#1723-To the Council in Herzberg

(ML repeats a request for a woman as his first received an unfavorable response from the Council according to Editors)
To the honorable and wise Mayor and Council in Herzberg, my favored Lords and Friends.
Grace and peace.Honored, wise, dear Lords! I have received your answer to my writing and I infer that I might well be meriting your anger but my opinion was for nothing other than to ameliorate and set the matter to rest by my help. What otherwise would be my motive to be involved in a matter that does not concern me and why would I need to create for myself or others aggravation in a matter indifferent to me? Thus it is my friendly request that my letter be better regarded than your letter indicates. If I cannot bring about good I certainly don't want to bring about something bad.So since you might suffer me to be judge otherwise except upon your writing I ask you once again to let the matter drop and if it pleases you to send me the Ellen (?proceeds,measures?) acknowledging that you can do nothing that would help should you give the woman such an insult and because it is still in your discretionary power to pass over the matter and your conscience would likely make you repent and pain you that you could not help in a better way and that you did not respect her petition but that in a straightforward way have to admit to having acted in vengenace. Otherwise in such a slight matter you would arouse great distaste and trouble many hearts unnecessarily while actually you have daily many more and greater cases which you let go and tolerate which could be said to be planks in relation to this splinter.(sounds like allusion to Jesus saying on the splinter in your neighbor's eye and forgetting the plank in your own eye). I plead for your just answer. In Wittenberg on the Tuesday after Simon and Jude (1 Nov.) 1530. Martin Luther.
NOTES: The next to last sentence is over 100 words with many clauses. Check with experts before taking it to the bank.