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diff --git a/26337.txt b/26337.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4cf74f --- /dev/null +++ b/26337.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15929 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume +9, by Various, Edited by Rossiter Johnson + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 9 + + +Author: Various + +Editor: Rossiter Johnson + +Release Date: August 17, 2008 [eBook #26337] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS +HISTORIANS, VOLUME 9*** + + +E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading +Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 26337-h.htm or 26337-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/3/3/26337/26337-h/26337-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/3/3/26337/26337-h.zip) + + + + + +THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS + +VOLUME IX + +A COMPREHENSIVE AND READABLE ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY. EMPHASIZING +THE MORE IMPORTANT EVENTS. AND PRESENTING THESE AS COMPLETE NARRATIVES +IN THE MASTER-WORDS OF THE MOST EMINENT HISTORIANS + +NON-SECTARIAN NON-PARTISAN NON-SECTIONAL + +ON THE PLAN EVOLVED FROM A CONSENSUS OF OPINIONS GATHERED FROM THE MOST +DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS OF AMERICA AND EUROPE. INCLUDING BRIEF +INTRODUCTIONS BY SPECIALISTS TO CONNECT AND EXPLAIN THE CELEBRATED +NARRATIVES. ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY. WITH THOROUGH INDICES, +BIBLIOGRAPHIES, CHRONOLOGIES, AND COURSES OF READING + +EDITOR-IN-CHIEF + +ROSSITER JOHNSON, LL.D. + +ASSOCIATE EDITORS + +CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D. JOHN RUDD, LL.D. + +With a staff of specialists + +VOLUME IX + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Henry VIII, during the festivities at Guines--"The Field +of the Cloth of Gold"--in courtly dance with one of the French Queen's +ladies-in-waiting + +Painting by Adolph Menzel] + + + +The National Alumni + +Copyright, 1905, +by The National Alumni + + + + +CONTENTS + +VOLUME IX + + + PAGE +_An Outline Narrative of the Great Events_, xiii + CHARLES F. HORNE + +_Luther Begins the Reformation in Germany (A.D. 1517)_, 1 + JULIUS KOESTLIN + JEAN M. V. AUDIN + +_Negro Slavery in America_ +_Its Introduction by Law (A.D. 1517)_, 36 + SIR ARTHUR HELPS + +_First Circumnavigation of the Globe (A.D. 1519)_ +_Magellan Reaches the Ladrones and Philippines_, 41 + JOAN BAUTISTA + ANTONIO PIGAFETTA + +_The Field of the Cloth of Gold (A.D. 1520)_, 59 + J. S. BREWER + +_Cortes Captures the City of Mexico (A.D. 1521)_, 72 + WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT + +_Liberation of Sweden (A.D. 1523)_, 79 + ERIC GUSTAVE GEIJER + +_The Peasants' War in Germany (A.D. 1524)_, 93 + J. H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE + +_France Loses Italy (A.D. 1525)_ +_Battle of Pavia_, 111 + WILLIAM ROBERTSON + +_Sack of Rome by the Imperial Troops (A.D. 1527)_, 124 + BENVENUTO CELLINI + T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE + +_Great Religious Movement in England_ +_Fall of Wolsey (A.D. 1529)_, 137 + JOHN RICHARD GREEN + +_Pizarro Conquers Peru (A.D. 1532)_, 156 + HERNANDO PIZARRO + WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT + +_Calvin is Driven from Paris (A.D. 1533)_ +_He Makes Geneva the Stronghold of Protestantism_, 176 + A. M. FAIRBAIRN + JEAN M. V. AUDIN + +_England Breaks with the Roman Church (A.D. 1534)_ +_Destruction of Monasteries_, 203 + JOHN RICHARD GREEN + +_Cartier Explores Canada (A.D. 1534)_, 236 + H. H. MILES + +_Mendoza Settles Buenos Aires (A.D. 1535)_, 254 + ROBERT SOUTHEY + +_Founding of the Jesuits (A.D. 1540)_, 261 + ISAAC TAYLOR + +_De Soto Discovers the Mississippi (A.D. 1541)_, 277 + JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + +_Revolution of Astronomy by Copernicus (A.D. 1543)_, 285 + SIR ROBERT STAWELL BALL + +_Council of Trent and the Counter-reformation (A.D. 1545)_ 293 + ADOLPHUS W. WARD + +_Protestant Struggle against Charles V_ +_The Smalkaldic War (A.D. 1546)_, 313 + EDWARD ARMSTRONG + +_Introduction of Christianity into Japan (A.D. 1549)_, 325 + JOHN H. GUBBINS + +_Collapse of the Power of Charles V (A.D. 1552)_ +_France Seizes German Bishoprics_, 337 + LADY C. C. JACKSON + +_The Religious Peace of Augsburg (A.D. 1555)_ +_Abdication of Charles V_ 348 + WILLIAM ROBERTSON + +_Akbar Establishes the Mogul Empire in India (A.D. 1556)_, 366 + J. TALBOYS WHEELER + +_Universal Chronology (A.D. 1517-1557)_ 385 + JOHN RUDD + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +VOLUME IX + + PAGE +_Henry VIII during the festivities at Guines_--"_The Field +of the Cloth of Gold_"--_in courtly dance with one of +the French Queen's ladies-in-waiting_ (_page 63_), Frontispiece + Painting by Adolph Menzel. + +_Gustavus I (Vasa) addressing his last meeting of the Estates_, 79 + Painting by L. Hersent. + + + + +AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE + +TRACING BRIEFLY THE CAUSES, CONNECTIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF + +THE GREAT EVENTS + +(THE REFORMATION: REIGN OF CHARLES V) + +CHARLES F. HORNE + + +Our modern world begins with the Protestant Reformation. The term itself +is objected to by Catholics, who claim that there was little real +reform. But the importance of the event, whether we call it reform or +revolution, is undenied. Previous to 1517 the nations of Europe had +formed a single spiritual family under the acknowledged leadership of +the Pope. The extent of the Holy Father's authority might be disputed, +especially when he interfered in affairs of state. Kings had fought +against his troops on the field of battle. But in spiritual matters he +was still supreme, and when reformers like Huss and Savonarola refused +him obedience on questions of doctrine, the very men who had been +fighting papal soldiers were shocked by this heretical wickedness. The +heretics were burned and the wars resumed. When Alexander Borgia sat +upon the papal throne for eleven years, there were even philosophers who +drew from his very wickedness an argument for the divine nature of his +office. It must be indeed divine, said they, since despite such +pollution as his, it had survived and retained its influence. + +Some modern critics have even gone so far as to assert that for at least +two generations before the Reformation the great majority of the +educated classes had ceased to care whether the Christian religion were +true or not. The Renaissance had so awakened their interest in the +affairs of this world, its artistic beauties and intellectual advance, +that they gave no thought to the beyond. But we approach controversial +matters scarce within our scope. Suffice it to say that the Reformation +brought religion once more into intensest prominence in all men's eyes, +and that a large portion of the civilized world broke away from the +domination of the Pope. Men insisted on judging for themselves in +spiritual matters. Only after three centuries of strife was the +privilege granted them. Only within the past century has thought been +made everywhere free--at least from direct physical coercion. The last +execution by the Spanish Inquisition was in 1826, and the institution +was formally abolished in 1835. + +The era of open warfare and actual bodily torture between various sects +all calling themselves Christian, thus extended over three centuries. +These may be divided into four periods. The first is one of fierce +dispute but little actual warfare, during which the revolt spread over +Europe with Germany as its centre. An agreement between the contestants +was still hoped for; the break was not recognized as final until 1555, +when, by the Peace of Augsburg, the two German factions definitely +agreed to separate and to refrain from interference with each other. Or +perhaps it would be better to end the first period with 1556, when the +mighty Emperor, Charles V, resigned all his authority, giving Germany to +his brother, Ferdinand, who maintained peace there, while Spain passed +to Charles' son, Philip II, most resolute and fanatic of Catholics. + +The second period began in 1558, when the Protestant queen, Elizabeth, +ascended the throne of England. She and Philip of Spain became the +champions of their respective faiths; the strife extended over Europe, +and soon developed into bitter war. This spread from land to land, and +finally returned to Germany as the awful Thirty Years' War. + +Then came the third period, during which the religious question was less +prominent; but Catholic sovereigns like Louis XIV of France and James II +of England still hoped by persecutions to force their subjects to +reaccept the ancient faith. These aims were only abandoned with the +downfall of Louis' military power before the armies of Marlborough and +Eugene, early in the eighteenth century. + +During the final hundred years the stubborn contest was confined to the +lands still Catholic, in which intellect, under such leaders as +Voltaire, struggled with the superstition and prejudice of the masses, +and demanded everywhere the freedom it at last attained. + +For the present we need look only to the first of these periods, that in +which Germany holds the centre of the view.[1] It is an odd coincidence +that at the outbreak of the Reformation all the chief states of Europe +were ruled by sovereigns of unusual ability, but each one of them a man +who obviously thought more of his ambitions, his pleasures, and his +political plans than of his religion. Moreover, each of these rulers +came to the throne before he was of age, and thus lacked the salutary +training of a subordinate position; while, on the other hand, each of +them, through varying causes, wielded a power much greater than that of +any of his recent predecessors. + + +RULERS OF EUROPE IN 1517 + +Henry VIII of England was the first of these young despots to assume +authority. Nine years older than the century, he became king in 1509 at +the age of eighteen. His father, Henry VII, had, as we have seen, +snatched power from an exhausted aristocracy. He had been what men +sneeringly called a "tradesman" king, caring little for the show and +splendor of his office, but using it to amass enormous sums of money by +means not over-scrupulous. Young Henry VIII, handsome, dashing, and +debonair, at once repudiated his father's policy, executed the ministers +who had directed it, and was hailed as a liberator by his delighted +people. They quite overlooked the fact that he neglected to restore the +ill-gotten funds, and soon used them in establishing a far more vigorous +tyranny than his father would have dared. Much is forgiven a youthful +king if he be but brave and jovial and hearty in his manner. His +blunders, his excesses of fury, are put down to his inexperience. +Nations are ever yearning for a hero-ruler. + +In France a monarch of twenty years, Francis I, ascended the throne in +1515, five years older then than the century. Henry of England had +descended from a family of simple Welsh gentlemen, far indeed at one +time from the crown; Francis I was also of a new line of kings, only a +distant cousin of the childless Louis XII, whom he succeeded. "That +great boy of Angouleme will ruin all," groaned Louis on his death-bed. +Ruin the prosperity of France, he meant, for Louis had been a good and +thoughtful king, cherishing his land and enabling it to rise to the +height of wealth and power, justified by its natural resources and the +ingenuity of its people. + +Francis, the "great boy," even more than his rival Henry, proved bent on +being a hero. Like Maximilian of Germany, he sought to be known as the +flower of knighthood. To win his ambition he also was possessed of youth +and wealth, a gallant bearing, and a devoted people. He had intellect, +too, and a love of art. He became the great patron of the later +Renaissance. The famous artist Da Vinci died at his court, in his arms, +legend says. Artists, literary men, flocked to his service. Paris became +the intellectual centre of Europe. France snatched from Italy the +supremacy of thought, of genius. + +Alas for the fickleness of untried youth! Henry seemed to promise his +country freedom and he gave it tyranny. Francis promised his people +glory--that is, honor and splendor. In the end he brought them shame and +suffering. Charles V of Germany, youngest of this mighty trio, seemed by +his wisdom to promise his subjects at least protection; and his reign +produced anarchy. + +Charles, unlike his rivals, was almost born into power. His father died +in the lad's babyhood; his mother went insane. His two grandfathers were +the two mightiest potentates of Europe, Ferdinand the Wise of Spain, and +Maximilian, head of the great Hapsburg house and Emperor of Germany. +Neither had any nearer heir than little Charles. His father's position +as ruler of the Netherlands was given him as a child, so that he was +really a Fleming by education, a silent, thoughtful, secretive youth, +far different from the jovial Henry or the brilliant Francis, but +ambitious as either and more conscientious perhaps, a dangerous rival in +the race for fame. + +Ferdinand died in 1515, and Charles became King of Spain, with all that +the title included of power over the Mediterranean and Southern Italy, +and all the vast new world of America. Charles was then fifteen, just +the age of the century, nine years younger than Henry, five years +younger than Francis. Amid the tumult of the opening Reformation in +1519, the aged Maximilian also died, departed not unwillingly, one +fancies, from an age whose intricacies had grown too many for his simple +soul. The young King of Spain thus became lord of all the vast Hapsburg +possessions of Austria, Bohemia, the Netherlands and so on. + +He sought to be elected Emperor of Germany also, but here the matter was +less easy. Already his rule extended over more of Europe than any +sovereign had held since Charlemagne, and Europe took alarm. Henry and +Francis both thrust in, each of them suggesting to the German electorial +princes that he had claims of his own, and would make an emperor far +more suitable than Charles. Henry polished up his German ancestry; +Francis recalled that Germans and Frenchmen were both Franks, had been +one mighty race under Charlemagne, and surely might become so once +again--under his leadership, of course. + +The matter was really decided by a fourth party. The Turks had once more +become a serious menace to Europe. During the brief reign of Sultan +Selim the Ferocious (1512-1520) they crushed Persia and conquered Syria +and Egypt. They seized the caliph, spiritual ruler of the Mahometan +faith, and declared themselves heads of the Mahometan world. Triumphant +over Asia, they were turning upon Europe with renewed energy. Hungary +was at its last expiring gasp. Selim's death in 1520 did not stop the +invaders, for his son Solyman, a youth of twenty-five, soon proved +himself a fourth giant, fitted to be ranked with the three young rulers +of the West. He also was a seeker after glory. History calls him the +"magnificent," and holds him greatest among the Turkish rulers. It was +certainly under him that the Turks advanced farthest into Europe, if +that is to be established as the chief measure of Mahometan greatness. +In 1526 Solyman utterly crushed the Hungarians at Mohacs. In 1529 he +besieged Vienna; and though he failed to capture the Hapsburg capital, +yet at a still later period he exacted from the German Emperor +Ferdinand a money tribute. His fleets swept the Mediterranean. + +This increasing menace of the Turks was much considered by the German +electors. At first they refused to add to the power of either of the +three monarchs who so assiduously courted them. They chose instead the +ablest of their own number, Frederick the Wise, Duke of Saxony. But +Frederick proved his wisdom by refusing the task of steering Germany +through the troublous seas ahead. He insisted on their electing some +ruler strong enough to command obedience, and to gather all Europe +against the Turks. So as Charles was after all a German, and of the +Hapsburg race which had so long ruled them, they named him Emperor. He +was Charles I of Spain, but Charles V of Germany. His rule extended over +a wider realm than any monarch has since held. + +This success of their younger rival was very differently received by +Henry and by Francis. The English King accepted the rebuff +good-naturedly; perhaps he had never felt any real hope of success. But +Francis was enraged. It was the first check he had met in a career of +spectacular success. He invited Henry to their celebrated meeting at the +Field of the Cloth of Gold[2] to plan an alliance and revenge. Henry +came, but the silent Charles had already managed to enlist his interests +by quieter ways; while Francis, by his ostentation and splendor, +offended the bluff Englishman. So Henry kept out of the quarrel; but to +Charles and Francis it became the main business of their lives. Their +reigns thereafter are the story of one long strife between them, rising +to such bitterness that at one time they passed the lie and challenged +each other to personal combat, over which there was much bustling and +bluster, but no result. + +To get a full view of this Europe of young men, that beheld the +Reformation, we must note one other ruler farther north. Ever since the +union of Colmar in 1397, Sweden had been more or less bound to Denmark, +the strongest of the northern kingdoms. By the year 1520 the Danish +monarch Christian had reduced the Swedes to a state of most cruel +vassalage and misery. Only one young noble, Gustavus Vasa, a lad of +twenty-three, still held out, and by adventures wild as those of Robin +Hood evaded his enemies and at last roused his countrymen to one more +revolt. It was successful, and in 1523 Gustavus, by the unanimous +election of the Swedes, became the first of a new line of monarchs.[3] +He proved as able as a king as he had been daring as an adventurer, and +his long reign laid the foundation of Sweden's greatness in the +following century. He early accepted the reformed religion, and thus it +spread through the Far North almost without a check. + + +THE REFORMATION + +The Reformation began in Germany in 1517, when the Saxon monk +Luther--himself then only thirty-four years a sojourner upon our +planet--protested against the Church's sale of indulgences. He was not +alone in his protest, but only stood forth as the mouthpiece of many +earnest men. His prince, that Frederick the Wise who afterward refused +to be emperor, upheld him. Maximilian, dying in the early days of the +dispute, had kind words of regard for the hero-monk. Even the Pope, Leo +X, treated the matter amicably at first. He also was still in early +life, having been made pope at thirty-six, an age quite as juvenile for +the leadership of the spiritual world as that of the various temporal +monarchs for theirs. Leo, being a member of the famous Medici family, +was apparently more interested in art than in religion. He wanted to +rebuild the gorgeous cathedral of St. Peter, and he did not want to +quarrel with Germany. So also Charles V, desiring to be emperor, could +scarce antagonize Frederick of Saxony, who could and did secure him his +ambition. + +Thus in its earliest days Luther's revolt was handled very gently, and +it spread with speed. Then Charles, secure upon his throne and gravely +Catholic, resolved on firmer methods of stamping out the heresy. He +summoned Luther to that famous interview at Worms (1521), where the +reformer, threatened with outlawry and all the terror of the empire's +power, refused to unsay his preaching, crying out in agony: "Here I +stand! I can no other! God help me! Amen!" + +Charles in his shrewd, silent way saw that the matter was not to be +settled so easily as he had hoped. Already half Germany was on +Luther's side. Several leading nobles accompanied him as he left the +Emperor's presence. Charles wanted their help against the Turks. So +there was more temporizing. Then came war with Francis no tune this for +quarrelling with obstinate Teutonic princes and their obstinate +_protege_. + +The peasants of Germany did Luther's cause more harm than Charles had +done. These ignorant and bitterly oppressed unfortunates, constituting +everywhere, remember, the vast majority of the human race, heard +impassioned preachings of reform, revolt. To them Rome seemed not the +oppressor, but their immediate lords; and, thinking they were obeying +Luther's behest, they rose in arms. Some of the more violent reformers +joined them. Luther preached against the uprising, but it was not to be +checked. Terrible were the excesses of the mobs of brutal peasantry, and +all the upper classes of the land were forced in self-defence to turn +against them and crush them. Many a noble who had once thought well of +the reform, abandoned it in fear and horror at its consequences.[4] + +Meanwhile the war with France became more serious. The claims of both +Charles and Francis to Italian lands made that unlucky country the +theatre of their battles. Francis, with his compact domain and readily +gathered resources, proved at first more than a match for the scattered +forces and insecure authority of the Emperor. Never had the French +monarch's fame stood higher than when in 1525, with an army made +confident by repeated victories, he besieged Pavia. The city was the +last important stronghold of Charles in Italy; it was reduced almost to +surrender. + +Then came a fatal blunder. Francis confused the old ways with the new. +The German generals had been hopeless of raising the siege, the imperial +armies were on the point of disbanding, but as a last resort their +leaders advanced and defied the enemy to fight on equal terms. Instead +of laughing at the proposal as any modern leader would, Francis, in face +of the protest of all his generals, accepted and in true chivalrous +fashion fought the wholly unnecessary battle of Pavia. His forces were +completely defeated, he himself made prisoner. "All is lost," he wrote +home to France, "but honor." Even that too was lost, had he but +known. Charles, unchivalrous, determined to make the most of his +good-luck, and, for the release of his royal prisoner, demanded such +terms as would make France little more than a subject state.[5] + +King Francis refused, threatened heroic suicide to save his country; but +he wearied of captivity at last and descended to his rival's level. It +was the tragic turning-point of the French monarch's life, the not +wholly untragic turning-point of larger destinies, ancient chivalry +being admitted unsuccessful and wholly out of date. The two monarchs +dickered over the terms of release. Charles abated somewhat of his +demands, and Francis was made free, having sworn to a treaty which he +never meant to keep. He repudiated it on various pleas, and having thus +sacrificed honor to regain something of all it had lost him, recommenced +the strife with Charles on more equal terms. + +The Pope, not the Leo of earlier years, but Clement VII, another Medici, +absolved Francis from his treaty oath. This benevolence can scarce be +ascribed to religious grounds, for Charles was assuredly a better +Catholic than Francis. But as a temporal ruler Clement feared to have in +Italy a neighbor so powerful and unchecked as the Emperor was becoming. +Charles had his revenge. A German army of "Lutheran heretics" marched +into Italy swearing to hang the Pope to the dome of St. Peter's. They +stormed Rome, sacked it with such cruelty as rivalled the barbarian +plunderings of over a thousand years before; and if they did not hang +Clement, it was only because his castle of St. Angelo proved too strong +for their assaults. The marvellous art treasures which had been slowly +garnered in Rome since the days of Nicholas V, were almost wholly +destroyed.[6] Charles hastened to disclaim responsibility for this +direct assault upon the head of his Church; but he did not relinquish +any of the advantages it gave. He and the Pope arranged an alliance and +the Imperial army turned from Rome against Florence, where Pope +Clement's family, the Medici, had recently been expelled as rulers. The +siege and capture of Florence (1529) mark almost the last fluttering of +real independence in Italy. From that time the country remained in the +grasp of the Hapsburgs or their heirs and allies. Petty tyrants, minions +of Austria or Spain, ruled over the various cities. Their intellectual +supremacy passed over to France. Only within the last half-century has a +brighter day redawned for Italy, has she ceased to be what she was so +long called, "the battle-ground" of other nations. + +Meanwhile since neither Pope nor Emperor had found time to offer any +vigorous opposition to the German Reformation, it had grown unchecked. +In its inception it had unquestionably been a pure and noble movement: +but as the "protesting" princes moved further in the matter, it dawned +on them that the suppression of the Roman Church meant the suppression +of all the bishoprics and abbeys, to which at least half the lands of +the empire belonged. Such an opportunity for plunder, and such easy +plunder, had never been before. Luther and the other preachers urged +that the church property should be used to erect schools and support +Protestant divines; but only a small fraction of it was ever surrendered +by the princes for these purposes. The Reformation had ceased to be a +purely religious movement. + +In no country was this new aspect of the revolt so marked as in England. +There Henry VIII had grown ever more secure in his power by holding +aloof from the jangling that weakened Charles and Francis. He had sunk +into a tyrant and a voluptuary. Yet England herself, profiting by almost +half a century of peace, was progressing rapidly in culture. She was no +longer behind her neighbors. The Renaissance movement can scarce be said +to have begun in England before 1500, yet by 1516 her famous chancellor, +Sir Thomas More, was writing histories and philosophies. In 1522 the +King himself sighed for literary fame and gave opportunity for many +future satirists by writing a Latin book against the Lutherans. The Pope +conferred upon his royal champion a title, "Defender of the Faith." + +As Henry, however, devoted himself more and more to pleasure, the real +power in England passed into the hands of his great minister Cardinal +Wolsey, who had risen from humble station to be for a time the most +influential man in Europe.[7] He even aspired to be pope, with what +seemed assured chances of success. But destiny willed otherwise. Henry +chanced to fall in love with a lady who insisted on his marrying her. To +do this he had to secure from the Pope a divorce from his former Queen, +who chanced to be an aunt of the Emperor Charles. What was poor Pope +Clement to do? Offend Charles who was just helping him crush the +Florentines, or refuse his "Defender of the Faith"? Real reason for the +divorce there was none. Clement temporized: and Wolsey with one eye on +his own future, helped him. + +The result was tempestuous. Wolsey was hurried to his tragic downfall. +Henry took matters in his own hands and had his own English bishops +divorce him. England joined the ranks of the nations denying the +authority of Rome. Sir Thomas More and other nobles who refused to +follow Henry's bidding were beheaded. Thomas Cromwell, a new minister, +abler perhaps than even Wolsey, and risen from a yet lower sphere of +life, directed England's counsel. By one act after another the break +with Rome was made complete. A thousand monasteries were suppressed and +their wealth added to the crown. Cromwell earned his name, "the hammer +of the monks." In 1534 was passed the final "Act of Supremacy," +declaring that the King of England and he alone was head of the English +Church.[8] + +In France, too, was heresy beginning to appear. The young scholar, Jean +Calvin, wrote so vigorously against Rome that he was driven to flee from +Paris, though King Francis was himself suspected of favoring the free +thought of the reformers. Calvin, after many vicissitudes, settled in +Geneva and built up there a religious republic, that became intolerant +on its own account, and burned heretics who departed from its heresy. +But at least Geneva was in earnest. Calvinism spread fast over France; +it began crowding Lutheranism from parts of Germany. Geneva became the +"Protestant Rome," the centre of the opposition from which ministers +went forth to preach the faith.[9] + +Science also began to raise its head against the ancient Church. The +Polish astronomer Copernicus had long since conceived his idea that the +earth was not the centre of the universe. He even pointed out the +proofs of his theory to a few brother-scientists; but the Church taught +otherwise, so Copernicus kept silent till, on his death-bed, he let his +doctrines be published in a book. Then he passed away, bequeathing to +posterity the wonderful foundation upon which modern science has so +built as to make impossible many of the over-literal teachings of the +mediaeval Church.[10] + + +THE COUNTER-REFORMATION + +Nothing but a miracle, it seemed, could save the falling cause of Rome, +and there have been men to assert that a miracle occurred. The order of +the Jesuits was founded in 1540 by Ignatius Loyola.[11] His followers +with intense fanaticism and self-abnegation devoted themselves +absolutely to upholding the ancient faith, to trampling out heresy +wherever it appeared. They sent out missionaries too, to the New World, +to Asia, Africa, and even distant Japan. As Catholicism lost ground in +Europe it extended over other continents.[12] + +Partly at least under Jesuit influence began the great +"Counter-reformation," as it is called, the reform within the Church +itself. Even the most faithful Catholics had admitted the need of this. +Charles V had long urged the calling of a general council, and one +finally assembled in 1545 at Trent. It even tried to win the Lutherans +back peaceably into the fold, and, though this hope was soon abandoned, +a very marked reform was established within the Church. This Council of +Trent held sessions extending over nearly twenty years, and when its +labors were completed the entire body of laws and doctrines of the Roman +Catholic Church were fully established and defined.[13] + +The refusal of the Protestants to join the Council of Trent brought +matters to a crisis. It placed them definitely outside the pale of the +Church, and Charles V could no longer find excuse in his not +over-troublous conscience, to avoid taking measures against them. They +themselves realized this, and formed a league for mutual support, the +Smalkald League; but it was never very harmonious. Thought, made +suddenly free, could not be expected to run all in the same channel. The +Protestants had divided into Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and a +dozen minor sects, some of which opposed one another more bitterly than +they did the Catholics. Toleration was as yet a thing unknown.[14] + +The state of affairs was thus one peculiarly fitted for the genius of +Charles, who managed so to divide the members of the league that only +one of them, the Elector of Saxony, successor to Frederick the Wise, met +the Emperor's forces in battle. He was easily overthrown. The league +dissolved, and Charles, supported by his Spanish forces, was undisputed +master of Germany. He used his power mildly, insisting indeed on the +Protestants returning to the Church, but promising them many of the +reforms they demanded. + +This was the moment of Charles' greatest power (1547). His ancient +rivals Henry and Francis both died in this year, the one sunk in sensual +sloth, the other in shame and gloom and savage cruelty. In his hatred of +Charles, Francis had even in his latter years allied himself with +Solyman the Magnificent, and encouraged the Turks in their assault on +Germany. Henry's crown fell to a child, Edward VI; that of Francis, to +his son, another Henry, the second of France, a young man apparently +immersed in sports and pleasures. The Turks had been defeated by +Charles' fleets in the Mediterranean. The Council of Trent, at first +refractory, seemed yielding to his wishes. Spain, where at one time he +had faced a violent revolt against his absolutism, was now wholly +submissive. Germany seemed equally overcome. The Emperor was at the +summit of his ambitions. Europe lay at his feet. + +In 1552, with the suddenness of an earthquake, the Protestant princes of +Germany burst into a carefully planned revolt.[15] Maurice, another +member of the Saxon house, was their leader. Charles, caught unprepared, +had to flee from Germany, crossing the Alps in a litter, while he +groaned with gout. Henry of France, in alliance with the rebels, +proclaimed himself "Defender of the Liberties of Germany," and invading +the land, began seizing what cities and strong places he could. The +princes, amazed at their own complete success, sent Henry word that +their liberties were now fully secured, and he might desist. But he +concluded to keep what he had won. So began the series of aggressions by +which France gradually advanced her frontier to the Rhine. + +Charles returned with an army the next year, and made peace with his +Germans, that he might turn all his fury against Henry, who had thus +assumed his father's unforgotten quarrel. A mighty German army laid +siege to Henry's most valuable bit of spoils, the strong city of Metz. +But the young French nobles, under Francis, Duke of Guise, a new, great +general who had risen to the help of France, threw themselves gallantly +into the fortress for its defence. Cold, hunger, and pestilence wasted +the imperial troops until--one can scarce say they raised the siege, +they disappeared, those who did not die had slunk away in fear before +the grisly death. Charles accepted his fate with bitter calm, commenting +that he saw Fortune was indeed a woman, she deserted an aged emperor for +a young king. + +The Emperor's life had failed. He had not the heart to begin his plots +again. In 1555 he consented to the Peace of Augsburg,[16] which granted +complete liberty of faith to the German princes, and so ended the first +period of the Reformation. Religion, in this celebrated treaty, was +still regarded as a matter in which only monarchs were to be considered. +By a peculiar obliquity of vision, the princes denied to their subjects +the very thing they demanded for themselves. Each ruler was allowed to +establish what creed he chose within his own domains, and then to compel +his subjects to accept it. + +The following year (1556) Charles with solemn ceremony resigned all his +kingdoms--Austria and the Empire to his brother, Spain to his son the +celebrated Philip II. Charles himself retired to a Spanish monastery, +where two years later he died. He had found life a vanity, indeed. + + +THE OTHER CONTINENTS + +Of the world of Asia during this time it scarce seems necessary to +speak. The Tartars or Mongols, driven back from the borders of the +Turkish empire, invaded India and there founded the Mongol or Mogul +empire which Akbar pushed to its greatest extent.[17] These Moguls +remained emperors of India until its conquest by the English, over two +centuries later. Even to our own days their title has come down as a +symbol of power, "the Great Mogul." + +Portuguese adventurers continued and expanded the trade with Asia, which +Vasco da Gama had opened. The Spaniards also sought a share in it, and +Jesuit missionaries preached the Christian faith. Magellan, a Portuguese +but sailing in the service of Spain, was the first to fulfil the vision +of Columbus and find the Indies by sailing westward.[18] He crossed the +entire Atlantic and Pacific oceans, discovered the Philippine Islands, +and was slain there by the natives. One of his ships completed the first +circumnavigation of the globe. + +Look also to Spain's achievements in America, a new continent, but one +already vastly important because of the broad empires Spaniards were +winning there, the enormous wealth that was beginning to pour into the +mother-country. Settlement had begun immediately on the discovery. Rich +mines were opened and the Indians forced to work in them as slaves. As +the unhappy aborigines perished by thousands under the unaccustomed +toil, negroes were brought from Africa to supply their places, were +driven like wild beasts to the labor.[19] The New World became more like +a hell than like the paradise for which Isabella and Columbus planned. +Cortes conquered Mexico,[20] rich with gold beyond all that Europe had +even dreamed. Pizarro found in Peru[21] a civilization whose remarkable +advance we are only lately beginning to realize. And he annihilated +it--for gold. Lima was founded, and Buenos Aires, to be twice destroyed +by Indians and yet become the metropolis of South America.[22] Even here +extended the rivalry of the great European monarchs, Charles and +Francis. Cartier, in the service of the latter, refused to acknowledge +the claims of Spain to America, and exploring the St. Lawrence planned +for France a colonial empire to match that of her enemy.[23] De Leon +discovered Florida, and died while seeking there to emulate the +successes of Cortes. De Soto discovered the Mississippi[24] and he also +perished, lured on in the same knight-errant search for another golden +empire to conquer. Who, having read the lives of such adventurers as +these, shall ridicule the wildest extravagance in all the romances of +chivalry? Wonderland grew real around these men. They achieved +impossibilities. The maddest imaginings of the poets, the most fantastic +tales of knightly wanderings and successes, seem slight beside the +exploits of these daring, dauntless, heartless cavaliers of Spain. + + +[FOR THE NEXT SECTION OF THIS GENERAL SURVEY SEE VOLUME X] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] See _Luther Begins the Reformation in Germany_, page 1. + +[2] See _The Field of the Cloth of Gold_, page 59. + +[3] See _Liberation of Sweden_, page 79. + +[4] See The Peasants' War in Germany, page 93. + +[5] See _France Loses Italy_, page 111. + +[6] See _Sack of Rome by the Imperial Troops_, page 124. + +[7] See _Great Religious Movement in England_, page 137. + +[8] See _England Breaks with the Roman Church_, page 203. + +[9] See _Calvin is Driven from Paris_, page 176. + +[10] See _Revolution of Astronomy by Copernicus_, page 285. + +[11] See _Founding of the Jesuits_, page 261. + +[12] See _Introduction of Christianity into Japan_, page 325. + +[13] See _Council of Trent_, page 293. + +[14] See _Protestant Struggle against Charles V_, page 313. + +[15] See _Collapse of the Power of Charles V_, page 337. + +[16] See _The Religious Peace of Augsburg_, page 348. + +[17] See _Akbar Establishes the Mogul Empire in India_, page 366. + +[18] See _First Circumnavigation of the Globe_, page 41. + +[19] See _Negro Slavery in America_, page 36. + +[20] See _Cortes Captures the City of Mexico_, page 72. + +[21] See _Pizarro Conquers Peru_, page 156. + +[22] See _Mendoza Settles Buenos Aires_, page 254. + +[23] See _Cartier Explores Canada_, page 236. + +[24] See _De Soto Discovers the Mississippi_, page 277. + + + + +LUTHER BEGINS THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY + +A.D. 1517 + +JULIUS KOESTLIN JEAN M. V. AUDIN + + It has seldom happened that the story of one man was + essentially the history of a great movement and of an epoch + in human progress. In the case of Luther, a large part of + the world regards his name as a historic epitome. The monk + whose "words were half-battles," and whom Carlyle chose for + his hero-priest, was chief among the reformers, and in the + general view stands for the Reformation itself. + + But recognition of Luther's dominating position and + representative character should not leave us blind to other + factors in the religious revolution which was also an + evolution, the achievement not of one man, but of advancing + generations with many leaders. Luther had great helpers in + his own time and great successors. He also had great + predecessors. The Reformation was the religious development + of the Renaissance; it had been heralded by Wycliffe, Huss, + and Savonarola, and there were many minor prophets of a + reformed church before the great German was born. + + Luther's Reformation was a revolt against the power and + abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. It was directed against + certain doctrines as well as certain practices, and + especially against evils in the spiritual and temporal + government of the Church. + + All the reformers aimed at freeing themselves from + oppressive rule at Rome, and endeavored to establish a purer + faith. The appeal to private judgment as against + unquestioning belief was a natural result of the revival of + learning as well as of spiritual quickening. + + Before Luther's time, however, such revolts against church + authority had been quickly suppressed. It is also true that + many abuses had been done away by reformation within the + Church itself; and that, indeed, was what Luther at first + intended. His movement became "too powerful to be put down, + and its leaders soon passed beyond the point at which they + were willing to reform the Church from within. Finding that + the Church would not respond as quickly and as fully to + their demands as they wished, they left the Church and + attacked it from without." In Germany the administration of + the Church had long caused discontent. Through Martin Luther + this feeling found powerful utterance, and in him the demand + for reforms became irresistibly urgent. + + Luther, the son of a poor miner, was born at Eisleben, + Saxony, November 10, 1483. He became an Augustinian monk, + in 1507 was consecrated a priest, and the next year was made + professor of philosophy in the University of Wittenberg. In + 1511 he visited Rome, and on his return to Wittenberg was + made doctor of theology. He had already become known through + the power and independence of his preaching. Although he + went to Rome "an insane papist," as he said, and while he + was still intensely devoted to the Church and its leaders, + he made known his belief in what became the fundamental + doctrines of Protestantism, exclusive authority of the + Bible--implying the right of private judgment--and + justification by faith. + + The immediate occasion of Luther's first great protest was + the sale of indulgences by the Dominican monk John Tetzel. + From early times the church authorities had granted + indulgences or remissions of penances imposed on persons + guilty of mortal sins, the condition being true penitence. + At length the Church began to accept money, not in lieu of + penitence, but of the customary penances which usually + accompanied it. Before 1517 Luther had given warnings + against the abuse of indulgences, without blaming the + administration of the Church. But when in that year Tetzel + approached the borders of Saxony selling indulgences in the + name of the Pope, Leo X, who wanted money for the building + of St. Peter's Church in Rome, Luther, with many of the + better minds of Germany, was greatly offended by the + vender's methods. Against the course of Tetzel Luther took a + firm stand, and when the reformer posted his theses + (summarized by Koestlin) on the church door at Wittenberg + the first great movement of the Reformation in the sixteenth + century was inaugurated. + + In accordance with the impartial plan of the present work + regarding the treatment of controverted matters, it is here + sought to satisfy the historic sense, which includes the + sense of justice, by giving a presentation of each view of + the story--the Protestant by Koestlin, the Catholic by Jean + M. V. Audin, whose _Life of Luther_ has been called the + "tribunal" before which the great reformer must be summoned + for his answer. + + +JULIUS KOESTLIN + +Luther longed now to make known to theologians and ecclesiastics +generally his thoughts about indulgences, his own principles, his own +opinions and doubts, to excite public discussion on the subject, and to +awake and maintain the fray. This he did by the ninety-five Latin theses +or propositions which he posted on the doors of the Castle Church at +Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, the eve of All Saints' Day and of the +anniversary of the consecration of the church. + +These theses were intended as a challenge for disputation. Such public +disputations were then very common at the universities and among +theologians, and they were meant to serve as means not only of +exercising learned thought, but of elucidating the truth. Luther headed +his theses as follows: + +"_Disputation to Explain the Virtue of Indulgences._--In charity, and in +the endeavor to bring the truth to light, a disputation on the following +propositions will be held at Wittenberg, presided over by the Reverend +Father Martin Luther. Those who are unable to attend personally may +discuss the question with us by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus +Christ. Amen." + +It was in accordance with the general custom of that time that, on the +occasion of a high festival, particular acts and announcements, and +likewise disputations at a university, were arranged, and the doors of a +collegiate church were used for posting such notices. + +The contents of these theses show that their author really had such a +disputation in view. He was resolved to defend with all his might +certain fundamental truths to which he firmly adhered. Some points he +considered still within the region of dispute; it was his wish and +object to make these clear to himself by arguing about them with others. + +Recognizing the connection between the system of indulgences and the +view of penance entertained by the Church, he starts with considering +the nature of true Christian repentance; but he would have this +understood in the sense and spirit taught by Christ and the Scriptures. +He begins with the thesis: "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when he +says repent, desires that the whole life of the believer should be one +of repentance." He means, as the subsequent theses express it, that true +inward repentance, that sorrow for sin and hatred of one's own sinful +self, from which must proceed good works and mortification of the sinful +flesh. The pope could only remit his sin to the penitent so far as to +declare that God had forgiven it. + +Thus then the theses expressly declare that God forgives no man his sin +without making him submit himself in humility to the priest who +represents him, and that he recognizes the punishments enjoined by the +Church in her outward sacrament of penance. But Luther's leading +principles are consistently opposed to the customary announcements of +indulgences by the Church. The pope, he holds, can only grant +indulgences for what the pope and the law of the Church have imposed; +nay, the pope himself means absolution from these obligations only, when +he promises absolution from all punishment. And it is only the living +against whom those punishments are directed which the Church's +discipline of penance enjoins; nothing, according to her own laws, can +be imposed upon those in another world. + +Further on Luther declares: "When true repentance is awakened in a man, +full absolution from punishment and sin comes to him without any letters +of indulgence." At the same time he says that such a man would willingly +undergo self-imposed chastisement, nay, he would even seek and love it. + +Still, it is not the indulgences themselves, if understood in the right +sense, that he wishes to be attacked, but the loose babble of those who +sold them. Blessed, he says, be he who protests against this, but cursed +be he who speaks against the truth of apostolic indulgences. He finds it +difficult, however, to praise these to the people, and at the same time +to teach them the true repentance of the heart. He would have them even +taught that a Christian would do better by giving money to the poor than +by spending it in buying indulgences, and that he who allows a poor man +near him to starve draws down on himself, not indulgences, but the wrath +of God. In sharp and scornful language he denounces the iniquitous +trader in indulgences, and gives the Pope credit for the same abhorrence +for the traffic that he felt himself. Christians must be told, he says, +that, if the Pope only knew of it, he would rather see St. Peter's +Church in ashes than have it built with the flesh and bones of his +sheep. + +Agreeably with what the preceding theses had said about the true +penitent's earnestness and willingness to suffer, and the temptation +offered to a mere carnal sense of security, Luther concludes as follows: +"Away therefore with all those prophets who say to Christ's people +'Peace, peace!' when there is no peace, but welcome to all those who bid +them seek the Cross of Christ, not the cross which bears the papal arms. +Christians must be admonished to follow Christ their Master through +torture, death, and hell, and thus through much tribulation, rather +than, by a carnal feeling of false security, hope to enter the kingdom +of heaven." + +The Catholics objected to this doctrine of salvation advanced by Luther +that, by trusting to God's free mercy, and by undervaluing good works, +it led to moral indolence. But, on the contrary, it was to the very +unbending moral earnestness of a Christian conscience, which, indignant +at the temptations offered to moral frivolity, to a deceitful feeling of +ease in respect to sin and guilt, and to a contempt of the fruits of +true morality, rebelled against the false value attached to this +indulgence money, that these theses, the germ, so to speak, of the +Reformation, owed their origin and prosecution. With the same +earnestness he now for the first time publicly attacked the +ecclesiastical power of the papacy, in so far namely as, in his +conviction, it invaded the territory reserved to himself by the heavenly +Lord and Judge. This was what the Pope and his theologians and +ecclesiastics could least of all endure. + +On the same day that these theses were published, Luther sent a copy of +them with a letter to the archbishop Albert, his "revered and gracious +lord and shepherd in Christ." After a humble introduction, he begged him +most earnestly to prevent the scandalizing and iniquitous harangues with +which his agents hawked about their indulgences, and reminded him that +he would have to give an account of the souls intrusted to his episcopal +care. + +The next day he addressed himself to the people from the pulpit in a +sermon he had to preach on the festival of All Saints. After exhorting +them to seek their salvation in God and Christ alone, and to let the +consecration by the Church become a real consecration of the heart, he +went on to tell them plainly, with regard to indulgences, that he could +only absolve from duties imposed by the Church, and that they dare not +rely on him for more, nor delay on his account the duties of true +repentance. + +Theologians before Luther, and with far more acuteness and penetration +than he showed in his theses, had already assailed the whole system of +indulgences. And, in regard to any idea on Luther's part of the effects +of his theses extending widely in Germany, it may be noticed that not +only were they composed in Latin, but that they dealt largely with +scholastic expressions and ideas, which a layman would find it difficult +to understand. + +Nevertheless the theses created a sensation which far surpassed Luther's +expectations. In fourteen days, as he tells us, they ran through the +whole of Germany, and were immediately translated and circulated in +German. They found, indeed, the soil already prepared for them, through +the indignation long since and generally aroused by the shameless doings +they attacked; though till then nobody, as Luther expresses it, had +liked to bell the cat, nobody had dared to expose himself to the +blasphemous clamor of the indulgence-mongers and the monks who were in +league with them, still less to the threatened charge of heresy. On the +other hand, the very impunity with which this traffic in indulgences had +been maintained throughout German Christendom had served to increase +from day to day the audacity of its promoters. + +The task that Luther had now undertaken lay heavy upon his soul. He was +sincerely anxious, while fighting for the truth, to remain at peace with +his Church, and to serve her by the struggle. Pope Leo, on the contrary, +as was consistent with his whole character, treated the matter at first +very lightly, and, when it threatened to become dangerous, thought only +how, by means of his papal power, to make the restless German monk +harmless. + +Two expressions of his in these early days of the contest are recorded. +"Brother Martin," he said, "is a man of a very fine genius, and this +outbreak the mere squabble of envious monks;" and again, "It is a +drunken German who has written the theses; he will think differently +about them when sober." Three months after the theses had appeared, he +ordered the vicar-general of the Augustinians to "quiet down the man," +hoping still to extinguish easily the flame. The next step was to +institute a tribunal for heretics at Rome for Luther's trial; what its +judgment would be was patent from the fact that the single theologian of +learning among the judges was Sylvester Prierias. Before this tribunal +Luther was cited on August 7th; within sixty days he was to appear there +at Rome. Friend and foe could well feel certain that they would look in +vain for his return. + +Papal influence, meanwhile, had been brought to bear on the elector +Frederick[25] to induce him not to take the part of Luther, and the +chief agent chosen for working on the Elector and the emperor Maximilian +was the papal legate, Cardinal Thomas Vio of Gaeta, called Cajetan, who +had made his appearance in Germany. The University of Wittenberg, on the +other hand, interposed on behalf of their member, whose theology was +popular there, and whose biblical lectures attracted crowds of +enthusiastic hearers. He had just been joined at Wittenberg by his +fellow-professor Philip Melanchthon, then only twenty-one years old, but +already in the first rank of Greek scholars, and the bond of friendship +was now formed which lasted through their lives. The university claimed +that Luther should at least be tried in Germany. Luther expressed the +same wish through Spalatin[26] to his sovereign. + +The Pope meanwhile had passed from his previous state of haughty +complacency to one of violent haste. Already, on August 23d, thus long +before the sixty days had expired, he demanded the Elector to deliver up +this "child of the devil," who boasted of his protection, to the legate, +to bring away with him. This is clearly shown by two private briefs from +the Pope, of August 23d and 25th, the one addressed to the legate, the +other to the head of all the Augustinian convents in Saxony, as +distinguished from the vicar of those congregations, Staupitz, who +already was looked on with suspicion at Rome. These briefs instructed +both men to hasten the arrest of the heretic; his adherents were to be +secured with him, and every place where he was tolerated laid under the +interdict. + +In the summer of 1518 a diet was held at Augsburg at which the papal +legate attended. The Pope was anxious to obtain its consent to the +imposition of a heavy tax throughout the empire, to be applied +ostensibly for the war against the Turks, but alleged to be wanted in +reality for entirely other objects. The demand for a tax, however, was +received with the utmost disfavor both by the diet and the empire; and a +long-cherished bitterness of feeling now found expression. An anonymous +pamphlet was circulated, from the pen of one Fischer, a prebendary of +Wuerzburg, which bluntly declared that the avaricious lords of Rome only +wished to cheat the "drunken Germans," and that the real Turks were to +be looked for in Italy. This pamphlet reached Wittenberg and fell into +the hands of Luther, whom now for the first time we hear denouncing +"Roman cunning," though he only charged the Pope himself with allowing +his grasping Florentine relations to deceive him. + +The diet seized the opportunity offered by this demand for a tax, to +bring up a whole list of old grievances; the large sums drawn from +German benefices by the Pope under the name of annates, or extorted +under other pretexts; the illegal usurpation of ecclesiastical patronage +in Germany; the constant infringement of concordats, and so on. The +demand itself was refused; and in addition to this, an address was +presented to the diet from the bishop and clergy of Liege, inveighing +against the lying, thieving, avaricious conduct of the Romish minions, +in such sharp and violent tones that Luther, on reading it afterward +when printed, thought it only a hoax, and not really an episcopal +remonstrance. + +This was reason enough why Cajetan, to avoid increasing the excitement, +should not attempt to lay hands on the Wittenberg opponent of +indulgences. The elector Frederick, from whose hands Cajetan would have +to demand Luther, was one of the most powerful and personally respected +princes of the empire, and his influence was especially important in +view of the election of a new emperor. This Prince went now in person to +Cajetan on Luther's behalf, and Cajetan promised him, at the very time +that the brief was on its way to him from Rome, that he would hear +Luther at Augsburg, treat him with fatherly kindness, and let him depart +in safety. + +Luther accordingly was sent to Augsburg. It was an anxious time for +himself and his friends when he had to leave for that distant place, +where the Elector, with all his care, could not employ any physical +means for his protection, and to stand accused as a heretic before that +papal legate who, from his own theological principles, was bound to +condemn him. "My thoughts on the way," said Luther afterward, "were now +I must die; and I often lamented the disgrace I should be to my dear +parents." + +He went thither in humble garb and manner. He made his way on foot till +within a short distance of Augsburg, when illness and weakness overcame +him, and he was forced to proceed by carriage. Another younger monk of +Wittenberg accompanied him, his pupil Leonard Baier. At Nuremberg he was +joined by his friend Link, who held an appointment there as preacher. +From him he borrowed a monk's frock, his own being too bad for Augsburg. +He arrived here on October 7th. + +The surroundings he now entered, and the proceedings impending over him, +were wholly novel and unaccustomed. But he met with men who received him +with kindness and consideration; several of them were gentlemen of +Augsburg favorable to him, especially the respected patrician, Dr. +Conrad Peutinger, and two counsellors of the Elector. They advised him +to behave with prudence, and to observe carefully all the necessary +forms to which as yet he was a stranger. + +Luther at once announced his arrival to Cajetan, who was anxious to +receive him without delay. His friends, however, kept him back until +they had obtained a written safe-conduct from the Emperor, who was then +hunting in the environs. In the mean time a distinguished friend of +Cajetan, one Urbanus of Serralonga, tried to persuade him, in a flippant +and, as Luther thought, a downright Italian manner, to come forward and +simply pronounce six letters--"_Revoco_" ("I retract"). Urbanus asked +him with a smile if he thought his sovereign would risk his country for +his sake. "God forbid!" answered Luther. "Where then do you mean to take +refuge?" he went on to ask him. "Under heaven," was Luther's reply. + +On October 11th Luther received the letter of safe-conduct, and the next +day he appeared before Cajetan. Humbly, as he had been advised, he +prostrated himself before the representative of the Pope, who received +him graciously and bade him rise. + +The Cardinal addressed him civilly and with a courtesy Luther was not +accustomed to meet with from his opponents; but he immediately demanded +him, in the name and by command of the Pope, to retract his errors, and +promise in future to abstain from them and from everything that might +disturb the peace of the Church. He pointed out, in particular, two +errors in his theses; namely, that the Church's treasure of indulgences +did not consist of the merits of Christ, and that faith on the part of +the recipient was necessary for the efficacy of the sacrament. With +respect to the second point, the religious principles upon which Luther +based his doctrine were altogether strange and unintelligible to the +scholastic standpoint of Cajetan; mere tittering and laughter followed +Luther's observations, and he was required to retract this thesis +unconditionally. The first point settled the question of papal +authority. The Cardinal-legate could not believe that Luther would +venture to resist a papal bull, and thought he had probably not read it. +He read him a vigorous lecture of his own on the paramount authority of +the pope over council, Church, and Scripture. As to any argument, +however, about the theses to be retracted, Cajetan refused from the +first to engage in it, and undoubtedly he went further in that direction +than he originally desired or intended. His sole wish was, as he said, +to give fatherly correction, and with fatherly friendliness to arrange +the matter. But in reality, says Luther, it was a blunt, naked, +unyielding display of power. Luther could only beg from him further time +for consideration. + +Luther's friends at Augsburg, and Staupitz, who had just arrived there, +now attempted to divert the course of these proceedings, to collect +other decisions of importance bearing on the subject, and to give him +the opportunity of a public vindication. Accompanied therefore by +several jurists friendly to his cause, and by a notary and Staupitz, he +laid before the legate next day a short and formal statement of defence. +He could not retract unless convicted of error, and to all that he had +said he must hold as being Catholic truth. Nevertheless he was only +human, and therefore fallible, and he was willing to submit to a +legitimate decision of the Church. He offered, at the same time, +publicly to justify his theses, and he was ready to hear the judgment of +the learned doctors of Basel, Freiburg, Louvain, and even Paris upon +them. Cajetan with a smile dismissed Luther and his proposals, but +consented to receive a more detailed reply in writing to the principal +points discussed the previous day. + +On the morrow, October 14th, Luther brought his reply to the legate. But +in this document also he insisted clearly and resolutely from the +commencement on those very principles which his opponents regarded as +destructive of all ecclesiastical authority and of the foundations of +Christian belief. Still he entreated Cajetan to intercede with Leo X, +that the latter might not harshly thrust out into darkness his soul, +which was seeking for the light. But he repeated that he could do +nothing against his conscience: one must obey God rather than man, and +he had the fullest confidence that he had Scripture on his side. +Cajetan, to whom he delivered this reply in person, once more tried to +persuade him. They fell into a lively and vehement argument; but Cajetan +cut it short with the exclamation, "Revoke." In the event of Luther not +revoking or submitting to judgment at Rome, he threatened him and all +his friends with excommunication, and whatever place he might go to with +an interdict; he had a mandate from the Pope to that effect already in +his hands. He then dismissed him with the words, "Revoke, or do not come +again into my presence." Nevertheless he spoke in quite a friendly +manner after this to Staupitz, urging him to try his best to convert +Luther, whom he wished well. Luther, however, wrote the same day to his +friend Spalatin, who was with the Elector, and to his friends at +Wittenberg, telling them he had refused to yield. Luther added further +that an appeal would be drawn up for him in the form best fitted to the +occasion. He further hinted to his Wittenberg friends at the possibility +of his having to go elsewhere in exile; indeed, his friends already +thought of taking him to Paris, where the university still rejected the +doctrine of papal absolutism. He concluded this letter by saying that he +refused to become a heretic by denying that which had made him a +Christian; sooner than do that, he would be burned, exiled, or cursed. +The appeal, of which Luther here spoke, was "from the Pope ill-informed +to the same when better informed." On October 16th he submitted it, +formally prepared, to a public notary. + +Luther even addressed, on October 17th, a letter to Cajetan, conceding +to him the utmost he thought possible. Moved, as he said, by the +persuasions of his dear father Staupitz and his brother Link, he offered +to let the whole question of indulgences rest, if only that which drove +him to this tragedy were put a stop to; he confessed also to having been +too violent and disrespectful in dispute. In after-years he said to his +friends, when referring to this concession, that God had never allowed +him to sink deeper than when he had yielded so much. The next day, +however, he gave notice of his appeal to the legate, and told him he did +not wish longer to waste his time in Augsburg. To this letter he +received no answer. + +Luther waited, however, till the 20th. He and his Augsburg patrons began +to suspect whether measures had not already been taken to detain him. +They therefore had a small gate in the city wall opened in the night, +and sent with him an escort well acquainted with the road. Thus he +hastened away, as he himself described it, on a hard-trotting hack, in a +simple monk's frock, with only knee-breeches, without boots or spurs, +and unarmed. On the first day he rode eight miles, as far as the little +town of Monheim. As he entered in the evening an inn and dismounted in +the stable, he was unable to stand from fatigue and fell down instantly +among the straw. He travelled thus on horseback to Wittenberg, where he +arrived, well and joyful, on the anniversary of his ninety-five theses. +He had heard on the way of the Pope's brief to Cajetan, but he refused +to think it could be genuine. His appeal, meanwhile, was delivered to +the Cardinal at Augsburg, who had it posted by his notary on the doors +of the cathedral. + +Without waiting for an answer direct from Rome, Luther now abandoned all +thoughts of success with Leo X. On November 28th he formally and +solemnly appealed from the Pope to a general Christian council. By so +doing he anticipated the sentence of excommunication which he was daily +expecting. With Rome he had broken forever, unless she were to surrender +her claims and acquisitions of more than a thousand years. + +After once the first restraints of awe were removed with which Luther +had regarded the papacy, behind and beyond the matter of the +indulgences, and he had learned to know the papal representative at +Augsburg, and made a stand against his demands and menaces, and escaped +from his dangerous clutches, he enjoyed for the first time the fearless +consciousness of freedom. He took a wider survey around him, and saw +plainly the deep corruption and ungodliness of the powers arrayed +against him. His mind was impelled forward with more energy as his +spirit for the fight was stirred within him. Even the prospect that he +might have to fly, and the uncertainty whither his flight could be, did +not daunt or deter him. + +He was really prepared for exile or flight at any moment. At Wittenberg +his friends were alarmed by rumors of designs on the part of the Pope +against his life and liberty, and insisted on his being placed in +safety. Flight to France was continually talked of; had he not followed +in his appeal a precedent set by the University of Paris? We certainly +cannot see how he could safely have been conveyed thither, or where, +indeed, any other and safer place could have been found for him. Some +urged that the Elector himself should take him into custody and keep him +in a place of safety, and then write to the legate that he held him +securely in confinement and was in future responsible for him. Luther +proposed this to Spalatin, and added: "I leave the decision of this +matter to your discretion; I am in the hands of God and of my friends." +The Elector himself, anxious also in this respect, arranged early in +December a confidential interview between Luther and Spalatin at the +castle of Lichtenberg. He also, as Luther reported to Staupitz, wished +that Luther had some other place to be in, but he advised him against +going away so hastily to France. His own wish and counsel, however, he +refrained as yet from making known. Luther declared that at all events, +if a ban of excommunication were to come from Rome, he would not remain +longer at Wittenberg. On this point also the Prince kept secret his +resolve. + +At Rome the bull of excommunication was published as early as June 16th. +It had been considered very carefully in the papal consistory. The +jurists there were of opinion that Luther should be cited once more, but +their views did not prevail. The bull begins with the words, "Arise, O +Lord, and avenge thy cause." It proceeds to invoke St. Peter, St. Paul, +the whole body of the saints, and the Church. A wild boar had broken +into the vineyard of the Lord, a wild beast was there seeking to devour, +etc. Of the heresy against which it was directed, the Pope, as he +states, had additional reason to complain, since the Germans, among whom +it had broken out, had always been regarded by him with such tender +affection: he gives them to understand that they owed the empire to the +Roman Church. Forty-one propositions from Luther's writings are then +rejected and condemned as heretical, or at least scandalous and +corrupting, and his works collectively are sentenced to be burned. As to +Luther himself, the Pope calls God to witness that he has neglected no +means of fatherly love to bring him into the right way. Even now he is +ready to follow toward him the example of divine mercy which wills not +the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and live; and so +once more he calls upon him to repent, in which case he will receive him +graciously like the prodigal son. Sixty days are given him to recant. +But if he and his adherents will not repent, they are to be regarded as +obstinate heretics and withered branches of the vine of Christ, and must +be punished according to law. No doubt the punishment of burning was +meant; the bull in fact expressly condemns the proposition of Luther +which denounces the burning of heretics. All this was called then at +Rome, and has been called even latterly by the papal party, "the tone +rather of fatherly sorrow than of penal severity." + +The emperor Charles V, before leaving the Netherlands on his journey to +Aix-la-Chapelle to be crowned (1520),[27] had already been induced to +take his first step against Luther. He had consented to the execution of +the sentence in the bull condemning Luther's works to be burned, and had +issued orders to that effect throughout the Netherlands. They were +burned in public at Louvain, Cologne, and Mainz. At Cologne this was +done while he was staying there. It was in this town that the two +legates approached the elector Frederick with the demand to have the +same done in his territory, and to execute due punishment on the heretic +himself, or at least to keep him close prisoner or to deliver him over +to the Pope. Frederick, however, refused, saying that Luther must first +be heard by impartial judges. Erasmus also, who was then staying at +Cologne, expressed himself to the same effect, in an opinion obtained +from him by Frederick through Spalatin. At an interview with the +Elector he said to him: "Luther has committed two great faults: he has +touched the Pope on his crown and the monks on their bellies." The +burning of Luther's books at Mainz was effected without hinderance, and +the legates in triumph proceeded to carry out their mission elsewhere. + +Luther, however, lost no time in following up their execution of the +bull with his reply. On December 10th he posted a public announcement +that the next morning, at nine o'clock, the anti-Christian decretals, +that is, the papal law-books, would be burned, and he invited all the +Wittenberg students to attend. He chose for this purpose a spot in front +of the Elster gate, to the east of the town, near the Augustinian +convent. A multitude poured forth to the scene. With Luther appeared a +number of other doctors and masters, and among them Melanchthon and +Carlstadt. After one of the masters of art had built up a pile, Luther +laid the decretals upon it, and the former applied the fire. Luther then +threw the papal bull into the flames, with the words, "Because thou hast +vexed the Holy One of the Lord,[28] let the everlasting fire consume +thee." While Luther with the other teachers returned to the town, some +hundreds of students remained upon the scene and sang a _Te Deum_, and a +Dirge for the decretals. After the ten o'clock meal, some of the young +students, grotesquely attired, drove through the town in a large +carriage, with a banner, emblazoned with a bull, four yards in length, +amid the blowing of brass trumpets and other absurdities. They collected +from all quarters a mass of scholastic and papal writings, and hastened +with them and the bull to the pile, which their companions had meanwhile +kept alight. Another _Te Deum_ was then sung, with a requiem, and the +hymn, "_O du armer Judas_." + +Luther at his lecture the next day told his hearers with great +earnestness and emotion what he had done. The papal chair, he said, +would yet have to be burned. Unless with all their hearts they abjured +the kingdom of the pope, they could not obtain salvation. + +By this bold act, Luther consummated his final rupture with the papal +system, which for centuries had dominated the Christian world and had +identified itself with Christianity. The news of it must also have made +the fire which his words had kindled throughout Germany blaze out in all +its violence. He saw now, as he wrote to Staupitz, a storm raging, such +as only the last day could allay, so fiercely were passions aroused on +both sides. Germany was then, in fact, in a state of excitement and +tension more critical than at any other period of her history. + +The announcement of the retractation required from Luther by the bull +was to have been sent to Rome within one hundred twenty days. Luther had +given his answer. The Pope declared that the time of grace had expired; +and on January 3d Leo X finally pronounced the ban against Luther and +his followers, and an interdict on the places where they were harbored. + +Never did the most momentous issue in the fortunes of the German nation +and church rest so entirely with one man as they did now with the +Emperor. Everything depended on this whether he, as head of the empire, +should take the great work in hand, or should fling his authority and +might into the opposite scale. Charles had been welcomed in Germany as +one whose youthful heart seemed likely to respond to the newly awakened +life and aspirations, as the son of an old German princely family, who +by his election as emperor had won a triumph over the foreign king +Francis, supported though the latter was by the Pope. Rumor now alleged +that he was in the hands of the Mendicant friars; the Franciscan Glapio +was his confessor and influential adviser, the very man who had +instigated the burning of Luther's works. + +He was, however, by no means so dependent on those about him as might +have been supposed. His counsellors, in the general interests of his +government, pursued an independent line of policy, and Charles himself, +even in these his youthful days, knew to assert his independence as a +monarch and display his cleverness as a statesman. He saw the prudence +of cultivating friendship and contracting if possible an alliance with +the Pope. The pressure desirable for this purpose could now be supplied +by means of the very danger with which the papacy was threatened by the +great German heresy, and against which Rome so sorely needed the aid of +a temporal power. At the same time, Charles was far too astute to allow +his regard for the Pope, and his desire for the unity of the Church, to +entangle his policy in measures for which his own power was inadequate, +or by which his authority might be shaken and possibly destroyed. +Strengthened as was his monarchical power in Spain, in Germany he found +it hemmed in and fettered by the estates of the empire and the whole +contexture of political relations. + +Such were the main points of view which determined for Charles V his +conduct toward Luther and his cause. Luther thus was at least a passive +sharer in the game of high policy, ecclesiastical and temporal, now +being played, and had to pursue his own course accordingly. + +The imperial court was quickly enough acquainted with the state of +feeling in Germany. The Emperor showed himself prudent at this juncture, +and accessible to opinions differing from his own, however small cause +his proclamations gave to the friends of Luther to hope for any positive +act of favor on his part. + +While Charles was on his way up the Rhine to hold, at the beginning of +the new year, a diet at Worms, the elector Frederick approached him with +the request that Luther should at least be heard before the Emperor took +any proceedings against him. The Emperor informed him in reply that he +might bring Luther for this purpose to Worms, promising that the monk +should not be molested. + +The Emperor, on March 6th, issued a citation to Luther, summoning him to +Worms to give "information concerning his doctrines and books." An +imperial herald was sent to conduct him. In the event of his disobeying +the citation, or refusing to retract, the estates declared their consent +to treat him as an open heretic. Luther, therefore, had to renounce at +once all hope of having the truth touching his articles of faith tested +fairly at Worms by the standard of God's word in Scripture. Spalatin +indicated to him the points on which he would in any case be expected to +make a public recantation. + +Luther formed his resolve at once on the two points required of him. He +determined to obey the summons to the diet, and, if there unconvicted of +error, to refuse the recantation demanded. The Emperor's citation was +delivered to him on March 26th by the imperial herald, Kaspar Sturm, who +was to accompany him to Worms. Within twenty-one days after its receipt, +Luther was to appear before the Emperor; he was due therefore at Worms +on April 16th at the latest. + +On April 2d, the Tuesday after Easter, he set out on his way to Worms. +His friend Amsdorf and the Pomeranian nobleman Peter Swaven, who was +then studying at Wittenberg, accompanied him. He took with him also, +according to the rules of the order, a brother of the order, John +Pezensteiner. The Wittenberg magistracy provided carriages and horses. + +The way led past Leipzig, through Thuringia from Naumburg to Eisenach, +southward past Berka, Hersfeld, Gruenberg, Friedberg, Frankfort, and +Oppenheim. The herald rode on before in his coat-of-arms, and announced +the man whose word had everywhere so mightily stirred the minds of +people, and for whose future behavior and fate friend and foe were alike +anxious. Everywhere people collected to catch a glimpse of him. On April +6th he was very solemnly received at Erfurt. The large majority of the +university there were by this time full of enthusiasm for his cause. + +Meanwhile at Worms disquietude and suspense prevailed on both sides. +Hutten[29] from the castle of Ebernburg sent threatening and angry +letters to the papal legates, who became really anxious lest a blow +might be struck from that quarter. Some anxious friends of Luther's were +afraid that, according to papal law, the safe-conduct would not be +observed in the case of a condemned heretic. Spalatin himself sent from +Worms a second warning to Luther after he had left Frankfort, intimating +that he would suffer the fate of Huss. + +But Luther continued on his way. To Spalatin he replied, though Huss +were burned, yet the truth was not burned; he would go to Worms though +there were as many devils there as there were tiles on the roofs of the +houses. + +On April 16th, at ten o'clock in the morning, Luther entered Worms. He +sat in an open carriage with his three companions from Wittenberg, +clothed in his monk's habit. He was accompanied by a large number of men +on horseback, some of whom, like Jonas, had joined him earlier in his +journey; others, like some gentlemen belonging to the Elector's court, +had ridden out from Worms to receive him. The imperial herald rode on +before. The watchman blew a horn from the tower of the cathedral on +seeing the procession approach the gate. Thousands streamed hither to +see Luther. The gentlemen of the court escorted him into the house of +the Knights of St. John, where he lodged with two counsellors of the +Elector. As he stepped from his carriage he said, "God will be with me." +Aleander, writing to Rome, said that he looked around with the eyes of a +demon. Crowds of distinguished men, ecclesiastics and laymen, who were +anxious to know him personally, flocked daily to see him. + +On the evening of the following day he had to appear before the diet, +which was assembled in the Bishop's palace, the residence of the +Emperor, not far from where Luther was lodging. He was conducted thither +by side streets, it being impossible to get through the crowds assembled +in the main thoroughfare to see him. On his way into the hall where the +diet was assembled, tradition tells us how the famous warrior, George +von Frundsberg, clapped him on the shoulder and said: "My poor monk! my +poor monk! thou art on thy way to make such a stand as I and many of my +knights have never done in our toughest battles. If thou art sure of the +justice of thy cause, then forward in the name of God, and be of good +courage--God will not forsake thee." The Elector had given Luther as his +advocate the lawyer Jerome Schurf, his Wittenberg colleague and friend. + +When at length, after waiting two hours, Luther was admitted to the +diet, Eck, the official of the Archbishop of Treves, put to him simply, +in the name of the Emperor, two questions, whether he acknowledged the +books--pointing to them on a bench beside him--to be his own, and next, +whether he would retract their contents or persist in them. Schurf here +exclaimed, "Let the titles of the books be named." Eck then read them +out. Among them there were some merely edifying writings, such as _A +Commentary on the Lord's Prayer_, which had never been made the subject +of complaint. + +Luther was not prepared for this proceeding, and possibly the first +sight of the august assembly made him nervous. He answered in a low +voice, and as if frightened, that the books were his, but that since the +question as to their contents concerned the highest of all things, the +Word of God and the salvation of souls, he must beware of giving a rash +answer, and must therefore humbly entreat further time for +consideration. After a short deliberation the Emperor instructed Eck to +reply that he would, out of his clemency, grant him a respite till the +next day. + +So Luther had again, on April 18th, a Thursday, to appear before the +diet. Again he had to wait two hours till six o'clock. He stood there in +the hall among the dense crowd, talking unconstrained and cheerfully +with the ambassador of the diet, Peutinger, his patron at Augsburg. +After he was called in, Eck began by reproaching him for having wanted +time for consideration. He then put the second question to him in a form +more befitting and more conformable with the wishes of the members of +the diet: "Wilt thou defend _all_ the books acknowledged by thee to be +thine, or recant some part?" Luther now answered with firmness and +modesty, in a well-considered speech. He divided his works into three +classes. In some of them he had set forth simple evangelical truths, +professed alike by friend and foe. Those he could on no account retract. +In others he had attacked corrupt laws and doctrines of the papacy, +which no one could deny had miserably vexed and martyred the consciences +of Christians, and had tyrannically devoured the property of the German +nation: if he were to retract these books, he would make himself a cloak +for wickedness and tyranny. + +In the third class of his books he had written against individuals who +endeavored to shield that tyranny and to subvert godly doctrine. Against +these he freely confessed that he had been more violent than was +befitting. Yet even these writings it was impossible for him to retract +without lending a hand to tyranny and godlessness. But in defence of his +books he could only say in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "If I +have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest +thou me?" If anyone could do so, let him produce his evidence and +confute him from the sacred writings, the Old Testament and the Gospel, +and he would be the first to throw his books into the fire. And now, as +in the course of his speech he had sounded a new challenge to the +papacy, so he concluded by an earnest warning to Emperor and empire, +lest, by endeavoring to promote peace by a condemnation of the divine +Word, they might rather bring a dreadful deluge of evils, and thus give +an unhappy and inauspicious beginning to the reign of the noble young +Emperor. He said not these things as if the great personages who heard +him stood in any need of his admonitions, but because it was a duty that +he owed to his native Germany, and he could not neglect to discharge it. + +Luther, like Eck, spoke in Latin, and then, by desire, repeated his +speech with equal firmness in German. Schurf, who was standing by his +side, declared afterward with pride, "how Martin had made this answer +with such bravery and modest candor, with eyes upraised to heaven, that +he and everyone were astonished." + +The princes held a short consultation after this harangue. Then Eck, +commissioned by the Emperor, sharply reproved him for having spoken +impertinently and not really answered the question put to him. He +rejected his demand that evidence from Scripture might be brought +against him by declaring that his heresies had already been condemned by +the Church, and in particular by the Council of Constance, and such +judgments must suffice if anything were to be held settled in +Christianity. He promised him, however, if he would retract the +offensive articles, that his other writings should be fairly dealt with, +and finally demanded a plain answer "without horns" to the question +whether he intended to adhere to all he had written or would retract any +part of it? + +To this Luther replied he would give an answer "with neither horns nor +teeth." Unless he were refuted by proofs from Scripture, or by evident +reason, his conscience bound him to adhere to the Word of God which he +had quoted in his defence. Popes and councils, as was clear, had often +erred and contradicted themselves. He could not, therefore, and he would +not, retreat anything, for it was neither safe nor honest to act against +one's conscience. + +Eck exchanged only a few more words with him in reply to his assertion +that councils had erred. "You cannot prove that," said Eck. "I will +pledge myself to do it," was Luther's answer. Pressed and threatened by +his enemy, he concluded with the famous words: "Here I stand, I can do +no otherwise. God help me. Amen." + +The Emperor reluctantly broke up the diet at about eight o'clock in the +evening. Darkness had meanwhile come on; the hall was lighted with +torches, and the audience were in a state of general excitement and +agitation. Luther was led out; whereupon an uproar arose among the +Germans, who thought that he had been taken prisoner. As he stood among +the heated crowd, Duke Erich of Brunswick sent him a silver tankard of +Eimbeck beer, after having first drunk of it himself. + +On reaching his lodging, "Luther," to use the words of a Nuremberger +present there, "stretched out his hands, and with a joyful countenance +exclaimed, 'I am through! I am through!'" Spalatin says: "He entered the +lodging so courageous, comforted, and joyful in the Lord that he said +before others and myself, 'if he had a thousand heads, he would rather +have them all cut off than make one recantation.'" He relates also how +the elector Frederick, before his supper, sent for him from Luther's +dwelling, took him into his room and expressed to him his astonishment +and delight at Luther's speech. "How excellently did Father Martin speak +both in Latin and German before the Emperor and the orders! He was bold +enough, if not too much so." The Emperor, on the contrary, had been so +little impressed by Luther's personality, and had understood so little +of it, that he fancied the writings ascribed to him must have been +written by someone else. Many of his Spaniards had pursued Luther, as he +left the diet, with hisses and shouts of scorn. + +Luther, by refusing thus point-blank to retract, effectually destroyed +whatever hopes of mediation or reconciliation had been entertained by +the milder and more moderate adherents of the Church who still wished +for reform. Nor was any union possible with those who, while looking to +a truly representative council as the best safeguard against the tyranny +of a pope, were anxious also to obtain at such a council a secure and +final settlement of all questions of Christian faith and morals. It was +these very councils about which Eck purposely called on Luther for a +declaration; and Luther's words on this point might well have been +considered by the Elector as "too bold." + +Luther remained faithful to himself. True it was that he had often +formerly spoken of yielding in mere externals, and of the duty of living +in love and harmony, and respecting the weaknesses of others; and his +conduct during the elaboration of his own church system will show us how +well he knew to accommodate himself to the time, and, where perfection +was impossible, to be content with what was imperfect. But the question +here was not about externals, or whether a given proceeding were +judicious or not for the attainment of an object admittedly good. It was +a question of confessing or denying the truth--the highest and holiest +truths, as he expressed it--relating to God and the salvation of man. In +this matter his conscience was bound. + +And the trial thus offered for his endurance was not yet over. On the +morning of the 19th the Emperor sent word to the estates that he would +now send Luther back in safety to Wittenberg, but treat him as a +heretic. The majority insisted on attempting further negotiations with +him through a committee specially appointed. These were conducted +accordingly by the Elector of Treves. The friendliness and the visible +interest in his cause with which Luther now was urged were more +calculated to move him than Eck's behavior at the diet. He himself bore +witness afterward how the Archbishop had shown himself more than +gracious to him and would willingly have arranged matters peaceably. +Instead of being urged simply to retract all his propositions condemned +by the Pope, or his writings directed against the papacy, he was +referred in particular to those articles in which he rejected the +decisions of the Council of Constance. He was desired to submit in +confidence to a verdict of the Emperor and the empire when his books +should be submitted to judges beyond suspicion. After that he should at +least accept the decision of a future council, unfettered by any +acknowledgment of the previous sentence of the Pope. + +So freely and independently of the Pope did this committee of the German +Diet, including several bishops and Duke George of Saxony, proceed in +negotiating with a papal heretic. But everything was shipwrecked on +Luther's firm reservation that the decision must not be contrary to the +Word of God; and on that question his conscience would not allow him to +renounce the right of judging for himself. After two days' +negotiations, he thus, on April 25th, according to Spalatin, declared +himself to the Archbishop: "Most gracious Lord, I cannot yield; it must +happen with me as God wills," and continued: "I beg of your grace that +you will obtain for me the gracious permission of his imperial majesty +that I may go home again, for I have now been here for ten days and +nothing yet has been effected." Three hours later the Emperor sent word +to Luther that he might return to the place he came from, and should be +given a safe-conduct for twenty-one days, but would not be allowed to +preach on the way. + +Free residence, however, and protection at Wittenberg, in case Luther +were condemned by the empire, was more than even Frederick the Wise +would be able to assure him. But he had already laid his plan for the +emergency. Spalatin refers to it in these words: "Now was my most +gracious Lord somewhat disheartened; he was certainly fond of Dr. +Martin, and was also most unwilling to act against the Word of God or to +bring upon himself the displeasure of the Emperor. Accordingly, he +devised means how to get Dr. Martin out of the way for a time, until +matters might be quietly settled, and caused Luther also to be informed, +the evening before he left Worms, of his scheme for getting him out of +the way. At this Dr. Martin, out of deference to his Elector, was +submissively content, though certainly, then and at all times, he would +much rather have gone courageously to the attack." + +The very next morning, Friday, the 26th, Luther departed. The imperial +herald went behind him, so as not to attract notice. They took the usual +road to Eisenach. At Friedberg Luther dismissed the herald, giving him a +letter to the Emperor and the estates, in which he defended his conduct +at Worms, and his refusal to trust in the decision of men, by saying +that when God's Word and things eternal were at stake, one's trust and +dependence should be placed, not on one man or many men, but on God +alone. At Hersfeld, where Abbot Crato, in spite of the ban, received him +with all marks of honor, and again at Eisenach, he preached, +notwithstanding the Emperor's prohibition, not daring to let the Word of +God be bound. + +From Eisenach, while Swaven, Schurf, and several other of his companions +went straight on, he struck southward, together with Amsdorf and +Brother Pezensteiner, in order to go and see his relations at Moehra. +Here, after spending the night at the house of his uncle Heinz, he +preached the next morning, Saturday, May 4th. Then, accompanied by some +of his relations, he took the road through Schweina, past the castle of +Altenstein, and then across the back of the Thuringian Forest to +Waltershausen and Gotha. Toward evening, when near Altenstein, he bade +leave of his relations. About half an hour farther on, at a spot where +the road enters the wooded heights, and, ascending between hills along a +brook, leads to an old chapel, which even then was in ruins and has now +quite disappeared, armed horsemen attacked the carriage, ordered it to +stop with threats and curses, pulled Luther out of it, and then hurried +him away at full speed. Pezensteiner had run away as soon as he saw them +approach. Amsdorf and the coachman were allowed to pass on; the former +was in the secret, and pretended to be terrified, to avoid any suspicion +on the part of his companion. + +The Wartburg[30] lay to the north, about eight miles distant, and had +been the starting-point of the horsemen, as it now was their goal; but +precaution made them ride first in an eastern direction with Luther. The +coachman afterward related how Luther in the haste of the flight dropped +a gray hat he had worn. And now Luther was given a horse to ride. The +night was dark, and at about eleven o'clock they arrived at the stately +castle, situated above Eisenach. Here he was to be kept as a +knight-prisoner. The secret was kept as strictly as possible toward +friend and foe. For many weeks afterward even Frederick's brother John +had no idea of it. Among his friends and followers the terrible news had +spread, immediately upon his capture, that he had been made away with by +his enemies. + +At Worms, however, while the Pope was concluding an alliance with +Charles against France, the papal legate Aleander, by commission of the +Emperor, prepared the edict against Luther on the 8th of May. It was +not, however, until the 25th, after Frederick the Elector of the +Palatinate and a great part of the other members of the diet had already +left, that it was deemed advisable to have it communicated to the rest +of the estates; nevertheless it was antedated the 8th, and issued "by +the unanimous advice of the electors and estates." It pronounced upon +Luther, applying the customary strong expressions of papal bulls, the +ban and reban; no one was to receive him any longer, or feed him, etc., +but wherever he was found he was to be seized and handed over to the +Emperor. + + +JEAN M. V. AUDIN + +The Reformation was a revolution, and they who rebelled against the +authority of the Church were revolutionists. However slightly you look +into the constitution of the Church, you will be convinced that the +Reformation possessed the character of an insurrection. What is the +meaning of this fine word, Reformation? Amelioration, doubtless. Well, +then, with history before us, it is easy to show that it was only a +prostration of the human mind. Glutted with the wealth of which it +robbed the Catholics, and the blood which it shed, it gives us, instead +of the harmony and Christian love of which it deprived our ancestors, +nothing but dissensions, resentments, and discords. No, the Reformation +was not an era of happiness and peace; it was only established by +confusion and anarchy. Do you feel your heart beat at the mention of +justice and truth? Acknowledge, then, what it is impossible to deny, +that Luther must not be compared with the apostles. The apostles came +teaching in the name of Jesus Christ their master, and the Catholics are +entitled to ask us from whom Luther had his mission. We cannot prove +that he had a mission direct or indirect. Luther perverted Christianity; +he withdrew himself criminally from the communion in which regeneration +alone was possible. + +It has been said that all Christendom demanded a reformation--who +disputes it? But long before the time of Luther the papacy had listened +to the complaints of the faithful. The Council of Lateran had been +convened to put an end to the scandals which afflicted the Church. The +papacy labored to restore the discipline of the early ages, in +proportion as Europe, freed from the yoke of brute force, became +politically organized and advanced with slow but sure step to +civilization. Was it not at that time that the source of all religious +truth was made accessible to scientific study, since, by means of the +watchful protection of the papacy, the holy Scriptures were translated +into every language? The New Testament of Erasmus, dedicated to Leo X, +had preceded the quarrel about indulgences. + +A reformer should take care that, in his zeal to get rid of manifest +abuses, he does not at the same time shake the faith and its wholesome +institutions to the foundation. When the reformers violently separated +themselves from the Church of Rome, they thought it necessary to reject +every doctrine taught by her. Luther, that spirit of evil, who scattered +gold with dirt, declared war against the institutions without which the +Church could not exist; he destroyed unity. Who does not remember that +exclamation of Melanchthon, "We have committed many errors, and have +made good of evil without any necessity for it"? + +In justification of the brutal rupture of Germany with Rome, the +scandals of the clergy are alleged. But if at the period of the +Reformation there were priests and monks in Germany whose conduct was +the cause of regret to Christians, their number was not larger than it +had been previously. When Luther appeared, there was in Germany a great +number of Catholic prelates whose piety the reformers themselves have +not hesitated to admire. + +What pains they take to deceive us! In books of every size they teach +us, even at the present day, that the beast, the man of sin, the +creature of Babylon, are the names which God has given in his Scriptures +to the pope and the papacy! Can it be imagined that Christ, who died for +our sins, and saved us by his blood, would have suffered that for ten or +twelve centuries his church should be guided by such an abominable +wretch? that he would have allowed millions of his creatures to walk in +the shadow of death? and that so many generations should have had no +other pastor but Antichrist? + +Luther mistook the genius of Christianity in introducing a new principle +into the world--the immediate authority of the Bible as the sole +criterion of the truth. If tradition is to be rejected, it follows that +the Bible cannot be authoritatively explained by acquired knowledge; in +a word, human interpretation based upon its comprehensions of the Greek +and Hebrew languages. So, by this theory, the palladium of orthodoxy is +to be found in a knowledge of foreign tongues, and living authority is +replaced by a dead letter; a slavery a thousand times more oppressive +than the yoke of tradition. Has any dogmatist succeeded in drawing up a +confession of faith by means of the Bible which could not be attacked by +means of reason? This formula, that the Bible must be the "_unicum +principium theologiae_," is the source of contradictory doctrines in +Protestant theology; hence this question arises: "What Protestant +theology is there in which there are not errors more or less?" It was +the Bible that inspired all the neologists of the sixteenth century; the +Bible that they made use of to persecute and condemn themselves as +heretics. When Luther maintained that the Bible contains the enunciation +of all the truths of which a knowledge is necessary to salvation, and +that no doctrine which is not distinctly laid down in the Bible can be +regarded as an article of faith, he did not imagine that the time was at +hand when everybody, from this very volume, would form a confession for +himself, and reject all others which contradicted his individual creed. +This necessity for inquiry so occupies the minds of men at the present +day that the principal articles of the original creed are rejected by +those who call themselves the disciples of Jesus. + +But what are we to understand by the Bible? The question was a difficult +one to solve even at the beginning of the Reformation, when Luther, in +his preface to the translation of the Bible, laid down a difference +between the canonical books by preferring the gospel of St. John to the +three other evangelists; by depreciating the Epistle of St. James as an +epistle of straw, that contained nothing of the Gospel in it, and which +an apostle could not have written, since it attributes to works a merit +which they did not possess. It was in the Bible that Luther discovered +these two great truths of salvation, which he revealed to the world at +the beginning of his apostleship--_the slavery of man's will, and the +impeccability of the believer_. + +It is said in Exodus, chapter ix, that God hardened the heart of +Pharaoh. It was questioned whether these words were to be construed +literally. This Erasmus rightly denied, and it roused the doctor's +wrath. Luther, in his reply, furiously attacks the fools who, calling +reason to their aid, dare call for an account from God why he condemns +or predestines to damnation innocent beings before they have even seen +the light. Truly, Luther, in the eyes of all God's creatures, must +appear a prodigy of daring when he ventures to maintain that no one can +reach heaven unless he adopts the slavery of the human will. And it is +not merely by the spirit of disputation, but by settled conviction, that +he defends this most odious of all ideas. He lived and died teaching +that horrible doctrine, which the most illustrious of his +disciples--among others, Melanchthon and Matthew Albert of +Reutlingen--condemned. "How rich is the Christian!" repeated Luther; +"even though he wished it, he cannot forfeit heaven by any stain; +believe, then, and be assured of your salvation: God in eternity cannot +escape you. Believe, and you shall be saved: repentance, confession, +satisfaction, good works, all these are useless for salvation; it is +sufficient to have faith." + +Is not this a fearful error--a desolating doctrine? If you demonstrate +to Luther its danger or absurdity, he replies that you blaspheme the +Spirit of light. Neither attempt to prove to him that he is mistaken; he +will tell you that you offend God. No, no, my brother, you will never +convince me that the Holy Spirit is confined to Wittenberg any more than +to your person. + +Not content with maledictions, Luther then turns himself to prophecy; he +announces that his doctrine, which proceeds from heaven, will gain, one +by one, all the kingdoms of the world. He says of Zwingli's explanation +of the eucharist, "I am not afraid of this fanatical interpretation +lasting long." On the other hand Zwingli predicted that the Swiss creed +would be handed down from generation to generation, crossing the Elbe +and the Rhine. Prophet against prophet, if success be the test of truth, +Luther will inevitably have to yield in this point. + +The Reformation, which at first was entirely a religious phenomenon, +soon assumed a political character; it could not fail to do so. When +people began to exclaim, like Luther, on the house-tops: "The Emperor +Charles V ought not to be supported longer; let him and the Pope be +knocked on the head;" that "he is an excited madman, a bloodhound, who +must be killed with pikes and clubs," how could civil society continue +subject to authority? It was natural that the monk's virulent writings +against the bishops' spiritual power should be reduced by the subjects +of the ecclesiastical superiors into a political theory. When he +proclaimed that the yoke of priests and monks must be shaken off, we +might expect that this wild appeal would be directed against the tithes +which the people paid to the prelates and the abbots. The Saxon's +doctrine being based wholly on the holy Scriptures, the peasant +considered himself authorized in virtue of their text to break violently +with his lord; hence that long war between the cottage and the castle. +This it was that made Erasmus write sorrowfully to Luther: "You see that +we are now reaping the fruits of what you sowed. You will not +acknowledge the rebels; but they acknowledge you, and they know only too +well that many of your disciples, who clothed themselves in the mantle +of the Gospel, have been the instigators of this bloody rebellion. In +your pamphlet against the peasants, you in vain endeavor to justify +yourself. It is you who have raised the storm by your publications +against the monks and the prelates, and you say that you fight for +gospel liberty, and against the tyranny of the great! From the moment +that you began your tragedy I foresaw the end of it." + +That civil war, in which Germany had to mourn the loss of more than a +hundred thousand of her children, was the consequence of Luther's +preaching. It is fortunate that, through the efforts of a Catholic +prince, Duke George of Saxony, it was speedily brought to an end. Had it +lasted but a few years longer, of all the ancient monuments with which +Germany was filled, not a single vestige would have remained. Karlstadt +might then have sat upon their ruins, and sung, with his Bible in his +hand, the downfall of the images. The iconoclast's theories, all drawn +from the Word of God, held their ground in spite of Luther, and dealt a +fatal blow to the arts. + +When a gorgeous worship requires magnificent temples, imposing +ceremonies, and striking solemnities; when religion presents to the eye +sensible images as objects of public veneration; when earth and heaven +are peopled with supernatural beings, to whom imagination can lend a +sensible form--then it is that the arts, encouraged and ennobled, reach +the zenith of their splendor and perfection. The architect, raised to +honors and fortune, conceives the plans of those basilicas and +cathedrals whose aspect strikes us with religious awe, and whose richly +adorned walls are ornamented with the finest efforts of art. Those +temples and altars are decorated with marbles and precious metals, which +sculpture has fashioned into the similitude of angels, saints, and the +images of illustrious men. The choirs, the jubes, the chapels, and +sacristies are hung with pictures on all sides. Here Jesus expires on +the cross; there he is transfigured on Mount Tabor. Art, the friend of +imagination, which delights only in heaven, finds there the most sublime +creations--a St. John, a Cecilia, above all a Mary, that patroness of +tender hearts, that virgin model to all mothers, that mediatrix of +graces, placed between man and his God, that august and amiable being, +of whom no other religion presents either the resemblance or the model. +During the solemnities, the most costly stuffs, precious stones, and +embroidery cover the altars, vessels, priests, and even the very walls +of the sanctuary. Music completes the charm by the most exquisite +strains, by the harmony of the choir. These powerful incentives are +repeated in a hundred different places; the metropolises, parishes, the +numerous religious houses, the simple oratories, sparkle with emulation +to captivate all the powers of the religious and devout mind. Thus a +taste for the arts becomes general by means of so potent a lever, and +artists increase in number and rivalry. Under this influence the +celebrated schools of Italy and Flanders flourished; and the finest +works which now remain to us testify the splendid encouragement which +the Catholic religion lavished upon them. + +After this natural progress of events, it cannot be doubted that the +Reformation has been unfavorable to the fine arts, and has very much +restrained the exercise of them. It has severed the bonds which united +them to religion, which sanctified them, and secured for them a place in +the veneration of the people. The Protestant worship tends to disenchant +the material imagination; it makes fine churches and statues and +paintings unnecessary; it renders them unpopular, and takes from them +one of their most active springs. + +The peasants' war was soon succeeded by the spoliation of the +monasteries; "an invasion of the most sacred of all rights, more +important, in certain respects, than liberty itself--property." From +that time not a day passed without Luther preaching up the robbery of +the religious houses. To excite the greed of the princes whom he wished +to secure to his views, he loved to direct their attention to the +treasures which the abbeys, cloisters, sacristies, and sanctuaries +contained. "Take them," he said; "all these are your own--all belong to +you." Luther was convinced that to the value of the golden remonstrances +which shone on the Catholic altars he was indebted for more than one +conversion. In a moment of humor he said: "The gentry and princes are +the best Lutherans; they willingly accept both monasteries and chapters, +and appropriate their treasures." + +The Landgrave of Hesse, to obtain authority for giving his arm to two +lawful wives, took care to make the wealth of the monasteries glitter in +the eyes of the Church of Wittenberg, so that as the price of their +permission he was willing to give it to the Saxon ministers. The plunder +of church property, preached by Luther, will be the eternal condemnation +of the Protestants. Though Naboth's vineyard may serve as a bait or +reward for apostasy, it cannot justify crime. + +A laureate of the Institute of France has discovered grounds for +palliating this blow to property. He congratulates the princes who +embraced the Reformation for having, by means of the ecclesiastical +property, filled their coffers, paid their debts, applied the +confiscated wealth to useful establishments, clubs, universities, +hospitals, orphanages, retreats, and rewards for the old servants of the +state. But Luther himself took care, on more than one occasion, to +denounce the avarice of the princes who, when once masters of the +monastic property, employed its revenues for the support of mistresses +and packs of hounds. We remember the eloquent complaints which he +uttered in his old age against these carnal men, who left the Protestant +clergy in destitution, and did not even pay the schoolmasters their +salaries. He mourned them, but it was too late. Sometimes the +chastisement of heaven fell, even in this life, on the spoiler; and +Luther has mentioned instances of several of those iron hands, who, +after having enriched themselves by the plunder of a monastery, church, +or abbey, fell into abject poverty. Besides, we will admit that Luther +never thought of consoling the plundered monks by asserting, like +Charles Villers, that "one of the finest effects of these terrible +commotions which unsettle all properties, the fruits of social +institutions, is to substitute for them greatness of mind, virtues, and +talents, the fruits of nature exclusively." + +If the triumph of the peasants in the fields of Thuringia might have +been an irreparable misfortune to Germany and to Christianity, we cannot +deny that Luther's appeal to the secular arm, to suppress the rebellion, +may have thoroughly altered the character of the first Reformation. Till +then it had been established by preaching; but from the moment of that +bloody episode it required the civil authority to move it. The sword, +therefore, took the place of the Word; and to perpetuate itself the +Reformation was bound to exaggerate the theory of passive obedience. One +of the distinguished historians of Heidelberg, Carl Hagen, has recently +favored us with some portions of the political code in which +Protestantism commands subjects to be obedient to the civil power, even +when it commands them to commit sin. + +Thus the democratic element, first developed by the Reformation, was +effaced to become absorbed in the despotic. It was no longer the people, +but the prince, who chose or rejected the Protestant minister. When the +Landgrave of Hesse consulted Melanchthon, in 1525, as to the line he +should pursue in the appointment of a pastor, the doctor told him that +he had the right to interfere in the election of the ministers, and +that, if he surmounted the struggles in which the Word of God had +involved him, he ought not to commit that sacred Word but to such +preacher as seemed best to him; in other terms, observes the historian, +to him whom the civil power thinks competent. And Martin Bucer contrived +to extend Melanchthon's theory by constituting the civil power supreme +judge of religious orthodoxy, by conferring on it the right of ultimate +decision in questions of heresy, and of punishing, if necessary by fire +and sword innovators, who are a thousand times more culpable, he says, +than the robber or murderer, who only steal the material bread and slay +the body, while the heretic steals the bread of life and kills the soul. + +Intolerance then entered into the councils of the Reformation. It was no +longer with the peasants that Luther declared war. Whoever did not +believe in his doctrines was denounced as a rebel; in the Saxon's eyes, +the peasant was only an enemy to be despised; the real Satan was +Karlstadt, Zwingli, and Krautwald. + +His disciples were no longer satisfied with plundering the +monasteries--they desired to live in ease; they must have servants, a +fine house, a well-supplied table, and plenty of money. The struggle +then was no longer with piety and knowledge, but with power and +influence. Every city and town had its own Lutheran pope. At Nuremberg, +Osiander was a regular pacha. Those who among the Protestants endeavored +to reprove his scandalous ostentation were abused and maligned. When he +ascended the pulpit, his fingers were adorned with diamonds which +dazzled the eyes of his hearers. + +The religious disputes which disturbed men's minds in Germany retarded, +rather than advanced, the march of intellect. Blind people who fought +furiously with each other could not find the road to truth. These +quarrels were only another disease of the human mind. Although printing +served to disseminate the principles of the reformers, the sudden +progress of Lutheranism, and the zeal with which it was embraced, prove +that reason and reflection had no part in their development. + +Villers has drawn a brilliant sketch of the influence which the +Reformation exercised over biblical criticism. "It may be said that +criticism of the Scripture text was unknown previous to the time of +Luther; and if by this is meant that captious, whimsical, and shuffling +criticism which DeWette has so justly condemned--certainly so. But that +which relates to languages, antiquities, the knowledge of times, places, +authors--in a word, hermeneutics--was known and practised in our schools +before the Reformation, as is proved by the works of Cajetan and +Sadoletus, and a multitude of learned men whom Leo X had encouraged and +rewarded. We have seen besides, in the history of the Reformation, what +that vain science has produced. It was by means of his critical +researches that, from the time of Luther, Karlstadt found such a meaning +of '_Semen immolare Moloch_,' as made his disciples shrug their +shoulders; that Muenzer preached community of goods and wives; that +Melanchthon taught that the dogma of the Trinity deprives our mind of +all liberty; that at a later period Ammon asserted that the +resurrection of the dead could not be deduced from the New Testament; +Veter, that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses; that the history of +the Jews to the time of the Judges is only a popular tradition; +Bretschneider, that the Psalms cannot be looked upon as inspired; +Augusti, that the true doctrine of Jesus Christ has not been preserved +intact in the New Testament; and Geisse, that not one of the four +gospels was written by the evangelist whose name it bears. + +"Since the days of Semler, Germany presents a singular spectacle: every +ten years, or nearly so, its theological literature undergoes a complete +revolution. What was admired during the one decennial period is rejected +in the next, and the image which they adored is burned to make way for +new divinities; the dogmas which were held in honor fall into discredit; +the classical treatise of morality is banished among the old books out +of date; criticism overturns criticism; and the commentary of yesterday +ridicules that of the previous day." