About the campaign against the Turks, for which one prepares oneself with all kinds of vices and contempt of the word of God, so that there are worse Turks in Germany than the Mahomedan Turks. In His wrath, God will punish the despisers and blasphemers.
The original is in Dessau. Handwritten in Aurifaber, Vol. III, p. 366. Printed in Schütze, Vol. I, p. 192 and in De Wette, Vol. V, p. 438.
Grace and peace in the Lord! What you write about the campaign of our princes against the Turks, I do not know whether they are equipped 3) or will be equipped, but even that. I do not even know whether it is useful for us to agonize over when or how they will arm or be armed, because they themselves, as you write, do not believe that the Turk is armed, they who are the most obstructive hinderers by being equipped with avarice, prosperity, usury and (what is frightening) with contempt for the Word (which they consider to be the word of man, not of God). Yesterday I received letters from Silesia, which I am sending you (but dll have to send them back), which almost killed me, because I saw that the son of
2) De bet wrong: "February 25." In 1542, St. Matthew's Day fell on Friday, February 24.
3) Luther plays here with the word expedio iu different forms and meanings.
Letters from the year 1542. No. 2888.
God's words and sacraments are so trampled upon. Although we (as carnal people) love Him exceedingly coldly, yet, if there is any other 1) feeling in us, I could not suffer that a pig or a dog should be despised with such words, since I believe of Him at least with a little spark that He is the Son of God and Sheblimini, and with my weak love against such a Savior 2) I would not stand, as I hope, to give away at least one life out of gratitude against Him. But these things are the monstrosities of Carlstadt. Whether these are milder or lesser things, which are said about ours, the matter will show, since they say: "I am your pope! What do I ask for D. Martinus?" Since, therefore, for this reason, the world gives us such thanks, since we are still alive, why do we pray, why are we worried that the Mahometan Turk would kill such Christian and worse Turks? 3) As if it is not better to be in the service of the Turks, to succumb to the Turks, enemies and foreigners, than to succumb to the Turks, friends and natives. And if they laugh at God in their sins, may God also laugh at [them] in their sins, so that, just as they do not hear God, since He speaks, asks, exhorts, pleads, does everything, endures, suffers, yes, bears in the heart of Noah's sorrow and cries out in the godly prophets and rises early: so may He also, in turn, neither hear nor see at their ruin, since they howl, wail and cry out in vain. "They know that it is God whose word we speak, and yet they say, "We will not hear. Summa: they are driven by raging furies, because the wrath of God has come upon them to the end. Why then do we want to consume ourselves because of these shameful people? Let it go as it goes. Let us pray that 4) the name of God be sanctified, and His kingdom come, and His will be done.
1) Instead of nullus we have assumed ullus.
2) According to Burkhardt, we have inserted here from the original: amore non dubitem, ut spero in ejus gratia unam. This is the only improvement that Burkhardt communicates.
3) Instead of Turcis occidit we have adopted Turcas occidat.
4) Instead of et, we have assumed ut.
be done. In the meantime, let the world perish and be destroyed. "I want to have made provision for such shameful furies.
There is no news, only that Herr Philippus tells me that he has received a letter from Poland that the Turk has sent two armies, one to Austria, the other to Silesia, and also a pasha who is to invade Poland with a strong crew of Tartars. I, at least, know of nothing that is being prepared against these forces, unless, since we despise the enemy, we have the confidence to kill them by drinking Torgau beer, or by playing dice of masked persons (personaticis), that is, by silence, to repay them in kind. 5) Thus I pour out my words to you, my dear Jonas, after I have conquered my anger, my thoughts and my temptations in a great struggle. Praise be to God who comforted me and said: What cryest thou? Let it go as it goes. But even now I cannot let it go as it may, since I cannot so easily let go of my beloved Saul, and with heartfelt sighs I wish that Germany, my fatherland, would be saved, which before my eyes, and while I live, is perishing and gone. But God's way is just, which I must not resist. God have mercy on us, since no one believes us. Farewell, my dear Jonas, and greet all of ours, especially yours, whom I beg you not to grieve with this letter, because I wrote this in agitation; after all, God wanted it to be all wrong, amen. On Friday, St. Matthew's Day [Feb. 24], Anno 1542. Yours, M. Luther.
