History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume III Part 12

[166] Loci Communes Theologici, Basle, 1521, p. 35. This edition is very rare. For the subsequent revisions consult that of Erlangen, 1828, founded on that of Basle, 1561.

The Wittemberg divine then proceeds to show how man is saved from this wretchedness. "The apostle!" said he, "invites thee to contemplate the Son of G.o.d sitting at the right hand of the Father, mediating and interceding for us;[167] and calls upon thee to feel a.s.sured that thy sins are forgiven thee, that thou art reputed righteous, and accepted by the Father for the sake of that Son who suffered for us on the cross."

[167] Vult te intueri Filium Dei sedentem ad dextram Patris, mediatorem interpellantem pro n.o.bis. Ibid.

[Sidenote: EFFECT OF THE COMMON-PLACES.]

The first edition of the _Common-places_ is especially remarkable for the manner in which the theologian of Germany speaks of free will. He saw more clearly perhaps than Luther, for he was a better theologian than he, that this doctrine could not be separated from that which const.i.tuted the very essence of the Reformation. Man's justification before G.o.d proceeds from faith alone: this is the first point. This faith enters man's heart by the grace of G.o.d alone: here is the second. Melancthon saw clearly that if he allowed that man had any natural ability to believe, he would be throwing down in the second point that great doctrine of grace which he had stated in the first.

He had too much discernment and understanding of the Holy Scriptures to be mistaken in so important a matter. But he went too far. Instead of confining himself within the limits of the religious question, he entered upon metaphysics. He established a fatalism which might tend to represent G.o.d as the author of evil,--a doctrine which has no foundation in Scripture. "As all things which happen," said he, "happen necessarily, according to the Divine predestination, there is no such thing as liberty in our wills."[168]

[168] Quandoquidem omnia quae eveniunt, necessario eveniunt juxta divinam praedestinationem, nulla est voluntatis nostrae libertas. Loc.

Com. Theol. Basle, 1521, p. 35.

But the object Melancthon had particularly in view was to present theology as a system of piety. The schoolmen had so dried up the doctrine as to leave no traces of vitality in it. The task of the Reformation was therefore to reanimate this lifeless doctrine. In the subsequent editions, Melancthon felt the necessity of expounding these doctrines with greater clearness.[169] But such was not precisely the case in 1521. "To know Christ," said he, "is to know his blessings.[170] Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, desiring to give a summary of the christian doctrines, does not philosophize on the mystery of the Trinity, on the mode of incarnation, on active or pa.s.sive creation; of what then does he speak?--of the law,--of sin,--of grace. On this our knowledge of Christ depends."

[169] See the edition of 1561, reprinted in 1829, p. 14-44, the several chapters:--De tribus personis;--De divinitate Filii;--De duabus naturis in Christo;--Testimonia quod Filius sit persona;--Testimonia refutantia Arianos;--De discernendis proprietatibus humanae et divinae naturae Christi;--De Spiritu Sancto, &c. &c.

[170] Hoc est Christum cognoscere, beneficia ejus cognoscere. Ibid.

The publication of this body of theology was of inestimable value to the cause of truth. Calumnies were refuted; prejudices swept away. In the churches, palaces, and universities, Melancthon's genius found admirers, who esteemed the graces of his character. Even those who knew not the author were attracted to his creed by his book. The roughness and occasional violence of Luther's language had often repelled many. But here was a man who explained those mighty truths whose sudden explosion had shaken the world, with great elegance of style, exquisite taste, admirable perspicuity, and perfect order. The work was sought after and read with avidity, and studied with ardour.

Such gentleness and moderation won all hearts. Such n.o.bility and force commanded their respect; and the superior cla.s.ses of society, hitherto undecided, were gained over by a wisdom that made use of such beautiful language.

On the other hand, the adversaries of truth, whom Luther's terrible blows had not yet humbled, remained for a time silent and disconcerted at the appearance of Melancthon's treatise. They saw that there was another man as worthy of their hatred as Luther himself. "Alas!"

exclaimed they, "unhappy Germany! to what extremity wilt thou be brought by this new birth!"[171]

[171] Heu! infelicem hoc novo partu Germaniam! Cochlus.

Between the years 1521 and 1595 the _Common-places_ pa.s.sed through sixty-seven editions, without including translations. Next to the Bible, this is the book that has possibly contributed most to the establishment of the evangelical doctrine.

CHAPTER X.

Opposition--Henry VIII.--Wolsey--The Queen--Fisher--Thomas More--Luther's Books burnt--Henry's Attack on Luther--Presented to the Pope--Its Effect on Luther--Energy and Violence--Luther's Reply--Answer by the Bishop of Rochester--Reply of Thomas More--Henry's Proceedings.

