O
sr.
LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
TOGETHER WITH HIS SHORTER AND
LARGER CATECHISMS
- \J4
LUTHER S
PRIMARY WORKS
TOGETHER WITH HIS SHORTER AND
LARGER CATECHISMS
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
EDITED
SSltth ^heolftgtCAl anb ^tjistormil
HENRY WAGE, D.D.
Prebendary of St, Paul s, Preacher of Lincoln s Inn, Principal of Kings College, London
Chaplain to the A rchbishop of Canterbury
AND
C. A. BUCHHEIM, PH.D.
Professor of the German Language and Literature in Kings College, London
LONDON
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
27, PATERNOSTER ROW
Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.
PKEFACE
rrVEE present volume is designed to afford the English
reader the means of becoming acquainted, from
Luther himself, with the principles from which the
Reformation started, and with the manner in which they
were applied by the great Reformer in the renovation of
Faith and Practice in the common life of Christians.
The second of these subjects, although the later in
historical development, has been exemplified first in
these pages, by means of a translation of Luther s shorter
and larger Catechisms. These two works exhibit the
Reformer s practical teaching in its simplest and most
direct form. They are still living forces in Germany, at
least as much as the Catechism of the Book of Common
Prayer is in England, and the editors believe they
vi PREFACE
deserve the Larger Catechism especially to have a
wider influence in this country. They exhibit in the
most vivid form Luther s strong grasp of the cardinal
principles of the Christian Faith, and his wonderful
power of clear and forcible exposition. The larger
Catechism, at all events, does not appear to have been
hitherto accessible to English readers, and it is hoped
that the present translation will facilitate a due ap
prehension of it. The task of translating it has been
one of extreme difficulty. It would not, perhaps, have
been so difficult to convey the substantial meaning of
Luther, as is done in the Latin translation which, in the
Lutheran Symbolical Books, accompanies the German
text. But Luther s ojbject was to be simple and popular,
and a great part, accordingly, of the characteristic value
of the work depends on its homely and idiomatic style.
The Editors have found it impracticable adequately to
reproduce this inimitable style, but the greatest pains
have been taken to render the translation as close a
representation of the German as possible. After the
work had been translated by Miss Buchheim, the ad-
PREFA CE . vi
ditional assistance of Miss Dora Schmitz was obtained ;
and the translation thus provided was then revised, very
carefully, first by Dr. Wace and then by Dr. Buchheim.
The necessity of this minute and repeated revision has
delayed the volume for some years ; and the editors
must express their thanks to the publishers for the
patience they have been good enough to extend to them
for this purpose. The Editors will feel their labours
abundantly rewarded if the result is sufficiently success
ful to afford English readers some adequate conception
of the strength and simplicity, the combined manliness
and childlikeness, of the Reformer s faith and teaching,
and if a more just understanding is thus secured of
the grand services which he rendered both to his own
country and to Europe, and of the profound value of the
practical principles which he reasserted.
The three treatises which follow the Catechisms, as is
more fully explained in the first of the essays in the
Appendix, were all produced in the critical year 1520,
when the Reformer appealed at the same moment to the
Pope, to the Christian Nobility of his nation, to earnest
viii PREFA CE
Christian men, and to Theologians, to promote a real
Reform in the Church. Accordingly, the(JTreatise on
Christian Liberty^J)combines with an earnest appeal
to the Pope an impressive statement of the cardinal
Christian truths in which Luther s whole soul was
absorbed, and which he longed to deliver from the
obscurity in which they were imprisoned by the pre
valent philosophy and theology. On the other hand,
in the^Address to the NobilitX he exposed with
tremendous power thejsractical abuses which prevailed
in the Roman Church in Germany; and in the
^Treatise on the Babylonish Captivity ,.ie attacked
the spiritual abuses which had grown up, like a huge
canker, around the Christianas acraments. His work in
the latter treatise is avowedly somewhat tentative, and
his views on some points were afterwards modified ; but
the main principles on which his reforming movement
proceeded are asserted with great clearness and force.
But for a fuller explanation of the nature of these
Treatises the essay in the Appendix, already mentioned,
may be referred to. Here it is only necessary to state
PREFA CE ix
that, of these three works, the Address to the Nobility
of the German Nation, which was written in German,
has been translated by Professor Buchheim from the
text given in the Erlangen and Frankfort edition,
collated with the edition recently published separately,
as one of the publications of the Verein fur Reforma
tions Geschichte, by Professor Benrath. The translation
of this work also presented very great difficulties, as
it was written in Luther s earliest . German style, with
extraordinary idiomatic force, and before the language
had been improved, and rendered comparatively defi
nite, by his translation of the Bible. Dr. Buchheim has
endeavoured to make his version as literal as was com
patible with the genius of the English language, and
with the necessity of modifying, now and then, some
obscure or obsolete expressions ; and he has offered a
few annotations. He desires at the same time to express
his great obligations to Dr. Wace, who carefully com
pared his translation with the original work, and whose
suggestions have been of great service to him. The two
Treatises on Christian Liberty and on the Babylonish
x PREFA CE
Captivity of the Church were translated from the
original Latin texts, as given in the Frankfort edition,
by the late Rev. E. S. Grignon, to whose generous
assistance and accurate scholarship the Editors feel
greatly indebted. To the same hand is due the
translation of the Ninety-five Theses, which are appended
to these Treatises on account of their profound interest
as exhibiting the moral and spiritual convictions by
which Luther s revolt against the prevalent abuses was
prompted.
The three latter translations, with the Ninety-five
Theses, were published thirteen years ago by Mr. Murray,
as a contribution towards the celebration in this country
of the fourth centenary of Luther s birth ; and the Editors
have to thank Mr. Murray for his kind permission to
reprint them, in connexion with the translation, now
first published, of the Catechisms. The opportunity has
been taken, both by Dr. Buchheim and Dr. Wace, to
revise the translations with care. Dr. Buchheim, in
particular, has expended great pains upon the endeavour
to correct the translation of the Address to the German
!
PREFA CE xi
Nation by the lights of the latest German scholarship,
and he has also carefully revised his historical sketch
in the Appendix.
The Editors venture to hope that this attempt to let
the voice of the great Reformer be heard more clearly
in England may, for various reasons, be opportune at
the present time, and that it may assist in the better
apprehension of those cardinal principles on which, alike
in England and in Germany, true " Christian Liberty "
can alone be securely based.
KING S COLLEGE, LONDON,
October 1896.
!
CONTENTS xv
PAGE
IV. CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY.
1. LETTER TO POPE LEO X 245
2. THAT A CHRISTIAN MAN is THE MOST FREE LORD OF
ALL, AND SUBJECT TO NONE ..... 256
3. THAT A CHRISTIAN MAN is THE MOST DUTIFUL SERVANT
OF ALL, AND SUBJECT TO EVERY ONE . . . 271
V. ON THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH.
1. INTRODUCTION . 294
2. ON THE LORD S SUPPER . . . . . . .302
3. ON BAPTISM 339
4. ON PENANCE 365
5. ON CONFIRMATION . . . . . . . .375
6. ON MATRIMONY 377
7. ON ORDERS . . . 390
8. ON EXTREME UNCTION 401
VI. THE NINETY-FIVE THESES . . 411
XVI
CONTENTS
APPENDIX.
ESSAYS :
1. ON THE PBIMAEY PEINCIPLES OF LUTHEK S LIFE
AND TEACHING : BY DR. WAGE 425
2. ON THE POLITICAL COUESE OF THE REFOEMATION IN
GEEMANY (15171546) : BY DE. BUCHHEIM . . 451
CONTENTS
I. A SHORT CATECHISM:
LUTHER S PREFACE ........ 1
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ...... 6
THE CREED ........ 9
THE LORD S PRAYER ....... 10
HOLT BAPTISM ...... 13
A SHORT FORM OF CONFESSION . 15
THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR ... 17
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER . 18
BLESSING AND THANKS AT MEALS ..... 19
THE TABLE OF HOME DUTIES . . 20
II. THE GREATER CATECHISM:
LUTHER S PREFACE .... 24
xiv CONTENTS
II. THE GREATER CATECHISM (Continued, ) :
LUTHER S SHORT INTRODUCTION 30
OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 34
OF THE CREED 95
OF THE LORD S PRAYER 107
OF BAPTISM 129
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR . . . .143
III. ADDRESS TO THE CHRISTIAN NOBILITY OF THE
GERMAN RATION RESPECTING THE REFORMA
TION OF THE CHRISTIAN ESTATE.
1. DEDICATORY LETTER 159
2. INTRODUCTION Igl
3. THE THREE WALLS OF THE ROMANISTS . , .162
(*) THAT THE TEMPORAL POWER HAS NO JURIS
DICTION OVER THE SPIRITUALTY . . .163
(Z>) THAT NO ONE MAY INTERPRET THE SCRIPTURES
BUT THE POPE 169
(c) THAT NO ONE MAY CALL A COUNCIL BUT THE
POPE ]72
4. OF THE MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE COUNCILS 175
5. TWENTY-SEVEN ARTICLES RESPECTING THE REFORMA-
, TION OF THE CHRISTIAN ESTATE . . . ijvj
ENCHIRIDION
H Sbort Catecbism for tbe 1Hse ot"
pastors anfc jpreacbers
PEEFACE
Martin Luther to all faithful, pious
pastors and preachers : Grace, mercy,
and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord.
IN setting forth this Catechism or Christian doctrine
in such a simple, concise, and easy form, I have been
compelled and driven by the wretched arid lamentable
state of affairs which I discovered lately when I acted
as inspector. Merciful God, what misery I have seen,
the common people knowing nothing at all of Christian
doctrine, especially in the villages ! and unfortunately
many pastors are well-nigh unskilled and incapable of
teaching ; and though all are called Christians and par
take of the Holy Sacrament, they know neither the Lord s
Prayer, nor the Creed, nor the Ten Commandments, but
live like the poor cattle and senseless swine, though, now
that the Gospel is come, they have learnt well enough
how they may abuse their liberty.
ye bishops, how will ye ever answer for it to Christ
that ye have so shamefully neglected the people, and
have not attended for an instant to your office ? May all
evil be averted from you ! Ye forbid the taking of the
1
2 PREFACE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER
Sacrament in one kind, and insist on your human laws,
but never inquire whether they know the Lord s Prayer,
the Belief, the Ten Commandments, or any of the words
of God. Oh, woe upon you for evermore !
Therefore I pray you for God s sake, my good masters
and brethren who are pastors or preachers, to attend to
your office with all your heart, to take pity on your
people, who are commended to your charge, and to help
us to introduce the Catechism among the people, espe
cially among the young ; and let those who cannot do
better take these tables and forms, and instruct the people
in them word for word ; in this wise :
First, the preacher must above all things beware of
and avoid the use of various and different texts and
forms of the Commandments, Lord s Prayer, Belief,
Sacrament, etc. ; he must take one form and keep to it,
and constantly teach the same, year after year. For the
young and simple folk must be taught one definite text
and version, else they will easily become confused, if to-day
we teach thus and next year thus, as though we wanted to
improve it, and so all our labour and toil is lost.
This was clearly seen by the worthy fathers, who used
the Lord s Prayer, the Belief, the Ten Commandments,
all in one form. Therefore we must always teach the
young and simple folk in such a manner that we do not
alter one syllable, or preach to-morrow differently from
to-day.
Therefore choose whatever form thou wilt, and ever
keep to it. But if thou preachest to scholars or wise
men, thou mayest show thy skill, and vary these articles,
and twist them as subtly as thou canst. But with the
young keep always to one form, and teach them first of
all these articles, namely, the Ten Commandments, the
Belief, the Lord s Prayer, etc., according to the text, word
for word, so that they may repeat them and learn them
by heart.
But as for those who will not learn, let them be told
that they deny Christ and are no Christians, and let
them not be admitted to the Sacrament, be sponsors to
TO THE SHORT CATECHISM 3
any child, or enjoy any of the liberty of Christians, but
be handed over simply to the Pope and his officers, yea,
to the devil himself. Besides this, let their parents or
masters refuse them food and drink, and tell them that the
prince will have such rude people driven from the land.
For though we cannot and may not force any to
believe, yet we must train and urge the multitude so that
they may know what is right and wrong among those
with whom they have their dwelling, food, and life. For
whoever would dwell in a town must know and keep the
law of which he would enjoy the privileges, whether he
believe it, or be a rogue and good-for-nothing in his
heart.
Secondly, when they know the text well, teach them
next to understand it, so that they know what it means,
and take once more the method of these tables, this or
some other short method, whichever thou wilt, and keep
to it, and do not alter one syllable, just as we said of the
text, and take time and leisure over it. For it is not
necessary to expound all at once, but one thing after the
other. When they understand the First Commandment
well, then take the Second, and so on, else they will be
overwhelmed and retain none.
Thirdly, now when thou hast taught them this short
Catechism, then take the larger Catechism, and give them
a deeper and fuller explanation. Explain every com
mandment, petition, and article, with its various works
and uses, its dangers and abuses, as thou wilt find them
in abundance in the many little books written about
them. And especially dwell on that commandment that
is most neglected among thy people. For example, the
Seventh* Commandment, about stealing, must be vehe
mently urged among artisans, tradesmen, and also among
peasants and servants, for among such people there is all
manner of unfaithfulness and thieving. Again, the Fourth
Commandment must be specially urged upon children and
* I.e., the Eighth, as we number them ; and so the Fourth,
presently mentioned, is our fifth.
PREFACE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER
the common people, that they may be quiet, faithful,
obedient, peaceful ; and them must always adduce many
examples from the Bible of how God punished or blessed
such people.
Especially urge authorities and parents that they
govern well and send the children to school, and ad
monish them how it is their duty to do this, and what
an accursed sin they commit if they neglect it. For
thereby they overthrow and desolate both God s kingdom
and the world s, as the worst enemies both of God and
man. Lay also great stress on the horrible injury they
do, if they do not help to train children for pastors,
preachers, clerks, etc., and that God will punish them
terribly. For it is very necessary to preach on this
subject. Parents and magistrates now sin in this matter
more than we can say. The devil has also most evil
designs therein.
Finally, because the tyranny of the Pope is past, they
will no longer come to the Sacrament, and despise it.
Accordingly it is necessary to urge them, but with this
caution : we must not force any one to belief or to the
Sacrament, nor make any law prescribing time or place ;
but we ought to preach so that they come without our
laws and, as it were, force us, their pastors, to give them
the Sacrament. This we may do by saying to them,
" Whoever does not seek or desire the Sacrament, or
demand it, at least once or four times a year, it is to
be feared that he despises the Sacrament and is no
Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not
believe in or listen to the Gospel ; for Christ did not say,
Omit or despise this, but This do as oft as ye drink it,
etc." He will surely have it done, and on no account
neglected or despised. " This do" He says.
But if there be any one who does not greatly prize the
Sacrament, that is a sign that he has no sin, no flesh, no
devil, no world, no death, no danger, no hell ; that is,
he believes in none, though he is head over ears therein
and is doubly the devil s. On the other hand, he needs
DO mercy, life, paradise, kingdom of heaven, Christ, God,
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.
HONOUE THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we do
not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but
reverence, serve, obey, love, and honour them.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we do
our neighbour no harm nor injury in his body, but help
and further him in all bodily necessities.
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we live
chaste and modest in word and deed, and that every one
love and honour his spouse.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we take
not our neighbour s money nor goods, nor seek to obtain
them by false dealing or deceit, but help him to keep and
improve his goods and his sustenance.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY
NEIGHBOUR.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we do
not falsely deceive, betray, calumniate, nor slander our
THE SHORT CATECHISM
neighbour, but excuse him, speak well of him, and turn
everything to the best.
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR S HOUSE.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we do
not covet our neighbour s inheritance nor his house, nor
seek to obtain them by a semblance of right, but help
him and further him in retaining what is his own.
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR S WIFE, NOR
HIS SERVANT, NOR HIS MAID, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS,
NOR ANYTHING THAT IS HIS.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We are to fear and love God, that we do
not seek to alienate or turn from our neighbour his wife,
his servants, or his cattle, but exhort them to remain
and do their duty to him.
Now what saith God of all these Commandments ?
Answer. He saith thus :
FOR I, THE LORD THY GOD, AM A JEALOUS GOD, AND
VISIT THE SINS OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO
THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE
ME, AND SHOW MERCY UNTO THOUSANDS IN THEM THAT
LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God threatens to punish all who transgress
these commandments. Wherefore we must fear^ His
wrath and not break these commandments. But He
promises His grace and all good tilings to all who keep
these commandments. Wherefore we are to love and
trust Him and gladly do according to His command
ments.
THE BELIEF
1LTIIE CREED
How the master of the house is to explain it
as simply as possible to his household.
THE FIRST ARTICLE: OF THE CREATION.
I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER
OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
What does that mean ?
Answer. I believe that God has created me and all
other creatures, and has given me, and preserves for me,
body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason
and all my senses ; and that daily He bestows on me
clothes arid shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife
and child, fields and cattle, and all my goods, and supplies
in abundance all needs and necessities of my body and
life, and protects me from all perils, and guards and
defends me from all evil. And this He does out of pure
fatherly and Divine goodness and mercy, without any
merit or worthiness in me ; for all which I am bound to
thank Him and praise Him, and, moreover, to serve and
obey Him. This is a faithful saying.
THE SECOND ARTICLE: OF THE REDEMPTION.
AND IN JESUS CHRIST, His ONLY SON, OUR LORD,
WHO WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF
THE VIRGIN MARY ; SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE ;
WAS CRUCIFIED, DEAD, AND BURIED, HE DESCENDED INTO
HELL ; THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD ;
HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AND SITTETH AT THE RIGHT
HAND OF THE FATHER ALMIGHTY : FROM THENCE HE
SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.
What does that mean ?
Ansiver. I believe that Jesus Christ, very God, born
of the Father in eternity, and also very man, born of
the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a
lost and damned man, and has won and delivered me
from all sins, from death, and from the power of the
io THE SHORT CATECHISM
devil, not with gold and silver, but with His holy and
precious blood and with His innocent passion and death,
so that I might be His own, and might live under Him
in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteous
ness, innocence, and blessing, just as He rose from the
dead, and lives and reigns in all eternity. This is a
faithful saying.
THE THIRD ARTICLE: OF THE SANCTIFICATION,
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST, A HOLY CHRISTIAN
CHURCH, THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS
OF SINS, THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
What does that mean ?
Answer. I believe that I cannot of my own under
standing and strength believe in or come to Jesus Christ
my Lord, but that the Holy Ghost has called me by the
Gospel, and illuminated me with His gifts, and sanctified
and preserved me in the true faith, just as He calls,
gathers together, illuminates, sanctifies, and preserves in
Jesus Christ all Christendom throughout the earth in the
one true faith ; in which Christendom He daily bestows
abundantly on me and all believers forgiveness of sins ;
and on the last day He will awaken me and all the dead,
and will give to me and all that believe in Christ eternal
life. This is a faithful saying.
UL THE LORD S PRAYER
How the master of the house should explain it
as simply as possible to his household.
OUR FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN.
What does that mean ?
Answer. With these words God invites us to believe
that He is our true Father, and that we are His true
children, so that we may pray to Him in confidence and
in all trust, as little children do to their fathers.
THE LORD S PRAYER n
THE FIRST PETITION.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God s name, indeed, is already holy in itself,
but we pray in this prayer that it may also be holy among
us.
How is this done ?
Answer. Where the word of God is taught in all
purity and sincerity, and we live a holy life in accordance
with it, as the children of God. In which our dear
Father in heaven help us ! But he who teaches and
lives otherwise than the word of God teaches, he pro-
fones among us the name of God, from which defend us,
heavenly Father.
THE SECOND PETITION.
THY KINGDOM COME.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God s kingdom comes, indeed, of itself,
without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may
also come to us.
How is this done ?
Answer. When our heavenly Father gives us His
Holy Spirit, that, through His mercy, we believe His
holy word, and live a godly life, here for a time and for I/
ever in heaven.
THE THIRD PETITION.
THY WILL BE DONE ON EAETH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God s good and gracious will is done indeed
without our prayer,"but we ask in this prayer that it may
also be done among us.
How is this done ?
Answer. When God destroys and overthrows all evil
counsel and ill-will, which would not let us keep holy
THE SHORT CATECHISM
the name of God or let His kingdom come, such as is
the will of the devil, the world, and of our flesh ; but
strengthens and maintains us firmly in His word and faith
unto our lives end. That is His good and gracious will.
THE FOURTH PETITION.
GlVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God gives daily bread, without our inter
cession, to all evil men, but we ask in this prayer that He
will let us acknowledge and receive with thanksgiving
our daily bread.
What signifies daily bread ?
Anstver. All that appertains to the nourishment and
wants of our bodies, such as food, drink, clothes, shoes,
house and home, lands, cattle, money, goods, an honest
wife, honest children, honest servants, honest, faithful
magistrates, good government, good weather, peace,
health, modesty, honour, good friends, faithful neigh
bours, and the like.
THE FIFTH PETITION.
AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THEM
THAT TRESPASS AGAINST US.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We ask in this prayer that our Father in
heaven may not regard our sin, and may not because of
it reject our prayer, for we are not worthy of anything
we ask, neither have we deserved it ; but that He will
grant all to us of His grace, for we sin greatly each day
and deserve nothing but punishment. And in our turn
we will heartily forgive and do good to all those who sin
against us.
THE SIXTH PETITION.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.
What does that mean ?
Answer. God, it is true, tempts no man, but we ask
in this prayer that He will guard and preserve us, so
HOLY BAPTISM 13
that tlie devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive
us nor lead us into unbelief, doubt, and other great sins
and crimes, and that, though we be tempted therewith,
we may at length overcome and be victorious.
THE SEVENTH PETITION.
BUT DELIVEIl US FROM EVIL.
What does that mean ?
Answer. We ask in this petition, as though to sum
up, that our Father in heaven may deliver us from all
evil of body, soul, goods, and honour ; and that, finally,
when our hour has come, He will grant us a blessed end,
and in His mercy take us from this vale of tears to
Himself in heaven., f
AMEN.
What does that mean ?
Answer. That I am to be assured that such prayers
are acceptable to our Father in heaven and are heard
by Him, for He Himself has commanded us so to pray,
and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is,
Yea, yea ; thus shall it be.
IV. -THE SACRAMENT OF IJULY BAPTISM
How the master of the house should explain it
as simply as possible to his household.
FIRSTLY.
What is baptism ?
Answer. Baptism is not only simple water, but it is^
the water comprehended in God s commandment and
united with God s word.
What then is this word of God ?
Answer. What our Lord Christ says in the last
chapter of St. Matthew : Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
14 THE SHORT CATECHISM
SECONDLY.
What does baptism give us, and of what benefit is it ?
Answer. It effects the remission of sins, frees us
from death and the devil, and gives blessedness ever
lasting to those who believe what the word and the
promise of God declare.
What is this word and promise of God ?
Answer. What our Lord Christ says in the last
chapter of St. Mark : He that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
THIEDLY.
How can water effect such great things ?
Answer. Truly water cannot do it, but the word of
God, which is with and on the water, and the faith which
believes such word of God in the water. For without the
word of God the water is simple water, and not baptism ;
but with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a
gracious water of life, and a washing of regeneration in
the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says to Titus in the third
chapter : By the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that, being justified
by His grace, me should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.
FOURTHLY.
What signifies this baptism in water ?
Answer. It signifies that the old Adam in us is to be
drowned by daily repentance and penance, and is to die,
with all sins and evil desires, and that daily is to arise
and emerge a new man, who is to live before God in
righteousness and purity for ever.
Where is this written ?
Answer. St. Paul says to the Romans (chap, vi.),
Therefore we are buried tuith Him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life.
CONFESSION
V.HOW THE SIMPLE FOLKS SHOULD BE
TAUGHT TO CONFESS
Confession consists of two parts : first, to confess our
sins, and secondly, to receive the absolution or forgive
ness bestowed by the confessor, as from God Himself,
and not to doubt thereof, but firmly to believe that our
sins are thereby forgiven in the sight of God in heaven.
What sins should we confess ?
To God we are to confess all sins, even those that we
do not recognise, as we do in the Lord s Prayer ; but to
the confessor we are only to confess such sins as we
know and feel guilty of in our hearts.
Which are they ?
Examine thyself according to the Ten Commandments,
whether thou art father, mother, son, daughter, master,
mistress, manservant or maidservant, and see if thou
hast been disobedient, unfaithful, and idle, whether thou
hast done any one an injury by word or deed, whether
thou hast been dishonest, negligent, slothful, or hast
otherwise caused harm.
/ pray thce, friend, tell me a short form of con
fession.
Answer. Say thus to thy confessor : Worthy reverend
master, I pray you hear jny confession, and declare
absolution to me for God s sake.
Say thus : 1, a poor sinner, confess myself guilty of all
sins before God ; in particular I confess to you that I
am a manservant or a maidservant, etc., but, alas ! I
serve my master unfaithfully, for at such and such a
time I have not done what they bade me, but angered
them and moved them to swear ; I have neglected my
work and caused damage ; I have been froward in word
and deed ; I have been angry with my fellows, sullen to
my wife, and I have sworn at her. All this I repent of,
and I pray for mercy, and will seek to amend.
A master or mistress must say as follows :
Especially 1 acknowledge to you that I have not faith
fully trained my children and servants and my wife to the
16 THE SHORT CATECHISM
glory of God ; I have sworn, and given a bad example
with unchaste words and deeds ; I have done injury to
my neighbour, spoken ill of him, sold too dear, given
short measure and false weight and whatever else he
may have done contrary to the commandments of God
and his state in life.
But if any shall fa nd that he is not burdened with
similar or greater sins, he shall not be anxious or seek
or invent further sins, and thus turn confession into a
torture, but he must recount the one or two sins that he
may remember. Thus : I confess especially that once 1
swore, also that I used unseemly words, neglected this
or that duty. Let this suffice.
But if thou know of none (though this is well-nigh
impossible), then mention none in particular, but receive
forgiveness upon the general confession which thou
makest to the confessor before God.
THEREUPON THE CONFESSOR SHALL SAY,
God be merciful to thee, and strengthen thy faith.
Amen.
FURTHER :
Dost thou, believe that m>j forgiveness is God s forgive-
ss ?
Answer. Yea, reverend sir.
THEN LET HIM SAY,
As thou believest, so be it unto thee. And, by command
of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive thee thy sins, in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Go in peace.
But if any are sorely afflicted in their conscience, or
sorely grieved and tempted, the confessor will know how
to comfort them with various words of Scripture, and how
to lead them to faith. This is merely to serve as a
general mode of confession for the simple folk.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR
VI. THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR
How the master of the house should explain
it simply to his household.
What is the Sacrament of the Altar ?
Answer. It is the very Body and Blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, under the Bread and Wine, for us Christians
to eat and to drink, under the institution of Christ
Himself.
Where is this written ?
Answer. Thus say the holy Evangelists Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and St. Paul :
The Lord Jesus, in the same night in which He was
betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, lie
brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take ;
eat. This is My body, which is given for you ; this do in
remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup when He
had supped, and gave it to them, saying, Take this and
drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My
blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins ;
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
What avails it to eat and drink thus ?
Answer. This is shown us by the words, " Given for
you and shed for you for the remission of sins" That
is to say, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life,
and salvation are bestowed on us by these words. For
where forgiveness of sins is, there is also life and salvation.
How can bodily eating and drinking accomplish these
great things ?
Anstver. Eating and drinking do not indeed accomplish
this, but the words which stand there, " Given for you
and shed for you for the remission of sins." These
words, together with the bodily eating and drinking,
are the most important part of this Sacrament, and
2
1 8 THE SHORT CATECHISM
whoever believes these words, lie lias what they say, and
as they speak, namely, remission of sins.
Who, then, are they who receive this Sacrament
worthily ?
Answer. Fasting and bodily preparation are in truth
a good external discipline, but he is truly worthy and
prepared who believes the words, " Given for you and
shed for the remission of sins" But he who does not
believe them is unworthy and not prepared. For the
words, "for you" demand truly believing hearts.
APPENDIX I.
How the master of the house should teach his
household to commend themselves to God both
night and morning.
THE MORNING BLESSING.
In the morning, when thou risest from thy bed, sign
thyself with the Holy Cross, and say,-
In the name of the Father^ the Son, and the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the
Lord s Prayer. If thou wilt, thou mayest also say this
short prayer :
I thank Thee, my heavenly Father, through Jesus
Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast preserved me
through this night from all harm and danger, and I
beseech Thee Thou wouldest protect me this day from
sin and all evil, that all my deeds and my life may be
pleasing in Thy sight. For 1 commend myself, my body
and soul, and all, into Thy hands? Let Thy holy angel
be with me, that the evil one m.ay have no power over me.
Amen.
And then go joyfully to thy work, and sing, if thou
wilt, a hymn, the Ten Commandments, or whatever else
thy devotion suggests.
DAIL Y PRA YERS 19
THE EVENING BLESSING.
At night, when thou goest to bed, sign thyself with
the Holy Cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, the Son, ami the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the
Lord s Prayer. If thon wilt, thou mayest add this
short prayer :
/ thank Thee, my heavenly Father, through Jesits
Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast graciously
protected me through this day ; and I beseech Thee Thou
ivouldest forgive me all my sins wherever I have done
wrong, and mercifully guard me this night. For I
commend myself, my body and soul, and all, into Thy
hands. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the evil one
may have no power over me. Amen.
And then to sleep quickly and cheerfully.
How the master of the house should teach his
household to say the Benedicite and the Gratias.
The children and servants are to fold their hands,
modestly approach the table, and say,
The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them
their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and
satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
Note. Satisfaction signifies that all creatures get so
much to eat that they are cheerful and happy over it,
for care and greed prevent such satisfaction.
Then the Lord s Prayer and the following prayer :
Lord God, our heavenly Father, bless us and these
Thy gifts, which we accept from Thy merciful goodness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE GRATIAS.
After the meal they shall do likewise, and speak
modestly with folded hands.
20 THE SHORT CATECHISM
Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His
mercy endurethfor ever. He giveth fodder unto the cattle,
and feedeth the young ravens that call upon Him. He
hath no pleasure in the strength of an horse, neither
delighteth lie in any man s legs. But the Lord s delight
is in them that fear Him and put their trust in His
mercy.
Then the Lord s Prayer and the following prayer :
We thank Thee, Lord God our Father, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, for all Thy mercies, Thou who livest
and rulestfor ever and ever. Amen.
APPENDIX II.
THE HOME TABLE.
Some Texts for divers holy orders and estates,
which may serve to admonish them respectively
of their offices and duties.
TO BISHOPS, PASTORS, AND CLERGY.
A bishop must be blameless ; the husband of one wife ;
vigilant ; sober ; of good behaviour ; given to hospitality ;
apt to teach ; not given to wine ; no striker ; not greedy of
filthy lucre, but patient ; not a brawler ; not covetous ;
one that ruleth well his own house ; having his children
in subjection with all gravity ; not a novice ; holding fast
the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be
able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince
the gainsay ers (1 Tim. iii. and Titus i.).
Quid debeant auditores episcopis suis.
Dominus ordinavit his, qui evangelium annuntiant, de
evangelic vivere (1 Cor. ix. 4). Communicet doctori in
omnibus bonis is qui docetur verbo (Gal. vi. 6). Qui
bene praesunt presbyteri, duplici honore digni habeantur,
maxime qui laborant in verbo et doctrina. Dicit enim
scriptura ; non obligabis os bovi trituranti. Et : Dignus
TABLE OF DUTIES 21
est operarius mercede sua (\ Tim. v. 17, 18). Obedite
pnepositis vestris et cedite eis. Ipsi enim vigilant,
quasi rationem pro animabus vestris reddituri, at cum
gaudio hoc faciant, et non gementes, hoc enim non
expedit vobis (Ebr. xiii. 17).
OF MAGISTRATES.
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for
there is no power but of God ; the powers that be are
ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the
power resisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that
resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For he
beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of
God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil (Rom. xiii.).
Quid subditi magistratibus debeant.
Reddite qua3 sunt Oaesaris, Caasari (Matt. xxii. 21).
Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit cet.
Ideoque necessitate subditi estote, non solum propter
irain, sed etiam propter couscientiam. Ideo enim et
tributa pnestatis. Ministri enim Dei sunt, in hoc ipsum
servientes. Reddite ergo omnibus debita : cui tributum,
tributum ; cui vectigal, vectigal ; cui timorem, timorem ;
cui honorem, honorem (Rom. xiii. 1 5 sqq.). Adhortor
primum omnium fieri obsecrationes, orationes, inter-
pellationes, gratiarium actiones pro omnibus hominibus,
pro re gibus, et omnibus qui in sublimitate constituti sunt,
ut quietam et tranquillam vitam agamus cum omni
pietate et gravitate (1 Tim. ii. 1 sqq.}. Admone illos
principibus et potestatibus subditos esse cet (Titus iii. 1).
Subditi estote omni humane creaturae propter Dominum,
sive regi tamquam praacellenti, sive ducibus tamquam ab
eo missis (1 Peter ii. 13 sqq.).
TO HUSBANDS.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to
knowledge, giving honour unto the wife as unto the
22 THE SHORT CATECHISM
weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace
of life, that your prayers be not hindered (1 Peter iii.).
And be not bitter against them (Col. iii.).
TO WIVES.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as
unto the Lord, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him
lord, whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and
are not afraid with any amazement (Eph. i.; 1 Peter iii.).
TO PARENTS.
Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath ; but
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord (Eph. vi.).
TO CHILDREN.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is
right. Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the
first commandment with promise, namely, that it may
be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the
earth (Eph. vi. 1, etc.).
TO MENSERVANTS, MAIDSERVANTS, DAY-
LABOURERS AND WORKMEN.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters
according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in single
ness of heart as unto Christ, not with eye-service as
men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will
of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as
to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatsoever
good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of
the Lord, whether he be bond or free (Eph. vi. 5, etc.).
TO THE MASTER AND MISTRESS OF A
HOUSEHOLD.
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, for
bearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is
in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with Him
(Eph. vi. 9).
TABLE OF DUTIES 23
TO THE YOUNG IN GENERAL.
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.
Yea, all of you, be subject one to another, and be clothed
with humility, for God resisteth the proud and giveth
grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time (1 Peter v., etc.).
TO WIDOWS.
Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth
in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night
and day ; but she that liveth in pleasure is dead while
she liveth (1 Tim. v.).
TO ALL.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; in this
saying all commandments are comprehended (Horn. xiii.).
I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men
(1 Tim. ii.).
" Let each one learn his lesson well ;
Then in the house content will dwell."
(Sin iebcr lent jctu Section
So toirb e luoljl im >auje 3to(jn.
Cuique sit imprimis magme sua lectio cune
Ut domns officiis stet decorata suis.
Ha? l^ir\v avdyvaxTLV ej? TrpaTrlSecra-iv adpr)(ra<s
OlKOV %6L TTVKWWV eVTTOpeOVTd KO\0)V.
24 THE GREATER CATECHISM
preface.
A CHRISTIAN, wholesome, and necessary preface,
and faithful, serious exhortation addressed by Dr.
Martin Luther to all Christians, but especially to all
pastors and preachers, that they may daily practise
themselves in the Catechism, ivhich is a short summary
and extract of the whole of the Scriptures, and con
tinually insist upon it, etc.
That we so urgently press the use of the Catechism,
and also beg and entreat others to do so, is for no
slight reasons, since we see, alas ! that many pastors
and preachers are very negligent in this matter, and
despise both their office and this teaching, some because
of their great and wonderful skill, others merely from
laziness and love of their bellies, who act as though
they were pastors and preachers merely for their belly s
sake, and had nothing to do but enjoy their goods, and
live as they were wont to live under the Pope.
And though they can find all that they should teach
and preach so abundantly, easily, and clearly set forth in
many wholesome books and, as they called them formerly,
the true Sermones per se loquentes, Dormi secure, Paratos
et Thesauros, yet are they not pious and honest enough
to buy such books, or even if they have them, yet they
do not look at them nor read them. Alas ! such men
are no better than shameful gluttons and slaves of their
bellies, who had better be swineherds and keepers of
dogs than curates of the soul and pastors.
If only, now that they are rid of the useless tedious
mutterings of the seven canonical hours, they would
PREFACE
undertake instead as much as reading morning, noon,
and evening a page or two out of the Catechism, Prayer-
book, New Testament, or else the Bible, and would repeat
the Lord s Prayer for themselves and their parishioners,
so as to show at least some honour and gratitude to the
Gospel, by which they are freed from so many burdens
and oppressions, and that they would feel a little ashamed
that, like swine and dogs, they retain no more of the
Gospel than such idle, hurtful, abominable carnal free
dom ! For unfortunately, as it is, the masses esteem
the Gospel far too lightly, and we can accomplish next
to nothing, though we use all our industry ; how will it
be then if we are idle and slothful, as we were under the
papacy ?
Added to this is the shameful vice and secret corruption
of security and satiety, so that many think the Catechism
is a common, simple doctrine, which they can grasp at a
single glance, and then can throw the book into a corner,
and be almost ashamed to read it any more.
Indeed, we may find some boors and niggards even
among the nobles, who pretend that henceforth neither
pastors nor preachers are needed, since we have all that
is required in books, and can learn it by ourselves, and
who cheerfully let the benefices go to ruin and waste, so
that both pastor and preacher suffer hunger and thirst
enow, as perhaps is fitting for stupid Germans. For we
Germans have such shameful people among us, and must
endure them. But this I say for myself: I also am a
doctor and a preacher, as learned and experienced as any
who have shown such insolence and security ; and yet I
am still like a child that is taught the Catechism, and I
read it and repeat it word for word each morning, and
when I have time the Ten Commandments, the Creed,
Lord s Prayer, Psalms, etc. ; and I must still daily read
and study, and cannot excel as I should like to, and
must ever remain a child and pupil of the Catechism,
and am right willing to remain so. And these dainty,
fastidious gentlemen think with one perusal straightway
to be doctor above all doctors, to know everything, and
26 PREFACE
require nothing more. Sooth to say, this is a certain
sign that they despise both their office, and the people s
souls, yea also God and His word, and they need not
fear falling, for they have already fallen most grievously.
What they need is to become as children and begin to
learn the alphabet, which they think they have put aside
with their leading strings.
Therefore I entreat such slow bellies or presumptuous
saints that, for God s sake, they will be convinced and
believe that really, really they are not so learned and
such great doctors as they would believe, and must never
imagine that they have learned all of this matter, or know
enough of all things, however it may seem to them they
know it all too well. For even though they did know
and understand it most excellently (which is certainly
not possible in this life), yet there is much use and
profit behind if we read it daily and practise it in
thought and speech, namely because the Holy Ghost is
always present during such reading, speaking, and
thinking, and always gives new and increased light
and devotion for the purpose, so that it always tastes
sweeter and sweeter and works within us, as Christ also
promises : Where two or three are gathered together in My
name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt, xviii.).
Then, too, it is a wonderfully efficacious remedy against
the devil, the world, the flesh, and all evil thoughts, if
we make use of God s word, speak of it, meditate on it ;
and so the First Psalm calls them blessed who meditate on
God s law day and night. Without doubt, thou wilt find
no incense or other odours so efficacious against the devil
as if thou makest use of God s commands and words in
this wise, and speakest, singest, and thinkest of them.
That is indeed the true holy water and sign from which
he flies, and with which he lets himself be driven away.
For this reason alone then thou shouldst desire to read
these articles, speak of them, meditate on them, and
handle them, even though thou hadst no other use and
profit from them save that thus thou drivest away the
devil and evil thoughts. For he cannot hear nor endure
PREFACE 27
God s word ; and God s word is not like foolish fables,
such as that about Dietrich of Berne, etc., but, as St.
Paul says (Rom. i.), the power of God, yea, truly a power
of God which cruelly afflicts the devil, and strengthens,
comforts, and helps us beyond measure.
And what should I more say ? If I were to tell all
the use and profit which God s word bestows, where
should I find paper and time enough ? We call the
devil him with the thousand arts, but how shall we call
God s word, which drives away him with the thousand
arts, with all his tricks and his power, and annihilates
him ? It must be more than a hundred thousand arts.
And can we so lightly despise such power, use, profit,
and strength, especially we who would be pastors and
preachers ? If so, not only ought we to receive nothing
to eat, but we deserve to be hunted forth with dogs,
because we not only daily require all this, like our daily
bread, but daily need it against the daily attacks and
ambuscades of the devil with the thousand arts.
And if this be not enough to admonish us to read the
Catechism daily, God s command alone should be sufficient
to make us, when He adjures us solemnly in Deut. vi.
that His word should be always in our hearts, sitting,
walking, standing, lying down, rising up, and that we
bind it for a sign upon our hands and as frontlets be
tween our eyes. Without doubt it is not for nothing
that He commands and demands this so earnestly ; but,
because He knows our danger and need, and the devil s
constant furious attacks and temptations, He would warn
us against them, and arm and protect us, as with good
armour, against his fiery arrows, and with good medicine
against his evil, pestilential corruptions and promptings.
Oh, what mad insane fools are we, that we have always
to dwell or lodge among such powerful foes as the devils,
and yet should be willing to despise our weapons and
arms, and be too lazy to look to them or think of them !
And what are these dainty, daring saints about, who
neither will nor may daily learn and read the Catechism,
because thev think themselves much more learned than
28 PREFACE
God Himself, with all His saints, angels, prophets.
Apostles, and all Christians ? For while God Himself
is not ashamed to teach it daily, as One who knows of
no better thing to teach, and always teaches it in the
same way, and adds nothing new or different, and all the
saints know nothing better nor different to learn, and
cannot make an end of their learning, are we not very
fine fellows to imagine that if we have read and heard
it once, we know it all, and need neither read nor learn
further, and can master in an hour what God Himself
can never make an end of teaching, although He teaches
it from the beginning of the world to the end, and all
prophets and saints have had to learn it, and still re
mained, and ever must remain, scholars ?
For this is certain, whoever knows the Ten Com
mandments cannot but know the whole Scripture, and
will be able in all matters and cases to advise, help,
comfort, judge, decide, both spiritual and temporal
matters, and be a judge over all doctrines, ranks, minds,
and laws, and whatever else there may be in the world.
And what is the whole Psalter but merely thoughts and
exercises on the First Commandment ? Now I verily
believe that those slow bellies and presumptuous minds
do not understand a single Psalm, not to mention the
whole Scriptures, and yet they pretend to know and
despise the whole Catechism, which is a short summary
and epitome of the whole Scriptures.
Therefore I once more entreat all Christians, especially
pastors and preachers, not to want to become doctors
too soon, or let themselves fancy they know everything
(much is lost in the end by fancies and fine feathers),
but daily to exercise themselves well in these studies
and always be busy in them. Besides, they must with
all diligence and care protect themselves against the
poisonous contagion of security and presumption, and
always keep on with reading, teaching, learning, thinking,
and meditating, and never cease until they have proved
and are certain that they have taught the devil dead, and
become more learned than God and all His saints.
PREFACE 29
If they are thus diligent, I will promise them, and
they will experience, what profit they will thus acquire,
and what fine people God will make of them, so that in
time they will themselves confess that the longer and
more diligently they study the Catechism, the less they
know of it, and the more they have to learn in it, and
that which they now, in their fulness and satiety, cannot
endure to smell, will then, in their hunger and thirst,
have a right sweet savour to them, which may God
grant in His mercy. Amen.
Short preface of 2)r, flDartin Xutber
instruction is arranged and instituted so as to
-L serve for the teaching of children and simple folk,
wherefore from the earliest times it was called in Greek
Catechism, that is, instruction for children, which every
Christian must of necessity know, so that he who does
not know it cannot be counted among Christians and
cannot be admitted to any Sacrament, just as a working
man who does not know the laws and customs of his
trade is expelled and considered unfit. Therefore young-
people must be made to learn well and thoroughly all
that belongs to the Catechism or children s sermon, and
be diligently exercised and practised therein.
Wherefore, too, it is the duty of the father of each
household at least once a week to question his children
and servants concerning what they know or learn of it,
and if they do not know it, admonish them earnestly to
attend to it. For I well remember the time, yea it still
occurs daily, that ignorant old and aged people are found
who knew and know nothing of all this ; yet they go to
Baptism and the Sacrament, and make use of all that
Christians possess ; whereas it is but right that those
who go to the Sacrament should know more and have
a fuller understanding of the Christian doctrine than
children and new scholars. Nevertheless, for the common
people we would let those three things suffice, which
have belonged to Christianity from all times, though but
seldom rightly taught and practised, till all are well
versed and fluent in them, both young and old, who are
called Christians, and would be Christians. And these
are as follows :
SHORT PREFACE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER
FIRSTLY.
The Ten Commandments of God.
1. Thou shalt have none other gods but Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God
in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt do no murder.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour s house.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour s wife, nor his
servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything
that is his.
SECONDLY.
The Chief Articles of our Belief.
1. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth,
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who
was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin
Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead,
and buried ; He descended into hell ; the third day He
rose again from the dead ; He ascended into heaven, and
sittetlT at the right hand of God the Father Almighty ;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the
dead.
3. I believe in the Holy Ghost, a holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the flesh, and a life everlasting. Amen.
y. SHORT PREFACE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER
THIRDLY.
The Prayer, or " Our Father" which Christ
taught.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
1. Hallowed be Thy name.
2. Thy kingdom come.
3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
4. Give us this day our daily bread,
5. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
6. And lead us not into temptation,
7. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
These are the most important articles, which must be
learned first. They must be repeated word for word, and
children must be trained to recite them daily, when they
rise in the morning, when they go to meals, and when
4 they lie down to rest at night ; and they should be given
neither meat nor drink unless they say them. The
master must also see to this with his household, men and
maids, and he should not keep them if they do not know
these things or will not learn. For it is not to be endured
that any one should be so rude and wild as not to learn
them, for in these three articles is included in brief and
simple form all that we find in the Scriptures. For the good
fathers or Apostles (whoever they may have been) have
thus summed up the whole of Christian teaching, life,
wisdom, and art, what they are, what they treat of, and
what they deal with.
Now when these three articles have been learnt, it is
also right that people should know how to speak of our
Sacraments (which Christ Himself instituted) of Baptism
and of the holy Body and Blood of Christ, as it is written
by Matthew and Mark at the end of their Gospels how
Christ gave His final blessing to His Apostles and sent
them forth.
OF BAPTISM.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them
f* in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
SHORT PREFACE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER 33
lie that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned.
It is enough for simple folk to know so much of the
Scriptures regarding baptism. The other Sacrament may
be dealt with in the same way in a few simple words, as,
for example, the text of St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 23, etc.
OF THE SACRAMENT
The Lord Jesus, the same night in ivkich He was
betrayed, took bread: and ivhen He had given thanks, He
brake it, and said, Take, eat, this is My body, which is
broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup when
He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament
in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission
of sins ; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance
of Me.
Thus we have altogether five articles of the whole
Christian doctrine, which we should always teach, and
demand and hear recited word for word. For do not
rely on young people learning and remembering from
the sermon alone. When these articles have been well
learnt, various psalms and hymns based upon them may
be given, for an addition and strength to them, and thus
the young may be brought to know the Scriptures and
daily to go farther therein.
But it is not enough that the words alone are learnt
and repeated, for the young people must also go to
Church, especially at the times set apart for dealing with
the Catechism, so that they may hear it expounded and
learn to understand what each article signifies, so that
they can repeat it as they have heard it, and can answer
correctly when they are questioned, so that it may not
be preached without profit and fruit. For this reason we
diligently and frequently preach the Catechism, so that
it may be impressed on young minds, not in deep and
subtle words, but briefly and simply, that it may penetrate
deeply and remain fixed in their memories.
3
34 THE GREATER CATECHISM
We will therefore deal now with these articles in turn,
and speak as clearly as possible about them, so far as is
necessary.
THE FIRST PART
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT HAVE NONE OTHER GODS BUT ME.
That is, Thou shalt have Me alone for thy God. What
is meant by these words, and how are they to be under
stood ? What means it to have a God, or what is God ?
Answer : God is one from whom we expect all good,
and in whom we can take refuge in all our needs, so that
to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe in
Him with all our hearts ; as I have often said, that trust
and faith of the heart alone make both God and Idol.
If the faith and trust are right, then thy God is also the
right God, and, again, if thy trust is false and wrong,
then thou hast not the right God. For the two, faith
and God, hold close together. Whatever, then, thy heart
clings to (I say), and relies upon, that is properly thy
God.
Therefore, the meaning of this commandment is that
it requires true faith and trust in our hearts, which shall
find the one true God and cling to Him alone. And this
is as much as to say, Look to it that I am thy sole God,
and seek no other. That is, Whatever good is wanting
to thee, look to Me for it, and seek it of Me, and when
ever thou suiferest misfortune and evil, come to Me, and
cling to Me. I, I will give thee enough, and will help
thee out of thy necessity ; only let not thy heart cling-
to nor rely on any other.
Now I must deal with this very plainly, so that it be
understood and remembered, by means of common ex
amples of the contrary. Many a one thinks he has God
and an abundance of all things if he has money and
goods. He relies on them, and boasts that he cares
for no one. Lo, he has indeed a god, who is called
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 35
Mammon, that is, money and goods, on which he sets all
his heart, and this is the commonest idol in the world.
Whoever has money and goods deems himself secure,
and is joyful and fearless, as though he were in the midst
of paradise ; and, on the other hand, he who has none
doubts and despairs, as though he knew of no God
For we shall find few enough who are glad of heart,
and neither mourn nor lament, if they have no mammon.
It sticks and clings to human nature till the grave.
So, again, whoever is confident and boastful because he
has great skill, cleverness, power, favour, friendship, and
honour, he also has a god, but not the one true God.
Here thou mayest see again how confident, secure, and
proud men feel when they have these things, and how
timid and despairing if they have them not, or if they
lose them. Therefore I say again that the primary
meaning of this article is that to have a God means to
have something in which the heart puts all its trust.
See, then, what we have done and practised till now in
blindness under the papacy. If a man has a toothache,
he fasts, and honours St. Apollonia ; if he fears fire, he
makes St. Lawrence his patron saint ; if he fears pesti
lence, he makes a vow to St. Sebastian or St. Roch :
and many other such abuses are there, so that each one
chooses his own saint, worships him, and calls on him
in his need. To these belong also those who act too
grossly and make a bond with the devil, so that he may
give them money enough, or help them in wantonness,
preserve their cattle, restore their lost goods, etc., such
as magicians and wizards. For they all put their faith
and trust elsewhere than in the true God, expect no good
from Him, and do not seek it of Him.
Hence thou canst easily understand what and how
much this commandment demands, namely, the whole
heart of man and perfect confidence in God alone, and
in no one else. For if thou wilt have God, thou canst
easily understand that He cannot be seized and held with
our hands, nor put in a bag, nor locked in a box ; but
it is grasping Him when the heart holds Him and clings
36 THE GREATER CATECHISM
to Him. But to cling to Him with the heart is nothing
else but to rely on Him altogether. Therefore lie desires
to turn us from everything else that exists beside Him,
and to draw ns to Him, because He is the only eternal
good. It is as though He said, What you sought before
of the saints or expected from mammon or elsewhere,
expect from Me, and look on Me as Him who can help
you and heap on yon all good things in abundance.
So now thou knowest what is the true honour and
worship which pleases God, and which He demands on
pain of His eternal wrath, namely, that the heart shall
know no other comfort nor trust save in Him, that it
shall not let itself be torn from Him, but venture and
stake thereon all that is on earth. On the other hand
thou wilt easily see and judge that the world practises
nothing but false worship and idolatry. For no people
were ever so reckless as not to set up or cultivate some
form of worship ; but every man sets up as his god that
from which he hopes to obtain good, help, and comfort.
So the heathens, whose sole aim was power and
dominion, made Jupiter their highest god, while the
others selected Hercules, Mercury, or Venus, according
as they desired wealth, fortune, or pleasure, and de
light ; and pregnant women chose Diana or Lucina, and
so on ; each one taking for his god what his heart desired,
so that really, even in the opinion of all the heathen, to
have a god means to trust and to believe. But they
erred herein, that their faith was false and wrong, for it
was not centred in the only God beside whom verily
there is no god in heaven or earth. Wherefore the
heathens make an idol of their own invented dream
and fancy of a god, and so in reality they believe in
nothing. Thus is it with all idolatry, for it consists not
only in setting up an image and worshipping it, but more
especially it dwells in the heart which turns elsewhere,
seeks help and comfort of created beings, saints, and
devils, and does not accept God nor look for so much
goodness from Him as to believe that He will help us,
and that the good which we receive comes from God.
THE FIRST COMMANDMENJ 37
Moreover, there exists another mode of false worship,
which is the worst form of idolatry that we have prac
tised till now, and which still roles in the world. All
religious orders are based upon it ; it concerns the con
science alone which seeks help, comfort, and salvation in
its own works : it would gain heaven by force, and calcu
lates what charities it has founded, how often it has
fasted, how many masses it has said. It relies on this,
and boasts of it, as though it would accept nothing from
Him gratuitously, but would itself earn reward and do
service over and above what is required ; as if He must
be our servant and debtor, and we His masters. What
else is this but to turn God into an idol or wooden image,
and to set up ourselves as a god ? But this is a little too
subtle, and not fitting for young scholars.
But we must impress on the simple that they must
note well the meaning of this commandment, and re
member that we must trust God alone, expect and await
nothing but good from Him, for He gives us body, life,
food, drink, nourishment, health, protection, peace, and
all temporal and eternal goods that we can need. He pre
serves us from all misfortune, and if any ill betide us He
^succours and helps us out of it, so that it is God (as we
have often said) from whom alone we receive all good,
and who rescues us from all misfortunes. Therefore it
is, I ween, that we Germans have from all times called
God by this name, which comes from the word " good "
(and which is a more beautiful name than is found in any
other language), because He is an eternal source which
overflows with pure goodness and from whom all that is
good and is called good flows forth.
For though ranch good is done us by men, it is all
really received from God, for we receive it by His
command and order. For our parents and all magistrates
are bidden to show us all manner of good, and every one
is bidden to treat his neighbour thus, so that we receive
the good, not from them, but from God through them.
For His creatures are only the hand, the channel, the
instruments, the means by which God bestows all things
38 THE GREATER CATECHISM
on us, just as He gives the mother breasts and milk for
her child, and as He lets corn and all manner of plants
grow on the earth for our food blessings which no
creature can create for itself.
Therefore let no man dare to take or give anything
unless it be commanded by God, so that we recognise it
as His gift and thank Him for it, as this commandment
bids us do. For the same reason, these means of receiving
good through the creatures are not to be refused, nor
may we presumptuously seek other ways or means than
those which God has commanded. For that would not
be to receive from God, but to seek help for ourselves.
Therefore let each man have a care that he hold this
commandment in high esteem and place it above all else,
and let him not treat it as a light matter. Question
and search well thine own heart ; then wilt thou learn
whether or no it depends on God alone. If thou hast
such an heart as to expect nought but good from Him,
especially in thy needs and necessities, and to be ready
to let everything go which is not God, then thou hast the
only true God. Again, if thy heart depends on other
things, and looks to them for good and help rather than
to God, and, instead of seeking Him, flies from Him
when things go ill, then thou hast but another idol.
Wherefore, that ye may see that God will not that
ye trifle with His commandment, which He would have
most earnestly regarded, He has added a terrible threat
and then a beautiful and comforting promise, which we
must repeat and impress on the young, that they commit
it to memory and remember it :
For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, and visit
the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and show
mercy unto thousands in them that love Me and keep My
commandments.
Although these words refer to all commandments, as
we shall hereafter find, they have been attached to this
head and front of the commandments because what is the
most important of all is that the head be right ; for where
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 39
tile head is right the whole life must be right, and vice
versa. So learn from these words how angry God is with
those who rely on any but Him; again, how gracious and
good He is to those who with all their hearts trust and
believe in Him alone. His anger does not cease till the
fourth generation, but His mercy and goodness are shown
to many thousands, so that we must not go our way so
securely and at all hazards, and, like the brutish hearts,
think there is no such great importance in the matter.
He is a God who will not leave unavenged our turning
away from Him, and will not cease to be angry till the
fourth generation, even until it is utterly rooted out.
Therefore He will be feared, and not despised.
This He has proved to us in all histories and narratives,
as the Scriptures abundantly prove and as daily ex
perience can easily show us. For from the beginning
He exterminated all idolatry, and because of it both
heathens and Jews, just as in the present day He is
overthrowing all false worship, so that at last all who
cling to it must perish. Therefore, although we still
find proud, mighty, and wealthy people who trust to their
mammon, careless whether God is angry or pleased, as
though they were ready to brave His wrath, yet will
they not be able to carry it out, but before we expect it
they will perish, with all to which they trusted, as all
others have perished who thought themselves still safer
and mightier.
And just because these obstinate minds think that,
since He looks on and lets them go their way unhindered,
He knows not what they do or does not heed it, He must
therefore strike in and punish, and He cannot forget it,
and visits their sins on their children, so that each may
be impressed by it and see that He is in earnest. For it
is these whom He means when He says, Those who hate
Me, that is, those who keep up their defiance and pride.
Whatever we preach or say to them they will not hear.
If they are chastised, so that they may perceive their
wickedness and amend their ways before the punishment
begins, they become mad and foolish, so that they truly
40 THE GREATER CATECHISM
deserve His wrath, as we may daily observe in our princes
and bishops.
But, terrible though these threats are, so much the
more powerful comfort is there in the promise that they
who trust to God alone may be certain of His mercy,
that is, that He will show them all manner of goodness,
and not only to them, but to their children s children
to a thousand and again a thousand generations. This
should move and encourage us to turn our hearts to God
with all trust and confidence if we desire to have all
temporal and eternal good, for His glorious Majesty
offers us so much, invites us so heartily, and promises so
abundantly.
Therefore let each one take these words to heart, and
let him not regard them as though uttered by man . For
they signify to thee eternal bliss, happiness, and salvation,
or eternal anger, misfortune, and suffering. What more
wouldst thou have or desire than that He promises thee
so lovingly, that He and all good things shall be thine
that He will protect thee and help thee in all thy needs ?
But unfortunately the world will not believe this nor
look upon it as God s word, because it sees that those
who trust God, and not mammon, suffer trouble and
want, and the devil opposes and attacks them, so that
they can keep neither money, favour, goods, honour, and
hardly escape with their life ; whereas those who serve
mammon have power, favour, honour, goods, and comfort
in the sight of the world. Therefore we must under
stand these words, which contradict this false seeming,
and must know that they neither lie nor deceive, but
that their truth will yet be made manifest.
Reflect for thyself, or inquire, and tell me what have
they finally accomplished who have spent all their care
and diligence in scraping together goods and wealth ?
Then thou wilt find that they lost their pains and their
labour, or that, although they brought home great
treasures, yet they are turned again to dust or vanished,
so that they themselves did not enjoy their goods, which
were not inherited by the third generation.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
Thou wilt find enough examples of this in all histories,
and thou canst obtain them from old and experienced
people. Only regard them well and pay attention to them.
Saul was a great king, chosen by God, and a pious
man, but when he was firmly seated on his throne he
turned his heart from God and clung to his crown arid
his power, and he perished, with all he had, so that even
of his children none remained.
Again, David was a man poor and despised, banished
and persecuted, so that he was nowhere sure of his life ;
yet was he protected from Saul, and became king. For
these words had to be proved true, because God can
neither lie nor deceive. Be not deceived by the devil
and the world, with their false semblance, which lasts
perchance for a time, but in the end is nothing.
Therefore let us learn the First Commandment well,
so that we may see that God will not endure any pre
sumption, nor trust in anything else, and demands nothing
higher from us than a heartfelt confidence in all good
from Him. He desires that we go straight on our way,
make no further use of all the goods that God gives
us than a shoemaker makes of his needle, awl, and
thread, which he lays aside when his work is done, or
as a guest in an inn requires food and a bed. We must
use them solely for our temporal needs, each in his own
station according to God s commandment, and let none
become our master or idol. Let this be enough for the
First Commandment, which we have had to explain very
fully, because it is the most important, so that (as we
have already said) when the heart is turned to God,
and this commandment is kept, the others will be kept
also.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY
GOD IN VAIN.
As the First Commandment instructs the heart and
teaches faith, so this commandment leads us forth and
turns mouth and tongue towards God. For the first
42 THE GREATER CATECHISM
thing that comes forth out of the heart and manifests
itself, is words. As I have shown how to answer what
is meant by having one God, so thou must now learn to
understand simply and to say simply the meaning of this
and of all the commandments.
If now thou art asked, How dost thou understand this
Second Commandment, and what does it mean to abuse
or take in vain God s name ? answer thou thus most
briefly : We abuse God s name if we use the name of
God, the Lord, in any way whatever, for the purpose of
lying or any vice. Therefore we are commanded not to
employ or utter God s name if our heart knows or thinks
that the matter is really different from what we say, as
when men take an oath in a court of justice, and one
side lies unto the other. For the worst abuse to which
we can put God s name is to use it for lying or deceiving.
Let that be the simple explanation of this commandment.
Now from this each can understand for himself when
and how God s name is abused, although it is not possible
to repeat all the methods of abuse. But, to be brief,
abuse of the Divine name occurs firstly in worldly quarrels
and affairs concerning money, goods, or honour, in public
before the magistrate, or in the market-place, or when a
man swears false oaths in God s name and perjures his
soul. This occurs especially in marriages, when two
persons secretly pledge themselves to each other, and
then renounce their vows.
But most of all this abuse occurs in spiritual matters,
appertaining to the conscience, when false preachers arise
and put forth their lying doctrines as though they were
God s word.
All this is simply using God s name to make a fine
show or ornament, or to pretend we are in the right,
whether in the gross affairs of this world, or in deep and
subtle matters regarding faith and doctrine. And among
the liars we must also place the blasphemers, not only
the bold ones, known to all the world, who without
shame abuse God s name, and with whom not we, but
the hangman, must deal, but also those who publicly
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT 43
rail at the truth and God s word, and deliver them to
the devil. Of these there is no need to speak further at
present.
Now let us learn and comprehend in our hearts the
great importance of this commandment, so that we watch
ourselves diligently and shrink from all abuse of the
holy name as the greatest sin which can be openly
committed. For lying and deceiving is in itself a great
sin ; but it becomes far worse if, in order to justify it
and to confirm our falsehood, we use God s name and
make of it a covering for our shame, so that out of one
lie there grows a double, nay, a multiplied lie.
Therefore God has added a grave threat to this com
mandment, which says, For the Lord will not hold him
guiltless that taketh His name in vain. That is, none
shall escape with impunity. For just as He will not
leave us unpunished if we turn our heart from Him, so
He will not permit His name to be used to cloke lies.
Now unfortunately there are but very few in the world
who do not use God s name for lies and all manner of
evil, just as there are few who trust God alone with all
their hearts.
For there is this fine virtue inherent in us all by
nature : that when any man has committed a crime he
would gladly hide and cloke his shame so that none may
see or know it, and no man is so reckless that he will
boast openly of the crime he has committed. They all
want to do it secretly, before men are aware of it. If a
man is accused, God must give His name and make the
crime estimable, the shame honourable. That is the
common way of the world, and, like a great deluge, it
inundates all lauds. Therefore we obtain as a reward
what we all seek and deserve : pestilence ; war ; famine ;
fire ; water ; degenerate wife, children, and servants ;
and all manner of evil. How else should there be so
much misery ? It is a great enough mercy that the
earth still bears and nourishes us.
Therefore the young must, above all things, be diligently
taught and trained to keep this and all other command-
44 THE GREATER CATECHISM
ments constantly before them, and if they transgress we
must forthwith correct them with rods, and hold before
them the cornmandment, and impress it so that they are
trained, not only by means of punishment, but in the
fear and reverence of God.
Now thou seest what is meant by taking God s name
in vain, namely (to repeat it briefly), to use it as a cover
ing for lies or false pretexts, or for cursing, swearing,
conjuring, and, in short, for any manner of evil.
In addition, thou must also learn how to use the name
aright. For when He says, Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain. He at the same time gives
us to understand that we may make a good use of it.
For it is revealed and given to us that it may be of
constant use and benefit to us. Hence it is evident, if we
are forbidden to use His holy name for lying or evil, we
are, on the other hand, bidden to use it for truth and all
good purposes : for instance, we are to swear by it truly,
if it is necessary and required. So also when we teach
aright ; so too we are to appeal to His name in our needs,
and praise and thank it for our benefits, etc. All this is
summed up in the verse, Call upon Me in the day of
trouble: I will deliver tkee, and thou shalt glorify Me,
(Psalm 1.). For, again, in all these ways His name is
used for truth and salvation, and thus His name is
hallowed, as we pray in the Lord s Prayer.
Thus hast thou explained the whole commandment.
And with this explanation the question has easily been
answered with which many teachers have perplexed
themselves : why the Gospel forbids us to swear, when
Christ, St. Paul, and other saints often swore. The
answer is briefly this : We are not to swear for evil, that
is for lying, and when it is neither useful nor needful ;
but we may swear for good purposes, for the welfare of
our neighbour. For it is a right good work, if God is
praised, truth and justice confirmed, falsehood refuted,
if people are reconciled, obedience is shown, and quarrels
are settled. For so God Himself intervenes, and parts
right from wrong, evil from good. If any swear falsely,
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
they have their judgment, so that they will not escape
punishment ; and though they escape for a time, they will
not succeed in anything, so that all that they possess
will vanish beneath their hands and can never be well
enjoyed. And this I have noted in many who broke
their marriage vow. Afterwards they had no happy
hour and no good day, and so both body, soul, and goods
perished miserably.
Therefore I again exhort and admonish you to see that
the children are taught betimes by warning, fear, and
punishment to fear lying, and especially lying in God s
name ; for if they are allowed to escape unpunished,
they will do no good, as it may now be seen that the
world is worse than it has ever been. There is no
government, obedience, loyalty, or faith, but the people
are presumptuous and ungovernable, and neither teaching
nor punishment will help them, and all this is God s
anger and punishment for the bold contempt with which
this commandment is treated.
Again, they must be persuaded and trained to honour
God s name and constantly have it in their mouths,
whatever happens to them or whatever they behold.
For we honour His name rightly if we turn to it for all
comfort and call upon it, so that the heart (as we before
said) first pays honour to God by faith, and afterwards
the mouth honours Him by confession.
This is a blessed, useful habit, and a very powerful
weapon against the devil, who is always near us, and
watching how he may bring us to sin and shame, misery
and need, but who listens unwillingly and cannot long
remain when God s name is pronounced, and where God
is invoked -from the heart; and many a dreadful and
terrible thing would befall us if God did not preserve us
when we call on His name. I have myself often found
and experienced that sudden and great misfortune has
been averted and removed by such an appeal to God. To
resist the devil (I repeat) we should ever have the holy
name in our mouth, so that he may not hurt us, as he
willingly would.
46 THE GREATER CATECHISM
For the same purpose it is a great help if we accustom
ourselves to commend daily to God body and soul, wife,
child, servants, and all that we have, that He may save
us from unexpected adversity. That is how the custom
arose and remains of repeating every morning and evening
the Benedicite, Gratias, and other prayers. Hence also
the child s habit of crossing ourselves when we read or
hear anything terrible and horrible, and saying, God forbid
it, or, Help us, Lord Christ, etc. So, again, if anything
good unexpectedly happens to any man, though it be
but small, he should say, God be praised and thanked ;
God has given me that, etc. Just as formerly children
were taught to fast in the name of St. Nicholas and other
saints, and to pray to them. This is more pleasant and
acceptable in the eyes of God than any monastic life or
Carthusian holiness.
Thus the young mind is easily and gently trained in the
fear and reverence of God, so that the First and Second
Commandments may be diligently and constantly obeyed.
Then so much good would take root in them and bear
fruit that people would grow up who might make a
whole land happy. That would be the right way to bring
up children, because they can be trained thus by kindness,
so that it is a pleasure to them. For when anything is
enforced with rods and blows alone no good can follow :
at the most they will only be good as long as the rod
is held over them.
But by this means it will take root in the heart, so that
they fear God more than rods and sticks. I say this
simply for the children, so that it may be impressed on
their minds ; for if we preach to children, we must lisp
with them. Thus we have guarded against the abuse of
God s name and taught the right use thereof, which is not
only to be shown in words, but in practice and in life, for
we know that this is truly pleasing to God, and He will
richly reward it, just as He will terribly chastise the
abuse of His name.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT 47
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
REMEMBER THAT THOU KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY.
We have named the day of rest from the Hebrew word
Sabbath, which properly denotes to rest, that is, to cease
from work ; hence we are accustomed to speak of
keeping an " evening rest."* Now in the Old Testa
ment God chose and set apart the seventh day for men
to keep, and commanded all men to keep it holy above
all others, and, according to this external celebration,
this commandment is given to the Jews alone : that
they cease from all heavy labour and rest, and that both
man and beast refresh themselves, and should not be
weakened by constant work. But they gave it too
restricted a meaning, and greatly abused it, so that
they rebuked Christ and could not endure that He
should do such things as even they themselves would
have done on that day, as we read in the Gospels, just
as though the commandment was fulfilled if we did no
external labour ; which, however, was not its meaning,
which was that they should keep holy the Sabbath, or
day of rest, as we shall hear. The literal meaning of
this commandment, therefore, does not concern us Chris
tians, for it is quite an external thing, like the other
ordinances of the Old Testament, which refer to special
customs, people, times, and places, from all which we are
set free by Christ.
But to express a Christian meaning for simple folk
respecting what God demands of us in this command
ment, be it observed that we keep holy days not for
the sake of intelligent arid learned Christians for
they have no need of it but firstly, on account of the
requirements of the body, for nature teaches us that
it is most necessary for the common people, men and
maids, who have followed their avocations all the
* The German feierdbend machcn of the original cannot be literally
rendered, as the vfoxdfeierabend has no exact equivalent in English.
4 8 THE GREATER CATECHISM
week, to have a day on which to rest and refresh them
selves.
But, further, and above all, we keep the Sabbath so
that on this day of rest we make time and leisure (which
otherwise we might not have) to attend Divine worship,
that we assemble to hear and consider God s word, and
thereafter sing and praise God and pray to Him.
But this (I say) is not so restricted to a special time,
as it was with the Jews, so that it must be done on an
appointed day, for one day is no better than another, and
it might be done at any day ; but because the mass of
the people cannot find time for it, one day in the week at
least must be set apart. But, since from all times the
Sunday has been appointed, let us keep to that day, so that
all may be done decently and in order, and no disorder
caused by unnecessary innovations.
Hence this is the simple meaning of this command
ment : that as days of rest must bekeptj__sjjch_ holy
days be ^employed in" Iearning7ll3ad^~word,_sa, that
the" "special purpose of the day must be the offijce_of
preaching, for the sake of the yonng and the_poor
peo^leT BuTfTlie~TioTy day must not be so narrowly
restricted in its use as that if by chance any necessary
work occur it should be forbidden.
Therefore, if thou art asked what these words mean,
Thou shalt keep holy the sabbath day, then make answer,
TohaJlp^JJ]^]^^ it
fio!vr\VnS^^
Irfitto devote ourselves to holy words, works, and life.
For the day requires no special hallowing : it is holy in
itself ; but God wills that it be holy to thee. Therefore
it is holy or unholy in respect to thee, according as thy
work is holy or unholy.
How, then, shall it be hallowed ? Not by sitting by
the fireside and doing no rough work, or by putting
on a wreath and our best clothes, but (as was said) by
turning to God s word and exercising ourselves therein.
And indeed we Christians ought always to keep each
day holy and perform holy works ; that is, we are daily
THE THIRD COMMANDMEN7 49
to use God s word and bear it in our heart and mouth.
But because we have not (as was said above) always
leisure, we must set apart several hours a week for the
young, and at least one day for the common people, that
they can use for this purpose alone, and on which they
may study the Ten Commandments, the Articles of
Belief, the Lord s Prayer, and thus direct our whole
life and being by God s word. Whenever that is done,
a truly holy day has been observed ; and if this is not
done, it cannot be called a Christian Sabbath. For the
people who are no Christians can rest and be idle, like
the whole swarm of our priests, who stand daily in the
churches, sing and ring, but keep no Sabbath, for they
neither preach nor practise God s word, but live and
teach contrary to it.
For the word of God is the holy of holies yea, the *
only holy thing that we Christians have and know. For
though we possessed the bones of all the saints, or holy
and consecrated garments piled up in a heap, that would
avail us nothing ; for these are all dead tilings that can
make no one holy. But God s word is the treasure that
makes all things holy, by which the saints themselves be
came holy. Whenever we teach, preach, read, or consider
God s word, our person, the day, our work, are all thereby
hallowed, not because of the external work, but because
of the word which makes saints of us all. Therefore I
always say that all our life and work must be according
to the word of God, if they are to be pleasing to God and
holy in His sight. Where that is the case, this command
ment is fulfilled in all its power.
Again, those things or works which are not according
to God s word are unholy before God, however splendid
they seem, though they be adorned with sacred relics,
like those invented religious orders, which do not know
God s word, and seek holiness in their own works.
Therefore observe, the strength and power of this
commandment does not consist in resting, but in hallow
ing, so that it is set apart for special holy exercises. For
other work and business are not really holy exercises
4
50 THE GREATER CATECHISM
unless the man be already holy. But such work must
be done that a man himself becomes holy, and this (as
was said) can only be done through God s word, and for
this purpose, time, persons, and the whole external service
of God have been appointed, so that all may be done
regularly in public.
Since then God s word is of such importance that
without it no holy day is hallowed, we must know
that God will have this commandment strictly kept,
and will punish all who despise His word, who will
not hear it or learn it, especially at the time therefor
appointed.
Therefore not only do those sin against this command
ment who shamefully abuse and profane the Sabbath,
such as those who from avarice or wantonness neglect
to hear God s word, or lie in the taverns, and are full
of wine like swine ; those also break the commandment
who hear God s word as though it were some trifling-
matter, and go to the sermon from force of habit alone
and go thence again, and at the end of the year are as
ignorant as they were before. For till now men thought
they hallowed the day if they heard a mass or the Gospel
on the Sunday, but no one asked after God s word, just
as no one taught it. Now that we have God s word,
we do not leave off the abuse : we let men preach to us
and exhort us, but we pay neither heed nor care.
Therefore know that thou must not only hear, but
must also learn and remember ; and think not that thou
canst do as thou wilt, or that it is of little consequence,
for it is God s commandment, and He will require of
thee how thou hast heard, learned, and honoured His
word.
Therefore those fastidious people must be rebuked
also who, when they have heard a sermon or two, grow
weary and satiated, as though they knew it all themselves
and needed no master. For that is the very sin which
till now was reckoned among the deadly sins, and which
is called a/c^Sta, that is, indolence and disgust, a hurtful,
injurious plague with which the devil bewitches and
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 51
deceives many hearts, that he may surprise us and
secretly take from us God s word.
For be assured of this : even if thou knewest it well,
and hadst mastered everything, thou art still daily in the
devil s power, who rests neither day nor night so that
he may take thee unawares, and may awaken unbelief
and evil thoughts in thy heart against these and all other
commandments. Therefore thou must always keep God s
word in thy heart and mouth and let it sound in thine
ears. But where the heart is idle, and the word is not
heard, he enters in and has done the mischief before we
are aware of him. Again, where the word is earnestly
studied, heard, and obeyed, it is full of power, so that it
is never without fruit, but always awakens in us new
understanding, delight, and devotion, and makes pure our
hearts and thoughts, for the words are not corrupt and
dead, but living and creative words. And though no
other benefit and need impelled us, every one must be
urged by this thought : that the devil is frightened and
banished by this means, that this commandment is thus
fulfilled, and this is morei pleasing to God than all deceit
and hypocrisy.
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Till now we have learnt the first three commandments,
which deal with our duty to God : first, that we trust,
fear, and love Him with all our heart all the days of our
life ; then, that we do not abuse His holy name, nor use
it for lying or other evil deeds, but only for the praise
of God, the service and salvation of our neighbour and
ourselves ; thirdly, that on the holy day of rest we hear
and practise God s word with diligence, that all our lives
and acts may be in accordance therewith. Now follow
the remaining seven, dealing with our duty to our neigh
bour, among which the first and highest is
HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
To the state of father and mother God has given a
special importance above all other states that are under
52 THE GREATER CATECHISM
Him, for He does not simply command us to love our
parents, but also to honour them. Our brothers, sisters
and neighbours in general, He simply commands us to
love, so that He separates and distinguishes father and
mother from all other people on earth, and places them
next to Himself. For it is a much higher thing to
honour than to love : it includes not only love, but also
obedience, humility, and reverence, as though it were
shown to some sovereignty hidden there ; and it not only
requires us to address them with affection and respect,
but it requires especially that we treat them worshipfully
both with our hearts and bodies, and show them that
we esteem them highly, and after God look on them as
the highest. For whomsoever we are to honour from
our hearts, we must verily regard them as great and
high.
So the young must be taught to reverence their parents
in God s place, and even though they may be poor,
inferior, sick, and eccentric, they are to remember that
they are none the less father and mother, given them by
God. Their condition or defect does not deprive them of
their due honour. Therefore we must not regard their
persons as they are, but God s will, who thus ordered
and arranged things. Otherwise we are no doubt in
God s eyes all equal, but among ourselves there must be
some such inequality and regular distinction. Therefore
God has commanded that thou obey me as thy father,
and that I have authority over thee.
Thus learn, firstly, what is meant by honour to parents
according to the requirements of this commandment -
namely, that they are to be looked on as honourable above
all others, and to be esteemed as the greatest treasure on
earth. Accordingly we must be modest in words before
them, not treat them unkindly, nor quarrel and dispute
with them, but yield to them and be silent, even if they
go too far. Thirdly, honour them with works, that is,
show them such honour, both with our person and
goods, that we serve, help, and care for them when they
are old, sick, weak, poor, and not only do it gladly, but
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 53
with humility and reverence, as though it were done for
God. For whosoever has the right feeling for them in his
heart, he will not let them suffer want and hunger, but
will put them above and beside himself, and share with
them all he has.
Again, observe what a great, good, and holy task is
here laid upon children ; but unfortunately it is despised
and thrown to the winds, and no one sees that God
commands it, that it is a holy and Divine precept. For
if we had looked on it as such, every one would have
understood that they also were holy people who lived
according to these words. They would not have needed
to institute monastic life nor spiritual orders ; if every
child had kept this commandment, it would have been
able to have a good conscience to God, and to say, If I
am to do a good and holy work, I know of none better
than to show my parents all honour and obedience,
because God Himself has commanded it. For what God
has commanded must be better and far nobler than all
that we can imagine for ourselves, and since there is
no higher or better master to be found than God, there
can verily be no better teachings than those He utters.
Now He teaches abundantly what we are to do, if we
desire to perform truly good works ; and in commanding
it He shows that it pleases Him. If it is God who
commands this, and who can set us no better task, I
can never invent a better one.
In this way a pious child should have been properly
instructed and brought up, and should have been kept
at home and made obedient and useful to his parents,
and then we should have seen goodness and joy. But
God s commandment has not been thus commended to
our care, but has been neglected and ignored, so that a
child could not understand it, but gapes and wonders at
what we have ourselves desired, without even asking-
God s leave.
Therefore let us learn, for God s sake, that young
people must put all other things away from their eyes,
and firstly turn to this commandment, if they would
54 THE GREATER CATECHISM
serve God with truly good works, that they may learn
to do what father and mother, or those who are in their
place, desire. For whatever child knows this and does it,
he shall have firstly great comfort in his heart, in that he
will be able to say joyfully and confidently, in defiance of
all who go about performing self-chosen tasks, Lo, this
task pleases my God in heaven ; that I know well. Let
them put together all the many great, wearisome, difficult
tasks they have accomplished and boast of them ; and let
us see if they can show us anything that is greater and
nobler than obedience to father and mother, which God
has placed after obedience to His own majesty, and re
garding which He has commanded that wherever His
word and will are fulfilled nothing is to be more highly
regarded than the will and command of our parents,
saving only that we remain in God s obedience, so that
we do not break the former commandments.
Therefore thou must be glad and thank God that He
has chosen thee, and made thee worthy to accomplish
such a beautiful and pleasant task. And see that thou
regard it as great and precious, although it be looked on
as the lowest and most contemptible task, not because of
our own dignity, but because it is comprehended in that
holy treasure, God s word and commandment. Oh, how
ready should all Carthusian monks and nuns be to pay a
heavy price for this treasure, so that in the exercise of
their religion they might show one single work which
originated in His commandment, and might say with
joyful heart to Him, Now I know that this task pleases
Thee well ! What will these poor miserable people do
when they stand before God and the world, put to shame
by a little child that has lived in this commandment, and
when they must confess that they, with all their manner
of living, are not worthy to hand him a cup of water ?
They well deserve, on account of the devilish perversity
with which they have trampled God s commandment
under foot, that they should torture themselves in vain
with self-imposed tasks, and moreover reap scorn and
trouble as their reward.
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 55
Should not our heart be ready to burst or swell with
joy if it sets to work and does what is commanded, so as
to be able to say, Lo, this is better than all Carthusian
sanctity, although they fast even unto death, and pray
on their knees without ceasing ? For here thou hast a
distinct text and a Divine testimony that He commanded
this, but the other tasks are not ordered. Such is the
misfortune and terrible blindness of the world that none
will believe this, for the devil has charmed us with
feigned holiness and with the show of our own works.
Therefore I would (I repeat) that ye would open your
eyes and ears, and take this to heart, so that we may not
again be led astray from God s pure word to hearken to
the lies of the devil. Then parents would enjoy a far
greater happiness, love, friendship, and unity in their
homes, and the children would enjoy all the love of their
parents. But if they are obstinate and do not do what
they should unless a stick is laid on their backs, they
anger botli God and their parents, and they deprive them
selves of a great treasure and a joyful conscience, and lay
up for themselves nothing but misfortune. Therefore it
has now come to pass in the world, to the sorrow of all,
that both young and old are wild and unrestrained, with
out reverence or respect ; they do nothing unless driven
by blows, and behind each other s backs they do what
harm they may. Therefore God punishes them, so that
they suffer all misfortune and calamity. The parents
themselves can do nothing ; one fool begets another ; as
they have lived, so will their children live after them.
This (I say) is the great reason which should impel us
to keep this commandment ; for the sake of which, if we
had no father or mother, we should wish that God would
give us stick or stone which we could call father or
mother. How much more should we rejoice that He has
given us living parents, and that we can show them honour
and obedience, because we know that it is so pleasing to
the great high God and the angels, and vexes the devils,
and is the greatest work we can do after the high worship
demanded in the former commandments ; so that to give
56 THE GREATER CATECHISM
alms and all other work for our neighbours is not equal
to this. For God has placed this state above all others,
yea, in His stead on earth. This will and good pleasure
of God should be cause and inducement enough to make
ns eagerly and joyfully do what we can.
Besides, we are bound before the world to be grateful
for the kindness and benefits we have received from our
parents. But there again the devil rules the world, so
that children forget their parents, as we all forget God,
and none remember how God has fed, protected, and
cared for us, and how many benefits He has bestowed on
our body and soul. Especially when an evil hour comes
upon us, we wax wroth, complain impatiently, and forget
all the good that was shown us all our lives. In the
same way do we treat our parents, and there is no child
that acknowledges and considers this, save by the grace
of the Holy Ghost,
God knows well this degeneracy of the world, and ad
monishes us, and urges us in His commandments, that
every one should consider what his parents have done for
him, so will he find that he owes body and soul to them ;
that they have fed him and brought him up when other
wise he would have perished many a time. Therefore it
was rightly and well said by the wise men of old, " Deo
parentibus et magistris non potest satis gratia? rependi,"
that is, God, parents, and teachers can never be sufficiently
thanked and repaid. Whoever examines and considers
this will without any urging show his parents all honour
and respect, and will cherish them as those through
whom God has bestowed all good upon him.
Besides all this, there is another great reason to draw
us the more to this duty : that God has attached a
temporal promise to this commandment, and says, That
thy days may be long in the land that the Lord thy God
giveth thee.
Now thou canst see how seriously God regards this
commandment, for He not only says that it pleaseth Him
well, but He adds that it is for our benefit and good,
that we may enjoy a pleasant and delightful life, with
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 57
abundance of good. Therefore St. Paul bears witness to
tliis and extols it when he says in Eph. vi., Which is
thejirst commandment icith promise, that it may be well
with t/iee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. For
although the other commandments have also a promise
included, in none is the reward so clearly and emphatically
expressed.
There thon hast the fruit and the reward, that whoever
keeps it shall enjoy happiness and all manner of good.
The punishment for those who disobey is that they will
perish sooner and not enjoy their life. For to live a long
life means in the Bible not only to grow old, but to have
all that appertains to a long life : health, wife and child,
food, peace, good laws, etc., without whicli this life
cannot be enjoyed nor be long. Wilt thou not obey thy
father and mother, nor let them train thee ? Then obey
the hangman ; if thou wilt not obey him, obey death.
For this, in short, is what God will have, either that we
obey and love and serve Him, so that He may abundantly
repay us with all good, or if we anger Him He will send
us death and the hangman.
How is it that there are so many rogues who are daily
hanged, beheaded, broken on the wheel, but from dis
obediences ; since they would not be led on the right
path by kindness, by God s judgment they are brought
to such a pass that misfortune and sorrow befalls them ?
For very rarely does it happen that such accursed people
die a natural or timely death.
But those who are virtuous and obedient enjoy this
blessing : that they shall live long in peace and see
their children (as we said before) to the third or fourth
generation.
For we know that when we see old and honoured
families in a good position, with many children, it is
because they were well trained and reverenced their
parents before them. Again, it is written of the wicked,
Let his posterity be cut ojf\ and in the generation following
let their name be blotted out (Psalm cix.). Therefore take
good heed that God regards this same obedience as a
58 THE GREATER CATECHISM
great thing, and therefore gives it so high a place, and
showers rewards on those who are obedient, and severely
punishes those who disobey.
I say all this that it may be thoroughly impressed
on the young. For no one will believe in the great
importance of this commandment, and under the papacy
it was neither taught nor respected. They are simple,
easy words ; each one thinks he knew them well before ;
therefore men neglect them and gape after other objects,
but will not see and believe that they make God angry
when they neglect them, and that they perform a great
and acceptable task when they keep them.
While speaking of this commandment, we must further
mention the various kinds of obedience to all who are
over us, command us, and rule us. For all authority has
its root and source in parental authority. For where a
father is unable to bring up his child alone, he takes a
teacher to teach him ; if he is too weak, he takes his
friend or neighbour to help him ; when he departs this
life, he gives authority to others who are chosen for the
purpose. So he must also have servants, men and maids,
under him for the household, so that all who are called
master stand in the place of parents, and must obtain from
them authority and power to command. Wherefore in
the Bible they are all called fathers, because their office
bestows on them the office of a father, and they ought to
bear a fatherly heart to their people. In the olden
times the Romans and others called the master and
mistress of the house patres et matres f ami lias, that is,
house-father and house-mother. So also their princes
and magistrates are called patres patrice, that is, fathers
of the whole land, and it is a great shame for us would-
be Christians that we do not call them so, or at least
treat them so, and honour them accordingly.
The duty a child owes to its parents is the duty of all
who are included in the household. Therefore men and
maids must see that they not only obey their masters
and mistresses, but also honour them as their own
parents, and do all that they know they are expected to
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 59
do, not with repugnance and because they are forced, but
with pleasure and delight, simply for the reason already
mentioned : that it is God s commandment and pleases
Him above all other work. For this reason they ought
to be willing even to make payment themselves, and be
glad that they can obtain masters and mistresses, and
have such a joyous conscience, and know that they can
do real golden works, which till now were not done and
were despised, so that every one in the devil s name ran
into convents, to pilgrimages and to indulgences, to their
hurt and their bad conscience.
If we could only impress this on the poor people, a
maid would go her ways with joy, and would praise God
and thank Him, and by orderly work, for which she
moreover obtains food and wages, she would earn a
treasure the like of which is owned by none of those who
are esteemed the greatest saints. Is it not a great thing
to know this and be able to say to thyself, If thou doest
thy daily work, it is better than all the sanctity and strict
discipline of the monks ? And, besides, thou hast the
promise that all will go well and prosper with thee.
How canst thou lead a happier and holier life as far as
works are concerned ? For it is faith alone that makes
things holy in God s eyes, and alone serves Him, while
works are for men. Then hast thou all good things :
shelter and protection under the Lord, a good conscience
and a gracious God, who will repay thee a hundredfold,
and thou art a free man if thou art only virtuous and
obedient. But if not, thou wilt earn only anger and
disgrace from God, no peace in thy heart, and moreover
all trouble and misfortune.
Whoever is not induced by this to become virtuous
should be commended to the hangman and to death.
Therefore let who can take advice know that this is no
trifle with God, and know that God speaks to him and
demands obedience. If thou obeyest Him, thou art His
beloved child ; if thou disobeyest Him, shame, sorrow,
and suffering will be thy reward.
The same may be said of the obedience due to worldly
60 THE GREATER CATECHISM
authority, which (as was said) falls under the same rule,
and stretches very widely. For here we have not the
father of a single family, but the father of as many people
as are under him as vassals, citizens, and subjects ; for
God gives to us and preserves to us through them, as
through our parents, our food and home, protection and
safety. Therefore, since they bear these names and titles
as their greatest glory and merit, we also must show
them esteem, and honour them as the greatest treasures
and most precious jewels on earth.
Whoever is obedient, willing, and useful on earth, and
gladly does all that concerns his honour, knows that he
is pleasing God, and will obtain joy and happiness for
a reward. On the other hand, if he does not do this
willingly, but despises this obedience, and sets himself
against it, and rebels, he must know that he will receive
neither mercy nor blessing ; and if he thinks to obtain
one florin by his conduct, he will lose ten elsewhere,
or fall a prey to the hangman, or perish through war,
pestilence, or famine, or his children will turn out badly,
or his household. Neighbours, strangers, tyrants, will
inflict loss, injustice, and violence on him, so that we are
paid according to what we seek or deserve.
If only we could comprehend that such works are
pleasing to God and will be richly rewarded, we should
be surrounded by abundance, and have whatever our
heart desires. But because God s word and command
ment are so despised, as though some blasphemer had
uttered them, let us see if thou art strong enough to
overthrow Him. Will it be hard for Him to repay thee ?
Therefore it is far better for thee to live with God s
favour in peace and happiness, than in disgrace and mis
fortune. What dost thou think is the reason that the
world is so full of perfidy, shame, misery, and murder, if
it be not that every one wishes to be his own master, and
give no one anything, and do all that he desires ? There
fore God punishes one rogue through another, so that if
thou deceivest or despisest thy master, another comes
who treats thee likewise ; so that in thine own house thou
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 61
mayest suffer ten times more from wife, child, and house-
bold.
We certainly feel our misfortunes, and complain and
murmur at the perfidy, violence, and injustice of the
world, but we will not see that we ourselves are rogues,
who truly deserve punishment, and are not improved by
what we suffer. We deserve neither money nor happiness,
and therefore we justly suffer misfortune and receive no
mercy. There must yet be good people in the world,
because God still leaves us so much good. As far as we
are concerned, we do not deserve to retain a farthing in
the house, or a blade in the field. All this I have had
to urge repeatedly, so that haply some might take it to
heart, and we might rid ourselves of the blindness and
misery in which we are sunk so deeply, and recognise
God s word and will, and earnestly accept it. For from
these we should learn how we could obtain joy, happiness,
and salvation here on earth and in the life everlasting.
Thus according to this commandment we have two
fathers appointed : a father by blood and a father by
office, or a father of the household and a father of the
land. Besides this there are spiritual fathers, not like
those of the papacy, who have indeed applied this title to
themselves, but have exercised no fatherly office, for those
only are spiritual fathers who rule and teach us through
God s word, as St. Paul calls himself a father : For in
Jesus Christ I have begotten you through the Gospel
(1 Cor. iv.). Because they are fathers we must honour
them above all men. But they receive least honour, for
the world so honours them that it drives them from the
land and grudges them a piece of bread, and in short,
as St. Paul says, they are the filth of the world and the
offscouring of all things.
But this must be impressed on the people at large ;
that those who would be called Christians owe it to God
to show double honour to those who watch over them and
their souls. They must cherish them and care for them.
Then God will give thee enough and not let thee want.
But every one resists and objects. They all fear their
62 THE GREATER CATECHISM
bellies will suffer, and we cannot provide for one sound
preacher, though before we filled ten fat paunches. We
deserve for this that God should deprive us of His word
and blessing, and that He let lying preachers arise,
who lead us to the devil, and suck our blood and
marrow.
But those who keep God s word before them have
His promise that they shall be richly repaid for what
they spend both on their corporal and spiritual fathers,
and for the honour they show them. They will not only
have bread, clothes, and money for a year or two, but a
long life, food, and peace, and they will be rich and
happy for ever. Therefore do thy duty, and leave it to
God to feed thee and provide for fchee. He has promised
it, and He has never lied, and He will not lie to thee
now.
This should encourage us, and make our hearts over
flow with joy and love for those to whom we owe this
honour, so that we should raise our hands and joyfully
thank God who has given us such promises, that we
should be ready to run to the end of the world to obtain
their fulfilment. For although the whole world joined
together, it could not give us one additional hour of life
or one grain of corn from the earth. But God can and
will give thee all things in abundance, according to thy
heart s desire. Whoever despises and neglects this is not
worthy to hear one word from God. So much then has
been abundantly said to all who are subject to this
commandment.
It would also be well to preach to parents and to those
who fill their office, and to teach them how they should
treat those whom they are commanded to rule. Though
the duty of the parents is not mentioned in the Ten
Commandments, it is frequently commanded in many
passages in the Scriptures. God intends it to be included
in this commandment when He mentions father and
mother. For He has no intention of bestowing this office
and authority on rogues and tyrants, and He does not
give them the honour that is, the power and right to
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 63
rule, in order that they may gain worship for themselves.
They are to remember that they are under God s obedience,
and, above all things, must fill their office gladly and
faithfully, and not only feed and provide for the bodies
of their" children, servants, subjects, etc., but especially
they must bring them up in the praise and honour of
God. Therefore do not think that all this rests on thy
own pleasure and caprice, but that God has strictly
commanded and exacted it, and thou wilt have to answer
for thy conduct.
Here, indeed, is the great trouble of the world, that
no one will acknowledge or respect this truth. They all
behave as though God gave us children for our pleasure
and delight, as if servants were made to be employed like
our cow or our ass solely for work or as if our subjects
were to be treated according to our own caprice. We let
them go their ways as though it were nothing to us what
they learn or how they live, and none will see that it is
the commandment of the Almighty, who makes us re
sponsible, and will punish our neglect, or that it is most
necessary seriously to look after the young. For if we
want skilful people, fit for worldly and spiritual rule, we
must truly spare neither diligence, nor trouble, nor
expense to teach and bring up our children, so that they
may serve God and the world ; and we must not only
consider how we can gather money and wealth for them,
for God can feed them and make them rich without us,
as He daily does. But He has given us children, and
this command, in order that we may train and rule them
according to His word, else there would be no need of
either father or mother. Therefore let each know that,
on pain of the loss of Divine grace, it is his first duty to
bring up his children in the fear and knowledge of God,
and, when they are clever, to let them learn and study,
so that men may make use of them when their services
are needed.
If this were done, God would richly reward us and
give us grace, so that we should bring up a race which
would improve both land and people, and provide well-
64 THE GREATER CATECHISM
conducted citizens, chaste domestic women, who would
bring up virtuous children and servants. Consider what
a mortal injury thou dost by neglecting this matter,
and preventing thy child from being trained to be useful
and a blessing. Thou bringest on thyself wrath and sin,
and deservest hell through thine own children, although
thou mayest be virtuous and holy in other things.
Because this is despised, God punishes the world so
terribly that there is neither discipline, government,
nor peace ; and we all lament this, but do not see that
it is our fault, for as we bring them up, so we have
bad and disobedient children and subjects. This is
enough for exhortation ; to explain more in detail must
be reserved for another time.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER.
We have now dealt with both worldly and spiritual
government, that is, with Divine and paternal authority
and obedience. But now we go from our home to our
neighbour, and learn how we are to live together both
at home and among those who are nearest to us.
Accordingly in this commandment neither God nor the
magistrates are referred to, nor is the power to put to^
death, which they possess, taken from them. For God
has delegated His right to punish malefactors to the
magistrates in place of parents, who formerly, as we
read in the books of Moses, were themselves obliged to
bring their children to judgment and condemn them b
death. Therefore what is forbidden here is forbidden \
to private persons, and not to magistrates.
This commandment is easy enough to understand,
and is often handled, for it is yearly heard in the Gospel
(Matt, v.), where Christ Himself explains it in brief
summary : that we are not to kill either with hand,
heart, mouth, sign, gesture, nor with assistance and
counsel. Therefore every one is forbidden in this com
mandment to be angry, except (as we said before) those
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 65
who are in God s place, that is parents and magistrates. ,
For it is the right of God, and of those who have His ,
authority, to rebuke and punish, for the very sake of/
those who transgress this and other commandments.
But the cause and necessity for this commandment is
that God knows well how wicked the world is, and how
full this life is of misfortune. Therefore He has inter
posed this and other commandments between good and
evil. As we are tempted to resist the other command
ments, in like manner are we tempted regarding this
commandment, for we are obliged to dwell among many
people who wrong us, so that we have cause to be their
enemies.
So when thy neighbour sees that thou hast a better
house, more temporal goods and happiness from God
than he, it vexes him, and he envies thee, and speaks no
good of thee.
So hast thou many enemies, through the tempting of
the devil, who grudge thee all thy goods, temporal or
spiritual. When we see such things, our heart is ready
to rage and bleed, and seeks to avenge itself. Then arise
swearing and fighting, which lead to misery and murder.
Then God comes forward like a good father, and inter
poses, and tries to settle the quarrel, so that no mis
fortune may arise, and one may not destroy the other.
And, in short, He will have every man to be protected,
set free, and defended from the sin and violence of all
others, and He wills that this commandment be put
as rampart, citadel, and freedom, round our neighbour,
so that we do him neither harm nor injury in his body.
The meaning, then, of this commandment is that no
one is to injure his neighbour because of any evil he has
done, although he may richly deserve it. For where
murder is forbidden, everything is forbidden that could
lead to murder. For many a man, although he may
not commit murder, yet curses, and wishes that he
against whom the curse is directed, might come to
an untimely end. Now because we are all alike in
this by nature, and it is a common custom that no
5
66 THE GREATER CATECHISM
one will suffer any wrong from another, God s desire
is to remove the root and source of the evil through
which a man s heart is embittered against his neigh
bour, and He wishes to accustom us to have His
commandment always before our eyes, to contemplate
ourselves in its light, to regard it as His will, and to
take our grievances to Him, calling on His name in
heartfelt confidence, leaving those opposed to us to rage
and storm in their hatred and do what they can. In
this way a man will learn to control his anger, and
bear a gentle, patient heart, especially towards those
who give him cause for anger, that is, towards his
enemies.
Therefore the whole sum and compass of this com
mandment, which must be most clearly explained to
simple folk, is, Do not kill. Hence in the first place we
are not to injure any one by word or deed ; further, we
are not to use our tongue to advise or to counsel murder.
Besides which we are not to use, or to permit others to
use, any means of giving offence. And again, our hearts
are not to harbour hostile thoughts against any one, or to
wish-them evil, because of our wrath and hate ; thus let
your body and soul remain innocent towards all, but
especially towards him who wishes you ill or aggrieves
you. For to do ill to him who wishes you well and does
you good is not human, but devilish.
