you may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory: and are you so ungrateful, that you will not rescue your parent from torment? if you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself, and sell it, in order to purchase such benefits." The foundation of all this system seemed to be this; there was supposed to be an infinite treasure of merit in Christ and the Saints, which was thought abundantly more than sufficient for themselves. Thus, what is strictly true of the Divine Saviour, was asserted also of Saints; namely, that their righteousness could be imparted to others. This treasure was deposited in the Church, under the conduct of the See of Rome, and was sold, LITERALLY SOLD FOR MONEY, at that See's discretion, to those who were able and willing to pay for it; and few were found willing to undergo the course of a severe penance of unpleasant austerities, when they could afford to commute for it by pecuniary payments. The Popes, and under them the Bishops, and the Clergy, particularly the Dominican and Franciscan Friars, had the disposal of this treasure, and as the Pontiffs had the power of canonizing new Saints at their own will, the fund was ever growing; and so long as the system could maintain its credit, the riches of their Church, thus secularized under the appearance of religion, became a sea without a shore. No impartial examiner of authentic records, will say that this account of indulgences is overcharged, a much stronger representation might have been drawn. In fact, these were the symptoms of the last stage of Papal depravity, and as the moral evils which they encouraged, were plain to every one not totally destitute of discernment, they were soon perceived, and were the first objects assaulted by the Reformers.

The annexed copy of one of these pardons, will best evince their general nature. "May Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion! And I, by the authority of His blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the Most Holy Pope; granted and committed to me, in these arts, do absolve thee, first, from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they may have been incurred; and then from all thy sins, transgressions and

excesses, how enormous soever they 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 to thee all punishment, which thou dost deserve in purgatory on their account, and I restore thee to the holy sacraments of the Church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which thou didst possess at baptism; so that when thou dost die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of paradise of delight shall be opened; and if thou shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force, when thou art. at the point of death! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This blasphemous and most ridiculous fraud was played off upon the people in every possible shape, while the infamous fabricator and vender wallowed in every species of luxury, debauchery, and wickedness. An abuse so flagrant could not but raise the honest indignation of every thinking person; accordingly, when the Emperor Maximilian was at Inspruck, he was so offended at the wickedness and impudence of Tetzel, who had been convicted of adultery, that he condemned him to death, and had intended to have him seized and put into a bag, and flung into the River Oenoponte, but he was prevented by the solicitations of Frederic, the Elector of Saxony, who fortunately for Tetzel, happened to be there at the time. Luther, who was then uninformed on the question of indulgences, though he had been studying the subject of his personal justification before God, was roused by the concourse of people who flocked into the town to procure them, to observe to them mildly, that there were other things more worthy their attention. Luther, who was a native of Saxony, and had received his education in the Romish Communion, was at that time, a Monk of the Order of Saint Augustine, and Professor of Divinity at Wittemberg. This man, whose mind was formed for penetration, and the discovery of truth, and whose heart beat high with all those feelings which constitute the Champion and the Martyr, occupied at this eventful period, the honorable post of danger. Roused by the insolence of Tetzel, and alarmed by the crying abuses of this unholy traffic, his faculties were awakened to

examination and enquiry, and those principles which had remained dormant in the Cloister and the College, sprung into vigorous and successful action. The light of truth broke suddenly upon him, and the holy and undaunted resolution of his heart, kept pace with his discoveries, until the fallacies of Popery were all detected, and then addressing himself to his high Destiny, he disowned the usurped authority of Rome, and became the intrepid and invincible leader in the cause of Christian Liberty. The Princes, the Bishops, and the learned men of the times, all saw this scandalous traffic respecting the pardon of sins, but no one was found who possessed the knowledge, the courage, and the honesty necessary to detect the fraud, and to lay open to mankind the true doctrine of Salvation, by the remission of sin, through Jesus Christ. But at length, this obscure Pastor appeared, who alone, and without help, began to erect the standard of sound religion. No man who believes that "the preparation of the heart is from the Lord," will doubt whether Martin Luther in this great undertaking was moved by the Spirit of God.

