His zeal no longer knew any limits. He wrote to Charles the Fifth earnestly conjuring him to acknowledge worthily the great benefits of God, by faithfully fulfilling his duty. 'Allay the dissensions of Christendom,' he said, 'that the glory of God may by your means be made manifest in the world; re-establish in Spain and in every country which is subject to your sway the pure doctrine of Christ our Saviour.' San Romano wrote thus two or three times to the emperor. At the same time he wrote some evangelical books in Spanish. All this was done in one month, or at most in forty days, while he was awaiting the answer to the letters which he had written to Antwerp.
These had been well received by his friends, and they had instantly understood from what malady he was suffering.[93] Far from thinking of their own salvation as he implored them, they only thought how to ruin him, and set all their ingenuity to work to entrap him. 'Ah!' they wrote in terms of endearment, 'if only you return to Antwerp, the great things of which you speak will, without the least doubt, be accomplished.' At the same time they came to an understanding with the Dominican monks, some of whom they appointed to watch for the moment at which he should enter the city. 'You are to seize on him,' said they, 'you are to question him about his father, and if he differs from you in the least on this subject you are to put him to death, or throw him into some pit in which he will be buried as a living corpse.'[94]
ARREST OF SAN ROMANO.
The poor man, whom the answer of his friends had filled with hope and joy, mounted on horseback, saying to himself that he should be able without great difficulty to convert all the Spaniards to the true religion. He arrived, passed the gates, and entered the town; but all at once the monks in ambush surrounded him, dragged him from his horse, and led him off as a prisoner to the house of a tradesman who was devoted to their cause.[95] There they bound him hand and foot and began searching his baggage. They found in it a good many books in German, French, and Latin; some were by Luther, others by Melanchthon, and the rest by Œcolampadius and other equally suspected authors. They even discovered, to their great horror, insulting pictures of the pope. They turned angrily to him, saying, 'Thou art a perfect Lutheran.' San Romano, having fallen so unexpectedly into an ambush, was confused, excited, and inflamed with wrath. He was a true Spaniard, calm while nothing disturbed him, but when hurt in any way, giving vent to the passions of a soul on fire. He had known the Gospel too short a time to have become wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. He was no longer master of himself. 'You are rascals,'[96] he exclaimed. 'I am not a Lutheran, but I profess the eternal wisdom of the Son of God, whom ye hate. And as to your dreams, your impostures, your corrupt doctrines, I abhor them with all my heart.' 'What, then, is thy religion?' asked the monks. 'I believe in God the Father, Creator of all,' replied San Romano, 'and I believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed mankind by his blood, and who by delivering them from the bondage of the devil, of sin, and of death, established them in the liberty of the Gospel.' 'Dost thou believe,' asked the monks, 'that the pope of Rome is the vicar of Christ, that all the treasures of the church are in his hands, and that he has power to make new articles of faith and to abolish the others?' 'I believe nothing of the sort,' exclaimed San Romano, horrified. 'I believe that the pope, like a wolf, disperses, leads astray, and tears in pieces the poor sheep of Jesus Christ.' 'He blasphemes!' said the Spaniards. 'You shall be put to death, and by fire,' cried the monks. 'I am not afraid to die,' replied he, 'for him who shed his blood for me.' The monks then lighted a fire; but they contented themselves with burning all his books before his face. But when he saw the New Testament thrown into the flames, he could contain himself no longer. 'He is mad,' said the Spaniards; and they carried him, bound, to a certain tower, six leagues from Antwerp, where they kept him for eight months in a dark dungeon. Admitting, however, that a want of moderation was excusable in the state of extreme agitation into which he was thrown, his fellow-countrymen caused him to be set at liberty.
San Romano then betook himself to Louvain, knowing that he should find there friends of the Gospel. Here he met with Francis Enzinas, who had not yet set out for Paris, and who, knowing the inexperience, boldness, and zeal of his countryman, and the dangers which awaited him, spoke to him frankly and wisely, advising him not to undertake, as he had purposed, the conversion of all Spain. 'Remain,' said he, 'in the calling to which God has called you; you may be able to do much good in your business. Do not set yourself to speak about religion to every person whom you meet, nor to cry out like a madman at the top of your voice in the streets and public places. Perhaps you may not be able to reply to the arguments of your adversaries, nor to confirm your own by good authorities. If God has need of you he will call you, and it will be time then to expose yourself to every peril.' 'You say truly,' replied San Romano, 'and for the future[97] I will speak more modestly.'
SAN ROMANO AT RATISBON.
But there was in this young man a fire which nothing could extinguish. His ruling passion was the desire to do every thing in his power which he believed calculated to save mankind and to glorify God. He had a wonderful fervency of spirit which prompted him to perpetual efforts, even to what many would, perhaps, call an excess of piety and charity. This has often been the case with the most eminent Christians. The words of Scripture were true of him: The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Scarcely had he promised Enzinas to be more prudent, when he set out with a few friends for Ratisbon, where the Imperial Diet had been opened in April (1541), and where Charles the Fifth then was. The prince was showing, as they said, much favor towards the Protestants. He desired, in fact, to obtain the support of the evangelical party for the war against the Turks, who were attacking Austria.[98] San Romano, therefore, believed the moment to be favorable for attempting the conversion of Charles. He did not mention his design to his companions. While, however, he went on his way in silence, he reasoned within himself that the truth of the Gospel was obvious, and that if the emperor, whom the Spaniards regarded as master of the world, should once receive it, he would spread it abroad throughout Christendom, and throughout the whole world. And he thought that if vulgar fears should hinder him from speaking to Charles, he would be taking upon himself an immense responsibility.
No sooner had he arrived at Ratisbon than he requested and obtained an audience of the emperor. He entreated him to make use of his power to repress the fanatical proceedings of the Inquisition. 'Sire,' said he, 'the true religion is to be found amongst the Protestants, and the Spaniards are sunk in abominable errors. Receive worthily the true doctrine of the Son of God, which is proclaimed so clearly in the Germanic churches. Repress all cruelty, re-establish the true worship of God in your states, and cause the doctrine of salvation to be proclaimed throughout the world.' Long and bold as San Romano's discourse was, the emperor listened to it very patiently. It was not mere ranting.[99] 'I have this matter much at heart,' replied Charles, pleasantly, 'and I will spare no pains for it.' San Romano withdrew full of hope.
A conference was now going on at Ratisbon between the Romanists and the evangelical party, who, at the emperor's request, were endeavoring to come to an agreement. Charles's moderation might well be the result of his desire to do nothing which might interfere with an arrangement. But no desire was manifested to render justice to the Reformation. On the contrary, Luther wrote to the Elector of Saxony: 'All this is only pure popish deceit. It is impossible to bring Christ and the Serpent to an agreement.'[100] Fanatical Catholics, both Germans and Spaniards, were already indulging in acts of cruelty towards the evangelical Christians. At this spectacle San Romano felt his hopes vanish. He did not, however, lose heart; but appealed a second and a third time with great boldness to the emperor, receiving none but gracious replies from him.