Luther sends writings; reports that he answers Emser. About his new adversaries, his overload of work. About the papal bull and the hostile behavior of the bishops of Meissen and Merseburg. Postscript: Of the efforts of Aleander at Worms.
Handwritten in the Oock. Ootdnu. A. 399, toi. 132p. Printed in Aurifaber, vol. I, p. 311; in De Wette, vol. I, p. 568 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel-, vol. Ill, p. 100.
1) Compare No. 20, § 5 of this appendix.
2) In 1520, such a writing had appeared: "Eyn Warnung des Sündfluss oder erschrockenliche Wassers des .xxiiij. iars auß natürlicher Art des hymels zu besorgen" 2c., six leaves in quarto. Compare St. Louis edition, vol. XI, 59, 33. where instead of what is said in the note in the oldest editions is found: "which will now occur over two years".
His Johann Lang, the theologian, Erfurt hermit, his extremely dear [friend] in the Lord.
JEsus.
Hail! Although I am very busy, my dear father, I am writing this only to forestall your complaints that I am not writing anything to you when I have no other reason to do so. At the same time, I am sending my trifles. Against Emser, I have an answer under my hands.
Murner has poured out three books against me. It is said that two Italians have also written against me, of whom I have seen nothing so far. But also the Löwener have something under the press to attack me. By so many snakes (hydris) I, a unifier, am attacked, and I am forced to overturn the saying that not even a Hercules can stand against two, while I must stand against ten. Preaching twice 3) requires one man, the psalter three, the postilion no less, and besides this there are so many enemies, to say nothing of the secondary works and the letters to the friends, then also of the conversations and services against brothers. For I am released from the laws of the Order and of the Pope, and excommunicated by virtue of the Bull, which I rejoice in and accept, only that I do not take up the habit and the place.
3 Give my best regards to Crotus and Jonas, and take care that you pray bravely for the ministry of the Word. For Satan is slaughtering many thousands of souls through this quite satanic bull. The bishop of Meissen has gathered and burned wagonloads of our books, as well as the holy man (sancticulus), the bishop of Merseburg, who has the most hopeful and stingy humility. Farewell in Christ. Wittenberg. Philip greets you. On the sixth of March, 1521.
Martin Luther.
Aleander, the apostolic nuncio, is working with all his might to have me declared to the imperial eight, but as yet he has done nothing.
3) Luther preached twice a day at that time; once on the first book of Moses, the other time on the Gospels,
No. 68.
Luther to Spalatin.
Luther reports the rumors of his capture. About several events in Erfurt and Gotha. His friendly reception in Hersfeld and Eisenach. His present occupation. The circumstances of his capture.
Handwritten in the Ooä. lern n, k. 269 and in the Ooä. 6ot6. 187. 4. which, however, according to De Wette, mostly have reprehensible variants. Printed in Aurifaber, vol. I, p. 3266; in De Wette, vol. II, p. 5 and in Erlanger Briefwechsel, vol. Ill, p. 152.
To his most worthy in Christ, Georg Spalatin, the most faithful servant of Christ in Altenburg.
JEsus.
Hail! I received your letter, Gerbel's 1) and Sapidus' on Sunday Exaudi [May 12], my dear Spalatin, and the fact that I have not yet written to you was done with good forethought, so that the new rumor of my imprisonment would not give someone cause to intercept my letters. Various things are said about me here, but the opinion gains the upper hand that I was captured by friends who were sent from Franconia 2). Tomorrow the time of the escort given by the emperor comes to an end. I am sorry that you write that they would also rage with such a strict edict in order to search their consciences; not because of me, but because they carelessly burden themselves with evil and continue to burden themselves with such great hatred. Oh, how great hatred this shameless violence will arouse! But let it go; the time of their visitation is perhaps imminent.
I have not yet received anything from Wittenberg or elsewhere from our people. The youth in Erfurt had damaged some of the priests' houses at night (at the time when we went to
1) Nicolaus Gerbel, D. juris in Strasbourg. - Johann Sapidus (Witz) from Schlettstadt, Rector of the school there. He later went to Strasbourg.
2) One will have thought of the Frankish noblemen who were favorable to Luther. Another widespread rumor had him imprisoned by Count Wilhelm of Henneberg, who was an opponent of Luther because of his attack on the pilgrimage to Grimmenthal.
