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tyranny they felt without daring to complain, reprehended and repressed, roused the indignation, not only of the bishops, but of all the nobilitywho had any interest in ecclesiastical benefices. Much injury was also, about this time, done, by the licentiousness of many of the monks, who had embraced Luther's doctrine respecting vows, not from conviction, but as a cloak for their sins. Luther, to discountenance this threatening evil, composed a second work on monastic vows, in which he denounced the licentious as well as the lazy monks as enemies of the cross of Christ, and a disgrace to the religion which they professed.‡

But the translation of the Bible into German, which Luther had begun, during his concealment in the castle of Wartburg, the first part of which, containing the New Testament, was published in Sept. 1522, gave a blow to the interests of Rome far more decisive and fatal than any which it had yet received. He revised it with the assistance of Melancthon; and, on finishing it, immediately commenced a version of the Old Testament, in which he was assisted by Justus Jonas, and several other of his learned friends. It instantly spread throughout the whole of Germany. The elegance of the style recommended it to the well informed; and its cheapness to the lower orders of the people. Those who had favoured the reformation, saw, in its truths, the authority of God, and from being the adherents of Luther, were led to become the disciples of Je

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• Seckend. § 123. Ibid § 124.

sus Christ. It reached into places where the name of Luther was unknown, carried salvation into the meanest dwellings, spake the truth to kings and princes; and testified to all to whom it came, that a general reformation was more necessary than ever.§ Emser wrote a criticism on it, and began another version which was not printed till 1527; but he discovered such ignorance both of the original Greek, and of his own language, that Luther, occupied with more important affairs, resolved to oppose him only with silence and contempt. In consequence, however, of Emser's misrepresentations, several of the princes of the Empire, particularly the Archduke of Austria, the Duke of Bavaria, George Duke of Saxony, Henry of Brunswick, and some time afterwards, the Elector of Brandenburg, or dered Luther's translation to be suppressed, and all the copies that could be got committed to the flames. The reformer, with his usual boldness, and with even more than his usual virulence, attacked these imprudent princes, in a treatise, On the Secular Power; which established the authority of magistrates on the foundation of Scripture, and the conditions of men; but denied the lawfulness of the power which they usurped over the faith and conscience of their subjects; and exhorted the inhabitants of Bavaria, Misnia, and Brandenburgh, not to destroy the Scriptures; though, at the ame time, he commanded them not to assault the officers who might be appointed to search for them. His sentiments respecting per

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5 Seckendorf, 125, 12.

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secution deserve to be recorded. "Heresies ought to be resisted not with fire or sword, but with the word of God. If this does not remove them, in vain will violence be resorted to. The earth may be deluged with blood; but heresy, being an error of the mind, can be destroyed neither by fire nor by water; nay, it is increased by every sort of resistance, except by the Scripture. The tongue may be restrained, men may be forced to be silent, to dissemble, or to lie; but heresy, residing in the heart, can be expelled only by the influence of the word of God, enlightening the understanding, and persuading the judgment."*

The light of reformation had dawned on the British isle as early as the middle of the 14th century, when Wickliffe stood forth as the champion of divine truth and spiritual liberty, against the errors and tyranny of Rome; and though it became gradually obscured, and was almost entirely extinguished when the 8th Henry ascended the throne, many individuals throughout the country were waiting for the consolation of Israel. The clergy had never obtained the same influence and respect which they enjoyed, previous to Wickliffe's appearance and the people were ready to imbrace a change of religion, whenever it should be presented. The astonishing revolution of sentiments which was so rapidly pervading the provinces of Germany, accordingly made a dep impression in England; andled multitudes to imbibe the detrines which Luther had elicited from the darkness

