Pope "Defender of the Faith"; a title happily ambiguous, since it conveyed nothing concerning the talent and success with which the church had been defended. Luther, in his study of the Scripture, had not only reached the truth that every man might be his own priest, but had made the kindred discovery, that, in civil life, one man is as good as another, and, in a fair political system, a part of sovereignty should be in each one's hands, so that every one, with no authority except of his own choice above him, should be directly responsible to God. He had seen the intimation in the Bible, that the object of religion was to make all men priests and kings; of course, it was not to be expected, that, after priests ran low in his estimation, he would continue to feel any extraordinary reverence for kings, except they were also respectable men, which did not happen to be the case with Henry. We find that Luther conversed with the Elector on terms of manly equality, showing respect for his character and gratitude for his kindness, but openly professing that he felt no dependence on any earthly power. But as for "that silly-pated Duke George of Saxony," who, with other princes, had prohibited his new translation of the Scriptures in their dominions, he treated them all with indifference and disdain, not concerned in the least by any thing they could do to him, but only lamenting, that, in consequence of their folly, the next age would see "Germany swimming in blood." Shocking to royal ears must have been such language as this; neither did the truth of it make it more palatable. "Ye must know, that, from the beginning of the world, a wise prince has been rare; still more, an upright and honest one. They are generally worthless castaways, or great fools. Already there are very few princes who are not treated as idiots and fools; for the plain reason, that they show themselves such, and the people begin to have understanding." "The emperor," he said, was "a poor and wretched creature"; quite a new title to add to the announcement of Charles the Fifth. Of Henry he said, "Here is this king of England, styling himself Defender of the Faith; the Hungarians, in their litanies, even boast of being the protectors of God. Why are there not princes to protect Jesus Christ, and others to defend the Holy Ghost? Truly, in this fashion, the Holy Trinity and the faith will be fitly guarded at last." This sort of compliment, to which he was so unused, pelting upon him in a per ---- fect storm, threw Henry into a raging passion; and truly there was something in Luther's coolly contemptuous way of abusing, which, however richly deserved, a far more Christian spirit than that of the Defender of the Faith would have been at its wit's end to bear with any composure. Up to this time, Luther had been triumphant in all his undertakings; but now the day of his perplexities began, in which he did not always appear to quite the same advantage; not for the want of clearness in his mind nor of disinterestedness and constancy in his heart; but simply because, when the old authorities were overthrown, he became the popular oracle. All manner of questions, civil and religious, were submitted to him; and how to reconcile liberty with order, and to follow the conscience in all things without treason and disloyalty, it was not always easy to tell. He found, as many who have made war on a smaller scale against ecclesiastical tyranny have had occasion to learn, that what is excellent for pulling down is not the best material for building up; the same enemy which is resistless in its march against oppressive power does not contain the self-restoring principle within it. Those who keep their ranks during the heat of the battle, as soon as the victory is sure, begin to straggle and wander at large; after declaiming against authority, it seems ungracious to exert authority; nor is it of much use, indeed, when there is no longer any consent to obey. He found that his followers began to expatiate, each at his own dear will; each had his doctrine and his psalm, and fearful was likely to be the discord when each was chanting his own. When each one was referred to his own heart for his authority, he could see no reason why he should harmonize with others; and in civil matters especially, men could not understand why, after having released themselves from popes and councils, they should bear the tyranny of feudal chiefs and kings. It is curious to see how this great man, large and liberal in his views and feelings, was driven into something like exclusiveness by the fancied necessity of setting a bound. He feared that the Reformation would be delayed and dishonored by extravagance and excess in his followers; thus, he differed with Zwingle concerning the Lord's Supper, when the views of that great Swiss Reformer were more advanced than his own. He apparently wanted sympathy with the peasants in their resistance to oppression, though their cause was eminently just. In all this, he appears inconsistent with himself; he evidently felt embarrassment, doubting, as the liberal party when triumphant always does, whether he had not preached his liberal doctrine with too little qualification and reserve; and then, in his perplexity, setting up his restraining barriers in the wrong places; setting them up, not because they were reasonable, or the places were right, but only because it seemed that some sort of restraint was wanting. He is not greatly to be censured for this; every liberal party, when successful, finds itself, to its amazement and sorrow, in the same predicament. It seldom shines in the work of conservatism; its former sayings and doings are thrown into its teeth, occasioning not a little confusion and woe. To But with this seeming inconsistency, which in the case of Zwingle certainly was much to be deplored, nothing could be more liberal than Luther's own personal feelings. Hausmann, the pastor of Zwickau, who inquired concerning the bounds of evangelical liberty, he said,-"Let each one follow his own lights, and each question his own conscience how to answer to the