Eisenach), 3) unwilling that the dean of the Severistift 4) (Severianus), a great pope, seized Magister Draco, a well-meaning man, by the surplice and publicly dragged him out of the choir, claiming that he had been banned because he had gone to meet me with others when I entered Erfurt. In the meantime, people fear greater things; the council is looking through its fingers, the priests there have a bad rumor, and it is said that the young craftsmen are allying themselves with the studying youth. It is obvious that they perhaps want to make true the prophetic proverb that says: Erfurt is a Prague. 5)
3 Yesterday I was told that in Gotha a certain priest had suffered because they had bought I don't know what kind of goods to increase the income of the church, and under the pretext of spiritual (ecclesiastica) freedom refused to pay the (so-called) burdens and duties. We see that the people (as Erasmus also writes in his βουλή [bule]) could no longer, nor would they want to, bear the yoke of the pope and the papists. And yet we do not cease to afflict and weigh down the same, although, since the light brings everything to light, we have already lost the name and [good] opinion, and that appearance of godliness can no longer apply nor rule as it has ruled until now. Up to now we have increased hatred 6) by force and suppressed it by force; but whether it can be suppressed in the future, we will find out.
I sit here all day, idle and heavy-headed; I read the Greek and Hebrew Bible. I will write a German sermon on the freedom of ear confession. 7) Also the Psalter and the Postillas.
3) on April 9.
4) Jakob Doleatoris, actually Schröder, from Eimbeck.
5) Soon after its foundation, the University of Erfurt had taken such an upswing, especially due to the influx of German teachers and students from Prague, that it was compared to Prague. Here Luther means: as the University of Prague had fallen into disrepair due to unrest, so would it happen to Erfurt.
6) Instead of omnia, the two manuscripts have odia, which we have assumed.
7) The writing "Von der Beichte, ob die Pabst Macht habe zu gebieten". St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIX, 814. -The "Psalter" is the "Works on the first 22 Psalms".
I will continue as soon as I receive what I need from Wittenberg, including the Magnificat that I have begun.
You cannot believe with what kindness the abbot of Hersfeld 1) received us. He sent the chancellor and the castle governor to meet us a good mile away; then he received us himself at his castle with many horsemen and accompanied us into the city. The council received us inside the gates. In his monastery he fed us splendidly and put me up in his bedroom. They forced me to preach a sermon early at the fifth hour 2) claiming in vain that he might lose his sovereign rights (regalia) if the imperials began to interpret this event as a breach of the granted fare, since they forbade me not to preach on the way. But I said that I had not agreed that the word of God should be bound, which is true.
I also preached in Eisenach, 3) but the fearful priest protested in front of me in the presence of notary and witnesses, but humbly excused himself because of this necessity with the fear of his tyrants. So you will perhaps hear in Worms that I have broken the escort, but it has not been broken. For this condition was not in my power, that the word of God should be bound [2 Tim. 2:9]. I did not consent to it, and if I had consented, it would not have had to be kept, because it would have been against God. So the next day he [the abbot] finally led us to the forest.
men," ikiä. Only for the print did Luther finish the 22nd Psalm that he had begun, but he did not resume the lectures. It is therefore not quite correct what the Erlanger Briefwechsel notes: "Luther did not continue the 0p6rntion68 in ksnlinos as he had undertaken here." See the note in the St. Louis edition, Vol. IV, 199 f. - "Die Postillen" are the German church postils.
1) Crato Miles of Hungen. He was inclined to the Reformation, but did not formally convert, probably because then the abbey would have been given to a strict Catholic. He was soon the only Catholic member of the abbey.
2) May 1.
3) on May 2.
The Chancellor is in charge of us, and he has dined all of us in Berka 4).
We were finally received by the Eisenachers, who met us on foot, and entered Eisenach in the evening. Early in the morning, all the companions left with Jerome. 5) I traveled to my relatives across the forest (for they hold almost all of the land), and in breaking away from them, as we were turning toward Waltershausen, I was caught shortly thereafter near Altenstein Castle. Amsdorf must have known that I was to be captured by someone, but he does not know the place where I am being held.
My brother, 6) who saw the horsemen at times, made off from the wagon and is said to have come to Waltershausen on foot in the evening without greeting. So here my clothes have been taken off and I have put on horsemen's clothes; I let my hair and beard grow, so that you would hardly know me, since I myself have not known me for a long time. Now I live in Christian freedom, released from all laws of this tyrant, although I would rather that that pig at Dresden 7) would be worthy to kill me while I was preaching publicly, if it should please God that I should suffer for the sake of His word. May the will of the Lord be done. Be well and pray for me. Greetings to your whole court. Given on the mountain, Tuesday after Exaudi [May 14] 1521.
Martin Luther.