220 THE GERMAN REFORMATION. A.D. 1517 To 1530.
ship. He forbids it to the clergy, and claims the power to annull rightful marriages, even against the will of one of the parties. ‘Learn, then, in this one matter of matrimony, into what an unhappy and hopeless state of confusion, hindrance, entanglement, and peril all things that are done in the Church have been brought by the pestilent and impious traditions of men! There is no hope of a remedy, unless we do away with all the laws of men, call back the gospel of liberty, and judge and rule all things according to it alone.”
Luther closes with these words: “I hear a report that fresh bulls and papal curses are being prepared against me, by which I am urged to recant, or else to be declared a heretic. If this is true, I wish this little book to be a part of my future recantation, that they may not complain that their tyranny has puffed itself up in vain. I shall also shortly publish, Christ being my helper, such a recantation as the See of Rome has never yet seen or heard, thus abundantly testifying my obedience in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
“« Hostis Herodes impie, Christum venire quid times ? Non arripit mortalia Qui regna dat celestia.’”
§ 46. Christian Freedom.— Luther's Last Letter to the Pope. October, 1520.
Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen, Wittenberg, 1520; often reprinted separately, and in the collected works of Luther. See ΤΑ ΘΗ, XIX. 1206 sqq.; Erl. ed., XX VII. 178-200 (from the first ed.); Gerlach’s ed. V. 5-46. The Latin edition, De Libertate Christiana, was finished a little later, and has some additions; see Erl. ed. Opera Lat., IV. 206-255. Luther’s letter to the Pope in Latin and German is printed also in DE WETTE, I. 497-515. English version of the tract and the letter by Bucu- HEIM, l. c. 95-187.
1 Perhaps he means the burning of the Pope’s bull, rather than, as O. v. Gerlach conjectures, the appendix to his later book against Ambrosius Catharinus, in which he tries to prove that the Pope is the Antichrist predicted by Dan. viii. 23-25.
§ 46. CHRISTIAN FREEDOM. 221
Although Rome had already condemned Luther, the papal delegate Miltitz still entertained the hope of a peaceful settlement. He had extracted from Luther the promise to write to the Pope. He had a final interview with him and Melanchthon at Lichtenberg (now Lichtenburg, in the district of Torgau), in the convent of St. Antony, Oct. 11, 1520, a few days after Luther had seen the bull of excommunication. It was agreed that Luther should write a book, and a letter in Latin and German to Leo X., and assure him that he had never attacked his person, and that Dr. Eck was responsible for the whole trouble. The book was to be finished in twelve days, but dated back to Sept. 6 in order to avoid the appearance of being occasioned by the Pope’s bull.
This is the origin of two of the most remarkable productions of Luther, —his little book on “Christian Freedom,” and a dedicatory letter to Leo X.
The beautiful tract on “Christian Freedom” is a pearl among Luther’s writings. It presents a striking contrast to his polemic treatises against Rome, which were intended to break down the tyranny of popery. And yet it is a positive complement to them, and quite as necessary for a full understanding of his position. While opposing the Pope’s tyranny, Luther was far from advocating the opposite extreme of license. He was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Epistle to the Galatians, which protests against both extremes, and inspired the keynote to Luther’s tract. He shows wherein true liberty consists. He means liberty according to the , gospel; liberty in Christ, not from Christ; and offers this as a basis for reconciliation. He presents here a popular | summary of Christian life. He keeps free from all polemics, and writes in the best spirit of that practical mysticism which connected him with Staupitz and Tauler.
The leading idea is: The Christian is the lord of all, and subject to none, by virtue of faith; he is the servant of all, and subject to every one, by virtue of love. Faith and love