L U T 
menfe forces; and flood in need of fuccours, which the 
proteftant princes refufed to grant as long as theeditfts of 
Worms and Augfburg remained in force. And he was 
anxious to obtain from tbofe princes an approbation of 
his favourite meafure for continuing the imperial crown 
in his family, the eledtion of his brother Ferdinand to the 
dignity of icing of the Romans, which had been con* 
eluded by a majority of votes at the diet of Cologne, in 
the year 1531, but contefted by them as contrary to the 
fundamental laws of the empire. On thefe accounts, he 
could not but be aware of the policy and necefiity of 
coming to a fpeedy accommodation with the malcontent 
princes. Negotiations were, accordingly, carried on by 
his direction with the confederates of Smalkalde, and, af¬ 
ter many delays and difficulties, terms of pacification were 
agreed upon at Nuremberg, and ratified folemnly in the 
diet at Ratifbon, Augufl 3, 153a. By this treaty, the 
proteftant princes engaged to aliiit the emperor with all 
their forces in refitting the invafion of the Turks 5 and it 
was ftipulated, that univerfal peace fhould be. eftablifhed 
in Germany until the meeting of a general council, the 
convocation of which within fix months the emperor was 
to endeavour to procure ; that no perfon ftiould be ino- 
lefted on account of religion ; that a flop (hould be put 
to all proceffes begun by the imperial chamber againlt 
proteftants, and the fentences already palled to their de¬ 
triment be declared void. 
Luther bad now the fatisfaffion of feeing, in confe¬ 
rence of this religious truce, one of the principal oblta- 
cles to the undifguifed profeflion of his opinions removed. 
Encouraged by it, thofe who had been hitherto only fe- 
cret enemies to the Roman pontiff, now f'purned his yoke 
publicly, and renounced bis jurifdidion. This appears 
from the various cities and provinces in Germany, which, 
about this time, boldly enlilted themfelves under the 
llandard of our reformer. Henceforth the proteftants of 
Germany, who had hitherto been viewed only as a reli¬ 
gious feCf, came to be confidered as a political body of no 
fmall confequence; and Luther was inceflant in his ex¬ 
hortations to them to confirm the reformation, their 
grand bond.of union, publifhing from time to time fucli 
writings as might encourage, direift, and aid, them in 
ftrengthening and extending their glorious caufe. 
Soon after the truce of Nuremberg, the elector of 
Saxony died, and was fucceeded by his Ion John Frederic, 
who was no lefs attached than his predecelfor to the opi¬ 
nions of Luther, and prepared to defend them with equal 
7,eal and magnanimity. In the mean time the emperor, 
in conformity to the ftipulations of the truce lately con¬ 
cluded, applied to pope Clement VII. by his ambaffadors, 
-to call a general council without delay; and in an inter¬ 
view which he had with that pontiff at Bologna, during 
his journey into Spain, urged the fame thing in perfon. 
•Clement endeavoured at firft to divert Charles from the 
meafure.; but, finding him inflexible, he had recourfe to 
artifices which he knew would delay, if not entirely de¬ 
feat, the calling of that aflembly. Under the plaufibie 
pretext of fettling, with all the parties concerned, the 
preliminaries for fuch a meeting, he difpatched a nuncio, 
accompanied by an ambaffador from the emperor, to the 
elector of Saxony as the head of the proteftants. In dif- 
cufling thefe preliminaries, inextricable difficulties and 
contetts arofe. The proteftants demanded a council to be 
held in Germany ; the pope infifted that it (hould meet in 
Italy; they contended, that all matters in difpute ftiould 
be determined by the words of Scripture alone ; he con¬ 
fidered not only the decrees of the church, but the opi¬ 
nions of fathers and doftors, as of equal authority; they 
required a free council, in which the divines, commiffioned 
by different churches, Ihould be allowed a voice ; he 
aimed at modelling the council in fuch a manner as would 
render it entirely dependant on his pleafure. Above all, 
the proteftants thought it unreafonable, that they ftiould 
bind themfelves to iubmit to the decrees of a council, be¬ 
fore they knew on what principles thofe decrees were to 
II E R. 7<J5 
be founded, by what perfons they were to be pronounced, 
and what forms of proceeding they would obferve. The 
pope maintained it to be altogether unneceffary to call a 
council, if thofe who demanded it did not previoufly de¬ 
clare their refolution to acquiefce in its decrees. In or¬ 
der to adjuft fuch a variety of points, the negociations 
were f'pun out to fuch a length, as effectually anfwered 
the purpofe of putting off the meeting of the council 
during his pontificate. 
