The general signs of a lukewarm spi- been, that he was once struck by lightrit are such as these: Neglect of pri- ning, and his companion killed by his vate prayer; a preference of worldly side by the same flash. He had been to religious company; a lax attendance taught the scholastic philosophy which on public ordinances; omission or care- was in vogue in those days, and made less perusal of God's word; a zeal for considerable progress in it: but hapsome appendages of religion, while lan-pening to find a copy of the Bible which guid about religion itself; a backwardness to promote the cause of God in the world, and a rashness of spirit in censuring those who are desirous to be useful.

If we enquire the causes of such a spirit, we shall find them to be-worldly prosperity; the influence of carnal relatives and acquaintances; indulgence of secret sins; the fear of man; and sitting under an unfaithful ministry.

The inconsistency of it appears if we consider, that it is highly unreasonable dishonourable to God; incompatible with the genius of the Gospel a barrier to improvement; a death-blow to usefulness; a direct opposition to the commands of Scripture; and tends to the greatest misery.

To overcome such a state of mind, we should consider how offensive it is to God: how incongruous with the very idea and nature of true religion; how injurious to peace and felicity of mind; } how ungrateful to Jesus Christ, whose whole life was labour for us and our salvation; how grievous to the Holy Spirit; how dreadful an example to those who have no religion; how unlike the saints of old, and even to our enemies in the worst of causes; how dangerous to our immortal souls, since it is indicative of our want of love to God, and exposes us to just condemnation, Amos vi. 1.

lay neglected in the library of his monastery, he applied himself to the study of it with such eagerness and assiduity, as quite astonished the monks; and increased his reputation for sanctity so much, that he was chosen professor, first of philosophy, and afterwards of theology, in Wittemburg, on the Elbe, where Frederic, elector of Saxony, had founded an university.

While Luther continued to enjoy the highest reputation for sanctity and learning, Tetzel, a Dominican fríar came to Wittemburg in order to publish indulgences. Luther beheld his success with great concern; and having first inveighed against indulgences from the pulpit, he afterwards published ninety-five theses, containing his sentiments on that subject. These he proposed not as points fully established, but as subjects of inquiry and disputation. He appointed a day on which the learned were invited to impugn them, either in person or by writing; and to the whole he subjoined solemn protestation of his high respect for the apostolic see, and of his implicit submission to its authority. No opponent appeared at the time prefixed: the theses spread over Germany with astonishing rapidity, and were read with the greatest eagerness.

Though Luther met with no opposition for some little time after he began to publish his new doctrines, it was not LUTHERANS, those Christians long before many zealous champions who follow the opinions of Martin Lu- arose to defend those opinions with ther, the celebrated reformer of the which the wealth and power of the clerchurch, in the sixteenth century. In gy were so strictly connected. Their order that we may trace the rise and cause, however, was by no means proprogress of Lutheranism, we must here moted by these endeavours: the people refer to the life of Luther himself. Lu- began to call in question even the auther was a native of Eisleben, in Saxony, thority of the canon law, and of the pope and born in 1483. Though his parents himself. The court of Rome at first dewere poor, he received a learned edu- spised these new doctrines and disputes; cation, during the progress of which he but at last the attention of the pope begave many indications of uncommon ing raised by the great success of the vigour and acuteness of genius. As his reformer, and the complaints of his admind was naturally susceptible of serious versaries, Luther was summoned, in the impressions, and tinctured with some- month of July, 1518, to appear at Rome, what of that religious melancholy which within sixty days, before the auditor of delights in the solitude and devotion of the chamber. One of Luther's adversaa monastic life, he retired into a convent ries, named Prierius, who had written of Augustinian friars; where he ac- against him, was appointed to examine quired great reputation not only for his doctrines, and to decide concerning piety, but for love of knowledge, and them. The pope wrote at the same unwearied application to study. The time to the elector of Saxony, beseechcause of this retirement is said to haveing him not to protect a man whose he

