CHAPTER XI
Apprehensions of Luther’s friends—Journey to Heidelberg—Bibra—The Palatine Castle—Rupture—The Paradoxes—Dispute—The Hearers—Bucer—Brentz—Snepf—Conversations with Luther—Labours of the Young Doctors—Effects on Luther—The Old Professor—The True Light—Arrival.
Meanwhile, the fire which had been kindled at Wittemberg behoved to be kindled elsewhere. Luther, not contented with announcing the truth in the place of his residence, whether to the academic youth or to the people, was desirous to shed the seeds of sound doctrine in other places. The Augustin order were to hold their general chapter at Heidelberg, in the spring of 1518. Luther, as one of the most distinguished men of the order, was invited to attend; but his friends did all they could to dissuade him from undertaking the journey. In fact, the monks had laboured to render the name of Luther odious in all the places through which he had to pass. To insult they had added threatening; and a small matter might have sufficed to excite a popular tumult of which he might have been made the victim. “Or even,” said his friends, “what they may not dare to do by violence, they will accomplish by fraud and stratagem.” But in the discharge of a duty, Luther did not allow himself to be arrested by the fear of any danger, however imminent. He therefore turned a deaf ear to the timid suggestions of his friends, and directed them to Him in whom his confidence was placed, and under whose protection he desired to undertake the perilous journey. After the feast of Easter he quietly set out on foot, on the 13th April 1518.
He had with him a guide named Urban, who carried his small bundle, and was to accompany him as far as Wurzburg. How many thoughts must have occupied the heart of the servant of the Lord during this journey! At Weissenfels, the pastor, though not of his acquaintance, instantly recognised him as the doctor of Wittemberg, and gave him a hearty reception. At Erfurt, he was joined by two other Augustin friars. At Judenbach, the three fell in with Degenard Pfeffinger, the Elector’s confidential councillor, who entertained them at the inn. “I have had the pleasure,” wrote Luther to Spalatin, “of making this rich lord some shillings poorer. You know how I like to take every occasion of making a hole in the purses of the rich for the benefit of the poor, especially if the rich are my friends.”3 He arrived at Coburg, worn out with fatigue. “All goes well by the grace of God,” wrote he; “only, I confess I have sinned in undertaking the journey on foot. But for this sin I presume I will have no need of the remission of indulgences, for my contrition is perfect, and my satisfaction complete. I am knocked up with fatigue, and all the conveyances are full. Is not this enough, or rather more than enough of penitence, contrition, and satisfaction?” The Reformer of Germany, not finding a place in the public conveyances, nor any one who was willing to yield him his place, was obliged next morning, notwithstanding of his fatigue, humbly to resume his journey on foot. He arrived at Wurzburg on the evening of the second Sabbath after Easter, and sent back his guide.
Bishop Bibra, who had received the theses with so much delight, lived in this town, and Luther had a letter for him from the Elector of Saxony. The bishop, overjoyed at the opportunity of becoming personally acquainted with this bold champion of the truth, hastened to invite him to the episcopal palace. He went out to receive him, spoke to him in the kindest terms, and offered to furnish him with a guide as far as Heidleberg. But at Wurzburg, Luther had fallen in with his two friends, the vicar-general Staupitz, and Lange, the prior of Erfurt, who offered him a place in their carriage. He therefore thanked Bibra for his offer, and next day the three friends set out from Wurzburg. They travelled thus for three days, conversing together, and on the 21st April arrived at Heidelberg. Luther went to lodge at the Augustin convent. The Elector of Saxony had given him a letter to Count Palatine Wolfgang, Duke of Bavaria. Luther repaired to his magnificent castle, the site of which is still the admiration of strangers. The monk of the plains of Saxony had a heart to admire the position of Heidelberg, where the two lovely valleys of the Rhine and the Necker unite. He delivered his letter to James Simler, steward of the court. Simler having read it, said, “Truly you have here a valuable letter of credit.” The Count Palatine received him with much kindness, and often invited him, as well as Lange and Staupitz, to his table. This friendly reception added greatly to Luther’s comfort. “We relax and amuse ourselves with an agreeable and pleasant chit-chat,” says he, “eating and drinking, and surveying all the magnificence of the Palatine palace, admiring its ornaments, its armoury, and cuirasses; in short, every thing remarkable in this distinguished and truly royal castle.”
However, Luther had other work to do. He behoved to work while it was day. Transported to an university which exercised great influence on the west and south of Germany, he was there to strike a blow which should shake the churches of those countries. He, accordingly, began to write theses which he proposed to maintain in a public discussion. Such discussions were of ordinary occurrence; but Luther felt, that in order to make his useful, it was necessary to give it a peculiar interest. His disposition, moreover, inclined him to present the truth under a paradoxical form. The professors of the university would not allow the discussion to take place in their public hall, and it became necessary to hold it in a hall of the Augustin convent. The 26th of April was the day on which it was to take place.
