112. Dr. Martin Luther's writing "against the false-named spiritual state of the pope and the bishops".\. *)
Probably in July 1522.
Jesus.
Martinus Luther, by the grace of God, Ecclesiastes at Wittenberg, the papal bishops my service, and their own knowledge in Christ.
1. whether I am perhaps considered a fool before you, dear sirs, for such a high
For the sake of my laborious title, that I call myself an "Ecclesiastes by the grace of God", you should know that I am not surprised. You revile, blaspheme, condemn, persecute, and burn me, probably for the sake of higher and nobler things, as a heretic, and do as you will, according to your idol's pleasure,
*) Under the title we have placed above it, four individual editions appeared in 1522; one by Nickel Schirlentz at Wittenberg, the other three without indication of place and printer. One of the latter has the city's coat of arms
and have the virtue of God's disgrace in you: you do not want to hear, you do not want to answer, but, like the stubborn Jews, you condemn me unheard, unrecognized, unconquered, with your head through, freely, and you are not yet ashamed that you so often let a man rightly defy you.
(2) Well then, since it is a matter of lifting up the horns and driving with loud force, I must also put on my horns and dare my head for my Lord. To accept this, I call myself an ecclesiastical scholar, by the grace of God, whom you call a heretic with barrels full of 1) blasphemous words, in defiance of you and the devil. And whether I call myself an evangelist by the grace of God, I would rather prove the same than your one could prove his episcopal title or name, I am sure that Christ himself calls me so and considers me so, who is the master of my doctrine and will also be a witness at the last day that it is not my but his pure gospel. So that your raving and blustering shall not help you, but the more you rage and bluster, the more arrogant we want to be towards you, with God's help, and to despise your disgrace. And even if you take my life, as you are murderers, you shall not destroy my name or my teaching. For you will also have to die in the end, and put an end to murder.
How I am now deprived of my titles by papal and imperial disgrace, and the character of the beast is washed away from me with so many bulls that I must never be called Doctor of the Holy Scriptures, nor anything of papal creature; that I am almost as frightened as when the donkey's sack falls off. For such larva has been my highest shame before God; and I also once in error (which I learned from your bunch
1) "Fuder voll" is missing in the Wittenberger.
2) i.e. being ungracious.
with great food and toil) was a liar, deceiver, seducer and blasphemer, as you are now, against God's pure teaching. But since the Father of all mercy did not regard such my sinfulness and blasphemy and all kinds of sinful evil life, but let me know his Son Jesus Christ out of the abysmal riches of his grace and also let me teach others, until we have become certain of his truth, I truly must not be without title and name, so that I may fairly praise the word, office and work that I have from God, which you blind blasphemers desecrate and persecute so exceedingly. I hope that my praise will overcome your desecration, just as my right overcomes your wrong. Whether you lie for a moment with iniquity above, there is nothing in it.
4) Therefore I hereby let you know that I will no longer do you honor, that I will refrain from judging or interrogating you, or even an angel from heaven, about my teaching: for enough of foolish humility has now happened the third time at Worms, and yet nothing has helped; but I will let myself be heard and, as St. Peter teaches [1 Ep. 3, 15, 16], prove the cause and reason of my teaching before all the world and have it unjudged by everyone, even by all angels. Peter [1 Ep. 3:15, 16], prove the cause and reason of my 4) teaching before all the world, and have it unjudged by everyone, even by all the angels. For since I am sure of it, I will be your judge through it, and also the judge of the angels (as St. Paul says, [Gal. 1, 8.]), that whoever does not accept my teaching may not be saved. For it is God's, and not
3) i.e. to lower oneself under something.
4) Marginal gloss of the Jena edition: "There [in Luther's letter to the Elector Frederick of March 5, 1522. Walch, old edition, Vol. XV, 2379, ß 5] the dear man of God thus says that he has the gospel not from men, but from heaven alone, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here he speaks further (which is a strong addition): I will have my doctrine unjudged by anyone, also by all angels, yes, I will be your judge by it (of the pope, all his spirit and followers), also of the angels, that whoever does not accept my doctrine, that he may not be saved etc.
Wittenberg on the title page, another the closer time determination: in the autumn month (i.e. September). In the collections: in the Wittenberg (1554), vol. VII, p. 329b; in the Jena (1585), vol. II, p. 106; in the Altenburg, vol. II, p.. 161; in the Leipzig, vol. XVIII, p. 27 and in the Erlangen, vol. 28, p. 141. The timing is according to Luther's letter to Spalatin of July 26, 1522, Walch, old edition, vol. XV, appendix, no. 92. We give the text according to the Jena edition, comparing the Wittenberg.
mine, therefore my judgment is also God's, and not mine.
Finally, my lords, this is the decision: If I live, you shall have no peace before me; if you kill me, you shall have ten times more peace, and I will be to you as Hosea 13:8 says: A bear by the way, and a lion in the street. As ye ride with me, ye shall not have your will, till your iron forehead and your brazen neck be broken, either with grace or with disgrace. If you do not mend your ways as I would like, let it remain that you are hostilely angry, and I will give nothing in return. God grant that you may recognize yourselves. Amen.
1) (6) Lest some well-meaning hearts think that I am doing too much by touching the great lords, and, as the tyrants themselves interpret it, that it might cause uproar and indignation, I must first present the reason and cause, proving in writing that it is not only just but also necessary to punish the high chiefs.
(7) In his unspiritual law, the pope has indeed forbidden that prelates should not be punished: the dear noblemen and painted bishops rely on this, do not study, cannot do anything, do not do any episcopal work, are thus set to quiet rest and good days; nevertheless, they go about as if they were bishops, if they are nothing but carnival larvae and cleaners 2), corrupting the whole world under the episcopal name. But what God says about it, we want to hear.
8. Ezekiel 33:7, 8, 9: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. And thou shalt hear what I say unto thee, and shalt declare these things of me unto them. If I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou shalt not declare it unto him, nor tell him, that he may turn from his wicked way, and live; then that wicked man shall surely die in his sins; but his blood will I require of thee. But if you tell him, and he does not turn from his sins or from his wicked ways, he will die in his sins.
1) Here, the Jena edition has the superscription that we have omitted: Preface.
2) Cleaning - scarecrows.
he will die in his sins; but you have redeemed your soul."
(9) Tell me, is not this a strict commandment from the high Majesty, that a preacher, for the salvation of his soul, should punish the ungodly? for he speaks here of public punishment, because he commands him a ministry to preach his word. And why does he give it so harshly? No doubt because the preacher, if he remains silent, sins against love in the highest way, and does not respect his neighbor's salvation, the greatest good, to whom he also owes clothing and food, the least good. But he says that he should hear the word of God, not keep his own word. Now we have no word but the Scriptures; therefore all the wicked are to be punished with them. It is of no use to say that this saying does not refer to prelates, but to the wicked in general etc. For this is the reason why it must also be understood of the prelates, since it does not express a person, but rather calls the wicked in general, whether he be great or small, and however he may be. For God's word does not look at a person. It is above all persons and applies to everyone. Even so Ezekiel, though of low estate, was sent to preach to all the people of Israel, among whom were princes, priests, and great men. Ezek. 22. in full.
10. Micah 6:1, 2 says: "Hear what God says: Arise and be right with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice, so that the mountains may hear the judgment of God, and the strong foundations of the earth. For God has to judge with His people, and to punish Israel" etc. Who are the mountains, hills, and strong grounds of the earth to preach to, as He commands here? Here he does not command the people, but the chiefs to proclaim God's judgment and punishment.
(11) And finally, all the prophets' sermons have gone mostly against the high chiefs, as the kings, princes, priests, scholars and rulers of the people, as this makes all the prophets' writings superfluous, so that God also said to Jeremiah [Jer. 1:10], "Behold, I set thee this day over the land and over the people." Item [v. 18, 19]: "I have set thee this day for a strong city, for a pillar of iron,
a wall of brass over all the land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes, against the priests, against the people. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not overcome thee: for I am with thee, and will deliver thee, saith God." Now Jeremiah was far among the kings, princes and priests, a small person, from the little city of Anathoth. Nor did he have to preach and chastise God's word over and against all the high 1) places.
12 Third, Christ in the Gospel was a lowly, lowly person, in no high estate or government. But with whom does he judge? whom does he punish, but only the chief priests, the scribes, the spiritual misfits, and what was high? In this way he has given an example to all preachers, that they should only confidently touch the great heads, since the people's destruction and salvation lies most in the heads. Why then should we follow the foolish Pabst's law against Christ and all the prophets' examples, and not punish the great men and spiritual tyrants? and what good would it do to let the heads go and punish only the people? one could never throw out so much with good doctrine as throw in the evil heads with false doctrine. And would it be as Sirach 2) says [Cap. 34, 28.]: "If one builds and the other breaks, what profit is there but vain labor?" Now if one is to build the people, one must first resist the shameful heads and destroyers.
Therefore we are to hold fast the free teaching of St. Paul, 1 Tim. 5:20, where he says: "Those who sin you must punish publicly before everyone, so that others may have fear. Here St. Paul does not exclude anyone,
1) According to the variant given by the Erlangen edition, Walch is said to have inserted "hohen", while it, which supposedly follows the Wittenberg edition, has omitted this word. Both editions, the Wittenberg and the Jena, have this word.
2) In the old editions: "as Salomon says Ecclesi." The Jena one has as marginal gloss "Sprach 35". Here again is one of the many places in Luther's writings where Ecclesiastieus i.e. Sirach and Ecctesia- stes i.e. Ecclesiastes Solomon are confused with each other. Luther will hardly have written "Salomon", but a foreign hand has corrigued it to him.
neither high nor low. And although he says that, 3) against a presbyterum (that is, an old man, who also ruled in the churches at that time) you shall not take up complaint without two or three witnesses, he did not thereby abolish the punishment, but confirmed it. For, according to the same conviction, 4) this text follows and says [v. 20.], "Those who sin, you shall punish publicly before everyone." But our Junkers in their spiritual injustice have interpreted this little word Presbyterum to mean the priests, themselves; so St. Paul says of the old men, they shall not be lightly accused. And also Cap. 5, 1. says: "Do not reproach an old man, but plead as a father." Here St. Paul does not speak of the bishops and priests, who are now commonly young people, not without great destruction of Christianity, 5) but of the old men, who are to be held in honor; and if they would do something wrong, they are to be pleaded with, and not bitten, so that they stand down.
(14) Therefore we shall punish the bishops and spiritual high places more severely and more severely than the worldly high places, for two reasons. The first, that the spiritual highness does not come from God: for God does not know the larval people and Niclas bishops 6); for they do not teach, nor do they hold any episcopal office. Neither are they of human origin: they have raised themselves up and placed themselves in such rule against God and man; as is the way of tyrants, who rule only out of God's wrath. Worldly power is from God's gracious order to oppress the wicked and protect the pious, Rom. 13, 4.
The other cause is that the secular government, though it does violence and injustice,
3) Here we have followed the jnterpunction of the Wittenberg edition.
4) i.e. transfer of the same by witnesses.
5) Thus the Wittenberg and Jena editions. Erlanger: Christen.
6) Niclas bishops - play bishops. This means something similar to the boy bishops who were dressed in episcopal costume and held in high honor at the school festival held on Gregory's Day (March 12). Cf. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XXII, 1942, No. 1241. In § 19 of this writing it is rendered in the same connection with "larvae" by "child bishops".
only harms the body and goods 1); but spiritual height, where it is not holy and drives God's word, they are wolves and soul murderers, applies as much as if the devil himself sat there and ruled. Therefore, beware no less of the bishop who does not teach the Word of God than of the devil himself. For where there is no word of God, there is certainly only vain doctrine of the devil and murder of souls; for without the word of God the soul cannot live, nor can it be delivered from the devil.