Further, this commandment is broken not only by him
who does an evil action, but also by him who might do
good to his neighbour and avert danger from him, pro
tect, defend, and save him from all bodily harm, and yet
does not do so. If thou seest a naked man and mightst
have clothed him, and clothest him not, thou hast let him
die of cold ; if thou secst any one suffer hunger and
feedest him not, thou hast let him die of hunger. Again,
if thou seest any man unjustly condemned to death or in
danger of death, and savest him not when thou couldst
have done so, thou hast killed him. It will avail thee
nothing to excuse thyself by saying thou hast not done
any harm by word or deed, for thou hast withheld thy
THE FITFH COMMANDMENT 67
love from him, and thus deprived him of those benefits
by means of which he might have continued to live.
Therefore God justly terms all such murderers, who
do not help and counsel those who are in need and in
peril of their lives, and a terrible condemnation will fall
upon them on the day of judgment, as Christ Himself
has declared in the words, For I was an hungered, and
ye gave Me no meat ; I was thirsty , and ye gam Me no
drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in ; sick and
in prison, and ye visited Me not (Matt. xxv. 35, 3(5) ;
which is the same thing as : ye would have let Me and
Mine die of hunger, thirst, and cold, be torn by wild
beasts, rot in prison, and perish in want. Is not this
equivalent to calling them murderers and men of blood ?
For even though thou hast not actually done the deed,
thou hast let thy neighbour perish in his misfortune by
not assisting him as far as in thee lay. It would be the
same thing were I to see a man struggling in deep water
or falling into a fire, and did not put forth my hand to
pull him out and save him, when 1 might have done so.
Would not all the world regard me as a murderer and
villain ? Hence the final meaning of God s law is that
\ye shall do no harm to any one, but show them all kind
ness and love, and (as has been already said) this
commandment refers more especially to those who are
ourenemies. For to do good to our friends is nothing
but a inert 1 heathen virtue, as Christ says (Matt. v. 46).
Thus here again we have the word of God, with which
He seeks to urge and impel us to righteous, noble, and
good work, such as showing gentleness and patience ; in
fact, to love and be kind to our enemies, and His desire is
to remind us constantly of the First Commandment, which
teaches that He is our God, who will help and protect us,
and aid us in checking our desire to avenge ourselves.
If this law were urged and impressed on all minds,
we should all have enough good work to do. But it
would be useless to preach this to monks, and priests
would consider us encroaching upon their domain, while
Carthusian sanctimoniousness would feel itself aggrieved,
68 THE GREATER CATECHISM
for it would be something like forbidding good works
and doing away with monasteries. For, with such
teaching, ordinary Christian conduct would come to be
of equal worth, nay of far more value than all their
doings, and people would see how the world is deceived
and misled by false, hypocritical sanctimoniousness, by
this and the other commandments being cast to the
winds and considered unnecessary, as though they were
not commandments, but mere advice ; while at the same
time they would insolently boast and proclaim their
hypocritical ways and works as the most perfect form
of life, in order that they may lead a calm and unruffled
life, free from hindrance and trials of patience. Hence
they entered monasteries so as not to be harmed by
others, but neither could they there do good unto others.
Now learn and know that God s commandment is the
truly righteous and Divine work, in which God and all
the angels rejoice, compared with which human sancti
moniousness is offensive and vile, meriting nothing but
anger and condemnation.
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
The following commandments are, in themselves, easy
to understand from the preceding one, for they all teach
that we must guard against doing any manner of harm
to our neighbour ; but they are set down in very careful
order. In the first place they touch the person s own
self ; then the person nearest to him, his most cherished
possession after his own body, namely his wedded wife,
who is one flesh and blood with him, and hence nowhere
else can he suffer greater harm. Therefore it is plainly
expressed here that no one shall bring disgrace upon
him through his wife. And it refers specially to
adultery, for among the Jewish people it was com
manded and decreed that every one must marry. Where
fore the young were betrothed betimes, unmarried women
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT 69
were not held in esteem, and no public prostitutes and
fornicators were tolerated as they are now. Therefore,
among the Jews adultery was looked upon as the worst
kind of unchastity.
But as there is now such shameful confusion among
us, such a confounding of all manner of iniquity and
vice, this commandment is directed against every kind
of unchastity, whatever names it may assume ; and not
only is the act itself forbidden, but every motive, temp
tation, and incentive, in order that heart, lips, and the
whole body be kept chaste and may not give either help
or advice in encouraging unchastity ; and not only this,
we are also to assist, protect, and save wherever there
is need and danger, and to help and advise so that our
neighbour may preserve his honour. For if thou omit-
test to do this when thou mightst have done it, or if thou
connivest at it, though it concern thee not, thou art
as guilty as the doer himself. To express it briefly, it is
commanded that each one of us shall live a clean, chaste
life, both as regards his own self and his neighbour, and
shall help others to do the same ; and by this command
ment God further desires that a wife shall be guarded
and protected, that none may sin against her.
Now this commandment speaks of marriage, and thus
gives us an opportunity of speaking of this state ; there
fore learn thou and mark, firstly, that God holds this \l
state in high honour and praise, for He ordains and
protects it by His commandment. He ordains it in
the Fourth Commandment by the words, Honour thy
father and thy mother, whereas here (as we said above)
He protects and guards it. Therefore He desires that
we should honour it, uphold it, and treat it as a Divine
and blessed state; and He places it above all other
states, for which reason He created man and woman
distinctively (as we see), not for mischievous purposes,
but that they may dwell together, be fruitful, beget
children, feed them, and bring them up to the glory
of God. And accordingly God has blessed this state
above all other states, and has made everything on
70 THE GREATER CATECHISM
earth subservient to and attendant upon it, and it is well
and abundantly provided for. Accordingly marriage is
not a jest or matter of curiosity, but an excellent thing
and of Divine ordinance. For God sets a high value
on our bringing up people who will serve Him in this
world, and help us to a right understanding of His will,
to a holy life and all the virtues, and to combat evil and
the devil.
For this reason I have always taught that we must
not look with contempt upon this state, or think it dis
reputable, as is done by the shortsighted world and our
hypocritical clergy ; it must be regarded in the light of
God s word, so that it be beautified and sanctified. For
this state not only equals other states, but ranks above
and before all, be they emperors, princes, bishops, or
what they will. For both spiritual and temporal estates
must humble themselves, and take upon themselves this
state, as we shall hear. Hence it is not a peculiar state,
but the most general and the noblest state met with in.
Christendom, nay in the whole world.
Again, thou must know that it is not only an honour
able but a necessary state, earnestly commanded by God,
so that all men and women who are fit for it must
take it upon themselves, although some (albeit a few)
are excepted, whom God hath specially exempted, they
not being fit for matrimony, or they are exempted by
great and supernatural gifts, so that they can remain
continent without entering upon this state. For where
nature is as God made it, it is not possible to remain
continent without matrimony ; for flesh and blood remain
flesh and blood, and the natural inclination and tempta
tion is unchecked and unhindered, as every man knows
and feels. Therefore, in order that it may be easier to
avoid incontinency, God has instituted matrimony, so
that each may have his appointed share, which shall
suffice him ; although the heart cannot be kept pure
except by the grace of God.
From this thou canst see how the papal horde _pf
priests, monks, and nuns oppose God s laws and com-
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT 71
mandment in despising and forbidding matrimony, and
by presuming to vow that they will for ever remain
continent, thus deceiving simple folk with lying words
and false appearances. For none possess as little desire
and inclination for purity as they who most avoid matri
mony under the pretence of great holiness. ^ They commit
fornication publicly and shamelessly, or in secret they
do even worse things which may not be mentioned, as
alas ! has been too much experienced. In fact, although
they may refrain from the act itself, yet their hearts are
full" of impure thoughts and evil desires, so that there
is an eternal burning and secret suffering, which can be
avoided by married life. Hence this commandment con
temns all vows of chastity made apart from marriage,
and permission is given to all poor captive consciences,
that have been deceived by their monastic vows, to
leave that impure state for matrimony, nay they are
even commanded to do so, for even though in other
respects monastic life were godly, yet it is not in their
power to keep pure, and by remaining there they only
increase their sin against God s commandment.
All this I speak of, only in order that the young may
be uro-ed to desire matrimony, and may know that it is
a blessed state, pleasing to God. For thus > it might
come to pass in time that marriage would again be held
in honour ; and we should find less of the lewd, dissolute,
licentious conduct now so rampant in the world, where
every one commits open fornication and other abomina
tions, which arise from this contempt for wedded life.
Therefore it is the duty of parents and those in authority
to see that the young are brought up in modesty and
honesty, and when they are grown up to counsel them
to consider God s law and their own honour. Then He
will bestow on us His blessing and grace, and we shall
rejoice and be glad.
Now to conclude, it is evident from the above that
this commandment not only demands that every one
shall live chastely in his actions, words, and thoughts,
in his condition of life, that is, generally in matrimony,
72 THE GREATER CATECHISM
but lie is to love and honour the wife given to him by
God. For where conjugal purity is to be preserved, man
and woman must, above all things, dwell together in
love and unity, and cherish each other with all their
heart and in all fidelity. For that is one of the chief
things that produce the love and desire of chastity, for
where these exist, purity will ensue of its own accord,
without any command. Therefore St. Paul diligently
admonishes married persons to love and honour each
other. Here thou hast again a precious, yea a great
and holy work, of which thou canst joyfully boast, in
contrast to all such religious states of life as are insti
tuted without God s sanction or command.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
Next to thine own person and thy wedded wife, thy
worldly goods stand closest to thee, and God desires that
they shall be secured to thee, and therefore commands
that no one shall take away or lessen any portion of
his neighbour s possessions. For stealing means the
unlawful appropriation of another s goods, or, to give
it briefly, to derive any sort of advantage from thy
neighbour s disadvantage. Now this is a very common
vice, but is so little heeded and regarded, and so exceeds
all bounds, that if all those were hanged that are thieves
and yet would not be called so, the world would soon
be desolate, and there would not be either hangmen or
gallows enough. For, as has been said, stealing not only
signifies the emptying of chests and pockets, but also
taking advantage of others at market, warehouses, wine
and beer cellars, workshops, in short, wherever men
transact business and take and give money for goods or
labour.
Let us explain it somewhat more forcibly for common
folk, that we may judge how virtuous we are. For in
stance, when a manservant or maidservant of the house
do not do their duty faithfully, but injure or let others
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT 73
injure their master s property when this might have been
prevented, or when they neglect his goods and treat them
carelessly, from idleness or malice, to spite or to annoy
their master and mistress, as may be done wilfully for
I do speak not of what is done by accident and un
wittingly thirty or forty florins or more may in this
way be lost to them in a year ; whereas, had they secretly
taken or carried off this sum, they would have swung
on the gallows ; yet, in this case, they are confident and
insolent, and none may call them thieves.
I may say the same of workmen, journeymen, and day-
labourers, who are fall of arrogance, and scarcely know
how they can sufficiently cheat those who hire them, by
being indolent and unfaithful in their work. All these
are far worse than clandestine thieves, who can be checked
by bolts and bars, or seized and treated in such a fashion
that they can do it no more. But no one can protect
himself against these others, for no one may venture to
look askance at them or to accuse them of theft ; hence
it would be ten times better to have things taken from
one s purse. For in the other case, those who deceive
me most are my neighbours, my supposed friends, my
own servants, from whom I expected kindness only.
This dishonesty is likewise rampant and in full force
at markets and in ordinary commerce. One man openly
cheats the other with false merchandise, weights and
measures, and money, and by his acuteness, clever
financings, or ready invention defrauds his neighbour,
or circumvents him in his purchase, overcharges and
fleeces him at will. AVho can name or remember all the
various ways ? In fact, it is the commonest proceeding,
and this is" the largest guild on earth. And if we were
to examine all the different grades of society, we should
find that they were nothing but a huge stable, full of
great thieves. They are robbers in high position, land
thieves and road thieves, not mere pillagers of chests
and ordinary cunning thieves ; they sit in high places,
are looked up to as great folk, and rob and cheat honest,
virtuous citizens under show of good appearance.
74 THE GREATER CATECHISM
Yea, we might well let alone the lesser thieves, if we
could only arrest the great, powerful arch-thieves, with
whom princes and rulers associate, who daily ransack
not one or two towns, but all Germany. Yea, what
would become of the head and supreme protector of all
thieves, the papal see at Rome, with all its belongings,
which has appropriated by theft all our worldly posses
sions, and keeps them to this day ? In short, it is the
way of the world, that he who can steal and rob openly
may go about safe and free, and not punished by any
one, expecting moreover to be held in honour; whereas
petty sly thieves, who may have only once done wrong,
bear the shame and punishment, to make the others
appear virtuous and respected. But let them know that
they are the greatest thieves before God, who moreover
will punish them as they deserve and merit.
Now as this commandment embraces so many points,
as we have just shown, it must be well explained and
expounded to the people, that they may not go about
so freely and at ease ; we must impress on them that
they have always the fear of God s anger before them.
For we must preach this not so much to Christians
as to those scoundrels and villains who would verily
be more properly preached at by judges, the pillory,
and the hangman. Therefore let all men know that,
on pain of God s displeasure, it is their duty not
only to do no harm to their neighbour, but also not
to take advantage of him, or to show him any perfidy
or deceit in any purchase or commerce. They are
faithfully to protect his possessions, and advance his
interests, especially if they receive money, wages, or food
therefor.
Now whoever wilfully disregards this commandment
may perhaps escape punishment and the hangman, but
he will not escape God s anger and chastisement, and if
he persists long in his defiance and arrogance, he will
remain a vagabond and a beggar, and have to endure all
manner of trouble and misfortune. Thou mayst, indeed,
go thy way when thou shouldst protect the goods of thy
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT 75
master and mistress, and mayst fill thy belly, and take
thy money as a thief, letting thyself be honoured as
a grand person ; for there are many who still defy
master and mistress and are unwilling to do anything
for them, to protect them from harm. But look and see
what thou gainest thereby, for when thon hast thine own
property and comes t to have thine own home, God will
send thee all manner of misfortune, and it will search
thee out, and thou wilt thus be requited, for where thou
hast stolen a farthing or done any harm thou wilt have
to pay for it thirty-fold.
Thus will it be also with the workmen and day-
labourers, whose intolerable insolence one meets witli
nowadays and has to put up with, as though they werq
grand folk on other people s property, and every one ha^
to give them what they desired. Let them go on cheating
as long as they can; God does not forget His command
ment, and will reward them as they deserve, and will
hano- them, not on a green, but on a dry gallows, so
that they will never thrive all their life long or accom
plish anything. And indeed if there were a well-ordered
government in the land, such insolence would soon be
prevented and put to an end, as happened in times past
with the Romans, when such persons were forthwith
laid hold of, that they might serve others as a
warning.
Thus shall it be with all who make the public market
place a mere fleecing-house and den of thieves, where
the poor are daily cheated, new burdens imposed, extor
tions made, and every one makes use of the market in
his own wilful way, proud and defiant, as though he had
a o-ood right to sell at as high a price as he chose, and
noie could interfere. Let us wait, and watch them
cheating, despoiling, and coveting; we will trust in God,
and when they have fleeced and plundered long enough,
His blessing to them will be that their corn will spoil
in the barn, their beer in the cellar, their cattle in the
stall ; yea, if they have cheated any one of a florin and
taken advantage of him, the whole of their substance
76 THE GREATER CATECHISM
shall be swept away and destroyed, so that they shall
never enjoy it.
We see this daily fulfilled before onr eyes, and that no
stolen or dishonestly acquired substance ever prospers.
How many there are who work and slave day and night
without being a farthing the richer ! And even though
they gather a good deal, they have so much vexation and
misfortune, that they have no real enjoyment of it them
selves, nor can they bequeath it to their children. But
as no one minds this, and all go their way as though it
concerned them not, God has to punish us otherwise,
and to teach us our morals by causing tax on tax to be
levied, or a body of troopers to be our guests, and they in
an hour will empty our chests and purses, and will not
cease to plunder while we have a farthing left, and by
way of gratitude end in burning and destroying our
house and home, and dishonouring or slaying our wife
and children.
In short, whatever thou stealest, this much is certain:
that twice as much shall be stolen from thee, and who
soever robs with violence, and profits by another s loss,
will find that he will have to endure like treatment from
another. For as men all rob and cheat each other, God
manages in a masterly way that one thief shall punish
the other, else where should we find gallows or ropes
enough ?
Now let those who are willing to listen know that this
is God s commandment, and not a thing to be treated
lightly. For though thou mayst despise, deceive, rob,
and plunder us, we will yet bear with thee, as the Lord s/
Prayer directs, endure and suffer thy pride, and forgivej
and pity thee, for we know that the virtuous shall never
want, and that thou art hurting thyself more than any
one else. And be careful that when the poor, of whom
there are so many nowadays, come to spend their daily
penny, thou dost not treat them as though they held
their lives by thy favour. Thou shalt not harass or
worry them, and turn away in pride and arrogance from
those whom thou shouldst support and help. They will
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT 77
go their way downcast and miserable, and, because they
cannot accuse any one, they cry unto Heaven. Beware
of this (I say again), as though it were the devil him
self ; for such cries and lamentations are not to be trifled
with, but will have effect and be too strong for thee and
the world. For they will reach Him who pities the poor
and the sorrowful, and He will not leave them unavenged.
If, however, thou despise them, and art defiant, look to
it what thou hast brought upon thyself. If things go
well with thee and thou art prosperous, then thou mayst
call God and me liars before all the world.
We have now sufficiently admonished, warned, and
exhorted those who will not give heed or believe; let
them go their way till they learn the truth for them
selves. But let us" impress it on the young, so that they
may be careful and not follow the old, unruly rabble,
but keep God s commandment before them, that God s
anger may not fall on them. It is not our part to do
more than to declare and to punish with God s word.
This public wickedness must be repressed by princes and
those in authority, who can use their eyes, and have
courage to restore and keep order in trade and com
merce, so that the poor be not oppressed and harassed,
and they themselves be not burdened with other men s
sns.
Enough has now been said of what is meant by steal
ing ; we are not to make the meaning too narrow, but to
take it widely, for the commandment refers to all our
dealings with our neighbour. To give it briefly, as we
did with the other commandments, we are forbidden, \
firstly, to harm or wrong our neighbour in any of the
various way^TDi^Tlnay^brrthought of, such as spoiling,
defrauding "him, or carrying off any of his property; nor *
are we to allow or permit others to do so, but to forbid and
prevent them; and besides, we are commanded to further
him and promote his good, and to help and advise him
in his need, and to assist both friend and foe.
Now he who seeks and desires good works will find
enough here that are pleasing and delightful to God, and
7 8 THE GREATER CATECHISM
that will be rewarded with great blessings, so that we
shall be amply recompensed for whatever assistance or
friendship we show our neighbours, as King Solomon
says : lie that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the
Lord, and that which he hath given will He pay him again
(Prov. xix. 17). There hast thou a rich Master, who
will satisfy thee and will not let thee want, and with a
cheerful conscience thou mayst enjoy a hundredfold more
than thou wouldst have scraped together by injustice and
wrong. And he who has no wish for this blessing will
meet with anger and misfortune enough.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
THOU SHALT NOT BEAU FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY
NEIGHBOUR.
In addition to our body, our spouse, and our worldly
goods, we have another treasure in our honour and good
name, which we cannot dispense with ; for we cannot live
among people in public disgrace, despised by every one.
Therefore God will as little permit us to injure or under
rate our neighbour s good name, his character and
uprightness, as He will allow us to deprive him of his
goods and money, in order that every man may be held
in honour by his wife, children, servants, and neighbours.
And, in the first place, the most obvious meaning of
this commandment is as the words say : Thou shalt not
bear false witness in the public courts of justice, when a
poor innocent man is accused and so oppressed by false
witnesses, that he suffers in body, goods, or honour.
_ Now this might seem as though it concerned us but
little, but among the Jews it was an excellent thing
and of common use. For they were a well and properly
governed people; and even now, where there is a like
government, there is no escaping this sin. The cause
is this : where judges, burgomasters, princes, or other
magnates sit in judgment, people follow the way of the
world, and are unwilling to offend any one ; hence they
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT 79
act hypocritically, and speak according to favour, money,
hope, or friendship ; and a poor man and his cause suffer
injustice, oppression, and punishment. And it is a com
mon grievance in the world that worthy people are
seldom found occupying the seat of judgment. For it
is necessary, above all things, that a judge should be a
worthy man, and not only worthy, but wise and able, nay
even bold and courageous ; and in the same way a witness
ought to be a brave and worthy man. For he who wishes
to judge all things rightly and to carry out his judgment
lias often to face the anger of friends, relations, neigh
bours, as well as rich and powerful persons, who might
be able to serve or injure him greatly. Hence he has
to -be pretty well blind^ to close eyes and ears, and not to
sector hear anything but what is brought before him,
and he has to draw his conclusions from that alone.
Further, this commandment was given chiefly that
each might help his neighbour to his right, and not
hinder or prevent his obtaining it, but further his cause
and to protect it, and that, whether he were judge or
witness, without caring what might happen. And this
applies especially to the proceedings of our lawyers, that
they may be careful to be upright and honest in their
dealings ; to let right remain right, and not to prevent,
obscure, or conceal it for the sake of money, goods,
honour, or power. This is a part of and the simplest
meaning of this commandment, above all as regards our
courts of law.
But it has a far wider meaning, when we refer it to
the spiritual judgment or government, for there likewise
every one bears false witness against his neighbour.
For where there are pious preachers and Christians, the
world will proclaim them heretics, apostates, nay even
rebellious and desperate malefactors. Moreover God s
word is shamefully corrupted and maligned, perverted
and misapplied. But let them go their way; it is the
way of the blind world to denounce and persecute truth
and God s children, accounting it no sin.
Thirdly, this commandment again concerns us by
8o THE GREATER CATECHISM
forbidding all sins of the tongue by whicli we can injure
or vex our neighbour. For to bear false witness is the
work of the tongue. Now all the harm we do our neigh
bour with our tongue God wishes to prevent, whether
it come from false preachers with their doctrines and
blasphemy, or from false judges and witnesses with their
tribunals, or from lies and slander outside the court.
This includes more especially the detestable, shameful
vice of calumniating or slandering, to which the devil
drives us, and of which much might be said. For it is
a common and mischievous plague that people would
rather hear evil of their neighbour than good. And
though we ourselves are so bad that we cannot endure
to have anything bad said of us, and wish that all the
world would speak well of us, yet we cannot bear to hear
good spoken of others.
Therefore we are to be careful to avoid such wicked
ness, for we may not condemn and punish our neighbour
publicly, even though we see him do wrong, unless we
have authority to judge and punish. For there is a
great difference between the two, between condemning
wrong-doing and knowing wrong-doing. Thou mayest
indeed know it, but thou mayest not judge it. I may
hear and see that my neighbour does wrong, but I have
no authority to speak of it to others. And if I set about
judging and condemning, I fall into a sin which is greater
than my neighbour s sin. Hence if thou dost know of
it, do nothing but make a grave of thine ears, and cover
it up till thou art called upon to judge and to punish
because of thine office.
Now such persons are called slanderers who are not
satisfied with knowing, but who take it upon themselves
to judge, and when they know anything against another,
spread the report in every direction, worrying and burrow
ing to get at other people s trouble, like swine, who
wallow in the mire, grubbing about in it with their
snouts. This is nothing but interfering with God s
authority and prerogative, and He judges and punishes
it with the utmost severity. For no judge can punish
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT 81
more severely or go further than by saying: this is
a thief, a murderer, a traitor, etc. Therefore he who
ventures to say this of his neighbour goes as far as
an emperor or any one in authority; for even though
thou mayest not wield the sword, thou hast used thy
venomous tongue to disgrace and injure thy neighbour.
Therefore God forbids that a man speak fll of his
neighbour, even though he be guilty and he knows it
well ; and still less may this be done if he is not sure
of it and knows it only from hearsay. And if thou
shouldst say : may I not speak of it if it be true ?
Answer : Why dost thou not go with it before the proper
judge? You say, I cannot bear witness to it openly;
I might be struck across the mouth for it and badly
treated. Ah, my friend, thou smellest the roast. If
thou canst not venture to appear before a proper tribunal
and be responsible, then hold thy peace. But if thou
art certain of it, be certain of it for thyself, not for
another, for if thou repeatest it, even though it be true,
thou appearest a liar, because thou canst not prove it;
and moreover thou art acting a villainous part, for no
one shall rob any one of his honour and good fame,
unless this has first been done publicly.
Accordingly, to bear false witness is to say anything
the truth of which cannot be proved. Therefore what
cannot be asserted with sufficient proof is not to be
revealed or declared to be truth; in brief, what is secret
is to be left a secret or punished secretly, as we shall
hear. Therefore wherever thou shalt find an idle tono-ue
ready to slander and calumniate another, speak out to
him to his face, that he may redden with shame ; many
will then hold their tongues who would otherwise
bring a poor creature into evil repute, from which it
would be difficult to get out again: for honour and
good lame are easily taken from us, but not so easilv
restored.
So thou seest that, in fact, thou art forbidden to speak
II ol thy neighbour in any way ; exception being made to
those acting under civil authority, and preachers, father
6
82 THE GREATER CATECHISM
or mother, for this commandment must be so understood
that evil shall not go unpunished. Now according to
the Fifth Commandment, no one s body is to be injured
except by the hangman, whose office it is to do no good
to his neighbour, but harm and injury, and yet does not
break God s command, because, for His own sake, God has
instituted this office, and has ordained that the hangman
shall inflict the punishment with which He threatens
us in the First Commandment. In the same way we are
told here that no one is of himself to judge or to condemn
another; and yet if those do not do it whose duty it is,
they are as much to blame as those who do it without
proper authority. For then it becomes a matter of
necessity to speak of the evil, to bring forward accusa
tions, to make enquiries and to bear witness, just as the
physician who, if he is to perform a cure, must examine
and handle secret parts. Hence those in authority,
father and mother, nay even brothers and sisters and
other good friends, owe it to each other to have evil
punished where it is necessary.
Now the right way of doing this would be to act
according to the Gospel, where Christ says, Moreover, if
thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault between thee and him alone (Matt, xviii. 15).
Here thou hast a rare and excellent lesson to teach
thee to rule thy tongue, which thou must take to heart
against all misapplication. Act up to this, and see to it
that thou dost not lightly defame and traduce thy neigh
bour when he is absent, but quietly admonish him, that
he lead a better life. And act in this way also when
any one brings a matter to thine ears regarding what
this or that one has done; tell him to go and have
the wrong-doing punished himself where he has seen it
committed, otherwise to hold his tongue.
This thou mayest also learn from the daily manage
ment of thy household. For the master of a house acts
thus: when he sees that a servant does not do what
he ought, he speaks to him himself. Were he foolish
enough to leave the man at home and to go into the
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT 83
streets to complain of him to the neighbours, it would
certainly be said to him : Thou fool, what is it to us ?
Why dost thou not tell him this thyself? That would
be acting like a brother, for evil would be punished,
and thy neighbour would retain his honour. As Christ
Himself hath said, If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained
thy brother, and thou wilt have performed a great and
excellent work. For dost thou think it a trifling thing
to win over thy brother ? Let all monks and religious
orders amass all their work and see whether they have
anything to equal the merit of having gained a brother.
Christ teaches further : But if he will not hear thee,
then take with thee one or two or more, that in the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Hence we are always to deal with the man himself, and
not to speak ill of him without his knowledge. And if
this does not avail, bring the matter openly before the
community, before a civil or a spiritual tribunal. For
here thou dost not stand alone, but hast witnesses with
thee, through whom thou canst convict the wrong- doer,
and on whose testimony the judge can support his sen
tence and punish him ; thus all will be done properly
and rightly, and the wrong-doer will be admonished or
benefited. Whereas if we go about jabbering evil of
others in every direction, stirring up filth, no one will be
bettered ; and thus when people are called upon to appear
and bear witness, they maintain that they said nothing.
Therefore it would serve such chatterers right if they
were well cudgelled for their evil-speaking, and others
were warned by their example. If thou hadst acted
with a view to better thy neighbour, or for the sake of
truth, thou wouldst not slink away secretly, or shun the
light of day.
All the above refers to hidden wrong-doing. Where,
however, the wrong-doing is open, so that the judge and
all the world knows of it, then thou mayest avoid the
evil-doer without doing wrong, thou mayest let him go
his way as one who has brought disgrace upon himself,
and thou mayest openly bear witness against him. For
84 THE GREATER CATECHISM
when things are obvious as daylight, there can be no
question of calumniating, or of false judges or false
witnesses: for instance, when, as now, we chastise the
Pope for his doctrines, which are published in books,
and denounced before all the world. For where the
sin is public it is just that the punishment be public,
so that every one may know of it and guard himself
against it.
Here we have the summary and simple explanation
of this commandment, which is : that no one shall do
his neighbour, whether friend or foe, any injury with
his tongue or speak evil of him, be it true or false,
unless it be done by order, or for his reformation ;
rather are we to use our tongue to speak good of every
one, to hide our neighbour s sin and wrong-doing, to
forgive him, and do what we can to increase and promote
his honour. And our chief motive for so doing should
be because of what Christ saith in the Gospel, There
fore all things ichatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do ye even so to them (Matt. vii. 12), which
words comprise all the commandments concerning our
neighbour.
Nature, too, teaches us this regarding our own bodies,
as St. Paul saith : Those members of the body which seem
to be more feeble are necessary ; and those members of
the body which we think to be less honourable, upon these
we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts
have more abundant comeliness (1 Cor. xii. 22, 23). Our
face, eyes, nose, and mouth are never covered up ; we
have no need to do so, for they are the most honourable
members we have ; whereas the feeblest members, which
we are ashamed of, we most diligently cover up : hands
and eyes and our whole body have to help in con
cealing and hiding them. So in our conduct towards
each other we are to hide what is dishonourable and
weak in our neighbour, and do all we can to help,
assist, and defend him from what would tend to his
dishonour. It is a peculiarly good and noble virtue to
be able to interpret and explain for the best all that
THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS 85
we hear said of our neighbour (where it is not publicly
declared to be evil), or to be able to take his part against
those poisonous-tongued jabberers who make it their
business to dig and rake up something wherewith to
accuse their neighbour, twisting and perverting things,
as is now especially done to the precious word of God
and His ministers.
Accordingly there are many great and good works
included in this commandment, which please God in the
highest degree and bring with them abundance of bless
ings, if only the blind world and false saints would
recognise them. For there is no part of a man that
can accomplish more good or produce more evil in
spiritual as well as worldly things than his tongue,
which is the smallest and weakest member of his body.
THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR S HOUSE.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR S WIFE, NOIl
HIS MANSERVANT, NOR HIS MAIDSERVANT, NOR HIS OX,
NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANYTHING THAT IS HIS.
These two commandments were more especially ad
dressed to the Jews, although they also concern us in
part. And they did not interpret them as referring to
unchastity and theft, because these vices had already
been sufficiently forbidden ; they considered they were
keeping all the commandments by doing or not doing
the thing demanded. God therefore added these two,
that it might further be regarded a sin and a thing
forbidden to covet a neighbour s wife or goods, and in
any way to strive to obtain them. This was especially
necessary because under the Jewish rule menservants
and maidservants were not, as now, free to serve for a
wage as long as they themselves desired ; they belonged
to their master, in body as in all they had, like his cattle
and other possessions ; every man had it in his power
openly to put away his wife by giving her a writing of
86 THE GREATER CATECHISM
divorcement, and to take another. So that among them
arose the danger, that if a man cared for another woman,
he would make some sort of excuse to put aside his own
wife and to alienate the other man s from him, so that
he might obtain her himself. Now this was not looked
upon as any sin or disgrace among them, just as little
as it would be now if a master were to dismiss his man
servant or maidservant, or entice away his neighbour s
servant.
Therefore they rightly interpreted (I say) the com
mandment (though it possesses a deeper and wider
application) to mean : that no one was to covet or to
obtain for himself any of another man s property, whether
his wife, servant, house, fields, meadows, or cattle, and
thus injure his neighbour, even though it were done under
a seemingly good pretext. Above, in the Seventh Com
mandment, we are forbidden to appropriate another man s
possessions or to withhold them from him, for we have
no right to do this ; and here we are likewise forbidden
to deprive our neighbour of anything that is his, even
though in the eyes of the world we might seem to have
obtained it honourably, so that no one could accuse or
blame us as though we had acquired it wrongfully.
For human nature is so constituted that none of us
wish the other to have as much as himself, and each
takes as much as he can, without considering his neigh
bour. And yet we desire to be thought virtuous ; we
plume ourselves finely to hide our roguery, and seek and
devise ingenious tricks and cunning frauds (such as are
now daily devised most skilfully), pretending that they
are lawful, and talk of them boastfully and arrogantly,
and will not have our conduct called roguery, but clever
ness and foresight. Lawyers and advocates help in this,
for they turn and twist the law, quibbling over words
to suit their purpose, regardless of justice and their
neighbour s needs. And, in brief, he who is the sharpest
and cleverest in such things is best helped by the law ;
for, as they themselves say, " Vigilantibus iura snb-
veniunt."
THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS 87
Hence this last commandment is not addressed to the
wicked people in the world, but to the most righteous,
to those who wish to be praised and to be called honest
and upright because they had not broken the earlier com
mandments ; and this applied specially to the Jews, and
to many other great folk, princes and rulers. For the
Seventh Commandment deals more particularly with the
common people, who do not much concern themselves
whether they honestly and justly come by what they
have.
Now this occurs most frequently in matters connected
with the law, where the object is to defraud or swindle
our neighbour of something, as for instance, when hig
gling and haggling about some large inheritance or
landed estate, etc., we seek assistance to give the matter
some appearance of right, pluming and priding ourselveu
when the law decides in our favour, and acquire the
estate with its title in such a manner that no one can
raise any dispute or further claim to it. Or, again, where
a man covets a castle, town, province, or some other large
estate, and contrives all sorts of financing among friends,
or wherever he can, so that in the end the other man
loses it, and it is declared to be his, and the judgment
is confirmed by letter and seal, so that he is said to
have acquired it honestly, the princely title as well.
The same thing takes place in ordinary commerce,
where one man cunningly appropriates things belonging
to another, the other having to submit, or else he is
hurried and harassed whenever an opportunity offers, so
that being perhaps hard pressed and unable to avoid
debt or want, or escape without loss, in the end he loses
half he possessed or more. And yet this is not said to
have been wrongfully taken or stolen, but to have been
honestly bought. Hence the saying : first come, first
served ; or again, let each look to his own chances, and
the other take what he can. Who is clever enough to
think out all the various ways there are of appropriating
things with a fair appearance of right ? The world does
not think this wrong, and does not see that thereby our
THE GREATER CAIECHISM
neighbour is embarrassed and has to give up what he
cannot forego without injury to himself; and yet no
one will own to having done any harm, although it may
easily be perceived that the expedients and pretexts
are false.
Now this has always been the case also concerning
women, for men knew of devices by which, if they took
a liking for another man s wife, either they or another
(for there are many ways and means) so arranged
matters that her husband would take a dislike to her,
or she herself would rebel against him and act in such a
manner that he would be obliged to put her away and to
leave her to go with the other man. This was undoubtedly
a common thing among the Jews, for we read even in the
Gospel (Matt. xiv. 3, 4) that King Herod coveted the
wife of his own brother during the lifetime of the latter,
and yet he desired to be held a good and virtuous man,
as St. Mark (vi. 18, 19) testifies. But such examples
will not, I trust, be found among us, because the New
Testament forbids those who are married to separate,
though it has happened that a man cunningly deprived
another of a rich bride. But among us it is not an
uncommon occurrence for a man to deprive another of
his manservant or maidservant, or to create discord
between them and entice them away with fair words.
Now, however all this may be, we are to know that
God will not have us deprive our neighbour of anything
that is his, so that he may not suffer want while we
satisfy our greed, even though we may retain it with
honour in the sight of the world ; for it is a sly, under
hand piece of wickedness, acting under cover, as it were,
that we may not be perceived. For even if thou goest
thy way as though thou hadst done no one an injury,
thou hast been too near with thy neighbour ; and
though this may not be called stealing and deceiving,
yet it is called coveting thy neighbour s possessions, for
thou hast desired to deprive him of them without his
consent, and thou hast grudged him what God bestowed
on him. And though the judge and every one else has
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 89
to leave it to thee, God will not leave it to thee, for He
has insight into thy wicked heart and the deceitfulness
of the world ; for where an inch is given, they will take
an ell, and open injustice and violence are the result.
So let the commandment remain according to the
ordinary understanding : firstly, we are commanded not
to wish any harm to our neighbour, nor are we to
help in causing him any injury; we are not to grudge
him what he has, but to leave it him, and moreover to
promote and protect what is of use and service to him,
as we would have him do unto us ; hence the com
mandment is directed chiefly against envy and avarice,
and God s desire is to remove the cause and root from
which arise all these things wherewith we injure our
neighbour. Therefore He puts it plainly in the words :
Thou shalt not cocetj etc. For, above all, He desires that
our hearts shall be pure ; still, as long as we are here
on earth, this cannot be accomplished, so that this
commandment, like the others, is meant constantly to
rebuke us and to show us how good we are in the sight
of God.
CONCLUSION TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Thus we have in the Ten Commandments a summary
of Divine instruction, telling us what we have to do to
make our whole life pleasing to God, and showing us
the true source and fountain from and in which all good
works must spring and proceed ; so that no work or any
thing can be good and pleasing to God, however great
and costly it be in the eyes of the world, unless it is in
keeping with the Ten Commandments. And now let us
see what our great saints have to boast about concerning
their holy orders, and the great and hard tasks which
they have invented and set themselves, while neglecting
the commandments as though these were far too trivial
for them, or had long since become useless.
For my part, I fancy we should have work enough
to do to keep them all: in showing a spirit of gentle
ness, patience, and love towards our enemies, chastity,
QO THE GREATER CATECHISM
benevolence and whatever else they may include. But
such works are of no account or importance in the eyes
of the world, for they do not appear extraordinary or
pompous ; and are not bound to any special times, places,
rites, and ceremonies, but are the common work of every
day life in our intercourse with our neighbour, and accord
ingly make no great show.
Other works may make one gape with open eyes and
ears, and this is furthered by the show they make, the
costliness and splendour of the buildings erected, and
folk dress themselves out that all they do may dazzle
and amaze. They burn incense, chant, jingle bells, light
candles and tapers, so that one cannot see or hear any
thing because of them. For a priest standing in a golden
surplice or a layman lying all day on his knees in church,
this they call an admirable work that none can praise
enough. But when a poor little maid attends to a young
child and honestly does what is asked of her, that is con
sidered nothing. Otherwise what would monks and nuns
go into cloisters for ?
Yet, consider, is this not detestable arrogance in those
desperate saints, to presume to find a higher and better
life or estate than what is taught us in the Ten Com
mandments ? They give out (as has been said) that this
is a simple life for common men, but that theirs is for
saints and perfect men, and yet the poor blind people do
not see that no man can go so far as to keep even one of
the Ten Commandments as it ought to be kept ; but two
other things must come to his help, the Creed and the
Lord s Prayer (as we shall hear), that he may beseech
and beg for such grace ; and receive it without ceasing.
Accordingly their boast is much the same as though I
were to boast and say : I have certainly not a farthing
with which to pay you, but ten florins I can easily
manage to pay.
This I say and urge, that we may rid ourselves of the
great abuse which is so deeply rooted among us, and to
which we all still cling, and that we may accustom
ourselves in all estates on earth to turn to these precepts
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 91
alone and to take thought about them. For it will be long
before any doctrine or fashion of life is invented equal to
the Ten Commandments, because they are so great that
no one can fulfil them through human power alone, arid
whoever fulfils them is a holy, angelic being, superior
to all the sanctity on earth. Turn to them, and try
with all thy strength and power to obey them ; thou wilt
then have so much to do that thou wilt not want or
need any other kind of work or sanctity.
Let this suffice for the First Part of the common
Christian doctrines both for teaching and admonishing ;
but in conclusion we must repeat the heading that
belongs to them, and which we spoke of in connection
with the First Commandment, so that we may learn
how much God would have us strive to learn, to obey,
and to enforce the Ten Commandments:
For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, and visit
the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and show
mercy unto thousands, in them that love Me and keep
M>/ commandments.
This addition (as we said before), although especially
connected with the First Commandment, also bears upon
all the other commandments, so that they all refer to
it, and ought to be directed to it. Accordingly I have
said that it is to be kept before the young, and well
impressed on them, so that they may learn and remember
it, and mark what it is that should impel and urge us to
keep the Ten Commandments ; and they must regard it
as though it were specially placed before each command
ment, and thus applies to them all.
Now (as was said before) these words include both
an angry threat and a gracious promise, to frighten and
warn us, also to persuade and to induce us, that we
accept His Word as Divine earnestness, and esteem it
greatly, inasmuch as He Himself tells us how greatly
He desires us to do so, and how severely He will judge
those who disregard it ; namely, that He will inflict hor
rible and terrible punishments on all those who despise
92 THE GREATER CATECHISM
and break His commandments ; but, again, that He will
richly reward, benefit, and grant all good things to those
who greatly honour them and willingly act and live up
to them. By this He wishes to impress upon us that
all we do should come from hearts which fear God,
and constantly bear Him in mind, and that because of
this fear we should do nothing contrary to His will, that
He be not angered ; and, again, that we should trust
Him alone, and do for His sake what He asks of us,
because He shows Himself such a kind Father and
promises us His mercy and blessing.
This, then, is the meaning and right interpretation of
the First and chief Commandment, from which all the
others spring and proceed. So that the words : Thou
shalt have none other gods, mean simply and demand no
more than this : Thou shalt fear, love, and trust Me as
thy one, true God. For where a heart feels this towards
God, it has fulfilled this and all the other command
ments ; moreover, he who loves and fears anything else
in heaven or on earth cannot keep this or any one of
the commandments. And accordingly the Bible every
where preaches and urges this commandment, above all
laying stress on the two points: fear and faith in God;
and the prophet David dwells especially on this when he
says (Psalm cxlvii. 11) : The Lord taketh pleasure in
them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy, as
though giving the whole commandment in the one verse,
as much as to say : The Lord taketh pleasure in those
who have no other gods.
Thus the First Commandment is to shine forth, and
to cast its light over all the others. Therefore thou
must let these words ring through all the other com
mandments, as the stem or stalk runs round a wreath,
so that the end and the beginning may be joined together,
and the whole be thus kept together ; and they must
be constantly repeated arid not be forgotten, especially
where, in the following commandment, we are told to
fear God and not abuse His name by cursing, lying,
deceiving, and other dishonest and wicked ways, but to
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 93
use it worthily and well in appealing to, praying, praising,
and giving Him thanks, in all love and confidence, as
desired by the First Commandment. And this fear,
love, and confidence in Him shall so influence us that we
shall not despise His word, but learn it, hear it, keep
it holy, and honour it.
And throughout the following commandments dealing
with our duty to our neighbour, eveiything is to be done
by virtue of this First Commandment ; and accordingly
we are to honour father and mother, masters and those
in authority, and to obey them, not for their sake, but
for God s. For thou mayest not respect or fear father or
mother too much, neither must thou do or leave undone
anything only for their sake. But see that thou doest
what God requires of thee and will certainly have done,
and if thou neglectest it thou wilt find an angry Judge,
whereas if thou obeyest, He will be a gracious Father.
And in like manner thou art not to do thy neighbour
any harm, injury, or violence, nor art thou to vex him in
any way, whether it regard his body, wife, goods, honour,
or rights, as has already been stated in due order, even
though thou hadst opportunity and cause, and no one
could punish thee for so doing. On the other hand, thou
art to be kind to every one, to help and further their
interests when and where thou canst, and for God s sake
alone, in the belief that He will richly recompense thee
for all thou doest. Mark, therefore, how the First Com
mandment is the source and fountain from which all the
others spring, to which they all revert, on which they
all depend, so that beginning and end are linked and
bound together.
This it is necessary and useful (I say) to keep before
the young always. They must be exhorted, admonished,
and reminded of all this, in order that they may not be
brought up with mere blows and violence, like cattle,
but in the fear and reverence of God. For when this
is considered and taken to heart, and we remember that
it is not human vanity, but the commandment of the
most high God, who sternly and angrily punishes those
94 THE GREATER CATECHISM
who despise them, whereas He requites with inestimable
blessings those who keep them, we shall of our own
accord be induced and drawn to do God s will.
Accordingly those are no useless words we meet with
in the Old Testament (Dent. vi. 7, 8), where we are told
that the Ten Commandments are to be written on every
wall and corner, yea even on our garments ; not that we
are to be satisfied by their being written there and made
a show, as did the Jews ; but we are to keep them always
before our eyes and constantly to bear them in mind,
and to follow them in all our life and doings, and with
every one they are to be a daily practice everywhere in
all doings and dealings, as though they were written up
in every place, wherever we looked, yea wherever we go
or stand. We should then have sufficient cause, both at
home in our house, and abroad in our dealings with our
neighbours, to obey the Ten Commandments, and no one
would need to search far for them.
From all this we see again how greatly these Ten
Commandments are to be praised and extolled above
all such decrees, commands, and works that are other
wise taught and practised. For here we can confidently
say : let all the wise men and all the saints stand forth,
and show us if they can produce any work like the Ten
Commandments, the fulfilment of which God so sternly
requires, and commands on pain of His dire wrath and
punishment, but adds such glorious promises that He
will overwhelm us with all manner of good and blessing
if we obey Him. They are, therefore, to be taught
above and before all other things, and to be valued
and esteemed as the greatest treasure given to us by
God.
THE CREED 95
SECOND PART
THE CREED
Above we have heard the First Part of Christian
doctrine, and there seen all that God would have us do
and leave undone. It is followed in proper order now
by the Creed, which tells us all that we must expect
and receive from God ; in brief, teaches us to know Him
thoroughly. And this is all to enable us to act according
to the Ten Commandments. For (as was said above) all
human efforts are far too weak and inefficient to enable
us to keep them. Therefore it is as necessary for us to
learn about this part of the Catechism, as it is to learn
the other, in order that we may know how, whence, and
wherefrom we may derive the necessary strength. For if
our own strength were sufficient to enable us to keep the
Ten Commandments as they should be kept, we should
not need anything else, either the Creed or the Lord s
Prayer. But before we dwell on the use and need of the
Creed, it will, first, be sufficient for very simple folk to
get to know and understand the Creed in itself.
In the first place the Creed has hitherto been divided
into twelve articles, although, if we were to take all the
particular passages in the Scriptures which refer, to the
belief, we should find very many more, though not so
plainly expressed or put in so few words. But, in order
that it may be explained easily and simply for the
instruction of children, we will briefly divide the whole
Creed into three main portions, according to the Three
Persons of the Godhead, to whom all that we believe
is referred. Accordingly the first article, concerning the
Father, speaks of the Creation, the second, concerning the
Son, of the Redemption, the third, concerning the Holy
Ghost, of the Sanctification. Hence the Creed might be
most briefly summed up in the words : " I believe in God
the Father, who created me ; I believe in God the Son,
g6 THE GREATER CATECHISM
who redeemed me ; I believe in God the Holy Ghost, who
sanctifieth me " ; one God and one belief; but Three
Persons, and accordingly three articles or confessions.
In this way we will now go briefly through the words.
THE FIRST ARTICLE
I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR
OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
We have here the briefest account and picture of God
the Father, His nature, His will and work. Now, as
the Ten Commandments taught us that we are not to
have more than one God, we might here ask : What
kind of a person is God ? What does He do ? How
can we praise, depict, and describe Him so that we may
know Him ? This we shall learn from the present and
the following articles, so that the Creed is merely an
answer and confession of Christians, founded on the
First Commandment. It is the same as though we
put the question to a young person, saying : Dear child,
what kind of a God hast thou ? What knowest thou of
Him ? The answer might run thus : In the first place,
my God is the Father, who created heaven and earth.
I believe in no other God, for there is none other who
could have created heaven and earth.
For the learned and those more intimately acquainted
with them, all of the three articles might be greatly
enlarged, and divided into as many parts as there are
words. But for young scholars it will suffice here to
draw their attention to the more necessary points, namely
(as we said) that this article refers to the Creation ; hence
that stress is laid upon the words, Creator of heaven and
earth. But what is implied, or what dost thou under
stand by the words : / believe in God the Father
Almighty, Creator, etc.? Answer: I understand and
believe that I am God s creature, that is, that He gave
me and preserves for me continually my body, my
soul and life, the members of my body great and small,
THE CREED
all my senses, my reason and understanding, and so on,
what I eat and drink, my clothes, sustenance, wife and
child, servants, house and home, etc. ; besides making
all creatures serve for my use and the necessities of life :
sun, moon, and stars in the heavens, day and night, air,
fire, water, the earth and what it bears and brings forth,
birds, fishes, beasts, corn and every kind of plant. And
again, all personal and temporal goods, such as good
government, peace, and safety. Accordingly we learn
from this article that no one can, of himself, hold his
life or any of the things named above or that might be
named, nor can he retain it, small and insignificant
though it be, for all is comprehended in the word
Creator.
We further acknowledge that God the Father has not
only given us all that we have and see with our eyes,
but He also, day by day, guards and protects us from
all manner of evil and misfortune, turning from us all
kinds of danger and peril, and He does this from pure
love and goodness, which we have not deserved, like a
kind Father who cares for us, so that no evil may betide
us. But to speak further hereof belongs to the two
other words of this article : Father Almighty. Now
from this it is self-evident, and follows, that, since all
we possess and all that is in heaven and on earth comes
to us day by day from God, is preserved and protected
for us by Him, we are in duty bound to love, praise, and
thank Him without ceasing, in short, to serve Him
wholly and entirely, as He has demanded and required
in the Ten Commandments.
Now there would be much to say were we to dwell on
the fact of how few there are who believe in this article.
For we all neglect it ; we hear and repeat the words, but
do not see and consider what the words require of us.
For if we believed them with all our hearts, we should
act in accordance with them, and not go about so arro
gantly, pluming and priding ourselves as though we
received our life, wealth, power, and honour of ourselves,
and hence that we ourselves had to be feared and served;
98 r JHE GREATER CATECHISM
for this is the way of our wicked and perverse world,
which in wilful blindness abuses all the blessings and
gifts of God, to satisfy its own pride, greed, pleasure,
and comfort, and does not even look up to God to thank
Him, or to acknowledge Him as Lord and Creator.
This article, accordingly, should humble and terrify
us if we believe it. For we sin daily with eyes, ears,
hands, body and soul, goods and chattels, and with all
that we possess, especially those who rebel against
God s word. But Christians have this advantage: that
they recognise it to be their duty to serve Him and to be
obedient.
Therefore we should practise this article day by
day, study it, and remember it in everything that
meets our eyes, and whenever any good thing happens
to us ; and where we escape danger or trouble, we must
remember that God does all this for us, and gives us
everything, so that we may know and feel His fatherly
affection and unfathomable love for us. This would
warm our hearts, and inflame them with a desire to
offer up thanks, and to use all we possess in God s
honour and praise. This, therefore, is the meaning of
this article, given very briefly, and is all that simple
folk need learn regarding what we have and receive
from God, and what we owe Him in return. It is
therefore a very great and excellent piece of knowledge,
but a much more priceless treasure. For here we may
see how the Father has given Himself to us, with all
that He has created, and how abundantly He has cared
for us in this life, besides which He has also over
whelmed us with unspeakable, everlasting blessings
through His Son and the Holy Spirit, as we shall
hear.
THE CREED
99
THE SECOND ARTICLE
AND IN JESUS CHRIST, His ONLY SON, OUR LORD, WHO
WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF THE VlRGIN
MARY; SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE; WAS CRUCIFIED,
DEAD, AND BURIED; HE DESCENDED INTO HELL; THE THIRD
DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD; HE ASCENDED INTO
HEAVEN, AND SITTETH AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE
FATHER ALMIGHTY; FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO
JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.
Here we learn to know the Second Person of the
Godhead, and we see what we have received from God
besides the temporal goods already spoken of, namely,
how He has poured out His whole self upon us, and kept
back nothing, having bestowed everything upon us.
Now this article has a deep and fruitful significance ; but
in order to treat it briefly and simply, let us take one
phrase of it that comprises the whole, so that we may
learn from it how we are redeemed; and let us rest
on these words: In Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Now, when it is asked : What dost thou believe in
this second article concerning Jesus Christ ? answer
most briefly thus : I believe that Jesus Christ, the true
Son of God, has become my Lord. And what do the
words to become thy Lord mean ? They mean that He
has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death
and all misfortunes. For before I had no Lord and
King, but was a prisoner in the power of the devil,
condemned to death, and entangled in sin and blindness.
For when we were created, and had received all manner
of blessings from God the Father, the devil came arid
led us into disobedience, sin, death, and all misfortunes,
so that God s anger and wrath lay upon us, and we were
condemned to eternal damnation, as we deserved and
merited. There was no help or comfort till the only
and eternal Son of God, in His unfathomable goodness,
took pity on our misery and sorrow, and came to help us.
And thus all those tyrants and taskmasters have been
loo THE GREATER CATECHISM
banished, and in their stead is come Jesus Christ, the Lord
of life, of justice, of goodness and salvation, and He has
dragged us, poor lost creatures, from the jaws of hell,
won us, freed us, and restored us to the favour and grace
of God, and taken us under His shelter and protection as
belonging to Him, so that He might reign over us in
His mercy, wisdom, power, life, and salvation.
So the main point of this article is, that the little word
Lord, taken in its simplest sense, means as much as
Redeemer, that is, He who led us back from the devil to
God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and
holds us safe. And the points that follow in this article
are simply a fuller explanation and expression of how
this redemption was accomplished ; that is, what He en
countered, and what He had to do and dare to win us, and
to bring us to His kingdom ; namely He became Man, was
conceived and born without sin by the Holy Ghost and
the Virgin, that He might become Lord over all sin ; He
suffered, died, and was buried, and satisfied for me and
paid what I owedj not with gold or with silver, but with
His own most precious blood. And all this was done
that He might become "my Lord, for He would not have
done this or been required to "do it for Himself. After
that He rose again, conquered and subdued death, and
in the end ascended into heaven, and took His place on
the right hand of the Father ; the devil and all his power
must, therefore, be subject to Him and lie at His feet, till
the Day of Judgment, when He will divide and separate
us from the wicked world, the devil, death, sin, etc.
But to explain fully all these several points is not neces
sary in a short address to children; these belong rather
to the longer sermons preached throughout the year at
specially appointed times, set apart for dealing more
fully with the articles of the birth, passion, resurrection,
and ascension of Christ, etc. Moreover the whole
Gospel, as we preach it, depends upon the proper under
standing of this article, for on it rests all our salvation,
and it is so rich and full in meaning that we have
always enough to learn from it.
THE CREED tot
THE THIRD ARTICLE
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST, THE HOLY CHRISTIAN
CHURCH, THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF
SINS, THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH, AND THE LIFE
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
This article I cannot explain any better than, as was
said, of Sanctification, that the Holy Spirit and His
office are thereby described and expressed, namely, that
lie makes us hob/. And we must take our stand on this
word Jfoly Spirit, because it is so briefly comprehended
in it that we need no other. For there are many other
kinds of spirits mentioned in the Bible, such as ^ human
spirits, heavenly spirits, and evil spirits ; but God s Spirit
is alone called a Holy Spirit, that is One who has
sanctified, and still sanctities us. For as the Father
is called a Creator, the Son a Redeemer, so the Holy
Spirit, owing to His office, is to be called a Sanctifier
or Hallower. But how is this hallowing accomplished ?
Answer : In the same way as the Son acquired His title
of Lord, by redeeming us, through His birth, death,
resurrection, etc., so the Holy Spirit accomplishes our
sanctification by the following means : thj^gk-tlis-eom*
munity (Gemeine) of saints or Christian Church, through
tne forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and
the life everlasting ; that is, by leading us into His holy
community, into the bosom of the Church, through which
He teaches us and brings us to Christ.
For neither thou nor I could ever know aught of
Christ, or believe in Him, or obtain Him for our Lord,
were it not for the lessons given us in the Gospel by the
Holy Spirit, to take to heart. That work is done and
accomplished, for Christ has obtained and won the bless
ing for us by His passion, death, and resurrection, etc.
Yet if the work had remained unrevealed, so that none
knew of it, it would have all been in vain and lost.
Now, in order that such a blessing should not remain
102 THE GREATER CATECHISM
buried, but become of use and enjoyed, God caused His
Word to be made known and proclaimed through the
Holy Spirit, so that this blessing and redemption might
be brought home to us and become ours. Therefore this
sanctifying simply means that we are brought to the
Lord Christ to receive this blessing, which we could not
have obtained of ourselves.
Learn, therefore, most carefully to understand this
article. If tliou be asked : What meanest thou by
the words, I^Meve in the HQlySpiriil- thou mayest
answer thus rTUelieve the Holy Spirit makes me holy,
according to His name. How can He do this, or by
what means can He accomplish this ? Answer : Throng^
the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins, the re
surrection of the flesh, and the life everlasting For,
in the first place, He has a special community in the
world, which is the mother that conceives and bears
every Christian by the Word of God, which He reveals
and preaches, and by which He illuminates and lights
up all hearts, so that they understand and accept it, cling
to it, and abide by it.
For where He does not have it preached and aroused
in the heart, that we may understand it, it is lost ; as
happened under the ."Pfrnan^ when the true belief was
wholly shelved, and no one recognised Christ as Lord,
or the Holy Spirit as the One who sanctifies; that is,
none believed that Christ was our Lord, who had ob
tained for us such mercies without any merit of our own,
and likewise made us pleasing to our Father. What,
then, was wanting ? That there was no Holy Spirit
present to reveal and preach this ; men, however, and
evil spirits were there, and they taught that salvation
and mercy could be attained through our own works.
And hence there was no Christian Church, for when;
Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Spirit to form
the Christian Church, to call and to gather it together,
Avithout which none can come to the Lord Christ.
Let this suffice for the general interpretation of this
article. But as the various points in it may not be
THE CREED
<juite clear for simple folk, we will take them up
separately.
The Creed calls the holy Christian Church Communionem
Sanctorum, a communion (Gemeinschafi) of saints, for
both mean one and the same thing. But formerly the
latter phrase was not added, and it has been ill and
incorrectly translated a communion (Gemein&chaft) of
saints. In order to explain it clearly a different expression
must be used in German, for the word ecclesia signifies
no more than an assembly. Now we are accustomed to
use the little word Church otherwise, and simple folk
take it to mean, not the assembled congregation, but the
consecrated house or building; although the building
should not be called a Church unless because of the con
gregation assembled there. For we who assemble make
or take a special place for ourselves, and give the house
the name of the congregation.
So the word Church really signifies nothing but a
congregation, and is a word of Greek origin (like the
word ecclesia), for in their language they call it Kyria,
and in Latin it is also called Curia. Therefore in good
German and our mother tongue it should be translated
a Christian community (Gemeine) or congregation, or
best of all and most clearly, a holy Christendom. So
likewise the word Communio, which is attached to it,
should not be translated communion (Gemeinschaft), but
community (Gemeine). It is merely a definition or
explanation to indicate what the Christian Church is.
But those who did not know Latin or German turned
it into communion (Gemeinschaft) of saints, although
no German would use such an expression or understand
it. But to speak plain German, we ought to say a
community (Gemeine) of saints, that is a community
consisting only of saints, or, better still, a holy com
munity. I say all this that the words may be
understood; they have taken such a firm hold among
us that it is difficult to uproot them again, and it
would be called heresy to alter a word.
Accordingly the simple meaning of the clause is : I
104 THE GREATER CATECHISM
believe there is a small holy flock or community on earth,
consisting of holy persons only, under one Head, Christ,
called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith and
understanding; possessing many gifts, but one in love,
without sect or schism. Of it I too form a part, and am
a member, a sharer and participator in all its blessings
through the Holy Spirit, called thereto and incorporated
with it because I have heard and believe in God s Word,
which is the first step towards entering it. For before
we did so we were the devil s, and knew nothing of God
and of Christ. So the Holy Spirit will abide with the
holy community, that is, with Christendom, till the last
day, when He will deliver us ; and He makes use of it to
teach and to explain the Word by which He makes and
increases this holiness, so that it may increase daily, and we
may become strong in faith and the fruits it brings forth.
We further believe that through Christianity we
obtain forgiveness of sins, which is accomplished by the
Holy Sacrament and Absolution, besides all manner of
comforting words throughout the Gospel. And accord
ingly what has to be said of the sacraments belongs here
likewise, and indeed the whole Gospel, and all the
functions of Christendom, which, in fact, must be exer
cised without intermission. For though God s grace
is obtained through Christ, and sanctih cation by the
Holy Spirit through God s Word in the union of the
Christian Churches, still we are never without sin, be
cause of our flesh, which encumbers us.
Hence everything in Christianity is so arranged that
we daily obtain forgiveness of sins, by word or sign, to
comfort and support our conscience, as long as we live here
below. And what the Holy Spirit accomplishes is, that
though we have sinned, our sins cannot harm us 7 because
we are members of Christendom, where there is entire
forgiveness of sins, so that God forgives us, and we
forgive, bear with, and help one another.
Whereas outside Christendom, where the Gospel is not
received, there is no forgiveness and can be no holiness.
Therefore all those who do not seek for holiness
THE CREED 105
through the Gospel and forgiveness of sins, but try to
merit i^jtliroiigk their, own works, have alienated and
separated themselves from Christendom.
But the sanctification, once begun, daily increases ;
we look for our flesh to perish and be buried with all
its corruption, from which it will arise glorified, and
in complete and perfect holiness in a new, eternal life.
For now we are only in part pure and holy, so that the
Holy Spirit is continually at work with us, by means of
the Word of God, and daily bestowing forgiveness on us,
till we reach that life where there is no more forgiveness,
all persons there being pure and holy, full of piety
and righteousness, delivered and freed from sin, death,
and all misfortune, in a new, immortal, and transfigured
body. Now all this is the office and work of the Holy
Spirit : that He commences sanctification on earth, and
daily increases it by means of two things : the Christian
Church arid the forgiveness of sins. And when we pass
away He will in a moment accomplish this and keep us
thus eternally by means of these two.
Now the words resurrection of the jlesh are not well
chosen words either, for when we Germans hear the word
Jlesh we are apt to think only of the meat-market. In
good German we say resurrection of the body or corpse,
but this is not a very important matter, as long as the
words are rightly understood.
Now this article must always be and remain active.
For the Creation is a past fact, and the Redemption is
also accomplished. But the Holy Spirit carries on His
work without intermission till the last day, for which
purpose He appoints a community on earth, through
whicli He speaks and accomplishes all things ; for He
has not yet gathered all His Christendom together, nor
has He com] letely dispensed forgiveness. Therefore we
believe in Him who daily draws us by the Word and
gives us faith, which He increases and strengthens
through that same Word and the forgiveness of sins ; so
that when He has accomplished all this, and we abide by
it, renouncing the world and all evil, at last we shall be
io6 THE GREATER CATECHISM
made holy completely and everlastingly, and this we now
await in faith through the Word.
There thou hast the whole Divine being, will, and
work most clearly delineated in brief yet fruitful words,
in which all our wisdom consists, but which far exceed
and rise beyond all human wisdom, comprehension, and
understanding. For although all the world has most
diligently endeavoured to know what God is, and what
is His object and intention, yet we have never attained
this knowledge. But here thou hast it all most fully
explained, for in these three articles He Himself has re
vealed and exposed the very depth of His fatherly heart,
and His complete and ineffable love. For He created us
in order that He might redeem and sanctify us. And
besides having bestowed on us all that is in heaven and
on earth, He gave us also His Son and the Holy Spirit,
through whom He brings us to Himself. For (as has
been said above) we could never recognise the Father s
grace and mercy except for our Lord Christ, who is a
mirror of His Father s heart ; without Him we should
see nothing but an angry and terrible Judge, and of
Christ we should know nothing were He not revealed to
us through the Holy Spirit.
Hence these articles of the Creed divide and separate
us Christians from all other people on earth. For those
who are outside Christianity, be they heathens, Turks,
Jews, or false Christians and hypocrites, and although
they may believe in only one true God and worship
Him, yet they do not know how He feels towards them, N
and cannot expect either love or any blessing from Him, Ci
and accordingly remain in eternal wrath and perdition ;
for they have not the Lord Christ, and are likewise j
not enlightened and blessed by any gifts from the Holy-J
Spirit.
From this thou seest that the Creed teaches a very
different lesson from the Ten Commandments. They
teach us what we have to do, whereas the Creed teaches
us what God does for us and has given us. The Ten
Commandments are moreover written in all men s hearts,
THE LORD S PRAYER 107
but the Creed no mere human wisdom can understand,
and it can alone be taught by the Holy Spirit. Therefore
the Commandments do not make us Christians, for God s
wrath and displeasure are still upon us^ because we
cannot keep what God demands of us ; whereas the
Creed brings us full mercy, sanctifies us and makes us
acceptable to God. For through this teaching we learn
to love all the commandments of God, because we per
ceive how God has given Himself to us entirely, bestowing
all He has upon us, to help and guide us in keeping the
Ten Commandments : the Father gives us all things
created, Christ all His works, and the Holy Spirit all
His gifts.
Let this suffice now with regard to the Creed, and
serve as a foundation for simple folk, that they be not
over-burdened ; so that when they understand this
summary, they may themselves endeavour to study it
further : and that what they learn in the Scriptures they
may connect with this, and go on acquiring a fuller
understanding of it. For day by day as long as we live
we have to preach and to study these things.
THIRD PART
THE LORD S PRAYER
We have now heard what we are to do and to believe,
in which the most blessed and righteous life consists.
Now follows the Third Part, how we are to pray. For
because it is so with us that no human being can
altogether of himself keep the Ten Commandments,
though we may have begun to believe, and to withstand
the devil, the world, and our flesh with all our might,
still nothing is more needful than that we should always
appeal to God, constantly invoke Him and pray to Him,
that He may enable us to believe jhe^ Creed and to
fulfil the Ten Commandments, and to sustain and help
us, and to remove all that lies in our way and hinders
io8 TttE GREATER CATECHISM
us in this. But in order that we may know what and
how we should pray, our Lord Christ has Himself taught
us and given us the words, as we shall see.
But before beginning to explain the various points of
the Lord s Prayer, it is most necessary first of all to
exhort and incite people to pray, as Christ (Luke xviii. 1 ;
Matt. vii. 7) and the Apostles (1 Thess. v. 17 ; 1 Peter
iv. 7 ; James i. 5) have done. And in the first place we
are to know that by God s command it is our duty to
pray. For in the Second Commandment we are told :
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,
and are thus bidden to praise the holy name, to call upon
it and to invoke it in all need. And to invoke is nothing
else but to pray ; hence we are as strictly and solemnly
commanded to pray as we are bidden to have no other
god, not to commit murder, not to steal, etc. Let no one
think it is all the same whether he pray or not, as common
people are apt to think in their delusion, saying : Why
should I pray ? Who knows whether God hears and
will attend to my prayer ? If I do not pray, some one
else will. And thus they get into the habit of never
praying ; and because we denounce false, hypocritical
prayer, they take it upon themselves to say that we teach
that no one need or ought to pray.
This much is true, that what has hitherto been offered
up as prayer and been mumbled and muttered in church
has been certainly no true prayer ; such superficial doings
may, when properly undertaken, serve as an exercise for
the young, for school-children, and simple folk, and may
be called singing or reading, but is not actual praying.
But what the Second Commandment teaches is praying,
namely, invoking God in all needs. This He requires of
us, and it is not left to our own caprice, but we are bidden
and told to pray if we want to be Christians, just as we
are bidden and told to be obedient to father, mother, and
all in authority. For by invocation and prayer the name
of God is honoured and wisely used. This thou must
mark above all things, that all such thoughts as would
withhold or frighten us from prayer should be silenced
THE LORD S PRAYER 109
and thrust from us. For just as it is of no avail for a
son to say to his father : What is the use of my being
obedient ? I will go and do as I please, it is all the same ;
but there is the commandment, Thou shalt and must
obey ; so, too, it has nothing to do with my own will
whether I pray or not, I am required and have to pray
on pain of God s wrath and displeasure.
This we must understand above all things, so that we
may silence and repel those thoughts which deter and
frighten us from prayer, making us think it is of little
moment whether we pray or no, as if it were ordered lor
those who are more holy and more pleasing to God than we.
The human heart is by nature so perverse that it always
JUeI_roin ftnfl^ftniUliinks He does not care for our prayer,
TlecauTOwTareBinnerB and have only merited His anger.
To silence such thoughts (I say) we must reflect on this
commandment and turn to God, so that we do not make
Him more angry by such disobedience. For by this
commandment He shows sufficiently that He does not
reject our prayer, nor drive us from Him, although we are
sinners; but that He rather wishes to draw us to Him, so
that we may humble ourselves before Him, lament our
misery and need, and ask for mercy. Therefore we read
in the Scripures that He_was angry with those who-were
punished for their sins, because they did not come to Him
and soften His anger and seek mercy by prayer
Now from the above we should conclude and remem
ber that, since we are commanded so earnestly to pray,
we should on no account despise prayer, but should think
much of it and value it; and we are always to regard it
as equivalent to the other commandments. A child shall
on no account disregard obedience to father or mother,
but always remember : the act is an act of obedience, and
what I do, I do from no other motive than obedience to
God s commandment ; on this I can take my stand, and
hold my action in high esteem, not because of my own
worth, but because of its being a commandment. 80 .here
ao-ain: whenever and for whatsoever we pray, we arc to
consider it as demanded by God and done in obedience to
no THE GREATER CATECHISM
His command, and we are to think thus : so far as I am
concerned it is nothing, but it has value because God
has commanded it Accordingly every one who has
aught to pray for is always to come to God in obedience
to this commandment.
Therefore we beg and exhort every one most urgently
to take these words to heart, and in no wise to despise
prayer ; for hitherto folk have been so taught in the devil s
name, that none esteemed it, and all thought it sufficient
if their prayers were said, whether God heard them or
not. That is treating prayer lightly, and muttering on
the chance of being heard. And such prayers are worth
nothing. We let ourselves be misled and deterred by
such thoughts as these : I am not holy or worthy enough ;
if I were as pious and holy as St. Peter or St. Paul, I
should pray. But away with such thoughts ; for the
very commandment that applied to St. Paul applies to
me, and was made just as much for my sake as for his,
and he could boast of no better or holier commandment.
Therefore thou art to say : My prayer that I pray is as
precious, holy, and pleasing to God as that of St. Paul
and the holiest of saints. I willingly admit that he is
holier in himself, but not because of his prayer ; for God
does not value the prayer because of the person, but
because of his own Word and our obedience. For it is
upon the commandment, on which all saints base their
prayers, that I base mine ; and moreover I pray for that
which they all asked or prayed for. So it is as precious,
and more necessary, to me, than to those great saints.
The first and most necessary point, therefore, is this :
that all our prayers be founded and based on obedience to
God, regardless of our person, whether we be sinful or
virtuous, worthy or unworthy. And we are to know that
God will not have us trifle with this command, but will
be angry and punish us unless we appeal to Him, just
as He punishes all other acts of disobedience, and also as
He will not allow our prayers to be made in vain or lost ;
for if He did not mean to hear us, He would not command
us to pray, and insist upon it so strongly.
THE L ORD* S PR A YER \ \ i
Again, we are to be the more eager and ready to pray
because God has added a promise, that shall verily and
sissurodly be fulfilled, as when He says in Psalm 1. 15:
Call upon Me in the day of trouble : Twill deliver tliee, and
thou s/talt glorify Me; and when Christ says in Matt. vii. 7:
Ask, and it shall be given you, etc.: for ever)/ one that asketh
receheth. Such words should ever arouse and incite our
hearts with the desire for and love of prayer, because His
Word testifies that our prayers are truly pleasing to Him,
and shall surely be heard and granted, in order that we
may not disregard or neglect them, or pray in uncertainty.
Thou mayest address Him thus, and say: I come to Thee,
my Father, and pray to Thee, not of my own accord, or
because of my own worthiness, but because of Thy com
mand and promise, which cannot deceive or lie. Now,
whosoever does not believe such promises let him know
that he angers God as one who exceedingly dishonours
Him and charges Him with lying.
That we may be the more tempted and induced to
pray, God has not only given us the command and the
promise, He has put in our mouth the very words as to
how we are to pray, in order that we may perceive how
sincerely He cares for our needs, and that we may never
doubt that such prayers are acceptable to Him and shall
assuredly be heard ; and this is a very great advantage for
all the other prayers that we may be inclined to invent
for ourselves. For our conscience might constantly
be in doubt and say : I have prayed, but who knows
whether it will please Him, or whether I have hit upon
the right method or measure ? Accordingly there is no
more admirable prayer on earth than the Lord s Prayer,
because it brings with it such excellent testimony that
God hears it most gladly, and it is one we should not
exchange for all the wealth in the world. And it is so
worded for us that we may perceive and remember the
need which should urge and oblige us to pray without
ceasing. For whoever wishes to pray must bring forward
something, name it and ask for it, else it cannot be
called a prayer,
H2 THE GREATER CATECHISM
It is for this reason that we justly reject the prayers
of monks and priests, who howl and mutter offensively
day and night ; not one of them thinks of asking for the
veriest trifle ; and if all the Churches and their priests
were gathered together, they would have to confess that
they had never sincerely prayed for as much as a drop of
wine. For not one of them ever undertook to pray by
way of obedience to God, or because they believed in His
promise, or considered there was any necessity for it ;
they had no further thought (to put the best construction
on it) than of doing a good work, by which they might
make a gift to God, as though they would take nothing
from Him, but only offer things to Him.
But where there is to be true prayer we must be in
earnest and feel our need, and a need which presses us
and urges us to call out and clamour ; then prayer will
come of its own accord, as it should, and we shall not
require to ask how to prepare for it or to become devout.
But the necessity which should urge us and every one is
to be found abundantly in the Lord s Prayer. Therefore
it should serve to remind us of this necessity, to teach us
to consider it and to take it to heart, that we may not
grow weary of praying; for we all have wants enough, only
we do not feel or perceive them. Wherefore God desires
that we should feel and bewail our necessity, not because
He does not know it, but in order that our hearts may
be aroused the more strongly to desire more, and to open
and spread out our cloaks wide to receive abundantly.
Therefore from youth upwards we are to accustom
ourselves to pray daily in our necessity, whenever we feel
that anything thwarts us, and also to pray for other
people among whom we live, such as our pastors, those
in authority, neighbours, servants ; and (as has been said)
we must always bear in mind God s command and promise,
and remember that He will not have these disregarded.
I say this because I would gladly see people do this again,
and learn to pray properly, and not go their ways un-
couthly and indifferently, daily becoming more and more
unfitted for prayer; which is what the devil would like to
THE LORD S PRAYER 113
accomplish, and endeavours to bring about with all his
might, for he knows well what harm and injury are done
to him where prayer is fervently offered.
For we are to know that our whole protection and
defence lies in prayer alone. For we are far too weak to
resist the devil with all his power and retinue, who so
rise up against us that they might easily crush us under
foot. Therefore we must bethink ourselves and take to
the weapons with which Christians ought to be armed
to resist the devil. For what, thinkest thou, would have
hitherto accomplished such great things, and resisted
or overthrown the counsels of our enemies, their plans,
murders, and rebellions, by which the devil meant to
overthrow us and the Gospel, were it not that the
prayers of pious people had stood between us and our
foes like an iron rampart ? Otherwise we should have
seen a very different spectacle : the devil would have had
all Germany destroyed in its own blood. But now let
them laugh and mock as they will, we shall by our
prayers alone be able to oppose both them and the devil,
if we only keep diligent and do wax not weary. For
whenever a good Christian prays, saying: My Father,
Thy will be done, He will answer from above, Yea, dear
child, so shall it be ; in spite of the devil and all the
much we have said in exhortation, that we may
loam above all things to esteem prayer greatly, and to
make a proper distinction between mere mumbling and
praying. For we do not in any way denounce prayer,
but we denounce loud and useless howling and, as Christ
Himself denounced and forbade, long-winded prayers
(Matt, xxiii. 14). We will now take the Lord s Prayer,
and discuss it in the briefest and clearest manner. There
are seven articles or petitions, dealing in order with
all the necessities that incessantly beset us, and each
petition is of such importance that it ought to induce us
to pray it all our life long.
ii 4 THE GREATER CATECHISM
THE FIR-ST PETITION
HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
Now. this is a little obscure, and not very good
German ; for in ordinary language we should say :
Heavenly Father, help, that Thy name may be holy.
Now. what do we mean by praying that His name should
be hallowed ? Was it not holy before ? Answer : Yea.
it was always holy in itself, but in our use it is not
hallowed. For God s name ha,s been given us because we
became Christians and were baptised, so that we might
be called God s children and enjoy the Sacrament by
which He incorporates us with Himself: and accordingly
that all that is God s may serve for our use. Xow. it is
most necessary, and we ought above all things to see to
it, that His name be held in due honour, and be kept holy
and hallowed as our greatest and most sacred treasure, and
that, as ^ood children, we should pray that His name,
which is hallowed in heaven, may likewise be kept holy
on earth by us and all the world.
Now, how can it be hallowed among us? The most
direct answer is this : If both our teaching and life are
godly and Christian. For, as in this prayer we call
God* our Father, we owe it to Him to behave and act
like pious children everywhere, that He may not receive
shame from us. but honour and glory. Xow we profane
His name with words or deeds (for what we do on earth
must be by word or deed, speech or action) ; in the first
plac. therefore, in preaching, teaching, and speaking
in God s name what is false and misleading, so that His
name is taken to adorn our lie and make it pass current.
This is the greatest disgrace and dishonour to God s name.
Besides this, when the holy name is used as a cloak for
swearing, cursing, sorcery, etc. Secondly, when it is used
as screen for open evil ways and work, when they who
are called Christians and God s people are adulterers,
drunkards, gluttons, jealous, and given to slander. Here
again God s name is disgraced and dishonoured for our
THE LORD S PR A YER 115
sakes ; for just as it is a shame and disgrace to a
human father to have a wicked and depraved child, who
disobeys him in words and deeds, and is thus despised
and scorned because of him, so it serves to God s dis
honour if we, who are called by His name, and receive
all manner of benefits from Him, do not teach, speak,
and live as the virtuous children of a heavenly Father,
and He hears it said of us : They ought not to be called
God s children, but the devil s.
Accordingly thou seest that in this article we pray for
what God demands of us in the Second Commandment
namely, that we are not to take His name in vain, that
is, to use it in swearing, cursing, deceiving, lying, etc.,
but to use it only in the praise and honour of God.
For whoever uses God s name in any dishonourable way
unhallows and profanes the holy name ; in the same way
as formerly it was called desecrating a church if a murder
or other crime were committed there, or if a sacrament
or relic were profaned, for a thing holy in itself is
rendered unholy by its use. Hence the clause is easy and
simple, if only we understand the language ; to hallow
means much the same as to praise, extol, and honour
by word and deed.
Now, mark how necessary such a prayer is. For since,
as we see, the world is full of heresy and false teachers,
who all use the holy name as a cover and pretext for
their devil s teaching, we ought unceasingly to cry and
clamour against all those who preach and believe false
doctrines, and who persecute and seek to suppress all
that concerns our Gospels and pure doctrine, such as
bishops, tyrants, fanatics, etc. And again, we ought also
to pray for ourselves, who have God s word, but are not
grateful for it, and who do not live according to it as we
should. Accordingly, if thou prayest thus from thy heart,
thou mayest be certain that it will be pleasing to God,
for nothing is more pleasing to Him than to hear that
His honour and worth are set above all things, that His
word is taught purely and greatly cherished and valued.
116 THE GREATER CATECHISM
THE SECOND PETITION
THY KINGDOM COME.
Whereas in the first petition we pray concerning God s
honour and name, that He will not allow the world to
adorn its lies and wickedness therewith, but enable us to
keep it holy and reverend in our teaching and in our life,
so that we may praise and glorify it, we pray here that
His kingdom may come. And in the same way as we
pray that His name may be holy to us, although it is
holy in itself, so also His kingdom would come of itself
without our asking for it, and yet we are to pray that it
may come to us that is, that it may be around and with
us, hence that we also may be apart of it, that His name
may be hallowed thereby and His kingdom flourish.
Now, what is God s kingdom ? Answer : Nothing
else than what we heard above in the Creed, that God
sent His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, into the world, that
He might redeem us and free us from the power of the
devil, and bring us to Himself, to reign over us as a King
of righteousness, of life, and of salvation, and to protect
us from death, sin, and an evil conscience. Wherefore
God also gave His Holy Spirit, to teach us this through
His holy word, and through His power to enlighten and
strengthen our faith. Therefore we pray here, firstly,
that we may be strengthened in all this knowledge, that
His name may be so honoured through the holy word of
God and our Christian life, and that not only we who
have accepted it may abide by it, daily increasing in faith,
but that among other peoples it may gain followers and
adherents, and advance in power throughout the world,
so that many may thus enter the kingdom of righteous
ness and become participators in the redemption, brought
thereto by the Holy Spirit, and remain thus together and
for ever in the one kingdom now begi^n.
For God s kingdom comes to us in two ways : either
temporally through the Word and Faith, or eternally
through the revelation. Now, we pray for both : that
THE LORD S PRAYER
it may come to those to whom it has not yet come,
and be daily strengthened in us who have received it,
and remain ours henceforth in the life everlasting.
This is nothing more than saying : Dear Father, we
pray Thee, firstly, to give us Thy Word, that the Gospel
may be conscientiously preached throughout the world,
and, secondly, that it may be accepted through faith,
and live and work in us ; so that Thy kingdom may be
among us, through the word and power of the Holy
Spirit, that the devil s kingdom may be crushed, and
that he have no further power or claim over us, till in
the end he be quite overcome, and, sin, death and hell
destroyed, so that we live everlastingly in perfect
righteousness and blessedness.
From this thou seest that here we do not ask for a
mere piece of bread, for temporal, perishable goods, but
for an eternal, inestimable treasure, and all that God
alone can give ; it would be far too great for any human
heart to dare to ask it, were it not that He Himself has
commanded us to ask for it. And because He is God,
He takes upon Himself the honour of giving far more,
and more abundantly than any one can understand ; for
He is like an everlasting and inexhaustible spring, which,
the more it flows and runs over, the more it gives forth ;
and He desires nothing more of us than that we should
ask many and great things of Him, and is vexed if we
do not .ask and demand with confidence. Much in the
same way as though the richest and mightiest emperor
bade a poor beggar ask for whatever he wanted, being
ready to bestow great and royal gifts, and the poor
fool asked for nothing but a cup of broth ; he would
justly be esteemed a rogue and a knave thus to make a
jest of the royal command, and therefore not worthy to
appear before his sovereign. In the same way it is a
disgrace and dishonour to God if we, to whom He offers
and promises inestimable blessings, despise them or do
not confidently accept them, scarcely venturing even to
ask for a piece of bread.
All this is due to that shameful unbelief which will not
n8 THE GREATER CATECHISM
allow us to expect as much from God as that He will
fill onr bellies ; still less do we believe unhesitatingly
that we may expect eternal blessings from God. Hence
we are to strengthen ourselves against such unbelief,
and let this be the first thing we pray for. Then
indeed we shall have all else in abundance, as Christ
teaches (Matt. vi. 33) : But seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added unto you. For how could He let us want and
be without temporal things, when He promises us such
eternal and heavenly blessings ?
THE THIRD PETITION
THY WILL BE DONE ON EAETH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
We have thus far prayed that His name may be hallowed
by us, and that His kingdom come among us, which two
things include all that refers to God s honour and to
our own salvation, that we may have God and all His
blessings for our very own. But now the great necessity
is that we should keep steadfastly to this, and not let
ourselves be drawn away from it. For as under a good
government there must not only be those who build up
the laws and rule well, but also those who protect, defend,
and keep all secure, so here likewise, when we have
prayed for what is of most importance for the Gospel,
faith, and the Holy Spirit, that He may reign over us
and release us from the devil s power we have also to
pray that God will let His will be done. For it will be
wonderful how, if we abide by all this, we shall have to
endure attacks and blows from all those who strive to
hinder and thwart our first two petitions.
For no one can imagine how the devil tries to thwart
and oppose these, for he cannot bear that any one should
teach or believe aright, and it causes him infinite vexa
tion when his lies and other abominations, done under
the beautiful cloak of God s name, are disclosed and
exposed in all their disgrace, and he himself is driven
THE LORD S PRAYER 119
/out of our hearts and a rift made in his kingdom. ThereA
/fore, like an angry foe, he rages and roars with all his \
/ strength and might, attracting all those that are subject |
to him, and bringing the world and our own flesh to his j
assistance. For our flesh is corrupt in itself and inclined to
evil, although we have accepted God s word and faith ; and
the world being wicked and evil, the devil hounds, worries
and harasses us so that he may hinder us, drive us back,
overthrow us, and bring us into his power again. That
is his one thought, aim, and desire, for which he strives
day and night, and never rests an instant, employing every
kind of trick, device, and means that he can think of.
Therefore we, who would be Christians, must assuredly
remember and consider that we have the devil and all
his angels, as well as the world, for our foes, preparing
all manner of misfortune and sorrow for us. For where
God s name is preached, accepted or believed in, and
bears fruit, there will likewise be no want of persecution.
And let no one think that he will ever be at peace, for
he will have to risk all that he has on earth: property,
honour, house and home, wife and child, body and soul.
And this it is that will touch our flesh and rouse the old
Adam in us, for it means that we shall have to keep
firm, and suffer patiently whatever may be done to us, and
let go whatever may be taken from us. Therefore it is as
necessary in this case, as in every other, that we should
pray without ceasing, and say : Let Thy will be done,
Father, not the will of the devil, or that of our foes^ or
of any of those who would persecute and overthrow Thy
holy Word or hinder the coming of Thy kingdom ; and
grant thatTall we may have to endure through it may be
borne with patience and overcome, so that our poor flesh
may not yield or give way from weakness or laziness.
Now mark, in these three petitions we have all that
concerns God Himself most simply expressed ; and yet
all for our own sakes : for what we pray for affects us
alone, namely (as has been said) that these things may
be done also in us, which otherwise would be done with
out us. For just as God s name must be hallowed, and
120 THE GREATER CATECHISM
His kingdom must come, without our prayer, so likewise
His will will be done and felt everywhere, although the
devil and all his host storm and rage against it, in their
endeavour to exterminate the Gospel. But for our own
sakes we must pray that God s will may be done among us
in spite of their raging, so that they accomplish nothing,
and we may remain steadfast in spite of all violence and
persecution, and submit ourselves to the will of God.
Such prayers are therefore to be our protection and
defence, to repulse and overthrow all that the devil,
the Pope, bishops, tyrants, and heretics raise against our
Gospel. Let them all rage together, and do their utmost,
in deliberating and resolving how to subdue and exter
minate, so that their will and determination may hold
sway. One or two Christians opposed to them with
these few petitions will act as a rampart against which
they would run only to destroy themselves. For we have
this consolation and assurance, that the will of the devil
and all our foes must and shall succumb, be subdued and
annihilated, however proud, safe and powerful they think
themselves ; for if their will were not subdued and
checked, God s kingdom could not come to us and remain
on earth, nor could His name be hallowed.
THE FOURTH PETITION
GlVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
Herewith we consider that poor bread-basket our body,
and the necessities of our temporal life ; and they are brief
and simple words, but are very far-reaching. For when
thou speakest and prayest for daily bread, thou art asking
for all that is needful to enable thee to have and to enjoy
thy daily bread, and appealing against all that hinders
thy obtaining it. Wherefore thou must well open and
extend thy thoughts, and not think only of the oven and
flour-barrel, but also of the wide fields and the whole
country which bears and produces our daily bread and
all the rest of our food. For if God did not let it grow,
THE LORD S PRAYER 121
bless it, and preserve it in the ground, we shonld never
have any bread to take out of the oven, or have any
to put on the table.
This petition includes, in brief, all that belongs to our
whole life in this world, since it is only for the sake of
this that we need daily bread. Now, this life requires
not only bread, clothing, and other necessaries for our
bodies, but also that- we live in peace and quiet with
the people around us, in our daily business and trans
actions, in short, in all that concerns both our domestic
and neighbourly relations, or civil affairs and government.
For where these two things are interfered with, and are
not as they should be, the necessities of life are hindered,
and life in the end cannot be maintained. And it is also
most necessary to pray for our temporal rulers and
governors, through whom God chiefly preserves for us
our daily bread and all the comforts of this life. For
though we obtain an abundance of things from God, we
can in no wise retain them or use them safely and cheer
fully, unless He gives us a firm and peaceful government;
for where discord and war prevail we are deprived of our
daily bread or hindered in obtaining it.
For which reason it would be more fitting to place a
loaf on the coat-of-arms of every good ruler instead of a
lion or a wreath, or that the coins might bear it as their
stamp, to remind our rulers, as well as ourselves, their
subjects, that their office ought to bestow on us peace
and protection, and that without these we should not
have our daily bread to eat. Wherefore they are worthy
of all honour, and we ought to do for them all we can,
as those through whom we are enabled to enjoy in peace
and quiet all that we possess, inasmuch as but for them
we should not own a farthing. We are also to pray for
them that God may bestow on us greater blessings and
good by their means.
Let us now very briefly point out and show how this
prayer affects everything on earth. Out of it a long
prayer might be made, by enumerating with many words
all the various things pertaining to it : as, for instance,
122 THE GREATER CATECHISM
when we ask God to give us food and drink, clothes,
house and home, a sound body, the corn and fruits
that grow in the fields, and that they may flourish ;
further, when we ask His help to manage our household
affairs properly, and pray Him to give us a virtuous wife,
children, and servants, and to preserve them to us ; to
allow our work, trade, or whatever we may have to do,
to prosper and succeed ; to give us faithful neighbours
and good friends, etc. And again, when we ask Him to
endow emperors, kings, and all the nobility, especially
our own princes, counsellors, and all those in authority,
with wisdom, strength, and good fortune, to govern us
well and overcome the Turks and all our foes ; to grant
that their subjects, the common people, may live together
in obedience, peace and unity ; and also that He will
protect us from all manner of harm, both as regards our
bodies and our means of subsistence, also against thunder
storms, hail, fire, water, poison, pestilence, murrain, war,
bloodshed, famine, savage beasts, wicked people, etc. It
is good to impress all this on simple folk, that they
may learn that all such things come from God and must
be thought of in prayer.
But above all, this petition is directed against our
supreme foe, the devil. For it is his one thought and
desire to take away or prevent our obtaining all that God
would give us, and it is not enough for him to hinder
and destroy spiritual order by leading our souls astray
with his lies and getting them into his power, but he
tries to prevent the existence of any honest and peaceful
dominion on earth. He causes endless quarrels, mur
ders, rebellions and wars ; also thunderstorms and hail
to destroy the corn and cattle, to poison the air, etc. In
short, he is vexed when any one receives a piece of
bread from God and enjoys it in peace ; and if it were
in his power, and our prayers (with God s help) did not
hinder it, verily we should not have a blade in the field,
not a farthing in the house, yea, not be able to enjoy an
hour of our life, especially those who accept God s Word
and would fain be called Christians,
THE LORD S PRAYER 123
Now, mark, God wishes herewith to show us how He
attends to all our needs and faithfully supplies all our
bodily sustenance ; and though He gives it abundantly
and preserves it even for the godless and rogues, yet He
desires that we shall ask for it, in order that we may ac
knowledge that we receive it from His hand, and thereby
recognise His fatherly goodness towards us. For where
He withdraws His hand nothing can thrive or prosper
in the end, as we daily see and feel. What a plague
we have now in the world with false coins alone ! Yea,
what trouble is caused by the daily exactions and taxes
in ordinary commerce, marketings and work, by those
who, in their insolence, oppress the poor, and take from
them their daily bread 1 We have, it is true, to endure
it ; but let them look to it that they do not lose the benefit
of this common petition, and take heed that this little
bit of the Lord s Prayer may not come into conflict with
them.
THE FIFTH PETITION
AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THEM
THAT TRESPASS AGAINST US.
This petition deals with our own poor and miserable
life, for although we have God s Word and believe it, do
His Will and submit to it, and are nourished by God s
blessing and gifts, still we are not free from sin, for daily
we stumble and transgress, because we live in the world
among people who vex us sorely, and cause us to feel
impatient, angry, revengeful, etc. ; besides which, we
have the devil at our back, attacking us on all sides, and
fighting (as has been said) against all the above petitions,
so that it is not possible always to stand firm in such a
constant struggle. Therefore "in this case also it is most
necessary for us to pray and cry : Father, forgive us
our sins ; not that He would not forgive us our sins
without our prayers and before we uttered them for He
gave us the Gospel, with its absolute forgiveness, before
we prayed for it or even thought of it but it is necessary
1 24 THE GREATER CATECHISM
that we should recognise and accept His forgiveness.
For because our flesh, in which we daily live, is so con
stituted that it will not trust and believe God, and is
always stirred by evil desires and wickedness, so that
daily we sin in word and deed, in what we do and in
what we leave undone, and our conscience becomes
restless, fearing God s anger and wrath, and thus loses
comfort and faith in the Gospel, so it is necessary that
we should constantly turn to Him and seek comfort to
reassure our conscience.
But its purpose is also that God may break our pride
and keep us in humility ; for this privilege He reserves
for Himself. So that when any one boasts of his virtue
and despises others, let him look to himself and turn to
this prayer, and he will find that he is no better than
others ; thus we must all lower our plumes before God
and be glad to receive forgiveness. And let none think
that we shall ever cease to require forgiveness as long-
as we live on earth. In fact, if God did not incessantly
forgive us, we should be lost.
Hence the meaning of this prayer is, that God will not
look upon and punish our sins as they daily deserve,
but will be gracious to us and forgive us as He has
promised, and thus give us a cheerful and courageous
conscience, to come to Him with our prayers. For where
the heart is not at peace with God, and cannot obtain
such confidence, it will never venture to pray. But con
fidence and a joyful heart can never be ours unless we
know our sins are forgiven.
However, a necessary, and yet comforting, clause is
added : As we forgive them that trespass against us.
God has promised that all our sins shall be forgiven and
remitted, and we are to feel assured of this, but only in
so far as we forgive our neighbour. For we daily tres
pass much against God, and yet He forgives all in His
mercy : in the same way we are also constantly to forgive
our neighbours who may do us harm, violence, or wrong,
and bear us malice, etc. Hence, if thou dost not forgive,
do not imagine that God will forgive thee ; but if thou
THE LORD S PRAYER 125
dost forgive, thon wilt have the comfort and certainty of
knowing that thou wilt be pardoned in heaven ; and not
because of thy forgiveness for God would do so in any
case of His own accord, from pure loving-kindness, simply
for the sake of His promise, as we learn from the Gospel
but by way of giving us confidence and encouragement,
as a token in addition to the promise corresponding with
this prayer : Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Luke vi. 37).
Therefore Christ repeats the promise almost immediately
after giving us the Lord s Prayer, and says : For if ye
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you (Matt. vi. 15).
Accordingly, that token is attached to this petition, so,
that when we pray we may remember the promise, and
think thus : Father, I come and ask that Thou wilt
forgive me, not that 1 can do enough or deserve it with
any work of my own, but because Thou hast promised it
and affixed Thy seal to it, in order that it may be as
certain as though it had been received in absolution
spoken by Thee. For what Baptism and the Sacrament
accomplish, as outward signs, this sign may also accom
plish, to strengthen and make glad our conscience ; and
besides other reasons it is appointed for this purpose that
we may make use of it at all hours, and have it by us
at all times.
THE SIXTH PETITION
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.
We have now heard enough of what trouble and effort
is required for us to receive and keep all we pray for, and
we know that we cannot get on without sin and stumbling.
Besides, although we obtain forgiveness and a good con
science and are wholly absolved, yet life is such, that
although to-day we may stand, to-morrow we may fall.
Therefore, although we may be virtuous and have an easy
conscience before God, still we must pray that He will
not let us fall back and yield to attack or temptation.
126 THE GREATER CATECHISM
Now, temptation is of three kinds : of the flesh, the
world, and the devil. For we dwell in the flesh, and
the old Adam is always astir in us, and he incites us
daily to wrong-doing, laziness, gluttony and drunken
ness, to avarice, deceit, and fraud towards our neighbour ;
in fact, to all kinds of evil lusts, which are inborn in
us and are aroused by companionship and example, by
hearing and seeing what others do, and all this ofttimes
injures and inflames an innocent heart.
Then comes the world, which offends us with words
and" deeds, and drives us to impatience and anger. In
fact, there is around us nothing but hate and envy,
enmity, violence and wrong-doing, perfidy, vengeance,
swearing, abuse, slander, pride and arrogance, with
luxurious adornment, honour, fame and power; for no
one will be considered of inferior importance, all wish
the topmost place and to be seen of all men.
Thsrucomes the devil, who worries and harasses us
on all sides, but occupies himself especially with all that
concerns the conscience and spiritual matters : for in
stance, his main object is to cause God s word and work
to be neglected and despised, and thus to tear us from
faith, hope and charity, and to lead us into unbelief, false
confidence, and obstinacy; or else he drives us to despair,
so that we deny God, blaspheme, and commit innumer
able other kinds of wickedness. These are the snares
and nets, yea, veritable fiery shafts that are shot, not by
mere flesh and blood, but by the devil, into our hearts
most venomously.
And every Christian has to face these perils and
temptations, which are great and formidable, and would
be even though they came alone ; so we are forced to cry
to God and to pray every hour, because we live amid this
evil life, and are hounded, hunted, and driven on all
sides ; and we are obliged to pray that God will not let
us grow weary and tired and fall back into sin, shame,
and unbelief ; otherwise it would be impossible for us to
overcome the smallest temptation.
Now what the words Lead us not into temptation
THE LORD S PRAYER 127
mean, is that we ask God to give us strength and
power to resist the temptation, not that the temptation
is to be removed or done away with. No one can escape
temptation or provocation, because we live in the flesh
and have the devil about us, so it cannot be otherwise,
and we have to sutler temptation and endure it ; but we
have to pray that we may not fall into it and be drowned
in it.
Therefore it is a different matter to feel the provoca
tion, and to yield to it or say yea to it. We all have to
feel it, though not all in the same measure, for some
are more sorely tempted: for instance, the young are
tempted specially by the flesh ; older people are tempted
by the world; others again who are engaged in spiritual
matters that is, strong Christians are tempted by the
devil. But no one can be harmed by the mere feeling
alone, since it is contrary to our wish and we would fain
be rid of it. For if we did not feel it, it could not be
called temptation. To yield to it, is to give it the reins,
and neither to resist nor to pray against it.
Therefore we Christians must be armed against it, and
daily expect to be incessantly attacked, so that none of
us go our way in careless security as though the devil
were far from us ; we must everywhere expect his attacks
and resist them. For though I may at the present
moment be chaste, patient, gentle, and firm in my faith,
the devil may this very hour shoot such a shaft into my
heart that I may scarce be able to withstand it, for he is
a foe who never ceases or wearies ; and when one attack
ceases, others constantly begin anew.
Accordingly there is no help or comfort but to take
refuge in the Lord s Prayer and to appeal to God from
our heart, saying : Dear Father. Thou hast bidden me
pray ; let me not fall away through temptation. Then
thon wilt see that it must cease and at length be over
come. Whereas if thou seekest to help thyself by thine
own thoughts and thine own counsel, thou wilt only
make matters worse and give the devil more scope. For
he has the head of a serpent, and where he finds a hole
128 THE GREATER CATECHISM
into which he can slip, he wriggles his whole body in
after it without hindrance ; but prayer can oppose him
and drive him back.
THE SEVENTH AND LAST PETITION
BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. AMEN.
In Greek these words run thus : " Deliver, or guard,
us from the evil or malicious one," and they would seem
to refer to the devil, as though everything were here
summed up, and the whole prayer were directed against
our arch-foe. For he it is who hinders all we pray for:
God s name or honour ; God s kingdom and will ; our
daily bread; a good and joyful conscience, etc. And
therefore, in summing up the whole, we say : Dear
Father, help us that we may be rid of all this misfortune.
