Page 58 - 07 Luther's Separation from Rome

antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan

himself.”—D'Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 9.

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