Martin Luther
"Here I Stand"
There he encountered the Emperor himself, attending by two cardinals and a cloud of ecclesiastics. Scholars abounded, and Luther admitted that he was overwhelmed and dismayed by the prestige of those arrayed against him.
Time and again the Emperor urged Luther to reconsider, to moderate, to retract. Time and again, Luther stated what he believed to be true and would not back down. In the end, Charles made it plain: recant on certain key points or be arrested and condemned for heresy. Luther asked time to consider; Charles gave him the evening. The next day, Luther again appeared before the emperor and gave a short speech. At the end of it he uttered his famous statement:
"I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and wrong to go against my conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."
Charles condemned him the next day and issued an edict calling for his arrest. The emperor did, however, honor the safe conduct that had been granted to him, and let him leave the city.