CHAP. XIII.] mDULOSNCSe. 411 which be ?ives of their promulgation: "The fight of promulgating these indulgences in Germany, together with a share arising from the hie of them, was granted to Albert, elector of Mentz, an archbishop of Magdeburg, who, as his chief agent for retailing them in Saxony, employed Tetzel, a Dominican friar, of licentious morals, but of an ac- tive spirit, and remarkable for his noisy and popular eloquence. He, assisted by the monks of his order, executed the commission with great zeal and success, but with little discretion or decency; and, though by magnifying excessively the benefit of their ifdulg?,nc?s, and by disposing of them at a very low price, they carried on for some time an extensive and lucrative traffic among the credulous and the ignorant, the extravagance of their assertions, as well as the irregularities in their conduct, came at last to give general offence. The princes and nobles were irritated at seeing their vassals drained of so much wealth, in order to replenish the treasury of a profuse Pontiff. Men of piety regretted the delusion of the people, who, being taught to rely for the pardon of their sins on the indulgences which they purchased, did not think it incumbent on them either to study the doctrines taught by genuine Christianity, or to practise the duties which it enjoins." The following form, used by Tetzei, we quote from Robertson, and we throw in the remarks with which he accompanies it. Its authen- ticity cannot be denied; and if it were, hundreds of other forms, equally as gross, can be quoted. Some will be given, and some hun- dreds more may be added, if called for. "As the fame of these i?dulgenc.?, and the benefits which they were supposed to convey, are unknown in Protestant countries, and little un- derstood at present in several places where the Roman Catholic reli- gion is established, ! have for the information of my readers translated tim form of absolution used by Tetzel: ' May our Lord Jesus (?hrist have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles St. Peter and Paul, and of the most holy popes, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first, from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred; and then from all thy Slniq, tralm* gressious, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see; and as far as the keys of the holy church extend, I remit to you all punish- ment which you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I restore yon to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you Possessed at baptism; 80 that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be 8hut, and the gates of the paradise shall be opened; and if you 8hall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy (}host.' "The terms in which Tetzel and his associates described the bene- fits of indulgences, and the necessity of purchasing them, are so extra- ragant, that they appear almost incredible. ' If any,' said they, ' pur- chase letter8 of iedulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect to its salvation.' The souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape t'rom that place of torment, and ascend to heaven. That the efficacy of indulgence was so great, that the most heinous 1 ,Goocle
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