assembled at Spire, when the emperor's ambassadors were desired to use their utmost endeavours to suppress all disputes about religion, and to insist upon the rigorous execution of the sentence which had been pronounced against Luther at Worms. But this opinion was opposed, and the diet proved favourable to the reformation. The tranquillity, which they in consequence enjoyed, did not last long. In 1529, a new diet was formed, and the power which had been granted to princes of managing ecclesiastical affairs till the meeting of a general council, was now revoked, and every change declared unlawful that should be introduced into the doctrine, discipline, or worship of the established religion, before the determination of the approaching council was known. This decree was considered as iniquitous and intolerable by several members of the diet: and when they found that all their arguments and remonstrances were in vain, they entered a solemn protest against the decree on the 19th of April, and appealed to the emperor and a future council. Hence arose the denomination of Protestants, which from that time has been given to those who separate from the Church of Rome.

Charles V. was in Italy, to whom the dissenting princes sent ambassadors to lay their grievances before him; but they met with no encouraging reception from him. The pope and the emperor were in close union at this time, and they had interviews upon the business. The pope thought the emperor to be too clement, and alleged that it was his duty to execute vengeance upon the heretical faction. To this, however, the emperor paid no regard, looking upon it as unjust to condemn, unheard, a set of men who had always approved themselves good citizens. The emperor, therefore, set out for Germany, having already appointed a diet of the empire to be held at Augsburg, where he arrived, and found there a full assembly of the members of the diet. Here the gentle and pacific Melancthon had been ordered to draw up a confession of their faith, which he did, and expressed his sentiments and doctrine with the greatest elegance and perspicuity; and thus came forth to view the famous Confession of Augsburg.

This was attempted to be refuted by the divines of the Church of Rome, and a controversy took place, which the em

peror endeavoured to reconcile, but without success: all hopes of bringing about a coalition seemed utterly desperate. The votaries of the Church of Rome, therefore, had recourse to the powerful arguments of imperial edicts, and the force of the secular arm; and, on the 19th of November, a decree was issued by the emperor's orders, every way injurious to the reformers. Upon which they assembled at Smalcald, where they concluded a league of mutual defence against all aggressors, by which they formed the Protestant States into one body, and resolved to apply to the kings of France and England, to implore them to patronize their new confederacy. The king of France, being the avowed rival of the emperor, determined secretly to cherish those sparks of political discord; and the king of England, highly incensed against Charles, in complaisance to whom the pope had long retarded, and now openly opposed, his long-solicited divorce, was equally disposed to strengthen a league which might be rendered formidable to the emperor. Being, however, so taken up with the scheme of divorce, and of abolishing the papal jurisdiction in England, he had but little leisure to attend to them. Meanwhile Charles was convinced that it was not a time to extirpate heresy by violence; and at last terms of pacification were agreed upon at Nuremberg, and ratified solemnly in the diet at Ratisbon; and affairs were so ordered by Divine Providence, that the Protestants obtained terms which amounted almost to a toleration of their religion.

Soon after the conclusion of the peace of Nuremberg, died John, elector of Saxony, who was succeeded by his son John Frederick, a prince of invincible fortitude and magnanimity, but whose reign was little better than one continued train of disappointments and calamities. The religious truce, however, gave new vigour to the reformation. Those who had hitherto been only secret enemies to the Roman pontiff, now publicly threw off his yoke; and various cities and provinces of Germany enlisted themselves under the religious standards of Luther. On the other hand, as the emperor had now no other hope of terminating the religious disputes but by the meeting of a general council, he repeated his requests to the pope for that purpose. The pontiff (Clement VII.), whom the history of past councils filled

with the greatest uneasiness, endeavoured to retard what he could not with decency refuse. At last, in 1533, he made a proposal, by his legate, to assemble a council at Mantua, Placentia, or Bologna; but the Protestants refused their consent to the nomination of an Italian council, and insisted that a controversy which had its rise in the heart of Germany, should be determined within the limits of the empire. The pope, by his usual artifices, eluded the performance of his own promise; and, in 1534, was cut off by death, in the midst of his stratagem. His successor, Paul III., seemed to show less reluctance to the assembling a general council, and, in the year 1535, expressed his inclination to convoke one at Mantua; and, in the year following, actually sent circular letters for that purpose through all the states and kingdoms under his jurisdiction. This council was summoned by a bull issued out on the 2d of June, 1536, to meet at Mantua the following year: but several obstacles prevented its meeting; one of the most material of which was, that Frederick duke of Mantua had no inclination to receive at once so many guests, some of them very turbulent, into the place of his residence. On the other hand, the Protestants were firmly persuaded that, as the council was assembled in Italy, and by the authority of the pope alone, the latter must have had an undue influence in that assembly of consequence, that all things must have been carried by the votaries of Rome. For this reason they assembled at Smalcald in the year 1537, where they solemnly protested against this partial and corrupt council; and, at the same time, had a new summary of their doctrine drawn up by Luther, in order to present it to the assembled bishops, if it should be required of them. This summary, which had the title of The Articles of Smalcald, is commonly joined with the creeds and confessions of the Lutheran church.

