mirror was the cause of the rise of the thermometer. He made another experiment, substituting boiling water in a glass vessel in place of the iron bail; and when the apparatus was adjusted, and a screen of silk which had been placed between the two mirrors removed, the thermometer rose 3°; namely, from 47° to 50°. The experiments were varied by removing the tin mirrors to the distance of 90 inches from each other. The glass vessel with boiling water was placed in one focus, and a sensible thermometer in the other. In the middle space between the mirrors, there was suspended a common glass mirror, so that either side could be turned towards the glass vessel. When the polished side of this mirror was turned towards the glass vessel, the thermometer rose only five-tenths of a degree; but when the other side, which was darkened, was turned towards the glass vessel, the thermometer rose 3o 5'. And in another experiment, performed in the same way, the thermometer rose 3o when the polished side of the mirror was turned to the glass vessel, and 9° when the other side was turned. These experiments show clearly, that the rays of caloric are reflected from polished surfaces, as well as the rays of light. Transparent bodies have the power of refracting the rays of caloric as well as those of light. They differ also in their refrangibility. So far as experiment goes, the most of the rays of caloric are less refrangible than the red rays of light. The experiments of Dr. Herschel show, that the rays of caloric, from hot or burning bodies, as hot iron, hot water, fires and candles, are refrangible, as well as the rays of caloric which are emitted by the sun. Whether all transparent bodies have the power of transmitting those rays, or what is the difference in the refractive power of these bodies, is not yet known.

The light which proceeds from the sun seems to be composed of three distinct substances. Scheele discovered, that a glass mirror held before the fire reflected the rays of light, but not the rays of caloric; but when a metallic mirror was placed in the same situation, both heat and light were reflected. The mirror of glass became hot in a short time, but no change of temperature took place on the metallic mirror. This experiment shows that the glass mirror absorbed the rays of caloric, and reflected those of light; while the metallic mirror, suffering no change of temperature, reflected both. And if a plate of glass be held before a

burning body, the rays of light are not sensibly interrupted, but the rays of caloric are intercepted; for no sensible heat is observed on the opposite side of the glass but when the glass has reached a proper degree of temperature, the rays of caloric are transmitted with the same facility as those of light. And thus the rays of light and caloric may be separated. But the curious experiments of Dr. Herschel have clearly proved, that the invisible rays which are emitted by the sun have the greatest heating power. In these experiments, the different coloured rays were thrown on the bulb of a very delicate thermometer, and their heating power was observed. The heating power of the violet, green, and red rays, were found to be to each other as the following numbers:

The heating power of the most refrangible rays was least, and this power increases as the refrangibility diminishes. The red ray, therefore, has the greatest heating power, and the violet, which is the most refrangible, the least. The illuminating power, it has been already observed, is greatest in the middle of the spectrum, and it diminishes towards both extremities; but the heating power, which is least at the violet end, increases from that to the red extremity; and when the thermometer was placed beyond the limit of the red ray, it rose still higher than in the red ray, which has the greatest heating power in the spectrum. The heating power of these invisible rays was greatest at the distance of half an inch beyond the red ray, but it was sensible at the distance of one inch and a half. See OPTICS.

REFORMATION, in church history, is that amazing change in the religion and politics of a great part of Europe, which began to take place in the early part of the sixteenth century. An event of such magnitude, with which the progress of the arts and universal learning is so intimately connected, demands a more enlarged and detailed account than the prescribed limits of our work will admit. It would, nevertheless, be highly improper wholly to omit the notice of so very important an era in the history of Europe.

At a time when the peace and harmony of the Romish Church seemed fully established, and when the authority of the Holy See had just received a most signal triumph by the labours of the Council of

