Accommodation 132. Very much disconsolate 140. Comforted by Luther ibid. Comes to Cologne 310. Defends Bucer 311. His Opinion about Indifferent Things 481. He draws up a Confession of Faith for the Saxon Divines 515. Congratulates John Frederick's safe Return home 574. Sends Letters of Comfort to the Banished Bohemian Preachers 613. Mendoza sent by the Emperor to the Council of Trent 360. Ambassador to Strasbourg 419. His Speech to the Pope about the Council from the Emperor 443. Sends the Pope's Answer to the Emperor 445. Mentz the Seat of the Elector four German miles from Francfort 13. Elector of Mentz vide Albert. The Elector approves the Interim craftily in the Diet 460. Sends the Pope's Indult into the Landgraviate 483. Denies to Register Maurice's Protestation against a Council 499. He leaves Trent 543. He flies from Albert of Brandenbourg 567. He dies 614. Mersburgh Bishops Answer to Luther 33. Milan the Council removed thither from Pisa 27. Miltitz Charles Bedchamber man to Pope Leo vide Wittemberg Miltitz sent by Leo to Frederick against Luther 12. Treats with Luther 23. And the Augustine Friars concerning him ibid. Minden proscribed by the Imperial Chamber 245. Mirandula Joannes Picus his Books Censured 28. Monte Cardinal de the Pope's Legate at Bononia His Answer to the Pope's Letter 444. His Insolent Vsage of Vargas the Emperor's Ambassador at Bononia 446 447. made Pope and called Julius III. 492. Montmorency Anne made Constable of France 239. Is in disgrace 277. Gains Favour with Henry II. King of France Takes Metz for the French King 555. His Treaty with the Deputies of Strasbourg 557. More Sir Thomas Chancellor of England 180. Beheaded for not denying the Pope's Supremacy Ibid. Morin John under-Provost of Paris prosecutes the Protestants severely 175. Morone John Legate to P. Paul III. at Spire 291. Muleasses K. of Tunis outed of his Country comes to Augsbourg 457. Muncer Thomas begins to Preach in Franconia 52. An account of his Enthusiasm 83. Settles at Mulhansen 84. Turns out by the Rabbles help all the Magistrates ibid. Joyns with the Boors of Swabia and Franconia Ibid. Is routed by Count Mansfield Ibid. Retires with his Gang to Franck-hausen Ibid. His Speech to the Rabble 85. His men frighted 86. Routed by the Princes Army Ibid. 5000. of them taken Ibid. Muncer taken at Franck-hausen Ibid. Racked to confess his accomplices Ibid. Beheaded Ibid. Munster a City in Westphalia possessed by the Anabaptists 174. The Senate Estabilsh the Reformed Religion there 191. They make a treaty with the Bishop 192. Banish the Anabaptists Ibid. They are Tumultuous there 193. It is besieged by its Bishop Ibid. Who is assisted by the Neighbouring Princes 194. A great Famine in the City 198. The Princes threaten to send the Force of the Empire upon them 197. Murner Thomas a Franciscan Friar complains to Campegio against the Senate of Strasbourg 73. Musculus Wolfgangus flies from Augsbourg to Bern for not subscribing the Interim 461. N. NAples a sedition there because of the Inquisition 434. Nassaw Count of desires the Elector of Saxony to come to the Diet at Spire 152. Henry of Nassaw Charles V's General in Picardy 208. Unsuccessful there Ibid. William Son to Count Nassaw succeeds the Prince of Orange 327. Naves discourses with Count Solmes about the War designed against the Protestants 357. Speaks to the Landgrave at Spire in the Emperors name 368. Dies 419. Naumbourg the Chapter choose Phlugius for their Bishop 288. Netherlands Reformation gets footing there 341. Northumberland John D. of Marries his Son Guilford Dudley to the Lady Jane Gray 580. Is siezed on at Cambridge 589. And beheaded by Q. Mary Ibid. Nuremberg a Diet convened thither 51. Their Ministers accused to the Popes Legate 62. The Acts of the Diet Published 63. The treaty of Pacification removed hither from Schurnfurt 160. A Peace is there concluded Ibid. A Holy League there drawn up amongst the Popish Princes 245. Another Diet there 298. The decree of that Diet 299. The Netherlands Ambassadors accuse theââ of Cleve in the Diet 306. The Decree of the Diet 307. Their quarrels with Albert of Brandenbourg 561. Vide Albert their Answer to Albert's Remonstrance 599. O OBersteyn Ulrick Count made General of the Army against the Munster mad Men 197. His Soldiers are tumultuous for want of Pay 200. He carries the Town at last 201. Ockham William Condemned by the University of Paris 28. What his Doctrine 29. Oecolampadius John Preaches at Basil 76. He embraces the Doctrine of Zuinglius 97. Disputes at Bern 111. Meets Luther at Marpurg 121. Dies 156. Orleans vide Franciscan Friars D. of Orleans dies 352. Osiander comes to Marpurg to the Conference betwixt Luther and Zuinglius 121. Sets up a new Sect about Justification in Prussia 511. Rails against Melancthon and the Saxon Divines 512. Dies at Coningsberg 575. His Sect in Prussia promise to submit to the Augustane Confession 632. Otho Prince Palatine Embraces the Protestant Religion 300. Recovers his Country and Joyns with the Confederate Princes 556. Oxford a dispute there concerning the Lord's Supper 483. Oxline John a Minister carried by force from his House by the Governour of Turegie 76. This Occasions the Canton of Zurich to remonstrate 77. P. PAlatine George vide Spires Palatine Prince vide Lewis vide Otho Palaeologus John Emperor of Constantinople comes to the Council of Ferrara 10. Pall the excessive charge of it 273. The Ceremony of its consecration 274. Passaw a Treaty there 563. The Princes Mediators there answer Maurice's Grievances 564. And they answer the French Ambassadors Speech 565. They exhort the Emperor to a Peace by Letters 566. They answer the Emperors Letters 568. The heads of the Pacification 572. Paris Doctors of that University appealed against P. Leo for Abrogating the Pragmatick Sanction 10. Censure the Books of Reuchlin 30. And condemn Luther's Books 47. An Account of the Faculty of Divinity at Paris 48. A Young Gentleman of Thoulouse burnt there for Religion 239. They are severe upon the Lutherans 296. The manner of Proceedings upon him 297. Their Divines at Melun draw up Articles against the Reformation 342. The Parliament answers the K. of France's Edict 619. Paul III. Farnese chosen Pope 174. Instructs Vergerius how to stave off a Council 175. Issues out Bulls to call a Council 206. And others to reform the Vices of Rome 209. Prorogues the Council called at Mantua 230. Is Sollicitous to reconcile the Emperor and the King of France 232. Appoints a Committe of Cardinals to Examine the Corruptions of the Church of Rome 233. Nominates Vicenza for the Session of the Council 238. Returns to Rome 241. Prorogues the Council without Limitation 250. Sends his Legate to the Emperor 264. Makes War upon Perugia 266. The Speech of his Legate at the Diet of Spire 291. Allows a Council to be held at Trent 292. Sends Cardinals to mediate between the French K. and the Emperor 303. Commends the Chapter of Cologne in a Letter to
condemned all those who presumed to act contrary to this Decree and declared their Appeals invalid And not long after he Excommunicated Sigismund Duke of Austria for taking Cardinal Nicholas Cusanus Prisoner Sigismund Appeals from him to the Council and the Pope Excommunicates George Heinburg a Lawyer that drew up the Appeal as a Traytor and Heretick and writes to the Senate of Nuremberg to Banish him and Confiscate his Estate This Decree of his Julius II confirmed that he might defend himself against those Cardinals who had revolted from him against Kings and Princes and the Divines of Paris who often made use of such Appeals Pope Pius who was before called Aeneas Silvius was present at the Council of Basil and wrote the History of it wherein he highly commends the Decrees that were made there but at last being advanced to the Papacy he changed his Opinion and declared that the Council ought to be subject to the Pope Luther when he found himself condemned at Rome renews his former Appeal from the Pope to General Council And now since the Pope continues in his Tyranny and Impiety and proceeds so far as to condemn him neither called nor heard nor convict of Heresie he says he Appeals again from him to a General Council for these four Reasons Because he condemns him at pleasure without hearing the Controversie because he forbids him to hold Faith to be necessary in the Sacraments because he prefers his own Opinions and Fancies to the Holy Scriptures and for rendring all Councils useless Therefore he calls him rash and obstinate a Tyrant a proud Despiser of the Church and Antichrist himself and says he will prove all this whensoever it shall please his Superiors and for that reason desires the Emperour and other Magistrates that for the Glory of God and in defence of the Liberties of a General Council they would admit his Appeal that they would bridle the Tyranny of the Pope take no notice of his Bull nor do any thing in the business till the Cause be fairly heard and decided Before he appealed after this manner which was upon the Eighteenth day of November he had put out a Book concerning the Babylonish Captivity and in the Preface he says that he advances every day more and more in the Knowledge of the Scripture that formerly he had published a small Treatise concerning the Pope's Indulgences and that then he writ very modestly having a very great Veneration for the Roman Tyranny But that now he was of another Opinion and that being stirred up by the provocation of his Adversaries he had discovered that the See of Rome was nothing else but the Kingdom of Babylon and the Power of Nimrod the mighty Hunter Afterwards he disputes concerning the Sacraments of the Church and holds there are but Three Baptism Penance and the Lord's Supper And having discoursed concerning these he proceeds to consider the others also Confirmation Orders Matrimony and Extreme Vnction but he allows them not the Name or Title of a Sacrament and says that they are properly Sacraments which are Promises with Visible Signs annexed to them the others which have no Signs are bare Promises and therefore he thinks that Penance ought not to be reckoned in the number of Sacraments if we would speak properly because it wants a Visible Sign of Divine Institution Luther after he had heard of the Pope's Bull besides the Appeal we have been speaking of publishes a Book wherein he confirms and maintains all those opinions which Leo had condemned In the mean time the Emperour having setled all things in the Low-Countries appoints the Electors to meet him at Aix la Chapelle on the Sixth of October in order to his Coronation But at that time the Plague raged there very much therefore the Electors when they were arrived at Cologn about ten Miles from Aix la Chapelle and the report of the Plague encreased daily they writ to the Emperour being then at Louvain to desire him to chuse some other place for the Coronation But the Townsmen who had laid out a great deal of Money in trimming up their Houses and furnishing themselves with Provisions did by a proper Messenger assure him that there was no Danger The Emperour therefore persisted in his Resolution and declares That he cannot well alter the Order of Charles IV which appoints the Coronation to be there Therefore upon the 21 of October the Archbishops of Mentz Cologn and Triers with the Ambassadours of the Duke of Saxony and Marquess of Brandenburg arrive there for the Duke of Saxony himself by reason of his Ilness was forced to stay at Cologn The next Day they go out to meet the Emperour and when they came near him they alighted off their Horses and the Archbishop of Mentz made a Speech to him which he answered graciously by the Cardinal of Saltzburg And so joyning their Company together they marched towards the Town Before the Gate the Count Palatine meets him The Horse that accompanied the Electors were about a thousand six hundred some Archers and some with Lances those that attended upon the Emperour were about two thousand all bravely clothed John Duke of Cleve being a Neighbour had brought thither four hundred Horse very well armed who contended so long with those of Saxony about the Precedency that Night came on them before the whole Cavalcade which was the finest that ever was seen in Germany could enter the Town On each side the Emperour rode the Archbishops of Cologn and Mentz being followed by the Ambassadour of the King of Bohemia the Cardinals of Sedune Saltzburg and Croye and the Ambassadours of other Kings and Princes the Pope's only and the King 's of England were absent and that designedly lest by giving place to the Princes of Germany they might seem to diminish the Honour of their Masters The Emperour was brought into our Lady's Church where after he had made his Prayers he talked with the Electors apart and so went to his Lodging The next Day they met again at the Church but there was such a Croud of People that the Guard had much ado to keep them back In the middle of the Church there hangs a large Crown the Floor underneath was covered with rich Carpets where the Emperour for some time lay prostrate while the Archbishop of Cologn says certain Prayers over him After that is done he Archbishop of Mentz and Triers take him up and lead him to the High Altar Here he falls down again and having said his Prayers is lead to his Throne that was richly overlaid with Gold the Archbishop of Cologn begins Mass and having proceeded a little way he demands of him in Latin Whether he will keep the Catholick Faith defend the Church administer Justice and maintain the Dignity of the Empire protect the Widows and the Fatherless and such other distressed Persons and whether he will give due Honour to the Bishop of Rome When he has assented
sufficiently weiged the greatness of the Matter and the troubles that this Doctrin hath occasion'd Nay truly I am exceedingly rejoyced to see that the Doctrin I profess hath given occasion to these Troubles and Offences for Christ himself tells us That it is the property of the Gospel to raise grievous Strife and Contentions where-ever it is taught and that among those very Persons too who are most closely linked together by the Bonds of Nature and Blood. It ought seriously then to be consider'd and maturely thought on most Noble Patriots what is fit to be decreed and care had lest by condemning the Doctrin which by the Blessing of God is now offered unto you you yourselves be the cause of the greatest Calamities to Germany Regard should likewise be had that the Government which the young Emperour who here presides hath lately taken upon him be not reckoned inauspicious and fatal by Posterity through any bad Act or Precedent that may entail its Inconveniences upon them For it may be proved by many places of Scripture that Governments have then been in greatest danger when the Affairs of the Publick were managed only by Human Prudence and mere Secular Councils Nevertheless I design not by what I say most Illustrious and Prudent Princes to prescribe or point out to you what you are to do but only to declare the Duty which I shall always be ready to perform to Germany our native Country which ought to be dearer unto us than our very Lives After all I most earnestly beseech you to take me into your Protection and to defend me against the Violence of mine Enemies When he had made an end of Speaking Eckius looking upon him with a stern Countenance You answer not to the Purpose said he nor is it your part to call again into question or doubt of what hath been heretofore determined by the Authority of Councils It is a plain and easie Answer that is demanded of you Do you approve and will you defend your Writings To which Luther made answer Since it is your Command said he most mighty Emperour and most Illustrious Princes that I should give a plain Answer I 'le obey and this therefore is my Answer That unless I be convinced by Testimonies of Holy Scripture and evident Reason I cannot retract any thing of what I have written or taught for I will never do that which may wound my own Conscience neither do I believe the Pope of Rome and Councils alone nor admit of their Authority for they have often erred and contradicted one another and may still err and be deceived The Princes having considered this Answer Eckius again told him You answer said he Luther somewhat more irreverently than becomes you and not sufficiently to the purpose neither when you make a distinction among your Books But if you would retract those which contain a great part of your Errours the Emperour would not suffer any Injury to be done to such others as are Orthodox and right You despise the Decrees of the Council of Constance where many Germans famous both for Learning and Virtue were present and revive Errours that were condemned therein requiring to be convinced by Holy Scripture you do not well and are very far out of the way for what the Church hath once condemned is not to be brought under Dispute again nor must every private Person be allowed to demand a Reason for every thing for should that once be granted that he who opposes and contradicts the Church and Councils must be convinced by Texts of Scripture there would never be any end of Controversies For that Reason therefore the Emperour expects to hear from you in plain Terms What you will do with your Books I beseech you said Luther that by your leave I may preserve a Sound and upright Conscience I have answered plainly and have nothing else to say for unless my Adversaries convince me of my Errour by true Arguments taken from Scripture it is impossible I can be quiet in mind Nay I can demonstrate that they have erred very often and grosly too and for me to recede from the Scripture which is both clear and cannot err would be an Act of greatest Impiety Eckius muttered something to the contrary That it could not be proved that ever a General Council had erred But Luther declared That he could and would prove it and so the matter concluded at that time Next Day the Emperour wrote to the Princes assembled in Council That his Predecessors had professed the Christian Religion and always obeyed the Church of Rome So that since Luther opposed the same and persisted obstinately in his Opinion his Duty required that following the Steps of his Ancestors he should both defend the Christian Religion and also succour the Church of Rome That therefore he would put Luther and his Adherents to the Ban of the Empire and make use of other proper Remedies for the extinguishing that Fire However that he would make good the Safe-Conduct he had granted him and that he might return Home with Safety This Letter of the Emperours was long and much debated in the Assembly of the Princes and some there were as it was reported who following the Decree and Pattern of the Council of Constance thought that the Publick Faith was not to be observed to him But Lewis the Elector Palatine and others also were said to have vigourously withstood that Resolution affirming That such a thing would lye as an eternal Stain and Disgrace upon Germany Wherefore most were of Opinion that not only the Publick Faith and Promise should be kept to him but also that he should not be rashly condemned because it was a Matter of great moment whatever should be decreed by the Emperour whom at that Age they perceived to be incited and exasperated against Luther by the Agents and Ministers of Rome Some Days after the Bishop of Treves appointed Luther to come to him the 24 of April There were present at that Congress Joachim Elector of Brandenburg George Duke of Saxony the Bishop of Ausburg and some other great Men And when Luther came conducted by the Emperour's Herald and was introduced by the Bishop's Chaplain Vey a Lawer of Baden spake to him to this Purpose These noble Princes have sent for you Martin Luther said he not to enter into any Dispute but to treat friendly with you and to admonish you privately of those Things which seem chiefly to concern your self for they have obtained leave from the Emperour to do so And in the first place as to Councils it is possible that at some Times they have decreed things different but never contrary and granting they had err'd yet their Authority is not therefore so fallen that it should be lawful for every Private Man to trample upon it Your Books if Care be not taken will be the cause of great Troubles and many interpret that which you have published of
relieve the Poor That in the chief Church the Mass of the Holy Ghost be said every Thursday and in time of Oblation all be intent upon the Priest and refrain from talking That the Bishops also live soberly use no luxury in their Tables and avoid all vain and idle Discourse accustoming their Families to do the like that in Speech Apparel and all their Actions they may appear honest and decent and that because it is the chief design of the Council that the darkness of Errour and Heresie which for so many Years have over-spread the World being dispersed the light of Truth may shine out all Men but especially the learned are admonished to consider with themselves what way chiefly that may be done That in giving their Opinions they should observe the Decree of the Council of Toledo act modestly not with clamour and noise not be contentious nor obstinate but speak what they have to say calmly and sedately The next Session was on the fourth of February In it nothing was done but that they made a Profession of their Faith and appointed the eighth of April for the next Session for many more were said to be upon their way to come to the Council they thought it fit then to stay for them that the Authority of the Decrees might be of the greater force Whilest these things were acting at Trent Luther being invited goes to the Counts of Mansfield to take up a difference that was betwixt them concerning their Bounds and Inheritance It was not indeed his custome to meddle in affairs of that nature having spent his whole Life in studies but seeing he was born at Isleben a Town within the Territories of Mansfield he could not refuse that Service to the Counts and his Native Country Before he arrived at Isleben which was about the end of January he was indisposed in health nevertheless he dispatched the Affair he was sent for and sometimes preached in the Church where he also took the Sacrament But on the seventeenth of February he began to be downright sick in his Stomach He had three Sons with him John Martin and Paul besides some Friends and amongst these Justus Jonas Minister of the Church of Hall and though he was grown now weak yet he dined and supped with the rest Discoursing of several things at Supper amongst other things he put the Question Whether in the Life to come we should know one another and when they desired to know his Opinion as to that What was the case said he with Adam He had never seen Eve but when God made her lay fast asleep but seeing her when he awake he asks not who she was or whence she came but says this is flesh of my flesh and bones of my bones Now how came he to know that but that being full of the Holy Ghost and endued with the true Knowledge of God he spake so after the same manner we also shall be renewed by Christ in the other World and shall know our Parents Wives Children and every thing else much more perfectly than Adam knew Eve. After Supper having withdrawn to Pray as his custom was the pain in his Stomach began to encrease Then by the advice of some he took a little Unicorns-horn in Wine and for an Hour or two slept very sweetly upon a Couch in the Stove when he awoke he retired into his Chamber and again disposed himself to rest after he had taken leave of his Friends that were present and bid them Pray to God said he that he would preserve to us the pure Doctrine of the Gospel for the Pope and Council of Trent are hatching Mischief All being hush'd he slept a pretty while but his Distemper increasing upon him he awoke after Midnight complaining of the stoppage of his Stomach and perceiving his end drawing nigh in these words he addressed himself to God. O God my heavenly Father and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ God of all Consolation I give thee thanks that thou hast revealed unto me thy Son JESUS CHRIST in whom I have believed whom I have confessed whom I have loved whom I have declared and preached whom the Pope of Rome and the multitude of the Vngodly do persecute and dishonour I beseech thee my Lord Jesus Christ receive my Soul O heavenly Father though I be snatched out of this Life though I must now lay down this Body yet know I assuredly that I shall abide with thee for ever and that no man can pluck me out of thy hands Not long after he had made an end of that Prayer having once and again commended his Spirit into the Hands of God he in a manner gently slept out of this Life without any bodily Pain or Agony that could be perceived And so Luther to the great grief of many died in his own Countrey which for many Years he had not seen the eighteenth of February The Counts of Mansfield desired indeed to have buried him within their Territories because there he had his Birth but by Orders from the Prince Elector he was carried to Wittemberg and five days after honourably buried there He was about Sixty three Years of Age for he was born the Tenth of November 1483. of honest and well-respected Parents John and Margaret His first Rudiments of Learning he had at home afterwards being sent to Magdeburg and Isenach he far outstript all of his Age. Next he came to Erfurdt and applied himself wholly to Logick and Philosophy and having stayed there some time without acquainting his Parents and Relations he put himself into a Monastery of Augustine Friers and bent his whole studies to Divinity abandoning the study of the Law to which he had addicted himself before Now there was a new University established at Wittemberg wherefore Stupitius whom we mentioned in the first Book being Rector thereof invited Luther that he might come and profess Divinity there He was afterwards sent to Rome by those of his Order that he might sollicite a Suit of Law that they had depending there and that was in the Year One thousand five hundred and ten Being returned home at the instigation of his Friends he took his Doctor 's Degree Duke Frederick being at the Charge of it How eloquent and fluent in Language he was his Works sufficiently testifie The German Language his own Mother-Tongue he much beautified and enriched and in it he merited greatest applause for he turned out of Latine into Dutch things that were thought could not be translated using most significant and proper words and in one single Diction sometimes expressing the emphasis of a whole Sentence In one place writing of the Pope how he had prophaned the Lord's Supper and caused Mass to be said also for the Dead he saith that with his Mass he had not only pierced into all the corners of the Christian World but even into Purgatory itself but he useth a Dutch word which represents a
mouth of his Chancellor The Landgrave rises from off his knees unbidden The Landgrave's Captivity The Remonstrance of Duke Maurice and Brandenburg's Counsellors to the Emperour The number of great Guns taken from the Protestants Ebleben dies for grief The City of Magdeburg alone did not satisfie the Emperour Sebastian Vogelsberg raising Men in Germany King Ferdinand calls before him the Citizens of Prague in the Castle of Prague and there severely expostulates with them The Bohemians subdued and fined by King Ferdinand Caspar Pflug condemned of High-treason A Sedition at Naples because of the Spanish Inquisition The Reason of the first Institution of the Spanish Inquisition The Pope's Legat in France grants many things Charles of Guise made Cardinal The Pope and King of France make a Match between their Bastards A Diet at Ausburg Some Towns of Saxony are reconciled to the Emperor The Emperour publishes his Pacification with the Landgrave Duke Maurice graciously receives the Divines of Wittemberg The manner of the French King's Coronation Twelve Peers of France The Emperour squeezes Money from the States of the Empire The Sum of Money which the Emperour got Counts whom the Emperour would not pardon Magdenburg proscribed King Ferdinand and the Cardinal of Ausburg obtain vast Sums of Money from the Free Towns. The Emperour sollicits the Suitzers into a League An Armed Diet at Ausburg A Truce between the Emperour and Turk The Expiation of Churches Michael Sidonius a Champion for the Mass The Opening of the Diet at Ausburg Pietro Aloisio the Pope's Son is assassinated at Piacenza Jerome Palavicini turned out of House and Lands Pope Paul III. an Astrologer and Necromancer Those of Piacenza submit to the Emperour The detestable wickedness of Aloisio the Pope's Bastard The Council of Trent divided The German Bishops Letter to the Pope A Victory of the English over the Scots The Opinions of the Catholicks and Protestants differ about the Council of Trent The Protestants are sollicited to submit to the Council Some Protestants drawn in or over-awed assent to the Council The Free Towns scrupulous to assent to the Council The Emperour's Answer to the Speech of the low Towns. The Emperour's Embassie to the Pope for the continuation of the Council Letters to the States in behalf of the Landgrave The Emperour's Excuse to the States concerning the Captivity of the Landgrave The States acquaint Maurice and Brandenburg with the Emperour's Relation The Emperour is not wrought upon by Intercessions De Lire sent to the Landgrave desires up all Obligatory Letters that he had Peter Martyr goes into England The Reformation of the Church in England The Cardinal of Trent's Speech to the Pope in the Consistory of Cardinals The Speech of the Emperour's Embassador to the Pope The Cardinal of Lorrain's Harangue to the Pope The French King hunts after a fit occasion The Pope's Answer to the Cardinal of Trent and Mendoza The Pope's Letter to his Legate in the Council The Legat's Answer to the Pope The Pope's Answer to the Emperour's Embassadour Mendoza sends the Pope's Answer to the Emperour 1548. The Pope's Answer to the Bishops of Germany The Emperour's Embassadours sent to Bolonia The Pope's Legate to the Emperour's Embassadour De Vargas the Emperour's Embassadour his Speech to the Fathers The sawciness of the Cardinal de Monte. The form of the Protestation against the Council The King of Polands Embassy in behalf of Albert of Brandenburg The Harangue of the Polish Ambassador in the Diet of Ausburg The Institution of the Teutonick Order Casimire King of Poland subdues the Teutonicks Albert of Brandenburg refuses to do Homage to the King of Poland Albert makes Peace with the King of Poland The Master of Prussia's Answer to the Speech of the Polish Ambassador The Original of the Tuetenick Order Conrade Duke of Muscovy afflicted by the Prussians Prussia converted to the Christian Religion A Pacification betwixt the King of Poland and Matter of Prussia The King of Poland takes 70 Towns from the Master of Prussia The Articles of the Peace betwixt Casimire King of Poland and the Master of Prussia How long Prussia continued under the Empire The death of Sigismund King of Poland The Popes haughty Speech to the Emperours Ambassador The Pope taxes Mendoza as having transgressed his Commission The Popes Expressions concerning his perpetual resolution of calling a Council His comparing himself with the Emperour The singular purpose of the Pope The Emperour's Report to the States The Interim is made Bucer being sent for by the Elector of Brandenburg comes to Ausburg The English Declaration to the Scots Sebastian Vogelsberg is condemned to die and two Captains with him A Persecution in France The Ceâemony of Investing Duke Mâârice into the Electorship Bucer rejects the Interim Brandenburg angry with Bucer The Archbiship of Cologne's first Mass The King of Tânis comes to Ausburg The Heads of the Book called the Interim The Interim often reviewed and corrected before it could pass The Interim sent to Rome The Popes Animadversions upon it The Elector's opinions about the Interim vary The Archbishop of Mentzs his craft in approving the Interim and giving thanks to the Empeâââ The Emperour desires Money to be raised and put into a publick Treasury King Ferdinand craves Money from the States Maximilian marries his own Cousin german The Naapolitan Horse are a great burden to the people about Strasburg Marquess John of Brandenburg approves not the Interim The Electors of Brandenburg and Palatine receive the Interim The constancy of the Duke of Deux-Ponts Musculus went from Ausburg to Bern. The labours and dangers of Brentius Brentius his Judgment of the Interim The ingratitude of the People of Hall who banish Brentius and his Family The Duke of Wirtemberg secretly received Brentius The Preachers are forced to fly Wirtemberg receives the Interim The constancy of Saxony the Prisoner Severity towards captive Saxony Letters spread abroad in the Landgrave's Name Whil'st the Mass triumphs in Germany it is run down in England The Bishop of Winchester is committed to Prison The Emperours Ecclesiastical Reformation The Bishops approve this Regulation Those of Strasburg are urged to receive the Interim The Answer of those of Strasburg Granvell's Speech to the Strasburghers The Strasburghââs Answer to Granvell Granvell's Reply The Strasburghers insist The other Cities are also urged The Emperours Answer to the States about the disbanding of the Soldiers The States consent to the Constitution of the Imperial Chamber A Decree of the Dyet of Ausburg concerning a free Council The Composers of the Interim are bountifully rewarded The Emperours Letters to the Princes about the receiving of the Interim The Veneratians Proclamation The Popes Legats in the Courts of Princes The prudence of the Venetians in the business of Religion The Venetian Inquisition against Sorcerers and those that have commerce with the Devil French Auxiliaries sent to the Scots They who served in the Protestant Arms Proscribed by the Emperour The Duke of Vendâsmâs Marriage The
the Pragmatical Sanction The Pragmatical Sanction in danger A Transaction about it The pragmatick Sanction a curb to the Popes Twelve Archbishopricks in France And ninety six Bishopricks The order of Sessions in a Council Subjects allotted to the Divines Who chiefly examined all Points The way of making Articles of Faith. The way of making Canons The Holy Ghost in the Pope's hands The French King's Edict against the Pope A most severe Edict of the French King's against the Lutherans The Emperour's Declaration against the King of France The French King's Justification The cause of the difference betwixt the Emperour and the Pope For making Peace with Magdeburg Duke Maurice holds a Convention of States He also desires a safe Conduct from the Council for his Divines The Decree of the Council concerning the Lord's Supper Four Heads left undecided to be disputed about The form of the safe conduct from the Council Brandeburg's Ambassador claws the Fathers of the Council Frederick of Brandeburg elected Archbishop of Mâgdâburg The end of the War of Magdeburg Duke Maurice makes the Hessians swear Aâlegiance to him The Protector of England again made Prisoner Martinhausen made Cardinal The Council's Letter to the French King. The French King frightens the Switzers from the Council Vergerio's Book about avoiding the Council The Bishop of Coyre recalled from the Council The Duchy of Wirtemberg rid of the Spaniards Hasen's Exploits in Schwabia The Duke of Wirtemberg's Ambassadors at the Council The Pacification of Magdeburg The Conditions of Peace The Magdeburgers having received Duke Maurice swear to be true to the Emperour Duke Maurice's Complaint to the Preachers of Magdeburg The Preacherâ Answer The constancy and renown of the Magdeburgers Duke Maurice hatches a War against the Emperour An Ambassadour from the French King Duke Maurice Maximilian comes from Spain His Ships plundered by the French. Sâeidan sent Deputy from Strasburg to the Council Thirteen Cardinals created The Decree of the Council concerning Penance The Decree concerning Extreme Unction Wirtemburgs Ambassadours apply themselves to the Cardinal of Trent And are gulled The Deputy of Strasburg applies himself to the Emperours Ambassadour The Ambassadours of Duke Maurice and the Elector of Brandeburg solicited the Emperour about the Landgrave The names of the Princes that interceded for the Landgrave The Speech of their Ambassadouâ The Danish Ambassadour intercedes for the Landgrave The Emperours Answer to the Mediators The Conference of Duke Maurice and Prince William the Landgrave's Son. 1552. Maximilian honourably received at Trent Groppers immodesty in the Council The Bishop of Waradin murdered in Hungary King Ferdinand gets Transilvania Huberine an Interimist The Soldiers of Magdeburg create trouble to the Elector of Mentz The Letters of the Spiritual Electors to the Emperour The Emperours Answer The Wirtemberg Ambassadours desires to Count Montfort The Ambassadours of Duke Maurice come to the Council And declare their Instructions The diligence of the Protestant Ambassadors in the Council The Protector of England beheaded The Discourse of the Emperour's Ambassadors with those of Duke Maurice A draught of the safe Conduct given to the Ambassadors of Duke Maurice The safe Conduct of Basil perverted and altered The form of the safe Conduct of Basil Upon examination of the Council's safe Conduct a new form of one is drawn up according to the Decree of Basil The Speech of the Wirtemberg Ambassadors to the Fathers at Trent and the Exhibition of the Confession of Doctrine The Confession of Wirtemberg given in to the Fathers The Ambassadours of Saxony sent for by the Fathers The Confession of Faith written by Melanchton is not produced Another Session of the Council The safe Conduct is delivered without any alteration Poictiere's Discourse as to the Ambassadours Demands The Answer made to the Demands of the Ambassadours The Ambassadours of Wirtemberg depart from the Council The Divines of Saxony come to Norimberg on their way to the Council The bitter Reflection of Ambrose Pelarg upon the Protestants The Ambassadour of Duke Maurice his Complaint of the sawciness of Pelarg. Pelarg Justifies himself before the Cardinal of Trent Duke Maurice's Letters to his Ambassadours The Elector of Treves returns home A Rumour of a War with the Emperour Indulgences published by the Popes Legate The Electors of Mentz and Cologne return home New Ambassadours from Wirtemberg to the Council Duke Maurice's Ambassadours depart secretly from Trent Divines of Wirtemberg and Strasburg come to Trent The Confession of the Duke of Wirtemberg The Protestation of the Ambassadours of Wirtemberg The Deputy of Strasburg's Discourse with the Ambassadour Poctieres The Deputy of Strasburg being upon his return home is stopt Divisions amongst the Fathers of the Council The French King negotiates a Peace with the Pope The Demands of the Protestant Divines to the Council Duke Maurice takes Ausburg upon surrender The Ambassadour Poictieres Conference with those of Wirtemberg and Strasburg The flight of the Fathers at Trent The Writing of the Wirtemberg Ambassadours given to the Imperialists The different Opinions and Intentions of the Fathers of the Council The last Session of the Council of Trent at this time Peace betwixt France and the Pope The death of the Popes Legate The number of Bishops and Divines in the Council of Trent The cause of the Sickness of the Popes Legate The care Duke Maurice took for the Landgrave his Father-in-Law His League with the French King. Duke Maurice's Declaration to the States of the Empire The Declaration of Albert of Brandenburg against the Emperor The French King's Declaration against the Emperor Germany the Bulwark of Christendom The badge of Liberty The French King calls himself the Defender of the Liberty of Germany and of the Captive Princes The out-lawed Men who served the King of France Duke Maurice taketh the Field Albert of Brandenburg joyns Duke Maurice and the Landgrave's Son. Ausburg surrendred to the Princes The Cities are summoned to come to Ausburg The Prince of Salerno revolts from the Emperor The French King takes Toul Verdun and Metz. Lenencour Bishop of Metz. The French King takes an Oath of Allegiance of the Senate and People of Metz. The Princes go to Ulm and besiege it The German and French Hostages are set at Liberty Albert of Brandenburg wastes the Country about Ulm. Conditions of Peace propounded by Duke Maurice to King Ferdinand King Ferdinand's Demands Duke Maurice his Answer Otho Henry Prince Palatine recovers his own Province The Emperor raises Soldiers The Judges of the Imperial Chamber fly from Spire The French King's demands from the Strasburgers The answer of the Senate of Strasburg The Constable chides the Strasburgers They address themselves to the King. The King's Speech to the Deputies Strasburg provides a Garrison against the French. The demands of some Princes made to the French King. Duke Maurice's Letters to the French King. The French King's answer to the Ambassadors of the Princes The reasons of the French King 's leaving Germany The French King's Answer
Holy Scripture was to be preferred far before his The Cardinal then extolling the Dignity of the Pope prefers him before all Scriptures and Councils and quotes the abrogation of the Council of Basil which had decreed otherwise condemning also Gerson the Parisian Doctor and the rest who approved that Opinion On the other hand Luther denies the Authority of the Pope to be greater than that of a Council and quotes the Parisian Divines as the Approvers of his Judgment When after much Debate they could not agree Luther desired Time to consider and coming again next Day in presence of Notary and Witnesses and some of the Emperours Counsellers also he professed That he Reverenced and Submitted to the Holy Church of Rome that if he had said any thing to the contrary he disowned it but that since he was admonished and commanded To Renounce his Errour and meddle no more for the future he was of the Opinion that he had asserted nothing that disagreed with the Scripture the Judgment of the Fathers the Decretals of the Popes or right Reason it self that he did not deny indeed but that he might err and be deceived that being incident to Man and that therefore he submitted to the Judgment of a Lawful and Holy Church and referred his Cause to be tryed thereby Nay more That he was ready in any Place to give an account of his Doctrin that if he was not pleased with this he would answer his Arguments in Writing and submit to the Judgment of the Universities of Germany and Paris Cajetane urged again as he had done the Day before that Decretal of Clement as making for him and at length allowed him to exhibit his Mind in Writing which was to this purpose That at the Time he published his Theses and when after he wrote the Explication of them he had read the Decretal of Clement but that it had not satisfied him for that though it be made a Rule That the Decretals of the Pope of Rome are no less to be received than the Words of the Apostle S. Peter yet that ought so to be understood provided they agree with Holy Scripture and deviate not from the Decretals of the Ancients that S. Peter's Voice was indeed Sacred and Holy and yet he had been sharply rebuked by St. Paul and his Doctrin not received till the Church which then was at Jerusalem consented to it That the Sayings of Men were to be heard but that every thing should be referred to the Voice of Christ who alone could not be deceived That that Decretal was repugnant to many places of Holy Scripture which was the Reason that at that time he Published his Position and afterwards Commented upon the same That from that time forward he had resolved to dispute no more about it and rather to listen to the Opinions of others but that now though he had rather be instructed by others and especially the Pope of Rome yet since there lay a necessity upon him of defending his own Assertion he would essay and use his endeavours to reconcile his Positions to that Decretal if by any means it could be done Having thus addressed to the Cardinal in a Preface he falls to the handling of the matter it self and explaining the Decretal affirms That it made for him yet so that he did not thereby derogate from the dignity either of the Pope or him Then he comes to the other branch of the Accusation and by many Texts of Scripture fully proves That it is Faith which Justifies us before God And therefore he prays him to deal kindly with him and shew him his Errour for that the Texts of Scripture which he had alledged were of so great force that he believed them to be Self-evident wherefore he could not forsake that Truth since it was better to Obey God than Men. That therefore he desired to be excused from that over-hard condition of Retracting and to be Reconciled to the Pope That it was not out of Arrogance or any desire of Vain-glory that he had entred the Lists and that he wished for nothing more than that the Truth might be discovered by any more Learned and Pious than himself so that he beg'd he might not be compell'd to wound his own Conscience Cajetane took this Writing from him and upon reading made slight of it but promised however to send it to the Pope In the mean time he urged him to retract else he threatned him with the Punishment appointed by the Pope and with that bid him be gone and see his face no more unless he changed his mind Three days after Luther had been thus threatned October the Seventeenth he wrote a very humble and submissive Letter to the Legate for after that the Legate had chid him as we said and sent him away he had dealt privately with John Stupitz Provincial of the Augustine Fryars that he might incline him to make a voluntary Recantation Now in that Letter Luther gives him an account of what pass'd betwixt Stupitz and him who had omitted nothing that could be expected from an honest Man and faithful Friend He thanked him for his Good-will and Kindness towards him which he had understood from Stupit's discourse whereby he had been so much comforted that there was no Man-living he would more willingly gratifie than His Eminence He confesses that he had been too sharp and had not behaved himself with the respect and reverence that was due to the Papal Dignity but that all that was to be attribuâed to the impertinence of the Collectors He begs Pardon for what he had done and promises greater modesty for the future and that he would hereafter do his Holiness Right in his Sermons That he would not mention the Indulgences in time to come provided his Adversaries were enjoyned to do the like but that he should retract the Opinions which he had divulged and hitherto defended he could not with a safe Conscience so long as he was not convinced of Errour by clear Testimonies of Scripture He therefore craves that the Tryal of the Cause might be referred to the Pope for that nothing would be more pleasant to him than to hear the Voice of the Church about such Controversies Since Cardinal Cajetane made no Answer to this Letter and had uttered some threatning Words he took his Friends counsel and two days after departed leaving behind him a certain Appeal which should afterwards be publickly affixed and about the time of his departure he wrote again to the Legate That he had omitted nothing which was his duty to do That being a weak sickly Man he had made a long Journey on Foot and come to Ausburg that he might manifest his Submission to the Pope but now that his Money was almost spent and that he would not be any longer troublesome to the Carmelite Fryers who had lodged and entertained him in their Convent he would return home especially seeing His Eminence had discharged him to come any more into
they might prove of great use to others as well as to himself who was exceedingly pleased with them but that there was one thing that he would have him admonished of and that was That more might be done by a civil Modesty than by Transports and Heat that he ought rather to thunder against those who abused the Authority of Popes than against the Popes themselves that about inveterate things which cannot be suddenly pluck'd out it is better to dispute with pithy and close Arguments than to assert positively and that in this Case the Passions and Affections must be laid aside That he gave him this Admonition not that he might learn what he was to do but that he should proceed as he had begun Luther's Doctrine having in this manner caused much Strife and Contention and raised him many Enemies there was a Disputation appointed to be at Leipsick a Town in Misnia belonging to George Duke of Saxony Cousin-german to the Elector Frederick thither came Luther and with him Philip Melanchthon who the Year before came to Wittemberg being sent for by Duke Frederick to be Professour of the Greek Language there thither came also John Eckius a bold and confident Divine On the Day appointed which was July 4 the Disputation was begun by Eckius who having proposed some Positions to be debated made this his last That they who affirmed that before the time of Pope Silvester the Church of Rome was not the first of all Churches did err for that he who attained to the See and Faith of S. Peter the Prince of the Apostles was always acknowledged for the Successor of S. Peter and the Vicar of Christ upon Earth The contrary Position to this was published by Luther to wit That they who attributed Primacy to the Church of Rome had no other Ground for it but the bare and insipid Decretals of the Popes made about four hundred Years ago but that these Decretals were repugnant not only to all Histories written a thousand Years since but also to Holy Scripture and the Council of Nice the most Famous of all Councils Eckius then entring upon the Dispute laid hold of that last Position and would begin the Debate about the Authority and Primacy of the Pope of Rome but Luther having made a short Preface said That he had rather that that Argument as being very Odious and not at all Necessary might have been waved and that for the sake of the Pope that he was sorry he should have been drawn into it by Eckius and that he wished now his Adversaries were present who having grievously accused him and now shunn'd the Light and a fair Tryal of their Cause did not do well Eckius also having made a Preamble declared That he had not raised this Bustle and Stir but that it was Luther who in his first Explication of his Theses had denyed That before Silvester's time the Pope of Rome preceded the rest in Order and Dignity and had averred before Cajetane That Pope Pelagius had wrested many Places of Scripture according to his own Pleasure which being so that all the Fault lay at his Door The first Debate then was about the Supremacy of the Pope of Rome which Eckius said was instituted by Divine Right and called Luther who denyed it a Bohemian because Huss had been heretofore of the same Opinion Luther to justifie himself from this Accusation proved That the Church of Christ had been spread and propagated far and near twenty Years before S. Peter constituted a Church at Rome that this then was not the First and Chief Church by Divine Right Afterwards Eckius impugned Luther's other Positions of Purgatory Indulgences Penance the Pardon of the Guilt and Remission of the Punishment of Sin and of the Power of Priest At length on the fourteenth Day ended the Dispute which had been appointed not upon the account of Luther but of Andrew Carolstad though Luther came to it in company of Carolstad only to hear but being drawn in by Eckius who had procured a Safe-Conduct for him from Duke George he entred the Lists of Disputation for Eckius was brisk and confident because of the Nature of the Subject wherein he promised himself certain Victory Luther afterwards published the whole Conference and Debate and by an ingenious Animadversion upon the Writings and Sayings of his Adversaries gathered several Heads of Doctrine downright Heretical as he said That so he might make it appear That whilst they spoke and wrote any thing in Favour of the Pope and were transported with the Zeal of defending their Cause they interspersed many things which being narrowly inspected contained a great deal of Errour and Impiety Vlrick Zuinglius taught at that time at Zurich in Suitzerland whither he came upon a call in the beginning of this Year having before preached at Claris and in the Desert of our Lady as they call it Not long after Fryer Samson a Franciscean of Milan came thither also being sent by the Pope to preach up Indulgences and squeeze Money from the People Zuinglius stoutly opposed him and publickly called him an Imposter CAROLVS V. AVSTRIACVS D.G. ROMAN IMP SEMPER AVG REX HISPAN Natus Gandavi Ao. MD. Die. XXIV Febr Electus Ao. MDXIX XXVIII Iunij Ferdinando Frat Imp Commisit VII o Sept. MDLVI Obijt XXI Sept MDLVIII THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK II. The CONTENTS Luther by the advice of Charles Miltitz writes to the Pope and presents him with his Book of Christian Liberty The Emperor departs from Spain and passes through England into the Low-Countries Luther writes a Book which he calls Tessaradecas and another about the Manner of Confession a third about Vows His Opinion concerning the Communion in Both Kinds To this his Adversaries object a Decree of the Council of Lateran under Julius II of whose Actions you have a large Account In the mean time the Divines of Lovain and Cologn condemn Luther's Books In his Defence the Opinions of Picus Mirandula the Questions of Ockam and the Controversie of Reuchlin with the same Divines are recited Seeing himself attack'd by so many Enemies he writes to the Emperor soon after to the Archbishop of Mentz and Bishop of Mersburg The Elector Frederick finding that he had lost his Credit at Rome upon Luther's account endeavours to clear himself by Letter Luther likewise does the same The Pope Excommunicates him and he appeals again from the Decree of the Council of Mantua and puts out his Book of the Babylonish Captivity The Emperor is Crown'd at Aix la Chapelle The Pope again sollicites Frederick but not prevailing causes Luther's Books to be burnt Which when Luther understood he burnt the Popes Bull and the Canon Law and gives his Reasons for it He Answers Ambrose Catarino who had written against him IN the former Book an Account has been given of what relates to Charles Miltitz and his Negotiation at the Court of the Elector
