they would then take occasion to crush God's people
with still greater cruelty.

"Yet I am but a mere man, and not God, he continued; "I shall therefore
defend myself as Christ did: 'If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the
evil.'... By the mercy of God, I conjure you, most serene emperor, and
you, most illustrious princes, and all men of every degree, to prove from
the writings of the prophets and apostles that I have erred. As soon as I
am convinced of this, I will retract every error, and be the first to lay
hold of my books and throw them into the fire."

"What I have just said plainly shows, I hope, that I have carefully
weighed and considered the dangers to which I expose myself; but far from
being dismayed, I rejoice to see that the gospel is now, as in former
times, a cause of trouble and dissension. This is the character, this is
the destiny, of the word of God. 'I came not to send peace on earth, but a
sword,' said Jesus Christ. God is wonderful and terrible in His counsels;
beware lest, by presuming to quench dissensions, you should persecute the
holy word of God, and draw down upon yourselves a frightful deluge of
insurmountable dangers, of present disasters, and eternal desolation.... I
might quote many examples from the oracles of God. I might speak of the
Pharaohs, the kings of Babylon, and those of Israel, whose labors never
more effectually contributed to their own destruction than when they
sought by counsels, to all appearance most wise, to strengthen their
dominion. 'God removeth mountains, and they know it not.' "(220)

Luther had spoken in German; he was now requested to repeat the same words
in Latin. Though exhausted by the previous effort, he complied, and again
delivered his speech, with the same clearness and energy as at the first.
God's providence directed in this matter. The minds of many of the princes
were so blinded by error and superstition that at the first delivery they
did not see the force of Luther's reasoning; but the repetition enabled
them to perceive clearly the points presented.

Those who stubbornly closed their eyes to the light, and determined not to
be convinced of the truth, were enraged at the power of Luther's words. As
he ceased speaking, the spokesman of the Diet said angrily, "You have not
answered the question put to you.... You are required to give a clear and
precise answer.... Will you, or will you not, retract?"

The Reformer answered: "Since your most sere