Page 43 - 07 Luther's Separation from Rome

The only response was: “Retract, retract!”

The Reformer showed that his position was

sustained by the Scriptures and firmly

declared that he could not renounce the

truth. The legate, unable to reply to Luther's

arguments, overwhelmed him with a storm of

reproaches, gibes, and flattery, interspersed

with quotations from tradition and the

sayings of the Fathers, granting the Reformer

no opportunity to speak. Seeing that the

conference, thus continued, would be utterly

futile, Luther finally obtained a reluctant

permission to present his answer in writing.

“In so doing,” said he, writing to a friend, “the

oppressed find double gain; first, what is

written may be submitted to the judgment of

others; and second, one has a better chance

of working on the fears, if not on the

conscience, of an arrogant and babbling