ose piercing glance had discerned the condition of the people,
had already from the summit of the Wartburg addressed them in serious
exhortations calculated to restrain their agitated minds:

"Rebellion," he had said, "never produces the amelioration we desire,
and God condemns it. What is it to rebel, if it be not to avenge one's
self? The devil is striving to excite to revolt those who embrace the
Gospel, in order to cover it with opprobrium; but those who have rightly
understood my doctrine do not revolt."

Everything gave cause to fear that the popular agitation could not be
restrained much longer. The government that Frederick of Saxony had
taken such pains to form, and which possessed the confidence of the
nation, was dissolved. The Emperor, whose energy might have been an
efficient substitute for the influence of this national administration,
was absent; the princes whose union had always constituted the strength
of Germany were divided; and the new declaration of Charles V against
Luther, by removing every hope of future harmony, deprived the reformer
of part of the moral influence by which in 1522 he had succeeded in
calming the storm. The chief barriers that hitherto had confined the
torrent being broken, nothing could any longer restrain its fury.

It was not the religious movement that gave birth to political
agitations; but in many places it was carried away by their impetuous
waves. Perhaps we should even go further, and acknowledge that the
movement communicated to the people by the Reformation gave fresh
strength to the discontent fermenting in the nation. The violence of
Luther's writings, the intrepidity of his actions and language, the
harsh truths that he spoke, not only to the Pope and prelates, but also
to the princes themselves, must all have contributed to inflame minds
that were already in a state of excitement. Accordingly, Erasmus did not
fail to tell him, "We are now reaping the fruits that you have sown."
And further, the cheering truths of the Gospel, at last brought to
light, stirred all hearts and filled them with anticipation and hope.
But many unregenerated souls were not prepared by repentance for the
faith and liberty of Christians. They were very willing to throw off the
papal yoke, but they would not take up the yoke of Christ. And hence,
when princes devoted to the cause of Rome endeavored in their wrath to
stifle the Reformation, real Christians patiently endured these cruel
per