Evening star., 1928-05-27
The Story of Civilization


council of all parties to the dispute,
ple6ging himself tthe Pope) to refrain
from interference. Leo refused, then
hesitated, then began to agree; by
| which time il was too late. BY putting
himself between the warriors. Erasmus
received most of the blows; the rebels
| denounced him as trimmer, the
orthodox reviled him as the worst
hereto of all, the fount of the stream
which was about to tnundate the
church. A prelate with a reputation
for treating his guests to poison invited
him to dinner; 'he insisted so much, =
said Erasmus, that l declined"
Death of Erasmus.
The orthodox being in power in LOU
vain, where he was living. he fed 10
Basic. hoping to find there a religious
and political neutrality. But the re-
/ form broke out in Basic in time to
greet him; he describes it:
Smiths and carpenters were sent TO
! remove the images from the churches.
| The unfortunate saints were cruelty
| handled. Strange that none of them
! worked a miracle 10 average their dig
| nifty, when before they had worked so
many at the slightest behest Not
| statue was left In church. niche or
y
were whitewashed. What would not
/ burn was broken to pieces mot
a saint stirred finger
| In 1882 the Pope asked him to ar
/ range a peace with Luther and offered
| him high emoluments. He refused to
| try. except on terms which the Pope
| considered as radical as Luther's. At
| the same time Melanchthon, from the
/ side Of the reformers. begged him to
! come to the Diet Of Augsburg to effect
I a conciliation All Europe looked to
| him to bring peace to torn world:
/ the reformers began to speak well Of
! him. the Pope offered him cardinals
/ hat. which he refused. But when the
, time came 10 60 TO Augsburg his health
had broken down and he could not
/ stir. Suddenly. in 1886, he died Europe
/ as a reality died with him. thereafter
/ ii was but name.
| 2. Luther.
| On October 81. 1917. q yeiing German
| professor of theology In the University
| of Wittenberg. by the name of Martin
| Luther. posted on the door of the town
church 95 theses denouncing practices
| and doctrines that had developed in
the Catholic religion. It was a shot
| heard round the world.
| The Germans felt themselves espe-
| cially exploited by the taxes levied
| throughout Europe by the church. It
was not only that the Pope appointed
| the incumbents who filled ecclesiastical
| ofices in Germany. chose Italian fa-
| vorites and exacted fat fees for each
| appointment. Added to this were the
| taxes raised to fight the Crusades. in
| 1883 and again in 1917: German mer-
| chants protested that lit Is the Flor
! oxSNf h.fe I%1f fr Of fol 10
| Chrict's"-referring to the Italian
| traders and bankers who we're anxious
| to reopen the commercial routes OF
| the Near East In one case the tax
/ called for a tenth of the receipts of
| all ecclesiastical benefices; in the other
| 1t called for tenth of all clerical. and
twentieth of all lay, incomes. The
Diet of Frankfort said that the Pope
was trying TO pull the German sleeps
! fleece over its ears and German
prince complained: The Pope treats
his own pleasure all that we and our
ancestors have accumulated by honest
/ labor"
The First Jubilee.
The money was paid: but on top of
1t all came a new burden. Boniface
VIII had discovered q gold mine--the
idea Of a jubilee: Christians would
celebrate the Tooth anniversary of
Christ's birth by pilgrimages to Rome,
and contributions TO thG collection
baskets that were everywhere strategi-
cally placed; to every one who came
plenary indulgence would be granted,
that is. he would be dispensed from all
the suffering that hts sins had laid up
for him in purgatory, said Carlyle: but
a hrf
people came to Rome for the first
jubilee that many were crushed TO death
/ in the streets: and at the churches,
attendants were kept busy from morn
TIL night literally raking In the con-
tributions Of the faithful Clement VI
| improved on the plan by decreeing a
/ jubilee every so years rather than every
| century; Urban VI. not to be left out,
changed this TO jubilee every 80 years,
| TO give a chance 10 every generation,
| both outside and inside the Vatican.
When Leo X came to the chair he add
ed to the convenience of the plan by
| ordaining that those who could not
come to Rome might secure the same
indulgence through prayer and con-
| trihutions. To help the archbishop OF
Mainz, who owed considerable back-pay
TO the Fuggers for collecting the taxes
| levied in Germany by the church, the
| good-natured Leo arranged that half
| the proceeds from the new Indulgence
| in Germany should go 10 the arch
| bishop. With the rest Leo would
| finance the building of ST. Peters.
Strictly, the indulgence could be
| granted 10 any one who said the
requisite prayers and was too poor 70
| make any contribution; but as each
| penitcnt was required TO contribute in
| proportion 10 his means the arrange
| naent was hard on the prospering Ger
mans. An agent Of the banking firm
! OF the Flggers went about with each
| priest and kept the strong box. One
| Of the priests. Tetzel. was especially
zealous: all sins were blotted out, he
| assured the people as soon as the
money cIinks in the box; whatever
| the crime one had committed there
| vas a price at which 1t would be for
given, even II one had violated the
| mother Of God"
Luther's Wrath Is Stirred.
The finer spirits in the church
! would never have tolerated this sale
| of GODS mercy like trinkets IN ped
! dier's bag, and doubtless Leo himself.
! with all his iTnpcrturbable suavity.
| would have been scandalized could he
/ have heard Tetzcl cry hts wares. Bit
Leo was far of and Luther was near;
Leo did not hear. Luther heard, heard.
and fared up In wrath. and almost
alone opposed himself 70 the most pow
| erful institution the world has ever seen.
| Who had given this right OF selling
divine forgiveness 10 the Pope9 And
If he had IT., Why did he not empty
p,lrgatory forthwith for Christs sake,
Instead of cautiously for gold?
The theses were written In Latin, but
soon they were translated into power
ful German and sent across the country.
Leo protested 10 Frederick, elector .oi
gazony, and spoke Of Luther As child
Of the devil" forgetting that IN an
earlier communication he had called