retical and profane tenets were so shock-mous power of the see of Rome; and ing to pious ears; and enjoined the pro- though all Germany resounded with his vincial of the Augustinians to check, by fame, the elector had never yet admithis authority, the rashness of an arro- ted him into his presence. But upon gant monk, which brought_disgrace this demand made by the cardinal, it beupon their order, and gave offence and came necessary to throw off some of his disturbance to the whole church. former reserve. He had been at great expense, and bestowed much attention on founding a new university, an object of considerable importance to every German prince; and foreseeing how fatal a blow the removal of Luther would be to its reputation, he not only declined complying with either of the pope's requests, but openly discovered great concern for Luther's safety.

From these letters, and the appointment of his open enemy Prierius to be his judge, Luther easily saw what sentence he might expect at Rome; and therefore discovered the utmost solicitude to have his cause tried in Germany, and before a less suspected tribunal. He wrote a submissive letter to the pope, in which he promised an unreserved obedience to his will, for as yet he entertained no doubt of the divine original of the pope's authority; and, by the intercession of the other professors, Cajetan, the pope's legate in Germany, was appointed to hear and determine the cause. Luther appeared before him without hesitation; but Cajetan thought it below his dignity to dispute the point with a person so much his inferior in rank; and therefore required him, by virtue of the apostolic powers with which he was clothed, to retract the errors which he had uttered with regard to indulgences and the nature of faith, and to abstain for the future from the publication of new and dangerous opihions; and, at the last, forbad him to appear in his presence, unless he promised to comply with what had been required of him.

The situation of our reformer, in the mean time, became daily more and more alarming. He knew very well what were the motives which induced the elector to afford him protection, and that he could by no means depend on a continuance of his friendship. If he should be obliged to quit Saxony, he had no other asylum, and must stand exposed to whatever punishment the rage or bigotry of his enemies could inflict; and so ready were his adversaries to condemn him, that he had been declared a heretic at Rome before the expiration of the sixty days allowed him in the citation for making his appearance. Notwithstanding all this, however, he discovered no symptoms of timidity or remissness; but continued to vindicate his own conduct and opinions, and to inveigh against those of his adversaries with more vehemence than ever. Being convinced therefore, that the pope would soon proceed to the most violent measures against him, he appealed to a general council, which he affirmed to be the representative of the Catholic church, and superior in power to the pope, who, being a fallible man, might err, as St. Peter, the most perfect of his predecessors, had done.

This haughty and violent manner of proceeding, together with some other circumstances, gave Luther's friends such strong reasons to suspect that even the imperial safe-conduct would not be able to protect him from the legate's power and resentment, that they prevailed on him secretly to withdraw from Augsburg, where he had attended the legate, and to return to his own coun try. But before his departure, accord - The court of Rome was equally assiing to a form of which there had been duous, in the mean time, to crush the some examples, he prepared a solemn author of these new doctrines, which appeal from the legate, ill-informed at gave them so much uneasiness. A bull that time concerning his cause, to the was issued by the pope, of a date prior pope, when he should receive more full to Luther's appeal, in which he magniintimation with respect to it. Cajetan, fied the virtues of indulgences, and subenraged at Luther's abrupt retreat, and jected to the heaviest ecclesiastical cenat the publication of his appeal, wrote sures all who presumed to teach a conto the elector of Saxony, complaining of trary doctrine. Such a clear decision both; and requiring him, as he regarded of the sovereign pontiff against him the peace of the church, or the authori- might have been very fatal to Luther's ty of its head, either to send that sedi- cause, had not the death of the emperor tious monk a prisoner to Rome, or to Maximilian, which happened on Januabanish him out of his territories. Fre- ry 17, 1519, Contributed to give matters deric had hitherto, from political mo- a different turn. Both the principles tives, protected Luther, as thinking he and interest of Maximilian had promptmight be of use in checking the enor-led him to support the authority of the

