and enveloped all the world.
Luther's heart's desire was to have this grief and other griefs amended;
his thought was still far other than that of introducing separation in
the Church, or revolting against the Pope, Father of Christendom.--The
elegant Pagan Pope cared little about this Monk and his doctrines;
wished, however, to have done with the noise of him: in a space of some
three years, having tried various softer methods, he thought good to end
it by _fire_. He dooms the Monk's writings to be burnt by the hangman,
and his body to be sent bound to Rome,--probably for a similar purpose.
It was the way they had ended with Huss, with Jerome, the century
before. A short argument, fire. Poor Huss: he came to that Constance
Council, with all imaginable promises and safe-conducts; an earnest,
not rebellious kind of man: they laid him instantly in a stone dungeon
"three feet wide, six feet high, seven feet long;" _burnt_ the true
voice of him out of this world; choked it in smoke and fire. That was
_not_ well done!

I, for one, pardon Luther for now altogether revolting against the Pope.
The elegant Pagan, by this fire-decree of his, had kindled into noble
just wrath the bravest heart then living in this world. The bravest, if
also one of the humblest, peaceablest; it was now kindled. These words
of mine, words of truth and soberness, aiming faithfully, as human
inability would allow, to promote God's truth on Earth, and save men's
souls, you, God's vicegerent on earth, answer them by the hangman and
fire? You will burn me and them, for answer to the God's-message they
strove to bring you? You are not God's vicegerent; you are another's
than his, I think! I take your Bull, as an emparchmented Lie, and burn
_it_. _You_ will do what you see good next: this is what I do.--It was
on the 10th of December, 1520, three years after the beginning of the
business, that Luther, "with a great concourse of people," took this
indignant step of burning the Pope's fire-decree "at the Elster-Gate of
Wittenberg." Wittenberg looked on "with shoutings;" the whole world was
looking on. The Pope should not have provoked that "shout"! It was
the shout of the awakening of nations. The quiet German heart, modest,
patient of much, had at length got more than it could bear. Formulism,
Pagan Popeism, and other Falsehood and corrupt Semblance had ruled long
enough: and here once more was a man found who durst tell all men that
God's-world stood not o