brought to him in Spain An account of the Bulla Aurea the Golden Bull and Laws of the Empire Erasmus his Testimony of Luther Whilest they were Disputing at Leipsick Ulrick Zuinglius began to teach at Zurich and manfully opposed one that preached up Indulgences POPE Leo X a Florentine of the Family of Medices making use of that Power which his Predecessors the Popes of Rome had Usurped and he himself thought he had over all Christian Churches sent abroad into all Kingdoms his Letters and Bulls with ample Promises of the full Pardon of Sins and of Eternal Salvation to such as would purchase the same with Money and the Collectors and those who were sent out to Preach up the Value of this so great a Favour not only defended their Doctrins in Books they published particularly in Germany but also setled publick Offices in all Provinces for the Receipt of the Money that was raised this way and by the Licences which they likewise sold for eating Eggs Milk Cheese and Flesh on Fasting Days Now this Remission and Pardon of Sins they named an Indulgence a Word of their own coyning which had been of a long time in use among them There lived at that time in Wittemberg upon the Elbe a City of Saxony one Martin Luther a Doctor of Divinity and an Augustine Fryer who being excited by the Sermons and Books of these Collectors and perceiving that their Doctrin was believed and past current among the People began to advise Men to be Wise and not to purchase such Commodities at so dear a Rate Because what they laid out that way might be far better employed And this happened in the Year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and seventeen That he might therefore proceed in his Design with better Success on the last of October he wrote to Albert of Brandenburg Archbishop of Mentz acquainting him with what they Taught and Complaining that the People were so persuaded as that having purchased these Indulgences by Money they needed no more doubt of Salvation as if no Crime could be committed which was not by that means Pardoned and as if the Souls which were Tormented in the Fire of Purgatory so soon as the Money was cast into the Box were presently discharged of their Pains and took their Flight streight up to Heaven He tells him That Christ commanded the Gospel to be Preached and that it was the proper Office of Bishops to instruct the People in the Right Way Wherefore he puts him in Mind of his Duty and prays him that he would use his Authority in suppressing those Books and enjoyning the Preachers to teach better Doctrin lest it might give Occasion to some more grievous Dissension which would undoubtedly happen if they were not restrained The Reason why he wrote to him was Because he being also Bishop of Magdeburg it belonged to him to take care of these things With this Letter he also sent the Theses which for Disputation sake he had lately published at Wittemberg to the number of ninety five wherein he fully handled the Doctrin of Purgatory true Penance and the Office of Charity and censured the extravagant Preachings of the Collectors but only for discovering the Truth as has been said For he invited all Men not only to come to the Disputation and object what they had to say but begged also That such as would not be present might send their Opinions in Writing protesting that he affirmed nothing positively but referred all to the Judgment of the Holy Church nevertheless that he admitted not of the Doctrins of Thomas Aquinas and such like Writers unless they were found to agree with the Holy Scriptures and the Decrees of the Ancient Fathers The Archbishop of Mentz made no answer to these things but not long after John Tetzel a Dominican Frier at Frankford upon the Oder a Town within the Territories of Brandenburg published some Positions quite contrary to those of Luther wherein he mightily extolled the Authority of the Pope the Benefit of Indulgences and that Wooden Cross which then by the Command of the Pope was set up in all Churches insomuch that he compared Leo X to the Apostle St. Peter and that Popish Cross with the true Cross whereon Christ suffered for us But when no Man of the contrary Part came to the Disputation proposed at Wittemberg and that the Theses we mentioned were read by many with great Applause Luther wrote a very large Explication of them and sent it first to Jerome Bishop of Brandenburg to whose Jurisdiction he belonged and then to John Stupitz Provincial of the Augustine Friers praying him to have it transmitted to the Pope Nay in the Month of June he wrote to Pope Leo himself informing him That these Collectors relying upon or abusing his Authority taught very rashly and behaved themselves covetously That he made no doubt but heavy Accusations were brought against him but that therein he was wronged since he had been forced by the Sermons and idle Books of the Collectors to publish some things only for Disputation sake which now he more fully explained that therefore he prayed his Holiness Not to give Credit to those Accusations because Frederick Elector of Saxony was so Religious a Prince and of so great Prudence and Integrity that if those things were true which his Adversaries reported of him he would not suffer his Province to be in such a manner Profaned neither would the University of Wittemberg connive at it That in short he submitted all his Writings nay his Life and Safety to his Authority and Disposal that he would look upon what proceeded from his Holiness as if it flowed from Christ and were delivered by an Oracle nor did he refuse to lay down his Life if so it seemed good to him Besides others who oppugned his Theses and the Explication annexed to the same John Eckius a Divine wrote also against him whom Luther answered affirming That he alledged nothing from Scripture nor the Authority of the Fathers but only some Dreams of his own such as by bad Custom had now long prevailed in the Schools After Eckius Silvester Prierias a Dominican Master of the Sacred Palace as they call it wrote against him also and set out a Dialogue with a Preface to Pope Leo and that in a very Huffing and Confident Stile boasting That he would make a Tryal if Luther were so Strong and Invincible as that there was no Worsting nor overcoming of him and that if he answered that first Essay he would then ply him with far Stronger and more Elaborate Arguments He also addressed himself to Luther telling him That though he was now stricken in Years and had not of a long Time entred into any such Lists yet he would do all that was in his Power for the Roman Papacy praying him withal to return into the right Way Before he enters into Disputation he lays down some
