o resort,
he pulled it down. After the exploit, being compelled to leave that
neighborhood, he wandered about Germany, and went as far as Switzerland,
carrying with him, and communicating to all who would listen to him, the
plan of a general revolution. Everywhere he found men's minds prepared;
he threw gunpowder on the burning coals, and the explosion forthwith
took place.

Luther, who had rejected the warlike enterprises of Sickengen, could not
be led away by the tumultuous movements of the peasantry. He wrote to
the Elector: "It causes me especial joy that these enthusiasts
themselves boast, to all who are willing to listen to them, that they do
not belong to us. The Spirit urges them on, say they; and I reply, it is
an evil spirit, for he bears no other fruit than the pillage of convents
and churches; the greatest highway robbers upon earth might do as much."

At the same time, Luther, who desired that others should enjoy the
liberty he claimed for himself, dissuaded the Prince from all measures
of severity: "Let them preach what they please, and against whom they
please," said he; "for it is the Word of God that must march in front
of the battle and fight against them. If their spirit be the true
spirit, he will not fear our severity; if ours is the true one, he will
not fear their violence. Let us leave the spirits to struggle and
contend with one another. Perhaps some persons may be led astray; there
is no battle without wounds; but he who fighteth faithfully shall be
crowned. Nevertheless, if they desire to take up the sword, let your
highness forbid it, and order them to quit the country."

The insurrection began in the Black Forest, and near the sources of the
Danube, so frequently the theatre of popular commotions. On the 19th of
July, 1524, some Thurgovian peasants rose against the Abbot of
Reichenau, who would not accord them an evangelical preacher. Ere long
thousands were collected round the small town of Tengen to liberate an
ecclesiastic who was there imprisoned. The revolt spread with
inconceivable rapidity from Swabia as far as the Rhenish provinces,
Franconia, Thuringia, and Saxony. In the month of January, 1525, all
these countries were in a state of rebellion.

About the end of this month the peasants published a declaration in
twelve articles, in which they claimed the liberty of choosing their own
pastors; the abolition of small tithes, of slavery, and of fines on
inheritance; the right to hu