But none the less it includes all the evil we encounter in
the devil s kingdom poverty, shame, death, in short, all
accursed misery and sorrow, of which there is an infinity
on earth. For the devil, because he is not only a liar
but a murderer, unceasingly seeks to take our lives, and
wreaks his anger on us wherever he can cause harm
or injiuy to our bodies. Hence he breaks the neck of
many a man, drives others out of their senses, drowns
some in the water, and others he harasses so much that
they take their own lives, arid does many other frightful
things. Therefore the only thing we can do on earth is
to pray unceasingly against this arch-fiend, for if God did
not support us we should not be safe from him one hour.
Accordingly thou seest that God desires we should pray
to Him for all that concerns our bodily well-being, and
that we should not seek or look for help except from Him.
And this petition He has placed last, because if we are to
be guarded and freed from evil, His name must first be
hallowed among us, His kingdom be come to us and His
will done. Thereupon He will protect us from sin and
shame and also from all that harms and hurts us.
Therefore God has briefly set forth all the necessities
OF BAPTISM 129
that must ever beset us, so that we may have no excuse
for not praying. Bat the strength of prayer lies in our
learning to say, Amen, to it that is, not doubting that it
will assuredly be heard and fulfilled. For it is nothing
else but a word expressing implicit faith, which does not
pray by way of speculation, but knows that God does not
deceive us when He has promised to hear us. Now, where
there is no such faith there can be no true prayer.
Accordingly they are under a mischievous delusion
who so pray as not to be able to say, Yea, with all their
hearts, and be certain that God hears them, but remain
in doubt, saying, How can I be so bold and presume to
think that God hears my prayer ? Am I not a miserable
sinner? etc.
This is because they do not consider God s promise,
but their own work and worth, and thus despise God
and charge Him with lying ; wherefore they will receive
nothing, for, as St. James says in his Epistle, i. 6 : Let
him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything
of the Lord. See what importance God lays on the
principle that we should feel certain we are not praying in
vain, and that we do not in any way despise our prayers.
FOURTH PART
OF BAPTISM
We have now dealt with the three chief articles of the
common Christian doctrine. In addition to these we
must now speak of the two Sacraments instituted by
Christ, of which every Christian must have, at least, a
short and simple account, because without them no one
can be a Christian, although unfortunately till now no in
struction whatever about them has been given. In the
first place we will take baptism, by which we are first
received into Christianity. And in order that it may
be well understood, we will speak of it plainly, and con
sider only what is needful for us to know. We leave the
9
130 THE GREATER CATECHISM
\
learned to show how it can be maintained and protected
against heretics and sectarians.
In the first place it is necessary that we should be
well acquainted with the words on which baptism is
established, and on which all depends that we have to say
of it namely, Christ s own words at the end of the last
chapter of St. Matthew : Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Also in the last chapter
of St. Mark (xvi. 16) : He that believeth and is baptised
shall be sared : but he that believeth not shall be damned.
It must be observed firstly that these words contain God s
command and ordinance, so that we may feel no doubt
as to whether baptism is a Divine thing or merely devised
and instituted by man. For just as I can assert that the
Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord s Prayer
are not the outcome of any man s brains, but were given
and revealed to us by God Himself, so I can maintain
that baptism is no mere human device, but was ordained
God Himself ; and, moreover, we are earnestly and
strictly commanded to be baptised, otherwise we shall
not obtain salvation, so that we are not to think it as
light a matter as putting on a new red coat. For it is
of the utmost consequence that it should be held in
due and glorious estimation ; and we have especially
to fight and struggle for this, because of the world being
full of sects who denounce it as merely an outward
thing, and such outward things as of no use. But
whether it is an outward thing or not, here is God s
word and command, which ordains, founds, and esta
blishes baptism. And what God ordains and commands
cannot be useless, but must be altogether a precious
thing, even though in appearance it were less than a
wisp of straw. Hitherto it has been esteemed a very
great matter when the Pope granted absolution, or
consecrated altars and churches by means of letters and
bulls, and this merely because of the letters and seals ;
ffien surely we should esteem baptism a much higher
and more precious thing, because God has commanded it,
OF BAPTISM 131
and it is done in His name ; for the words given are
Go and baptise, not in your own, but in God s name.
And to be baptised in God s name is to be baptised, not
by man, but by God Himself. Therefore, though it is
carried out by the hand of man, it is verily God s own
work, from which each one of us can infer right well
that it is of much greater value than any work done by
any man or saint. For what kind of work can be greater
than a work of God s ?
But the devil sets to work here and deceives us
with false appearances, and leads us from God s work to
consider our own work. For it seems a much finer thing
when a Carthusian monk accomplishes a number ol
great and difficult tasks, and we all think much more
of what we ourselves do or deserve. But what the
Scriptures teach is this : if we heaped up the works of
all the monks, however precious and dazzling they might
appear, they would not be as good or precious as one
wisp of straw raised by God. Why ? Because His Person
rs^more~~excellent and better. And we are here not to
esteem the person by the work, but the work by the
person from whom it necessarily taketh its excellence.
But our mad reason will not listen to this, and because
God s work may not shine like ours, it is considered of
no value.
Learn from this correctly to understand and properly
to answer the question : What is baptism ? namely, to
answer thus : It is not mere common water, but a
water comprised in God s word and commandment, and
thereby sanctified, so that it becomes sacred water ; not
that the water is in itself better than other waters, but
that God s word and ordinance have come upon it. There
fore it is rank wickedness, and the devil s wiles, that
drive our new spirits to abuse baptism^ to disregard
God s ordinance, and to look upon it only as water taken
from a well, and hence to use such twaddle as this : How
shall a handful of water help the soul ? Yea, my friend,
who does not know that water is water if it be taken
by itself? But how darest thou venture to interfere
132 THE GREATER CATECHISM
yn
with God s ordinance, and take away the most costly
part which God has attached to it, and in which He has
set it, and will not have separated from it ? For that is
the kernel in the water, God s Word or commandment
v/and God s name, which is a treasure greater and more
excellent than either heaven or earth.
Mark, then, this distinction: that baptismal water is a
different thing from other water, not because of the
atural element, but because something nobler is added
to it, for God Himself has bestowed upon it His honour,
and given it His strength and power. Therefore it is
not merely natural water, but a Divine, heavenly, holy
and blessed water, and whatever else can be said in its
praise, all for the sake of the Word, which is a heavenly,
Divine Word, which none can glorify enough, for it is
and can accomplish all that is of God. From thence
[also it derives its nature and is called a sacrament, as
St. Augustine teaches : " Accedat verbum ad elementum,
ct fit sacramentum," which means, if the Word be added
| to the element or natural substance it becomes a sacra-
Iment, that is, a Divine and holy thing and token.
For this reason we teach always that the Sacraments
and all other outward symbols which God has ordained
and appointed are not to be judged by their common
outward appearance, as we distinguish between the shell
and a kernel, but we are to remember that they include
God s Word. For we might speak in the same way of
the state of father and mother and those in secular
authority, were we only to consider that they have noses,
eyes, skin, hair, flesh and bone, just like Turks and
heathens ; and some might say : Why should I think
more of them than of others ? But because the com
mandment is given, Thou shalt honour thy father and
mother, I behold a different man, adorned and clothed in
the splendour and majesty of God. The commandment,
I say, is the golden chain he bears about his neck,
yea, is like a crown on his head, and shows me how and
why I should honour this flesh and blood.
Hence thou should st honour and esteem baptism for
OF BAPTISM 133
the sake of the Word, for God Himself has honoured it by
word and deed, and confirmed it by miracles from heaven.
For tliinkest thou it was a light matter that the heavens
opened when Christ allowed Himself to be baptised, and
the Holy Spirit came down in visible form, manifesting
the Divine glory and majesty ? (Matt. iii. 16).
Accordingly I again exhort you on no account ever to
consider the Word and the Water apart or to separate
them. For when the Word is withheld, we have water
only such as the maid uses to cook with, and such might
as well be called a bath-baptism ; but when treated as
God has ordered, it is a sacrament, and is called Christian
baptism. This is the first point respecting the nature
and value of the holy Sacrament.
In the second place, as we have now learned what
baptism is and how we are to regard it, we must also
learn why and wherefore it was instituted that is, of
what use it is, what it bestows and accomplishes. This
cannot be done better than out of the words of Christ
quoted above : He that believeth and is baptised shall
be saved. Therefore, to express it in the simplest form,
it may be understood to mean that the whole force,
work, necessity, fruit and end of baptism is to confer
salvation. For no one is baptised that he may become
a prince, but, as the words say, that he may be saved.
Now, to be saved, as we know, is to be released from sin,
death, and the devil, and to be brought into Christ s
kingdom, and to live with Him there for ever.
Here again thou seest what a precious and important
thing baptism is, because we obtain through it such an
inestimable treasure ; and this alone shows that it cannot
be common ordinary water. For common water could
not accomplish this fit is the Word that does it, and (as
has been said above) because it contains God s name.
And where God s name is there also is life and salvation,
so that it is indeed sacred, blessed, profitable, and gracious
water ; for through the Word it receives the power to
become a washing of regeneration, as St. Paul calls it,
in the third chapter of his Epistle to Titus.
134 fHE GREATER
But when our wiseacres, with their modern ideas, make
out that faith alone will save us, and that work and out
ward things cannot effect anything, our answer is that
assuredly nothing works in us but faith, as we shall see
from what follows. But these blind leaders will not see
that faith must have something to believe, that is, to
whicli it can cling, on which it can stand and rest. So
faith clings to the water, and believes that baptism
confers salvation and life, not through the water (as
has been sufficiently said), but because it embodies God s
Word and Command, and because His name is attached
to it. Now, in believing this, what else do I believe but
on God, as on Him who has added His Word to it, and
given us this outward sign, so that we may understand
what a treasure we possess in it ?
But there are some people mad enough to separate faith
from the sign to which the faith is joined and attached,
because it is an outward thing. Yea, it is and must be
outward, in order that we may grasp it with our senses and
understand it, and thus have it impressed on our hearts,
just as the whole Gospel is an outward sermon by word of
mouth. In brief, whatever God does and effects in us He
accomplishes through such outward means. Now when
ever He speaks, and wherever and through whatsoever
He speaks, let faith look to and hold fast to it. Moreover
we have the words : He that believeth and is baptised shall
be saved ; and to what do they refer but to baptism, that
is, to the water included in God s ordinance ? Therefore
it follows that whoever rejects baptism, rejects God s
Word, faith, and Christ, who has directed us and bound
us to baptism.
In the third place, having now seen the great use and
power of baptism, let us further see what persons receive
it, and what baptism gives them, and of what use it is.
That, again, is most definitely and clearly expressed in the
words : He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved;
that is, faith alone makes the person worthy usefully to
receive the wholesome and_hply water^ For inasmuch
as this is stated and promised in the words together with
OF BAPTISM 135
the water, it cannot be received unless we believe it from
our hearts. It will avail us nothing without faith,
although in itself it be a Divine and inestimable treasure.
Accordingly the few words, He that believeth, etc., are
so pregnant that they exclude and reject all the works
we ourselves may do with the idea of obtaining and
deserving salvation. For it is agreed that what is not
faith can contribute nothing and receives nothing.
But if they should say, as they are wont to : Is not
baptism itself a work ? and you say works alone are
of no avail towards salvation : where then is faith ?
Answer : Verily, our own works will not be of any_
:ivail towards salvation, but baptism is not our work,
Efi^G~o^~(for," as" was said above, thou must make
a great distinction between Christian baptism and mere
bath-baptism) ; and God s works are wholesome and
necessary for salvation, and do not exclude but demand
faith, for without faith we could not lay hold of them.
For merely to have the water poured over thee will not
give thee baptism, to be of any use to thee ; whereas it
will be of use to thee if thou art baptised in the faith
that it is God s command and ordinance, and in God s
name, in order that thou mayest receive the promised
salvation iii the water. Now, neither our hand nor our
body can accomplish this ; our hearts must believe it.
Accordingly thou canst see clearly that this is not
any work of ours, but a blessing which God gives us and
faith comprehends ; just as our Lord Christ on the cross
is not a work, but: a blessing comprehended in the Word,
and offered to us and received through faith. Therefore
those do us injustice who raise an outcry against us and
say that we preach against faith ; whereas we are always
urging it as so essential, inasmuch as nothing can be
received or enjoyed without it.
These, therefore, are the three points which must be
understood concerning this Sacrament, more especially
that it is God s ordinance and must be held in all honour ;
and this alone should be sufficient, even though it is
quite an outward thing. Just as in the case of the
I
136 THE GREATER CATECHISM
coniinanclmeiiG : T/toa s/talt honour thy father and thy
mother, which is directed to flesh and blood; yet we
do not consider the mere flesh and blood, but God s
commandment in which they are comprehended, and for
the sake of which the flesh and blood receive the names
father and mother. Hence, if we had no more than the
words : Go ye therefore and baptise, etc., we should have
to accept and act upon it as God s ordinance. And we
have not only the command and order, but also the
promise ; wherefore it is even more glorious than any
thing else that God has commanded and ordained ; in
short, so full of comfort and mercy that heaven and earth
cannot grasp it. And it requires capacity to believe such
a thing ; the treasure is not wanting, but we want the
power to comprehend and to hold by it.
Accordingly every Christian has enough to do all his
life long to study and to exercise himself in baptism ;
for he has ever to take heed that he firmly believes what
it promises and brings him namely, victory over the
devil and death, the forgiveness of sins, God s mercy,
all Christ, and the Holy Spirit with His gifts. In
short, it is so inestimable a blessing that if our foolish
nature did but consider, it might well doubt whether it
could all be true. Dost thou not think that, if there
were a physician who knew the art of keeping people
from dying, or if they died, gave them everlasting life
afterwards, all the world would flock to him and shower
their gold upon him, so that none could come near him
because of the rich ? But by baptism every one has
a like blessing and medicine bestowed on him for
nothing, one which will swallow up death and preserve
us all in life.
It is thus we must look on baptism and make it useful
to us, that we may be comforted and strengthened by its
means when our sins and our conscience trouble us, and
may say : Still, I am baptised, and being baptised 1
have received the promise that I shall be saved, and
have eternal life for both body and soul. And this is why
the two signs occur in baptism : the water is poured on
UJ< BAPTISM
our body, which can grasp only the water, and the Word
is spoken, that our soul may likewise grasp it. And as
both Word and water constitute one baptism, so both body
and sonl shall be saved and live for ever, the soul
through the Word in which it believes, the body because
it is connected with the soul and receives baptism so far
as it can receive it. Therefore we have no greater bless
ing for body and soul ; because through it we are
rendered most holy and blessed, which no other life or
work on earth could obtain for us.
We have now said as much concerning the nature, use
and object of baptism as is required here.
OK THK BAPTISM OF INFANTS
There arises now a question with which the devil and
his sects would confound the world : the question of
the baptism of infants, whether they can have faith and
be properly baptised ? To which we say briefly: Let
him who is simple cast the question aside, and refer it
to those acquainted with the subject. However, if thou
desirest to answer, answer thus : that the baptism of
children is pleasing to Christ is sufficiently proved by
His own actions, God having made many of them holy,
and given the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who were
thus baptised ; and (o this day there are many who
show signs of possessing the gift of the Holy Spirit both
in doctrine and in life ; just as we, too, are enabled
by God s grace to interpret the, Scriptures :i.nd to know
r lm sf, which wec.onld not do without (he aid of I he Holy
SniriL Whereas if God did not accept infant baptism,
Tie would not bestow on any of them the gift of the
Holy Spirit or any portion of it; in short, from time
immemorial to this day no one on earth could have been
a Christian. But as God has confirmed baptism by the
fill of His own Ho.ly_ Spirit, us we perceive in various
Others of the Church, such as St. Bernard, Gerson, flojin *
1 1 ii-- mid others, who were baptised in in fancy; and the
holy Christian Church will abide till the end of the world,
1 3 8 THE GREATER CATECHISM
it will have to be admitted that sucli infant baptism is
pleasing to God. For He can never act contrary to Him
self or promote lies and wickedness, or bestow on these
His grace and blessing. This is almost the best and
strongest proof for ignorant, simple folk. For no one can
take from us or overthrow this article : / believe in the
Holy Christian Church, the Community of Saints, etc.
Further, we maintain that it is not of the utmost
importance whether he who is baptised has faith or not,
for this will not make the baptism wrong ; everything
depends on God s Word and command. This is perhaps j
a little boldly expressed, but it is based on what I have \
already said : that baptism is nothing but water and
God s Word, in and with each other that is, if the Word I
is with the water the baptism is right, although the faith /
be not present. For my faith does not make the baptism,/
but receives baptism. Now the baptism does not becom/
wrong, although it may not be rightly received nor used,
because (as has been said) it is not bound to our faith,
but to the Word. For, even though a Jew were, to-day,
to come to us with deceitful and evil purpose, and we
were to baptise him in all seriousness, we should none
the less have to admit that the baptism is right : for
there was the water together with God s Word, although
he ~clid not receive it as he should have ; in the same
way as those who unworthily partake of the Sacrament
receive the true Sacrament, although they have no faith
in it.
Accordingly thou seest that the objections raised by
these sectaries are of no value. For, as we said, even
though children have not faith which is not the case,
as has been proved yet the baptism would be right, and
let no one baptise them again. In the same way the
Sacrament itself is not affected, even though a man
partake of it with evil purpose, and it could not be
tolerated that, because of that abuse, he should at the
same hour receive it again, as though he had not
truly received the Sacrament : that would be to insult
and dishonour the Sacrament in the worst possible
Of BAPTISM 139
manner. How can we imagine that God s Word and
ordinance could be wrong and of no value, because we
put them to a wrong use ?
Wherefore I say, if thou hast not believed, believe
now, and speak thus : the baptism was assuredly right,
but unfortunately I did not receive it rightly. For
I, and all who are baptised, must address God thus :
I come to Thee in my faith and in that of others,
yet cannot rely on my own faith or the prayers of
those who pray for me : what I rely upon is, that it
is Thy Word and command. Just as I go to the
Sacrament, not because of my own faith, but because
of Christ s words; whether "l be strong or weak, I
leave God to judge. I know, however, that He bids
me go eat and drink, etc., and gives me His body and
blood, and that this will never lie to me or deceive me.
Now it is thus also with infant baptism. We bring
the child in the belief and hope that it has faith, and
pray God to give it faith ; but we do not baptise it on
this account, but solely because God has commanded it.
Why so ? Because we know that God does not lie : I
and my neighbour and all the world may err and deceive,
but God s Word cannot deceive.
Therefore it is only foolish, presumptuous persons who
argue and infer that, where there is no faith, the baptism
cannot be right. I might in the same way argue that,
if I have no faith, Christ is nothing worth ; or, if I am
not obedient, father and mother and my superiors are
nothing worth. Is it a wise conclusion that because a
man does not do what he ought to do, therefore the
thing itself is of no consequence and of no value ?
My good friend, look at it differently, and rather reason
thus : Baptism is a real thing and is right, but may have
been wrongly received. For if it were not right in
itself, we could not abuse it or sin against it. Wherefore
it is said: " Abusus non tollit, sed confirmat sub-
stantiam," Abuse does not remove the substance, but
confirms it. For gold is none the less gold because a
harlot wears it in sin and shame.
140 THE GREATER CATECHISM
Therefore let it be concluded that baptism is always
right and retains its full force, even though only one
man had been baptised and had no proper faith. For
God s ordinance and Word cannot be made variable or
be changed by mankind. But there are fanatics so
blinded that they do not discern God s Word and
command, and regard baptism as though it were but
water in a brook or pot, and those in authority as
though they were ordinary people ; and because "they
see neither faith nor obedience, these things are to be
considered of no value whatever. This is the work
of a sly, rebellious devil, who would gladly tear the
sceptre from those in authority, so that it might be
trampled under foot, and otherwise perverts and destroys
God s work and ordinances. Therefore we must be
watchful and prepared, and not be turned or led astray
from the Word, so as to neglect baptism or regard it as
an empty sign, as these fanatics fancy it to be.
Lastly, we must also know what baptism signifies, aiid^
why God has ordered such outward signs and actions
to accompany the sacrament through which we are first
received into Christianity. Now the function or action
is that we are submerged in the water which flows over
us, and we are then taken out again. These two actions,
the submersion and the emersion, indicate the power
and function of baptism, and are nothing else than the
killing of the old Adam in us and the resurrection of the
new man, both of which will continue in us all our life
long ; hence a Christian life is nothing else but a daily
baptism, once begun and to be always continued. For it
must be done without intermission, so that every thing-
pertaining to the old Adam may be swept away, and all
that pertains to the new man may come forth. But what
is the old Adam ? It is that which we inherit from
Adam ; all that is wrathful, hateful, envious, unchaste,
avaricious, idle, presumptuous, yea, unbelieving ; he is
burdened with all sin in fact, there is nothing good in
him. Now, when we come into Christ s kingdom, all
this should daily diminish in us, and we should gradually
OF BAPTISM 141
become more gentle, more patient, kinder, and gradually
overcome our avarice, hate, envy, and arrogance.
This is the right use of baptism among Christians,
as indicated by baptism with water. Now, where this
is not done, and the old Adam in us is left uncurbed, so
that he becomes stronger, this is not only not making
use of baptism, but is resisting baptism. For those
who are outside Christ cannot but become daily worse,
as the proverb says with truth : evil unchecked waxeth
worse and worse. If a man has been proud and avaricious
a year ago, he will be much more proud and avaricious
this year ; hence the vice of youth grows and increases.
A young child has no special vice in itself, but when
it grows up it becomes vicious and unchaste ; if it attains
full manhood, the real vices begin, and the more it yields
the more they increase. Wherefore the old Adam in us
goes unchecked unless he is restrained and curbed by the
power of baptism. Again, when we become Christians,
the old nature in us daily grows weaker, till at length
it is altogether subdued. That means being well sub
merged in baptism and daily emerging again. So the
outer sign is given, not only that it may work efficaciously,
but also that it may signify something. Accordingly,
where we have faith and its fruits, it is not a thing of
empty signification, but the effect silso is there; where
there is no faith it remains a mere barren symbol.
And here thou seest that both in its power and its
signification baptism includes the third Sacrament, which
has been called Repentance, but which is really nothing
else than baptism. For what does repentance mean but
earnestly attacking the old Adam in us and beginning
a new life ? Therefore, if thou livest in repentance, thou
art receiving baptism, which not only signifies a new
life, but accomplishes it, starts it and hastens it ; for by
means of it we receive God s grace and spirit, and power
to subdue the old Adam, so that the new man may arise
in us and wax strong.
Therefore baptism will always hold good ; and though
some fall away and sin, they can always return to it in
1 42 THE GREATER CATECHISM
order to subdue again the old Adam. But we may not
be re-baptised with water, for though we were submerged
a hundred times in the water, it would be no more than
one baptism, for the act and signification always remain
and endure. So that repentance is nothing but a return
and re-entry into baptism, that we may repeat what was
once begun and let drop.
I say this that it may not be imagined, as has been
done for some time past, that baptism loses its force and
is no longer of any use after we have again fallen back
into sin. This is because it is regarded only in the light
of a work accomplished, and has, in fact, arisen from
St. Jerome having written that : Repentance is the
other sacrament by which we have to swim across
and get ashore after the ship has foundered in whicli
we entered the Christian Church. But this would be
depriving baptism of its value by making it of no further
use. Wherefore this is not rightly expressed : for the
ship does not founder, because (as has been said) it is
God s ordinance, not anything of our making ; but what
does happen is, that we slip and fall away. Hence, if
any one fall away, let him see to it that he swim back
again and hold on till he can enter again, and go on
therein, as he did at first.
Thus we see what a truly excellent thing baptism is,
which pulls us out of the devil s jaws, makes us God s .own
children, subdues and removes sin, daily strengthens the
new man in us, and always remains with us till we pass
from misery to everlasting glory. Therefore every one
should regard baptism as a garment for every day use,
which he should always have on, that he may ever be
in the midst of faith and its fruits, in order to be able
to subdue the old Adam and go forward in the new man.
For if we would be Christians, we must adhere to the
work which makes us Christians. If any one fall away,
let him return again. For as Christ, on His mercy-seat,
does not withdraw Himself from us, or refuse to let
us return to Him, although we have sinned, so all His
blessings and gifts remain with us. Now, as the forgive-
OF THE SACRAMENT OF 2 HE ALTAR 143
ness of sins is once for all received through baptism, it
remains with ns day by day as long as we live that is,
as long as we have the old Adam about ns.
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR
In the same way as we have spoken of holy baptism,
we must now speak of this other Sacrament, that is,
these three things : what it is, what its use is, and
who may receive it. And all this is based on the words
with which Christ instituted it, and every one who
would be a Christian and partake of the Sacrament
should know them. For we are not disposed to grant or
to bestow it on those who do not know what they seek
in it, or why they come. The words are as follows :
The Lord Jesus, the same night in ichich lie mas betrayed,
took bread : and when He had given thanks, lie brake it,
and gave it to His disciples, and said : Take, eat ; this is
My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance
of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when He
had supped, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying :
Drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My
blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins ;
this do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of Me
(Matt. xxvi. 26, sqq. ; Mark xiv. 22, sqq. ; Luke xxii. 19,
sqq. ; 1 Cor. xi. 23, sqq.
We do not mean, here, to dispute and argue with the
blasphemers and abusers of this Sacrament, but in the
first place to learn what is the point of chief weight
in it, as we did with baptism, namely, that it is God s
i Word and ordinance or command ; for it was not invented
\ or instituted by any man, but was ordained by Christ
without the advice or suggestion of any man. There
fore, as the Ten Commandments, the Lord s Prayer and
the Creed retain their power and value whether we keep
the commandments or not., whether we pray or not, and
wlu tlTer we have faith or not, so this most holy Sac rarnenT
remains unalterable ; it is not divested of anything, even
144 THE GREATER CATECHISAf
though we receive it and treat it unworthily. Dost thou
think that God takes into consideration our actions and
belief, so as to change His ordinances because of them ?
Everything in the world remains as God created and
ordained it, however we may treat and use it. This
must always be borne in mind, for with it we can reject
almost all the babbling of the sectarians, for they regard
the Sacrament apart from God s Word and as a thing
that we do.
Now, what is the Sacrament of the Altar ? Answer :
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in
and under "the bread and wine, through Christ s Word,
appointed for us Christians to eat and drink. And, as
we said when speaking of baptism, that it is not mere
water, so we say again here that the Sacrament is bread
and wine ; but not mere bread and wine such as is
ordinarily placed before us at meals, but bread and wine
comprehended in God s Word and bound up in it.
The Word (I say) is what makes and distinguishes the
Sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine, but is,
and is called, the body and blood of Christ ; for it is
written: "Accedat verbum ad elementum et fit sacramen-
tum : " when the Word is added to the outward thing, it
becomes a Sacrament. This saying of St. Augustine is
so precise and well expressed that he has scarcely said
anything better. The Word must make the element a
sacrament, otherwise it remains a mere element. Now, it
is the Word and ordinance, not of a prince or an emperor,
but of the Most High God ; wherefore all His creatures
shall fall at His feet, saying, Yea, it shall be as He says,
and shall be accepted in all honour, fear, and humility.
With these words thou canst strengthen thy conscience
and say : Even though a hundred thousand "devils with
all their fanatics were to come and ask : How can bread
and wine be the body and blood of Christ, etc. ? yet
I know that all the spirits and learned men together are
not as wise as is the little finger of the Almighty. And
we have here Christ s own words : Take, eat ; this is My
body : drink ye all of it ; this is the new testament in My
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 145
blood. Let us hold to tins, and see who can overcome
Him, or make it different from what He said. It is
certainly true that if the Word be omitted, or it be
regarded without the Word, then we should have nothing
but mere bread and wine, whereas if the Word remains
where it should and must be, then by^means of it we
have the veritable body and blood of Christ. For as we
have it from the mouth of Christ Himself, so it shall be,
for He cannot lie or deceive.
It is therefore easy to meet all the various kinds of
questions with which people vex themselves now-a-days,
such as : whether a wicked priest may touch or administer
the Sacrament, and other similar ones. For we must
reason thus and say : Though it be a rogue who takes or
gives the Sacrament, it is the right Sacrament that is,
Christ s body and blood just as though he handled it
with utmost reverence. For it is not based on the holiness
of mankind, but upon God s Word ; and since no saint
on earth, yea, no angel in heaven, can make bread and
wine into Christ s body and blood, so no one can change
or alter it, although it be wrongly used. For neither the
person nor the unbelief can falsify the Word by which it
became a Sacrament and was instituted as such. For
He did not say : If ye believe or are worthy, ye have
My body and blood ; but Take, eat and drink ; this is
J7y body and blood: this do (that is, what I do now insti
tute, give you, and bid you take). This is as much as to
say, whether thou art worthy or unworthy, thou hast
here His body and blood by virtue of these words, which
come to the bread and wine. Mark this and remember
it well, for on these words is based our whole defence,
protection and support against all errors and temptations
which have ever arisen or may yet arise.
Thus we have here briefly the first part, which concerns
the nature of the Sacrament. Now let us see further,
wherein lies the power and use of the Sacrament, why it
was instituted, and what is its most essential part, so
that we may know what we are to seek in and obtain
from it. Now, this is easily and clearly seen from the
10
146 THE GREATER CATECHISM
words already quoted : This is My body and blood, yiven
for you and shed for the remission of sins. This is
briefly as mucli as saying : we take the Sacrament to
receive a treasure, through and in which we obtain for
giveness of sins. Why so ? Because the words so stand,
and confer it upon us ; for this is why He bids me eat
and drink, so that it may be mine and be of use to me
as a certain sign and a pledge, yea, that very blessing,
which was instituted for my benefit against my sins,
death, and all misfortune.
Wherefore it is well named food for the soul, which
nourishes and strengthens the new man in us ; for
through baptism we are first born anew. But, as has
been said before, we retain the old skin in our flesh and
blood : the devil and the world so hinder and tempt us
that we often grow weary and tired, and at times stumble.
Wherefore it is given us for our daily need and nourish
ment, so that our faith may be strengthened and refreshed,
and that we may not fall back in such struggles, but ever
increase in strength. For the new life in us is to be so
constituted that it shall ever increase and continue. Yet
it shall have to endure a great deal ; for the devil is such
an angry foe, that when he sees that he is resisted, that
we endeavour to subdue the old Adam in us, and that
he cannot overcome us by violence, he sneaks and slinks
about on all sides, trying all his arts, and never ceases
till he has utterly wearied us out, so that we either drop
our faith, prostrate ourselves before him, or grow out of
heart and impatient. Wherefore this comfort is given
us ; that, when our heart feels too sorely pressed, it may
draw renewed strength and comfort from the Sacrament.
But here our wiseacres, with all their great learning
and wisdom, contort themselves in their loud outcries :
How can bread and wine forgive sins or strengthen faith ?
They might hear and know that we do not say this of the
bread and wine, where these are nothing but bread and
wine, but of such bread and wine as are the body and
blood of Christ, and wherein the Word is included. This
it is, we repeat, that is the treasure and no other, through
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 147
which wo obtain forgiveness of sins : in no other wise is
it granted and given us than in the words, for you given
and shed ; herein thou seest both that it is Christ s body
and blood, and that it is bestowed on thee as a treasure
and gift. Now, Christ s body can never be a vain and
profitless thing, effecting and accomplishing nothing.
Still, however great the blessing is in itself, it must
be contained in the Word, and be offered to us, else we
could neither know of it nor seek it.
Wherefore it comes to nothing when they say : Christ s
body and blood are not given or shed for us in the Lord s
Supper, and therefore we cannot obtain forgiveness of
sins in the Sacrament. For although the work was
accomplished on the cross and the forgiveness of sins was
obtained there, still it cannot come to us otherwise than
through the Word. Else how should we have known
that this had been done or been obtained for us, had we
not been told of it in sermons, or heard of it by word of
mouth ? How could we know anything about it, or how
could we conceive or comprehend anything about the for
giveness, if we did not accept and believe the Scriptures
and the Gospel ? Now the whole Gospel and the article
of the Creed : / believe in one holy Christian Church, the
forgiveness of sins, etc., is incorporated in the Sacrament
by the Word and revealed to us. Why should we let such
a* blessing be torn asunder from the Sacrament? They
have to admit after all that these are the very words
given us in the Gospel, and they cannot maintain that
these words are of no use in the Sacrament, just as little
as they can declare that the whole Gospel or the Word of
God is of no use.
Thus we have the whole Sacrament, what it is in
itself and what it bestows on us and accomplishes. Now
let us see what persons can receive this strength and
benefit. This can be most briefly stated, as we did above
and elsewhere when speaking of baptism, by the words :
Whoever believes has what the words promise and what
they bring. For they are not spoken or addressed to
stone or wood, but to those who hear them, and to whom
148 THE GREATER CATECHISM
Christ says : Take and eat, etc. And because He offers
and promises forgiveness of sins, it cannot be received
otherwise than through faith. Such faith He Himself
demands when He says : For you given and for you shed,
as though He would have said : I give it you and bid
you eat and drink, that you may accept it and enjoy it.
Now, he who takes this to heart, and believes it to be
true, has it ; whereas he who does not believe, has it
not, for he allows it to be offered to him in vain, and
cannot enjoy the gracious blessing. The blessing is
opened to us and at every one s door yea, on every
one s table ; still it is necessary that thou accept it and
believe it faithfully, as given by the words.
This is all that is required by a Christian, to prepare
him for receiving the Sacrament worthily. For since
this blessing is offered in the words, we cannot grasp
or accept it otherwise with our hearts ; with our hand
we could not grasp such a gift and everlasting blessing.
Fasting, praying, etc., may perhaps serve as an outward
preparation, and a discipline for the simple, so that our
body be kept chaste and reverent towards the body and
blood of Christ, but that which is given in and" with
/ it cannot be comprehended or obtained by our body.
But the faith of the heart does it, as it recognises the
Ualessing, and desires it. This is sufficient for all ordinary
instruction in this Sacrament ; whatever else remains to
be said, is for another occasion.
In conclusion, and because we have now the right
understanding and knowledge of the Sacrament, it is
necessary to add a warning and exhortation that this
great blessing, which is daily administered amongst
Christians, should not be offered in vain, that those who
would be Christians should be prepared to receive the
Holy Sacrament often. For it is evident that we are apt
to grow lax and careless in the matter, and there are a
great number of persons who accept the Gospel, but
who, because the Pope s inventions are done away with,
and they feel themselves freed from his authority and
commands, go for a year, or even for two or three years,
OF THE SACRAMEN7 OF THE ALTAR 149
without receiving the Sacrament, as though they were such
strong Christians that they had no need of it ; and many
let themselves be deterred or frightened from it, because
they have been taught that none should receive it unless
they feel the necessary hunger and thirst that would
urge them to partake of it. Others maintain that it is
a matter of choice, not a necessity, and that it is sufficient
if they have faith otherwise ; the end being, that the
greater number become so rude that they despise both
the Sacrament and God s Word.
Now it is true, as has already been said, that we must
neither compel nor force any one, for fear of committing
a new soul-murder. But this, nevertheless, we must
know : that such persons as reject or withdraw them
selves for so long a time from the Sacrament are not to
be, looked on as Christians ; for Christ did not institute it
for us to make a spectacle of it, but it was His command
to Christians that they should eat and drink it in remem
brance of Him. And those who are true Christians and
value and esteem the Sacrament ought, indeed, to urge
and force themselves to receive it. But, in order that
simpler and weaker folk, who would also gladly be
Christians, may be more tempted to consider the reason
and the necessity which should induce them to receive it,
we will dwell on this point a little. For just as in other
matters which concern faith, love, and patience, it is
not sufficient merely to teach and instruct, but daily to
admonish, so it is necessary, here likewise, to rouse people
with sermons lest they grow lax or disheartened, because
we know and feel that the devil for ever opposes this
and all other Christian work, and hounds and harasses
men as much as he can.
In the first place we have the plain text in the words
of Christ : this do in remembrance of me. These words
command and order all those who would be Christians to
partake of the Sacrament. Therefore whoever would be
one of Christ s followers, to whom the words are spoken ;
let him think of this and hold to it, not because he is
forced by others, but because of his obedience and love
150 THE GREATER CATECHISM
to Christ. Thou mayest say : but it is also written, as
oft as ye do it, which shows that He forces none, but
leaves it to free choice. Answer : True, but it is not said
that we are never to partake of it ; yea rather, when He
says : As oft as ye do it, it is intimated that we should
partake of it often, and the words are, in fact, added
because He will have the Sacrament free, not bound to
any special period of time like the paschal lamb of the
Jews, which has to be eaten only once a year, and, indeed,
on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first full
moon, and not a day later (Numbers ix. 5). It is as
though He meant to say, I institute an Easter feast or
Supper for you, which you are to partake of, not only on
this one evening once a year, but frequently, and when
and where you choose, according to your opportunity and
necessity, and in no way bound by any definite place or
time ; although the Pope has altered this, and turned
it again into a Jewish feast.
Hence thou seest no freedom is granted thee to treat
it with contempt. For I call it treating the Sacrament
with contempt to allow a long time to pass without
receiving it, when there is nothing to hinder us. If thou
wouldst enjoy this freedom, thou canst have still more
freedom, and cease being a Christian, and neither pray
nor believe, for both are equally Christ s commandments.
If thou wouldst be a Christian, thou must from time to
time fulfil and obey this command ; for it should move
thee to enter into " thyself and to reflect thus : What
manner of Christian am I ? Were I one, I should long
a little for that which my Master bade me do.
And since we so shirk it, it is clear what manner of
Christians we must have been under the papacy, for we
went to the Sacrament then simply because we were
forced, and because we feared human commands, without
any desire or love for it, and unmindful of Christ s com
mand. Whereas now we force and compel no one, and
no one may venture to partake of it merely to serve
and please us. It should suffice to incite and urge thee
that He desires it, and that it pleases Him. We should
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 151
not allow any man to force us to believe or to do any
other sood work. All we do is to speak and to admonish
thee as to what thou shouldst do, not for our sake, but
for thine own. He calls on us and urges us ; if thou
despisest His call, thou must answer for it thyselt. _
This is the first point we have to mention, especially
for the cold and indifferent, that they may reflect and be
aroused. For it is certainly true, as I have experienced
in myself, and as every one will find out for himself, that
if we withhold ourselves from it, we shall, day by day,
OTOW ruder and colder, and soon cast it to the winds
altogether. Whereas we ought to question heart and
conscience, and act like men who would gladly do right
before God. The more we do this, the more our hearts
will be warmed and stirred within us, and never grow
But shouldst thou say : What if I feel I am not pre
pared ? Answer : This is also a delusion, due especially
to the old custom under the Pope, when men tortured
themselves to become quite pure, that God might fand
no flaw in them ; and we all became so timid, that
in our distress we exclaimed : Alas I I am not worthy.
For then nature and reason begin to contrast our un-
worthiness with the great and priceless blessing and it
seems like a dark lantern compared with the clear brig lit
sun, or like dung by the side of precious gems ; and
because they see this, people will not partake ot it, or
they wait till they become worthy, and thus week suc
ceeds week, and one half-year the other. But if thou
art for ever enquiring how good and pure thou art, and
striving that conscience may never bite thee, thou wilt-
never come to the Sacrament.
Wherefore we must distinguish between people. 1<
those who are insolent and unruly it should be said that
they had better remain away, for they are not fit to
receive forgiveness of sins, inasmuch as they show no
desire for it and an unwillingness to act worthily, but
others, who are not unruly or evil-minded persons and
who would like to act righteously, should not withdraw
152 THE GREATER CATECHISM
from the Sacrament, even though they are weak and
sinful. For, as St. Hilary says : If the sin committed
be not one for which the transgressor is justly expellea
from the congregation, he is not to abstain from the
Sacrament, so that he may not be deprived of life. No
one can ever attain such a state of excellence, that he
will not retain many daily faults in flesh and blood.
Accordingly, such people must learn that the chief
point is to know that the Sacrament does not depend on
our own worthiness ; for we do not have ourselves baptised
as being holy and worthy, nor do we come to confession
as though we were pure and without sin ; but for the
very opposite reason, as being poor, miserable beings
in fact, just because we are unworthy ; unless, indeed,
any one came who did not desire either absolution or
mercy, and had no thought of improving himself. But
those who desire mercy and comfort ought to urge
themselves to partake, and not allow any one to frighten
them from so doing, and speak thus : I would fain be
worthy, but I do not come in my worthiness, but in Thy
Word, because Thou hast commanded it, and I come as
one who desires to be Thy disciple, whatever my own
worthiness may be. Now, this is difficult ; for it is
always a stumbling-block and hindrance to us that we
think more of ourselves than of Christ s Word and
utterance. For human nature would like to rely and
depend on itself ; where it cannot do so, it will do nothing.
Let this suffice for the first part.
In the second place, as has been said above, a promise
is attached to the command which ought most strongly to
urge and induce us. For we have the kind and friendly
words : This is my body, given for you ; this is my blood,
shed for you for the remission of sins. These words, as I
have said, are not preached to either stock or stone, but
to me and thee, otherwise Christ might as well have
been silent and not instituted any Sacrament. Therefore
consider well, and bring thyself within the "you" that
He may not speak to thee in vain.
For He there offers us all the blessings He brought
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 153
us from heaven, to which He invites us most graciously
when He says, in the eleventh chapter of St. Matthew :
Gome unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest. Now, it is a sin and shame
that when He invites us so truly and heartily, and
admonishes us for our highest and best good, we will
not listen, but go our ways till we grow cold and hard,
and at length feel neither desire nor love for it. We
must not regard the Sacrament as a hurtful thing from
which we must fly, but as an altogether wholesome and
comforting medicine, which will help us, and give life
to both body and soul. For where the soul is made
whole, the body also is helped. Why, therefore, should
we aci; as though it were poison, to partake of which
would be our death ?
It is indeed true that they who despise it, and lead
unchristian lives, take it to their harm and damnation ;
to them it is neither good nor wholesome, much in the
same way as though a sick man, in his wilfulness, ate
and draiik what his physician had forbidden. Those,
however, who feel their weakness and would gladly be
rid of it, and who desire help, must regard and use it
as a precious antidote against the poison they have in
themselves. For here in the Sacrament thou wilt receive
from Christ s mouth forgiveness of sin, which includes
and brings with it God s Grace, His Spirit, and all His
gifts, protection, refuge, and strength against death, the
devil, and all misfortunes.
Accordingly thou hast, on God s part, both Christ s
command and promise ; and for thine own sake thou
shouldst be induced to partake of it by the need which
weighs upon thee, and for the sake of which this com
mand, inducement, and promise were given. For Christ
Himself says : They that be whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick that is, those who are troubled
and burdened with sin, fear of death, temptation of the
flesh and the devil. If thou art burdened, and dost
feel thy weakness, accpt it cheerfully, and be refreshed,
comforted, strengthened. For if thou thinkest to delay
\
154 x GREATER CATECHISM
till thon art rid of snch feelings, so that thou mayest
come pure and worthy to the Sacrament, then thou must
ever remain away ; for He has pronounced this judgment
and said : If thou art pure and upright, then thou dost
not need me, nor do I need thee. Therefore only those
are unworthy, who do not feel their sins and will not
admit that they are sinners.
If, however, thou shouldst ask : "What am I to do if I
feel not this need, and neither hunger nor thirst for the
Sacrament ? Answer : For those who are so disposed that
they feel no need, I know of no better counsel than that
they look into their own bosoms and see whether they
are not made of flesh and blood. If thou findest thou
art, then refer to St. Paul and hear what he says in his
Epistle to the Galatians (v. 19, 20) as to what manner of
fruit thy flesh is : Now the works of the fash are mani
fest, which are these : adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lascimousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyinqs,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and suck-like. Where
fore, if thou canst not feel it, nevertheless must thou
believe the Scriptures, which tell thee no falsehoods, and
know thy flesh better than thou dost. Yea, St. Paul
says further to the Komans (vii. 18), For I know that in
me that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. If St.
Paul could say this of his flesh, we cannot pretend to be
any better or more holy. And when we do not feel this,
it is so much the worse, for it is a sign that our flesh is
leprous flesh, which feels nothing, and yet is vicious and
consumes what is around it. But (as has been said) if
thou art so deadened, believe the Scriptures, which pro
nounce judgment on thee. In fact, the less thou feelest
thy sins and weaknesses, the more cause hast thou to go
to the Sacrament to seek help and medicine.
Further, look around thee and see if thou art in the
world ; or, if thou knowest it not, ask thy neighbour.
And if thou art in the world, think not that sin and
need will be absent. Then set to work, and act as
though thou wouldst become ^ions, and hold to the
OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 155
Gospel, and watch if no one be thy foe and do thee
harm, wrong or violence, and give thee occasion for sin
and wrong-doing. Hast thon not experienced this thyself,
then know of it from the Bible, which bears witness and
testimony of it to the world.
Besides which, thon wilt have the devil around thee,
and thon wilt not get the better of him entirely, for
Christ Himself did not escape him. Now, what is the
devil ? Nothing else than what the Scriptures call him :
a liar and murderer (John viii. 44), a liar and deceiver,
who entices the heart away from God s Word, so that
thou canst not feel thy need nor come to Christ ; a
murderer, who grudges thee every minute of thy life.
If thou couldst see the many knives, spears and arrows
that are aimed at thee every moment, thou wouldst be
glad to come to the Sacrament as often as thou couldst.
And that we go our ways with such assurance and heed-
lessness is simply because we neither think nor believe
that we are in the flesh and the wicked world, or under
the devil s dominion.
Wherefore see to it, and practise this well, and examine
thyself, or look around thee a little, and hold to the
Scriptures. And if thou then feelest nothing, thou hast
all the more need to lament, both to God and to thy
brother. Let them counsel thee and pray for thee, and do
not cease thy cry till the stone has rolled from thy heart.
Then thou wilt be helped in thy need, and thou wilt see
that thou hast fallen twice as low as any other poor
sinner, and hast far more need of the Sacrament to
protect thee from the misery which, alas ! thou canst not
see, but which through God s mercy thou mayest feel
more and more, and become more hungry for it ; especi
ally because the devil so harasses thee and unceasingly
attacks thee, in order to catch thee and ruin thee in
body and soul, so that thou art not safe from him one
hour. How suddenly might he plunge thee in misery
and need, when thou wast least prepared to resist him !
Let this be said by way of exhortation, not only to
those of us who are already grown up and old, but
156 THE GREATER CATECHISM
especially to the young, who should be brought up in the
Christian doctrine and a right understanding of it. For
in this manner we can more readily bring the Ten Com
mandments, the Creed, and the Lord s Prayer to the
young, so that they may receive them with pleasure and
earnestness, and that they may practise them, and be
come accustomed to them from their youth upwards.
For it is almost useless to try and alter things with old
people ; we must enlighten those who are to come after
us, to fill our offices and to do our work, so that they
in their turn may bring up their children profitably,
to uphold God s Word and Christendom. Therefore let
the head of a household know that he is bound by God s
command and order to teach his children this, or to see
that they are taught what they ought to know. For,
having been baptised and received into the Christian
faith, they ought likewise to enjoy the communion of
the Sacrament, in order that they may serve -us and be
useful ; for they must all help us to believe, to love, to
pray, and to fight the devil.
THE THREE PEIMAEY WORKS OF DR.
MARTIN LUTHER
tbe Christian mobility of tbc (Sennan
IRation respecting tbe IReformation of
tbe Christian Estate.
JESUS
1. DEDICATORY LETTER
To the respected and ivorthy Nicolaus von
Amsdorff, Licentiate in the Holy Scriptures
and Canon of Wittenberg* my particular
and affectionate friejid.
DR. MA1ITINUS LUTHER.
ri "THE grace and peace of God be with you, respected,
_L worthy Sir, and dear friend !
The time for silence is gone, and the time to speak has
come, as we read in Ecclesiastes (iii. 7). I have, in con
formity with our resolve, put together some few points
concerning the reformation of the Christian estate, with
the intent of placing the same before the Christian
nobility of the German nation, in case it may please
God to help His Church by means of the laity, inasmuch
as the clergy, whom this task rather befitted, have
become quite careless. I send all this to your worship,
to judge and to amend where needed. I am well aware
that I shall not escape the reproach of taking far too
much upon me in presuming, insignificant and forsaken
as I am, to address such high estates on such weighty
and great subjects, as if there were no one in the world
but Dr. Luther to have a care for Christianity and to
give advice to such wise people.
Let who will blame me, I shall not offer any excuse.
Perhaps I still owe God and the world another folly.
* Nicolaus von Amsdorff (1483 1565) was a colleague of Luther
at the university of Wittenberg, and one of his most zealous
fellow-workers in the cause of the Reformation.
160 LUTHER S PRIMARY
This debt I have now resolved honestly to discharge, as
well as may be, and to be Court fool for once in my life ;
if I fail, I shall at any rate gain this advantage : that no
one need buy me a fool s cap or shave my poll. But it
remains to be seen which shall hang the bells on the
other. I must fulfil the proverb, " When anything is to
be done in the world, a monk must be in it, were it only
as a painted figure." I suppose it has often happened
that a fool has spoken wisely, and wise men have often
done foolishly, as St. Paul says, " If any man among
you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a
fool, that he may be wise " (1 Cor. iii. 18).
Now, inasmuch as I am not only a fool, but also a
sworn doctor of the Holy Scriptures, I am glad that I
have an opportunity of fulfilling my oath, just in this
fool s way. I beg you to excuse me to the moderately
wise, for I know not how to deserve the favour and
grace of the supremely wise, which I have so often
sought with much labour, but now for the future shall
neither have nor regard.
God help us to seek not our glory, but His alone.
Amen.
Wittenberg, in the monastry of St.
Augustine, on the eve of St. John the
Baptist in the year 1620.
JESUS
ADD n ESS TO THE NOBILITY 161
2. INTRODUCTION
To his most Serene and Mighty Imperial
Majesty and to the Christian Nobility of
the German Nation.
DR. MARTINUS LUTHER.
The grace and might of God be with you, Most Serene
Majesty, most gracious, well-beloved gentlemen !
It is not out of mere arrogance and perversity that
I, an individual poor man, have taken upon me to
address your lordships. The distress and misery that
oppress all the Christian estates, more especially in
Germany, have led not only myself, but every one else,
to cry aloud and to ask for help, and have now forced
me too to cry out and to ask if God would give His
Hpirit to any one to reach a hand to His wretched people.
Councils have often put forward some remedy, but it has
adroitly been frustrated, and the evils have become worse,
through the cunning of certain men. Their malice and
wickedness I will now, by the help of God, expose, so
that, being known, they may henceforth cease to be so
obstructive and injurious. God has given us a young
and noble sovereign,* and by this has roused great hopes
in many hearts ; now it is right that we too should do
what we can, and make good use of time and grace.
The first thing that we must do is to consider the
matter with great earnestness, and, whatever we attempt,
not to trust in our own strength and wisdom alone, even
if the power of all the world were ours ; for God will not
endure that a good work should be begun trusting to
own strength and wisdom. He destroys it ; it is all
unless, as we read in Psalm xxxiii., " There is no king
,aved by the multitude of a host ; a mighty man
is not delivered by much strength." And I fear it is for
* Charles V. was at that time uot ^aite twenty years of age.
11
fa
162 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORItS
tliat reason that those beloved princes the Emperors
Frederick, the First and the Second, and many other
German emperors were, in former times, so piteously
spurned and oppressed by the popes, though they were
feared by all the world. Perchance they trusted rather
in their own strength than in God ; therefore they could
not but fall ; and how would the sanguinary tyrant
Julius II. have risen so high in our own days but that,
I fear, France, Germany, and Venice trusted to them
selves? The children of Benjamin slew forty-two thousand
Israelites, for this reason : that these trusted to their
own strength (Judges xx., etc.).
That such a thing may not happen to us and to our
noble Emperor Charles, we must remember that in this
matter we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph.
vi. 12), who may fill the world with war and bloodshed,
but cannot themselves be overcome thereby. We must
renounce all confidence in our natural strength, and
take the matter in hand witli humble trust in God ;
we must seek God s help with earnest prayer, and have
nothing before our eyes but the misery and wretchedness
of Christendom, irrespective of what punishment the
wicked may deserve. If we do not act thus, we may
begin the game with great pomp ; but when we are
well in it, the spirits of evil will make such confusion
that the whole world will be immersed in blood, and
yet nothing be done. Therefore let us act in the fear
of God and prudently. The greater the might of the foe,
the greater is the misfortune, if we do not act in the
fear of God and with humility. If popes and Romanists
have hitherto, with the devil s help, thrown kings into
confusion, they may still do so, if we attempt things
with our own strength and skill, without God s help.
3. THE THREE WALLS OF THE ROMANISTS
The Romanists have, with great adroitness, drawn three
walls round themselves, with which they have hitherto
JDTJRESS TO THE NOBILITY ]6j
protected themselves, so that no one could reform them,
whereby all Christendom has fallen terribly.
Firstly, if pressed by the temporal power, they have
affirmed and maintained that the temporal power has
no jurisdiction over them, but, on the contrary, that the
spiritual power is above the temporal.
Secondly, if it were proposed to admonish them with
the Scriptures, they objected that no one may interpret
the Scriptures but the Pope.
Thirdly, if they are threatened with a council, they
pretend that no one may call a council but the Pope.
Thus they have secretly stolen our three rods, so that
they may be unpunished, and intrenched themselves
behind these three walls, to act with all the wickedness
and malice, which we now witness. And whenever they
have been compelled to call a council, they have made
it of no avail by binding the princes beforehand with an
oath to leave them as they were, and to give moreover
to the Pope full power over the procedure of the council,
so that it is all one whether we have many councils or
no councils, in addition to which they deceive us with
false pretences and tricks. So grievously do they tremble
for their skin before a true, free council ; and thus they
have overawed kings and princes, that these believe they
would be offending God, if they were not to obey them
in all such knavish, deceitful artifices.
Now may God help us, and give us one of those
trumpets that overthrew the walls of Jericho, so that we
may blow down these walls of straw and paper, and that
we may set free our Christian rods for the chastisement
of sin, and expose the craft and deceit of the devil, so
that we may amend ourselves by punishment and again
obtain God s favour.
(a) THE FIRST WALL
That the Temporal Power has no Jurisdiction over the
Spiritualty
Let us, in the first place, attack the first wall.
It has been devised that the Pope, bishops, priests,
164 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
and monks are called the spiritual estate, princes, lords,
artificers, and peasants are the temporal estate. This is
an artful lie and hypocritical device, but let no one be made
afraid by it, and that for this reason : that all Christians
are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference
among them, save of office alone. As St. Paul says
(1 Cor. xii.), we are all one body, though each member
does its own work, to serve the others. This is because
we have one baptism, one Gospel, one faith, and are all
Christians alike ; for baptism, Gospel, and faith, these
alone make spiritual and Christian people.
As for the unction by a pope or a bishop, tonsure,
ordination, consecration, and clothes differing from those
of laymen all this may make a hypocrite or an anointed
puppet, but never a Christian or a spiritual man. Thus
we are all consecrated as priests by baptism, as St. Peter
says : " Ye are a royal priesthood, a holy nation " (1 Peter
ii. 9) ; and in the book of Revelations : " and hast made
us unto our God (by Thy blood) kings and priests "
(Rev. v. 10). For, if we had not a higher consecration
in us than pope or bishop can give, no priest could ever
be made by the consecration of pope or bishop, nor could
he say the mass, or preach, or absolve. Therefore the
bishop s consecration is just as if in the name of
the whole congregation he took one person out of the
community, each member of which has equal power, and
commanded him to exercise this power for the rest ; in
the same way as if ten brothers, co-heirs as king s sons,
were to choose one from among them to rule over their
inheritance, they would all of them still remain kings and
have equal power, although one is ordered to govern.
And to put the matter even more plainly, if a little
company of pious Christian laymen were taken prisoners
and carried away to a desert, and had not among them
a priest consecrated by a bishop, and were there to agree
to elect one of them, born in wedlock or not, and were to
order him to baptise, to celebrate the mass, to absolve,
and to preach, this man would as truly be a priest, as
if all the bishops and all the popes had consecrated him.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 165
That is why in cases of necessity every man can baptise
and absolve, which would not be possible if we were
not all priests. This great grace and virtue of baptism
and of the Christian estate they have quite destroyed
and made us forget by their ecclesiastical law. In this
way the Christians used to choose their bishops and
priests out of the community ; these being afterwards
confirmed by other bishops, without the pomp that now
prevails. So was it that St. Augustine, Ambrose,
Cyprian, were bishops.
Since, then, the temporal power is baptised as we are,
and has the same faith and Gospel, we must allow it to
be priest and bishop, and account its office an office that
is proper and useful to the Christian community. For
whatever issues from baptism may boast that it has
been consecrated priest, bishop, and pope, although it
does not beseem every one to exercise these offices. For,
since we are all priests alike, no man may put himself
forward or take upon himself, without our consent and
election, to do that which we have all alike power to do.
For, if a thing is common to all, no man may take it
to himself without the wish and command of the com
munity. And if it should happen that a man were
appointed to one of these offices and deposed for abuses,
he would be just what he was before. Therefore a priest
should be nothing in Christendom but a functionary ; as
long as he holds his office, he has precedence of others ;
if he is deprived of it, he is a peasant or a citizen like
the rest. Therefore a priest is verily no longer a priest
after deposition. But now they have invented characteres
indelebiles* and pretend that a priest after deprivation
still differs from a simple layman. They even imagine
that a priest can never be anything but a priest that is,
that he can never become a layman. All this is nothing
but mere talk and ordinance of human invention.
In accordance with a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church,
the act of ordination impresses upon the priest an indelible
character ; so that he immutably retains the sacred dignity of
priesthood.
1 66 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
It follows, then, that between laymen and priests,
princes and bishops, or, as they call it, between spiritual
and temporal persons, the only real difference is one of
office and function, and not of estate ; for they are all
of the same spiritual estate, true priests, bishops, and
popes, though their functions are not the same just as
among priests and monks every man has not the same
functions. And this, as I said above, St. Paul says
(liorn. xii. ; 1 Cor. xii.), and St. Peter (1 Peter ii.) :
" We, being many, are one body in Christ, and severally
members one of another." Christ s body is not double
or twofold, one temporal, the other spiritual. He is one
Head, and He has one body.
We see, then, that just as those that we call spiritual,
or priests, bishops, or popes, do not differ from other
Christians in any other or higher degree but in that
they are to be concerned with the word of God and the
sacraments that being their work and office in the
same way the temporal authorities hold the sword and
the rod in their hands to punish the wicked and to
protect the good. A cobbler, a smith, a peasant, every
man, has the office and function of his calling, and yet
all alike are consecrated priests and bishops, and every
man should by his office or function be useful and
beneficial to the rest, so that various kinds of work
may, all be united for the furtherance of body and
soul, just as the members of the body all serve one
another.
Now see what a Christian doctrine is this : that the
temporal authority is not above the clergy, and may not
punish it. This is as if one were to say the hand ma)
not help, though the eye is in grievous suffering. Is it
not unnatural, not to say unchristian, that one member
may not help another, or guard it against harm P ^ Nay,
the nobler the member, the more the rest are bound to
help it. Therefore I say, Forasmuch as the temporal
power has been ordained by God for the punishment of
the bad and the protection of the good, therefore we
must let it do its duty throughout the whole Christian
,7
ADDRESS 70 7 HE NOBILITY 167
body, without respect of persons, whether it strike popes,
bishops, priests, monks, nuns, or whoever it may be. If
it were sufficient reason for fettering the temporal power
that it is inferior among the offices of Christianity to the
offices of priest or confessor, or to the spiritual estate
if this were so, then we ought to restrain tailors, cobblers,
masons, carpenters, cooks 1 , cellarmen, peasants, and all
secular workmen, from providing the Pope or bishops,
priests and monks, with shoes, clothes, houses, or victuals,
or from paying them tithes. But if these laymen are
allowed to elo their work without restraint, what do the
Romanist scribes mean by their laws ? They mean that
they withdraw themselves from the operation of temporal
Christian power, simply in order that they may be free
to do evil, and thus fulfil what St. Peter said : "There
shall be false teachers among you, . . . and in covetous-
ness shall they with feigned words make merchandise
of you "(2 Peter ii. 1, etc.).
Therefore the temporal Christian power must exercise
its office without let or hindrance, without considering
whom it may strike, whether pope, or bishop, or priest
whoever is guilty, let him suifer for it.
Whatever the ecclesiastical law has said in opposition^
this is merely the invention of Romanist arrogance. For
this is what St. Paul says to all Christians : " Let every
soul " (1 presume including the popes) " be subject unto
the higher powers ; for they bear not the sword in vain :
they serve the Lord therewith, for vengeance on evil
doers and for praise to them that do well" (Horn,
xiii. l_4). Also St. Peter: "Submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord s sake, . . . for
so is the will of God" (1 Peter ii. 13, 15). He has
also foretold that men would come who should despise
government (2 Peter ii.), as has come to pass through
ecclesiastical law.
Now, 1 imagine, the first paper wall is overthrown,
inasmuch as the temporal power has become a member
of the Christian body ; although its work relates to
the body, yet does it belong to the spiritual estate.
1 68 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Therefore it must do its duty without let or hin
drance upon all members of the whole body, to punish
or urge, as guilt may deserve, or need may require,
without respect of pope, bishops, or priests, let them
threaten or excommunicate as they will. That is why
a guilty priest is deprived of his priesthood before being
given over to the secular arm; whereas this would not
be right, if the secular sword had not authority over him
already by Divine ordinance.
It is, indeed, past bearing that the spiritual law should
esteem so highly the liberty, life, and property of the
clergy, as if laymen were not as good spiritual Christians,
or not equally members of the Church. Why should
your body, life, goods, and honour be free, and not mine,
seeing that we are equal as Christians, and have received
alike baptism, faith, spirit, arid all things ? If a priest
is killed, the country is laid under an interdict*: why
not also if a peasant is killed ? Whence comes this
great difference among equal Christians ? Simply from
human laws and inventions.
It can have been no good spirit, either, that devised
these evasions and made sin to go unpunished. For
if, as Christ and the Apostles bid us, it is our duty to
oppose the evil one and all his works and words, and to
drive him away as well as may be, how then should
we remain quiet and be silent when the Pope and his
followers are guilty of devilish works and words ? Are
we for the sake of men to allow the commandments
and the truth of God to be defeated, which at our baptism
we vowed to support with body and soul ? Truly we
should have to answer for all souls that would thus be
abandoned and led astray.
Therefore it must have been the arch-devil himself who
said, as we read in the ecclesiastical law, If the Pope
were so perniciously wicked, as to be dragging souls in
* By the Interdict, or general excommunication, whole countries,
districts, or towns, or their respective rulers, were deprived of all
the spiritual benefits of the Church, such as Divine service, the
administering of the sacraments, etc,
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 169
crowds to the devil, yet he could not be deposed. This
is the accursed and devilish foundation on which they
build at Home, and think that the whole world is to be
allowed to go to the devil rather than they should be
opposed in their knavery. If a man were to escape
punishment simply because he is above the rest, then
no Christian might punish another, since Christ has
commanded each of us to esteem himself the lowest
and the humblest (Matt, xviii. 4 ; Luke ix. 48).
Where there is sin, there remains no avoiding the
punishment, as St. Gregory says, W T e are all equal, but
o-uilt makes one subject to another. Now let us see how
they deal with Christendom. They arrogate to them
selves immunities without any warrant from the Scrip
tures, out of their own wickedness, whereas God and the
Apostles made them subject to the secular sword ; so
that we must fear that it is the work of antichrist, or a
sign of his near approach.
(#) THE SECOND WALL
That no one may interpret the Scriptures but the Pope
The second wall is even more tottering and weak :
that they alone pretend to bQ considered masters of the
Scriptures ; although they learn nothing of them all
their life. They assume authority, and juggle before us
with impudent words, saying that the Pope cannot err
in matters of faith, whether he be evil or good, albeit
they cannot prove it by a single letter.^ That is why
the canon law contains so many heretical and unchristian,
nay unnatural, laws ; but of these we need not speak
now. For whereas they imagine the Holy Ghost never
leaves them, however unlearned and wicked they may be,
they grow bold enough to decree whatever they like.
But were this true, where were the need and use of the
Holy Scriptures ? Let us burn them, and content our
selves with the unlearned gentlemen at Rome, in whom
the Holy Ghost dwells, who, however, can dwell in j)io~-
6*$Mw* IT*"" ** *"* ^ l^fl
1 70 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
sonls only. If I had not read it, I could never have
believed that the devil should have put forth such
follies at Rome and find a following.
But not to fight them with our own words, we will
quote the Scriptures. St. Paul says, " If anything be
revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his
peace" (1 Cor. xiv. 30). What would be the use of
tliis commandment, if we were to believe him alone that
teaches or has the highest seat ? Christ Himself says,
" And they shall be all taught of God " (St. John vi.
45). Thus it may come to pass that the Pope and his
followers are wicked and not true Christians, and not
being taught by God, have no true understanding,
whereas a common man may have true understanding.
Why should we then not follow him ? Has not the Pope
often erred ? Who could help Christianity, in case the
Pope errs, if we do not rather believe another who has
the Scriptures for him ?
Therefore it is a wickedly devised fable and they
cannot quote a single letter to confirm it that it is for
the Pope alone to interpret the Scriptures or to confirm
the interpretation of them. They have assumed the
authority of their own selves. And though they say
that this authority was given to St. Peter when the keys
were given to him, it is plain enough that the keys were
not given to St. Peter alone, but to the whole community.
Besides, the keys were not ordained for doctrine or
authority, but for sin, to bind or loose ; and what they
claim besides this from the keys is mere invention. But
what Christ said to St. Peter : " I have prayed for
thee that thy faith fail not " (St. Luke xxii. 32), cannot
relate to the Pope, inasmuch as the greater part of the
Popes have been without faith, as they are themselves
forced to acknowledge ; nor did Christ pray for Peter
alone, but for all the Apostles and all Christians, as He
says, " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on Me through their word"
(St. John xvii.). Is not this plain enough ?
Only consider the matter. They must needs acknow-
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 171
ledge that there are pious Christians among us that
have the true faith, spirit, understanding, word, and
mind of Christ : why then should we reject their word
and understanding, and follow a pope who has neither
understanding nor spirit ? Surely this were to deny our
whole faith and the Christian Church. Moreover, if the
article of onr faith is right, " I believe in the holy
( Miristian Church," the Pope cannot alone be right ; else
we must say, I believe in the Tope of Home, and reduce
the Christian Church to one man, which is a devilish and
damnable heresy. Besides that, we are all priests, as .
have said, and have all one faith, one Gospel, one Sacra
ment ; how then should we not have the power of dis
cerning and judging what is right or wrong in matters ot
faith ? What becomes of St. Paul s words, " But he
that is spiritual judgeth ail things, yet he himself is
judged of no man " (1 Cor. ii. 15), and also, we having
the same spirit of faith"? (2 Cor. iv. 13). Why then
should we not perceive as well as an unbelieving pope
what agrees or disagrees with our faith ?
By these and many other texts we should gain courage
and freedom, and should not let the spirit of liberty (as
St. Paul has it) be frightened away by the inventions of
the popes ; we should boldly judge what they do and
what they leave undone by our own believing understand
ing of the Scriptures, and force them to follow the better
understanding, and not their own. Did not Abraham in
old days have to obey his Sarah, who was in stricter
bondage to him than we are to any one on earth ? Tims,
too, Balaam s ass was wiser than the prophet. If bod
spoke by an ass against a prophet, why should He not
speak by a pious man against the Pope? Besides, ^St.
Paul withstood St. Peter as being in error (Gal. ii.).
Therefore it behoves every Christian to aid the faith by
understanding and defending it and by condemning all
errors,
172 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
(e-) THE THIRD WALL
That no one may call a council but the Pope
The third wall falls of itself, as soon as the first two
have fallen ; for if the Pope acts contrary to the
Scriptures, we are bound to stand by the Scriptures, to
punish and to constrain him, according to Christ s
commandment, " Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and
him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with
thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established. And if lie
shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church ; but
if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as
a heathen man and a publican " (St. Matt, xviii. 15 17).
Here each member is commanded to take care for the
other ; much more then should we do this, if it is a
ruling member of the community that does evil, which
by its evil-doing causes great harm and offence to the
others. If then I am to accuse him before the Church, I
must collect the Church together. Moreover, they can
show nothing in the Scriptures giving the Pope sole
power to call and confirm councils ; they have nothing
but their own laws ; but these hold good only so long as
they are not injurious to Christianity and the laws of
God. Therefore, if the Pope deserves punishment, these
laws cease to bind us, since Christendom would suffer, if
he were not punished by a council. Thus we read (Acts
xv.) that the council of the Apostles was not called by
St. Peter, but by all the Apostles and the elders. But if
the right to call it had lain with St. Peter alone, it would
not have been a Christian council, but a heretical concilia -
bulum. Moreover, the most celebrated council of all that
of Nicrea was neither called nor confirmed by the Bishop
of Rome, but by the Emperor Constantine ; and after
him many other emperors have done the same, and yet
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 173
the councils called by them were accounted most Chris
tian. But if the Pope alone had the power, they must
all have been heretical. Moreover, if 1 consider the
councils that the Pope has called, I do not find that
they produced any notable results.
Therefore when need requires, and the Pope is a cause
of offence to Christendom, in these cases whoever can
best do so, as a faithful member of the whole body,
must do what he can to procure a true free council.
This no one can do so well as the temporal authorities,
especially since they are fellow-Christians, fellow-priests,
sharing one spirit and one power in all things, and
since they should exercise the office that they have re
ceived from God without hindrance, whenever it is
necessary and useful that it should be exercised. Would
it not be most unnatural, if a fire were to break out in a
city, and every one were to keep still and let it burn on
and on, whatever might be burnt, simply because they had
not the mayor s authority, or because the fire perchance
broke out at the mayor s house ? Is not every citizen
bound in this case to rouse and call in the rest ? How
much more should this be done in the spiritual city of
Christ, if a fire of offence breaks out, either at the Pope s^
government or wherever it may ! The like happens if
an enemy attacks a town. The first to rouse up the
rest earns glory and thanks. AVhy then should not he
earn glory that descries the coming of our enemies from
hell and rouses and summons all Christians ?
But as for their boasts of their authority, that no one
must oppose it, this is idle talk. No one in Christendom
has any authority to do harm, or to forbid others to prevent
harm being done. There is no authority in the Church
but for reformation. Therefore if the Pope wished to
use his power to prevent the calling of a free council, so
as to prevent the reformation of the Church, we must not
respect him or his power ; and if he should begin to
excommunicate and fulminate, we must despise this as
the doings of a madman, and, trusting in God, excom
municate and repel him as best we may. For this his
174 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
usurped power is nothing ; he does not possess it, and he
is at once overthrown by a text from the Scriptures.
For St. Paul says to the Corinthians " that God has given
us authority for edification, and not for destruction "
(2 Cor. x. 8). Who will set this text at nought ? It is
the power of the devil and of antichrist that prevents
what would serve for the reformation of Christendom.
Therefore we must not follow it, but oppose it with our
body, our goods, and all that we have. And even if a
miracle were to happen in favour of the Pope against
the temporal power, or if some were to be stricken by a
plague, as they sometimes boast has happened, all this
is to be held as having been done by the devil in order
to injure our faith in God, as was foretold by Christ :
" There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and
shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect " (Matt.
xxiv. 23) ; and St. Paul tells the Thessalonians that the
coming of antichrist shall be "after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders"
(2 Thess. ii. 9).
Therefore let us hold fast to this : that Christian
power can do nothing against Christ, as St. Paul says,
" For we can do nothing against Christ, but for Christ "
(2 Cor. xiii. 8). But, if it does anything against Christ,
it is the power of antichrist and the devil, even if it
rained and hailed wonders and plagues. Wonders and
plagues prove nothing, especially in these latter evil days,
of which false wonders are foretold in all the Scriptures.
Therefore we must hold fast to the words of God with an
assured faith : then the devil will soon cease his wonders.
And now I hope the false, lying spectre will be laid
with which the Romanists have long terrified and
stupefied our consciences. And it will be seen that,
like all the rest of us, they are subject to the temporal
sword ; that they have no authority to interpret the
Scriptures by force without skill ; and that they have
no power to prevent a council, or to pledge it in accord
ance with their pleasure, or to bind it beforehand, and
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 175
deprive it of its freedom ; and that if they do this, they
are verily of the fellowship of antichrist and the devil,
and have nothing of Christ but the name.
4. OF THE MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED IN
THE COUNCILS.
Let ns now consider the matters which should be
treated in the councils, and with which popes, cardinals,
bishops, and all learned men should occupy themselves
day and night, if they love Christ and His Church.
But if they do not do so, the people at large and the
temporal powers must do so, without considering the
thunders of their excommunications. For an unjust
excommunication is better than ten just absolutions, and
an unjust absolution is worse than ten just excommuni
cations. Therefore let us rouse ourselves, fellow-Germans,
and fear God more than man, that we be not answerable
for all the poor souls that are so miserably lost through
the wicked, devilish government of the Romanists, and
that the dominion of the devil should not grow day by
day, if indeed this hellish government can grow any worse,
which, for my part, I can neither conceive nor believe.
1. It is a distressing and terrible thing to see that the
head of Christendom, who boasts of being the vicar of
Christ and the successor of St. Peter, lives in a worldly
pomp that no king or emperor can equal, so that in him
that calls himself most holy and most spiritual there is
more worldlincss than in the world itself. He wears a
triple crown, whereas the mightiest kings only wear one
crown. If this resembles the poverty of Christ and St.
Peter, it is a new sort of resemblance. They prate of its
being heretical to object to this ; nay, they will not even
hear how unchristian and ungodly it is. But 1 think
that if he should have to pray to God with tears, he would
have to lay down his crowns; for God will not endure any
arrogance. His office should be nothing else than to
weep and pray constantly for Christendom and to be an
example of all humility.
However this may be, this pomp is a stumbling-block,
76 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
and the Pope, for the very salvation of his soul, ought to
put it off, for St. Paul says, " Abstain from all appear
ance of evil" (1 Thess. v. 21), and again, "Provide
things honest in the sight of all men " (2 Cor. viii. 21).
A simple mitre would be enough for the Pope : wisdom
and sanctity should raise him above the rest ; the crown
of pride he should leave to antichrist, as his predecessors
did some hundreds of years ago. They say, He is the
ruler of the world. This is false ; for Christ, whose
vicegerent and vicar he claims to be, said to Pilate,
" My kingdom is not of this world " (John xviii. 36).
But no vicegerent can have a wider dominion than his
Lord, nor is he a vicegerent of Christ in His glory, but
of Christ crucified, as St. Paul says, " For I determined
not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and
Him crucified " ($ Cor. ii. 2), and " Let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who made Him
self of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of
a servant " (Phil. ii. 5, 7). Again, " We preach Christ
crucified" (1 Cor. i.). Now they make the Pope a
vicegerent of Christ exalted in heaven, and some have
let ^ the devil rule them so thoroughly that they have
maintained that the Pope is above the angels in heaven
and has power over them, which is precisely the true
work of the true antichrist.
2. What is the use in Christendom of the people called
" cardinals " ? I will tell you. In Italy and Germany
there are many rich convents, endowments, fiefs, and bene
fices, and as the best way of getting these into the hands
of Rome, they created cardinals, and gave them the sees,
convents, and prelacies, and thus destroyed the service of
God. That is why Italy is almost a desert now : the con
vents are destroyed, the sees consumed, the revenues of the
prelacies and of all the churches drawn to Rome ; towns
are decayed, the country and the people ruined, because
there is no more any worship of God or preaching ; why ?
Because the cardinals must have all the wealth. No
Turk could have thus desolated Italy and overthrown the
worship of God.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 177
Now that Italy is sucked dry, they come to Germany
and begin very quietly ; but if we look on quietly
Germany will soon be brought into the same state as
Italy. We have a few cardinals already. What the
Romanists mean thereby the drunken Germans * are
not to see until they have lost everything bishoprics,
convents, benefices, fiefs, even to their last farthing. Anti
christ must take the riches of the earth, as it is written
(Dan. xi. 8, 39, 43). They begin by taking off the cream
of the bishoprics, convents, and fiefs : and as they do not
dare to destroy everything as they have done in Italy, they
employ such holy cunning to join together ten or twenty
prelacies, and take such a portion of each annually that
the total amounts to a considerable sum. The priory of
Wurzburg gives one thousand guilders ; those of Bamberg,
Mayence, Treves, and others also contribute. In this way
they collect one thousand or ten thousand guilders, in
order that a cardinal may live at Rome in a state like
that of a wealthy monarch.
After we have gained this, we will create thirty or forty
cardinals on one day, and give one St. Michael s Mount,f
near Bamberg, and likewise the see of Wurzburg, to
which belong some rich benefices, until the churches and
the cities are desolated ; and then we shall say, We are
the vicars of Christ, the shepherds of Christ s flocks ;
those mad, drunken Germans must submit to it. I
advise, however, that there be made fewer cardinals, or
that the Pope should have to support them out of his
own purse. It would be amply sufficient if there were
twelve, and if each of them had an annual income of
one thousand guilders.
f What has brought us Germans to such a pass that
we have to suffer this robbery and this destruction of
our property by the Pope ? If the kingdom of France
* The epithet ; drunken" was formerly often applied by the
Italians to the Germans.
t Luther alludes here to the Benedictine convent standing on the
Monchberg, or St. Michael s Mount.
12
178 LUTHERS PRIMARY WORKS
has resisted it, why do we Germans suffer ourselves to
be fooled and deceived ? It would be more endurable
if they did nothing but rob us of our property ; but
they destroy the Church and deprive Christ s flock of
their good shepherds, and overthrow the service and
word of God. Even if there were no cardinals at all,
the Church would not perish, for they do nothing for
the good of Christendom ; all they do is to traffic in
and quarrel about prelacies and bishoprics, which any
robber could do as well.
3. If we took away ninety-nine parts of the Pope s
Court and only left one hundredth, it would still be large
enough to answer questions on matters of belief. Now
there is such a swarm of vermin at Rome, all called
papal, that Babylon itself never saw the like. There are
more than three thousand papal secretaries alone ; but
who shall count the other office-bearers, since there are
so many offices that we can scarcely count them, and
all waiting for German benefices, as wolves wait for a
flock of sheep ? I think Germany now pays more to the
Pope than it formerly paid the emperors ; nay, some
think more than three hundred thousand guilders are
sent from Germany to Kome~~every year, for nothing
whatever ; and in return we are scoffed at and put to
shame. Do we still wonder why princes, noblemen,
cities, foundations, convents, and people grow poor ?
We should rather wonder that we have anything left
to eat.
Now that we have got well into our game, let us pause
a while and show that the Germans are not such fools
as not to perceive or understand this Romish trickery. I
do not here complain that God s commandments and
Christian justice are despised at Rome ; for the state of
things in Christendom, especially at Rome, is too bad for
us to complain of such high matters. Nor do I even
complain that no account is taken of natural or secular
justice and reason. The mischief lies still deeper. I
complain that they do not observe their own fabricated
canon law, though this is in itself rather mere tyranny,
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 179
avarice, and worldly pomp, than a law. This wo shall
now show.
Lono- ago the emperors and princes ot trermany
allowed the Pope to claim the annates* from all German
benefices; that is, half of the first year s income from every
benefice. The object of this concession was that the Pope
should collect a fund with all this money to fight against
the Turks and infidels, and to protect Christendom, so
that the nobility should not have to bear the burden of
the struggle alone, and that the priests should also con
tribute. *The popes have made such use of this good
simple piety of the Germans that they have taken this
money for more than one hundred years, and have now
made of it a regular tax and duty ; and not only have
they accumulated nothing, but they have founded out of
it many posts and offices at Rome, which are paid by it
yearly, as out of a ground-rent.
Whenever there is any pretence of fighting the lurks,
they send out some commission for collecting money, and
often send out indulgences under the same pretext ot
fighting the Turks. They think we Germans will always
remain such great and inveterate fools that we will go
on giving money to satisfy their unspeakable greed,
thouo-h we see plainly that neither annates, nor absolution
money, nor any other not one farthing goes against
the Turks, but all goes into the bottomless sack. They
lie and deceive, form and make covenants with us, of
which they do not mean to keep one jot. And all this
is done in the holy name of Christ and St. Peter.
This being so, the German nation, the bishops and
princes, should remember that they are Christians, and
should defend the people, who are committed to then-
government and protection in temporal and spiritual
affairs, from these ravenous wolves in, sheep s clothing,
that profess to be shepherds and rulers ; and since the
annates are so shamefully abused, and the covenants con-
* The duty of paying annate* to the Pope was established by
John XXII. in 1310.
i So LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
cerning them not carried out, they should not suffer their
lands and people to be so piteously and unrighteously
flayed and ruined ; but by an imperial or a national law
they should either retain the annates in the country, or
abolish them altogether. For since they do not keep
to the covenants, they have no right to the annates ;
therefore bishops and princes are bound to punish this
thievery and robbery, or prevent it, as justice demands.
And herein should they assist and strengthen the Pope,
who is perchance too weak to prevent this scandal by him
self, or, if he wishes to protect or support it, restrain and
oppose him as a wolf and tyrant ; for he has no authority
to do evil or to protect evil-doers. Even if it were pro
posed to collect any such treasure for use against the
Turks, we should be wise in future, and remember that
the German nation is more fitted to take charge of it
than the Pope, seeing that the German nation by itself is
able to provide men enough, if the money is forthcoming.
This matter of the annates is like many other Romish
pretexts.
Moreover, the year has been divided among the Pope
and the ruling bishops and foundations in such wise that
the Pope has taken every other month six in all to
give away the benefices that fall in his month ; in this
way almost all the benefices are drawn into the hands of
Rome, and especially the best livings and dignities. And
those that once fall into the hands of Rome never come
out again, even if they never again fall vacant in the
Pope s month. In this way the foundations come very
short of their rights, and it is a downright robbery, the
object of which is not to give up anything again. There
fore it is now high time to abolish the^ Pope s months
and to take back again all that has thereby fallen into
the hands of Rome. For all the princes and nobles
should insist that the stolen property shall be returned, the
thieves punished, and that those who abuse their powers
shall be deprived of them. If the Pope can make a law
on the day after his election by which he takes our
benefices and livings to which he has no right, the
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILIlV 181
Emperor Charles should so much the more have a right
to issue a law for all Germany on the day after his
coronation* that in future no livings and benefices are
to fall to Home by virtue of the Pope s month, but that
those that have so fallen are to be freed and taken
from the Romish robbers. This right he possesses
authoritatively by virtue of his temporal sword.
But the see of avarice and robbery at Rome is unwilling
to wait for the benefices to fall in one after another by
means of the Pope s month ; and in order to get them
into its insatiable maw as speedily as possible, they have
devised the plan of taking livings and benefices in three
other ways :
First, if the incumbent of a free living dies at Rome
or on his way thither, his living remains for ever the
property of the see of Rome, or I rather should say, the
see of robbers, though they will not let us call them
robbers, although no one has ever heard or read of such
robbery.
Secondly, if a " servant " of the Pope or of one of the
cardinals takes a living, or if, having a living, he becomes
a "servant" of the Pope or of a cardinal, the living remains
with Rome. But who can count the " servants " of the Pope
and his cardinals, seeing that if he goes out riding, he is
attended by three or four thousand mule-riders, more
than any king or emperor ? For Christ and St. Peter
went on foot, in order that their vicegerents might
indulge the better in all manner of pomp. Besides, their
avarice has devised and invented this : that in foreign
countries also there are many called " papal servants," as
at Rome ; so that in all parts this single crafty littlf
word " papal servant " brings all benefices to the chaii
of Rome, and they are kept there for ever. Are not
these mischievous, devilish devices ? Let us only wait
a while. Mayence, Magdeburg, and Halberstadt will fall
very nicely to Home, and we shall have to pay clearly for
* At the time when the above was written June, 1520 the
Emperor Charles had been elected, but not yet crowned.
1 82 LUTHER* S PRIMARY WORKS
our cardinal.* Hereafter all the German bishops will be
made cardinals, so that there shall remain nothing to
ourselves.
Thirdly, whenever there is any dispute about a
benefice ; and this is, I think, well-nigh the broadest and
commonest road by which benefices are brought to Rome.
For where there is no dispute numberless knaves can be
found at Home who are ready to scrape up disputes, and
attack livings wherever they like. In this way many a
good priest loses his living, or has to buy off the dispute
for a time with a sum of money. These benefices, con
fiscated by right or wrong of dispute, are to be for ever
the property of the see of Rome. It would be no
wonder, if God were to rain sulphur and fire from heaven
and cast Rome down into the pit, as He did formerly to
Sodom and Gomorrah. What is the use of a pope in
Christendom, if the only use made of his power is to
commit these supreme villainies under his protection arid
assistance ? Oh noble princes and sirs, how long will you
suffer your lands and your people to be the prey of these
ravening wolves ?
But these tricks did not suffice, and bishoprics were
too slow in falling into the power of Roman avarice.
Accordingly our good friend Avarice made the discovery
that all bishoprics are abroad in name only, but that
their land and soil is at Rome ; from this it follows that
no bishop may be confirmed until he has bought the
" Pall " f for a large sum, and has with a terrible oath
* Luther alludes here to the Archbishop Albert of Mayence,
who was, besides, Archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of
the bishopric of Halberstadt. In order to be able to defray the
expense of the archiepiscopal tax due to Rome, amounting to
thirty thousand guilders, he had farmed the sale of the Pope s in
dulgences, employing the notorious Tetzel as his agent and sharing
the profits with the Pope. In 1518 Albert was appointed cardinal.
See Ranke, Deutsche Gescliiclite, etc., vol. i., p. 300, etc.
f The Pallium was since the fourth century the symbol of
archiepiscopal power, and had to be redeemed from the Pope by
means of a large sum of money and a solemn oath of obedience.
ADDRESS TO THE tfOZlLITV 183
bound himself a servant of the Pope. That is why no
bishop dare oppose the Pope. This was the object ot the
oath, and this is how the wealthiest bishoprics have come
to debt and ruin. Mayence, I am told, pays twenty thou
sand o-nilders. These are true Roman tricks, it seems t(
me. It is true that they once decreed in the canon law that
the Pall should be given free, the number ot the 1 ope *
servants diminished, disputes made less frequent, that
foundations and bishops should enjoy their liberty ; but
all this brought them no money. They have therefore
reversed all this: bishops and foundations have lost all
their power; they are mere ciphers, without oftice,
authority, or function ; all things are regulated by the
chief knaves at Home, even the offices ot sextons and
hell-riii^crs in all churches. All disputes are transferred
to Rome ; each one does what he will, strong through
the Pope s power. ,
What lias happened in this very year ? The Bishop ot
Strasburg, wishing to regulate his see in a proper way
and reform it in the matter of Divine service, published
some Divine and Christian ordinances for that purpose.
But our worthy Pope and the holy chair at Rome overturn
altogether this holy and spiritual order on the requisition
of the priests. This is what they call being the shep
herd of Christ s sheep-supporting priests against their
own bishops and protecting their disobedience by Divine
decrees. Antichrist, I hope, will not insult God in tins
open wav. There you have the Pope, as you have chosen
to have "him; and why? Why, because if the Church
were to be reformed, there would be danger that it
would spread further, so that it might also reach Rome
Therefore it is better to prevent priests from being at
one with each other ; they should rather, as they have
done hitherto, sow discord among kings and princes, and
flood the world with Christian blood, lest Christian unity
should trouble the holy Roman see with reforms.
So far we have seen what they do with the livings
that fall vacant. Now there are not enough vacancies tc
this delicate greed ; therefore it has also taken prudent
184 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
account of the benefices that are still held by their in
cumbents, so that they may become vacant, though they
are in fact not vacant, and this they effect in many
ways.
"" First, they lie in wait for fat livings or sees which are
held by an old or sick man, or even by one afflicted by
an imaginary incompetence ; him the Roman see gives
a coadjutor, that is an assistant without his asking or
wishing it, for the benefit of the coadjutor, because he is
a papal servant, or pays for the office, or has otherwise
earned it by some menial service rendered to Rome.
Thus there is an end of free election on the part of the
chapter, or of the right of him who had presented to the
living ; and all goes to Rome.
Secondly, there is a little word: commendam, that is,
when the Pope gives a rich and fat convent or church
into the charge of a cardinal or any other of his servants,
just as I might command you to take charge of one
hundred guilders for me. In this way the convent is
neither given, nor lent, nor destroyed, nor is its Divine
service abolished, but only entrusted to a man s charge,
not, however, for him to protect and improve it, but to
drive out the one he finds there, to take the property
and revenue, and to install some apostate* runaway monk,
who is paid five or six guilders a year, and sits in the
church all day and sells symbols and pictures to the
pilgrims ; so that neither chanting nor reading in the
church goes on there any more. Now if we were to call
this the destruction of convents and abolition of Divine
service we should be obliged to accuse the Pope of
destroying Christianity and abolishing Divine service
for truly he is doing this effectually but this would be
thought harsh language at Rome ; therefore it is called
a commendam, or an order to take charge of the convent.
In this way the Pope can make commendams of four
or more convents a year, any one of which produces a
* Monks who forsook their order without any legal dispensation
were called " apostates."
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 185
revenue of more than six thousand guilders. This is
the way Divine service is advanced and convents kept
up at Rome. This will be introduced into Germany
as well. .
Thirdly, there are certain benefices that are said to be
incompatible ; that is, they may not be held together
according to the canon law, such as two cures, two sees,
and the like. Now the Holy See and avarice twists
itself out of the canon law by making "glosses," or
interpretations, called Unio, or Incorporatio ; that is,
several incompatible benefices are incorporated, so that
one is a member of the other, and the whole is held to
be one benefice : then they are no longer incompatible,
and we have got rid of the holy canon law, so that it is no
longer binding, except on those who do not buy those
glosses of the Pope and his Datarius.* Unio is of
the same kind : a number of benefices are tied together
like a bundle of faggots, and on account of this coupling
together they are held to be one benefice. Thus there may
be found many a " courtling " at Rome who alone holds
twenty-two cures, seven priories, and forty-four prebends,
all which is done in virtue of this masterly gloss, so as
not to be contrary to law. Any one can imagine what
cardinals and other prelates may hold. In this way the
Germans are to have their purses emptied and their
conceit taken out of them.
There is another gloss called Administratio ; that is,
that besides his see a man holds an abbey or other high
benefice, and possesses all the property of it, without any
other title but administrator. For at Rome it is enough
that words should change, and not deeds, just as if I said,
a procuress was to be called a mayoress, yet may remain
as good as she is now. Such Romish rule was foretold
by St. Peter, when he said, "There shall be false
* The papal office for the issue and registration of certain
documents was called Dataria, from the phrase appended to them,
Datum apiul S. Petrum. The chief of that office, usually a cardinal,
bore the title of Datarius, or Prodatarhis.
1 86 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
teachers among you, . . . and tli rough covetousness
shall they with feigned words make merchandise of yon "
(2 Peter ii. 1,3).
This precious Roman avarice has also invented the
practice of selling and lending prebends and benefices on
condition that the seller or lender has the reversion, so
that if the incumbent dies, the benefice falls to him that
has sold it, lent it, or abandoned it ; in this way they
have made benefices heritable property, so that none can
come to hold them unless the seller sells them to him, or
leaves them to him at his death. Then there are many
that give a benefice to another in name only, and on
condition that he shall not receive a farthing. It is now,
too, an old practice for a man to give another a benefice
and to receive a certain annual sum, which proceeding
was formerly called simony. And there are many other
such little things which I cannot recount ; and so they
deal worse with the benefices than the heathens by the
cross dealt with Christ s clothes.
But all this that I have spoken of is old and common
at Home. Their avarice has invented other device, which
I hope will be the last and choke it. The Pope has made
a noble discovery, called Pectoralis Rescrmtio, that is,
" mental reservation " et ]>roprius motus, that is, " and
his own will and power." The matter is managed in this
way : Suppose a man obtains a benefice at Rome, which
is confirmed to him in clue form ; then comes another,
who brings money, or who has done some other service
of which the less said the better, and requests the Pope
to give him the same benefice : then the Pope will take
it from the first and give it him. If you say, that is
wrong, the Most Holy Father must then excuse himself,
that he may not be openly blamed for having violated
justice ; and he says " that in his heart and mind he
reserved his authority over the said benefice," whilst he
never had heard or thought of the same in all his life.
Thus he has devised a gloss which allows him in his
proper person to lie and cheat and fool us all, and all
this impudently and in open daylight, and nevertheless
ADDRESS TO THE MOBILITY 187
lie claims to be the liead of Christendom, letting the
evil spirit rule him with manifest lies.
This wantonness and lying reservation of the popes has
brought about an unutterable state of things at Rome.
There is a buying and a selling, a changing, blustering
and bargaining, cheating and lying, robbing and stealing,
debauchery and villainy, and all kinds of contempt of
God, that antichrist himself could not rule worse.
Venice, Antwerp, Cairo, are nothing to this foir and
market at Rome, except that there things are done with
some reason and justice, whilst here things are done as
the devil himself could wish. And out of this ocean a
like virtue overflows all the world. Is it not natural
that such people should dread a reformation and a free
council, and should rather embroil all kings and princes,
than that their unity should bring about a council?
Who would like his villainy to be exposed ?
Finally, the Pope has built a special house for this
fine traffic that is, the house of the Datarius at Rome.
Thither all must come that bargain in this way for
prebends and benefices ; from him they must buy the
ylosses and obtain the right to practise such prime
Villainy. In former days it was fairly well at Rome,
when justice had to be bought, or could only be put down
by money ; but now she has become so fastidious that
she does not allow any one to commit villainies unless
he has first bought the right to do it with great sums.
If this is not a house of prostitution, worse than all
houses of prostitution that can be conceived, I do not
know what houses of prostitution really are.
If you bring money to this house, yon can arrive at all
that I have mentioned ; and more than this, any sort of
usury is made legitimate for money ; property got by
theft or robbery is here made legal. Here vows are
annulled ; here a monk obtains leave to quit his order ;
here priests can enter married life for money ; here
bastards can become legitimate ; and dishonour and
shame may arrive at high honours ; all evil repute and
disgrace is knighted and ennobled ; here a marriage is
1 88 L UTffER^ S PRtMA R Y WORKS
suffered that is in a forbidden degree, or has some other
defect. Oh, what a trafficking and plundering is there !
one would think that the canon laws were only so many
money-snares, from which he must free himself who
would become a Christian man. Nay, here the devil
becomes a saint, and a god besides. What heaven and
earth might not do may be done by this house. Their
ordinances are called compositions compositions, for
sooth ! confusions rather.* Oh, what a poor treasury is
the toll on the Ehine f compared with this holy house !
Let no one think that I say too much. It is all
notorious, so that even at Eome they are forced to own
that it is more terrible and worse than one can say. I
have said and will say nothing of the infernal dregs of
private vices. I only speak of well-known public matters,
and yet my words do not suffice. Bishops, priests, and
especially the doctors of the universities, who are paid to
do it, ought to have unanimously written and exclaimed
against it. Yea, if you will turn the leaf, you will discover
the truth.
I have still to give a farewell greeting. These treasures,
that would have satisfied three mighty kings, were not
enough for this unspeakable greed, and so they have
made over and sold their traffic to Fugger J at Augsburg,
so that the lending and buying and selling sees and
benefices, and all this traffic in ecclesiastical property,
has in the end come into the right hands, and spiritual
and temporal matters have now become one business.
Now I should like to know what the most cunning would
devise for Romish greed to do that it has not done,
except that Fugger might sell or pledge his two trades,
that have now become one. I think they must have
come to the end of their devices. For what they have
stolen and yet steal in all countries by bulls of indul-
* Luther uses here the expressions compositiones and confusiones
as a kind of pun.
t Tolls were levied at many places along the Rhine.
if The commercial house of Fugger was in those clays the
wealthiest in Europe.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 189
gences, letters of confession, letters of dispensation,* and
other cpnfessionalta, all this I think mere bungling
work, and much like playing toss with a devil in hell.
Not that they produce little, for a mighty king could
support himself by them ; but they are as nothing com
pared to the other streams of revenue mentioned above.
I will not now consider what has become of that indul
gence money ; I shall inquire into this another time, for
Campqfiore f and Belvedere | and some other places pro
bably know something about it.
Meanwhile, since this devilish state of things is not
only an open robbery, deceit, and tyranny of the gates of
hell, but also destroys Christianity body and soul, we
are bound to use all our diligence to prevent this misery
and destruction of Christendom. If we wish to fight the
Turks, let us begin here, where they are worst. If we
justly hang thieves and behead robbers, why do we leave
the greed of Rome so unpunished, that is the greatest
thief and robber that has appeared or can appear on
earth, and does all this in the holy name of Christ and
St. Peter ? Who can suffer this and be silent about it ?
Almost everything that they possess has been stolen or
got by robbery, as we learn from all histories. Why,
the Pope never bought those great possessions, so as to
be able to raise well-nigh ten hundred thousand ducats
from his ecclesiastical offices, without counting his gold
mines described above and his land. He did not inherit
it from Christ and St. Peter ; no one gave it or lent it
him; he has not acquired it by prescription. Tell me,
where can he have got it? You can learn from this
what their object is when they send out legates to collect
money to be used against the Turk.
* Luther uses the word Buttcrbriefe, i.e., letters of indulgence
allowing the enjoyment of butter, cheese, milk, etc., during Lent.
They formed part only of the confessionalia, which granted various
other indulgences.
t A public place at Rome.
1 Part of the Vatican.
1 9 o LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
5. TWENTY-SEVEN ARTICLES RESPECTING THE
REFORMATION OF THE CHRISTIAN ESTATE
Now though I am too lowly to submit articles that
could serve for the reformation of these fearful evils, I
will yet sing out my fool s song, and will show, as well
as my wit will allow, what might and should be done by
the temporal authorities or by a general council.
1. Princes, nobles, and cities should promptly forbid
their subjects to pay the annates to Rome and should even
abolish them altogether. For the Pope has broken the
compact, and turned the annates into robbery for the harm
and shame of the German nation ; he g ives them to
his friends ; he sells them for large sums of money and
founds benefices on them. Therefore he has forfeited his
right to them, and deserves punishment. In this way
the temporal power should protect the innocent and
prevent wrong-doing, as we are taught by St. Paul (Rom.
xiii.) and by St. Peter (1 Peter ii.) and even by the canon
law (16. q. 7. de Filiis). That i$ why we say to the
Pope and his followers, Tu oral "Thou shalt pray" ; to
the Emperor and his followers, Tu protege ! "Thou shalt
protect"; to the commons, Tit labora ! "Thou shalt
work." Not that each man should not pray, protect, and
work ; for if a man fulfils his duty, that is prayer, pro
tection, and work ; but every man must have his proper
task.
2. Since by means of those Romish tricks, commendams,
coadjutors, reservations, expectations, pope s months,
incorporations, unions, Palls, rules of chancellery, and
other such knaveries, the Pope takes unlawful possession
of all German foundations, to give and sell them to
strangers at Rome, that profit Germany in no way, so
that the incumbents are robbed of their rights, and the
bishops are made mere ciphers and anointed idols ; and
thus, besides natural justice and reason, the Pope s own
canon law is violated ; and things have come to such a
pass that prebends and benefices are sold at Rome to
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 191
vulgar, ignorant asses and knaves, out of sheer greed,
while pious learned men have no profit by their merit
and skill, whereby the unfortunate German people must
needs lack good, learned prelates and suffer rum on
account of these evils the Christian nobility should rise
up against the Pope as a common enemy and destroyer
of Christianity, for the sake of the salvation of the poor
souls that such tyranny must rain. They should ordain,
order, and decree that henceforth no benefice shall be
drawn away to Rome, and that no benefice shall be
claimed there in any fashion whatsoever; and after
having once got these benefices out of the hands of
Romish tyranny, they must be kept from them, and
their lawful incumbents must be reinstated in them to
administer them as best they may within the German
nation. And if a courtling came from Rome, he should
receive the strict command to withdraw, or to leap into
the Rhine, or whatever river be nearest, and to administer
a cold bath to the Interdict, seal and letters and all.
