119 Luther's writing "Ways how to confess". *)
End of March 1520.
Translated from Latin.
To the Most Serene Prince and Lord, Duke of Saxony, Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen. My gracious Lord.
Sublime, highborn prince, to your princely graces be my poor prayer and submissive service always before, gracious lord! When I, with divine help, of the venerable, highly learned father, D. Martin Luther, Augustiners, booklet of the confession from the Latin into the German language drew, I have undertaken the same, E. F. G. before others to attribute. Not only because I am grateful to E. F. G. for the graces I have received from her up to now, even though they have not been sufficient, but also because E. F. G. is almost eager not only to hear the divine word with pleasure, but also to read it diligently as much as she can: for this reason E. F. G. is worthy of this noble booklet, that I hereby humbly entrust it to E. F. G.. hiethlich übericke, mit unterthäniger Bitte, E. F. G. wollen es gra graciously annehmen, und ob dem göttlichen Wort und heiligen Evangelium und denen es rein, christlich und Wohl handeln und dem Volkes GOttes treheich mittheiligen halten, welches wahrlich eine hohe, christliche, prinstliche Tugend ist, und benannttem D. Martin und mein graädiger Herr sein. For I am in no doubt that E. F. G. will do many good and
The church contains the most important and most important sacraments of salvation, teaching and instruction, the consoling sacrament of penance and confession. So that E. F. G. together with all of yours may maintain the Almighty God in His divine gracious protection in long and blessed health, according to His eternal praise, I command. Date to the Lochau Tuesday of the eighth day of May. ^nno MDXX.
E. F. G.
subordinate chaplain, Georgius Spalatinus.
Weise, wie man beichte soll, D. Martin Luthers, Augustiners, zu Wittenberg.
First.
Because in our times almost all people's consciences have been seduced into a false trust in their righteousness and their works, and the doctrine of faith and trust in God has been almost completely silenced, it is necessary above all things for the man who is willing to confess that he not rely on either the confession that has been made or the confession that is to come, but that he alone rely on the most gracious promise of God with
*) This writing appeared first in the year 1520 in Latin under the title: "Eonütendi ratio Doctori" Martini Dutüori ^ugustiniani VittonderMnsi" at Wittenberg with Joh. Grünenberg and with Melchior Lotther the Younger; further still in the same year with Valentin Schumann in Leipzig; with Silvanus Ottmar in Augsburg and again at Leipzig without indication of the printer. The single German editions known to us in the translation of Spalatin are all from the year 1520 under the title: "Ein heilsams Büchlein von Doctor Martinus Luther August, von der Beichte gemacht, durch Georgium Spalatinum gedeutscht"; one at Wittenberg with Johann Grunensberg?s, one with Silvanus Ottmar in Augsburg, a third without indication of the place and the printer. In the "Gesammtausgabe" it is found in Latin in the Wittenberg, lorn. II, lol. 25; in the Jena one (1566), loin. I, coc. 456; and in the Erlangen, oxp. var. arZ, Vol. IV, p. 152; also in Martini DutUerii Incndrationnin pur" nna, Damicae in asdidus ^darn Dctri 1520 inonso Inlio, col. 379. German in the Altxnburger, Vol. VI, p. 1418 and in the Leipziger, Vol. XVII, p. 502. We have translated according to the Erlanger edition, which reproduces the ästen above print, comparing the Jenaer. The determination of the time results from Luther's letter to Spalatin of March 25, 1520, to whom Luther sent a finished copy on that day.
I trust in the fullness of faith, being quite sure that he who promised to forgive those who confess their sins will most faithfully keep his promise.
2. for we are not to boast that we confess, but "that he hath promised mercy to them that confess," that is, not for the worthiness or sufficiency of our confession (for there is no such thing), but for the truth and certainty of the divine promise alone, as the 25th Psalm v. 11. says, "For thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful to my iniquity." He does not say, for my sake, or because of my worthiness, or for my name's sake; but "for thy name's sake. "2c. So that the work of confession is nothing else but a kind of opportunity, by which God is moved to fulfill His promise, yes, by which we exercise ourselves in faith to obtain the divine promise without doubt, that in this way You, Lord, give glory not to us, but to Your name, and rejoice, not because we do You good, but because You do us good, as You speak through the prophet Ezekiel. For in this way it will come to pass that he who boasts will boast in the Lord, and will not boast of himself, but will glorify the grace of God. And it will come to pass: "What he ordains is praiseworthy and glorious", Ps. 111, 3. 1)
Second.
