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outrage. The emperor, who was loth to permit the violation of a
safe-conduct, opposed the proceedings against him. But the enemies
of the Reformer were malignant and determined. They appealed
to the emperor’s prejudices, to his fears, to his zeal for the church.
They brought forward arguments of great length to prove that he
was perfectly at liberty not to keep faith with a heretic; and that the
council, being above the emperor, could free him from his word.
Thus they prevailed.
After a long trial, in which he firmly maintained the truth, Huss
was required to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or
suffer death. He chose the martyr’s fate, and after seeing his books
given to the flames, he was himself burned at the stake. In the pres-
ence of the assembled dignitaries of Church and State, the servant of
God had uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions
of the papal hierarchy. His execution, in shameless violation of
the most solemn and public promise of protection, exhibited to the
whole world the perfidious cruelty of Rome. The enemies of truth,
though they knew it not, were furthering the cause which they sought
vainly to destroy.
In the gloom of his dungeon, John Huss had foreseen the triumph
of the true faith. Returning, in his dreams, to the humble parish
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where he had preached the gospel, he saw the pope and his bishops
effacing the pictures of Christ which he had painted on the walls
of his chapel. The sight caused him great distress; but the next day
he was filled with joy as he beheld many artists busily engaged in
replacing the figures in greater numbers and brighter colors. When
their work was completed, the painters exclaimed to the immense
crowd surrounding them, “Now let the popes and bishops come!
They shall never efface them more!” Said the Reformer, as he related
his dream, “I am certain that the image of Christ will never be
effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it shall be painted in all
hearts by much better preachers than myself.”
Soon after the death of Huss, his faithful friend Jerome, a man of
the same fervent piety and of greater learning, was also condemned,
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and he met his fate in the same ma
light-bearers. But the light of the truths which they proclaimed,—the
light of their heroic example,—could not be extinguished. As well
might men attempt to turn back the sun in its course, as to prevent
the dawning of that day which was even then breaking upon the
world.
Notwithstanding the rage of persecution, a calm, devout, earnest,
patient protest against the prevailing corruption of religious faith
continued to be uttered after the death of Wycliffe. Like the believers
in apostolic days, many freely sacrificed their worldly possessions
for the cause of Christ. Those who were permitted to dwell in their
homes, gladly received their brethren who had been banished from
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home and kindred. When they too were driven forth, they accepted
the lot of the outcast, and rejoiced that they were permitted to suffer
for the truths sake.
Strenuous efforts were made to strengthen and extend the power
of the papacy; but while the popes still claimed to be Christ’s repre-
sentatives, their lives were so corrupt as to disgust the people. By
the aid of the invention of printing, the Scriptures were more widely
circulated, and many were led to see that the papal doctrines were
not sustained by the word of God.
When one witness was forced to let fall the torch of truth, another
seized it from his hand, and with undaunted courage held it aloft.
The struggle had opened that was to result in the emancipation, not
only of individuals and churches, but of nations. Across the gulf of
a hundred years, men stretched their hands to grasp the hands of the
Lollards of the time of Wycliffe. Under Luther began the Reforma-
tion in Germany; Calvin preached the gospel in France, Zwingle in
Switzerland. The world was awakened from the slumber of ages,
as from land to land were sounded the magic words, “Religious
Liberty.”
Chapter 6—Luther’s Separation from Rome
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Foremost among those who were called to lead the church from
the darkness of popery into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin
Luther. Zealous, ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear
of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the
Holy Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him, God
accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the
enlightenment of the world.
Like the first heralds of the gospel, Luther sprung from the
ranks of poverty. His early years were spent in the humble home
of a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner, his father earned
the means for his education. He intended him for a lawyer; but
God designed to make him a builder in the great temple that was
rising so slowly through the centuries. Hardship, privation, and
severe discipline were the school in which Infinite Wisdom prepared
Luther for the important mission of his life.
Luther’s father was a man of strong and active mind, and great
force of character, honest, resolute, and straightforward. He was true
to his convictions of duty, let the consequences be what they might.
His sterling good sense led him to regard the monastic system with
distrust. He was highly displeased when Luther, without his consent,
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entered a monastery; and it was two years before the father was
reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions remained the same.
Luther’s parents bestowed great care upon the education and
training of their children. They endeavored to instruct them in the
knowledge of God and the practice of Christian virtues. The father’s
prayer often ascended in the hearing of his son, that the child might
remember the name of the Lord, and one day aid in the advancement
of his truth. Every advantage for moral or intellectual culture which
their life of toil permitted them to enjoy, was eagerly improved by
these parents. Their efforts were earnest and persevering to prepare
their children for a life of piety and usefulness. With their firmness
and strength of character they sometimes exercised too great severity;
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but the Reformer himself, though conscious that in some respects
they had erred, found in their discipline more to approve than to
condemn.
At school, where he was sent at an early age, Luther was treated
with harshness and even violence. So great was the poverty of his
parents, that for a time he was obliged to obtain his food by singing