History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume III Part 17

[250] Non era condessa, ni duquessa, mas era su estado mas alto. Ibid.

From this period his choice was made. As soon as his health was restored, he determined to bid adieu to the world. After having, like Luther, shared in one more repast with his old companions in arms, he departed alone, in great secrecy,[251] for the solitary dwellings that the hermits of St. Benedict had hewn out of the rocks of Montserrat.

Impelled not by a sense of sin or his need of Divine grace, but by a desire to become a "knight of the Virgin," and of obtaining renown by mortifications and pious works, after the example of the whole army of saints, he confessed for three days together, gave his rich attire to a beggar, put on sackcloth, and girt himself with a rope.[252] Then, remembering the celebrated armed vigils of Amadis of Gaul, he suspended his sword before an image of Mary, pa.s.sed the night in watching in his new and strange costume, and sometimes on his knees, sometimes upright, but always in prayer and with the pilgrim's staff in his hand, he repeated all the devout practices that the ill.u.s.trious Amadis had observed before him. "It was thus," says his biographer, the Jesuit Maffei, "that while Satan was arming Luther against all laws human and divine, and while that infamous heresiarch appeared at Worms, and impiously declared war against the apostolic see, Christ, by a call from his heavenly providence, was awakening this new champion, and binding him, and those who were to follow in his steps, to the service of the Roman pontiff, and opposing him to the licentiousness and fury of heretical depravity."[253]

[251] Ibi duce amicisque ita salutatis, ut arcana consiliorum suorum quam accuratissime tegeret. Maffei, p. 16.

[252] Pretiosa vestimenta quibus erat ornatus, pannoso cuidam largitus, sacco sese alacer induit ac fune praecinxit. Ibid. p. 20.

[253] Furori ac libidini haereticae pravitatis opponeret. Maffei, p. 21.

[Sidenote: COMPUNCTIONS OF CONSCIENCE.]

Loyola, although still lame in one of his legs, dragged himself by winding and lonely paths to Manresa, where he entered a Dominican convent, in order to devote himself in this secluded spot to the severest mortifications. Like Luther, he daily begged his bread from door to door.[254] He pa.s.sed seven hours upon his knees, and scourged himself three times a-day; at midnight he rose to pray; he allowed his hair and nails to grow, and in the thin pale face of the monk of Manresa it would have been impossible to recognise the young and brilliant knight of Pampeluna.

[254] Victum osteatim precibus, infimis emendicare quotidie. Ibid. p.

23.

[Sidenote: ANGUISH--LUTHER AND LOYOLA.]

Yet the hour had come when religious ideas, which hitherto had been to Inigo a mere chivalrous amus.e.m.e.nt, were to be evolved in him with greater depth, and make him sensible of a power to which he was as yet a stranger. Suddenly, without anything to give him warning, the joy he had felt disappeared.[255] In vain he had recourse to prayer and singing hymns; he could find no rest.[256] His imagination had ceased to call up pleasing illusions; he was left alone with his conscience.

A state so new to him was beyond his comprehension, and he fearfully asked himself whether G.o.d, after all the sacrifices he had made, was still angry with him. Night and day gloomy terrors agitated his soul; he shed bitter tears; with loud cries he called for the peace of mind which he had lost......but all was in vain.[257] He then recommenced the long confession he had made at Montserrat. "Perhaps," thought he, "I have forgotten something." But this confession only increased his anguish, for it reminded him of all his errors. He wandered about gloomy and dejected; his conscience accused him of having done nothing all his life but add sin to sin; and the wretched man, a prey to overwhelming terrors, filled the cloister with his groans.

[255] Tunc subito, nulla praecedente significatione, prorsus exui nudarique se omni gaudio sentiret. Ibid. p. 27.

[256] Nec jam in precibus, neque in psalmis......ullam inveniret delectationem aut requiem. Ibid.

[257] Vanis agitari terroribus, dies noctesque fletibus jungere. Ibid.

p. 28.

Strange thoughts then entered into his heart. Finding no consolation in confession or in the various ordinances of the Church,[258] he began, like Luther, to doubt their efficacy. But instead of forsaking the works of men, and seeking the all-sufficient work of Christ, he asked himself whether he should not again pursue the pleasures of time. His soul sprang eagerly towards the delights of the world he had renounced,[259] but immediately recoiled with affright.

[258] Ut nulla jam res mitigare dolorem posse videretur. Maff. p. 29.

[259] Et saeculi commodis repetendis magno quodam impetu cogitaverit.

Ibid. p. 30.

Was there, at that time, any difference between the monk of Manresa and the monk of Erfurth? Unquestionably,--in secondary points: but the state of their souls was the same. Both were deeply sensible of the mult.i.tude of their sins. Both were seeking for reconciliation with G.o.d, and longed to have the a.s.surance in their hearts. If a Staupitz with the Bible in his hand had appeared in the convent of Manresa, possibly Inigo might have become the Luther of the Peninsula. These two great men of the sixteenth century, these founders of two spiritual powers which for three centuries have been warring together, were at this moment brothers; and perhaps, if they had met, Luther and Loyola would have embraced, and mingled their tears and their prayers.

But from this hour the two monks were destined to follow entirely different paths.

Inigo, instead of feeling that his remorse was sent to drive him to the foot of the cross, persuaded himself that these inward reproaches proceeded not from G.o.d, but from the devil; and he resolved never more to think of his sins, to erase them from his memory, and bury them in eternal oblivion.[260] Luther turned towards Christ; Loyola only fell back upon himself.

[260] Sine ulla dubitatione const.i.tuit praeteritae vitae labes perpetua oblivione conterere. Ibid. p. 31.

[Sidenote: DECISIVE MOMENT--VISIONS.]