(3) That God (in honor of His grace and mercy) has promised us forgiveness of sin shall be proven from the Scriptures.
1) In Spalatin's translation, this last sentence reads thus: "Thus it will also be that confession and great activity are God's work, Psalm 111." Walch, who did not look in the Vulgate, but in the German Bible, was not even able to recognize the verse that is quoted, and therefore put: "as it is in Psalm 111, v. 2, 6. From this example we can realize how great a reason we have to thank God that Luther not only became the reformer of the Church, but also prepared the German translation of the Bible for it. For what would have become of the German Bible under the hands of another, even the pious and learned Spalatin?
4 First, in the 32nd Psalm, v. 5: "I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord. Thou wilt forgive me the iniquity of my sin." In the 2nd Book of Samuel, Cap. 12, 13, from which this Psalm is taken, it is found that as soon as King David said, "I have sinned," the prophet Nathan immediately said, "So the LORD also hath taken away thy sin; thou shalt not die." Jeremiah 18:8 says, "If this people repent of the evil, I will also repent of the evil that I thought to do to them." Likewise 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
5) And this is the true description of a righteous man, Proverbs 18:17: "The righteous man is the first accuser of himself"; 2) therefore he is righteous in that he accuses himself, therefore it follows, "His friend (Christ) is coming and will scout him out," that is, he will seek him and not let him perish, but will find him even at the farthest end of hell and bring him out again.
Accordingly Joshua Cap. 7, 19. calls the confession of sin the glory of God, saying to Achan: "My son, give glory to God, and give Him praise, and tell me what you have done. St. Jerome says about this: "The confession of sin is the praise of God. This is no wonder, for he who confesses his sins undoubtedly speaks the truth. But God is the truth; therefore he praises God at the same time. Thus also Manasseh, the king of Judah, in his very beautiful prayer, which is very suitable for every man who wants to confess, says in the second book of Chronicles [Cap. 33, 12. 13. 18. 19.] in the last chapter: "But you, Lord, according to your goodness, have promised repentance for the forgiveness of sins." And verily, O Lord, according to thy goodness thou hast given us the promise. For our confession would be nothing if the forgiveness of-
2) According to the Vulgate.
3) This refers to the prayer of Manasseh (v. 7). In the old editions of the Vulgate, it is attached to the last chapter of the 2nd book of Chronicles. In the newer editions, however, it is relegated to the end of the Bible as an apocryphal book, together with the 3rd and 4th books of Ezra.
God's judgment would not be certain. It is so entirely due to the divine goodness that God has promised us forgiveness. If He had not promised it to us, it could not be obtained through any righteousness. Therefore, it is first and foremost necessary for a person who wants to confess to have faith in the promise, so that the person does not prevent himself from persuading God to forgive his sin by his diligence, by his concern and by his ability; because God Himself is already completely ready to forgive his sin and has preceded him, and rather has enticed and tempted him to accept the forgiveness of sin and to make confession by the goodness of His most loving promise.
D rittens.
Before a man makes his confession to the priest as the governor, it is necessary that he first confesses to God as the prince himself. Here, however, this matter must be treated seriously, for just as nothing is hidden from the divine eye, so nothing can deceive it. Therefore, without hypocrisy, one must test his intention to amend his life and his hatred of sin. 1)
8 For almost nothing deceives most people more. There is almost nothing that deceives most people who want to confess more than the subtle and very deep hypocrisy that forcibly feigns a fierce hatred of sin and the intention to improve one's life, even before themselves. This is sufficiently proved by the unfortunate outcome, since soon after confession they return to their old ways (ingenium) and, relieved, as it were, of the great burden of confession, live safely along again, so carelessly, 2) indeed, so unaware of their intention, that by this alone they could be sufficiently convicted of their quite unfortunate hypocrisy (fictionis).
9 Therefore, a man must be completely free here
1) Instead of "examine", Spalatin has "seek". But the latter meaning has not äiseMsre. Here it is used as in äi86U88or - one who checks the bills. By this wrong translation another one is caused in the next paragraph, where he renders minutst (pretended) with: "they nullify."