After the meeting of the general council in Mantua was thus prevented, many schemes of accommodation were proposed both by the emperor and the Protestants; but, by the artifices of the Church of Rome, all of them came to nothing. In 1541, the emperor appointed a meeting at Worms, on the subject of religion, between persons of piety and learning, chosen from the contending parties. This conference, how

ever, was, for certain reasons, removed to the diet that was to be held at Ratisbon the same year, and in which the principal subject of deliberation was a memorial presented by a person unknown, containing a project of peace. But the conference produced no other effect than a mutual agreement of the contending parties to refer their matters to a general council, or, if the meeting of such a council should be prevented, to the next German diet.

The resolution was rendered ineffectual by a variety of incidents, which widened the breach, and put off to a further day the deliberations which were designed to heal it. The pope ordered his legate to declare to the diet of Spire, assembled in 1542, that he would, according to the promise he had already made, assemble a general council, and that Trent should be the place of its meeting, if the diet had no objection to that city. Ferdinand, and the princes who adhered to the cause of the pope, gave their consent to this proposal; but it was vehemently objected to by the Protestants, both because the council was summoned by the authority of the pope only, and also because the place was within the jurisdiction of the pope; whereas they desired a free council, which should not be biassed by the dictates, nor awed by the proximity of the pontiff. But this protestation produced no effect. Paul III. persisted in his purpose, and issued out his circular letters for the convocation of the council, with the approbation of the emperor. In justice to this pontiff, however, it must be observed, that he showed himself not to be averse to every reformation. He appointed four cardinals and three other persons eminent for their learning, to draw up a plan for the reformation of the church in general, and of the Church of Rome in particular. The reformation proposed in this plan was, indeed, extremely superficial and partial; yet it contained some particulars which could scarcely have been expected from those who composed it.

All this time the emperor had been labouring to persuade the Protestants to consent to the meeting of the council at Trent; but when he found them fixed in their opposition to this measure, he began to listen to the sanguinary measures of the pope, and resolved to terminate the dispute by force of arms. The elector of Saxony and landgrave of Hesse, who were the chief supporters of

the Protestant cause, upon this took proper measures to prevent their being surprised and overwhelmed by a superior force; but before the horrors of war commenced, the great reformer Luther died in peace at Eisleben, the place of his nativity, in 1546.

The emperor and the pope had mutually resolved on the destruction of all who should dare to oppose the council of Trent. The meeting of it was to serve as a signal for taking up arms; and accordingly its deliberations were scarcely begun, in 1546, when the Protestants perceived undoubted signs of the approaching storm, in a formidable union betwixt the emperor and pope, which threatened to crush and overwhelm them at once. This year, indeed, there had been a new conference at Ratisbon, upon the old subject of accommodating differences in religion; but, from the manner in which the debates were carried on, it plainly appeared that these differences could only be decided in the field of battle. The council of Trent, in the meantime, promulgated their decrees; while the reformed princes, in the diet at Ratisbon, protested against their authority, and were on that account proscribed by the emperor, who raised an army to reduce them to obedience.

The elector of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse led their forces into Bavaria against the emperor, and cannonaded his camp at Ingoldstadt. It was supposed that this would bring on an engagement, which would probably have been advantageous to the cause of the reformed; but this was prevented chiefly by the perfidy of Maurice duke of Saxony, who invaded the dominions of his uncle. Divisions were also fomented among the confederate princes by the dissimulation of the emperor; and France failed in paying the subsidy which had been promised by its monarch; all which so discouraged the heads of the Protestant party, that their army soon dispersed, and the elector of Saxony was obliged to direct his march homewards. But he was pursued by the emperor, who made several forced marches, with a view to destroy his enemy before he should have time to recover his vigour. The two armies met near Muhlberg, on the Elbe, on the 24th of April, 1547; and, after a bloody action, the elector was entirely defeated, and himself taken prisoner. Maurice, who had so basely betrayed him, was now

declared elector of Saxony; and, by his entreaties, Philip, landgrave of Hesse, the other chief of the Protestants, was persuaded to throw himself on the mercy of the emperor, and to implore his pardon. To this he consented, relying on the promise of Charles for obtaining forgiveness, and being restored to liberty; but, notwithstanding these expectations, he was unjustly detained prisoner, by a scandalous violation of the most solemn convention.

