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Vol. EX.—1
THE CATHOLIC’ HERALD.
: 1S PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY
M. FITHIAN, !
No. 61 North Second Street, Philadelphia.
Terms.—Three Dollars per annum, payable half yeatly
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must be’ post paid, and addressed * ‘To the Editor of the
Catholic Herald,. Philadelphia, Pa.”
DPoctry.
For the Catholic Herald.
ECCE HOMO.
BY EDWARD J. PORTER.
“ Fece homo ! pale his brow,
Pressed with thorny coronal ;—
Bending to your sovereign now,
Sons of Israel], prostrate fall!
Ie and he alone is king.
See his hand the sceptze bears,
© Hail him! strike fur bim the string > *
Regul is the robe he wears !” ,
“ Ecce homo !1 have done !—
Now your prince to you is given,
Now your happiness is won,
‘Too are won the gates of heaven ;—”
Thus the haughty chieftain spoke,
While a withering smile of scorn
O’er his livid features broke,
~~. Gazing on that victim born,
Ecce homo! spheres are riven,
While with shouts of thousands rise,
“« Let that vaunted aid be given—
Angel cohorts from the shies—
Let their myriads overwhelm,
As he marshalls them in air,
© While the lightnings of his realm
Be the fearful blades they bear.”
Vy Loe %i Bece homo! once again :
From that heartless crowd hath burst,
« With the life blood of the slain
Be our brows forever curst,
S19 ¢o.:° And our sons and their's shail share
«In our brand eternally,
jy .»°) Haste then, haste we to prepare
‘ hig The last scene of Calvary.”
(Philadelphia, 1841. , 5 Mus
From the newly pnblished Life of Luther.
fos evo KARLSTADT.#—1524,
Although anabaptism was stifled in the blood of its
believers, Luther’s triumph was not yet complete.
There was a man who wandered from city to city, de-
crying every where the reformers, attacking their doc-
trines, ‘showing all their weakness, and rousing the
people against the leaven of popish superstition, from
which the Wittenberg monk had not yet purified bim-
self. ‘Many were attracted by this preacher, who an-
nounced more’ surprising novelties than Luther had
taught. This was*Karlstadt, who had left the anabap-
tists, and become a sacramentarian. Atthe very mo-
ment, when a profound study of the text’ discovered
to him the hidden meaning of the words of the last
supper, an angel, as we have seen, revealed its myste-
ry to Zwingli. ‘Then arose the sect of the sacramen-
tarians, who deny the real presence of Christ in the
eucharistic sacrament, and the oblation of His body
and blood, in the mass. — If the conditions of the intui-
tion of truth are those that Luther lays down, we must
admit the testimony of Zwingli. Would you know
why the sacramentarians have never had the meaning
of the Scriptures? Because they have not had the
devil for an adversary ; ‘for if the devil,” says Lu-
ther, ‘*be not hanging from, our neck, we are only
driveling theologians.”+ - Now this angel who appear-
* Andrew Bodenstein de Karlstadt, a town of Fraconia,
of which he took thename. -
“} Quod sacramentarii sacram seripturam non intelligent,
daec causa est, quia veram apponentum, nempe diabolum,
Philadelphia, Thursday, September 2, 1841.
ed to Zwing!i, and whose color he could not remember,
was, according to the Lutheran divines, a fallen angel,
an angel of darkness,—the devil. Why is it, then,
that Zwingli and the sacramentarians, who deny that’
the body and blood of Jesus Christ are really received
in the eucharist, are denounced as heretics, who have
broken off with God and the Church ?
Some common friends vainly attempted to reconcile
Karlstadt and Luther. Karlstadt would sooner have
embraced the pope than the reformer.. Neither of
them wished to hold the proposed interview. Karl-
stadt was unwilling to receive lessons from one whom
he himself had taught; and Luther looked on his for-
mer professor, as an overgrown school boy.
While visiting the towns into which anabaptism had
crept, Luther arrived at Jena, which was quite excited
by the preaching of Karlstadt, who had lately estab-
lished a printing press‘ there.t Jena had not before
heard the monk of Wittenberg.’ Le ascended the pul-
pit, which Karlstadt had oceupied the preceding day.
‘The church was fall. Ile preached against the pro-
phets, less after the manner of a Christian orator, than
as a literato of the 16th century—quite in the style of
Erasmus, amusing his auditory at the expense of the
fanatics, whom he unmercifully ridiculed. : Every eye
looked for the hapless archdeacon, who, this time, had
not hid himself behind the statuary fragments, as in
the church of All Saints, but had placed himself oppo-
site the southern window, where his head, seemed like
a focus to concentrate the dazzling rays of light which
passed through the window. Luther at length per-
ceived him; and his discourse which before seemed to
have no determined point, turned suddenly on Karl-
stadt.» Tt was no longer a vague and general picture,
applicable to all who had broken with the church of
Wittenberg ; but a well defined sketch of the unhappy
archdeacon, which wanted nothing to cause it to be re-
cognized,—not even his sparse white hairs. | Never
was there so cruel a martyrdom. Karlstadt rose up,
and sat down,—rose again and winced like a demoniac:
‘| Luther, without taking notice of these contortions,—
of his pantomime of arms-and feet, employed to inter-
rupt ‘ him,—continued his. discourse, .wbich became
every instant more bitter and insulting. At length,
Karlstadt, unable to bold out longer, slunk behind a
pillar of the great nave, . ‘The scene was not yet over.
As soon as Luther left the pulpit, Karlstadt whisper-
ed something to the preacher, who gave an affirmative
nod in reply.) It was a challenge, which; Luther ac-
cepted. ‘The Black-boar inn, where the monk lodged,
was to be the place of rendezvous.
