Count Ulrich of Lindburg Part 3

CHAPTER FIVE.

Eric at once set steadily to work to study, attending regularly the lectures of the various professors, more especially those of Dr Luther.

That wonderful leader of the Reformation was now giving a course of sermons on important subjects in the chief church in the town. On all occasions when he entered the pulpit the church was crowded with eager and attentive listeners. He had a difficult task to perform. During his absence at Wartburg various disorders occurred. Several enthusiasts, from various parts of the country, mostly ignorant, and little acquainted with the Gospel, a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of prophets, and violently attacked every inst.i.tution connected with Rome--the priests in some places were a.s.sailed with abuse as they were performing the ceremonies of their Church--and these men, at length, coming to Wittemburg, so worked on some of the students that the churches were entered, the altars torn up, and the images carried away and broken and burnt. The enthusiasts were known as the prophets of Zwickau, from the place where they first began to preach their doctrines. To put a stop to these disorders, Luther had been entreated to return from the Wartburg to Wittemburg. The proceedings which have been described were in direct opposition to the principles on which he, Melancthon, and other leaders of the Reformation had been acting. Their whole aim from the first, was to encourage learning, to insist on the study of the Scriptures, to do nothing violently, and to persuade and lead their fellow-men to a knowledge of the truth.

No great movement ever advanced with more slow and dignified steps than the Reformation. The existence of gross abuses produced it. Had the Romish hierarchy been willing to consent to moderate reforms, they might not humanly speaking, have lost their influence, and the whole of Europe might still have groaned under their power. But G.o.d had not thus ordered it. By their own blindness and obstinacy they brought about their own discomfiture. Luther himself was eminently conservative. He never altogether got rid of some of the notions he had imbibed in the cloister. Step by step he advanced as the light dawned on him--not without groans and agitations of mind--yielding up point after point in the system to which he had once adhered.

Eric was present at one of the first of the important series of sermons which the great Doctor preached on his return to Wittemburg. The enthusiasts had refused to be guided by the Gospel. They had a.s.serted (misunderstanding the Apostle) that it mattered little how a man lived, provided he had faith, and that they had a right to compel others by force, if necessary, to adopt their views.

"It is with the Word we must fight," said the great Doctor, in reply to these opinions. "By the Word we must overthrow and destroy what has been set up by violence. Let us not make use of force against the superst.i.tious and unbelieving. Let him who believes approach--let him who believes not keep away. No one must be constrained. LIBERTY IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF FAITH."

Entering the pulpit, he addressed the congregation in language full of strength and gentleness, simple and n.o.ble, yet like a tender father inquiring into the conduct of his children.

"He rejoiced," he told them, "to hear of the progress they had made in faith," and then he added, "But, dear friends, WE NEED SOMETHING MORE THAN FAITH, WE NEED CHARITY. If a man carries a drawn sword in a crowd, he should be careful to wound no man. Look at the Sun--two things proceed from it--light and heat. What king so powerful as to bend aside his rays? They come directly to us, but heat is radiated and communicated in every direction. Thus faith, like light, should be straight, RADIATE ON EVERY SIDE, AND BEND TO ALL THE WANTS OF OUR BRETHREN. You have abolished the ma.s.s, in conformity, you say, to Scripture. You were right to get rid of it. But how did you accomplish that work? What order--what decency did you observe? You should have offered up fervent prayers to G.o.d, and obtained the sanction of the legal authorities for what you proposed doing; then might every man have acknowledged that the work was in accordance with G.o.d's will.

"The ma.s.s is, I own, a bad thing. G.o.d is opposed to it, but let no one be torn from it by force. We must leave the matter in G.o.d's hands. His word must act, and not we. We have the right to speak; we have _not_ the right to act. LET US PREACH; THE REST BELONGS TO G.o.d. Our first object must be to win men's hearts, and to do this we must preach the Gospel. G.o.d does more by His word alone than by the united strength of all the world. G.o.d lays hold upon the heart, and when that is taken all is gained. See how Saint Paul acted. Arriving at Athens, he found altars raised to false G.o.ds. He did not touch one; but, proceeding to the market-place, he explained to the people that their G.o.ds were senseless idols. His words took possession of their hearts. Their idols fell without Paul having raised his hand.