(16) But they say that it is to be feared a rebellion against the spiritual authorities. Answer: Shall God's word therefore remain and destroy all the world? Is it right that all souls should be eternally murdered, so that these larvae may remain calm? It would be better for all bishops to be murdered, all monasteries and convents to be uprooted, than for one soul to perish, let alone for all souls to be lost for the sake of useless pots and idols. What are they good for, but to live in pleasure, from the sweat and labor, and hinder God's word? they fear physical turmoil and despise spiritual destruction. Are they not wise and honest people? If they would take up the word of God and seek the life of souls, God would be with them, who is a God of peace, and they would not fear any outrage. But if they do not want to listen to God's word, but rage and rage with banishing, burning, killing and all evil, what is cheaper for them than a strong rebellion that would cut them off from the world? and that would only be laughable if it happened, as the divine wisdom says, Proverbs 1, 25. 26. 2): "Ye have hated my punishment, and promised my doctrine: I will also laugh at your destruction, and mock you, when calamity falleth upon your neck."
17. the word of god does not cause rebellion, but the stubborn disobedient who rebels against it; let his merit also be done to him.
1) "und Gut" is missing in the Erlangen edition, but is found in the Wittenberg and Jena editions.
2) Here, the Erlangen edition has again reprinted from Walch the wrong citation 1, 24. 26. But, one would like to object at this point, the Erlangen edition does not offer "24. 26." but "24. 25."; it is therefore not reprinted from Walch. Answer: The number "6" is defective in Walch's edition and read in "5".
And he who receives God's word does not raise a ruckus, whether he no longer fears the larvae nor worships the potatoes, lets them go and waits for his own. Which also the dear larvae fear the most, who have let themselves be feared and worshipped until now, as if they were bishops and spiritual rulers. But he who starts a ruckus misuses God's word for his own will. Christ's word does not storm anyone bodily, but it proclaims storm bodily to tyrants, and gently loosens the souls from their bonds, so that they are despised: which is the very best storming. For that which is despised may not much tempest, and can never contain itself, as Ps. 10:15 says, "O Lord, break the power of the wicked." With what? "Only seek out his wickedness, and he will never be there." The people of the larvae must not be disturbed in any other way than that they are uncovered and recognize that they are larvae, as soon as everyone is hostile to them, and they are abandoned.
18 Take an example: in ancient times, the bishop's hat was a sacred and certain sign. The two tops signify the two Testaments, Old and New, which a bishop wore on the head of his soul, that is, in his mind, and was learned in the Scriptures, as St. Paul, Titus 1:9, teaches. The two ribbons hanging freely on his back signify his preaching ministry; in this he let the same Scriptures, New and Old Testament, go freely to the people and taught them to follow him, he went ahead with his life.
(19) Now when a bishop puts on his hat, what does it mean? Some think that the two points mean that he should know the Scriptures of both Testaments; but the two bands mean that he neither knows nor wants to know any of them. 3) The two points mean that he should know the Scriptures of both Testaments. For the highest virtue of the present bishops and cardinals is almost that they are chosen unlearned heads, and it has become a disgrace that a bishop should study the Bible. Why should a prince study that 4) breaks the head? Are not otherwise terminaries 5)
3) Thus the Wittenberg and Jena editions; "cheap" is missing in the Erlangen edition.
4) Wittenberg and Erlanger: that he.
5) d. i. Terminirer - mendicant monks.
But what are they but mere larvae and child bishops? without being able to sprinkle and incense stone and wood (praise to God), one wood to another and one stone to another; just as if they wanted to consecrate a church and altar to God. Where else would God dwell, or where would he remain before the devil, if the holy bishops did not sprinkle and incense the stones? So it is also in Shrovetide that one is a king, and yet remains no more than a peasant.
20 But how a right bishop should be formed is described by St. Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-6: "It is true that whoever desires a bishopric seeks a good work. But a bishop must be a blameless man, having only one wife, honest, sedate, chaste, fond of lodging, fond of preaching, not a winebibber, not a wicked man, not addicted to shameful 1) pleasures, but every man even, unquestioning, not stingy, who presides well over his own house, and that his children be obedient with all courage. For if someone does not know how to take care of his own house, how can he take care of God's church or community? Neither should he be a newcomer, lest he become puffed up and fall into the judgment of the blasphemer. He must also have a good reputation among the unbelievers, lest he fall into ridicule and into the snare of the blasphemer."
(21) Behold, whether it be not a good work to be a bishop, wherein are so many noble virtues? St. Paul does not want him to be a newcomer who has recently come to the faith or is young in the faith, lest the blasphemer have good reason and cause to judge and say, Behold, how they have set a fool over the eggs! but should be a tried man of valor, that the blasphemer may be ashamed to speak evil of him. He must also be praised and held in honor by the unbelievers; otherwise he is a mockery to them and immediately caught in a rope, so that he cannot say anything about it if something dishonest is brought to his attention, which would be dishonest to the whole collection and annoying to the unbelievers. For at that time
1) Erlanger: scheulichs.
The Christians were mixed with the unbelievers; therefore, all their conduct had to be public, better, praiseworthy and blameless.
in every city, one who is a blameless man and has only one wife and children who believe, not in the evil cry of gluttony or disobedience. For a bishop must be blameless, like a steward or servant of God, who does not think much of himself, is not angry, not a winebibber, not a reprobate, not addicted to shameful pleasures, but gladly lodging, kind, chaste, righteous, spiritual, chaste, hanging on the true word that may teach, that he may be mighty to exhort in sound doctrine, and to punish the gainsayers."
(23) Behold, these are the forms and shapes of Christian bishops, of which there shall be one in every city or parish. But what should such a form be now? The papal bishops have more noble forms, which cost less effort. What are they? Namely, to know nothing, to shun marital status, and in exchange, as much as they desire, to have fences, to have a silver staff 2) carried, to put on a delicious hat, to have a large plate, to grasp many cities and lands in the district, to ride pretty stallions, to hold princely courts, to nourish officiales, that is, Leutschinders, to murder souls with banishments and tyrannies, and so on, I don't want to forget, painting and stitching the shield at all "oerter" with sticks and crosses, wearing delicious thimbles and gloves, sprinkling the stones and wood at churches with holy water, firming the children, and slapping the fathers kindly on the cheeks, if they are otherwise pretty smooth butchers, but without frivolity, so that not everyone laughs. And of these delicate forms much more, which St. Paul at all times forgot or did not know, and have been necessary to invent through the most holy father Pabst. O idola, terrae, et larvae mundi!
24. again, St. Paul did not ver-
2) "lassen" is missing in the Wittenberg and Erlanger.
He says in 2 Tim. 3:1-5: "Know that in the last days there will be perilous times, for there will be people who think highly of themselves, who are proud, hopeful, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unspiritual. For there shall be men that think much of themselves, covetous, haughty, hopeful, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unspiritual, taking heed to no man, disobedient, abusers, unchaste, having no pleasure in any good thing, traitors, iniquitous, puffed up, blind, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a semblance of a godly life, but denying his power; these shalt thou avoid" etc. See, this is called our bishops and spiritual nobles quite contrafeiet.
25 St. Peter, 2 Ep. 2, 1-3, also paints them diligently and says: "There were also false prophets among the people before. So shall there be false teachers among you, who shall bring in corrupt sects and classes, and shall deny the Lord that bought them. They will quickly bring destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their destruction, and the way of truth will be blasphemed by them, and out of covetousness they will market around you with fictitious words."
These words may not be understood by the bishops and spiritual rulers of the people. Thus we see how, in addition to the teachings of Christ, they have established and brought into the world human doctrines, sects, orders, and all sorts of estates, all of which pretend to live by special works and ways out of the common way of Christian faith. In this way they deny Christ who bought us, for they teach that we can be saved by works, when Christ alone bought our salvation by his blood. For this reason they also blaspheme and malign this way of truth, not wanting to suffer that what they do is wrong and that Christ alone is our salvation. We also see how they, full of avarice, direct all preaching and teaching so that one gives only to them, builds churches and monasteries, and lets them be rich and have enough. These are the false imaginary words, so that they give the appearance of a good life.
and yet deny the foundation of the truth: there every man surrenders, as unto them that lead and teach a good spiritual life; but it is all appearance and vain unbelief, so that St. Peter saith, "Many follow after their destruction."
27 St. Peter continues [vv. 3-10]: "Their judgment is not delayed, and their condemnation does not sleep. For God did not spare the angels, but when they transgressed, he bound them with chains of darkness to hell, and caused them to be kept for the last judgment; and the whole world, when it was new, he spared not; but preserved Noah, the preacher of righteousness, even the eighth, and brought upon the rest of the wicked throughout the world the flood of sin. And the cities of Sodoma and Gomorrah he reduced to ashes, sinking and condemning, so that he made an image of all the wicked to come. And he redeemed the righteous Lot from the shameful nature of the immoral ones; for he dwelt among them justified, and had to see and hear that they tormented his righteous soul more and more every day with their evil works. Thus, God can deliver the godly from torment and keep the unrighteous for judgment at the last day. But much more these who follow the flesh, and walk in the lusts of uncleanness, and despise the rulers, and are thirsty, and think much of themselves, and fear not the majesties to abuse them. " 1)
(28) Three dreadful examples with strong words he sets before these tyrants, of the angels, of the world, of Sodoma. But it does not help: our nobles do not believe that it is said by them; they read it and do not hear it either. But behold, how he agrees with St. Paul, since 2) he describes their unchaste, impure, free life and says: "They are thirsty and wicked, think much of themselves, so much so that they also despise, even malign, the worldly rulers and all that is high and majestic on earth." For the pope has long since sub-
1) i.e., to blaspheme. Cf. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XVIII, 968.
2) in the editions: "that". The reading we have given is a conjecture of the Jena edition.
To trample kings and princes underfoot, to depose, to banish, to ensnare them into the fourth, into the ninth generation, etc., and to exercise all his thorny will on them, as if they were swine or dogs; yet the Scripture wills that all men be subject to them, that they be honored and honored, that they be prayed for, for the sake of peace in this life, because they are appointed to serve God's order with the sword.
29 Now one finds timid kings and princes, who fear such malediction and let themselves be blessed by the pope, so that his thirsty will, of which St. Peter says here, becomes strong and deceives all the world. For this purpose the bishops and all clergymen help; and are the right Contemtores dominationis et blasphematores Majestatum, who do not want to be subject to any sovereignty, neither with body nor with goods; but are thirsty, sacrilegious and foolhardy to malign and banish all majesties. Tell me, has not St. Peter here rightly trophied our nobles? Of whom in all the world can it be understood that they are not subject to sovereigns, that they malign kings and princes, and that they fear no one in a foolish, outrageous, and foolhardy way? Does not all the world see who they are who do this?
30 Further St. Peter speaks [v. 11-14]: "And the angels, though they are stronger and mightier, yet may not bear the judgment of God which is against them, and they pervert the same. But these are like the unreasoning beasts, which are naturally born to see and strangle, perverting the things which they understand not, and perishing because of their corrupt nature, and so receiving the reward of iniquity. They think it is well done that they have good days this time. They are only disgrace and blemish in the world, and in their prosperity they splurge on your goods; they have full eyes of the adulteress, and there is no punishment nor cessation of their sin. Thus they provoke the fickle souls, and have a heart cunning and exercised in avarice."
Behold, how hot and fierce is St. Peter. Dear, who are those who live off other people's goods? Who are they that think it is enough that they have good days?
Who are they who live there, as the unreasonable animals? Who are they whom no one may punish, no one may defend against them? [May the text also contain glosses? Do they not know that bishoprics, monasteries, convents, high schools are vain lard pits, in which princes and all the world's goods gather, and they have nothing of their own goods? they do not mean otherwise than that they are the noblest jewels of Christendom; and St. Peter calls them labes et maculas, shame and blemish.
They malign and condemn the truth, which they do not recognize. That makes them drowned in their essence, quite animalistic, sensual, animalistic people who have never tasted spirit. They still provoke the unstable souls, because they all want to become bishops, priests and monks, almost what is best among boys; they are also drawn to it, but not for the sake of God, but so that they are provided for, live well in other people's estates and have good days, are not allowed to feed themselves by their own efforts and eat their bread in the sweat of their brow, as all men are obliged to do, Genesis 3:19.
But how they have a cunning heart in avarice, everyone understands well; because it is no ceasing to devise little funds, so that they snatch all the world's goods to themselves. They also need God, sacrament, mass and all spiritual things, without what they bring to themselves with false usury, lies and deceit.
