#1831-To the Ecclesiastics in Zwickau

To the, in the LOrd, highly-honorable men, Johann Goebel, Loborius from Magdeburg,Matthias Kroitisch (Krotisch),Adam Schumann, pure servants of the Word in Zwickau,his very dear brothers in Christ.
Grace and peace in Christ! I want it to be known to you, dearest brethren, that through my pushing and the cooperation of other very good men that we have finally with great effort pressured the Prince and the Council to free your pastor (Hausmann) from these your proud klotzes. They were very displeased to release him and wanted to forcibly bring him back again to these people, but we because of the danger to him and that he was not safe nor would it be benficial to the church to stay there with these beasts have finally achieved that he be released with grace but with the proviso that he should not be moved outside of the region of the Prince in another service. The Prince wants to place him in his lands but not among beasts but among men. This I am writing to you so if these beasts boast that they have the certainty of this matter you may be enlightened and as I say, maintain the matter in truth.The pastor is in grace and favor with all good men and those beasts are despised and abhorred as is deserved by their extraordinary pride and unthankfulness. They belong to the number of whom Jacob has said (Genesis 1:49,7.6):"Cursed be their wrath which is so vehement, and their anger that is so disturbing; my soul come not in their counsel." If some of you or also all of you feel obligated to stay there I would not try to dissuade you nor would I pressure you to stay there. It should freely be determined by you what is according to your likes what you want to do with these enemies and haters of the servants of God and of the Gospel. You are not bound to serve these hard, obstinate people (cervicosis=Koeppischen)against your will and without their thanks. Therefore comfort one another in Christ,Who is favorable to you, although a certain poisonous portion of the world hates you; in Him be it right well with you, Amen. On the 18th day of August 1531.
NOTES: Zwickau will never be forgiven by ML. Hausmann and Cordatus had been there a long time. Cordatus was advised to leave shortly before Hausmann.ML almost got clobbered in a debate with the fanatics (Schwaermerei)in the early twenties.

I was wondering whether if anyone is reading these you might acknowledge the same in the comments with a 1,2,etc. and remaining anonymous if you like.
De Wette says that the "Kloetzens" are the Magistrates of Zwickau.

#1830-To the Elector Johann in Saxony

Tp the illustrious, high-born Prince and Lord, Duke in Saxony and Elector, Landgraf in Thuringia and Markgraf in Meissen, my most gracious Lord.
Grace and peace in Christ. Illustrious, high-born Prince, most gracious Lord! M. Basilius Physician has asked me that since he is being joined to the Duke in Prussia and because the destination is distant that I would request ECFG to cover the expenses. Although I know that ECFG has giving upon giving; yet if it seems good to ECFG and he wants to acknowledge that in the absence of D.Caspar and D. Augustin that he served the court; thus I request that only 20 gulden be graciously be given in respect to that yet with everything according to ECFG's good pleasure and not by compulsion. Christ our LOrd strengthen and fortify ECFG forever,Amen.On the day of the Assumption of Mary (15 August)MDXXXI. ECFG's subject Mart.Luther.

#1828-To Nicolaus von Amsdorf in Magdeburg

Grace and peace! I request, my dear Amsdorf, that you give help that the book of M.Alexius von Colditz against the Pastor of Duke Georg in Cologne, who is known as the Meuchler "in Dresden" would not be printed by you. I have not seen the pamphlet and also do not want to see the pamphlet because of the recently made peace-contract in Grimma. You know about all this poison and he himself can give you the reason this is not being printed in Wittenberg. Be it well with you in the LOrd and pray for me.On the day of the Ascension of Mary (August 14) Anno 1531. Your Martin Luther.
NOTES: Not censorship by ML!? Looks like "Meuchler" is an inveterate murderer? Or is a practioner of character assasination?
Does ML still believe in the Assumption of Mary?

