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Title: Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

Author: Friedrich Bente

Release Date: October 13, 2008 [EBook #26909]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOOKS OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH ***




Produced by Kurt A. T. Bodling, Concordia Seminary, St.
Louis, Class of 1980






Historical Introductions
to the
Symbolical Books
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
by F. Bente


I. The Book of Concord, or The Concordia.

1. General and Particular Symbols.

Book of Concord, or Concordia, is the title of the Lutheran _corpus
doctrinae, i.e._, of the symbols recognized and published under that
name by the Lutheran Church. The word symbol, _sumbolon,_ is derived
from the verb _sumballein,_ to compare two things for the purpose of
perceiving their relation and association. _Sumbolon_ thus developed the
meaning of _tessara,_ or sign, token, badge, banner, watchword, parole,
countersign, confession, creed. A Christian symbol, therefore, is a mark
by which Christians are known. And since Christianity is essentially the
belief in the truths of the Gospel, its symbol is of necessity a
confession of Christian doctrine. The Church, accordingly, has from the
beginning defined and regarded its symbols as a rule of faith or a rule
of truth. Says Augustine: "Symbolum est regula fidei brevis et grandis:
brevis numero verborum, grandis pondere sententiarum. A symbol is a rule
of faith, both brief and grand: brief, as to the number of words, grand,
as to the weight of its thoughts."

Cyprian was the first who applied the term symbol to the baptismal
confession, because, he said, it distinguished the Christians from
non-Christians. Already at the beginning of the fourth century the
Apostles' Creed was universally called symbol, and in the Middle Ages
this name was applied also to the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds. In
the Introduction to the Book of Concord the Lutheran confessors
designate the Augsburg Confession as the "symbol of our faith," and in
the Epitome of the Formula of Concord, as "our symbol of this time."

Symbols may be divided into the following classes: 1. Ecumenical
symbols, which, at least in the past, have been accepted by all
Christendom, and are still formally acknowledged by most of the
evangelical Churches; 2. particular symbols, adopted by the various
denominations of divided Christendom; 3. private symbols, such as have
been formulated and published by individuals, for example, Luther's
Confession of the Lord's Supper of 1528. The publication of private
confessions does not necessarily involve an impropriety; for according
to Matt. 10, 32 33 and 1 Pet. 3, 15 not only the Church as a whole, but
individual Christians as well are privileged and in duty bound to
confess the Christian truth over against its public assailants.
Self-evidently, only such are symbols of particular churches as have
been approved and adopted by them. The symbols of the Church, says the
Formula of Concord, "should not be based on private writings, but on
such books as have been composed, approved, and received in the name of
the churches which pledge themselves to one doctrine and religion."
(CONC. TRIGL., 851, 2.)

Not being formally and explicitly adopted by all Christians, the
specifically Lutheran confessions also are generally regarded as
particular symbols. Inasmuch, however, as they are in complete agreement
with Holy Scripture, and in this respect differ from all other
particular symbols, the Lutheran confessions are truly ecumenical and
catholic in character. They contain the truths believed universally by
true Christians everywhere, explicitly by all consistent Christians,
implicitly even by inconsistent and erring Christians. Christian truth,
being one and the same the world over is none other than that which is
found in the Lutheran confessions.

2. The German Book of Concord.

The printing of the official German edition of the Book of Concord was
begun in 1578 under the editorship of Jacob Andreae. The 25th of June,
1580, however, the fiftieth anniversary of the presentation of the
Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V, was chosen as the date for its
official publication at Dresden and its promulgation to the general
public. Following are the contents of one of the five Dresden folio
copies which we have compared: 1. The title-page, concluding with the
words, "Mit Churf. G. zu Sachsen Befreiung. Dresden MDLXXX." 2. The
preface, as adopted and signed by the estates at Jueterbock in 1579,
which supplanted the explanation, originally planned, of the theologians
against the various attacks made upon the Formula of Concord. 3. The
three Ecumenical Symbols. 4. The Augsburg Confession of 1530. 5. The
Apology of 1530. 6. The Smalcald Articles of 1537, with the appendix,
"Concerning the Power and Supremacy of the Pope." 7. Luther's Small
Catechism, omitting the "Booklets of Marriage and Baptism," found in
some copies. 8. Luther's Large Catechism. 9. The Formula of Concord,
with separate title-pages for the Epitome and the Solida Declaratio,
both dated 1580. 10. The signatures of the theologians, etc., amounting
to about 8,000. 11. The Catalogus Testimoniorum, with the superscription
"Appendix" (found in some copies only). The Preface is followed by a
_Privilegium_ signed by Elector August and guaranteeing to Matthes
Stoeckel and Gimel Bergen the sole right of publication, a document not
found in the other copies we compared. The Formula of Concord is
followed by a twelve-page index of the doctrines treated in the Book of
Concord, and the list of signatures, by a page containing the trade-mark
of the printer. The center of this page features a cut inscribed,
"Matthes Stoeckel Gimel Bergen 1579." The cut is headed by Ps. 9, 1. 2:
"Ich danke dem Herrn von ganzem Herzen und erzaehle all deine Wunder.
Ich freue mich und bin froehlich in dir und lobe deinen Namen, du
Allerhoechster. I thank the Lord with all my heart and proclaim all Thy
wonders. I am glad and rejoice in Thee, and praise Thy name, Thou Most
High." Under the cut are the words: "Gedruckt zu Dresden durch Matthes
Stoeckel. Anno 1580. Printed by Matthes Stoeckel, Dresden, 1580."

In a letter dated November 7, 1580, Martin Chemnitz speaks of two
Dresden folio editions of the German Book of Concord, while Feuerlinus,
in 1752, counts seven Dresden editions. As a matter of fact, the Dresden
folio copies differ from one another, both as to typography and
contents. Following are the chief differences of the latter kind: 1.
Only some copies have the liturgical Forms of Baptism and of Marriage
appended to the Small Catechism. 2. The Catalogus is not entitled
"Appendix" in all copies, because it was not regarded as a part of the
confession proper. 3. In some copies the passage from the Augsburg
Confession, quoted in Art. 2, 29 of the Solida Declaratio, is taken, not
from the Mainz Manuscript, but from the quarto edition of 1531, which
already contained some alterations. 4. Some copies are dated 1580, while
others bear the date 1579 or 1581. Dr. Kolde gives it as his opinion
that in spite of all these and other (chiefly typographical) differences
they are nevertheless all copies of one and the same edition, with
changes only in individual sheets. (_Historische Einleitung in die
Symbolischen Buecher der ev.-luth. Kirche,_ p. 70.) Dr. Tschackert
inclines to the same view, saying: "Such copies of this edition as have
been preserved exhibit, in places, typographical differences. This,
according to Polycarp Leyser's _Kurzer und gegruendeter Bericht,_
Dresden, 1597 (Kolde, 70), is due to the fact that the manuscript was
rushed through the press and sent in separate sheets to the interested
estates, and that, while the forms were in press, changes were made on
the basis of the criticisms sent in from time to time, yet not equally,
so that some copies differ in certain sheets and insertions." (_Die
Entstehung der luth. und der ref. Kirchenlehre,_ 1910, p. 621.)

However, while this hypothesis explains a number of the variations in
the Dresden folio copies, it does not account for all of them especially
not for those of a typographical nature. In one of the five copies which
we compared, the title-page, radically differing from the others, reads
as follows: "Formula Concordiae. Das ist: Christliche, Heilsame Reine
Vergleichunge, in welcher die Goettliche Leer von den vornembsten
Artikeln vnserer wahrhafftigen Religion, aus heiliger Schrift in kurtze
bekanntnues oder Symbola vnd Leerhafte Schrifften,: welche allbereit vor
dieser zeit von den Kirchen Gottes Augspurgischer Confession, angenommen
vnd approbiert:, verfasset. Sampt bestendiger, in Gottes wort
wolgegruendeter, richtiger, endlicher widerholung, erklerung und
entscheidung deren Streit, welche vnter etlichen Theologen, so sich zu
ermelter Confession bekant, fuergefallen. Alles nach inhalt der heiligen
Schrifft, als der einigen Richtschnur der Goettlichen wahrheit, vnd nach
anleitung obgemeldter in der Kirchen Gottes, approbierten Schrifften.
Auff gnedigsten, gnedigen, auch guetigsten beuehl, verordnung und
einwilligung nach beschriebener Christlichen Churfuersten, Fuersten vnd
Stende des heiligen Roemischen Reichs Deutscher Nation, Augspurgischer
Confession, derselben Landen, Kirchen, Schulen vnd Nachkommen zum trost
vnd besten in Druck vorfertiget. M. D. LXXIX." ("Formula of Concord,
that is, Christian, wholesome, pure agreement, in which the divine
doctrine of the chief articles of our true religion have been drawn up
from the Holy Scripture in short confessions or symbols and doctrinal
writings, which have already before this time been accepted and approved
by the Churches of God of the Augsburg Confession, together with a firm,
Scripturally well-founded, correct, final repetition, explanation and
decision of those controversies which have arisen among some theologians
who have subscribed to said Confession, all of which has been drawn up
according to the contents of Holy Scripture, the sole norm of divine
Truth, and according to the analogy of the above-named writings which
have the approval of the Churches of God. Published by the most
gracious, kind, and benevolent command, order, and assent of the
subscribed Christian Electors, princes, and estates of the Holy Roman
Empire, of the German nation, of the Augsburg Confession, for the
comfort and benefit of said lands churches, schools, and posterity.
1579.")

Apart from the above title this copy differs from the others we examined
in various ways Everywhere (at four different places) it bears the date
1579, which, on the chief title-page, however, seems to have been
entered in ink at a later date. Also the place of publication, evidently
Dresden, is not indicated. Two variations are found in the Preface to
the Book of Concord, one an omission, the other an addition. The
signatures of the princes and estates to the Preface are omitted.
Material and formal differences are found also on the pages containing
the subscriptions of the theologians to the Formula of Concord; and the
Catalogus is lacking entirely. The typography everywhere, especially in
the portions printed in Roman type, exhibits many variations and
divergences from our other four copies, which, in turn, are also
characterized by numerous typographical and other variations. The copy
of which, above, we have given the contents is dated throughout 1580.
Our third copy bears the same date 1580, excepting on the title-page of
the Solida Declaratio, which has 1579. In both of these copies the
typography of the signatures to the Book of Concord is practically
alike. In our fourth copy the date 1580 is found on the title-page of
the Concordia, the Catalogus, and the appended Saxon Church Order, which
covers 433 pages, while the title-pages of the Epitome and the
Declaratio and the page carrying the printer's imprint are all dated
1579. In this copy the typography of the signatures closely resembles
that of the copy dated everywhere 1579. In our fifth Dresden folio copy,
the title-page of the Book of Concord and the Catalogus are dated 1580,
while the title-pages of the Epitome and Solida Declaratio are dated
1579. This is also the only copy in which the Catalogus is printed under
the special heading "Appendix."

In view of these facts, especially the variation of the Roman type in
all copies, Kolde's hypothesis will hardly be regarded as firmly
established. Even if we eliminate the copy which is everywhere dated
1579, the variations in our four remaining Dresden folio copies cannot
be explained satisfactorily without assuming either several editions or
at least several different compositions for the same edition, or perhaps
for the two editions mentioned by Chemnitz. Feuerlinus distinguishes
seven Dresden editions of the Book of Concord--one, printed for the
greater part in 1578, the second, third, and fourth in 1580, the fifth
in 1581, the sixth also in 1581, but in quarto, and the seventh in 1598,
in folio. (_Bibliotheca Symbolica,_ 1752, p. 9.) A copy like the one
referred to above, which is everywhere dated 1579, does not seem to have
come to the notice of Feuerlinus.