But what may be the full eyes of the adulteress? Without a doubt, a bold, brazenly smoky life. Just as a bold adulteress opens her eyes, and with full eyes casts about to be ready for any man: so this also is like an adulteress, a bold people for unchastity, in which they live free, unpunished and safe.
35. further he speaks [v. 14-I7.]: "They are children of malediction, leaving the right way and going astray, following the 1) ways of Balaam of Bosor, who has the reward of the un-
1) Wittenberg edition: "demWegen." The Erlangen edition reprinted this misprint, but notes Walch's misprint "rechten Wegen," which was prompted by the preceding "right way," as a variant.
He loved righteousness, but was punished for his transgression, for the dumb beast of the lower parts spoke with the voice of man and forbade the prophet's foolishness. These are fountains without water, clouds that the wind weaves to and fro, to which darkness is reserved for eternity.
(36) As Balaam was punished by the ass, so now we see that avarice reigns so brazenly among them that the common man also makes a proverb out of it, and there is no one who does not speak evil. But how cruelly hard is it that he calls them children of malediction? Who would be so bold as to call the pope and the bishops with their bunch a maledict people? Peter, yes, the Holy Spirit through St. Peter, maledicted them. Who should not suffer and fear that he has ever become spiritual, in these maledict times? O flee only spiritual state, who can flee, in these times!
37 He also gives the bishops their proper titles. What is a fountain without water, and clouds without rain, but a bishop without preaching? He is in the ministry of preaching, and does not do it; like a fountain in the place of the fountain, and gives nothing; and clouds, which only flee driven by the whirl of the wind, are instead of the raining 1) clouds above under the sky, but they give no drop. So our bishops float up instead of the apostles, but they let themselves be woven according to all the will of the devil, in lust and honor of this world, but preach nothing and are of no use to anyone. That is why the hellish darkness is eternally reserved for them.
38 If you say, "How can they be called fountains without water and clouds without rain, when they preach the whole world full and pretend to great things?" St. Peter answers and confesses that they unfortunately preach too much, and continues [v. 18 and 19]: "They preach great things, when there is nothing behind them, and thereby incite the desires of the flesh and fornication, who before escaped rightly and now have to live in error, promising them freedom, when they themselves are servants of madness.
1) Thus set by us. In the Wittenberg and Jena editions: "Regenten wolcken." Erlanger: "regenden."
39 Here he gives the reason why he compares them to Balaam, and describes the nature of their teaching; therefore we must consider it correctly. Moses writes 4 Mos. 24, 13. 14. and Cap. 31, 16, that Balaam gave evil counsel to Balak the king, how he should cause the people of Israel to sin, and thereby arouse the wrath of God against them, that he should destroy them, because he would not destroy them, nor overcome them by force. Balak did this and set up the idol Baal Peor next to the people of Israel, with beautiful wives; they drew the children of Israel to them and sacrificed to the idol, ate and drank and sinned with them [Num. 25:2]. Then God was angry and hanged all the princes of the people on the light gallows, and slew four and twenty thousand men. 2) Balaam the great prophet, who had preached so many wonderful things before, took money for them from Balak the king. Since all this points St. Peter to our bishops, let us seek the same interpretation.
The scripture does not explain what kind of idol Baal Peor was, although something similar is mentioned in Ezek. 23, 20. of the unsatiable unchastity of the spiritual adulteress, when he punishes her for having desired the likeness of asses and horses. The teachers, however, say that it was Priapus; I would much rather remain silent about this for the sake of the chastened ears, if St. Peter's word did not compel me to paint her virtue in honor of our spiritual nobles. Therefore, to recognize the terrible wrath of God and the wickedness of the devil, I ask all chastened ears to forgive me for speaking a little of it, so that we may see what misery, misery and blindness human nature does when it is left to itself.
41 Priapus was an image of a naked youth, prepared with bare shame in the most crude, shameful and lewd way, as if he were a god of unchastity. And St. Augustine writes De civitate Dei that, among other things, his worship was that the most respectable matron in the city had to put a wreath on such an image of abomination and fornication.
2) He - Lord, used in this form as an honorific title of the clergy. This word is missing in the Wittenberg and Erlangen editions.
and just as brides are led to the church beforehand, so all brides had to sit down on this shameful fornication beforehand. There you see what God's wrath and human blindness does, that nothing so shameful can be conceived that cannot be persuaded of men, if only the most blessed name of God is attached to it. Is it not a wretched thing that the most blessed name of God should be assigned to such an inhuman abomination, and that so many souls should be deceived by it? God is silent about it and thus blasphemes His name, so that the ungrateful of His grace and goodness may be rewarded with such seduction as they deserve.
(42) So do we; everything that the wretched pope and the children of malediction, our bishops, only think up and present, we have seen and fall for; think it is enough when they hang God's name on it and say: It is good, divine, holy, blessed, Christian thing, plump like the mad cattle; do not think first whether it is also commanded in the Scripture of God. Then the proverb becomes true: "In God's name all misfortune arises. He has forbidden us in many ways not to accept everything that comes in His name, and says, especially of the pope and our bishops, Matt. 24:5: "Many will come in My name and say, 'I am Christ,' and will deceive many. That is why he so strictly commanded us not to use his name uselessly, and to teach us to pray: "Hallowed be thy name," so that the divine name may remain holy, and only be attached to things that are truly divine, so that we may not be deceived by God's name, but be kept.
43. that by this all is meant the miserable plague of the doctrine of men, so that God now plagues the world by pope and bishops, is indicated by the first Moses, when he commanded 5 Mos. 4, 2: they should neither add to nor subtract from his commandments, but keep them; follow 1) as soon as this, and speak [v. 3.
1) In the Jena edition: "folget er"; "er" is missing in the Wittenberg and Erlangen editions. We have followed the latter reading because it cannot be proven that "folgen" occurs in the meaning of "anfügen".
Your eyes have seen what God has done to Baal Peor, and how he has destroyed all who served him" etc. Why should Moses set the Baal Peor as an example, that they do not reject nor obey God's commandments, because he wanted to testify that human teachings are this idol? The doctrines of men always disobey God's commandment, and add to it their own commandment.
(44) Just as the pope has taken away all of God's commandments and added his own. For, as we have heard, the papists teach that it is not necessary to love God with all one's heart; thus the first commandment is taken away. Item, faith is not enough for justification, but works make blessed; with this lies the other and third. They teach children to be disobedient to their parents as they are, as it was said above; this is the fourth commandment. They teach that it is not necessary to love the enemy; thus they teach to keep anger, contrary to the fifth commandment. He has innumerable ways of breaking and making marriage; this is from the sixth. Item, they teach unjust goods, usury, gaining and keeping interest, against the seventh. Item, all their teaching is false testimony, against the eighth.
45 Thus, under the pope, there is no more commandment of God, they are all gone. Again, he adds, how to serve God and do good works by plates, caps, orders, fasting, begging, 2) eating milk, eggs, meat, butter, singing, organ-playing, incense, ringing, celebrating, indulgences, and the like, of which God knows nothing; therefore, his teaching is the right Baal Peor.
46 Now Moses also agrees with this when he describes in Numbers 25:2 that the service of Baal Peor was eating and drinking and practicing unchastity. For the pagans were so blinded that they offered their best wives and daughters for unchastity in honor of the same idol, and the neighbor behaved toward the neighbor as dogs do toward each other. And Moses writes 4 Mos. 25, 6.-15. that also the daughter of a noble prince, called Casbi 3), was married to a prince.
2) So the Wittenbergers; Jenaers: "pray".
3) In the editions: Corbi.
of Israel sinned and was stabbed to death with him by Phinehas the priest. The wretched, blind people were well pleased when they gave only their noblest children to the idol to desecrate; just as now the pope also desecrates the best in the world, as queens and princes, and the most pious, with his teachings, who think it will do them good and do right.
Now in all the Scriptures the teaching of men is called practicing unchastity, and God in all the prophets punishes the synagogue for forsaking Him and practicing unchastity with the teaching of men. Thus, this physical unchastity of Baal Peor may mean nothing else than spiritual unchastity, by which the souls are deceived and defiled, and led from faith to works, for the soul is called a spiritual virgin and bride of God by faith alone, in which it receives God's word and becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit; and the holy seed of divine word makes it fruitful and a mother of truth, that is, of true good works, and righteous divine life.
48 Thirdly, the names are also correct. Baal in Hebrew means a man [Ezekiel 22] in such a way, as a woman speaks: This is my man, he is legitimate or illegitimate. And of a wicked woman they say, She hath many husbands. So that Baal means the man, who holds himself to the woman, and understands in himself the sleeping and male work. Otherwise, a man who serves for regiment, council, argument, or otherwise for valiant work is called Ish or Enosh etc. Thus the Jews disgracefully called the idol Accaron Beelzebub, fly man, as if he were a fainting man, hardly worthy to have a fly for a wife. So also the angry women scold and say: You are a woman's man etc. In German, you do not sleep with a pious woman. In Latin, such a man is called maritus or conjunx, not vir or mas, which is Baal in Hebrew.
49. peor or phegor means hiatus, et pertinet ad os proprie, to open the mouth: therefore Baal Peor, a man whose mouth stands open, whom we call in German
Mouthed monkeys, who are considered as much as fools and careless, clumsy people in all things, have nothing manly about them, except that they can sleep with women. That is why this lewd, shameful idol is rightly given the name, whose image shows nothing more than such virtue, that on all sides unchastity is shown in him, and nothing else. What else should an image of a naked, shameful youth indicate but a loud muzzler and lewd womanizer? An image in armor means a man of war etc. And although our spiritual squires do all this spiritually, as we shall hear, they are so superior 1) that they also accomplish it bodily. For, tell me, what is the use of the gentle people, are they not true muzzlers? What can they do, but ride pretty stallions and fine ladies? All marmosets can do that too. They are Baal Peor, and remain Baal Peor; and yet they pretend to rule Christianity spiritually, to lead souls to heaven, and to expel all error and heresy.
(50) So this idol is spiritually nothing else than the holy spiritual law of the pope and the papists' doctrine in Christendom; for it is an impudent image of spiritual unchastity, by which souls learn to build on works, and by which they dislocate the virginal chastity of the pure Christian faith; so that the pope would not be called pope, but priapus, and the papists not papists, but priapists. Now how shameful and unchristian it was that the heathen set up such an impudent image, and thereby provoked themselves to unchastity, and served the same God with bodily unchastity: so shameful and still much more unchristian is that the papists set up their doctrine and bulls, thereby provoking souls to human works, indulgences and merit etc. and think with the same spiritual unchastity to serve God rightly in the first place, just as if God had become a Priapus, when only through faith and God's work, done in His grace, His right service is accomplished.
1) i.e. they rise so exceedingly high. Bürtig - born; "übttbürtig"-----exceedingly high-born.
and spiritual chastity remains only in his divine word. So now we see in all the world how the priapists lead the souls to the priapes, and make the world full of spiritual unchastity and idolatry, because they set up vain human doctrines and works in the holy place, where only God's word should stand.
(51) And as the shameful image of Priapi shows an impudent, insatiable, raging young man on the ravishing of women: so also the idol of the papists, the doctrine of men, is an insatiable raging to ravish the chaste souls and to pervert the faith. For we see how they drive their doctrine into the poor people with such great diligence, and how they are senseless and rage when their doctrine is punished. They are sorry that a soul remains pure, unchanged and chaste before them in faith. This is also shown by the name Baal, the woman-man, that such teachings can only sleep on the souls 1) and desecrate them, nothing else, and Peor, the mouth-ape. They do not open their ears to hear and learn God's word, but only their mouths are always open to them. They only want to teach and preach, to be heard, pretending great things, and are nothing but muzzlers and useless talkers, as St. Paul says 1 Tim. 1, 7: "They want to be teachers of the Scriptures, and are useless talkers, not knowing whereof or whither they speak."
52 From this we may understand St. Peter's words, why he compares the pope and bishops to the prophet Balaam. For as Balaam gave counsel for the sake of money to raise up the idol Baal Peor, and brought down the people of Israel; so he saith, that these follow the same way of Balaam, and raise up Baal Peor also for the sake of money. For as we see, everything that is man's bears money; God's word bears nothing but the cross, which no one wants. St. Peter could not have found a better example of the Papists' nature from the whole of Scripture than this Balaam. After all, the whole spiritual regime is basically no different than money, money, money; all things are directed to carry money. And
1) In the editions, "to" is inserted here.
