The Thirty Years' War - James Aitken Wylie

and the Prince-bishops of Wurzburg, Ratisbon,
Augsburg, Constance, Strasburg, Passau, and by
several abbots.
The leading object of the League was the
restoration of the Popish faith over Germany, and
the extirpation of Protestantism. This was to be
accomplished by force of arms. Any moment might
bring the outbreak; and Maximilian had all army of
Bavarians, zealots like himself, waiting the
summons, which, as matters then stood, could not
be long deferred. We behold Protestantism entering
on its third grand phase in Germany.
The first was the Illumination. From the open
Bible, unlocked by the recovered Hebrew and
Greek tongues, and from the closets and pulpits of
great theologians and scholars, came forth the light,
and the darkness which had shrouded the world for
a thousand years began to be dispersed. This was
the beginning of that world-overturning yet worldrestoring
movement. The second phase was that of
Confession and Martyrdom. During that period
societies and States were founding themselves
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