March 1, 1517.
A judgment of the theology of Erasmus, which knows nothing of Christ.
To the venerable and God-fearing teacher, Mr. Johann Lang, licentiate in theology, prior of the Augustinian monks at Erfurt, his Lord in Christ.
1. Hail. Venerable Father, according to the order of the venerable Father Vicarius, I am sending this brother Gabriel 1) to you; you too should follow his order and see to it that he and others behave well, that is, in a Christian manner. It has seemed good to us and is beneficial to him that he keeps himself monastic in all things. For you know that he has not yet seen and learned the customs and habits of our order; on the other hand, you may let the brother whom you promised to send in his place go with this brother Leonhard as soon as possible. For we lack a brother as a substitute for Gabriel. I have translated the Psalms into German and explained them. Even if no one likes them, I like them very much. But John, 2) the printer, is waiting for you to finish with the ones I sent you.
2 I read Erasmus, but I had less and less interest in him every day. I like the fact that he refers to the friars and to the
1) Gabriel Didymus or Gemini.
2) Johannes Grünenberg.
I am afraid that he will not properly promote Christ and the grace of God, in which his ignorance is much greater than that of Faber of Etaples. For he places more emphasis on human testimonies than on divine ones. Although I do not like to judge him, I do it nevertheless to warn you, so that you do not read or even accept everything without right judgment. For we are now living in dangerous times and I can see that not everyone is a true Christian because he is a Greek and a Hebrew, because even St. Jerome, with his five languages, does not equal your Augustine, who understood only one language, although Erasmus is of a completely different opinion. For it is different with the judgment of him who concedes something to the will of man; but it is different with the judgment of him who knows nothing but grace.
3 However, I had this judgment completely secret, so that I would not strengthen the reputation of his enviers. The Lord will give him right understanding in his time. Farewell and greet the Fathers, Magisters and the Lector, and inquire whether D. Jodocus will not answer me. From our wasteland, Wittenberg on Sunday Invocavit [March 1] 1517.
Br. Martin Luther, Vicarius of the Augustinians.
*) This letter is in Latin in Aurifaber, Vol. I, toi. 33d; in Löscher, Reformation-Acta, vol. I, p. 832; bet De Wette, vol. I, p. 51; in Erlanger Briefwechsel, vol. I, p. 87; handwritten in Ooä. Ootiinn. 399, toi. 123 d. We have translated according to the Erl. Ausg. translated.