#1826-To the Council in Braunschweig

To the honorable and wise Lords,Mayor and Council in Braunschweig,my favored Lords and good friends.
Grace and peace. Honorable, wise, dear Lords! I have no delight in learning of the split among your preachers. Because the one, Mr Johann Kopmann has set himself against all the others and also against the Gospel, Mr Johan Pomer and all of our beliefs, the most direct approach is that E.W. (you wise ones) order the above named Mr. Kopmann to be silent, and not to suffer such a split; also because his opinion has no basis nor Scripture and he has not indicated any basis or Scripture in his list of particulars.To me his spirit is suspect in that he has so falsely perverted and pointed to my words as his list proves, since my words in my pamphlet give a much different opinion and for that reason I can attribute little good to him. The other preachers have spoken completely right and well. We also know well that one must in a spiritual way eat the Body of Christ and drink His blood, that is, believing on Him; he (Kopmann) doesn't have to teach us that. However, nevertheless, the Words of Christ are not thereby falsified when He says: "Take and eat, this is My Body", and calls the bread which he distributes, His Body. One cannot go beyond these words and there is just as much faith here in the physical eating as in Baptism and the Gospel. Otherwise one must not attribute anything to Baptism as there can be faith without Baptism. However, just there is spiritual faith in bodily baptism and bodily baptism is not denied by faith, but rather established; also so through the bodily eating of the Body of Christ faith (or spiritual eating) is not
denied but rather established; as also one can read about this further in the pamphlet of Mr Johann Pomer and myself. E.(your) Wisdom should see to it that neither disharmony nor
nor contrary doctrines should arise and out of a spark a fire develops and that would change the order you have received and teach the same and that would silence and take it away. This matter now has so long been pressed and tested that (praise God) it has been found to be pure and firm and now again brought to the fore after previously being much opposed by Martin Bucer and the city of Strassburg et al. Therefore it would be terrible if it would rise again anew in other states having originated anew in your city; all our opposition should be given that it should fail as in the first instance. Christ our LOrd protect and strengthen you in His Word which He so purely and richly revealed to you, Amen. It is not necessary for you to give any gifts as your devoted will and favor to our beloved Gospel is for me the highest consolation and treasure. Herewith be commended to God, Amen. Sunday after Laurentius (13 August) 1531. Martinus Luther. M.pp/

#1825-To Chancellor Brueck

My dear Herr Chancellor! Honorable and highly-celebrated, dear devout-one! I hold that the proposed plan of the the Council of Mainz should not be dismissed. Thus it is easy from the previous dealing to advise what one might yield or not. And whether one might endeavor to make peace and our part postpone it might well be considered, according to the proverb: night-peace(Nachtfrist) year-peace (Jahrfrist),the day comes,counsel comes etc. Mart. Luther
NOTES: This is thought be written at the end of July 1531. No date or place given. The proverb is: Nachtfrist Jahrfrist, kommt Tag, kommt Rath u. A free ML letter to anyone who can expound this. Or should "Frist" be respite. Maybe we should contact Senator Bill Frist of Tennesee. How about resting over the matter overnight and going by the counsel or solution that comes in the morning. The matter evidently is how to respond to the Emperor's Edict following Augsburg. Brueck is the equivalent of the secretary of state to Elector Johann.? I'll check with Advisor at Luther Index who has the original in the Weimar Edition.

#1823-Elector Johann to ML

(This is responding to ML's appeal in #1817. After the greeting and salutation this letter is all one sentence. Not sure how to bring this to pass in English.)
At the outset, our greetings. Honorable, celebrated, dear devout one! After you had written in the previous past few days in behalf of the sister of Doctor Staupitz, for whom we prescribed a small acreage (Hauslein)outside the village, and wanted the order of the Sequestor dismissed, we have in decisive consent given the acreages for the poor in the towns and villages and thus there should be not an alteration made by others which neither we nor the surrounding country-side has a taste for and as the Visitors were assigned such mild cases we order and determine that there in no way a change be undertaken and that they should be permitted to stay where they are unhindered and we wanted that this gracious opinion should not be unknown to you. Dated on the Friday after Margaret (14 July) Anno 1531 at Torgau.
NOTES: Would like to see an expert translation of the above. Think the sense of it is there though may have made a mistake in a clause or two.
Believe that a "Hauslein" was a grant of little land outside the village or town for the people to raise a garden but this could be checked with the experts too.

#1817-To the Elector Johann of Saxony

Grace and peace in Christ. Illustrious, high-born Prince,most gracious Lord! Several poor people, among them Magdalen von Staupitz; the Visitors have set-up the same in a little house in the monk's cloister and made her school-mistress for the girls in Grimma (Grym). However, the Lord "Sequestor" , as people call him, has come and wants to take it away. Now it is said, believably to me, that neither ECFG nor the people of the area are of the opinion that the Ordinance of the Visitors should be annuled but rather everyone says and urges that it is not only the sincere opinion of the Prince but of the entire area that the Visitiation should deal with it. Therefore it is my most humble request, if ECFG cannot do more, that at least the sequestration be temproarily suspended and postponed for further consideration. It the decision is reached that the sequestration should supercede the Visitation that would be an insufferable disgrace to ECFG. I say nothing about all the pastors and ecclesiastic offices that would be brought down; for me personally I would rather that ECFG take such properties for himself and do whatever he wills, namely those cloisters over which there is an unnecessary great outcry and about which foreign princes are being served highly. I want to help and be responsible before God and the world. What should it be if one were to strain out the gnat and swallow the camel and burden the of ECFG with such losing vain matters. I want to give ECFG my faithfulness and have no desire to bring him sorrow. The merciful God give ECFG His Spirit and even a gracious wrath possesing him which you rightly and capably yet should have, Amen. ECFG's humble Martinus Luther.

