Netherlands and Scandinavia
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to lead them to a purer faith and a holier life. He opened the Bible,
and explained its true meaning, and at last preached Christ to them as
the sinner’s righteousness and his only hope of salvation. Great was
the wrath of the prior, who had built high hopes upon him as a valiant
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defender of Rome. He was at once removed from his own monastery
to another and confined to his cell under strict supervision.
To the terror of his new guardians several of the monks soon de-
clared themselves converts to Protestantism. Through the bars of his
cell Tausen had communicated to his companions a knowledge of
the truth. Had those Danish fathers been skilled in the church’s plan
of dealing with heresy, Tausen’s voice would never again have been
heard; but instead of consigning him to a tomb in some underground
dungeon, they expelled him from the monastery. Now they were pow-
erless. A royal edict, just issued, offered protection to the teachers
of the new doctrine. Tausen began to preach. The churches were
opened to him, and the people thronged to listen. Others also were
preaching the word of God. The New Testament, translated into the
Danish tongue, was widely circulated. The efforts made by the papists
to overthrow the work resulted in extending it, and erelong Denmark
declared its acceptance of the reformed faith.
In Sweden, also, young men who had drunk from the well of Wit-
tenberg carried the water of life to their countrymen. Two of the leaders
in the Swedish Reformation, Olaf and Laurentius Petri, the sons of a
blacksmith of Orebro, studied under Luther and Melanchthon, and the
truths which they thus learned they were diligent to teach. Like the
great Reformer, Olaf aroused the people by his zeal and eloquence,
while Laurentius, like Melanchthon, was learned, thoughtful, and calm.
Both were men of ardent piety, of high theological attainments, and of
unflinching courage in advancing the truth. Papist opposition was not
lacking. The Catholic priest stirred up the ignorant and superstitious
people. Olaf Petri was often assailed by the mob, and upon several oc-
casions barely escaped with his life. These Reformers were, however,
favored and protected by the king.
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Under the rule of the Roman Church the people were sunken in
poverty and ground down by oppression. They were destitute of the
Scriptures; and having a religion of mere signs and ceremonies, which
conveyed no light to the mind, they were returning to the superstitious
beliefs and pagan practices of their heathen ancestors. The nation was