Grace and peace in Christ. Illustrious, high-born Prince, gracious Lord! As EFG has written to us and desires that we look over the Apology or Justification, this we have done and find there is much good bases and reasons sufficient put forward therein and have upon the suggestion of our most gracious Lord, the Elector, sent the opinion to the Court and we will provide it to EFG, as it his due, or it will be sent along with Doctor Basilius. It is also thought by us to be prudent not to be in all the indicated matters to be so precise and elaborate because it is the way of all the opponents when they cannot advance the main argument to chatter some words and try to be clever so that the matter gets off course and the chief argument is kept from the eyes and its appearance lost as I previously have seen daily happen to my writings; therefore with such people it is best to deal with them by being brief and firm and not to be led away from the chief argument. Yet EFG understands all this better than we can convey. Only let EFG be comforted and not let this burden him for God will make it good. If they did not have this to chatter about they would require something different so they may as well have this as something else; no one can stop the mouth of the devil, he must chatter. Christ our LOrd comfort and strengthen EFG to do and suffer all according to His gracious will, Amen. 24 August 1531. EFG's willing Martinus Luther on behalf of all of us.
ENCLOSURe
Coming is Doctor Basilius Physician as EFG's Phyician; Commend him to EFG and that EFG will find him to be a fine, faithful, industrious man and good, learned and experienced physician and his wife a dear,pious wife.
Also, if it is not too burdensome to EFG since my wife's brohter ,Hans von Bore,has nothing and the Court does not have enough for shirt and food, that EFG would provide each quarter of year a pair of Gulden that he might buy a shirt and other necessities as well EFG might appreciate; yet I let everything to be according to EFG's good pleasure and about which I have no desire to burden EFG. Herewith, be to God commended, Amen.
Regarding a preacher in place of D.Brismann to be sent to Latvia (as EFG desires) I will be busy about that; we also wrote this previously to the good people.; however there is a dearth of such preachers and they are not standing around so that one may say: Whoever has one, let him keep it.
NOTES: The Apology or Justification was directed in oppositon to the Deutschmeister Walther von Kronberg. What about I do not know.
ML had earlier suggested that Prussia become a secular state and this came to be under Albrect, I think. Walther von Kronberg may have been a knight who was disenfranchised, so to speak.
EFG is:"Your Pincely Grace". Electors are "most gracious" and Princes are "gracious".
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