REFORMATION. 
and Paul, and ot the most holy Pope, 
granted and committed to me in these 
parts, do absolve thee, first from all eccle- 
siastical censures, in whatever manner they 
have been incurred ; and then, from all thy 
sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enor- 
mous soever they maybe, even from such as 
are reserved for the cognizance of the holy 
fee; and as far as the keys of the holy 
church .extend, I remit you all punishment 
you deserve in purgatory on their account ; 
and I restore you to the holy sacraments of 
the church, to the unity of the faithful, and 
to tliat innocence and purity you possessed 
at baptism ;-so that when you die, the gates 
of punishment shall be shut, and the gates 
of the paradise of life shall be opened ; and 
if you shall not die at present, this grace 
shall remain in full force when you are at 
the point of death. In the name of the 
Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen.” 
This is the form of absolution sold by the 
agents of Leo X. in various parts of the 
Christian world ; an instrument so absurd, 
that were it not well authenticated, and had 
we not even in our day a similar instance of 
imposture on the one hand and credulity on 
the other, in the seals disposed of by Jo- 
hanna Southcott, one might be tempted to 
doubt the truth of its existence. 
The promulgation, of these indulgences 
in Germany, together with a share arising 
from the profits in the sale of them, was 
assigned to Albert, Elector of Mentz, and 
Archbishop of Magdeburg, who, as his chief 
agent for retailing them, employed one 
Tetzel, a Dominican Friar of licentious 
morals, but of a bold and active spirit. 
Tetzel, assisted by the monks of his order, 
executed this ignoble commission with great 
zeal and success : but with the most shame- 
less indecency and indiscretion; at the 
same time magnifying the benefits of these 
indulgences in the most extravagant man- 
ner. To such enormities did Tetzel pro- 
ceed in describing the efficacy of these 
pretended dispensations, that he even said 
“ if any one had ravished the mother of 
God, he (Tetzel) had wherewithal to efface 
his guilt.” He also boasted, that “ he had 
saved more souls from hell by these indul- 
gences, than St. Peter had converted to 
Christianity by his preaching.” These enor- 
mous blasphemies and abuses roused the 
indignation of Martin Luther, a monk of 
the Augustinian Eremites, and professor of 
divinity in the academy at Wittemberg, to 
such a pitch of fervour, that he began to 
declaim with boldness against these scandals 
of the Cliristian name. In ninety-five pro- 
positions, maintained publicly at Wittem- 
berg, on the 30th of September 1517, he 
censured the extravagant extortions, of 
the questors, and plainly pointed out the 
Roman Pontiff as a partaker of their guilt, 
since he suffered the people to be seduced, 
by such delusions, from placing their prin- 
cipal confidence in Christ, the only proper 
object of their trust. So daring an opposi- 
tion from an obscure monk in a corner of 
Germany, excited the surprise and admira- 
tion of all the world, except Rome itself, 
which seemed most likely to have been first 
alarmed. Luther had no sooner published 
his propositions than multitudes flocked to 
his standard, and joined him in the outcry 
against the shameful abominations of the 
Church of Rome. It was, however, some 
time before an irruption took place ; or 
that the friends of reform declared open 
war against the decrees and authority of the 
Church. Tetzel and others vainly attempted 
to defend the indulgences: but were conti- 
nually repulsed; and put to shame by tlie 
arguments and intrepidity of Luther. The 
history of the various disputes which called 
forth the energies of this Reformer, and ex- 
posed the nakedness of the Church, is both 
interesting and curious : we must neverthe- 
less pass over this portion of the history of 
the reformation in Germany; observing that 
Luther and his adherents soon found most 
powerful auxiliaries in the University of 
Wittemberg, and the protection of Fre- 
derick, Elector of Saxony. 
While the Saxon reformer was daily mak- 
ing inroads on the authority of the Roman 
See, first by an opposition to tlie promulga- 
tion of indulgences, and from that, by a 
fearless exposure of the errors and doctrines 
of the Catholic Church itself, the Pope and 
Cardinals at Rome were asleep in the arms of 
luxury, and insensible of their danger amidst 
the enjoyments of polite literature, the my- 
sticisms of Plato, the glare of outward 
grandeur, and the stupefactions of sensu- 
ality. It is true, the snpineness of Leo was 
often reproved by those who had the in- 
terests of the Church at heart; but the 
natural benevolence of that pontiff’s dis- 
position, and his utter aversion to business, 
or solicitude, rendered it difficult to con- 
vince him that the disputes in Saxony were 
any thing besides the squabbles of restless 
and ignorant monks, unworthy his regard, 
and beneath his interference. And when 
at length he was reminded by the Emperor 
