S5
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
BIB
cause of this almost miraculous change was the
energy of two or three devotees of the art, producing
more puns than the school could possibly use. A de.
preciation of value followed and has continued till
puns have perforce been entirely driven from the
market. Only professors, tutors and occasionally a
very bold senior dare to use the offensive pun. May
the good work go on until nothing but the language
of common sense be used within the walls of our
noble University.
he tudenls' gtcray ooh,
BE THOU READY.
Bo thou ready, fellow mortal,
In thy pilgrimage of llfo,
Eror ready to uphold thoo,
In tho toll and In ho etrlfo;
Let no hope, however pleaant,
Luro tby footsteps from the right,
Nor tho sunshine leave thou straying
In tho sudden gloom of night.
De thou ready when thy brother
Bow In dark affliction's shado;
Bo thou ready when thy sister
Needs thy kludm is and thine aid;
Let thine arms sustain and cheer them-
Ihey have claim? upon us all,
And tby deeds, llko morning sunlight,
On their weary hearts shall fall.
Bo thou ready when tbo erring
List to cln's enchanting strain;
Beady with kind words to woo them
Back to virtuo's pith again:
Bo thou roady, In thy weakness,
To do good to friend and foe,
As thy Father sheddeth freuly.
Be thou ready for tho morrow,
When delight shall pleaso no morol
When the roso and Illy fadeth,
And tho charm ol song is o'er
When tho voices of tby kindred
Faintly move thy dying eor
Be thou ready for thy Juurnoy
To some htghor, brighter sphere. '
LUTHER.
Monelgnor Cnpel in a recent discourse on Lullier front
a catholic Bland point said "that if lio wore in London to.
day and should ask what was the state of intelligence in
Europe when Luther lived, nlnety-nino out of one liunds
red would any that it was u state of gross darkness, and
would add that Luther's spark kindled tho whole world
into a blazo of life." Taking this statement which Cupel
claims to bo utterly (also, let us attempt to show how tho
belief in it has become so universal. As to tho condition
of the church and the world wheu Luthor began his work
wrjiistory only confirms these words of tho people. D'Au
bjgno exclaims "Wh at disorders, what crimes in these
ages of darkness in which impunity was acquired by
money I Religion hud come to bo nolhiug but a meaning,
less form. Lullier on his journey to Homo in 1510 was
' greatly shocked at tho irreverence and hearllossness with
whioh the priests conducted religious services. On one
qucasipp wheu. ofiteiatfug a$ th,e go.Ubratfon qt uq sacra.
ment he discovered that the priests at an adjoining altar
had repeated Beven musses cro ho had completed one. At
another timo Lut-icr himself relates that ho had not got
through the gospel cro the priest who was officiating
with him had dispatched tho whole service with impious
celerity and stood whispering to him 'Haste, haste
make an end of it.'"
Tho morals of tho priesthood beggar description. The
spot on eur'h where all iniquity met and overflowed
was tho Pontlti's seat." The priesthood, though regarding
it a ciime to marry, openly defended concubinage by tak.
ing two or more concubines. But however heinous
might be tho crime committed, the Pope had a remedy
for it indulgences These were offered for salo through,
out the country by venders who claimed that these pardons
were good for all sins which hud been committed in the
pastor might bo in 111 e futuio. That tho venders iouud a
reudy sale for their indulgences was due chiefly to the
gross ignorance of the people. Tho scholastic system ef
fectually severed all connection between the educated
and the non-educated. Latiu was the language adoptea
by tho learned. In this they wrote and talked, often not
underbtiindiug llrir mother tongue. Thus it in ph'.iu to
see Hint there was no way offered for the masses to obtin
a common education. To whatever tho learned, whom
the Pope claimed as subjects of his eccleseastical empire,
gave their approval, tho mass of people must submit with
out questioning. Thus we see when tho great reformer
began his work the world was in a slate of gross darkness
intellectually, morally, and Bpirltuuly.
! o be fieed fiom this bondage was the growing desire
of the world. "For ages," sajs D'A ugbiguo, "a reforma
tion in the church hud been loudly called for." Learned
men l.ko Erasmus and Hutten attempted to mend the
world by satire while Sickengen and his followers could
bring about reform oy tho sword. These all played their
part but the end wus not arhieved. Some seeing the
miserable Blato of religion foretold the anti-Christ, others
presaged somo reformation. Suddenly "llio spark ap
peared which," we are told, "kindled tho whole world in.
to a blR-'.e of light." To provo the truth of this statement
and tho falsity of Capet's view of Luther's period and his
influence let us again relcr to history.
Tito first evils attacked by tho Suxon monk upon issuing
from the seclusion of the monastery were penances.
These hud proved by bitter experience to be of no avail.
From his terrible self-condemnation ho had found relief
in the doctrine of justification, by faith, which, Bays a
lnte writer "was tho key note of tho Reformation."
Tho visit to Roino which Luther had expected would
confirm his wavering faith, on tho contrary fu tally shook
hia belief in tho immuculatcncss of tho Pontifical see and
led him to rely more firmly than ever upon the scriptures
His lectures at tho University aroused tho dormant souls
ofpiofessors and students, and "led thorn deeper into the
meaning of those revolatioua so long lost to the peopjp
and to the schoolB."
In 1517 tho real work of tho reformation began with
Luther's ninety-five theses again' t the doctrine of the In.
dulgeuces. Although at this time he was a "monk and a
furious Papist" "still" says ono of his biographers, "his
heart was ready to catch flro for everything that he reoog.
nized as truth and against oysry thing that he believed to
h WW." Tl. eat historjau qf tho, Rforma,tiQn, telja