August 1532.
1. kings and princes are respected by God, like the children of the card game, but a prince dies differently than a peasant, and yet they both die the same.
With Duke Frederick, wisdom died, with Duke Hansen, piety died, and now the nobility will rule, when wisdom and piety are gone. They know that my young lord, Duke John Frederick, has a mind of his own and does not care much for pens, which pleases them well; he has wisdom enough, so he also has a mind of his own, so the nobility will preach courage enough to him.
If he had half of his cousin's wisdom and half of his father's piety, I would grant him half of his mind and wish him good luck.
Our dear Lord God cannot suffer pride and must punish evil, for it would be too close to Him if He did not. F. must serve.
5. Denmark is now punished, Venice too; the Frankish nobility has also been punished; but if I should see our nobility and the nobility of Meissen punished too, it would go badly, for they are wise etc. The peasants and the nobility know the gospel better than St. Paul or M. Luther; they are wise and think themselves better than all their pastors. If they want to despise the priests, they despise a greater Lord, who will despise them again, and if they want to be their enemy, he will also grab their hoods, so that they will feel it and want to defend the priests.
The nobles want to govern, but they can't and they don't understand it. The pope understands and knows how to govern. The least of the papists knows how to govern better than ten nobles in our court. To raise a conscience is more than to have a hundred kingdoms etc. They blame us for destroying and confusing the commonwealths; they do us wrong. But they may see to it that they are not prophets over themselves, though we do not like to see it. So also the Jews said, If we let this man go, the Romans will come; but when they slew Christ, did they not come? Thus we shall be confounders and spoilers of Germany, when we are gone; for so they would have it.
7 Junker Scharrhans would not be so proud if they had not heard that the authority is from God and learned this from us; and yet they persecute us. Well, if they drive us out, they will not stay long.
Three things are annoying me in the course of the world:
1. that one does not think of a good supply for a future need.
2. that such untried and imprudent people are needed for great offices and dealings.
3. that in the high sense of government, fidelity and infidelity are not rewarded.
*) This number is a small collection of table speeches, which Aurifaber picked up somewhere and brought into the Eisleben edition, Vol. II, Bl. 315d, under the title: Vaticinium Mense Aug. Anno MDXXXII post discessum Johannis Electoris ex vita Almost each of these pieces asked its side piece in the table speeches, yes, some of them almost from word to word. Thus 8 I of our writing is contained in Cap. 45, H 19 of the Table Talks; 88 2 and 3 in Cap. 45, 8 74, para. 4; 8 4 in Cap. 45, 8 38; 8 5 in Cap. 65, 8 4; 86 in Cap. 65, 8 8 etc. (St. Louis edition, vol. XXII, cols. 1248. 1277. 1256. 1471.) Aeur 8 6 is Latin with German chunks interspersed; in the remaining pieces there are only single Latin words. The Erlangen edition has easily made itself free of this writing by stating in the comparative register with Walch's edition, vol. 65, p. 92, that it is written in Latin, while only about the sixth part of it is in Latin. We have translated the Latin writing into German. From the Eisleben edition, the writing has passed into the Altenburger, Vol. V, p. 1030 and into the Leipziger, Vol. XXII, p. 583.
In contrast, they say:
1. one should not be careful for the morning.
2. grant the vocation.
3. those who do not act rightly will find their right.
Meanwhile
If Satan does not celebrate to make us poorer even in the good, poor Manu is oppressed and ruled badly, and where the mischievous servant is esteemed equal to the faithful one, it chills the pious hearts.
Conclusion:
Now, where God and the common man do not go first.
And so it is in the country,
That [it] not consider the gentlemen pious.
And each one watches only for his own house, leaving the poor man to be plagued and pressed, not even having his back, so it cannot last the length of time, and must finally fail. There are many examples of this, and it is not necessary to speak of them here.
Prayer.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who knowest the hearts of both parts, save your honor and your truth, that the unbelievers may confess that this teaching in our churches is your truth, and that you may truly hear our churches. Amen.