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beacon lights of history-iii-2-第36章

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in penance and self…expiation and other modes of propitiating the

Deity; like soofists and fakirs and Braminical devotees。  In

defiance of the most sacred of the institutions of the Middle Ages;

he openly marries Catherine Bora and sets up a hilarious household;

and yet a household of prayer and singing。  He abolishes the old

Gregorian service; and for Mediaeval chants; monotonous and gloomy;

he prepares hymns and songs;not for boys and priests to intone in

the distant choir; but for the whole congregation to sing; inspired

by the melodies of David and the exulting praises of a Saviour who

redeems from darkness into light。  How grand that hymn of his;



    〃A mighty fortress is our God;

       A bulwark never failing。〃





He makes worship more heartfelt; and revives apostolic usages:

preaching and exhortation and instruction from the pulpit;a

forgotten power。  He appeals to reason rather than sense; denounces

superstitions; while he rebukes sins; and kindles a profound

fervor; based on the recognition of new truths。  He is not fully

emancipated from the traditions of the past; for he retains the

doctrine of transubstantiation; and keeps up the holidays of the

Church; and allows recreation on the Sabbath。  But what he thinks

the most of is the circulation of the Scriptures among plain

people。  So he translates them into German。  And this; not the

first but the best translation; is done so well that it becomes the

standard of the German language; as the Bible of Tindale helped to

form the English tongue; and not only so; but it has remained the

common version in use throughout Germany; even as the authorized

King James version; made nearly a century later by the labor of

many scholars and divines; has remained the standard English Bible。

Moreover; he finds time to make liturgies and creeds and hymns; and

to write letters to all parts of Christendom;a Jerome; a

Chrysostom; and an Augustine united; a kind of Protestant pope; to

whom everybody looks for advice and consolation。  What a wonderful

man!  No wonder the Germans are so fond of him and so proud of

him;a Briareus with a hundred arms; a marvel; a wonder; a prodigy

of nature; the most gifted; versatile; hard…working man of his

century or nation!



At last; this great theologian; this daring innovator; is summoned

by imperial; not papal; authority before the Diet of the empire at

Worms; where the Emperor; the great Charles V。; presides; amid

bishops; princes; cardinals; legates; generals; and dignitaries。

Thither Luther must go;yet under imperial safe conduct;and

consummate his protests; and perhaps offer up his life。  Painters;

poets; historians; have made that scene familiar;the most

memorable in the life of Luther; as well as one of the grandest

spectacles of the age。  I need not dwell on that exciting scene;

where; in the presence of all that was illustrious and powerful in

Germany; this defenceless doctor dares to say to supremest temporal

and spiritual authority; 〃Unless you confute me by arguments drawn

from Scripture; I cannot and will not recant anything 。 。 。  Here I

stand; I cannot otherwise: God help me!  Amen。〃  How superior to

Galileo and other scientific martyrs!  He is not afraid of those

who can kill only the body; he is afraid only of Him who hath power

to cast both soul and body into hell。  So he stands as firm as the

eternal pillars of justice; and his cause is gained。  What if he

did not live long enough to accomplish all he designed!  What if he

made mistakes; and showed in his career many of the infirmities of

human nature!  What if he cared very little for pictures and

statues;the revived arts of Greece and Rome; the Pagan

Renaissance in which he only sees infidelity; levities; and

luxuries; and other abominations which excited his disgust and

abhorrence when he visited Italy!  HE seeks; not to amuse and adorn

the Papal empire; but to reform it; as Paul before him sought to

plant new sentiments and ideas in the Roman world; indifferent to

the arts of Greece; and even the beauties of nature; in his

absorbing desire to convert men to Christ。  And who; since Paul;

has rendered greater service to humanity than Luther?  The whole

race should be proud that such a man has lived。





We will not follow the great reformer to the decline of his years;

