Luther sends a part of Carlstadt's interpretations of the book de Spiritu et litera, reports on the raging of the preachers of indulgences against him, and that he is advised not to go to Heidelberg because of the danger, but that he will do so anyway. About the burning of Tetzel's counter-theses by the students.
Handwritten is this letter in the Ooä. Ootkan. 399, koi. 125. Printed in Aurifaber, vol. I, p. 53 d; in Löscher's Ref.-Acta, vol. II, p. 606; in De Wette, vol. I, p. 97 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel, vol. I, p. 169.
To his venerable father Johann Lang, licentiate of sacred theology, prior of the Augustinian hermits in Erfurt, his superior in the Lord.
JEsus.
Hail! I had sent to you, most venerable father, some of Carlstadt's interpretations of the book "Of the Spirit and the Letter", as well as 3) to some others; but my memory has left me, and I do not know how many and to whom I delivered them. Now, if you have received all of them, you must have nine, namely A. B, Cc. Ccc. d. 1. e. f.; but if not, write again and I will refund them. For so far we have printed them. For Doctor Carlstadt was down with fever and is still lying down; so the work is at a standstill and remains at a standstill.
2) The indulgence talkers thunder extraordinarily against me from the pulpit, so that they finally 4) do not have enough horrible names with which they can call me. They add threats in which they promise the people, one, that within a fortnight, the other, that within a month I will most certainly be
3) Here the Erl. Briefw. has adopted the reading of the 6oä. 6otk.: orr-n nonnuilis sliis, from which we cannot extract a suitable sense.
4) With the other editions, we have against the Erl. Briefw. adopted tanäsm instead of tantum.
should be burned. They also issue counter-theses, so that I fear that they will burst from the quantity and magnitude of their anger. Yes, I am advised by all that I should not go to Heidelberg 1) so that they do not accomplish by trickery against me what they cannot do by force. But I will comply with obedience and go there on foot, also (God willing) come through Erfurt; but do not expect me, because I will hardly leave on Tuesday after Quasimodogeniti [April 13] 2). Our prince, who is extraordinarily inclined towards these well-founded studies of theology, eagerly protects me and Carlstadt without being asked to do so, and will in no way suffer that they drag me to Rome, which they know very well and are sufficiently annoyed about.
3. But so that you may be warned, if the rumor of the burning of Tetzel's theses comes to you, that someone may not add something (as it tends to happen) about what really happened, this is the incident: The students - as they are extremely weary of the old sophistical nature, but have a great desire for the Holy Bible, perhaps also in an effort to show me favor - having learned that a man had arrived from Halle who was sent by Tetzel, the author of the theses, they immediately set about it, frightening the man that he might dare to bring such things here. Some of them took some, but others snatched them from him, and all the rest, about eight hundred [copies] (after the announcement and convocation had been made beforehand: if anyone wanted to be present at the burning and the funeral of Tetzel's theses, he should come to the marketplace at two o'clock), they burned, and that without the knowledge of the prince, the council, the rector and all of us. Certainly, I and everyone dislike this grave injustice done to man by our people. I am not to blame, but I fear that the whole thing will be too much for me.
1) See the introduction to the 18th volume of the St. Louis edition, pp. 3b f.
2) But Luther left Wittenberg already on April 9. See I. o. p. 4 a.
will be counted. There is a lot of talk about this matter everywhere, but there is even more indignation among those, which is not entirely unjust. I do not know what will happen, only that my danger will become even more dangerous.
4 Doctor Conrad Wimpina is called by all as the author of these theses, 3) and I consider it certain that it is so. Therefore, I am sending you a copy that has escaped the fire, so that you may see how they rage against me. Our school thrives on the hope that we expect to have lessons on two, yes, three languages, on Pliny, mathematics, Quintilian, and several other very good ones, leaving aside the unrhymed lessons on Peter Hispanus, 4) Tartaretus, and Aristotle. And this pleases the prince and has already been taken into consultation, and it is being negotiated. Commend me to the fathers and brothers. I greet the father M. Usingen and the father M. Johannes Nathin in the same way. Wittenberg, on the day of St. Benedict [March 21] 1518. Brother Martin Eleutherius.