Had he, then, done such
an unheard-of thing? What he had expressed was, he knew, the belief of
all the best men of the Church. When the Bishop of Brandenburg had
sent the Abbot of Lehnin to him, with the request that Luther would
suppress the printed edition of his German sermon on indulgences and
grace, however near the truth he might be, the brother of the poor
Augustinian monastery was deeply moved that such great men should
speak to him in so friendly and cordial a manner, and he was ready to
give up the printing rather than make himself a monster that disturbed
the Church. Eagerly he sought to refute the report that the Elector
had instigated his quarrel with Tetzel--"they wish to involve the
innocent prince in the enmity that falls on me." He was ready to do
anything to keep the peace before Cajetan and with Miltitz. One thing
he would not do--recant what he had said against the unchristian
extension of the system of indulgences; but recantation was the only
thing the hierarchy wanted of him. For a long time he still wished for
peace, reconciliation, and return to the peaceful activity of his
cell; and again and again a false assertion of his opponents set his
blood on fire, and every opposition was followed by a new and sharper
blow from his weapon.
Even in the first letter to Leo X, May 30, 1518, Luther's heroic
assurance is remarkable. He is still entirely the faithful son of the
Church. He still concludes by falling at the Pope's feet, offers him
his whole life and being, and promises to honor his voice as the voice
of Christ, whose representative the head of the Church is; but even
from this devotion befitting the monk, the vigorous words flash out:
"If I have merited death, I refuse not to die.
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