Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-08-03
THE LION AID TIE JAcKpAw.

In the summer of 1919 there was an in.
tellectual tournament at Leipaic, before
Duke George of Ssxony. Luther was the
champion on one side, John Eek, of Ipgol-
stadt, on the other. We have 8 descrip-
ton Of Luther by friend who saw him on
this occasion he was of middle hight, so
lean from study and anxiety that his bones
could be counted. He had vast knowl-
edge, command of Scripture, fair acquaint-
ance with Greek and Hebrew his manner
was good his speech pregnant with mat.
ter in society he was lively, pleasant and
amusing, On his feet he stood remarkably
firm, body bent rather back than forward,
the face thrown up, and the eyes flashing
like lions. Eek was less favorably
drawn, with a face like butchers and
voice like town crier's hesitation in
speech which provoked play upon his
name, as being like the eek, eek, eek of
jackdaw. Eek called Luther disciple of
john Huss, and Luther defended Huss.
Huss had appealed to general council.
| Eek reminded him that the Council Of
Constance had condemned Huss, and so
forced him to say that councils might make
mistakes. Papal supremacy was next
fought over. Did Christ found it? Could
| Duke George thought Eek had the best of
the encounter. Leipsic Catholic gossip had
story that Luther's mother had confessed
that Martins father had been the devil.
But Luther remained the favorite Of Ger
many. His tracts circulated in hundreds
of thousands. Ulrich Won Hutton and
Franz Won Sickingen offered him an asylum
if he had to leave the electorate. He pub
lished an address to the German nation,
denouncing the papacy as a usurpation,
| which rang like the blast of trumpet. He
sent copy to the elector, who replied
with basket of game. Eck, meanwhile,
who thought the victory had been his, was
dispatched by Duke George to Rome to
urge the Pope to action. Charles had Gig
nified his own intended attitude by order
ing Luther's writings to be burned in the
Low countries. Pope Leo thus encouraged,
on the l6sh of June, 1920, Issued his fa.
nous bull against 1.-THE wild boar who had
broken into the Lords vineyard" Forty
one Of Luther's propositions were selected
| and specially condemned and Eek was
| sent back with it to Germany, with orders
if the wild boar was still impenitent to
cali in the secular arm. Erasmus, who had
been watching the storm from distance,
| i'll contented, but not without clear knoWl-
edge where the right lay, sent word that
no good was to DO locked for from the
young Emperor. Luther, who had made
up his mind to death as the immediate out.
look for him, was perfectly fearless. The
Pope could but kill he body, ard he cared
only for his soul and for the truth The
Pope had now condemned formally what
Luther conceived to be written in the plain.
est words in Scripture. The papal chair,
therefore, was "Satan's seat" and the oc-
cupant of it was plainly Antichrist. At
the electors request he wrote to Leo once
more, but he told him, in not conciliatory
language, that the See of Rome was worse
than Sodom and Gomorrah. When Eek
arrived in December, on his commission,
Luther ventured the last step, from which
there could be no reteeat. The Pope had
condemned Lu.her's writings to the FIRE.
On the l0th Of December Luther solemnly
burned at Wittenberg copy of the papal
deoretals. Because" ne said, "thou
hadst troubled the Lords sainte, let eter-
nal fire consume thee. The students Of
the university sang the TIE Deom round the
pile, and completed the sacrifice with fling
ing into the flames the bull which had been
brought by Eek. Luther trembled, he
said, before the daring deed was accom-
plished, but when it was done ne was bet.
ter pleased than with any act of his life
A storm had now burst, he said, which
would not end till the day of Judgment
[Fronde, in Contemporary Review.