gospel." The Moravians asked about the sacrament; he replied," It is madness to be meddling with these matters, to the neglect of the precious concerns of salvation." As to the worship of images, he says, "Where faith and charity are, there can be no sin either in adoring or not adoring; on the contrary, where faith and charity are not, there cannot but be one enduring sin." With respect to the exhibition of relics, "They have been exhibited over and over again to all the world"; as to purgatory, "It seems to be a very doubtful matter." When Spalatin asked for a ceremonial to be observed in mass, he replies, "I implore you not to trouble yourself about small matters of this kind." With regard to the elevation of the host,-"Do just as it pleases you." This is the language of a man who saw that nothing compared in importance with religious character, and whose spirit could not move within the narrow circle of a party. It seemed to him that some church government was necessary to preserve unity and prevent excesses; his own taste evidently leaned to what we delight to call Congregationalism, not so much, it would appear, from the expressiveness of the term, as from the pleasing melody of the sound. But, harass ed as he was by all manner of cares, and pressed by the force of circumstances, perhaps feeling, too, the entire want of all experience on the subject, he was obliged to move on in contradiction to his own advice, "not to throw away the old shoes till they had provided themselves with new." Those which he snatched up hastily were at best but slippers, little suited to the purpose and sadly uneasy to the feet. The effect of being thus pinched was not favorable to his temper, and the chief stains on Luther's great character grew out of this exclusiveness in systems, to which he resorted because they seemed necessary under the circumstances and at the time, while they were not the desire of his mind, not the true expression of his heart. While it is clear that in all this Luther was disinterested and fearless, there is no denying, that, to use the cant phrase of the day, he was "in a false position"; for, on the one hand, he was maintaining the rights of liberty and conscience, and on the other, saying to those who took him at his word, "Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther." But this was not from narrowness of understanding or selfish desire of power, but only because he saw more plainly than others the danger of excess, which might bring discredit on a holy cause, and put the Reformers in the wrong. His old friend Carlstadt, by applying the principles which he had learned of Luther, was plunging on before him. Munzer, too, was stirring up the multitudes to that demand of their rights which ended in the disastrous "Peasants' war." Seeing that they were taking the steps most likely to rivet chains and perpetuate oppression, Luther opposed them with severity; but it should not be forgotten, that, when Carlstadt's life was in danger, he came forward to shield him with the generous kindness of a friend. We cannot like him the less for his moderation, a virtue which it is easier to despise than to understand or maintain; we honor him for his unwillingness to wage an exterminating war against Rome, and even for his wish to retain some of its venerable associations. He had no patience with those breakers of images, who, in their stupid zeal, were defacing churches, and destroying more than their necks were worth of the remains of ancient art. He resisted the violent suppression of religious houses, by which so many of the poor and helpless were thrown upon the world, while the property became the prey of iron-fisted robbers. His untenable theory of consubstantiation evidently grew out of a lingering, traditional regard for the Catholic views of the sacrament. But the other Reformers had no sympathy with these feelings; they looked on him as standing in the way of the Reformation itself; each one, therefore, poured out a vial of wrath on his head, and Luther, who was never slow in returning such compliments, defended his own. position without any parade of respect for theirs. The people, however, who could not understand the necessity of metes and bounds, and thought they could not have too much of a good thing, took sides with his opposers. They could not understand his moderation; they ascribed it to fear, or some other unworthy reasons; and for a time he lost influence, as the Corinthians, not much to their honor, were at one time persuaded by one of their number that St. Paul was not a Christian. There is something very interesting in the description of his retreat into private life. He married a beautiful girl, of noble birth, who had formerly been a nun. There had been some attachment between her and another man. Luther wrote to his rival, that Catherine had not yet overcome her regard for him, and that, if he would come and prevail with her, he could cheerfully see them united. Happily for him, he was not taken at his word, and the monk became a happy husband and father, though his resources for subsistence were at times exceedingly small. He employed himself in gardening and building a fountain; to a friend he wrote, "Come and be crowned with lilies and roses." He interested himself also in mechanical employments; he said to a correspondent, "The turning-tools are come to hand; I have enough for the present, except you meet with some newly invented ones which will turn of themselves, while my servant snores, or stares at the clouds." It is pleasant to see his powerful spirit submitting to the refining influence of domestic affections; pleasanter still to see that he practised the generous virtues as faithfully as when they brought him the world's applause. When the plague entered his house, and all were sick within it, he took in those who were more unfortunate than himself, relieving the sick and adopting their fatherless children, while almost destitute of the means to support his own. Through all changes of joy and sorrow, and under the constant pressure of poverty, he was firm, genial, and unalterably |