He reached his journey's end about ten o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, the sixteenth of April. His coming was announced by a trumpeter, and though it was the hour of the midday meal, the whole town poured out to see him. Aleander sent one of his attendants to witness the great heretic's arrival, and afterward wrote the papal vice-chancellor: "About a hundred horsemen, presumably Sickingen's, accompanied him to the city gate. Sitting in a wagon with three companions, he entered the city, surrounded by some eight riders, and took up his lodging in the neighborhood of his Saxon prince When he alighted, a priest threw his arms about him, touched his garments three times, and went away exulting, as if he had handled a relic of the greatest of saints. I suspect it will soon be said he works miracles. This Luther, as he stepped from the wagon, looked about with his demoniac eyes and said, 'God will be with me.' Then he entered a chamber where many gentlemen visited him, with ten or twelve of whom he dined, and after dinner everybody ran in to see him." In spite of the pressure he was under, he took the time the next morning to visit a sick nobleman who had expressed the desire to see him. After offering him spiritual consolation, he heard him confess, and administered the sacrament. It was thoroughly characteristic act, for he was never too busy to heed such calls. Always to the end of his days he remained a de a voted and self-sacrificing pastor and spirit- in his situation. The humanist Peutinger, ual guide. At four in the afternoon he appeared before the diet, sitting at the time in the bishop's palace, where the Emperor Charles and his brother Ferdinand were staying. The hall was filled with a large and distinguished company of princes, noblemen, high ecclesiastics, representatives of the various states and free cities of Germany, and ambassadors of foreign powers, including two from England. It was an impressive occasion, fraught with consequence not only for Luther himself, but for the empire and the world as well. The case of the condemned monk was only one of many items of business to engage the attention of the diet, and doubtless most of the members were far more interested in other matters of local or national concern. Few realized the seriousness of the situation, and fewer still appreciated the world-wide significance of the monk's appearance before the German emperor and estates. But all were curious to see and hear the man who had made such a stir, and it is not surprising that the hall was crowded, as well as the streets outside. Aleander was scandalized to see the Wittenberg monk enter the hall with a smiling face and let his eyes rove over the assembled company instead of exhibiting the humility and fear appropriate to one a delegate from the city of Augsburg, where he had entertained Luther at the time of his appearance before Cajetan, happened to be standing near and was greeted cheerily with the words, "What, you here, too, Herr Doctor?" Peutinger afterward saw him frequently during his stay in Worms, and reported to the Augsburg authorities that he found him always in excellent spirits. As soon as he had reached his place, Luther was peremptorily required to say whether he acknowledged as his own a pile of some twenty books collected by the diligence of Aleander and arranged upon a table before him, and whether he would retract the whole or any part of their contents. He wondered, as he later remarked, where so many of his writings had been picked up; but when their titles had been read, he promptly acknowledged them as his own, adding that he had written many others besides. In reply to the second question, he asked for time to consider the matter, since faith and salvation and the divine word were involved, and to answer without premeditation might work injury. to the word and endanger his own soul. The papal legates and imperial counselors were surprised and annoyed, but after some hesitation he was granted a delay of twenty-four hours. THE CATHEDRAL AT WORMS, WHICH WAS STANDING IN LUTHER'S TIME THE LUTHER MEMORIAL AT WORMS About Luther, the central figure, are seated four precursors of the Reformation: Hus, Savonarola, Wyclif, and Peter Waldo; the standing figure at the right of Luther is Melanchthon, and a figure of Reuchlin, at the left, is hidden by the statue of Frederick the Wise, at the corner, with uplifted sword; the outside figure, at the right, is Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse. It Much speculation has been indulged in as to the reason for this request. In one of the many extant reports of the occasion from the pen of the Frankfort representative, Fürstenberg, Luther is said to have spoken in a low voice, as if he were frightened and confused. This has led to the common assumption that he was overawed by the august assembly and too much upset to take a firm stand such as might ordinarily have been expected of him. would perhaps not be surprising if he were. For the first time face to face with the leading princes of the empire and the greatest sovereign of the world, almost any man might be pardoned if he were dazzled by the spectacle and disconcerted