and King Ferdinand spoke to this purpose That the Pope was very desirous of Peace and of the Concord of Germany but of such a Peace and Concord as might not be displeasing to God That it was his Desire also that all their Force might be imployed against the Turk But that as to Religion and the Protestants there had been many Treaties with them in order to a Reconciliation especially in the Diet of Ausburg where they then presented their Confession of Faith in which Writing though there were many Errors to be found yet they had in the mean time deviated from it So that seeing they had nothing fixed or certain to which they adhered but were like slippery Eeles there was no more treating with them That in like manner the King had last Year at the desire of the Elector of Brandenburg appointed another Treaty with them but that they had stumbled at the very Threshold as is commonly said and given Intimation plain enough how far they were from any purpose of Agreement for that having once shaken off their Duty and Obedience they were now come to that That it was not the Reformation of the Pope they aimed at but his total Suppression not the removing of Faults but the overturning of the Apostolical See that so all ecclesiastical Jurisdiction might fall to the Ground And if they durst do so the Year before when the State of Europe was somewhat more peaceable and quiet what would they not do in all probability when Peace was not yet concluded with France and the Turk again preparing to Invade Hungary What but even grow more froward by the Adversity of the times and it was in vain to think that there could be any way of reclaiming them from their Designs for that they did only controvert about a few things but brought many chief Doctrines under debate That again it was in a manner uncertain how to come to any Agreement with them since they differed among themselves That Luther taught one kind of Doctrine and Zuinglius another not to mention any thing of the other Sects And that granting there might be some hopes of an Accommodation yet they would not obey the Church of Rome unless they had many things allowed them as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in both Kinds the Marriage of the Clergy and the like which are not to be altered without a publick Decree of Council That now if it should be said that for publick Peace sake these things might be granted them and the consent either of the Pope or Council be afterwards obtained that would not be ill said indeed but then they would presently lay hold on that Privilege and never want for a publick confirmation thereof And that if so then would they lay aside all care of a Council which would occasion great Divisions all over Christendom when France Spain Italy and other Provinces would differ from Germany in Rites and Customs That moreover should the Council perhaps condemn the Alteration made and indulged for a time and Decree the contrary then would all hopes be lost of reclaiming Germany now hardened in their Opinions and there would be danger least the Protestants the thing they chiefly drive at should move the rest of the States to make Defection also That the Emperor himself was not ignorant how in former Years they had made a Decree in the Diet of the Empire about calling a Council without his consent and that therefore care was to be had that they should not do the like hereafter That he represented these things unto them both that they might see what was to be expected from these private Treaties and Conferences That a Peace had been treated with them at Schweinfurt and a Truce afterwards made at Nurimberg under Penalty But that they without any regard to so great a Favour had broken their Articles and strengthened their own League by the Accession of many Cities and Princes and especially of the King of Denmark and Duke of Wirtemberg and had in many places changed the Religion contrary to their Oaths and Promises so that it easily appeared what farther hopes were to be had of them who by diverse ways partly by Favours and partly by Force drew Men over to their side That the Heat and Zeal of Religion was now grown cold and that Men were naturally prone to forsake the Rules of Austerity and to list themselves under a more easie and laxe Discipline But that they did not confine themselves within those bounds neither nor was it enough for them to mislead Men into Error unless they committed Sacrilege also cast out Bishops and profaned all Religion with Impunity Nay that they were now advanced to that pitch of Licenciousness that they would overturn that most upright Judicature of the Imperial Chamber to the intent that it being removed the Emperor's Authority in Germany might be weaken'd and that they without any Resistance might prey upon the Lives and Fortunes of all Men after their own Pleasure That therefore no firm nor lasting Peace was to be expected from those private Treaties And that if any such should be there was no doubt to be made but that it would invalidate the Dignity of the Apostolical See and all Ecclesiastical Polity That many other things could be alledged in this place but that for brevities sake he waved them That the next thing now was to consider how with the safety of Religion Provisions might be made for a Turkish War. That the most commodious way indeed would be if the Protestants and other States did jointly contribute Assistances But that since perhaps that could not be obtained unless Religion were settled and that the handling of religious Matters belonged not to private Assemblies but to a General Council it would be well done to have a Council called with all Expedition and the whole cause of Religion referred to it for that so he the Emperor would satisfie all others and over-awe the Protestants who when they saw the matter seriously set about would become much more Obedient and Tractable as perceiving a course taken to reduce them again into the right way and to root all Heresies out of Germany For that since the Christian Religion belonged to all Men in General there was nothing to be altered or reformed therein but with the common consent of all and that regard was not to be had to Germany alone but to France Spain Italy and other Nations also For that if any Innovation should be made in Germany without consulting them it would expose many to censure and be of pernicious Example That in like manner it would be a monstrous like thing if the Members of the Church answered not in proportion to their own Body That it was an ancient Custom even as old as the Apostles themselves that all Controversies should be determined by the Authority of a Council And that seeing all were very sollicitous for a Council and that Sigismund King of Poland had
