To the students of theology, Philip Melanchthon wishes salvation.
I wish you, theologians, and indeed all of Christendom, happiness that the sciences, and especially those that serve godliness, have increased in an extraordinary way in a short time with happy success, indeed, have been reborn, although in the meantime those to whom we owe the fall of the sciences and false theology, which consists of opinions, have unceasingly opposed it and worked against it with fire and sword. And especially we should recognize and revere the heavenly benefit with a godly sense, through which, as it seems to me, the church, having now served as a captive of Babel for almost four hundred years, has at last been able to gain some
hope that it will attain Christian freedom. For, if I am not mistaken, there has been no more urgent and general evil in the church than this, that we have almost abandoned the evangelical writings and learned the sophistical ones, and have lingered so long over the statutes, collections of cases of conscience (formulis casuum and sums, 3) as they are called, that not even aged people have found time to occupy themselves with the teaching of Christ. For I dare not say how the schools have departed from much of the apostolic way of life, so that they have made the exceedingly wholesome commandments and the symbols of true Christian peace the same.
3) Cf. Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XIX, 97.
The same is true of those who have forced us to change the order among the number of the [evangelical] councils, and others of that kind. But from these, by God's grace, we are freed by those who bring the true and original theology back to the bright light. To Erasmus of Rotterdam we owe the study of the Greek as well as the Latin language, we also owe him, to pass over more, the explained edition (lectionem) of the New Testament, 1) we also owe Jerome to him. To Reuchlin (Capnioni) must be attributed, besides many other things, the Hebrew. Special praise is due both in Greek and Hebrew to Wolfgang Fabricius and Johannes Oecolampad. Andreas Carlstadt has refuted a number of cold school opinions as conscientiously as carefully. 2) And what am I doing mentioning individual people? Everywhere many things are written by the best men, by which good souls can be brought back to evangelical studies. I believe that those do the most good who deal with the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and among these especially 3) those who explain such books as are most necessary to the people but least understood. I do not say this as if I did not think equally highly of all sacred and canonical books, but because some are read more frequently by the people, and some are of such a nature that they can serve as an instruction or instead of an interpretation for the others. As, among the Pauline epistles, the purpose (scopus) of the epistle written to the Romans shows, as it were, like a signpost (Atticus Mercurius) the way to the others: so both the use of the people and the order of the contents give some books an advantage over the others. Otherwise, all have the same prestige. In this way, the Psalms are generally preferred to the other books of Scripture, not only because of their public use in the church, but also because they touch on almost all of sacred history. Then they often bring prophecies
1) In 1516 he published the New Testament in folio in Basel in Greek with a Latin translation.
2) This statement about Carlstadt is omitted in the Wittenberg edition.
3) In the Erlanger and in the Weimarschen: xrasmxnn instead of praeeipus.
of Jesus the Savior, of the calling of the Gentiles, of the Church of Christ in such clear sayings (carminibus) that David also far surpasses the other prophets in this laudable piece. Finally, as from the historical books the knowledge of the events and the law is obtained, so from David's writings the meaning (vis)and effect of history, which awakens our hearts by the harmony of the Psalms and, aroused by a powerful urge, carries them away to the heavenly things. And the Psalms have, as it were, this noble way (^'-rc<") about them, that they apply the examples of sacred history to calm our minds in all things. For what is the use of knowing that the world was created by God, as the first book of Moses indicates, if you do not worship the Creator's mercy and wisdom? Then, what good would it do you to know that God is merciful and wise, if you did not also firmly believe that He is merciful to you, just towards you, and wise for you? And that means in truth to know God. But this highest level (extremam rationem) of the knowledge of God has not been attained by philosophy, it is peculiar to Christians. But this sweet knowledge (suavitatem) is instilled in the godly hearts by the spirit of the Psalms, and this heavenly harmony, which the spirit of God brings about. It is nothing that the pagan antiquity praises to me its poetic works (epodas) or the songs of Orpheus; the sounds of this harp are quite different, which connect the hearts of men with heaven in such a way that they transform them completely into something divine. Therefore, Martin Luther has explained these sacred songs by an interpretation, which we want to have recommended to the students all the more for this reason, because, although other writings on David's Psalms have been written by others, still few hit the right sense (referant faciem). He who will carefully compare everything with the old [interpretations], and indeed with the best ones, will learn what Luther has achieved in this. However, dear readers, it is up to you to accept Luther's faithfulness and diligence, and to direct your efforts toward bringing a pure heart to the reading of these interpretations and to tame human prejudices (affectibus), in short, to read Christ's writings under Christ's guidance. Fare well. Wittenberg, Saxony, in the month of March, 1519.