644 
The Dominican replied in a furious 
style; and Luther, in his rejoinder, called 
in question the authority of the pope, 
and thus gave the signal for a general 
insurrection. He was seconded by 
Meiancthon and Carlostadt, both ‘of 
Wirtemterg ; in Switzerland, by Zuing- 
hus; and in France, by Calvin; in con- 
sequence ‘of which a great number of, 
individuals, not only in those countries, 
but also in Poland, ffungary, Denmark, 
Sweden, and England, separating them- 
selves from the see of Rome, refused 
both obedience and tribute to its head. 
Great political events arose out of 
these ecclesiastical commotions, and the 
princes of the north of Germany, unable 
t6 resist the house of Austria by ordinary 
means, beheld in this new enthusiasm of 
their people, an unhoped-for means of 
résistance against the Austrian arms. 
Thence also resulted an intimate union 
between each petty sovereign and his 
“people, as well as an alliance among 
whole nations, so that a general federa- 
tion, hitherto considered as chimerical, 
was the consequence; and the league of 
Smalcalde, accordingly exhibited the 
first efficacious re-union of free states 
and princes against their oppressors, in 
modern Europe. From this too, first 
resulted liberty of conscience. Mean- 
while, the tempting bait afforded by the 
treasures of the clergy, which each sove- 
reign seized in his own behalf; the wish 
for independence, and the satisfaction of 
exhibiting an inveterate hatred against 
the usurpations of Rome, induced many 
nionarchs to foliow the popular torrent. 
Charles V. was indeed prevented from 
policy; and although Francis I. did not 
adopt the new doctrines, yet he seconded 
the ciforts of the Protestants with all his 
power. 
The reformation however was clouded 
by the civil war produced on the part of 
the peasants of Suabia and Franconia, 
and the short reign of the anabaptists of 
Munster, and their king John of Leyden: 
against those excesses, both Luther and 
Melancthon wrote_with their usual 
energy and effect. 
At length, after the peaceful reigns of 
four different emperors, we behold the 
. agitated and troablesome times of Fer- 
dinand II. “a prince both ambitious and 
devout, ,and entirely governed by the 
Jesuits his confessors.” The first symp- 
toins of the approaching tempest, pro- 
ceeded from a quarrel relative to the 
articles of religion entered into with the 
Bohemians ; and the extirpation of Pro- 
4 
Retrospect of French Literature H istortY}e 
testanism, as well as the annihilation of 
the Germanic liberties, was now resolved 
upon. ‘This contest, which endured for 
thirty years, ravaged all Europe, anni- 
hilated agriculture, commeree, and in- 
dustry, and retarded the progress of the 
sciences in Germany. ; 
After a struggle of twelve years, the 
confederated princes, notwithstanding 
their constancy and valour, were about 
to succumb, *“when Gustavus Adolphus 
the worthy successor. of Vasa, left his 
kingdom at the head-of a powerful army 
and at the expense of his own life, whick 
he lost in the arms of victory at the battle 
oi Lutzen, saved the Germanic liberties, 
and perhaps those of all Europe, as welt 
as that faith which. was common to him, 
and the princes ef the evangelical leagne. 
The annals of no nation, perhaps, present 
a period more worthy of admiration 
than the eighteen campaigns of. the 
Swedes in Germany. France also joined 
her victorious arins to support the Pro- 
testant interest; and it was in that war 
that the names of Guebriant, Puysegur, 
Tuxenne, and Condé, became illustrious; 
while the French monarchs then began 
to acquire a marked preponderance in 
the affairs of the North. It was the 
reformation too, that produced the two 
most celebrated assemblies that modern 
Europe had witnessed: the council of 
Trent, in respect to-religious affairs; and 
the congress of Munster and Osnaburgh, 
which put an end to the thirty years war. 
Ly the treaty of Westphalia, a master- 
piece of human prudence and sagacity, 
which for the first time consolidated the 
European nations into a regular and con- 
nected system of political bodies.’ It 
was during this congress, that the art of 
negociating attained perfection; that the 
necessity of an equilibrium of power, 
and of a weight and counter-weight, by 
which the more strong might be kept in 
erder and the more feeble protected, 
first became evident. ; 
** Upon the whole, a little more prue 
dence and reverence on the part of the. 
court of Rome, a little less inflexibility - 
on the part of our reformer, or a greater 
degree of indifference on the side of the 
assuciated princes, might have stifled | 
this grand explosion‘at its commence- | 
ment. It required a Luther to produce , 
it, and the intervention of a variety of 
favourable symptoms, to prevent. his 
efforts from having been made in vain.” 
Conjectures. 
Under this head it is argued, that but . 
for the reformation, Europe must have 
beheld 
