Martin Luther wishes the godly reader salvation in the Lord.
In my opinion and advice, our people would do very well to take care that this and similar books are preserved for the descendants, in order to explain the unbelievable and innumerable tricks of the
It is the only way to perceive and consign to memory the evil of Satan that reigns in the Roman court, the den of sin and corruption. For so often has this pernicious chair been attacked, both by kings and by learned men, that it should fall, but since the powerful error retained the upper hand
This preface is available to us only in Latin, and in a translation made by M. I. I. Greifs for the Leipzig edition and subsequently printed by Walch. I. Greifs for the Leipzig edition and subsequently printed by Walch. The title of the Latin book is: Legatio Adriani Papae VI ad Conuentum Nurembergensem Anno M.D.XXII Missa. Responsio, nomine Caesareae Maiestatis Principum et procerum reddita. Grauamina centum a Pontificibus significata, Principibus et imperii ordinibus ulterius non toleranda. Quid sint Annatae, et qfuam] incredibilis summa pecuniarum ex orbe Christiano, Romam mittatur et profundatur. Denuo recusum Anno M.D.XXXVIIJ. Vittembergae (cum praefatione et epilogo M. Lutheri). At the end: Impressum VitemkerZue per louuuem )bris6U6mut. With reference to this as well as to the German edition, which we found at
by cunning, trickery and practices not invented by human reason but by the devil's art alone, he has so far remained victorious and has thrown the truth to the ground in the streets (as Daniel prophesied before, and afterwards Christ together with the apostles). Fattened by these victories, grown fat and thick, puffed up and hopeful, these purple-clad tyrants confidently console themselves, and not only do they not abandon hope in this their tribulation, which they now suffer from the breath of Christ's lips and from the rod of his mouth, but are quite sure that the little ship of Peter (that is what they call their most harmful puddle of Satan's dung) will finally emerge from these floods with great happiness and rise higher than it has ever been.
This is the confidence from which they at this time play their game with the affairs, senses and hearts of the whole human race, yes, with the spirit of the faithful and of the holy church (because they consider neither the church nor the spirit nor God to be anything at all), by reforming in a deceitful manner, sometimes the Roman court, sometimes the church, soon announcing a concilium and then revoking it, soon postponing it and announcing it again, and yet not wanting a concilium to come about, so that you can see that this one thing is certainly true, that the whole crowd of kings, princes, good, learned and holy people are taken by them for fools, stick-fools, ridiculous people and play-dolls. Although they suffer the same for a short time, as if they were people who are drunk and make a racket for an hour
They are sure that, when their noise and drunkenness cease, they will soon be the lords and gods of these fools, seven times more glorious than they had been before. These hopes they reflect to themselves not without reason by examples, because they would have suffered before, and indeed often, revolts of the princes and the peoples, also of the city of Rome itself. And yet they are not at all overcome by these wars, but through them their power, strength, victory, praise, honor and glory have increased, until they have not only made themselves kings over kings and lords over lords, but have stepped on the necks of kings, made the thrones of judges subservient to themselves and even set themselves up as gods over the gods in heaven, on earth, in the sea and in hell. This is their secret trust and they are aware of it. Thus their flatterers write: The pope is neither a mere god nor a mere man, but a mixed god and man, a lord of the heavenly angels etc.
