Duke John, son of Duke George of Saxony, had complained to the Elector on Dec. 15 about a sermon Luther had preached on All Saints' Day, in which he was supposed to have urged prayers against Duke George and the Archbishop of Mainz, "the bloodhounds.
1) Already De Wette remarks: "The whole sentence seems faulty." It reads in De Wette: nihil magis egere sequitur, et nihil minus impedietur. We have assumed: nihil magis [quam] egere sequitur, et nihil minus [id] impedire, The reading impedire (instead of impedietur) is found in Cod. Goth.
Letters from the year 1534. No. 2099. 2100.
Although the Elector answered evasively on Dec. 20 and reprimanded the Duke to rest, he nevertheless called upon Luther by this letter to justify himself and to give a detailed report on the sermon, and also exhorted him to moderation in his public reply.
The original is in the von Wallenrodt Library in Königsberg, but without the note. Printed in Burkhardt, Luthers Briefwechsel, p. 225.
My willing service before, venerable and highly honored dear Lord and Godfather! Although my most gracious lord indicates to you in his churf. graces letter that you would find the content and sound of the words from an enclosed list, his churf. graces have ordered me to send your honor a copy of their cousin, Duke Johansen, letter, which you will find enclosed and will hear the content according to the length.
And since His Lordships suspect that the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg and Duke Jörg of Saxony will send their message within ten days to His Lordships for the sake of these matters and will make vigorous inquiries with His Lordships, 1) it is His Lordships' gracious request that you answer His Lordships again at this messenger, and that you actually report to His Lordships what the words were and whether you thought of Duke Jörg next to the bishop or not. and report what the words were, and whether or not you thought of Duke Jörgen in addition to the bishop, also what caused you to do so, and to strengthen and emphasize the causes according to the holy Scriptures in such a way that it is proper for you before God to also report it for the sake of your conscience, and thus to petition against them in the Christian community, and that you may not be taken in by them for any defamatory or criminal act. For if they can overcome your honor, they will not refrain from asking for punishment, and if Duke Jörg touches them in such a way, as his son writes, he will pretend that he has acted against the next Grimm treaty 2) and especially against the article of the enclosed law, of which your honor was informed soon after the treaty was made. Thus my most gracious lord also understands that Cocleus in his Philippics, 3) and other Duke
1) This came true. Cf. the letter of Dec. 30.
2) The dispute between Duke George and the Elector was settled at Grimma on Nov. 13, 1533.
3) Cochlaeus had already written a paper against the Apology in 1531, but had it printed only in 1534. It has the title: Philippicae quatuor Johannis Cochlei, in Apologiam Philippi Melanch- thonisadCarolumV.etc.. Lipsiae. M. D. XXXIIII. 88 quarto leaves.
Jörgen theologians, scribes and preachers in their writings and sermons, sider the aforementioned 4) Grimm treaty have not forgotten so completely. Therefore, his lordship would like you to instruct the provost, my godfather, Doctor Jonassen and others, whom you consider convenient, to read through the Philippices and other writings of the Duke-Jörg, which have gone out in the past year, with diligence and to investigate whether they are of interest to his lordship or to others of his lordship. G. or other of his churf. G. relatives, as well as you, have been touched therein by name and with what words this has been done, and whoever is found or found out about it, has to inform his churf. G. about it, so that one would have all the more reason to reject the people at first.
Thus, His Lordship also considers several reports, which His Lordship has otherwise noted, to be good and especially graciously requests that you have good regard for yourselves and take care so that people are not secretly entrusted to you, 5) who would prove a disgrace to you and cause you harm. I also do not want to let your honor's friendly opinion go unreported. For I am always quite willing to serve them in a friendly manner. Date Weimar, Monday St. Thomas the Apostle [21 Dec.] 1534.
Doctor Brück.
Note. My most gracious lord also graciously requests that you do the reports differently than, for the bishop's sake alone, by a special list, because whether your reverence is a little overbearing to the priest in the report, that is not the issue, and for Duke Jörgen's sake also alone. Whether you went a little quietly in the report for that reason, my most gracious lord would like to see, but omnino citra offensionem gloriae et verbi Dei. Date uts.
No. 2100.