The Elector requested an expert opinion on the article of justification for the religious negotiations in Regensburg. - The envoys' report on this of May 5 (Corp. Ref., Vol. IV, 253) had arrived in Schneeberg on May 8, evening; on the 9th, the Elector dispatched this letter to the Wittenbergers by a messenger on horseback and received their answer (the second following number) on May 12, evening. According to this, the correction of the date of No. 2787.
The original concept is in Cod. chart. Goth 1048, pag. 154. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 380.
Our greeting before. Venerable, reverend, dear devotees! Letters arrived to us late in the night 3) from the von Anhalt and our councilors of Regensburg on Schneeberg, with a Latin and German list of what the councilors at Regensburg had put forward for discussion in matters of religion and especially of justification and necessity (note) for an article that would please the deputies of both parties until the approval of the Emperor's Majesty and the estates of both parts. Maj. also of the estates of both parties. And although we note from the further report of ours that furthermore little settlement is to be hoped for, as you will hear from the copy of our letters, we might well have suffered that ours of this part would not have consented to the article in question either 4).
1) Instead of senesco, we have adopted sanesco.
2) See above.
3) This is at night.
4) Instead of: "with" we have assumed "nit".
For in our opinion, there are two kinds of deceit and danger behind this: one, that because some of the scholastics used words in it, they would hardly refrain from drawing the whole article into a misunderstanding and into their opinion, even as if one had escaped from them, and [as if] so far this part had been erred from. The other, that we allow ourselves to be fooled into using so many circumlocutory words in the article unnecessarily, happens only to the exclusion of the words sola fide; and although in the end it is not disputed that some want to say that one is justified by faith alone, that it may happen: we see, however, that the latter point is set adversatively against the former, as the words indicate: qui autem
dicunt, from which it can well be heard that those of the other part do not mean sola, but have challenged it, and since they toleratively let it happen in the first place, they have from the beginning had to hang on to the fact that the word sola does not remain sola, nor should it apply in style. For they want the aforementioned teachers to attach to it the doctrine of repentance, also of good works, which in our opinion is therefore attached by those of the other part in such a way that they want to attach to our confession a rag of shame, as if our part had gone too far with the word sola, and would now have to admit that works also belonged to justification, as they of the other part would not refrain from proclaiming this in the worst and most evil way, where the article should thus be approved. Therefore, we are not a little disconcerted by what those who have been ordered to do so by our means have done, 5) that they have allowed themselves to be placed in such a position with the others, yet your and Philippi's books, as well as all those who have taught and written on this subject up to now, admonish with proper measure and order about repentance and the judgment of God and about good works. Although our chancellor, Magister Franz, Doctor Bridges has written, when he reported to us, that the members of this section should have conditioned, where in the other disputed articles also no settlement is described, that the reported notel and article should be nothing, we still did not want to refrain from sending you the same position immediately, and to hear your report and concerns, also mind and will, and how the article pleases you and suffers (suffers) or not. For this reason, we have sent our messengers on horseback with this
5) "to draw" == to take out.
Letters from the year 1541. no. 2785. 2786. 2787.
We have delivered our writing to you, and graciously request that you see, read and diligently move such notes as have come to us in German and Latin, and which you find here, and also, if you are in need of someone to read and rewrite them, that you call Magister Jörgen Maier 1) to you for this purpose, and let us know your mind and concerns as much as possible, and your, first of all Doctoris Martini, opportunity to suffer with kindness, again, for which our messenger shall also wait, so that we may understand the said your will and concerns in this, and let us be heard according to the same against the 2) ours, whom we have at Regensburg. You should also not let these things become known at Wittenberg or elsewhere at this time, for we are told that some spies are to be appointed there, who will tell Mainz and others of the opposing side against Regensburg how and what is being said about the action there, and also what Magister Philippus in particular is writing to you and others. And we would like the Rector and the University to issue a warning by public mandate that such people should not be allowed to stay there any longer, so that they do not suffer any inconvenience as a result. Thus, we order our bailiff or castle officer at Wittenberg to pay good attention to such suspicious spies and to take action against them, even if they want to consider themselves students. We did not want to restrain you in your gracious opinion, and do us a gracious favor, to which we are graciously inclined. Date on 3) Schneeberg, Monday after Jubilate [May 9] 1541.