Lower Saxony and forced them of Meckelburg Lunenburg Anbalt and Mansfeld to pay it Another part of his and the Bishop's Forces having beat Albert and taken Schweinfurt as I have said they Treated Rotenburg an Imperial City and the County of Henneburg very severely and seemed resolved that if they did not contribute to the Expences of this War which they pretend did belong to all they would levy it by Force but by the Interposition of others this difference was Composed and no Force was made use of About this time Charles Duke of Savoy who as I have related above was stript of the greatest part of his Territories died leaving as his Heir Philibert his Son who had served many Years as a Soldier undr the Emperor Ferdinand King of the Romans published an Edict commanding his Subjects not to change any thing in the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and that according to the old Custom they that received the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper should content themselves with one of the Spectes the Bread only But the Princes the Nobility and Cities having often before Petitioned him in this Business did now by a Letter very humbly desire that according to Christ's Command and Institution and the custom of the ancient Church which they backed also with many Reasons they might be allowed the partaking of the whole and entire Eucharist The King answering this Letter the twenty third of June from Vienna said he did not in the least suppose when he published that Edict that it should be made by them the Subject of a Dispute and Cavil For said he my only design was that the People in my Dominions should remain in the ancient and true Religion and in the Obedience of the Catholick Church out of the Communion of which none can be Saved and that they might receive this most excellent Sacrament according to the Laws and Customs of the Church and that they might not be perverted from that duty they owe both to the Civil Magistrate and the Church either by the perverse Opinions of some Men or by a certain over great Curiosity or Pride He said this was the only intention and design of that Edict and that he had not in it commanded any new thing but had required only the continuance of an ancient Institution which has been brought down to me from hand to hand by my Ancestors the Emperors Kings and Dukes of Austria and which has to this Day been diligently observed by me as becomes a Christian Prince and which I have heretofore frequently commanded my Subjects to continue in And therefore I did not in the least suspect that you would attempt any thing against the tenor of this Edict who so earnestly contend that in all other things no change may be made and that you may enjoy your Laws and Rights without Violation For certainly this is a new thing and of late taken up by you upon some Opinion which you argue so largely for as if it befitted you to judge of my Commands who am your principal and highest Magistrate and as if that ought of right to be allowed you which some of you of late years have of their own Authority privately assumed to themselves and usurped contrary to the Canons of the Church and against my Will. But then it being as you say a grave and difficult question as you your selves aver I will think further of it and in due time I will return such an answer to it as shall shew that I am very much concern'd for the Salvation of my People But in the mean time I expect all manner of submission from you and that you should not in the least act any thing contrary to my Edict To this Letter the States made a reply in Writing also to this Effect What we have so often said most serene Prince concerning the Command of our Saviour we now again repeat for he instituted his Supper in clear and perspicuous Words that it might be received by all in the self same manner as he prescribed And it is not lawful for any mortal Man to change or alter his Institution and Prescription This was also the ancient custom of the Church and that which is now used crept in by insensible degrees as we can demonstrate For the Council of Constance confesseth that it was so instituted by Christ Seeing therefore this pertains to the Salvation of our Souls certainly neither Curiosity nor Pride have put us upon it And upon this very score we the rather hope that you will direct your future deliberation by the Commands of Christ and his Apostles and the practice of the ancient Church and in no wise oppress our Consciences which just request we make to your Majesty by all that is sacred by the Glory of God and by the Salvation of our Souls We acknowledge that by the Will of God you are our Supream Magistrate and we do this with the utmost willingness and we say that there is nothing which you may not or ought not to expect from us but in this one thing we desire you would spare us In the Diocess of Wurtzburg in Franconia there is a Monastery called Nenstadt the Abbot of which John Frisius falling into the suspicion of Lutheranism was cited the fifth day of May to appear within six days after at Wurtzburg and answer to such things as should be then enquired of him The Interrogatories then administred to him were Whether it be lawful to Swear Whether a Man is bound by his Vow Whether it be lawful to make a Vow of Poverty Chastity and Obedience Whether such Vows oblige Whether Matrimony or Celibacy doth best become the Ministers of the Church Whether there is one true and Apostolical Church Whether she is perpetually governed as the Spouse of Christ by the Holy-Ghost Whether she does always decree what is true and Salutary Whether the Church is to be deserted for the Vices and Errors of some Men in it Whether she upon the account of the Head the Vicar of Christ may rightly be called the Roman-Church Whether all the Books of both Testaments which the Canon has are lawful and true Whether the Sacred Scriptures are to be interpreted according to the Sentence of the Holy Fathers the Doctors of the Church and the Councils or according to that of Luther and such others Whether besides the sacred Scriptures there be not need of other Traditions such as those of the Apostles and others of the same Nature Whether the same Faith Authority and Obedience is due to these Traditions which is due to the sacred Scriptures Whether the civil Magistrate is to be obeyed in Politick or Civil Affairs and the Ecclesiastick in Sacred or Holy things Whether the Sacraments of the Church are Seven Whether Children are to be Baptized Whether Baptism ought to be administred in the Latin Tongue Whether Salt Oil Water Characters and Exorcisms ought to be made use of in
