IcM

^ ^^

^'

fcv^.:;^

m5^i^? »:A:A:£ ^^>^^^^: :**Ll^ -.i>-

 

3

.

%

I

. c

f

^

tilt

%e0l00tal

^

 ^^

PRINCETON,

N.

J.

,^

BX

4805

.W95

v.l

Wylie,

James

Aitken,

1808-

1890.

The

history

of

Protestantisr

 ««,-

-y:--'.

:

'i^^^KL

 

The History

OF

Protestanti

sm

Rev.

J.

A.

WYLIE, LL.D

Anther

of

 

The

Papacy,

Daybreak in Spain,'' d-v.

ILLUSTRATED.

rROlESlANTlSM,

THE

SACRED

CAUSE. OF

GOD's

LIGIIT AND

TRUTH

AGAINST

THE

DeVII.'s FaLSITV

ANIi

Darkness.

 —

Carlvk.

Volume

\.

CASSELL

PETTER

&

GALPIN

LONDON.

PARIS

&^

NEW

YORK.

 

CONTENTS.

llJook JFirst,

PROGKESS

FROM

THE

FIRST TO

THE

FOURTEENTn

CENTURY

CHAPTER

I.—

PKOTEST.iXTISM

.....-•

n.

Declension of

the Early

Christian

Chi rcii

III.

Development

of

the Papacy

trom

the

times of

Constantine

to those or

Hildebe.vnh

IV.

Development

of the Papacy

from

Grecory VIT.

to

Boniface

VTII.

V.—

llEDi-iiVAL

Protestant

Witnesses

....

VT.

The

Waldenses

—

Their

Valleys

....

VII.

The

Waldenses

—

Their

JIissions

ami JIartyri>o.m<

VIII.—

The

Pavlicians

......

IX.

Crusades

against the

Aliiioenses

....

X.

Erection of Tribunal

of iNaL'isiTios

XI. PR0TEST.4.NTS

BEFORE

PrOTEST.INTISM

....

XII. Abelaed,

and Rise of Modern

Scepticis«

13

23

2H

32

38

44

47

13ook

^fcona.

mCLIFFE

Am)

HIS TIMES, OR

ADVENT OF

PR0TESTA\TI.SM.

I.—

WiCLiFFE

: his

Birth

and Edvcation

.....

II.—WiCLIFFE, AND THE PoPe's

ENCROACHMENTS ON

ENGLAND .

III.

Wicliffe's

Battle

with Rome

for

England's

Independence

IV.

Wicliffe's

Battle with

the

IiIendicant

Friars

.

,

.

V.

The

Fri.irs versus

he Gospel in

Exglanh

....

VI.

The B.wtle

of the

P.vrliament with the

I'ope

....

VII.

Persecution

of

Wicliffe by the

Pope anh the

Hierarchy

VIII.

Hierarchical

Persecution

of WiCliffe

Kesumeu

IX.

^\\''icliffe's

Views ox

Church

Proi'Ertv and

Church

Reforsi

.

X.

The

Translation

of

the

Scriptures, or

the

English

Bible

XI.

—

^AVicLiFFE

and Tr.\nsubstantiation

.

.

•

XII.

Wicliffe's

Appeal

to Parlument

......

XIII.

—

AVici.iFFE

before

Convocation in Person,

and

before

the

lioM.ts Curia

by Letter

XIV.

Wicliffe's

Last

Days .......

XV.

Wicliffe's

Theological

and Church

System

....

99

108

113

119

112

124

127

 

HISTORY

OF

PROTESTANTISM.

THEIR ChARACTEB,

AKD THEIE LaP.OVES

'Booh

Wtlvi,

JOHN

HUSS

AXD THE

HUSSITE

WARS.

CHAPTER

I.^BiRTH, Education',

and First

Labovks

or

llis

II.

—

HuSS BEGINS HIS

WaKFAKE

AGAINST RoME .

III.

Ctkowisg Opposition

of

Hiss

to

Ko.me

IV. Pkepabations

for the

Covncil of Constance

V.

