Show TEMPLE LECTURE history of the protestant reformation find and the restoration Best oration of the gospel DELIVERED IN THE LOGAN TIM epiz FEB 22 1888 PREPARED BY ELDER fames AMES A concluded Conc laded from friday august THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS through the intricate manipulation of ef politics that obtained in the times we are no now w considering there existed a number of republics so termed in italy these however were not very large ones some of them comprising only a city such was the famous city of florence but differing from other italian republics in that while in others the nobles held power in florence for some generations the nobles had been dethroned dethroner it frequently occurred that in these republics quarrels and difficulties arose to adjudicate which a dictator in some instances would be chosen to mediate between the contending parties at length power had bad fallen into the hands of the wealthier families of citizens the chief of these was the family of tha th medici morris in his epochs of history states that cosme de medici was for many years dictator his great wealth gained by commerce placed him in the position of a merchant prince his virtues and patronage of learned men made him popular and his popularity paved the way for the proud position neld by his grandson gran lorenzo the lent under the medici florence had become the modern athens genius and wealth had filled it wilh pictures and datues and made it the home of artists and sculptors the taking of Constand constantinople nople by the turks in 1453 having driven learned men into italy here at florence and elsewhere in italy the philosophy of plato was taught oy by men whose native tongue was greek this little knot of men at florence and other places in italy were at work at what is called THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING these re of learning are often spoken of as the humanists they were digging up again and publishing by means of the printing press introduced by guttenberg about the year 1440 the works of the old greek and latin writers and they found in them something more to their taste more true and pure than in the literature of the middle ages agea after reading the pure latin of the classical writers they were disgusted with the bad latin of the monks after studying plato they were disgusted with scholastic philosophy such was the rottenness of rome borne that they found in the high aspirations of plato after spiritual truth and immortality a religion which seemed to them purer than the grotesque esque form christianity which grotesque rome ome held out to them but there suddenly arose amongst them another kind of man n a religious at reformer it is said he came like a shell among tinder and it burst in the midst of the platonic academy this was the florentine e reformer known by the nome of girolame Laven arold he finding from the study of the scriptures now how much both the church and the world needed reform became a reformer and in 1486 commenced preaching against the vices of popes cardinals priests and monks the tyr any of princes and the bad morals of the people calling loudly for repentance and reformation having found his way to florence his friends and even lorenzo ex postulated with him to desist in his bis denunciations but to no purpose he still persisted in his courso course in giving utterance to his views and convictions until at length in the year 1498 by order of the pope he was strangled and burnt at Fi florence orence THE scholastic SYSTEM in europe was an another h er power chatmas that was roman and not national it tended to keep the different classes of people apart the learned world was a world or of its own severed from the masses of the people by the scholastic system all the learned men in europe taleen and wrote letters and books in ia latin hailu the language of rame some of them did not even know the common language na of the countries in they fil aved lt the universities were the great centre of the learned world there were thirty or forty of them scattered over europe and they were in more or less leas close collection with each other the oldest and most celebrated were oxford and cambridge angland paris and aad orleans in Fran prance cei bologne and padua in italy salamanca in spain prague in bohemia and colage in gr gar many these all at the beginning of the era of the reformation were more than a hundred some two hundred years old it is said that students were in the habit of passing from one university to another oxford students would pass on to paris and from paris to Bo balongue Bolo longue ngoe to take their degrees and wherever there was a famous professor thither students flocked from from all the other universities rome had bad long monopolized religion and made it the medium by which she continually poured in to her coffery the gold and sliver silver of her votaries vot aries and the better to secure and perpetuate this condition of affairs she had also built up a scholastic system whatever of learning that was taught in the universities was designed to foster and uphold the doctrines of the catholic church to the exclusion of all other etner ideas having a contrary tendency rut but we shall see bow in this delaat and disappointment came the ever watchful eye of the