see of Rome; but, in consequence of his death, the vicariate of that party of Germany which is governed by the Saxon laws devolved to the elector of Saxony; and, under the shelter of his friendly administration, Luther himself enjoyed tranquillity; and his opinions took such root in different places, that they could never afterwards be eradicated. At the same time, as the election of an emperor was a point more interesting to the pope (Leo X.) than a theological controversy which he did not understand, and of which he could not foresee the consequences, he was so extremely solicitous not to irritate a prince of such considerable influence in the electoral college as Frederic, that he discovered a great unwillingness to pronounce the sentence of excommunication against Luther, which his adversaries continually demanded with the most clamorous importunity.

on the 15th of June, 1520. Forty-one propositions, extracted out of Luther's works, were therein condemned as heretical, scandalous, and offensive to pious ears; all persons were forbidden to read his writings, upon pain of excommunication; such as had any of them in their custody were commanded to commit them to the flames; he himself, if he did not within sixty days publicly recant his errors, and burn his books, was pronounced an obstinate heretic, excommunicated, and delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh and all secular princes were required, under pain of incurring the same censure, to seize his person, that he might be punished as his crimes deserved.

Luther was not in the least disconcerted by this sentence, which he had for some time expected. He renewed his appeal to this general council; declared the pope to be that antichrist or From the reason just now given, and man of sin whose appearance is foreLeo's natural aversion to severe mea- told in the New Testament; declaimed sures, a suspension of proceeding against against his tyranny with greater veheLuther took place for eighteen months, mence than ever; and at last, by way though perpetual negociations were car- of retaliation, having assembled all the ried on during this interval, in order to professors and students in the university bring the matter to an amicable issue. of Wittemburg, with great pomp, and The manner in which these were con- in the presence of a vast multitude of ducted having given our reformer many || spectators, he cast the volumes of the opportunities of observing the corruption canon law, together with the bull of exof the court of Rome, its obstinacy in communication, into the flames. The adhering to established errors, and its in- manner in which this action was justidifference about truth, however clearly fied, gave still more offence than the acproposed or strongly proved, he began, tion itself. Having collected from the in 1520, to utter some doubts with re- canon law some of the most extravagant gard to the divine original of the papal propositions with regard to the plenitude authority, which he publicly disputed and omnipotence of the pope's power, with Eccius, one of his most learned as well as the subordination of all secuand formidable antagonists. The dis- lar jurisdiction to his authority, he pubpute was indecisive, both parties claim-lished these with a commentary, pointing the victory; but it must have been very mortifying to the partizans of the Romish church to hear such an essential point of their doctrine publicly attacked.

The papal authority being once suspected, Luther proceeded to push on his enquiries and attacks from one doctrine to another, till at last he began to shake the firmest foundations on which the wealth and power of the church were established. Leo then began to perceive that there were no hopes of reclaiming such an incorrigible heretic,|| and therefore prepared to pronounce the sentence of excommunication against him. The college of cardinals was often assembled, in order to prepare the sentence with due deliberation; and the ablest canonists were consulted how it might be expressed with unexcep tionable formality. At last it was issued

ing out the impiety of such tenets, and their evident tendency to subvert all civil government.

On the accession of Charles V. to the empire, Luther found himself in a very dangerous situation. Charles, in order to secure the pope's friendship, had determined to treat him with great severity. His eagerness to gain this point rendered him not averse to gratify the papal legates in Germany, who insisted, that, without any delay, or formal deliberation, the diet then sitting at Worms ought to condemn a man whom the pope had already excommunicated as an incorrigible heretic. Such an abrupt manner of proceeding, however, being deemed uprecedented and unjust by the members of the diet, they made a point of Luther's appearing in person, and declaring whether he adhered or not to those opinions which had drawn

