Luther exhorts him to forgive his schoolmaster for a one-time lapse in love.
Handwritten in Aurifaber, vol. III, p.4O6. Printed in Schütze, Vol. I, p. 267 and in De Wette, Vol. V, p. 574.
Grace and peace! I beseech thee, my dear Spalatin, that thou wouldst give me in Christ those
1) In Latin Deus is missing.
Give the matter that hovers between you and the schoolmaster, and show love toward him, as Paul says [2 Cor. 2:8]. Let also some of thy right depart, if dll think thou hast it, lest Satan tempt us, who, as we know, hath such thoughts as to deceive us, and from a spark to blow up a conflagration. It is hard for him to change his position so suddenly, which dll also easily understand. But you can do this comfortably and with a safe conscience if you tell him that you were moved by my name and by my requests to accept him again without further negotiation. In this you will follow the example of the heavenly Father who, for the sake of the petitions of his Son, our mediator, and in his name, not only accepts us for mercy, but also hears all our prayers and does all good without rebuke or trial, forgetting all sins that otherwise cannot be atoned for by any merit of our humility or by satisfaction.
This one debt or thing, whatever it may be, I ask you to forget. Then, if he should add something, then what the spirit teaches must be done. You have praised him before and know that he has been diligent. Who is there who is not sometimes absent, or if he is not absent, who would not be challenged, even innocently, by the devil? I have confidence and expect with certainty from your godliness that you will not despise these petitions of mine, because he has given himself entirely into my power. And I intercede for him, that thou also mayest be gracious and kind to me for his sake, and to him for mine. Be well in the Lord. On Margaret's Day [July 13] Anno 1543.
Your Martin Luther, D.
No. 3026.