REFORMATION
33
Desiderius Erasmus
Consilium cuiusdam ex animo cupientis
esse consultum et Romano pontifici dignitati
et Christiane religionis tranquillitati
[Cologne?] 1521
As a devoted Christian humanist, Erasmus realized that the
growing controversy between Luther and the Roman Catholic Church
could only serve to shatter the unity of Christendom and curtail
international scholarship. Characteristic of his moderate and
pacifist nature, Erasmus collaborated with the Dominican theologian
Johannes Faber in drawing up a plan for reconciling the two
parties. In this rare copy of Consilium cuiusdam,
published anonymously in 1521, the "prince of humanists" urges
Luther and the Pope to consider moderation and arbitration, "lest
enormous fruit of the Gospel's harvest perish because of a few
little errors." However, Erasmus' plea was ignored. By 1521 Luther
had issued his inflammatory pamphlets and burned the Papal Bull.
Erasmus turned against the Wittenberg reformer, commencing a famous
literary duel.
34
Ein schöner Dialogus von
Martino Luther und der geschickten
Botschaft aus der Helle
die falsche geystligkeit und das wort
Gottes belangen gantz
hübsch zu lesen
1523
If many of the reformers were at odds with the humanists, they
were not above adapting some of the resources devised by the
latter, especially pamphlet warfare and satire. Due to developments
in printing since the late fifteenth century, pamphlets were
inexpensive and could easily be reproduced the perfect means
of conveying Luther's message to the people. The new publications
contained forceful illustrations and, instead of Latin, used an
idiomatic German which could be read by merchant or soldier. In
this example, produced by an anonymous follower in 1523, Luther is
shown conversing with a Dominican monk whose claws and hooves belie
his true identity as Satan.
35
Jean Calvin
Institutio Christianae religionis
Strassburg: Wendelin Rihel, 1539
Although the exact date of Calvin's conversion to Protestantism
is uncertain (sometime between 1529 and 1532), he was forced to
leave Paris in 1534 and subsequently settled in Basel, Switzerland,
then a Protestant center. While in Basel he undertook an exhaustive
study of theology, drawing mainly on the Bible, the works of the
early Church Fathers, and the writings of contemporaries such as
Martin Luther and Martin Bucer. As a result of this effort, and
given further impetus by an outbreak of persecutions in Catholic
France, he issued, in 1536, his epoch-making Institutio
Christianae religionis. Conceived originally as a basic manual
of doctrine, the Institutio took the form of a systematic
and comprehensive treatise on dogmatic theology. It became
immensely popular throughout Europe and was without doubt the most
influential manual issued during the Reformation. The second
edition of 1539 was enlarged almost threefold and better arranged,
showing deeper study of Augustine and Chrysostom and reflecting the
influence of Calvin's friend Bucer.
36
Joannes Oecolampadius
Vom Sacrament der Dancksagung
Zurich: Christopher Froschover, 1526
One of the central issues of the Reformation concerned the
nature of sacraments as instruments of salvation and expressions of
grace. Questions arose as to whether the Eucharist involved the
metaphorical or literal presence of Christ's body. While Martin
Luther favored the latter view, other reformers such as
Oecolampadius (1482-1531) followed Zwingli in preferring the
metaphorical interpretation. In Vom Sacrament der
Dancksagung Oecolampadius utilizes an exegesis of Christ's
words "This is my love" to support the metaphorical understanding.
A trusted leader, Oecolampadius was instrumental in the adoption of
Reformation principles in Basel and in Berne.
37
Urbanus Rhegius
Wie man die falschen Propheten
erkennen ja greifen mag
Brunswick: Anders Goldbeck, 1539
Image
The career of Urbanus Rhegius paralleled those of other
contemporary reformers. Born in 1489 at Constance, Rhegius'
education was strongly humanistic. He followed his master, Johann
Eck (1486 1543), Luther's famous antagonist, from Freiburg im
Breisgau to Ingolstadt where, under Eck's influence, he wrote the
strictly orthodox treatise De dignitate sacerdotum. By
1521, however, he had become a Lutheran and was forced to resign
his post as cathedral preacher in Augsburg. As a reformer, his
initial efforts were directed against the Roman tradition; his
later activities against what Rhegius considered the dangerous
radicalism of the Anabaptists. His special concerns were pastoral
and educational, of which this sermon on the recognition of false
prophets is, in its anti-Catholicism, strongly indicative.
Caricatures depicting a priest and monk as wolves feasting on the
faithful sheep emphasize the necessity for discriminating between
the true "lutter Evangelium" and the "falschen Propheten."
38
Friedrich Nausea
Evangelicae veritatis homiliarum centuriae tres
Cologne: Peter Quentell, 1532
Friedrich Nausea (1480-1552) was one of the chief Roman Catholic preachers and apologists of the Reformation period. He received his doctorate in law from Padua in 1523 and, the following year, went to Germany as secretary to Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. During that same year he was given the impossible task of returning Philipp Melanchthon (1497 1560) to the Roman Catholic Church. Nausea gradually rose through the Church hierarchy and succeeded to the episcopal see of Vienna in 1541. He attended the Council of Trent in 1551 as Emperor Ferdinand's orator, participating in debates on the Eucharist, penance, and extreme unction. Nausea composed many sermons, a collection of which is to be found in this rare first edition of Evangelicae veritatis homiliarum, published at Cologne in 1532. It is the only copy reported to be in the United States.
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