104 THE GERMAN REFORMATION. A.D. 1517 To 1580.
Catholics in their faith and worship, and assist the Emperor in the suppression of the Anabaptists and those who despised the holy sacrament. The Emperor promised to bring about a general council within a year for the removal of ecclesiastical grievances.
The signers of the Augsburg Confession, the cities of Frankfurt, Ulm, Schwabisch Hall, Strassburg, Memmingen, Constance, Lindau, refused the recess. The Lutherans protested that their Confession had never been refuted, and offered Melanchthon’s Apology of the same, which was rejected. They accepted the proposed term for consideration.
The day after the announcement of the Recess, the Elector of Saxony returned home with his theologians. The Emperor took leave of him with these words: “ Uncle, uncle, - I did not look for this from you.” The Elector with tears in his eyes went away in silence. He stopped on the journey at Nurnberg and Coburg, and reached Torgau the 9th of October. The Landgrave of Hesse had left Augsburg in disgust several weeks earlier (Aug. 6), without permission, and created fears of an open revolt.
Luther was very indignant at the Recess, which was in fact a re-affirmation of the Edict of Worms. To stop the progress of the gospel, he declared, is to crucify the Lord afresh; the Augsburg Confession must remain as the pure word of God to the judgment day; the mass cannot be tolerated, as it is the greatest abomination ; nor can it be left optional to commune in one or both kinds. Let peace be condemned to the lowest hell, if it hinder and injure the gospel and faith. They say, if popery falls, Germany will go to ruin. It is terrible, but I cannot help it. It is the fault of the papists.! He published early in 1531 a book against the Edict of Augsburg, which he ascribes to Pope Clement “the arch-villain,” and Campeggi, rather than to the Emperor, and closes with the wish that “ blasphemous popery may perish
1 See his Exposition of chs. 6-8 of John (1530-32), Erl. ed. XLVIII. 342 sq.
§ 118. NEGOTIATIONS, AND PEACE OF NURNBERG. 705
in hell as John prophesies in Revelation (14:8; 18:2; 22: 20); let every Christian say, Amen.”! In the same year he warned the Germans to be ready for defense, although it did not become him as a minister to stir up war.?
The Recess of the Diet was finally published Nov. 19; but its execution threatened to bring on civil war, and to give victory to the Turks. The Emperor shrank from such consequences and was seriously embarrassed. Only two of the secular princes, Elector Joachim of Brandenburg and Duke George of Saxony, were ready to assist him in severe measures. The Duke of Bavaria was dissatisfied with the Emperor’s efforts to have his brother Ferdinand elected Roman king. The archbishops of Mayence and Cologne, and the bishop of Augsburg, half sympathized with the Protestants.2 But the Emperor had promised the Pope to use all his power for the suppression of heresy, and was bound to execute as best he could the edict of the Diet after the expiration of the term of grace, April 15, 15381.
The Lutheran princes therefore formed in December, 1530, at Smaleald, a defensive alliance under the name of the Smalcaldian League. The immediate object was to protect themselves against the lawsuits of the imperial chamber of justice for the recovery of church property and the restoration of the episcopal jurisdiction. Opinions were divided on the question whether the allies in case of necessity should take up arms against the Emperor; the theologians were
1 “Glossen auf das vermeintliche kaiserliche Edict,’ in Walch, XVI. 2017 sqq.; Erl. ed. XXV. 51-88.
2 Warnung an seine lieben Deutschen, Erl. ed. XXV. 1-51. The Romanists regarded this as an incendiary call to open rebellion. He defended himself against this charge, in Wider den Meuchler in Dresden, 1531 (Erl. ed. 4 sere A accepted from Melanchthon the dedication of his commentary on the Romans and sent him a cup with thirty gold guilders (1532). He also sent to Luther’s wife a present of twenty guilders, which Luther declined. Kostlin, II. 427; Janssen, III. 203. Hermann of Cologne after-
wards professed Protestantism, and made an abortive attempt to reform his diocese with the aid of Bucer and Melanchthon.