to these joyned themselves the Embassadors of Maximilian the Emperor and of Lewis XII King of France who were also embarqued in the same Design The time when this Council was called was the Nineteenth of May in the Year of our Lord 1511 that so the first Session might begin on the First of September next ensuing The Cause they alledg'd to justifie this their Proceeding was That the Pope had broken his Oath for that although so many years of his Pontificate were already elapsed yet he had not given them any the least hopes of his having any Inclination to call a Council and that because they had very great and heinous Crimes to lay to his charge they could not any longer neglect the care of the Church which was a Duty imcumbent on them as Members of the sacred College Their intent really was to depose him from the Popedom which he had obtained by Bribery and other such honest arts and means as all Persons make use of who aspire to the Infallible Chair And because they could no way safely convey this their Remonstrance to him they caused it to be publickly affixed at Regio Modena and Parma which were all three Towns belonging to St. Peter's Patrimony and they added a Citation to him to appear Personally at a certain day therein mentioned Julius having received Information of all this returned this Answer on the Eighteenth of July That before he came to be Pope he longed for nothing more than the calling a general Council as was very well known to several Kings and to the whole College of Cardinals and that purely upon this account he lost the Favour of Alexander VI. That he continued still of the same mind but that the state of Italy had been so unsetled for several years last past and was left so by his Predecessor Alexander That it was altogether impossible to have formed a Council while things continued in that distracted condition After this he shews them that their Summons was void in it self by reason of the shortness of the time limited in it and the inconveniency of the place for that Pisa had suffered so much in the late Wars that it was now nothing almost but an heap of Ruins and that the Country round about it was all wasted and desolate nor could there be any safe passage thither because of the daily Hostilities committed between the Florentines and those of Senese To this he adds in the last place That they had no legal Power of issuing out any such Summons and that the Reasons given by them for so doing were altogether false and groundless Therefore under pain of the severest Censures he forbids all Persons to yield any Obedience to them At the same time he by a Bull subscribed by One and twenty Cardinals called a Council to meet the next year which should commence on the Nineteenth of April and be held in the Lateran Church in Rome For this they say has always been one of the Papal Artifices that whensoever upon any Pretext they took occasion for some secret motives to decline the holding of a Council though called by never so lawful an Authority at the same time to Summon another to meet in such a place in which they could with the greatest ease influence all the Proceedings in it After this he admonishes the Confederate Cardinals to desist in time and return to Rome and accept of the Pardon now offer'd them But they continuing still refractory on the Twenty fourth of October he Excommunicates them all and those three that we mentioned before in particular by name as Hereticks Schismaticks and Traytors to the Apostolick See and sends Copies of this Bull to Maximilian the Emperor and several other Princes And because there were divers Bishops of France who adhered firmly to the Cardinals interests he Excommunicates them also unless they return to their Duty and make their Purgation within a prefixed time On the other side the Cardinals having several times in vain cited the Pope to come and appear before them there in Council by a Decree made in the Eighth Session suspended him from all Civil and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and commanded all Christians for the future to renounce his Authority and acknowledge him no longer for St. Peter's Successor This was in the Year of our Lord 1512 on the Twenty first of April But you must take notice that although the Council were removed from Pisa to Milan yet it still kept its old Name and was called the Pisane Council At this time there was a very famous Civilian at Pavia whose Name was Philip Decius he having espoused the Cardinals Cause published a Book in Defence of their Proceedings against the Pope A little after this Maximilian strikes up a League with Julius and Ferdinand King of Spain and so leaves the Cardinals in the Church to shift for themselves and sends Matthew Langus Bishop of Gurk to Rome to sit as his Proxy in the Council that was holden there and him Julius immediately promoted to the Dignity of the Purple But Lewis II King of France who was truer to his Engagements and had lately routed the Popes Forces near Ravenna could not escape the thunders of the Vatican his Subjects were absolved from their Allegiance his Kingdom put under an Interdict and an Invasion of it was now no less than meritorious But after the end of the Fifth Session on the Twenty first of February in the Year of our Lord 1513 Pope Julius dies and Leo X is chosen by the Conclave to succeed him He immediately after his Inaguration proceeds to compleat what his Predecessor had begun and because the state of Affairs in Europe was now a little more calm than at any time during the former Pontificate a great many Kings and Princes sent their Embassadors to Rome to assist at this Lateran Council The Cardinals also whom Julius had Excommunicated having since his Death nothing to give any colour to their continuing in their Obstinacy made their humble Submission and Suit to be indemnified for what was past and being received into Favour by Leo were restored to their former Dignities and Preferments as Leo himself declares in an Epistle wrote by him to Maximilian The Council broke up on the Twelfth of March in the Year of our Lord 1516 there having been seven Sessions since the Death of Julius for there were but twelve in all the whole four years that this Council lasted from its first Convention to its Dissolution The chief Transactions in it were these The Praises of Julius and Leo were the Subjects of those luscious Panegyricks with which the Auditory were almost daily entertained There were some Motions made in order to the engaging in a War against the Turks and concerning the Reformation of the Church And also there was a Debate about the Immortality of the Soul which began to admit of a Dispute now in