Heidelberg, at a later period, received the gospel, and even at this discussion in the convent, an observer might have augured that good would result from it. The reputation of Luther attracted a large concourse of hearers; professors, courtiers, citizens, and students, crowded to it. The doctor gave the name of Paradoxes to his theses, and it is, perhaps, the name which might still be applied to them in the present day. It would be easy, however, to translate them into evident propositions. The following are some of the Paradoxes:—
1. “The law of God is a salutary rule of life. Nevertheless, it cannot aid man in his search after righteousness; on the contrary, it impedes him.
3. “Works of man, how fair and good soever they may be, are to all appearance, only mortal sins.
4. “Works of God, how deformed and bad soever they may appear, have always an immortal merit.
7. “The works of the just themselves would be mortal sins, did they not, through holy reverence for the Lord, fear that their works would in fact be mortal sins.
9. “To maintain that works done without Christ are dead, but not mortal, is dangerous forgetfulness of the fear of God.
13. “Since the fall of man, free will exists only in name, and when man does all that is possible for him to do, he sins mortally.
16. “A man who expects to attain to grace by doing all that it is possible for him to do, adds sin to sin, and doubles his guilt.
18. “It is certain that man, to become capable of receiving the grace of Christ, must entirely despair of himself.
21. “An honorary theologian calls evil good, and good evil; but a theologian of the cross speaks according to truth.
22. “The wisdom which teaches man to know the invisible perfections of God in his works, inflates, blinds, and hardens him.
23. “The law excites the wrath of God, kills, curses, accuses, judges, and condemns, whatever is not in Christ.
24. “Still this wisdom (§ 22) is not bad; and the law (§ 23) is not to be rejected; but the man who does not study the knowledge of God under the cross, changes its good into evil.
25. “He is not justified who does many works; but he who, without works, believes much in Jesus Christ.
26. “The law says, Do this! And what it commands is never done. Grace says, Believe in him! And, lo! all things are accomplished.
28. “The love of God finds nothing in man, but creates in him what it loves. The love of man proceeds from self-love.”
Five doctors of theology attacked these theses. They had read them with the astonishment which novelty excites. The theology seemed to them very strange. Yet according to Luther’s own testimony, they discussed them with a courtesy which he could not but esteem; and, at the same time, with force and discernment.
Luther, on his part, displayed an admirable mildness in his replies, incomparable patience in listening to the objections of his opponents, and all the liveliness of St. Paul in solving the difficulties which were started. His answers, which were short, but replete with the word of God, filled all the hearers with admiration. “He very much resembles Erasmus,” said several; “but in one thing he surpasses him,—he professes openly what Erasmus is contented only to insinuate.” The discussion was drawing to a close. Luther’s opponents had retired with honour from the field of battle, the youngest of them, Doctor George Niger, alone continuing the struggle with the mighty combatant. Amazed at the bold propositions of the Augustin monk, and feeling utterly at a loss for arguments to refute them, he exclaimed, in an agitated tone,—“Were our peasants to hear such things, they would stone you to death.” At these words there was a general laugh throughout the audience.
Never had hearers listened more attentively to a theological disputation. The first words of the Reformer had awakened men’s minds, and questions which shortly before had met with indifference, were now full of interest. Several countenances gave visible expression to the new ideas which the bold assertions of the Saxon doctor had suggested to their minds.
Three youths in particular were strongly moved. One of them, named Martin Bucer, was a Dominican, of about twenty-seven years of age, who, notwithstanding of the prejudices of his order, seemed unwilling to lose a single word which fell from the doctor. Born in a little town of Alsace, he had entered a convent at sixteen, and soon displayed such talents that the monks entertained the highest hopes of him. “He will one day be an ornament to our order,” said they. His superiors had sent him to Heidelberg that he might devote himself to the study of philosophy, theology, Greek, and Hebrew. At this period Erasmus having published several of his works, Bucer read them with avidity.
Shortly after, the first works of Luther appeared, and the Alsatian student hastened to compare the Reformer’s doctrine with the holy Scriptures. Some doubt as to the truth of the popish religion arose in his mind. This was the way in which light was diffused in those days. The Elector Palatine took notice of the young man. His strong and sonorous voice, his pleasing address, his eloquence, and the freedom with which he attacked prevailing vices, made him a distinguished preacher. He was appointed chaplain to the court, and was acting in this capacity when Luther’s journey to Heidelberg was announced. Bucer was greatly delighted; nobody repaired with greater eagerness to the hall of the Augustin convent. He had provided himself with paper, pens, and ink, wishing to write down whatever the doctor should say. But while his hand was rapidly tracing the words of Luther, the hand of God was writing the great truths which he heard in more ineffaceable characters on his heart. The rays of the doctrine of grace beamed upon his soul on this memorable occasion. The Dominican was gained over to Christ. Not far from Bucer sat John Brentz or Brentius, then about nineteen years of age. Brentz, who was the son of a magistrate of a town in Swabia, had, at thirteen, been enrolled among the students of Heidelberg. None of them showed such application. As soon as the hour of midnight struck, Brentz rose and commenced his labours. This practice became so habitual to him, that, during the rest of his life, he could never sleep beyond that hour. At a later period he devoted these still moments to meditation on the Scriptures. Brentz was one of the first to perceive the new light which then rose on Germany, and he received it into his soul in the full love of it. He read the writings of Luther with avidity, and must have been overjoyed at the prospect of hearing him personally at Heidelberg. Young Brentz was particularly struck with one of the doctor’s propositions, viz., “Not he who does many works is justified before God, but he who, without works, believes much in Jesus Christ.” A pious woman of Heilbronn, on the Necker, wife of a councillor of that town, named Snepf, had, after the example of Hannah, dedicated her first born to the Lord, earnestly desiring to see him devote himself to theology. The young man, who was born in 1495, made rapid progress in literature, but whether from taste or ambition, or compliance with his father’s wishes, he devoted himself to the study of law. The pious mother was grieved when she saw her son Ehrhard following another course than that to which she had dedicated him; she warned and urged him, and always concluded by reminding him of the vow which she had made at his birth. At length, overcome by his mother’s perseverance, Ehrhard Snepf yielded, and soon felt such delight in his new studies, that nothing in the world could have diverted him from them.