"I will preach, discuss, and write, but I will constrain none, for faith is a voluntary act. Observe what has been done: I stood up against the Pope, indulgences and other abominations, but without violence or tumults. I put forward G.o.d's Word. I preached and wrote. This was all I did. Yet while I slept or gossiped with my friends, the Word that I had preached overthrew Popery, so that not the most powerful prince nor emperor could have done it so much harm. What would have been the result had I appealed to force? Ruin and desolation would have ensued.

The whole of Germany would have been deluged with blood. I therefore kept quiet and let the Word run through the world alone. 'What, think you,' Satan says, when he sees men resorting to violence to propagate the Gospel, as he sits calmly, with folded arms, malignant looks, and frightful grin? 'Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game!' But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he is troubled, his knees knock together, and he shudders and faints with fear."

Speaking of the Lord's Supper, his remarks are of great importance. "It is not the outward manducation that makes a Christian, but the inward and spiritual eating, which works by faith, and without which all forms are mere show and grimace," he observed. "Now this faith consists in a firm belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of G.o.d; that, having taken our sins and iniquities upon Himself, and having borne them on the Cross, He is Himself their sole and almighty atonement; that He stands continually before G.o.d; that He reconciles us with the Father, and that He hath given us the sacrament of His body to strengthen our faith in His unspeakable mercy. If I believe in these things, G.o.d is my defender; although sin, death, h.e.l.l, and devils attack me, they can do me no harm, nor disturb a single hair of my head. This spiritual bread is the consolation of the afflicted, health to the sick, life to the dying, food to the hungry, riches to the poor."

These sermons caused much discussion, not only in the University, but throughout Germany. Eric was among those who entered most eagerly into the subjects brought forth by the Reformers. He soon formed several friendships with his brother students. His most intimate friend was Albert von Otten, who was rather older than himself, and had been some years at the University. He was intimate, too, with Melancthon, Armsdorff, and others.

"Dr Philip has written on that subject," observed Albert, speaking of the last of Dr Martin's sermons. "Here are some remarks from fifty-five propositions, which were published some time back."

"Just as looking at a cross," he says, "is not performing a good work, but simply contemplating a sign that reminds us of Christ's death, just as looking at the sun is not performing a good work, but simply contemplating a sign that reminds us of Christ and His Gospel, so partaking of the Lord's Supper is not performing a good work, but simply making use of a sign that reminds us of the grace that has been given us through Christ.

"But here is the difference, namely, that the symbols invented by men simply remind us of what they signify, while the signs given us by G.o.d not only remind us of the things themselves, but a.s.sure our hearts of the will of G.o.d.

"As the sight of a cross does not justify, so the ma.s.s does not justify.

"As the sight of a cross is not a sacrifice either for our sins or for the sins of others, so the ma.s.s is not a sacrifice.

"There is but one sacrifice--but one satisfaction--Jesus Christ.

Besides Him there is none other." Dr Carlstadt was the first to celebrate the Lord's Supper in accordance with Christ's inst.i.tutions.

On the Sunday before Christmas-day he gave out from the pulpit that, on the first day of the New Year, he would distribute the Eucharist in both kinds to all who should present themselves; that he would omit all useless forms, and wear neither cope not chasuble. Hearing, however, that there might be some opposition, he did not wait till the day proposed. On Christmas-day, 1521, he preached in the parish church on the necessity of quitting the ma.s.s and receiving the sacrament in both kinds. After the sermon he went to the altar, p.r.o.nounced the words of consecration in German; then, turning to the people, without elevating the host, he distributed the bread and wine to all, saying, "This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant." At the end he gave a public absolution to all, imposing no other penance than this, "Sin no more."

