confound the whole world together, so I almost believe that I am the cause that the devil can do such things in the world, whereby God punishes it. Well, if I ever get home I shall meet my death with Giod's aid, and await my new masters, the murderers and robbers who tell me they will harm no one. Highway robbers always say the saine : "I will do you no harm, but give nie all you have or you shall die." Beautiful inno- cence ! How fairly the devil decks himself and his murderers ! Before I would yield and say what they want, I would lose my head a hundred times, God granting me His grace. If I can do it before I die, I will yet take my Katie to wife to spite the devil, when I hear that they are after me. I hope they will hot take away my joy and good spirits.
Some say the insurgents are not followers of Mtinzer — that let their own god believe, for no one else will.
I write to strengthen you to strengthen others, especially my gracious lord Coimt Albert. Encourage his Grace to go forth with good spirit, and may God grant him success, and let him fulfill the divine injunction to bear the sword as long as ever he can; conscience at least is safe in case he fall. If God permit the peasants to extirpate the princes to fulfill His wrath. He will give them hell fire for it as a reward. The just Judge will come shortly to judge both them and us — us with grace, as we have sufiFered by their crimes of violence, them with wrath, for they who take the sword must perish by the sword as Christ said. Their work and success cannot long stand. Greet your dear wife for me.
Dr. Martin Luther.
67a LUTHER TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF DANZIG. De Wette, ii, 656. German. Wittenberg, May 5(?), 1525.*
Grace and peace through Christ our Saviour, wise and lionorable dear sirs and friends. On your written request * I did my best to get you a proper preacher. It was not pos- sible to give you John Bugenhagen, whom you mentioned as the man you wished to have, for our church here was not willing to let him go, since we must keep men here by whom'
^On the date of this letter, vide Enden, v, i6s» n. x.
- Cf, supra, no. 660, ad tntf.
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