CHAPTER VII
New Negotiations—Miltitz and the Augustins of Eisleben—Deputation to Luther—Miltitz and the Elector—Conference at Lichtemberg—Luther’s Letter to the Pope—Book Presented to the Pope—Union of the Believer with Christ—Freedom and Bondage.
After this publication, all hope of reconciliation between the pope and Luther must have vanished. Persons of the least possible discernment must have been struck with the incompatibility of the Reformer’s belief with the doctrine of the Church; and yet, at this very moment, new negotiations were about to commence. In the end of August, 1520, five weeks before the publication of the ‘Captivity of Babylon,’ the general Chapter of the Augustins had assembled at Eisleben. At this meeting, the venerable Staupitz resigned his office of vicar-general of his order, and Winceslas Link, he who accompanied Luther to Augsburg, was invested with it. Suddenly, in the middle of the Chapter, arrived the indefatigable Miltitz, burning with eagerness to reconcile Luther and the pope. His avarice, and, above all, his jealousy and hatred, were interested. Eck and his swaggering had galled him; he knew that the doctor of Ingolstadt had spoken disparagingly of him at Rome, and there was nothing he would not have sacrificed in order to defeat the designs of this troublesome rival by means of a speedily concluded peace. The interest of religion gave him no concern. One day, by his own account, he was dining with the bishop of Leipsic. After the guests had drunk very freely, a new work of Luther’s was brought in. On being opened and read, the bishop flew into a passion, and the official swore, but Miltitz laughed with all his heart.2 The Reformation was treated by Miltitz as a man of the world, and by Eck as a theologian.
Aroused by the arrival of Dr. Eck, Miltitz addressed the Chapter of the Augustins, in a discourse which he delivered with a very marked Italian accent, thinking thus to overawe his countrymen. “The whole Augustin order is compromised by this affair.” said he. “Show me some method of silencing Luther.”2 “We have nothing to do with the doctor,” replied the Fathers, “and we know not what counsel to give you.” They founded doubtless on what Staupitz had done at Augsburg, when he loosed Luther from his vows of obedience to the order. Miltitz insisted, “Let a deputation from this venerable Chapter wait upon Luther, and solicit him to write a letter to the pope, assuring him that he has never plotted in any respect against his person. That will be sufficient to terminate the affair.” The Chapter gave their consent, and assigned the task of conferring with Luther, no doubt at the nuncio’s request, to the ex-vicar-general, Staupitz, and his successor Link. The deputation forthwith set out for Wittemberg with a letter from Miltitz to the doctor filled with expressions of the highest respect. “There is no time to be lost,” said he, “the thunder already hovering over the head of the Reformer, will soon burst, and then all is over.”
Neither Luther nor the deputies, who concurred in his opinions, hoped any thing from a letter to the pope. That however was a reason for not refusing to write it, as it would only be a mere matter of form, and might serve to bring out Luther’s rights. “This Italian of Saxony (Miltitz), “thought Luther,” in making this demand has doubtless his own particular interest in view. Very well, be it so, I will write, as I can with truth, that I have never objected to the pope personally. I will even endeavour to guard against severity in attacking the see of Rome. Still it shall have its sprinkling of salt.”5
Luther having shortly after been informed of the arrival of the bull in Germany, declared to Spalatin, on the 3rd of October, that he would not write the pope, and, on the 6th of the same month, published his book on the ‘Captivity of Babylon.’ Miltitz did not even yet despair of success. His eagerness to humble Eck made him believe an impossibility. On the 2nd of October, he had written the Elector, in high spirits. “Every thing will go well, but, for the love of God, delay no longer to order payment of the pension which I have had from you and your brother for some years. I must have money in order to make new friends at Rome. Write the pope, and do homage to the young cardinals, the relatives of his holiness, with gold and silver pieces, from the mint of your electoral highness, and add some for me also, for I was robbed of those which you gave me.”
Even after Luther was acquainted with the bull, the intriguing Miltitz was not discouraged, and requested a conference with Luther at Lichtemberg. The Elector ordered Luther to repair thither. But his friends, and especially the affectionate Melancthon, opposed it.3 “What, thought they, at the moment when a bull has appeared ordering Luther to be seized and carried off to Rome, to accept a conference with the pope’s nuncio in a retired spot! Is it not evident that, because Dr. Eck from having too openly proclaimed his hatred is not able to approach the Reformer, the wily chamberlain has been employed to ensnare Luther in his nets?”
These fears could not deter the doctor of Wittemberg. The prince has commanded, and he will obey. “I am setting out for Lichtemberg,” wrote he, to the chaplain on the 11th of October, “pray for me.” His friends would not quit him. The same day, towards evening, Luther entered Lichtemberg on horse-back, amid thirty horsemen, one of whom was Melancthon. The papal nuncio arrived almost at the same time with only four attendants. Was this modest escort a stratagem to throw Luther and his friends off their guard?
