Preface Martini Luther.
1 Although it will cause suspicion among dangerous judges that I adorn this book of Doctor Urbani Rhegii, written against the riffraff at Münster, with my preface, I will not allow myself to be challenged, because God has placed me in such a way that I must sing my mother's little song: To me and to you is no one's mercy, it is both our fault. I am the master of one who is able to do what the people are perverting, and (as they say) God give him what he wills, who is hostile to me without cause. For I can well deserve it (praise to God!) and would have well deserved it long ago, that the devil and his people would have reduced me to ashes here on earth and to an eternal fire in hell, even though there is no lack of good will on both sides, as they themselves confess and show daily.
2. Moreover, I think that, for the sake of my preface, this book will become all the more hostile to Münfter's spirits, and will harden and harden them much more, because they will think that it is done out of pure revenge than by the one whom they have so vehemently shouted out through the printing. For so write
They said that there were two false prophets, the pope and Luther. But Luther is worse than the pope. So it goes with me: whoever among the pope can make Luther the worst of the red spirits that the sun has shone on, has got it wrong. Again, whoever can make me a two-faced pope among the red spirits, and worse than the pope, cannot fail. And yet, if Luther had not written, then no red spirit would know what the pope is, and no pope can resist some red spirit (without with iniquity, fire and sword), but my doctrine is the goal, set by God, to which everything must shoot; but the purpose of them all will remain hit, and must do vain misses, even over and beside the rampart, that everyone must laugh at last, who is entitled, as the second Psalm proclaims.
3 But I must, for the sake of some, if God wills, also praise this book in the city of Münster, and command all Christian readers; for whoever reads this book and does not learn to guard and defend himself from it, will certainly either still have a too fresh anger, or finally
*The book to which Luther wrote this preface has this title: "Widderlegung der Münsterischen newen Valentinianer vnd Donatisten bekentnus, an die Christen zu Osnabrugk, jnn Westfalen, durch D. Vrbanum Negium. With a preface by Doctor Martin Luther. Wittemberg. 1535." 17 quarto sheets. At the end: "Zu Zell jnn Saxen, im Hornung Anno domini xxxiiij." This last date will indicate the time of the writing of the book, not the time of its publication. The entire manuscript with a piece of the preface is found in the Wittenberg edition (1551), vol. II, pp. 400 to 427; the preface alone in the Jena edition (1568), vol. VI, p. 315; in the Altenburg, vol. VI, p. 477; in the Leipzig, vol. XXII, appendix, p. 114; and in the Erlangen, vol. 63, p. 332.
be hardened by God. For what more can be advised and done, if such great diligence, faithfulness and earnestness, in addition to such thorough, certain, public truth and writing against such a coarse, foolish (though angry and wicked) spirit is so brightly and powerfully brought to light and brought to light? And no matter how pious they are, and what conscience they have towards God, who blame the Lutherans that all such riots and sedition come from their teachings, this book (because mine do not help so much) shall be a strong and sufficient testimony.
For Doctor Urbanus Rhegius must also be called Lutheran, and no pope will be able to do the same, I know that well. 1) All their art is: Behold, what good comes from the Lutheran doctrine? But where one should be clever according to their high art, no devil would have come into being where God had not created good angels. For from the good angels came the devils, therefore it is God's fault that He created good angels. Just as our father Adam also blamed God, he would have given him the woman. For if God had not created Adam and Heva, they would not have sinned; but since Adam and Heva become sinners, it is God's fault that such a great sin happened. This is still the highest art, and remains the highest art, that only God must be a sinner; Adam and his children are all pure, pious and holy.
(5) Therefore, because from Luther's doctrine there have come many red spirits (as they say), Luther's doctrine must be of the devil. John also says: From us they are, but not from ours. Judas came out of Christ's disciples, therefore Christ is a devil, and if they also wanted to take themselves by the nose, what came out of the pope? Then read the histories, what they themselves (silent their disciples) also did with the emperors etc.
1) Here the Wittenberg edition continues: "But say what you will, it is in vain and in vain", then omits everything that follows, and adds the conclusion of our preface: "Christ, our dear God" etc. The piece omitted here is used for the preface of the second Wittenberg volume, which has the title: "Vorrede D. Martin Luthers vor seinem Abschied gestellet." It is reprinted in all editions of Luther's writings, with the exception of the Jena edition. The indication of the Erlangen edition, vol. 63, p. 407: "Jen. I. 1." is incorrect.
6 It is obvious that no heretic has ever come from the pagans, they have all come from the holy Christian church, therefore the church should also file the devil. Now the holy church has helped by confessing that the heretics who come from it are condemned, and not keeping with them; it must not help us Lutherans that we also confess, and condemn all the rotten ones (even if they do not want to be from us), better than they themselves could do. The same happened to the Biblia under the pope, which was publicly called a heretic book and blamed for the heretics helping themselves from the Biblia; as they still do, and cry: Church, Church! against and over the Biblia. And Emser, the wise man, 2) did not want to know whether it would be advisable to Germanize the Biblia; perhaps not even whether it should have been written in Hebrew, Greek or Latin, because they and the church are so much at odds.
(7) Since the Bible, which is the Holy Spirit's own special book, scripture and word, must suffer from them and be defiled as the mother and protector of all heresy, why should we not suffer much more that they lay the guilt of all heresy upon us? A spider sucks poison from the dear rose, in which a little bee finds vain honey; what can she do that her sweet honey becomes poison to the spider? And great wonder indeed why they do not condemn their own corpse; for what good comes from it? He eats and drinks the very best, bread, meat, wine, beer, even delicious spices, and yet lets from him vile filth, snot, saliva, butter, sweat, festering, leaves, grind, gnats, rivers, pus, dung and urine. He lets himself be wonderfully clothed with silk and gold, and gives off lice, nits, fleas and other filth.
But it goes, as they say: If one wants to the dog, he has eaten the leather. Or as the fable Aesopi says much more delicately: If the wolf wants to eat the sheep, then it has grieved him the water, although the wolf drinks above, and the sheep below at the brook. They have filled the church with error and blood, with lies and murder, yet they have not troubled the waters; we control and resist,
2) "Man" is missing in the Erlanger.
both the jrthumen and riots, nor do we afflict the water. Eat, dear wolf, eat, so that soon one leg will remain crosswise in your throat. Well, it is the world and its God, they cannot do otherwise: "If they have called the householder Beelzebub, how much more his servants?" [And, must the holy Scriptures be called a heretic book, what should our books be honored for?
9. god lives a judge over all, who will make it clear once, is different the heresy book,
the holy scriptures, right and true, which so often and many times testify to this. Christ, our dear God, Lord and Savior, be gracious to us that we do not fall into temptation, but keep us pure, blameless, simple, in his right faith, and deliver us from all evil, by a blessed departure from this pitiful valley, that is, from the kingdom of the wicked devil and his world; to whom be praise and thanksgiving, with the Father and Holy Spirit forever and ever, amen.