During his absence at the Wartburg there was found no one among his followers who was properly qualified to maintain the reformed doctrines, or direct the reformed community. The mild and peaceful scholar, Philip Melancthon, had a gentle and fruitful mind well fitted to enrich others but unsuited for the tumult and the storm of republican notions, combined with religious fanaticism. Andrew Carlstadt, a doctor of Wittemberg, an early friend of Luther, and by no means ignorant of the truth, was induced to head a few fanatical persons who fancied they were in immediate communication with deity, and arrogated to themselves the title of prophets and apostles. Their numbers increased; youths from the university joined them. They denounced Luther's attempt at Reformation to be neither sufficiently extensive, nor thorough. In their extravagant enthusiasm, they proclaimed, "Woe! woe! woe!" to the false church and corrupt bishops. They entered churches, broke and burnt images, and proceeded to other excesses, which endangered the dawn of liberty and the peace of the commonwealth. The civil authorities interfered, and several of the zealots were cast into prison.
The cry for Luther was universal. He heard it at Wartburg. Without the consent of the Elector, and with much danger to his life, he hastened to the scene of confusion. Among the names who have obtained a memorial in history by this folly, we are most familiar with Nicholas Stork, Mark Stubner, Martin Cellary, and Thomas Munzer. The latter -Munzer—appears again in 1525, at the head of a rebellion of the peasants, which was called the peasants' war.
Luther returned from his Patmos to Wittemberg in the month of March, 1522. He was received by doctors, students, and citizens, with sincere demonstrations of joy and affection. His triumph was easy, but all by moral power. "I will preach," he said, "I will speak, I will write; but I will constrain none, for faith is a voluntary act. I stood up against the pope, indulgences, and papists, but without violence or tumult. I put forward God's word, I preached and wrote -this was all I did." He ascended the pulpit, and his powerful voice resounded once more through the agitated multitudes. On seven following days he delivered seven sermons. "They were followed by the most complete success," says the historian. "Every symptom of disorder immediately disappeared; the city was restored to its former tranquility, the university to its legitimate studies and rational principles; and Carlstadt, the unfortunate author of the confusion, overwhelmed by the predominance of a superior genius, withdrew not long afterward from the field of his disgrace." Luther was greatly opposed to violence. His fine principle was—before you can advantageously remove the objects of idolatry, such as images, you must first remove the errors from the minds of the worshippers. And this he sincerely believed could only be done by the word of God, which he longed to present to his nation in their own forcible tongue.