The earlier Church on freedom of the will. Growth of Luther’s denial of freedom from the time of the Commentary on Romans; his attack on free-will in the “Resolutions” after the Leipzig Disputation and in the “_Assertio_” against the Bull of Excommunication (1521): “_Omnia de necessitate absoluta eveniunt_,” anything else mere Pelagianism; St. Augustine; the “religion of the Cross”; Scripture the sole rule of faith; Luther’s deviations from his stern doctrine in his practical works; objections within his own fold. Erasmus invited to take the field on behalf of freedom; previous attitude of the leader of the Humanists: partly for, partly against Luther; his eyes opened in 1520; his regret in 1521 for having fanned the flames by his writings; the saying: “Erasmus laid the egg which Luther hatched”; various opinions regarding Erasmus. Luther seeks in vain to dissuade Erasmus from writing against him; publication of the “_De libero arbitrio diatribe_,” 1524; Luther’s reply: “_De servo arbitrio_”; contents and character of the work; religious determinism; God the only real agent; peace to be secured only at the price of surrendering free-will; unfreedom and predestination to hell; God’s Secret Will versus His Revealed Will; existence of commandments and penalties; how explained? Man’s will a saddle-horse mounted alternately by God and the devil. Luther’s psychology as portrayed in his work on the enslaved will. Laurentius Valla. Luther’s later dicta on the enslaved will and predestination; his own opinion unaltered to the end; he commends, however, the second edition of the “_Loci Theologici_” in which Melanchthon sacrifices determinism. Letter to Count A. von Mansfeld on the scandal of the weak; consolation for the damned. Recent views on Luther’s attitude _pages_ 223-294 4. NEW VIEWS ON THE SECULAR AUTHORITIES. Luther’s own estimation of the value of his teaching on the subject. How his views were reached. His book “Von welltlicher Uberkeytt,” 1523; his depreciation of the Princes: “A good Prince a rare bird from the beginning.” Antagonism to the fanatics and revolted peasants and his desire to serve the cause of the Evangel lead him to exaggerate the secular authority at the expense of the spiritual; Luther’s self-contradictory utterances on the subject of the use of earthly weapons in the service of the Evangel _pages_ 294-312 5. HOW THE NEW CHURCH-SYSTEM WAS INTRODUCED.