the Lateran; when the address and perseverance of Leo the Tenth had surmounted a thousand difficulties, and giv en peace to his dominions; when Rome had begun once more to assume its ancient grandeur, and was again become the centre of genius, letters, and the arts; when the dark clouds of the middle ages were scattered before the rays of science, and the light of genius had begun to illumine the moral horizon, the attention of the whole Christian world was directed to an event that threatened nothing less than the speedy ruin of the Papal authority, and the complete demolition of that fabric of religious magnificence, which the labours of myriads had united to raise, and which the lapse of centuries had left rather established than impaired. It is curious to reflect that what bid fair to have been the glory and security of the church conspired to her destruction, and threatened her total overthrow. Leo the Tenth, in aiming to enhance the glory of his pontificate by the encouragement of literature and the patronage of the arts, was fostering in his bosom an enemy to destroy his peace and degrade his power. The seeds of learning which his father, Lorenzo de Medici, had sown, and he so plentifully watered, sprung up to choke his pleasures, and reward him with trouble. No sooner had the human mind begun to be emancipated from its slavery, than it employed its newly restored liber. ty in bold and presumptuous investigations into the conduct of the Roman Pontiffs, the extravagancies of the Papal court, the foundations of church governments, and the truth of established doctrines. The errors and misconduct of the clergy were exposed to the shafts of ridicule and the remonstrances of reason. The hardy and intrepid genius of Dante, which placed the vicars of Christ in the infernal regions, lighted up the fire of Petrarch, and encouraged him to identify the court of Rome with that of ancient Babylon. He made the vices and errors of the Church the subjects of his sonnets, and the constant theme of his abuse. Protected by their genius, and respected for their character, these two great men not only escaped the censures of the Holy See,but emboldened the populace to question the infallibility of a church, which had nothing but luxury in its train, and learning for its boast. The entertaining work of Boccacio exposed the debaucheries of the religious, and opened the eyes of the people; and the emancipation of the human race, from the ignominious shackles

of ignorance and priestcraft, was hasten. ed by the celebrated Facetie of Poggio, and the writings of Burchiello, Pulci, and Franco. To the light which these men threw upon the corruptions of the church, and the licentiousness of the Holy See, the patronage of painters, sculptors, and poets, and the protection and maintenance of buffoons and jesters, afforded but a poor defence. Leo X. loved and admir. ed men of learning, notwithstanding their learning was often employed to expose his extravagancies, and endanger the church.

These exposures had begun to be made during the pontificate of Sixtus IV. and that Pope and his immediate successors, less remiss to the concerns of the church than Leo X. had taken some measures to ward off the danger; but instead of applying the only preventive, by reforming their morals and their lives, the heads of the church sought to stifle investigation by threatenings and punishment. Several very severe restrictions had been laid upon the publication of those works which had a tendency to open the eyes of the people, and expose the errors and vices of the church. These restrictions were, however, in a great measure neglected, by the ardent love of literature which so eminently characterized the conduct of Leo X. That pontiff forgot even his own safety, amidst poets, painters, sculptors, wits, and entertainments.

What tended also to pave the way for the reformation was, the rage which at that time prevailed among the learned for Grecian literature and the Pagan mythology. The barbarous latinity of the middle ages gave way to the refined beauties of poetry and classical learning. The paganism of Cicero, and the beauties of Virgil, were made to illustrate and adorn the sublime mysteries of the Christian faith; and Jupiter, Apollo, and Diana, were deemed fit representatives of the persons of the Blessed Trinity, and luminous illustrations of Christian Platonism. The doctrine of atonement, by the suf ferings of Christ, was explained and enforced by the examples of the Decii and of Curtius; of Cecrops, Menæcius, and Iphigenia; of Socrates, and Phocion; of Epaminondas, Scipio, and Aristides. The doctrines and practices of Paganism, being thus honoured by the ministers of the church, no wonder that the poets, particularly Pontano, Sanazzaro, and Marullus, should constantly endeavour to adorn even their sacred poems with a refer

ence to the mythology of Greece and Rome.

With this mixture of Paganism and Christianity, the mysteries of the Platonic philosophy were incorporated. Those refinements of the Platonists, which were so ingeniously infused into the devotion of Lorenzo de Medici, were propagated among the learned by the labours of Marsilio Ficino, of Pico of Mirandula, of his nephew Gian-Francesco, of Girolamo Benivieni, and others.

The liberties thus taken with the Christian faith, and with the peculiar dogmas of the Romish church, naturally begat a degree of scepticism in the minds of those by whom they were indulged; and from them it spread, more or less, over the minds of the multitude, and prepared the way for a general reformation in the creed and discipline of the church.

At length the danger arising from these unbounded speculations became too evident to pass any longer unnoticed; accordingly in the eighth session of the Council of the Lateran, several decrees were passed, tending to restrain ecclesiastical students in their pursuits relative to poetry and philosophy; but these restraints and prohibitions were made too late a spirit of speculation and research had gone abroad, and it was not to be checked by decrees and councils, fulminations and threats.