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[25] Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, was Luther's friend and +protector. + +[26] Georg Spalatin, a friend and fellow-reformer of Luther's, was in +the diplomatic service of Elector Frederick. + +[27] Charles, the grandson of Maximilian I, Emperor of the Holy Roman +Empire, succeeded him 1519. At the time of his coronation Charles was +but twenty years old. He was also King of Spain.--ED. + +[28] It is obvious that he refers to Christ, who is spoken of in +Scripture as the Holy One of God (St. Mark i. 24; Acts ii. 27), not, as +ignorance and malice have suggested, to himself. + +[29] Ulrich von Hutten was a friend and supporter of Luther. + +[30] In 1521-1522 Frederick the Wise gave Luther asylum in the Wartburg, +where for ten months the reformer remained in disguise as "Junker +Georg." His room, with its furniture, is still preserved. + + + + +NEGRO SLAVERY IN AMERICA + +ITS INTRODUCTION BY LAW + +A.D. 1517 + +SIR ARTHUR HELPS + + In 1442 the first negro slaves were imported into Europe. + They were taken from Africa to Portugal in ships of Prince + Henry, the "Navigator." From that time there was little + traffic in negroes until after the discovery of America. + Then there was great destruction of American Indians by war, + disease, and killing work, and the importation of negroes + into Spanish America was begun in order to fill the void in + the labor market. + + Influenced by the spirit of Bartolome de las Casas, a + Spanish monk, celebrated as the defender of the Indians + against his own countrymen who conquered them, the monarchs + of Spain prohibited Indian slavery. "It is a very + significant fact that the great 'Protector of the Indians,' + Las Casas, should, however innocently, have been concerned + with the first large grant of licenses to import negroes + into the West India Islands." + + We first hear of the introduction of negro slaves in those + islands through the instructions given in 1501 to Nicolas de + Ovando, who in the following year succeeded Columbus as + governor. During the nine years of his governorship negro + slavery in the Spanish possessions of the New World was + greatly extended. A few years later, as shown by Helps, + official license gave it a legal sanction. Helps' account + begins with an abstract of Las Casas' memorials to the King + of Spain looking to a remedy for the bad government of the + West Indies. + + +The outline of Las Casas' scheme was as follows: The King was to give to +every laborer willing to emigrate to Espanola his living during the +journey from his place of abode to Seville, at the rate of half a real a +day throughout the journey, for great and small, child and parent. At +Seville the emigrants were to be lodged in the Casa de la Contratacion +(the India House), and were to have from eleven to thirteen maravedis a +day. From thence they were to have a free passage to Espanola, and to be +provided with food for a year. And if the climate "should try them so +much" that at the expiration of this year they should not be able to +work for themselves, the King was to continue to maintain them; but +this extra maintenance was to be put down to the account of the +emigrants, as a loan which they were to repay. The King was to give them +lands--his own lands--furnish them with ploughshares and spades, and +provide medicines for them. Lastly, whatever rights and profits accrued +from their holdings were to become hereditary. This was certainly a most +liberal plan of emigration. And, in addition, there were other +privileges held out as inducements to these laborers. + +In connection with the above scheme, Las Casas, unfortunately for his +reputation in after-ages, added another provision, namely, that each +Spanish resident in the island should have license to import a dozen +negro slaves. + +The origin of this suggestion was, as he informs us, that the colonists +had told him that, if license were given them to import a dozen negro +slaves each, they, the colonists, would then set free the Indians. And +so, recollecting that statement of the colonists, he added this +provision. Las Casas, writing his history in his old age, thus frankly +owns his error: "This advice, that license should be given to bring +negro slaves to these lands, the _clerigo_ Casas first gave, not +considering the injustice with which the Portuguese take them and make +them slaves; which advice, after he had apprehended the nature of the +thing, he would not have given for all he had in the world. For he +always held that they had been made slaves unjustly and tyrannically; +for the same reason holds good of them as of the Indians." The above +confession is delicately and truthfully worded--"not considering"; he +does not say, not being aware of; but though it was a matter known to +him, his moral sense was not watchful, as it were, about it. We must be +careful not to press the admissions of a generous mind too far, or to +exaggerate the importance of the suggestion of Las Casas. + +It would be quite erroneous to look upon this suggestion as being the +introduction of negro slavery. From the earliest times of the discovery +of America, negroes had been sent there. But what is of more +significance, and what it is strange that Las Casas was not aware of, or +did not mention, the Hieronymite Fathers[31] had also come to the +conclusion that negroes must be introduced into the West Indies. +Writing in January, 1518, when the fathers could not have known what was +passing in Spain in relation to this subject, they recommended licenses +to be given to the inhabitants of Espanola, or to other persons, to +bring negroes there. From the tenor of their letter it appears that they +had before recommended the same thing. Zuazo, the judge of residencia, +and the legal colleague of Las Casas, wrote to the same effect. He, +however, suggested that the negroes should be placed in settlements and +married. Fray Bernardino de Manzanedo, the Hieronymite father, sent over +to counteract Las Casas, gave the same advice as his brethren about the +introduction of negroes. He added a proviso, which does not appear in +their letter--perhaps it did exist in one of the earlier ones--that +there should be as many women as men sent over, or more. + +The suggestion of Las Casas was approved of by the Chancellor; and, +indeed, it is probable there was hardly a man of that time who would +have seen further than the excellent clerigo did. Las Casas was asked +what number of negroes would suffice? He replied that he did not know; +upon which a letter was sent to the officers of the India House at +Seville to ascertain the fit number in their opinion. They said that +four thousand at present would suffice, being one thousand for each of +the islands, Espanola, Porto Rico, Cuba, and Jamaica. Somebody now +suggested to the Governor, De Bresa, a Fleming of much influence and a +member of the council, that he should ask for this license to be given +to him. De Bresa accordingly asked the King for it, who granted his +request; and the Fleming sold this license to certain Genoese merchants +for twenty-five thousand ducats, having obtained from the King a pledge +that for eight years he should give no other license of this kind. + +The consequence of this monopoly enjoyed by the Genoese merchants was +that negroes were sold at a great price, of which there are frequent +complaints. Both Las Casas and Pasamonte--rarely found in +accord--suggested to the King that it would be better to pay the +twenty-five thousand ducats and resume the license, or to abridge its +term. Figueroa, writing to the Emperor from Santo Domingo in July, 1500, +says: "Negroes are very much in request; none have come for about a +year. It would have been better to have given De Bresa the customs +duties--_i.e._, the duties that had been usually paid on the importation +of slaves--than to have placed a prohibition." I have scarcely a doubt +that the immediate effect of the measure adopted in consequence of the +clerigo's suggestion was greatly to check that importation of negro +slaves which otherwise, had the license been general, would have been +very abundant. + +Before quitting this part of the subject, something must be said for Las +Casas which he does not allege for himself. This suggestion of his about +the negroes was not an isolated one. Had all his suggestions been +carried out, and the Indians thereby been preserved, as I firmly believe +they might have been, these negroes might have remained a very +insignificant number in the general population. By the destruction of +Indians a void in the laborious part of the community was being +constantly created, which had to be filled up by the labor of negroes. +The negroes could bear the labor in the mines much better than the +Indians; and any man who perceived that a race, of whose Christian +virtues and capabilities he thought highly, were fading away by reason +of being subjected to labor which their natures were incompetent to +endure, and which they were most unjustly condemned to, might prefer the +misery of the smaller number of another race treated with equal +injustice, but more capable of enduring it. I do not say that Las Casas +considered all these things; but, at any rate, in estimating his +conduct, we must recollect that we look at the matter centuries after it +occurred, and see all the extent of the evil arising from circumstances +which no man could then be expected to foresee, and which were +inconsistent with the rest of the clerigo's plans for the preservation +of the Indians. + +I suspect that the wisest among us would very likely have erred with +him; and I am not sure that, taking all his plans together, and taking +for granted, as he did then, that his influence at court was to last, +his suggestion about the negroes was an impolitic one. + +One more piece of advice Las Casas gave at this time, which, if it had +been adopted, would have been most serviceable. He proposed that forts +for mercantile purposes, containing about thirty persons, should be +erected at intervals along the coast of the _terra firma_, to traffic +with merchandise of Spain for gold, silver, and precious stones; and in +each of these ports ecclesiastics were to be placed, to undertake the +superintendence of spiritual matters. In this scheme may be seen an +anticipation of subsequent plans for commercial intercourse with Africa. +And, indeed, one is constantly reminded by the proceedings in those +times of what has occurred much later and under the auspices of other +nations. + +Of all these suggestions, some of them certainly excellent, the only +questionable one was at once adopted. Such is the irony of life. If we +may imagine superior beings looking on at the affairs of men, and +bearing some unperceived part of the great contest in the world, this +was a thing to have gladdened all the hosts of hell. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[31] Spanish monks, followers of St. Jerome (Hieronymus). + + + + +FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE + +MAGELLAN REACHES THE LADRONES AND PHILIPPINES + +A.D. 1519 + +JOAN BAUTISTA ANTONIO PIGAFETTA[32] + + Ferdinand Magellan, whose name in Portuguese was Fernao de + Magalhaes, was born in Portugal about 1480. After serving + with the Portuguese in the East Indies, 1505-1512, and in + Morocco, 1514, where during an action he was lamed for life, + he became disaffected toward his country, and in 1517 + renounced his allegiance and turned to Spain in hope of + better reward for his services. In conjunction with a + fellow-countryman, Ruy Faleiro, a geographer and astronomer, + he offered to find for Spain the Moluccas, in the Malay + Archipelago, and to prove that they were within the Spanish + and not the Portuguese lines of demarcation. The acceptance + of this proposal by the Emperor, Charles V, who was also + King of Spain, gave Magellan the opportunity, which he so + well improved, to immortalize his name in the annals of + maritime discovery. + + While the specific object of the expedition failed on + account of the leader's death, his performance made him + worthy, as some historians think, to be considered "the most + undaunted and in many respects the most extraordinary man + that ever traversed an unknown sea." + + A squadron of five ships with two hundred sixty-five men was + fitted out by the Emperor, and the two friends were named as + joint commanders, but Faleiro was afterward detached from + the expedition, leaving full command to Magellan, who sailed + from San Lucar, Spain, September 20, 1519, first touching at + Madeira. + + Magellan passed through the straits that bear his name and + so penetrated to the Pacific, that ocean being first so + called by him. He was the first European to reach it from + the Atlantic. Magellan was killed by natives in the + Philippines, April 27, 1521; but his ships continued their + course. One by one they were lost from the expedition, + except the Victoria, on which was Pigafetta, who wrote for + Charles V an account of the voyage. The Victoria returned to + Spain in September, 1522, completing the first + circumnavigation of the earth. Bautista was pilot and + afterward captain of the Trinidad, one of the lost vessels. + + In 1898 the Philippines and Guam, one of the Ladrones, were + acquired by the United States as a result of the + Spanish-American War. + + + +JOAN BAUTISTA + +Magellan steered to the southwest to make the island of Teneriffe, and +they reached the said island on the day of St. Michael, which was +September 29th. Thence he made his course to fetch the Cape Verd +Islands, and they passed between the islands and the cape without +sighting either the one or the other. Having to make for Brazil, and as +soon as they sighted the other coast of Brazil, he steered to the +southeast along the coast of Cape Frio, which is in 23 deg. south latitude; +and from this cape he steered to the west, a matter of thirty leagues, +to make the Rio Janeiro, which is in the same latitude as Cape Frio, and +they entered the said river on the day of St. Lucy, which was December +13th, in which place they took in wood, and they remained there until +the first octave of Christmas, which was December 26th of the same year. + +They sailed from this Rio de Janeiro on December 26th, and navigated +along the coast to make Cape of St. Mary, which is only 35 deg.; as soon as +they sighted it, they made their course west-northwest, thinking they +would find a passage for their voyage, and they found that they had got +into a great river of fresh water, to which they gave the name of River +St. Christopher, and it is in 34 deg., and they remained in it till February +2, 1520. + +He sailed from this river of St. Christopher on the 2d of the said month +of February; they navigated along the said coast, and farther on to the +south they discovered a point, which is in the same river more to the +south, to which they gave the name of Point St. Anthony; it is in 36 deg.; +hence they ran to the southwest a matter of twenty-five leagues, and +made another cape, which they named Cape St. Apelonia, which is in 36 deg.; +thence they navigated to the west-southwest to some shoals, which they +named Shoals of the Currents, which are in 39 deg.; and thence they +navigated out to the sea, and lost sight of land for a matter of two or +three days, when they again made for the land, and they came to a bay, +which they entered, and ran within it the whole day, thinking that there +was an outlet for Molucca; and when night came they found that it was +quite closed up, and in the same night they again stood out by the way +which they had come in. This bay is in 34 deg.; they named it the island of +St. Matthew. They navigated from this island of St. Matthew along the +coast until they reached another bay, where they caught many sea-wolves +and birds; to this they gave the name of Bay of Labors; it is in 37 deg.; +here they came near losing the flag-ship in a storm. Thence they +navigated along the said coast, and arrived on the last day of March of +the year 1520 at the port of St. Julian, which is in 49 deg.. Here they +wintered, and found the day a little more or less than seven hours. + +In this port three of the ships rose up against the captain-major, their +captains saying that they intended to take him to Castile in arrest, as +he was taking them all to destruction. Here, through the exertions of +the said captain-major, and the assistance and favor of the foreigners +whom he carried with him, the captain-major went to the said three ships +which were already mentioned, and there the captain of one of them was +killed, who was the treasurer of the whole fleet, and named Luis de +Mendoza; he was killed in his own ship by stabs with a dagger by the +chief constable of the fleet, who was sent to do this by Ferdinand +Magellan in a boat with certain men. The said three ships having thus +been recovered, five days later Ferdinand Magellan ordered Gaspar de +Quexixada to be decapitated and quartered; he was captain of one of the +ships and was one of those who had mutinied. + +In this port they refitted the ship. Here the captain-major made Alvaro +de Mesquita, a Portuguese, a captain of one of the ships the captain of +which had been killed. There sailed from this port on August 24th four +ships, for the smallest of the ships had been already lost; he had sent +it to reconnoitre, and the weather had been heavy and had cast it +ashore, where all the crew had been recovered along with the +merchandise, artillery, and fittings of the ship. They remained in this +port, in which they wintered, five months and twenty-four days, and they +were 70 deg. less ten minutes to the southward. + +They sailed on August 24th of the said year from this port of St. +Julian, and navigated a matter of twenty leagues along the coast, and so +they entered a river which was called Santa Cruz, which is in 50 deg., where +they took in goods and as much as they could obtain. The crew of the +lost ship were already distributed among the other ships, for they had +returned by land to where Ferdinand Magellan was, and they continued +collecting goods which had remained there during August and up to +September 18th, and there they took in water and much fish which they +caught in this river; and in the other, where they wintered, there were +people like savages, and the men are from nine to ten spans in height, +very well made; they have not got houses, they only go about from one +place to another with their flocks, and eat meat nearly raw. They are +all of them archers, and kill many animals with arrows, and with the +skins they make clothes, that is to say, they make the skins very +supple, and fashion them after the shape of the body, as well as they +can, then they cover themselves with them, and fasten them by a belt +round the waist. When they do not wish to be clothed from the waist +upward, they let that half fall which is above the waist, and the +garment remains hanging down from the belt which they have girt around +them. + +They wear shoes which cover them four inches above the ankle, full of +straw inside to keep their feet warm. They do not possess any iron, nor +any other ingenuity of weapons, only they make the points of their +arrows with flints, and so also the knives with which they cut, and the +adze and awls with which they cut and stitch their shoes and clothes. +They are very agile people and do no harm, and thus follow their flocks; +wherever night finds them, there they sleep; they carry their wives +along with them, with all the chattels they possess. The women are very +small and carry heavy burdens on their backs. They wear shoes and +clothes just like the men. Of these men they obtained three or four and +brought them in the ships, and they all died except one, who went to +Castile in a ship which went thither. + +They sailed from this river of Santa Cruz on October 18th: they +continued navigating along the coast until the 21st day of the same +month, October, when they discovered a cape, to which they gave the name +of Cape of the Virgins, because they sighted it on the day of the eleven +thousand virgins; it is in 52 deg., a little more or less, and from this +cape, a matter of two or three leagues' distance, we found ourselves at +the mouth of a strait. We sailed along the said coast within that +strait, which they had reached the mouth of: they entered in it a little +and anchored. Ferdinand Magellan sent to discover what there was +farther in, and they found three channels; that is to say, two more in a +southerly direction, and one traversing the country in the direction of +Molucca, but at that time this was not yet known, only the three mouths +were seen. + +The boats went thither, and brought back word, and they set sail and +anchored at these mouths of the channels, and Ferdinand Magellan sent +two ships to learn what there was within, and these ships went; one +returned to the captain-major, and the other, of which Alvaro de +Mesquita was captain, entered into one of the bays which was to the +south, and did not return any more. Ferdinand Magellan, seeing that it +did not come back, set sail, and the next day he did not choose to make +for the bays, and went to the south and took another which runs +northwest and southeast and a quarter west and east. He left letters in +the place from which he sailed, so that, if the other ship returned, it +might make the course which he left prescribed. + +After this they entered into the channel, which at some places had a +width of three leagues, and two, and one, and in some places half a +league, and he went through it as long as it was daylight, and anchored +when it was night: and he sent the boats, and the ships went after the +boats, and they brought news that there was an outlet, for they already +saw the great sea on the other side; on which account Ferdinand Magellan +ordered artillery to be fired for rejoicing; and before they set forth +from this strait they found two islands, the first one larger, and the +other, nearer toward the outlet, is the smaller one; and they went out +between these islands and the coast on the southern side, as it was +deeper than on the other side. + +This strait is a hundred leagues in length to the outlet; that outlet +and the entrance are in 52 deg. latitude. They made a stay in this strait +from October 21st to November 26th, which makes thirty-six days of the +said year of 1520, and as soon as they went out from the strait to the +sea they made their course, for the most part, to west-northwest, when +they found that their needles varied to the northwest almost one-half; +and after they had navigated thus for many days they found an island in +a little more or less than 18 deg. or 19 deg., and also another, which was in +from 13 deg. to 14 deg., and this in south latitude; they are uninhabited. + +They ran on until they reached the line, when Ferdinand Magellan said +that now they were in the neighborhood of Molucca, and that he would go +in a northerly direction as far as 10 deg. or 12 deg., and they reached to as +far as 13 deg. north, and in this latitude they navigated to the west and a +quarter southwest a matter of a hundred leagues, where on March 6, 1521, +they fetched two islands inhabited by many people of little truth; and +they did not take precautions against them until they saw that they were +taking away the skiff of the flag-ship, and they cut the rope with which +it was made fast, and took it ashore without their being able to prevent +it. They gave this island the name of Thieves' Island (_dos Ladroes_). + +Ferdinand Magellan, seeing that the skiff was lost, set sail, it being +already night, tacking about until the next day; as soon as it was +morning they anchored at the place where they had seen the skiff carried +to, and he ordered two boats to be got ready with a matter of fifty or +sixty men, and he went ashore in person and burned the whole village, +and they killed seven or eight persons, between men and women, and +recovered the skiff, and returned to the ships; and while they were +there they saw forty or fifty _paraos_ come from the same land, and +which brought much refreshments. + +Ferdinand Magellan would not make any further stay, and at once set +sail, and ordered the course to be steered west and a quarter southwest, +and so they made land, which is in barely 11 deg.. This land is an island, +but he would not touch at this one, and they went to touch at another +farther on which appeared first. Ferdinand Magellan sent a boat ashore +to observe the nature of the island; when the boat reached land, they +saw, from the ships, paraos come out from behind the point; then they +called back their boat. The people of the paraos, seeing that the boat +was returning to the ships, turned back the paraos, and the boat reached +the ships, which at once set sail for another island very near to this +island, which is 10 deg., and they gave it the name of the Island of Good +Signs, because they observed some gold in it. + +While they were thus anchored at this island there came to them two +paraos, and brought them fowls and cocoanuts, and told them they had +already seen there other men like them, from which they presumed that +these might be Lequios or Mogores, a nation of people who have this +name, or Chiis; and thence they set sail, and navigated farther on among +many islands, to which they gave the name of Valley without Peril, and +also St. Lazarus; and they ran on to another island twenty leagues from +that from which they sailed, which is in 10 deg., and came to anchor at +another island, which is named Macangor, which is in 9 deg.; and in this +island they were very well received, and they placed a cross in it. This +King conducted them thence a matter of thirty leagues to another island, +named Cabo, which is in 10 deg., and in this island Ferdinand Magellan did +what he pleased with the consent of the country, and in one day eight +hundred people became Christian, on which account Ferdinand Magellan +desired that the other kings, neighbors to this one, should become +subject to this one, who had become Christian; and these did not choose +to yield to such obedience. Ferdinand Magellan, seeing that, got ready +one night with his boats, and burned the villages of those who would not +yield the said obedience; and a matter of ten or twelve days after this +was done he sent to a village about half a league from that which he had +burned, which is named Matam, and which is also an island, and ordered +them to send him at once three goats, three pigs, three loads of rice, +and three loads of millet for provisions for the ship. They replied +that, of each article which he sent to ask them three of, they would +send him by twos, and if he was satisfied with this they would at once +comply; if not, it might be as he pleased, but that they would not give +it. Because they did not choose to grant what he demanded of them, +Ferdinand Magellan ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter of +fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on April +28th in the morning; there they found many people, who might well be as +many as three thousand or four thousand men, who fought with such will +that the said Ferdinand Magellan was killed there, with six of his men, +in the year 1521. + +When Ferdinand Magellan was dead the Christians got back to the ships, +where they thought fit to make two captains and governors whom they +should obey; and, having done this, they took counsel (and decided) +that the captains should go ashore where the people had turned +Christians, to ask for pilots to take them to Borneo, and this was on +May 1st of the said year. When the two captains went, being agreed upon +what had been said, the same people of the country who had become +Christians armed themselves against them, and killed the two captains +and twenty-six gentlemen; and the other people who remained got back to +the boats and returned to the ships, and, finding themselves again +without captains, they agreed, inasmuch as the principal persons were +killed, that one Joan Lopez, who was the chief treasurer, should be +captain-major of the fleet, and the chief constable of the fleet should +be captain of one of the ships. He was named Gonzalo Vas Despinosa. + +Having done this, they set sail, and ran about twenty-five leagues with +three ships, which they still possessed; they then mustered, and found +that they were altogether one hundred eight men in all these three +ships, and many of them were wounded and sick, on which account they did +not venture to navigate the three ships and thought it would be well to +burn one of them--the one that should be most suitable for that +purpose--and to take into the two ships those that remained: this they +did out at sea, out of sight of any land. While they did this many +paraos came to speak to them, and navigating among the islands, for in +that neighborhood there are a great many. They did not understand one +another, for they had no interpreter, for he had been killed with +Ferdinand Magellan. Sailing farther on among islets, they came to anchor +at an island which is named Carpyam, where there is gold enough, and +this island is in fully 8 deg.. + +While at anchor in this port of Carpyam they had speech with the +inhabitants of the island, and made peace with them, and Carvalho, who +was captain-major, gave them the boat of the ship which had been burned: +this island has three islets in the offing. Here they took in +refreshments, and sailed farther on to the west-southwest, and fell in +with another island, which is named Caram, and is in 11 deg.; from this they +went on farther to west-southwest, and fell in with a large island, and +ran along the coast of this island to the northeast, and reached as far +as 9 deg., where they went ashore one day, with the boats equipped to seek +for provisions, for in the ships there was now not more than eight days' +food. On reaching shore the inhabitants would not suffer them to land, +and shot at them with arrows of cane hardened in fire, so that they +returned to the ships. + +Seeing this, they agreed to go to another island, where they had had +some dealings, to see if they could get some provisions. Then they met +with a contrary wind, and, going about in the direction in which they +wished to go, they anchored, and while at anchor they saw people on +shore hailing them to go thither; they went there with the boats, and as +they were speaking to those people by signs, for they did not understand +each other otherwise, a man-at-arms, named Joan de Campos, told them to +let him go on shore, since there were no provisions in the ships, and it +might be that they would obtain some means of getting provisions, and +that, if the people killed him, they would not lose much with him, for +God would take thought of his soul; and also if he found provisions, and +if they did not kill him, he would find means for bringing them to the +ships: and they thought well of this. So he went on shore, and as soon +as he reached it the inhabitants received him and took him into the +interior the distance of a league, and when he was in the village all +the people came to see him, and they gave him food and entertained him +well, especially when they saw that he ate pigs' flesh, because in this +island they had dealings with the Moors of Borneo, and because the +country people were greedy they made them neither eat pigs nor bring +them up in the country. The country is called Dyguacam and is in 9 deg.. + +The said Christian, seeing that he was favored and well treated by the +inhabitants, gave them to understand by his signs that they should carry +provisions to the ships, which would be well paid for. In the country +there was nothing except rice not pounded. Then the people set to +pounding rice all the night, and when it was morning they took the rice +and the said Christian and came to the ships, where they did them great +honor, and took in the rice and paid them, and they returned on shore. +This man being already set on shore, inhabitants of another village a +little farther on came to the ships and told them they would give them +much provisions for their money; and as soon as the said man whom they +had sent arrived, they set sail and went to anchor at the village of +those who had come to call them, which was named Vay Palay Cucar a +Canbam, where Carvalho made peace with the King of the country, and they +settled the price of rice, and they gave them two measures of rice, +which weighed one hundred fourteen pounds, for three fathoms of linen +stuff of Britanny; they took there as much rice as they wanted, and +goats and pigs; and while they were at this place there came a Moor, who +had been in the village of Dyguacam, which belongs to the Moors of +Borneo, as had been said above, and after that he went to his country. + +While they were at anchor at this village of Dyguacam, there came to +them a parao in which there was a negro named Bastiam, who asked for a +flag and a passport for the Governor of Dyguacam, and they gave him all +this and other things for a present. They asked the said Bastiam, who +spoke Portuguese sufficiently well, since he had been in Molucca, where +he had become a Christian, if he would go with them and show them +Borneo; he said he would be very willing, and when the departure arrived +he hid himself, and, seeing that he did not come, they set sail from +this port of Dyguacam on July 21st to seek for Borneo. As they set sail +there came to them a parao, which was coming to the port of Dyguacam, +and they took it, and in it they took three Moors, who said they were +pilots and that they would take them to Borneo. + +Having got these Moors, they steered along this island to the southwest, +and fell in with two islands at its extremity, and passed between them; +that on the north side is named Bolyna, and that on the south Bamdym. +Sailing to the west-southwest a matter of fourteen leagues, they fell in +with a white bottom, which was a shoal below the water; and the black +men they carried with them told them to draw near to the coast of the +island, as it was deeper there, and that was more in the direction of +Borneo, for from that neighborhood the island of Borneo could already be +sighted. This same day they reached and anchored at some islands, to +which they gave the name of islets of St. Paul, which was a matter of +two and a half or three leagues from the great island of Borneo, and +they were in about 7 deg. at the south side of these islands. In the island +of Borneo there is an exceedingly big mountain to which they gave the +name of Mount St. Paul; and from thence they navigated along the coast +of Borneo to the southwest, between an island and the island of Borneo +itself; and they went forward on the same course and reached the +neighborhood of Borneo, and the Moors they had with them told them that +there was no Borneo, and the wind did not suffer them to arrive thither, +as it was contrary. They anchored at an island which is there, and which +may be eight leagues from Borneo. + +Close to this island is another which has many Myrobalans, and the next +day they set sail for the other island, which is nearer to the port of +Borneo; and going along thus they saw so many shoals that they anchored +and sent the boats ashore in Borneo, and they took the aforesaid Moorish +pilots on shore, and there went a Christian with them; and the boats +went to set them on land, from whence they had to go to the city of +Borneo, which was three leagues off, and there they were taken before +the Shahbender of Borneo, and he asked what people they were, and for +what they came in the ships; and they were presented to the King of +Borneo with the Christian. As soon as the boats had set the said men on +shore, they sounded, in order to see if the ships should come in closer; +and during this they saw three junks which were coming from the port of +Borneo--from the said city--out to sea, and as soon as they saw the +ships they returned inshore; continuing to sound, they found the channel +by which the port is entered; then they set sail, and entered this +channel, and being within the channel they anchored, and would not go +farther in until they received a message from the shore, which arrived +next day with two paraos: these carried certain swivel guns of metal, +and a hundred men in each parao, and they brought goats and fowls and +two cows, and figs and other fruit, and told them to enter farther in +opposite the islands which were near there, which was the true berth; +and from this position to the city there might be three or four leagues. +While thus at anchor they established peace, and settled that they +should trade in what there was in the country, especially wax, to which +they answered that they would be willing to sell all that there was in +the country for their money. This port of Borneo is in 8 deg.. + +For the answer thus received from the King they sent him a present by +Gonzalo Mendes Despinosa, captain of the ship Victoria, and the King +accepted the present, and gave to all of them China stuffs; and when +there had passed twenty or twenty-three days that they were there +trading with the people on the island, and had got five men on shore in +the city itself, there came to anchor at the bar, close to them, five +junks, at the hour of vespers, and they remained there that evening and +the night until next day in the morning, when they saw coming from the +city two hundred paraos, some under sail, others rowing. Seeing in this +manner the five junks and the paraos, it seemed to them that there might +be treachery, and they set sail for the junks, and as soon as the crews +of the junks saw them under sail, they also set sail and made off where +the wind best served them; and they overhauled one of the junks with +boats, and took it with twenty-seven men; and the ships went and +anchored abreast off the Island of the Myrobalans, with the junk made +fast to the poop of the flag-ship, and the paraos returned to the shore, +and when night came there came a squall from the west in which the said +junk went to the bottom alongside the flag-ship, without being able to +receive any assistance from it whatever. + +Next day, in the morning, they saw a sail, and went to it and took it. +This was a great junk in which the son of the King of Lucam came as +captain, and had with him ninety men; and as soon as they took them they +sent some of them to the King of Borneo; and they sent him word by these +men to send the Christians whom they had got there, who were seven men, +and they would give him all the people they had taken in the junk; on +which account the King sent two men of seven whom he had got there in a +parao, and they again sent him word to send the five men who still +remained, and they would send all the people they had got from the junk. +They waited two days for the answer, and there came no message; and they +took thirty men from the junk, and sent them to the King of Borneo, and +set sail with fourteen men of those they had taken and three women; and +they steered along the coast of the said island to the northeast, +returning backward, and they again passed between the islands and the +great island of Borneo, where the flag-ship grounded on a point of the +island, and so remained more than four hours, and the tide turned and +it got off, by which it was seen clearly that the tide was of +twenty-four hours. + +While making the aforesaid course the wind shifted to northeast, and +they stood out to sea, and they saw a sail coming, and the ships +anchored and the boats went to it and took it. It was a small junk and +carried nothing but cocoanuts; and they took in water and wood, and set +sail along the coast of the island to the northeast, until they reached +the extremity of the said island, and met with another small island, +where they overhauled the ships, and they gave it the name of Port St. +Mary of August, and it is in fully 7 deg.. + +As soon as they had taken these precautions they set sail and steered to +the southwest until they sighted the island, which is called Fagajam, +and this is a course of thirty-eight to forty leagues; and as soon as +they sighted this island they steered to the southwest, and again made +an island which is called Seloque, and they had information that there +were many pearls there; and when they had already sighted the island the +wind shifted to a head wind, and they could not fetch it by the course +they were sailing, and it seemed to them that it might be in 6 deg.. This +same night they arrived at the island of Quipe, and ran along it to the +southeast, and passed between it and another island called Tamgym; and +always running along the coast of the said island, and going thus, they +fell in with a parao laden with sago leaves (which is of a tree which is +named _cajare_), which the people of that country eat as bread. The +parao carried twenty-one men, and the chief of them had been in Molucca, +in the house of Francisco Semrryn; this was in 5 deg., a little more or +less. The inhabitants of this land came to see the ships, and so they +had speech of one another, and an old man of these people said he would +conduct them to Molucca. + +In this manner, having fixed a time with the old man, an agreement was +made with him, and they gave him a certain price for this; and when the +next day came, and they were to depart, the old man intended to escape, +and they understood it, and took him and others who were with him, and +who also said that they knew pilots' work, and they set sail; and as +soon as the inhabitants saw them go, they fitted out to go after them; +and of the paraos, there did not reach the ships more than two, and +these reached so near that they shot arrows into the ships, and the wind +was fresh and they could not come up with them. At midnight of that day +they sighted some islands, and they steered more toward them; and next +day they saw land, which was an island; and at night following that day +they found themselves very close to it, and when night fell the wind +calmed and the currents drew them very much inshore; there the old pilot +cast himself into the sea and betook himself to land. + +Sailing thus forward, after one of the pilots had fled, they sighted +another island and arrived close to it, and another Moorish pilot said +that Molucca was still farther on; and navigating thus, the next day in +the morning they sighted three high mountains, which belonged to a +nation of people whom they called Salabos; and then they saw a small +island and they anchored to take in some water, because they feared that +in Molucca they would not be allowed to take it in; and they omitted +doing so because the Moorish pilot told them that there were some four +hundred in that island, and that they were all very bad, and might do +them some injury, as they were men of little faith; and that he would +give them no such advice as to go to that island; and also because +Molucca, which they were seeking, was now near, and that its kings were +good men, who gave a good reception to all sorts of men in their +country; and while still in this neighborhood they saw the islands +themselves of Molucca, and for rejoicing they fired all the artillery, +and they arrived at the island on November 8, 1521, so that they spent +from Spain to Molucca two years and two months. + +As soon as they arrived at the island of Tydor, which is in 30', the +King thereof did them great honor, which could not be exceeded. There +they treated with the King for their cargo, and the King engaged to give +them whatever there was in the country for their money, and they settled +to give for the bahar of cloves fourteen ells of yellow cloth of +seventy-seven tem, which are worth in Castile a ducat the ell; of red +cloth of the same kind ten ells; they also gave thirty ells of Britanny +linen cloth, and for each of these quantities they received a bahar of +cloves; likewise for thirty knives, eight bahars. Having thus settled +all the above mentioned prices, the inhabitants of the country gave them +information that farther on, in another island near, there was a +Portuguese man. This island might be two leagues distant, and it was +named Targatell. This man was the chief person of Molucca; there we now +have got a fortress. They then wrote letters to the said Portuguese to +come and speak with them, to which he answered that he did not dare, +because the King of the country forbade it; that if they obtained +permission from the King he would come at once. This permission they +soon got, and the Portuguese came to speak with them. + +They gave him an account of the prices which they had settled, at which +he was amazed, and said on that account the King had ordered him not to +come, as they did not know the truth about the prices of the country; +and while they were thus taking in cargo there arrived the King of +Baraham, which is near there, and said that he wished to be a vassal of +the King of Castile, and also that he had got four hundred bahars of +cloves, and that he had sold them to the King of Portugal, and that they +had bought it, but that he had not yet delivered it; and if they wished +for it, he would give it all to them; to which the captains answered +that if he brought it to them, and came with it, they would buy it, but +not otherwise. The King, seeing that they did not wish to take the +cloves, asked them for a flag and a letter of safe-conduct, which they +gave him, signed by the captains of the ships. + +While they were thus waiting for the cargo, it seemed to them, from the +delay in delivery, that the King was preparing some treachery against +them, and the greater part of the ships' crews made an uproar and told +the captains to go, as the delays which the King made were for nothing +else than treachery: as it seemed to them all that it might be so, they +were abandoning everything and were intending to depart; and being about +to unfurl the sails, the King, who had made the agreement with them, +came to the flag-ship and asked the captain why he wanted to go, because +that which he had agreed upon with him he intended to fulfil it as had +been settled. The captain replied that the ships' crews said they should +go and not remain any longer, as it was only treachery that was being +prepared against them. To this the King answered that it was not so, and +on that account he at once sent for his _Koran_, upon which he wished +to make oath that nothing should be done to them. They at once brought +him his _Koran_, and upon it he made oath, and told them to rest at ease +with that. At this the crews were set at rest, and he promised them that +he would give them their cargo by December 15, 1521, which he fulfilled +within the said time, without being wanting in anything. + +When the two ships were already laden and about to unfurl their sails, +the flag-ship sprung a large leak, and, the King of the country learning +this, he sent them twenty-five divers to stop the leak, which they were +unable to do. They settled that the other ship should depart, and that +this one should again discharge all its cargo and unload it; and as they +could not stop the leak, the King promised that they, the people of the +country, should give them all that they might be in need of. This was +done, and they discharged the cargo of the flag-ship; and when the said +ship was repaired, they took in her cargo, and decided on making for the +country of the Antilles, and the course from Molucca to it was two +thousand leagues, a little more or less. The other ship, which set sail +first, left on December of the said year, and went out to sea for the +Timor, and made its course behind Java, two thousand fifty-five leagues, +to the Cape of Good Hope. + + +ANTONIO PIGAFETTA + +In order to double the Cape of Good Hope, we went as far as 42 deg. south +latitude, and we remained off that cape for nine weeks, with the sails +struck, on account of the western and northwestern gales, which beat +against our bows with fierce squalls. The Cape of Good Hope is in 34 deg. +30' south latitude, sixteen hundred leagues distant from Cape of +Molucca, and it is the largest and most dangerous cape in the world. + +Some of our men, and among them the sick, would have liked to land at a +place belonging to the Portuguese called Mozambique, both because the +ship made much water and because of the great cold which we suffered; +and much more because we had nothing but rice-water for food and drink, +all the meat of which we had made provision having putrefied, for the +want of salt had not permitted us to salt it. But the greater number of +us, prizing honor more than life itself, decided on attempting at any +risk to return to Spain. + +At length, by the aid of God, on the 6th of May, we passed the terrible +cape, but we were obliged to approach it within only five leagues' +distance, or else we should never have passed it. We then sailed toward +the northwest for two whole months without ever taking rest; and in this +short time we lost twenty-one men, between Christians and Indians. We +made then a curious observation on throwing them into the sea; that was +that the Christian remained with the face turned to the sky, and the +Indians with the face turned to the sea. If God had not granted us +favorable weather, we should all have perished of hunger. + +Constrained by extreme necessity, we decided on touching at the Cape +Verd island named St. James. Knowing that we were in an enemy's country +and among suspicious persons, on sending the boat ashore to get +provision of victuals, we charged the seamen to say to the Portuguese +that we had sprung our foremast under the equinoctial line--although +this misfortune had happened at the Cape of Good Hope--and that our ship +was alone, because while we tried to repair it our captain-general had +gone with the other two ships to Spain. With these good words, and +giving our merchandise in exchange, we obtained two boat-loads of rice. + +In order to see whether we had kept an exact account of the days, we +charged those who went ashore to ask what day of the week it was, and +they were told by the Portuguese inhabitants of the island that it was +Thursday, which was a great cause of wondering to us, since with us it +was only Wednesday. We could not persuade ourselves that we were +mistaken; and I was more surprised than the others, since, having always +been in good health, I had every day, without intermission, written down +the day that was current. But we were afterward advised that there was +no error on our part, since, as we had always sailed toward the west, +following the course of the sun, and had returned to the same place, we +must have gained twenty-four hours, as it is clear to anyone who +reflects upon it. + +The boat, having returned for rice a second time to the shore, was +detained with thirteen men who were in it. As we saw that, and, from the +movement in certain caravels, suspected that they might wish to capture +us and our ship, we at once set sail. We afterward learned, some time +after our return, that our boat and men had been arrested, because one +of our men had discovered the deception and said that the +captain-general was dead, and that our ship was the only one remaining +of Magellan's fleet. + +At last, when it pleased heaven, on Saturday, September 6, 1522, we +entered the Bay of San Lucar; and of sixty men who composed our crew +when we left Molucca, we were reduced to only eighteen, and these for +the most part sick. Of the others, some died of hunger, some had run +away at the island of Timor, and some had been condemned to death for +their crimes. + +From the day when we left this Bay of San Lucar until our return +thither, we reckoned that we had run more than fourteen thousand four +hundred sixty leagues, and we had completed going round the earth from +east to west. + +Monday, September 8th, we cast anchor near the mole of Seville, and +discharged all the artillery. + +Tuesday we all went in shirts and barefoot, with a taper in our hands, +to visit the shrine of Santa Maria de Antigua. + +Then leaving Seville, I went to Valladolid, where I presented to his +sacred majesty Don Carlos neither gold nor silver, but things more +precious in the eyes of so great a sovereign. I presented to him, among +other things, a book written by my hand of all the things that occurred +day by day in our voyage. I departed thence as I was best able and went +to Portugal, and related to King John the things which I had seen. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[32] Translated by Lord Stanley of Alderley. + + + + +THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD + +A.D. 1520 + +J. S. BREWER + + From the magnificence of the preparations made for the + famous meeting described in the following pages, the plain + on which it took place, between Guines and Ardres, France, + received the name of the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." + + The meeting of the two kings, Henry VIII of England and + Francis I of France, was brought about by circumstances + connected with the rivalry between Francis and the emperor + Charles V. The enmity of the two latter and their repeated + wars form a principal subject of European history during + many years. + + Francis came to the throne in 1515, and the first four years + of his reign were marked by brilliant successes, which + brought him fame as a ruler and a warrior. But in 1519 he + was an unsuccessful candidate for the imperial dignity, and + Charles, being preferred before him, became emperor of the + Holy Roman Empire. + + Great was the mortification of Francis and he soon after + declared war against his rival. Both sought the alliance of + Henry VIII, and in hopes of securing his friendship, and + thereby preventing a union of the Emperor and the English + King against himself, Francis arranged the meeting so + brilliantly pictured by Brewer. But Francis, by overdoing + this gorgeous reception, gave offence to Henry, whom he + seemed to eclipse in magnificence. Meanwhile Charles, + anticipating the interview, had visited Henry in England, + and by his more politic address he secured the favor both of + the English monarch and his great minister, Cardinal Wolsey. + + +Situated in a flat and uninviting plain--poor and barren, as the +uncultivated border-land of the two kingdoms--Guines and its castle +offered little attraction, and if possible less accommodation, to the +gay throng now to be gathered within its walls. Its weedy moat and +dismantled battlements, "its keep too ruinous to mend," defied the +efforts of carpenters and bricklayers, as the English commissioners +pathetically complained; and could not by any artifice or contrivance be +made to assume the appearance of a formidable, or even a respectable, +fortress to friend or enemy. But on the castle green, within the limits +of a few weeks, and in the face of great difficulties, the English +artists of that day contrived a summer palace, more like a vision of +romance, the creation of some fairy dream--if the accounts of +eye-witnesses of all classes may be trusted--than the dull, every-day +reality of clay-born bricks and mortar. + +No "palace of art" in these beclouded climates of the West ever so truly +deserved its name. As if the imagination of the age, pent up in wretched +alleys and narrow dwelling-houses, had resolved for once to throw off +its ordinary trammels and recompense itself for its long restraint, it +prepared to realize those visions of enchanted bowers and ancient +pageantry on which it had fed so long in the fictions and romances of +the Middle Ages. I have thought it worth while to notice so much of the +details as will enable the reader to form some slight conception for +himself of this scene of enchantment which the genius of the age had +contrived for its own amusement. + +The palace was an exact square of three hundred twenty-eight feet. It +was pierced on every side with oriel windows and clear-stories curiously +glazed, the mullions and posts of which were overlaid with gold. An +embattled gate, ornamented on both sides with statues representing men +in various attitudes of war, and flanked by an embattled tower, guarded +the entrance. From this gate to the entrance of the palace arose in long +ascent a sloping dais or half pace, along which were grouped "images of +sore and terrible countenances," in armor of argentine or bright metal. +At the entrance, under an embowed landing-place, facing the great doors, +stood "antique" (classical) figures girt with olive branches. The +passages, the roofs of the galleries from place to place and from +chamber to chamber, were ceiled and covered with white silk, fluted and +embowed with silken hanging of divers colors and braided cloths, "which +showed like bullions of fine burnished gold." The roofs of the chambers +were studded with roses, set in lozenges, and diapered on a ground of +fine gold. Panels enriched with antique carving and gilt bosses covered +the spaces between the windows; while along all the corridors and from +every window hung tapestry of silk and gold, embroidered with figures. +Chairs covered with cushions of turkey-work, cloths of estate, of +various shapes and sizes, overlaid with golden tissue and rich +embroidery, ornamented the state apartments. The square on every side +was decorated with equal richness, and blazed with the same profusion of +glass, gold, and ornamental hangings; and "every quarter of it, even the +least, was a habitation fit for a prince," says Fleuranges, who had +examined it with the critical eye of a rival and a Frenchman. + +To the palace was attached a spacious chapel, still more sumptuously +adorned. Its altars were hung with cloth of gold tissue embroidered with +pearls; cloth of gold covered the walls and desks. Basins, censers, +cruets, and other vessels, of the same precious materials, lent their +lustre to its services. On the high altar, shaded by a magnificent +canopy of immense proportions, stood enormous candlesticks and other +ornaments of gold. Twelve golden images of the apostles, as large as +children of four years old, astonished the eyes of the spectator. The +copes and vestments of the officiating clergy were cloth of tissue +powdered with red roses, brought from the looms of Florence, and woven +in one piece, thickly studded with gold and jewelry. No less profusion +might be seen in the two closets left apart for the King and the Queen. +Images and sacred vessels of solid gold, in gold cloth, cumbrous with +pearls and precious stones, attested the rank, the magnificence, and +devotion of the occupants. The ceilings of these closets were gilded and +painted; the hangings were of tapestry embroidered with fretwork of +pearls and gems. The chapel was served by thirty-five priests and a +proportionate number of singing-boys. + +From the palace a secret gallery led into a private apartment in Guines +castle, along which the royal visitors could pass and repass at +pleasure. + +The King was attended by squires of the body, sewers, gentlemen-ushers, +grooms and pages of the chamber, for all of whom suitable accommodation +had to be provided. The lord chamberlain, the lord steward, the lord +treasurer of the household, the comptroller, with their numerous staffs, +had to be lodged in apartments adapted to their rank and services. As it +was one great object of the interview to entertain all comers with +masques and banquetings of the most sumptuous kind, the mere rank and +file of inferior officers and servants formed a colony of themselves. +The bakehouse, pantry, cellar, buttery, kitchen, larder, accatry, were +amply provided with ovens, ranges, and culinary requirements, to say +nothing of the stables, the troops of grooms, farriers, saddlers, +stirrup-makers, furbishers, and footmen. Upward of two hundred +attendants were employed in and about the kitchen alone. + +Outside the palace gate, on the greensward, stood a quiet fountain, of +antique workmanship, with a statue of Bacchus "birlyng the wine." Three +runlets, fed by secret conduits hid beneath the earth, spouted claret, +hypocras, and water into as many silver cups, to quench the thirst of +all comers. On the opposite side was a pillar wreathed in gold, and +supported by four gilt lions; and on the top stood an image of blind +Cupid, armed with bow and arrows. The gate itself, built in massive +style, was pierced with loop-holes. Its windows and recesses were filled +with images of Hercules, Alexander, and other ancient worthies, richly +gilt and painted. In long array, in the plain beyond, twenty-eight +hundred tents stretched their white canvas before the eyes of the +spectator, gay with the pennons, badges, and devices of the various +occupants; while miscellaneous followers, in tens of thousands, +attracted by profit or the novelty of the scene, camped on the grass and +filled the surrounding slopes, in spite of the severity of +provost-marshal and reiterated threats of mutilation and chastisement. +Multitudes from the French frontiers, or the populous cities of +Flanders, indifferent to the political significance of the scene, +swarmed from their dingy homes to gaze on kings, queens, knights, and +ladies dressed in their utmost splendor. Beggars, itinerant minstrels, +venders of provisions and small luxuries, mixed with wagoners, +ploughmen, laborers, and the motley troop of camp-followers, crowded +round, or stretched themselves beneath the summer's sun on bundles of +straw and grass, in drunken idleness. No better lodging awaited many a +gay knight and lady who had travelled far to be present at the +spectacle, and were obliged to content themselves with such open-air +accommodation. Backward and forward surged the excited and unwieldy +crowd, as every hour brought its fresh contingent of curiosity or +criticism in the shape of some new-comer conspicuous for his fantastic +bearing or the quaint fashion of his armor. Each new candidate for the +love and honor of the ladies, for popular applause, or less noble +objects, was greeted with shouts and acclamations as he succeeded in +distinguishing himself from the throng by the strangeness or splendor of +his appointments. Christendom had never witnessed such a scene. The +fantastic usages of the courts of Love and Beauty were revived once +more. The Mediaeval Age had gathered up its departing energies for this +last display of its favorite pastime--henceforth to be consigned, +without regret, to "the mouldered lodges of the past." + +At the time that Henry set sail for Calais, Francis started from +Montreuil for Ardres. It was a meagre old town, long since in ruins, the +fosses and castle of which had been hastily repaired. He was attended on +his route by a vast and motley multitude. No less than ten thousand of +this poor vagrant crew were compelled to turn back, by a proclamation +ordering that no person, without special permission, should approach +within two leagues of the King's train, "on pain of the halter." As the +French had proposed that both parties should lodge in tents erected on +the field, they had prepared numerous pavilions, fitted up with halls, +galleries, and chambers, ornamented within and without with gold and +silver tissue. Amid golden balls and quaint devices glittering in the +sun, rose a gilt figure of St. Michael, conspicuous for his blue mantle +powdered with golden _fleurs-de-lis_, and crowning a royal pavilion, of +vast dimensions, supported by a single mast. In his right hand he held a +dart, in his left a shield emblazoned with the arms of France. Inside, +the roof of the pavilion represented the canopy of heaven, ornamented +with stars and figures of the zodiac. The lodgings of the Queen, of the +Duchess of Alencon, the King's favorite sister, and of other ladies and +princes of the blood were covered with cloth of gold. The rest of the +tents, to the number of three hundred or four hundred, emblazoned with +the arms of the owners, were pitched on the banks of a small river +outside the city walls. A large house in the town, built for the +occasion, served as a place of reception for royal visitors. + +From June 4, 1520, when Henry first entered Guines, the festivities +continued with unabated splendor for twenty days. They were opened by a +visit of Wolsey to the French King, and gave the Cardinal an opportunity +for displaying his love of magnificence, not unaptly reckoned by poets +and philosophers as the nearest virtue to magnanimity. A hundred +archers of the guard, followed by fifty gentlemen of his household, +clothed in crimson velvet with chains of gold, bareheaded, bonnet in +hand, and mounted on magnificent horses richly caparisoned, led the way. +After them came fifty gentlemen ushers, also bareheaded, carrying gold +maces with knobs as big as a man's head; next a cross-bearer in scarlet, +supporting a crucifix adorned with precious stones. Then four lackeys +followed, with gilt batons and pole-axes, in paletots of crimson velvet, +their bonnets in hand adorned with plumes, their coats ornamented before +and behind with the Cardinal's badge in goldsmith's work. Lastly came +the Legate himself, mounted on a barded mule trapped in crimson velvet, +with gold front-stalls, studs, buckles, and stirrups. Over a chimere of +figured crimson velvet he wore a fine linen rochet. Bishops and other +ecclesiastics succeeded, and the whole procession was brought up by +fifty archers of the King's guard, their bows bent, their quivers at +their sides, their jackets of red cloth adorned with a gold rose before +and behind. + +In this state the procession approached the town of Ardres. Arrived at +the King's lodgings Wolsey dismounted, amid the roar of artillery and +the sound of drums, trumpets, fifes, and other instruments of music. He +was received by the King of France, bonnet in hand, with the greatest +demonstrations of affection. The visit was returned next day by the +French. These ceremonies were preliminary to the meeting of the two +sovereigns on Thursday, June 7th. On that day, the King of England, +apparelled in cloth of silver damask, thickly ribbed with cloth of gold, +and mounted on a charger arrayed in the most dazzling trappings overlaid +with fine gold and curiously wrought in mosaic, advanced toward the +valley of Ardres. No man, from personal inclinations or personal +qualities, was better calculated to sustain his part in a brilliant +ceremonial such as then struck the eyes of the spectators. An admirable +horseman, tall and muscular, slightly inclined to corpulence, with a red +beard and ruddy countenance, Henry VIII was at this time, by the +admission of his rivals, the most comely and commanding prince of his +age. Closely attending on the King was Sir Henry Guilford, the master of +the horse, leading a spare charger, not less splendidly arrayed in +trappings of fine gold wrought in ciphers, with headstall, reins, and +saddle of the same material. Nine henchmen followed in cloth of tissue, +the harness of their horses covered with gold scales. In front rode the +old Marquis of Dorset, bearing the sword of estate before the King; +behind came the Cardinal, the Dukes of Buckingham and Suffolk, with the +Earl of Shrewsbury and others. + +A shot fired from the castle of Guines, and responded to by a shot from +the castle of Ardre, gave warning that the two princes were ready to set +forward. As Henry advanced toward the valley with all his company in +military array, the French King might be descried on the opposite hill +with his dazzling company, in dress, deportment, and the splendor of his +retinue not less glorious or conspicuous than his rival. Over a short +cassock of gold frieze he wore a mantle of cloth of gold covered with +jewels. The front and the sleeves were studded with diamonds, rubies, +emeralds, and large loose-hanging pearls; on his head he wore a velvet +bonnet adorned with plumes and precious stones. Far in advance rode the +provost-marshal with his archers to clear the ground. Then followed the +marshals of the army in cloth of gold, their orders about their necks, +mounted on horses covered with gold trappings; next the grand master, +the princes of the blood, and the King of Navarre. After them came the +Swiss guard on foot, in new liveries, with their drums, flutes, +trumpets, clarions, and hautboys; then the gentlemen of the household; +and immediately preceding the King was the grand constable, Bourbon, +bearing the sword naked, and the _grand ecuyer_, with the sword of +France, powdered with gold fleurs-de-lis. + +As the two companies approached each other, there was a momentary pause. +The French watched with some jealousy the close array of the English +footmen, who, stretched in a long line on the King's left, marched step +for step with all the solemn gravity of their nation, as if they were +rather preparing for battle than pastime, while, on the other side, the +superior numbers of the French awakened the national jealousy of the +Englishmen. "Sir, ye be my king and sovereign," broke in the lord +Abergavenny in breathless haste; "wherefore, above all I am bound to +show you truth, and not to let [stop] for none. I have been in the +French party, and they may be more in number; double so many as ye be." +Then spoke up the Earl of Shrewsbury, "Sire, whatever my lord of +Abergavenny sayeth, I myself have been there, and the Frenchmen be more +in fear of you and your subjects than your subjects be of them. +Wherefore," said the Earl, "if I were worthy to give counsel, your grace +should march forward." "So we intend, my lord," replied the King. "On +afore, my masters!" shouted the officers of arms; and the whole company +halted, face foremost, close by the valley of Ardres. + +A minute's pause--a breathless silence, followed by a slight stir on +both sides. Then from the dense array of cloth of gold, silver, and +jewelry, of white plumes and waving pennons, amid the acclamations of +myriads of spectators on the surrounding hills, and the shrill burst of +pipes, trumpets, and clarions, two horsemen were seen to emerge, and, in +the sight of both nations, slowly descend into the valley from opposite +sides. These were the two sovereigns. As they approached nearer they +spurred their horses to a gallop; then, uncovering, embraced each other +on horseback, and, after dismounting, embraced again. While the two +sovereigns proceeded arm in arm to a rich pavilion--which no one else +was allowed to enter, except Wolsey on one side and the Admiral of +France on the other--the officers on both sides, intermingling their +ranks, made good cheer, and toasted each other in broken French and +English, "Bons amys, French and English!" + +Friday and Saturday were occupied in preparing the field for the +tournament. The lists, nine hundred feet in length and three hundred +twenty feet broad, were pitched on a rising ground in the territory of +Guines, about half way between Guines and Ardres. Galleries hung with +tapestry surrounded the enclosure, and on the right side, in the place +of honor, were two glazed chambers for the two Queens. A deep foss +served to keep off the crowd. The entrances were guarded by twelve +French and twelve English archers; and at the foot of the lists, under a +triumphal arch, stood the _perron_, or tree of nobility, from which the +shields of the two Kings were suspended on a higher line than those of +the other challengers and answerers. The perron for Henry VIII was +formed of a hawthorn; and for Francis I a raspberry (_framboisier_), in +supposed allusion to his name. Cloth of gold served for the trunk and +dried leaves; the foliage was of green silk; the flowers and fruits of +silver and Venetian gold. Under the tree, which measured in compass not +less than one hundred twenty-nine feet, the heralds took their stand on +an artificial mound, surrounded by railings of green damask. + +On Sunday, while the French King dined at Guines with the Queen of +England, the English King dined with the French Queen and the Duchess of +Alencon at Ardres. On arriving at the Queen's lodgings, Henry was +received by Louis of Savoy and a bevy of ladies magnificently dressed. +Passing slowly through their ranks, in leisurely admiration of their +charms, he reached the apartment where the Queen attended his coming. As +he made his reverence to the Queen, she rose from her chair of state to +meet him. Kneeling with one knee on the ground, his bonnet in his hand, +he first kissed the Queen, next Madame, then the Duchess of Alencon, and +finally all the princesses and ladies of the company. This done, dinner +was announced. At the third service, Mountjoy's herald entered with a +great golden goblet, crying in the name of the King of England, "Largess +to the most high, mighty, and excellent prince, Henry, King of England, +etc. Largess, largess!" The banquet ended at five in the evening, when +the King took his leave. To display his skill before the ladies, he set +spurs to his horse, making it bound and curvet "as valiantly as any man +could do." + +The jousts commenced on Monday, the 11th. The rules adopted to secure +fair play and guard against accidents may be read by those curious in +such matters in the original black-letter _Ordonnance_, printed at the +time. + +On the first day the Kings of England and France, with their aids, held +the lists against all comers; and, with the exception of Wednesday, when +the wind was too high, the jousts continued without interruption +throughout the week. On Sunday, the two Kings exchanged hospitality as +before. On this occasion, Francis, dropping all reserve, visited the +King of England before eight in the morning, attended by four companions +only, and, entering his apartment without ceremony, embraced him as he +was seated at breakfast. The jousts were concluded in the following +week, with a solemn mass sung by the Cardinal in a chapel erected on the +field. The arrangements observed on this occasion, not less elaborate +than those by which the feats of arms were regulated, may be read in the +same volume as the _Ordonnance_. Here, as in the ceremonial of the +lists, the spirit of chivalry reigned triumphant. When the Cardinal of +Bourbon, according to the usages of the time, presented the Gospel to +the French King to kiss, Francis, declining, commanded it to be offered +to the King of England, who was too well bred to accept the honor. When +the _Pax_ was presented at the _Agnus Dei_, the two sovereigns repeated +the same mannerly breeding. The two Queens were equally ceremonious. +After a polite altercation of some minutes, when neither would decide +who should be the first to kiss the _Pax_, woman-like they kissed each +other instead. A sermon in Latin, enlarging on the blessings of peace, +was delivered by Pace at the close of the service; and a salamander was +sent up in the air in the direction of Guines, to the astonishment and +terror of the beholders. The whole was concluded with a banquet, at +which the royal ladies, too polite to eat, spent their time in +conversation; but the legates, cardinals, and prelates dined, drank, and +ate _sans fiction_ in another room by themselves. + +On Sunday, June 24th, the Kings met in the lists to interchange gifts +and bid each other farewell. Henry and his court left for Calais; +Francis returned to Abbeville. + +The two Kings parted on the best of terms, as the world thought, and +with mutual feelings of regret. Yet Henry had already arranged to meet +the Emperor at Gravelines, there settle the terms of a new convention, +to the disadvantage of the French King. The imperial envoy, the Marquis +d'Arschot, arrived at Calais on July 4th, and was received by the Duke +of Buckingham. On the 5th the King visited Gravelines, and returned with +the Emperor to Calais three days after. The interview, graced by the +presence of Charles, his brother Ferdinand, Herman, the Archbishop of +Cologne, and the Lord Chievres, though less splendid, was more cordial +than the interview with the French King, and was meant for business. + +Frugal and reserved, the Emperor contrived, by his simple and +unostentatious habits, to render himself more agreeable to his English +guests than even Francis had been able to do with all his profuse and +expensive civilities. Not, as some may condemn us, in consequence of +our national fickleness; nor, as others may excuse us, because +Englishmen preferred the plainer manners of the German or the Fleming; +but because in the interview with Francis, in spite of appearances, +there was no real cordiality. A tournament, in fact, was the least +eligible method of promoting friendly feeling; it was more likely to +engender unpleasant disputes and jealousies. To enforce the rules laid +down for preserving order and fair play among the combatants was not an +easy or a popular task. National rivalry was apt to break out, and it +was hard for the judges to escape the imputation of partiality. Nor did +the English, it must be admitted, return from the field in much good +humor. With a feeling of complacency engendered by their insular +position and their long isolation from the Continent, they had been wont +to consider themselves as far superior to the French in all exercises of +strength and agility. The French knights had shown themselves fully +equal to their English opponents; the French King was not inferior in +personal courage and activity to his English rival. Then rumors, such as +spring up like the dragon's teeth in vast and motley multitudes, +evidently fanned and fostered by Flemish emissaries, continually +represented the French as engaged in contriving some act of treachery +against the English King and nation. Among the nobles, also, the Dukes +of Suffolk and Buckingham, the lord Abergavenny, and others were glad of +any pretext for maligning a pageant of which Wolsey had the prime +direction. + +Francis still hovered on the frontier in the fruitless hope of being +invited to take part in this interview with the Emperor. The day before +Charles left Ghent, the Lady Vendome and the Duchess her daughter-in-law +contrived to have business in that town, but their artifice was not +successful. Francis was obliged to content himself with the assurance +that the visage and countenance of his English ally appeared "not to be +so replenished with joy" as at the valley of Ardres, and that he had +given proofs of undiminished affection by riding a courser that Francis +had given him. With an impressiveness intended to be candid, he told Sir +Richard Wingfield, who had succeeded as English resident at the French +court, that "if the King Catholic were a prince of like faith unto the +King his brother [Henry], and that he might perceive from Wolsey that +his coming thither [to Calais] might be the cause of any good conclusion +between them" (that is, between himself and the Emperor), "he would not +fail to come in post, and not to have looked for rank and place to him +belonging, but would have put him into the King's chamber as one of the +number of the same." But neither his extreme humility nor his flattering +proposal that Henry and himself, "the chief pillars of Christendom," +should handle the Pope, whom Francis knew "to be at some season the +fearfulest creature of the world, and at some other to be as brave," nor +the schemes and blandishments of the ladies, availed. He chafed under +disappointment; still more at his ill-success in counteracting the +growing intimacy of Henry and the Emperor. He had exhausted, to little +purpose, "that liberal and unsuspicious confidence" which too credulous +historians are apt to think characterized his proceedings at the Field +of the Cloth of Gold, to the disadvantage of his less attractive and +engaging contemporary. He could neither prevent the meetings of his two +rivals nor penetrate their secrets. He was utterly foiled, yet dared not +show his resentment. While the Pope and the Spaniards, unable to +penetrate beneath the surface or read the signs of the times, were +puzzled and scandalized at the Emperor's condescension, the world looked +on with astonishment, as well it might, to see the two monarchs of the +West thus anxiously soliciting the Cardinal's good graces. What could +there be in the son of a butcher to command such deference? + +Of the projects discussed at this interview we are not precisely +informed. The English version, intended for the meridian of the French +court, and to lull the suspicions of Francis, is the only account we +possess. If any credit be due to a statement prepared under such +circumstances and calculated to alienate the French King irrecoverably +from the Emperor, we are to believe that the imperial ambassadors had +already proposed to Henry to break off his matrimonial engagement with +France, and transfer the hand of the princess Mary to the Emperor. As an +inducement for the King to coincide in this arrangement, the Emperor +undertook to make war on France by sea and land, and not desist until +Henry "had recovered his right and title in the same." The King, +according to the same document, rejected such a treacherous overture +with the utmost horror, vehemently protesting against its immorality and +perfidiousness. That such a proposal was made, though probably not by +Chievres, to whom it is attributed--that it was accepted by England, but +with none of the indignation described in the document--is clear beyond +dispute. Long before any interruption had occurred in the amicable +relations between the two countries, before even the landing of Charles +at Canterbury, or in the interview in the valley of Ardres, it had been +secretly proposed that the French engagement should be set aside, and +the hand of Mary be transferred to the Emperor. The King's horror at +this act of faithlessness--if it had any existence beyond the paper on +which it was written--must have been tardy and gratuitous, seeing that +the chief purpose of the meeting at Calais was to settle the basis of +this matrimonial alliance, and obtain the solemn ratification of the +Emperor. + + + + +CORTES CAPTURES THE CITY OF MEXICO + +A.D. 1521 + +WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT + + Spain had already begun to conquer and colonize the New + World when in 1519 Hernando Cortes, with about 700 men, + landed in Mexico, having previously served in Espanola + (Haiti) and Cuba. He was born in Medellin, Estremadura, + Spain, in 1485, and was therefore now about thirty-four + years of age. To make the retreat of his force impossible, + he destroyed his ships and marched into the interior and + established himself in the capital city, Tenochtitlan, on + the site of the present city of Mexico. + + Cortes found Southern Mexico under the rule of the Aztecs + (more correctly Aztecas), a partly civilized and powerful + branch of Nahuatl Indians of Central Mexico. They had formed + a confederacy with other tribes, and now maintained a + formidable empire in the Mexican valley plateau. Their + emperor was Montezuma II, who sent messengers to remonstrate + against the advance of Cortes. The Spaniard continued his + march, entered the city, and soon made Montezuma his + prisoner, holding him as a hostage. In June, 1520, the + Spaniards were besieged in the city; during a parley + Montezuma was killed; on the night of the 30th the + Spaniards, while trying to leave the city, lost half their + men in a severe fight, and only after another battle (July + 7th) escaped into Tlascala. + + Reorganizing his force, strengthened by Indian allies and by + ships which he built on the lakes, Cortes, in May, 1521, + began the siege of Mexico, as historians call the Aztec + capital. Guatemotzin, the last of the Aztec emperors, made a + desperate defence, and before its capture the city was + almost destroyed. On August 12th the Spaniards made a strong + assault, which so weakened the defenders that the following + day was to be the last of the once flourishing empire. + Cortes' chief lieutenants were Pedro de Alvarado, Gonzalo de + Sandoval, and Olid, famous Spanish soldiers. + + After taking the capital city, Cortes, being empowered by + Guatemotzin, conquered the whole of Mexico, which was called + New Spain, and in 1523 he was appointed governor. + + +On the morning of August 13, 1521, the Spanish commander again mustered +his forces, having decided to follow up the blow of the preceding day +before the enemy should have time to rally, and at once to put an end to +the war. He had arranged with Alvarado, on the evening previous, to +occupy the market-place of Tlatelolco; and the discharge of an arquebuse +was to be the signal for a simultaneous assault. Sandoval was to hold +the northern causeway, and, with the fleet, to watch the movements of +the Indian Emperor and to intercept the flight to the mainland, which +Cortes knew he meditated. To allow him to effect this would be to leave +a formidable enemy in his own neighborhood, who might at any time kindle +the flame of insurrection throughout the country. He ordered Sandoval, +however, to do no harm to the royal person, and not to fire on the enemy +at all except in self-defence. + +It was the day of St. Hippolytus--from this circumstance selected as the +patron saint of modern Mexico--that Cortes led his warlike array for the +last time across the black and blasted environs which lay around the +Indian capital. On entering the Aztec precincts he paused, willing to +afford its wretched inmates one more chance of escape before striking +the fatal blow. He obtained an interview with some of the principal +chiefs, and expostulated with them on the conduct of their Prince. "He +surely will not," said the general, "see you all perish, when he can +easily save you." He then urged them to prevail on Guatemotzin to hold a +conference with him, repeating the assurances of his personal safety. + +The messengers went on their mission, and soon returned with the +Cihuacoatl at their head, a magistrate of high authority among the +Mexicans. He said, with a melancholy air, in which his own +disappointment was visible, that "Guatemotzin was ready to die where he +was, but would hold no interview with the Spanish commander"; adding in +a tone of resignation, "It is for you to work your pleasure." "Go, +then," replied the stern conqueror, "and prepare your countrymen for +death. Their hour is come." + +He still postponed the assault for several hours. But the impatience of +his troops at this delay was heightened by the rumor that Guatemotzin +and his nobles were preparing to escape with their effects in the +periaguas and canoes which were moored on the margin of the lake. +Convinced of the fruitlessness and impolicy of further procrastination, +Cortes made his final dispositions for the attack, and took his own +station on an azotea which commanded the theatre of operations. + +When the assailants came into the presence of the enemy, they found them +huddled together in the utmost confusion, all ages and both sexes, in +masses so dense that they nearly forced one another over the brink of +the causeways into the water below. Some had climbed on the terraces, +others feebly supported themselves against the walls of the buildings. +Their squalid and tattered garments gave a wildness to their appearance +which still further heightened the ferocity of their expression, as they +glared on their enemy with eyes in which hate was mingled with despair. +When the Spaniards had approached within bow-shot, the Aztecs let off a +flight of impotent missiles, showing to the last the resolute spirit, +though they had lost the strength, of their better days. The fatal +signal was then given by the discharge of an arquebuse--speedily +followed by peals of heavy ordnance, the rattle of fire-arms, and the +hellish shouts of the confederates as they sprang upon their victims. + +It is unnecessary to stain the page with a repetition of the horrors of +the preceding day. Some of the wretched Aztecs threw themselves into the +water and were picked up by the canoes. Others sank and were suffocated +in the canals. The number of these became so great that a bridge was +made of their dead bodies, over which the assailants could climb to the +opposite banks. Others again, especially the women, begged for mercy, +which, as the chroniclers assure us, was everywhere granted by the +Spaniards, and, contrary to the instructions and entreaties of Cortes, +everywhere refused by the confederates. + +While this work of butchery was going on, numbers were observed pushing +off in the barks that lined the shore, and making the best of their way +across the lake. They were constantly intercepted by the brigantines, +which broke the flimsy array of boats, sending off their volleys to the +right and left as the crews of the latter hotly assailed them. The +battle raged as fiercely on the lake as on the land. Many of the Indian +vessels were shattered and overturned. Some few, however, under cover of +smoke, which rolled darkly over the waters, succeeded in clearing +themselves of the turmoil, and were fast nearing the opposite shore. +Sandoval had particularly charged his captains to keep an eye on the +movements of any vessel in which it was at all probable that Guatemotzin +might be concealed. At this crisis, three or four of the largest +periaguas were seen skimming over the water and making their way rapidly +across the lake. A captain, named Garci Holguin, who had command of one +of the best sailors in the fleet, instantly gave them chase. The wind +was favorable, and every moment he gained on the fugitives, who pulled +their oars with a vigor that despair alone could have given. But it was +in vain; and after a short race, Holguin, coming alongside of one of the +periaguas, which, whether from its appearance or from information he had +received, he conjectured might bear the Indian Emperor, ordered his men +to level their cross-bows at the boat. But, before they could discharge +them a cry arose from those in it that their lord was on board. At the +same moment a young warrior, armed with buckler and _maquahuitl_, rose +up, as if to beat off the assailants. But, as the Spanish captain +ordered his men not to shoot, he dropped his weapons and exclaimed: "I +am Guatemotzin. Lead me to Malintzin;[33] I am his prisoner, but let no +harm come to my wife and my followers." + +Holguin assured him that his wishes should be respected, and assisted +him to get on board the brigantine, followed by his wife and attendants. +These were twenty in number, consisting of Coanaco, the deposed Lord of +Tlacopan, the Lord of Tlacopan, and several other caciques and +dignitaries, whose rank, probably, had secured them some exemption from +the general calamities of the siege. When the captives were seated on +the deck of the vessel Holguin requested the Aztec Prince to put an end +to the combat by commanding his people in the other canoes to surrender. +But with a dejected air he replied: "It is not necessary. They will +fight no longer when they see their Prince is taken." He spoke the +truth. The news of Guatemotzin's capture spread rapidly through the +fleet and on shore, where the Mexicans were still engaged in conflict +with their enemies. It ceased, however, at once. They made no further +resistance; and those on the water quickly followed the brigantines, +which conveyed their captive monarch to land. It seemed as if the fight +had been maintained thus long the better to divert the enemy's attention +and cover their master's retreat. + +Meanwhile, Sandoval, on receiving tidings of the capture, brought his +own brigantine alongside of Holguin's and demanded the royal prisoner to +be surrendered to him. But the captain claimed him as his prize. A +dispute arose between the parties, each anxious to have the glory of the +deed, and perhaps the privilege of commemorating it on his escutcheon. +The controversy continued so long that it reached the ears of Cortes, +who, in his station on the azotea, had learned with no little +satisfaction the capture of his enemy. He instantly sent orders to his +wrangling officers to bring Guatemotzin before him, that he might adjust +the difference between them. He charged them, at the same time, to treat +their prisoner with respect. He then made preparations for the +interview, caused the terrace to be carpeted with crimson cloth and +matting, and a table to be spread with provisions, of which the unhappy +Aztecs stood so much in need. His lovely Indian mistress, Dona Marina, +was present to act as interpreter. She stood by his side through all the +troubled scenes of the conquest, and she was there now to witness its +triumphant termination. + +Guatemotzin, on landing, was escorted by a company of infantry to the +presence of the Spanish commander. He mounted the azotea with a calm and +steady step, and was easily to be distinguished from his attendant +nobles, though his full, dark eye was no longer lighted up with its +accustomed fire, and his features wore an expression of passive +resignation, that told little of the fierce and fiery spirit that burned +within. His head was large, his limbs well proportioned, his complexion +fairer than that of his bronze-colored nation, and his whole deportment +singularly mild and engaging. + +Cortes came forward with a dignified and studied courtesy to receive +him. The Aztec monarch probably knew the person of his conqueror, for he +first broke silence by saying: "I have done all that I could to defend +myself and my people. I am now reduced to this state. You will deal with +me, Malintzin, as you list." Then, laying his hand on the hilt of a +poniard stuck in the General's belt, he added with vehemence, "Better +despatch me with this, and rid me of life at once." Cortes was filled +with admiration at the proud bearing of the young barbarian, showing in +his reverses a spirit worthy of an ancient Roman. "Fear not," he +replied; "you shall be treated with all honor. You have defended your +capital like a brave warrior. A Spaniard knows how to respect valor even +in an enemy." He then inquired of him where he had left the Princess his +wife; and, being informed that she still remained under protection of a +Spanish guard on board the brigantine, the General sent to have her +escorted to his presence. + +She was the youngest daughter of Montezuma, and was hardly yet on the +verge of womanhood. On the accession of her cousin Guatemotzin to the +throne, she had been wedded to him as his lawful wife. She is celebrated +by her contemporaries for her personal charms; and the beautiful +Princess Tecuichpo is still commemorated by the Spaniards, since from +her by a subsequent marriage are descended some of the illustrious +families of their own nation. She was kindly received by Cortes, who +showed her the respectful attentions suited to her rank. Her birth, no +doubt, gave her an additional interest in his eyes, and he may have felt +some touch of compunction as he gazed on the daughter of the unfortunate +Montezuma. He invited his royal captives to partake of the refreshments +which their exhausted condition rendered so necessary. Meanwhile the +Spanish commander made his dispositions for the night, ordering Sandoval +to escort the prisoners to Cojohuacan, whither he proposed himself +immediately to follow. The other captains, Olid and Alvarado, were to +draw off their forces to their respective quarters. + +It was impossible for them to continue in the capital, where the +poisonous effluvia from the unburied carcasses loaded the air with +infection. A small guard only was stationed to keep order in the wasted +suburbs. It was the hour of vespers when Guatemotzin surrendered, and +the siege might be considered as then concluded. The evening set in +dark, and the rain began to fall before the several parties had +evacuated the city. + +During the night a tremendous tempest, such as the Spaniards had rarely +witnessed, and such as is known only within the tropics, burst over the +Mexican valley. The thunder, reverberating from the rocky amphitheatre +of hills, bellowed over the waste of waters, and shook the _teocallis_ +and crazy tenements of Tenochtitlan--the few that yet survived--to their +foundations. The lightning seemed to cleave asunder the vault of heaven, +as its vivid flashes wrapped the whole scene in a ghastly glare for a +moment, to be again swallowed up in darkness. The war of elements was in +unison with the fortunes of the ruined city. It seemed as if the deities +of Anahuac,[34] scared from their ancient bodies, were borne along +shrieking and howling in the blast, as they abandoned the fallen capital +to its fate. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[33] A name given by the Indians to Cortes. + +[34] The low water-bordered coastal region of Mexico. The name is now +applied to a part of the table-land near the city of Mexico.