which, as well as in all the other branches of literature, then known, his studies were attended with the most rapid and amazing success. Having acquired the knowledge of religion, by a diligent perusal of the Holy Scriptures, he began early to perceive the necessity of reformning the established system of doctrine and worship. His zeal exposed him to various perils, and the connexions he had formed with the friends of the reformation, whom Francis I. was daily committing to the flames, placed him more than once in imminent danger, from which he was delivered by the good offices of the excellent queen of Navarre. To escape the impending storm, he retired to Basil, where he published his Christian Institutions; and prefixed to them that famous dedication to Francis I. which has attracted universally the admiration of succeeding ages, and which was designed to soften the unrelenting fury of that prince, against the protestants." other states of XXXV. The instances of an opposition to the doctrine and discipline of Rome in the other European states, were few in number, before the diet of And in the Augsburg, and were too faint, imperfect, and am- Europe. biguous to make much noise in the world. It however appears, from the most authentic testimonies, that even before that period, the doctrine of Luther had made a considerable, though perhaps a secret progress in Spain, Hungary, Bohemia, Britain, Poland, and the Netherlands, and had in all these countries many friends, of whom several repaired to Wittemberg, to improve their knowledge and enlarge their views under such an eminent master. Some of these countries openly broke asunder the chains of superstition, and withdrew themselves, in a public and constitutional manner, from the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff. In others, a prodigious number of families received the light of the blessed reformation, rejected the doctrines and authority of Rome; and, notwithstanding, the calamities and persecutions they have suffered given by his father to the profession of the law, induced him to give up his ecclesiastic vocation, which he afterward resumed in a purer church. b This paragraph, relating to Calvin, is added to Dr. Mosheim's text by the translator, who was surprised to find, in a history of the reformation, such late mention made of one of its most distinguished and remarkable instruments; a man whose extensive genius, flowing eloquence, immense learning, extraordinary penetration, indefatigable. industry, and fervent piety, placed him at the head of the reformers; all of whom he surpassed, at least, in learning and parts, as he also did the most of them, in obstinacy, asperity, and turbulence. on account of their sentiments, under the sceptre of bigotry and superstition, continue still in the profession of the pure doctrine of Christianity: while in other still more unhappy lands, the most barbarous tortures, the most infernal spirit of cruelty, together with penal laws adapted to strike terror into the firmest minds, have extinguished, almost totally, the light of religious truth. It is indeed certain, and the Roman catholics themselves acknowledge it without hesitation, that the papal doctrines, jurisdiction, and authority, would have fallen into ruin in all parts of the world, had not the force of the secular arm been employed to support this tottering edifice, and fire and sword been let loose upon those who were assailing it only with reason and argument. CHAPTER III. THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION, FROM THE TIME THAT THE CONFESSION OF AUGSBURG WAS PRESENTED TO THE EMPEROR, UNTIL The commenCEment of THE WAR WHICH SUCCEEDED THE LEAGUE OF SMALCALD. of Augsburg presented to Charles V. I. CHARLES V. arrived at Augsburg the 15th of June, The confession 1530, and on the 20th day of the same month the diet was opened. As it was unanimously agreed that the affairs of religion should be brought upon the carpet before the deliberations relating to the intended war with the Turks, the protestant members of this great assembly received from the emperor a formal permission to present to the diet, on the 25th of June, an account of their religious principles and tenets. In consequence of this, Christian Bayer, chancellor of Saxony, read in the German language, in presence of the emperor and the assembled princes, the famous confession, which has been since distinguished by the denomination of the Confession of Augsburg. The princes heard it with the deepest attention and recollection of mind; it confirmed some in the principles they had embraced, surprised others, and many, who before this time had little or no idea of the religious sentiments of Luther, were now not only convinced of their innocence, but were moreover delighted with their purity and simplicity. The copies of this Confession, which after being read were delivered to the em peror, were signed and subscribed by John, elector of Saxony, by four princes of the empire, George, marquis of Brandenburg, Ernest, duke of Lunenburg, Philip, landgrave of Hesse, Wolfgang, prince of Anhalt, and by the imperial cities of Nuremburg and Reutlingen, who all thereby solemnly declared their assent to the doctrines contained in it." . The nature and contents sion of Augs II. The tenor and contents of the confession of Augsburg are well known; at least by all who have the smallest acquaintance with ecclesiastical history; since that confession was adopted by the of the confeswhole body of the protestants as the rule of their burg. faith. The style that reigns in it is plain, elegant, grave, and perspicuous, such as becomes the nature of the subject, and such as might be expected from the admirable pen of Melancthon. The matter was undoubtedly supplied by Luther, who, during the diet, resided at Coburg, a town in the neighbourhood of Augsburg; and even the form it received from the eloquent pen of his colleague, was authorized in consequence of his approbation and advice. This confession contains twenty-eight chapters, of which the greatest part are employed in representing, with perspicuity and truth, the religious opinions of the protestants, and the rest in pointing out the errors and abuses that occasioned their separation from the church of Rome. The Roman tempt a refu III. The creatures of the Roman pontiff, who were present at this diet, employed John Faber, afterward bishop of Vienna, together with Eckius catholics atand another doctor, named Cochlæus, to draw tation of the up a refutation of this famous confession. This Augsburg. pretended refutation having been read publicly in the confession of c There is a very voluminous history of this diet, which