Newly translated from the Latin.
Although this booklet deserved to go out to the public without my preface, since it is recommended quite respectably, both by the name of its author and by the value of the work and the content, I had to oblige the printers, and add this little ephemera to the wine, which in itself is already sufficiently marketable, since they are either deceived or persuaded that through the testimony of my name, foreign books, which I have approved, attain greater favor or appreciation.
But I hope, yes, I know it for sure, that godly readers will find in this booklet a not insignificant knowledge and comfort of the spiritual teaching, which has to do with your faith. Indeed, in an unfortunate (not to say pernicious) way, some ancient fathers have also treated the (so-called) histories of the Old Testament. For they left aside the faith that is active through love, which is the main and the summa in the sacred histories (by this one virtue they differ from the worldly histories of the pagans like heaven from earth, light from darkness, life from death), and imposed on us their cold and unrhymed secret interpretations, which were nothing else than new histories of the actions of believers and heretics, which were presented to us under the name of the old histories. Thus it happened that the sacred histories were made completely useless to us and, as it were, dead, which were only valid in their time, and were only used by us in the church out of curiosity or for the purpose of
1) Instead of differt, either differunt should be read, or historia sacra should be added.
pleasure (if someone wanted to) should be read. Yes, even the secret interpretations of them seem to us, since they are ecclesiastical histories that already belong to the past, to be outdated and dead; they have no more use for teaching or admonishing. This would certainly completely obscure the histories, the knowledge of which must always be very useful and pleasant, especially those of sacred things and which have taken place among God's people, and completely take away both the benefit and the fruit of them.
This is not how my Menius has done it in this booklet, but has traced everything back to the source and the main piece, and teaches that the faith of the saints against God must be uppermost in the histories. By this means he has accomplished what is praiseworthy in orators and teachers, namely, that he makes new what is old, gives light to dark things, brings to grace what is despised, and skillfully combines what is useful with what is pleasant. For if you compare this interpretation with the old ones, you will see that even the histories, by applying faith to them, are reborn and made new, as it were by a kind of baptism, and live for us also in our time, yes, forever, and serve in a useful way, by the glorious and exceedingly clear examples of faith, for chastening, for punishment, for instruction, and for comfort, yes, also for everything of which Paul writes that the word of faith is useful for. For what is sacred history but a visible word of faith, or a work of faith, which teaches us by deed and work the same things that Scripture elsewhere holds forth by word and speech? Now if you neglect to look into the
*) This "declaration" has the title in Latin: In In Samuelis librum priorem enarratio Justo Menio autore cum praefatione D. Mart. Lutheri. Wittenbergae 1532. 8. The preface is found in Latin in the Supplementum Epistolarum Mart. Lutheri etc. ed. ab Jo. Franc. Buddeo. Halae 1703, and reprinted from it in the Erlanger Ausgabe, npp. var. ar^., torn. VII, p. 521. German in the Leipzig edition, vol. XII, p. 78 and reprinted from it by Walch. We have retranslated according to the Erlanger.
If we are to act on faith in the sacred histories, which Origen has set in motion, the histories of the pagans will be far greater and more glorious, so that a mind that is without faith and is guided by natural reason must necessarily detest and despise the sacred histories as minor trifles compared to the tremendously great deeds of the world rulers.
Therefore, as we have said, through this booklet the godly reader will not only attain the right understanding and use of the sacred histories, 1) but also
1) Instead of accipiat, accipiet will be read.
an example, to treat them (as Paul says) according to the likeness of faith, then also to judge rightly the secret interpretations or (as they are rightly called) the hair-splitting speeches (alieniloquiis) of others, who by their evil-appointed diligence obscure everything, and deprive godly hearts of the fruit and benefit they should have from reading the Scriptures, by useless verbiage or loose talk and falsely famous art. Amen. To Christ our Lord be everlasting glory for these and all his mercies, which he hath abundantly poured out upon us, Amen.