It is not to be supposed, that an institution of so long standing, ingrafted on so many prejudices and interests, and supported by such an extraordinary weight of power and influence, as the Papal System, could be overturned by any or all of the aforenamed causes, unless those causes had been called into action, by some bold and intrepid spirit, some daring soul impatient of the crown of martyrdom, and indifferent to every consideration that contributed not to advance the glory of his character, the immortality of his memory, and above all, the interest of that religion to which he was devoted. Inspired by a zeal which could consume the most obdurate prejudice, and a courage that could brave the most potent authority, Luther carried every thing before him that retarded his designs. He knew when to advance, and when to make good a safe retreat; when to trust the energies of his own mind, and when to profit by the advice of others. In the following pages, it will be seen with what persevering boldness he laid siege to the most ancient rules of discipline, and the most solemn rites of superstitious devotion and piety.

CHAPTER 11.

STATE OF THE ROMAN CHURCH IN FAITH AND MORALS AT THE PERIOD OF THE REFORMATION.

PREVIOUS, however, to commencing an account of Luther's breach with the See of Rome, and of the important consequences with which it was followed to a great portion of Europe, it is necessary that we more particularly advert to the state of religion in that church from which he separated, in the beginning of the 16th century. The picture is, indeed, dismal, but its exhibition may serve, in some measure, to enhance the value of the Reformation which dispelled the thick gloom that covered the Christian World, and brought light to thousands who had long sat in darkness.

Pretending to be appointed the head of the Church by Christ himself, the Roman Pontiff affirmed that he himself was God on earth; that his commands and those of God were of equal authority; and that to call his power in question, was to call in question the power of the Deity. Hence he claimed and exercised an unlimited control over the consciences of men; imposing on the world whatever absurdities he pleased, and commanding the very thoughts of all to be under subjection to him. Nor was even this enough. Raising himself above every other Prince, he set up and put down the most mighty Kings at his pleasure.

Men saw, at this time, that the government of the Church was framed according to the model of secular empires; they saw an almost innumerable company of dignitaries elevated by pompous titles, canons, honours, pre-eminences, and privileges, upheld by the vast riches and the splendor of the world, and all of them together depending on a Sovereign High Priest, who had lifted himself up above the whole Church, as its rightful monarch: whose words must be laws, and whose laws

must be oracles; who pretended to reign not only over the external actions of men, but to lord it also over their souls, and their consciences; and who left nothing so reserved in the deepest and most inward motions of the soul, of which he did not demand its subjection. As the temporal monarch of the whole earth, he assumed the power of deposing Princes, without any fault having been committed by them, if the good of the Church seemed to him to require it; and the Sovereign who was thus deposed, was often compelled, before he was reinstated on his throne, to kiss the feet of the Pontiff, and to perform to that holy ruler the most degrading offices.

During this period, indeed, and for many ages previous, the Popes reigned with the most despotic sway. If any man dared to lift his voice against them, he was not only condemned to cruel tortures in time, but to damnation throughout eternity! In proof of this, we have only to reflect on the numerous murders, accompanied with the most fearful anathemas, which the votaries of the Church of Rome committed on all who differed from them in the smallest point; being perfectly aware, also, that the religion of Christ was directly opposed to the system of Popery, they deprived the people of the use of the Scriptures altogether. The wealth, too, of the See of Rome, and of the Clergy in general, was immense, and every effort was made to increase their revenues. Hence, the various inventions of masses, peter-pence, pilgrimages, relics, indulgences, absolutions, dispensations, and a thousand other devices, which were employed to rob the people of their property; and while the money which was collected through all these channels, assisted to support the dignity, and increase the insolence of these Ecclesiastical Rulers, all was done under the mask of religion.

"I am afraid," says a German Bishop, "that the doctrine of the Apostle touching the qualifications of a bishop is but very ill observed in these days, or rather that we are fallen into those times which he noted, when he said, 'I know that after my departure, ravenous wolves will come among you, not sparing the flock.' Acts 20. 29. Where may one see a good man chosen to be a bishop? one approved by his works and