Both of Luther's catechisms, which I have dealt with so far, can be found in the present tenth part of Luther's writings. They are held against the first editions, which came out in 1529, and were printed after them. In the small one, the second preface is omitted, because, as I have already reminded you, it is taken from the "Tractat von der deutschen Messe", but this itself is included here. Since the intention was to communicate this Catechism as Luther had composed and published it, the addition "Von der Gewalt der Schlüssel" ("On the power of the keys") has been omitted. On the other hand, the five main pieces are followed by the appendix, which consists of the "Morning and Evening Blessings," the "Table Prayer," and the "House Table," and which Luther himself added. The "Trau- und Tauf-Büchlein" has been separated from the Catechism here, and since they have been brought to the proper place, I will have the opportunity to talk about them hereafter. The great Catechism also appears here in the form in which Luther presented it to the light. One finds the two prefaces of the same, the larger and smaller. The Catechism itself follows, and although the "exhortation to confession" is missing at the end, one should not be offended by it. I have already noted in the foregoing that some have thought that it does not actually belong to the Catechism, and that in most editions of our Concordia book it is also included with this Catechism.
mus been omitted. Meanwhile, you can find it here in the place where it belongs cheaply.
In the Erlangen edition, vol. 21, pp. 1-156, the small catechism has been printed according to the edition of 1570, the large catechism according to the first edition of 1529. In the present revised edition, we give the text of both catechisms, like Walch, according to the first editions of 1529. D. RedJ
§ XIX.
These two catechisms are followed in this section by Luther's other catechetical writings and sermons, whereby I must remind you in advance that they were not regarded as catechetical writings both in terms of the way in which they were written and in terms of the matters and subjects that appear in them. For although the actual nature of a catechetical writing has its basis primarily in its structure and entails that in it the noblest and most necessary truths of the Christian religion are presented for the use of the simple, whether one uses the teaching method of questions and answers or not, it is nevertheless also acceptable that in this designation one directs one's attention to the things or to the content of a treatise and considers it to be catechetical, because it contains a matter that in itself tends to occur in the catechism. According to this concept, many of Luther's catechetical writings have been collected here and divided according to the order of the Catechism, so that at the same time it is shown exactly where else in his other books, which are found in the other parts, Luther has dealt with a catechetical matter. The writings themselves, which one finds here, I will show one after the other and note this and that of it.
Luther's "Short Form for Considering the Ten Commandments, Faith, and the Lord's Prayer" was included in the first main section, namely concerning the Ten Commandments in general, and was communicated in its entirety. As I noted above, some pieces of the Catechism had been preserved in the Pabstthum, namely of the Ten Commandments, of faith, and of the Lord's Prayer.
of the Lord's Prayer, which Luther explained and thus laid the foundation for his little Catechism, which he subsequently published. This writing came to light for the first time in Wittenberg in 1520 under the title "Short Form of the Ten Commandments, the Faith and the Lord's Prayer" and was not only printed in this year, but also many times in the following years. In Olearius' list of the "Autograph. Luther.", p. 6 u. 10, various editions are listed. In 1521 it was published in the Lower Saxon language. This Lower Saxon translation is in von der Hardt's "Autograph. Luther. ", tom. I, p. 126, Fabricius' "Centifol. Luthe- ran.", p. 282, Langemack's, ,Histor. catechet. ', part. Π, p. 92, and cited in the "Fortgesetzten Sammlung von alten pnd neuen theol. Sachen," 1732, p. 846. Subsequently, it has come not only into the German collections of Luther's writings, as, into the Jenaische (Thl. I, p. 244), Wittenbergische (Thl. VI, p. 104), Altenburgische (Thl. I, p. 395) and Leipzigische (Thl. XXII, p. 29), but also into the Latin Wittenbergische (Thl. VII, p. 118). In the preface, Luther says that it was not without God's special providence that the common Christian man, who could not read the Scriptures, was commanded to learn and know the Ten Commandments, the Faith, and the Lord's Prayer, in which three pieces everything that is in the Scriptures and should always be preached, as well as everything that