No one opposed him, and in January the Council and University of Wittemburg regulated the celebration of the Lord's Supper according to the new ritual.

Thus fell the ma.s.s--the chief bulwark of Rome. It, and Transubstantiation, had for three centuries been established. "It had tended to the glory of man--the worship of the priest. It was an insult to the Son of G.o.d; it was opposed to the perfect grace of His Cross, and the spotless glory of His everlasting Kingdom. It lowered the Saviour, it exalted the priest, whom it invested with the unparalleled power of reproducing, in his hand, and at his will, the Sovereign Creator."

From the time of its establishment the Church seemed to exist not to preach the Gospel, but simply to reproduce Christ bodily. The Roman Pontiff, whose humblest servants created at pleasure the body of G.o.d Himself, sat as G.o.d in the temple of G.o.d, and claimed a spiritual treasure, from which he issued at will indulgences for the pardon of souls. [Note 1.]

Luther at length agreed to have a conference with the prophets of Zwickau. They said that they could work miracles. He desired them to do so. They became furiously enraged. He quickly upset their pretensions, and they, the same day, quitted Wittemburg, thoroughly defeated. Thus by the wisdom of one man, tranquillity was restored, and the Reformation was able to proceed with sure and certain footsteps, unmolested.

The work of all others with which, next to the Testament, Eric was most delighted, was Melancthon's "Common-places of Theology," written during the time Luther had resided in the Wartburg.

It was a body of doctrine of solid foundation and admirable proportion, unlike any before written. He considered that the foundation on which the edifice of Christian theology should be raised is "a deep conviction of the wretched state to which man is reduced by sin."

Thus the truth was promulgated through the length and breadth of the land, while Luther, by his translation of the Bible, was preparing the means by which all cla.s.ses could imbibe it from its fountain head. Not only the students at the universities, but women and children, soldiers and artisans, became acquainted with the Bible, and with that in their hands, were able successfully to dispute with the doctors of the schools and the priests of Rome. Eric had been very anxious to learn more of the early life of Dr Luther than he before knew, that he might refute the statements Father Nicholas had been fond of making concerning him.

He could not have applied to a better person than Albert, who had been acquainted with the family of Conrad Cotta, with whom Martin had resided while at Eisenach, and who had ever after taken a deep interest in his welfare and progress.

It is that Ursula, Conrad Cotta's wife, the daughter of the burgomaster of Ilefeld, who is designated in the Eisenach chronicles as the pious Shunamite, Martin, while singing to obtain food with which to support himself while pursuing his studies at the school of Eisenach, and having often been harshly repulsed by others had attracted her attention. She had before been struck by hearing his sweet voice in church. She beckoned him in, and put food before him that he might appease his hunger. Conrad Cotta not only approved of his wife's benevolence, but was so greatly pleased with the lad's conversation that he from henceforth gave him board and lodging in his house, and thus enabled him to devote all his time and energies to study.

