and science he emerged oi more from his seclusion,
silenced by powerful sermons his adversaries ai Witten- berg, and once more placed himself at the helm of the movement. In intimate union with Melancthon, he
now labored for completing the theological Byste f
the Church which began to rear itself on the basis of his reformatory movement. Luther himself gave Ids chief attention to continuing the translation of the Bible in German, which was com]. hied in 1534, and consti- tutes in every respei i i of the master-productions of
the reformatory age; while Melancthon, in his cele- brated work on theological science | Loci Communes Rerum Theologicarum), gave to the theological leaders of the new Church a hand hook of doctrine which, a- a literary production, ranked with the hot works thai the
Church of Rome had produced up to thai lime.
In Rome, Leo X had meanwhile (1521) been suc- ceeded by Adrian VI, the sun of a mechanic of Utrecht, who. while Btrongly attached to the continuity of the external Church and opposed to the separation already produced by Luther, was at the same time sincerely and I devoted to the cause of a religious reform.
The energy displayed by him and the success obtained were, however, by no means commensurate with the honest} of In- convictions. During his short adminis- traii 1521 '-'•;> he was neither able to arrest the anti- Church reformation of Luther nor to smooth the way for the introduction of any reforms within the Church. The latter were hat sd in Rome no leas than the former.
and when Adrian died hi' was succeeded hy a human- ist, I lenn m VI I. who, like Leo X. was anxious to pre- eerve the splendor and the power of the papal court,
and showed not the least interest in the purity of rc- ligion.
In Germany, during this interval, the protracted ab- sence of the emperor bad prevented the adoption of any stringent measures tor the suppression of the Ref- ormation, and allowed the latter to -iriki- deeper r.^i- in the nation. The majority of the princes, ii is true, were not yet willing to pari with the religion of their fathers, and to identify themselves with the movement which they though! represented their be- loved ancestors as heretics, They mistrusted Rome, however; persisted in demanding reforms; contented themselves with resolving at several successive diets i hal i he Edict ol Worms should he carru d out as much as possible, and thus enabled the princes and free cities which were friendly to the Reformation to consolidate it within the boundaries of their states. When ike papal legate I lampe ggio bui a • di d at the 1 >iet of Ratisbon, in 1524, in bringing about an alliance between Ferdinand of Austria, the dukes of Bavaria, and most of the bish- ops of Southern Germany i"r the preservation of the old faith and for carrying out the Edict of Worms, landgrave Philip of Hesse and i lector John of Saxony, at a mi 1 1- ing held at Gotha, took the initiatory step for a count* r- alliance of the friends of the Reformation. Luther and Melancthon were at lirst opposed to the conclusion of any offensive ami defensive alliance, on the ground that God's cause should not he defended by carnal weapons. When, however, the danger appeared to increase, a de- fensive alliance between the landgrave and the elector was concluded in 1526 at Torgau, and was soon joined by a number of other princes, As the < mperor became involved in a law foreign war in which i he pop I he side of his enemies, the Diet of Spire unanimously agreed upon the decree that until the meeting of a free genera] council every state should act with regard to the Edict of Worms as it might venture to answer to tied and his imperial majesty. This decree gave to the states which were friendly to the Reformation time to reorgan- ize the churches of their territories on the basis of the Reformation. The lead was taken by the elector John the Constant of Saxony. Melancth Irew up the ar- ticles of visitation, in accordance with which, in 1529, a general Church visitation of ecclesiastical and lay coun- cillors look place. Among the results of tins visitation were the compilation of two catechisms hy Luther for more ( flScient instruction of the children in the elements of religion, the appointment of superintendents to i ser- cise spiritual supervision, and the introduction of an ec- clesiastical constitution, which became thecoma el for the churches in the other German stat< s. Luth< r. in the meantime | 1525 >. had followed the example of many of his clerical friends and married. As the con- tinuing centre of the entire movement, Luther exerted a powerful influence in many din ctions as professor and author by an extensive correspondence far beyond the horders of Germany, and by supplying the churches with a great number of excellent Church hymns in the
native tongue. By these Church hymns, as well a- by his translation of the Bible, Luther al the same time oc- cupied so prominent a position in the history of G< rman literature that Germany as a nation appeared to be un- do the greatest indebtedness to him. and ii- further progress to he closelj linked to the success of the Ref- ormation. A number of theological controversies into which Luther was drawn, and of w hich those with kin<; Henry VIII of England, with Erasmus, with Carlstadt, and Zwingli were the most important, belong more to the personal history of Luther than to thai of the Ref- ormation.