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in which they had for ages been involved. But Henry, having early imbibed the principles of Popery, and viewing Luther as the enemy of all who supported these principles, determined not only to exert all his influence to check the progress of his opinions, but to refute them with all the acuteness which he possessed. He accordingly wrote a Latin treatise in defence of the seven sacraments, against Luther's work, On the Babylonish Captivity of the Church; "a performance," says Hume, "which, if allowance be made for the subject and the age, does no discredit to his capacity. He sent a copy of it to Leo, who received so magnificent a present with great testimony of regard, and conferred on him the title of Defender of the Faith." Though Luther believed this to be the work of Edward Lee, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, he replied as if it had been Henry's own composition, and treated him with such indignity, and used respecting him so many opprobrious and contemptuous expressions, as to shock even his best friends. Nor was this the effect of a momentary burst of passion; for, in his correspondence at this period, he justified his conduct in the inost expressive terms. the answer itself, he vindicated the extraordinary severity of his language, by saying, " If, for the sake of Christ, I have trampled under foot that Idol of Romish abomination, which had usurped the place of God, and tyrannized over kings and the whole world; who is this Henry a new Thomist, or at least a disciple of that

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Nay, in

Hist. of England, Chap. 29.

trifling monster, that I should pay homage to his virulent blasphemies? He may be a defender of the church, but it is of a church, the mother of harlots, of drunkenness and fornication. I having an equal abhorrence of the church and her defender, will attack them with the same weapons. My doctrines will stand, but the Pope will fall, though the gates of hell, and the powers of air and earth and sea were against me. They provoked me to war, and they shall have it; they despised peace when offered them, and they shall not now obtain it. God shall see whether the Pope or Luther will be the first to yield." George Duke of Saxony, irritated at this treatise, solicited the Elector to have Luther immediately punished; but this prince declined interfering, and proposed the convocation of a free council.f

tion of the papal court. He therefore resolved to reform these abuses, expecting that their removal would bring back the people to the bosom of that church whence they had been driven by the vices of its governors. He accordingly repealed the order which had been issued for the preaching of indulgences to defray the expense of completing the Vatican; but, at the same time, gave authority, by a new bull, to the doctrine of the church concerning that nefarious traffic. His sentiments on many points differed essentially from those of his cardinals, who warned him so strongly of the danger with which his proposed reformation would be followed, that he was heard to say, that "the condition of a Pope is the most unhappy that can be conceived, because he is not at liberty to do what is right, though he has the inclination, and can find the means." He then imagined that his presence and authority might have the effect of quieting the commotions of Germany; and to prepare the minds of the disputants for his visit, he wrote to Frederic, then attending the diet of the Empire met at Nuremberg, exhorting him,in general terms, to exert all his influence to preserve the safety, tranquillity, and holy faith of the church, without so much as mentioning Luther's name or heresy. the brief which he sent to the diet by a nuncio, amply compen sated for this political neglect, and made such an impression on the bishops, that they almost unanimously exclaimed that Luther must perish. The secular princes, however, discovered greater moderation, and were soon imitated by many of the P

Leo X. died in the beginning of Dec. 1521, and was succeeded by Adrian VI., originally of an obscure family of Utrecht, a man of scholastic erudition, and unpolished manners, but of a mild temper, and irreproachable morals. When he arrived at Rome, from Spain, where he was at the time of his election, he immediately applied himself to establish the peace of the church. But the measures which he adopted, though salutary in themselves, ultimately defeated the end proposed by them. Luther's opinions appeared to him so extravagant, that he could not persuade himself but they were occasioned by the abuses and extor

Contra Henric. Reg. Angliae, apud. init. Luth. Oper. tom. ii. Seckend. Sect. 46, 47. § 112, 114. Vol. II. No. 3.

