Christ's institution, other things might be borne with, and would be gradually corrected: that the emperor could not at once reform all abuses, men's minds not being yet prepared for it; and that the weak ought to meet with forbearance: that the Venetians, to name no others, were waiting the event of the present diet, and, if it proved satisfactory, an extensive dissemination of the true doctrine concerning a sinner's acceptance with God, and of reformation in general might be expected; but that, if the prospect of concord were at an end, the greatest dangers were to be apprehended not only from the Romanists, but from the Turks also, who could not be effectually resisted but by an union of all the states against them. A. D. 1541. Luther commended the emperor's desire of His reply. peace, and declared that his own most sincere wishes and prayers were directed to that object; that he was glad to understand that four articles had been accorded, but that he had not seen any of the formularies agreed upon, except that on justification; that nothing, however, could be hoped for unless their adversaries would act sincerely, and submit themselves to God and the truth of his word; but he feared that, on the contrary, they imposed upon the emperor; for that, if the four articles were cordially admitted, the other ten, which were in dispute, could not be rejected. He censured their article on justification, in which, he said, they had mixed up free will and the words of S. Paul, in Galatians v., upon another subject, inferring from them, that charity was required in order to justification. He saw no sufficient ground for forbearance, since neither the rulers nor the clergy were "weak brethren," but rather fierce and bitter persecutors. If indeed CHAP. V. the public and universal proclamation of the doctrines agreed upon were enjoined, then the really weak would become strong, and great progress would be made: but without this they would only be confirmed in their errors. This therefore he earnestly recommended; urging that, if it were refused, the insincerity of their adversaries, who had professedly assented to these doctrines would be manifest, and that terms could not then be made with them. He concluded, however, with observing, that, as the conference had been held on this condition, that all their conclusions should be submitted to the decision of the diet, he could do nothing to interfere with that arrangement." Seckendorf applauds both the prudence, temper, and constancy of Luther on this occasion, and thinks the latter quality scarcely less advantageously displayed, in nowwithstanding the flattering solicitations of his friends, than it had formerly been, at Worms and Augsburg, in disregarding the threats of his enemies. His advice concerning the promulgation of the doctrines agreed upon by them, the same historian says, was approved by the emperor, and many of the princes and cities, and even (as Pallavicini himself testifies,) by the states of the catholic persuasion; and nothing prevented its being acted upon but the papal artifices, and the preponderance of the episcopal votes in the diet. 1 To the elector, Luther soon after wrote his sentiments more unreservedly. "He never expected any thing," he said, "from such conferences: Christ and the serpent could never agree but he was willing that the evangelical 1 Seck. iii. 361-363. doctrine should be thoroughly sifted, and, A. D. 1541. Contarini, The difficulty of conducting conferences of Cardinal this kind to the satisfaction of either party may be judged of by this circumstance, that, while Melancthon and Bucer were censured by their friends for conceding so much, the legate Contarini, a man of talents and reputation, notwithstanding that he prevailed, in the end, to have the whole matter referred to the pope or a council, 2 was yet charged by cardinal Caraffa, (afterwards pope Paul IV,) with having betrayed the cause of the church, especially on the question of justification. 3 1 Seck. iii. 364. 2 Sleid. 279. Seck. iii. 365. Dr. Robertson's statement, that the recess of the diet enjoined that the articles agreed upon by the divines should be observed inviolably by all," seems not to be correct. This was rather what Luther urged; but what was ultimately decreed seems to have been, that, though these articles were not to be considered as finally settled, the protestants should not go beyond them-an injunction, however, which was rendered nugatory by the first sentence of the emperor's declaration, allowing them to be interpreted according to the sentiments of the protestants themselves. Seck. iii. 366. 3 Maimb. in Seck. iii. 349. U СНАР. V. The firmness and zeal of the elector of Saxony, throughout the whole of these proceedings, The Elector were most conspicuous. "No one," said he, of Saxony. "would more gladly see peace established in Germany than I should do, but I would not for the sake of it yield any thing contrary to the will of God and the dictates of my own conscience; and he, I trust, will keep me free from all such sin. Peace established on those terms would be a judgment from God, and would prove the occasion of irreconcileable discord." He reprobated the counsels of those who "put religion and outward peace on the same footing, whereas, when the two came in competition, the latter ought always to give way to the former." He looked with great jealousy upon a sort of middle party which he thought had risen up among the protestants, and in which he reckoned the elector of Brandenburg: and he feared much more, he said, the caresses of Ratisbon than the severity of Augsburg. He would have his representatives, therefore, adhere "to the very terms, as well as to the sense of the confession, and reject all ambiguous language which might be twisted to opposite meanings. He declares that, "even if Luther himself should give way, which he trusted would never be the case, it should not be with his concurrence." -All this will be condemned as bigotry by the lukewarm and latitudinarian: but the better informed Christian will pronounce it a" zeal according to knowledge "the result of a deep acquaintance with the word of God, and an accurate observation of the history of the church. Bigamy of the Land grave of Hesse. The truth of history requires us here to record a different and painful account of another 1 Seck. iii. 356 (1, 3), 360 (6), 361 (10), 363 (1). leading patron of the reformation. The reader will have traced, both in this volume, and in those of Dr. Milner, the zealous support given to the sacred cause, even from an early period, by Philip landgrave of Hesse: yet it has been already intimated that his conduct in private life was not consistent with his religious professions. By his own confession it appears, that he had long indulged in licentious habits, though against the most alarming remonstrances of his own conscience; and a short time before the commencement of these conferences he had persuaded himself, that the only remedy to be found for his incontinence was in marrying another wife, in addition to the daughter of the late duke George, to whom he had been for many years united, and who had brought him a pretty numerous family of children. Having contrived most sophistically to satisfy himself that the scriptures allowed him this indulgence, he resolved upon it, and sought to obtain the sanction of Luther, Melancthon, and Bucer, confidentially cominunicating to the two former, through the medium of the latter, the most seeret grounds of his proceeding. This was a step exceedingly to be deprecated, as it tended to involve the most venerable reformers, and even the reformation itself, in all the scandal of the landgrave's conduct and accordingly it has been made the occasion of virulent invective against both protestants and protestantism at large, and by no one in a more unmeasured manner than by the celebrated Bossuet, bishop of Meaux. It is by no means necessary, however, to the defence of the reformation, that we should either apologize for the landgrave, or assert the unerring wisdom of Luther himself; than whom no A. D. 1540. |