Deposition

of the

Rival

Popes

VI.

Imprisonment and

Examination of Huss

.

VII.

Condemnation and

Martvrdom

of Hiss

VIII.

-Wicliffe

and Hrss

compared

in their

Theology,

IX.

Trial and

Temptation of

Jerome

.

X. The Trial

of Jerome

XI.

Condemnation

and Burning of Jerome

XII.

Wicliffe, Hvss,

and Jerome,

or

the

Three First Witnesses of Modern

Christendom

XIII.—

The Hvssite Wars

....

XIV.

Commencemfnt

or

the Hissite

Wars

XV.

Marvellous

Genus

of Ziska

as a General

XVI. Second

Crisade against

Bohemia

.

XVII.

Brilli.ant

Successes

of

the

Hussites

XVIII. The Council of Basle

XIX.—Last

Scenes of the Bohemian

Reformation

PAGE

130

13/5

in

144

149

lo4

161

165

167

171

173

176

178

184

189

190

195

202

207

TBook

JFourtI).

CHRISTENDOM

AT THE OPENING OF THE

SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

I. Protestantism

and BIedi.ev^vlism

........

II.—

The Empire ...........

III. The

Papacy, or Christendom under the

Tiara

......

213

215

220

TBoclk

JFlftt).

HISTORY OF

PROTESTANTISM

IN

GERMANY TO

THE LEIPSIC

DISPUTATION,

1510.

I. Luther's Birth, Childhood,

and School-d.iys ........

226

II. Luther's

College-life ...........

232

III. Luther's

Life in the Convent ......,•

236

IV. Luther thb SIonk decomes

Luther the

Reformer

.......

239

V. Luther as

Priest,

Professor,

and Preacher

........

243

^n.

Luther's

Journey to Rome ...........

245

VII.

^Luther in Rome

............

251

VIII.

Tetzel

Preaches

Indulgence.s ..........

2.55

IX.—

The

 Theses

260

X. Luther

ATT.^CKED

ry Tet/el, Pkierio,

and Eck

........

266

XI.

Luther's

Journey

to

Augsburg

.

. .

.

. .

. .

.

• 272

 

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

XII.

Luther's

ArrE.utAxcE BEroiiE C.vkdinal

C.uetan

XIII.

Luther's

Return to Wittemberg and

L.\bours there

XIV.

illLTITZ—

C.VUI.ST.\DT Dr. EcK

XV.

The Leipsic

Disput.^tion

....

281

2ST

293

FROM

THE

LEIPSIC DISPUTATION TO THE

DIET AT

W0K5IS, 1521

I. Protestantism

.\.\d Imperlilism

;

or, the

JIonk

\yv

the Monarch

II.—Poi'E

Leo's Bull

....

III.

Interviews and

Negoti.itions

rV.

Luther

summoned

to

the Diet at

Worms

V.

Luther's

Journey and

Arkiv.al at Worms

VI.

Luther before the Diet .^t

Worms

VII.

Luther

tut

under

the Ban

of the

Empire

30i

310

317

326

S29

335

31.5

Book ©fbtiitf).

PROTEST.\NTISM IN ENGLAND FROM THE

TIMES

OF WICLIFFE

TO THOSE

OF HENRY

I. The First Protest.ant MaetyrS

in

England

II,

The Theology of

the Early

Engllsh

Protestants

III. Growth of

English

Protestantism

....

IV. Efforts for

the Redistribution

of Ecclesiastical Property .

V.

TRL4.L

.iND

CONDEMN.VTION OF SiR JOHN

OlDCASTLE (LoRD

C'oBHAM)

VT.

Lollaedism Denounced as

Treason

VII. Martyrdom op Lord

Cobham

VIII.—

LoLL.ARDlSM

UNDER

HeNRY V. .\ND HeNRY VI.

IX.

Rome's

Attempt to Regain Domin-vnoy

in

England

X.

Resist.ince

to

Papal

Encroachments

XI.

Influence

the

W.iks

of

the

Fifteenth

Century

on the Progress

of Protestantism

350

356

362

3G6

370

377

3S1

381

303

396

401

TBaak

(Zcigljtl).

