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 about to speak before thousands of attentive hearers drawn together from the farthest parts of Christendom . An immense revolution had thus been effected by Luther ’ s instrumentality . Rome was already descending from her throne , and it was the voice of a monk that caused this humiliation .”— Ibid ., b . 7 , ch . 8 .
In the presence of that powerful and titled assembly the lowly born Reformer seemed awed and embarrassed . Several of the princes , observing his emotion , approached him , and one of them whispered : “ Fear not them which kill the body , but are not able to kill the soul .” Another said : “ When ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake , it shall be given you , by the Spirit of your Father , what ye shall say .” Thus the words of Christ were brought by the world ’ s great men to strengthen His servant in the hour of trial .
Luther was conducted to a position directly in front of the emperor ’ s throne . A deep silence fell upon the crowded assembly . Then an imperial officer arose and , pointing to a collection of Luther ’ s writings , demanded that the Reformer answer two questions — whether he acknowledged them as his , and whether he proposed to retract the opinions which he had therein advanced . The titles of the books having
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