#1822-To Spalatin in Altenburg

To the worthy man, Herr Master Georg Spalatin, Bishop in Altenburg, his very dear brother in the LOrd. Grace and peace in the LOrd! Finally I have written the Graf or Prince of Anhalt, the commander in Coburg, for M. Georg Mohr, my dear Spalatin; would that God soon (provide) some sort of fitting position openfor him there. I do not know of any yet. Thus I have decided to call away the pastor at the castle there to somewhere in this region. But since there is nothing yet open here to provide this good man nor also for M. Fesel so while we were present there the Prince provided a dwelling in the cloister. However one of the robbers came there and obtained it and now this one is driven back into his previous hell where. as it were, he and his and children are dwelling in prison. "So it goes" with the faithful servants of the Word. "The scratching-hanses rule; God help us, Amen." Be it well with you in Christ, with your very lovely Kette, about whom we have the rumor that she is pregnant; God grant it, Amen. On the Friday after Margaret (14 July) 1531. Your Martin Luther.
NOTES: Since the death of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, or shortly before, Spalatin left the Saxon Court for the Stiftkirch at Altenburg where there was a very conflicted change from Rome to Evangelical with several of the priests remaining loyal to the former.
Both the wives of ML and Spalatin are Katharines and Luther likes the nickname "Kette" = "chain" evidently because the tie that binds is very strong.
Luther was at the castle in Coburg in 1530 shortly before, during and shortly after the Diet of Augsburg when the Augsburg Confession was presented and reacted to. He likes to turn the spelling around and often called it "Grubok". He had to stay there, being aggravated much of the time complaining that the Evangelicals at Augsburg were not communicating with him, because he did not have safe conduct to the Diet.

#1821-To Bernhard Doelen, pastor in Sitten

To the, in the LOrd, highly-honorable man, Bernhard von Doelen, Pastor in Sitten,, his brother in the LOrd. Grace and peace in Christ! My lord Kaethe greets you (respectfully?- void here in Latin text. Editors conjecture "reverenter") , my dear Bernhard. She has prompted me to write this to you. As to the other which you write regarding the negligence of the church-servants and the disrespect of the peasants it is all too true; at any rate, patience is beneficial for us and as we have seen previously, necessary.
In reference to the marriage I praise your determination but in no case should you hold the marriage before the parsonage is completed so that you can live with your wife alone. It is somewhat unbearable to live with your married wife in the home of another man (Herr). This virgin, Hannah Zeschin, I know very well; I have good hope regarding her uprightness and her good character; thus I am certain of her good upbringing (disciplina) which was under a severe school-master, with everything related to the establishment of a household that is required to be learned and endured so that I maintain that in homemaking she is well practiced and experienced but I do not want you to depend upon my judgement and you should not concede anything from anyone until you have seen the young woman yourself. In physical form she is not outstanding but mediocre as you likely will think in this respect yourself. Be it right well with you in the LOrd and pray for me. We are by God's goodness right healthy. On the day of Margaret (13 July) 1531.
NOTES: What sort of bodily form did Hannah Zeschin have? Is this what Kaethe wanted ML to tell Berhard von Doelen?

#1819-To Splatin,Eberhard Brisger, and Erhard Steinbach in Altenburg

To the highly honorable men, M. Georg Spalatin, Eberhard Brisger, Eberhard N., servants of the Word in Altenburg, his very dear brothers in the LOrd.
Grace and peace. Worthy men! He, whom you recommended once to me, the Abbot of the Court (? Curiniensem), that poor man, I would gladly recommend. However, now there is no position open but yet I hope that in a short time there will barely be one especially in Pomerania where after the Prince died five from Lubeck have gone back who had been exiled to to Pomerania. For this reason encourage and admonish the man that he be patient for a brief time. As soon as I can I will give it my effort so he should be confident that your recommendation has been beneficial. Be it well with you in Christ. Do not marvel that I have written with a strange hand since my health is very tottering as you know. Wittenberg, the 5th of July. Martin Luther.
NOTES: No year dated on this one but Duke Georg of Ducal Saxony died on May 9,1531, as Seidemann notes, who vehemently opposed the Reformation.
Schlegel remarks that ML means Erhard Steinbach by Eberhard N. evidently because he was among the pastors at the Stiftkirche in Altenburg along with Spalatin and Brisger.