In addition to the causes of the reformation which we have just enumerated, there were others more obvious, which are said to have been "the long schism of the church of Rome in the fourteenth century; the misconduct of Alexander VI. and of Julius II.; the encroachments of the clergy on the rights of the laity; the venality of the Roman court; and above all, perhaps, the general progress of liberal studies, and the happy invention of the art of printing."

The spirit of inquiry, aided by the light of science and the invention of printing, had more or less diffused itself over the minds of Christians in every part of Europe; but no where had this spirit more successfully made its approaches than in Saxony. Intoxicated with the luxury, and dazzled with the magnificence of the Roman court, the Italians satisfied themselves with ridiculing the vices of the church in poems and visions; but took no effectual steps towards bringing about a reformation. They consoled themselves with the reflection, that though their chief city was the seat of vice and debauchery, it was also the

was.

residence of the supreme head of the church, the great depository of riches, the scene of pomp and grandeur, and the nursery of the fine arts. The magnificence of ancient ruins, the number of religious edifices, and the splendour of crowded processions, gave a sort of dignity and importance to the city of the Cæsars. and superseded pure devotion and simple prayers; while a religion, which captivated the senses of the Italians, lulled their vices, and caused them to think reformation less needful than it In Saxony, however, the case was different. This hardy race of men had never been corrupted by luxury. Almost the last to embrace the doctrines of the Christian faith, when they were compelled by Charlemagne to become Christians, they soon embraced the gospel with sincerity and simplicity. They had, with the profession of popery, preserved their principles in a great degree free from the evils with which that system of religion had been attended in other countries. They were papists; but popery was not the whole of their religion: when, therefore, the corruptions of the church were brought before their view, they first despised, then abhorred, and at last forsook them. They had always been impatient under the Roman yoke, and were fully ripe for a reformation, which promised them freedom of thought and the full exercise of natural liberty, The revival of literature, which manifested itself in Italy by the fine arts, the enjoyments of taste, and the classical beauties of ancient Greece and Rome, operated on the minds of the sober and active Saxons in the cultivation of metaphysics, philosophy, and history. When, therefore, the reformation broke forth, the Saxon theologians were more than a match for the Italian poets, painters, and Platonists. Ariosto and Luther were very different characters: To the one the world is indebted for a diffusion of the true spirit of poetry; to the other, that of piety, and the right of private judgment in matters of faith and worship. It was reserved for the bold and enterprising genius of Luther to unloose the trammels by which the 'minds of men had been so long fettered; to open the prison doors to those that were bound; to silence by Scripture and argument the thunders of the Vatican; and assure the world, that the human mind is naturally free.

To support the expenses of a luxurious court, Leo X. had availed himself of an ancient custom in the church to raise

money by the sale of indulgences, by which the purchasers were allowed the practice of several sins, and a deliverance from the pains of purgatory. To defend these indulgences, it was urged, that as one drop of Christ's blood is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, the remainder of blood shed by the death of the Saviour belonged to the church, and that its efficacy might be sold out to the people. It was supposed also, that to the church belonged all the good works of the saints, beyond what were employed in their own justification. These superabundant merits were accordingly sold to the unthinking multitude at various prices, according to the nature of the offence for which they were to atone. The form of these indulgences not being very generally known, we will give an exact copy of one of these most extraordinary instruments.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the most holy Pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred; and then, from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see; and as far as the keys of the holy church extend, I remit you all punishments you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity you possessed at baptism; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of life shall be opened; and if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

This is the form of absolution sold by the agents of Leo X. in various parts of the Christian world; an instrument so absurd, that were it not well authenticated, and had we not even in our day a similar instance of imposture on the one hand, and credulity on the other, in the seals disposed of by Johanna Southcott, one might be tempted to doubt the truth of

its existence.

