The  fence  of  those  hierarchies  which  had  surrounded  the  world  being
thus  broken  down,  the  more  vigorous  and  highly  civilized  among  them
sought  to  reconstitute  themselves  on  a  new  system  ;  the  leading  principle
of  which  was,  to  draw  religious  convictions  from  the  purest  and  most
primitive  sources,  and  to  free  civil  life  from  the  contracting,  oppressive
influence  of  a  spiritual  institution,  which  assumed  the  monopoly  of  piety — ■
an  undertaking  of  the  greatest  importance  and  the  highest  promise  to
the  progress  of  the  human  race.
The  empire,  which  from  the  earliest  ages  had  developed  itself  under  the
influence  of  the  See  of  Rome,  was  thus  invaded  by  a  new  element  hostile
to  the  ancient  hierarchical  order  of  things  :  this,  if  sufficiently  powerful
to  sustain  itself,  promised  to  change  the  whole  face  and  destinies  of  the
German  nation.
Changes  so  radical  and  extensive  are  not,  however,  to  be  carried  into
effect  without  the  most  violent  struggles  ;  nor  is  this  the  result  of  human
will  or  caprice,  but  inherent  in  the  nature  of  human  affairs.
If,  in  the  case  before  us,  we  consider  the  characters  of  the  men  who
attached  themselves  to  the  great  religious  innovation,  we  shall  see  how
impossible  it  was  for  them  to  avoid  varieties  of  opinion,  and  divergences
of  views.  Nor  was  it  to  be  expected  that  the  energetic  princes  who  carried
that  innovation  into  effect,  should  remain  perfectly  exempt  from  the
excesses  and  acts  of  violence  which,  in  their  age,  had  become  a  second
nature.
But  far  greater  dangers  presented  themselves  on  the  side  from  which
they  had  seceded.