by the hostility shown in the abrupt demand for a retraction. But the evidence is insufficient to support the conclusion. No one else, so far as we are aware, shared Fürstenberg's opinion that Luther was frightened, though many who have left reports of the occasion had a much better opportunity than he to observe the monk's attitude. We must not be misled by the dramatic contrasts of the scene-a poor monk of peasant birth standing alone against the world. If he had been standing alone, the emperor and diet would never have wasted their time with him. He was no mere individual, on trial for his life, but the champion of a great and growing party, of political, as well as religious, importance. Nor was he a simple-minded, inexperienced monk, thrust suddenly into the lime-light of publicity, but a seasoned warrior, long aware of the national significance of the battle he was engaged in. At Worms he had a host of influential supporters, and was surrounded by sage counselors. It is impossible to suppose he entered the hall ignorant of what he had to expect and without a carefully arranged plan of procedure. Apparently the plan did not altogether please Luther himself, for he later complained that under the influence of his friends he was milder at Worms than he would have liked to be. Doubtless his supporters were greatly divided as to the best way to meet the situation, and many of them must have hoped some compromise could be reached whereby the crushing of the whole movement might be prevented. Very likely he was induced to ask for delay until there was time for further discussion, in the light of the impression made by his first appearance. During the following night we are told he was in constant consultation with his friends, so that he got no sleep at all. And when he appeared before the diet the next day, firm as his final answer was, it was phrased very carefully, and in such a way as to give as little offense as possible. Speaking in a louder voice than at his first appearance, so as to be heard by everybody in the hall, he apologized for any lack of respect he might have shown the members of the diet the previous day, through ignorance of the forms and customs of the great world, and then gave his answer to the crucial question at con siderable length, first in German and afterward in Latin. His writings he divided into three groups. Some of them, he said, concerned faith and morals, and were so simple and evangelical that even his enemies confessed them harmless and worthy to be read by Christian people. Others attacked the pope, and these he could not retract without giving support and encouragement to his abominable tyrannies. Still others were directed against individuals who opposed his gospel and defended the papacy. In these he confessed he had often been more violent than was seemly, for he did not claim to be a saint; but if he withdrew them, impiety under his protection would prevail more widely than ever. At the same time, repeating the words of Christ, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil," he professed himself ready to submit and recant provided he were proved wrong. If his teachings were out of harmony with the Bible, he would be the first to throw his books into the fire. When reproved for not speaking to the point, and asked to give a categorical answer without horns, whether he would recant or not, he replied: Since, then, your Majesty and Lordships demand a simple response, I will give one with neither horns nor teeth to this effect. Unless convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by clear reason--for I believe neither pope nor counsels alone, since it is certain they have often erred and contradicted themselves, having been conquered by the Scrip tures referred to and my conscience taken captive by the word of God, I cannot and will not revoke anything, for it is neither safe nor right to act against one's conscience. God help me. Amen. A discussion ensued touching the authority of councils, when the emperor, as it was already growing late, interrupted the colloquy and abruptly closed the session. Arrived at his lodgings, Luther threw up his hands, according to the report of an eye-witness, and cried with joy, "I am through, I am through!" The strain must have been tremendous even for him, and his relief that it was all over and he had held his ground without flinching was proportionately great. A few days later, in a letter to his friend Lucas Cranach, he made the following characteristic comment upon the whole affair: "In my opinion the emperor ought to have gathered a number of doctors and conquered the monk by argument. Instead of that, I was simply asked, 'Are the books yours?' 'Yes.' 'Will you recant them?' 'No.' 'Then begone.' Oh, we blind Germans, how childishly we act and how contemptible we are to allow the Romans to make such fools of us!" The impression made by Luther upon the members of the diet was very diverse. According to Aleander's report, written at the close of the first day, many even of those friendly to him, after seeing him, thought him crazy or possessed, while others considered him a pious man, full of the Holy Spirit. Later the legate wrote |