lives and
over their souls. All progress was conditioned on breaking her claims,
and probably nothing could have done it so thoroughly as this idea of
justification by faith only.

The thought made Luther a reformer at once. He started to purge his
order of Pharisaism, and the university of the dross of Aristotle.
Soon he was called upon to protest against one of the most obtrusive of
the "good works" recommended by the church, the purchase of
indulgences. Albert of Hohenzollern was elected, through political
influence and at an early age, to the archiepiscopal sees of Magdeburg
and Mayence, this last carrying with it an electorate and the primacy
of Germany. For confirmation from the pope in the uncanonical
occupation of these offices, Albert paid a huge sum, the equivalent of
several hundred thousand dollars today. Mayence was already in debt
and the young archbishop knew not where to turn for money. To help
him, and to raise money for Rome, Leo X declared an indulgence. In
order to get a large a profit as possible Albert employed as his chief
agent an unscrupulous Dominican named John Tetzel. [Sidenote: Tetzel]
This man went around the country proclaiming that as soon as the money
clinked in the chest the soul of some dead relative flew from
purgatory, and that by buying a papal pardon the purchaser secured
plenary remission of sins and the grace of God.

The indulgence-sellers were forbidden to enter Saxony, but they came
very near it, and many of the people of Wittenberg went out to buy
heaven at a bargain. Luther was sickened by seeing what he believed to
be the deception of the poor people in being taught to rely on these
wretched papers instead of on real, lively faith. He accordingly
called their value in question, {67} in Ninety-five Theses, or heads
for a scholastic debate, which he nailed to the door of the Castle
Church on October 31, 1517. [Sidenote: The Ninety-five Theses, 1517]
He pointed out that the doctrine of the church was very uncertain,
especially in regard to the freeing of souls from purgatory; that
contrition was the only gate to God's pardon; that works of charity
were better than buying of indulgences, and that the practices of the
indulgence-sellers were extremely scandalous and likely to foment
heresy among the simple. In all this he did not directly deny the
whole value of indulgences, but he pared it down to a minimum.

The Theses were printed by Luther and sent around to f