called Francisci liber conformitatum. *)
I think that those who read this booklet at this time, who have not been under the abomination of the priesthood before, or even those who are now unaccustomed to it and have forgotten it, will find it unbelievable. Therefore, with this preface I have wanted to give testimony that it has certainly been preached and believed in all the world. For I have printed such a book, called liber conformitatum (in which all this is written, summarized from the great Liar St. Francisci and other books), still today and keep it for our descendants, so that if the papists want to clean and adorn themselves after this time, as if they had never had no water, as they have therefore submitted in two or three years, even at the imperial congresses, that one holds against them such their stinking abominations, which they have not only driven, but also the holy papacy and papal holiness confirmed, defended, pardoned and commanded the whole of Christendom.
For such abominations they do not yet repent, do not recant, and do not intend to amend, but seek to compare themselves with us in several articles of faith, but remain silent about such abominations, so that, when we have compared ourselves with them and they might attack us, they might then, under the name of comparison, all individually and secretly bring forth and spread their devilish filth again, not only unpunished, but also strengthened, preserved, and defended by fraudulent comparison. And the wise and prudent fools think that the Holy Spirit does not notice and see such their false deceit and practica, and must go as they intend in their high thoughts. Therefore the comparison, which is often tried, is just as Christ says, Matth. 9, 16: If one wants to embroider the new cloth on an old cloth, the tear will be worse. Summa, it is impossible to compare Christ and Belial, that is, the pope with God's word, one must be wrong.
*) Diele script appeared in 1542 in a single edition in Wittenberg by Hans Luft under the title: "Der Barsufte Münche Eulenspiegel und Alcoran. With a preface by D. Martini Luther." In the collections it is found: the Wittenberger (1559), vol. XII, p. 370b; in the Jenaer (1562), vol. VIII, p. 38b; in the Altenburg", vol. VM, p. 41; in the Leipziger, vol. XXI, p. 424 and in the Erlang", vol. 63, 373. We have followed the Erlang" edition, which brings the original print. .
1962 Erl. 63, 374-376. triple appendix of some of Luther's controversial writings. W. XIX, 2442-2444. 1963
both of them cannot be right. That is the truth, and so our experience also teaches us.
Whoever you are, you will read this booklet and perhaps say: Help God, has the church been so oppressed before us, and the world so blind? If you hear it, let it be said to you: Lift up your hands and eyes to heaven, and thank the heavenly Father that he has now so enlightened you through the gospel of his dear Son that you can recognize such things, and speak freely against them, yes, even laugh and mock. For you should know that I, D. Martinus Luther, who am still alive and writing this, was also one of the crowd who had to believe and worship such things. And if someone had been so bold, who would have doubted it, or would have disobeyed it, he would have had to be burned, or otherwise condemned, as happened to Johann Jlten and Flecken, 1) and others. For the book is held by the barefooted for the gospel, and have preached to Christianity Franciscum in Christ's place. Therefore so many people must be called Franciscus and Clara; for he must be God, in honor of whom his name is thus exalted.
4. also ask God to keep us in his light and gracious word, so that we do not again fall into such great or greater darkness, as he says, John 12:35: Because you have the light, believe in the light, so that the darkness will not take hold of you. For where we shall be ungrateful, as our forefathers were, he may well punish us with as great blindness as they were punished. When God removes his hand in anger, the prince of darkness quickly has us believe what he wants us to believe, just as the Egyptians of old believed that an ox, a dog, a fish, a snake, a worm, and even onions and garlic were gods. Where God's omnipotence leaves us, the devil is omnipotent in his place, to whom all men must be captive.
1) About Dr. Fleck, prior of the Franciscans in the monastery at Steinlaufig near Bitterfeld on the Mulde, compare Mathesius, Luthers Leben, St. Louis edition, p. 19; likewise Walch, old edition, vol. XV "489 f.
2) In the old editions: Zipple.
5 I must also say something for my court right here. At the time when I read such St. Francisci lying, also St. Benedicti, I was almost very annoyed by the fact that these high holiest fathers were still so deep in the flesh that St. Franciscus, challenged by females, stepped into the snow and made snowballs, which he called his wife and children, and said: O Francisce, behold, there you have wife and child, you must nourish them with work and worry, then the tickle and heat will pass you away. And St. Benedict drove away his thoughts from the beautiful matzos by lying naked in thorn bushes and nettles, and tore his flesh to the blood gutter etc. I thought that such high spiritual people should not have such youthful rutting or carnal temptations; but I had to keep silent and believe.
But now I want to advise (because we are now allowed to judge about such great saints) that St. Francis would not have called the snowballs wife and children, but would have become married, since he found himself as a young man caught in his father Adam's disease so hard that he also had to call the snow (which helped him little). So St. Benedict should have laid himself also in the nettles and thorns of the conjugal life, that would have torn the skin better and would have helped; and thus both would not have caused so much misery. For to the snow and thorns of the worldly or church regiment they were both much too low, as unlearned and inexperienced people. So they filled the world with their childish and foolish work and darkened Christ and his kingdom. If they have been saved (as I hope, for God is rich in mercy), we should not despair.
7 Summa, here you see from what purse and bag such great buildings and goods have come, as one sees in St. Francis, Benedict and other orders, which all emperors and kings would not be able to do. Only such and such books have done it. Therefore, see how poor the Lord Christ is and how rich the devil is, and beware, and pray that we too may not fall into temptation, but be delivered from all evil, amen.
