8 . Tried Before the Council
A new emperor , Charles V , had ascended the throne of Germany , and the emissaries of Rome hastened to present their congratulations and induce the monarch to employ his power against the Reformation . On the other hand , the elector of Saxony , to whom Charles was in great degree indebted for his crown , entreated him to take no step against Luther until he should have granted him a hearing . The emperor was thus placed in a position of great perplexity and embarrassment . The papists would be satisfied with nothing short of an imperial edict sentencing Luther to death . The elector had declared firmly that " neither his imperial majesty nor any other person had shown that Luther ' s writings had been refuted ;" therefore he requested " that Dr . Luther should be furnished with a safe-conduct , so that he might appear before a tribunal of learned , pious , and impartial judges ." --D' Aubigne , b . 6 , ch . 11 .
The attention of all parties was now directed to the assembly of the German states which convened at Worms soon after the accession of Charles to the empire . There were important political questions and interests to be considered by this national council ; for the first time the princes of Germany were to meet their youthful monarch in deliberative assembly . From all parts of the fatherland had come the dignitaries of church and state . Secular lords , highborn , powerful , and jealous of their hereditary rights ; princely ecclesiastics , flushed with their conscious superiority in rank and power ; courtly knights and their armed retainers ; and ambassadors from foreign and distant lands , --all gathered at Worms . Yet in that vast assembly the subject that excited the deepest interest was the cause of the Saxon Reformer .
Charles had previously directed the elector to bring Luther with him to the Diet , assuring him of protection , and promising a free discussion , with competent persons , of the questions in dispute . Luther was anxious to appear before the emperor . His health was at this time much impaired ; yet he wrote to the elector : " If I cannot go to Worms in good health , I will be carried there , sick as I am . For if the emperor calls me , I cannot doubt that it is the call of God Himself . If they desire to use violence against me , and that is very probable ( for it is not for their instruction that they order me to appear ), I place the matter in the Lord ' s hands . He still lives and reigns who preserved the three young men in the burning fiery furnace . If He will not save me , my life is of little consequence . Let us only prevent the gospel from being exposed to the scorn of the wicked , and let us shed our blood for it , for fear they should triumph . It is not for me to decide whether my life or my death will contribute most to the salvation of all . . . . You may expect everything from me . . . except flight and recantation . Fly I cannot , and still less retract ." -- Ibid ., b . 7 , ch . 1 .
92