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Jeddo. The Dutch Indian government continued most powerfully to aid Siebold, and in 1825, furnished him with Dr. Burger as a mineralogist and Villeneuve as a draughtsman. He led at this time, in some sort, an academic life. From all the provinces in the kingdom, young persons came to his lectures on medical and physical knowledge, and followed him in his excursions, and in his visits to the sick in the city, while the Dutch officers sought, in their leisure hours to relieve him of his multiplied labors. His relation to the embassy proved not so favorable to his plans. In Feb. 1826, he accompanied them on their journey to Jeddo, along with Burger, a Japanese painter, and some of his scholars. His office as a physician and naturalist occasioned him many disappointments and sufferings in a large city. The embassy, and his scholars and acquaintance found themselves surrounded with numerous sick persons. At the same time this medical knowledge was the key to an acquaintance with the country and the people, while, as if for exchange, he communicated his knowledge of the European sciences in payment for his information respecting Japan, and the neighboring countries. The arrival of the embassy to Jeddo awakened attention. Siebold's deportment, and his scientific knowledge drew a crowd to him. He was surrounded with the royal physicians, astronomers and other learned men; the great sought him for advice, or for the sake of seeing his physical or astronomical instruments, books and other curiosities. Siebold who thus became acquainted with the most interesting men in the kingdom, embraced every opportunity of accomplishing his plan of a longer residence in Jeddo. This would have been effected, had it not been for a disregard of a Japanese prejudice on the part of the embassy in their second audience with the emperor. The erroneous impression was conveyed that the ambassador was not Siebold's friend. On the 11th of May, 1826, the embassy left Jeddo. On account of the indisposition of the ambassador, they stopped some time at Mijako, the former capital of the empire; also at Chosaka, the first commercial city; they then prosecuted their journey to the sea at Kokura on the island Kiu-sin, and on the 7th of July reached Nagasaki. On this route, Siebold added considerably to his collection in natural history and ethnographical objects; among which were books, manuscripts, pictures and drawings. De Stürler returned to Batavia in 1826, and Meylan came in his room.

From Jeddo and other places, some learned Japanese followed Siebold, and remained constantly with him, aiding him in his writing, and in his orders for natural curiosities. Siebold labored without intermission; he carried on with several learned men a lively correspondence, and by means of his scholars, sought and explored all parts of the land.

[We shall give some further accounts of Siebold, and of the important publications respecting Japan, in which he is now engaged.]

AMERICAN

BIBLICAL REPOSITORY.

NO. XXVIII.

OCTOBER, 1837.

ARTICLE I.

ON THE ORIGIN AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE REFORMATION; FROM PLANCK'S PROTESTANT THEOLOGY.

Translated from the German, by R. Emerson, Prof. of Ecclesiastical History, Theol. Sem. Andover. Concluded from p. 141.

WHEN, in 1500, Alexander VI. had proclaimed the grand jubilee indulgence, now customary at the commencement of a century, and had already named cardinal Raymond, the bishop of Gurck, as legate for Germany, to preach the indulgence there, the States of the empire, then in session at Augsburg, without once waiting for the arrival of the legate, manifested their displeasure both in regard to him and the design of the legation. And at the diet of this year, the complaints against the Romish chair, were discussed, and it was decided to despatch a legation to the pope, who should insist on the application of all the monies hitherto drawn from Germany through indulgences, annates,* and other means, to their original destination, namely to aid against the Turks; and who should also forcibly present the

A year's income to be paid to the pope by any bishop, abbot, or parish priest, on succeeding to any vacated living. These were abolished in Germany by the council of Basel, 1434, but restored to the pope in the concordats of Germany, 1448. They created much trouble also in other countries.

TR.

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the complaints of the nation respecting the papal invasions of the concordats. The instructions for the legation were already made out by the government, when the papal legate arrived in Germany and appeared at the Nuremberg session. But they not only refused, for a long time, to admit him, because they insisted upon it that he should first procure of the pope the removal of the grievances of the Germans, mentioned in the instructions, but when, after the consent of the emperor to the proposal was received, he was finally admitted, the States also showed themselves remarkably firm in shaping the answer which was given to his commission. The levying of tithes from the German clergy, for the licence of which he had especially petitioned, was totally forbidden him; and the promulgation of the indulgence was granted only under very severe conditions, concerning which a formal stipulation was made with him. It was to take place only in the principal towns, and within a certain limited period, and by certain persons appointed by the States. The commissaries and confessors for the purpose, were to be selected and appointed by the legate in connexion with the state commissioners. And the money collected in each church, was to be deposited in a particular chest, not by the confessors, but by the contributors themselves. The keys of this chest were never to be confided to the legate alone; and none of the money itself was to go to Rome, but all to be appropriated to the war against the Turks, after deducting the stipulated expences for the commissaries and the third part of the whole profits, which was allowed to the legate for the support of his retinue.* These conditions must not only have been utterly unexpected to the Romans, but they might, if strictly adhered to, prove a sure means of imperceptibly disgusting them with the traffic of indulgences in Germany, from which they could promise themselves, in future, but little benefit on this plan.