The affairs of the Protestants now seemed to be desperate. In the diet of Augsburg, which was soon after called, the emperor required the Protestants to leave the decision of these religious disputes to the wisdom of the council which was to meet at Trent. The greatest part of the members consented to this proposal, being convinced by the powerful argument of an imperial army, which was at hand to dispel the darkness from the eyes of such as might otherwise have been blind to the force of Charles's reasoning. However, this general submission did not produce the effect which was expected from it. A plague which broke out, or was said to do so, in the city, caused the greatest part of the bishops to retire to Bologna, by which means the council was in effect dissolved; nor could all the entreaties and remonstrances of the emperor prevail upon the pope to re-assemble it without delay. During this interval, therefore, the emperor judged it necessary to fall upon some method of accommodating the religious differences, and maintaining peace until the council so long expected should be finally obtained. With this view he ordered Julius Pelugius, bishop of Naumberg, Michael Sidonius, a creature of the pope, and John Agricola, a native of Eisleben, to draw up a formulary which might serve as a rule of faith and worship till the council should be assembled; but as this was only a temporary expedient, and had not the force of a permanent or perpetual institution, it thence obtained the name of the Interim.

This project of Charles was formed partly with a design to vent his resentment against the pope, and partly to answer other political purposes. It contained all the essential doctrines of the Church of Rome, though considerably softened by the artful terms which were employed, and which were quite different from those employed before and after

this period by the council of Trent. There was even an affected ambiguity in many of the expressions, which made them susceptible of different senses, and applicable to the sentiments of both communions. The consequence of all this was, that the imperial creed was reprobated by both parties. [See INTERIM.] In the year 1542, the pope (Paul III.) died, and was succeeded by Julius III., who, at the repeated solicitations of the emperor, consented to the reassembling of a council at Trent. A diet was again held at Augsburg, under the cannon of an imperial army, and Charles laid the matter before the princes of the empire. Most of those present gave their consent to it, and, among the rest, Maurice, elector of Saxony, who consented on the following conditions: -1. That the points of doctrine which had already been decided there should be re-examined.-2. That this examination should be made in presence of the Protestant divines.-3. That the Saxon Protestants should have a liberty of voting as well as of deliberating in the council.-4. That the pope should not pretend to preside in the assembly, either in person or by his legates. This declaration of Maurice was read in the diet, and his deputies insisted upon its being entered into the registers, which the archbishop of Mentz obstinately refused. The diet was concluded in 1551; and, at its breaking up, the emperor desired the assembled princes and states to prepare all things for the approaching council, and promised to use his utmost endeavours to procure moderation and harmony, impartiality and charity, in the transactions of that assembly.

On the breaking up of the diet, the Protestants took such steps as they thought most proper for their own safety. The Saxons employed Melancthon, and the Wittembergers Brengius, to draw up confessions of faith to be laid before the new council. The Saxon divines, however, proceeded no farther than Nuremberg, having received secret orders from Maurice to stop there; for the elector, perceiving that Charles had formed designs against the liberties of the German princes, resolved to take the most effectual measures for crushing his ambition at once. He, therefore, entered, with the utmost secresy and expedition, into an alliance with the king of France and several of the German princes, for the security of the rights

and liberties of the empire; after which, assembling a powerful army in 1532, he marched against the emperor, who lay with a handful of troops at Inspruck, and expected no such thing. By this sudden and unforeseen accident, Charles was so much dispirited, that he was willing to make peace almost on any terms. The consequence of this was, that he concluded a treaty at Passau, which by the Protestants is considered as the basis of their religious liberty. By the first three articles of this treaty it was agreed that Maurice and the confederates should lay down their arms, and lend their troops to Ferdinand, to assist him against the Turks; and that the landgrave of Hesse should be set at liberty. By the fourth it was agreed that the rule of faith called the Interim should be considered as null and void ; that the contending parties should enjoy the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion until a diet should be assembled to determine amicably the present disputes (which diet was to meet in the space of six months); and that this religious liberty should continue always, in case it should be found impossible to come to an uniformity in doctrine and worship. It was also determined, that all those who had suffered banishment or any other calamity, on account of their having been concerned in the league or war of Smalcald, should be reinstated in their privileges, possessions, and employments; that the imperial chamber at Spire should be open to the Protestants as well as to the Catholics; and that there should always be a certain number of Lutherans in that high court. To this peace, Albert, marquis of Brandenburgh, refused to subscribe; and continued the war against the Roman Catholics, committing such ravages in the empire, that a confederacy was at last formed against him. At the head of this confederacy was Maurice, elector of Saxony, who died of a wound he received in a battle fought on the occasion in 1553.

