Such kindlier expressions did not, however, do full justice to the veneration of images as practised throughout the olden Church, nor did they counteract what he had said of the idols of silver and gold, of the uselessness and harmfulness of bestowing money on sacred pictures and religious works of art to be exposed for the devotion of the people. All was drowned in his incitement to “destroy,” “break in pieces,” “pull down” and “fall upon” the images, first by means of the Evangel, and, then through the action of the authorities. It is plain what fate was in store particularly for those religious works of art which served as symbols of, or to extol, those dogmas and institutions peculiarly odious to him, for instance, the sacrifice of the Mass, around which centred the ornaments of the altar, the fittings of the choir, and, more or less, all the decorations of the church. As for the sacred vessels, often of the most costly character, and all else that pertained to the dispensing of the sacraments, their destruction had already been decreed. _Further details regarding the Fate of the Works of Art and of Art itself_ The account already given above of the squandering and destruction of ecclesiastical works of art, in particular of the valuable images of the Saints in the towns of Meissen and Wurzen,[759] may be supplemented by the reports from Erfurt of the damage done there at the coming of the religious innovations; we must also bear in mind, that the suppression of Catholic worship in this town which looms so large in Luther’s life, took place under his particular influence and with the co-operation of preachers receiving their instructions from Wittenberg. Before the lawless peasants entered the town on April 28, 1525, the Council had already “taken into safe custody” the treasures of the churches and monasteries; chalices and other vessels of precious metal were on this occasion carried away in “tubs and trogs,” and eventually the public funds were enriched with the profit derived from their sale.[760]