Thus those at Rome would learn that we Germans are
not to remain drunken fools for ever, but that we, too,
are become Christians, and that as such we will no
longer suffer this shameful mockery of Christ s holy
name, that serves as a cloke for such knavery and
destruction of souls, and that we shall respect God and
the glory of God more than the power of men.
3. It should be decreed by an imperial law that no
episcopal cloak and no confirmation of any appointment
shall for the future be obtained from Rome. The order
of the most holy and renowned Nicene Council must again
be restored, namely that a bishop must be confirmed by
the two nearest bishops or by the archbishop. If the
Pope cancels the decrees of these and all other councils,
what is the good of councils at all ? Who has given him
the right thus to despise councils and to cancel them ?
If this is allowed, we had better abolish all bishops, arch
bishops and primates, and make simple rectors of all of
them, so that they^would have the Pope alone over them,
as is indeed the case now : he deprives bishops, arch-
LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
bishops, and primates of all the authority of their office,
taking everything to himself, and leaving them only the
name and the empty title; more than this, by his exemp
tion he has withdrawn convents, abbots, and prelates from
the ordinary authority of the bishops, so that there
remains no order in Christendom. The necessary result
of this must be, and has been, laxity in punishing and
such a liberty to do evil in all the world that I very much
fear one might call the Pope " the man of sin " (2 Thess.
ii. 3). Who but the Pope is to blame for this absence of
all order, of all punishment, of all government, of all
discipline, in Christendom ? By his own arbitrary power
he ties the hands of all his prelates, and takes from them
their rods, while all their subjects have their hands
unloosed, and obtain licence by gift or purchase.
But, that he have no cause for complaint, as being
deprived of his authority, it should be decreed that in
cases where the primates and archbishops are unable to
settle the matter, or where there is a dispute among them,
the matters shall then be submitted to the Pope, but not
every little matter, as was done formerly, and was ordered
by the most renowned Nicene Council. His Holiness
must not be troubled with small matters, that can be
settled without his help; so that he may have leisure to
devote himself to his prayers and study and to his care
of all Christendom, as he professes to do, as indeed the
Apostles did, saying, "It is not reason that we should
leave the word of God, and serve tables. . . . But we
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the minis
try of the word " (Acts vi. 2, 4). But now we see at
Rome nothing but contempt of the Gospel and of prayer,
and the service of tables, that is the service of the goods
of this world; and the government of the Pope agrees
with the government of the Apostles as well as Lucifer
with Christ, hell with heaven, night with day ; and yet
he calls himself Christ s vicar and the successor of the
Apostles.
4. Let it be decreed that no temporal matter shall be
submitted to Rome, but all shall be left to the jurisdiction
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 193
of the temporal authorities. This is part of their own
canon law, though they do not obey it. For this
should be the Pope s office : that he, the most learned in
the Scriptures and the most holy, not in name only, but
in fact, should rule in matters concerning the faith and
the holy life of Christians ; he should make primates and
bishops attend to this, and should work and take thought
with them to this end, as St. Paul teaches (1 Cor. vi.),
severely upbraiding those that occupy themselves with the
things of this world. For all countries suffer unbearable
damage by this practice of settling such matters at
Rome, since it involves great expense ; and besides this,
the judges at Rome, not knowing the manners, laws, and
customs of other countries, frequently pervert the matter
according to their own laws and their own opinions, thus
causing injustice to all parties. Besides this, we should
prohibit in all foundations the grievous extortion of the
ecclesiastical judges; they should only be allowed to
consider matters concerning faith and good morals ; but
matters concerning money, property, life, and honour
should be left to the temporal judges. Therefore the
temporal authorities should not permit excommunication
or expulsion except in matters of faith and righteous
living. It is only reasonable that spiritual authorities
should have power in spiritual matters; spiritual matters,
however, are not money or matters relating to the body,
but faith and good works.
Still we might allow matters respecting benefices or
prebends to be treated before bishops, archbishops, and
primates. Therefore when it is necessary to decide quarrels
and strifes let the Primate of Germany hold a general
consistory, with assessors and chancellors, who would have
the control over the signaturas gratice SLuAjustititf* and to
whom matters arising in Germany might be submitted by
appeal. The officers of such court should be paid out of
* At the time when the above was written the function of the
signatura gratw was to superintend the conferring of grants, con
cessions, favours, etc., whilst the siynatura justitice embraced the
general administration of ecclesiastical matters,
13
i 9 4 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
the annates, or in some other way, and should not have
to draw their salaries, as at Rome, from chance presents
and offerings, whereby f.iey grow accustomed to sell
justice and injustice, as they must needs do at Rome,
where the Pope gives them no salary, but allows them to
fatten themselves on presents; for at Rome no one heeds
what is right or what is wrong, but only what is money
and what is not money. They might be paid out of
the annates, or by some other means devised by men of
higher understanding and of more experience in these
things than I have. I am content with making these
suggestions and giving some materials for consideration
to those who may be able and willing to help the
German nation to become a free people of Christians,
after this wretched, heathen, unchristian misrule of the
Pope.
5. Henceforth no reservations shall be valid, and no
benefices shall be appropriated by Rome, whether the
incumbent die there, or there be a dispute, or the incum
bent be a servant of the Pope or of a cardinal; and all
courtiers shall be strictly prohibited and prevented from
causing a dispute about any benefice, so as to cite the
pious priests, to trouble them, and to drive them to pay
compensation. And if in consequence of this there
comes an interdict from Rome, let it be despised, just
as if a thief were to excommunicate any man because
he would not allow him to steal in peace. Nay, they
should be punished most severely for making such a
blasphemous use of excommunication and of the name
of God, to support their robberies, and for wishing by
their false threats to drive us to suffer and approve this
blasphemy of God s name and this abuse of Christian
authority, and thus to become sharers before God in
their wrong-doing, whereas it is our duty before God to
punish it, as St. Paul (Rom. i.) upbraids the Romans
for not only doing wrong, but allowing wrong to be
done. But above all that lying mental reservation
(pectoralis resermtio) is unbearable, by which Christen
dom is so openly mocked and insulted, in that its head
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 195
notoriously deals with lies, arid impudently cheats and
fools every man for the sake of accursed wealth.
0. The cases reserved* (casus reservati) should be
abolished, by which not only are the people cheated out
of much money, but besides many poor consciences are
confused and led into error by the ruthless tyrants, to the
intolerable harm of their faith in God, especially those
foolish and childish cases that are made" important by the
bull In Coena Domini^ and which do not deserve the
name of daily sins, not to mention those great cases for
which the Pope gives no absolution, such as preventing
a pilgrim from going to Rome, furnishing the Turks with
arms, or forging the Pope s letters. They only fool us
with these gross, mad, and clumsy matters : Sodom and
Gomorrah, and all sins that are committed and that can
be committed against God s commandments, are not
reserved cases; but what God never commanded and
they themselves have invented these must be made
reserved cases, solely in order that none may be pre
vented from bringing money to Rome, that they may
live in their lust without fear of the Turk, and may keep
the world in their bondage by their wicked useless bulls
and briefs.
Now all priests ought to know, or rather it should
be a public ordinance, that no secret sin constitutes a
reserved case, if there be no public accusation ; and that
every priest has power to absolve from all sin, whatever
its name, if it be secret, and that no abbot, bishop, or
pope has power to reserve any such case ; and, lastly, that
if they do this, it is null and void, and they should, more
over, be punished as interfering without authority in
God s judgment and confusing and troubling without
cause our poor witless consciences. But in respect to
* " Reserved cases " refer to those great sins for which the Pope
or the bishops only could give absolution.
t The celebrated papal bull known under the name of In Ccena
Domini, containing anathemas and excommunications against all
those who dissented in any way from the Roman Catholic creed,
used until the year 1770 to be read publicly at Rome on Maundy
Thursday
196 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
any great open sin, directly contrary to God s command
ments, there is some reason for a " reserved case " ; but
there should not be too many, nor should they be
reserved arbitrarily without due cause. For God has
not ordained tyrants, but shepherds, in His Church, as
St. Peter says (1 Peter v. 2).
7. The Roman see must abolish the papal offices, and
diminish that crowd of crawling vermin at Rome, so that
the Pope s servants may be supported out of the Pope s
own pocket, and that his court may cease to surpass all
royal courts in its pomp and extravagance ; seeing that
all this pomp has not only been of no service to the
Christian faith, but has also kept them from study and
prayer, so that they themselves know hardly anything
concerning matters of faith, as they proved clumsily
enough at the last Roman Council,* where, among many
childishly trifling matters, they decided " that the soul is
immortal," and that a priest is bound to pray once every
month on pain of losing his benefice, f How are men to
rule Christendom and to decide matters of faith who,
callous and blinded by their greed, wealth, and worldly
pomp, have only just decided that the soul is immortal ?
It is no slight shame to all Christendom that they should
deal thus scandalously with the faith at Rome. If they
had less wealth and lived in less pomp, they might be
better able to study and pray, that they might become
able and worthy to treat matters of belief, as they were
once, when they were content to be bishops, and not kings
of kings.
8. The terrible oaths must be abolished which bishops
are forced, without any right, to swear to the Pope, by
which they are bound like servants, and which are
* The council alluded to above was held at Eome from 1512 to
1517.
t Luther s objection is not, of course, to the recognition of the
immortality of the soul ; what he objects to is (1) that it was
thought necessary for a council to decree that the soul is immortal,
and (2) that this question was put on a level with trivial matters of
discipline.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 197
arbitrarily and foolishly decreed in the absurd and
shallow chapter Significasti* Is it not enough that they
oppress us in goods, body, and soul by all their mad
laws, by which they have weakened faith and destroyed
Christianity ; but must they now take possession of the
very persons of bishops, with their offices and functions,
and also claim the investiture t which used formerly to
be the right of the German emperors, and is still the
right of the King in France and other kingdoms ? This
matter caused many wars and disputes with the
emperors until the popes impudently took the power by
force, since which time they have retained it, just as if
it were only right for the Germans, above all Christians
on earth, to be the fools of the Pope and the Holy See,
and to do and suffer what no one beside would suffer or
do. Seeing then that this is mere arbitrary power,
robbery, and a hindrance to the exercise of the bishop s
ordinary power, and to the injury of poor souls, therefore
it is the duty of the Emperor and his nobles to prevent
and punish this tyranny.
9. The Pope should have no power over the Emperor,
except to anoint and crown him at the altar, as a bishop
crowns a king ; nor should that devilish pomp be allowed
that the Emperor should kiss the Pope s feet or sit at his
feet, or, as it is said, hold his stirrup or the reins of his
mule, when he mounts to ride ; much less should he pay
homage to the Pope, or swear allegiance, as is impudently
demanded by the popes, as if they had a right to it.
The chapter Solite^ in which the papal authority is
exalted above the imperial, is not worth a farthing, and
so of all those that depend on it or fear it ; for it does
nothing but pervert God s holy words from their true
meaning, according to their own imaginations, as I have
proved in a Latin treatise.
* The above is the title of a chapter in the Corpus Juris Canonici.
f The right of investiture was the subject of the dispute between
Gregory VII. and Henry IV., which led to the Emperor s sub
mission at Canossa.
| The chapter Soliteis&lso contained in the Corpus Juris Canonici.
198 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
All these excessive, over-presumptuous, and most
wicked claims of the Pope are the invention of the devil,
with the object of bringing in antichrist in due course
and of raising the Pope above God, as indeed many have
done and are now doing. It is not meet that the Pope
should exalt himself above temporal authority, except in
spiritual matters, such as preaching and absolution ; in
other matters he should be subject to it, according to the
teaching of St. Paul (Rom. xiii.) and St. Peter (1 Peter
iii.), as I have said above. He is not the vicar of Christ
in heaven, but only of Christ upon earth. For Christ in
heaven, in the form of a ruler, requires no vicar, but there
sits, sees, does, knows, and commands all things. But
He requires him " in the form of a servant " to represent
Him as He walked upon earth, working, preaching,
suffering, and dying. But they reverse this : they take
from Christ His power as a heavenly Ruler, and give it
to the Pope, and allow " the form of a servant " to be
entirely forgotten (Phil. ii. 7). He should properly be
called the counter-Christ, whom the Scriptures call
antichrist ; for his whole existence, work, and proceedings
are directed against Christ, to ruin and destroy the
existence and will of Christ.
It is also absurd and puerile for the Pope to boast for
such blind, foolish reasons, in his decretal Pastoralis,
that he is the rightful heir to the empire, if the throne
be vacant. Who gave it to him ? Did Christ do so
when He said, " The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them, but ye shall not do so " (Luke xxii.
25, 26) ? Did St. Peter bequeath it to him ? It disgusts
me that we have to read and teach such impudent,
clumsy, foolish lies in the canon law, and, moreover, to
take them for Christian doctrine, while in reality they are
mere devilish lies. Of this kind also is the unheard-of
lie touching the " donation of Constantine." * It must
* In order to legalise the secular power of the Pope, the fiction
was invented during the latter part of the eighth century, that
Constantine the Great had made over to the popes the dominion
over Rome and over the whole of Italy.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 199
have been a plague sent by God that induced so many
wise people to accept such lies, though they are so
OTOSS and clumsy that one would think a drunken boor
could lie more skilfully. How could preaching, prayer,
study, and the care of the poor consist with the govern
ment of the empire ? These are the true offices of the
Pope which Christ imposed with such insistence that J
forbade them to take either coat or scrip (Matt. x. 10),
for he that has to govern a single house can hardly
perform these duties. Yet the Pope wishes to rule an
empire and to remain a pope. This is the invention pt
the knaves that would fain become lords of the world < in
the Pope s name, and set up again the old lloman empire,
as it was formerly, by means of the Pope and name oi
Christ, in its former condition.
10 The Pope must withdraw his hand from the disn,
and on no pretence assume royal authority over Naples
and Sicily. He has no more right to them than I, and yet
claims to be the lord their liege lord. They have been
taken bv force and robbery, like almost all his other pos
sessions. Therefore the Emperor should grant him no
such fief, nor any longer allow him those he has L
direct him instead to his Bibles and Prayer-books, so that
he may leave the government of countries and peoples
to the temporal power, especially of those that no one
has o iven him. Let him rather preach and pray !
same should be done with Bologna, Imola, Vicenza,
Kavenua, and whatever the Pope has taken by force and
holds without right in the Ancontine territory, m the
Komagna, and other parts of Italy, interfering in their
affairs against all the commandments of Christ and bt.
Paul For St. Paul says " that he that would be one ot
the soldiers of heaven must not entangle himself in the
affairs of this life " (2 Tim. ii. 4) . Now the Pope should
be the head and the leader of the soldiers of heaven, and
yet he engages more in worldly matters than any king or
emperor. He should be relieved of his worldly cares and
allowed to attend to his duties as a soldier of heaven.
Christ also, whose vicar he claims to be, would have
200 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
nothing to do with the things of this world, and even
asked one that desired of Him a judgment concerning his
brother, " Who made Me a judge over you ? 5? (St. Luke
xii. 14). But the Pope interferes .in these matters
unasked, and concerns himself with all matters, as
though he were a god, until he himself has forgotten
what this Christ is whose vicar he professes to be.
11. The custom of kissing the Pope s feet must cease.
It is an unchristian, or rather an anti-Christian, example
that a poor sinful man should suffer his feet to be kissed
by one who is a hundred times better than he. If it is
done in honour of his power, why does he not do it to
others in honour of their holiness ? Compare them to
gether : Christ and the Pope. Christ washed His
disciples feet and dried them, and the disciples never
washed His. The Pope, pretending to be higher than
Christ, inverts this, and considers it a great favour to let
us kiss his feet ; whereas, if any one wished to do so, he
ought to do his utmost to prevent him, as St. Paul and
Barnabas would not suffer themselves to be worshipped
as gods by the men at Lystra, saying, " We also are
men of like passions with you" (Acts xiv. 14 seq.). But
our flatterers have brought things to such a pitch that
they have set up an idol for us, until no one regards God
with such fear or honours Him with such marks of
reverence as he does the Pope. This they can suffer, but
not that the Pope s glory should be diminished a single
hair s-breadth. Now if they were Christians and preferred
God s honour to their own, the Pope would never be
pleased to have God s honour despised and his own ex
alted, nor would he allow any to honour him until he found
that God s honour was again exalted above his own.
It is of a piece with this revolting pride that the Pope
is not satisfied with riding on horseback or in a carriage,
but though he be hale and strong, is carried by men like
an idol in unheard-of pomp. My friend, how does this
Lucifer-like pride agree with the example of Christ, who
went on foot, as did also all His Apostles ? Where has
there been a king who has ridden in such worldly pomp as
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 201
he does, who professes to be the head of all whose duty it
is to despise and flee from all worldly pomp I mean, of
all Christians ? Not that this need concern us for his own
sake, but that we have good reason to fear God s wrath,
if we flatter such pride and do not show our discontent.
It is enough that the Pope should be so mad and foolish ;
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lord and have the Sacrament handed to him on a golden
reed by a cardinal bending on his knees before him ?
Just as if the Holy Sacrament were not worthy that a
pope, a-poor miserable sinner, should stand to do honour
to his God, although all other Christians, who are much
more holy than the Most Holy Father, receive it with all
reverence ! Could we be surprised if God visited us all
with a plague for that we suffer such dishonour to be
done to God by our prelates, and approve it, becoming
partners of the Pope s damnable pride by our silence or
flattery ? It is the same when he carries the Sacrament
in procession. He must be carried, but the Sacrament
stands before him like a cup of wine on a table. In
short, at Rome Christ is nothing, the Pope is everything ;
yet they urge us and threaten us, to make us suffer and
approve and honour this anti-Christian scandal, contrary
to God and all Christian doctrine. Now may God so help
* free council that it may teach the Pope that he too is
a man, not above God, as he makes himself out to be.
12. Pilgrimages to Rome must be abolished, or at
least no one must be allowed to go from his own wish or
his own piety, unless his priest, his town magistrate, or
his lord has found that there is sufficient reason for his
pilgrimage. This I say, not because pilgrimages are bad
.,1 *^T 111 ill . J-l 4-T,^.-.^ 1,rt-*/I
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in themselves, but because at the present time they lead
to mischief ; for at Rome a pilgrim sees no good examples,
but only offence. They themselves have made a proverb,
"The nearer to Rome, the farther from Christ," and
accordingly men bring home contempt of God and of
God s commandments. It is said, " The first time one
202 LUTHER S .PRIMARY WORKS
goes to Rome, he goes to seek a rogue ; the second time
he finds him ; the third time he brings him home with
him." But now they have become so skilful that they
can do their three journeys in one, and they have, in fact,
brought home from Rome this saying : " It were better
never to have seen or heard of Rome."
And even if this were not so, there is something of
more importance to be considered ; namely, that simple
men are thus led into a false delusion and a wrong
understanding of God s commandments. For they think
that these pilgrimages are precious and good works ; but
this is not true. It is but a little good work, often a
bad, misleading work, for God has not commanded it.
But He has commanded that each man should care for
his wife and children and whatever concerns the married
state, and should, besides, serve and help his neighbour.
Now it often happens that one goes on a pilgrimage to
Rome, spends fifty or one hundred guilders, more or less,
which no one has commanded him, while his wife and
children, or those dearest to him, are left at home in want
and misery ; and yet he thinks, poor foolish man, to
atone for this disobedience and contempt of God s com
mandments by his self-willed pilgrimage, while he is in
truth misled by idle curiosity or the wiles of the devil.
This the popes have encouraged with their false and
foolish inventions of Golden Years,* by which they have
incited the people, have torn them away from God s
commandments and turned them to their own delusive
proceedings, and set up the very thing that they ought
to have forbidden. But it brought them money and
strengthened their false authority, and therefore it was
allowed to continue, though against God s will and the
salvation of souls.
* The Jubilees, during which plenary indulgences were granted
to those who visited the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at
Rome, were originally celebrated every hundred years and subse
quently every twenty-five years. Those who were unable to go to
Home in person could obtain the plenary indulgences by paying the
expenses of the journey to Rome into the papal treasury.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 203
That this false, misleading belief on the part of simple
Christians may be destroyed, and a true opinion of good
works may again be introduced, all pilgrimages should
be done away with. For there is no good in them, no
commandment, but countless causes of sin and of con
tempt of God s commandments. These pilgrimages are
the reason for there being so many beggars, who commit
numberless villainies, learn to beg without need and get
accustomed to it. Hence arises a vagabond life, besides
other miseries which I cannot dwell on now. If any one
wishes to go on a pilgrimage or to make a vow for a
pilgrimage, he should first inform his priest or the
temporal authorities of the reason, and if it should turn
out that he wishes to do it for the sake of good works,
let this vow and work be just trampled upon by the
priest or the temporal authority as an infernal delusion,
and let them tell him to spend his money and the labour
a pilgrimage would cost on God s commandments and on
a thousandfold better work, namely, on his family and
his poor neighbours. But if he does it out of curiosity,
to see cities and countries, he may be allowed to do so.
If he have vowed it in sickness, let such vows be pro
hibited, and let God s commandments be insisted upon
in contrast to them ; so that a man may be content with
what he vowed in baptism, namely, to keep God s com
mandments. Yet for this once he may be suffered, for
a quiet conscience sake, to keep his silly vow. No one
is content to walk on the broad high-road of God s com
mandments ; every one makes for himself new roads and
new vows, as if he had kept all God s commandments.
13. Now we come to the great crowd that promises
much and performs little. Be not angry, my good sirs ;
I mean well. I have to tell you this bitter and sweet
truth : Let no more mendicant monasteries be built !
God help us ! there are too many as it is. Would to
God they were all abolished, or at least made over to two
or three orders ! It has never done good, it will never do
good, to go wandering about over the country. Therefore
my advice is that ten, or as many as may be required, be
204 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
put together and made into one, which one, sufficiently
provided for, need not beg. Oh ! it is of much more
importance to consider what is necessary for the salvation
of the common people, than what St. Francis, or St.
Dominic, or St. Augustine,* or any other man, laid
down, especially since things have not turned out as
they expected. They should also be relieved from
preaching and confession, unless specially required to
do so by bishops, priests, the congregation, or other
authority. For their preaching and confession has led
to nought but mere hatred and envy between priests and
monks, to the great offence and hindrance of the people,
so that it well deserves to be put a stop to, since its place
may very well be dispensed with. It does not look at all
improbable that the Holy Roman See had its own reasons
for encouraging all this crowd of monks : the Pope per
haps feared that priests and bishops, growing weary of
his tyranny, might become too strong for him, and begin
a reformation unendurable to his Holiness.
Besides this, one should also do away with the sections
and the divisions in the same order which, caused for
little reason and kept up for less, oppose each other with
unspeakable hatred and malice, the result being that
the Christian faith, which is very well able to stand
without their divisions, is lost on both sides, and that a
true Christian life is sought and judged only by outward
rules, works, and practices, from which arise only
hypocrisy and the destruction of souls, as every one can
see for himself. Moreover, the Pope should be forbidden
to institute or to confirm the institution of such new
orders; nay, he should be commanded to abolish several
and to lessen their number. For the faith of Christ,
which alone is the important matter, and can stand
without any particular order, incurs no little danger lest
men should be led away by these diverse works and
manners rather to live for such works and practices than
* The above-mentioned saints were the patrons of the well-known
mendicant orders : Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustines.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBIL22Y 205
to care for faith ; and unless there are wise prelates in
the monasteries, who preach and urge faith rather than
the rule of the order, it is inevitable that the order should
be injurious and misleading to simple souls, who have
regard to works alone.
Now, in our own time all the prelates are dead that
had faith and founded orders, just as it was in old days
with the children of Israel : when their fathers were dead,
that had seen God s works and miracles, their children,
out of ignorance of God s work and of faith, soon began
to set up idolatry and their own human works. In the
same way, alas ! these orders, not understanding God s
works and faith, grievously labour and torment themselves
by their own laws and practices, and yet never arrive at a
true understanding of a spiritual and good life, as was
foretold by the Apostle, saying of them, " Having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof, . . . ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge " of
what a true spiritual life is (2 Tim. iii. 2-7). Better to
have no convents which are governed by a a spiritual
prelate, having no understanding of Christian faith to
govern them ; for such a prelate cannot but rule with
injury and harm, and the greater the apparent holiness of
his life in external works, the greater the harm.
It would be, I think, necessary, especially in these
perilous times, that foundations and convents should
again be organised as they were in the time of the
Apostles and a long time after, namely when they were
all free for every man to remain there as long as he
wished. For what were they but Christian schools, in
which the Scriptures and Christian life were taught, and
where folk were trained to govern and to preach ? as we
read that St. Agnes went to school, and as we see even
now in some nunneries, as at Quedlinburg and other
places. Truly all foundations and convents ought to be
free in this way: that they may serve God of a free will,
and not as slaves. But now they have been bound round
with vows and turned into eternal prisons, so that these
vows are regarded even more than the vows of baptism.^
206 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
But what fruit has come of this we daily see, hear, read,
and learn more and more.
I daresay that this my counsel will be thought very
foolish, but I care not for this. I advise what^ I think
best, reject it who will. I know how these vows are
kept, especially that of chastity, which is so general in a]]
these convents,* and yet was not ordered by Christ, and : : t
is given to comparatively few to be able to keep it, as He
says, and St. Paul also (Col. ii. 20). I wish all to be
helped, and that Christian souls should not be held in
bondage, through customs and laws invented by men
14. We see also how the priesthood is fallen, and how
many a poor priest is encumbered with a woman and
children and burdened in his conscience, and no one does
anything to help him, though he might very well be
helped. Popes and bishops may let that be lost that is
being lost, and that be destroyed which is being destroyed,
I will save my conscience and open my mouth freely, let
it vex popes and bishops or whoever it may be ; therefore
I say, According to the ordinances of Christ and His
Apostles, every town should have a minister or bishop, as
St. Paul plainly says (Titus i.), and this minister should
not be forced to live without a lawful wife, but should be
allowed to have one, as St. Paul writes, saying that
" a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
one wife, . . . having his children in subjection with all
gravity " (1 Tim. iii.). For with St. Paul a bishop and a
presbyter are the same thing, as St. Jerome also con
firms. But as for the bishops that we now have, of these
the Scriptures know nothing ; they were instituted by
common Christian ordinance, so that one might rule over
many ministers.
Therefore we learn from the Apostle clearly, that
every town should elect a pious learned citizen from
the congregation and charge him with the office of
* Luther alludes here of course to the vow of celibacy, which
was curiously styled the vow of chastity ; thus indirectly con
demning marriage in general.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 207
minister ; the congregation should support him, and he
should be left at liberty to marry or not. He should
have as assistants several priests and deacons, married
or not, as they please, who should help him to govern
the people and the congregation with sermons and the
ministration of the sacraments, as is still the case in the
Greek Church. Then afterwards, when there were so
many persecutions and contentions against heretics, there
were many holy fathers who voluntarily abstained from
the marriage state, that they might study more, and
might be ready at all times for death and conflict. Now
the Eoman see has interfered of its own perversity, and
has made a general law by which priests are forbidden
to marry. This must have been at the instigation of the
devil, as was foretold by St. Paul, saying that " there
shall come teachers giving heed to seducing spirits, . . .
forbidding to marry," etc. (1 Tim. iv. 1, 2, seq.). This
has been the cause of so much misery that it cannot be
told, and has given occasion to the Greek Church to
separate from us, and has caused infinite disunion, sin,
shame, and scandal, like everything that the devil does
or suggests. Now what are we to do ?
My advice is to restore liberty, and to leave every
man free to marry or not to marry. But if we did this
we should have to introduce a very different rule and
order for property ; the whole canon law would be over
thrown, and but few benefices would fall to Rome. I
am afraid greed was a cause of this wretched, unchaste
chastity, for the result of it was that every man wished
to become a priest or to have his son brought up to the
priesthood, not with the intention of living in chastity
for this could be done without the priestly state but to
obtain his worldly support without labour or trouble,
contrary to God s command, " In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat thy bread" (Gen. iii.) ; and they have
given a colour to this commandment as though their
work was praying and reading the mass. I am not here
considering popes, bishops, canons, clergy, and monks
who were not ordained by God ; if they have laid burdens
208 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
on themselves, they may bear them. I speak of the
office of parish priest, which God ordained, who must
rule a congregation with sermons and the ministration
of the sacraments, and must live with them and lead
a domestic life. These should have the liberty given
them by a Christian council to marry and to avoid
danger and sin. For as God has not bound them, no
one may bind them, though he were an angel from
heaven, let alone the Pope ; and whatever is contrary
to this in the canon law is mere idle talk and invention.
My advice further is, whoever henceforth is ordained
priest, he should in no wise take the vow of chastity, but
should protest to the bishop that he has no authority to
demand this vow, and that it is a devilish tyranny to
demand it. But if one is forced, or wishes to say, as
some do, " so far as human frailty permits," let every
man interpret that phrase as a plain negative, that is,
" I do not promise chastity "; for " human frailty does not
allow men to live an unmarried life," but only " angelic
fortitude and celestial virtue." In this way he will have
a clear conscience without any vow. I offer no opinion,
one way or the other, whether those who have at present
no wife should marry, or remain unmarried. This must
be settled by the general order of the Church and by
each man s discretion. But I will not conceal my honest
counsel, nor withhold comfort from that unhappy
crowd who now live in trouble with wife and children,
and remain in shame, with a heavy conscience, hearing
their wife called a priest s harlot, and the children
bastards. And this I say frankly, in virtue of my good
right.
There is many a poor priest free from blame in all
other respects, except that he has succumbed to human
frailty and come to shame with a woman, both minded in
their hearts to live together always in conjugal fidelity,
if only they could do so with a good conscience, though
as it is they live in public shame. I say, these two are
surely married before God. I say, moreover, that when
two are so minded, and so come to live together, they
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 209
should save their conscience ; let the man take the
woman as his lawful wife, and live with her faithfully
as her husband, without considering whether the Pope
approve or not, or whether it is forbidden by canon law,
or temporal. The salvation of your soul is of more
importance than their tyrannous, arbitrary, wicked laws,
which are not necessary for salvation, nor ordained by
God. You should do as the children of Israel did who
stole from the Egyptians the wages they had earned, or
as a servant steals his well-earned wages from a harsh
master ; in the same way do you also steal your wife and
child from the Pope.
Let him who has faith enough to dare this only follow
me courageously : 1 will not mislead him. I may not
have the Pope s authority, yet I have the authority of a
Christian to help my neighbour and to warn him against
his sins and dangers. And here there is good reason for
doing so.
(a) It is not every priest that can do without a woman,
^not only on account of human frailty, but still more for
his household. If therefore he takes a woman, and the
Pope allows this, but will not let them marry, what is
this but expecting a man and a woman to live together
and not to fall ? Just as if one were to set fire to straw,
and command it should neither smoke nor burn.
(b) The Pope having no authority for such a command,
any more than to forbid a man to eat and drink, or to
digest, or to grow fat, no one is bound to obey it, and the
Pope is answerable for every sin against it, for all the
souls that it has brought to destruction, and for all the
consciences that have been troubled and tormented by
it. He has long deserved to be driven out of the world,
so many poor souls has he strangled with this devil s
rope, though I hope that God has shown many more
mercy at their death than the Pope did in their life. No
good has ever come and can ever come from the papacy
and its laws.
(c) Even though the Pope s laws forbid it, still, after
the married state has been entered, the Pope s laws are
14
210 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
superseded, and are valid no longer, for God has com
manded that no man shall pat asunder husband and wife,
and this commandment is far above the Pope s laws, and
God s command must not be cancelled or neglected for
the papal commands. It is true that mad lawyers have
helped the Pope to invent impediments or hindrances to
marriage, and thus troubled, divided, and perverted the
married state, destroying the commandments of God.
What need I say further ? In the whole body of the
Pope s canon law, there are not two lines that can instruct
a pious Christian, and so many false and dangerous ones
that it were better to burn it.
But if you object that this would give offence, and
that one must first obtain the Pope s dispensation, I
answer that if there is any offence in it, it is the fault of
the see of Rome, which has made unjust and unholy
laws. It is no offence to God and the Scriptures. Even
where the Pope has power to grant dispensation for
money by his covetous tyrannical laws, every Christian
has power to grant dispensation in the same matter for
the sake of Christ and the salvation of souls. For Christ
has freed us from all human laws, especially when they
are opposed to God and the salvation of souls, as St. Paul
teaches (Gal. v. 1 and 1 Cor. viii. 9, 10).
15. I must not forget the poor convents. The evil
spirit, who has troubled all estates of life by human laws,
and made them unendurable, has taken possession of
some abbots, abbesses, and prelates,- and led them so
to rule their brothers and sisters that they do but go
soon to hell, and live a wretched life even upon earth,
as is the case with all the devil s martyrs. For they
have reserved in confession all, or at least some, deadly
sins, which are secret, and from these no brother may
on pain of excommunication and on his obedience absolve
another. Now we do not always find angels everywhere,
but men of flesh and blood, who would rather incur all
excommunication and menace than confess their secret
sins to a prelate or the confessor appointed for them \
consequently they receive the Sacrament with these sins
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY
on their conscience, by which they become irregular*
and suffer much misery. Oh blind shepherds! Oh
foolish prelates 1 Oh ravenous wolves ! Now I _ say
that in cases where a sin is public and notorious it is
onlv ri<>-ht that the prelate alone should punish it, and
such sins, and no others, he may reserve and except lor
himself; over private sins he has no authority, even
thouo-h they may be the worst that can be committed or
imagined. And if the prelate excepts these, he becomes
a tyrant and interferes with God s judgment.
Accordingly I advise these children, brothers and
sisters: If your superiors will not allow you to confess
your secret sins to whomsoever you will, then take them
yourself, and confess them to your brother or sister, to
whomsoever you will ; be absolved and comforted, and
then go or do what your wish or duty commands ; only
believe firmly that you have been absolved, and nothing
more is necessary. And let not their threats of excom
munication, or irregularity, or what not, trouble or disturb
you ; these only apply to public or notorious sins, if they
are not confessed : you are not touched by them. How
canst thou take upon thyself, thou blind prelate, to
restrain private sins by thy threats ? Give up what thou
canst not keep publicly ; let God s judgment and mercy
also have its place with thy inferiors. He has not given
them into thy hands so completely as to have let them
go out of His own ; nay, thou hast received the smaller
portion. Consider thy statutes as nothing more than thy
statutes, and do not make them equal to God s judgment
in heaven.
16. It were also right to abolish annual festivals, pro
cessions, and masses for the dead, or at least to diminish
their number ; for we evidently see that they have
become no better than a mockery, exciting the anger of
God and having no object but money-getting, gluttony, and
* Luther uses the expression irregulares, which was applied to
those monks who were guilty of heresy, apostacy, transgression of
the vow of chastity, etc.
LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
carousals. How should it please God to hear the poor
vigils and masses mumbled in this wretched way, neither
read nor prayed ? Even when they are properly read, it
is not done freely for the love of God, but for the love of
money and as payment of a debt. Now it is impossible
that anything should please God or win anything from
Him that is not done freely, out of love for Him. There-
fore, as true Christians, we ought to abolish or lessen a
practice that we see is abused, and that angers God
instead of appeasing Him. I should prefer, and it would
be more agreeable to God s will, and far better for a
foundation, charch, or convent, to put all the yearly
masses and vigils together into one mass, so that they
would every year celebrate, on one day, a true vigil and
mass with hearty sincerity, devotion, and faith for all
their benefactors. This would be better than their
thousand upon thousand masses said every year, each
for a particular benefactor, without devotion and faith.
My dear fellow-Christians, God cares not for much
prayer, but for good prayer. Nay, He condemns lono-
and frequent prayers, saying, " Verily I say unto you,
they have their reward " (Matt. vi. 2, seq.). But it is
the greed that cannot trust God by which such practices
are set up ; it is afraid it will die of starvation.
11. One should also abolish certain punishments in
flicted by the canon law, especially the interdict, which
is doubtless the invention of the evil one. Is it not the
mark of the devil to wish to better one sin by more and
worse sins ? It is surely a greater sin to silence God s
word and service, than if we were to kill twenty popes
at once, not to speak of a single priest or of keeping
back the goods of the Church. This is one of those
gentle virtues which are learnt in the spiritual law ; for
the canon or spiritual law is so called because it comes
from a spirit, not, however, from the Holy Spirit, but
from the evil spirit.
Excommunication should not be used except where
the Scriptures command it, that is, against those that
have not the right faith, or that live in open sin, and not
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 213
in matters of temporal goods. .But now the case has
been inverted : each man believes and lives as he pleases,
especially those that plunder arid disgrace others with
excommunications ; and all excommunications are now
only in matters of worldly goods, for which we have
no one to thank but the holy canonical injustice. But of
all this I have spoken previously in a sermon.
all these should be buried ten fathoms deep in the earth,
that their very name and memory may no longer live
upon earth. The evil spirit, who was let loose by the
spiritual law, lias brought all this terrible plague arid
misery into the heavenly kingdom of the holy Church,
and has thereby brought about nothing but the harm
and destruction of souls, that we may well apply to it
the words of Christ, " But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for you shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men, for ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in"
(Matt, xxiii. 13).
18. One should abolish all saints days, keeping only
Sunday. But if it were desired to keep the festivals of
Our Lady and the greater saints, they should all be held
on Sundays, or only in the morning with the mass ; the
rest of the day being a working day. My reason is this :
with our present abuses of drinking, gambling, idling,
and all manner of sin, we vex God more on holy days
than on others. And the matter is just reversed ; we
have made holy days unholy, and working days holy,
and do no service, but great dishonour, to God and His
si hits with all our holy days. There are some foolish
prelates that think they have done a good deed, if they
establish a festival to St. Otilia or St. Barbara, and the
* Luther enumerates here the various grades of punishment
inflicted on priests. The ayyraratwn consisted of a threat of ex
communication after a thrice-repeated admonition, whilst the
consequence of re.ayyraratioii was immediate excommunication.
2i 4 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
like, each in his own blind fashion, whilst he would be
doing a much better work to turn a saint s day into a
working day, in honour of a saint.
Besides these spiritual evils, these saints days inflict
bodily injury on the common man in two ways : he loses
a day s work, and he spends more than usual, besides
weakening his body and making himself unfit for labour,
as we see every day, and yet no one tries to improve it.
One should not consider whether the Pope instituted
these festivals, or whether we require his dispensation
or permission. If anything is contrary to God s will and
harmful to men in body and soul, not only has every
community, council, or government authority to prevent
and abolish such wrong without the knowledge or consent
of pope or bishop, but it is their duty, as they value
their soul s salvation, to prevent it, even though pope
and bishop (that should be the first to do so) are un
willing to see it stopped. And first of all we should
abolish church wakes, since they are nothing but taverns,
fairs, and gaming places, to the greater dishonour of God
and the damnation of souls. It is no good to make a
talk about their having had a good origin and being good
works. Did not God set aside His own law that He had
given forth out of heaven when He saw that it was
abused, and does He not now reverse every day what
He has appointed, and destroy what He has made, on
account of the same perverse misuse, as it is written in
Psalm xviii. (ver. 26), " With the fro ward Thou wilt
show Thyself froward " ?
19. The degrees of relationship in which marriage is
forbidden must be altered, such as so-called spiritual
relations * in the third and fourth degrees ; and where
the Pope at Home can dispense in such matters for
money, and make shameful bargains, every priest should
have the power of granting the same dispensations freely
for the salvation of souls. Would to God that all those
* Those, namely, between sponsors at baptism and their god
children.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 215
things that have to be bought at Rome, for freedom from
the golden snares of the canon law, might be given by
any priest without payment, snch as indulgences, letters
of indulgences, letters of dispensation, mass letters, and
all the other religions licences and knaveries at Rome by
which the poor people are deceived and robbed ! For if
the Pope has the power to sell for money his golden
snares, or canon nets (laws, I should say), much more
has a priest the power to cancel them and to trample
on them for God s sake. But if he has no such power,
then the Pope can have no authority to sell them in his
shameful fair.
Besides this, fasts must be made optional, and every
kind of food made free, as is commanded in the Gospels
(Matt, xv. 11). For whilst at Rome they laugh at fasts,
they let us abroad consume oil which they would not think
fit for greasing their boots, and then sell us the liberty
of eating butter and other things, whereas the Apostle
says that the Gospel has given us freedom in all such
matters (1 Cor^x. 25, seq.}. But they have caught us in
their canon W and have robbed us of this right, so that
we have to buy it back from them; they have so terrified
the consciences of the people that one cannot preach
this liberty without rousing the anger of the people, who
think the eating of butter to be a worse sin than lying,
swearing, and unchastity. We may make of it what we
will ; it is but the work of man, and no good can ever
come of it.
20. The country chapels and churches must be destroyed,
such as those to " which the new pilgrimages have been
set on foot : Wilsnack, Sternberg, Treves, the Grimmen-
thal, and now Ratisbon, and many others. Oh, what a
reckoning there will be for those bishops that allow
these inventions of the devil and make a profit out of
them ! They should be the first to stop it ; they think
that it is a godly, holy thing, and do not see that the
devil does this to strengthen covetousness, to teach false
beliefs, to weaken parish churches, to increase drunken
ness and debauchery, to waste money and labour, and
216 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
simply to lead the poor people by the nose. If they had
only studied the Scriptures as much as their accursed
canon law, they would know well how to deal with the
matter.
The miracles performed there prove nothing, for the
evil one can also show wonders, as Christ has taught
us (Matt. xxiv. 24). If they took up the matter ear
nestly and forbade such doings, the miracles would soon
cease ; or if they were done by God, they would not be
prevented by their commands. And if there were nothing
else to prove that these are not works of God, it would
be enough that people go about turbulently and irration
ally like herds of cattle, which could not possibly come
from God. God has not commanded it ; there is no
obedience, and no merit in it ; and therefore it should be
vigorously interfered with, and the people warned against
it. For what is not commanded by God and goes beyond
God s commandments is surely the devil s own work.
In this way also the parish churches suffer : in that they
are less venerated. In fine, these pilgrimages are signs
of great want of faith in the people ; for if they truly
believed, they would find all things in their own churches,
where they are commanded to go.
But what is the use of my speaking ? Every man
thinks only how he may get up such a pilgrimage in his
own district, not caring whether the people believe and
live rightly. The rulers are like the people : blind
leaders of the blind. Where pilgrimages are a failure,
they begin to glorify their saints, not to honour the
saints, who are sufficiently honoured without them, but to
cause a concourse, and to bring in money. Herein pope
and bishops help them ; it rains indulgences, and every
one can afford to buy them : but what God has com
manded no one cares for ; no one runs after it, no one
can afford any money for it, Alas for our blindness,
that we not only suffer the devil to have his way with
his phantoms, but support him ! I wish one would leave
the good saints alone, and not lead the poor people astray.
What spirit gave the Pope authority to " glorify " the
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 217
saints ? Who tells him whether they are holy or not
holy ? Are there not enough sins on earth as it is but
we must tempt (foci, interfere in His judgment, and
make money-bags of His saints ? Therefore my advice
is to let the saints glorify themselves. Nay, God alone
should be glorified, and every man should keep to his
own parish, where he will profit more than in all
these shrines, even if they were all put together into one
shrine. Here a man finds baptism, the Sacrament,
preaching, and his neighbour, and these are more than
all the saints in heaven, for it is by God s word and
sacrament that they have all been hallowed.
Our contempt for these great matters justifies God s
anger in giving us over to the devil to lead us astray, to
get up pilgrimages, to found churches and chapels, to
glorify the saints, and to commit other like follies, by
which we are led astray from the true faith into new
false beliefs, just as He did in old time with the people
of Israel, whom He led away from the Temple to countless
other places, all the while in God s name, and with the
appearance of holiness, against which all the prophets
preached, suffering martyrdom for their words. But now
no one preaches against it ; for if he did, bishops,
popes, priests, and monks would perchance combine to
martyr him. In this way Antonius of Florence and
many others are made saints, so that their holiness may
serve to produce glory and wealth, which served before
to the honour of God and as a good example alone.
Even if this glorification of the saints had been good
once, it is not good now, just as many other things were
good once and are now occasion of offence and injurious,
such as holidays, ecclesiastical treasures and ornaments.
For it is evident that what is aimed at in the glorification
of saints is not the glory of God nor the bettering of
Christendom, but money and fame alone ; one Church
wishes to have an advantage over another, and would be
sorry to see another Church enjoying the same advantages.
In this way they have in these latter days abused the
goods of the Church so as to gain the goods of the world;
2i8 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
so that everything, and even God Himself, must serve
their avarice. Moreover, these privileges cause nothing
but dissensions and worldly pride ; one Church being
different from the rest, they despise or magnify one
another, whereas all goods that are of God should be
common to all, and should serve to produce unity. This,
too, is much liked by the Pope, who would be sorry to
see all Christians equal and at one with one another.
Here must be added that one should abolish, or treat
as of no account, or give to all Churches alike, the
licences, bulls, and whatever the Pope sells at his flaying-
ground at Rome. For if he sells or gives to Wittenberg,
to Halle, to Venice, and, above all, to his own city of
Rome, special permissions, privileges, indulgences, graces,
advantages, faculties, why does he not give them to all
Churches alike ? Is it not his duty to do all that he can
for all Christians without reward, solely for God s sake,
nay, even to shed his blood for them? Why then, I
should like to know, does he give or sell these things to
one Church and not to another ? Or does this accursed
gold make a difference in his Holiness s eyes between
Christians who all alike have baptism, Gospel, faith, Christ,
God, and all things ? Do they wish us to be blind, when
our eyes can see, to be fools, when we have reason, that we
should worship this greed, knavery, and delusion ? He
is a shepherd, forsooth so long as you have money, no
further ; and yet they are not ashamed to practise all
this knavery right and left with their bulls. They care
only for that accursed gold, and for nought besides.
Therefore my advice is this : If this folly is not done
away with, let all pious Christians open their eyes, and
not be deceived by these Romish bulls and seals and all
their specious pretences ; let them stop at home in their
own churches, and be satisfied with their baptism, Gospel,
faith, Christ, and God (who is everywhere the same),
and let the Pope continue to be a blind leader of the
blind. Neither pope nor angel can give you as much as
God gives you in your own parish ; nay, he only leads
you away from God s gifts, which you have for nothing,
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 219
to his own gifts, which you must buy, giving you lead
for gold, skin for meat, strings for a purse, wax for
honey, words for goods, the letter for the spirit, as you
can see for yourselves though you will not perceive it.
If you try to ride to heaven on the Pope s wax and parch
ment, your carriage will soon break down, and you will
fall into hell, not in God s name.
Let this be a fixed rule for you : Whatever has to be
bought of the Pope is neither good, nor of God. For
whatever comes from God is not only given freely, but
all the world is punished and condemned for not accepting
it freely. So is it with the Gospel and the works of God.
We have deserved to be led into these errors, because we
have despised God s holy word and the grace of baptism,
as St. Paul says, "And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness " (2 Thess. ii.
21. It is one of the most urgent necessities to abolish
all begging in Christendom. No one should go about
begging among Christians. It would not be hard to do
this, if we attempted it with good heart and courage :
each town should support its own poor and should not
allow strange beggars to come in, whatever they may
call themselves, pilgrims or mendicant monks. Every
town could feed its own poor ; and if it were too small,
the people in the neighbouring villages should be called
upon to contribute. As it is, they have to support many
knaves and vagabonds under the name of beggars. If
they did what I propose, they would at least know who
were really poor or not.
There should also be an overseer or guardian who
should know all the poor, and should inform the town-
council, or the priest, of their requirements ; or some
other similar provision might be made. There is no
occupation, in my opinion, in which there is so much
knavery and cheating as among beggars ; which could
easily be done away with. This general, unrestricted
220 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
begging is, besides, injurious for the common people. I
estimate that of the five or six orders of mendicant monks
each one visits every place more than six or seven times
in _the year ; then there are the common beggars,
emissaries, and pilgrims ; in this way I calculate every
city has a blackmail levied on it about sixty times
a year, not counting rates and taxes paid to the civil
government and the useless robberies of the Roman see ;
so^ that it is to my mind one of the greatest of God s
miracles how we manage to live and support ourselves.
Some may think that in this way the poor would not
be well cared for, and that such great stone houses and
convents would not be built, and not so plentifully, and
I think so too. Nor is it necessary. If a man will be
poor, he should not be rich ; if he will be rich, let him
put his hand to the plough, and get wealth himself
out of the earth. It is enough to provide decently
for the poor, that they may not die of cold and hunger.
It is not right that one should work that another
may be idle, and live ill that another may live well,
as is now the perverse abuse, for St. Paul says, " If any
would not work, neither should he eat " (2 Thess. iii. 10).
God has not ordained that any one should live of the
goods of others, except priests and ministers alone, as
St. Paul says (1 Cor. ix. 14), for their spiritual work s
sake, as also Christ says to the Apostles, " The labourer
is worthy of his hire " (Luke x. 7).
22. It is also to be feared that the many masses that
have been founded in convents and foundations, instead
of doing any good, arouse God s anger ; wherefore it
would be well to endow no more masses and to abolish
many of those that have been endowed ; for we see that
they are only looked upon as sacrifices and good works,
though in truth they are sacraments like baptism and
confession, and as such profit him only that receives
them. But now the custom obtains of saying masses for
the living and the dead, and everything is based upon
them. This is the reason why there are so many, and
that they have come to be what we see.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 221
But perhaps all this is a new and unheard-of doctrine,
especially in the eyes of those that fear to lose their
livelihood, if these masses were abolished. I must
therefore reserve what I have to say on this subject until
men have arrived at a truer understanding of the mass,
its nature and use. The mass has, alas ! for so many
years been turned into means of gaining a livelihood,
that I should advise a man to become a shepherd, a
labourer, rather than a priest or monk, unless he knows
what the mass is.
All this, however, does not apply to the old foundations
and chapters, which were doubtless founded in order
that since, according to the custom of Germany, all the
children of nobles cannot be landowners and rulers, they
should be provided for in these foundations, and these
serve God freely, study, and become learned themselves,
and help others to acquire learning. I am speaking
only of the new foundations, endowed for prayers and
masses, by the example of which the old foundations
have become burdened with the like prayers and masses,
making them of very little, if of any, use. Through
God s righteous punishment, they have at last come down
to the dregs, as they deserve that is, to the noise of
singers and organs, and cold, spiritless masses, with no
end but to gain and spend the money due to them.
Popes, bishops, and doctors should examine and report
on such things ; as it is they are the guiltiest, allowing
anything that brings them money ; the blind ever leading
the blind. This comes of covetousness and the canon
law.
It must, moreover, not be allowed in future that one
man should have more than one endowment or prebend.
He should be content with a moderate position in life,
so that others may have something besides himself ; and
thus we must put a stop to the excuses of those that say
that they must have more than one office to enable them
to live in their proper station. It is possible to estimate
one s "proper station" in such a way that _ a whole
kingdom would not suffice to maintain it. So it is that
222 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
covetonsness and want of faith in God go hand in hand,
and often men take for the requirements of their "proper
station" what is mere covetousness and want of faith.
23. As for the fraternities, together with indulgences,
letters of indulgence, dispensations for Lent, and masses,
and all the rest of such things, let them all be drowned
and abolished ; there is no good in them at all. If the
Pope has the authority to grant dispensation in the
matter of eating butter and hearing masses, let him
allow priests to do the same ; he has no right to take
the power from them. I speak also of the fraternities
in which indulgences, masses, and good works are dis
tributed. My friend, in baptism you joined a fraternity
of which Christ, the angels, the saints, and all Christians
are members ; be true to this, and satisfy it, and you
will have fraternities enough. Let others make what
show they wish ; they are as counters compared to coins.
But if there were a fraternity that subscribed money to
feed the poor or to help others in any way, this would
be good, and it would have its indulgence and its
deserts in heaven. But now they are good for nothing
but gluttony and drunkenness.
First of all we should expel from all German lands
the Pope s legates, with their faculties, which they sell
to us for much money, though it is all knavery as, for
instance, their taking money for making goods unlawfully
acquired to be good, for freeing from oaths, vows, and
bonds, thus destroying and teaching others to destroy
truth and faith mutually pledged, saying the Pope has
authority to do so. It is the evil spirit that bids them
talk thus, and so they sell us the devil s teaching, and
take money for teaching us sins and leading us to hell.
If there were nothing else to show that the Pope is
antichrist, this would be enough. Dost thou hear this,
Pope! not the most holy, but the most sinful ? Would
that God would hurl thy chair headlong from heaven,
and cast it down into the abyss of hell ! Who gave you
the power to exalt } T ourself above your God ; to break
and to loose what He has commanded; to teach Christians,
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 223
more especially Germans, who are of noble nature, and
are famed in all histories for uprightness and truth, to
be false, unfaithful, perjured, treacherous, and wicked?
God has commanded to keep faith and observe oaths
even with enemies ; you dare to cancel this command,
laying it down in your heretical, anti-Christian decretals
that you have power to do so ; and through your mouth
and your pen Satan lies as he never lied before, teaching
von to twist and pervert the Scriptures according to your
own arbitrary will. Lord Christ, look down upon
this ; let Thy day of judgment come and destroy the
devil s lair at Rome. Behold him of whom St. Paul
spoke (2 Thess. ii. 3, 4) that he should exalt himself
above Thee and sit in Thy Church, showing himself as
God the man of sin and the child of damnation. What
else does the Pope s power do but teach and strengthen
sin and wickedness, leading souls to damnation in Thy
name ?
The children of Israel in old times were obliged to
keep the oath that they had sworn, in ignorance and
error, to the Gibeonites, their enemies ; and King
Zedekiah was destroyed utterly, with his people, because
he broke the oath that he had sworn to the King of
Babylon ; and among us, a hundred years ago, the noble
King Ladislaus V. of Poland and Hungary was slain by
the Turk, with so many of his people, because he allowed
himself to be misled by papal legates and cardinals and
broke the good and useful treaty that he had made with
the Turk. The pious Emperor Sigismond had no good
fortune after the Council of Constance, in which he
allowed the knaves to violate the safe-conduct that he
had promised to John Huss and Jerome ; from this has
followed all the miserable strife between Bohemia and
ourselves. And in our own time, God help us ! ^how
much Christian blood has been shed on account of the
oath and bond which Pope Julius made and unmade
between the Emperor Maximilian and King Louis of
France ! How can I tell all the misery the popes have
caused bv such devilish insolence, claiming the power
224 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
of breaking oaths between great lords, causing a shameful
scandal for the sake of money? I hope the day of
judgment is at hand ; things cannot and will not become
worse than the dealings of the Roman chair. The Pope
treads God s commandments under foot and exalts his
own ; if this is not antichrist, I do not know what is.
But of this, arid to more purpose, another time.
24. It is high time to take up earnestly and truthfully
the cause of the Bohemians, to unite them with ourselves
and ourselves with them, so that all mutual accusations,
envy, and hatred may cease. I will be the first, in my
folly, to give my opinion, with all due deference to those
of better understanding.
First of all, we must honestly confess the truth, with
out attempting self-justification, and own one thing to
the Bohemians, namely that John Huss and Jerome of
Prague were burnt at Constance in violation of the papal,
Christian, and imperial oath and safe-conduct, and that
thus God s commandment was broken and the Bohemians
excited to great anger. And though they may have
deserved such great wrong and disobedience to God on
our part, they were not obliged to approve it and think it
right. Nay, even now they should ran any danger of life
and limb rather than own that it is right to break an
imperial, papal, Christian safe-conduct and act faithlessly
in opposition to it. Therefore, though the Bohemians
may be to blame for their impatience, yet the Pope and
his followers are most to blame for all the misery, all
the error and destruction of souls, that followed this
council of Constance.
It is not my intention here to judge John Huss s belief
and to defend his errors, although my understanding has
not been able to find any error in him, and I would
willingly believe that men who violated a safe-conduct
and God s commandment (doubtless possessed rather by
the evil spirit than by the Spirit of God) were unable
to judge well or to condemn with truth. No one can
imagine that the Holy Ghost can break God s com
mandments ; no one can deny that it is breaking God s
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 225
commandments to violate faith and a safe-conduct, even
though it were promised to the devil himself, much more
then in the case of a heretic ; it is also notorious that
a safe-conduct was promised to John Huss and the
Bohemians, and that the promise was broken and Huss
was burnt. I have no wish to make a saint or a martyr
of John Huss (as some Bohemians do), though I own
that he was treated unjustly, and that his books and his
doctrines were wrongfully condemned ; for God s judg
ments are inscrutable and terrible, and none but Himself
may reveal or explain them.
All I say is this : Granting he was a heretic, however
bad he may have been, yet he was burnt unjustly and in
violation of God s commandments, and we must not
force the Bohemians to approve this, if we wish ever
to be at one with them. Plain truth must unite us, not
obstinacy. It is no use to say, as they said at the time,
that a safe-conduct need not be kept, if promised to a
heretic ; that is as much as to say, one may break God s
commandments in order to keep God s commandments.
They were infatuated and blinded by the devil, that they
could not see what they said or did. God has commanded
us to observe a safe-conduct; and this we must do though
the world should perish: much more then where it is only
a question of a heretic being set free. We should overcome
heretics with books, not with fire, as the old Fathers did.
If there were any skill in overcoming heretics with fire,
the executioner would be the most learned doctor in the
world ; and there would be no need to study, but he that
could get another into his power could burn him.
Besides this, the Emperor and the princes should send
to Bohemia several pious, learned bishops and doctors,
but, for their life, no cardinal or legate or inquisitor,
for such people are far too unlearned in all Christian
matters, and do not seek the salvation of souls ; but, like
all the papal hypocrites, they seek only their own glory,
profit, and honour ; they were also the leaders in that
calamitous affair at Constance. But those envoys should
inquire into the faith of the Bohemians, to ascertain
10
226 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
whether it would be possible to unite all their sects into
one. Moreover, the Pope should (for their souls sake) for
a time abandon his supremacy and, in accordance with
the statutes of the Nicene Council, allow the Bohemians
to choose for themselves an archbishop of Prague, this
choice to be confirmed by the Bishops of Olmiitz in
Moravia or of Gran in Hungary, or the Bishop of Gnesen
in Poland, or the Bishop of Magdeburg in Germany. It
is enough that it be confirmed by one or two of these
bishops, as in the time of St. Cyprian. And the Pope
has no authority to forbid it ; if he forbids it, he acts as
a wolf and a tyrant, and no one should obey him, but
answer his excommunication by excommunicating him.
Yet if, for the honour of the chair of St. Peter, any one
prefers to do this with the Pope s knowledge, I do not
object, provided that the Bohemians do not pay a farthing
for it, and that the Pope do not bind them a single hair s-
breadth, or subject them to his tyranny by oath, as he
does all other bishops, against God and justice. If he is
not satisfied with the honour of his assent being asked,
leave him alone, by all means, witli his own rights, laws,
and tyrannies ; be content with the election, and let the
blood of all the souls that are in danger be upon his head.
For no man may countenance wrong, and it is enough
to show respect to tyranny. If we cannot do otherwise,
we may consider the popular election and consent as
equal to a tyrannical confirmation ; but I hope this will
not be necessary. Sooner or later some Romans, or pious
bishops and learned men, must perceive arid avert the
Pope s tyranny.
I do not advise that they be forced to abandon the
Sacrament in both kinds, for it is neither unchristian nor
heretical. They should be allowed to continue in their
present way ; but the new bishop must see that there be
no dissensions about this matter, and they must learn
that neither practice is actually wrong, just as there
need be no disputes about the priests not wearing the
same dress as the laity. In the same way, if they do not
wish to submit to the canon laws of the Roman Church,
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 227
we must not force them, but we must content ourselves
with seeing that they live in faith and according to the
Scriptures. For Christian life and Christian faith may
very well exist without the Pope s unbearable laws; nay,
they cannot well exist until there are fewer of those laws
or none. Our baptism has freed us and made us subject
to God s word alone ; why then should we suffer a man to
make us the slaves of his words ? As St. Paul says,
" Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage" (Gal. v. 1).
If I knew that the only error of the Hussites* was that
they believe that in the Sacrament of the altar there is
true bread and wine, though under it the body and the
blood of Christ if, I say, this were their only error, I
should not condemn them ; but let the Bishop of Prague
see to this. For it is not an article of faith that in the
Sacrament there is no bread and wine in substance and
nature, which is a delusion of St. Thomas and the Pope ;
but it is an article of faith that in the natural bread and
wine there is Christ s true flesh and blood. We should
accordingly tolerate the views of both parties until they
are at one ; for there is not much danger whether you believe
there is or there is not bread in the Sacrament. For we
have to suffer many forms of belief and order that do not
injure the faith ; but if they believe otherwise, it would
be better not to unite with them, and yet to instruct them
in the truth.
All other errors and dissensions to be found in Bohemia
should be tolerated until the Archbishop has been rein
stated, and has succeeded in time in uniting the whole
people in one harmonious doctrine. We shall never unite
them by force, by driving or hurrying them. We must
be patient, and use gentleness. Did not Christ have to
walk with His disciples, suffering their unbelief, until
* Luther uses here the word Pikarden, which is a corruption
of Begharden, i.e. " Beghards," a nickname frequently applied in
those days to the Hussites.
228 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
they believed in His resurrection ? If they had but once
more a regular bishop and good government without
Eomish tyranny, I think matters would mend.
The temporal possessions of the Church should not be
too strictly claimed ; but since we are Christians and
bound to help one another, we have the right to give
them these things for the sake of unity, and to let them
keep them, before God and the world ; for Christ says,
" Where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them." Would to God we
helped on both sides to bring about this unity, giving our
hands one to the other in brotherly humility, not insisting
on our authority or our rights ! Love is more, and more
necessary, than the papacy at Rome, which is without
love, and love can exist without the papacy. I hope
I have done my best for this end. If the Pope or
his followers hinder this good work, they will have to
give an account of their actions for having, against the
love of God, sought their own advantage more than their
neighbours . The Pope should abandon his papacy, all
his possessions and honours, if he could save a soul by
so doing. But he would rather see the world go to ruin
than give up a hair s-breadth of the power he has usurped;
and yet he would be our most holy father. Herewith I
am excused.
25. The universities also require a good, sound re
formation. I must say this, let it vex whom it may.
The fact is that whatever the papacy has ordered or
instituted is only designed for the propagation of sin and
error. What are the universities, as at present ordered,
but, as the book of Maccabees says, " schools of l Greek
fashion and l heathenish manners " (2 Mace. iv. 12, 13),
full of dissolute living, where very little is taught of
the Holy Scriptures and of the Christian faith, and the
blind heathen teacher, Aristotle, rules even further than
Christ ? Now, my advice would be that the books of
Aristotle, the Physics, the Metaphysics, Of the Soul,
Ethics, which have hitherto been considered the best,
be altogether abolished, with all others that profess to
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 229
treat of nature, though nothing can be learned from
them, either of natural or of spiritual things. Besides,
no one has been able to understand his meaning, and
much time has been wasted and many noble souls vexed
with much useless labour, study, and expense. I venture
to say that any potter has more knowledge of natural
things than is to be found in these books. My heart is
grieved to see how many of the best Christians this
accursed, proud, knavish heathen has fooled and led
astray with his false words. God sent him as a plague
for our sins.
Does not the wretched man in his best book, Of the
Soul, teach that the soul dies with the body, though
many have tried to save him with vain words, as if we
had "not the Holy Scriptures to teach us fully of all
things of which Aristotle had not the slightest perception ?
Yet this dead heathen has conquered, and has hindered
and almost suppressed the books of the living God ; so
that, when I see all this misery, I cannot but think that
the evil spirit has introduced this study.
Then there is the Ethics, which is accounted one of
the best, though no book is more directly contrary to
God s will and the Christian virtues. Oh that such
books could be kept out of the reach of all Christians !
Let no one object that I say too much, or speak without
knowledge. My friend, I know of what I speak. I know
Aristotle as well as you or men like you. I have read
him with more understanding than St. Thomas or Scotus,
which I may say without arrogance, and can prove if
need be. It matters not that so many great minds have
exercised themselves in these matters for many hundred
years. Such objections do not affect me as they might
have done once, since it is plain as day that many more
errors have existed for many hundred years in the world
and the universities.
I would, however, gladly consent that Aristotle s books
of Logic, Rhetoric, and Poetry should be retained, or they
might be usefully studied in a condensed form, to practise
young people in speaking and preaching ; but the notes
230 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
and comments should be abolished, and, just as Cicero s
Rhetoric is read without note or comment, Aristotle s
Logic should be read without such long commentaries.
But now neither speaking nor preaching is taught out of
them, and they are used only for disputation and toil-
someness. Besides this, there are languages Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew the mathematics, history ; which I
recommend to men of higher understanding : and other
matters, which will come of themselves, if they seriously
strive after reform. And truly it is an important matter,
for it concerns the teaching and training of Christian
youths and of our noble people, in whom Christianity
still abides. Therefore I think that pope and emperor
could have no better task than the reformation of the
universities, just as there is nothing more devilishly
mischievous than an unreformed university.
Physicians I would leave to reform their own faculty ;
lawyers and theologians I take under my charge, and
say firstly that it would be right to abolish the canon
law entirely, from beginning to end, more especially the
decretals. We are taught quite sufficiently in the Bible
how we ought to act ; all this study only prevents the
study of the Scriptures, and for the most part it is tainted
with covetousness and pride. And even though there
were some good in it, it should nevertheless be destroyed,
for the Pope having the canon law in scrinio pectorisf
all further study is useless and deceitful. At the present
time the canon law is not to be found in the books, but
in the whims of the Pope and his sycophants. You may
have settled a matter in the best possible way according
to the canon law, but the Pope has his scrinium pectoris,
to which all law must bow in all the world. Now this
scrinium is oftentimes directed by some knave and the
devil himself, whilst it boasts that it is directed by the
Holy Ghost. This is the way they treat Christ s poor
people, imposing many laws and keeping none, forcing
others to keep them or to free themselves by money.
* In the shrine of his heart.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 231
Therefore, since the Pope and his followers have can
celled the whole canon law, despising it and setting their
own will above all the world, we should follow them and
reject the books. Why should we study them to no
purpose ? We should never be able to know the Pope^s
caprice, which has now become the canon law. Let it
fall then in God s name, after having risen in the devil s
name. Let there be henceforth no doctor decretorum,
but let them all be doctores scrinii papalis, that is the
Pope s sycophants. They say that there is no better
temporal government than among the Turks, though
they have no canon nor civil law, but only their Koran ;
we must at least own that there is no worse government
than ours, with its canon and civil law, for no estate lives
according to the Scriptures, or even according to natural
reason.
The civil law, too, good God ! what a wilderness it is
become ! It is, indeed, much better, more skilful, and
more honest than the canon law, of which nothing is
good but the name. Still there is far too much of it.
Surely good governors, in addition to the Holy Scrip
tures, would be law enough, as St. Paul says, " Is it so
that there is not a wise man among you, no, not one
that shall be able to judge between his brethren?"
(1 Cor. vi. 5). I think also that the common law and
the usage of the country should be preferred to the law
of the empire, and that the law of the empire should
only be used in cases of necessity. And would to God
that, as each land has its own peculiar character and
nature, they could all be governed by their own simple
laws, just as they were governed before the law of
the empire was devised, and as many are governed
even now ! Elaborate and far-fetched laws are only
burdensome to the people, and a hindrance rather
than a help to business. But I hope that others have
thought of this, and considered it to more purpose
than I could.
Our worthy theologians have saved themselves much
trouble and labour by leaving the Bible alone and only
232 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
reading the Sentences.* I should have thought that
young theologians might begin by studying the Sentences,
and that doctors should study the Bible. Now they invert
this : the Bible is the first thing they study ; this ceases
with the Bachelor s degree ; the Sentences are the last
and these they keep for ever with the Doctor s degree
and this, too, under such sacred obligation that one that is
not a priest may read the Bible, but a priest must read
the Sentences ; so that, as far as I can see, a married
man might be a doctor in the Bible, but not in the
Sentences. How should we prosper so long as we act so
perversely, and degrade the Bible, the holy word of God ?
Besides this, the Pope orders with many stringent words
that his laws be read and used in schools and courts ;
while the law of the Gospel is but little considered. The
result is that in schools and courts the Gospel lies dusty
underneath the benches, so that the Pope s mischievous
laws may alone be in force.
Since then we hold the name and title of teachers of
the Holy Scriptures, we should verily be forced to act
according to our title, and to teach the Holy Scriptures
and nothing else. Although, indeed, it is a proud,
presumptuous title for a man to proclaim himself teacher
of the Scriptures, still it could be suffered, if the works
confirmed the title. But as it is, under the rule of the
Sentences, we find among theologians more human and
heathenish fallacies than true holy knowledge of the
Scriptures. What then are we to do? I -know not,
except to pray humbly to God to give us Doctors of
Theology. Doctors of Arts, of Medicine, of Law, of
the Sentences, may be made by popes, emperors, and the
universities ; but of this we may be certain : a Doctor of
the Holy Scriptures can be made by none but the Holy
Ghost, as Christ says, " They shall all be taught of God "
(John vi. 45). Now the Holy Ghost does not consider
* Luther refers here to the " Sentences " of Petrus Lombardus
the so-called macjister sententiarum, which formed the basis of all
dogmatic interpretation from about the middle of the twelfth
century down to the Reformation.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 233
red caps or brown, or any other pomp, nor whether we
are young or old, layman or priest, monk or secular,
virgin or married ; nay, He once spoke by an ass against
the prophet that rode on it. Would to God we were
worthy of having such doctors given us, be they laymen
or priests, married or unmarried ! But now they try to
force the Holy Ghost to enter into popes, bishops, or
doctors, though there is no sign to show that He is in
them.
We must also lessen the number of theological books,
and choose the best, for it is not the number of books
that makes the learned man, nor much reading, but good
books often read, however few, make a man learned in the
Scriptures and pious. Even the Fathers should only be
read for a short time as an introduction to the Scriptures.
As it is we read nothing else, and never get from them
into the Scriptures, as if one should be gazing at the sign
posts and never follow the road. These good Fathers
wished to lead us into the Scriptures by their writings,
whereas we lead ourselves out by them, though the
Scriptures are our vineyard, in which we should all work
and exercise ourselves.
Above all, in schools of all kinds the chief and most
common lesson should be the Scriptures, and for young
>cl
schools, monasteries, and convents were founded for this
purpose, and with good Christian intentions, as we read
concerning St. Agnes and other saints * ; then were there
holy virgins and martyrs ; and in those times it was well
with Christendom ; but now it has been turned into
nothing but praying and singing. Should not every
Christian be expected by his ninth or tenth year to
know all the holy Gospels, containing as they do his
very name and life ? A spinner or a seamstress teaches
her daughter her trade while she is young, but now
* See above, pp. 205, seq.
234 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
even the most learned prelates and bishops do not know
the Gospel.
Oh, how badly we treat all these poor young people that
are entrusted to us for discipline and instruction ! and a
heavy reckoning shall we have to give for it that we
keep them from the word of God ; their fate is that
described by Jeremiah : " Mine eyes do fail with tears,
my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the
earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because the children and the sucklings swoon in the
streets of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is
corn and wine ? when they swooned as the wounded in
the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out
into their mothers bosom " (Lam. ii. 11, 12). We do not
perceive all this misery, how the young folk are being
pitifully corrupted in the midst of Christendom, all for
want of the Gospel, which we should always read and
study with them.
However, even if the High Schools studied the Scriptures
diligently we should not send every one to them, as we
do now, when nothing is considered but numbers, and
every man wishes to have a Doctor s title ; we should
only send the aptest pupils, well prepared in the lower
schools. This should be seen to by princes or the magis
trates of the towns, and they should take care none but
apt pupils be sent. But where the Holy Scriptures are
not the rule, I advise no one to send his child. Every
thing must perish where God s word is not studied un
ceasingly ; and so we see what manner of men there are
now in the High Schools, and all this is the fault of no
one but of the Pope, the bishops, and the prelates, to
whom the welfare of the young has been entrusted. For
the High Schools should only train men of good under
standing in the Scriptures, who wish to become bishops
and priests, and to stand at our head against heretics
and the devil and all the world. But where do we find
this ? I greatly fear the High Schools are nothing but
great gates of hell, unless they diligently study the Holy
Scriptures and teach them to the young people.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 235
26. I know well the Romish mob will object and
loudly pretend that the Pope took the holy Roman
empire from the Greek emperor and gave it to Germany,
for which honour and favour he is supposed to deserve
submission and thanks and all other kinds of returns
from the Germans. For this reason they will perhaps
assume to oppose all attempts to reform them, and will
let no regard be paid to anything but those donations
of the Roman empire. This is also the reason why they
have so arbitrarily and proudly persecuted and oppressed
many good emperors, so that it were pity to tell, and
with the same cleverness have they made themselves
lords of all the temporal power and authority, in violation
of the holy Gospel ; and accordingly I must speak of
this matter also.
There is no doubt that the true Roman empire, of
which the prophets (Num. xxiv. 24 and Daniel ii. 44)
spoke, was long ago destroyed, as Balaam clearly fore
told, saying, " And ships shall come from the coast of
Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber,
and he also shall perish for ever " (Num. xxiv. 24).*
And this was done by the Goths, and more especially
since the empire of the Turks was formed, about one
thousand years ago, and so gradually Asia and Africa were
lost, and subsequently France, Spain, and finally Venice
arose, so that Rome retains no part of its former power.
Since then the Pope could not force the Greeks and
the emperor at Constantinople, who is the hereditary
Roman emperor, to obey his will, he invented this device
to rob him of his empire and title, and to give it to the
Germans, who were at that time strong and of good
repute, in order that they might take the power of the
Roman empire and hold it of the Pope ; and this is
what actually has happened. It was taken from the
emperor at Constantinople, and the name and title were
given to us Germans, and therewith we became subject
* Luther here follows the Vulgate, translating the above verse :
" Es werden die Romer kommen und die Juden verstoren : und
hernach werden sie auch untergehen.
236 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
to the Pope, and he has built up a new Roman empire
on the Germans. For the other empire, the original,
came to an end long ago, as was said above.
Thus the Roman see has got what it wished : Rome
has been taken possession of, and the German emperor
driven out and bound by oaths not to dwell in Rome.
He is to be Roman emperor and nevertheless not to
dwell in Rome, and, moreover, always to depend on the
Pope and his followers, and to do their will. We are to
have the title, and they are to have the lands and the
cities. For they have always made our simplicity the
tool of their pride and tyranny, and they consider us as
stupid Germans, to be deceived and fooled by them as
they choose.
Well, for our Lord God it is a small thing to toss
kingdoms and principalities hither and thither ; He is
so free with them that He will sometimes take a kingdom
from a good man and give it to a knave, sometimes
through the treachery of false, wicked men, sometimes
by inheritance, as we read concerning Persia, Greece,
and nearly all kingdoms ; and Daniel says, " Wisdom
and might are His ; and He changes the times and the
seasons, and He removeth kings and setteth up kings "
(Dan. ii. 20, 21). Therefore no one need think it a
grand matter if he has a kingdom given to him, especially
if he be a Christian ; and so we Germans need not be
proud of having had a new Roman empire given us.
For in His eyes it is a poor gift, that He sometimes
gives to the least deserving, as Daniel says, "And all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing ; and
He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth " (Dan. iv. 35).
Now, although the Pope has violently and unjustly
robbed the true emperor of the Roman empire, or its
name, and has given it to us Germans, yet it is certain
that God has used the Pope s wickedness to give the
German nation this empire and to raise up a new Roman
empire, that exists now, after the fall of the old empire.
We gave the Pope no cause for this action, nor did we
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 237
understand his false aims and schemes ; but still, through
the craft and knavery of the popes, we have, alas ! all too
dearly, paid the price of this empire with incalculable
bloodshed, with the loss of our liberty, with the robbery
of our wealth, especially of our churches and benefices,
and with unspeakable treachery and insult. We have
the empire in name, but the Pope has our wealth, our
honour, our bodies, lives, and souls, and all that we
have. This was the way to deceive the Germans, and to
deceive them by shuffling. What the popes wished was
to become emperors ; and as they could not do this, they
put themselves above the emperors.
Since, then, we have received this empire through
God s providence and the schemes of evil men, without
our fault, I would not advise that we should give it up,
but that we should govern it honestly, in the fear of God,
so long as He is pleased to let us hold it. For, as I
have said it is no matter to Him how a kingdom is come
by, but He will have it duly governed. If the popes
took it from others dishonestly, we at least did not come
by it dishonestly. It was given to us through evil men,
under the will of God, to whom we have more regard
than the false intentions of the popes, who wished to be
emperors and more than emperors and to fool and mock
us with the name.
The King of Babylon obtained his kingdom by force
and robbery ; yet God would have it governed by the
holy princes Daniel, Ananias, Asarias, and Misael. Much
more then does He require this empire to be governed
by the Christian princes of Germany, though the Pope
may have stolen, or robbed, or newly fashioned it. It is
all God s ordering, which came to pass before we knew
of it.
Therefore the Pope and his followers have no reason
to boast that they did a great kindness to the German
nation in giving them this Roman empire ; firstly
because they intended no good to us in the matter, but
only abused our simplicity to strengthen their own power
agamst the Roman emperor at Constantinople, from
238 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
whom, against God and justice, the Pope has taken what
he had no right to.
Secondly, the Pope sought to give the empire, riot to
ns, but to himself, and to become lord over all our power,
liberty, wealth, body and soul, and through us over all
the world, if God had not prevented it, as he plainly
says in his decretals, and has tried with many mischievous
tricks in the case of many German emperors. Thus we
Germans have been taught in plain German : whilst we
expected to become lords, we have become the servants
of the most crafty tyrants ; we have the name, title, and
arms of the empire, but the Pope has the treasure,
authority, law, and freedom ; thus, whilst the Pope eats
the kernel, he leaves us the empty shells to play with.
Now may God help us (who, as I have said, assigned
us this kingdom through crafty tyrants, and charged us
to govern it) to act according to our name, title, and arms,
and to secure our freedom, and thus let the Romans see
at last what we have received of God through them. If
they boast that they have given us an empire, well, be
it so, by all means ; then let the Pope give up Rome,
all he has of the empire, and free our country from his
unbearable taxes and robberies, and give back to us our
liberty, authority, wealth, honour, body, and soul, ren
dering to the empire those things that are the empire s,
so as to act in accordance with his words and pretences.
But if he will not do this, what game is he playing
with all his falsehoods and pretences ? Was it not
enough to lead this great people by the nose for so many
hundred years ? Because the Pope crowns or makes the
Emperor, it does not follow that he is above him ; for the
prophet, St. Samuel, anointed and crowned King Saul
and David, at God s command, and was yet subject to
them. And the prophet Nathan anointed King Solomon,
and yet was not placed over him ; moreover, St. Elisha let
one of his servants anoint King Jehu of Israel, yet they
obeyed him. And it has never yet happened in the whole
world that any one was above the king because he con
secrated or crowned him, except in the case of the Pope.
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 239
Now he is himself crowned pope by three cardinals ;
yet they are subject to him, and he is above them. Why,
then, contrary to his own example and to the doctrine
and practice of the whole world and the Scriptures, should
he exalt himself above the temporal authorities, and the
empire, for no other reason than that he crowns, and con
secrates the Emperor ? It suffices that he is above him
in all Divine matters that is, in preaching, teaching, and
the ministration of the Sacrament in which matters,
however, every priest or bishop is above all other men,
just as St. Ambrose in his chair was above the Emperor
Theodosius, and the prophet Nathan above David, and
Samuel above Saul. Therefore let the German emperor
be a true free emperor, and let not his authority or his
sword be overborne by these blind pretences of the Pope s
sycophants, as if they were to be exceptions, and be above
the temporal sword in all things.
27. Let this be enough about the faults of the spiritual
estate, though many more might be found, if the matter
were properly considered ; we must now consider the
defects of the temporal estates. In the first place, we
require a general law and consent of the German nation
against profusion and extravagance in dress, which is the
cause of so much poverty among the nobles and the
people. Surely God has given to us, as to other nations,
enough wool, fur, flax, and whatever else is required for
the decent clothing of every class ; and it cannot be neces
sary to spend such enormous sums for silk, velvet, cloth
of gold, and all other kinds of outlandish stuff. I think
that even if the Pope did not rob us Germans with his
unbearable taxes, we should be robbed more than enough
by these secret thieves, the dealers in silk and velvet.
As it is, we see that every man wishes to be every other
man s equal, and that this causes and increases pride and
envy among us, as we deserve, all which would cease,
with many other misfortunes, if our self-will would but
let us be gratefully content with what God has given us.
It is similarly necessary to diminish the use of spices,
which is one of the ships in which our gold is sent away
240 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
from Germany. God s mercy has given us more food,
and that both precious and good, than is to be found in
other countries. I shall probably be accused of making
foolish and impossible suggestions, as if I wished to
destroy the great business of commerce. Bat I am only
doing my part ; if the community does not mend matters,
every man should do it himself. I do not see many good
manners that have ever come into a land through com
merce, and therefore God let the people of Israel dwell
far from the sea and not carry on much trade.
^ But without doubt the greatest misfortune of the
Germans is buying on usury. But for this, many a man
would have to leave unbought his silk, velvet, cloth of
gold, spices, and all other luxuries. The system has not
been in force for more than one hundred years, and has
already brought poverty, misery, and destruction on
almost all princes, foundations, cities, nobles, and heirs.
If it continues for another hundred years Germany will
be left without a farthing, and we shall be reduced to
eating one another. The devil invented this system,
and the Pope has done an injury to the whole world by
sanctioning it.
My request and my cry therefore is this : Let each man
consider the destruction of himself and his family, which is
no longer at the door, but has entered the house ; and let
emperors, princes, lords, and corporations see to the
condemnation and prohibition of this kind of trade,
without considering the opposition of the Pope and all his
justice and injustice, nor whether livings or endowments
depend upon it. Better a single fief in a city based
on a freehold estate or honest interest, than a hundred
based on usury ; yea, a single endowment on usury is
worse and more grievous than twenty based on freehold
estate. Truly this usury is a sign and warning that the
world has been given over to the devil for its sins, and
that we are losing our spiritual and temporal welfare
alike ; yet we heed it not.
Doubtless we should also find some bridle for the
Fuggers and similar companies. Is it possible that in
ADDRESS 7O THE NOBILITY 241
a single man s lifetime such great wealth should be
collected together, if all were done rightly and according
to God s will ? I am not skilled in accounts, but I do
not understand how it is possible for one hundred guilders
to gain twenty in a year, or how one guilder can gain
another, and that not out of the soil, or by cattle, seeing
that possessions depend not on the wit of men, but on
the blessing of God. I commend this to those that are
skilled in worldly affairs. I as a theologian blame
nothing but the evil appearance, of which St. Paul says,
"Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. v. 22).
All I know is that it were much more godly to encourage
agriculture and lessen commerce ; and that they do the
best who, according to the Scriptures, till the ground to
get their living, as we are all commanded in Adam :
" Cursed is the ground for thy sake. . . . Thorns also
and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. ... In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Gen. iii. 17-19).
There is still much ground that is not ploughed or tilled.
Then there is the excess in eating and drinking, for
which we Germans have an ill reputation in foreign
countries, as our special vice, and which has become so
common, and gained so much the upper hand, that
sermons avail nothing. The loss of money caused by it
is not the worst ; but in its train come murder, adultery,
theft, blasphemy, and all vices. The temporal power
should do something to prevent it ; otherwise it will
come to pass, as Christ foretold, that the last day shall
come a"s a thief in the night, and shall find them eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, planting
and building, buying and selling (Matt. xxiv. 38 ; Luke
xv ii. 26), just as things go on now, and that so strongly
that I apprehend lest the day of judgment be at hand,
even now when we least expect it.
Lastly, is it not a terrible thing that we Christians
should maintain public brothels, though we all vow
chastity in our baptism ? I well know all that can be
said on this matter : that it is not peculiar to one nation,
that it would be difficult to demolish it, and that it is
16
242 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
better thus than that virgins, or married women, or
honourable women should be dishonoured. But should
not the spiritual and temporal powers combine to find
some means of meeting these difficulties without any
such heathen practice ? If the people of Israel existed
without this scandal, why should not a Christian nation
be able to do so ? How do so many towns and villages
manage to exist without these houses ? Why should not
great cities be able to do so ?
In all, however, that I have said above, my object has
been to show how much good temporal authority might
do, and what should be the duty of all authorities, so
that every man might learn what a terrible thing it is to
rule and to have the chief place. What boots it though
a ruler be in his own person as holy as St. Peter, if he
be not diligent to help his subjects in these matters ?
His very authority will be his condemnation ; for it is
the duty of those in authority to seek the good of their
subjects. But if those in authority considered how young
people might be brought together in marriage, the pros-
Eect of marriage would help every man and protect him
fom temptations.
But as it is every man is induced to become a priest or
a monk ; and of all these I am afraid not one in a hundred
has any other motive but the wish of getting a livelihood
and the uncertainty of maintaining a family. Therefore
they begin by a dissolute life and sow their wild oats
(as they say), but I fear they rather gather in a store of
wild oats.* I hold the proverb to be true, " Most men
become monks and priests in desperation." That is why
things are as we see them.
But in order that many sins may be prevented that are
becoming too common, I would honestly advise that no
boy or girl be allowed to take the vow of chastity or to
enter a religious life before the age of thirty years. For
this requires a special grace, as St. Paul says. Therefore,
* Luther uses the expression ausbuben in the sense of sicli austoben
viz., " to storm out one s passions," and then coins the word sick
einbuben, viz., " to storm in one s passions."
ADDRESS TO THE NOBILITY 243
unless God specially urge any one to a religious life, lie
will do well to leave all vows and devotions alone. I say
further, If a man lias so little faith in God as to fear
that he will be unable to maintain himself in the married
state, and if this fear is the only thing that makes him
become a priest, then I implore him, for his own soul s
sake, not to become a priest, but rather to become a
peasant, or what he will. For if simple trust in God be
necessary to ensure temporal support, tenfold trust in
God is necessary to live a religious life. If you do not
trust to God for your worldly food, how can you trust to
Him for your spiritual food ? Alas ! this unbelief and
want of faith destroys all things, and leads us into all
misery, as we see among all conditions of men.
Much might be said concerning all this misery.
Young people have no one to look after them, they are
left to go on just as they like, and those in authority are
of no more use to them than if they did not exist, though
this should be the chief care of the Pope, of bishops,
lords, and councils. They wish to rule over everything,
everywhere, and yet they are of no use. Oh, what a
rare sight, for these reasons, will a lord or ruler be in
heaven, though he might build a hundred churches to
God and raise all the dead !
But this may suffice for the present. For of what
i-oiKvriis the temporal authority and the nobles I have,
I think, said enough in my tract on Good Works.
For their lives and governments leave room enough
for improvement ; but there is no comparison be
tween spiritual and temporal abuses, as I have there
shown. I daresay I have sung a lofty strain, that
I have proposed many things that will be thought
impossible, and attacked many points too sharply. But
what was I to do ? I was bound to say tlws : if I had
the power, this is what I would do. I had rather incur
the world s anger than God s ; they cannot take from me
more than my life. I have hitherto made many offers
of peace to my adversaries ; but, as I see, God has
forced me through them to open my mouth wider and
244 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
wider, and, because they do not keep quiet, to give
them enough cause for speaking, barking, shouting,
and writing. Well, then, I have another song still
to sing concerning them and Rome ; if they wish to
hear it, I will sing it to them, and sing with all my
might. Do you understand, my friend Rome, what I
mean ?
I have frequently offered to submit my writings for
inquiry and examination, but in vain, though I know,
if I am in the right, I must be condemned upon earth
and justified by Christ alone in heaven. For all the
Scriptures teach us that the affairs of Christians and
Christendom must be judged by God alone ; they have
never yet been justified by men in this world, but the
opposition has always been too strong. My greatest care
and fear is lest my cause be not condemned by men, by
which I should know for certain that it does not please
God. Therefore let them go freely to work, pope,
bishop, priest, monk, or doctor ; they are the true people
to persecute the truth, as they have always done. May
God grant us all a Christian understanding, and
especially to the Christian nobility of the German nation
true spiritual courage, to do what is best for our unhappy
Church. Amen !
At Wittenberg, in the year 1520.
II
Concerning Christian Xibertp
LETTER OF MARTIN LUTHER TO POPE LEO X.
AMONG those monstrous evils of this age with which I
have now for three years been waging war, I am some
times compelled to look to yon and to call yon to mind,
most blessed father Leo. In truth, since yon alone are
everywhere considered as being the cause of my engaging
in war, I cannot at any time fail to remember you ; and
although I have been compelled by the causeless raging
of your impious flatterers against me to appeal from your
seat to a future council fearless of the futile decrees of
your predecessors Pius and Julius, who in their foolish
,nny prohibited such an action yet I have never been
ilienated in feeling from your Blessedness as not
ave sought with all my might, in diligent prayer and
ng to God, all the best gifts for you and for your see.
But those who have hitherto endeavoured to terrify me
with the majesty of your name and authority, I have
begun quite to despise and triumph over. One thing I
see remaining which I cannot despise, and this has been
the reason of my writing anew to your Blessedness :
namely, that I find that blame is cast on me, and that
it is imputed to me as a great offence, that in my rashness
I am judged to have spared not even your person.
Kow, to confess the truth openly, I am conscious that,
whenever I have had to mention your person, I have said
246 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
nothing of you but what was honourable and good. If I
had done otherwise, I could by no means have approved
my own conduct, but should have supported with all my
power the judgment of those men concerning me, nor
would anything have pleased me better, than to recant
such rashness and impiety. I have called you Daniel in
Babylon ; and every reader thoroughly knows with what
distinguished zeal I defended your conspicuous innocence
against Silvester, who tried to stain it. Indeed, the pub
lished opinion of so many great men and the repute of
your blameless life are too widely famed and too much
reverenced throughout the world to be assailable by any
man, of however great name, or by any arts. I am not
so foolish as to attack one whom everybody praises ;
nay, it has been and always will be my desire not to
attack even those whom public repute disgraces. I am
not delighted at the faults of any man, since I am very
conscious myself of the great beam in my own eye, nor
can I be the first to cast a stone at the adulteress.
I have indeed inveighed sharply against impious
doctrines, and I have not been slack to censure my adver
saries on account, not of their bad morals, but of their
impiety. And for this I am so far from being sorry
that I have brought my mind to despise the judgments
of men and to persevere in this vehement zeal, according
to the example of Christ, who, in His zeal, calls His
adversaries a generation of vipers, blind, hypocrites, and
children of the devil. Paul, too, charges the sorcerer with
being a child of the devil, full of all subtlety and all
malice ; and defames certain persons as evil workers,
dogs, and deceivers. In the opinion of those delicate-
eared persons, nothing could be more bitter or intem
perate than Paul s language. What can be more bitter
than the words of the prophets ? The ears of our
generation have been made so delicate by the senseless
multitude of flatterers that, as soon as we perceive that
anything of ours is not approved of, we cry out that
we are being bitterly assailed ; and when we can repel
the truth by no other pretence, we escape by attributing
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 247
bitterness, impatience, intemperance, to onr adversaries.
What wonld be the use of salt if J_were_jiot pungent,
nr~ of thftedge_of the sworcfif it did not slay ?
Accursed is~~the man who does the work of the Lord
deceitfully.
Wherefore, most excellent Leo, I beseech you to accept
my vindication, made in this letter, and to persuade
yourself that I have never thought any evil concerning
your person ; further, that I am one who desires that
eternal blessing may fall to your lot, and that I have no
dispute with any man concerning morals, but only con
cerning the word of truth. In all other things I will
yield to any one, but I neither can nor will forsake and
deny the word. He who thinks otherwise of me, or has
taken in my words in another sense, does not think
rightly, and has not taken in the truth.
Your see,jig^ve^gr j jvhic^^ Rome,
ami_which nStheT you lioJLany man can deliy foj3e_more
cOTrugt^Egjmy Babylon or Sodom, ana IjmfeTjjji I
bgie^eTof aJost, desperate, and hopeless^ impiety "this
fhave verily abominated, and have MTTndignant that
the people of Christ should be cheated under your name
and the pretext of the Church of Rome ; and so I have
resisted, and will resist, as long as the spirit of faith
shall live in me. Not that I am striving after impossi
bilities, or hoping that by my labours alone, against the
furious opposition of so many flatterers, any good can be
done in that most disordered Babylon; but that I feel
myself a debtor to my brethren, and am bound to take
thought for them, that fewer of them may be ruined, or
that their ruin may be less complete, by the plagues of
Rome. For many years now, nothing else has overflowed
from Rome into the world as you are not ignorant
than the laying waste of goods, of bodies, and of souls,
and the worst examples of all the worst things. These
things are clearer than the light to all men ; and the
Church of Rome, formerly the most holy of all Churches,
has become the most lawless den of thieves, the most
shameless of all brothels, the very kingdom of sin, death,
248 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
and hell; so that not even antichrist, if he were to come,
could devise any addition to its wickedness.
Meanwhile you, Leo, are sitting like a lamb in the
midst of wolves, like Daniel in the midst of lions, and,
with Ezekiel, you dwell among scorpions. What opposi
tion can you alone make to these monstrous evils ? Take
to yourself three or four of the most learned and best of
the cardinals. What are these among so many ? You
would all perish by poison before you could undertake
to decide on a remedy. It is all over with the Court of
Rome ; the wrath of God has come upon her to the
uttermost. She hates councils ; she dreads to be reformed;
she cannot restrain the madness of her impiety; she fills
up the sentence passed on her mother, of whom it is said,
" We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed ;
let us forsake her." It had been your duty and that of
your cardinals to apply a remedy to these evils, but this
gout laughs at the physician s hand, and the chariot does
not obey the reins. Under the influence of these feelings,
I have always grieved that you, most excellent Leo, who
were worthy of a better age, have been made pontiff in
this. For the Roman Court is not worthy of you and
those like you, but of Satan himself, who in truth is more
the ruler in that Babylon than you are.
Oh, would that, having laid aside that glory which your
most abandoned enemies declare to be yours, you were
living rather in the office of a private priest or on your
paternal inheritance ! In that glory none are worthy to
glory, except the race of Iscariot, the children of perdition.
For what happens in your court, Leo, except that, the
more wicked and execrable any man is, the more pros
perously he can use your name and authority for the
ruin of the property and souls of men, for the multiplica
tion of crimes, for the oppression of faith and truth and
of the whole Church of God ? Oh, Leo ! in reality most
unfortunate, and sitting on a most perilous throne, I tell
you the truth, because I wish you well ; for if Bernard
felt compassion for his Anastasius at a time when the
Roman see, though even then most corrupt, was as yet
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 249
ruling with better hope than now, why should not we
lament, to whom so much further corruption and ruin
has been added in three hundred years ?
Is it not true that there is nothing under the vast
heavens more corrupt, more pestilential, more hateful,
than the Court of Rome ? She incomparably surpasses
the impiety of the Turks, so that in very truth she, who
was formerly the gate of heaven, is now a sort of open
mouth of hell, and such a mouth as, under the urgent
wrath of God, cannot be blocked up ; one course alone
being left to us wretched men : to call back and save
some few, if we can, from that Roman gulf.
Behold, Leo, my father, with what purpose and on
what principle it is that I have stormed against that seat
of pestilence. I am so far from having felt any rage
against your person that I even hoped to gain favour
with you and to aid in your welfare by striking actively
and vigorously at that your prison, nay, your hell. For
whatever the "efforts of all minds can contrive against the
confusion of that impious Court will be advantageous
to you and to your welfare, and to many others with you.
Those who dolharm to her_aie doing your officejjhose
whojuevery way abhor her are glorifying Christ ; in
e Ch
short, those are Christians who _
But^ to say yet more, even this never entered my heart:
to inveigh against the Court of Rome or to dispute at all
about her. For, seeing all remedies for her health to be
desperate, I looked on her with contempt, and, giving
her a bill of divorcement, said to her, "He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be
filthy still," giving myself up to the peaceful and quiet
study of sacred literature, that by this I might be of use
to the brethren living about me.
While I was making some advance in these studies,
Satan opened his eyes and goaded on his servant John
Eccius, that notorious adversary of Christ, by the un
checked lust for fame, to drag me unexpectedly into the
arena, trying to catch me in_one_ little word concerning
the^ primacy of the Church of iRome, which had fallen
> v*^
2 5 o LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
from me in passing. That boastful Thraso, foaming and
gnashing his teeth, proclaimed that he would dare all
things for the glory of God and for the honour of the
holy apostolic seat ; and, being puffed up respecting your
power, which he was about to misuse, he looked forward
with all certainty to victory ; seeking to promote, not so
much the primacy of Peter, as his own pre-eminence
among the theologians of this age ; for he thought it
would contribute in no slight degree to this, if he were
to lead Luther in triumph. The result having proved
unfortunate for the sophist, an incredible rage torments
him ; for he feels that whatever discredit to Rome has
arisen through me has been caused by the fault of him
self alone.
Suffer rne, I pray you, most excellent Leo, both to
plead my own cause, and to accuse your true enemies.
I believe it is known to you in what way Cardinal
Cajetan, your imprudent and unfortunate, nay unfaithful,
legate, acted towards me. When, on account of my
reverence for your name, I had placed myself and all
that was mine in his hands, he did not so act as to
establish peace, which he could easily have established
by one little word, since 1 at that time promised to be
silent and to make an end of my case, if he would
command my adversaries to do the same. But that man
of pride, not content with this agreement, began to
justify my adversaries, to give them free licence, and to
order me to recant, a thing which was certainly not in
his commission. Thus indeed, when the case was in the
best position, it came through his vexatious tyranny into
a much worse one. Therefore whatever has followed
upon this is the fault, not of Luther, but entirely of
Cajetan, since he did not suffer me to be silent and
remain quiet, which at that time I was entreating for
with all my might. What more was it my duty to do ?
Next came Charles Miltitz, also a nuncio from your
Blessedness. He, though he went up and down with
much and varied exertion, and omitted nothing which
could tend to restore the position of the cause thrown
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 251
into confusion by the rashness and pride of Cajetan, had
difficulty, even "with the help of that very illustrious
prince the Elector Frederick, in at last bringing about
more than one familiar conference with me. In these I
again yielded to your great name, and was prepared to
keep silence, and to accept as my judge either the Arch
bishop of Treves, or the Bishop of Nanmburg ; and thus
it was done and concluded. While this was being done
with good hope of success, lo ! that other and greater
enemy of yours, Eccius, rushed in with his Leipsic
disputation, which he had undertaken against Carlstadt,
and, having taken up a new question concerning the
primacy of the Pope, turned his arms unexpectedly
against me, and completely overthrew the plan for peace.
Meanwhile Charles Miltitz was waiting, disputations
were held, judges were being chosen, but no decision was
arrived at. And no wonder ! for by the falsehoods, pre
tences, and arts of Eccius the whole business was brought
into such thorough disorder, confusion, and festering
soreness, that, whichever way the sentence might lean,
a greater conflagration was sure to arise ; for he was
seeking, not after truth, but after his own credit. In
this case too I omitted nothing which it was right that I
should do.
I confess that on this occasion no small part of the
corruptions of Rome came to light ; but, if there was any
offence in this, it was the fault of Eccius, who, in taking
on him a burden beyond his strength, and in furiously
aiming at credit for himself, unveiled to the whole world
the disgrace of Rome.