for the Concerns of the Publick as he might more amply be informed by the Legate who was to come after That in the mean time he prayed and exhorted him who was a Prince of the Empire under the Protection whereof the Church of Rome subsisted that he would in his Actions and Consultations use all Endeavours That such things might be promoted as should conduce to the Honour of the Apostolick Church and the Peace and Quiet of the Publick and therein follow the Foot-steps of his Ancestors from whom as in no other Virtue he did degenerate so it was his Hopes he would not be unlike to them in this Particular neither That he had ordered the Bearer to discourse him about these Affairs and desired that he would give Credit to what he said Ferdinand Archduke of Austria was very strict in executing the Sentence pronounced against Luther the Year before and in the Dutchy of Wittemberg which then he had in Possession he emitted a Proclamation November 26 promising Rewards to Informers and throughout his own Dominions he severely punished all that did not obey the Laws and Canons of the Church This Year died John Reuchline being a Man of great Age whom Erasmâ—â— of Roterdam celebrated in a most excellent Dialogue attributing unto him Immortality and supreme Knowledge in three Languages About the latter end of November Pope Adrian wrote to the rest of the States assembled at Noremberg to this Effect That from the time he had been chosen to the Office of Apostleship he had desired nothing more than that he might in all things discharge the Duty of a good Pastor and suffer none of his Flock to go astray if by his Vigilance and Care it could in any wise be prevented and that of his sincerity herein he called God to witness who had raised him to that Charge when he did not at all deserve and as little expected any such Promotion That for the more easie accomplishment of what he proposed to himself he had earnestly exhorted all Kings and Princes to abstain from Civil Wars and that if they must needs make War that they would turn all their Force against the Enemies of the Christian Faith he having himself performed what he had persuaded others to do and given a great Sum of Money to the Knights of Rhodes who were at present mightily straitned by the Grand Seignior That his Thoughts being called home again from Foreign Dangers he began to look about him nearer hand and perceived domestick Evils to threaten the Publick for that to his great Grief he heard That Martin Luther who after many gentle and fatherly Admonitions when no Remedy could prevail with him had been Condemned and Proscribed by several Universities by Pope Leo and by the Emperour also with their unanimous Consent and Advice was not only not restrained but raged more furiously than ever publishing daily new Books to the great decay not only of the Christian Regligion but also of Morality and all good Living That it was a great addition to his Grief to understand that many of the Nobility favoured him and that the Mischief was spread so far that not only the Dignity of the Clergy in Germany was lessened but that they were in danger also of being deprived of their Lands and Livings and that a Civil War was broken forth among some That is was truly indeed said by S. Paul That heresies must needs be but that as Affairs now stood it was most unseasonably fulfilled That the Devil was busie at work to involve us in many Calamities That he had stirred up the Turk to vent his Fury against us far and near whilst at the same time he plagued the most Valiant Nation of Germany with the Heresie of Luther That no Man was ignorant how powerful an Enemy the Turk was and that though he might be overcome yet the Affairs of Christendom would be in no better condition so long as that Domestick Enemy remained unconquered That during his abode in Spain he had heard many things of Luther's false Doctrins and that though it grieved him that this Evil seemed to arise in that Country to which he himself owed his Birth yet he had been comforted by two things First Because he hoped that so frivolous and impious a Doctrin would be despised by all Men And then because he thought that that poysonous Weed being brought from abroad could not take rooting in that Country which had always produced Champions against Heresies But that since it had happened far otherwise either through the just Judgment of God or the Carelesness and Neglect of those who ought to have applyed the proper Remedies in time it was their part to look to it carefully lest that whilst they acted more slowly and remisly they might seem to have forgot their ancient Virtue and to approve so great a Villany That it would be a very disgraceful thing for so Valiant and constant a People to make desertion from that Religion which was decreed by Christ and his Apostles embraced by so many Martyrs and Famous Men and professed also by our own Progenitors at the Instigation of a sorry Fryer who had himself for many Years followed and professed the same as if forsooth the Church had erred for so many Ages as if Christ who promised to be with us for ever had suffered his Church to continue in so great Ignorance and Darkness and as if he were the only Wise-man raised up by God to disclose the Errors of all Mankind that doubtless these things seemed very Ridiculous to all wise Men But that nevertheless they were Popular and Specious and to those that delighted in Novelties gave great Occasions of Undertaking was it not easie to be seen what they drove at it was only their Intention That under a pretext of Christian Liberty they might trample upon all Law and Justice for how was it possible that they should Reverence and Honour the Civil Magistrate who made no scruple to use disgracefully nay and to burn the Laws and Constitutions of most holy Popes and Councils It was not certainly to be believed That they who boggled not at Sacriledge but with Impure and Bloody Hands seized and robbed the things that were consecrated to God would at length forbear to invade the Rights and Possessions of their Neighbours That they who stood not in awe not only to Strike but also to Kill Priests were doubtless ready and had it in their Thoughts to violate and abuse any other State of Men whatsoever So that this so great Licentiousness and Impunity in committing Wickedness would at length rest upon Princes themselves their Children Wives Families and Possessions That therefore he prayed and exhorted them and by virtue of the Power and Authority he had as the Successor of S. Peter and Vicar of Christ also required and charged them That laying aside all Quarrels and Animosities with united Hearts and Hands they would endeavour to quench that Common and Domestick