How they have exhausted the world, and still exhaust it, we feel all too much. But that would be the least harm if they did not set up the idol of their doctrine and lead all the world to fall and idolatry for the sake of cursed avarice and money. There the Balaam does great harm, and teaches spiritual fornication in all the world: therefore God is enraged, depriving us of all His graces and teachings, so that not twenty-four thousand, but countless souls are slain and damned.
He says, "They speak of great things, and there is nothing 2) behind them. What does he mean by this? Without a doubt, he is referring to the "Potzen" and "Maulaff", their human doctrine, as if he should say: "Their doctrine is the right Baal Peor, the "Maulaff"; he opens his mouth and preaches about great things, and there is nothing behind it. Is it not so now that the spiritual state alone is exalted, as if it alone were the way to heaven? No one now trusts to be saved unless he is spiritual, or buys it from the clergy; and they are also fresh, bold, and sell their masses, vigils, prayers, fasts, and good works, leading people to heaven by their great spirituality. Are these not great things? But what is behind? Vain deceit and glitter, yes, seduction and ruin. There is no faith, but on plates, clothes, singing, eating eggs, fish, butter, and bell sound and light smoke stands their being, let themselves be called the holy orders and spiritual estates, which between God and the people means that Christ is no longer a necessity. O Balaam, you evil one, with your shameful, harmful Priapo, how you take the money, and kill the souls!
54 Further he speaks 2 Petr. 2, 18: "That they by such great pretensions provoke only the lusts of the flesh into fornication, that they must live in error who before have rightly fled. I worry, he does not meet here One misfortune alone, which lies hidden under the beautiful glittering life. We see how the spiritual class is large and wide, all of whom are bound to chastity; and yet the Scriptures, together with daily experience,
2) is" is missing in the Wittenberg and Erlangen editions.
3) Wittenberg and Erlangen edition: "they".
teaches that chastity is supernatural, a special, quite unique gift of God, which is also given to few great saints. But they go to it and make it as common as if it were daily bread, and with the great sound they provoke many young people into their state, who then live unclean all their lives. Some keep illegitimate wives in public; but those who do not like to come to wives or husbands do evil things, and at least they live in evil lusts and lewd desires, where they cannot come to the deed. And with them there is either a more licentious fornication, under the name of spiritual and chaste life, or an impure, unwilling, miserable, lost chastity, so that the misery is greater than anyone may believe or say, whom here St. Peter touches, since 1) he says: "By their great pretence they provoke to lusts of the flesh in fornication." As if to say, they preach highly of the spiritual state, and exalt chastity; but thereby they provoke and bring the poor multitude right into the midst of unchastity, wherein they themselves also live.
(55) To this end they bring the same multitude, although they had previously rightly escaped all sins through baptism, and rightly begun in the Christian faith, that they now fall upon the spiritual nature, thinking that baptism is now gone, and of no more use; they also abandon faith, as it is too bad, low, mean a thing, and begin a harder, higher, stricter life; this is impossible, and so they come into the midst of misery. It may happen that the devil leaves one, two, three, ten years of peace (although rarely), but at last no one remains, unless he becomes a believer. He has the unbelieving man so surely in the snare of unchastity that he can have no doubt about it. That's why he plays with him, sometimes lets him have peace, but knows well that without faith no one can escape from him: because even those have to struggle enough who drive with chivalrous faith.
Summa, let it be a certain speech to you: Only do not think anything of the great called chastity of the clergy, who are not fresh in the faith; as they now almost all are, and lead a pretense of chaste life, to ver-
1) Wittenberg and Erlangen edition: "that".
derblicher irritation much young people, and is nothing back there. If God wanted, a hundred monasteries and convents would be only one monastery and convent. Believe for sure, St. Peter does not speak from any pot here. 2) That's why I have often said and still say: "Do not condemn priesthood, monasticism and nunnery, unless the Holy Scriptures and pure faith are well practiced among them day and night. Monasteries and convents must be the gates of hell, if faith is not practiced bravely and freshly in them, there is neither counsel nor help for them. I warn you to beware of spiritual life that is conducted without scripture.
(57) Finally, chastity requires a strong and refined faith, which lifts the spirit above the flesh by force and dries up its rivers like a fire, so that man also hates this life and is almost an angel, as Isaiah 11:5 says of Christ: "Righteousness shall be a girdle to his loins, and faith a girdle to his kidneys. Faith must gird up and hold the kidneys, otherwise it is unruly. So they go on, knowing nothing of faith, wanting to help things with works, eating fish, woolen garments, and so are wise, as he who wants to protect the Rhine with a straw gun, 3) and yet leaves its source and origin unplugged. He would like to waste the land, but he would leave the Rhine unprotected 4). So they leave nature its natural source, because they do not have faith, and yet want to defend it with clothes and fish food, so that it should not overflow or break out. So nature does not leave it, does what is its nature. Thus their chastity remains not purer, than that they have not married wives and husbands. And is it ever true that St. Peter says here: "With their great pretensions, they provoke the poor multitude into thinking that they will become chaste and holy through spiritual state and work, serving God in the spiritual state.
(58) Behold, this is the error wherein they live, who before were delivered out of all error in Christ. Is it not then a delicious
2) i.e. as an inexperienced person who has not looked around in the world.
3) Rifle - the weir, the dam.
4) estimated - provided with a shooter (i.e. weir):
What is the true price of the spiritual life that St. Peter gives him? It is of great clamor, and nothing behind it, is an unchaste, impure, seductive life, which leads the right Christians out of the right way, and keeps them in error. If I painted our bishops, priests and monks in this way, I would have to be a heretic a thousand times over. They hold up St. Francis, Dominic, Augustine, Bernard and more saints in the spiritual order, but do not see that these saints were not saved by the orders (as they do), but by faith; they have not considered the orders to be ways to salvation.
(59) Let it be enough this time that we have these two apostles, Peter and Paul, who show us the papists with their unchristian, pernicious, spiritual nature and teachings, that they are children of malediction, and are to be avoided with all that they pretend. What Christ, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other prophets say about it, we want to save, until the pope, bishops and their comrades get angry at this booklet, and blow into the fire, so that it burns very much.
Form and gestalt of papal bishops.
(60) If I do not treat the bishops as bishops, let no one mislead me; they do not consider themselves bishops: and I do too much to call them bishops, which is an old, holy, honest name. I should call them only wolves and soul-murderers. A bishop should be learned in the Bible, study day and night, preach to his people himself, and visit the poor, the sick, the needy, give them and help them. Thus, like a thief, they rob the pious people of their goods with lies and deceit. That is why I will describe the wolves here, and show some of their virtues, to warn everyone against them. I do not want to attack them in their own person or because of their worldly status and nature, but for the sake of their wolfish rule.
(61) Of all this I have a good example in St. Paul, who publicly chastised the chief priest Anania in Acts 23:3, saying, "God will strike you again, you whitewashed wall. 23, 3. publicly punished the chief priest Anania in court, saying: "God will strike you again, you whitewashed wall; you sit and judge me according to the law, and let me be beaten against the law.
the law." Then he calls the chief priest a wall that has been whitewashed, that is, a larva that appears to be something he is not, and wishes punishment upon him, doing him no honor at all as a chief priest. But when some reproved him for this, saying, "Do you curse the chief priest?" he answered, "Dear brethren, I did not know that he was the chief priest" [Acts 23:5]. How he meant this is well to note. If he had known that evil had been done, that he wished it so, he would certainly have asked mercy and forgiveness from the chief priest, and would have recanted it; he does not do that.
(62) Neither is it to be supposed that he should not have known that it was the chief priest. How can it be believed that he should be brought before the court, and no one should have said to him: Paule, thou shalt come before the chief priest? Item, see, there the highest priest sits, if one investigates in such public affairs quite diligently and shows the persons. Even though he did not know that he was the chief priest, he saw that he was sitting on top, and he confessed that he was sitting in the place of the judge and ordered him to be beaten. Thus he should have justly spared the authority which he himself confessed. Therefore his word must be this: Dear brethren, I know not that he is the chief priest, that is, he ought to be, but he is not; neither do I hold him to be, as St. Augustine interprets it. So, if St. Paul touches the priest who was ordered from the Law of Moses, what should I be afraid of touching the painted bishops and larvae who come from the pope, without any command of God and men?
The first virtue of bishops.
Instead of the divine word of the pope, they preach bulls and indulgences. How unchristian, wolfish, seductive this is, is proven by the fact that it is against God's first commandment, since he commanded that one should preach no more than his divine word, and leave to him alone the honor that he is our God, teacher and master, as he says through Isaiah [48, 17.]: "I am your God, and teach you what is useful to you." And Christ
Matth. 23, 8: "You shall not be called teachers on earth; there is only One who is your Master, Christ. He also says Matth. 15, 9: "They serve me in vain with their doctrines and commandments of men." Therefore, all the doctrines of men are certainly idols put in the place of God, and idolatry that leads the people to damnation. Now no one may deny that bulls and indulgences are not the word of God, nor that there is anything about them in Scripture; he must also confess that these sayings and many more clearly condemn everything that is not the word of God. And God Himself judges that everything is vain, seductive, idolatrous, which is to be avoided to the highest degree, in view of His divine disgrace and eternal death.
64. But because our nobles have iron foreheads and iron necks, they do not want to hear such things, nor do they let them be told, they continue; and they themselves should put their life and limb against the doctrine of men, and willingly shed their blood for the sake of God's word and the salvation of poor souls, about which the bishops falsely boast; think only of their wolfish fury, murdering souls, driving them into God's disgrace and to hell, leading from God's word to men's lies: we must open our eyes, and the more diligently avoid the wolves under the bishops' hats.
Therefore, I ask and warn all devout Christians to take God's graces and disgraces to heart, and as you would ride with a physical priapo or idol, so also ride with the bulls of Balaam and the soul murderer of Rome. Think how great a service you do to God if you break the idols and sanctify His divine name from idolatry. Therefore, whoever is able and able, let him tear up and destroy such bulls, but let him do it with a good conscience and understanding. It is the best service of God to destroy idols, as Moses so often commanded in the 5th book. Thus Gideon broke Baal, Judges 8:27, and King Assa broke Priapum, 2 Chron. 14:3, and are highly praised for it and restored to great honor by God. The time has come for the sheep to be more wary of the shepherds than of the wolves.
The other virtue.
66. Christ says, Matth. 10, 8: "You have it for free; therefore you should also give it for free". Against this clear saying of Christ, as if a fool had spoken it, my wolves go, and not only preach lies and doctrines of men, but with insolent forehead they take and demand money for it; if they are guilty, by Christ's grace, of giving all spiritual goods freely. Now if indulgences were something and good, they should still be given to everyone free of charge, according to the words of Christ. How much more is this a shameful vice, to take money for lies and harm!
67 St. Paul also says 1 Tim. 6, 8: "If we have food and clothing, we should be content. But has not this Balaam goods enough in Rome alone, that he could be a mighty king of it? Silence, which carry him all drudgery in the whole Christianity, let him all matter of money and nothing in the salvation of the souls. Both St. Peter and St. Paul teach: A bishop should have among other virtues that he is not addicted to shameful indulgence, wants his food to be honest, and acquired with honorable deeds, to be a good example to others; and he himself St. Paul was a craftsman, a carpet embroiderer, fed himself with his own hand and was not ashamed that he was an apostle, higher than all bishops, yet did his trade wherever he went. But is this not a shameful pleasure, that one seeks money with cops and indulgences, gives lies for the sweat and labor of the poor? There are many more shameful ways for the bishops to gain money, of which another time, when they are angry.
68 They say, A prince must have more than food and clothing, that he may keep his princely estate princely. I let that happen. St. Paul does not speak of princes, but of bishops; neither does he know where the princely bishops come from. Princes are, and not bishops, yet bear the world with the bishop's larva and name. St. Paul, therefore, will not deny nor direct his word according to princes, but the
Princes will have to direct themselves after him, or will not become bishops, but remain larvae forever.
