Request for the former Augustinian Lucas Pittig, who is now village sexton, and has received nothing back from the monastery of his contributed goods, for a one-time support au money.
The original is in the possession of the pastor C. Fuchs in Hanau. Printed in the Hanauschen Magazin 1783, Vol. VI, Stück 34, p. 317 f.. (very inaccurate) and in Seidemann, Lutherbriefe, p. 60 f.
To the noble, highborn prince and lord, Lord Moritz, Duke of Saxony, Landgrave in Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen, my gracious lord.
G. and F. in Christ. Sublime, highborn prince, gracious lord! There is a poor man, Lucas Pittig, now a poor village priest, about at Alten- 1) Dresden (dresen) in the Augustinian monastery, in his foolish youth he became a monk, and his paternal goodness took him to the monastery, almost at the time when the Gospel began. But when Duke George was very violent, as E. F. G. well know, he had to steal out secretly; but the field 2c. remained with the monastery. He now asks humbly, because he has not yet consulted with anyone else and suffers hardship, that E. F. G. show mercy, and see that he has been deceived and persuaded, and let a considerable tax from the monastery's property happen to him, to help his poor house. Since the F. F. G. understands that such a request would be reasonable, even without the need for such an alms in his poverty, the F. F. G. want to let him enjoy this intercession of mine. It is to be done for a temporal partition, 2) for a perpetual begging or interest, that I am eight, E. F. G. it is no trouble to do. Otherwise I would know how to spare E. F. G. with it. Therefore I pray all the better for him, because I know that F. F. G. has almost enough to do with lukewarm, large, wide, deep, high, eternal and daily heavy things. Hiemit GOtt befehlt. Amen. Saturday Lamperti [Sept. 17] 1541.
1) Luther wrote "old" in the margin. - Altdresden is the present new town of Dresden. (Seidemann.)
2) According to Luther's own explanation: "a beggar's piece of perishable goods. (Seidemann I. c. p. 63.)
Letters from the year 1541. no. 2838. 2839. 2840.
No. 2838.