HISTORY OF PROTESTANTISM IN SWITZERLAND

FROM

A.D.

151G TO

ITS

KSTABLISIDIENT

AT

ZURICH, 1.525.

I. Switzerland

—

The

Country .vsd the

People

II. Condition

of

Switzerl.vnd Prior to the

Reformation

III.—

of

the Swiss

Church .

IV.

Zwingle's

Birth

.ynd School-days

.

V.

Zwingle's

Progress tow.akds Emancipation

VI.

Zwingle

in

Presence of the Bible

VII. EiNSIEDELN

AND

ZuRIC}

VIII.

The Pardon-monger

an the

Plague

IX. Extension

of

the

Eeform.vtion to Bern

.vnd

oiher Swias

Towns

 

HI8T0RY

OF PROTESTANTISM.

CHAPTER

X.

—

SritEAD or

Protestantism ix Easterx

ISwitzehi.axh

XI.

The

Question

of Forbidden

Meats

XI

I.

—

I'lBLic Disputation at Zurich

....

XIII.

Dissolution or Conventual

and

Monastic

Establishments

XIV.

Dlscussion

on

Images

and

the Mass

XV.

Establishment ou

Protest.\ntism in

Zurich

TBook

i 3iJitl).

HISTORY OF

PROTESTANTISM FROM

THE

DIET OF WORMS, 1521,

TO THE AUGSBrRG

CONFESSION, 1.530.

I. The

CJerman New

Testament

II. The

Aholitiox or the

Mass

III.—

PorE

AiiituN .\Nii HIS Scheme

of

Reform .

IV.

—

Pol' ('l.KMENT

AND THE X'lREMRERG

DiET

.

V.

NlREMllERI;

.....

VI.—TiiE Ratishon

League and

Reformation

VII.

-Ei'thek's Views on the

Sacrament and

iMAGE-woRsinr

.

A'lll.

Wai;

of ti[E

Peasants .....

IX.

The

Pjattle of Pavia .\ni>

its Influence

on

Protest.vntism

X.—

Diet of

Sfires.

1.52(i,

and

League against the Emperor

XI.

The

Sack of

Rome

......

XII.

OnG.iNISATION of THF.

LuTHER.AN

ChURCH

XIII.

Constitution of the Church of

IIesse

...

XIV.

Pulitk's and

Prodigies .....

XV.^TitE

Great

Pjiotest

......

XVI. Conference

at Marburg

.....

XVII.

The

M.utnuKG Confession

.....

XVIII.

The

Emperor, the

Turk,

and the

Reformation

.

XTX.

Meeting hetween the

Emperor

.\yu

Pope at

Bologna

.

XX.

Preparations for the Augsrurg

Diet

XXI.

Arrival

of

the Emperor .\t

Augsrurg .vnd

Opening

or the D

XXII.

in

the Cohurg. and

Melancthon at the

Diet

.

XXIII.

Reading of the

Augsburg

Confession

XXIV. After

the Diet of Augsburg

....

XXA'. Attempted

Refutation of the Confession

XXVI. End

of the

Diet or

Augsburg

....

XXVII.—A Retrospect

—

1517-1530

Progress

 

LIST

OF

ILLUSTEATIONS.

Luther

before the Diet at

Worms

Illustrated front page

The Emperor

Constantmc the

Great

View of

Constantinople

Visit of

Charlcniag-ne to

the

Pope

I'enanco

of

Hem-y

IV.

of

Lierniany

View

in

JMilan .

.

•

View

of Tm-in

....

The VaUey

of

jingi'ogmi

Monte

CasteUuzzo and

Xow

Waldensian

Tempi

Waldensian llissionaries

in Giuso

of Pedlars

The MartiTdoni

of

Constantino

of Samosata

Troubadour and Barbs

Dominican Monk

and

Inquisitionci-

A'iew of Toidouse

View

in

Rome

: the

Island of the

Tiber

Albigensian Worshippeis

on

the Banks

of

the

Khono

The Orleans

Martyrs

....