we will not dwell on his subsequent struggles and dangers; his

marvellous preservation; his personal habits; his friendships and

his hatreds; his joys and sorrows; his bitter alienations; his

vexatious; his disappointments; his gloomy anticipations of

approaching strife; his sickened yet exultant soul; his last days

of honor and of victory; his final illness; and his triumphant

death in the town where he was born。  It is his legacy that we are

concerned in; the inheritance he left to succeeding generations;

the perpetuated ideas of the Reformation; which he worked out in

anguish and in study; and which we will not let die; but will

cherish in our memories and our hearts; as among the most precious

of the heirlooms of genius; susceptible of boundless application。

And it is destined to grow brighter and richer; in spite of

counter…reformation and Jesuitism; of Pagan levities and Pagan

lies; of boastful science and Epicurean pleasures; of material

glories; of dissensions and sects and parties; as the might and

majesty of ages coursing round the world regenerates institutions

and nations; and proclaims the sovereignty of intelligence; the

glory and the power of God。





AUTHORITIES。



Ranke's Reformation in Germany; D'Aubigne's History of the

Reformation; Luther's Letters; Mosheim's History of the Church;

Melancthon's Life of Luther: Erasmi Epistolae; Encyclopaedia

Britannica。







THOMAS CRANMER。



A。 D。 1489…1556。



THE ENGLISH REFORMATION。





As the great interest of the Middle Ages; in an historical point of

view; centres around the throne of the popes; so the most prominent

subject of historical interest in our modern times is the revolt

from their almost unlimited domination。  The Protestant

reformation; in its various relations; was a movement of

transcendent importance。  The history of Christendom; in a moral; a

political; a religious; a literary; and a social point of view; for

the last three hundred years; cannot be studied or comprehended

without primary reference to that memorable revolution。



We have seen how that great insurrection of human intelligence was

headed in Germany by Luther; and we shall shortly consider it in

Switzerland and France under Calvin。  We have now to contemplate

the movement in England。





The most striking figure in it was doubtless Thomas Cranmer;

Archbishop of Canterbury; although he does not represent the

English Reformation in all its phases。  He was neither so prominent

nor so great a man as Luther or Calvin; or even Knox。  But; taking

him all in all; he was the most illustrious of the English

reformers; and he; more than any other man; gave direction to the

spirit of reform; which had been quietly working ever since the

time of Wyclif; especially among the humbler classes。



The English Reformationthe way to which had been long preparing

began in the reign of Henry VIII。; and this unscrupulous and

tyrannical monarch; without being a religious man; gave the first

great impulse to an outbreak the remote consequences of which he

did not anticipate; and with which he had no sympathy。  He rebelled

against the authority of the Pope; without abjuring the Roman

Catholic religion; either as to dogmas or forms。  In fact; the

first great step towards reform was made; not by Cranmer; but by

Thomas Cromwell; Earl of Essex; as the prime minister of Henry

VIII。;a man of whom we really know the least of all the very

great statesmen of English history。  It was he who demolished the

monasteries; and made war on the whole monastic system; and

undermined the papal power in England; and swept away many of the

most glaring of those abuses which disgraced the Papal Empire。

Armed with the powers which Wolsey had wielded; he directed them

into a totally different channel; so far as the religious welfare

of the nation is considered; although in his principles of

government he was as absolute as Richelieu。  Like the great French

statesman; he exalted the throne; but; unlike him; he promoted the

personal reign of the sovereign he served with remarkable ability

and devotion。



Thomas Cromwell; the prime minister of Henry VIII。; after the fall

of Wolsey; was born in humble ranks; and was in early life a common

soldier in the wars of Italy; then a clerk in a mercantile house in

Antwerp; then a wool merchant in Middleborough; then a member of

Parliament; and was employed by Wolsey in suppressing some of the

smaller monasteries。  His fidelity to his patron Wolsey; at the

time of that great cardinal's fall; attracted the special notice of

the King; wh
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