roots so deep in this realm that it would be impossible to extirpate it without bloodshed, my royal will is that the two religions, the Lutheran and the papal, should enjoy equal liberty until the meeting of the general council which is announced.’[274] This northern monarch thus realized the saying of Tertullian—_Certe non est religionis cogere religionem_.[275] Unhappily the Reformation was not always faithful to its own principles. When they heard these words, the bishops were in consternation. They were too well acquainted with the people not to be certain that under the _régime_ of liberty the Reformation would gain the ascendency. It was all over with them and their episcopate. They believed that the only hope for the clergy lay in a close union with the nobility. They said to the lords, ‘Pray defend the Church;’ and they began to labor with might and main[276] to prevent the will of the king from being carried into execution. They depicted in the most glaring colors the dangers to which the Reformation exposed the state. They complained of the ill-treatment to which some of the begging friars had been subjected; and they made a deep impression on the minds of many lords and dignitaries of the state. To liberty they immediately set themselves to oppose persecution. The royal council demanded that the letters which authorized the new doctrines should be revoked, that the preachers should be expelled the kingdom, that the monks should be restored to their convents, and that the bishops should establish in their dioceses learned clerks competent to confute the reformers. ‘I am not able to compel consciences,’ said the king, ‘but if any one ill treats the monks he shall be punished.’[277] The people were excited, for they were for reform. Even among the nobles and the influential rich men there was a party, at the head of which was Magnus Gjoë, which was determined to maintain evangelical liberty. These enlightened men made their voice heard. The king, finding that his throne was strengthened, and that public opinion became more and more decided in favor of the Reformation, took one more step. Strengthened by the support of Gjoë, his friends, and the people, he caused a constitution to be drawn up respecting matters of religion, and this was presented to the diet at Odensee in 1527. It alarmed the bishops and astonished the nobles. [Sidenote: Royal Ordinances.] This assembly, which included the most zealous partisans of the papacy, being constituted, the delegate of the king read aloud the following articles: 1st. Every one shall be free to attach himself to either religion; no inquiry shall be made concerning conscience. 2d. The king will protect equally the papists and the Lutherans, and will give to the latter the security which they have not hitherto enjoyed. 3d. Marriage, which has been for centuries prohibited to canons, monks, and other ministers of the church, is henceforth permitted to them.