Scarcely had Luther returned to the inn,, when. he
received a letter from Karlstadt, who formally demand-
ed a conference—the silent nod‘ not appearing to him
sufficient. '
“Let him come,” says Luther to the. messenger;
‘Jet him come, in the name of the Lord. Iam ready.””
Ie soon appeared, bringing with him some. of his
disciples, among whom was Gerard Westenberg, of
Cologne. .“Phe inn had never had so large a number
of guests. Luther was seated ata table, and: had, at
his right, the consul, for whom he had sent to assist at
the conference. re
Karlstadt placed himself by his side, and commenced
the dispute on the last supper, At first the discussion
was carried on in a moderate tone, and without excite-
ment; but when Luther. had developed his opinion on
the real presence, in a loud voice, and the guests ap-
plauded his address, Karlstadt could contain himself no
longer... ‘I'he following dialogue then took place be-
tween the doctors.§ : :
Karlstadt.—You must acknowledge, sir, that you
treated me rather roughly in your sermon, by compar-
non habent, qui demum bene dacere eos solet—quando dia-
bolum ejusmodi collo non habemus affixum nihil nisi specue
lativi theologi sumus. © Luth. Coll, Isl. de verb. Dei. fol.
23, Coll. Franef. f. 18, Haereticos censemus et alienos ab
ecclesia Dei Zwinglianos et omnes sacramentarios qui ne-
gant corpus et sanguinem Christi ori carnali sumi in vene-
rabili Eucharistia,
:£ An den Kanalhr Brack, 7, Jan, 1524. |
* § T. 11. Jena. fol. 462—466, © Wittenberg, fol: 209—312,
The acts of this dispute have been collected and published
hy Martin Reinhardt, of Jena, and are found in the edition
lof Walch, t XV, p. 2423, &e. aon
ing me with those turbulent spirits who breathe noth
ing but sedition and homicide. I protest, by all means,
against such a comparison. 1 have no communion
with such characters.’ Entre nous, you attribute to
them, on the internal revelation, ideas they never have
had. I come not here to be their apologist. I speak
for myself.. I bold him for a wicked man, end a liar,
whoever. would render me responsible for the sangui-
nary doctrines: of those fanatical preachers. I have
heard. what you have preached, but I only wish to
speak of that portion of your discourse which had re-
ference to the holy eucharist. I maintain that, since
the apostles, a doctrine like yours has never been heard
of. You see I speak openly., J also have preached on
the Eucharist: but my doctrine is founded on the rock
of truth, and you will not be able to establish the con-
rary.
Luther.—My dear doctor, let us begin from the be-
ginning. You will never prove that I have pointed
you out in my discourse. You say that you recog-
nized the picture ;-that you saw the likeness; be it so;
it must then have suited you. You have written many
acrimonious ‘letters against me: for what purpose, I
cannot imagine, as we have had no dispute... You com-
plain that my words have offended you; so much the
better, as you have just denied that youhave any thing
to do with these ranters; so much: the worse, if you
recognize yourself in the portrait. I spoke against the
prophets, and I will speak again of them.’ If that of-
fends you, I shall continue to incur your displeasure.
Carlstadt.—It is vain for you to deny that you ins
tended to. designate me, while you spoke on the sacra-
ment: but you did nothing else than pervert the Gos-
pel, as I will prove. -You have insulted me, by. com-
paring me to these homicides. I ‘protest, before my
brethren here assembled, that I have no communion
with them.
Laither.--Why this: prostration, doctor?’ I have
read the letters you wrote from Orlamunde to Thomas
Munzer, and I have seen that you reject the seditious
doctrines of the prophets... peepee
‘ Karlstadti—Why, thet; say’ that the spirit which
aninates the prophets is the same as that which de=
stroyed the images, and. which teaches that the eucha-
rist must be taken and received from our hands, :
Luther.—But 1 mentioned no name ; yours least of”
all, doctor!
Karlstadt.—But T was obviously ‘alluded to; for I
was the first to teach publicly the necessity of an ims
mediate communion. You maintain that the spirit
which speaks thus, is the same as that of the prophets
of Alsteit, which breathes murder and sedition. » This
is false. As for the letters I have written to you, Lam
ready to maintain them.
‘There was silence for a moment. Karlstadt resumed
the discourse. .
“If I were in error, and that you wished to'do a.
Christian work, you ought to have charitably, advised
me, and not shot your envenomed darts al. me from the
pulpit. You are always crying out; ‘charity, ehari-
ty.” Fine charity, indeed, while you throw a erumb
of bread to the poor, you leave a brother to wander on
pereed without endeavoring to bring him back to’ the
ld !
Luther—What? Have I not taught the Gospel ?
What then have I done? ° .
Karlstadt.—Wait awhile; I will tell you, and I
shall prove that the Christ you have spoken of in your
sermon on the eucharist, is not the Christ who was
nailed to the eross: but a Christ of your own making,
and of yourown fashioning. I add, that there are pal-
pable contradictions in your doctrines. .
Luther.—Welldone, doctor! Get into the pulpit;
speak out in the face of heaven, as becomes an hunest
man, and show in what I have erred. .
Karlstadt.—That I shall do: for I do not shun the
light, as you accuse me. Are you willing to dispute
with me at Wittenberg, or at Erfurth, either at table,
or in an amicable way? We shall each advance our
arguments: others will judge of them. I fear not the
lightof day: T only ask security for my person.
Luther.—What are you afraid of 2 ‘Surely at Wit-
tenberg you are secure. °
Karlstadt.—Yes ; although, perhaps, not always.
In a public dispute, we might treat each other severcly »