REFORMATION. 
Maximilian, th^t his forbearance or negli- 
gence began to be dangerous, the matter 
had gone too far to be easily arrested. 
Emboldened by success, encouraged by, 
the increasing number of his adherents, and 
above ail, protected by the secular power, 
Luther had already proceeded much farther 
in the work of reformation, than it is pro- 
bable he himself at first intended; when 
therefore he was summoned by the Pope to 
appear before him at Rome, by the inter- 
ference of Frederick the Wise, he procured 
the liberty of being heard in a conference 
to be held in Germany. This indulgence 
might possibly have somewhat abated the 
zeal and opposition of Luther, had proper 
persons been chosen to give him a hearing. 
But, instead of this, the persons appointed 
to this service were his avowed enemies, 
the Bishop of Ascuia, and Silvestero 
Piierio. Poor and bare-footed, Luther, 
having commended himself and his cause 
to God, boldly repaired to Augsburg, 
after having written to his friend and fellow 
reformer, Philip Melanclhon, to die follow- 
ing effect : “ I know nothing new or ex- 
traordinary here, except that I am become 
the subject of conversation throughout the 
whole city, and that every one wishes to 
see the man who is to be the victim of such 
a conflagration. You will act your part 
properl}^, as you have always done; and 
teach the youth intrusted to your care. I 
go, for yon, and for them, to be sacrificed 
if it should so please God. I rather choose 
to perish, and what is more afflicting, to be 
for ever deprived even of your society, than 
to retract what I have already asserted, or 
to be the means of affording the stupid ad- 
versaries of all liberal studies an oppor- 
tunity of accomplishing ffheir purpose.” 
With such sentiments and resolutions this 
fearless reformer proceeded to defend him- 
self arid his doctrines against the sense and 
authority of the Pope’s legate, and any 
whom that Cardinal might be pleased to 
appoint for the purpose of opposing the 
reformation. 
At tliis memorable conference every 
thing that remonstrance, persuasion, and 
condescension on the part of the Cardinal of 
Gaeta could effect, were used, to bring back 
this nnruly reformer to an implicit obedi- 
ence to the authority and practices of the 
holy see ; but all in vain. Luther gained 
additional strength and boldness by every 
encounter ; and the conference closed 
■with an appeal to Leo the Tenth, in which, 
after recapitulating the proceedings which 
had already taken place, Luther declares 
tliat he is not conscious of having ad- 
vanced any thing against the holy scrip- 
tures, the ecclesiastical fathers, the de- 
crees of the popes, or right reason ; but 
that all which he has said is catholic, pro- 
pel-, and true. Being however a man, and 
therefore liable to error, he submits Irimself 
to the church, and offers himself personally, 
either there or elsewhere, to adduce the 
reasons of his belief, and reply to all objec- 
tions that may be made against it. This 
protest not satisfying the mind of the Cardi- 
nal, through the interference of some of 
Luther’s friends, he procured from the re- 
former a conciliatory letter, in which he 
acknowledges that he has been indiscreet 
in speaking in disrespectful terms of thesu- 
preme pontiffs ; and promises even to be si- 
lent in future respecting indulgences, pro- 
vided his adversaries were also compelled to 
be silent, or were restrained in their abuse 
of him. AFith these concessions, and an ap- 
peal from Leo the Tenth, prejudiced and 
misled, to Leo the Tenth, better informed 
on the subject, Luther abruptly quitted the 
city of Augsburg. Notwithstanding this 
disrespectful conduct, the Cardinal did not 
avail himself of the powers with which he 
had been entrusted, to excommunicate Lu- 
ther and Iris adherents ; but appealed to the 
Elector of Saxony, and requested, that if 
Luther still persisted in his opposition to 
the church, he might be either sent to 
Rome, or, at least, banished from his domi- 
nions. The Elector refused to comply with 
either of these requests ; and the work of re- 
formation was suffered to go on. 
As it was impossible that the vicar of 
Christ should enter into a formal dispute 
with the monk of AFittemberg, nothing 
now remained, but either to adopt the 
decisive measure of excommunicating the 
unbending reformer, or to put his profes- 
sions of obedience to the test, by a formal 
decree against his doctrines, and by a papal 
bull, expressly declaring, that as the Pope 
is the successor of St. Peter, and vicar of 
Christ upon earth, he hath an undoubted 
power of granting indulgences, which avail 
as well the living as the dead in purgatory ; 
and that this doctrine is essential to the sal- 
vation of every true and obedient son of the 
church. Accordingly, a bull, to this pur- 
port, was signed on the 7th day of Novem- 
ber, 1518, and published throughout the 
Christian world. This put the sincerity and 
boldness of Luther to the test, who soon de- 
cided concerning the measures he should 