Magistrates along with him when they were all met he pulls off his Cloke and throws it upon the ground together with the New-Testament and making these as it were Symbols of his sincerity he protests and swears That the Doctrin he had publish'd was reveal'd to him from Heaven and therefore threatens them on a terrible manner that God would never bless them if they did not consent At last they agree upon the Point and the Doctors do nothing but harangue upon Matrimony in their Pulpits for three days together Soon after he marrieth no less than three Wives one of which was the Woman I mention'd before the Relict of the famous Prophet John Mathews His Example was so well followed that they accounted the Repetition of Matrimony before they were Widowers a very commendable thing But some of the Citizens who were very much dissatisfy'd with this way giving a signal about the Town call'd all those who adher'd to the Doctrin of the Gospel into the Market-Place when they had done this they apprehend the Prophet and Knipperdoling and all the Teachers of that Perswasion When the Mobile understood this they immediately betake themselves to their Arms Rescue the Captives by force and murther about fifty of the other Party with great barbarity For they tied them to Trees and Stakes and then shot them the chief Prophet applauding their Cruelty and telling them That if they intended to do acceptable Service to God they ought to be the first in discharging at them others were killed after another manner Upon the 23d of June another Prophet starts up who was a Goldsmith who after he had conven'd the Rabble into the Market-Place tells them That it was the Will and Command of the heavenly Father that John of Leyden should be Vniversal Monarch of the World Thaâ— he should March out with a most powerful Army and slay all Kings and Princes without distinction giving Quarter to none but the Multitude who were Lovers of Justice That he should possess the Seat of his Father David till the Father requir'd him to Resign his Kingdom For now the Wicked were to be destroy'd and the Righteous to begin their Reign upon the Earth These words being spoken aloud presently John of Leyden falls upon his Knees lifting up his hands to Heaven Men and Brethren saies he I have been assur'd of this Truth a great while since yet I was not willing to divulge it my self and now you see to make it the more unquestionable the Father has made use of the Testimony of another Upon this being chosen King he immediately dissolves the Duodecimvirate and according to the custom of other Princes makes choice of some Noblemen for his own Service He likewise orders two Crowns a Scabbard a Chain and Scepter and such other Regal Ornaments to be made for him forthwith of the best Gold. Then he appoints certain days in which he would give a Publick Hearing to all those who had a mind to address themselves to him As often as he appear'd abroad he was attended with his Officers and Lords of his Houshold Two young Men rid immediately behind him He on the right hand carried a Crown and a Bible the other a drawn Sword. His principal Wife appear'd in the same State for we are to observe he had several Wives at the same time In the Market-Place there was a high Throne erected for him cover'd with Cloth of Gold. The Causes and Complaints which were brought before him usually related to Matrimony and Divorces than which nothing was more frequent insomuch that some who had liv'd together many years were then separated Now it happen'd that when the People press'd to hear Causes and stood very close in the Market-Place Knipperdoling springs out of a sudden and climbing the Crowd runs upon their Heads on his Hands and Knees and breathing in their Faces The Father saies he to each of them has sanctified thee receive the Holy Ghost Another day he leads up a dance before the King This is my custom saies he sometimes with my Concubine but now the Father has commanded me to do it in the Kings Presence But when he over-acted his part and would not give over his Majesty of Leyden took pet and went away As soon as he was gone Knipperdoling mounts the Throne and sets up for King himself but his Majesty coming by tumbles the Fellow down and lays him in Limbo for three days During the Siege these Anabaptists write a Book and publish it which they call The Restitution In this Book among other things they affirm That the Kingdom of Christ is to Commence in such a manner before the last Judgment that the Godly and the Elect shall Reign the Wicked being every where destroy'd They affirm likewise That it 's lawful for the People to turn the Magistrates out of their Office that though the Apostles had no Authority to Challenge such a Jurisdiction yet those who are the present Ministers of the Church ought to take the Sword into their own hands and new-mould the Commonwealth by force To this they added That no Person who was not a true Christian ought to be tolerated in the Church farther That no Body could be saved unless they resigned all their Fortune to the Publick Use without reserving any Property to themselves Luther and the Pope they said were false Prophets but Luther worse than the other Lastly That the Marriage of those who were not enlightned with true Faith was polluted and impure and to be accounted Fornication or rather Adultery more than any thing else These Tenents of theirs were principally oppos'd by Melancthon Justus Menius and Vrbanus Regius who publish'd very large and satisfactory Treatises upon this Subject Some few weeks after the new Prophet I mention'd before sounds a Trumpet through all the Streets and commands them to meet armed at the Porch of the Cathedral for the Enemy was to be beaten off the Town When they came to the place of Randevouz they found a Supper prepared They are ordered to sit down being about four thousand of them afterwards about a thousand others sit down who were upon Duty while the first number were at Supper The King and the Queen with their Houshold-Servants wait at the Table After they had eaten and Supper was almost done the King himself gives every one a piece of Bread with these words Take eat shew forth the Lord's death The Queen in like manner giving them a Cup Bids them shew forth the Lord's death when this was over the Prophet before-mention'd gets into the Pulpit and asks them If they would obey the Word of God When they all told him Yes It is the Command of the heavenly Father saies he that we should send out about eight and twenty Teachers of the Word who are to go to the four Quarters of the World and Publish the Doctrin which is received in this City Then he repeats the Names of his Missionaries