roman was not powerful enough to detect the innovations of reform until they had taken root reformatory books written in latin at oxford were all over europe oxford stu dents went to the university at prague 1 so be I that writings made as much noise and were as well weld known in bohemia as they were in england huss and easome of prague became the bohemian successor of the english Wyckliffe and thus the movement of reform was translated from one country to another thus we see that which was intended to be a means for the propagation repa gation and perpetuity ot of catho mis acis proved an element of its overthrow the movement learn learning ingin in italy was carried by students from florence Flore Bce to oxford and from thence took a fresh new ground A number of students in oxford enlisted in the new cause prominent among whom was john colet the son of a lord Mayjor of london colet having been to italy to conti nab his studies returned to oxford full of zeal for the new learning and for reforming but above all he was an ardent student of the bible which study in addition to the terms revival of learning I 1 ca came ane ro co be called the new learning in contra distinction to the scholastic learning of long ions st standing la in hia bin travels from universo to university he be became acquainted with erasmas of rotterdam and thomas more enose labors and light added much tu bring about the reformation colet lecturing at oxford on st pauls epistles trying to find out what they baay taught in the same common sene e way viat that men would try to understand letters t rs by a living man to his friends he was eventually made dean at st paul of london Londen and established a school in connection connee tion therewith for the education of boys in the new learning devoting a large fortune left him DY by ills father for that purpose when it was noised abroad that the new learning was being taught the cry of heresy was raised and a bishop of london denounced the school as a temple of idolatry thus we note another stride in the direction of reform in the order of events MARTIN I 1 who was born nov at Eis lebar Ger germany manyo next belt claims our notice as a reformer he was born of por but hanest parents who in the midst of poverty gave their son an education in law at the university of 0 erfurt there he be took his degree de gree of M A but luther was destined for a higher and nobler profession being of a religious turn of mind he soon boon abandoned his law studies and entered the augustine monastery at erfurt he commenced his monastic career aiming to find that labor and felicity said to exist in the faithful observance of the rituals and discipline of the catholic church he experienced much mental agony agon yand and disquietude his fasting and penances brought him no peace at last he be found peace of mind in the doctrine of justification u by faith which teaches th that a t forgiveness of sins instead of be ing gotton gotten by fasts and penances or by the purchase of indulgences and other ceremonies is given freely to those who have faith in christ it isidro er to remark that while luther hadge had departed from the orthodox doctrine of the catholic churchin these particulars he held bold that all are fated to happen according t to 0 the divine will that man has bjoro no tree free will and that only an elect number predestinated to receive the gift of faith can be saved a doctrine which the oxford reformers strove to dissipate in 1508 1509 luther lather was removed from erfurt to the augustine Mona atry otry at Witten bergand was soon after made macle preacher there at the university recently founded by the elector of saxony in 1510 he be was sent onan errand to rome fitere he fo found d wicked priests performing masses in ia the churches ignorant worshippers wor shippers buying forgiveness of sins I 1 from rain the priests and doing at their bidding all kinds of penances and he came back like colet a reformer and with the words the just shall live by faith more than ever ringing in ia his hid ears in we 1517 pope lee the tenth wanted money to help his nephew la in a little war he be had on his bis hands bands to obtain this money he be offered to grant or indulgences at a certain price presumably a low fig figu rete those who would contribute money lor for 1 THE BUILDING OF ST pea at rome but there was one obstacle aole princes and kings were unwilling that the money of their subjects should go to enrich rome lee however overcame this cliff cully by lying giving them a share in toe the spoils he henry tile the ath henry haggled aud and bargained for fora a third at length the pope tient a dominican monk well suited for thy the pur purpose poe into germany lor the nefarious work ot of selling indulgences for sin bin AsTa approached tte principality ot of saxony the elector frederick sent word forbidding him to emer his dominion however aril in te town of Wittenberg the residence of luther began the stile sale of indulgences this aroused the lire fire ot of luther lie he knew that what the pope wanted wis was money and that anat the whole thing was a cheama gross perversion ot of religion luther on the day before the festival al of all saints on which i the relics of the church were displayed to the crowds ot of country people wao flocked into the town passed