41 D. Martin Luther's Foreword to the little book with the title: „Papal loyalty of Hadrian IV and Alexander III practiced against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Drawn together from the Historia, useful to read.." *)
It is right and well done, whoever can do it, to confidently strike out the pope as the archenemy of our Lord and Savior and the destroyer of his holy Christian church. For this purpose, besides the Holy Scriptures, the histories of the emperors serve very well, in which one can see how the popes have been and still remain full of devils, and how they have proven themselves to be very great, coarse, unlearned asses in the Scriptures, to the eternal disgrace of the accursed See of Rome. For just look at the devilish arrogance and malice of Hadriani IV and Alexandri lll, how they deal with the laudable Emperor Friederico I, and I think well, where they are now in that life, above, in the middle or below in hell, they are not allowed any fur, and the most holy fathers have become the most infernal, because of their repentance one reads nothing; have died in their sins, of which they want to be praised as the most laudable deeds.
For if the desperate boys had not been popes and coarse, unlearned asses of the devil, but had been true pious learned bishops, they would certainly have known, yes, it would have had to frighten them greatly, that they should step on the neck of an emperor, as the majesty of God ordered and commanded to honor, 2 Pet. 2, on the neck, and, in addition, so shamefully and most blasphemously inverted the Scriptures, mocked them, as here Alexander III had mocked the saying Ps. 91, 13: "On the adder and [the] basilisk you will walk, and on the lion and dragon you will tread", by his
1) Vulgate.
infernal, devilish mouth against the emperor for mockery and revenge so bitterly poisonously used. For in this case it should be said that the infernal dragon and lion, otter and basilisk, Alexander III, goes and treads on the neck of a Christian prince, and in the prince Christ himself, that is the truth.
(3) And this evil deed of this shameful damned Pope Alexandri should never be forgiven by the emperors, kings, princes and temporal lords of the popes, even beasts, but should be eternally remembered and raised to eternal shame by the Roman diabolical see, just as Christ never forgives nor will forgive such things to the popes and see of Rome, nor his Christian church. For they are not repentant; they do not atone for it, the blasphemous, desperate boys; but laugh at it, and take pleasure in it, as if it were well done; they would gladly make such an atrocious example of all emperors, kings, and princes, if they could; and whoever is and wants to be a pious Christian, should spit on the name of the pope for the sake of this one deed alone, as often as he hears it called, or reads it, or thinks of it. For what the pope may do to an emperor, such a high person, set by God, he may do much more to you and me; yes, to all of Christendom, even to Christ and God Himself, as his father, the devil, also does and taught him to do.
For Emperor Frederick has not been an unchristian, nor a heretic, has meant the church with seriousness, justice, discipline and honor very much.
*This writing appeared in a single edition in 1545 at Wittenberg with Joseph Klug under the title superior to ours. In the collections: in the Wittenberg (1553), vol. IV, p. 447; in the Jena (1562), vol. VIII, p. 207 b and in the Altenburg, vol. VII, p. 417 Luther's preface alone. In the Leipziger, vol. XXI, 454 and in the Erlanger, vol. 32, p. 358 the whole text. We give the text of the preface according to the Erlangen edition, which has reprinted it from the original edition. The scripture itself, however, which, as we believe, has been omitted from the three oldest editions with good judgment, we do not consider it worthy of a place among the scriptures. Luther's.
1966 Erl. SS, 360 f. Threefold appendix of some of Luther's controversial writings. W. XIX, 2446-2448. 1967
He has been very hostile to injustice, has shown himself exceedingly gracious and merciful to enemies where they have been recognized, a very excellent, noble, feminine, bold and victorious prince, so that I love him very much in my heart; he has also made a strong move against the Saracens to save the Christians, dared his life over it, and lost it in the water; And such a noble man should be trampled underfoot by such a rude belly, rotten belly, nasty brat and vile sack, who has neither a bishop's nor any other office in the church (for the papacy is of the devil, as we know), whom he would not be worthy to take off his shoes.
(5) Should not a pope (if he were a Christian) think: Even if I do not want to spare his crown and majesty, ordained by God (as 1 Petr. 2, 17. says: "Honor the King"), I will still spare the holy baptism and the precious blood of Christ, so that he is sanctified as a Christian, so that my feet do not sin so horribly. Yes, what should the blasphemous boys and God despisers, the big, coarse asses, the dolts
pel, gag, beetle, felt, rods, blocks, 1) unreasonable fools, the devil's larvae and preeners, 2) think without what is pleasing to the devil.
(6) And if he had already been a heretic or wicked, should a pope, who is a hundred times worse, trample him underfoot? mock him so shamefully with the corrupted word of God? Does the Scripture teach us no other way to punish sinners than to trample them under foot or force them to kiss the devil's feet? If there were a spark of reason or a drop of honest blood in the beasts and barbarians, the popes, they should be ashamed in their hearts that they let the very least Christian kiss their feet; hold their peace that they should trample the same underfoot, and may do so to Christians in the highest majesties. But they think Christ is a fable; they show it with such beautiful fruits of their holiness. Enough of that now, we still have much to talk about.
1) In the old editions: Plöche.
2) d. i. Scarecrows.
End of the nineteenth part.
Addendum to the 18th volume.
Columne 1305, line 10 from above, the text is reproduced by us as it is found in all editions known to us. But the same is faulty and should, according to 3 Mos. 11, 6. f., probably read: "that the sow does not chew the cud, and the hare chews the cud, but does not split the claws", etc. etc.
To the 19 volume.
In No. 126, Col. 958, the following was inadvertently omitted under the heading: "Translated from Latin.