a Christian needs to know, is thoroughly and superfluously understood. His interpretation of the Ten Commandments had already been specially printed in both Latin and German, as I have shown in detail in the third part of this collection of Luther's writings, § VIII, and noted the various editions along with their deviations from each other, and now he also added the explanation of the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. In the case of the Ten Commandments, he mainly indicates their transgression and fulfillment. The daily bread, which is thought of in the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, he takes here in a spiritual sense and says: "the bread is our Lord Jesus Christ, who feeds and comforts the soul". Likewise, Luther, too, in the "Aus-
Luther understood the daily bread in his "Exposition of the Lord's Prayer for Simple People," which he published in 1518, but subsequently abandoned this opinion and interpreted it in his catechisms as bodily bread. The Hail Mary, which was previously in the Catechism, is omitted here completely, because Luther had already recognized its misuse. In the writing that appeared in 1523 under the following title: "Ein Betbüchlein und Lesbüchlein, von Mart. Luther," there is the Hail Mary, along with the Ten Commandments, the Faith, the Lord's Prayer, and several other pieces. As far as the present printing of this "Short Form" is concerned, a piece of it, namely the interpretation of the Ten Commandments, has already been included in the third part of this collection, but now it is found here in its completeness. In the Leipzig parts (Thl. XXII, p. 36), it has some additions and there is a "Sermon on Prayer", which has been separated here and placed among the writings that deal with the third main part of the Catechism on Prayer. There is a writing under the title: "Betbüchlein mit dem Calender und Passional D. Mari. Luther's", which was first published in 1522 and subsequently reprinted in octavo by Hans Lufft in 1539, 1549 and most completely in 1566. It contains an explanation of the Catechism, but I cannot say whether it is the same as the one in the "Short Form", because I do not have such a document at hand. Dr. Zeltner, in the "History of the Printed Bible Version and Other Writings of Luther", p. 109, gives news of it and reports that the interpretation of the Catechism contained in it is different from that which one has in the large and small Catechism; however, he does not indicate what kind of explanation it actually is. If we look at the time when this writing first appeared, it seems to be the same one that is in the "Short Form".
[We give, like Walch and the Erlangen edition (22, 1-31), the text according to the first edition of 1520, except that here and there we insert a clearer reading from one of the later editions of 1520 and 1521. D. Red.]
§ XX.
The other catechetical writings that address the first main section follow one another according to the order of the ten commandments.
The following has been added to the first bid and reported here:
1) "Two Disputations on the Unity of the Divine Essence and the Distinction of Persons in the Godhead," the first of which consists of thirty-eight sentences and the other of fifty. They are found in the Latin Jenaische Theilen (Thl. I, p. 534) under the following title: Disputationes duae de unitate essentiae divinae et de distinctione personarum in divinitate, fideliter explicatae a Martino Luthero, viro Dei, anno 1545. Since they were written in Latin, however, Diaconus Rambach brought them into German.
[However, its translation, because it suffered from many and essential inaccuracies, had to be given, for the most part, completely new.
D. Red.]
2) "Another Theological Disputation on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, on the Incarnation of the Son, on the Law etc.", which Luther held in 1544. It was also taken from the Latin Jenaische Theilen (Thl. I, p. 532) and translated into the German language by Rambach.
[This translation by Rambach has also been compared again with the Latin text in the Erlangen edition (Opera latina varii argumenti IV, 470-480), improved in a radical way and supplemented by a thesis that Walch's translator omitted. D. Red.]
3) Luther's letter to Lord Ludwig, Count of Stolberg of 1522 "on the use of the images in the church", in which he thinks that even if the images were misused, such misuse was still not a sufficient reason why one wanted to break them and throw them out, since one would otherwise have to remove many things for such a reason. In the meantime, he himself wished that they were not in the church. The original of this letter is in the count's archives at Wernigerode. After
Such was printed in the "Sammlung von alten und neuen theol. Sachen", 1726, p. 195, so it was subsequently included in the "Supplement der Leipzigischen Theile", p. 31.