Here is that enemy of yours, Leo, or rather of your
Court ; by his example alone we may learn that an
enemy is not more baneful than a flatterer. For what
did he bring about by his flattery, except evils which no
king could have brought about ? At this day the name
of the Court of Rome stinks in the nostrils of the world,
the papal authority is growing weak, and its notorious
ignorance is evil spoken of. We should hear none of
these things, if Eccius had not disturbed the plans of
252 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Miltitz and myself for peace. He feels this clearly
enough himself in the indignation he shows, too late
and in vain, against the publication of my books. He
ought to have reflected on this at the time when he was
all mad for renown, and was seeking in your canse nothing
but his own objects, and that with the greatest peril to
you. The foolish man hoped that, from fear of your
name, I should yield and keep silence ; for I do not
think he presumed on his talents and learning. Now,
when he sees that I am very confident and speak aloud,
he repents too late of his rashness, and sees if indeed
he does see it that there is One in heaven who resists
the proud, and humbles the presumptuous.
Since then we were bringing about by this disputation
nothing but the greater confusion of the cause of Rome,
Charles Miltitz for the third time addressed the Fathers
of the Order, assembled in chapter, and sought their
advice for the settlement of the case, as being now in a
most troubled and perilous state. Since, by the favour
of God, there was no hope of proceeding against me by
force, some of the more noted of their number were sent
to me, and begged me at least to show respect to your
person and to vindicate in a humble letter both your
innocence and my own. They said that the affair was riot
as yet in a position of extreme hopelessness, if Leo X.,
in his inborn kindliness, would put his hand to it. On
this I, who have always offered and wished for peace,
in order that I might devote myself to calmer and more
useful pursuits, and who for this very purpose have acted
with so much spirit and vehemence, in order to put down
by the strength and impetuosity of my words, as well as
of my feelings, men whom I saw to be very far from
equal to myself I, I say, not only dadly yielded, but
even accepted it with joy and gratitude, as the greatest
kindness and benefit, if you should think it right to
satisfy my hopes.
Thus I come, most blessed Father, and in all abase
ment beseech you to put to your hand, if it is possible,
and impose a curb upon those flatterers who are enemies
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 253
of peace, while they pretend peace. But there is no
reason, most blessed Father, why any one should assume
that 1 am to utter a recantation, unless he prefers to
involve the case in still greater confusion. Moreover, I
cannot bearjyith laws for the interpretation ofthV wojct
the" word of God which teaches |lhp f rfy in
all other things, ought not to be bound. Saving these two
tilings, iliotv is nothing \vliicli I am not able, and most
heartily willing, to do or to suffer. 1 hate contention ;
I will challenge no one ; in return I wish not to be
challenged ; but, being challenged, I will not be dumb in
the cause of Christ my Master. For your Blessedness
will be able by one short and easy word to call these
controversies before yon and suppress them, and to
impose silence and peace on both sides a word which I
have ever longed to hear.
Therefore, Leo, my Father, beware of listening to
those sirens who make you out to be not simply a man,
but partly a god, so that you can command and require
whatever you will. It will not happen so, nor will you
prevail. You are the servant of servants, and, more
than any other man, in a most pitiable and perilous
position. Let not those men deceive you who pretend
that you are lord of the world; who will not allow any
one to be a Christian without your authority; who babble
of your having power over heaven, hell, and purgatory.
These men are your enemies and are seeking your soul
to destroy it, as Isaiah says, " My people, they that call
thee blessed are themselves deceiving thee." They are
in error who raise you above councils and the universal
Church ; they are in error who attribute to you alone
the right of interpreting Scripture. All these men are
seeking to set up their own impieties in the Church
under your name, and, alas ! Satan has gained much
through them in the time of your predecessors.
In brief, trust not in any who exalt you, but in those
who humiliate you. For this is the judgment of God :
" He hath cast down the mighty from their seat, and
hath exalted the humble." See how unlike Christ was
254 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
to His successors, though all will have it that they are
His vicars. I fear that in truth very many of them have
been in too serious a sense His vicars, for a vicar re
presents a prince who is absent. Now if a pontiff rules
while Christ is absent and does not dwell in his heart,
what else is he but a vicar of Christ ? And then what
is that Church but a multitude without Christ ? What
indeed is such a vicar but antichrist and an idol ? How
much more rightly did the Apostles speak, who call
themselves the servants of a present Christ, not the
vicars of an absent one !
Perhaps I am shamelessly bold in seeming to teach
so great a head, by whom all men ought to be taught,
and from whom, as those plagues of yours boast, the
thrones of judges receive their sentence ; but I imitate
St. Bernard in his book concerning Considerations ad
dressed to Eugenius, a book which ought to be known
by heart by every pontiff. I do this, not from any desire
to teach, but as a duty, from that simple and faithful
solicitude which teaches us to be anxious for all that is
safe for our neighbours, and does not allow considerations
of worthiness or unworthiness to be entertained, being
intent only on the dangers or advantage of others. For
since I know that your Blessedness is driven and tossed
by the waves at Rome, so that the depths of the sea press
on you with infinite perils, and that you are labouring
under such a condition of misery that you need even the
least help from any the least brother, I do not seem to
myself to be acting unsuitably if I forget your majesty
till I shall have fulfilled the office of charity. I will not
flatter in so serious and perilous a matter ; and if in this
you do not see that I am your friend and most thoroughly
your subject, there is One to see and judge.
In fine, that I may not approach you empty-handed,
blessed Father, I bring with me this little treatise,
published under your name, as a good omen of the estab
lishment of peace and of good hope. By this you may
perceive in what pursuits I should prefer and be able to
occupy myself to more profit, if I were allowed, or had
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 255
been hitherto allowed, by your impious flatterers. It is
a small matter, if you look to its exterior, but, unless I
mistake, it is a summary of the Christian life put
together in smalt compaslyif you apprehend its meaning.
r,^in my poverty, have no other present to make you,
nor do you need anything else than to be enriched by a
spiritual gift. I commend myself to your Paternity and
Blessedness, whom may the Lord Jesus preserve for ever.
Amen.
Wittenberg, 6th September, 1520.
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing ;
nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues,
as it were ; and this they do because they have not made
proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what
efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write
well about it, or to understand well what is rightly
written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit,
under the pressure of tribulation ; while he who has
tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write,
speak, think, or hear about it sufficiently. For it is a
living fountain, springing up unto eternal life, as Christ
calls it in John iv.
Now, though, I cannot boast of my abundance, and
though I know how poorly I am furnished, yet I hope
that, after having been vexed by various temptations, I
have attained some little drop of faith, and that I can
speak of this matter, if not with more elegance, certainly
with more solidity, than those literal and too subtle dis
putants who have hitherto discoursed upon it without
understanding their own words. That I may open then
an easier way for the ignorant for these alone I am
trying to serve I first lay down these two propositions,
concerning spiritual liberty and servitude :
256 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject
to none ; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of
all, and subject to every one.
Although these statements appear contradictory, yet,
when they are found to agree together, they will make
excellently for my purpose. They are both the state
ments of Paul himself, who says, " Though I be free
from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto
all " (1 Cor. ix. 19), and "Owe no man anything, but to
love one another " (Rom. xiii. 8). Now love is by its
own nature dutiful and obedient to the beloved object.
Thus even Christ, though Lord of all things, was yet
made of a woman ; made under the law ; at once free
and a servant ; at once in the form of God and in the
form of a servant.
Let us examine the subject on a deeper and less simple
principle. Man is composed of a twofold nature, a
spiritual and a bodily. As regards the spiritual nature,
which they name the soul, he is called the spiritual,
inward, new man ; as regards the bodily nature, which
they name the flesh, he is called the fleshly, outward, old
man. The Apostle speaks of this : " Though our outward
man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day "
(2 Cor. iv. 16). The result of this diversity is that in
the Scriptures opposing statements are made concerning
the same man, the fact being that in the same man
these two men are opposed to one another ; the flesh
lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh
(Gal. v. 17).
We first approach the subject of the inward man, that
we may see by what means a man becomes justified, free,
and a true Christian ; that is, a spiritual, new, and inward
man. It is certain that absolutely none among outward
things, under whatever name they may be reckoned,
has any influence in producing Christian righteousness
or liberty, nor, on the other hand, unrighteousness or
slavery. This can be shown by an easy argument.
What can it profit the soul that the body should be
in good condition, free, and full of life ; that it should
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 257
eat, drink, and act according to its pleasure ; when even
the most impious slaves of every kind of vice are pros
perous in these matters ? Again, what harm can ill-
health, bondage, hunger, thirst, or any other outward
evil, do to the soul, when even the most pious of men,
and the freest in the purity of their conscience, are
harassed "by these things ? Neither of these states of
things has to do with the liberty or the slavery of the
soul.
And so it will profit nothing that the body should be
adorned with sacred vestments, or dwell in holy places,
or be occupied in sacred offices, or pray, fast, and abstain
from certain meats, or do whatever works can be done
through the body and in the body. Something widely
different will be necessary for the justification and liberty
of the soul, since the things I have spoken of can be
done by any impious person, and only hypocrites are
produced by devotion to these things. On the other
hand, it will not at all injure the soul that the body
should be clothed in profane raiment, should dwell in
profane places, should eat and drink in the ordinary
fashion, should not pray aloud, and should leave undone
all the things above mentioned, which may be done by
hypocrites.
And, to cast everything aside, even speculations, medi
tations, and whatever things can be performed by the
exertions of the soul itself, are of no profit. One thing,
and one alone, is necessary for life, justification, and
Christian liberty ; and that is the most holy word of
God, the Gospel of Christ, as He says, " I am the resur
rection and the life ; he that believeth in Me shall not
die eternally " (John xi. 25), and also, " If the Son shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John viii. 36),
and, " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God " (Matt.
iv. 4).
Let us therefore hold it for certain and firmly estab
lished that the soul can do without everything except
the word of God, without which none at all of its wants
17
258 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
are provided for. But, having the word, it is rich and
wants for nothing, since that is the word of life, of
truth, of light, of peace, of justification, of salvation, of
joy, of liberty, of wisdom, of virtue, of grace, of glory,
and of every good thing. It is on this account that the
prophet in a whole Psalm (Psalm cxix.), and in many
other places, sighs for and calls upon the word of God
with so many groanings and words.
Again, there is no more cruel stroke of the wrath of
God than when He sends a famine of hearing His words
(Amos viii. 11), just as there is no greater favour from
Him than the sending forth of His word, as it is said,
" He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them
from their destructions " (Psalm cvii. 20). Christ was
sent for no other office than that of the word ; and the
order of Apostles, that of bishops, and that of the whole
body of the clergy, have been called and instituted for
no object but the ministry of the word.
But you will ask, What is this word, and by what
means is it to be used, since there are so many words of
God ? I answer, The Apostle Paul (Rom. i.) explains
what it is, namely the Gospel of God, concerning His
Son, incarnate, suffering, risen, and glorified through the
Spirit, the Sanctifier. To preach Christ is to feed the
soul, to justify it, to set it free, and to save it, if it believes
the preaching. Eoj^jaith_alone, and the efficacious use
A of the word of God71)nn^~sirrva!i()n. " If thou shalt
* confess witn thy mouth tlie Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved " (Rom. x. 9) ; and again, " Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth" (Rom. x. 4), and " Thejusl^hall Jive by
-) faith" (Rom, i. 17). For the word of God cannot be
received and honoured by any works, but by faith alone.
Hence it is clear that as the soul needs the word alone
for life and justification, so it is justified by faith alone,
and not by any works. For if it could be justified by
any other means, it would have no need of the word, nor
consequently of faith.
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 259
But this faith cannot consist at all with works ; that
is, It" you imagine Iffiai you can be justified by those
works, whatever they are, along with it. For this would
be to halt between two opinions, to worship Baal, and to
kiss the hand to him, which is a very great iniquity, as
Job says. Therefore, when you begin to believe, you
learn at the same time that all that is in you is utterly
guilty, sinful, and damnable, according to that saying,
" Alf have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"
(Rom. iii. 23), and also : " There is none righteous, no,
not one ; they are all gone out of the way ; they are
together become unprofitable : there is none that doeth
good, no, not one " (Rom. iii. 1012). When you have
learnt this, you will know that Christ is necessary for
you, since He has suffered and risen again for you, that,
believing on Him, you might by this faith become
another man, all your sins being remitted, and you being
justified by the merits of another, namely of Christ
alone.
Since then this faith can reign only in the inward man,
as it is said, " With the heart man belie veth unto
righteousness " (Rom. x. 10) ; and since it alone justifies,
it is evident that by no outward work or labour can the
inward man be at all justified, made free, and saved ;
and that no works whatever have any relation to him.
And so, on the other hand, it is solely by impiety and
incredulity of heart that he becomes guilty and a
slave of sin, deserving condemnation, not by any out
ward sin or work. Therefore the first care of t every
Christian ought to be to lay aside all reliance on
works, and strengthen his faith alone more and more,
and by it grow in the knowledge, inot of works, but of
Christ Jesus, who has suffered and j risen again for him,
as Peter teaches (1 Petejix.) when he makes no other
work to be a Christian one. Thus Christ, when the Jews
asked Him what they snould do that they might work
the works of God, rejected the multitude of works, with
which He saw that they were puffed up, and commanded
them one thing only, saying, " This is the work of God :
26o LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent, for Him
hath God the Father sealed " (John vi. 27, 29).
Hence a right faith in Christ is an incomparable treasure,
carrying with it universal salvation and preserving from
all evil, as it is said, " He that belie veth and is baptised
shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be
damned " (Mark xvi. 1C). Isaiah, looking to this
treasure, predicted, " The consumption decreed shall
overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts
shall make a consumption, even determined (verbum
abbreviatum et consummans\ in the midst of the land "
(Isa. x. 22, 23). As if he said, "Faith, which is the
brief and complete fulfilling of the law, will fill those
who believe with such righteousness that they will need
nothing else for justification." Thus, too, Paul says,
" For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness "
(Horn. x. 10).
But you ask how it can be the fact that faith alone
justifies, and affords without works so great a treasure of
good things, when so many works, ceremonies, and laws
are prescribed to us in the Scriptures ? I answer, Before
all things bear in mind what I have said : that faith alone
without works justifies, sets free, and saves, as I shall
show more clearly below.
Meanwhile it is to be noted that the whole Scripture
of God is divided into two parts : precepts and promises.
The precepts certainly teach us what is good, but what j
they teach is not forthwith done. For they show us 1
what we ought to do, but do not give us the power to do j
it. They were ordained, however, for the purpose of
showing man to himself, that through them he may
learn his own impotence for good and may despair of his
own strength. For this reason they are called the Oki-
Testament, and are so.
For example, " Thou shalt not covet," is a precept by
which we are all convicted of sin, since no man can help
coveting, whatever efforts to the contrary he may make.
In order therefore that he may fulfil the precept, and not
covet, he is constrained to despair of himself and to seek
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 261
elsewhere and through another the help which he cannot
find in himself ; as it is said, " Israel, thou hast de
stroyed thyself ; but in Me is thine help " (Hosea xiii. 9).
Now what is done by this one precept is done by all ; for
V all are equally impossible of fulfilment by us.
Now when a man has through the precepts been taught
his own impotence, and become anxious by what means
lie may satisfy the law for the law must be satisfied, so
that no jot or tittle of it may pass away, otherwise he
must be hopelessly condemned then, being truly hum
bled and brought to nothing in his own eyes, he finds in
himself no resource for justification and salvation.
Then comes in that other part of Scripture, the
promises of God, which declare the glory of God, and
say, " If you wish to fulfil the law, and, as the law
requires, not to covet, lo ! believe in Christ, in whom are
promised to you grace, justification, peace, and liberty."
All these things you shall have, if you believe, and shall
be without them if you do not believe. For what is im
possible for you by all the works of the law, which are
many and yet useless, you shall fulfil in an easy and
summary way through jbitli, because God the Father
has made everything to depend on faith, so that whoso
ever has it has all things, and he who has it not has
nothing. " For God hath concluded them all in unbelief,
that He might have mercy upon all " (Rom. xi. 32).
Thus the promises of God give that which the precepts
exact, and fulfil what the law commands ; so that all is
of God alone, both the precepts and their fulfilment. He
alone commands ; He_j,ljc>niL._aIiia-,iiilfil^ Hence the
promises of God belong to the New Testament ; nay, are
the New Testament.
Now, since these promises of God are words of holiness,
truth, righteousness, liberty, and peace, and are full of
universal goodness, the soul, which cleaves to them with
a firm faith, is so united to them, nay, thoroughly absorbed
by them, that it not only partakes in, but is penetrated
and saturated by, all their virtues. For if the touch of
Christ was healing, how much more does that most tender
262 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
spiritual touch, nay, absorption of the word, communicate
to the soul all that belongs to the word ! In this way
therefore the soul, through faith alone, without works, is
from the word of God justified, sanctified, endued with
truth, peace, and liberty, and filled full with every good
thing, and is truly made the child of God, as it is said,
" To them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name " (John i. 12).
From all this it is easy to understand why faith has
such great power, and why no good works, nor even all
good works put together, can compare with it, since no
work can cleave to the word of God or be in the soul.
Faith alone and the word reign in it ; and such as is tne
word, such is the soul made by it, just as iron exposed
to fire glows like fire, on account of its union with the
fire. It is clear then that to a Christian man his faith
suffices for everything, and that he has no need of works
i for justification. But if lie has no need of works, neither
( has* he need of the law ; and if he has ilo need of the
law, he is certainly free from the law, and the saying is
true, " The law is not made for a righteous man " (1 Tim.
i. 9). This is that Christian liberty, our faith, the effect
of which is, not that we should be careless or lead a bad
life, but that no^ one should need the law or works for
justification and salvation.
Let us consider this as the first virtue of faith ; and
let us look also to the second. This also is an office of
faith: that it honours with the utmost veneration and the
highest reputation Him in whom it believes, inasmuch as
it holds Him to be truthful and worthy of belief. For
there is no honour like that reputation of truth and right
eousness with which we honour Him in whom we believe.
What higher credit can we attribute to any one than
truth and righteousness, and absolute goodness ? On the
other hand, it is the greatest insult to brand any one with
the reputation of falsehood and unrighteousness, or to
suspect him of these, as we do when we disbelieve him.
Thus the soul, in firmly believing the promises of God,
holds Him to be true and righteous ; and it can attribute
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 263
to God no higher glory than the credit of being so. The
highest worship of God is to ascribe to Him truth, right
eousness, and whatever qualities we must ascribe to one
in whom we believe. In doing this the soul shows itself
prepared to do His whole will ; in doing this it hallows
His name, and gives itself up to be dealt with as it may
please God. For it cleaves to His promises, and never
doubts that He is true, just, and wise, and will do, dispose,
and provide for all things in the best way. Is not such
a soul, in this its faith, most obedient to God in all
things ? What commandment does there remain which
has not been amply fulfilled by such an obedience ? What
fulfilment can be more full than universal obedience ?
Now this is not accomplished by works, but by faith
alone.
On the other hand, what greater rebellion, impiety, or
insult to God can there be, than not to believe His
promises ? What else is this, than either to make God a
liar, or to doubt His truth that is, to attribute truth to
ourselves, but to God falsehood and levity ? In doing
this, is not a man denying God and setting himself up as
an idol in his own heart ? What then can works, done in
such a state of impiety, profit us, were they even angelic
or apostolic works ? Rightly hath God shut up all, not
in wrath nor in lust, but in unbelief, in order that those
who pretend that they are fulfilling the law by works
of purity and benevolence (which are social and human
virtues) may not presume that they will therefore be
saved, but, being included in the sin of unbelief, may
either seek mercy, or be justly condemned.
But when God sees that truth is ascribed to Him, and
that in the faith of our hearts He is honoured with all
the honour of which He is worthy, then in return He
honours us on account of that faith, attributing to us truth
and righteousness. For faith does truth and righteous
ness in rendering to God what is His ; and therefore
,in return God gives glory to our righteousness. It is
true and righteous that God is true and righteous ;
and to confess this and ascribe these attributes to.
264 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Him, this it is to be true and righteous. Thus He
says, " Them that honour Me I will honour, and they
that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (1 Sam.
ii. 30). And so Paul says that Abraham s faith was im
puted to him for righteousness, because by it he gave
glory to God ; and that to us also, for the same reason,
it shall be imputed for righteousness, if we believe
(Rom. iv.).
The third incomparable grace of faith is this : that it
unites the soul to Christ, as the wife to the husband, by
which mystery, as the Apostle teaches, Christ and the
soul are made one flesh. Now if they are one flesh, and
if a true marriage nay, by far the most perfect of
all marriages is accomplished between them (for human
marriages are but feeble types of this one great marriage),
then it follows that all they have becomes theirs in
common, as well good things as evil things ; so that
whatsoever Christ possesses, that the believing soul may
take to itself and boast of as its own, and whatever
belongs to the soul, that Christ claims as His.
If we compare these possessions, we shall see how in
estimable is the gain. Christ is full of grace, life, and
salvation ; the soul is full of sin, death, and condemnation.
Let faith step in, and then sin, death, and hell will
belong to Christ, and grace, life, and salvation to the
soul. For, if He is a Husband, He must needs take to
Himself that which is His wife s, and, at the same time,
impart to His wife that which is His. For, in giving her
His own body and Himself, how can He but give her all
that is His ? And, in taking to Himself the body of His
wife, how can He but take to Himself all that is hers ?
In this is displayed the delightful sight, not only of
communion, but of a prosperous warfare, of victory,
salvation, and redemption. For, since Christ is God and
man, and is such a Person as neither has sinned, nor dies,
nor is condemned, nay, cannot sin, die, or be condemned,
and since His righteousness, life, and salvation are invin
cible, eternal, and almighty, when, I say, such a Person,
by the wedding-ring of faith, takes a share in the sins,
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 265
death, and hell of His wife, nay, makes them His own, and
deals with them no otherwise than as if they were His,
and as if He Himself had sinned ; and when He suffers,
dies, and descends to hell, that He may overcome all
things, and since sin, death, and hell cannot swallow
Him up, they must needs be swallowed up by Him in
stupendous conflict. For His righteousness rises above
the sins of all men ; His life is more powerful than all
death ; His salvation is more unconquerable than, all hell.
^ Thus the believing soul, by the pledge of its faith in
Christ, becomes free from all sin, fearless of death, safe
from hell, and endowed with the eternal righteousness,
life, and salvation of its Husband Christ. Thus He
presents to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or
wrinkle, cleansing her with the washing of water by the
word ; that is, by faith in the word of life, righteousness,
and salvation. Thus He betrothes her unto Himself " in
faithfulness, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
lovingkiudness, and in mercies " (Hosea ii. 19, 20).
Who then can value highly enough these royal
nuptials ? Who can comprehend the riches of the glory
of this grace? Christ, that rich and pious Husband,
takes as a wife a needy and impious harlot, redeeming
her from all her evils and supplying her with all His good
things. It is impossible now that her sins should destroy
her, since they have been laid upon Christ and swallowed
up in Him, and since she has in her Husband Christ a
righteousness which she may claim as her own, and which
she_ can set up with confidence against all her sins,
against death and hell, saying, " If I have sinned, my
Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned ; all mine is
His, and all His is mine," as it is written, " My beloved
is mine, and I am His" (Cant. ii. 16). This is what
Paul says: "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," victory over
sin and death, as he says, The sting of death is sin.
and the strength of sin is the law " (1 Cor. xv. 56, 57).
From all this you will again understand why so much
importance is attributed to faith, so that it alone can
266 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
fulfil the law and justify without_anj_, works. For you
see that the First Commandment, which says, " Thou
shalt worship one God only," is fulfilled by faith alone.
If you were nothing but good works from the soles ot
your feet to the crown of your head, you would not be
worshipping God, nor fulfilling the First Commandment,
since it is impossible to worship God without ascribing
to Him the glory of truth and of universal goodness, as
it ought in truth to be ascribed. Now this is not done
by works, but only by faith of heart. It is not by work
ing, but bv believing, that we glorify God, and confess
Him to be true. On this ground faith alone is the right
eousness of a Christian man, and the fulfilling of all the
commandments. For to him who fulfils the first the
task of fulfilling all the rest is easy.
Works, since they are irrational things, cannot glorify
God, although they may be done to the glory of God,
if faith be present. But at present we are inquiring, not
into the quality of the works done, but into him who
does them, who glorifies God, and brings forth good
works. This is faith of heart, the head and the substance
of all our righteousness. Hence that is a blind and
perilous doctrine which teaches that the commandments
are fulfilled by works. The commandments must have
been fulfilled previous to any good works, and good
works follow their fulfilment, as we shall see.
But, that we may have a wider view of that grace
which our inner man has in Christ, we must know that
in the Old Testament God sanctified to Himself every
first-born male. The birthright was of great value,
giving a superiority over the rest by the double honour
of priesthood and kingship. For the first-born brother
was priest and lord of all the rest.
Under this figure was foreshown Christ, the true and
only First-born of God the Father and of the Virgin
Mary, and a true King^-aiid Prie&L not in a fleshly and
earthly sense. For His kingdom is not of this world ;
it is in heavenly and spiritual things that He reigns
and acts as Priest ; and these are righteousness, truth,
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 267
wisdom, peace, salvation, etc. Not but that all things,
even those of earth and hell, are subject to Him for
otherwise how could He defend and save us from them ?
but it is not in these, nor by these, that His kingdom
stands.
"So, too, His priesthood does not consist in the outward
display of vestments and gestures, as did the human
priesthood of Aaron and our ecclesiastical priesthood at
this day, but in spiritual things, wherein, in His invisible
office, He intercedes for us with God in heaven, and
there offers Himself, and performs all the duties of a
priest, as Paul describes Him to the Hebrews under the
figure of Melchizedek. Nor does He only pray and inter
cede for us ; He also teaches us inwardly in the spirit
with the living teachings of His Spitik Now these are
the two special offices of a priest, as is figured to us
in the case of fleshly priests by visible prayers and
sermons.
As Christ by His birthright has obtained these two
dignities, so He imparts and communicates them to every
believer in Him, under that law of matrimony of which
we have spoken above, by which all that is the husband s
is also the wife s. Hence all we who believe on Christ
are kings and priests in Christ, as it is said, "Ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of
Him who hath called you out of darkness into His mar
vellous light " (1 Peter ii. 9).
These two things stand thus. First, as regards king
ship, every Christian is by faith so exalted above all
things that, in spiritual power, he is completely lord of
all things, so that nothing whatever can do him any
hurt ; yea, all things are subject to lnm j and are com
pelled to be subservient to his salvation. Thus Paul
says, " All things work together for good to them who
are the called" (Rom. viii. 28), and also, "Whether
life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all
are yours ; and ye are Christ s " (1 Cor. iii. 22, 23).
Not that in the sense of corporeal power any one
268 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
among Christians has been appointed to possess and rule
all things, according to the mad and senseless idea of
certain ecclesiastics. That is the office of kings, princes,
and men upon earth. In the experience of life we see
that we are subjected to all things, and suffer many
things, even death. Yea, the more of a Christian any
man is, to so many the more evils, sufferings, arid deaths
is he subject, as we see in the first place in Christ the
First-born, and in all His holy brethren.
This is a spiritual power, which rules in the midst of
enemies, and is powerful in the midst of distresses. And
this is nothing else than that strength is made perfect
in my weakness, and that I can turn all things to the
profit of my salvation ; so that even the cross and death
are compelled to serve me and to work together for my
salvation. This is a lofty and eminent dignity, a true
and almighty dominion, a spiritual empire, in which
there is nothing so good, nothing so bad, as not to work
together for my good, if only I believe. And yet there
is nothing of which I have need for faith alone suffices
for my salvation unless that in it faith may exercise
the power and empire of its liberty. This is the inesti
mable power and liberty of Christians.
Nor are we only kings and the freest of all men, but
also priests for ever, a dignity far higher than kingship,
because by that priesthood we are worthy to appeal-
before God, to pray for others, and to teach one another
mutually the things which are of God. For these are
the duties of priests, and they cannot possibly be per
mitted to any unbeliever. Christ has obtained for us
this favour, if we believe in Him : that just as we are
His brethren and co-heirs and fellow-kings with Him,
so we should be a] so fellow-priests with Him, and venture
with confidence, through the spirit of faith, to come into
the presence of God, and cry, "Abba, Father j" and to
pray for one another, and to do all things which we see
done and figured in the visible and corporeal office of
priesthood. But to an unbelieving person nothing
renders service or works for arood. He himself is in
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 269
servitude to all things, and all things turn out for evil
to him, because he uses all things in an impious way
for his own advantage, and not for the glory of God.
And thus he is not a priest, but a profane person,
whose prayers are turned into sin, nor does he ever
appear in the presence of God, because God does not
hear sinners.
Who then can comprehend the loftiness of that Chris
tian dignity which, by its royal power, rules over all
things, even over death, life, and sin, and, by its priestly
glory, is all-powerful with God, since God does what He
Himself seeks and wishes, as it is written, "He will
fulfil the desire of them that fear Him ; He also will
hear their cry, and will save them " ? (Psalm cxly. 1 9).
This glory certainly cannot be attained by any works,
but by faith only.
From these considerations any one may clearly see
how a Christian man is free from all things ; so that he
needs no works in order to be justified and saved, but
receives theso gifts in abundance from faith alone. Nay,
were he so foolish as to pretend to be justified, set free,
saved, and made a Christian, by means of any good work,
he would immediately lose faith, with all its benefits.
Such folly is prettily represented in the fable where a
dog, running along in the water and carrying in his
mouth a real piece of meat, is deceived by the reflection
of the meat in the water, and, in trying with open mouth
to seize it, loses the meat and its image at the same
time.
Here you will ask, " If all who are in the Church arc
priests, by what character are those whom we now call
priests to be distinguished from the laity?" I reply,
By the use of these words, "priest," "clergy," "spiritual
person," " ecclesiastic," an injustice has been done, since
they have been transferred from the remaining body of
Christians to those few who are now, by a hurtful
custom, called ecclesiastics. For Holy Scripture makes
no distinction between them, except that those who are
now boastfully called popes, bishops, and lords, it calls
270 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
ministers, servants, and stewards, who are to serve the
rest in the ministry of the word, for teaching the faith
of Christ and the liberty of believers. For though it is
true that we are all equally priests, yet we cannot, nor,
if we could, ought we all to, minister and teach publicly.
Thus Paul says, " Let a man so account of us as of the
ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of
God " (1 Cor. iv. 1).
This bad system has now issued in such a pompous
display of power and such a terrible tyranny that no
earthly government can be compared to it, as if the laity
were something else than Christians. Through this per
version of things it has happened that the knowledge of
Christian grace, of faith, of liberty, and altogether of
Christ, has utterly perished, and has been succeeded by
an intolerable bondage to human works and laws ; and,
according to the Lamentations of Jeremiah, we have
become the slaves of the vilest men on earth, who abuse
our misery to all the disgraceful and ignominious purposes
of their own will.
r Returning to the subject which we had begun, I think
it is made clear by these considerations that it is not
sufficient, nor a Christian course, to preach the works,
life, and words of Christ in a historic manner, as facts
which it suffices to know as an example how to frame
our life, as do those who are now held the best preachers,
and much less so to keep silence altogether on these
things and to teach in their stead the laws of men and
the decrees of the Fathers. There are now not a few
persons who preach and read about Christ with the
object of moving the human affections to sympathise
with Christ, to indignation against the Jews, and other
childish and womanish absurdities of that kind.
Now preaching ought to have the object of promoting
faith in Him, so that He may not only be Christ, but a
Christ for you and for me, and that what is said of Him,
and what He is called, may work in us. And this faith
is produced and is maintained by preaching why Christ
came, what He has brought us and given to us, and to
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
271
what profit and advantage He is to be received. This
is done when the Christian liberty which we have from
Christ Himself is rightly taught, and we are shown in
what manner all we Christians are kings and priests
and how we are lords of all things, and may be confident
that whatever we do in the presence of God is pleasino-
and acceptable to Him.
Whose heart would not rejoice in its inmost core at
hearing these things ? Whose heart, on receiving so
great a consolation, would not become sweet with* the
love oi Christ, a love to which it can never attain by any
laws or works ? Who can injure such a heart, or make
it afraid ? If the consciousness of sin or the horror of
death rush in upon it, it is prepared to hope in the Lord
and is fearless of such evils, and undisturbed, until it
shall look down upon its enemies. For it believes that-
the righteousness of Christ is its own, and that its sin is
no longer its own but that of Christ ; but, on account of
its faith m Christ, all its sin must needs be swallowed
up from before the face of the righteousness of Christ as
[ have said above. It learns, too, with the Apostle , to
scoff at death and sin, and to say, "0 death, where is
thy sting? ,0 grave, where is thy victory ? The stina-
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ " (1 Cor. xv. 55-57) For death
is swallowed up in victory, not only the victory of Christ
but ours also, since by faith it becomes ours, and in it we
too conquer.
concerning the inner ^ tl u auu
m concerning that righteousness of faith
..- needs neither laws nor good works ; nay, they are
even hi -tful to it, if any one pretends to be justified by
i t0 tbe Other -Part = to the outward
man. Jicre we shall give an answer to all those who
taking offence at the word of faith and at what I have
asserted, say, "If faith does everything, and by itself
272 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
suffices for justification, why then are good works com
manded ? Are we then to take our ease and do no works,
content with faith ? " Not so, impious men, I reply ;
not so. That would indeed really be the case, if we
were thoroughly and completely inner and spiritual
persons ; but that will not happen until the last day,
when the dead shall be raised. As long as we live in the
flesh, we are but beginning and making advances in that
which shall be completed in a future life. On this
account the Apostle calls that which we have in this life
the firstfruits of the Spirit (Rom. viii. 23). In future
we shall have the tenths, and the fulness of the Spirit.
To this part belongs the fact I have stated before : that
the Christian is the servant of all and subject to all.
For in that part in which he is free he does no works,
but in that in which he is a servant he does all works.
Let us see on what principle this is so.
Although, as I have said, inwardly, and according to
the spirit, a man is amply enough justified by faith,
having all that he requires to have, except that this very
faith and abundance ought to increase from day to day,
even till the future life, still he remains in this mortal
life upon earth, in which it is necessary that he should
rule his own body and have intercourse with men. Here
then works begin ; here he must not take his ease ; here
he must give heed to exercise his body by fastings,
watchings, labour, and other regular discipline, so that
it may be subdued to the spirit, and obey and conform
itself to the inner man and faith, and not rebel against
them nor hinder them, as is its nature to do if it is not
kept under. For the inner man, being conformed to God
and created after the image of God through faith, rejoices
and delights itself in Christ, in whom such blessings
have been conferred on it, and hence has only this task
before it : to serve God with joy and for nought in free
love.
But in doing this he comes into collision with that
contrary will in his own flesh, which is striving to_ serve
the world and to seek its own gratification. This the
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 273
spirit of faith cannot and will not bear, but applies itself
with cheerfulness and zeal to keep it down and restrain
it, as Paul says, " I delight in the law of God after the
inward man ; but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin " (Rom. vii. 22, 23),
and again, " I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached
to others, I myself should be a castaway " (1 Cor. ix.
27), and " They that are Christ s have crucified the
flesh, with the affections and lusts " (Gal. v. 24).
These works, however, must not be done with any \/
notion that by them a man can be justified before God-//
Mbr faith, which alone is righteousness before God, wilf
not bear with this false notion but solely with this
purpose : that the body may be brought into subjection,
and be purified from its evil lusts, so that our eyes may
be turned only to purging away those lusts. For when
the soul has been cleansed by faith and made to love God,
it would have all things to be cleansed in like manner,
and especially its own body, so that all things might
unite with it in the love and praise of God. Thus it
comes that, from the requirements of his own body, a man
cannot take his ease, but is compelled on its account to
do many good works, that he may bring it into subjection.
Yet these works are not the means of his justification
before God ; he does them out of disinterested love to
the service of God ; looking to no other end than to do
what is well-pleasing to Him whom he desires to obey
most dutifully in all things.
On this principle every man may easily instruct him
self in what measure, and with what distinctions, he
ought to chasten his own body. He will fast, watch,
and labour, just as much as he sees to suffice for keeping
down the wantonness and concupiscence of the body.
But those who pretend to be justified by works are
looking, not to the mortification of their lusts, but only
to the works themselves ; thinking that, if they can
accomplish as many works and as great ones as possible,
18
274 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
all is well with them, and they are justified. Sometimes
they even injure their brain, and extinguish nature, or
at least make it useless. This is enormous folly, and
ignorance of Christian life and faith, when a man seeks,
without faith, to be justified and saved by works.
To make what we have said more easily understood,
let us set it forth under a figure. The works of a
Christian man, who is justified and saved by his faith out
of the pure and unbought mercy of God, ought to be
regarded in the same light as would have been those of
Adam and Eve in paradise and of all their posterity
if they had not sinned. Of them it is said, " The Lord
God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it" (Gen. ii. 15). Now Adam
had been created by God just and righteous, so that
he could not have needed to be justified and made
righteous by keeping the garden and working in it ; but,
that he might not be unemployed, God gave him the
business of keeping and cultivating paradise. These
would have indeed been works of perfect freedom, being-
done for no object but that of pleasing God, and not in
order to obtain justification, which he already had to the
full, and which would have been innate in us all.
So it is with the works of a believer. Being by his
faith replaced afresh in paradise and created anew, he
does not need works for his justification, but that he may
not be idle, but may exercise his own body and preserve
it. His works are to be done freely, with the sole object
of pleasing God. Only we are not yet fully created anew
in perfect faith and love ; these require to be increased,
not, however, through works, but through themselves.
A bishop, when he consecrates a church, confirms
children, or performs any other duty of his office, is not
consecrated as bishop by these works ; nay, unless he had
been previously consecrated as bishop, not one of those
works would have any validity ; they would be foolish,
childish, and ridiculous. Thus a Christian, being conse
crated by his faith, does good works ; but he is not
by these works made a more sacred person, or more a
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 275
Christian. That is the effect of faith alone ; nay, unless
he were previously a believer and a Christian, none of
his works would have any value at all ; they would
really be impious and damnable sins.
True, then, are these two sayings : " Good works do not
make a good man, but a good man does good works " ;
" Bad works do not make a bad man, but a bad man does
bad works." Thus it is always necessary that the substance
or person should be good before any good works can be
done, and that good works should follow and proceed
from a good person. As Christ says, " A good tree
cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit " (Matt. vii. 18). Now it is clear
that the fruit does not bear the tree, nor does the tree
grow on the fruit ; but, on the contrary, the trees bear
the fruit, and the fruit grows on the trees.
As then trees must exist before their fruit, and as the
fruit does not make the tree either good or bad, but, on
the contrary, a tree of either kind produces fruit of the
same kind, so must first the person of the man be good
or bad before he can do either a good or a bad work ;
and his works do not make him bad or good^but he him
self makes his works either bad or good.^-""
"We may see the same thing in all handicrafts. A bad
or good house does not make a bad or good builder, but
a good or bad builder makes a good or bad house. And
in general no work makes the workman such as it is
itself ; but the workman makes the work such as he is
himself. Such is the case, too, with the works of men.
Such as the man himself is, whether in faith or in un
belief, such is his work : good if it be done in faith; bad
if in unbelief. But the converse is not true that, such
as the work is, such the man becomes in faith or in
unbelief. For as works do not make a believing man,
so neither do they make a justified man ; but faith, as it
makes a man a believer and justified, so also it makes
his works good.
Since then works justify no man, but a man must be
justified before he can do any good work, it is most evident
276 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
that it is faith alone which, by the mere mercy of God
through Christ, and by means of His word, can worthily
and sufficiently justify and save the person ; and that a
Christian man needs no work, no law, for his salvation ;
for by faith he is free from, all law, and in perfect freedom
does gratuitously all that he does, seeking nothing either
of profit or of salvation since by the grace of God he is
already saved and rich in all things through his faith
but solely that which is well-pleasing to God.
So, too, no good work can profit an unbeliever to justi
fication and salvation ; and, on the other hand, no evil
work makes him an evil and condemned person, but that
iinb elief, which makes the person and the tree bad, makes
his works evil and condemned. Wherefore, when any
man is made good or bad, this does not arise from his
works, but from his faith or unbelief, as the wise man
says, " The beginning of sin is to fall away from God " ;
that is, not to believe. Paul says, " He that cometh to
God must believe " (Heb. xi. 6) ; and Christ says the
same thing : " Either make the tree good, and his fruit
good ; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit
corrupt " (Matt. xii. 33), as much as to say, He who
wishes to have good fruit will begin with the tree, and
plant a good one ; even so he who wishes to do good
works must begin, not by working, but by believing,
since it is this which makes the person good. For
nothing makes the person good but faith, nor bad but
unbelief.
It is certainly true that, in the sight of men, a man
becomes good or evil by his works ; but here " becoming "
means that it is thus shown and recognised who is good
or evil, as Christ says, " By their fruits ye shall know
them " (Matt. vii. 20). But all this stops at appearances
and externals ; and in this matter very many deceive
themselves, when they presume to write and teach that
we are to be justified by good works, and meanwhile
make no mention even of faith, walking in their own
ways, ever deceived and deceiving, going from bad to
worse, blind leaders of the blind, wearying themselves
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 277
with many works, and yet never attaining to true
righteousness, of whom Paul says, " Having a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof, ever learn
ing and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth" (2 Tim. iii. ;"), 7).
He then who does not wish to go astray, with these
blind ones, must look further than to the works of the
law or the doctrine of works ; nay, must turn away his
sight from works, and look to the person, and to the
manner in which it may be justified. Now it is justified
and saved, not \)y works or laws, but by the word of God
that is, by the promise of His grace so that the glory
may be to the Divine majesty, which has saved us who
believe, not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy, by the word of His
grace.
From all this it is easy to perceive on what principle
good works are to be cast aside or embraced, and by
what rale all teachings put forth concerning works are
to be understood. For if works are brought forward as
grounds of justification, and are done under the false
persuasion that we can pretend to be justified by them,
they lay on us the yoke of necessity, and extinguish liberty
along with faith, and by this very addition to their use
they become no longer good, but really worthy of con
demnation. For such works are not free, but blaspheme
the grace of God, to which alone it belongs to justify and
save through faith. Works cannot accomplish this, and
yet, with impious presumption, through our folly, they
take it on themselves to do so ; and thus break in with
violence upon the office and glory of grace.
We do not then reject good works ; nay, we embrace
them and teach them in the highest degree. It is not
on their own account that we condemn them, but on
account of this impious addition to them and the perverse
notion of seeking justification by them. These things
cause them to be only good in outward show, but in
reality not good, since by them men are deceived and
deceive others, like ravening wolves in sheep s clothing.
278 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Now this leviathan, this perverted notion about works,
is invincible when sincere faith is wanting. For those
sanctified doers of works cannot but hold it till faith,
which destroys it, comes and reigns in the heart. Nature
cannot expel it by her own power ; nay, cannot even see
it for what it is, but considers it as a most holy will.
And when custom steps in besides, and strengthens this
pravity of nature, as has happened by means of impious
teachers, then the evil is incurable, and leads astray
multitudes to irreparable ruin. Therefore, though it is
good to preach and write about penitence, confession,
and satisfaction, yet if we stop there, and do not go on
to teach faith, such teaching is without doubt deceitful
and devilish. For Christ, speaking by His servant John,
not only said, " Repent ye, " but added, " for the king
dom of heaven is at hand " (Matt. iii. 2).
For not one word of God only, but both, should be
preached ; new and old things should be brought out of
the treasury, as well the voice of the law as the word
of grace. The voice of the law should be brought
forward, that men may be terrified and brought to a
knowledge of their sins, and thence be converted to
penitence and to a better manner of life. But we must
not stop here -, that would be to wound only and not to
bind up, to strike and not to heal, to kill and not to
make alive, to bring down to hell and not to bring back,
to humble and not to exalt. Therefore the word of grace
and of the promised remission of sin must also be
preached, in order to teach and set up faith, since with
out that word contrition, penitence, and all other duties,
are performed and taught in vain.
There still remain, it is true, preachers of repentance
and grace, but they do not explain the law and the
promises of God to such an end, and in such a spirit,
that men may learn whence repentance and grace are to
come. For repentance comes from the law of God, but
faith or grace from the promises of God, as it is said,
" Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God" (Rom. x. 17), whence it comes that a man, when
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 279
humbled and brought tojthe knowledge of himself by the
threatening^ and terrors of the law, is consoled and raised
up by faith in the Divine promise. Thus " weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning "
(Psalm xxx. 5). Thus much we say concerning works in
general, and also concerning those which the Christian
practises with regard to his own body.
Lastly, we will speak also of those works which he
performs towards his neighbour. For man does not
live for himself alone in this mortal body, in order to
work on its account, but also for all men on earth ;
nay, he lives only for others, and not for himself. For it
is to this end that lie brings his own body into subjection,
that he may be able to serve others more sincerely and
more freely, as Paul says, "None of us liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we
live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we die
unto the Lord" (Rom. xiv. 7, 8). Thus it is impossible
that he should take his ease in this life, and not work
for the good of his neighbours, since he must needs
speak, act, and converse among men, just as Christ was
made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a
man, and had His conversation among men.
Yet a Christian has need of none of these things for
justification and salvation, but in all his works he ought
to entertain this view and look only to this object that
he may serve and be useful to others in all that he does ;
having nothing before his eyes but the necessities and
the advantage of his neighbour. Thus the Apostle
commands us to work with our own hands, that we may
have to give to those that need. He might have said,
that we may support ourselves ; but he tells us to give
to those that need. It is the part of a Christian to
take care of his own body for the very purpose that,
by its soundness and well-being, he may be enabled to
labour, and to acquire and preserve property, for the aid
of those who are in want, that thus the stronger
member may serve the weaker member, and we may be
children of God, thoughtful and busy one for another,
280 LU7HERS PRIMARY WORKS
bearing one another s burdens, and so fulfilling the law
of Christ.
Here is the truly Christian life, here is faith really
working by love, when a man applies himself with joy
and love to the works of that freest servitude in which
he serves others voluntarily and for nought, himself
abundantly satisfied in the fulness and riches of his own
faith.
Thus, when Paul had taught the Philippians how they
had been made rich by that faith in Christ in which
they had obtained all things, he teaches them further in
these words : " If there be therefore any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that
ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory ; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
other better than themselves. Look not every man on
his own things, but every man also on the things of
others " (Phil. ii. 14).
In this we see clearly that the Apostle lays down this
rule for a Christian life : that all our works should be
directed to the advantage of others, since every Christian
has such abundance through his faith that all his other
works and his whole life remain over and above where
with to serve and benefit his neighbour of spontaneous
goodwill.
To this end lie brings forward Christ as an example,
saying, " Let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of
no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men ; and being found
in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death " (Phil. ii. 58). This most whole
some saying of the Apostle has been darkened to us by
men who, totally misunderstanding the expressions
" form of God," form of a servant," " fashion," " likeness
of men," have transferred them to the natures of Godhead
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 281
and manhood. Paul s meaning is this : Christ, when He
was full of the form of God and abounded in all good
things, so that He had no need of works or sufferings to
he just and saved for all these things He had from
the very beginning yet was not puffed up with these
tilings, and did not raise Himself above us and arrogate
to Himself power over us, though He might lawfully
have done so, but, on the contrary, so acted in labouring,
working, suffering, and dying, as to be like the rest of
men, and no otherwise than a man in fashion and in
conduct, as if He were in want of all things and had
nothing of the form of God ; and yet all this He did
for our sakes, that He might serve us, and that all the
works He should do under that form of a servant might
become ours.
Thus a Christian, like Christ his Head, being full and
in abundance through his faith, ought to be content
with this form of God, obtained by faith ; except that,
as I have said, he ought to increase this faith till it be
perfected. For this faith is his life, justification, and
salvation, preserving his person itself and making it
pleasing to God, and bestowing on him all that Christ
has, as I have said above, and as Paul affirms : " The
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God " (Gal. ii. 20). Though he is thus free
from all works, yet he ought to empty himself of this
liberty, take on him the form of a servant, be made in
the likeness of men, be found in fashion as a man, serve,
help, and in every way act towards his neighbour as he
sees that God through Christ has acted and is acting
towards him. All this he should do freely, and with
regard to nothing but the good pleasure of God, and he
should reason thus :
Lo ! my God, without merit on my part, of His pure
and free mercy, has given to me, an unworthy, condemned,
and contemptible creature, all the riches of justification
and salvation in Christ, so that I no longer am in want
of anything, except of faith to believe that this is so.
For such a Father, then, who has overwhelmed me with
282 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
these inestimable riches of His, why should I not freely,
cheerfully, and with my whole heart, and from voluntary
zeal, do all that I know will be pleasing to Him and
acceptable in His sight? I will therefore give myself,
as a sort of Christ, to my neighbour, as Christ has given
Himself to me : and will do nothing in this life except
what I see will be needful, advantageous, and wholesome
for my neighbour, since by faith I abound in all good
things in Christ.
Thus from faith flow forth love and joy in the Lord,
and from love a cheerful, willing, free spirit, disposed
to serve our neighbour voluntarily, without taking any
account of gratitude or ingratitude, praise or blame, gain
or loss. Its object is not to lay men under obligations,
nor does it distinguish between friends and enemies, or
look to gratitude or ingratitude, but most freely and
willingly spends itself and its goods, whether it loses
them through ingratitude, or gains goodwill. For thus
did its Father, distributing all things to all men abund
antly and freely, making His sun to rise upon the just
and the unjust. Thus, too, the child does and endures
nothing except from the free joy with which it delights
through Christ in God, the Giver of such great gifts.
You see, then, that, if we recognise those great and
precious gifts, as Peter says, which have been given to
us, love is quickly diffused in our hearts through the
Spirit, and by love we are made free, joyftil, all-powerful,
active workers, victors over all our tribulations, servants
to our neighbour, and nevertheless lords of all things.
But, for those who do not recognise the good things given
to them through Christ, Christ has been born in vain ;
such persons walk by works, and will never attain the
taste and feeling of these great things. Therefore just
as our neighbour is in want, and has need of our abund
ance, so we too in the sight of God were in want, and
had need of His mercy. And as our heavenly Father
has freely helped us in Christ, so ought we freely to help
onr neighbour by our body and works, and each should
become to other* a sort of Christ, so that we may be
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 283
mutually Christs, and that the same Christ may be in all
of us ; that is, that we may be truly Christians.
Who then can comprehend the riches and glory of the
Christian life ? It can do all things, has all things, and
is in want of nothing ; is lord over sin, death, and hell,
and at the same time is the obedient and useful servant
of all. But alas ! it is at this day unknown throughout
the world ; it is neither preached nor sought after, so
that we are quite ignorant about our own name, why we
are and are called Christians. We are certainly called
so from Christ, who is not absent, but dwells among us
provided, that is, that we believe in Him and are
reciprocally and mutually one the Christ of the other,
doing to our neighbour as Christ does to us. But now,
in the doctrine of men, we are taught only to seek after
merits, rewards, and things which are already ours, and
we have made of Christ a taskmaster far more severe
than Moses.
The Blessed Virgin, beyond all others, affords us an
example of the same faith, in that she was purified
according to the law of Moses, and like all other women,
though she was bound by no such law and had no need
of purification. Still she submitted to the law voluntarily
and of free love, making herself like the rest of women,
that she might not offend or throw contempt on them.
She was not justified by doing this ; but, being already
justified, she did it freely and gratuitously. Thus ought
our works too to be done, and not in order to be justified
by them ; for, being first justified by faith, we ought to
do all our works freely and cheerfully for the sake of
others.
St. Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy, not because
he needed circumcision for his justification, but that he
might not offend or contemn those Jews, weak in the
faith, who had not yet been able to comprehend the
liberty of faith. On the other hand, when they contemned
liberty and urged that circumcision was necessary for
justification, he resisted them, and would not allow Titus
to be circumcised. For, as he would not offend or
284 LU1HERS PRIMARY WORKS
contemn any one s weakness in faith, but yielded for the
time to their will, so, again, he would not have the liberty
of faith oifended or contemned by hardened self-justifiers,
but walked in a middle path, sparing the weak for the
time, and always resisting the hardened, that he might
convert all to the liberty of faith. On the same principle
we ought to act, receiving those that are weak in the
faith, but boldly resisting these hardened teachers of
works, of whom we shall hereafter speak at more length.
Christ also, when His disciples were asked for the
tribute money, asked of Peter whether the children of a
king were not free from taxes. Peter agreed to this ;
yet Jesus commanded him to go to the sea, saying,
" Lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and
cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up ;
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a.
piece of money ; that take, and give unto them for Me
and thee " (Matt. xvii. 27).
This example is very much to our purpose ; for here
Christ calls Himself and His disciples free men and
children of a King, in want of nothing ; and yet He
voluntarily submits and pays the tax. Just as far, then,
as this work was necessary or useful to Christ for justifi
cation or salvation, so far do all His other works or those
of His disciples avail for justification. They are really
free and subsequent to justification, and only done to
serve others and set them an example.
Such are the works which Paul inculcated, that
Christians should be subject to principalities and powers
and ready to every good work (Titus iii. 1), not that they
may be justified by these things for they are already
justified by faith but that in liberty of spirit they may
thus be the servants of others and subject to powers,
obeying their will out of gratuitous love.
Such, too, ought to have been the works of all colleges,
monasteries, and priests ; every one doing the works of
his own profession and state of life, not in order to be
justified by them, but in order to bring his own body into
subjection, as an example to others, who themselves also
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 285
need to keep under their bodies, and also in order to
accommodate himself to the will of others, out of free love.
But we must always guard most carefully against_ any
vain confidence or presumption of being justified, gaining
merit, or being saved by these works, this being the part
of faith alone, as I have so often said.
Any man possessing this knowledge may easily keep
clear of danger among those innumerable commands and
precepts of the Pope, of bishops, of monasteries, of
churches, of princes, and of magistrates, which some
foolish pastors urge on us as being necessary for justifi
cation and salvation, calling them precepts of the Church,
when they are not so at all. For the Christian freeman
will speak thus : I will fast, I will pray, I will do this or
that which is commanded me by men, not as having any
need of these things for justification or salvation, but
that I may thus comply with the will of the Pope, of the
bishop, of such a community or such a magistrate, or of
my neighbour as an example to him ; for this cause I
will do and suffer all things, just as Christ did and
suffered much more for me, though He needed not at all
to do so on His own account, and made Himself for my
sake under the law, when He was not under the law.
And although tyrants may do me violence or wrong in
requiring obedience to these things, yet it will not hurt
me to do them, so long as they are not done against God.
From, all this every man will be able to attain a sure
judgment and faithful discrimination between all works
and laws, and to know who are blind and foolish pastors,
and who are true and good ones. For whatsoever work
is not directed to the sole end either of keeping under
the body, or of doing service to our neighbour provided
he require nothing contrary to the will of God is no
good or Christian work. Hence I greatly fear that at
this day few or no colleges, monasteries, altars, or eccle
siastical functions are Christian ones ; and the same may
be said of fasts and special prayers to certain saints. I
fear that in all these nothing is being sought but what
is already ours ; while we fancy that by these things
286 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
our sins are purged away and salvation is attained, and
thus utterly do away with Christian liberty. This comes
from ignorance of Christian faith and liberty.
This ignorance and this crushing of liberty are dili
gently promoted by the teaching of very many blind
pastors, who stir up and urge the people to a zeal for
these things, praising them and puffing them up with
their indulgences, but never teaching faith. Now I
would advise you, if you have any wish to pray, to fast,
or to make foundations in churches, as they call it, to
take care not to do so with the object of gaining any
advantage, either temporal or eternal. You will thus
wrong your faith, which alone bestows all things on you,
and the increase of which, either by working or by
suffering, is alone to be cared for. What you give, give
freely and without price, that others may prosper and
have increase from you and from your goodness. Thus
you will be a truly good man and a Christian. For what
to you are your goods and your works, which are done
over and above for the subjection of the body, since you
have abundance for yourself through your faith, in which
God has given you all things ?
We give this rule : the good things which we have
from God ought to flow from one to another, and become
common to all, so that every one of us may, as it were,
put on his neighbour, and so behave towards him as if
he were himself in his place. They flowed and do flow
from Christ to us; He put us on, and acted for us as if He
Himself were what we are. From us they flow to those
who have need of them ; so that my faith and righteous
ness ought to be laid down before God as a covering and
intercession for the sins of my neighbour, which I am to
take on myself, and so labour and endure servitude in
them, as if they were my own ; for thus has Christ done
for us. This is true love and the genuine truth of
Christian life. But only there is it true and genuine
where there is true and genuine faith. Hence the
Apostle attributes to charity this quality: that she seeketh
not her own.
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 287
We conclude therefore that a Christian man does not
live in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbour, or
else is no Christian : in Christ by faith ; in his neighbour
by love. By faith heTls carried upwards above himself
to God, and by love he sinks back below himself to his
neighbour, still always abiding in God and His love, as
Christ says, " Verily I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall
see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of man" (John i. 51).
Thus much concerning liberty, which, as you see, is a
true and spiritual liberty, making our hearts free from
all sins, laws, and commandments, as Paul says, " The
law is not made for a righteous man " (1 Tim. i. 9), and
one which surpasses all other external liberties, as far as
heaven is above earth. May Christ make us to under
stand and preserve this liberty. Amen.
Finally, for the sake of those to whom nothing can be
stated so well but that they misunderstand and distort
it, we must add a word, in case they can understand even
that. There are very many persons who, when they
hear of this liberty of faith, straightway turn it into an
occasion of licence. They think that everything is now
lawful for them, and do not choose to show themselves
free men and Christians in any other way than by their
contempt and reprehension of ceremonies, of traditions,
of human laws ; as if they were Christians merely because
they refuse to fast on stated days, or eat flesh when
others fast, or omit the customary prayers ; scoffing at
the precepts of men, but utterly passing over all the rest
that belongs to the Christian religion. On the other
hand, they are most pertinaciously resisted by those who
strive after salvation solely by their observance of and
reverence for ceremonies, as if they would be saved
merely because they fast on stated days, or abstain from
flesh, or make formal prayers ; talking loudly of the
precepts of the Church and of the Fathers, and not
caring a straw about those things which belong to our
genuine faith. Both these parties are plainly culpable,
in that, while they neglect matters which are of weight
288 LUTHERS PRIMARY WORKS
and necessary for salvation, they contend noisily about
snch as are without weight and not necessary.
How much more rightly does the Apostle Paul teach
us to walk in the middle path, condemning either extreme
and saying, " Let not him that eateth despise him that
eateth not ; and let not him which eateth not judge him
that eateth " (Rom. xiv. 3) ! You see here how the
Apostle blames those who, not from religious feeling,
but in mere contempt, neglect and rail at ceremonial
observances, and teaches them not to despise, since this
" knowledge puffeth up." Again, he teaches the perti
nacious upholders of these things not to judge their
opponents. For neither party observes towards the
other that charity which edifieth. In this matter we
must listen to Scripture, which teaches us to turn aside
neither to the right hand nor to the left, but to follow
those right precepts of the Lord which rejoice the heart.
For just as a man is not righteous merely because he
serves and is devoted to works and ceremonial rites, so
neither will he be accounted righteous merely because
he neglects and despises them.
^ It is not from works that we are set free by the faith
of Christ, but from the belief in works, that is from
foolishly presuming to seek justification through works.
Faith redeems our consciences, makes them upright, and
preserves them, since by it we recognise the truth that
justification does not depend on our works, although
good works neither can nor ought to be absent, just as
we cannot exist without food and drink and all the
functions of this mortal body. Still it is not on them
that our justification is based, but on faith ; and yet they
ought not on that account to be despised or neglected.
Thus in this world we are compelled by the needs of
this bodily life ; but we are not hereby justified. " My
kingdom is not hence, nor of this world," says Christ ;
but He does not say, " My kingdom is not here, nor in
this world." Paul, too, says, " Though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh " (2 Cor. x. 3), and
" The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
faith of the Son of God " (Gal. ii. 20). Thus our doings,
life, and being, in works and ceremonies, are done from
the necessities of this life, and with the motive of
governing our bodies ; but yet we are not justified by
these things, but by the faith of the Son of God.
The Christian must therefore walk in the middle path,
and set these two classes of men before his eyes. He
may meet with hardened and obstinate ceremonialists,
who, like deaf adders, refuse to listen to the truth of
liberty, and cry up, enjoin, and urge on us their cere
monies, as if they could justify us without faith. Such
were the Jews of old, who would not understand, that
they might act well. These men we must resist, do
just the contrary to what they do, and be bold to give
them offence, lest by this impious notion of theirs they
should deceive many along with themselves. Before the
eyes of these men it is expedient to eat flesh, to break
fasts, and to do in behalf of the liberty of faith things
which they hold to be the greatest sins. We must say
of them, " Let them alone ; they be blind leaders of the
blind" (Matt. xv. 14). In this way Paul also would
not have Titus circumcised, though these men urged it ;
and Christ defended the Apostles, who had plucked ears
of corn on the Sabbath day ; and many like instances.
Or else we may meet with simple-minded and ignorant
persons, weak in the faith, as the Apostle calls them,
who are as yet unable to apprehend that liberty of faith,
even if willing to do so. These we must spare, lest they
should be offended. We must bear with their infirmity,
till they shall be more fully instructed. For since these
men do not act thus from hardened malice, but only from
weakness of faith, therefore, in order to avoid giving
them offence, we must keep fasts and do other things
which they consider necessary. This is required of us by
charity, which injures no one, but serves all men. It is
not the fault of these persons that they are weak, but
that of their pastors, who by the snares and weapons of
their own traditions have brought them into bondage
and wounded their souls when they ought to have been
19
2 9 o LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
set free and healed by the teaching of faith and liberty.
Thus the Apostle says, " If meat make my brother to
offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth "
(1 Cor. viii. 13); and again, "1 know, and am per
suaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean
of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to be
unclean, to him it is unclean. It is evil for that man
who eateth with offence " (Rom. xiv. 14, 20).
Thus, though we ought boldly to resist those teachers
of tradition, and though the laws of the pontiffs, by
which they make aggressions on the people of God,
deserve sharp reproof, yet we must spare the timid
crowd, who are held captive by the laws of those
impious tyrants, till they are set free. Fight vigorously
against the wolves, but on behalf of the sheep, not
against the sheep. And this you may do by inveighing
against the laws and lawgivers, and yet at the same
time observing these laws with the weak, lest they
be offended, until they shall themselves recognise the
tyranny, and understand their own liberty. If you wish
to use your liberty, do it secretly, as Paul says, " Hast
thou faith ? have it to thyself before God " (Rom. xiv.
22). But take care not to use it in the presence of the
weak. On the other hand, in the presence of tyrants
and obstinate opposers, use your liberty in their despite,
and with the utmost pertinacity, that they too may
understand that they are tyrants, and their laws useless
for justification, nay that they had no right to establish
such laws.
Since then we cannot live in this world without
ceremonies and works, since the hot and inexperienced
period of youth has need of being restrained and pro
tected by such bonds, and since every one is bound to
keep under his own body by attention to these things,
therefore the minister of Christ must be prudent and
faithful in so ruling and teaching the people of Christ, in
all these matters, that no root of bitterness may spring
up among them, and so many be defiled, as Paul warned
the Hebrews ; that is, that* they may not lose the faith,
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBER2Y 291
and begin to be defiled by a belief in works as the means
of justification. This is a thing which easily happens,
and defiles very many, unless faith be constantly incul
cated along with works. It is impossible to avoid this
evil, when faith is passed over in silence, and only the
ordinances of men are taught, as has been done hitherto
by the pestilent, impious, and soul-destroying traditions
of our pontiffs and opinions of our theologians. An
infinite number of souls have been drawn down to hell
by these snares, so that you may recognise the work of
antichrist.
In brief, as poverty is imperilled amid riches, honesty
amid business, humility amid honours, abstinence amid
feasting, purity amid pleasures, so is justification by
faith imperilled among ceremonies. Solomon says,
" Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not
be burned ? " (Prov. vi. 27). And yet as we must live
among riches, business, honours, pleasures, feastings, so
must we among ceremonies, that is among perils. Just
as infant boys have the greatest need of being cherished
in the bosoms and by the care of girls, that they may not
die, and yet, when they are grown, there is peril to
their salvation in living among girls, so inexperienced
and fervid young men require to be kept in and restrained
by the barriers of ceremonies, even were they of iron,
lest their weak minds should rush headlong into vice.
And yet it would be death to them to persevere in
believing that they can be justified by these things.
They must rather be taught that they have been thus
imprisoned, not with the purpose of their being justified
or gaining merit in this way, but in order that they
might avoid wrong-doing, and be more easily instructed
in that righteousness which is by faith, a thing which
the headlong character of youth would not bear unless it
were put under restraint.
Hence in the Christian life ceremonies are to be no
otherwise looked upon than as builders and workmen look
upon those preparations for building or working which
are not made with any view of being permanent or
292 LL THEWS PRIMARY WORKS
anything in themselves, but only because without them
there could be no building and no work. When the
structure is completed, they are laid aside. Here you
see that we do not contemn these preparations, but set
the highest value on them ; a belief in them we do con
temn, because no one thinks that they constitute a real
and permanent structure. If any one were so manifestly
out of his senses as to have no other object in life but
that of setting up these preparations with all possible
expense, diligence, and perseverance, while he never
thought of the structure itself, but pleased himself and
made his boast of these useless preparations and props,
should we not all pity his madness and think that, at
the cost thus thrown away, some great building might
have been raised ?
Thus, too, we do not contemn works and ceremonies-
nay, we set the highest value on them ; but we contemn
the belief in works, which no one should consider to
constitute true righteousness, as do those hypocrites
who employ and throw away their whole life in the
pursuit of works, and yet never attain to that for the
sake of which the works are done. As the Apostle says,
they are " ever learning and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. iii. 7). They appear
to wish to build, they make preparations, and yet they
never do build ; and thus they continue in a show of
godliness, but never attain to its power.
Meanwhile they please themselves with this zealous
pursuit, and even dare to judge all others, whom they do
not see adorned with such a glittering display of works ;
while, if they had been imbued with faith, they might
have done great things for their own and others salvation,
at the same cost which they now waste in abuse of the
gifts of God. But since human nature and natural
reason, as they call it, are naturally superstitious, and
quick to believe that justification can be attained by any
laws or works proposed to them, and since nature is also
exercised and confirmed in the same view by the practice
of all earthly lawgivers, she can never of her own power
CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 293
free herself from this bondage to works, and come to a
recognition of the liberty of faith.
We have therefore need to pray that God will lead ns
and make us taught of God, that is, ready to learn from
God ; and will Himself, as He has promised, write His law
in our hearts ; otherwise there is no hope for us. For
unless He Himself teach us inwardly this wisdom hidden
in a mystery, nature cannot but condemn it and judge it
to be heretical. She takes offence at it, and it seems
folly to her, just as we see that it happened of old in
the case of the prophets and Apostles, and just as blind
and impious pontiffs, with their flatterers, do now in my
case and that of those who are like me, upon whom,
together with ourselves, may God at length have mercy,
and lift up the light of His countenance upon them, that
we may know His way upon earth and His saving health
among all nations, who is blessed for evermore. Amen.
In the vear of the Lord MDXX.
Ill
n tbe Bab^lomsb Captivity of tbe
Cburcb
JESUS
MARTIN LUTHER, of the Order of St. Augustine, salutes
his friend Hermann Tulichius.
Whether I will or not, I am compelled to become
more learned day by day, since so many great masters vie
with each other in urging me on and giving me practice.
I wrote about indulgences two years ago, but now I
extremely regret having published that book. At that
time I was still involved in a great and superstitious
respect for the tyranny of Rome, which led me to judge
that indulgences were not to be totally rejected, seeing
them as I did to be approved by so general a consent
among men ; and no wonder, for at that time it was I
alone who was rolling this stone. Afterwards, however,
with the kind aid of Sylvester and the friars, who sup
ported indulgences so strenuously, I perceived that they
were nothing but mere impostures of the flatterers of
Rome, whereby to makejaway with the faith of God and
the money of men. And l" wish I could prevail upon
the booksellers, and persuade all who have read them, to
burn the whole of my writings on indulgences, and in
place of all I have written about them to adopt this pro
position : Indulgences are wicked devices of the flatterers
of Rome.
294
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 2g;
preter of Scripture, that the use of one kind was not
commanded, and at the same time was commanded, by
Christ, You know how specially those logicians of
Leipzig employ this new kind of argument. Does not
Eraser also, after having professed in his former book to
speak fairly about me, and after having been convicted
by me of the foulest envy and of base falsehoods, confess,
when about to confute me in his later book, that both
were true, and that he had written of me in both an
unfair and a fair spirit ? A good man indeed, as you
know !
But listen to our specious advocate of one species, in
whose mind the decision of the Church and the command
of Christ are the same thing, and, again, the command
of Christ and the absence of His command are the same
thing. With what dexterity he proves that only one
kind should be granted to the laity, by the command of
Christ, that is by the decision of the Church I He marks
it with capital letters in this way: " AN INFALLIBLE
FOUNDATION." Next, he handles with incredible
wisdom John vi., in which Christ speaks of the bread
of heaven and the bread of life, which is Himself. These
words this most learned man not only misapplies to the
Sacrament of the Altar, but goes farther, and, because
Christ said, " I am the living bread," and not " I am
the living cup," he concludes that in that passage the
Sacrament in only one kind was appointed for the laity.
But the words that follow, "My flesh is meat indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed," and again, " Unless^ ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood "
since it was evident to this friar s brains that they tell
irrefutably in favour of reception in both kinds, and
against that in one kind he evades very happily and
learnedly in this way : " That Christ meant nothing else
by these words, than that he who should receive one
kind should receive under this both the body and the
blood." This he lays down as his infallible foundation
of a structure so worthy of holy and heavenly reverence.
Learn now, along with me, from this man, that in
298 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
John vi. Christ commands reception in one kind, but in
such a manner that this commanding means leaving
the matter to the decision of the Church ; and further
that Christ in the same chapter speaks of the laity only,
not of the presbyters. For to us this living bread from
heaven that is, the Sacrament in one kind does not
belong, but perchance the bread of death from hell. Now
what is to be done with the deacons and sub-deacons ?
As they are neither laymen nor priests, they ought, on
this distinguished authority, to use neither one nor both
kinds. You understand, my dear Tulichius, this new and
observant manner of handling Scripture. But you must
also learn this : that Christ, in John vi., is speaking of
the Sacrament of the Eucharist, though He Himself
teaches us that He is speaking of faith in the incarnate
Word by saying, " This is the work of God : that ye
believe on Him whom He hath sent." But this Leipzig-
professor of the Bible must be permitted to prove what
ever he pleases out of any passage of Scripture he pleases.
For he is an Anaxagorean, nay an Aristotelian theologian,
to whom names and words when transposed mean the
same things and everything. Throughout his whole book
he so fits together the testimonies of Scripture that, if
he wishes to prove that Christ is in the Sacrament, he
ventures to begin thus : " The Lesson of the Book of the
Revelation of the Blessed John." And as suitably as
this would be said, so suitably does he say everything,
and thinks, like a wise man, to adorn his ravings by the
number of passages he brings forward.
I pass over the rest, that I may not quite kill you with
the dregs of this most offensive drain. Lastly, he adduces
Paul (1 Cor. xi.), who says that he had received from
the Lord and had delivered to the Corinthians the use
both of the bread and of the cup. Here again, as every
where else, our advocate of one species handles the Scrip
tures admirably, and teaches that in that passage Paul
permitted not " delivered " the use of both kinds. Do
you ask how he proves it ? Out of his own head, as in
the case of John vi. ; for it does not become this lecturer
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 299
to give a reason for what he says, since he is one of
those whose proofs and teachings all come from their
own visions. Here then we are taught that the Apostle
in that passage did riot write to the whole Church of
Corinth, but only to the laity, and that therefore he gave
no permission to the priests, but that they were deprived
of the whole Sacrament ; and next, that, by a new rule
of grammar, " I have received from the Lord " means
the same thing as "It has been permitted by the Lord,"
and " I delivered to you " the same thing as " I permitted
to you." I beg you especially to note this. For it
follows hence that not only the Church, but every
worthless fellow anywhere, will be at liberty, under the
teaching of this master, to turn into permissions the
whole body of the commandments, institutions, and
ordinances of Christ and the Apostles.
I see that this man is possessed by an angel of Satan,
and that those who act in collusion with him are seeking
to obtain a name in the world through me, as being
worthy to contend with Luther. But this hope of theirs
shall be disappointed, and, in my contempt for them, I
shall leave them for ever unnamed, and shall content
myself with this one answer to the whole of their books.
If they are worthy that Christ should bring them back
to a sound mind, I pray Him to do so in His mercy. If
they are not worthy of this, then I pray that they may
never cease to write such books, and that the enemies of
the truth may not be permitted to read any others. It
is a common and true saying, " This I know for certain :
that if I fight with filth, whether I conquer or am con
quered, I am sure to be defiled." In the next place, as
I see that they have plenty of leisure and of paper, I
will take care that they shall have abundant matter for
writing, and will keep in advance of them, so that while
they, in the boastful ness of victory, are triumphing over
some one heresy of mine, as it seems to them, I shall
meanwhile be setting up a new one. For I too am
desirous that these illustrious leaders in war should be
adorned with many titles of honour. And so, while they
300 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
are murmuring that I approve of communion in both
kinds, and are most successfully engaged on this very
important subject, so worthy of themselves, I shall go
I farther, and shall now endeavour to show that all who
deny to the laity communion in both kinds are acting
impiously. To do this the more conveniently, I shall
make a first essay on the bondage of the Church of
Rome, with the intention of saying very much more in
its own proper time, when those most learned Papists
shall have got the better of this book.
This, moreover, I do in order that no pious reader who
may meet with my book may be disgusted at the dross I
have handled, and have reason to complain that he finds
nothing to read which can cultivate or instruct his mind,
or at least give occasion for instructive reflection. You
know how dissatisfied my friends are that I should occupy
myself with the paltry twistings of these men. They
say that the very reading of their books is an ample
confutation of them, but that from me they look for
better things, which Satan is trying to hinder by means
of them. I have determined to follow the advice of
my friends, and to leave the business of wrangling and
inveighing to those hornets.
Of the Italian friar of Cremona I shall say nothing.
He is a simple and unlearned man, who is endeavouring
to bring me back by some thongs of rhetoric to the Holy
See, from which I am not conscious of having ever with
drawn, nor has any one proved that I have. His principal
argument in some ridiculous passages is that I ought to
be moved for the sake of my profession and of the
transfer of the imperial power to the Germans. He
seems indeed altogether to have meant, not so much to
urge my return, as to write the praises of the French, and
of the Roman pontiff ; and he must be allowed to testify
his obsequiousness to them by this little work, such as
it is. He neither deserves to be handled severely, since
he does not seem to be actuated by any malice, nor to
be learnedly confuted, since through pure ignorance and
inexperience he trifles with the whole subject.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 301
In the first place, I must deny that there are seven
sacraments, and must lay it down, for the time being,
that there are only three, Baptism, Penance, and the
Bread, and that by the Court of Rome all these have
been brought into miserable bondage, and the Church
despoiled of all her liberty. And yet, if I were to speak
according to the usage of Scripture, I should hold that
there was only one sacrament, and three sacramental
signs. I shall speak on this point more at length at
the proper time ; but now I speak of the Sacrament
of the Bread, the first of all.
I shall say then what advance I have made a,s the
result of my meditations in the ministry of this Sacra
ment. Fo/at the time when I published a discourse on
the Eucharist I was still involved in the common custom,
mid did not trouble myself either about the rightful or
the wrongful power of the Pope. But now that 1 have
been called forth and become practised in argument,
nay, have been dragged by force into this arena, I shall
speak out freely what I think. Let the Papists laugh
or lament, even if they are all against one.
In the first place, John vi. must be set aside altogether,
as not saying a single syllable about the Sacrament, not
only because the Sacrament had not yet been instituted,
but much more because the very sequence of the discourse
and of its statements shows clearly that Christ was
speaking as I have said before of faith in the incarnate
Word. For He says, " My words are spirit and life,
showing that He was speaking of that spiritual eating
wherewith he who eats lives ; while the Jews under
stood Him to speak of a carnal eating, and -therefore
raised a dispute. But no eating gives life except the
eating of faith, for this is the really spiritual and
living eating, as Augustine says, " Why dost thou
prepare thy stomach and thy teeth ? Believe, and thou
hast eaten." A sacramental eating does not give lite,
since many eat unworthily ; so that Christ cannot be
understood to have spoken of the Sacrament in this
passage.
302 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
There are certainly some who have misapplied these
words to the Sacrament, as did the writer of the decretals
some time ago, and many others. It is one thing, how
ever, to misapply the Scriptures, and another to take
them in their legitimate sense ; otherwise when Christ
says, " Except ye eat My flesh and drink My blood, ye
have no life in you," He would be condemning all infants,
all the sick, all the absent, and all who were hindered, in
whatever manner, from a sacramental eating, however
eminent their faith, if in these words He had meant to
enjoin a sacramental eating. Thus Augustine, in his
second book against Julianus, proves from Innocentius
that even infants, without receiving the Sacrament, eat
the flesh and drink the blood of Christ ; that is, partake
by the same faith as the Church. Let this then be con
sidered as settled : that John vi. has nothing to do
with the matter. For which reason I have written
elsewhere that the Bohemians could not rightfully
depend upon this passage in their defence of reception in
both kinds.
CONCERNING THE LORD S SUPPER.
There are two passages which treat in the clearest
manner of this subject, at which let us look : the state
ments in the Gospels respecting the Lord s Supper and
the words of Paul (1 Cor. xi.). Matthew, Mark, and
Luke agree that Christ gave the whole Sacrament to
all His disciples ; and that Paul delivered both parts
of it is so certain that no one has yet been shameless
enough to assert the contrary. Add to this that, accord
ing to the relation of Matthew, Christ did not say con
cerning the bread, u Eat ye all of this," but did say
concerning the cup, " Drink ye all of this." Mark also
does not say, " They all ate," but " They all drank of it."
Each writer attaches the mark of universality to the cup,
not to the bread, as if the Spirit foresaw the schism
that should come, which would forbid to some that com
munion in the cup which Christ would have common to
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 303
all. How furiously would they rave against us, if they
had found the word " all " applied to the bread, and not
to the cup ! They would leave us no way of escape,
would clamour us down, pronounce us heretics, condemn
us as schismatics. But when the word stands on our
side against them, they allow themselves to be bound by
no laws of logic, these men of freest will, in changing,
and changing again, and throwing into utter confusion
even the things which are of God.
But suppose me to be standing on the other side and
questioning my lords the Papists. In the Supper of the
Lord, the whole Sacrament, or the Sacrament in both
kinds, was either given to the presbyters alone, or at the
same time to the laity. If to the presbyters alone
(for thus they will have it to be), then it is in no wise
lawful that any kind should be given to the laity ; for
it ought not to be rashly given to any to whom Christ
did not give it at the first institution. Otherwise, if we
allow one of Christ s institutions to be changed, we make
the whole body of His laws of no effect ; and any man
may venture to say that he is bound by no law or
institution of Christ. For in dealing with Scripture one
special exception does away with any general statement.
If, on the other hand, it was given to the laity as well, it
inevitably follows that reception in both kinds ought not
to be denied to the laity ; and in denying it to them when
they seek it, we act impiously, and contrary to the deed,
example, and institution of Christ.
I confess that I have been unable to resist this reason
ing, and have neither read, heard of, nor discovered any
thing to be said on the other side, while the words and
example of Christ stand unshaken, who says not by
way of permission, but of commandment " Drink ye all
of this." For if all are to drink of it and this cannot
be understood as said to the presbyters alone then it is
certainly an impious deed to debar the laity from it when
they seek it, were it even an angel from heaven who did so.
For what they say of its being left to the decision of the
Church which kind should be administered is said without
304 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
rational ground, is alleged without authority, and is
as easily contemned as proved, nor can it avail against
an adversary who opposes to us the word and deed of
Christ, and whose blows must therefore be returned with
the word of Christ ; and this we do not possess.
If, however, either kind can be denied to the laity, then
by the same decision of the Church a part of baptism
or of penance might be taken from, them, since in each
case the reason of the matter and the power are alike.
Therefore as the whole of baptism and the whole of abso
lution are to be granted to all the laity, so is the whole
Sacrament of the bread, if they seek it. I am much
astonished, however, at their assertion that it is wholly
unlawful, under pain of mortal sin, for presbyters to
receive only one kind in the mass, and this for no other
reason than that (as they all unanimously say) the two
kinds form one full sacrament, which ought not to be
divided. Let them tell me then why it is lawful to
divide it in the case of the laity, and why they alone
should not be granted the entire Sacrament. Do they
not admit, on their own showing, that either both kinds
ought to be granted to the laity, or that it is no lawful
sacrament which is granted to them under one kind ?
How can the one kind be a full sacrament in the case of
the laity, and not a full one in the case of the presbyters ?
Why do they vaunt the decision of the Church and the
power, of the Pope in this matter? The words of God
and the testimonies of truth cannot thus be done away
with.
It follows further that, if the Church can take from
the laity the one kind, the wine, she can also take from
them the other kind, the bread, and thus might take
from the laity the whole Sacrament of the Altar, and
deprive the institution of Christ of all effect in their case.
But, I ask, by what authority ? If, however, she
cannot take away the bread, or both kinds, neither can
she the wine. Nor can any possible argument on this
point be brought against an opponent, since the Church
must necessarily have the same power in regard to either
BABYLONISH CAPIIVITY OF THE CHURCH 305
kind as in regard to both kinds ; if she has it not as
regards both kinds, she has it not as regards either. I
should like to hear what the flatterers of Rome may
choose to say on this point.
Bat what strikes me most forcibly of all, and thoroughly
convinces me, is that saying of Christ, " This is My
blood, which is shed for you and for many, for the re
mission of sins." Here you see most clearly that the
blood is given to all for whose sins it is shed. Now
who will dare to say that it was not shed for the laity ?
Do you not see whom He addresses as He gives the
cup? Does He not give it to all? Does He not say
that it was shed for all ? " For you," He says. Let us
grant that these are priests. " And for many," He con
tinues. These cannot be priests ; and yet He says.
" Drink ye all of it." I also could easily trifle on this
point, and turn the words of Christ into a mockery by
my words, as that trifler my opponent does. But those
who rest upon the Scriptures in arguing against us must
be refuted by the Scriptures. These are the reasons
which have kept me from condemning the Bohemians,
who, whether they be good or bad men, certainly have
the words and deeds of Christ on their side, while we
have neither, but only that idle device of men, " The
Church hath thus ordered it" ; while it was not the
Church, but the tyrants of the Churches, without the
consent of the Church that is, of the people of God
who have thus ordered it.
Now where, I ask, is the necessity, where is the re
ligious obligation, where is the use, of denying to the
laity reception in both kinds that is, the visible sign-
when all men grant them the real grace of the Sacrament
without the sign ? If they grant the reality, which is
the greater, why do they not grant the sign, which is the
less ? For in every sacrament the sign, in so far as it
is a sign, is incomparably less than the reality itself.
What then, I ask, should hinder the granting of the
lesser thing, when the greater is granted unless, indeed,
as it seems to me, this has happened by the permission
20
306 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
of God in His anger, to be the occasion of a schism in
the Church ; and to show that, having long ago lost the
reality of the Sacrament, we are fighting on behalf of
the sign, which is the lesser thing, against the reality,
which is the greatest and only important thing, just as
some persons fight on behalf of ceremonies against
charity ? This monstrous perversion appears to have
begun at the same time at which we began in our folly
to set Christian charity at nought for the sake of worldly
riches, that God might show by this terrible proof that
we think signs of greater consequence than the realities
themselves. What perversity it would be, if you were
to concede that the faith of baptism is granted to one
seeking baptism, and yet deny him the sign of that very
faith, namely water ?
Last of all stand the irrefutable words of Paul, which
must close every mouth, " I have received of the Lord
that which also I delivered unto you" (1 Cor. xi.). He
does not say, as this friar falsely asserts out of his own
head, " I permitted to you." Nor is it true that he
granted the Corinthians reception in both kinds on
account of the contentions among them. In the first
place, as the text itself shows, the contention was not
about the reception in both kinds, but about the con-
temptuoasness of the rich and the envy of the poor, as is
clear from the text, which says, " One is hungry, and
another is drunken," and (t Ye shame them that have
not." Then, too, he is not speaking of what he delivered
as if it were for the first time. He does not say, " I
receive from the Lord, and I deliver to you, "but " I have
received, and I have delivered," namely at the beginning
of his preaching, long before this contention arose, thus
signifying that he had delivered to them the reception
in both kinds. This " delivering " means " enjoining,"
as he elsewhere uses the same word. Thus the smoke
clouds of assertion which this friar heaps together con
cerning permission, without Scripture, without reason,
and without cause, go for nothing. His opponents do
not ask what his dreams are, but what the judgment of
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 307
Scripture is on these points ; and out of it he can produce
not a tittle in support of his dream, while they can bring-
forward so many thunderbolts in defence of their belief.
Rise up then in one body, all ye flatterers of the Pope ;
be active; defend yourselves from the charge of impiety,
tyranny, and treason against the Gospel, and wrongful
calumniation of your brethren, ye who proclaim as heretics
those who cannot approve of the mere dreams of your
brains, in opposition to such plain and powerful Scrip
tures. If either of the two are to be called heretics and
schismatics, it is not the Bohemians, not the Greeks,
since they take their stand on the Gospels, but you
Romans who are heretics and impious schismatics, you
who presume upon your own figments alone, against the
manifest teaching of the Scriptures of God.
But what can be more ridiculous, or more worthy of
the head of this friar, than to say that the Apostle wrote
thus and gave this permission to a particular Church, that
of Corinth, but not to the universal Church ? Whence
does he prove this ? Out of his usual store : his own
impious head. When the universal Church takes this
epistle as addressed to itself, reads it, and follows it in
every respect, why not in this part of it ? If we admit
that any one epistle of Paul, or one passage in any one
epistle, does not concern the universal Church, we do
away with the whole authority of Paul. The Corinthians
might say that what he taught concerning faith, in
writing to the Romans, did not concern them. What
could be more blasphemous or more mad than this mad
idea ? Far be it from us to imagine that there can be
one tittle in the whole of Paul which the whole of the
universal Church ought not to imitate and keep. Not
thus thought the Fathers, nor any until these perilous
times, in which Paul foretold that there should be
blasphemers, blind and senseless men, among whom this
friar is one, or even the foremost.
But let us grant this intolerably wild assertion. If Paul
gave permission to a particular Church, then, on your
own showing, the Greeks and the Bohemians are acting
308 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
rightly, for they are particular Churches, and therefore it
is enough that they are not acting against the teaching of
Paul, who at least gives them permission. Furthermore,
Paul had not power to permit of anything contrary to the
institution of Christ. Therefore, on behalf of the Greeks
and the Bohemians, I set up these sayings of Christ and
of Paul against thee, Rome, and all thy flatterers ; nor
canst thou show that power has been given thee to change
these things by one hair s-breadth, much less to accuse
others of heresy because they disregard thy presumptuous
pretensions. It is thou who deservest to be accused of
impiety and tyranny.
We also read the words of Cyprian, who by himself is
powerful enough to stand against all the Romanists, and
who testifies in his discourse concerning the lapsed in the
fifth book that it had been the custom in that Church for
both kinds to be administered to laymen and even to
children, yea for the body of the Lord to be given into
their hands, as he shows by many instances. Among
other things, he thus reproves some of the people : " And
because he does not immediately receive the body of the
Lord with unclean hands or drink the blood of the Lord
with polluted mouth, he is angry with the priests as
sacrilegious." You see that he is here speaking of
certain sacrilegious laymen, who wished to receive from the
priests the body and the blood. Have you here, wretched
flatterer, anything to gabble ? Say that this holy martyr,
this teacher of the Church, so highly endowed with the
apostolic spirit, was a heretic, and availed himself of a
permission in his particular Church !
He relates in the same place an incident which had
occurred in his own sight and presence, when he writes in
the plainest terms that as deacon he had given the cup to
an infant girl, and when the child struggled against it,
had even poured the blood of the Lord into its mouth.
We read the same thing of St. Donatus, whose broken
cup how dully does this wretched flatterer try to get rid
of. "I read," he says, "that the cup was broken; I do
not read that the blood was given." What wonder that
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 309
he who perceives in the Holy Scriptures what he wills to
perceive should also read in historical narratives what he
wills to read ! But can he in this way at all establish
the power of the Church to decide, or can he thus confute
heretics ? But enough said on this subject ; for I did
not begin this treatise in order to answer one who is
unworthy of an answer, but in order to lay open the truth
of the matter.
I conclude, then, that to deny reception, in both kinds
to the laity is an act of impiety and tyranny, and one not
in the power of any angel, much less of any pope or
council whatever. Nor do I care for the Council of Con
stance, for, if its authority is to prevail, why should not
also that of the Council of Basle, which decreed, on the
other hand, that the Bohemians should be allowed to
receive in both kinds ? a point which was carried there
after long discussion, as the extant annals and documents
of that council prove. This fact that ignorant flatterer
brings forward on behalf of his own dreams, so wisely
does he handle the whole matter.
The first bondage, then, of this Sacrament is as regards
its substance or completeness, which the tyranny of Home
has wrested from us. Not that they sin against Christ
who use one kind only, since Christ has not commanded
the use of any, but has left it to the choice of each indi-
vidual, saying, " This do ye, as oft as ye shall do it, in
remembrance of Me"; but they sin who forbid that both
kinds should be given to those who desire to use this
freedom of choice, and the fault is not in the laity, but in
the priests. The Sacrament does not belong to the priests,
but to all ; nor are the priests lords, but servants, whose
duty it is to give both kinds to those who seek them, as
often as they seek them. If they have snatched this
right from the laity and forcibly denied it to them, they
are tyrants ; and the laity are free from blame, whether
they "go without one or both kinds, for meanwhile they
will be saved by their faith and by their desire for a com
plete sacrament. So, too, the ministers themselves are
bound to grant baptism and absolution to him who seeks
310 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
them; if they do not grant them, the seeker has the full
merit of his own faith, while they will be accused before
Christ as wicked servants. Thus of old the holy Fathers
in the desert passed many years without communicating
in either kind of the Sacrament.
I am not therefore advocating the seizing by force on
both kinds, as if we were of necessity commanded and
compelled to receive them; but I am instructing the con
science, that every man should suffer the tyranny of Rome,
knowing that he has been forcibly deprived of his right
in the Sacrament on account of his sins. This only I
would have: that none should justify the tyranny of Rome,
as if she had done right in denying one kind to the laity,
but that we should abhor it and withhold our consent
from it, though we may bear it, just as if we were in
bondage with the Turk, where we should not be at liberty
to use either kind. For this reason I have said that it
would be a fine thing, in my opinion, if this bondage
were done away with Toy the decree of a general council,
and Christian liberty restored to us out of the hands of
the tyrant of Rome, and if to each man were left his own
free choice of seeking and using, as is left in the case
of baptism and penance. Now, however, by the same
tyranny, he compels one kind to be received year by
year, so extinct is the liberty granted us by Christ, and
such are the deserts of our impious ingratitude.
The other bondage of the same Sacrament is a milder
one, so far as regards the conscience, but one which
it is by far the most perilous of all things to touch,
much more to condemn. Here I shall be a Wickliffite,
and a heretic under six hundred names. What then ?
Since the Bishop of Rome has ceased to be a bishop and
has become a tyrant, I fear absolutely none of his decrees,
since I know that neither he nor even a general council
has power to establish new articles of the faith.
Formerly, when I was imbibing the scholastic theology,
my lord the Cardinal of Cambray gave me; occasion for
reflection by arguing most acutely, in the fourth book of the
Sentences, that it would be much more probable, and that
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 311
fewer superfluous miracles would have to be introduced,
if real bread and real wine, and not only their accidents,
were understood to be upon the altar, unless the Church
had determined the contrary. Afterwards, when I saw
what the Church was which had thus determined
namely, the Thomistic, that is, the Aristotelian Church
I became bolder ; and whereas I had been before in great
straits of doubt, I now at length established my conscience
in the former opinion, namely, that there is real bread
and real wine, in which is the real flesh and real blood
of Christ, in no other manner and in no less degree than
the other party assert them to be tinder the accidents.
And this I did because I saw that the opinions of the
Thomists, whether approved by the Pope or by a council,
remained opinions, and did not become articles of the faith,
even were an angel from heaven to decree otherwise.
For that which is asserted without the support of the
Scriptures, or of an approved revelation, it is permitted
to hold as an opinion, but it is not necessary to believe.
Now this opinion of Thomas is so vague, and so unsup
ported by the Scriptures or by reason, that he seems to
me to have known neither his philosophy nor his logic.
For Aristotle speaks of accidents and subject very differ
ently from St. Thomas ; and it seems to me that we
ought to be sorry for so great a man when we see him
striving, not only to draw his opinions on matters of faith
from Aristotle, tout to establish them upon an authority
whom he did not understand a most unfortunate struc
ture raised on a most unfortunate foundation.
I quite consent, then, that whoever chooses to hold
either opinion should do so. My only object now is to
remove scruples of conscience, so that no man may fear
] being guilty of heresy if he believes that real bread and
(Lreal wine are present on the altar. Let him know that
he is at liberty, without peril to his salvation, to imagine,
think, or believe in either of the two ways, since here
there is no necessity of faith. Yet I now give my own
opinion. In the first place, I will not hear or take
account of those who will cry out that this doctrine is
312 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Wickliffite, Hussite, heretical, and opposed to the de
cisions of the Church. None will do this but those
whom I have convicted of being themselves in many
ways heretical : in the matter of indulgences, of free
will and the grace of God, of good works and sins, etc.
If Wickliff was once a heretic, they are themselves ten
times heretics ; and it is an excellent thing to be blamed
and accused by heretics and perverse sophists, since to
please them would be the height of impiety. Besides,
they can give no other proof of their own opinions, nor
have they any other way of disproving the contrary ones,
than by saying, This is Wickliffite, Hussite, heretical."
This feeble argument, and no other, is always at the tip
of their tongue ; and if you ask for Scripture authority,
they say, " This is our opinion, and the Church (that is,
we ourselves) has decided it thus." To such an extent do
men who are reprobate concerning the faith and unworthy
of belief dare to propose to us their own fancies, under
the authority of the Church, as articles of the faith.
There is, however, very much to be said for my opinion;
in the first place this : that no violence ought to be done
to the words of God, neither by man nor by angel, but
that as far as possible they ought to be kept to their
simplest meaning, and not to be taken, unless the cir
cumstances manifestly compel us to do so, out of their
grammatical and proper signification, that we may not
give our adversaries any opportunity of evading the
teaching of the whole Scriptures. For this reason the
ideas of Origen were rightly rejected when, in contempt
of the plain grammatical meaning, he turned the trees
and all other objects described as existing in paradise
into allegories, since hence it might be inferred ,that
trees were not created by God. So in the present case,
since the Evangelists write clearly that Christ took bread
and blessed it, and since the book of Acts and the Apostle
Paul also call it bread, real bread and real wine must be
understood, just as the cup was real. For even these
men do not say that the cup is transubstantiated. Since
then it is not necessary to lay it down that a transub-
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 313
stantiation is effected by the operation of Divine power, it
must be held as a figment of human opinion ; for it rests
on no support of Scripture or of reason. It is forcing on
us a novel and absurd usage of words to take bread as
meaning the form or accidents of bread, and wine as the
form or accidents of wine. Why do they not take all
other things as forms or accidents ? Even if everything
else were consistent with this idea, it would not be
lawful thus to enfeeble the word of God and to deprive
it so unjustly of its proper meaning.
The Church, however, kept the right faith for more
than twelve centuries, nor did the holy Fathers ever or
anywhere make mention of this transubstantiation (a
portentous word and dream indeed) until the counterfeit
Aristotelian philosophy began to make its inroads on the
Church within these last three hundred years, during
which many other erroneous conclusions have also been
arrived at, such as that the Divine essence is neither
generated nor generates, that the soul is the substantial
form of the" human body, and other like assertions, which
are made absolutely without reason or cause, as the
Cardinal of Cambray himself confesses.
They will say perhaps that we shall be in peril of
idolatry if we do not admit that bread and wine are not
really there. This is truly ridiculous, for the laity have
never learnt the subtle philosophical distinction between
substance and accidents, nor, if they were taught it,
could they understand it ; and there is the same peril, if
we keep the accidents, which they see, as in the case of
the substance, which they do not see. For if it is not
the accidents which they adore, but Christ concealed
under them, why should they adore the substance, which
they do not see ?
But why should not Christ be able to include His body
within the substance of bread, as well as within the
accidents ? Fire and iron, two different substances, are
so mingled in red-hot iron that every part of it is both
fire and iron. Why may not the glorious body of Christ
much more be in every part of the substance of the bread ?
314 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Christ is believed to have been born of the inviolate
womb of His mother. In this case, too, let them say that
the flesh of the Virgin was for a time annihilated, or, as
they will have it to be more suitably expressed, tran
substantiated, that Christ might be enwrapped in its
accidents and at length come forth through its accidents.
The same will have to be said respecting the closed
door and the closed entrance of the tomb, through
which He entered, and went out without injury to them.
But hence has sprung that Babylon of a philosophy con
cerning continuous quantity, distinct from substance, till
things have come to such a point that they themselves
do not know what are accidents and what is substance.
For who has ever proved to a certainty that heat and
cold, colour, light, weight, and form are accidents ?
Lastly, they have been driven to pretend that God creates
a new substance additional to those accidents on the
altar, on account of the saying of Aristotle that the
essence of an accident is to be in something, and have
been led to an infinity of monstrous ideas, from all of
which they would be free, if they simply allowed the
bread on the altar to be real bread. I rejoice greatly
that at least among the common people there remains a
simple faith in this Sacrament. They neither understand
nor argue whether there are accidents in it or substance,
but believe with simple faith that the body and blood of
Christ are truly contained in it, leaving to these men of
leisure the task of arguing as to what it contains.
But perhaps they will say that we are taught by Aris
totle that we must take the subject and predicate of an
affirmative proposition to signify the same thing, or, to
quote the words of that monster himself in the sixth book
of his Metaphysics, " an affirmative proposition requires
the composition of the extremes," which they explain
as their signifying the same thing. Thus in the words,
" This is my body," they say that we cannot take the
subject to signify the bread, but the body of Christ.
What shall we say to this ? Whereas we are making
Aristotle and human teachings the censors of such
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 315
sublime and Divine matters, why do we not rather cast
away these curious inquiries and simply adhere to the
words of Christ, willing to be ignorant of what is done in
this Sacrament and content to know that the real body
of Christ is present in it by virtue of the words of conse
cration ? Is it necessary to comprehend altogether the
manner of the Divine working ?
But what do they say to Aristotle, who applies the
term " subject " to all the categories of accidents, although
he takes the substance to be the first subject ? Thus, in
his opinion, " this white," " this great,"/ this something,"
are subjects, because something is predicated of them. If
this is true, and if it is necessary to lay down a doctrine
of transubstantiation in order that it may not be asserted
of the bread that it is the body of Christ, why, I ask, is
not a doctrine of transaccidentation also laid down, that
it may not be affirmed of an accident that it is the body
of Christ ? For the same danger remains, if we regard
" this white thing " or " this round thing " as the subject.
On whatever principle transubstantiation is taught, on
the same ought transaccidentation to be taught, on
account of the two terms of the proposition, as is alleged,
signifying the same thing.
If, however, by a high effort of understanding, you
make abstraction of the accident, and refuse to regard it
as signified by the subject in saying, " This is My body,"
why can you not as easily rise above the substance of the
bread, and refuse to let it be understood as signified by
the subject, so that "This is My body " may be true in
the substance no less than in the accident, especially
so since this is a Divine work of almighty power, which
can operate to the same extent and in the same way in
the substance, as it can in the accident ?
But, not to philosophise too far, does not Christ
appear to have met these curious inquiries in a striking
manner when He said concerning the wine, not " Hoc
est sanguis meus," but " Hie est sanguis rneus " ? He
speaks much more clearly still when He brings in the
mention of the cup, saying, " This cup is the new testa-
314 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
Christ is believed to have been born of the inviolate
womb of His mother. In this case, too, let them say that
the flesh of the Virgin was for a time annihilated, or, as
they will have it to be more suitably expressed, tran
substantiated, that Christ might be enwrapped in its
accidents and at length come forth through its accidents.
