CHAPTER XIII.
THE KINGS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND, AND MELANCHTHON.
The reigning King of France, Francis I., as well as King Henry VIII., of England, were little pleased with the victorious advances of the Emperor. Francis had waged war against him some years before this, but was completely vanquished, and taken prisoner, at the battle of Pavia, 1525. He was, indeed, liberated upon certain conditions, after one year of captivity; but inveterate enmity remained, for Francis had suffered great losses. It was to be expected that such a man would unite with the enemies of the Emperor at the first good opportunity. He recognized an ally in the League of Smalkald, which was daily assuming a more decided form. But the principles of this League were quite different, for it aimed principally to secure spiritual rights, while the King of France was merely prompted by ambition.
But the Reformation had also penetrated into France, and he may have thought that it would be expedient to do something in reference to ecclesiastical matters. He was persuaded to this by his minister, William Bellay, his brother John Bellay, Bishop of Paris, and particularly also by John Sturm, of Strasburg, who was favorably disposed towards the Reformation. These men endeavored to gain over the King for the cause of the Reformation, and recommended the amiable Melanchthon to him, who was already known to him, and also highly esteemed by Queen Margaret of Navarre.[16] When the King sent an ambassador, Barnabas Voræus Fossa, to Germany, in 1534, in order to unite with the Evangelical States, Bellay, the minister, requested the man of peace, Melanchthon, to state, in a written opinion, in what way a union might be brought about between the divided parties. He complied with this request, and on the first of August sent a very conciliatory opinion to the minister, in which he gave prominence to eight articles. In the first, he grants outward power to the Pope and the Bishops, provided "they do not abuse their power to suppress the true doctrine." In the second, that it would be easy to agree about non-essentials, such as meats, holidays, dress of the priests, and similar ceremonies, provided there would be uniformity in doctrine. In the third, he expresses himself in favor of retaining Confession, but without the superstitious enumeration of sins. In the fourth, he treats of Justification. It is now generally conceded that faith in Christ is necessary. It is necessary to insist upon it, that a man is justified by faith. In the fifth, he speaks of the Mass. This is an almost inextricable knot. He declares himself opposed to secret masses, and demands both kinds in the Sacrament. In the sixth, he speaks of the Invocation of Saints. This is opposed to Scripture. Yet he proposes the following form, after the pattern of ancient forms in the Church: "Grant, O God, that they may be assisted by the prayers of the Saints." In the seventh, he says of Convents, that it is not necessary utterly to destroy them, but that it was rather to be preferred that they should become schools, as they formerly were. Yet no one ought to be detained in a convent against his will. In reference to the Celibacy of the clergy, he says, in the eighth, that the Pope ought to abolish it. They might select unmarried men for the highest dignities. It would be possible to come to an agreement on all the articles, with the exception of the one on the Mass. After adding: "Let us beseech Christ, that he would in mercy regard and lead back to a cordial true unity, the Church for which he prayed and suffered," he says, that he had only written these things, in order that learned men might jointly deliberate upon such important matters.
It was a long time before anything was heard of the effect of this Opinion. However, at last, in the month of March, 1535, John Sturm broke this silence in a manner not very agreeable to the friends of the Reformation. The king was highly incensed against the friends of these novelties, who seemed to him to check a too rapid advance. He even permitted his rage to lead him to burn several of them.[17] Very little could be hoped for the kingdom of God, from a man of this character. However, Sturm strongly urged Melanchthon to come to France, because the king reposed the greatest confidence in him, and called himself his pupil. On the 22d of April, Melanchthon wrote a suppliant letter to Bishop Bellay, that he would exert his influence to arrest the persecution. In his reply to Sturm, on May 4th, he said that he had never found it more difficult to decide in any matter, than in reference to this journey to France. "But you must not think that I am restrained by domestic ties, or that I fear any danger. For nothing human is so important in my eyes, that I would not prefer the honor of Christ, the salvation of so many of the righteous, and the peace of the Church, to it. But I am thinking of, and exceedingly troubled by this one apprehension, that I am doubtful whether I would indeed accomplish any good by going." At the close of the letter, he advises that the king, if he desired to do anything for the honor of Christ, and the peace of the Church, should be earnestly entreated to convene a council, in order to discuss the affairs of the Church. He would attend this, provided he could obtain the permission of his sovereign. But what happened? What, indeed, he did not think of in the remotest degree. The king addressed him in a most friendly letter, on June 23. The French Ambassador delivered this letter in person, which closes in the following manner: "Your coming will give me great pleasure, whether you come as a private individual, or in the name of the Evangelical states." At the same time Bellay, who had been made a Cardinal in the meantime, and Sturm, pressed him to come, and gave him the strongest assurances of a happy result. The latter concluded his lengthy letter in the following manner: "I exhort, yea, I conjure you, in the name of Christ, not to neglect this opportunity to further the best of causes among men." Towards the end of the month of July, Melanchthon left Wittenberg on account of the appearance of the plague, and with some other teachers resided in Jena, until the middle of February. When he had received such a pressing invitation to come to France, and also a safe-conduct, he proceeded to Torgau, where the Elector was sojourning at the time, and in writing applied for leave of absence for two or three months. Luther also seconded Master Philip's application, by a most earnest petition. He said: "May it please your Grace to permit M. Philip to venture for these three months, trusting to the grace of God. Who knows what it may please God to do, whose thoughts are at all times higher and better than our own? As for myself, too, it would pain me that so many pious hearts, who so anxiously call, and certainly expect M. Philip, should be disappointed, and might also be led to entertain evil thoughts concerning us." But the Elector was of a different opinion. He understood King Francis' relation to the Emperor at this time, far too well, to be anxious unnecessarily to excite the suspicions of the latter against himself. He therefore refused the request of his petitioner. Perhaps he also entertained the opinion, not altogether without foundation too, that Melanchthon might yield too much, "which would displease many, and do great harm to the Gospel." He said to Dr. Brück, in the most positive manner: "We are determined, once for all, that Philip shall not go with our permission and good will, even if we should, in consequence, lose his services altogether."