2) eurioÄ is either to be taken ironically or it must be read inonrioÄ. Spalatin is correct: "carelessly."
and say about himself, to himself, without reserve (omnino), how he thinks his inclination is, as he would do if there were no punishment, no God and no commandment, and as if he wanted to say it in the ear of a secret friend, where he would not be ashamed to reveal all his things, yes, as if he wanted to speak to himself of his vices most freely: so he should also speak before God, who loves us much more than we love ourselves. For if a man finds himself not seriously inclined to a good resolution, I do not know whether it is certain that he will confess. I know that it would be better for him to abstain from confession. Nor should the commandment of the church be respected in it in any way, may it banish or not. For it is better in this case not to hear the church than to approach God with a hypocritical (ficto) heart, at one's peril, because one thereby sins against God, but otherwise only against the church, if one sins otherwise in this case, because one does not hear the church. For the church, of course, has nothing to command in such matters in which there is danger to the soul, and such an article is always excluded from the commandments of the church. For everything that the church commands, it commands for the sake of God and the souls' salvation, and presupposes that man can grasp its commandment and is able to fulfill it. If this assumption is wrong, the commandment is not binding, because it cannot command anything against the commandments of God (which bind the conscience). Therefore, it is truly to be feared that many people go to the church out of fear of the commandment, even though their former evil life is heartily pleasing to them.
Fourth.
(10) Now if a man, seized with fear, is afraid to abstain from confession, and yet (if he would speak the truth) finds with himself that he has not the inclination to resolve to amend his life, let him take refuge in the one thing that is left, and hear the counsel of the prophet, who says [Ps. 62:9], "Pour out your heart before him," and let him fall on his knees, and confess rightly and fully to God the thing that is in his heart.
I will ask him for all the troubles of his heart, and I will ask him for good intentions. Yes, who is so hopeful that he thinks this advice is not necessary for him? since no man has such a great good intention as he should have. Therefore, man should confidently desire from God that which he feels he cannot find in himself, until the beautiful form of a better life seriously and truly begins to please him, but his own begins to displease him. For the teachings about making a good resolution, which have been recited and inculcated everywhere, are not to be understood in such a way that man himself should make a good resolution out of himself and toil with it (for this mind would be death and ruin and, as the latter says, "a good resolution").
(2 Kings 4:40: "O man of God, death in the pot," although, unfortunately, many people miserably torture themselves with it, who have been taught to seek impossible things), but, despairing completely and pouring out his heart against God, he should say: "O Lord God, I do not have what I owe, nor can I; give what you command and command what you will." For this is how Augustine prays in confession.
Fifth.
(11) But this of [good] intent is to be understood carefully. For a good resolution is to be done in two ways.
12. first, only from public mortal sins, as there are: Adultery, murder, fornication, theft, robbery, usury, slander 2c. For the resolution to avoid these sins belongs properly to sacramental confession, and before God immediately at the same moment after they have been committed, according to the saying of Sirach [Cap. 21, 1.]: "My child, if thou hast sinned, cease, lest thou add again," and likewise [Cap. 5, 8.]: "Do not tempt to turn to the Lord."
(13) Secondly, with regard to all sins (which are called daily sins, of which see below), it is in vain to make an effort to produce a resolution. For if a man has a right regard for himself, he will find that it is impossible for him to live otherwise in the flesh,
because (as Augustine says) this life cannot be led without such sins as laughing, talking, thinking, looking, hearing, tasting, unnecessary or thoughtless touching 2c. These are also sometimes such that it is uncertain whether they are sins or temptations that promote merit. And it is to be wondered at how one struggles here, and how the confessor is weighed down with an overly verbose way of confessing.
14 For the intention must be certain with regard to the sins which are certain and which can possibly be avoided in common life, such as the already mentioned public mortal sins.
Sixth.
(15) Whether the secret sins of the heart, that is, those known only to God and to the man who committed them, belong to sacramental confession is beyond my comprehension. Very much I would like to deny it. For it cannot be proved in any way, either by reason or by Scripture. I have also often had the suspicion that all this is a bundle of either miserly or forward or tyrannical prelates, who in this way have made the Christian people afraid of them. For this means (in my opinion) to submit to the judgment of God and to desecrate the judgment seat of God, especially when people are forced to do so. Hence comes the great sea of rights and impossible questions about the cases of sins, since it is impossible for man himself to know when he has been fatally hopeful, or covetous, or envious in heart.