Brescia .......

Arnold ofBrcscia

Preaching

Tomb

of

Abelard

....

JohnWicliffe

.....

Canterbury Cathedral from the

East

End

King

John and

the Pope's

Legate

Balliol College, Oxford

(about

the time

of WicliftV)

'

The Coliseiuu .....

View

in the

Campagna

....

 .His eyes

bui-ning

witli

a strange

tire, he

[St. Francis]

Group

of Mendicant Friar.s

The

Belfry at Bruges

....

•Jolm

of

Gaunt

.....

Altercation

between John

of Gaunt and

the Bishop of L

The LoUards'

Tower,

Lambeth Palace

Popular

Demon.stration

at Lambeth

Palace in favoui- of

Avignon,

a

sometime Residence

of the

Popes

Wiehffe

and the

Monks

: Scene

in

the Bed-chambir

luteiior

of the

Vatican Library

Wayside

Preadiiug

from

the Bilile

(time of Wiclift'c)

Lutterworth

Cliurch

....

Trial

of WicUffe

....

High

Street

of

O.xford

(time

of Wiclift'c)

Wielift'e

before

the

Convocation

at O.xford

•John

Huss

.....

View of

Prague

.....

Soldiers

Searching

for

Bohemian

Protestants

The Jliiaclc

at

Wilsnach

: People

flocking

to

the

Churc

Destruction of

the

Works of

Wiehife at Pragu<?

Jerome of

Prague

....

wandered

about

the

country

 

HISTORY

OF

PROTESTANTISM.

View

of

the

City

of

Constanoe

....

A'iew in the

T)to1—

Innspruck

....

Entry

of

Poi^e

John

into Constance-

Reception of

John Hiiss at Nuremherg

Jfurcmhcrg

......

Bishop of Lodi

Preaching-

at the

Trial of

IIus.s .

Trial

of

Huss

:

Degrading-

the

Martp-

Kecantation of Jerome

.....

View

on

the

Ehine

:

Schaifliausen

Jerome

Speaking

at

his Trial

....

Trial

of Jerome

;

Waiting for the

Sentence

 

As

they

Tverc leading

him out

of the church

.... he

he

llap

oi

Bohemia, Mora™, and

Bavaria

.

Departiu'c

of Pope

Martin

V.

for Piome

.

The

Outrage

at Prague

.....

Celebration

of

the Eucharist

liy

the

Hussites

in a

Field near

Pr

Dresden

. .

'

.

Mc(-lilin

......

Hussite Shield ......

Portrait

of Procopius .....

Arrival

of the

Hussite Deputies at Basle

Seal

of

the Council of Basle

....

Cathedi-al of

Basle .....

jEneas

Sylvius

(Pope

Pius II.), .John Ziska,

George Podichrad

Tahorites Sclceting

a

Pastor ....

Tahorites

Worshipping

in

a Cave

View

in

Frankfoi-t-on-thc-Maine

View

in Ghent ......

Liege .......

Jlartin Luther ......

View of Eisnach ......

.John

Luther taldng liis

Son

to

School

Luther Sing-ing in the

Streets of

Eisnach

The Cathedral of Erfurt .....

Liithcr

Entering the Augustinian Convent

The Ordin,ation

of Luther to the Priesthood

Liither

Preaching

in

the Old Wooden Church at

Wittemlierg

View

of

Bologna

......

View of Florence

......

The

Sehlossrkii-k,

or Castle-church,

at

Wittcmberg

Tctzel's Procession

.....

Luther Nailing liis

 

Theses

 

to

the

Door of the Schluss-kirk

at

lAither's House

at Wittembei'g

....

Pope

Leo X. . .

In the Market-place

of

Wittcmhcrg

:

People

Discussing

the

 

View of Augsburg

...

The

Old Castle

at Weimar

....

Frederick

III., Elector of Saxony, sm-namcd

'•

Tlio Wise

Luther

Escaping

from Augshui'g

....

