which his adverfaries give a horrid meaning, and very different from this ecclefiaftick's real thoughts, His greatest enemies could not deny, that he had eminent qualities; and hiftory affords nothing more furprising than his exploits. For a fimple monk to give fo rude a fhock to popery, is what we cannot fufficiently admire. He had made great progrefs in Scholaftic learning, yet no one fell fo foul upon the method of philofophizing at that time, nor was any man more vehemently bent against the great Ariftotle."

The fame author produces the following remarkable citation from a noted French writer, who was one of Luther's flanderers *. "Luther was a perfect atheift. His own difciple Dr. Aurifaber, deposes, as an ear-witness,-that he heard Luther himself fay in the pulpit, he thanked God he felt no longer any disturbance of his confcience, and that he began to fee the fruits of his gofpel among his difciples. "Nam poft revelatum Evangelium meum," faid he, "Virtus eft occifa, juftitia oppreffa, temperantia ligata, veritas lacerata, fides clauda, nequitia quotidiana, devotio pulfa, hærefis relicta." Mons'. Garaffe tranflates this paffage thus: "I have fought with fuch fuccefs, that I have ftifled the feeds of virtue, oppreffed juftice, extinguished fobriety, rent truth to pieces, broken the pillars of faith, made villany familiar, banished devotion and introduced herefy." Upon which P. Bayle makes the following excellent obfervation. "There is no need to obferve here, that all this is to be understood by the rules of contraries: the thing fpeaks for itself; and I am certain there is no honeft man, whatever religion he is of, but will deteft or pity the extravagance of fuch a flanderer." It is not at all improbable

* Mons'. Garaffe.

bable but Luther might ufe, in his pulpit, the very words here brought against him in accufation; nor is it neceffary to fuppofe, that, in the warmth and hafte of eloquence, he fhould even have used the words, THEY SAID, or MINE ENEMIES CRIED our, to make his meaning clear. Nothing can be more obvious than the sense of the citation, even as it ftands. "After my way of expounding the gofpel became known," fays Luther*, THEY SAID, or MINE ENEMIES CRIED OUT, "Virtue is ftifled, justice is oppreffed," and fo on; and we are left to wonder how an omiffion, which is quite common in all vehement harangues, whatever be the language fpoken, could poffibly be made, by any reasonable man, the occafion of fo much calumny. Thofe, however, will wonder less, who have been accustomed to obferve, how frequently t happens. in our times, that found and zealous preachers of the gofpel are mifreprefented and reviled, as though their interpretations of the nature of Chrift's falvation had a tendency to promote licentioufnefs.

Let not the reader forget, that my present object is to produce evidences of Luther's learning and talents from the mouths of his adverfaries, or at leaft from the mouths of thofe, who have fhewn no particular predilection for the pure-gofpel of Jefus Chrift. It would be with much pain and reluctance, that I fhould be compelled to place the famous Erafmus among either of thefe claffes.His great learning, his elegant tafte, and his acute understanding, are all unquestionable; neither is there any doubt how very ferviceable his writings proved

*All becomes clear by fuppofing the words here printed in capitals to have been implied, though not actually faid.

proved in preparing men's minds to approve the bolder and more decifive measures of Luther*. But ftill, in my judgment, the proofs of his love of ease, of fame, and of the efteem of persons of rank and confequence, are far more numerous, than any examples which can be produced of his fincere regard for the effential doctrines of chriftianity, or of the evangelical humility of his own mind. Though it may be extremely difficult to delineate accurately a character of this fort, his obfervations, nevertheless, on the great men and great tranfactions of his own times, cannot fail to be valuable.-Moreover, as Erafmus at no time, I believe, was very fond of Luther, and as they very much opposed and controverted each other's opinions, the judgment of this illuftrious fcholar refpecting the great Saxon reformer, may be laid before the reader in this place with much propriety. Indeed the following extracts are the more important and also fuitable to be cited here, becaufe, firft, they decifively prove the abilities of Luther, and, fecondly, they contain many facts and circumstances, which demonftrate the knowledge, learning and integrity of our reformer, and laftly, they very materially corroborate the preceding account of the state of the religious world in general, when this extraordinary man began his oppofition to the exifting ecclefiaftical tyranny.