In the copy of the Tuebingen folio edition which is before us, the Index
follows the Preface. The appendices of the Small Catechism are omitted,
likewise the superscription Appendix of the Catalogus. Our copy of the
Heidelberg folio edition of 1582 omits the Catalogus and adds the
Apology of the Book of Concord of 1583, as also the Refutation of the
Bremen Pastors of the same year. A copy of the Magdeburg quarto edition
lying before us has the year 1580 on the title-pages of the Book of
Concord, the Epitome, the Declaratio, and the Catalogus. The Preface is
followed by three pages, on which Joachim Frederick guarantees to
"Thomas Frantzen Buchvorlegern" (Thomas Frantzen, publishers) the sole
right of publication for a period of five years, and prohibits the
introduction of other copies, excepting only those of the Dresden folio
edition of 1580. Luther's Booklets of Marriage and of Baptism are
appended to the Small Catechism, and to the Large Catechism is added
"Eine kurze Vermahnung zu der Beicht, A Brief Exhortation to
Confession." (None of the Dresden folio copies we compared contain these
appendices, nor are they found in the Latin editions of 1580 and 1584.)
The index is followed by a page of corrected misprints. The last page
has the following imprint: "Gedruckt zu Magdeburg durch Johann Meiszner
und Joachim Walden Erben, Anno 1580, Printed at Magdeburg by John
Meissner's and Joachim Walden's heirs. In the year 1580."

3. The Latin Concordia.

Even before the close of 1580, Selneccer published a Latin Concordia
containing a translation of the Formula of Concord begun by Lucas
Osiander in 1578 and completed by Jacob Heerbrand. It was a private
undertaking and, owing to its numerous and partly offensive mistakes,
found no recognition. Thus, for instance, the passage of the Tractatus
"De Potestate et Primatu Papae" in sec. 24: "Christ gives the highest
and final judgment to the church," was rendered as follows: "Et Christus
summum et ultimum ferculum apponit ecclesiae." (p. 317.) Besides,
Selneccer had embodied in his Concordia the objectionable text of the
Augsburg Confession found in the octavo edition of 1531, which
Melanchthon had altered extensively.

The necessary revision of the Latin text was made at the convention in
Quedlinburg during December, 1582, and January, 1583, Chemnitz giving
material assistance. The revised edition, which constitutes the Latin
_textus receptus_ of the Formula of Concord, was published at Leipzig in
1584. Aside from many corrections, this edition contains the translation
of the Formula of Concord as already corrected by Selneccer in 1582 for
his special Latin-German edition, and afterwards thoroughly revised by
Chemnitz. The texts of the Augsburg Confession and the Apology follow
the _editio princeps_ of 1531. The 8,000 signatures, embodied also in
the Latin edition of 1580, were omitted, lest any one might complain
that his name was appended to a book which he had neither seen nor
approved. In keeping herewith, the words in the title of the Book of
Concord: "_et nomina sua huic libro subscripserunt_--and have subscribed
their names to this book," which Mueller retained in his edition, were
eliminated. The title-page concludes as in the edition of 1580, the word
"denuo" only being added and the date correspondingly changed. On the
last two pages of this edition of 1584 Selneccer refers to the edition
of 1580 as follows: "Antea publicatus est liber Christianae Concordiae,
Latine, sed privato et festinato instituto, Before this the Book of
Concord has been published in Latin, but as a private and hasty
undertaking." In the edition of 1584, the text of the Small Catechism is
adorned with 23 Biblical illustrations.

Among the later noteworthy editions of the Book of Concord are the
following: Tuebingen 1599; Leipzig, 1603, 1622; Stuttgart 1660, 1681.
Editions furnished with introductions or annotations or both: H.
Pipping, 1703; S.J. Baumgarten, 1747; J.W. Schoepff, Part I, 1826, Part
II, 1827; F.A. Koethe, 1830; J.A. Detzer, 1830; F.W. Bodemann, 1843. In
America the entire Book of Concord was printed in German by H. Ludwig,
of New York, in 1848, and by the Concordia Publishing House of St.
Louis, Mo., in 1880. In Leipzig, Latin editions appeared in the years
1602, 1606, 1612, 1618, 1626, 1654, 1669, 1677. Adam Rechenberg's
edition "with an appendix in three parts and new indices" (_cum
appendice tripartita et novis indicibus_) saw five editions--1678, 1698,
1712, 1725, 1742. We mention also the edition of Pfaffius, 1730;
Tittmann, 1817; H.A.G. Meyer, 1830, containing a good preface; Karl
Hase, in his editions of 1827, 1837, and 1845, was the first to number
the paragraphs. Reineccius prepared a German-Latin edition in 1708. This
was followed in 1750 by the German-Latin edition of Johann Georg Walch.
Mueller's well-known German-Latin Concordia saw eleven editions between
1847 and 1912. Since 1907 it appears with historical introductions by
Th. Kolde.

4. English Translations.

All of the Lutheran symbols have been translated into the English
language repeatedly. In 1536 Richard Tavener prepared the first
translation of the Augsburg Confession. Cranmer published, in 1548, "A
Short Instruction into the Christian Religion," essentially a
translation of the Ansbach-Nuernberg Sermons on the Catechism. In 1834 a
translation of the German text of the Augsburg Confession with
"Preliminary Observations" was published at Newmarket, Va., by Charles
Henkel, Prof. Schmidt of the Seminary at Columbus O., assisting in this
work. The Introduction to the Newmarket Book of Concord assigns Henkel's
translation of the Augsburg Confession to the year 1831. Our copy,
however, which does not claim to be a second edition, is dated 1834. In
his _Popular Theology_ of 1834, S.S. Schmucker offered a translation of
the Latin text, mutilated in the interest of his _American Lutheranism._
Hazelius followed him with a translation in 1841. In 1848, Ludwig, of
New York, issued a translation of the German text of the Unaltered
Augsburg Confession, as well as of the Introduction, prepared by C.H.
Schott, together with the Ecumenical Symbols, also with introductions.
The title-page of our copy lists the price of the book at 12 1/2 cents.
C.P. Krauth's translation of the Augsburg Confession appeared in 1868.
The first complete translation of the German text of the entire Book of
Concord was published in 1851 by the publishing house of Solomon D.
Henkel & Bros., at Newmarket, Va. In this translation, however, greater
stress was laid on literary style than upon an exact reproduction of the
original. Ambrose and Socrates Henkel prepared the translation of the
Augsburg Confession, the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, the Appendix,
and the Articles of Visitation. The Small Catechism was offered in the
translation prepared by David Henkel in 1827. The Large Catechism was
translated by J. Stirewalt; the Epitome, by H. Wetzel; the Declaratio,
by J.R. Moser. The second, improved edition of 1854 contained a
translation of the Augsburg Confession by C. Philip Krauth, the Apology
was translated by W.F. Lehmann, the Smalcald Articles by W.M. Reynolds,
the two Catechisms by J.G. Morris, and the Formula of Concord together
with the Catalogus by C.F. Schaeffer. In both editions the historical
introductions present a reproduction of the material in J.T. Mueller's
_Book of Concord._

In 1882 a new English translation of the entire Book of Concord,
together with introductions and other confessional material, appeared in
two volumes, edited by Dr. H.E. Jacobs. The first volume of this edition
embraces the confessional writings of the Lutheran Church. It contains
C.P. Krauth's translation of the Augsburg Confession as revised for
Schaff's _Creeds of Christendom._ Jacobs translated the Apology (from
the Latin, with insertions, in brackets, of translations from the German
text), the Smalcald Articles (from the German), the Tractatus (from the
Latin), and the Formula of Concord. The translation of the Small
Catechism was prepared by a committee of the Ministerium of
Pennsylvania. The Large Catechism was done into English by A. Martin. A
reprint of this edition appeared in 1911, entitled "People's Edition,"
in which the Augsburg Confession is presented in a translation prepared
by a committee of the General Council, the General Synod, the United
Synod in the South, and the Ohio Synod. The second volume of Jacobs's
edition of the Book of Concord embodies historical introductions to the
Lutheran symbols, translations of the Marburg Articles, the Schwabach
Articles, the Torgau Articles, the Altered Augsburg Confession of 1540
and 1542, Zwingli's Ratio Fidei, the Tetrapolitana, the Romish
Confutatio, Melanchthon's Opinion of 1530, Luther's Sermon on the
Descent into Hell of 1533, the Wittenberg Concordia, the Leipzig Interim
the Catalogus Testimoniorum, the Articles of Visitation, and the
Decretum Upsaliense of 1593. The Principles of Faith and Church Polity
of the General Council and an index complete this volume. A Norwegian
and a Swedish translation of the Book of Concord have also been
published in America.

5. Corpora Doctrinae Supplanted by Book of Concord.

More than twenty different Lutheran collections of symbols or _corpora
doctrinae_ (a term first employed by Melanchthon), most of them bulky,
had appeared after the death of Luther and before the adoption of the
Formula of Concord, by which quite a number of them were supplanted.
From the signatures to its Preface it appears that the entire Book of
Concord was adopted by 3 electors, 20 princes, 24 counts, 4 barons, and
35 imperial cities. And the list of signatures appended to the Formula
of Concord contains about 8,000 names of theologians, preachers, and
schoolteachers. About two-thirds of the German territories which
professed adherence to the Augsburg Confession adopted and introduced
the Book of Concord as their _corpus doctrinae._ (Compare Historical
Introduction to the Formula of Concord.)

Among the _corpora doctrinae_ which were gradually superseded by the
Book of Concord are the following: 1. Corpus Doctrinae Philippicum, or
Misnicum, or Wittenbergense of 1560, containing besides the Three
Ecumenical Symbols, the following works of Melanchthon: Variata,
Apologia, Repetitio Augustanae Confessionis, Loci, Examen Ordinandorum
of 1552, Responsio ad Articulos Bavaricae Inquisitionis, Refutatio
Serveti. Melanchthon, shortly before his death, wrote the preface for
the Latin as well as the German edition of this Corpus. 2. Corpus
Doctrinae Pomeranicum of 1564 which adds Luther's Catechisms, the
Smalcald Articles, and three other works of Luther to the Corpus
Doctrinae Philippicum, which had been adopted 1561. 3. Corpus Doctrinae
Prutenicum, or Borussicum, of Prussia, 1567, containing the Augsburg
Confession, the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, and Repetition of the
Sum and Content of the True, Universal Christian Doctrine of the Church,
written by Moerlin and Chemnitz. 4. Corpus Doctrinae Thuringicum in
Ducal Saxony, of 1570, containing the Three Ecumenical Symbols, Luther's
Catechisms, the Smalcald Articles, the Confession of the Landed Estates
in Thuringia (drawn up by Justus Menius in 1549), and the Prince of
Saxony's Book of Confutation (_Konfutationsbuch_) of 1558. 5. Corpus
Doctrinae Brandenburgicum of 1572, containing the Augsburg Confession
according to the Mainz Manuscript, Luther's Small Catechism, Explanation
of the Augsburg Confession drawn from the postils and doctrinal writings
"of the faithful man of God Dr. Luther" by Andreas Musculus, and a
Church Agenda. 6. Corpus Doctrinae Wilhelminum of Lueneburg, 1576,
containing the Three Ecumenical Symbols, the Augsburg Confession, the
Apology, the Smalcald Articles, Luther's Catechisms, Formulae Caute
Loquendi (Forms of Speaking Cautiously) by Dr. Urbanus Regius, and
Formulae Recte Sentiendi de Praecipuis Horum Temporum Controversiis
(Forms of Thinking Correctly concerning the Chief Controversies of These
Times) by Martin Chemnitz. 7. Corpus Doctrinae Iulium of Duke Julius of
Braunschweig-Wolfenbuettel, 1576, containing the documents of the
Wilhelminum, with the sole addition of the Short Report of Some
Prominent Articles of Doctrine, from the Church Order of Duke Julius, of
1569. 8. The Hamburg Book of Confession of 1560, which was also adopted
by Luebeck and Lueneburg, and contained a confession against the Interim
drawn up by Aepinus in 1548, and also four declarations concerning
Adiaphorism, Osiandrism, Majorism, and the doctrine of the Lord's
Supper, drawn up since 1549. 9. The Confessional Book of Braunschweig,
adopted in 1563 and reaffirmed in 1570, containing, The Braunschweig
Church Order of 1528, the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology
thereof, the Smalcald Articles, Explanation, etc., drawn up at Lueneburg
in 1561 against the Crypto-Calvinists. 10. The Church Order of the city
of Goettingen 1568, containing the Church Order of Goettingen of 1531,
Luther's Small Catechism, the Smalcald Articles, the Augsburg
Confession, and the Apology. (Tschackert, _l.c._, 613f.; Feuerlinus,
_l.c._, 1f.)