The insurrection of the peasants, which took place in the following year, 1502, in the county of Spire and some other countries on the Rhine, and which is known in our history by the name of the shoe-league, proves, at least in part, what a ferment was boiling among the lower orders, against the clergy. The rebels were mostly episcopal subjects, who, provoked by the oppressions of a severe administration, and bound together by a

* N. Sammel. der R. A. P. II. n. 10. p. 93.

Trithemii Chronicon Hirsaug. a. 1502. p. 589.

common and implacable hatred against all priests and monks, first turned their revenge against these, and would have inflicted the most unmerciful vengeance on them, if the fire had not been fortunately smothered at the beginning. Still it continued to glow beneath the ashes; and the projects for religious reformations and the common distribution of ecclesiastical estates,* which their imagination had once seized upon, could not again so easily be banished from it, although they were now compelled to defer their execution. Only a blast of wind was needed, again to kindle the flame, which long lived in secret, and was then acquiring greater power, even by the force with which it was held in check, to spread itself abroad.

The internal disquiets which distracted the empire in the following years, the Frisic quarrels, the Bayerischpfälzic contests, and the war which grew out of them, Maximilian's struggle with the Romans and the league against Benedict, in which he engaged with the pope, now for some time diverted the attention of himself and of the States from the molestations, for which the Romish court was continually giving the nation too much occasion. But their complaints were only heard the louder, when the favorable moment seemed to have come for it. In the month of May, 1510, the States, assembled at the diet at Augsburg, presented ten capital grievances against the pope and the Romish clergy, to the emperor, who was then besides extremely exasperated with Julius II. The rough draft of these grievances,† had already been made out by the distinguished elector of Mentz, Berthold, and now received the entire approbation of the emperor, who promised his most powerful support. The unlawful assumptions of the Romish chair in the German bishoprics and prelatures, the extortions of the Romish court respecting the annates and the indulgence and the tithes for the Turkish war, the removal of so many lawsuits to Rome, and other abuses, were mentioned among the grievances, with genuine German frankness. The means which promised actual relief, were pointed out, and special allusions to the emperor were contained in this draft. But, unfortunately, it was seldom that

It was actually one of their projects, to reform secular government and religion, and to make the ecclesiastical, estates common to every man.

† Augsp. R. A. p. 134. Struvens Geschichte der Religionsbeschwerden, I. 1. § 3 and 5. Georgii Gravam. L. I. C. VIII. p. 272.

much reliance could be placed upon Maximilian's support in any undertaking where resolute activity and stedfast perseverance were requisite to its execution; and so even this step of the imperial States, was followed by no essentially decisive consequences. True, the emperor, in his first zeal, appeared willing immediately to begin the reformation of the prevailing abuses, by the means proposed; true, moreover, he this year issued an order from Innspruck, in which one of the chief causes of the corruption of the clergy and of the distracted state of the church, was complained of, and the holding of a plurality of benefices was, at the same time, forbidden to the clergy; true, he thereupon soon caused to be extracted, from the famous pragmatic sanction of the kingdom of France, such points as might be adapted to the regulation of the German empire ;* true, too, he appeared subsequently to have thought most seriously of abolishing several grievances, particularly the evil of indulgences, as he even issued a remarkable order, in 1515, to the city of Augsburg, directing them, not only to prohibit the Dominican monks there, (who for the purpose of building their church and cloisters, had obtained permission from the pope to collect money, by indulgences, in several imperial cities,) from making such collection, but also to take into safe keeping the money on hand and to retain it till further orders, because the monks had undertaken this collection arbitrarily. But the evil was not thus entirely removed. Its eradication required rules more efficient and constructed on more mature reflection. Meanwhile, the sensibility of the nation to the oppressions of the Romish court, was thus kept continually vivid. The religious respect of our princes towards the pope, was gradually weakened. They became continually more accustomed, not only to contemplate his usurpations with a political jealousy, and to watch their progress with a provident eye, but also openly to oppose them. Indeed, to such among them as, like Frederic the Wise, adhered closely enough to the system of the Romish church, it gradually became

* Maximilian committed this work to the famous Jacob Wimpfeling. See the emperor's order and Wimpfeling's sketch, in Flacii Catal. test. ver. p. 325. [The pragmatic sanction referred to, was the ordinance of Charles VII, in 1438, in conformity with the decrees of the council at Basel, and which secured the liberties of the Gallican church.

TR.]

† See Häberlins Auszug aus der allg. Welthist, IX. B. p. 659. aus Paul von Stettens Geschichte der Reichstadt Augsburg P. I. c. 8. 10. p. 275.

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