Erafmus had fo good an opinion of Luther's intentions, that in one of his epifties, he expreffes his belief," That God had fent him to reform mankind." Melanthon, in his life of Luther, affures us from his own knowledge, that the elector of Saxony, befought Erafmus in the very kindeft manner, to tell him freely, whether he judged Luther to be mistaken, refpecting the principal controverfies in which he was then engaged; and that

See p. 269. of this Vol.

that Erafmus, on this occafion, fpoke out,"That Luther's fentiments were true, but that he wifhed to see more mildness in his manner." In another letter to the elector he fays, "The cause of Luther is invidious, becaufe, he at once attacks the bellies of the monks and the diadem of the pope." In various other letters, and particularly, in one written to cardinal Campegius in the year A. D. 1520, Erafmus opens his mind freely concerning 1520. Luther and his proceedings. He acknowledges that he poffeffed great natural talents; and that he had a genius particularly adapted to the explanation of difficult points of literature, and for rekindling the fparks of genuine evangelical doctrine, which were almoft extinguished by the trifling fubtilties of the fchools. He adds, that men of the very best character, of the foundeft learning, and of the moft religious principles, were much pleafed with Luther's books; further, that in proportion as any perfon was remarkable for upright morals and gofpel-purity, he had the lefs objections to Luther's fentiments." Befides," faid he, "the life of the man is extolled even by those who cannot bear his doctrines. Some, indeed, in hatred to his perfon, condemn what is true, pervert and misinterpret what is right, and make him pafs for a heretic, for faying the fame things which they allow to have been pious and orthodox in Bernard and Auftin." Erafmus declares, that he had endeavoured, to the utmost of his power, to hinder Luther from being oppreffed by a faction of raging zealots. It grieved him that a man of fuch FINE PARTS fhould be rendered desperate by the mad cries and bellowings of the monks. ought, continued this fagacious Hollander, "to take notice of the fource and fpring of all this evil. The world was burthened with human inventions in the business of religion, loaded with the opinions

We

and

and doctrines of the fchools, and oppreffed with the tyranny of the monks and begging friars. I do not condemn them all, but many of them are fo mad, that for the fake of intereft and rule, they hamper the confciences of men on purpose. They lay afide Chrift and modefty, they preach nothing but their own innovations, and oftentimes fcandalous doctrines. They fpeak of indulgences after fuch a manner, as is infupportable even to the laity. By these and fuch like methods, the power of the gofpel is dwindled to nothing; and it is to be feared, that matters becoming continually worse, the little fpark of chriftian piety, by which the ftifled fpirit of charity might be re-kindled, will be entirely quenched. The chief parts of religion are loft in ceremonies more than judaical. Good men lament and weep for thefe things; and even divines, who are not monks, acknowledge the truth of them, as also fome of the monks in their private converfations. These things, I believe, firft put Luther upon the dangerous work of oppofing fome of the most intolerable and fhameless abuses. For what can we think otherwife of a perfon, who neither aims at worldly honour or riches? I do not now confider the charges which they bring against the man; I fpeak only of the apparent grounds of their animofity towards him. Luther had the boldness to call in question the GOOD of indulgences; but others had first spoken too much and too boldly for them. Luther has dared to fpeak indecently of the power of the pope of Rome; but others had first exalted it too indecently; and in particular, three preaching friars, Alvarus, Sylvefter, and the cardinal of St. Sixtus. He dared to defpife the decrees of Thomas Aquinas; but the Dominicans had extolled them almost above the gofpel. He dared to disclose fome doubts in the matter of confeffion, but the monks continually