Anno 1544.
It is a proverb: The world wants to be deceived. Such a saying is heard every day, especially in the church regime. So here it is: Even if the truth is not true
so pure and bright is preached, and so mightily proved, that if a cow had sense, she could grasp or grope it: nor are men so darkened as to know it
*The writing of Menius was published in 1544 at Wittenberg by Nickel Schirlentz and is included in its entirety, with Luther's preface, in the Wittenberg edition (1551), vol. II, p. 350b. The preface alone: in the Jena edition (1562), vol. VIII, p. 190; in the Altenburg, vol. VIII, p. 363; in the Leipzig, vol. XXI, p. 450 and in the Erlangen, vol. 63, p. 381. According to the latter, which is the original print, we give the text of the preface, comparing the Wittenberg and the Jena.
not only do not want to hear, but also like to and deliberately rage against it.
2 From this it can and must be noticed that human reason alone does not do this, but the evil spirit helps it and shows in this what great obedience it has in the world, because it rules this high, noble, fine creature so mightily where it wants, as St. Paul says Eph 2, 2: "The prince of this world works in the children of unbelief. Paul says Eph. 2, 2: "The prince of this world hath his work in the children of unbelief," and 2 Cor. 4, 4: "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, that they see not the bright light of the gospel of the glory of Christ."
Now in this booklet He Justi Menii of the Anabaptist heresy is so powerfully refuted, ohue what he and others have written before against it, that (as I said), if a cow had reason, it would have to say, it would be the truth, and could be nothing else. So it is pure German that one cannot say that it is not spoken clearly nor understandably enough, just as they and the sacrament celebrators speak German so shamefully that not only their theology, but also their speech cannot be understood well. For God has ordained it in our time that the devil must not speak good German, as Carlstadt and Zwingel had to speak, so that it was great work for me to understand their speech.
(4) And it is the truth that the Anabaptist and the fanatic spirits are one spirit. For even though they outwardly pretended not to be of one spirit, as Zwingel and his followers pretended to be enemies of the Anabaptists in certain articles, yet in baptism and sacrament there was entirely one spirit in both. For both of them taught the great art, namely, that in baptism badly
1) Wittenberg and Jena: "nothing". This is the only variant in the whole scripture.
Water is bad, and in the sacrament is bad bread and wine.
And summa, as this booklet says, no error nor heresy is alone. Where the devil puts a foot, there he goes after with the whole body. He who allows baptism to be water must allow the sacrament to be bread and wine, and so on. When this original sin has happened, and this apple has been eaten, one must then adorn oneself with such fig leaves: How can water wash souls? How can bread and wine be Christ's body and blood? Do you not see that he is seated in heaven? How can a wicked man be prince or lord? How can a wicked woman be a holy man's wife?
(6) Well, we defend ourselves as much as we can, according to our command and office, and if our defense is not in vain, this also has a certain hope that such lying spirits must perish in the end, and the truth remain, as Isaiah says in chapter 40, v. 8. and Psalm I, 4. 5.: "The wicked do not remain, but are scattered like the chaff of the wind," as the examples of the heretics from the beginning of the church testify, also now the heretic of all heretics Aboml-natio in loco sancto; he also goes there, according to his hour. 2) Without having to have stiff-necked mobs in our time, which practice and plague us, as our forefathers were plagued by heretics in their time, and the prophets were plagued by false prophets in their time. For the world must and will be deceived, and the elect must be tried, tested and purified, all to God's praise and glory forever and ever, amen.
2) This text is consistent in all editions. The sense is undoubtedly: The pope is now also gone, after the time set for him by God has passed. According to it perhaps would like to be read: "gehet" or "goes now".