Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/461

 456 LUTHER'S CORRESPONDENCE AND LctJW

say, not to irritate the people. Yet there is no other means to bridle their spirits, for the Germans have lost all reverence and laugh at excommunications ; the monks will not or dare not preach against Luther from the pulpit. A despatch was laid before the Emperor in council of state, saying that at Antwerp a woman came to words with a preacher in the pulpit, showed him a book of Luther's and declared that she would read it to spite him. Innumerable persons have stopped confessing. Recently here at Worms, after the arrival of the Emperor, a wise and respectable canon of St. Martin's church told me of a man in high position who confessed to him a breach of chastity, but would not tell him whether it was with a maid, a matron or a kinswoman, and when absolution was refused him, retorted that according to Luther's holy doc- trine he was already absolved by God. I could tell thousands of such horrors, but I won't waste paper and time.

A shower of Lutheran writings in German and Latin comes out daily. There is even a press maintained here, where hitherto this art has been unknown. Nothing else is bought here except Luther's books even in the imperial court, for the people stick together remarkably and have lots of money. Until the edicts shall have been promulgated, we are helpless. The Emperor in council, indeed, commanded that they should be, but their completion has hitherto been delayed by the Elector of Saxony's secret favor to Luther, and by the fierce complaints which all the German princes make against us to the Emperor, by the consultations in which, in spite of all my efforts, I am completely tangled up, and, as I must repeat, by the lack of money for secretaries and for the bailiffs who burn the books. . ..

Another recent annoyance is that those who return from Rome tell everyone that there the Lutheran affair is con- sidered a joke and a matter of no importance. The councillors who have this matter in charge are so exasperated over this that they would be glad to see us depart from the Diet with- out having accomplished our object, to teach us with our importunity our place. Certainly it will go badly after the departure of the Emperor unless he gets some pronuncia- mento before the dissolution of the Diet. But if a month

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