Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/122

 84 Readings in European History of Almighty God has, for the protection and increase of his holy faith, endowed us with more kingdoms and lands and greater power in the Empire than any of our ancestors for many years. Moreover we are also sprung from the paternal stock of the emperors and archdukes of Austria, and dukes of Burgundy, and from the maternal stock of the most faithful kings of Spain, the Sicilies, and Jerusalem, — the memory of whose illustrious deeds, wrought for the Christian faith, will never pass away. 4. Whereas, certain heresies have sprung up in the Ger- man nation within the last three years, which were formerly condemned by the holy councils and papal decrees, with the consent of the whole Church, and are now drawn anew from hell, should we permit them to become more deeply rooted, or, by our negligence, tolerate and bear with them, our conscience would be greatly burdened, and the future glory of our name would be covered by a dark cloud in the auspicious beginnings of our reign. 5. Since now without doubt it is plain to you all how far these errors and heresies depart from the Christian way, which a certain Martin Luther, of the Augustinian order, has sought violently and virulently to introduce and dis- seminate within the Christian religion and its established order, especially in the German nation, which is renowned as a perpetual destroyer of all unbelief and heresy; so that, unless it is speedily prevented, the whole German nation, and later all other nations, will be infected by this same dis- order, and mighty dissolution and pitiable downfall of good morals, and of the peace and the Christian faith, will result. Luther's wicked arrogance. 9. And although, after the delivery of the papal bull and final condemnation of Luther, we proclaimed the bull in many places in the German nation, as well as in our Bur- gundian lands, and especially its execution at Cologne, Treves, Mayence, and Liege, nevertheless Martin Luther has taken no account of it, nor lessened nor revoked his errors, nor sought absolution from his Papal Holiness or grace from the holy Christian Church ; but like a madman