Page 53 - 08 Luther Before the Diet

many friends, who, knowing the treacherous

cruelty of Rome toward all who dared expose

her corruptions, resolved that he should not

be sacrificed. Hundreds of nobles pledged

themselves to protect him. Not a few openly

denounced the royal message of evincing a

weak submission to the controlling power of

Rome. On the gates of houses and in public

places, placards were posted, some

condemning and others sustaining Luther. On

one of these were written merely the

significant words of the wise man: “Woe to

thee, O land, when thy king is a child.”

Ecclesiastes 10:16. The popular enthusiasm

in Luther's favor throughout all Germany

convinced both the emperor and the Diet that

any injustice shown him would endanger the

peace of the empire and even the stability of

the throne.