The same will have to be said respecting the closed
door and the closed entrance of the tomb, through
which He entered, and went out without injury to them.
But hence has sprung that Babylon of a philosophy con
cerning continuous quantity, distinct from substance, till
things have come to such a point that they themselves
do not know what are accidents and what is substance.
For who has ever proved to a certainty that heat and
cold, colour, light, weight, and form are accidents ?
Lastly, they have been driven to pretend that God creates
a new substance additional to those accidents on the
altar, on account of the saying of Aristotle that the
essence of an accident is to be in something, and have
been led to an infinity of monstrous ideas, from all of
which they would be free, if they simply allowed the
bread on the altar to be real bread. I rejoice greatly
that at least among the common people there remains a
simple faith in this Sacrament. They neither understand
nor argue whether there are accidents in it or substance,
but believe with simple faith that the body and blood of
Christ are truly contained in it, leaving to these men of
leisure the task of arguing as to what it contains.
But perhaps they will say that we are taught by Aris
totle that we must take the subject and predicate of an
affirmative proposition to signify the same thing, or, to
quote the words of that monster himself in the sixth book
of his Metaphysics, " an affirmative proposition requires
the composition of the extremes," which they explain
as their signifying the same thing. Thus in the words,
" This is my body," they say that we cannot take the
subject to signify the bread, but the body of Christ.
What shall we say to this ? Whereas we are making
Aristotle and human teachings the censors of such
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 315
sublime and Divine matters, why do we not rather cast
away these curious inquiries and simply adhere to the
words of Christ, willing to be ignorant of what is done in
this Sacrament and content to know that the real body
of Christ is present in it by virtue of the words of conse
cration ? Is it necessary to comprehend altogether the
manner of the Divine working ?
But what do they say to Aristotle, who applies the
term " subject" to all the categories of accidents, although
lie takes the substance to be the first subject ? Thus, in
his opinion, " this white," " this great," " this something,"
are subjects, because something is predicated of them. _ If
this is true, and if it is necessary to lay down a doctrine
of transubstantiation in order that it may not be asserted
of the bread that it is the body of Christ, why, I ask, is
not a doctrine of transaccidentation also laid down, that
it may not be affirmed of an accident that it is the body
of Christ ? For the same danger remains, if we regard
" this white thing " or " this round thing " as the subject.
On whatever principle transubstantiation is taught, on
the same ought transaccidentation to be taught, on
account of the two terms of the proposition, as is alleged,
signifying the same thing.
If, however, by a high effort of understanding, you
make abstraction of the accident, and refuse to regard it
as signified by the subject in saying, " This is My body,"
why can you not as easily rise above the substance of the
bread, and refuse to let it be understood as signified by
the subject, so that " This is My body " may be true in
the substance no less than in the accident, especially
so since this is a Divine work of almighty power, which
can operate to the same extent and in the same way in
the substance, as it can in the accident ?
But, not to philosophise too far, does not Christ
appear to have met these curious inquiries in a striking
manner when He said concerning the wine, not " Hoc
est sanguis meus," but " Hie est sanguis nieus " ? He
speaks much more clearly still when He brings in the
mention of the cup, saying, " This cup is the new testa-
316 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
ment in My blood" (1 Cor. xi.). Does He not seem to
have meant to keep us within the bounds of simple faith,
just so far as to believe that His blood is in the cup? If,
for my part, I cannot understand how the bread can be
the body of Christ, I will bring my understanding into
captivity to the obedience of Christ, and firmly believe,
in simple adherence to His word ; not only that the body
of Christ is in the bread, but that the bread is the body
of Christ. For so shall I be kept safe by His words,
where it is said, " Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and
brake it, and said, Take, eat, this " (that is, this bread,
which He had taken and broken) " is My body." Paul
also says, " The bread which we break, is it not the com
munion of the body of Christ ? " He does not say that
the communion is in the bread, but that the bread itself
is the communion of the body of Christ. What if philo
sophy does not understand these things? The Holy
Spirit is greater than Aristotle. Does it even understand
the transubstantiation which these men speak of, seeing
that they themselves confess that all philosophy breaks
down on this point ? The reason why, in the Greek and
Latin, the pronoun this is referred to the body, is that
the genders are alike ; but in the Hebrew, where there
is no neuter gender, it is referred to the bread ; so that
we might properly say, " This " (bread) " is My body."
Both the usage of language and common sense prove that
the subject points to the bread, and not to the body, when
He says, " Hoc est corpus rneum ," that is, " This bread is
My body."
As then the case is with Christ Himself, so is it also
with the Sacrament. For it is not necessary to the bodily
indwelling of the Godhead that the human nature should
be transubstantiated, that so the Godhead may be con
tained beneath the accidents of the human nature. But
each nature is entire, and we can say with truth, This
Man is God ; this God is man. Though philosophy does
not receive this, yet faith receives it, and greater is the
authority of the word of God than the capacity of our
intellect. Thus, too, in the Sacrament it is not necessary
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 317
t
to the presence of the real body and real blood that the
bread and wine should be transubstantiated, so that
Christ may be contained beneath the accidents ; but while
both bread and wine continue there, it can be said with
truth, " This bread is My body ; this wine is My blood,"
and conversely. Thus for the present will I understand
this matter in honour of the holy words of God, which
I will not allow to have violence done them by the petty
reasonings of men, or to be distorted into meanings alien
to them. I give leave, however, to others to follow
the other opinion, which is distinctly laid down in the
decretal, provided only (as I have said) they do not press
us to accept their opinions as articles of faith.
The third bondage of this same Sacrament is that abuse
of it and by far the most impious by which it has
come about that at this day(there is no belief in the
Church more generally received or more firmly held than
that the mass is a good work and a sacrifice. This abuse
has brought in an infinite flood of other abuses, until
faith in the Sacrament lias been utterly lostyand they
have made this Divine Sacrament a mere subject of traffic,
huckstering, and money-getting contracts. Hence com
munions, brotherhoods, suffrages, merits, anniversaries,
memorials, and other things of that kind are bought and
sold in the Church, and made the subjects of bargains and
agreements ; and the entire maintenance of priests and
monks depends upon these things.
I am entering on an arduous task, and it may perhaps
be impossible to uproot an abuse which, strengthened by
the practice of so many ages and approved by universal
consent, has fixed itself so firmly among us that the
greater part of the books which have influence at the
present day must needs be done away with, and almost
the entire aspect of the churches be changed, and a totally
different kind of ceremonies be brought in, or rather
brought back. But my Christ lives, and we must take
heed to the word of God with greater care than to all the
intellects of men and angels. I will perform my part,
will bring forth the subject into the light, and will impart
3i8 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
the truth freely and ungrudgingly as I have received it.
For the rest, let every one look to his own salvation ; 1
will strive, as in the presence of Christ nay Judge, that no
man may be able to throw upon me the blame of his own
unbelief and ignorance of the truth.
To begin, if we wish to attain safely and prosperously to
the true and free knowledge of this Sacrament, we must
take the utmost care to put aside all that has been added
by the zeal or the notions of men to the primitive and
simple institution, such as vestments, ornaments, hymns,
prayers, musical instruments, lamps, and all the pomp of
visible things, and must turn our eyes and our attention
only to the pure institution of Christ, and set nothing else
before us but those very words of Christ with which He
instituted and perfected that Sacrament and committed it
to us. In that word, and absolutely in nothing else, lies
the whole force, nature, and substance of the mass. All
the rest are human notions, accessory to the word of
Christ ; and the mass can perfectly well subsist and be
kept up without them. Now the words in which Christ
instituted this Sacrament are as follows : " While they
were at supper Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake
it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat ;
this is My body which is given for you. And He took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of this ; this cup is the new testament in
My _blood, which is shed for you and for many for the
remission of sins ; do this in remembrance of Me."
These words the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. xi.) also delivers
to us and explains at greater length. On these we must
rest, and build ourselves up as on a firm rock, unless we
wish to be carried about with every wind of doctrine, as
we have hitherto been, through the impious teachings of
men who pervert the truth. For in these words nothing
has been omitted which pertains to the completeness, use,
and profit of this Sacrament, and nothing laid down
which it is superfluous or unnecessary for us to know.
He who passes over these words in his meditations or
teachings concerning the mass will teach monstrous
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 319
impieties, as has been done by those who have made
an opus operatum and a sacrifice of it.
Let this then stand as a first and infallible truth : that
the mass or Sacrament of the altar is the testament of
Christ, which He left behind Him at His death, to be
distributed to those who believe in Him. For such are
His words : " This cup is the new testament in My blood."
Let this truth, I say, stand as an immovable foundation,
on which we shall erect all our arguments. You will see
how we shall thus overthrow all the impieties of men,
imposed upon this sweetest Sacrament. The truthful
Christ then says with truth that this is the new tes
tament in His blood, shed for us. It is not without cause
that I urge this ; the matter is no small one, but must be
received into the depths of our minds.
If then we inquire what a testament is, we shall also
learn what the mass is, what are its uses, advantages,
abuses. A testament is certainly a promise made by a
man about to die, by which he assigns his inheritance and
appoints heirs. Thus the idea of a testament implies,
first, the death of the testator, and, secondly, the promise
of the inheritance and the appointment of an heir. In
this way Paul (Rom. iv. ; Gal. iii., iv. ; Heb.ix.) speaks at
some length of testaments. We also see this clearly in
those words of Christ. Christ testifies of His own death
when He says, " This is My body which is given ; this is
My blood which is shed " ; He assigns and points out the
inheritance when He says, " For the remission of sins " ;
and He appoints heirs when He says, " For you and for
many," that is, for those who accept and believe the
promise of the Testator, for it is faith which makes us
heirs, as we shall see.
You see then that the mass, as we call it, is a promise
of the remission of sins made to us by God, and such a
promise as has been confirmed by the death of the Son of
God. For a promise and a testament only differ in this :
that a testament implies the death of the promiser. A
testator is a promiser who is about to die ; and a promiser
is, so to speak, a testator who is about to live. This
320 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
testament of Christ was prefigured in all the promises of
God from the beginning of the world ; yea, whatsoever
value the ancient promises had lay in that new promise
which was about to be made in Christ, and on which they
depended. Hence the words " agreement," " covenant,"
" testament of the Lord," are constantly employed in
the Scriptures ; and by these it was implied that God
would some day die. " For where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator "
(Heb. ix. 16). God having made a testament, it was
necessary that He should die. Now He could not die
unless He became a Man ; and thus in this one word
"testament" the incarnation and the death of Christ are
both comprehended.
From all this it is now self-evident what is the use, and
what the abuse, of the mass, what is a worthy or an un
worthy preparation for it. If the mass is a promise, as
we have said, we can approach to it by no works, no
strength, no merits, but by faith alone. For where we
have the word of God, who promises, there we must have
faith on the part of man, who accepts ; and it is thus clear
that the beginning of our salvation is faith, depending on
the word of a promising God, who, independently of any
efforts of ours, prevents us by His free and undeserved
mercy, and holds out to us the word of His promise.
"He sent His word and healed them" (Psalm cvii. 20).
He did not receive our works and so save us. First of all
comes the word of God ; this is followed by faith, and faith
by love, which in its turn does every good work; because
it worketh no evil, yea, it is the fulfilling of the law.
There is no other way in which man can meet or deal with
God but by faith. It is not man by any works of his, but
God by His own promise, who is the Author of salvation ;
so that everything depends, is contained and preserved in
the word of His power, by which He begat us, that we
might be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
Thus, when Adam was to be raised up after the Fall, God
gave him a promise, saying to the serpent, " I will place
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 321
and her seed ; she shall braise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise her heel." In this word of promise, Adam, with
his posterity, was, as it were, borne in the bosom of God
and preserved by faith in Him, waiting patiently for the
woman who should bruise the head of the serpent, as God
had promised. In this faith and waiting he died, not
knowing when and how the promise would be accom
plished, but not doubting that it would be accomplished.
For such a promise, being the truth of God, preserves
even in hell those who believe and wait for it. This
promise was followed by another, made to Noah ; the bow
in the cloud being given as a sign of the covenant, be
lieving in which he and his posterity found God pro
pitious. After this God promised to Abraham that in
his seed all the kindreds of the earth should be blessed.
This is that bosom of Abraham into which his posterity
have been received. Lastly, to Moses and to the children
of Israel, especially to David, God gave a most distinct
promise of Christ \ and thus at length revealed what
had been the meaning of the promise made to them of
old time.
Thus we come to the most perfect promise of all, that
of the new testament, in which life and salvation are
freely promised in plain words, and are bestowed on those
who believe the promise. Christ conspicuously dis
tinguishes this testament from the old one by calling
it the "new testament." The old testament given by
Moses was a promise, not of remission of sins, nor of
eternal blessings, but of temporal ones, namely, those of
the land of Canaan ; and by it no one could be renewed
in spirit and fitted to receive a heavenly inheritance.
Hence it was necessary that, as a figure of Christ, an
unreasoning lamb should be slain, in the blood of which
the same testament was confirmed; thus, as is the blood,
so is the testament : as is the victim, so is the promise.
Now Christ says, " The new testament in My blood," not
in another s, but in His own blood, by which grace is
promised through the Spirit for the remission of sins,
that we may receive the inheritance.
21
322 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
The mass then, as regards its substance, is properly
nothing else than the aforesaid words of Christ, " Take,
eat," etc. He seems to say, " Behold, man, sinner and
condemned as thou art, out of the pure and free love
with which I love thee, according to the will of the
Father of mercies, I promise to thee in these words,
antecedently to any merits or prayers of thine, remission
of all thy sins and eternal life. That thou mayest be
most certain of this My irrevocable promise, I will con
firm it by My very death ; I will give My body and
shed My blood, and will leave both to thee, as a sign and-
memorial of this very promise. Which as often as thou
shalt repeat, remember Me ; declare and praise My love
and bounty to thee ; and give thanks."
From this you see that nothing else is required for a
worthy reception of the mass than faith, resting with
confidence on this promise, believing Christ to be truthful
in these words of His, and not doubting that these
immeasurable blessings have been bestowed upon us.
On this faith a spontaneous and most sweet affection of
the heart will speedily follow, by which the spirit of the
man is enlarged and enriched ; that is, love, bestowed
through the Holy Spirit on believers in Christ. Thus the
believer is carried away to Christ, that bounteous and
beneficent Testator, and becomes altogether another and
a new man. Who would not weep tears of delight, nay
almost die for joy in Christ, if he believed with unhesi
tating faith that this inestimable promise of Christ
belonged to him ? How can he fail to love such a Bene
factor, who of His own accord offers, promises, and gives
the greatest riches and an eternal inheritance to an
unworthy sinner, who has deserved very different treat
ment?
Our one great misery is this : that, while we have many
masses in the world, few or none of us recognise, consider,
or apprehend the rich promises set before us in them. Now
in the mass the one thing that demands our greatest,
nay our sole, attention is to keep these words and
promises of Christ, which indeed constitute the mass
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 323
itself, constantly before our eyes, that we should meditate
on and digest them, and exercise, nourish, increase, and
strengthen our faith in them by this daily commemoration.
This is what Christ commands when He says, " Do this
in remembrance of Me." It is the work of an evangelist
faithfully to present and commend that promise to the
people, and to call forth faith in it on their part. As it
is to say nothing of the impious fables of those who
teach human traditions in the place of this great promise
how many are there who know that the mass is a promise
of Christ? Even if they teach these words of Christ,
they do not teach them as conveying a promise or a
testament, and therefore call forth no faith in them.
It is a deplorable thing in our present bondage that
nowadays the utmost care is taken that no layman should
hear those words of Christ, as if they were too sacred to
be committed to the common people. We priests are so
mad that we arrogate to ourselves alone the right of
secretly uttering the words of consecration, as they are
called, and that in a way which is unprofitable even to
ourselves, since we never look at them as promises, or as a
testament for the increase of faith. Under the influence
of some superstitious and impious notion, we do reverence
to these words instead of believing them. In this our
misery Satan so works among us that, while he has left
nothing of the mass to the Church, he yet takes care that
every corner of the earth shall be full of masses, that is,
that the world shall be more and more heavily burdened
with abuses and mockeries of the testament of God,
and the gravest sins of idolatry, to increase its greater
damnation. For what more grievous sin of idolatry can
there be, than to abuse the promises of God by our per
verse notions and either neglect or extinguish all faith
in them?
God (as I have said) never has dealt, or does deal, with
men otherwise than by the word of promise. Again, we
can never deal with God otherwise than by faith in the
word of His promise. He takes no concern with our works,
and has no need of them , though it is by these we deal
324 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
with other men and with ourselves ; but He does require
to be esteemed by us truthful in His promises, and to be
patiently trusted as such, and thus worshipped in faith,
hope, and love. And thus it is that He is glorified in us
when we receive and hold every blessing not by our own
efforts, but from His mercy, promise, and gift. This is
that true worship and service of God which we are bound
to render in the mass. But when the words of the promise
are not delivered to us, what exercise of faith can there
be ? And without faith who can hope ? who can love ?
without faith, hope, and love, what service can there be ?
There is no doubt therefore that at the present day the
whole body of priests and monks, with their bishops
and all their superiors, are idolaters and living in a
most perilous state, through their ignorance, abuse, and
mockery of the mass, or sacrament, or promise of God.
It is easy for any one to understand that two things
are necessary at the same time : the promise and faith.
Without a promise we have nothing to believe ; while
without faith the promise is useless, since it is through
faith that it is established and fulfilled, whence we easily
conclude that the mass, being nothing else than a promise,
can be approached and partaken of by faith alone, with
out which whatever prayers, preparations, works, signs,
or gestures are practised, are rather provocations to im
piety than acts of piety. It constantly happens that when
men have given their attention to all these things they
imagine that they are approaching the altar lawfully, and
yet in reality could never be more unfit to approach it,
because of the unbelief which they bring with them.
What a number of sacrificing priests you may daily see
everywhere who, if they have committed some trifling
error, by unsuitable vestments or unwashed hands, or by
some hesitation in the prayers, are wretched, and think
themselves guilty of an immense crime ! Meanwhile, as
for the mass itself that is, the Divine promise they
neither heed nor believe it ; yea, are utterly unconscious
of its existence. Oh, unworthy religion of our age, the
most impious and ungrateful of all ages !
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 325
There is then no worthy preparation for the mass, or
rightful use of it, except faith, by which it is believed in
as a Divine promise. Wherefore let him who is about to
approach the altar or to receive the Sacrament take care
not to appear before the Lord his God empty. Now he will
be empty, if he has not faith in the mass, or in this new
testament ; and what more grievous impiety can he com
mit against the truth of God than by this unbelief? As
far as~m him lies, he makes God a liar, and renders His
promises idle. It will be safest then to go to the mass
in no other spirit than that in which thou wouldst go to
hear any other promise of God ; that is, to be prepared,
not to do many works and bring many gifts, but to
believe and receive all that is promised thee in that
ordinance, or is declared to thee through the ministry of
the priest as promised. Unless thou comest in this spirit,
beware of drawing near ; for thou wilt surely draw near
unto judgment.
I have rightly said, then, that the whole virtue of the
mass consists in those words of Christ in which He tes
tifies that remission is granted to all who believe that
His body is given and His blood shed for them. There is
nothing, then, more necessary for those who are about to
hear mass than to meditate earnestly and with full faith
on the very words of Christ ; for unless they do this, all
else is done in vain. It is certainly true that God has
ever been wont, in all His promises, to give some sign,
token, or memorial of His promise, that it might be kept
more faithfully and tell more strongly on men s minds.
Thus when He promised to Noah that the earth should
not be destroyed by another deluge He gave His bow in
the cloud, and said that He would thus remember His
covenant. To Abraham, when He promised that his seed
should inherit the earth, He gave circumcision as a seal
of the righteousness which is by faith. Thus to Gideon
He gave the dry and the dewy fleece, to confirm His
promise of victory over the Midianites. Thus to Ahaz
He gave a sign through Isniah,to confirm his faith in the
promise of victory over the kings of Syria and Samaria.
326 LUTHERS PRIMARY WORKS
We read in the Scriptures of many such signs of the
promises of God.
So, too, in the mass, that chief of all promises, He gave a
sign in memory of so great a promise, namely, His own
body and His own blood in the bread and wine, saying,
" Do this in remembrance of Me." Tims in baptism He
adds to the words of the promise the sign of immersion
in water. Whence we see that in every promise of God
two things are set before us : the word and the sign. The
word we are to understand as being the testament, and the
sign as being the Sacrament ; thus in the mass the word
of Christ is the testament : the bread and wine are the
Sacrament. And as there is greater power in the word
than in the sign, so is there greater power in the testa
ment than in the Sacrament. A man can have and use
the word or testament without the sign or Sacrament.
" Believe," saith Augustine, " and thou hast eaten " ; but
in what do we believe except in the word of Him who
promises ? Thus I can have the mass daily, nay hourly,
since, as often as I will, I can set before myself the
words of Christ, and nourish and strengthen my faith in
them ; and this is in very truth spiritual eating and
drinking.
Here we see what and how much the theologians of the
Sentences have done for us in this matter. In the first
place, not one of them handles that which is the sum and
substance of the whole, namely, the testament and word of
promise; and thus they do away with faith and the whole
virtue of the mass. In the next place, the other part of it
namely, the sign or Sacrament is all that they deal
witli ; but they do not teach faith even in this, but their
own preparations, opera operata, participations and fruits
of the mass. At length they have reached the very depth
of error, and have involved themselves in an infinity of
metaphysical triflings concerning tran substantiation and
other points; so that they have done away with all faith,
and with the knowledge and true use, as well of the testa
ment as of the Sacrament, and have caused the people of
Christ, as the prophet says, to forget their God for
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 327
many days. But do thou leave others to recount the
various fruits of hearing mass, and apply thy mind to
saying and believing, with the prophet, that God has
prepared a table before thee in the presence of thine
enemies a table at which thy faith may feed and grow
strong. Now it is only on the word of the Divine promise
that thy faith can feed ; for man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God (Matt. iv. 4). Wherefore in the mass thou
must look above all things most closely to the word of
promise as to a most sumptuous banquet, full of every kind
of food and holy nourishment for thy soul ; this thou
must esteem above all things ; in this thou must place
all thy trust, and cleave firmly to it, even in the midst
of death and all thy sins. If thou dost this, thou wilt
possess not only those drops, as it were, and littlenesses of
the fruits of the mass, which some have superstitiously
invented, but the main fount of life itself, namely,
faith in the word, from which every good thing flows, as
Christ said, " He that believeth on Me, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water " (John vii. 38), and
again, " Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall
give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting life" (John iv. 14).
There are two difficulties which are wont to beset us,
and prevent our receiving the benefits of the mass. The
one is that we are sinners and unworthy, from our utter vile-
ness, of such great blessings ; the other is, even if we were
worthy, the very greatness of the blessings themselves,
which are such that weak nature cannot dare to seek or
hope for them. Who would not be struck, in the first
place, with amazement rather than with the desire for the
remission of sins and eternal life, if he rightly estimates
the greatness of the blessings which come through these
namely, the having God as his Father and being a
child of God and heir of all good things ? To meet this
double weakness of nature, thou must take hold of the
word of Christ, and fix thine eyes much more strongly on
328 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
that, than on these cogitations of thine own infirmity.
For the works of the Lord are great, and He is mighty
to give, beyond all that we can seek or comprehend.
Indeed, unless His works surpassed our worthiness, our
capacity, our whole comprehension, they would not be
Divine. Thus, too, Christ encourages us, saying, " Fear
not, little flock ; for it is your Father s good pleasure to
give you the kingdom " (Luke xii. 32). This incompre
hensible exuberance of God s mercy, poured out on us
through Christ, makes us in our turn to love Him above
all things, to cast ourselves upon Him with the most
perfect trust, to despise all things, and be ready to suffer
all things for Him. Hence this Sacrament has been
rightly called the fountain of love.
Here we may draw an example from human affairs.
If some very rich lord were to bequeath a thousand pieces
of gold to any beggar, or even to an unworthy and bad
servant, such a one would certainly demand and receive
them confidently, without regard either to his own un-
worthiness or to the greatness of the legacy. If any one
were to set these before him as objections, what do you
think he would reply ? He would certainly answer,
" What is that to you ? It is not by my deserving, nor
by any right of my own, that I receive what I do receive.
I know that I am unworthy of it, and that I am receiving
much more than I deserve ; nay, I have deserved the
very contrary. But what I claim, I claim by right of
a testament and of the goodness of another : if it were
not unworthy of him to leave such a legacy to me, who
am so unworthy, why should my unworthiness make
me hesitate to accept it ? Nay, the more unworthy I
am, the more readily do I embrace this free favour from
another." With such reasonings we must arm our own
consciences against all their scruples and anxieties, that
we may hold this promise of Christ with unhesitating-
faith. We must give the utmost heed not to approach
in any confidence in our own confessions, prayers, and
preparations ; we must despair of all these, and come
in a lofty confidence in the promise of Christ since it
HABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 329
is the word of promise which alone must reign here,
in pure faith, which is the one and sole sufficient
preparation.
We see from all this how great the wrath of God
has been which has permitted our impious teachers to
conceal from us the words of this testament, and thus, as
far as in them lay, to extinguish faith itself. It is self-
evident what miist necessarily follow this extinction of
faith: namely, the most impious superstitions about works.
For when faith perishes, and the word of faith is silent,
then straightway works and traditions of works rise up in
its place. By these we have been removed from our
own land, as into a Babylonian bondage, and all that
was dear to us has been taken from us. Even thus it has
befallen us with the mass, which, through the teaching of
wicked men, has been changed into a good work, which
they call opus operatum, and by which they imagine that
they are all-powerful with God. Hence they have > gone
to the extreme of madness ; and, having first falsely
affirmed that the mass is of avail through the force of
the opus operatum, they have gone on to say that even if
it be hurtful to him who offers it impiously, yet it is none
the less useful to others. On this basis they have
established their applications, participations, fraternities,
anniversaries, and an infinity of lucrative and gainful
business of that kind.
You will scarcely be able to stand against these errors,
many and strong as they are, and deeply as they have
penetrated, unless you fix what has been said firmly in
your memory and give the most steadfast heed to the true
nature of the mass. You have heard that the mass is
nothing else than the Divine promise or testament of
Christ, commended to us by the Sacrament of His body
and blood. If this is true, Von will see that it cannot in
any way be a work, nor can any work be performed in it,
nor can it be handled in any way but by faith alone ; and
faith is not a work, but the mistress and life of all works.
Is there any man so senseless as to call a promise he
has received, or a legacy that has been bestowed on him,
330 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
a good work done on his part towards the testator ? What
heir is there who thinks that he is doing a service to his
father when he receives the testamentary documents along
with the inheritance bequeathed to him ? Whence then
this impious rashness of ours : that we come to receive
the testament of God as if we were doing a good work
towards Him ? Is not such ignorance of that testament,
and such a state of bondage of that great Sacrament, a
grief beyond all tears ? Where we ought to be grateful
for blessings bestowed onus, we come in our pride to give
what we ought to receive, and make a mockery, with
unheard-of perversity, of the mercy of the Giver. ^Los\
give to Him as a work of ours what we receive as a gift
from Him ; and we thus make the Testator no longer
the Bestower of His good gifts on us, but the Receiver
of ours. Alas for such impiety !
Who has ever been so senseless as to consider baptism
a good work? What candidate for baptism has ever
believed he was doing a work which he might offer to
God on behalf of himself and others ? If then in one
sacrament and testament there is no good work com
municable to others, neither can there be any in the mass,
which is itself nothing but a testament and a sacrament.
Hence it is a manifest and impious error to offer or apply
the mass for sins, for satisfactions, for the dead, or for
any necessities of our own or of others. The evident
truth of this statement you will easily understand, if you
keep closely to the fact that the mass is a Divine promise,
which can profit no one, be applied to no one, be com
municated to no one, except to the believer himself, and
that solely by his own faith. Who can possibly receive
or apply for another a promise of God which requires
faith on the part of each individual ? Can I give another
man the promise of God, if he does not believe it ; or
can I believe for another man ; or can I make another
believe ? Yet all this I must be able to do if I can apply
and communicate the mass to others ; for there are in the
mass only these two things : God s promise, and man s
faith which receives that promise. If I can do all this, I
CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 331
can also hear and believe the Gospel on behalf of other
men, I can be baptised for another man, I can be absolved
from sin for another man, I can partake of the Sacra
ment of the altar for another man ; nay, to go through
the whole list of their sacraments, I can also marry for
another man, be ordained priest for another man, be
confirmed for another! man, receive extreme unction for
another man.
Why did not Abraham believe on behalf of all the Jews ?
Why was every individual Jew required to exercise faith
hi the same promise which Abraham believed ? Let us
keep to this impregnable truth : where there is a Divine
promise, there every man stands for himself ; individual
iaith is required ; every man shall give account for him
self, and shall bear his own burdens ; as Christ says,
" He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved ; but
lie that believeth not shall be damned " (Mark xvi. 16).
Thus every man can make the mass useful only to himself,
by his own faith, and can by no means communicate it to
others, just as a priest cannot administer a sacrament to
any man on behalf of another, but administers the same
Sacrament to each individual separately. The priests in
their work of consecration and administration act as
ministers for us ; not that we offer up any good work
through them, or communicate actively ; but by their
means we receive the promise and its sign, and are com
municated passively . This idea continues among the laity ;
for they are not said to do a good work, but to receive a
gift. But the priests have gone after their own impieties
and have made it a good work that they communicate,
and make an offering out of the Sacrament and testament
of God, whereas they ought to have received it as a good
gift.
But you will say, " What ? will you overthrow the
practices and opinions which for so many centuries have
rooted themselves in all the churches and monasteries,
and all that superstructure of anniversaries, suffrages,
applications, and communications, which they have esta
blished upon the mass, and from which they have drawn
332 LU1HERS PRIMARY WORKS
the amplest revenues ? " 1 reply, It is this wliicli
lias compelled me to write concerning the bondage of
the Church. For the venerable testament of God has
been brought into a profane servitude to gain, through
the opinions and traditions of impious men, who have
passed over the word of God, and have set before us the
imaginations of their own hearts, and thus have led the
world astray. What have I to do witli the number or the
greatness of those who are in error ? Truth is stronger
than all. If you can deny that Christ teaches that the
mass is a testament and a sacrament, I am ready to justify
those men. Again, if you can say that the man who
receives the benefit of a testament, or who uses for this
purpose the Sacrament of promise, is doing a good work,
I am ready and willing to condemn what I have said.
But since neither is possible, why hesitate to despise the
crowd which hastens to do evil, whilst you give glory to
God and confess His truth, namely, that all priests are
perversely mistaken who look on the mass as a work, by
which they may aid their own necessities or those of
others, whether dead or alive ? My statements, I know,
are unheard of and astounding. But if yon look into the
true nature of the mass, you will see that I speak the
truth. These errors have proceeded from that over-
security which has kept us from perceiving that the
wrath of God was coming upon us.
This I readily admit : that the prayers which we pour
forth in the presence of God, when we meet to partake of
the mass, are good works or benefits, which we mutually
impart, apply, and communicate, and offer up for one
another, as the Apostle James teaches us to pray for one
another that we may be saved. Paul also exhorts that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks,
be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in
authority (1 Tim. ii. 1, 2). These things are not the
mass, but works of the mass if, indeed, we can call the
prayers of our hearts and our lips works because they
spring from the existence and growth of faith in the
Sacrament. The mass or promise of God is not completed
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 333
by our prayers, but only by our faith ; and in faith we
pray arid do other good works. But what priest sacrifices
with the intention and idea of only offering up prayers ?
They all imagine that they are offering Christ Himself to
God the Father as an all-sufficient Victim ; and that they
are doing a good work on behalf of all men, who, as they
allege, will profit by it. They trust in the opus operatum,
and do not attribute the effect to prayer. Thus, by a
gradual growth of error, they attribute to the Sacrament
the benefit which springs from prayer ; and they offer to
God what they ought to receive as a gift from Him.
We must therefore make a clear distinction between
the testament and Sacrament itself and the prayers
which we offer at the same time. And not only so, but
we must understand that those prayers are of no value at
all, either to him who offers them or to those for whom
they are offered, unless the testament has been first
received by faith, so that the prayer may be that of faith,
which alone is heard, as the Apostle James teaches us.
So widely does prayer differ from the mass. I can pray
for as many persons as I will ; but no one receives the
mass unless he believes for himself, and that only so far
as he believes ; nor can it be given either to God or
to men, but it is God alone who by the ministry of the
priest gives it to men, and they receive it by faith alone,
without any works or merits. No one would be so
audaciously foolish as to say that, when a poor and needy
man comes to receive a benefit from the hand of a rich
man, he is doing a good work. Now the mass is the
benefit of a Divine promise, held forth to all men by the
hand of the priest. It is certain therefore that the mass
is not a work communicable to others, but the object of
each man s individual faith, which is thus to be nourished
and strengthened.
We must also get rid of another scandal, which is a
much greater and a very specious one : that is, that the
mass is universally believed to be a sacrifice offered to
God. With this opinion the words of the canon of
the mass appear to agree, such as " these gifts ; these
334 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
offerings ; these holy sacrifices " ; and again, " this obla
tion." There is also a very distinct prayer that the
sacrifice may be accepted like the sacrifice of Abel.
Hence Christ is called the Victim of the altar. To this
we must add the sayings of the holy Fathers, a great
number of authorities, and the usage that has been con
stantly observed throughout the world.
To all these difficulties, which beset us so pertinaciously,
we must oppose with the utmost constancy the words and
example of Christ. Unless we hold the mass to be the
promise or testament of Christ, according to the plain
meaning of the words, we lose all the Gospel and our
whole comfort.^ Let us allow nothing to prevail against
those words, even if an angel from heaven taught us
otherwise. Now in these words there is nothing about a
work or sacrifice. Again we have the example of Christ
on our side. (^When Christ instituted this Sacrament and
/established this testament in the Last Supper, He did not
offer Himself to God the Father, or accomplish it as a good
work on behalf of others, but, as He sat at the table, He
declared the same testament to each individual present and
bestowed on each the sign of it.") Now, the more any mass
resembles and approaches thai first mass of all which
Christ celebrated at the Last Supper, the more Christian
it isj) But that mass of Christ was most simple, without
any display of vestments, gestures, hymns, and other
ceremonies ; so that if it had been necessary that it should
be offered as a sacrifice, His institution of it would not
have been complete.
Not that any one ought rashly to blame the universal
Church, which has adorned and extended the mass with
many other rites and ceremonies ; but we desire that no
one should be so deceived by showy ceremonies, or so per
plexed by the amount of external display, as to lose the
simplicity of the mass and, in fact, pay honour to a sort
of transubstantiation, as will be the case if we pass by
the simple substance of the mass, and fix our minds on
the manifold accidents of its outward show. For whatever
has been added to the mass beyond the word and example
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 335
of Christ is one of its accidents ; and none of these ought
we to consider in any other light than we now consider
monstrances, as they are called, and altar cloths, within
which the host is contained. ( It is a contradiction in
terms that the mass should be a sacrifice, since we receive
the mass but give a sacrifice. Now the same thing cannot
be received and offered at the same time, nor can it be at
once given and accepted by the same person. This is as
certain as that prayer and the thing prayed for cannot be
the same, nor can it be the same thing to pray and to
receive what we pray for.
What shall we say then to the canon of the mass and the
authority of the Fathers ? First of all, I reply, If there
were nothing to be said, it would be safer to deny their
authority altogether, than to grant that the mass is a
work or a sacrifice, and thus to deny the word of Christ
and to overthrow faith and the mass together. However,
that we may keep the Fathers too, we will explain
(1 Cor. xi.) that the believers in Christ, when they met
to celebrate the mass, were accustomed to bring with
them portions of food and drink, called " collects, " which
were distributed among the poor, according to the example
of the Apostles (Acts iv.), and from which were taken the
bread and wine consecrated for the Sacrament. Since all
these gifts were sanctified by the word and prayer after
the Hebrew rite, in accordance with which they were
lifted on high, as we read in Moses, the words and the
practice of elevation, or of offering, continued in the Church
long after the custom had died out of collecting and bring
ing together the gifts which were offered or elevated.
Thus Hezekiah (Isa. xxxvii. 4) bids Isaiah to lift his
prayer for the remnant that is left. Again, the Psalmist
says, " Lift up your hands to the holy place," and " To
Thee will 1 lift up my hands," and again, " That men
pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands " (1 Tim. ii. 8).
Hence the expressions " sacrifice " or " oblation " ought to
be referred, not to the Sacrament and testament, but to the
" collects " themselves. Hence, too, the word " collect "
has remained in use for the prayers said in the mass.
336 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
For the same reason the priest elevates the bread and
the cup as soon as he has consecrated them ; but the
proof that he is not therein offering anything to God is
that in no single word does he make mention of a victim
or an oblation. This too is a remnant of the Hebrew rite,
according to which it was customary to elevate the gifts
which, after being received with giving of thanks, were
brought back to God. Or it may be considered as an
admonition to us, to call forth our faith in that testament
which Christ on that occasion brought forward and set
before us, and also as a display of its sign. The oblation
of the bread properly corresponds to the words, " This
is My body " ; and Christ, as it were, addresses us by
standers by this very sign. Thus, too, the oblation of the
cup properly corresponds to these words : "This cup is
the new testament in My blood." The priest ought to
call forth our faith by the very rite of elevation. And as
he openly elevates the sign or Sacrament in our sight, so I
wish that he also pronounced the word or testament with
loud and clear voice in our hearing, and that in the
language of every nation, that our faith might be more
efficaciously exercised. Why should it be lawful to per
form mass in Greek^and Latin and Hebrew, and not also
in German or in any other language ?
Wherefore, in this abandoned and most perilous age,
let the priests who sacrifice take heed, in the first place,
that those words of the major and minor canon, with the
collects, which speak only too plainly of a sacrifice, are
to be applied, not to the Sacrament, but either to the
consecration of the bread and wine themselves, or to
their own prayers. For the bread and wine are presented
beforehand to receive a blessing, that they may be
sanctified by the word and prayer. But after being
blessed and consecrated, they are no longer offered, but
are received as a gift from God. And in this matter let
the priest consider that the Gospel is to be preferred to all
canons and collects composed by men ; and the Gospel, as
we have seen, does not allow the mass to be a sacrifice.
In the next place, when the priest is performing mass
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 337
publicly, let him understand that he is only receiving
and giving to others the communion in the mass ; and
let him beware of offering up at the same moment his
prayers for himself and others, lest he should seem to be
presuming to offer the mass. The priest also who is
saying a private mass must consider himself as adminis
tering the communion to himself. A private mass is not
at all different from, nor more efficient than, the simple
reception of the communion by any layman from the
hand of the priest, except for the prayers, and that the
priest consecrates and administers it to himself. In
the matter itself of the mass and the Sacrament, we are
all equal, priests and laymen.
Even if he is requested by others to do so, let him
beware of celebrating votive masses, as they are calJed,
and of receiving any payment for the mass or presuming
to offer any votive sacrifice ; but let him carefully refer
all this to the prayers which he offers, whether for the
dead or the living. Let him think thus : I will go and
receive the Sacrament for myself alone, but while I re
ceive it I will pray for this or that person, and thus, for
purposes of food and clothing, receive payment for my
prayers, and not for the mass. Nor let it shake thee in
this view, though the whole world is of the contrary
opinion and practice. Thou hast the most certain
authority of the Gospel ; and relying on this, thou mayest
easily contemn the ideas and opinions of men. If, how
ever, in despite of what I say, thou wilt persist in offering
the mass, and not thy prayers only, then know, that I
have faithfully warned thee, and that I shall stand clear
in the day of judgment, whilst thou wilt bear thine own
sin. I have said what I was bound to say to thee, as a
brother to a brother, for thy salvation ; it will be to thy
profit if thou takest heed to my words, to thy hurt if thou
neglectest them. And if there are some who will condemn
these statements of mine, I reply in the words of Paul :
" Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. iii. 13).
Hence any one may easily understand that often-
22
LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
quoted passage from Gregory, in which he says that a
mass celebrated by a bad priest is not to be considered of
less value than one by a good priest, and that one cele
brated by St. Peter would not have been better than one
celebrated by the traitor Judas. Under cover of this
saying some try to shelter their own impiety, and have
drawn a distinction between the opus operatum and the
opus operanSj that they might continue secure in their
evil living, and yet pretend to be benefactors to others.
Gregory indeed speaks the truth, but these men pervert
his meaning. It is most true that the testament and
Sacrament are not less effectively given and received at
the hands of wicked priests than at those of the most
holy. Who doubts that the Gospel may be preached by
wicked men ? Now the mass is a part of the Gospel,
nay the very sum and compendium of the Gospel. For
what is the whole Gospel but the good news of the re
mission of sins ? Now all that can be said in the most
ample and copious words concerning the remission of sins
and the mercy of God is all briefly comprehended in the
word of the testament. Hence also sermons to the people
ought to be nothing else but expositions of the mass,
that is, the setting forth of the Divine promise of this
testament. This would be to teach faith, and truly to
edify the Church. But those who now expound the mass
make a sport and mockery of the subject by figures of
speech derived from human ceremonies.
As therefore a wicked man can baptise that is, can
apply the word of promise and the sign of water to the
person baptised so can he also apply and minister the
promise of this Sacrament to those who partake of it, and
partake himself with them, as the traitor Judas did in
the supper of the Lord. Still the Sacrament and testa
ment remains always the same ; it performs in the be
liever its own proper work : in the unbeliever it performs
a work foreign to itself. But in the matter of oblations
the case is quite different ; for since it is not the mass,
but prayers, which are offered to God, it is evident
that the oblations of a wicked priest are of no value. As
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 339
Gregory himself says, when we employ an unworthy
person as an advocate, the mind of the judge is prejudiced^
against us. We must not therefore confound these two
things: the mass and prayer; sacrament and work; testa
ment and sacrifice. The one comes from God to us
through the ministry of the priest, and requires faith on
our part ; the other goes forth from our faith to God
through the priest, and requires that He should hear us :
the one comes down ; the other goes upwards. The one
therefore does not necessarily require that the minister
should be worthy and pious, but the other does require it,
because God does not hear sinners. He knows how to
do us good by means of wicked men, but He does not
accept the works of any wicked man, as He showed in the
case of Cain. It is written, " The sacrifice of the wicked
is an abomination to the Lord " (Prov. xv. 8), and again,
" Whatsoever is not of faith is sin " (Rom. xiv. 23).
We shall now make an end of this first part of the
subject, but I am ready to produce further arguments
when any one comes forward to attack these. From all
that has been said we see for whom the mass was
intended, and who are worthy partakers of it ; namely,
those alone who have sad, afflicted, disturbed, confused,
and erring consciences. For since the word of the Divine
promise in this Sacrament holds) forth to us remission of
sins, any man may safely draw near to it who is harassed
either by remorse for sin, or by temptation to sin. This
testament of Christ is the one medicine for past, present,
and future sins, provided thou cleavest to it with unhesi
tating faith, and believest that that which is signified by
the words of the testament is freely given to thee. If
thou dost not so believe, then nowhere, never, by no
works, by no efforts, wilt thou be able to appease thy
conscience. For faith is the sole peace of conscience, and
unbelief the sole disturber of conscience.
CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who, according to the riches of His mercy, has at
340 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
least preserved this one Sacrament in His Church unin
jured and uncontaminated by the devices of men, and has
made it free to all nations and to men of every class.
He has not suffered it to be overwhelmed with the foul
and impious monstrosities of avarice and superstition,
doubtless having this purpose: that He would have little
children, incapable of avarice and superstition, to be
initiated into this Sacrament and to be sanctified by
perfectly simple faith in His word. To such, at the
present day, baptism is of the chiefest advantage. If
this Sacrament had had to be given to adults and
those of full age, it seems as if it could have hardly
preserved its efficacy and its glory, in the presence of
that tyranny of avarice and superstition which has sup
planted all Divine ordinances among us. In this case too,
no doubt, fleshly wisdom would have invented its prepara
tions, its worthinesses, its reservations, its restrictions,
and other like nets for catching money ; so that the water
of baptism would be sold no cheaper than parchments
are now.
Yet though Satan has not been able to extinguish the
virtue of baptism in the case of little children, still he has
had power to extinguish it in all adults ; so that there is
scarcely any one nowadays who remembers that he has
been baptised, much less glories in it, so many other
ways having been found of obtaining remission of sins
and going to heaven. Occasion lias been afforded to these
opinions by that perilous saying of St. Jerome, either
misstated or misunderstood, in which he calls penitence
the second plank of safety after shipwreck, as if baptism
were not penitence. Hence, when men have fallen into
sin, they despair of the first plank, or the ship, as being
no longer of any use, and begin to trust and depend only
on the second plank, that is, on penitence. Thence have
sprung those infinite loads of vows, religious dedica
tions, works, satisfactions, pilgrimages, indulgences, and
systems, and from them those oceans of books and of human
questionings, opinions, and traditions, which the whole
world nowadays cannot contain. Thus this tyranny
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 341
possesses the Church of God in an incomparably worse
form than it ever possessed the synagogue or any nation
under heaven.
It was the duty of bishops to remove all these abuses
and to make every effort to recall Christians to the
simplicity of baptism, that so they might understand
their own position, and what as Christians they ought to
do. But the one business of bishops at the present day
is to lead the people as far as possible away from baptism
and to plunge them all under the deluge of their own
tyranny, and thus, as the prophet says, to make the
people of Christ forget Him for ever. Oh wretched
men who are called by the name of bishops ! they not
only do nothing and know nothing which bishops ought,
but they are even ignorant what they ought to know and
do. They fulfil the words of Isaiah, " His watchmen are
blind ; they are all ignorant ; they are shepherds that
cannot understand ; they all look to their own way, every
one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isa. Ivi. 10, 11).
The first thing, then, we have to notice in baptism is
the Divine promise which says, " He who believes and is
baptised shall be saved." This promise is to be infinitely
preferred to the whole display of works, vows, religious
orders, and whatever has been introduced by the invention
of man. On this promise depends our whole salvation,
and we must take heed to exercise faith in it, not doubt
ing at all that we are saved, since we have been baptised.
Unless this faith exists and is applied, baptism profits us
nothing ; nay, it is hurtful to us, not only at the time
when it is received, but in the whole course of our after
life. For unbelief of this kind charges the Divine promise
with falsehood ; and to do this is the greatest of all sins.
If we attempt this exercise of faith, we shall soon see
how difficult a tiling it is to believe this Divine promise.
For human weakness, conscious of its own sinfulness,
finds it the most difficult thing in the world to believe
that it is saved, or can be saved ; and yet, unless it
believes this, it cannot be saved, because it does not
believe the Divine truth which promises salvation,
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This doctrine ought to have been studiously inculcated
upon the people by preaching ; this promise ought to have
been perpetually reiterated ; men ought to have been
constantly reminded of their baptism ; faith ought to
have been called forth and nourished. When this Divine
promise has been once conferred upon us, its truth con
tinues even to the hour of our death ; and thus our faith
in it ought never to be relaxed, but ought to be nourished
and strengthened, even till we die, by a perpetual recol
lection of the promise made to us in baptism. Thus,
when we rise out of our sins and exercise penitence, we
are simply reverting to the efficacy of baptism and to
faith in it, whence we had fallen ; and we return to the
promise then made to us, but which we had abandoned
through our sin. For the truth of the promise once made
always abides, and is ready to stretch out the hand and
receive us when we return. This, unless I mistake, is the
meaning of that obscure saying that baptism is the first
of sacraments and the foundation of them all, without
which we can possess none of the others.
Thus it will be of no little profit to a penitent, first of
all, to recall to mind his own baptism and to remember
with confidence that Divine promise which lie had deserted,
rejoicing that he is still in a fortress of safety, in that he
has been baptised, and detesting his own wicked in
gratitude in having fallen away from the faith and truth
of baptism. His heart will be marvellously comforted,
and encouraged to hope for mercy, if he fixes his eyes
upon that Divine promise once made to him, which could
not lie, and which still continues entire, unchanged, and
unchangeable by any sins of his, as Paul says, " If we
believe not, yet He abideth faithful ; He cannot deny
Himself" (2 Tim. ii. 13). This truth of God will
preserve him ; and even if all other hopes perish, this, if
he believes it, will not fail him. Through this truth he
will have something to oppose to the insolent adversary ;
he will have a barrier to throw in the way of the sins
which disturb his conscience ; he will have an answer to
the dread of death and judgment ; finally, he will have a
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 343
consolation under every kind of temptation in being able
to say, God is faithful to His promise ; and in baptism I
received the sign of that promise. If God is for me, who
can be against me ?
If the children of Israel, when returning to God in
repentance, first of all called to mind their exodus from
Egypt, and in remembrance of this turned back to God,
who had brought them out a remembrance which is so
often inculcated on them by Moses and referred to by
David how much more ought we to remember our
exodus from Egypt, and in remembrance of it to return
to Him who brought us out through the washing of the
new birth ! Now this we can do most advantageously
of all in the Sacrament of the bread and wine. So of
old these three sacraments, penitence, baptism, and tho
bread, were often combined in the same act of worship ;
and the one added strength to the other. Thus we read
of a certain holy virgin who, whenever she was tempted,
relied on her baptism only for defence, saying, in the
briefest words, "I am a Christian." The enemy forth
with felt the efficacy of baptism and of the faith which
depended on the truth of a promising God, and fled from
her.
We see then how rich a Christian, or baptised man, )/
is, since, even if he would, he cannot lose his salvation */
by any sins however great, unless he refuses to believe ;
for no sins whatever can condemn him but unbelief
alone. All other sins, if faith in the Divine promise
made to the baptised man stands firm or is restored, are
swallowed up in a moment through that same faith,
yea, through the truth of God, because He cannot deny
Himself, if thou confessest Him, and cleavest believingly
to His promise ; whereas contrition, and confession of
sins, and satisfaction for sins, and every effort that can
be devised by men, will desert thee at thy need, and will
make thee more miserable than ever, if thou forgettest
this Divine truth and puifest thyself up with such things
as these. For whatever work is wrought apart from
faith in the truth of God is vanity and vexation of spirit.
344 LUTHERS PRIMARY WORKS
We alsojsee how perilous and false an idea it is that
penitence is a second plank of refuge after shipwreck,
and how pernicious an error it is to suppose that the
virtue of baptism has been brought to an end by sin, and
that this ship has been dashed to pieces. That ship
remains one, solid, and indestructible, and can never be
broken up into different planks. In it all are conveyed
who are carried to the port of salvation, since it is the
trutl^ of God giving promises in the sacraments. What
certainly does happen is that many rashly leap out of the
ship into the sea and perish; these are they who abandon
faith in the promise and rush headlong into sin. But
the ship itself abides, and passes on safely in its course ;
and any man who, by the grace of God, returns to the
ship, will be borne on to life, not on a plank, but on the
solid ship itself. Such a man is he who returns by faith
to the fixed and abiding promise of God. Thus Peter
charges those who sin with having forgotten that they
were purged from their old sins (2 Peter 1 9) ; doubtless
meaning to reprove their ingratitude for the baptism
they had received and the impiety of their unbelief.
What profit then is there in writing so much about
baptism, and yet not teaching faith in the promise ? All
the sacraments were instituted for the purpose of nourish
ing faith, and yet so far are they from attaining this
object that men are even found impious enough to
assert that a man ought not to be sure of the remission
of sins or of the grace of the sacraments. By this
impious doctrine they delude the whole world, and
utterly extinguish, or at least bring into bondage, that
sacrament of baptism, in which the first glory of our
conscience stands. Meanwhile they senselessly persecute
wretched souls with their contritions, their anxious con
fessions, their circumstances, satisfactions, works, and an
infinity of such trifles. Let us then read with caution, or
rather despise, the Master of Sentences (Book iv.), with
all his followers, who, when they write their best, write
only about the matter and form of the sacraments, and
so handle only the dead and perishing letter of those
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 345
sacraments, while they do not even touch upon their
spirit, life, and use ; that is, the truth of the Divine
promise and faith on our part.
See then that thou be not deceived by the display of
works and by the fallacies of human traditions, and so
wrong the truth of God and thine own faith. If thou wilt
be saved, thou must begin by faith in the sacraments,
without any works. Thy faith will be followed by these
very works; but thou must not hold faith cheap, for it is
itself the most excellent and most difficult of all works,
and by it alone thou wilt be saved, even if thou wert
compelled to be destitute of all other works. For it is a
work of God, not of man, as Paul teaches. All other
works He performs with us and by us ; this one work
He performs in us and without us.
From what has been said we may clearly distinguish
between man, the minister, and God, the Author, of
baptism. Man baptises, and does not baptise : he
baptises, because he performs the work of dipping the
baptised person ; he does not baptise, because in this
work lie does not act upon his own authority, but in the
place of God. Hence we ought to receive baptism from
the hand of man just as if Christ Himself, nay, God
Himself, were baptising us with His own hands. For it
is not a man s baptism, but that of Christ and God,
though we receive it by the hand of a man. Even so
any other creature which Ave enjoy through the hand of
another is really only God s. Beware then of making
any such distinction in baptism, as to attribute the
outward rite to man, and the inward blessing to God.
Attribute both of them to God alone, and consider the
person of him who confers baptism in no other light than
as the vicarious instrument of God, by means of which
the Lord sitting in heaven dips thee in the water with
His own hands, and promises thee remission of sins upon
earth, speaking to thee with the voice of a man through
the mouth of His minister.
The very words of the minister tell thee this when he
says, " I baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of
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the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." He does not
say, " I baptise thee in my name," but says, as it
were, " What I do, I do not by my own authority, but in
the place and in the name of God ; and thou must look
upon it as if the Lord Himself did it in visible shape.
The Author and the minister are different, but the work
of both is the same ; nay, rather it is that of the Author
alone through my ministry." In my judgment the ex
pression, "in the name," relates to the person of the
Author, so that not only is the name of the Lord brought
forward and invoked in the doing of the work, but the
work itself is performed, as being that of another, in the
name and in the place of another. By the like figure
Christ says, " Many shall come in My name " (Matt,
xxiv. 5). And again, " By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among
all nations, for His name " (Rom. i. 5).
I most gladly adopt this view, because it is a thing
most full of consolation, and an effective aid to faith, to
know that we have been baptised, not by a man, but by
the very Trinity itself through a man, who acts towards
us in its name. This brings to an end that idle conten
tion which is carried on about the "form" of baptism,
as they call the words themselves, the Greeks saying,
" Let the servant of Christ be baptised," the Latins,
" I baptise." Others also, in their pedantic trifling, con
demn the use of the expression, " I baptise thee in the
name of Jesus Christ " though it is certain that the
Apostles baptised in this form, as we read in the Acts of
the Apostles and will have it that no other form is valid
than the following : " I baptise thee in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
But they strive in vain ; they prove nothing ; they only
bring forward their own dreams. In whatever manner
baptism is administered, provided it is administered, not
in the name of a man, but in the name of the Lord, it truly
saves us. Nay, I have no doubt that if a man received
baptism in the name of the Lord even from a wicked
minister who did not give it in the name of the Lord, lie
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 347
would still be truly baptised in the name of the Lord.
For the efficacy of baptism depends not so much on the
faith of him who confers it, as of him who receives it.
Thus we read an instance of a certain player who was
baptised in jest. These and similar narrow questions
and disputes have been raised for us by those who attri
bute nothing to faith and everything to works and
ceremonies. On the contrary, we owe nothing to cere
monies and everything to faith alone, which makes us
free in spirit from all these scruples and fancies.
Another thing which belongs to baptism is the sign or
Sacrament, which is that dipping into water whence it
takes its name. For in Greek to baptise signifies to dip,
and baptism is a dipping. We have said already that,
side by side with the Divine promises, signs also are
given us, to represent by a figure the meaning of the
words of the promise ; or, as the moderns say, the
Sacrament has an effectual significance. What that
significance is we shall see. Very many have thought
that in the word and the water there is some occult
spiritual virtue, which works the grace of God in the soul
of the recipient. Others deny this, and declare that there
is no virtue in the sacraments, but that grace is given by
God alone, who, according to His covenant, is present at
the sacraments instituted by Himself. All, however, agree
in this : that the sacraments are effectual signs of grace.
They are led to this conclusion by this one argument :
that it does not otherwise appear what pre-eminence the
sacraments of the new law would have over those of the
old, if they were only signs. Hence they have been
driven to attribute such efficacy to the sacraments of the
new law that they have stated them to be profitable
even to those who are in mortal sin, and have declared
that neither faith nor grace are requisite, but that it is
sufficient that we do not place any impediment in the
way that is, any actual purpose of sinning afresh.
We must carefully avoid and fly from these doctrines,
for they are impious and unbelieving, repugnant to faith
and to the nature of the sacraments. It is a mistake to
348 LU7HERS PRIMARY WORKS
suppose that the sacraments of the new law differ from
the sacraments of the old law as regards the efficacy of
their significance. Both are on an equality in their
significance ; for the same God who now saves us by
baptism and the bread saved Abel by his sacrifice, Noah
by the Ark, Abraham by circumcision, and all the other
Patriarchs by their own proper signs. There is no differ
ence then between a sacrament of the old and of the new
law, as regards their significance, provided we understand
by the old law all the dealings of God with the Patriarchs
and other Fathers in the time of the law. For those
signs which were given to the Patriarchs and Fathers
are completely distinct from the legal figures which
Moses instituted in his law, such as the rites of the
priesthood, in relation to vestments, vessels, food, houses,
and the like. These are as different as possible, not only
from the sacraments of the new law, but also from those
signs which God gave from time to time to the Fathers
who lived under the law, such as that given to Gideon
in the fleece, to Manoah in his sacrifice, such also as
that which Isaiah offered to Ahaz. In all these cases
alike, some promise was given which required faith in
God.
In this then the figures of the law differ from signs
new or old : that the figures of the law have no word of
promise annexed to them requiring faith, and therefore
are not signs of justification, inasmuch as they are not
sacraments of faith, which alone justify, but only sacra
ments of works. Their whole force and nature lay in
works, not in faitli ; for he who did them fulfilled them
even if his work were without faith. Now our signs or
sacraments and those of the Fathers have annexed to
them a word of promise which requires faith, and can be
fulfilled by no other work. Thus they arc signs or
sacraments of justification, because they are sacraments
of justifying faith, and not of works ; so that their whole
efficacy lies in faith itself, not in working. He who
believes them fulfils them, even though he do no work.
Hence the saying, It is not the Sacrament, but faith in
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 349
the Sacrament, which justifies. Thus circumcision did
not justify Abraham and his seed ; and yet the Apostle
calls it a seal of the righteousness of faith, because faith
in that promise with which circumcision was connected
did justify, and fulfilled the meaning of circumcision.
Faith was that circumcision of the heart in spirit which
was figured by the circumcision of the flesh in the letter.
Thus it was evidently not the sacrifice of Abel which
justified him, but the faith by which he offered himself
entirely to God, of which faith the outward sacrifice was
a figure.
Thus it is not baptism which justifies any man or is
of any advantage, but faith in that word of promise to
which baptism is added ; for this justifies, and fulfils the
meaning of baptism. For faith is the submerging of the
old man and the emerging of the new man. Hence it
cannot be that the new sacraments differ from the ancient
sacraments, for they both alike have Divine promises and
the same spirit of faitli ; but they differ incomparably
from the Ancient figures, on account of the word of pro
mise, which is the sole and most effective means of differ
ence. Thus at the present day the pomps of vestments,
localities, meats, and an infinite variety of ceremonies,
doubtless figure excellent works to be fulfilled in the
spirit ; and yet, since no word of Divine promise is
connected with them, they can in no way be compared
with the signs of baptism and the bread. Nor can they
justify men nor profit them in any way, since their
fulfilment lies in the very practice or performance of
them without faith, for when they are done or performed
they are fulfilled. Thus the Apostle speaks of those
things " which all are to perish with the using, after
the commandments and doctrines of men " (Col. ii. 22).
Now the sacraments are not fulfilled by being done, but
by being believed.
Thus it cannot be true that there is inherent in the
sacraments a power effectual to produce justification, or
that they are efficacious signs of grace. These things
are said in ignorance of the Divine promise and to the
350 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
great detriment of faith, unless indeed we call them
efficacious in this sense: that, if along with them there be
unhesitating faith, they do confer grace most certainly
and most effectually. But that it is not this kind of
efficacy which those writers attribute to them is evident
from this : that they assert them to be profitable to all
men, even the wicked and unbelieving, provided they put
no obstacle in the way, as if unbelief itself were not the
most persistent of all obstacles and the most hostile to
grace. Thus they have endeavoured to make out of the
sacrament a precept, and out of faith a work. For if a
sacrament confers grace on me merely because I receive
it, then it is certainly by my own work, and not by faith,
that I obtain grace, nor do I apprehend any promise in
the sacrament, but only a sign instituted and commanded
by God. It is evident from this how utterly the sacra
ments are misunderstood by these theologians of the
Sentences, inasmuch as they make no account either of
faith or of the promise in the sacraments, but cleave only
to the sign and the use of the sign, and carry us away
from faith to works, from the word to the sign. Thus,
as I have said, they have not only brought the sacraments
into bondage, but, as far as in them lay, have entirely
done away with them.
Let us then open our eyes, and learn to look more to
the word than the sign, more to faith than to the work
or use of the sign ; and let us understand that wherever
there is a Divine promise, there faith is required, and
that both of these are so necessary that neither can be of
any effect without the other. We can neither believe
unless we have a promise, nor is the promise effectual
unless it is believed ; while if these two act reciprocally,
they produce a real and sure efficacy in the sacraments.
Hence to seek efficacy in the Sacrament independently of
the promise and of faith is to strive in vain and to fall
into condemnation. Thus Christ says, u He that believeth
and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not
shall be damned " (Mark xvi. 16). Thus He shows that
in the Sacrament faith is so necessary that it can save us
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 351
even without the Sacrament ; and on this account when
He says, " He that believeth not," He does not add, " and
is not baptised."
Baptism then signifies two things: death and resurrec
tion ; that is, full and complete justification. When the
minister dips the child into the water, this signifies death;
when he draws him out again, this signifies life. Thus
Paul explains the matter : " Therefore we are buried with
Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life " (Rom. vi. 4).
This death and resurrection we call a new creation, a
regeneration, and a spiritual birth ; and these words are
not only to be understood allegorically, as they are by
many, of the death of sin and the life of grace, but of
real death and resurrection. For baptism has no fictitious
meaning, nor does sin die or grace rise fully within us
until the body of sin which we bear in this life is de
stroyed; for, as the Apostle says, as long as we are in the
flesh, the desires of the flesh work in us and are worked
upon. Hence, when we begin to believe, we begin at the
same time to die to this world and to live to God in a
future life ; so that faith is truly a death and resurrection,
that is, that spiritual baptism in which we are submerged
and emerge.
When, then, the washing away of sins is attributed to
baptism, it is rightly so attributed ; but the meaning of
the phrase is too slight and weak to fully express baptism,
which is rather a symbol of death and resurrection. For
this reason I could wish that the baptised should be
totally immersed, according to the meaning of the word
and the signification of the mystery; not that I think it
necessary to do so, but that it would be well that so
complete and perfect a thing as baptism should have its
sign also in completeness and perfection, even as it was
doubtless instituted by Christ. For a sinner needs not
so much to be washed as to die, that he may be altogether
renewed into another creature, and that there may thus
be a correspondence in him to the death and resurrection
352 LU1HERS PRIMARY WORKS
of Christ, along with whom he dies and rises again in
baptism. For though we may say that Christ was
washed from His mortality when He died and rose again,
yet it is a weaker expression than if we said that He was
totally changed and renewed ; and so there is more in
tensity in saying that death and resurrection to eternal
life are signified to us by baptism, than that we are
washed from sin.
Here again we see that the Sacrament of baptism, even
in respect to the sign, is not the mere business of a
moment, but has a lasting character. For though the
transaction itself passes quickly, the thing signified by it
lasts even until death, yea, till the resurrection at the
last day- For as long as we live we are always doing
that which is signified by baptism : that is, we are dying
and rising again. We are dying, I say, not only in our
affections and spiritually, by renouncing the sins and
vanities of the world, but in very deed we are beginning
to leave this bodily life and to apprehend the future life,
so that there is a real (as they call it) and also a bodily
passing out of this world to the Father.
We must therefore keep clear of the error of those who
have reduced the effect of baptism to such small and
slender dimensions that, while they say that grace is
infused by it, they assert that this grace is afterwards,
so to speak, effused by sin ; and that we must then go to
heaven by some other way, as if baptism had now become
absolutely useless. Do not thou judge thus, but under
stand that the significance of baptism is such that thou
mayest live and die in it, and that neither by penitence,
nor by any other way, canst thou do aught but return to
the effect of baptism, and do afresh what thou wert
baptised in order to do and what thy baptism signified.
Baptism never loses its effect, unless in desperation thou
refuse to return to salvation. Thou mayest wander away
for a time from the sign, but the sign does not on that
account lose its effect. Thus thou hast been baptised
once for all sacramen tally, but thou needest continually
to be baptised by faith, and must continually die and
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 353
continually live. Baptism hath swallowed up thy whole
body and given it forth again ; and so the substance of
baptism ought to swallow up thy whole life, in body and
in soul, and to give it back in the last day, clothed in the
robe of brightness and immortality. Thus we are never
without the sign as well as the substance of baptism ;
nay, we ought to be continually baptised more and more,
until we fulfil the whole meaning of the sign at the last
day.
We see then that whatever we do in this life tending
to the mortifying of the flesh and the vivifying of the
spirit is connected with baptism ; and that the sooner we
are set free from this life, the more speedily we fulfil the
meaning of our baptism, and the greater the sufferings
we endure, the more happily do we answer the purpose
of baptism. The Church was at its happiest in those
days when martyrs were daily put to death and counted
as sheep for the slaughter ; for then the virtue of baptism
reigned in the Church with full power, though now we
have quite lost sight of it for the multitude of human
works and doctrine. The whole life which we live ought
to be a baptism and to fulfil the sign or Sacrament of
baptism, since we have been set free from all other
things and given up to baptism alone, that is, to death
and resurrection.
To whom can we assign the blame that this glorious
liberty of ours and this knowledge of baptism are
nowadays in bondage, except only to the tyranny of the
Roman pontiff? He most of all men, as becomes a
chief shepherd, ought to have been the preacher and the
asserter of this liberty and this knowledge, as Paul says,
" Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. iv. I).
But his sole object is to oppress us by his decrees and
laws, and to ensnare us into bondage to his tyrannical
power. Not to speak of the impious and damnable way
in which the Pope fails to teach these mysteries, by what
right, I ask, has he established laws over us ? Who has
given him authority to bring into bondage this liberty of
23
354 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
ours, given us by baptism ? One purpose, as I have said,
we ought to carry out in our whole lives, namely, to be
baptised, that is, to be mortified and to live by faith in
Christ. This faith alone ought to have been taught,
above all by the chief shepherd : but now not a word is
said about faith, but the Church is crushed by an infinite
number of laws concerning works and ceremonies ; the
virtue and knowledge of baptism are taken away ; the
faith of Christ is hindered.
I say then, neither pope, nor bishop, nor any man
whatever has the right of making one syllable binding
on a Christian man, unless it is done with his own
consent. Whatever is done otherwise is done in a spirit
of tyranny ; and thus the prayers, fastings, almsgiving,
and whatever else the Pope ordains and requires in the
whole body of his decrees, which are as many as they are
iniquitous, he has absolutely no right to require and
ordain ; and he sins against the liberty of the Church as
often as he attempts anything of the kind. Hence it has
come to pass that while the Churchmen of the present
day are strenuous defenders of Church liberty that is, of
wood, stone, fields, and money (for in this day things
ecclesiastical are synonymous with things spiritual) they
yet by their false teaching not only bring into bondage
the true liberty of the Church, but utterly destroy it,
yea, more than the Turk himself could, contrary to the
mind of the Apostle, who says, " Be not ye the servants
of men " (1 Cor. vii. 23). We are indeed made servants
of men when we are subjected to their tyrannical
ordinances and laws.
This wicked and flagitious tyranny is aided by the
disciples of the Pope, who distort and pervert to this end
the saying of Christ, " He who heareth you heareth Me."
They swell out these words into a support for their own
traditions ; whereas this saying was addressed by Christ
to the Apostles when they were going forth to preach the
Gospel, and therefore ought to be understood as referring
to the Gospel alone. These men, however, leave the
Gospel out of sight, and make this saying fit in with their
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 355
own inventions. Christ says, " My sheep hear My voice,
bnt they know not the voice of strangers." For this
cause the Gospel was bequeathed to us : that the pontiffs
might utter the voice of Christ ; but they utter their own
voice, and are determined to be heard. The Apostle also
says of himself that he was not sent to baptise, but to
preach the Gospel ; and thus no man is bound to receive
the traditions of the pontiff, or to listen to him, except
when he teaches the Gospel and Christ : and he himself
ought to teach nothing but the freest faith. Since,
however, Christ says, " He who hears you hears Me,"
why does not the Pope also hear others ? Christ did not
say to Peter alone, " he who hears thee." Lastly, where
there is true faith, there must also of necessity be the
word of faith. Why then does not the unbelieving Pope
listen to his believing servant who has the word of faith ?
Blindness, blindness, reigns among the pontiffs.
Others, however, far more shamelessly, arrogate to
the Pope the power of making laws ; arguing from the
words, " Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matt. xvi. 19). Christ
is speaking there of the binding and loosing of sins, not
of bringing the whole Church into bondage and making-
laws to oppress it. Thus the papal tyranny acts in all
things on its own false maxims, while it forcibly wrests
and perverts the words of God. I admit indeed that
Christians must endure this accursed tyranny, as they
would any other violence inflicted on them by the world,
according to the saying of Christ, " Whosoever shall
smite thee on thy right cheek, tarn to him the other
also " (Matt. v. 39). But I complain of this : that wicked
pontiffs boast that they have a rightful power to act
thus, and pretend that in this Babylon of theirs they are
providing for the interests of Christendom, an idea
which they have persuaded all men to adopt. If they
did these things in coj^cious and avowed impiety and
tyranny, or if it were srorple violence that we endured,
we might meanwhile quietly reckon up the advantages
35 6 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
thus afforded us for the mortification of this life and the
fulfilment of baptism, and should retain the full right of
glorying in conscience at the wrong done us. As it is,
they desire so to ensnare our consciences in the matter
of liberty that we should believe all that they do to be
well done, and should think it unlawful to blame or
complain of their iniquitous actions. Being wolves, they
wish to appear shepherds ; being antichrists, they wish
to be honoured like Christ.
I cry aloud on behalf of liberty and conscience, and I
proclaim with confidence that no kind of law can with
any justice be imposed on Christians, whether by men
or by angels, except so far as they themselves will, for
we are free from all. If such laws are imposed on us,
we ought so to endure them as still to preserve the con
sciousness of our liberty. We ought to know and stead
fastly to protest that a wrong is being done to that
liberty, though we may bear and even glory in that
wrong, taking care neither to justify the tyrant nor to
murmur against the tyranny. " Who is he that will
harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good ? "
(1 Peter iii. 13). All things work together for good to
the elect of God. Since, however, there are but few who
understand the glory of baptism and the happiness of
Christian liberty, or who can understand them for the
tyranny of the Pope, I, for my part, will set free my own
mind and deliver my conscience by declaring aloud to
the Pope and to all Papists that unless they shall throw
aside all their laws and traditions, and restore liberty to
the Churches of Christ, and cause that liberty to be taught,
they are guilty of the death of all the souls which are
perishing in this wretched bondage, and that the papacy
is in truth nothing else than the kingdom of Babylon
and of very antichrist. For who is the man of sin and
the son of perdition but he who by his teaching and his
ordinances increases the sin and perdition of souls in the
Church, while he yet sits in the Church as if he were
God? All these conditions ha ve now for many ages
been fulfilled by the papal tyranny. It has extinguished
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF 1HE CHURCH 357
faith, darkened the sacraments, crushed the Gospel ; while
it has enjoined and multiplied without end its own laws,
which are not only wicked and sacrilegious, but also
most unlearned and barbarous.
Behold then the wretchedness of our bondage. " How
doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! How
is she become as a widow ! She that was great among
the nations and princess among the provinces, how is she
become tributary ! Among all her lovers she hath none
to comfort her ; all her friends have dealt treacherously
with her " (Lam. i. 1, 2). There are at this day so many
ordinances, so many rites, so many parties, so many pro
fessions, so many works, to occupy the minds of Christians,
that they forget their baptism. For this multitude of
locusts, caterpillars, and cankerworms, no man is able to
remember that he was baptised, or what it was that he
obtained in baptism. We ought to have been like babes
when they are baptised, who, being preoccupied by no
zeal and by no works, are free for all things, at rest and
safe in the glory of their baptism alone. We also our
selves are babes in Christ, unremittingly baptised.
In opposition to what I have said, an argument will
perhaps be drawn from the baptism of infants, who
cannot receive the promise of God, or have faith in their
baptism ; and it will be said that therefore either faith is
riot requisite, or infants are baptised in vain. To this I
reply, what all men say, that infants are aided by the
faith of others, namely that of those who bring them to
baptism. For as the word of God, when it is preached,
is powerful enough to change the heart of a wicked man,
which is not less devoid of sense and feeling than any
infant, so through the prayers of the Church which
brings the child in faith, to which prayers all things are
possible, the infant is changed, cleansed, and renewed by
faith infused into it. Nor should I doubt that even a
wicked adult, if the Church were to bring him forward
and pray for him, might undergo a change in any of the
sacraments, just as we read in the Gospel that the
paralytic man was healed by the faith of others. In
LUlHEgS PRIMARY WORKS
this sense, too, I should readily admit that the sacra
ments of the new law are effectual for the bestowal of
grace, not only on those who do not place any obstacle
in the way, but on the most obstinate of those who do.
What difficulty cannot the faith of the Church and the
prayer of faith remove, when Stephen is believed to have
converted the Apostle Paul by this power ? But in these
cases the sacraments do what they do, not by their own
virtue, but by that of faith, without which, as I have
said, they have no effect at all.
A question has been raised whether a child yet un
born, but of which only a hand or a foot appears, can be
baptised. On this point I would give no hasty judgment,
and I confess my own ignorance. Nor do I know whether
the reason on which they base their opinion is sufficient,
namely, that the whole soul exists in every part of the
body ; for it is not the soul, but the body, which is out
wardly baptised. On the other hand, I cannot pronounce
that, as some assert, he who has not yet been born can
not be born again, though it is a very strong argument.
I leave this question to the decision of the Spirit, and
meanwhile would have every man to be fully persuaded
in his own mind.
1 will add one thing of which I wish I could persuade
every one : that is, that all vows, whether those of religious
orders, or of pilgrimages, or of works of any kind, should
be entirely done away with, or at least avoided, and that
we should remain in the liberty of baptism, full as it is of
religious observances and of good works. It is impossible
to express to what an extent this far too much extolled
belief in vows detracts from baptism, and obscures the
knowledge of Christian liberty, not to mention the un
speakable and infinite danger to souls which is daily
increased by this immoderate passion for vows and
thoughtless rashness in making them. Oh ye most
wicked bishops and most unhappy pastors, who slumber
at your ease and disport yourselves with your own
desires, while ye have no pity for the grievous and
perilous affliction of Joseph !
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 359
It would be well either to do away by a general edict
with all vows, especially those which are perpetual, and
to recall all men to their baptismal vows, or at least to
admonish all to take no vow rashly, and not only to
invite no vows, but to place delays and difficulties in
the way of their being taken. We make an ample vow
at baptism, a greater one than we can fulfil ; and we
shall have enough to do if we give all our efforts to this
alone. But now we compass sea and land to make many
proselytes ; we fill the world with priests, monks, and
nuns ; and we imprison all these in perpetual vows. We
shall find those who will argue on this point, and lay it
down that works performed under the sanction of a vow
are better than those performed independently of vows,
and will be preferred in heaven and meet with far higher
reward. Blind and impious Pharisees, who measure
righteousness and holiness by the greatness and number
of works, or by some other quality in them, while in
God s sight they are measured by faith alone, since in
His sight there is no difference between works, except so
far as there is a difference in faith !
By this inflated talk wicked men create a great opinion
of their own inventions, and puff up human works, in
order to allure the senseless multitude, who are easily
led by a specious show of works, to the great ruin of
faith, forgetfulness of baptism, and injury to Christian
liberty. As a vow is a sort of law and requires a work,
it follows that as vows are multiplied, so laws and
works are multiplied ; and by the multiplication of these,
faith is extinguished, and the liberty of baptism is brought
into bondage. Not content with these impious allure
ments, others go further, and assert that entrance into a
religious order is like a new baptism, which may be
successively renewed as often as the purpose of a
religious life is renewed. Thus these devotees attri
bute to themselves alone righteousness, salvation, and
glory, and leave to the baptised absolutely no room for
comparison with them. The Roman pontiff, that foun
tain and author of all superstitions, confirms, approves,
360 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
and embellishes these ideas by grandly worded bulls
and indulgences ; while no one thinks baptism worthy
even of mention. By these showy displays they drive
the easily led people of Christ into whatever whirlpools
of error they will ; so that, unthankful for their baptism,
they imagine that they can do better by their works than
others by their faith.
Wherefore God also, who is froward with the froward,
resolving to avenge Himself on the pride and unthankful-
ness of these devotees, causes them either to fail in keeping
their vows, or to keep them with great labour and to
continue immersed in them, never becoming acquainted
with the grace of faith and of baptism. As their spirit
is not right with God, He permits them to continue to
the end in their hypocrisy, and to become at length a
laughing-stock to the whole world, always following
after righteousness and never attaining to it ; so that
they fulfil that saying, " Their land also is full of idols "
(Isa. ii. 8).
I should certainly not forbid or object to any vow
which a man may make of his own private choice. I do not
wish altogether to condemn or depreciate vows ; but my
advice would be altogether against the public establish
ment or confirmation of any such mode of life. It is
enough that every man should be at liberty to make
private vows at his own peril ; but that a public system
of living under the constraint of vows should be incul
cated, I consider to be a thing pernicious to the Church
and to all simple souls. In the first place, it is not a
little repugnant to the Christian life, inasmuch as a vow is
a kind of ceremonial law and a matter of human tradition
or invention, from all which the Church has been set
free by baptism, since the Christian is bound by no law,
except that of God. Moreover, there is no example of
it in the Scriptures, especially of the vow of perpetual
chastity, obedience, and poverty. Now a vow of which
we have no example in the Scriptures is a perilous one,
which ought to be urged upon no man, much less be
established as a common and public mode of life, even
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 361
if every individual must be allowed to venture upon it at
his own peril, if he will. There are some works which
are wrought by the Spirit in but few, and these ought by
no means to be brought forward as an example or as a
manner of life.
I greatly fear, however, that these systems of living
under vows in the religious are of the number of those
things of which the Apostle foretold : " Speaking lies
in hypocrisy, forbidding to marry, and commanding to
abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received
with thanksgiving " (1 Tim. iv. 2, 3). Let no one cite
against me the example of St. Bernard, St. Francis,
St. Dominic, and such-like authors or supporters of
religious orders. God is terrible and wonderful in His
dealings with the children of men. He could preserve
Daniel, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael holy even as
ministers of the kingdom of Babylon, that is, in the very
midst of wickedness ; He may also have sanctified the
men of whom I have spoken in their perilous mode of
life, and have guided them by the special working of His
Spirit ; while yet He would not have this made an ex
ample for other men. It is certain that not one of these
men was saved by his vows or his religious order, but by
faith alone, by which all men are saved, but to which
these showy servitudes of vows are especially hostile.
In this matter let every man be fully persuaded in his
own mind. I shall carry out my undertaking, and speak
on behalf of the liberty of the Church and of the glory of
baptism ; and I shall state for the general benefit what I
have learnt under the teaching of the Spirit. And, first, I
counsel those who are in high places in the Church to do
away with all those vows and the practice of living under
vows, or at the least not to approve or extol them. If
they will not do this, then I earnestly advise all who
desire to make their salvation the safer, particularly
growing youths and young men, to keep aloof from all
vows, especially from such as are extensive and lifelong.
I give this advice, in the first place, because this mode of
life, as I have already said, has no evidence or example
362 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
in the Scriptures, but rests only on the bulls of the pontiffs,
who are but men ; and secondly, because it tends to lead
men into hypocrisy through its singularity and showy
appearance, whence arise pride and contempt of the
ordinary Christian life. If there were no other cause for
doing away with these vows, this one by itself would have
weight enough : that by them faith and baptism are
depreciated, and works are magnified. Now these cannot
be magnified without ruinous consequences, for among
many thousands there is scarcely one who does not look
more to his works as a member of a religious order, than
to faith ; and under this delusion they claim superiority
over each other as being stricter or laxer, as they
call it.
Hence I advise no man, yea, I dissuade every man from
entering into the priesthood or any religious order, unless
he be so fortified with knowledge as to understand that,
however sacred and lofty may be the works of priests or
of the religious orders, they differ not at all in the sight
of God from the works of a husbandman labouring in his
field, or of a woman attending to her household affairs,
but that in His eyes all things are measured by faith
alone, as it is written, " In all thy work believe with
the faith of thy soul, for this is the keeping of the com
mandments of God " (Ecclus. xxxii. 23). Nay, it very
often happens that the common work of a servant or
a handmaiden is more acceptable to God than all the
fastings and works of a monk or a priest when they
are done without faith. Since then it is likely that
at the present day vows only tend to increase men s pride
and presumption in their own works, it is to be feared
that there is nowhere less of faith and of the Church than
in priests, monks, and bishops ; and that these very men
are really Gentiles and hypocrites, who consider them
selves to be the Church or the very heart of the Church,
spiritual persons, and rulers of the Church, when they
are very far indeed from being so. These are really the
people of the captivity, among whom all the free gifts
bestowed in baptism have been brought into bondage ;
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 363
while the poor and slender remnant of the people of the
land appear vile in their eves.
From this we perceive two conspicuous errors on the
part of the Roman pontiff. The first is that he gives
dispensations in the matter of vows, and does this as if
he alone possessed authority beyond all other Christians.
So far does the rashness and audacity of wicked men ex
tend. If a vow can be dispensed with, any brother can
dispense for his neighbour, or even for himself. If he
cannot grant such dispensations, neither has the Pope
any right to do so. Whence has he this authority ?
From the keys ? They are common to all, and only have
power over sins. But since the Pope himself confesses
that vows have a Divine right, why does he cheat and ruin
wretched souls by giving dispensations in a matter of
Divine right, which admits of no dispensation ? He prates
of the redemption of vows, and declares that he has power
to change vows, just as under the law of old the firstborn
of an ass was exchanged for a lamb ; as if a vow, which
requires to be fulfilled everywhere and constantly, were
the same thing with the firstborn of an ass, or as if,
because God in His own law ordered an ass to be ex
changed for a lamb, therefore the Pope, who is but a
man, had the same power with respect to a law which is
not his, but God s. It was not a pope who made this
decretal, but an ass which had been exchanged for a pope,
so utterly mad and impious was he.
The Pope commits a second great error again in decree
ing that the bond of marriage may be broken through if
one of the parties, even against the will of the other,
desires to enter a monastery, provided the marriage has
not yet been consummated. What devil inspires this
portentous decree of the Pope ? God commands men to
keep faith and observe truth towards one another, and
that every man should bring gifts out of his own sub
stance ; for He hates robbery for burn t-offe ring, as He
declares by the mouth of Isaiah. Now husband and wife
owe fidelity to each other by their compact, a fidelity
which can be dissolved bv no law. Neither can say, " I
364 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
belong to myself," or can do without robbery whatever
is done against the will of the other. Else why not also
have a rule that a man who is in debt, if he enter into a
religious order, shall be freed from his debts and be at
liberty to deny his bond ? Ye blind ! ye blind ! Which
is greater good faith, which is a command of God, or a
vow, invented and chosen by men ? Art thou a shepherd
of souls, Pope ? Are ye doctors of sacred theology
who teach in this way ? Why do ye teach thus ? Because
ye extol a vow as being a better work than marriage ; but
it is not faith, which itself alone can magnify anything,
that ye magnify, but works, which in the sight of God
are nothing, or at least all equal as concerns their
merit.
I cannot doubt then that from such vows as it is right to
make neither men nor angels can give a dispensation.
But I have not been able to convince myself that all the
vows made in these days fall under the head of rightful
vows, such as that ridiculous piece of folly when parents
devote their child yet unborn, or an infant, to a life of
religion or to perpetual chastity. Nay, it is certain that
this is no rightful vow ; it appears to be a mockery of
God, since the parents vow what it is in no wise in their
power to perform. I come now to members of the
religious orders. The more I think of their three vows,
the less I understand them, and the more I wonder how
the exaction of such vows has grown upon us. Still less
do I understand at what period of life such vows can be
taken so as to be legitimate and valid. In this all are
agreed : that such vows, taken before the age of puberty,
are not valid. And yet in this matter they deceive a great
number of youths, who know as little of their own age
as of what it is they are vowing. The age of puberty
is not looked to when the vows are taken, but consent is
supposed to follow afterwards, and the professed are held
in bondage and devoured by dreadful scruples of con
science, as if a vow in itself void could become valid by the
progress of time.
To me it seems follv that anv limit to a legitimate vow
BABYLONISH CAF1IVITY OF THE CHURCH 365
should be laid down by others who cannot lay one down
in their own case, nor do I see why a vow made in a
man s eighteenth year should be valid, but not if made in
his tenth or twelfth year. It is not enough to say that
in his eighteenth year a man feels the impulses of the
flesh. What if he scarcely feels them in his twentieth
or thirtieth year, or feels them more strongly in his
thirtieth year than in his twentieth ? Why, again, is
not a similar limitation placed on the vows of poverty
and obedience ? What time shall we assign for a man
to feel himself avaricious or proud, when even the most
spiritually-minded men have a difficulty in detecting these
affections in themselves ? There will never be any sure
and legitimate vow until we shall have become thoroughly
spiritual, and so have no need of vows. We see then
that vows are most uncertain and perilous things. It
would be a salutary course to leave this lofty manner of
living under vows free to the spirit alone, as it was of old,
and by no means to convert it into a perpetual mode of
life. We have now, however, said enough on the subject
of baptism and liberty. The time will perhaps come for
treating more fully of vows, and in truth they greatly
need to be treated of.
CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.
In this third part 1 shall speak of the Sacrament of
penance. By the tracts and disputations which I have pub
lished on this subject I have given offence to very many,
and have amply expressed my own opinions. I must
now briefly repeat these statements, in order to unveil the
tyranny which attacks us on this point as unsparingly
as in the Sacrament of the bread. In these two sacra
ments gain and lucre find a place, and therefore the
avarice of the shepherds has raged to an incredible
extent against the sheep of Christ ; while even baptism,
as we have seen in speaking of vows, has been sadly
obscured among adults, that the purposes of avarice might
be served.
366 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
The first and capital evil connected with this Sacrament
is, that they have totally done away with the Sacrament
itself, leaving not even a vestige of it. Whereas this,
like the other two sacraments, consists of the word of
the Divine promise on one side and of our faith on the
other, they have overthrown both of these. They have
adapted to the purposes of their own tyranny Christ s
word of promise when He says, " Whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what
soever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven" (Matt. xvi. 19) ; and "Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven " (Matt,
xviii. 18) ; and again, " Whose soever sins ye remit, they
are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain,
they are retained " (John xx. 23). These words are
meant to call forth the faith of penitents, that they may
seek and obtain remission of their sins. But these men,
in all their books, writings, and discourses, have not
made it their object to explain to Christians the promise
conveyed in these words and to show them what they
ought to believe and how much consolation they might
have, but to establish in the utmost length, breadth, and
depth their own powerful and violent tyranny. At last
some have even begun to give orders to the angels in
heaven, and to boast, with an incredible frenzy of impiety,
that they have received the right to rule in heaven and
on earth and have the power of binding even in heaven.
Thus they say not a word about the saving faith of the
people, but talk largely of the tyrannical power of the
pontiffs ; whereas Christ s words do not deal at all with
power, but entirely with faith.
It was not principalities, powers, and dominions that
Christ instituted in His Church, but a ministry, as we
learn from the words of the Apostle, " Let a man so
account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. iv. 1). When Christ
said, " Whosoever believeth and is baptised shall be
saved," He meant to call forth faith on the part of those
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 367
seeking baptism ; so that, on the strength of this word
of promise, a man might be sure that, if he believed and
were baptised, he would obtain salvation. No sort of
power is here bestowed on His servants, but only the
ministry of baptism is committed to them. In the same
way, when Christ says, " Whatsoever ye shall bind,"
etc., He means to call forth the faith of the penitent, so
that, on the strength of this word of promise, he may be
sure that, if he believes and is absolved, he will be truly
absolved in heaven. Evidently nothing is said here of
power, but it is the _jrmnis try of absolution which is
spoken of. It is strange enough that these blind and
arrogant men have not arrogated to themselves some
tyrannical power from the terms of the baptismal promise.
If not, why have they presumed to do so from the
promise connected with penitence ? In both cases there
is an equal ministry, a like promise, and the same
character in the Sacrament ; and it cannot be denied that,
if we do not owe baptism to Peter alone, it is a piece of
impious tyranny to claim the power of the keys for the
Pope alone.
Thus also when Christ says, " Take, eat, this is My
body which is given for you ; this is the cup in My
blood," He means to call forth faith in those who eat,
that their conscience may be strengthened by faith in
these words, and that they may feel sure that when they
eat they receive remission of sins. There is nothing
here which speaks of power, but only of a ministry.
The promise of baptism has remained with us, at least
in the case of infants, but the promise of the bread and
the cup has been destroyed or brought into servitude to
avarice, and faith has been turned into a work and a
testament into a sacrifice. Thus also the promise of
penance has been perverted into a most violent tyranny,
and into the establishment of a dominion that is more
than temporal.
Not content with this, our Babylon has so utterly
done away with faith as to declare with shameless front
that -it is not necessary in this Sacrament; nay, in her
368 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
antichristian wickedness, she pronounces it a heresy to
assert the necessity of faith. What more is there that
that tyranny could do, and has not done ? Verily " by
the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept
when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon
the willows in the midst thereof" (Psalm cxxxvii. 1, 2).
May the Lord curse the barren willows of those rivers !
Amen. The promise and faith having been blotted out
and overthrown, let us see what they have substituted for
them. They have divided penitence into three parts :
contrition, confession, and satisfaction ; but in doing this
they have taken away all that was good in each of these,
and have set up in each their own tyranny and caprice.
In the first place, they have so taught contrition as to
make it prior to faith in the promise, and far better, as
not being a work of faith, but a merit ; nay, they make no
mention of faith. They stick fast in works and in examples
taken from the Scriptures, where we read of many who
obtained pardon through humility and contrition of heart,
but they never think of the faith which wrought this con
trition and sorrow of heart, as it is written concerning
the Ninevites, " The people of Nineveh believed God, and
proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth " (Jonah iii. 5).
These men, worse and more audacious than the Ninevites,
have invented a certain " attrition," which, by the virtue
of the keys (of which they are ignorant), may become
contrition ; and this they bestow on the wicked and
unbelieving, and thus do away entirely with contrition.
Oh unendurable wrath of God that such things should be
taught in the Church of Christ ! So it is that, having
got rid of faith and its work, we walk heedlessly in the
doctrines and opinions of men, or rather perish in them.
A contrite heart is a great matter indeed, and can only
proceed from an earnest faith in the Divine promises and
threats a faith which, contemplating the unshakable
truth of God, makes the conscience to tremble, terrifies
and bruises it, and, when it is thus contrite, raises it up
again, .consoles and preserves it. Thus the truth of the
threatening is the cause of contrition and the truth of
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 369
the promise is the cause of consolation when it is
believed ; and by this faith a man merits remission of
sins. Therefore faith above all things ought to be taught
and called forth ; when faith is produced, contrition and
consolation will follow of their own accord by an inevit
able consequence.
Hence, although there is something in the teaching of
those who assert that contrition is to be brought about
by the collection, as they call it, and contemplation of
our own sins, still theirs is a perilous and perverse
doctrine, because they do not first teach the origin and
cause of contrition, namely, the unshakable truth of the
Divine threatening^ and promises, in order to call forth
faith, that so men might understand that they ought to
look with much more earnest attention to the truth of
God, by which to be humbled and raised up again, than
to the multitude of their own sins, which, if they be
looked at apart from the truth of God, are more likely to
renew and increase the desire for sin, than to produce
contrition. I say nothing of that insurmountable chaos
of labour which they impose upon us, namely, that we
are to frame a contrition for all our sins, for this is
impossible. We can know but a small part of our sins ;
indeed, even our good works will be found to be sins, as
it is written, "Enter not into judgment with Thy
servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justi
fied" (Psalm cxliii. 2). It is enough that we sorrow
for those sins which vex our conscience at the present
moment, and which are easily recognised by an effort of
our memory. He who is thus disposed * will without
doubt be ready to feel sorrow and fear on account of all
his sins, and will feel sorrow and fear when in future they
are revealed to him.
Beware then of trusting in |thine own contrition, or
attributing remission of sins to thy own sorrow. It is not
because of these that God looks on thee with favour but
because of the faith witli which thou hast believed His
threatenings and promises, and which has wrought that
sorrow in thee. Therefore whatever good there is in
24
370 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
penitence is due, not to the diligence with which we
reckon up our sins, but to the truth of God and to our
faith. All other things are works and fruits which
follow of their own accord, and which do not make a
man good, but are done by a man who has been made
good by his faith in the truth of God. Thus it is
written," " Because He was wroth, there went up a smoke
in His presence " (Psalm xviii. 8). The terror of the
threatening comes first, which devours the wicked ; but
faith, accepting the threatening, sends forth contrition as
a cloud of smoke.
Contrition, though it has been completely exposed to
wicked and pestilent doctrines, has yet given less occasion
to tyranny and the love of gain. But confession and
satisfaction have been turned into the most noted work
shops for lucre and ambition. To speak first of confession.
There is no doubt that confession of sins is necessary, and
is commanded by God. "They were baptised of John
in Jordan, confessing their sins " (Matt. iii. 6). " If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a
liar, and His word is not in us" (1 John i. 9, 10). If
the saints must not deny their sin, how much more ought
those who are guilty of great or public offences to confess
them I But the most effective proof of the institution of
confession is given when Christ tells us that an offending
brother must be told of his fault, brought before the
Church, accused, and finally, if he neglect to hear the
Church, excommunicated. He " hears " when he yields
to reproof, and acknowledges and confesses his sin.
The secret confession, however, which is now practised,
though it cannot be proved from Scripture, is in my
opinion highly satisfactory, and useful or even necessary.
I could not wish it not to exist ; nay, I rejoice that it
does exist in the Church of Christ, for it is the one great
remedy for afflicted consciences, when, after laying open
our conscience to a brother and unveiling all the evil
which lay hid there, we receive from the mouth of that
brother the word of consolation sent forth from God ;
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 371
receiving which by faith we find peace in a sense of the
mercy of God, who speaks to us through our brother.
What I protest against is the conversion of this institu
tion of confession into a means of tyranny and extortion
by the bishops. They reserve certain cases to themselves
as secret, and then order them to be revealed to confessors
named by themselves, and thus vex the consciences of
men ; filling the office of bishop, but utterly neglecting
the real duties of a bishop, which are to preach the
Gospel and to minister to the poor. Nay, these impious
tyrants chiefly reserve to themselves the cases which are
of less consequence, while they leave the greater ones
everywhere to the common herd of priests cases such
as the ridiculous inventions of the Bull " In cccna
Domini." That the iniquity of their perverseness may be
yet more manifest, they not only do not reserve those things
whicli are offences against the worship of God, against
faith, and against the chief commandments, but even
approve and teach them, such as those journeyings hither
and thither on pilgrimage, the perverted worship of saints,
the lying legends of saints, the confidence in and practice
of works and ceremonies, by all which things the faith of
God is extinguished, and idolatry is nourished, as it is at
this day. The pontiffs we have nowadays are such as
those whom Jeroboam established at Dan and Beersheba
as ministers of the golden calves men who are ignorant
of the law of God, of faith, and of all that concerns the
feeding of the sheep of Christ, and who only thrust their
own inventions upon the people by terror and power.
Although I exhort men to endure the violence of these
reservers, even as Christ bids us to endure all the
tyrannical conduct of men and teaches us to obey such
extortioners, still I neither admit nor believe that they
have any right of reservation. By no jot or tittle can they
prove this ; while I can prove the contrary. In the first
place, if, in speaking of public offences, Christ says that
we have gained our brother if he hears us when told of
his fault, and that he is not to be brought before the
Church unless he has refused to hear us, and that offences
372 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
may thus be set right between brethren, how much more
true will it be concerning private offences that the sin is
taken away when brother has voluntarily confessed it to
brother, so that he need not bring it before the Church,
that is, before a prelate or priest, as these men say in
their foolish interpretation I In support of which opinion
we have again the authority of Christ, when He says in
the same passage, u Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt, xviii. 18).
This saying is addressed to all Christians and to every
Christian. Once more He says to the same effect :
" Again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall
be done for them of My Father which is in heaven "
(Matt, xviii. 19). Now a brother, laying open his secret
sins to a brother and seeking pardon, certainly agrees with
that brother on earth in the truth, which is Christ. In
confirmation of what He had said before, Christ says still
more clearly in the same passage, " Where two or three
are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them" (Matt, xviii. 20).
From all this I do not hesitate to say that whosoever
voluntarily confesses his sins privately in the presence of
any brother, or, when told of his faults, asks pardon and
amends his life, is absolved from his secret sins, since
Christ has manifestly bestowed the power of absolution
on every believer in Him, with whatever violence the
pontiffs "may rage against this truth. Add also this little
argument : that if any reservation of hidden sins were
valid, and there could be no salvation unless they were
remitted, the greatest hindrance to salvation would lie in
those things which I have mentioned above, even those
good works and idolatries which we are taught at the
present day by the pontiffs. While, if these most weighty
matters are not a hindrance, with how much less reason
are those lighter offences so foolishly reserved ! It is by
the ignorance and blindness of the pastors that these
portents are wrought in the Church. Wherefore I would
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 373
warn these princes of Babylon and bishops of Beth-aven
to abstain from reserving cases of any kind whatever, but
to allow the freest permission to hear confessions of
i secret sins to all brethren and sisters ; so that the sinner
may reveal his sin to whom he will, with the object of
seeking pardon and consolation, that is, the word of
Christ uttered by the mouth of his neighbour. They
effect nothing by their rash presumption but to ensnare
needlessly the consciences of the weak, to establish their
own wicked tyranny, and to feed their own avarice on the
sins and perdition of their brethren. Thus they stain
their hands with the blood of souls, and children are
devoured by their parents, and Ephraim devours Judah,
and Syria Israel, as Isaiah says.
To these evils they have added circumstances mothers,
daughters, sisters, relatives, branches, fruits of sins, all
devised at complete leisure by the most subtle of men,
who have set up, even in the matter of sins, a sort of tree
of consanguinity and affinity. So fertile of results are
ignorance and impiety ; for these devices of some worth
less fellow have passed into public law, as has happened
in many other cases. So vigilantly do the shepherds
watch over the Church of Christ that whatever dreams
of superstition or of new works these senseless devotees
indulge they forthwith bring forward, and dress them up
with indulgences, and fortify them with bulls. So far
are they from prohibiting these things and protecting
the simplicity of faith and liberty for the people of God ;
for what has liberty to do with the tyranny of Babylon ?
I should advise the total neglect of all that concerns
circumstances. Among Christians there is but one
circumstance, and that is that a brother has sinned. No
character is to be compared to Christian brotherhood,
nor has the observation of places, times, days, and
persons, or any other such superstitious exaggeration, any
effect but to magnify things which are nothing, at the
expense of those things which are everything. As if
there could be anything greater or more weighty than the
glory of Christian brotherhood, they so tie us down to
374 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
places and days and persons that the name of brother is
held cheap, and instead of being freemen we are slaves
in bondage we to whom all days, places, persons, and all
other outward things, are equal.
