Luther consoles him about a lost child and reports political news about which he makes his remarks.
Handwritten in Aurifaber, vol. III, p. 352. Printed in Schütze, vol. I, p. 176 and in De Wette, vol. V, p. 414. The original is in Dessau, and we have used the variants given by Burkhardt, p. 402.
Grace and peace in Christ! The Lord Himself comforts you and your wife, the precious woman and fruitful mother, who through her has transferred so many saints from the pit of sin and death into the kingdom of His Son through the tariffs. You write that there are so many common evils that you must rather set a goal for your special (privato) pain, and you write the truth and have the right attitude. Yes, I will increase the register of common misfortunes by this letter,
2) "bekomerung", stunting (?), damage. (Dietz s. v.)
Letters from the year 1541. No. 2862.
if you do not know it yet. The Emperor Carl landed on October 25 with his entire fleet on the coast of Africa near the city of Algiers/) others say Altair. But this is false and impossible, since Altair is not on the coast, but in the middle of the country, unless they are deceived by the homonymous name. Here one has met him with armed crew from the city. But Carl put them to flight with the bullets of heavy guns and surrounded the city with a siege army until the 28th day [of October], which is Simonis [and] Jude. On that day the sea began to rage and boil, and in its own way (that is, when evil spirits reign) to rage in such a way that almost the entire fleet was swallowed up and sunk, while the army and the emperor himself watched in vain on the shore and were unable to come to the rescue; indeed, 140 ships (of whatever kind and size they tend to be in a fleet) were sunk, with all the provisions, guns, weapons and everything that was on them, horses and men. The emperor was forced by lack of provisions to have 1000 horses slaughtered for subsistence. He fled away in the remaining ships and returned to Genoa with the soldiers. However, others write about Carl himself, that he returned to Genoa, but landed in a neighboring port, so that they have to suspect his own leadership. We expect more certain news daily. This has been written to our prince. What do you think about these monstrosities of the gods over all gods? 2) Ferdinand fell at Buda, his brother Carl fell badly at Algiers, namely the two highest rulers. Don't you remember that I predicted as a prophet (and yet wanted GOtt, as a false one) that the last arsons of this shameful Heinzen might lead to great
1) In the text: Wagaria, to which Burkhardt has given no improvement, but to the following: Ageriam he brings Algiera; so Will also be read here.
2) ,,Deum xxxx (?)." The text is completely in order. Deum is to be understood as genitivus pluralis. What is meant is, as the following will show, Emperor Carl and King Ferdinand.
Fears 3) have become an occasion? For he for his own person is much too fearful to dare to light a straw to the poorest peasant if he did not know that high people stand by him. 4) And moreover, I have added that God Himself will avenge this in a short time. Has not the blood spilled at Eimbeck, Nordhausen and by other conflagrations, since the arsonists and bloodhounds looked on with glee, now forced Ferdinand to weep again, looking at himself and his own who are perishing, likewise also Carl, who at Regensburg despised the cries of the poor with a deaf ear and those who complained about the blood spilled by arsons, now to look at his ruined fleet? Perhaps this African Neptune has also avenged the cruelty against Ghent 5). What do you want? The kings think that they themselves are gods, and despise the true God, especially the one who is called Sheblimini (xxxxxx == Sit at my right hand [Ps. 110, 11]. For they want to be respected for conscientiously worshipping the God of majesty. But all these evils find me prophecies full of the nearness of the salvific day of our redemption, when the world will be so shattered and cracked, like a dilapidated building that must be demolished and wants to fall. For I also take this cruelty of the Turk for a forerunner 7) and sign of this day, that after 50 little children were burned to ashes in Buda, he sprinkled our churches with it, namely in order to cleanse them from Christian (as he considers it) idolatry and to consecrate them to his Mahomet. "Yes, indeed, Christ is the man whom the high chiefs of many lands shall attack," that they may provoke him who stands at his right hand, that he may smite the kings in his wrath.
3) ferbuisse metu. These fears are that also Emperor Carl and King Ferdinand would have had their hand in it, and would bring the wrath of God upon themselves.
4) Compare No. 2714 and No. 2802.
5) The cruel punishment of the Gentile outrage.
6) Instead of vsi in De Wette, the original reads diei.
7) Instead of postremo in De Wette is to be read prodromo, and immediately following instead of cruorern - cinerem.
Letters from the year 1541. No. 2862. 2862a. 2863.
So I prophesy that, because of these terrible evils, the beginnings of our salvation are in good shape. What does it matter to us if the world falls to pieces? The intrepid will not be struck by the ruins. 1) Christ lives and reigns; for us it will fall no more. For he is seated at the right hand of the Father, not at the right hand of such bubbles of water as are the Turk, the emperor, the kings, and all that is in the world. This I have written in many words, yet briefly. For this evening (when the world of misfortune also collapses) I must betroth Hanna Strauss, whom you know, to Magister Heinrich von Cölleda in Thuringia. You are well and look with us to the approaching day of Christ. Respect the fall little and dampen your temptations. Our sun shines and glows inextinguishably, so that the clouds and the darkness of the air, which have already intervened and are still to intervene, can do nothing, for they will soon disappear. The sun will remain for eternity. Greetings to your mistress Käthe and Justus and all of us. On the fourth Sunday of Advent [Dec. 18] 1541. Yours, Martin Luther.
No. 2862a.