Venice is will be of the Duke's Opinion and not let their Town be filled with so great a multitude without a Garrison to secure it so that upon this account there will be as few people to open the Council as there was at Mantua And since whatever he hath done is no better than Mockery it 's not fit he should have such an unreasonable Liberty allowed him any longer 'T is true Councils rightly constituted and managed are the most proper and useful Expedients which can be tried but when they are pack'd for private Interest and Advantage and to establish the Usurpations of a Party they are inconceivable mischievous to the State of Christendom And now when the Name of a Council and the Church made so great a noise in the World Luther undertook to write a Book in High Dutch upon both Arguments where in the first place he treats of the Council of the Apostles at Jerusalem which is mentioned in the Fifteenth of the Acts. Then he sheweth how the Fathers contradicted one another more particularly St. Augustin and St. Cyprian about Baptism where he takes occasion to mention those Ecclesiastical Constitutions which are commonly called the Apostles Canons and proves them spurious by unquestionable Arguments and that those ought to be hanged who give them that name From thence he proceeds to the first four General Councils which are of the most considerable Authority and recites them in Order the Nicene the Constantinopolitan the Ephesine and that at Chalcedon and gives an account of the Occasion of their Meeting and what was Decreed there afterwards he comes up to the main Question and sheweth how far the Power of a Council reacheth And here he maintaineth that a Council ought not to make any Article of Faith nor enjoin any new Duty nor tie the Consciences of Men to Ceremonies which were not practised from the beginning neither is it lawful for such an Assembly to intermeddle in Civil Government nor to make any Canons to found their private Grandeur and Dominion upon On the contrary their Office is to see that all Innovations in Doctrine repugnant to the Holy Scriptures that superstitious or unprofitable Ceremonies may be condemned and removed and always to make the Scripture their Rule to determine Controversies by Then he goes on to define the Church and lays down the Notes to know her by and running a Parellel between Christ and his Apostles and the Pope and showing what a different Doctrine his Holiness had settled in the Church and at what a wicked Rate he had plundered Christendom he concludes he ought to be Excommunicated and obliged to Restitution Besides many other Instances by which he demonstrates in that Book what gross Ignorance there was in the times of Popery how much Religion was corrupted and debauched he tell us Things were come to that pass that even the bare Habit of a Monk was thought to contribute considerably towards the obtaining eternal Life insomuch that not only the Vulgar but many persons of Quality would be buried in it After-Ages possibly will not believe this Relation but yet it is very true and is chiefly practised in Italy and in my time Francis the Second Marquess of Mantua made express Provision in his Will to be buried in the Habit of a Franciscan or Seraphick as they call it The same thing was done by Albertus Pius Prince of Carpi who died at Paris and by Christopher Longolius a Low Country Man who lieth at Padua He was a very Learned Person and a great Admirer of Tully There is an Oration of his Extant against the Lutherans as there is also one of Albert's against Erasmus of Rotterdam After the Death of George Duke of Saxony Henry of Brunswick immediately set forward through France into Spain to wait upon the Emperor Much about this time Henry King of England called a Parliament where besides other secular Matters he Enacts these following Articles concerning Religion That the true and natural Body and Blood of Christ were under the Appearance of Bread and Wine and that the Substance of Bread and Wine does not remain after Consecration That the receiving all the Lord's Supper is not necessary to Salvation Christ being entirely contained under each kind That it is not lawful for Priests to Marry Vows of Chastity ought to be kept and private Masses continued Auricular and private Confession of Sins is both profitable and necessary Those who teach and do any thing contrary to this Act are to suffer as Hereticks And at the same time when this Law was made the King courted Ann Sister to William Duke of Cleve a beautiful Maiden-Lady who when she was contracted to him sailed over into England some few Months after Some thought the Bishops influenced the King to sign this Act touching these Points that they might have an Opportunity to ruine the Authority and Interest of Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Cromwell who were both of them Well-wishers to the Reformation This Year in August the Turkish Admiral Barbarossa took Castle-novo a Town in Dalmatia in the Gulph of Cataro by Storm where all the Garrison was put to the Sword and some of the Burghers carried away into Slavery The Emperor and his Confederates the Venetians took this place a Year before in October but the Emperor garrisoned it himself with Four thousand Spaniards and made Francis Sarmiento the Governor This was a surprize to the Venetians who said a Town situated upon that Coast did rather belong to themselves Thus being disgusted with the Emperor and likewise foreseeing that an Alliance with him would prove dangerous to their State they apply themselves not long after to the Turk and upon their request obtain a Truce of him At this time there happened an Insurrection at Ghent the most considerable City for Strength and Interest in all those Parts and which has often contested very warmly for Liberty with the Earls of Flanders under whose Jurisdiction it is When the Emperor heard of this Commotion he changed his design of going into Germany by the way of Italy and resolved to Travel through France being earnestly invited thither by the French King who made him very obliging proffers of Security and Accommodation for his Journey In the mean time the Palsgrave and the Elector of Brandenburg being Princes of the Mediation wrote to the Emperor concerning the Pacification at Francfort and desired him to give leave there might be a Conference of Learned Men at Nuremberg But his Imperial Majesty told them That the Death of his Empress and some other Occurrences intervening had hindred him from being at leisure to attend that Affair When the Princes of the Mediation had sent a Copy of this Letter to the Elector of Saxony and the Lantgrave without signifying whether the Emperor had confirmed the Truce for Fifteen Months the Protestants appointed a Convention on the Nineteenth of November at Arnstet a Town in Thuringia
