Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/534

 to revile the Holy Father and Rome, which he called the flaying-place of Christendom, and as he continued to expatiate too far, the Emperor told him to drop that subject and con- tinue with others. The second sort of his books he said he had composed against enemies, whose fault it was had he spoken too sharply; under the third class of works, treating the teaching of the gospel, there were some which neither the bull nor his enemies declared offensive. But he would not recant one word of any of these three kinds of books unless he were convinced of error in a debate, and by the authority of the Old or New Testament only. If he recanted on any other ground, to which, however, he would never consent, he would act against his own conscience and divine truth ; there- fore, he prayed and exhorted his Imperial Majesty not to try to stop the course of his doctrine, by which not only the glorious German nation, but his other dominions and kingdoms might be brought to destruction. Finally he said that in any case he would not deny the Christian truth, for then Christ must deny him before his Heavenly Father.

The official following his instructions replied wisely : "Mar- tin, if your wrong opinions and heresies were new and in- vented by you, perhaps his Imperial Majesty would request the Holy Father to have them examined by pious and learned men, so that no wrong should be done you. But your errors are those of the ancient heretics, the Waldenses, Beghards, Adamites, Poor Men of Lyons, Wycliffe and Huss, and have all been long ago condemned by holy councils, popes and the usage of the Church, and therefore ought no more to be dis- cussed and brought into question contrary to divine and hu- man law." Then the official added the question, which par- ticularly concerned the German nation, whether he would not recant what he had written against the holy Council of Con- stance, which had been attended by all nations and was recog- nized by the whole world. He refused, and would only sub- mit to the decrees of the council in as far as they were founded on the authority of the Bible, for, he said, councils had erred and contradicted one another. The official began to deny that councils did not agree in matters of faith, but then the Emperor declared it was enough, he would hear

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