The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-05

As Tor Luther, he was thoroughly IN ACCORD
with the Pope In the belief that II was the
duty Of tho faithful to destroy hereAos. He
only differed from the Pope as TO what con-
stituted heresy. In 1928 he invoked the aid
Of thA censorship regulations Of Saxony
and Of Brandenburg for the purpose Of
stamping out the "pcrnicious doctrines OF
the Anabaptists and Of the followers OF
Twingli. In the same year Luther came to
the decision that a censorship must be estab-
lished In the Protestant States and called
upon the Protestant princes 20 cooperate
in instituting machinery for the purpose,
Melanchthon vas fully in accord with Luther
as to the necessity OF depressing with the
sharpeet and most effective censorship al!
books that were not in accord with the
Protestant faith.
Passing TO later times. We observe that
in 1870 the Great Elector OF Brandenburg
ordered that for the purpose OF averting
religious strife there should be q thorough
censorship OF all books. whether printed
In his territory or imported from without.
which were concerned with matters OF
theology or religion. The various opera
tons Of royal censorship under the Great
Elector and his SUCCESSORS. up to and In
Guiding Frederick the Great, present ex-
amples OF tyrannica. Inconsistency. in
consequence. unreasonableness. ignorance
and narrowness which have not been sur
passed. il equalled. under any o! the regu-
Ihtions set forth IN the Roman Index The
persecution OF Christian Wolf. who for
N n,trnkoE ~ yaarI haII e nEOfas anFShir
in Halle, il cited by Mr.. Putnam as a char
acterlstic example OF Protestant censor
ship and intolerance. This philosophic
doctrines taught by the professor excited
the indignation OF Frederick II, and in
liza, by a Cabinet order. Wolff was de-
prived of his post and ordered TO leave
territory within forty-eight hours
Other instructors who had accepted the
Wolhlan philosophy we're in like manner
deprived OF their Offices and banished
from the country. In 1894. the year in
which censorship in England was prac-
tically abandoned. the censorship system
in Prussia under Frederick William Ii.
became more severe n exacting than
ever before. Even as late as 1882 there was
published in Berlin what is probably the
last OF the Prussian Indexes. 1t Is devoted
to a list OF works maintaining the prin-
ciples OF the Social Democrats. which works
had been condemned and prohibited by an
act passed by the Bundesrath and Reichs-
tag in 1878. We note finally that In jan
1908, an order issued by the Rector
OF the University Of Berlin prohibited the
delivery OF a lecture on Proudhon and
on the ground that it was neces-
sary to take 'all possible precautions for
the protection Of young souls from the
pernicious and poisonous influence Of socio-
errors
The States-G General OF Holland issued in
1881 and again in 1888 edicts prohibiting
the printing, the reading and the possession
OF eeveral condemned books, the lists Of
which were given with the edict. In 1898
certain Socinian books which had been
in Amsterdam were condemned
as heretical by the theological professors
Of Leyden. The editions were confscated
and the books were publicly burned. Among
the noteworthy names included In the list
Of authors then condemned Mr.. Putnam
mentions those OF Yondel (the Dutch Mil
toni, Grotius, whose form Of Calvinism
was not in accord With that Of the authori-
ties, Hobbies and Spinoza. 0lden-Barne-
weld, who fills 80 large a place in q volume
OF Motley's History, lost his life largely
because Of differences on theological matters
with certain OF his fellow Calvinists, and the
same fate would probably have befallen
Grotius il he had not succeeded in escaping
from prison. The works OF Spinoza and
Hobbies were subjected to a series Of con
under the authority Of the
Of Orange, the State Of Holland, the
synods Of the Church, the local magis-
the university authorities. and the
Burgomaster Of Leyden.
In Denmark between the years 1887 and
ITO a severe censorship was maintained,
only against works ~upholding the
Catholic faith, but against all books not in
accord with the Lutheran doctrines that
the Crown had established as the orthodox
faith OF the kingdom. Among books other
than theological which came under con-
demnation in Denmark was Goethe's 'Wer-
The rigorous prohibitions Of the
Danish censorship law were not repealed
until Is4s and 1855. In Sweden also, where
the Lutheran creed had been established,
n censorship was maintained against pub
locations which were not In accord with
Luther's beliefs. In 1894 there was printed
Upsala an Index presenting q list Of
books prohibited in Sweden. As late as
1855 there was printed in Gothenburg an
Index comprising a list Of books forbidden
be printed or read in Sweden during
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
VII.
1t lie an interesting fact that a ~prohibitory
Index was published in England in 1929,
nearly twenty-five years before the issue
of the first Index on the Continent and
years before the appearance
the first Roman Index. In 1864 Queen
Elizabeth ordered an examination OF the
carRoes OF all vessels arriving in the port
of London, in. order that pernioious and
books should be seized and de-
Under the same sovereign 1t was
that any person should be deemed
guilty OF high treason and be liable TO a
sentence OF death II he had in his possession
4 Catholic book in which was taught the
doctrine OF the supremacy Of the Pope. In
1915 Elizabeth approved an act directed
against the ~Anabaptists, Puritans. Brown
and Catholics, under the provisions Of
which law a number Of persons were CON-
and burned. In 1887 the Star
Chamber published an act for the regulation
81 literature, which for the severity of Its
censorship can only be compared with the
procedure under Napoleon. The penalties
,roaortbad for iu1Dorfipu mr. aauipo