Miltitz urged Luther with the most pressing solicitations, assuring him that the blame would be thrown upon Eck and his foolish boastings, and that every thing would terminate to the satisfaction of both parties. “Very well,” replied Luther, “I offer henceforth to keep silence, provided my opponents keep it also. For the sake of peace I will do every thing that it is possible for me to do.”6
Miltitz was delighted; and accompanying Luther as far as Wittemberg, the Reformer and the papal nuncio walked arm in arm into this town which Dr. Eck was now approaching, holding menacingly in his hand the formidable bull which was to overthrow the Reformation. “We will bring the matter to a happy conclusion,” wrote Miltitz forthwith to the Elector; “Thank the pope for his rose, and at the same time send forty or fifty florins to Cardinal Quatuor Sanctorum.”
Luther felt bound to keep his promise of writing the pope. Before bidding Rome an eternal adieu, he wished once more to tell her important and salutary truths. Some perhaps will regard his letter only as a piece of irony—a bitter and insulting satire—but this were to mistake the sentiments by which he was actuated. He sincerely believed that Rome was to blame for all the evils of Christendom; and in this view his words are not insults, but solemn warnings. The more he loved Leo, and the more he loved the Church of Christ, the more he desired to unfold the full magnitude of the disease. The energy of his expressions is proportioned to the energy of his feelings. The crisis has arrived, and he seems like a prophet walking round the city for the last time, upbraiding it for all its abominations, denouncing the judgments of the Almighty, and crying aloud, “Still some days of respite.” The letter is as follows:— “To the Most Holy Father in God, Leo X, Pope at Rome, Salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“From amid the fearful war which I have been waging for three years with disorderly men, I cannot help looking to you, O Leo, Most Holy Father in God. And although the folly of your impious flatterers has compelled me to appeal from your judgment to a future council, my heart is not turned away from your Holiness, and I have not ceased to pray God earnestly and with profound sighs, to grant prosperity to yourself and your pontificate.
“It is true I have attacked some antichristian doctrines, and have inflicted a deep wound on my adversaries because of their impiety. Of this I repent not, as I have here Christ for an example. Of what use is salt if it have lost its savour, or the edge of a sword if it will not cut? Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently. Most excellent Leo, far from having conceived any bad thoughts with regard to you, my wish is that you may enjoy the most precious blessings throughout eternity. One thing only I have done: I have maintained the word of truth. I am ready to yield to all in every thing; but, as to this word, I will not, I cannot, abandon it.3 He who thinks differently on this subject is in error.
“It is true that I have attacked the Court of Rome; but neither yourself nor any man living can deny that there is greater corruption in it than was in Sodom and Gomorrah, and that the Impiety which prevails makes cure hopeless. Yes; I have been horrified on seeing how, under your name, the poor followers of Christ were deceived. I have opposed this, and will oppose it still, not that I imagine it possible, in spite of the opposition of flatterers, to accomplish any thing in this Babylon, which is confusion itself; but I owe it to my brethren to endeavour, if possible, to remove some of them from these dreadful evils.
“You know it; Rome has for many years been inundating the world with whatever could destroy both soul and body. The Church of Rome, formerly the first in holiness, has become a den of robbers, a place of prostitution, a kingdom of death and hell; so that Antichrist himself, were he to appear, would be unable to increase the amount of wickedness. All this is as clear as day.
“And yet, O Leo, you yourself are like a lamb in the midst of wolves—a Daniel in the lions’ den. But single-handed, what can you oppose to these monsters? There may be three or four cardinals who to knowledge add virtue. But what are these against so many? You should perish by poison even before you could try any remedy. It is all over with the Court at Rome—the wrath of God has overtaken and will consume it. It hates counsel—it fears reform—it will not moderate the fury of its ungodliness; and hence it may be justly said of it as of its mother—
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; forsake her. It belonged to you and your cardinals to apply the remedy; but the patient laughs at the doctor, and the horse refuses to feel the bit.… 4
“Cherishing the deepest affection for you, most excellent Leo, I have always regretted that, formed as you are for a better age, you were raised to the pontificate in these times. Rome is not worthy of you, and those who resemble you; the only chief whom she deserves to have is Satan himself, and hence, the truth is, that in this Babylon he is more king than you are. Would to God, that, laying aside this glory which your enemies so much extol, you would exchange it for a modest pastoral office, or live on your paternal inheritance. Rome’s glory is of a kind fit only for Iscariots.… O, my dear Leo, of what use are you in this Roman court, unless it be to allow the most execrable men to use your name and your authority in ruining fortunes, destroying souls, multiplying crimes, oppressing faith, truth, and the whole Church of God? O Leo, Leo, you are the most unfortunate of men, and you sit upon the most dangerous of thrones. I tell you the truth because I wish your good.
