From the Diet of Worms to the Augsburg Confession - James Aitken Wylie

He clothes himself with considerateness, with
tenderness, and even with pity. He is afraid of
going too far, and in some cases he leaves it open
to question whether he has gone far enough. He is
calm–nay, cautious –treading softly lest
unwittingly he should trample on a prejudice that is
honestly entertained, or hurt the feelings of any
weak brother, or do an act of injustice or severity to
any one. The revenues of the abbeys and cathedrals
he touches no further than to order that they shall
contribute a yearly sum for the salaries of the
parish ministers, and the support of the schools.
Vacant benefices, of course, he appropriates; here
no personal plea appeals to his commiseration.
Obstinate Romanists find forbearance at his hands.
There was a clause in the Visitation Act which, had
he chosen to enforce it, would have enabled him to
banish such from Saxony; but in several instances
he pleads for them with the elector, representing
that it would be wiser policy to let them alone, than
to drive them into other countries, where their
opportunities of mischief would be greater. If
indulgent to this class, he could not be other than
beneficent to nuns and monks. He remembered that
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