Since this confidence reigns in their hearts (but it reigns with a constant and everlasting obstinacy and hopefulness, which they will not allow to be revoked, not even when they are dead, not even on a day of judgment, let alone through any tribulation of this life), everything that is undertaken to assemble a council, to improve the church, to reform the Roman court, is done in vain. Mau tells a story to a dove and addresses his words to a dead man, if one does not admit, admit, yes, decides as an article of faith that they are gods of heaven and earth,
In his preface to the 14th volume, p. 44, Walch says that, since these editions are not preceded by our preface, but by another one, namely the preceding one, another edition must have been prepared by Luther, for which he wrote this preface. Probably for this reason, Walch has given our preface the year 1545, which is not further motivated. He also adds: "I cannot say how this [edition] is, because I cannot find it anywhere and therefore have not seen it. We consider the number 1545 to be erroneous, and find convinced that this preface also belongs to the year 1538. We have already cited two witnesses for this, namely firstly the Wittenberg edition, vol. IX, p. 164 b and secondly the book itself, which indicates that this preface is not before the edition of 1538, but in the book. Walch seems to have overlooked this. We think we find a third witness in the title of the Latin edition itself: 6um praekutione 6t sprVo^o Martini Dutberi, which in any case points to our preface, whether one refers the word epilo^us to this entire preface as an epilogue to the Complaints of the German Imperial Estates, or to the parody of Rom. II, 33-36, which at the same time can be seen as a preface to the following list of the Annateu. This preface is found in Latin in Cölestin's Historia ooinitiornm XnAnstae Vindeboorum oolebratornin, tom. Ill, p. 89; thereafter in des Buddeus Knppleruentum opistoinrum M. Dntberi, p. 3l5 and thereafter in the Erlangen edition, opp. var. ar^., tom. VII, p. 544. German in the Leipzig edition, vol. XXII, appendix, p. 140 and in Walch. We have retranslated according to the Erlangen edition.
not subject to the council, nor equals, but superiors and irrefutable judges. Do not doubt that this is told to you not by an oracle but from heaven. I know, and many with me, I say, we know the manner of popes and cardinals, and even the most secret, not only in their chambers, but also in their thoughts and speeches, as promised by the Heartspeaker, Christ, who made and formed hearts (Luc. 12, 3.]: "What ye say in darkness shall be heard in the light; what ye speak in the ear in the chambers shall be preached upon the housetops." But that these people at the Roman court, similar to Nero and Domitian, do not fear this, is due to the extremely beautiful and quite certain belief of the popes and cardinals, namely: the life after death (Manes) is a fable. But experience, which teaches things as they are, will teach them otherwise, and that in a short time.
Therefore, if this and similar books (as I have said) are preserved and brought to the descendants, it will be useful and salutary, not only for Germany, but also for the whole world, against this exceedingly harmful mountain of the Roman Babel, which corrupts all the world (to use the words of Jeremiah [Cap. 51, 25.]). For here you see that the princes of Germany, who have finally awakened from a deep sleep, 1) have dared to say to the face of the pope and the Roman court (that is the dunghill) what he could not hear, cannot hear and will not be able to hear. And they have not been moved (which is a miracle) by the splendid pretence and the arts of the Roman court, which one reads here in the message of the Roman pope
1) The "Verzeichniß von etlicher deutscher Bisthümer und Abteien Annaten, die sie gen Rom geben" Walch, old edition, vol. XV, 460 ff. closes with the words Rom. 13, 11: "Brethren, it is time to rise from sleep."
can. And if the devil had not hindered this happy course of the Gospel and the flourishing of the truth by the rebellion of Münzer and the sects of the adversaries, this papal confidence would have been overcome at that time, and this hope of Jordan, which sells itself deceitfully under the name of Christ and the church, would have fallen long ago. But if the German descendants return to the attitude of their fathers and princes, who greeted the pope so sweetly at this Imperial Diet at Nuremberg, then it will undoubtedly be over with the futile pretenses, tricks, practices and lies of the pope and his completely cursed court, which is worthy of all curses, even those of Hercules at Lindos 2). Let this be done by the Father of mercies and the God of all power through Jesus Christ, who already kills the wicked by the spirit of his mouth, and after he has put an end to him by the appearance of his future, he delivers us from the evil, amen.
Epilogue.
Martin Luther.
O what a depth of his wickedness, his avarice, and his robbery! How innumerable are his thefts and immeasurable his robberies! For who has known the shrine of his heart? Or who has given anything to the church before that he has not robbed afterwards? For from him, through him and in him are all the evils of the church. To him be horror and shame for all eternity. Amen.
From this, dear reader, recognize what it is that St. Peter says of the papacy, 2 Pet. 2:14: "They have a heart pierced with avarice."
2) Compare Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XVIII, 575.