(16) How should the priest, who is appointed to judge only mortal sin, know this? How could he know a foreign heart who does not know his own heart well enough? That is why many people confess many sins and yet do not know whether they are sins or not, and are urged to do so by this saying of St. Gregory: It is the manner of pious minds to confess a guilt where there is no guilt. For they want that one should also do to them what one should do to God (so ab-
794 L. v. a. iv. i5s-i6i. IV. Luther's writings Wider die Ohrenbeichte 2c. W. xix. 9ss-ss2. 795
The presumption of the popes and the priests and the very proud arrogance of the Pharisees is abominable.) Meanwhile, they do not see that if one were to do this to a man, one would have to do nothing else throughout life but confess, and even confess the confession itself in another confession, being afraid of a guilt where there is no guilt, because even the good works are not without guilt, and Job fears all his works [Job 9:28 according to the Vulgate].
Seventh.
(17) Therefore, let someone else interpret this; I am satisfied that not all sins of the heart need be confessed. But if one is to confess some of them, I say that it is only to be done with those of which he evidently knows that he has decided in his heart against the divine commandments, that is, a male person should not confess the mere thoughts of a virgin or woman, or again a female the thoughts of a young man. Nor need one confess the lusts or the ardors of impure love toward one another, or the inclination toward the opposite sex, however impure it may be; I add: Nor the violent movements of the same, for such thoughts are very frequently sufferings, excited by the flesh, by the world, or by the devil, which the soul is sometimes compelled to suffer against its will for a considerable time, yea, sometimes for a whole day or week, as the apostle Paul confesses of his "stake in the flesh" [2 Cor. 12, 7.]. The cause of this is that the resolution to avoid these sins is impossible, futile, and lying, and the inclinations and lusts of the sexes toward one another do not cease and do not abate when occasion arises. Thus the devil does not rest, and our nature is all sinful. But those who want to live without sin and think that man is healthy, inflict this torture on us, so that we do not refrain from confessing (even to the priest) what sometimes irritates us, even if only a little.
(18) Therefore, if one has to confess these secret sins of the heart, one should confess only those in which one is fully aware.
has given his consent to the work. Such [sins] occur either rarely or never in those who desire to live godly, although they are constantly plagued with such inclinations and temptations.
Eighth.
(19) Here belongs the class (genus) of certain bold theologians, who are just made (nati), that after the true fear of God is extinguished in the hearts of men, they make the whole world tremble (concutiant) with false terrors, so that one can think that the Lord Christ has spoken of them, when he mentions the terrors from heaven [Luc. 21, 11.]. 1)
20. And these are the ones who refrained from making a distinction between mortal and venial sins, thinking that if people heard that a sin was a venial one, they should be safe and put the fear of God behind them (as if God considered daily sins to be nothing); and again, if they heard that the heart's indulgence was a mortal sin, then, if someone did not hear the commandments of the Church, or did something else, however small, Christ would no longer have a place in the heart of man, before the destructive roar of the sea and the floods of the wretched conscience. Against these people it must be known that man must completely despair of ever being able to confess all his mortal sins, and that this doctrine, which is spread everywhere in the church from the papal laws (decretis), that every Christian should confess all his sins once a year, as the words read, is either a devilish and completely murderous doctrine, or else needs manifold and mitigating interpretation.
(21) I say that it is not necessary to confess all sins, neither mortal sins nor daily sins; rather, man should know that with all his diligence he has confessed only the smallest part of his sins. Where does this come from? The Holy Scripture says in the 19th Psalm [v. 13]: "Forgive me for the sins I have committed.
1) In the Erlangen and Jena wrong: Luc. 12.
hidden sin"; and this hidden sin God alone knows and recognizes. And again: "Create in me, God, a pure heart" [Ps. 51, 12]. However, even such a holy prophet confesses an impure heart. And the whole holy church prays: "Thy will be done", by which it confesses that it does not do the will of God and that it is a sinner. So much is lacking in our knowing all mortal sins, let alone being able to confess them, that even our good works, if God would judge them according to severity and not forgive them with pardoning mercy, are damnable and mortal sins. Therefore, if one is ever to confess all mortal sin, it may be done in short words, if we sum up everything (so much) and say: Behold, all that I am, my life, actions and speech are such that they are mortal sin and damnable, according to the words of Ps. 143, 2: "Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no living person is righteous before you," and Rom. 7:14, 18, 19: "But I am carnal, sold under sin. I find no good thing in my flesh; the evil that I do not want, that I do. "2c. Yes, this is the most deadly mortal sin, that a man does not believe he is laden with damnable and mortal sin before God. To this nonsense, these theologians intentionally try to draw people's consciences quite shamefully by this rule, teaching according to their custom that mortal sins are distinguished from venial sins (venialibus). Thus we read in Augustine, Cyprian and other fathers that not mortal sins, but penitential sins (criminalia), that is, those sins of which someone could be accused and convicted, were bound and dissolved.
