manifested by Luther and his friends under these circumstances. The citizens of Augsburg had extensive commercial dealings with Italy; and they had through that channel received intimations, how confidently a speedy suppression of Lutheranism, by the united efforts of the pope and the emperor, was now anticipated. They communicated their apprehensions to the elector, who laid the case before Luther and his colleagues. Their reply was: "We see that we can by no mere human prudence secure this great object-the preservation of pure and orthodox religion. Let us do, therefore, whatever we can towards it, that may be agreeable to the will of God; but let us never think that it is in our power to provide against all future dangers; and let us be careful to avoid all unlawful means of attempting it."-In the final clause they especially refer to a disposition intimated on the part of the Augsburgers, to refuse to have the next diet held in their city, if the emperor should require it.1 A. D. 1543. possessed of One transaction of the emperor's, at the very Duke of time that he was courting the protestants, was Cleves dispersonally painful to the elector of Saxony, and Gueldres. at the same time pretty clearly spoke the real sentiments of its author. William, duke of Cleves, the elector's brother-in-law, had a dispute with the emperor respecting the duchy of Gueldres, of which the former held possession. He was well affected towards the reformation, and would gladly have availed himself of the assistance of the protestant confederates in support of his claim; but, as they declined to interfere in a dispute merely of a political nature, he sought protection in an alliance with the king of France. 1 Seck. iii. 497. CHAP. VII. The emperor, however, marched into his country, and compelled him to submit in the most abject manner, and the first article of the treaty August 24. which he made with him was, "That he should 1543. The Pope's remon strance against Charles's indulgence. 1544. not depart from the religion of the catholic church; and, if he had made any alterations, should restore things again as they were before."1 The proceedings of the late diets were in a high decree offensive to the court of Rome. The pope, considering both Charles's concessions to the protestants, and his consenting to call a council, and to admit of public disputations in Germany, with a view to determining the doctrines in controversy, as sacrilegious encroachments upon the prerogatives of the holy see, addressed to him "a remonstrance, rather than a letter, on this subject, written Aug. 23. in a style of such high authority, as discovered more of an intention to draw on a quarrel than of a desire to reclaim him." He tells him, that "in the discharge of his own duty, and in the love he bore to him, he could not dissemble his thoughts concerning his proceedings, which tended to the danger of his own soul, and the great disturbance of the church." "He had ever before his eyes," he says, "the example of Eli, the high priest, whom God severely punished for his too great indulgence to his sons;" the like to which might befal himself, if he suffered the emperor," the first-born son " of the church, thus to go astray without admonition. It behoved the emperor to follow "the uniform practice of the church, and the custom of his forefathers," 1 Sleid. 315. Seck. iii. 259 (14). Robertson (iii. 251.) does not notice this article, which yet appears to have taken the lead in the treaty. which was to refer the whole decision of all A. D. 1544. VII. CHAP. He called upon him, therefore, to rescind and annul what, with too much lenity, he had granted to those rebels and enemies against the see of Rome, for that otherwise he must deal with him more severely than his custom, or his nature and inclination would lead him to do.1 Charles's On this and another paper, which issued from Rome, written in the same strain, Luther published severe animadversions: 2 but the emperor contented himself with a brief and general reply, couched, however, in terms which were not suited to give the protestants a favourable impression of his intentions towards them. 3 This strong remonstrance of the pope, with reasons for the fear of driving him to throw himself entirely peace with into the arms of the king of France, is thought France. to have had influence, in connexion with other causes, in inducing the emperor hastily to conclude a peace, within three or four months after he had, with so much pains, and at the expence of so great concessions, prevailed upon his German subjects heartily to second him in the French war. Among these other causes the principal were, that "the Turks, almost unresisted, made such progress in Hungary, reducing town after town, that they approached near to the Austrian provinces; and, above all, the extraordinary advances of the protestant doctrines in Germany, and the dangerous combination into which the princes of that profession had entered. Almost one half of Germany had revolted from the established church; the fidelity of the rest was much shaken; the nobility of Austria had demanded of Ferdinand the free exercise of religion; the Bohemians, among 1 Sleid. 337-340. 2 Seck. iii. 479-494. whom some seeds of the doctrines of Huss still remained, openly favoured the new opinions; the archbishop of Cologne, with a zeal which is seldom found among ecclesiastics, had begun the reformation of his diocese: nor was it possible, unless some timely and effectual check were given to the spirit of innovation, to foresee where it would end!"-Accordingly we shall find, that from the period of this peace with France a new line of policy, big with important events to the protestants, was adopted, and indeed that provision was made in the treaty itself for its being acted upon conjointly both by Charles and Francis. But our attention must first be arrested by what has been before alluded to, and is here expressly brought under our notice, the zealous efforts of the archbishop of Cologne in the cause of reformation. A. D. 1543. Cologne. Herman, count de Wied, descended from an Herman ancient and illustrious family bearing that title, Abp. of had been appointed archbishop of Cologne, and in virtue of that dignity an elector of the empire, in the year 1515. He was previously bishop of Paderborn. Even Maimbourg gives him the character, before he became infected with the mania of the reformation, of "a good man, of mild manners, very charitable to the poor, and zealous for the catholic faith." The last of these virtues, it seems, he had evinced in a striking manner on taking possession of the bishopric of Paderborn; for, finding that Lutheranism had obtained some footing there, he forcibly expelled the preachers, and denounced the penalty of death against such as should continue to profess that doctrine. Maimbourg, however, 1 Robertson iii. 280-282. |