Luther reports on the negotiations with Miltitz, admonishes Egranus to stay in Zwickau, reports the upcoming disputation with Eck, and sends Carlstadt's writings.
Printed in Aurifaber, Vol. I, p. 140; in Löscher's Ref.Acta, Vol. Ill, p. 956; in De Wette, Vol. I, p. 215 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel, Vol. I, p. 407.
1) He dedicated it to Duke John of Saxony. St. Louis edition, vol. X, 1298.
Victim seeks to get something, who gives himself up to anything for the sake of food.
3) Jakob Gropp.
To the right theologian and Christian man, Johann Egranus, ecclesiastics at Zwickau, his superiors in the Lord.
JEsus.
1. salvation Hear lately, my dear Egranus, how it stands with my things. Carl von Miltitz was sent to our prince, armed with more than seventy apostolic letters, which were given to him to bring me alive and bound to the murderous Jerusalem [Matth. 23, 37], namely Rome; but on the way he was thrown down by the Lord [Apost. 9, 4], that is, frightened by the crowd of those who were favorable to me. After he had carefully investigated the opinion of me everywhere, he changed his violence into a deceptively feigned benevolence, and dealt with me in so many words that I should recant my sayings in honor of the Roman church. I answered him to this blow: One should prescribe the manner of the recantation and indicate the cause of the error, but such a cause that would be apparent enough to the common man and the scholars, so that a recantation that had no good appearance would not arouse even more hatred against Rome.
We finally agreed on the bishops, either the one in Salzburg or the one in Trier, that one of them would be ordered to do the thing, and so we parted amicably, even with a kiss (namely a Judas kiss), because he also cried under the admonition. But I opposed it, as if I did not understand these crocodile tears. That is how far it has come; what they may now do in Rome, I do not know.
Carl said that in a hundred years there had not been a thing that had been more troublesome for the quite idle bunch of Cardinals and the Roman Romanists (Romanantium Romanatorum), and that they would rather give ten thousand ducats than allow this thing to go further than the beginning. I rejoice, and command GOtte everything.
4 I also wrote to you before that you should not leave Zwickau; you can learn a lot from books at leisure in Zwickau.
Do Greek. For you owe GOtte, that is the people of God, more than you and the sciences. I wish to know what ails you in the doctrine of faith, which seems clear to me. For I do not separate justifying faith from love; indeed, for this reason one believes, because he is liked and loved in whom one believes. Grace causes the word to be well pleased and believed; but this is to love. I, too, do not like everything that the newer ones have said about faith, hope and love, since they do not seem to have understood any of them.
Our Eck, who was approached by me in Augsburg to fight with our Carlstadt in Leipzig so that the dispute would be settled, has finally agreed. But listen to how the man behaves: he takes up my sentences and bites them most horribly, and he lets go of the one he has to deal with; one would think that he was playing a carnival game. I am therefore compelled to get involved with the man for my indulgence theses and to fight with him. He is a quite unfortunate little glory beast.
After Easter, he promises the battle. Some claim that it is instigated by the Dominicans (Praedicatoribus), but it is the will of the Lord. I would have sent a copy, but I have only one, which was sent to me from Nuremberg. I am sending Carlstadt's booklet "On the Justification of the Wicked"; he has completed the rest "On the Spirit and the Letter", which I am also sending, hoping that you have the beginning of it. Fare well in Christ and pray for me. On the day of the Purification [of Mary] [February 2, 1519.
Martin Luther.