Rejected answer to the intercession in the previous letter.
The original concept is in the Weimar Archives, Reg. N, p. 108. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 363.
Our greeting before. Venerable and reverend, dear devotees! We have read your intercessory letter concerning Heinrich Queiß, whom we should accept into our city of Herzberg and into our protection. etc. Now we know to remember that the invasion of Fürstenwald has happened, thereby many of the nobility have come into complaint, which has been settled in part; we would also have provided that the said Queiß would not have forgotten his trustee, and have brought the matter to an agreement (vorbit) and [by] 1) the proper means. But since this, as we note from your letter, did not happen, you yourselves must consider that we do not have unreasonable reservations about letting the said Queiss come under us and accept him into our protection, because we fear that we [un] 2) and our subjects might thereby incur a loss, which we and they would otherwise be left, since you know without that how closely 3) they are looking for us at present, and the bishop of Lebus at least would not refrain from writing to us about it, thereby causing us to put ourselves in counter-scripts again, that 4) we would rather have a treaty with him and other papist bishops. For this reason you will know how to reject the said quarrel. This is what we want to report to you again, to whom we are inclined to mercy and good. Date Torgau, Monday after Ursula [Oct. 25] Anno 1540.
1) Added by Burkhardt.
2) Inserted by us.
3) "exactly" put by us instead of: "enough".
4) "deß" put by us instead of: "that".
No. 2720.
To the Elector Johann Friedrich.
Intercession for a poor person.
Handwritten in Aurifaber, vol. III, p. 309. Printed in the Leipz. supplement, p. 92, no. 168; in Walch, vol. XXI, 440; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 311 f. with the wrong date: "October 29," and likewise in the Erlangen edition, vol. 55, p. 293.
Grace and peace. Most noble, highborn prince, most gracious lord! I had hoped that we would have persuaded Doctor Creutz, bailiff at Colditz, to give the fief to poor Bernhard, but he has learned to remain silent. If he does not like to answer, we have to let it go, and again, according to God's right, let it happen to him that an erosio in domo impii happens, as Solomon says [Proverbs 3, 33], and where he gains one guilder with the fief, he loses ten. Now Doctor Brück, as I have reported, has put him off, he wants to ask for help for him, that he might otherwise be provided for, and has asked me to also ask. Where E. C. F. G. know how to help, they will graciously assist; he must be fed by us as long as he is with us. E. C. F. G. will know how to graciously keep him in this. Hereby commanded to the dear God, Amen. Saturday after Simonis and Jude [Oct. 30] 1540.
E. C. F. G.
subservient
Martinus Luther.
No. 2721.