other scenes from the life of the Lord and
scenes from the lives of the Popes, the artist displayed very
effectually the contrast between the true religion which the Redeemer
had taught men by His Word and example, and the false religiousness
which was represented by the papacy. On the one side was humility, on
the other, pride; poverty was shown in contrast with wealth; meekness
was placed over and against arrogance, etc. At a glance the people saw
the chasm that yawned between the preaching and practise of Jesus and
that of His pretended representative and vicar, and they verified the
pictures showing the Pope in various attitudes from their own
experience. These cartoons became very popular, and have maintained
their popularity till the most recent times. During the "Kulturkampf"
which the German government under Bismarck waged against the aggressive
policy of the Vatican, the German painter Hofmann issued a new edition
of the "Passionale," and Emperor William I sent a copy to the Pope with
a warning letter.

Catholics complain about the rudeness and nastiness of these cartoons
and others that followed. Luther is supposed to have furnished the
rhymes and descriptive matter which accompanied them. Lather is also
cited as uttering most repulsive and scurrilous sentiments about the
Pope.

What are we to say about this antipapal violence of Luther? Certainly,
it is not a pleasant subject. We are in this instance facing essentially
the same situation as that which confronted us when we studied Luther's
"coarseness" (chap. 5), and all that was said in that connection applies
with equal force to the subject now before us. One may deplore the
necessity of these passionate outbursts ever so much, but when all the
evidence in the case has been gathered and the jury begins to sift the
evidence and weigh the arguments on either side, there is at the worst a
drawn jury. All who have truly sounded "the mystery of iniquity" which
has been set up in the Church by the papacy will affirm Luther's
sentiments about the Pope as true.

It is necessary, however, to point out certain facts that may be
regarded as additional argument to what was said in chap. 5. In the
first place, the cartoon is a recognized weapon in polemics. The
struggle of the Protestants against the Pope was not altogether a
religious and spiritual one; political matters were discussed together
with affairs of religion at every German diet in those days. The age was