Luther's

Pamphlet:

Scene at the

Printing-house

View

of Mainz

......

jVi-riv.il

of the

Wittcmberg

Theolog-ians

at

Leipsic

Philip

Melancthon

.....

View

in

Aix-la-Chapellc

.....

Charles

V.,

Emperor

of

Germany

The

Conclave

Electing

the

Emperor of Cicnnany

View

of

Treves

......

shop Eoc

in unum

Demn

hyzan.

 

LIST

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS.

View

of

Coljui-g,

a

Rcsldencu

of

LuUili-

during the Diet of

Augsbur

Desiderius

Erasmus

.....

Luther

Burning

the

Pope's

Bull

....

View

of

Cologne

......

The

Catiiedi-al

of

'Wonns

.....

The

Piinces

Summoned

before

the

Emperor

Leo

X.

pronounciirg

the

 

Bull of the

Lord's Supper

Luther's

House at

Franlifort

....

Luther at

the Casement

.....

View in

Wittembcrg

.....

View of

AVorms

......

Luther

Attacked by

Masked

Horsemen in the Thuringian

ForcsS

George

Spalatin,

of the

Ecclesiastical Coimciil

of

Sa.xony

Dr. Justus Jonas,

Professor

of Theology at

Wittembcrg

Water-spout

on

Luther's

House

at

Eisnacli

Interior of the

Wai-tburg

.....

Conference

between

Thorpe and

.Uundel

Old St.

Paul's and

Neighbourhood

in

l-')40

The

Cathedi-al

and Leaning

Tower of Pisa

Archbishop

Arundel

at

Oxford

....

Chamber in

the Lollards' Tower,

Lambeth Palace,

where the lie

Facsimile

of Part of a

Pago

of

Wiclifl'c's Bible

.

Lord

Cobham at a

LoUard Preadiing

View

of

the Tower of

London

fi-om the Kivcr Thames

(1700)

Friar Preaching from a

Movable

Pulpit (Royal Mi'.,

Hi',

3)

Lord Cobham before the Bishops

....

Henry V.'s Attack

upon

a

Lollard Conventicle .

Sir

John

Oldcastle, afterwards Lord Cobham

Instruments of Toitiu'o

.....

Hem-y

V.

and

his

Parliament

(from

the llarlc'uni

J/.y6'.

id the

B,

King Henry

V. .

Lollards making

Abjmution of tlieu- Faitli

View of Canterbury

.....

Preaching

at

St.

Paul's

Cross in the Fifteenth Centmy

.

The Ai-chbishops of

York and Canterbury before

the

PaiUamont

Cardinal

Beaufort's

Chantry,

Winchester Cathedral

View

of  SVestminstor

Abbey from the JIall,

St. Jann

s's Park

A''iew in

Lucemo ......

View in Lausanne

......

UMc Zwinglo

......

A

Swiss

Peasant Family

.....

View in Zurich

......

Zwingle ainong

liis

Friends

....

(Ecolampadius

......

Francis I. of France

.....

Zwingle Preaching

in

Zvuidi Cathedral

.

Hcniy

Bullinger

......

C'athedi-al

of Jlilan

.....

Samson Selling

Indulgences

....

A Swiss

Refonner

Preaching

to

his

Flock

in

thr

(

)\,rn

Field

View

of

Einsiedcln

Abbey

....

Slap of

Switzerland

.....

The

Councillors

Dissolving

the

Augustine

Order

of

Jlouks

in

Zmich

Hettinger

Destroying

the

Imago

....

Crypt of

the

Cathedi-al

of

Basle (I.JO.5)

.

View of Lake

Zug

......

Celebration of

the

Lord's

Supper

in the

Protestant

Foru;

by

tl

were

C

tmiastev

Abbey

 

HISTORY

OF

PEOTESTANTISM.

Hemy

VIII.

of England

View in Thuringia

:

the

Wartburg

in the

Distance

View of

Luther's

Room in

the Warthurg,

showing the

Ink-stain

John

Biigcnhagen

(Pomeranus)

....