--ED. + + + + +LIBERATION OF SWEDEN + +A.D. 1523 + +ERIC GUSTAVE GEIJER[35] + + Gustavus Vasa, son of Eric Johanson, and hence called + Gustavus Ericson, was descended from the house of Vasa, and + before the beginning of his long reign (1523-1560) as king + of Sweden had served his country against the Danes, who were + the controlling power in the union with Sweden and Norway. + In a battle fought at the Brennkirk, July 22, 1518, + Gustavus, then twenty-two years old, bore the Swedish + banner. This battle resulted in the defeat of Christian II + of Denmark. Gustavus was given as a hostage to Christian + during his interview with the Swedish administrator, and the + Dane treacherously carried the young patriot off to Denmark. + In the following year he escaped in the disguise of a + peasant. + + Sweden was conquered by Christian in 1520, and in the same + year, having taken Stockholm, he ordered there the massacre + of the nobility, known as the "Blood-bath." Ninety of the + leading men of Sweden, including the father of Gustavus, + were put to death. This outrage provoked an uprising, in + which the province of Dalecarlia bore the leading part, and + its people followed Gustavus in a movement for independence. + He soon gathered an army of his adherents, called + "Dalesmen"--men of the dales--strong enough to meet the + enemy. + + Gustavus Vasa is not only famed as the deliverer of Sweden, + but also as the promoter of popular education in his + country, and for the support which he gave to the + Reformation, he himself having early embraced the doctrines + of Luther. + + The heroic aspects of this Scandinavian patriot and King + have alike endeared his memory to his own people and made + his fame to endure in the world annals of mankind. His last + appearance and address before the estates of his kingdom, in + the closing year of his life, have been finely commemorated + in art, with a commingling of power and pathos, the aged + monarch taking leave of his people and his throne. "He took + his place in the hall of assemblage, accompanied by all his + sons. The King having saluted the estates, they listened for + the last time to the accents of that eloquence so well liked + by the people." + + +[Illustration: Gustavus I (Vasa) addressing his last meeting of the +Estates + +Painting by L. Hersent] + +The most influential yeomen of all the parishes in the eastern and +western dales elected Gustavus to be "lord and chieftain over them and +the commons of the realm of Sweden." Some scholars who had arrived from +Westeras brought with them new accounts of the tyranny of Christian. +Gustavus placed them amid a ring of peasants to tell their story and +answer the questions of the crowd. Old men represented it as a +comfortable sign for the people, that as often as Gustavus discoursed to +them the north wind always blew, "which was an old token to them that +God would grant them good success." Sixteen active peasants were +appointed to be his bodyguard; and two hundred more youths who joined +him were called his foot-goers. The chronicles reckon his reign from +this small beginning; while the Danes and their abettors in Stockholm +long continued to speak of him and his party as a band of robbers in the +woods. + +Thus the Dalesmen swore fidelity to Gustavus--the inhabitants, namely, +of the upper parishes on both arms of the Dal-elf, where a numerous +people, living amid wild yet grand natural scenery and hardened by +privations, is still known by that name. Gustavus came to the Kopparberg +with several hundred men in the early part of February, 1521, there took +prisoner his enemy Christopher Olson, the powerful warden of the mines, +made himself master of the money collected for the crown dues, and of +the wares of the Danish traders on the spot, distributed both the money +and goods among his men--who made their first standard from the silk +stuffs there taken--and then returned to the Dales. Not long afterward, +on a Sunday, when the people of the Kopparberg were at church, Gustavus +again appeared at the head of fifteen hundred Dalesmen. He spoke to the +people after divine service, and now the miners likewise swore fidelity +to his cause. Thereupon the commonalty of the mining districts and the +Dalesmen wrote to the commons of Helsingland, requesting that the +Helsingers might bear themselves like true Swedish men against the +overbearing violence and tyranny of the Danes. Those cruelties which +King Christian had already exercised on the best in the land, they said, +would soon reach every man's door and fill all the houses of Sweden with +the tears and shrieks of widows and orphans; if they would take up arms +and show themselves to be stout-hearted men, there was now good hope for +victory and triumph under a praiseworthy captain, the lord Gustavus +Ericson, whom God had preserved "as a drop of the knightly blood of +Sweden"; wherefore they begged them to give their help for the sake of +the brotherly league by which, since early times, the commonalty of both +countries had been united. + +Ten years afterward, the Dalecarlians recall the fact that they had +received a friendly answer to the request which their accredited +messengers had preferred on that occasion, and that their neighbors the +Helsingers had promised to stand by them as one man, "whatever evils +might befall them from the oppression of foreign or native masters." +When Gustavus had begun the siege of Stockholm, every third man of the +Helsingers in fact marched thither to strengthen his army. Yet at first +they hesitated to embrace the cause, although Gustavus himself went +among them, and spoke to the assembled people from the barrow on the +royal domain of Norrala. Thence he proceeded to Gestricland, where +fugitives from Stockholm had already prepared men's minds. The burghers +of Gefle, and commissioners from several parishes, swore fidelity to him +in the name of the whole province. Here the rumor reached him that the +Dalecarlians had already suffered a defeat; he hastened back, and soon +received an account of the first victory of his followers. + +Letters of the magistracy of Stockholm, which were sent over the whole +kingdom, warned the people to avoid all participation in the revolt. +Relief was supplicated from the King; additions were made to the +fortifications of the capital, sloops and barks were equipped, in order, +as it was said, to deprive "Gustavus Ericson and his company of +malefactors of all opportunity of quitting the country," but really to +keep the approaches on the side of the sea open, which were obstructed +by the fishers and peasants of the islets, who had begun to take arms +for Gustavus. Special admonitory letters were despatched to Helsingland +and Dalecarlia, signed by Gustavus Trolle, his father Eric Trolle, and +Canute Bennetson (Sparre) of Engsoe, styling themselves the council of +the realm of Sweden, by which, however, say the chronicles, the royal +cause was rather damaged than strengthened. "For when the Dalesmen and +miners heard the letter, they said it was manifest to them that the +council at this time was but small and thin, since it consisted of only +three men, and these of little weight." Gustavus Trolle, the Danish +bishops, Canute Bennetson, above named, and Henry of Mellen, the King's +lieutenant at Westeras--where they had recently been assembled with +commissioners from the magistracy of Stockholm by Bishop Otho--now +marched with six thousand men of horse and foot toward the Dal River, +and encamped at the ferry of Brunback. On the other side the +Dalecarlians guarded this frontier of their country, under the command +of Peter Swenson of Viderboda, a powerful miner, whom Gustavus had +appointed their captain in his absence. When those in the Danish camp +observed how the Dalesmen shot their arrows across the stream, Bishop +Beldenacke is said to have inquired of the Swedish lords present--to use +the words of the chronicles--"how great a force the tract above the Long +Wood (the forest on the boundary between Westmanland and Dalecarlia) +could furnish at the utmost?" Answer was made to him, full twenty +thousand men. Yet further he asked where so many mouths might obtain +sustenance? To this it was replied that the people were not used to +dainty meats; they drunk for the most part nothing but water, and, if +need were, could be satisfied with bark-bread. Then Beldenacke declared: +"Men who eat wood and drink water the devil himself could not overcome, +much less anyone else. Brethren, let us leave this place!" The story +makes the Danes hereupon prepare for breaking up their encampment. +However this may be, it is certain that Peter Swenson, with the +Dalesmen, crossed the Dal secretly, by a circuit, at Utsund's Ferry, +surprised the camp, and put the foe to rout. + +Gustavus had himself dealt with the inhabitants of Helsingland and +Gestricland, in order to insure himself against leaving foes in the +rear, and, after his return to the Dales, he prepared for an expedition +into the lower country. He assembled his troops at Hedemora, and sought +to inure them to habits of order and obedience by military exercises. +The dale peasant had no fire-arms and knew little of discipline; his +weapons were the axe, the bow, the pike, and the sling, the latter +sometimes throwing pieces of red-hot iron. Gustavus instructed his men +to fashion their arrows in a more effective shape, and increased the +length of the spear by four or five feet, with a view to repel the +attacks of cavalry. He caused monetary tokens to be struck--an expedient +which seems to have been not uncommon in Sweden, since, from a remote +period, even leather money is mentioned. The coins now struck at +Hedemora were of copper, with a small admixture of silver, similar to +those introduced by the King, and called "Christian's klippings;" on one +side was the impress of an armed man; on the other, arrows laid +crosswise, with three crowns. + +Gustavus broke from his quarters, and marched across the Long Wood into +Westmanland. His course lay through districts which bore traces yet +fresh of the enemy's passage. The peasantry rose as he advanced. On St. +George's Day, April 23d, he mustered his army at the church of +Romfertuna. The number is stated by the chronicles at from fifteen to +twenty thousand men, yet on the correctness of this little reliance can +be placed, even if we did not absolutely class this account with those +which compare the multitude of Dalesmen in the fight of Brunneback to +the sands of the sea-shore and the leaves of the forest, and their +arrows to the hail of the storm-cloud. The liberation of Sweden by +Gustavus Vasa is a history written by the people, and they counted +neither themselves nor their foes. The army was now divided under two +generals, Lawrence Olaveson and Lawrence Ericson, both practised +warriors. Gustavus next issued his declaration of war against Christian, +and marched to Westeras. He expected here to be met by the peasants of +the western mining district from Lindesberg and Nora, who had already +taken the oath of fidelity to him through his deputies; but instead of +this he was informed that Peter Ugla, one of those intrusted with the +performance of this duty, had allowed himself to be surprised at Koping, +and cut to pieces with his whole force. On the other hand, tidings +arrived that the peasants on Wermd Isle had revolted, slain a band of +Christian's men in the church itself, and made themselves masters of two +of his ships. The letters conveying the news, and magnifying the +advantages gained, Gustavus caused to be read aloud to his followers. + +Theodore Slagheck, exercising power with barbarous cruelty and outrage, +had himself taken the command of the castle of Westeras. He caused all +the fences of the neighborhood to be broken down, in order to be able to +use his cavalry without impediment against the insurgent peasants, who, +on April 29th, approached the town. Both horsemen and foot, with +field-pieces, marched against them; and Gustavus, who had interdicted +his men from engaging in a contest with the enemy, intending to defer +the attack till the following day, was still at Balundsas, half a mile +from the town, when news reached him that his young soldiers were +already at blows with their adversaries, and he hastened to their +assistance. The Dalecarlians opposed their long pikes to the onset of +the cavalry with such effect that, more than four hundred horses having +perished in the assault, they were driven back on the infantry, who were +posted in their rear, and compelled to flee along with them, while +Lawrence Ericson pushed into the town by a circuitous road and possessed +himself of the enemy's artillery in the market-place. When the garrison +of the castle observed this, they set fire to the houses by shooting +their combustibles, and burned the greatest part of the town. The miners +and peasants dispersed to extinguish the flames or to plunder, bartered +with one another the goods of the traders in the booths, possessed +themselves of the stock of wine in the cathedral and the council-house, +seated themselves round the vats, drank and sang. The Danes, reenforced +from the castle, rallied anew, and the victory would undoubtedly have +been changed into an overthrow had not Gustavus sent Lawrence Olaveson, +with the followers he had kept about him, again into the town, where, +after a renewal of the conflict, the foe was put to an utter rout. Many +cast away their arms, and threw themselves, between fire and sword, into +the waters. Gustavus caused all the stores of spirituous liquors to be +destroyed, and beat in the wine casks with his own hand. + +The fight of Westeras, from its influence on public opinion, acquired +greater importance than of itself it would have possessed. Little was +gained by the conquest of the town, so long as the castle held out; and +how unserviceable a force of peasants was for a siege, Gustavus was +often subsequently to experience. Wherever the tidings of his victory +came, the people revolted, and he was already enabled to divide his +power, and to invest the castles of several provinces. Siege was +accordingly laid to Stegborg, Nykoping, and Orebro. A division of the +Vermelanders, with the peasants of Rekarne, in Sudermania, was employed +in beleaguering the castle of Westeras; of whose exploits, however, +nothing else is told than that they shot the councillor Canute Bennetson +(Sparre), to whom Slagheck transferred the command, so that he tumbled +in his wolfskin coat from the wall into the stream. Howbeit, another +detachment reduced Horningsholm in Sudermania; Christian's governors in +Vermeland and Dalsland were slain; the people of the former province, +under the command of their justiciary, prepared for an attack upon the +councillor Thure Jonson, the King's lieutenant in West-Gothland, and, +crossing Lake Vener, entered that district. + +In Dalsland, fifteen hundred men took up arms; several thousand peasants +from Nerike marched across the Tiwed with the same object. Gustavus had +been obliged to grant a furlough to his Dalesmen about seed-time; and to +supply their place he caused the people of several districts of Upland +to be summoned to assemble in the forest of Rymningen, at +Oeresundsbro; from which point his two captains essayed an attack upon +the Archbishop of Upsala. It was St. Eric's Day (May 18th), and a great +confluence of people was present at the fair. An assault was expected; +for a deputation of four priests and two burgesses, sent from Upsala to +the forest, had received from the leaders the answer that it must be +Swedes, not outlandish men, who should bear the shrine of holy Eric, and +that they would come to take their part in the festival. Bennet Bjugg +(Barley), the Archbishop's bailiff, to show his contempt of such foes, +caused a banquet to be set out in the open space between the larger and +smaller episcopal manor houses of that day, where, before the eyes of +the people, he made himself and his fellows merry till late in the night +with drinking, dancing, and singing. Roused from a late sleep by an +assault on the gates of the fortified house, and finding it beset by the +enemy, they attempted to escape by a concealed passage, which then +connected the Bishop's house with the cathedral. But the peasants set +fire to this passage, which was of wood, and shot fire arrows at the +roof of the episcopal residence, in which the flames soon burst forth. +The building was laid in ashes, and next day the females of the +household, with some burghers of Upsala, crept out of its cellars, in +which they had taken refuge. Great part of the garrison perished. The +bailiff escaped with a wound from an arrow, of which he died after +rejoining his master at Stockholm. + +This prelate, Archbishop Gustavus Trolle, had lately returned from a +journey to Helsingland, undertaken in order to retain this part of his +diocese in its allegiance to the King. Shortly afterward he received, by +a messenger from Gustavus, who had himself come to Upsala at +Whitsuntide, a letter exhorting him to embrace the cause of his country, +to which his chapter had been persuaded to annex a memorial to the same +effect. The Archbishop detained the messenger, saying that he would +carry the answer himself. He broke up immediately with five hundred +German horse and three thousand foot of the garrison of Stockholm, and +had come within half a mile of Upsala before Gustavus received +intelligence of his approach. This the latter did not at first credit, +but remained, expecting an answer to his overture of negotiation, until, +about six in the morning, being on horseback upon the sand-hill near +Upsala, the spot where he afterward built a royal castle, he saw the +Archbishop marching across the King's Mead (Kungsang) toward the town. +Gustavus had but two hundred of his so-called foot-goers and a small +number of horse with him, for the peasants had returned to their homes. +He made a hasty retreat, but was overtaken by Trolle's horsemen at the +Ford of Laby. Here a young Finnish noble, who was next to him, in the +confusion rode down his horse in the midst of the stream; and he would +have been lost had not the rest of his followers turned upon the enemy +with such effect as to make them desist from the pursuit. + +Gustavus now betook himself to the forest of Rymningen, raised the +peasantry of the adjoining districts, and sent out young men under his +best captains to surprise the Archbishop on his return. The remains of +cattle slaughtered on the road betrayed the ambush to the prelate, who +drew off in another direction. He was nevertheless overtaken and +attacked, escaping the spear of Lawrence Olaveson only by bending +downward on his horse, so that the weapon pierced his neighbor; and he +brought back to Stockholm hardly a sixth part of his army. Gustavus +followed close after with his collected force, and encamped under the +Brunkeberg. Four gibbets on this eminence, stocked with corpses of +Swedish inhabitants, attested the character of the government in the +capital. + +Thus began, at the midsummer of 1521, the siege of Stockholm, which was +to last full two years, amid difficulties little thought of nowadays, +after the lapse of ages; and the admiration which men so willingly +render to the exertions in the cause of freedom have deprived events of +their original colors. The path of Gustavus was not in general one of +glittering feats, although his life is in itself one grand achievement. +What he accomplished was the effect of strong endurance and great +sagacity; and though he wanted not for intrepidity, it was of a kind +before which the mere warrior must vail his crest. All the remaining +movements of the war of liberation consist in sieges of the various +castles and fortresses of the country, undertaken as opportunity +offered, with levies of the peasantry, whose detachments relieved each +other, though sometimes neglecting this duty when pressed by the cares +or necessities of their own families. Hence the object of these +investments, which was to deprive the besieged of provisions, could only +be imperfectly attained, and there were many fortified mansions of which +the proprietors adhered to the Danish party, as that of Wik in Upland, +which remained blockaded throughout the whole year. These difficulties +were the most formidable where, as at Stockholm, access was open by the +sea, of which Severin Norby, with the Danish squadron, was master. The +scantiness of the means of attack may be discovered from the +circumstance that sixty German spearmen, whom Clement Rensel, a burgher +of Stockholm, himself a narrator of these events, brought from Dantzic +in July for the service of Gustavus, were regarded as a reenforcement of +the highest importance. "At this time," says the chronicle, "Lord +Gustave enjoyed not much repose or many pleasant days, when he kept his +people in so many campaigns and investments, since he bore for them all +great anxiety, fear, and peril, how he might lend them help in their +need, so that they might not be surprised through heedlessness and +laches. So likewise his pain was not small when he had but little in his +money chest, and it was grievous to give this answer when the folk cried +for stipend. Therefore he stayed not many days in the same place, but +travelled day and night between the camps." + +In the month of August he arrived at Stegeborg, which was now besieged +by his general, Arwid the West-Goth, who had recently repulsed with +great bravery Severin Norby's attempt to relieve the castle, and had +even begun to take homage for Gustavus from the people of his province, +although in this he experienced difficulties. The East-Goths declared +that they had been so chastised for their attack on the Bishop's castle +at Linkoping the preceding year that they no longer dared to provoke +either King Christian or Bishop Hans Brask. The personal presence of +Gustavus decided the waverers, and even the Bishop received him as a +friend, because he would otherwise have stood in danger of a hostile +visitation. Gustavus now convoked a diet of barons at Vadstena, which +was attended by seventy Swedish gentlemen of noble family and by many +other persons of all classes in Gothland. These made him a tender of the +crown, which he refused to accept. On August 24th, therefore, they swore +fealty and obedience to him as administrator of the kingdom--"in like +manner," add the chronicles, "as had formerly been done in Upland"; +whence they seem to have assumed that he had already been acknowledged +as such in Upper Sweden, here called Upland, as we often find it in the +chronicles of the Middle Age. This was the first public declaration of +the nobility in favor of Gustavus and his cause; although the greatest +barons in this division of the kingdom, such as Nils Boson (Grip), +Holger Carlson (Gere), and Thure Jenson (Roos) in West-Gothland, all +three councillors of state, were still in arms for Christian. That the +first-named nobleman joined the party of Gustavus before the end of the +year we know from his letter of thanks for a fief of which he received +the investure. Both the latter were proclaimed in 1523 to be enemies of +the realm, as also was the archbishop Gustavus Trolle. He had repaired +to Denmark two years before, in order to obtain, by his personal +instances with the King, the often-promised relief for the besieged +garrison of Stockholm, but was received with coldness and reproaches. + +After the baronial diet of Vadstena, the Gothlanders acknowledged the +authority of the administrator, and, the Danes having been driven out +West-Gothland and Smaland, the seat of the war was removed to Finland. +By the commencement of the next year the principal castles of the +interior had fallen into the hands of Gustavus, and some, as those of +Westeras and Orebo, were razed to the ground by the now exasperated +peasantry. Stockholm and Kalmar, as well as Abo in Finland, yet stood +out, and by help of reenforcement which they received at the beginning +of 1522, through the Danish admiral Severin Norby, the enemy were again +able to resume the offensive. By sallies from the beleaguered capital on +April 7th, 8th, and 13th, the camp of Gustavus was set on fire and +destroyed, and for a whole month afterward no Swedish force was seen +before the walls of Stockholm. The besiegers of Abo were likewise driven +off, and the chief adherents of Gustavus, being obliged to flee from +Finland, Arvid, Bishop of Abo, with many noble persons of both sexes, +perished at sea. + +Christian himself by new cruelties added to the detestation with which +he was regarded in Sweden. The wives and children, of the most +distinguished among the barons beheaded in Stockholm, had been conveyed +to Denmark, and among them the mother and two sisters of Gustavus, whom +the King, in spite of the entreaties of his consort, threw into a +dungeon. Here they died, either by violence, as Gustavus himself +complains in a letter of 1522 concerning the cruel oppression of King +Christian, directed to the Pope, the Emperor, and all Christian princes, +or, as others assert, of the plague. An order had also been recently +issued by the King to commanders in Sweden to put to death all the +Swedes of distinction who had fallen into their hands. The chronicles +say that Severin Norby had received this order so early as the summer of +1521, but, instead of complying with it, permitted the escape of many +noblemen, who afterward did homage to Gustavus at Vadstena, in order, as +he expressed it, that they might rather guard their necks like warriors +than be slaughtered like chickens. But in Abo a new massacre was +perpetrated at the beginning of the next year by Lord Thomas, the +royalist commander there, who afterward, in an attempt to relieve +Stockholm, fell, with all his ships, into the hands of Gustavus, and was +hanged upon an oak in Tynnels Island. + +After Severin Norby had relieved the capital, the secretary, master +Gotschalk Ericson, wrote thence to Christian that there were but eighty +of the burghers, for the most part Germans, who could be counted on for +the King's service, but of footmen and gunners in the castle there were +now eight hundred fifty men, well furnished with all; the peasants were, +indeed, weary of the war, but were still more fearful of the King's +vengeance, and put faith in no assurances, whence the country could only +be reduced to obedience by violent methods; if a sufficient force were +sent, East-Gothland, Sodermanland, and Upland would submit to the King, +and his grace could then punish the Dalecarlians and Helsingers, who +first stirred up these troubles. + +The governor of the castle of Stockholm informs the King, in a report on +military occurrences of the winter, "that his men had compelled him to +consent to an increase of pay on account of the successes they had +gained; that he had expelled from the town, or imprisoned, the suspected +Swedish burghers; that the peasants would rather be hanged on their own +hearths than longer endure the burden of war; that Gustavus, who had in +vain tempted his fidelity, had already sent his plate and the chief part +of his own movable property to a priest in Helsingland; he (the +governor) also transmitted an inventory of the goods of the decapitated +nobles." + +But by the end of one month Gustavus, who in this letter is styled "a +forest thief and robber," had again filled three camps around Stockholm +with Dalesmen and Norrlanders; and when, pursuant to a convention with +Lubeck, he received thence in the month of June an auxiliary force of +ten ships, a number that was afterward augmented, he was enabled to +dispense with the greatest portion of his peasants, and retained about +him only those who were young and unmarried. The assistance of the +Lubeckers, it was true, was given only by halves, and from selfish +motives; they did not forget their profit on the arms, purchased Swedish +iron and copper for klippings, with which worthless coins they came +well provided, and exacted a dear price for their men, ships, and +military stores, refusing even, it is said, to supply Gustavus with two +pieces of cannon at a decisive moment, although upon the proffered +security of two of the royal castles. + +This occurred on occasion of a second, and this time unsuccessful, +attempt made by Norby to relieve Stockholm; in which he was only saved +from ruin by the refusal of the admiral of Lubeck to attack. Meanwhile +Gustavus, despite the losses which he sustained by sallies, pushed his +three camps by degrees close to the town, then covering little more than +the island still contains, the town properly so called. At length, after +Kingsholm, Langholm, Sodermalm, Waldemar's Island, now the Zoological +Gardens, had been connected by block-houses and chains, the place was +invested on all sides. Yet it held out through the winter, until the +news of Christian's fate, joined to the pangs of hunger, deprived the +garrison of all spirit for further resistance. + +He did not dare to trust either his subjects or his soldiers, collected +twenty ships, in which he embarked the public records, with the treasure +and crown jewels, his consort and child, and his adviser Sigbert, who +was concealed in his chest. Deserting his kingdom, he sailed away in the +face of the whole population of Copenhagen, April 20, 1523. + +Thus ended the reign of Christian II, a king in whom one knows not which +rivets the attention, the multiplied undertakings he commenced and +abandoned in a career so often stained with blood, his audacity, his +feebleness, or that misery of many years by which he was to expiate a +short and ill-used tenure of power. There are men who, like the storm +birds before the tempest, appear in history as foretokens of the +approaching outburst of great convulsions. Of such a nature was +Christian, who, tossed hither and thither between all the various +currents of his time without central consistence, awakened alternately +the fear or pity of the beholders. + +Frederick I, who was chosen to succeed him in Denmark, wrote to the +estates of Sweden, demanding that in accordance with the stipulations of +the Union of Kalmar he might also be acknowledged king in Sweden. They +replied "that they had elected Gustavus Ericson to be Sweden's king." +That event came to pass at the Diet of Strengess, June 7, 1523. Thus was +the union dissolved, after enduring one hundred twenty-six years. Norway +wavered at this critical moment. The inhabitants of the southern portion +declared, when the Swedes under Thure Jenson (Roos) and Lawrence +Siggeson (Sparre) had penetrated into their country as far as Opslo, +that they would unite with Sweden if they might rely upon its support. +Bohusland was subdued, Bleking likewise on another side, and Gustavus +sought, both by negotiation and arms, to enforce the old claims of +Sweden to Scania and Halland. The town of Kalmar was taken on May 27th, +and the castle on July 7th. Stockholm having surrendered on June 20th, +on condition of the free departure of the garrison with their property +and arms, and of every other person who adhered to the cause of +Christian, Gustavus made his public entry on Midsummer's Eve; before the +end of the year Finland also was reduced to obedience. The kingdom was +freed from foreign enemies, but internal foes still remained; and Lubeck +was an ally whose demands made it more troublesome than it would have +been as an enemy. + +A town wasted in the civil war had been the scene of the election of +Gustavus Vasa to the throne. In the capital, when he made his public +entry, one-half of the houses were empty, and of population scarcely a +fourth part remained. To fill up the gap, he issued an invitation to the +burghers in other towns to settle there, a summons which he was obliged +twelve years afterward to renew, "seeing that Stockholm had not yet +revived from the days of King Christian." The spectacle which here met +his eyes was a type of the condition of the whole kingdom, and never was +it said of any sovereign with more justice that the throne to which he +had been elevated was more difficult to preserve than to win. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[35] Translated by J. H. Turner, M.A. + + + + +THE PEASANTS' WAR IN GERMANY + +A.D. 1524 + +J. H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE + + The Peasants' War was the most widespread and most bloody of + the mediaeval forerunners of the French Revolution. Like the + rebellion of the Jacquerie and many another ferocious, + desperate outburst of the downtrodden common folk, it + foretold a day of vengeance to come. These early uprisings + were all hopeless from their start, because the untrained + and naked bodies of the people, however numerous, could not + possibly hold an open battlefield against skilled and armed + men of war. Each revolt terminated in the butchery of the + unhappy rebels. + + The Peasants' War has acquired special notoriety because of + its connection with the Reformation. The people rose in the + name of religion, and, as their ignorance and ferocity led + them into hideous excesses of revenge upon their oppressors, + the new religion was blamed for all the evil thus done in + its name. This revolt, because of the fear and disgust it + roused, became the most severe set-back Protestantism + received in all its struggle with the more ancient and + conservative Church. + + The following account of the outbreak and its consequences + is by a standard Protestant historian, president of the + College of Geneva, a student who can see justice on both + sides of the great controversy. + + +A political ferment, very different from that produced by the Gospel, +had long been at work in the empire. The people, bowed down by civil and +ecclesiastical oppression, bound in many countries to the seigniorial +estates, and transferred from hand to hand along with them, threatened +to rise with fury and at last to break their chains. This agitation had +showed itself long before the Reformation by many symptoms, and even +then the religious element was blended with the political; in the +sixteenth century it was impossible to separate these two principles, so +closely associated in the existence of nations. In Holland, at the close +of the preceding century, the peasants had revolted, placing on their +banners, by way of arms, a loaf and a cheese, the two great blessings of +these poor people. The "Alliance of the Shoes" had shown itself in the +neighborhood of Spires in 1502. In 1513 it appeared again in Breisgau, +being encouraged by the priests. In 1514 Wuertemberg had seen the +"League of Poor Conrad," whose aim was to maintain by rebellion "the +right of God." In 1515 Carinthia and Hungary had been the theatres of +terrible agitations. These seditions had been quenched in torrents of +blood, but no relief had been accorded to the people. A political +reform, therefore, was not less necessary than a religious reform. The +people were entitled to this; but we must acknowledge that they were not +ripe for its enjoyment. + +Since the commencement of the Reformation, these popular disturbances +had not been renewed; men's minds were occupied by other thoughts. +Luther, whose piercing glance had discerned the condition of the people, +had already from the summit of the Wartburg addressed them in serious +exhortations calculated to restrain their agitated minds: + +"Rebellion," he had said, "never produces the amelioration we desire, +and God condemns it. What is it to rebel, if it be not to avenge one's +self? The devil is striving to excite to revolt those who embrace the +Gospel, in order to cover it with opprobrium; but those who have rightly +understood my doctrine do not revolt." + +Everything gave cause to fear that the popular agitation could not be +restrained much longer. The government that Frederick of Saxony had +taken such pains to form, and which possessed the confidence of the +nation, was dissolved. The Emperor, whose energy might have been an +efficient substitute for the influence of this national administration, +was absent; the princes whose union had always constituted the strength +of Germany were divided; and the new declaration of Charles V against +Luther, by removing every hope of future harmony, deprived the reformer +of part of the moral influence by which in 1522 he had succeeded in +calming the storm. The chief barriers that hitherto had confined the +torrent being broken, nothing could any longer restrain its fury. + +It was not the religious movement that gave birth to political +agitations; but in many places it was carried away by their impetuous +waves. Perhaps we should even go further, and acknowledge that the +movement communicated to the people by the Reformation gave fresh +strength to the discontent fermenting in the nation. The violence of +Luther's writings, the intrepidity of his actions and language, the +harsh truths that he spoke, not only to the Pope and prelates, but also +to the princes themselves, must all have contributed to inflame minds +that were already in a state of excitement. Accordingly, Erasmus did not +fail to tell him, "We are now reaping the fruits that you have sown." +And further, the cheering truths of the Gospel, at last brought to +light, stirred all hearts and filled them with anticipation and hope. +But many unregenerated souls were not prepared by repentance for the +faith and liberty of Christians. They were very willing to throw off the +papal yoke, but they would not take up the yoke of Christ. And hence, +when princes devoted to the cause of Rome endeavored in their wrath to +stifle the Reformation, real Christians patiently endured these cruel +persecutions; but the multitude resisted and broke out, and, seeing +their desires checked in one direction, gave vent to them in another. +"Why," said they, "should slavery be perpetuated in the state while the +Church invites all men to a glorious liberty? Why should governments +rule only by force, when the Gospel preaches nothing but gentleness?" +Unhappily, at a time when the religious reform was received with equal +joy both by princes and people, the political reform, on the contrary, +had the most powerful part of the nation against it; and while the +former had the Gospel for its rule and support, the latter had soon no +other principles than violence and despotism. Accordingly, while the one +was confined within the bounds of truth, the other rapidly, like an +impetuous torrent, overstepped all limits of justice. But to shut one's +eyes against the indirect influence of the Reformation on the troubles +that broke out in the empire would betoken partiality. A fire had been +kindled in Germany by religious discussions from which it was impossible +to prevent a few sparks escaping, which were calculated to inflame the +passions of the people. + +The claims of a few fanatics to divine inspiration increased the evil. +While the Reformation had continually appealed from the pretended +authority of the Church to the real authority of the holy Scriptures, +these enthusiasts not only rejected the authority of the Church, but of +the Scriptures also; they spoke only of an inner word, of an internal +revelation from God; and, overlooking the natural corruption of their +hearts, they gave way to all the intoxication of spiritual pride, and +fancied they were saints. + +"To them the holy Scriptures were but a dead letter," said Luther, "and +they all began to cry, 'The Spirit! the Spirit!' But most assuredly I +will not follow where their spirit leads them. May God of his mercy +preserve me from a church in which there are none but saints. I desire +to dwell with the humble, the feeble, the sick, who know and feel their +sins, and who groan and cry continually to God from the bottom of their +hearts to obtain his consolation and support." These words of Luther +have great depth of meaning, and point out the change that was taking +place in his views as to the nature of the Church. They indicate at the +same time how contrary were the religious opinions of the rebels to +those of the Reformation. + +The most notorious of these enthusiasts was Thomas Munzer; he was not +devoid of talent, had read his Bible, was zealous, and might have done +good if he had been able to collect his agitated thoughts and find peace +of heart. But as he did not know himself, and was wanting in true +humility, he was possessed with a desire of reforming the world, and +forgot, as all enthusiasts do, that the reformation should begin with +himself. Some mystical writings that he had read in his youth had given +a false direction to his mind. He first appeared at Zwickau, quitted +Wittenberg after Luther's return, dissatisfied with the inferior part he +was playing, and became pastor of the small town of Alstadt in +Thuringia. He could not long remain quiet, and accused the reformers of +founding, by their adherence to the letter, a new popery, and of forming +churches which were not pure and holy. + +"Luther," said he, "has delivered men's consciences from the yoke of the +Pope, but he has left them in a carnal liberty, and not led them in +spirit toward God." + +He considered himself as called of God to remedy this great evil. The +revelations of the Spirit were in his eyes the means by which his reform +was to be effected. "He who possesses this spirit," said he, "possesses +the true faith, although he should never see the Scriptures in his life. +Heathens and Turks are better fitted to receive it than many Christians +who style us enthusiasts." It was Luther whom he here had in view. "To +receive this Spirit we must mortify the flesh," said he at another time, +"wear tattered clothing, let the beard grow, be of sad countenance, keep +silence, retire into desert places, and supplicate God to give us a sign +of his favor. Then God will come and speak with us, as formerly he spoke +with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If he were not to do so, he would not +deserve our attention. I have received from God the commission to gather +together his elect into a holy and eternal alliance." + +The agitation and ferment which were at work in men's minds were but too +favorable to the dissemination of these enthusiastic ideas. Man loves +the marvellous and whatever flatters his pride. Munzer, having persuaded +a part of his flock to adopt his views, abolished ecclesiastical singing +and all other ceremonies. He maintained that obedience to princes, "void +of understanding," was at once to serve God and Belial. Then, marching +out at the head of his parishioners to a chapel in the vicinity of +Alstadt, whither pilgrims from all quarters were accustomed to resort, +he pulled it down. After the exploit, being compelled to leave that +neighborhood, he wandered about Germany, and went as far as Switzerland, +carrying with him, and communicating to all who would listen to him, the +plan of a general revolution. Everywhere he found men's minds prepared; +he threw gunpowder on the burning coals, and the explosion forthwith +took place. + +Luther, who had rejected the warlike enterprises of Sickengen, could not +be led away by the tumultuous movements of the peasantry. He wrote to +the Elector: "It causes me especial joy that these enthusiasts +themselves boast, to all who are willing to listen to them, that they do +not belong to us. The Spirit urges them on, say they; and I reply, it is +an evil spirit, for he bears no other fruit than the pillage of convents +and churches; the greatest highway robbers upon earth might do as much." + +At the same time, Luther, who desired that others should enjoy the +liberty he claimed for himself, dissuaded the Prince from all measures +of severity: "Let them preach what they please, and against whom they +please," said he; "for it is the Word of God that must march in front +of the battle and fight against them. If their spirit be the true +spirit, he will not fear our severity; if ours is the true one, he will +not fear their violence. Let us leave the spirits to struggle and +contend with one another. Perhaps some persons may be led astray; there +is no battle without wounds; but he who fighteth faithfully shall be +crowned. Nevertheless, if they desire to take up the sword, let your +highness forbid it, and order them to quit the country." + +The insurrection began in the Black Forest, and near the sources of the +Danube, so frequently the theatre of popular commotions. On the 19th of +July, 1524, some Thurgovian peasants rose against the Abbot of +Reichenau, who would not accord them an evangelical preacher. Ere long +thousands were collected round the small town of Tengen to liberate an +ecclesiastic who was there imprisoned. The revolt spread with +inconceivable rapidity from Swabia as far as the Rhenish provinces, +Franconia, Thuringia, and Saxony. In the month of January, 1525, all +these countries were in a state of rebellion. + +About the end of this month the peasants published a declaration in +twelve articles, in which they claimed the liberty of choosing their own +pastors; the abolition of small tithes, of slavery, and of fines on +inheritance; the right to hunt, fish, and cut wood, etc. Each demand was +backed by a passage from holy writ, and they said in conclusion, "If we +are deceived, let Luther correct us by Scripture." + +The opinions of the Wittenberg divines were consulted. Luther and +Melanchthon delivered theirs separately, and they both gave evidence of +the difference of their characters. Melanchthon, who thought every kind +of disturbance a crime, oversteps the limits of his usual gentleness, +and cannot find language strong enough to express his indignation. The +peasants are criminals against whom he invokes all laws human and +divine. If friendly negotiation is unavailing, the magistrates should +hunt them down as if they were robbers and assassins. "And yet," adds +he--and we require at least one feature to remind us of +Melanchthon--"let them take pity on the orphans when having recourse to +the penalty of death!" + +Luther's opinion of the revolt was the same as Melanchthon's, but he had +a heart that beat for the miseries of the people. On this occasion he +manifested a dignified impartiality, and spoke the truth frankly to both +parties. He first addressed the princes, and more especially the +bishops: + +"It is you," said he, "who are the cause of this revolt; it is your +clamors against the Gospel, your guilty oppressions of the poor, that +have driven the people to despair. It is not the peasants, my dear +lords, that rise up against you--it is God himself who opposes your +madness. The peasants are but the instruments he employs to humble you. +Do not imagine you can escape the punishment he is preparing for you. +Even should you have succeeded in destroying all these peasants, God is +able from the very stones to raise up others to chastise your pride. If +I desired revenge, I might laugh in my sleeve, and look on while the +peasants were carrying on their work, or even increase their fury; but +may God preserve me from such thoughts! My dear lords, put away your +indignation, treat those poor peasants as a man of sense treats people +who are drunk or insane. Quiet these commotions by mildness, lest a +conflagration should arise and burn all Germany. Among these twelve +articles there are certain demands which are just and equitable." + +This prologue was calculated to conciliate the peasants' confidence in +Luther, and to make them listen patiently to the truths he had to tell +them. He represented to them that the greater number of their demands +were well founded, but that to revolt was to act like heathens; that the +duty of a Christian is to be patient, not to fight; that if they +persisted in revolting against the Gospel in the name of the Gospel, he +should look upon them as more dangerous enemies than the Pope. "The Pope +and the Emperor," continued he, "combined against me; but the more they +blustered, the more did the Gospel gain ground. And why was this? +Because I have never drawn the sword or called for vengeance; because I +never had recourse to tumult or insurrection: I relied wholly on God, +and placed everything in his almighty hands. Christians fight not with +swords or arquebuses, but with sufferings and with the Cross. Christ, +their captain, handled not the sword. He was hung upon a tree." + +But to no purpose did Luther employ this Christian language. The people +were too much excited by the fanatical speeches of the leaders of the +insurrection to listen, as of old, to the words of the reformer. "He is +playing the hypocrite," said they; "he flatters the nobles. He has +declared war against the Pope, and yet wishes us to submit to our +oppressors." + +The revolt, instead of dying away, became more formidable. At Weinsberg, +Count Louis of Helfenstein and the seventy men under his orders were +condemned to death by the rebels. A body of peasants drew up with their +pikes lowered, while others drove the count and his soldiers against +this wall of steel. The wife of the wretched Helfenstein, a natural +daughter of the emperor Maximilian, holding an infant two years old in +her arms, knelt before them, and with loud cries begged for her +husband's life, and vainly endeavored to arrest this march of murder; a +boy, who had been in the count's service and had joined the rebels, +capered gayly before him, and played the dead march upon his fife, as if +he had been leading his victims in a dance. All perished; the child was +wounded in its mother's arms, and she herself thrown upon a dung-cart +and thus conveyed to Heilbronn. + +At the news of these cruelties, a cry of horror was heard from the +friends of the Reformation, and Luther's feeling heart underwent a +terrible conflict. On the one hand the peasants, ridiculing his advice, +pretended to receive revelations from heaven, made an impious use of the +threatenings of the Old Testament, proclaimed an equality of rank and a +community of goods, defended their cause with fire and sword, and +indulged in barbarous atrocities. On the other hand, the enemies of the +Reformation asked the reformer, with a malicious sneer, if he did not +know that it was easier to kindle a fire than to extinguish it. Shocked +at these excesses, alarmed at the thought that they might check the +progress of the Gospel, Luther hesitated no longer, no longer +temporized; he inveighed against the insurgents with all the energy of +his character, and perhaps overstepped the just bounds within which he +should have contained himself. + +"The peasants," said he, "commit three horrible sins against God and +man, and thus deserve the death of body and soul. First, they revolt +against their magistrates, to whom they have sworn fidelity; next, they +rob and plunder convents and castles; and lastly, they veil their crimes +with the cloak of the Gospel. If you do not put a mad dog to death, you +will perish, and all the country with you. Whoever is killed fighting +for the magistrates will be a true martyr, if he has fought with a good +conscience." Luther then gives a powerful description of the guilty +violence of the peasants who force peaceful and simple men to join their +alliance and thus drag them to the same condemnation. He then adds: "For +this reason, my dear lords, help, save, deliver, have pity on these poor +people. Let everyone strike, pierce, and kill who is able. If thou +diest, thou canst not meet a happier death; for thou diest in the +service of God, and to save thy neighbor from hell." + +Neither gentleness nor violence could arrest the popular torrent. The +church-bells were no longer rung for divine service; whenever their deep +and prolonged sounds were heard in the fields, it was the tocsin, and +all ran to arms. The people of the Black Forest had rallied round John +Muller of Bulgenbach. With an imposing aspect, covered with a red cloak +and wearing a red cap, this leader boldly advanced from village to +village followed by the peasantry. Behind him, on a wagon decorated with +ribands and branches of trees, was raised the tricolor flag--black, red, +and white--the signal of revolt. A herald dressed in the same colors +read the twelve articles, and invited the people to join in the +rebellion. Whoever refused was banished from the community. + +Ere long this march, which at first was peaceful, became more +disquieting. "We must compel the lords to submit to our alliance," +exclaimed they. And to induce them to do so, they plundered the +granaries, emptied the cellars, drew the seigniorial fish-ponds, +demolished the castles of the nobles who resisted, and burned the +convents. Opposition had inflamed the passions of these rude men; +equality no longer satisfied them; they thirsted for blood, and swore to +put to death every man who wore a spur. + +At the approach of the peasants, the cities that were unable to resist +them opened their gates and joined them. In whatever place they entered, +they pulled down the images and broke the crucifixes; armed women +paraded the streets and threatened the monks. If they were defeated in +one quarter, they assembled in another, and braved the most formidable +forces. A committee of peasants was established at Heilbrunn. The counts +of Lowenstein were taken prisoners, dressed in a smock-frock, and then, +a white staff having been placed in their hands, they were compelled to +swear to the twelve articles. "Brother George, and thou, brother +Albert," said a tinker of Ohringen to the counts of Hohenlohe who had +gone to their camp, "swear to conduct yourselves as our brethren, for +you also are now peasants; you are no longer lords." Equality of rank, +the dream of many democrats, was established in aristocratic Germany. + +Many nobles, some through fear, others from ambition, then joined the +insurgents. The famous Goetz von Berlichingen, finding his vassals +refuse to obey him, desired to flee to the Elector of Saxony; but his +wife, who was lying-in, wishing to keep him near her, concealed the +Elector's answer. Goetz, being closely pursued, was compelled to put +himself at the head of the rebel army. On the 7th of May the peasants +entered Wuerzburg, where the citizens received them with acclamations. +The forces of the princes and knights of Swabia and Franconia, which had +assembled in this city, evacuated it, and retired in confusion to the +citadel, the last bulwark of the nobility. + +But the movement had already extended to other parts of Germany. Spires, +the Palatinate, Alsace, and Hesse accepted the twelve articles, and the +peasants threatened Bavaria, Westphalia, the Tyrol, Saxony, and +Lorraine. The Margrave of Baden, having rejected the articles, was +compelled to flee. The coadjutor of Fulda acceded to them with a smile. +The smaller towns said they had no lances with which to oppose the +insurgents. Mentz, Treves, and Frankfort obtained the liberties they had +claimed. + +An immense revolution was preparing in all the empire. The +ecclesiastical and secular privileges, that bore so heavily on the +peasants, were to be suppressed; the possessions of the clergy were to +be secularized, to indemnify the princes and provide for the wants of +the empire; taxes were to be abolished, with the exception of a tribute +payable every ten years; the imperial power was to subsist alone, as +being recognized by the New Testament; all the other princes were to +cease to reign; sixty-four free tribunals were to be established, in +which men of all classes should have a seat; all ranks were to return to +their primitive condition; the clergy were to be henceforward merely the +pastors of the churches; princes and knights were to be simply the +defenders of the weak; uniformity in weights and measures was to be +introduced, and only one kind of money was to be coined throughout the +empire. + +Meanwhile the princes had shaken off their first lethargy, and George +von Truchsess, commander-in-chief of the imperial army, was advancing on +the side of the Lake of Constance. On the 2d of May he defeated the +peasants at Beblingen; then marched on the town of Weinsberg, where the +unhappy Count of Helfenstein had perished, burned and razed it to the +ground, giving orders that the ruins should be left as an eternal +monument of the treason of its inhabitants. At Fairfeld he united with +the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Treves, and all three moved +toward Franconia. + +The Frauenburg, the citadel of Wuerzburg, held out for the princes, and +the main army of the peasants still lay before its walls. As soon as +they heard of the Truchsess' march, they resolved on an assault, and at +nine o'clock at night on the 15th of May the trumpets sounded, the +tricolor flag was unfurled, and the peasants rushed to the attack with +horrible shouts. Sebastian von Rotenhan, one of the warmest partisans of +the Reformation, was governor of the castle. He had put the fortress in +a formidable state of defence, and, having exhorted the garrison to +repel the assault with courage, the soldiers, holding up three fingers, +had all sworn to do so. A most terrible conflict took place. To the +vigor and despair of the insurgents, the fortress replied from its walls +and towers by petards, showers of sulphur and boiling pitch and the +discharges of artillery. The peasants, thus struck by their unseen +enemies, were staggered for a moment; but in an instant their fury grew +more violent. The struggle was prolonged as the night advanced. The +fortress, lit up by a thousand battle-fires, appeared in the darkness +like a towering giant, who, vomiting flames, struggled alone amid the +roar of thunder, for the salvation of the empire against the ferocious +valor of these furious hordes. Two hours after midnight the peasants +withdrew, having failed in all their efforts. + +They now tried to enter into negotiations, either with the garrison or +with Truchsess, who was advancing at the head of his army. But this was +going out of their path; violence and victory alone could save them. +After some little hesitation they resolved to march against the imperial +forces, but the cavalry and artillery made terrible havoc in their +ranks. At Koenigshofen, and afterward at Engelstadt, those unfortunate +creatures were totally defeated. The princes, the nobles, and bishops, +abusing their victory, indulged in the most unprecedented cruelties. The +prisoners were hanged on the trees by the wayside. The Bishop of +Wuerzburg, who had run away, now returned, traversed his diocese +accompanied by executioners, and watered it alike with the blood of the +rebels and of the peaceful friends of the Word of God. Goetz von +Berlichingen was sentenced to imprisonment for life. The margrave +Casimir of Anspach put out the eyes of eighty-five insurgents who had +sworn that their eyes should never look upon that Prince again; and he +cast this troop of blinded individuals upon the world, to wander up and +down, holding each other by the hand, groping along, tottering, and +begging their bread. The wretched boy who had played the dead-march on +his fife at the murder of Helfenstein, was chained to a post, a fire was +kindled around him, and the knights looked on, laughing at his horrible +contortions. + +Public worship was now everywhere restored in its ancient forms. The +most flourishing and populous districts of the empire exhibited to those +who travelled through them nothing but heaps of dead bodies and smoking +ruins. Fifty thousand men had perished, and the people lost nearly +everywhere the little liberty they had hitherto enjoyed. Such was the +horrible termination of this revolt in the south of Germany. + +But the evil was not confined to the south and west of Germany. Munzer, +after having traversed a part of Switzerland, Alsace, and Swabia, had +again directed his steps toward Saxony. A few citizens of Muelhausen, in +Thuringia, had invited him to their city and elected him their pastor. +The town council having resisted, Munzer deposed it and nominated +another, consisting of his friends, with himself at their head. Full of +contempt for that Christ, "sweet as honey," whom Luther preached, and +being resolved to employ the most energetic measures, he exclaimed, +"Like Joshua, we must put all the Canaanites to the sword." He +established a community of goods and pillaged the convents. "Munzer," +wrote Luther to Ansdorff on the 11th of April, 1525, "Munzer is not only +pastor, but king and emperor of Muelhausen." The poor no longer worked; +if anyone needed corn or cloth, he went and demanded it of some rich +man; if the latter refused, the poor man took it by force; if the owner +resisted, he was hanged. As Muelhausen was an independent city, Munzer +was able to exercise his power for nearly a year without opposition. The +revolt in the south of Germany led him to imagine that it was time to +extend his new kingdom. He had a number of heavy guns cast in the +Franciscan convent, and endeavored to raise the peasantry and miners of +Mansfeld. "How long will you sleep?" said he to them in a fanatical +proclamation: "Arise and fight the battle of the Lord! The time is come. +France, Germany, and Italy are moving. On, on, on! (_Dran, Dran, Dran!_) +Heed not the groans of the impious ones. They will implore you like +children, but be pitiless. _Dran, Dran, Dran!_ The fire is burning: let +your sword be ever warm with blood. _Dran, Dran, Dran!_ Work while it is +yet day." The letter was signed, "Munzer, servant of God against the +wicked." + +The country people, thirsting for plunder, flocked round his standard. +Throughout all the districts of Mansfeld, of Stolberg, and Schwarzburg +in Hesse, and the duchy of Brunswick the peasantry rose in insurrection. +The convents of Michelstein, Ilsenburg, Walkenfied, Rossleben, and many +others in the neighborhood of the Hartz, or in the plains of Thuringia, +were devastated. At Reinhardsbrunn, which Luther had visited, the tombs +of the ancient landgraves were profaned and the library destroyed. + +Terror spread far and wide. Even at Wittenberg some anxiety was felt. +Those doctors, who had feared neither the Emperor nor the Pope, trembled +in the presence of a madman. They were always on the watch for news; +every step of the rebels was counted. "We are here in great danger," +said Melanchthon. "If Munzer succeeds, it is all over with us, unless +Christ should rescue us. Munzer advances with a worse than Scythian +cruelty, and it is impossible to repeat his dreadful threats." + +The pious Elector had long hesitated what he should do. Munzer had +exhorted him and all the princes to be converted, because, said he, +their hour was come; and he had signed these letters: "Munzer, armed +with the sword of Gudeon." Frederick would have desired to reclaim these +misguided men by gentle measures. On the 14th of April, when he was +dangerously ill, he had written to his brother John: "We may have given +these wretched people more than one cause for insurrection. Alas! the +poor are oppressed in many ways by their spiritual and temporal lords." +And when his attention was directed to the humiliation, the revolutions, +the dangers to which he would expose himself unless he promptly stifled +the rebellion, he replied: "Hitherto I have been a mighty elector, +having chariots and horses in abundance; if it be God's pleasure to take +them from me now, I will go on foot." + +The youthful Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, was the first of the princes +who took up arms. His knights and soldiers swore to live and die with +him. After pacifying his own states, he directed his march toward +Saxony. On their side, Duke John, the Elector's brother, Duke George of +Saxony, and Duke Henry of Brunswick advanced and united their troops +with those of Hesse. The peasants, terrified at the sight of this army, +fled to a small hill, where, without any discipline, without arms, and +for the most part without courage, they formed a rampart with their +wagons. Munzer had not even prepared ammunition for his large guns. No +succors appeared; the rebels were hemmed in by the army; they lost all +confidence. The princes, taking pity on them, offered them propositions +which they appeared willing to accept. Upon this Munzer had recourse to +the most powerful lever that enthusiasm can put in motion. "To-day we +shall behold the arm of the Lord," said he, "and all our enemies shall +be destroyed." At this moment a rainbow appeared over their heads; the +fanatical host, who carried a rainbow on their flags, beheld in it a +sure prognostic of the divine protection. Munzer took advantage of it: +"Fear nothing," said he to the citizens and peasants: "I will catch all +their balls in my sleeve." At the same time he cruelly put to death a +young gentleman, Maternus von Geholfen, an envoy from the princes, in +order to deprive the insurgents of all hope of pardon. + +The Landgrave, having assembled his horsemen, said to them: "I well know +that we princes are often in fault, for we are but men; but God commands +all men to honor the powers that be. Let us save our wives and children +from the fury of these murderers. The Lord will give us the victory, for +he has said, 'Whosoever resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of +God.'" Philip then gave the signal of attack. It was the 15th of May, +1525. The army was put in motion; but the peasant host stood immovable, +singing the hymn, "Come, Holy Ghost," and waiting for heaven to declare +in their favor. The artillery soon broke down their rude rampart, +carrying dismay and death into the midst of the insurgents. Their +fanaticism and courage at once forsook them; they were seized with a +panic-terror, and ran away in disorder. Five thousand perished in the +flight. + +After the battle the princes and their victorious troops entered +Frankenhausen. A soldier who had gone into a loft in the house where he +was quartered, found a man in bed. "Who art thou?" said he; "art thou +one of the rebels?" Then, observing a pocket-book, he took it up, and +found several letters addressed to Thomas Munzer, "Art thou Munzer?" +demanded the trooper. The sick man answered, "No." But as the soldier +uttered dreadful threats, Munzer, for it was really he, confessed who he +was. "Thou art my prisoner," said the horseman. When Munzer was taken +before Duke George and the Landgrave, he persevered in saying that he +was right to chastise the princes, since they opposed the Gospel. +"Wretched man!" replied they, "think of all those of whose death you +have been the cause." But he answered, smiling in the midst of his +anguish, "They would have it so!" He took the sacrament, and was +beheaded at the same time with Pfeiffer, his lieutenant. Mulhausen was +taken, and the peasants were loaded with chains. + +A nobleman having observed among the crowd of prisoners a peasant of +favorable appearance, went up and said to him: "Well, my man, which +government do you like best--that of the peasants or of the princes?" +The poor fellow made answer with a deep sigh, "Ah, my lord, no knife +cuts so deep as the rule of the peasant over his fellows." + +The remnants of the insurrection were quenched in blood; Duke George, in +particular, acted with the greatest severity. In the states of the +Elector, there were neither executions nor punishment. The Word of God, +preached in all its purity, had shown its power to restrain the +tumultuous passions of the people. + +From the very beginning, indeed, Luther had not ceased to struggle +against the rebellion, which was, in his opinion, the forerunner of the +Judgment-day. Advice, prayers, and even irony had not been spared. At +the end of the articles drawn up at Erfurth by the rebels he had +subjoined, as a supplementary article: "_Item._ The following article +has been omitted. Henceforward the honorable council shall have no +power; it shall do nothing; it shall sit like an idol or a log of wood; +the commonalty shall chew its food, and it shall govern with its hands +and feet tied; henceforth the wagon shall guide the horses, the horses +shall hold the reins, and we shall go on admirably, in conformity with +the glorious system set forth in these articles." + +Luther did not confine himself to writing. While the disturbance was +still at its height, he quitted Wittenberg and went through some of the +districts where the agitation was greatest. He preached, he labored to +soften his hearers' hearts, and his hand, to which God had given power, +turned aside, quieted, and brought back the impetuous and overflowing +torrents into their natural channels. + +In every quarter the doctors of the Reformation exerted a similar +influence. At Halle, Brentz had revived the drooping spirits of the +citizens by the promise of God's Word, and four thousand peasants had +fled before six hundred citizens. At Ichterhausen, a mob of peasants +having assembled with an intent to demolish several castles and put +their lords to death, Frederick Myconius went out to them alone, and +such was the power of his words that they immediately abandoned their +design. + +Such was the part taken by the reformers and the Reformation in the +midst of this revolt; they contended against it with all their might, +with the sword of the Word, and boldly maintained those principles which +alone, in every age, can preserve order and subjection among the +nations. Accordingly, Luther asserted that, if the power of sound +doctrine had not checked the fury of the people, the revolt would have +extended its ravages far more widely, and have overthrown both church +and state. If the reformers thus contended against sedition, it was not +without receiving grievous wounds. That moral agony which Luther had +first suffered, in his cell at Erfurth, became still more serious after +the insurrection of the peasants. No great change takes place among men +without suffering on the part of those who are its instruments. The +birth of Christianity was effected by the agony of the Cross; but He who +hung upon that cross addressed these words to each of his disciples, +"Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be +baptized with the same baptism that I am baptized with?" + +On the side of the princes, it was continually repeated that Luther and +his doctrine were the cause of the revolt, and, however absurd this idea +may be, the reformer could not see it so generally entertained without +experiencing the deepest grief. On the side of the people, Munzer and +all the leaders of the insurrection represented him as a vile hypocrite, +a flatterer of the great, and these calumnies easily obtained belief. +The violence with which Luther had declared against the rebels had +displeased even moderate men. The friends of Rome exulted; all were +against him, and he bore the heavy anger of his times. But his greatest +affliction was to behold the work of heaven thus dragged in the mire and +classed with the most fanatical projects. Here he felt was his +Gethsemane: he saw the bitter cup that was presented to him; and, +foreboding that he would be forsaken by all, he exclaimed: "Soon, +perhaps, I shall also be able to say, 'All ye shall be offended because +of me this night.'" + +Yet in the midst of this deep bitterness he preserved his faith: "He who +has given me power to trample the enemy under foot," said he, "when he +rose up against me like a cruel dragon or a furious lion, will not +permit this enemy to crush me, now that he appears before me with the +treacherous glance of the basilisk. I groan as I contemplate those +calamities. Often have I asked myself whether it would not have been +better to have allowed the papacy to go on quietly, rather than witness +the occurrence of so many troubles and seditions in the world. But no! +it is better to have snatched a few souls from the jaws of the devil +than to have left them all between his murderous fangs." + +Now terminated the revolution in Luther's mind that had begun at the +period of his return from the Wartburg. The inner life no longer +satisfied him: the Church and her institutions now became most important +in his eyes. The boldness with which he had thrown down everything was +checked at the sight of still more sweeping destructions; he felt it his +duty to preserve, govern, and build up; and from the midst of the +blood-stained ruins with which the peasant war had covered all Germany, +the edifice of the new Church began slowly to arise. + +These disturbances left a lasting and deep impression on men's minds. +The nations had been struck with dismay. The masses, who had sought in +the Reformation nothing but political reform, withdrew from it of their +own accord, when they saw it offered them spiritual liberty only. +Luther's opposition to the peasants was his renunciation of the +ephemeral favor of the people. A seeming tranquillity was soon +established, and the noise of enthusiasm and sedition was followed in +all Germany by a silence inspired by terror. + +Thus the popular passions, the cause of revolution, the interests of a +radical equality, were quelled in the empire; but the Reformation did +not yield. These two movements, which many have confounded with each +other, were clearly marked out by the difference of their results. The +insurrection was from below; the Reformation, from above. A few horsemen +and cannon were sufficient to put down the one; but the other never +ceased to rise in strength and vigor, in despite of the reiterated +assaults of the empire and the Church. + + + + +FRANCE LOSES ITALY + +BATTLE OF PAVIA + +A.D. 1525 + +WILLIAM ROBERTSON + + Close upon the election of Charles V as emperor of the Holy + Roman Empire came the first of a series of wars between that + sovereign and Francis I, King of France, who had been + Charles's rival for the imperial crown. The Emperor was at + this time, 1521, favored by Henry VIII of England, and a + secret treaty with Charles was finally concluded by Pope Leo + X, who from the first had hesitated between the two young + rivals, and who had already treated with Francis. The papal + support proved the foundation of future power for Charles in + Italy. The Pope and the Emperor agreed to unite their forces + for expulsion of the French from their seat in the duchy of + Milan. + + In 1521 hostilities broke out in Navarre and in the + Netherlands, and finally in the Milanese, where the people + were tired of French government. The various allies drove + the French completely out of Italy, and Charles invaded + France, but was there repulsed. King Francis, elated by this + last success, determined upon another invasion of the + Milanese. He went in person to Italy, leaving his mother as + regent in France. With largely superior forces, he drove the + imperialists before him. + + Instead, however, of pursuing the enemy, whom he might have + overtaken at an untenable position, Francis, against the + almost unanimous advice of his generals, laid siege to the + strongly fortified city of Pavia, only to meet before it the + crushing defeat which for centuries settled the fate of + Italy. Pavia was held by a strong imperialist force under + Lannoy. + + +Francis prosecuted the siege with obstinacy equal to the rashness with +which he had undertaken it. During three months everything known to the +engineers of that age, or that could be effected by the valor of his +troops, was attempted, in order to reduce the place; while Lannoy and +Pescara, unable to obstruct his operations, were obliged to remain in +such an ignominious state of inaction that a pasquinade was published at +Rome offering a reward to any person who could find the imperial army, +lost in the month of October in the mountains between France and +Lombardy, and which had not been heard of since that time. + +Leyva, well acquainted with the difficulties under which his countrymen +labored, and the impossibility of their facing, in the field, such a +powerful army as formed the siege of Pavia, placed his only hopes of +safety in his own vigilance and valor. The efforts of both were +extraordinary, and in proportion to the importance of the place with the +defence of which he was intrusted. He interrupted the approaches of the +French by frequent and furious sallies. Behind the breaches made by +their artillery he erected new works, which appeared to be scarcely +inferior in strength to the original fortifications. He repulsed the +besiegers in all their assaults, and by his own example brought not only +the garrison, but the inhabitants, to bear the most severe fatigues, and +to encounter the greatest dangers, without murmuring. The rigor of the +season conspired with his endeavors in retarding the progress of the +French. Francis, attempting to become master of the town by diverting +the course of the Tessino, which is its chief defence on one side, a +sudden inundation of the river destroyed, in one day, the labor of many +weeks, and swept away all the mounds which his army had raised with +infinite toil as well as at great expense. + +Notwithstanding the slow progress of the besiegers, and the glory which +Leyva acquired by his gallant defence, it was not doubted but that the +town would at last be obliged to surrender. Pope Clement, who already +considered the French arms as superior in Italy, became impatient to +disengage himself from his connections with the Emperor, of whose +designs he was extremely jealous, and to enter into terms of friendship +with Francis. As Clement's timid and cautious temper rendered him +incapable of following the bold plan which Leo had formed of delivering +Italy from the yoke of both the rivals, he returned to the more obvious +and practicable scheme of employing the power of the one to balance and +to restrain that of the other. + +For this reason he did not dissemble his satisfaction at seeing the +French King recover Milan, as he hoped that the dread of such a neighbor +would be some check upon the Emperor's ambition, which no power in Italy +was now able to control. He labored hard to bring about a peace that +would secure Francis in the possession of his new conquests; and as +Charles, who was always inflexible in the prosecution of his schemes, +rejected the proposition with disdain, and with bitter exclamations +against the Pope, by whose persuasions, while Cardinal di Medici, he had +been induced to invade the Milanese, Clement immediately concluded a +treaty of neutrality with the King of France, in which the republic of +Florence was included. + +Francis having, by this transaction, deprived the Emperor of his two +most powerful allies, and at the same time having secured a passage for +his own troops through their territories, formed a scheme of attacking +the kingdom of Naples, hoping either to overrun that country, which was +left altogether without defence, or that at least such an unexpected +invasion would oblige the viceroy to recall part of the imperial army +out of the Milanese. For this purpose he ordered six thousand men to +march under the command of John Stuart, Duke of Albany. But Pescara, +foreseeing that the effect of this diversion would depend entirely upon +the operations of the armies in the Milanese, persuaded Lannoy to +disregard Albany's motions, and to bend his whole force against the King +himself; so that Francis not only weakened his army very unseasonably by +this great detachment, but incurred the reproach of engaging too rashly +in chimerical and extravagant projects. + +By this time the garrison of Pavia was reduced to extremity; their +ammunition and provisions began to fail; the Germans, of whom it was +chiefly composed, having received no pay for seven months, threatened to +deliver the town into the enemy's hands, and could hardly be restrained +from mutiny by all Leyva's address and authority. The imperial generals, +who were no strangers to his situation, saw the necessity of marching +without loss of time to his relief. This they had now in their power. +Twelve thousand Germans, whom the zeal and activity of Bourbon taught to +move with unusual rapidity, had entered Lombardy under his command, and +rendered the imperial army nearly equal to that of the French, greatly +diminished by the absence of the body under Albany, as well as by the +fatigues of the siege and the rigor of the season. + +But the more their troops increased in number, the more sensibly did +the imperialists feel the distress arising from want of money. Far from +having funds for paying a powerful army, they had scarcely what was +sufficient for defraying the charges of conducting their artillery and +of carrying their ammunition and provisions. The abilities of the +generals, however, supplied every defect. By their own example, as well +as by magnificent promises in name of the Emperor, they prevailed on the +troops of all the different nations which composed their army to take +the field without pay; they engaged to lead them directly toward the +enemy, and flattered them with the certain prospect of victory, which +would at once enrich them with such royal spoils as would be an ample +reward for all their services. The soldiers, sensible that, by quitting +the army, they would forfeit the great arrears due to them, and eager to +get possession of the promised treasures, demanded a battle with all the +impatience of adventurers who fight only for plunder. + +The imperial generals, without suffering the ardor of their troops to +cool, advanced immediately toward the French camp. On the first +intelligence of their approach, Francis called a council of war to +deliberate what course he ought to take. All his officers of greatest +experience were unanimous in advising him to retire, and to decline a +battle with an enemy who courted it from despair. The imperialists, they +observed, would either be obliged in a few weeks to disband an army +which they were unable to pay, and which they kept together only by the +hope of plunder, or the soldiers, enraged at the nonperformance of the +promises to which they had trusted, would rise in some furious mutiny, +which would allow their generals to think of nothing but their own +safety; that meanwhile he might encamp in some strong post, and, waiting +in safety the arrival of fresh troops from France and Switzerland, might +before the end of spring take possession of all the Milanese without +danger or bloodshed. But in opposition to them, Bonnivet, whose destiny +it was to give counsels fatal to France during the whole campaign, +represented the ignominy that it would reflect on their sovereign if he +should abandon a siege which he had prosecuted so long, or turn his back +before an enemy to whom he was still superior in number, and insisted on +the necessity of fighting the imperialists rather than relinquish an +undertaking on the success of which the King's future fame depended. +Unfortunately, Francis' notions of honor were delicate to an excess that +bordered on what was romantic. Having often said that he would take +Pavia or perish in the attempt, he thought himself bound not to depart +from that resolution; and, rather than expose himself to the slightest +imputation, he chose to forego all the advantages which were the certain +consequences of a retreat, and determined to wait for the imperialists +before the walls of Pavia. + +The imperial generals found the French so strongly intrenched that, +notwithstanding the powerful motives which urged them on, they hesitated +long before they ventured to attack them; but at last the necessities of +the besieged and the murmurs of their own soldiers obliged them to put +everything to hazard. Never did armies engage with greater ardor or with +a higher opinion of the importance of the battle which they were going +to fight; never were troops more strongly animated with emulation, +national antipathy, mutual resentment, and all the passions which +inspire obstinate bravery. On the one hand, a gallant young monarch, +seconded by a generous nobility and followed by subjects to whose +natural impetuosity indignation at the opposition which they had +encountered added new force, contended for victory and honor. On the +other side, troops more completely disciplined, and conducted by +generals of greater abilities, fought from necessity, with courage +heightened by despair. The imperialists, however, were unable to resist +the first efforts of the French valor, and their firmest battalions +began to give way. But the fortune of the day was quickly changed. The +Swiss in the service of France, unmindful of the reputation of their +country for fidelity and martial glory, abandoned their post in a +cowardly manner. Leyva, with his garrison, sallied out and attacked the +rear of the French, during the heat of the action, with such fury as +threw it into confusion; and Pescara, falling on their cavalry with the +imperial horse, among whom he had prudently intermingled a considerable +number of Spanish foot armed with the heavy muskets then in use, broke +this formidable body by an unusual method of attack, against which they +were wholly unprovided. The rout became universal; and resistance ceased +in almost every part but where the King was in person, who fought now, +not for fame or victory, but for safety. Though wounded in several +places, and thrown from his horse, which was killed under him, Francis +defended himself on foot with a heroic courage. + +Many of his bravest officers, gathering round him, and endeavoring to +save his life at the expense of their own, fell at his feet. Among these +was Bonnivet, the author of this great calamity, who alone died +unlamented. The King, exhausted with fatigue, and scarcely capable of +further resistance, was left almost alone, exposed to the fury of some +Spanish soldiers, strangers to his rank and enraged at his obstinacy. At +that moment came up Pomperant, a French gentleman, who had entered +together with Bourbon into the Emperor's service, and, placing himself +by the side of the monarch against whom he had rebelled, assisted in +protecting him from the violence of the soldiers, at the same time +beseeching him to surrender to Bourbon, who was not far distant. +Imminent as the danger was which now surrounded Francis, he rejected +with indignation the thoughts of an action which would have afforded +such matter of triumph to his traitorous subject, and calling for +Lannoy, who happened likewise to be near at hand, gave up his sword to +him; which he, kneeling to kiss the King's hand, received with profound +respect; and taking his own sword from his side, presented it to him, +saying that it did not become so great a monarch to remain disarmed in +the presence of one of the Emperor's subjects. + +Ten thousand men fell on this day, one of the most fatal France had ever +seen. Among these were many noblemen of the highest distinction, who +chose rather to perish than to turn their backs with dishonor. Not a few +were taken prisoners, of whom the most illustrious was Henry d'Albret, +the unfortunate King of Navarre. A small body of the rear-guard made its +escape under the command of the Duke of Alencon; the feeble garrison of +Milan, on the first news of the defeat, retired, without being pursued, +by another road; and, in two weeks after the battle, not a Frenchman +remained in Italy. + +Lannoy, though he treated Francis with all the outward marks of honor +due to his rank and character, guarded him with the utmost attention. He +was solicitous, not only to prevent any possibility of his escaping, +but afraid that his own troops might seize his person and detain it as +the best security for the payment of their arrears. In order to provide +against both these dangers, he conducted Francis, the day after the +battle, to the strong castle of Pizzichitone, near Cremona, committing +him to the custody of Don Ferdinand Alarcon, general of the Spanish +infantry, an officer of great bravery and of strict honor, but +remarkable for that severe and scrupulous vigilance which such a trust +required. + +Francis, who formed a judgment of the Emperor's dispositions by his own, +was extremely desirous that Charles should be informed of his situation, +fondly hoping that from his generosity or sympathy he should obtain +speedy relief. The imperial generals were no less impatient to give +their sovereign an early account of the decisive victory which they had +gained, and to receive his instructions with regard to their future +conduct. As the most certain and expeditious method of conveying +intelligence to Spain at that season of the year was by land, Francis +gave the _commendador_ Pennalosa, who was charged with Lannoy's +despatches, a passport to travel through France. + +Charles received the account of this signal and unexpected success that +had crowned his arms with a moderation which, if it had been real, would +have done him more honor than the greatest victory. Without uttering one +word expressive of exultation or of intemperate joy, he retired +immediately into his chapel, and, having spent an hour in offering up +his thanksgivings to heaven, returned to the presence-chamber, which by +that time was filled with grandees and foreign ambassadors assembled in +order to congratulate him. He accepted of their compliments with a +modest deportment; he lamented the misfortune of the captive King, as a +striking example of the sad reverse of fortune to which the most +powerful monarchs are subject; he forbade any public rejoicings, as +indecent in a war carried on among Christians, reserving them until he +should obtain a victory equally illustrious over the infidels; and +seemed to take pleasure, in the advantage which he had gained, only as +it would prove the occasion of restoring peace to Christendom. + +Charles, however, had already begun to form schemes in his own mind +which little suited such external appearances. Ambition, not +generosity, was the ruling passion in his mind; and the victory at Pavia +opened such new and unbounded prospects of gratifying it as allured him +with irresistible force. But it being no easy matter to execute the vast +designs which he meditated, he thought it necessary, while proper +measures were taking for that purpose, to affect the greatest +moderation, hoping under that veil to conceal his real intentions from +the other princes of Europe. + +Meanwhile France was filled with consternation. The King himself had +early transmitted an account of the rout at Pavia in a letter to his +mother, delivered by Pennalosa, which contained only these words: +"Madam, all is lost except our honor." The officers who made their +escape, when they arrived from Italy, brought such a melancholy detail +of particulars as made all ranks of men sensibly feel the greatness and +extent of the calamity. France, without its sovereign, without money in +her treasury, without an army and without generals to command it, and +encompassed on all sides by a victorious and active enemy, seemed to be +on the very brink of destruction. But on that occasion the great +abilities of Louise, the regent, saved the kingdom which the violence of +her passions had more than once exposed to the greatest danger. Instead +of giving herself up to such lamentations as were natural to a woman so +remarkable for her maternal tenderness, she discovered all the foresight +and exerted all the activity of a consummate politician. She assembled +the nobles at Lyons, and animated them, by her example no less than by +her words, with such zeal in defence of their country as its present +situation required. She collected the remains of the army which had +served in Italy, ransomed the prisoners, paid the arrears, and put them +in a condition to take the field. She levied new troops, provided for +the security of the frontiers, and raised sums sufficient for defraying +these extraordinary expenses. Her chief care, however, was to appease +the resentment or to gain the friendship of the King of England; and +from that quarter the first ray of comfort broke in upon the French. + +Though Henry, in entering into alliances with Charles or Francis, seldom +followed any regular or concerted plan of policy, but was influenced +chiefly by the caprice of temporary passions, such occurrences often +happened as recalled his attention toward that equal balance of power +which it was necessary to keep between the two contending potentates, +the preservation of which he always boasted to be his peculiar office. +He had expected that his union with the Emperor might afford him an +opportunity of recovering some part of those territories in France which +had belonged to his ancestors, and for the sake of such an acquisition +he did not scruple to give his assistance toward raising Charles to a +considerable preeminence above Francis. He had never dreamed, however, +of any event so decisive and so fatal as the victory at Pavia, which +seemed not only to have broken, but to have annihilated, the power of +one of the rivals; so that the prospect of the sudden and entire +revolution which this would occasion in the political system filled him +with the most disquieting apprehensions. He saw all Europe in danger of +being overrun by an ambitious prince, to whose power there now remained +no counterpoise; and though he himself might at first be admitted, in +quality of an ally, to some share in the spoils of the captive monarch, +it was easy to discern that with regard to the manner of making the +partition, as well as his security for keeping possession of what should +be allotted him, he must absolutely depend upon the will of a +confederate, to whose forces his own bore no proportion. + +He was sensible that if Charles were permitted to add any considerable +part of France to the vast dominions of which he was already master, his +neighborhood would be much more formidable to England than that of the +ancient French kings; while at the same time the proper balance on the +Continent, to which England owed both its safety and importance, would +be entirely lost. Concern for the situation of the unhappy monarch +cooperated with these political considerations; his gallant behavior in +the battle of Pavia had excited a high degree of admiration, which never +fails of augmenting sympathy; and Henry, naturally susceptible of +generous sentiments, was fond of appearing as the deliverer of a +vanquished enemy from a state of captivity. The passions of the English +minister seconded the inclinations of the monarch. Wolsey, who had not +forgotten the disappointment of his hopes in two successive conclaves, +which he imputed chiefly to the Emperor, thought this a proper +opportunity of taking revenge; and, Louise courting the friendship of +England with such flattering submissions as were no less agreeable to +the King than to the Cardinal, Henry gave her secret assurances that he +would not lend his aid toward oppressing France in its present helpless +state, and obliged her to promise that she would not consent to +dismember the kingdom even in order to procure her son's liberty. + +During these transactions, Charles, whose pretensions to moderation and +disinterestedness were soon forgotten, deliberated, with the utmost +solicitude, how he might derive the greatest advantages from the +misfortunes of his adversary. Some of his counsellors advised him to +treat Francis with the magnanimity that became a victorious prince, and, +instead of taking advantage of his situation to impose rigorous +conditions, to dismiss him on such equal terms as would bind him forever +to his interest by the ties of gratitude and affection, more forcible as +well as more permanent than any which could be formed by extorted oaths +and involuntary stipulations. + +Such an exertion of generosity is not, perhaps, to be expected in the +conduct of political affairs, and it was far too refined for that prince +to whom it was proposed. The more obvious but less splendid scheme, of +endeavoring to make the utmost of Francis' calamity, had a greater +number in the council to recommend it, and suited better with the +Emperor's genius. But though Charles adopted this plan, he seems not to +have executed it in the most proper manner. Instead of making one great +effort to penetrate into France with all the forces of Spain and the Low +Countries; instead of crushing the Italian states before they recovered +from the consternation which the success of his arms had occasioned, he +had recourse to the artifices of intrigue and negotiation. This +proceeded partly from necessity, partly from the natural disposition of +his mind. The situation of his finances at that time rendered it +extremely difficult to carry on any extraordinary armament; and he +himself, having never appeared at the head of his armies, the command of +which he had hitherto committed to his generals, was averse to bold and +martial counsels, and trusted more to the arts with which he was +acquainted. He laid, besides, too much stress upon the victory of +Pavia, as if by that event the strength of France had been annihilated, +its resources exhausted, and the kingdom itself, no less than the person +of its monarch, had been subjected to his power. + +Full of this opinion, he determined to set the highest price upon +Francis' freedom; and, having ordered the Count de Roeux to visit the +captive King in his name, he instructed him to propose the following +articles as the conditions on which he would grant him his liberty: That +he should restore Burgundy to the Emperor, from whose ancestors it had +been unjustly wrested; that he should surrender Provence and Dauphine, +that they might be erected into an independent kingdom for the constable +Bourbon; that he should make full satisfaction to the King of England +for all his claims, and finally renounce the pretensions of France to +Naples, Milan, or any other territory in Italy. When Francis, who had +hitherto flattered himself that he should be treated by the Emperor with +the generosity becoming one great prince toward another, heard these +rigorous conditions, he was so transported with indignation that, +drawing his dagger hastily, he cried out, "'Twere better that a king +should die thus." Alarcon, alarmed at his vehemence, laid hold on his +hand; but though he soon recovered greater composure, he still declared +in the most solemn manner that he would rather remain a prisoner during +life than purchase liberty by such ignominious concessions. + +The chief obstacle that stood in the way of Francis' liberty was the +Emperor's continuing to insist so peremptorily on the restitution of +Burgundy as a preliminary to that event. Francis often declared that he +would never consent to dismember his kingdom; and that, even if he +should so far forget the duties of a monarch as to come to such a +resolution, the fundamental laws of the nation would prevent its taking +effect. On his part he was willing to make an absolute cession to the +Emperor of all his pretensions in Italy and the Low Countries; he +promised to restore to Bourbon all his lands which had been confiscated; +he renewed his proposal of marrying the Emperor's sister, the +queen-dowager of Portugal; and engaged to pay a great sum by way of +ransom for his own person. + +But all mutual esteem and confidence between the two monarchs were now +entirely lost; there appeared, on the one hand, a rapacious ambition, +laboring to avail itself of every favorable circumstance; on the other, +suspicion and resentment, standing perpetually on their guard; so that +the prospect of bringing their negotiations to an issure seemed to be +far distant. The Duchess of Alencon, the French King's sister, whom +Charles permitted to visit her brother in his confinement, employed all +her address in order to procure his liberty on more reasonable terms. +Henry of England interposed his good offices to the same purpose; but +both with so little success that Francis, in despair, took suddenly the +resolution of resigning his crown, with all its rights and prerogatives, +to his son, the Dauphin, determining rather to end his days in prison +than to purchase his freedom by concessions unworthy of a king. The deed +for this purpose he signed with legal formality in Madrid, empowering +his sister to carry it into France, that it might be registered in all +the parliaments of the kingdom; and, at the same time, intimating his +intention to the Emperor, he desired him to name the place of his +confinement, and to assign him a proper number of attendants during the +remainder of his days. + +This resolution of the French King had great effect; Charles began to be +sensible that, by pushing rigor to excess, he might defeat his own +measures; and instead of the vast advantages which he hoped to draw from +ransoming a powerful monarch, he might at last find in his hands a +prince without dominions or revenues. About the same time one of the +King of Navarre's domestics happened, by an extraordinary exertion of +fidelity, courage, and address, to procure his master an opportunity of +escaping from the prison in which he had been confined ever since the +battle of Pavia. This convinced the Emperor that the most vigilant +attention of his officers might be eluded by the ingenuity or boldness +of Francis or his attendants, and one unlucky hour might deprive him of +all the advantages which he had been so solicitous to obtain. By these +considerations he was induced to abate somewhat of his former demands. +On the other hand, Francis' impatience under confinement daily +increased; and having received certain intelligence of a powerful league +forming against his rival in Italy, he grew more compliant with regard +to his concessions, trusting that, if he could once obtain his liberty, +he would soon be in a condition to resume whatever he had yielded. + +Such being the views and sentiments of the two monarchs, the treaty +which procured Francis his liberty was signed at Madrid on January 14, +1526. + + + + +SACK OF ROME BY THE IMPERIAL TROOPS + +A.D. 1527 + +BENVENUTO CELLINI T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE + + Charles, Duc de Bourbon, known as the Constable de Bourbon, + became famous in the wars of the emperor Charles V with + Francis I, King of France. The vast estates of both branches + of the Bourbon family were united in the possession of the + Constable, making him a person of importance independently + of his military career. He was born in 1490, and was made + Constable of France for his services at the battle of + Melegnano (1515), in which Francis gained a brilliant + victory over the Swiss. + + The attempt of powerful enemies to undermine Bourbon in the + favor of the King led to the threatened loss of the + Constable's dignities and lands, and provoked him to + renounce the French service. After making a secret treaty + with Charles V and with his ally, Henry VIII of England, + Bourbon led a force of German mercenaries into Lombardy, + where in 1523 he joined Charles' Spanish army, and next year + aided in driving the French from Italy. Invading France, he + marched under the Emperor's orders to Marseilles and laid + siege to the city, but failed to take it. + + Bourbon contributed materially to the Emperor's great + victory at Pavia, and was rewarded by being made Duke of + Milan and commander in Northern Italy. But although Charles + thus honored Bourbon he did not trust him, and was not + really desirous of advancing a person of such great resource + and consequence. In the peace between Spain and France in + 1526 Bourbon's great interests were neglected. + Notwithstanding these things, when Charles V wished to + punish Pope Clement VII, who had joined a league against + him, Bourbon, with George of Frundsberg, led an army of + Spanish and German mercenaries to Rome. + + The description of the sack which followed, written by + Benvenuto Cellini, the celebrated Italian artist, shows him + as an effective participant in the defence. This account of + a combatant is of course only fragmentary, and is + supplemented by Trollope's critical narrative. + + +BENVENUTO CELLINI + +The whole world was now in warfare. Pope Clement had sent to get some +troops from Giovanni de' Medici, and when they came they made such +disturbances in Rome that it was ill living in open shops.[36] On this +account I retired to a good snug house behind the Banchi, where I +worked for all the friends I had acquired. Since I produced few things +of much importance at that period, I need not waste time in talking +about them. I took much pleasure in music and amusements of the kind. + +On the death of Giovanni de' Medici in Lombardy, the Pope, at the advice +of Messer Jacopo Salviati, dismissed the five bands he had engaged; and +when the Constable of Bourbon knew there were no troops in Rome, he +pushed his army with the utmost energy up to the city. The whole of Rome +upon this flew to arms. I happened to be intimate with Alessandro, the +son of Piero del Bene, who, at the time when the Colonnesi entered Rome, +had requested me to guard his palace.[37] On this more serious occasion, +therefore, he prayed me to enlist fifty comrades for the protection of +the said house, appointing me their captain, as I had been when the +Colonnesi came. So I selected fifty young men of the highest courage, +and we took up quarters in his palace, with good pay and excellent +appointments. + +Bourbon's army had now arrived before the walls of Rome, and Alessandro +begged me to go with him to reconnoitre. So we went with one of the +stoutest fellows in our company; and on the way a youth called Cecchino +della Casa joined himself to us. On reaching the walls by the Campo +Santo, we could see that famous army, which was making every effort to +enter the town. Upon the ramparts where we took our station, several +young men were lying, killed by the besiegers; the battle raged there +desperately, and there was the densest fog imaginable. I turned to +Alessandro and said: "Let us go home as soon as we can, for there is +nothing to be done here; you see the enemies are mounting, and our men +are in flight." Alessandro, in a panic, cried, "Would God that we had +never come here!" and turned in maddest haste to fly. I took him up +somewhat sharply with these words: "Since you have brought me here, I +must perform some action worthy of a man"; and, directing my arquebuse +where I saw the thickest and most serried troop of fighting men, I aimed +exactly at one whom I remarked to be higher than the rest: the fog +prevented me from being certain whether he was on horseback or on foot. +Then I turned to Alessandro and Cecchino, and bade them discharge their +arquebuses, showing them how to avoid being hit by the besiegers. When +we had fired two rounds apiece I crept cautiously up to the wall, and, +observing among the enemy a most extraordinary confusion, I discovered +afterward that one of our shots had killed the Constable of Bourbon; +and, from what I subsequently learned, he was the man whom I had first +noticed above the heads of the rest.[38] + +Quitting our position on the ramparts, we crossed the Campo Santo, and +entered the city by St. Peter's; then, coming out exactly at the Church +of Santo Agnolo, we got with the greatest difficulty to the great gate +of the castle; for the generals, Renzo di Ceri and Orazio Baglioni, were +wounding and slaughtering everybody who abandoned the defence of the +walls.[39] + +By the time we had reached the great gate, part of the foemen had +already entered Rome, and we had them in our rear. The castellan had +ordered the portcullis to be lowered, in order to do which they cleared +a little space, and this enabled us four to get inside. On the instant +that I entered, the captain Palone de' Medici claimed me as being of the +papal household and forced me to abandon Alessandro, which I had to do +much against my will. I ascended to the keep, and at the same instant +Pope Clement came in through the corridors into the castle; he had +refused to leave the palace of St. Peter earlier, being unable to +believe that his enemies would effect their entrance into Rome.[40] + +Having got into the castle in this way, I attached myself to certain +pieces of artillery, which were under the command of a bombardier called +Giuliano Fiorentino. Leaning there against the battlements, the unhappy +man could see his poor house being sacked, and his wife and children +outraged; fearing to strike his own folk, he dared not discharge the +cannon, and, flinging the burning fuse upon the ground, he wept as +though his heart would break, and tore his cheeks with both his +hands.[41] + +Some of the other bombardiers were behaving in like manner; seeing +which, I took one of the matches, and got the assistance of a few men +who were not overcome by their emotions. I aimed some swivels and +falconets at points where I saw it would be useful, and killed with them +a good number of the enemy. Had it not been for this, the troops who +poured into Rome that morning and were marching straight upon the castle +might possibly have entered it with ease, because the artillery was +doing them no damage. I went on firing under the eyes of several +cardinals and lords, who kept blessing me and giving me the heartiest +encouragement. In my enthusiasm I strove to achieve the impossible; let +it suffice that it was I who saved the castle that morning, and brought +the other bombardiers back to their duty.[42] I worked hard the whole of +that day, and when the evening came--while the army was marching into +Rome through Trastevere--Pope Clement appointed a great Roman nobleman +named Antonio Santacroce to be a captain of all the gunners. The first +thing this man did was to come to me, and, having greeted me with the +utmost kindness, he stationed me with five fine pieces of artillery on +the highest point of the castle, to which the name of the "Angel" +specially belongs. + +This circular eminence goes round the castle and surveys both Prati and +the town of Rome. The captain put under my orders enough men to help in +managing my guns, and, having seen me paid in advance, he gave me +rations of bread and a little wine, and begged me to go forward as I had +begun. I was perhaps more inclined by nature to the profession of arms +than to the one I had adopted, and I took such pleasure in its duties +that I discharged them better than those of my own art. + +Night came, the enemy had entered Rome, and we who were in the +castle--especially myself, who have always taken pleasure in +extraordinary sights--stayed gazing on the indescribable scene of tumult +and conflagration in the streets below. People who were anywhere else +but where we were could not have formed the least imagination of what it +was. + + +T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE + +The combined force of Bourbon and Frundsberg was in all respects more +like a rabble-rout of brigands and bandits than an army, and was +assuredly such as must, even in those days, have been felt to be a +disgrace to any sovereign permitting them to call themselves his +soldiers. Their pay was, as was often the case with the troops of +Charles V, hopelessly in arrear, and discipline was of course +proportionably weak among them. Indeed, it seemed every now and then on +the point of coming to an end altogether. The two generals had the +greatest difficulty in preventing their army from becoming an entirely +anarchical and disorganized mob of freebooters as dangerous to its +masters as to everybody else. Of course food, raiment, and shelter were +the first absolute essentials for keeping this dangerous mass of armed +men in any degree of order and organization, and in fact the present +march of Frundsberg and Bourbon had the obtaining of these necessaries +for its principal and true object. + +The progress southward of this bandit army unchecked by any opposing +force--for Giovanni delle Bande Nere had lost his life in the attempt to +prevent them from passing the Po; and after the death of that great +captain, the army of the league did not muster courage to attack or +impede the invaders in any way--filled the cities exposed to their +inroad with terror and dismay. They had passed like a destroying locust +swarm over Bologna and Imola, and crossing the Apennines, which separate +Umbria from Tuscany, had descended into the valley of the Arno not far +from Arezzo. Florence and Rome both trembled. On which would the storm +burst? That was the all-absorbing question. + +Pope Clement, with his usual avarice-blinded imbecility, had, +immediately on concluding a treaty with the Neapolitan viceroy, +discharged all his troops except a bodyguard of about six hundred men. +Florence was nearly in as defenceless a position. She had, says Varchi, +"two great armies on her territory; one that under Bourbon, which came +as an enemy to sack and plunder her; and the other, that of a league, +which came as a friend to protect her, but sacked and plundered her none +the less." It was, however, probably the presence of this army, little +as it had hitherto done to impede the progress of the enemy, which +decided Bourbon eventually to determine on marching toward Rome. + +It seems doubtful how far they were, in so doing, executing the orders +or carrying out the wishes of the Emperor. Clement, though he had played +the traitor to Charles, as he did to everyone else, and had been at war +with him recently, had now entered into a treaty with the Emperor's +viceroy. And apart from this there was a degree of odium and scandal +attaching to the sight of the "most Catholic" Emperor sending a Lutheran +army in his pay to attack the head of the Church, and ravage the +venerated capital of Christendom, which so decorous a sovereign as +Charles would hardly have liked to incur. Still, it may be assumed that +if the Emperor wished his army kept together, and provided no sums for +the purpose, he was not unwilling that they should live by plunder. And +perhaps his real intention was to extort from Rome the means of paying +his troops by the mere exhibition of the danger arising from their +propinquity while they remained unpaid. Upon the whole we are warranted +in supposing that Bourbon and Frundsberg would hardly have ventured on +the course they took if they had not had reason to believe that it would +not much displease their master. And Charles was exactly the sort of +man who would like to have the profit of an evil deed without the loss +of reputation arising from the commission of it, and who would consider +himself best served by agents who could commit a profitable atrocity +without being guilty of the annoying want of tact of waiting for his +direct orders to commit it. + +For the especial business in hand, it was impossible, moreover, to have +had two more fitting agents than Bourbon and Frundsberg. It was not +every knightly general in those days who would have accepted the task, +even with direct orders, of marching to the sack of Rome, and the open +defiance of its sacred ruler. A Florentine or a Neapolitan soldier might +have had small scruple in doing so; and a Roman baron--a Colonna or an +Orsini--none at all. But there would have been found few men of such +mark as Bourbon, in either France or Spain, willing to undertake the +enterprise he was now engaged in. The unfortunate Constable, however, +was a disgraced and desperate man. He was disgraced in the face of +Europe by unknightly breach of fealty to his sovereign, despite the +intensity of the provocation which had driven him to that step. For all +the sanctions which held European society together, in the universal +bondage which alone then constituted social order, were involved in +maintaining the superstition that so branded him. And he was a desperate +man in his fortunes; for though no name in all Europe was at that day as +great a military power at the head of a host as that of Bourbon, and +though the miserable bearer of it had so shortly before been one of the +wealthiest and largest territorial nobles of France, yet the Constable +had now his sword for his fortune as barely as the rawest lad in the +rabble-rout that followed him, sent out from some landless tower of an +impoverished knight, in half-starved Galicia or poverty-stricken +Navarre, to carve his way in the world. + +Even among those whose ranks he had joined, Bourbon was a disgraced and +ruined man beyond redemption. Although his well-known military capacity +had easily induced Charles to welcome and make use of him, he must have +felt that the step he had taken in breaking his allegiance and +abandoning his country had rendered him an outcast and almost a pariah +in the estimation of the chivalry of Europe. The feeling he had awakened +against himself throughout Christendom is strikingly illustrated by an +anecdote recorded of his reception at Madrid. When, shortly after +winning the battle of Pavia, Bourbon went thither to meet Charles, and +the Marquis of Villane was requested to lodge the victorious general in +his palace, the haughty Spaniard told the Emperor that his house and all +that he possessed were at his sovereign's disposition, but that he +should assuredly burn it down as soon as Bourbon was out of it; since, +having been sullied by the presence of a renegade, it could no longer be +a fitting residence for a man of honor. + +So low had Bourbon fallen! Every man's hand was raised against him, and +his hand was against every man. And it is easy to conceive what must +have been his tone of mind and feeling, as he led on his mutinous +robber-rout to Rome, while men of all parties looked on in +panic-stricken horror. Thus Bourbon led his unpaid and mutinous hordes +to a deed which, none knew better than he, would shock and scandalize +all Europe, as a man who, having fallen already so low as to have lost +all self-respect, cares not in his reckless despair to what depth he +plunges. + +As for Frundsberg, he was a mere soldier of fortune, whose world was his +camp, whose opinions and feelings had been formed in quite another +school from those of his fellow-general; whose code of honor and of +morals was an entirely different one, and whose conscience was not only +perfectly at rest respecting the business he was bound on, but approved +of it as a good and meritorious work for the advancement of true +religion. He carried round his neck a halter of golden tissue, we are +told, with which he loudly boasted that he would hang the Pope as soon +as he got to Rome; and had others of crimson silk at his saddle-bow, +which he said were destined for the cardinals! + +Too late Clement became aware of the imminence and magnitude of the +danger that threatened him and the capital of Christendom. He besought +the Neapolitan viceroy, who had already signed a treaty with him, as has +been seen, to exert himself and use his authority to arrest the +southward march of Bourbon's army. And it is remarkable that this +representative of the Emperor in the government of Naples did, as it +would seem, endeavor earnestly to avert the coming avalanche from the +Eternal City. But, while the Emperor's viceroy used all his authority +and endeavors to arrest the advance of the Emperor's army, the Emperor's +generals advanced and sacked Rome in spite of him. Which of them most +really acted according to the secret wishes of that profound dissembler, +and most false and crafty monarch, it is impossible to know. It may have +been that Bourbon himself had no power to stay the plundering, +bandit-like march of his hungry and unpaid troops. And the facts +recorded of the state of discipline of the army are perfectly consistent +with such a supposition. + +The Viceroy sent a messenger to Bourbon, while he was yet in Bologna, +informing him of the treaty signed with Clement, and desiring him +therefore to come no farther southward. Bourbon, bent, as Varchi says, +on deceiving both the Pope and the Viceroy, replied that, if the Pope +would send him two hundred thousand florins for distribution to the +army, he would stay his march. But, while this answer was carried back +to Rome, the tumultuous host continued its fearfully menacing advance; +and the alarm in Rome was rapidly growing to desperate terror. At the +Pope's earnest request, the Viceroy, "who knew well," says Varchi, "that +his holiness had not a farthing," himself took post and rode hard for +Florence with letters from Clement, hoping to obtain the money there. + +The departure of the Viceroy in person, and the breathless haste of his +ride to Florence, speak vividly of this Spanish officer's personal +anxiety respecting the dreadful fate which threatened Rome. But the +Florentines do not seem to have been equally impressed with the +necessity of losing no time in making an effort to avert the calamity +from a rival city. It was after "much talking," we are told, that they +at last consented to advance a hundred fifty thousand florins, eighty +thousand in cash down, and the remainder by the end of October. It was +now April; and Bourbon had by this time crossed the Apennines, and was +with his army on the western slopes of the mountains, not far from the +celebrated monastery of Lavernia. Thither the Viceroy hurried with all +speed, accompanied by only two servants and a trumpeter; and having +"with much difficulty," says Varchi, come to speech with the general, +proffered him the eighty thousand florins. Upon which he was set upon by +the tumultuous troops, and "narrowly escaped being torn in pieces by +them." In endeavoring to get away from them and make his way back to +Florence, he fell into the hands of certain peasants near Camaldoli, and +was here again in danger of his life, and was wounded in the head. He +was, however, rescued by a monk of Vallombrosa, and by him conducted to +the neighboring little town of Poppi in the Casentino, or upper valley +of the Arno, whence he made his way to Siena, and so back to Rome, with +no pleasant tidings of what might be expected from Bourbon and his +brigand army. + +The Vallombrosan monk, who thus bestead the Viceroy at his need, was, as +Varchi records, rewarded by the bishopric of Muro, in the kingdom of +Naples, which, adds the historian, "he still holds." + +The fate of Rome was no longer doubtful. Clement, who by his pennywise +parsimony had left himself defenceless, made a feeble and wholly vain +attempt to put the city in a state of defence. The corrupt and cowardly +citizens could not have opposed any valid resistance to the ruffian +hordes who were slowly but surely, like an advancing conflagration, +coming upon them, even if they had been willing to do their best. But +the trembling Pope's appeal to them to defend the walls fell on the ears +of as sorely trembling men, each thinking only of the possible chances +of saving his own individual person. Yet it seems clear that means of +defence might have been found had not the Pope been thus paralyzed by +terror. + +Clement, however, was as one fascinated. Martin du Bellay tells us that +he himself, then in Italy as ambassador from Francis I, hurried to Rome, +and warned the Pope of his danger in abundant time for him to have +prepared for the protection of the city by the troops he had at his +disposal. But no persuasion availed to induce Clement to take any step +for that purpose. Neither would he seek safety by flight, nor permit his +unfortunate subjects to do so. John da Casale, ambassador of Henry VIII +at Venice, writes thence to Wolsey on May 16th--the fatal tidings of the +sack of the city having just reached Venice--as follows: +"He"--Clement--"refused to quit the city for some safer place. He even +forbade by edict that anyone should carry anything out of the gates on +pain of death, though many were anxious to depart and carry their +fortunes elsewhere." Meantime Florence, for her own protection, had +hastily induced Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino, to place himself at the +head of the remaining forces of the Italian league, and to take up a +position at Incisa, a small town in the Upper Valdarno, about twenty +miles from the city, on the road to Arezzo. Thus the torrent was turned +off from the capital of the commonwealth. Probably as soon as the +invading army once found itself to the south of Florence, that wealthy +city was in no immediate danger. Rome was metal more attractive to the +invaders, even had there not been an army between them and Florence. + +And now it became frightfully clear that the doom of the Eternal City +was at hand. On came the strangely heterogeneous rout of lawless +soldiery, leaving behind them a trail of burned and ruined cities, +devastated fields, and populations plague-stricken from the +contamination engendered by the multitude of their unburied dead. + +On May 5th Bourbon arrived beneath the walls of Rome. During the last +few days the unhappy Pope had endeavored to arm what men he could get +together under Renzo di Ceri and one Horatius--not Cocles, +unhappily--but Baglioni. "Rome contained within her walls," says Ranke, +"some thirty thousand inhabitants capable of bearing arms. Many of these +men had seen service. They wore swords by their sides, which they had +used freely in their broils among each other, and then boasted of their +exploits. But to oppose the enemy, who brought with him certain +destruction, five hundred men were the utmost that could be mustered +within the city. At the first onset the Pope and his forces were +overthrown." On the evening of May 6th the city was stormed and given +over to the unbridled cupidity and brutality of the soldiers, who during +many a long day of want and hardship had been looking forward to the +hour that was to repay them amply for all past sufferings by the +boundless gratification of every sense, and every caprice of lawless +passion. Bourbon himself had fallen in the first moments of the attack, +as he was leading his men to scale the walls, and any small influence +that he might have exerted in moderating the excesses of the conquerors +was thus at an end. + +It does not fall within the scope of the present narrative to attempt +any detailed account of the days and scenes that followed. They have +been described by many writers; and the reader who bears in mind what +Rome was--her vileness, her cowardice, her imbecility, her wealth, her +arts, her monuments, her memories, her helpless population of religious +communities of both sexes, and the sacred character of her high places +and splendors, which served to give an additional zest to the violence +of triumphant heretics--he that bears in mind all these things may +safely give the reign to his imagination without any fear of +overcharging the picture. Frundsberg had been wont to boast that if ever +he reached Rome he would hang the Pope. He never did reach it, having +been carried off by a fit of apoplexy while striving to quell a mutiny +among his troops shortly after leaving Bologna on his southward march. +But the threat is sufficiently indicative of the spirit that animated +his army, to show that Clement owed his personal safety only to the +strength of the castle of St. Angelo, in which he sought refuge. + +The sensation produced throughout Europe by the dreadful misfortune +which had fallen on the Eternal City was immense. John da Casale, in the +letter cited above, says that it would have been better for Rome to have +been taken by the Turks, when they were in Hungary, as the infidels +would have perpetrated less odious outrages and less horrible sacrilege. +Clerk, Bishop of Bath, writes to Wolsey from Paris on May 28th +following: "Please it, your Grace, after my most humble recommendation, +to understand that about the fifteenth of this moneth, by letters sent +from Venyce, it was spoken, that the Duke of Burbon with the armye +imperyall by vyolence shold enter Rome as the 6th of this moneth; and +that in the same entree the said Duke should be slayne; and that the +Pope had savyd Himself with the Cardynalls in Castell Angell; whiche +tydinges bycause they ware not written unto Venyce, but upon relation of +a souldier, that came from Rome to Viterbe, and bycause ther cam hither +no maner of confirmation thereof unto this day, thay war not belevyd. +This day ther is come letters from Venyce confyrming the same tydinges +to be true. They write also that they have sackyd and spoylyd the town, +and slayne to the nombre of 45,000, _non parcentes nec etati nec sexui +nec ordini_; amongst other that they have murdyrd a marveillous sorte of +fryars, and agaynst pristes and churchis they have behavyd thymselfes +as it doth become Murranys and Lutherans to do." + +How deeply Wolsey himself was moved by the news is seen by a letter from +him to Henry VIII, written on June 2d following. He forwards to the King +the letters "nowe arryved, as wel out of Fraunce as out of Italy, +confirming the piteous and lamentable spoiles, pilages, with most cruel +murdres, committed by the Emperialls in the citie of Rome, _non +parcentes sacris, etati, sexui, aut relioni_; and the extreme daungier +that the Poopes Holines and Cardinalles, who fled into the Castel Angel, +wer in, if by meane of the armye of the liege, they should not be +shortly socoured and releved. Which, sire, is matier that must nedes +commove and stire the hartes of al good christen princes and people to +helpe and put their handes with effecte to reformacion thereof, and the +repressing of such tirannous demenour." + +Even Charles himself affected at least to mourn the success of his own +army. Nowhere did this terrible Italian misfortune fail to awaken +sympathy and compassion save in a rival Italian city. Florence heard the +tidings, says Varchi, with the utmost delight. The same historian +expresses his own opinion, that the sack of Rome was at once the most +cruel and the most merited chastisement ever inflicted by heaven. And +another Florentine writer piously accounts for the failure of all means +adopted to avert the calamity, by supposing that it was God's eternal +purpose then and thus to chastise the crimes of the Roman prelates--a +theory, it may occur to some minds, somewhat damaged by the unfortunate +fact that the greater part of the miseries suffered in those awful days +were inflicted on the unhappy flocks of those purple shepherds. