[1597] To Cardinal Otto Truchsess (Dec. 7, 1560) (Cod. Vat. 6417): “Abundat Roma viris doctis et historiarum peritis. Magni profecto referret, ex his deligi aliquem ad conscribendas pontificum vitas. Nunc sectarii quæ volunt effingunt, nobis plane stertentibus. Iudicet Rᵐᵃ D.V. quomodo succurri possit non modo præsenti sed etiam sequenti ecclesiæ. Ita de catechismis et postillis quoque dixerim, salvo semper iudicio sapientium. Sed opus plane videtur, ut ad huius ætatis rationem docendi modus accommodetur,” etc. Cp. Braunsberger, “B. Petri Canisii epist.,” 3, p. 30, and Jos. Schmid, “Hist. Jahrb.,” 17, 1896, p. 79.
[1598] And yet it would have been better had even Panvinius and Baronius shown themselves more critical, particularly in dealing with the Saints, relics, etc. The Council of Trent itself had been most urgent in demanding the removal of false relics; nor were preachers to be allowed to relate untrue stories about the souls in Purgatory for filthy lucre’s sake (“incerta vel quæ specie falsi laborant, evulgari ac tractari non permittant”; Sess. 25; Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 983). The false indulgences were among the abuses condemned by the Council of Trent in the Decree “De indulgentiis” (Sess. 25): “abusus qui in his irrepserunt et quorum occasione insigne hoc indulgentiarum nomen ab hæreticis blasphematur.”
[1599] “Werke,” Weim. ed., 30, 3, p. 530 ff.; “Opp. lat. var.,” 7, p. 523 sqq. Cp. “Briefwechsel,” 9, p. 252 f.
[1600] “Bibliotheca sanctorum Patrum,” Paris, 1575-79, in 9 folio volumes.
[1601] “Lehrb. der DG.,” 3⁴, p. 810.
[1602] To Thomas Blaurer, Dec. 21, 1521, “Briefwechsel der Brüder Ambr. und Thom. Blaurer,” 1, 1908, p. 42 ff.
[1603] Cp. Horst Stephan, “Luther in den Wandlungen seiner Kirche,” Giessen, 1907 (“Stud. zur Gesch. des neueren Protestantismus,” Hft. 1). This book has been largely utilised in what follows. Cp. J. Schmidlin, “Luther im Luthertum,” in the “Theol. Revue,” 1908, col. 441 ff. The words we quote in inverted commas without further reference are from H. Stephan.
[1604] Stephan, ib., pp. 17, 34, 67.
[1605] Schmidlin, ib., col. 445.
[1606] Stephan, ib., p. 126.