About a visitation to be carried out in Naumburg Abbey; about the letter of the Pope to the Emperor, against whom Luther wants to write.
The original is at Dresden in Cod. Seidel. Printed by Schütze, Vol. I, p. 337 and by De Wette, Vol. V, p. 712. German by Walch, Vol. XXI, 1537.
To the venerable father and lord in Christ, Nicolaus, the right and fair bishop of the church at Naumburg, his superior to be highly honored in Christ.
Grace and peace in Christ! May the Lord bless you from Zion and give you what your heart desires, venerable father in Christ; continue in the name of the Lord, establish your ministry, do the work of a bishop, to which you will be called.
you are called, and visit the churches, at least in your parish, where you have full rights to the parish. The Lord will be with you. If these or those centaurs should resist that you cannot visit, you are excused. Let them see for themselves, and shake the dust off your feet against them, as the gospel teaches.
With me, there will be no delay in changing the preface to the Book of Visitation. But it cannot be finished in such a short time. Soon, as they have returned from the fair, I will deal with Joh. Luft and the bookkeepers that they take up the matter. Then perhaps this will also happen during the visitation, that certain things are to be arranged or omitted in a different way for this district of Naumburg, because of the inequality of the circumstances and the persons. For this is the way our visitation books were issued only after the visitation. And it will not be at all disadvantageous for the pastors if they are not given copies as soon as possible; the matter itself will teach everything.
I have seen the bull or breve of the pope 1) but I thought it was a pasqnill. Now I think differently, after it is spread in all courts. I think that if this breve is genuine (verum), the papists are dealing with a great and outstanding monstrosity, that is, the pope will rather publicly worship the Turk and even Satan (as I have said several times from Virgil [Aen. lib. VII, v. 312]: If I cannot bend the gods, I will raise hell), than that he should be brought to order or reformed by the word of God. And the reasons for this are not hidden. But the Lord Jesus, who kills his adversary with the spirit of his mouth, will destroy him by the appearance of his future, amen. But I will not be inactive, and paint that bull with its right colors, 2) when my
1) This refers to the letter of the pope to the emperor, St. Louis edition, vol. XVII, 998, no. 1416, and Col. 1012, no. 1417.
2) Luther did this by writing "Das Pabstthum zu Rom vom Teufel gestiftet," St. Louis Edition, Vol. XVII, 1019, No. 1418, which was published as early as March.
Letters from the year 1545. No. 3180 to 3184.
Health and time permit. In Christ, be at ease, and let Him rule your actions, amen. On Friday after Epiphany [January 9] 1545.
Your Martin Luther, D.
No. 3181.
Concern: "Wittenberg Reformation," posed by the Wittenberg Theologians.
See St. Louis edition, vol. XVII, 1133, no. 1419.
No. 3182.