6. Subscription to Confessions.

The position accorded the symbols in the Lutheran Church is clearly
defined by the Book of Concord itself. According to it Holy Scripture
alone is to be regarded as the sole rule and norm by which absolutely
all doctrines and teachers are to be judged. The object of the
Augustana, as stated in its Preface, was to show "what manner of
doctrine has been set forth, in our lands and churches from the Holy
Scripture and the pure Word of God." And in its Conclusion the Lutheran
confessors declare: "Nothing has been received on our part against
Scripture or the Church Catholic," and "we are ready, God willing, to
present ampler information according to the Scriptures." "Iuxta
Scripturam"--such are the closing words of the Augsburg Confession. The
Lutheran Church knows of no other principle.

In the Formula of Concord we read: "Other writings, however, of ancient
or modern teachers, whatever name they bear, must not be regarded as
equal to the Holy Scriptures, but all of them together be subjected to
them, and should not be received otherwise or further than as witnesses,
[which are to show] in what manner after the time of the apostles, and
at what places, this doctrine of the prophets and apostles was
preserved." (777, 2.) In the Conclusion of the Catalog of Testimonies we
read: "The true saving faith is to be founded upon no church-teachers,
old or new, but only and alone upon God's Word, which is comprised in
the Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles, as unquestionable
witnesses of divine truth." (1149.)

The Lutheran symbols, therefore, are not intended to supplant the
Scriptures, nor do they do so. They do, however, set forth what has been
at all times the unanimous understanding of the pure Christian doctrine
adhered to by sincere and loyal Lutherans everywhere; and, at the same
time, they show convincingly from the Scriptures that our forefathers
did indeed manfully confess nothing but God's eternal truth, which every
Christian is in duty bound to, and consistently always will, believe,
teach, and confess.

The manner also in which Lutherans pledge themselves confessionally
appears from these symbols. The Augsburg Confession was endorsed by the
princes and estates as follows: "The above articles we desire to present
in accordance with the edict of Your Imperial Majesty, in order to
exhibit our Confession and let men see a summary of the doctrine of our
teachers." (95, 6.) In the preamble to the signatures of 1537 the
Lutheran preachers unanimously confess: "We have reread the articles of
the Confession presented to the Emperor in the Assembly at Augsburg, and
by the favor of God all the preachers who have been present in this
Assembly at Smalcald harmoniously declare that they believe and teach in
their churches according to the articles of the Confession and Apology."
(529.) John Brenz declares that he had read and reread, time and again,
the Confession, the Apology, etc., and judged "that all these agree with
Holy Scripture, and with the belief of the true and genuine catholic
Church (_haec omnia convenire cum Sacra Scriptura et cum sententia verae
kai gnesies catholicae ecclesiae_)." (529.) Another subscription--to the
Smalcald Articles--reads: "I, Conrad Figenbotz, for the glory of God
subscribe that I have thus believed and am still preaching and firmly
believing as above." (503, 13.) Brixius writes in a similar vein: "I ...
subscribe to the Articles of the reverend Father Martin Luther, and
confess that hitherto I have thus believed and taught, and by the Spirit
of Christ I shall continue thus to believe and teach." (503, 27.)

In the Preface to the Thorough Declaration of the Formula of Concord the
Lutheran confessors declare: "To this Christian Augsburg Confession, so
thoroughly grounded in God's Word, we herewith pledge ourselves again
from our inmost hearts. We abide by its simple, clear, and unadulterated
meaning as the words convey it, and regard the said Confession as a pure
Christian symbol, with which at the present time true Christians ought
to be found next to God's Word.... We intend also, by the grace of the
Almighty, faithfully to abide until our end by this Christian
Confession, mentioned several times, as it was delivered in the year
1530 to the Emperor Charles V; and it is our purpose, neither in this
nor in any other writing, to recede in the least from that oft-cited
Confession, nor to propose another or new confession." (847, 4. 5.)
Again: "We confess also the First, Unaltered Augsburg Confession as our
symbol for this time (not because it was composed by our theologians,
but because it has been taken from God's Word and is founded firmly and
well therein), precisely in the form in which it was committed to
writing in the year 1530, and presented to the Emperor Charles V at
Augsburg." (851, 5.)

In like manner the remaining Lutheran symbols were adopted. (852. 777.)
Other books, the Formula of Concord declares, are accounted useful, "as
far as (_wofern, quatenus_) they are consistent with" the Scriptures and
the symbols. (855, 10.) The symbols, however, are accepted "that we may
have a unanimously received, definite, common form of doctrine, which
all our Evangelical churches together and in common confess, from and
according to which, because (_cum, weil_) it has been derived from God's
Word, all other writings should be judged and adjusted, as to how far
(_wiefern, quatenus_) they are to be approved and accepted." (855, 10.)

After its adoption by the Lutheran electors, princes, and estates, the
Formula of Concord, and with it the entire Book of Concord, was, as
stated, solemnly subscribed by about 8,000 theologians, pastors, and
teachers, the pledge reading as follows: "Since now, in the sight of God
and of all Christendom, we wish to testify to those now living and those
who shall come after us that this declaration herewith presented
concerning all the controverted articles aforementioned and explained,
and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession in which we are
also willing, by God's grace to appear with intrepid hearts before the
judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and give an account of it; and that we
will neither privately nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to
it, but, by the help of God's grace, intend to abide thereby: therefore,
after mature deliberation, we have, in God's fear and with the
invocation of His name, attached our signatures with our own hands."
(1103, 40.)

Furthermore, in the Preface to the Book of Concord the princes and
estates declare that many churches and schools had received the Augsburg
Confession "as a symbol of the present time in regard to the chief
articles of faith, especially those involved in controversy with the
Romanists and various corruptions of the heavenly doctrine." (7.) They
solemnly protest that it never entered their minds "either to introduce,
furnish a cover for, and establish any false doctrine, or in the least
even to recede from the Confession presented in the year 1530 at
Augsburg." (15.) They declare: "This Confession also, by the help of
God, we will retain to our last breath when we shall go forth from this
life to the heavenly fatherland, to appear with joyful and undaunted
mind and with a pure conscience before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus
Christ." (15.) "Therefore we also have determined not to depart even a
finger's breadth either from the subjects themselves or from the phrases
which are found in them (_vel a rebus ipsis vel a phrasibus, quae in
illa habentur, discedere_), but, the Spirit of the Lord aiding us, to
persevere constantly, with the greatest harmony, in this godly
agreement, and we intend to examine all controversies according to this
true norm and declaration of the pure doctrine." (23.)

7. Pledging of Ministers to the Confessions.

Such being the attitude of the Lutherans towards their symbols, and such
their evaluation of pure doctrine, it was self-evident that the public
teachers of their churches should be pledged to the confessions. In
December 1529, H. Winckel, of Goettingen, drew up a form in which the
candidate for ordination declares: "I believe and hold also of the most
sacred Sacrament ... as one ought to believe concerning it according to
the contents of the Bible, and as Doctor Martin Luther writes and
confesses concerning it especially in his Confession" (of the Lord's
Supper, 1528). The Goettingen Church Order of 1530, however, did not as
yet embody a vow of ordination. The first pledges to the symbols were
demanded by the University of Wittenberg in 1533 from candidates for the
degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1535 this pledge was required also of
the candidates for ordination. The oath provided that the candidate must
faithfully teach the Gospel without corruption, steadfastly defend the
Ecumenical Symbols, remain in agreement with the Augsburg Confession,
and before deciding difficult controversies consult older teachers of
the Church of the Augsburg Confession. Even before 1549 the candidates
for philosophical degrees were also pledged by oath to the Augsburg
Confession.

In 1535, at the Diet of Smalcald, it was agreed that new members
entering the Smalcald League should promise "to provide for such
teaching and preaching as was in harmony with the Word of God and the
pure teaching of our [Augsburg] Confession." According to the Pomeranian
Church Order which Bugenhagen drew up in 1535, pastors were pledged to
the Augsburg Confession and the Apology thereof. Capito, Bucer, and all
others who took part in the Wittenberg Concord of 1536, promised, over
their signatures, "to believe and to teach in all articles according to
the Confession and the Apology." (_Corpus Reformatorum,_ opp.
Melanthonis, 3, 76.) In 1540, at Goettingen, John Wigand promised to
accept the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, and to abide by them all
his life. "And," he continued, "if I should be found to do otherwise or
be convicted of teaching and confessing contrary to such Confession and
Apology, then let me, by this signature, be condemned and deposed from
this divine ministry. This do I swear, so help me God." Also at
Goettingen, Veit Pflugmacher vowed, in 1541, that he would preach the
Gospel in its truth and purity according to the Augsburg Confession and
the contents of the postils of Anton Corvinus. He added: "Should I be
found to do otherwise and not living up to what has been set forth
above, then shall I by such act have deposed myself from office. This do
I swear; so help me God."

In 1550 and 1552, Andrew Osiander attacked the oath of confession which
was in vogue at Wittenberg, claiming it to be "an entanglement in
oath-bound duties after the manner of the Papists." "What else," said
he, "does this oath accomplish than to sever those who swear it from the
Holy Scriptures and bind them to Philip's doctrine? Parents may
therefore well consider what they do by sending their sons to Wittenberg
to become Masters and Doctors. Money is there taken from them, and they
are made Masters and Doctors. But while the parents think that their son
is an excellent man, well versed in the Scriptures and able to silence
enthusiasts and heretics, he is, in reality, a poor captive, entangled
and embarrassed by oath-bound duties. For he has abjured the Word of God
and has taken an oath on Philip's doctrine." Replying to this fanatical
charge in 1553, Melanchthon emphasized the fact that the doctrinal
pledges demanded at Wittenberg had been introduced chiefly by Luther,
for the purpose of "maintaining the true doctrine." "For," said
Melanchthon, "many enthusiasts were roaming about at that time, each, in
turn, spreading new silly nonsense, _e.g._, the Anabaptists, Servetus,
Campanus, Schwenckfeld, and others. And such tormenting spirits are not
lacking at any time (_Et non desunt tales furiae ullo tempore_)." A
doctrinal pledge, Melanchthon furthermore explained, was necessary "in
order correctly to acknowledge God and call upon Him to preserve harmony
in the Church, and to bridle the audacity of such as invent new
doctrines." (_C.R._ 12, 5.)


II. The Three Ecumenical or Universal Symbols.

8. Ecumenical Symbols.

The Ecumenical (general, universal) Symbols were embodied in the Book of
Concord primarily for apologetic reasons. Carpzov writes: "The sole
reason why our Church appealed to these symbols was to declare her
agreement with the ancient Church in so far as the faith of the latter
was laid down in these symbols, to refute also the calumniations and the
accusations of the opponents, and to evince the fact that she preaches
no new doctrine and in no wise deviates from the Church Catholic."
(_Isagoge,_ 37.) For like reasons Article I of the Augsburg Confession
declares its adherence to the Nicene Creed, and the first part of the
Smalcald Articles, to the Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds. The oath
introduced by Luther in 1535, and required of the candidates for the
degree of Doctor of Divinity, also contained a pledge on the Ecumenical
Symbols. In 1538 Luther published a tract entitled, "The Three Symbols
or Confessions of the Faith of Christ Unanimously Used in the Church,"
containing the Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Te Deum of
Ambrose and Augustine. To these was appended the Nicene Creed.