(22) Therefore, by "all sins" spiritual law (decretum) must understand all gross sins (crimina), since only because of these a man is accused either by other men or by his own conscience; of a right conscience I speak, which does not have a brand through human statutes [1 Tim. 4, 2.) and is poorly instructed, but is instructed by the divine commandments, and knows that one must leave much more to the divine goodness than to one's own care.
(23) But how, if the devil reproaches man with unconfessed sin when he dies, of which we read many examples? I answer, Let these sins go with the sins of which it is said [Ps. 19:13], "Who can tell how often he sinneth?" and with which Ps. 143:2 says, "Go not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight no living man is righteous." If there have been some examples against this, they have either been done by deception of the devil or they are not rightly understood. It is enough that you would gladly confess all your sins if you knew them and were able; God wants His mercy to be praised. But in what? In righteousnesses? No, but in our sins and misery. The holy Scriptures must be preferred to all examples.
Ninth.
24. But to come to the matter itself, the man who wants to confess should cut off completely the great heap of the quite generally accepted distinctions, viz: what by fear, which in an evil way humiliates, and by fear, which in an evil way adds, what against the three theological virtues, love, faith, and hope, what against the four principal virtues, what by the five senses, what by the seven deadly sins, against the seven sacraments, against the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, what against the eight blessednesses, what against the nine strange sins, what against the twelve articles of the Christian faith, 1) what by the dumb sins, what by the heaven-crying sins, or what there is of the like still more, whereby or against what has been sinned against. For this exceedingly hateful and vexatious register of distinctions is quite useless, nay, quite harmful. To these evils some have added the exceedingly burdensome burden of circumstances, whereby they have brought forth two kinds of fruit.
25 First, that a man who wants to confess has so much to do with these items that he is concerned with what is most noble,
1) The twelve articles of the Christian faith are understood to be the Apostles' Creed.
The first thing that man cannot care about is the pursuit of a good resolution, forcing him to burden his memory with such a great burden and his heart with the concern and anguish of how he may rightly confess his sin. And while man seeks to confess the sins he has forgotten, or even the way, he may meanwhile completely lose that with which his conscience is presently burdened, and the whole benefit of salutary confession, so that when he is absolved of his sins he does not so much rejoice that he is rid of his sin as that he is at last freed from the torture of confession. For he did not seek absolution so much as the end of the extremely arduous torture of confession. So much has been turned upside down everywhere, while we sleep safely.
Secondly, that such confessors are also very annoying to the confessor, steal his time, and prevent others. Therefore, the commandments of God should be considered recently, in which, if they are understood correctly, all sins are included. Nevertheless, they [the commandments] must not all be included, but the last two should be left out of confession altogether. For confession must be brief, and chiefly of those sins which at present complain, and, as it is said, move to confession. For the sacrament of confession is instituted to quiet the conscience, not to trouble it.
For example:
In this commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," a confessor should immediately say how he has been unchaste with works, or words, or consent, describing himself completely with all limbs and senses in this commandment. Why, then, must the five senses, the deadly sins, and the great sea of distinctions be brought in vain? Likewise in this commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," he shall soon say with what manner of wrath he has sinned, whether with hatred, with slander, or with cursing, or with the work itself. And so also in the other commandments, as I have diligently written in my booklet of the Ten Commandments.
God, and in the slips of the same 1) have indicated.
27 On the other hand, do not let it be disputed that in the Decree in the Distinction of Penance and in the fourth book of the Sentences this matter is treated differently. For these are all full of human fiction. Nor is it surprising, since they have all taken their matter from a certain doubtful and unlearned booklet on true and false penance, which is attributed to St. Augustine, and is held in honor everywhere under this false title.
For the tenth.
