He asks Luther to intercede for an appropriate settlement from the monastery estates of Lichtenberg. - Accordingly, Luther addressed the next letter to the Elector.
The original is in the Weimar Archives, Reg. Ll, p. 172. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 278.
Venerable, Respectable, Esteemed, Generous Lord and Patron! E. E., I hope that you will remember that I petitioned you about a year ago in Wittenberg, in the presence of Heinrich Baumgart, the Lord's gardener, on account of my departure from Lichtenberg, that I, a poor man, who for sixteen years had been employed in the two houses in Lichtenberg and zur Eichen, and likewise on the farm for nine years, had not been given more than 20 fl. I had to give the preceptor a prescription for this, but the others received a hundred guilders in compensation. In addition, they have sold a golden head or credenza with a unicorn's foot, which the old preceptor Goßwinus gave to the entire collection for a testament, as well as eight silver bowls, which are also the responsibility of the brothers of the convent; the golden head, as I have reported, was given for 200 fl. the same 200 florins and what they bought from the bowls, likewise several silver cups and spoons, all divided among themselves, and gave me poor man none of it, despite the fact that I was one of the chief abbot of Vienna and the old preceptor Goßwino,
4) Menius in Erfurt.
Letters from the year 1537. No. 2362. 2363.
of which I still have letters and seals with me, I am bound to be provided for and preserved by the touched monastery property for the rest of my life. Thus, with truth, no other cause can be attributed to my low, unequal compensation than that I, according to God's gracious will, have turned to the holy Gospel first among them and, according to my need, have entered the marriage state, although I did not do so without the foreknowledge and advice of the Lord Preceptor, who then directed me to the High Angels in Wittenberg to ask them for advice in this matter, whereupon I dared to do so in the name of God, and became married. For this reason I ask E. E. as my generous Lord and dear Father in Christ JEsu, where it is possible for E. E. without disadvantage with our G. H., the Elector, and should also be right with our Lord God, that E. E. would petition me, a poor man, against our most gracious Lord with a writing, that his Electors would help me, my poor wife and small children, of whom I have six, two boys and four maidens, praising God, to the good and grace of the same, and that I, without hindrance of my prescription, which I had to do to the Preceptor of the 20 Fl. I have to do, also as much as the other Lichtenberg brothers get one for clearance, and thus my children, as the boys to school, and the Maidlein, which two can fairly write and read, now help to teach something else, and to provide a little house for them, in which they would like to live after my death, since I have not been able to buy so much in the parish here in Prettin, that I have bought [my] own little house, yes, I have added 200 guldens; GOtte ordered. E. E. wanted to show goodwill in this, as much as possible, I will earn the same with my prayer to God and poor fortune quite willingly. Date Dornstag nach Johannis Baptistä [28 June] Anno 1537.
E. E. w[illiger] Severinus Schultze, pastor at Prettyn.
No. 2363.
To the Elector Johann Friedrich.
Luther presents the request of Severin Schultze to the Elector. - The passage enclosed in square brackets in this letter is not in the original, as already noted by De Wette. Burkhardt. p. 280. reports that the note, which has quite different writing from Luther's than the letter itself, was perhaps accidentally enclosed with the letter.
The editors of the Leipzig Supplement and Walch saw him. - It is an intercession for the old Schösser zu Beltitz. Therefore it will be wrong that Burkhardt l. c. refers "to the matter" from the letter No. 2301, because there the debtor is Kunz Pfeilschmidt, Schösser zu Schweinitz, and the debt sum 400 fl.; in contrast, here the debtor is the Schösser zu Beltitz, and the debt 200 gulden. This is confirmed by Burkhardt himself in his note p. 269. Whether the note belongs to the year 1537 is uncertain.
The original is in the Weimar Archives, Reg Ll, p. 172. Printed in the Leipzig Supplement, p. 82, No. 147 and in Walch, vol. XXI, 399; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 67 and in the Erlangen edition, vol. 55, p. 181.
To the most illustrious, highborn prince and lord, Mr. Johann Friedrich, Duke of Saxony, Archmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire and Elector 2c. Roman Empire Archmarshall and Elector 2c, Landgrave in Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen, my most gracious lord.