[Cf. Erl. Ed. 53, 122 ff. De W. II, 188.)
4) "Concern: Whether a Christian, who is reported to divine teaching, may be at idolatrous worship without violating his conscience?", which is found in the Jena (Thl. VI, p. 339), Wittenberg (Thl. XII, p. 209), Altenburg (Thl. VI, p. 435) and Leipzig (Thl. XXI, p. 83) parts.
[Cf. Erl. ed. 56, 70 ff. This is a letter to Christoph Jörger, dated December 31, 1543, not from 1535, as Walch assumes. De W. V, 612.
D. Red.]
5) Another "Concern: Whether a Christian with a good conscience can be at a papal bishop's coronation?", which is also found in the parts now cited, as in the Jena (Thl. VI, p. 342), Wittenberg (Thl. XII, p. 270), Altenburg (Thl. VI, p. 480) and Leipzig (Thl. XXI, p. 85). It stands this concern also in "Consilia theolog. Witeberg.", tom. ΙII, p. 41.
[To whom this letter is addressed is unknown. It is dated September 19, 1535, cf. Erl. In both concerns Luther denies this question by appealing to the Christian conscience, which condemns such a way of acting as a denial of faith. D. Red.]
6) Two sermons, which Luther preached in 1516, the first "on the fear of God", on the second day of Christmas; the other "on the trust in God" after instruction of the first commandment, on the day of St. Lawrence. Dr. Valentin Ernst Löscher first had them printed in Latin in "Vollständige Reformation-Acten", Vol. I, pp. 773 and 752, from which they were translated into German by Diaconus Rambach and added here to the catechetical writings.
[Cf. Opera latina var. arg. I, 162-164 and I, 111-116. Here, too, Rambach's translation required a thorough correction. D. Red.]
§ XXI.
Regarding the third commandment, one encounters the following writings:
1) "Admonition, Warning and Reminder" together with a short preface by Nicolaus von Amsdorf, in which Luther predicted punishment by war and false doctrine for disregarding the divine word of God. What has been communicated here is nothing different than what is written before the second Jena part, to which Amsdorf made a short preface and added Luther's "admonition, warning and reminder". Both were then brought into the Altenburg Collection (Thl. II, p. I), and into the appendix of the Leipzig XXII part, p. 156, and counted to the year 1522.
[Cf. Erl. ed. 64, 262-265.]
2) Luther's "Letter to Georg Spalatin, How to Study the Scriptures", which he wrote in 1518 and in which he gives to those who want to learn to understand the Holy Scriptures this most necessary and salutary rule, that because the Scriptures cannot be understood by any human diligence and understanding, one must begin the matter with prayer and call upon God for the right understanding of His Holy Word. [He then advises the reading of some of Augustine's writings for the advancement of the understanding of Scripture, whom he prefers by far to Jerome. This letter is also important because of Luther's judgment of Erasmus, whom he highly esteems because of his scholarship, but denies him the knowledge of Christ]. He wrote such a letter in Latin and Johann Aurifaber included it in the "Collection of Luther's Letters" (Vol. 1, p. 47), whereupon Joh. Gottfried Zeidler translated it into German and included it in the Hallische Theil (p. 135). From this, however, it was brought into the Leipzig parts and placed among Luther's smaller exegetical writings (Thl. XII, p. 89).
[This letter is also found in De Wette, Briefe Luther's, I, 87. According to the latter text, Zeidler's translation has been corrected and its missing passages added. D. Red]
3) The scripture "On the Order of Worship in the Church", which was first published in
under the title: "Von Ordnung Gottesdienstes in der Gemeine. D. Mart. Luther zu Wittenberg 1523" in quarto and was printed there again in the same year. Both editions are in von der Hardt's "Au- tograph. Luther", tom. I, p. 152, and Olea.
rius' list of the "Autograph. Luther.", p. 17. It is also subsequently given a place in the Jena (Thl. II, p. 246), Altenburg (Thl. II, p. 332) and Leipzig (Thl. XXII, p. 226) collections. Luther points out three major abuses of the church service and wants it to be held twice a day, and if not everyone could attend it, then the priests and students, and especially those who wanted to become good preachers and pastors, should do so.
