riends in other
cities. They were at once put into German, and applauded to the echo
by the whole nation. Everybody had been resentful of the extortion of
greedy ecclesiastics and disgusted with their hypocrisy. All welcomed
the attack on the "holy trade," as its supporters called it. Tetzel
was mobbed and had to withdraw in haste. The pardons no longer had any
sale. The authorities took alarm at once. Leo X directed the general
of the Augustinians to make his presumptuous brother recant.
[Sidenote: February 3, 1518] The matter was accordingly brought up at
the general chapter of the Order held at Heidelberg in May. Luther was
present, was asked to retract, and refused. On the contrary he
published a Sermon on Indulgence and Grace and a defence of the theses
stating his points more strongly than before.

The whole of Germany was now in commotion. The Diet which met at
Augsburg in the summer of 1518 was extremely hostile to the pope and to
his legate, Cardinal Cajetan. At the instance of this theologian, who
had written a reply to the Theses, and of the Dominicans, wounded in
the person of Tetzel, Luther was summoned to Rome to be tried. On
August 5 the {68} Emperor Maximilian promised his aid to the pope, and
in order to expedite matters, the latter changed the summons to Rome to
a citation before Cajetan at Augsburg, at the same time instructing the
legate to seize the heretic if he did not recant. At this juncture
Luther was not left in the lurch by his own sovereign, Frederic the
Wise, Elector of Saxony, through whom an imperial safe-conduct was
procured. Armed with this, the Wittenberg professor appeared before
Cajetan at Augsburg, was asked to recant two of his statements on
indulgences, and refused. [Sidenote: October 12-14, 1518] A few days
later Luther drew up an appeal "from the pope badly informed to the
pope to be better informed," and in the following month appealed again
from the pope to a future oecumenical council. In the meantime Leo X,
in the bull _Cum postquam_, authoritatively defined the doctrine of
indulgences in a sense contrary to the position of Luther.

The next move of the Vicar of Christ was to send to Germany a special
agent, the Saxon Charles von Miltitz, with instructions either to
cajole the heretic into retraction or the Elector into surrendering
him. In neither of these attempts was he successful. [Sidenote:
January 1519] At an interview with Luther the utmost he co