"John Luther, Dr Martin's father, was a miner, residing at Eisleben, where, on the 10th of November, 1483, our Doctor was born," began Albert. "When he was not six months old, his parents removed to Mansfeldt. John Luther was a superior man, industrious and earnest. He brought up his children with great strictness. Believing that Martin had talent, he was anxious that he should study for the law, and he obtained for him the best education in his power. First he was sent to Magdeburg, but finding it impossible to support himself at that place, he moved to Eisenach. Among the professors was the learned John Trebonius, who, whenever he entered the schoolroom, raised his cap. One of his colleagues inquired why he did so? 'There are among those boys, men of whom G.o.d will one day make burgomasters, counsellors, doctors, and magistrates. Although you do not see them with the badges of their dignity, it is right that you should treat them with respect,' was the answer. Martin had been two years at Erfurth, and was twenty years old, when, one day, examining the books in the public library, he found a Latin Bible--a rare book--unknown in those days. Till then he imagined that the fragments selected by the Church to be read to the people during public worship composed the whole Word of G.o.d. From that day it became his constant study and delight. A severe illness, brought on by hard study, gave him time for meditation. He felt a strong desire to become a monk, under the belief that by so doing he should attain to holiness. All this time living with the excellent Cotta family, nothing could be more exemplary and orderly than his life. Though animated and lively and delighting in music, he had, from his boyhood, been serious-minded and earnest in the extreme, and at no period did he give way to the excesses of which his enemies accuse him. On his recovery from his illness, he paid a visit to his parents at Mansfeldt; but he did not venture to express the wish he entertained of entering a monastery, from fearing that his father would disapprove of it. On his return journey he was overtaken by a fearful storm, and he made a vow that, should he escape destruction, he would devote himself to the service or G.o.d. His whole desire was now to attain holiness. He believed that he could not find it in the world. He bade farewell to his friends, he entered the cloister, his father's expostulations and anger caused him grief, but he persevered. In spite of all the penances and severities he underwent, he could not attain to the holiness he sought. It was not to be found in the convent. He found, too, a true friend in Staupitz, the Vicar-general of the Augustines for all Germany, a man eminent for his learning, his liberality, and true piety. The elector, Frederick the Wise, founded, under his direction, the University of Wittemburg, to which, by his advice, the young doctor was shortly appointed professor. It is worthy of remark that, long after Dr Martin had ceased to think of purchasing heaven by his abstinence, so simple were his tastes, that a little bread and a small herring often composed his only meal in the day, while often he was known to go days together without eating or drinking. The great movement owes much to Staupitz. Dr Martin opened all his heart to him, and told him of all his fears about his own want of holiness, and the unspeakable holiness of G.o.d. 'Do not torment yourself with these speculations,' answered the Vicar-general. 'Look at the wounds of Jesus Christ--to the blood that He has shed for you; it is there that the grace of G.o.d will appear to you. Instead of torturing yourself on account your sins, throw yourself into your Redeemer's arms. Trust in Him--in the righteousness of His life--in the atonement of His death. Do not shrink back, G.o.d is not angry with you; it is you who are angry with G.o.d. Listen to the Son of G.o.d, He became man to give you the a.s.surance of Divine favour. He says to you, You are my sheep, you hear my voice; no man shall pluck you out of my hand.' Still Dr Martin could not understand how he was to repent, and be accepted by G.o.d. 'There is no real repentance except that which begins with the love of G.o.d and of righteousness,' answered the venerable Staupitz. 'In order that you may be filled with the love of what is good, you must be filled with the love for G.o.d. If you desire to be converted, do not be curious about all these mortifications, and all these tortures, Love Him who first loved you.'

A new light broke on Dr Martin's soul, and, guided by it, he began to compare the Scriptures, looking out for all the pa.s.sages which treat on repentance and conversion. This was his delight and consolation. He desired, however, to go further; Staupitz checked him. 'Do not presume to fathom the hidden G.o.d, but confine yourself to what He has manifested to us in Jesus Christ,' he said; 'Look at Christ's wounds, and then you will see G.o.d's counsel towards man shine brightly forth. We cannot understand G.o.d out of Jesus Christ. In Him the Lord has said, You will find what I am and what I require; nowhere else, neither in heaven nor in earth, will you discover it.' Again Staupitz advised him to make the study of the Scriptures his favourite occupation, and represented to him that it was not in vain that G.o.d exercised him in so many conflicts, for that He would employ him as His servant for great purposes. Truly have the words of the good old man come true. Yet Dr Martin was far from enlightened. He was to obtain full emanc.i.p.ation from the thraldom of Rome in Rome itself. He was sent there to represent seven convents of his own order, who were at variance with the Vicar-general. He had always imagined Rome to be the abode of sanct.i.ty. Ignorance, levity, dissolute manners, a profane spirit, a contempt for all that is sacred, a scandalous traffic in divine things. Such was the spectacle afforded by this unhappy city. Even when performing their most sacred ceremonies, the priests derided them. Some of them boasted that when pretending to consecrate the elements, they uttered the words '_Panis es et panis manebis; vinum es et vinum manebis_.' While himself performing ma.s.s, on one occasion, the priest near him, who had finished his, cried out, '_Pa.s.sa_--_pa.s.sa_--_quick_--_quick_!--have done with it at once!'