Little Giitc

of a Parish

Chm-oh,

Nui-emherg-

Balcony of the

Armouiy,

Part

of

the City

Walls,

Nuremberg

A Wittemboi-g

Student

Preaching in

Lime-tree

Meadow

The Papal

Nuncio

Chieregato

in Nuremberg

A Gala-day

in

Nuremberg

(time, Sixteenth

Ccntui-y)

The

River

Pegnitz,

intersecting

the City

of Nm-embcrg .

St.

Scbald's

Church,

Nuremberg

....

-Vlbert Diii-cr

......

View of

Bui'gofl,

showing

the

Cathcdi-al

.

Luther

Challenging

Carlstadt

to Write

against liim

Death

of Frederick

the

Wise,

Elector

of Saxony

The

Chartreuse

of Pavia

.....

Cai'dinal

AVolscy

......

The Reformed

Princes

on

theii-

Way

to

the

Diet

at

Spires

The Cathedral

of Spires

.....

The

Castle of

St. Angclo,

Rome

....

John.

Frederick,

Elector

of Saxony,

sumamed

 

The

Steadfast

Fi-ancis

Lambert

Preaching

....

View in

Barcelona

.....

King Ferdinand,

afterwards

Emperor of

Gci-many

Arrival

of

King

Ferdinand

at

Spires

The

Elector

of

Saxony

Reading

the Protest

at tlie

Diet of Spires

A'iew of

Marburg

......

Portrait

of Blartin

Bucer

.....

and Zwingle

Discussing

at Marburg-

Interior

of the

Courtyard

of

a Bologneso House

Portrait

of Cardinal

C^ampeggio

....

The Three

Protestant

Ambassadors before the Emperor

Charles

Entrance to the

Imperial

Castle, Nui-cmberg

A Street in Coburg

Luther in Coburg Castle

:

the

Diet

of

Jackdaws

Meeting of

the Emperor Charles and

the

Protestant

Princes

The Protestant

Princes

Signing their Confession

The Protestant

Princes Presenting their

Confession

to

Charles

Mew

in Strasburg

.....

The

Deputies from the

Imperial Cities Awaiting an

Audience

of

Charles sees the Play

of

the Masks

The

Peller Court at

Nuremberg

....

Portrait of

Philip of Ilesso . .

.

Esciipe of Pliilip of Hesse

from Augsbui'g

 

History

of

Protestantism.

mok

sh'^t

PROGRESS

FROM

THE

FIRST TO

FOURTEENTH

CENTURY.

THE

CHAPTER

I.

PROTESTANTISM.

Protestantism—

The Seed

of

Arts,

Letters, Free

States,

&e.—

Its

History a

Grand

Drama—

Its

Origin—

Outside

Humanity—

A

Great

Creative

Power—

Protestantism

Revived

Christianity.

The

History

of

Protestantism,

wliicli we

propose

to

write,

is

no

mere history

of

dogmas.

The

teachings

of

Christ

are

the

seeds; the

modern

Christendom,

with

its

new

life, is the goodly

tree

which has

sprang

from

them.

We

shall

speak

of

the

seed

and

also of the

tree,

small at

first,

still

growing,

and

destined

one day

to

cover the

earth.

 

HISTORY

OF

PROTESTANTISM.

How that seed

was

deposited

in

the

soU

;

how

the

tree

grew

up

and

flourished

despite the

furious

tempests that

warred around it

;

how, century

after

centiuy,

it

lifted its

top

higher in

heaven,

and

spread its boughs wider around,

sheltering

liberty,

nursing letters,

fostering

art,

and gathering a

fra-

ternity

of prosperous

powerful nations

around

it,

it will be our business

in the

following pages to

show.

Meanwhile

we

wish it

to

be

noted that tliis

is

what we understand by

the

Protestantism on the

history

of which

we are

now

entering. Viewed

thus

—and any

narrower

view would

be \uitrue

alike

to

philosophy

and to

fact—the History of

Protestantism is

the

record of one of the grandest

dramas

of all

time.

It

is

true, no

doubt, that

Protestantism, strictly

^dewed, is

simply

a

principle.