were sailing in the midst of dangerous Rocks who attribute to him no less than a sort of Divinity and cry him up for the Monarch of the Universe and make him Superior to all Councils He assures him that nothing can be more pernicious to any one than to hearken to this sort of Parasites That therefore he should rather give credit to such Persons who put him in mind that he is Mortal as well as other Men and who exhort him to the faithful discharge of his Duty That because he was placed in such a state of Life in which as in the middle of a tempestuous Sea he was continually exposed to very great dangers that therefore he had written to him thus freely and without any the least admixture of Flattery and in this he thought himself to have performed the part of a true Friend In the last place he presents him with his Book which he had lately composed concerning Christian Liberty giving it only this short Recommendation That it was a full and compleat Summary of true Doctrin In the beginning of Spring the Emperor sets sail from Spain and arriving in England was very magnificently entertained by King Henry who married his Aunt Catherine After which he passed into the Low-Countries where he was received with the general Shouts and Acclamations of all the People Much about this time the Elector Frederick fell very dangerously sick upon which Luther by the advice of some Friends compiled a little Book to afford him some comfort at this season to which he gave the Title of Tessaradecas and in his Letters to him he tells him it was the Command of Christ that among other mutual charitable Offices which we are to perform one to another the administring to the Sick ought never to be forgotten That for this cause he who was in a peculiar manner upon several accounts obliged to his Highness had for his sake made this short Collection not being in a capacity of evidencing to the World and Him any other way how much he is devoted to his Service He tells him that the Constitution of Human Bodies was such that if any the least Distemper invaded the Head all the other Members sympathised with it and each particular part felt the pain as sensibly as if it self were immediately afflicted therewith So now this Indisposition of his could not but affect all his Subjects with a very deep sorrow for that a considerable part of Germany look'd upon him as their greatest Ornament as well as strongest Bulwark After this he publish'd a Book treating of Confession the chief Heads of which are these That Men ought not to rely on Confession as of it self Meritorious of Pardon but upon the gracious Promise of God to forgive Sins That in the first place they should make their Confession to God and that he that Confesses ought at the same time to have a perfect hatred and abhorrence of his Sin and to desire sincerely to amend his Life That a particular enumeration of every Sin was not necessary nay that by reason of the innumerable slips of a Man's Life and the general depravity and almost lethargick security of most Mens Consciences it was even impossible to be performed That a great difference ought to be made between Sins committed against the Command of God and such as are only breaches of some Human Ordinance In the last place he adds a word or two about Vows and bewails that barbarous cruelty which under colour of them is exercised by covetous and illiterate Persons upon the Souls of Men But of this he speaks more at large in a separate Tract afterwards published by it self In another Piece of his he had said That it appeared to him as a thing which would be of great advantage to the Church if the Authority of a Council first interposing all Persons were admitted to participate of the Lord's Supper in Both Kinds This Saying of his because it was contrary to a Decree of the late Lateran Council many resented highly and among these was John Bishop of Meissen who commanded all the Clergy of his Diocese to suppress the Book and teach all under their Charge that the whole compleat Sacrament was exhibited under each distinct Species Luther being inform'd of this presently replies and lays all the blame of this Injunction not upon the Bishop but upon some few unlearned and turbulent Fellows and to them he turns his Discourse and shews that this which he was thus desirous of having established by a Council did not deserve so severe a Censure no more than if he had said he could wish a Council would decree it lawful for Priests to have Wives That this very thing Pope Pius II. publickly declared himself for and that herefore he was not to be blamed who concurred with him in the same Opinion He granted there was such a Canon of the Lateran Council as they spoke of but he thought it absurd to go about to Confirm any Doctrin by an Ordinance of a later Council which was repugnant to all the more ancient Councils as well as the constant usage in all the first Ages of the Church He minds them that among the Bohemians the Laity were admitted to partake of the Cup and that for this reason we brand them with the name of Hereticks who deny it to all those who hold Communion with us That they in their defence urged Christ's own Institution and the Practice of the Apostles and of all Christians down almost to these times and all that we have to say in our own Justification or to convince them of their being in an Errour is only this Lateran Decree which is but a trifling Argument and such as carries no great weight in it for that every Body was sensible now what a sort of Council that was since the Papists themselves whose Interest it was to uphold it were not grown so expert in the Art of Dissimulation as at all times to counterfeit an esteem for it But supposing this Council to have been Oecumenical yet it was not for the Credit of a Church which pretends so much to Antiquity to be beholding to an Authority of so late a date for the Ratification of any of its Doctrins But to lay open the whole Intrigue of this Lateran Council thus it was Julius II. at his coming to the Poâpedom obliged himself by an Oath to call a Council within two years This was in the Year of our Lord 1503. But the Affairs of Italy being very much embâoiled the Pope engaging himself in a continual War either with the Venetians or King of France or Duke of Ferrara or else with the Family of the Bentivolio's Prinas of Bononia nine Cardinals withdrew themselves and when they were come to Milan they summoned a Council to meet at Pisa The Chief of these Cardinals were Bernardine de la Croix William Bishop of Praeneste and Francis Bishop of Bazas and
the Disciples of Mahomet and who with his prophane and poysonous breath thought at once to blast and overturn the whole Disciplin of the Church who bewails the Punishments inflicted on Hereticks and in short who strove to turn all things topsie-turvie and is arrived at that degree of pride and madness as to despise the Authority both of Popes and Councils and has the confidence to prefer before them all his own single Judgment That he therefore had shewed himself a true Son of the Church in that he had nothing to do with that pernicious Rascal nor embraced any of his erroneous Opinions but in all things imitated the Vertues of his Fore-fathers That this made so many grave and understanding Men outvie each other in his Commendations And that he could not but think himself bound to return his most hearty Thanks to God who had bestowed on him so many rich endowments of Mind He says he had long borne with Luther's Sauciness and Temerity hoping he would in time grow ashamed of his Folly but now when he saw him deaf to all his Admonitions and that he was only hardned by the gentleness which he used towards him he was forc'd at last as in a desperate Disease to have recourse to a desperate Remedy to prevent if possible the farther spreading of the Contagion That having summoned therefor the Conclave and had the Advice of several learned Men in the matter after much serious deliberation he had signed the Decree being guided by that holy Spirit whose aids can never be wanting to an Infallible Church In it were recited some of his Tenets which were picked from among a great many more part of which were downright Heretical others directly contrary to the Precepts of the Gospel and some were destructive of Morality and even common Honesty it self and were such as by degrees would debauch Men into all manner of Wickedness That he had sent him a Copy of this Bull to let him see what monstrous Errors that Agent of Hell did maintain But now his Request to him was That he would admonish him not to persist in his Pride and Obstinacy but publickly and solemnly to recant all his former Writings which if he refused to do within a prefixed day then to take care to have him seized and committed to Prison by this means he would wipe off the Reproach of his own House and of Germany too and get himself immortal Honour by putting a timely stop to that flame which would else not have ended but in the ruin of his Country and it would be a Service also very acceptable even to God himself The Bull it self was very long and was published on the Fifteenth of June the substance of it was this After a Quotation of some Texts of Scripture which were applied to his present purpose his Holiness Pope Leo having called upon Christ St. Peter and St. Paul and the rest of that glorified Society to avert those dangers which at this time threatned the Church complains that there was now started up a Doctrin which not only revived all those Opinions which had been formerly condemned as Heretical but also contained in it several new Errours never before broached in the World and such as would justle out all sense of God and Religion That he was troubled that this Heresie should have its rise in Germany a Country always very Loyal to the Church of Rome and which to uphold the Dignity of that See had fought even to the last drop of Blood and never refused to undertake any the most difficult Enterprizes That it was yet fresh in memory with what Heroick Spirits and with what Zeal they maintained the Catholick Cause against the Bohemians and the Followers of Husse That some of their Universities had lately given Instances of a Vertue and Courage equal to what inspired the first Planters of Christianity But because he was Christ's Vicar here on Earth and the Care of the Universal Church was committed to him he could no longer neglect the discharge of his Duty After this he repeats Luther's Tenets which he says were repugnant to that Christian Love and Reverence which all Men owe to the Church of Rome That he had therefore summoned together the whole College of Cardinals and several other learned Men who after a long Debate all declared That these Points ought to be rejected as derogating from the Authority of Councils Fathers and even the Church it self Therefore with their advice and consent he condemns this whole summ of Doctrins and by virtue of his Supremacy commands all Persons under the severest Penalties to yield Obedience to this his Decree by renouncing those Opinions which are censured in it and he enjoyns all Magistrates especially those of Germany to use their endeavours to hinder the farther progress and growth of this Heresie He orders also Luther's Books to be every where brought forth and burnt Then he relates how Lovingly and Fatherly he had dealt with him in hopes to reclaim his by those gentle methods how he had admonish'd him by his Legates and cited him to come and make his Purgation at Rome not only granting him a safe Conduct but promising to furnish him with all Necessaries for his Journey but that he slighting this Summons had appealed from him to a General Council contrary to the Decrees of Pope Pius and Julius II by which it is enacted That whosoever shall make any such Appeal shall from that time be adjudged an Heretick and be obnoxious to the same Punishments That therefore it was in his power to have prosecuted him at first with the utmost rigour of the Law but that out of meer pity he had forborn so long if perhaps as the Prodigal Son his Calamities might bring him to a sense of his Errours and he would at last be willing to return into the bosom of the Chuâch That he had still the same tender Affections towards him and that he most passionately intreated him and all his Followers that they would cease to disturb the Peace of Christendom and if they yield to this his request he promises to shew them all the kindness imaginable In the mean time he forbids Luther to Preach and prefixes Threescore days within which time he should amend burn his own Books and publickly Recant If he did not he condemns him as an Heretick and orders him to be punish'd according to Law he Excommunicates him and commands all Persons to avoid his Company under the like Penalty ordering this Decree to be read in all Churches upon certain days As to what he says of Pius and Julius the matter stands thus In the Year of our Lord 1359 Pius II on account of the War with the Turks holds a Council at Mantua and there among others makes a Decree That no Person should Appeal from the Pope to a Council because he said there could be no Power on Earth Superior to that of Christ's Vicar Therefore he
were returned upon Enquiry into the Case he would do what should be thought Just and Reasonable He had given his Legate in Charge also to require an Answer from the Princes since he had written to them with Design first That he might know of them what they thought might be the fittest Course for quelling that pestiferous Sect and then that he might understand in time what was to be done therein on his part These things being brought into Deliberation the Princes and States return an Answer and having begun with a short Repetition of all his Demands they profess the great Satisfaction they had to know that God had been pleased to set him over the Church which in so dismal a Time stood much in need of such a Governour who had so great a Zeal for the Welfare of Christendom took so much Pains to compose the Differences of Kings and Princes and was at such Charges for putting a stop to the Progress of the Turk as much rejoyced them to hear of from him and for which they gave his Holiness their most hearty Thanks For that certainly by these Civil Wars the Empire was exceedingly weakned and the Power of their most cruel Enemy the Turk increased whilst there were no Forces on Foot to make Head against him That there were Ambassadours come to the Dyet from the King and Nobles of Hungary who had given a sad and lamentable Relation of the Cruelties they had suffered and of the great Dangers they were at present exposed unto That therefore they most earnestly prayed him who was their Common Father and Pastor That he would persist in that most holy Resolution and use his best Endeavours that either a firm Peace or long Truce might be made that so at length measures might be taken both for Resisting the Violence of the Turks and recovering the lost Provinces of the Empire for effecting whereof no Aid nor Assistance should be wanting on their Parts That as for Luther they were heartily sorry as indeed it became them for the Troubles that his Doctrin had raised in Germany and were very desirous to apply a Remedy to the Evil acknowledging it to be their Duty to obey both him and the Emperour wherein they resolved not to degenerate from their Ancestors but that as to the punishing of him according to the Emperour's Decree which his Holiness complained was not done it had been omitted upon no slight Considerations For that all Ranks and Degrees of People heavily complained of the Court of Rome and most Men were now so well instructed by Luther's Sermons and Books that should that Decree be put in execution against him it would without doubt occasion grievous Commotions and be so construed by many as if it were done with intent to suppress the true Light of the Gospel and to countenance and maintain such open Crimes as could no longer be suffered nor dissembled which Persuasion would unavoidably stir up the People to a Rebellion against their Magistrates And indeed it could not be denyed as he himself frankly confessed but that there were many things scandalously and irregularly done at Rome to the great Prejudice of other Nations and Provinces and no less Decay of Religion That therefore his Holiness was highly to be commended That he did not palliate nor excuse the Disorders of the Court of Rome but promised to reform those Abuses and render Justice to all Men without respect but that he would deserve far greater Applause if he really performed what in Words he promised which they earnestly begged of him he would since otherwise no firm nor lasting Peace could be expected That Germany was much impoverished by Wars and other extraordinary Imposts and Charges so that hardly were they able to support the necessary Expences of the Publick and give Assistance to the Hungarians and other neighbouring People against the Turk That now it was well known to his Holiness how in former Years the Germans had suffered their Bishops and other Church-men to become Tributaries to the Pope for a certain time how that then it was conditioned That all that Money should when occasion served be employed in the War against the Turk but that now the Time limited was expired and the Popes his Predecessors had not laid out the Money to the Use it was designed for so that when Taxes were imposed on the Provinces of Germany for the Turkish War Men fretted and grumbled thinking that those vast Summs of Money which for many Years had been publickly collected and kept for those Uses ought to be employed this way and that there was no Reason why they should be charged any further That they therefore desired he would not for the future exact that Tribute but suffer it to be brought into the Publick Treasury of the Empire that by that means many Grievances in Germany might be quieted and a Publick Stock be always in readiness for assisting Foreign Nations against the Hostilities and Invasions of the Turks That furthermore as to their Counsil and Advice which he craved in this Change of Religion and which they were both willing and obliged in Duty to give it was their Opinion That since not only the Opinions of Luther were now to be enquired into but also many other gross Errours and Corruptions which had prevailed by long Custom and Continuance and through the Depravation of Men's Lives and Judgments were now excused as he himself confessed There could be no better way thought on for remedying all these Disorders than by a free and General Council which he and the Emperour the chief Magistrate of Christendom might easily call in some City of Germany as Mentz Strasburg Metz or Cologn the sooner to begin the better and within a Year at farthest but with this Condition That all who should be present thereat whatever their Degree and Quality might be should take a solemn Oath to speak freely and not dissemble whatever they should think expedient for the Glory of God and the Peace and Well-being of Church and State for that otherwise the Council would be lookt upon as partial and would do more Hurt than Good That in order thereunto it should be their Care to hinder Luther and others from publishing in the mean time any more Books and that therein they made no doubt but the most Noble and worthy Frederick Duke of Saxony would gratifie them That they also take Care That the Preachers should meddle with nothing in their Sermons but only Modestly and Sincerely teach the Gospel according to the Interpretations approved and received by the Church In like manner That they should utter nothing in the Pulpit that might either stir up the People against their Magistrates or lead them into any Errour Besides That they should not insist upon deep Controversies which were not necessary to the People but reserve them to the Determination of the Council But that for judging in that Matter the Bishops ought to appoint able and fit men who
end of this Month they wrote to the Senate of Strasburg That it was commonly reported they had made a League with some of the Cantons of Switzerland That it was very much wondred at by them that they who were bound in Allegiance to the Empire should without the Consent of the Emperour and States make any League with any People And that though all men generally affirmed it to be so yet they were unwilling to believe it before they understood the matter from themselves and that therefore they desired that they would write to them who supplied the Emperour's place how matters stood and upon what Conditions they had entred into League The Deputies of the Princes and some few Cities came to that Assembly which was appointed to be at Norimberg where it was concluded that Ambassadours should be sent to the Emperour and King Ferdinand but that Resolution was altered And because they believed the Emperour would call a Diet of the Empire in the beginning of the Spring it was thought best to consult in the mean time what they ought to propose therein and that within a Month's time a report of their several Opinions should be made to the Elector of Saxony that the rest also might be acquainted therewith by him So they broke up on the Ninth of January In the mean time the Emperour who came to Bolonia on the Fifth of November by Letters sent into Germany dated the One and Twentieth day of January called a Diet of the States to meet at Ausburg the Eighth of April there to consult of Religion and of the Turkish War. PHILIPPVS MELANTHON GERMANICE DICTVS SCHWARTZERD Natus Bretta Anno. 1497. 17. February Augustanam Confessionem composuit A. 1530. Obijt Witteberga 19. Aprilis 1560. The first that came to Ausburg was the Elector of Saxony with his Son John Frederick Amongst the rest of his Train were Philip Melanchthon John Islebe Agricola Justus Jonas and George Spalatine The City of Vlm sent their Deputies to meet and welcome the Emperour and when with much a-do they were at length admitted into his Presence he required of them that they would renounce the Protestation that had been made the year before and for the future promise to be obedient The Senate of Ausburg had levied Eight Hundred men for a Guard to the City but when this came to the Emperour's Ears he commanded them to be disbanded and others raised in his Name who swore to be true to him and likewise demanded one of the City Gates to be put into his hands Some few days before he arrived there Cattinario whom I named before and was lately made Cardinal died at Inspruck and Granvel born at Besanzen succeeded into his place Much about this time Queen Elenor came from Spain with the French King 's Two Sons Francis and Henry who had been there Four whole Years Hostages for their Father Not long after the Emperour's Coronation the Pope sent a Nuncio to King Ferdinand Petro Paulo Vergerio a Lawyer with ample Commission but his chief instructions were That he should use all endeavours to prevent the holding of a National Council of Germany and that King Ferdinand should oppose any Treaty of that kind He carefully acquitted himself of his Commission and did all he could to hamper and vex the Lutherans being very liberal to Faber Eckius Cochleas and Nauseas that they might ply them briskly He made also Eckius a Canon of Ratisbonne as being the Pope's Legate who being present the Right of Election commonly ceases The Emperour came to Ausburg on the Fifteeneth of June towards the Evening Most of the Princes were there before who all went forth to meet him and most civilly received him In his Retinue was Cardinal Campegio being sent from the Pope with plenary Power and Commission Betwixt him and his Brother Ferdinand the Emperour intended to have made his entry into the Town but because that was contrary to the Custom of the Empire the Electors of Mentz and Cologne went immediately before him and after him came Ferdinand and Campegio The next day was Corpus Christi day wherefore the Emperour went to Church to his Devotions and the Archbishop of Mentz said Mass All the Princes were there present except the Elector of Saxony the Landgrave the Two Brothers Dukes of Lunenburg George Marquess of Brandenburg and the Count of Anhalt The Emperour had sent them word both that they should be there and also discharge their Divines from preaching but they did not come and withal alledged That since this Dyet was appointed for hearing the Opinions of all they would not impose silence upon their Divines before their Cause were tryed Two days after came forth an Edict commanding the Preachers on both sides to desist until the matter of Religion should be decided but that nevertheless the Emperour should appoint some to preach without reflecting on any person This Edict was proclaimed by an Herauld and a Penalty appointed for the transgressors of it June the Twentieth the Dyet was opened and the Emperour being about to go to Mass according to Custom commanded the Elector of Saxony to be there and to carry the Sword before him for that is the duty of the house of Saxony on such solemn occasions He having consulted his Divines in the case who told him That he might lawfully do it since he was called upon to do his duty not to go to Mass went accompanied by George Marquess of Brandenburg but none of the rest came After Mass they went into the Publick Hall where Frederick Prince Palatine having made a short Preamble excused the Emperour's delay and again told them the Causes why the Dyet was called After that there was a long written Speech read as is usual and the effect of it was That they themselves knew how that as soon as he was by common consent chosen Emperour he had held a Dyet of all the States at Wormes but that at the same time he had been drawn into a War so that although he earnestly desired to have continued in Germany yet he was forced to return into Spain which nevertheless he did with their consent and not before he had ordered the Affairs of the Empire having constituted a Judicature and Council and left his Brother Ferdinand as his Lieutenant to represent his Person in his Absence and that in the good Opinion he conceived of their Loyalty Diligence and Virtue he had left Germany with the greater Quiet and Satisfaction of Mind trusting that they would as indeed they had so administer the Government that nothing could be found fault with But that in the mean time whilst he was in Spain he had heard That there were not only great Strifes and Dissentions in Germany about Religion but also that the Turks had invaded Hungary and the neighbouring Countries putting all to Fire and Sword And that Belgrade and several other Castles and Forts being lost King Lewis and the Nobles had sent
called that he promised them this upon his Royal Word but on this Condition still That in the mean time they should follow the same Religion which he and the rest of the Princes professed For that to procure the calling of a Council and yet to suffer things to continue at such uncertainties and not to put a stop to those Innovations all men did see how prejudicial that must needs prove both to himself and others They having consulted returned this Answer That they had not caused any new Sect nor separated from the Christian Church That they heartily thanked his Majesty for that he was not against a Council and begg'd that with the first opportunity an Holy and Free Council might be called in Germany as it had been decreed both in the last and former Dyet of Spire but that to receive the Rites and Doctrins of the Church of Rome which were now abolished they could not do it with a safe Conscience After long Deliberation the Emperour caused Truchses to tell them That he had carefully read over and perused the Memoires of the Conference and found that they dissented very much from the Christian Church That he wondred also at the Condescension of the Commissioners who had granted so many things and at their stiffness in not accepting what had been offered That whereas they grounded their demanding of a Council upon the Decrees of the Empire they had no Right to do so since they rejected the last Decree of Spire against which they had protested and appealed from it though he looked upon their Appeal as void and null since it was but reasonable that the smaller number should be determined by the greater and what an inconsiderable Party were they if compared with the Pope with himself and the rest of the Princes That therefore he desired to know of them if they were willing to enter into any further Treaty and Conference for that he would spare no pains nor trouble that he might by any means make way for Concord and Agreement but that if they refused a Treaty and would needs pursue their designs then he must do as became the Protector of the Church And that because it was drawing towards Night he gave them till next morning to consider on the matter Next day when all the States were met at the hour appointed Pontane a Lawyer made answer in Name of the Duke of Saxony and his Associates to this effect That if the Emperour understood the whole Affair as it was acted he would then believe their former Relation Nor did they doubt but their Doctrin would be judged consonant to the Word of God in the Judgment of an Holy and Free Council And that so it was the less to be wondred at that they did not accept of what had been lately granted and offered That that Appeal was for necessary Causes made only against that part of the Decree which struck at the Doctrin of the Gospel and the Custom of the Primitive Church That in all things else they obeyed it That besides at the very opening of that Dyet and long before the Decree was made a Council had been promised them by his Deputies Nor so only neither but in all the Dyets of the Empire that had constantly been the Opinion of all That since then they had appealed to his Imperial Majesty and a free Council they were in hopes that he would not derogate from their Appeal until a lawful Sentence should pass thereupon That it was not a place to dispute whether or not in this Controversie the smaller number should be concluded by the greater That that had indeed been the chief Reason which had obliged them to appeal and that they would in Council give their Reasons more fully for what they had done That therefore since all former Dyets had decreed a Council without any limitation or condition they earnestly desired that he would not rescind those Decrees but therein condescend to the Will and Resolution of the rest of the States That they rendred his Majesty most hearty Thanks That he was pleased to offer them a farther Conference and Treaty but that seeing it easily appeared by the Acts of the last Conference that they had condescended as far as possibly they could and that he himself wondred at the Papists for granting so much it might with small Difficulty be gathered what his Majesty's Judgment was in the case so that it would be in vain to appoint any other Treaty because it would bring a Delay and hindrance to other Affairs But that they were very willing to consult of any way that might preserve the Peace of the Empire until the meeting of a Council as they had said at first and that in the mean time they would do nothing but what they should think pleasing both to God and to a lawful Council also After they had been commanded to withdraw they were at length called in again and because it was a weighty affair the Emperour said he would consider of it and withal desired the Duke of Saxony as being the chief of the Party not to depart from the Dyet George Truchses and Veh a Lawyer of Baden propounded some things privately concerning the Mass and Vows in order to a Reconciliation but that was in vain And therefore the Emperour commanded a Committee to be chosen for framing a Decree The Parties chosen were the Archbishop of Mentz the Elector of Brandenburg the Bishops of Saltsburg Strasburg and Spire George Duke of Saxony William Duke of Bavaria and Henry Duke of Brunswick When the Duke of Saxony was thinking of returning home the Emperour September the eighteenth desired of him that he would stay but four Days longer In the mean time the Princes of the Committee drew up the Form of a Decree and September the two and twentieth the Emperour sent for the Duke of Saxony and his Associates to come to Court and in a full Assembly of the Princes caused that to be read which concerned Religion which was That the Duke of Saxony and his Associates had exhibited a Confession of their Faith which had afterwards been refuted by Testimonies of Scripture and that through the Pains that he himself and the rest of the States had been at things were after brought to this pass that they had received some Doctrins of the Church and rejected others which being so that therefore to shew how desirous he was of Peace and how far from acting any thing unadvisedly or out of Private Interest he was graciously pleased to grant them time to consult until the fifteenth Day of April that in the mean time they might consider with them selves and come to a Resolution if in the remaining Points of Doctrin they would acquiesce to what the Pope he himself and the whole Christian World besides professed That in the mean while it was his Will and Pleasure that all Men throughout the Empire should live in Peace that the Duke of
forbear associating themselves in so impious a War. Some of the Cities had so dealt with those of Zurich Bern and Basil that they promis'd not to refuse the League provided they might be admitted indefinitely without exception to any of their Opinions which John Frederick promis'd he would report unto his Father As to what was propounded about providing for their defence the Cities declare That they will give in their full Answer in relation to that business in the next Assembly at Franckfort and as to the creating a King of the Romans the Princes determine as before That they will not yield Obedience And since the Emperor had by his Letters commanded them to acknowledge Ferdinand for King of the Romans it was agreed that the Prince of Saxony should in the mean time draw up the Form of an Answer which should be produc'd in publick at Franckfort and that then the Cities likewise should declare their Sentiments about creating King Ferdinand The fourth of June is the day appointed for the Convention of Franckford In the mean time during their stay at Smalcalde they receive Letters from the Emperor to acquaint them that he is from all parts allarm'd with the news of the Turks design to invade Germany with a mighty Army his Commands therefore are that they contribute their Aids without any Exception They after the manner of their Ancestors do declare that they will not decline the sustaining any Charge or the doing any good Office which they owe to the Publick but that he himself must needs know what was the purport of the Elector of Brandenburg's Speech at the Diet of Auspurg which yet he himself did afterwards in some measure qualifie as likewise what was then and there decreed concerning the Imperial-Chamber that they then did make it their earnest request that he would by his authority set aside all actions that might be issu'd out from the Imperial-Chamber upon the score of Religion but being then not able to prevail they had some few months since renew'd their Requests both by their Letters and Embassadors but could obtain no other answer but what the Palatine Frederick had at length given their Embassadors viz. That 't was to no purpose for them to proceed or expect any farther but that he would at his own leisure consider what answer was fit to be made This they confess was much beside their expectation however they could not imagine but that some time or other something would have been offer'd by way of answer Now in that they are urg'd to contribute their assistance against the Turk before they have made their own Peace at home the World may easily judge how dangerous and inconsiderate an action it would be in them to part with their own Defences and as it were ham-string themselves in so difficult a juncture when they can hardly expect any thing at home but Confiscations and Violence For should actions be let loose upon them from the Exchequer upon the account of Religion who can doubt but this would be a direct act of violence they therefore again and again entreat him that he would come to some determination at last and afford them some peace and security by suspending all Exchequer actions till the time of a Council that they on their parts would to the utmost of their power endeavour to discharge their duty not only in this War against the Turks but also in all other concerns of the Publick Their farther request is that he would acquaint them by these Embassadors what his Resolutions are in this affair In the month of March Richard Archbishop of Triers departed this life whose authority among the Electors was very considerable both for his great experience in affairs and his endeavours after Liberty There was some suspition of Poison and one of his Domesticks being put to the Torture did by his hardiness and constancy escape the danger At the earnest request which those of Vlm did make to the Senate of Strasburg Bucer was sent unto them who by the help of Oecolampadius and Ambrose Blauret constituted Churches within their Territories and drew up for them a religious Form. About this time there came into the Netherlands Mary the Emperors own Sister whose Husband as we said before was Lewis King of Hungary She was by the Emperor substituted Governess of all those Provinces in the room of Margaret his Aunt lately deceased There was a Contest between Clement the Seventh and Alfonsus Duke of Ferrara about Regiun and Modena which by mutual consent they submitted to the Arbitration of the Emperor who being at this time in the Low Countries pronounces for the Duke of Ferrara The King of France on the 21 of April returns this answer to the Letters which were sent him from the Princes and Cities That there is nothing which he more heartily wishes for than the Peace of Europe and that he is not a little pleas'd to find their Inclinations that way and that to this end they desire a Council may be call'd which to him seems not only convenient but necessary For where ever mention is made of healing the Publick Breaches there 't is always his judgment that they cannot possibly lay a firmer Foundation for it than by calling in the Blessed Spirit that gracious discoverer of Truth to their assistance and would but the rest come to this Resolution was there but a place free from all danger or suspicion set apart for the Council where every one might have liberty to speak freely his Opinion and where no allowance should be giv'n to prejudice then indeed they might reasonably hope for a prosperous Issue As to the Concern they have lest he should be alienated from them by the false Criminations of their Adversaries they have no reason to fear for it had been his constant custom not to pronounce any thing rashly even against the Reputation of his Enemies But since there is so close and so ancient a Friendship between the Kings of France and the Princes of the Empire what a grand Barbarity would it be to entertain any sinister opinion against these his Friends and Allies before their Cause is heard Now how great a value he sets upon this ancient Alliance is visible from hence that ev'n when there is War between him and the Emperor the Germans and Citizens of the Empire have always found an open ingress into France and a regress from thence where they have the advantage of Trading as freely as if they were at home so that France may properly be call'd A Mansion of the Princes and Citizens of Germany These Priviledges are very well known and yet they are not so great but that he will take an opportunity much to enlarge them for their sakes especially if according to their Declaration they will stand to the Decrees of a religious and free Council For that the Controversie as they desire may be decided rather by Arguments than the Sword
but that he was now very aged and altogether unfit to undertake a Journey besides he had in reserve several weighty Reasons why he could neither come himself nor yet send his Son thither for he had met both at Spiers and Auspurg with some things which were none of the best Presidents so that unless the Emperor would publickly pass his Word for the safety both of himself and his Friends they could by no means make their Appearance Besides in what place soever he was he could not be without the Doctrin of the Gospel and Preaching of the Word of God nor could he endure that in the matter of Diet any difference of meats should be prescrib'd unto him Now if the design was to treat about Religion the very nature of the thing requir'd that he should bring Luther and other Divines along with him for whom he likewise expected a convenient Security Moreover he had often apply'd himself to the Emperor that he might be inaugurated into his Government according to the Custom of the Empire as likewise for several other things none of which he could ever obtain notwithstanding many specious Promises had been pass'd upon him Nay Frederick the Palatine had by the Emperor's Command return'd him such an answer to his Demands in the last Diet at Auspurg as did let him plainly see that his Imperial Majesty had great Resentments against him which he had but little deserv'd For these reasons he thinks it not safe for him to make his appearance there However would but the Emperor by their Mediation grant him these Requests before the sitting of the Diet he promises not to absent himself About the later end of August the Embassadors of the Elector of Mentz and the Prince Palatine arrive at Smalcalde and there express to the Protestants Embassadors how tender a regard their Princes have for their Country and the Publick good For since the Diet at Auspurg was broken up before the differences could be adjusted they considering how great dangers might arise from such Dissentions could not rest till they had obtain'd leave from the Emperor to be the Mediators of a Peace To which end they think it the best way to concert those things again which could not be decided at Auspurg and so to begin there now where they left off then To this the others made answer That their Masters were ignorant what Proposals would be made and so had not giv'n them any certain and determinate Commission how to act but had only commanded them to return to them in writing the Propositions that should be laid down so that if they now pleas'd to make their Proposals they would act therein according to their Masters Commands They on the other side do again largely rhetoricate about their Princes affection to their Country and wonder that since their requests about the Exchequer are obtain'd they should not be furnish'd with a larger Power to act especially in those things which could not be determin'd at Auspurg but if they must stick there and cannot stretch their Commission any further it will prove a matter highly disagreeable both to the Emperor and their Masters On the other side 't is reply'd That they are not to be blam'd upon this account For since the Mediators had propounded no particular method of Treaty but had only spoke of Peace in general their Orders could not well be otherwise And then for the debating of such Matters as these it is necessary that Divines and Men of Learning be made use of to whose Function it belongs Since therefore they were ignorant of what nature the Treaty would be they pray that they may not be misunderstood and that they will excuse them to the Emperor if need so require and their earnest desire is that they will in the mean time lay down some terms of agreement Their Answer again is that they might easily have collected from the Letters sent to the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgrave of what nature the Treaty was like to be That 't is none of their design to meddle with religious Dogmas but since they themselves desire an Accommodation till such time as a Council may be call'd they are therefore willing to enter into discourse with them that so they may come in the mean time to some resolution about those Opinions which are as yet undecided that they have indeed Orders to treat about these things and to try which way a Peace or at least a Truce may be establish'd which 't is impossible to effect before they come to some determination about the Points in Controversie But if they are not permitted by their Commission to meddle in these things yet however they ought to point out what they think to be the best and most convenient Expedient for accomodating the business They return for answer that there was nothing found in the Letters which did signifie any Conditions of the future Treaty and as to their desire of knowing what is to be done till a Council shall be call'd in relation to those Points which are not yet determin'd they do not see how they can come to any resolution in that matter unless it be first demonstrated from Scripture what is Pious and True what Impious and Fictitious for the effecting of which this is by no means a proper place For both the Writing which they exhibited at Auspurg and also the Answer unto it were of a considerable bulk and contain'd a great many things for the handling of which Men well skill'd in Divinity ought to be made use of But for them to appoint some Expedient for a Reconciliation they conceive it not to be their Duty since they stand upon the defensive part In the Diet of Auspurg the Emperor had often been solicited for Peace and afterwards too both by Letters and Embassadors more than once and they now do earnestly desire the same thing 'T is reply'd on the other side That they think the Expedient which they before had mention'd to be very proper but since they say that they have no Orders to act in that matter they will not urge it any farther However they think it not advisable to break up after this manner and since the Emperor at the Intercession of their Princes had granted a Cessation they think it may not be improper to appoint a certain day upon which the Princes themselves together with the Embassadors of the Cities may have a Meeting And since a Diet of the Empire is shortly to be held at Spiers where without question the Emperor and the rest of the States will be present what if they should agree to meet together there some time before the Diet the doing of which may possibly procure the Cessation to be continued for some longer time however it seems absolutely necessary that one Point be particularly consider'd namely how every Magistrate ought in the mean time to behave himself as well towards his own Subjects as Strangers But if