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[36] These troops entered Rome in October, 1526. They were disbanded in +March, 1527. + +[37] Cellini here refers to the attack made upon Rome by the great +Ghibelline house of Colonna, led by their chief captain, Pompeo, in +September, 1526. They took possession of the city and drove Clement into +the castle of St. Angelo, where they forced him to agree to terms +favoring the Imperial cause. It was customary for Roman gentlemen to +hire bravoes for the defence of their palaces when any extraordinary +disturbance was expected, as, for example, upon the vacation of the +papal chair. + +[38] All historians of the sack of Rome agree in saying that Bourbon was +shot dead while placing ladders against the outworks near the shop +Cellini mentions. But the honor of firing the arquebuse which brought +him down cannot be assigned to anyone in particular. Very different +stories were current on the subject. + +[39] Renzo di Ceri was a captain of adventurers, who had conquered +Urbino for the Pope in 1515, and afterward fought for the French in the +Italian wars. Orazio Baglioni, of the semiprincely Perugian family, was +a distinguished _condottiere_. He subsequently obtained the captaincy of +the Bande Nere, and died fighting near Naples in 1528. Orazio murdered +several of his cousins in order to acquire the lordship of Perugia. His +brother Malatesta undertook to defend Florence in the siege of 1530, and +sold the city by treason to Clement. + +[40] Giovio, in his _Life of the Cardinal Prospero Colonna_, relates how +he accompanied Clement in his flight from the Vatican to the castle. +While passing some open portions of the gallery, he threw his violet +mantle and cap of a monseigneur over the white stole of the Pontiff, for +fear he might be shot at by the soldiers in the streets below. + +[41] The short autobiography of Raffaello da Montelupo, a man in many +respects resembling Cellini, confirms this part of our author's +narrative. It is one of the most interesting pieces of evidence +regarding what went on inside the castle during the sack of Rome. +Montelupo was also a gunner and commanded two pieces. + +[42] This is an instance of Cellini's exaggeration. He did more than +yeoman's service, no doubt, but we cannot believe that, without him, the +castle would have been taken. + + + + +GREAT RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND + +FALL OF WOLSEY + +A.D. 1529 + +JOHN RICHARD GREEN + + The "New Learning" which had been slowly spreading from + Italy over all Europe, did not markedly affect England until + the sixteenth century. There the long Wars of the Roses had + not only gone nigh to exterminating the old nobility, but + had so distracted men's minds from more peaceful pursuits + that little note was taken of the intellectual movement + abroad. Under Henry VII and Henry VIII all this changed. + These Tudor monarchs were indeed tyrants over England, but + they brought her peace--and time for thought. Under the + leadership of the celebrated Dutch scholar Erasmus, and the + almost equally renowned Englishmen, Sir Thomas More and Dean + Colet, the land awakened about 1500 to a new life of study + and of culture, whose principles spread rapidly among the + upper classes. + + When news of Luther's religious revolt reached England, the + leaders of the New Learning were at first inclined to favor + his ideas. But the two movements, one scholarly and calm, + the other impassioned and intense, soon parted company, as + Green shows in his justly famous account. + + The true ruler of England at the time was the "great + cardinal," Wolsey, whose brain long enabled him to play upon + King Henry as a toreador does upon a bull, guiding at will + the frenzied rushes of the mighty brute. In 1521, the period + when the following account begins, Wolsey was fifty years + old. He had risen from being the studious son of a grazier + and wool merchant to be a dean of the Church under Henry + VII, and a bishop, cardinal and lord chancellor, of England + under Henry VIII. His ambition to be pope was thwarted by + the emperor Charles V, but he was "cardinal legate," having + control of the Catholic Church throughout England; and it + was said of him that in all European affairs he was "seven + times more powerful than the Pope." + + +In England Luther's protest seemed at first to find no echo. King Henry +VIII was, both on political and on religious grounds, firm on the papal +side. England and Rome were drawn to a close alliance by the identity of +their political position. Each was hard pressed between the same great +powers; Rome had to hold its own between the masters of Southern and the +masters of Northern Italy, as England had to hold her own between the +rulers of France and of the Netherlands. From the outset of his reign to +the actual break with Clement VII the policy of Henry is always at one +with that of the papacy. Nor were the King's religious tendencies +hostile to it. He was a trained theologian and proud of his theological +knowledge, but to the end his convictions remained firmly on the side of +the doctrines which Luther denied. In 1521, therefore, he entered the +lists against Luther with an "Assertion of the Seven Sacraments," for +which he was rewarded by Leo with the title of "Defender of the Faith." +The insolent abuse of the reformer's answer called More and Fisher into +the field. + +The influence of the "New Learning" was now strong at the English court. +Colet and Grocyn were among its foremost preachers; Linacre was Henry's +physician; More was a privy councillor; Pace was one of the secretaries +of state; Tunstall was master of the rolls. And as yet the New Learning, +though scared by Luther's intemperate language, had steadily backed him +in his struggle. Erasmus pleaded for him with the Emperor. Ulrich von +Hutten attacked the friars in satires and invectives as violent as his +own. But the temper of the Renaissance was even more antagonistic to the +temper of Luther than that of Rome itself. + +From the golden dream of a new age wrought peaceably and purely by the +slow progress of intelligence, the growth of letters, the development of +human virtue, the reformer of Wittenberg turned away with horror. He had +little or no sympathy with the new cult. He despised reason as heartily +as any papal dogmatist could despise it. He hated the very thought of +toleration or comprehension. He had been driven by a moral and +intellectual compulsion to declare the Roman system a false one, but it +was only to replace it by another system of doctrine just as elaborate +and claiming precisely the same infallibility. To degrade human nature +was to attack the very base of the New Learning; and his attack on it +called the foremost of its teachers to the field. But Erasmus no sooner +advanced to its defence than Luther declared man to be utterly enslaved +by original sin and incapable, through any efforts of his own, of +discovering truth or of arriving, at goodness. + +Such a doctrine not only annihilated the piety and wisdom of the classic +past, from which the New Learning had drawn its larger views of life and +of the world; it trampled in the dust reason itself, the very instrument +by which More and Erasmus hoped to regenerate both knowledge and +religion. To More especially, with his keener perception of its future +effect, this sudden revival of a purely theological and dogmatic spirit, +severing Christendom into warring camps and ruining all hopes of union +and tolerance, was especially hateful. The temper which hitherto had +seemed so "endearing, gentle, and happy," suddenly gave way. His reply +to Luther's attack upon the King sank to the level of the work it +answered; and though that of Bishop Fisher was calmer and more +argumentative, the divorce of the New Learning from the Reformation +seemed complete. + +But if the world of scholars and thinkers stood aloof from the new +movement it found a warmer welcome in the larger world where men are +stirred rather by emotion than by thought. There was an England of which +even More and Colet knew little, in which Luther's words kindled a fire +that was never to die. As a great social and political movement +Lollardry had ceased to exist, and little remained of the directly +religious impulse given by Wycliffe beyond a vague restlessness and +discontent with the system of the Church. But weak and fitful as was the +life of Lollardry the prosecutions whose records lie scattered over the +bishops' registers failed wholly to kill it. We see groups meeting here +and there to read "in a great book of heresy all one night certain +chapters of the Evangelists in English," while transcripts of Wycliffe's +tracts passed from hand to hand. + +The smouldering embers needed but a breath to fan them into flame, and +the breath came from William Tyndale. Born among the Cotswolds when +Bosworth Field gave England to the Tudors, Tyndale passed from Oxford to +Cambridge to feel the full impulse given by the appearance there of the +New Testament of Erasmus. From that moment one thought was at his heart. +He "perceived by experience how that it was impossible to establish the +lay people in any truth except the Scripture were plainly laid before +their eyes in their mother tongue." + +"If God spare my life," he said to a learned controversialist, "ere many +years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the +Scripture than thou dost." But he was a man of forty before his dream +became fact. Drawn from his retirement in Gloucestershire by the news of +Luther's protest at Wittenberg, he found shelter for a year with a +London alderman, Humfrey Monmouth. "He studied most part of the day at +his book," said his host afterward, "and would eat but sodden meat by +his good-will and drink but small single beer." The book at which he +studied was the Bible. But it was soon needful to quit England if his +purpose was to hold. "I understood at the last not only that there was +no room in my lord of London's palace to translate the New Testament, +but also that there was no place to do it in all England." + +From Hamburg, where he took refuge in 1524, he probably soon found his +way to the little town which had suddenly become the sacred city of the +Reformation. Students of all nations were flocking there with an +enthusiasm which resembled that of the crusades. "As they came in sight +of the town," a contemporary tells us, "they returned thanks to God with +clasped hands, for from Wittenberg, as heretofore from Jerusalem, the +light of evangelical truth had spread to the utmost parts of the earth." + +Such a visit could only fire Tyndale to face the "poverty, exile, bitter +absence from friends, hunger and thirst and cold, great dangers, and +innumerable other hard and sharp fightings," which the work he had set +himself was to bring with it. In 1525 his version of the New Testament +was completed, and means were furnished by English merchants for +printing it at Cologne. But Tyndale had soon to fly with his sheets to +Worms, a city whose Lutheran tendencies made it a safer refuge, and it +was from Worms that six thousand copies of the New Testament were sent +in 1526 to English shores. The King was keenly opposed to a book which +he looked on as made "at the solicitation and instance of Luther"; and +even the men of the New Learning from whom it might have hoped for +welcome were estranged from it by its Lutheran origin. We can only +fairly judge their action by viewing it in the light of the time. What +Warham and More saw over sea might well have turned them from a +movement which seemed breaking down the very foundations of religion +and society. Not only was the fabric of the Church rent asunder and the +centre of Christian unity denounced as "Babylon," but the reform itself +seemed passing into anarchy. + +Luther was steadily moving onward from the denial of one Catholic dogma +to that of another; and what Luther still clung to, his followers were +ready to fling away. Carlstadt was denouncing the reformer of Wittenberg +as fiercely as Luther himself had denounced the Pope, and meanwhile the +religious excitement was kindling wild dreams of social revolution, and +men stood aghast at the horrors of a peasant war which broke out in +Southern Germany. It was not therefore as a mere translation of the +Bible that Tyndale's work reached England. It came as a part of the +Lutheran movement, and it bore the Lutheran stamp in its version of +ecclesiastical words. "Church" became "congregation," "priest" was +changed into "elder." It came too in company with Luther's bitter +invectives and reprints of the tracts of Wycliffe, which the German +traders of the Steelyard were importing in large numbers. We can hardly +wonder that More denounced the book as heretical, or that Warham ordered +it to be given up by all who possessed it. + +Wolsey took little heed of religious matters, but his policy was one of +political adhesion to Rome, and he presided over a solemn penance to +which some Steelyard men submitted in St. Paul's. "With six-and-thirty +abbots, mitred priors, and bishops, and he in his whole pomp mitred," +the Cardinal looked on while "great baskets full of books were +commanded; after the great fire was made before the Rood of Northen (the +crucifix by the great north door of the cathedral), thus to be burned, +and those heretics to go thrice about the fire and to cast in their +fagots." + +But scenes and denunciations such as these were vain in the presence of +an enthusiasm which grew every hour. "Englishmen," says a scholar of the +time, "were so eager for the Gospel as to affirm that they would buy a +New Testament even if they had to give a hundred thousand pieces of +money for it." Bibles and pamphlets were smuggled over to England and +circulated among the poorer and trading classes through the agency of an +association of "Christian Brethren," consisting principally of London +tradesmen and citizens, but whose missionaries spread over the country +at large. They found their way at once to the universities, where the +intellectual impulse given by the New Learning was quickening religious +speculation. + +Cambridge had already won a name for heresy; Barnes, one of its foremost +scholars, had to carry his fagot before Wolsey at St. Paul's; two other +Cambridge teachers, Bilney and Latimer, were already known as +"Lutherans." The Cambridge scholars whom Wolsey introduced into Cardinal +College, which he was founding, spread the contagion through Oxford. A +group of "brethren" was formed in Cardinal College for the secret +reading and discussion of the Epistles; and this soon included the more +intelligent and learned scholars of the university. It was in vain that +Clark, the centre of this group, strove to dissuade fresh members from +joining it by warnings of the impending dangers. "I fell down on my +knees at his feet," says one of them, Anthony Dalaber, "and with tears +and sighs besought him that for the tender mercy of God he should not +refuse me, saying that I trusted verily that he who had begun this on me +would not forsake me, but would give me grace to continue therein to the +end. When he heard me say so, he came to me, took me in his arms, and +kissed me, saying, 'The Lord God Almighty grant you so to do, and from +henceforth ever take me for your father, and I will take you for my son +in Christ.'" + +In 1528 the excitement which followed on this rapid diffusion of +Tyndale's works forced Wolsey to more vigorous action; many of the +Oxford Brethren were thrown into prison and their books seized. But in +spite of the panic of the Protestants, some of whom fled over sea, +little severity was really exercised. Henry's chief anxiety, indeed, was +lest in the outburst against heresy the interest of the New Learning +should suffer harm. This was remarkably shown in the protection he +extended to one who was destined to eclipse even the fame of Colet as a +popular preacher. Hugh Latimer was the son of a Leicestershire yeoman, +whose armor the boy had buckled on in the days of Henry VII, ere he set +out to meet the Cornish insurgents at Blackheath Field. Latimer has +himself described the soldierly training of his youth. + +"My father was delighted to teach me to shoot with the bow. He taught +me how to draw, how to lay my body to the bow, not to draw with strength +of arm as other nations do, but with the strength of the body." + +At fourteen he was at Cambridge, flinging himself into the New Learning +which was winning its way there with a zeal that at last told on his +physical strength. The ardor of his mental efforts left its mark on him +in ailments and enfeebled health from which, vigorous as he was, his +frame never wholly freed itself. But he was destined to be known, not as +a scholar, but as a preacher. In his addresses from the pulpit the +sturdy good-sense of the man shook off the pedantry of the schools as +well as the subtlety of the theologian. He had little turn for +speculation, and in the religious changes of the day we find him +constantly lagging behind his brother-reformers. But he had the moral +earnestness of a Jewish prophet, and his denunciations of wrong had a +prophetic directness and fire. "Have pity on your soul," he cried to +Henry, "and think that the day is even at hand when you shall give an +account of your office, and of the blood that hath been shed by your +sword." + +His irony was yet more telling than his invective. "I would ask you a +strange question," he said once at Paul's Cross to a ring of bishops; +"who is the most diligent prelate in all England, that passeth all the +rest in doing of his office? I will tell you. It is the Devil! Of all +the pack of them that have cure, the Devil shall go for my money; for he +ordereth his business. Therefore, you unpreaching prelates, learn of the +Devil to be diligent in your office. If you will not learn of God, for +shame learn of the Devil." But Latimer was far from limiting himself to +invective. His homely humor breaks in with story and apologue; his +earnestness is always tempered with good-sense; his plain and simple +style quickens with a shrewd mother-wit. He talks to his hearers as a +man talks to his friends, telling stories such as we have given of his +own life at home, or chatting about the changes and chances of the day +with a transparent simplicity and truth that raise even his chat into +grandeur. His theme is always the actual world about him, and in his +simple lessons of loyalty, of industry, of pity for the poor, he touches +upon almost every subject from the plough to the throne. No such +preaching had been heard in England before his day, and with the growth +of his fame grew the danger of persecution. There were moments when, +bold as he was, Latimer's heart failed him. "If I had not trust that God +will help me," he wrote once, "I think the ocean sea would have divided +my lord of London and me by this day." + +A citation for heresy at last brought the danger home. "I intend," he +wrote with his peculiar medley of humor and pathos, to "make merry with +my parishioners this Christmas, for all the sorrow, lest perchance I may +never return to them again." But he was saved throughout by the steady +protection of the court. Wolsey upheld him against the threats of the +Bishop of Ely; Henry made him his own chaplain; and the King's +interposition at this critical moment forced Latimer's judges to content +themselves with a few vague words of submission. + +What really sheltered the reforming movement was Wolsey's indifference +to all but political matters. In spite of the foundation of Cardinal +College in which he was now engaged, and of the suppression of some +lesser monasteries for its endowment, the men of the New Learning looked +on him as really devoid of any interest in the revival of letters or in +their hopes of a general enlightenment. He took hardly more heed of the +new Lutheranism. His mind had no religious turn, and the quarrel of +faiths was with him simply one factor in the political game which he was +carrying on and which at this moment became more complex and absorbing +than ever. The victory of Pavia had ruined that system of balance which +Henry VII, and, in his earlier days, Henry VIII, had striven to +preserve. But the ruin had not been to England's profit, but to the +profit of its ally. While the Emperor stood supreme in Europe, Henry had +won nothing from the war, and it was plain that Charles meant him to win +nothing. He set aside all projects of a joint invasion; he broke his +pledge to wed Mary Tudor and married a princess of Portugal; he pressed +for a peace with France which would give him Burgundy. It was time for +Henry and his minister to change their course. They resolved to withdraw +from all active part in the rivalry of the two powers. + +In June, 1525, a treaty was secretly concluded with France. But Henry +remained on fair terms with the Emperor; and though England joined the +Holy League for the deliverance of Italy from the Spaniards which was +formed between France, the Pope, and the lesser Italian states on the +release of Francis in the spring of 1526 by virtue of a treaty which he +at once repudiated, she took no part in the lingering war which went on +across the Alps. Charles was too prudent to resent Henry's alliance with +his foes, and from this moment the country remained virtually at peace. +No longer spurred by the interest of great events, the King ceased to +take a busy part in foreign politics, and gave himself to hunting and +sport. Among the fairest and gayest ladies of his court stood Anne +Boleyn. She was sprung of a merchant family which had but lately risen +to distinction through two great marriages, that of her grandfather with +the heiress of the earls of Ormond, and that of her father, Sir Thomas +Boleyn, with a sister of the Duke of Norfolk. + +It was probably through his kinship with the Duke, who was now lord +treasurer and high in the King's confidence, that Boleyn was employed +throughout Henry's reign in state business, and his diplomatic abilities +had secured his appointment as envoy both to France and to the Emperor. +His son, George Boleyn, a man of culture and a poet, was among the group +of young courtiers in whose society Henry took most pleasure. Anne was +his youngest daughter; born in 1507, she was still but a girl of sixteen +when the outbreak of war drew her from a stay in France to the English +court. Her beauty was small, but her bright eyes, her flowing hair, her +gayety and wit soon won favor with the King, and only a month after her +return in 1522 the grant of honors to her father marked her influence +over Henry. + +Fresh gifts in the following years showed that the favor continued; but +in 1524 a new color was given to this intimacy by a resolve on the +King's part to break his marriage with the Queen. Catharine had now +reached middle age; her personal charms had departed. The death of every +child save Mary may have woke scruples as to the lawfulness of a +marriage on which a curse seemed to rest; the need of a male heir for +public security may have deepened this impression. But whatever were the +grounds of his action we find Henry from this moment pressing the Roman +see to grant him a divorce. + +It is probable that the matter was already mooted in 1525, a year which +saw new proof of Anne's influence in the elevation of Sir Thomas Boleyn +to the baronage as Lord Rochford. It is certain that it was the object +of secret negotiation with the Pope in 1526. No sovereign stood higher +in the favor of Rome than Henry, whose alliance had ever been ready in +its distress and who was even now prompt with aid in money. But +Clement's consent to his wish meant a break with the Emperor, +Catharine's nephew; and the exhaustion of France, the weakness of the +league in which the lesser Italian states strove to maintain their +independence against Charles after the battle of Pavia, left the Pope at +the Emperor's mercy. While the English envoy was mooting the question of +divorce in 1526 the surprise of Rome by an imperial force brought home +to Clement his utter helplessness. + +It is hard to discover what part Wolsey had as yet taken in the matter, +or whether as in other cases Henry had till now been acting alone, +though the Cardinal himself tells us that on Catharine's first discovery +of the intrigue she attributed the proposal of divorce to "my +procurement and setting forth." But from this point his intervention is +clear. As legate he took cognizance of all matrimonial causes, and in +May, 1527, a collusive action was brought in his court against Henry for +cohabiting with his brother's wife. The King appeared by proctor; but +the suit was suddenly dropped. Secret as were the proceedings, they had +now reached Catharine's ear; and as she refused to admit the facts on +which Henry rested his case her appeal would have carried the matter to +the tribunal of the Pope, and Clement's decision could hardly be a +favorable one. + +The Pope was now in fact a prisoner in the Emperor's hands. At the very +moment of the suit Rome was stormed and sacked by the army of the Duke +of Bourbon. "If the Pope's holiness fortune either to be slain or +taken," Wolsey wrote to the King when the news of this event reached +England, "it shall not a little hinder your grace's affairs." But it was +needful for the Cardinal to find some expedient to carry out the King's +will, for the group around Anne were using her skilfully for their +purposes. A great party had now gathered to her support. Her uncle, the +Duke of Norfolk, an able and ambitious man, counted on her rise to set +him at the head of the council board; the brilliant group of young +courtiers to which her brother belonged saw in her success their own +elevation; and the Duke of Suffolk with the bulk of the nobles hoped +through her means to bring about the ruin of the statesman before whom +they trembled. + +What most served their plans was the growth of Henry's passion. "If it +please you," the King wrote at this time to Anne Boleyn, "to do the +office of a true, loyal mistress, and give yourself body and heart to +me, who have been and mean to be your loyal servant, I promise you not +only the name but that I shall make you my sole mistress, remove all +others from my affection, and serve you only." What stirred Henry's +wrath most was Catharine's "stiff and obstinate" refusal to bow to his +will. Wolsey's advice that "your Grace should handle her both gently and +doulcely" only goaded Henry's impatience. He lent an ear to the rivals +who charged his minister with slackness in the cause, and danger drove +the Cardinal to a bolder and yet more unscrupulous device. + +The entire subjection of Italy to the Emperor was drawing closer the +French alliance, and a new treaty had been concluded in April. But this +had hardly been signed when the sack of Rome and the danger of the Pope +called for bolder measures. Wolsey was despatched on a solemn embassy to +Francis to promise an English subsidy on the despatch of a French army +across the Alps. But he aimed at turning the Pope's situation to the +profit of the divorce. Clement was virtually a prisoner in the castle of +St. Angelo; and as it was impossible for him to fulfil freely the +function of a Pope, Wolsey proposed, in conjunction with Francis, to +call a meeting of the college of cardinals at Avignon which should +exercise the papal powers till Clement's liberation. As Wolsey was to +preside over this assembly, it would be easy to win from it a favorable +answer to Henry's request. + +But Clement had no mind to surrender his power, and secret orders from +the Pope prevented the Italian cardinals from attending such an +assembly. Nor was Wolsey more fortunate in another plan for bringing +about the same end by inducing Clement to delegate to him his full +powers westward of the Alps. Henry's trust in him was fast waning before +these failures and the steady pressure of his rivals at court, and the +coldness of the King on his return in September was an omen of his +minister's fall. Henry was in fact resolved to take his own course; and +while Wolsey sought from the Pope a commission enabling him to try the +case in his legatine court and pronounce the marriage null and void by +sentence of law, Henry had determined at the suggestion of the Boleyns +and apparently of Thomas Cranmer, a Cambridge scholar who was serving as +their chaplain, to seek, without Wolsey's knowledge, from Clement either +his approval of a divorce or, if a divorce could not be obtained, a +dispensation to remarry without any divorce at all. + +For some months his envoys could find no admission to the Pope; and +though in December Clement succeeded in escaping to Orvieto and drew +some courage from the entry of the French army into Italy, his temper +was still too timid to venture on any decided course. He refused the +dispensation altogether. Wolsey's proposal for leaving the matter to a +legatine court found better favor; but when the commission reached +England it was found to be "of no effect or authority." What Henry +wanted was not merely a divorce but the express sanction of the Pope to +his divorce, and this Clement steadily evaded. A fresh embassy, with +Wolsey's favorite and secretary, Stephen Gardiner, at its head, reached +Orvieto in March, 1528, to find, in spite of Gardiner's threats, hardly +better success; but Clement at last consented to a legatine commission +for the trial of the case in England. In this commission Cardinal +Campeggio, who was looked upon as a partisan of the English King, was +joined with Wolsey. + +Great as the concession seemed, this gleam of success failed to hide +from the minister the dangers which gathered round him. The great nobles +whom he had practically shut out from the King's counsels were longing +for his fall. The Boleyns and the young courtiers looked on him as cool +in Anne's cause. He was hated alike by men of the old doctrine and men +of the new. The clergy had never forgotten his extortions, the monks saw +him suppressing small monasteries. The foundation of Cardinal College +failed to reconcile to him the scholars of the New Learning; their poet, +Skelton, was among his bitterest assailants. + +The Protestants, goaded by the persecution of this very year, hated him +with a deadly hatred. His French alliances, his declaration of war with +the Emperor, hindered the trade with Flanders and secured the hostility +of the merchant class. The country at large, galled with murrain and +famine and panic-struck by an outbreak of the sweating sickness which +carried off two thousand in London alone, laid all its suffering at the +door of the Cardinal. And now that Henry's mood itself became uncertain +Wolsey knew his hour was come. Were the marriage once made, he told the +French ambassador, and a male heir born to the realm, he would withdraw +from state affairs and serve God for the rest of his life. But the +divorce had still to be brought about ere marriage could be made or heir +be born. Henry indeed had seized on the grant of a commission as if the +matter were at an end. Anne Boleyn was installed in the royal palace and +honored with the state of a wife. The new legate, Campeggio, held the +bishopric of Salisbury, and had been asked for as judge from the belief +that he would favor the King's cause. But he bore secret instructions +from the Pope to bring about if possible a reconciliation between Henry +and the Queen, and in no case to pronounce sentence without reference to +Rome. The slowness of his journey presaged ill; he did not reach England +till the end of September, and a month was wasted in vain efforts to +bring Henry to a reconciliation or Catharine to retirement into a +monastery. + +A new difficulty disclosed itself in the supposed existence of a brief +issued by Pope Julius and now in the possession of the Emperor, which +overruled all the objections to the earlier dispensation on which Henry +relied. The hearing of the cause was delayed through the winter, while +new embassies strove to induce Clement to declare this brief also +invalid. Not only was such a demand glaringly unjust, but the progress +of the imperial arms brought vividly home to the Pope its injustice. The +danger which he feared was not merely a danger to his temporal domain in +Italy--it was a danger to the papacy itself. It was in vain that new +embassies threatened Clement with the loss of his spiritual power over +England. To break with the Emperor was to risk the loss of his spiritual +power over a far larger world. + +Charles had already consented to the suspension of the judgment of his +diet at Worms, a consent which gave security to the new Protestantism in +North Germany. If he burned heretics in the Netherlands, he employed +them in his armies. Lutheran soldiers had played their part in the sack +of Rome. Lutheranism had spread from North Germany along the Rhine, it +was now pushing fast into the hereditary possessions of the Austrian +house, it had all but mastered the Low Countries. France itself was +mined with heresy; and were Charles once to give way, the whole +Continent would be lost to Rome. + +Amid difficulties such as these the papal court saw no course open save +one of delay. But the long delay told fatally for Wolsey's fortunes. +Even Clement blamed him for having hindered Henry from judging the +matter in his own realm and marrying on the sentence of his own courts, +and the Boleyns naturally looked upon his policy as dictated by hatred +to Anne. Norfolk and the great peers took courage from the bitter tone +of the girl; and Henry himself charged the Cardinal with a failure in +fulfilling the promises he had made him. King and minister still clung +indeed passionately to their hopes from Rome. But in 1529 Charles met +their pressure with a pressure of his own; and the progress of his arms +decided Clement to avoke the cause to Rome. Wolsey could only hope to +anticipate this decision by pushing the trial hastily forward, and at +the end of May the two legates opened their court in the great hall of +the Blackfriars. + +King and Queen were cited to appear before them when the court again met +on June 18th. Henry briefly announced his resolve to live no longer in +mortal sin. The Queen offered an appeal to Clement, and on the refusal +of the legates to admit it flung herself at Henry's feet. "Sire," said +Catharine, "I beseech you to pity me, a woman and a stranger, without an +assured friend and without an indifferent counsellor. I take God to +witness that I have always been to you a true and loyal wife, that I +have made it my constant duty to seek your pleasure, that I have loved +all whom you loved, whether I have reason or not, whether they are +friends to me or foes. I have been your wife for years; I have brought +you many children. God knows that when I came to your bed I was a +virgin, and I put it to your own conscience to say whether it was not +so. If there be any offence which can be alleged against me I consent to +depart with infamy; if not, then I pray you to do me justice." + +The piteous appeal was wasted on a king who was already entertaining +Anne Boleyn with royal state in his own palace; the trial proceeded, and +on July 23d the court assembled to pronounce sentence. Henry's hopes +were at their highest when they were suddenly dashed to the ground. At +the opening of the proceedings Campeggio rose to declare the court +adjourned to the following October. The adjournment was a mere evasion. +The pressure of the imperialists had at last forced Clement to summon +the cause to his own tribunal at Rome, and the jurisdiction of the +legates was at an end. + +"Now see I," cried the Duke of Suffolk as he dashed his hand on the +table, "that the old saw is true, that there was never legate or +cardinal that did good to England!" The Duke only echoed his master's +wrath. Through the twenty years of his reign Henry had known nothing of +opposition to his will. His imperious temper had chafed at the weary +negotiations, the subterfuges and perfidies of the Pope. Though the +commission was his own device, his pride must have been sorely galled by +the summons to the legates' court. The warmest adherents of the older +faith revolted against the degradation of the Crown. "It was the +strangest and newest sight and device," says Cavendish, "that ever we +read or heard of in any history or chronicle in any region that a king +and queen should be convented and constrained by process compellatory to +appear in any court as common persons, within their own realm and +dominion, to abide the judgment and decree of their own subjects, having +the royal diadem and prerogative thereof." + +Even this degradation had been borne in vain. Foreign and papal tribunal +as that of the legates really was, it lay within Henry's kingdom and had +the air of an English court. But the citation to Rome was a summons to +the King to plead in a court without his realm. Wolsey had himself +warned Clement of the hopelessness of expecting Henry to submit to such +humiliation as this. "If the King be cited to appear in person or by +proxy and his prerogative be interfered with, none of his subjects will +tolerate the insult. To cite the King to Rome, to threaten him with +excommunication, is no more tolerable than to deprive him of his royal +dignity. If he were to appear in Italy it would be at the head of a +formidable army." But Clement had been deaf to the warning, and the case +had been avoked out of the realm. + +Henry's wrath fell at once on Wolsey. Whatever furtherance or hinderance +the Cardinal had given to his remarriage, it was Wolsey who had +dissuaded him from acting, at the first, independently; from conducting +the cause in his own courts and acting on the sentence of his own +judges. Whether to secure the succession by a more indisputable decision +or to preserve uninjured the prerogatives of the papal see, it was +Wolsey who had counselled him to seek a divorce from Rome and promised +him success in his suit. And in this counsel Wolsey stood alone. Even +Clement had urged the King to carry out his original purpose when it was +too late. All that the Pope sought was to be freed from the necessity of +meddling in the matter at all. It was Wolsey who had forced papal +intervention on him, as he had forced it on Henry, and the failure of +his plans was fatal to him. From the close of the legatine court Henry +would see him no more, and his favorite, Stephen Gardiner, who had +become chief secretary of state, succeeded him in the King's confidence. + +If Wolsey still remained minister for a while, it was because the thread +of the complex foreign negotiations which he was conducting could not be +roughly broken. Here too, however, failure awaited him. His diplomacy +sought to bring fresh pressure on the Pope and to provide a fresh check +on the Emperor by a closer alliance with France. But Francis was anxious +to recover his children who had remained as hostages for his return; he +was weary of the long struggle, and hopeless of aid from his Italian +allies. At this crisis of his fate therefore Wolsey saw himself deceived +and outwitted by the conclusion of peace between France and the Emperor +in a new treaty at Cambray. Not only was his French policy no longer +possible, but a reconciliation with Charles was absolutely needful, and +such a reconciliation could only be brought about by Wolsey's fall. In +October, on the very day that the Cardinal took his place with a haughty +countenance and all his former pomp in the court of chancery an +indictment was preferred against him by the King's attorney for +receiving bulls from Rome in violation of the Statute of Provisors. + +A few days later he was deprived of the seals. Wolsey was prostrated by +the blow. In a series of abject appeals he offered to give up everything +that he possessed if the King would but cease from his displeasure. "His +face," wrote the French ambassador, "is dwindled to half its natural +size. In truth his misery is such that his enemies, Englishmen as they +are, cannot help pitying him." For the moment Henry seemed contented +with his disgrace. A thousand boats full of Londoners covered the Thames +to see the Cardinal's barge pass to the Tower, but he was permitted to +retire to Esher. + +Although judgment of forfeiture and imprisonment was given against him +in the king's bench at the close of October, in the following February +he received a pardon on surrender of his vast possessions to the crown +and was permitted to withdraw to his diocese of York, the one dignity he +had been suffered to retain. + +Not less significant was the attitude of the New Learning. On Wolsey's +fall the seals had been offered to Warham, and it was probably at his +counsel that they were finally given to Sir Thomas More. The +Chancellor's dream, if we may judge it from the acts of his brief +ministry, seems to have been that of carrying out the religious +reformation which had been demanded by Colet and Erasmus while checking +the spirit of revolt against the unity of the Church. His severities +against the Protestants, exaggerated as they have been by polemic +rancor, remain the one stain on a memory that knows no other. But it was +only by a rigid severance of the cause of reform from what seemed to him +the cause of revolution that More could hope for a successful issue to +the projects of reform which the council laid before parliament. + +The "Petition of the Commons" sounded like an echo of Colet's famous +address to the convocation. It attributed the growth of heresy not more +to "frantic and seditious books published in the English tongue contrary +to the very true Catholic and Christian faith" than to "the extreme and +uncharitable behavior of divers ordinaries." It remonstrated against the +legislation of the clergy in convocation without the King's assent or +that of his subjects, the oppressive procedure of the church courts, the +abuses of ecclesiastical patronage, and the excessive number of holy +days. Henry referred the petition to the bishops, but they could devise +no means of redress, and the ministry persisted in pushing through the +houses their bills for ecclesiastical reform. The importance of the new +measures lay really in the action of parliament. They were an explicit +announcement that church reform was now to be undertaken, not by the +clergy, but by the people at large. On the other hand it was clear that +it would be carried out in a spirit of loyalty to the Church. The +commons forced from Bishop Fisher an apology for words which were taken +as a doubt thrown on their orthodoxy. + +Henry forbade the circulation of Tyndale's translation of the Bible as +executed in a Protestant spirit. The reforming measures, however, were +pushed resolutely on. Though the questions of convocation and the +bishops' courts were adjourned for further consideration, the fees of +the courts were curtailed, the clergy restricted from lay employments, +pluralities restrained, and residence enforced. In spite of a dogged +opposition from the bishops the bills received the assent of the House +of Lords, "to the great rejoicing of lay people, and the great +displeasure of spiritual persons." + +Not less characteristic of the New Learning was the intellectual +pressure it strove to bring to bear on the wavering Pope. Cranmer was +still active in the cause of Anne Boleyn; he had just published a book +in favor of the divorce; and he now urged on the ministry an appeal to +the learned opinion of Christendom by calling for the judgment of the +chief universities of Europe. His counsel was adopted; but Norfolk +trusted to coarser means of attaining his end. Like most of the English +nobles and the whole of the merchant class, his sympathies were with the +house of Burgundy. He looked upon Wolsey as the real hinderance to the +divorce through the French policy which had driven Charles into a +hostile attitude; and he counted on the Cardinal's fall to bring about a +renewal of friendship with the Emperor and to insure his support. + +The father of Anne Boleyn, now created Earl of Wiltshire, was sent in +1530 on this errand to the imperial court. But Charles remained firm to +Catharine's cause, and Clement would do nothing in defiance of the +Emperor. Nor was the appeal to the learned world more successful. In +France the profuse bribery of the English agents would have failed with +the University of Paris but for the interference of Francis himself, +eager to regain Henry's good-will by this office of friendship. As +shameless an exercise of the King's own authority was needed to wring an +approval of his cause from Oxford and Cambridge. In Germany the very +Protestants, then in the fervor of their moral revival and hoping little +from a proclaimed opponent of Luther, were dead against the King. So far +as could be seen from Cranmer's test every learned man in Christendom, +but for bribery and threats, would have condemned the royal cause. + +Henry was embittered by failures which he attributed to the unskilful +diplomacy of his new counsellors; and it was rumored that he had been +heard to regret the loss of the more dexterous statesman whom they had +overthrown. Wolsey, who since the beginning of the year had remained at +York, though busy in appearance with the duties of his see, was hoping +more and more as the months passed by for his recall. But the jealousy +of his political enemies was roused by the King's regrets, and the +pitiless hand of Norfolk was seen in the quick and deadly blow which he +dealt at his fallen rival. + +On November 4th, the eve of his installation feast, the Cardinal was +arrested on a charge of high treason and conducted by the lieutenant of +the Tower toward London. Already broken by his enormous labors, by +internal disease, and the sense of his fall, Wolsey accepted the arrest +as a sentence of death. An attack of dysentery forced him to rest at the +Abbey of Leicester, and as he reached the gate he said feebly to the +brethren who met him, "I am come to lay my bones among you." + +On his death-bed his thoughts still clung to the Prince whom he had +served. "Had I but served God as diligently as I have served the King," +murmured the dying man, "he would not have given me over in my gray +hairs. But this is my due reward for my pains and study, not regarding +my service to God, but only my duty to my Prince." + + + + +PIZARRO CONQUERS PERU + +A.D. 1532 + +HERNANDO PIZARRO WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT + + Before Europeans visited Peru, a highly developed + civilization existed there under the native Indian empire of + the Incas, as the chiefs were called who ruled from the + thirteenth to the sixteenth century. These sovereigns + constituted a hereditary aristocratic order, and had long + been the masters of prodigious wealth taken from the gold + and silver mines of the country. It was the rich treasure + which they expected to find there that first led the + Spaniards to look for conquests in that quarter of the + world. + + When the "South Sea," as the Spaniards called the Pacific + Ocean, had been discovered by Balboa, and the first + conquests on the mainland secured, another Spanish soldier, + Francisco Pizarro, who had accompanied Balboa, settled in + the new city of Panama. While living there in repose, he + longed to perform further and greater services for the + Spanish sovereign. He therefore obtained permission from the + colonial governor to explore the Pacific coast toward the + south. After an unsuccessful voyage in 1524-1526, he set out + again in the latter year, and sailed for Peru, reaching that + country through many hardships, the surmounting of which + places him fairly among the great discoverers. + + Having collected much information concerning the empire of + the Incas, Pizarro went to Spain and received authority to + conquer Peru. Returning to Panama, he sailed from there in + December, 1531, with three ships, one hundred eighty-three + men, and thirty-seven horses. He first landed at the island + of Puna, where he was joined by Hernando de Soto, and then, + crossing to Tumbez, marched inland and reached Cajamarca, + the city of the Incas, in November, 1532. + + The circumstantial account of what followed, written by + Hernando Pizarro, half-brother and companion of Francisco, + is fitly supplemented by the narrative of Prescott, whose + story of the last of the Incas is so widely known. + + +HERNANDO PIZARRO + +_To the Magnificent Lords, the Judges of the Royal Audience of his +Majesty, who reside in the city of Santo Domingo._ + +MAGNIFICENT LORDS: I arrived in this port of Yaguana on my way to Spain, +by order of the governor Francisco Pizarro, to inform his majesty of +what has happened in that government of Peru, to give an account of the +country and of its present condition; and, as I believe that those who +come to this city give your worships inconsistent accounts, it has +seemed well to me to write a summary of what has taken place, that you +may be informed of the truth. + +The Governor, in the name of his majesty, founded a town near the +sea-coast, which was called San Miguel. It is twenty-five leagues from +that point of Tumbez. Having left citizens there, and assigned the +Indians in the district to them, he set out, with sixty horse and ninety +foot, in search of the town of Cajamarca, at which place he was informed +that Atahualpa then was brother of him who is now lord of that land. +Between the two brothers there had been a very fierce war, and this +Atahualpa had conquered the land as far as he then was, which, from the +point whence he started, was a hundred fifty leagues. After seven or +eight marches, a captain of Atahualpa came to the Governor and said that +his lord had heard of his arrival and rejoiced greatly at it, having a +strong desire to see the Christians; and when he had been two days with +the Governor he said that he wished to go forward and tell the news to +his lord, and that another would soon be on the road with a present as a +token of peace. + +The Governor continued his march until he came to a town called La +Ramada. Up to that point all the land was flat, while all beyond was +very rugged and obstructed by very difficult passes. When he saw that +the messenger from Atahualpa did not return, he wished to obtain +intelligence from some Indians who had come from Cajamarca; so they were +tortured, and they then said that they had heard that Atahualpa was +waiting for the Governor in the mountains to give him battle. The +Governor then ordered the troops to advance, leaving the rear-guard in +the plain. The rest ascended, and the road was so bad that, in truth, if +they had been waiting for us, either in this pass or in another that we +came to on the road to Cajamarca, they could very easily have stopped +us; for, even by exerting all our skill, we could not have taken our +horses by the roads; and neither horse nor foot can cross those +mountains except by the roads. The distance across them to Cajamarca is +full twenty leagues. When we were half-way, messengers arrived from +Atahualpa and brought provisions to the Governor. They said that +Atahualpa was waiting for him at Cajamarca, wishing to be his friend; +and that he wished the Governor to know that his captains had taken his +brother prisoner, that they would reach Cajamarca within two days, and +that all the territory of his father now belonged to him. The Governor +sent back to say that he rejoiced greatly at this news, and that, if +there was any lord who refused to submit, he would give assistance and +subjugate him. Two days afterward the Governor came in sight of +Cajamarca, and he met Indians with food. He put the troops in order and +marched to the town. Atahualpa was not there, but was encamped on the +plain, at a distance of a league, with all his people in tents. When the +Governor saw that Atahualpa did not come, he sent a captain, with +fifteen horsemen, to speak to Atahualpa, saying that he would not assign +quarters to the Christians until he knew where it was the pleasure of +Atahualpa that they should lodge, and he desired him to come that they +might be friends. Just then I went to speak to the Governor, touching +the orders in case the Indians made a night attack. He told me that he +had sent men to seek an interview with Atahualpa. I told him that, out +of the sixty cavalry we had, there might be some men who were not +dexterous on horseback, and some unsound horses, and that it seemed a +mistake to pick out fifteen of the best; for, if Atahualpa should attack +them, their numbers were insufficient for defence, and any reverse might +lead to a great disaster. He therefore ordered me to follow with other +twenty horsemen, and to act according to circumstances. + +When I arrived I found the other horsemen near the camp of Atahualpa, +and that their officer had gone to speak with him. I left my men there +also, and advanced with two horsemen to the lodging of Atahualpa, and +the captain announced my approach and who I was. I then told Atahualpa +that the Governor had sent me to visit him and to ask him to come, that +they might be friends. He replied that a cacique of the town of San +Miguel had sent to tell him that we were bad people and not good for +war, and that he himself had killed some of us, both men and horses. I +answered that those people of San Miguel were like women, and that one +horse was enough for the whole of them; that, when he saw us fight, he +would know what we were like; that the Governor had a great regard for +him; that if he had any enemy he had only to say so, and that the +Governor would send to conquer him. He said that, four marches from that +spot, there were some very rebellious Indians who would not submit to +him, and that the Christians might go there to help his troops. I said +that the Governor would send ten horsemen, who would suffice for the +whole country, and that his Indians were unnecessary, except to search +for those who concealed themselves. He smiled like a man who did not +think so much of us. The captain told me that, until I came, he had not +been able to get him to speak, but that one of his chiefs had answered +for him, while he always kept his head down. He was seated in all the +majesty of command, surrounded by all his women, and with many chiefs +near him. Before coming to his presence there was another group of +chiefs, each standing according to his rank. At sunset I said that I +wished to go, and asked him to tell me what to say to the Governor. He +replied that he would come to see him on the following morning, that he +would lodge in three great chambers in the court-yard, and that the +centre one should be set apart for himself. + +That night a good lookout was kept. In the morning he sent messengers to +put off his visit until the afternoon; and these messengers, in +conversing with some Indian girls in the service of the Christians, who +were their relations, told them to run away because Atahualpa was coming +that afternoon to attack the Christians and kill them. Among the +messengers there came that captain who had already met the Governor on +the road. He told the Governor that his lord Atahualpa said that, as the +Christians had come armed to his camp, he also would come armed. The +Governor replied that he might come as he liked. Atahualpa set out from +his camp at noon, and when he came to a place which was about half a +quarter of a league from Cajamarca he stopped until late in the +afternoon. There he pitched his tents, and formed his men in three +divisions. The whole road was full of men, and they had not yet left off +marching out of the camp. + +The Governor had ordered his troops to be distributed in the three +halls which were in the open court-yard, in form of a triangle; and he +ordered them to be mounted and armed until the intentions of Atahualpa +were known. Having pitched his tents, Atahualpa sent a messenger to the +Governor to say that as it was now late he wished to sleep where he was, +and that he would come in the morning. The Governor sent back to beg him +to come at once, because he was waiting for supper, and that he should +not sup until Atahualpa should come. The messengers came back to ask the +Governor to send a Christian to Atahualpa, that he intended to come at +once, and that he would come unarmed. The Governor sent a Christian, and +presently Atahualpa moved, leaving the armed men behind him. He took +with him about five or six thousand Indians without arms, except that, +under their shirts, they had small darts and slings with stones. + +He came in a litter, and before him went three or four hundred Indians +in liveries, cleaning the straws from the road and singing. Then came +Atahualpa in the midst of his chiefs and principal men, the greatest +among them being also borne on men's shoulders. When they entered the +open space, twelve or fifteen Indians went up to the little fortress +that was there and occupied it, taking possession with a banner fixed on +a lance. When Atahualpa had advanced to the centre of an open space, he +stopped, and a Dominican friar, who was with the Governor, came forward +to tell him, on the part of the Governor, that he waited for him in his +lodging, and that he was sent to speak with him. The friar then told +Atahualpa that he was a priest, and that he was sent there to teach the +things of the faith if they should desire to be Christians. He showed +Atahualpa a book which he carried in his hands, and told him that that +book contained the things of God. Atahualpa asked for the book, and +threw it on the ground, saying: "I will not leave this place until you +have restored all that you have taken in my land. I know well who you +are and what you have come for." Then he rose up in his litter and +addressed his men, and there were murmurs among them and calls to those +who were armed. The friar went to the Governor and reported what was +being done and that no time was to be lost. The Governor sent to me; and +I had arranged with the captain of the artillery that, when a sign was +given, he should discharge his pieces, and that, on hearing the reports, +all the troops should come forth at once. This was done, and as the +Indians were unarmed they were defeated without danger to any Christian. +Those who carried the litter and the chiefs who surrounded Atahualpa +were all killed, falling round him. The Governor came out and seized +Atahualpa, and in protecting him he received a knife-cut from a +Christian in the hand. The troops continued the pursuit as far as the +place where the armed Indians were stationed, who made no resistance +whatever, because it was now night. All were brought into the town where +the Governor was quartered. + +Next morning the Governor ordered us to go to the camp of Atahualpa, +where we found forty thousand castellanos and four or five thousand +marcos of silver. The camp was as full of people as if none were +wanting. All the people were assembled, and the Governor desired them to +go to their homes, and told them that he had not come to do them harm; +that what he had done was by reason of the pride of Atahualpa, and that +he himself ordered it. On asking Atahualpa why he had thrown away the +book and shown so much pride, he answered that his captain, who had been +sent to speak with the Governor, had told him that the Christians were +not warriors, that the horses were unsaddled at night, and that with two +hundred Indians he could defeat them all. He added that this captain and +the chief of San Miguel had deceived him. The Governor then inquired +concerning his brother the Cuzco, and he answered that he would arrive +next day, that he was being brought as a prisoner, and that his captain +remained with the troops in the town of Cuzco. It afterward turned out +that in all this he had spoken the truth, except that he had sent orders +for his brother to be killed, lest the Governor should restore him to +his lordship. The Governor said that he had not come to make war on the +Indians, but that our lord the Emperor, who was lord of the whole world, +had ordered him to come that he might see the land, and let Atahualpa +know the things of our faith, in case he should wish to become a +Christian. The Governor also told him that that land and all other lands +belonged to the Emperor, and that he must acknowledge him as his lord. +He replied that he was content, and, observing that the Christians had +collected some gold, Atahualpa said to the Governor that they need not +take such care of it, as if there was so little; for that he could give +them ten thousand plates, and that he could fill the room in which he +was up to a white line, which was the height of a man and a half from +the floor. The room was seventeen or eighteen feet wide and thirty-five +feet long. He said that he could do this in two months. + +Two months passed away and the gold did not arrive, but the Governor +received tidings that every day parties of men were advancing against +him. In order both to ascertain the truth of these reports, and to hurry +the arrival of the gold, the Governor ordered me to set out with twenty +horsemen and ten or twelve foot-soldiers for a place called Guamachuco, +which is twenty leagues from Cajamarca. This was the place where it was +reported that armed men were collecting together. I advanced to that +town, and found a quantity of gold and silver, which I sent thence to +Cajamarca. Some Indians, who were tortured, told us that the captains +and armed men were at a place six leagues from Guamachuco; and, though I +had no instructions from the Governor to advance beyond that point, I +resolved to push forward with fourteen horsemen and nine foot-soldiers, +in order that the Indians might not take heart at the notion that we had +retreated. The rest of my party were sent to guard the gold, because +their horses were lame. Next morning I arrived at that town, and did not +find any armed men there, and it turned out that the Indians had told +lies, perhaps to frighten us and induce us to return. + +At this village I received permission from the Governor to go to a +mosque of which we had intelligence, which was a hundred leagues away on +the sea-coast, in a town called Pachacamac. It took us twenty-two days +to reach it. The road over the mountains is a thing worth seeing, +because, though the ground is so rugged, such beautiful roads could not +in truth be found throughout Christendom. The greater part of them is +paved. There is a bridge of stone or wood over every stream. We found +bridges of network over a very large and powerful river, which we +crossed twice, which was a marvellous thing to see. The horses crossed +over by them. At each passage they have two bridges, the one by which +the common people go over, and the other for the lords of the land and +their captains. The approaches are always kept closed, with Indians to +guard them. These Indians exact transit dues from all passengers. The +chiefs and people of the mountains are more intelligent than those of +the coast. The country is populous. There are mines in many parts of it. +It is a cold climate, it snows, and there is much rain. There are no +swamps. Fuel is scarce. Atahualpa has placed governors in all the +principal towns, and his predecessors had also appointed governors. In +all these towns there were houses of imprisoned women, with guards at +the doors, and these women preserve their virginity. If any Indian has +any connection with them his punishment is death. Of these houses, some +are for the worship of the sun, others for that of old Cuzco, the father +of Atahualpa. Their sacrifices consist of sheep and _chica_, which they +pour out on the ground. They have another house of women in each of the +principal towns, also guarded. These women are assembled by the chiefs +of the neighboring districts, and when the lord of the land passes by +they select the best to present to him, and when they are taken others +are chosen to fill up their places. These women also have the duty of +making chica for the soldiers when they pass that way. They took Indian +girls out of these houses and presented them to us. All the surrounding +chiefs come to these towns on the roads to perform service when the army +passes. They have stores of fuel and maize and of all other necessaries. +They count by certain knots on cords, and so record what each chief has +brought. When they had to bring us loads of fuel, maize, chica, or meat, +they took off knots or made them on some other part; so that those who +have charge of the stores keep an exact account. In all these towns they +received us with great festivities, dancing, and rejoicing. + +When we arrived on the plain of the sea-coast we met with a people who +were less civilized, but the country was populous. They also have houses +of women, and all the other arrangements as in the towns of the +mountains. They never wished to speak to us of the mosque, for there was +an order that all who should speak to us of it should be put to death. +But as we had intelligence that it was on the coast, we followed the +high road until we came to it. The road is very wide, with an earthen +wall on either side, and houses for resting at intervals, which were +prepared to receive the Cuzco when he travelled that way. There are very +large villages, the houses of the Indians being built of canes, and +those of the chiefs are of earth with roofs of branches of trees; for in +that land it never rains. From the city of San Miguel to this mosque the +distance is one hundred sixty or one hundred eighty leagues, the road +passing near the sea-shore through a very populous country. The road, +with a wall on each side, traverses the whole of this country; and, +neither in that part nor in the part farther on, of which we had notice +for two hundred leagues, does it ever rain. + +They live by irrigation, for the rainfall is so great in the mountains +that many rivers flow from them, so that throughout the land there is +not three leagues without a river. The distance from the sea to the +mountains is in some parts ten leagues, in others twelve. It is not +cold. Throughout the whole of this coast-land, and beyond it, tribute is +not paid to Cuzco, but to the mosque. The bishop of it was in Cajamarca +with the Governor. He had ordered another room of gold, such as +Atahualpa had ordered, and the Governor ordered me to go on this +business, and to hurry those who were collecting it. When I arrived at +the mosque I asked for the gold, and they denied it to me, saying that +they had none. I made some search, but could not find it. The +neighboring chiefs came to see me, and brought presents, and in the +mosque there was found some gold-dust, which was left behind when the +rest was concealed. Altogether I collected eighty-five thousand +castellanos and three thousand marcos of silver. + +This town of the mosque is very large, and contains grand edifices and +courts. Outside, there is another great space surrounded by a wall, with +a door opening on the mosque. In this space there are the houses of the +women, who, they say, are the women of the devil. Here, also, are the +storerooms, where the stores of gold are kept. There is no one in the +place where these women are kept. Their sacrifices are the same as those +to the sun, which I have already described. Before entering the first +court of the mosque, a man must fast for twenty days; before ascending +to the court above, he must fast for a year. In this upper court the +bishop used to be. When messengers of the chiefs, who had fasted for a +year, went up to pray to God that he would give them a good harvest, +they found the bishop seated, with his head covered. There are other +Indians whom they call pages of the sun. When these messengers of the +chief delivered their messages to the bishop, the pages of the devil +went into a chamber, where they said that he speaks to them; and that +devil said that he was enraged with the chiefs, with the sacrifices they +had to offer, and with the presents they wished to bring. I believe that +they do not speak with the devil, but that these his servants deceive +the chiefs. For I took pains to investigate the matter, and an old page, +who was one of the chief and most confidential servants of their god, +told a chief, who repeated it to me, that the devil said they were not +to fear the horses, as they could do no harm. I caused the page to be +tortured, and he was so stubborn in his evil creed that I could never +gather anything from him, but that they really held their devil to be a +god. This mosque is so feared by all the Indians that they believe that, +if any of those servants of the devil asked them for anything and they +refused it, they would presently die. It would seem that the Indians do +not worship this devil from any feelings of devotion, but from fear. For +the chiefs told me that, up to that time, they had served that mosque +because they feared it, but that now they had no fear but of us; and +that, therefore, they wished to serve us. The cave in which the devil +was placed was very dark, so that one could not enter it without a +light, and within it was very dirty. I made all the caciques, who came +to see me, enter the place, that they might lose their fear; and, for +want of a preacher, I made my sermon, explaining to them the errors in +which they lived. + +In this town I learned that the principal captain of Atahualpa was at a +distance of twenty leagues from us, in a town called Jauja. I sent to +tell him to come and see me, and he replied that I should take the road +to Cajamarca, and that he would take another road and meet me. The +Governor, on hearing that the captain was for peace and that he was +ready to come with me, wrote to me to tell me to return; and he sent +three Christians to Cuzco, which is fifty leagues beyond Jauja, to take +possession and to see the country. I returned by the road of Cajamarca, +and by another road, where the captain of Atahualpa was to join me. But +he had not started; and I learned from certain chiefs that he had not +moved, and that he had taken me in. So I went back to the place where he +was, and the road was very rugged, and so obstructed with snow that it +cost us much labor to get there. Having reached the royal road, and come +to a place called Bombon, I met a captain of Atahualpa with five +thousand armed Indians whom Atahualpa had sent on pretence of conquering +a rebel chief; but, as it afterward appeared, they were assembled to +kill the Christians. Here we found five hundred thousand pesos of gold +that they were taking to Cajamarca. This captain told me that the +captain-general remained in Jauja, that he knew of our approach, and was +much afraid. I sent a messenger to him to tell him to remain where he +was and to fear nothing. I also found a negro here who had gone with the +Christians to Cuzco, and he told me that these fears were feigned; for +that the captain-general had many well-armed men with him, that he +counted them by his knots in presence of the Christians, and that they +numbered thirty-five thousand Indians. So we went to Jauja, and, when we +were half a league from the town, and found that the captain did not +come out to receive us, a chief of Atahualpa, whom I had with me and +whom I had treated well, advised me to advance in order of battle, +because he believed that the captain intended to fight. We went up a +small hill overlooking Jauja, and saw a large black mass in the plaza, +which appeared to be something that had been burned. I asked what it +was, and they told me it was a crowd of Indians. The plaza is large, and +has a length of a quarter of a league. As no one came to receive us on +reaching the town, our people advanced in the expectation of having to +fight the Indians. But, at the entrance of the square, some principal +men came out to meet us with offers of peace, and told us that the +captain was not there, as he had gone to reduce certain chiefs to +submission. It would seem that he had gone out of fear, with some of his +troops, and had crossed a river near the town by a bridge of network. I +sent to tell him to come to me peaceably or else the Christians would +destroy him. Next morning the people came who were in the square. They +were Indian servants, and it is true that they numbered over a hundred +thousand souls. We remained here five days, and during all that time +they did nothing but dance and sing and hold great drinking-feasts. The +captain did not wish to come with me, but when he saw that I was +determined to make him he came of his own accord. I left the chief who +came with me as captain there. This town of Jauja is very fine and +picturesque, with very good level approaches, and it has an excellent +river-bank. In all my travels I did not see a better site for a +Christian settlement, and I believe that the Governor intends to form +one there, though some think that it would be more convenient to select +a position near the sea, and are, therefore, of an opposite opinion. All +the country, from Jauja to Cajamarca, by the road we returned, is like +that of which I have already given a description. + +After returning to Cajamarca and reporting my proceedings to the +Governor, he ordered me to go to Spain and to give an account to his +majesty of this and other things which appertain to his service. I took, +from the heap of gold, one hundred thousand castellanos for his majesty, +being the amount of his fifth. The day after I left Cajamarca, the +Christians, who had gone to Cuzco, returned, and brought one million +five hundred thousand of gold. After I arrived at Panama, another ship +came in, with some knights. They say that a distribution of the gold was +made; and that the share of his majesty, besides the one hundred +thousand pesos and the five thousand marcos of silver that I bring, was +another one hundred sixty-five thousand castellanos and seven thousand +or eight thousand marcos of silver; while to all those of us who had +gone, a further share of gold was sent. + +After my departure, according to what the Governor writes to me, it +became known that Atahualpa had assembled troops to make war on the +Christians, and justice was done upon him. The Governor made his +brother, who was an enemy, lord in his place. Molina comes to this city, +and from him your worships may learn anything else that you may desire +to know. The shares of the troops were, to the horsemen nine thousand +castellanos, to the Governor six thousand, to me three thousand. The +Governor has derived no other profit from that land, nor has there been +deceit or fraud in the account. I say this to your worships because, if +any other statement is made, this is the truth. May our lord long guard +and prosper the magnificent persons of your worships. + +Done in this city, November, 1533. At the service of your worships, + +HERNANDO PIZARRO. + + +WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT + +The clouds of the evening had passed away, and the sun rose bright on +the following morning, the most remarkable epoch in the annals of Peru. +It was Saturday, November 16, 1532. The loud cry of the trumpet called +the Spaniards to arms with the first streak of dawn; and Pizarro, +briefly acquainting them with the plan of the assault, made the +necessary dispositions. + +The plaza was defended on its three sides by low ranges of buildings, +consisting of spacious halls with wide doors or vomitories opening into +the square. In these halls he stationed his cavalry in two divisions, +one under his brother Hernando, the other under De Soto. The infantry he +placed in another of the buildings, reserving twenty chosen men to act +with himself as occasion might require. Pedro de Candia, with a few +soldiers and the artillery, comprehending under this imposing name two +small pieces of ordnance called falconets, he established in the +fortress. All received orders to wait at their posts till the arrival of +the Inca. After his entrance into the great square, they were still to +remain under cover, withdrawn from observation, till the signal was +given by the discharge of a gun, when they were to cry their war-cries, +to rush out in a body from their covert, and, putting the Peruvians to +the sword, bear off the person of the Inca. The arrangements of the +immense halls, opening on a level with the plaza, seemed to be contrived +on purpose for a _coup de theatre_. Pizarro particularly inculcated +order and implicit obedience, that in the hurry of the moment there +should be no confusion. Everything depended on their acting with +concert, coolness, and celerity. + +The chief next saw that their arms were in good order, and that the +breastplates of their horses were garnished with bells, to add by their +noise to the consternation of the Indians. Refreshments were also +liberally provided, that the troops should be in condition for the +conflict. These arrangements being completed, mass was performed with +great solemnity by the ecclesiastics who attended the expedition; the +God of battles was invoked to spread his shield over the soldiers who +were fighting to extend the empire of the cross; and all joined with +enthusiasm in the chant, "_Exsurge, Domine_" ("Rise, O Lord! and judge +thine own cause"). One might have supposed them a company of martyrs +about to lay down their lives in defence of their faith, instead of a +licentious band of adventurers, meditating one of the most atrocious +acts of perfidy on the record of history; yet, whatever were the vices +of the Castilian cavalier, hypocrisy was not among the number. He felt +that he was battling for the Cross, and under this conviction, exalted +as it was at such a moment as this into the predominant impulse, he was +blind to the baser motives which mingled with the enterprise. With +feelings thus kindled to a flame of religious ardor, the soldiers of +Pizarro looked forward with renovated spirits to the coming conflict; +and the chieftain saw with satisfaction that in the hour of trial his +men would be true to their leader and themselves. + +It was late in the day before any movement was visible in the Peruvian +camp, where much preparation was making to approach the Christian +quarters with due state and ceremony. A message was received from +Atahualpa, informing the Spanish commander that he should come with his +warriors fully armed, in the same manner as the Spaniards had come to +his quarters the night preceding. This was not an agreeable intimation +to Pizarro, though he had no reason, probably, to expect the contrary. +But to object might imply distrust, or perhaps disclose, in some +measure, his own designs. He expressed his satisfaction, therefore, at +the intelligence, assuring the Inca that, come as he would, he would be +received by him as a friend and brother. + +It was noon before the Indian procession was on its march, when it was +seen occupying the great causeway for a long extent. In front came a +large body of attendants, whose office seemed to be to sweep away every +particle of rubbish from the road. High above the crowd appeared the +Inca, borne on the shoulders of his principal nobles, while others of +the same rank marched by the sides of his litter, displaying such a +dazzling show of ornaments on their persons that, in the language of one +of the conquerors, "they blazed like the sun." But the greater part of +the Inca's forces mustered along the fields that lined the road, and +were spread over the broad meadows as far as the eye could reach. + +When the royal procession had arrived within half a mile of the city, it +came to a halt; and Pizarro saw, with surprise, that Atahualpa was +preparing to pitch his tents as if to encamp there. A messenger soon +after arrived, informing the Spaniards that the Inca would occupy his +present station the ensuing night and enter the city on the following +morning. + +This intelligence greatly disturbed Pizarro, who had shared in the +general impatience of his men at the tardy movements of the Peruvians. +The troops had been under arms since daylight, the cavalry mounted, and +the infantry at their post, waiting in silence the coming of the Inca. A +profound stillness reigned throughout the town, broken only at intervals +by the cry of the sentinel from the summit of the fortress, as he +proclaimed the movements of the Indian army. Nothing, Pizarro well knew, +was so trying to the soldiers as prolonged suspense in a critical +situation like the present; and he feared lest his ardor might +evaporate, and be succeeded by that nervous feeling natural to the +bravest soul at such a crisis, and which, if not fear, is near akin to +it. He returned an answer, therefore, to Atahualpa, deprecating his +change of purpose, and adding that he had provided everything for his +entertainment, and expected him that night to sup with him. + +This message turned the Inca from his purpose; and, striking his tents +again, he resumed his march, first advising the general that he should +leave the greater part of his warriors behind, and enter the place with +only a few of them, and without arms, as he preferred to pass the night +at Cajamarca. At the same time he ordered accommodations to be provided +for himself and his retinue in one of the large stone buildings, called, +from a serpent sculptured on the walls, the "House of the Serpent". No +tidings could have been more grateful to the Spaniards. It seemed as if +the Indian monarch was eager to rush into the snare that had been spread +for him! The fanatical cavalier could not fail to discern in it the +immediate finger of Providence. + +It is difficult to account for this wavering conduct of Atahualpa, so +different from the bold and decided character which history ascribes to +him. There is no doubt that he made his visit to the white men in +perfect good faith, though Pizarro was probably right in conjecturing +that this amiable disposition stood on a very precarious footing. There +is as little reason to suppose that he distrusted the sincerity of the +strangers, or he would not thus unnecessarily have proposed to visit +them unarmed. His original purpose of coming with all his force was +doubtless to display his royal state, and perhaps, also, to show greater +respect for the Spaniards; but when he consented to accept their +hospitality and pass the night in their quarters, he was willing to +dispense with a great part of his armed soldiery, and visit them in a +manner that implied entire confidence in their good faith. He was too +absolute in his own empire easily to suspect; and he probably could not +comprehend the audacity with which a few men, like those now assembled +in Cajamarca, meditated an assault on a powerful monarch in the midst of +his victorious army. He did not know the character of the Spaniard. + +It was not long before sunset when the van of the royal procession +entered the gates of the city. First came some hundreds of the menials, +employed to clear the path from every obstacle, and singing songs of +triumph as they came, "which, in our ears," says one of the conquerors, +"sounded like the songs of hell!" Then followed other bodies of +different ranks and dressed in different liveries. Some wore a showy +stuff, checkered white and red, like the squares of a chess-board. +Others were clad in pure white, bearing hammers or maces of silver or +copper; and the guards, together with those in immediate attendance on +the Prince, were distinguished by a rich azure livery, and a profusion +of gay ornaments, while the large pendants attached to the ears +indicated the Peruvian noble. + +Elevated high above his vassals came the Inca Atahualpa, borne on a +sedan or open litter, on which was a sort of throne made of massive gold +of inestimable value. The palanquin was lined with the richly colored +plumes of tropical birds, and studded with shining plates of gold and +silver. The monarch's attire was much richer than on the preceding +evening. Round his neck was suspended a collar of emeralds of uncommon +size and brilliancy. His short hair was decorated with golden ornaments, +and the imperial _borla_ encircled his temples. The bearing of the Inca +was sedate and dignified; and from his lofty station he looked down on +the multitudes below with an air of composure, like one accustomed to +command. + +As the leading lines of the procession entered the great square--larger, +says an old chronicler, than any square in Spain--they opened to the +right and left for the royal retinue to pass. Everything was conducted +with admirable order. The monarch was permitted to traverse the plaza in +silence, and not a Spaniard was to be seen. When some five or six +thousand of his people had entered the place, Atahualpa halted, and, +turning round with an inquiring look, demanded, "Where are the +strangers?" + +At this moment Fray Vicente de Valverde, a Dominican friar, Pizarro's +chaplain, and afterward Bishop of Cuzco, came forward with his breviary, +or, as other accounts say, a Bible, in one hand and a crucifix in the +other, and, approaching the Inca, told him that he came by order of his +commander to expound to him the doctrines of the true faith, for which +purpose the Spaniards had come from a great distance to his country. The +friar then explained, as clearly as he could, the mysterious doctrine of +the Trinity, and, ascending high in his account, began with the creation +of man, thence passed to his fall, to his subsequent redemption by Jesus +Christ, to the Crucifixion, and the Ascension, when the Saviour left the +apostle Peter as his vicegerent upon earth. + +This power had been transmitted to the successors of the apostle, good +and wise men, who, under the title of popes, held authority over all +powers and potentates on earth. One of the last of these popes had +commissioned the Spanish Emperor, the most mighty monarch in the world, +to conquer and convert the natives in this western hemisphere; and his +general, Francisco Pizarro, had now come to execute this important +mission. The friar concluded with beseeching the Peruvian monarch to +receive him kindly, to abjure the errors of his own faith and embrace +that of the Christians now proffered to him, the only one by which he +could hope for salvation; and, furthermore, to acknowledge himself a +tributary of the emperor Charles, who, in that event, would aid and +protect him as his loyal vassal. + +Whether Atahualpa possessed himself of every link in the curious chain +of argument by which the monk connected Pizarro with St. Peter, may be +doubted. It is certain, however, that he must have had very incorrect +notions of the Trinity if, as Garcilasso states, the interpreter, +Felipillo, explained it by saying that "the Christians believed in three +gods and one God, and that made four." But there is no doubt he +perfectly comprehended that the drift of the discourse was to persuade +him to resign his sceptre and acknowledge the supremacy of another. + +The eyes of the Indian monarch flashed fire and his dark brow grew +darker as he replied: "I will be no man's tributary! I am greater than +any prince upon earth. Your Emperor may be a great prince; I do not +doubt it when I see that he has sent his subjects so far across the +waters; and I am willing to hold him as a brother. As for the Pope of +whom you speak, he must be crazy to talk of giving away countries which +do not belong to him. For my faith," he continued, "I will not change +it. Your own God, as you say, was put to death by the very men whom he +created. But mine," he concluded, pointing to his deity--then, alas! +sinking in glory behind the mountains--"my God still lives in the +heavens and looks down on his children." + +He then demanded of Valverde by what authority he had said these things. +The friar pointed to the book which he held as his authority. Atahualpa, +taking it, turned over the pages a moment; then, as the insult he had +received probably flashed across his mind, he threw it down with +vehemence and exclaimed: "Tell your comrades that they shall give me an +account of their doings in my land. I will not go from here till they +have made me full satisfaction for all the wrongs they have committed." + +The friar, greatly scandalized by the indignity offered to the sacred +volume, stayed only to pick it up, and, hastening to Pizarro, informed +him of what had been done, exclaiming at the same time: "Do you not see +that, while we stand here wasting our breath in talking with this dog, +full of pride as he is, the fields are filling with Indians? Set on at +once! I absolve you." Pizarro saw that the hour had come. He waved a +white scarf in the air, the appointed signal. The fatal gun was fired +from the fortress. Then, springing into the square, the Spanish captain +and his followers shouted the old war-cry of "St. Iago and at them!" + +It was answered by the battle-cry of every Spaniard in the city, as, +rushing from the avenues of the great halls in which they were +concealed, they poured into the plaza, horse and foot, each in his own +dark column, and threw themselves into the midst of the Indian crowd. +The latter, taken by surprise, stunned by the report of artillery and +muskets, the echoes of which reverberated like thunder from the +surrounding buildings, and blinded by the smoke which rolled in +sulphurous volumes along the square, were seized with a panic. They knew +not whither to fly for refuge from the coming ruin. Nobles and +commoners, all were trampled down under the fierce charge of the +cavalry, who dealt their blows right and left without sparing; while +their swords, flashing through the thick gloom, carried dismay into the +hearts of the wretched natives, who now, for the first time, saw the +horse and his rider in all their terrors. + +They made no resistance, as, indeed, they had no weapons with which to +make it. Every avenue to escape was closed, for the entrance to the +square was choked up with the dead bodies of men who had perished in +vain efforts to fly; and such was the agony of the survivors under the +terrible pressure of their assailants that a large body of Indians, by +their convulsive struggles, burst through the wall of stone and dried +clay which formed part of the boundary of the plaza! It fell, leaving an +opening of more than a hundred paces, through which multitudes now found +their way into the country, still hotly pursued by the cavalry, who, +leaping the fallen rubbish, hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking +them down in all directions. + +Meanwhile the fight, or rather massacre, continued hot around the Inca, +whose person was the great object of the assault. His faithful nobles, +rallying about him, threw themselves in the way of the assailants, and +strove, by tearing them from their saddles, or, at least, by offering +their own bosoms as a mark for their vengeance, to shield their beloved +master. It is said by some authorities that they carried weapons +concealed under their clothes. If so, it availed them little, as it is +not pretended that they used them. But the most timid animal will defend +itself when at bay. That they did not so in the present instance is +proof that they had no weapons to use. Yet they still continued to force +back the cavaliers, clinging to their horses with dying grasp, and, as +one was cut down, another taking the place of his fallen comrade with a +loyalty truly affecting. + +The Indian monarch, stunned and bewildered, saw his faithful subjects +falling round him without hardly comprehending his situation. The litter +on which he rode heaved to and fro as the mighty press swayed backward +and forward; and he gazed on the overwhelming ruin, like some forlorn +mariner, who, tossed about in his bark by the furious elements, sees the +lightning's flash and hears the thunder bursting around him, with the +consciousness that he can do nothing to avert his fate. At length, weary +with the work of destruction, the Spaniards, as the shades of evening +grew deeper, felt afraid that the royal prize might, after all, elude +them; and some of the cavaliers made a desperate effort to end the +affray at once by taking Atahualpa's life. But Pizarro, who was nearest +his person, called out with stentorian voice, "Let no one who values his +life strike at the Inca"; and, stretching out his arm to shield him, +received a wound on the hand from one of his own men--the only wound +received by a Spaniard in the action. + +The struggle now became fiercer than ever round the royal litter. It +reeled more and more, and at length, several of the nobles who supported +it having been slain, it was overturned, and the Indian prince would +have come with violence to the ground, had not his fall been broken by +the efforts of Pizarro and some other of the cavaliers, who caught him +in their arms. The imperial borla was instantly snatched from his +temples by a soldier named Estete, and the unhappy monarch, strongly +secured, was removed to a neighboring building, where he was carefully +guarded. + +All attempt at resistance now ceased. The fate of the Inca soon spread +over town and country. The charm which might have held the Peruvians +together was dissolved. Every man thought only of his own safety. Even +the soldiery encamped on the adjacent fields took alarm, and, learning +the fatal tidings, were seen flying in every direction before their +pursuers, who, in the heat of triumph, showed no touch of mercy. At +length night, more pitiful than man, threw her friendly mantle over the +fugitives, and the scattered troops of Pizarro rallied once more to the +sound of the trumpet in the bloody square of Cajamarca. + + + + +CALVIN IS DRIVEN FROM PARIS + +HE MAKES GENEVA THE STRONGHOLD OF PROTESTANTISM + +A.D. 1533 + +A. M. FAIRBAIRN + +JEAN M. V. AUDIN + + Among what may be called the second generation of Protestant + reformers, the great leader was John Calvin. By his + writings, and by his directive and administrative work, he + exerted a strong influence upon the reformed churches in his + own day and upon the theology and polity of later times. He + was born in France in 1509, and while still in early + manhood, having become familiar with classical learning, + with law, and especially with theology, he ardently embraced + the Protestant faith and began to preach the reformed + doctrines. + + Calvin spent some time in Paris, then a centre of the "New + Learning" and of religious ferment, and there he felt the + effects of raging persecution. The publication of his great + work, the _Institutes of the Christian Religion_, marked an + epoch in the history of Protestantism. Though differing on + certain points from the teachings of Luther, it was a + powerful exposition of the Protestant faith as Calvin + understood it, severely logical in form, and especially + distinguished by its stern doctrines relating to divine + sovereignty. + + When in 1536 Calvin went to live in Geneva, it was already a + Protestant city. He became virtually its ruler and made it a + kind of theocracy, or rather a "religious republic," which + he administered with vigorous laws enforced with the + greatest strictness. Zealous Protestants from many countries + gathered at Geneva, and from there the influence of Calvin, + somewhat modified by that of his Swiss predecessor Zwingli, + spread rapidly into France, England, Scotland, and Germany. + At the time of Calvin's death (1564) there were three types + of Protestantism established in the world--his own, and + those of Luther and Zwingli. In Great Britain, and afterward + in America, the Calvinistic type came to play a most + important part in religious and national development. + + Two estimates of Calvin, the first from a Protestant point + of view, the second that of a Roman Catholic writer, are + here presented. + + +A. M. FAIRBAIRN + +In 1528 Calvin's father, perhaps illuminated by the disputes in his +cathedral chapter, discovered that the law was a surer road to wealth +and honor than the church, and decided that his son should leave +theology for jurisprudence. The son, nothing loath, obeyed, and left +Paris for Orleans, possibly, as he descended the steps of the College de +Montaigu, brushing shoulders with a Spanish freshman named Ignatius +Loyola. In Orleans Calvin studied law under Pierre de l'Estoile, who is +described as _jurisconsultorum Gallorum facile princeps_, and as +eclipsing in classical knowledge Reuchlin, Aleander, and Erasmus; and +Greek under Wolmar, in whose house he met for the first time Theodore +Beza, then a boy about ten years of age. + +After a year in Orleans he went to Bourges, attracted by the fame of the +Italian jurist Alciati, whose ungainliness of body and speech and vanity +of mind his students loved to satirize and even by occasional rebellion +to chasten. In 1531 Gerard Calvin died and his son, in 1532, published +his first work, a commentary on Seneca's _de Clementia_. His purpose has +been construed by the light of his late career; and some have seen in +the book a veiled defence of the Huguenot martyrs, others a cryptic +censure of Francis I, and yet others a prophetic dissociation of himself +from Stoicism. But there is no mystery in the matter; the work is that +of a scholar who has no special interest in either theology or the +Bible. This may be statistically illustrated: Calvin cites twenty-two +Greek authors and fifty-five Latin, the quotations being most abundant +and from many books; but in his whole treatise there are only three +Biblical texts expressly cited, and those from the Vulgate. + +The man is cultivated and learned, writes elegant Latin, is a good judge +of Latinity, criticises like any modern the mind and style, the +knowledge and philosophy, the manner, the purpose, and the ethical ideas +of Seneca; but the passion for religion has not as yet penetrated as it +did later into his very bones. Erasmus is in Calvin's eyes the ornament +of letters, though his large edition of Seneca is not all it ought to +have been; but even Erasmus could not at twenty-three have produced a +work so finished in its scholarship, so real in its learning, or so wide +in its outlook. + +The events of the next few months are obscure, but we know enough to see +how forces, internal and external, were working toward change. In the +second half of 1532 and the earlier half of 1533 Calvin was in Orleans, +studying, teaching, practising the law, and acting in the university as +proctor for the Picard nation; then he went to Noyon, and in October he +was once more in Paris. The capital was agitated; Francis was absent, +and his sister, Margaret of Navarre, held her court there, favoring the +new doctrines, encouraging the preachers, the chief among them being her +own almoner, Gerard Roussel. + +Two letters of Calvin to Francis Daniel belong to this date and place; +and in them we find a changed note. One speaks of "the troublous times," +and the other narrates two events: first, it describes a play "pungent +with gall and vinegar," which the students had performed in the College +of Navarre to satirize the Queen; and secondly, the action of certain +factious theologians who had prohibited Margaret's _Mirror of a Sinful +Soul_. She had complained to the King, and he had intervened. The matter +came before the university, and Nicolas Cop, the rector, had spoken +strongly against the arrogant doctors and in defence of the Queen, +"mother of all the virtues and of all good learning." Le Clerc, a parish +priest, the author of the mischief, defended his performance as a task +to which he had been formally appointed, praising the King, the Queen as +woman and as author, contrasting her book with "such an obscene +production" as _Pantagruel_, and finally saying that the book had been +published without the approval of the faculty and was set aside only as +"liable to suspicion." + +Two or three days later, on November 1, 1533, came the famous rectorial +address which Calvin wrote, and Cop revised and delivered, and which +shows how far the humanist had travelled since April 4, 1532, the date +of the _de Clementia_. He is now alive to the religious question, though +he has not carried it to its logical and practical conclusion. Two fresh +influences have evidently come into his life, the New Testament of +Erasmus and certain sermons by Luther. The exordium of the address +reproduces, almost literally, some sentences from Erasmus' _Paraclesis_, +including those which unfold his idea of the _philosophia Christiana_; +while the body of it repeats Luther's exposition of the beatitudes and +his distinction between law and gospel, with the involved doctrines of +grace and faith. Yet "_Ave gratia plena_" is retained in the exordium; +and at the end the peace-makers are praised, who follow the example of +Christ and contend not with the sword, but with the word of truth. + +This address enables us to seize Calvin in the very act and article of +change; he has come under a double influence. Erasmus has compelled him +to compare the ideal of Christ with the church of his own day; and +Luther has given him a notion of grace which has convinced his reason +and taken possession of his imagination. He has thus ceased to be a +humanist and a papist, but has not yet become a reformer. And a reformer +was precisely what his conscience, his country, and his reason compelled +him to become. Francis was flagrantly immoral, but a fanatic in +religion; and mercy was not a virtue congenial to either church or +state. Calvin had seen the Protestants from within; he knew their +honesty, their honor, the purity of their motives, and the integrity of +their lives; and he judged, as a jurist would, that a man who had all +the virtues of citizenship ought not to be oppressed and treated as +unfit for civil office or even as a criminal by the state. This is no +conjecture, for it is confirmed by the testimony he bears to the +influence exercised over him by the martyred Etienne de la Forge. He +thus saw that a changed mind meant a changed religion, and a changed +religion a change of abode. Cop had to flee from Paris, and so had +Calvin. + +In the May of 1534 he went to Noyon, laid down his offices, was +imprisoned, liberated, and while there he seems to have finally +renounced Catholicism. But he feared the forces of disorder which lurked +in Protestantism, and which seemed embodied in the Anabaptists. Hence at +Orleans he composed a treatise against one of their favorite beliefs, +the sleep of the soul between death and judgment. Conscious personal +being was in itself too precious, and in the sight of God too sacred, to +be allowed to suffer even a temporary lapse. But to serve the cause he +loved was impossible with the stake waiting for him, its fires scorching +his face, and kindly friends endangered by his presence. And so, in the +winter of 1534, he retired from France and settled at Basel. + +Now a city where Protestantism reigned, where learning flourished, and +where men so unlike as Erasmus and Farel--the fervid preacher of +reform--could do their work unhindered, was certain to make a deep +impression on a fugitive harassed and expatriated on account of +religion; and the impression it made can be read in the _Christianae +Religionis Institutio_, and especially in the prefatory _Letter to +Francis I_. The _Institutio_ is Calvin's positive interpretation of the +Christian religion: the _Letter_ is learned, eloquent, elegant, +dignified, the address of a subject to his sovereign, yet of a subject +who knows that his place in the state is as legal, though not as +authoritative, as the sovereign's. It throbs with a noble indignation +against injustice, and with a noble enthusiasm for freedom and truth. It +is one of the great epistles of the world, a splendid apology for the +oppressed and arraignment of the oppressors. It does not implore +toleration as a concession, but claims freedom as a right. + +Its author is a young man of but twenty-six, yet he speaks with the +gravity of age. He tells the King that his first duty is to be just; +that to punish unheard is but to inflict violence and perpetrate fraud. +Those for whom he speaks are, though simple and godly men, yet charged +with crimes that, were they true, ought to condemn them to a thousand +fires and gibbets. These charges the King is bound to investigate, for +he is a minister of God, and if he fails to serve the God whose minister +he is, then he is a robber and no king. + +Then he asks, "Who are our accusers?" and he turns on the priests like a +new Erasmus, who does not, like the old, delight in satire for its own +sake or in a literature which scourges men by holding up the mirror to +vice, but who feels the sublimity of virtue so deeply that witticisms at +the expense of vice are abhorrent to him. He takes up the charges in +detail: it is said that the doctrine is new, doubtful, and uncertain, +unconfirmed by miracles, opposed to the fathers and ancient custom, +schismatical and productive of schism, and that its fruits are sects, +seditions, license. On no point is he so emphatic as the repudiation of +the personal charges: the people he pleads for have never raised their +voice in faction or sought to subvert law and order; they fear God +sincerely and worship him in truth, praying even in exile for the royal +person and house. + +The book which this address to the King introduces is a sketch or +programme of reform in religion. The first edition of the _Institutio_ +is distinguished from all later editions by the emphasis it lays, not on +dogma, but on morals, on worship, and on polity. Calvin conceives the +Gospel as a new law which ought to be embodied in a new life, individual +and social. What came later to be known as Calvinism may be stated in an +occasional sentence or implied in a paragraph, but it is not the +substance or determinative idea of the book. The problem discussed has +been set by the studies and the experience of the author; he has read +the New Testament as a humanist learned in the law, and he has been +startled by the contrast between its ideal and the reality which +confronts him. And he proceeds in a thoroughly juridical fashion, just +as Tertullian before him, and as Grotius and Selden after him. Without a +document he can decide nothing; he needs a written law or actual custom; +and his book falls into divisions which these suggest. + +Hence his first chapter is concerned with duty or conduct as prescribed +by the Ten Commandments; his second with faith as contained in the +apostolic symbol; his third with prayer as fixed by the words of Christ; +his fourth with the sacrament as given in the Scriptures; his fifth with +the false sacraments as defined by tradition and enforced by Catholic +custom; and his sixth with Christian liberty or the relation of the +ecclesiastical and civil authorities. But though the book is, as +compared with what it became later, limited in scope and contents--the +last edition which left the author's hand in 1559 had grown from a work +in six chapters to one in four books and eighty chapters--yet its +constructive power, its critical force, its large outlook impress the +student. We have here none of Luther's scholasticism, or of +Melanchthon's deft manipulation of incompatible elements; but we have +the first thoughts on religion of a mind trained by ancient literature +to the criticism of life. + +The _Institutio_ bears the date "_Mense Martio; Anno_ 1536"; but Calvin, +without waiting till his book was on the market, made a hurried journey +to Ferrara, whose Duchess, Renee, a daughter of Louis XII, stood in +active sympathy with the reformers. The reasons for this brief visit are +very obscure; but it may have been undertaken in the hope of mitigating, +by the help of Renee, the severity of the persecutions in France. On his +return Calvin ventured, tradition says, to Noyon, probably for the sake +of family affairs; but he certainly reached Paris; and, while in the +second half of July making his way into Germany, he arrived at Geneva. +An old friend, possibly Louis du Tillet, discovered him, and told Farel; +and Farel, in sore straits for a helper, besought him, and indeed in the +name of the Almighty commanded him, to stay. Calvin was reluctant, for +he was reserved and shy, and conceived his vocation to be the scholar's +rather than the preacher's; but the entreaties of Farel, half tearful, +half minatory, prevailed. And thus Calvin's connection with Geneva +began. + +Calvin's life from this point onward falls into three parts: his first +stay in Geneva from July, 1536, to March, 1538; his residence in +Strasburg from September, 1538, to September, 1541; and his second stay +in Geneva from the last date till his death, May 27, 1564. In the first +period, he, in company with Farel, made an attempt to organize the +church and reform the mind and manners of Geneva, and failed; his exile, +formally voted by the council, was the penalty of his failure. In the +second period he was professor of theology and French preacher at +Strasburg, a trusted divine and adviser, a delegate to the Protestant +churches of Germany, which he learned to know better, making the +acquaintance of Melanchthon, and becoming more appreciative of Luther. + +At Strasburg some of his best literary work was done--his _Letter to +Cardinal Sadoleto_ (in its way his most perfect production), his +_Commentary on the Romans_, a _Treatise on the Lord's Supper_, the +second Latin and the first French edition of his _Institutio_. In the +third period he introduced and completed his legislation at Geneva, +taught, preached, and published there, watched the churches everywhere, +and conducted the most extensive correspondence of his day. In these +twenty-eight years he did a work which changed the face of Christendom. + +We come then to Calvin's legislative achievements as his main title to +name and fame. But two points must here be noted. In the first place, +while his theology was less original and effective than his legislation +or polity, yet he so construed the former as to make the latter its +logical and indeed inevitable outcome. The polity was a deduction from +the theology, which may be defined as a science of the divine will as a +moral will, aiming at the complete moralization of man, whether as a +unit or as a society. The two were thus so organically connected that +each lent strength to the other, the system to the church and the church +to the system, while other and more potently reasonable theologies +either died or lived a feeble and struggling life. + +Secondly, the legislation was made possible and practicable by Geneva, +probably the only place in Europe where it could have been enacted and +enforced. We have learned enough concerning Genevan history and +institutions to understand why this should have been the case. The city +was small, free, homogeneous, distinguished by a strong local +patriotism, a stalwart communal life. In obedience to these instincts it +had just emancipated itself from the ecclesiastical Prince and its +ancient religious system; and the change thus accomplished was, though +disguised in a religious habit, yet essentially political. For the +council which abolished the bishop had made itself heir to his faculties +and functions; it could only dismiss him as civil lord by dismissing him +as the ecclesiastical head of Geneva, and in so doing it assumed the +right to succeed as well as to supersede him in both capacities. + +This, however, involved a notable inversion of old ideas; before the +change the ecclesiastical authority had been civil, but because of the +change the civil authority became ecclesiastical. If theocracy means the +rule of the church or the sovereignty of the clergy in the state, then +the ancient constitution of Geneva was theocratic; if democracy means +the sovereignty of the people in church as well as in state, then the +change had made it democratic. And it was just after the change had been +effected that Calvin's connection with the city began. + +Its chief pastor had persuaded him to stay as a colleague, and the +council appointed him professor and preacher. He was young, exactly +twenty-seven years of age, full of high ideals, but inexperienced, +unacquainted with men, without any knowledge of Geneva and the state of +things there. He could therefore make no terms, could only stay to do +his duty. What that duty was soon became apparent. Geneva had not become +any more moral in character because it had changed its mind in religion. +It had two months before Calvin's arrival sworn to live according to the +holy evangelical law and Word of God; but it did not seem to understand +its own oath. And the man whom his intellectual sincerity and moral +integrity had driven out of Catholicism could not hold office in any +church which made light of conviction and conduct; and so he at once set +himself to organize a church that should be efficaciously moral. + +He built on the ancient Genevan idea, that the city is a church; only he +wished to make the church to be primary and real. The theocracy, which +had been construed as the reign of the clergy, he would interpret as +ideal and realize as a reign of God. The citizens, who had assumed +control of their own spiritual destinies and ecclesiastical affairs, he +wanted to instruct in their responsibilities and discipline into +obedience. And he would do it in the way of a jurist who believes in the +harmony of law and custom; he would by positive enactments train the +city, which conceived itself to be a church, to be and behave as if it +were indeed a church, living according to the gospel which it had sworn +to obey. + +Thus a confession of faith was drawn up which the people were to adopt +as their own, and so attain clarity and concordance of mind concerning +God and his Word; and a catechism was composed which was to be made the +basis of religious instruction in both the school and the family, for +the citizen as well as the child. Worship was to be carefully regulated, +psalm-books prepared, psalm-singing cultivated; the preacher was to +interpret the Word, and the pastor to supervise the flock. + +The Lord's Supper was to be celebrated monthly, but only those who were +morally fit or worthy were to be allowed to communicate. The church, in +order that it might fulfil its functions and guard the holy table, must +have the right of excommunication. It was not enough that a man should +be a citizen or a councillor to be admitted to the Lord's Supper; his +mind must be Christian and his conduct Christlike. Without faith the +rite was profaned, the presence of Christ was not realized. Moreover, +since matrimonial cases were many and infelicity sprang both from +differences of faith and impurity of conduct, a board, composed partly +of magistrates and partly of ministers, was to be appointed to deal with +them; and it was to have the power to exclude from the church those who +either did not believe its doctrines or did not obey its commandments. + +These were drastic proposals to be made to a city which had just +dismissed its bishop, attained political freedom, and proclaimed a +reformation of religion; and Calvin was not the man to leave them +inoperative. A card-player was pilloried; a tire-woman, a mother, and +two bridesmaids were arrested because they had adorned the bride too +gayly; an adulterer was driven with the partner of his guilt through the +streets by the common hangman, and then banished. These things taxed the +temper of the city sorely; it was not unfamiliar with legislation of the +kind, but it had not been accustomed to see it enforced. Hence, men who +came to be known as "libertines," though they were both patriotic and +moral and only craved freedom, rose and said: "This is an intolerable +tyranny; we will not allow any man to be lord over our consciences." And +about the same time Calvin's orthodoxy was challenged. Two Anabaptists +arrived and demanded liberty to prophesy; and Peter Caroli charged him +with heresy as to the Trinity. He would not use the Athanasian creed; +and he defended himself by reasons that the scholar who knows its +history will respect. The end soon came. When he heard that he had been +sentenced to banishment he said, "If I had served men this would have +been a poor reward, but I have served Him who never fails to perform +what he has promised." + +In 1541 Geneva recalled Calvin, and he obeyed as one who goes to fulfil +an imperative but unwelcome duty. There is nothing more pathetic in the +literature of the period than his hesitancies and fears. He tells Farel +that he would rather die a hundred times than again take up that cross +"_in qua millies quotidie pereundum esset_." And he writes to Viret that +it were better to perish once for all than "_in illa carnificina iterum +torqueri_." But he loved Geneva, and it was in evil case. Rome was +plotting to reclaim it; Savoy was watching her opportunity, the patriots +feared to go forward, and