b . 7 , ch . 11 . It was commanded that as soon as his safe-conduct should expire , measures be taken to stop his work . All persons were forbidden to harbor him , to give him food or drink , or by word or act , in public or private , to aid or abet him . He was to be seized wherever he might be , and delivered to the authorities . His adherents also were to be imprisoned and their property confiscated . His writings were to be destroyed , and , finally , all who should dare to act contrary to this decree were included in its condemnation . The elector of Saxony and the princes most friendly to Luther had left Worms soon after his departure , and the emperor ' s decree received the sanction of the Diet .
Now the Romanists were jubilant . They considered the fate of the Reformation sealed . God had provided a way of escape for His servant in this hour of peril . A vigilant eye had followed Luther ' s movements , and a true and noble heart had resolved upon his rescue . It was plain that Rome would be satisfied with nothing short of his death ; only by concealment could he be preserved from the jaws of the lion . God gave wisdom to Frederick of Saxony to devise a plan for the Reformer ' s preservation . With the co-operation of true friends the elector ' s purpose was carried out , and Luther was effectually hidden from friends and foes . Upon his homeward journey he was seized , separated from his attendants , and hurriedly conveyed through the forest to the castle of Wartburg , an isolated mountain fortress . Both his seizure and his concealment were so involved in mystery that even Frederick himself for a long time knew not whither he had been conducted . This ignorance was not without design ; so long as the elector knew nothing of Luther ' s whereabouts , he could reveal nothing . He satisfied himself that the Reformer was safe , and with this knowledge he was content .
Spring , summer , and autumn passed , and winter came , and Luther still remained a prisoner . Aleander and his partisans exulted as the light of the gospel seemed about to be extinguished . But instead of this , the Reformer was filling his lamp from the storehouse of truth ; and its light was to shine forth with brighter radiance . In the friendly security of the Wartburg , Luther for a time rejoiced in his release from the heat and turmoil of battle . But he could not long find satisfaction in quiet and repose . Accustomed to a life of activity and stern conflict , he could ill endure to remain inactive . In those solitary days the condition of the church rose up before him , and he cried in despair . " Alas ! there is no one in this latter day of His anger , to stand like a wall before the Lord , and save Israel !" -- Ibid ., b . 9 , ch . 2 . Again , his thoughts returned to himself , and he feared being charged with cowardice in withdrawing from the contest . Then he reproached himself for his indolence and self-indulgence . Yet at the same time he was daily accomplishing more than it seemed possible for one man to do . His pen was never idle .
While his enemies flattered themselves that he was silenced , they were astonished and confused by tangible proof that he was still active . A host of tracts , issuing from his pen , circulated throughout Germany . He also performed a most important service for his countrymen by translating the New Testament into the German tongue . From his rocky Patmos he continued for nearly a whole year to proclaim the gospel and rebuke the sins and errors of the times . But it was not merely to
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