orderly determin'd and such a Council too the Emperor has formerly promis'd and it has been decreed upon weighty deliberation in many Diets of the Empire that the same should be call'd together in Germany For the Fountain from whence these Dissentions have been deriv'd was the overgrown Impudence of some Men who preach'd up things here call'd Indulgencies At which time likewise certain egregious Errors such as could not be dissembled were detected and expos'd And though Pope Leo condemn'd this Doctrin which laid open those Errors yet to this his condemnation they confronted the Testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles Wherefore they always thought a Council to be highly necessary wherein they might come again to a right understanding of the Cause that is wherein it might be made plainly appear what is Truth and what is Error And this was not only their own sense but also the judgment of all the other Princes and States because they plainly saw and confess'd that many things had crept into Religion which ought either to be taken away or reform'd and because they well knew what it was that Men did wish for and what was requisite for the Publick Good. But when the Pope had condemn'd this their Doctrin Decrees were made in the Imperial Diets in these very words viz. That a free and Christian Council should be conven'd either of all Nations in general or else of the German Empire only And the reason that they were conceiv'd in these very words was that the Cause might not be prejudg'd or over-rul'd either by the foresaid Sentence of the Pope or by the force and power of any Man whatever And that Judgment might be made of the whole Controversie not from the Pontificial Laws or the Opinions of the Schools but from the Holy Scriptures For if any Man's authority be so great as to overballance the Holy Scriptures and right reason who can doubt but that all their pains and endeavours will be in vain when plac'd in opposition to the Pope For 't is well enough known what Progress has been made that way in some past Councils where a Reformation indeed has been set on foot but by the Interposition of the Popes has still been wholly set aside It has therefore been for very weighty Reasons decreed that a Council should be held in Germany and this has likewise been approv'd of by the Emperor But these Proposals of the Pope do altogether run counter to the Decrees of the Empire which have pass'd the Seals both of the Princes and the Emperor For though he speaks of a Free Council yet who can doubt but that he has quite another Prospect since his great Endeavours are to bring over Kings and Princes to his side For was he willing it should be Free to what purpose would these Engagements be But since he is so very industrious this way 't is manifest that his design must be this to keep up and maintain his Power and Tyranny by the Authority of a Council that so no body may dare to reprehend these Errors and Corruptions or if any one be so hardy he may pay very soundly for it What others will do they cannot tell but their opinion is that these his Proposals are of such a nature and so contriv'd that they are apt to deter Men from a Council rather then invite them to it For who will ingage himself at this rate especially when it does not yet appear what is like to be the Order form Method of the Council When it is not yet known whether the Pope will not set up his own Authority as Supream there and whether he is willing the Controversie should be discuss'd according to the Holy Scriptures or according to those Traditions and Canons which are not confirm'd by any Testimonies from Scripture The Freedom of the Council is likewise in danger from that expression of his That it shall be manag'd after the ancient and received manner Now though they do not in the least reject those Decrees of ancient Councils which are consonant to the Holy Scriptures Yet they think that there is a vast difference between those Councils and these which have been held within their own Memory or somewhat before wherein the Pope and Humane Decrees have been advanc'd to an extravagant Pitch Therefore when he saies it shall be held after the wonted manner it is a captious expression and may include that there shall not be such a freedom of Votes as they desire and the Cause it self requires but that Judgment shall be giv'n according to his own Laws and that Power which he has arrogated to himself as it has been done in some of the last Council But such proceedings as these are so far from reconciling the Churches and extricating doubtful and afflicted Consciences that they will rather involve them in thicker Darkness and plunge them into a deeper Slavery Since therefore the Pope has not yet answer'd the desire of the Emperor and the other States their earnest Request is that the Emperor would consider the vastness of the Cause wherein the whole Christian Commonwealth is concern'd and endeavour that it may be justly and legally manag'd For this is his proper Province and he has Power by the Laws to do it whenever Truth shall be obstructed by the Pope For care is to be taken that he may not be both Party and Judge at the same time Besides all People are set on tiptoes with the hopes of this Council and 't is the Subject of their most eager wishes and prayers that they may at last be deliver'd from the doubts and anguish of an afflicted Conscience and be set into the right way to Salvation For there have not been for many Ages such struglings about such momentous Affairs as there are now the occasion of which are those numerous Errors and Corruptions which long before our time have broke into the Church Now if the general expectation shall be thus made frustrate and such a Council as has formerly been promis'd cannot be obtain'd we may easily imagine what a surprising sorrow and affliction it will strike upon the minds of Men. Moreover if the Pope shall refuse to come to a fair Judgment of things it is much to be fear'd that both the Church and State will be agitated with more dangerous Tempests than ever But since all the States of the Empire have in all their Diets decreed for a regular Council they cannot doubt but they will stick to their Principles and kick in pieces those Snares which the Pope is preparing for them They likewise expect the same things from the other Princes For this Engagement which is now working is altogether full of trick and design and 't is impossible that Men should ever make a true and right judgment of things unless all their minds be kept free and unbiass'd But if he be resolv'd to go on and to have a Council after his own way they will then commit the whole Affair to God
Now it 's not to be express'd what a horrible deal of rank Idolatry these Recluses have been the occasion of O Lord be pleas'd after so long forbearance to appear in the Vindication of thy Honour which ought not to be shar'd by any created Beings This Butchering of Men which I have mention'd being begun in November in January following the King came to Paris and to avert the wrath of God went in Procession to the Saints Churches and was attended with a prodigious crowd of people who were very devout in their way At Paris Genevefe who was a Virgin hath a greater Worship paid her than almost any other Saint Now her Image was carry'd in the Streets with the rest at this Solemnity which is never done but in great Extremities either when they endeavour to remove some signal Judgment by their Humiliation or when they are about to fight an Enemy with the Forces of the whole Kingdom or when they are afraid of Scarcity and Famine In such cases they address themselves to this Lady as their only Refuge and Support and it 's generally believ'd She is never invok'd to no purpose Her Image is carry'd by the Butchers according to ancient Custom who for several days before the Procession prepare themselves by Prayer and Fasting for their Employment They have likewise Officers upon this occasion to clear the way which is done with a great deal of difficulty For the people press upon the Image with all the Devotion imaginable and happy are they who can but touch it with their Finger or their Hat or any part of their Linnen When Mass was over the King was entertain'd at the Bishop's Palace which was hard by and after Dinner his Children all his Nobility and some foreign Embassadors being present he made a very pathetical Harangue in which he declar'd how much he was troubled at the Insolence of some wicked Men And after he had told them at large how observant he had been of the Church he charged them all to have a care of this pestlent Sect for whoever was convicted should most certainly be punished Nay he added that if he knew any of his own Limbs were infected he would tear them from his Body to stop so fatal a Cotagion Now to purge the Town from the guilt of Heresie there were six brought to Execution that day who were fastn'd to Pulleys in the manner above mention'd and burnt in several places which the King was to pass in his return to the Louvre and it so happen'd that the Fires were kindled the same minute his Majesty came by and the poor Creatures begg'd of him to have pity on them The custom in France is to put Malefactors to death in the Afternoon where first Silence is cried and then the Crimes for which they suffer are repeated aloud But when any one is executed for Lutheranism as they call it that is if any Person hath disputed for Justification by Faith not by Works that the Saints are not to be invocated that Christ is the only Priest and Mediator for Mankind or if a Man has happen'd to eat Flesh upon forbidden Days Not a syllable of all this is publish'd but in general they Cry That he hath in effect renounced God Almighty behaved himself contemptuously towards the blessed Virgin and the rest of the Saints and violated the Decrees of our common Mother Holy Church This aggravating way makes the Vulgar believe such Persons the most profligate Wretches under the Cope of Heaven insomuch that when they are broiling in the Flame it 's usual for the people to storm at them cursing them in the height of their Torments as if they were not worthy to tread upon the Earth Now in regard the Turkish Embassadors were in France at this time and the King understood that he was both suspected and hated in Germany upon this account Besides a great many were displeas'd at those Executions which I just spoke of Therefore upon the first of February he wrote to the Princes of the Empire and all the States And first he excuseth his Correspondence with the Turk and then falls a Reflecting that of late years some Persons not naming who us'd to exchange Embassadors with the Grand Seigneur without acquainting those with it who were concern'd to know what they did Nay to gain their ambitious Designs they have not stuck to pay a yearly Contribution to the Port whereas if he would but come up to a bare Neutrality he might have very advantageous Conditions of the Sultan but he hath refus'd them always hitherto and will do for the future that other Kings and Princes may be comprehended in that Peace which good effect is hindred from taking place by the ambition of these Men of whose designs the Turk is very sensible and cannot endure they should grow so fast upon the World for fear their Power should prove troublesome to himself afterwards whereas was he once assur'd that every one would be contented with his own Jurisdiction and not encroach upon his Neighbours there is no question but that he would recall his Arms out of Christendom and employ all his Forces against other remoter Nations It lies in our Power therefore to take off so formidable an Enemy without any expence of blood and slaughter and in his opinion it 's the most prudential way to treat with him about a Truce or a Peace especially at this time when the Church and State are so unfortunately embroil'd with so many different and perverse Perswasions in Religion Now if it had pleas'd God Clement the Seventh had liv'd longer all this Controversie had been ended For he had a great deal of Discourse with him upon this Point and nothing then hindred the intimating of a Council but that his Holiness had promis'd the Emperor to convene it in Italy Whereas he was of a contrary opinion For seeing things were not perfectly setled in Italy the Emperor and the Pope having an Army on foot there neither was the reason of its continuance ceased as yet he insisted that a Council might be called in Germany for while these Forces were kept up in Italy it was neither safe for him to go thither for fear an actual War should break out nor yet for all the Germans upon the account of their different Religion But that which could not be effected when Clement was Pope he heartily wishes might have a happy Issue under the Government of Paul the Third And here taking an occasion to commend this Pope he said That there was no Simony no exceptionable circumstance in his Election and therefore he needs not be afraid as some have been of appearing before a proper and lawful Tribunal And though it was not difficult for him to have promoted one of his own Subjects to this Dignity yet he chose rather to perswade those Cardinals in which he had an Interest to Elect this Person And afterwards when he was created he desired him
the less reason for non-compliance What the rest of the Princes Inclinations are in this case he is well satisfy'd of for he hath been importuning them all And the Pope hath set his heart so much upon it that if it should not go on his life would be uncomfortable to him Nay he does believe his Holiness's Nuncios are now upon their Journey to intimate the Council Now therefore at this juncture his Holiness is oblig'd to shew his Zeal for God's Glory and the good of Christendom For if he pleaseth to concur the business will be manag'd with more advantage but if he dissents the Council will begin notwithstanding Therefore the present opportunity is by no means to be neglected it being scarce ever to be retrieved again But though his Highness should choose to stand by and not assist the Council yet our Saviour himself will not deny them his Aid and Protection If his Highness would have any Point farther explain'd he is ready to give him satisfaction The Elector told him that he would consult his Allies and then return him an answer and after some other discourse he desir'd him to give him a Copy of his Speech Vergerius therefore upon the first of December gave in a Paper in which he was larger and somewhat different from what he had deliver'd by word of mouth He said the Pope had dispatch'd away Nuncio's to all the Courts in Christendom about the Council and that he was sent to King Ferdinand and the Princes of Germany for that purpose That the Emperor and Ferdinand approv'd Mantua for the place Neither ought this to seem at all strange for his Imperial Majesty declar'd himself to be of the same opinion two years since by his Embassador in Germany Neither could his Majesty be suppos'd to have any motive to alter his Judgment but on the contrary this very good reason among others to persist in it namely because Germany was full of Sacramentarians Anabaptists and such sort of Sects so that it was not safe for other Nations to come thither For a great part of those people are distracted and will not hear any manner of reason therefore it 's easie to imagine what a dangerous undertaking it must needs be to come among such a Rabble and condemn their Frensie and Extravagance without a Guard. And as for those who think either that the Pope will yield up his Priviledges which he hath enjoy'd for so many Ages or that the Emperor will call a National Council in Germany without his Holinesse's consent they are mightily mistaken For there is no better Expedient to establish a lasting Union in the Church than a free and general Council And though this remedy happens to be slighted by some people yet the Pope is resolv'd to proceed putting his whole trust in our Saviour whose Service he is there employ'd in Neither will he went the Concurrence of Kings and Princes of whose Inclinations towards so pious a Work he is well assur'd And because his Electoral Highness told him he would return an answer as soon as he had consulted his Confederates he desires he would please to do it as soon as may be He was now going to King Ferdinand and there he would expect their answer Now in reference to what his Highness mention'd concerning a safe Conduct that if they were oblig'd to go into Italy they must beside Paper-Security have Hostages given them he must needs say he did not understand the reason of such extraordinary Caution For Mantua was a City of the Empire in the Neighbourhood of Germany and bordering upon the Dominions of the Emperor and the Venetians therefore no danger could be apprehended there Yet since it was their request the Emperor would gratifie them in it and so would the Pope too as far as it was in his Power and consistent with former Precedents I have lately mention'd Vergerius his being sent back by the Pope into Germany Now after he had been with Luther at Wittemburg and was travelling out of Saxony to Ferdinand he happen'd to meet with the Elector as he was returning from the King's Court. The Protestants had already determin'd to meet at Smalcalde upon other business upon the 6th of December But the Nuncio's Embassy intervening they consulted upon it and wrote him an Answer upon the 21st That the Elector of Saxony had inform'd them what had been transacted at Prague And though all of them were not authoriz'd to concern themselves in this Affair it being impossible to acquaint all their Principals with it in so short a time yet because he desir'd to hear speedily from them they had sent him an Answer to his Proposals which though it was not so exact as the Subject deserv'd yet it was clear and intelligible And first They have already declar'd in several Diets how they stand affected towards a Council particularly above two years since they gave in their sense of this Point to the Emperor's and Pope's Ambassadors For the desire they have to promote the Welfare of the State and the Salvation of all Men in general makes them heartily wish for a lawful Council and to this purpose they have address'd with the rest of the Princes to the Emperor who also thought it necessary himself Neither did they question but that all good Men earnestly desir'd such a Council as may tend to the Reformation and advantage of Christendom For a great many pious Men are very much griev'd to see the Orthodox Faith suppressed every where by unjust Cruelty the Church torn in pieces and apparent Corruptions more and more confirm'd But such Rigour as this does not become the Governors of the Church besides if care be not taken this is the way to bring Ruine and Desolation upon Christendom Therefore now there is as much need of a Council as ever that old overgrown Errors may be removed that unreasonable and cruel Violence may be restrain'd and that the Churches may be setled upon a good Bottom for the future Therefore they were resolv'd not to desert the common Interest but would come to such a Council with all their Hearts as it had been already decreed in several Diets of the Empire And they beseech God Almighty that all the proceedings there may tend to his Glory and the Salvation of Men. But since the Pope hath made choise of Mantua they have great hopes that the Emperor will not depart from the Decrees of the Diets in that Point nor yet from his own word which was given when they had a legal Security passed for the fixing the Seat of the Council in Germany And whereas he objected that it was dangerous to come into Germany and that no freedom of Debate could be expected there for this very reason they ought more especially to be conven'd there that the Controversie may be fairly and regularly manag'd that good Men may not be over-awed in their Votes nor frighted from speaking their Minds by Violence and Faction
far that they may not have a servile and obnoxious Council conven'd in a dangerous place but that things of that weight and importance in which the peace and welfare of the Church in general and every Person in particular is so much concern'd may be examin'd with Freedom and Security By appearing in this manner not only the present Age but all future Posterity will be mightily oblig'd to his Majesty and return him immortal Thanks for so great a Favour As to what his Excellency mov'd concerning a Conference of learned Men it deserves to be consider'd throughly and at leisure Besides being not aware of such a Proposal most of their Convention had no Commission to treat about it But as soon as they come to a determination in the Case they would write his Majesty an account of it for they desir'd nothing more than that Truth might be propagated as far as was possible Lastly they were very glad to hear his Majesty promise not to furnish out any Supplies against them and therefore neither would they assist his Enemies in any case where the Emperor and the Empire were unconcern'd This Embassador had private Conferences with Pontanus Melanchton with the Lantgraves Divines and James Sturmius concerning several Controversal Points where he told them what the King and the French Clergy especially those of Paris thought of each of them Particularly what their sense was concerning the Pope's Primacy the Eucharist the Mass and Invocation of departed Saints and Images what Notions they had about Purgatory Justification Monastick Vows and the Celibacy of the Clergy In most of these Controversies he said the King was inclinable to Melanchton's opinion in his Book Of Common Places Concerning the Pope he told them that the King and Philip were agreed for his Majesty did not believe his Holiness's Primacy was founded on Divine Right but Ecclesiastical Constitutions but the King of England would allow him neither one Right nor the other And truly the Pope hath pretended to more than his share in deposing Kings and Emperors at his Pleasure And they say he is about that Business now with the King of England notwithstanding the King his Master and several Cardinals had interceded with him to forbear Indeed the Divines say He is Head of the Church jure Divino but they fail'd in their proof when the King put them upon it They likewise defend the common Opinion concerning a fire in Purgatory For this Doctrin keeps up their Masses their Obits and Legacies and all the Trade they have upon those accounts But if the Mass was once put down their Authority would be sapp'd and the Vitals of their Grandeur wounded Now when the King had given these Gentlemen several months time to prove their Opinion about Purgatory by Scripture at last they gave him this Answer That it was not prudential to furnish their Adversaries with Arguments lest they should turn them upon themselves As to Monastery-Vows his Majesty believes he can prevail so far with this present Pope that young people shall not be engaged to that sort of life till they have reach'd their full age and that they may go off when they please and Marry But his Majesty does by no means think it convenient that those Societies should be dissolv'd but continu'd as Nurseries of Piety and Learning The Divines likewise press the Celibacy of the Clergy and here the King hath found out a middle Expedient That those who have Wives shall keep them but that others shall not have the liberty to Marry under pain of Suspension For to that which is usually urg'd concerning Paphnutius his perswading the Nicene Fathers that Priests might be married The Divines answer That it could not be prov'd that Matrimony was ever allow'd to Priests 'T is true before their Ordination they did not deny but that they were sometimes married Concerning the receiving the Lords Supper in both kinds the King had some discourse with Clement the Seventh about it and he hoped this Pope might be perswaded to make a Decree that every one might have the liberty to do as they thought fit Moreover his Majesty observ'd that within the memory of our Fathers the whole Communion was given in France to all persons without distinction indeed this was not done in the Bodies of the Church but in Chappels and Oratories This relation the King had from some very old Persons who affirm'd that this was the custom in France about 120 years ago Besides the French Kings receive in both kinds which practice when his Majesty objected to the Divines in Disputation they told him that Kings were anointed as well as Priests and that the Scripture mention'd A Royal Priesthood and that others who had none of these peculiar Reasons to plead could not have this liberty The King likewise owned that many passages in the publick Service of the Church ought to be corrected and some quite struck out That Clement the Seventh committed this affair to the care of Cardinal de la Cruz a Spaniard who printed a Book about it which the Parisian Divines condemn'd as Heretical For there is a sort of people among them who are not contented to cry out upon the Germans as Heterodox and wicked but let the same Censurers fly at the Cardinals and Popes themselves upon occasion And since the present Affair is so momentous and difficult in all the parts of it his Majesty is wholly intent upon it that the Peace of the Church may be recover'd He had likewise conferr'd with the Dukes of Bavaria to the same purpose who seem'd to him to be more rigid than the Divines of Paris though afterwards one of their Counsellors of State said that they were grown more moderate and the same thing was told him by Julius Phlugius concerning George Duke of Saxony and the Elector of Mentz The King therefore was of opinion that a publick Consultation was altogether necessary before the beginning of which if they pleas'd to send some few of their eminent Divines into France to confer with the Sorbonists his Majesty would take it very kindly and so order the Conference that some violent high-flying Men should be mixt with others of more temper and moderation that by this means the Truth might be wrought out and come to light When he had said this he desir'd that the Protestants would not accept of any place for a Council without his Majesties advice and the King of England's who would both of them return them the same Civility 'T is not many years ago since Lewis the Twefth of France insisted that the Pope could not call a Council without the consent of the Emperor and other Princes This was also the Opinion of the King of Navarre and when they were both Excommunicated by Julius Ferdinand of Spain seiz'd upon Navarre as Executioner of the Pope's Sentence Now the King his Master was of these Princes mind neither could he approve any Council unless it was held in a
concluded any private Treaty with any Person about this matter excepting at Nuremburgh besides he thought it proper that those who assign'd this reason in excuse of what they had done should prove their Plea to be matter of Fact which proof he would take care to convey to the Emperor and possibly carry it himself And since the Emperor's Inclinations are so apparently dispos'd for Peace and for the setling a good understanding amongst the States he cannot but renew his former Request to them that they would contribute their Assistance towards the carrying on the Turkish-War and defray the Expence of the Imperial-Chamber both which Provisions had a very considerable Influence upon the welfare of Germany And if it so happens that the Turk does not come into the Field that then they would send his Majesty the same Supply for some months against the French King If they gratifie his Majesty in this they will never have any reason to repent of their Compliance therefore he desires they would let him know their Resolution in this Point that he may give the Emperor an account of it forthwith Touching the Council they very well knew what care and pains the Emperor had taken to procure its Intimation designing by this means to give the fairest opportunity to adjust the differences in Religion in a peaceable way and to promote the Glory of God and the Salvation of Men by the Reformation of Christendom And now when the undertaking is so well advanc'd and the time for the opening the Council almost at hand his Majesty little suspected that they would have put in their Exceptions against it which Resolution if they persist in it will be very unacceptable to him Now this being an Affair of the greatest concern he is order'd in his Commission to dispatch it fully with them therefore he earnestly beseecheth them that they would oblige the Emperor and not make a separation from the rest of the States for it never was the Emperor's intention to defend any Doctrin or Practice in the Council which was lewd wicked and contrary to the Word of God nor to excuse any thing which was scandalous and immoral but would take particular care that Debates should not be swayed by favour and partiality And since it 's agreeable to reason that the holy Scriptures and the approved Interpretations of them should have the greatest Authority the Emperor cannot imagine what should hinder them from coming to the Council either themselves or sending their Embassadors For when fraud and indirect Practices are once barr'd which the Emperor will undertake to effect there can be no manner of ground to suspect the Council Those Reasons therefore which they assign'd for their refusal had not weight enough in them and were apt to create jealousies and apprehensions not only in the Emperor but in other Nations also Concerning that which they objected about the Inclinations and Intentions of the Pope though their Expressions were somewhat too smart yet if what they said was true no Man can commend his Holiness upon this account But the Emperor was so far from knowing any thing of this nature that he did not so much as suspect it nay his Majesty did not question but that the Pope would behave himself like a Christian in his Office and as it became one who was the chief Head of the Clergy However if they had any thing to say against his Holiness or any others of his Order they might prefer their Complaints against them in the Council and argue the matter out provided they did it modestly and without any signs of hatred and ill will. There also they may propose what their Opinion is concerning the proper form and modelling of the Council and whatever else they have a mind to in any other Circumstance But for them to prescribe the methods of Management and Debate to all Christendom was neither fair nor commendable This was more than the Emperor and all the rest of the States could do for the determination of those Points did not belong to a small Party but were to be setled by the whole Assembly where they would find a great many Persons eminent for their Learning and Probity for they must not suppose that their Divines are the only knowing and inspired Men for there are other places in which neither the abilities nor vertuous Conversation of the Church-men can be question'd Now as to what they object against Mantua its being made the Seat of the Council he grants that the Princes of Germany and more particularly themselves did earnestly desire that some place in Germany might be pitched upon for this purpose neither was the Emperor against it but then we should consider what is suitable and convenient for other Nations Now the reason why the Pope chose this Town before any other was in his opinion because it lay near to Germany was a plentiful place of it self and so situated that Provisions might be conveyed to it at an easie Charge besides it was remarkable for a healthy Climate and under the Jurisdiction of the Empire so that the Pope could have no advantage of them there For the Duke of that Town was a Homager and Vassal of the Empire however if they are still suspicious and apprehensive of danger the Emperor out of the great desire he hath for the calling of a Council will take care that they shall have sufficient Security therefore if they think it requisite they may address to him about this Point and he does not question but that they will receive a very fair Answer from his Majesty Therefore he desires they would debate this matter over again return him a clear and positive answer and comply with the Emperor which would be very honourable and advantageous to themselves and most acceptable to God Almighty When he had done his Speech he desir'd the Names of those might be deliver'd to him in writing who came in after the Pacification at Nuremburgh In this List there was George Duke of Brandenburgh Nuremburgh Weissemburgh Hailbrun Wintzeim and Hall mention'd to be of the same Religion but not engag'd in the League Then he desir'd them in the Emperor's Name to explain their League to him and upon what conditions it was made The same day that this was done the Bishop of Aix the Pope's Legate came thither charg'd with Letters to the Elector of Saxony in which his Holiness invited him to the Council For the last year when Vergerius gave an account of his German Embassy which I mention'd in the former Book the Pope was not at all pleas'd with it and therefore orders the Bishop to go thither under the same Character to try if he could gain any advantage by sending a new Embassador But he lost his labour as well as the other neither was there much notice taken of him One day when he desir'd to be admitted to Audience by the Lantgrave he sent him word that he was not at leizure and
to disturb it and have given their Reasons why they refuse to submit to the Chamber But if those Judges will go on at their old rate they are resolv'd not to take any notice of their Sentence and if any violence was offer'd the Law of Nature allow'd all Persons to defend themselves and therefore they could not desert their Confederates when they were in danger especially since they knew that when they were suppress'd the same Fate must be undergone by themselves As concerning their Allies who came over to their League and Religion since the Pacification at Nuremburgh they are sorry the Emperor should know nothing of it for when they sent their Embassadors into Italy they gave them their Names in writing that they might deliver them upon demand and whereas they told him that some of their Confederates had made a particular Agreement for their Liberty in Religion this was be to understood of the Treaty at Cadan and concerning the Duke of Wirtenburgh to whom this Freedom was allowed and since the Emperor may know this already they need not produce any farther proof As for the rest when they had gain'd a better notion of Religion and saw the Council was delay'd they concluded their Conscience was much to be preferr'd to a State-Obligation They did not question what his Excellency told them concerning the good Intentions of the Emperor yet they heard their Adversaries were forming Designs quite contrary to such Inclinations and endeavour'd to exasperate his Majesty against them which beside other proofs they had reason to believe from the practices of the Chamber Therefore their request is That their Case may be consider'd and that such a Peace may be granted in which they may lawfully acquiesce If they have satisfaction in this Point they shall not be backward in complying with his Demands in reference to the Turks and the Imperial Chamber Lastly They said they were something surpriz'd at his requesting them to explain their League for the Emperor understood it already and desir'd them by the Princes of the Mediation at Nuremburgh that they would recede from it but they then gave such an Answer that it was urg'd no more to them They may thank their Adversaries for forcing them upon these measures For it 's no secret what sort of Design they are carrying on and have been contriving for these many years As for their League it 's made only for defence and form'd upon such conditions that if it was requisite they need not be asham'd to shew it not only to the Emperor but to all the World. What he had related concerning the Council and his Majesties kind Inclinations towards the Empire was very acceptable to them and they believ'd his Majesty was unacquainted with the Popes Designs which made him so earnestly promote the calling of a Council Now what opinion his Majesty had of the Pope they would not dispute but since his Bull was ensnaringly worded and quite contrary to the Intentions of the Emperor they could not dissemble their Sentiments of it For before the Council was open'd he hath been so forward as to condemn their Doctrin not only by his Pen but by his Practice Besides it is very well known how himself and his Predecessors though they cannot choose but see the Scripture makes against them have usurp'd and appropriated the Authority of determining to themselves in all Assemblies where there are any Disputes about Religion And though they intend when there is a Council lawfully conven'd and constituted to Impeach the Pope and his Adherents of false Doctrin Heresie and Impiety yet they do not question but that he will pretend to be Umpire and Judge according to his old custom That he aims at such an Usurpation is apparent by his Bull which if they should once approve it will be to no purpose for them to talk afterwards about methodizing the Debate of the Controversie Now whether this be such a Council as his Majesty and the States of the Empire resolv'd upon in several Diets they leave to all indifferent Persons to determine For those words A Free and Christian Council were always added on purpose and for very good reasons Neither was the former part of the Clause to be so taken as if no more was meant by it than that every one should have the liberty to propound his Opinion But to prevent the Pope and his Associates who were engag'd to each other upon the account of perswasion and dependencies from being Judges in their own Cause nor was the word Christian to be so interpreted as if none but Turks and Infidels were prohibited the Council but that all the points of Doctrin might be examin'd and decided by the holy Scriptures For they were assur'd that there were pious and learned Men not only in one Country but all the World over And it is a very entertaining Speculation to them to consider that if the Pope's Exorbitant Power was retrench'd and all things were not under the command of one Man then there was reason to hope that not only their Divines but a great many good Men of divers Countries who are now kept under by his Holinesses Tyranny and forc'd either to conceal or but to whisper their Grievances would contribute their utmost-Endeavours towards the Reformation of the Church Now as to the Seat of the Council they said they could not imagine any place could be more proper than Germany for notwithstanding other Nations ought to have a share in the Council the Germans and particularly themselves were chiefly concern'd in it for they were oblig'd to be there in Person and to bring the Ministers of their Churches along with them whereas other King 's and Princes might dispatch their business by their Embassadors according to the ancient and usual custom Concerning the situation and conveniency of Mantua they had no mind to dispute but at this time there was War in Italy and though there was none yet they had lately given him the reasons why they ought to suspect that Country How the Duke of Mantua stood affected they would not examine at present but it was certain his own Brother was a Cardinal of great Note which circumstances encreased their suspicion Therefore when foreign Countries understand their reasons why they refuse the place and way of proceeding in the Council they do not question but that they will approve them nay if they had done otherwise other Nations they believe would have had an ill opinion of them for it besides his Majesty knows there are many Cities in Germany no less commodious than Mantua and which is more especially to be consider'd they are celebrated for their Justice and Fair-dealing For those Clandestine ways of dispatching Men are not so much known and practised in Germany as in some other places Now their insisting so much upon the Decrees of the Empire and being so unalterably resolv'd to stand by them ought not to seem strange or unpresidented to the Emperor For
upon which they refus'd the Council they thought it convenient to set them down in writing which Paper they afterwards publish'd in Print where they address themselves to foreign Princes and Nations to this effect Paul the Third say they hath lately publish'd a Bull in which he hath intimated a Council at Mantua which will be opened upon the 23th of May and hath offer'd some Reasons why these Measures were pitch'd upon Besides he hath dispatch'd his Nuncios to foreign Kings and Princes both Germans and others to acquaint them with the Council and invite them either to come thither themselves or send their Embassadors and in regard we have been solicited by him and by the Emperor upon this account we think our selves oblig'd to demonstrate how dangerous and disadvantageous a Compliance with him in this Point will be not only to us but to all Christendom And though we proceed upon none but justifiable grounds yet when we consider the temper of our Adversaries we have reason to believe they will censure our actions and interpret them in the worst sense For it 's likely in order to the bringing us and the whole Cause under their Jurisdiction they will not stick to affirm that we will not abide by any Trial nor submit to any Judge That we contemn other Nations which have been often remarkable for a great many Men of Learning They will say also that it 's a wicked thing to refuse Submission to the determinations of a Council which is the highest Tribunal of the Church and ought to be obeyed by all Persons They will likewise pretend as if we were asham'd of our Tenents and durst not bring them into view or that we watched an opportunity to make an unnecessary Breach and could not reconcile our selves to the Peace of Christendom Now if this Charge against us were true it were not only wicked in it self but it would be a kind of a Calamity to hear it For these reasons we are under a necessity of publishing our own Justification and we hope the consequence of it will be that all honest Men both in Germany and other places will not only forbear believing any thing of this nature of us but that they will make it their business that this most important Affair may be rightly manag'd and that it may not be in the Pope's Power to Tyrannize over apparent Truth and suppress it under the pretended and venerable Authority of a Council For we will not only make it appear that we hold no Opinions in Religion but what are sound and Orthodox but likewise that we aim at nothing but the Glory of God and the good of the Commonwealth and that no Man can justly charge us with obstinancy and perverseness And in the first place how far we are from contemning the Judgment of other Nations and of the Church is evident by our endeavouring to prevent the Pope and his Party from setting up for Judges and that all things may be debated by proper and unsuspected Persons which they believe is the unanimous desire of all good Men For in regard in some Countries there are now extant several ancient Books complaining of false Doctrin Immorality wicked Ceremonies and Practices which were then crept into the Church they do not question but that in those very places there are at this day several Persons of Learning and Piety who understand the true Doctrin though at present they are brow-beaten and overaw'd into silence by the Pope's Tyranny Now these are the Men who ought to appear in Councils that they may speak their mind freely for that is not to be accounted a lawful Council which is govern'd by the Pope and his Party who maintain their unorthodox Tenents by dint of Violence and Power and according to their old custom make Canons contrary to the Word of God. For our Saviour when he erected his Supream Tribunal upon Earth ordered That whatever required Reformation should be brought before the Church in which very words all manner of Tyranny and Dominion is excluded Farther they asperse us falsely if they say we are afraid to make our publick Appearance and will not endure the Light. For in the Diet at Ausburgh we made an open Profession of our Doctrin in the Presence of the Emperor and all the States of the Empire Besides this very Religion is publickly taught in our Dominions several of our Subjects have written Books of it and own'd it in Print and many of our Adversaries confess that our Writers have recover'd a great number of ancient Tenents which before were quite smother'd and suppress'd For now the true Doctrin is come to Light again which gives us the right notion of Repentance of Faith in Christ of Remission of Sins of good Works Religious Worship the use of the Sacraments the Power of the Keys of Magistracy Humane Traditions and such like Neither to speak in St. Paul's Language are we asham'd of the Gospel but wish above all things that we had an opportunity to declare our sense of these Points in the most publick Audience And whereas it 's objected to our Party as if they had reviv'd old condemn'd Heresies and therefore there is no need of any farther Dispute or Examination of the Cause this Suggestion is false and those who have read our Confession and the Defence annex'd to it will not require much Apology from us For the Doctrin which we Profess is no new one but was approv'd by the Primitive Church as may be made good to a demonstration Neither have we receiv'd any Heresie or wicked Opinion but on the contrary our Divines have regain'd the Doctrin of the Ancients in several Points which the Popes and Monks had suppress'd It is another Calumny to say that we are pleas'd with publick Animosities and Divisions for we are sorry at our very Souls that Christendom is so miserably distracted and earnestly desire a Council in order to a Reconciliation And since the Pope and his Adherents have condemn'd that Doctrin which is both true and necessary to be believ'd since they punish and persecute the Professors of it and excite others to follow their Example we could do no less than reprove them for their Cruelty and Insolence For God requireth us to Honour him by an open Confession and to hold any farther Correspondence with the Pope when he rages at such a barbarous rate would be a very wicked Alliance Besides it cannot be deni'd but we perform all Offices and undergo all Burthens which the Commonwealth requires as well as the rest of the States from whence it appeareth that we would willingly comply with others in Religion too if our Consciences would give us leave especially when we understand what danger hangeth over our Heads upon this account For the Popes for many years last past have told us pretty plainly what they would be at and how busie they have been in exasperating the Passions of Princes against us Now to run all these
hazards and be at all this Expence to no purpose is perfect distraction But we are convin'd this is a Duty which God requires of us whose Commands ought to be preferr'd to all Secular Interest and we protest before God Almighty That we design nothing but his Service And now having confuted thier Accusations we shall proceed to another branch of our Apology Possibly most People of foreign Countries may think that we have been too nice in quarrelling with those things which have no great malignity in them and which might have passed without notice for Peace-sake especially when the nature of Humane Affairs in such that there will always be some Imperfections in Church and State which must be conniv'd at But the case is quite otherwise for first we are not to conceal our dislike of Errors and wrong Opinions in Religion being commanded by Christ to beware of false Teachers Besides the Contest is not about little Mistakes but concerning the Doctrin of Faith and right Apprehensions of God upon which the due performance of a Christians Duty and of Divine Worship does principally depend now these are points which cannot be passed over in silence but are to be maintain'd in their Purity and diligently taught in the Church But that this part of Truth was perfectly extinct cannot be denied and a new Doctrin introduc'd in its room to the great dishonour of our Saviour We likewise disapprove many other Errors and ungodly Practices in their Worship which some Persons who liv'd long before our time have discover'd and thereupon wish'd for a Council that those things which were amiss might be rectified and the Peace of the Church establish'd But now there is more need of a Council than ever because the same Corruptions remain and have spread their Infection further because they have occasion'd Broils and Divisions in Christendom insomuch that many innocent Persons run the hazard of losing their Lives upon this account For these weighty reasons not only our selves but the Emperor and the rest of the States and Bishops of the Empire voted a Council very necessary for the preservation of the true Religion in the Church for unless such an Expedient was made use of they foresaw the Distractions of Christendom would encrease And while we were big with the expectation of such a Council as this out comes the Pope's Bull with Contents directly contrary to the Decrees of the Empire And because we are not concern'd alone but the whole Christian Church is interessed in it we thought it necessary to set forth a publick Declaration of our Reasons in this Paper why we refuse this Council of the Pope's calling For the right of Voting does not belong solely to the Pope and Bishops but to the Church in which signification Kings and other degrees of Men and Secular Magistrates are included Therefore though the Pope was no Party in the present Debate yet there was no reason to allow him and his Adherents the whole Power of Determining and exclude the other Ministers of the Church But since he is apparently one of the Litigants himself the yielding him such a Priviledge is still more unaccountable and no less than a contradiction to the Laws of God and Nature Now we do not accuse the Pope of small Misdemeanors neither do we quarrel with him only for his Luxury and Lording it over the Church but the main of our charge lieth against his Doctrin his Canons and abominable Worship that is we arraign him for Idolatry and Heresie and when he is impeached of such Crimes as these the Church and not himself is to examine and give Sentence in the Cause according to the Provision which the old Canon-Law it self hath made for this purpose Besides the Pope hath made himself the more suspected not only by being a Party but because he hath condemn'd our Doctrin long beforehand now the case standing thus it 's easie to imagine what sort of Censure will be past upon our Doctrin in a Council of his own packing For we are not to suppose that he will give a liberty of Voting to any Persons contrary to the old customs of his Church And in regard the Bull does not mention in what order and method Debates are to be managed we have reason to suspect every thing For he only summoneth and Mustereth those who are engag'd to him upon many accounts and of whose Trustiness he is sufficiently assur'd He likewise professeth that the reason of his calling a Council is That those Heresies which have lately sprung up may be extirpated And notwithstanding these words will bear a large signification yet there is no doubt but that he meant them of our Doctrin for we have no reason to believe that he would tax his own Errors Nay afterwards he publish'd another Bull concerning the Reformation of the Court of Rome where he owneth in express words That the Council was call'd that the pestilent Lutheran Heresie might be suppress'd At first it 's true he cunningly dissembled his Intentions that he might make the Bull appear plausible but afterwards he discover'd himself It 's plain therefore that he aims only at the subversion of our Religion Now what a madness would it be for us to approve of such a Design as this For this is the thing which he driveth at namely to draw a Confession from those who admit his Bull that our Doctrin is wicked and heretical and when Kings and Princes have own'd this they may be oblig'd to contribute their good wishes and endeavours to the Cause And because the common Interest of Christendom is concern'd in this Affair we intreat all People that they would seriously consider the designing subtilty of this Man for his couching the Bull in such Terms is somewhat admirable and it is a question Whether he intended to fright us from the Council this way or else to ensnare us by approving the Instrument That the Emperor intends the welfare and security of the Commonwealth we do not in the least question and believe that his Majesty does not approve the form of the Bull. But as for the Pope he hath not so much intimated a Council as publickly given Sentence against us Neither will he allow the Scriptures to determine the Dispute but his own Canons and Customs and the Opinions of some modern Councils must overrule all other Pleas whereas it 's one of our principal Assertions That Humane Traditions are to be rejected when they are repugnant to the Word of God. That which is really the Doctrin of the Church we willingly receive but then the Errors and Tyranny of the Pope ought not to be flourish'd over with that reverend Name For first the ancient Church never admitted of any Constitutions which were contrary to Scripture nor yet gave the Pope that unlimited power which he now assumes to himself And secondly These Men who condemn and persecute the Doctrin of the Gospel are none of the Church but Parricides and Sons
