328 THE EIDDLE OF THE UNIVERSE. 



Christian Papacy had relentlessly crushed for 1,200 

 years. At the same time the spread of general 

 education had already commenced, owing to the 

 invention of printing about the middle of the fifteenth 

 century ; and towards its close several great events 

 occurred, especially the discovery of America in 1492, 

 which prepared the way for the "renaissance" of 

 science in company with that of art. Indeed, certain 

 very important advances were made in the knowledge 

 of nature during the first half of the sixteenth century, 

 which shook the prevailing system to its very founda- 

 tions. Such were the circumnavigation of the globe 

 by Magellan in 1522, which afforded empirical proof 

 of its rotundity, and the founding of the new system 

 of the world by Copernicus in 1543. 



Yet the 31st of October in the year 1517, the day 

 on which Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses 

 to the wooden door of Wittenburg Cathedral, must be 

 regarded as the commencement of a new epoch ; for 

 on that day was forced the iron door of the prison in 

 which the Papal Church had detained fettered reason 

 for 1,200 years. The merits of the great reformer 

 have been partly exaggerated, partly underestimated. 

 It has been justly pointed out that Luther, like all 

 the other reformers, remained in manifold subjection 

 to the deepest superstition. Thus he was throughout 

 life a supporter of the rigid dogma of the verbal 

 inspiration of the Bible ; he zealously maintained the 

 doctrines of the resurrection, original sin, predestina- 

 tion, justification by faith, etc. He rejected as folly 

 the great discovery of Copernicus, because in the Bible 

 " Joshua bade the sun, not the earth, stand still." 

 He utterly failed to appreciate the great political revo- 

 lutions of his time, especially the profound and just 