In the opening sentences of this tract, Luther remarks: "Whereas I have
previously taught and written quite a bit concerning faith, showing both
what faith is and what faith does, and have also published my Confession
[1528], setting forth both what I believe and what position I intend to
maintain; and whereas the devil continues to seek new intrigues against
me, I have decided, by way of supererogation, to publish conjointly, in
the German tongue, the three so-called Symbols, or Confessions, which
have hitherto been received, read, and chanted throughout the Church. I
would thereby reaffirm the fact that I side with the true Christian
Church, which has adhered to these Symbols, or Confessions, to the
present day, and not with the false, vainglorious church, which in
reality is the worst enemy of the true Church, having introduced much
idolatry beside these beautiful confessions." (St. L. 10, 993; Erl. 23,
252.) Luther's translation of the Ecumenical Symbols, together with the
captions which appeared in his tract, were embodied in the Book of
Concord. The superscription, "Tria Symbola Catholica seu Oecumenica,"
occurs for the first time in Selneccer's edition of the Book of Concord
of 1580. Before this, 1575, he had written: "Quot sunt Symbola fidei
Christianae in Ecclesia? Tria sunt praecipua quae nominantur oecumenica,
sive universalia et authentica, id est, habentia auctoritatem et non
indigentia demonstratione aut probatione, videlicet Symbolum
Apostolicum, Nicaenum et Athanasianum." (Schmauk, _Confessional
Principle,_ 834.)

9. The Apostles' Creed.

The foundation of the Apostles' Creed was, in a way, laid by Christ
Himself when He commissioned His disciples, saying, Matt. 28, 19. 20:
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The formula of Baptism here
prescribed, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost," briefly indicates what Christ wants Christians to be taught, to
believe, and to confess. And the Apostles' Creed, both as to its form
and contents, is evidently but an amplification of the trinitarian
formula of Baptism. Theo. Zahn remarks: "It has been said, and not
without a good basis either, that Christ Himself has ordained the
baptismal confession. For the profession of the Triune God made by the
candidates for Baptism is indeed the echo of His missionary and
baptismal command reechoing through all lands and times in many thousand
voices." (_Skizzen aus dem Leben der Kirche,_ 252.)

But when and by whom was the formula of Baptism thus amplified?--During
the Medieval Ages the Apostles' Creed was commonly known as "The Twelve
Articles," because it was generally believed that the twelve apostles,
assembled in joint session before they were separated, soon after
Pentecost drafted this Creed, each contributing a clause. But, though
retained in the Catechismus Romanus, this is a legend which originated
in Italy or Gaul in the sixth or seventh (according to Zahn, toward the
end of the fourth) century and was unknown before this date. Yet, though
it may seem more probable that the Apostles' Creed was the result of a
silent growth and very gradual formation corresponding to the
ever-changing environments and needs of the Christian congregations,
especially over against the heretics, there is no sufficient reason why
the apostles themselves should not have been instrumental in its
formulation, nor why, with the exception of a number of minor later
additions its original form should not have been essentially what it is
to-day.

Nathanael confessed: "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King
of Israel," John 1, 49, the apostles confessed: "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God," Matt. 16, 16; Peter confessed: "We believe
and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God," John
6, 69; Thomas confessed: "My Lord and my God," John 20, 28. These and
similar confessions of the truth concerning Himself were not merely
approved of, but solicited and demanded by, Christ. For He declares most
solemnly: "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I
confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall
deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in
heaven," Matt. 10, 32. 33. The same duty of confessing their faith,
_i.e._, the truths concerning Christ, is enjoined upon all Christians by
the Apostle Paul when he writes: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved," Rom. 10, 9.

In the light of these and similar passages, the trinitarian baptismal
formula prescribed by Christ evidently required from the candidate for
Baptism a definite statement of what he believed concerning the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, especially concerning Jesus Christ the Savior. And
that such a confession of faith was in vogue even in the days of the
apostles appears from the Bible itself. Of Timothy it is said that he
had "professed a good profession before many witnesses," 1 Tim. 6, 12.
Heb. 4, 14 we read: "Let us hold fast our profession." Heb. 10, 23: "Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering." Jude urges
the Christians that they "should earnestly contend for the faith which
was once delivered unto the saints," and build up themselves on their
"most holy faith," Jude 3. 20. Compare also 1 Cor. 15, 3. 4; 1 Tim. 3,
16; Titus 1, 13; 3, 4-7.

10. Apostles' Creed and Early Christian Writers.

The Christian writers of the first three centuries, furthermore, furnish
ample proof for the following facts: that from the very beginning of the
Christian Church the candidates for Baptism everywhere were required to
make a confession of their faith; that from the beginning there was
existing in all the Christian congregations a formulated confession
which they called the rule of faith, the rule of truth, etc.; that this
rule was identical with the confession required of the candidates for
Baptism; that it was declared to be of apostolic origin; that the
summaries and explanations of this rule of truth, given by these
writers, tally with the contents and in part, also with the phraseology
of the Apostles' Creed; that the scattered Christian congregations, then
still autonomous, regarded the adoption of this rule, of faith as the
only necessary condition of Christian unity and fellowship.

The manner in which Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, Aristides, and
other early Christian writers present the Christian truth frequently
reminds us of the Apostles' Creed and suggests its existence. Thus
Justin Martyr, who died 165, says in his first Apology, which was
written about 140: "Our teacher of these things is Jesus Christ, who
also was born for this purpose and was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
procurator of Judea, that we reasonably worship Him, having learned that
He is the Son of the true God Himself, and holding Him in the second
place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third." "Eternal praise to the
Father of all, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Similar strains, sounding like echoes of the Second Article, may be
found in the Epistles to the Trallians and to the Christians at Smyrna
written by Ignatius, the famous martyr and bishop of Antioch, who died
107.

Irenaeus, who died 189, remarks: Every Christian "who retains immovable
in himself the rule of the truth which he received through Baptism (_ho
ton kanona tes altheias akline en eauto katechon, hon dia tou
baptismatos eilephe_)" is able to see through the deceit of all
heresies. Irenaeus here identifies the baptismal confession with what he
calls the "rule of truth, _kanon tes eiltheias_" _i.e._, the truth which
is the rule for everything claiming to be Christian. Apparently, this
"rule of truth" was the sum of doctrines which every Christian received
and confessed at his baptism. The very phrase "rule of truth" implies
that it was a concise and definite formulation of the chief Christian
truths. For "canon, rule," was the term employed by the ancient Church
to designate such brief sentences as were adopted by synods for the
practise of the Church. And this "rule of truth" is declared by Irenaeus
to be "the old tradition," "the old tradition of the apostles": he te
apo ton apostolon en te ekklesia paradosis. (Zahn, _l.c._, 379f.)
Irenaeus was the pupil of Polycarp the Martyr; and what he had learned
from him, Polycarp had received from the Apostle John. Polycarp, says
Irenaeus, "taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and
which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true." According
to Irenaeus, then, the "rule of truth" received and confessed by every
Christian at his baptism was transmitted by the apostles. The contents
of this rule of truth received from the apostles are repeatedly set
forth by Irenaeus. In his _Contra Haereses_ (I, 10, 1) one of these
summaries reads as follows: "The Church dispersed through the whole
world, to the ends of the earth has received from the apostles and their
disciples the faith in one God, the Father Almighty, who has made heaven
and earth and the sea and all things that are in them, and in one Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in
the Holy Spirit, who has proclaimed through the prophets the
dispensations, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the
passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily assumption
into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, and His manifestation
from heaven in the glory of the Father." It thus appears that the "rule
of truth" as Irenaeus knew it, the formulated sum of doctrines mediated
by Baptism, which he, in accordance with the testimony of his teacher
Polycarp, believed to have been received from the apostles, at least
approaches our present Apostolic Creed.

11. Tertullian and Cyprian on Apostles' Creed.

A similar result is obtained from the writings of Tertullian, Cyprian,
Novatian, Origen and others. "When we step into the water of Baptism,"
says Tertullian, who died about 220, "we confess the Christian faith
according to the words of its law," _i.e._, according to the law of
faith or the rule of faith. Tertullian, therefore, identifies the
confession to which the candidates for Baptism were pledged with the
brief formulation of the chief Christian doctrines which he variously
designates as "the law of faith," "the rule of faith," frequently also
as _tessara,_ watchword and _sacramentum,_ a term then signifying the
military oath of allegiance. This Law or Rule of Faith was, according to
Tertullian, the confession adopted by Christians everywhere, which
distinguished them from unbelievers and heretics. The unity of the
congregations, the granting of the greeting of peace, of the name
brother, and of mutual hospitality,--these and similar Christian rights
and privileges, says Tertullian, "depend on no other condition than the
similar tradition of the same oath of allegiance," _i.e._, the adoption
of the same baptismal rule of faith. (Zahn, 250.)

At the same time Tertullian most emphatically claims, "that this rule of
faith was established by the apostles, aye, by Christ Himself," inasmuch
as He had commanded to baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Zahn, 252.) In his book _Adversus
Praxeam,_ Tertullian concludes an epitome which he gives of "the rule of
faith" as follows: "That this rule has come down from the beginning of
the Gospel, even before the earlier heretics, and so, of course before
the Praxeas of yesterday, is proved both by the lateness of all heretics
and by the novelty of this Praxeas of yesterday." (Schaff, _Creeds of
Christendom,_ 2, 18.) The following form is taken from Tertullian's _De
Virginibus Velandis:_ "For the rule of faith is altogether one, alone
(_sola_), immovable, and irreformable, namely, believing in one God
omnipotent the Maker of the world, and in His Son Jesus Christ, born of
the Virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised from the dead
the third day, received into the heavens, sitting now at the right hand
of the Father who shall come to judge the living and the dead, also
through the resurrection of the flesh." Cyprian the Martyr, bishop of
Carthage, who died 257, and who was the first one to apply the term
_symbolum_ to the baptismal creed, in his Epistle to Magnus and to
Januarius, as well as to other Numidian bishops, gives the following as
the answer of the candidate for Baptism to the question, "Do you
believe?": "I believe in God the Father, in His Son Christ, in the Holy
Spirit. I believe the remission of sins, and the life eternal through
the holy Church."

12. Variations of the Apostles' Creed.

While there can be no reasonable doubt either that the Christian
churches from the very beginning were in possession of a definite and
formulated symbol, or that this symbol was an amplification of the
trinitarian formula of Baptism, yet we are unable to ascertain with any
degree of certainty what its exact original wording was. There has not
been found in the early Christian writers a single passage recording the
precise form of the baptismal confession or the rule of truth and faith
as used in the earliest churches. This lack of contemporal written
records is accounted for by the fact that the early Christians and
Christian churches refused on principle to impart and transmit their
confession in any other manner than by word of mouth. Such was their
attitude, not because they believed in keeping their creed secret, but
because they viewed the exclusively oral method of impartation as the
most appropriate in a matter which they regarded as an affair of deepest
concern of their hearts.

It is universally admitted, even by those who believe that the apostles
were instrumental in formulating the early Christian Creed, that the
wording of it was not absolutely identical in all Christian
congregations, and that in the course of time various changes and
additions were made. "Tradition," says Tertullian with respect to the
baptismal confession, received from the apostles, "has enlarged it,
custom has confirmed it, faith observes and preserves it." (Zahn, 252.
381.) When, therefore, Tertullian and other ancient writers declare that
the rule of faith received from the apostles is "altogether one,
immovable, and irreformable," they do not at all mean to say that the
phraseology of this symbol was alike everywhere, and that in this
respect no changes whatever had been made, nor that any clauses had been
added. Such variations, additions, and alterations, however, involved a
doctrinal change of the confession no more than the Apology of the
Augsburg Confession implies a doctrinal departure from this symbol. It
remained the same Apostolic Creed, the changes and additions merely
bringing out more fully and clearly its true, original meaning. And this
is the sense in which Tertullian and others emphasize that the rule of
faith is "one, immovable, and irreformable."

The oldest known form of the Apostles' Creed, according to A. Harnack,
is the one used in the church at Rome, even prior to 150 A.D. It was,
however, as late as 337 or 338, when this Creed, which, as the church at
Rome claimed, was brought thither by Peter himself, was for the first
time quoted as a whole by Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra in a letter to
Bishop Julius of Rome, for the purpose of vindicating his orthodoxy.
During the long period intervening, some changes, however, may have
been, and probably were, made also in this Old Roman Symbol, which reads
as follows:--

_Pisteuo eis theon patera pantokratora; kai eis Christon Iesoun [ton]
huion autou ton monogene, ton kupion hemon, ton gennethenta ek
pneumatos hagiou kai Marias tes parthenou, ton epi Pontiou Pilatou
staurothenta kai taphenta, te trite hemera anastanta ek [ton] nekron,
anabanta eis tous ouranous, kathemenon en dexia tou patros, hothen
erchetai krinai zontas kai nekrous; kai eis pneuma hagion, hagian
ekklesian aphesin hamartion, sapkos anastasin._ (Herzog, _R. E._ 1,
744.)