upon him the censures of the church. I left the city, a severe edict was publishNot only the emperor, but all the princes ed in the emperor's name, and by authrough whose territories he had to thority of the diet, depriving him, as an pass, granted him a safe-conduct; and obstinate and excommunicated criminal, Charles wrote to him at the same time, of all the privileges which he enjoyed as requiring his immediate attendance on a subject of the empire; forbidding any the diet, and renewing his promises of prince to harbour or protect him; and protection from any injury or violence. requiring all to seize his person as soon Luther did not hesitate one moment as the term specified in his protection about yielding obedience; and set out should be expired. for Worms, attended by the herald who had brought the emperor's letter and safe-conduct. While on his journey, many of his friends, whom the fate of Huss under similar circumstances, and notwithstanding the same security of an imperial safe-conduct, filled with solicitude, advised and entreated him not to rush wantonly into the midst of danger. But Luther, superior to such terrors, silenced them with this reply: "I am lawfully called," said he, "to appear in that city; and thither I will go, in the name of the Lord, though as many devils as there are tiles on the houses were there combined against me."

But this rigorous decree had no considerable effect; the execution of it being prevented partly by the multiplicity of occupations which the commotions in Spain, together with the wars in Italy and the Low Countries, created to the emperor; and partly by a prudent precaution employed by the elector of Saxony, Luther's faithful patron. As Luther, on his return from Worms, was passing near Altenstrain, in Thuringia, a number of horsemen, in masks, rushed suddenly out of a wood, where the elector had appointed them to lie in wait for him, and, surrounding his company, carried him, after dismissing all his attenThe reception which he met with at dants, to Wortburg, a strong castle, not Worms was such as might have been far distant. There the elector ordered reckoned a full reward of all his labours, him to be supplied with every thing neif vanity and the love of applause had cessary or agreeable; but the place of been the principles by which he was in- his retreat was carefully concealed, unfluenced. Greater crowds assembled til the fury of the present storm against to behold him than had appeared at the him began to abate, upon a change in emperor's public entry; his apartments the political system of Europe. In this were daily filled with princes and per- solitude, where he remained nine sonages of the highest rank; and he months, and which he frequently called was treated with an homage more sin- his Patmos, after the name of that cere, as well as more flattering, than island to which the apostle John was any which pre-eminence in birth or banished, he exerted his usual vigour condition can command. At his ap- and industry in defence of his doctrines, pearance before the diet he behaved or in confutation of his adversaries; pubwith great decency and with equal firm-lishing several treatises, which revived ness. He readily acknowledged an excess of acrimony and vehemence in his controversial writings; but refused to retract his opinions, unless he were con- Luther, weary at length of his retirevinced of their falsehood, or to consentment, appeared publicly again at Witto their being tried by any other rule than the word of God. When neither threats nor entreaties could prevail on him to depart from this resolution, some of the ecclesiastics proposed to imitate the example of the council of Constance; and, by punishing the author of this pestilent heresy, who was now in their power, to deliver the church at once from such an evil. But the members of the diet refusing to expose the German integrity to fresh reproach by a second violation of public faith, and Charles being no less unwilling to bring a stain upon the beginning of his administration by such an ignominious action, Luther was permitted to depart in safety. A few days after he

the spirit of his followers, astonished to a great degree, and disheartened at the sudden disappearance of their leader.

temburg, upon the 6th of March, 1522. He appeared, indeed, without the electors's leave; but immediately wrote him a letter to prevent him taking it ill. The edict of Charles V. severe as it was had little or no check to Luther's doctrine; for the emperor was no sooner gone into Flanders, than his edict was neglected and despised, and the doctrine seemed to spread even faster than before. Carolostadius, in Luther's absence, had pushed things on faster than his leader, and had attempted to abolish the use of mass, to remove images out of the churches, to set aside auricular confession, invocation of saints, the abstaining from meats; had allowed the monks to leave the monasteries, to

pope upon the 9th of January following. In his brief, among other things, he observes to the diet how he had heard, with grief, that Martin Luther after the sentence of Leo X. which was ordered to be executed by the edict of Worms, continued to teach the same errors, and daily to publish books full of heresies; that it appeared strange to him that so large and so religious a nation could be seduced by a wretched apostate friar; that nothing, however, could be more pernicious to Christendom; and that, therefore, he exhorts them to use their utmost endeavours to make Luther, and the authors of those tumults, return to their duty; or, if they refuse, and continue obstinate, to proceed against them according to the laws of the empire, and the severity of the last edict.

