Luther reassures Staupitz about his matter by reminding him of a word he himself had spoken earlier and expresses confidence about the bold step of burning the bull. All kinds of news.
Printed in Aurifaber, Vol. I, p. 2986; in De Wette, Vol. I, p. 541 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel, Vol. Ill, p. 70.
JEsus.
Hail! When we were in Augsburg, Reverend Father, you said to me, among other things we discussed about this matter of mine, "Remember, brother, that you began this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
I have accepted this word, not as spoken by you, but as spoken to me through you, and I keep it very well in my memory.
2 Therefore, with this word of yours, I now ask: Be mindful also that you have said this word to me. Until now there has been joking in this matter, now something more serious is about to happen, and, as you said: If God does not bring this about, it is impossible for it to be brought about; clearly this is now in the hand of the almighty 1) God, so that no one can deny it. Who can advise here? what can a man think? The noise rages so violently that it seems to me that it cannot be quieted other than by the last day. So great is the excitement on both sides.
3 The situation with the papacy is not like yesterday and the day before; even though it bans and burns books and may even kill me, something quite extraordinary is at the door. How happy the pope would have been, if he had rather used good means to establish peace than violence and storms to destroy Luther. I burned the books of the pope and the bull, at first with trembling and pleading, but now I am more pleased about this than about any other deed in my life, because they are more pernicious than I thought.
Emser writes in Leipzig in German against me 2) at the instigation of Duke George, who rages against me and has proposed at court to act against me in the most ungodly way, using threats and murder.
5 I was summoned by the emperor through letters to the prince, but he refused, and the latter immediately revoked the former ones through other letters. God knows what will happen. Our Vicarius Wenceslaus has gone to Nuremberg. Teschius is at Grimma; he is said to have left, God keep him. With us everything stands well as
1) Aurifaber offers potsntissiins, for which De Wette conjicirt potsntissimi, which we have assumed. The Erlanger has De Wette's other conjecture, patsutissilus.
2) See St. Louis Edition, Vol. XVIII, Introduction, p. 39 f.
so far. Hütten has attacked the bull 1) with very sharp glosses against the pope, and still has many things planned with regard to this matter.
6 My writings have burned three times: at Louvain, at Cologne and at Mainz, but at Mainz with great contempt and even with danger to those who burned them. Thomas Murnar also wrote furiously against me. 2) For I am not surprised about that barefoot (Barfotum), the ass of Leipzig. Farewell, my dear father, and pray for the word of God and for me; I am torn and tossed by these floods. Wittenberg, on the day of Felix [January 14] 1521.
Martin Luther, Augustinian.