of the friars many were induced to enter a cloister and devote themselves to a monastic life , and this not only without the consent of their parents , but even without their knowledge and contrary to their commands . One of the early Fathers of the Roman Church , urging the claims of monasticism above the obligations of filial love and duty , had declared : " Though thy father should lie before thy door weeping and lamenting , and thy mother should show the body that bore thee and the breasts that nursed thee , see that thou trample them underfoot , and go onward straightway to Christ ." By this " monstrous inhumanity ," as Luther afterward styled it , " savoring more of the wolf and the tyrant than of the Christian and the man ," were the hearts of children steeled against their parents . --Barnas Sears , The Life of Luther , pages 70 , 69 .
Thus did the papal leaders , like the Pharisees of old , make the commandment of God of none effect by their tradition . Thus homes were made desolate and parents were deprived of the society of their sons and daughters . Even the students in the universities were deceived by the false representations of the monks and induced to join their orders . Many afterward repented this step , seeing that they had blighted their own lives and had brought sorrow upon their parents ; but once fast in the snare it was impossible for them to obtain their freedom . Many parents , fearing the influence of the monks , refused to send their sons to the universities . There was a marked falling off in the number of students in attendance at the great centres of learning . The schools languished , and ignorance prevailed .
The pope had bestowed on these monks the power to hear confessions and to grant pardon . This became a source of great evil . Bent on enhancing their gains , the friars were so ready to grant absolution that criminals of all descriptions resorted to them , and , as a result , the worst vices rapidly increased . The sick and the poor were left to suffer , while the gifts that should have relieved their wants went to the monks , who with threats demanded the alms of the people , denouncing the impiety of those who should withhold gifts from their orders . Notwithstanding their profession of poverty , the wealth of the friars was constantly increasing , and their magnificent edifices and luxurious tables made more apparent the growing poverty of the nation . And while spending their time in luxury and pleasure , they sent out in their stead ignorant men , who could only recount marvellous tales , legends , and jests to amuse the people and make them still more completely the dupes of the monks .
Yet the friars continued to maintain their hold on the superstitious multitudes and led them to believe that all religious duty was comprised in acknowledging the supremacy of the pope , adoring the saints , and making gifts to the monks , and that this was sufficient to secure them a place in heaven . Men of learning and piety had laboured in vain to bring about a reform in these monastic orders ; but Wycliffe , with clearer insight , struck at the root of the evil , declaring that the system itself was false and that it should be abolished . Discussion and inquiry were awakening . As the monks traversed the country , vending the pope ' s pardons , many were led to doubt the possibility of purchasing forgiveness with money , and they questioned whether they should not seek pardon from
45