even the timid dared not go back. So the +necessities of the city, divided between its factions and its foes, +constituted an appeal which Calvin could not resist; but he did not +yield unconditionally. He went back as the legislator who was to frame +laws for its church; and he so adapted them to the civil constitution +and the constitution to them, that he raised the little city of Geneva +to be the Protestant Rome. + +The _Ordonnances ecclesiastiques_ may be described as Calvin's programme +of Genevan reform, or his method for applying to the local and external +church the government which our Lord had instituted and the Apostles had +realized. These ordinances expressed his historical sense and gratified +his religious temper, while adapting the church to the city, so that the +city might become a better church. To explain in detail how he proposed +to do this is impossible within our limits; and we shall therefore +confine ourselves to the most important of the factors he created, the +ministry. + +The ministerial ideal embodied in these ecclesiastical ordinances may be +said to have had certain indirect but international results; it +compelled Calvin to develop his system of education; it supplied the +reformed church, especially in France, with the men which it needed to +fight its battles and to form the iron in its blood; it presented the +reformed church everywhere with an intellectual and educational ideal, +which must be realized if its work was to be done; and it created the +modern preacher, defining the sphere of his activity and setting up for +his imitation a noble and lofty example. + +Calvin soon found that the reformed faith could live in a democratic +city only by an enlightened pulpit speaking to enlightened citizens, and +that an educated ministry was helpless without an educated people. His +method for creating both entitles him to rank among the foremost makers +of modern education. As a humanist he believed in the classical +languages and literatures--there is a tradition which says that he read +through Cicero once a year--and so "he built his system on the solid +rock of Graeco-Roman antiquity." Yet he did not neglect religion; he so +trained the boys of Geneva through his catechism that each was said to +be able to give a reason for his faith "like a doctor of the Sorbonne." +He believed in the unity of knowledge and the community of learning, +placing the magistrate and the minister, the citizen and the pastor, in +the hands of the same teacher, and binding the school and the university +together. The boy learned in the one and the man studied in the other, +but the school was the way to the university, the university was the +goal of the school. + +In nothing does the pedagogic genius of Calvin more appear than in his +fine jealousy as to the character and competence whether of masters or +professors, and in his unwearied quest after qualified men. His letters +teem with references to the men in various lands and many universities +whom he was seeking to bring to Geneva. The first rector, Antoine +Saunier, was a notable man; and he never rested till he had secured his +dear old teacher, Mathurin Cordier. Castellio was a schoolmaster; +Theodore Beza was head of college and academy, or school and university, +together; and Calvin himself was a professor of theology. The success of +the college was great; the success of the academy was greater. Men came +from all quarters--English, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Russians, +ministers, jurists, old men, young men, all with the passion to learn in +their blood--to jostle each other among the thousand hearers who met to +listen to the great reformer. But France was the main feeder of the +academy; Frenchmen filled its chairs, occupied its benches, learned in +it the courage to live and the will to die. From Geneva books poured +into France; and the French church was ever appealing for ministers, yet +never appealed in vain. + +Within eleven years, 1555-1566--Calvin died in 1564--it is known that +Geneva sent one hundred sixty-one pastors into France; how many more may +have gone unrecorded we cannot tell. And they were learned men, +strenuous, fearless, praised by a French bishop as modest, grave, +saintly, with the name of Jesus Christ ever on their lips. Charles IX +implored the magistrates of Geneva to stop the supply and withdraw the +men already sent; but the magistrates replied that the preachers had +been sent not by them, but by their ministers, who believed that the +sovereign duty of all princes and kings was to do homage to Him who had +given to them their dominion. It was small wonder that the Venetian +Suriano should describe Geneva as "the mine whence came the ore of +heresy"; or that the Protestants should gather courage as they heard the +men from Geneva sing psalms in the face of torture and death. + +It was indeed a very different France which the eyes of the dying Calvin +saw from that which the young man had seen thirty years before. +Religious hate was even more bitter and vindictive; war had come and +made persecution more ferocious; but the Huguenots had grown numerous, +potent, respected, feared, and disputed with Catholicism the supremacy +of the kingdom. And Calvin had done it, not by arms nor by threats, nor +by encouragement of sedition or insurrection--to such action he was ever +resolutely opposed--but by the agency of the men whom he formed in +Geneva, and by their persuasive speech. The reformed minister was +essentially a preacher, intellectual, exegetical, argumentative, +seriously concerned with the subjects that most appealed to the +serious-minded. + +Modern oratory may be said to begin with him, and indeed to be his +creation. He helped to make the vernacular tongues of Western Europe +literary. He accustomed the people to hear the gravest and most sacred +themes discussed in the language which they knew; and the themes +ennobled the language, the language was never allowed to degrade the +themes. And there was no tongue and no people that he influenced more +than the French. Calvin made Bossuet and Massillon possible; as a +preacher he found his successor in Bourdaloue; and a literary critic who +does not love him has expressed a doubt as to whether Pascal could be +more eloquent or was so profound. And the ideal then realized in Geneva +exercised an influence far beyond France. It extended into Holland, +which in the strength of the reformed faith resisted Charles V and his +son, achieved independence, and created the freest and best educated +state on the continent of Europe. + +John Knox breathed for a while the atmosphere of Geneva, was subdued +into the likeness of the man who had made it, and when he went home he +copied its education and tried to repeat its reformation. English +reformers, fleeing from martyrdom, found a refuge within its hospitable +walls, and, returning to England, attempted to establish a Genevan +discipline, and failed, but succeeded in forming the Puritan character. +If the author of the _Ordonnances ecclesiastiques_ accomplished, whether +directly or indirectly, so much, we need not hesitate to term him a +notable friend to civilization. + + +JEAN M. V. AUDIN + +When the sword of the law fell upon one of his followers, the voice of +Luther was magnificent; it exclaimed, in the ears of emperors, kings, +and dukes, "You have shed the blood of the just," and then the Saxon, in +honor of the martyr, extemporized a hymn which was chanted in the very +face of the civil power: + + "In the Low Countries, at Brussels, + The Lord his greatness hath displayed, + In the death of two of his loved children + On whom grand gifts he had bestowed." + +Calvin had not the courage to imitate Luther. He has told us that he +wanted courage; he again repeats it: he says that he, a plebeian, +trifling as a man, and having but little learning, has nothing in him +which could deserve celebrity. And yet he essayed a timid protest in +favor of certain Huguenots who had been burned on the public square. +"The work," says Prince Masson, "of a double-faced writer, a Catholic in +his writings and a Lutheran in his bedchamber." + +This is his first book. It is entitled _de Clementia_ (or _Treatise on +Clemency_), and is a paraphrase of some Latin writer of the decline. +Moreover, this is the first time that a commentator is ignorant of the +life of him whose work he publishes. Calvin has confounded the two +Senecas, the father and the son; the rhetorician and the philosopher, of +both of whom he makes but one literary personage, living the very +patriarchal life of more than one hundred fifteen years. + +We must pardon Varillas for having, with sufficient acrimony, brought +into relief this mistake of the biographer of Seneca the philosopher, +and not, like the historians of the Reformation, become vexed at the +proud tone of the French historian. Had the fault been committed by a +Catholic, where is the Protestant who would not have done the same thing +as Varillas? + +The literary work which Calvin, in the shape of a commentary, has +interwoven with the treatise of Seneca is a production not unworthy a +literator of the revival; it is an amplification, which one would have +supposed to have been written in the cell of a Benedictine monk, so +numerous are the citations, so great is the display of erudition, so +replete is it with the names, Greek and Latin, of poets, historians, +moralists, rhetoricians, philosophers, and philologists. + +Calvin is a coquettish student, who loves to parade his reading and his +memory. His work is a gallery, open to all the modern and ancient +glories of literature, whom the commentator calls to his aid, often for +the elucidation of a doubtful passage. The young rhetorician glorifies +his country, and when upon his march he encounters some historic name, +by which his idea can be illustrated, he hastens to proclaim it, with +all its titles to admiration. He there salutes Bude in magnificent +terms: "Bude, the glory and pillar of human learning, thanks to whom, +at this day, France can claim the palm of erudition." The portrait +which he draws of Seneca is the production of a practised pen: "Seneca, +whose pure and polished phrase savors, in some sort, of his age; his +diction florid and elegant; his style, without labor or restraint, moves +on, free and unembarrassed." It may be seen that the student had the +honor to study under Mathurin Cordier and to attend the lectures of +Alciati; but, after all, his book is but a defective allegory; for what +reader could have divined that the writer designed to represent Francis +I, under the name of Nero, as addressed by the Cordovan? The treatise +could produce no sensation, and, like the work of Seneca, must be +shipwrecked in that sea of the passions which, at the two epochs, raged +around both writers. + +Calvin experienced much trouble in having his Latin commentary printed; +he was in need of funds, and the revenues of his benefice of Pont +l'Eveque were insufficient to defray the expense of printing. How could +he apply to the Mommor family? Moreover, he was in dread that his book +should prove a failure and thereby injure his budding reputation. All +these alarms of a maiden author are set forth in various letters which +he addressed on this subject to the dear friends of his bosom. + +"Behold my books of Seneca concerning clemency, printed at my own +expense and labor! They must now be sold, in order that I may again +obtain the money which I have expended. I must also watch that my +reputation does not suffer. You will oblige me, then, by informing me +how the work has been received, whether with favor or indifference." The +whole anxiety of the poor author is to lose nothing by the enterprise; +his purse is empty; it needs replenishing; and he urges the professors +to give circulation to the treatise; he solicits one of his friends at +Bourges, a member of the university, to bring it forward in his +lectures; and appeals to the aid of Daniel, to whom he sent a hundred +copies. Papire Masson was mistaken: the commentary on clemency did not +first appear, as he supposes, under the title of _Lucius Calvinus, civis +Romanus_, but under that of _Calvinus_, a name ever after retained by +the reformer. + +This treatise introduced Calvin to the notice of the learned world: +Bucer, Capito, Padius, sent congratulations to the writer; Calvin, in +September, 1532, had sent a copy of his work to Bucer, who was then at +Strasburg. The person commissioned to present it was a poor young man, +suspected of Anabaptism, and a refugee from France. Calvin's letter of +recommendation is replete with tender compassion for the miseries of the +sinner. "My dear Bucer," he writes, "you will not be deaf to my +entreaties, you will not disregard my tears; I implore you, to come to +the aid of the proscribed, be a father to the orphan." + +This was sending the sick man to a sad physician. Bucer, by turns +Catholic, Lutheran, Anabaptist, Zwinglian! Besides, why this proselytism +of a moral _cure_? The exile was Anabaptist by the same title as Calvin +was predestinarian, in virtue of a text of Scripture: "Go; whoever shall +believe and be baptized will be saved." The Anabaptist believed in the +inefficacy of baptism without faith manifested by an external act; but +is not Calvin, at this very hour, as much to be pitied as the +Anabaptist? He also doubted, searched, and interrogated his Bible, and +imagined that he had caught the meaning of a letter which no +intelligence before him had been able to seize. And what was this truth, +the conquest of which infused such fear into his soul that, before he +could announce it to the world, he sold his charge of Pont l'Eveque and +even his paternal inheritance? + +In the year 1531 John Calvin presented himself before Simon Legendre and +Peter le Roy, royal notaries at Paris, to invest his brothers with +powers of attorney to sell what had been left him by his father and +mother. + +"To all to whom these present letters shall come; John de la Barre, +Chevalier Count d'Estampes, Governor of Paris and chief of the judicial +tribunal of said city, greeting: We make known that before Simon +Legendre and Peter le Roy, notaries of our lord the King, at Paris, came +in person Master John Calvin, licentiate at law, and Anthony Cauvin, his +brother, clerk, living at Paris, and sons of Gerard Cauvin--while yet +alive, secretary of M. the Bishop of Noyon--and of Jeanne le Franc, his +wife; who jointly and severally make, name, ordain, appoint, and +establish as their general agent and special attorney Master Charles +Cauvin, their brother, to whom bearing these present letters they grant, +and by these presents do give, full power and right to sell, concede, +and alienate, to whatever person or persons the two undivided thirds +belonging to the aforesaid constituents, coming to them in proper right +of succession by the demise of the aforesaid deceased Jeanne le Franc, +their mother; also the fourth undivided part of a piece of meadow, +containing fourteen acres or thereabouts, situated in the territory of +Noyon, and pertaining on one part to the wood of Chastelain; on another, +to the monks and sisters of the Hotel-Dieu of St. John, at Noyon; on +another, to the nuns and abbess of the French convent, the Abbey aux +Bois, and to the chapter of the church of Notre Dame, of the said city, +and running up to the highway passing from Noyon to Genury; to make sale +and alienation of the same, for such price and at such costs as the +aforesaid Master Charles Cauvin, their brother, shall judge for the +better; to collect the money and give security, with lien upon all their +future possessions. + +"Done, and passed, on Wednesday, the fifteenth day of February, in the +year 1531." + +Some short time after this, Calvin resigned his charge of the Chapel de +la Gesine to Anthony de la Marliere, _Mediante pretio conventionis_, for +the sum agreed on, says the act of transfer, and also surrendered his +benefice of Pont l'Eveque for a similar consideration. + +The storm was gathering. Calvin wished to expose to its fury some other +head than his own, and chose that of Nicolas Cop, rector of the +Sorbonne, at Paris. Cop was a German of Basel, who was captivated with +the student because of his ready speech, his airs of virtue, his +scriptural knowledge, his railleries against the monks, and his ridicule +of the university. As to the rest, he was a man of a dull, heavy mind, +understood nothing of theological subjects, and would have been much +better placed in a refectory than in a learned body; at table than in +the professor's chair. Cop had to pronounce his usual discourse on All +Saints' Day, in presence of the Sorbonne and the university. He had +recourse to Calvin, who set to work and "built him up a discourse," says +Beza--"an oration quite different from those which were customary." The +Sorbonne and university did not assist at the discourse, but only some +Franciscans, who appeared to be scandalized at certain propositions of +the orator, and among others at one concerning justification by faith +alone in Christ--an old error, which, for many ages, has been trailed +along in all the writings of heretics; often dead and resuscitated--and +which Calvin, in Cop's discourse, dressed out in tinsel in order to give +it some appearance of novelty. But our Franciscans had sight and hearing +equally as good; they detected the heresy easily, and denounced to the +parliament the evil-sounding propositions, which they had taken pains to +note down in writing. Cop was greatly embarrassed by his new glory; he +had not expected so much fame. He, however, held up well and convoked +the university at the Mathurins. The university assembled in a body in +order to judge the cause. The rector there commenced a discourse, drawn +up by Calvin, in which he formally denied having preached the +propositions denounced, with the exception of one only, precisely the +worst, that concerning justification. Imagine the tumult which the +orator excited! Scarcely could he make himself heard, and ask mercy. The +old Sorbonnists shuddered on their benches. The unfortunate Cop would +have been seized had he not made his escape, to return no more. + +The student kept himself concealed at the College du Forbet, which was +already surrounded by a body of archers headed by John Morin. Calvin was +warned of their approach. "He escaped through a window, concealed +himself in the suburb St. Victor, at the house of a vine-dresser, +changed his clothes, assumed the long gown of the vine-dresser, and, +placing a wallet of white linen and a rake on his shoulders, he took the +road to Noyon." A canon of that city, who was on his way to Paris, met +the _cure_ of Pont l'Eveque and recognized him. + +"Where are you going, Master John," he demanded, "in this fine +disguise?" + +"Where God shall please," answered Calvin, who then began to explain the +motive and reasons of his disguise. "And would you not do better to +return to Noyon and to God?" asked the canon, looking at him sadly. +Calvin was a moment silent, then, taking the priest's hand--"Thank you," +said he, "but it is too late." + +During this colloquy the lieutenant was searching Calvin's papers, and +secured those which might have compromised the friends of the fugitive. + +Calvin found a refuge with the Queen of Navarre, who was fortunate +enough to reconcile her _protege_ with the court and the university. The +person whom she employed to effect this was an adroit man who had +succeeded in deceiving the government. Francis I based his glory upon +the patronage and encouragement which he accorded to learning, and +Calvin, as a man of letters, merited consideration. The King needed some +forgiveness for serious political faults, and, with reason, he believed +that the humanists would redeem his character before the people. He was +at once the protector and the slave of the _literati_. + +At that period the little court of Nerac was the asylum of writers, who, +like Desperriers, there prepared their _Cymbalum Mundi_; of gallant +ladies, who composed love-tales, of which they were often the heroines +themselves; of poets, who extemporized odes after Beza's model; of +clerics and other gentry of the Church, who entertained packs of +hunting-dogs, and courtesans; of Italian play-actors, who, in the +Queen's theatre, presented comedies taken from the New Testament, in +which Jesus was made to utter horrible things against monks and nuns; or +of princes, who, like the Queen's husband, scarcely knew how to read, +and yet discoursed, like doctors, about doctrine and discipline. + +It was against Roussel, the confessor of Margaret, that Calvin, at a +later date, composed his _Adversus Nicodemitas_. At Nerac he found Le +Fevre d'Etaples, who had fled the wrath of the Sorbonne, and who +"regarded the young man with a benignant eye, predicting that he was to +become the author of the restoration of the Church in France." Le Fevre +recalls to our mind that priest about whom Mathesius tells us, who said +to Luther, when sick: "My child, you will not die; God has great designs +in your regard." As to the rest, James le Fevre d'Etaples was a +sufficiently charitable and honest man. He died a Catholic, and very +probably without ever having prophesied in the terms mentioned by Beza. + +It does not appear that Margaret enjoined the law of silence upon her +guest of Noyon, for we find him disseminating his errors in Saintonge, +where many laborers flocked to hear him and abandoned Catholicism to +embrace the Reformation. It was while on one of his excursions that the +missionary encountered Louis du Tillet, clerk of the Parliament of +Paris and secretary of Du Tillet, Bishop of Meaux. Louis possessed a +beautiful dwelling at Claix, a sort of Thebais, retired and pleasant, +where Calvin commenced his most serious work, _Institutes of the +Christian Religion_. The time he could spare from this literary +occupation he devoted to preaching in the neighboring cities, and +especially at Angouleme. A vine, beneath which he loved to recline and +muse, may still be seen; it was for a long time called "Calvin's vine." +He was still living on the last bounties of a church which he had +renounced, and which he called "a stepmother and a prostitute"; and on +the presents of a queen gallant, whose morals and piety he lauded, +continuing to assist at the Catholic service, and composing Latin +orations, which were delivered out of the assembly of the synod, at the +temple of St. Peter. He left the court of Margaret and reappeared at +Orleans. + +The Reformation in France, as in Germany, wherever it showed itself, +produced, on all sides, disorder and trouble. In place of a uniform +symbol, it brought contradictory confessions, which gave rise to +interminable disputes. In Germany the Lutheran word caused a thousand +sects to spring up--each of which wished to establish a Christian +republic on the ruins of Catholicism. Carlstadt, Schwenkfield, +Oecolampadius, Zwingli, Munzer, Boskold, begotten by Luther, had +denied their father, and taught heterogeneous dogmas, of which every one +passed for the production of the Holy Ghost. Luther, who no longer +concealed himself beneath a monk's robe, but borrowed the ducal sword, +drove before him all these rebel angels, and, at the gate of Wittenberg, +stationed an executioner to prohibit their entrance; driven back into +the provinces, the dissenters appealed to open force. Germany was then +inundated with the blood of her noble intelligences, who had been born +for her glory. + +Munzer died on the scaffold, and the Anabaptists marched to punishment, +denying and cursing the Saxon who did violence to their faith. +Everything was perishing--painting, sculpture, poesy, letters. The +Reformation imitated Nero, and sang its triumphs amid ruins and blood. + +In France it was destined soon to excite similar tempests. It had +already troubled the Church. It no longer, as before, sheltered itself +beneath the shades of night to propagate its doctrines. It erected, by +the side of the Catholic pulpit, another pulpit, from which its dogmas +were defended by its disciples; it led its partisans at court, among the +clergy, in the universities and in the parliaments. Calvin's book, _de +Clementia_, gained him a large number of proselytes: his disciples had +an austere air, downcast eyes, pale faces, emaciated cheeks--all the +signs of labor and sufferings. They mingled little with the world, +avoided female conversation, the court, and shows; the Bible was their +book of predilection; they spoke, like the Saviour, in apologues. They +were termed Christians of the primitive Church. To resemble these, they +only needed the very essence of Christianity; namely, faith, hope, and +charity. + +To be convinced that their symbol was as diversified as their faces, it +was only necessary to hear them speak; some taught the sleep of the +soul, after this life, till the day of the last judgment; others, the +necessity of a second baptism. Among them there were Lutherans, who +believed in the real presence, and Zwinglians, who rejected it; apostles +of free-will, and defenders of fatalism; Melanchthonians, who admitted +an ecclesiastical hierarchy; Carlstadians, who maintained that every +Christian is a priest; realists, chained to the letter; idealists, who +bent the letter to the thought; rationalists, who rejected every +mystery; mystics, who lost themselves in the clouds; and +Antitrinitarians, who, like Servetus, admitted but two persons in God. +These doctors all carried with them the same book--the Bible. + +Servetus,[43] a Spanish physician, had left his own country, and +established himself, in 1531, at Hagenau, where he had published +different treatises against the Trinity. He had disputed at Basel with +Oecolampadius, some time before this renegade from the Lutheran faith +"was strangled by the devil," if we are to believe the account given by +Doctor Martin Luther. Servetus boasted that he triumphed over the +theologian. Having left Basel in 1532, and crossed the Rhine, he came +to hurl a solemn defiance at Calvin; the gauntlet was taken up by the +_cure_ of Pont l'Eveque, the place of combat indicated, the day for the +tournament named, but at the appointed hour "the heart of this unhappy +wretch failed," says Beza, "who having agreed to dispute, did not dare +appear." Calvin, on his part--in his refutations of the errors of +Servetus, published in 1554--boasts of having in vain offered the +Spanish physician remedies suitable to cure his malady. Servetus +pretends that his adversary was laying snares for him, which he had the +good-fortune to avoid. At a later period he forgot his part, and came to +throw himself into the ambuscade of his enemy. + +The parliaments redoubled their severity: Calvin was narrowly watched, +his liberty might be compromised, and even his life put in peril. He +resolved to abandon France, either from fear or spite--if we are to +credit an ecclesiastical historian--not being able to forgive Francis I +for the preference manifested by this Prince toward a relation of the +Constable, "of moderate circumstances," who was promoted to a benefice, +for which the author of the _Commentary on Seneca_ had condescended to +make solicitation. The testimony of the historian is weighty. Soulier +knows neither hatred, passion, nor anger; he seeks after the truth, and +he believes that he has found it in the recital which we are about to +peruse. + +"We, the undersigned--Louis Charreton, counsellor of the King, dean of +the presidents of the parliaments of Paris, son of the late Andrew +Charreton, who was first Baron of Champagne, and counsellor to the high +chamber of the Parliament of Paris; Madam Antoinette Charreton, widow of +Noel Renouard, former master in the chamber of the courts of Paris, and +daughter of the late Hugh Charreton, Lord of Montauzon; and John +Charreton, Sieur de la Terriere; all three cousins, and grandchildren of +Hugh Charreton--certify that we have frequently heard from our fathers +that the aforesaid Sieur Hugh Charreton had several times told them that +under the reign of Francis I, while the court was at Fontainebleau, +Calvin, who had a benefice at Noyon, came there and took lodgings in the +hotel where the aforesaid Sieur Charreton was lodging, who, +understanding that Calvin was a man of letters and of great erudition, +and being very fond of the society of learned men, informed him that he +would be delighted to have some interviews with him; to this Calvin the +more willingly consented under the belief that the aforesaid Sieur de +Charreton might be able to assist him in the affair which had brought +him to Fontainebleau; that after several interviews the aforesaid Sieur +de Charreton demanded from Calvin the object of his journey, to which he +answered that he had come to solicit a priory from the King, for which +there was but one rival, who was a relative of the Constable. + +"The Sieur de Charreton asked him if he thought this nothing. He replied +that he was aware of the high consideration enjoyed by the Constable, +but he also knew that the King, in disposing of benefices, was wont to +choose the most proper persons, and that the relative of the Constable +was of very poor capacity. To which the aforesaid Sieur de Charreton +rejoined that this was no obstacle, since no great capacity was needed +to hold a simple benefice; whereupon Calvin exclaimed and cried out that +if such wrong was done him he would find means to make them speak of him +for five hundred years; and the aforesaid Sieur de Charreton having +urged him strongly to tell him how he would do this, Calvin conducted +him to his room and showed him the commencement of his _Institutes_; and +after having read a portion of them, Calvin demanded his opinion; he +answered _that it was poison well put in sugar_, and advised him not to +continue a work which was only a false interpretation of the Scriptures +and of everything which the holy fathers had written; and as he +perceived that Calvin remained firm in his wicked purpose, he gave +notice thereof to the Constable, who declared that Calvin was a fool and +should soon be brought to his senses. But two days after, the benefice +having been bestowed on the relative of the Constable, Calvin departed +and began to propagate his sect, which, being very convenient, was +embraced by many persons, some through libertinism, others from weakness +of mind. + +"That some time after, the Constable was going to his government of +Languedoc, and passed through Lyons, where the aforesaid Sieur de +Charreton paid him a visit, and was asked if he did not belong to the +sect of Calvin, with whom he had lodged. He answered that he would be +very sorry to embrace a religion the father and founder of which he had +seen born. + +"In testimony whereof we have given our signatures, at Paris, this 20th +of September, 1682. + +"Signed: Charreton, President; A. Charreton, Widow Renouard; and +Charreton de la Terriere." + +After having published his _Psychopannychia_, in 1534, at Orleans, +Calvin left that city. He felt a desire to visit Basel, at that time the +Athens of Switzerland, a city of renown, so long the abode of Erasmus, +famous for its _literati_, its celebrated printers, and its theologians +amorous of novelties; where Froben had published his fine edition of the +works of St. Jerome; where Holbein had painted his picture of Christ +ready for the sepulchre, where Capito taught Hebrew, and Oecolampadius +commented on the Psalms. + +He set out from Orleans in company with his friend Du Tillet; near Metz +their domestic robbed them and fled with their sacks and valises, and +they were forced to seek Strasburg on foot, nearly destitute of +clothing, and with but ten crowns in their pockets. Calvin spent some +time in Strasburg, studying the different transformations which the +reformed gospel had undergone during the brief space of fifteen years. +He entered into intimate relations with some of the most celebrated +representatives of Protestantism. Anyone else, who had arrived there +free from prejudices against Catholicism, would have found salutary +instruction in the ceaseless agitations of that city, which knew not +where to poise itself in order to find repose, and which, since 1521, +had become Lutheran, Anabaptist, Zwinglian, and, at that very moment, +was dreaming of a new transfiguration, to be accomplished by the aid of +Bucer, one of its new guests. + +At Basel, Calvin found Simon Grynaeus and Erasmus. Calvin could not +neglect this opportunity of visiting the Batavian philologist, whose +fame was European. After a short interview they separated. Bucer, who +had assisted at the meeting, was solicitous to know the opinion of the +caustic old man. "Master," said he, "what think you of the new-comer?" +Erasmus smiled, without answering. Bucer insisted. "I behold," said the +author of the _Colloquies_, "a great pest, which is springing up in the +Church, against the Church." + +On the next day Du Tillet, clerk of the Parliament of Paris, arrived at +Basel and, by dint of tears and entreaties, brought with him his +brother Louis, who repented, made his abjuration, and was shortly after +elected archdeacon, a dignity disputed with him by Renaudie, who was to +be used by the Reformation for the execution of the plot of Amboise. + +The _Psychopannychia_, the first controversial work of Calvin, is a +pamphlet directed against the sect of Anabaptists, whom the bloody day +of Frankenhausen had conquered, but not subdued. The spirit of Munzer +lived again in his disciples, who were parading their mystic reveries +through Holland, Flanders, and France. Luther had essayed his powers +against Munzer, imagining that by his fiery language, his Pindaric +wrath, his flames and thunders, he would soon overwhelm the chief of the +miners, as he had defeated, it is said, those theological dwarfs who +were unable to stand before him. From the summit of the mountain he had +appeared to Munzer in the midst of lightnings, but those lightnings did +not alarm his adversary, who was bold enough to face him with unquailing +eye. + +Munzer also possessed a fiery tongue, which he used with admirable +skill, to inflame and arouse the peasants; this time victory remained +with the man of the sledge-hammer. And Luther, who wished to terminate +the affair at any cost, was reduced, as is well known, to avail himself +of the sword of one of his electors. The wrecks which escaped from the +funeral obsequies of Thuringia took refuge in a new land. France +received and listened to the prophets of Anabaptism. + +These Anabaptists maintained seducing doctrines. They dreamed of a sort +of Jerusalem, very different from the Jewish Jerusalem; a Jerusalem +quite spiritual, without swords, soldiers, or civil magistracy: the true +city of the elect. Their speech was infected with Pelagianism and +Arianism; on several points of dogma they agreed with Catholics--on +predestination, for example, and on the merit of works. Some of them +taught the sleep of the soul till the day of judgment. It was against +these "sleepers" that Calvin determined to measure himself. + +The _Commentary on Seneca_ is a philological work, a book of the +revival, a rhetorical declamation, in which Calvin is evidently aspiring +to a place among the humanists, and making his court, in sufficiently +fine Latin, to all the Ciceronians of the age: this was bringing himself +forward with skill and tact. The Latin language was the idiom of the +Church, of the convents, colleges, universities, and parliaments. The +_Psychopannychia_ is a religious pamphlet, and now Calvin must expect a +rival in the first pamphleteer of Germany, Luther himself. It is certain +that Calvin was acquainted with the writings of the Saxon monk against +Eck, Tetzel, Prierias, Latomus, and the Sorbonnists. He must be praised +for not having dreamed of entering the lists against a spirit of such a +temper as his rival. Had he desired, after Luther's manner, to deal in +caricature, he would certainly have failed. Sallies, play upon words, +and conceits did not suit a mind like his, whose forte was finesse. By +nature sober, he could not, like the Saxon monk, fertilize his brain in +enormous pots of beer; moreover, beer was not as yet in use beyond the +Rhine. + +Nor had he at his service those German smoking-houses, where, of an +evening, among the companions of gay science, his weary mind might have +revived its energies. In France the monks did not resort to taverns. +Calvin was, therefore, everything he was destined to become: an adroit, +biting disputant, ready at retort, but without warmth or enthusiasm. He +loves to bear testimony in his own behalf, that "he did not indulge his +wrath, except modestly; that he always made it a rule to set aside +outrageous or biting expressions; that he almost always moderated his +style, which was better adapted to instruct than to drive forcibly, in +such sort, however, that it may ever attract those who would not be +led." One must see that, with such humor and style, Calvin might have +died forgotten, in some little benefice of Swabia, and that he was never +formed for raising storms, but only for using them. + +At this epoch the grand agitator of society was first, society itself, +and then Luther, that great pamphleteer, "whose books are quite full of +demons," who drove humanity into the paths of a revolution, for which +all the elements had been prepared years before. Luther had sown the +wind, Calvin came to reap the whirlwind. Not that the latter does not +sometimes rise even to wrath, but it is a wrath which savors of labor +and which he pursues as a rhymester would a rebellious epithet. Besides, +he is good enough to repent for it, as if this wrath burned the face +over which it glowed. "I have presented some things," he murmurs, "a +little sharply, even roughly said, which, peradventure, may offend the +delicate ears of some. But, as I am aware there are some good persons +who have conceived such affection for this dream of the sleep of souls, +I would not have them offended with me." Where Calvin is concerned we +must not allow our admiration to be too easily awaked; we must note that +he is speaking of an Anabaptist, that is, of a soul which has thrown off +the "papism." But let a Catholic appear--a priest unknown to fame, who, +as editor, shall have reprinted a new edition of the work of Henry VIII, +"_Assertio Septem Sacramentorum_"--for instance, Gabriel de Sacconay, +precentor of Lyons, and you shall then behold Calvin, under the form of +a dithyrambic or congratulatory epistle, without the least regard for +delicate ears, throw into the face of the Catholic the most filthy +expressions of offence. + +Calvin has himself given a correct estimate of the value of his +_Psychopannychia_, and of his treatise against the Anabaptists, which +one of his historians desires to have reprinted in our time, purged of +all its bitterness of style. He was right in saying, "I have reproved +the foolish curiosity of those who were debating these questions, which, +in fact, are but vexations of mind." + +One day this question, about the sleep of souls--one that in the ancient +Church had long since been examined, by Metito--was presented to Luther, +who disposed of it in few words. "These," said he, "are picked +nutshells." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[43] Michael Servetus was a controversialist in matters of philosophy +and religion. For many years he was the object of attack by the +different orthodox schools on account of his heretical speeches and +writings. In 1553 he published a work which led to his arrest by order +of the inquisitor-general at Lyons. Servetus escaped, but was again +taken, at the instance of Calvin, and was burned at Geneva, October 27, +1553.--ED. + + + + +ENGLAND BREAKS WITH THE ROMAN CHURCH + +DESTRUCTION OF THE MONASTERIES + +A.D. 1534 + +JOHN RICHARD GREEN + + Following the fall of Wolsey, Sir Thomas More became lord + chancellor of England, but the real power of Wolsey passed + to another and perhaps even more able minister, Thomas + Cromwell. Henry VIII needed always some strong, able, crafty + guide to show him a path through the intricacies of European + politics, and enable him at the same time to follow the + savage dictates of his passion and his whims. + + Such a helper he found now in Cromwell. Few men have ever + been so daring or so ruthless as this great statesman. He + helped Henry in all his evil schemes, though Green and other + critics as well have thought to discern a larger, wiser + policy in the impenetrable mind of the subtle minister. As + secretary of state he drove England at his own pace through + the vast religious changes of the period. For the ruin he + brought upon Catholicism, and more especially for his + destruction of the thousand monasteries that dotted England, + he has been called the "hammer of the monks." Of even lower + birth than Wolsey, and rising to almost equal power, + Cromwell began life as a son of a blacksmith. + + He wandered over Europe and especially Italy as a soldier, + merchant, and general adventurer of the lower and wilder + type. He became Wolsey's right-hand man, and held loyally by + his chief even after the latter's overthrow. + + It had been Henry's passion for Anne Boleyn, and the + resulting necessity for divorce from his wife Catherine, + that caused Wolsey's fall. On the same passion did Cromwell + build his rise. He secretly urged the King to break with + Rome entirely and declare himself sole head of the English + Church. Thus he could divorce himself. Henry first tried a + last negotiation with the Pope; that failing, he turned to + his new adviser. + + +Cromwell was again ready with his suggestion that the King should +disavow the papal jurisdiction, declare himself head of the Church +within its realm, and obtain a divorce from his own ecclesiastical +courts. But the new minister looked on the divorce as simply the prelude +to a series of changes which he was bent upon accomplishing. In all his +checkered life, that had left its deepest stamp on him in Italy. Not +only in the rapidity and ruthlessness of his designs, but in their +larger scope, their admirable combination, the Italian statecraft +entered with Cromwell into English politics. He is in fact the first +English minister in whom we can trace through the whole period of his +rule the steady working out of a great and definite aim, that of raising +the King to absolute authority on the ruins of every rival power within +his realm. + +It was not that Cromwell was a mere slave of tyranny. Whether we may +trust the tale that carries him in his youth to Florence or not, his +statesmanship was closely modelled on the ideal of the Florentine +thinker whose book was constantly in his hand. Even as a servant of +Wolsey he startled the future Cardinal, Reginald Pole, by bidding him +take for his manual in politics the _Prince_ of Machiavelli. Machiavelli +hoped to find in Caesar Borgia or in the later Lorenzo de' Medici a +tyrant who, after crushing all rival tyrannies, might unite and +regenerate Italy; and, terrible and ruthless as his policy was, the +final aim of Cromwell seems to have been that of Machiavelli, an aim of +securing enlightenment and order for England by the concentration of all +authority in the Crown. + +The first step toward such an end was the freeing the monarchy from its +spiritual obedience to Rome. What the first of the Tudors had done for +the political independence of the kingdom, the second was to do for its +ecclesiastical independence. Henry VII had freed England from the +interference of France or the house of Burgundy; and in the question of +the divorce Cromwell saw the means of bringing Henry VIII to free it +from the interference of the papacy. In such an effort resistance could +be looked for only from the clergy. But their resistance was what +Cromwell desired. The last check on royal absolutism which had survived +the Wars of the Roses lay in the wealth, the independent synods and +jurisdiction, and the religious claims of the Church; and for the +success of the new policy it was necessary to reduce the great +ecclesiastical body to a mere department of the state in which all +authority should flow from the sovereign alone, his will be the only +law, his decision the only test of truth. + +Such a change, however, was hardly to be wrought without a struggle; +and the question of national independence in all ecclesiastical matters +furnished ground on which the Crown could conduct this struggle to the +best advantage. The secretary's first blow showed how unscrupulously the +struggle was to be waged. A year had passed since Wolsey had been +convicted of a breach of the Statute of Provisors. The pedantry of the +judges declared the whole nation to have been formally involved in the +same charge by its acceptance of his authority. The legal absurdity was +now redressed by a general pardon, but from this pardon the clergy found +themselves omitted. In the spring of 1531 a convocation was assembled to +be told that forgiveness could be bought at no less a price than the +payment of a fine amounting to a million of our present money, and the +acknowledgment of the King as "the chief protector, the only and supreme +lord, and head of the Church and clergy of England." + +Unjust as was the first demand, they at once submitted to it; against +the second they struggled hard. But their appeals to Henry and Cromwell +met only with demands for instant obedience. A compromise was at last +arrived at by the insertion of a qualifying phrase, "So far as the law +of Christ will allow"; and with this addition the words were again +submitted by Warham to the convocation. There was a general silence. +"Whoever is silent seems to consent," said the Archbishop. "Then are we +all silent," replied a voice from among the crowd. + +There is no ground for thinking that the "headship of the Church" which +Henry claimed in this submission was more than a warning addressed to +the independent spirit of the clergy, or that it bore as yet the meaning +which was afterward attached to it. It certainly implied no independence +of Rome, for negotiations were still being carried on with the papal +court. But it told Clement plainly that in any strife that might come +between himself and Henry the clergy were in the King's hand, and that +he must look for no aid from them in any struggle with the Crown. The +warning was backed by an address to the Pope from the lords and some of +the commons who assembled after a fresh prorogation of the houses in the +spring. + +"The cause of his majesty," the peers were made to say, "is the cause of +each of ourselves." They laid before the Pope what they represented as +the judgment of the universities in favor of the divorce; but they +faced boldly the event of its rejection. "Our condition," they ended, +"will not be wholly irremediable. Extreme remedies are ever harsh of +application; but he that is sick will by all means be rid of his +distemper." In the summer the banishment of Catherine from the King's +palace to a house at Ampthill showed the firmness of Henry's resolve. +Each of these acts was no doubt intended to tell on the Pope's decision, +for Henry still clung to the hope of extorting from Clement a favorable +answer; and at the close of the year a fresh embassy, with Gardiner, now +Bishop of Winchester, at its head, was despatched to the papal court. +But the embassy failed like its predecessors, and at the opening of 1532 +Cromwell was free to take more decisive steps in the course on which he +had entered. + +What the nature of his policy was to be, had already been detected by +eyes as keen as his own. More had seen in Wolsey's fall an opening for +the realization of those schemes of religious and even of political +reform on which the scholars of the New Learning had long been brooding. +The substitution of the lords of the council for the autocratic rule of +the cardinal-minister, the break-up of the great mass of powers which +had been gathered into a single hand, the summons of a parliament, the +ecclesiastical reforms which it at once sanctioned, were measures which +promised a more legal and constitutional system of government. The +question of the divorce presented to More no serious difficulty. +Untenable as Henry's claim seemed to the new Chancellor, his faith in +the omnipotence of parliament would have enabled him to submit to any +statute which named a new spouse as queen and her children as heirs to +the crown. But as Cromwell's policy unfolded itself he saw that more +than this was impending. + +The Catholic instinct of his mind, the dread of a rent Christendom and +of the wars and bigotry that must come of its rending, united with +More's theological convictions to resist any spiritual severance of +England from the papacy. His love for freedom, his revolt against the +growing autocracy of the Crown, the very height and grandeur of his own +spiritual convictions, all bent him to withstand a system which would +concentrate in the king the whole power of church as of state, would +leave him without the one check that remained on his despotism, and +make him arbiter of the religious faith of his subjects. The later +revolt of the Puritans against the king-worship which Cromwell +established proved the justice of the provision which forced More in the +spring of 1532 to resign the post of chancellor. + +But the revolution from which he shrank was an inevitable one. Till now +every Englishman had practically owned a double life and a double +allegiance. As citizen of a temporal state his life was bounded by +English shores, and his loyalty due exclusively to his English King. But +as citizen of the state spiritual, he belonged not to England, but to +Christendom. The law which governed him was not a national law, but a +law that embraced every European nation, and the ordinary course of +judicial appeals in ecclesiastical cases proved to him that the +sovereignty in all matters of conscience or religion lay, not at +Westminster, but at Rome. + +Such a distinction could scarcely fail to bring embarrassment with it as +the sense of national life and national pride waxed stronger; and from +the reign of the Edwards the problem of reconciling the spiritual and +temporal relations of the realm grew daily more difficult. Parliament +had hardly risen into life when it became the organ of the national +jealousy, whether of any papal jurisdiction without the realm or of the +separate life and separate jurisdiction of the clergy within it. The +movement was long arrested by religious reaction and civil war. But the +fresh sense of national greatness which sprang from the policy of Henry +VIII, the fresh sense of national unity as the monarchy gathered all +power into its single hand, would have itself revived the contest even +without the spur of the divorce. + +What the question of the divorce really did was to stimulate the +movement by bringing into clearer view the wreck of the great Christian +commonwealth of which England had till now formed a part, and the +impossibility of any real exercise of a spiritual sovereignty over it by +the weakened papacy, as well as by outraging the national pride through +the summons of the King to a foreign bar and the submission of English +interests to the will of a foreign emperor. + +With such a spur as this the movement, which More dreaded, moved forward +as quickly as Cromwell desired. The time had come when England was to +claim for herself the fulness of power, ecclesiastical as well as +temporal, within her bounds; and, in the concentration of all authority +within the hands of the sovereign which was the political characteristic +of the time, to claim this power for the nation was to claim it for the +king. The import of that headship of the Church which Henry had assumed +in the preceding year was brought fully out in one of the propositions +laid before the convocation of 1532. + +"The King's majesty," runs this memorable clause, "hath as well the care +of the souls of his subjects as their bodies; and may by the law of God +by his parliament make laws touching and concerning as well the one as +the other." The principle embodied in these words was carried out in a +series of decisive measures. Under strong pressure the convocation was +brought to pray that the power of independent legislation till now +exercised by the church should come to an end, and to promise "that from +henceforth we shall forbear to enact, promulge, or put into execution +any such constitutions and ordinances so by us to be made in time +coming, unless your highness by your royal assent shall license us to +make, promulge, and execute them, and the same so made be approved by +your highness' authority." + +Rome was dealt with in the same unsparing fashion. The parliament +forbade by statute any further appeals to the papal court; and on a +petition from the clergy in convocation the houses granted power to the +King to suspend the payments of first-fruits, or the year's revenue +which each bishop paid to Rome on his election to a see. All judicial, +all financial connection with the papacy was broken by these two +measures. The last, indeed, was as yet but a menace which Henry might +use in his negotiations with Clement. The hope which had been +entertained of aid from Charles was now abandoned; and the overthrow of +Norfolk and his policy of alliance with the Empire was seen at the +midsummer of 1532 in the conclusion of a league with France. Cromwell +had fallen back on Wolsey's system; and the divorce was now to be looked +for from the united pressure of the French and English kings on the +papal court. + +But the pressure was as unsuccessful as before. In November Clement +threatened the King with excommunication if he did not restore Catherine +to her place as queen and abstain from all intercourse with Anne Boleyn +till the case was tried. But Henry still refused to submit to the +judgment of any court outside his realm; and the Pope, ready as he was +with evasion and delay, dared not alienate Charles by consenting to a +trial within it. The lavish pledges which Francis had given in an +interview during the preceding summer may have aided to spur the King to +a decisive step which closed the long debate. At the opening of 1533 +Henry was privately married to Anne Boleyn. The match, however, was +carefully kept secret while the papal sanction was being gained for the +appointment of Cranmer to the see of Canterbury, which had become vacant +by Archbishop Warham's death in the preceding year. But Cranmer's +consecration at the close of March was the signal for more open action, +and Cromwell's policy was at last brought fairly into play. + +The new primate at once laid the question of the King's marriage before +the two houses of convocation, and both voted that the license of Pope +Julius had been beyond the papal powers and that the marriage which it +authorized was void. In May the King's suit was brought before the +Archbishop in his court at Dunstable; his judgment annulled the marriage +with Catherine as void from the beginning, and pronounced the marriage +with Anne Boleyn, which her pregnancy had forced Henry to reveal, a +lawful marriage. A week later the hand of Cranmer placed upon Anne's +brow the crown which she had coveted so long. + +"There was much murmuring" at measures such as these. Many thought "that +the Bishop of Rome would curse all Englishmen, and that the Emperor and +he would destroy all the people." Fears of the overthrow of religion +told on the clergy; the merchants dreaded an interruption of the trade +with Flanders, Italy, and Spain. But Charles, though still loyal to his +aunt's cause, had no mind to incur risks for her; and Clement, though he +annulled Cranmer's proceedings, hesitated as yet to take sterner action. +Henry, on the other hand, conscious that the die was thrown, moved +rapidly forward in the path that Cromwell had opened. The Pope's +reversal of the primate's judgment was answered by an appeal to a +general council. The decision of the cardinals to whom the case was +referred in the spring of 1534, a decision which asserted the +lawfulness of Catherine's marriage, was met by the enforcement of the +long-suspended statute forbidding the payment of first-fruits to the +Pope. + +Though the King was still firm in his resistance to Lutheran opinions, +and at this moment endeavored to prevent by statute the importation of +Lutheran books, the less scrupulous hand of his minister was seen +already striving to find a counterpoise to the hostility of the Emperor +in an alliance with the Lutheran princes of North Germany. Cromwell was +now fast rising to a power which rivalled Wolsey's. His elevation to the +post of lord privy seal placed him on a level with the great nobles of +the council board; and Norfolk, constant in his hopes of reconciliation +with Charles and the papacy, saw his plans set aside for the wider and +more daring projects of "the black-smith's son." Cromwell still clung to +the political engine whose powers he had turned to the service of the +Crown. The parliament which had been summoned at Wolsey's fall met +steadily year after year; and measure after measure had shown its +accordance with the royal will in the strife with Rome. + +It was now called to deal a final blow. Step by step the ground had been +cleared for the great statute by which the new character of the English +Church was defined in the session of 1534. By the Act of Supremacy +authority in all matters ecclesiastical was vested solely in the Crown. +The courts spiritual became as thoroughly the king's courts as the +temporal courts at Westminster. The statute ordered that the King "shall +be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head on earth of the +Church of England, and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the +imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and state thereof as all +the honors, jurisdictions, authorities, immunities, profits, and +commodities to the said dignity belonging, with full power to visit, +repress, redress, reform, and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, +contempts, and enormities which by any manner of spiritual authority or +jurisdiction might or may lawfully be reformed." + +The full import of the Act of Supremacy was only seen in the following +year. At the opening of 1535 Henry formally took the title of "on earth +Supreme Head of the Church of England," and some months later Cromwell +was raised to the post of vicar-general, or vicegerent of the King in +all matters ecclesiastical. His title, like his office, recalled the +system of Wolsey. It was not only as legate, but in later years as +vicar-general, of the Pope, that Wolsey had brought all spiritual causes +in England to an English court. The supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction +in the realm passed into the hands of a minister who as chancellor +already exercised its supreme civil jurisdiction. The papal power had +therefore long seemed transferred to the crown before the legislative +measures which followed the divorce actually transferred it. + +It was in fact the system of Catholicism itself that trained men to look +without surprise on the concentration of all spiritual and secular +authority in Cromwell. Successor to Wolsey as keeper of the great seal, +it seemed natural enough that Cromwell should succeed him also as +vicar-general of the Church, and that the union of the two powers should +be restored in the hands of a minister of the King. But the mere fact +that these powers were united in the hands, not of a priest, but of a +layman, showed the new drift of the royal policy. The Church was no +longer to be brought indirectly under the royal power; in the policy of +Cromwell it was to be openly laid prostrate at the foot of the throne. + +And this policy his position enabled him to carry out with a terrible +thoroughness. One great step toward its realization had already been +taken in the statute which annihilated the free legislative powers of +the convocations of the clergy. Another followed in an act which, under +the pretext of restoring the free election of bishops, turned every +prelate into a nominee of the King. The election of bishops by the +chapters of their cathedral churches had long become formal, and their +appointment had since the time of the Edwards been practically made by +the papacy on the nomination of the crown. The privilege of free +election was now with bitter irony restored to the chapters, but they +were compelled on pain of praemunire to choose whatever candidate was +recommended by the king. This strange expedient has lasted till the +present time, though its character has wholly changed with the +development of constitutional rule. + +The nomination of bishops has ever since the accession of the Georges +passed from the king in person to the minister, who represents the will +of the people. Practically, therefore, an English prelate, alone among +all the prelates of the world, is now raised to his episcopal throne by +the same popular election which raised Ambrose to his episcopal chair at +Milan. But at the moment of the change Cromwell's measure reduced the +English bishops to absolute dependence on the crown. Their dependence +would have been complete had his policy been thoroughly carried out, and +the royal power of deposition put in force, as well as that of +appointment. As it was, Henry could warn the Archbishop of Dublin that, +if he persevered in his "proud folly, we be able to remove you again and +to put another man of more virtue and honesty in your place." By the +more ardent partisans of the Reformation this dependence of the bishops +on the crown was fully recognized. On the death of Henry VIII Cranmer +took out a new commission from Edward for the exercise of his office. +Latimer, when the royal policy clashed with his belief, felt bound to +resign the see of Worcester. If the power of deposition was quietly +abandoned by Elizabeth, the abandonment was due, not so much to any +deference for the religious instincts of the nation as to the fact that +the steady servility of the bishops rendered its exercise unnecessary. + +A second step in Cromwell's policy followed hard on this enslavement of +the episcopate. Master of convocation, absolute master of the bishops, +Henry had become master of the monastic orders through the right of +visitation over them, which had been transferred by the Act of Supremacy +from the papacy to the crown. The monks were soon to know what this +right of visitation implied in the hands of the vicar-general. As an +outlet for religious enthusiasm, monasticism was practically dead. The +friar, now that his fervor of devotion and his intellectual energy had +passed away, had sunk into a mere beggar. The monks had become mere +landowners. Most of the religious houses were anxious only to enlarge +their revenues and to diminish the number of those who shared them. + +In the general carelessness which prevailed as to the spiritual objects +of their trust, in the wasteful management of their estates, in the +indolence and self-indulgence which for the most part characterized +them, the monastic establishments simply exhibited the faults of all +corporate bodies that have outlived the work which they were created to +perform. They were no more unpopular, however, than such corporate +bodies generally are. The Lollard cry for their suppression had died +away. In the north, where some of the greatest abbeys were situated, the +monks were on good terms with the country gentry, and their houses +served as schools for their children; nor is there any sign of a +different feeling elsewhere. + +But they had drawn on themselves at once the hatred of the New Learning +and of the monarchy. In the early days of the revival of letters, popes +and bishops had joined with princes and scholars in welcoming the +diffusion of culture and the hopes of religious reform. But, though an +abbot or a prior here or there might be found among the supporters of +the movement, the monastic orders as a whole repelled it with unswerving +obstinacy. The quarrel only became more bitter as years went on. The +keen sarcasms of Erasmus, the insolent buffoonery of Hutten, were +lavished on the "lovers of darkness" and of the cloister. + +In England Colet and More echoed with greater reserve the scorn and +invective of their friends. The monarchy had other causes for its hate. +In Cromwell's system there was no room for either the virtues or the +vices of monasticism, for its indolence and superstition, or for its +independence of the throne. The bold stand which the monastic orders had +made against benevolences had never been forgiven, while the revenues of +their foundations offered spoil vast enough to fill the royal treasury +and secure a host of friends for the new reforms. Two royal +commissioners, therefore, were despatched on a general visitation of the +religious houses, and their reports formed a "Black Book" which was laid +before parliament in 1536. + +It was acknowledged that about a third of the houses, including the bulk +of the larger abbeys, were fairly and decently conducted. The rest were +charged with drunkenness, with simony, and with the foulest and most +revolting crimes. The character of the visitors, the sweeping nature of +their report, and the long debate which followed on its reception leave +little doubt that these charges were grossly exaggerated. But the want +of any effective discipline which had resulted from their exemption from +all but papal supervision told fatally against monastic morality even in +abbeys like St. Albans; and the acknowledgment of Warham, as well as a +partial measure of suppression begun by Wolsey, goes some way to prove +that, in the smaller houses at least, indolence had passed into crime. + +A cry of "down with them" broke from the commons as the report was read. +The country, however, was still far from desiring the utter downfall of +the monastic system, and a long and bitter debate was followed by a +compromise which suppressed all houses whose income fell below two +hundred pounds a year. Of the thousand religious houses which then +existed in England, nearly four hundred were dissolved under this act +and their revenues granted to the crown. + +The secular clergy alone remained; and injunction after injunction from +the vicar-general taught rector and vicar that they must learn to regard +themselves as mere mouth-pieces of the royal will. The Church was +gagged. With the instinct of genius, Cromwell discerned the part which +the pulpit, as the one means which then existed of speaking to the +people at large, was to play in the religious and political struggle +that was at hand; and he resolved to turn it to the profit of the +monarchy. + +The restriction of the right of preaching to priests who received +licenses from the Crown silenced every voice of opposition. Even to +those who received these licenses theological controversy was forbidden; +and a high-handed process of "tuning the pulpits," by express directions +as to the subject and tenor of each special discourse, made the +preachers at every crisis mere means of diffusing the royal will. As a +first step in this process every bishop, abbot, and parish priest was +required by the new vicar-general to preach against the usurpation of +the papacy, and to proclaim the King as supreme head of the Church on +earth. The very topics of the sermon were carefully prescribed; the +bishops were held responsible for the compliance of the clergy with +these orders; and the sheriffs were held responsible for the obedience +of the bishops. + +While the great revolution which struck down the Church was in progress, +England looked silently on. In all the earlier ecclesiastical changes, +in the contest over the papal jurisdiction and papal exactions, in the +reform of the church courts, even in the curtailment of the legislative +independence of the clergy, the nation as a whole had gone with the +King. But from the enslavement of the priesthood, from the gagging of +the pulpits, from the suppression of the monasteries, the bulk of the +nation stood aloof. There were few voices, indeed, of protest. As the +royal policy disclosed itself, as the monarchy trampled under foot the +tradition and reverence of ages gone by, as its figure rose bare and +terrible out of the wreck of old institutions, England simply held her +breath. + +It is only through the stray depositions of royal spies that we catch a +glimpse of the wrath and hate which lay seething under this silence of +the people. For the silence was a silence of terror. Before Cromwell's +rise, and after his fall from power, the reign of Henry VIII witnessed +no more than the common tyranny and bloodshed of the time. But the years +of Cromwell's administration form the one period in our history which +deserves the name that men have given to the rule of Robespierre. It was +the English "Terror." It was by terror that Cromwell mastered the King. +Cranmer could plead for him at a later time with Henry as "one whose +surety was only by your majesty, who loved your majesty, as I ever +thought, no less than God." But the attitude of Cromwell toward the King +was something more than that of absolute dependence and unquestioning +devotion. + +He was "so vigilant to preserve your majesty from all treasons," adds +the primate, "that few could be so secretly conceived but he detected +the same from the beginning." Henry, like every Tudor, was fearless of +open danger, but tremulously sensitive to the lightest breath of hidden +disloyalty; and it was on this dread that Cromwell based the fabric of +his power. He was hardly secretary before spies were scattered broadcast +over the land. Secret denunciations poured into the open ear of the +minister. The air was thick with tales of plots and conspiracies; and +with the detection and suppression of each, Cromwell tightened his hold +on the King. + +As it was by terror that he mastered the King, so it was by terror that +he mastered the people. Men felt in England, to use the figure by which +Erasmus paints the time, "as if a scorpion lay sleeping under every +stone." The confessional had no secrets for Cromwell. Men's talk with +their closest friends found its way to his ear. "Words idly spoken," the +murmurs of a petulant abbot, the ravings of a moon-struck nun, were, as +the nobles cried passionately at his fall, "tortured into treason." The +only chance of safety lay in silence. + +"Friends who used to write and send me presents," Erasmus tells us, "now +send neither letter nor gifts, nor receive any from anyone, and this +through fear." But even the refuge of silence was closed by a law more +infamous than any that has ever blotted the statute-book of England. Not +only was thought made treason, but men were forced to reveal their +thoughts on pain of their very silence being punished with the penalties +of treason. All trust in the older bulwarks of liberty was destroyed by +a policy as daring as it was unscrupulous. The noblest institutions were +degraded into instruments of terror. Though Wolsey had strained the law +to the utmost, he had made no open attack on the freedom of justice. If +he shrank from assembling parliaments, it was from his sense that they +were the bulwarks of liberty. + +But under Cromwell the coercion of juries and the management of judges +rendered the courts mere mouth-pieces of the royal will; and where even +this shadow of justice proved an obstacle to bloodshed, parliament was +brought into play to pass bill after bill of attainder. "He shall be +judged by the bloody laws he has himself made," was the cry of the +council at the moment of his fall, and by a singular retribution the +crowning injustice which he sought to introduce even into the practice +of attainder, the condemnation of a man without hearing his defence, was +only practised on himself. + +But, ruthless as was the "Terror" of Cromwell, it was of a nobler type +than the Terror of France. He never struck uselessly or capriciously, or +stooped to the meaner victims of the guillotine. His blows were +effective just because he chose his victims from among the noblest and +the best. If he struck at the Church, it was through the Carthusians, +the holiest and the most renowned of English churchmen. If he struck at +the baronage, it was through Lady Salisbury, in whose veins flowed the +blood of kings. If he struck at the New Learning, it was through the +murder of Sir Thomas More. But no personal vindictiveness mingled with +his crime. + +In temper, indeed, so far as we can judge from the few stories which +lingered among his friends, he was a generous, kindly hearted man, with +pleasant and winning manners which atoned for a certain awkwardness of +person, and with a constancy of friendship which won him a host of +devoted adherents. But no touch either of love or hate swayed him from +his course. The student of Machiavelli had not studied the _Prince_ in +vain. He had reduced bloodshed to a system. Fragments of his papers +still show us with what a business-like brevity he ticked off human +lives among the casual "remembrances" of the day. + +"Item, the Abbot of Reading to be sent down to be tried and executed at +Reading." "Item, to know the King's pleasure touching Master More." +"Item, when Master Fisher shall go to his execution, and the other." It +is indeed this utter absence of all passion, of all personal feeling, +that makes the figure of Cromwell the most terrible in our history. He +has an absolute faith in the end he is pursuing, and he simply hews his +way to it as a woodman hews his way through the forest, axe in hand. + +The choice of his first victim showed the ruthless precision with which +Cromwell was to strike. In the general opinion of Europe, the foremost +Englishman of the time was Sir Thomas More. As the policy of the divorce +ended in an open rupture with Rome, he had withdrawn silently from the +ministry, but his silent disapproval of the new policy was more telling +than the opposition of obscurer foes. To Cromwell there must have been +something specially galling in More's attitude of reserve. The religious +reforms of the New Learning were being rapidly carried out, but it was +plain that the man who represented the very life of the New Learning +believed that the sacrifice of liberty and justice was too dear a price +to pay even for religious reform. + +In the actual changes which the divorce brought about, there was nothing +to move More to active or open opposition. Though he looked on the +divorce and remarriage as without religious warrant, he found no +difficulty in accepting an act of succession passed in 1534 which +declared the marriage of Anne Boleyn valid, annulled the title of +Catherine's child, Mary, and declared the children of Anne the only +lawful heirs to the crown. His faith in the power of parliament over all +civil matters was too complete to admit a doubt of its competence to +regulate the succession to the throne. But by the same act an oath +recognizing the succession as then arranged was ordered to be taken by +all persons; and this oath contained an acknowledgment that the +marriage with Catherine was against Scripture, and invalid from the +beginning. + +Henry had long known More's belief on this point; and the summons to +take this oath was simply a summons to death. More was at his house at +Chelsea when the summons called him to Lambeth, to the house where he +had bandied fun with Warham and Erasmus or bent over the easel of +Holbein. For a moment there may have been some passing impulse to yield. +But it was soon over. Triumphant in all else, the monarchy was to find +its power stop short at the conscience of man. The great battle of +spiritual freedom, the battle of the Protestant against Mary, of the +Catholic against Elizabeth, of the Puritan against Charles, of the +Independent against the Presbyterian, began at the moment when More +refused to bend or to deny his convictions at a king's bidding. + +"I thank the Lord," More said with a sudden start as the boat dropped +silently down the river from his garden steps in the early morning, "I +thank the Lord that the field is won." At Lambeth, Cranmer and his +fellow-commissioners tendered to him the new oath of allegiance; but, as +they expected, it was refused. They bade him walk in the garden, that he +might reconsider his reply. The day was hot, and More seated himself in +a window from which he could look down into the crowded court. Even in +the presence of death, the quick sympathy of his nature could enjoy the +humor and life of the throng below. + +"I saw," he said afterward, "Master Latimer very merry in the court, for +he laughed and took one or twain by the neck so handsomely that if they +had been women I should have weened that he waxed wanton." The crowd +below was chiefly of priests, rectors, and vicars, pressing to take the +oath that More found harder than death. He bore them no grudge for it. +When he heard the voice of one who was known to have boggled hard at the +oath, a little while before, calling loudly and ostentatiously for +drink, he only noted him with his peculiar humor. "He drank," More +supposed, "either from dryness or from gladness," or "to show _quod ille +notus erat Pontifici_." + +He was called in again at last, but only repeated his refusal. It was in +vain that Cranmer plied him with distinctions which perplexed even the +subtle wit of the ex-chancellor; More remained unshaken and passed to +the Tower. He was followed there by Bishop Fisher of Rochester, the most +aged and venerable of the English prelates, who was charged with +countenancing treason by listening to the prophecies of a religious +fanatic called the "Nun of Kent." But for the moment even Cromwell +shrank from their blood. They remained prisoners, while a new and more +terrible engine was devised to crush out the silent but widespread +opposition to the religious changes. + +By a statute passed at the close of 1534 a new treason was created in +the denial of the King's titles; and in the opening of 1535 Henry +assumed, as we have seen, the title of "on earth supreme head of the +Church of England." The measure was at once followed up by a blow at +victims hardly less venerable than More. In the general relaxation of +the religious life, the charity and devotion of the brethren of the +Charter-house had won the reverence even of those who condemned +monasticism. After a stubborn resistance they had acknowledged the royal +supremacy and taken the oath of submission prescribed by the act. But, +by an infamous construction of the statute which made the denial of the +supremacy treason, the refusal of satisfactory answers to official +questions, as to a conscientious belief in it, was held to be equivalent +to open denial. + +The aim of the new measure was well known, and the brethren prepared to +die. In the agony of waiting, enthusiasm brought its imaginative +consolations; "when the host was lifted up, there came as it were a +whisper of air which breathed upon our faces as we knelt; and there came +a sweet, soft sound of music." They had not long, however, to wait, for +their refusal to answer was the signal for their doom. Three of the +brethren went to the gallows; the rest were flung into Newgate, chained +to posts in a noisome dungeon, where, "tied and not able to stir," they +were left to perish of jail fever and starvation. In a fortnight five +were dead and the rest at the point of death, "almost despatched," +Cromwell's envoy wrote to him, "by the hand of God, of which, +considering their behavior, I am not sorry." + +Their death was soon followed by that of More. The interval of +imprisonment had failed to break his resolution, and the new statute +sufficed to bring him to the block. With Fisher he was convicted of +denying the King's title as only supreme head of the Church. The old +bishop approached the scaffold with a book of the New Testament in his +hand. He opened it at a venture ere he knelt, and read, "This is life +eternal to know thee, the only true God." In July More followed his +fellow-prisoners to the block. On the eve of the fatal blow he moved his +beard carefully from the reach of the doomsman's axe. "Pity that should +be cut," he was heard to mutter with a touch of the old sad irony, "that +has never committed treason." + +Cromwell had at last reached his aim. England lay panic-stricken at the +feet of the "low-born knave," as the nobles called him, who represented +the omnipotence of the crown. Like Wolsey he concentrated in his hands +the whole administration of the state; he was at once foreign minister +and home minister, and vicar-general of the Church, the creator of a new +fleet, the organizer of armies, the president of the terrible star +chamber. His Italian indifference to the mere show of power stood out in +strong contrast with the pomp of the Cardinal. Cromwell's personal +habits were simple and unostentatious; if he clutched at money, it was +to feed the army of spies whom he maintained at his own expense, and +whose work he surveyed with a ceaseless vigilance. For his activity was +boundless. + +More than fifty volumes remain of the gigantic mass of his +correspondence. Thousands of letters from "poor bedesmen," from outraged +wives and wronged laborers and persecuted heretics, flowed in to the +all-powerful minister, whose system of personal government turned him +into the universal court of appeal. But powerful as he was, and mighty +as was the work which he had accomplished, he knew that harder blows had +to be struck before his position was secure. + +The new changes, above all the irritation which had been caused by the +outrages with which the dissolution of the monasteries was accompanied, +gave point to the mutinous temper that prevailed throughout the country; +for the revolution in agriculture was still going on, and evictions +furnished embittered outcasts to swell the ranks of any rising. Nor did +it seem as though revolt, if it once broke out, would want leaders to +head it. The nobles, who had writhed under the rule of the Cardinal, +writhed yet more bitterly under the rule of one whom they looked upon +not only as Wolsey's tool, but as a low-born upstart. "The world will +never mend," Lord Hussey had been heard to say, "till we fight for it." + +"Knaves rule about the King!" cried Lord Exeter; "I trust some day to +give them a buffet!" At this moment, too, the hopes of political +reaction were stirred by the fate of one whom the friends of the old +order looked upon as the source of all their troubles. In the spring of +1536, while the dissolution of the monasteries was marking the triumph +of the new policy, Anne Boleyn was suddenly charged with adultery and +sent to the Tower. A few days later she was tried, condemned, and +brought to the block. The Queen's ruin was everywhere taken as an omen +of ruin to the cause which had become identified with her own, and the +old nobility mustered courage to face the minister who held them at his +feet. + +They found their opportunity in the discontent of the North, where the +monasteries had been popular, and where the rougher mood of the people +turned easily to resistance. In the autumn of 1536 a rising broke out in +Lincolnshire, and this was hardly quelled when all Yorkshire rose in +arms. From every parish the farmers marched with the parish priest at +their head upon York, and the surrender of this city determined the +waverers. In a few days Skipton castle, where the Earl of Cumberland +held out with a handful of men, was the only spot north of the Humber +which remained true to the King. Durham rose at the call of the chiefs +of the house of Neville, Lords Westmoreland and Latimer. Though the Earl +of Northumberland feigned sickness, the Percies joined the revolt. Lord +Dacre, the chief of the Yorkshire nobles, surrendered Pomfret, and was +acknowledged as their chief by the insurgents. + +The whole nobility of the North were now enlisted in the "Pilgrimage of +Grace," as the rising called itself, and thirty thousand "tall men and +well horsed" moved on the Don demanding the reversal of the royal +policy, a reunion with Rome, the restoration of Catherine's daughter, +Mary, to her rights as heiress of the crown, redress for the wrongs done +to the Church, and above all the driving away of base-born councillors, +or, in other words, the fall of Cromwell. Though their advance was +checked by negotiation, the organization of the revolt went steadily on +throughout the winter, and a parliament of the North, which gathered at +Pomfret, formally adopted the demands of the insurgents. Only six +thousand men under Norfolk barred their way southward, and the Midland +counties were known to be disaffected. + +But Cromwell remained undaunted by the peril. He suffered, indeed, +Norfolk to negotiate; and allowed Henry under pressure from his council +to promise pardon and a free parliament at York, a pledge which Norfolk +and Dacre alike construed into an acceptance of the demands made by the +insurgents. Their leaders at once flung aside the badge of the "Five +Wounds" which they had worn, with a cry, "We will wear no badge but that +of our lord the King," and nobles and farmers dispersed to their homes +in triumph. But the towns of the North were no sooner garrisoned and +Norfolk's army in the heart of Yorkshire than the veil was flung aside. +A few isolated outbreaks in the spring of 1537 gave a pretext for the +withdrawal of every concession. + +The arrest of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace was followed by +ruthless severities. The country was covered with gibbets. Whole +districts were given up to military execution. But it was on the leaders +of the rising that Cromwell's hand fell heaviest. He seized his +opportunity for dealing at the northern nobles a fatal blow. "Cromwell," +one of the chief among them broke fiercely out as he stood at the +council board, "it is thou that art the very special and chief cause of +all this rebellion and wickedness, and dost daily travail to bring us to +our ends and strike off our heads. I trust that ere thou die, though +thou wouldst procure all the noblest heads within the realm to be +stricken off, yet there shall one head remain that shall strike off thy +head." + +But the warning was unheeded. Lord Darcy, who stood first among the +nobles of Yorkshire, and Lord Hussey, who stood first among the nobles +of Lincolnshire, went alike to the block. The Abbot of Barlings, who had +ridden into Lincoln with his canons in full armor, swung with his +brother-abbots of Whalley, Woburn, and Sawley from the gallows. The +abbots of Fountains and of Jervaulx were hanged at Tyburn side by side +with the representative of the great line of Percy. Lady Bulmer was +burned at the stake. Sir Robert Constable was hanged in chains before +the gate of Hull. + +The defeat of the northern revolt showed the immense force which the +monarchy had gained. Even among the rebels themselves not a voice had +threatened Henry's throne. It was not at the King that they aimed these +blows, but at the "low-born knaves" who stood about the King. At this +moment, too, Henry's position was strengthened by the birth of an heir. +On the death of Anne Boleyn he had married Jane Seymour, the daughter of +a Wiltshire knight; and in 1537 this Queen died in giving birth to a +boy, the future Edward VI. The triumph of the Crown at home was doubled +by its triumph in the great dependency which had so long held the +English authority at bay across St. George's Channel. + +With England and Ireland alike at his feet, Cromwell could venture on a +last and crowning change. He could claim for the monarchy the right of +dictating at its pleasure the form of faith and doctrine to be taught +throughout the land. Henry had remained true to the standpoint of the +New Learning; and the sympathies of Cromwell were mainly with those of +his master. They had no wish for any violent break with the +ecclesiastical forms of the past. They desired religious reform rather +than religious revolution, a simplification of doctrine rather than any +radical change in it, the purification of worship rather than the +introduction of any wholly new ritual. Their theology remained, as they +believed, a Catholic theology, but a theology cleared of the +superstitious growths which obscured the true Catholicism of the early +Church. + +In a word, their dream was the dream of Erasmus and Colet. The spirit of +Erasmus was seen in the articles of religion which were laid before +convocation in 1536; in the acknowledgment of justification by faith, a +doctrine for which the founders of the New Learning, such as Contarini +and Pole, were struggling at Rome itself; in the condemnation of +purgatory, of pardons, and of masses for the dead, as it was seen in the +admission of prayers for the dead and in the retention of the ceremonies +of the Church without material change. + +A series of royal injunctions which followed carried out the same policy +of reform. Pilgrimages were suppressed; the excessive number of holy +days was curtailed; the worship of images and relics was discouraged in +words which seemed almost copied from the protest of Erasmus. His appeal +for a translation of the Bible which weavers might repeat at their +shuttle and ploughmen sing at their plough received at last a reply. At +the outset of the ministry of Norfolk and More, the King had promised an +English version of the Scriptures, while prohibiting the circulation of +Tyndale's Lutheran translation. The work, however, lagged in the hands +of the bishops; and as a preliminary measure the Creed, the Lord's +Prayer, and the Ten Commandments were now rendered into English, and +ordered to be taught by every schoolmaster and father of a family to his +children and pupils. But the bishops' version still hung on hand; till, +in despair of its appearance, a friend of Archbishop Cranmer, Miles +Coverdale, was employed to correct and revise the translation of +Tyndale; and the Bible which he edited was published in 1538 under the +avowed patronage of Henry himself. + +But the force of events was already carrying England far from the +standpoint of Erasmus or More. The dream of the New Learning was to be +wrought out through the progress of education and piety. In the policy +of Cromwell, reform was to be brought about by the brute force of the +monarchy. The story of the royal supremacy was graven even on the +title-page of the new Bible. It is Henry on his throne who gives the +sacred volume to Cranmer, ere Cranmer and Cromwell can distribute it to +the throng of priests and laymen below. Hitherto men had looked on +religious truth as a gift from the Church. They were now to look on it +as a gift from the King. The very gratitude of Englishmen for fresh +spiritual enlightenment was to tell to the profit of the royal power. No +conception could be further from that of the New Learning, from the plea +for intellectual freedom which runs through the life of Erasmus, or the +craving for political liberty which gives nobleness to the speculations +of More. Nor was it possible for Henry himself to avoid drifting from +the standpoint he had chosen. He had written against Luther; he had +persisted in opposing Lutheran doctrine; he had passed new laws to +hinder the circulation of Lutheran books in his realm. But influences +from without as from within drove him nearer to Lutheranism. If the +encouragement of Francis had done somewhat to bring about his final +breach with the papacy, he soon found little will in the French King to +follow him in any course of separation from Rome; and the French +alliance threatened to become useless as a shelter against the wrath of +the Emperor. + +Charles was goaded into action by the bill annulling Mary's right of +succession; and in 1535 he proposed to unite his house with that of +Francis by close intermarriage, and to sanction Mary's marriage with a +son of the French King if Francis would join in an attack on England. +Whether such a proposal was serious or no, Henry had to dread attack +from Charles himself and to look for new allies against it. He was +driven to offer his alliance to the Lutheran princes of North Germany, +who dreaded like himself the power of the Emperor, and who were now +gathering in the League of Smalkald. + +But the German princes made agreement as to doctrine a condition of +their alliance; and their pressure was backed by Henry's partisans among +the clergy at home. In Cromwell's scheme for mastering the priesthood it +had been needful to place men on whom the King could rely at their head. +Cranmer became primate, Latimer became Bishop of Worcester, Shaxton and +Barlow were raised to the sees of Salisbury and St. David's, Hilsey to +that of Rochester, Goodrich to that of Ely, Fox to that of Hereford. But +it was hard to find men among the clergy who paused at Henry's +theological resting-place; and of these prelates all except Latimer were +known to sympathize with Lutheranism, though Cranmer lagged far behind +his fellows in their zeal for reform. + +The influence of these men, as well as of an attempt to comply at least +partly with the demand of the German princes, left its stamp on the +articles of 1536. For the principle of Catholicism, of a universal form +of faith overspreading all temporal dominions, the Lutheran states had +substituted the principle of territorial religion, of the right of each +sovereign or people to determine the form of belief which should be held +within their bounds. The severance from Rome had already brought Henry +to this principle, and the Act of Supremacy was its emphatic assertion. + +In England, too, as in North Germany, the repudiation of the papal +authority as a ground of faith, of the voice of the Pope as a +declaration of truth, had driven men to find such a ground and +declaration in the Bible; and the articles expressly based the faith of +the Church of England on the Bible and the three creeds. With such +fundamental principles of agreement it was possible to borrow from the +Augsburg Confession five of the ten articles which Henry laid before the +convocation. If penance was still retained as a sacrament, baptism and +the Lord's Supper were alone maintained to be sacraments with it; the +doctrine of transubstantiation, which Henry stubbornly maintained, +differed so little from the doctrine maintained by Luther that the words +of Lutheran formularies were borrowed to explain it; confession was +admitted by the Lutheran churches as well as by the English. The +veneration of saints and the doctrine of prayer to them, though still +retained, were so modified as to present little difficulty even to a +Lutheran. + +However disguised in form, the doctrinal advance made in the articles of +1536 was an immense one; and a vehement opposition might have been +looked for from those of the bishops like Gardiner, who, while they +agreed with Henry's policy of establishing a national church, remained +opposed to any change in faith. But the articles had been drawn up by +Henry's own hand, and all whisper of opposition was hushed. Bishops, +abbots, clergy, not only subscribed to them, but carried out with +implicit obedience the injunctions which put their doctrine roughly into +practice; and the failure of the Pilgrimage of Grace in the following +autumn ended all thought of resistance among the laity. + +But Cromwell found a different reception for his reforms when he turned +to extend them to the sister-island. The religious aspect of Ireland was +hardly less chaotic than its political aspect had been. Ever since +Strongbow's landing, there had been no one Irish church, simply because +there had been no one Irish nation. There was not the slightest +difference in doctrine or discipline between the Church without the pale +and the Church within it. But within the pale the clergy were +exclusively of English blood and speech, and without it they were +exclusively of Irish. Irishmen were shut out by law from abbeys and +churches within the English boundary; and the ill-will of the natives +shut out Englishmen from churches and abbeys outside it. + +As to the religious state of the country, it was much on a level with +its political condition. Feuds and misrule told fatally on +ecclesiastical discipline. The bishops were political officers, or hard +fighters, like the chiefs around them; their sees were neglected, their +cathedrals abandoned to decay. Through whole dioceses the churches lay +in ruins and without priests. The only preaching done in the country was +done by the begging friars, and the results of the friars' preaching +were small. "If the King do not provide a remedy," it was said in 1525, +"there will be no more Christentie than in the middle of Turkey." + +Unfortunately the remedy which Henry provided was worse than the +disease. Politically Ireland was one with England, and the great +revolution which was severing the one country from the papacy extended +itself naturally to the other. The results of it indeed at first seemed +small enough. The supremacy, a question which had convulsed England, +passed over into Ireland to meet its only obstacle in a general +indifference. Everybody was ready to accept it without a thought of the +consequences. The bishops and clergy within the pale bent to the King's +will as easily as their fellows in England, and their example was +followed by at least four prelates of dioceses without the pale. + +The native chieftains made no more scruple than the lords of the council +in renouncing obedience to the Bishop of Rome, and in acknowledging +Henry as the "supreme head of the Church of England and Ireland under +Christ." There was none of the resistance to the dissolution of the +abbeys which had been witnessed on the other side of the channel, and +the greedy chieftains showed themselves perfectly willing to share the +plunder of the Church. + +But the results of the measure were fatal to the little culture and +religion which even the past centuries of disorder had spared. Such as +they were, the religious houses were the only schools that Ireland +contained. The system of vicars, so general in England, was rare in +Ireland; churches in the patronage of the abbeys were for the most part +served by the religious themselves, and the dissolution of their houses +suspended public worship over large districts of the country. The +friars, hitherto the only preachers, and who continued to labor and +teach in spite of the efforts of the government, were thrown necessarily +into a position of antagonism to the English rule. + +Had the ecclesiastical changes which were forced on the country ended +here, however, in the end little harm would have been done. But in +England the breach with Rome, the destruction of the monastic orders, +and the establishment of the supremacy had aroused in a portion of the +people itself a desire for theological change which Henry shared and was +cautiously satisfying. In Ireland the spirit of the Reformation never +existed among the people at all. They accepted the legislative measures +passed in the English Parliament without any dream of theological +consequences, or of any change in the doctrine or ceremonies of the +Church. Not a single voice demanded the abolition of pilgrimages or the +destruction of images or the reform of public worship. + +The mission of Archbishop Browne in 1535 "for the plucking down of idols +and extinguishing of idolatry" was a first step in the long effort of +the English government to force a new faith on a people who to a man +clung passionately to their old religion. Browne's attempts at "tuning +the pulpits" were met by a sullen and significant opposition. "Neither +by gentle exhortation," the Archbishop wrote to Cromwell, "nor by +evangelical instruction, neither by oath of them solemnly taken nor yet +by threats of sharp correction, may I persuade or induce any, whether +religious or secular, since my coming over once to preach the Word of +God, nor the just title of our illustrious Prince." + +Even the acceptance of the supremacy, which had been so quietly +effected, was brought into question when its results became clear. The +bishops abstained from compliance with the order to erase the Pope's +name out of their mass-books. The pulpits remained steadily silent. When +Browne ordered the destruction of the images and relics in his own +cathedral, he had to report that the prior and canons "find them so +sweet for their gain that they heed not my words." + +Cromwell, however, was resolute for a religious uniformity between the +two islands, and the primate borrowed some of his patron's vigor. +Recalcitrant priests were thrown into prison, images were plucked down +from the rood-loft, and the most venerable of Irish relics, the staff +of St. Patrick, was burned in the market-place. But he found no support +in his vigor save from across the channel. The Irish council looked +coldly on; even the Lord Deputy still knelt to say prayers before an +image at Trim. A sullen, dogged opposition baffled Cromwell's efforts, +and their only result was to unite all Ireland against the Crown. + +But Cromwell found it easier to deal with Irish inaction than with the +feverish activity which his reforms stirred in England itself. It was +impossible to strike blow after blow at the Church without rousing wild +hopes in the party who sympathized with the work which Luther was doing +oversea. Few as these "Lutherans" or "Protestants" still were in +numbers, their new hopes made them a formidable force; and in the school +of persecution they had learned a violence which delighted in outrages +on the faith which had so long trampled them under foot. At the very +outset of Cromwell's changes, four Suffolk youths broke into a church at +Dovercourt, tore down a wonder-working crucifix, and burned it in the +fields. + +The suppression of the lesser monasteries was the signal for a new +outburst of ribald insult to the old religion. The roughness, insolence, +and extortion of the commissioners sent to effect it drove the whole +monastic body to despair. Their servants rode along the road with copes +for doublets or tunicles for saddle-cloths, and scattered panic among +the larger houses which were left. Some sold their jewels and relics to +provide for the evil day they saw approaching. Some begged of their own +will for dissolution. It was worse when fresh ordinances of the +vicar-general ordered the removal of objects of superstitious +veneration. Their removal, bitter enough to those whose religion twined +itself around the image or the relic which was taken away, was +embittered yet more by the insults with which it was accompanied. + +A miraculous rood at Boxley, which bowed its head and stirred its eyes, +was paraded from market to market and exhibited as a juggle before the +court. Images of the Virgin were stripped of their costly vestments and +sent to be publicly burned at London. Latimer forwarded to the capital +the figure of Our Lady, which he had thrust out of his cathedral church +at Worcester with rough words of scorn: "She with her old sister of +Walsingham, her younger sister of Ipswich, and their two other sisters +of Doncaster and Penrice, would make a jolly muster at Smithfield." +Fresh orders were given to fling all relics from their reliquaries, and +to level every shrine with the ground. In 1538 the bones of St. Thomas +of Canterbury were torn from the stately shrine which had been the glory +of his metropolitan church, and his name was erased from the +service-books as that of a traitor. + +The introduction of the English Bible into churches gave a new opening +for the zeal of the Protestants. In spite of royal injunctions that it +should be read decently and without comment, the young zealots of the +party prided themselves on shouting it out to a circle of excited +hearers during the service of mass, and accompanied their reading with +violent expositions. Protestant maidens took the new English primer to +church with them and studied it ostentatiously during matins. Insult +passed into open violence when the bishops' courts were invaded and +broken up by Protestant mobs; and law and public opinion were outraged +at once when priests who favored the new doctrines began openly to bring +home wives to their vicarages. + +A fiery outburst of popular discussion compensated for the silence of +the pulpits. The new Scriptures, in Henry's bitter words of complaint, +were "disputed, rhymed, sung, and jangled in every tavern and alehouse." +The articles which dictated the belief of the English Church roused a +furious controversy. Above all, the sacrament of the mass, the centre of +the Catholic system of faith and worship, and which still remained +sacred to the bulk of Englishmen, was attacked with a scurrility and +profaneness which pass belief. The doctrine of transubstantiation, which +was as yet recognized by law, was held up in scorn in ballads and +mystery plays. In one church a Protestant lawyer raised a dog in his +hands when the priest elevated the host. The most sacred words of the +old worship, the words of consecration, "_Hoc est corpus_," were +travestied into a nickname for jugglery as "Hocus-pocus." + +It was by this attack on the mass, even more than by the other outrages, +that the temper both of Henry and the nation was stirred to a deep +resentment. With the Protestants Henry had no sympathy whatever. He was +a man of the New Learning; he was proud of his orthodoxy and of his +title of "Defender of the Faith." And above all he shared to the utmost +his people's love of order, their clinging to the past, their hatred of +extravagance and excess. The first sign of reaction was seen in the +parliament of 1539. Never had the houses shown so little care for +political liberty. The monarchy seemed to free itself from all +parliamentary restrictions whatever when a formal statute gave the +King's proclamations the force of parliamentary laws. + +Nor did the Church find favor with them. No word of the old opposition +was heard when a bill was introduced granting to the King the greater +monasteries which had been saved in 1536. More than six hundred +religious houses fell at a blow, and so great was the spoil that the +King promised never again to call on his people for subsidies. But the +houses were equally at one in withstanding the new innovations of +religion, and an act for "abolishing diversity of opinions in certain +articles concerning Christian religion" passed with general assent. On +the doctrine of transubstantiation, which was reasserted by the first of +six articles to which the act owes its usual name, there was no +difference of feeling or belief between the men of the New Learning and +the older Catholics. But the road to a further instalment of even +moderate reform seemed closed by the five other articles which +sanctioned communion in one kind, the celibacy of the clergy, monastic +vows, private masses, and auricular confession. + +A more terrible feature of the reaction was the revival of persecution. +Burning was denounced as the penalty for a denial of transubstantiation; +on a second offence it became the penalty for an infraction of the other +five doctrines. A refusal to confess or to attend mass was made felony. +It was in vain that Cranmer, with the five bishops who partially +sympathized with the Protestants, struggled against the bill in the +lords: the commons were "all of one opinion," and Henry himself acted as +spokesman on the side of the articles. In London alone five hundred +Protestants were indicted under the new act. Latimer and Shaxton were +imprisoned, and the former forced into a resignation of his see. Cranmer +himself was only saved by Henry's personal favor. But the first burst +of triumph was no sooner spent than the hand of Cromwell made itself +felt. Though his opinions remained those of the New Learning and +differed little from the general sentiment which found itself +represented in the act, he leaned instinctively to the one party which +did not long for his fall. His wish was to restrain the Protestant +excesses, but he had no mind to ruin the Protestants. In a little time +therefore the bishops were quietly released. The London indictments were +quashed. The magistrates were checked in their enforcement of the law, +while a general pardon cleared the prisons of the heretics who had been +arrested under its provisions. + +A few months after the enactment of the Six Articles we find from a +Protestant letter that persecution had wholly ceased, "the Word is +powerfully preached and books of every kind may safely be exposed for +sale." Never indeed had Cromwell shown such greatness as in his last +struggle against fate. "Beknaved" by the King, whose confidence in him +waned as he discerned the full meaning of the religious changes which +Cromwell had brought about, met too by a growing opposition in the +council as his favor declined, the temper of the man remained +indomitable as ever. He stood absolutely alone. Wolsey, hated as he had +been by the nobles, had been supported by the Church; but churchmen +hated Cromwell with an even fiercer hate than the nobles themselves. His +only friends were the Protestants, and their friendship was more fatal +than the hatred of his foes. But he showed no signs of fear or of +halting in the course he had entered on. So long as Henry supported him, +however reluctant his support might be, he was more than a match for his +foes. + +He was strong enough to expel his chief opponent, Bishop Gardiner of +Winchester, from the royal council. He met the hostility of the nobles +with a threat which marked his power. "If the lords would handle him so, +he would give them such a breakfast as never was made in England, and +that the proudest of them should know." + +He soon gave a terrible earnest of the way in which he could fulfil his +threat. The opposition to his system gathered, above all, round two +houses which represented what yet lingered of the Yorkist tradition, the +Courtenays and the Poles. Courtenay, the Marquis of Exeter, was of royal +blood, a grandson through his mother of Edward IV. He was known to have +bitterly denounced the "knaves that ruled about the King"; and his +threats to "give them some day a buffet" were formidable in the mouth of +one whose influence in the western counties was supreme. + +Margaret, the Countess of Salisbury, a daughter of the Duke of Clarence +by the heiress of the Earl of Warwick, and a niece of Edward IV, had +married Sir Richard Pole, and became mother of Lord Montacute as of Sir +Geoffry and Reginald Pole. The temper of her house might be guessed from +the conduct of the younger of the three brothers. After refusing the +highest favors from Henry as the price of his approval of the divorce, +Reginald Pole had taken refuge at Rome, where he had bitterly attacked +the King in a book, _The Unity of the Church_. + +"There may be found ways enough in Italy," Cromwell wrote to him in +significant words, "to rid a treacherous subject. When Justice can take +no place by process of law at home, sometimes she may be enforced to +take new means abroad." But he had left hostages in Henry's hands. "Pity +that the folly of one witless fool," Cromwell wrote ominously, "should +be the ruin of so great a family. Let him follow ambition as fast as he +can, those that little have offended (saving that he is of their kin), +were it not for the great mercy and benignity of the Prince, should and +might feel what it is to have such a traitor as their kinsman." The +"great mercy and benignity of the Prince" was no longer to shelter them. + +In 1538 the Pope, Paul III, published a bull of excommunication and +deposition against Henry, and Pole pressed the Emperor vigorously, +though ineffectually, to carry the bull into execution. His efforts only +brought about, as Cromwell had threatened, the ruin of his house. His +brother, Lord Montacute, and the Marquis of Exeter, with other friends +of the two great families, were arrested on a charge of treason and +executed in the opening of 1539, while the Countess of Salisbury was +attainted in parliament and sent to the Tower. + +Almost as terrible an act of bloodshed closed the year. The abbots of +Glastonbury, Reading, and Colchester, men who had sat as mitred abbots +among the lords, were charged with a denial of the King's supremacy and +hanged as traitors. But Cromwell relied for success on more than +terror. His single will forced on a scheme of foreign policy whose aim +was to bind England to the cause of the Reformation while it bound Henry +helplessly to his minister. The daring boast which his enemies laid +afterward to Cromwell's charge, whether uttered or not, is but the +expression of his system--"In brief time he would bring things to such a +pass that the King with all his power should not be able to hinder him." + +His plans rested, like the plan which proved fatal to Wolsey, on a fresh +marriage of his master; Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, had died in +childbirth; and in the opening of 1540 Cromwell replaced her by a German +consort, Anne of Cleves, a sister-in-law of the Lutheran Elector of +Saxony. He dared even to resist Henry's caprice when the King revolted +on their first interview from the coarse features and unwieldy form of +his new bride. For the moment Cromwell had brought matters "to such a +pass" that it was impossible to recoil from the marriage, and the +minister's elevation to the earldom of Essex seemed to proclaim his +success. + +The marriage of Anne of Cleves, however, was but the first step in a +policy which, had it been carried out as he designed it, would have +anticipated the triumphs of Richelieu. Charles and the house of Austria +could alone bring about a Catholic reaction strong enough to arrest and +roll back the Reformation; and Cromwell was no sooner united with the +princes of North Germany than he sought to league them with France for +the overthrow of the Emperor. + +Had he succeeded, the whole face of Europe would have been changed, +Southern Germany would have been secured for Protestantism, and the +Thirty Years' War averted. But he failed as men fail who stand ahead of +their age. The German princes shrank from a contest with the Emperor, +France from a struggle which would be fatal to Catholicism; and Henry, +left alone to bear the resentment of the house of Austria and chained to +a wife he loathed, turned savagely on his minister. + +In June the long struggle came to an end. The nobles sprang on Cromwell +with a fierceness that told of their long-hoarded hate. Taunts and +execrations burst from the Lords at the council table as the Duke of +Norfolk, who had been intrusted with the minister's arrest, tore the +ensign of the garter from his neck. At the charge of treason Cromwell +flung his cap on the ground with a passionate cry of despair. "This, +then," he exclaimed, "is my guerdon for the services I have done! On +your consciences, I ask you, am I a traitor?" Then, with a sudden sense +that all was over, he bade his foes make quick work, and not leave him +to languish in prison. + +Quick work was made. A few days after his arrest he was attainted in +parliament, and at the close of July a burst of popular applause hailed +his death on the scaffold. + + + + +CARTIER EXPLORES CANADA + +FRENCH ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION + +A.D. 1534 + +H. H. MILES + + + Early in the sixteenth century, when France, after the + Hundred Years' War with England, had begun to be a notable + European power, the nation, under the young and brilliant + Francis I, took up the project of prosecuting New World + discovery and obtaining a firm footing on the mainland of + America. The French King's attention had been directed to + the enterprise by his grand admiral, Philip de Chabot, who + seems to have been interested in the hardy mariner and + skilled navigator, Jacques Cartier, and wished to place him + at the head of an expedition to the New World, to prosecute + discovery on the northeastern coast of America. This was in + the year A.D. 1534, ten year after Verrazano had been in the + region and named it New France, in honor of the French King. + On April 20, 1534, Cartier, with two small vessels of about + sixty tons each, set sail from the Britanny port of St. Malo + for Newfoundland, on the banks of which Cartier's Breton and + Norman countrymen had long been accustomed to fish. The + incidents of this and the subsequent voyages of the St. Malo + mariner, with an account of the expedition under the Viceroy + of Canada, the Sieur de Roberval, will be found appended in + Dr. Miles' interesting narrative. + + +Canada was discovered in the year 1534, by Jacques Cartier (or +Quartier), a mariner belonging to the small French seaport St. Malo. He +was a man in whom were combined the qualities of prudence, industry, +skill, perseverance, courage, and a deep sense of religion. Commissioned +by the King of France, Francis I, he conducted three successive +expeditions across the Atlantic for the purpose of prosecuting discovery +in the western hemisphere; and it is well understood that he had +previously gained experience in seamanship on board fishing-vessels +trading between Europe and the Banks of Newfoundland. + +He was selected and recommended to the King for appointment as one who +might be expected to realize, for the benefit of France, some of the +discoveries of his predecessor, Verrazano, which had been attended with +no substantial result, since this navigator and his companions had +scarcely done more than view, from a distance, the coasts of the +extensive regions to which the name of New France had been given. It was +also expected of Cartier that, through his endeavors, valuable lands +would be taken possession of in the King's name, and that places +suitable for settlement, and stations for carrying on traffic, would be +established. Moreover, it was hoped that the precious metals would be +procured in those parts, and that a passage onward to China (Cathay) and +the East Indies would be found out. And, finally, the ambitious +sovereign of France was induced to believe that, in spite of the +pretensions of Portugal and Spain,[44] he might make good his own claim +to a share in transatlantic territories. + +With such objects in view, Jacques Cartier set sail from St. Malo, on +Monday, April 20, 1534.