of Cain In the Primitive times godly Bishops have often refus'd to concern themselves in Councils when they saw they were not call'd for the Defence of Truth but either to establish false Doctrin or to countenance some Persons in their Ambition Thus when Constantine the Emperor summon'd a Council to Antioch Maximus Bishop of Jerusalem though he was not very far distant from the place would not come thither because he understood the Emperor's Inclinations and what the Arian Bishops were contriving So Athanasius though he came to the Council at Tyre yet he stayed not long there because he perceiv'd the Principal Persons of the Council took upon them to be Complainants and Judges too and was also well assur'd that there were Witnesses suborned against him In like manner at Sirmium in Hungary there was formerly conven'd a very numerous Council against Photinus for the Debate was of great Consequence and notwithstanding the Emperor commanded the Bishops to repair thither yet those of the Western-Church did not obey him when they understood the Arian-Faction was encreas'd for they suspected some false Doctrin would be decreed there At this time Hosius a Person of great Reputation was Bishop of Corduba whom the Emperor by the advice of the Arians commanded to go out of Spain to the Council who when he came there he consented to that ensnaring Creed at Sirmium which was afterwards the occasion of horrible Disorders in the Church and Hilary who was not present at this Assembly reproves Hosius for his compliance Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem would never assist at their Meetings who denied Christ to be of the same substance with the Father and is said to be the first Man who appeal'd in writing from the Authority of their Councils There was a Council begun at Millain and the Bishops were call'd thither by the Emperor's order But when Paulinus Bishop of Triers and some few others perceived that Auxentius Bishop of Millain and his Party were projecting things which were not fair They went off and so occasioned the breaking up of the Council Thus those great Men declined going to all suspected Synods that they might not be involved in their guilt And since the Pope giveth pretty plain intimations that this Council is design'd to establish his Power and Greatness we desire all People that they would not blame our refusal of it Moreover we have great reason to dislike the place of the Council for it 's very fit for Mischief and in all respects such as if it was contrived to hinder the freedom of Debates To which we may add that the Calumnies of our Adversaries have given Strangers a very ill opinion of us as if all Probity and Religion was banish'd our Country Now to have Mens minds prepossess'd with such a notion as this may be exceeding dangerous for us Therefore if it was only upon this account it was very proper to have the Council conven'd in Germany that those of foreign Nations might see the customs and regularity of our Churches and Towns and so disengage themselves from their prejudice against the true Doctrin The importance of the Affair likewise obligeth most of us to be in Person at the Council but to go out of our own Country in such numbers would be a great inconvenience to us And since it was decreed in a Diet of the Empire upon such weighty considerations that a Council should be held in Germany we see no reason to depart from what was then resolv'd upon And in regard the welfare of all Christendom is concern'd in this business we entreat all Kings and Princes not to give any credit to our Adversaries but rather use their Endeavours that the true knowledge of God may be recover'd which is the most glorious Action they can possily engage in As for the Pope it 's his Design to run them upon Injustice and Cruelty but they are oblig'd to abhor such Practices above all things For they are places on purpose on that elevated Station that they might promote the Honour of God with greater advantage shew a good Example to their Inferiors and rescue innocent Persons from Injury and Oppression And if ever a lawful Council happeneth to be call'd we will give such a satisfactory account of our Proceedings there as shall be sufficient to convince all People that we have aim'd at and attempted nothing but what was for the real advantage of Christendom In this Convention there was the Elector of Saxony Ernest and Francis his Brother Dukes of Lââenburgh Vlrick Duke of Wirtemburgh the Lantgrave Philip Duke of Pomern three Earls of Anhalt and Albert Count Mansfield there were also the Agents of a great many Cities who were sent thither with very large Commissions their Principals being pre-acquainted with the subject of the Debate Before they broke up their Assembly which was done upon the 6th of March they wrote to the French King where in the first place they excuse themselves for not giving his Embassador satisfaction at the last Convention and also gave him their Reasons why they omitted sending an Embassy to him now Then they desired him to continue them his Friendship and since they had made all imaginable Overtures for the composing the Differences in Religion though they had been unsuccessful in thier Endeavours yet they hoped he would oblige them with his Favour for their good Intentions Lastly They acquaint him with their Resolutions concerning the Council and desire to know how his Majesty intends to act in this Affair Upon the 22th of May the King returns them an Answer in which he lets them understand that he was satisfi'd with their Reasons and maketh them large assurances of the constancy of his Friendship and sends them a Paper which he had publish'd to confute the Misrepresentations of their Adversaries And as to the Council he told them That he was still of the same mind of which he had always been that unless it was lawful in its Constitution and Method and coven'd in a place of Security he would never approve it neither did he question but that the King of Scotland his Son in law would be wholly influenced by him This Prince some few days before in the beginning of May return'd into Scotland with his Queen who died there about the middle of June following In the mean time the Pope prorogeth the Council till the first of November the occasion of which delay he charg'd upon the Duke of Mantua who insisted upon a Garrison to secure the Town and demanded a Supply of Monies for that purpose These Terms the Pope said were unexpected and surprizing to him and he was very much afraid lest the greatest part of the Bishops in compliance with his Bull were already arriv'd at Mantua and being denied admittance into the Town might be forc'd to return home This he was extreamly troubled at but should bear it with the more patience because it was not his fault but anothers Not long after the King
be propagated to posterity It is manifest then that Covetousness and desire of Lucre is not to be Objected to us when besides Trouble and Dangers there comes nothing to our share and our Adversaries in the mean time without any regard to the Pope whom they usually magnifie so much make what booty they please of the Church Revenues and besides bestow great Rewards and Gifts upon some that they may obstinately Persecute the true Religion That we also submit the rest of Church-Possessions to the Determination of a Council we hope will be sufficient to justifie us in the Opinions of all Good Men. But that it should be imputed to us by our Adversaries That we do but dissemble and play the Hypocrites as often as we speak of Reconciliation and as if that were only done that we may put a stop to the Emperor's Designs pervert the matters and hinder a lawful Trial as a thing that does very much trouble and afflict us for what can be more wicked and base than to make a blind pretext of Piety and Religion We therefore desire seeing that is a very heinous Accusation that the Emperor would patiently and attentively examine those things which we are to say in our own defence When Ten Years ago our Enemies made a great complaint to the Emperor in the Diet of Ausburg concerning our Churches and that we were enjoined to give an account of our Doctrine Religion and Ceremonies we acted nothing craftily nor in hugger-mugger but in plain Terms gave an open profession of our Doctrine that all might be convinced that it agreed with the Doctrines of the Apostles and we make no doubt but that was a means of bringing many to embrace our Religion when they saw that we taught nothing contrary to the From of the Ancient Church but only shewed and detected the Errors which had slipp'd into the Church For it cannot be denied but that many and grievous Errors had crope in the Doctrine of Repentance was frigid and perplexed not a word preached of Grace received by Christ and the Remission of Sins the Lord's Supper was in a horrid manner and wholly corrupted and contaminated by the Popish Mass for it is known that private Mass is but a new thing introduced partly through Ignorance and partly out of Covetousness because Marriage was denied to Priests there was nothing to be heard but Instances of the foulest Incontinence the Doctrine of the Keys and Power of the Church was altogether slighted and the Pope arrogated all that Power to himself only for the Confirmation of his own Dominion and Rule and loaded the minds of Men with almost infinite numbers of Precepts and Laws which learned and judicious Men often bewailed but no care was had of setting able Men over the Churches What our Opinion was of those many and necessary matters we declared before the Emperor at Ausburg and Books on that Subject written by Men of our Profession are publickly extant Many learned Men also of other Nations confess That they had the Knowledge of the true Doctrine from these Books so that then we shun not the Light. And when a Reconciliation was attempted at Ausburg we acted not Fraudulently nor Craftily but shewed our selves to be desirous of agreement and that if our Adversaries would have received the Principal Doctrines we should not have been very scrupulous nor contentious about indifferent Things And though the Ways then propos'd by us were moderate yet our Treatment was neither too Friendly nor Impartial Nay would to God the Emperor knew how our Adversaries that were Commissionated then behaved themselves for they often protested in the beginning of all Treaties that they would not depart a Hairs breadth from their own Opinion and Doctrine but that all they did was only to bring us over to their Judgment Wherefore they began to speak of Doctrines of the Invocation of Saints of Private Mass and Satisfaction affirming that there was no Error in them That was not then a Conference wherein the Truth was sifted by solid Arguments and testimonies of Scripture but it was a kind of haughty and pompous Confirmation of manifest Errors And because we did not then acquiesce to them they now construe that as if we had only made a shew of Treating about Accommodation not with any real and sincere design of Success but only to shuffle with the Emperor and elude a Trial For so they understand the word Reconciliation as if we should abandon the Truth and approve their Cause But after the Conference at Ausburg these things were no more debated which nevertheless was not our fault for it is our chief desire that good and learned Men may conferr of all these matters and freely give their Judgment concerning them Wherefore we pray all Men not to give credit to this their Accusation for if we shunned the Light or were ashamed of our Cause we might easily forsake it and ingratiate our selves with them but seeing we are convinced that of all Causes this is the most pious and necessary therefore we undergo all this Labour submit to all Losses and Dangers and profess the Doctrine of Christ which we desire to retain and propagate longing for a Reformation of the Church with Peace and Concord and what a Year since we protested at Francfort we now also profess that we will not decline a Conference nor treaty of Reconciliation Which that no Man may be mistaken we so understand that following the Scripture as our Guide Truth may be sought after Error abolished and true Doctrine take place in Churches For otherwise all Labour and Pains will be in vain Christ the Son of God made known to us his Will and Doctrine from the Bosom of the Father He is to be heard and only to acknowledged for our Judge Now all the Emperor's Edicts and Proclamations sufficiently show also that this Affair ought to be orderly and lawfully debated but we do not think that our Adversaries method of proceeding at the Diet of Ausburg has been made known unto him But now what our mind is and upon what Grounds we proceed may be seen in the publick and printed Confession of our Faith which we are certain does agree with Holy Scripture and therefore we cannot forsake it Besides this Doctrine which is the chief and Foundation of all the rest there are some other mean and as it were indifferent things as concerning Ceremonies Ordination of Priests Jurisdiction Visiters Church-Goods matrimonial Causes c. all Controversies as to these may in our Judgment be reconciled if first there were an Agreement about those necessary Points For so long as our Adversaries impugn the chief Matters and go on in a way of Cruelty the difference cannot be removed How in that some endeavour to perswade the Emperor that our Doctrine is blended with many Heresies and Errors they do us an Injury for if they have any thing of that nature to Object unto us they may do it publickly and
and King Ferdinand spoke to this purpose That the Pope was very desirous of Peace and of the Concord of Germany but of such a Peace and Concord as might not be displeasing to God That it was his Desire also that all their Force might be imployed against the Turk But that as to Religion and the Protestants there had been many Treaties with them in order to a Reconciliation especially in the Diet of Ausburg where they then presented their Confession of Faith in which Writing though there were many Errors to be found yet they had in the mean time deviated from it So that seeing they had nothing fixed or certain to which they adhered but were like slippery Eeles there was no more treating with them That in like manner the King had last Year at the desire of the Elector of Brandenburg appointed another Treaty with them but that they had stumbled at the very Threshold as is commonly said and given Intimation plain enough how far they were from any purpose of Agreement for that having once shaken off their Duty and Obedience they were now come to that That it was not the Reformation of the Pope they aimed at but his total Suppression not the removing of Faults but the overturning of the Apostolical See that so all ecclesiastical Jurisdiction might fall to the Ground And if they durst do so the Year before when the State of Europe was somewhat more peaceable and quiet what would they not do in all probability when Peace was not yet concluded with France and the Turk again preparing to Invade Hungary What but even grow more froward by the Adversity of the times and it was in vain to think that there could be any way of reclaiming them from their Designs for that they did only controvert about a few things but brought many chief Doctrines under debate That again it was in a manner uncertain how to come to any Agreement with them since they differed among themselves That Luther taught one kind of Doctrine and Zuinglius another not to mention any thing of the other Sects And that granting there might be some hopes of an Accommodation yet they would not obey the Church of Rome unless they had many things allowed them as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in both Kinds the Marriage of the Clergy and the like which are not to be altered without a publick Decree of Council That now if it should be said that for publick Peace sake these things might be granted them and the consent either of the Pope or Council be afterwards obtained that would not be ill said indeed but then they would presently lay hold on that Privilege and never want for a publick confirmation thereof And that if so then would they lay aside all care of a Council which would occasion great Divisions all over Christendom when France Spain Italy and other Provinces would differ from Germany in Rites and Customs That moreover should the Council perhaps condemn the Alteration made and indulged for a time and Decree the contrary then would all hopes be lost of reclaiming Germany now hardened in their Opinions and there would be danger least the Protestants the thing they chiefly drive at should move the rest of the States to make Defection also That the Emperor himself was not ignorant how in former Years they had made a Decree in the Diet of the Empire about calling a Council without his consent and that therefore care was to be had that they should not do the like hereafter That he represented these things unto them both that they might see what was to be expected from these private Treaties and Conferences That a Peace had been treated with them at Schweinfurt and a Truce afterwards made at Nurimberg under Penalty But that they without any regard to so great a Favour had broken their Articles and strengthened their own League by the Accession of many Cities and Princes and especially of the King of Denmark and Duke of Wirtemberg and had in many places changed the Religion contrary to their Oaths and Promises so that it easily appeared what farther hopes were to be had of them who by diverse ways partly by Favours and partly by Force drew Men over to their side That the Heat and Zeal of Religion was now grown cold and that Men were naturally prone to forsake the Rules of Austerity and to list themselves under a more easie and laxe Discipline But that they did not confine themselves within those bounds neither nor was it enough for them to mislead Men into Error unless they committed Sacrilege also cast out Bishops and profaned all Religion with Impunity Nay that they were now advanced to that pitch of Licenciousness that they would overturn that most upright Judicature of the Imperial Chamber to the intent that it being removed the Emperor's Authority in Germany might be weaken'd and that they without any Resistance might prey upon the Lives and Fortunes of all Men after their own Pleasure That therefore no firm nor lasting Peace was to be expected from those private Treaties And that if any such should be there was no doubt to be made but that it would invalidate the Dignity of the Apostolical See and all Ecclesiastical Polity That many other things could be alledged in this place but that for brevities sake he waved them That the next thing now was to consider how with the safety of Religion Provisions might be made for a Turkish War. That the most commodious way indeed would be if the Protestants and other States did jointly contribute Assistances But that since perhaps that could not be obtained unless Religion were settled and that the handling of religious Matters belonged not to private Assemblies but to a General Council it would be well done to have a Council called with all Expedition and the whole cause of Religion referred to it for that so he the Emperor would satisfie all others and over-awe the Protestants who when they saw the matter seriously set about would become much more Obedient and Tractable as perceiving a course taken to reduce them again into the right way and to root all Heresies out of Germany For that since the Christian Religion belonged to all Men in General there was nothing to be altered or reformed therein but with the common consent of all and that regard was not to be had to Germany alone but to France Spain Italy and other Nations also For that if any Innovation should be made in Germany without consulting them it would expose many to censure and be of pernicious Example That in like manner it would be a monstrous like thing if the Members of the Church answered not in proportion to their own Body That it was an ancient Custom even as old as the Apostles themselves that all Controversies should be determined by the Authority of a Council And that seeing all were very sollicitous for a Council and that Sigismund King of Poland had
Altar which are afterwards given to Two Subdeacons of St. Peter's Church who put them out to Grass and in due time shear them the Wool that comes from them being mingled with other Wool is spun and afterwards woven into these Palls which are Three Fingers broad and hang down from the Shoulders to the middle breast before and to the Reins behind at the end are thin Plates of Lead of the same breadth When they are thus woven they are carried to the Bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul and after some Prayers said are left there all night next day after the Subdeacons receive them again and decently lay them up and keep them until an Archbishop that needs one of them or his Proctor come to demand it Now it is delivered with many Ceremonies and they who carry it are charged not to rest above one night in a place if possibly they can This is neither a curious nor costly Commodity and yet the Archbishops pay dear for it to the Pope Nor is it lawful for any one to make use of his Predecessors Pall but every one is obliged to purchase himself a new one at Rome Besides if by exchange or any other way a Patriarch or Metropolitan is removed to another Church though he had purchased a Pall before yet he must needs be at the charge of a new one This kind of Fleecing gave occasion at all times of murmuring and complaining as hath been said in the Fourth Book especially in Germany And when in the Year of our Lord One thousand five hundred and eighteen Leo X. sent Cardinal Cajetan to the Diet of Ausburg to exhort the Emperor Maximilian and the Princes to a War against the Turk and moved that all the States and the Clergy too should contribute Money The Answer that was given him was That there was no Hopes of obtaining that from the Priests whose Rights and Revenues were by so many old and new Tricks and Divices clogg'd and diverted by the Court of Rome and that as for the People when any such thing was imposed upon them they cried That Money had been so often given upon that account that they wondered how it was spent or what became of those vast Summs that were yearly raised in Germany from the Annats alone We told you before of several Fires that happened in Saxony Now many of the Malefactors being take in divers Places and examined they all generally confess'd even with their last Breath That they had been suborned and hired by the Officers and familiar Friends of Henry Duke of Brunswick and got Money from them to do that Upon this account therefore as for other things also the Lantgrave and Deputies of Saxony accused the Duke of Brunswick to the Emperor at Ratisbone and exhibited in writing the several Confessions of these Incendiaries With these joined Duke William of Brunswick who also grievously Accused his own Brother Duke Henry that had kept him many Years in Prison When most of those who were expected to be at the Diet were now come it was opened on the Fifth Day of April by an Harangue made to them in the Emperor's Name according to Custom the Effect whereof was That they all knew how Studious and Laborious he had always been in endeavouring a right Constitution and Establishment of all publick Affairs But that when he perceived how Religion had torn and rent asunder the Empire and given occasion to the Turk to pierce almost into the Bowels of Germany it had been a great grief to him and therefore for many Years past he had with their own consents been essaying ways of Pacification and that all had judged a General Council to be the most proper and expedient remedy which had been the Sense and Resolution of the last Diet at Ratisbone but that seeing the Turk had at the same time Invaded first Hungary and then Austria with a design to fall upon Germany next with all the Force he could make He had made Head against him with an Army consisting of his own Forces those of his Brother King Ferdinand and of the whole Empire and not only so but had sent out a Fleet to Sea against him which having advanced a great way towards Constantinople had taken from him some Passes Castles and Towns that so his Force might be broken and diverted So that when the Turk had retreated Home he took a Progress into Italy treated earnestly with Pope Clement for a Council and pacified Italy that no Obstacle might arise from thene That he had afterwards returned to Spain that having ordered all things there also he might himself be present at the Council That in his Opinion they were not ignorant of the Reason why the Council was not called which the Pope had promised to open the Year after But that seeing not long after the Turk had sent his Admiral Barbarossa who put to flight the King of Tunis for preventing the publick danger he had crossed over into Barbary where by God's Blessing he had been Victorious and driven him out of all that Country That afterwards he had come to Sicily Naples and to Rome also where he had treated with Paul III. about a Council who was fully enclined to it and that being resolved to draw nearer to Germany to settle Affairs there At the same time a War broke out against the Duke of Savoy his Ally and a Vassal of the Empire who had a great part of his Country taken from him by force so that he was obliged as in Duty to undertake his Defence at that time That since that War had continued almost till Winter and that there was no great Hopes of a Council he had proposed some Conditions proper for Peace and so returned into Spain That afterwards he came back again to the Country about Genoa whither the Pope and French King came also And that having made a Truce there he went with his Fleet to Aigues Mortes where he had had a Conference with the French King as with the Pope before about the Peace of Christendom and the Turkish War That having returned from thence into Spain he had employed all his Thoughts about healing the Divisions of Religion and removing the Impediments of a Council and that being resolved afterwards to return into Germany through Italy he had been moved and entreated by the French King to take his Journey through France meerly to confirm their Friendship That he came next to Flanders where he found Affairs in a troublesome State but that he had applied a Remedy to the Distemper and that though his weighty Affairs would not then suffer him to proceed into Germany he had nevertheless appointed an Assembly at Haguenaw where his Brother King Ferdinand was present That it was fresh in the minds of all what had been done there and also at the Conference of Wormes and that he now mentioned these things that they might see the Care and Zeal he had for the
occasioned so much Labour and Toil might be in some part lessen'd and the rest which were not as yet adjusted the more easily handled afterwards For that he intended to go streight to the Pope that he might know for a certain what was to be expected and as soon as he could afterwards come back into Germany and mind the Affairs of the Government That in the mean time all these things were to be understood without prejudice to the Decree of Ausburg When the Protestant Divines had read Contarim's Two Papers before mentioned with unanimous consent they published an Answer wherein they complained that they had injury done unto them declaring withal that considering his Learning they had expected far better things at his Hands And whereas he excited the Princes to severe and cruel Courses they extreamly blamed him for it assuring him that he needed not to imagine that they would ever approve those Errors which they then condemned or ever return to that Church which defended such notorious Vices Contarini in the mean time hearing that that Answer of his we mentioned was variously taken by the perswasion of some sent a third Paper to the States telling them that he did not at all assent that some Doctrines should be look'd upon as accorded and be tolerated until the sitting of the Council but that all indifferently should be referred to the Pope July the Fourteenth the Princes Electors in Answer to that which the Emperor had desired their Judgment of told his Majesty That they were content that the Articles agreed upon should be received until the time of the Council for that it would be a means to prevent Quarrellings for the future and contribute very much to a farther Reconciliation That if there were any Hopes that the rest also might be accommodated in the same Diet they prayed him graciously to promote it But that if the exigency of the time would not allow of that that then he would be pleased according to his own voluntary promise to deal with the Pope and other Kings that a General Council might with all Expedition be called and meet in some convenient place within Germany or else a National Council to which his Holiness should consent and send his Legate And that if neither of the two could be obtained according to their Hopes that he himself would return into Germany and shew the same care for the Country which till then he had done by settling Peace and Quietness therein But the Protestants Petitioned the Emperor that he would confirm the Heads of Doctrine already accorded by a Law and command them to be taught for that so Truth would be more and more discovered and a way made to the healing of the Wounds of the Church That he would also utterly abolish or at least supersede the Decree of Ausburg as not at all conducing to Concord That they had formerly declared their thoughts as to the Council how it ought to be constituted and that neither the Pope nor any that depended on him should have the Power of judging therein and that they persisted in the same Opinion still But that if such a Council could not be had and that he ordered a Convention of States to be held in Germany they would therein propose and maintain their Doctrine The rest of the Princes amongst whom the Bishops held the chief Rank and with them the Brothers Dukes of Bavaria and Henry Duke of Brimswick gave the Emperor their Opinion separately to wit that there was so great an inundation of Vices Sects Heresies and Dissentions not only over all Germany but in other places also and in a manner all over Christendom that there was no redressing of them but by a General Council But that they could not give their consent that any Change or Alteration should be now made in the Religion and Ceremonies which had been in use for so many Years or had been instituted of old especially seeing the Pope by his Legate promised a Council and that his Majesty intended in person to sollicite his Holiness thereunto That it was their earnest desire the Pope would make that his Care that so Errors being at length rooted out the Wrath of God might be appeased and Mankind kept in the right way of Salvation That if a General Council could not be had the next course must be a National Synod or a Diet of the States of the Empire That they however for their parts were resolved to persevere in the Ancient Religion the Councils and Doctrine of the Fathers handed down from the Apostles to the present Age and to obey the Decrees of the Empire but especially that of Ausburg hoping also that they who had commended the Decree that was made at Ausburg would not recede from it especially since it had been lately resolved on at Haguenaw that if any thing were acted contrary thereunto they should stand to the defence of it and that his Majesty himself had always excepted the same in all Treaties Now that the Reconciled Doctrines should be received for a time they did not approve on 't for that some of them were superfluous and not controverted to wit the First Second and Third and that that of Original Sin had been handled in a different manner at Wormes That besides the thing it self required that there should be a new Conference appointed for that there were some words used in the Writings contrary to the common Acceptation of the Church and Fathers That some Sentences also were thrust in which ought to be qualified and corrected That lastly the things which were accorded were of no great moment but that since the chief Points were not agreed upon that 's to say The Lord's Supper The Adoration of the Hoast Transubstantiation The Mass The Marriage of the Clergy The receiving of the Sacrament in both Kinds Confession Penance Satisfaction and other Points of that Nature which were so impugned by the Protestants that there had been no Hopes of Agreement Besides since the Catholick Conferrers went too far so that their Opinions deserved a Censure And that lastly since it tended to the Contempt of the Pope his Majesty himself and the rest of the States of the Empire Upon all these Considerations it seemed most expedient to them that the whole Affair of Religion should be deferred till the meeting of a Council especially since the Pope's Legate was of the same Opinion The other free Cities which were not of the Number of the Protestants as Cologne Metz Spire Wormes Toul Haguenaw Ratisbone Schweinfurt Colmar Gemund Rotenburg and many others finding themselves excluded from Deliberation and that the Princes did not communicate to them a Copy of the Answer complained of it to the Emperor as they had done several times before beseeching his Majesty that they might not be baulked in their Right and assuring him that most of them were willing to receive the Doctrines agreed upon The Emperor having heard
he had promised you Supplies against us That your Majesty sued to the Turk for a Truce was a thing many wise men wondered at and could not but conclude it was for some great Matter seeing you were at peace with the King of France but now that your Majesty says you do it for the sake of the Publick I have nothing indeed to say to the contrary for it is long since Germany stood in need of some ease from the great Charges it hath been at We did indeed earnestly demand a Council but it was a free pious Council and that in Germany too now that we do not reckon the Council of Trent for such we fully declared to your Majesty at Wormes for all Laicks as they call us being excluded the Bishops and others who are bound by Oath to the Pope take to themselves solely the Power of Judging and Decreeing That I should propose some way for accommodation in Religion is a thing Sir I dare not venture upon without the concurrence of my Allies and I 'm sure that if I did so I should have but little thanks from either side for my pains but in the mean time provided it draw not into consequence I do not refuse a Conference with such as your Majesty shall please to appoint for that purpose The truth is I have no great hopes in the Council but believe that a Provincial Assembly of Germany might not prove unuseful for other People differ too much from us as yet in Opinions and Doctrine but in Germany matters are now come to that pass that they cannot be changed so that nothing could be better than if your Majesty would allow a liberty of Religion there but so that all should live together quietly and in peace I make no doubt but that the Conference you appointed at Ratisbonne was done by your Majesty with a very good intent but I had it from those that were present How some bitter Monks bring again under debate Points that were adjusted some Years since in the same place and are of so bad a Life and Conversation that no good at all can be expected from them Without all doubt the Archbishop of Cologne is a good Man and does what he does purely because he thinks it his Duty especially seeing the Decree of the Diet at Ratisbonne commits the care of the Reformation of his Church to him which truly he set about in a very moderate manner taking away no more than what was necessary should be and making but very small Alterations in the Goods of the Church Now the Book he published for that purpose agrees with the Holy Scriptures and is backed by the Testimonies of the ancient Doctors Tertullian Augustine Ambrose and others who lived nearest the Age of the Apostles if any harsh course then be taken against him for that matter it will be a warning to others who have made far greater Alterations To this the Emperour replied That he passed by the Treaty of Franckfort neither did believe the things that were told him of it nor had given any cause why he should but that yet he was much better satisfied by his discourse That he had indeed procured a Council to be called that it might both be beneficial to the Publick and that the Fathers who were there might of their own accord reform themselves and that it was none of his design that violence should be offered to those of the Augustan Confession because of any Decree that might pass there that the Conference of Ratisbonne was appointed for that very reason which had begun very well indeed if it had continued so That the Archbishop of Cologne though he had promised to supersede and delay did nevertheless proceed and force men to do as he would have them That it was the intent of the Decree of Ratisbonne that the Bishops should reform their own Churches but not introduce a new Faith and Religion and that it was added besides that they should draw up a formulary of Reformation and give it in to be considered of in the next Diet of the Empire but that he having turned out the ordinary Ministers and Pastors of the Church had of himself appointed new ones nay and more that he withheld the Revenues and Stipends of the Canons and appropriated part of them to himself carrying all things by his Edicts with a high hand so that the Clergy being necessitated to implore his help and protection he could not but according to the Power and Character he bore put a stop to him by contrary Edicts and Commands that in fine he was well pleased that the Conference betwixt his Commissioners and him should in no ways be captious nor ensnaring To which the Landgrave made answer That it exceedingly rejoyced him to see his gracious Majesty so well-affected towards Germany and his Associates and that he prayed God he might persevere in the same mind For said he if your Majesty according to that excellent Judgment God has endowed you with do but seriously consider and weigh with yourself how advantageous Germany is to your Majesty your Kingdoms and Provinces you 'l find that there is nothing more to be wished for than that all Ranks and Qualities may rejoyce and delight in you their chief Magistrate and your Majesty again use them as loving and dutiful Subjects For truly if Germany happen to be weakened it will recound chiefly to your Majesty's disadvantage I have likewise most joyfully heard what your thoughts and intentions are concerning the Decrees of the Council but that they should reform themselves is a thing I fear not to be expected for they are bound by Oath to the Pope judge alone in their own cause and though they stand in need chiefly of a reformation yet they look upon that as a thing can do them no great good and which will prove prejudicial to their yearly Revenues I doubt things are not carried at the Conference of Ratisbonne in the way and method they should be for not only Copies of the Proceedings are denied but also in the beginning our Commissioners were not allowed to have Clarks and Notaries As to the Archbishop of Cologne I can say no more but what I have already said He is a Shepherd and therefore desires to give good and wholsom Food to his Flock He thinks that to be his Duty and therefore caused a Form of Reformation to be drawn up nay and those who are now his Adversaries and especially Gropper were in the beginning most desirous of a Reformation but when they find it is come to that they shuffle and draw back Here the Emperour interrupting Ha said he what can that good Man reform He has hardly a smattering in the Latine Tongue In all his life-time he never said but three Masses of which I myself heard two nor does he know so much as the very Rudiments of Learning But he carefully peruses German Books answered he and what I know
for a certain he understands Religion To which the Emperour again replied To bring in a new Faith and Religion is not to reform an old Nor does he profess said the Landgrave to have embraced any new Religion but to have restored the ancient and true one as it was left unto us by Christ and his Apostles that he hath turned out some and promoted others to Cures in the Church is a Duty belonging to his Charge for if a Minister be either of a scandalous life and conversation or unlearned it is certainly the Bishops part to substitute a fit man in his place there are a great many vacant Churches in the Bishops Lands as I can affirm where for want of Pastors the People are neither taught nor ruled but lead a dissolute and barbarous Life liker to Beasts than Men. That he intercepts some of the Revenues of the Clergy he gives this reason That he had contributed a great deal of Money to the maintaining of the War against the Turk and French now it is the custom of the Empire for Magistrates to lay Taxes upon their Subjects on such occasions and that therefore he was not to be blamed but as it is commonly given out that he does it upon a religious account that is a malicious Aspersion of his Enemies to render him odious Next day the Landgrave Granvell Naves and Masbachen met at the Elector Palatine's Lodgings There Naves begins the discourse repeats somewhat of the Conference the day before with the Emperour declares the reason of their present meeting and shews that when the Emperour out of his earnest desire of peace and concord had appointed a Conference at Ratisbonne the Divines had of themselves broken up and departed To this the Landgrave made answer That he knew nothing as yet of their departure but that they had written to the Elector of Saxony and himself what uneasie Conditions were proposed to them when the Presidents would neither suffer them in the beginning to have Clarks exhibit any Copy of the Proceedings nor to send home any account of them that he did hear also how immodestly the conferring Monks behaved themselves who not only recinded what had been agreed upon before took away all hopes of agreement but also gave scandal and offence by their leud Lives and Conversation that he did not as yet know whether or not his Deputies were therefore gone but that he had not recalled them Next spoke Granvell and having premised some things concerning the Emperour's good intentions and desire of peace he partly excuses what was objected touching the Conditions of the Conference nevertheless that they were forbid to write home what they thought fit to be imparted was a thing he said they had no orders for from the Emperour But the Landgrave having pray'd them to wave those things and come to the matter in hand makes mention of that Decree made two Years before at Spire concerning Peace and the Administration of Justice urging chiefly a Provincial Council of Germany as the fittest means for setling and quieting Religion and because the Italians Spaniards and French differed so much from the Germans in the matter of Doctrine it was his opinion that a General or as they call it an Oecumenical Council would be but of little use but let things happen as they pleased whether a reconciliation could or could not be effected that yet the Decree of Spire ought not to be recinded that the state of Religion was such now in Germany that if any attempted to bear it down by force it would cost many and many a thousand Lives which would redound to the great loss of the Emperour whose Power was mightily encreased by the Forces of Germany and to the no small Joy and Benefit of other Nations and especially the Turks our Enemies The Decree of Spire was suited to the times said Granvell and it was none of the Emperour's fault that it had not its effect but that it was well enough known at whose door it lay In Private and National Councils Vices and Manners only are reformed but not a word of Faith and Religion Now there is nothing but Sects and Divisions when all Men have not the same thoughts in matters of Faith so that to the Debates of this Nature not only the Germans but all other morose Christians also have a just right That most part of Divines are a morose awkward and obstinate sort of Men unfit to dispatch any business that therefore Princes and Great Men ought to be admitted and some middle way found out of according Doctrines nor do you yourselves allow a liberty of Religion since they who differ from you in Opinion are imprisoned and fined Now though the Emperour be above all things desirous of agreement yet he cannot grant any thing that is impious for if all things were left to the disposal of the promiscuous multitude the chief Magistrate himself could no longer be safe It is unwisely done in me said the Landgrave to speak of such weighty Matters in the absence of my Associates However since there is no body here upon the catch I will go on I think that the Decree of Spire was made by the Emperour with a very good intent and since our Adversaries promised then to comply with it they ought not now to retract In the next place because we gave the Emperour good assistance against the French King we hope that what was then granted and confirmed under Hand and Seal is not to be violated Now there is nothing that ought to put a stop to a National Council do we not profess the same Faith that the Apostles that the Nicene Council and Athanasius professed and are not our Divines agreed about the chief Points of Faith There was indeed some dispute amongst them concerning the Lord's Supper but that is now quite hushed there is none but confesses that the Body and Bloud of Christ is really there received There are Anabaptists Davidians and I know not who besides but those are punished by Law there is no need then that foreign Nations should also be present when these things are determined though if they proposed to themselves the knowledge of the truth that were chiefly also to be wished that certain middle Opinions were established and that by Men of Honour and Quality I am not much against it but do not think that it can well be done without Divines However make no doubt but that if the pure Doctrine of the Gospel were preached the Sacrament given in both kinds and Church-men allowed to marry as Paphnutius of old urged in the Council a reconciliation might be accomplished I know no place where men are forced to be of our Religion we do not indeed suffer a variety or diversity of Doctrine in one and the same place but we compel no man nor upon that account deprive any of Life or Goods Now if men of our Religion were suffered to
notice of this which was the fourth day of November as he himself said he published a Paper wherein having given the Reasons why he acknowledged not the Pope for his Judge as being long ago accused of Heresie and Idolatry he appealed from that Sentence to a lawful Council of Germany wherein so soon as it should commence he promised to bring his Action against the Pope The Protestant Deputies who as hath been said met at Ulm towards the latter end of October disagreeing in thier Opinions went in November to the Camp at Giengen that there they might deliberate more freely There it was proposed That because their Neighbours of the same Religion gave no Assistance that of the Confederates the Duke of Lunenbourg and Pomerania and some others contributed nothing at all and that the other States and Cities in the Circle of Saxony but very little that they were disappointed from France and that because of the Season of the Year and other Hardships the Army was much diminished by the daily running away of the Soldiers one of three things was to be chosen either to hazard a Battel or to quit the Field and put the Army into Winter-quarters or else to make a Peace or Truce The Matter being debated it was concluded That a Proposal of Peace was the best Course they could take and for that end employed Adam Trott who in behalf of the Elector of Brandenbourg had free access to his Brother Marquess John. But when the Emperour who knew their Minds and the Streights they were reduced unto by sure Signs and good Intelligence and had lately received glad Tidings out of Saxony required of them very hard Conditions it was resolved upon That the rest of their Forces marching into Saxony a thousand Horse and eight thousand Foot should be left there to take Winter-quarters in the Country about at the Charge of the Duke of Wertemberg and the Free Cities of Upper Germany On the twenty third of November then they break up after they had past a Vote That another Embassie should be sent into France and England and that they should meet again at Frankfurt the twelfth of January And thus was the War but unluckily managed which was chiefly imputed to this That the Supreme and Absolute Power was not in the Hands of one Man For whereas the Duke of Saxony and the Landgrave were equal in Authority it hapned oftner than once that whilst they were debating fit Opportunities were lost What was likewise resolved upon about distributing the Soldiers into Garrisons and Winter-quarters had no effect neither because some refused to contribute any longer So soon as the Emperour had notice of their departure he presently sent out some Parties of Horse to learn what way they took and shortly after orders the Duke of Alva and Count of Buren to follow after nay he himself also marched out with the German Horse leaving the Foot behind to stay there till further Orders The Protestant Confederates were now for most part in the Camp where they were to lodge all night And though the Landgrave led the Van that day yet he staid behind with the Duke of Saxony and both of them had no more but ten Cornets of Horse and about five hundred Musquetiers with them With these they halted upon a Hill securing themselves with what Field-pieces they had left till the Emperour retreating with his Men in the Evening they also marched forward with great silence and came to the Camp near Heidenheim a Town belonging to the Duke of Wirtemberg having so escaped a very present Danger For if the Emperour had charged them they being far inferiour in number they must all have been either taken or slain as they themselves afterwards acknowledged But the Emperour who was ignorant of their number and took them to be many more than they were acted cautiously and the same night sent Orders to the Foot to march and follow him with a purpose to fall upon them next day However as we told you they gave him the slip in the night-time and got safely to the rest of the Army in the Camp. Wherefore the Emperour returned to his Camp and staid two days there to refresh his Soldiers But afterwards conjecturing that their Design was to take their Winter-quarters in Franconia a spacious and rich Province he resolved to prevent them Wherefore having upon Surrender taken Bophinghen Nordlinghen the Country of Oetinghen and Dinkespiel he marches in great haste to Rotenburg an Imperial Town upon the River Tauber The Landgrave having left the Charge of his Men to the Duke of Saxony made a Progress to Wirtemberg from thence returned home and came on the first of December to Frankfurt But the Duke of Saxony though he was destitute of the Sinews of War yet marching forwards with his Forces he batters Gemund a Town in Schwabia which being surrendred unto him he exacts a Sum of Money of the Magistrates that was collected by a Poll. Afterwards he came to Frankfurt on the twelfth of December and of them got Nine thousand Duckets He asseseth Mentz at Forty thousand and then advancing forwards takes the same Course with the Abbot of Fulde who was very rich and some others of the Popish Religion When the Landgrave was come home he wrote to Duke Maurice his Son-in-Law That he would come to him provided he would give him a Safe-conduct for he had a Design to have negotiated a Peace betwixt him and the Duke of Saxony Duke Maurice sent him indeed a Safe-conduct but stinted with so many and such kind of Conditions that he not thinking it safe to go himself sent his Embassadors Herman Hundelsuse and Henry Lersner These did indeed very earnestly sollicite the Affair but nothing could he done since both Duke Maurice alledged that he could not treat without the Emperour's leave and the Duke of Saxony who had Forces in readiness to fight would grant no Cessation of Arms. There being no hopes then of a Peace the Landgrave ' Soldiers return home But Recrod who brought the German Foot out of France as we have already mentioned tarried with the Duke of Saxony When the Emperour was at Rotenburg he dispatched the Count of Buren with Orders to use some Means or other to suprise Frankfurt From thence afterward he wrote also to Ulrick Duke of Wertemberg on the thirteenth of December to this purpose Though because of the War said he which some Years ago you and the Landgrave waged against our Brother King Ferdinand and the seising of the Dutchy of Wirtemberg it was but just that we should have exemplarily punished both him and you yet we fully pardoned you the Offence and received you into Favour again And though lately in the beginning of this War when you deserved no such thing since you tyrannized not only over your own People but also over the Neighbouring States of the Empire and would submit to no Law nor Justice we
