About the support of an old man, Thomas, who had been deposed in Eisenach, and about the church visitation.
Handwritten at Wolfenbüttel in Cod. Gud. Printed from the Schmid Collection at Helmstädt by Schütze, vol. II, p. 342 and by De Wette, vol. IV, p. 606.
Letters from the year 1535. No. 2133. 2134.
To his extremely dear brother Justus Menius, the very faithful and diligent pastor at Eisenach.
Grace and peace in Christ! I am very sorry, my dear Justus, for that old man Thomas, and much more surprised at your compassionate speeches (misericordias) with which you have filled your letter, and yet you have dismissed him with the consent of all of you. I did not want to investigate nor inquire the cause; I hardly endured without difficulty, since he told some trivial things, and easily tolerated that other things were blamed on slanderers and detractors. Here is now by all means no place empty. Therefore I am sending him to his children for a little while, but I wanted something to be paid into his hand, either from the church treasury or from somewhere else among you, so that he would not be pushed out so bare and meager. For you can easily imagine what would happen if we were to take in from the provinces all the outcasts in this exceedingly meager city (since we ourselves are hardly fed here, and on the other hand those of us who are burdened should be pushed out to you). Pray, therefore, that you may provide for your own, and that you may not be relieved of your burdens with which you burden us. If something can be done by me, I will gladly do it, but you and the captain Eberhard 1) see to it in the meantime that Thomas is not endangered by hunger, who has suffered enough through that disgrace. You have there, if nothing else, Draco's legacy with which he can be fed.
I believe that the office of visitation is burdensome for you, but you, in turn, believe me that the business of all visitations is burdensome as well, so that at times I would like to wish with great impatience that all the evil in our churches become papists. We have to suffer so many aversions, and there is not the ability to stop all evil. Now I have learned what this old saying means: The government of souls is an art above all arts; indeed, a worry above all worries, and a complaint above all complaints.
1) Eberhard von der Tann.
But because Christ carried us and our weaknesses, we must also carry the brothers, the weaknesses, the aversions, the world, the devil, even God Himself, although the small one on the shoulders of Christophorus. Farewell and pray for me. June 7, 1535.
Your Martin Luther.
No. 2134.
To Joachim, Prince of Anhalt.
Luther sends his best wishes for the welfare of the princely house and promises to come himself soon.
In Lindner, Mittheilungen, p. 26 (wrong: June 17) and in De Wette-Seidemann, Vol. VI, p. 160 f.
To the most illustrious and very good Prince and Lord, Lord Joachim, Prince of Anhalt, Count of Ascanien, Lord of Bernburg, his most gracious Lord.
Grace and peace in Christ! Although there was nothing there, most illustrious and very good Prince, which I could have written, nevertheless, since Magister Franciscus 2) traveled to E. F. G., I did not want to be content with his oral account, but also wanted to indicate to you with this hand of mine my good will toward E. F. G. and my poor father-our (as much as I can). For I sincerely wish that E. F. G. will be well with the whole flesh, that is, with the very good princely brothers. However, I would have preferred to be the comrade of M. Franciscus, but our wisdom is so great that I am forced by it to let myself be hindered as a prisoner, but Christ will give some foolishness by which he may free me from this wisdom, amen. E. F. G. is quite well in Christ. Friday Barnabas [June 11] 1535.
E. F. G. devoted Martin Luther.
2) Franz Burkard from Weimar. See AIbum Acad., p. 93.
Letters from the year 1535. No. 2135 to 2138.
No. 2135.