Both of them held firmly to
the old dictum of Hugo of St. Victor, which, as we have seen, was
virtually that one must first accept the doctrine, and then find
scriptural warrant for it. Very striking examples of this were
afforded in the interpretation by Luther and Melanchthon of certain
alleged marvels of their time, and one out of several of these may
be taken as typical of their methods.
In 1523 Luther and Melanchthon jointly published a work under the
title _Der Papstesel_--interpreting the significance of a strange,
ass-like monster which, according to a popular story, had been
found floating in the Tiber some time before. This book was
illustrated by startling pictures, and both text and pictures were
devoted to proving that this monster was "a sign from God,"
indicating the doom of the papacy. This treatise by the two great
founders of German Protestantism pointed out that the ass's head
signified the Pope himself; "for," said they, "as well as an ass's
head is suited to a human body, so well is the Pope suited to be
head over the Church.
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