generous Answer immediately departed and because of the Saxon-War went to Nordlingen Whilst the Duke of Wirtemberg performed this Ceremony of Submission there was a vast Crowd of People got together who being told of it before flocked thither to see the Shew In those three Places we named before of the Dutchy of Wirtemberg the Emperour had already placed Garrisons and chiefly Spaniards THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XIX The CONTENTS The Seventh Session of the Council of Trent is held When the City of Strasbourg had captitulated and made Peace with the Emperour he orders his Army to advance Shortly after the Death of the King of England Francis King of France dies The Fathers that were at Trent go to Bolonia The Duke of Saxony is taken in Battel and though he was condemned to die yet with undaunted Courage he professed the Reformed Religion Wirtemberg being surrendred the University is dissolved Duke Maurice and the Elector of Brandenburg earnestly intercede for the Landgrave who being come to wait on the Emperour is detained Prisoner King Ferdinand by Letters to those of Prague appoints a Convention of States A great Commotion raised at Naples because of the Spanish Inquisition as they call it Henry King of France is Crowned and the Solemnity of the Coronation described The Emperour by Proclamation puts the City of Magdenburg to the Ban of the Empire He sollicits the Suitzers to enter into a new League A Diet is held at Ausburg Petro Aloisio the Pope's Son is assassinated in his own House The English overcome the Scots in a great Battel The Protestant Electors are prevailed with and the Free Towns terrified A Contention ariseth about the Imprisonment of the Landgrave Means are used for recalling the Fathers to Trent but they who had removed to Bolonia firmly persist in their Opinion and Resolution so that there is nothing but Confusion in the Council of Trent THE Seventh Session of the Council of Trent was held the third day of March. In it were condemned all who maintain either that the Sacraments of the Church were fewer than Seven or that they were not all instituted by Christ who deny that one is of more Dignity than another who affirm that they are only outward Signs of Grace or Righteousness received by Christ who deny that they confer Grace who hold that no spiritual and indelible Character or Mark is by Baptism Confirmation and Orders stamped upon the Soul and that all have like power to administer them or that the usual Ceremonies of the Church may be omitted or altered in the Administration of the same who say that the Doctrine of the Church of Rome the Mother and Mistress of all others concerning Baptism is not sincere That Vows made after Baptism are of no force and derogate from the Faith they have professed who assert That Confirmation is but an idle Ceremony and was no more in ancient Times but an Instruction of Youth who deny the Virtue and Influence of the Holy Ghost to be conferred in Confirmation and who assign the Office of Confirmation not to Bishops solely but indifferently also to any Priest Then they make Decrees concerning Ecclesiastical Benefices That Bishops and other Rulers of the Church be lawfully begotten of due Age and conspicuous for Good Manners and Learning That no Man of what Quality he be do by any Title whatsoever possess more than one Bishoprick and that such as have Pluralities keep which of them they please and resign the others within a Year That those who have the Cure of Souls reside upon the Place and substitute no others to officiate for them unless for a time and so as that they have made appear to their Bishop that they had a lawful cause of Absence which is to be allowed of by him who is to take care that the People be not neglected that the Faults of Priests be punished and what is amiss amongst them reformed And then the one and twentieth of April is appointed for the Day of the next Session King Ferdinand being at Dresden with Duke Maurice on the eighth day of March writes to the Bohemians acquainting them That Duke John Frederick was resolved to invade them That therefore they should be upon their Guard and obey Sebastian Weittemull whom he had appointed to be his Vicegerent in his absence The Deputies of Strasbourg who as we told you went to Ulm being come back with the Conditions prescribed by the Emperour which the Senate did not dislike are sent back again to transact and make a final Conclusion Setting out upon their Journey then they find the Emperour at Nordlingen taken ill of the Gout and having March the one and twentieth made their Submission are received into Favour They had pretty tolerable Conditions for the Emperour put no Garrison upon them was satisfied with Thirty thousand Florins and did not exact above twelve Pieces of Ordnance of them The Elector of Brandenburg in the mean time bestirred himself affectionately in behalf of the Landgrave and applied himself also to King Ferdinand But very hard Conditions were proposed which were these That he approve without exception all the future Decrees of the Diet of the Empire That he give one of his Sons in Hostage That he dismiss Duke Henry of Brunswick and his Son and submit to the Emperour's Decision as to the Difference betwixt them That he send the Emperour a Supply of some Troops of Horse and eight Companies of Foot against the Elector of Saxony and the Confederates and that he pay them for six Months That he submit himself to the Emperour and openly confess his Crimes But he rejected the Conditions and acquainted his Friends by Letters That unless they were mitigated he had rather seeing he could not in Honour condescend to them undergo the worst of Fortunes The day the Emperour transacted with the Strasburgers he parted from Nordlingen to go to Norimberg And next day upon the Road having dispatched Letters to the States of Duke Maurice he tells them That forasmuch as that Outlaw John Frederick flying to his own Home had not only regained what the Prince Elector Maurice had by his Orders taken from him but those Places also which King Ferdinand his Brother possessed in that Country as Dependents on Bohemia he was now upon the march to come and repress his Boldness Wherefore he charged them in the first place that they should take care that in those Places through which he was to march with his Army nothing might be wanting that was necessary and that the Soldiers might be kindly used In the next place That they should despise the Threats of John Frederick and shew all Love and Duty to their Prince as they had hitherto done since the main Design of the present War was to daunt his insolent Fierceness and to settle Peace and Quietness amongst them The very same day he wrote to the Council and Magistrates
manner he forced the Body of Cosmo Cherio Bishop of Fano having made his Servants hold him by violence till he did the Fact which abominable Villany lay so heavy upon the poor mans Heart that it is said he died of grief Nor are there wanting some who think he was poysoned by him lest he should have informed the Emperour of that detestable Sodomy Pope Paul nevertheless tenderly loved this Bastard making it his whole care to promote him and when sometimes he was told of his lewd Practices he is reported not to have been much troubled thereat but only to have usually said That he had not learn those Vices of him We mentioned before that the Fathers of the Council leaving Trent had removed to Bolonia This the Emperour was highly displeased at and when he came now to Ausburg he moved the Colledge of the Princes to represent the matter to the Pope Wherefore September the fourteenth the Bishops wrote to him representing the State and Danger of Germany which they say might have been prevented if a timely Remedy had been applied to the growing Distemper to wit a Publick Council wherein they had several times importuned the Emperour that he would procure it to be held within the Limits of Germany that so the Bishops of that Country who were most concerned might be present for seeing their Jurisdiction waâ of ample extent it was not expedient for them especially at that time to be at a great distance from their own Charge That at length when no man would repair to Mantua or Vicenza a Council indeed was by the diligence and care of the Emperour got to be called and begun but without the Bounds of Germany still to wit at Trent which belongs rather to Italy That for that reason also not many of the Germans had come to it nor indeed could they especially in time of War when the Ways were every where beset and intercepted but that now the Storm being over when the Vessel was brought almost into Harbour and all men were in good hopes contrary to all expectation the Council wherein the Publick Safety wholly consisted should be translated to another Place or rather indeed divided was a thing that exceedingly grieved them because of the danger it threatned for that Germany had now no less than these six and twenty years struggled with new and pernicious Doctrines and Sects that the Bishops had lost almost all their Authority and that in this âesolation and Confusion innumerable thousands of men endangered the Salvation of their Souls That in short whatever was formerly sound and sincere was by that pestilent Contagion spoil'd and corrupted and that the States of the Empire being rent asunder had lost all mutual Love and Correspondence That in these their so great Calamities they had no Refuge but to the Apostolick Church That therefore they most earnestly begg'd he would restore the Council which if he did he might expect any thing from them but if not that they could not tell where to look for Help for that noise of stormy Winds and Tempests was heard on all hands against which God had appointed the Church of Rome to be as a strong Bulwark and firm Rock of Defence That he should then have regard to their Demands and reject with himself that if he had not a care other Course may be taken to set things to rights That after all they prayed him to take these things in good part for that both the necessity of the Times and the obligation of their Duty had constrained them to write About this very time also the English obtain a great Victory over the Scots under the Conduct of the Duke of Somerset the King's Uncle The Cause of the War was the same that was before in the time of King Henry his Father to wit because the Scots would not give their Queen in Marriage to King Edward as it had been agreed upon After this Victory the English took many Places in Scotland and advanced a great way into that Country All the Diet was not of the same mind as to the Emperour's Demands for the Ecclesiastical Electors urged the Council of Trent without any Limitation or Condition And again the Deputies of the Elector Palatine Duke Maurice and Brandenburg did not refuse it provided it were free and holy wherein the Pope should not preside but should absolve the Bishops from the Oath they had taken to him wherein their Divines might also have a decisive Vote and the past Decrees be recalled However the rest of the Princes and States urged the Continuation of the Council and that the Protestants might have Safe-conduct to go thither and be heard and then be compelled to submit to and obey its Decrees The Emperour being informed of all their Opinions gave his Answer October the eighteenth desires them all to submit to the Council and deals privately with the Elector Palatine and Duke Maurice that they would assent The Prince Palatine besides was over-awed because of the late Offence he had given the year before as we said that Sore not being as yet well skinned over Duke Maurice who was both desirous that the Landgrave his Father-in-law might be set at liberty and had been lately highly promoted by the Emperour thought himself obliged to do somewhat Wherefore the Emperour having by Messengers given them large Assurances of his Favour and Good-will and put it to them that they would refer themselves to his Faith and Promise at length October the twenty fourth they give their Assent There remained no more now but the Free Towns who thought it a matter of great danger to submit themselves indifferently to the Decrees of the Council These did Granvell and Hasen industriously manage and in the mean time a Report went over the Town that they were stubborn in refusing that which all the Princes had already approved Some Threats were also let fall that they should be far more severely dealt with than formerly At length they found a way both to satisfie the Emperour and to secure themselves Being therefore called before his Imperial Majesty they told him that it was not their part to correct the Answers of the Princes but at the same time present a Paper to him declaring the Conditions upon which they were willing to approve the Council The Emperour having heard their Speech makes them an Answer by the mouth of Selden That he was very well satisfied that after the example of others they referred the matter to him and gave their consent with the rest So that he attributed more unto them than they were desirous of for they had not consented with the rest but that they might give no cause of offence were unwilling to censure the Judgment of the Princes and nevertheless that they might not afterwards be concluded thought fit to give in writing the Conditions upon which they accepted the Council that so they might leave to Posterity some
and dear unto him That it was his greatest Wish indeed he might in Person have made this Declaration and beheld the most Sacred and August Countenance of his dearest Father but that he had been hitherto so taken up about many and various Affairs that he could neither come himself nor sooner send another to do his Duty for him That they should therefore seriously weigh these things and so demean themselves that the King his Master might be convinced of their Love and Friendship for that since Commonwealths subsisted by Reward and Punishment they ought to take care that by Kindness and Favour they might retain pious and good Princes in their Duty but on the other hand so repress the Insolence and Boldness of such as they knew did attempt either to lessen or undermine their Dignity that they should be made sensible that the Sword which God had put into their Hands was not dull'd nor blunted That he would not be so understood neither as if he had any doubt of their Severity and Prudence or that he intended to raise in their Minds a Suspicion of any Person but that by exciting in them a laudable Emulation in Well-doing the King 's Good-will towards them might be the more conspicuous That by the Canons it was provided That so soon as the Popes of Rome were promoted to the Papacy they should send their Legats into France for setling a Friendship betwixt them and that so likewise it had been the King's Resolution upon his entry into the Government to dignifie this most holy See with the like reciprocal Civility That his Holiness then was desired to admit of the most Christian King into the Bosom of the Church from whom he might expect all Friendship and Fidelity and that after all he would use his Endeavours that the Church should receive no detriment That he himself knew very well from how small Beginnings Factions had broke out of old when no man set himself to it to oppose the Attempts of ill men That Instances of that might be seen in Pope John XIII in Gregory VII in Paschal III. and many others who fell into the greatest Calamities until the Popes that came after them by the Assistance of the Kings of France recovered their lost Dignity and amongst these Alexander III. who forced the Emperour Frederick of Suabia to accept a Peace and retrived the Liberty of the Church and Rights of chusing the Pope The French King who knew that the Pope was extreamly vexed at the Murder of Pietro Aloisio and perceived that his Displeasure was heightned by the Translation of the Council to Trent thought this a proper time to be laid hold on for his own Advantage Wherefore by frequent Embassies sent to the Pope and ample promises of his Assistance he encouraged and confirmed him in his Discontents When the Pope had heard the Demands of the Cardinal of Trent and Mendoza he said That he would advise with the Father that were at Bolonia and acquaint the rest of the Christian Princes with the Matter Since the Cardinal of Trent then could have no other Answer from him he returned home leaving behind him Mendoza to whom the Emperour had sent Orders to dispatch what remained to be done But the Pope on the sixteenth of December wrote to Cardinal John Maria de Monte his Chief Legat in the Council to this effect The Cardinal of Trent says he told me t'other day in the Emperour's Name how that all Germany had submitted to the Council Wherefore he demanded of me in the Name of the Emperour King Ferdinand and of the whole Empire that I would take care that the Council should be continued at Trent The same thing James Mendoza also demanded in presence of the Embassadours of other Princes whom he had invited to joyn with him and press'd that it might be done without delay but having communicated the matter to the Cardinals I thought it proper to advise with the Fathers of the Council that nothing might be done rashly and that the Decrees already made as well that of the Translation of the Council as the rest might remain inviolate Seeing then I am very much concerned for the Welfare of Germany and for the Emperour's sake unwilling to make any delay I command you that having implored the assistance of the Holy Ghost you declare the whole matter to the Fathers and with all speed write me word what answer you think fit to be given to the Emperour The Cardinal de Monte according to his Instructions brings the matter into the Council and afterwards writes back to this purpose Although the Council of Trent was lawfully translated from Trent to Bolonia though all the Fathers had notice given them publickly in the Session the day that the Decree was made for the translation of the same that they should repair to Bolonia and although he himself and the rest of the Fathers had written to Trent exhorting them lovingly to come to Bolonia yet many remained there still to this very day which was a thing that tended to the contempt of the Council and gave offence to many The Fathers therefore do not see how with the Dignity and Reputation of the Council they can think of returning Let those who are at Trent first come to Bolonia joyn with the rest and acknowledge the Power of the Council Again it is necessary that the Fathers have assurance given them that Germany will submit to the Council and approve the Decrees thereof both which are already made and which may be made hereafter so that they be cavilled at by no man. Besides since there has been a hot Report abroad that it was to be a Popular Council the Fathers desire also to have assurance given them as to that first for if that should take place all the order and method of Councils from the age of the Apostles down to this very time would be inverted They also desire to know how they are to be secured that they may live there with safety and freedom and when they think fit depart thence without let or molestation And lastly that it is a necessary Caution also that they may have assurance given them that when for some reasons it may seem convenient to the major part to remove the Council they may have liberty to do so as also when it shall appear that the reasons for which the Council was called are satisfied it may be free to the Fathers to put an end to it and desist That these were the things the Fathers after much Deliberation and Invocation of the Holy Ghost had to answer to his Demands which they entreated he would take in good part When the Pope had received this Letter December the 27th he sends for Mendoza the Emperour's Embassadour to the Consistory of Cardinals acquaints him with what the Council of Bolonia had answered and assures him That neither he nor the Colledge of Cardinals disliked their Opinion as being
Cardinals therewith and in name of the whole Empire to demand the continuation of the Council at Trent He ordered Mendoza also to do the same but the Pope took time to consider of it and having thought fit to consult you about the matter obtained from you a dubious crafty and captious Answer Besides he answers the Emperour oddly and shews sufficiently by his tergiversation that he is little concerned for the Publick for the cause of the removal ought to have been proved by credible Witnesses The Emperour King Ferdinand and the Princes by Letters and most ample Embassies declared what the mind of the States was concerning the Council but the Pope believed and preferred the Report of some mean and base People before the Testimony of all these How many tedious and irksome Journeys hath the Emperour made upon the account of the Council What Charges and Expences hath he been at And must all these be lost For most weighty and necessary causes was the Council both called and begun at Trent the Emperour and Germans demanding it and all other Christian Princes consenting thereunto so that unless the publick Authority of all States intervene it cannot be translated to another place for indeed there was no cause for the Translation only something invented for an excuse as some slight Feaver and badness of Air forsooth and for that purpose some Physicians were suborned but chiefly Serving-Maids and Cooks Now what a trifling cause that was the thing it self and the event declared You say that you went away without the Pope's knowledge and advice but the Letter he wrote to you and the Answer he gave the Emperour imply the quite contrary Certainly you ought not to have departed nor changed the place but with consent of the Emperour to whom it belongs to protect all Councils but you posted away in so much haste that ye rejected the Opinion of those who said that the Emperour and Pope ought first to be consulted Now if you must needs have been removing ye ought to have observed at least the Decrees of the Holy Councils and remained within the bounds of Germany that the Germans for whose cause chiefly the Council was called might safely come to it but now ye have chosen Bolonia a Town seated in the heart of Italy and under the Jurisdiction of the Church of Rome whither it is certain the Germans will not come and therefore have you chosen it that to the great prejudice and disgrace of Christendom the Council may be either dissolved or managed at your pleasure The Emperour therefore requireth and that most earnestly that you return to that place which pleased all before especially since all things are now safe and quiet and no more cause of any fear remains But if this you refuse I do here in the name and by command of the Emperour protest against this Translation of the Council as frivolous and unlawful and that all that has been done or shall be done therein is of no force nor effect I also publickly declare That that Answer of yours is silly and full of Lyes and that the prejudice and inconveniences which hereafter shall ensue to the Publick are not to be imputed to the Emperour but to you affirming withal that you have no Power nor Authority to remove the Council And because you neglect the publick Welfare the Emperour as Protector of the Church will take the care of that upon himself in so far as it is lawful for him by Law and the Canons of Holy Church When he had read over that Protestation he delivered a written Copy of it and desired it to be entered upon Record With that the Cardinal de Monte having highly commended the pious intentions of the Fathers called God to witness that they had wrong done them saying They were ready to suffer death rather than that such a practice should be brought into the Church that the Civil Magistrate might call or controul a Council when and how he pleased That the Emperour was indeed a Son of the Church but not the Lord and Master That he and his Colleagues were the Legates of the Apostolick See and did not refuse even then to render first to God and then to the Pope an account of their Commission That after all within a few days they should have an Answer to their Protestation Much about the same time Mendoza having received Instructions from the Emperour made a Protestantion to the same effect at Rome before the Pope and Colledge of Cardinals and in presence of all the Forreign Embassadours whom according to his Instructions he had invited to be Witnesses of it THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH BOOK XX. THE CONTENTS In the beginning it is hotly disputed whether Prussia belong to the King of Poland or rather to the Empire The Pope makes a large Answer to the Harangue that Mendoza made before The Emperour being informed of that and seeing but very little hopes of a Council causes the Book which is called the Interim to be made The Protector of England in a very long Letter to the Scots counsels them to Peace and demands their Queen Vogelsberg is beheaded The Emperour invests Duke Maurice in the Electorship which he had bestowed upon him in the Camp before Wittemberg Bucer refuses to subscribe to the Interim The Pope also publishes a Censure of it which many of the Electors and Princes also did and many refuse it though it was published by the Emperour The Duke of Saxony though a Prisoner with great magnanimity rejects it The Landgrave by Letters which were published from the Emperours Court seems to approve it that he may obtain his freedom Whil'st the Mass is abolished in England by Act of Parliament the free Towns of Germany are solicited to accept of the Interim and especially Strasburg which is pressed by Threats to do it WE have shewn in the former Books that Marquess Albert of Brandenburg did Homage to the King of Poland and altered the Government of Prussia for which he was Outlaw'd by the Imperial Chamber As also that the King of Poland had several times solicited the Emperour and rest of the States in the Publick Diets to reverse that Outlawry because he was his Vassal and under his Protection But since to this day nothing could be obtained and that by this Victory of the Emperours some greater danger seemed to be threatned the King of Poland sends an Embassy to this Diet whereof the chief was Stanislaus Alaski He in the month of January delivered to the Emperour and Colledge of the Princes a Speech in Writing whereof the substance was That the Cause of Prussia had been some times already debated but because it had been always put off to other Diets he was commanded to open it again that the King was in good hopes because of the civil Answers he had often received from them and of the equity of his Cause they would Consider his Affair yet not as
this Sacrifice wherein we commemorate the Death of Christ the memory of the Saints is to be celebrated that they may intercede with God the Father for us and help us by their Merits That we must also remember the Dead and pray to God for them In the next place it is enjoyned that all the antient Ceremonies which are commonly used in Baptism Exorcism Abrenunciation Confession of Faith and Chrism be retained and that nothing be changed neither in the Ceremonies used at Mass That in every Town and every Church two Masses a day at least be said but in Country Parishes and Villages one especially on Holy-days That nothing at all be altered in the Canon of the Mass and that all the rest be observed according to antient command but that if any thing have crept in which may give occasion to Superstition it be taken away That Vestments Ornaments Vessels Crosses Altars Candles and Images be still kept as certain Monuments That the usual Prayers and that holy singing of Psalms be not taken away and where they are taken away that they be restored That the Obsequies and Funerals of the Dead be performed after the manner of the antient Church and that the Saints Holy-Days and those others also wherein Prayers are appointed to be said be observed That on Easter Eve and Whitsunday Eve the Water in the Font be Consecrated That for subduing Lusts and exhorting the Mind to the duties of Piety on certain days men abstain from eating of Flesh and fast That lastly though it were to be wished that there might be found many Ministers of the Church who would live chastly nevertheless since many up and down have Wives whom they would not turn away And that that cannot without great troubles now be altered a Decree of Council concerning that be expected That the same course be held with those who receive the Sacrament in both kinds yet so still as that they censure not those who do otherwis for that the whole Body and Blood of Christ is contained under either kind After this manner the Book was indeed published as you shall hear hereafter but it was not so compiled at first For it was often Reviewed and Corrected as has been said and the Copy which was shew'd to Bucer was somewhat foster After it had been for a long time then tossed to and again amongst the States privately it was also sent to Rome For though all the Points of Popery in a manner were established in it yet because some things were granted to their Adversaries it was thought fit first to consult the Pope about it His Holiness afterward sent the Emperour by Cardinal Sfondrato some Animadversions thereupon which were these That a Priest in Orders should marry a Wife and still execute his Priestly Office was never heard of That the Custom of receiving the Sacrament in both kinds was abrogated and in those two things no man had power to dispense but the Pope and Council That the Followers of the Old Religion were not to be astricted to these Positions but that if there were any Lutherans that would forsake their new Opinions they were not to be rejected That the singing of Psalms ought to be restored in all places that on Holy-days the Commemoration of the Patron of every Church was to be Celebrated That they who are now or shall hereafter be Priests must abstain from Marriage That a speedy restitution must be made of Church-goods and Jurisdictions for seeing the Robbery and Invasion was manifest the usual forms of Process were not to be observed but as in a self-evident Case it was to be done by an high Hand and Imperial Authority This Censure being interposed the Electors of Mentz Treves and Cologne to whom it was communicated answer the Emperour in the very same manner urge chiefly Restitution and conclude it to be absolutely necessary if the Christian Religion ought to be preserved and recovered again in those places where it was abolished and that peace also could no other ways be setled That therefore care was to be taken in the first place that Churches and Religious Houses should be compleatly restored And that because the Usurpation and Robbery was manifest it was to be done brevi manu that the Worship of God might with all expedition be restored Finally they prayed his Majesty to take these things in good part and defend the Members of the Church by his Power and Protection But the other three Electors were not of that Opinion chiefly the Prince Palatine and Duke Maurice However they had both very good cause not to stand too stifly to it with the Emperour The rest of the Princes who were for the most part Bishops answered in the same manner as the Elector of Mentz and his Colleagues had done and as for the free Towns no great account was made of them Wherefore on the fifteenth of May the Emperour called all the States before him and having premised a few Things of his Love and Affection towards Germany I have found by manifest and clear Arguments said he and the thing it self speaks it that no Peace can be had nor Justice done before an end be made of that Controversie about Religion which now for many years hath caused various Quarrels and Animosities much Hatred Dissension and War in the Empire This hath been the cause why in frequent Dyets and by several Conferences I often sought for a Cure But in the mean time the Contagion not only over-spread all Germany but infected also other Christian People so that no presenter remedy could be thought on than the calling of a General Council This at your earnest solicitation I procured after much ado to be called at Trent and in like manner advised you at the opening of this Dyet that you would submit to the Authority thereof and leave it to my care in the mean time to find out some pious Expedient whereby Germany might live in peace and indeed your compliance therein and confidence in me was then and is still very acceptable unto me Being then wholly intent upon so necessary a Design and having demanded your Opinions to my great grief and sorrow I found that difference in Religion had not only been the cause all our past Evils but unless prevented would be so also for the future And therefore I thought it not good to leave things in that troublesome state until a Decree should be past in Council but to bring them to some moderation and the rather for that new Sects did here and there spring up Whilst I was pondering these things some Persons of eminent Rank and Quality Friends to Peace and Lovers of the Publick presented to me their thoughts of Religion drawn up in writing and promised to observe them Now so soon as that Writing was put into my Hands I referred it to some good and learned Divines to peruse it diligently and examine the Contents thereof When they had consider'd it they
humbly beg forgiveness and promise amendment This Formulary being read over as I said before was by the Bishops after some deliberation approved and they promised to call Synods within a little time after they were returned home Nevertheless they desired that the Pope might be moved to give his assent to some things in it This Book was Printed also afterward Mention was made before that the Deputies of the Cities sent home to consult their Principals about the Decree But when the Strasburghers who were the chief were a little backward in answering the Emperour orders Granvell to press them to it He therefore June the Twenty eighth sends for the Deputies of whom James Sturmey was the Principal and speaking to them by Henry Hasen who then was his Interpreter he told them that they themselves knew how the States had begg'd of the Emperour and referred it to his care to devise some Expedient that might be observed till the sitting of the Council That he had done it and that a Form was drawn up by good and Learned Men which all the Princes except some few and the chief Cities had approved Now seeing they and some others had besought the Emperour that they might have leave to consult their Principals which he granted and in the mean time waited for their Answer he took it ill that hitherto they had made him none and that therefore he had commanded him to learn what their mind was When the Deputies had told the reason of their Silence they produce a Letter directed to the Emperour from the Senate wherein they tell his Majesty That they desired nothing more than to be able to gratifie him in all things but that they and all their Citizens were fully persuaded that if they should at all admit of that Decree they should wound their own Consciences grievously offend God and endanger their own salvation That since he in his own Wisdom knew how heinous a thing that was they begg'd for Christs sake that in so nice a point which concerned not Lands nor Goods but the salvation of their Souls and Eternal Happiness he would have some regard to them and as he allowed others of a different Persuasion the free use of their Religion so he would suffer them to enjoy that of the Augustane Confession until a Decree should pass in Council as it had been often enacted in Dyets and that he would not compel them to say with their Mouth what their Heart did not think That they again on their parts should take all imaginable care that nothing should be done tumultuously or irreligiously in their City that no wicked and pernicious Principles or Doctrines should be suffered among them nor no cause of Complaint given to their Neighbours When Granvell had heard the Letter read he told them that the Emperour had always had a good opinion of their City and that since all generally commended and approved the Decree they must not expect to be exempted for they had Orders to admit of no such Answer that it was in vain then to Petition but that they should tell positively what the Resolution of the Senate was To which they Reply That when the matter was referred to the Emperour they and the other Deputies had always understood it of the Civil but not Religious Concerns that they thought the last had been referred to a Council where upon hearing of the Parties the Controversie should be decided but that in this Book almost all the Points of Doctrine in dispute were determined that if they should now receive them without any previous Disquisition or the Learned Men of their Party being heard they would no longer remain Controverted nor stand in need of the Authority of a Coucncil That it was no wonder that most part of the Princes and States approved the Decree since it was for their own advantage all being left whole and entire to them but a manner of Religion prescribed to the Protestants and commands laid upon them to forsake those Doctrines that had been always disputed without so much as a hearing whereas nevertheless in all the Dyets the whole Cause was referred to a Council That to force any Man to act contrary to his own Conscience though it were erroneous was a very grievous thing unless the Errour were first made appear That they believed there were a great many good Men on both sides that nevertheless differed among themselves in Judgment and Opinion That no constraint ought to be put upon such but that they should be convinced by Reason Truth and Arguments That since then in all Matters not relating to Religion they were ready to give unto Caesar the things that were Caesars they prayed him to recommend to his Imperial Majesty these humble Demands of the Senate That they were not ignorant of the Emperours great power nor of the danger they now incurred if he should think fit to make use of force That therefore if they were not fully persuaded that by the approbation of this Decree God was greatly offended it would be the greatest madness in the world not to comply with the Emperour Here again Granvell having repeated what he had said before told them that they themselves when they were received again into the Emperours favour had promised to observe what he should appoint for the welfare of the Empire That of this nature was the Decree made with the Counsel and Advice of Learned Men and by the greater part approved That therefore it could not be refused because it was consonant to the Doctrine of the Church Did they arrogate so much to themselves as to think they saw more than the Universal Church that they should make a separation from the rest That it was not lawful for them to change Religion without the common consent of the whole World. That therefore if they had no other Instructions they should inform themselves from their Senate whether they intended to obey or not That as to what they alledged that they had only understood it of Civil Affairs when the Matter was referred to the Emperour it was no matter how they understood it but how the major part of the States did The Deputies again represent that they and the rest of the Deputies of their State had in a manner been excluded from all Deliberations nay and that they had not been then consulted when the matter was referred to the Emperour so that they had understood it no otherwise than as they told him Yea and that some Princes had also understood it so for that when they made their peace with the Emperour they would not promise absolute obedience for fear it might be some time or other extended to Religion that his own Son the Bishop of Arras knew this to be true who then promised in the Emperours Name that the whole Cause of Religion should be referred to a Lawful Council That whereas he said that Decree ought to be received as
alteration in France happened in the time of Lowis IX but he vigorously opposed it and in the year 1267 made a Law that the ancient custom should be observed and no Tribute upon that account pay'd to the Pope of Rome That Law was indeed in force for many years but at length the power of the Popes prevailed and all over Christendom they published those Graces and Reservations that I mentioned which were a great grievance to many until the Council of Basil abrogated this way of pillage reviving the ancient Canons about Collations and Elections and discharging the payment of Annats Charles VII of France having consulted the matter approved and ratified this Decree of the Council by an Edict in the year 1438 which is commonly called the Pragmatick Sanction But Eugenius the Fourth declared this Council to be null as we said in the first-Book and the Popes who came after him rejected that Decree and called it Schismatical so that Pius II. by his Legat earnestly solicited Louis XI the Son of Charles VII to abolish that Sanction but the King asked the Opinion of the Parliament of Paris the most famous Judicature in France consisting all of Lawyers about the matter They quoting the practices of ancient times made their Report and told him What had been done in the matter by the Popes and Councils heretofore nay what his own Ancestors had done Clovis Charles Maâgne Philip Deodat Lowis IX Philip the Fair Louis the Hutinâ John the First and his own Grandfather and Father that France was then in a very flourishing condition and that it was now low and distressed and unless the ancient Laws be observed said they the Ecclesiastical Order will run into confusion France become thinner of People the most part running away to Rome and be exhausted of its Wealth the Churches and other stately Religious Houses in France will be slighted and fall into decay And as to the Money Business unless your Fathers Sanction continue in force ten hundred thousand Crowns will be carried yearly out of France to Rome For not to mention other things in the time of Pius II. there were at least twenty Bishopricks vacant which for Annats and other charges pay'd Six thousand Crowns a-piece yearly There were about threescore Abbies vacant and every one of these pay'd two thousand a year Of other Benefices there were above two hundred vacant every one of which pay'd five hundred Crowns Besides there are above eleven hundred Parishes in France out of which a vast deal of Money was raised through that Popish Invention Follow then the footsteps of your Father and depart not from the Decree of Basil This was the Parliaments Advice but the King being either over-reached or over awed by the Pope would needs abolish the Sanction and a chief Agent in that business was the Cardinal de Babvo in great favour with the King and much obliged by the Pope But both the Kings Advocate and the University of Paris who were much concerned in it manfully withstood the same and appealed from the Pope to a Council Louis XII had afterwards great clashings with Julius II. about the same matter and it was brought before the Council of Lateran but at length Francis the First who succeeded Lowis transacted with Leo the Tenth upon certain Conditions at Bolonia after the taking of Milan to wit That when a Bishoprick or Abby fell to be vacant the Chapter or Monks should not have the Election but that it should be in the Kings power to name within six Months one to the Pope whom he should think worthy of the Benefice And this amongst other things is what King Henry meant when he spoke of a Remedy by his Ambassadour in Council For the French Kings keep that as a Bit to curb the Popes with when they fall out with them and they urge the pragmatick Sanction especially at this time when the thunder of Rome is no longer so terrible as formerly it hath been and because France is a vast and wealthy Country and without great loss Rome cannot be without some of its Riches Now what he talked of doing at this time he actually did not long after as you shall hear Philip the Fair made use of some Remedy heretofore against Boniface VIII For when this Pope had enjoyned him to make War beyond Sea against the Sarazens and would not hear of any Excuse but discharged him from raising any Money from the Clergy of his Kingdom which he was necessitated to do because of his Wars and unless he did obey put him under Interdict He assembled all the States at Paris and there having complained of the Injuries of Boniface and put the Question to all the Bishops and Princes who made him answer That they held all their Estates and Fortunes of his Bounty and Liberality he commanded That no more Money should be carried to Rome for the future and ordered all the ways and passages to be carefully watched Moreover when the Parliament of Paris reckoned up how much the Money paid by vacant Bishopricks and Abbys amounted to yearly that they said was to be understood of former times that now the Charge was double and exceeded the Yearly Revenues So that some beneficed persons by reason of the extream exaction were forced to pawn their Bulls and leave them in the Bankers hands Now in France there are twelve Archbishopricks Aix Vienne Lions Nârbon Tholouse Bourdeaux Aux Bourges Tours Rowen Rheims and Sens and about ninety six Bishopricks out of the Vacancies whereof there goes a vast deal of Money to Rome and out of the Archbishopricks about threescore Thousand three Hundred Crowns as it was calculated in the time of Louis XII When the Letter was read the Fathers promised to give an answer to it in the next Session but said That they admitted not what was then done but so far as it consisted with Law and that therefore they could give him no Instrument of that Protestation Having afterward appointed the eleventh day of October for the next Session they broke up and departed severally home about two of the Clock in the Afternoon And here it seems proper to give some Description of the form and order of a Publick Session When that day came the Fathers as they love to speak meet in the Legate's Lodgings and from thence to the Cathedral Church there is a Lane of Soldiers made consisting of about four hundred foot besides a Troop of fifty or more Horse At Nine of the Clock the Legate comes out with his Cross-bearer before him and the Cardinal of Trent on his left hand after him come his Collegues and the Electoral Archbishops then the Ambassadors of the Emperour and King Ferdinand by themselves and at last all the other Bishops every one according to his Rank and Quality So soon as they are all come to the Church the Soldiers discharge their Pieces and give them a Voâley then they draw
he shew'd him his Commission as it was usual telling him That he was sent to joynt with the rest of the Augustane Confession in the prosecution of such means and counsels as might tend to the composing of the difference about Religion and Doctrine and the settling of publick Peace and Tranquillity He having taken a Copy of his Commission which he promised to send to the Emperour and spoken much of the Doctrine and of the dignity of the Council as he was indeed a Learned Man and accustomed to the Bar offered his pains and service This was the last of November And the same day the Divines had the Sacrifice of the Mass assigned them as the subject of their Disputations of which they were to give their Opinions in the manner before mentioned We told you a little before that Duke Maurice had sent Ambassadours to the Emperour in behalf of the Landgrave and with them were joyned the Ambassadours with the Elector of Brandeburg Being admitted the to Audience about the beginning of December and having made their Complements in the names of their Princes You know say they most gracious Emperour the streights and difficulties that the most Illustrious Princes Electors Duke Maurice and the Marquess of Brandeburg lye under upon the account of the Landgrave's confinement which contrary to all expectation they have run themselves into whilst they made it their chief study to procure to your Majesty an easie and honourably Victory lessen the charges of War and recover peace and quietness to their common Country And this also hath been the cause why they have solicited your Majesty sometimes by their Ambassadours and sometimes in person that you would have some consideration of them and set him at liberty offering your Majesty at the same time more ample security if that which they Welsfgang Prince Palatine and all the people of Hesse had granted were not thought sufficient To these their demands Sir you made answer telling Christopher Carlebitz and James Schilling whom they sent last to you that you could not conveniently set him at liberty before it appeared what the issue of the Imperial Dyet then at hand would prove And again that you promised no more but that if he performed his Articles he should not be detained perpetual Prisoner But when their other urgent Affairs would not suffer them to come to the Dyet they made fresh Addresses to your Majesty by Letters and their Agents at Ausburg To these you were pleased to write an Answer wherein having told them why you had more reason to be offended with him than before and that you could not discharge him you absolved them from the Obligation wherein they stood bound to the Sons of the Prisoner Wherefore they were resolved to renew their suit to your Majesty and would have come themselves but you know Sir how they were both hindered by the War of Magdeburg and Brandeburg also by Sickness they therefore have employed us to do it in their name And first then when it was your pleasure that the Landgrave should submit to your Majesty without any Conditions they understood from the Bishop of Arras that your intention was that he should accept and observe the Conditions you thought fit to communicate to them Now if he was to be persuaded to render himself up in this manner it was absolutely necessary to make known to him that he should neither be kept Prisoner nor be liable to more than what was contained in the Articles proposed And so the Princes gave him assurance as was well enough known to your Majesties Counsellors Besides when he desired an Explanation of some of the Articles of the Pacification and that he might be dispatched within six days this was granted him by the Bishop of Arras as in most other particulars the Princes obtained what they would And though in this Treaty things were not understood by both parties in the same sense so that upon his coming in contrary to the assurance given by them he was put into custody yet they never accused you Sir upon that account nor debated the Matter with your Majesty seeing they had treated only with your Counsellors and not with you save only then when the Landgrave was upon his Journy and sent them word to come to him to Norimburg For then they came and waited upon your Majesty to acquaint you that they had persuaded him to embrace the Conditions proposed and that they were going a little way to meet him if you pleased to give them leave Beseeching your Majesty that since relying upon their assurances he was now coming no more should be imposed upon him than what was contained in the Articles of Pacification and your Majesty having graciously promised this they then went to Hall and brought him Now in the last Treaty no mention at all was made of Detention and Custody which they think those you imployed can honestly testifie that is the Bishop of Arras with whom alone they treated and Selden whom sometimes he brought with him And indeed the Princes thought that so soon as he had signed the Articles and made his humble submission he should have been dismissed and many Reasons too they had to make them believe so First because your Counsellours made no mention of detention which is the chief clause in that Instrument and doubtless most of all weighed and considered by the Landgrave Again because in the Articles of Peace there are many things which cannot be performed by a Prisoner but only by a free Prince Besides because when he humbly begg'd pardon you forgave him his fault promising to recal the proscription and to give him a publick Remission under the Great Seal Moreover because you ratified and approved the security by them given whereby it is provided that if he perform not his Articles the People should deliver him up Prisoner and his Sureties compel him to Duty by force of Arms. Since all this was to no purpose and superfluous if they had thought that he was to have suffered in his own person Now when no such thing ever entred their thoughts nor was mentioned by your Majesties Counsellors they confidently sent for him obliging themselves to his Son that if any thing else happened to him they would answer body for body for him and undergo the same Fortune as he did This was their mind and thoughts of the whole Matrer which was also confirmed when after the submission the Duke of Alva invited the Landgrave and them to Supper Since indeed they could not so interpret that Invitation and Hospitable Entertainment according to the manner of Princes and the Custom of Germany that he should go to Alva's Lodgings as to a Prison and that they should wait and attend upon him to his Gaol For if they had had but the least suspition of it who can believe that ever they would have done so For as they are Princes of the Empire and Electors too descended of most Illustrious Families