How unworthily they have treated the matter of satis
faction, I have abundantly shown in the case of indul
gences. They have abused it notably, to the destruction
of Christians in body and in soul. In the first place,
they have so taught it that the people have not under
stood the real meaning of satisfaction, which is a change
of life. Furthermore, they so urge it and represent it as
necessary that they leave no room for faith in Christ ;
but men s consciences are most wretchedly tortured by
scruples on this point. One runs hither, another thither ;
one to Rome, another into a convent, another to some
other place : one scourges himself with rods ; another
destroys his body witli vigils and fasting ; while all,
under one general delusion, say, Here is Christ, or there,
and imagine that the kingdom of God, which is really
within us, will come with observation. These monstrous
evils we owe to thee, see of Rome, and to thy homicidal
laws and rites, by which thou hast brought the world to
such a point of ruin that they think they can make
satisfaction to God for their sins by works, while it is only
by the faith of a contrite heart that He is satisfied. This
faith thou not only compellest to silence in the midst of
these tumults, but strivest to destroy, only in order that
thy avarice, that insatiable leech, may have some to
whom to cry, Bring, bring, and may make a traffic of
sins.
Some have even proceeded to such a length in framing
engines of despair for souls, as to lay it down that all
sins for which the satisfaction enjoined has been neg
lected must be gone over afresh in confession. What
will not such men dare, men born for this end : to bring
everything ten times over into bondage ? Moreover, I
should like to know how many people there are who are
fully persuaded that they are in a state of salvation, and
are making satisfaction for their sins, when they murmur
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF 7HE CHURCH 375
over the prayers enjoined by the priest with their lips
alone, and meanwhile do not even think of any amend
ment of life. They believe that by one moment of con
trition and confession their whole life is changed, and
that there remains merit enough over and above to make
satisfaction for their past sins. How should they know
better, when they are taught nothing better? There is
not a thought here of mortification of the flesh ; the
example of Christ goes for nothing, who, when He
absolved the woman taken in adultery, said to her, " Go^
and sin no more " ; thereby laying on her the cross of
mortification of the flesh. " No slight occasion has been
given to these perverted ideas by our absolving sinners
before they have completed their satisfaction, whence it
comes that they are more anxious about completing their
satisfaction, which is a tiling that lasts, than abont con
trition, which they think lias been gone through in the
act of confession. On the contrary, absolution ought to
follow the completion of satisfaction, as it did in the
primitive Church, whence it happened that, the work
being over, they were afterwards more exercised in faith
and newness of life. On this subject, however, it must
suffice to have repeated so far what I have said at greater
length in writing on indulgences. Let it also suffice for
the present to have said this much in the whole respecting
these three sacraments, which are treated of and not
treated of in so many mischievous books of Sentences
and of Law. It remains for me to say a few words about
the remaining sacraments also, that I may not appear to
have rejected them without sufficient reason.
OF CONFIRMATION.
It is surprising how it should have entered any one s
mind to make a sacrament of confirmation out of that
laying on of hands which Christ applied to little children,
and by which the Apostles bestowed the Holy Spirit,
ordained presbyters, and healed the sick, as the Apostle
writes to Timothy, "Lay hands suddenly on no man"
376 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
(1 Tim. v. 22). Why not also make a coniirination out
of the Sacrament of bread, because it is written, " Arid
when he had received meat, he was strengthened " (Acts
ix. 19), or again, u Bread which streugtheneth man s
heart"? (Psalm civ. 15). Thus confirmation would include
three sacraments: of bread, of orders, and of confirmation
itself. But if whatever the Apostles did is a sacrament,
why has not preaching rather been made into a sacra
ment ?
I I do not say this because I condemn the seven sacra-
I ments, but because I deny that they can be proved from
< the Scriptures. I would there were in the Church such
a laying on of hands as there was in the time of the
Apostles, whether we chose to call it confirmation or
healing. As it is, however, none of it remains, except
so much as we have ourselves invented in order to regu
late the duties of the bishops, that they may not be entirely
without work in the Church. For when they had left
the sacraments which involved labour, along with the
word, to their inferiors, as being beneath their attention
(on the ground, forsooth, that whatever institutions the
Divine majesty has set up must needs be an object of
contempt to men), it was but right that we should invent
some easy duty, not too troublesome for the daintiness of
these great heroes, and by no means commit it to in
feriors, as if it were of little importance. What human
wisdom has ordained ought to be honoured by men.
Thus such as the priests are, such should be the ministry
and office which they hold. For what is a bishop who
does not preach the Gospel, or attend to the cure of souls,
but an idol in the world, having the name and form of
a bishop ?
/ At present, however, we are inquiring into the sacra
ments of Divine institution ; and 1 can find no reason for
reckoning confirmation among these. To constitute a
sacrament we require in the very first place a word of
Divine promise, on which faith may exercise itself. But
we do not read that Christ ever gave any promise re
specting confirmation, although He Himself laid hands
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY
upon maiiy, and although He mentions among the signs
that should follow them that believe, " They shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark xvi.
18). No one, however, has interpreted these words of a
sacrament, or could do so. It is enough then to consider
confirmation as a rite or ceremony of the Church, of
like nature to those other ceremonies by which water
and other things are consecrated. For if every other
creature is sanctified by the word and prayer, why may
not man much more be sanctified by the same means,
even though they cannot be called sacraments of faith,
inasmuch as they contain no Divine promise ? Neither
do these work salvation ; while sacraments save those
who believe in the Divine promise.
OF MATRIMONY.
It is not only without any warrant of Scripture that
matrimony is considered a sacrament, but it has been
turned into a mere mockery by the very same traditions
which vaunt it as a sacrament. Let us look a little into
this. I have said that in every sacrament there is con
tained a word of Divine promise, which must be believed
in by him who receives the sign ; and that the sign alone
cannot constitute a sacrament. Now we nowhere read
that he who marries a wife will receive any grace from
(rod, neither is there in matrimony any sign divinely
instituted, nor do we anywhere read that it was ap
pointed of God to be a sign of anything, although it is
true that all visible transactions may be understood as
figures and allegorical representations of invisible things.
But figures and allegories are not sacraments, in the
sense in which we are speaking of sacraments.
Furthermore, since matrimony has existed from the
beginning of the world, and still continues even among
unbelievers, there are no reasons why it should be called
a sacrament of the new law, and of the Church alone.
The marriages of the patriarchs were not less sacred
than ours, nor are those of unbelievers less real than
378 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
those of believers ; and yet no one calls them a sacra
ment. Moreover, there are among believers wicked hus
bands and wives worse than any Gentiles. Why should
we then say there is a sacrament here, and not among
the Gentiles ? Shall we so trifle with baptism and the
Church as to say, like those who rave about the tem
poral power existing only in the Church, that matrimony
is a sacrament only in the Church ? Such assertions
are childish and ridiculous, and by them we expose our
ignorance and rashness to the laughter of unbelievers.
It will be asked, however, Does not the Apostle say
that " they two shall be one flesh," and that " this is a
great sacrament"; and will you contradict the plain
words of the Apostle ? I reply that this argument is a
very dull one, and proceeds from a careless and thought
less reading of the original. Throughout the Holy
Scriptures this word sacr amentum has not the meaning
in which we employ it, but an opposite one. For it
everywhere signifies, not the sign of a sacred thing, but
a sacred thing which is secret and hidden. Thus Paul
says, " Let a man so account of us as of the ministers
of Christ and stewards of the mysteries " (that is, sacra
ments) " of God " (1 Cor. iv. 1). Where we use the Latin
term " sacrament," in Greek the word " mystery " is em
ployed ; and thus in Greek the words of the Apostle are,
" They two shall be one flesh ; this is a great mystery."
It is this which has led men to consider marriage as a
sacrament of the new law, which they would have been
far from doing if they had read the word " mystery " as
it is in the Greek.
Thus the Apostle calls Christ Himself a " sacrament,"
saying, "And without controversy great is the sacra
ment " (that is, mystery) " of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory " (1 Tim. iii. 16). Why have they not deduced
from this an eighth sacrament of the new law, under such
clear authority from Paul ? Or, if they restrained them
selves in this case, where they might so suitably have
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 379
been copious in the invention of sacraments, why are they
so lavish of them in the other ? It is because they have
been misled by their ignorance as well of things as of
words ; they have been caught by the mere sound of
the words and by their own fancies. Having once, on
human authority, taken a sacrament to be a sign, they
have proceeded, without any judgment or scruple, to
make the word mean a sign wherever they have met with
it in the sacred writings, just as they have imported
other meanings of words and human habits of speech into
works," " sin," " grace," " righteousness," " virtue," and
almost all the most important words and things. They
use all these at their own discretion, founded on the
writings of men, to the ruin of the truth of God and of
our salvation.
Thus sacrament and mystery, in Paul s meaning, are
the very wisdom of the Spirit, hidden in a mystery, as he
says, "Which none of the princes of this world knew ;
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the
Lord of glory " (1 Cor. ii. 8), and there remains to this day
this folly, this stone of stumbling and rock of offence, this
sign which shall be spoken against. Paul calls preachers
the stewards of these mysteries, because they preach
Christ, the power and wisdom of God, but so preacli Him
that unless men believe, they cannot understand. Thus
a sacrament means a mystery and a hidden tiling, which
is made known by words, but is received by faith of heart.
Such is the passage of which we are speaking at present:
" They two shall be one flesh ; this is a great mystery."
These men think that this was said concerning matrimony ;
but Paul brings in these words in speaking of Christ and
the Church, and explains his meaning clearly by saying,
" I speak concerning Christ and the Church." See how
well Paul and these men agree. Paul says that he is
setting forth a great mystery concerning Christ and the
Church, while they set it forth as concerning male and
380 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
female. If men may thus indulge their own caprices in
interpreting the sacred writings, what wonder if anything
can be found in them, were it even a hundred sacraments ?
Christ then and the Church are a mystery, that is, a
great and hidden thing, which may indeed and ought to
l>e figured by matrimony, as in a sort of real allegory ;
but it does not follow that matrimony ought to be called
a sacrament. The heavens figuratively represent the
Apostles, the sun Christ, the waters nations, but these
things are not therefore sacraments ; for in all these cases
the institution is wanting, and the Divine promise : and
these it is which make a sacrament complete. Hence
Paul is either, of his own spirit, applying to Christ the
words used in Genesis concerning matrimony, or else he
teaches that, in their general sense, the spiritual marriage
of Christ is also there declared, saying, " Even as the
Lord cherisheth the Church ; for we are members of His
body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall
a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a
great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the
Church " (Eph. v. 2932). We see that he means this
whole text to be understood as spoken by him about
Christ. He purposely warns the reader to understand
the " Sacrament" as in Christ and the Church, not in
matrimony.
I admit, indeed, that even under the old law, nay, from
the _ beginning of the world, there was a sacrament of
penitence; but the new promise of penitence and the gift
of the keys are peculiar to the new law. As we have
baptism in the place of circumcision, so we now have the
keys in the place of sacrifices or other signs of penitence.
I have said above that, at different times, the same God
lias given different promises and different signs for the
remission of sins and the salvation of men, while yet it is
the same grace that all have received. As it is written,
" We, having the same spirit of faith, believe, and there
fore speak " (2 Cor. iv. 13) ; " Our fathers did all eat the
same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual
BABYLONISH CAPTIVI lY OF THE CHURCH 381
drink, for they draiik of that spiritual rock that followed
them, and that rock was Christ " (1 Cor. x. 3, 4) \ " These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, God
having provided some better thing for us, that they without
us should not be made perfect" (Heb. xi. 13, 40). For
Christ Himself, the same yesterday and to-day and for
ever, is the Plead of His Church from the beginning even
to the end of the world. There are then different signs,
but the faith of all believers is the same, since without
faith it is impossible to please God; and by it Abel pleased
Him.
Let then matrimony be a figure of Christ and the
Church ; yet the sacrament was not Divinely instituted,
but one invented in the Church by men led astray by their
ignorance alike of things and of words. So far as this
invention is not injurious to the faith, it must be borne
with in charity, just as many other devices of human
weakness and ignorance are borne with in the Church so
long as they are not injurious to faith and to the sacred
writings. But we are now contending for the firmness
and purity of faith and of Scripture, lest if we affirm
anything to be contained in the sacred writings and in the
articles of our faith, and it is afterwards proved not to be
so contained, we should expose our faith to mockery, be
found ignorant of our own special business, cause scandal
to our adversaries and to the weak, and, moreover, not
advance the authority of Holy Scripture. For we must
make the widest possible distinction between those things
which have been delivered to us from God in the sacred
writings and those which have been invented in the Church
by men, of however eminent authority from their holiness
and their learning.
Thus far I have spoken of matrimony itself. But what
shall we say of those impious human laws by which this
Divinely appointed manner of life has been entangled and
tossed up and down ? Good God ! it is horrible to look
upon the temerity of the tyrants of Home, who thus, ac
cording to their own caprices, at one time annul marriages
and at another time enforce them. Is the human race
382 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
given over to their caprice for nothing but to be mocked
and abused in every way, and that these men may do
what they please with it for the sake of their own fatal
gains ?
There is a book in general circulation, and held in no
slight esteem, which has been confusedly put together out
of all the dregs and filth of human traditions, and entitled
The Angelic Summary ; while it is really a more than
diabolical summary. In this book, among an infinite
number of monstrous statements, by which confessors are
supposed to be instructed, while they are in truth most
ruinously confused, eighteen impediments to matrimony
are enumerated. If we look at these with the just and
free eye of faith, we shall see that the writer is of the
number of those of whom the Apostle foretold that they
should " give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of
devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; forbidding to marry "
(1 Tim. iv. 1 3). What is forbidding to marry, if this" is
not forbidding it : to invent so many impediments and to
set so many snares that marriages cannot be contracted,
or, if they are contracted, must be dissolved ? Who has
given this power to men ? Granted that such men have
been holy and led by a pious zeal, why does the holiness
of another encroach upon my liberty ? Why does the zeal
of another bring me into bondage ? Let whosoever will
be as holy and as zealous as he will, but let him not injure
others or rob me of my liberty.
I rejoice, however, that these disgraceful laws have at
length attained the glory they deserve, in that by their
aid the men of Rome have nowadays become common
traders. And what do they sell ? The shame of men and
women, a merchandise worthy of these traffickers, who
surpass all that is most sordid and disgusting in their
avarice and impiety. There is not one of those impedi
ments which cannot be removed at the intercession of
mammon, so that these laws seem to have been made for
no other purpose than to be nets for money and snares for
souls in the hands of those greedy and rapacious Nimrods,
and in order that we might see in the holy place, in the
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 383
Church of God, the abomination of the public sale of
the shame and ignominy of both sexes. A business, alas !
worthy of our pontiffs and fit to be carried on by men who,
with the utmost disgrace and baseness, are given over to a
reprobate mind, instead of that ministry of the Gospel
which, in their avarice and ambition, they despise.
But what am I to say or do ? If I were to enter upon
every particular, this treatise would extend beyond all
bounds ; for the subject is in the utmost confusion, so
that one cannot tell where to begin, how far to go, or
where to stop. This I know : that no commonwealth
can be prosperously administered by mere laws. If the
magistrate is a wise man, he will govern more happily
uncler the guidance of nature than by any laws ; if he
is not a wise man, he will effect nothing but mischief
by laws, since he will not know how to use them or
to adapt them to the wants of the time. In public
matters, therefore, it is of more importance that good
and wise men should be at the head of affairs, than
that any laws should be passed ; for such men will
themselves be the best of laws, since they will judge
cases of all kinds with living equity. If, together
with natural wisdom, there be learning in Divine things,
then it is clearly superfluous and mischievous to have
any written laws ; and charity, above all things, has ab
solutely no need of laws. I say, however, and do all that
in mealies, admonishing and entreating all priests and
friars, if they see any impediment with which the Pope
can dispense, but which is not mentioned in Scripture, to
consider all those marriages valid which have been con
tracted, in whatever way, contrary to ecclesiastical or
pontifical laws. Let them arm themselves with the
Divine law which says, " What God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder." The union of husband and
wife is one of Divine right, and holds good however!
much against the laws of men it may have taken
place, and the laws of men ought to give place to it,
without any scruple. For if a man is to leave his father
and mother and cleave to his wife, how much more ought
384 LUTHER S PRIMA&Y WORKS
lie to tread under foot the frivolous and unjust laws of
men, that lie may cleave to his wife ? If the Pope, or
any bishop or official, dissolves any marriage, because it
has been contracted contrary to the papal laws, lie is an
antichrist, does violence to nature, and is guilty of
treason against God, because this sentence stands :
" Whom God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder."
Besides this, man had no right to make such laws, and
the liberty bestowed on Christians through Christ is
above all the laws of men, especially when the Divine
law comes in, as Christ says, " The Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the Sabbath ; therefore the Son
of man is Lord also of the Sabbath " (Mark ii. 27, 28).
Again, such laws were condemned beforehand by Paul,
when he foretold that those should arise who would
forbid to marry. Hence in this matter all those rigorous
impediments derived from spiritual affinity, or legal
relationship and consanguinity, must give way as far as
is permitted by the sacred writings, in which only the
second grade of consanguinity is prohibited, as it is
written in the book of Leviticus, where twelve persons
are prohibited, namely, mother, step-mother, full sister,
half-sister by either parent, grand-daughter, father s
sister, mother s sister, daughter-in-law, brother s wife,
wife s sister, step-daughter, uncle s wife. In these only
the first grade of affinity and the second of consanguinity
are prohibited, and not even these universally, as is clear
when we look carefully ; for the daughter or grand
daughter of a brother and sister are not mentioned as
prohibited, though they are in the second grade. Hence
if at any time a marriage has been contracted outside
these grades, than which no others have ever been
prohibited by God s appointment, it ought by no means
to be dissolved on account of any laws of men. Matri
mony, being a Divine institution, is incomparably above
all laws, and therefore it cannot rightfully be broken
through for the sake of laws, but rather laws for its
sake.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 385
Thus all those fanciful spiritual affinities of father,
mother, brother, sister, or child ought to be utterly done
away with in the contracting of matrimony. What but
the superstition of man has invented that spiritual re
lationship ? If he who baptises is not permitted to
marry her whom he has baptised, or a godfather his
god-daughter, why is a Christian man permitted to marry
a Christian woman ? Is the relationship established by
a ceremony or by the sign of the Sacrament stronger
than that established by the substance itself of the
Sacrament ? Is not a Christian man the brother of a
Christian sister ? Is not a baptised man the spiritual
brother of a baptised woman ? How can we be so sense
less ? If a man instructs his wife in the Gospel and in
the faith of Christ, and thus becomes truly her father in
Christ, shall it not be lawful for her to continue his wife ?
Would not Paul have been at liberty to marry a maiden
from among those Corinthians all of whom he declares
that he had begotten in Christ ? See then how Chris
tian liberty has been crushed by the blindness of human
superstition.
Much more idle still is the doctrine of legal relation
ship ; and yet they have raised even this above the
Divine right of matrimony. Nor can I agree to that
impediment which they call disparity of religion, and
which forbids a man to marry an unbaptised woman,
neither simply nor on condition of converting her to the
faith. Who has prohibited this, God or man ? Who
has given men authority to prohibit marriages of this
kind ? Verily the spirits that speak lies in hypocrisy, as
Paul says, of whom it may be truly said, " The wicked
have spoken lies to me, but not according to Thy law."
Patricius, a heathen, married Monica, the mother of
St. Augustine, who was a Christian ; why should not the
same thing be lawful now? A like instance of foolish,
nay wicked, rigour is the impediment of crime, as when
a man marries a woman previously polluted by adultery,
or has plotted the death of a woman s husband, that he
may be able to marry her. Whence, I ask, a severity on
25
386 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
the part of men against men such as even God has never
exacted ? Do these men pretend not to know that
David, a most holy man, married Bathsheba, the wife of
Uriah, though both these crimes had been committed ;
that is, though she had been polluted by adultery and
her husband had been murdered? If the Divine law
did this, why do tyrannical men act thus against their
fellow-servants ?
It is also reckoned as an impediment when there
exists what they call a bond that is, when one person
is bound to another by betrothal. In this case they
conclude that if either party have subsequently had
intercourse with a third, the former betrothal comes to
an end. I cannot at all receive this doctrine. In my
judgment, a man who has bound himself to one person
is no longer at his own disposal, and therefore, under
the prohibitions of the Divine right, owes himself to the
former, though he has not had intercourse with her, even
if he have afterwards had intercourse with another. It
was not in his power to give what he did not possess ; he
has deceived her with whom he has had intercourse, and
has really committed adultery. That which has led some
to think otherwise is that they have looked more to the
fleshly union than to the Divine command, under which
he who has promised fidelity to one person is bound to
observe it. He who desires to give ought to give of that
which is his own. God forbid that any man should go
beyond or defraud his brother in any matter ; for good
faith ought to be preserved beyond and above all tra
ditions of all men. Thus I believe that such a man cannot
with a safe conscience cohabit with a second woman, and
that this impediment ought to be entirely reversed. If a
vow of religion deprives a man of his power over himself,
why not also a pledge of fidelity given and received, es
pecially since the latter rests on the teaching and fruits
of the Spirit (Gal. v.), while the former rests on human
choice ? And if a wife may return to her husband, not
withstanding any vow of religion she may have made, why
should not a betrothed woman return to her betrothed,
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 387
even if connection with another have followed ? We have
said, however, above that a man who has pledged his
faith to a maiden is not at liberty to make a vow of re
ligion, but is bound to marry her, because he is bound to
keep his faith, and is not at liberty to abandon it for the
sake of any human tradition, since God commands that
it should be kept. Much more will it be his duty to
observe his pledge to the first to whom he has given it,
because it was only with a deceitful heart that he could
give it to a second ; and therefore he has not really given
it, but has deceived his neighbour, against the law of
God. Hence the impediment called that of error takes
effect here, and annuls the marriage with the second
woman.
The impediment of holy orders is also a mere contriv
ance of men, especially when they idly assert that even
a marriage already contracted is annulled by this cause,
always exalting their own traditions above the commands
of God. I give no judgment respecting the order of the
priesthood, such as it is at the present day ; but I see
that Paul commands that a bishop should be the husband
of one wife, and therefore the marriage of a deacon, of
a priest, of a bishop, or of a man in any kind of orders,
cannot be annulled, although Paul knew nothing of that
kind of priests and those orders which we have at the
present day. Perish then these accursed traditions of
men, which have come in for no other end than to mul
tiply perils, sins, and evils in the Church ! Between a
priest and his wife, then, there is a true and inseparable
marriage, approved by the Divine command. What if
wicked men forbid or annul it of their own mere tyranny ?
Be it that it is unlawful in the sight of jnen, yet it is
lawful in the sight of God, whose commandment, if it be
contrary to the commandments of men, is to be preferred.
Just as much a human contrivance is the so-called
impediment of public propriety, by which contracted
marriages are annulled. I am indignant at the audacious
impiety which is so ready to separate what God has
joined together. You may recognise antichrist in this
388 LU1HERS PRIMARY WORKS
opposition to everything which Christ did or taught.
What reason is there, I ask, why, on the death of a
betrothed husband before actual marriage, no relative by
blood, even to the fourth degree, can marry her who was
betrothed to him ? This is no vindication of public
propriety, but mere ignorance of it. Why among the
people of Israel, which possessed the best laws, given by
God Himself, was there no such vindication of public
propriety ? On the contrary, by the very command of
God, the nearest relative was compelled to marry her
who had been left ~a widow. Ought the people who are
in Christian liberty to be burdened with more rigid laws
than the people who were in legal bondage ? And to
make an end of these figments rather than impediments,
I will say that at present it is evident to me that there is
no impediment which can rightfully annul a marriage
already contracted except physical unfitness for co
habiting with a wife, ignorance of a marriage previously
contracted, or a vow of chastity. Concerning such a
vow, however, I am so uncertain, even to the present
moment, that I do not know at what time it ought to
be reckoned valid, as I have said above in speaking of
baptism. Learn then, in this one matter of matrimony,
into what an unhappy and hopeless state of confusion,
hindrance, entanglement, and peril all things that are
done in the Church have been brought by the pestilent,
unlearned, and impious traditions of men. There is no
hope of a remedy, unless we can do away once for all
with all the laws of all men, call back the Gospel of
liberty, and judge and rule all things according to it
alone. Amen.
It is necessary also to deal with the question of physical
incapacity. But be it premised that I desire what I have
said about impediments to be understood of marriages
already contracted, which ought not to be annulled for
any siich causes. But with regard to the contracting of
matrimony I may briefly repeat what I have said before :
that if there be any urgency of youthful love, or any
other necessity, on account of which the Pope grants a
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 389
dispensation, then any brother can also grant a dispensa
tion to his brother, or himself to himself, and thus snatch
his wife, in whatever way he can, out of the hands of
tyrannical laws. Why is my liberty to be done away
with by another man s superstition and ignorance ? or
if the Pope gives dispensation for money, why may not
L give a dispensation to my brother or to myself for the
advantage of my own salvation ? Does the Pope estab
lish laws ? Let him establish them for himself, but let
mv liberty be untouched.
The question of divorce is also discussed, whether it
be lawful. I, for my part, detest divorce, and even prefeir
bigamy to it ; but whether it be lawful I dare not clefinp.
Christ* Himself, the chief of shepherds, says, "Whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery ; and whosoever shall
marry her that is divorced committeth adultery " (Matt. /
v. 32). Christ therefore permits divorce only in the case/
of fornication. Hence the Pope must necessarily be
wrong as often as he permits divorce for other reasons,
nor ought any man forthwith to consider himself safe
because lie lias obtained a dispensation by pontifical
audacity rather than power. I am more surprised, how
ever, tli at they compel a man who has been separated
from his wife* by divorce to remain single, and do not
allow him to marry another. For if Christ permits
divorce for the cause of fornication, and does not compel
any man to remain single, and if Paul bids us rather to
marry than to burn, this seems plainly to allow of a
man s marrying another in the place of her whom he has
put away. I wish that this subject were fully discussed
and made clear, that provision might be made for the
numberless perils of those who at the present day are
compelled to remain single without any fault of their
own that is, whose wives or husbands have fled and
deserted their partner, not to return for ten years, or
perhaps never. I am distressed and grieved by these
390 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
cases, which are of daily occurrence, whether this happens
by the special malice of Satan, or from our neglect of the
word of God.
I cannot by myself establish any rule contrary to the
opinion of all; but, for my own part, I should exceedingly
wish at least to see applied to this subject the words,
" But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart, A
brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases"
(1 Cor. vii. 15). Here the Apostle permits that the
unbelieving one who departs should be let go, and leaves
it free to the believer to take another. Why should not
the same rule hold good, if a believer that is, a nominal
believer, but in reality just as much an unbeliever deserts
husband or wife, especially if with the intention of never
returning ? I cannot discover any distinction between
the two cases. In my belief, however, if in the Apostle s
time the unbeliever who had departed had returned, or
had become a believer, or had promised to live with the
believing wife, he would not have been received, but
would himself have been authorised to marry another
woman. Still I give no definite opinion on these
questions, though I greatly wish that a definite rule
were laid down, for there is nothing which more harasses
me and many others. I would not have any rule on
this point laid down by the sole authority of the Pope or
the bishops ; but if any two learned and good men agreed
together in the name of Christ and pronounced a decision
in the spirit of Christ, I should prefer their judgment
even to that of councils, such as are assembled nowadays,
which are celebrated simply for their number and
authority, independently of learning and holiness. I
therefore suspend my utterances on this subject until I
can confer with some better judge.
OF ORDERS.
Of this Sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing :
it was invented by the Church of the Pope. It not only
has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 39
word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament.
Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that
which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by
God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so
many ages is to be condemned ; but I would not have
human invention established in sacred things, nor should
it be allowed to bring in anything as Divinely ordained
which has not been Divinely ordained, lest we should be
objects of ridicule to our" adversaries. We must en
deavour that whatever we put forward as an article of
the faith should be certain and uncorrupt and established
by clear proofs from Scripture ; and this we cannot show
even in the slightest degree in the case of the present
Sacrament.
The Church has no power to establish new Divine
promises of grace, as some senselessly assert, who say
that, since the Church is governed by the Holy Spirit,
whatever she ordains has no less authority than that
which is ordained of God. The Church is born of the
word of promise through faith, and is nourished and
preserved by the same word ; that is, she herself is
established by the promises of God, not the promise of
God by her/ The word of God is incomparably above
the Church, and her part is not to establish, ordain, or
make anything in it, but only to be established, ordained,
and made as a creature. What man begets his own
parent ? Who establishes the authority by which he
himself exists ?
This power the Church certainly has : that she can
distinguish the word of God from the words of men. So
Augustine confesses that his motive for believing the
Gospel was the authority of the Church, which declared
it to be the Gospel. Not that the Church is therefore
above the Gospel, for, if so, she would also be above God,
in whom we believe, since she declares Him to be God ;
but, as Augustine says elsewhere, the soul is so taken
possession of by the truth that thereby it can judge of
all things with the utmost certainty, and yet cannot
judge the truth itself, but is compelled to say with an
392 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
infallible certainty that this is the truth. For example,
the mind pronounces with infallible certainty that three
and seven are ten, and yet can give no reason why this is
true, while it cannot deny that it is true. In fact, the
mind itself is taken possession of, and, having truth as
its judge, is judged rather than judges. Even such a
perception is there in the Church, by the illumination
of the Spirit, in judging and approving of doctrines, a
perception which she cannot demonstrate, but which she
holds as most sure. Just as among philosophers no one
judges of the common conceptions, but every one is
judged by them, so is it among us with regard to
that spiritual perception which judgeth all things, yet is
judged of no man, as the Apostle says.
Let us take it then for certain that the Church cannot
promise grace, to do which is the part of God alone, and
therefore cannot institute a sacrament. And even if she
had the most complete power to do so, it would not forth
with "follow that orders are a sacrament. For who
knows what is that Church which has the Spirit, when
only a few bishops and learned men are usually concerned
in setting up these laws and institutions ? It is possible
that these men may not be of the Church, and may all
be in error, as Councils have very often been in error,
especially that of Constance, which has erred the most
impiously of all. That only is a proved article of the
faith which has been approved by the universal Church,
and not by that of Rome alone. I grant therefore that
orders may be a sort of Church rite, like many others
which have been introduced by the Fathers of the Church,
such as the consecration of vessels, buildings, vestments,
water, salt, candles, herbs, wine, and the like. In all
these no one asserts that there is any sacrament, nor is
there any promise in them. Thus the anointing of a
man s hands, the shaving of his head, and other ceremonies
of the kind, do not constitute a sacrament, since nothing
is promised by these things, but they are merely em
ployed to prepare men for certain offices, as in the case
of vessels or instruments.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 393
But it will be asked, What do yon say to Dionysius,
who reckons up six sacraments, among which he places
orders, in his Hierarchy of the Church ? My answer is,
I know that he is the only one of the ancients who is con
sidered as an authority for seven sacraments, although,
by the omission of matrimony, he has only given six.
We read nothing at all in the rest of the Fathers about
these sacraments, nor did they reckon them under the
title of sacrament when they spoke of these things, for
the invention of such sacraments is modern. Then,
too if I may be rash enough to say so it is altogether
unsatisfactory that so much importance should be attri
buted to this Dionysius, whoever he was, for there is
almost nothing of solid learning in him. By what
authority or reason, I ask, does lie prove his inventions
concerning angels in his Celestial Hierarchy, a book on
the study of which curious and superstitious minds have
spent so much labour ? Are they not all fancies of his
own, and very much like dreams, if we read them and
judge them freely? In his mystic theology indeed,
which is so much cried up by certain very ignorant
theologians, he is even very mischievous, and follows
Plato rather than Christ, so that I would not have any
believing mind bestow even the slightest labour on the
study of these books. You will be so far from learning
Christ in them that, even if you know Him, you may
lose Him. I speak from experience. Let us rather hear
Paul, and learn Jesus Christ and Him crucified. For
this is the way, the truth, and the life ; this is the ladder
by which we come to the Father, as it is written, "No
man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
So in his Hierarchy of the Church what does lie do
but describe certain ecclesiastical rites, amusing himself
with liis own allegories, which he does not prove, just as
has been done in our time by the writer of the book called
the Rationale of Divine Things ? This pursuit of alle
gories is only fit for men of idle minds. Could I have
any difficulty in amusing myself with allegories about
any created thing whatever ? Did not Bonaventura
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apply the liberal arts allegorically to theology? It
would give me no trouble to write a better Hierarchy
than that of Dionysius, as he knew nothing of popes,
cardinals, and archbishops, and made the bishops the
highest order. Who, indeed, is there of such slender
wits that he cannot venture upon allegory ? I would not
have a theologian bestow any attention upon allegories
until he is perfectly acquainted with the legitimate and
simple meaning of Scripture ; otherwise, as happened
to Origen, his theological speculations will not be without
danger.
We must not then immediately make a sacrament of
anything which Dionysius describes ; otherwise why not
make a sacrament of the procession which he describes
in the same passage, and which continues in use even to
the present day ? Nay, there will be as many sacraments
as there are rites and ceremonies which have grown up
in the Church. Resting, however, on this very weak
foundation, they have invented and attributed to this
sacrament of theirs certain indelible characters, supposed
to be impressed on those who receive orders. Whence, 1
ask, such fancies ? By what authority, by what reason
ing, are they established ? Not that we object to their
being free to invent, learn, or assert whatever they please ;
but we also assert our own liberty, and say that they
must not arrogate to themselves the right of making articles
of the faith out of their own fancies, as they have hitherto
had the presumption to do. It is enough that, for the
sake of concord, we submit to their rights and inventions,
but we will not be compelled to receive them as necessary
to salvation, when they are not necessary. Let them lay
aside their tyrannical requirements, and we will show a
ready compliance with their likings, that so we may live
together in mutual peace. For it is a disgraceful, unjust,
and slavish thing for a Christian man, who is free, to be
subjected to any but heavenly and Divine traditions.
After this they bring in their very strongest argument,
namely, that Christ said at the Last Supper, "Do this
in remembrance of Me." " Behold ! " they say, " Christ
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 395
ordained them as priests." Hence, among other things,
they have also asserted that it is to priests alone that
both kinds should be administered. In fact, they have
extracted out of this text whatever they would, like men
who claim the right to assert at their own free choice
whatsoever they please out of any words of Christ,
wherever spoken. But is this to interpret the words of
God ? Let us reply to them that in these words Christ
gives no promise, but only a command that this should
be done in remembrance of Him. Why do they not
conclude that priests were ordained in that passage also
where Christ, in laying upon them the ministry of the
word and of baptism, said, " Go ye into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptising them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost " ? It is tli e peculiar office of priests to preach
and to baptise. Again, since at the present day it is
the very first business of a priest, and, as they say, an
indispensable one, to read the canonical Hours, why have
they not taken their idea of the Sacrament of orders
from those words in which Christ commanded His
disciples as He did in many other places, but especially
in the garden of Gethsemane to pray that they might
not enter into temptation? Unless indeed they evade
the difficulty by saying that it is not commanded to
pray, for it suffices to read the canonical Hours ; so that
this cannot be proved to be a priestly work from any
part of Scripture, and that consequently this praying
priesthood is not of God, as indeed it is not.
Which of the ancient Fathers lias asserted that by
these words priests were ordained ? Whence then this
new interpretation ? It is because it has been sought by
this device to set up a source of implacable discord, by
which clergy and laity might be placed farther asunder
than heaven and earth, to the incredible injury of
baptismal grace and confusion of evangelical communion.
Hence has originated that detestable tyranny of the
clergy over the laity in which, trusting to the corporal
unction bv which their hands are consecrated, to their
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tonsure, and to their vestments, they not only set them
selves above the body of lay Christians, who have been
anointed with the Holy Spirit, but almost look upon them
as dogs, unworthy to be numbered in the Church along
with themselves. Hence it is that they dare to command,
exact, threaten, drive, and oppress, at their will. In fine,
the Sacrament of orders has been and is a most admirable
engine for the establishment of all those monstrous evils
which have hitherto been wrought, and are yet being
Avrought, in the Church. In this way Christian brother
hood has perished ; in this way shepherds have been
turned into wolves, servants into tyrants, and ecclesiastics
into something more than men of the world.
How if they were compelled to admit that we all, so
many as have been baptised, are equally priests ? We
are so in fact, and it is only a ministry which has been
entrusted to them, and that with our consent. They
would then know that they have no right to exercise
command over us, except so far as we voluntarily allow
of it. Thus it is said, " Ye are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Peter ii. 9). Thus all
we who are Christians are priests ; those whom we call
priests are ministers chosen from among us to do all
things in our name ; and the priesthood is nothing else
than a ministry. Thus Paul says, " Let a man so
account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God " (1 Cor. iv. 1).
From this it follows that lie who does not preach the
word, being called to this very office by the Church, is in
no way a priest, and that the Sacrament of orders can be
nothing else than a ceremony for choosing preachers in
the Church. This is the description given of a priest :
" The priest s lips should keep knowledge, and they
should seek the law at his mouth ; for he is the
messenger of the Lord of hosts " (Mai. ii. 7). Be sure
then that he who is not a messenger of the Lord of hosts,
or who is called to anything else than a messenger-ship
if I may so speak is certainly not a priest, as it is
written, " Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will
BABYLONISH CAPTIVI1Y OF THE CHURCH 397
also reject thee, that tliou shalt be no priest to Me"
(Hos. iv. 6). They are called pastors because it is
their duty to give the people pasture, that is, to teach
them. Therefore those who are ordained only for the
purpose of reading the canonical Hours and offering up
masses are popish priests indeed, but not Christian
priests, since they not only do not preach, but are not
even called to be preachers ; nay, it is the very thing
intended that a priesthood of this kind shall stand on a
different footing from the office of preacher. Thus they
are priests of Hours and missals, that is, a kind of living-
images, having the name of priests, but very far from
being really so sucli priests as those whom Jeroboam
ordained in Beth-aven, taken from the lowest dregs of
the people, and not from the family of Levi.
See then how far the glory of the Church has departed.
The whole world is full of priests, bishops, cardinals, and
clergy, of whom, however (so far as concerns their
official duty), not one preaches unless he be called afresh
to this by another calling besides his sacramental orders
but thinks that he amply fulfils the purposes of that
Sacrament if he murmurs over, in a vain repetition, the
prayers which lie has to read, and celebrates masses.
Even then he never prays these very Hours, or, if he does
pray, he prays for himself; while, as the very height of
perversity, he offers up his masses as a sacrifice, though
the mass is really the use of the Sacrament. Thus it is
clear that those orders by which, as a sacrament, men of
this kind are ordained to be clergy, are in truth a mere
and entire figment, invented by men who understand
nothing of Church affairs, of the priesthood, of the
ministry of the word, or of the sacraments. Such as is
the Sacrament, such are the priests it makes. To these
errors and blindnesses has been added a greater degree
of bondage in that, in order to separate themselves the
more widely from all other Christians, as if these were
profane, they have burdened themselves witli a most
hypocritical celibacy.
It was not enough for their hypocrisy and for the
398 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
working of this error to prohibit bigamy, that is, the
having two wives at the same time, as was done under the
law for we know that that is the meaning of bigamy
but they have interpreted it to be bigamy, if a man
marries two virgins in succession, or a widow once.
Nay, the most sanctified sanctity of this most sacrosanct
sacrament goes so far that a man cannot even become a
priest if he have married a virgin as long as she is alive
as his wife. And, in order to reach the very highest
summit of sanctity, a man is kept out of the priesthood
if he have married one who was not a pure virgin, though
it were in ignorance and merely by an unfortunate chance.
But he may have polluted six hundred harlots or cor
rupted any number of matrons or virgins, or even kept
many Gauyrnedes, and it will be no impediment to his
becoming a bishop or cardinal, or even pope. Then the
saying of the Apostle, " the husband of one wife," must
be interpreted to mean u the head of one Church," unless
that magnificent dispenser the Pope, bribed with money
or led by favour that is to say, moved by pious charity
and urged by anxiety for the welfare of the Churches
chooses to unite to one man three, twenty, or a hundred
wives, that is, Churches.
Oh, pontiffs, worthy of this venerable Sacrament of
orders ! Oh, princes not of the Catholic Churches, but of
the synagogues of Satan, yea, of very darkness ! We
may well cry out with Isaiah, " Ye scornful men, that
rule this people which is in Jerusalem ! " (Isa. xxviii.
14), and with Amos, " Woe to them that are at ease in
Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are
named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel
came ! " (Amos vi. 1). Oh, what disgrace to the Church
of God from these monstrosities of sacerdotalism !
Where are there any bishops or priests who know the
Gospel, not to say preach it ? Why then do they boast
of their priesthood ? why do they wish to be thought
holier and better and more powerful than other Christians,
whom they call the laity ? What unlearned person is not
competent to read the Hours ? Monks, hermits, and
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 399
private persons, although laymen, may use the prayers
of the Hours. The duty of a priest is to preach, and
unless he does so, he is just as much a priest as the
picture of a man is a man. Does the ordination of such
babbling priests, the consecration of churches and bells,
or the confirmation of children, constitute a bishop ?
Could not any deacon or layman do these things ? It is
the ministry of the word that makes a priest or a bishop.
Fly then, I counsel you; fly, young men, if ye wish to
live in safety ; arid do not seek admission to these holy
rites, unless ye are either willing to preach the Gospel, or
are able to believe that ye are not made any better than
the laity by this Sacrament of orders. To read the Hours
is nothing. To offer the mass is to receive the Sacrament.
What, then, remains in you which is not to be found
in any layman ? Your tonsure and your vestments ?
Wretched "priesthood, which consists in tonsure and vest
ments ! Is it the oil poured on your fingers ? Every
Christian is anointed and sanctified in body and soul with
the oil of the Holy Spirit, and formerly was allowed to
handle the Sacrament no less than the priests now do,
although our superstition now imputes it as a great crime
to the laity if they touch even the bare cup or the cor
poral, and not even a holy nun is allowed to wash the
altar cloths and sacred napkins. When I see how far the
sacrosanct sanctity of these orders has already gone, I
expect that the time will come when the laity will not
even be allowed to touch the altar, except when they
offer money. I almost burst with anger when I think of
the impious tyrannies of these reckless men, who mock
and ruin the liberty and glory of the religion of Christ by
such frivolous and puerile triflings.
Let every man then who has learnt- that he is a
Christian recognise what he is, and be certain that we are
all equally priests, that is, that we have the same power
in the word, and in any sacrament whatever, although it
is not lawful for any one to use this power, except with
the consent of the community or at the call of a superior.
For that which belongs to all in common no individual
400 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
can arrogate to himself until he be called. And there
fore the Sacrament of orders, if it is anything, is nothing
but a certain rite by which men are called to minister in
the Church. Furthermore, the priesthood is properly
nothing else than the ministry of the word I mean the
word of the Gospel, not of the Law. The diaconate is a
ministry, not for reading the Gospel or the Epistle, as the
practice is nowadays, but for distributing the wealth of
the Church among the poor, that the priests may be
relieved of the burden of temporal things, and may give
themselves more freely to prayer and to the word. It
was for this purpose, as we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, that deacons were appointed. Thus he who
does not know the Gospel, or does not preach it, is not
only no priest or bishop, but a kind of pest to the Church,
who, under the false title of priest or bishop, as it were in
sheep s clothing, hinders the Gospel, and acts the part of
the wolf in the Church.
Wherefore those priests and bishops with whom the
Church is crowded at the present day, unless they work
out their salvation on another plan that is, iinless they
acknowledge themselves to be neither priests nor bishops,
and repent of bearing the name of an office the work of
which they either do not know or cannot fulfil, and thus
deplore with prayers and tears the miserable fate of their
hypocrisy are verily the people of eternal perdition,
concerning whom the saying will be fulfilled, " My people
are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge ;
and their honourable men are famished, and their multi
tude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged
herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their
glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that
rejoiceth shall descend into it" (Isa. v. 13, 14). Oh,
word of dread for our age, in which Christians are
swallowed up in such an abyss of evil !
As far then as we are taught from the Scriptures, since
what we call the priesthood is a ministry, I do not see at
all for what reason a man who has once been made priest
cannot become a layman again, since he differs in no wis
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 401
from a layman, except by his ministerial office. But it
is so far from impossible for a man to be set aside from
the ministry that even now this punishment is constantly
inflicted on offending priests, who are either suspended
for a time, or deprived for ever of their office. For that
fiction of an indelible character has long ago become an
object of derision. I grant that the Pope may impress
this character, though Christ knows nothing of it, and for
this very reason the priest thus consecrated is the lifelong
servant and bondsman, not of Christ, but of the Pope, as
it is at this day. But, unless I deceive myself, if at some
future time this Sacrament and figment fall to the ground,
the papacy itself will scarcely hold its ground; and we
shall recover that joyful liberty in which we shall under
stand that we are all equal in every right, and shall shake
off the yoke of tyranny, and know that he who is a
Christian has Christ, and he who has Christ has all things
that are Christ s, and can do all things ; on which I will
write more fully and more vigorously when I find that
what I have here said displeases my friends the Papists.
ON THE SACRAMENT OF EXTREME UNCTION.
To this rite of anointing the sick our theologians have
made two additions well worthy of themselves. One is
that they call it a sacrament, the other that they make
it extreme, so that it cannot be administered except to
those who are in extreme peril of life. Perhaps, as they
are keen dialecticians, they have so made it in relation
to the first unction of baptism and the two following
ones of confirmation and orders. They have this, it is
true, to throw in my teeth: that, on the authority of the
Apostle James, there are in this case a promise and a
sign, which two things, I have hitherto said, constitute a
sacrament. He says, " Is any sick among you ? let him
call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord ;
and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up ; and if he have committed sins, they
26
4 02 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
shall be forgiven him" (James v. 14, 15). Here, they
say, is the promise of remission of sins and the sign of
the oil.
I, however, say that if folly has ever been uttered, it has
been uttered on this subject. I pass over the fact that
many assert, and with great probability, that this Epistle
was not written by the Apostle James, and is not worthy
of the apostolic spirit, although, whosesoever it is, it
has obtained authority by usage. Still, even if it were
written by the Apostle James, I should say that it was
not lawful for an Apostle to institute a sacrament by his
own authority ; that is, to give a Divine promise with a
sign annexed to it. To do this belonged to Christ alone.
Thus Paul says that he had received the Sacrament of
the Eucharist from the Lord ; and that he was sent, not to
baptise, but to preach the Gospel. Nowhere, however, in
the Gospel do we read of this Sacrament of extreme unction.
But let us pass this over, and let us look to the words
themselves of the Apostle, or of whoever was the author
of this Epistle, and we shall at once see how those men
have failed to observe their true meaning who have thus
increased the number of sacraments.
In the first place, if they think the saying of the
Apostle true and worthy to be followed, by what authority
do they change and resist it ? Why do they make an
extreme and special unction of that whicli the Apostle
meant to be general ? The Apostle did not mean it to
be extreme, and to be administered only to those about
to die. He says expressly, " Is any sick among you ? "
He does not say, " Is any dying ? " Nor do I care what
Dionysius s Ecclesiastical Hierarchy may teach about
this ; the words of the Apostle are clear, on which
he and they alike rest, though they do not follow them.
Thus it is evident that by no authority, but at their own
discretion, they have made, out of the ill-understood words
of the Apostle, a sacrament and an extreme unction ;
thus wronging all the other sick, whom they have de
prived on their own authority of that benefit of anointing
which the Apostle appointed for them.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 403
But it is even a finer argument that the promise of
the Apostle expressly says, " The prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." The
Apostle commands the use of anointing and prayer for the
very purpose that the sick man may be healed and raised
np/that is, may not die, and that the unction may not be
extreme. This is proved by the prayers which are used
even at this day during the ceremony of anointing, and in
which we ask that the sick man may be restored. They
say, on the contrary, that unction should not be ad
ministered except to those on the point of departing ;
that is, that they may not be healed and raised up. If
the matter were not so serious, who could refrain from
laughing at such fine, apt, and sound comments on the
words of the Apostle ? Do we not manifestly detect
here that sophistical folly which, in many other cases as
well as in this, affirms what Scripture denies, arid denies
what it affirms ? Shall we not render thanks to these
distinguished teachers of ours ? I have said rightly then
that nowhere have they displayed wilder folly than in this
instance.
Further, if this unction is a sacrament, it must be
beyond doubt an effectual sign (as they say) of that
which it seals and promises. Now it promises health and
restoration to the sick, as the words plainly show : " The
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall
raise him up." Who does not see, however, that this
promise is seldom, or rather never, fulfilled ? Scarcely
one among a thousand is restored ; and even this no one
believes to be effected by the Sacrament, but by the help of
nature or of medicine ; while to the Sacrament they attri
bute a contrary effect. What shall we say, then ? Either
the Apostle is deceiving us in this promise, or this unction
is not a sacrament ; for a sacramental promise is sure,
while this in most cases disappoints us. Nay, to recog
nise another example of the prudence and carefulness of
these theologians, they will have the unction to be extreme
in order that that promise may not stand ; that is, that
the Sacrament mav not be a sacrament. If the unction is
404 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
extreme, it does not heal, but yields to the sickness ;
while if it heals, it cannot be extreme. Thus, according
to the interpretation of these teachers, James must be
understood to have contradicted himself, and to have
instituted a sacrament on purpose not to institute a
sacrament ; for they will have it to be extreme unction,
in order that it may not be true that the sick are healed
by it, which is what the Apostle ordained. If this is not
madness, what, I ask, is madness ?
The words of the Apostle, " Desiring to be teachers of
the law; understanding neither what they say nor whereof
they affirm" (1 Tim. i. 7), apply to these men, with
so little judgment do they read and draw conclusions.
With the same stupidity they have inferred the doctrine
of auricular confession from the words of the Apostle
James, " Confess your faults one to another." They do
not even observe the command of the Apostle that
the elders of the Church should be called for, and that
they should pray over the sick. Scarcely one priest is
sent now, though the Apostle would have many to be
present, not for the purpose of anointing, but for that of
prayer, as he says, " The prayer of faith shall save the
sick." Moreover, I am not sure that he means priests
to be understood in this case, since he says presbyters,
that is, elders. Now it does not follow that an elder
must be a priest or a minister, and we may suspect that
the Apostle intended that the sick should be visited by
the men of greater age and weightier character in the
Church, who should do this as a work of mercy, and heal
the sick by the prayer of faith. At the same time it
cannot be denied that of old the Churches were ruled by
the older men, chosen for this purpose on account of their
age and long experience of life, without the ordinations
and consecrations now used.
I am therefore of opinion that this is the same anointing
as that used by the Apostles, of whom it is written,
" They anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed
them " (Mark vi. 13). It was a rite of the primitive
Church, long since obsolete, by which they did miracles
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 405
for the sick, just as Christ says of them that believe,
" They shall take up serpents ; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark xvi. 18). It is
astonishing that they have not made sacraments out of
these words also, since they have a like virtue and promise
with those words of James. This pretended extreme
unction then is not a sacrament, but a counsel of the
Apostle James, taken, as I have said, from the Gospel
of Mark, and one which any one who will may follow. I do
not think that it was applied to all sick persons for the
Church glories in her infirmities, and thinks death a
gain but only to those who bore their sickness im
patiently and with little faith, and whom the Lord there
fore left, that on them the miraculous power and the
efficacy of faith might be conspicuously shown.
James, indeed, has carefully and intentionally provided
against this very mistake in that he connects the promise
of healing and of remission of sins, not with the anointing,
but with the prayer of faith ; for he says, " The prayer of
faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him "
(James v. 15). Now a sacrament does not require prayer
or faith on the part of him who administers it, for even a
wicked man may baptise and consecrate the elements with
out prayer; but it rests solely on the promise and institution
of God, and requires faith on the part of him who receives
it. But where is the prayer of faith in our employment
of extreme unction at the present day ? Who prays over
the sick man with such faith as not to doubt of his
restoration ? Such is the prayer of faith which James
here describes, that prayer of which he had said at the
beginning of the Epistle, " Let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering," and of which Christ says, " What things
soever ye desire, when ye pray believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them " (Mark xi. 24).
There is no doubt at all that if even at the present day
such prayer were made over the sick that is, by grave and
holy elders and with full faith as many as we would
might be healed. For what cannot faith do ? We
406 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
however, leave out of sight that faith which apostolic
authority requires in the very first place ; and, moreover,
by elders, that is, men superior to the rest in age and in
faith, we understand the common herd of priests. Fur
thermore, out of a daily or free anointing we make an
extreme unction ; and lastly, we not only do not ask
and obtain that result of healing promised by the Apostle,
but we empty the promise of its meaning by an opposite
result. Nevertheless we boast that this Sacrament, or
rather figment, of ours, is founded on and proved by the
teaching of the Apostle, from which it is as widely
separated as pole from pole. Oh, what theologians !
Therefore, without condemning this our sacrament of
extreme unction, 1 steadily deny that it is that which
is enjoined by the Apostle James, of which neither
the form, nor the practice, nor the efficacy, nor the
purpose agrees with ours. We will reckon it, however,
among those sacraments which are of our own appointing,
such as the consecration and sprinkling of salt and
water. We cannot deny that, as the Apostle Paul
teaches us, every creature is sanctified by the word of
God and prayer ; and so we do not deny that remission
and peace are bestowed through extreme unction, not
because it is a sacrament Divinely instituted, but because
he who receives it believes that he obtains these benefits.
For the faith of the receiver does not err, however much
the minister may err. For if he who baptises or
absolves in jest that is, does not absolve at all as far
as the minister s part is concerned yet does really
absolve or baptise, if there be faith on the part of the
absolved or baptised person, how much more does he
who administers extreme unction bestow peace, even
though in reality he bestows no peace if we look to his
ministry, since there is no sacrament I The faith of the
person anointed receives that blessing which he who
anointed him either could not, or did not intend to, give.
It is enough that the person anointed hears and believes
the word ; for whatever we believe that we shall receive,
that we do really receive, whatever the minister may do
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 407
or not do, whether he play a part, or be in jest. For the
saying of Christ holds good, " All things are possible
to him that believeth," and again, "As thou hast
believed, so be it done unto thee." Our sophists, how
ever, make no mention of this faith in treating of the
sacraments, but give their whole minds to frivolous dis
cussions on the virtues of the sacraments themselves ;
ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge
of the truth.
It has been of advantage, however, that this unction
has been made extreme, for, thanks to this, it has been
of all sacraments the least harassed and enslaved by
tyranny and thirst for gain ; and this one mercy has
been left to the dying : that they are free to be anointed,
even if they have^ not confessed or communicated.
Whereas if it had continued to be of daily employment,
especially if it had also healed the sick, even if it had not
taken away sins, of how many worlds would not the
pontiffs by this time have been masters they who, on
the strength of the one Sacrament of penance, and by the
power of the keys, and through the Sacrament of orders,
have become such mighty emperors and princes ? But
now it is a fortunate thing that as they despise the
prayer of faith, so they heal no sick, and out of an old
rite* have formed for themselves a new sacrament.
Let it suffice to have said thus much concerning these
four sacraments. I know how much it will displease
those who think that we are to inquire about the
number and use of the sacraments, not from the Holy
Scriptures, but from the see of Rome, as if the see of
Rome had given us those sacraments and had not rather
received them from the schools of the universities, to
which, without controversy, it owes all that it has. The
tyranny of the popes would never have stood so high if it
had not received so much ; -help from the universities ;
for among all the principal sees there is scarcely any
other which has had so few learned bishops. It is by
force, fraud, and superstition alone that it has prevailed
over the rest ; and those who occupied that see a
408 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
thousand years ago are so widely diverse from those who
have grown into power in the interim that we are com
pelled to say that either the one or the other were not
pontiffs of Home.
There are besides some other things which it may seem
that we might reckon among sacraments all those things,
namely, to which a Divine promise has been made, such as
prayer, the word, the cross. For Christ has promised in
many places to hear those that pray, especially in Luke xi.,
where He invites us to prayer by many parables. Of
the word He says, " Blessed are they that hear the word
of God and keep it " (Luke xi. 28). And who can reckon
up how often He promises succour and glory to those who
are in tribulation, sutfering, and humiliation ? Nay, who
can count up all the promises of God ? For it is the
whole object of all Scripture to lead us to faith, on the
one side urging us with commandments and threatenings,
on the other side inviting us by promises and consola
tions. Indeed, all Scripture consists of either command
ments or promises. Its commandments humble the
proud by their requirements ; its promises lift up the
humble by their remissions of sin.
It has seemed best, however, to consider as sacraments,
properly so called, those promises which have signs an
nexed to them. The rest, as they are not attached to
signs, are simple promises. It follows that, if we speak
with perfect accuracy, there are only two sacraments in
the Church of God, baptism and the bread, since it is
in these alone that we see both a sign Divinely instituted
and a promise of remission of sins. The Sacrament of
penance, which I have reckoned along with these two,
is without any visible and Divinely appointed sign ; and
is nothing else, as I have said, than a way and means of
return to baptism. Not even the schoolmen can say that
penitence agrees with their definition, since they them
selves ascribe to every sacrament a visible sign, which
enables the senses to apprehend the form of that effect
which the Sacrament works invisibly. Now penitence or
absolution has no such sign ; and therefore they will be
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY OF THE CHURCH 409
compelled by their own definition either to say that
penitence is not one of the sacraments, and thus to
diminish their number, or else to bring forward another
definition of a sacrament.
Baptism, however, which we have assigned to the whole
of life, will properly suffice for all the sacraments which
we are to use in life ; while the bread is truly the Sacra
ment of the dying and departing, since in it we com
memorate the departure of Christ from this world, that
we may imitate Him. Let us then so distribute these
two sacraments that baptism may be allotted to the
beginning and to the whole course of life, and the bread
to its end and to death ; and let the Christian while in
this vile body exercise himself in both, until, being fully
baptised and strengthened, he shall pass out of this world
as one born into a new and eternal life and destined to
eat with Christ in the kingdom of His Father, as He
promised at the Last Supper, saying, u I say unto you,
I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom
of God shall come " (Luke xxii. 18). Thus it is evident
that Christ instituted the Sacrament of the bread that we
might receive the life which is to come ; and then, when
the purpose of each sacrament shall have been fulfilled,
both baptism and the bread will cease.
I shall here make an end of this essay, which I readily
and joyfully offer to all pious persons, who long to
understand Scripture in its sincere meaning and to learn
the genuine use of the sacraments. It is a gift of no
slight importance to "know the things that are freely
given to us of God " and to know in what manner we
ought to use those gifts. For if we are instructed in this
judgment of the Spirit, we shall not deceive ourselves by
leaning on those things which are opposed to it. Whereas
our theologians have nowhere given us the knowledge
of these two things, but have even darkened them, as if
of set purpose, I, if I have not given that knowledge,
have at least succeeded in not darkening it, and have
given others an occasion to think out something better.
It has at least been my endeavour to explain the meaning
4 io LU lHERS PRIMARY WORKS
of both sacraments, but we cannot all do all things.
On those impious men, however, who in their obstinate
tyranny press on us their own teachings as if they were
God s, I thrust these things freely and confidently,
caring not at all for their ignorance and violence. Yet
even to them I will wish sounder sense, and will not
despise their efforts, but will only distinguish them from
those which are legitimate and really Christian.
I hear a report that fresh bulls and papal curses are
being prepared against me, by which I am to be urged to
recant, or else be declared a heretic. If this is true,
I wish this little book to be a part of my future recanta
tion, that they may not complain that their tyranny
has puffed itself up in vain. The remaining part I shall
shortly publish, Christ being my Helper, and that of such
a sort as the see of Rome has never yet seen or heard,
thus abundantly testifying my obedience in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
"Hostis Herodes impie,
Christum venire quid times ?
Non arripit mortalia
Q.ui regna dat coelestia."
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
To the most Reverend Father in Christ and most
illustrious Lord, Albert, Archbishop and Primate of the
Churches of Magdeburg and Mentz, Marquis of Branden
burg, etc., his lord and pastor in Christ, most gracious
arid worthy of all fear and reverence
JESUS.
The grace of God be with you, and whatsoever it is
and can do.
Spare me, most reverend Father in Christ, most
illustrious Prince, if I, the very dregs of humanity, have
dared to think of addressing a letter to the eminence of
your sublimity. The Lord Jesus is my witness that, in
the consciousness of my own pettiness and baseness, I
have long put off the doing of that which I have now
hardened my forehead to perform, moved thereto most
especially by the sense of that faithful duty which I feel
that I owe to your most reverend Fatherhood in Christ.
May your Highness then in the meanwhile deign to cast
your eyes upon one grain of dust, and, in your pontifical
clemency, to understand my prayer.
Papal indulgences are being carried about, under your
most distinguished authority, for the building of St.
Peter s. In respect of these I do not so much accuse the
extravagant sayings of the preachers, which I have not
heard, but I grieve at the very false ideas which the
people conceive from them, and which are spread abroad
in common talk on every side namely, that unhappy /
souls believe that, if they buy letters of indulgences, they
are sure of their salvation ; also, that, as soon as they
412 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
have thrown their contribution into the chest, souls/
forthwith fly out of purgatory ; and furthermore, that
so great is the grace thus conferred, that there is no sin
so great even, as they say, if, by an impossibility, any
one had violated the Mother of God but that it may be
pardoned ; and again, that by these indulgences a man
is freed from all punishment and guilt.
gracious God I it is thus that the souls committed
to your care, most excellent Father, are being taught
unto their death, and a most severe account, which you
will have to render for all of them, is growing and
increasing. Hence I have not been able to keep silence
any longer on this subject, for by no function of a bishop s
office can a man become sure of salvation, since he does
not even become sure through the grace of God infused
into him, but the Apostle bids us to be ever working
out our salvation in fear and trembling. (Phil. ii. 12.)
Even the righteous man says Peter shall scarcely be
saved. (1 Peter iv. 18.) In fine, so narrow is the way
which leads unto life, that the Lord, speaking by the
prophets Amos and Zachariah, calls those who are to be
saved brands snatched from the burning, and our Lord
everywhere declares the difficulty of salvation.
Why then, by these false stories and promises of
pardon, do the preachers of them make the people to
feel secure and without fear ? since indulgences confer
absolutely no good on souls as regards salvation or
holiness, but only take away the outward penalty which
was wont of old to be canonically imposed.
Lastly, wjorks of piety and charity are infinitely,, better
than indulgences, and yet they do not preach these with
such display or so much zeal ; nay, they keep silence
about them for the sake of preaching pardons. And
yet it is the first and sole duty of all bishops, that the
people shouldT learn tEe Gospel and Christian charity :
for Christ nowhere commands that indulgences should be
preached. What a dreadful thing it is then, what peril
to a bishop, if, while the Gospel is passed over in silence,
he permits nothing but the noisy outcry of indulgences
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES 413
to be spread among his people, and bestows more care
on these than on the Gospel 1 Will not Christ say to
them : " Straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel " ?
Besides all this, most reverend Father in the Lord, in
that instruction to the commissaries which has been put
forth under the name of your most reverend Fatherhood
it is stated doubtless without the knowledge and con
sent of your most reverend Fatherhood that one of
the principal graces conveyed by indulgences is that
inestimable gift of God, by which man is reconciled to
God, and alHhe pains of purgatory are done _a_way with ;
and further, that contrition is not necessary for those
who thus redeem souls or buy confessional licences.
But what can I do, excellent Primate and most illus
trious Prince, save to entreat your reverend Fatherhood,
through the Lord Jesus Christ, to deign to turn on us the
eye of fatherly care, and to suppress that advertisement
altogether and impose on the preachers of pardons another
form of preaching, lest perchance some one should at length
arise who will put forth writings in confutation of them
and of their advertisements, to the deepest reproach of
your most illustrious Highness. It is intensely abhorrent
to me that this should be done, and yet I fear that it
will happen, unless the evil be speedily remedied.
This faithful discharge of my humble duty I entreat
that your most illustrious Grace will deign to receive in a
princely and bishoplike spirit that is, with all clemency
even as I offer it with a most faithful heart, and one
most devoted to your most reverend Fatherhood, since I
too am part of your flock. May the Lord Jesus keep
your most reverend Fatherhood for ever and ever. Amen.
From Wittemberg, on the eve of All Saints, in the year
1517.
If it so please your most reverend Fatherhood, you
may look at these Disputations, that you may perceive
how dubious a matter is that opinion about indulgences,
which they disseminate as if it were most certain.
To your most reverend Fatherhood.
MARTIN LUTHER.
4H LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
DISPUTATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER CON
CERNING PENITENCE AND INDULGENCES
IN the desire and with the purpose of elucidating the
truth, a disputation will be held on the underwritten
propositions at Wittemberg, under the presidency of the
Reverend Father Martin Luther, Monk of the Order of
St. Augustine, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology,
and ordinary Reader of the same in that place. He
therefore asks those who cannot be present and discuss
the subject with us orally, to do so by letter in their
absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying " Re
pent ye," * etc., intended that the whole life of believers
should be penitence.
2. This woW cannot be understood of sacramental
penance, that is, of the confession and satisfaction which
are performed under the ministry of priests.
3. It does , not, however, refer solely to inward penitence ;
nay such inward penitence is naught, unless it outwardly
produces various mortifications of the flesh.
4. The penalty f thus continues as long as the hatred of
self that is, true inward penitence continues : namely,
till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The Pope has neither the will nor the power to remit
any penalties, except those which he has imposed by his
own authority, or by that of the canons.
6. The Pope has no power to remit any guilt, except
by declaring and warranting it to have been remitted by
God ; or at most by remitting cases reserved for himself ;
7-
* In the Latin, from the Vulgate, " agite pnitmtiam," sometimes
translated " Do penance." The effect of the following theses
depends to some extent on the double meaning of "pcenitentia "
penitence and penance.
t I.e. "Pcena," the connection between a ^)cea" and "pcenitentia
being again suggestive.
y
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES 415
in which cases, if his power were despised, guilt would
certainly remain.
7. God never remits any man s guilt, without at the
same time subjecting him, humbled in all things, to the
authority of his representative the priest.
8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the
living, and no burden ought to be imposed on the dying,
according to them.
9. Hence the Holy Spirit acting in the Pope does well
for us, in that, in his decrees, he always makes exception
of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Those priests act wrongly and unlearnedly, who,
in the case of the dying, reserve the canonical penances
for purgatory.
11. Those tares about changing of the canonical
penalty into the penalty of purgatory seem surely to
have been sown while the bishops were asleep.
12. Formerly the canonical penalties were imposed not
after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The dying pay all penalties by death, and are
already dead to the canon laws, and are by right relieved
from thorn.
14. The imperfect soundness or charity of a dying
person necessarily brings with it great fear ; and the less
it is, the greater the fear it brings.
15. This fear and horror is sufficient by itself, to say
nothing of other tilings, to constitute the pains of pur
gatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven appear to differ as
despair, almost despair, and peace of mind differ.
17. With souls in purgatory it seems that it must
needs be that, as horror diminishes, so charity increases.
18. Nor does it seem to be proved by any reasoning or
any scriptures, that they are outside of the state of merit
or of the increase of charity.
19. Nor does this appear to be proved, that they are
sure and confident of their own blessedness, at least all
of them, though we may be very sure of it.
20. Therefore the Pope, when he speaks of the plenary
416 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
remission of all penalties, does not mean simply of all,
but only of those imposed by himself.
21. Thus those preachers of indulgences are in error
who say that, by the indulgences of the Pope, a man is
loosed and saved from all punishment.
22. For in fact he remits to souls in purgatory no
penalty which they would have had to pay in this life
according to the canons.
23. If any entire remission of all penalties can be
granted to any one, it is certain that it is granted to none
but the most perfect that is, to very few.
24. Hence the greater part of the people must needs
be deceived by this indiscriminate and high-sounding
promise of release from penalties.
25. Such power as the Pope has over purgatory in
general, such has every bishop in his own diocese, and
every curate in his own parish, in particular.
26. The Pope acts most rightly in granting remission
to souls, not by the power of the keys (which is of no
avail in this case), but by the way of suffrage.
27. They preach man, who say that the soul flies out
of purgatory as soon as the money thrown into the chest
rattles.
28. It is certain that, when the money rattles in the
chest, avarice and gain may be increased, but the suffrage
of the Church depends on the will of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory
desire to be redeemed from it, according to the story told
of Saints Severinus and Paschal ?
30. No man is sure of the reality of his own contrition,
much less of the attainment of plenary remission.
31. Rare as is a true penitent, so rare is one who truly
buys indulgences that is to say, most rare.
32. Those who believe that, through letters of pardon,
they are made sure of their own salvation, will be
eternally damned along with their teachers.
33. We must especially beware of those who say that
these pardons from the Pope are that inestimable gift of
God by which man is reconciled to God.
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES 417
34. For the grace conveyed by these pardons has
respect only to the penalties of sacramental satisfaction,
which are of human appointment.
35. They preach no Christian doctrine, who teach that
contrition is not necessary for those who buy souls out
of purgatory or buy confessional licences.
36. Every Christian who feels true compunction has
of right plenary remission of pain and guilt, even without
letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has
a share in all the benefits of Christ and of the Church
given him by God, even without letters of pardon.
38. The remission, however, imparted by the Pope is
by no means to be despised, since it is, as I have said, a
declaration of the Divine remission.
39. It is a most difficult thing, even for the most
learned theologians, to exalt at the same time in the eyes
of the people the ample effect of pardons and the necessity
of true contrition.
40. True contrition seeks and bvesjpunishment ; while
the ampleness of pardons relaxes it, and causes men to
hate it, or at least gives occasion for them to do so.
41. Apostolical pardons ought to be proclaimed with
caution, lest the people should falsely suppose that they
are placed before other good works of charity.
42. Christians should be taught that it is not the mind
of the Pope that the buying of pardons is to be in any
way compared to works of mercy.
43. Christians should be taught that he who gives to
a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does better than if
he bought pardons.
44. Because, by a work of charity, charity increases and
the man becomes better ; while, by means of pardons, he
does not become better, but only freer from punishment.
45. Christians should be taught that he who sees any
one in need, and passing him by, gives money for pardons,
is not purchasing for himself the indulgences of the Pope,
but the anger of God.
46. Christians should be taught that, unless they have
27
418 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
superfluous wealth, they are bound to keep what is
necessary for the use of their own households, and by no
means to lavish it on pardons.
47. Christians should be taught that, while they are
free to buy pardons, they are not commanded to do so.
48. Christians should be taught that the Pope, in
granting pardons, has both more need and more desire
that devout prayer should be made for him, than that
money should be readily paid.
49. Christians should be taught that the Pope s
pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them ;
but most hurtful, if through them they lose the fear of
God.
50. Christians should be taught that, if the Pope were
acquainted with the exactions of the preachers of pardons,
he would prefer that the Basilica of St. Peter should be
burnt to ashes, than that it should be built up with the
skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians should be taught that, as it would be
the duty, so it would be the wish of the Pope, even to
sell, if necessary, the Basilica of St. Peter, and to give of
his own money to very many of those from whom the
preachers of pardons extract money.
62. Vain is the hope of salvation through letters of
pardon, even if a commissary nay, the Pope himself
were to pledge his own soul for them.
53. They are enemies of Christ and of the Pope who,
in order that pardons may be preached, condemn the word
of God to utter silence in other churches.
54. Wrong is done to the word of God when, in the
same sermon, an equal or longer time is spent on pardons
than on it.
55. The mind of the Pope necessarily is, that if pardons,
which are a very small matter, are celebrated with single
bells, single processions, and single ceremonies, the
Gospel, which is a very great matter, should be preached
with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, and a
hundred ceremonies.
56. The treasures of the Church, whence the Pope
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES 419
grants indulgences, are neither sufficiently named nor
known among the people of Christ.
57. It is clear that they are at least not temporal
treasures, for these are not so readily lavished, but only
accumulated, by many of the preachers.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and of the saints,
for these, independently of the Pope, are always working-
grace to the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell to
the outer man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church
are the poor of the Church, but he spoke according to the
use of the word in his time.
60. We are not speaking rashly when we say that the
keys of the Church, bestowed through the merits of
Christ, are that treasure.
61. For it is clear that the power of the Pope is alone
sufficient for the remission of penalties and of reserved
cases.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the Holy Gospel
of the glory and grace of God.
63. This treasure, however, is deservedly most hateful,
because it makes the first to be last.
64. While the treasure of indulgences is deservedly
most acceptable, because it makes the last to be first.
65. Hence the treasures of the gospel are nets, where
with of old they fished for the men of riches.
66. The treasures of indulgences are nets, wherewith
they now fish for the riches of men.
67. Those indulgences, which the preachers loudly
proclaim to be the greatest graces, are seen to be truly
such as regards the promotion of gain.
68. Yet they are in reality in no degree to be compared
to the grace of God and the piety of the cross.
69. Bishops and curates are bound to receive the
commissaries of apostolical pardons with all reverence.
70. But they are still more bound to see to it with all
their eyes, and take heed with all their ears, that these
men do not preach their own dreams in place of the
Pope s commission.
420 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolical
pardons, let him be anathema and accursed.
72. But he, on the other hand, who exerts himself
against the wantonness and licence of speech of the
preachers of pardons, let him be blessed.
73. As the Pope justly thunders against those who
use any kind of contrivance to the injury of the traffic
in pardons,
74. Much more is it his intention to thunder against
those who, under the pretext of pardons, use contrivances
to the injury of holy charity and of truth.
75. To think that Papal pardons have such power that
they could absolve a man even if by an impossibility-
he had violated the Mother of God, is madness.
76. We affirm, on the contrary, that Papal pardons
cannot take away even the least of venial sins, as regards
its guilt.
77. The saying that, even if St. Peter were now Pope,
he could grant no greater graces, is blasphemy against
St. Peter and the Pope.
78. We affirm, on the contrary, that both he and any
other Pope have greater graces to grant namely, the
Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc. (1 Cor. xii. 9.)
79. To say that the cross set up among the insignia of
the Papal arms is of equal power with the cross of Christ,
is blasphemy.
80. Those bishops, curates, and theologians who allow
such discourses to have currency among the people, will
have to render an account.
81. This licence in the preaching of pardons makes it
no easy thing, even for learned men, to protect the
reverence due to the Pope against the calumnies, or, at
all events, the keen questionings of the laity.
82. As for instance : Why does not the Pope empty
purgatory for the sake of most holy charity and of the
supreme necessity of souls this being the most just of
all reasons if he redeems an infinite number of souls
for the sake of that most fatal thing, money, to be spent
on building a basilica this being a very slight reason ?
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES 421
/ 83. Again : why do funeral masses and anniversary
masses for the deceased continue, and why does not the
Pope return, or permit the withdrawal of the funds
bequeathed for this purpose, since it is a wrong to pray
for those who are already redeemed ?
/ 84. Again : what is this new kindness of God and the
Pope, in that, for money s sake, they permit an impious
man and an enemy of God to redeem a pious soul which
loves God, and yet do not redeem that same pious and
beloved soul, out of free charity, on account of its own
need ?
85. Again : why is it that the penitential canons, loug
since abrogated and dead in themselves in very fact and
not only by usage, are yet still redeemed with money,
through the granting of indulgences, as if they were full
of life ?
86. Again : why does not the Pope, whose riches are
at this day more ample than those of the wealthiest of
of the wealthy, build the one Basilica of St. Peter with
his own money, rather than with that of poor believers ?
87. Again : what does the Pope remit or impart to
those who, through perfect contrition, have a right to
plenary remission and participation ?
88. Again : what greater good would the Church re
ceive if the Pope, instead of once, as he does now, were
to bestow these remissions and participations a hundred
times a day on any one of the faithful ?
89. Since it is the salvation of souls, rather than
money, that the Pope seeks by his pardons, why does he
suspend the letters and pardons granted long ago, since
they are equally efficacious ?
90. To repress these scruples and arguments of the
laity by force alone, and not to solve them by giving
reasons, is to expose the Church and the Pope to the
ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian men
unhappy.
91. If, then, pardons were preached according to the
spirit and mind of the Pope, all these questions would be
resolved with ease nay, would not exist.
422 LUTHER S PRIMARY WORKS
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to
the people of Christ, " Peace, peace," and there is no
peace !
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the
people of Christ, " The cross, the cross," and there is
no cross !
94. Christians should be exhorted to strive to follow
Christ their Head through pains, deaths, and hells,
95. And thus trust to enter heaven through many
tribulations, rather than in the security of peace.
PROTESTATION.
I, Martin Luther, Doctor, of the Order of Monks at
Wittemberg, desire to testify publicly that certain pro
positions against pontifical indulgences, as they call
them, have been put forth by me. Now although, up to
the present time, neither this most celebrated and re
nowned school of ours, nor any civil or ecclesiastical
power has condemned me, yet there are, as I hear, some
men of headlong and audacious spirit, who dare to
pronounce me a heretic, as though the matter had been
thoroughly looked into and studied. But on my part, as
I have often done before, so now too, I implore all men,
by the faith of Christ, either to point out to me a better
way, if such a way has been divinely revealed to any, or
at least to submit their opinion to the judgment of God
and of the Church. For I am neither so rash as to wish
that my sole opinion should be preferred to that of all
other men, nor so senseless as to be willing that the
word of God should be made to give place to fables,
devised by human reason.
ESSAYS
i
OX THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF LUTHER S
LIFE AND TEACHING
BY DR. WAGE
II
ON THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE REFORMA
TION IN GERMANY (15171546)
BY DR. BUCHHEIM
n tbe primary principles of OLntber s
life anb teaching
THE present publication was offered as a contribution to the due
celebration in this country of the fourth centenary of Luther s
birth, in 1883. Much has been written about him, and the general
history of his life and work has been sketched by able pens. But no
adequate attempt has yet been made to let him speak for himself
to Englishmen by his greatest and most characteristic writings.
The three works which, together with the Ninety-five Theses, are in
cluded in this volume, are well known in Germany as the Drci Grosse
Reformations- Sell rif ten ^ or " The Three Great Reformation Treatises "
of Luther ; but they seem never yet to have been brought in this
character before the English public. The Treatise on Christian
Liberty has indeed been previously translated, though not of late
years. But from an examination of the catalogue in the British
Museum, it would appear that no English translation is accessible,
even if any has yet been published, of the Address to the German
Nobility or of the Treatise on the Babylonish Captivity of the
Church. Yet, as is well understood in Germany, it is in these that
the whole genius of the Reformer appears in its most complete and
energetic form. They are bound together in the closest dramatic
unity. They were all three produced in the latter half of the
critical year 152^ when nearly three years controversy, since the
publication of the Theses, on Oct. 31st, 1517> had convinced Luther
of the falseness of the Court of Borne and the hollowness of its
claims ; and they were immediately followed by the bull of excom
munication in the winter of the same year and the summons to
the Diet of Worms in 1521. Luther felt, as he says at the com
mencement of his Address to the German Nobility, that " the time
for silence had passed, and the time for speech had come." He
evidently apprehended that reconciliation between himself and the
425
426 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES O#
Court of Rome was impossible ; and he appears to have made up
his mind to clear his conscience, whatever the cost. Accordingly,
in these three works, with a full heart and with the consciousness
that his life was in his hand, he spoke out the convictions which
had been forced on him by the conduct of the papacy and of the
papal theologians.
Those convictions had been slowly, and even reluctantly,
admitted ; but they had gradually accumulated in intense force
in Luther s mind and conscience ; and when " the time for speech
had come " they burst forth in a kind of volcanic eruption. Their
maturity is proved by the completeness and thoroughness with
which the questions at issue are treated. An insight into the
deepest theological principles is combined with the keenest appre
hension of practical details. In the Treatise ou Christian Liberty..
we have the most vivid of all embodiments of that life of faith
to which the Reformer recalled the Church, and which was the
^mainspring of the Reformation. In the Appeal to the German
Mobility, he first asserted those rights of the laity and of the
temporal power without the admission of which no reformation
would have been practicable, and he then denounced with burning
moral indignation the numerous and intolerable abuses which were
upheld by Roman authority. In the third Treatise, on the Baby
lonish Captivity of the Church, he applied the same cardinal
principles to the elaborate sacramental system of the Church of
Rome, sweeping away by means of them the superstitions with
which the original institutions of Christ had been overlaid, and
thus releasing men s consciences from a vast network of ceremonial
oondage. The rest of the Reformation, it is not too much to say,
was but the application of the principles vindicated in these three
works. They were applied in different countries with varying
wisdom and moderation ; but nothing essential was added to them.
Luther s genius if a higher word be not justifiable brought
forth at one birth, " with hands and feet," to use his own image,
and in full energy, the vital ideas by which Europe was to be
regenerated. He was no mere negative controversialist, attacking
particular errors in detail. His characteristic was the masculine
grasp with which he seized essential and eternal truths, and by their
central light dispersed the darkness in which men were groping.
It occurred therefore to my colleague and myself that a per
manent service might perhaps be rendered to Luther s name, and
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 427
towards a due appreciation of the principles of the Reformation,
if these short but pregnant Treatises were made more accessible to
the English public ; and although they might well be left to speak
for themselves, there may perhaps be some readers to whom a few
explanatory observations on Luther s position, theologically and
politically, will not be unacceptable. My colleague, in the Essay
which follows this, has dealt with the political course of the
Reformation during Luther s career ; and in the present remarks
an endeavour will simply be made to indicate the nature and the
bearings of the central principles of the Reformer s life and work,
as exhibited in the accompanying translations.
It is by no mere accident of controversy that the Ninety-five
Theses mark the starting-point of Luther s career ag_a_Reformer.
TheT subject with which they dealt was not only in close connection
with the centre of Christian^ truth, but it touched the characteristic
thought of the Middle Ages. From the beginning to the end,
those ages had been a stern school of moral and religious discipline,
under what was universally regarded as the Divine authority of the
Church. St. Anselm, with his intense apprehension of the Divine
righteousness and of its inexorable demands, is at once the noblest
and truest type of the great school of thought of which he was the
founder. The special mission of the Church since the days of
Gregory the Great had been to tame the fierce energies of the new
barbarian world, and to bring the wild passions of the Teutonic
races under the control of the Christian law. It was the task to
which the necessities of the hour seemed to summon the Church,
an(L she roused herself to the effort with magnificent devotion.
Monks and schoolmen performed prodigies of self-denial and self-
sacrifice, in order to realise in themselves, and to impose as far as
possible on the world at large, the laws of perfection which the
Church held before their vision. The glorious cathedrals which
arose in the best period of the Middle Ages are but the visible
types of those splendid structures of ideal virtues, which a monk
like St. Bernard, or a schoolman like St. Thomas Aquinas, piled
up by laborious thought and painful asceticism. Such men felt
themselves at all times surrounded by a spiritual world, at once
more glorious in its beauty and more awful in its terrors than
either the pleasures or the miseries of this world could adequately
represent. The great poet of the Middle Ages affords perhaps the
most vivid representation of their character in this respect. The
428 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
horrible images of the Inferno, the keen sufferings of purification
in the Purgatorio, form the terrible foreground behind which the
Paradiso rises. Those visions of terror and dread and suffering
had stamped themselves on the imagination of the mediaeval world,
and lay at the root of the power with which the Church over
shadowed it. In their origin they embodied a profound and noble
truth. It was a high and Divine conception that the moral and
spiritual world with which we are encompassed has greater heights
and lower depths than are generally apprehended in the visible
experience of this life ; and Dante has been felt to be in a unique
degree the poet of righteousness. But it is evident, at the same
time, what a terrible temptation was placed in the hands of a
hierarchy who were believed, in whatever degree, to wield power
over these spiritual realities. It was too easy to apply them, like
the instruments of physical torture with which the age was familiar,
to extort submission from tender consciences, or to make a bargain
with selfish hearts. But in substance the menaces of the Church
appealed to deep convictions of the human conscience, and the mass
of men were not prepared to defy them.
Now it was into this world of spiritual terrors thaju-Irtttfaer-^wftgr
born, and he was in an eminent degree the legitimate child of the
Middle Ages. The turning-point in his history is that the awful
visions of which we have spoken, the dread of the Divine judg
ments, brought home to him by one of the solemn accidents of life,
checked him in a career which promised all worldly prosperity, and
drove him into a monastery. There, as he tells us, he was driven
almost f ran tio byhis vivid realisation of the demands of the~Prvinc
righteousness ontSe one hand, and of his ownlncapacity to satisfy
them on the other. With the intense reality characteristic of his
nature, he took in desperate earnest all that the traditional teaching
and example of the Middle Ages had taught him of the unbending
necessities of Divine justice. But for the very reason that he
accepted those necessities with such earnestness, he did but realise
the more completely the hopelessness of his struggles to bring him
self into conformity with them. It was not because he was out of
sympathy with St. Anselm or St. Bernard or Dante that he burst
the bonds of the system they represented, but, on the contrary,
Nothing was more certain to him than that Divine
justice is inexorable ; no conviction was more deeply fixed in his
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 429
heart than that righteousness is the supreme law of human life.
But the more he realised the truth, the more terrible he found it,
for it seemed to shut him up in a cruel prison, against the bars of
which he beat himself in vain. In one of his most characteristic
passages, in the Introduction to his Latin Works, he describes how
he was repelled and appalled by the statement of St. Paul respect
ing the Gospel that " therein is the righteousness," or justice, u of G od
revealed." For, he says, " however irreprehensible a life I had lived
as a monk, I felt myself before God a sinner, with a most restless
conscience, and I could not be confident that He was appeased
by my satisfaction. I could not therefore love nay, I hated a
God who was just and punished sinners ; and if not with silent
blasphemy, certainly with vehement murmuring, I was indignant
against God. As if, I said, it were not enough that sinners,
miserable and eternally ruined by original sin, should be crushed
with all kind of calamity by the law of the Decalogue, but God in
the Gospel must needs add grief to grief, and by the Gospel itself
must inflict still further on us His justice and anger. I raged with
this savage and disturbed conscience, and I knocked importunately
at Paul in that place, with burning thirst to know what St. Paul
could mean." Such an experience is not a mere revolt against the
Middle Ages. In great measure it is but the full realisation of
their truest teaching. It is Dante intensified, and carried to the
inevitable development of his principles.
But if this be the case, what it meant was that the Middle Ages
had brought men to a deadlock. They had led men up to a gate
so strait that no human soul could pass through it. In the struggle,
men had devised the most elaborate forms of self-torture, and had
made the most heroic sacrifices, and in the very desperation of their
efforts they had anticipated the more vivid insight and experience
of Luther. The effort, in fact, had been too much for human
nature, and the end of it had been that the Church had con
descended to human weakness. The most obvious and easy way
out of the difficulty was to modify, by virtue of some dispensing
authority, the extreme requirements of Divine justice, and by a ; <
variety of half -unconscious, half -acknowledged devices, to lessen
the severity of the strait gate and of the narrow way. Such at
power, as has been said, was an enormous temptation to unscru
pulous Churchmen, and at length it led to the hideous abuses of
such preaching of indulgences as that of Tetzel. In this form the
430 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
matter came before Luther in his office as parish priest and confessor ;
and it will be apparent from the Theses that what first revolts him
is the violation involved of the deepest principles which the Church
of his djLV_2ia4jyLlJght_him. He had learned from it the inexorable
character of the Divine law, the Tnv.eagif.y f^nd blessedness ofthe
Divine discipline of punishment and suffering ; he had learned, as
his first Thesis declares," thaOTie law~6f"Christian life is that of
lifelong penitence ; and he denounced Tetzel s teaching as false to
the Church herself, in full confidence that he would be supported
by his ecclesiastical superiors. When he found that he was not
when, to his surprise and consternation, he found that the papal
theologians of the day, under the direct patronage of the Pope and
the bishops, were ready to support the most flagrant evasions
of the very principles on which their power had originally been
based then at length, though most reluctantly, he turned against
them, and directed against the corrupted Church of the close of
the Middle Ages the very principles he had learned from its best
representatives and from its noblest institutions.
Luther, in the course of his spiritual struggles, had found the
true deliverance from what we have ventured to call that deadlock
to which the grand vision of Divine righteousness had led him.
He realised that the strait gate was impassable by any human virtue ;
but he had found the solution in the promise of a supernatural
deliverance which was offered to faith. To quote again his words
in the preface to his Latin works already referred to : " At length
by the mercy of God, meditating days and nights, I observed the
connection of the words, namely, Therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall
live by faith. Then I began to understand the justice of God to
be that by which the just man lives by the gift of God, namely, by
faith, and that the meaning was that the Gospel reveals that justice
of God by which He justifies us beggars through faith, as it is
written, The just shall live by faith. Here I felt myself ab
solutely born again ; the gates of heaven were opened, and I had
entered paradise itself. From thenceforward the face of the whole
Scriptures appeared changed to me. I ran through the Scriptures,
as my memory would serve me, and observed the same analogy in
other words as, thework of God, that is, the work which God
works in us ; the^strength ol God,"1!IiaTwtE!rwmcn Me makes us
strong ; the wisdom of God, that with which He makes us wise ;
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 431
the power of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God. And
now as much as I had formerly hated that word the justice of
God, so much did I now love it and extol it as the sweetest of words
to me ; and thus that place in Paul was to me truly the gate of
paradise." In other words, Luther had realised that the Gospel,/
while reasserting the inexorable nature of the moral law andj
deepening its demands, had revealed a supernatural and Divine
means of satisfying and fulfilling it. All barriers had thus been
removed between God and man, and men had been placed in the
position of children living by faith on His grace and bounty. He
offers to bestow upon them the very righteousness He requires
from them, if they will but accept it at His hands as a free gift.
Their true position is no longer that of mere subjects living under
a law which they must obey at their peril. They may, indeed, by
their own act remain in that condition, with all its terrible con"
sequences. But God invites them to regard Him as their Father,
to live in the light of His countenance, and to receive from
the daily food of their souls. The most intimate personal relation
is thus established between Himself and them ; and the righteousv
ness which by their own efforts they could never acquire He ig^
ready to create in them if they will but live with Him in faith and
trust. That faith, indeed^ musi_neds be the beginning, and the
most essential condition, of this Divine life. Faith is the first
condition of all fellowship between persons ; and if a man is to live
in personal fellowship with God, he must trust Him absolutely,
believe His promises, and rest his whole existence here and here
after upon His word. But let a man do this, and then God s law
ceases to be like a flaming sword, turning every way, with too fierce
an edge for human hearts to bear. It assumes the benignant glow
of a revelation of perfect righteousness which God Himself will
bestow on all who ask it at His hands.
This belief is essentially bound up with a distinction on which
great stress is laid in the Theses. It touches a point at once of the
highest theological import and of the simplest practical experience.
This is the Higfjpp.tinn >"^iwjaen guilt and punishment, or, in other
words, between personal forgiveness and the remission of the con
sequences of sins. In our mutual relations, a son may be forgiven
by his father, a wrong-doer by the person whom he has injured, and
yet it may neither be possible nor desirable that the offender should
be at once released from the consequences of his offence. But to
432 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
all generous hearts the personal forgiveness is infinitely more
precious than the remission of the penalty, and Luther had learned I
from the Scriptures to regard our relation to God in a similar light/ \
He realised that he must live, here and hereafter, in- persrmaj
relationship to God ; and the forgivejiess of God, the removal from
him, in God s sight, of the imputation and the brand of guilt, his
reception into God s unclouded favour this was the supreme
necessity of his spiritual existence. If this were assured to him,
not only had he no fear of punishment, but he could welcome it,
whatever its severity, as part of the discipline of the Divine and
loving hand to which he had trusted himself. His deepest indigna
tion, consequently, was aroused^by preaching which, under official
sanction, urged men to buy in4ulgence_from punishment, of what
ever kind, as practically the greatest spiritual benefit they could
obtain ; and he devoted his whole energy to assert the supreme
blessing of that remission from guilt of which the preachers of
indulgences said practically nothing. It is this remission of guilt,
this personal forgiveness, which is the essential element in the
justification of which he spoke. It involves of course salvation
from the final ruin and doom which sin, and the moral corruption
of our nature, would naturally entail ; but its chief virtue does not
consist in deliverance from punishment, nor does it in any way
derogate from the truth that " we must all appear before the
judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be
good or bad." What it taught men was to accept all God s judg
ments and discipline in perfect peace of soul, as being assured of
His love and favour.
No divine, in fact, has ever dwelt with more intense cpnvictioji
on the blessedness of the discipline of suffering and of the Cross.
The closing^Theses expruaij hisnteefoest feelings in this respect, and
a passage in one of his letters, written before the controversy about
indulgences had arisen, affords a most interesting illustration of
the manner in which the principles he came forward to assert had
grown out of his personal experience. "Away," he says in the
Ninety-second and Ninety-third Theses, u with all those prophets
who say to the people of Christ, Peace, peace, and there is no peace.
Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, The
Crosp, the Cross, and there is no cross." These somewhat enigmatic
expressions are at once explained in the letter referred to, written.
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 433
to a prior of the Augustinian order on the 22nd of June, 1516. *
He says,
" You are seeking and craving for peace, but in the wrong order.
For you are seeking it as the world giveth, not as Christ giveth.
Know you not that God is wonderful among His saints, for this
reason : that He establishes His peace in the midst of no peace, that
is, of all temptations and afflictions ? It is said, Thou shalt dwell in
the midst of thine enemies. The man who possesses peace is not
the man whom no one disturbs that is the peace of the world ; he
is the man whom all men and all things disturb, but who bears all
patiently, and with joy. You are saying with Israel, Peace, peace/
and there is no peace. Learii to say rather with Christ, The
Cross, the Cross, and there is no cross. For the Cross at once
ceases to be the Cross as soon as you have joyfully exclaimed, in the
language of the hymn,
" Blessed Cross, above all other,
One and only noble tree. "
One other extract of the same import it may be well to quote
from these early letters, as it is similarly the germ of one of the
noblest passages in Luther s subsequent explanation of the Ninety-
five Theses.f The letter was addressed to a brother Augustinian
on the 15th of April, 1516. Luther says,
" The Cross of Christ has been divided throughout the whole
world, and every one meets with his own portion of it. Do not
you therefore reject it, but rather accept it as the most holy relic,
to be kept, not in a gold or silver chest, but in a golden heart, that
is, a heart imbued with gentle charity. For if, by contact with the
flesh and blood of Christ, the wood of the Cross received such
consecration that its relics are deemed supremely precious, how
much more should injuries, persecutions, sufferings, and the hatred
of men, whether of the just or of the unjust, be regarded as the
* Letters, edited by De Wette, i. 27.
f It is a pleasure to be able to refer for this passage to the first volume of
the new Critical Edition of Luther s Works, now in course of publication,
in Germany, p. (J13, line 21. This magnificent edition, prepared under the
patronage of the German Emperor, is the best of all contributions to the
Commemoration of 1883. It must supersede all other editions, and it ought
to find a place in all considerable libraries in England. A translation
of the passage in question will be found in the Bampton Lectures of the
present writer, p. 186.
28
434 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OP
most sacred of all relics relics which, not by the mere touch of
His flesh, but by the charity of His most bitterly tried heart and
of His Divine will, were embraced, kissed, blessed, and abundantly
consecrated ; for thus was a curse transformed into a blessing, and
injury into justice, and passion into glory, and the Cross into joy." *
The few letters, in fact, in our possession, written by Luther
before he came forward in 1517, are sufficient to afford the most
vivid proof both of the_mature though + \\pti AYpprienp.p in which
his convictions were rooted^and oftheir being prompted, not by
the spirit of reckless confidence to which they have sometimes been
ignorantly ascribed, but by the deepest sympathy with the lessons
of the Cross. The purport of his characteristic doctrine of justi
fication by faith was not to give men the assurance of immunity
from suffering and sorrow, as the consequence of sin, but to give
them peace of conscience and joy of heart in the midst of suclj
punishments. What it proclaimed was that, if men would but
believe it, they could at any moment grasp God s forgiveness, and
live henceforth in the assured happiness of His personal favour and
love. Of this blessing His promise was the only possible warrant,
and, like all other promises, it could only be accepted by faith.
Every man is invited to believe it, since it is offered to all for
Christ s sake ; but, by the nature of the case, none can enjoy it who
do not believe it.
The ground, however, on which this promise was based affords
another striking illustration of the way in which Luther s teaching
was connected with that of the Middle Ages. Together with that
keen apprehension of the Divine judgments and of human sin just
mentioned, the awful vision of our Lord s sufferings and of His
atonement overshadowed the whole thought of those times. St.
Anselm, in the Cur Deus Homo, had aroused deeper meditation on
this subject than had before been bestowed upon it ; and in this, as
in other matters, he is the type of the grand school of thought
which he founded. As in his mind, so throughout the Middle Ages,
in proportion to the apprehension of the terrible nature of the
Divine justice is the prominence given to the sacrificial means for
averting the Divine wrath. The innumerable masses of the later
Middle Ages were so many confessions of the deep-felt need of
atonement ; and, formal as they ultimately became, they were in
* Letters, edited by De Wette, i. 19,
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 435
intention so many cries for forgiveness from the terror-struck
consciences of sinful men and women. Luther was a true child of
the Church in his keen apprehension of the same need, and it was
precisely because he realised it with exceptional truth and depth
that he was forced to seek some deeper satisfaction than the offer
ing of masses could afford. He reasserted the truth that the need
had been met and answered once for all by the sacrifice on the
Cross ; and by proclaiming the sufficiency of that one eternal offer
ing he swept away all the " sacrifices of masses," while at the same
time he provided the answer to the craving to which they testified.
The doctrine of the Atonement, as asserted at the Keformation, is|
the true answer to tEat cry of the human conscience which the
Church of the preceding age had vainly endeavoured to satisfy. 1
The ;Sacrament, of which the Mass was a perversion, was thutf
restored to its true character as a pteflge and an instrument of
blessings bestowed by God, instead of a propitiatory offering on the
part of men. The cross of Christ, the favourite symbol of the
mediaeval Church, was thus held aloft by the Reformer iff" still
deeper reality, as the central symbol of the Church s message, and as
the one adequate ground for the faith to which he called men.
Now the view of the Christian life involved in this principle
of justification by faith found its most complete and beautiful
expression in the treatise On Christian Liberty, translated in this
volume ; and a brief notice of the teaching of that treatise will
best serve to explain the connection between Luther s cardinal
doctrine and the other principles which he asserted. As is explained
at the close of the introductory letter to Leo X. (p. 255), he designed
it as a kind of peace-offering to the Pope, and as a declaration of
the sole objects he had at heart, and to which he desired to devote
his life. " It is a small matter," he says, "if you look to its bulk,
but unless I mistake, it is a summary of the Christian life in small
compass, if you apprehend its meaning." In fact, it presents the
most complete view of Luther s theology, alike in its principles
and in its practice, almost entirely disembarrassed of the contro
versial elements by which, under the inevitable pressure of
circumstances, his other works, and especially those of a later
date, were disturbed. Perhaps the only part of his works to
compare with it in this respect is the precious collection of his
House-postills, or Exposition of the Gospels for the Sundays of
the Christian Year. They were delivered within his domestic
436 ON 2 HE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OP
circle, and recorded by two of his pupils, and though but im
perfectly reported, they are treasures of evangelical exposition,
exhibiting in a rare degree the exquisitely childlike character of
the Reformer s faith, and marked by all the simplicity and the
poetry of feeling by which his mind was distinguished. It is by
such works as these, and not simply by his controversial treatises
or commentaries, that Luther must be judged, if we wish either
to understand his inner character, or to comprehend the vast
personal influence he exerted. But ^in_its__essence the Gospel
which he preached, the substance of what he had learned from
the temptations, the prayers, the meditations tentationes, orationes,
meditationes of his life as a monk, is sufficiently embodied in the
short Treatise on Christian Liberty.
