have long consulted on this matter . Let your imperial majesty get rid of this man at once . Did not Sigismund cause John Huss to be burnt ? We are not bound either to give or to observe the safe-conduct of a heretic ." " No ," said the emperor , " we must keep our promise ." -- Ibid ., b . 7 , ch . 8 . It was therefore decided that the Reformer should be heard .
All the city were eager to see this remarkable man , and a throng of visitors soon filled his lodgings . Luther had scarcely recovered from his recent illness ; he was wearied from the journey , which had occupied two full weeks ; he must prepare to meet the momentous events of the morrow , and he needed quiet and repose . But so great was the desire to see him that he had enjoyed only a few hours ' rest when noblemen , knights , priests , and citizens gathered eagerly about him . Among these were many of the nobles who had so boldly demanded of the emperor a reform of ecclesiastical abuses and who , says Luther , " had all been freed by my gospel ." --Martyn, page 393 . Enemies , as well as friends , came to look upon the dauntless monk ; but he received them with unshaken calmness , replying to all with dignity and wisdom . His bearing was firm and courageous . His pale , thin face , marked with the traces of toil and illness , wore a kindly and even joyous expression . The solemnity and deep earnestness of his words gave him a power that even his enemies could not wholly withstand . Both friends and foes were filled with wonder . Some were convinced that a divine influence attended him ; others declared , as had the Pharisees concerning Christ : " He hath a devil ."
On the following day Luther was summoned to attend the Diet . An imperial officer was appointed to conduct him to the hall of audience ; yet it was with difficulty that he reached the place . Every avenue was crowded with spectators eager to look upon the monk who had dared resist the authority of the pope . As he was about to enter the presence of his judges , an old general , the hero of many battles , said to him kindly : " Poor monk , poor monk , thou art now going to make a nobler stand than I or any other captains have ever made in the bloodiest of our battles . But if thy cause is just , and thou art sure of it , go forward in God ' s name , and fear nothing . God will not forsake thee ." --D' Aubigne , b . 7 , ch . 8 .
At length Luther stood before the council . The emperor occupied the throne . He was surrounded by the most illustrious personages in the empire . Never had any man appeared in the presence of a more imposing assembly than that before which Martin Luther was to answer for his faith . " This appearance was of itself a signal victory over the papacy . The pope had condemned the man , and he was now standing before a tribunal which , by this very act , set itself above the pope . The pope had laid him under an interdict , and cut him off from all human society ; and yet he was summoned in respectful language , and received before the most august assembly in the world . The pope had condemned him to perpetual silence , and he was now
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