also preached no more after that pretending Sickness April the first Duke Maurice and his Associates besieged Ausburg and three days after took iâ by surrender as shall be related in the following Book April the fifth the Ambassadours of Wirtemberg being sent for came to the House of Don Francisco de Toledo taking with them as they had been enjoyned two Divines Brentius and John Marbach of Strasburg The Ambassadour Poictieres spoke and told them first That the Ambassadours had been very zealous in pursuing the common concern but then that because of the Sickness of the Legate Crescentio neither his Collegues nor the Fathers would act any thing in his absence Lastly that it was not their fault if no progress were made and that they would not omit any thing for the future that might contribute to the furthering of business and of this he made a protestation The others having consulted together made answer That they were very sensible of their Zeal and the diligence they had used but that they had expected something else and a more certain Answer to their Demands to have been communicated to those that sent them But that now since the matter was so they were to take the next course With that the Ambassadours replied That he did not intend by what he said nor was he to be so understood as if there remained no more hopes of acting That it was well done in them and according to Duty to acquaint their Magistrates with the whole state of Affairs Nor did he doubt but that when they should come to hear of all they would both wonder at this delay and cessation and take it ill But that however he pray'd them patiently to bear the tediousness of a few days more That in the mean time they would endeavour that they should have a plain and positive answer To which they made answer That for their sakes they were very willing to do so Next day Messengers and Letters came post haste with the news of Ausburg's being taken and that the Princes were marching streight towards the Alpes to possess themselves of the Passes and stop all the ways Whereupon the Militia was raised all over the Country of Tirol and Soldiers listed with Orders to Muster at Inspruck All the German Bishops were now gone none remained but the Proxies of the Bishops of Spire and Munster when this news was brought the Italian Bishops presently fled for it carrying their Goods by Water down the River Adige So that the Wirtemberg Ambassadours started thereat and seeing that the Council broke up of their own accord they went to the Emperours Ambassadours and acquainted them that they also and the Divines were resolved to return home They seemed much against it at first and told them That until they knew the Emperours pleasure therein they could not consent to it But when they could not prevail they desired to have the reasons of their departure given them in Writing that they might excuse themselves to the Emperour and the Fathers The Ambassadour Poictieres put the question also that if after they were gone the Fathers did proceed to action what would the Divines say To which the Ambassadours having consulted with the Divines said That they would answer it and so April the eighth in the Morning they delivered to them the Writing they required Therein they declared when the Confession of Divines was exhibited wherefore the Divines came How they had in vain solicited till then to have had answer to their demands How to that very day there had been no hopes of any future action That now also a War was broken out so that not only the German Bishops but the Italians also went away and that all the States were so involved in troubles that there was nothing to be expected at present That they did not think it prudent neither to make any progress in the absence of the Roman Bishops That if hereafter that Affair happened to be duely and orderly treated they supposed their Prince would not be wanting That it was the Opinion of the Divines that many Decrees had been made both in this and in the former Council which could not but be found fault with if they were brought under a lawful Examination That if the Fathers should now proceed it was credible that the same course would be taken That nevertheless if perhaps either the Decrees already made should be corrected or that such things should afterwards be decreed as were agreeable to the holy Scriptures they made no doubt but they would be embraced with most willing and obedient Minds That that would be most acceptable to them as had been demonstrated in some places of the Confession exhibited Which Writing they both judged to be pious and would be ready to explain it more fully when occasion called for it That therefore they prayed them to take their departure in good part That they had liberty indeed granted them by the safe conduct to depart thence whensoever they pleased and were not obliged to give any Man a reason for their so doing but that the many civilities they had received from them obliged them not to baulk that small Duty such as it was So then they took their leave and departed in the Afternoon and a few hours after they met upon the rode the Cardinal of Trent coming post from Brixen to his own City who being informed That they belonged to Wirtemberg asked who was Brentius and spoke to him most courteously We said before that the Fathers did nor all look one way The Spanish Bishops indeed seemed the most active and diligent of all Some of the Germans also pretended that there was great need of Reformation But this was the mind of those who all entertained the best thoughts that Ecclesiastical Discipline and Manners should be reformed That Luxury Ambition and Examples of impure and dishonest Lives should be removed that every one should mind his own Cure and that no single person should enjoy more Livings than one Besides they had it in their thoughts as it should seem to confine the Popes Power within certain bounds and not allow his Court so much Authority and Jurisdiction over all Provinces These and some other things they comprehended under the name of Reformation and acknowledging that they belonged properly unto them and required amendment But as to Doctrine they neither owned themselves guilty of any Error nor would they allow that a Council could err and believed that their Adversaries would be at length forced to come over and obey the Council as appeared plainly enough from the French Kings Letter and the form of the safe Conduct It confirmed them in this Hope and Opinion that they thought there were not many Professors of that Doctrine remaining the most part being either dead or banished as it has been said of Schwabia It was the common talk there too that within a few Months all Matters relating to Doctrine would be
and be under an honest Discipline the Glory of God and the Consciences of men being in Safety That of late years a National Council of Germany had been often propos'd as extreamly accommodated to the present state of things but forasmuch as the Name Mode and Form of it was not in his opinion so well known and by use established he therefore would not at present determine any thing concerning it The third way by Conferences and Disputes had been often tried and though hitherto no good fruit had proceeded from thence yet many things might by this means have been discovered and the principal Differences might have been determined if they had been managed with a truly pious Affection and if there had not on both sides been too great an Attachment to their private Interest which Affirmation he nevertheless desired might not be extended to the injury of any man. That therefore this way was to be further considered And although the faithful Council and Design of the Emperor was some years since misunderstood and so became ungrateful to both the Parties yet if they thought so fit he did still think that way might be useful if the contending Parties would act sincerely and if they would lay aside their Passions and discharge all Obstinacy and seek nothing but the Glory of God and the Salvation of Men that then he would assist them in it with fidelity and industry That for the present he could not bethink him of any other convenient and useful Way But that if they could find out any one that was more fit and easie they should have his good leave to produce it The next Thing to be considered of as he said was the Peace of the Empire That the Emperor and they too thought That the Measures they had then taken for the preservation of the Publick Peace had been such as would certainly have had a good effect but then since the Event has shewed them all that they were mistaken in this because they had agreed that Rebels and Seditious Persons should not be condemned or outlawed till they had first been cited and convicted according to the Forms of Justice which in the interim gave them time and opportunity of ruining many innocent men It was also then Agreed That if any Force were employ'd against any man his Neighbors should assist and defend him But then you are now abundantly convinc'd what variety of Impediments may intervene to hinder this That therefore they should deliberate and seriously consider how these two Heads of the Laws may be amended That unquiet men might be kept in Aw and that those who were faithful to the Empire might be well assured that they should not fail of Assistance in time of need That this might now be dispatched with so much the greater ease because the Foundations of such a Regulation had been laid by the late Conventions at Worms and Franckfurt and they should do well to prosecute the Consultation which had been begun there and bring it to a good end He desired also that they would consider of the constituting the Publick Justice of the Publick Contributions of the Money and all other things relating to the Government That they should direct all their Thoughts to the finding out ways for the total abolishing their intestine Evils Contentions Riots Seditions and unjust Force and Violence That in all these Deliberations they should in the first place consider the State of the Empire and reflect upon the great Danger which now threatned Germany not only from the devouring Turk but also from some nearer Enemies who sought the Ruine of the Empire as much as the Turks did That therefore they should deeply consider what great Advantages their Enemies took of these Offences and Civil Broyls which they craftily stirr'd up and nourished that in this division of the States they in the Interim might do their Wills and when time served they might with great Forces fall upon the Empire and enslave it to them That the Neighbour-Nations which had been thus conquered and circumvented by them ought to be a Caution to Germany and excite in it a mighty care to pursue those Counsels by which the Tempest and Ruine which now hung over her Head and threatned her might be averted That the Authority and Strength of the Empire might be preserved and that all external Force might be no less valiantly resisted now than heretofore That whatever Help or Counsel the Emperor or He were able to contribute they should not fail of doing it with all willingness and in such manner too that all men should from thence understand how greatly they loved their Country and of this he desired they would rest certainly assured When this Speech of King Ferdinand's came once to be spred over Germany it was attended with a Report That he had banished about 200 Ministers out of Bohemia and it was also said That the Cardinal of Moron would be sent from Rome to this Diet who was to try if he could not make Germany follow the Example of England and do what Pool had already done for that the Pope and all his Patry was thought to have been so exalted by the reduction of England that they had thereupon entertain'd vast but deluding Hopes For because the Thing went as they desired therefore they concluded That God was now appeased and was become the Defender of their most just Cause and that their Church could not be convinced of any Error for thus at this time they boasted more than they were wont And when they send any Legates into Germany at any time they do it not to confess any Offence they have committed but as they pretend that they may heal the Infirmities of men About the End of February Albert Duke of Mecklenburg whom we have mentioned above as an Ally to Maurice Duke of Saxony and whom Henry Duke of Brunswick the last year whilst he carried the War into Saxony very much afflicted married the Daughter of Albert Duke of Prussia About this time also I received an Account out of England That Bradford whom I have mentioned above to be condemned was kept a Prisoner anâ that the Minds of many were much astonished and stupified with the Constancy of those who had Sacrificed their Lives Bradford was burnt in July following The End of the Twenty Fifth Book THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XXVI The CONTENTS England submits to the Church of Rome The Castle of Blaffeburg taken and levelled with the Earth Augustus Elector of Saxony excuseth his not coming to the Diet. The Prince of Saxony writes to the Emperor Cardinal Pool endeavours to make a Peace between the Emperor and the King of France The Emperor writes to the States of the Empire The Turk besiegeth Piombino a Town in Italy The Town of Vulpiano destroyed by the French. The Parliament of Paris answereth the King's Edict against the Lutherans A Controversy about the County of Catzenellobogen Charles
Holy Tribunal and here he shewed a very great severity bringing not only Men suspected of Heresie but of some other Crimes within their Jurisdiction Then commanding all Monks and Nuns to their several Houses he Imprison'd some and sent others to the Gallies for not presently obeying him His Rigour was so great in this last that many left his State and went and setled in the State of Venice He spent Fifty thousand Crowns in Corn to relieve the Poor in a time of Scarcity and setled Bishops at Malacha and Cochin two Cities belonging to the Portuguese in the East-Indies and made the Bishop of Goa an Archbishop exempting him from the Jurisdiction of the Bishoprick of Lisbon He also erected many new Sees in the Low-Countries at the request of Philip King of Spain to the Diminution of the Jurisdiction and Diocesses of many French and German Bishops These Sees were setled at Mechlen Antwerp Harlem Daventrie Leewarden Groningen Midleburg Bosleduc Namur St. Omers Ipress Gant and Bruges and were put under the Archbishops of Cambray Mechlin and Vtrecht This change gave great offence to the Low-Countries who esteem'd itrather an Inslaving than an Honouring of their Country to have so many New Sees setled among them and the more because among other Reasons assigned by the Pope one was That these Countries were on all sides encompass'd with Nations which had cast off the See of Rome so that the Salvation of the Souls of this People was much endanger'd by Schism which rendred this Settlement hateful to all those who favour'd the Reformation so that this was one of the principal Causes of the War which followed which in the end proved fatal to many of these New Bishopricks In the interim this Consideration had that effect upon the Spirit of King Philip that it greatly disposed him above all others to enter into a Treaty of Peace with France He saw that not only the Licence which attended a War but the vast number of Germans which he was forced to employ by their conversing with his Subjects in the Netherlands begat in them a good Opinion of Luther and the Reformation Henry II of France imprudently communicated to William of Nassaw Prince of Orange when he was Embassador for Philip in France when they were one day Hunting together That King Philip and he had agreed first to extirpate all the Sects which were then rising in the Netherlands and after that they would joyn their Arms and do the like in all other places which being discovered by that Prince to the Netherlanders they entred into Consultation for the preserving themselves from the Pride of the Spanish Government and made those insolent Demands of King Philp when he was going into Spain This Counsel was then generally attributed to the Cardinal of Lorain and Perrenot Bishop of Arras and all concluded That under the pretence of suppressing Heresie King Philip and Henry of France had laid a Design of Ruining the Civil Liberties of France and the Netherlands When the Commissioners met for the concluding the Treaty of Peace between these Princes they found themselves delivered from one difficulty the Restitution of Calais by the Death of Queen Mary of England but then Thionville Verdun and Toul three Imperial Cities had been taken in this War by the French and King Philip thought he was bound in Honour and by his Interest too to see them restored to the Empire and yet he saw the French were as well resolved to keep them Nor was indeed his Interest in the Restitution so great as that of the French was to keep them he having very effectually provided for his own Security and Benefit by the gaining other Places Hereupon these Princes by mutual consent sent Embassadors to the Dyet of Germany began this Year the Twenty fifth of February at Ausburg The first thing that was done in them was the celebrating the Funeral of Charles V with great Solemnity His Encomium was pronounced by Lewis Madruse then Bishop of Trent the afterwards a Cardinal After this Ceremony an Account was given of the Conference at Wormes for the Reconciling the Differences of Religion and there appearing no hope of an Accommdation Ferdinand the Emperor promised he would take care to have the General Council renewed and that all should obey its Decrees and Determinations But the Deputies of the Duke of Saxony and of several other Princes of the Empire opposed this affriming that there being no hopes of restoring the Peace of the Church by a Popish Council the Edicts of Passaw and Ansburg were religiously to be observed But the Emperor persisting in his former Opinion they said they were not against a Free and General Council in Germany so be it were legally assembled by the Emperor and not by the Pope and in which the Pope should appear as a Party subject to the Council and not as President and Judge of all others and provided the Bishops and Clergy might be freed from the Oath they had taken to the Pope that they might freely speak their Thoughts That the sacred Scriptures might be the only Rule by which they should judge and determin these Controversies rejecting all humane Traditions and Customs that were contrary to the Word of God If the Divines who had embraced the Augustane Confession might not only be heard but admitted to give their votes in the Decision of these Controversies and have good Security given them for their going thither and that they should enjoy the Liberty granted them by the Decree of Ausburg without any fraud or violence That the Points in Dispute should not be determin'd as is usual in Civil Affairs by the plurality of Votes but by the Rule and Prescription of the Word of God That in the first place the Decrees of the Council of Trent already made should be cancell'd as vitious and not legally assembled and that these things should be debated a new And lastly That if these things could not be obtain'd of the Pope the Emperor should maintain the Peace of Religion and the Edict of Passaw These were the Conditions the Protestants proposed for the holding of a Council The Emperor who despaired of reconciling the differences of Religion on these Terms and having no other way left him for preserving the Peace of Germany Confirm'd the Peace of Passaw After this they took into Consideration the Reduction of the Monies of Germany to their ancient value and purity and heard the Complaints of William of Furstemberg Great Master of the Knights of Livonia who obtain'd a Grant of an Hundred thousand Crowns for the Levying of an Army for their Protection against the Russ But this Sum seeming less than the necessity of their Affaris and of the Times required the Livonians neglected it and betook themselves to the Protection of Sigismund Augustus King of Poland to whom they assign'd Nine of their strongest Places upon condition that they might at any time redeem them by
the publick Inns That they should deliver in all the Books written or printed by David George and not keep any by them in the Dutch Tongue and that they should send their Children to the School of Basil to be instructed That they should pay a Pecuniary Mulct if required and that they their Wives and Children should appear in the Church and make Profession of the True Faith and-Renounce that of David George Two days after his Body was sentenc'd to be taken up and burnt together with his Books and Effigies by the Hands of the Common Hang-man in the place where they usally executed Malefactors and all his Goods they sez'd to the Publick Treasure adding That if any Person presum'd to blame this their Decree he should be liable to the same Punishment His Body was found very perfect so that it might be known by his yellow Bâard from another Man's though he had been buried two Years and six Months and was accordingly burnt in a vast concourse of Men. In the beginning of February the Ambassadours met again at the Castle of Cambray to conclude the Treaty which was broke up upon the Death of Mary Queen of England Queen Elizabeth who succeeded her Sister Mary a Princes of a Masculine Soul and of a Prudence above her Sex fearing if she relied upon the Spaniard she might either be deserted or dishonoured by his Protection had in the mean time made a separate Peace with France After which she changed the Religion of England in her first Parliament abolishing all the Laws made by her Sister Mary and reviving those made by her Brother Edward VI and rejecting all Obedience to the Pope of Rome This Peace with France did much facilitate the Treaty of Cambray In which among other things these Princes promised to do their utmost that a General Council should be held as soon as was possible to the Glory of God and the pacifying Men's Consciences This last Clause by the perverse Counsels of these Princes in a short time raised a War in the Low-Countries and France which was more lasting and more fatal than any former Wars This Treaty was signed at Cambray April 3. These two Kings having thus regained their Peace and disburthened themselves of the Cares which the War brought upon them they betook themselves solely to the Care of Religion which in France had been under consideration the two foregoing Years and was then omitted on account of the War and Treaty but was now reassumed in the heat of a Marriage-Feast There was one Diana Dutchess of Valentinois a Court-Lady and one of the King's Mistresses who used to beg the Estates of all such as suffered for any Crime And the Duke of Guise who were the Promoters of this Persecution the latter aiming at nothing but Popular Applause These two insinuated this Belief into the King That the Venome of Heresie was much spread in France and that in truth he was not King of those Provinces in which that prevailed That the Impudence of those who imbraced it was so great that they did not whisper it as heretofore in the Ear but preached it openly and boldly throughout the Kingdom by which the name of God was blasphemed and his Majesties Royal Authority was endangered for when the Law of God was once confounded who can Question say they but that all Human Laws will soon be subverted And that they might the more easily prevail they employed Giles Maistre president of the Parliament Jean de S. Andre Anthony Minart and Giles Bourdin the King's Attorney and principally the first of these who was a Man of a fierce Disposition and Temper to incense the King's Mind against the Sectaries he being no way inclined to such Severities To this end they tell him That there would little be gained by the Peace of a more cruel War was fomented and carried on at Home For that the Disease had already got such Strength that if his Majesty dissembled a little longer the Sword of the Magistrate and the Laws of the Land would not be able to suppress it but he must levy Armies and himself take the Field against them as had been done in the case of the Albingenses That what had hitherto been done had not had its desired effect because all the severity had been spent upon the populace and the mean people the hatred and detestation of which had affected all Men but very few had taken example by it That now it was fit to begin with the Judges many of which had imbraced their Doctrin secretly or favoured them on other accounts and by their connivance nourished the Distemper suffering this Offence either to go unpunished or very lightly corrected This they said was the very Root of the Evil and that all labour was in vain tâll it were pulled up Not long after this the King was prevailed upon to come into the Parliament in Person whilst the Members were debating about the Punishment of the Sectaries June 14. He seemed rather to labour to conceal his Anger than to have come with a calm Mind Among other things he told the Parliament That having made a Peace he hoped it would turn to the general Good but he was much concerned that the business of Religion which was one of the principal Cares of a good Prince had been during the War tumultuously and seditiously treated by some That therefore he desired for the future more care might be taken of the Christian Religion And because he heard that affair was this Day to be debated by them he was come thither and he admonished them to proceed in it with Freedom saying It was God's Cause who knew all our Hearts and Thoughts Tho' the Members of the Parliament knew the King was brought thither to deprive them of their Liberty yet there were some who resolved to retain their ancient Freedom at the price of their Lives and having declaimed against the Manners of the Court of Rome and its ill Customes which had degenerated into most pernicious Errors and given occasion to the rise of many Sects they thence inferred That the Penalties of Heresie were to be mitigated and the Severities of the Law abated till the differences of Religion were composed by the Authority of a General Council and the Discipline of the Church reformed And this was the Opinion of all the good Men in the Parliament Arnold du Ferrier President of the Criminal Court an honest and a wise Person and the best Lawyer in France was the first who proposed this Method and was followed by many others among which was Lewis du Faur a Man of great Sense and of a generous Temper who added That all were agreed that the Differences in Religion had occasioned great Disturbances but then said he we ought carefully to enquire Who caused these Disorders lest as Elijah answered Ahab when he reproached him as the Troubler of Israel it might be said to us It is thou that hast
many thousand Souls perish which God without doubt would require at his Hands But if said he a General Council cannot be had the King ought to follow the Examples of Charles the Great and S. Lewis his Ancestors and call a National Council of France commanding the Teachers of the Sectaries to be present in it and to enter into Conference with the Divines concerning the Points in Controversie c. That the Sectaries were worthy of Blame for their Rebellion and the Roman Catholicks for having been too Bloody and Cruel in the Prosecution of them which had only served to irritate the Minds of Men and make them enquire more greedily into the Opinions of those they saw suffer so patiently That the ancient Fathers imployed no other Arms against the Arians Macedonians and Nestorians but the Word of God and the Princes then did only banish Hereticks The Archbishop of Vienne represented the great Difficulties that hindred the obtaining a General Council For said he there is none of us who doth not know what great pains Charles V took to procure a General Council and what Arts and Stratagems the Poples imployed to defeat that commendable hope this pious Prince had entertained The Disease is of too acute a Nature to attend long Delays which are very uncertain and therefore the best way was to call a National Council which the King had already promised and the urgent Necessities of the Church would not suffer him to delay any longer Having shewn how this had been constantly practised from the Times of Clovis to Charles the Great and so downward to the times of Charles VIII He concluded That the Necessity being Great they ought to delay no longer nor to regard the Oppositions the Pope would make against this Method For the appeasing the Civil Dissentions of France he advised the calling an Assembly of the three Estates The third day Coligni discoursed of the Petition he had presented and being asked why it was not subscribed He said There was above fifty thousand Men in the Nation ready to subscribe it Concluding That there was nothing more calamitous than for a Prince to fear his Subjects And they to be at the same time afraid of him That the House of God the Church was to be forthwith reformed the Army to be dishanded and an Assembly of the three Estates called as soon as might be The Cardinal of Lorrain was so inraged with Coligni's Speech that he made a sudden reply to it That the whole scope of ill Men was to deprive the King of his military Guards that they might the more easily oppress him That the late Conspiracy was against the King and not against his Ministers as was pretended That as to what concerned Religion he would submit to Learned Men But then he protested That no Councils should be of that Authority with him as to depart in any thing from the Customs of his Ancestors and especially in the most sacred Mystery of the Lord's Supper And as to an Assembly of the States he submitted that intirely to the King. He concluded The Sectaries were a Seditious Proud sort of Men and that the Gospel and Faith of Christ was made an occasion of Tumults and Seditions by them and therefore they were to be severely prosecuted Yet he was for mitigating the Severity of the Laws towards such as met peaceably without Arms who were to be reduced to their Duty by more gentle Methods more than by Force To which purpose he would freely spend his Life That the Bishops and Curates should by their presence redeem the Time they had lost and the Governours of the Provinces be forced to do their Duties But then since there was nothing under Debate but want of Discipline and Corruption of Manners it seemed very unnecessary that either a General or a National Council should be called The free Confession of this Cardinal is the Opinion of the whole Party and though the name of a General Council makes a great noise yet we very well know how they have treated the ancientest and best Councils when they have in any thing crossed their Humors or Interests and from thence may conclude They will never submit to any that shall not be conformable to their Wills. The twenty sixth of August a Decree was past that an Assembly of the three Estates should meet before the tenth of December in the City of Meaux And that if a General Council could not be had a National Council should be assembled And in the mean time all Severities in matters of Religion should be omitted Thus saith Thuanus my Author the Protestant Religion which before was so much hated began by degrees to grow up and get Strength with the tacit Consent of its greatest Enemies Thus ended the Assembly of the Princes and Notable Men of France About this time Ferrieres Maligni one of the Conspirators of Amboise escaping out of Prison had a Design to surprize Lyons and had formed so great a Party in the Town as might have done it but remitting the execution of his Project to a more convenient time by order of the King of Navarr the thing was discovered and many of his Partizans taken but yet such was the constancy of the Party that though many were tortured yet nothing could be found out to prove the King of Navarr or Prince of Conde concerned in this Attempt Yet were they invited to Court by the King to purge themselves of the Suspicion upon a Promise they should receive no Injury But this they wisely refused as not Reasonable This and several other such alarms procured an Edict That no Prince or other person of what condition soever should provide Money Soldiers Arms or Horses and if any Person did otherwise it should be taken for High-Treason The Cardinal of Bourbon was also imployed to bring the Princes of his Family to Court by passing his Faith to them That nothing should be done against them The three Estates in the interim meeting at Meaux were from thence adjourned to Orleans and the Marshal de Thermes was sent to Poictiers with two hundred Horse to watch the Motions of the King of Navar if he came to the Assembly The Protestants in France having obtained a little respite from the Pressures of the Persecution by the late Edicts encreased and there were great Assemblies of them in all Parts of the Kingdom especially in Dauphine At Valence which was an University much celebrated for the Study of the Law the fear of the Laws being now removed there succeeded in its stead a lawless Boldness and Petulance so that some of the Young Students forcibly seized the Franciscan's Church for the holding their Assemblies At Montelimard they had also their Publick Sermons and at Romans And which was yet more insufferable they met armed and were very injurious and rude to the Roman Catholick Which as to Valence was soon after revenged with equal Cruelty and perfidy by one Maugiron who
was by the late King's Order and would explain the Mystery no further About twelve Days after he went to the Castle of Hane in Picardy and there attended the Orders of the new King. Francis the Second was buried with small State and less Expence to the great hatred of the Guises who in the mean time were very busie to revive the Differences between Queen Catharine and the King of Navarr who wisely prevented their Design by offering the first Place to the Queen and reserving the second to himself as President of the Kingdom This passed into a Decree the twenty first of December The Protestant Religion which had got such footing in France that it seemed not possible to root it out without the Ruine of that Kingdom began this Year to shew it self more openly in Flanders and the Netherlands the Nobility espousing it in great numbers together with the rest of the States Nor could Margaret their Governess under King Philip obtain the continuance of the Taxes for the maintenance of the Spanish Forces Nor would they of Zealand acquiesce tho the Pay was sent from other Places till these Troops were sent into Spain Nor would they grant any Supplies to be disposed of by the Governess but reserved that to themselves that the Soldiers in the Frontier Towns might be certainly and regularly paid This was vigorously opposed by the new Bishops instituted by Paul IV as tending to the remitting the Reins of the Ecclesiastical Government as well as the Civil Bartholomeo Caranza Archbishop of Toledo in Spain was also suspected to incline to the Protestant Religion and on that account was imprisoned by the Inquisition and his Revenues were brought into the King's Treasure By an Appeal to Rome he saved his Life but was never able to recover his See again but died many Years after at Rome in a Private State. Thuanus saith He knew him and that his Learning Integrity and the Holiness of his Conversation was such as made him worthy of that Dignity The great Progress of the Protestant Religion in all Places made all Good Men saith Thuanus desire that the General Council which had been intermitted might be reassumed and carried on but Pope Pius IV had the same Fears of it his Predecessors had lest his own Power should be abated And therefore though he judged this the only means to root out Heresies and very necessary yet he delayed it and unless he were compelled by Force or some present Danger it was apparent he would never admit it But having resolved on the other side right or wrong by Force or Fraud to accomplish his own Desires and hoping to reap great Advantages from the Ruine of the Caraffa's though he had been much assisted by them in the obtaining of the Papacy he applied himself to this with great Application and Industry and under the Mask of Friendship And having laid his Plot he committed Charles Caraffa the Cardinal and his Kinsman the Cardinal of Naples to the Castle of S. Angelo But Anthony Marquess de Monte Bello being then not at Rome though cited also escaped the Danger and fled for his Life Though daily Accounts came to Rome of the Tumults and Disorders of France the Pope took no notice of them Though the Duke of Florence who was great with him for he pretended to be descended of that Family did very much urge his Holiness to consider the State of Affairs in France and Scotland And told him It was Uncharitable to see so many thousands of Souls Lost and Impolitick to necessitate Princes by the despair of a General Council to betake themselves to National Synods This was much inforced by the Noise the Speech of the Chancellor of France had made in the late Assembly which was then very hot in Italy He had among other things assured the French Clergy That if the Pope would not hold a General there should very speedily be a National Council assembled in France and had exhorted all the Bishops to prepare themselves for it To this the Pope answered with great anxiety seeking Pretences of Delay and pretending he was going to Ancona and that by the way he would speak with the Duke of Florence who was a wise Prince and his Kinsman and regulate that Affair by his Advice Cosââus Duke of Florence perceiving that this Journey of the Pope to Ancona was a Sham and being invited by the Pope to Rome resolved to go thither to promote this and some other Private Business he had with the Pope Before this King Philip having heard of the National Council designed in France had sent Anthony de Toledo to advise the King and Council in this and lay before them the inevitable Danger of a Schism which would follow upon it On the other side Ferdinand the Emperour insisted That seeing the Council was begun on the account of the Germans it should be renewed in Germany and all that was already determined should be re-debated anew Others thought it reasonable That seeing the French were now equally concerned with the Germans the Council should be assembled in some City in the Confines of France and the Empire as at Constance or if the Germans would agree to it at Besanzon The Pope was rather inclined to have it at Trent or rather to bring it deeper into Italy and had some Thoughts of Vercelli a City in the Borders of France though he could not yet resolve certainly to hold it any where for he good Man was more desirous that Geneva which had much infected France and Germany should be reduced by a War than that the Controversies of Religion should be committed to the peaceable Determination of a Council And to that end he had persuaded the Duke of Savoy to make a War upon the Vaudois his Subjects Whilst the Pope was in this incertainty in October the Duke of Florence came to Rome and persuaded the Pope by his Arguments to resolve on the calling of a Council the next Year that he might provide a General Remedy for a General Disease He shewed him That there was no Danger such a Council would pass any severe Sentence on the Manners and Abuses of the Court of Rome And that it was fit he should desire the Discipline and Corrupt Manners of the Church of Rome should be reformed That he ought sincerely to promote it and cause select Divines to be assembled out of all Christian Kingdoms and to hear them favourably that so the Peace of Christendom might be restored which was now torn in Pieces by Diversity of Opinions About the same time the Death of Francis II the Advancement of the King of Navarr and the great Kindness Queen Catharine on his account shewed to the Protestants very much terrified the Pope and compelled him to entertain the Thoughts of a Council in good earnest which till then had been talked of with no great sincerity The Pope thereupon sent Lawrence Lenzi Bishop of Firmo
her Heart she had a kindness for the Protestant Party and that underhand she and Navarre had one and the same design And thereupon he deserted her and joyned with the Guises his till then Mortal Enemies the Duchess de Valentois procuring the Reconciliation Magdalen of Savoy Wife to Montmorency was also an implacable enemy to the Reformation and hated Coligni the Admiral for that and other causes and therefore she perpetually stimulated him against the Protestants Francis Montmorency Son of the Constable was a person of great Prudence and he wisely advised his Father not to lose the least of his friends in so necessary a time for he foresaw a Tempest would arise in France of what Religion soever they were that it did not become a wise Man to endeavour to gain new friends with the loss of his old ones and to prefer the uncertain friendship of reconciled enemies before the tried affections of his old Acquaintances That if he rejected Conde Coligni and Rochefoucault on the Account of Religion he would deprive his Family of the assistance of three great Men and perhaps the Queen would think never the better of him therefore his advice to his Father was to sit still and let Coligni and the Guises fight it out without taking part on either side and in all probability Guise would be worsted and he would become the Arbitrator of the two contending Religions And in the mean time it was most certain there were many great Errors by length of time crept into the Church which he ought not to defend because they were injurious to the Majesty of God. The good old Gentleman was much moved at this Advice from his Son but made no other answer to it than That he certainly knew that if the Religion were changed the Civil Government would be changed too That he cared not what became of him if his little Masters did well and the Actions of Henry II. might not be called in question who was a wise Prince and his good Master So he perished in his first resolves believing he was obliged to defend the Cause of Religion against his best and most ancient and tried friends The Pope seeing his Jurisdiction and Authority decline so fast in Germany England and France greedily embraced a pretended Overture made by one Abraham a Syrian Impostor who pretended he was sent by the Cophthites an Eastern Sect of Christians to make a submission to the Holy See whereupon he sent Christopher Roderick and John Baptista Elianus two Jesuits to them who gained nothing by this Mission but an exact Account of the Opinions of these Cophthites and a certainty of the Frauds of this pretended Ambassador Abraham who had feign'd this Mission to the Pope for his own Ends. This Mortification was soon after attended by another not less afflictive to his Holiness for Gothard Ketler Master of the Teutonick Order in Libonia intirely submitted to Sigismond King of Poland which put an end to that Order when it had flourished there 357 years He was thereupon made Duke of Gurland and Semigallen and Governor of Livonia and Marrying a Wise withdrew himself and his Subjects from the See of Rome The Archbishoprick of Riga was also about the same time changed into a Dukedom John Kothewick the last Archbishop of that See embracing the Augustane Confession put himself under the Protection of the Crown of Poland and was by Sigismond made Duke of Lithuania This Archbishoprick was founded in the year 1215 by the procurement of the Knights of the Teutonick Order the City being then and a long time after the Seat of the Master of it who divided the Sovereignty and Administration of Justice with the Archbishop After this short Digression which the Reader is desired to Pardon I shall now return to the prosecution of the French Affairs The new Friendship between Montmorency and the Guises was a very frightful thing to the Queen Regent who sought all the way she could possible to divide their Affections for the preserving her own Authority and therefore she was very Anxioâsly inquisitive to find whether this new Kindness between two such Ancient Enemies tended The Prince of Conde in the mean time was declared Innocent by the Parliament of Paris the Thirteenth of June and his Discharge Recorded The Differences in Religion not only disquieted the Court but the Provinces also the two Parties reproaching each other with the Names Papist and Huguenot There were frequent Tumults raised also by the Roman Cabolicks to shew that Coligni was out when he said The Protestant Religion might be divulged throughout all the Provinces without any Disturbance And at Amiens and Pont-Oise things came to a Sedition the Catholick Artificers beginning the Quarrel and falling upon some of the Houses of some of the Protestants and they slew one Hadrian Fourre a Priest because he was reported to savour the Reformation and afterwards burnt his Body publickly for which only two were hanged This necessitated the Council to forbid all Reviling Expressions and all Tumults on the Accounts of Religion And by it all that had been banished for Religion in the Reign of Francis II. were invited to return and promised they should enjoy their Goods and Estates if they would live like good Catholicks for the future or otherwise might sell them and retire elsewhere which was after opposed by the Parliament at Paris but yet many returned on that account and many that were in Prison were discharged so that the Protestant Party appeared numerous The Cardinal of Lorrain was Alarm'd at this and represented to the King and Queen That the whole Kingdom was fill'd with Conventicles That the meaner sort ran to the Sermons out of curiosity and were easily corrupted That the Ancient Ceremonies were little frequented or regarded and that they were already derided and scorn'd by many That great numbers every day forsook the Church and went over to the Protestants So he would needs have had a new Edict forthwith published to prevent these Inconveniences This being Debated in the Council in the Month of July there was another Edict published That all should live peaceably and without any furry each to other or reproaching one the other That there be no Listing or Inrolling Men on either side That the Preachers should use no Seditious or Turbulent Expressions upon pain of Death and the Presidents of the Provâces should determine of these Affairs and execute the Ediât That no Sermons should be frequented by Men Armed or Unarmed in publick or in private nor any Sacraments Administred but according to the Rites of the Church of Rome And That if any Man was Convicted of Heresie and delivered to the Secular Power he should only be Banished and this was to stand till a General or a National Council should determine otherwise This was called the Edict of July The Cardinal of Lorrain had so good an opinion of his own Abilities that he was