The assembly of the diet promised by Charles was prevented by various accidents; however, it met at Augsburg, in 1555, where it was opened by Ferdinand in the name of the emperor, and terminated those deplorable calamities which had so long desolated the empire. After various debates, the following acts were passed, on the 25th of September:

That the Protestants who followed the

Confession of Augsburg should be for the future considered as entirely free from the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff, and from the authority and superintendence of the bishops; that they were left at perfect liberty to enact laws for themselves relating to their religious sentiments, discipline, and worship; that all the inhabitants of the German empire should be allowed to judge for themselves in religious matters, and to join themselves to that church whose doctrine and worship they thought the most pure and consonant to the spirit of true Christianity; and that all those who should injure or prosecute any person under religious pretences, and on account of their opinions, should be declared and proceeded against as public enemies of the empire, invaders of its liberty, and disturbers of its peace.

Thus was the Reformation established in many parts of the German empire, where it continues to this day: nor have the efforts of the popish powers at any time been able to suppress it, or even to prevent its gaining ground. It was not, however, in Germany alone that a reformation of religion took place. Almost all the kingdoms of Europe began to open their eyes to the truth about the same time. The reformed religion was propagated in Sweden, soon after Luther's rupture with the Church of Rome, by one of his disciples, named Olaus Petri. The zealous efforts of this missionary were seconded by Gustavus Vasa, whom the Swedes had raised to the throne in the place of Christiern, king of Denmark, whose horrid barbarity lost him the crown. This prince, however, was as prudent as he was zealous: and, as the minds of the Swedes were in a fluctuating state, he wisely avoided all kind of vehemence and precipitation in spreading the new doctrine. Accordingly the first object of his attention was the instruction of his people in the sacred doctrines of the holy Scriptures; for which purpose he invited into his dominions several learned Germans, and spread abroad through the kingdom the Swedish translation of the Bible that had been made by Olaus Petri. Some time after this, in 1526, he appointed a conference at Upsal, between the reformer and Peter Gallius, a zealous defender of the ancient superstition, in which each of the champions was to bring forth his arguments, that it might be seen on which side the truth lay. In this dis

pute Olaus obtained a signal victory; which contributed much to confirm Gustavus in his persuasion of the truth of Luther's doctrine, and to promote its progress in Sweden. The following year another event gave the finishing stroke to its propagation and success. This was the assembly of the states at Westeraas, where Gustavus recommended the doctrine of the reformers with such zeal, that, after warm debates, fomented by the clergy in general, it was unanimously resolved that the reformation introduced by Luther should have place in Sweden. This resolution was principally owing to the firmness and magnanimity of Gustavus, who declared publicly, that he would lay down the sceptre, and retire from the kingdom, rather than rule a people enslaved by the orders and authority of the pope, and more controlled by the tyranny of their bishops than by the laws of their monarch. From this time the papal empire in Sweden was entirely overthrown, and Gustavus declared head of the church.

In Denmark, the Reformation was introduced as early as the year 1521, in consequence of the ardent desire discovered by Christiern II. of having his subjects instructed in the doctrines of Luther. This monarch, notwithstanding his cruelty, for which his name has been rendered odious, was nevertheless desirous of delivering his dominions from the tyranny of the church of Rome. For this purpose, in the year 1520, he sent for Martin Reinard, one of the disciples of Carlostadt, out of Saxony, and appointed him professor of divinity at Hafnia; and after his death, which happened in 1521, he invited Carlostadt himself to fill that important place. Carlostadt accepted of this office, indeed, but in a short time returned to Germany; upon which Christiern used his utmost endeavours to engage Luther to visit his dominions, but in vain. However, the progress of Christiern in reforming the religion of his subjects, or rather of advancing his own power above that of the church, was checked, in the year 1523, by a conspiracy, by which he was deposed and banished; his uncle Frederic, duke of Holstein and Sleswic, being appointed his successor.

Frederic conducted the Reformation with much greater prudence than his predecessor. He permitted the Protestant doctors to preach publicly the sen