It was the fashion at the Papal Court to attack Christianity, and no person could pa.s.s for a well-bred man unless he could satirise the doctrines of the Church. These, and numberless other abominations, which he saw and heard, must greatly have shaken his faith in the sanct.i.ty of Rome; and, at length, on a certain occasion, his eyes were completely opened. The Pope had promised an indulgence to all who should ascend on their knees a staircase, which it is pretended was brought from Pilate's Judgment-hall, and that down it our blessed Lord had walked. It is called 'Pilate's Staircase.' While he, with others, desirous of obtaining the promised indulgence, was laboriously climbing up the stair on his knees, he thought that he heard a voice of thunder crying out, '_The just shall live by faith_.' He rose at once, shuddering at the depth to which superst.i.tion had plunged him, and fled from the scene of his folly. Yes, those words are the key-note of all the arguments by which our glorious work must be supported," exclaimed Albert. "Yes, _faith without works justifies us before G.o.d_; that is the fundamental article Dr Martin holds. Soon after his return he was made Doctor of Divinity, and could now devote himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures, and, which was of the greatest importance, lecture on them. While thus engaged, he ever, from the first, pointed to the Lamb of G.o.d. The firmness with which he relied on the Holy Scriptures imparted great authority to his teaching. In him also every action of his life corresponded with his words. It is known that these discourses do not proceed merely from his lips--they have their source in his heart, and are practised in all his works. Many influential men, won over by the holiness of his life, and by the beauty of his genius, not only have not opposed him, but have embraced the doctrine to which he gave testimony by his works. The more men love Christian virtues, the more men incline to Dr Martin. But I need say no more to refute the calumnies which have been uttered against him. See what instances he has given, too, of his dauntless character. When the plague broke out here he refused to fly, but remained employed in translating the New Testament. See how boldly he nailed his theses against indulgences to the church doors; how bravely he burnt the Pope's bull. Although the Elector would not allow Tetzel to enter his dominions, he got to a place within four miles of Wittemburg, and many people purchased indulgences.

While Dr Martin was seated in the confessional, many of these poor dupes came to him and acknowledged themselves guilty of excesses.

'Adultery, licentiousness, usury, ill-gotten gains'--still they would not promise to abandon their crimes, but trusting to their letters of indulgence obtained from Tetzel, showed them, and maintained their virtue. Dr Martin replied, 'Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' This circ.u.mstance still further opened his eyes to the abuses and evil system of the Church to which he belonged, but not even yet had the idea of separating from her occurred to his mind, not indeed until the Pope anathematised Dr Martin for speaking the truth did he acknowledge that he was indeed Antichrist, and that no true Christians could hold communion with him."

Eric soon became as warm an admirer of Dr Martin Luther, as was his friend, Albert von Otten. The Reformation movement was now proceeding, seemingly with far more rapid strides than before. The Bible was being disseminated; the convents thrown open--or, at all events, their inmates were leaving them--superst.i.tions were being abolished; a pure form of worship was being established in numerous places; and, what was of the greatest importance, young men of high talent and courage were being educated in the principles of the Reformation to spread the pure light of the Gospel throughout all parts of Germany.

Little Thomas Platter made great progress in his studies, and bid fair to grow up an earnest Christian and industrious man, amply paying Eric for the care he bestowed on him.

Hans Bosch, when his young master was about to return home, begged that he might come back with him to Wittemburg.