He then gives some instructions on how the service should be celebrated on Sundays through Mass and Vespers. - Cf. Erl. Ed. 22, 151-156.
D. Red.)
4) "German Mass and Order of the Divine Service," in which Luther gives instructions on how to arrange the divine service and what to observe especially in the distribution of the Lord's Supper, whereby he not only reminds us that the Catechism must be practiced, but also instructs us on how this can be done, which is precisely the treatise of which I noted above that it was taken from this booklet and placed in front of Luther's small Catechism as the second preface. Such booklet came to light for the first time under the title: "Deutsche Messe und Ordnung Gottesdiensts mit Luther's Vorrede" in Wittenberg 1526 in quarto. One sees from this edition von der Hardt's "Autograph. Lu- ther.", tom. ΙΠ, p. 135. Subsequently, this writing has been reprinted in the collections of his writings, namely the Jenaische (Thl. Ill, p. 276), Wittenbergische (Thl. VII, p. 399), Altenburgische (Thl. Ill, p. 467), and Leipzigische (Thl. XXII, p. 241).
[In this revised edition, this mass is brought for the first time with the original musical notes, as composed by Luther himself, in the text itself, according to the original....
The first edition was published in a long edition, which had published the same in its own music supplement, separate from the text. - Cf. Erl. Ed. 22, 226-244. D. Red.]
5) "Admonition to all Christians in Liefland", which is a letter to the people of Liesland in general, in which Luther admonishes them that they should not start any unrest because of the inequality of the outward customs, since these do not concern the reason and the main essence of Christianity, but at the same time, as much as possible, make an effort that equality is established and introduced. [In the meantime, the pastors and preachers should come together and establish a common order of worship, while reminding the people not to regard it as a necessary divine law]. This letter was written in 1525 and printed in quarto in Wittenberg in that year under the title: "A Christian Admonition of Outward Worship and Concord". It is also in the collections of Luther's writings, namely in the Jena (Thl. Ill, p. 161), Wittenberg (Thl. II, p. 62), Altenburg (Thl. m, p. 152) and Leipzig (Thl. XIX, p. 347), likewise in "Consilia theolog. Witteberg.", tom. ÜI, x. 6.
[Cf. Erl. ed. 53, 315-321. de W. m, 3.]
§ XXII.
Regarding the fourth commandment, the following scriptures stand together here:
1) "Instruction that spiritual and secular regimentation should be well distinguished," which is a brief concern Luther addressed to a preacher, that one must distinguish between that which belongs to a secular authority and a teacher, and that the secular authority has no right to accept or dismiss church servants; for which he refers to the visitation decree and electoral decree, although this has subsequently changed and come into a different state. This concern was drafted in 1536, and although the parish priest to whom it is addressed is not named in what is printed, Herr von Seckendorf notes in "Histor.
Lutheranism", lib. III, § 49, p. 135, he found in a written copy that it had been issued to a preacher in Zwickau and that Luther at the same time had written a letter of the same content to the city council there. One finds this writing in the Jenaischen (Thl. VI, p. 376), Wittenbergischen (Thl. XII, p. 274), Altenburgischen (Thl. VI, p. 910) and Leipzigischen (Thl. XXII, p. 386) parts. It is this writing also in the "Consilia theologic. Witteberg.", tom. ΙΠ, p. 3.
[The Erl. Ed. notes that this letter was addressed to Leonhard Beier, July 24, 1536. vol. 55, 141-143. De W. V, 8. D. Red.]
