The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-01-02

Church ard in State, called for.h
Jerome Savonarola, who presents the
one instance ia Europe Of a monk
boldly loading = Republic. He felt
1t his mission 10 work reformation
In Church and in State as well. He
possessed personal purity and ferv
energy, aud that solicitude for the
temporal welfare Of the people, which
the clergy now 50 seldom manifest.
but which rcadered illustrious a line
OF tiodly y statesmen whom we know
as Hebrew prophets. amid the
luxurious, aesthetic, semi-pagan life
OF Florence, in the ears of rich citi-
zens, the lcentious youth, the learn
ed Platonls:s, he denounced the re-
vival of paganism, the corruptions
OF the church, The Ignorance and
consequent slavery Of the people. He
spoke severe words about the priests,
declared that the scriptures were the
only guides to salvation, that saliva
ton did rot come from external wo rks
rs the chrrcE taught, but from faith
IN Christ, from giving up the heart
10 Him, aud that if He forgave sin
there was 40 need for any other ab-
solution
Refusing to con Form tc an old GUS
tom of asking the favor Of the ruler.
from whom" said he with prophetic
boldness, "havc | received NV Office
from God or L0rerZo? Let us pray for
grace to the Highest" Mai attaining
his stern integrity in the face Of royal
Establishment, another plan to control
him was tTied-a plan which the
temper of most mOderns would have
rendered unnecessary or entirely sue
cesSful. Five distinguished gentle
men waited upon SavonarOla to re-
quest that III his sermons he would not
tOretell the evil future Of the city, that
he would treat more Of generalities,
and that lie would spare such elevated
persons as Lorenzo. His reply is won
derfully refreshing: "Go, and tell
your master Lorenzo to repent of his
sins, or God will puE ish him and his"
His influence, in consequence, over
men Tor the suppression of every grade
OF SIN was never surpassed. The whole
aspect of Florentine society was chang
ed under his life,and preaching. But he
had enemies, of necessity; aud these
found an ally in Alexander VI, the
corrupt head of the Church. Alexan-
der thought to silence him with the
gift of cardinals hat-a huge slice
of ecclesiastical pie. This Savonarola
at once refused. Loving Christianity
and desiring that the Church should
be the expression of it, he sought a
general council to consider the need
ful reform. He was thereupOn forbid
den to preach and his congregation
nd
preached against, excOmmunicated j and
imprisoned. "With the assent of the
Pope, he was subjected seven times to
torture upon the rack to force from
him Il recantation Of all that he had
taught, and preached, and on the 23d
of May 149S, he was hanged and burned
in company with two of his disciples .
As the Church sank in infamy, its
character would have charmed the
soul of Simon, the Magician. The
Church would not permit a mans sill
yer and gold to perish with him.
| Eternal life ceased to be the free gift
of G cd, and the salvation of =ouls wss
| purchased from the Church. Money
could quench the musky glow Of pur-
gatOrial fires, and unlock the blessed
gates of Heaven. The priest ceased
10 be the mere intercessor and mouth
piece for the declaration of divine
pardon to the penitent; he became q
Judge with power to grant indulgence
THE indulgence" says Fisher, "was {
simple bargain according to which, OF
the payment of stipulated sum, the
individual received full discharge
from the penalties of sin, or procured
the release of soul from the flames
of purgatory." Regardless of charac-
ter or the magnitude of their crimes
rich contributors to charitable or re-
ligiou5 institutions were the pets OF
the Church from which they easily re-
ceived full remission of the just penal.
ties of their sins.
In the year 1517 Tetzel filled tie
people with excitement as he travelled
pompously through Germany as ;
chief "vendOr of indulg,nces." Speak.
ing with more bOldness than is dis
played by the many that do no better
work for Christ these latter days, he
would say from the pulpit: "Indul.
geDces are the most precious anC
sublime gifts Of God. Come, and | viii
give you letters furnished with seal
by which even the sins that you ma,
commit hereafter shall be forgiven you
There is no sin so great that an indul
| StHCt CtiiltU tCblIb IL lNSPChtait'
is not necessary. IndulSences no
only save the living, they save tn
dead also. The very instant the piec
of money clinks at the bottom of th
box, the soul is freed from purgator,
and flies to heaven" Such was the gOs
pei according to Tetzel, andsuch was tn
practice of the Church in the 10th cen
tury. This it was that threw Martil
Luth her in the face of the Church t
, lead the Protestant Reformation. A
literature and science, untrammelet
inclined rather to the side of civiliza
tion and freedom, so all the grea
names in German art and iiteratur
sided with Luther. The Church com
manded him to recant or to answe
for his opinions at Rome. He di
t neither. Forbidden to preach or
4 write and commanded to burn his pub
n i'shed books, he was condemned as a
d lrreclaimable hereto. All princes an
: magistrates were re iuired to seiz
Z, MN and his adherents and send the1
, TO Rome. But the heart of the peOpl
- were with Luther. Brought at lengt
y before the Great Council of the En-
@ pire in 1921, and commanded to n
Q cant, he bravely replied, with tt
e fate of Huss and Savonarola before hil
@ "PrOye to me out of Scripture that
; am wrong, and l submit. TIL the
my conscience binds me. Here | stan
} | can do no more. God help me. Amen
q The sentence of death at the hands
e the Church was now certain. Its ex
l. cution was evaded only by flight ar
g lOng-cOntinued hiding.
r OmittiDg further recital of the trea
5 ment imposed on individual reformer
q instance briefly the wholesale butcl
a ery of the church. No exaggeratio
:, :, of its murderous horrors, through fo,
q centuries of Holy InquisitiOn in Ital
: France, the Netherlands and Spain
d possible. alt depepulated Spain I
n the determination or Punishment of
a least three million industrious subjec
. during 139 years." and from l4Sl
4 1925, it condemned 234, 900 as hereto
of whom $4,000 were burned alive. L