The argument of tne treatise is summed up, with the antithetical
force so often characteristic of great genius, in the two propositions
laid down at the outset : "A Christian man is the most free lord
I of all and subject to none ; a Christian man is the most dutiful
servant of all and subject to every one." The first of these
propositions expresses the practical result of the doctrine of justi
fication by faith. The Christian is in possession of a promise of
God which in itself, and in the assurance it involves, is a greater
blessing to him than all other privileges or enjoyments whatever.
Everything sinks into insignificance compared with this word
and Gospel. "Let us," he says, "hold it for certain and firmly
established that the soul can do without everything except the
word of God, without which none of its wants are provided for.
But, having the word, it is rich and wants for nothing, since it is
the word of life, of truth, of light, of peace, of justification, of
salvation, of joy, of liberty, of wisdom, of virtue, of grace, of glory,
and of every good thing." If it be asked, "What is this word? "
he answers that the Apostle Paul explains it, namely, that " it is
the Gospel of God concerning His Son, incarnate, suffering, risen,
and glorified through the Spirit, the Sanctifier. To preach Christ
is to feed the soul, to justify it, to set it free, and to save it, if
it believes the preaching. . . . For the word of God cannot be
received and honoured by any works, but by faith alone." This
is the cardinal point around which not merely Luther s theology,
but his whole life, turns. God had descended into the world, had
spoken to him by His Son, His Apostles, the Scriptures, and the
, voice of the Church, and promised him forgiveness in the present,
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 437
and final deliverance from evil in the future, if he would but
trust Him. The mere possession of such a promise outweighed in \
Luther s view all other considerations whatever, and absolute faith
was due to it. No higher offence could be offered to G-od than to
reject or doubt His promise, and at the same time no higher honour
could be rendered Him than to believe it. The importance and
value of the virtue of faith is thus determined entirely by the
promise on which it rests. These " promises of God are words of
holiness, truth, righteousness, liberty, and peace, and are full of
universal goodness, and the soul which cleaves to them with a firm
faith is so united to them, nay, thoroughly absorbed by them, that
it not only partakes in, but is penetrated and saturated by, all their
virtue. For if the touch of Christ was health, how much more
does that most tender spiritual touch, nay, absorption of the word,
communicate to the soul all that belongs to the word ! In this
way therefore the soul through faith alone, without works, is by
the word of God justified, sanctified, endued with truth, peace,
and liberty, and filled full with every good thing, and is truly made
the child of God. ... As is the word, such is the soul made by
it, just as iron exposed to fire glows like fire on account of its
union with the fire." Moreover, just as it is faith which unites
husband and wife, so faith in Christ unites the soul to Him in
indissoluble union. For " if a true marriage, nay, by far the most
perfect of all marriages, is accomplished between them for human
marriages are but feeble types of this one great marriage then it
follows that all they have becomes theirs in common, as well good
things as evil things ; so that whatsoever Christ possesses the
believing soul may take to itself and boast of as its own, and
whatever belongs to the soul Christ claims as His. . . . Thus the Jfj .
believing soul, by the pledge of its faith in Christ, becomes free f /
from all sin, fearless of death, safe from hell, and endowed with
the eternal righteousness, life and salvation of its Husband Christ."
It is essential to dwell upon these passages, since the force of
the Reformer s great doctrine cannot possibly be apprehended as
long as he is supposed to attribute the efficacy of which he speaks
to any inherent quality in the human heart itself. It is the word
and promise of God which is the creative force. But this summons
a man into a sphere above this world, bids him rest upon the
Divine love which speaks to him, and places him on the eternal
foundation of a direct covenant with God Himself in Christ. As
438 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
in the Theses, so in this treatise, Luther reiterates that it in no
way implies exemption from the discipline of suffering. " Yea," he
says, " the more of a Christian any man is, to so many the more
evils, sufferings, and deaths is he subject, as we see in the first
place in Christ the first-born and in all His holy brethren." The
power of which he speaks is a spiritual one " which rules in the
midst of enemies, in the midst of distresses. It is nothing else
than that strength is made perfect in my weakness, and that I can
turn all things to the profit of my salvation ; so that even the
cross and death are compelled to serve me and to work together
for my salvation." " It is a lofty and eminent dignity, a true and
almighty dominion, a spiritual empire, in which there is nothing so
good, nothing so bad, as not to work together for my good, if only
I believe."
If we compare this language with those conceptions of spiritual
terror by which Luther had been driven into a monastery, and
under which, like so many in his age, he had groaned and struggled
in despair, we can appreciate the immense deliverance which he had
experienced. The Divine promise had lifted him " out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death, and had broken his bonds in
sunder." It is this which is the source of the undaunted and
joyful faith which marks the whole of the Reformer s public
career. " Whose heart," he exclaims, " would not rejoice in its
inmost core at hearing these things? Whose heart, on receiving
so great a consolation, would not become sweet with the love of
Christ, a love to which it can never attain by any laws or works ?
Who can injure such a heart, or make it afraid? If the conscious
ness of sin or the horror of death rush in upon it, it is prepared
to hope in the Lord, and is fearless of such evils and undisturbed,
until it shall look down upon its enemies." Such a conviction,
uttered in such burning language, lifted the same cloud of darkness
and fear from the hearts of the common people of that day, and
was welcomed as good tidings of great joy by multitudes of
burdened and terror-stricken hearts. Nothing is more characteristic
of Luther s preaching, and of the Reformers who follow him, than
the sense they display that they have before them souls " weary
and heavy-laden." Their language presupposes the prevalence of
that atmosphere of spiritual apprehension and gloom already
described, and their grand aim is to lead men out of it into the
joy and peace and liberty of the Gospel. The consequence is that
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 439
a new confidence, hope, and energy is infused into the moral and
spiritual world of that day. The tone of unbounded joy and hope
which marks the earliest Christian literature, particularly in tke
Apostolic Fathers, reappears in such a treatise as we are considering,
and in the whole religious thought of the Reformers ; and it would
almost seem as if the long agony of the Middle Ages had but
enhanced the joy of the final deliverance.
It is unnecessary, for our present purpose, to dwell long upon
the second point of the treatise, in which Luther illustrates his second
proposition : that " a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of
all and subject to every one." It will be enough to observe that
Luther is just as earnest in insisting upon the application of faith
in the duties of charity and, self -discipline, as upon the primary
importance of faith itself. The spirit of faith, he says, " applies
itself with cheerfulness and zeal" to restrain .and repress the
impulses of the lower nature. u Here works begin ; here a man
must not take his ease ; here he must give heed to exercise his
body by fastings, watchings, labo ur, and other reasonable discipline,
so that it may be subdued to the spirit, and obey and conform
itself to the inner man and to faith." Similarly he will give
himself up to the service of others, and it is partly with a view to
rendering them such service that he will discipline his body and
keep it in due energy and soundness. He starts from the belief
that God, without merit on his part, has of His pure and free mercy
bestowed on him, an unworthy creature, all the riches of justifi
cation and salvation in Christ, so that he is no longer in want of
anything except of faith to believe that this is so. For such a
Father then, who has overwhelmed him with these inestimable
riches of His, must he not freely, cheerfully, and from voluntary
zeal, do all that he knows will be pleasing to Him and acceptable
in His sight V " I will therefore/ he says, " give myself as a sort
of Christ to my neighbour, as Christ has given Himself to me ;
and will do nothing in this life except what I see will be needful,
advantageous, and wholesome for my neighbour, since by faith I
abound in all good things in Christ." These practical considerations
will afford the measure by which a man determines the discipline
to which he subjects himself and the ceremonies which he observes.
They will not be observed for their own sake, _but as means to an
end, and therefore will never be practised in excess, as though there
-were some merit in the performance of them. They are like the
440 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
scaffoldings of builders, valuable only as a temporary assistance
in the construction of the building itself. " We do not condemn
works and ceremonies ; nay, we set the highest value on them. We
only condemn that opinion of works which regards them as con
stituting true righteousness." In asserting these principles, Luther
was certainly putting the axe to the root of the portentous growth
of ascetic and ceremonial observances which prevailed in his day,
and which were too generally regarded as of the very essence of
religion. He enabled men, as it were, to look on such ceremonies
from the outside, as a thing external to them, and to reduce or
rearrange them with a simple view to practical usefulness. But
no more earnest exhortations to due self-discipline, and to true
charity could well be found than are contained in the second part
of the De Libertate.
It will be evident, however, what a powerful instrument of
reformation was placed in men s hands by the principles of this
treatise. Every Christian man, by virtue of the promise of Christ,
was proclaimed free, so far as the eternal necessities of his soul
were concerned, from all external and human conditions whatever.
Nothing, indeed, was further from Luther s intention or inclination!
than the overthrow of existing order, or the disparagement of any
existing authority which could be reasonably justified. His letter
to Pope Leo, prefixed to the treatise we have been considering, shows
that, while denouncing unsparingly the abuses of the Court of Rome,
he was sincere in his deference to the see of Rome itself. But the
principle of Justification by Faith enabled him to proclaim that if
that see or any existing Church authority misused its power, and
refused to reform abuses, then, in the last resort, the soul of man
could do without it. In that day at all events and perhaps in our
own to a greater extent than is sometimes supposed this conviction
supplied the fulcrum which was essential for any effectual reforming
movement. As is observed by the Church historian Gieseler, in his
admirable account of the early history of the Reformation, the
papacy had ever found its strongest support in the people at large.
In spite of all the discontent and disgust provoked by the corruption
of the Church and the clergy, an enormous though indefinite
authority was still popularly attributed to the Pope and the ecclesi
astical hierarchy. The Pope was believed to be in some sense or
other the supreme administrator of spiritual powers which were
effectual in the next world as well as in the present ; and consequently
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 441
when any controversy with the Church came to a crisis men shrank
from direct defiance of the papal authority. They did not feel
that they had any firm ground on which they could stand if they
incurred its formal condemnation ; and thus it always had at its
command, in the strongest possible sense, the ultima ratio of rulers.
The convictions to which Luther had been led at once annihilated
these pretensions. " One thing, and one alone," he declared, "is
necessary for life, justification, and Christian liberty : and that is
the most holy word of God, the Gospel of Christ." As we have
seen, he proclaimed it "for certain, and firmly established, that the
soul can do without everything except the word of God." It is
the mission of the Christian ministry, in its administration of the
word and sacraments, to convey this Gospel to the soul, and to
arouse a corresponding faith. But the promise is not annexed
indissolubly to that administration, and the only invariable rule of
salvation is that " the just shall live by faith." By this principle,
that vague fear of the spiritual powers of the hierarchy was removed,
and men were endowed with real Christian liberty.
But the principle went still further ; for it vindicated for the laity
the possession of spiritual faculties and powers the same in kind as
those of the clergy. All Christian men are admitted to the privi
lege of priesthood, and are " worthy to appear before God to pray
for others, and to teach one another mutually the things which are
of God." In case of necessity, as is universally recognised, baptism
can be validly administered by lay hands ; and English divines, of
the most unimpeachable authority on the subject, have similarly
recognised that the valid administration of the Holy Communion
is not dependent on the ordination of the minister by episcopal
authority.* Luther urges accordingly that all Christians possess
virtually the capacities which, as a matter of order, are commonly
restricted to the clergy. Whether that restriction is properly
dependent upon regular devolution from apostolic authority, or
whether the ministerial commission can be sufficiently conferred by
appointment from the Christian community or congregation as a
whole, becomes on this principle a secondary point. Luther pro
nounced with the utmost decision in favour of the latter alternative ;
but the essential element of his teaching is independent of this
* See, for instance, Bishop Cosin s Works, Appendix, vol. i., p. 31, in the
Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology.
442 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
question. By whatever right the exercise of the ministry may be
restricted to a particular body of men, what he asserted was that
the functions of the clergy are simply ministerial, and that they do
but exercise, on behalf of all, powers which all virtually possess.
This principle Luther proceeded to assert in the first of the
treatises translated in this volume : the Address to the Christian
Nohihtji of the German Nation respecting the Reformation of the
CJiristian Estate. This treatise is perhaps the one which appealed
most widely and directly to the German nation at large. Luther
completed it at the very moment when the bull of excommunication
against him was being prepared, and it contributed, perhaps more
than anything, to paralyse the influence of that bull with the mass
of the people and their lay leaders. It appeared in August, 1520,
and by the 18th of that month more than four thousand copies had
been already dispersed a prodigious circulation, considering the
state of literature at that day. The reader, however, will not be
surprised at this popularity of the treatise, when he sees with what
astonishing vigour, frankness, humour, good sense, and at the same
time intense moral indignation, Luther denounces in it the corrup
tions of the Church, and the injuries inflicted by the Court of
Rome on the German people. So tremendous an indictment,
sustained with such intense and concentrated force, could hardly
be paralleled in literature. The truth of the charges alleged in it
could be amply sustained by reference to Erasmus s works alone,
particularly to the Encomium Morice ; but Erasmus lacked alike
the moral energy necessary to rouse the action of the laity, and the
spiritual insight necessary to justify that action. Luther possessed
both ; and it was the combination of the two which rendered him so
mighty a force. It is this perhaps which essentially distinguishes
him from previous reformers. They attacked particular errors and
abuses, and deserve unbounded honour for the protests they raised ;
and Wycliffe, in particular, merits the homage of Englishmen as one
of the chief motive powers in the first reforming movement. But
they did _npt_ assert, at least with sufficient clearness, the central
principles without which all reform was impracticable that of the
equal rights of laity and clergy, and that of the soul s independence
of all human power, by virtue of the truth of justification by faith.
Luther s doctrine of Christian liberty was the emancipation alike
of individuals and of the laity at large. It vindicated for the whole
lay estate, and for all ranks and conditions of lay life, a spiritual
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 443
dignity, and a place in the spiritual life of the Church. It restored
a sense of independent responsibility to all natural authorities ;
and it reasserted the sacredness of all natural relations. Practically,
even if not theoretically, the Roman system had disparaged the
ordinary relations of life as compared with the so-called " religious "
or ecclesiastical. Luther, by pjacing all men and women on the same
spiritual standing-ground, swept away any such privileges] and gave
men as clear a conscience, and as great a sense of spiritual dignity,
in the ordinary duties of marriage, of fatherhood, of government,
and in the common offices of life, as in any ecclesiastical order.
The Address to the Nobility of the German Nation exhibits
these principles, and their application to the practical problems of
the day, in the most vigorous and popular form ; and if some
expressions appear too sweeping and violent, due allowance must
be made for the necessity which Luther must have felt of appeal
ing with the utmost breadth and force to the popular mind. But
it remains to consider a further aspect of these principles which
is illustrated by the third treatise translated in this volume : that
on the Babylonish Captivity of the Church. Luther, as has been
seen, was appealing to laity and clergy alike, on the ground of their
spiritual freedom, to abolish the abuses of the Roman Church.
But it became at once a momentous question by what principles
the exercise of that liberty was to be guided, and within what
limits it was to be exerted. In a very short time fanatics sprang
up who claimed to exercise such liberty without any restrictions
at all, and who refused to recognise any standard but that of their
own supposed inspiration. But the service which Luther rendered
in repelling such abuses of his great doctrine was only second to
that of establishing the doctrine itself. The rule of faith and
practice on which he insisted was, indeed, necessarily involved in
his primary principle. Faith, as has been seen, was with him no
abstract quality, but was simply a response to the word and promise
of God. That word, accordingly, in its various forms, was in
Luther s mind the sole creative power of the Christian life. In the
form of a simple promise, it is the basis of justification and of our
whole spiritual vitality ; and similarly in its more general form,
as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, it contains all truths, alike of
belief and of practice, which are essential to salvation here and
hereafter. The word of G-od, in whatever form, whether a simple
promise, or a promise embodied in a sacrament, or a series of
444 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
revelations made by God s Spirit to the soul of man, as recorded in
the Bible, is the grand reality which, in Luther s view, dwarfed all
other realities on earth. It must needs do so, if it be a reality at
all ; but scarcely any one has grasped this truth with such intense
insight as Luther. Consequently, in his view, the Anabaptist, who
hold himself emancipated from the authority of God s word on the
one side, was as grievously in error as the Romanist on the other, who
superseded its authority by that of the Church ; and in applying
his great principle and working out the Reformation, Luther s task
consisted in upholding the due authority of the Scriptures against
the extremes on both sides.
Now in the treatise on the Babylonish Captivity of the Church
he applies this rule, in connection with his main principle, to the
elaborate sacramental system of the Church of Rome. Of the seven
sacraments recognised by that Church, he recognises, strictly speak
ing, only two : ^apijm.and the Lord s Supper ; and the connection
of this conclusion with the central truth he was asserting is a point
of deep interest. Here, too, the one consideration which, in his
view, overpowers every other is the supreme import of a promise
or word of God. But there are two institutions under the Gospel
which are distinguished from all others by a visible sign, instituted
by Christ Himself, as a pledge of the Divine promise. A sign so
instituted, and with such a purpose, constitutes a peculiarly precious
form of those Divine promises which are the life of the soul ; and, for
the same reason that the Divine word and the Divine promise are
supreme in all other instances, so must these be supreme and unique
among ceremonies. The distinction, by which the two sacraments
acknowledged by the Reformed Churches are separated from the
remaining five of the Roman Church, was thus no question of names,
but of things. It was a question whether a ceremony instituted by
Christ s own command, and embodying His own promise in a visible
pledge, could for a moment be put on the same level with cere
monies, however edifying, which had been established solely by the
authority or custom of the Church. It was of the essence of Luther s
teaching to assert a paramount distinction between these classes of
ceremonies, and to elevate the two Divine pledges of forgiveness
and spiritual life to a height immeasurably superior to all other
institutions. He hesitates, indeed, whether to allow an exception
in favour of absolution, as conveying undoubtedly a direct promise
from Christ ; but he finally decides against it, on the ground that
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 445
it is without any visible and Divinely appointed sign, and is after
all only an application of the Sacrament of baptism.
If, moreover, the force of his argument on this subject is to be
apprehended, due attention must be paid to the efficacy which ho
thus attributes to the two sacraments. The cardinal point on which
he insists in respect to them is that they are direct pledges from
God, through Christ, and thus contain the whole virtue of the
most solemn Divine promises. They are, as it were, the sign
and seal of those promises. They are messages from God, not
mere acts of devotion on the part of man. In baptism the point
of importance is not that men dedicate themselves or their children
to Him, but that He, through His minister, gives them a promise
and a pledge of His forgiveness and of His fatherly goodwill.
Similarly in the Holy Communion the most important point is not
the offering made on the part of man, but the promise and assurance
of communion with the body and blood of Christ made on the
part of God. It is this which constitutes the radical distinction
between the Lutheran and the so-called Zwinglian view of the
sacraments. Under the latter view they are ceremonies which
embody and arouse due feelings on the part of men. On the former
principle, they are ceremonies which embody direct messages and
promises from God.
It may be worth while to observe in passing the position which
Luther assumes towards the doctrine of Transubstantiation. What
he is concerned to maintain is that there is a real presence in the
Sacrament. All he is concerned to deny is that transubstantiation
is the necessary explanation of that presence. In other words, it
is not necessary to believe in transubstantiation in order to believe
in the Real Presence. There seems a clear distinction between this
view and the formal doctrine of consubstantiation as afterwards
elaborated by Lutheran divines ; and Luther s caution, at least in
this treatise, in dealing with so difficult a point, is eminently cha-
racteristic of the real moderation with which he formed his views,
as distinguished from the energy with which he asserted them.
Another interesting point in this treatise is the urgency with which
he protests against the artificial restraints upon the freedom of
marriage which had been imposed by the Roman see. It would
have been too much to expect that in applying, single handed, to
so difficult a subject as marriage, the rule of rejecting every re
striction not expressly de clared in the Scriptures, Luther should
446 ON THE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF
have avoided mistakes. But they are at least insignificant in com
parison with the value of the principle he asserted that all questions
of the marriage relation should be subjected to the authority of
Holy Scripture alone. That principle provided, by its inherent
force, a remedy for any errors in particulars which Luther or any
individual divine might commit. The Eoman principle, on the
contrary, admitted of the most scandalous and unlimited elasticity ;
and of all the charges brought by Roman controversialists against
Luther s conduct, none is marked by such effrontery as their
accusations on this point. While there are few dispensations
which their Church is not prepared, for what it considers due
causes, to allow, Luther recalled men s consciences to the Divine
law on the subject. He reasserted the true dignity and sanctity
of the marriage relation, and established the rule of Holy Scripture
as the standard for its due control.
Such are the main truths asserted in the treatises translated in
this volume, and it is but recognising a historical fact to designate
them " first principles of the Reformation." From them, and by
means of them, the whole of the subsequent movement was worked
out. They were applied in different countries in different ways ;
and we are justly proud in this country of the wisdom and
moderation exhibited by our Reformers. But it ought never to be
forgotten that for the assertion of the principles themselves we,
like the rest of Europe, are indebted to the genius and the courage
of Luther. All of those principles justification by faith, Christian
liberty, the spiritual rights and powers of the laity, the true
character of the sacraments, the supremacy of the Holy Scriptures
as the supreme standard of belief and practice were asserted by
the Reformer, as the treatises in this volume bear testimony, almost
simultaneously, in the latter half of the year 1520. At the time
he asserted them, the Roman Church was still in full power ; and
in the next year he had to face the whole authority of the papacy
and of the empire, and to decide whether, at the risk of a fate like
that of Huss, he would stand by these truths. These were the
truths the cardinal principles of the whole subsequent Reforma
tion which he was called on to abandon at Worms ; and his refusal
to act against his conscience ..at_ once translated them into vivid
action and reality. It was one thing for Englishmei^"several
decades after 1520, to apply these principles with the wisdom
and moderation of which we are proud : it was another thing to be
LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING 447
the Horatius of that vital struggle. These graiid facts speak for
themselves, and need only to be understood in order to justify
the honours now paid to the Keformer s memory.
It may not, however, be out of place to dwell in conclusion upon one
essential characteristic of the Reformer s position, which is in danger
at the present day of being disregarded. The general effect of this
teaching upon the condition of the world is evident. It restored
to the people at large, to rulers and to ruled, to clergy and to laity
alike, complete independence of the existing ecclesiastical system,
within the limits of the revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures.
In a word, in Luther s own phrase, it established. Chmtian-Ldbeiiy,
But the qualification is emphatic, and it would be to misunder
stand Luther utterly if it were disregarded. Attempts are made at
the present day to represent him as a pioneer of absolute liberty,
and to treat it as a mere accident of his teaching and his system
that he stopped short where he did. But, on the contrary, the
limitation is of the very essence of his teaching, because that
teaching is based on the supremacy and sufficiency of the Divine
word and the Divine promise. If there were no such word and
promise, no such Divine revelation, and no living God to bring it
home to men s hearts and to enforce His own laws, Luther felt
that his protest against existing authority, usurped and tyrannical
as it might be, would have been perilous in the extreme. But when
men shrank from the boldness of his proclamation, and urged that
he was overthrowing the foundations of society, his reply was that
he was recalling them to the true foundations of society, and
that God, if they would have faith in Him, would protect His own
word and will. The very essence of his teaching is summed up in
the lines of his great Psalm,
u Das Wort sie sollen lasseu stahn
Und kein Dank dazu haben,
Er 1st bei uns wohl auf dein Plan
Mit seinem Geist uud Gaben."
Luther believed that (u>d had laid down the laws which were
essential to the due guidance of human nature, that He had pre
scribed sufficiently the limits within which that nature might range,
and had indicated the trees of which it could not safely eat. To
erect any rules beyond these as of general obligation, to restrict
the free play of nature by any other limitations, he treated as an
448 LUTHER S LIFE AND TEACHING
unjust violation of liberty, which would provoke a dangerous
reaction. But let men be brought face to face with God, and with
His reasonable and merciful laws, let them be taught that He is
their Father, that all His restrictions are for their benefit, all His
punishments for their reformation, all His restraints on liberty for
their ultimate good, and you have then established an authority
which cannot be shaken, arid under which human nature may be
safely left to develop. In this faith, but in this alone, he let loose
men s natural instincts ; he taught men that married life, and lay
life, and all lawful occupations, were holy and Divine, provided they
were carried on in faith and in obedience to G-od s will. The rgsuU-
was a fcnrst of new life wherever the Reformation was adopted,
alike in national energies, in literature, in all social developments,
and in natural science. But while we prize and celebrate the
liberty thus won, let us beware of forgetting, or allowing others to
forget, that it is essentially a ChnstiajoJib^rty, and that no other
free. Luther s whole work, and his whole ^
lay in his recognition of our personal relation to God, and of a
direct revelation, promise, and command, given to us by God. Any
influences, under whatever colour, which tend to obscure the reality
of that revelation, which would substitute for it any mere natural
laws or forces, are undoing Luther s work, and contradicting his
most essential principles. If he was a great Reformer, it was because
he was a great divine ; if he was a friend of the people, it was
because he was the friend of God.
THE POLITICAL COUESE OF THE
EEFOEMATION IN GEEMANY
BY PROFESSOR BUCHHEIM
political Course of tbe IReformation
in (Bermanp (15171546)
THERE is hardly any instance on record in the annals of history
of a single peaceful event having exercised such a lasting and
baneful influence on the destinies of a nation, as the coronation of
Charles the Great at Rome towards the close of the eighth century.
By placing the imperial crown on the head of the then most
powerful ruler in Christendom, Pope Leo III. symbolically estab
lished a spiritual supremacy over the whole Christian world, but
more especially over Germany proper. It is true it was alleged
that the new Cresar was to be considered the secular head of the
Christian world by the side of the spiritual head ; but as it was
the latter who crowned the former, it was evident that the sovereign
pontiff arrogated to himself superior authority over the sovereign
monarch.
Another disadvantage which resulted from that coronation was
the peculiar nature of the newly created dignity, which became
manifest by the designation, applied to Germany, of the "Holy
Roman Empire of the German, nation." This self -contradictory
title was intended to convey the notion that the German emperors
were through transmission from the Greeks the heirs and suc
cessors of the Roman Cassars. They were not to be German
sovereigns of the German monarchy, but Roman emperors of the
German empire.*
It is true the ancient German institution of royalty was not
actually abolished, but it was so much eclipsed by the more
pompous, though recent, dignity that in the course of time its
former existence was almost entirely forgotten, or at least looked
* Cp. pp. 235 sq., in this volume.
451
452 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
upon with contempt, so much so that a German sovereign of the
.fourteenth century Henry VII. considered it an insult to be
addressed as "King of Germany," instead of as "King of the
Romans." Even the German Electoral Princes claimed to exercise
the function of " Roman Senators." The foreign stamp thus
imprinted upon Germany, at the time when she had only just
begun to emerge from a state of barbarism, had therefore a most
pernicious influence on the Germans, diverting as it did the free
development of their national character from its natural course.
Thus it may be truly said that on Christmas Eve of the year 799
Germany was conquered a second time, if not by the Romans, still
by Rome.
It was not long before the conflict between the two principal
elements in the government of the world the secular and the
clerical broke out in the two-headed empire. This antagonism
became manifest even under Charles the Great himself, in spite of
the splendour of his reign and the firmness and circumspection of
his government. The encroachments of the clergy soon showed in
what sense they understood the division of power. It was the
practical application of the old fable about the lion s share. Every
thing was to be done for the clergy, but without it nothing. This
ambitious aim revealed itself more openly and effectively under the
descendants of Charles the Great, the internal dissensions of whose
reigns greatly facilitated the victory of the clerical order in their
interference in secular matters.
Under the powerful rule of Henry I. (919 936), surnamed " The
Fowler," or more appropriately " the founder of the German
Empire" and also under the still more splendid reign of his son,
Otho the Great (936-973), nay, even under the first Prankish
emperors (1024 1056), the authority of the Roman hierarchy was
considerably diminished, while, on the other hand, the influence of
the German clergy at home had greatly increased, which circum
stance was a powerful factor in the conflict between the iron Pope
Gregory VII. and the impetuous and vacillating Emperor Henry IV.
(10561106), and brought about, in conjunction with the high
handed dealings of the self -dubbed " Roman Senators " of Germany,
the degradation of the German empire. The papacy was now in
the zenith of its power and glory, so that Gregory VII. could
boastingly compare the Pope to the sun, and the Emperor to the
moon ; and although Henry IV. ultimately succeeded in taking
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 453
revenge for his humiliation at Canossa, he never could wipe out its
shame, and, what is more, he was unable to suppress or eradicate
the ideas represented by his defeated enemy, which had taken a
firm hold on the minds of men. People believed in the supremacy
of the Pope even when he was driven from his seat of government;
for his realm was of a spiritual kind, and he had his invisible throne,
as it were, in the hearts of Christian believers. An erring pope
was still the visible representative of the Church, and the priests
for the most part remained faithful to him under all circumstances.
Such, however, was not the case with the emperors and the princes.
In the first instance the former had no absolute power ; secondly,
they were elected by men who considered themselves their equals ;
and lastly, from the moment they lost their throne no matter
what the reasons were they ceased to have a claim on the obedience
of the people. The priests wished for a powerful pope, because he
was the natural guardian of their interests ; whilst the German
princes objected to a powerful emperor, because they trembled for
their own independence and local authority.
If the German emperors had not been constantly chasing the
phantom of royal dignity in Italy, in order to be plausibly at
least entitled to the vainglorious designation of " Roman kings,"
they might have directed their whole energy to the consolidation
of their power at home, and have held their own against popes and
Prince-Electors. Unfortunately, however, they were constantly
attracted by the delusive brilliancy of possessions in Italy, as if by
an ignis fatuus ; thus leading on the best forces of Germany to
moral and physical ruin, and leaving their native country an easy
prey to scheming priests and ambitious nobles. The result was
that, towards the end of the eleventh century, the Emperor of
Germany had neither any influence on the priests, who now
depended entirely upon Rome, nor any power over the nobles,
whose fiefs had become hereditary, nor did he possess any consider
able domains or actual revenue in his imperial capacity. He had
nothing but the high-sounding titles of successor of the Cassars and
of ruler of the whole Christian world.
As a matter of course, under these circumstances all progress of
national life and culture was impeded. It did not spring spon
taneously from within, nor did it receive any impulse from without.
The Germans did not much benefit intellectually in any way by their
contact with the Italians. The conquered have oftentimes become
454 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
the teachers of their conquerors, but only when the latter settled
in the vanquished country and made it their home. The German
hordes, however, who crossed the Alps at the behests of their
sovereigns, and urged on by the desire for adventure, warfare, and
rapine, never permanently settled, as a body, in the flowery plains
and nourishing towns of Italy. Numbers of those who survived
the sanguinary battles fought in Italy perished in the unaccustomed
climate ; the others returned home, frequently enriched by plunder
and generally tainted by depraved morals. Thus the Germans did
not even derive that small advantage from their connection with
the Italians who at that time did not themselves possess any
literature or culture in the highest sense of the word which a
permanent settlement in Italy would have conferred on them.
The intellectual life of the Germans did not begin to flourish
before the times of the Hohenstaufen (11381254). Unfortunately
both Frederick I. (Barbarossa) and Frederick II. were almost
constantly engaged in warfare with the popes and the Italians, and
both monarchs, especially the latter, utterly neglected the internal
affairs of Germany, which country became a prey of the sanguinary
contest between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The result was that
Conrad IV., the last king from the Hohenstaufen dynasty in
Germany, ruled without even a shadow of royal authority, and on
his death, in 1254, the dissolution of the old German empire may
be said to have been complete.
During the lawless times of the Interregnum (12541273) the
power of the German princes consolidated itself more and more
amidst the general anarchy. Order was restored, however, by
Rudolf von Hapsburg (12731291), who concerned himself with
the affairs of the country only. He had a right notion of what
a king of Germany should be, and emancipated her though
temporarily only from the fatal connection as an empire with
Rome. More than half a century later the Electoral Princes went
a step further in this direction, by the formation of the Kurverein
(1338), or "Election Union," of Rhens, when the principle was
adopted that the election of German kings depended upon the
Electoral Princes alone, and that the Pope had no voice whatever
in the matter. This patriotic proceeding received, however, a
counter-check in the unworthy dealings of the mercenary Charles IV.
(1347 1378), who repaired to Rome to receive there the crown
from the Pope. He little thought that by resuming the connection
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 455
with Rome he conjured up the greatest danger for his son and
successor, Wenceslaus, who was deposed through the conspiracy of
Boniface IX. with the priests, and for his own influence over the
Electoral Princes.
In the course of time a new power the third Estate arose in
Germany ; namely, the middle classes, as represented by the
thriving cities of the empire. The burghers generally sided with
the emperors, to whom they looked up as their natural protectors
against the exactions of priests and nobles ; but being imbued
with a true mercantile spirit, they did not give away their good
will for nothing ; they asked for sundry privileges as compensating
equivalents. The emperors had therefore now to contend against
three powerful elements : the clergy, the nobles, and the_burghjjr&.
The first were, through then* chief representatives as we have
seen at all times the most dangerous antagonists to imperial
authority, and generally achieved the victory in their contests
with it. It was only during the time in which the papacy had
transferred its seat of government to Avignon that the Romish
hierarchy received a check, chiefly in consequence of the depravit}
of the Papal Court and its surroundings. With the return of
the popes to Rome by the decree of the Council of Constance
(1414 1418), the papacy recovered its former ground ; but this
recovery of the lost authority was external only, for with the
cruel execution of John Huss which no sensible Roman Catholic
ever thought of justifying the papacy received a most fatal blow.
That scandalous crime could not have been committed at a more
un propitious time both for the Roman hierarchy and the dignity
of the councils, which latter pretended, at times at least, to have
received their mandate immediately from Christ, as the sovereign
representatives of the universal Roman Catholic Church. The
reforms in the Church, advocated by the celebrated French
theologians Cardinal Peter d Ailly and Chancellor John Gerson,
had already met with the approval of numerous thinking men, and
the doctrines of Wycliffe had also found, through the teaching of
John Huss and his disciples, a sympathetic echo in the hearts of a
large portion of the Christian community. Had the Council of
Constance shown itself, not magnanimous, but merely just, towards
the Bohemian Reformer, the ascendency of the councils, in general,
over the popes, would probably have been for ever established ;
whilst, as it was, the next great Council at Basle (1431 1449)
456 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
had to give way to the Pope, and the Roman hierarchy was once
more re-established in its former strength and power.
The results of the councils of Constance and Basle were, how
ever, particularly disastrous to Germany. The former brought
about the terrible wars of the Hussites, while the latter was the
indirect cause of placing the imperial power in the hands of
Frederick III. (1440 1493), who was a staunch adherent of the
Pope and delivered over to him the few rights and privileges which
were still left to the German empire. The imperial dignity existed
now in name only ; for Frederick, who, as Heeren says, u had
slumbered away more than half a century on the throne, 1 cared so
little for Germany proper that he remained absent from it for the
space of full twenty-seven years. No wonder then that, whilst the
imperial authority sank to the lowest level, the papal supremacy
rose higher than ever, and the Emperor became nothing more than
the satellite of the Pope. Under these circumstances the German
Princes began to raise the voice of opposition against their sluggish
head ; but as he was supported by the influential and subtle Pius II.,
all their efforts to make a stand against the encroachments of the
Church were in vain.
A new order of things arose, however, when Maximilian, the
son of Frederick III., was elected " Roman king " in I486 by the
Electoral Princes. The young King acquiesced in the constitutional
demands of the Estates for concessions in return for various grants.
Feuds were abolished for ever, an independent Chamber of Justice,
Kammergericht, was established, and Germany received a new im
perial constitution. Nevertheless there were almost constant conflicts
between the adventurous Maximilian and the Imperial Estates, so
that the national unity, earnestly aimed at by both parties, could
not be effected, in consequence of the absence of any connecting link
between them. The only step which Maximilian took for the partial
emancipation of Germany was his assumption of the title of " elected
King of Rome " without being crowned by the Pope, and what is
more, he also adopted the ancient title of " King of Germany." This
designation was, however, not intended to convey at the same time the
notion of a severance from Rome in spiritual matters. This was now
soon to be accomplished, but not by one bearing the imaginary crown
of the Caesars, nor by the decrees of a stately assembly. It was
destined for one lowly born to break the fatal bondage in which
Germany had been for centuries kept in durance vile by Rome.
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 457
II
One of the few blessings which Germany derived in former
times from her otherwise deplorable decentralisation was the
establishment throughout the country of educational and other
beneficial institutions, which even found their way into the most
obscure nooks and corners, where under other political conditions
no Government would have thought of founding any establishment
of the kind. This is the reason why culture and learning but
more especially the latter spread more generally in Germany than
in other countries. What great centralised Government would
ever have chosen the insignificant place of Wittenberg, which
resembled more a village than a town, as the seat of a university,
and this, too, by the side of the universities of Leipzig and Erfurt,
which already enjoyed a high reputation, and were well endowed ?
Yet this was done by the Prince Elector of Saxony, Frederick,
surnamed the Wise. He had himself received a scholarly education,
and it was his legitimate ambition to see his petty electoral
principality adorned by a high-school. The Elector himself was, as
is well known, very poor. The^nly^ means atjiis disposal for such
a learned foundation were the proceeds from the sale of indulgences
in his" electorate which had been collected in 1501 for the purpose
of a war against the Turks. Those moneys were deposited with
him, and he refused to give them up to the Pope even at the
intercession of the Emperor, unless they were employed for the
purpose for which they had been collected. The war against
the Turks was not undertaken at the time, and so Frederick/
employed the money for the endowment of the new university.)
It was also a significant fact that Wittenberg was the first German
university which did not receive its " charter " from the Pope,
but from the then Emperor of Germany : Maximilian I. The
Prince Elector hit further upon the expedient of connecting several
clerical benefices with some of the professorial chairs, and he hoped,
moreover, that the members of the Augustinian order, settled at
Wittenberg, would furnish some teachers for the learned institu
tion, which was established by him in 1502. The connection of
the new university with that order was in many respects an
intimate one. It was specially dedicated to St. Augustine ; and
C
458 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE ,
Staupitz, the vicar of that order at Erfurt, was the first Dean
of the Theological Faculty. Through his influence it was that
several Augustinian monks received a call to the University,
and among those who responded to it was the monk MARTIN
LUTHER.
The early history of the poor miner s son may, in fact, serve as
an illustration of the wholesome spread of education throughout
Germany. Poor as his parents were, he had received a liberal
education, and became, in consequence of the religious turn of his
mind, a monk. It was then in his double capacity of scholar and
priest that he became connected with the university of Wittenberg
(1508), and composed, and sent forth into the world, his famous
Ninety-five Theses, against the wholesale disposal of indulgences
(Oct. 31st, 1517). Luther issued his challenge to the theological
world from religious motives only, and it so happened that it fully
coincided with the political views of the Elector ; but, to the credit
of both prince and monk, it should be remembered that there was
no mutual understanding between them. They had never seen each
other before the publication of the Ninety-five Theses, nor did they
correspond on the subject, although they were of one accord about it.
Frederick always viewed it with disfavour, and begrudged that such
large amounts of money should be sent to Rome under the cloke of
indulgences ; and we have seen how he had employed the proceeds
resulting from their former sale. Now, however, he must have
objected still more to the attempt to drain his poor country, because
the object of the sale was not a holy war if ever a war can be so
called but the alleged erection_of St. Peter s Church. If such was
really the case, it might be truly said that Leo X. undermined the
chair of St. Peter for the sake of the Church of St. Peter. But
people were incredulous. It was whispered that the Pope required
the money for the benefit of his family. Another disagreeable
element in the whole transaction was the then commonly known
fact that the Archbishop of Mentz had actually "farmed" the sale
of the indulgences in his own episcopal territory, on condition that
one half of the proceeds should fall to his share. He had promised
to bear the expenses of obtaining the Pall himself, and having
borrowed a considerable amount of money from the celebrated
house of Fugger, he allowed their agents to travel about in company
with the ~ notorious Tetzel as commercial controllers, and to take
possession of half of the proceeds as they came in. Through this
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 459
and other circumstances the affair assumed the ugly aspect of a very
worldly and mercenary transaction, carried on in the meanest spirit.
There was, besides, a tension between Frederick and the Prince
Elector of Mentz ; it was therefore natural that the step which
Luther had taken should meet with his tacit approval. More than
this Luther did not expect, for he well knew the lethargic character
of Frederick ; but under the circumstances that was quite sufficient,
for the latter granted him shelter and protection, in spite of the
urgent entreaties of zealots to deliver up the bold Augustiniuii
monk at once to Rome.
The defence of the Ninety-five Theses, which Luther transmitted
to the Pope, was of no avail ; for Leo X., urged by the fanatical
Dominican Prierias, so notorious from the Reuchlin trial, cited the
Wittenberg monk before an inquisitorial tribunal at Rome. Now for
the first time it was seen how fortunate it was for Luther and the cause
he defended that he had found a prudent and humane protector in
the prince who exercised sovereign power in his own limited territory.
To repair to Rome under the accusation of heresy would have
been like plunging with open eyes into an abyss. Confiding and
courageous as Luther was, he saw this himself very clearly, and it
was at his request that the Saxon Court preacher, Spalatin, who was
one of his most constant and zealous friends, persuaded the Emperor
Maximilian as well as the Prince Elector both of whom were at
that time (1518) at the Diet of Augsburg that the accused monk
should be arraigned before a German tribunal. Frederick readily
acquiesced, although, as he repeatedly declared, he did not fully
share the views of Luther ; and the Emperor also consented, partly
because he required the moral support of the Prince Elector at the i
approaching election of a successor in the imperial dignity, and i
partly because he hoped one day to make use of the enlightened <
monk in his endeavour to bring about the much-needed reforms^
in the Church. In this sense it undoubtedly was that he said to
Frederick s councillor, Pfeffinger, " Luther is sdre to begin a game
with the priests. The Prince Elector should take good care of the
monk, as he might one day be of use." It seems therefore that
both friends and foes recognised at an early stage the great
capacity which still lay hidden in the insignificant-looking monk.
The Papal Nuncio, Cajetan, discovered at once, in his interview
with him at Augsburg (1518), that he had to do with a superior
power, when he heard the conclusive and thoughtful arguments of
460 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
the Augustinian monk and saw the Divine fire of genius flashing
from his eyes ; and his friends already considered him of importance
sufficient to induce them to bring about his sudden escape at night
time.
Urged by the wrathful Papal Legate not to disgrace the honour
of his electoral house by giving shelter to a heretic friar, Frederick,
encouraged by his own university, drily replied that, as no scholar,
either in his own or in foreign lands, had as yet refuted the theories
of Luther, he would continue to give him shelter until that was
done. This was no subterfuge on the part of Frederick. It was the
key-note of his conduct, from the beginning of the Reformation to
the end of his own life, to have the teachings of Luther properly;
tested by a learned discussion. The Pope, being desirous of securing
the Elector s co-operation at the impending imperial election,
humoured his learned whim, and tried to win him over by unctuous
kindliness. Frederick was still a staunch Roman Catholic. He
possessed a regular treasure of reliques, partly brought home from
the Holy Land, which were displayed for the spiritual benefit of
the devout on certain occasions ; and it was known that he was
yearning for the acquisition of the Golden Rose. Leo X. bestowed
therefore on him that mark of apostolic favour, and despatched
to him as his nuncio the Elector s own agent at Rome, Carl von
Miltitz, a native of Saxony.
What the imperious haughtiness of the pompous Papal Legate
was unable to achieve was, partly at least, effected by the shrewd
bonhomie of Miltitz. He imploringly appealed to Luther s German
good -nature not to create any scandal in the Church; and after
having agreed that the controversy should be submitted for investi
gation to the Archbishop of Treves and the Bishop of Wlirzburg,
he obtained the promise of Luther to observe perfect silence on
religious matters provided his enemies icoidd do the same, and to
write an apologetic letter to the Pope. It is well known how badly
the antagonists of Luther kept faith with him, and that he was
obliged in consequence to break his conditionally promised silence
and to take part in the great public disputation at Leipzig in 1519.
He now had to vindicate against Dr. Eck, his most bitter oppenent,
not only his own honour, but also that of his university, and this
circumstance formed the subject of his justification before the
Prince Elector, to whose personal esteem he attached the highest
value. When, however, that disputation ended, as is the case with
REFORM Al ION IN GERMANY 461
most learned discussions, in something like a drawn battle, Luther /
was driven to a declaration virtually involving his secession from \
Rome.
Ill
About the time when the celebrated disputation was going on
at Leipzig, in which two peasants sons for Dr. Eck was, like
Martin Luther, the son of a peasant took the most prominent
part, another momentous gathering took place at Frankfort-on-the-
Main. The Emperor Maximilian had died on January 12th, 1519,
without being able to secure the succession in the royal dignity
to his grandson Charles, Archduke of Austria and King of Spain
and Naples. More than five months elapsed before the Electoral
Princes assembled for the election of a new emperor, and during
that interval the " Vicariate of the Empire," as it was styled, was
put into the hands of Lewis V. of the Palatinate and of Frederick
the Wise, in accordance with a provision of the "Golden Bull, 1
which placed the regency of the empire during a vacancy in the
hands of the rulers of those electorates for the time being. The
circumstance that the seat of the Imperial Government was at
Wittenberg during the present short Interregnum bestowed not a
little lustre both on Frederick and his university : but the work
of the incipient Reformation was not particularly promoted by it,
because it coincided with the truce which Luther faithfully kept
until it was faithlessly broken by his antagonists.
There were three aspirants to the imperial throne of Germany :
first and foremost, Maximilian s grandson Charles, Archduke of
Austria ; secondly, Francis I., King of France ; and thirdly, King
Henry VIII. of England. The last-named monarch did not, however,
seriously press his candidature. It was only when he saw the two
other sovereigns contending for the prize that he deemed the moment
favourable for securing it to himself. When he received, however,
the practical hint that the barren honour would not be worth the
trouble and the necessary expenditure, and when, moreover, it was
taken into account that since the introduction of Christianity into
England this country did in no way belong to the " Holy Roman
Empire," he prudently retired from all competition. Not so the
ambitious Francis I., who spared neither promises nor bribes to
secure his election, and obtained a party among the Electoral Princes.
462 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
If it should be asked how it was actually possible that foreign
kings ever thought of aspiring to a throne to which they had not
even the shadow of a claim, the reason must be found in the above-
mentioned circumstance that the imperial dignity of Germany was
not a national institution, and that any Christian prince might
think himself justified in aspiring to the crown of the "Holy
Roman Empire," accidentally bestowed upon the " German nation."
Were they not aware that in the thirteenth century two ecclesias
tical Electoral Princes raised to the German throne Richard of
Cornwall and King Alfonso of Castile respectively, in considera
tion of great bribes? And had not the French king sufficient
wealth to buy the votes of both the secular and ecclesiastic
Electoral Princes ? He had, moreover, the precedent before him
that Philip VI. of Valois had, about a century before, endeavoured
to transfer the dignity of the "Holy Roman Empire" from the
Germans to the " Franks," to whom it originally belonged.
Both the French and the Austrians lavishly distributed money in
all directions. Frederick the Wise alone kept his hands pure, and
he strictly prohibited even his officials and servants from accepting
any presents. For a moment the Princes had turned their eyes to
Frederick himself, but he had no confidence in his capability to
sustain worthily and efficiently the functions incumbent upon the
imperial dignity. The empire as such invested him with no
material power and resources, and his own dynastic power was
insignificant. How should he be able to hold his own against the
ambitious and frequently turbulent Princes ? Why, even under
the " Imperial Vicariate " the peace of the land was broken. He
therefore declined the proffered honour, and the Princes, fearing
lest the powerful French king should curb their independence,
suddenly remembered that he was a foreign sovereign, and that, in
order to keep up the national freedom of the empire, they should
give the preference to the Archduke Charles, who was, partially at
least, of German descent. The latter, to whom also Frederick of
Saxony finally gave his vote, was accordingly chosen emperor ; and
he soon proved that it is not always the kinship which constitutes
the sympathetic bond between a sovereign and his subjects.
The time which elapsed from the election of Charles to his
arrival in Germany, more especially to his presence at the Diet of
Augsburg in 1521, was most propitious for the spread of the work
cf Luther. It may be said that during that interval the Ref orma-
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 463
tion assumed shapejmd_form. Luther indefatigably continued to
inculcate his religious principles on the minds of the people by
sermons and numer^s_pjiblications ; and he found adherents so
readily everywhere among all classes of the German nation that
Frederick, who still hoped the schism might be prevented by
learned discussions, was of opinion that if it should be attempted
to suppress his teachings by force instead of by refutation, there
would arise a great storm in Germany. Several distinguished
members of the lower nobility, such as the brave Hutten and the
martial Sickingen and many others, placed their swords at the
disposal of Luther ; the former was already active for him with
the all-powerful weapon of the pen. Amidst this general com
motion the humble Augustinian monk sent forth his powerful
appeal entitled, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation
concerning the Reformation of the Christian Estate.* This pro
duction, which is rightly considered as the manifesto of the
Reformation, clearly shows that Luther not only saw the clerical
abuses, but also the political disadvantages, under which Germany
laboured and groaned. He was not what we should call a politician,
but, unlike so many of his learned countrymen, he had a true
patriotic instinct. The mere title of the appeal seems already to
contain a protest against the designation of Germany as the Holy
Roman Empire. That he addressed his appeal to the "Nobility"
in general is only an additional proof of the remarkable tact which
guidedjiim throughout his career.
-^Some historians have blamed Luther for not having appealed to
the "People." But the reproach is wrong. The German people in
general had no power whatever in those days. It only obtained in
the course of time a voice in the management of public affairs
through the Reformation. It was Luther who proclaimed the
freedom of man, or rather the " Christian man." The acknowledg
ment of the political rights of the middle classes may therefore be
said to date from the Reformation only. In appealing to the German
nobility, Luther addressed himself to the legitimate representatives
of Germany ; and he did so in the candid belief that it was only
necessary to open the eyes of those in power in order to effect at
once the abolition of any abuses. To address himself to the people
would have required his placing himself at the head of a revolution,
* Pp. 157244 in this volume.
464 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
but Luther was no revolutionist. It should also be remembered
that a large number of noblemen had offered him support and
shelter. Political power lay mainly in the hands of the nobles,
who alone, in conjunction with the Emperor, could decide on the
destiny of Germany. It is, however, a significant fact that he
wrote his appeal, not in Latin, but in German. In this way,
indeed, he actually addressed himself to the German people.
In the meantime Leo X. had hurled his bull of excommunication
against Luther. When it arrived at Wittenberg both the university
and the Government of the Prince Elector decided to take no notice
of it, and now it again became manifest what a powerful support
Luther had found in Frederick. On his return journey from the
coronation of Charles V. at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1520, the Papal
Legates Aleander and Caraccioli demanded of the Elector at
Cologne, in the name of the Pope, to give effect to the bull by
burning the writings of Luther and punishing him as a heretic, or
to deliver him to the Pope. The threat uttered on this occasion
was certainly curious. In case the papal bull should not meet
with ready obedience in Germany, the Legates menaced the country
with the withdrawal of the title of the " Holy Roman Empire."
Germany would forfeit that dignity in the same way as the Greeks
had lost it after having seceded from the Pope. A more fortunate
fate, in truth, could not have befallen the German empire than its
total political severance from Rome ; but in those days the empty
glory of the baneful union was still highly valued, and so the
Elector asked time to consider.
Erasmus, whom Frederick consulted, clothed his opinion on the
religious controversy in the humorous reply "that Luther had
sinned in two points : he had touched the crown of the Pope and
the bellies of the monks." In his interview with Spalatin he
Avas still more explicit by expressing his conviction that the attacks
against Luther arose simply from hatred against the enlightenment
jf science and from tyrannical presumption. He further agreed
with Luther in insisting on the question being examined and tried
by the tribunal of public discussion. We know that this opinion
fully coincided with the views of the Elector, and his answer to
the threatening Papal Legates ran in accordance with his views.
His additional and often-repeated assurance that he had never
made common cause with Luther, and that he would greatly
disapprove of it if the latter wrote anything adverse to the Pope,
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 465
was of the greatest importance. This declaration was more decisive
than if he had acknowledged himself openly in favour of the
Reformer: he would then have been considered as a biassed partisan,
whilst now he only played the part of an impartial patron, who
wished to see his protlgi judged by a fair trial. On his return
to Saxony, Frederick sent to Luther a reassuring message ; and I
the latter continued his work by teaching, writing, and preaching, I
unmolested and without remission.
In other parts of Germany the papal bull was proclaimed with
varying and unequal effect. Luther s works were in the first
instance burnt at Louvain, by command of Charles V., in his
capacity of hereditary sovereign of the Netherlands. The same
fate befell them at Cologne and Mentz. It will therefore readily be
acknowledged that it was the Pope and his over-zealous adherents
who drove Luther to the committal of perhaps the boldest act ever
accomplished by a single individual, more especially by one in
Luther s dependent position. By the public burning of the papal Q
bull before the Elstergate of Wittenberg (1520), the act of secession
from Rome was consummated. What no emperor had dared before
him, the humble Augustinian monk accomplished courageously and
deliberately. Well might he do so ! He acted on conviction with
that moral courage which knows no fear, and he had the German
people at his back to support him.*
IV
" Your Majesty must go to Germany and show there some favour
to a certain Martin Luther, who is at the Court of Saxony, and
causes anxiety to the Roman Court by his sermons." Such were
the words which the shrewd Spanish ambassador, Don Juan Manuel,
addressed to Charles V. from Rome in 1520. They were written
at a time when it was still doubtful whether Leo X. would side
in the impending struggle in Italy with the King of France or
with the Emperor of Germany, and, moreover, at a time when
the latter had reason to be dissatisfied with the course the Pope
* In one of his letters to Dr. Eck communicated in the Documenta
Lutherana recently issued by the Vatican the Papal Nuncio Aleander con
fessed that the excitement in consequence of the burning of Luther s works
was so great among the people that he trembled for his own safety.
30
466 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
had taken. Leo X. had consented, in compliance with a petition
from the Castilian Cortes, to introduce some reforms in the exercise
of the Inquisition. This concession was, however, entirely opposed
to the views of the young Emperor, who was completely guided
by his Dominican confessor. Under these circumstances it was
deemed expedient to make use of Luther as a kind of bugbear
in order to frighten the Pope. To people not accustomed to the
tortuous windings of politics it seems of course bewildering that a
heretic should be favoured in one country in order to make it possible
to enforce the rigours of the Inquisition in another country. In like
manner Francis I. acted. In France he persecuted and burnt
mercilessly the opponents of the Roman Catholic Church, whilst in
Germany he befriended the adherents of the Reformation. This
much, however, is certain : had Luther entertained the slightest
suspicion at what price it was intended to extend indulgence to
his work, he would have been the first to scorn that indulgence.
The advice of the diplomatic Spanish ambassador was, however,
not followed. Pope and Emperor came to an amicable under
standing. The former cancelled his concession to the Castilian
Cortes, and promised the coveted assistance against Francis I. in
Italy, whilst the latter pledged himself* to crush the Reformation
and to issue an edict for the execution of the papal bull against
Luther. Now it came to light how ill-advised was the election of
Charles V. as Emperor of Germany. At the time when the
celebrated Diet of 1521 assembled at Worms, the Emperor had his
whole attention directed across the Alps. The affairs of Germany
had only in so far any importance for him as they had any influence
or bearing on the affairs of Italy. He took no note of the great
objects which then agitated the hearts and minds of the Germans,
and had he been able to recognise them, they would have excited
in him no corresponding sympathy. He did not even fully
understand the cultured language as far as it existed in those
days of Germany, being able to speak Low German only. The
political institutions of the country the lingering fragments of
the ancient German liberty were thoroughly distasteful to him.
He was also a bigoted Roman Catholic at heart, and, as we have
seen, entirely opposed to all religious reforms. It must therefore
be acknowledged that among the many historical misfortunes
which have befallen Germany and no country perhaps has
been tried by so many the accession of Charles V, to the throne
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 467
of the German empire was one of the greatest. What might
a German sovereign, with a due appreciation of the political
and religious aspirations of the people, not have achieved at that
important epoch, which was the turning-point in the history of
Germany ?
After the Emperor had laid his edict regarding the papal bull
before the Estates, they made him earnest representations, alleging
that the people were throughout Germany so thoroughly impreg
nated by the doctrines of Luther that any violent measures under
taken against him would call forth the greatest commotion. They
submitted therefore to Charles the opinion that the Reformer
should be summoned to Worms, not for the sake of any argumenta
tive or learned disputation, but merely for a summary interrogatory.
In case he should recant his doctrines concerning the Christian faith
he might further be interrogated about the minor points in his
writings, and whatever was advisable should be adopted. If,
however, he persisted in his refusal to recant, the necessary steps
would be taken against him. We see by this that the Estates drew
a distinction in Luther s doctrines between those points which
concerned the ecclesiastical administration only and those which
referred to the Christian faith proper and were chiefly contained in
his work On the Babylonish Captivity of the Church.
Charles V. consented to this proposal, by which the Estates may
be said to have betrayed the cause of the Reformation. Frederick
was charged with the task of summoning Luther to Worms, but he
prudently declined. As he was to be summoned in the name of
the Emperor and the Estates, he ought to receive the citation direct
from them. The stubborn character of the Elector being well
known, the Emperor was obliged to yield also on this point, and in
order to be consistent with official etiquette, Luther was addressed
by Charles V. in the citation, issued on March 6th, 1521, as " honour
able, beloved, and pious ! " A safe conduct for the journey to and
from Worms accompanied the citation. A man less endowed with
moral courage than Luther would nevertheless have shrunk from
completing the journey. On his way to Worms he learned that a
mandate for the confiscation of his writings had been issued by
the Emperor, and the imperial herald actually asked him whether
he still intended to continue his journey. The Reformer un
dauntedly proceeded on his way, although the imperial mandate
clearly showed him that his writings had already been uncoil-
468 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
ditionally condemned, and that he was merely summoned to declare
whether he would recant or not.
Luther s appearance before the Diet of Worms may be considered
as the first official recognition of the German people as a power ; for
it was only by representing the danger which would arise from the
unconditional condemnation of the Reformer before being heard
that the Emperor was induced to consent to the step which was re
sented by the Papal Legate and his party. The wrath of the Nuncio
Aleander greatly increased when the Imperial Estates presented to
Charles V. their gravamina respecting the abuses of the Church, the
abolition of which they had a right to expect in accordance with
the capitulation made at the time of the Emperor s election. That
petition, which is generally regarded as a pendant to Luther s
programme of the Reformation, as contained in his address to the
" Christian Nobility of the German Nation," and which had even
obtained the approval of George, Duke of Saxony (that great
opponent of Luther), was, formally at least, " graciously " received
by the Emperor.
When Luther arrived at Worms both his adherents and
antagonists were startled. The former trembled for his safety,
and the latter feared the influence of his presence his eloquence
and the victorious power of inner conviction. The Emperor s
expectations of so remarkable a personage, who was capable
of inspiring such a high degree of enthusiasm and aversion, must
therefore have been very great, and we do not wonder at his
disappointment on seeing before him an insignificant-looking
monk. He did not believe in the power of the mind, and it was
quite natural in the young monarch that he should have looked
forward to a commanding, giant-like figure, with a thundering
voice, somewhat like Dr. Eck, who derived no little benefit from
these accessories, so advantageous both on the political and
religious platform. Even after Luther had produced on the
second day of his appearance before the Diet a deep impression
on almost all his hearers, Charles V. could never be brought to
believe that the meek Augustinian monk was the author of all
the energetic and impetuous compositions which passed under his
name.
Luther s public refusal to recant unless convinced of his ei
through the Scriptures was the official proclamation of
Reformation ; and well might he exclaim, on the evening of the
REFORMA1ION IN GERMANY 469
18th of April, on coming home from perhaps the most memorable
sitting of any Diet, " Ich bin durch ! " But the decision of the
Emperor was also taken, and on the morning of the 19th of April
he declared to the Diet, in a French document written in his
own hand, " that, as a descendant of the most Christian German
emperors and the Catholic kings of Spain, he had resolved to
maintain everything which had been adopted by his ancestors,
more especially at the Council of Constance. . . . That he will not
hear Luther again, but let him go back to Wittenberg in accordance
with his safe conduct, and then lie, will proceed with him as a
heretic."
THe fanatic advisers of the Emperor certainly wished that he should
not only strictly adhere to the doctrines confirmed by the Diet of
Constance, but that he should also follow its example, set by the
execution of Huss, with respect to Luther, for the simple reason
" that there is no need of keeping faith with heretics." Charles V.
had, however, not been informed in vain of the ^disposition of the
people regarding the Reformer. He also took into account the
views of the Imperial Estates.
The times had evidently changed since the Council of Constance.
It was no longer safe to burn a heretic after he had received
imperial protection ; and it may be assumed furthermore that the
young monarch also possessed too much sense of honour to listen
to the ruthless suggestions of his fanatical advisers. After some
more attempts to induce Luther to retract all of which, of course,
proved futile he allowed him to depart ; but, as he had uttered
the threat to treat the excommunicated monk as a heretic after
the expiration of his safe conduct, Frederick, who was not un
deservedly called the Wise, considered it expedient to bring Luther
by means of a stratagem to a place of safety.
The sudden disappearance of Luther naturally caused great
anxiety among his adherents ; but his opponents seemed to have
instinctively guessed the truth. They knew very well how little
they themselves were to be trusted, and suspected that his friends
had secretly saved him from their clutches. Cardinal Aleander
even went nearer the mark, and expressed his opinion that the
" Saxon fox " had hidden the monk. Charles V. himself took no
cognisance of the occurrence ; nay, he even cautiously deferred the
promulgation of the edict against Luther : and it was only after
Frederick the Wise, accompanied by the Palatine Elector, had left
470 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
Worms on account of illness, that the Emperor summoned to his
private residence the three clerical Electors, together with the
Elector of Brandenburg and several other members of the Imperial
Estates, and communicated to them the long-expected edict. The
Imperial Ban was thus promulgated on May 25th, without the
formal sanction of the Diet ; and, in order to stamp it with the
appearance of legality, it was ante-dated to the 8th of May, when
the Estates were still together in good numbers. But it was
at the same time an ominous date ; for on that day an alliance
was concluded between the Emperor and the Pope to the effect
" to have the same friends and without exception the same
enemies, the same willingness and unwillingness for defence and
attack."
Another expedient was resorted to in order to gain some
plausibility for the illegally issued edict. It was sophistically
averred that, as the Diet had already decided that Luther was to
be proceeded against in case he should not recant, there was no
further necessity for obtaining the additional sanction of that body
for the publication of the edict. By this decree the papal ban
was confirmed, and Luther himself was now outlawed as a heretic,
and his books were prohibited. The Emperor having accomplished
this step, which was one of the most momentous in the eventful
course of the Reformation, now hastened to the Netherlands, and
strengthened by the league with the Pope and Henry VIII., soon
began his great war against the King of France. / .
It is an amiable trait in human nature, though frequently
bordering on weakness, to endeavour to find out the good side of
any evil. Thus it has been considered a propitious coincidence that
the German empire had some " claims " on certain territories in
Italy. For it was, in a great measure, in consequence of this fact,
that the war broke out between the Emperor of Germany and the
King of France, which necessitated the absence of the former from
his German domains for several years and gave the Reformation
time for its consolidation and expansion. We will not deny the
advantages which resulted from that political combination, but it
was to a certain extent counterbalanced by the ill which it produced.
Without the contingency of that war, Charles V. would have had no
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 471
occasion for leaguing himself with the Pope ; the Edict of "Worms
would in all probability never have been issued, and the pressing
demand for a General Council would have been acceded to. Luther
would not have been obliged to hide himself at the Wartburg, and
the subsequent troubles at Wittenberg would certainly never have
broken out ; and, finally, the firm hand of a sovereign residing in
the country would have stemmed the torrent of the Peasants War
at the outset. Another drawback resulting from the absence of
Charles V. was his utter estrangement from Germany, whose
aspirations he neither cared for nor understood.
During the first few months after the departure of Charles from
Germany the work of the Reformation went on undisturbed. The
Edict of Worms found in general no responsive reception there.
Its effect quite vanished before the impression made by Luther s
manly, nay heroic, conduct in presence of the Diet. The rumour
which had got abroad that he had been captured by an enemy of
the Elector Frederick, and perchance killed, rather promoted than
damaged his cause. It aroused warm sympathy for the Reformer
and increased the hatred against his enemies, who were alleged to
have resorted to brutal force because they could not disprove his
arguments. In fact, the adoption of the Reformation was now so
general that Luther s antagonists hardly dared to denounce him
openly. It is well known that the Elector of Mentz would not
give permission to the Minorite monks to preach against Luther.
The Edict of Worms was thus practically set at defiance, and in
spite of its prohibition not to publish anything in favour of the
Reformation, numerous writings in its favour issued from the
German printing presses.
Whilst the seed which Luther had sown on German soil began to
produce a magnificent harvest, and he himself was busy at the
Wartburg, under the disguise of Junker Georg, with various religious
writings, but more especially with the great work of his life, the
translation of the Bible from the original text, some of his adherents
began to precipitate matters at Wittenberg, under the leadership of
the impassioned Carlstadt. A time of general dissolution suddenly
came on, in which there was a violent rupture with the past. Mass
was abrogated, monks left their convents, and priests married.
Holy images were destroyed, and nearly all the usages of the
Roman Catholic Church were abruptly abolished. Other inno
vations were introduced, and the movement tended towards the
472 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
introduction of a Christian socialism, or rather communism. If
Luther had not been absent, the movement would never have broken
out ; and Melanchthon, who was present, was quite perplexed and
not energetic enough to be able to stem the surging tide of the
Revolution. The Prince Elector, too, looked on quite bewildered,
and, imbued with a sense of unbounded tolerance, he fancied that
after all the revolutionary " saints " might be right.
When Luther heard of the local excesses at Wittenberg, he
suddenly left his " Patmos," in order to find out for himself the
real state of things. In travelling to and from Wittenberg, where
he stayed a few days only, he had to pass the territory of his great
opponent the Duke of Saxony. This was at the beginning of
December 1521, consequently only a few months after the publica
tion of the Edict of Worms ; and bis conduct shows both his moral
courage, of which he has given so many striking proofs, and his
anxiety for the cause of the Reformation.
Soon, however, he was to give still more striking proofs of both.
For after the " prophets of Zwickau," those deluded and deluding
disciples of Thomas Mlinzer, had chosen the birthplace of the Refor
mation for their field of action, more especially when he heard of
the innovations introduced in his own community since his furtive
visit there, he defied all danger, and disregarded the remonstrances
of the Elector Frederick at his leaving his place of refuge. His
heart was so devoid of fear, and he had so much confidence in the
righteousness of his cause, that he actually declared to the Prince
Elector that he might give to the latter greater protection than he
could receive from him. He apologised nevertheless for his dis
obedience to Frederick, and a few days after his arrival at Witten
berg, at the beginning of March 1522, he began the series of sermons
by which he soon allayed the storm and extended both his influence
. and reputation.
V Several of the religious innovations introduced during the absence
"" ^ of Luther were quite in accordance with his views, but he chiefly
objected to the violent manner in which the established usages were
thrown over. Thus he approved the abolition of the Mass, but
considered that it ought not to have been done in a way which was
vexatious to another portion of the Christian community. The
secular authorities should have been consulted, and everything done
in a legal manner. Luther was, besides, tolerant in the highest
degree. He did not wish to force others to adopt his theories ; he A,
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 473
merely wanted to convince them. His mode of acting waa concisely
summed up in the following words, which contain the key-note of
his activity as a Reformer : " I will preach about it, speak about it,
write about it ; but I will compel and drive no one by force ; for
belief is to be accepted freely and spontaneously. Take me as an
example. I have opposed the indulgences and the Papists, but not
with force. I have only worked, preached, and written the word
of the Lord ; else I have done nothing. . . . I have done nothing ;
the word has done and accomplished everything. If I had wished
to proceed turbulently, I could have caused great bloodshed in
Germany, and I might have played such a game at Worms that
even the Emperor would not have been safe," * etc.
These words, which Luther uttered in his celebrated sermons
preached after his return to Wittenberg, not only fully reveal to us
one of his principal characteristics as a Reformer, but contain at
the same time a full revelation of the cause of the peaceful course
of the Reformation during his lifetime. He held the reins in his
firm hands, and it would only have required an encouraging signal
on his part, and the furies of civil war would have been at once let
loose. But those words also confirm the charge which has been i
brought forward against the Imperial Estates that they had betrayed ^^^
the cause of the Reformation at the Diet of Worms. They had
the German people at their back, and the Emperor, with all his
Spanish and Italian courtiers and Papal Legates, would have been
powerless. Had only some of them given signs of energetic oppo
sition, the Emperor would in all probability have yielded. That
the princes did not fully answer Luther s expectations caused him
considerable grief, and now he had experienced another disappoint
ment in the conduct of the middle classes, the people proper, a
portion of whom eagerly supported the violent innovations of the
extreme Reformers. But the greatest disappointment, with regard
to the healthiest class of the people the peasants was yet in store
for him.
* That the above assertion was no mere boast is confirmed if anything
that so truthful a man as Luther said requires confirmation by the before-
mentioned Dociimenta Lutherana, in which we find a letter from the Nuncio
Aleander, describing the great popularity of Luther throughout Germany,
and in particular at Augsburg. " Know then," he writes to Dr. Eck, " there
are so many Lutherans here that not only the men, but also the very trees
and stones, cry, Luther ! "
474 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
The effect which resulted from Luther s return to Wittenberg
was doubly beneficial. It allayed the turbulent excitement at home,
and prevented the breaking out of a storm abroad, which had well-
nigh been conjured up by Duke George of Saxony at the " Imperial
Regency," or Reich sr eg iment, which body conducted the govern
ment of the empire in the absence of the Emperor, and had
assembled at Nuremberg during the troubles at Wittenberg. The
Duke actually prevailed upon the members of the Imperial Regency
to issue an edict enjoining the Bishops of Naumburg, Meissen, and
Merseburg energetically to suppress all religious innovations ; but
when quiet had been restored at Wittenberg the tide turned in
Luther s favour, partly owing to the direct and indirect influence of
the Elector of Saxony ; and thus the Edict of Worms was virtually
set at nought. The Imperial Regency did not rest satisfied, how
ever, with the tacit approval of the doctrines of Luther ; and when
Adrian YL, who had succeeded Leo X. in 1522, demanded through
his nuncio that a check should be put to the Lutheran innovations,
the Imperial Regency replied by a resolution in which it declared
its refusal to carry out the Edict of Worms. On the other hand, it
demanded "the summoning of a General Council, if possible within
a year s time, in a German town and under the co-operation of the
Emperor." It was of course understood that the secular Estates
should also take part in that council, and perfect immunity for a
free expression of opinion was at the same time admitted. More
over, one hundred gravamina with respect to the prevailing abuses of
the Church were handed to the Legate.
One of the most remarkable features in the passing of the above
resolution was the circumstance that it even obtained the consent
of the adherents of the Pope, and that the views of the latter
regarding the necessity of Church reforms, in some degree at least,
contributed to it. Adrian VI. was in almost every respect the
opposite of Leo X. He had the welfare of the Church truly at
heart, and fully saw the abuses which had crept in through the
depravity of its representatives. He therefore energetically and
earnestly urged the necessity of reforming the Church, or rather
the clergy. He himself showed the way by setting, in his own
person, the example of a true apostolic pontiff, by leading the life
of a humble and austere monk, whereas Leo X. had surrounded
himself with regal pomp and the luxuries of an Asiatic potentate.
On the other hand, Adrian was also an orthodox Dominican, and
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 475
detested the religious innovations more intensely than his pre
decessor did, who, as a true Medici, being an enthusiastic admirer
of art and a zealous cultivator of polite literature, was quite
indifferent to ecclesiastical and religious matters. Leo X. was.
opposed to Luther because, as Erasmus expressed 1Ip rr Ee had
touched the papal crown," whilst Adrian took up the gauntlet
against the "Reformer because, in his opmion, the latter weakened
the corner-stone of the Church and undermined its very foundations.
For this reason he had sent his nuncio Chieregati to the Imperial
Regency at Nuremberg with the demand to have the Edict of Worms
carried into effect. This demand was only consistent with the
Pope s line of action ; but the times had changed, even during the /
short space which had elapsed since Charles V. had issued his edict
against Luther by a shuffling proceeding, and the Imperial Regency
openly refused to enact it.
That the Estates should have been able thus to act in defiance of
both Pope and Emperor was in itself the result of the influence l
which the Reformation exercised on the political status of the
German people. The civic element now assumed a political im
portance which it never enjoyed before. The commoner began to
feel his dignity, as a man, as a member of the State. The teach
ings of Luther had set free human intelligence and thought, which
had been so long held imprisoned and bound by political and
religious tyranny, and the people began to think and reason for
themselves. From the moment this was done, they were free, and
as soon as they obtained political rights they well understood how
to assert them. The re-establishment of an imperial regency on
a " constitutional basis " formed one of the principal stipulations
at the election of Charles V. ; and the deputies having been chosen
by the Electoral Princes and the various " circles," or districts, into
which Germany was then divided, the commonwealth was for the
first time officially represented at a German constitutional assembly.
We have seen how worthily the members of the Imperial Regency
had discharged their trust ; and it may be said that from that
moment dates the political emancipation of Germany.
VI
The answer of the Imperial Regency to Adrian VI. was the first \S
political triumph of the Reformation, but its effect was considerably
476 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
weakened by several events which occurred shortly after. First
came the rising of the knights, who constituted the lower nobility,
under the banner of the brave and restless Franz von Sickingen.
Grave discontent reigned among the knights with the doings of the
all-powerful " Suabian League," formed in 1488 by the Estates of
Suabia for the maintenance of general peace, and also with the
encroachments of the princes ; and Sickingen, aided by Ulrich von
Hutten, united the lesser nobles into one body with the avowed
object of breaking the power of the higher nobility and of ac
knowledging one head only the Emperor. It has been plausibly
assumed that Sickingen pursued a more ambitious aim, and he has
therefore been compared with Wallenstein. Sickingen professed,
however, another object in his enterprise : the furtherance of the
cause of the Reformation ; and, at the head of a large and powerful
army, he directed his first attack (Sept. 1522) against the Archbishop
of Treves. The knights were defeated, their leader lost his life,
and Hutten wandered away, outlawed and proscribed, to find an
exile s grave in a small island of Switzerland. The enemies of
Luther considered, or pretended to consider, the Reformation as
the main cause of Sickingen s undertaking ; and this circumstance
estranged from the Reformer a number of his adherents and
confirmed his antagonists in their enmity against him, although he
had no immediate connection with the revolt of the nobles.
The first result of the rising and of the defeat of the knights was
that several princes now assumed a somewhat hostile attitude
towards the Imperial Regency, that had shown itself so tolerant
respecting religious reforms ; but a still severer blow threatened
that body from another quarter. The wealthy German cities sent
a deputation to Charles V. in Spain, with a petition against some
ordinances which the Imperial Chamber had decided upon, and
which were considered detrimental to their commercial interests.
The Emperor, dissatisfied with that liberal institution, readily
promised a new administration. This promise was fulfilled at the
next Diet, in 1524, at Nuremberg, when it was decided to reorganise
the Imperial Regency by electing for it entirely new members.
Those who consented to this proceeding were influenced partly by
political and partly by commercial reasons, but as regards religious
matters there was still a majority in favour of the Reformation.
On this account it came to pass that a resolution was carried at
the Diet to convoke another assembly of the Estates in the same
\
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 477
year at Spires, the points to be discussed there being in the mean
time draWrrtrp for the princes by scholars and councillors. Till
then the resolution of the preceding Diet " that the Gospel should
be allowed to be freely preached " was to remain in force. Thus
the mission of the Papal Nuncio Campeggi, who had been sent to
Germany by Clement VII. (the successor of Adrian VI. since 1523)
to bring about the enactment of the Edict of Worms, proved
unsuccessful. It is true the Diet passed a resolution that the
Edict of Worms should be executed, but this decision was rendered
ineffective by the additional elastic clause, "as far as possible.
At the same time the demand for a General Council was added.
The above mandate now shared the fate of most compromises,
inasmuch as it satisfied neither party. Luther himself and his
followers saw in it an indirect confirmation of the Edict of Worms,
and he expressed his indignation at it in an outspoken publication,
in which he bitterly reproached the Emperor and the princes for
their treatment of him. He had now lost all confidence in both.
But the Emperor s indignation at the Nuremberg mandate was not
less strongly marked, and he issued an edict in which he energetic
ally denied the Estates the right of interferencejn religious nmttftrs )
demanding at the same time the strict execution of the Edict of
Worms. The constant recurrence of the Emperor and the adherents
of the Pope to that edict must not surprise us. It was the point
upon which the whole movement turned ; for if tbe condemnation
of Luther were confirmed, all his reforms and his adherents would
be comprised in that condemnation.
Various circumstances now combined to strengthen the effect of
the Emperor s new edict. The Papal Nuncio Campeggi succeeded
in inducing several influential forces, hostile to the Reformation,
to form a league for the protection of the old faith. The Archduke
Ferdinand and the Dukes of Bavaria princes who had for some
time been conspiring with the Roman Curia together with a
number of prelates, assembled for that purpose in the summer of
1524 at Ratisbon, and agreed upon stringent measures against the
"Reformation. They decided to give effect to the Edict of Worms,
to proscribe again the works of Luther, and even to forbid to their
subjects the attending of the university of Wittenberg.
The next step of the Ratisbon Convention was to obtain the
co-operation of Charles V., which was effected easily enough,
inasmuch as the projected measures fully coincided with his own
478 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
views ; and being about to attack Francis I. in France itself, from
the direction of Italy, he stood in great need of the Pope s tacit
acquiescence. He issued therefore a stringent edict, in which the
convocation of a General Council was strictly prohibited, and
all interference in religious matters was energetically forbidden.
Those who dared to set at nought the provision of the edict would
render themselves liable to a charge of high treason, and on con
viction would be punished with the highest degree of the Imperial
Ban (Acht- und Aberacht). In that imperial order Luther himself,
one of the noblest men who ever lived, was likened to some
loathsome monster.
/*"" The Convention of Ratisbon, which was chiefly brought about by
/foreign influence, may be said to have caused the first violent
* rupture among the German people, and to be the origin of all the
calamities which befell Germany in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. "Without that convention the projected General Council
would in all probability have been held, the proposed reforms
would have been peacefully and legally discussed, and there would
not have occurred that violent disruption among the Germans of
which the evil effects, not only from a religious, but also from a
political point of view, have not yet entirely disappeared. The
Conly advantage which resulted from the Ratisbon Convention was
the agreement to introduce a number of internal reforms in the
Church. Thus the improved state of Roman Catholicism is entirely
due to the doctrines of Luther and his Reformation.
VII
The year 1525 was perhaps the most trying in Luther s career.
He had hitherto been disappointed in the princes and the burghers,
and now he experienced the mortification of seeing that class of
people from which he sprang himself entering on a path which
must needs prove injurious to themselves and to the cause for
which he lived and worked. Various risings of the peasants had
taken place before the time of the Reformation, in consequence
of the inhuman treatment to which they were subjected by the
nobles. The exactions of the priests were likewise intolerable.
Some local risings took place in 1524 ; but in the following year
that terrible contest known as " The Peasants War " broke out in
the south of Germany with all the fury of long-pent-up despair,
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 479
The origin of the insurrection must therefore be sought solely in
the cause which produced the risings of slaves or serfs in ancient
and modern times. It was the revolt of men who felt their inner
worth, and who were determined to shake off an unbearable yoke.
The enemies of Luther attributed, however, the outbreak of the
war to the influence of his teachings, in the same way as they
attributed to these any other public calamity which then befell
Germany, just as in modern times blinded political passions will
trace the cause of the failure of a harvest, for instance, to the fact
of this or that party being in power.
The first programme of the peasants, as contained in the well-
known Twelve Articles, was moderate enough. Even Luther did
not entirely reject their demands, some of which he wished to see
referred to the decision of legal authorities. He admonished the
peasants, however, not to have recourse to brutal violence ; and at
the same time he exhorted the nobles to lend a merciful ear to the
cries of the sufferers. The last clause of the Twelve Articles must
have struck in his heart a sympathetic chord. The peasants
declared that their demands should not stand in case they should
be refuted by Scripture, which statement seemed to be an echo of
Luther s own declaration at the Diet of Worms. But it was just
that external similarity which turned out so fatal for the cause of
the Reformation. The peasants borrowed the phraseology, as it
were, of Luther ; they clothed their grievances in the language of
the Gospel, and thus gave to the enemies of the Reformation the
plausible pretext of confounding it with their own insurrection.
It was of little avail for Luther himself to protest against the
allegation of the insurgents that their rising was founded on a
religious basis, since his enemies persistently took the form for
the substance.
If all the rebellious peasants had strictly adhered to their first
programme, their cause might yet have taken a favourable turn ;
but, as is generally the case with revolutionary movements, there
soon arose an extreme party which aimed at the total subversion of
the existing order of things. Here again it was unfortunate that
some points started in the manifesto of that party had been pre
viously advocated by Luther, for his unjust antagonists laid all their
demands, which have been compared to the French revolutionary
doctrines of 1783, to his charge. The climax of the insurrectionary
outbreak was, however, reached by the doings of Thomas Miinzer and
480 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
his followers, who preached and practised evangelical communism,
and who accelerated by their fanatic and fantastic conduct the
tragic catastrophe in this sanguinary drama. Luther was now in a
most critical position. He made every effort to stem the tide of
the revolution ; he energetically exhorted both princes and peasants,
and travelled about as a missionary of peace : but all in vain. His
influence seemed, for the first time, to have lost its effect, and
friends and foes censured him alike. The former reproached him
with having deserted his own cause, whilst the latter blamed him as
the originator of this fatal war. Thomas Miinzer and his followers
even accused Luther of base servility towards the princes ; and
one of the grossest calumnies perhaps ever brought forward against
a man of Luther s stamp was the charge that he had written his
vehement publication, Against the Murderous Roller-bands of the,
Peasants, after their total defeat. But this was untrue. He
wrote it, in fact, whilst the peasants were in the ascendency, and
whilst they disgraced their victory by barbarous acts of cruelty.
When the nobles got the upper hand and wreaked their vengeance
in a most inhuman manner on the vanquished, the wrath of Luther
was turned against the cruel victors. He pleaded for mercy even
for the guilty, and with some of the princes his intercession was
successful. Large numbers of defeated peasants were allowed by
Landgrave Philip of Hesse and the Prince Elector John of Saxony,
the brother and successor of the Elector Frederick, to return home
unmolested ; whilst the Bishop of Wlirzburg and other anti-Lutheran
lords distinguished themselves by a most refined cruelty in their
treatment of the peasant prisoners.
VIII
In addition to the various disasters which befell Luther and in
him the whole of Germany in the calamitous year of 1525, he also
had the misfortune to lose his friend and protector the Elector of
Saxony, who died in the spring of that year. Frederick had looked
with true paternal compassion on the insurgent peasants, and had
life and health been spared him, he might have quelled the civil
war by dint of his authority, or at least have mitigated its evils.
Besides him, there was no one in Germany who enjoyed the
same amount of respect, and both the Imperial Regency and the
Estates were as a body powerless. If Germany had been ruled
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 481
over at that time by a sovereign residing in the country and caring
for the welfare of his people, the Peasants War would never have
assumed such gigantic dimensions, nor would its consequences have
been so fatal. But whilst Germany was convulsed by one of the
most sanguinary of intestine conflicts, the Emperor resided in Spain,
and his army fought and defeated the King of France before Pavia,
which circumstance may serve as an additional proof of the evil V
caused by the election of Charles V. as heaxl of the German empire.
The only interest which the Emperor manifested with reference )
to Germany consisted in his relentless efforts to exterminate the S
Lutheran doctrines. Thus he again and again issued from Spain *
energetic admonitions to the princes and bishops to make a firm
resistance against the Reformation ; promising and threatening at
the same time to come shortly to Germany himself in order to
crush the heretics. These acts, together with the consultation at
Mentz at which a number of priests agreed on the suppression of
Lutheran heresy, induced the Landgrave Philip of Hesse and
John the Elector of Saxony, in the spring of 1526, to form the
so-called " League of Torgau " for the protection and defence of
the Reformation. Luther himself, being in principle against all
armed resistance to any constituted authority, had consistently
opposed the formation of that or any other league with a view
to revolt.
Luther was of opinion that a bad prince must be patiently borne
with, like any other scourge or calamity sent by Heaven. In this
sense it was that he taught " that the badness and perversity of a
government does not justify active resistance or rebellion." Indeed,
he considered the sufferings inflicted by a tyrannical ruler on his
subjects as part and parcel of a man s destiny upon earth. It was
his Christian duty to suffer. According to his opinion, man was
not destined to be happy in this world, where he had been placed as
a martyr. Such were his honest convictions and his views of life ;
his denial of the right of resistance arose therefore from a purely
religious feeling, and not from any servile instinct. Surely a man
who speaks in the following strain of princes cannot be accused of
servility: "From the beginning of the world," says Luther, "a
good prince has been a rare bird, and a pious prince a still rarer
one. They are, as a rule, the greatest fools and worst knaves upon
earth. If there is a prince who is a wise and pious man or a
Christian, it is a great miracle and the best sign of Divine grace for
31
482 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
a country. Therefore one must always expect the worst from them,
and not hope for any good from them. They are the scourges and
the executioners of God, and He employs them to punish the wicked
and to maintain external peace."
Luther was well aware of the fact that Germany required a
thorough reform as regards its civic or secular government, more
especially as he had found out that both the princes and the
Emperor had betrayed the German people. With that dignified
self -consciousness which is quite compatible with true modesty, he
said, "At times it seems to me as if the Government and the
Jurists also required a Luther." If there had been during his time
a great man in Germany capable of achieving in politics what he
had himself achieved in religion, he would undoubtedly have co
operated with him. For Luther was a true German patriot, if
ever there was one, as is evident from so many of his writings, and
more especially from his Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the
German Nation. What he abhorred was the use of brutal force,
either by princes or by the people, for the acquisition of political
freedom, and this was, as we have seen, in strict accordance with
his religious views. His notions of the individual freedom of
man had also a religious basis. He regarded man as designed to
be a free being, but it was only Christian belief which imparted
to him that stamp of true freedom. This view Luther forcibly
expressed in the well-known antithesis in his treatise Concerning
Christian Libert)/, " A Christian man is the most free lord of all,
and subject to none ; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant
of all, and subject to every one." *
The liberty of man, as interpreted by Luther, may be regarded
by some persons as only of limited extent, and as having merely an
ideal existence, but at any rate it marks a great progress in the
history of civilisation, and may be considered as the germ of
the emancipation of the human race. It was the first step in the
acknowledgment of the right of man as a human being. The
principle of political freedom which now benefits the adherents of
all creeds in civilised society must therefore be traced back to the
Reformation. If the teachings of Luther had not first freed the
Christian man, the liberty of man in general the equality of men
would scarcely have met with such a ready recognition in later
centuries.
* See p. 255 in the present volume.
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 483
If Luther had not so strenuously opposed all active resistance
against authority, the political course of the Reformation would
certainly have taken a different turn ; and it was fortunate enough
for its consolidation that some of the princes, who otherwise
followed his teachings, did not share his opinions on that subject.
The formation of the above-mentioned League of Torgau was
the first result of that difference of opinion ; and when the Diet
assembled, in the summer of 1526, at Spires, the princes John and
Philip, strengthened by their union, could dare to acknowledge and
practise openly the doctrines of the Reformation in the face of the
Diet. In vain did the Imperial Commissioners urge the Estates to
carry out at last the Edict of Worms. The Diet was, however, so
much the less inclined to obey the Emperor s behests on this point
because he was now himself at enmity with he Pope. Clement VII.
being afraid of the ascendency of Charles V. after his victory at
Pa via, released the French king from his solemn oath at the Peace
of Madrid, and formed with him and several Italian princes the
League of Cognac, also blasphemously called the "Holy League,"
which was directed against Charles V. The Estates therefore eagerly
seized the opportunity of declaring that the antagonism between
Pope and Emperor made it impossible for them to give effect
even indirectly to the papal excommunication against Luther.
The Turk was also threatening from the East, and the Estates did
not consider it prudent to cause dissensions among the German
people. They resolved therefore to petition the Emperor, through
an embassy, to come in person to Germany and to convoke a General
Council. They further decided that in matters of religion perfect
freedom and tolerance should prevail.
The resolution of the Diet of Spires in 1526 was of considerable
moment. The Reformation was now formally acknowledged and
legalised, and had gained full time to recover lost ground and to
obtain a firm footing throughout Germany. It also was a fortunate
coincidence that Charles V. was now occupied in Italy with his war
against the Pope and Francis L, whilst his brother Ferdinand, now
King of Hungary and Bohemia, was encumbered by his troubles in
those countries.
IX
In consequence of the absence of both the Emperor and his
locum tenens from Germany, the projected General Council was not
484 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
convoked, and the next Diet did not assemble before the year 1529,
at Spires. Till then the Reformation had full scope to expand ; but
after the armies of Charles V. had captured Rome, and a terrible
pestilence had well-nigh destroyed the French troops in Italy, the
Emperor was again free to terrorise over Germany. He concluded
peace with Clement VII. at Barcelona, and with Francis I. at
Cambray, and the first result of the diplomatic union between the
three belligerents was a combination of their efforts to crush the
" heresy " in Germany. Soon after the beginning of the Diet at
Spires, a palpable proof was given that a great change had taken
place in public affairs since 1526. On March 15th, 1529, the Imperial
Commissioners laid a mandate before the Diet to the effect that the
resolution of the last Diet at Spires, which granted free exercise
of religion, should be revoked, and that, on the other hand, the
Edict of Worms should be enforced. The majority, though now
consisting of adherents of the Pope, did not accept the proposal
exactly in that form ; but still they issued a decree the general
acceptance of which would have implied a total condemnation of
the Reformation on the part of its supporters.
In this emergency several German princes and imperial towns
gave proof of a most praiseworthy moral courage. John, Prince
Elector of Saxony, Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, George, Margrave
of Brandenburg, Duke Ernest of Brunswick-Luneburg, Prince
Wolfgang of Anhalt, and fourteen imperial free towns, having in
vain demurred against the decision of the Diet, laid before it a
Protest against the pernicious decree, declaring at the same time
that in matters of religion and conscience the decision of majorities
was not binding. How deep was the impression which that remark
able step had produced on the minds of the German people may be
inferred from the fact that it gave occasion to single out the adherents
of Luther as a body and to apply to them the name of Protestants.
The rupture between the two religious parties was now complete.
They no longer formed merely two different shades of the same party,
but were distinguished from each other even as to the name. Roman
Catholics stood opposite Protestants. In one respect the new appel
lation was a gain ; for it embraced all the members of that Chris
tian community which did not acknowledge the supremacy of the
Pope. On the other hand, the name has the disadvantage that it is,
like the word " Reformation," of a negative character. It is true the
Protest of the princes actually was a positive assertion of the right of
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 485
conscience, but popular interpretation applied to it the character of an
aggressive document, and the adherents of Luther were consequently
regarded henceforth in the light of a merely malcontent party. The
term " Lutherans " Lutheramr does not embrace the whole body
of those who seceded from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther him
self deprecated, moreover, the distinction of being called a " founder
of a religion," and although one of the greatest theological authori
ties of our times is still inclined to consider him as such, it seems
to me if I may venture to express an opinion on anything touch
ing a theological subject that Luther merely modified and reformed
an established religious faith, but did not found one. The designa
tion " Old Catholic " might perhaps have been the most appropriate,
and would not perchance have caused such a violent disruption among
the members of the great Christian community.
At the Diet of 1529 the Protestants had gained a moral victory,
but they had suffered a material defeat ; for the government of the
empire was now entirely in the hands of their antagonists. It
seemed therefore prudent to prepare for future emergencies, and
some of the Protestant princes began negotiations with several
cities, both German and Swiss. A comprehensive scheme was
devised which, if successfully carried out, would have entirely
changed the political aspect of Germany, if not of Europe. Un
fortunately this plan, the execution of which could alone have
saved the cause of Protestantism, was frustrated by the well-known
theological difference between the adherents of Luther and Zwingli.
Thus, instead of first combining against the common enemy and
subsequently in firm union settling the theological differences, or
even leaving them unsettled, the logical order of the proceeding was
reversed. The theologians first assembled to discuss their religious
differences, and the result was that fatal schism which divided the
camp of the Protestants, and permanently damaged their cause.
Luther and his more immediate followers decided that it would not
be justifiable to form an alliance with the Zwinglians, and further
that it would be an offence against law and religion to offer armed
resistance to the Emperor. The co-operation of Upper Germany,
Suabia, and Switzerland was lost in consequence ; and, in face of
the armed and threatening enemy, all preparations for defence
486 THE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
were neglected on account of religious scruples. "Surely," says
Ranke, " this was not prudent, but it was grand."
Whilst the German theologians discussed religious subjects and
the " right of resistance," Charles V. strengthened his position in
Italy, and Clement VII. placed on his head, at Bologna, the crown
of Charles the Great. The Emperor was surrounded on this
occasion chiefly by Italian princes and Spanish grandees, and only
one or two German princes were present. The coronation was
therefore against the " ancient German custom " ; but Charles was
crowned as a Roman, and not as a German, emperor of Germany.
He might have been like Henry the Fowler, another founder or
regenerator of the German empire, whereas he renovated the
imperial dignity only so far as his own personality was concerned.
This step was very significant, and may serve as a clue to his
subsequent course of action.
It is well known that the Pope and Emperor distrusted each
other, but they were diplomatic enough to assume the mask of
mutual friendship. There was, moreover, one powerful bond of
union between them, namely, the determination to eradicate
German "heresy." This resolve was one of the principal motives
of the Emperor s journey to Germany, in the summer of 1530, for
the purpose of holding a diet at Augsburg. The writ issued on
that occasion was peaceful and gracious enough. His avowed
object was "to settle the prevailing discord, and to learn and
graciously to consider everybody s conviction, opinion, and views,
for the benefit of Christian truth."
It may reasonably be assumed that the Emperor was benevolently
disposed, and would have preferred to see his point carried by
gentle means. His benevolence was, however, of that conditional
kind only which first tries peaceful means, but subsequently has
recourse to arbitrary and violent measures should the gentle
measures prove futile. He was not imbued with that absolute
benevolence and clemency which shows mercy even to the guilty,
or the supposed guilty. The Eoman Catholic princes were aware
of this disposition of the Emperor and of his secret agreement with
the Pope, though the Protestant princes implicitly believed in his
peaceful and gracious assurances. The latter now hopefully looked
forward to an amicable settlement of the prevailing discord, and at
once proceeded to draw up a programme containing the substance
of the reformed creed.
REFORM A TION IN GRRMA NY 4 87
It did not take long, however, for the Protestants to see their
error. Even before the Emperor s arrival at Augsburg he urged
the Elector John of Saxony not to allow the preachers he had
brought with him to preach in public. This demand was repeated
in Augsburg, in the Emperor s presence, after his arrival in that
city, to the Elector of Saxony and several other Protestant princes.
The theological defence of the evangelical sermons by the Land
grave of Hesse merely served to arouse the wrath and indignation
of Charles. When, however, the aged warrior the Margrave
George of Brandenburg emphatically exclaimed, " Sire, before
renouncing the word of God, I would rather kneel down on this
spot and let my head be> cut off," the Emperor was deeply
moved by this energetic protest, and uttered in his Low German
vernacular the reassuring words, " No heads off ! no heads off,
my dear Prince ! "
The Protestant princes also declined to join in the public
procession on the festival of Corpus Christi, which was celebrated
the following day, in spite of the Emperor s earnest invitation to
attend it. Charles was startled by this stubborn resistance. He
had cherished the hope that the halo of worldly glory which
surrounded him, together with his brilliant entry into Augsburg,
would dazzle and overawe the Protestant princes ; but they
remained firm. Neither threats nor promises could move them.
They were quite of a distinct caste from the princes who had
betrayed the cause of the Reformation at Worms ; they were
conscious of the risk they ran, and were ready to die for their
religious convictions. It is true they were greatly encouraged by
Luther, who, in order to be nearer to them while the Diet was
held at Augsburg, had repaired to Coburg. He addressed to the
Prince Elector of Saxony from his second "Patmos," as it were,
letters of exhortation and comfort, full of energy and of that
irresistible eloquence which is the result of inner conviction.
Whenever the princes and Melanchthon wavered, they were inspired
by Luther s cheering and manly words, which proved particularly
effective during the course of the Diet.
The religious contest being the first subject which was brought
before the Diet, the Protestant princes presented, on June 25th,
1530, their " Confession of Faith." which had been prepared by
Melanchthon. There were two versions of it, one in German and
another in Latin. The Emperor naturally desired to have the
7 HE POLITICAL COURSE OF THE
second version read, but the Protestant princes advised him
patriotically to admit on G-erman soil the German version. This
step may be considered as one of the results of the Reformation.
) Luther had awakened in the Germans the feelings of nationality
" * and patriotism, and had also politically freed them from the fetters
of Roman bondage.
The profession of faith of the Protestant princes, known as the
" Augsburg Confession, was drawn up in such a conciliatory spirit,
and contained so many concessions to Roman Catholicism, that
some kind of agreement seemed to be possible, if not near at hand.
The Protestants had now honestly fulfilled their duty. In accord
ance with the imperial rescript, they had laid their profession of
faith before the Diet ; and confidently expecting a similar pro
fession on the part of the Roman Catholics, they looked forward to
the promised mediation of the Emperor. But instead of drawing
up a declaration in a defensive and conciliatory spirit, as had been
done by the Protestants, the Catholic party at the Diet, forming the
majority, issued an aggressive " Refutation," which, receiving the
Emperor s full approval, was issued in his name, with the appended
s* threat that, in case the Protestants should henceforth not obediently
return to the Roman Catholic faith, " the Emperor would proceed
against them as befitted a Roman emperor the protector and
defender of the Church." Manifest proofs that the admonitions of
Charles V. were not mere empty threats were soon given. He
made the Protestant princes individually feel his displeasure, and
he seemed fully determined to give effect to his threats by the
force of arms. Fortunately the warning of the Prince Elector of
Mentz, in reference to the Turks, of " Hannibal ad portas " had the
desirable effect of paving the way for mediation.
At the conference which was held in August 1530, for the
purpose of effecting an agreement between the contending parties,
a spirit of reconciliation prevailed. Both sides made concessions,
and it was agreed to refer certain points of difference which were
still pending to a General Council ; so that there was a near prospect
of a mutual understanding. Some agreement would in all proba
bility have been brought about but for the relentless spirit of
fanaticism of the Roman Curia, as represented by the Legate
Campeggi. It was he who frustrated the success of all further
attempts at a reconciliation by inducing the Emperor and the
majority of the Diet to make such conditions as the Protestants
REFORMATION IN GERMANY 489
could not accept. The allied princes remained firm, and as the
attitude of the Imperial Court became more and more threatening,
and the theologians could not agree among themselves, the
energetic Landgrave Philip of Hesse suddenly left Augsburg at
the beginning of August. The Emperor was so startled by this
unexpected event that he ordered the gates of the city to be
watched by his soldiers ; but too late : the bird had already flown.
The Prince Elector of Saxony still remained behind ; but his son,
the hereditary Prince, had some time previously returned home, and
was now in peiiect safety. It was therefore useless to attempt a
coup de main against the leaders of the Protestant party.
The Emperor s disappointment was great, and the more so as he
was indignant against the Protestant princes on account of their
refusing to consent to the election of his brother Ferdinand as
" King of Rome." Charles V. now proceeded to the last step
which made the breach between the two great portions of the
German nation irremediable. On the 22nd of September, 1530, he
communicated to the Estates the draft of the decree upon which he
had resolved with reference to the religious contest, and which
announced his determination to carry out unconditionally the
Edict of Worms." The Protestants were treated in that decree as
a mere sect ; and their doctrines, of all shades, were indiscrimi
nately condemned. All the usages of the old creed were to be
maintained intact, and the rights of the ecclesiastical princes were
to be fully restored, under pain of the Imperial Ban. This imperial
decree, which was virtua