Visions came erelong to confirm Inigo in the conviction at which he had arrived. His own resolves had become a subst.i.tute for the grace of the Lord; his own imaginings supplied the place of G.o.d's Word. He had looked upon the voice of G.o.d in his conscience as the voice of the devil; and accordingly the remainder of his history represents him as given up to the inspirations of the spirit of darkness.

One day Loyola met an old woman, as Luther in the hour of his trial was visited by an old man. But the Spanish woman, instead of proclaiming remission of sins to the penitent of Manresa, predicted visitations from Jesus. Such was the Christianity to which Loyola, like the prophets of Zwickau, had recourse. Inigo did not seek truth in the Holy Scriptures; but imagined in their place immediate communication with the world of spirits. He soon lived entirely in ecstasies and contemplation.

One day, as he was going to the church of St. Paul, outside the city, he walked along the banks of the Llobregat, and sat down absorbed in meditation. His eyes were fixed on the river, which rolled its deep waters silently before him. He was lost in thought. Suddenly he fell into an ecstasy: he saw with his bodily eyes what men can with difficulty understand after much reading, long vigils, and study.[261]

He rose, and as he stood on the brink of the river, he appeared to have become another man; he then knelt down at the foot of a cross which was close at hand, prepared to sacrifice his life in the service of that cause whose mysteries had just been revealed to him.

[261] Quae vix demum solent homines intelligentia comprehendere. Maff.

p. 32.

From this time his visions became more frequent. Sitting one day on the steps of St. Dominick's church at Manresa, he was singing a hymn to the Holy Virgin, when on a sudden his soul was wrapt in ecstasy; he remained motionless, absorbed in contemplation; the mystery of the most Holy Trinity was revealed to his sight under magnificent symbols;[262] he shed tears, filled the church with his sobs, and all day long continued speaking of this ineffable vision.

[262] En figuras de tres teclas.

[Sidenote: THE TWO PRINCIPLES.]

These numerous apparitions had removed all his doubts; he believed, not like Luther because the things of faith were written in the Word of G.o.d, but because of the visions he had seen. "Even had there been no Bible," say his apologists, "even had these mysteries never been revealed in Scripture,[263] he would have believed them, for G.o.d had appeared to him."[264] Luther, on taking his doctor's degree, had pledged his oath to Holy Scripture,[265] and the only infallible authority of the Word of G.o.d had become the fundamental principle of the Reformation. Loyola, at this time, bound himself to dreams and visions; and chimerical apparitions became the principle of his life and of his faith.

[263] Quod etsi nulla scriptura, mysteria illa fidei doceret. Acta Sanct.

[264] Quae Deo sibi aperiente cognoverant. Maff. p. 34.

[265] Vol. I. p. 203.

Luther's sojourn in the convent of Erfurth and that of Loyola in the convent of Manresa explain to us--the first, the Reformation; the latter, modern Popery. The monk who was to reanimate the exhausted vigour of Rome repaired to Jerusalem after quitting the cloister. We will not follow him on this pilgrimage, as we shall meet with him again in the course of this history.

CHAPTER II.

Victory of the Pope--Death of Leo X.--The Oratory of Divine Love--Adrian VI.--Plan of Reform--Opposition.

While these events were taking place in Spain, Rome herself appeared to be a.s.suming a more serious character. The great patron of music, hunting, and festivities disappeared from the pontifical throne, and was succeeded by a pious and grave monk.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF LEO X.]

Leo X. had been greatly delighted at hearing of the edict of Worms and Luther's captivity; and immediately, in testimony of his victory, he had consigned the effigy and writings of the reformer to the flames.[266] It was the second or third time that Rome had indulged in this innocent pleasure. At the same time Leo X., wishing to testify his grat.i.tude to Charles V., united his army with the emperor's. The French were compelled to evacuate Parma, Piacenza, and Milan; and Giulio de Medici, the pope's cousin, entered the latter city. The pope was thus approaching the summit of human power.

[266] Comburi jussit alteram vultus in ejus statua, alteram animi ejus in libris. Pallav. i. 128.

These events took place at the beginning of winter 1521. Leo X. was accustomed to spend the autumn in the country. At such times he would leave Rome without surplice, and, what was considered still more scandalous, wearing boots.[267] At Viterbo he amused himself with hawking; at Corneti in hunting the stag: the lake of Bolsena afforded him the pleasure of fishing; thence he pa.s.sed to his favourite villa at Malliana, where he spent his time in the midst of festivities.

Musicians, improvisatori, and all the artists whose talents could enliven this delightful abode, were gathered round the pontiff. He was residing there when he received intelligence of the capture of Milan.

A great agitation immediately ensued in the villa. The courtiers and officers could not restrain their exultation, the Swiss discharged their carbines, and Leo, in excess of joy, walked up and down his room all night, from time to time looking out of the window at the rejoicings of the soldiers and of the people. He returned to Rome, fatigued but intoxicated with success. He had scarcely arrived at the Vatican when he felt suddenly indisposed. "Pray for me," said he to his attendants. He had not even time to receive the holy sacrament, and died in the prime of life, at the age of forty-five, in the hour of victory, and amid the noise of rejoicing.

[267] Paris de Gra.s.sis, his master of the ceremonies, has this entry in his diary. "Thursday, 10th Jan., after breakfast, the pope went to Toscanello and its neighbourhood. He went without his stole, and, worse than that, without his rochet, and worse than all, wore boots.

Diar. inedit."

[Sidenote: ORATORY OF DIVINE LOVE--ADRIAN VI.]

The crowd followed the pontiff to the grave, loading him with abuse.

They could not forgive him for having died without the sacrament and for leaving his debts unpaid, the result of his enormous expenses.