G. & Peace in Christo and my poor Pr. nr. etc. Most Serene, Highborn Prince, Most Gracious Lord! I humbly inform E. C. F. G. what the pastor of Brettin has asked me to write to E. C. F. G. and to ask, as E. C. F. G. may understand from the enclosed writing 1) (so E. C. F. G. want to have it read). Now it is true that I have been to Lichtenberg, and have also heard vehement complaints against the good man, D. Reißebusch, and yet have known no way to advise in this; for I have heard from some that it is in vain that I should make intercession to him, when he should have received so much from the Lichtenberg monastery that it would be no harm to him to throw a hundred or six into the Rappuse among the brethren, and to satisfy [them] with it. Now it is also true that this priest has so many children and needs almost all of them. But because there is no other advice here, than whether C.F.G. can help a little with the aforementioned D. Reißenbusch: I will have asked C.F.G. humbly, as C.F.G. wants to be done without burden, will graciously show himself. 2) Hiemit GOtt befehlt, Amen. 3) [Also I ask for the sake of God, most gracious
1) This is the previous letter that came into the Weimar archive in this way.
2) As we can conclude from Luther's letter to Reißenbusch of Nov. 25, 1537, the Elector himself did not settle this matter, but assigned it to Luther.
3) For the following piece we have used the improvements given by Burkhardt.
Letters from the year 1537. no. 2363. 2364. 2365.
Lord, for I cannot get rid of the people from my neck. However much I am otherwise burdened with writings, I have to give E. C. F. G. also complain. The old locksmith at Peltitz (Beltitz, Beltig), for whom I also wrote, 1) is here, and asks for God's sake, E. C. F. G. to leave it at the 200 fl., but if he has surrendered body and soul, nothing is ever helped E. C. F. G. with his ruin. I also hear that he is claiming to E. C. F. G., as if his property should be worth 1600 fl., which now a part of himself confesses, that probably 1000 fl. are missing, yet E. C. F. G. has lost many a 1000 fl. in the past year in the damned godless service, and still loses it daily, even in other small things, E. C. F. G. also wanted to lose such a small amount in this poor man, for the sake of Christian love. Is it not a strange thing that princes gain wealth badly, and are killed even worse; it is their way and fall ordained by God. E. C. F. G. looks at his wife and child; methinks that there is no deceit among them, E. C. F. G. applies too hard]. Friday after St. John the Baptist [June 29] 1537.
E. C. F. G. undersigned Mart. Luther.
No. 2364.
To Johann Schreiner, pastor at Minima.
Luther is displeased with the high demands that the nobles place on the pastors.
Printed in the Wittenberg edition (1559), vol. XII, p. 203; in the Jena edition (1562), vol. VIII, p. 378; in the Eisleben edition, vol.II, p.377.; in the Altenburger, vol. VI, p. 1110; in the Leipziger, vol. XXII, p. 566; in Walch, vol. XXI, 401; in the Unschuldige Nachrichten 1738, p. 595; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 69 and in the Erlangen edition, vol. 55, p. 182.
To the worthy Mr. Johann Schreiner, pastor at Grimm and superintendent, my favorable friend in Christ.
Gratiam et pacem in Christo. My dear magister and priest! Where Spalatinus does not want to do it, tell the noblemen,
1) "wrote" put by us instead of "write". Because "schreib" often stands for "wrote". Cf. Dietz, Wörterbuch zu D. Martin Luther's German Writings, p. XXIII.
and who they are, that mau cannot paint parish priests as they would like, and should thank God that they would like to hear the pure word from a book, because before times under the pope they have had to hear vain devil's farts and filth, and pay dear enough. Who can create such a begging service for the noblemen Doctor Martinus and M. Philippus? If they want to have vain Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose, they can provide them themselves. If a priest is sufficient and faithful to his Lord Christ, a nobleman, who is a little less than Christ, should also be satisfied. A prince must be content in his worldly regiment that he finds three pieces in the whole of his nobility and must have patience with the other filling stones. They want to have everything exquisite, but they do not want to be exquisite themselves, nor do they want to be.
No. 2365.