[22] W. P., Vol. II, p. 297: "The terrible consequences of 'freedom'—in the end everybody thinks he has the right to every problem. All order of rank is banished."
For Protestantism was nothing more nor less than a general rebellion against authority.[23] By means of it the right of private judgment was installed once more, and to the individual was restored that importance which Christianity had acknowledged from the first, and which only the attitude of the Church had been able to modify. The layman, with his conscience acknowledged to be the supreme tribunal, was declared a free man, emancipated even from the law,[24] or, as Luther said, "free Lord of all, subject to none."[25]
Now, not only the immortal soul of every individual became important; but also every one of his proclivities, desires and aspirations. He was told that he could be his own priest if he chose,[26] and that Christ had obtained this prerogative for him. Megalomania, in fact, as Nietzsche declares, was made his duty.[27]
"Let men so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."[28]
With these words St. Paul had addressed the Corinthians, and Luther did not fail to base his strongest arguments upon the text.[29]
"Even the Reformation," says Nietzsche, "was a movement for individual liberty; 'Every one his own priest' is really no more than a formula for libertinage.As a matter of fact, the words, 'Evangelical freedom' would have sufficed—and all instincts which had reasons for remaining concealed broke out like wild hounds, the most brutal needs suddenly acquired the courage to show themselves, everything seemed justified."[30]
Was it at all likely that the formula, "Every one his own priest," was going to lead to trouble only in ecclesiastical matters? As a matter of fact we know that Luther himself extended the principle still further in his own lifetime. By his radical alterations in the church service Luther gave the laity a much more prominent place in Divine worship than they had ever had before; for, in addition to the fact that the liturgy as compiled by him was written almost entirely in the native tongue, the special attention he gave to the singing of hymns[31] allowed the people an opportunity of displaying their individual powers to such an extent that it has even been said that "they sang themselves into enthusiasm for the new faith."[31]
But these remarkable changes were only symbolic of the changes that followed elsewhere; for, once this spirit of individual liberty and judgment had invaded that department of life which theretofore had been held most sacred, what was there to prevent it from entering and defiling less sacred sanctuaries?