He was in terms of intimacy with Bucer and Brentz, and they remained friends all their lives; “for,” says one of their biographers, “friendships founded on the love of literature and virtue are never extinguished.” He was present with his two friends at the Heidelberg discussion. The Paradoxes and the bold struggle of the Wittemberg doctor gave Snepf a new impulse. Rejecting the vain dogma of human merit, he embraced the doctrine of free justification. The next day Bucer paid a visit to Luther. “I conversed with him,” says he, “and without witnesses; and had a most exquisite repast, not from the viands, but from the truths which were set before me. Whatever objections I stated, were readily answered by the doctor, who explained every thing with the utmost clearness. O! that I had time to write yon more about it.” Luther himself was touched with the sentiments of Bucer. “He is the only friar of his order,” wrote he to Spalatin, “who is in good faith. He is a young man of great promise; he received me with simplicity, and conversed with me with earnestness; he is deserving of our confidence and our love.”3
Brentz, Snepf, and others also, urged by the new truths which began to dawn upon their minds, in like manner visited Luther, speaking and conferring with him, and asking explanations of any thing which they might not have comprehended. The Reformer, in his answers, founded upon the Bible. At every word that fell from him fresh light arose, and his visitors saw a new world opening before them.
After Luther’s departure these noble-minded men began to teach at Heidelberg. It was necessary to follow out what the man of God had begun, and not allow the torch which he had kindled to be extinguished. The scholars will speak should the masters be silent. Brentz, although he was still so youthful, explained St. Matthew, at first in his own room, and afterwards, when it could not contain his hearers, in the hall of philosophy. The theologians, filled with envy at seeing the great concourse which he drew together, were much offended.
Brentz next took orders, and transferred his lectures to the college of the Canons of the Holy Spirit. In this way the fire which had already been kindled in Saxony was kindled also in Heidelberg. The light radiated from numerous foci. This period has been designated the seed-time of the Palatinate. But the fruits of the Heidelberg discussion were not confined to the Palatinate. These bold friends of the truth soon became luminaries in the Church. They all occupied eminent stations, and took part in the numerous discussions, to which the Reformation gave rise. Strasburg, and at a later period England, were indebted to the labours of Bucer, for a purer knowledge of the truth. Snepf taught first at Marburg, then at Stutgard, Tubingen, and Jena. Brentz, after teaching at Heidelberg, long continued to labour at Halle, in Swabia, and at Tubingen. These three individuals will again come before us. This discussion caused Luther himself to advance. He grew daily in the knowledge of the truth. “I am one of those,” said he, “who have made progress by writing and by instructing others; and not one of those, who, from nothing, become all at once great and learned doctors.”
He was delighted at seeing the avidity with which youth in schools received the growing truth; and this consoled him when he saw how deeply the old doctors were rooted in their opinions. “I have the glorious hope,” said he, “that, in like manner as Christ, when rejected by the Jews, went to the Gentiles, we will now see true theology, though rejected by these old men of vain and fantastical opinions, welcomed by the rising generation.” The Chapter being closed, Luther thought of returning to Wittemberg. The Count Palatine gave him a letter to the Elector, in which he said that “Luther had displayed so much ability in the discussion as to reflect great glory on the university of Wittemberg.” He was not permitted to return on foot. The Augustins of Nuremberg conducted him as far as Wurzburg, and from thence he proceeded to Erfurt with the friars belonging to it. As soon as he arrived he called on his old master Jodocus. The venerable professor, who had been much concerned and shocked at the career which his pupil had followed, was accustomed to put a theta (
Luther quitted Erfurt in the carriage of the convent. He was thus brought to Eisleben, and from thence the Augustins of the place, proud of a doctor who threw so much lustre on their order and on their town which had given him birth, caused him to be conveyed to Wittemberg with their own horses, and at their own expence. All were desirous to testify affection and esteem for the extraordinary man who was rising at every step.
He arrived on Saturday after the Ascension. The journey had done him good. His friends found him stronger and healthier looking than before his departure, and were delighted with all he told them. Luther reposed for some time from the fatigues of his campaign and the discussion at Heidelberg, but this repose was only a preparation for more severe exertions.