2) The writing "An den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation von des christlichen Standes Besserung" (To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation on the Improvement of the Christian State), which is particularly remarkable. Luther published it in 1520 with a letter to Nicolaus von Amsdorf, then licentiate of theology and canon of Wittenberg, and in it he attacked the papacy in such a way that he not only openly exposed the great corruption that had arisen in Christianity and the shameful abuses that had crept in for many centuries, but also indicated what could be useful for improvement. In it, he primarily intends to attack and tear down the threefold wall, as he himself says, with which the papacy wants to protect and defend itself against a reformation. Accordingly, he first denies that the clergy has such a great advantage over the laity as the latter arrogates to itself, and on the other hand, he presents the sovereignty that all true Christians have as spiritual priests. He denies, for the rest, that Scripture is concerned with the prestige of the pope, since he is a man and, like all others, can err and be mistaken. Thirdly, he denies the bishop of Rome the power to establish spiritual assemblies (concilia) alone, and imposes them on all Christians. He then examines how to remedy the smelting, avarice, simony and other sins and vices of the Roman court, which he recounts at length, and gives such a lecture on them that one can clearly see the great insight and experience he has had in this matter.
and in view of the time when he wrote this, and of his own status, he must be admired. For here he has summarized almost everything about which the imperial estates complained later against the Roman court. He does not leave it at that, but also testifies to his zeal against auricular confession, against masses, pilgrimages and other corruptions in doctrine and worship, as well as against the violence of the Roman bishops against the kingdoms and cities of Italy. He judged the academic studies to be in need of improvement. Aristotle had established immoral principles that deviated completely from Christianity, and therefore nothing more than logic, rhetoric and poetry should be taught from him. Papal law should be abolished and imperial law should be improved and made shorter. In theology, the most important thing is the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Thus he also touches on the vices of common life, such as the splendor of clothing, excess in eating and drinking, the introduction of foreign specimens and luxury articles, usury etc. Seckendorf recounts in "Histor. Lutheranismi," lib. I, § 72, p. 112, the content of this writing in more detail. One can easily consider that this writing was a thorn in the eyes of the papists and increased the hatred that one already had against Luther in one's heart and increased the hostility against him, as such success also proved. When Joh. Cochläus in "Commentar, de actis et scriptis Lutheri", p. 21 sq., comes to this tract of Luther's, he speaks very badly of it and pretends that it contains only slander and falsehoods against the popes and the Roman church, in which way other papists have also judged, as one can easily see. Luther foresaw this and therefore said at the end of this writing that he knew well how hatred and persecution awaited him; however, nothing more could be taken from him than his life. He would rather the world be angry with him than God. When his good friends, after he had published the book, worried that now the noise would really start, he was calm and said nothing more than "he was convinced that the papacy was the true and real seat of the Church.
of the Antichrist". In a letter to Joh. Lange in 1520, he wrote of this treatise, among other things: Sitne libellus meus, quem tu classicum vocas, mi pater, tam atrox et ferox, tu videris et alii omnes. Libertate et impetu fateor plenus est; multis tamen placet; nec aulae nostrae penitus displicet (i.e. "Whether my little book, which you, venerable sir, call classical, is really so wild and defiant, you and all others will have seen. That it is full of frankness and zeal, I confess myself; but that pleases just many, and even at our court it has not entirely aroused displeasure"); to which he adds: Nos hic persuasi sumus, papatum esse veri et germani illius antichristi sedem (i.e., "We are here convinced that the papacy is the seat of the true and genuine Antichrist"), Aurif. Epist. Luth, tom. I, 187, p. 278. Previously, in a letter to Wenceslaus Link, he had included this: Editur noster libellus in papam de reformanda ecclesia vernaculus, ad universam nobilitatem Germaniae, qui summe offensurus est Romam, ductis in publicum impiis artibus et violentibus potestatibus ejus (i.e..Our booklet against the pope on the improvement of the church to the entire nobility of the German nation is now published in the German language, which will greatly offend Rome, since it brings to light and reveals its ungodly arts and shameful violence"), Aurif. Epist. Luth, tom. I, 183, n. 275.
