Luther exhorts them not to disturb harmony for the sake of trivial things.
Handwritten in Cod. chart. Goth. 451. printed in N. Ericeus, Sylvula Sententiaruin, Francof. ad M. 1566, p. 215 [185]b; in Buddeus, p. 288; Joan. Manlii Epistolarum D. Philippi Melanchthonis Farragoo etc. Basilae, Per Paulum Queckum: M.D.LXV. 8. pag. 289; in M. J. H. Kindervaters Nordhusa illustris etc. Wolffenbüttel 1745. 8. p. 263 (after Manlius); in the Fortges. Samml. von alten und neuen Theol. Sachen 1728, p. 499, and in De Wette-Seidemann, vol. VI, p. 356 (after Manlius). German in Walch, Vol. XXI, 1346; in another translation in the Tischreden, Cap. 34, § 4 (except in the St. Louis edition, where vol. XXII, 997 refers to this passage) and in De Wette-Seidemann, vol. VI, p. 356. - The Latin offers so many variants that their indication in Seidemann takes up more space than the text. We have retranslated according to Seidemann.
Letters from the years 1543 and 1544. No. 3083. 3084.
To the highly esteemed and worthy men, 1) the servants of the Word of God in Nordhausen, his exceedingly dear brothers in the Lord.
Grace and peace in Christ. Dear men! You see for yourselves how great unrest Satan is stirring up everywhere in the church, in that there are almost as many opinions as there are heads of the church servants. Therefore, a certain rumor has also reached me that insignificant questions about very trivial things have also arisen among you. For in regard to the epitome of right doctrine (summa pietatis) your reputation is still unharmed. Nevertheless, just as the rabble is crude and despises the whole doctrine of godliness, so it easily seizes the opportunity to disparage and blaspheme even the highest articles of the faith, especially among those who are papists, who fan the flames and stir up bitterness and blow up a conflagration from a little spark. Therefore, for the sake of Christ, in whom we live and of whom we boast, 2) in whose Spirit we are one, I beg you to recognize and consider the grace of God, by which he has made us one and has kept us so far in the epitome of right doctrine 3) and the chief articles, and, as Paul [1 Cor. 10, 32], give no one offense in these outward and indifferent (indifferentibus) things, even (as the papists are now raging) with speeches that are harmful and dangerous to the weak, but pernicious to the hardened. Thus Christ will be the one 4) and reigns among all, whose death and blood we must cheaply prefer to our thoughts, or rather to the temptations of the devil. But as He has begun His work in you, so maintain and accomplish it until that day in which we hope, amen.
1) Here are in the Fortges. Sammt, the names: M. Joh. Spangenbergio et M. Antonio Ottoni inserted.
2) Instead of gubernamur we have assumed with Buddeus, the manuscript and the Fortges. Collection we have assumed gloriamur.
3) Instead of summa pietate We have assumed summa pietatis with Buddeus (as above).
4) Instead of meus we have assumed unus according to most sources.
No. 30 84.
To Eberhard von der Tann (Thann), Captain at Königsberg. 5)
Luther speaks out about the beneficial use of spiritual goods.
From a copy in Cod. Goth. 40, fol. 211, printed by Burkhardt, p. 441.-The occasion is not known.
Grace and peace in the Lord. Strict, firm, dear Lord, good friend! I have indeed been so overloaded with letters and business this time that I have not been able to do any of them before the others, and everything must go through my head and hand alone. That is why I have delayed answering you. That some grumble that my most gracious lord sells the ecclesiastical goods (as they are called) does not annoy me, because his churf. G. has otherwise done great damage to them, as it is tried with visitators and sequestrators, who have not been able to be sated, and yet the monasticism cannot be restored, one can truly not do otherwise. Also, S. ch. G. is to receive the evangelion with daily lists and messages and the like, an excellent great fare, which is all too heavy for the country. This is also a good thing, that such goods come among the nobility, 6) and especially to those who need it, because the very rich do not need it. The rich do not need it. Therefore, those who are angry about this and see the mote in another's eye should first look at their beam. Tell me, what use is the entire Würzburg Abbey to the church, as are all abbeys? Here schools, parishes, hospitals are provided for the Word of God and churches, there such large estates serve the devil and the persecution of the divine word; here the monastery is poor, the brothers are many, there the monasteries are rich and the lords are wavy. Therefore, they would like to grant us such a poor beggar's sack in God's honor (even if not everything would be pure), so we must grant that they
5) If this heading, which is found in Burkhardt, is correct, then "Königsberg in Franconia" is to be understood in the duchy Coburg, where Eberhard von der Tann, who was captain at the Wartburg, must have been transferred.
6) Burkhardt: compt.
Letters from the year 1544. No. 3084 to 3089.
No. 3085.