The  curious  student  of  ecclesiastical  history  will  now
see  what  just  cause  the  protestant  princes,  especially
John  the  Constant,  elector  of  Saxony,  and  Philip  the
landgrave  of  Hesse,  had  for  apprehending  the  most
imminent  danger  to  their  dignity  and  property,  and
even  their  lives,  from  the  fury  and  barbarity  of  papal
superstition ;  and  how  necessary  it  was  to  form  a
well  connected,  defensive  alliance,  which  might
prove  some  protection  and  security  against  the  im-


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pending  storm.  The  diet  of  Spires  was  at  hand ;
and  if  the  antipapal  princes  should  have  met  there
without  previous  communication  of  sentiment,  confu-
sion, reserve,  and  imbecility,  must  have  been  the  con-
sequence, instead  of  unanimity,  courage  and  strength.
•No  time  was  therefore  to  be  lost ;  the  present  moment
seemed  critical  in  the  highest  degree.  Actuated  by
such  views  and  principles,  those  resolute  and  spirited
protestants,  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  the  landgrave  of
Hesse,  met  at  Torgau,  and  there  agreed  upon  a  treaty
of  mutual  defence,  in  opposition  to  the  tyranny  of  the
ecclesiastics.  Their  next  step  was  to  invite  others  to
join  in  the  alliance  ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  at
Magdeburg,  they  met  together  again,  and  again  sub-
scribed the  same  treaty,  with  the  addition  of  a  consid-
erable number  of  princes,  who  followed  their  exam-
ple.
The  Magdeburg  treaty,  as  it  is  called,  does  honor  to
the  cause  of  the  gospel,  is  worthy  of  the  courageous
Christian  characters  who  joined  in  it,  and,  as  it  seems
to  have  been  the  foundation  of  the  famous  league
which  was  afterwards  formed  at  Srnallcald,  we  shall
give  the  substance  of  it  here.