The promulgation of these indulgences

In

in Germany, together with a share arising from the profits in the sale of them, was assigned to Albert, Elector of Mentz, and Archbishop of Magdeburg, who, as his chief agent for retailing them, employed one Tetzel, a Dominican Friar, of licentious morals, but of a bold and active spirit. Tetzel, assisted by the monks of his order, executed this noble commission with great zeal and success, but with the most shameless indecency and indiscretion; at the same time magnifying the benefits of these indulgences in the most extravagant manner. To such enormities did Tetzel proceed in describing the efficacy of these pretended dispensations, that he even said, "if any one had ravished the mother of God, he (Tetzel) had wherewithal to efface his guilt." He also boasted, that "he had saved more souls from hell by these indulgences, than St. Peter had converted to Christianity by his preaching." These enormous blasphemies and abuses roused the indignation of Martin Luther, a monk of the Augustinian Eremites, and professor of divinity in the academy at Wittemberg, to such a pitch of fervour, that he began to declaim with boldness against these scandals of the Christian name. ninety-five propositions, maintained publicly at Wittemberg, on the 30th of September, 1517, he censured the extrava gant extortions of the questors, and plainly pointed out the Roman Pontiff as a partaker of their guilt, since he suffered the people to be seduced by such delusions, from placing their principal confidence in Christ, the only proper object of their trust. So daring an opposition from an obscure monk, in a corner of Germany, excited the surprise and admiration of all the world, except Rome itself, which seemed most likely to have been first alarmed. Luther had no sooner published his propositions, than multitudes flocked to his standard, and joined him in the outcry against the shameful abomina. tions of the church of Rome. It was, however, some time before an eruption took place; or that the friends of reform declared open war against the decrees and authority of the church. Tetzel and others vainly attempted to defend the indulgences, but were continually repulsed, and put to shame by the arguments and intrepidity of Luther. The history of the various disputes which called forth the energies of this Reformer, and exposed the nakedness of the Church, is both interesting and curious: we must nevertheless pass over this portion of the

history of the reformation in Germany; observing, that Luther and his adherents soon found most powerful auxiliaries in the University of Wittemberg, and the protection of Frederick, Elector of Saxony.

While the Saxon reformer was daily making inroads on the authority of the Roman See, first by an opposition to the promulgation of indulgences, and from that, by a fearless exposure of the errors and doctrines of the Catholic Church itself, the Pope and Cardinals at Rome were asleep in the arms of luxury, and insensible of their danger amidst the enjoyments of polite literature, the mysticisms of Plato, the glare of outward grandeur, and the stupefactions of sensuality. It is true, the supineness of Leo was often reproved by those who had the interests of the Church at heart; but the natural benevolence of that pontiff's disposition, and his utter aversion to business, or solicitude, rendered it difficult to convince him that the disputes in Saxony were any thing besides the squabbles of restless and ignorant monks, unworthy his regard, and beneath his interference. And when at length he was reminded by the Emperor Maximilian, that his forbearance or negligence began to be dan. gerous, the matter had gone too far to be easily arrested.

Emboldened by success, encouraged by the increasing number of his adherents, and above all, protected by the secular power, Luther had already proceeded much farther in the work of reformation, than it is probable he himself at first intended; when, therefore, he was summoned by the Pope to appear before him at Rome, by the interference 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 Ascula, and Sylvestero Prierio. 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 Melancthon, to the following effect: I know nothing new or extraordinary here, except that I am become the subject of conversation throughout the whole city, and that every one wishes to see the man that is to be the victim of such a conflagration. You VOL. X.

will act your part properly, as you have always done; and teach the youth intrusted to your care. I go, for you, 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 adversaries of all liberal studies an opportunity of accomplishing their purpose."

With such sentiments and resolutions, this fearless reformer proceeded to defend himself and 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 this 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 unruly reformer to an implicit obedience 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 that he is not conscious of having advanced any thing against the Holy Scriptures, the ecclesiastical fathers, the decrees of the popes, or right reason; but that all which he has said is Catholic, proper, and true. Being, however, a man, and therefore liable to error, he submits himself to the church, and offers himself personally, either there or elsewhere, to adduce the reasons of his belief, and reply to all objections that may be made against it. This protest not satisfying the mind of the Cardinal, through the interference of some of Luther's friends, he procured from the reformer, a conciliatory letter, in which he acknowledges that he has been indiscreet in speaking in disrespectful terms of the supreme pontiffs; and promises even to be silent in future respecting indul gences, provided his adversaries were also compelled to be silent, or were restrained in their abuse of him. With these concessions, and an appeal 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 Hh