fondly perswaded he could confute all the Doctrines of the Protestants out of the Fathers and thereby acquire a great Reputation to himself if he could procure à Conference with their Pastors It was therefore resolved that there should be a Meeting for that purpose at Poissy near St. Germain the Tenth of August and that Pasports should be granted to their Ministers which were to come thither on that account All of both sides being invited thither at the same time The Queen Regent was very much for this Disputation but the greatest part of the Roman Catholicks were against it as thinking it a dangerous thing to suffer the Doctrine which had hitherto been received to be brought under debate and the Religion of their Ancestors to be disputed In the Interim Mary Queen of the Scots left France and return'd into Scotland the Cardinal of Lorrain attending her as far as Calais There was also a Theatrical Reconciliation between the Prince of Conde and the Duke of Guise by the Order of the King the later protesting That he had no hand in the Imprisonment of the Prince and the Prince telling Guise That the Adviser and Procurer of his Commitment was a Wicked Man and a Villain To which Guise Answered That he believed so too but was not concern'd in it After which by the King's Command they embraced each other as Kinsmen and Friends and promised a firm and sincere Friendship each to other and there was great Rejoycing in the Court. The Assembly of the States was Prorogued last year till May of this and then was on the account of the great Affairs prorogued to August and Appointed to be opened at Pont-Oyse In this Assembly the Agreement between the Queen Regent and the King of Navar was Confirm'd by the three Estates which was very difficultly obtain'd by the later This Assembly was opened at St. Germain where James Breâagne d Autum who spoke for the Commons declaiming sharply against the Ignorance of the Priests and the Corrupt Manners and Depraved Discipline of the Clergy so that they were unfit to Lead or Instruct the People but rather disgusted and displeased them doing all things for Hire and nothing as their Duty enslaving themselves to Pleasures and wallowing in Luxury and Idleness To this he assigned the Calamities which at present oppress'd France He therefore moved the King to take away all their Jurisdiction that he should employ their over-great Riches to Pious Uses and call a National Council which was the only present and certain Cure of those Evils That free Pasports should be given to all that would come to it and that the King or some of the Princes of the Blood should preside in it whilst Business of Religion was debated That the late Decree against Conventicles should be no prejudice to those of the Reformed Religion who rejected the Ceremonies of the Church of Rome nor any Presription as to length of time which could not make what in it self was false true and the Business of Religion was to be quietly and friendly debated according to the Word of God and not with the Sword and Reproaches He that spoke for the Nobility excused the Clergy and desired the King to preserve their Priviledges and Dignities But then he moved to have the greatest part of the Church Lands sold to pay the Debts of the Crown pretending that a third part of the Purchase Money put out to Use would be as good to them as the whole Land. That the Edict of July might be recall'd and only multiplicity of Sects and ill Language under the pretence of Liberty prohibited That a National Council might be call'd in which the King should preside That all Jurisdictions should be taken from the Church and annexed to the Crown There were also many other things demanded in this Assembly which tended to the Ruine of the Clergy the Papal Authority growing into Contempt and the greatest part either out of a desire to promote Piety or of Love to Novelty favouring the Protestant Party and daily increasing their numbers by joyning with them The Clergy to prevent this Storm wisely gave the King four Tenths for six years which very much appeased the King and the Principal Courtiers towards them The Queen by the Advice of Monluc Bishop of Valence wrote about this time a long Letter to the Pope dated the 5th of August In which stating the dangers which attended the differences in Religion she exhorted him to provide speedy Remedies because they were become so numerous that they could no longer be suppressed by the Sword that many of the Principal Nobility and Magistrates embraced that way and had drawn over such Numbers and so united them that they were become sormidable to the State yet by the Rare Blessing of Heaven they had no Anabaptists Libertines c. none that denied the Apostles Creed or the Interpretation of it received in the Seven General Councils That therefore most were of opinion that notwithstanding these differences they ought to be received into the Communion of the Church which would end in the Peace of the Church That the use of Images which was forbidden by God and as to Adoration disproved by St. Gregory ought to be taken away That Exorcisms and some of the Prayers used in Baptism might be omitted The Lords Supper Administred to all the Laity in both Kinds and the Decree of the Council of Constance ought not to be preferred before the Command of God That the Prayers might be used in the Vulgar Tongue and all that would Communicate might do so the first Sunday of every Month That the Psalms might be sung in the French Tongue A Publick Confession of Sins Prayers for the Prince the Magistrates Clergy Good Weather Fruitful Seasons and all Affliction might be in the same Tongue That the late invented Feast of the Holy Sacrament might be abolished it being unnecessary and the cause of great Scandal and Offence and that this Mystery was Instituted for a Spiritual Worship and not for Shew and Pomp That the use of the Latine Tongue which was foreign and unknown was a great fault the Prayers of the Church belonging not only to the Clergy but to all but as now it stands Who can say Amen to a Prayer in a Language he knows not That if yet the Latine must be used it were fit an Interpretation should be made of the Prayers in the Vulgar Tongue That the Receiving of the Priest in the Sacrifice of the Mass the People only looking Idely on is contrary to the Institution That the Psalms ought to be in the Vulgar Tongue and also the Private Prayers of the People That these things might be granted without derogating from the Papal Authority The Pope was infinitely offended with this Letter and the more because of the same of a National Council shortly to be holden in France but then he dissembled his Resentment and became the more sincere in the Assembling a General
Council which he had rather promised than desigued before The Conference was to be begun the First of August at Poissy and the Bishops and Divines were already arrived there and had entered into a Debate what Points were to be Disputed where they spent the time to no great purpose disputing amongst themselves concering the Office of a Bishop the Dignity of Cathedral Churches of Colleges and their Exemptions of the Ordination of Curates and Priests concerning allowing them Competent Pensions abating their number reforming the Discipline of the Monasteries of Commendam's and Benesices of cutting off the Pleasures and Luxuries of the Clergy and of Censures And they thought the Answering such like Queries was of great use to the Church in these confused times There appeared for the Protestants Augustin Marlorat Francis de S. Pol Jean Remond Merlin J. Malo Francis de Mureaux N. Tobie Theodore Beza Claud Brisson J. Bouquin J. Viret J. de la Tour Nich. de Crallas and John De l'Espine who abjuring the Dominican Order did then first openly prosess the Protestant Religion Soon after Peter Martyr came to Zurich These Asked four things 1st That the Bishops should be Parties and not Judge 2d That the King and Council should Preside 3d. That all things might be determin'd only by the Word of God 4th That whatever was agreed should be set down by Notaries The Queen yielded all these but would have one of the Secretaries of State be the only Notary and she would not consent that the King should Preside in the Conference The Cardinal of Lorraine had before objected against Beza That he should say that Christ was no more present in the Sacrament than in a Muddy Ditch This Expression is said to have been urged by Melanchthon against Oecolampadius as the Consequence of his Doctrine and was by a mistake of the Cardinal wrongfully charged on Beza who denied and detested it as Blasphemous The First of September the Conference began the King the Queen his Younger Brother and Sister and about Eleven Bishops being present and the Cardinals of Bourbon Tournon Chastillon Lorrain Armagnac and Guise The King opened it with a short Speech which was seconded by the Chancellor with a longer In which he preferr'd a National Council before a General and shewed that the Errours of many General Councils had been corrected by National Synods particularly the Arrian General Council of Ariminium was condemn'd by a Private Council held by St. Hillary Bishop of Poictiers and banished out of France He said they neithe needed much Learning nor many Books the Bible alone being sufficient by which Religion was to be Tried and Examined That the Protestants were their Brethren and to be treated as such if out of Ambition or Avarice they did otherwise God would judge and condemn them and their Decrees would be rejected That they ought to Amend and give God Thanks for any Errour that was discovered and if they did not God would Punish them After him the Cardinal of Tournon spoke and Thanked the King Queen and Princes for being present and approved highly of what the Chancellor had said but desired a Copy of it which the Chancellor refused though it was seconded by the Cardinal of Lorrain because he perceived they craftily designed to mischief him by it Theodore Beza being next commanded to speak fell upon his Knees and after a Prayer and reciting his Faith complained to God that they had been injuriously treated as Enemies of the Publick Peace Then he shewed wherein they agreed with the Church of Rome and wherein they differed and discoursed of the way of attaining Salvation of Faith Good Works the Word of God the Authority of the Councils and Fathers of the Sacraments and of their use and true Interpretation of Transubstantiation and Consubstantiation and lastly of the Ecclesiastical Order and Discipline and obedience to Princes he was so long and so sharp in some of these things that they had scarce patience to hear him out and the Cardinal of Tournon presently replied with a Voice trembling for Rage That he and the other Prelates had done violence to their Consciences by condescending to this Conference in compliance with his Majesties Commands by hearing these new Evangelists That he foresaw if they were heard many things would be spoken by them injurious to the Majesty of God which would offend the Ears of the King and of all good Men. And therefore he beseeched his Majesty not to believe what was said That if he could have prevented it the King should not have been present but however he desired he would not suffer his Mind to be pre-ingaged in their false Opinions but to suspend till the Bishops had Answered it and the King and the rest there present should know the difference between Falsehood and Truth He Asked a Day to Answer in and prayed the King that he would persevere in the Religion of his Ancestors Lastly he added that but for the respect they bore to the King the Bishops would have arisen and put a stop to those horrible and abominable Words The Queen calmly said she had done the thing without the Advice of the Parliament of Paris the Princes and Privy-Council That no change was designed but that the Disturbances of France might be appeased and Men friendly brought from their Errors into the Old Way which belonged to them to effect The first Dispute was about the Lords Supper The second which was the 17th of August was about the Church which the Cardinal of Lorrain said could not Err That if any particular Church did Recourse was to be had to the Head the Church of Rome and the Decrees of a General Council and the Concurrent Opinions of the Ancient Fathers and before all to the Sacred Scriptures explain'd by the Right Sense and Interpretation of the Church As to the Lord's Supper in effect he said That if the Protestants would not embrace their Opinions there was no hope of an Agreement The Cardinal of Tournon thereupon applauded his Harangue and said he was ready to lay down his Life for this Faith intreating the King to continue stedfast in it and was contented Good Man that if the Protestants would subscribe these two Points they should be admitted to dispute all the rest but if they refused this all hearing was to be denied them and they were to be expell'd out of his Dominions Beza desired to Answer him Extempore but the King delayed the Answer to the next day Upon a Petition the Ministers were heard at last again the 24th of September before the Queen only when Beza discoursed of the Church and its Notes which he said were the Preaching of the Word and a Pure Administration of the Sacraments As for the Succession of Persons and Doctrines it had been often interrupted He discoursed of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Vocation of the Universal Church and her Authority of Councils which he affirm'd
Council sends it back to the Pope Oh the stupid Patience of these Men When Lanssac gave the King of France an Account of what had been done he said in his Answer That he liked what had been done as yet at Trent but could not but observe that they went very slowly about the Reforming of the Ecclesiastical Discipline and the Manners of the Clergy and in the mean time were in great haste to Establish the Points of Doctrine That therefore it was suspected when this was with Levity enough perform'd there would be an end put to the Council and no care be taken for the former that so this procedure would afford no Benefit to the Church in this distracted State of Christendom and especially to France That about Thirty Years since when Fire and Sword had so unsuccessfully been imployed to Cure the Disease all Men looked upon a General Council as the Sheet-Anchor That he wished nothing had been done in the beginning of this Council for the Alienating the Minds of the Churches Enemies but rather that they had by all means been allured and invited to it and if any had been prevail'd upon to come that they should have been treated by the Fathers of the Council with Kindness and Humanity as Children For to what end were all these careful and diligent Disquisitions and Disputations concerning the Doctrine seeing there was no debate but between the Catholick and Protestant in these Points And as to the Protestants their Definitions signified nothing but only gave them Occasion to say their Opinions were condemned by the Council without hearing what they had to say for them That therefore it seemed more advisable to have endeavoured to have brought them into the Council for fear they should in time withdraw all those who adhere to the Church For it was a vain surmise that the Protestants would ever submit to those Decrees which were made when they were absent That therefore he was of Opinion That the Reforming the Manners of the Church-men and the Discipline ought to be their first and greatest Care and the other to be for a time suspended for this would be acceptable to all Men. And lastly Lanssac was ordered to get the next Session Prorogued to the latter end of October 1563. that the French Clergy might be present at it or at least that the publishing of the Canons might be deferred till then When Lanssac had represented all this to the Council he desired in the King's Name That seeing in the former Sessions some things had been decreed to the prejudice of the Liberties of the Gallicane Church it being an ancient Priilege belonging to them to represent by their Kings or their Ambassadors what they thought useful or necessary for them that this Liberty should for the future be preserved and that if any thing were Acted to the contrary of it it might be recalled In the mean time the Thirteenth of November the Cardinal of Lorrain and about Forty of the French Bishops came to Trent with some Divines who were met without that City by the Pope's Legates and some of the other Bishops and of the Ambassadors In this Journey the Cardinal of Lorrain went to Inspruck to meet the Emperor before he went to the Diet at Francfort where he had some Conferences in private with that Prince about the Affairs of Religion The Pope and the Cardinals at Rome were alarm'd at this coming of the French Clergy as if so many Enemies had invaded them and all things were in an Hurry to make Preparations against them There were new Legates and a new Squadron of Italian Bishops who might out number the French presenly to be sent to Trent And the Pope wrote to King Philip to Order the Bishops of his Dominions to unite their Counsels and Votes with the Italian Bishops that neither the Reasons nor the Votes of the Vltramontane Bishops might prevail against them And in his private Audience with L' Isle the French Resident at Rome he ridicul'd the Cardinal of Lorrain by calling him The other Pope who had Three hundred thousand Pounds the Year Revene out of several Ecclesiastical Benefices when he good Man was content with the single Bishoprick of Rome and it is an easie thing saith he for the Cardinal with his belly full to praise Fasting and admonish others to be content with one Benefice The French King had sent Francis de Bolliers Sieur de Manes to dissipate and remove this Jealousie of the Pope's at the approach of the French Bishops and to acquaint his Holiness with his Intentions For that it was commonly said That the Cardinal was sent to get the Transactions in the Conference of Poisey last Year confirm'd by the Synod That the Cup might be granted to the Laity That the Clergy might be allowed Matrimony That the Liturgy might be in the Vulgar Torigue That the Bishops might have but one Diocess and that none should be Elected to that Dignity who could not Preach to the People As to the first Manes excused the Conference of Poisey and said It was appointed by the Queen and the Cardinal for the gaining time and the retarding or keeping back those intestine Commotions they foresaw and for the stopping the Mouths of the Sectaries who complained every where that their Reasons had never been heard That they designed in the Interim to levy Forces so that if they could not convince the Sectaries by Reason they might by force reduce them to their Duty That nothing was done in that Conference And as to the other Points the Cardinal and France Clergy had no other Instructions then what had been sent to the Ambassadors of France and that they brought no prejudged Opinions with them to the Council The Pope was much concern'd upon the Account of a Report that the Bishops of France had moved their King to stop the Payment of First Fruits by the Clergy of France to the See of Rome And he said this was contrary to their Pacts and Agreements with him which was That this Affair should be transacted with the Pope only in a friendly way But then after all nothing so much startled the holy Man as a Report that a Peace was treating secretly with the Protestants and that they would have Liberty given them to Preach and he foresaw that if France were once quieted the Council could not be hurried to a Conclusion but things would be well considered and perhaps the Protestants must be heard in it and amongst them Queen Elizabeth of England which he feared beyond Expression For he thought the Cardinals of Lorrain and Ferrara were so Useful and Necessary to the King of France that he could never have spared them to attend the Council where there was no need of them if he had not had some such pestilent Designs to promote Whereupon he mustered up all the Prelates he could possibly not admitting any Excuse and sent many also who had resigned their Benefices to
the Council together with the Coadjutors of other Bishops that so he might have the more Votes believing he was now in the utmost degree of Danger and as if he had not had enough of his own he borrowed some Prelates of his Friends too And amongst them he got leave of the Duke of Savoy that Anthony Bobba Bishop of Cassale who was then that Princes Ambassador in the Court of Rome and Lewis Vanini de Teodolis Bishop de Bertinoro a Person of great Learning and Eloquence who had excused his Attendance in the Council upon his want of Health should now forthwith be dispatched to Trent When this last was going thither he is said to have consolated and strengthened the good Pope in his Anxiety and Fears of the Event with an Assurance That he would certainly get the Victory over the Council which was a very Acceptable Saying to the Pope and that he for that good News Kiss'd the Bishop of Bertinoro when he took his Leave to go to Trent bidding him be careful to get the Victory he had promised him And when after this some flying Reports came to Rome that some Questions were moved in the Council to the prejudice of the Papal Authority by the Bishops he was so moved at it that in the Consistory before all the Cardinals he cried out he and the Romans were betrayed whilest he maintained an Army of Enemies at Trent with great expence By which expression he aimed at the Italian Bishops who were his Pensioners and kept there by him in great numbers And Jo. Baptista Adriani writes He was just upon the Point of inhibiting the Council and had done it if Cosmus Duke of Florence had not averted him from that dangerous and shameful project The 8th day of September Maximilian the Eldest Son of Ferdinand the Emperor was chosen King of the Romans at Francfort upon the Maine in a Diet there assembled for that purpose Stroschen a Polander by birth who was then Ambassador for Solyman the Emperor of the Turks was present at Francfort and saw this Ceremony being sent to settle a Truce for eight years between those Princes which had been a long time sought by Busbequius at Constantinople The Emperor was by this League to pay Thirty Miliions of Hungarian Duckets for a Tribute by the year In this Diet the Princes of the Augustane Confession and their Allies gave in their opinion concerning the Council in Writing as they promised they would in the Convention at Naumburg They said they could not come to this Impious Council which was Indicted by Pope Pius the Fourth because not so assembled as was prescribed in their Appeals to a pious free and lawful Council given in heretofore in several Diets of Germany This Diet ended about the end of December and the Emperor went by Wormes Spire Weissemburg Strasburg Schlestat and Basil to Friburg in Brisgow being in all places received with great Honour and in the last of these places he held a Diet for Alsatia and then by Constance he went in February to Inspruck where he staid some time on the account of the Council of Trent which he hoped might be ended in the less time if he were near it The French Ambassadors when they came to the Council of Trent were furnished with certain Instructions what they were to ask but had Orders to suppress them till they had conferr'd with the Emperors Ambassadors which happened to have much what the same demands But by this time the Court of France seeing there was no care taken to satisfie the Emperor and that things were carried with great slowness ordered their Ambassador to open their Grievances which were contain'd in Thirty four Articles and were accordingly unfolded to the Council the 4th of January as they may be seen at large in Polano his History Pag. 609. I shall not here trouble the Reader with them The 10th of January the King of France ordered his Ambassador to assure the Pope that the Annals which were taken away in the Assembly of the States of France lately held at Orleans should for the future be paid to the Pope he hoping by this means to have him more ready to grant his desires tending to the peace of the Church which the Pope's Ambassador largely promised On the 14th of February a Decree was made concerning the Residence of Bishops and Pastors with great difficulty and opposition which all tended to the obtaining the Judgment of the Council That the Pope has full power to feed and govern the Universal Church The French who hold that a Council is above the Pope were contented to conceal their opinion in this point for fear the Pope should take that opportunity to dissolve the Council without any good done by it But then they were resolved to defend their said opinion if it were opposed whatever happened and upon no terms to lose or yield it King Philip also laboured very hard that the power of the Bishops should be raised and that of the Pope and the Conclave brought lower which they of the Pope's party interpreted as a design to diminish the Spanish Liberties because the Bishops and Chapters of Spain would be more subjected to the will of the King than the Court of Rome would By which means they at last prevailed so far upon that jealous Nation that the power of the Bishops in the end was very much abated and that of the Pope was enlarged and exalted and the Bishops were contented to act as the Popes Delegates and by his Authority and in his Name to exercise their Functions About this time it was that the Cardinal of Lorrain went again to the Emperor to Inspruck which caused a great fear in the Pope's party in the Council for that they suspected he went to adjust with that Prince the ways to bring the Papal power under In the beginning of March the Emperor wrote a Letter to the Pope after he had consulted the Bishops of Quinque Ecclesiae who went to Inspruck to him wherein he signified to his Holiness That after his Son in the last Diet was Elected King of the Romans and Crown'd and that he had visited his Cities upon the Rhine he was come to Inspruck to promote the Affairs of the Church in the Council as became the Supreme Advocate and procurator of the Church but that to his great grief he understood that things were so far from going as was to be desired and as the publick State of Affairs required that it was to be feared if speedy remedies were not applied the Council would be ended in such manner as it would give offence to all Christendom and become ridiculous to all those who had made a defection from the Church of Rome and fix them more obstinately in those opinions they had embraced tho' very differing from the Orthodox Faith. That there had not been any Session celebrated for a long time and that it was commonly given out the Fathers and Doctors in
her And what can be more contrary to Natural Equity than to condemn unheard It is forbidden by the Canons and Decrees of Councils and there is a noble example of this in Ammianus Marcellinus where Pope Liberius being urged by Constantius to condemn Athanasius chose rather to be banished than to sentence him without hearing And in the Judgment against Sixtus the Third who was accused of Incest Valentinian the Emperor observed the same method and made him appear and answer in a Synod before Fifty Bishops For the same reason the Sentence of Nicholas the First against Lotharius the Son of St. Lewis for having two Wives was thought void and null Nor was this Sentence against the Queen of Navarr of better force because she was absent and unheard That the Popes have always shewn that respect to Crown'd heads as to admonish them by their Legates before they decreed ought against them So Alexander the Third sent two Cardinals to Henry the Second into England when he was accused of the Death of Thomas a Becket A. B. of Canterbury That he might purge himself before them of this crime So of late Clement the Seventh did the like in the case of Henry the Eighth to whom he sent Cardinal Campeius And if it were granted that the Judgment were rightly passed how could the Dominions of the Queen be exposed for a prey and given to the first Invader they belonging to the King as Lord of the Fee Therefore the King believes that the Pope is deceived by false reports and instigated by the craft of his Ministers who not regarding the publick peace have drawn him from his natural goodness to Counsels which are dishonourable to his Holiness and destructive to his Authority and to that of the See of Rome tending to the alienating of the hearts of his friends from him and the disturbing of the Peace of Christendom And his Majesty is the more perswaded of the truth of this because his Holiness so earnestly espoused the Interest of Anthony the Husband of this Queen in his life-time and endeavoured to perswade King Philip to restore to him the Kingdom of Navarr or at least to give him the Island of Sardinia as an Equivalent But then there is nothing more offends the King than the considering that whereas so many Kings Princes and Free States above Forty years since have defected from the See of Rome and committed the offence charged upon the Queen and so by the rule of Justice ought to be first punished as first offending yet the Pope has not proceeded in the same way or with equal severity against any of them so that from hence it is clear that an occasion is sought by her enemies to oppress and ruin her by surprize whilest she is a Widow her Children Orphans the King of France who ought to protect her being a Minor and disturbed by Civil Wars and for this reason the King is the more obliged to defend her from injury and himself from contempt seeing without acquainting him with it they have begun this Process against a Queen so nearly related to him That if this Accusation had been made on the account of Religion and for the Glory of God the Pope ought in the first place to have shewn his care of her soul and from the Word of God to have administred fitting Remedies and not to have proscribed her Kingdoms and Dominions and given them for a prey to the first Invader The Pope has a Supremacy given him That he may consult the Salvation of Souls and the repose of Christendom and not that he may deprive Princes of their Kingdoms and dispose of their possessions at his pleasure which the former Popes have never been able to do in Germany and other places without bringing great reproach and dishonour on the Church and disturbances upon the World. That therefore the King desired with the greatest humility that he could or ought that the Sentence against the Q. of Navarr should be revok'd and all the Pope's Ministers should be inhibited from proceeding in this cause by a publick Act and if this were not done the King should be forced against his will to make use of the same remedies his Ancestors had imployed in the like cases according to the Laws and Rights of his Kingdom But before all things he protested he should do this unwillingly and therefore they only should bear the blame who by their rashness had forced him to use the power God had given him in so just a cause and to implore the assistance of his friends against them There was at the same time distinct Memorials and larger Instructions sent to the French Ambassador for the Defence of the Bishops and D'Oysel who was an active Minister prevail'd upon the Pope to have the Proceedings against the Bishops stopt and the Sentence against the Queen of Navarr revok'd and abolished So that at this day it is not to be found amongst the Constitutions of Pope Pius the Fourth The 18th of May there having been no consideration had of the XXXIII Articles put into the Council the 4th of January the Queen wrote to Lanssac her Ambassador complaining very bitterly of the delays and shifts which had been made in this business and said that the hope good men had hitherto had of the success of this Council and the opinion of their sincerity who met in it would both vanish without any fruit and their dissimulation and connivance would more and more inflame the wrath of God against us who had now made it manifest unto all men that the affairs of the Church needed a Reformation and a severe correction and to that purpose had invited and brought together from all parts of the Earth so many men famous for their Piety and Learning to this Council and if after all this he shall see us still stubbornly resist his will he will be necessitated to punish those men who have hindred so good a work and so necessary to the peace of the Church That therefore the King had wrote to the Cardinal of Lorrain to assemble a Congregation of the French Clergy and after a mature deliberation had amongst themselves to demand earnestly of the Fathers of the Council that these things might be considered and determin'd as soon as was possible But the Cardinal was by this time won over to the Pope's side and was willing to sacrifice the safety of France and the King's Will to the Interest of the former In order to this he delayed the Execution of his Orders from day to day and at last that he might totally disappoint them asked leave of the King to go to Rome believing the Kings Ambassadors would do nothing in his absence And not long after Lanssac obtained leave to return into France The Cardinal of Lorrain went from Trent towards Rome the 18th of September and with him five of the French Bishops But the other French Ambassadors did nevertheless insist stoutly
Danube 12. Lions Nine Persons burnt there for Heresy 587. De Lire is sent to the Landgrave with Conditions 442. Locusts in Germany 298. Lorrain's Cardinals of Harangue to the Pope about a Council 443. Lovain Divines rail at Luther 21. Condemn his Writings 27. Censure them publickly 31. They Propose Articles against the Reformation which the Emperor Ratified 343. Lubeckers make War against Christian K. of Denmark Son to Frederick 203. Lucern one of the Swisse-Cantons vide Switzers They study to introduce the Reformation there but in vain 618. Luther Martin Preaches against Indulgences at Wittemberg in 1517. 2. Writes Octob. 31. to Albert Bishop of Mentz and Magdebourg against it Ibid. Publishes 95 Theses against Indulgences Purgatory c. Ibid. Sends an Explication of them to the Bishop of Brandenbourg and to Stupitz Ibid. Vindicates himself to Pope Leo Ibid. Answers Eckius 3. Answers Prierias's Dialogue ibid. Rejoyns upon Silvester's reply 4. Answers Hogostratus Ibid. Desires that his Cause may be heard in Germany 6. Is urged to retract his Theses by Cajetan at Augsbourg 7. Submits to the Pope but refuses to recant Ibid. Referrs himself to the Judgment of the German Vniversities with that of Paris Ibid. Gives his Opinion in Writing to Cajetan 8. Goes from Augsbourg two days after Ibid. And Writes to Cajetan when he went away to excuse himself Ibid. Appeals from the Pope not rightly informed to his Determination after full Information 9. Luther Answers Frederick's Letter excusing his Retreat from Augsbourg 11. He appeals from the Pope to a General Council 12. He Writes Submissively to Pope Leo 13. Goes to Leipzick to Dispute 21. Opposes the Popes Supremacy against Eckius 22. Writes Submissively to the Pope at Miltitz's desire 23. His Character of the Court of Rome 24. Makes Proposals for Peace Ibid. Writes a Book of Christian Liberty 25. Another called Tessaradicus Ibid. And about confession and Vows Ibid. And Communion in both kinds Ibid. He anwsers the Lovain and Cologne Divines 27. He Writes to Charles V. 31. And to the States of the Empire Ibid. And Submissively to the Bishop of Mentz 32. And to the Bishop of Mersburgh 33. Opposes the Popes Bull and appeals to a General Council 36. Writes about the Babylonish Captivity Ibid. Condemns the Doctrine of the seven Sacraments Ib. Writes against the Popes Bull Ibid. His Books burnt by the Popes Messengers to Frederick 39. He burns the Canon-Law and the Popes Bull Ibid. His reasons for it Ibid 40. Answers Ambrosius Catharinus 40. Promises to appear at Wormes in a Letter to Frederick 41. Is put into the Bull de Coena Domini 42. Turns it into High-Dutch and writes Animadversions Ibid. Goes to Wormes ibid. Is disswaded from it Ibid. To no Purpose Ibid. Owns his Books ibid. Takes time to consider of his defence ibid. has a day allowed ibid. Pleads to his Accusation before the Emperor and States 43. Answers Eckiu's Returns upon his Plea 44. Meets Commissioners who were to hear him privately ibid. His Answer to the Commissioners 45. Parlies with them 46. Submits to the next General Council ibid. Goes home from Wormes ibid. Writes to the Emperor for Protection upon the Road ibid. And to the States ibid. Drolls in his Answer to the Parisian Censure of his Books 47. Writes Letters to strengthen his Friends in his Retirement 49. And Books against the Mass and Monastick Vows and one against Latomus ibid. Answers Henry the VIII sharply 50. Returns to Wittemberg 51. Excuses it to Frederick ibid. Disapproves the taking down of Images 52. He writes to the Bohemians to perswade them to Unity 53. Writes against false Bishops ibid. Calls himself Preacher of the Gospel ibid. Refuses to stand to the Determination of any under God 54. Translates Adrian's Instructions to the Diet with Remarks 60. Interprets the Decree of the Diet at Nuremberg 64. And adds thereto a Discourse against Private Masses 65. Admonishes the Princes of Germany 75. Writes de Servo Arbitrio against Erasmus ibid. Warns the Saxons of Muncer 86. Writes a Book to prevent Sedition ibid. His Answer to the Demands of the Boors in Schwabia 90. His Monitory Epistle to the Princes and Nobility 94. His General Epistle to Nobility and Boors 95. His Alarm against the Boors 96. Censured as too sharp ibid. He defends it afterwards ibid. Writes against Caralostadius about the Eucharist 97. Vndertakes his Protection upon his Submission ibid. Marries a Num ibid. Differs with Zuinglius about the Eucharist ibid. Writes submissively to Henry VIII 100. And to George D. of Saxony 101. Complains of K. Henry's Answer 102. Has a Conference with Zuinglius at Marpurgh 121. Writes to the Bishops at the Diet of Augsbourg 140. Comforts Melancthon ibid. He defends the League of Smalcald 148. He perswades the Leipzickers to continue Protestants 168. He justifies himself from the Charge of Rebellion ibid. Quarrels with Erasmus 170. Writes against the Anabaptists at Munster 199. Wrote against the Draught of a Reformation published by the Delegate Cardinals 238. VVrites against the Antinomians 244. Preaches at Leipzick 250. He publishes a Book about the Authority of Councils ibid. He writes against the D. of Brunswick 272. He Installs Amstorfius 288. VVrites against Phlugius ib. VVrites a Camp Sermon for those who went against the Turks 292. His Opinion about Magistracy 293. His second Camp Sermon 294. His Prayer against the rage of the Turks 295. He writes about the Sacrament 340. Answers what the Lovain Doctors wrote against the Reformation 343. Publishes a Book against the Roman Hierarchy 349. His Theses about Government ib. His Ludicrous Pictures about the Pope ibid. VVrites to disswade the Protestants from Releasing the D. of Brunswick 354. He goes to Isleben to be an Arbitrator between the Counts Mansfield 362. Falls sick ibid. His Prayers 363. Dies ibid. Is buried at Wittemberg ibid. His Life ibid. His Skill in the German Language ibid. His undaunted courage ibid. M. MAgdebourg refuses to submit to the Emperor 434. Is Proscribed 436. In great distress upon that account 485. They publish a Manifesto 486. Another Manifesto of theirs 496. They are by the D. of Mecklenbourg 500. Conditions are proposed to them 501. They publish a third Declaration ibid. They Sally out briskly upon Maurice 502. They answer the Deputation of their own States 502. They overcome D. Maurice in a Sally and take the D. of Mecklenbourg Prisoner 505. They are sollicited to surrender 506. The Declaration of the States and Clergy against them ibid. Their Answer to it 508. A Mutiny in the Town 515. They accept of a Peace 528. Their Preachers Vindicate themselves to D. Maurice 529. They get credit by their constancy ibid. Malvenda opens the Conference at Ratisbon 359. Treats of Justification ibid. Answers Bucer ibid. Mantua a Council called to meet there by P. Paul III. 207. The D. of Mantua demanded a Garrison before the Council should sit 230. Marcellus II. chosen Pope 615. Dies after a Reign of 22
them 313. Writes an Answer to the Letter of the Princes 320. Writes a sharp Letter to the Emperor to chide him for the Decree of Spires 337. Creates several Cardinals 340. Summons the Council once more to Trent Ibid. Endeavours to raise a War against the Lutherans 348. Sends his Legates to Trent 360. Writes to the Swisse Bishops to come to the Council of Trent 374. Excommunicates the Arch-Bishop of Cologne Ibid. Writes to the Switzers to perswade them to joyn against the Protestants 382. He publishes a Bull declaring the causes of the War against the Protestants 388. Makes the Count Schawenbourg Arch-Bishop of Cologne 417. His answer to the Cardinal of Trent and Mendoza 444. His Letter to his Legate at Bononia Ibid. His answer to the Emperors Ambassador 445. And Letter to the German Bishops ibid. His answer to the Emperors Ambassadors to justifie the removal of the Council to Bononia 450. His animadversions upon the Interim 459. Sends Legates into Germany 473. Who bring an Indulgence or Indult of several things 482. He dies 487. Libels come out against him with accounts of his horrid Lusts 488. His Funeral ibid. He instituted the order of the Jesuits 615. Paul IV. Caraffa chosen Pope 615. Pelargus Ambrose Reflects insolently upon the Protestants in the Council of Trent 541. De Pensier à Lutheran Divine recants at Paris 309. Pescara vide d' Avalos Peter Pence what 170. Petro Aloisio P. Paul III's Bastard D. of Parma and Piacenza 438. Is Assassinated at Piacenza 439. His flagitious life Ibid. Phefecorn John a Convert Jew 29. His Petition to Maximilian Ibid. Writes against Reuchlin 30. Phifer a Companion of Muncer's 84. Philip Landgrave of Hesse his Speech to his Soldiers against Muncer 85. His discourse with Muncer 86. Arms for fear of a Confederacy against the Reformed Religion 114. Departs privately from the Diet at Augsbourg 131. Makes a League for six years with the Reformed Switzers 141. Answers the Arbitrators 154. Endeavours to restore Ulric Duke of Wirtemberg 169. And brings it about 173. Writes to acquaint the Emperor with his Proceedings for Duke Ulric 174. Makes his submission to Ferdinand about Ulric's business 179. Commands his Divines to answer the Anabaptistis Books 198. He sends an answer to their mad Proposals Ibid. Goes to the Convention at Eysenach 244. Intercepts the D. of Brunswick's Letter 246. He Writes in his own Vindication to the German Princes 247. Excuses the D. of Wirtemberg to K. Francis by Letter 249. He answers the Emperors Letter about a Pacification 263. Joyns with the Elector of Saxony against the D. of Brunswick 298. Opposes the Duke of Brunswick 353. Submits to an accommodation Ibid. Receives the D. of Brunswick upon surrender 354. Writes to the Emperor concerning him Ibid. Writes again 355. Answers the Emperors Letter Ibid. Writes to Granvel about the War intended against the Protestants 356. Writes to Naves about the same business 358. Goes to Spire to Meet the Emperor 368. Treats with him Ibid. And with Granvel and Naves 370. And with the Emperor again 373. Is courteously dismissed Ibid. Sends notice to Ratisbon of the Emperors Preparations 376. He arms against the Emperor 384. His Forces 388. He sends his Son William to Strasbourg ibid. Refuses to Confer with the Duke of Brunswick ibid. His Men skirmish with the Spaniards 395. His bold advice to set upon the Emperor 397. Comes near the Imperialists with his Army 404. A Skirmish between him and the Prince of Sulmona 407. His Letter to the Mauricians ibid. And to Maurice 408. Is in danger upon the Retreat of the Army 412. Writes to Maurice his Son-in-Law ib. He rejects the Emperor's Proposals 423. He justifies himself from the Reproaches about Surprizing Francfort 426. Is invited to come to Leipzick 429. Articles of Peace are proposed to him 430. Which he accepts 431. Goes to Hall to the Emperor 432. Signs the Articles and submits to the same in Person ibid. Is detained Prisoner 433. Letters are spread abroad in his Name as if he allowed of the Interim 463. Is carried Prisoner into Flanders 473. And sent to Oudenard 474. His Subjects refuse the Interim 477. New Intercessions for him in vain 479. The Ministers in his Country refuse the Pope's Indult 483. He attempts an escape 504. Not succeeding is kept close Prisoner 505. He relieves the Oppressed Ministers Liberally 517. He is set at liberty and stopt again 573. He returns into his own Country 574. He accepts a Mediation in the Difference with the Count of Nassaw about Catzenelbogen 617. Which still keeps in Suspence 620. Has a Meeting with Augustus Elector of Saxony 633. Philip Prince Palatine Governor of Vienna when Solyman besieged it 121. Forces him to raise his Siege Ibid. Philip Son to Charles V. comes through the Netherlands into Italy 477. Is received at Genoa Ibid. And at Milan 478. Goes into Germany Ibid. Enters Brussels 479. Homage is done to him in the Law Countries 485. He marries Queen Mary in England 604. He has Naples and the Kingdom of Jerusalem Ibid. With the Dutchy of Milan resigned to him 605. Goes into Flanders to meet his Father 618. He enters upon the Government of the Netherlands Ibid. Sends Ambassadors into Germany to acquaint them with his New Government 628. Phlugius Julius vide Gropper Chosen by the Chapter of Naumbourg to be their Bishop 288. Is admitted one of the Presidents of the Conference at Ratisbon 359. Assists in drawing up the Interim 454. Phlugius Caspar heads the Bohemian Confederates 423. Is condemned of High Treason 434. Picards a Sect of the Bohemians 53. Picus vide Mirandula Pisa Council there 26. Called by Cardinals Ibid. Reasons of so doing Ibid. Suspends P. Julius 27. Remove to Milan Ibid. P. Pius's Decree concerning appeals 35. He altered his Opinion from what it was at the Council of Basil 36. Excommunicates Sigismund ibid. Poiet William Chancellor of France disgraced 299. Pool Reginald Cardinal sent Nuncio from the Pope to the French King 210. Writes a Book called a Defence of Ecclesiastical Unity ibid. Made Cardinal by P. Paul III. 211. Loses the Popedom on suspicion of Lutheranism 490. Is detained in Germany by the Emperor 594. Returns into England 605. Reconciles the Nation to the See of Rome 606. Writes to the Emperor and King of France to mediate a Peace 615. Popes anciently subject to Emperors 38. Pragmatick Sanction vide Paris Priests the Ceremony of their Degradation 64. Prierias Sylvester writes against Luther 3. He assertâ the Pope to be absolute head of the Church ibid. Replies to Luther 4. Princes of the Empire disagree about the Emperor's Letter against Luther 44. Complain of the Pope's Proceedings in the Affairs of Germany 60. Return an Answer to Adrian's Letter to the Diet ibid. Draw up an account of the Grievances of Germany which they gave to the Pope's Legate 63. Their answer to Campegio's Speech at Nuremberg 68. They write to Charles V. to make haste into Germany 108. They
write again 110. Write from Spire to the Senate at Strasburg 116. Princes of the Reformed Religion Protest against the Decree of Spire 119. Deliberate about a League amongst all Protestants in Germany 122. They answer the Emperors Proposals at Augsbourg 133. Several of the Princes declare upon what Terms they allow a King of the Romans 157. Protestant Princes refuse a league with Francis against the Emperor 187. Those assembled at Coblentz write severly to the Anabaptists at Munster 197. Catholick Princes Opinion at Ratisbon 281. They answer the Legates Letter 283. They Interceed for the D. of Cleve Ibid. Some of them writes to the Pope 320. The Popish Princes separate answer at the Diet at Wormes 344. They write to the Bremers 501. They meet at Noremberg 512. Several Princes send Ambassadors to the Emperor to interceed for the Landgrave's Liberty 533. Others desire the French King to desist from his in roads into Germany 558. A Convention of them meet at Francfort 579. They write to the Emperor about the Peace 616. Protestant Princes vide Princes vide Protestant Protestants the Original of the Name 120. their Ambassadors had audience of Charles at Piacenza 123. They appeal to his Answer 125. They consult of a League at Smalcald ibid. And quarrel about Religion ibid. Break up without a final Resolution ibid. The Protestant Deputies meet at Noremberg 126. Resolve that Religion should be debated at Augsbourg 129. Present a Confession of Faith to the Emperor ibid. Press to have it read ibid. The Protestants defend the Augustane Confession in writing 131. Answer Truchses's Speech 134. They debate with the Emperor about Religion 135. They leave the Diet 137. The Deputies of the Associate Princes demand liberty of Conscience from the Diet at Augsbourg 139. The Protestant Princes write to the Kings of France and England to wipe of those Calumnies which had been thrown upon them 145. They summon all the Protestant Confederates to Smalcald 147. They sollicite the Dane and Northern Princes and Free Cities to join with them ib. Their Answer to the Emperor's Summons 149. the Protestant Princes refuse to acknowledge Ferdinand K. of the Romans 151. They answer the Ambassadors of the Elector of Mentz and the Palatine at Smalcald 153. Both parties of the Protestants have a good understanding about the Lords Supper 159 Their Conditions of Pacification ibid. They give in a full answer 164. Their decrees in order to a Council 167. They give in their Answer to Vergerius's Proposals for a Council 181. They meet at Smalcald ibid. Their answer to the French Ambassador at Smalcald 185. Their answer to the English Ambassador 188. They protest against the Proceedings of the Imperial Chamber which shall be contrary to Charles and Ferdinand's Decrees 189. They draw up Articles of a League with Henry VIII 204. They meet at Francfort 206. And receive several Cities into the League ibid. They break off Correspondence with Henry VIII Ibid. They send Complaints to the Emperor against the Prosecutions of the Imperial Chamber 208. They answer the Emperors Letter 209. They meet at Smalcald 212. Their answer to Eldo the Emperors Ambassador 215. Their rejoynder upon Eldo's reply 221. Their Decrees at Smalcald 226. Their Reasons why they refuse to Meet at Mantua whither P. Paul III. had conven'd them Ibid. They send Reasons of their Actions to K. Francis 230. The Protestant Princes meet at Brunswick 239. Their Answer at Eysenach 244. They call a Convention at Arnstadt 251. They send Ambassadors to the Emperor into Flanders 253. They write to the French King 254. They meet at Smalcald 255. They answer the Ambassadors sent by Granvel to procure a Pacification 257. They answer King Henry's Propositions 262. Make a Decree to interceed with the French King for the Protestants if he would not take it ill Ibid. And resolve to oppose the Proceedings of the Imperial Chamber ibid. Their answer to King Ferdinand's Proposals at Haguenaw 268. Their Answers to the Emperors Proposals 276. They interceed with the French King for the Protestants 277. They address to the Emperor in the Diet 279. Their answer to Contarini's Papers 280. They Petition the Emperor 281. They answer Contarini's Letter against a National Council 283. They absolutely decline the Jurisdiction of the Imperial Chamber 304. They Petition Ferdinand at the Diet of Noremberg 306. They oppose the decree of the Diet 307. They meet at Smalcald 312. Send Ambassadors to the Emperor at Spire ibid. They meet at Francfort 317. They protest against the Duke of Brunswick's voting at the Diet 319. They âccuse the Duke of Brunswick publickly in the Diet 322. They persist in their Accusation 323. Their answer to Ferdinand at Wormes 344. Their Petition to him 345. The Protestants meet at Francfort 356. Reports are spread of a War against them ibid. Another meeting at Francfort 357. They send Deputies to interceed for the Elector of Cologne ibid. They are accused of a Conspiracy ibid. They are accused of a Conspiracy ibid. They still urge the business of Cologne 360. The Protestants Deputies meet at Wormes 373. They complain at Ratisbon that Diazi's Murder was unrevenged 374. Their Opinion of the Council of Trent 375. They are apprehensive of War ibid. They demand the reason of the Preparations 376. Their Deputies return home from Ratisbon 380. The first of their Commanders ibid. Their Deputies meet at Ulm 381. They send to the Venetians and Grisons ibid. They send Ambassadors to the Switzers 383. They Petition the Emperor 384. They send Ambassadors to France and England 385. They write to the Marquess of Brandenbourg to disswade him from assisting the Emperor 387. They publish a Manifesto against him Ibid. Their first exploits in the War 388. They write to the D. of Bavaria 392. Their demands of the Switzers 393. They declare War against the Emperor ibid. They dispute what Title to give the Emperor 394. They march âo Ratisbon ibid. The names of the principal Confederates 395. The Spaniards break into their Camp ibid. Their oversight in not taking the Landgrave's advice 397. Their address to the Bohemians 399. Their Declaration concerning Incendiaries sent out by the Pope ibid. Their answer to the Instrument of Proscription ibid. They raise their Camp from Ingolstadt 403. They write to the reformed Switzers 404. They lose an opportunity of taking the Emperor at Grienghen 407. Their Council of War writes to Maurice 408. They write to several Imperial Cities and Princes to joyn with them ibid. The Confederates Deputies meet at Ulm 409. Answer the Elector of Saxony's demands ibid. They send an Embassy into France and England 411. They are in danger and withdraw their Camp ibid. In the retreat they run a risque 412. They differ from the Catholicks at Augsbourg about the Council of Trent 440. They are Sollicited to submit to the Council ibid. Their Ambassors at Trent insist upon such a safe conduct for their Divines as was granted at the Council of Basil 539.
