Luther wants the Elector to have no inconvenience from his dealings and to leave everything up to him. A proposal to change the curriculum at the university. An expression of displeasure at the Roman greed. A recommendation by Melanchthon.
The original of this letter can be found in the Anhaltisches Gesammt-Archiv. Printed in Aurifaber, Vol. I, p. 80; in Löscher's Ref.-Acta, Vol. II, p. 626; in De Wette, Vol. I, p. 139 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel, Vol. I, p. 226.
To his very learned Georg. Spalatin, Christ's priest, the Elector of Saxony's loyal librarian.
JEsus.
1st Hail! You write, my dear Spalatin, that there are some people who seek to make our most noble prince hateful to heaven and earth. I beg you, what an absurdity this is! I wish with all my heart that it will not happen for my sake. As I have said, I still say: I do not want our quite innocent prince to do anything in this matter that could defend my theses, but that I should be offered and reproached to all who act against me.
4) Instead of oäiosLM we have assumed oäio sum.
5) "Luther's Sermon on the Power of the Ban," St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIX, 874.
or write, as I hope he will do, unless he can manage without inconvenience that no violence is done to me. If he cannot do this, then I also want the entire danger to be mine. I hope that I will defend what I have taken upon myself to defend, against the will (as I can boast under Christ's guidance) of all the opinions of the Thomists. But one will have to give way to violence, but without prejudice to the truth.
2 I believe that my explanations (which are printed very incorrectly) 1) together with the refutation of Silvester's dialogue have reached you.
So I ask you to tell everyone you can that Martinus is the man who disputed this; if anyone wants to oppose it, or hopes to do better, they will find me willing to be instructed or taught. Therefore they may deal with me. Why do they bother the prince and other people in vain in these matters? But enough of this.
(3) A question has arisen among our good young men, which, from the advice of friends, has seemed good to me to write to you, or to report it to our princes through you. But it is this: that, since by God's grace the best lessons are now going on, and they are extraordinarily ardent for the Holy Scriptures and the lanter theology, it seems hard to them that because of so many lessons, which they have to hear for the sake of obtaining the honorary degrees, they have to put the best ones behind, or at least are too much burdened by both. They therefore ask, because it would be possible, that the lecture on ethics 2) (since it behaves against theology just like the Wols against the lamb) be left free, namely to all those who wished to hear it, and nevertheless the organization of the doctorate would not be impaired.
There is also the other question of what kind of examination should be followed by those who want to become baccalaureates or masters, in accordance with the new lessons; but we will see for ourselves,
1) Because of Luther's absence in Heidelberg. Cf. Letter No. 148 in this volume.
2) namely of Aristotle.
unless you also have better advice on the matter mentioned.
4) There is with us a letter from the city of Rome, written with great insight, 3) which is quite harsh against the Roman trickery regarding the collection of new tithes for the war against the Turks, of which one obviously recognizes that they are devised by the Florentines, the most avaricious people under heaven. For they make use of the goodwill of the pope to fill their gullet as they please. But I believe that this writing has already been with you; otherwise write and I will send it. For that the cardinals are legates of avarice (perhaps without their knowledge) is certain, if what he writes is true.
5 Be at ease in the Lord, and let Philip, the best of the Greeks, the most learned and loving of men, be well commended to you. He has the lecture hall full of listeners, especially he makes all the theologians, the highest together with the middle and the lowest, to be versed in the Greek language. Wittenberg, September 2, 1518.
Brother Martin Luther, Augustinian.