When Melanchthon, therefore, applied again for leave, a severe decree of the Elector was handed to him, in which he was told that he should not, as a good subject, have meddled in this matter, without the knowledge of the Elector. No good, but rather evil, was to be expected from such a journey. "But if, over and above all these considerations, you think that you cannot omit this journey conscientiously, we must in such a case suffer you to take your own way, and to gratify your own will; and it remains for you to decide what you will do under these circumstances." The Elector also sent a letter of apology to King Francis, stating why he could not, under present circumstances, permit Philip to go. But at some future time, if Philip's services could be dispensed with, and the present difficulties and apprehensions should cease, he would permit him to visit France.
On the 28th of August, Melanchthon himself wrote to King Francis, expressing his regrets that he was not permitted to visit France at this time, and praying the King most earnestly not to suffer himself to be led, by the severe judgments and writings of some persons, to destroy things that were really good and useful for the Church. He also excused himself in letters to Bellay the Minister, and to John Sturm, and expressed himself in rather strong terms in regard to the Elector. To Camerarius, to whom he was in the habit of opening his whole heart, he wrote, August 31, that he feared that the prince had been estranged from him by the efforts of evil-minded persons; and in a letter to Spalatin, he said: "His most serene Highness prevents me from taking a journey to France. And besides this, he gave me a very severe reply, although I am willing to stay at home, and take no delight in these French Conferences." This caused him great sorrow for several weeks, until he met the Elector in October, and saw that he was as friendly towards him as ever. He was also more and more convinced in his own mind that his journey to France would not have accomplished the good he expected. Francis was a politician, and he merely regarded religion as a means to gratify his ambition. For when the Sorbonne in Paris pronounced Melanchthon's opinion heretical, he fully agreed with this sentence.
Thus this matter terminated. The case of Henry VIII. of England was a similar one. He is well known on account of his attack upon Luther, for which the Pope gave him the title of "A Defender of the Faith." It is also well known what a scandalous, adulterous life he led. It was such a marriage matter which at this time separated him from Rome, and brought him nearer to the Evangelical States. He wished to be divorced from his wife Catharine, who was an aunt of the Emperor Charles. As the Pope would not comply with his request, Henry renounced all allegiance to the Pope, and proclaimed himself the Supreme Bishop of the Church of England. This happened in the year 1534. We learn from a letter to Camerarius, that during this year Henry had invited Melanchthon twice to come to England. The King was anxious to settle his matrimonial matters, and to enter into a union with the Evangelical States. He therefore sent a special envoy, Anthony Barnes, who came to Wittenberg March 11, 1535, to enter into a negotiation. Melanchthon, who believed that he could and should embrace this opportunity to recommend and promote the truth, wrote to the King two days after this, in which he most earnestly commends the cause of the Gospel to him. He even dedicated the second edition of his Loci Communes to the King, in a most winning letter. Henry esteemed this honor highly, and sent him 200 gold florins, with a very gracious letter, in which he calls Melanchthon his "dearest friend," and signs himself: "Your friend Henry, King." In September we again find Dr. Barnes in Wittenberg. In the matter of divorce he had not found the Wittenbergians favorably disposed. But now he also came to negotiate concerning doctrine, and to ask leave of absence for Melanchthon, that he might visit England. The Elector, whose sagacity in this matter cannot be denied, understood very well that Henry was merely anxious to unite with the Evangelical party from impure motives, particularly his matrimonial matters; and therefore in his letter to the English envoy gave his permission to hold a Religious Conference, but did not permit Melanchthon to go to England, because he could not spare this Professor, owing to the breaking out of the plague in Wittenberg, by which the Professors had been dispersed. In December, the religious negotiations were commenced with the utmost zeal. Besides Barnes, Bishop Fox, and Archdeacon Heyth or Hethe, had also arrived. These negotiations were carried on in Wittenberg. On this account Melanchthon, who then resided at Jena, was obliged to go to Wittenberg, January 15, 1536. The marriage difficulty continued to occupy the foreground, but the Wittenbergians would not accommodate themselves to the views of the Englishmen. As to doctrine, the articles of the mass and the marriage of priests continued to be the points on which they could not agree. February 11th, Melanchthon returned to Wittenberg. The negotiations were continued until the end of April, without arriving at any definite result. But gradually all hopes of an Evangelical change of doctrine and worship in England disappeared, and Melanchthon entirely relinquished his desire to visit England, as he says to Camerarius in a letter, June 9: "I am perfectly freed from my anxiety about that English journey."