In 1533, Luther wrote a confolatory epiftle to fome 
perfons who had fuffered hardlhips for adhering to the 
Augfburg confeffion of faith, in which he fays, “ The de¬ 
vil is the hoft, and the world is his inn ; fo that, wherever 
you come, you will be fure to find this ugly hoft.” He 
had alfo, about this time, a terrible controverfy with 
George duke of Saxony, who had fuch an averfion to the 
doCtrines promulgated by Lutber, that he obliged his fub- 
jeCts to take an oath that they would never embrace them. 
At Leiplic there were found fixty or feventy perfons, who 
could not be reftrained within the boundaries of the efta- 
blilhed creed, and it was difeovered that they had con- 
fulted Luther about it; upon which the duke complained 
to the elector, that Luther had not only abufed bis per¬ 
fon, but had preached up rebellion among his fubjeds. 
Luther refuted the accufation, by proving that he had 
been fo far from Itirring up his fubjeCts again!! him on the 
icore of religion, that he had exhorted them rather to un¬ 
dergo the greatelt hardfhips, and even fuffer themfelves to 
be banifbed. In the following year, the Bible, tranflated 
by Luther into German, was firft printed, with the pri¬ 
vilege of the eleftor ; and it was publifhed the year af¬ 
ter. He likewife gave to the world a book againft maffes 
and the confecration of priefts, in which he relates a con¬ 
ference which he had with the devil upon thofe points ; 
for it is a circumftance worthy of obfervation, that, in 
the whole hiftory of this great man, he never had any con¬ 
flicts of any kind, but the devil was always his antagonift. 
In 1535, the new pope Paul III. was applied to for a ge¬ 
neral council; and, in the hope of preventing it, he ap¬ 
pointed Mantua as the proper place. To this fome of the 
catholic fovereigns, and all the German proteftants, 
Itrongly objected ; being fully perfuaded that, in fuch a 
council, nothing would be concluded but what would be 
agreeable to the fentiments and ambition of the pontiff; 
and they demanded the performance of the emperor’s pro- 
mife, that they fhould have a council in Germany. At 
the fame time, that they might not be taken by furprife, 
they defired Luther to draw up a fummary of their doc¬ 
trine, in order to prefent it to the affembled bifhops, if it 
fhould be required of them. This fummary, which was 
diftinguifhed by the name of the Articles of Smalkalde, 
from the place at which they were affembled, is generally 
joined with the creeds and confeflions of the Lutheran 
church. While our reformer was bufily engaged in this 
work, he was feized with a grievous and very painful 
difeafe, a fit of the ftone and obltruCtion of urine, which 
continued fo long as to give his friends ferious ap- 
prehenfions for his life. In the midfc of his agonies, and 
after eleven days’ torture, without the fmallelt relief, he 
fet out, contrary to the advice of his friends, on his return 
home. The motion of the carriage, which it was ex¬ 
pected would prove fatal to him, was the caufe of remov¬ 
ing the evil under which he was labouring. 
In the year 1538, as a general aflembly ieemed imprac¬ 
ticable, the pope, that he might not feem to negleft that 
degree of reformation which was unqueftionably within 
his power, deputed a certain number of cardinals and bi- 
fbops, with full authority, to enquire into the abufes and 
corruptions of the Roman court, and to propole the meft 
effectual method of removing them. It was intended to 
do as Little as poffible; Itill a multitude of enormities 
were unveiled, an account of which was foon tranimirted 
into Germany, much to the fatisfaflion of the proteftants 
there. This inveftigation, partial as it was, proved the 
necefiity of a reformation in the head as well as the mem¬ 
bers 