5) Instead of perdendum (?) we have adopted pendendum. The meaning is not doubtful: we try to overcome the Turks by drinking beer and playing dice. To justify the translation we have given, we include a passage from the exhortation that the then Rector, D. Jakob Milich, addressed to the students on February 18 (Corp. Ref. , Vol. IV, 780): "We, which is our office, wish to maintain good discipline and to dampen the will to anger. Therefore we forbid nocturnal shouting and noise, likewise the running around of masked persons and the game of dice, which has its name from silence (mussitatione). For with so much corruption of morals, what else can sensible people suspect but reenactments when they see unknown masqueraders, who are silent and speak with a wave of their hand, breaking into other people's houses? That is not compatible with decent and noble behavior."
Letters from the year 1542. no. 2889. 2890. 2891.
No. 2889.
Admonition to the university, the town council and the citizens of Wittenberg.
Exhortation to maintain Christian discipline and
Order.
Printed under the title: "Vermahnung Doctoris Martini Lutheri, in abwesen Doctoris Pomerani, An die Vniuersitet vnd den Rathe vnd Buraerschafft zu Wittenburg. 1542." quarto. This print is in the Royal Library in Berlin. Then in De Wette-Seidemann, vol. VI, p. 302.
That the preacher earnestly exhort to prayer, and first of all, to mend, both the city and the school. Forsooth, the wrath of God, greater than anyone believes, has come upon Germany. The regiments are nothing (this is an evil sign, as Isaiah 3 says), so the enemy, the rod of God, is at the door.
Therefore, I ask both city and school for God's sake, that they do not let the cry come over them, that they have heard God's word so long and so abundantly, and yet not only have not improved, but also have become more and more angry the longer. For that would be terrible to hear before God and the world that the gospel was preached here by me for thirty years, with great effort and work, and beside me also for many years by others, and that now at the end of my life I had to experience and hear that it had never been worse than now. Which would have to grieve me greatly, even the Holy Spirit, which would not be good, and a sure sign that this city deserved a special disgrace, like Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum.
So the council wanted to be diligent to punish the vices, the citizens also control the avarice. For, dear God, what is that, if now the grain is all cheap, and yet the city, neither in bread nor other, nothing more helped, because it was very expensive. So
1) Seidemann thinks that this admonition could also have happened in November, but we give preference to the above time determination because of the admonition of the Rector to the students of 18 Feb. 1542 mentioned in the previous number. Also Bugenhagen was no longer absent in November, but returned from Denmark to Wittenberg around Pentecost. See Burkhardt, p. 405, note.
even in other trades and crafts, that God will truly punish such injustice and avarice and make the bag (as Haggaeus says) leaky, so that they will not become any richer, but only poorer, and even if they do not feel it now, their children will feel it too much. For so it is said: Radix omnium malorum avaritia, avarice corrupts everything, country, people and what should nourish itself. This is what experience gives and teaches.
I ask my brother Studium, the poor old preacher, also for God's sake, to keep quiet, chaste and honest, to wait for them to be sent here, and to keep them here at the heavy cost of their own, so that they may learn art and virtue, because the time is here, and such fine preceptors are available, and yet accept this request and admonition of mine as full of God Himself. For God says: You shall honor the gray head.
But if they grieve my spirit, so that I have to hear, as Noah heard his world, that God complains [Gen. 6:6] that it grieves him, then they will not escape their flood of sin. Oh my brother Studium, spare me, and do not let it come that I have to cry out like St. Polycarpus: Oh God! why did you let me experience this? I did not deserve it, but there are my and your preceptors' faithful works, which serve you for the best, both in this and that life. I hereby command God, who will help you to resist the devil, the flesh and the world, amen.
If I could have preached myself, I might have said more.
No. 2890.