About a marriage matter; about Luther's journey to Amsdorf, which is still delayed by the court.
The original is at Dresden in Cod. A copy (not the original, as De Wette assumed) is in the Weimar Archive, Reg. O, pag. 511. H.26.Printed in Unschuldige Nachrichten, 1761, p. 385; in Schütze, vol. I, p. 316; in Strobel-Ranner, p. 339; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 674 f. and (according to the original) in Seidemann's "Lutherbriefe," p. 70. German in Walch, vol. XXI, 1528.
To the venerable father in Christ, Mr.. Nicolaus, the right bishop of the church at Naumburg, his superior who is highly honored in your Lord.
Grace and peace. Venerable Father in Christ! I believe that the marriage of the priest, who married the stepmother of his deceased wife, is incestuous.
1) "of the same" put by us instead of: "of the same".
2) According to the registry, his name was Franciscus Hoch.
and that for this reason he should either be divorced or expelled from your parish, then for the sake of the annoyance that the priest of the church, who has been warned so many times before, has submitted to such a thing (unless she was a stepmother in such a way that the father of the deceased would also have been a stepfather, not a natural father). 3) That you were forced to eat the crabs alone, I envy you very much, and I am displeased that I was delayed by the court for so long. "There is nothing the matter with the court. Your regiment is like a crab or a snail. It can't get away from the councils, or it always wants to go back." Christ advised the church very well, since he did not give the court the government of the churches. "The devil would have nothing else to do, but to devour vain Christian souls." It is said that the prince will come here today. Then I will inquire whether he wants to keep what he promised about my coming to you. If he will postpone it again, I will let you know, so that you can receive me once more with your horsemen sent to meet you. In the meantime, be at ease in the Lord. I will repair the damage by devouring all the remaining crabs with you. And would to God that I could devour all the crabs and turtles of our court. Monday Praxedis (July 21) 1544. Yours, Martin Luther.
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