To the Venerable, Reverend, Highly Respected Doctors and Captains, Johann Bugenhagen, Pastor, Asmus Spiegel and Chilian Goltstein etc.. Electoral commanders at Wittenberg, for the attention of.
1. venerable, strict, highly esteemed dear lords and friends! After our most gracious lord, Johann Friedrich, Duke of Saxony and Elector etc., ordered you and graciously wrote to me: if I were to consider indicating something further in the action that is taking place between the gentlemen of the Consistory and me in the marriage case of C(aspar) B(eyer), you should also accept it in addition to the parties' submission; so I am sending you this to transmit my opinion in writing.
2. first of all, I would have preferred to be overridden by the displeasure, but because it was on my conscience, as a pastor in this church,
I could not take it, I had to sit down against the Consistory's judgment because of my office. And even if I could have let it pass that so many sins were committed in the trade and actis (court proceedings), since so many lies, perjuries and suspicious practices happened, that it pities me that at this time one cannot come to justice without much injustice and sin, without which the delay still does harm and injustice, since there can be no end to justice, and it has become dangerous to be a pious jurist: this piece has nevertheless moved me, that such a judgment wanted to come to a confusion or perplexity of the conscience, which does not suffer God's word and rather condemns all law books, where it would have gone in rem judicatam (i.e., to a judgment by a final court decision). (i.e. to a matter ended by final judgment), as they call it; for C. could not have taken the M., and the good virgin would have been there-
The same is true of the secret betrothal, which has caused much trouble and misery in the priesthood, which was one of the reasons why we rejected and condemned it in our church, since it is a more correct, secure and divine way to marry.
But the other and right cause is this, that it is all together in heaps, namely both parts secretly betrothal together with the acts, also the consistory's judgment is vain devil's specter and hustle, directed so that the wretched pope with his abominations of desolation may sit again in our church, and it will finally become worse than before, before he was driven out. Here it was time for me to wake up and look into it. For since our consistory knew, or should have known, how it is done about the secret engagement in our church, they should have shown themselves otherwise, namely, they should have condemned the secret engagement, not let the trade come into record, much less have pronounced a verdict on it, to confirm such devilish work of our poor youth in an evil strong example.
(4) A secret betrothal can be nothing else than the devil's business, instituted by God's enemy and murderer of souls, the pope; as Daniel prophesied of him, that he would set himself above and against God and destroy all God's order, as church regiment, worldly regiment, house regiment. So in this piece he also abrogated the fourth commandment of God, allowed the children and taught them to disobey their parents, to steal and rob themselves from their parents through secret betrothal, so that the parents could keep their honor and power over their children and goods, and goods, given and commanded by God, nullified, and in addition such an abominable sin against God and the parents praised and rewarded for a good delectable work, as befits him who is homo peccati (man of sin) and filius perditionis (child of perdition); The parents are highly distressed about this, and some have been killed by grief, as could have happened recently and very near M. P. could have happened, since I had to defend with might, that he was not outweighed in his
He complained that his children had been so miserably stolen from him, and that when he had provided for the son, he would have been ashamed to death again when the rebuke came.
5. Since we now know by the grace of God, through His salvific word, what a secret betrothal is, namely a devil's work, a shameful disobedience against God and parents, such a great thief and robber, who so wickedly steals, robs and snatches away not only money and property, but my dearest treasure on earth, my daughter or son, who may be an only son or daughter, and who is also a murderer and strangler of parents; If it is discovered that there is a secret betrothal between the parties, they are to be kept silent with all their might, they are to be severely scolded, they are not to be brought before the court, but above all they are to restore everything in integrum, to restore and free the father's son who was stolen and robbed by the betrothal; the daughter, too, to tear up and condemn the betrothal as it is cursed and condemned before God; then there is no need for the misery that the devil seeks and causes through secret betrothal. One must not put lice in the fur, nor allow or teach children to be disobedient; they do it anyway more than God and we would like. A thief who steals ten or twenty florins is hanged, and this thief, who steals my child and tortures me to death, I should still celebrate as a benefactor and saint, and put in my goods, which have become sour to me, so that such wickedness, committed against me, may be gloriously rewarded and honored. Thanks be to you, most holy father pope, for your good teaching. Thanks be to such papal lawyers, with whom we want to keep very fine house in the church of Christ, if they want to break what we build and build what we break.
(6) In the same way, the M. (brother) should also have done, not to have lured the father H. B(eyer) with clever, polished words or to have sought a word of consent, as is written in the acts; but to have remained silent and to have punished his sister severely for the betrothal, so that she had
himself and that he had stolen the son. Yes, he insists on the secret betrothal, as if it were a precious thing, and must be kept, so that he may obtain a promise; and yet it is a foul, uncertain promise. And even if it were certain, it is still nothing, nor can it be valid before God, for no pious man can consent to the devil's work against God; and even if he does it ignorantly, he must revoke it and atone for it when he learns better; nor is any father, especially one who would not like to have his child stolen, so foolish, if he knew that a secret betrothal was nothing, that he would consent to it; But because he believes with an erring conscience, seduced by the pope's lies, that it is right and good, he thinks he must consent to it, or hardly abstains; and yet in the bottom of his heart, if the secret betrothal were not there, he would never consent to it. That is what I mean, all reason, God Himself too, no real free, fatherly consent, but a coerced or stolen or robbed consent by the great thief, the secret betrothal. This means, then, according to the proverb: Forced oath is God's sorrow; therefore the father must above all things be restituted in integrum and be free and absolved of his stolen word of consent. These are the fruits of the secret betrothal, which one could easily avoid if one followed and kept God's commandment and did not go other ways, since God is tempted and angered and we bring misfortune upon ourselves.
This is my final thorough opinion. Whether the same does not please the jurists who have decided and let themselves be heard freely, they do not want to give way to one word in their book, I must let happen and command them to their conscience and their God, can and will.
do not want to force them to leave the pope and their holy book and to accept my Catönichen - that's what they call our books -; Again, I cannot suffer, nor burden my conscience, that they command me in my church, since they have no right nor command from God within, want to pronounce judgment from their holy papal book against my Christian Catholics and fall into this church like swine, put their idol, the pope, in it; let them leave that; for they have other places where they can wipe their pope's butt.
700 E. 56,72-74. ä. Presentation to Churf. Joh. Friedrich Wider d. heiml. Betrothed. W. X, 830-832. 701
To the Most Serene Highborn Prince and Lord, Duke of Saxony, Archmarshall and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Landgrave of Thuringia, Margrave of Meissen and Burgrave of Magdeburg, my most gracious Lord.
1. grace and peace and my poor Pater noster. Most Serene Highborn Prince, Most Gracious Lord. I humbly request E. C. F. G. to know how the secret engagement wants to be broken again. We have a large number of young people from all kinds of countries, the maidens have become bold, run after the journeymen into their rooms, chambers and wherever they can, offer them their love freely; and I hear that many parents have demanded and still demand their children home, and say: if they send their children to us to study, we will hang women around their necks, take their children away from them; from this this fine school gets a bad name. But I have not known otherwise than that everyone knows, and is also commanded by E. C. F. G., that the secret engagements are to be absolutely nothing, dead and gone. And as I sit so securely, a judgment goes out, because I also urged it because of its delay, from our Consistory, which is based on a secret engagement, that I was frightened and highly moved by it; On the next Sunday I preached a strong sermon that one should remain on the common road and way that has been kept from the beginning of the world in the Holy Scriptures, among all pagans, also in the papacy, and still continues, namely that parents should give children together with good consideration and will without some prior engagement, which has never been in the world, but is a little sin of the wretched pope, to whom the devil has given it, to suspend the parents' power, given by God and earnestly commanded, to
to tear apart, to cause disobedience against God's commandment and to cause innumerable confusion of consciences, as I have often experienced in the papacy; to steal and rob parents of their children with their great sorrow and heartache, which they must suffer instead of the honor that the children owe them out of God's commandment. As now happened to N. Philip and his wife, where my sermon would not have come, and I came almost too slowly, that they would have pined away for their son, whom also bad boys have seduced, until he secretly betrothed himself dear and high, that I had had great trouble to avert him or rather to deter him. I also remember the example of Duke Philip with his son, Duke Ernst, and the Starschedel's daughter, as E. C. F. G. know; I myself would have almost encountered such a thing in my house.
Because it is now certain that secret vows are nothing else, nor can they be anything else, but a parochial business and devil's gift, against the will of the parents, that is, given against God's command and the order of the parents, and great sorrow and heartache, as the fruits of the devil must be, come from it, with all kinds of confusion and danger of the conscience, and one can well escape from it, with God and a happy conscience, marry well in the right way, I have preached in the pulpit. I could not and would not suffer it in this church of Christ, which is entrusted to me by God the Holy Spirit as a pastor, to feed and teach, for which I will have to give an account, nor take it on my conscience, but took it in the pulpit before all eyes and said: I Martin etc., preacher of this church of Christ, take thee secret vow and the fatherly will given thereon, together with the pope whose business thou art, and the devil who founded thee, join together and throw thee to the ground.
702 L- 26:74-76. B. Of the ten commandments in particular. Sixth commandment. W. X, 832-835. 703
you into the abyss of hell in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. So that a child cannot betroth himself, and if he betroths himself, it is just as much as not betrothing, without many sins being committed in the betrothal, but no sin in the not betrothing. Item, that a father cannot consent to it, and even if he does, it will be nothing; for we cannot consent to the devil's business, especially now that it is known and known who the masters and founders of such misery are.
Accordingly, my most humble request to E. C. F. G. is that E. C. F. G. for the sake of God's salvation and the salvation of souls, let your Princely Authority once again and anew do this and stick to the words and commandments of God - as you have done so far with great earnestness and zeal, by God's grace, not without much and great danger - against the pope and the devil; so that we may the more nobly, also by our sovereign's command, drive this devil, the secret vow, the cursed, damned, blasphemous business of the Antichrist, out of our church and keep it out, so that the poor parents may keep their children and provide for and educate them in safety. For where you find these words, so the Consistory leads in the acts: I vow to you, as far as my father wills; shall apply, and the devil keeps such a hole, then the secret vow is unprotected, yes, is stronger than before; for how easy it is to persuade a father, to deceive him, or to break off a word before the mouth, by being flexible in innumerable ways, and without a father's heart being inclined to the son; that there is no other advice here than to recognize the secret vow as a devil's work, to which no father can consent,' but be guilty of condemnation and revocation, if he wants to do it.
ligt has. So I also ask E. C. F. G. for this journeyman, who has appealed to E. C. F. G. from the verdict of the Consistory, namely Caspar Beyer, that E. C. F. G. want to absolve him before E. C. F. G. leaves for the Diet, or to give someone the order to absolve him, because it has been pending for a long time. I well remember that I would have tried three such things one day; but they have acted in it since Pentecost, but have done nothing, except a secret vow and a cold, lazy will of the father, who cries out fiercely that it was not his will, without which they broke his word before his mouth.
4 It is certain that the son has been secretly engaged for four years, and has not yet sought or desired his father's will or the will of the maiden's parents, which is not the custom of fellows who love a maiden with earnestness; but has dropped it as an unfit and void vow, until that part of the maiden appeals to the father about it; and everything is very suspicious. But nevertheless it is all the same nothing, because the poisonous word stands in it: vowed, vowed, vowed; that spoils everything, as said. E. C. F. G. want to show themselves merciful, because in this small work E. C. F. G. will do a great glorious service, create comfort and peace for many, yes for all parents, also prevent countless sins, errors and dangers of the souls; this will help E. C. F. G. to be able to do this. C. F. G. and in all things God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, praised forever. Amen. Tuesday after Fabiani 1544.
E. C. F. G.
subservient
Mart. Luther.
See also I. Part, 1. B. Mos., 6. Cap., § 102-113.