While the "grammarian" Melancthon was contributing by these gentle strains a powerful support to Luther, men of authority, enemies to the reformer, were turning violently against him. He had escaped from the Wartburg and reappeared on the stage of the world; and at this news the rage of his former adversaries was revived.

[Sidenote: HENRY THE EIGHTH--WOLSEY.]

Luther had been three months and a half at Wittemberg when a rumour, increased by the thousand tongues of fame, brought intelligence that one of the greatest kings of Christendom had risen against him. Henry VIII., head of the house of Tudor, a prince descended from the families of York and Lancaster, and in whose person, after so much bloodshed, the red and white roses were at length united, the mighty king of England, who claimed to re-establish on the continent, and especially in France, the former influence of his crown,--had just written a book against the poor monk of Wittemberg. "There is much boasting about a little book by the King of England," wrote Luther to Lange on the 26th of June 1522.[172]

[172] Jactant libellum regis Angliae; sed _leum_ illum suspicor sub pelle tectum:--an allusion to Lee, the king's chaplain, and a pun on the word _leo_, a lion. L. Epp. ii. 213.

Henry was then thirty-one years old; "he was tall, strong-built and proportioned, and had an air of authority and empire."[173] His countenance expressed the vivacity of his mind; vehement, presuming to make everything give way to the violence of his pa.s.sions, and thirsting for glory, he at first concealed his faults under a certain impetuosity that is peculiar to youth, and flatterers were not wanting to encourage them. He would often visit, in company with his courtiers, the house of his chaplain, Thomas Wolsey, the son of an Ipswich butcher. Endowed with great skill, of overweening ambition, and of unbounded audacity, this man, protected by the Bishop of Winchester, chancellor of the kingdom, had rapidly advanced in his master's favour, and allured him to his residence by the attractions of pleasures and disorders, in which the young prince would not have ventured to indulge in his own palace. This is recorded by Polydore Virgil, at that time papal sub-collector in England.[174] In these dissolute meetings, the chaplain surpa.s.sed the licentiousness of the young courtiers who attended Henry VIII. Forgetful of the decorum befitting a minister of the Church, he would sing, dance, laugh, play the fool, fence, and indulge in obscene conversation.[175] By these means he succeeded in obtaining the first place in the king's councils, and, as sole minister, all the princes of Christendom were forced to purchase his favour.

[173] Collier, Eccl. Hist. of Great Britain, fol. ii. 1.

[174] Domi suae voluptatum omnium sacrarium fecit, quo regem frequenter ducebat. Polyd. Virgilius, Angl. Hist., Basle, 1570, fol. p. 633.

Polydore appears to have suffered from Wolsey's pride, and rather inclined to exaggerate the minister's faults.

[175] c.u.m illis adolescentibus una psallebat, saltabat, sermones leporis plenos habebat, ridebat, jocabatur, &c. Polyd. Virgilius, Angl. Hist. Basle, 1570, fol. p. 633.

[Sidenote: HENRY'S COURT--QUEEN CATHERINE.]

Henry lived in the midst of b.a.l.l.s, banquets, and jousting, and madly squandered the treasures his father had slowly acc.u.mulated.

Magnificent tournaments succeeded each other without interval. In these sports the king, who was distinguished above all the combatants by his manly beauty, played the chief part.[176] If the contest appeared for a moment doubtful, the strength and address of the young monarch, or the artful policy of his opponents, gave him the victory, and the lists resounded with shouts and applause in his honour. The vanity of the youthful prince was inflated by these easy triumphs, and there was no success in the world to which he thought he might not aspire. The queen was often seen among the spectators. Her serious features and sad look, her absent and dejected air, contrasted strongly with the noise and glitter of these festivities. Shortly after his accession to the throne, Henry VIII. had espoused for reasons of state Catherine of Aragon, his senior by eight years: she was his brother Arthur's widow, and aunt to Charles V. While her husband followed his pleasures, the virtuous Catherine, whose piety was truly Spanish, would leave her bed in the middle of the night to take a silent part in the prayers of the monks.[177] She would kneel down without cushion or carpet. At five in the morning, after taking a little rest, she would again rise, and putting on the Franciscan dress, for she had been admitted into the tertiary order of St Francis, and hastily throwing the royal garments around her,[178]

would repair to church at six o'clock to join in the service.

[176] Eximia corporis forma praeditus, in qua etiam regiae majestatis augusta quaedam species elucebat. Sanderus de Schismate Anglicano, p.