28. When confessing, one must diligently take care that sins against the commandments of God and those committed against the laws of men are separated from each other with great distinction. I say this because nowadays this nonsense has become rampant, that what is sinned against the papal decrees is observed with great care, but what runs contrary to the commandments of God, either little or not at all. I will show you such examples. You may well find priests and monks who, if they stammer even a single syllable in the Canon of the Mass, or repeat it, are horrified by it as by a terrible misdeed, although no sin is committed here either by a natural infirmity of the tongue or by some accident. Furthermore, there is no one who does not confess that he was distracted, that he did not read his preparatory selections (praeparatoria), or similar old-fashioned antics. There was one who, at the altar, still under the sacred act (celebrans), called a priest to him three times and confessed to him as soon as something occurred to him. Finally, I have seen that such innumerable playings of the devil have been such a great, serious matter to many that they almost went out of their minds [about it]. But if they nurtured hatred or secret envy in their hearts, they cursed before or after mass,
1) This will mean the writing: Instructiv pro Confession? nsccatoruin sccunäuin äscaloZuin, 1518. German, Walch, old edition, vol. Ill, 1994 and St. Louis edition, vol. X, 148.
They did not worry about the idle gossip and the evil talk. But where does this falsehood come from? From the statutes of men, who (as the apostle says [Titus 1:14]) turn away from the truth. And because we have neglected to confess our true sins to God, he has given us over to a perverse mind [Rom. 1:28], so that we deceive ourselves with imaginary sins and deprive ourselves of the benefits of the sacrament by the very effort by which we think to seek it most. People of this kind are those who have made the omission of the seven days (horarum canonicarum) almost an unforgivable sin, although they easily forgive the manifold fornications against God's commandment or the omission of charity against one's neighbor.
(29) One finds some who want to use St. Severin's dream or example as proof that they think they can perform the seven hours (horas canonicas) neither before nor after the appointed time without sinning, and even if they were prevented from doing so by some legitimate cause, e.g., if they had served their neighbor in his needs, that is, with meritorious works that are a thousand times better than their very cold and perhaps exceedingly damnable prayers. They do not even consider that in service to their neighbor, the commandment of God must be preferred to the commandment of men, as they chant the words of the hourly prayers without understanding. Among them are those who, even for the sake of the greatest need and danger, consider it a great injustice to speak at the silent mass (canon) or to call a boy.
(30) Then they make a distinction between the fasting of nature and that of the church, so that if someone accidentally swallows a few drops or takes a little medicine, they keep him from the sacrament and make it the greatest sin. I wonder where these people get the power to make these laws and to confuse consciences with the sins they have invented. Other similar things must be judged according to this. But from the laity confesses
one that he liked to taste sweet things, the other that he heard sweet things, smelled fragrant things and touched soft things.
Let us move on to greater things: the people have been persuaded that anyone who eats butter or eggs on a fast day is a heretic. The laws of men in the Church of God raged so horribly. And we make use of such superstitions of the common people, yes, enjoy our tyrannical regime in safety and pay no attention to the fact that God's commandments are considered a mockery everywhere, if they are only afraid and horrified by our laws. No one calls an adulterer a heretic, fornication is considered a minor sin, divisions and disunity, even aroused, maintained and increased by the prestige and in the name of the church, are merits. But eating meat on Friday is the greatest heresy of all. Thus we teach and allow Christ's people to be so instructed. But it disgusts me, it disgusts me, it fills me with shame and sorrow the infinite disorderly heap of such superstitions, which the unfortunate ignorance of the right true theology has brought into this sacrament of the most holy confession. This ignorance has exercised its tyranny since the advent of human statutes.
Eleventh.
32 I advise, as John Gershot also advised on several occasions, that a person should sometimes go to the altar or sacrament when his conscience is troubled, that is, without confession, if he has drunk too much, talked too much, slept too much, or done something else, or has not prayed any of the hourly prayers (unam horam). Do you want to know why this advice is given? Listen: so that man may learn to trust more in God's mercy than in his confession or diligence. For not enough can be done against the malediction of trusting in our works. For this reason also, so that when an adversity of either temptation or death arises, and secret sins begin to appear before the eyes, which a man could never see or confess, he may then already have the training
to trust in God's mercy 1) which is given to the unworthy, according to the saying [Ps. 28:7]: "His heart is ready to hope in the Lord." How else could someone have hope in such a great burden of sin, which often comes suddenly, who in this life, while he still had time, did not learn to hope in the Lord even in the slightest or in a fictitious sin?
