MARTIN LUTHER I 2 g exonerated them from the consequences of their transgressions. The sale of these pardons had become an organized part of the papal system. Money was largely needed at Rome, and its numerous emissaries sought everywhere to raise funds by the sale of " indulgences ; " the principal of these was John Tetzel, a Dominican friar, who had established himself at Juterberg (1517). Luther's in- dignation at the shameless traffic which this man carried on, finally became irre- pressible. " God willing," he exclaimed, " I will beat a hole in his drum." He drew out ninety-five theses on the doctrine of indulgences, which on October 3ist he nailed up on the door of the church at Wittenberg, and which he offered to maintain in the university against all impugners. The general purport of these theses was to deny to the Pope all right to forgive sins. This sudden and bold step of Luther was all that was necessary to awaken a wide-spread excite- ment. Tetzel was forced to retreat from the borders of Saxony to Frankfort- on-the-Oder, where he drew out and published a set of counter-theses and pub- licly committed those of Luther to the flames. The students at Wittenberg retaliated by burning Tetzel's theses. The elector refused to interfere, and the excitement increased as new combatants Hochstratten, Prierias, and Eck en- tered the field. Eck was an able man, and an old friend of Luther's, and the argument between him and the reformer was especially vehement. In 1518 the latter was joined by Melancthon, who became one of his dearest and most trusted friends. At first the Pope, Leo X., took little heed of the disturbance ; he is reported even to have said, when he heard of it, that " Friar Martin was a man of genius, and that he did not wish to have him molested." Some of the cardinals, however, saw the real character of the movement, which gradually assumed a seriousness evident even to the Pope ; and Luther received a summons to appear at Rome, and answer for his theses (1518). Once again in Rome, it is unlikely he would ever have been allowed to return. His university and the elector interfered, and a legate was sent to Germany to hear and determine the case. Cardinal Cajetan was the legate, and he was but little fitted to deal with Luther. He would enter Into no argument with him, but merely called upon him to retract. Luther re- fused, and fled from Augsburg, whither he had gone to meet the papal represent- ative. The task of negotiation was then undertaken by Miltitz, a German, who was envoy of the Pope to the Saxon court, and by his greater address, a tempo- rary peace was obtained. This did not last long. The reformer was too deeply moved to keep silent. " God hurries and drives me," he said ; " I am not mas- ter of myself ; I wish to be quiet, and am hurried into the midst of tumults." Dr. Eck and he held a memorable disputation at Leipsic (1519), in which the subject of argument was no longer merely the question of indulgences, but the general power of the Pope. The disputation, of course, came to no practical re- sult ; each controversialist claimed the victory, and Luther in the meantime made progress in freedom of opinion, and attacked the papal system as a whole more boldly. Erasmus and Hutten joined in the conflict, which waxed more loud and threatening.