Landgrave The Landgrave again speaks to the Emperour The ignorance of the Archbishop of Cologne observed by the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Conferences of some Princes Granvell speaks The Landgrave answers Granvell's words Divines are awkward and obstinate The Landgrave's words The Opinion of Paphnutius about the Lord's Supper and marriage of Priests Granvell speaks after the Landgrave The Landgrav's Answer The Elector Palatine's Opinion in this Conference Granvell's Answer The Landgrav's Speech The Landgrave Arbitrator betwixt the Dukes of Saxony The Emperour advises the Landgrave to come to the Diet. The Emperour thanks the Landgrave The Landgrave's Answer to the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Landgrave to the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Landgrave's Answer Spede's soppishness The Landgrave takes leave of the Emperour An Assembly of the Protestant Deputies at Wormes They of Ravensbourg enter into the Protestant League The third Session of the Council of Trent and the Acts of it The Speech of Don Francisco de Toledo in the Council The Pope's Letters to the Bishops of Switzerland The Switzers highly commended The Archbishop of Cologne excommunicated by the Pope The Emperour 's coming to Ratisbonne Diazi's murder unrevenged The Emperour's Speech at Ratisbonne Truce with the Turk by the mediation of the French King. A Division amongst the Electors The Protestants opinion of the Council of Trent A constant report of a War against the Protestants The Cardinal of Trent is sent to Rome to sollicit the promised assistance The Preparations of War. Albert and John of Brandenbourg take charge under the Emperour The Landgrave's Segacity The Protestants ask the Emperour the warlike preparations The Emperour answers the Protestants The Emperour's Letter to the Protestant Cities The Emperour writes to the Duke of Wirtemberg Granvell and Naves discourse the Deputies of the Protestants Cities A Decree of the Council of Trent The Office of Pastors Decrees concerning Original Sin. The Decree of Sixtus IV. concerning the Virgin Mary The Speech of the French Embassador He means the King of England The Demands of the French King. The Answer of those of Strasbourg to the Emperour Duke Maurice had a private Conference with the Emperour The Protestant Deputies return home The Emperour's Embassie to the Suizers The Duke of Wirtemberg and the Towns of Vpper Germany rise in Arms. The first of the Protestant Commanders Balthazar Gutling's Speech to the Soldiers A Meeting of the Protestant Deputies at Vlme Their Letters to the Venetians the Nobility of Germany the Grisons and those of Tyrol The Emperour's League with the Pope against the Reformed The Church Revenues in Spain given for maintaining a War against the Lutherans Peace betwixt France and England Henry the Dauphin of France has a Daughter The Cardinal of Scotland killed The Pope's Letter to the Suizers The Embassadours of the Protestants to the Suizzers Wolffembottel is demolished The Prince Palatine enquires after the cause of the War. The Elector Palatine desires to reconcile the Protestants to the Emperour Saxony and the Landgrave arm The Protestants Letters to the Emperour The Authors of the War against the Protestants The Emperour's Letter to the Archbishop of Cologne The Protestants send Ambassadors to the Kings of England and France Saxony and Landgrave publish a Declaration concerning the War. The Bishop of Ausbourg a great Incendiary The Protestants Letters to the Marquess of Brandenbourg Brandenbourgs Answer A Manifesto against Brandenbourg The Forces of the Landgrave The Landgrave sends his Son to Strasbourg The Duke of Brunswick offers to betray the Papists Councels against the Protestants The first Exploit of the Protestants Fiessen taken Erenberg is taken by Scherteline Francis Castlealto Dilinghen and Donawert taken by the Protestants These of Ausbourg furnish the Emperour with Money The Emperour's Forces at Ratisbonne The Duke of Saxony and the Landgrave Outlawed by the Emperour The Marriages of Bavaria and Cleves amidst the noise of War. The Session of the Council is put off The number of the Fathers of the Council of Trent Titular Archbishops Olaus Magnus of Vpsale and Venant a Scot. The King of Sweden reforms Religion The Archbishop reduced to poverty dies Duke Maurice his Progress to King Ferdinand The Emperour's Letters to Duke Maurice and to his Brother Augustus wherein he desires them to take possession of the Inheritances of the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave and so prevent others The Protestants Letters to the Duke of Bavaria A great Misfortune occasioned by Lightning at Mechelin The Suitzers Answer to the Protestants The Protestants Demand of the Suitzers The Protestants declare War against the Emperour The Emperour refuses to receive the Protestants Letters The Emperour's Answer to the Protestants Messenger A Dispute about what Title should be given to the Emperour The Protestants march to Ratisbonne The Pope's Forces come to the Emperour The Officers of the Pope's Army The Horse of the Duke of Florence and Ferrara A bloody Saying of Farnese The Commanders of the Emperour's Army German Princes in the Emperour's Camp. The Princes in the Protestants Camp. The Emperour marches to Ratisbonne A Skirmish betwixt the Landgrave's Men and the Spanish Garrison The Spaniards break into the Protestants Camp. The Count of Buren marches with his Forces to joyn the Emperour The Landgrave's bold and good Advice The oversight of the Protestants in not laying hold on their oppertunity was the beginning of their miscarriage in the War. The Emperour 's great Courage The Answer of the Suitzers to the Emperour The Pope and Emperour pretended not the same Cause for the War of Germany The Emperour's Letter to the Protestant Suitzers The Protestant Cantons Answer to the Emperour The Protestants Address to the Bohemians The Protestants Declaration concerning Incendiaries and Poysoners sent out by the Pope The Protestants Answer to the Instrument of Proscription The Emperour's Expression about the subduing of Germany * Who had refused the Empire when it was offered unto him The Protestants raise their Camp. The Count of Buren joyns the Emperor The French King refused to send the Protestants Assistance The Protestants grosly deceived by Stroza an Italian The Protestants write to the Reformed Suitzers The Suitzers Answer The Catholick and Protestant Camps near one another The River Egra Albert of Brunswick dies of his wounds Donawert surrendered to the Emperor The Duke of Alva insults over the Landgrave A change of affairs in Saxony Duke Maurice consults against the Protestants The Letters of Duke Maurice's Friends to the Protestants Duke Maurice writes to the Landgrave to the same purpose The Embassie of John William of Saxony to Duke Maurice Scherteline leaves the Protestant Camp. The Emperor Master of the Danube The Protestants lose an opportunity of taking the Emperour A Stratagem A Skirmish betwixt the Landgrave and Prince of Sulmona Another Stratagem used by the Emperor The Plague in the Emperors Camp. Farnese with some Troops returns home The Landgrave's Answer to the Mauricians The Landgrave's
of any Bargain Gift Reward or Promise Now the reason that the two Brothers of Bavaria were inserted in the number is this They among the rest had oppos'd the Election of King Ferdinand and having communicated their Counsels with the Duke of Saxony the Lantgrave and the King of France they enter'd into the League for the defence of the Liberties of Germany And the King of France had deposited 100000 Crowns in the hands of the two Brothers that they might be in a readiness when occasion would serve The Mediating Princes upon the 20th of April return an Answer to those things which we have recited That 't is for the sake of Peace and Concord that they negotiate this Affair nor could they think that such things as these would have been propounded by them Now that a King of the Romans should be chosen whilst the Emperor is in being they have many weighty Reasons to urge which reasons have been formerly made use of to John Frederick who was then his Fathers Embassador and should now if the matter so requir'd be more copiously explain'd But since they are not alone concern'd in this business but likewise the Emperor the King and the other Princes their Colleagues they will not debate this Point any longer but leave it undecided that so they may come with greater ease to the accommodating of other things as the occasion of this Assembly does require However if it be expected that they should give them and their Allies a reason for what they do they will not decline the trial and they question not but they shall back their Cause with such Proofs as will not admit of any Exception But now if an account of these things should be brought to the Emperor they are very much afraid that they will be so far from taking any place there that they will rather prove an occasion of interrupting at least this Pacifick Treaty if not of wholly taking it away To the end therefore that a Truce and Reconciliation may be brought about as well in relation to the matter of Religion as to that of the Election and that there may not be a separation between those two Points they earnestly intreat the two Princes of Saxony the Father and Son that they will have some regard to themselves in this Affair and depart from their Resolution For then they have reason to hope that both the Emperor and King will abundantly take care that this Election shall never be prejudicial either to them or their Heirs Nay they doubt not but they will lay aside all Resentment and afford their Favour to them all especially to the Duke of Saxony in promoting that business which he now solicits and ev'n in the Cause of Religion as far as 't is possible to be done For they are very much afraid that he cannot be prevail'd with to grant them a Peace as to matters of Religion whilst the Point of Election remains undecided As for their parts 't is out of Love and Friendship that they give this advice and do intreat them so to accept it and that they would so manage themselves that they at length may see that this their Intercession was not without it's weight nor their Diligence imploy'd to no purpose Four days after John Frederick the Prince made them this return viz. That he had not expected from them such an Answer as this for in that they had among other things affirm'd That 't was for the Safety and Dignity of the Empire that a King of the Romans should be created he is under a necessity of giving an Answer to this as well in the Name of his Father as the other Associates whose perswasion it is that this Election is irregular and not at all for the Welfare of the Empire Now since they sustain the Character of Arbitrators he greatly hop'd that they would not have defended this Cause but have propounded it as a doubtful and controverted Point For as to the other things mentioned by them they do not properly belong to Arbitrators but ought to be referr'd to such a time when they may fall under a common deliberation Indeed when at Cologne the Emperor desir'd that his Brother Ferdinand should be admitted into a Partnership of the Empire there were some Reasons offer'd for the doing of it but they were not of such weight that for their sakes the Caroline Law together with the Rights and Liberty of the Empire should be violated that at the same time He together with the rest of his Father's Embassadors gave in their Reasons by way of Answer why it ought not to be done He therefore now again repeats what he said before that if the Emperor would not admit of these their Propositions then the Cause may come to be discuss'd in a fair Trial that so the reasons of their Descent may be known Now since 't is their part to act equally and impartially he did imagine that being Arbitrators in other matters they would likewise in this Controversie find out some honest Expedient which might be for the advantage of the Empire but since nothing of this is done he will not urge them any further As for his Father and his Confederates they will undoubtedly make it evident without injuring any Man how great a Breach this is upon the Laws and Liberty of the Empire and that they are not to be blamed if any inconvenience arises from thence He hopes likewise that since these things concern the Honour and Safety of the Empire the Emperor will not take it unkindly Among the other Propositions the first which belongs to that head in which the Zuinglians are concern'd has this tendency viz. to hinder the Princes from confederating with a number of Cities and so indeed the Umpires did in their debate explain it That if the Zuinglians would confess and forsake their Error then they should be included in the Peace but if otherwise then they were to be deserted no assistance to be afforded them nor any League to be made with them But last year at Smalcalde there happen'd to be a good understanding between the Protestants for when those of Strasburg together with some Cities of Schwaben had made a fuller explication of their Doctrin about the Lord's Supper which before had only been propounded in the Diet at Auspurg this their Interpretation was accepted of by the Saxons Being therefore now unanimous they all of them return the same Answer to the former Propositions and agree at last to lay down these conditions of Agreement That they who have exhibited a Confession of their Doctrin and an Apology for the same at Auspurg as likewise those who hereafter shall receive the same Doctrin shall keep themselves within those bounds and shall make no further Innovations till such time as a Council shall sit which has so often been promis'd and agreed upon that they shall not joyn themselves as to the Doctrinal part
with those who entertain different Opinions about the Lord's Supper and Baptism from what is contain'd in the Writing set forth at Auspurg They shall not draw over to them or give Protection to the Subjects of other States upon the score of Religion But if there be any whose condition is such that they may lawfully go whither they will these having first giv'n notice to their Governors may Travail if they please and be entertain'd they shall not send out any Preachers to teach without their Dominions unless the Magistrate of such a place where a Convention is held shall desire or permit it But if he refuses it they shall then have liberty to do it privately at home But whenever they are present at a Diet of the Empire or do send out Forces against the Turks they may then make use of their own Teachers and receive the Supper of our Lord according to the Institution of Christ That all Reproaches be forborn however the Ministers of the Church may as they are in duty bound rebuke Vice and Error and shew which is the right way provided they do it with temper and moderation That those of their Religion be not excluded from the Imperial Chamber That Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction stand where it does but that the Bishops may not bring those into danger or trouble who make profession of this Doctrin That those Ordinances which have been made but are not yet put in execution concerning Religion Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Ceremonies and the Goods of the Church be suspended till the time of a Council That the Goods of the Church be made use of and enjoy'd by them who are in possession of those places to which those Goods do properly belong and that nothing be taken by violence from any Man but that the annual Revenues be dispos'd of to those places which have formerly receiv'd them till such time as a Council shall decree otherwise That in political Affairs every Man perform his duty that all Men endeavour the good of the Publick and exercise acts of mutual kindness and fidelity to one-another Though both sides stood thus at a distance from one another without any probability of a nearer Conjunction yet the Arbitrators thought fit to proceed in the Treaty and therefore for the convenience of dispatching a more speedy account of all things to the Emperor they appoint another Meeting to be held at Nuremburg upon the third of June Now though the main Controversie could not here be made up yet by reason of the Turks Interruption into Germany the Emperor finding himself obliged to draw his whole Strength together from all parts ratify'd a general Peace to all Germany and did by his Edict command that no Disturbance should be giv'n to any Man upon the account of Religion till such time as a Council should sit and if no Council should be held then till such time as the States of the Empire should find out some expedient to salve these Differences To those that shall disobey this Edict he threatens a very severe punishment and declares that he will use all his Endeavours that a Council may be call'd within six months and begin it's Session the year following But if this cannot be brought about then the whole matter shall be brought to an Issue in a Diet of the Empire He therefore Commands that all judicial Actions commenc'd upon the score of Religion be suspended and that no Process be hereafter carry'd on against the Protestants or if there be that all such Process become null and void The Protestants on the other side who were then seven Princes and 24 Cities do make him a tender of their utmost Obedience and Devoir and promise their Assistance against the Turks This Scheme of a Peace was by the Arbitrators drawn up on the 23th of July and the Emperor to whom they had address'd by Letters and Messengers gave it his Confirmation on the second of August and ratify'd it afterwards by a publick Edict commanding the Imperial Chamber and his other Judges to be obedient to it Whilst these things are transacting the Emperor as we said before is holding a Diet at Ratisbon where among other things he declares that he had some time since sent an Embassy to the Pope and the Colledge of Cardinals about calling a Council to which he has likewise received an Answer which he communicated to the King of France whose judgment it is that a Council is necessary But as to what the Pope has writ back concerning the manner but more especially the place of holding the Council there arises very great difficulty nor can they as yet come to any Resolution about it But because these differences about Religion do daily increase from which there is great danger fear'd he will therefore endeavour to prevail with the Pope to call a Council to some convenient place within the time appointed and he hopes that he will not be wanting either to his own Duty or the Publick Good. But if this cannot be effected then he will endeavour to find out some remedy in another Diet of the Empire which he will call for that purpose It was decreed in the Diet at Auspurg that a Reform should be made in the Court of the Imperial Chamber To which purpose the Emperor adds two Commissioners in his own Name and moreover delegates the Elector of Mentz and the Prince Palatine together with the Bishop of Spiers John Simmerius the Palatine William Bishop of Strasburg and Philip Marquess of Baden The Embassadors of all which Princes having met together at Spiers on the first day of March do Enact certain Laws which partly affect the Judges partly the Advocates and partly the Litigants A Copy of this Reform they present to the Emperor with which having first consulted his Friends he declares himself to be well pleas'd having first made some small additions to it This year which was the Tenth of his Exile Christiern King of Denmark having got together a Navy had some hopes of recovering his Losses but being taken at Sea he was committed to Custody and about the same time his Son died being a young Man and educated by the Emperor his Uncle In a former Book we took notice how the Emperor had rescinded the Contract that was made between Albertus Duke of Prussia and Sigismund King of Poland but Albert persisting in his purpose was about this time proscrib'd by the Imperial Chamber at the Suit of Walter Cronberg Which thing when the King of Poland understood he set forth in this Diet by his Embassador how Prussia had been anciently under the Command and Patronage of his Kingdom and therefore desires that this Proscription may be totally revers'd But Cronberg on the third of June did in a long Harangue declare that Prussia was a dependency of the Empire and did not at all belong to the King of Poland For though their Ancestors being overcome in battel had been forc'd to
that cannot be performed by man. That every one ought to confess his sins daily to God and beg his mercy and forgiveness that if the Conscience be disquieted by any scruple counsel is to be had of a Minister of the Church for comforts sake but that that Auricular Confession and Enumeration of ones Sins had neither any warrant in Scripture nor was it possible to be done but was a very dangerous racking of the Mind That he never doubted of the Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin-Mother Some days before he was brought to tryal he wrote of all these things to his Wife and the rest of his Friends who earnestly had begg'd that of him making use of the assistance of his Sister And being condemned in another Letter he acquainted his Wife with the kind of Death he was to suffer the day following telling her for her comfort That the Servants condition ought not to be better than that of his Master and prescribing her also some Rules of good Life The Divines of Paris two years before had made some Decrees of Religion as hath been already mentioned Now again by the Kings command they assemble at Melun a Town standing upon the Seine about ten miles above Paris The King was in the neighbouring Palace of Fontainbleau and had summoned them to meet that since the Peace being concluded there was now a Council to be they might consult about and resolve upon such necessary Points and Articles for the Church as they thought might be defended in the Council that publick Theatre of all the Christian World. The issue of this Convocation was that though there had been a great deal of Jangling amonst them yet they altered nothing in those Articles which they had already published at Paris as hath been already said In imitation of the Parisians the Divines of Louvaine draw up Articles also and afterwards by the Emperour's License publish them They were in number thirty two and exactly of the same kind as those of Paris we mentioned before which the Emperour confirmed and established by an Edict March the 14th the Divines published their Letters signifying that they had the more willingly put themselves to that pain because they certainly knew it would be very acceptable to the Emperour who had already a good while ago earnestly craved some such thing to be done In the Pacification of Soissons it was agreed as we said before that the Emperour and French King should use the utmost of their power for resetling the ancient Religion as they called it so that what we have been now relating seems to look that way and the Cardinal of Tournon who had been in Flanders with the Duke of Orleans was thought to have contributed not a little to that design But Luther by contrary positions answers the Divines of Louvaine calling them Bloud-thristy Hereticks who teaching impious Doctrines which they could not make good neither by Reason nor Scripture betook themselves to force and disputed with Fire and Sword. For they as also the Parisians laid down only bare Rules and directed what was to be followed but alleadged no Texts of holy Scripture and withal incited the Magistrate to severity and animadversion At that time there was an Imperial Diet held at Wormes but the Emperour who resolved to be there being hindered by the Gout came not to it till it was late The Deputies he had there were the Cardinal of Ausbourg and Frederick of Furstenberg March the 24th in absence of the Emperour King Ferdinand opens the Diet telling them That it was known to themselves for what that Diet was called to wit for setling Religion Right and Peace and for considering of the Turkish War. That the Emperour indeed wished he might have been present at these Deliberations by the time appointed and as it was decreed at Spire but he could not because of his sickness and that therefore he had prorogued the Diet first to to the second day of January and then to the first of February but that seeing his Disease lasted longer than he expected he had changed his mind and that he might no longer be a hinderance to the publick Deliberations especially those concerning the Turkish Affairs he had pressed him to supply his place which for the Publick sake to his so small detriment he had undertaken That therefore they should take into deliberation the Affairs of publick and common concern that when the Emperour himself should come some things might be in a readiness to pass into Laws for that the daily Advices both by Messengers and Letters giving a good account of his health he made no doubt but he would soon be there for the publick good That for this cause also he had made Peace with the King of France his Ally and had therein preferred the publick before his own private Interest to wit that all things being quieted Religion might be setled and reformed and then an Expedition with all force and alacrity made against the Turks That the advantage of this Peace extended to all Germany and especially to the States of the Empire That the King of France had also promised assistance against the Turk and by his Plenipotentiary Embassadours in Flanders approved the Council of Trent and resolved to be present at it himself or to send thither a most ample Embassie That the Emperour had likewise prevailed with the Pope again to call the Council which he had before prorogued so that the 14th of March past was the day appointed for its meeting to which Embassadours were already sent both from the Emperour and himself That the Emperour having sollicited the Pope also that for the dignity of his place and character he would give Aid against the Turk his Answer was that in this Diet he would by his Legat signifie what he intended to do as to that That they themselves were not ignorant what trouble the Emperour had been at in procuring a Council to be called how industriously he had dealt with Clement VII at Bononia afterwards with Paul III. at Rome Genoa Nizza Lucca and lately at Busset And that though the Emperour after the last Diet at Spire was taken up about most weighty Affairs yet he had not neglected what was enacted at Spire but had employed some good and learned men to frame a Model of Reformation which he had also received from them But that this being a matter of very great moment requiring long and serious deliberation and that because of the approaching Council and the threatned irruption of the Turk to consult about that reformation was not seasonable the Emperour thought it proper that waving it now the progress of the ensuing Council was to be expected And that if it appeared that there was no Council like to be that then before the dissolution of this another Diet of the Empire should be appointed upon this very account As to what concerned the Peace and every mans Right that the Emperour
was of opinion nothing could be desired but what was by publick Edicts already provided That if Violence or Injustice were offered to any person he also thought they might sue for and have remedy from the Imperial Chamber That he likewise entreated them to consider speedily of raising Money for Subsidies and of constituting Judges in the Imperial Chamber and if perhaps the latter should not be agreed upon that they would be pleased to entrust him with that Affair lest for want of Jurisdiction the Publick might suffer prejudice That the Emperour had the Turkish War constantly in his thoughts and that there had been no War with that People in this Age wherein he did not wish himself concerned That for that end he had once and again crossed over into Africa and some years since marched as far as Vienna with a purpose to engage them That what he had promised also at Spire for the safety of Germany he was ready to make good provided they also on their parts contributed the appointed Aids That therefore he required them to take that solely and wholly into their consideration and because the Season was far spent to come to a final resolution about it That he had frequent Advices that the Grand Seignior himself was marching into Hungary with greater Forces than ever that he might afterwards invade Germany That they should therefore deliberate and resolve whether they would attack him or only defend themselves and send their resolutions to the Emperour who had engaged the Pope and King of France into the War and was hopeful also that others would not be wanting and that if possibly because of the streightness of time and the barrenness of the year they should not think it convenient to carry the War into his Country that then they should think of making a defence and raising of Money that both they might be able to make head against him in time and that the Emperour also being moved by their alacrity and readiness might carry on the War in person as he himself promised long since to do That in the next Diet they might treat of moving the War against the Turk for the recovery of what was lost and of Religion but that their present Consultations required dispatch and expedition for that should the thing be longer protracted the Enemy might possess themselves of the frontier places and passes of Hungary and other adjoyning Countries and so having defeated and broken the Light Horsemen which are of greatest use in Hungary and stopt all intercourse and communication betwixt places the people might be reduced to the utmost point of despair so as to fall off from us and submit to the dominion of the Enemy which how dangerous a loss that would prove and how chargeable afterward to be retrieved was a thing that all who had eyes must see To these things the Protestants and with them the Archbishop of Cologne and Elector Palatine make answer on the third of April That this Diet was appointed chiefly for the cause of Religion That in some former Conferences a way had been opened to a Reconciliation which gave greater hopes now of a final Accommodation That it would be therefore most acceptable to them that that Article should first of all be handled That it was much the interest of Germany it should be so and that if they had the fear of God before their eyes they did not doubt of success But that if either the weightiness of the matter the shortness of time or the imminent danger from the Turks would not allow it yet it was necessary that that Chapter of the Decree concerning the Peace should be more amply explained That indeed Peace was granted as to matters of Religion until a Council should meet but that they owned not that Council of Trent for such a lawful Council as had been promised in the Diet of the Empire and that why they did not acknowledge it they had already often declared That therefore they needed such a Peace as should not be limited to the Popish Council but might take place until the whole affair should in a Pious and Christian manner be transacted And that because there could be no firm and lasting Peace unless there were an equal administration of Justice and that in the last Diet of Spire it had been enacted what was to be done as to that particular they should not be wanting in paying obedience to that Decree That if these two points were then decided they would be ready to take the Turkish War into deliberation The rest of the Princes and States and amongst these the Archbishops of Mentz and Treves resolved that the Cause of Religion should be referred to the Council now called that the Chamber should be constituted and Justice administred according to the written Laws and that a Committee should be chosen out of all the States to advise about the Turkish War. One half of the Subsidies of the Chamber they promise to pay within six Years and pray the Emperor to advance the rest King Ferdinand and the Emperor's Deputies make answer to what the Protestants urged That the Decree of Peace made at Spire at that time pleased them without any other caution or exception tho the Council had then had been called and shortly after again indicted that fit Men also should be admitted into the Colledge of the Chamber according to the Decree of Spire and that Matters being so it was but just they should insist no longer upon that particular but consult with the rest about the Turkish War To which they reply That seeing for the shortness of time and the imminent danger of the Enemy Matters of Religion could not be handled and that no good was to be expected from the Popish Council they prayed that before the end of this Diet the Emperor would appoint another wherein ways of reconciliation might in a friendly manner be sought after That it was decreed at Spire first That no stirs should be raised for Religion and then that all dissention and animosity should by a pious and friendly debate be healed and made up that upon this foundation the Peace of Germany rested nor would they have desired anything more if things had continued so But now when the Pope that he might disturb and hinder this reconciliation hath called a Council wherein he alone with those of his party has the power of deciding and whose decision as all men say must put an end to the pacification it was absolutely necessary for them that they should have more ample security nor was it any new thing that they required but the very same which is contained in the Decree of Spire That the reason why they refused the Pope's Determination and Councils was long since published to the World and that three Years ago when the Pope by his Legat at Spire had promised a Council they had protested against it as appears by the publick Records in short
an Embassie to the Switzers 380. Makes a League against the Reformed 381. Acquaints the Elector Palatine with the Reasons why he made War upon the Protestants 383. His Letter to the Archbishop of Cologne 385. His Forces at Ratisbon 389. He Outlaws the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave ibid. Invites D. Maurice to take Possession of the Landgrave's and the Saxon's Territories 391. Refuses to hear the Protestant Messengers 394. And answers their Objections ib. Is joined by the Pope's Troops ibid. An account of his Army 395. He marches to Ratisbon ibid. His great Courage 398. He and the Pope pretend different causes of the War Ibid. His Letter to the Protestant Switzers Ibid. He takes Donawert by Surrender 405. Is Master of the Danube 406. Is oppressed at Gienghen a Town on the Danube and uses Tricks to get off 407. The Plague in his Camp Ibid. Removes his Camp 410. Recovers by Surrender several Towns in Frankenland 412. Writes a severe Letter to the Duke of Wirtemberg Ibid. Commands his Subjects not to obey him 413. Takes Ulm by Surrender Ibid. Is reconciled to the Duke of Wirtemberg 415. Several Protestant Cities yield to him 416. Goes to Ulm 417. He receives Lindaw and Essing into favour Ibid. Commands the Arch-Bishop of Cologne to stand by the Popes Sentence Ibid. He raises Forces against the Elector of Saxony 419. He receives the Strasburghers Submission 423. His Letters to the States of D. Maurice Ibid. And to those of Prague Ibid. Another Letter of his to the States of Bohemia 425. His Expedition against the Duke of Saxony 426. His clerity in overtaking him 427. Defeats him and takes him Prisoners Ibid. Condemns the Duke of Saxony to Death Ibid. Proposes conditions of Peace to him and calls a Diet at Ulm 428. Proposes Conditions of Peace to the Landgrave 430. Answers the Landgrave at Hall 432. Detains him Prisoner treacherously 433. Intends to fall upon Magdebourg but is diverted by Vogelsberg's raising Troops in Germany 434. Is reconciled to some Towns in Saxony 435. Publishes his Pacification with the Landgrave Ibid. Squeezes Money from the Germans 436. And proscribes Magdebourg Ibid. Solicites the Switzers to make a League 437. Makes a Truce with the Turk Ibid. Moves the College of Princes to desire the Pope to remove the Council to Bononia 439. Answers the Proposals made by the Cities of the Empire at Augsbourg 441. Sends an Embassy to the Pope about the Council Ibid. Excuses the Landgrave's Confinement Ibid. Refuses to set him at Liberty 442. Confines him closely 443. He makes a Report to the States concerning a Council 453. Raises Money of the States at the Diet 460. Makes a Reformation in Ecclesiastical Matters 463. Which is approved of by the Bishops 464. His answer to the States about Disbanding of the Army 466. He Writes to the Princes about receiving the Interim 468. Proscribes several who served under the Protestants Ibid. Changes the Government of Augsbourg 469. Determines for the Count of Nassaw against the Landgrave 470. Sends Spaniards privately to Constance Ibid. Answers to the desires of the Strasburghers 471. Outlaws the City of Constance Ibid. And will hear no Plea's in their behalf Ibid. He dissolves the Government of Ulm. 472. Goes to Spire and so into the Netherlands with the Saxon and the Landgrave 473. He detains the Duke of Saxony 474. Sends the Popes Indult to the German Bishop 483. Writes to the States out of the Netherlands and appoints a Diet 493. He comes to Augsbourg with his Son 496. His severe Decree against the Lutherans in the Netherlands 497. Which is very injurious at Antwerp upon account of Trade 498. His Army besieged Tripoly 500. He commands the Duke of Brunswick to lay down Arms Ibid. He complains of the Magdebourghers and Bremers 501. Moderates the Edict of Religion in the Netherlands Ib. He is very earnest that the Magdebourghers should be Prosecuted 503. And desires to know why the Interim is not observed Ibid. His Edict against the Magdebourghers 504. Is very severe upon the Landgrave after his fruitless endeavours to escape 505. Quarrels with his Brother about a Successor to the Empire Ibid. His Edict against all that Assist the Magdebourghers 512. He pronounces sentence against the Landgrave for the Lordship of Dietz 513. Publishes a Declaration against Octavio Farnese 515. Calls the States to the Council of Trent Ibid. Accuses the French King of Assisting the Turk 518. Publishes a Declaration against him 522. His answer to the Ambassadors who intercede for the Landgrave 534. He answers the complaints of the Spiritual Electors 535. His Ambassadors have long and frequent Conferences with the Saxon Wirtemberg and Strasburg Agents at Trent 538. Raises Soldiers to oppose the Confederate Princes 557. His Men make an Incursion into Champaigne 558. He flies from Inspruck to Villach 560. Sets the Duke of Saxony at liberty Ibid. His Letter to the Princes Mediators 568. His answer to their Letter 569. His answer to the French Ambassadors Letter 570. Changes the Government of Augsbourg 573. He charges the Franconians to oppose Marquess Albert 574. goes into Lorrain and to Strasbourg Ibid. Lays siege to Metz 575. His Army in the Netherlands takes Hesdin 576. He rises from the siege of Metz Ibid. He Writes to Marquess Albert 577. His answer to his own Ambassadors about the Controversy between Albert and the Franconian Bishops 579. Befieges and takes Terouanne 580. Retakes Hesdin 586. His advice to the Princes of Germany Ibid. He Furnishes Albert with Money underhand 591. Carries the War into Picardy Ibid. Ratifies the Proscription of Albert made by the Imperial Chamber 598. His Letter to the States of Germany 606. His answer to the German Princes 616. Makes the Duke of Alba his General in Milan Ibid. His Fleet engages the French Fleet 618. He resigns the low Countries to his Son Philip 620. Goes into Spain 638. Charles Prince of Spain Born 350. Christian I. King of Denmark dies 62. Christian II. King of Denmark overthrows Steno Stura 62. Burns his dead Body Ibid. Loses Sweden Ibid. Is banished from Denmark Ibid. Appeals to the Diet at Nurenberg Ibid. Is taken Prisoner 161. His Son dies Ibid. Christina Wife to the Landgrave Sollicites for the Landgrave's Release 441. Dies for Grief 485. Christopher Succeedes his Father Ulric in the Dutchy of Wirtemberg 502. His Dutchy is rid of the Spaniards 528. He sends Ambassadors to the Council of Trent Ibid. They are gulled in the Council by the Cardinal of Trent and the Emperors Ambassadors 530. They apply themselves to Count Monfort 537. They join with the Saxon Ambassadors and the Deputies to Sollicite a hearing of the Protestant Divines in the Council of Trent 537. c. They leave the Council 541. New Ambassadors are sent from the Duke of Wirtemberg to Trent 543. The Wirtemberg Divines go to Trent Ibid. Who exhibit their Confession Ibid. They Publish their Protestation there 544. At the breaking up of the Council the Writemberg ambassadors
give in their Opinion of it 547. Cheregatus Franciscus Legate to P. Adrian at Nuremberg 57. Cities of the Empire complain against the Diet at Normiberg 65. and in the Diet of Spire against the Decree of Wormes 103. They complain against Mendicant Friars 104. Immunities of the Clergy Ibid. And against Holy daies Ibid. Cities for the Reformed Religion Protest against the Decree of Spire 120. Are for acknowledging Ferdinand King of the Romans 151. Some Cities quarrel at the Taxes laid at Coblentz to carry on the War at Munster 198. Catholick Cities complain that they are Excluded from the Princes Councils at Ratisbon 282. Some Cities refuse at Spire to grant subsidies against the French 326. They refuse to submit to the Council of Trent at Augsbourg 440. Clareback Adolph Burnt at Cologne for Religion 121. Clement the V. inserts into the Canon-Law that Emperors are Subject to the Pope 38. Clement the VII succedes to Adrian 66. Sends Cardinal Campegio to the Diet at Nuremberg Ibid. Writes to D. Frederick of Saxony Ibid. Sends a Golden Rose to Henry the VIII of England 75. Writes to the Parliament of Paris 97. Enters into a League with Charles the V. 105. Writes expostulatory Letters to him 106. Writes to the King of Poland to be ready to send Deputies to a General Council 142. Sends a Legate to the Duke of Saxony 162. His Legate's Speech to the Duke of Saxony Ibid. Goes to Marseilles to meet Francis 168. Marries his Neice Catharine de Medicis to his Son Henry Ibid. Dies 174. Cleve Duke of Cleve sues to the Emperor for Guelderland 266. His Treaty with the French King 277. Marries the Queen of Navarre's Daughter Ibid. Retakes Duren 304. A Pacification Attempted between him and the Emperor 307. Submits to the Emperor 315. Renounces his League with France and demands his Wife 316. Intercedes with the Arch-Bishop of Cologne to lay down his Bishoprick 418. Coblentz a Town in the Bishoprick of Triers upon the Confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle 13. Some Princes meet there to quiet the Stirs of Munster 197. Cologne Vniversity Condemns Luther's Writing 27. Condemn and burn Reuchlin's Book 30. The Elector of Cologne Herman calls a Provincial Council 209. Endeavours a Reformation 310. Confers with Bucer Ibid. Oppos'd by the Clergy 311. Who Publish their Anti-Didagma Ibid. And oppose Bucer Ibid. The Bishop Mediates for the Duke of Cleve 313. The Clergy plead against their Arch-Bishop 340. They appeal to the Pope and Emperor Ibid. The Arch-Bishop Answers their appeal Ibid. They Subscribe the Appeal 341. The Arch-Bishop is cited by the Emperor and the Pope 351. Answers to his Citation to the Emperor 352. Appeals to a Council 411. The Arch-Bishop is deposed by the Pope 417. He is Perswaded to resign his Bishoprick 418. Vide Adolph Count Schauwenbourg Herman the Old Bishop dies 573. Conclave The Ceremonies there practised in the choosing of Popes 489. Confederate Princes against Charles the V. propose conditions to him 109. Vide Maurice Consecrations of all Sorts Bells Churches Altars c. 481 482. Constance Council decreed a Pope subject to a Council 9. That safe Conducts should be Null to declared Hereticks 47. That the Laity should Communicate in one Kind Ibid. The Bishop of Constance Hugh opposes Zuinglius 51. Sends a Book about Images to the Senate at Zurich 72. They abolish Popery 112. They send Deputies with humble Submission to the Emperor 469. Their Bishop dies of an Apoplexy Ibid. They repulse the Spaniards who would seize the Town 470. Vpon their being proscribed they desire the Switzers to intercede for them 471. They surrender intirely to the House of Austria 474. The Conditions upon which K. Ferdinand receives them ibid. Contarini Card. the Pope's Legate at Ratisbon his Opinion at the Diet 279. His Exhortation to the Bishops 280. His Speech is communicated to the States ibid. He gives in other Papers to the Diet 281. Protests by Letter against a National Council 282. Accused to the Pope and dies 299. Cosimo succeeds Alexander de Medicis in the Dutchy of Florence 210. Marries Eleanor Daughter to the Viceroy of Naples ibid. Cosmus vide Cosimo Coyre Bishop of Coyre recalled by the Grisons from the Council of Trent 529. Cranmer Tho. A. B. of Canterbury calls Bucer and Fagius into England 479. Vindicates himself from the aspersions of the Papists 590. Is sent to the Tower ibid. Burnt at Oxford ibid. Crescentio Cardinal the Pope's Legate at the Council of Trent 518. Dies at Verona 548. Falls sick with seeing an Apparition of a Black Dog ibid. Cronberg Walter Grand Master of the Teutonick Order 99. Sollicites Char. V. for aid against Albert the late Grand Master 139. VVhich was granted ibid. The Emperor in the Diet of Ratisbon ratifies Cronberg's Title 161. Cusanus Nicolaus Cardinal vide Sigismund D DEcius Philip writes for the Council of Pisa 27. Denmark vide Christiern K. of Denmark sent no aid to the Protestants 415. His Ambassador intercedes for the Landgrave 534. Deux-Ponts vide Wolfgang D. of Deux-Ponts Diazi John goes to the Conference at Ratisbon 365. Is earnestly perswaded by Malvenda to turn Papist 366. And by his Brother Alfonso Diazi ibid. Goes to Newbourg ibid. Is Assassinated there 367. The Ruffians fled to Inspruck ibid. Ditlebius Valentine his Letter to Frederick 33. Doria Andrew a Genoese Char. V's Admiral restores Liberty to his Country 416. His Kinsman Joannin Doria is killed in an Insurrection ibid. Dragut a Pirate forced from Tripoly by Char. V. flies to Constantinople 500. E EBleben Christopher Negotiates a Peace for the Landgrave 430. Dies for Grief that the Conditions were so treachersouly kept 434. Eckius John Writes against Luther 3. Disputes with him at Leipzick 21. Maintains the Pope's Supremacy against him 22. Exasperates the Quarrel 24. 34. Disputes at Baden with Oecolampadius 105. Disputes with Leonard Caesar 110. Answers the Augustan Confession 130. Answers the Confession of the Confederate Cities 139. Is rewarded for his zeal in oppugning Heresie Ibid. Is displeased with the Book which was presented to the Diet at Ratisbon 278. Writes to the Princes against the Collocutors 282. Eckius a Lawyer draws up Luther's charge at Wormes 42. Questions him if he will defend his Books Ibid. Replies to Luther's Plea 44. Commands him to leave Wormes 46. Edward VI. of England born 232. Succeeds his Father 418. Beats the Scots by the D. of Somerset 440. Establishes the Reformation in England 443. Publishes a Declaration about the War in Scotland 454. The Mass is abolished in England 463. The Admiral the D. of Somerset's Brother is Beheaded for Treason 479. Troubles in his Reign 485. Concludes a Treaty of Peace with France 492. And a Peace concluded 495. Bologne Restored to the French ibid. He dies 585. Egmont Charles Count dies 240. Eldo Mathias Vice-Chancellor to Char. V. sent Ambassador to the German Princes 212. His Speech to them at Smalcald 213. His Reply ex Tempore to their Answer 218. He sollicites