In Germany to the Leipsic Disputation - James Aitken Wylie

Chapter 8
Tetzel Preaches Indulgences
LUTHER'S stay in Rome did not extend over
two weeks, but in that short time he had learned
lessons not to be forgotten all his life long. The
grace he had looked to find at Rome he had indeed
found there, but in the Word of God, not in the
throne of the Pope. The latter was a fountain that
had ceased to send forth the Water of Life; so,
turning from this empty cistern, he went back to
Wittemberg and the study of the Scriptures.
The year of his return was 1512. It was yet five
years to the breaking out of the Reformation in
Germany. These years were spent by Luther in the
arduous labors of preacher, professor, and
confessor at Wittemberg. A few months after his
return he received the degree of Doctor in Divinity,
and this was not without its influence upon the
mind of the Reformer. On that occasion Luther
took an oath upon the Bible to study, propagate,
and defend the faith contained in the Holy
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