33. If you say to me: How? If you thereby despise the Sacrament of God and tempt God? I answer: It will not be a temptation if it is done in honor of God, that is, if you do it for that reason, not because you despise the Sacrament of God, nor tempt Him, since you are willing to confess all sins as well: but so that you may accustom your wretched conscience to trust in God, and not be afraid of any rustling of a flying leaf. You shall not doubt that everything that is done for the purpose of having confidence in God is exceedingly pleasing to God, because that is all the glory of God, when we put our trust in His mercy with all our soul. However, I do not want this to happen all the time, but sometimes, I say, only so that trust in God may be strengthened, while trust in our confession may be diminished. For he who goes more surely because he has confessed than because God is merciful, hardly celebrates the Lord's Supper (celebrat) without sin; indeed, this is nothing but pure godlessness.
(34) This is all in all: Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. When you hear "in the Lord," you will certainly understand that he is unblessed who puts his trust in something else that is not the Lord Himself, as those "artists in confession" do. For what has the art of confession (confitendi) accomplished other than that it has completely taken away the art and practice of trusting (confidendi2) ) in God?
1) Here Spalatin followed the wrong reading, which is also offered by the Jena and Basel editions: vonAtsuäi instead of vonüäsnäi.
2) Here, eonLäsnäi must be read, not eovüteiE, which the editions offer. Spalatin has read vonLäoiE; so it is also written in the Basel edition mentioned by us.
and that we learned to confess a lot, but not to trust at all?
To the twelfth.
(35) In the reserved cases, many people are adversely affected. But because I know that the laws of men must be subject to equity, and that they must be exercised more according to kindness than severity, I follow the usage and counsel of those who hold that in secret sins no case is reserved, and that therefore all men must be absolved whose sins are secret, such as: the sins of the flesh or of pleasure of any kind, preventing children, and the like. Nor should we suppose that any pope would have wanted to set so many snares and dangers for souls in secret sins. But if a gross sin is evident, or a reserved case is denounceable, then one should definitely bring it before the authorities (potestati), may the same be cheap or unjust. In this case, the confessor can moderate the power of the key in such a way that he does not let the penitent go without absolution, at least in the sins of which he knows that they are not reserved. Although I have long doubted, and have not yet determined the point of my own disputation, whether any case concerning the remission of guilt can be reserved, or has ever been reserved, there is no doubt that the punishment will be reserved, about which I will let others judge. But neither the confessor nor the penitent should be too scrupulous in the remission of punishment. I mean the punishment of excommunication, or any church punishment, or, as they call it, their thunderbolts.
36 For since the ban is only a punishment and not a guilt, and can be imposed on an innocent person or, if imposed, remain on a penitent, as because of a great journey or poverty the satisfaction must sometimes be necessarily postponed, nevertheless the penitent (if he desires this) shall be absolved from all his sins and, because of the release from the fetters of the ban and from the guilt of the penitent, he shall be absolved from all his sins.
The sinner who is to be absolved may, for the sake of satisfaction, be referred to the authorities, and thus, absolved of guilt and sins before God's court and the court of conscience, be transferred to the court of the church, there to obtain release from punishment; this is what it is customary to say, that for the sinner who is to be absolved, the vow of satisfaction is sufficient.
To the last. 1)
37. it would be also to bedeuken the manner of the vows, about which in this matter almost the biggest question is, and a thing that lies in much greater confusion than the reservation of the cases, although also this her Babylon exercises with great tyranny. If someone wanted to speak freely here, the country could not stand all his speeches, as the godless Amaziah of Amos says. Therefore, the first and best advice would be for the bishops and preachers to admonish and discourage the people from the inclination to vows, and to show them how nothing at all is the visiting of the holy land, the city of Rome, Compostella, or other holy places, even the efforts with fasting, prayers and works that they themselves have chosen, if they are kept against the works of God's commandments and against the vows we made in baptism, which each one can perform in his own home against his neighbors, his spouse, his children, servants and masters with incomparably greater merit than he is able to find through the self-chosen vowed works, which are also not commanded by God.
The foolish opinion of the common people and the pomp of the bulls have made these vows of pilgrimages, fasts, prayers and any other works far preferable to the works of God's commandments, which we never have the strength to perform. And in my judgment, I wish that Christians had no other vows at all than those we made in baptism, as it seems to have been in the past, and that all people understood what it takes to obey God's commandments.