I must tell the example here, that once over land rode 1) a great bishop princely, as they use, more than the secular princes. There stood a shepherd, opened his mouth, and looked at the emblazonment. The bishop asked him why he was so surprised and had his mouth open. He said, "I wonder if St. Martin rode like that. Answered the bishop: Yes, St. Martin was a bad man. I am a prince. Said the shepherd: Do I have the power to ask a word? Answered the bishop: Yes, ask me. Said the shepherd: If the devil leads the prince away, where will the bishop stay? Then the prince bishop was ashamed and rode away. So also St. Paul was a bad craftsman, therefore he went and preached, could well be an apostle, but he would not have liked to be a bishop. O ira furoris Dei.
The third virtue.
They let preach in the indulgence bulls that have gone out in Rome that the people may keep unjust goods, where they give a part of the same to them and also let the spoils reach them. I don't know what to say here, whether I should consider the pope and his people to be big asses, or even mad and nonsensical, that they are allowed to pretend and preach such impudent, shameful debauchery in public. God has commanded: "Thou shalt not steal", that is, neither have nor keep any foreign, unjust property. This commandment they defiantly and obstinately go under his eyes, trample it underfoot, teach and say: one may well keep unjust goods, if the pope allows it. What is that but to say: You may well steal, and God has lied or deceived you when he says: You shall not steal? Behold, thus our gracious God must lie and be a fool to the children of malediction and damned larvae, thrust his commandment back down his throat, and teach the people to be thieves, robbers, usurers, deceivers and corrupters.
1) In the old editions: "reit".
71. Tell me, you priest, where did you get the authority that unjust goods are yours? God Himself, who created all things, will not accept nor approve it; and you, God's supreme blasphemer, go against God, presuming higher authority than God Himself, teaching people to tear up God's commandments, to commit thievery, robbery, usury and all unnatural works. So let God overthrow those who condemn the gospel, burn books that have not been condemned, break the imperial guard, and only run headlong against God and dispute all His works, so that they get into the wrong mind of publicly preaching the transgression of divine commandments.
O, how abundantly and left over is the gospel smelled, how has God so well paid them with their own senseless, blind, perverse, obdurate minds! Here it would be time to make powder not only all papal indulgences, but also the doors and places where they hang, for the sake of great blasphemy. Dear man, do not let such coarse, poor heads deceive you with their mad, nonsensical preaching; remember that God has commanded not only that you shall not steal, but also that you shall not covet your neighbor's goods; surely believe that he will not go back on his word. How then is it possible that any man should help thee, that thou mayest have and possess his neighbor's goods? He also says Isa. 61:8: "I am a God that loveth righteousness, and I am an enemy to the sacrifice that cometh by robbery." Thy wolves teach thee not only to sacrifice of the spoil, but also to keep the spoil. Behold, how they lead thee with their blasphemy into the wrath of God and into the abyss of hells, and yet let themselves be called bishops and spiritual governors of souls! Beware, beware, dear man.
I poor man, when I see such exuberant, unspeakable blindness of our bishop larvae, it often occurs to me that I also want to be silent and let go of what is going on. Because it often looks to me as a desperate thing, which is not to be helped at all, so completely they have brought it in reason, the vermaledeiten larvae, and all world verschämmt, the last day and its anger penetrates therefore. But again, the miserable, wretched ruin of the wretched larvae does not let me rest nor remain silent.
Souls who are so horribly strangled by the larvae, whether I would like to help and advise some. If you have unjust goods, just remember that you keep nothing of them, you will not change God's commandment. It would be good if you could get your neighbor's favor and will for it. For, of course, every man owes it to his neighbor to let up if he has something of his goods that he cannot repay him in a good way. You can read more about this elsewhere.
Now behold, if it were not necessary for the pope, bishops, and priests to lead them to school and teach them, like young children, to read the Ten Commandments, that they might know how not to steal, nor to covet their neighbor's goods, much less teach other people to steal, rob, and usurp. They are bishops, but not of Christians, but of thieves, robbers and usurers, yes, chief thieves, chief robbers and chief usurers, as everyone must clearly recognize and confess from the foregoing. It is a miraculous sign of divine wrath that human reason has allowed itself to be persuaded that such thievery, robbery and divine commandment extermination, driven by the pope, is not unjust. And it would be unbelievable that someone should suffer and remain silent if experience did not force us to see such things every day. Who can approve that unjust goods become just goods? Pigs, horses, stone and wood is not so insane as we have become under the pope.
They say that the pope is the supreme in Christianity, therefore he should provide 1) all unrighteous goods, which one does not know where they should go. Answer: Where is that written? At Rome in the smoke hole. Why should not every man himself procure his unrighteous goods where he would, if he could not find the right lord? What may he of another, silent of the pope, to this? It is a gross subtle lie, so that the pope would become a chief over the thieves, robbers and usurers, and could steal, rob, take more than all men on earth, and become the chief in thievery, robbery and drudgery. If he were the supreme in Christendom, he should, as the apostles did, also be devoted to right goodness.
1) d. i. have.
He should throw away his business and devote himself to prayer and preaching above all others, Apost. 6, 2-4. 6, 2-4. Now he also charges himself with theft, robbery and all unrighteous goods. Is he not a fine follower of the apostles? Why does he not also take the right goods of all Christians, because he is the supreme one, and also provide them, so that they go idle and the most holy Father provides for them? Fools should be presented with such monkey business, not sensible people, silence the Christians.
The fourth virtue of the Pabst.
In all the indulgences he promises forgiveness of sins to all those who have repented and confessed.
This is the worst poison and most harmful seduction that comes from the main seducer Pabst and his larvae. Christ, Matth. 9, 2., did not say to the gout-ridden man: Put money in the box, and your sins are forgiven you, but so he says: "Be confident," or trust firmly: "and your sins are forgiven you." From this blessed faith and trust in God's mere grace, which alone obtains forgiveness of sins, these 3) wolves and damned larvae snatch the poor people, and lead them to bulls, paper, and deposit money, so that the simple hearts shall learn to rely not on God's grace, but on their own works. The cursed pretence of such bulls is more abominable than anyone can imagine; for the first main commandment of God is hereby condemned and destroyed, which teaches to rely only on God's grace. Thus they teach to trust in paper and wax, that is, in their vain, accursed lies.
78 And our ungracious lords, if they were bishops, would undoubtedly teach such Christian faith themselves and have it taught. But now that they are unlearned, papal larvae, who are only created to destroy the truth, as is also their Creator, it does not behoove them to do otherwise, because
2) i.e. the worst poison. Erlanger: "the worst, most poisonous and harmful" etc.
3) Wittenbergers: the.
that they also let larvae, foolishness and poison preach for the sake of money.
79 I ask once again for God's sake that no one consider that I am doing too much for these things. It hurts me and all pious Christians that we have to see and hear such impudent public, raging blasphemy and destruction of His commandments. They deserve from this piece alone that I should attack them in a much different way. Everything I do is a thousand times too little. St. Paul is allowed to malign himself and angels, if they preach something besides the Gospel. What should he do to these nonsensical Pabst's creatures and bishop's larvae, who teach not beside, but boldly and brazenly against God's word? Only do not hold it against anyone that 1) what is said against bishops or spiritual authorities is said against them, or that what is done against them is done against spiritual authorities. They are not bishops; they are unlearned idols and potentates, larvae and moles, who do not know so much that they know what a bishop means, let alone what a bishop's office is. They are wolves, tyrants, murderers of souls and apostles of the Antichrist to ruin the world.
80 And that I pour it out, let everyone know that the bishops who now rule over many cities are not Christian bishops according to divine order, but of diabolical order and human iniquity; they are also certainly messengers and governors of the devil. I will prove this honestly and well, so that neither they themselves nor anyone can deny it.
First, St. Paul writes to Titum 1:5, 6: "In every city you shall appoint an elder who is an honest man and has only one wife. For there must be one bishop who is a blameless man, as he is the governor of God." Here I mean that no one may deny that the bishop and the elder are one thing in St. Paul, because he says that Titus should appoint an elder in every city who is blameless, so that a bishop must be blameless; 2)
1) Wittenberger is missing: "it".
2) The myrtle; "darum - sein" are missing in the Jena edition.
calls the same elder a bishop. So it is obvious from this text that Paul wants to understand such a man by a bishop, who is a brave, old, honest man, who has a virtuous wife and pious children, who should provide the church with preaching and sacraments; therefore he must be learned and completely blameless. Dear, is there anyone so rude or so wilful who may not understand or deny something in this?
I further ask whether or not St. Paul's words and order are from God's word and order? I consider that the Pope himself, with all the devils, even though he suppresses all of God's words, may or may not deny that St. Paul's word is God's word, and his order is the order of the Holy Spirit. For he does not deny God's Word, but only puts everything that is contrary to it under God's Word's appearance and cover. If then all that Paul says and sets forth is according to the word of God and the order of the Holy Spirit, it follows, first of all, that everything that is contrary to his word and order is certainly contrary to God and the Holy Spirit. If it is against God and His Spirit, it is certainly of the devil. I think that this is clear enough. Or does anyone doubt it? How can God be against Himself? Christ says, Luc. 11, 18, that Satan is not against himself either.
Secondly, it follows that all Christians are guilty, for the sake of God's displeasure and their souls' salvation, of keeping God's word and order, which St. Paul teaches and establishes; in turn, they must tear down, disturb, and destroy all the devil's orders that have been set up against them, and they must also forsake life, limb, goods, honor, friends, and all things, or if they cannot destroy them, they must avoid and flee them as the devil himself. Is this not clear enough? For over the word and commandment of God, let all things be done, that his will be done in heaven and on earth concerning all things; and the devil's order let him be disturbed or shunned above all things. Now listen, you bishops, yes, devil's larvae, D. Luther also wants to read you a letter and reformation that will not sound good to you.
D. Luther's Bull and Reformation. 1)
(84) All those who do this, who put body, goods and honor on it, so that the bishoprics are disturbed and the bishops' rule is destroyed, these are God's dear children and true Christians, who keep God's commandment and fight against the devil's order; or if they are not able to do this, they condemn and avoid the same rule. Again, all those who keep the bishops' rule and are their subjects with willing obedience are the devil's own servants and fight against God's order and laws.
I prove this thoroughly and firmly: St. Paul says here to Tito that he should appoint a bishop in every city who is legitimate and blameless. This is God's order and will and opinion without any doubt. These present papal bishops argue against this; they have removed bishops from all cities and made themselves bishops over many cities. Now St. Paul stands here, yes, the Holy Spirit firmly and strongly, says: Every city should have a bishop; and they must then also be equal. For St. Paul says of every city, making one bishop like another. Come on, then, you fools, be joyful and courageous, because you stand against St. Paul, against the Holy Spirit, and he also against you; what then will you say? Have you become stnmm? You have your judgment here, that all the world is guilty of destroying you with your regiment. Whoever keeps it with you is in God's disgrace; whoever disturbs you is in God's mercy.
86. but this destroying and exterminating I do not want to understand 'in any way that one does it with the fist and sword (for they are not worthy of such punishment, nor is anything done with it'), but as Dan. 8, 25. teaches: "Without hand the end-Christ shall be destroyed", that everyone speaks against it with God's word, teaches and holds until he comes to the end.
1) The now following section § 84-H 96 is printed again in the Erlangen edition as a special writing under the title: "Bulle des Ecclesiasten zu Wittenberg" etc., Vol. 24, pp. 380-387. However, attention has already been drawn to this by a correspondent of the Molucksche literarische Anzeiger, as is noted in the preface to the 21st volume, p. IV f..
The people will be disgraced and, abandoned and despised by themselves, will fall apart. That is a quite Christian disturbance, on which everything is to be put.
But I will give you, dear larvae, a good advice: Dear, dinget about a lying mouth, who writes a booklet of two bishops; like that 2) of two priests. For St. Peter's saying, when he says to all Christians [1 Petr. 2:9]: "You are a royal priesthood", can give the impression that it means priests who have been corrupted and smeared in the flesh; that therefore all Christians, to whom it is said, are man, woman, child, young and old, priests of plates and of oil: why should not someone also be able to put such a nose to the saying of St. Paul? So that spiritual bishops would be all parish priests or preachers in cities or villages, whether they had already bought neither cloak nor skirt from Rome, again, bishops in the flesh, which would be you, who are gracious princes and lords, riding on pretty stallions, with pointed hats and beautiful gloves.