The writing itself, as I have already mentioned, first came to light in 1520 at Wittenberg in quarto under the following title: "An den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation von des christlichen Standes Besserung. D. Martin Luther", and was reprinted in Leipzig in the same year at Wittenberg, after Luther had increased and corrected it. The different editions, which came out in 1520, are in von der Hardt's "Autograph. Lutheri", tom. I, p. 101, and in Olearius' "Verzeichniß der Autograph. Luther.", p. 7. It was then also published together with two other writings of Luther with this title: "Drei Büchlein, zuletzt von dem hochberühmten und evangelischen Lehrer D. Martin Luther ausgegangen, nämlich von dem deutschen Adel, der heiligen Meß, dem Pabstthum zu Rom" in quarto, although thereby
neither the place nor the time of printing is indicated. It is also found in the Jena (Thl. I, p. 319), Wittenberg (Thl. VI, p. 544), Altenburg (Thl. I, p. 480) and Leipzig (Thl. XVII, p. 457) parts. In the print that is found here, the Wittenberg edition of 1520, which was improved by Luther, was used and the copy was arranged accordingly.
[Among the moderns, Mag. Georg Veefemeyer in his "Litteraturgeschichte der Briefsammlungen und einiger Schriften von Dr. Martin Luther," Berlin 1821, pp. 121-134; Gottl. Jak. Plank in his "Geschichte der Entstehung und Bildung des protestantischen Lehrbegriffs". Plank judges about this writing that it, as the most important writing of Luther, will leave every reader in doubt whether he should be more astonished about the greatness of the spirit, which rules in it, or about the boldness, which belonged to its publication. On the historical circumstances under which Luther wrote this booklet, see Köstlin, Martin Luther I, 336-359. We give the text, like Walch, according to the expanded, 8th edition of 1520, while the Erlangen edition is based on the original shorter form, namely the 7th edition. Cf. E. A. 21, 274-360. ed.]
3) Duke John Frederick of Saxony's letter to Luther concerning the question of whether one should judge and judge according to the laws of Moses or the Emperor, along with Luther's and Melanchthon's concerns about this. The occasion for these writings was the following. There came Dr. Jakob Strauss*)
*) Of this Jakob Strauß Abraham Scultetus reports in "Annales evangelii renovati" under the year 1523, x. 56, according to the edition found in Hermann von der Hardt's "Historia litteraria reformationis", pari. V, is the following: Isenaci doctor, Jacobus Straus, Cal. Januariis concionari et non ita multo post idola demoliri, missam latinam abolere et vehementi spiritu contra errores pontificios detonare coepit. Itaque a decano et capitulo aliquoties ad Joannem, Saxoniae ducem, est accusatus. Docuit ibi in tertium annum (i.e.: "On January 1, the Doctor of Eisenach, Jakob Strauß, began to preach and not long after to storm the churches, to abolish the Latin mass and to attack with bitter vehemence the papal errors. For this reason, he was sued several times by the dean and the chapter before Duke John of Saxony. He taught there for the third year"). He appeals
at Eisenach and Magister Wolfgang Stein,*) court preacher in Weimar, together with some legal scholars, were of the opinion that imperial law, since it had its origin in paganism, and spiritual law, which came from the popes, should be abolished and the Mosaic police laws introduced instead. They then considered all interest and usury to be absolutely unlawful, and in part also disapproved of all commerce.
The author refers to certain acts that were in the archives of the Eisenach churches. Seckendorf remarks in the "Histor. Lutheranismi", libr, I, § 152, p. 272, that he had seen the manuscript to which Scultetus referred, but had found little in it concerning the time of which Scultetus speaks. Jakob Strauß and Thomas Neuenhagen were counted among the first Protestant preachers in Eisenach. The latter recognized the evangelical truth, but went astray because of the heat and let himself be taken in by false and erroneous opinions. In Eisenach in 1523, he preached a sermon in which he railed against chrism or the oil used in baptism and said that it was used for simony because it was sold for money. This sermon came to light under the following title: "Against simonic baptism and purchased fictitious chrism and oil, also in which the true Christian baptism, instituted by Christ alone, is conceived: a necessary sermon, preached at Eisenach. D. Jakob Strauß, 1523." Quart. There he made known his opinion of usury and published: "Hauptstück und Artikel christlicher Lehr wider den unchristlichen Wucher, darum etliche Pfaffen zu Eisenach so gar unruhig und bemüht sind. D. Jakob Strauß, 1523." Quart. In addition to these, he produced and had printed other writings, which are found in von der Hardt's "Autograph. Luther.", tom. II, p. 109. 110. 111. 112, and tom. Ill, p. 86. By driving the matter because of the interest with much vehemence and in addition that he did not show himself cautiously enough with the peasants uprising, so he was deposed and brought to Weimar in custody. Some information about him is given by Seckendorf in Supplem. ad indicem I. historic. Histor. Lutheranismi.