13. Present Form of Creed and Its Contents.

The complete form of the present _textus receptus_ of the Apostles'
Creed, evidently the result of a comparison and combination of the
various preexisting forms of this symbol, may be traced to the end of
the fifth century and is first found in a sermon by Caesarius of Arles
in France, about 500.--In his translation, Luther substituted
"Christian" for "catholic" in the Third Article. He regarded the two
expressions as equivalent in substance, as appears from the Smalcald
Articles, where he identifies these terms, saying: "Sic enim orant
pueri: Credo sanctam ecclesiam catholicam sive Christianam." (472, 5;
498, 3.) The form, "I believe a holy Christian Church," however, is met
with even before Luther's time. (Carpzov, _Isagoge,_ 46.)--In the Greek
version the received form of the Apostles' Creed reads as follows:--

_Pisteuo eis theon patera, pantokratora, poieten ouranou kai ges. Kai
eis Iesoun Christon, huion autou ton monogene, ton kurion hemon, ton
sullephthenta ek pneumatos hagiou, gennethenta ek Marias tes parthenou,
pathonta epi Pontiou Pilatou, staurothenta, thanonta, kai taphenta,
anastanta apo ton nekron, anelthonta eis tous ouranous, kathezomenon en
dexia theou patros pantodunamou, ekeithen erchomenon krinai zontas kai
nekrous. Pisteuo eis to pneuma to hagion, hagian ekklesian, hagion
koinonian, aphesin hamartion sarkos anastasin, zoen aionion, Amen._

As to its contents, the Apostles' Creed is a positive statement of the
essential facts of Christianity. The Second Article, says Zahn, is "a
compend of the Evangelical history, including even external details."
(264.) Yet some of the clauses of this Creed were probably inserted in
opposition to prevailing, notably Gnostic, heresies of the first
centuries. It was the first Christian symbol and, as Tertullian and
others declare, the bond of unity and fellowship of the early Christian
congregations everywhere. It must not, however, be regarded as inspired,
much less as superior even to the Holy Scriptures; for, as stated above,
it cannot even, in any of its existing forms, be traced to the apostles.
Hence it must be subjected to, and tested and judged by, the Holy
Scriptures, the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule and
norm of all doctrines, teachers, and symbols. In accordance herewith the
Lutheran Church receives the Apostles' Creed, as also the two other
ecumenical confessions, not as _per se_ divine and authoritative, but
because its doctrine is taken from, and well grounded in, the prophetic
and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments. (CONC. TRIGL. 851,
4.)

14. The Nicene Creed.

In the year 325 Emperor Constantine the Great convened the First
Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, in Bithynia, for the purpose of settling
the controversy precipitated by the teaching of Arius, who denied the
true divinity of Christ. The council was attended by 318 bishops and
their assistants, among whom the young deacon Athanasius of Alexandria
gained special prominence as a theologian of great eloquence, acumen,
and learning. "The most valiant champion against the Arians," as he was
called, Athanasius turned the tide of victory in favor of the
Homoousians, who believed that the essence of the Father and of the Son
is identical. The discussions were based upon the symbol of Eusebius of
Caesarea, which by changes and the insertion of Homoousian phrases (such
as _ek tes ousias tou patrous; gennetheis, ou poietheis; homoousios to
patri_) was amended into an unequivocal clean-cut, anti-Arian
confession. Two Egyptian bishops who refused to sign the symbol were
banished, together with Arius, to Illyria. The text of the original
Nicene Creed reads as follows:--

_Pisteuomen eis hena theon, patera pantokratora, panton oraton te kai
aoraton poieten. Kai eis hena kurion Iesoun Christon, ton huion tou
theou, gennethenta ek tou patros monogene, toutestin ek tes ousias tou
patros, theon ek theou, phos ek photos, theon alethinon ek theou
alethinou, gennethenta, ou poiethenta, homoousion to patri, di' ou ta
panta egeneto, ta te en to ourano kaita epi tes ges; ton di' hemas tous
anthropous kai dia ten hemeteran soterian katelthonta kai sarkothenta
kai enanthropesanta, pathonta, kai anastanta te trite hemera, kai
anelthonta eis tous ouranous, kai erchomenon palin krinai zontas kai
nekrous. Kai eis to pneuma to hagion. Tous de legontas, hoti pote hote
ouk en, kai hoti ex ouk onton egeneto, en ex heteras hupostaseos e
ousias phaskontas einai, e ktiston, e alloioton, e trepton ton huion
tou theou, toutous anathematizei he katholike kai apostolike ekklesia._
(Mansi, _Amplissima Collectio,_ 2, 665 sq.)

15. Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.

In order to suppress Arianism, which still continued to flourish,
Emperor Theodosius convened the Second Ecumenical Council, in 381 at
Constantinople. The bishops here assembled, 150 in number, resolved that
the faith of the Nicene Fathers must ever remain firm and unchanged, and
that its opponents, the Eunomians, Anomoeans, Arians, Eudoxians,
Semi-Arians, Sabellians, Marcellians, Photinians, and Apollinarians,
must be rejected. At this council also Macedonius was condemned, who
taught that the Holy Spirit is not God: _elege gar auto me einai theon,
alla tes theontos tou patros allotrion._ (Mansi, 3, 568. 566. 573. 577.
600.) By omissions, alterations, and additions (in particular concerning
the Holy Spirit) this council gave to the Nicene Creed its present form.
Hence it is also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Third
Ecumenical Council, which assembled at Toledo, Spain, in 589, inserted
the word "Filioque," an addition which the Greek Church has never
sanctioned, and which later contributed towards bringing about the great
Eastern Schism. A. Harnack considers the Constantinopolitanum (CPanum),
the creed adopted at Constantinople, to be the baptismal confession of
the Church of Jerusalem, which, he says, was revised between 362 and 373
and amplified by the Nicene formulas and a rule of faith concerning the
Holy Ghost. (Herzog, _R. E._, 11, 19f.) Following is the text of the
CPanum according to Mansi:

_Pisteuomen eis hena theon patera, pantokratora, poieten ouranou kai ges,
oratwn te pantwn kai aoratwn. Kai eis hena kurion Iesoun Christon ton
huion tou theou ton monogene, ton ek tou patros gennethenta pro panton
ton aionon, phos ek photos, theon alethinon ek theou alethinou,
gennethevta, ou poiethenta, homoousion to patri, di' ou ta panta
egeneto, ton di' hemas tous anthropous kai dia ten hemeteran soterian
katelthovnta ek tov ouranon, kai sarkothenta ek pneumatos hagiou kai
Marias tes parthenou, kai enanthropesanta, staurothenta te huper hemon
epi Pontiou Pilatou, kai pathonta, kai taphenta, kai anastanta te trite
hemera kata tas gpaphas, kai anelthonta eis tous ouranous, kai
kathezomenon ek dexion tou patros, kai palin erchomenon meta doxes
krinai zontas kai nekrous; ou tes basileias ouk estai telos. Kai eis
pneuma to hagion, to kurion, to zoopoion, to ek tou patros
ekporeuomenon, to sun patri kai huio sumproskunoumenon kai
sundoxazovmenon, to lalesan dia ton propheton, eis mian hagian
katholiken kai apostoliken ekklesian. Homologoumen hen baptisma eis
aphesin hamartion; prosdokomen anastasin nekron, kai zwen tou mellontos
aionos. Amen._ (3, 565.)

16. The Athanasian Creed.

From its opening word this Creed is also called Symbolum Quicunque.
Roman tradition has it that Athanasius, who died 373, made this
confession before Pope Julius when the latter summoned him "to submit
himself to him [the Pope], as to the ecumenical bishop and Supreme
arbiter of matters ecclesiastical (_ut ei, seu episcopo oecumica et
supremo rerum ecclesiasticarum arbitro, sese submitteret_)." However,
Athanasius is not even the author of this confession, as appears from
the following facts: 1. The Creed was originally written in Latin. 2.
It is mentioned neither by Athanasius himself nor by his Greek
eulogists. 3. It was unknown to the Greek Church till about 1200, and
has never been accorded official recognition by this Church nor its
"orthodox" sister churches. 4. It presupposes the post-Athanasian
Trinitarian and Christological controversies.--Up to the present day it
has been impossible to reach a final verdict concerning the author of
the Quicunque and the time and place of its origin. Koellner's
_Symbolik_ allocates it to Gaul. Loofs inclines to the same opinion and
ventures the conjecture that the source of this symbol must be sought in
Southern Gaul between 450 and 600. (Herzog, _R. E._, 2, 177.) Gieseler
and others look to Spain for its origin.

Paragraphs 1, 2, and 40 of the Athanasian Creed have given offense not
only to theologians who advocate an undogmatic Christianity, but to many
thoughtless Christians as well. Loofs declares: The Quicunque is
unevangelical and cannot be received because its very first sentence
confounds _fides_ with _expositio fidei._ (H., _R. E._, 2, 194.)
However, the charge is gratuitous, since the Athanasian Creed deals with
the most fundamental Christian truths: concerning the Trinity, the
divinity of Christ, and His work of redemption, without the knowledge of
which saving faith is impossible. The paragraphs in question merely
express the clear doctrine of such passages of the Scriptures as Acts 4,
12: "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved;" John 8, 21:
"If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins"; John 14, 6:
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man
cometh unto the Father but by Me." In complete agreement with the
impugned statements of the Athanasian Creed, the Apology of the Augsburg
Confession closes its article "Of God" as follows: "Therefore we do
freely conclude that they are all idolatrous, blasphemers, and outside
of the Church of Christ who hold or teach otherwise." (103)

In the early part of the Middle Ages the Quicunque had already received
a place in the order of public worship. The Council of Vavre resolved,
1368: "Proinde Symbolum Apostolorum silenter et secrete dicitur quotidie
in Completorio et in Prima, quia fuit editum tempore, quo nondum erat
fides catholica propalata. Alia autem duo publice in diebus Dominicis et
festivis, quando maior ad ecclesiam congregatur populus, decantantur,
quia fuere edita tempore fidei propalatae. Symbolum quidem Nicaenum post
evangelium cantatur in Missa quasi evangelicae fidei expositio. Symbolum
Athanasii de mane solum cantatur in Prima, quia fuit editum tempore quo
maxime fuerunt depulsa et detecta nox atra et tenebrae haeresium et
errorum." (Mansi, 26, 487.) Luther says: "The first symbol, that of the
apostles, is indeed the best of all, because it contains a concise,
correct and splendid presentation of the articles of faith and is easily
learned by children and the common people. The second, the Athanasian
Creed, is longer ... and practically amounts to an apology of the first
symbol." "I do not know of any more important document of the New
Testament Church since the days of the apostles" [than the Athanasian
Creed]. (St. L. 10, 994; 6, 1576; E. 23, 253.)

17. Luther on Ecumenical Creeds.

The central theme of the Three Ecumenical Symbols is Christ's person and
work, the paramount importance of which Luther extols as follows in his
tract of 1538: "In all the histories of the entire Christendom I have
found and experienced that all who had and held the chief article
concerning Jesus Christ correctly remained safe and sound in the true
Christian faith. And even though they erred and sinned in other points,
they nevertheless were finally preserved." "For it has been decreed,
says Paul, Col. 2, 9, that in Christ should dwell all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily, or personally, so that he who does not find or receive
God in Christ shall never have nor find Him anywhere outside of Christ,
even though he ascend above heaven, descend below hell, or go beyond the
world." "On the other hand, I have also observed that all errors,
heresies, idolatries, offenses, abuses, and ungodliness within the
Church originally resulted from the fact that this article of faith
concerning Jesus Christ was despised or lost. And viewed clearly and
rightly, all heresies militate against the precious article of Jesus
Christ, as Simeon says concerning Him, Luke 2, 34, that He is set for
the falling and the rising of many in Israel and for a sign which is
spoken against; and long before this, Isaiah, chapter 8, 14, spoke of
Him as 'a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.'" "And we in the
Papacy, the last and greatest of saints, what have we done? We have
confessed that He [Christ] is God and man; but that He is our Savior,
who died and rose for us, etc., this we have denied and persecuted with
might and main" (those who taught this). "And even now those who claim
to be the best Christians and boast that they are the Holy Church, who
burn the others and wade in innocent blood, regard as the best doctrine
[that which teaches] that we obtain grace and salvation through our own
works. Christ is to be accorded no other honor with regard to our
salvation than that He made the beginning, while we are the heroes who
complete it with our merit."