And if St. Paul did not want to suffer such delicate glosses, because he gives one or more bishops to each city, he should be hit with the edge and not with the scabbard of the spiritual sword, and freshly strike him in the mouth, as Ananias 3) did, and say: "Well, by the word "city" St. Paul means a country, as far as the diocese understands. For if the pope has power to change the mind; why should he not rather have power to interpret the words as he wills? Nomina enim significant ad placitum. Therefore, if such an excellent pontiff wanted, he would have to call city a garden and donkey a man.
89. If someone would say to me here: You have rejected the pope until now, do you now also want to reject bishops and the clergy?
2) Marginal gloss of the Wittenberg edition: Emser".- Marginal gloss of the Jena: "Besiehe I). M. booklet with the title: Contradiction I). Luther's of his error, eKvungen u. s. w. by Hieron. Emser. Anno 21." Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XVIII, 1352 ff.
3) Marginal gloss of the Jena edition: "Ananias, high priest at Jerusalem. Apost. 23, 2."
I answer, Be thou thyself our judge, and pass sentence whether I turn it back, when I am divine.
word and order, or whether they reverse it, who bring forth their order, and destroy God's order? Say, is it right for them to reverse God's order, or for me to reverse their devilish order? Do not look at the work, but at the reason and cause of the work. Let no one look at what goes against God's word, nor consider what may or may not follow; but look only at God's word; let it meet, follow, do, whatever may meet, follow, do, even if it were vain angels.
90. But if thou sayest, There are too great, too high, too many learned men within, because thou speakest out; I answer, Christ, Peter, Paul, and the prophets, have declared that no greater calamity should come upon the earth, than the end of Christ, and the last calamity. Do you think that such words are spoken by goose feathers and tree leaves? God's word always speaks of great things, against great heads, against many people. It is great on all ropes, since he says of. How much more must it be great people who do this evil? He speaks of it so harshly and horribly that he says [Matth. 24, 22]: No man will be saved unless the days are shortened; and he trusts that he will find no faith when he comes [Luc. 18, 8]. And the elect shall be deceived. Dear one, look into these words, they are not tabernacle words, then you will find that they must be great people, who are to do the evil, as now pope, bishop and their crowd is. Summa Summarum, what does it matter how great, much, high and learned they are, if it is obvious that they are against God? Is not God greater and more than all things? The Turk is also great and mighty; yet he is against God.
91 If you continue, "Yes, some holy bishops have been over many cities," I answer, "All appointed holy bishops have been bishops in only one city, as Cyprian, Hilarius, Ambrose,
1) i.e. how prestigious it is.
Augustine, Irenaeus etc., they have kept the apostle's order. It is true that some, when St. Boniface was, as Titus was St. Paul, appointed other bishops in cities, as Titus did; but they were not bishops over many cities. And if they had done the same, should their example be more valid than God's word? Is God not more than His saints? How often have the saints erred and sinned? God preserved Daniel among the lions [Dan. 6, 16-22.] and the three men, Anania, Azaria, Misael [Song of the Three Men in the Fire, v. 88.], in the furnace of fire in Babylon; should He not also preserve His elect, whether they be deceived, as Christ says, in the midst of the devil's order? It is not to be built on holy deeds, examples and words, but on God's word alone, who alone is the one who cannot lie nor err.
Secondly, let us hear more from St. Paul about this divine order. Apost. 20, 17. f. St. Lucas says: "Paul sent from Ephesus for the elders of the churches to go to Miletus; and when they were come, he said unto them [v. 28], Take heed to yourselves, and to all the host, wherein the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops, that ye should feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his blood." What do you want to become here? Ephesus was only one city, and St. Paul calls its elders all bishops? He must not have seen the papists' book of protection, nor the Decretal; otherwise, how could he be so bold as to give many bishops to one city, and call all the elders of a city bishops, who were not princes and walked on foot? How could anyone be a bishop if he does not ride high stallions and is not called a gracious lord? which alone is enough to make bishops.
But it is seen here that St. Paul calls all those bishops who minister the Word and Sacrament to the people, as now are the parish priests and chaplains. Therefore, if they go to the villages to preach, or if the villages have their own parish priests, I respect that they all have episcopal status. Again the high
2) "the" is missing in the Jena edition.
Reuter and gracious lords have nothing of episcopal status 1) but the mere name and the clothes; as if a painter painted a picture of a bishop and wrote over it: Here stands Bishop Goetz, the coarse block. They are just such bishops, without having oppressed the parish priests and chaplains, forbidden them to marry, deprived them of the Gospel, and brought the poor people only to hell, the children of malediction and hopeless larvae. That is why we see that from the episcopal courts there is no Christian rope, that even the courts of secular princes are almost like monasteries compared to the courts of the bishops. The Gospel does not come from them, but rather vain bats, citations, letters of excommunication, letters of torture, letters of money, cops and lies, as they disgrace and oppress everyone. Just as they are bishops, so is their doctrine; as 2) if you put a lion's skin on a donkey, he is still a donkey, as his ears and song show.
'94. Thirdly, St. Paul writes to the Philippians [1, 1. 2.] thus, "'Paul and Timothy, servants of JEsu Christ,' to all the saints in Christ, who are in Philippians with bishops and deacons, 3) grace and peace from God our Father, and JEsu Christ our Lord."
95 See, Philippians was also only one city, and he greets all the faithful together with their bishops: these are certainly the elders, as he used to appoint in all other cities. This is now the third sentence of St. Paul, the divine order, that only those should be called and be bishops who wait on the people with sermons and sacraments, as the parish lords with their chaplains, if they could come before bishop lords and bishop priests. This is also indicated by the name Nomina enim significant ad placitum [from έπί and αχοπεΐ], attendere, superintendere, wait and watch.
on the people, as a watchman or guardian on a city; that episcopus or bishop on Greek
chic actually means in German a guard, a keeper, watcher. And in the Hebrew
1) So the Jenaer; Wittenberger: "thand"; Erlanger: "Tand."
2) "Da" is a conjecture of the Jena edition. In the editions "that".
3) d. i. Diaconen servants.
language he is called visitator a visitando, a
Home seeker, who goes to the people and sees what they lack, when Christ Luc. 19, 44. says: "You did not want to recognize the time of your visitation", that we speak, your bishopthum, ίβχοπης. But bishop Goetz
has invented another way, sits on a silken cushion, lets the people load before his official and meat bank about ten miles away, tortures them there, as it seems good to him. O the lost people and heap of eternal wrath!
D. Mart. Luther's Bulla.
96. Because it is evident from these three sayings that the bishops are not only larvae and idols, but also a maligned people before God, who, against God's order, exalt themselves to destroy the gospel and corrupt the soul: Every Christian should help them with body and goods, that their tyranny may be despised, that they may come to an end, and cheerfully do all things that are contrary to them, even as the devil himself; trample under foot their obedience, as the devil's obedience, and be at it, that in every city one or more pious married men become parish priests or bishops; and those who are now parish priests, because they have rendered obedience to the devil, and not to God, with promises of chastity, revoke such obedience: not otherwise than if someone else recanted his alliance with the devil; and only to defy the devil and suffer the bishop-gods to marry, so that the divine order, instituted by St. Paul against the damned larvae, may be respected. Paul against the damned larvae, may be re-established. This is my, Luther's, Bulla, which gives God's grace as a reward to all who keep it and follow it, Amen.
97 But that not only St. Paul is in order, for I hear my deans and canons of Magdeburg say to the expelled preacher: What Paul? The Pope has more authority over Christians than St. Paul: let us also listen to such honest Christian people for their love, what Peter himself and Christ say about it. 1 Petr. 5, 1-4. St. Peter says to all Christians thus: "The elders who are among you, I, the fellow elders, ask that you may be wise.
det the host of Christ which is among you, and be ye bishops, not forced, but willing, not of shameful avarice, but of a free heart; not as if ye were lords over them, as over your hereditary estate, but be ye a likeness of the host. And when the archpastor comes, you will receive the immutable crown of honors."
Here you see that St. Peter, like St. Paul, calls the elders and bishops one thing, namely, those who teach the people, and makes them all equal, saying that they should not consider themselves lords over their goods; calls himself a fellow elder, wants all pastors and preachers to be equal to him, and to have himself equal to the same. What may our idols say here, who not only want to be lords, but also tyrannies: to exalt themselves over our body, soul and goods, and to be equal to no one?
99. in conclusion, Christ himself Luc. 22, 25. 26. hear what he says: "the kings of the Gentiles are their lords, and they that have authority over them are called gracious lords: but ye are not so: but the greatest among you shall be as the youngest."
(100) Hear this, ye fools, ye cannot deny that your rule is outward and worldly, more than that of any kings or princes; for ye rule over body, soul, and goods, not by the word of God, which the least preacher doeth, as it is said of Jeremiah above, but by outward manner and work, as the worldly princes do. Tell me now, how does your thing rhyme with this word: "But you not so"? What does "not so" mean? It is said that the present bishops' state should not be so, if it is to be Christian. He goes as he goes, so Christ himself calls you: "Not so. Let us see what you may say to the "not so". Perhaps you will say: "Not so" means "Yes so", and teach that the pope also has more power than Christ himself.
Just as you would avoid your enemy if he came under your dear brother's shell, so also avoid these murderers of souls who come under bishops' shells and shepherds' names. St. Paul proclaimed it,
1) Wittenberger: and.
2 Cor. 11:13, 14, 15, that just as the devil takes on himself a shell of the angel of light, so also these apostles of the devil take on themselves the shells and names of the apostles and servants of Christ. But we know them by their works and doctrines, for they preach of the deposit of money, and not of the gospel, without all shyness and shame.
The fifth virtue of the Bull of Rome. 2)
He pretends to change the vows for the sake of money, but the vows to St. Jacob, to Rome, to Jerusalem, and to chastity are taken out.
(103) I have written much about vows before, which is not necessary to repeat now. If I ask the blind head, the pope, what reason he has for breaking some vows and not all vows, he answers nothing else but that some things that are vowed are great, like chastity, but some are small, like eating water and bread on Friday. Therefore let him vow small things, and not great things. How blind and coarse is the brain of the people, who judge and divide the vows not according to God's commandments, but according to their works? Tell me, is it not as much an oath if you swear over three pennies as if you swear over a thousand florins? If it is the same oath, why should it not be the same in small things as in great? Shall it not hold, therefore, that a thousand florins were too much to give? The people of the larvae are mad and nonsensical.
Therefore, hold fast, make no distinction of vows, from distinction of things or works. One vow is like another, be the things great or small. For God's commandment makes no distinction, saying badly: All that you vow you shall keep; saying not, the great you may leave undone, and the small you may keep, or again. Therefore believe not the seducers, in their change of vows. They may walk in none; or if they walk in one, thou and all may walk in the same, and in all vows. Changing vows may not be otherwise,
2) "Bull at Rome"; this is what Luther calls the pope.
For to abrogate this commandment of God: "Keep that which you vow." If this may be annulled in one piece, it is annulled in all pieces. It is a simple commandment above all vows.
For if it were true that in one commandment of God the pope had the power to walk in small works, he would also do so in all others. From this it would follow that in the first commandment he would allow not to love God with all his heart in the small works, such as eating and drinking, walking and standing. He would also allow to honor an idol with outward works. He would also allow adultery to be committed with a lowly woman. And such abominations would follow innumerable times, if one could change and tear apart one of God's commandments in one piece. So you see that the larvae do nothing else, but only want to tear God's commandment for money. Therefore, beware of the Balaam. He may not make a vow for you, or if there is one to make, you can make them all yourself, without spending money.
Of the vows.
There is much to be said here, but time will not suffer; we will talk more about it another time. For now, this will be brief enough.
(107) First, there are some vows made to men, which last as long as the one to whom they are made 1) or may reasonably demand them. We are not talking about them here.