But

clergy, who felt enraged at the insinuations, which were thrown out against them in the letter of instructions from the Pope, read by the nuncio next day. While he called on the assembly to put the edict of Worms in execution against Luther, he accused the prelates and the priests of occasioning the heresies of that reformer, by their negligence, voluptuousness and profligacy. Though, therefore, the Elector of Brandenburg and the greater number of prelates wished to assure the Pope that they would execute the edict of Worms, the other princes and the rest of the clergy opposed it as dangerous not only to Rome, but to the interests of the Empire. They accordingly informed the nuncio that the state of Germany would not allow of the step which the Pope recommended to be taken; praised the Pontiff for the interest which he took in their welfare,. and besought him to continue his plans for the reformation of flagrant abuses. Though the nuncio was highly displeased at the tenor of their reply, the princes persisted in the sentiments which they had avowed; and to justify their conduct drew up a memorial of grievances, amounting to a hundred articles of specific charges against the corruptions of the church, which they earnestly entreated might be speedily redressed. The nuncio, unwilling to receive such an insult as to be charged with this memorial, left the diet suddenly without taking leave of the princes. This step gave them the highest offence,

and convinced them that it was in vain to expect redress from Rome. It also contributed to the vigorous protest which they entered against determining on the merits of the Lutheran controversy, till the meeting of a general council. The diet was dissolved on the 6th of March, 1523.* The event of this assembly was thus most favourable to the cause of the reformation. Preachers were permitted to declare the truth, without molestation, and magistrates to protect them without criminality. Priests and monks, though married, continued in their offices; and the people who had seen the scanda-lous effects of their celibacy, were edified by witnessing the regularity and purity of their conduct. The suspension of the edict of Worms, made its injustice be discerned; and the reference of the controversy to the decision of a council, showed that the diet were not convinced that Luther was altogether in the wrong, and that his greatest heresy, was his attack on the authority of the Pope. In fine, the acknowledgment which Adrian made of the dreadful corruptions of the clergy and court of Rome, justified much of Luther's invectives against them, and gained him many new adherents, who could not but admire his courage and his zeal.t

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* Beausobre, tom. ii. p. 273.-320 Seckend. § 140-147.

Beausob. ib. p. 322.

(To be continued.)

Religious Communications.

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Christianity indicates. But is not
this explanation inconsistent with
what follows? "Abide in me,
saith our Saviour, verse 4," and I
will abide in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine, no more can
ye,except ye abide in me." Is not
the whole complexion of this
passage such as would naturally
lead one to suppose, that the un-
ion, here intended, was that spir-
itual, vital union, of which true
faith, and holiness form the only
cement? Let us suppose that a
mere visible relation is intended,
and see what sort of notions the
words will conyey. Ye are pure
through the word, which I have
spoken unto you.
your visible union

PRESUMING that it is not less congenial with your inclinations, than consistent with the design of your publication, to offer every assistance in your power to those, who meet with obstacles in their search after truth, I take the liberty to lay before you a number of difficulties, with respect to the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, resulting from what I suppose to be the meaning of certain passages of Scripture. I shall enter no farther into the arguments, which may be drawn Continue in from the several texts, than is with me, and I necessary in order to present a will continue to dwell in you. full view of the difficulty, as it Would this promise have been appears to my own apprehension. made to such a perseverance? John xv. 2, our Saviour says, As the branch cannot bear fruit of "Every branch in me, that bear itself, except it abide in the vine, eth not fruit, he," that is, my Fa- no more can ye, except ye continther, "taketh away." This text ue in your external relation to me. certainly seems, to my under- Does not such an interpretation standing, to convey this idea; enervate the figure, and diminish that branches engrafted into the exceedingly the propriety of its true vine, may become unfruitful; application? The relation beand thus render it necessary for tween the vine and the branches the Lord of the vineyard to is beautifully illustrative of the prune them off, and use them relation between Christ and befor fuel. If this explication be lievers; but not at all of that just, it only remains, in order to which subsists between Christ ascertain the sense of the pas- and those members of his visible sage, to determine the meaning church, who derive no spiritual of the phrase, in me, and discov- nourishment from him, and suser what sort of union it is design- tain no vital relation to him. Beed to express. It may be said, sides, it is expressly said, in the that it means nothing more than next verse, that he, that ABIDETH a visible relation, such as the in Christ, bringeth forth much. mere external profession of fruit; which cannot be true, if a

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