Luther is glad that the court does not involve him in the negotiations with the King of France, and now wishes himself that Melanchthon does not go to France. About the upcoming doctorate.
Manuscript at Wolfenbüttel in Cod. HeImst. 107 and in Aurifaber, vol. III. From the Frick Collection at Ulm in Schütze, vol. II, p. 351 and in De Wette, vol. IV, p. 627. German in Walch, vol. XXI, 1428.
Grace and peace in Christ! I know nothing of the letter of reply to the king, my dear Jonas, and since the king has not written, in my opinion the most advisable thing would have been that nothing be answered to him, and it is a matter of perhaps giving them an opportunity to reply as well. But the Court is wise, and is pleased to be a doer, and we even prefer to be spectators rather than doers. One day they too would like to have been spectators and not so wise, acting persons. For I now begin to rejoice especially that we are despised and excluded from the court, and I interpret it to mean that this is by God's grace, so that we are not mixed up in these troubles, over which we might one day have to sigh. But now we are sure that everything that is happening is happening without our knowledge, and we attain early what Demosthenes wished for late, namely, that we will not be called upon to govern. God confirm this, amen.
There is a general rumor about the French envoys, even from the best men.
1) Luther means the archbishop of Halle; see the following letter.
I also did not want Philip to travel with them. The suspicion arises that the right envoys were killed on the journey, and the papists equipped them with letters to drag Philip away. And you know the bishops of Mainz, Liège and others, the worst tools of the devil, who increase my concern for Philip; I have written to him diligently about this matter. "The world is of the devil, and the devil is of the world." I hold my disciple at Halle very suspicious, if only for the reason that he trampled underfoot Philip's interpretations of the Epistle to the Romans, which were dedicated to him, with frightening scolding. 2) "He has St. Velten by the neck" and many other evils, but so much is missing that he should be led to repentance and self-knowledge by these punishments and disgraces, that he even becomes angrier daily; perhaps because he is unwilling (after the devil's manner) that God does not give, do and suffer as much as his rage desires. Enough of this.
By the way, by this letter the new future doctors call you and ask you to come to the disputation and to conduct the doctorate by performing the office of the promoter. We would give you a speech to praise theology, but we feared Roscius would laugh at us if he became a spectator. But even a cabbage gardener often speaks in a fitting manner. It would please us if you would emphasize the point that theology is such: if in this life everything has been arranged by other arts in a visible or also in a hidden way, mau must nevertheless at the end, when one must die, and wander from the exceedingly beautiful and happy and lovely scene of this life, then nevertheless worry, search, call for this poor, meager, despised manger in Bethlehem, and those people their crowns, majesties, dominions, arts and gifts will help nothing. There you have a spark in the tinder. Farewell in Christ. On the first day of September Anno 1535. Yours Martin Luther, D.
2) Here De Wette has mistakenly a colon, because he took the following words as spoken by the Archbishop of Mainz (so did Walch), but they are Luther's words about him.
Letters from the year 1535. No. 2164. 2165.
No. 2164.
Mayor and Council of Ulm to Luther.
They agree with the Concordienwerk and ask for Luther to promote it as much as possible.
From the Cod. Gothan. 40, fol. 206, in Burkhardt, p. 239.
Our willing services before. Dear Lord! We gladly and with joy hear that after the cities of Strasbourg, Augsburg, and our preachers, through the special negotiation of Buceri, Strasbourg's ecclesiastical minister, offered you a concord of the dangerous division of the reverend sacrament before this time and have long since begun against you, that the same unanimity has now been brought to good peace, end, and decency, for which reason we thank God Almighty and ask Him justly to preserve this well-created work for the time being in perpetuity; and although we, along with all states of the laudable Christian understanding, are all along heard in the commandment to subscribe to the Confession not only in this, but also in all other articles, as handed over by our most gracious Lord, the Elector of Saxony, and his co-relatives at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg, half of the doctrine, and thus, with their electors, to the Confession of the Holy Roman Emperor. Gn. have always been and still are in agreement; Now that all means of harmony and final concord have been found between our towns, our prebendaries and you, we hope for even more fruitful and greater benefits, have a special favor for it, and herewith admonish you out of good zeal and Christian heart, that you will henceforth not take less care of such Christian ways as we doubt to happen, so that this unanimity will be constantly preserved, and for the time being further peace and reconciliation 1) will be planted and established. We want to promote this with ours to the best of our ability, and, that this may proceed commendably between both parts, we ask God the Lord for urgent earnestness, and we are also inclined to prove service and friendship 2) to you. Date Friday after Egidii [Sept. 3] 1535.
Mayor and Council of Ulm.
1) With Burkhardt: son what we have resolved through "atonement," reconciliation.
2) The foregoing is interpreted by Burkhardt as follows: also best vermugens furdern vnd dass disz zwischen baidentailn löblich zugang von got dem herrn trungelichs ernsts, pitten auch Euch dinst vnd freuntschaft 2c.
No. 2165.