tercourse with their fellows, and treated as outlaws,
to be hunted to extermination. Luther was not blind to the tempest about
to burst upon him; but he stood firm, trusting in Christ to be his support
and shield. With a martyr's faith and courage he wrote: "What is about to
happen I know not, nor do I care to know.... Let the blow light where it
may, I am without fear. Not so much as a leaf falls, without the will of
our Father. How much rather will He care for us! It is a light thing to
die for the Word, since the Word which was made flesh hath Himself died.
If we die with Him, we shall live with Him; and passing through that which
He has passed through before us, we shall be where He is and dwell with
Him forever."(191)

When the papal bull reached Luther, he said: "I despise and attack it, as
impious, false.... It is _Christ_ Himself who is condemned therein.... I
rejoice in having to bear such ills for the best of causes. Already I feel
greater liberty in my heart; for at last I know that the pope is
antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan himself."(192)

Yet the mandate of Rome was not without effect. Prison, torture, and sword
were weapons potent to enforce obedience. The weak and superstitious
trembled before the decree of the pope; and while there was general
sympathy for Luther, many felt that life was too dear to be risked in the
cause of reform. Everything seemed to indicate that the Reformer's work
was about to close.

But Luther was fearless still. Rome had hurled her anathemas against him,
and the world looked on, nothing doubting that he would perish or be
forced to yield. But with terrible power he flung back upon herself the
sentence of condemnation, and publicly declared his determination to
abandon her forever. In the presence of a crowd of students, doctors, and
citizens of all ranks, Luther burned the pope's bull, with the canon laws,
the decretals, and certain writings sustaining the papal power. "My
enemies have been able, by burning my books," he said, "to injure the
cause of truth in the minds of the common people, and destroy their souls;
for this reason I consumed their books in return. A serious struggle has
just begun. Hitherto I have been only playing with the pope. I began this
work in God's name; it will be ended without me, and by His might."(193)

To the reproaches of his enemies who taunted him with the weakness of his
cause, Luther answered: "Who knows if God has not chose