Luther continues: "This is the way the devil goes to work. He attacks
Christ with three storm-columns. One will not suffer Him to be God; the
other will not suffer Him to be man, the third denies that He has
merited salvation for us. Each of the three endeavors to destroy Christ.
For what does it avail that you confess Him to be God if you do not also
believe that He is man? For then you have not the entire and the true
Christ, but a phantom of the devil. What does it avail you to confess
that He is true man if you do not also believe that He is true God? What
does it avail you to confess that He is God and man if you do not also
believe that whatever He became and whatever He did was done for you?"
"Surely, all three parts must be believed, namely, that He is God, also,
that He is man, and that He became such a man for us, that is, as the
first symbol says: conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered, was crucified, died, and rose again, etc. If one small part is
lacking, then all parts are lacking. For faith shall and must be
complete in every particular. While it may indeed be weak and subject to
afflictions, yet it must be entire and not false. Weakness [of faith]
does not work the harm but false faith--that is eternal death." (St. L.
10, 998; E. 23, 258.)

Concerning the mystery involved in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the
chief topic of the Ecumenical Creeds, Luther remarks in the same tract:
"Now, to be sure, we Christians are not so utterly devoid of all reason
and sense as the Jews consider us, who take us to be nothing but crazy
geese and ducks, unable to perceive or notice what folly it is to
believe that God is man, and that in one Godhead there are three
distinct persons. No, praise God, we perceive indeed that this doctrine
cannot and will not be received by reason. Nor are we in need of any
sublime Jewish reasoning to demonstrate this to us. We believe it
knowingly and willingly. We confess and also experience that, where the
Holy Spirit does not, surpassing reason, shine into the heart, it is
impossible to grasp, or to believe, and abide by, such article;
moreover, there must remain in it [the heart] a Jewish, proud, and
supercilious reason deriding and ridiculing such article, and thus
setting up itself as judge and master of the Divine Being whom it has
never seen nor is able to see and hence does not know what it is passing
judgment on, nor whereof it thinks or speaks. For God dwells in a 'light
which no man can approach unto,' 1 Tim. 6, 16. He must come to us, yet
hidden in the lantern, and as it is written, John 1, 18: 'No man hath
seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, He hath declared Him,' and as Moses said before this, Ex.
33: 'There shall no man see Me [God] and live.'" (St. L. 10, 1007; E.
23, 568.)


III. The Augsburg Confession.

18. Diet Proclaimed by Emperor.

January 21, 1530, Emperor Charles V proclaimed a diet to convene at
Augsburg on the 8th of April. The manifesto proceeded from Bologna,
where, three days later, the Emperor was crowned by Pope Clement VII.
The proclamation, after referring to the Turkish invasion and the action
to be taken with reference to this great peril, continues as follows:
"The diet is to consider furthermore what might and ought to be done and
resolved upon regarding the division and separation in the holy faith
and the Christian religion; and that this may proceed the better and
more salubriously, [the Emperor urged] to allay divisions, to cease
hostility, to surrender past errors to our Savior, and to display
diligence in hearing, understanding, and considering with love and
kindness the opinions and views of everybody, in order to reduce them to
one single Christian truth and agreement, to put aside whatever has not
been properly explained or done by either party, so that we all may
adopt and hold one single and true religion; and may all live in one
communion, church, and unity, even as we all live and do battle under
one Christ."

In his invitation to attend the diet, the Emperor at the same time
urged the Elector of Saxony by all means to appear early enough (the
Elector reached Augsburg on May 2 while the Emperor did not arrive
before June 16), "lest the others who arrived in time be compelled to
wait with disgust, heavy expenses and detrimental delay such as had
frequently occurred in the past." The Emperor added the warning: In case
the Elector should not appear, the diet would proceed as if he had been
present and assented to its resolutions. (Foerstemann, _Urkundenbuch,_ 1,
7 f.)

March 11 the proclamation reached Elector John at Torgau. On the 14th
Chancellor Brueck advised the Elector to have "the opinion on which our
party has hitherto stood and to which they have adhered," in the
controverted points, "properly drawn up in writing, with a thorough
confirmation thereof from the divine Scriptures." On the same day the
Elector commissioned Luther, Jonas, Bugenhagen, and Melanchthon to
prepare a document treating especially of "those articles on account of
which said division, both in faith and in other outward church customs
and ceremonies, continues." (43.) At Wittenberg the theologians at once
set to work, and the result was presented at Torgau March 27 by
Melanchthon. On April 4 the Elector and his theologians set out from
Torgau, arriving at Coburg on the 15th, where they rested for eight
days. On the 23d of April the Elector left for Augsburg, while Luther,
who was still under the ban of both the Pope and the Emperor, remained
at the fortress Ebernburg. Nevertheless he continued in close touch with
the confessors, as appears from his numerous letters written to
Augsburg, seventy all told about twenty of which were addressed to
Melanchthon.

19. Apology Original Plan of Lutherans.

The documents which the Wittenberg theologians delivered at Torgau
treated the following subjects: Human Doctrines and Ordinances, Marriage
of Priests, Both Kinds, Mass, Confession, Power of Bishops, Ordination,
Monastic Vows, Invocation of the Saints, German Singing, Faith and
Works, Office of the Keys (Papacy), Ban, Marriage, and Private Mass.
Accordingly, the original intention of the Lutherans was not to enter
upon, and present for discussion at Augsburg, such doctrines as were not
in controversy (Of God, etc.), but merely to treat of the abuses and
immediately related doctrines, especially of Faith and Good Works. (66
ff.) They evidently regarded it as their chief object and duty to
justify before the Emperor and the estates both Luther and his
protectors, the electors of Saxony. This is borne out also by the
original Introduction to the contemplated Apology, concerning which we
read in the prefatory remarks to the so-called Torgau Articles mentioned
above: "To this end [of justifying the Elector's peaceable frame of
mind] it will be advantageous to begin [the projected Apology] with a
lengthy rhetorical introduction." (68; _C. R._, 26, 171.) This
introduction, later on replaced by another, was composed by Melanchthon
at Coburg and polished by him during the first days at Augsburg. May 4
he remarks in a letter to Luther: "I have shaped the Exordium of our
Apology somewhat more rhetorical (_hretorikoteron_) than I had written
it at Coburg." (_C. R._, 2, 40; Luther, St. L. 16, 652.) In this
introduction Melanchthon explains: Next to God the Elector builds his
hope on the Emperor, who had always striven for peace, and was even now
prepared to adjust the religious controversy in mildness. As to the
Elector and his brother Frederick, they had ever been attached to the
Christian religion, had proved faithful to the Emperor, and had
constantly cultivated peace. Their present position was due to the fact
that commandments of men had been preached instead of faith in Christ.
Not Luther, but Luther's opponents, had begun the strife. It was for
conscience' sake that the Elector had not proceeded against Luther.
Besides, such action would only have made matters worse, since Luther
had resisted the Sacramentarians and the Anabaptists. Equally unfounded
were also the accusations that the Evangelicals had abolished all order
as well as all ceremonies, and had undermined the authority of the
bishops. If only the bishops would tolerate the Gospel and do away with
the gross abuses, they would suffer no loss of power, honor, and
prestige. In concluding Melanchthon emphatically protests: "Never has a
reformation been undertaken so utterly without any violence as this [in
Saxony]; for it is a public fact that our men have prevailed with such
as were already in arms to make peace." (Kolde, _l.c._, 13.) The
document, accordingly, as originally planned for presentation at
Augsburg, was to be a defense of Luther and his Elector. In keeping
herewith it was in the beginning consistently designated "Apology."

20. Transformation of Apology into Confession Due to Eck's Slanders.

This plan, however, was modified when the Lutherans, after reaching
Augsburg, heard of and read the 404 Propositions published by Dr. John
Eck, in which Luther was classified with Zwingli, Oecolampadius,
Carlstadt, Pirkheimer, Hubmaier, and Denk, and was charged with every
conceivable heresy. In a letter of March 14, accompanying the copy of
his Propositions which Eck sent to the Emperor, he refers to Luther as
the domestic enemy of the Church (_hostis ecclesiae domesticus_), who
has fallen into every Scylla and Charybdis of iniquity; who speaks of
the Pope as the Antichrist and of the Church as the harlot; who has
praise for none but heretics and schismatics; whom the Church has to
thank for the Iconoclasts, Sacramentarians, New Hussites, Anabaptists,
New Epicureans, who teach that the soul is mortal, and the Cerinthians;
who rehashes all the old heresies condemned more than a thousand years
ago, etc. (Plitt, _Einleitung in die Augustana,_ 1, 527 ff.) Such and
similar slanders had been disseminated by the Papists before this, and
they continued to do so even after the Lutherans, at Augsburg, had made
a public confession of their faith and had most emphatically disavowed
all ancient and modern heresies. Thus Cochlaeus asserted in his attack
on the Apology, published 1534, that Lutheranism was a concoction of all
the old condemned heresies, that Luther taught fifteen errors against
the article of God, and Melanchthon nine against the Nicene Creed, etc.
Luther, he declared, had attacked the doctrine of the Trinity in a
coarser fashion than Arius. (Salig, _Historie d. Augsb. Konf.,_ 1, 377.)

These calumniations caused the Lutherans to remodel and expand the
defense originally planned into a document which should not merely
justify the changes made by them with regard to customs and ceremonies,
but also present as fully as possible the doctrinal articles which they
held over against ancient and modern heresies, falsely imputed to them.
Thus to some extent it is due to the scurrility of Eck that the
contemplated Apology was transformed into an all-embracing Confession, a
term employed by Melanchthon himself. In a letter to Luther, dated May
11, 1530, he wrote: "Our Apology is being sent to you--though it is
rather a Confession. _Mittitur tibi apologia nostra, quamquam verius
confessio est._ I included [in the Confession] almost all articles of
faith, because Eck published most diabolical lies against us, _quia
Eckius edidit diabolikontatas diabolas contra nos._ Against these it was
my purpose to provide an antidote." (_C. R._ 2, 45; Luther, St. L. 16,
654.)

This is in accord also with Melanchthon's account in his Preface of
September 29, 1559 to the German _Corpus Doctrinae_ (Philippicum),
stating: "Some papal scribblers had disseminated pasquinades at the diet
[at Augsburg, 1530], which reviled our churches with horrible lies,
charging that they taught many condemned errors, and were like the
Anabaptists, erring and rebellious. Answer had to be made to His
Imperial Majesty, and in order to refute the pasquinades, it was decided
to include all articles of Christian doctrine in proper succession, that
every one might see how unjustly our churches were slandered in the
lying papal writings. ... Finally, this Confession was, as God directed
and guided, drawn up by me in the manner indicated, and the venerable
Doctor Martin Luther was pleased with it." (_C. R._ 9, 929.)

The original plan, however, was not entirely abandoned, but merely
extended by adding a defense also against the various heresies with
which the Lutherans were publicly charged. This was done in an objective
presentation of the principal doctrines held by the Lutherans, for which
the Marburg and Schwabach Articles served as models and guides.