(108) Secondly, vows made to God or His saints are made in two ways. Once against God and His commandment, they are not to be kept at all; 2) but those that are not against His commandment are to be kept. Now here is the greatest knot, which are the vows made against God and His commandment. Here one must look at the ten commandments, and want to start with the lowest.
109. when you vow to take care of your neighbor's property
1) In all editions here is wrongly interpungirt: they had so long, who demands them, etc.
2) Marginal gloss of the Wittenberg edition: Vows Against God's Commandment are "void".
to covet his wife, to bear false witness against him, to steal or damage his goods, to ravish his wife, to kill his body; and finally, if you vow not to show him any love or good: you see clearly here that such a vow is sin, and to avoid God's displeasure: everyone must confess this. Weiler: If you vow to disobey your father and mother and not do what they want, is it not also against God's commandment? Why then are we so blind, and keep such disobedient vows? 4) Are we not against this commandment? Is it not against this commandment for a daughter to betroth herself to a boy, against her father's and mother's will?
Is it not against this commandment for a daughter or son to vow to become a priest, a monk, or a nun, against the will of his father and mother? Has not God Himself annulled such vows in Genesis 30 and interpreted this commandment in this way? Item, if a man or woman vows to go to St. Jacob, to do this or that, and the woman cannot do without the man: tell me, is it not against God's commandment, who has bound the man to provide for his wife and child and not to leave them? Nor does the pope make these vows so hard that he takes them in the bull; if he should tear them all and destroy them. But it behooves the pope to forbid what God gives; to command again what God forbids; and to tear up what God does: otherwise how would he be pope?
Lord God, that the larval larvae would only err and do evil for themselves, we would so gladly tolerate them and bear them with all honor! But now that they murder nothing more than souls and destroy God's word, there is no more silence or suffering to be demanded. Tell me no one here of patience and honor. Forsaken be patience, which is silent here! Let honor be reproached here, which gives way and leaves room for such murderous larvae over the poor souls!
3) "hie" is missing in the Erl. It is found in the Wittenberg and Jena editions.
4) In the old editions: "such disobedience vows." Erl. AuDg.: "such disobedience vow." We had thought that if the noun was meant, it should have been "such disobedience vows.
Monastic and monastic vows.
But further: let us come to the monks and monastery vows, there first of all the larvae will tear their ears and gnash their teeth. Tell me, if a priest, monk or nun vows to keep the spiritual state or order in unbelief, or on Jewish faith; how much better would he be than he who vows to sleep with his neighbor's wife? Would not that be denying the Christian faith, and worse sin than three adulteries? But how many do you think that now become priests, monks, nuns, who do not deny the Christian faith and are equally spiritual in the Jewish faith? Does it seem strange to you? Listen a little.
Christian faith is that which believes to be justified and saved through no work, but only through Christ as our mediator and mercy, given to us for nothing, Gal. 1:4, so that man renounces himself and all his deeds, hanging on Christ's merit alone. Jewish faith is to obtain God's grace, atone for sin and be saved through work and self-doing, Rom. 10, 3. With this, Christ must be excluded as not being necessary, or not being of great necessity.
(114) Now, do not many priests, monks and nuns begin their spiritual life in such a Jewish faith? For they say that through the strict life they want to atone for their sin and become blessed, giving that to works and spiritual status, which alone belongs to Christ and faith. What is this but denying Christ and becoming spiritual in unbelief? That is, turning true Christians into Jews and Gentiles. Just as St. Peter says [2 Petr. 2:20] that those who have previously fled from error and sin are deceived by it, so that they must live in error.
But that they are Jews and pagans, they themselves confess when they say: Why should I become a priest, a monk, a nun, and thus 1) torture myself in the order, if I should not thereby become pious, pure and blessed?
1) "so" in the Wittenberg and Jena editions. Erlanger: "thus".
Do you not hear that these words are words of a Jewish faith, since Christ has no room nor work inside? And that they should wait for Christ, they wait for their order and works. Therefore it is certain that all monasteries and convents, in which spiritual people think that the state makes them pious and blessed, are much worse than the common women's houses, tabernacles and murder pits; and God also decrees as a sign that they are all commonly unchaste. And because by such Jewish faith they dislocate the chastity of Christian faith, they must also dislocate bodily chastity as a reward; as St. Peter says [2 Petr. 2, 18] that they incite to the desires of fornication by their great pretense.
Thus all orders and spiritual vows are commonly contrary to the first, second and third commandments of God, so that they should above all be torn apart, abandoned and abolished. And all clergymen are to be faithfully advised that they either renounce the Jewish faith and begin their spiritual life anew in the Christian faith, or leave plates and caps, monasteries and altars, and become free to do as they please, no differently than they would do if they were in wedlock with women. For there they must either leave the wives or marry them.
Behold, this is the spirituality of Baal, of which I have written a booklet of my own, 2) and have abolished the spiritual vows with sufficient writing and reason, that I hope it will satisfy a good conscience and honest reason, and not allow itself to be so miserably caught, deceived, and corrupted in spiritual estates. But whether I do not do enough for the unlearned larvae, and they will be angry that I am cutting the priests, monks and nuns loose, destroying the monasteries and convents, that is not my concern. Who can do enough to the larvae who do not want to listen before they are told (as Solomon says [Proverbs 18:2]) what lies in their foolish heart? Again, if one asks them for the scripture and reason of their thing, they do no more, but show us their red
2) Marginal gloss of the Jena edition: "In the Latin booklet I>6 votis mvnsstiois to Hans Luther, his father. Anno 22." - In this volume no. 174.
Cardinal hat and bishop larvae. Don't you see that I am a cardinal? Should I also be learned and show you scripture and reason? What need is there of that? We have not only the Holy Spirit, but also the most holy spirit, namely the spirit of the pope, who is not only holy, like Christ, but the most holy.
I may say no more about the mad, wicked papal bulls until the tender, pure people stir themselves up. Now let it be enough that everyone knows how guilty he is, for the salvation of his soul and divine disgrace, to burn, disgrace and exterminate such Roman indulgence bulls; to despise the larvae they raise, not only as the unlearned, coarse heads, but also to avoid them as the ravening wolves and infernal murderers of souls, according to the teaching of both St. Peter and St. Paul. Peter [2. Ep. 2, 1. 2. 3.] and St. Paul [Apost. 20, 29.].
Lastly, is it not a pity that the bishops of God's disgrace, my ungracious lords, have seen the poor priests who enter into matrimony? what will become of them? Charge yourselves, dear larvae, charge yourselves! you have already lost the common prayer. You lead a wicked, whorish life; in the blood and sweat of the poor you fatten your pleasure and splendor; with lies and deceit you rob everyone of his goods; with banishers and tyrants 1) you torture the world in soul, body and goods; You do not preach the gospel, and not only do you not perform any spiritual episcopal office, but you also hinder and forbid others to preach, drive them out and persecute them; and yet you are no more than ugly, ugly, hostile larvae, whom the world can neither bear nor wants to bear because of unmistakable burdens, tyrannies, vices, disgraces and vices.
120 Dear larvae, help us to do this, heap up your earnings, confidently put them on the scales, so that we can get rid of you. For goodness sake, don't think how you could earn the people's favor with love, litter, discipline and kindness. Go on, dear larvae, you are on the right track. For so did your fathers, the Jews, when they put Christ to death,
1) i.e., tyrannizing.
forbidding his word, driving out his apostles, they could not sleep soundly; they had also the Romans upon them, who rooted them out and destroyed them. How should you do otherwise than as the true children of such fathers?
(121) Now, if I ask for what reason the poor priests are imprisoned and tribulated for the sake of marriage? Where God has forbidden them that? Or how do they sin in it? eight I, they will come out with their beautiful hats and long tails, and say: It is written in the Most Holy Decree. These will be the causes that such highly learned, reverend people will know of their doings. The most holy father pope and his most reverend bulls forgive me, I would have almost mocked the larvae, in their such brave spiritual conduct.
122 Hie rath Räther gut. Why do the common women landlords not like to see young boys become married? No doubt that they lack interest. After all, the bishops in all monasteries have a large portion of their yearly interest from true priest-whores. For whoever wants to have a fiddle must give a gulden of it to the bishop every year, and there is a saying among them: Chaste priests are not beneficial to your bishop, and are also hostile to him. How can a richer womanizer be in the world than a bishop? Who would blame the spiritual fathers for allowing fornication for money, and for selling live women's brats, and for forbidding married women who do not carry money for them? Food is of many kinds. A merchant sells spices and cloth; the bishops must sell whores' flesh, otherwise how should they feed themselves?
123) About all this, if a priest's maid falls over the bowl basket and breaks into two pieces, so that one part must be carried to baptism, the interest grows over a year's florin, and the bishop has cause to show his mercy, and now sells the poor priest a mother. Blessed are the bellies that bear children. Whether the breasts are also blessed that suckle, let the father see; the spiritual bishop has obtained his twice from the belly. Are these not noble, dear women's bellies, which one
twice a year, and who twice get the spiritual lords pregnant with money?
Dear, do not let this cause be bad to you, to move such holy, spiritual people, that they do not allow wives to the poor priests. Should they not rather have whores than pious wives? A harmful, shameful thing is a wife, who does not wear a lighter, the most reverend in God fathers and lords.
Pardon my joke, dear man, which does not come from a joking heart, but from a very fearful heart, about these high, nonsensical and deeply blind larvae, who are so cooked by God's wrath, deprived of all senses, wit and reason, that sows, oxen and donkeys are wiser than they are; yet they are spiritual rulers. That is to punish the world with fools and children, as Isaiah says [Cap. 3, 4.]. But do you think that they can come up with other causes and reasons than those mentioned, except for the annoying avarice and greed?
Even if they are even coarser than jackasses, they may not say that God has forbidden marriage to the priests. Yes, St. Paul has instituted it for the priests, since he says: A priest or bishop shall have only one wife, and submissive, chaste children, 1 Tim. 3, 2. 4.1) and Tit. 1, 6. Do you hear it, you larvae and moles? I mean you who are wolves, who tyrannize over innocent blood. Prayer Answer. What will you or may you say here to St. Paul's saying: A priest shall have no more than one wife? What do you want to interpret here as a woman? A priest's whore, whose belly you sell twice a year? St. Paul means only one wife, that he does not have two or more wives, as was the law and custom in the Old Testament. If then a priest wanted to follow this divine sentence, who are you, bloodthirsty larvae, who want to resist him? Where is your reason? Why do you oppose it? Why do you exalt yourselves above God and His words? Shall you unlearned asses be worshipped above God?
The pope has forbidden it. What should
1) Erlanger: 1 Tim. 3, 3. 4. reprinted from Walch.
I say? Dear donkeys, if the Pope commanded not to honor father and mother (as he does), and annihilated all God's commandments, should you not be those who oppose him with life and limb for the sake of God's word? Have you not read St. Peter's saying, Apost. 5, 29: "One must be more obedient to God than to men"? So you know that all the commandments of men, even if they were equally good and useful, should nevertheless cease and no longer bind when they become infallible; this is what your own fleshly law teaches you. Now you see that the cursed human law of forbidden marriage is impossible for all priests. Still you great, insatiable women-hosts force poor souls to sin for the sake of your damned avarice. See and grasp that they may not keep it, and yet they shall keep it without any trouble. O you murderers of souls, how miserably you mewl your hands in the innocent blood! what an account you will have to give for this tyranny!
Now it is obvious that such commandments of men concerning the forbidden marriage of priests are not commandments of men but of devils, which is proven by three sayings of St. Paul, the two to Titum and Timothy, told above: "A priest shall have only one wife" [1 Tim. 3, 2]. 3) This is God's word and order through Paul. Therefore it is not possible that it should be other than of the devil, which is commanded or set contrary to it or otherwise. For God does not speak against Himself, nor does He punish His mouth with lies, as all Scripture and reason must confess. So also all reason must confess that such Pabst's law is ever contrary to this divine order of Paul. Is not all this clear enough, you dumb and blind larvae? What can you murmur about? Are not your iron foreheads and coarse heads ashamed that you publicly urge and force to keep the devil's commandment, against divine order?
The third saying is 1 Tim. 4, 1. 2. 3.: "Teachers will come in glees, teaching doctrines of devils, forbidding marriage and food, which God created."