1) In the Jena edition, here is the superscription: Von den Gelübden.
Obedience. For it is seen that the vows of baptism have been held in quite low esteem, because of the excessive use, pomp, dispensation, and redemption of these vows. Let us, I say, put our strength into it, and we shall find that we have vowed [in baptism] more than we are ever able to fulfill.
(39) Some vows are made to men, as are oaths, others to God. It is obvious that those which are made to men are valid only as far and as long as the one to whom the vow is made wishes. Therefore it must be known, as Gerson rightly holds, that the oaths and vows that are customarily made at universities, or that are made to the great lords, should not be considered so strict (rigida) that we could declare any transgression of them to be a revocation of the vows or perjury. On the contrary, it is reasonable not to regard such vows as broken, unless someone acts contrary to them out of contempt and hardened malice. It is different with the vows that are made to God.
(40) I see that in the vows made to God, dispensations are made by the popes. But I will never be persuaded that he [before God] is safe with whom such a dispensation is made, because such a vow is divine right and an ordinary or even the highest bishop has no greater power over it than any Christian brother, although I know that some decretal and decree glosses are subject to many things that I do not believe. But this I gladly believe, that the vow of chastity, if made before the age of manhood, is not valid nor binding, for he who has made the vow has not known what he has vowed, because he has not yet felt the temptation of the flesh. Accordingly, I like to believe that such a vow will be considered foolish and nothing before God. And if we were concerned about the care of souls, we should forbid the superiors of the monasteries with a general commandment not to accept any boy before the age of twenty, or at least before the age of eighteen, and no maiden before the age of fifteen or sixteen.
(41) It is also very sacrilegious to interpret a better work (as they call it) in the change and solution of vows. For since there is no difference in works with God, who does not judge according to the greatness or quantity of the works, but according to the heart of the one who does the work, and, as it is written [Rom. 8:27.]: "The Lord knows what is the mind of the spirit," who often prefers the work of the hands of a rough craftsman to the fasting or prayer of a priest, as is exemplified by St. Anthony and the tanner at Alexandrieu: who may presume to change one vow into another better work? But this should have been said in another place. For here I have only set myself to direct the practice of confession according to the commandments of God alone, so that the troubled consciences may be soothed and comforted.
There is only one thing I want to add. Many also lay dangerous ropes for the spouses, especially in the case of fornication with a close relative, as if one (for such a thing can happen, yes, it happens, unfortunately!) has had dealings with his wife's sister, or with his mother-in-law, or with another who is close to him in any degree of consanguinity, immediately they forbid him to demand the conjugal duty; yet they allow him, yes, they force him not to leave his wife's bed. Dear, what a monstrosity is this! What is this new medicine for sin? What kind of satisfaction is this for sin? Is it not evident that these tyrants surely do violence to the weakness of others and indulge their own too much? You will not be able to find a legislator, however penitent and chaste he may be, who would allow this law to be laid upon him. They put a dry wood to the fire, and say to him, Thou shalt not burn; they put the man in the fire.
the womb of the naked woman and forbid him to touch her and have nothing to do with her. And this they do by their own power against God's commandment. What could be more nonsensical 1)?
My advice is that a confessor should beware of these tyrannical decrees or rights and boldly punish such a sinner either with another penance or not punish at all and leave him free the right of marriage, which was not given to him by man but by God. For no angel in heaven, let alone a man on earth, has the power to interpret this repentance (that is, the occasion that continually incites to sin in the strongest way). Therefore, those who want this to happen should not be listened to in any way, and the confessor should be safely released from this burden and danger.
(44) But who can enumerate all the tyrannies by which the wretched consciences of confessors and penitent Christians are daily burdened with pernicious statutes and customs by petty, inept people who alone can make them binding to heavy and infallible burdens and impose them on people whom they themselves do not want to attack with a finger? And this most holy Sacrament of Penance has become nothing but a mere tyranny of the great lords, then also a sickness and increase of sins, so that it works in the wretched sinners such things as are quite contrary to its meaning (ut alia significet, et alia operetur), because the godless and unlearned Mass-pawns switch with the law of the Lord in the Church of God, which they have filled with their laws and dreams, in such a way, 2)
1) iosÄirius. In the Jena and Basel editions (so also in Spalatin)' insauimus.
2) In the original print, the prayer of Manasseh is added here.