[45] His command consisted of two small vessels, +with crews amounting to about one hundred twenty men, and provisioned +for four or five months. + +On May 10th the little squadron arrived off Cape Bonavista, +Newfoundland; but, as the ice and snow of the previous winter had not +yet disappeared, the vessels were laid up for ten days in a harbor near +by, named St. Catherine's. From this, on the 21st, they sailed northward +to an island northeast of Cape Bonavista, situated about forty miles +from the mainland, which had been called by the Portuguese the "Isle of +Birds." Here were found several species of birds which, it appears, +frequented the island at that season of the year in prodigious numbers, +so that, according to Cartier's own narrative, the crews had no +difficulty in capturing enough of them, both for their immediate use and +to fill eight or ten large barrels (_pippes_) for future consumption. +Bears and foxes are described as passing from the mainland, in order to +feed upon the birds as well as their eggs and young. + +From the Isle of Birds the ships proceeded northward and westward until +they came to the Straits of Belle-Isle, when they were detained by foul +weather, and by ice, in a harbor, from May 27th until June 9th. The +ensuing fifteen days were spent in exploring the coast of Labrador as +far as Blanc Sablon and the western coast of Newfoundland. For the most +part these regions, including contiguous islands, were pronounced by +Cartier to be unfit for settlement, especially Labrador, of which he +remarks, "it might, as well as not, be taken for the country assigned by +God to Cain." From the shore of Newfoundland the vessels were steered +westward across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and about June 25th arrived in +the vicinity of the Magdalen Islands. Of an island named "Isle Bryon," +Cartier says it contained the best land they had yet seen, and that "one +acre of it was worth the whole of Newfoundland." Birds were plentiful, +and on its shores were to be seen "beasts as large as oxen and +possessing great tusks like elephants, which, when approached, leaped +suddenly into the sea." There were very fine trees and rich tracts of +ground, on which were seen growing quantities of "wild corn, peas in +flower, currants, strawberries, roses, and sweet herbs." Cartier noticed +the character of the tides and waves, which swept high and strong among +the islands, and which suggested to his mind the existence of an opening +between the south of Newfoundland and Cape Breton. + +Toward the end of June the islands and mainland of the northwest part of +the territory now called New Brunswick came in sight, and, as land was +approached, Cartier began at once to search for a passage through which +he might sail farther westward. + +The ships' boats were several times lowered, and the crews made to row +close inshore in the bays and inlets, for the purpose of discovering an +opening. On these occasions natives were sometimes seen upon the beach, +or moving about in bark canoes, with whom the French contrived to +establish a friendly intercourse and traffic, by means of signs and +presents of hatchets, knives, small crucifixes, beads, and toys. On one +occasion they had in sight from forty to fifty canoes full of savages, +of which seven paddled close up to the French boats, so as to surround +them, and were driven away only by demonstrations of force. Cartier +learned afterward that it was customary for these savages to come down +from parts more inland, in great numbers, to the coast, during the +fishing season, and that this was the cause of his finding so many of +them at that time. On the 7th day of the month a considerable body of +the same savages came about the ships, and some traffic occurred. Gifts, +consisting of knives, hatchets, and toys, along with a red cap for their +head chief, caused them to depart in great joy. + +Early in July, Cartier found that he was in a considerable bay, which he +named "La Baie des Chaleurs." He continued to employ his boats in the +examination of the smaller inlets and mouths of the rivers flowing into +the bay, hoping that an opening might be discovered similar to that by +which, a month before, he had passed round the north of Newfoundland +into the gulf. After the 16th the weather was boisterous, and the ships +were anchored for shelter close to the shore several days. During this +time the savages came there to fish for mackerel, which were abundant, +and held friendly intercourse with Cartier and his people. They were +very poor and miserably clad in old skins, and sang and danced to +testify their pleasure on receiving the presents which the French +distributed among them. + +Sailing eastward and northward, the vessels next passed along the coast +of Gaspe, upon which the French landed and held intercourse with the +natives. Cartier resolved to take formal possession of the country, and +to indicate, in a conspicuous manner, that he did so in the name of the +King, his master, and in the interests of religion. With these objects +in view, on Friday, July 24th, a huge wooden cross, thirty feet in +height, was constructed, and was raised with much ceremony, in sight of +many of the Indians, close to the entrance of the harbor; three +_fleurs-de-lys_ being carved under the cross, and an inscription, "_Vive +le Roy de France_." The French formed a circle on their knees around it, +and made signs to attract the attention of the savages, pointing up to +the heavens, "as if to show that by the cross came their redemption." +These ceremonies being ended, Cartier and his people went on board, +followed from the shore by many of the Indians. Among these the +principal chief, with his brother and three sons, in one canoe, came +near Cartier's ship. He made an oration, in course of which he pointed +toward the high cross, and then to the surrounding territory, as much as +to say that it all belonged to him, and that the French ought not to +have planted it there without his permission. The sight of hatchets and +knives displayed before him, in such a manner as to show a desire to +trade with him, made him approach nearer, and, at the same time, several +sailors, entering his canoe, easily induced him and his companions to +pass into the ship. Cartier, by signs, endeavored to persuade the chief +that the cross had been erected as a beacon to mark the way into the +harbor; that he would revisit the place and bring hatchets, knives, and +other things made of iron, and that he desired the friendship of his +people. Food and drink were offered, of which they partook freely, when +Cartier made known to the chief his wish to take two of his sons away +with him for a time. The chief and his sons appear to have readily +assented. The young men at once put on colored garments, supplied by +Cartier, throwing out their old clothing to others near the ship. The +chief, with his brother and remaining son, were then dismissed with +presents. About midday, however, just as the ships were about to move +farther from shore, six canoes, full of Indians, came to them, bringing +presents of fish, and to enable the friends of the chief's sons to bid +them adieu. Cartier took occasion to enjoin upon the savages the +necessity of guarding the cross which had been erected, upon which the +Indians replied in unintelligible language. Next day, July 25th, the +vessels left the harbor with a fair wind, making sail northward to 50 deg. +latitude. It was intended to prosecute the voyage farther westward, if +possible; but adverse winds, and the appearance of the distant +headlands, discouraged Cartier's hopes so much that on Wednesday, August +5th, after taking counsel with his officers and pilots, he decided that +it was not safe to attempt more that season. The little squadron, +therefore, bore off toward the east and northeast, and made Blanc Sablon +on the 9th. Continuing thence their passage into the Atlantic, they +were favored with fair winds, which carried them to the middle of the +ocean, between Newfoundland and Bretagne. They then encountered storms +and adverse winds, respecting which Cartier piously remarks: "We +suffered and endured these with the aid of God, and after that we had +good weather and arrived at the harbor of St. Malo, whence we had set +out, on September 5, 1534." Thus ended Jacques Cartier's first voyage to +Canada. As a French-Canadian historian of Canada has observed, this +first expedition was not "sterile in results"; for, in addition to the +other notable incidents of the voyage, the two natives whom he carried +with him to France are understood to have been the first to inform him +of the existence of the great river St. Lawrence, which he was destined +to discover the following year. + +It is not certainly known how nearly he advanced to the mouth of that +river on his passage from Gaspe Bay. But it is believed that he passed +round the western point of Anticosti, subsequently named by him Isle de +l'Assumption, and that he then turned to the east, leaving behind the +entrance into the great river, which he then supposed to be an extensive +bay, and, coasting along the shore of Labrador, came to the river +Natachquoin, near Mount Joli, whence, as already stated, he passed +eastward and northward to Blanc Sablon. + +Cartier and his companions were favorably received on their return to +France. The expectations of his employers had been to a certain extent +realized, while the narrative of the voyage, and the prospects which +this afforded of greater results in future, inspired such feelings of +hope and confidence that there seems to have been no hesitation in +furnishing means for the equipment of another expedition. The Indians +who had been brought to France were instructed in the French language, +and served also as specimens of the people inhabiting his majesty's +western dominions. During the winter the necessary preparations were +made. + +On the May 19, 1535, Cartier took his departure from St. Malo on his +second expedition. It was in every way better equipped than that of the +preceding year, and consisted of three ships, manned by one hundred ten +sailors. A number of gentlemen volunteers from France accompanied it. +Cartier himself embarked on board the largest vessel, which was named +La Grande Hermine, along with his two interpreters. Adverse winds +lengthened the voyage, so that seven weeks were occupied in sailing to +the Straits of Belle-Isle. Thence the squadron made for the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, so named by Cartier in honor of the day upon which he entered +it. Emboldened by the information derived from his Indian interpreters, +he sailed up the great river, at first named the River of Canada, or of +Hochelaga. The mouth of the Saguenay was passed on September 1st, and +the island of Orleans reached on the 9th. To this he gave the name "Isle +of Bacchus," on account of the abundance of grape-vines upon it. + +On the 16th the ships arrived off the headland since known as Cape +Diamond. Near to this, a small river, called by Cartier St. Croix, now +the St. Charles, was observed flowing into the St. Lawrence, +intercepting, at the confluence, a piece of lowland, which was the site +of the Indian village Stadacona. Towering above this, on the left bank +of the greater river, was Cape Diamond and the contiguous highland, +which in after times became the site of the Upper Town of Quebec. A +little way within the mouth of the St. Croix, Cartier selected stations +suitable for mooring and laying up his vessels; for he seems, on his +arrival at Stadacona, to have already decided upon wintering in the +country. This design was favored, not only by the advanced period of the +season, but also by the fact that the natives appeared to be friendly +and in a position to supply his people abundantly with provisions. Many +hundreds came off from the shore in bark canoes, bringing fish, maize, +and fruit. + +Aided by the two interpreters, the French endeavored at once to +establish a friendly intercourse. A chief, Donacona, made an oration, +and expressed his desire for amicable relations between his own people +and their visitors. Cartier, on his part, tried to allay apprehension, +and to obtain information respecting the country higher up the great +river. Wishing also to impress upon the minds of the savages a +conviction of the French power, he caused several pieces of artillery to +be discharged in the presence of the chief and a number of his warriors. +Fear and astonishment were occasioned by the sight of the fire and +smoke, followed by sounds such as they had never heard before. Presents, +consisting of trinkets, small crosses, beads, pieces of glass, and other +trifles, were distributed among them. + +Cartier allowed himself a rest of only three days at Stadacona, deeming +it expedient to proceed at once up the river with an exploring party. +For this purpose he manned his smallest ship, the Ermerillon, and two +boats, and departed on the 19th of September, leaving the other ships +safely moored at the mouth of the St. Charles. He had learned from the +Indians that there was another town, called Hochelaga, situated about +sixty leagues above. Cartier and his companions, the first European +navigators of the St. Lawrence, and the earliest pioneers of +civilization and Christianity in those regions, moved very slowly up the +river. At the part since called Lake St. Peter the water seemed to +become more and more shallow. The Ermerillon, was therefore left as well +secured as possible, and the remainder of the passage made in the two +boats. Frequent meetings, of a friendly nature, with Indians on the +river bank, caused delays, so that they did not arrive at Hochelaga +until October 2d. + +As described by Cartier himself, this town consisted of about fifty +large huts or cabins, which, for purposes of defence, were surrounded by +wooden palisades. There were upward of twelve hundred inhabitants,[46] +belonging to some Algonquin tribe. + +At Hochelaga, as previously at Stadacona, the French were received by +the natives in a friendly manner. Supplies of fish and maize were freely +offered, and, in return, presents of beads, knives, small mirrors, and +crucifixes were distributed. Entering into communication with them, +Cartier sought information respecting the country higher up the river. +From their imperfect intelligence it appears he learned the existence of +several great lakes, and that beyond the largest and most remote of +these there was another great river which flowed southward. They +conducted him to the summit of a mountain behind the town, whence he +surveyed the prospect of a wilderness stretching to the south and west +as far as the eye could reach, and beautifully diversified by elevations +of land and by water. Whatever credit Cartier attached to their vague +statements about the geography of their country, he was certainly struck +by the grandeur of the neighboring scenery as viewed from the eminence +on which he stood. To this he gave the name of Mount Royal, whence the +name of Montreal was conferred on the city which has grown up on the +site of the ancient Indian town Hochelaga. + +According to some accounts, Hochelaga was, even in those days, a place +of importance, having subject to it eight or ten outlying settlements or +villages. + +Anxious to return to Stadacona, and probably placing little confidence +in the friendly professions of the natives, Cartier remained at +Hochelaga only two days, and commenced his passage down the river on +October 4th. His wary mistrust of the Indian character was not +groundless, for bands of savages followed along the banks and watched +all the proceedings of his party. On one occasion he was attacked by +them and narrowly escaped massacre. + +Arriving at Stadacona on the 11th, measures were taken for maintenance +and security during the approaching winter. Abundant provisions had been +already stored up by the natives and assigned for the use of the +strangers. A fence or palisade was constructed round the ships, and made +as strong as possible, and cannon so placed as to be available in case +of any attack. Notwithstanding these precautions, it turned out that, in +one essential particular, the preparations for winter were defective. +Jacques Cartier and his companions being the first of Europeans to +experience the rigors of a Canadian winter, the necessity for warm +clothing had not been foreseen when the expedition left France, and +now, when winter was upon them, the procuring of a supply was simply +impossible. The winter proved long and severe. Masses of ice began to +come down the St. Lawrence on November 15th, and, not long afterward, a +bridge of ice was formed opposite to Stadacona. Soon the intensity of +the cold--such as Cartier's people had never before experienced--and the +want of suitable clothing occasioned much suffering. Then, in December, +a disease, but little known to Europeans, broke out among the crew. It +was the scurvy, named by the French _mal-de-terre_. + +As described by Cartier, it was very painful, loathsome in its symptoms +and effects, as well as contagious. The legs and thighs of the patients +swelled, the sinews contracted, and the skin became black. In some cases +the whole body was covered with purple spots and sore tumors. After a +time the upper parts of the body--the back, arms, shoulders, neck, and +face--were all painfully affected. The roof of the mouth, gums, and +teeth fell out. Altogether, the sufferers presented a deplorable +spectacle. + +Many died between December and April, during which period the greatest +care was taken to conceal their true condition from the natives. Had +this not been done, it is to be feared that Donacona's people would have +forced an entrance and put all to death for the purpose of obtaining the +property of the French. In fact, the two interpreters were, on the +whole, unfaithful, living entirely at Stadacona; while Donacona, and the +Indians generally, showed, in many ways, that, under a friendly +exterior, unfavorable feelings reigned in their hearts. + +But the attempts to hide their condition from the natives might have +been fatal, for the Indians, who also suffered from scurvy, were +acquainted with means of curing the disease. It was only by accident +that Cartier found out what those means were. He had forbidden the +savages to come on board the ships, and when any of them came near the +only men allowed to be seen by them were those who were in health. One +day, Domagaya was observed approaching. This man, the younger of the two +interpreters, was known to have been sick of the scurvy at Stadacona, so +that Cartier was much surprised to see him out and well. He contrived to +make him relate the particulars of his recovery, and thus found out +that a decoction of the bark and foliage of the white spruce-tree +furnished the savages with a remedy. Having recourse to this enabled the +French captain to arrest the progress of the disease among his own +people, and, in a short time, to bring about their restoration to +health. + +The meeting with Domagaya occurred at a time when the French were in a +very sad state--reduced to the brink of despair. Twenty-five of the +number had died, while forty more were in expectation of soon following +their deceased comrades. Of the remaining forty-five, including Cartier +and all the surviving officers, only three or four were really free from +disease. The dead could not be buried, nor was it possible for the sick +to be properly cared for. + +In this extremity, the stout-hearted French captain could think of no +other remedy than a recourse to prayers and the setting up of an image +of the Virgin Mary in sight of the sufferers. "But," he piously +exclaimed, "God, in his holy grace, looked down in pity upon us, and +sent to us a knowledge of the means of cure." He had great apprehensions +of an attack from the savages, for he says in his narrative: "We were in +a marvellous state of terror lest the people of the country should +ascertain our pitiable condition and our weakness," and then goes on to +relate artifices by which he contrived to deceive them. + +One of the ships had to be abandoned in course of the winter, her crew +and contents being removed into the other two vessels. The deserted hull +was visited by the savages in search of pieces of iron and other things. +Had they known the cause for abandoning her, and the desperate condition +of the French, they would have soon forced their way into the other +ships. They were, in fact, too numerous to be resisted if they had made +the attempt. + +At length the protracted winter came to an end. As soon as the ships +were clear of ice, Cartier made preparations for returning at once to +France. + +On May 3, 1536, a wooden cross, thirty-five feet high, was raised upon +the river bank. Donacona was invited to approach, along with his people. +When he did so, Cartier caused him, together with the two interpreters +and seven warriors, to be seized and taken on board his ship. His object +was to convey them to France and present them to the King. On the 6th, +the two vessels departed. Upward of six weeks were spent in descending +the St. Lawrence and traversing the gulf. Instead of passing through the +Straits of Belle-Isle, Cartier this time made for the south coast of +Newfoundland, along which he sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean. On +Sunday, July 17, 1536, he arrived at St. Malo. + +By the results of this second voyage, Jacques Cartier established for +himself a reputation and a name in history which will never cease to be +remembered with respect. He had discovered one of the largest rivers in +the world, had explored its banks, and navigated its difficult channel +more than eight hundred miles, with a degree of skill and courage which +has never been surpassed; for it was a great matter in those days to +penetrate so far into unknown regions, to encounter the hazards of an +unknown navigation, and to risk his own safety and that of his followers +among an unknown people. Moreover, his accounts of the incidents of his +sojourn of eight months, and of the features of the country, as well as +his estimate of the two principal sites upon which, in after times, the +two cities, Quebec and Montreal, have grown up, illustrate both his +fidelity and his sagacity. His dealings with the natives appear to have +been such as to prove his tact, prudence, and sense of justice, +notwithstanding the objectionable procedure of capturing and carrying +off Donacona with other chiefs and warriors. This latter measure, +however indefensible in itself, was consistent with the almost universal +practice of navigators of that period and long afterward. Doubtless +Cartier's expectation was that their abduction could not but result in +their own benefit by leading to their instruction in civilization and +Christianity, and that it might be afterward instrumental in producing +the rapid conversion of large numbers of their people. However this may +be, considering the inherent viciousness of the Indian character, +Cartier's intercourse with the Indians was conducted with dignity and +benevolence, and was marked by the total absence of bloodshed--which is +more than can be urged in behalf of other eminent discoverers and +navigators of those days or during the ensuing two centuries. Cartier +was undoubtedly one of the greatest sea-captains of his own or any other +country, and one who provided carefully for the safety and welfare of +his followers, and, so far as we know, enjoyed their respect and +confidence; nor were his plans hindered or his proceedings embarrassed +by disobedience on their part or the display of mutinous conduct +calculated to mar the success of a maritime expedition. In fine, Jacques +Cartier was a noble specimen of a mariner, in an age when a maritime +spirit prevailed. + +A severe disappointment awaited Cartier on his return home from his +second voyage. France was now engaged in a foreign war; and at the same +time the minds of the people were distracted by religious dissensions. +In consequence of these untoward circumstances, both the court and the +people had ceased to give heed to the objects which he had been so +faithfully engaged in prosecuting in the western hemisphere. Neither he +nor his friends could obtain even a hearing in behalf of the fitting out +of another expedition, for the attention of the King and his advisers +was now absorbed by weightier cares at home. Nevertheless, from time to +time, as occasion offered, several unsuccessful attempts were made to +introduce the project of establishing a French colony on the banks of +the St. Lawrence. Meanwhile, Donacona, and the other Indian warriors who +had been brought captives to France, pined away and died. + +At length, after an interval of about four years, proposals for another +voyage westward, and for colonizing the country, came to be so far +entertained that plans of an expedition were permitted to be discussed. +But now, instead of receiving the unanimous support which had been +accorded to previous undertakings, the project was opposed by a powerful +party at court, consisting of persons who tried to dissuade the King +from granting his assent. These alleged that enough had already been +done for the honor of their country; that it was not expedient to take +in hand the subjugation and settlement of those far-distant regions, +tenanted only by savages and wild animals; that the intensely severe +climate and hardships such as had proved fatal to one-fourth of +Cartier's people in 1535, were certain evils, which there was no +prospect of advantage to outweigh; that the newly discovered country had +not been shown to possess mines of gold and silver; and, finally, that +such extensive territories could not be effectively settled without +transporting thither a considerable part of the population of the +kingdom of France. + +Notwithstanding the apparent force of these objections, the French King +did eventually sanction the project of another transatlantic enterprise +on a larger scale than heretofore. + +A sum of money was granted by the King toward the purchase and equipment +of ships, to be placed under the command of Jacques Cartier, having the +commission of captain-general.[47] Apart from the navigation of the +fleet, the chief command in the undertaking was assigned to M. de +Roberval, who, in a commission dated January 15, 1540, was named viceroy +and lieutenant-general over Newfoundland, Labrador, and Canada. Roberval +was empowered to engage volunteers and emigrants, and to supply the lack +of these by means of prisoners to be taken from the jails and hulks. +Thus, in about five years from the discovery of the river St. Lawrence, +and, six years after, of Canada, measures were taken for founding a +colony. But from the very commencement of the undertaking, which, it +will be seen, proved an entire failure, difficulties presented +themselves. Roberval was unable to provide all the requisite supplies of +small arms, ammunition, and other stores, as he had engaged to do, +during the winter of 1540. It also was found difficult to induce +volunteers and emigrants to embark. It was, therefore, settled that +Roberval should remain behind to complete his preparations, while +Cartier, with five vessels, provisioned for two years, should set sail +at once for the St. Lawrence. + +On May 23, 1541, Cartier departed from St. Malo on his third voyage to +Canada. After a protracted passage of twelve weeks, the fleet arrived at +Stadacona. Cartier and some of his people landed and entered into +communication with the natives, who flocked round him as they had done +in 1535. They desired to know what had become of their chief, Donacona, +and the warriors who had been carried off to France five years before. +On being made aware that all had died, they became distant and sullen in +their behavior. They held out no inducements to the French to +reestablish their quarters at Stadacona. Perceiving this, as well as +signs of dissimulation, Cartier determined to take such steps as might +secure himself and followers from suffering through their resentment. +Two of his ships he sent back at once to France, with letters for the +King and for Roberval, reporting his movements, and soliciting such +supplies as were needed. With the remaining ships he ascended the St. +Lawrence as far as Cap-Rouge, where a station was chosen close to the +mouth of a stream which flowed into the great river. Here it was +determined to moor the ships and to erect such storehouses and other +works as might be necessary for security and convenience. It was also +decided to raise a small fort or forts on the highland above, so as to +command the station and protect themselves from any attack which the +Indians might be disposed to make. While some of the people were +employed upon the building of the fort, others were set at work +preparing ground for cultivation. Cartier himself, in his report, bore +ample testimony to the excellent qualities of the soil, as well as the +general fitness of the country for settlement.[48] + +Having made all the dispositions necessary for the security of the +station at Cap-Rouge, and for continuing, during his absence, the works +already commenced, Cartier departed for Hochelaga on September 7th, with +a party of men, in two barges. On the passage up he found the Indians +whom he had met in 1535 as friendly as before. The natives of Hochelaga +seemed also well disposed, and rendered all the assistance he sought in +enabling him to attempt the passage up the rapids situated above that +town. Failing to accomplish this, he remained but a short time among +them, gathering all the information they could furnish about the regions +bordering on the Upper St. Lawrence. He then hastened back to Cap-Rouge. +On his way down he found the Indians, who a short time before were so +friendly, changed and cold in their demeanor, if not actually hostile. +Arrived at Cap-Rouge, the first thing he learned was that the Indians +had ceased to visit the station as at first, and, instead of coming +daily with supplies of fish and fruit, that they only approached near +enough to manifest, by their demeanor and gestures, feelings decidedly +hostile toward the French. In fact, during Cartier's absence, former +causes of enmity had been heightened by a quarrel, in which, although +some of his own people had, in the first instance, been the aggressors, +a powerful savage had killed a Frenchman, and threatened to deal with +another in like manner. + +Winter came, but not Roberval with the expected supplies of warlike +stores and men, now so much needed, in order to curb the insolence of +the natives. Of the incidents of that winter passed at Cap-Rouge, there +is but little reliable information extant. It is understood, however, +that the Indians continued to harass and molest the French throughout +the period of their stay, and that Cartier, with his inadequate force, +found it difficult to repel their attacks. When spring came round, the +inconveniences to which they had been exposed, and the discouraging +character of their prospects, led to a unanimous determination to +abandon the station and return to France as soon as possible.[49] + +At the very time that Cartier, in Canada, was occupied in preparations +for the reembarkation of the people who had wintered at Cap-Rouge, +Roberval, in France, was completing his arrangements for departure from +Rochelle with three considerable ships. In these were embarked two +hundred persons, consisting of gentlemen, soldiers, sailors, and +colonists, male and female, among whom was a considerable number of +criminals taken out of the public prisons. The two squadrons met in the +harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland, when Cartier, after making his +report to Roberval, was desired to return with the outward-bound +expedition to Canada. Foreseeing the failure of the undertaking, or, as +some have alleged, unwilling to allow another to participate in the +credit of his discoveries, Cartier disobeyed the orders of his superior +officer. Various accounts have been given of this transaction, according +to some of which, Cartier, to avoid detention or importunity, weighed +anchor in the night-time and set sail for France. + +Roberval resumed his voyage westward, and by the close of July had +ascended the St. Lawrence to Cap-Rouge, where he at once established his +colonists in the quarters recently vacated by Cartier. + +It is unnecessary to narrate in detail the incidents which transpired in +connection with Roberval's expedition, as this proved a signal failure, +and produced no results of consequence to the future fortunes of the +country. It is sufficient to state that, although Roberval himself was a +man endowed with courage and perseverance, he found himself powerless to +cope with the difficulties of his position, which included +insubordination that could be repressed only by means of the gallows and +other extreme modes of punishment; disease, which carried off a quarter +of his followers in the course of the ensuing winter; unsuccessful +attempts at exploration, attended with considerable loss of life; and +finally famine, which reduced the surviving French to a state of abject +dependence upon the natives for the salvation of their lives. Roberval +had sent one of his vessels back to France, with urgent demands for +succor; but the King, instead of acceding to his petition, despatched +orders for him to return home. It is stated, on somewhat doubtful +authority, that Cartier himself was deputed to bring home the relics of +the expedition; and, if so, this distinguished navigator must have made +a fourth voyage out to the regions which he had been the first to make +known to the world. Thus ended Roberval's abortive attempt to establish +a French colony on the banks of the St. Lawrence. + +Of the principal actors in the scenes which have been described, but +little remains to be recorded. Roberval, after having distinguished +himself in the European wars carried on by Francis I, is stated to have +fitted out another expedition, in conjunction with his brother, in the +year 1549, for the purpose of making a second attempt to found a colony +in Canada; but he and all with him perished at sea. The intrepid +Cartier, by whose services in the western hemisphere so extensive an +addition had been made to the dominions of the King of France, was +suffered to retire into obscurity, and is supposed to have passed the +remainder of his days on a small estate possessed by him in the +neighborhood of his native place, St. Malo. The date of his decease is +unknown.[50] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[44] The courts of Spain and Portugal had protested against any fresh +expedition from France to the west, alleging that, by right of prior +discovery, as well as the Pope's grant of all the western regions to +themselves, the French could not go there without invading their +privileges. Francis, on the other hand, treated these pretensions with +derision, observing sarcastically that he would "like to see the clause +in old Father Adam's will by which an inheritance so vast was bequeathed +to his brothers of Spain and Portugal." + +[45] The dates in this and subsequent pages are in accordance with the +"old style" of reckoning. + +[46] It has not been satisfactorily settled to what tribe the Indians +belonged who were found by Cartier at Hochelaga. Some have even doubted +the accuracy of his description in relation to their numbers, the +character of their habitations, and other circumstances, under the +belief that allowance must be made for exaggeration in the accounts of +the first European visitors, who were desirous that their adventures +should rival those of Cortes and Pizarro. It has also been suggested +that the people were not Hurons, but remnants of the Iroquois tribes, +who might have lingered there on their way southward. At any rate, when +the place was revisited by Frenchmen more than half a century afterward, +very few savages were seen in the neighborhood, and these different from +those met by Cartier, while the town itself was no longer in existence. +Champlain, upward of seventy years after Jacques Cartier, visited +Hochelaga, but made no mention in his narrative either of the town or of +inhabitants. + +[47] Commission dated October 20, 1540. In this document the French +King's appreciation of Cartier's merits is strongly shown in the terms +employed to express his royal confidence "in the character, judgment, +ability, loyalty, dignity, hardihood, great diligence, and experience of +the said Jacques Cartier." Cartier was also authorized to select fifty +prisoners "whom he might judge useful," etc. + +[48] His description is substantially as follows: "On both sides of the +river were very good lands filled with as beautiful and vigorous trees +as are to be seen in the world, and of various sorts. A great many oaks, +the finest I have ever seen in my life, and so full of acorns that they +seemed like to break down with their weight. Besides these there were +the most beautiful maples, cedars, birches, and other kinds of trees not +to be seen in France. The forest land toward the south is covered with +vines, which are found loaded with grapes as black as brambleberries. +There were also many hawthorn-trees, with leaves as large as those of +the oak, and fruit like that of the medlar-tree. In short, the country +is as fit for cultivation as one could find or desire. We sowed seeds of +cabbage, lettuce, turnips, and others of our country, which came up in +eight days." + +[49] Early in the spring of 1542 Cartier seems to have made several +small excursions in search of gold and silver. That these existed in the +country, especially in the region of the Saguenay, was intimated to him +by the Indians; and this information probably led Roberval afterward to +undertake his unfortunate excursion to Tadousac. Cartier did find a +yellowish material, which he styled "_poudre d'or_," and which he took +to France, after exhibiting it to Roberval when he met him at +Newfoundland. It is likely that this was merely fine sand intermixed +with particles of mica. He also took with him small transparent stones, +which he supposed to be diamonds, but which could have been no other +than transparent crystals of quartz. + +[50] Cartier was born December 31, 1494. He was therefore in the prime +of life when he discovered Canada, and not more than forty-nine years of +age at the time when he returned home from his last trip to the west. + + + + +MENDOZA SETTLES BUENOS AIRES + +A.D. 1535 + +ROBERT SOUTHEY + + By the discovery in 1515 of the Rio de la Plata ("River of + Silver"), the Spaniards opened for themselves a way to + colonization in South America. The first explorer, Juan Diaz + de Solis, was killed by the Indians on landing from the + river. But in 1519 Magellan, while on his great voyage of + circumnavigation, visited the Plata, and in 1526 Sebastian + Cabot, in the service of Charles I of Spain (the emperor + Charles V), ascended the river to the junction of the + Paraguay and the Parana, both of which he then explored for + a long distance. + + Among the natives, whose silver ornaments, it is said, gave + origin to the name La Plata, as well as to that of + Argentina, Cabot passed two years in friendly intercourse. + He then sent to Spain an account of Paraguay, and a request + for authority and reenforcements to take possession of the + country with its rich resources. Although his request was + favorably received, no efficient action was taken upon it, + and, after waiting for five years, Cabot, despairing of the + necessary assistance, left the region. + + It was not long, however, before a somewhat extensive + settlement in those parts was projected. Don Pedro Mendoza, + a knight of Guadix, Granada, one of the royal household, + undertook the colonization of the country, and September 1, + 1534, he sailed from San Lucar. + + +Mendoza had enriched himself at the sackage of Rome by the Constable de +Bourbon in 1527. Ill-gotten wealth has been so often ill-expended as to +have occasioned proverbs in all languages; the plunder of Rome did not +satisfy him, and, dreaming of other Mexicos and Cuzcos, he obtained a +grant of all the country from the river Plata to the straits, to be his +government, with permission to proceed across the continent to the South +Sea. + +He undertook to carry out in two voyages, and within two years, a +thousand men, a hundred horses, and stores for one year at his own +expense, the King[51] granting him the title of _adelantado_, and a +salary of two thousand ducats for life, with two thousand more from the +fruits of the conquest in aid of his expenses. He was to build three +fortresses, and be perpetual alcaid of the first; his heirs after him +were to be first alguazils of the place where he fixed his residence, +and after he had remained three years he might transfer the task of +completing the colonization and conquest either to his heir or any other +person whom it might please him to appoint--and with it the privileges +annexed--if within two years the King approved the choice. + +A king's ransom was now understood to belong to the crown; but as a +further inducement this prerogative was waived in favor of Mendoza and +his soldiers, who were to share it, first having deduced the royal +fifth, and then a sixth. If, however, the King in question were slain in +battle, half the spoils should go to the crown. These terms were made in +wishful remembrance of the ransom of Atabalipa. + +He was to take with him a physician, an apothecary, and a surgeon, and +especially eight "religioners." Life is lightly hazarded by those who +have nothing more to stake, but that a man should, like Mendoza, stake +such riches as would content the most desperate life-gambler for his +winnings is one of the many indications how generally and how strongly +the contagious spirit of adventure was at that time prevailing. + +Mendoza had covenanted to carry five hundred men in his first voyage. +Such was his reputation, and such the ardor for going to the Silver +River, that more adventurers offered than it was possible for him to +take, and he accelerated his departure on account of the enormous +expense which such a host occasioned. The force with which he set forth +consisted of eleven ships and eight hundred men. So fine an armament had +never yet sailed from Europe for America: but they who beheld its +departure are said to have remarked that the service of the dead ought +to be performed for the adventurers. They reached Rio de Janeiro after a +prosperous voyage, and remained there a fortnight, during which time the +Adelantado, being crippled by a contraction of the sinews, appointed +Juan Osorio to command in his stead. Having made this arrangement they +proceeded to their place of destination, anchored at Isle St. Gabriel +within the Plata, and then on its southern shore and beside a little +river. There Don Pedro de Mendoza laid the foundation of a town which +because of its healthy climate he named "Nuestra Senora de Buenos Aires" +("Our Lady of Good Air"). It was not long before he was made jealous of +Osorio by certain envious officers, and, weakly lending ear to wicked +accusations, he ordered them to fall upon him and kill him, then drag +his body into the plaza, or public market-place, and proclaim him a +traitor. The murder was perpetrated, and thus was the expedition +deprived of one who is described as an honest and generous good soldier. + +Experience had not yet taught the Spaniards that any large body of +settlers in a land of savages must starve unless well supplied with food +from other sources until they can raise it for themselves. The +Quirandies, who possessed the country round about this new settlement, +were a wandering tribe who, in places where there was no water, quenched +their thirst by eating a root which they called _cardes_, or by sucking +the blood of the animals which they slew. + +About three thousand of these savages had pitched their movable +dwellings some four leagues from the spot which Mendoza had chosen for +the site of his city. They were well pleased with their visitors, and +during fourteen days brought fish and meat to the camp; on the fifteenth +day they failed, and Mendoza sent a few Spaniards to them to look for +provisions, who came back empty-handed and wounded. Upon this, he +ordered his brother Don Diego, with three hundred soldiers and thirty +horsemen, to storm their town, and kill or take prisoner the whole +horde. The Quirandies had sent away their women and children, collected +a body of allies, and were ready for the attack. Their weapons were bows +and arrows and _tardes_--stone-headed tridents about half the length of +a lance. Against the horsemen they used a long thong, having a ball of +stone at either end. With this they were wont to catch their game; +throwing it with practised aim at the legs of the animal it coiled round +and brought it to the ground. In all former wars with the Indians the +horsemen had been the main strength and often the salvation of the +Spaniards. This excellent mode of attack made them altogether useless; +they could not defend themselves. The commander and six hidalgos were +thrown and killed, and the whole body of horse must have been cut off if +the rest had not fled in time and been protected by the infantry. About +twenty foot-soldiers were slain with tardes. But it was not possible +that these people, brave as they were, could stand against European +weapons and such soldiers as the Spaniards: they gave way at last, +leaving many of their brethren dead, but not a single prisoner. The +conquerors found in their town plenty of flour, fish, what is called +"fish-butter"--which probably means inspissated oil--otter-skins, and +fishing-nets. They left a hundred men to fish with these nets, and the +others returned to the camp. + +Mendoza was a wretched leader for such an expedition. He seems, +improvidently, to have trusted to the natives for provision and to have +quarrelled with them unnecessarily. Very soon after his arrival six +ounces of bread had been the daily allowance; it was now reduced to +three ounces of flour, and, every third day, a fish. They marked out the +city and began a mud wall for its defence, the height of a lance and +three feet thick. It was badly constructed: what was built up one day, +fell down the next; the soldiers had not as yet learned this part of +their duties. + +A strong house was built within the circuit for the Adelantado; meantime +their strength began to fail for want of food. Rats, snakes, and vermin +of every eatable size were soon exterminated from the environs. Three +men stole a horse and ate it; they were tortured to make them confess +the fact and then hanged for it; their bodies were left upon the +gallows, and in the night all the flesh below the waist was cut away. +One man ate the corpse of his brother; some murdered their messmates for +the sake of receiving their rations as long as they could conceal their +death by saying they were ill. The mortality was very great. Mendoza, +seeing that all must perish if they remained here, sent George Luchsan, +one of his German or Flemish adventurers, up the river, with four +brigantines, to seek for food. Wherever they came the natives fled +before them and burned what they could not carry away. Half the men were +famished to death, and all must have perished if they had not fallen in +with a tribe who gave them barely enough maize to support them during +their return. + +The Quirandies had not been dismayed by one defeat: they prevailed upon +the Bartenes, the Zechuruas, and the Timbues to join them, and with a +force which the besieged in their fear estimated at three-and-twenty +thousand--though it did not probably amount to a third of that +number--suddenly attacked the new city. The weapons which they used were +not less ingeniously adapted to their present purpose than those which +had proved so effectual against the horse. They are said to have had +arrows which took fire at the point as soon as they were discharged, +which were not extinguished until they had burned out, and which kindled +whatever they touched. With these devilish instruments they set fire to +the thatched huts of the settlers and consumed them all. The stone house +of the Adelantado was the only dwelling which escaped destruction. At +the same time, and with the same weapons, they attacked the ships and +burned four; the other three got to a safe distance in time and at +length drove them off with their artillery. About thirty Spaniards were +slain. + +The Adelantado now left a part of his diminished force in the ships to +repair the settlement, giving them stores enough to keep them from +starving for a year, which they were to eke out as best they could; he +himself advancing up the river with the rest in the brigantines and +smaller vessels. But he deputed his authority to Juan de Ayolas, being +utterly unequal to the fatigue of command--in fact he was, at this time, +dying of the most loathsome and dreadful malady that human vices have +ever yet brought upon human nature. + +About eighty-four leagues up the river they came to an island inhabited +by the Timbues, who received them well. Mendoza presented their chief, +Zchera Wasu, with a shirt, a red cap, an axe, and a few other trifles, +in return for which he received fish and game enough to save the lives +of his people. This tribe trusted wholly to fishing and to the chase for +food. They used long canoes. The men were naked, and ornamented both +nostrils with stones. The women wore a cotton cloth from the waist to +the knee, and cut beauty-slashes in their faces. Here the Spaniards took +up their abode, and named the place "Buena Esperanza," signifying "Good +Hope." One Gonzalo Romero, who had been one of Cabot's people and had +been living among the savages, joined them here. He told them there were +large and rich settlements up the country, and it was thought advisable +that Ayolas should proceed with the brigantines in search of them. + +Meantime Mendoza, who was now become completely crippled, returned to +Buenos Aires, where he found a great part of his people dead, and the +survivors struggling with famine and every species of wretchedness. They +were relieved by the arrival of Gonzalo Mendoza, who, at the beginning +of their distresses, had been despatched to the coast of Brazil in quest +of supplies. Part of Cabot's people, after the destruction of his +settlement, had sailed for Brazil and established themselves in a bay +called Ygua, four-and-twenty leagues from St. Vicente. There they began +to form plantations, and continued two years on friendly terms with the +adjoining natives and with the Portuguese. Disputes then arose, and, +according to the Castilian account (for no other remains), the +Portuguese resolved to fall upon them and drive them out of the country; +of this they obtained intelligence, surprised the intended invaders, +plundered the town of St. Vicente, and, being joined by some +discontented Portuguese from that infant colony, sailed in two ships for +the island of St. Catalina. There these adventurers began a new +settlement, but such was their restless spirit that, when Gonzalo +Mendoza arrived there, they were easily persuaded to abandon the houses +which they had just constructed, and the fields which were now beginning +to afford them comfortable subsistence; and the whole colony, with their +two ships, joined him and made for the Plata, to partake in the conquest +and spoils of the Silver River. + +They brought a considerable supply of stores, and were themselves well +armed and well supplied with ammunition. Some Brazilian Indians with +their families accompanied them, and they themselves, being accustomed +to the language and manners of the natives, were of the most essential +service to the adventurers with whom they joined company. At sight of +this seasonable relief Mendoza returned thanks to God, shedding tears of +joy. He waited awhile in hopes of hearing good tidings from Ayolas, and +at length sent Juan de Salazar with a second detachment in quest of him. +His health grew daily worse and his hopes fainter; he had lost his +brother in this expedition, and expended above forty thousand ducats of +his substance; nor did there appear much probability of any eventual +success to reimburse him, so he determined to sail for Spain, leaving +Francisco Ruyz to command at Buenos Aires, and appointing Ayolas +governor if he should return; and Salazar, in case of his death. His +instructions were that, as soon as either of them should return, he was +to examine what provisions were left, and allow no rations to any +persons who could support themselves, nor to any women who were not +employed in either washing or in some other such necessary service; that +he should sink the ships, or dispose of them in some other manner, and, +if he thought fit, proceed across the continent to Peru, where, if he +met with Pizarro and Almagro, he was to procure their friendship in the +Adelantado's name; and if Almagro should be disposed to give him one +hundred fifty thousand ducats for a resignation of his government--as he +had given to Pedro de Alvarado--he was to accept it--or even one hundred +thousand--unless it should appear more profitable not to close with such +an offer. How strong must his hope of plunder have been after four years +of continued disappointment and misery! + +Moreover, he charged his successor, if it should please God to give him +any jewel or precious stone, not to omit sending it him, as some help in +his trouble, and he instructed him to form a settlement on the way to +Peru, either upon the Paraguay or elsewhere, from whence tidings of his +proceedings might be transmitted. Having left these directions Mendoza +embarked, still dreaming of gold and jewels. On the voyage they were so +distressed for provisions that he was obliged to kill a favorite bitch +which had accompanied him through all his troubles. While he was eating +this wretched meal his senses failed him--he began to rave, and died in +the course of two days. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[51] Charles I of Spain, who was also the emperor Charles V. + + + + +FOUNDING OF THE JESUITS + +A.D. 1540 + +ISAAC TAYLOR + + Toward the middle of the sixteenth century definite + utterance began to be given to a widespread feeling in the + Church that the old monastic orders were no longer + fulfilling their purpose. Suggestions of new orders were + entertained by the church authorities, and plans for their + formation--not to supersede but to supplement the old--began + to assume shape. + + Meanwhile an enthusiastic Spanish soldier, who had renounced + the profession of arms, independently gathered about himself + the nucleus of what was to be one of the most famous orders + in the history of the Church. This organization, called the + Company (or Society) of Jesus, but better known to many as + the Order of Jesuits, owes its foundation primarily to + Ignatius de Loyola (Inigo Lopez de Recalde), who was born at + the castle of Loyola, Guipuzcoa, Spain, in 1491. After being + educated as a page at the court of Ferdinand, he joined the + army, and during his recovery from a wound received at + Pamplona in 1521, he became imbued with spiritual ardor and + dedicated himself to the service of the Virgin. Henceforth + the "fiery Ignatius" devoted himself to the pursuit and, as + he believed, the purification of religion. + + In 1528 he entered the University of Paris, and there, with + a few associates, in 1534 he projected the new religious + order, which in 1540 was confirmed by the Pope. _The + Constitution of the Order_ and _Spiritual Exercises_ were + written by him in Spanish. The object of these comrades was + to battle for the Church in that time of religious warfare, + to stop the spread of heresy, and especially to stay the + progress of Protestantism and win back those who had + abandoned the old faith. Exempting themselves from the + routine of monastic duties, the members of the new order + were to have freedom for preaching, hearing confessions, and + educating the young. + + After considering and abandoning various plans for work + abroad, the band of fathers at last decided to devote + themselves to serving the Church within its own domains, and + the first step was a visit of some members of the fraternity + to Rome for the purpose of obtaining papal confirmation. + + +Loyola himself, with his chosen colleagues, Faber and Lainez, undertook +the mission to Rome, while the eight others were to disperse themselves +throughout Northern Italy, and especially to gain a footing, if they +could, and to acquire influence at those seats of learning where the +youth of Italy were to be met with; such as Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, +Siena, and Vicenza. Surprising effects resulted, it is said, from these +labors; but we turn toward the three fathers, Ignatius, Lainez, and +Faber, who were now making their way on foot to Rome. + +If Loyola's course of secular study, and if his various engagements as +evangelist and as chief of a society, had at all chilled his devotional +ardor, or had drawn his thoughts away from the unseen world, this fervor +and this upward direction of the mind now returned to him in full force: +we are assured that, on this pilgrimage, and "through favor of the +Virgin," his days and nights were passed in a sort of continuous +ecstasy. As they drew toward the city, and while upon the Siena road, he +turned aside to a chapel, then in a ruinous condition, and which he +entered alone. Here ecstasy became more ecstatic still; and, in a +trance, he believed himself very distinctly to see Him whom, as holy +Scripture affirms, "no man hath seen at any time." By the side of this +vision of the invisible appeared Jesus, bearing a huge cross. The Father +presents Ignatius to the Son, who utters the words, so full of meaning, +"I will be favorable to you at Rome." + +It is no agreeable task thus to compromise the awful realities of +religion, and thus to perplex the distinctions which a religious mind +wishes to observe between truth and illusion; yet it seems inevitable to +narrate that which comes before us, as an integral and important portion +of the history we have to do with. And yet incidents such as these, +while they will be very far from availing to bring us over as converts +to the system which they are supposed supernaturally to authenticate, +need not generate any extreme revulsion of feeling in an opposite +direction. Good men, ill-trained, or trained under a system which to so +great an extent is factitious, demand from us often, we do not say that +which an enlightened Christian charity does not include, but a something +which is logically distinguishable from it; we mean a philosophic habit +of mind, accustomed to deal with human nature, and with its wonderful +inconsistencies, on the broadest principles. + +Some diversities of language present themselves in the narratives that +have come down to us of this vision. In that which, perhaps, is worthy +of the most regard, the phraseology is such as to suggest the belief +that its _exact_ meaning should not easily be gathered from the words. +Loyola had asked of the blessed Virgin, "_ut eum cum filio suo +poneret_"; and during this trance this request, whatever it might mean, +was manifestly granted. + +From this vision, and from the memorable words "_Ego vobis Romae +propitius ero_," the society may be said to have taken its formal +commencement, and to have drawn its appellation. Henceforward it was the +"Society of Jesus," for its founder, introduced to the Son of God by the +eternal Father, had been orally assured of the divine favor--favor +consequent upon his present visit to Rome. Here, then, we have exposed +to our view the inner economy or divine machinery of the Jesuit +Institute. The Mother of God is the primary mediatrix; the Father, at +her intercession, obtains for the founder an auspicious audience of the +Son; and the Son authenticates the use to be made of his name in this +instance; and so it is that the inchoate order is to be the "Society of +Jesus." + +An inquiry, to which in fact no certain reply could be given, obtrudes +itself upon the mind on an occasion like this; namely, how far the +infidelity and atheism which pervaded Europe in the next and the +following century sprung directly out of profanation such as this? +Merely to narrate them, and to do so in the briefest manner, does +violence to every genuine sentiment of piety. What must have been the +effect produced upon frivolous and sceptical tempers when with sedulous +art such things were put forward as solemn verities not to be +distinguished from the primary truths of religion, and entitled to the +same reverential regard in our minds! + +Loyola, although thus warranted, as he thought, in assuming for his +order so peculiar and exclusive a designation, used a discreet reserve +at the first in bringing it forward, lest he should wound the self-love +of rival bodies, or seem to be challenging for his company a superiority +over other religious orders. So much caution as this his experience +would naturally suggest to him; and that he felt the need of it is +indicated by what he is reported to have said as he entered Rome. +Although the words so recently pronounced still sounded in his ear, +"_Ego vobis Romae propitius ero_," yet as he set foot within the city he +turned to his companions and said, with a solemn significance of tone, +"I see the windows shut!"--meaning that they should there meet much +opposition, and find occasion for the exercise of prudence and of +patient endurance of sufferings; of prudence, not less than of patience. + +But while care was to be taken not to draw toward themselves the envious +or suspicious regards of the religious orders or of ecclesiastical +potentates, there was even a more urgent need of discretion in avoiding +those occasions of scandal which might spring from their undertaking the +cure of the souls of the other sex. Into what jeopardy of their saintly +reputation had certain eminent men fallen in this very manner; and how +narrowly had they escaped the heaviest imputations! The fathers were not +to take upon themselves the office of confessors to women--"_nisi essent +admodum illustres_." That the risk must necessarily be less, or that +there would be none in the instance of ladies of high rank, is not +conspicuously certain; but if not, what were those special motives which +should warrant the fathers in incurring this peril in such cases? Mere +Christian charity would undoubtedly impel a man to meet danger for the +welfare of the soul of a poor sempstress as readily as for that of a +duchess or the mistress of a monarch. If, therefore, the peril is to be +braved in the one case which ought to be evaded in the other, there must +be present some motive of which Christian charity knows nothing. So +acutely alive was Loyola to the evils that might spring to his order +from this source that we find him at a later period not merely rejecting +ladies, "_admodum illustres_," but bearding the Pope and the cardinals, +and glaringly contravening his own vow of unconditional obedience to the +Vicar of Christ, rather than give way to the solicitations of fair and +noble penitents. + +Soon after the arrival of the three--_i.e._, Loyola, Faber, and +Lainez--at Rome, in the year 1537, they obtained an audience of the +Pope, who welcomed their return, and gave anew his sanction to their +endeavors. Faber and Lainez received appointments as theological +professors in the gymnasium; while Loyola addressed himself wholly to +the care of souls and to the reform of abuses. To several persons of +distinction and to some dignitaries of the Church he administered the +discipline of the _Spiritual Exercises_, they, for this purpose, +withdrawing to solitudes in the neighborhood of Rome, where they were +daily conversed with and instructed by himself. At the same time he +labored in hospitals, schools, and private houses to induce repentance +and to cherish the languishing piety of those who would listen to him. +Among such, who fully surrendered their souls to his guidance, were the +Spanish procurator Peter Ortiz and Cardinal Gaspar Contarini, both of +whom were led by him into a course of fervent devotion in which they +persisted, and they, moreover, continued to use their powerful influence +in favor of the infant society. + +The pulpits of many of the churches in the several cities where the +fathers had stationed themselves, and some in Rome, had been opened to +their use, and the energy and the freshness of their eloquence affected +the popular mind in an extraordinary manner; sometimes, indeed, they +brought upon themselves violent opposition, but in more frequent +instances, their zeal and patient assiduity triumphing over prejudice, +jealousy, ecclesiastical inertness, and voluptuousness, the tide of +feeling set in with this new impulse, and a commencement was effectively +made of that Catholic revival which spread itself throughout Southern +Europe, turned back the Reformation wave, saved the papacy, and secured +for Christendom the still needed antagonist influence of the Romish and +of the reformed systems of doctrine, worship, and polity. + +At Rome, Loyola, by his personal exertions, effected great reforms in +liturgical services--induced a more frequent and devout attention to the +sacraments of confession and the eucharist; established and promoted the +catechetical instruction of youth; and, in a word, restored to Romanism +much of its vitality. + +The author and mover of so much healthful change did not escape the +persecutions that are the lot of reformers. Such trials Loyola +encountered, and passed through triumphantly--so we are assured; but in +listening to the Jesuit writers, when telling their own story, where the +credit of the order and the reputation of its founder are deeply +implicated, it is with reservation that we follow them. + +So fearful a storm--yet a storm long before descried, it is said, by +Loyola--fell suddenly upon him and his colleagues that it seemed as if +the infant society could by no means resist the impetuous torrent that +assailed it. The populace, as well as persons in authority, suddenly +gave heed to rumors most startling which came in at once from Spain, +from France, and from the North of Italy, and the purport of which was +to throw upon the fathers the most grievous imputations affecting their +personal character as well as their doctrine. These men were reported to +be heretics, Lutherans in disguise, seducers of youth, and men of +flagitious life. + +The author or secret mover of this assault is said to have been a +Piedmontese monk of the Augustinian order, himself a secret favorer of +the Lutheran heresy and "a tool of Satan," and who at last, throwing off +the mask, avowed himself a Lutheran. This man, for the purpose of +diverting from himself the suspicions of which his mode of preaching had +made him the object at Rome, raised this outcry against Loyola and his +companions, affirming of them slanderously and falsely what was quite +true as to himself. + +The Pope and the court having been absent for some time from Rome, this +disguised heresiarch had seized the opportunity for gaining the ear of +the populace by inveighing against the vices of ecclesiastics, and +insinuating opinions to which he gave a color of truth by citations from +Scripture and the early fathers. Two of Loyola's colleagues, Salmeron +and Lainez, who in their passage through Germany had become skilled in +detecting Lutheran pravity, were deputed to listen to this noisy +preacher; they did so, and reported that the audacious man was, under +some disguise of terms, broaching rank Lutheranism in the very heart of +Rome. Loyola, however, determined to treat the heresiarch courteously, +and therefore sent him privately an admonition to abstain from a course +which occasioned so much scandal, and which could not but afflict +Catholic ears. The preacher took fire at this remonstrance, and openly +attacked those who had dared thus to rebuke him. + +Thus attacked, Loyola and his colleagues, on their side, loudly +maintained the great points of Catholic doctrine impugned by this +preacher, such as the merit and necessity of good works, the validity of +religious vows, and the supreme authority of the Church; and in +consequence it became extremely difficult on his part to ward off the +imputation of Lutheranism or to make it appear that he was anything +else than a self-condemned heretic. He, however, so far commanded the +popular mind that he maintained his reputation and his influence, and +actually succeeded in rendering his accusers the objects of almost +universal suspicion or hatred. Their powerful friends forsook them; all +stood aloof, or all but a Spaniard named Garzonio, who, having lodged +Loyola and some of his companions under his roof, knew well their +soundness in the faith and their personal piety. Through his timely +intervention the cardinal-dean of the sacred college was induced to +inform himself, by a personal interview, of their doctrine and life. + +This dignitary was satisfied, and more than satisfied, of the innocence +and piety of the fathers. Nevertheless, Loyola, looking far forward, and +knowing well what detriment to his order might arise in remote quarters +from slanders not authoritatively refuted and disallowed, demanded to be +confronted with his accusers before the ecclesiastical authorities. He +would be content with no vague and irregular expression of approval--he +would accept no half acquittal. He sought, and at length obtained, an +official exculpation in the amplest terms, with an acknowledgment of his +orthodoxy on the part of the highest authority on earth, and this was +granted under circumstances that gave it universal notoriety. + +In court the principal witness was confounded by proof, under his own +hand, of the falseness of the allegation he had advanced; and at the +same time testimonials from the highest quarters in favor of the +fathers, severally and individually, arrived opportunely; in a word, the +society, in this early and signal instance, triumphed over its +assailants, and thenceforward it occupied a position the most lofty and +commanding in the view of the Catholic world. Loyola and his colleagues +saw the ruin of their adversaries, two of whom, falling into the hands +of the inquisitors, were burned as heretics. + +The time was now come for effecting a permanent organization of the +society and for installing a chief at its head. With these purposes in +view, Loyola summoned his colleagues to Rome from the cities of Italy +where they were severally laboring. The fathers being assembled, he +commended to them anew the proposal which they had already accepted, but +which he seemed anxious to fix irrevocably upon their consciences by +often-repeated challenges of the most solemn kind. To impart the more +solemnity to this repetition of their mutual engagements, and to +preclude, by all means, the possibility of retraction, he advised that +several days should be devoted to preliminary prayer and fasting, during +which season each should, with an absolute surrender of himself to the +will of God, await passively the manifestation of that will. + +"Heaven," said Loyola to his companions, "heaven has forbidden Palestine +to our zeal--nevertheless that zeal burns with increasing intensity from +day to day. Should we not hence infer that God has called us--not, +indeed, to undertake the conversion of one nation or of a country, but +of all the people and of all the kingdoms of the world?" + +Such was the founder's profession and such the limits of his ambition. +The spiritual mechanism which he had devised, and which he was now +putting in movement, intends nothing that is partial or circumscribed; +its very purport is universality; it is absolutism carried out until it +has embraced the human family and has brought every human spirit into +its toils. + +But so small a band could hope for no success that should be indicative +of ultimate triumph unless they would surrender themselves individually +to a common will, which should be to each of them as the will of God, +articulately pronounced. After renewing, therefore, the vows of poverty, +of chastity, and of unconditional obedience to the Pope, the fathers +assented to the proposal that one of their number should, by the +suffrages of all, be constituted the superior or general of the order, +and as such be invested with an authority as absolute as it was possible +for man to exercise or for men to submit to. Yet to whose hands should +be assigned--and for life--this irresponsible power over the bodies, +souls, and understandings of his companions? + +It had not been until after a lengthened preparation of fasting, prayer, +and night-watching that a resolution so appalling had been formed. Yet +it was easier to consent to the proposal, abstractedly placed before +them, than to yield themselves to all its undefined and irrevocable +consequences, when the awful surrender of what is most precious to +man--his individuality--was to be made, not to a chief unnamed, but to +this or that one among themselves. To whose hands could the ten consign +the irresponsible disposal of their souls and bodies? They had, however, +already advanced too far to recede. They had, as they believed, in +humble imitation of Christ the Lord, offered themselves as a living +sacrifice to God--so far as concerned the body--by the vow of poverty +and the vow of chastity. They had thus immolated the flesh, and had +reserved to themselves nothing of worldly possessions, nothing of +earthly solaces; all had been laid upon the altar. They, had, moreover +professed their willingness to deposit there their very souls. The vow +of unconditional obedience, as thus understood, was a holocaust of the +immortal well-being. Each now, as an offering acceptable to God, was to +pawn his interest in time and eternity, putting the pledge into the +hands of one to be chosen by themselves. It was debated whether this +absolute power should be conferred upon the holder of it for life or for +a term of years only, and whether in the fullest sense it should be +without conditions, or whether it should be limited by constitutional +forms. At length, however, the election of a general for life was +assented to, and especially for this reason--and it is well to note +it--that the new society had been devised and formed for the very +purpose of carrying forward vast designs which must demand a long course +of years for their development and execution; and that no one who must +look forward to the probable termination of his generalship at the +expiration of a few years could be expected to undertake, or to +prosecute with energy, any such far-reaching project. On the contrary, +he should be allowed to believe that the limits of his life alone need +be thought of as bounding his holy ambition. Provisions were made, +however, for holding some sort of control over the individual to whom so +much power was to be intrusted. The actual election of Loyola to the +generalship did not formally take place until after the time when the +order had received pontifical authentication. Meantime, all implicitly +regarded him as their master; from him emanated the acts of the body; +and to him was assigned the task--aided by Lainez--of preparing what +should be the constitutions of the society. + +During the interval between the concerted organization of the order and +the formal recognition of Loyola as the general he found several +occasions highly favorable for extending and for enhancing his +influence, as well among the common people as among ecclesiastical +dignitaries. One such opportunity was afforded, soon after the +above-mentioned exculpation of the fathers, by the occurrence of a +famine during an unusually severe winter. The streets of Rome presented +the spectacle of hundreds of half-naked and starving wretches who +fruitlessly implored aid or who silently expired unaided. Loyola and his +colleagues, themselves subsisting from day to day on alms, felt +often--we are told--the nip of hunger, yet they needed no incitement +which these scenes of woe did not spontaneously supply. They were at +once alive to the claims of humanity and to the requirements of +Christian duty. They begged for the perishing, took them to such shelter +as was at their command, carefully and tenderly ministered to the sick, +and, withal, used the advantage which these offices of kindness afforded +them for purposes of religious instruction. Hundreds, rescued from death +through cold and hunger, were thus brought to repentance on the path +which the Church prescribes. A great impression in favor of the Jesuit +fathers was made upon all classes by this course of conduct. In +humanity, self-denying assiduity, and Christian zeal they had +immeasurably surpassed any who might have pretended rivalry with them. + +It was now, therefore, that Loyola sought from the Pontiff that formal +recognition which his personal assurances of regard and approval seemed +to show he could not refuse. Paul III was, however, cautious in this +instance, and seemed unwilling to commit himself and the Church at this +critical moment, except so far as he knew himself to be supported by the +feeling and opinion of those of the cardinals whom he most regarded. He +referred Loyola's petition to three of them. The first of these was +Barthelemi Guidiccioni, who had often declared himself to be decisively +opposed to the multiplication of religious orders. The Church, he +thought, had too many of these excrescences already, and, instead of +adding another to the number, he would gladly have reduced them all to +four. His two colleagues were easily induced to concur with him in this +opinion, and thus it appeared as if the infant society, notwithstanding +the advances it had lately made in securing the good opinion of persons +of high rank, as well as in winning popular applause, was little likely +to receive what was indispensable to its permanent establishment--a +papal bull in its favor. + +Personally, however, the Pope did not conceal his cordial feeling toward +Loyola and his companions. He seems to have perceived clearly that these +men, resolute in their punctilious adherence to the doctrine and ritual +of the Church, and committed by the most solemn engagements to its +service--deep-purposed as they were, full of a well-governed energy, +resolute in the performance of the most arduous duties, and, moreover, +highly accomplished in secular and sacred learning--were the very +instruments which the Church had need of in this crisis of its fate. +Northern Europe was irrecoverably lost; Germany and Switzerland were +held to Catholicism at points only; while France and Northern Italy were +listening to the seductions of heresy. Scarcely could it be said, even +of Spain, that it was clear of the same infection. The Church ought +then, at such a moment, to embrace cordially, and by all means to favor, +the efforts of men like Loyola and his distinguished companions. + +It was with this feeling that Paul III, while held back by his advisers +from the course he would have adopted, went as far as he could in +promoting and extending the influence of the society. At the same moment +application had been made, on the part of several potentates, for the +services of the fathers, who had already gained a high reputation at the +courts near to which they had exercised their ministry. It was seen and +understood by princes that these were the men--and these almost +alone--to whom might be confided those arduous tasks which the perils of +the times continually presented: none so well furnished as these +fathers; none so self-denying and laborious; none so uncompromising in +the maintenance of their principles. They were, therefore, despatched in +various directions, and with the papal sanction, to undertake offices +more or less spiritual, and in some instances purely secular. It was +thus that a commencement was made in that course which has thrown +unlimited power into the hands of the society, and which again has +brought upon it suspicion, hatred, and reiterated ruin. + +But the most noted of these appointments was that which, in sending, as +by an accident, Francis Xavier to India, detached from the Jesuit +society the man who, had he remained at home, must have imparted his own +character to its constitutions, and have guided its movements, and who +probably would have dislodged Loyola from the generalship, and have held +Lainez and Faber in a subordinate position. Not merely did Xavier's +departure allow Jesuitism to take its form from the hands of these +three, but it conferred upon the society, from a very early date, the +incalculable advantage of that reflected power and reputation which the +Indian missions secured for it. Xavier's apostleship in the East, with +its real and with its romantic and exaggerated glories, was a fund upon +which the society at home allowed itself to draw without limit. If it be +admitted that Xavier effected something real for Christianity in pagan +India, it may be affirmed that he accomplished at the same time, though +indirectly, far more for Jesuitism throughout Europe. This course of +events, so signal in its consequences as favoring the development and +rapid extension of the Jesuit scheme throughout Christendom, and which +yet could not be attributed to any forethought or machination on the +part of Loyola, is well deserving of a distinct notice. + +The train of circumstances, as related and affirmed by the Jesuit +writers, excludes the supposition of its taking its rise in any plot or +intention. John III of Portugal--a religious prince--had long +entertained the project of stretching the empire of the Church over +those regions which his valiant and enterprising people were subjecting +to his secular sway. In modern phraseology, he piously desired to +consecrate his military triumphs in the East by spreading the Gospel +among the subjugated heathen. His royal wish and intention had become +known to Loyola's friend Govea, who wrote to him from Paris on the +subject. This letter was as a spark at contact with which Loyola's zeal +burst forth in a flame. He replied, however, that, as he and his +companions had now solemnly surrendered themselves to the absolute and +unconditional disposal of the Vicar of Christ, they could attempt +nothing spontaneously. It is easy to imagine how speedily this +declaration, conveyed to Govea, would produce its effect, would come +round to its destination, and would assume the form of a pontifical +injunction addressed to Loyola to despatch some of the fathers to the +court of John, there to await the pleasure of so religious a prince. +Six missionaries had been asked for. Loyola, with the consent of the +Pope, assigned two--Rodriquez and Bobadilla--to his service. The latter, +however, falling ill--so it is affirmed--Francis Xavier was appointed in +his place. Xavier, it is said, leaped for joy when summoned, at a +moment, to set out toward Portugal commissioned to convert India to the +Christian faith. A few hours sufficed for his preparations; by noon of +the next day he had sewed the tatters of his attire with his own hand, +had packed his bundle, had bid adieu to his friends, and was forward on +the road to Lisbon. Upon this desperate enterprise he set forward with +his eye steadily fixed upon objects far more remote and more dazzling +than the sunny plains of Hindostan. The immeasurable difficulty of his +mission was to him its excitement; its dangers brightened in his view +into martyrdom; its toils were to be his ease; its privations his +solace, and despair the aliment of his hope. But at this initial point +of his course we must take leave of Francis Xavier--the prince of +missionaries. Bobadilla, with Loyola's consent, remained in Portugal, +where his zeal found scope enough. + +At length--but it does not appear in what manner this change of opinion +had been brought about--Cardinal Guidiccioni professed himself favorable +to the suit of Loyola; probably an enhanced conviction that the Romish +hierarchy was encountering a peril which called for extraordinary +measures, and that the new order was likely to meet the occasion, had +prevailed over considerations less urgent and of a more general kind. +This opponent gained, no obstacle remained to be overcome. On October 3, +1540 (or September 27th), was issued the bull which gave ecclesiastical +existence to the new order under the name of the "Company of Jesus." At +the first the society was forbidden to admit more than sixty professed +members, but three years later another bull removed entirely this +restriction. + +The time was now come when the decisive step must be taken which should +enable the new institute to realize its intention, which should render +Jesuitism _Jesuitism_ indeed. This was the election of a chief, +individually, who thenceforward should be absolute lord of the bodies +and souls, the will and well-being, of all the members. Until this +election should be made and ratified, the society was a _project_ only; +it would then become a dread reality. + +Those of the fathers who could leave their functions at foreign +courts--and these were three only--were summoned to Rome; those who +could not attend there sent forward their votes. But in what manner are +we to deal with the account that is presented to us of that which took +place on this occasion? How is it to be made to consist either with the +straightforwardness and simplicity of intention that are the +characteristics of great and noble natures, or how with those maxims of +guilelessness which Christianity so much approves? The problem admits of +only a partial and unsatisfactory solution; nor can we advance even so +far as this unless we make a very large allowance in favor of Loyola +personally, on the ground of the ill influence of the system within +which he had received his moral and religious training. He conducted +himself after the fashion of his Church: this must be his apology. + +It was he, unquestionably, who had conceived the primary idea of the +society. He was author of the book which constitutes its germ and law, +the _Spiritual Exercises_. He had been principal in digesting the +constitutions, or actual code, of the society. It was he, individually, +whom the others had always regarded as their leader and teacher. His +personal influence was the cement which held the parts in union. It was +Loyola who, while his colleagues dispersed themselves throughout Europe, +remained in Rome, there to manage the common interests of all, and to +carry forward those negotiations with the papal court which were of +vital importance and of the highest difficulty. In a word, it was he who +had convoked this meeting to elect a chief and who asked the proxies of +the absent. Are we then to believe that this bold spirit, this +far-seeing mind, this astute, inventive, and politic Ignatius, born to +rule other minds, and able always to subjugate his own will; that this +contriver of a despotism, after having carried the principle of +unconditional obedience, after having won the consent of his companions +to the proposal that their master should be their master _for life_--are +we to believe that he had never imagined it as probable (much less +wished) that the choice of his compeers should fall upon himself, or +that he had peremptorily resolved, in such a case, to reject the +proffered sovereignty? Surely those writers--the champions of the +society--use us cruelly who demand that we should believe so much as +this. + +Le Jay, Brouet, Lainez, and Loyola were those who personally appeared on +this occasion. The absent members sent their votes in sealed letters. +Three days having passed in prayer and silence, the four assembled on +the fourth day, when the votes were ascertained. All but Loyola's own +were in his favor; he voted for the one who should carry the majority of +votes. + +Loyola, we are told, was in an equal degree distressed and amazed in +discovering what was in the minds of his colleagues. _He_, indeed, to be +general of the Society of Jesus!--how strange and preposterous a +supposition! Positively he could think of no such thing. What a life had +he led before his conversion! How abounding in weaknesses had been his +course since! How could he aspire to rule others, who so poorly could +rule himself? Days of prayer must yet be devoted to the purpose of +imploring the divine aid in directing the minds of all toward one who +should indeed be qualified for so arduous an office. At the end of this +term Loyola was a second time elected, and again refused to comply with +the wishes of his friends. He would barely admit their importunities; +they could scarcely bring themselves to listen to his contrary reasons. +Time passed on, and there seemed a danger lest the society should go +adrift upon the rocks even in its first attempt to reach deep water. At +length Loyola agreed to submit himself to the direction of his +confessor. He might thus, perhaps, find it possible to thrust himself +through his scruples by the loophole of passive obedience, for he +already held himself bound to comply with the injunctions of his +spiritual guide, be they what they might. + +This good man, therefore, a father Theodosius of the communion of Minor +Brethren, is constituted arbiter of the destinies of the Society of +Jesus. To his ear Loyola confides all the reasons, irresistible as they +were, which forbade his compliance with the will of his friends. The +confessor listens patiently to the long argument, but sets the whole of +it at naught. In a word he declares that Loyola, in declining the +proffered generalship, is fighting against God. Further resistance would +have been a flagrant impiety. + +The installation of the general was carried forward in a course of +services held in the seven principal churches of Rome, and with +extraordinary solemnity in the Church of St. Paul without the city, +April 23, 1541. On this occasion the vows of perpetual poverty, +chastity, and obedience were renewed before the altar of the Virgin, +where Loyola administered the communion to his brethren, they having +vowed absolute obedience to him, and he the same to the Pope. + + + + +DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI[52] + +A.D. 1541 + +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + + From the eastern coast of Florida the Spaniards made early + explorations of the interior until they reached the + Mississippi River. Florida, which was discovered by Juan + Ponce de Leon in 1513, was soon visited by other voyagers, + and in 1528 Panfilo Narvaez made a disastrous march into the + forests. One survivor of his party, Cabaca de Vaca, + afterward crossed the Mississippi, near the site of Memphis, + and made his way to the Spanish settlements in Mexico. + + Still the vast Florida region was unexplored, but in 1539 + Hernando de Soto, the companion of Pizarro in the conquest + of Peru (1532) landed, with upward of six hundred men, at + what is now called Tampa Bay, on the west coast, in search + of the fabulous wealth believed to await him. "For month + after month and year after year the procession of priests + and cavaliers, cross-bowmen, arquebusiers, and Indian + captives laden with the baggage, wandered on through wild + and boundless wastes, lured hither and thither by the _ignis + fatuus_ of their hopes." Through untold hardships, increased + by fierce battles with the Indians, they traversed wide + regions now embraced in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, + reaching the great river probably in the spring of 1541, and + still looking for the "phantom El Dorado." + + +De Soto directed his footsteps in a westerly direction, carefully +avoiding an approach to the sea, lest his troops should rise in mutiny, +send for the ships, and escape from the ill-starred enterprise. This +certainly indicates, under the circumstances, an unsound, if not a +deranged, mind. For four days the troops toiled along through a dismal +region, uninhabited, and encumbered with tangled forests and almost +impassable swamps. + +At length they came to a small village called Chisca, upon the banks of +the most majestic stream they had yet discovered. Sublimely the mighty +flood, a mile and a half in width, rolled by them. The current was rapid +and bore upon its bosom a vast amount of trees, logs, and driftwood, +showing that its sources must be hundreds of leagues far away in the +unknown interior. This was the mighty Mississippi, the "Father of +Waters." The Indians at that point called it Chucagua. Its source and +its embouchure were alike unknown to De Soto. Little was he then aware +of the magnitude of the discovery he had made. + +"De Soto," says Irving, "was the first European who looked out upon the +turbid waters of this magnificent river; and that event has more surely +enrolled his name among those who will ever live in American history +than if he had discovered mines of silver and gold." + +The Spaniards had reached the river after a four days' march through an +unpeopled wilderness. The Indians of Chisca knew nothing of their +approach, and probably had never heard of their being in the country. +The tribe inhabiting the region of which Chisca was the metropolis was +by no means as formidable as many whom they had already encountered. The +dwelling of the cacique stood on a large artificial mound from eighteen +to twenty feet in height. It was ascended by two ladders, which could of +course be easily drawn up, leaving the royal family thus quite isolated +from the people below. + +Chisca, the chieftain, was far advanced in years, a feeble, emaciated +old man of very diminutive stature. In the days of his prime he had been +a renowned warrior. Hearing of the arrival of the Spaniards he was +disposed to regard them as enemies, and, seizing his tomahawk, he was +eager to descend from his castle and lead his warriors to battle. + +The contradictory statements are made that De Soto, weary of the +harassing warfare of the winter, was very anxious to secure the +friendship of these Indians. Unless he were crazed, it must have been +so; for there was absolutely nothing to be gained, but everything to be +imperilled, by war. On the other hand, it is said that the moment the +Spaniards descried the village they rushed into it, plundering the +houses, seizing men and women as captives. Both statements may have been +partially true. It is not improbable that the disorderly troops of De +Soto, to his great regret, were guilty of some outrages, while he +personally might have been intensely anxious to repress this violence +and cultivate only friendly relations with the natives. + +But, whatever may have been the hostile or friendly attitude assumed by +the Spaniards, it is admitted that the cacique was disposed to wage war +against the new-comers. The more prudent of his warriors urged that he +should delay his attack upon them until he had made such preparations as +would secure successful results. + +"It will be best first," said they, "to assemble all the warriors of our +nation, for these men are well armed. In the mean time let us pretend +friendship, and not provoke an attack until we are strong enough to be +sure of victory." + +The irascible old chief was willing only partially to listen to this +advice. He delayed the conflict, but did not disguise his hostility. De +Soto sent to him a very kindly message declaring that he came in peace, +and wished only for an unmolested march through his country. The cacique +returned an angry reply refusing all courteous intercourse. + +The Spaniards had been but three hours in the village when, to their +surprise, they perceived an army of four thousand warriors, thoroughly +prepared for battle, gathered around the mound upon which was reared the +dwelling of their chief. If so many warriors could be assembled in so +short a time, they feared there must be a large number in reserve who +could soon be drawn in. The Spaniards, in their long marches and many +battles, had dwindled away to less than five hundred men. Four thousand +against five hundred were fearful odds; and yet the number of their foes +might speedily be doubled or even quadrupled. In addition to this, the +plains around the city were exceedingly unfavorable for the movements of +the Spanish army, while they presented great advantages to the +nimble-footed natives; for their region was covered with forests, +sluggish streams, and bogs. + +By great exertions, De Soto succeeded in effecting a sort of compromise. +The cacique consented to allow the Spaniards to remain for six days in +the village to nurse the sick and the wounded. Food was to be furnished +them by the cacique. At the end of six days the Spaniards were to leave, +abstaining entirely from pillage, from injuring the crops, and from all +other acts of violence. + +The cacique and all the inhabitants of the village abandoned the place, +leaving it to the sole occupancy of the Spaniards. April, in that sunny +clime, was mild as genial summer. The natives, with their simple habits, +probably found little inconvenience in encamping in the groves around. +On the last day of his stay, De Soto obtained permission to visit the +cacique. He thanked the chief cordially for his hospitality, and, taking +an affectionate leave, continued his journey into the unknown regions +beyond. + +Ascending the tortuous windings of the river on the eastern bank, the +Spaniards found themselves, for four days, in almost impenetrable +thickets, where there were no signs of inhabitants. At length they came +to quite an opening in the forest. A treeless plain, waving with grass, +spread far and wide around them. The Mississippi River here was about +half a league in width. On the opposite bank large numbers of Indians +were seen, many of them warriors in battle array, while a fleet of +canoes lined the shore. + +De Soto decided, for some unexplained reason, to cross the river at that +point, though it was evident that the Indians had in some way received +tidings of his approach, and were assembled there to dispute his +passage. The natives could easily cross the river in their canoes, but +they would hardly venture to attack the Spaniards upon the open plain, +where there was such a fine opportunity for the charges of their +cavalry. + +Here De Soto encamped for twenty days, while all who could handle tools +were employed in building four large flat-boats for the transportation +of the troops across the stream. On the second day of the encampment +several natives from some tribe disposed to be friendly, on the eastern +side of the river, visited the Spaniards. With very much ceremony of +bowing and semibarbaric parade they approached De Soto and informed him +that they were commissioned by their chief to bid him welcome to his +territory, and to assure him of his friendly services. De Soto, much +gratified by this message, received the envoys with the greatest +kindness, and dismissed them highly pleased with their reception. + +Though this chief sent De Soto repeated messages of kindness, he did not +himself visit the Spanish camp, the alleged reason being--and perhaps +the true one--that he was on a sick-bed. He, however, sent large +numbers of his subjects with supplies of food, and to assist the +Spaniards in drawing the timber to construct their barges. The hostile +Indians on the opposite bank frequently crossed in their canoes, and, +attacking small bands of workmen, showered upon them volleys of arrows, +and fled again to their boats. + +One day the Spaniards, while at work, saw two hundred canoes filled with +natives, in one united squadron, descending the river. It was a +beautiful sight to witness this fleet, crowded with decorated and plumed +warriors, their paddles, ornaments, and burnished weapons flashing in +the sunlight. They came in true military style; several warriors +standing at the bow and stern of each boat, with large shields of +buffalo-hide on their left arms, and with bows and arrows in their +hands. De Soto advanced to the shore to meet them, where he stood +surrounded by his staff. The royal barge containing the chief paddled +within a few rods of the bank. The cacique then rose, and addressed De +Soto in words which, translated by the interpreter, were as follows: "I +am informed that you are the envoy of the most powerful monarch of the +globe. I have come to proffer to you friendship and homage, and to +assure you of my assistance in any way in which I can be of service." + +De Soto thanked him heartily for his offer and entreated him to land, +assuring him that he should meet only with the kindest reception. The +boats immediately returned for another load. Rapidly they passed to and +fro, and the whole army was transported to the western bank of the +Mississippi. The point where De Soto and his army crossed, it is +supposed, was at what is called the lowest Chickasaw Bluff. + +"The river in this place," says the Portuguese narrative, "was a mile +and a half in breadth, so that a man standing still could scarcely be +discerned from the opposite shore. It was of great depth, of wonderful +rapidity, and very turbid, and was always filled with floating trees and +timber carried down by the force of the current." + +The army having all crossed, the boats were broken up, as usual, to +preserve the nails. It would seem that the hostile Indians had all +vanished, for the Spaniards advanced four days in a westerly direction, +through an uninhabited wilderness, encountering no opposition. On the +fifth day they toiled up a heavy swell of land, from whose summit they +discerned, in a valley on the other side, a large village of about four +hundred dwellings. It was situated on the fertile banks of a stream +which is supposed to have been the St. Francis. + +The extended valley, watered by this river, presented a lovely view as +far as the eye could reach, with luxuriant fields of Indian corn and +with groves of fruit and trees. The natives had received some intimation +of the approach of the Spaniards, and in friendly crowds gathered around +them, offering food and the occupancy of their houses. Two of the +highest chieftains subordinate to the cacique soon came, with an +imposing train of warriors, bearing a welcome from their chief and the +offer of his services. + +De Soto received them with the utmost courtesy, and, in the interchange +of these friendly offices, both Spaniards and natives became alike +pleased with each other. The adventurers remained in this village for +six days, finding abundant food for themselves and their horses, and +experiencing, in the friendship and hospitality of the natives, joys +which certainly never were found in the horrors of war. The province was +called by the name of Kaski, and was probably the same as that occupied +by the Kaskaskia Indians. + +Upon commencing anew their march they passed through a populous and +well-cultivated country, where peace, prosperity, and abundance seemed +to reign. In two days, having journeyed about twenty miles up the +western bank of the Mississippi, they approached the chief town of the +province, where the cacique lived. It was situated, as is supposed, in +the region now called Little Prairie, in the extreme southern part of +the State of Missouri, not far from New Madrid. Here they found the +hospitable hands of the cacique and his people extended to greet them. + +The residence of the chief stood upon a broad artificial mound, +sufficiently capacious for twelve or thirteen houses, which were +occupied by his numerous family and attendants. He made De Soto a +present of a rich fur mantle, and invited him, with his suite, to occupy +the royal dwellings for their residence. De Soto politely declined this +offer, as he was unwilling thus to incommode his kind entertainer. He, +however, accepted the accommodation of several houses in the village. +The remainder of the army were lodged in exceedingly pleasant bowers, +skilfully and very expeditiously constructed by the natives of bark and +the green boughs of trees, outside the village. + +It was now the month of May. The weather was intensely hot, and these +rustic bowers were found to be refreshingly cool and grateful. The name +of the friendly chief was Casquin. Here the army remained for three +days, without a ripple of unfriendly feeling arising between the +Spaniards and the natives. + +It was a season of unusual drouth in the country, and, on the fourth day +following, an extraordinary incident occurred. Casquin, accompanied by +quite an imposing retinue of his most distinguished men, came into the +presence of De Soto, and, stepping forward with great solemnity of +manner, said to him: "Senor, as you are superior to us in prowess and +surpass us in arms, we likewise believe that your God is better than our +God. These you behold before you are the chief warriors of my dominions. +We supplicate you to pray to your God to send us rain, for our fields +are parched for the want of water." De Soto, who was a reflective man, +of pensive temperament and devoutly inclined, responded: "We are all +alike sinners, but we will pray to God, the Father of Mercies, to show +his kindness to you." + +He then ordered the carpenter to cut down one of the tallest pine trees +in the vicinity. It was carefully trimmed and formed into a perfect but +gigantic cross. Its dimensions were such that it required the strength +of one hundred men to raise and plant it in the ground. Two days were +employed in this operation. The cross stood upon a bluff on the western +bank of the Mississippi. The next morning after it was reared the whole +Spanish army was called out to celebrate the erection of the cross by a +solemn religious procession. A large number of the natives, with +apparent devoutness, joined in the festival. Casquin and De Soto took +the lead, walking side by side. The Spanish soldiers and the native +warriors, composing a procession of more than a thousand, persons, +walked harmoniously along as brothers to commemorate the erection of +the cross--the symbol of the Christian's faith. + +The cross! It should be the emblem of peace on earth and good-will among +men. Alas! how often has it been the badge of cruelty and crime! + +The priests--for there were several in the army--chanted their Christian +hymns and offered fervent prayers. The Mississippi at this point is not +very broad, and it is said that upon the opposite bank twenty thousand +natives were assembled, watching with intensest interest the imposing +ceremony, and apparently at times taking part in the exercises. When the +priests raised their hands in prayer, they too extended their arms and +raised their eyes, as if imploring the aid of the God of heaven and +earth. + +Occasionally a low moan was heard wafted across the river--a wailing +cry, as if woe-stricken children were imploring the aid of an almighty +father. The spirit of De Soto was deeply moved to tenderness and +sympathy as he witnessed this benighted people paying such homage to the +emblem of man's redemption. After several prayers were offered, the +whole procession, slowly advancing two by two, knelt before the cross, +as if in brief ejaculatory prayer, and kissed it. All then returned with +the same solemnity to the village, the priests chanting the grand +anthem, _Te Deum Laudamus_. + +Thus more than three hundred years ago the cross, significant of the +religion of Jesus, was planted upon the banks of the Mississippi, and +the melody of Christian hymns was wafted across the silent waters and +blended with the sighing of the breeze through the tree-tops. It is sad +to reflect how little of the spirit of that religion has since been +manifested in those realms in man's treatment of his brother-man. + +It is worthy of especial notice that upon the night succeeding this +eventful day clouds gathered, and the long-looked-for rain fell +abundantly. The devout Las Casas writes: "God, in his mercy, willing to +show these heathen that he listeneth to those who call upon him in +truth, sent down in the middle of the ensuing night a plenteous rain, to +the great joy of the Indians." