On Jonah's stone affliction; on the Concilium and the legation to the Turkish emperor.
From the Cod. Goth. 185. 4. in De Wette, vol. V, p. 743.
Grace and peace! I ask God to give something better, my dear Jonas, than what you write from your stone. Yes, you give up your Falerner (Faliscum) and similar things, so that they may not, as they say, give you such frightening conceits. God have mercy on us! The Mainz has sent ridiculous envoys to the Concilium,?) but this monster ridicules us and the pope at the same time. The Concilium is really Tridenti, that is in German "zertrennet", torn apart and dissolved, because God scatters it and will scatter it together with the envoys. I easily believe that they do not know what they should or will do. God has cursed their counsel, as it is written ^Jer. 17, 5Z: "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and holdeth flesh for his arm." I believe you have heard (for this is true) that from Venice, on June 21, a brilliant legation of the Emperor, the Frenchman, the
1) De Wette dates too early from "July 1", because only on July 13 Melanchthon had received the news from Venice that an embassy had been sent to the Turks (Corp. Ref., Vol. V, 789), and in the same letter to Lang (of July 14) he reports that he had read his theses on the secret betrothals, which he had shown to Luther, who would therefore write to him (this was done by the previous letter). Therefore, this letter will have to be datireN from July 14 or 15. (De Wette- Seidemann, vol. VI, p. 523, note 5.)
2) We have accepted De Wette's Conjectur: Legatos Mogun- tinus ad concilium ridendos misit, ftatt: Legatos Moguntini ad concilium ridendos misi. Cf. no. 3242.
In order not to be spurned by the Turk, they have changed the clothing of their fatherland and each of them has put on Turkish robes, that is, longer robes. Thus they wage war against him about whom they have cried out for so many years as the enemy of the Christian name, against whom the Roman Satan has made so much money through indulgences, annals and innumerable robberies. You see the fall of the kingdom, you see that the day of our salvation is near. Let us rejoice, be glad and exult, the end of the world is here. To God be praise and glory forever and ever, Amen. The 1st1) July 1545.
Your Martin Luther.
No. 3241.
Mid-July (?) 2) 1545.
Duke Barnim of Pomerania to Luther and the other theologians.
Answer to their intercession for Peter Schwabe and Simon Wolder.
A contemporaneous copy is found in the Weimar Archives, Reg. C, fol. 427. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 473 f.
Our favorable greetings, gracious will and all the best beforehand. Honored and reverend ones, special friends and dear special ones! Your letter, petition and exhortation, which you have addressed to us, have been particularly well received. We also thank you very diligently for the great gifts that God has given us, which we owe to you to honor and follow. But in order that you may be led out of suspicion, as if we should have proceeded more quickly or more harshly than is due to us against our subjects Peter Schwaben (Schwauen) and Simon Wolder, or have burdened the church of our city of Stolp in an undeserved and ungracious manner, we do not know you to behave, that the inhabitants of our city Stolp now a long time ago, as we may not note differently, deliberately our princely commandments and creations rejected and despised, and that Simon Wolder especially, as if he should lead the bunch to it,
1) See the first note.
2) This approximate time determination results from No. 3235.
with many marital (ehaften 3)) traces. And although we have left our city of Stolp almost the status of a free city, and our protection, which we have graciously granted to it, has not been compared or repaid to us in any way, neither by taxation nor by service, so that we also gladly bear the patience of a gracious princely leniency, we are nevertheless disconcerted, 4) that [they] refuse the due subservient reverence, which they owe to us as an easy-going and lenient sovereign, 4) that they refuse in many ways to show us, as an easy-going and mild sovereign, the due submissive respect they owe us, and that they do not know how to make use of their freedom for their own good, that they take pains to elevate one above the other, to push one over the other, and to rage and persecute more than to promote good. And since we are inclined to direct the pardons, so that we may grant ours at Stolp, to unity and their own good, we have therefore decreed a serious transfer. If, however, Peter Schwabe or Simon Wolder thought that they had been overhyped or not sufficiently heard, and thought that they had been deceived into the accepted, pledged obedience, we are, in your honor, inclined to guide them in their search, and to hear their supposed excuse in full, and to let them enjoy innocence, if it were found in them. We also do not know that we will in the least let the justice of the churches of Stolp be broken off, and whether they think they have some justice in some monasteries, we have for many reasons, not only for our interest, but also at the behest of our knighthood of the Pomeranian region, who complained of the aforementioned presumption, we have not yet been able to concede (concede) the same, but have offered to wait for the explanation and instruction of some of our named councillors, graciously thinking that you may know that we are excused from the suspicion with which ours dared to charge us with you. For we, in praise of God, have set our minds on promoting religion as much as is in us, and not to deprive them of the great liberties with which ours are entrusted: God willing that ours should not fail to promote the churches and to show due obedience and reverence, and first of all pull the beam out of their eyes. Your admonition and report shall always be pleasant and dear to us. We hereby entrust you to the graces of the Almighty and, as far as we are concerned, we shall graciously serve you in all respects. Date.
3) That is: substantial.
4) "nevertheless" put by us instead of: "accordingly".
No. 3242.