4. This work of Sanders, papal nuncio in Ireland, should be read very cautiously; for it abounds in false and calumnious a.s.sertions, as has been remarked by Cardinal Quirini and the Roman-catholic Doctor Lingard. See the History of England by the latter, vol. vi. 173.

[177] Surgebat media nocte ut nocturnis religiosorum precibus interesset. Ibid. 5.

[178] Sub regio vest.i.tu _Divi Francisci_ habitu utebatur. Sanders, p.

5.

[Sidenote: FISHER AND MORE.]

Two beings, living in such different spheres, could not long continue together.

Romish piety had other representatives besides Catherine in the court of Henry VIII. John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, then nearly seventy years of age, as distinguished for learning as for the austerity of his manners, was the object of universal veneration. He had been the oldest councillor of Henry VII., and the d.u.c.h.ess of Richmond, grandmother to Henry VIII., calling him to her bedside, had commended to his care the youth and inexperience of her grandson. The king, in the midst of his irregularities, long continued to revere the aged bishop as a father.

A man much younger than Fisher, a layman and lawyer, had before this attracted general attention by his genius and n.o.ble character. His name was Thomas More, son of one of the judges of the King's Bench. He was poor, austere, and diligent. At the age of twenty he had endeavoured to quench the pa.s.sions of youth by wearing a shirt of haircloth, and by self-scourging. On one occasion, being summoned by Henry VIII. while he was attending ma.s.s, he replied, that G.o.d's service was before the king's. Wolsey introduced him to Henry, who employed him on various emba.s.sies, and showed him much kindness. He would often send for him, and converse with him on astronomy, on Wolsey, and on divinity.

In truth, the king himself was not unacquainted with the Romish doctrines. It would appear, that if Arthur had lived, Henry was destined for the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury. Thomas Aquinas[179], St. Bonaventure, tournaments, banquets, Elizabeth Blunt and others of his mistresses--all were mixed up in the mind and life of this prince, who had ma.s.ses of his own composition sung in his chapel.

[179] Legebat studiose libros divi Thomae Aquinatis. Pol. Virg. p. 634.

[Sidenote: LUTHER'S BOOKS BURNT.]

As soon as Henry had heard talk of Luther, he became indignant against him, and hardly was the decree of the Diet of Worms known in England, before he ordered the pontiff's bull against the reformer's works to be put in execution.[180] On the 12th of May 1521, Thomas Wolsey, who, together with the office of chancellor of England, combined those of cardinal and legate of Rome, went in solemn procession to St. Paul's.

This man, whose pride had attained the highest pitch, thought himself the equal of kings. He used to sit in a chair of gold, sleep in a golden bed, and a cover of cloth of gold was spread on the table at his meals.[181] On this occasion he displayed great magnificence. His household, consisting of 800 persons, among whom were barons, knights, and sons of the most distinguished families, who hoped by serving him to obtain public office, surrounded this haughty prelate. Silk and gold glittered not only on his garments (he was the first ecclesiastic who ventured to dress so sumptuously),[182] but even on the housings and harness of the horses. Before walked a tall priest bearing a silver column terminated by a cross; behind him, another ecclesiastic of similar height carried the archiepiscopal crosier of York; a n.o.bleman at his side held the cardinal's hat.[183] Lords, prelates, amba.s.sadors from the pope and emperor, accompanied him, followed by a long line of mules bearing chests covered with the richest and most brilliant hangings. It was this magnificent procession that was carrying to the burning pile the writings of the poor monk of Wittemberg. When they reached the cathedral, the insolent priest placed his cardinal's hat on the altar. The virtuous Bishop of Rochester stationed himself at the foot of the cross, and with agitated voice preached earnestly against the heresy. After this the impious books of the heresiarch were brought together and devoutly burned in the presence of an immense crowd. Such was the first intelligence that England received of the Reformation.

[180] Primum libros Lutheranos, quorum magnus jam numerus pervenerat in ma.n.u.s suorum Anglorum, comburendos curavit. Pol. Virg. p. 664.

[181] Uti sella aurea, uti pulvino aureo, uti velo aureo ad mensam.

Ibid.

[182] Primus episcoporum et cardinalium, vest.i.tum exteriorem seric.u.m sibi induit. Ibid. p. 633.

[183] Galerum cardinalium, ordinis insignem, sublime a ministro praeferebat......super altare collocabat. Ibid. p. 645.

[Sidenote: HENRY'S BOOK AGAINST LUTHER.]

Henry would not stop here. This prince, whose hand was ever upraised against his adversaries, his wives, or his favourites, wrote to the elector-palatine: "It is the devil, who, by Luther's means, has kindled this immense conflagration. If Luther will not be converted, let him and his writings be burnt together!"[184]