rebellion of the peasants, but in this
manner: the liberty which the Gospel demands for all men when the spirit
of that Gospel is received into their hearts, makes them ready to submit
to rulers and endure persecutions patiently; but when, though men know
its truths, their hearts have not been regenerated, they being aware of
their rights as men appeal to the sword to obtain them.

Certain fanatics, also, had appeared, who, though professing to found
their doctrines on the Bible, were greatly opposed to the principles of
the Gospel. The most notorious of these was Thomas Munzer, pastor of
Alstadt, in Thuringia; another was John Muller, of Bulgenbach, in the
Black Forest, the inhabitants of which he rallied round him, and raised
the standard of rebellion. Here the insurrection began. On the 19th of
July, 1524, some Thurgovian peasants rose against the Abbot of
Reichenau, who would not accord them an evangelical preacher. Ere long
thousands were collected round the small town of Tengen, to liberate an
ecclesiastic who was there imprisoned. The revolt spread rapidly, from
Swabia as far as the Rhenish Provinces, Franconia, Thuringia, and
Saxony. At Weinsberg, Count Louis, of Holfenstein, and seventy men
under his orders, were condemned to death by the rebels. A body of
peasants drew up with their pikes lowered, whilst others drove the Count
and his soldiers against this wall of steel. At the approach of the
peasants, the cities that were unable to resist them opened their gates
and joined them. Wherever they appeared they pulled down the images and
broke the crucifixes. Many nobles, some through fear and others from
ambition, joined them.

In vain Luther wrote to them, "Rebellion never produces the amelioration
we desire, and God condemns it. What is it to rebel if it be not to
avenge one's self? The devil is striving to excite to revolt those who
embrace the Gospel, in order to cover it with opprobrium; but those who
have rightly understood my doctrine do not revolt."

At length the princes threw off their lethargy; the imperial forces
marched to encounter the peasants, and defeated them in every direction.
The nobles were soon victorious, and retaliated with most terrible
severity on the misguided men. The peasants were hung up by hundreds at
the roadside, the eyes of numbers were put out, and some were burnt
alive, and in all parts of the country the Romish style of worship was
re-established. Still the