79$ L U T 
Luther in his retreat, It ftas in feme degree damped by 
the information which he received, that the univerfity of 
Paris, the moft ancient, and at that time the molt refpec- 
table, of the learned focieties in Europe, had publilhed a 
folemn decree, condemning his opinions: and that king 
Henry VIII. of England had pubiilhed a treatife againft 
him. Thefe events feemed to oppofe infuperable obfta- 
cles to the propagation of his principles in the two moil 
powerful kingdoms of Europe. But Luther was not over¬ 
awed, either by the authority of the univerfity or the dig¬ 
nity of the monarch ; and he foon pubiilhed his animad- 
verlions on both,in a flyle no lefs vehement and l'evere than 
he would have ufed in confuting his meaneft antagonift. 
His contemporaries, however, were fo far from being 
blocked by the manner of his anfwering them, that they 
conlidered it as a new proof of his undaunted fpirit; and 
a controverfy in which fitch illuftrious difputants had em¬ 
barked drew fuch general attention to our reformer’s doc¬ 
trines in France and England, that, in fpite of the civil 
and eccleiiaftical powers, daily converts were gained to 
them in both thofe countries. 
The active fpirit of Luther, however, could not long 
bear a hate of retirement; and, after an abfence of about 
ten months, he returned to Wittemberg, March 6, 1522, 
without the permiffion, or even the knowledge, of his pa¬ 
tron and protestor Frederic. One of his principal motives 
for taking this bold ftep was the information which he 
received of the proceedings of Carlolfadt, one of his dif- 
ciples, who was animated with the fame zeal, but poflefied 
lefs prudence and moderation than his mailer. During 
tiie abfence of Luther, he endeavoured to abolifh the ule 
of mafs,auricular confeliion, the invocation of faints, and 
abftinence from meats. He alfo threw down and broke the 
images of the faints that were placed in the churches, and 
inftigated the multitude to proceed to dangerous exceffes 
in deftroying the relics of popilh idolatry. Encouraged 
by his exhortations, they role in feveral villages of Saxony, 
broke into the churches with the multuary violence, and 
threw down and deltroyed the images which were erected 
in them. Such irregular and outrageous proceedings were 
fo repugnant to all the elector's cautious maxims, that, 
if they had not received a timely check, they could have 
hardly failed of alienating from the reformers a prince, no 
lefsjealous of his own authority than afraid of giving of¬ 
fence to the emperorand other patrons of the ancient opi¬ 
nions. Senfible of the danger, Luther quitted his retreat, 
and condemned in ftrong terms the conduct to which 
Carloltadt’s impetuolity and ralhnefs had given rife. Hap¬ 
pily for the reformation, the veneration for his perfon and 
authority was Hill fo great, that his appearance alone fup- 
prelfed that fpirit of extravagance which began to feize 
Iiis party. Carloftadt, and his fanatical followers, ftruck 
dumb by his rebukes, fubmitted at once, and declared 
that they heard the voice of an angel, not of a man. 
At this time the dodtrines of the reformer were not 
known in France ; and in England, the fovereign, Henry 
VIII had made the moft: vigorous exertions to prevent 
them from invading his realms; he even undertook to 
write them down, in a treatife entitled “ Of the Seven Sa¬ 
craments,” See. This work he prefented to Leo X. in 
October 1521. The pope was fo well pleafed with the 
royal attempt to confute the arguments of Luther, that he 
complimented him with the title of “Defender of the 
Faith.” Whatever refpedt and reverence Luther might 
ftiow to kings as Inch, he had none for the arguments of 
an antagonift, though armed with royal authority ; and an- 
fwefed Henry with much feverity, treating lvis perform¬ 
ance in the moft contemptuous manner. 