It

is not

a

policy.

It

is not an

empii-e, having

its fleets

and armies,

its

ofiicers

and tribunals,

wherewith to extend its

dominion

and

make its authority be

obeyed. It

is

not even a Church

with its liierarchies, and S}Tiods

and

edicts ; it

is

simply a

principle.

But

it

is

the greatest of all

principles.

It is

a

creative

power.

Its

plastic

influence

is

all-embracing.

It

penetrates into the

lieai-t and renews the indi-

vidual.

It goes

down to the depths and,

by

its

omnipotent but noiseless

energy,

vivifies

and

re-

generates society. It thus becomes the creator of

all that is true, and lovely, and great ; the founder

of free kingdoms, and the mother of pure churches.

The

globe

itself it claims as a stage

not too

wide

for the manifestation of its beneficent action

;

and

the whole

domain of terrestrial aflairs it deems

a

sphere not too vast to fill

with its

spirit,

and rule

by

its law.

Whence

came this

principle

t

The name Pro-

testantism is

veiy

recent

: the thing itself is

very

ancient.

The

term

Protestantism is scarcely older

than 300

years.

It dates from

the

Protest

which

the Lutheran

princes

gave

in

to

the

Diet of Spires

in

1529.

Restricted

to its

historical

signification.

Protestantism is purely

negative. It

only defines

the attitude

taken

up,

at a great

historical era, by

one party in

Christendom

with

reference

to another

party.

But had this

been all,

Protestantism would

have had no

history.

Had

it

been purely negative,

it

would

have begim and

ended with

the men

who

assembled at the German town

in t-he year alrcftdy

specified. The new world

that has come

out of

it

is the proof

that at

the bottom of this

protest

was

a

great principle

wliich

it has pleased Providence to

fertilise, and

make the

seed of those grand, bene-

ficent,

and

enduring

achievements wliich have made

the past

three

centimes in many respects

the

most eventful

and

wonderful

in history. The

men

who

handed in

tins

protest did

not

wish to

create

a

mere void. If they

disowned

the creed

and

threw

ofi

the yoke of

Rome, it

was

that

they

might plant

a

piu-er faith and restore the

government

of

a

higher Law. They

replaced

the

authority of the

Infallibility with

the authority of the

Word

of

God. The

long

and dismal obscuration

of

centuries

they dispelled, that the twin stars of liberty and

knowledge

might

shine forth,

and

that, conscience

being unbound, the intellect might

awake

from its

deep

somnolency,

and human society, renewing its

youth,

might,

after its

halt of a thousand years,

resume

its march

towards its high goal.

We

repeat

our

question

—Whence

came

this

principle?

And

we ask our readers to

mark well

oiu- answer, for it

is the key-note to

the whole

of

our vast

subject,

and places us, at the

very outset,

at the springs of that long narration on which

we

are now entering.

Protestantism is not solely the outcome of human

progress

;

it is no

mere principle

of perfectibility

inherent

in humanity,

and ranking

as one of its

ative powers, in vii-tue of which when

society

becomes corrupt it

can

purify itself, and when it

is

arrested in its com-se

by

some

external force,

or

stops from exhaustion,

it can

recruit its energies

and set forward

anew on

its path.

It ia neither

the

product

of the individual reason, nor

the result

of

the

joint

thought

and energies of

tlie species.

Protestantism

is a

principle which

has its origin

outside

human society

:

it

is a

Divine graft

on

the

intellectual and moral

natui'e

of

man,

whereby

new vitalities

and forces

are introduced

into

and

the

human

stem

yields henceforth a nobler

fniit.

It is the descent

of

a

heaven-born influence which

allies itself

with all

the

instincts

and

powers of

the

individual,

with

all the

laws

and cravings

of

society, and

which,

quickening

both

the individual

and the

social being into a

new

life,

and directing

their

eflbrts

to nobler

objects, pei-mits the

highest

development of

which humanity

is capable,

and

the

fullest

possible accomplisliment

of all its grand

ends.

In a word,

Protestantism is

revived Christianity.