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[52] By permission of the executor of the estate of the late John S. C. +Abbott. + + + + +REVOLUTION OF ASTRONOMY BY COPERNICUS + +A.D. 1543 + +SIR ROBERT STAWELL BALL + + The promulgation of the accepted system of astronomy, called + the Copernican system, which represents the earth as + revolving on its axis and considers the sun as the centre of + motion for the earth and other planets, marked the greatest + of scientific revolutions. + + Copernicus, whose name, thus Latinized, was Koppernigk or + Kopernik, was born at Thorn, Prussia, February 19, 1473, and + died at Frauenburg, Prussia, May 24, 1543. The founder of + modern astronomy was probably of German descent: according + to some authorities his father was a Germanized Slav, his + mother a German; and the honor of producing him is claimed + by both Germany and Poland. + + With equal conciseness and lucidity, in the following pages + the eminent British astronomer furnishes important + particulars concerning the life of Copernicus; and he gives + an account, no less interesting than instructive, of the + evolution of the Copernican astronomy in its founder's mind. + + +Copernicus, the astronomer, whose discoveries make him the great +predecessor of Kepler and Newton, did not come from a noble family, as +certain other early astronomers have done, for his father was a +tradesman. Chroniclers are, however, careful to tell us that one of his +uncles was a bishop. We are not acquainted with any of those details of +his childhood or youth which are often of such interest in other cases +where men have risen to exalted fame. It would appear that the young +Nicolaus, for such was his Christian name, received his education at +home until such time as he was deemed sufficiently advanced to be sent +to the University at Cracow. The education that he there obtained must +have been in those days of very primitive description, but Copernicus +seems to have availed himself of it to the utmost. He devoted himself +more particularly to the study of medicine, with the view of adopting +its practice as the profession of his life. The tendencies of the future +astronomer were, however, revealed in the fact that he worked hard at +mathematics, and for him, as for one of his illustrious successors, +Galileo, the practice of the art of painting had a very great interest, +and in it he obtained some measure of success. + +By the time he was twenty-seven years old, it would seem that Copernicus +had given up the notion of becoming a medical practitioner, and had +resolved to devote himself to science. He was engaged in teaching +mathematics, and appears to have acquired some reputation. His growing +fame attracted the notice of his uncle the Bishop, at whose suggestion +Copernicus took holy orders, and he was presently appointed to a canonry +in the Cathedral of Frauenburg, near the mouth of the Vistula. + +To Frauenburg, accordingly, this man of varied gifts retired. Possessing +somewhat of the ascetic spirit, he resolved to devote his life to work +of the most serious description. He eschewed all ordinary society, +restricting his intimacies to very grave and learned companions, and +refusing to engage in conversation of any useless kind. It would seem as +if his gifts for painting were condemned as frivolous; at all events, we +do not learn that he continued to practise them. In addition to the +discharge of his theological duties, his life was occupied partly in +ministering medically to the wants of the poor, and partly with his +researches in astronomy and mathematics. His equipment in the matter of +instruments for the study of the heavens seems to have been of a very +meagre description. He arranged apertures in the walls of his house at +Allenstein, so that he could observe in some fashion the passage of the +stars across the meridian. That he possessed some talent for practical +mechanics is proved by his construction of a contrivance for raising +water from a stream, for the use of the inhabitants of Frauenburg. +Relics of this machine are still to be seen. + +The intellectual slumber of the Middle Ages was destined to be awakened +by the revolutionary doctrines of Copernicus. It may be noted, as an +interesting circumstance, that the time at which he discovered the +scheme of the solar system coincided with a remarkable epoch in the +world's history. The great astronomer had just reached manhood at the +time when Columbus discovered the New World. + +Before the publication of the researches of Copernicus, the orthodox +scientific creed averred that the earth was stationary, and that the +apparent movements of the heavenly bodies were real movements. Ptolemy +had laid down this doctrine fourteen hundred years before. In his theory +this huge error was associated with so much important truth, and the +whole presented such a coherent scheme for the explanation of the +heavenly movements, that the Ptolemaic theory was not seriously +questioned until the great work of Copernicus appeared. No doubt others +before Copernicus had from time to time in some vague fashion surmised, +with more or less plausibility, that the sun, and not the earth, was the +centre about which the system really revolved. It is, however, one thing +to state a scientific fact; it is quite another thing to be in +possession of the train of reasoning, founded on observation or +experiment, by which that fact may be established. Pythagoras, it +appears, had indeed told his disciples that it was the sun, and not the +earth, which was the centre of movement, but it does not seem at all +certain that Pythagoras had any grounds which science could recognize +for the belief which is attributed to him. So far as information is +available to us, it would seem that Pythagoras associated his scheme of +things celestial with a number of preposterous notions in natural +philosophy. He may certainly have made a correct statement as to which +was the most important body in the solar system, but he certainly did +not provide any rational demonstration of the fact. Copernicus, by a +strict train of reasoning, convinced those who would listen to him that +the sun was the centre of the system. It is useful for us to consider +the arguments which he urged and by which he effected that intellectual +revolution which is always connected with his name. + +The first of the great discoveries which Copernicus made relates to the +rotation of the earth on its axis. That general diurnal movement, by +which the stars and all other celestial bodies appear to be carried +completely round the heavens once every twenty-four hours, had been +accounted for by Ptolemy on the supposition that the apparent movements +were the real movements. Ptolemy himself felt the extraordinary +difficulty involved in the supposition that so stupendous a fabric as +the celestial sphere should spin in the way supposed. Such movements +required that many of the stars should travel with almost inconceivable +velocity. Copernicus also saw that the daily rising and setting of the +heavenly bodies could be accounted for either by the supposition that +the celestial sphere moved round and that the earth remained at rest, or +by the supposition that the celestial sphere was at rest while the earth +turned round in the opposite direction. He weighed the arguments on both +sides as Ptolemy had done, and as the result of his deliberation +Copernicus came to an opposite conclusion from Ptolemy. To Copernicus it +appeared that the difficulties attending the supposition that the +celestial sphere revolved were vastly greater than those which appeared +so weighty to Ptolemy as to force him to deny the earth's rotation. + +Copernicus shows clearly how the observed phenomena could be accounted +for just as completely by a rotation of the earth as by a rotation of +the heavens. He alludes to the fact that, to those on board a vessel +which is moving through smooth water, the vessel itself appears to be at +rest, while the objects on shore appear to be moving past. If, +therefore, the earth were rotating uniformly, we dwellers upon the +earth, oblivious of our own movement, would wrongly attribute to the +stars the displacement which was actually the consequence of our own +motion. + +Copernicus saw the futility of the arguments by which Ptolemy had +endeavored to demonstrate that a revolution of the earth was impossible. +It was plain to him that there was nothing whatever to warrant refusal +to believe in the rotation of the earth. In his clear-sightedness on +this matter we have specially to admire the sagacity of Copernicus as a +natural philosopher. It had been urged that, if the earth moved round, +its motion would not be imparted to the air, and that therefore the +earth would be uninhabitable by the terrific winds which would be the +result of our being carried through the air. Copernicus convinced +himself that this deduction was preposterous. He proved that the air +must accompany the earth, just as one's coat remains round him, +notwithstanding the fact that he is walking down the street. In this way +he was able to show that all _a priori_ objections to the earth's +movements were absurd, and therefore he was able to compare together the +plausibilities of the two rival schemes for explaining the diurnal +movement. + +Once the issue had been placed in this form, the result could not be +long in doubt. Here is the question: Which is it more likely--that the +earth, like a grain of sand at the centre of a mighty globe, should turn +round once in twenty-four hours, or that the whole of that vast globe +should complete a rotation in the opposite direction in the same time? +Obviously, the former is far the more simple supposition. But the case +is really much stronger than this. Ptolemy had supposed that all the +stars were attached to the surface of a sphere. He had no ground +whatever for this supposition, except that otherwise it would have been +wellnigh impossible to devise a scheme by which the rotation of the +heavens around a fixed earth could have been arranged. Copernicus, +however, with the just instinct of a philosopher, considered that the +celestial sphere, however convenient, from a geometrical point of view, +as a means of representing apparent phenomena, could not actually have a +material existence. In the first place, the existence of a material +celestial sphere would require that all the myriad stars should be at +exactly the same distances from the earth. Of course, no one will say +that this or any other arbitrary disposition of the stars is actually +impossible; but as there was no conceivable physical reason why the +distances of all the stars from the earth should be identical, it seemed +in the very highest degree improbable that the stars should be so +placed. + +Doubtless, also, Copernicus felt a considerable difficulty as to the +nature of the materials from which Ptolemy's wonderful sphere was to be +constructed. Nor could a philosopher of his penetration have failed to +observe that, unless that sphere were infinitely large, there must have +been space outside it, a consideration which would open up other +difficult questions. Whether infinite or not, it was obvious that the +celestial sphere must have a diameter at least many thousands of times +as great as that of the earth. From these considerations Copernicus +deduced the important fact that the stars and other important celestial +bodies must all be vast objects. He was thus enabled to put the question +in such a form that it would hardly receive any answer but the correct +one: Which is it more rational to suppose, that the earth should turn +round on its axis once in twenty-four hours, or that thousands of mighty +stars should circle round the earth in the same time, many of them +having to describe circles many thousands of times greater in +circumference than the circuit of the earth at the equator? The obvious +answer pressed upon Copernicus with so much force that he was compelled +to reject Ptolemy's theory of the stationary earth, and to attribute the +diurnal rotation of the heavens to the revolution of the earth on its +axis. + +Once this tremendous step had been taken, the great difficulties which +beset the monstrous conception of the celestial sphere vanished, for the +stars need no longer be regarded as situated at equal distances from the +earth. Copernicus saw that they might lie at the most varied degrees of +remoteness, some being hundreds or thousands of times farther away than +others. The complicated structure of the celestial sphere as a material +object disappeared altogether; it remained only as a geometrical +conception, whereon we find it convenient to indicate the places of the +stars. Once the Copernican doctrine had been fully set forth, it was +impossible for anyone, who had both the inclination and the capacity to +understand it, to withhold acceptance of its truth. The doctrine of a +stationary earth had gone forever. + +Copernicus having established a theory of the celestial movements which +deliberately set aside the stability of the earth, it seemed natural +that he should inquire whether the doctrine of a moving earth might not +remove the difficulties presented in other celestial phenomena. It had +been universally admitted that the earth lay unsupported in space. +Copernicus had further shown that it possessed a movement of rotation. +Its want of stability being thus recognized, it seemed reasonable to +suppose that the earth might also have some other kinds of movements as +well. In this, Copernicus essayed to solve a problem far more difficult +than that which hitherto occupied his attention. It was a comparatively +easy task to show how the diurnal rising and setting could be accounted +for by the rotation of the earth. It was a much more difficult +undertaking to demonstrate that the planetary movements, which Ptolemy +had represented with so much success, could be completely explained by +the supposition that each of these planets revolved uniformly round the +sun, and that the earth was also a planet, accomplishing a complete +circuit of the sun once in the course of a year. + +It would be impossible, in a sketch like the present, to enter into any +detail as to the geometrical propositions on which this beautiful +investigation of Copernicus depended. We can only mention a few of the +leading principles. It may be laid down in general that, if an observer +is in movement, he will, if unconscious of the fact, attribute to the +fixed objects around him a movement equal and opposite to that which he +actually possesses. A passenger on a canal-boat sees the objects on the +banks apparently moving backward with a speed equal to that by which he +himself is advancing forward. By an application of this principle, we +can account for all the phenomena of the movements of the planets, which +Ptolemy had so ingeniously represented by his circles. Let us take, for +instance, the most characteristic feature in the irregularities of the +outer planets. Mars, though generally advancing from west to east among +the stars, occasionally pauses, retraces his steps for a while, again +pauses, and then resumes his ordinary onward progress. Copernicus showed +clearly how this effect was produced by the real motion of the earth, +combined with the real motion of Mars. When the earth comes directly +between Mars and the sun, the retrograde movement of Mars is at its +highest. Mars and the earth are then advancing in the same direction. +We, on the earth, however, being unconscious of our own motion, +attribute, by the principle I have already explained, an equal and +opposite motion to Mars. The visible effect upon the planet is that Mars +has two movements, a real onward movement in one direction, and an +apparent movement in the opposite direction. If it so happened that the +earth was moving with the same speed as Mars, then the apparent movement +would exactly neutralize the real movement, and Mars would seem to be at +rest relatively to the surrounding stars. Under the actual circumstances +considered, however, the earth is moving faster than Mars, and the +consequence is that the apparent movement of the planet backward exceeds +the real movement forward, the net result being an apparent retrograde +movement. + +With consummate skill, Copernicus showed how the applications of the +same principles could account for the characteristic movements of the +planets. His reasoning in due time bore down all opposition. The supreme +importance of the earth in the system vanished. It had now merely to +take rank as one of the planets. + +The same great astronomer now, for the first time, rendered something +like a rational account of the changes of the seasons. Nor did certain +of the more obscure astronomical phenomena escape his attention. + +He delayed publishing his wonderful discoveries to the world until he +was quite an old man. He had a well-founded apprehension of the storm of +opposition which they would arouse. However, he yielded at last to the +entreaties of his friends, and his book[53] was sent to the press. But +ere it made its appearance to the world, Copernicus was seized with +mortal illness. A copy of the book was brought to him on May 23, 1543. +We are told that he was able to see it and to touch it, but no more; and +he died a few hours afterward. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[53] _De Orbium Coelestium Revolutionibus._ + + + + +COUNCIL OF TRENT AND THE COUNTER-REFORMATION + +A.D. 1545 + +ADOLPHUS W. WARD + + An important phase of history in the sixteenth century is + summarized by Macaulay when he says that "the Church of + Rome, having lost a large part of Europe, not only ceased to + lose, but actually regained nearly half of what she had + lost." Macaulay is speaking of what is known as the + "Counter-reformation," a reaction against the Protestant + movement, which was rapidly spreading in Europe. By the + Counter-reformation not only were the Roman Catholic losses + largely recovered, but an increased zeal for the + regeneration of the Church of Rome became fruitful of + results. + + The reformation of the Church from within had been often + attempted by the ecclesiastical leaders. Several "reforming + councils" had been held, but the desired object had not been + accomplished. During the pontificate of Paul III (1534-1549) + the movement for regenerating the Church, as well as for + opposing the progress of Protestantism, was effectually + inaugurated. At the Council of Trent the new policy was + definitely set forth. + + A general council had long been demanded by the Germans. + Even many of the leading Italians had come to desire it. + Charles V, who had his own reasons for temporizing with the + Protestants, had urged it year after year. Much as the + domination of the Emperor might be feared in such an + assembly, Paul at length decided to comply. Twice he ordered + the assembling of a council (1536 and 1538), but the + distracted state of Europe caused postponement. Meanwhile, + owing to the continued progress of the Protestants, Paul and + Charles came to an agreement that another summons should be + issued. A few prelates were gathered at Trent in 1542, but, + owing to the Emperor's war with France and the Turks, the + Pope next year dispersed them. + + Finally a papal bull summoned all the bishops of Christendom + to Trent for March 15, 1545. The Pope showed much sagacity + in calling this council at the moment when Charles and his + inveterate enemy, Francis I, were concerting the suppression + of the Protestants. + + +On December 13, 1545, three legates appointed by the Pope held their +public entry into Trent, and the council was formally opened. Paul III's +continued desire to conciliate the Emperor was shown by his adherence to +Trent as the locality of the council, when the legates again urged the +choice of a town on Italian soil. Yet the very Bishop of Trent, Cardinal +Madruccio, was a prince of the Empire, and by descent attached to the +house of Austria, whose interests he consistently represented during the +first series of sessions. The papal legates, with whose control over the +council the Emperor at the outset showed no intention of interfering, +typified the different elements in the ecclesiastical policy of Paul +III. The presiding legate, Cardinal del Monte--afterward Pope Julius +III--while notable neither for religious zeal nor for wise self-control, +was a thoroughgoing supporter of the interests of the Curia. Cardinal +Cervino, afterward Pope Marcellus II, a prelate of blameless life, was +animated by those ideas of ecclesiastical reform of which Pope Paul had +encouraged the open expression; but he was more especially eager for the +extirpation of heresy, and not over-scrupulous in the choice of means +for reaching his ends. Lastly, Cardinal Pole's[54] presence at Trent, in +which some have seen a mere papal ruse, must have surrounded the early +proceedings of the council with a hopeful glamour in the eyes of those +who, like himself, expected from it the reunion as well as the +reinvigoration of Western Christendom. + +Nothing, as had probably been foreseen at Rome, could have better +facilitated the immediate establishment of the ascendency in the council +of the papal policy than the composition of its opening meeting. Of the +thirty-four ecclesiastics present, only five were Spanish and two French +bishops, and no German bishop had crossed the Alps. Nor had any secular +power except the Emperor and King Ferdinand sent their ambassadors. The +business machinery of the council, which the legates lost no time in +getting into order, was altogether in favor of their influence as +managers. Learned doctors, without being, as in former councils, allowed +to take part in the debates, prepared the work of the three committees +or congregations, who in their turn brought it up for discussion to the +general congregations. + +The sessions in which the decrees thus prepared were actually passed +had a purely formal character, but before they were successively held +opportunity enough was given for manipulation and delay. The voting in +the council was by heads, instead of by nations, as at Constance and +Basel; and care was taken to refresh by occasional additions the working +majority of Italian bishops, mostly, in comparison with the +"ultramontane" prelates, holders of petty sees. Some of these are even +stated to have bound themselves by a sworn engagement to uphold the +interests of the holy see, though by no means all of the Italian bishops +were servile Curialists; witness those of Chioggia and of Fiesole. The +council in its second session (January 7, 1546) waived the form of title +by which previous councils had implicitly declared their representative +authority paramount. On the other hand, it boded well for the cause of +reform that, by an early resolution, virtually all abbots and members of +the monastic orders except five generals were excluded. + +Clearly, episcopal interest was resolved upon asserting itself. So long, +however, as the German bishops were detained in their dioceses by the +duty of repressing heresy there, while the great body of the French were +kept away by the vigilant jealousy of their government, the episcopal +interest and the episcopal principle were mainly represented in the +council by the Spanish prelates, the loyal subjects of Charles. Their +leader was Pacheco, Cardinal of Jaen. With him came eminent theological +professors, who in the early period of the council at least were without +rivals--Dominico de Soto, whom Queen Mary afterward placed in Peter +Martyr's chair at Oxford, and Bartolomeo Carranza, afterward primate of +all Spain and for many years a prisoner of the Inquisition. Through the +Emperor's ambassador, the accomplished and indefatigable but not +invariably discreet Mendoza, the Spanish bishops were carefully apprised +of the wishes of their sovereign. + +The crucial question as to the order in which the council should debate +the two divisions of subjects which it had met to settle had to be +decided at once; and the compromise arrived at showed both the strength +of the minority and the unwillingness of the leaders of the majority, +the presiding legates, to push matters to an extreme. Their instructions +from the Pope were to give the declaration of dogma the preference over +the announcement of disciplinary reforms; for it seemed to him of +primary necessity to draw, while there was time, a clear line of +demarcation between the Church and heresy; and for this, as he correctly +judged, the assistance of the council was absolutely indispensable. The +Emperor, on the other hand, was still unwilling to shut the door +completely against the Protestants, while both he and the episcopal +party at the council were eager for that reformation of the life and +government of the Church which seemed to them her most crying need. + +Ultimately it was agreed that the declaration of dogma and the +reformation of abuses should be treated _pari passu_, the decrees +formulated in each case being from time to time announced +simultaneously. Taking into account the subsequent history of the +council, one can hardly deny that this arrangement saved the work of the +assembly from being left half done. Nor was the progress made in the +period ending with the eighth session of the council (March 11, 1547), +intrigues and quarrels notwithstanding, by any means trifling. On the +doctrinal side, the foundations of the faith were in the first instance +examined, and the whole character of the doctrinal decrees of the +council was in point of fact determined, when the authority of the +tradition of the Church, including of course the decrees of her +ecumenical councils, was acknowledged by the side of that of Scripture. +Little to the credit of the council's capacity for taking pains, the +authenticity of the Vulgate was proclaimed, a pious wish being added +that it should be henceforth printed as correctly as possible. At first, +Pope Paul III hesitated about giving his assent to these decrees, which +had been passed before receiving his approval, and showed some anxiety +to prevent a similar course being taken in the matter of discipline by +publishing a regulatory bull on his own authority. But on being more +fully advised by the legates of the nature of the situation, he +consented to allow the debates to proceed, provided always that the +decrees should be submitted to him before publication. + +During the next months (April to June, 1546) the work of the council was +accordingly vigorously continued in both its branches. In that of +discipline, the episcopal and the monastic interests at once came into +conflict on the subject of the license for preaching; and still more +excitement was aroused by the question of episcopal residence, which +brought into conflict the highest purposes of the episcopal office and +the selfish profits of the Roman Curia. The discussions on preaching +ended with a reasonable compromise, monks being henceforth prohibited +from preaching without the bishop's license in any churches but those of +their own order. The question of residence was by the Pope's wish +adjourned. + +Thus the council, now augmented by Swiss and many other bishops, while +all the chief Catholic powers except Poland were represented by +ambassadors, could venture to approach those questions of dogma which +the Emperor would gladly have seen postponed, so long as he was still +pausing on the brink of his conflict with the German Protestants. The +Pope, on the contrary, while ostentatiously displaying on the frontier +the auxiliary forces which he had promised to the Emperor, was eager to +proclaim through the council as distinctly as possible the solid unity +of the orthodox Church. The doctrine concerning original sin having been +promulgated in the teeth of imperial opposition, the legates pressed for +the issue of the decree concerning justification. In the midst of the +debates the Smalkaldic War broke out (July, 1546). + +For a time it seemed as if at Trent, too, the opposing interests would +have proved irreconcilable. Pole, as the justification decree began to +shape itself, had, "for reasons of health," withdrawn to Padua; +Madruccio and Del Monte exchanged personal insults; Pacheco accused the +legates of gross chicanery, and they in their turn threatened a removal +of the council to an Italian city, where, in accordance with what they +knew to be the papal wish, the council might deliberate without being +either overawed by the Emperor or menaced by his Protestant adversaries. +Soon, however, the case was altered by the manifest collapse of the +latter, notwithstanding their expectations of support from England, +Denmark, and France, long before their final catastrophe in the battle +of Muhlberg, April 24, 1547. The Emperor would not hear of the removal +of the council to Lucca, Ferrara, or any other Italian town, and in +consequence the plan of campaign at Trent was modified, in order at all +events to make the breach with the Protestants impassable. The debates +on justification were eagerly pushed on, and, after some further trials +of _finesse_, the decree on the subject which anathematized the +fundamental doctrines of the Lutheran Reformation was passed in the +sixth session of the council, January 13, 1547. + +On the other hand, the decree on residence was again postponed, and a +very high tone was taken toward the prelates absent from the +council--the Germans being, of course, those principally glanced at. In +the next session (March 5th) decrees followed asserting the orthodox +doctrine of the Church concerning the sacraments, and baptism and +confirmation in particular, and with these was at last issued the decree +concerning residence. It avoided pronouncing on the view which had been +so ardently advocated by the Spanish bishops and argued by the pen of +Archbishop Carranza, that the duty of residence was imposed by divine +law, and it took care to safeguard the dispensing authority of the Roman +see. Yet, though at times evaded or overridden, the prohibition of +pluralism contained in this decree, together with certain other +provisions for the _bona-fide_ execution of bishops' functions, has +indisputably proved most advantageous to the vigor and vitality of the +episcopacy of the Church of Rome. + +Paul III's attitude toward the Emperor had meanwhile grown more and more +suspicious. Partly they had become antagonists on the great question of +Church reorganization; partly the Emperor was becoming disposed to +thwart the dynastic policy of the Farnese; partly, again, the Pope now +thought himself able to fall back on the alliance of France. In January +Paul III recalled the auxiliaries and stopped the subsidies which he had +furnished to Charles V; and in March Henry II succeeded to the French +throne, whose intrigues with the German Protestants, though leaving +unaffected his fanatical rigor against his own heretics at home, seemed +likely to break the current of imperial success. Thus at Trent the +struggle against the Spanish bishops acquired an intense significance; +and in the eighth session, March 11th, the legates at last made use of +the power intrusted to them, it was said, eighteen months before, and +carried, against the votes of Spain, the removal of the council to +Bologna, on the plea of an outbreak of the plague at Trent. By the +Emperor's desire, the Spanish bishops, plague or no plague, remained in +the city. + +"The obstinate old man," said Charles, "would end by ruining the +Church;" and sanguine Protestants might dream of a renewal of the +situation of 1526-1527. The progress of events widened the breach +between the Emperor and the Pope. After Muhlberg Charles V seemed +irresistible, and, as he would hear of no solution but a return of the +council to Trent, there seemed no choice between submission and +defiance. Gradually, however, it became clear that he had no wish again +to drive things to extremes, and least of all to provoke anything of the +nature of a schism. Moreover, France, where the Guises were now in the +ascendant, was becoming more hostile to him; and the murder of the +Pope's son at Piacenza, followed by the occupation of that city by +Spanish troops, September, 1547, nearly brought about the conclusion of +a Franco-Italian league against Charles. But though French bishops +arrived at Bologna, their attitude there was by no means acceptable to +the Pope, and Henry II had no real intention of making war upon the +Emperor. Thus the latter thought himself able to take into his own hands +the settlement of the religious difficulty. + +In the midst of further disappointments and of fresh designs, the +immediate purposes of which are not altogether clear, Pope Paul III +died, November 15, 1549. That the most generous of the aspirations which +had under his reign first found full opportunity for asserting +themselves had survived his manoeuvring, was shown by the favorable +reception, both outside and inside the conclave, of the proposal that +Reginald Pole should be his successor. But Pole refused to be elected by +the impulsive method of adoration, and in the end the Farnese[55] +interest, supported by the French, prevailed, and Cardinal del Monte was +chosen. + +The papal government of Julius III (1550 to 1555) showed hardly more of +temperate wisdom than had marked his conduct of the presidency at Trent; +but he had the courage at the very outset to decide upon the safest +course. After a few conditions, most of them quite in the spirit of the +imperial policy, had been proposed and accepted, the bull summoning the +council to Trent for the following spring was issued without further ado +(November). + +Yet even before the council actually reopened, _i.e._, May 1, 1551, it +had become evident that the papal view of its purposes remained as +widely divergent from the Imperial as in the days of Paul III. The +nomination of Cardinal Crescentio, a Roman by birth, as president of the +council, with two Italian prelates, Pighino of Siponto and Lippomano of +Verona, by his side, was in itself ominous; and the German Protestants, +upon whom the Emperor pressed safe-conducts at Augsburg (1551), +perceived the papal intention of treating the council as a mere +continuation of that which had previously sat at Trent. Still, several +of them, as well as the Catholic electors, finally promised to attend. +On the other hand, Henry II of France prohibited the appearance of a +single French prelate, and began to talk of a Gallican council. Thus the +brief series of sessions held at Trent from May, 1551, to April, 1552, +proved in the main, though not altogether, barren of results. Unless the +assembled fathers were prepared to reconsider the decrees already +passed, and to force the assent of the Pope to a religious policy of +quite unprecedented breadth, another deadlock was at hand; and already, +in the early months of 1552, the council, this time with the manifest +connivance of Rome, began to thin. When, in April, Maurice of Saxony, +now the ally of France, approached the southern frontier of the Empire, +the Pope, whose own French war had taken a disastrous turn, had reason +enough for shunning further cooperation with the Emperor. The council +dwindled apace in spite of the efforts of Charles V, who had never +ceased to believe in his schemes. Finally, however, he could not prevent +the remnants of the council from passing a decree suspending its +sessions for two years, which was opposed by not more than a dozen loyal +Spanish votes, April 28, 1552. + +Charles V's resignation of his thrones (1554-1556) resulted, though far +from being so intended, in a confession of his failure. While it was in +progress, Julius III died (March 23, 1555), leaving behind him scant +evidence to support the rumor of his having indulged, at all events in +the last period of his reign, in ideas of church reformation. But the +choice of his successor, Marcellus II (April-May, 1555), shows that +these ideas were not yet extinct in the sacred college, notwithstanding +the simultaneous creation by Julius III of fourteen cardinals; for +Cervino had always been reckoned a member, though a moderate one, of the +reforming party. Far greater, however, was the significance attaching to +the election of the Pope who speedily took the place of Marcellus. + +The pontificate of Paul IV (Gian Pietro Caraffa, May, 1555-August, 1559) +forms one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of the +Counter-reformation, which in him seemed under both its aspects to have +secured the mastery of the Church. God's will alone, he was convinced, +had placed him where he stood; for he was unconscious of having achieved +anything through the favor of man. He was now seventy-nine years of age, +but he had never been more eager to devote himself to his chosen +purpose--the establishment in the eyes of all peoples of a pure and +spiritually active church, free from all impediments of corruptions and +abuses, and purged of all poison of heresy and schism. + +Fully aware--though he had belonged to it himself--of the virtual +failure of Paul III's commission of reform, Paul IV, in his first bull, +solemnly promised an effectual reform of the Church and the Roman Curia, +and lost no time in instituting a congregation for the purpose. The +commission, which consisted of three divisions, each of them composed +jointly of cardinals, bishops, and doctors, wisely addressed itself in +the first instance to the question of ecclesiastical appointments. The +new Pope likewise issued orders for the specific reform of monastic +establishments, and his energy seemed to stand in striking contrast with +the hesitations and delays of the recently suspended council. + +But once more the seductions of the temporal power overcame its holder. +Caraffa's residence in Spain, and enthusiasm for the religious ideals +and methods prevalent there, had not eradicated the bitterly +anti-Spanish feeling inborn in him as a Neapolitan, and Charles V, +returning hatred for hatred, had done his utmost to offend the dignity +and damage the interests of the Cardinal. To these personal and +national sentiments had been added the conviction that the Emperor's +dealings with the German Protestants had encouraged them to deal a +deadly blow to the unity and strength of the Church; and thus Paul IV +allowed himself to be borne away by passion. His fiery temperament, +fretted rather than soothed by old age, left him and those around him no +peace; he maltreated the imperialist cardinals and the dependents of the +Emperor within his reach, and sought to instigate the French government +to take up arms once more. + +Of a sudden, as if in another gust of passion, he made a clean sweep of +the obstacles which his own perversity had placed in his path, and then +took up in terrible earnest the work of church reform. He would allow no +appointment savoring of corruption to any spiritual office; he would +hear of no exception to the duty of residence; he completely abolished +dispensations for marriages within prohibited degrees. Into the general +management of the churches of the city, as well as into that of his own +papal court, he introduced so strict a discipline that Rome was likened +to a well-conducted monastery. But the agency which above all others he +encouraged was that which his own advice had established in the centre +of the Catholic world--the Inquisition. From the sacred college +downward, no sphere of life was exempted from its control; and his +intolerance extended itself to the very Jews whose privileges in the +papal states he ruthlessly revoked. On his death-bed he recommended the +Inquisition with the holy see itself to the pious cardinals surrounding +him. It was afterward observed that many reforms decreed in its third +period by the Council of Trent were copied from the ordinances issued by +Paul IV in this memorable _biennium_. But inasmuch as during his +pontificate the Church of Rome had lost ground in almost every country +of Europe except Italy and Spain, his death (August 18, 1559) naturally +brought with it a widespread renewal of the demand for remedies more +effective than those supplied by his feverish activity and by the +operations of his favorite institution. + +Personally, Pius IV (1559-1566) was regarded, and probably chosen, as an +opponent of the late Pope; his family history inclined him to the +Imperial interest, and he was understood to favor concessions to +Germany with a view of bringing her stray sheep back into the fold. But +in general he furthered rather than arrested the religious reaction. +Above all, the Inquisition, though he is not known to have done anything +to intensify its rigor or augment its authority, went on as before. +Carlo Borromeo,[56] the nephew of Pius IV, served the holy see in a +spirit of unselfish devotion, and began those efforts on behalf of +religion which in the end obtained for him a place among the saints of +the Church--a position not reached by many popes' nephews. With the aid +of this influence, Pius IV came to perceive that the future, both of the +Church and of the papacy, depended on the spirit of confidence and +cohesion which could be infused into the former; nor had he from the +very outset of his pontificate ever doubted the expediency of +reassembling the council at Trent. + +The emperor Ferdinand and the French Government, who persisted in +treating the reunion of the Church as the primary object of the council, +at first strongly urged the substitution for Trent of a genuinely German +or French town, where the German bishops, and perhaps even the +Protestants, would feel no scruple about attending. But a totally free +and _new_ council of this description lay outside the horizon of the +papacy; and Pius IV might have let fall the plan altogether but for the +fear of the entire separation in that event of the Gallican Church from +Rome. In France, Protestantism had made considerable strides during the +reign of Henry II (1547-1559). About six weeks before the death of Henry +the first national synod of Protestants was held at Paris (May, 1559). +Under Francis II the Guise influence became paramount, and the +persecution of the Protestants continued. But though the suppression, +just before this, of the so-called conspiracy of Amboise had temporarily +added to the power of the Guises, it had also made the Queen-mother, +Catherine de' Medici, resolve not to let the power of the state pass +wholly out of her hands. Hence the appointment of the large-hearted +L'Hopital as chancellor, and the assembly of notables at Fontainebleau +(August), where the grievances against Rome found full expression, and +where arrangements were made for a meeting of the States-general and a +national council of the French Church. This resolution determined Pius +IV to lose no further time. On November 29, 1560, he issued a bull +summoning all the prelates and princes of Christendom to Trent for the +following Easter. The invitation included both Eastern schismatics and +Western heretics, Elizabeth of England among the rest; but neither she +nor the German Protestant princes assembled at Naumburg, nor the kings +of the Scandinavian North, would so much as receive the papal summons. +In France the death of Francis II (December 5, 1560) further depressed +the Guise influence; and Catherine entered into negotiations with the +Pope with a view to concessions such as would satisfy the Huguenots +while approved by the French bishops. The "Edict of January" (1562), +which followed, long remained a sort of standard of fair concessions to +the Huguenots. + +The first deliberations of the reassembled council were barren. The +question which really came home to the fathers of the Church assembled +at Trent presented itself again when the sacrament of orders had in due +course to be debated. The imperial and French ambassadors still +cooperated as actively as ever, and the episcopal party, the Spanish +prelates in particular, entered upon the struggle with a full sense of +its critical importance. If the right divine of episcopacy could be +declared, with it would be established the divine obligation of +residence. Pius IV accordingly showed considerable shrewdness in +instructing the legates at once to formulate a decree on residence, +which, while leaving the question of divine obligation open, imposed +penalties on nonresidence--except for lawful reasons--sufficient to meet +practical requirements. But though such a decree was passed by the +council, the debates on the origin of the episcopal office, which +involved nothing less than the origin and nature of the papal supremacy, +continued (November); and the critical nature of the discussion was the +more apparent when in the midst of it there at last arrived nearly a +score of French bishops, headed by the Cardinal of Lorraine. Hitherto +France had been represented at the council by spokesmen of the French +court and of the Parliament of Paris; now the foremost among the +prelates of the monarchy, whose abilities, however, unfortunately fell +far short of his pretensions, announced in full conciliar assembly the +demands of his branch of the Church. The recent January edict proved the +strength of the Huguenots in France; and though the Cardinal's first +speech at Trent breathed nothing but condemnation of these heretics, it +suited him to pose as the advocate of as extensive a series of reforms +as had yet been urged upon the council. + +Further additions were made in the "libel," which was shortly afterward +(January, 1563) presented by the French ambassador, and perfect harmony +existed between the French and the imperial policy at the council. What +decision, then, was to be expected on the crucial question as to the +relations between papal and episcopal authority? How could a recognition +of the Pope's claim to be regarded as _rector universalis ecclesiae_ be +expected from such a union of the ultramontane forces? The current was +not likely to be stopped by the papal court, which about this time Pius +IV announced on his own account at Rome; it seemed on the point of +rising higher than ever when (February, 1563) the Cardinal of Lorraine +and some other prelates waited upon the Emperor at Innsbruck. In truth, +however, a turning-point in the history of the council was close at +hand. The Cardinal of Lorraine had left Trent for Innsbruck with threats +of a Gallican synod on his lips. Ferdinand I had arrived there very +wroth with the council, and had received the Bishop of Zante +(Commendone), whom the legates sent to deprecate his vexation, with +marked coolness. The remedies proposed to the Emperor by the Cardinal +were drastic enough; the council was to be swamped by French, German, +and Spanish bishops, and the Emperor, by repairing to Trent in person, +was to awe the assembly into discussing the desired reforms, whether +with or without the approval of the legates. But Ferdinand I, by nature +moderate in action, and taught by the example of his brother, Charles V, +the danger of violent courses, preferred to resort to a series of direct +and by no means tame appeals to the Pope. The latter, indisposed as he +was to support a fresh proposition for the removal of the council to +some German town, urged by France, but resisted by Spain, which at the +same time persistently opposed the concession of the cup demanded by +both France and the Emperor, saw his opportunity for taking his +adversaries singly. The deaths about this time (March, 1563) of the +presiding legate, Cardinal Gonzaga, and of his colleague Cardinal +Seripando, both of whom had occasionally shown themselves inclined to +yield to the reforming party, were likewise in his favor. Their places +were filled by Cardinals Morone, formerly a prisoner indicted by the +Inquisition, now an eager champion of papal claims, and Navagero, a +Venetian by birth, but not in his political sentiments. Morone, though +he had left Rome almost despairing of any favorable issue of the +council, at once began to negotiate with the Emperor through the Jesuit +Canisius. The leverage employed may, in addition to the distrust between +Ferdinand and his Spanish nephew, and the ancient jealousy between +Austria and France, have included some reference to the heterodox +opinions and the consequently doubtful prospects of the Emperor's eldest +son, Maximilian. + +In a word, the papal government about this time formed and carried out a +definite plan for inducing the Emperor to abandon his conciliar policy. +The consideration offered for his assenting to a speedy termination of +the council was the promise that, so soon as that event should have +taken place, the desired concession of the cup should be made to his +subjects. Ferdinand I, without becoming a thoroughgoing partisan of the +papal policy, accepted the bargain as seemingly the shortest road to the +end which, for the sake of the peace of the empire, he had at heart. +Thus, notwithstanding the continued opposition of the French bishops, +the decrees concerning the episcopate began to shape themselves more +easily, and the Pope of his own accord submitted to the council certain +canons of a stringent kind reforming in a similar way the discipline of +the cardinalate (June). And when, in the course of a violent quarrel +about precedence between the kings of France and Spain, the latter, +enraged at his demands not being enforced by the Pope, had threatened, +by insisting on the admission of Protestants to the council, +indefinitely to prolong it, the Emperor intervened against the proposal. +But the conflict between the papal and the episcopal authority seemed +still incapable of solution, and, though Lainez audaciously demanded +the reference of all questions of reform to the sole decision of the +Pope, and denounced the opposition of the French bishops as proceeding +from members of a schismatic church, this opposition steadily continued +in conjunction with that of the Spaniards, and still found a leader in +the Cardinal of Lorraine. + +Yet at this very time a change began to be perceptible in the conduct of +this versatile and ambitious prelate. The Cardinal was supposed to have +himself aspired to the office of presiding legate, and, though he had +missed this place of honor and power, the condition of things in France +was such as naturally to incline him in the direction of Rome. The +assassination of his brother Francis, Duke of Guise (February, 1563), +deprived his family and interest of their natural chief, and inclined +Catherine de' Medici to transact with the Huguenots. The Cardinal +accordingly became anxious at the same time to return to France and +prevent the total eclipse of the influence he had hitherto exercised at +court, and to secure himself by an understanding with the Pope. + +A letter which about this time arrived from Mary, Queen of Scots, +declaring her readiness to submit to the decrees of the council, and, +should she ascend the throne of England, to reduce that country to +obedience to the holy see, may perhaps be connected with these +overtures. Pius IV, delighted to meet the Cardinal half way, sent +instructions in this sense to the legates, whom the recent display of +Spanish arrogance had already disposed favorably toward France. Thus the +decree on the sacrament of orders was passed in the colorless condition +desired by the papal party, in a session held on July 15th, the Spanish +bishops angrily declaring themselves betrayed by the French Cardinal. +Other decrees were passed in this memorable session, among them one of +substantial importance for the establishment of diocesan seminaries for +priests. Clearly, the council had now become tractable and might +speedily be brought to an end. In this sense the Pope addressed urgent +letters to the three great Catholic monarchs, and found willing +listeners except in Spain. + +Meanwhile the remaining decrees, both of doctrine and of discipline, +were eagerly pushed on. The sacrament of marriage gave rise to much +discussion; but the proposal that the marriage of priests should be +permitted, though formerly included in both the imperial and the French +libel, was now advocated only by the two prelates who spoke directly in +the name of the Emperor. But in the decree proposed on the all-important +subject of the reformation of the life and morals of the clergy, the +legates presumed too far on the yielding mood of the governments. It not +only contained many admirable reforms as to the conditions under which +spiritual offices, from the cardinalate downward, were to be held or +conferred, but the papacy had wisely and generously surrendered many +existing usages profitable to itself. At the same time, however, it was +proposed not only to deprive the royal authority in the several states +of a series of analogous profits, but to take away from it the +nomination of bishops and the right of citing ecclesiastics before a +secular tribunal. To the protest which the ambassadors of the powers +inevitably raised against these proposals, the legates replied by +raising a cry that the "reformation of the princes" should be +comprehended in the decrees. It became necessary to postpone the +objectionable article; but now the fears of the supporters of the +existing system began to be excited, both at Rome and at Trent, and it +was contrived to introduce so many modifications into the proposed +decree as seriously to impair its value. Then, though the Cardinal of +Lorraine himself, during a visit to Rome (September), showed his +readiness to support the papal policy, the French ambassadors at the +council carried their opposition to its encroachments upon the claims of +their sovereign so far as to withdraw to Venice. And above all, the +Spanish bishops, upheld by the persistency of their King, stood firmly +by the original form of the reformation decree, and finally obtained its +restoration to a very considerable extent. Thus the greater portion of +the decree was at last passed in the penultimate session of the council +(November 11th). + +With the exception of Spain, all the powers now made known their consent +to winding up the business of the council without further loss of time. +But Count Luna still immovably resisted the closing of the council +before the express assent of King Philip should have been received; nor +was it till the news--authentic or not--arrived of a serious illness +having befallen the Pope that the fear of the complications which might +arise in the event of his death put an end to further delay. + +Summoned in all haste, the fathers met on December 3d for their +five-and-twentieth session, and on this and the following day rapidly +discussed a series of decrees, some of which were by no means devoid of +intrinsic importance. In the doctrinal decrees concerning purgatory and +indulgences, as in those concerning the invocation of saints and the +respect due to their relics and images, it was sought to preclude a +reckless exaggeration or distortion of the doctrines of the Church on +these heads, and a corrupt perversion of the usages connected with them. + +Of the disciplinary decrees, the most important and elaborate related to +the religious of both sexes. It contained a clause, inserted on the +motion of Lainez, which the Jesuits afterward interpreted as generally +exempting their society from the operation of this decree. Another +decree enjoined sobriety and moderation in the use of the ecclesiastical +penalty of excommunication. For the rest, all possible expedition was +used in gathering up the threads of the work done or attempted by the +council. The determination of the Index, as well as the revision of +missal, breviary, ritual, and catechism, was remitted to the Pope. Then +the decrees debated in the last session and at its adjourned meeting +were adopted, being subscribed by 234 (or 255?) ecclesiastics; and the +decrees passed in the sessions of the council before its reassembling +under Pope Pius IV were read over again, and thus its continuity +(1545-1563) was established without any use being made of the terms +"approbation" and "confirmation." A decree followed, composed by the +Cardinal of Lorraine and Cardinal Madruccio, solemnly commending the +ordinances of the council to the Church and to the princes of +Christendom, and remitting any difficulties concerning the execution of +the decrees to the Pope, who would provide for it either by summoning +another general council or as he might determine. A concluding decree +put an end to the council itself, which closed with a kind of general +thanksgiving intoned by the Cardinal of Lorraine. + +The decrees of the council were shortly afterward (January 26, 1564) +ratified by Pius IV, against the wish of the more determined +Curialists, while others would have wished him to guard himself by +certain restrictions. These were, however, unnecessary, as he reserved +to himself the interpretation of doubtful or disputed decrees. This +reservation remained absolute as to decrees concerning dogma; for the +interpretation of those concerning discipline, Sixtus V afterward +appointed a special commission under the name of the "congregation of +the Council of Trent." While the former became _ipso facto_ binding on +the entire Church, the decrees on discipline and reformation could not +become valid in any particular state till after they had been published +in it with the consent of its government. This distinction is of the +greatest importance. The doctrinal system of the Church of Rome was now +enduringly fixed; the area which the Church had lost she could +henceforth only recover if she reconquered it. + +Many attempts at reunion by compromise have since been made from the +Protestant side, and some of these have perhaps been met half way by the +generous wishes of not a few Catholics; but the Council of Trent has +doomed all these projects to inevitable sterility. The gain of the +Church of Rome from her acquisition at Trent of a clearly and sharply +defined "body of doctrine" is not open to dispute, except from a point +of view which her doctors have steadily repudiated. And it is difficult +to suppose but that, in her conflict with the spirit of criticism which +from the first in some measure animated the Protestant Reformation and +afterward urged it far beyond its original scope, the Church of Rome +must have proved an unequal combatant had not the Council of Trent +renewed the foundations of the authority claimed by herself and of that +claimed by her head on earth. + +The effect of the disciplinary decrees of the council, though more +far-reaching and enduring than has been on all sides acknowledged, was +necessarily in the first instance dependent on the reception given to +them by the several Catholic powers. The representatives of the Emperor +at once signed the whole of the decrees of the council, though only on +behalf of his hereditary dominions; and he had his promised reward when, +a few months afterward (April), the German bishops were, under certain +restrictions, empowered to accord the cup in the eucharist to the +laity. But neither the Empire through its diet, nor Hungary, ever +accepted the Tridentine decrees, though several of the Catholic estates +of the Empire, both spiritual and temporal, individually accepted them +with modifications. The example of Ferdinand was followed by several +other powers; but in Poland the diet, to which the decrees were twice +(1564 and 1578) presented as having been accepted by King Sigismund +Augustus, refused to accord its own acceptance, maintaining that the +Polish Church, as such, had never been represented at the council. + +In Portugal and in the Swiss Catholic cantons the decrees were received +without hesitation, as also by the Seigniory of Venice, whose +representatives at Trent had rarely departed from an attitude of studied +moderation, and who now merely safeguarded the rights of the republic. +True to the part recently played by him, the Cardinal of Lorraine, on +his own responsibility, subscribed to the decrees in the name of the +King of France. But the Parliament of Paris was on the alert, and on his +return home the Cardinal had to withdraw in disgrace to Rheims. Neither +the doctrinal decrees of the council nor the disciplinary, which in part +clashed with the customs of the kingdom and the privileges of the +Gallican Church, were ever published in France. The ambassador of Spain, +whose King and prelates had so consistently held out against the closing +of the council, refused his signature till he had received express +instructions. Yet as it was Spain which had hoped and toiled for the +achievement at the council of solid results, so it was here that the +decrees fell on the most grateful soil, when, after considerable +deliberation and delay, their publication at last took place, +accompanied by stringent safeguards as to the rights of the King and the +usages of his subjects (1565). The same course was adopted in the +Italian and Flemish dependencies of the Spanish monarchy. + +The disciplinary decrees of the council, on the whole, fell short in +completeness of the doctrinal. But while they consistently maintained +the papal authority and confirmed its formal pretensions, the episcopal +authority, too, was strengthened by them, not only as against the +monastic orders, but in its own moral foundations. More than this, the +whole priesthood, from the Pope downward, benefited by the warnings +that had been administered, by the sacrifices that had been made, and by +the reforms that had been agreed upon. The Church became more united, +less worldly, and more dependent on herself. These results outlasted the +movement known as the Counter-reformation, and should be ignored by no +candid mind. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[54] Pole became archbishop of Canterbury (1556) and chief adviser to +Queen Mary, under whom he was largely responsible for the persecution of +English Protestants. + +[55] The Farnese were an illustrious Italian family. Alessandro Farnese +was Pope Paul III. + +[56] Count Carlo Borromeo, Italian cardinal, Archbishop of Milan, was +one of the most noted of the ecclesiastical reformers. He was canonized +in 1610. + + + + +PROTESTANT STRUGGLE AGAINST CHARLES V + +THE SMALKALDIC WAR + +A.D. 1546 + +EDWARD ARMSTRONG + + In 1530 Charles V convened a diet at Augsburg for the + settlement of religious disputes in Germany and preparation + for war against the Turks, who were advancing into the + empire. The diet issued a decree condemning most of the + Protestant tenets. In consequence of this the Protestant + princes of Germany at once entered into a league, known as + the Smalkaldic League, from Smalkald, Germany, where it was + formed. They bound themselves to assist each other by arms + and money in defence of their faith against the Emperor, and + to act together in all religious matters. They concluded an + alliance with Francis I, King of France, and from Henry VIII + of England they received moral support and some material + assistance. + + Charles was not yet ready to proceed to extremities. In 1531 + terms of pacification were agreed upon, and the Emperor + received earnest support from Protestant Germany in his + preparations against the Turks, who after all withdrew + without a battle. During the next few years there was no + open hostility between the two religious parties, but all + attempts at reconciliation failed. In 1538 the Catholic + princes formed a counter-league, called the Holy League, and + violent disputes continued. + + At last Charles determined to crush the Reformation in + Germany by military force. The German Protestants refused to + be bound by the decrees of the Council of Trent (1545), + because it was held in a foreign country and presided over + by the Pope. Their attitude confirmed the Emperor in his + resolve, and in 1546 began the conflict known as the + Smalkaldic War, of which Armstrong gives us a spirited and + impartial account. + + +War was actually opened neither by Emperor nor princes, but by the +Protestant towns. The capable _condottiere_ Sebastian Schartlin von +Burtenbach led the forces of Augsburg and Ulm briskly southward, seized +Fussen in the Bishop of Augsburg's territory on July 9th, and then +surprised the small force guarding the pass of Ehrenberg, which gave +access to the Inn valley. The religious character of the war was +emphasized by plunder of churches and ill usage of monks and clergy. Two +obvious courses were now open to the insurgent princes. Either they +could march direct on Regensburg, where a mere handful of troops +protected Charles from a strongly Protestant population, or in support +of Schartlin they could clear Tyrol of imperialists, close the passes to +Spanish and Italian reenforcements, and even pay a domiciliary visit to +the Council of Trent. This latter was Schartlin's programme; the +Tyrolese had Protestant sympathies and dreaded the advent of the foreign +troops; Charles averred that even their government was ill-affected. +Schartlin would even have persuaded the Venetians and Grisons to forbid +passage to the Emperor's troops, and have enlisted the services of +Ercole of Ferrara, the enemy of the Pope. But either of the two +strategic movements was too bold for the Smalkaldic council of war. The +first would have violated the neutrality of Bavaria, in which the league +still believed, while it had no quarrel with Ferdinand, who was +ostensibly conciliatory. The towns, moreover, wished to keep their +captain within hail, for they feared the possibility of attack either +from Regensburg or from Ferdinand's paltry forces in the Vorarlberg. + +Schartlin retired on Augsburg, but on July 20th, reenforced by a +Wuertemberg contingent, occupied Donauworth, and was here joined on +August 4th by the Elector and Landgrave. The insurgent army now numbered +fifty thousand foot and seven thousand horse. The very size of this +force, by far the largest that Germany could remember, is a disproof of +the not uncommon assertion that Charles took the Lutherans by surprise. + +On a rumor that the enemy were crossing the Danube to separate him from +the troops on the march from Italy, Charles moved on Landshut with some +six thousand men, not much more than a tenth of the opposing force. He +was determined, he wrote, to remain in Germany alive or dead, rejecting +as idle vanity the notion that it was beneath his dignity to lead a +small force. At Landshut he met papal auxiliaries under Ottavio Farnese +and Alessandro Vitelli, with detachments of light horse sent by the +Dukes of Florence and Ferrara. When the Spanish foot and Neapolitan +cavalry had joined, he could muster at Regensburg twenty-eight thousand +men, over whom he placed Alba in command. The Elector and Landgrave, in +renunciation of their fealty, had sent in a herald with a broken staff +addressed to Charles self-styled the Fifth and Roman Emperor. To him was +delivered the ban of the empire against his masters, condemning them, +not for heresy, but for acts of violence and rebellion, for the Pack +plot, the attack on Wuertemberg, and the seizure of Brunswick. + +The campaign now began in earnest. While the Lutherans timidly wasted +their opportunities, Charles with his greatly inferior force made a +hazardous night march on Ingolstadt. The movement was executed with much +disorder, resembling a flight rather than an advance. The league +neglected the chance of making a flank attack on the hurrying, +straggling line as it followed the right bank of the Danube until it was +conveyed across the river at Neustadt. To add to the Emperor's danger, +his German troops were mostly Lutherans, hating the priests and the +Spanish and Italian regiments. Many had early deserted from their +general, the Marquis of Marignano; all cherished ill-feeling against +Charles' confessor as being the cause of the civil war. Even the +population of Bavaria, professedly a friendly territory, was in great +part a Lutheran. + +At Ingolstadt Charles could draw supplies from Bavaria, whose neutrality +the league had foolishly respected, and thither the Count of Buren with +the Netherland army might find his way. He was by no means out of +danger, encamped as he was with but feeble artillery outside the city +walls. But the Lutheran princes with all their bluster had little +stomach for stand-up fights. From August 31st to September 3d they +bombarded the city with one hundred ten guns, to which Charles' +thirty-two pieces could make scant reply. They did not dare attack the +impoverished trenches. "I would have done it," wrote the Landgrave, "had +I been alone." On the other hand it was reported that the Lutherans laid +the blame on Philip, that he had refused to move, "for every fox must +save his own skin." The Cockerel, as the confessor, De Soto, had +contemptuously prophesied, had crowed better than he fought. Charles, on +the other hand, was at his best. He rode round the trenches, exhorting +his soldiers to stand firm, with the assurance that artillery made more +noise than mischief. In vain Granvelle sent the confessor to persuade +him that Christianity needed an emperor less gallant and more sensible. +He answered that no king nor emperor had ever been killed by a +cannon-ball, and, if he were so unfortunate as to make a start, it would +be better so to die than to live. When Ferdinand afterward expostulated +with his brother, Charles assured him that his self-exposure had been +exaggerated, but that they were short of hands, and it was not a time to +set bad example. + +The division of Lutheran command was already giving Charles the expected +opportunities. The princes withdrew westward, a palpable confession of +weakness. They had been the aggressors, and yet they now surrendered the +initiative to Charles. Their retirement enabled the Count of Buren to +march in with his Netherland division, and with him the troops of Albert +and Hans of Hohenzollern. This march of Buren was the strategic feat of +the war. He had led the hostile forces which were watching him a dance +up and down the Rhine, and slipped across it unopposed. He had brought +his troops three hundred miles, mainly through the heart of Protestant +Germany, with no certain knowledge where he should find the Emperor, for +communications could only be maintained by means of long detours. +Finally he marched boldly past the vastly superior army of the league, +which had professedly retired from Ingolstadt to bar his passage. + +Charles now took the offensive, pushing the enemy slowly up the Danube, +and steadily forcing his way toward Ulm. The strongly Protestant Count +Palatine of Neuburg, Otto Henry, was the first prince to lose his +territory, which, indeed, his debts had already forced him to desert. + +The Lutherans now showed more fight, and during the last fortnight of +October the advance came almost to a standstill. Charles was ill, money +and supplies were falling short, Spaniards and Italians were suffering +from the cold rains of the Danube valley. The papal contingent was +demoralized for want of pay; three thousand men deserted in a day, +whereas the Lutherans were reenforced. Yet Charles, in spite of +professional advice, refused to go into winter quarters. He counted on +divisions in the League, on the selfish interests of the towns, on the +penury of the princes, and reckoned aright. The fighting was never more +than skirmishing; not arms but ducats were deciding the issue; the fate +of war was literally hanging on a fortnight's pay. + +The Emperor had said that a league between towns and princes could never +last. The financial burden pressed mainly on the cities, and they +refused to raise further subsidies. The richer classes had always +disliked the war; the great merchants were often, as the Fuggers of +Augsburg, zealous Catholics. Trade was at a standstill, and they could +protest that all their capital was at the Emperor's mercy, at Antwerp, +at Seville, in the Indies, or else in Portugal. It was convenient to +forget the brisk traffic which still continued with friendly Lyons. Zeal +for the Lutheran cause seemed limited to a Catholic, Piero Strozzi the +Florentine exile, who in his hatred for the Hapsburgs was vainly +spending his fortune on revenge, striving for aid from Venice, +negotiating loans from France. There was, moreover, no real solidarity +between Northern and Southern Germany. Neither the Protestant princes +nor the wealthy cities of the Baltic had as yet stirred a finger for the +cause. Under any circumstances the Lutheran army must have broken up. +The leaders had resolved to retire to the Rhineland for the winter, live +at free quarters on the ecclesiastical princes, and renew the struggle +in the spring. + +At this critical moment Maurice of Saxony came into action. Hitherto his +conduct had been ambiguous. This was probably due less to deliberate +deceit than to genuine hesitation. The incompetence of the Lutheran +leaders and Ferdinand's expressed intention of invading Ernestine Saxony +determined him. Persuading his estates with difficulty that it was +necessary to save the Electorate for the house of Wettin, he undertook +to execute the ban in his cousin's state. His reward was the title of +elector and the Ernestine territories. The correspondence of Charles and +his brother on the subject was characteristic of both. Ferdinand, always +greedy of territory, had bargained for partition, but Charles persuaded +him to be content with John Frederick's Bohemian fiefs. + +Charles, cautious and suspicious, was unwilling to grant the title until +Maurice had proved his loyalty; Ferdinand, more impetuous, induced him +to pay the bribe and give credit for the service. The Albertine and +Austrian troops soon overran the defenceless land. This determined the +manner of the Danubian campaign, and the Saxon phase of the war began. +John Frederick must withdraw his troops to defend their homes, and he +plundered _en route_ the neutral ecclesiastical territories through +which he passed. "In a papal country," he told the burgomaster of +Aschaffenburg, "there is nothing neutral." The campaign of the Danube +was suddenly over. Philip of Hesse retired sullenly to his two wives, as +Schartlin put it. As he passed through Frankfurt he hoisted banners with +the crucifix, flails, and mattocks, to incite the lower classes to +revolt; he had failed to bend the powers above him, he would fain stir +Acheron. + +Charles could now complete the subjection of Southern Germany. +Granvelle, the last to be convinced of the necessity of war, was the +first convert to the policy of peace, which the Landgrave and the towns +desired. Peace would relieve the financial strain and prevent the +Germans from becoming desperate; peace would enable Charles to turn his +arms against the Turks. Charles thought it undignified to negotiate with +an army in the field: peace entailed the abandonment of Maurice, and +henceforth no other prince would dare serve him; Augsburg and Ulm, if +they were persuaded that he had no wish to establish a tyranny in +Germany, were likely to capitulate, and after a victory his generosity +in leaving Germany her liberty would appear the greater. Charles did not +at this moment fear the Turk, and it was in his power at any moment to +propitiate the French. Pedro de Soto urged the continuance of the war, +to avert the danger of a papal-French combination, which would be the +natural result of Paul's indignation at a compromise with heretics. + +The deserted princes and towns of South Germany now one by one made +submission. Very pathetic was the Emperor's meeting with the Elector +Palatine, the friend of his youth, the whilom lover of his sister, the +husband of his niece. Charles did not extend his hand: the Elector made +three low bows, after which Charles drew out a paper which he read and +then spoke to him in French--"It has grieved me most of all that you in +your old age should have been my enemies' companion, when we have been +brought up together in our youth." The Elector answered almost in a +whisper, and left "like a skinned cat," the Emperor half raising his +cap, but no one else. He was ordered to go to Granvelle, and the +minister played the doctor and healed the wound. He returned with tears +in his eyes, and then Charles forgave him. "My cousin, I am content that +your past deserts toward me should cancel the errors which you have +recently committed." Henceforth the old friendship was renewed. + +Ulrich of Wuertemberg escaped less lightly. He paid a large indemnity, +received Spanish garrisons in his fortresses, and engaged to serve +against his late allies. He had no resource, for his subjects hated him; +from the windows of the cottages fluttered the red and white Burgundian +colors as a token of what was in the peasants' hearts. Ferdinand pressed +warmly for the restoration of the duchy to Austria, but Charles replied +that the aim of the war was the service of God and the revival of +imperial authority: to seek their private advantage would only quicken +the envy with which neighboring powers regarded the house of Hapsburg. +Farther north the octogenarian of the Elector of Cologne resigned his +see, and the evangelization of the Middle Rhine was at an end. Ulm gave +in with a good grace, but Augsburg long delayed. Charles' original +intention was, apparently, to garrison these towns, as Milan and Naples, +with reliable Spanish troops, and perhaps to destroy their walls and +dominate them by fortresses. But he treated the cities leniently. He +left here and there companies of imperial troops, levied moderate +contributions, replaced at Ulm and Augsburg the democratic constitution +of the trades by the old wealthy aristocracies, but promised to respect +the existing religion. Strasburg, which, in spite of French entreaties, +capitulated in February, 1547, was almost exempt from punishment; it was +feared that the distant, wealthy, and headstrong city might hold out a +hand to the Swiss and become a canton. + +In Southern and Western Germany there was no longer an enemy in the +field, but, in the North, Maurice's treachery had brought its penalty. +John Frederick, acting with unusual vigor, recovered his dominions, +received homage from the feudatories of Halberstadt and Magdeburg, and +overran Maurice's territories, until he was checked before the walls of +Leipsic. When Ferdinand prepared to aid Maurice, the German Protestants +of Lusatia and Silesia refused their contingents, and the Bohemian +Utraquists made common cause with the Lutherans. The Utraquist nobility +and towns formed a league in defence of national and religious +liberties; they convoked a diet and raised an army. Ferdinand was faced +by a general Bohemian revolt. His position was weakened by his wife's +death in February, for it was pretended that he was merely consort. Only +the Catholic nobles were for the Hapsburg King; the roads were +barricaded to prevent the passage of his artillery; and John Frederick, +entering Bohemia, received a hearty welcome. The North German maritime +and inland cities were now in arms, and the Lutheran princes of +Oldenburg and Mansfield were threatening the Netherlands. Charles sent +his best troops to Ferdinand's aid, and despatched Hans and Albert +Hohenzollern in support of Maurice. But Germans could still beat +Germans. Albert was surprised and taken at Rochlitz. Ferdinand eagerly +pressed Charles to march north in person. The Emperor was unwilling, and +Granvelle strongly dissuaded it. The despatch of Alba was the +alternative, but Charles did not trust his generalship. He was delayed, +partly by gout, and partly by fear of a fresh rising in the Swabian +towns. Here he had left seven thousand men, but he could not himself +safely stay in Nuremberg without a garrison of three thousand, and could +not afford to lock these up. His sole presence in the North, wrote Piero +Colonna, was worth twenty-five thousand foot, and Charles, ill as he +was, must march. + +The unexpected turn which the war had taken in Saxony was not Charles' +only trouble. Paul III had been alarmed by the Emperor's progress, which +had been more rapid and complete than he expected, and at the end of six +months, for which he had promised his contingent, he withdrew it. The +material loss was slight, but the whole aspect of the war was altered. +Charles could scarcely now profess to be fighting for submission to Pope +and council, for the council in March transferred itself, after violent +altercations with the Spanish bishops and imperial envoys, to Bologna. +Rome rejoiced at the successes of John Frederick. In the late French war +the Turks had figured as the Pope's friends and had spared his shores; +it now seemed possible that the Lutherans might be the Pope's allies. +It was certain that, if time were given, the Pope's defection would +stimulate the active hostility of France. Charles must have done with +the rebellion, and that quickly. + +Tortured by gout and fearing that his forces would prove inferior to the +Saxons, Charles moved painfully from Nordlingen to Regensburg and thence +to Eger, where he was joined by Ferdinand, Maurice, and the electoral +prince of Brandenburg. Spending Easter at Eger, he crossed the Saxon +frontier on April 13, 1547, with eighteen thousand foot and eight +thousand horse. Ten days of incessant marching brought him within touch +of the Elector, who was guarding the bridge of Meissen. John Frederick +had foolishly frittered away his forces in Saxon and Bohemian garrisons. +He now burned the bridge and retired down the Elbe to Muehlberg, hoping +to concentrate his scattered forces under the walls of Wittenberg, while +his bridge of boats would keep open communications with the left bank. + +Charles was too quick for the ponderous Elector. He marched at midnight +on April 23-24, and at 9 A.M. reached the Elbe, nearly opposite +Muehlberg. As the mist cleared, Alba's light horse descried the bridge +of boats swinging from the farther bank, and a dozen Spaniards, covered +by an arquebuse fire, swam the river with swords between their teeth, +routed the guard, and brought the boats across. Meanwhile Alba and +Maurice found a ford by which the light horse crossed with arquebusiers +_en croupe_. Charles and Ferdinand followed, with the water up to the +girths, the Emperor pale as death and thin as a skeleton. The Elector, +after attending his Sunday sermon, was enjoying his breakfast; he made +no attempt to defend his strong position on the higher bank, but +withdrew his guns and infantry, covering the retreat in person with his +cavalry. The bulk of the imperial forces had crossed by the bridge of +boats, and the day was passed in a running rear-guard action. It was a +long-drawn sunset, and not till between six and seven did Alba, as ever +making sure, deliver his decisive attack. The Saxon horse had turned +fiercely on the pursuing light cavalry some nine miles from Muehlberg, +and then the imperialists, striking home, converted the retreat into a +headlong flight. More than a third of the Saxon forces were left upon +the field; the whole of their artillery and baggage train was taken. +John Frederick regained his timid generalship by his personal bravery. +Left almost single-handed in the wood through which his troops retired, +he slashed at the Neapolitan light-horsemen and Hungarian hussars who +surrounded him, but at length surrendered to Ippolito da Porto of +Vicenza, who led him, his forehead streaming with blood, to Charles. + +Of the interview between the Emperor and his enemy there are several +versions, but none inconsistent. "Most powerful and gracious Emperor," +said the Elector, vainly endeavoring to dismount, "I am your prisoner." +"You recognize me as Emperor now?" rejoined Charles. "I am to-day a poor +prisoner; may it please your majesty to treat me as a born prince." "I +will treat you as you deserve," said Charles. Then broke in Ferdinand, +"You have tried to drive me and my children from our lands." + +The evidence as to the angry scene seems conclusive. Charles had been +twenty-one hours in the saddle; he had been exasperated by the insolence +of the Princess, who had addressed him as "Charles of Ghent, self-styled +Emperor." Yet his harsh reception of a wounded prisoner contrasts +unpleasantly with the generosity which his biographers have ascribed to +him. + +Muehlberg was little more than a skirmish, and yet it was decisive. In a +far more murderous battle the imperialists were beaten. The forces of +the maritime towns had compelled Eric of Brunswick to raise the siege of +Bremen, and on his retreat had defeated him near Drakenberg with a heavy +loss. But victories belated or premature do not turn the scale against +an opportune success. The sole result of the battle was to delay the +Landgrave's surrender a little longer. Philip had sworn to die like a +mad-dog before he would surrender his fortresses, but he yielded +ultimately without a blow. He found discontent rife among his nobles; he +was threatened alike from the Netherlands and by the Count of Buren; for +months he wavered between capitulation and resistance. Arras assured the +nuncio that he was a scoundrel and a coward; that he had implored +Maurice to intercede, first for all Lutheran Germany, then for John +Frederick and himself, and finally for himself alone. "See what men +these are," added the Bishop later. "Philip has even offered to march +against the Duke of Saxony; he is a sorry fellow and of evil nature: he +is such a scoundrel that his majesty cannot trust him in any promise +that he may make, for he has never kept one yet." + +The imperial minister's judgment upon the Landgrave was too severe. He +long struggled for honor against fear, and, but for his son-in-law, +Maurice's influence might have made a better fight. Maurice had from the +first striven to detach Philip from John Frederick, while in turn he was +expected by the Landgrave to strike in for a free Germany and a free +gospel against the Hungarian hussars and the black Spanish devils. When +the two Lutheran leaders parted in November, 1546, on no good terms, +Philip warned his son-in-law that the Elector was on the march against +him, but begged to intercede with Charles for a general peace. Maurice +would have no peace with his Ernestine cousins, but offered to use all +his influence on behalf of Philip, who must hasten to decide, for Buren +was "on his legs" and the Emperor was an obstinate man. From this moment +the Landgrave's irresolution was piteous; the negotiations crippled all +enterprise, and yet he could not persuade himself to abandon his ally, +although the natural expiry of the League of Smalkald on February 27, +1547, gave him a tolerable pretext. Maurice waxed impatient at the +recurring hesitation, at the perpetual amendment of all suggested terms: +Philip could not bargain with Charles as though he were a tradesman; he +need have no fear for religion, but he must make it clear to the Emperor +and Ferdinand that he was against John Frederick. Then came the defeat +of Muehlberg, which at least relieved Philip from obligations to his +late ally. It was now the surrender of his fortresses and his artillery +that he could not stomach, and the victory of Drakenberg raised his once +martial ardor to a final flicker. + +The flicker died away, and at length Philip yielded to the pressure of +Maurice and Joachim of Brandenburg. Charles insisted on unconditional +surrender, but promised the mediators that punishment should not extend +to personal injury or perpetual imprisonment--this only, however, on +their pledge that Philip should not be informed of these limitations. It +was agreed that he should dismantle his fortresses with one exception, +surrender his artillery, and pay an indemnity, but that his territory +should remain intact and its religion undisturbed. + +With Philip's surrender the war seemed virtually at an end. Magdeburg, +indeed, still held out, for fear of falling again under its Catholic +Hohenzollern Archbishop. There was no reason to believe that the city +would prove more courageous than its fellows. Charles did not dare spend +his four thousand Spaniards in the assault, but in this case +extravagance would have proved to be economy. When he knew his subject, +his opinion was usually well founded; he had little knowledge, however, +of North Germany, and confused Magdeburg with Ulm or Augsburg. It were +better for Charles had his Spaniards been decimated on its parapet than +that they should lord it in security over the churches and taverns of +Southern Germany. + +Apart from his two last mistakes, in the campaign against the league, +Charles, whether as a soldier or statesman, is seen at his best. When +once the drums beat to arms there was an end to irresolution. He had +that reserve of energy upon which an indolent, lethargic nature can +sometimes at a crisis draw. The Netherlands seemed threatened from east +to west; yet in perfect calm he ordered his agitated sister Mary to +watch her frontiers, but to send every man and gun that could be spared +under Buren to the front. Taking advantage of his enemies' delays, he +made with greatly inferior forces the forward move on Ingolstadt, and +was there seen under heavy fire "steady as a rock and smiling." Racked +by gout he now sought sleep in his litter behind a bastion, now warmed +his aching limbs in a little movable wooden room heated by a stove. In +the cold, wet November, when generals and ministers fell sick, and +soldiers of every nationality deserted, he resolutely rejected expert +advice to withdraw into winter quarters. He would not give his enemies, +he said, the least chance of outstaying him. All success, wrote the +Marquis of Marignano, was due to the Emperor's resolution to keep the +field. Charles vexed the fiery Buren by shrinking from a general +engagement, because he knew that his combinations would break up the +league without the risk of a battle. But when once danger really +pressed, ill as he was, he marched across Germany, and followed fast +upon the Elector's heels until he tripped and took him. + + + + +INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO JAPAN + +A.D. 1549 + +JOHN H. GUBBINS + + Lands discovered or settled by Europeans after the founding + of the Jesuits were quickly chosen by the zealous members of + that order as scenes of missionary work. In the case of + Japan, missions followed discovery with unusual rapidity. + + Excepting what was told by Marco Polo, who visited the coast + of Japan in the thirteenth century, nothing was learned of + that country by the Western World until its discovery by the + Portuguese. In 1541 King John III requested Francis Xavier, + one of the Jesuit founders, with other members of his order, + to undertake missionary work in the Portuguese colonies. + Through his labors in India, Xavier became known as the + "Apostle of the Indies." Before sailing to Japan he had + established a flourishing mission with a school, called the + Seminary of the Holy Faith, at Goa, on the Malabar coast of + India. + + +It was to Portuguese enterprise that Christianity owed its introduction +into Japan in the sixteenth century. As early as 1542 Portuguese trading +vessels began to visit Japan, where they exchanged Western commodities +for the then little-known products of the Japanese islands; and seven +years afterward three Portuguese missionaries (Xavier, Torres, and +Fernandez) took passage in one of these merchant ships and landed at +Kagoshima. + +The leading spirit of the three, it need scarcely be said, was Xavier, +who had already acquired considerable reputation by his missionary +labors in India. After a short residence the missionaries were forced to +leave Satsuma, and after as short a stay in the island of Hirado, which +appears to have been then the rendezvous of trade between the Portuguese +merchants and the Japanese, they crossed over to the mainland and +settled down in Yamaguchi in Nagato, the chief town of the territories +of the Prince of Choshiu. After a visit to the capital, which was +productive of no result, owing to the disturbed state of the country, +Xavier (November, 1551) left Japan with the intention of founding a +Jesuit mission in China, but died on his way in the island of Sancian. + +In 1553 fresh missionaries arrived, some of whom remained in Bungo, +where Xavier had made a favorable impression before his departure, while +others joined their fellow-missionaries in Yamaguchi. After having been +driven from the latter place by the outbreak of disturbances, and having +failed to establish a footing in Hizen, we find the missionaries in 1557 +collected in Bungo, and this province appears to have become their +headquarters from that time. In the course of the next year but one, +Vilela made a visit to Kioto, Sakai, and other places, during which he +is said to have gained a convert in the person of the _daimio_, of the +small principality of Omura, who displayed an imprudent excess of +religious zeal in the destruction of idols and other extreme measures, +which could only tend to provoke the hostility of the Buddhist +priesthood. The conversion of this prince was followed by that of +Arima-no-Kami (mistakenly called the Prince of Arima by the Jesuits). + +Other missionaries arriving in 1560, the circle of operations was +extended; but shortly afterward the revolution, headed by Mori, +compelled Vilela to leave Kioto, where he had settled, and a +simultaneous outbreak in Omura necessitated the withdrawal of the +missionaries stationed there. Mori, of Choshiu, was perhaps the most +powerful noble of the day, possessing no fewer than ten provinces, and, +as he was throughout an open enemy to Christianity, his influence was +exercised against it with much ill result. + +On Vilela's return to Kioto from Sakai, where a branch mission had been +established, he succeeded in gaining several distinguished converts. +Among these were Takayama, a leading general of the time, and his +nephew. He did not, however, remain long in the capital. The recurrence +of troubles in 1568 made it necessary for him to withdraw, and he then +proceeded to Nagasaki, where he met with considerable success. In this +same year we come across Valegnani preaching in the Goto Isles, and +Torres in the island of Seki, where he died. Almeida, too, about this +time founded a Christian community at Shimabara, afterward notorious as +the scene of the revolt and massacre of the Christians. + +Hitherto we find little mention of Christianity in Japanese books. This +may partly be explained by the fact that the labors of the missionaries +were chiefly confined to the southern provinces, Christianity having as +yet made little progress at Kioto, the seat of literature. But the +scarcity of Japanese records can scarcely be wondered at in the face of +the edict issued later in the next century, which interdicted not only +books on the subject of Christianity, but any book in which even the +name of _Christian_ or the word _Foreign_ should be mentioned. + +Short notices occur in several native works of the arrival in Kioto at +this date of the Jesuit missionary Organtin, and some curious details +are furnished respecting the progress of Christianity in the capital and +the attitude of Nobunaga in regard to it. + +The _Saikoku Kirishitan Bateren Jitsu Roku_, or "True Record of +Christian Padres in Kiushiu," gives a minute account of the appearance +and dress of Organtin, and goes on to say: "He was asked his name and +why he had come to Japan, and replied that he was the Padre Organtin and +had come to spread his religion. He was told that he could not be +allowed at once to preach his religion, but would be informed later on. +Nobunaga accordingly took counsel with his retainers as to whether he +should allow Christianity to be preached or not. One of these strongly +advised him not to do so, on the ground that there were already enough +religions in the country. But Nobunaga replied that Buddhism had been +introduced from abroad and had done good in the country, and he +therefore did not see why Christianity should not be granted a trial. +Organtin was consequently allowed to erect a church and to send for +others of his order, who, when they came, were found to be like him in +appearance. Their plan of action was to tend the sick and relieve the +poor, and so prepare the way for the reception of Christianity, and then +to convert everyone and make the sixty-six provinces of Japan subject to +Portugal." + +The _Ibuki Mogusa_ gives further details of this subject, and says that +the Jesuits called their church _Yierokuji_, after the name of the +period in which it was built, but that Nobunaga changed the name to +_Nambanji_, or "Temple of the Southern Savages." The word _Namban_ was +the term usually applied to the Portuguese and Spaniards. + +During the next ten years Organtin and other missionaries worked with +considerable success in Kioto under Nobunaga's immediate protection. +This period is also remarkable for the conversion of the Prince of +Bungo, who made open profession of Christianity and retired into private +life, and for the rapid progress which the new doctrine made among the +subjects of Arima-no-Kami. This good fortune was again counterbalanced +by the course of events in the Goto Islands, where Christianity lost +much ground owing to a change of rulers. + +Ten years thus passed away, when the Christian communities sustained +great loss in the disgrace of Takayama, who was banished to Kaga for +taking part in an unsuccessful intrigue against Nobunaga which was +headed by the Prince of Choshiu. Takayama's nephew, Ukon, however, +declared for Nobunaga, and the latter gave a further proof of his +friendly feeling toward Christianity by establishing a church in +Adzuchi-no-Shiro, the castle town which he had built for himself in his +native province of Omi. + +In 1582 a mission was sent to the papal see on the part of the Princes +of Bungo and Omura, and Arima-no-Kami. This mission was accompanied by +Valegnani, and reached Rome in 1585, returning five years later to +Japan. + +In the following year Nobunaga was assassinated and Hideyoshi, who +succeeded him in the chief power, was content, for the first three or +four years of his administration, to follow in the line of policy marked +out by his predecessor. Christianity, therefore, progressed in spite of +the drawbacks caused by the frequent feuds between the southern +_daimios_, and seminaries were established under Hideyoshi's auspices at +Osaka and Sakai. During this period Martinez arrived in the capacity of +bishop; he was charged with costly presents from the Viceroy of Goa to +Hideyoshi, and received a favorable audience. + +Hideyoshi's attitude toward Christianity at this time is easily +explained. The powerful southern barons were not willing to accept him +as Nobunaga's successor without a struggle, and there were other reasons +against the adoption of too hasty measures. Two of his generals, Kondera +and Konishi Setsu-no-Kami, who afterward commanded the second division +of the army sent against Corea, the Governor of Osaka, and numerous +other officers of state and nobles of rank and influence, had embraced +Christianity, and the Christians were therefore not without influential +supporters. Hideyoshi's first act was to secure his position. For this +purpose he marched into Kiushiu at the head of a large force and was +everywhere victorious. This done, he threw off the mask he had been +wearing up to this time, and in 1587 took the first step in his new +course of action by ordering the destruction of the Christian church at +Kioto--which had been in existence for a period of eighteen years--and +the expulsion of the missionaries from the capital. + +It will be seen by the following extract from the _Ibuki Mogusa_ that +Nobunaga at one time entertained designs for the destruction of +Nambanji. + +"Nobunaga," we read, "now began to regret his previous policy in +permitting the introduction of Christianity. He accordingly assembled +his retainers and said to them: 'The conduct of these missionaries in +persuading people to join them by giving money does not please me. It +must be, I think, that they harbor the design of seizing the country. +How would it be, think you, if we were to demolish Nambanji?' To this +Mayeda Tokuzenin replied: 'It is now too late to demolish the temple of +Nambanji. To endeavor to arrest the power of this religion now is like +trying to arrest the current of the ocean. Nobles both great and small +have become adherents of it. If you would exterminate this religion now, +there is fear lest disturbances be created even among your own +retainers. I am, therefore, of opinion that you should abandon your +intention of destroying Nambanji.' Nobunaga in consequence regretted +exceedingly his previous action with regard to the Christian religion, +and set about thinking how he could root it out." + +The Jesuit writers attribute Hideyoshi's sudden change of attitude to +three different causes, but it is clear that Hideyoshi was never +favorable to Christianity, and that he only waited for his power to be +secure before taking decided measures of hostility. His real feeling in +regard to the Christians and their teachers is explained in the _Life of +Hideyoshi_, from which work we learn that even before his accession to +power he had ventured to remonstrate with Nobunaga for his policy toward +Christianity. + +Hideyoshi's next act was to banish Takayama Ukon to Kaga, where his +uncle already was, and he then in 1588 issued a decree ordering the +missionaries to assemble at Hirado and prepare to leave Japan. They did +so, but finding that measures were not pushed to extremity they +dispersed and placed themselves under the protection of various nobles +who had embraced Christianity. The territories of these princes offered +safe asylums, and in these scattered districts the work of Christianity +progressed secretly while openly interdicted. + +In 1591 Valegnani had a favorable audience of Hideyoshi, but he was +received entirely in an official capacity, namely, in the character of +envoy of the Viceroy of Goa. + +Christianity was at its most flourishing stage during the first few +years of Hideyoshi's administration. We can discern the existence at +this date of a strong Christian party in the country, though the +turning-point had been reached, and the tide of progress was on the ebb. +It is to this influence probably, coupled with the fact that his many +warlike expeditions left him little leisure to devote to religious +questions, that we must attribute the slight relaxation observable in +his policy toward Christianity at this time. + +"Up to this date," says Charlevoix, "Hideyoshi had not evinced any +special bitterness against Christianity, and had not proceeded to +rigorous measures in regard to Christians. The condition of Christianity +was reassuring. Rodriguez was well in favor at court, and Organtin had +returned to Kioto along with several other missionaries, and found means +to render as much assistance to the Christians in that part of the +country as he had been able to do before the issue of the edict against +Christianity by Hideyoshi." + +The inference which it is intended should be drawn from these remarks, +taken with the context, is clear; namely, that, had the Jesuits been +left alone to prosecute the work of evangelizing Japan, the ultimate +result might have been very different. However, this was not to be. + +Hitherto, for a period of forty-four years, the Jesuits had it all their +own way in Japan; latterly, by virtue of a bull issued by Pope Gregory +XIII in 1585--the date of the appointment of the first bishop and of the +arrival at Rome of the Japanese mission--and subsequently confirmed by +the bull of Clement III in 1600, by which the _religieux_ of other +orders were excluded from missionary work in Japan. The object of these +papal decrees was, it seems, to insure the propagation of Christianity +on a uniform system. They were, however, disregarded when the time came, +and therefore, for a new influence which was brought to bear upon +Christianity at this date--not altogether for its good, if the Jesuit +accounts may be credited--we must look to the arrival of an embassy from +the Governor of the Philippines, whose ambassador was accompanied by +four Franciscan priests. + +These new arrivals, when confronted by the Jesuits with the papal bull, +declared that they had not transgressed it, and defended their action on +the ground that they had come attached to an embassy and not in the +character of missionaries; but they argued at the same time, with a +casuistry only equalled by their opponents, that, having once arrived in +Japan, there was nothing to hinder them from exercising their calling as +preachers of Christianity. + +The embassy was successful, and Baptiste, who appears to have conducted +the negotiations in place of the real envoy, obtained Hideyoshi's +consent to his shrewd proposal that, pending the reference to Manila of +Hideyoshi's claim to the sovereignty of the Philippines, he and his +brother missionaries should remain as hostages. Hideyoshi, while +consenting, made their residence conditional on their not preaching +Christianity--a condition which it is needless to say was never +observed. + +Thus, at one and the same time, the Spaniards, who had long been +watching with their jealous eyes the exclusive right of trade enjoyed by +the Portuguese, obtained an opening for commerce, and the Franciscans a +footing for their religious mission. + +It was not long before the newly-arrived missionaries were called upon +to prove their devotion to their cause. In 1593, in consequence of the +indiscreet statements of the pilot of a Spanish galleon, which, being +driven by stress of weather into a port of Tosa, was seized by +Hideyoshi, nine missionaries--namely, six Franciscans and three +Jesuits--were arrested in Kioto and Osaka, and, having been taken to +Nagasaki, were there burned. This was the first execution carried out by +the government. + +Hideyoshi died in the following year (1594), and the civil troubles +which preceded the succession of Iyeyasu to the post of administrator, +in which the Christians lost their chief supporter, Konishi, who took +part against Iyeyasu, favored the progress of Christianity in so far as +diverting attention from it to matters of more pressing moment. + +Iyeyasu's policy toward Christianity was a repetition of his +predecessor's. Occupied entirely with military campaigns against those +who refused to acknowledge his supremacy, he permitted the Jesuits, who +now numbered one hundred, to establish themselves in force at Kioto, +Osaka, and Nagasaki. But as soon as tranquillity was restored, and he +felt himself secure in the seat of power, he at once gave proof of the +policy he intended to follow by the issue of a decree of expulsion +against the missionaries. This was in 1600. The Jesuit writers affirm +that he was induced to withdraw his edict in consequence of the +threatening attitude adopted by certain Christian nobles who had +espoused his cause in the late civil war, but no mention is made of this +in the Japanese accounts. + +So varying, and indeed so altogether unintelligible, was the action of +the different nobles throughout Kiushiu in regard to Christianity during +the next few years, that we see one who was not a Christian offering an +asylum in his dominions to several hundred native converts who were +expelled from a neighboring province; another who had systematically +opposed the introduction of Christianity actually sending a mission to +the Philippines to ask for missionaries; while a third, who had hitherto +made himself conspicuous by his almost fanatical zeal in the Christian +cause, suddenly abandoned his new faith, and, from having been one of +its most ardent supporters, became one of its most bitter foes. + +The year 1602 is remarkable for the despatch of an embassy by Iyeyasu to +the Philippines, and for the large number of _religieux_ of all orders +who flocked to Japan. + +Affairs remained _in statu quo_ for the next two or three years, during +which the Christian cause was weakened by the death of two men which it +could ill afford to lose. One of these was the noble called Kondera by +Charlevoix, but whose name we have been unable to trace in Japanese +records. The other was Organtin, who had deservedly the reputation of +being the most energetic member of the Jesuit body. + +The number of Christians in Japan at this time is stated to have been +one million eight hundred thousand. The number of missionaries was of +course proportionally large, and was increased by the issue in 1608 of a +new bull by Pope Paul V allowing to _religieux_ of all orders free +access to Japan. + +The year 1610 is remarkable for the arrival of the Dutch, who settled in +Hirado, and for the destruction in the harbor of Nagasaki of the annual +Portuguese galleon sent by the traders of Macao. In this latter affair, +which rose out of a dispute between the natives and the people of the +ship, Arima-no-Kami was concerned, and his alliance with the +missionaries was thus terminated. + +In 1611 no less than three embassies arrived in Japan from the Dutch, +Spanish, and Portuguese respectively, and in 1613 Saris succeeded in +founding an English factory in Hirado, where the Dutch had already +established themselves. It was early in the following year that +Christianity was finally proscribed by Iyeyasu. The decree of expulsion +directed against the missionaries was followed by a fierce outbreak of +persecution in all the provinces in which Christians were to be found, +which was conducted with systematic and relentless severity. + +The Jesuit accounts attribute this resolution on the part of Iyeyasu to +the intrigues of the English and Dutch traders. Two stories, by one of +which it was sought to fix the blame on the former and by the other on +the latter, were circulated, and will be found at length in Charlevoix's +history. + +We have no wish to enter upon a defence either of our countrymen or of +the Dutch, and fully admit the possibility of such intrigues having +occurred. Indeed, considering in what relations both Spanish and +Portuguese stood at that time to both of the other nations, and how high +religious feeling ran in the seventeenth century, it would be strange if +some intrigue had not taken place. Still we should like to point out +that there were, we think, causes, other than those to which the Jesuit +writers confine themselves, quite sufficient in themselves to account +for the extreme measures taken against Christianity at this date. + +There was the predetermination against Christianity already shown by +Iyeyasu; there were the new avenues of trade opened up by the arrival of +the English and Dutch; there was the increased activity displayed by the +missionaries at a time when Christianity was in a weak state, and lastly +there was the influence of the Buddhist priesthood. + +That this edict of expulsion issued by Iyeyasu was the effect of no +sudden caprice on his part, is clear from the general view which we have +of his whole policy, which was similar to that of his predecessor. His +early tolerance of Christianity is susceptible of the same explanation +as that shown by Hideyoshi. His mind was evidently made up, and he was +only biding his time. + +It is also highly probable that the new facilities for trade offered by +the advent of the Dutch and English may have had some influence upon the +action of Iyeyasu. It is impossible that he can have been altogether +blind to the fact that the teaching of Christianity had not been +unattended with certain evils, dangerous, to say the least, to the +tranquillity of the country; and it cannot have escaped his notice that, +whereas the respective admissions of Portuguese and Spaniards had been +followed by the introduction of Christian missionaries, who in numbers +far exceeded the traders, the same feature was not a part of the policy +of the two other nations, whose proceedings had no connection whatsoever +with religion. Possibly, too, reports may have reached his ears of the +growing supremacy of the Dutch in the East, and have induced him to +transfer his favor from the Portuguese and Spaniards to the new +arrivals. + +As regards the condition of Christianity at this time, the Jesuit +accounts supply us with facts which show that, numerically speaking, the +Christian cause was never so strong as at this period. There were some +two millions of converts, whose spiritual concerns were administered by +no fewer than two hundred missionaries, three-fourths of whom were +Jesuits. According to the _Kerisuto-Ki_, a native work, there were +Christian churches in every province of Kiushiu except Hiuga and Osumi, +and also in Kioto, Osaka, Sendai, and Kanagawa in Kaga; and it was only +in eight provinces of Japan that Christianity had gained no footing. An +increased activity in the operations of the missionaries is discernible +about this time. The Dominicans in Satsuma, the Franciscans in Yedo +(Tokio), and the Jesuits in the capital and southern provinces, seem to +have been vying with each other which should gain most converts; and the +circuit made by Cerqueyra, in which he visited all the Jesuit +establishments throughout the country, was probably not without effect +in exciting fresh enthusiasm among the converts everywhere, which, +again, would naturally draw attention to the progress of Christianity. +But, strong as the position of the Christians was numerically, we must +not judge of the strength of their cause merely by the number of +converts, or by the number of missionaries resident in Japan. If we +consider the facts before us, we find that Christianity lacked the best +of all strength--influence in the state. All its principal supporters +among the aristocracy were either dead, had renounced their new faith, +or were in exile; and here we have the real weakness of the Christian +cause. While, therefore, circumstances combined to draw attention to its +progress, it was in a state which could ill resist any renewed activity +of persecution which might be the result of the increased interest which +it excited. Without influence at the court and without influence in the +country, beyond what slight influence the mass of common people +scattered through various provinces, who were Christians, might be said +to possess, Christianity presented itself assailable with impunity. + +The last cause we have mentioned, as being probably connected with the +decisive measures adopted by Iyeyasu, is the influence of the Buddhist +priesthood. Japanese history mentions the great power attained by the +priesthood prior to Nobunaga's administration. Although that power was +broken by Nobunaga, Hideyoshi did not inherit the former's animosity +toward the priests, and Iyeyasu from the first came forward as their +patron. And, again, we must not lose sight of the fact that a +deep-rooted suspicion of foreigners was ever present in the minds of the +Japanese Government; a suspicion which the course of events in China, of +which we may presume the Japanese were not altogether ignorant--the +jealousy of the native priests; the control of their converts exercised +by the missionaries, which doubtless extended to secular matters; the +connection of Christianity with trade; and the astounding progress made +by it in the space of half a century--all tended to confirm. Enough has +been said to show that we need not go so far as the intrigues, real or +imaginary, of the English and Dutch, to look for causes for the renewed +stimulus given at this date to the measures against Christianity. + +In 1614 the edict was carried into effect, and the missionaries, +accompanied by the Japanese princes who had been in exile in Kaga, and a +number of native Christians, were made to embark from Nagasaki. Several +missionaries remained concealed in the country, and in subsequent years +not a few contrived to elude the vigilance of the authorities and to +reenter Japan. But they were all detected sooner or later, and suffered +for their temerity by their deaths. + +Persecution did not stop with the expulsion of the missionaries, nor at +the death of Iyeyasu was any respite given to the native Christians. And +this brings us to the closing scene of this history--the tragedy of +Shimabara. In the autumn of 1637 the peasantry of a convert district in +Hizen, driven past endurance by the fierce ferocity of the persecution, +assembled to the number of thirty thousand, and, fortifying the castle +of Shimabara, declared open defiance to the Government; their opposition +was soon overborne; troops were sent against them, and after a short but +desperate resistance all the Christians were put to the sword. With the +rising of Shimabara, and its sanguinary suppression by the Government, +the curtain falls on the early history of Christianity in Japan. + + + + +COLLAPSE OF THE POWER OF CHARLES V + +FRANCE SEIZES GERMAN BISHOPRICS + +A.D. 1552 + +LADY C. C. JACKSON + + Henry II, son of Francis I, ascended the throne of France in + 1547. It had been the ambition of the French to establish + the eastern boundary of their country on the Rhine, and + thence along the summit of the Alps to the Mediterranean + Sea. Jealousy of the growing power of his father's old + enemy, the emperor Charles V, probably added to the French + King's eagerness to fulfil the desire of his people for + extension of their borders. + + Charles was now occupied with the religious wars in Germany, + and Henry prepared to improve his opportunity by taking full + advantage of the Emperor's situation. The fact that the + Protestants among his own subjects were cruelly persecuted + did not deter the French monarch from furthering his + ambition by consenting to assist the German Protestants + against their own sovereign. + + In 1551, when for six years there had been no actual war + between France and the empire, Henry entered into an + alliance with German princes against the Emperor. Several of + those princes, headed by Maurice of Saxony, had secretly + formed a league to resist by force of arms the "measures + employed by Charles to reduce Germany to insupportable and + perpetual servitude." + + +Charles V was on the point of becoming as despotic in Germany as he was +in Spain. The long interval of peace, though not very profound--war +being always threatened and attempts to provoke it frequent--yet was +sufficiently so to enable him to devote himself to his favorite scheme +of humbling the princes and free states of the empire. He had sown +dissension among them, succeeded in breaking up the League of Smalkald, +and detained in prison, threatened with perpetual captivity, the +Landgrave of Hesse and the elector John Frederick of Saxony. They had +been sentenced to death, having taken up arms against him. Frequently +appealed to to release them, Charles declared that to trouble him +further on their account would be to bring on them the execution of the +sentence they so richly merited. + +His political aims he believed to be now accomplished, and the spirit of +German independence nearly, if not wholly, extinguished. But with this +he was not content. The time had arrived, he thought, for the full and +final extirpation of heresy, and the carrying out of his grand scheme of +"establishing uniformity of religion in the empire." The formula of +faith, called the "Interim," which he had drawn up for general +observance until the council reassembled, had been for the sake of peace +accepted with slight resistance, except at Magdeburg, which, for its +obstinate rejection of it, was placed under the ban of the empire. But +the prelates were assembling at Trent, and the full acquiescence of all +parties in their decisions--given, of course, in conformity with the +views of Charles V--was to be made imperative. + +Henry II had already renewed the French alliance with Sultan Solyman, +and was urged to send his lieutenants to ravage the coast of Sicily--a +suggestion he was not at all loath to follow. Yet the proposal of an +alliance with the heretic German princes--though the league was not +simply a Protestant one--met with strenuous opposition from that +excellent Catholic, Anne de Montmorency. The persecuting King, too, +anxious as he was to oppose his arms to those of the Emperor, feared to +do so in alliance with heretics, lest he should compromise his soul's +salvation. + +But the princes had offered him an irresistible bribe. They +proposed--even declared they thought it right--that the seigneur