We have already mentioned that, while Luther was 
concealed in the caftle of Wartenb rg, he tranllated a 
great part of the New Tcitamer.t into the German lan¬ 
guage. He now applied himfeif with redoubhd industry 
and zeal to that work; and, with the abidance of Me- 
lanflhon, and feveral others of his difeipies, he finilhed 
it in the prefent year. The publication of this per¬ 
il E R. 
formance, which was gradually followed by tranflations 
of the other parts of Scripture, produced hidden and in¬ 
credible effedts, and proved more fatal to the church of 
Rome than that of all Luther’s other works. It was read 
with wonderful avidity and attention by perfons of ali 
ranks. With aftonilhment they difeovered how contrary 
the precepts of Chrift are to the inventions of bis pre¬ 
tended vicegerents; and, being now put into poffeffion of 
the rule of faith, they conceived themfelves qualified, by 
applying it, to judge of the eftablifhed opinions, and to 
pronounce when they were conformable to the ftandard, 
or when they departed from it. About this time, Nu¬ 
remberg, Frankfort, Hamburg, and feveral other imperial 
cities in Germany, abolifhed the mafs, and the other fu- 
perftitious rites of popery, and openly embraced the re¬ 
formed religion. The eledtor of Brandenburgh, likewife, 
together with the dukes of Brunfwick and Lunenburgh, 
and the prince of Anhalt, became avowed patrons of Lu¬ 
ther’s opinions, and countenanced the preaching of them 
in their territories. 
In this ftate of things pope Leo X. died, and was fuc- 
ceeded in the pontificate by Adrian VI. who had formerly 
been preceptor to the emperor. One of the firfl objedts 
of Adrian’s care after his elevation to the papacy was, to 
deliberate with the cardinals concerning the proper means 
of putting a (top to the growing defedtion from the ca¬ 
tholic pale in Germany. With this defign he fent Francis 
Cheregato, his legate, to the diet which was aflembled at 
Nuremberg in November 1522. In the brief which he 
addreffed to that affembly, he condemned Luther’s opi¬ 
nions with more afperity and rancour of expreflion than 
Leo had ever ufed ; feverely cenfured the princes of Ger¬ 
many for fuffering him to fpread his pernicious tenets; 
and required the fpeedy and vigorous execution of the 
fentence which had been pronounced againft Luther and 
his followers at the diet of Worms. At the fame time he 
acknowledged, with great candour, the corruptions and 
abufes of the Roman court to be the fource whence moft 
of the evils which the church now felt or dreaded, had 
flowed ; promifing the exertion of all his authority to re¬ 
form them, and requefting their advice refpedling the moft 
elfedtual means of lupprefiing the lierefy which had fprung 
up among them. The members of the diet, after praiiing 
the pope’s pious and laudable intentions, excufed them¬ 
felves from not executing the edidt of Worms, on ac¬ 
count of the prodigious incr.eafe of Luther’s followers, 
and the averfion to the court of Rome among their other 
fubjedts, owing to its innumerable exadlions; both which 
circumftances rendered fuch an attempt not only dan¬ 
gerous, but impolfible. They alfo tranfmitted to his ho- 
linefs a lift of a hundred grievances, which the empire im¬ 
puted to the iniquitous dominion of the papal fee; and 
propofed the alfembling, without delay, a general council 
in one of the great cities of Germany, as the only ade¬ 
quate meafure for corredting the evils complained of, and 
for reftoringthe church to tranquillity, foundnefs, and vi¬ 
gour. Afterwards they palled an edidt, on the 6th of 
March 1523, prohibiting all innovations in religious mat¬ 
ters, until a general council (hould decide what was to be 
done in an affair of fuch high moment and importance. 
But this edidt was no more carried into execution than 
that of Worms; and Luther itill went on fuccefsfully in 
laying the foundations of a new church in diredt oppoii- 
tion to that of Rome. Among the other numerous fub¬ 
jedts which employed his pen during the preient year, 
were thofe of the monadic life, and vows of celibacy, 
againft which he diredted not only the force of weighty 
arguments, but the weapons of l'atire. One of the ear- 
lielt effedts of his labours on thefe points, was the elope¬ 
ment of nine nuns from the nunnery of Nimptfchen, who 
were condudted by a burgels of Torgaw to Wittemberg. 
This proceeding, as may be imagined, gave high offence 
to the papilts; out Luther warmly extolled it, in a publi¬ 
cation written in the German language ; and compared 
the deliverance of thefe nuns from the fiavery of a mo- 
naltic 