21. Marburg, Schwabach, and Torgau Articles.

The material from which Melanchthon constructed the Augsburg Confession
is, in the last analysis, none other than the Reformation truths which
Luther had proclaimed since 1517 with ever-increasing clarity and force.
In particular, he was guided by, and based his labor on, the Marburg
Articles, the Schwabach Articles, and the so-called Torgau Articles. The
Marburg Articles, fifteen in number, had been drawn up by Luther, in
1529, at the Colloquy of Marburg, whence he departed October 6, about
six months before the Diet at Augsburg. (Luther, St. L., 17, 1138 f.)
The seventeen Schwabach Articles were composed by Luther, Melanchthon,
Jonas, Brenz and Agricola, and presented to the Convention at Smalcald
about the middle of October, 1529. According to recent researches the
Schwabach Articles antedated the Marburg Articles and formed the basis
for them. (Luther, Weimar Ed., 30, 3, 97, 107.) In 1530 Luther published
these Articles, remarking: "It is true that I helped to draw up such
articles; for they were not composed by me alone." This public statement
discredits the opinion of v. Schubert published in 1908 according to
which Melanchthon is the sole author of the Schwabach Articles, Luther's
contribution and participation being negligible. The Schwabach Articles
constitute the seventeen basic articles of the first part of the
Augsburg Confession. (St. L. 16, 638. 648. 564; _C. R._ 26, 146 f.)

The so-called Torgau Articles are the documents referred to above,
touching chiefly upon the abuses. Pursuant to the order of the Elector,
they were prepared by Luther and his assistants, Melanchthon,
Bugenhagen, and possibly also Jonas. They are called Torgau Articles
because the order for drafting them came from Torgau (March 14), and
because they were presented to the Elector at Torgau. (Foerstemann, 1,
66; _C. R._ 26, 171; St. L. 16, 638.) With reference to these articles
Luther wrote (March 14) to Jonas, who was then still conducting the
visitation: "The Prince has written to us, that is, to you, Pomeranus,
Philip, and myself, in a letter addressed to us in common, that we
should come together set aside all other business, and finish before
next Sunday whatever is necessary for the next diet on April 8. For
Emperor Charles himself will be present at Augsburg to settle all things
in a friendly way, as he writes in his bull. Therefore, although you are
absent, we three shall do what we can today and tomorrow; still, in
order to comply with the will of the Prince, it will be incumbent upon
you to turn your work over to your companions and be present with us
here on the morrow. For things are in a hurry. _Festinata enim sunt
omnia._" (St. L. 16, 638.)

Melanchthon also wrote to Jonas on the 15th of March: "Luther is
summoning you by order of the Prince; you will therefore come as soon as
it is at all possible. The Diet, according to the proclamation, will
convene at Augsburg. And the Emperor graciously promises that he will
investigate the matter, and correct the errors on both sides. May Christ
stand by us!" (_C. R._ 2, 28; Foerstemann, 1, 45.) It was to these
articles (Torgau Articles) that the Elector referred when he wrote to
Luther from Augsburg on the 11th of May: "After you and others of our
learned men at Wittenberg, at our gracious desire and demand, have
drafted the articles which are in religious controversy, we do not wish
to conceal from you that Master Philip Melanchthon has now at this place
perused them further and drawn them up in one form." (_C. R._ 2, 47.)

22. Luther's Spokesman at Augsburg.

The material, therefore, out of which Melanchthon, who in 1530 was still
in full accord with Luther doctrinally, framed the fundamental symbol of
the Lutheran Church were the thoughts and, in a large measure, the very
words of Luther. Melanchthon gave to the Augsburg Confession its form
and its irenic note, its entire doctrinal content, however must be
conceded to be "_iuxta sententiam Lutheri,_ according to the teaching of
Luther," as Melanchthon himself declared particularly with respect to
the article of the Lord's Supper. (_C. R._ 2, 142.) On the 27th of June,
two days after the presentation of the Confession, Melanchthon wrote to
Luther: "We have hitherto followed your authority, _tuam secuti hactenus
auctoritatem,_" and now, says Melanchthon, Luther should also let him
know how much could be yielded to the opponents. (2, 146.) Accordingly,
in the opinion of Melanchthon, Luther, though absent, was the head of
the Evangelicals also at Augsburg.

In his answer Luther does not deny this, but only demands of Melanchthon
to consider the cause of the Gospel as his own. "For," says he, "it is
indeed my affair, and, to tell the truth, my affair more so than that of
all of you." Yet they should not speak of "authority." "In this matter,"
he continues, "I will not be or be called your author [authority]; and
though this might be correctly explained, I do not want this word. If it
is not your affair at the same time and in the same measure, I do not
desire that it be called mine and be imposed upon you. If it is mine
alone, I shall direct it myself." (St. L. 16, 906. 903. Enders, _Luthers
Briefwechsel,_ 8, 43.)

Luther, then, was the prime mover also at Augsburg. Without him there
would have been no Evangelical cause, no Diet of Augsburg, no
Evangelical confessors, no Augsburg Confession. And this is what Luther
really meant when he said: "_Confessio Augustana mea;_ the Augsburg
Confession is mine." (Walch 22, 1532.) He did not in the least thereby
intend to deprive Melanchthon of any credit properly due him with
reference to the Confession. Moreover, in a letter written to Nicolaus
Hausmann on July 6, 1530, Luther refers to the Augustana as "our
confession, which our Philip prepared; _quam Philippus noster paravit._"
(St. L. 16, 882; Enders 8, 80.) As a matter of fact, however, the day of
Augsburg, even as the day of Worms, was the day of Luther and of the
Evangelical truth once more restored to light by Luther. At Augsburg,
too, Melanchthon was not the real author and moving spirit, but the
instrument and mouthpiece of Luther, out of whose spirit the doctrine
there confessed had proceeded. (See Formula of Concord 983, 32--34.)

Only blindness born of false religious interests (indifferentism,
unionism, etc.) can speak of Melanchthon's theological independence at
Augsburg or of any doctrinal disagreement between the Augsburg
Confession and the teaching of Luther. That, at the Diet, he was led,
and wished to be led, by Luther is admitted by Melanchthon himself. In
the letter of June 27, referred to above, he said: "The matters, as you
[Luther] know, have been considered before, though in the combat it
always turns out otherwise than expected." (St. L. 16, 899; _C. R._ 2,
146.) On the 31st of August he wrote to his friend Camerarius: "Hitherto
we have yielded nothing to our opponents, except what Luther judged
should be done, since the matter was considered well and carefully
before the Diet; _re bene ac diligenter deliberata ante conventum_." (2,
334.)

Very pertinently E. T. Nitzsch said of Melanchthon (1855): "With the son
of the miner, who was destined to bring good ore out of the deep shaft,
there was associated the son of an armorer, who was well qualified to
follow his leader and to forge shields, helmets, armor, and swords for
this great work." This applies also to the Augsburg Confession, in which
Melanchthon merely shaped the material long before produced by Luther
from the divine shafts of God's Word. Replying to Koeller, Rueckert, and
Heppe, who contend that the authorship of the Augsburg Confession must
in every way be ascribed to Melanchthon, Philip Schaff writes as
follows: "This is true as far as the spirit [which Luther called
'pussyfooting,' _Leisetreten_] and the literary composition are
concerned; but as to the doctrines Luther had a right to say, 'The
Catechism, the Exposition of the Ten Commandments, and the Augsburg
Confession are _mine._'" (_Creeds_ 1, 229.)

23. Drafting the Confession.

May 11 the Confession was so far completed that the Elector was able to
submit it to Luther for the purpose of getting his opinion on it.
According to Melanchthon's letter of the same date, the document
contained "almost all articles of faith, _omnes fere articulos fedei._"
(_C. R._ 2, 45.) This agrees with the account written by Melanchthon
shortly before his death, in which he states that in the Augsburg
Confession he had presented "the sum of our Church's doctrine," and that
in so doing he had arrogated nothing to himself; for in the presence of
the princes, etc., each individual sentence had been discussed.
"Thereupon," says Melanchthon, "the entire Confession was sent also to
Luther, who informed the princes that he had read it and approved it.
The princes and other honest and learned men still living will remember
that such was the case. _Missa est denique et Luthero tota forma
Confessionis, qui Principibus scripsit, se hanc Confessionem et legisse
et probare. Haec ita acta esse, Principes et alii honesti et docti viri
adhuc superstites meminerint._" (9, 1052.) As early as May 15 Luther
returned the Confession with the remark: "I have read Master Philip's
Apology. I am well pleased with it, and know nothing to improve or to
change in it; neither would this be proper, since I cannot step so
gently and softly. Christ, our Lord, grant that it may produce much and
great fruit which, indeed, we hope and pray for. Amen." (St. L. 16,
657.) Luther is said to have added these words to the Tenth Article:
"And they condemn those who teach otherwise, _et improbant secus
docentes._" (Enders, 7, 336.)

Up to the time of its presentation the Augsburg Confession was
diligently improved, polished, perfected, and partly recast. Additions
were inserted and several articles added. Nor was this done secretly and
without Luther's knowledge. May 22 Melanchthon wrote to Luther: "Daily
we change much in the Apology. I have eliminated the article On Vows,
since it was too brief, and substituted a fuller explanation. Now I am
also treating of the Power of the Keys. I would like to have you read
the articles of faith. If you find no shortcoming in them, we shall
manage to treat the remainder. For one must always make some changes in
them and adapt oneself to conditions. _Subinde enim mutandi sunt atque
ad occasiones accommodandi._" (_C. R._ 2, 60; Luther, 16, 689.)
Improvements suggested by Regius and Brenz were also adopted. (Zoeckler,
_Die A. K._, 18.)

Even Brueck is said to have made some improvements. May 24 the Nuernberg
delegates wrote to their Council: "The Saxon Plan [Apology] has been
returned by Doctor Luther. But Doctor Brueck, the old chancellor, still
has some changes to make at the beginning and the end." (_C. R._ 2, 62.)
The expression "beginning and end (_hinten und vorne_)," according to
Tschackert, is tantamount to "all over (_ueberall_)." However, even
before 1867 Plitt wrote it had long ago been recognized that this
expression refers to the Introduction and the Conclusion of the
Confession, which were written by Brueck. (Aug. 2, 11.) Bretschneider is
of the same opinion. (_C. R._ 2, 62.) June 3 the Nuernberg delegates
wrote: "Herewith we transmit to Your Excellencies a copy of the Saxon
Plan [Confession] in Latin, together with the Introduction or Preamble.
At the end, however, there are lacking one or two articles [20 and 21]
and the Conclusion, in which the Saxon theologians are still engaged.
When that is completed, it shall be sent to Your Excellencies. Meanwhile
Your Excellencies may cause your learned men and preachers to study it
and deliberate upon it. When this Plan [Confession] is drawn up in
German, it shall not be withheld from Your Excellencies. The Saxons,
however, distinctly desire that, for the present, Your Excellencies keep
this Plan or document secret, and that you permit no copy to be given to
any one until it has been delivered to His Imperial Majesty. They have
reasons of their own for making this request. ... And if Your
Excellencies' pastors and learned men should decide to make changes or
improvements in this Plan or in the one previously submitted, these,
too, Your Excellencies are asked to transmit to us." (2, 83.) June 26
Melanchthon wrote to Camerarius: "Daily I changed and recast much; and I
would have changed still more if our advisers (_sumphradmones_) had
permitted us to do so." (2, 140.)

24. Public Reading of the Confession.

June 15, after long negotiations, a number of other estates were
permitted to join the adherents of the Saxon Confession. (_C. R._ 2,
105.) As a result, Melanchthon's Introduction, containing a defense of
the Saxon Electors, without mentioning the other Lutheran estates, no
longer fitted in with the changed conditions. Accordingly, it was
supplanted by the Preface composed by Brueck, and translated into Latin
by Justus Jonas, whose acknowledged elegant Latin and German style
qualified him for such services. At the last deliberation, on June 23,
the Confession was signed. And on June 25, at 3 P.M., the ever-memorable
meeting of the Diet took place at which the Augustana was read by
Chancellor Beyer in German, and both manuscripts were handed over. The
Emperor kept the Latin copy for himself, and gave the German copy to the
Imperial Chancellor, the Elector and Archbishop Albrecht, to be
preserved in the Imperial Archives at Mainz. Both texts, therefore, the
Latin as well as the German, have equal authority, although the German
text has the additional distinction and prestige of having been publicly
read at the Diet.

