The Sleepwalkers (64 page)

There
is
a
typical
episode
in
the
relationship
between
the
two
friends,
which
bears
on
their
attitude
to
the
central
issue
of
their
time:
the
Reformation
of
the
Church
they
served.

Copernicus
was
forty-four
when,
in
1517,
Martin
Luther
nailed
his
ninety-five
theses
on
the
door
of
the
castle
church
at
Wittenberg.
No
more
than
five
years
had
to
pass,
and
"behold,
the
whole
world
is
dragged
into
the
fight,
storming
to
wild
struggle
and
slaughter,
and
all
Churches
are
defiled
by
abuse
as
if
Christ,
on
returning
to
Heaven,
had
bequeathed
us
not
peace
but
war,"
–
as
the
gentle
Giese
wrote
in
despair.
²⁹
From
its
very
beginnings,
the
Lutheran
movement
spread
rapidly
through
Prussia
and
even
into
Poland.
The
former
Grand
Master
of
the
Teutonic
Knights
who,
when
the
Order
was
at
last
dissolved
in
1525,
assumed
the
title
of
Duke
of
Prussia,
embraced
the
new
faith;
the
King
of
Poland,
on
the
other
side,
remained
faithful
to
Rome
and
forcibly
quelled
a
Lutheran
rising
in
Danzig.
Thus,
little
Ermland
became
once
again
a
no-man's-land
between
two
hostile
camps.
Bishop
Fabian
von
Lossainen,
the
successor
of
Uncle
Lucas,
could
still
observe
an
attitude
of
benevolent
neutrality
toward
Luther,
whom
he
called
"a
learned
monk
who
has
his
own
opiniones
regarding
the
Scriptures;
he
must
be
a
daring
man
who
will
stand
up
in
disputation
against
him."
But
his
successor,
Bishop
Mauritius
Ferber,
no
sooner
installed,
started
a
determined
fight
against
Lutheranism;
his
first
edict,
issued
in
1524,
threatened
that
all
who
listened
to
the
schismatics
"will
be
cursed
for
eternity
and
smitten
with
the
sword
of
anathema".
In
the
same
week
in
which
this
edict
was
issued
in
Ermland,
the
Bishop
of
the
neighbouring
diocese
of
Samland
also
published
an
edict
in
which
he
admonished
his
clergy
to
read
Luther's
writings
diligently
and,
following
Lutheran
practice,
to
preach
and
baptize
in
the
language
of
the
common
people.

Two
years
later
Canon
Giese
published
a
little
book.
³⁰
Its
ostensible
purpose
was
the
refutation
of
a
tract
by
that
Lutheran
fellow-traveller
next
door,
the
Bishop
of
Samland;
in
fact,
it
was
a
plea
for
tolerance
and
reconciliation,
written
entirely
in
the
Erasmian
vein.
In
the
preface,
Canon
Giese
said
bluntly,
"I
reject
the
battle";
and
he
ended
the
book
with
the
plea:

"Oh,
if
only
the
Christian
spirit
informed
the
Lutheran
attitude
to
the
Romans,
and
the
Romans'
toward
the
Lutherans
–
verily,
then
our
Churches
would
be
spared
these
tragedies
of
which
no
end
can
be
seen...
Verily,
the
wild
beasts
deal
more
kindly
with
each
other
than
Christian
deals
with
Christian."

Now,
at
the
beginning
of
his
book
Giese,
in
a
rather
deliberate
manner,
brings
in
Copernicus'
name.
The
curious
passage
is
contained
in
a
prefatory
letter
by
Giese
to
another
Canon,
one
Felix
Reich.
Giese
begs
Reich
not
to
let
personal
affection
interfere
with
his
critical
judgment
"as,
I
believe,
was
the
case
with
Nicolao
Copphernico
(sic),
who
advised
me
to
have
this
my
writing
printed,
though
otherwise
he
is
of
discerning
taste."
No
doubt
Canon
Giese
had
obtained
his
friend's
consent
to
this
mention
of
his
name,
as
a
way
of
indicating
that
Copernicus
endorsed
his
views.
No
doubt
Giese
and
Copernicus
–
and
the
rest
of
the
Chapter
–
had
endlessly
discussed
the
great
schism
and
their
attitude
to
it;
it
is
also
probable,
in
view
of
the
intimate
friendship
between
the
two
men,
and
the
passage
in
the
preface,
that
Copernicus
had
directly
or
indirectly
collaborated
on
Giese's
book.
Its
contents
were
so
irreproachable
that
Giese
eventually
became
a
bishop.
However,
there
were
a
few
passages
in
it
–
such
as
the
opening
"I
reject
the
battle",
and
certain
admissions
regarding
corruption
in
the
clergy
–
which,
in
the
view
of
an
over-cautious
mind,
might
incur
the
disfavour
of
one's
superiors.
The
tortuous
reference
in
the
preface
was
probably
a
compromise
formula
arrived
at
after
long
discussions
between
the
gently
persuasive
Giese
and
his
anxiety-ridden
friend.
³¹