Luther Page #6

In the third group,

I have written against

private persons and individuals

who uphold Roman tyranny

and have attacked my own efforts

to encourage piety to Christ.

I confess...

that I have

written too harshly.

I am but a man and I can err.

Only let my errors

be proven by Scripture...

and I will revoke my work

and throw my books into the fire.

You have not

answered the question.

You, Martin Luther,

will not draw into doubt

those things

which the Catholic church

has judged already,

things that have passed into usage,

rite, and observance...

the faith that Christ,

the most perfect Lawgiver,

ordained,

the faith the martyrs

strengthened with their blood.

You wait in vain

for a disputation

over things that

you are obligated to believe.

Now give your answer.

Yes or no?

Will you recant or will you not?

Since Your Majesty

and Your Lordships

desire a simple reply...

I will answer.

Unless I am convinced

by Scripture

and by plain reason...

and not by Popes and councils

who have so often

contradicted themselves...

my conscience is captive

to the word of God.

To go against conscience

is neither right nor safe.

I cannot...

and I will not recant.

Here I stand.

I can do no other.

God help me.

Yes, Martin!

The man's a heretic!

He's a prophet of God!

Order!

Young Martin walks out!

You have your answer!

Order!

Order!

Order!

Luther!

No, it's not that simple.

Luther!

...the word of God!

Luther! Luther!

God bless you, Martin!

Luther!

Luther! Luther! Luther!

Make way!

I am descended

from a line of Christian emperors.

You will not make a heretic of me.

He has condemned himself,

Excellency.

He must be stopped before

he infects all of Germany.

My lord, you gave Luther

the promise of a safe conduct.

Luther's not a man but a demon,

clothed in his religious habit,

the better to deceive us.

Martin Luther's your subject.

What do you say?

He is too daring for me,

my lord.

Although not, it seems,

for the people.

If anything should happen

to him on the way back...

so be it.

Thank you!

God bless your journey home,

Brother Martin!

You'll always be

in our hearts, Martin!

Truth will out, Brother Martin!

God be with you!

Why are they leaving us?

Wait.

Martin.

Martin Luther, step down

and your comrade will be spared.

I'm Luther.

Ulrick, no!

I am Luther.

Spalatin!

Sorry about the rough ride.

Prince Frederick was keen

to nab you before someone else did.

They may have murdered Luther.

but they will not stop

what we have started.

The holy war has just begun!

Any man who holds himself up

as the master of others,

whether he be prince,

Pope, priest, even professor,

must repent...

must repent or be cut down!

You call me Professor Carlstadt.

No more!

From this day forward,

I am Brother Andreas.

Yes.

And all of you, likewise,

prepare yourselves

for the great leveling!

Yes!

"Thou shalt not make unto thee

any graven image."

Learn to despise

props and pretensions.

Stand with the righteous,

or be cut down with the others.

There is no middle ground!

Teach us!

Martin would never have shamed

a student for wearing a crucifix!

I know Martin Luther.

I discovered him.

He said reform.

You want revolt!

If you haven't got the stomach to finish

what he started, Melanchthon, step aside.

Why are you babbling in riddles?

Beware, or you too

shall be cut down.

What?

I asked for a Greek New Testament.

I need proper books,

not this rubbish.

And a Greek-German dictionary.

Leave us.

And a Greek-Latin dictionary.

This is not the time, Martin.

Well, the Emperor's

going to burn me, anyway.

He'll burn us all.

This is treason.

To have a New Testament

in German,

in words ordinary people

can understand?

Yes!

It's the thing Rome fears most.

Well, you must blame

the Author for that.

The wall...

break it down!

Make breaches!

No popes! No witches!

No priests!

This cursed house...

pull her down!

Come out, you...

How do you expect to do this?

Just give us our rights!

Blasphemers!

We must send in soldiers.

And cause more bloodshed?

If Wittenberg cannot settle

its religious problems without that,

then the rest of the world

will not be impressed.

Send for Luther.

How's the work?

Tricky.

Words are like children...

the more care you lavish on them,

the more they demand.

Rather like women.

I wouldn't know.

Take this verse in Saint Luke...

"It is the father's will

that nothing be lost."

In our language, the word"will"

denotes strength, willpower,

bending someone to your will.

But in the original Greek,

this three-letter word

denotes passion, fire,

inner organs.

It can mean beloved,

desire, even sexual desire.

Eat your porridge.

You're not even listening.

Besides, porridge does

nothing for my bowels.

No, it's not the word

that's important,

but what it's saying about God.

You are too much alone here.

"You are too much alone here."

Oh, very good, Spalatin.

Two weeks since you last came.

Of course I'm too much alone!

How can I write for our people

when I don't live among them?

The language of the Bible should be

like a mother talking to her children.

Well, it's decided,

Martin Luther

must not leave this room.

But Knight George...

may.

It's time you saw

for yourself, Martin.

Why? Why were they killed?

No reason.

Just happened to be

in the wrong place,

got in the way of a mob of peasants

looting a monastery.

The whole world's

been turned upside-down

by that madman Luther.

And him saying that

every Christian has the right

to take what they need by force.

Well, Luther's gone,

but his damned ideas have

set the whole earth on fire.

Soon this country will be blazing.

Please! Let me go

in the name of God!

Help me!

Please stop!

Take off your Roman dresses

or have them burnt off!

Cowards! Cowards!

Cowards!

How dare you?

You call yourselves Christians?

Christians?!

You, why are you standing there?

Put out this fire!

Run! Buckets! Shovels! Run!

When a limb is rotten,

you must cut it off.

You know that as well as I.

Get out!

Martin, this is for you!

Let it burn!

Get out of Wittenberg

before I beat you out!

Beat me out?

I defended you.

I supported you.

I'm carrying on

just as you would have.

You think this is my work?

This is never my work!

No, it's the people's work!

The people's work!

It's the people's work.

The people's work!

Spalatin.

Are you there?

Now, how is he?

Luther's depressed, my lord.

Confused.

He feels the peasants

have twisted his language.

But he will join them?

Luther abhors violence.

But he's in sympathy

with their grievances?

It's hard to argue against

freeing people from crippling taxes

or the purgatory of being

born slaves all their lives.

You know, if Luther

were to lift one finger,

every peasant in Germany

would rise up behind him.

Maybe.

Luther's a theologian, my lord.

He fights,

but with his tongue or his pen.

He will not draw the sword.

I have finally

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