aint Peter's and other undertakings, and he had
recourse to a grant of indulgences to fill the coffers of the church.
The power of dispensing these indulgences in Saxony in Germany was given
to a Dominican friar named Tetzel. This fanatic enthusiast entertained
the most exaggerated opinion of the efficacy of indulgences. In his
harrangues he uttered such expressions as the following:

"Indulgences are the most precious and the most noble of God's gifts."
"There is no sin so great that an indulgence can not remit; ... only let
him pay well, and all will be forgiven him." "Come, and I will give you
letters, all properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to
commit may be pardoned." "I would not change my privileges for those of
St. Peter in heaven; for I have saved more souls by my indulgences than
the apostle by his sermons." "The Lord Omnipotent hath ceased to reign;
he has resigned all power to the Pope." See D'Aubigne's History of the
Reformation, Book III, Chap. 1.

Martin Luther was an Augustine monk and a teacher of theology in the
University of Wittemberg. Before Tetzel appeared in Germany, Luther
possessed a wide reputation for learning and piety, and he had also
entertained doubts respecting many of the doctrines of the church.
During an official visit to Rome in 1510 he was almost overwhelmed with
sorrow because of the moral corruption there; but while penitentially
ascending on his knees the sacred stairs of the Lateran, he seemed to
hear a voice thundering in his soul, "The just shall live by faith!"
This marked an important epoch in his career.

When Tetzel appeared in Saxony with his indulgences, Luther fearlessly
opposed him. He drew up ninety-five theses against the infamous traffic
and nailed them to the door of the church at Wittemberg, and invited all
scholars to criticise them and point out if they were opposed to the
doctrine of the Word of God or of the early church Fathers. Here the
invention of printing proved to be a powerful agency in advancing the
cause of reformation by scattering copies of these theses everywhere;
and soon the continent of Europe was in a perfect turmoil of
controversy. The Pope excommunicated Luther as a heretic. In reply
Luther burned the Papal bull publicly at Wittemberg. Shortly afterward
Luther produced his celebrated translation of the Bible in the German
language. Even a brief history of the entire Reformation would be too
large for the limits of the pres