down the long street that ae led to the p palace church with a copy in his band of ninety five thesis against indulgences lie he nailed upon its door ready for trie tae festival on the morrow on all saints day it is said tie be read these statements to the people in the great parish church the indignation of may be imagined upon meeting this opposition from luther lather he perhaps would not have paid much attention to co luthers efforts had bad lie he not known the great reformer was backed by the elector of saxony an honest man who had t e welfare of the german eople at heart butners Lut ners thesis laid keople gold old of his mind and it to is said that in afew a few days daya afterwards he dreamed that he saw the monk writing on the door of tits his church in letters so large that he could read them at his palace IS miles away and that pen growing louger longer and longer and at last reaching to rome touched the popes i triple crown and made it totter 1 in the year 1514 1314 the noise of religious disputes was aos absorbed orbed in the great noise of political excitement maximilian the then reigning emperor of germany and the holy empire died diemand die dand had a new emperor was to be elected frederick the elector of saxony the sentor senior elector of germany refused refused the office anti and recommended charles the first ot of Spain who was elected emperor under the title of CHARLES THE FIFTH OF GERMANY GERMAN i the new emperor being a devout Cit catholic holic ard abd the avowed supporter ot of the roman see I 1 the pope was greatly encouraged at his bis elevation in the meantime disputes had been going on be between luther ind and the pope which inions anten sifted aled the bitter feelings of the former and had the effect of determining mere inere clearly the views of luther developing the fact that he was strictly a and this discovery hastened his bis quarrel with the pope the pope and councils had denounced wyckliffe and huss as heretics and since luther endorsed their views he be must also be a heretic so the pope concluded to issue a papal bull against him when the news of thi this readied reached the ears of luther he wrote a pamphlet addressed to his bis imperial majesty and the christian nobility of germany setting forth with asperity the abuses which had been heaped upon germany oy the pope and calling upon them to rez resist with him the tyranny of rome borne in a short time the bull was issued which excommunicated him the catholic church which coming into the hands bands of luther only aroused the fire that was latent within him he gathered up some papers containing the canon law the de and other extravagances of the pope and quietly walked to the outer limits of we the city accompanied by a large number of professors doctors and students there a fire had bad been prepared and there amidst cowd the cheers and acclamations of the crowd lie he complacently burnt the church docia documents ments toge together with the papal bull this wasa daring deed for a poor german monk to defy the pope of rome berne but the gauntlet had been gope een thrown and in hurtling banking the papal bull he be virtually crossed the rubicon and difficulties grew irremediable but la in the midst of these events event luther had bad the support of the good alector elector frederick and many aaa ny of the nobility of germany whose influence served to check for a while the indignation ot of rome borne in the meantime the staid and consor dative bon had become his companion and collea colleague kne whose prudence and caution served to some seme extent to check luthers impetuosity when the news rea clied rome borne that luther had burned the bull the rage of the pontificate rose to fever heat on the of january 1521 THE DIET OP OF WORMS was convened for the transaction oi of political and religious business and to this luther was summoned to answer to the charge of heresy having ab bained a sate safe conduct from against the wishes ot of his bis friends responded to tae me summons rany many friends in their anxiety for his bis safety reminded him ot of the late ace of huss bass who had bad been cited to appear at constance upon a similar charge heedless of these ex postulations be in company with the herald on the of april 1521 left wittenberg tor for worms A little reflection will show bow precarious re was the situation of luther luger lie he had been by the pope public sentiment had bad been incited against him while some ot of his bis books had bad already been burned in the netherlands by order ot of the tae emperor Gm perr it was thought ty by his bis friends that bi solo to wordia was equal togging to to uis its death still he be persisted and often declared that he be did not value his bis life as compared with the work that seemed to roll him that it was gods goda work and he would take care of it and him such soon faatu and zeal has called forth the admiration of millions and will do so to the end of time after a tedious lourney journey of days he arrived at worms As he was daily expected a great number of people had bad there mere from other parts the emperor the papal nuncio alexander toe tae princes ui OT the realm loc luling the sta staunch tinch friend frederick of saxony and many others who had not the courage to manifest in atanes ble manner their |