was published in the year 1577, in folio, at Frankfort on Oder, by the laborious George Celestine. The history of the Confession of Augsburg was composed in Latin, by David Chytræus, and more recently in German, by Ern. Solom. Cyprian and Christopher Aug. Salig. The performance of the latter is rather indeed a history of the Reformation in general than of the Confession of Augsburg in particular. That of Cyprian is more concise and elegant, and is confirmed by original pieces, which are equally authentic and curious. d Twenty-one chapters were so employed; the other seven contained a detail of the errors and superstitions of the church of Rome. Pe It is proper to observe here, that while the Lutherans presented their confession to the diet, another excellent remonstrance of the same nature was addressed to this august assembly by the cities of Strasburg, Constance, Memingen, and Lindaw, which bad rejected the errors and jurisdiction of Rome, but did not enter into the Lutheran league, because they adopted the opinions of Zuingle in relation to the eucharist. The declaration of these four towns, which was called the tetrapolitan confession, on account of their number, was drawn up by the excellent Martin Bucer, and was considered as a masterpiece of reasoning and eloquence, not only by the Protestants, but even by assembly, the emperor demanded of the protestant members that they would acquiesce in it, and put an end to their religious debates by an unlimited submission to the doctrines and opinions contained in this answer. But this demand was far from being complied with. The protestants declared, on the contrary, that they were by no means satisfied with the reply of their adversaries, and earnestly desired a copy of.it, that they might demonstrate more fully its extreme insufficiency and weakness. This reasonable request was refused by the emperor, who on this occasion, as well as on several others, showed more regard to the importunity of the pope's legate and his party, than to the demands of equity, candour, and justice. He even interposed his supreme authority to suspend any further proceeding in this matter, and solemnly prohibited the publication of any new writings or declarations that might contribute to lengthen out these religious debates. This however did not reduce the protestants to silence. The divines of that communion, who had been present at the diet, endeavoured to recollect the arguments and objections employed by Faber, and had again recourse to the pen of Melancthon, who refuted them, in an ample and satisfactory manner, in a learned piece that was presented to the emperor on the 22d of September, but which that prince refused to receive. This answer was afterward enlarged by Melancthon, when he had obtained a copy of Faber's reply, and was published in the year 1531, with the other pieces that related to the doctrine and discipline of the Lutheran church, under the title of A defence of the confession of Augsburg. concerning be used in ter IV. There were only three ways left of bringing to a conclusion these religious differences, which it was in Deliberations reality most difficult to reconcile. The first and the method to the most rational method was, to grant to those who refused to submit to the doctrine and jurisdiction of Rome, the liberty of following their private judgment in matters of a religious nature, the privilege of serving God according to the dictates of their conscience, and all this in such a manner that the public tran minating several of the Roman catholics; and among others by Mr. Dupin. Zuingle also sent to this diet a private confession of his religious opinions. It is however remarkable, that though Bucer composed a separate remonstrance, yet his name appears among the subscribers at Smalcald, in the year 1537, to the confession of Augsburg, and to Melancthon's defence of it. quillity should not be disturbed. The second, and at the same time the shortest and most iniquitous expedient, was to end these dissensions by military apostles, who, sword in hand, should force the protestants to return to the bosom of the church, and to court the papal yoke, which they had magnanimously thrown off their necks. Some thought of a middle way, which lay equally remote from the difficulties that attended the two methods now mentioned, and proposed that a reconciliation should be made upon fair, candid, and equitable terms, by engaging each of the contending parties to temper their zeal with moderation, to abate reciprocally the rigour of their pretensions, and remit some of their respective claims. This method, which seemed agreeable to the dictates of reason, charity, and justice, was highly approved of by several wise and good men on both sides; but it was ill suited to the arrogant ambition of the Roman pontiff, and the superstitious ignorance of the times, which beheld with horror whatever tended to introduce the sweets of religious liberty, or the exercise of private judgment. The second method, even the use of violence, and the terrors of the sword, was more agreeable to the spirit and sentiments of the age, and was peculiarly suited to the despotic genius and sanguine counsels of the court of Rome; but the emperor had prudence and equity enough to make him reject it, and it appeared shocking to those who were not lost to all sentiments of justice or moderation. The third expedient was therefore most generally approved of; it was peculiarly agreeable to all who were zealous for the interests and tranquillity of the empire, nor did the Roman pontiff seem to look on it either with aversion or contempt. Hence various conferences were held between persons of eminence, piety, and learning, who were chosen for that pose from both sides, and nothing was omitted that might have the least tendency to calm the animosity, heal the divisions, and unite the hearts of the contending parties ;' pur If As in the confession of Augsburg, there were three sorts of articles, one sort orthodox, and adopted by both sides; another that consisted of certain propositions, which the papal party considered as ambiguous and obscure; and a third, in which the doctrine of Luther was entirely opposite to that of Rome; this gave some reason to hope that, by the means of certain concessions and modifications, conducted mutually by a spirit of candour and charity, matters might be accommodated at last. For this purpose, select persons were appointed to carry on this salutary work; at first seven from each party, consisting of princes, lawyers, and divines, which number was afterward reduced to three. Luther's obstinate, stubborn, and violent temper, rendering him unfit 10 VOL. III. |
