February 1, 1527.
To the servant of Christ, Georg Spalatin, Bishop of Altenburg, his dearest brother.
Mercy and peace! My dear Spalatin, your Baal's apes may boast and hope, yes, even win and overcome, what do we care? We must bear the cross and become blessed; but they are lost. Can we live without the cross? To the King of England (who is thought to be the larva of Erasmus) I answer in a short letter, mainly for the sake of the title, cmf which they have presented [my letter as] a recantation. These blasphemies, tricks and unworthiness of the devil serve me as food and make me fat. For this is the meat of which Christ boasts Jn 4: This is my meat, that I do the will of my Father, that I die and am blasphemed. With the same food we also must be fed. It is not
It is incredible how much Satan is raging everywhere and through everyone. Perhaps he realizes that the last day is no longer far away. But thanks be to God, who strengthens us to despise it. By the way, I kept this young man Martin almost whole for several months, hoping to place him in an office or ministry, but because he saw that everything was full here, he decided to travel elsewhere. Since you are known to many and know many people, help him, if you can, to a service or work. He is poor and honest, but very simple-minded, and is a monk who escaped from Cella. So I command him to you. If you will be of service to him somewhere, you will be doing the Lord Christ a service of love. Be well with the one who is attached to you (catena). On the eve of the Feast of Purification in 1527.
Martin Luther.