*This Wolfgang Stein has been court preacher at Weimar since 1522 and Luther has thought a lot of him. In his "Letters", Vol. II, p. 95 and 99, there are two letters which he sent to him in 1522. He wanted him to be a valuable witness of the started reformation in Erfurt; however, he had to stay in Weimar. In 1524, he and Jakob Strauß went astray because of the Mosaic police laws and interest; however, he was soon brought back on the right path by Luther and Melanchthon and helped to promote the Reformation in the best possible way, was also at the convention held in Weimar in 1548 because of the interim and co-signed the concerns that were issued. Joh. Christoph Coler lists more in the "Auserlesenen theolog. Bibliothek", Thl. LX, p. 1045, and of the conversation he held with Thomas Mürber, Prof. Kapp gives in the "Nachlese der zur Erläuterung der Reformations-Geschichte nützlichen Urkunden", Thl. II, p. 556.
(Contracts), guarantees and the like. This happened in the year 1524, and as they pushed the matter violently, they received applause here and there and caused unrest. In 1524, at the request of Duke John Frederick, Luther raised the objection I mentioned earlier and, with regard to the Mosaic laws, said that one must follow the laws introduced in a country and that it was not acceptable to introduce Mosaic police law unless the emperor and princes agreed and adopted it, in which case one had to submit to it. With regard to usury, he declared that, although it was to be deplored that one often acted against the love of one's neighbor, one could not, however, approve of Dr. Strauss's opinion, as if one were not allowed to give any interest at all.
[Luther says that as long as all usury could not be abolished by a general imperial law, the sovereign should tolerate that usurious interest is taken up to four or five percent, "which are not usurious for the sum half, but [are usurious because] that they are certain and do not stand in the way as they should"; the sovereign should "let the consciences be weighed down of those who take [this] unjust interest". "But where more than five go to a hundred, every prince should do his best to bring it down to the fifth or fourth, and let up some of the principal sum, after which they have gone long (namely the interest)" etc. In the same matter, Luther addressed a letter to the Chancellor Gregor Brück, which we bring later, p. 912, in which Luther gave his opinion on Strauß' booklet on usury, to the effect that Strauß quite rightly condemned the purchase of interest as usurious, but was wrong only in that he did not give enough reasons for it, and forbade giving interest. S. Preface, p. 95; editor's note].
The Duke John Frederick, who was a gentleman of twenty-one years, testified in the letter to Luther that he was particularly graciously pleased with Luther's concerns and wrote among other things that he hoped that
He wanted to win back his father, whom Wolfgang Stein would have taken over completely, which also happened. However, for the sake of the Mosaic Laws, not only Luther raised an objection, but this was also done by Philipp Melanchthon, who is found together in this section. They are also in the Altenburg (Th. II, p. 815) and Leipzig (Th. XIX, p. 350) collections, and since in the Jena (Th. II, p. 469) only Luther's objection was included without the letter of Duke Johann Friedrich, this was also included in the Eislebische Theile (Th. I, p. 187). The controversy that Strauss and a few others caused over the Mosaic laws and interest is described by Seckendorf in "Histor. Lutheranismi," libr. I, § 177, n. 305, and with a few Christian Aug. Salig commemorates it in the "Vollständige Historie der Augsburgischen Confession", Th. I, p. 80.
[Cf. Erl. DeWette, Briefe Luthers II, 519. We give both of Luther's concerns here equally complete, while Walch has printed only one piece here, namely the point about the Mosaic police laws, and brings the whole in the 21st volume, p. 70 f.. D. Red.]