2) i.e. stained.
3) Erlanger: 1 Tim. 4, 1. 3. reprinted from Walch.
Behold, he himself calls it devil's doctrine, forbidding marriage. And do not talk here, as the lying mouth says to Dresden 1), about the Tatians. The Tatians did not forbid marriage, but condemned it as a sinful thing. But St. Paul says here of those who only forbid it, and do not condemn it or consider it sinful, just as they also forbid food, and yet do not consider it sinful: so the pope does not say, as the Tatians did, that marriage is evil or sinful; item, not that meat, eggs, milk are evil or sinful; but only condemns them for the appearance of spirituality, as St. Paul says here: That they speak in a gilded tongue, out of doctrines of the devil.
Because there are three powerful sayings here that irrefutably convince that the forbidden marriage is a devilish thing, set against God's order, the priests should have a good conscience, happily rely on it and consider it; and whoever would not otherwise desire to take a wife, should only take one for the sake of sorrow and defiance of the devil and his doctrine. And you larvae, if you would not be apostles of the devil and his doctrine, you should help them to be so.
But if someone considers that he has vowed chastity in his consecration, it is sufficiently said above that all vows against God's commandment and order are nothing, and are to be left at God's disgrace. Now such vows, on the devil's teaching, have ever been made against God's commandment and order, as is clearly understood from the foregoing. Also, 2) the priests do not speak to God, but to the pope in the devil's place, and men teach their chastity. 3) For this reason, men must desist from such talk, so that it does not reach God in any way. For this reason, when a priest takes a wife, there is no law against it; only the larvae make a law out of it.
132. again, the fornication, since 4) is vain driving, they sell for money and do not punish anyone.
1) Emser.
2) i.e. vow.
3) Erlanger Ausgabe: "dem Pabst, an des Teufels statt und Menschenlehren, ihr Keuschheit." The Jena edition has the same wrong jnterpunction, but the words "teaching men" are separated. That the text we have given is correct is proven by the following sentence.
4) Wittenberger: "that".
Therefore. Aren't they fine, beautiful larvae? They crucify Christ and let go of Barabbam. Woe, woe, woe to them! I can no longer, I warn them and all who are with them to beware; God will not let them reproach Him with His word.
And behold, the wickedness of the devil, just as he has deceived the people with his rumblings and rumblings, so that they think that the souls walk and seek help in the houses, has made a fair out of the fair: so he has also caused many horrible false examples of priestesses, until he has brought it to the point that a common saying is: "Whichever woman sins once with a priest, she is never to be counseled, she must be eternally lost. From this they fell into despair, and confidently charged 6) without all hope of recovery, that no wicked woman has been found, but the parson's maidens. That is what he wanted.
No one has paid attention to this mischievousness of the devil, everyone has let it go, and thus let the souls despair and give themselves freely into the entrenchment. This has served him so that his commandment of chastity is kept all the more holy, and God's commandment is only despised all the more. Ah, Lord God, the blindness, the certainty, the ignorance of Pabst and the bishops! They are and will remain larvae, unfortunately with all too great advantage for the devil and disadvantage for poor, miserable souls.
I will leave it here at the beginning until I see how the larvae want to stand up to it. I hope they will want to resist with outrage and blow into the ashes. God help them by the merit of their shameful, harmful, larval nature and regiment, amen.
I also ask those who want to touch the larvae with writings to do so publicly and honestly, according to the rule of the Gospel and the teachings of St. Paul, and write their name on the paper, and only offer themselves freshly, as I do. For we have the advantage that the larvae find unlearned.
5) i.e. joke.
6) i.e., sins upon oneself.
7) Wittenbergers: the.
They are called 1) in all the world, and now stand before everyone to shame, as those who shun the light, do not like justice, do not want to step on the plan. Thus their shine lies low, and they are no longer adorned with any appearance, so that they cannot be greatly tormented, for if they are rightly defied and given reason and cause to hear. Then they must be ashamed in their hearts and consciences, so that they may be silent and raise nothing for themselves. If, however, they proceed with unrighteous violence, which is left to them alone for a little while, their displeasure and mockery are so much greater, and thereby come to their contempt, and finally to their downfall all the more, that it is only good for our part, if they only commit unrighteous acts and rage as mad larvae. 2)
In order that we, according to the teaching of St. Paul, not only strike and punish the consciences, but also pour oil into the wounds along with the wine, whether the sayings might have worked on some good-hearted bishops and frightened their hearts, we must anticipate their questions and answer them: How then shall they do that they may be saved, and that such a state may not be dangerous to them?
Here, of course, there is no other advice nor comfort, but that a bishop (where he himself is not skilled) creates learned men, who preach the gospel pure and clear in his diocese to and fro in his place, and holds over them, putting on it everything that Christ teaches to put on the gospel. Thus we read that St. Valerius, bishop of Hippo, had St. Augustine preach for him before he became bishop, and held over him; which was also the custom in many Greek countries, that priests preached for their bishops in their presence. In addition, such a bishop should repay with prayer, service and help to the poor what he does not accomplish with preaching. Where a bishop is not found in such a character, let him not think that he is in a state of blessedness.
139 Thus you say: Yes, where would a princely state remain with such a being as the bishops are now? Answer I: We speak
1) i.e. they have the reputation, the name.
2) i. e. to exercise violence.
not how to be a prince, but how to be a bishop and blessed. Who made the bishops princes? Christ has forbidden them not to be princes, since he separates them from princes, saying: "The worldly princes are lords, and exercise authority over their subjects; but you shall not be so" [Luc. 22, 26.]. For the sake of your principality, the prince of all princes will not revoke these words nor let them go. If you let go of the bishopric and the principality, you cannot be episcopal in it; why do you want to ruin your soul eternally for the sake of temporal honor? He can hardly be preserved who is in the right good blessed state; how then will you presume to remain in a damned state? "What profit is it," saith Christ, "if thou shouldest gain the whole world, and hurt thy soul?" [Matt. 16:26.]
But how would the princes and nobility provide for their children and friends if the bishoprics and monasteries were not there? See our blindness in the German lands. If a peasant strangled or beat your son, or disgraced your daughter or sister, there would be wounds and weapons, you should rage and rage, and if you could destroy a country, you would do it; so great an injustice, you think, would have happened to you. But, beloved, open thine eyes, and see if thy child or thy friend's murderer be a greater murderer and enemy than thou art. You help him to the bishopric, since you are sure that he must be of the devil and lead such a state in which he cannot be saved; you know that. Tell me if you do not do more harm to him than to pierce a thousand swords through his heart.
If he had fallen into such a state because of an accident, you should snatch him out, body and soul, if there were any other good in you, even if you had only one loaf of bread to share with him. But what do you do? That thy principality, thy goods, may not be cut asunder, nor diminished.
3) Wittenberger: fall. The reading of the Jena edition given by us is made certain by the "fahren" in the following sentence.
4) Wittenberger is missing: "or sister".
If you do not want your flesh and blood to perish eternally, so that you only remain rich and great, you push him away from you into the abyss of hell. Behold, this is the custom now in the whole German land; for such gruesome soul murder and strangulation one must ring all bells, sing Te Deum laudamus, carry candles and flags, and show all splendor, that it is like the nonsensical kings of Israel, who burned their children to the idol Moloch with great sound and noise, so that they did not hear the children's cries and lamentations.
The same is done with daughters and sisters; they are badly tempted, even thrown into a convent if they do not want to or do not want to, only so that the tribe and class do not perish and become poor, where they should be exposed to the same class. But it does not help. For God plagues us that now principality and nobility are impoverished; which perhaps would not happen if they had not been guilty of such gruesome murder of their flesh and blood. The innocent blood cries out over them; God hears this and avenges it.
Now behold the plight of one part. There are more women in convents, who are fresh and healthy and created by God to be wives and bear children, but they are not able to keep the status willingly; for chastity is a grace over nature, if it were pure. For this reason God does not want to have his law (when he created man and woman) so meanly relaxed, and to constantly abolish it with miraculous signs; but virginity should be strange in his sight. If you had a daughter or a friend who had fallen into such a state, you should, if you were honest and pious, help her out, whether you had to stake all your goods, life and limb on it.
(144) But now you do this: for the sake of your wretched goods, you push them into the devil's jaws without their will. What then follows from this? Listen, I have not heard a nun's confession in my day, but I will find out, according to the holy scriptures, how it is with them, and I know I will not lie. A harlot, where there is not the high strange grace, she can just as little advise a man as eat, drink, sleep and other things.
natural need. Again, therefore, a man cannot take a wife. The reason is this: It is as deeply implanted in nature to beget children as to eat and drink. That is why God gave the body the limbs, veins, rivers and everything that serves them. Whoever now wants to resist this and not let it go as nature wants and must, what else does he do, but he wants to resist that nature is not nature, that fire does not burn, water does not net, man neither eats nor drinks nor sleeps.
From this I conclude that such nuns in monasteries must be unwillingly chaste and unwillingly deprive themselves of men. But if they are unwillingly inside, they lose this and that life, must have hell on earth and there too. Behold, thou bringest them thither for thy cursed good. This is the fruit of some foolish, senseless princes, who keep the closed monasteries so tyrannically hard, want to resist nature, have good things to say about it; they lie with women when they want, and give their nature air and space enough; but the poor lot must perish in their hell because of it.
Further, where there is unwilling chastity, nature does not leave its work, the flesh is as God created it, so the veins also follow their kind. Then the flowing and the secret sin, which St. Paul, 1 Cor. 6, 9, calls impurity and softness, arises. And that I say it roughly, for the sake of the miserable need: If it does not flow into the flesh, it flows into the shirt. The people are ashamed to complain and confess this. Then it follows that they blaspheme you and God in their hearts, curse their status and are hostile to all who have helped them, and would probably take a shepherd boy in marriage in such distress, who otherwise might hardly have taken an earl. Behold, this is what the devil wanted, since he teaches you to dampen and force nature, which wants to be unconstrained.
How do we want to do things? the goods do not suffer equal distribution. Answer. Why do not mau, as happened in the people of Israel, since only one always remained king? One gave something to his brothers and let them be equal to the others among the people.
726 Erl. 28, 200 f. II. writings concerning the person etc. of the pope. W. XIX, 90" f. 727
Must all princes and nobles who are born princes and nobles remain so? What harm would it do if a prince took a commoner's wife and let him be content with quite a commoner's estate? Again, a noble maid would also take a commoner. It will not bear the length, vain nobility with nobility marry. Although we are unequal before the world, we are all equal before God, Adam's children, God's creatures, and one man is worth another.
And behold, if your child or your friend in the monastery would gladly take what she could get, in such anguish and distress, that she might only come into a blessed state, why do you not help her to do so, before she comes into such misery, and give her what God gives, be it noble or ignoble? Ah, Lord God, how little we care for the wretched souls, and are so drowned in avarice!
So now I say that it is better to leave the bishopric and all elevation and be a poor citizen or peasant, than not to carry out the episcopal office, or not to manage that [it] is carried out. For no means nor excuse can be found. God's word must remain, and not only the episcopate, but also heaven and earth must pass away; then you may act accordingly.
150 But if the pope and his followers will not suffer (as he is doing now) to preach the gospel, you have all the more to do so.
Cause to leave the bishopric or profession. You must obey God more than men: you must not think that your episcopal status is enough and that you are excused when you go about preaching, as a bishop did recently.
The wretched people have kept silent about the gospel and have wanted to pawn their souls for the people and lead the consciences with it. I say to such a bishop: Put your soul in an empty corner; if the devil took it away, where would I be if I had relied on it? I want to have such a bishop, who does not put his soul on the ground for me, which I do not know where it is; but who preaches the true gospel to me and puts Christ's soul on the ground for me. There I am sure where I will stay.
For I speak not now of the papal bishops, what they should do; neither do they suffer it; but if there be any that desire to be a Christian bishop, to preserve his own soul together with his people, let him go about, not preaching the doctrine of men, but the word of God more purely, or let it be preached. Enough has been said above about the larvae and the idols of bishops. May God grant us His mercy and send right workers into His harvest again, and punish the murderers and set their city on fire, who push His servants and His Son out of the vineyard and kill them without ceasing, amen.