"I there got an abundance of substantial food for my soul, while Father Nicholas serves us out only piecrust, filled with dry dust that is neither meat nor drink," said the old man, as he looked up while packing his young master's valise.

Note 1. Merle D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation."

CHAPTER SIX.

Eric, with his friend, Albert von Otten, arrived unexpectedly one day, to the Knight's very great satisfaction at Lindburg. The Knight embraced his son affectionately.

"I have a great many questions to ask, and difficulties for you to solve, my son," he said, as he beckoned him to come to his room.

"And I, father, have very many things to say to you, so that we shall have plenty to talk about. Albert will, in the meantime, entertain my mother and Laneta."

"And now, Eric, what do you think of this Dr Luther?" asked the Knight, after he had looked along the pa.s.sage which led to his room, and locked the door.

"Think, father! That he has brought light out of darkness--that he has made the boldest stand that ever man has done against the power, the tyranny, the impositions of the Pope, and the superst.i.tions which he and his predecessors have ever encouraged for the sake of filling their pockets, utterly regardless of the souls they led away from Christ and salvation," exclaimed Eric, warming as he proceeded. "He has done, and he is doing a glorious work, and though his foes were to burn him to-morrow, they could not extinguish the light he has kindled. He teaches that man is by nature sinful and alienated from G.o.d, but that G.o.d so loved the world that He sent His Son to become a sacrifice for man's sins, to suffer instead of man, and thus to enable him, through repentance and faith in that sacrifice, to be reconciled to Himself; that Christ is the only Mediator between G.o.d and man; neither His mother Mary, nor the Saints, have anything to do in the matter; that they required His sacrifice as much as others, and that, therefore, fasts, penances, invocation of saints, ma.s.ses for the dead, purgatory, indulgences, are all the inventions of the popes to put money into their pockets, or into the pockets of the priests, their supporters, or of the devil, to lead souls astray."

"I heartily agree with him, Eric. See, I have read something about the matter already," said the Knight, going to the oak chest in which he kept his treasures, and bringing out the Testament and some of Dr Luther's works. "I never found myself a bit the better for fasts or penances, whenever I thought that I ought, for my sins, to endure them; and, as for indulgences, I felt very much inclined to kick that scoundrel Tetzel out of the place when I heard that he had come to sell them in this neighbourhood. Now, tell me, does your friend, Albert von Otten, preach? He looks as if he had the gift of speech."

"Indeed he has," said Eric. "He has the power of moving the hearts of his hearers."

"Then he shall preach in our church next Sunday, and to all in this Castle as well, in spite of what Father Nicholas may say to the contrary!" exclaimed the Knight. "I have long wanted you, Eric, to take Father Nicholas in hand; you may be able to convince him, and your mother too--she is a good woman, but bigoted and obstinate, begging her pardon, and I should have had no peace if I had once begun, unless I had come off the conqueror at once. Albert von Otten will help you."

Eric gladly undertook the task. It was the chief object he had had in view since he had himself been converted to the truth. He immediately broke ground. His mother and Laneta were very much astonished at his doctrine, but they would not acknowledge that he was right. Father Nicholas had scarcely a word to say in return, so he put on the stolid look of a schoolboy brought up unwillingly to receive a lecture.

"Young men's dreams," he muttered, "or devices of Satan to draw men from the true Church. Ah, the Bible is, as I always said, a dangerous book.

Little did those who wrote it dream what mischief it would cause in the world."

The minds of the whole household were much agitated by the subjects of which Eric and his friend spoke to them. Still more so was the Knight himself the next day, when the colporteur, John Muntz, presented himself at the gate, and, demanding to see him, put into his hand a letter from his own little daughter Ava. He read it over and over again, and his countenance beamed with satisfaction. He immediately called Eric to him, ordering refreshment to be brought in the meantime for John Muntz in the hall, and desiring him to talk to his people and to sell any of his books if he could. Ava, after sending greeting to him and her mother, and love and duty, continued: