Greetings to the Christian reader GOtt!
The prophet Elijah the Thisbite once thought, when the word of the Lord was precious and there was little prophecy [1 Sam. 3, 1], and almost all prophets were inactive for fear of the exceedingly godless Jezebel, that he alone was left [1 Kings 19, 11]. Therefore he was weary of life and desired that his soul be taken from him [1 Kings 19:4], because he thought that he alone would not be able to bear the infallible burden of the exceedingly godless people and the princes of it, and did not yet know that seven thousand were left to the Lord [1 Kings 19:18], and that Obadiah had been preserved with a hundred hidden prophets [1 Kings 18:3 ff]. This seems to me, if small things may be compared with great, to have a likeness with this time of mine. For I do not know by what providence of God I, carried away into the public, have fought with these monsters of indulgences and the papal laws and the falsely famous theology (1 Tim. 6, 20.) in such a way that I thought I was alone. Although I have always had courage enough, so that I am now and then accused of being too biting and ruthless, because of the too
I have always wished that I too would be taken away from the midst of my Baalites and live civilly dead in a corner for myself, completely despairing that I could accomplish anything with these godless iron foreheads and iron necks. But behold, it is also said to me that the Lord's remnant celebrates unharmed even at this time, and that the prophets have been preserved in secret; and this is not only said, but also made known with joy. For Wessel (called Basil), a Frisian from Gröningen, has come forth, a man of admirable gifts, of a rare and great spirit, in whom it is also seen that he is in truth taught of God, as Isaiah [Cap. 54, 13] prophesied that the Christians would be. For it cannot be supposed that he received it from men, any more than I did. If I had read this before, it could have been regarded by my enemies as if Luther had drawn everything from Wessel; so much does our two minds agree. But this increases my joy and my strength, and now I have doubts.
8066k Decani Xaldieen. all 51st V^6886lnra. Lpi8to1a upoloAetien 51.5V6886Ü udvermm Lpi8toluin 51. ckaeoki Ilooelc." For this, reference is made there to Schütze, "Ungedr. Briefe Luthers," D. Ill, p. 297. Walch claims in the preface to the 14th volume, p. 22, that our preface actually belongs only to the collection of his letters, but not to the karrnFO rornrn tkeoloKieurnin, which appeared at Wittenberg in 1522 in quarto, to which Joh. Arnoldus Bergellanus had prepared the preface. For this, he refers to the "innocent news 1707", p. 213. However, it seems to us from the content of the preface that it refers not only to letters, but also to other theological doctrinal writings, thus Aurifaber is in the right with his statement. Our preface is found in German in the Eisleben edition, vol. I, p. 109; then in the Altenburg edition, vol. II, p. 206; in the Leipzig edition, vol. XXII, appendix, p. 79, and in Walch. We have replaced the old translation (probably by Aurifaber) by a new one, according to Aurifaber's Latin collection of letters.
I do not doubt that I have taught correctly, since he agrees with me in all things in such a constant sense and almost in the same words, yet at different times, in a foreign sky and country, and under different circumstances. I wonder, however, what misfortune has prevented this extremely Christian writer from reaching the public; it may have been the cause that he lived without war and bloodshed, in which alone he is unlike me. Or it might have been the fear of our Jews who, with their godless inquisitions, seem to be born to turn all extremely good books into heretical ones, while they impose their Aristotle and their more than heretical books on us as Christian ones. Now these from God's judgment take an end with disgrace. Therefore, a godly reader may read, and read with good judgment, that in which this man excels, and which he also expresses in an excellent manner. And those who take offense at me because of excessive sharpness, at others because of the "excessive" subtlety of expression, 1) have nothing to complain about here. His way of writing is a generally passable one (trivialis), and for his time, the matter itself is treated in an appropriate and proficient manner. And
1) The previous passage is given by the old translator: "andern auch nicht gefället, dass ich so reine, gute Worte braucht". In Latin it reads: in aUis sotkönflit] nirniu äwtionis etsZantia.
Since Virgil was able to extract gold from the dung of Ennin, a theologian will also be able to extract something from our Wessel, which he can add to the treasures of his eloquence. May the Lord Jesus give us many other people like this Basil. Farewell, dear brother in Christ. Wittenberg, July 30 [1522].
Aurifaber added the following to this preface:
Wessel died in 1489 on the day of St. Francis [October 4]. He is buried in Groningen in the monastery called the Spiritualium Virginum.
Divination M. Wessels.
M. Johannes Ostendorpius, canon of the church of St. Levinus in Deventer, a man who was very learned through much study and long experience, came, when he was still a youth, to the old Wessel the Frisian (who was commonly called lux mundi), and heard from him, among others, as if he already saw before his eyes what would happen, also this: My young student, you will live to see the time when the teaching of these newer and quarrelsome theologians, Thomas, Vonaventura and others of the same ilk, will be rejected by all truly Christian theologians. Noviomagus heard this from the already aging Ostendorpius in the church of St. Levinus in 1520 on April 22.
2) Here is in the original still ste. added.