Luther thanks him for the friendly hospitality he received at Menius' house in Eisenach during the convention and gives him orders.
Handwritten at Wolfenbüttel in Cod. Gud. Printed by Schütze, Vol. III, p. 141 and by De Wette, Vol. V, p. 300.
To the man to be highly honored in your Lord, Mr. Justus Menius, your faithful servant of God and disciple of Christ, his exceedingly dear brother.
Grace and peace! It is nothing, my dear Justus, that you are concerned about how we have been exempted or treated in your house; more has happened than we deserved, and even more than we wanted. The will and the doing of all was exceedingly willing and diligent, especially of your wife. We taught your son Timotheus to steal nuts for the sake of pleasure, and this we saw and rejoiced in, and he alone was a very pleasant spectacle for us. "To my cousin, Heinrich Ludern", the older one, you will say that D. Teutleben (Dietlebius) has promised me that he will faithfully conduct this matter; with him I have also left the other things, but he shall not drive. I cannot remind Teutleben more than perhaps by a new letter, if it is necessary, which the old man himself should have known. By the way, what Georg Schnell had forgotten, since he received those 40 guilders from Weissensee in Eisenach, they retained 14 groschen for him there, I don't know under what title, which, as I remember, has not happened yet. It will therefore fall to you to investigate with what right they cut off these 14 groschen. 2) Because if
2) defalcentt, will be derived from falx; to hedge.
Letters from the year 1540. No. 2696 to 2702.
If they act sacrilegiously, it will have to be reported to the prince, so that one does not finally continue after the example to also cut off some guilders. If, however, there is any right, it must be carried out justly. On Tuesday after Cyriaci [August 10] 1540.
Your Martin Luther.
No. 2697. August 13, 1540.
Duke Albrecht of Prussia to Luther and Melanchthon.
(Regest.)
The Duke asks for their advice on how Margrave Wilhelm, Archbishop of Riga, should act against the demand of the Order and the Estates in Liefland to accept the ordination, habit and order. This request was brought to Luther and Melanchthon by Magister Christoph Jahn0: "what in this case would be most advisable to do without danger to conscience: whether the Margrave, in order to have the opportunity in his office to be beneficial to the Gospel, would accept consecration, habit, order 2c. with a clear conscience and take the oath to the pope; or whether it would be more Christian, better, more beneficial and more blessed to leave the archbishopric out of his hands and give it into his hands". - Luther answered on October 10.
Printed in Faber's collection of letters, p. 33. The above regest in Burkhardt, p. 358. The citation from the letter in De Wette, Vol. V, p. 308, note.
No. 2698.