“Is it not true, that, under the vast expanse of heaven there is nothing more corrupt, more hateful, than the Roman Court? In vice and corruption it infinitely exceeds the Turks. Once the gate of heaven, it has become the mouth of hell—a wide mouth which the wrath of God keeps open, so that, on seeing so many unhappy beings thrown headlong into it, I was obliged to lift my voice, as in a tempest, in order that, at least, some might be saved from the fearful abyss. Such, O Leo, my father, was the reason why I inveighed against this death-giving see. Far from attacking your person, I thought I was labouring for your safety, when I valiantly assaulted this prison, or rather this hell in which you are confined. To do all sorts of evil to the Court of Rome were to discharge your own duty; to cover it with shame is to honour Christ; in one word, to be a Christian is to be anything but a Roman.
“Meanwhile, seeing that in succouring the see of Rome, I was losing my labour and my pains, I sent her a letter of divorce I said to her, ‘Adieu, Rome! He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still;’ and devoted myself to the tranquil and solitary study of the sacred volume. Then Satan opened his eyes and awoke his servant, John Eck, a great enemy of Jesus Christ, in order that he might oblige me again to descend into the arena. Eck’s wish was to establish the primacy not of Peter but of himself, and, for that purpose, to lead vanquished Luther in triumph. The blame of all the obloquy which has been cast on the see of Rome rests with him.”
Luther narrates his intercourse with De Vio, Miltitz, and Eck, and then continues.
“Now, then, I come to you, O Most Holy Father, and, prostrated at your feet, pray you, if possible, to put a curb on the enemies of the truth. But I cannot retract my doctrine. I cannot permit rules of interpretation to be imposed on the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God, the source whence all freedom springs, must be left free.
“O, Leo, my father! listen not to those flattering Sirens who tell you that you are not a mere man, but a demi-god, and can ordain what you please. You are the servant of servants, and the seat which you occupy is of all others the most dangerous, and the most unhappy. Give credit not to those who exalt, but to those who humble you. Perhaps I am too bold in giving advice to so high a majesty, whose duty it is to instruct all men. But I see the dangers which surround you at Rome, I see you driven hither and thither, tossed as it were upon the billows of a raging sea. Charity urges me, and I cannot resist sending forth a warning cry.
“Not to appear empty handed before your Holiness, I present you with a little book, which has appeared under your name, and which will make you aware of the subjects to which I will be able to devote myself, if your flatterers permit me. It is a small matter as regards the size of the volume, but a great one in regard to its contents, for it comprehends a summary of the Christian life. I am poor, and have nothing else to offer; besides, you have no want of any thing but spiritual gifts. I commend myself to your Holiness. May the Lord keep you for ever and ever, amen.” The little book with which Luther did homage to the pope was his ‘Treatise on the liberty of the Christian;’ in which he demonstrates without any polemical discussion, how the Christian, without infringing on the liberty which faith has given him, may submit to every external ordinance in a spirit of freedom and love. Two truths form the basis of the whole discourse, viz., The Christian is free—all things are his: The Christian is a servant subject to all in every thing. By faith he is free, by love he is subject. At first he explains the power of faith to make the Christian free. “Faith unites the soul with Christ, as a bride with the bridegroom. Every thing that Christ has becomes the property of the believer, every thing that the believer has becomes the property of Christ. Christ possesses all blessings, even eternal salvation, and these are thenceforth the property of the believer. The believer possesses all vices and all sins, and these become, thenceforth, the property of Christ. A happy exchange now takes place. Christ who is God and man, Christ who has never sinned, and whose holiness is invincible, Christ, the Omnipotent and Eternal, appropriating to himself by his wedding ring—that is to say, by faith, all the sins of the believer; these sins are swallowed up in him and annihilated; for no sin can exist in presence of his infinite righteousness. Thus, by means of faith, the soul is delivered from all sins, and invested with the eternal righteousness of Jesus Christ the bridegroom. O happy union! Jesus Christ the rich, the noble, the holy bridegroom, takes in marriage this poor, guilty, contemned bride, delivers her from all evil, and decks her in the richest robes … Christ, a King, and Priest, shares this honour and glory with all Christians. The Christian is a king, and consequently possesses all things. He is a priest, and consequently possesses God. And it is faith, not works, which procures him this honour. The Christian is free from all things, and above all things—faith giving him every thing in abundance.” In the second part of the treatise Luther presents the truth in its other point of view. “Although the Christian has thus been made free, he voluntarily becomes a servant that he may act towards his brethren as God has acted towards him through Jesus Christ. I desire,” said he, “freely, joyfully, and gratuitously, to serve a Father who hath thus shed upon me all the riches of his goodness. I wish to become every thing to my neighbour, as Christ has become every thing to me.” … “From faith,” continues Luther, “flows love to God, and from love a life full of liberty, charity, and joy. O how noble and elevated a life the life of the Christian is! But, alas, none know it and none preach it. By faith the Christian rises even to God: by love he descends to man; still, however, remaining always in God. This is true liberty, a liberty as far above every other species of liberty as the heavens are above the earth.”
Such was the treatise which accompanied Luther’s letter to Leo X.