Mid-April 1531.
Since the draft of the Apology (the previous writing) had not been accepted, the necessity arose to publish the Apology. For this purpose, Melanchthon completely revised the draft, and the more complete Apology appeared in quarto in mid-April 1531. The Latin text is entirely Melanchthon's, but the German text, by Justus Jonas, is not a mere
It is not a mere translation, but since Melanchthon was involved and made additions and changes in his own way, which the Latin text did not contain, it has an independent meaning. We have placed the title that Melanchthon gave to this writing above it in the following. For the rest, we refer to J. T. Müller, "Die symbolischen Bücher", Introduction, p. UXXXIII ff. - The editions of this writing are countless. The first Latin edition is printed in Cölestin, üist. eoruit. XuZust., torn. IV, toi. 1; in Melanchthon's Werke, tom. I, x>. 58 and in the Jena edition of Luther's works (1570), tora. IV, col. 203d. German in the Wittenberg (1569), vol. IX, p. 319; in the Jena (1568), vol. VI, p. 378; in the Altenburg, vol. V, p. 46, and in the Leipzig, vol. XX, p. 28. We give the text according to J. T. Müller. The Wittenberg edition, of which Melanchthon was the editor, offers a text so much altered that one can hardly recognize the Apology. The Jena edition, whose text Walch has printed, agrees almost word for word with Müller.