neglect their vows, and to marry; in empire was held at Nuremberg, at the short, had quite changed the doctrine end of the year to which Hadrian VI. and discipline of the church at Wittem- sent his brief, dated November the 25th; burg, all which, though not against Lu-for Leo. X. died upon the 2d of Decemther's sentiments, was yet blamed byber, 1521, and Hadrian had been elected him, as being rashly and unseasonably done. Lutheranism was still confined to Germany; it was not to go to France; and Henry VIII. of England made the most rigorous acts to hinder it from invading his realm. Nay, he did something more: to show his zeal for religion and the holy see, and perhaps his skill in theological learning, he wrote a treatise of the Seven Sacraments, against Luther's book Of the Captivity of Babylon, which he presented to Leo X. in October, 1521. The pope received it very favourably, and was so well pleased with the king of England, that he complimented him with the title of Defender of the Faith. Luther, however, paid no regard to his kingship, but answered him with great sharpness, treating both his person and perform- || ance in the most contemptuous manner. Henry complained of Luther's rude usage of him to the princes of Saxony: and Fisher, bishop of Rochester, replied to his answer, in behalf of Henry's treatise; but neither the king's complaint, nor the bishop's reply, were attended with any visible effects.

The resolution of this diet was published in the form of an edict, upon the 6th of March, 1523; but it had no effect in checking the Lutherans, who still went on in the same triumphant manner. This year Luther wrote a great many pieces; among the rest, one upon the dignity and office of the suLuther, though he had put a stop to preme magistrate; which Frederick, the violent proceedings of Carolostadius, elector of Saxony, is said to have been now made open war on the pope and highly pleased with. He sent, about bishops; and, that he might make the the same time, a writing in the Gerpeople despise their authority as much man language to the Waldenses, or as possible, he wrote one book against Pickards, in Bohemia and Moravia, who, the pope's bull, and another against the had applied to him "about worshipping order falsely called the Order of Bi- the body of Christ in the eucharist." shops. The same year, 1522, he wrote He wrote, also, another book, which he a letter, dated July the 29th, to the as- dedicated to the senate and people of sembly of the states of Bohemia; in Prague, “about the institution of miwhich he assured them that he was la- nisters of the church." He drew up a bouring to establish their doctrine in form of saying mass. He wrote a piece, Germany, and exhorted them not to re-entitled, An Example of Popish Docturn to the communion of the church of trine and Divinity; which Dupin calls Rome; and he published also this year a satire against nuns, and those who a translation of the New Testament in profess a monastic life. He wrote also the German tongue, which was after-against the vows of virginity, in his prewards corrected by himself and Melancthon. This translation having been printed several times, and being in every body's hands, Ferdinand, archduke of Austria, the emperor's brother, made a very severe edict, to hinder the farther publication of it; and forbade all the subjects of his Imperial Majesty to have any copies of it, or of Luther's other books. Some other princes followed his example; and Luther was so angry at it, that he wrote a treatise of the Secular Power, in which he accuses them of tyranny and impiety. The diet of the

face to his commentary on 1 Cor. viii. and his exhortations here were it seems, followed with effect; for, soon after, nine nuns, among whom was Catherine de Bore, eloped from the nunnery at Nimptschen, and were brought, by the assistance of Leonard Coppen, a burgess of Torgau, to Wittemburg. Whatever offence this proceeding might give to the Papists, it was highly extolled by Luther; who, in a book written in the German language, compares the deliverance of these nuns from the slavery of monastic life to that of the souls