Protest of the Princes
165
ought to be confined to reformed Saxony; and as to all the rest of
Christendom, free inquiry and the profession of the reformed faith
were crimes, and must be visited with the dungeon and the stake.
Could they consent to localize religious liberty? to have it proclaimed
that the Reformation had made its last convert, had subjugated its
last acre? and that wherever Rome bore sway at this hour, there her
dominion was to be perpetuated? Could the reformers have pleaded
that they were innocent of the blood of those hundreds and thousands
who, in pursuance of this arrangement, would have to yield up their
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lives in popish lands? This would have been to betray at that supreme
hour, the cause of the gospel, and the liberties of Christendom.” Rather
would they sacrifice their dominions, their titles, and their own lives.
“Let us reject this decree,” said the princes. “In matters of con-
science the majority has no power.” The deputies declared that Ger-
many was indebted to the decree of toleration for the peace which
she enjoyed, and that its abolition would fill the empire with troubles
and divisions. “The Diet is incompetent,” said they, “to do more than
preserve religious liberty until a council meets.” To protect liberty of
conscience is the duty of the State, and this is the limit of its authority
in matters of religion. Every secular government that attempts to regu-
late or enforce religious observances by civil authority is sacrificing the
very principle for which the evangelical Christians so nobly struggled.
The papists determined to put down what they termed daring ob-
stinacy. They began by endeavoring to cause divisions among the
supporters of the Reformation, and to intimidate all who had not
openly declared in its favor. The representatives of the free cities were
at last summoned before the Diet, and required to declare whether
they would accede to the terms of the proposition. They pleaded for
delay, but in vain. When brought to the test, nearly one-half their
number sided with the reformers. Those who thus refused to sacrifice
liberty of conscience and the right of individual judgment well knew
that their position marked them for future criticism, condemnation,
and persecution. Said one of the delegates, “We must either deny the
Word of God or—be burned.”
King Ferdinand, the emperor’s representative at the Diet, saw that
the decree would cause serious divisions unless the princes could
be induced to accept and sustain it. He therefore tried the art of
persuasion, well knowing that to employ force with such men would