King +should take possession of those imperial cities which were not Germanic +in language--as Metz, Cambray, Toul, Verdun, and similar ones--and +retain them in quality of vicar of the Holy Empire. As a further +inducement, they promised--having accomplished their own objects--to aid +him with their troops to recover from Charles his heritage of Milan. +This was decisive. + +On October 5th a pact was signed with France by the Lutheran elector +Maurice, in his own name and that of the confederate princes, Henry's +ambassador being the Catholic Bishop of Bayonne. Extensive preparations +for war were immediately set on foot and new taxes levied; for the King +had promised aid in money also--a considerable sum monthly as long as +hostilities continued. + +He, however, deemed it expedient, before joining his army, to give some +striking proof of his continued orthodoxy; first, by way of +counterbalancing his heretical alliance with the Lutherans and his +infidel one with the Mussulmans; next, to destroy the false hopes +founded on them by French reformers. The heretics, during his absence, +were therefore to be hunted down with the utmost rigor. The Sorbonne was +charged "to examine minutely all books from Geneva, and no unlettered +person was permitted to discuss matters of faith." All cities and +municipalities were strictly enjoined to elect none but good Catholics +to the office of mayor or sheriff, exacting from them a certificate of +Catholicism before entering on the duties of their office. Neglect of +this would subject the electors themselves to the pains and penalties +inflicted on heretics. + +A grand inquisitor was appointed to take care of the faith in Lyons, and +the daily burnings on the Place de Greve went on simultaneously with the +preparations in the arsenals, and no less vigorously. Thus the King was +enabled to enter on this war with a safe conscience. Montmorency,[57] +unwilling always to oppose the Emperor, was compelled, lest he should +seem less patriotic than his rivals, to add his voice also in favor of +the project that promised the realization of the views of Charles VII +and Francis I that the natural boundary of France was the Rhine. + +To return to Germany and the Emperor--whose complicated affairs are so +entangled with those of France that they cannot be wholly separated, +each in some measure forming the complement of the other. The +command-in-chief of the German army was given to Maurice of Saxony--an +able general, full of resource, daring and dauntless in the field, +crafty and cautious in the cabinet as Charles himself. Throughout the +winter he secretly assembled troops, preparing to take the field early +in the spring, yet adroitly concealing his projects, and lulling into +security "the most artful monarch in Europe." + +The Emperor had left Augsburg for Innspruck that he might at the same +time watch over the council and the affairs of Germany and Italy. He was +suffering from asthma, gout, and other maladies, chiefly brought on by +his excesses at table, and rendered incurable by his inability to put +any restraint on his immoderate appetite. + +In his retreat some rumors had reached him that the movements of Maurice +of Saxony were suspicious, and that he was raising troops in +Transylvania. But he gave little heed to this, or to warnings pressed on +him by some of his partisans. For Maurice, to serve his own ambitious +views, had in fact, though professing the reformed faith, aided Charles +to acquire that power and ascendency, that almost unlimited despotism in +Germany he now proposed to overthrow. For his services he had obtained +the larger part of the electoral dominions of his unfortunate relative, +John Frederick of Saxony, whose release, as also that of the Landgrave, +now formed part of his programme for delivering Germany from her fetters +ere the imperial despot could--as Maurice saw he was prepared to +do--rivet them on her. To renew the Protestant league, to place himself +at its head and defy the despot, was more congenial to Maurice's +restless, aspiring mind than to play the part of his lieutenant. + +The winter passed away without any serious suspicions on Charles' part. +To throw him off his guard Maurice had undertaken to subdue the +Magdeburgers. The leniency of his conduct toward "those rebels" with +whom he was secretly in league did at last excite a doubt in Charles' +mind. Maurice was summoned to Innspruck, ostensibly to confer with him +respecting the liberation of his father-in-law, the Landgrave of Hesse. +But Maurice was far too wary to put himself in his power, and readily +found some plausible excuse to delay his journey from time to time. But +when, early in March, at the head of twenty-five thousand men, +thoroughly equipped, he announced that he was about to set out on his +journey, the information was accompanied with a declaration of war. "It +was a war," he said, "for the defence of the true religion, its +ministers and preachers; for the deliverance of prisoners detained +against all faith and justice; to free Germany from her wretched +condition, and to oppose the Emperor's completion of that absolute +monarchy toward which he had so long been aiming." + +To this manifesto was appended another from the King of France. Therein +Henry announced himself the "defender of the liberties of Germany, and +protector of her captive princes"; further stating "that, broken-hearted +[_le coeur navre_] at the condition of Germany, he could not refuse to +aid her, but had determined to do so to the utmost power of his ability, +even to personally engaging in this war, undertaken for liberty and not +for his personal benefit." This document--written in French--was headed +by the representation of a cap between two poniards, and around it the +inscription "The Emblem of Liberty." It is said to have been copied from +some ancient coins, and to have been appropriated as the symbol of +freedom by Caesar's assassins. Thus singularly was brought to light by a +king of the French Renaissance that terrible cap of liberty, before +which the ancient crown of France was one day destined to fall. + +The declaration of the German princes and that of their ally, the King +of France, fell like a thunderbolt on the Emperor--so great was his +astonishment and consternation at the events so unexpected. With rapid +marches Maurice advanced on Upper Germany, while other divisions of the +army, headed by the confederate princes, hastened on toward Tyrol, by +way of Franconia and Swabia, everywhere being received with open arms as +"Germany's liberators." Maurice reached Augsburg on April 1st, and took +possession of that important city--the garrison offering no resistance, +and the inhabitants receiving him joyfully. There, as in other towns on +his march which had willingly opened their gates to him, the Interim was +abolished; the churches restored to the Protestants; the magistrates +appointed by the Emperor displaced, and those he had rejected +reinstated. Money, too, was freely offered him, and the deficiency in +his artillery supplied. At Trent the news that the Protestant princes, +joined by several of the Catholics and free states, "had taken up arms +for liberty," caused a terrible panic. The fathers of the council, +Italian, Spanish, and German, at once made a precipitate retreat, and +this famous council, without authority from pope or emperor, dissolved +itself, to reassemble only after even a longer interval than before. +When Maurice began his march Henry II had joined his army at Chalons, +and was on his way to Lorraine. Toul, on his approach, presented the +keys of the city to the constable commanding the vanguard--the King +afterward making his entry, and receiving the oath of fidelity from the +inhabitants, having previously sworn to maintain their rights and +privileges inviolate. After this easy conquest the French army continued +its march toward Metz. This old free republican city did not so readily +as Toul yield to the French. The municipal authorities very politely +offered provisions to the army, but declined to deliver the keys of the +city to the constable. They were, however, willing to admit the King and +the princes who accompanied him within their walls. "Troops were not +permitted to enter Metz, whatever their nation." This was one of their +privileges. + +Montmorency cared little for privileges, and violence would probably +have been used but that the Bishop of Metz, who was a Frenchman, +prevailed on the principal burgesses to allow the constable to enter +with an escort of two ensigns, each with his company of infantry. +Montmorency availed himself of this permission to give his ensigns +fifteen hundred of his best troops. The city gates were thrown open, and +the burgesses then perceived their error, but too late to remedy it. +They were firmly repulsed when attempting to exclude the unwelcome +visitors; there was, however, no bloodshed. The people were soon +reconciled to the change; and the chief sheriff and town council on the +King's entry having assembled on the cathedral porch, Henry there, in +the presence of an anxious multitude who crowded around him to hear him, +made oath strictly to maintain their franchises and immunities. Thus +easily was captured the former capital of the ancient Austrian kings, +which remained under the dominion of France until separated from her by +the misfortunes of the second empire. + +The city of Verdun followed the example of Toul; so that Henry's defence +of the liberties of Germany was thus far nothing more than a military +promenade, with grand public entries, banquets, and general festivity. +The inhabitants of Metz--like the rest of his conquests, French in +language and manners--petitioned the King not to restore their city to +the empire, of which it had been a vassal republic from the beginning of +the feudal era; they feared the Emperor's revenge. Henry, however, had +no thought of relinquishing Metz; he was too well pleased with his new +possession, and "proposed to make it one of the ramparts of France." + +But while Henry for the defence of German independence was making +conquests and annexing them to his dominions, Charles V had fled before +Maurice's vigorous pursuit, and had only escaped capture by a mere +mischance that briefly retarded his pursuers' progress. When Augsburg +was taken, Charles felt that he was not safe at Innspruck. He was +neither in a position to crush the rebellious princes nor to resist the +invasion of the King of France. Want of means had induced him to disband +a large part of his army; Mexico and Peru for some time had failed to +make any remittances to his treasury; the bankers of Venice and Genoa +were not willing to lend him money, and it was only by placing Piombino +in the hands of Cosmo de' Medici that he obtained from him the small sum +of two hundred thousand crowns. + +His first impulse was to endeavor to pass over the route of the +Netherlands by the valleys of the Inn and the Rhine; but as he could +only move, owing to his gout, from place to place in a litter, he was +compelled, from physical suffering, after proceeding a very short +distance on his journey, to return to Innspruck. There he remained with +a small body of soldiers sufficient to guard himself personally--having +sent all he could possibly spare to hold the mountain pass leading to +the almost inaccessible castle of Ehrenberg. But, guided by a shepherd, +the heights of Ehrenberg were reached by the troops under George of +Brandenburg, after infinite fatigue and danger. The walls were scaled, +and the garrison, terrified by the appearance of this unlooked-for +enemy, threw down their arms and surrendered. + +A few hours only separated Innspruck from Ehrenberg, and Maurice +proposed to push on rapidly so as to anticipate the arrival there of any +accounts of the loss of the castle, hoping to surprise the Emperor and +his attendants in an open, defenceless town, and there to dictate +conditions of peace. The dissatisfaction of a portion of the troops at +not immediately receiving the usual gratuity for taking a place by +assault occasioned a short delay in the advance of Maurice's army. He +arrived at Innspruck in the middle of the night, and learned that the +Emperor had fled only two hours before to Carinthia, followed by his +ministers and attendants, on foot, on horses, in litters, as they +could, but in the greatest hurry and confusion. + +The night was stormy; rain was falling in torrents when the modern +Charlemagne, unable to move, was borne in a litter by the light of +torches across steep mountain paths with a swiftness most surprising; +terror adding wings to the footsteps of his bearers, lest they and their +gouty burden should fall into the hands of the heretic army, said to be +in pursuit. But pursuit was soon given up, for the troops were worn and +weary with forced marches and climbing the heights of Ehrenberg; they +needed rest, and there was the imperial palace of Innspruck to pillage, +Maurice having given it up to them. + +Negotiations for peace were opened on May 20th at Passau on the Danube. +The King of France was informed of this, it being found necessary to put +some check on his proceedings; to remind him that he was the "defender +of the liberties of Germany," not Germany's oppressor. He and his army +had advanced into Alsace, and Montmorency had assured him that it would +be "as easy to enter Strasburg and other cities of the Rhine as to +penetrate butter." However, when they knocked at the gates of Strasburg +and courteously requested that the Venetian, Florentine, and other +ambassadors might be permitted to enter and admire the beautiful city, +they found the Strasburgers insensible to these amenities--butter by no +means easily melted; for not only they refused to gratify the +_soi-disant_ ambassadors with a sight of their fine city, but mounted +and pointed their cannon, as a hint to their visitors that they would do +well to withdraw. + +Henry, perceiving that he would be unable in the present campaign to +extend his dominions to the banks of the Rhine, contented himself, +"before turning his back on it, with the fact that the horses of his +army had drunk of the waters of that stream." The Austrasian expedition +was less brilliant in its results than he had expected; nevertheless, +whether he was to be included in the peace then negotiating or not, he +resolved to retain the three bishoprics--Toul, Metz, and Verdun. + +Meanwhile the conference of Passau, between Maurice with his princes of +the league on the one part; Ferdinand, King of the Romans, and the +Emperor's plenipotentiaries on the other, proceeded less rapidly than +Maurice desired. By prolonging the negotiation Charles hoped to gain +time to assemble an army, when the Catholic princes might rally around +him. But even those who had joined the league were exceedingly lukewarm +toward their Emperor; his despotism, they considered, being as dangerous +to them as to the Protestants. Even his brother Ferdinand--who was on +such excellent terms with Maurice that it would almost seem that he had +connived at an enterprise he could not openly join in--is said to have +seen with satisfaction the check put on Charles by the dauntless leader +of the league. + +But Maurice's propositions being at first rejected, and no counter ones +proposed, he at once set off for his army to renew hostilities, as +though the negotiations were closed. Charles doubtless renounced the +realization of the dream of his life with a pang of despair. That it +should vanish at the very moment when he looked for its fulfilment was +anguish to him. But pressed by Ferdinand, convinced, too, that +resistance is useless, Charles yields an unwilling assent to the demands +of the princes, and the "Treaty of Public Peace" is signed on August 2d. +Henceforth "the two religions are to be on a footing of equality in the +empire"; Germany divided between Luther and the Pope, who are to live +side by side in peace, neither interrupting the other. The ban of the +empire to be withdrawn from all persons and places; the captive princes, +detained for five years in prison if not in fetters, released; while +many other matters relating to imperial encroachments are to be +satisfactorily settled within six months. + +"The defender of German liberty" was not included in this treaty. As he +proposed to keep the cities he was to occupy but as vicar of the empire, +he would have to fight a battle for them with Charles himself. Though +compelled to renounce absolute sway over Germany, he yet thought it +incumbent on him to reestablish the territory of the empire in its full +integrity. His valiant sister, the Dowager-queen of Hungary, who +governed the Netherlands so ably for him, was diligently collecting an +army for the destitute monarch of many kingdoms, and troops were on +their way from Spain. + +In spite of his infirmities, Charles was in such haste to chastise the +French, and revenge himself on Henry--having succeeded in raising an +army sixty thousand strong, besides seven thousand pioneers--that he +rejected the prudent counsels of his generals, who begged him to wait +until the spring, when Metz might be attacked with much greater +advantage. But his excessive obstinacy, which had led to so many of his +disasters, again prevailed. The Duc de Guise, now Governor of Metz, had +put the citadel into a state of defence. The garrison was numerous, and, +as was usual wherever he commanded, thither followed all the young, +ardent spirits among the great families of France. + +The siege of Metz was a terrible disaster for the Emperor. The extreme +severity of the winter, a scant supply of clothing and other +necessaries, were soon followed by sickness, typhus, and many deaths. +Desertions were numerous; for the sufferings of the troops had quenched +all war and subverted all discipline. Desperate efforts to take Metz +were continued for nearly three months without avail, when Charles, +thoroughly disheartened, and unable to rise from his couch except for +removal to his litter, raised the siege--abandoning the greater part of +his artillery, which was half buried in the mud. "Fortune," he +exclaimed, "I perceive is indeed a woman; she prefers a young king to an +old emperor." The spectacle that met the eyes of the victorious +defenders of Metz, on issuing forth in pursuit of the enemy, is said to +have been one of so harrowing a nature that even rough soldiers, +accustomed to the horrors of war, looked on the misery around them with +emotions of deepest pity. There lay the dying and the dead heaped up +together; the wounded and those who had been stricken down by fever +stretched side by side on the gory, muddy earth. Others had sunk into +it, and, unable to extricate themselves, were frozen to their knees, and +plaintively asked for death to put an end to their wretchedness. +Scattered along the route of the retreat lay dead horses, tents, arms, +portions of the baggage, and many sick soldiers who had fallen by the +way in their efforts to keep up with the hasty march of the remnant of +the army--a sad and terrible scene indeed in a career called one of +glory. + +Francois de Guise greatly distinguished himself as a general, and added +to his military renown by his defence of Metz; but far greater glory +attaches to his name for his humane and generous conduct to the +suffering, abandoned troops of Charles' army. All whose lives could be +saved, or sufferings relieved, received every care and attention that he +and the surgeons of his army could bestow on them. Following his +example, instead of the savage brutality with which the victors were +then accustomed to treat their fallen foes, kindness and good offices +were rendered by all to the poor victims of the Emperor's revenge for +the loss of Metz. So utterly contrary was such treatment to the practice +of the age that the generosity and humanity of Francois de Guise toward +an enemy's troops passed into a proverb as the "_Courtoisie de Metz_." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[57] Anne de Montmorency, Marshal and Constable of France. He was +distinguished in the wars against Charles V. + + + + +THE RELIGIOUS PEACE OF AUGSBURG + +ABDICATION OF CHARLES V + +A.D. 1555 + +WILLIAM ROBERTSON + + By the victory of Charles V at Muehlberg, in 1547, the + Emperor obtained a decided advantage over the Smalkaldic + League, and seemed to be master of the situation in Germany. + He convened a diet at Augsburg, and promulgated an + "interim," or provisional arrangement for peace, but it was + imperfectly carried out. Later interims also proving + unsatisfactory, various other attempts at settlement were + made, and finally, by the Peace of Passau (1552), religious + liberty was granted to the Protestants. + + Charles now appeared to be at the height of his power; but + new danger threatened him from France. The alliance of King + Henry II with Maurice of Saxony, and other Protestant + princes, was followed by what is sometimes called the second + Smalkaldic War. Charles was quickly worsted, and only + escaped capture by fleeing into Switzerland. In a later + attack upon France he gained but little success. + + The Emperor was now more than ever anxious for peace, and + only awaited the meeting of a diet which had been summoned + soon after the Treaty of Passau. This meeting was delayed by + violent commotions raised in Germany by Albert, Margrave of + Brandenburg. It was further delayed by the engrossment in + his own affairs of Ferdinand, King of Bohemia and Hungary. + He was the brother of Charles, had exerted himself, though + with slight success, to settle the religious disputes in + Germany, and Charles needed his presence at the Diet, + whereby he hoped to secure a final pacification. + + +As a diet was now necessary on many accounts, Ferdinand, about the +beginning of the year 1555, had repaired to Augsburg. Though few of the +princes were present either in person or by their deputies, he opened +the assembly by a speech, in which he proposed a termination of the +dissensions to which the new tenets and controversies with regard to +religion had given rise, not only as the first and great business of the +diet, but as the point which both the Emperor and he had most at heart. +He represented the innumerable obstacles which the Emperor had to +surmount before he could procure the convocation of a general council, +as well as the fatal accidents which had for some time retarded, and had +at last suspended, the consultations of that assembly. He observed that +experience had already taught them how vain it was to expect any remedy +for evils which demanded immediate redress from a general council, the +assembling of which would either be prevented, or its deliberations be +interrupted, by the dissensions and hostilities of the princes of +Christendom; that a national council in Germany, which, as some +imagined, might be called with greater ease, and deliberate with more +perfect security, was an assembly of an unprecedented nature, the +jurisdiction of which was uncertain in its extent, and the form of its +proceedings undefined; that in his opinion there remained but one method +for composing their unhappy differences, which, though it had been often +tried without success, might yet prove effectual if it were attempted +with a better and more pacific spirit than had appeared on former +occasions, and that was, to choose a few men of learning, abilities, and +moderation, who, by discussing the disputed articles in an amicable +conference, might explain them in such a manner as to bring the +contending parties either to unite in sentiment, or to differ with +charity. + +This speech being printed in common form, and dispersed over the empire, +revived the fears and jealousies of the Protestants; Ferdinand, they +observed with much surprise, had not once mentioned, in his address to +the Diet, the Treaty of Passau, the stipulations of which they +considered as the great security of their religious liberty. The +suspicions to which this gave rise were confirmed by the accounts which +were daily received of the extreme severity with which Ferdinand treated +their Protestant brethren in his hereditary dominions; and as it was +natural to consider his actions as the surest indication of his +intentions, this diminished their confidence in those pompous +professions of moderation, and of zeal for the reestablishment of +concord, to which his practice seemed to be so repugnant. + +The arrival of the cardinal, Morone, whom the Pope had appointed to +attend the Diet as his nuncio, completed their conviction, and left them +no room to doubt that some dangerous machination was forming against +the peace or safety of the Protestant Church. Julius, elated with the +unexpected return of the English nation from apostasy, began to flatter +himself that, the spirit of mutiny and revolt having now spent its +force, the happy period was come when the Church might resume its +ancient authority, and be obeyed by the people with the same tame +submission as formerly. Full of these hopes, he had sent Morone to +Augsburg with instructions to employ his eloquence to excite the Germans +to imitate the laudable example of the English, and his political +address in order to prevent any decree of the Diet to the detriment of +the Catholic faith. But Julius died, and as soon as Morone heard of this +he set out abruptly from Augsburg, where he had resided only a few days, +that he might be present at the election of the new pontiff. + +One cause of their suspicions and fears being thus removed, the +Protestants soon became sensible that their conjectures concerning +Ferdinand's intentions, however specious, were ill-founded, and that he +had no thoughts of violating the articles favorable to them in the +Treaty of Passau. Charles, from the time that Maurice had defeated all +his schemes in the empire, and overturned the great system of religious +and civil despotism which he had almost established there, gave little +attention to the internal government of Germany, and permitted his +brother to pursue whatever measures he judged most salutary and +expedient. Ferdinand, less ambitious and enterprising than the Emperor, +instead of resuming a plan which he, with power and resources so far +superior, had failed of accomplishing, endeavored to attach the princes +of the empire to his family by an administration uniformly moderate and +equitable. To this he gave, at present, particular attention, because +his situation at this juncture rendered it necessary to court their +favor and support with more than usual assiduity. + +Charles had again resumed his favorite project of acquiring the imperial +crown for his son Philip, the prosecution of which, the reception it had +met with when first proposed had obliged him to suspend, but had not +induced him to relinquish. This led him warmly to renew his request to +his brother, that he would accept of some compensation for his prior +right of succession, and sacrifice that to the grandeur of the house of +Austria. Ferdinand, who was as little disposed as formerly to give such +an extraordinary proof of self-denial, being sensible that, in order to +defeat this scheme, not only the most inflexible firmness on his part, +but a vigorous declaration from the princes of the empire in behalf of +his title, were requisite, was willing to purchase their favor by +gratifying them in every point that they deemed interesting or +essential. + +At the same time he stood in need of immediate and extraordinary aid +from the Germanic body, as the Turks, after having wrested from him a +great part of his Hungarian territories, were ready to attack the +provinces still subject to his authority with a formidable army, against +which he could bring no equal force into the field. For this aid from +Germany he could not hope, if the internal peace of the empire were not +established on a foundation solid in itself, and which should appear, +even to the Protestants, so secure and so permanent as might not only +allow them to engage in a distant war with safety, but might encourage +them to act in it with vigor. + +A step taken by the Protestants themselves, a short time after the +opening of the Diet, rendered him still more cautious of giving them any +new cause of offence. As soon as the publication of Ferdinand's speech +awakened the fears and suspicions which have been mentioned, the +electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, together with the Landgrave of +Hesse, met at Naumburg, and, confirming the ancient treaty of +confraternity which had long united their families, they added to it a +new article, by which the contracting parties bound themselves to adhere +to the Confession of Augsburg, and to maintain the doctrine which it +contained in their respective dominions. + +Ferdinand, influenced by all these considerations, employed his utmost +address in conducting the deliberations of the Diet, so as not to excite +the jealousy of a party on whose friendship he depended, and whose +enmity, as they had not only taken the alarm, but had begun to prepare +for their defence, he had so much reason to dread. The members of the +Diet readily agreed to Ferdinand's proposal of taking the state of +religion into consideration previous to any other business. But, soon as +they entered upon it, both parties discovered all the zeal and animosity +which a subject so interesting naturally engenders, and which the +rancor of controversy, together with the violence of civil war, had +inflamed to the highest pitch. + +The Protestants contended that the security which they claimed in +consequence of the Treaty of Passau should extend, without limitation, +to all who had hitherto embraced the doctrine of Luther, or who should +thereafter embrace it. The Catholics, having first of all asserted the +Pope's right, as the supreme and final judge with respect to all +articles of faith, declared that though, on account of the present +situation of the empire, and for the sake of peace, they were willing to +confirm the toleration granted by the Treaty of Passau to such as had +already adopted the new opinions, they must insist that this indulgence +should not be extended either to those cities which had conformed to the +"interim," or to such ecclesiastics as should for the future apostatize +from the Church of Rome. It was no easy matter to reconcile such +opposite pretensions, which were supported, on each side, by the most +elaborate arguments, and the greatest acrimony of expression, that the +abilities or zeal of theologians long exercised in disputation could +suggest. Ferdinand, however, by his address and perseverance; by +softening some things on each side; by putting a favorable meaning upon +others; by representing incessantly the necessity as well as the +advantages of concord; and by threatening, on some occasions, when all +other considerations were disregarded, to dissolve the Diet, brought +them at length to a conclusion in which they all agreed. + +Conformably to this, a recess was framed, approved of, and published +with the usual formalities. The following are the chief articles which +it contained: That such princes and cities as have declared their +approbation of the Confession of Augsburg shall be permitted to profess +the doctrine and exercise the worship which it authorizes, without +interruption or molestation from the Emperor, the King of the Romans, or +any power or person whatsoever; that the Protestants, on their part, +shall give no disquiet to the princes and states who adhere to the +tenets and rites of the Church of Rome; that, for the future, no attempt +shall be made toward terminating religious differences but by the gentle +and pacific methods of persuasion and conference; that the Popish +ecclesiastics shall claim no spiritual jurisdiction in such states as +receive the Confession of Augsburg; that such as had seized the +benefices or revenues of the Church, previous to the Treaty of Passau, +shall retain possession of them, and be liable to no persecution in the +imperial chamber on that account; that the supreme civil power in every +state shall have right to establish what form of doctrine and worship it +shall deem proper, and, if any of its subjects refuse to conform to +these, shall permit them to remove with all their effects whithersoever +they shall please; that if any prelate or ecclesiastic shall hereafter +abandon the Romish religion, he shall instantly relinquish his diocese +or benefice, and it shall be lawful for those in whom the right of +nomination is vested to proceed immediately to an election, as if the +office were vacant by death or translation, and to appoint a successor +of undoubted attachment to the ancient system. + +Such are the capital articles in this famous recess, which is the basis +of religious peace in Germany, and the bond of union among its various +states, the sentiments of which are so extremely different with respect +to points the most interesting as well as important. In our age and +nation, to which the idea of toleration is familiar, and its beneficial +effects well known, it may seem strange that a method of terminating +their dissensions, so suitable to the mild and charitable spirit of the +Christian religion, did not sooner occur to the contending parties. But +this expedient, however salutary, was so repugnant to the sentiments and +practice of Christians during many ages that it did not lie obvious to +discovery. Among the ancient heathens, all whose deities were local and +tutelary, diversity of sentiments concerning the object or rites of +religious worship seems to have been no source of animosity, because the +acknowledging veneration to be due to any one god did not imply denial +of the existence or the power of any other god; nor were the modes and +rites of worship established in one country incompatible with those +which other nations approved of and observed. Thus the errors in their +system of theology were of such a nature as to be productive of concord; +and, notwithstanding the amazing number of their deities, as well as the +infinite variety of their ceremonies, a sociable and tolerating spirit +subsisted almost universally in the Pagan world. + +But when the Christian revelation declared one Supreme Being to be the +sole object of religious veneration, and prescribed the form of worship +most acceptable to him, whoever admitted the truth of it held, of +consequence, every other system of religion, as a deviation from what +was established by divine authority, to be false and impious. Hence +arose the zeal of the first converts to the Christian faith in +propagating its doctrines, and the ardor with which they labored to +overturn every other form of worship. They employed, however, for this +purpose no methods but such as suited the nature of religion. By the +force of powerful arguments, they convinced the understandings of men; +by the charms of superior virtue, they allured and captivated their +hearts. At length the civil power declared in favor of Christianity; and +though numbers, imitating the example of their superiors, crowded into +the church, many still adhered to their ancient superstitions. Enraged +at their obstinacy, the ministers of religion, whose zeal was still +unabated, though their sanctity and virtue were much diminished, forgot +so far the nature of their own mission, and of the arguments which they +ought to have employed, that they armed the imperial power against these +unhappy men, and, as they could not persuade, they tried to compel them +to believe. + +The Diet of Augsburg was soon followed by the Emperor's resignation of +his hereditary dominions to his son Philip; together with his resolution +to withdraw entirely from any concern in business or the affairs of this +world, in order that he might spend the remainder of his days in +retirement and solitude. Though it requires neither deep reflection nor +extraordinary discernment to discover that the state of royalty is not +exempt from cares and disappointment; though most of those who are +exalted to a throne find solicitude, and satiety, and disgust to be +their perpetual attendants in that envied preeminence, yet to descend +voluntarily from the supreme to a subordinate station, and to relinquish +the possession of power in order to attain the enjoyment of happiness, +seems to be an effort too great for the human mind. Several instances, +indeed, occur in history, of monarchs who have quitted a throne, and +have ended their days in retirement. But they were either weak princes, +who took this resolution rashly, and repented of it as soon as it was +taken, or unfortunate princes, from whose hands some stronger rival had +wrested their sceptre, and compelled them to descend with reluctance +into a private station. Diocletian is perhaps the only prince capable of +holding the reins of government who ever resigned them from deliberate +choice, and who continued during many years to enjoy the tranquillity of +retirement without fetching one penitent sigh, or casting back one look +of desire toward the power or dignity which he had abandoned. + +No wonder, then, that Charles' resignation should fill all Europe with +astonishment, and give rise, both among his contemporaries and among the +historians of that period, to various conjectures concerning the motives +which determined a prince, whose ruling passion had been uniformly the +love of power, at the age of fifty-six, when objects of ambition +continue to operate with full force on the mind, and are pursued with +the greatest ardor, to take a resolution so singular and unexpected. +But, while many authors have imputed it to motives so frivolous and +fantastical as can hardly be supposed to influence any reasonable mind; +while others have imagined it to be the result of some profound scheme +of policy, historians more intelligent and better informed neither +ascribe it to caprice, nor search for mysterious secrets of state, where +simple and obvious causes will fully account for the Emperor's conduct. +Charles had been attacked early in life with the gout; and, +notwithstanding all the precautions of the most skilful physicians, the +violence of the distemper increased as he advanced in age, and the fits +became every year more frequent as well as more severe. Not only was the +vigor of his constitution broken, but the faculties of his mind were +impaired by the excruciating torments which he endured. During the +continuance of the fits, he was altogether incapable of applying to +business; and even when they began to abate, as it was only at intervals +that he could attend to what was serious, he gave up a great part of his +time to trifling and even childish occupations, which served to relieve +or amuse his mind, enfeebled and worn out with excess of pain. Under +these circumstances, the conduct of such affairs as occurred of course +in governing so many kingdoms was a burden more than sufficient; but to +push forward and complete the vast schemes which the ambition of his +more active years had formed, or to keep in view and carry on the same +great system of policy, extending to every nation in Europe, and +connected with the operations of every different court, were functions +which so far exceeded his strength that they oppressed and overwhelmed +his mind. As he had been long accustomed to view the business of every +department, whether civil or military or ecclesiastical, with his own +eyes, and to decide concerning it according to his own ideas, it gave +him the utmost pain, when he felt his infirmities increase so fast upon +him, that he was obliged to commit the conduct of all his affairs to his +ministers. He imputed every misfortune which befell him, and every +miscarriage that happened, even when the former was unavoidable or the +latter accidental, to his inability to take the inspection of business +himself. He complained of his hard fortune in being opposed, in his +declining years, to a rival who was in the full vigor of life; and that, +while Henry could take and execute all his resolutions in person, he +should now be reduced, both in counsel and in action, to rely on the +talents and exertions of other men. Having thus grown old before his +time, he wisely judged it more decent to conceal his infirmities in some +solitude than to expose them any longer to the public eye, and prudently +determined not to forfeit the fame or lose the acquisitions of his +better years by struggling, with a vain obstinacy, to retain the reins +of government, when he was no longer able to hold them with steadiness, +or to guide them with address.[58] + +But though Charles had revolved this scheme in his mind for several +years, and had communicated it to his sisters the dowager queens of +France and Hungary, who not only approved of his intention, but offered +to accompany him to whatever place of retreat he should choose, several +things had hitherto prevented his carrying it into execution. He could +not think of loading his son with the government of so many kingdoms +until he should attain such maturity of age and of abilities as would +enable him to sustain that weighty burden. But as Philip had now reached +his twenty-eighth year, and had been early accustomed to business, for +which he discovered both inclination and capacity, it can hardly be +imputed to the partiality of paternal affection that his scruples with +regard to this point were entirely removed; and that he thought he might +place his son, without further hesitation or delay, on the throne which +he himself was about to abandon. His mother's situation had been another +obstruction in his way. For although she had continued almost fifty +years in confinement, and under the same disorder of mind which concern +for her husband's death had brought upon her, yet the government of +Spain was still vested in her jointly with the Emperor; her name was +inserted, together with his, in all the public instruments issued in +that kingdom; and such was the fond attachment of the Spaniards to her, +that they would probably have scrupled to recognize Philip as their +sovereign, unless she had consented to assume him as her partner on the +throne. Her utter incapacity for business rendered it impossible to +obtain her consent. But her death, which happened this year, removed +this difficulty; and as Charles, upon that event, became sole monarch +of Spain, it left the succession open to his son. The war with France +had likewise been a reason for retaining the administration of affairs +in his own hands, as he was extremely solicitous to have terminated it, +that he might have given up his kingdoms to his son at peace with all +the world. But as Henry had discovered no disposition to close with any +of his overtures, and had even rejected proposals of peace which were +equal and moderate, in a tone that seemed to indicate a fixed purpose of +continuing hostilities, he saw that it was vain to wait longer in +expectation of an event which, however desirable, was altogether +uncertain. + +As this, then, appeared to be the proper juncture for executing the +scheme which he had long meditated, Charles resolved to resign his +kingdoms to his son with a solemnity suitable to the importance of the +transaction, and to perform this last act of sovereignty with such +formal pomp as might leave a lasting impression on the minds not only of +his subjects, but of his successor. With this view he called Philip out +of England, where the peevish temper of his queen, which increased with +her despair of having issue, rendered him extremely unhappy; and the +jealousy of the English left him no hopes of obtaining the direction of +their affairs. Having assembled the states of the Low Countries at +Brussels, on October 25th, Charles seated himself for the last time in +the chair of state, on one side of which was placed his son, and on the +other his sister the Queen of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands, with a +splendid retinue of the princes of the empire and grandees of Spain +standing behind him. The president of the council of Flanders, by his +command, explained in a few words his intention in calling this +extraordinary meeting of the states. He then read the instrument of +resignation, by which Charles surrendered to his son Philip all his +territories, jurisdiction, and authority in the Low Countries, absolving +his subjects there from their oath of allegiance to him, which he +required them to transfer to Philip, his lawful heir, and to serve him +with the same loyalty and zeal which they had manifested, during so long +a course of years, in support of his government. + +Charles then rose from his seat, and leaning on the shoulder of the +Prince of Orange, because he was unable to stand without support, he +addressed himself to the audience, and from a paper which he held in his +hand, in order to assist his memory, he recounted with dignity, but +without ostentation, all the great things which he had undertaken and +performed since the commencement of his administration. He observed +that, from the seventeenth year of his age, he had dedicated all his +thoughts and attention to public objects, reserving no portion of his +time for the indulgence of his ease, and very little for the enjoyment +of private pleasure; that, either in a pacific or hostile manner, he had +visited Germany nine times, Spain six times, France four times, Italy +seven times, the Low Countries ten times, England twice, Africa as +often, and had made eleven voyages by sea; that while his health +permitted him to discharge his duty, and the vigor of his constitution +was equal, in any degree, to the arduous office of governing such +extensive dominions, he had never shunned labor, nor repined under +fatigue; that now, when his health was broken, and his vigor exhausted +by the rage of an incurable distemper, his growing infirmities +admonished him to retire; nor was he so fond of reigning as to retain +the sceptre in an impotent hand, which was no longer able to protect his +subjects, or to secure to them the happiness which he wished they should +enjoy; that instead of a sovereign worn out with diseases, and scarcely +half alive, he gave them one in the prime of life, accustomed already to +govern, and who added to the vigor of youth all the attention and +sagacity of maturer years; and if, during the course of a long +administration, he had committed any material error of government, or +if, under the pressure of so many and great affairs, and amid the +attention which he had been obliged to give to them, he had either +neglected or injured any of his subjects, he now implored their +forgiveness; that, for his part, he should ever retain a grateful sense +of their fidelity and attachment, and would carry the remembrance of it +along with him to the place of his retreat, as his sweetest consolation, +as well as the best reward for all his services, and in his last prayers +to Almighty God would pour forth his most earnest petitions for their +welfare. + +Then, turning toward Philip, who fell on his knees and kissed his +father's hand--"If," said he, "I had left you by my death this rich +inheritance, to which I have made such large additions, some regard +would have been justly due to my memory on that account; but now, when I +voluntarily resign to you what I might have still retained, I may well +expect the warmest expression of thanks on your part. With these, +however, I dispense, and shall consider your concern for the welfare of +your subjects, and your love of them, as the best and most acceptable +testimony of your gratitude to me. It is in your power, by a wise and +virtuous administration, to justify the extraordinary proof which I this +day give of my paternal affection, and to demonstrate that you are +worthy of the confidence which I repose in you. Preserve an inviolable +regard for religion; maintain the Catholic faith in its purity; let the +laws of your country be sacred in your eyes; encroach not on the rights +and privileges of your people; and if the time should ever come when you +shall wish to enjoy the tranquillity of private life, may you have a son +endowed with such qualities that you can resign your sceptre to him with +as much satisfaction as I give up mine to you." + +As soon as Charles had finished this long address to his subjects and to +their new sovereign, he sank into the chair, exhausted and ready to +faint with the fatigue of such an extraordinary effort. During his +discourse the whole audience melted into tears, some from admiration of +his magnanimity, others softened by the expressions of tenderness toward +his son, and of love to his people; and all were affected with the +deepest sorrow at losing a sovereign who, during his administration, had +distinguished the Netherlands, his native country, with particular marks +of his regard and attachment. + +Philip then arose from his knees, and after returning thanks to his +father, with a low and submissive voice, for the royal gift which his +unexampled bounty had bestowed upon him, he addressed the assembly of +the states, and, regretting his inability to speak the Flemish language +with such facility as to express what he felt on this interesting +occasion, as well as what he owed to his good subjects in the +Netherlands, he begged that they would permit Granvelle, bishop of +Arras, to deliver what he had given him in charge to speak in his name. +Granvelle, in a long discourse, expatiated on the zeal with which +Philip was animated for the good of his subjects, on his resolution to +devote all his time and talents to the promoting of their happiness, and +on his intention to imitate his father's example in distinguishing the +Netherlands with peculiar marks of his regard. Maes, a lawyer of great +eloquence, replied in the name of the states, with large professions of +their fidelity and affection to their new sovereign. + +Then Mary, Queen dowager of Hungary, resigned the regency with which she +had been intrusted by her brother during the space of twenty-five years. +Next day Philip, in the presence of the states, took the usual oaths to +maintain the rights and privileges of his subjects; and all the members, +in their own name and in that of their constituents, swore allegiance to +him. + +A few weeks after this transaction, Charles, in an assembly no less +splendid and with a ceremonial equally pompous, resigned to his son the +crowns of Spain, with all the territories depending on them, both in the +Old and in the New world. Of all these vast possessions, he reserved +nothing for himself but an annual pension of a hundred thousand crowns, +to defray the charges of his family, and to afford him a small sum for +acts of beneficence and charity. + +As he had fixed on a place of retreat in Spain, hoping that the dryness +and the warmth of the climate in that country might mitigate the +violence of his disease, which had been much increased by the moisture +of the air and rigor of the winters in the Netherlands, he was extremely +impatient to embark for that kingdom, and to disengage himself entirely +from business, which he found to be impossible while he remained in +Brussels. But his physicians remonstrated so strongly against his +venturing to sea at that cold and boisterous season of the year, that he +consented, though with reluctance, to put off his voyage for some +months. + +He retained the imperial dignity, not from any unwillingness to +relinquish it, for, after having resigned the real and extensive +authority that he enjoyed in his hereditary dominions, to part with the +limited and often ideal jurisdiction which belongs to an elective crown +was no great sacrifice. His sole motive for delay was to gain a few +months for making one trial more, in order to accomplish his favorite +scheme in behalf of his son. At the very time Charles seemed to be most +sensible of the vanity of worldly grandeur, and when he appeared to be +quitting it not only with indifference but with contempt, the vast +schemes of ambition, which had so long occupied and engrossed his mind, +still kept possession of it. He could not think of leaving his son in a +rank inferior to that which he himself had held among the princes of +Europe. As he had, some years before, made a fruitless attempt to secure +the imperial crown to Philip, that, by uniting it to the kingdoms of +Spain and the dominions of the house of Burgundy, he might put it in his +power to prosecute, with a better prospect of success, those great plans +which his own infirmities had obliged him to abandon, he was still +unwilling to relinquish this flattering project as chimerical or +unattainable. + +Notwithstanding the repulse which he had formerly met with from his +brother Ferdinand, he renewed his solicitations with fresh importunity, +and during the summer had tried every art, and employed every argument, +which he thought could induce him to quit the imperial throne to Philip, +and to accept of the investiture of some province, either in Italy or in +the Low Countries, as an equivalent. But Ferdinand, who was so firm and +inflexible with regard to this point that he had paid no regard to the +solicitations of the Emperor, even when they were enforced with all the +weight of authority which accompanies supreme power, received the +overture, that now came from him in the situation to which he had +descended, with great indifference, and would hardly deign to listen to +it. Charles, ashamed of his own credulity in having imagined that he +might accomplish now that which he had attempted formerly without +success, desisted finally from his scheme. He then resigned the +government of the empire, and, having transferred all his claims of +obedience and allegiance from the Germanic body to his brother the King +of the Romans, he executed a deed to that effect, with all the +formalities requisite in such an important transaction. The instrument +of resignation he committed to William, Prince of Orange, and empowered +him to lay it before the college of electors. + +Nothing now remained to detain Charles from that retreat for which he +languished. The preparations for his voyage having been made for some +time, he set out for Zuitburg, in Zealand, where the fleet which was to +convoy him had orders to assemble. In his way thither he passed through +Ghent, and after stopping there a few days, to indulge that tender and +pleasing melancholy which arises in the mind of every man in the decline +of life on visiting the place of his nativity, and viewing the scenes +and objects familiar to him in his early youth, he pursued his journey, +accompanied by his son Philip, his daughter the archduchess, his sisters +the dowager Queens of France and Hungary, Maximilian his son-in-law, and +a numerous retinue of the French nobility. Before he went on board he +dismissed them with marks of his attention or regard, and, taking leave +of Philip with all the tenderness of a father who embraced his son for +the last time, he set sail on September 17th, under the convoy of a +large fleet of Spanish, Flemish, and English ships. He declined a +pressing invitation from the Queen of England to land in some part of +her dominions, in order to refresh himself, and that she might have the +comfort of seeing him once more. "It cannot, surely," said he, "be +agreeable to a queen to receive a visit from a father-in-law who is now +nothing more than a private gentleman." + +His voyage was prosperous, and he arrived at Laredo, in Biscay, on the +eleventh day after he left Zealand. As soon as he landed he fell +prostrate on the ground, and, considering himself now as dead to the +world, he kissed the earth and said, "Naked came I out of my mother's +womb, and naked I now return to thee, thou common mother of mankind." +From Laredo he pursued his journey to Burgos, carried sometimes in a +chair and sometimes in a horse-litter, suffering exquisite pain at every +step, and advancing with the greatest difficulty. Some of the Spanish +nobility repaired to Burgos, in order to pay court to him, but they were +so few in number, and their attendance was so negligent, that Charles +observed it, and felt, for the first time, that he was no longer a +monarch. Accustomed from his early youth to the dutiful and officious +respect with which those who possess sovereign power are attended, he +had received it with the credulity common to princes, and was sensibly +mortified when he now discovered that he had been indebted to his rank +and power for much of that obsequious regard which he had fondly thought +was paid to his personal qualities. But though he might have soon +learned to view with unconcern the levity of his subjects, or to have +despised their neglect, he was more deeply afflicted with the +ingratitude of his son, who, forgetting already how much he owed to his +father's bounty, obliged him to remain some weeks at Burgos before he +paid him the first moiety of that small pension which was all that he +had reserved of so many kingdoms. As, without this sum, Charles could +not dismiss his domestics with such rewards as their services merited, +or his generosity had destined for them, he could not help expressing +both surprise and dissatisfaction. At last the money was paid, and +Charles having dismissed a great number of his domestics, whose +attendance he thought would be superfluous or cumbersome in his +retirement, he proceeded to Valladolid. There he took a last and tender +leave of his two sisters, whom he would not permit to accompany him to +his solitude, though they requested him with tears, not only that they +might have the consolation of contributing by their attendance and care +to mitigate or to soothe his sufferings, but that they might reap +instruction and benefit by joining with him in those pious exercises to +which he had consecrated the remainder of his days. + +From Valladolid he continued his journey to Plazentia in Estremadura. He +had passed through this place a great many years before, and having been +struck at that time with the delightful situation of the monastery of +St. Justus, belonging to the order of St. Jerome, not many miles distant +from the town, he had then observed to some of his attendants that this +was a spot to which Diocletian might have retired with pleasure. The +impression had remained so strong in his mind that he pitched upon it as +the place of his own retreat. It was seated in a vale of no great +extent, watered by a small brook, and surrounded by rising grounds, +covered with lofty trees; from the nature of the soil, as well as the +temperature of the climate, it was esteemed the most healthful and +delicious situation in Spain. Some months before his resignation he had +sent an architect thither to add a new apartment to the monastery, for +his accommodation; but he gave strict orders that the style of the +building should be such as suited his present station, rather than his +former dignity. It consisted only of six rooms, four of them in the form +of friars' cells, with naked walls; the other two, each twenty feet +square, were hung with brown cloth, and furnished in the most simple +manner. They were all on a level with the ground, with a door on one +side into a garden, of which Charles himself had given the plan, and had +filled it with various plants which he intended to cultivate with his +own hands. On the other side, they communicated with the chapel of the +monastery, in which he was to perform his devotions. Into this humble +retreat, hardly sufficient for the comfortable accommodation of a +private gentleman, did Charles enter, with twelve domestics only. He +buried there, in solitude and silence, his grandeur, his ambition, +together with all those vast projects which, during almost half a +century, had alarmed and agitated Europe, filling every kingdom in it, +by turns, with the terror of his arms, and the dread of being subdued by +his power. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[58] Don Levesque, in his memoirs of Cardinal Granvelle, gives a reason +for the Emperor's resignation, which, as far as I recollect, is not +mentioned by any other historian. He says that, the Emperor having ceded +the government of the kingdom of Naples and the duchy of Milan to his +son upon his marriage with the Queen of England, Philip, notwithstanding +the advice and entreaties of his father, removed most of the ministers +and officers whom he had employed in those countries, and appointed +creatures of his own to fill the places which they held. That he aspired +openly, and with little delicacy, to obtain a share in the +administration of affairs in the Low Countries. That he endeavored to +thwart the Emperor's measures and to limit his authority, behaving +toward him sometimes with inattention, and sometimes with haughtiness. +That Charles, finding that he must either yield on every occasion to his +son, or openly contend with him, in order to avoid either of these, +which were both disagreeable and mortifying to a father, he took the +resolution of resigning his crowns, and of retiring from the world (vol. +i. p. 24, etc.). Don Levesque derived his information concerning these +curious facts, which he relates very briefly, from the original papers +of Cardinal Granvelle. But as that vast collection of papers, which has +been preserved and arranged by M. l'Abbe Boizot of Besancon, though one +of the most valuable historical monuments of the sixteenth century, and +which cannot fail of throwing much light on the transactions of Charles +V, is not published, I cannot determine what degree of credit should be +given to this account of Charles' resignation. I have, therefore, taken +no notice of it in relating this event. + + + + +AKBAR ESTABLISHES THE MOGUL EMPIRE IN INDIA + +A.D. 1556 + +J. TALBOYS WHEELER + + Between the years 1494 and 1526 Baber, great-grandson of + Timur (Tamerlane), the Tartar conqueror, made extensive + conquests in India. There he laid the first foundations of + the Mahometan Tartar empire of the Moguls, as his followers + are called. This empire reached its height under Akbar + (Jel-al-eddin Mahomet), who succeeded his father Humayun, + son of Baber, in 1556. Humayun did little toward uniting the + various territories which Baber had conquered. + + Akbar was the contemporary of Queen Elizabeth of England, + and his reign is as important in the history of India as is + hers in the history of the western world. He ascended the + throne at the age of fourteen. At the time of his accession + he was in the Punjab warring against the revolted Afghans. + The commander of the Mogul armies was Bairam Khan, and when + Humayun died that general became Akbar's guardian. + + Wheeler's account of this great ruler's achievements + presents throughout a most interesting portrayal of his + personality and character, and is especially remarkable for + its simplicity and its oriental atmosphere. + + +The reign of Akbar bears a strange resemblance to that of Asoka.[59] +Indeed, the likeness between Akbar and Asoka is one of the most +remarkable phenomena in history. They were separated from each other by +an interval of eighteen centuries; the main features of their respective +lives were practically the same. Asoka was putting down revolt in the +Punjab when his father died; so was Akbar. Asoka was occupied for years +in conquering and consolidating his empire; so was Akbar. Asoka +conquered India to the north of the Nerbudda; so did Akbar. Asoka was +tolerant of other religions; so was Akbar. Asoka went against the +priests; so did Akbar. Asoka taught a religion of his own; so did Akbar. +Asoka abstained from flesh meat; so did Akbar. In the end Asoka took +refuge in Buddha, the law, and the assembly. In the end Akbar recited +the formula of Islam: "There is but one God, and Mahomet is his +prophet." + +Some of these coincidents are mere accidents. Others reveal a similarity +in the current of religious thought, a similarity in the stages of +religious development; consequently they add a new chapter to the +history of mankind. + +The wars of Akbar are only interesting so far as they bring out types of +character. When the news reached the Punjab that Humayun was dead, other +news arrived. Hemu had recovered Agra and Delhi; he was advancing with a +large army into the Punjab. The Mogul force was very small. The Mogul +officers were in a panic; they advised a retreat into Kabul. Akbar and +Bairam Khan resolved on a battle. The Afghans were routed. The Hindu +general was wounded in the eye and taken prisoner. Bairam Khan bade +Akbar slay the Hindu, and win the title of "champion of the faith." +Akbar drew his sword, but shrunk back. He was as brave as a lion; he +would not hack a wounded prisoner. Bairam Khan had no such sentiment. He +beheaded Hemu with his own sword. + +This story marks the contrast between the prince and his guardian. Akbar +was brave and skilful in the field; he was outwardly gracious and +forgiving when the fight was over. Bairam Khan was loyal to the throne; +he slaughtered enemies in cold blood without mercy. It was impossible +that the two should agree. Akbar grew more and more impatient of his +guardian; for years he was self-constrained at Rama. He thought a great +deal, but did nothing; he bided his time. + +Within four years Bairam Khan had laid the foundations of the Mogul +empire. Its limits were as yet restricted. The Mogul pale only covered +the Punjab, the northwest provinces, and Oude; it is only extended from +the Indus to the junction of the Jumna and Ganges. On the south it was +bounded by Rajputana. It included the three capitals of Lahore, Delhi, +and Agra. So far it coincided with the kingdom of Ala-ud-din, who +conquered the Deccan and Peninsula. + +At the end of the four years Akbar was a young man of eighteen. He +resolved to throw off the authority of his guardian. He carried out his +designs with the artifice of an Asiatic. He pretended that his mother +was sick. He left the camp where Bairam Khan commanded, in order to pay +her a visit. He proclaimed that he had assumed the authority of +Padishah; that no orders were to be obeyed save his own. Bairam Khan was +taken by surprise. Possibly, had he known what was coming, he would have +put Akbar out of the way; but his power was gone. He tried to work upon +the feelings of Abkar; he found that the Padishah was inflexible. He +revolted, but was defeated and forgiven. Akbar offered him any post save +that of minister; he would be minister or nothing. In the end he elected +to go to Mecca, the last refuge for Mussulman statesmen. Everything was +ready for his embarkation; suddenly he was assassinated by an Afghan. It +was the old story of Afghan revenge. He had killed the father of the +assassin in some battle: in revenge the son had stabbed him to death. + +Akbar was now free to act. The political situation was one of extreme +peril. The Afghans were fighting one another in Kabul in the northwest; +they were also fighting one another in Behar and Bengal in the +southeast. When he marched against one, his territories were exposed to +the raids of the other. Meantime his Mogul officers often set his +sovereignty at defiance; when brought to task they broke out in mutiny +and rebellion. Two events at this period will show the actual state of +affairs. + +Far away in the south of Rajputana lies the remote territory of Malwa. +It was originally conquered by Ala-ud-din. During the decline of the +Tughlaks the governor Malwa became an independent ruler. At the +beginning of the reign of Akbar, Baz Bahadur was ruler of Malwa. He was +a type of the Mussulman princes of the time; no doubt he went to mosque; +he surrounded himself with Hindu singing and dancing girls; he became +more or less Hinduized. Akbar sent an officer named Adham Khan to +conquer Malwa. Adham Khan had no difficulty. Baz Bahadur abandoned his +treasures and harem and fled. Adham Khan distributed part of the spoil +to the Padishah. Akbar could not brook such disobedience. +Notwithstanding the distance he hurried to Malwa. He received his +rightful share of the plunder; he professed to accept the excuses of the +defaulter. When he returned to Agra he recalled Adham Khan to court; he +sent another governor to Malwa. Adham Khan obeyed; he went to Agra; he +found that he had lost favor. Commands were given to others. He could +get nothing. He was driven mad by delay and disappointment. He did not +suspect Akbar; he threw the blame upon the minister. One day he went to +the palace; he stabbed the minister to death in the hall of audience; he +ran up to an outer terrace. Akbar heard the uproar; he rushed in and +beheld the bleeding corpse. He saw the stupefied murderer on the +terrace; he half drew his sword, but remembered himself. Adham Khan +seized his hands and begged for mercy. Akbar shook him off and ordered +the servants to throw him from the terrace. The order was obeyed; Adham +Khan was killed on the spot. + +Another officer, named Khan Zeman, played a similar game in Behar. He +was warned that Akbar was on the move; he escaped punishment by making +over the spoil before Akbar came up. This satisfied Akbar; he returned +part of the spoil and went back to Agra. Henceforth Khan Zeman was a +rebel at heart. Some Usbeg chiefs revolted in Oudh; they were joined by +Khan Zeman. Akbar was called away to the Punjab by an Afghan invasion; +on his return the rebels were in possession of Oudh and Allahabad. Akbar +marched against them in the middle of the rains. He outstripped his +army; he reached the Ganges with only his bodyguard. The rebels were +encamped on the opposite bank; they had no fear; they expected Akbar to +wait until his army came up. That night Akbar swam the river with his +bodyguard. At daybreak he attacked the enemy. The rebels heard the +thunder of the imperial kettle-drums; they could not believe their ears. +They fled in all directions. Khan Zeman was slain in the pursuit. The +other leaders were taken prisoners; they were trampled to death by +elephants. Thus for a while the rebellion was stamped out. + +These incidents are only types of others. In plain truth, the Mussulman +power in India had spent its force. The brotherhood of Islam had ceased +to bind together conflicting races; it could not hold together men of +the same race. The struggle between Shiah and Sunni was dividing the +world of Islam. Moguls, Turks, and Afghans were fighting against each +other; they were also fighting among themselves. Rebels of different +races were combining against the Padishah. Meantime any scruples that +remained against fighting fellow-Mussulmans were a hinderance to Akbar +in putting down revolts. The Mussulman power was crumbling to pieces. +The dismemberment had begun two centuries earlier in the revolt of the +Deccan. Since then the strength which remained in the scattered +fragments was wasted in wars and revolts; the whole country was drifting +into anarchy. + +No one could save the empire but a born statesman. Akbar had already +proved himself a born soldier. Had he been only a soldier he might still +have held his own against Afghans and Usbegs from Peshawur to Allahabad. +Had he been bloodthirsty and merciless, like Bairam Khan, he might have +stamped out revolt and mutiny by massacre and terrorism. But he would +have left no mark in history, no lessons for posterity, no political +ideas for the education of the world. He might have made a name like +Genghis Khan or Timur; but the story of his life would have dropped into +oblivion. After his death every evil that festered in the body politic +would have broken out afresh. His successors would have inherited the +same wars, the same revolts, and the same mutinies; unless they had +inherited his capacity, they would have died out in anarchy and in +revolution. + +Akbar had never been educated. He had never learned to write, nor even +to read. He had not gone with his father to Persia, where he might have +been schooled in Mussulman learning. He had spent a joyless boyhood with +a cruel uncle in Kabul; he had been schooled in nothing but war. But he +had listened to histories, and pondered over histories, until grand +ideas began to seethe in his brain. + +The problem before him was the resuscitation of the empire, or rather +the creation of a new empire out of the existing chaos. Fresh blood was +wanted to infuse life and strength into the body politic; to enable the +Mogul Shiahs to subdue the Afghan Sunnis. Akbar saw with the eye of +genius that the necessary force was latent in the Rajputs. Henceforth he +devoted all the energies of his nature to bring that force into healthy +play. + +In 1575 Akbar was about thirty-four years of age. Twenty years had +passed away since the boy had been installed as padishah. He had not as +yet conquered Kabul in the northwest, nor Bengal in the southeast; he +had not made any sensible advance into the Deccan. But he had gained a +succession of victories. He had restored order in the Punjab and +Hindustan. He had subdued Malwa, Guzerat, and Rajputana. Many Rajputs +were still in arms against him; he had nothing to fear from them. He had +fixed his capital at Agra; his favorite residence, however, was at +Fathipur Sikri, about twelve miles from Agra. + +It is easy to individualize Akbar. He was haughty, like all the Moguls; +he was outwardly clement and affable. He was tall and handsome; broad in +the chest and long in the arms. His complexion was ruddy, a nut-brown. +He had a good appetite and a good digestion. His strength was +prodigious. His courage was very remarkable. While yet a boy he +displayed prodigies of valor in the battle against Hemu. He would spring +on the backs of elephants who had killed their keepers; he would compel +them to do his bidding. He kept a herd of dromedaries; he gained his +victories by the rapidity of his marches. He was an admirable marksman. +He had a favorite gun which had brought him thousands of game. With that +same gun he shot Jeimal the Rajput at the siege of Chitor. + +Akbar, like his father and grandfather, professed to be a Mussulman. His +mother was a Persian; he was a Persian in his thoughts and ways. He was +imbued with the old Mogul instinct of toleration. He was lax and +indifferent, without the semblance of zeal. He consulted soothsayers who +divined with burned rams' bones. He celebrated the Persian festival of +the Nau-roz, or new year, which had no connection with Islam. He +reverenced the seven heavenly bodies by wearing a dress of different +color every day in the week. He joined in the Brahmanical worship and +sacrifices of his Rajput queens. Still he was outwardly a Mussulman. He +had no sons; he vowed that if a son was born to him he would walk to the +tomb of a Mussulman saint at Ajmir; it was more than two hundred miles +from Fathipur. In 1570 his eldest son Seli was born; Akbar walked to +Ajmir; he offered up his prayers at the tomb. + +Meantime the Ulama were growing troublesome at Agra. The Ulama comprised +the collective body of Mussulman doctors and lawyers who resided at the +capital. The Ulama have always possessed great weight in a Mussulman +state. Judges, magistrates, and law officers in general are chosen from +their number. Consequently the opinion of the collective body was +generally received as the final authority. The Ulama at Agra were +bigoted Sunnis. They hated and persecuted the Shiahs. Especially they +persecuted the teachers of the Sufi heresy, which had grown up in Persia +and was spreading in India. They had grown in power under the Afghan +sultans. They had been quiet in the days of Humayun and Bairam Khan; +both were confessedly Shiahs; the Ulama were too courtly to offend the +power which appointed the law officers. When, however, Akbar threw over +Bairam Khan and asserted his own sovereignty, the Ulama became more +active. They were anxious to keep the young Padishah in the right way. + +Akbar and his vizier Abul Fazl were certainly men of genius. They are +still the bright lights of Indian history. They were the foremost men of +their time. But each had a characteristic weakness. Akbar was a born +Mogul. With all his good qualities he was proud, ignorant, inquisitive, +and self-sufficient. Abul Fazl was a born courtier. With all his good +qualities he was a flatterer, a time-server, and a eulogist; he made +Akbar his idol; he bowed down and worshipped him. They became close +friends; they were indeed necessary to each other. Akbar looked to his +minister for praise; Abul Fazl looked to his master for advancement. It +is difficult to admire the genius of Akbar without seeing that he has +been worked upon by Abul Fazl. It is equally difficult to admire the +genius of Abul Fazl without seeing that he is pandering to the vanity of +Akbar. + +When Akbar made the acquaintance of Abul Fazl he was in sore perplexity. +He was determined to rule men of all creeds with even hand. The Ulama +were thwarting him. The chief justice at Agra had sentenced men to death +for being Shiahs and heretics. The Ulama were urging the Padishah to do +the same. He was reluctant to quarrel with them; he was still more +reluctant to sanction their high-handed proceedings toward men who +worshipped the same God, but after a different fashion. + +How far Akbar opened his soul to Abul Fazl is unknown. No doubt Abul +Fazl read his thoughts. Indeed, he had his own wrongs to avenge. The +Ulama had persecuted his father and driven him into exile. The Ulama +were ignorant, bigoted, and puffed up with pride and orthodoxy. Their +learning was confined to Arabic and the _Koran_. They ignored what they +did not know and could not understand. Abul Fazl must have hated and +despised them. He was far too courtly, too astute, to express his real +sentiments. The Ulama were at variance with the Padishah; they were also +at variance among themselves. Possibly he foresaw that if they disputed +before Akbar they might excite his contempt. How far he worked upon +Akbar can never be ascertained. In the end Akbar ordered that the Ulama +should discuss all questions in his presence; he would then decide who +was right and who was wrong. + +There is no evidence that Abul Fazl suggested this course. It was, +however, the kind of incense that a courtier would offer to a sovereign +like Akbar. The learned men were to lay their opinions before the +Padishah; he was to sit and judge. If he needed help, Abul Fazl would be +at his side. Indeed, Abul Fazl would ask questions and invite opinions. +He, the Padishah, would only hear and decide. Accordingly, preparations +were made for the coming debates. + +The discussions were held on Thursday evenings. They were carried on in +a large pavilion; it was built for the purpose in the royal garden at +Fathpur Sikri. All the learned men at Agra were invited to attend. The +Padishah and all the grandees of the empire were present. Abul Fazl +acted as a kind of director. He started questions; he expounded his +master's policy of toleration. Akbar preserved his dignity as padishah. +He listened with majestic gravity to all that was said. Occasionally he +bestowed praises and presents upon the best speakers. + +For many evenings the proceedings were conducted with due decorum. As, +however, the speakers grew accustomed to the presence of the Padishah, +the spirit of dissension began to work. One evening it led to an uproar; +learned men reviled each other before the Padishah. No doubt Abul Fazl +did his best to make the Ulama uncomfortable. He shifted the discussion +from one point to another. He started dangerous subjects. He placed them +in dilemmas. If they sought to please the Padishah they sinned against +the _Koran_; if they stuck to the _Koran_ they offended the Padishah. A +question was started as to Akbar's marriages. One orthodox magistrate +was too conscientious to hold his tongue; he was removed from his post. +The courtiers saw that the Padishah delighted in the discomfiture of +the Ulama with inconsistency, trickery, and cheating. The law officers +were unable to defend themselves. Their authority and orthodoxy was set +at naught. They were fast drifting into disgrace and ruin. They had +cursed one another in their speech; probably in their hearts they were +all agreed in cursing Abul Fazl. + +By this time Akbar held the Ulama in small esteem. He was growing +sceptical of their religion. He had listened to the history of the +caliphate; he yearned toward Ali and his family; he became in heart a +Shiah. Already he may have doubted Mahomet and the _Koran_. Still he was +outwardly a Mussulman. His object now was to overthrow the Ulama +altogether; to become himself the supreme spiritual head, the pope or +caliph of Islam. Abul Fazl was laboring to invest him with the same +authority. He mooted the question one Thursday evening. He raised a +storm of opposition; for this he was prepared. He had started the idea; +he exerted all his tact and skill to carry it out. + +The debates proved that there were differences of opinion among the +Ulama. Abul Fazl urged that there were differences of opinion between +the highest Mussulman authorities; between those who were accepted as +infallible, and were known as Mujtahids. He thus inserted the thin edge +of the wedge. He proposed that when the Mujtahids disagreed, the +decision should be left to the Padishah. Weeks and months passed away in +these discussions. Nothing could be said against the measure excepting +that it would prove offensive to the Padishah. + +Meantime a document was drawn up in the names of the chief men among the +Ulama. It gave the Padishah the power of deciding between the +conflicting authorities. It gave him the still more dangerous power of +issuing fresh decrees, provided they were in accordance with some verse +of the _Koran_ and were manifestly for the benefit of the people. The +document was in the handwriting of Sheik Mubarak; Abul Fazl, Abdul Faiz, +and probably Akbar himself had each a hand in the composition. The chief +men among the Ulama were required to sign it. Perhaps if they had been +priests or divines they might have resisted to the last. But they were +magistrates and judges; their posts and emoluments were in danger. In +the end they signed it in sheer desperation. From that day the power of +the Ulama was gone; they had abdicated their authority to the padishah; +they became mere ciphers in Islam. A worse lot befell their leaders. The +head of the Ulama and the obnoxious chief justice were removed from +their posts and forced to go to Mecca. + +The breaking up of the Ulama is an epoch in history of Mussulman India. +The Ulama may have been ignorant and bigoted; they may have sought to +keep religions and the government of the empire within the narrow +grooves of orthodoxy. Nevertheless, they had played an important part +throughout Mussulman rule. As exponents of the law of Mahomet they had +often proved a salutary check upon despotism of the sovereign. They had +forced every minister, governor, and magistrate to respect the +fundamental principles of the _Koran_. They led and controlled public +opinion among the Mussulman population. They formed the only body in the +state that ever ventured to oppose the will of the sovereign. + +The Thursday evenings had done their work. Within four years they had +broken up the power of the Ulama. Abul Fazl had another project in his +brain; it combined the audacity of genius with the mendacity of a +courtier. He declared that Akbar was himself the twelfth imam, the lord +of the period, who was to reconcile the seventy-two sects of Islam, to +regenerate the world, to usher in the millennium. The announcement took +the court by surprise. It fitted, however, into current ideas; it paved +the way for further assumptions. Akbar grasped the notion with +eagerness; it fascinated him for the remainder of his life; it bound him +in the closest ties of friendship and confidence with Abul Fazl. + +The religious life of Akbar had undergone a vast change. He was testing +religion by morality and reason. His faith in Islam was fading away. +Mahomet had married a girl of ten; he had taken another man's wife; +therefore he could not have been a prophet sent by God. Akbar +disbelieved the story of his night-journey to heaven. Meantime Akbar was +eagerly learning the mysteries of other religions. He entertained +Brahmans, Sufis, Parsis, and Christian fathers. He believed in the +transmigration of the soul, in the supreme spirit, in the ecstatic +reunion of the soul with God, in the deity of fire and the sun. He +leaned toward Christianity; he rejected the trinity and incarnation. + +The gravitations of Akbar toward Christianity are invested with singular +interest. He had been impressed with what he heard of the Portuguese in +India; their large ships, impregnable forts, and big guns. He sent a +letter to the Portuguese viceroy at Goa inviting Christian fathers to +come to his court at Fathpur Sikri and instruct him in the sacred books. +The religious world at Goa was thrown into a ferment at the prospect of +converting the Great Mogul. Every priest in Goa prayed that he might be +sent on the mission. Three fathers were despatched to Fathpur, which was +more than twelve hundred miles away. Akbar awaited their arrival with +the utmost impatience. He received them with every mark of favor. They +delivered their presents, consisting of a polyglot Bible in four +languages and the images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. To their +unspeakable delight the Great Mogul placed the Bible on his head and +kissed the images. So eager was he for instruction that he spent the +whole night in conversation with the fathers. He provided them with +lodgings in the precincts of his palace; he permitted them to set up a +chapel and altar. + +Akbar had ceased to be a Mussulman; he still maintained appearances. He +set apart Saturday evenings for controversies between the fathers and +the mollahs. In the end the fathers convinced Akbar of the superiority +of Christianity. They contrasted the sensualities of Mahomet with the +pure morality of the Gospel; the wars of Mahomet and the caliphs with +the preachings and sufferings of the Apostles. The Mussulman historian +curses the fathers; he states that Akbar became a Christian. The +fathers, however, could never induce Akbar to be baptized. He gave them +his favorite son Amurath, a boy of thirteen, to be educated in +Christianity and the European sciences. He directed Abul Fazl to prepare +a translation of the Gospel. He entered the chapel of the fathers, and +prostrated himself before the image of the Saviour. He permitted the +fathers to preach Christianity in any part of his empire; to perform +their rites in public, in opposition to Mussulman law. A Portuguese was +buried at Fathpur with all the pomp of the Roman Catholic ritual; the +cross was carried through the streets for the first time. But Akbar +would not become a Christian; he waited, he said, for the divine +illumination. + +"He hated the Mussulman religion. He overthrew the mosques and converted +them into stables. He trusted and employed the Hindus more than the +Mussulmans. Many of the Mussulmans rebelled against him; they stirred up +his brother, the Governor of Kabul, to take up arms against him; but +Akbar defeated the rebels and restored order. + +"It is uncertain what really was the religion of Akbar. Some said that +he was a Hindu; others that he was a Christian. Some said that he +belonged to a fourth sect, which was not connected with either of the +three others. He acknowledged one God who was best content with a +variety of sects and worshippings. Early in the morning, and again at +noon, evening, and midnight, he worshipped the sun. He belonged to a new +sect, of which the followers regarded him as their prophet." + +Akbar was no fanatic. He was not carried away by religious craze. His +religion was the outcome of his policy; it was political rather than +superstitious; it began with him and ended with him. Probably the lack +of fanaticism caused its failure. Abul Fazl speaks of the numbers who +joined it; the list which he has preserved only contains the names of +eighteen courtiers, including himself, his father, and his brother. Only +one Hindu is on the list; namely, Bir Bar, the Brahman. + +Akbar tried hard to improve the morals of his subjects, Hindus as well +as Mussulmans. He placed restrictions upon prostitution; he severely +punished seducers. He permitted the use of wine; he punished +intoxication. He prohibited the slaughter of cows. He forbade the +marriage of boys before they were sixteen, and of girls before they were +fourteen. He permitted the marriage of Hindu widows. He tried to stop +sati among the Hindus, and polygamy among the Mussulmans. + +There was much practical simplicity in Akbar's character. It showed +itself in a variety of ways. It was not peculiar to Akbar; it was an +instinct which shows itself in Moguls generally. His emirs cheated him +by bringing borrowed horses to muster; he stopped them by branding every +horse with the name of the emir to which it belonged as well as with the +imperial mark. He appointed writers to record everything he said or +did. He sent writers into every city and province to report to him +everything that was going on. He hung up a bell at the palace; any man +who had a grievance might ring the bell and obtain a hearing. + +Akbar was very inquisitive. He sent an expedition to discover the +sources of the Ganges. He made a strange experiment to discover what +language was first spoken by mankind. This experiment is typical of the +man. The Mussulmans declared that the first language was Arabic; the +Jews said it was Hebrew; the Brahmans said it was Sanskrit. Akbar +ordered twelve infants to be brought up by dumb nurses; not a word was +to be spoken in their presence until they were twelve years of age. When +the time arrived the children were brought before Akbar. Proficients in +the learned tongues were present to catch the first words, to decide +upon the language to which it belonged. The children could not say a +word; they spoke only by signs. The experiment was an utter failure. + +The character of Akbar had its dark side. He was sometimes harsh and +cruel. His persecution of Mussulmans was unpardonable. He had another +way of getting rid of his enemies which is revolting to civilization. He +kept a prisoner in his pay. He carried a box with three +compartments--one for betel; another for digestive pills; a third for +poisoned pills. No one dared to refuse to eat what was offered him by +the Padishah; the offer was esteemed an honor. How many were poisoned by +Akbar is unknown. The practice was in full force during the reigns of +his successors. + +Akbar required his emirs to prostrate themselves before him. This rule +gave great offence to Mussulmans; prostration is worship; no strict +Mussulman will perform worship except when offering his prayers to God. +Abul Fazl says that Akbar ordered it to be discontinued. The point is +doubtful. It was certainly performed by members of the "divine faith." +It was also performed during the reign of his son and successor. + +The Mogul government was pure despotism. Every governor and viceroy was +supreme within his province; the Padishah was supreme throughout his +empire. There was nothing to check provincial rulers but fear of the +Padishah; there was nothing to check the Padishah but fear of rebellion. +All previous Mussulman sovereigns had been checked by the Ulama and the +authority of the _Koran_. Akbar had broken up the Ulama and set aside +the _Koran_; he governed the empire according to his will; his will was +law. The old Mogul khans had held diets; no trace of a diet is to be +found in the history of Mogul India prior to the reign of Aurungzeb. +There may have been a semblance of a diet on the accession of a new +padishah; all the emirs, rajas, and princes of the empire paid their +homage, presented gifts, and received titles and honors. But there was +no council or parliament of any sort or kind. The Padishah was one and +supreme. + +Akbar dwelt many years at Lahore. There he seems to have reached the +height of human felicity. A proverb became current, "As happy as Akbar." +He established his authority in Kabul and Bengal. He added Cashmere to +his dominions. His empire was as large as that of Asoka. + +During the reign of Burhan, Akbar sent ambassadors to the sultans of the +Deccan to invite them to accept him as their suzerain. In return he +would uphold them on their thrones; he would prevent all internecine +wars. One and all refused to pay allegiance to the Mogul. Akbar was +wroth at the refusal. He sent his son Amurath to command in Guzerat; he +ordered Amurath to seize the first opportunity for interfering in the +affairs of Ahmadnagar. + +The moment soon arrived. Burhan died in 1594. A war ensued between rival +claimants for the throne. The minister invited Amurath to interfere. +Amurath advanced to Ahmadnagar. Meantime the minister and queen came to +terms; they united to resist the Moguls. The Queen dowager, known as +Chand Bibi, arrayed herself in armor; she veiled her face and led the +troops in person. The Moguls were driven back. At last a compromise was +effected. Berar was ceded to the Padishah; Amurath retired from +Ahmadnagar. + +About this time a strange event took place at Lahore. On Easter Sunday, +1597, the Padishah was celebrating the Nau-roz, or feast of the new +year, in honor of the sun. Tented pavilions were set up in a large +plain. An image of the sun, fashioned of gold and jewels, was placed +upon a throne. Suddenly a thunderbolt fell from the skies. The throne +was overturned. The royal pavilion was set on fire; the flames spread +throughout the camp; the whole was burned to the ground. The fire +reached the city and burned down the palace. Nearly everything was +consumed. The imperial treasures were melted down, and molten gold and +silver ran through the streets of Lahore. + +This portentous disaster made a deep impression on Akbar. He went away +to Cashmere; he took one of the Christian fathers with him. He began to +question the propriety of his new religion; he could not bring himself +to retract, certainly not to become an open Christian. When the summer +was over he returned to Lahore. + +In 1598 Akbar left Lahore and set out for Agra. He was displeased with +the conduct of the war in the Deccan. His son Amurath was a drunkard. +The commander-in-chief, known as the Khan Khanan, who accompanied +Amurath, was intriguing and treacherous; he had probably been bribed by +the Deccanis. Abul Fazl was still the trusted servant and friend; he had +been raised to the rank of commander of two thousand five hundred. Akbar +had already recalled the Khan Khanan. He now sent Abul Fazl into the +Deccan to bring away Amurath, or to send him away, as should seem most +expedient. + +Abul Fazl departed on his mission. He arrived at Burhanpur, the capital +of Khandesh. He soon discovered the luke-warmness of Bahadur Khan, the +ruler. He insisted that Bahadur Khan should join him and help the +imperial cause. Bahadur Khan was disinclined to help Akbar to conquer +the Deccan. He thought to back out by sending rich presents to Abul +Fazl. Abul Fazl was too loyal to be bribed; he returned the presents and +went alone toward Ahmadnagar. + +Meanwhile Amurath was retreating from Ahmadnagar. He encamped in Berar; +he drank more deeply than ever; he died very suddenly the very day that +Abul Fazl came up. The death of Amurath removed one complication, but it +led to the question of advance. The imperial officers urged a retreat. +Abul Fazl had been bred in a cloister; he was approaching his fiftieth +year; he had never before been in active service, but he had the spirit +of a soldier; he refused to retreat from an enemy's country; he pushed +manfully on for Ahmadnagar. His efforts were rewarded with success. The +Queen-regent was assailed by other enemies, and yielded to her fate. +She agreed that if Abul Fazl would punish her enemies, she would +surrender the fortress of Ahmadnagar. + +Tidings had now reached Akbar that his son Amurath was dead. He resolved +to go in person to the Deccan. He left his eldest son, Selim, in charge +of the government. He sent an advance force under his other son, Danyal, +associated with the Khan Khanan. The advance force reached Burhanpur. +There the disloyalty of Bahadur Khan was manifest; he refused to pay +respects to Danyal. Akbar was encamped at Ujain when the news reached +him. He ordered Abul Fazl to join him; he ordered Danyal to go on to +Ahmadnagar; he then prepared for the subjugation of Bahadur Khan. + +The story of the operations may be told in a few words. Danyal advanced +to Ahmadnagar. Chand Bibi was slaughtered by her own soldiers. +Ahmadnagar was occupied by the Moguls. Meanwhile Bahadur Khan abandoned +Burhanpur and took refuge in the strong fortress of Asirghur. Akbar was +joined by Abul Fazl and laid siege to Asirghur. The siege lasted six +months. At last Bahadur Khan surrendered; his life was spared; +henceforth he fades away from history. + +So far Akbar had prospered; he had conquered the great highway into the +Deccan--Malwa, Khandesh, Berar, and Ahmadnagar. He raised Abul Fazl to +the command of four thousand. He resolved on conquering the Deccan. He +was about to strike when his arm was arrested. His eldest son Selim had +broken out in revolt. He had gone to Allahabad and assumed the title of +padishah. + +Akbar returned alone to Agra; he was falling on evil days. He effected a +reconciliation with Selim; he saw that Selim was still rebellious at +heart; that his best officers were inclining toward his undutiful son. +In his perplexity he sent to the Deccan for Abul Fazl. The trusted +servant hastened to join his imperial master. But Selim had always hated +Abul Fazl. He instigated a Rajput chief of Bundelkund to waylay Abul +Fazl. This chief was Bir Singh of Urchah. Bir Singh fell upon Abul Fazl +near Nawar, killed him, and sent his head to Selim. Bir Singh fled from +the wrath of the Padishah; he led the life of an outlaw in the jungle +until he heard of the death of Akbar. + +Akbar was deeply wounded by the murder of Abul Fazl. He thereby lost his +chief support, his best trusted friend. Henceforth he seemed to yield to +circumstances rather than to struggle against the world. Other +misfortunes befell him: his mother died; his youngest son, Danyal, +killed himself with drink in the Deccan; his own life was beginning to +draw to a close. + +The last events in the reign of Akbar are obscure. Outwardly he became +reconciled to Selim. Outwardly he abandoned scepticism and heresy; he +professed himself a Mussulman. At heart he was anxious that Selim should +be set aside; that Khuzru, the eldest son of Selim, should succeed him +to the throne. It is impossible to unravel the intrigues that filled the +court at Agra. At last Akbar was smitten with mortal disease. For some +days Selim was refused admittance to his father's chamber. In the end +there was a compromise. Selim swore to maintain the Mussulman religion. +He also swore to pardon his son Khuzru and all who had supported Khuzru. +He was then brought into the presence of Akbar. The old Padishah was +past all speech. He made a sign with his hand that Selim should take the +imperial diadem and gird on the imperial sword. Selim obeyed. He +prostrated himself upon the ground before the couch of his dying father; +he touched the ground with his head. He then left the chamber. A few +hours had passed away and Akbar was dead. He died in October, 1605, aged +sixty-three. + +The burial of Akbar was performed after a simple fashion. His grave was +prepared in a garden at Secundra, about four miles from Agra. The body +was placed upon a bier. Selim and his three sons carried it out of the +fortress. The young princes, assisted by the officers of the imperial +household, carried it to Secundra. Seven days were spent in mourning +over the grave. Provisions and sweetmeats were distributed among the +poor every morning and evening throughout the mourning. Twenty readers +were appointed to recite the _Koran_ every night without ceasing. +Finally, the foundations were laid of that splendid mausoleum which is +known far and wide as the tomb of Akbar. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[59] Asoka was an illustrious king of the Maurya dynasty in India, who +died about B.C. 225. He did much for the advancement of Buddhism, and +has been called the "Buddhist Constantine."--ED. + + + + +CHRONOLOGY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY + +EMBRACING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THIS VOLUME + +A.D. 1517-1557 + +JOHN RUDD, LL.D. + + +Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals +following give volume and page. + +Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of +famous persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page +references showing where the several events are fully treated. + +* Denotes date uncertain. + +A.D. + +1517. Protest of Luther against the sale of indulgences. See "LUTHER +BEGINS THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY," ix, 1. + +Overthrow of the mameluke power in Egypt, by Selim I, who annexes that +country to the Ottoman empire. + +Balboa beheaded by Pedrarias Davila, the new Governor of Darien, on a +charge of contemplated revolt. + +Negro slaves first introduced into America. See "NEGRO SLAVERY IN +AMERICA," ix, 36. + + +1518. First preaching of the reformed doctrines by Zwingli, in +Switzerland. + +Conquest of Arabia by the Ottomans. + + +1519. Death of Maximilian I; his grandson, Charles I of Spain--jointly +with Ferdinand his brother, in his hereditary realm--elected as Emperor +Charles V. Union under one crown of the German Empire, Spain, the +Netherlands, the Sicilies, Sardinia, and the Spanish Indies. + +Cortes first enters Mexico. See "CORTES CAPTURES THE CITY OF MEXICO," +ix, 72. + +Mouth of the Mississippi discovered by Francisco de Garay. + +Magellan starts on his expedition to circumnavigate the world. See +"FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE," ix, 41. + + +1520. Papal bull of Leo X against Luther, who publicly burns it. See +"LUTHER BEGINS THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY," ix, 1. + +Execution of nobles at Stockholm, following the successful invasion of +Sweden by King Christian II of Denmark; Sten Sture, the Protector, is +mortally wounded at Bogesund; Christian proclaimed king. + +Henry VIII of England agrees to meet Francis I of France. See "THE FIELD +OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD," ix, 59. + +Solyman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottomans, succeeds Selim I. + + +1521. Conquest of Belgrade by the Ottoman Turks. + +Issue of the first of the Placards, edicts of Emperor Charles V against +heresy, in the Netherlands. + +First of the wars between Charles V and Francis I; Navarre +unsuccessfully invaded by the French; France invaded from the north; +Milan lost to the French. + +Treaty of Bruges between Henry VIII and Charles V. + +Execution of the Duke of Buckingham for high treason; the office of +constable of England, his inheritance, abolished. + +"CORTES CAPTURES THE CITY OF MEXICO." See ix, 72. + +Magellan reaches the Ladrones and the Philippines; he is slain on an +island of the latter group. + + +1522. Conquest of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John by the Turks, +under Solyman the Magnificent. + +Battle of La Biococca; the French defeated by the forces of Charles +under Colonna. + +France invaded by the English under the Earl of Surrey. + +A ship belonging to Magellan's fleet completes the circumnavigation of +the globe. + +Luther publishes his New Testament; he writes his Reply to Henry VIII, +who had been dubbed "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X, in +acknowledgment of a book, _A Defence of the Seven Sacraments_, written +against Luther. + + +1523. Invasion of France by Henry VIII and Charles V. + +Italy invaded by the French. + +Abrogation of the mass and image-worship in Switzerland. + +Gustavus Vasa becomes king of Sweden. See "LIBERATION OF SWEDEN," ix, +79. + +Frederick I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, succeeds to the throne of +Christian II of Denmark, who is deposed by his subjects. + + +1524. Retreat of Bonnivet; death of Bayard, "the knight without fear and +without reproach." Italy invaded by Francis I; he occupies Milan and +lays siege to Pavia. + +"THE PEASANTS' WAR IN GERMANY." See ix, 93. + +Voyage to the North American coast by Verrazano, an Italian navigator, +on behalf of France. + + +1525. Defeat of Francis I at Pavia. See "FRANCE LOSES ITALY," ix, 111. + +Bloody conclusion of the Peasants' War. + +A hereditary Protestant principality formed in East Prussia by the grand +master of the Teutonic Knights; the suzerain being Sigismund, King of +Poland. + + +1526. Treaty of Madrid; release of Francis I. See "FRANCE LOSES ITALY," +ix, 111. + +Battle of Mohacs; the Hungarians are overwhelmed by Solyman; Louis II +slain. Rival elections of John Zapolya and Ferdinand of Austria to the +vacant throne. + +Foundation of the Mongol dynasty of India by Baber, who conquers Ibrahim +Lodi of Delhi at Paniput. + +Tyndale's version of the English Bible printed at Worms. + + +1527. Storming of Rome; it is pillaged by the troops of the Constable de +Bourbon. See "SACK OF ROME BY THE IMPERIAL TROOPS," ix, 124. + +Restoration of the republic in Florence; the Medici expelled. + +Winning of the Hungarian crown by Ferdinand of Austria; Zapolya expelled +the country. + + +1528. War declared against Charles V by Henry VIII and Francis I. + +Deliverance of Genoa from the French yoke, by Andrea Doria. + +After tyrannizing over Scotland for more than two years, the Earl of +Angus is driven out of the realm. + + +1529. Fall of Cardinal Wolsey. See "GREAT RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN +ENGLAND," ix, 137. + +Presentation of the Protest by the German reformers at the Diet of +Spire; from this the reformers take the name of Protestants.[60] + +Peace of Cambrai between Francis I and Charles V. + +Siege of Florence; united attempt of Charles V and Pope Clement VII to +restore the rule of the Medici. + +Vienna unsuccessfully besieged by Solyman the Magnificent; he gives to +Zapolya the rule in Hungary. + +Establishment in Sweden of Lutheranism as the state church. + + +1530. Coronation of Charles V, Pope Clement VII, at Bologna, performing +the ceremony, the last crowning by any pope of a German emperor. + +Restoration of the Medici on the submission of Florence to the invaders. + +Malta ceded to the Knights of St. John by Charles V, who also hands over +the Moluccas to the Portuguese. + +Formulation of the reform (Protestant) profession of faith at the Diet +of Augsburg; prepared and read before the Diet by Melanchthon. + + +1531. Breach between Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII. + +Battle of Kappel; defeat of the army of Zurich by Swiss Catholics; fall +of Zwingli. + +Henry VIII of England first addressed as "supreme head of the Church." + +Publication of Michel Servetus' treatise on the _Errors of the Trinity_. + + +1532. Restoration of religious peace, with freedom of worship, in +Germany, secured by the Pacification of Nuremberg. + +Conquest of Peru. See "PIZARRO CONQUERS PERU," ix, 156. + + +1533. Cranmer annuls the marriage of Henry VIII with Catherine of +Aragon; he marries Anne Boleyn; her coronation. + +Marriage of the Dauphin Henry with Catherine de' Medici. + +Enforced flight of Calvin from Paris. See "CALVIN IS DRIVEN FROM PARIS," +ix, 176. + +Queen Margaret of Navarre, sister of Francis I, avows heretical +opinions; her mysteries, farces, and novels give a great impulse to +literature in France. + +A taste for poetry and refinement of the English language follows the +writings of Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Thomas Wyatt, in England. + + +1534. Throwing off of the papal authority in England. See "ENGLISH ACT +OF SUPREMACY," ix, 203. + +Establishment of their disorderly reign of the Anabaptists, under the +lead of John of Leyden, in Muenster. + +Unsuccessful attempt of the Bishop of Geneva and the Duke of Savoy to +reestablish their authority over Geneva; it is henceforth free. + +First fierce persecution of the reformers in France begins. + +Discovery of the St. Lawrence by Jacques Cartier.* See "CARTIER EXPLORES +CANADA," ix, 236. + + +1535. Suppression of the monasteries in England. + +Publication in England by Tyndale and Coverdale of a new translation of +the Bible. + +Settlement of Paraguay and founding of Buenos Aires. See "MENDOZA +SETTLES BUENOS AIRES," ix, 254. + +Downfall of the Anabaptists at Muenster; John of Leyden put to death. + +After being created a cardinal, Fisher is beheaded in England; the like +befalls Sir Thomas More. + + +1536. Completion of the union between England and Wales. + +Henry VIII, on the charge of infidelity, commits Anne Boleyn to the +Tower of London; she is executed. Marriage of Henry to Jane Seymour. + +Francis I takes Turin and attempts the surprise of Genoa. + +Provence invaded by Charles V. + +Discovery of California by Cortes. + + +1537. Death of Jane Seymour, Queen of England. + +Further enslavement of the Indians forbidden by a brief of Pope Paul +III. + + +1538. General suppression of monasteries and destruction of relics in +England. + +Truce of Nice, for ten years, between France and Spain. + +Marriage of Mary de Guise with James V of Scotland. + +John Calvin expelled Geneva. + + +1539. Publication of Cranmer's Bible in England. + +Calvin, head of the Reformers, founds the University of Geneva. + +Beginning of the explorations of De Soto, after his landing in Florida. + +Emperor Charles V drives the citizens of Ghent into revolt against his +exactions. + + +1540. Marriage of Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves; she is divorced; the +King marries Catherine Howard. + +Submission of Ghent to Charles V; he destroys its liberties; many of the +citizens find refuge in England. + +Papal sanction given to the Society of Jesus. See "FOUNDING OF THE +JESUITS," ix, 261. + +Cherry-trees, carried from Flanders, first planted in England. + +First known printing in America; done in Mexico. See "ORIGIN AND +PROGRESS OF PRINTING," viii, 1. + + +1541. Charles V heads an unsuccessful expedition against Algiers. + +Hungary overrun by the Turks, under Solyman the Magnificent. + +King John III of Portugal requests Francis Xavier and other Jesuits to +undertake missions to his colonies. + +De Soto reaches the Mississippi River. See "DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE +MISSISSIPPI," ix, 277. + + +1542. Discovery of Japan by the Portuguese.* + +Execution of Catherine Howard, fifth queen-consort of Henry VIII. He +assumes the title of king of Ireland. + +Battle of Solway Moss; successful invasion of Scotland by the English. + +War renewed between Francis I and Charles V. + +Trade with Japan by the Portuguese permitted. + + +1543. Marriage of Henry VIII with Catherine Parr. + +"REVOLUTION OF ASTRONOMY BY COPERNICUS." See ix, 285. + +Birth and accession of Mary Stuart to the throne of Scotland; Earl of +Arran is regent. + + +1544. Invasion of Scotland by the English under the Earl of Hertford; +they burn Edinburgh. + +Mary and Elizabeth restored to the right of succession to the English +throne. + + +1545. Attempted invasion of England by the French. + +Nineteenth general council. See "COUNCIL OF TRENT AND THE +COUNTER-REFORMATION," ix, 293. + +Spanish discovery of the silver mines of Potosi. + +Massacre of the Vaudois in Southern France. + + +1546. Burning of George Wishart as a heretic, by order of Cardinal +Beaton, the Scottish primate; he is assassinated. + +Beginning of the War of the Smalkald League. See "PROTESTANT STRUGGLE +AGAINST CHARLES V," ix, 313. + + +1547. Death of Henry VIII; Edward VI succeeds his father on the English +throne; the Duke of Somerset protector. + +Henry II succeeds to the throne of France, on the death of his father, +Francis I. + +Capture of John Knox, the Scottish reformer; he is condemned to the +French galleys. + +In Russia the Grand Prince of Moscow, Ivan IV (the Terrible), assumes +the title of czar or tsar. + + +1548. Publication of the Augsburg Interim. See "PROTESTANT STRUGGLE +AGAINST CHARLES V," ix, 313. + + +1549. In England the Act of Uniformity, regulating public worship, is +passed. + +Formal uniting of the Netherlands with the Spanish crown by Charles V. + +Francis Xavier lands in Japan. See "INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO +JAPAN," ix, 325. + +Book of Common Prayer adopted in England, under Edward VI. + + +1550. Promulgation against the heretics in the Netherlands by Charles; +the hateful Inquisition established there. + +Peace between England and France; Boulogne restored to the latter. + +Publication of his _Lives of the Painters_, by Giorgio Vasari. + + +1551. After a long siege Magdeburg is taken by Maurice of Saxony. + +Turkish ravages on the coast of Sicily; an attack on Malta fails; +Tripoli surrenders to them. + +Palestrina, the first to reconcile musical science with musical art, +made _maestro di capella_ by Pope Julius III. + + +1552. Adoption of the Forty-two Articles of the Church of England; these +were afterward reduced to Thirty-nine. + +Alliance of Maurice of Saxony with France; they make war on Charles V, +on behalf of the Protestants. The Peace of Passau follows. See "COLLAPSE +OF THE POWER OF CHARLES V," ix, 337 and 348. + +Seizure of the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun by Henry II of +France. See "COLLAPSE OF THE POWER OF CHARLES V," ix, 337. + +Subjugation of the Tartars of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible of Russia. + + +1553. Death of Edward VI; his sister, Mary, succeeds to the English +throne. + +Unsuccessful attempt of the Duke of Northumberland to place his +daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne. + +After a stubborn defence by Francis, Duke of Guise, Charles V is +compelled to raise the siege of Metz. + +Burning of Servetus at Geneva, with Calvin's approval. + + +1554. Rebellion of Wyatt, in support of Lady Jane Grey's attempt on the +crown of England; she is executed. + +Queen Mary, of England, marries Philip of Spain. + +Regency of Mary de Guise, mother of Mary Stuart, in Scotland. + +Astrakhan conquered by Ivan the Terrible. + + +1555. Peace of Augsburg between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran parties +in Germany. See "THE RELIGIOUS PEACE OF AUGSBURG," ix, 348. + +Persecution of the Protestants begun by Queen Mary in England; burning +of Latimer and Ridley. + +The sovereignty of the Netherlands resigned by Charles V to his son, +Philip II. + +Return to Scotland of John Knox. + +Completion of the version of the Psalms, in English metre, by Sternhold +and Hopkins. + + +1556. Burning of Cranmer. + +Emperor Charles V resigns the crown of Germany. See "RELIGIOUS PEACE OF +AUGSBURG," ix, 348. + +"AKBAR ESTABLISHES THE MOGUL EMPIRE IN INDIA." See ix, 366. + + +1557. Philip II of Spain arrives in England; he obtains a declaration of +war against France and departs. Battle of St. Quentin; the Earl of +Pembroke joins the army of Philip II in Flanders, with 10,000 English +soldiers; defeat of the French. + +Signing of the Solemn League and Covenant, "even to the knife," by +Scottish Lords of the Congregation. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[60] Sometimes given as 1530. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS +HISTORIANS, VOLUME 9*** + + +******* This file should be named 26337.txt or 26337.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/3/3/26337 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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