The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology - Saint Mary ...

of a king, but with the impudence of a knave. This rotten worm of the
earth having blasphemed the majesty of my king, I have a just right to
bespatter his English majesty with his own dirt...This Henry has lied.' He
was repaid with capital and interest by an anonymous reply, said to have
been written by Sir Thomas More, who concludes by leaving Luther, in
language not necessary to translate, 'cum suis furiis et furoribus, cum suis
merdis et stercoribus cacantem cacatumque.' Such were the vigorous
elegancies of a controversy on the 'Seven Sacraments.' Long after, the
Court of Rome had not lost the taste of these 'bitter herbs;' for in the bull of
the canonization of Ignatius Loyola, in August, 1623, Luther is called
monstrum teterrimum, et detestabilis pestis."--"Calvin was less tolerable,
for he had no Melanchthon! His adversaries are never others than knaves,
lunatics, drunkards, and assassins! Sometimes they are characterized by
the familiar appellatives of bulls, asses, cats, and hogs! By him Catholic
and Lutheran are alike hated. Yet, after having given vent to this virulent
humor, he frequently boasts of his mildness. When he reads over his
writings, he tells us that he is astonished at his forbearance; but this, he
adds, is the duty of every Christian! At the same time he generally finishes
a period with--'Do you hear, you dog? Do you hear, madman?' 44
Doederlein.
"Amidst all that Luther has written," says Doederlein, "I know
nothing more precious than his sermons and his. letters. From both of these
we can at least learn to know the man in his entire greatness, and in
accordance with his genuine character, which superstition and malice, and
the partizan licentiousness both of friends and foes has disfigured; from
both beams forth the most open honesty, the firmness of a courage which
never quailed, fearlessness of judgment, and that spirit which knew so
perfectly its aim, which preserved its serenity amid all calamities, and
changes allotted by Providence, and knew how to use to good purpose,
sport and earnest. His letters especially bear the impress of the most artless
simplicity, and of the most naive vivacity, and apart from their
contributions to history, and the attractiveness
44 Curiosities of Literature, by J. D'Israeli, London, Moxon, 1841, p. 82.