Cornelius Agrippa - 1856 Author:Henry Morley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. RELATES A GREAT DISPUTE WITH THE DOMINICANS OF METZ: TELLS ALSO HOW AGRIPPA SAVED A VILLAGE GIBL ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE C... more »HIEF INQUISITOR, AND LOST HIS OFFICE OF TOWN ADVOCATE AND OEATOR. Dining sometimes, in the year 1519, with his friend Father Claudius Deodatus at the religious house of the Celestines in the market-place, Cornelius Agrippa used to discourse much at table on the state of man before the fall, the fall of the angels, and other matters1. Except Father Claudius and the prior and one studious youth, none of the monks diverted their attention from their dinners to take more heed of the earnest scholar than to note that he often spoke with respect of theological inquirers who were not considered to be sound by the stationary party in the Church3. They were critical times in which Cornelius Agrippa had devoted himself to the study of Theology. Luther's stand against corruption was then in the first years of its strength, and many -writers who abided by the Church were labouring to clear 4 Ep. 20, 21, Lib. it p. 740. The same; also Ep. 24, p. 742. FATHER CLAUDIUS DEODATUS. 37 it of its grosser errors. Cornelius was of one mind with these. He had as yet read nothing of Luther's; no writing of his had found its way to the strict town of Metz; but what the spiritual scholar heard about the undaunted Reformer pleased him, and he was not afraid to say so openly1, and to speak with contempt of the priests known as Luther's foremost enemies. Cornelius had read also and enjoyed all that he had met with of the writings of Erasmus. He quoted Erasmus freely, and was also just at this time seized with admiration of a venerable and gentle theologian whose reforming tendencies had made him hateful to his brethren of the Sorbonne, Jac...« less