13. The Netherlands And Scandinavia. 249
delight, and greatly desired to enjoy the personal instruction of the Reformer. But to do so he must risk giving offense to his monastic superior, and forfeiting his support. His decision was soon made, and erelong he was enrolled as a student at Wittenberg.
On returning to Denmark, he again repaired to his cloister. No one as yet suspected him of Lutheranism; he did not reveal his secret, but endeavored, without exciting the prejudices of his companions, to lead them to a purer faith and a holier life. He opened the Bible, and explained its true meaning, and at last preached Christ to them as the sinner ' s righteousness and his only hope of salvation. Great was the wrath of the prior, who had [ 242 ] built high hopes upon him as a valiant defender of Rome. He was at once removed from his own monastery to another, and confined to his cell, under strict supervision.
To the terror of his new guardians, several of the monks soon declared themselves converts to Protestantism. Through the bars of his cell, Tausen had communicated to his companions a knowledge of the truth. Had those Danish fathers been skilled in the church ' s plan of dealing with heresy, Tausen ' s voice would never again have been heard; but instead of consigning him to a tomb in some underground dungeon, they expelled him from the monastery. Now they were powerless. A royal edict, just issued, offered protection to the teachers of the new doctrine. Tausen began to preach. The churches were opened to him, and the people thronged to listen. Others also were preaching the word of God. The New Testament, translated into the Danish tongue, was widely circulated. The efforts made by the papists to overthrow the work resulted in extending it, and erelong Denmark declared its acceptance of the reformed faith.
In Sweden, also, young men who had drunk from the well of Wittenberg carried the water of life to their countrymen. Two of the leaders in the Swedish Reformation, Olaf and Laurentius Petri, the sons of a blacksmith of Orebro, studied under Luther