consult with him in what manner they might put in execution their Commission and that afterwards when they understood that it was not possible for them themselves to have access into all places that stood in need of their help they had been necessitated to employ others This Indulgence or Indult of the Popes as they call it the Emperour presently sent to all the German Bishops admonishing them severally to use gentle and mild ways and to try all Courses by fair Language Exhortation and Entreaty before they should come to Threats and Excommunication Wherefore the Archbishop of Mentz writing amongst others to the Landgraves Governours and Counsellors and having said much of his own Pastoral Care and of the Emperour's earnest Concern for the Publick requires them to shew the Pope's Indulgence to the Ministers of the Church and command them to obey it The thing being proposed to the Preachers their answer was That their Doctrine agreed with the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles and that though their Lives and Conversation did not suit with their Profession yet they acknowledged no Error in their Doctrine and that therefore they stood not in need of an Indulgence from the Pope that they had preferred Marriage before an unchast single Life according to the Word of God and that they would not forsake their Wives and Children whom Christ himself commanded us to love cherish and provide for That in administring the Sacrament under both kinds in their Churches they therein followed the command of Christ and the custom of the Primitive Church and that there was no reason to admit of any Alteration therein In the Month of May Peter Martyr and the Divines of Oxford disputed publickly concerning the Lords Supper and the Presence of Christs Body in the Sacrament Martyr proposed these Points to be defended That the substance of the Bread and Wine was not changed and That the Body and Bloud of Christ was not Carnally or Corporally in the Bread and Wine but sacramentally united to them Afterward there was a Book of this published wherein the presidents of the Dispute who were appointed by the King give no obscure intimation that Martyr had the better on 't in that Debate On the Tenth day of June the Queen of France was crowned at St. Denis as the custom is the Ceremony being performed by the Cardinals of Bulloigne Guise Chastillion Vendosme and Bourbon for all the rest were at Rome Six days after the King made a most splendid and magnificent Entry into Paris the chief Town of the Kingdom where he had not been seen publickly since the death of his Father and two days after the Queen During his abode there some were put to death for Lutheranisme and as it is said he himself was a Spectator of the Execution Afterwards July the Fourth he made a solemn Procession and Prayers in the Churches and next day after published a Printed Proclamation declaring the causes of it to have been That he might give God thanks for the many Blessings he had bestowed upon him that he might pray to God for the safety and preservation of himself his Wife and Children and of the whole Kingdom and Commonwealth as also for the Souls of good Men departed especially for the Kings of France his Progenitors and the late King his Father after whose Example he was resolved to take upon himself the protection and defence of the Catholick Religion the Authority and Liberty of the Apostolick See and of the Ministers of the Church that amongst others this was also a chief cause that it might publickly appear how much he detested those who contrary to the command of Christ contrary to the Traditions of the Apostles and the consent of all Antiquity deny the presence of the Body and Bloud of Christ who take away all force and efficacy from Baptism Penance good Works and the Sacraments who professedly despise the Authority and Hierarchial Order of the Church who reject the Worship and Adoration of Saints and Relicks Moreover that by that solemn Procession and Supplication he might make known what his Judgment and Inclinations were to wit that according to the Example of his Forefathers and in a certain Hereditary Imitation he so thought and believed as the Catholick Church the Apostles Creed the first Council of Nice and many other Councils of the Fathers enjoyned as also that he was fully resolved to root out of all his Territories those Heresies which were long ago condemned but now again partly revived and partly contrived by Luther Carolostadius Zuinglius Oecolampadius Melanchton Bucer Calvin and such other monstrous and pestilent Arch-Hereticks and severely to punish such as deserved it This Writing set forth in the Vulgar Tongue he sent all over France commanding it to be published to the People and accordingly publick Processions and Prayers to be made in all places A little while after he caused Monsieur de Vervius to be beheaded for surrendring the Castle and Town of Bulloigne as was mentioned in the Fifteenth Book and confined to perpetual Prison his Father in Law d' Abigny a very ancient Man who had been Governour of all the Bolonese and one of the four Mareschals of France For many Months now he had solicited the Switzers to renew with him the League they had made with his Father and though the Emperour by Messengers and Letters did what they could to dissuade them from it yet they judging it more for their Interest consented and first the Catholick Cantons with the Rhinwalders and Wallisserlanders and afterwards also those of Basil and Schafhawsen to the great astonishment of many because of those Edicts and Punishments we spoke of For it was the general opinion that no League nor Society ought to be made with him who so cruelly persecuted the Reformed Religion and by name condemned their Churches and Doctors But the Cantons of Bern and Zurick following the counsel of Zuinglius as may be seen in the third and sixth Book refused to enter into that League We took notice before of the Convocation at Leipsick But now that some talked and complained that Popery was again stealing in upon them Duke Maurice in his Letters addressed to his Governours July the Fourth tells them that he was informed many partly out of a too solicitous jealousie and partly through the suggestions of others were apprehensive that the old Errours might be by degrees introduced again that some of the Ministers of the Church and other busie and restless spirits that delighted in changed were not altogether free from fomenting of that Calumny that by several Declarations he had formerly made publick what his Purpose and Resolution was which now because of the Slanderous Reports raised he again repeated thereby to convince all that his Religion was dear unto him that therefore he required those who either out of a fond credulity or through the suggestions of others were