiscation of their property, the suppression and burning of Luther's books, and the utmost strictness in the oversight of the press by the spiritual authorities. Luther had been placed under ban by the emperor and pope. The world was to witness the impotence of their rage. The enemies of the Reformation were in high glee, but Frederick the Wise now proved himself their match in strategy. Luther must hide himself until their vengeful and bloodthirsty appetites, aroused by the apparent certainty of their prey, should be somewhat allayed. The elector himself must be able to say that he was ignorant of Luther's whereabouts. As Luther was returning to Wittenberg he was seized, on May 4, as though by violence and by enemies, and taken to the Wartburg Castle, within Frederick's territories. He was once more in the immediate vicinity of his former benefactors in Eisenach, but he could not make himself known to them. He was no longer Luther, but Knight George. A portrait of him with full beard shows the disguise to have been complete. LUTHER'S SEIZURE. Foes rejoiced, friends mourned, because of Luther's supposed death. The famous artist, Albrecht Dürer, bewailed his demise in memorable language: "Does he still live, or have they murdered him? That I know not; but he has suffered for the cause of Christian truth, and because he attacked the unchristian papacy with its imposition of human laws and its opposition to the freedom of Christ. O God, if Luther is dead, who will preach us the holy Gospel with equal clearness? O God, what might he not have proclaimed in the next ten or twenty years! O, all pious Christian men, help me appropriately to bewail this divinely gifted man, and to pray God that he will send us a divinely enlightened substitute." The reformer spent his time in part in hunting and in the enjoyment of nature. But he employed his leisure chiefly in literary work of the most important kind. During the summer he produced a number of controversial writings, which convinced the world that he was not dead, and continued his sermons on the gospels and epistles of the ecclesiastical year. In December he began his translation of the New Testament out of the original Greek. It was published in September, 1522. The Old Testament translation appeared in parts in the course of the years, and together with the New Testament' was published complete in 1534. This made a Roman Catholic translation necessary, and Emser's appeared in 1527, being largely a copy of Luther's. But Emser, so far from translating for the people, as Luther did, warned them not to trouble themselves about the Bible, which was for scholars, but to give themselves up to a life well pleasing to God. CARLSTADT'S During Luther's enforced absence from the scene of conflict new difficulties sprang up at Wittenberg. Carlstadt, zealous but ill balanced, was anxious that the logical consequences of the reformatory principles should be carried into effect. Not only did he justify the marriage of the clergy, but also that of monks and nuns. The rejection of their vow might be a sin, but not so great as an unchaste life. This mode of defense for monkish infidelity did not satisfy Luther. He was inclined to think that the monk's Vow, voluntarily assumed, was an obligation more binding than the compulsory celibacy of the clergy. After careful study he wrote the work De Votis Monasticis, in which he laid the stress on the motive for the assumption of the vow. In most cases it was the sinful one of endeavoring to attain a special holiness by self-effort. Convent life was, however, not a high grade of morality, but a selfish neglect of duty to others. While evangelical freedom is consistent with a self-imposed rule, an oath taken in accordance with false and sinful ideas of duty must be laid aside. 1 Schaff treats the whole subject of Luther's translation in a complete and masterly manner-vi, 340-368. |