"Give us light," the Protestants said. "Give
us darkness," responded the papacy, "or the submissive masses will rise
and overthrow despotic thrones as well as idolatrous altars."
Several of the ablest and most powerful of the bishops who, in that day
of darkness, had been groping in the dark, now that light had come into
the world, rejoiced in that light, and enthusiastically espoused the
truth. The emperor was quite appalled when he learned that the
Archbishop of Cologne, who was also one of the electors of the empire,
had joined the reformers; for, in addition to the vast influence of his
name, this conversion gave the Protestants a majority in the electoral
diet, so many of the German princes had already adopted the opinions of
Luther. The Protestants, encouraged by the rapidity with which their
doctrines were spreading, were not at all disposed to humble themselves
before their opponents, but with their hands upon the hilts of their
swords, declared that they would not bow their necks to intolerance.
It was indeed a formidable power which the emperor was now about to
marshal against the Protestants. He had France, Spain, all the roused
energies of the pope and his extended dominions, and all the Catholic
States of the empire.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193