As to where and how the Lutheran heroes confessed their faith, Kolde
writes as follows: "The place where they assembled on Saturday, June 25,
at 3 P.M., was not the courtroom, where the meetings of the Diet were
ordinarily conducted, but, as the Imperial Herald, Caspar Sturm,
reports, the 'Pfalz,' the large front room, _i.e._, the Chapter-room of
the bishop's palace, where the Emperor lived. The two Saxon chancellors,
Dr. Greg. Brueck and Dr. Chr. Beyer, the one with the Latin and the
other with the German copy of the Confession, stepped into the middle of
the hall, while as many of the Evangelically minded estates as had the
courage publicly to espouse the Evangelical cause arose from their seats.
Caspar Sturm reports: 'Als aber die gemeldeten Commissarii und
Botschaften der oesterreichischen Lande ihre Werbung und Botschaft
vollendet und abgetreten, sind darauf von Stund' an Kurfuerst von Sachsen
naemlich Herzog Johannes, Markgraf Joerg von Brandenburg, Herzog Ernst
samt seinem Bruder Franzisko, beide Herzoege zu Braunschweig und
Lueneburg, Landgraf Philipp von Hessen, Graf Wolf von Anhalt usw. von
ihrer Session auf; und gegen Kaiserliche Majestaet gestanden.' The
Emperor desired to hear the Latin text. But when Elector John had called
attention to the fact that the meeting was held on German soil, and
expressed the hope that the Emperor would permit the reading to proceed
in German, it was granted. Hereupon Dr. Beyer read the Confession. The
reading lasted about two hours; but he read with a voice so clear and
plain that the multitude, which could not gain access to the hall,
understood every word in the courtyard." (19 f.)

The public reading of the Confession exercised a tremendous influence in
every direction. Even before the Diet adjourned, Heilbronn, Kempten,
Windsheim, Weissenburg and Frankfurt on the Main professed their
adherence to it. Others had received the first impulse which
subsequently induced them to side with the Evangelicals. Brenz has it
that the Emperor fell asleep during the reading. However, this can have
been only temporarily or apparently, since Spalatin and Jonas assure us
that the Emperor, like the other princes and King Ferdinand, listened
attentively. Their report reads: "_Satis attentus erat Caesar,_ The
Emperor was attentive enough." Duke William of Bavaria declared: "Never
before has this matter and doctrine been presented to me in this
manner." And when Eck assured him that he would undertake to refute the
Lutheran doctrine with the Fathers, but not with the Scriptures, the
Duke responded, "Then the Lutherans, I understand, sit in the Scriptures
and we of the Pope's Church beside the Scriptures! _So hoer' ich wohl,
die Lutherischen sitzen in der Schrift und wir Pontificii daneben!_" The
Archbishop of Salzburg declared that he, too desired a reformation, but
the unbearable thing about it was that one lone monk wanted to reform
them all. In private conversation, Bishop Stadion of Augsburg exclaimed,
"What has been read to us is the truth, the pure truth, and we cannot
deny it." (St. L. 16, 882; Plitt, _Apologie,_ 18.) Father Aegidius, the
Emperor's confessor, said to Melanchthon, "You have a theology which a
person can understand only if he prays much." Campegius is reported to
have said that for his part he might well permit such teaching; but it
would be a precedent of no little consequence, as the same permission
would then have to be given other nations and kingdoms, which could not
be tolerated. (Zoeckler, _A. K._, 24.)

25. Luther's Mild Criticism.

June 26 Melanchthon sent a copy of the Confession, as publicly read, to
Luther, who adhering to his opinion of May 15, praised it yet not
without adding a grain of gentle criticism. June 29 he wrote to
Melanchthon: "I have received your Apology and can not understand what
you may mean when you ask what and how much should be yielded to the
Papists. ... As far as I am concerned too much has already been yielded
(_plus satis cessum est_) in this Apology; and if they reject it, I see
nothing that might be yielded beyond what has been done, unless I see
the proofs they proffer, and clearer Bible-passages than I have hitherto
seen. ... As I have always written--I am prepared to yield everything to
them if we are but given the liberty to teach the Gospel. I cannot yield
anything that militates against the Gospel." (St. L. 16, 902; Enders, 8,
42. 45.) The clearest expression of Luther's criticism is found in a
letter to Jonas, dated July 21, 1530. Here we read: "Now I see the
purpose of those questions [on the part of the Papists] whether you had
any further articles to present. The devil still lives, and he has
noticed very well that your Apology steps softly, and that it has veiled
the articles of Purgatory, the Adoration of the Saints, and especially
that of the Antichrist, the Pope." Another reading of this passage of
Luther: "_Apologiam vestram, die Leisetreterin, dissimulasse,_" is
severer even than the one quoted: "_Apologiam vestram leise treten et
dissimulasse._" (St. L. 16, 2323, Enders, 8, 133.)

Brenz regarded the Confession as written "very courteously and modestly,
_valde de civiliter et modeste._" (_C. R._ 2, 125.) The Nuernberg
delegates had also received the impression that the Confession, while
saying what was necessary, was very reserved and discreet. They reported
to their Council: "Said instruction [Confession], as far as the articles
of faith are concerned, is substantially like that which we have
previously sent to Your Excellencies, only that it has been improved in
some parts, and throughout made as mild as possible (_allenthalben aufs
glimpflichste gemacht_), yet, according to our view, without omitting
anything necessary." (2, 129.) At Smalcald, in 1537, the theologians
were ordered by the Princes and Estates "to look over the Confession, to
make no changes pertaining to its contents or substance, nor those of
the Concord [of 1536], but merely to enlarge upon matters regarding the
Papacy, which, for certain reasons, was previously omitted at the Diet
of Augsburg in submissive deference to His Imperial Majesty." (Kolde,
_Analecta,_ 297.)

Indirectly Melanchthon himself admits the correctness of Luther's
criticism. True, when after the presentation of the Confession he
thought of the angry Papists, he trembled fearing that he had written
too severely. June 26 he wrote to his most intimate friend, Camerarius:
"Far from thinking that I have written milder than was proper, I rather
strongly fear (_mirum in modum_) that some have taken offense at our
freedom. For Valdes, the Emperor's secretary, saw it before its
presentation and gave it as his opinion that from beginning to end it
was sharper than the opponents would be able to endure." (_C. R._ 2,
140.) On the same day he wrote to Luther: "According to my judgment, the
Confession is severe enough. For you will see that I have depicted the
monks sufficiently." (141.)

In two letters to Camerarius, however, written on May 21 and June 19,
respectively, hence before the efforts at toning down the Confession
were completed, Melanchthon expressed the opinion that the Confession
could not have been written "in terms more gentle and mild, _mitior et
lenior._" (2, 57.) No doubt, Melanchthon also had in mind his
far-reaching irenics at Augsburg, when he wrote in the Preface to the
Apology of the Augsburg Confession: "It has always been my custom in
these controversies to retain, so far as I was at all able, the form of
the customarily received doctrine, in order that at some time concord
might the more readily be effected. Nor, indeed, am I now departing far
from this custom, although I could justly lead away the men of this age
still farther from the opinions of the adversaries." (101, 11.)
Evidently, Melanchthon means to emphasize that in the Augustana he had
been conservative criticizing only when compelled to do so for
conscience' sake.

26. Luther Praising Confession and Confessors.

Luther's criticism did not in the least dampen his joy over the glorious
victory at Augsburg nor lessen his praise of the splendid confession
there made. In the above-mentioned letter of June 27 he identifies
himself fully and entirely with the Augustana and demands that
Melanchthon, too, consider it an expression of his own faith, and not
merely of Luther's faith. July 3 he wrote to Melanchthon: "Yesterday I
reread carefully your entire Apology, and it pleases me extremely
(_vehementer_)." (St. L. 16, 913; Enders, 8, 79.) July 6 he wrote a
letter to Cordatus in which he speaks of the Augustana as "altogether a
most beautiful confession, _plane pulcherrima confessio._" At the same
time he expresses his great delight over the victory won at Augsburg,
applying to the Confession Ps. 119, 46: "I will speak of Thy testimonies
also before kings, and will not be ashamed,"--a text which ever since
has remained the motto, appearing on all of its subsequent manuscripts
and printed copies.

Luther said: "I rejoice beyond measure that I lived to see the hour in
which Christ was publicly glorified by such great confessors of His, in
so great an assembly, through this in every respect most beautiful
Confession. And the word has been fulfilled [Ps. 119, 46]: 'I will speak
of Thy testimonies also before kings;' and the other word will also be
fulfilled: 'I was not confounded.' For, 'Whosoever confesses Me before
men' (so speaks He who lies not), 'him will I also confess before My
Father which is in heaven.'" (16, 915; E. 8, 83.) July 9 Luther wrote to
Jonas "Christ was loudly proclaimed by means of the public and glorious
Confession (_publica et gloriosa confessione_) and confessed in the open
(_am Lichte_) and in their [the Papists'] faces, so that they cannot
boast that we fled, had been afraid, or had concealed our faith. I only
regret that I was not able to be present when this splendid Confession
was made (_in hac pulchra confessione_)." (St. L. 16, 928; E. 8, 94.)

On the same day, July 9, Luther wrote to the Elector: "I know and
consider well that our Lord Christ Himself comforts the heart of Your
Electoral Grace better than I or any one else is able to do. This is
shown, too, and proved before our eyes by the facts, for the opponents
think that they made a shrewd move by having His Imperial Majesty
prohibit preaching. But the poor deluded people do not see that, through
the written Confession presented to them, more has been preached than
otherwise perhaps ten preachers could have done. Is it not keen wisdom
and great wit that Magister Eisleben and others must keep silence? But
in lieu thereof the Elector of Saxony, together with other princes and
lords, arises with the written Confession and preaches freely before His
Imperial Majesty and the entire realm, under their noses so that they
must hear and cannot gainsay. I think that thus the order prohibiting
preaching was a success indeed. They will not permit their servants to
hear the ministers, but must themselves hear something far worse (as
they regard it) from such great lords, and keep their peace. Indeed,
Christ is not silent at the Diet; and though they be furious, still they
must hear more by listening to the Confession than they would have heard
in a year from the preachers. Thus is fulfilled what Paul says: God's
Word will nevertheless have free course. If it is prohibited in the
pulpit, it must be heard in the palaces. If poor preachers dare not
speak it, then mighty princes and lords proclaim it. In brief, if
everything keeps silence, the very stones will cry out, says Christ
Himself." (16, 815.) September 15, at the close of the Diet, Luther
wrote to Melanchthon: "You have confessed Christ, offered peace, obeyed
the Emperor, endured reproach, been sated with slander, and have not
recompensed evil for evil; in sum you have performed the holy work of
God, as becomes saints, in a worthy manner. ... I shall canonize you
(_canonizabo vos_) as faithful members of Christ." (16, 2319; E. 8,
259.)

27. Manuscripts and Editions of Augustana.

As far as the text of the Augsburg Confession is concerned, both of the
original manuscripts are lost to us. Evidently they have become a prey
to Romish rage and enmity. Eck was given permission to examine the
German copy in 1540, and possibly at that time already it was not
returned to Mainz. It may have been taken to Trent for the discussions
at the Council, and thence carried to Rome. The Latin original was
deposited in the Imperial Archives at Brussels, where it was seen and
perused by Lindanus in 1562. February 18, 1569, however, Philip II
instructed Duke Alva to bring the manuscript to Spain, lest the
Protestants "regard it as a Koran," and in order that "such a damned
work might forever be destroyed; _porque se hunda para siempre tan
malvada obra._" The keeper of the Brussels archives himself testifies
that the manuscript was delivered to Alva. There is, however, no lack of
other manuscripts of the Augsburg Confession. Up to the present time no
less than 39 have been found. Of these, five German and four Latin
copies contain also the signatures. The five German copies are in verbal
agreement almost throughout, and therefore probably offer the text as
read and presented at Augsburg.

The printing of the Confession had been expressly prohibited by the
Emperor. June 26 Melanchthon wrote to Veit Dietrich: "Our Confession has
been presented to the Emperor. He ordered that it be not printed. You
will therefore see that it is not made public." (_C. R._ 2, 142.)
However, even during the sessions of the Diet a number of printed
editions six in German and one in Latin, were issued by irresponsible
parties. But since these were full of errors, and since, furthermore,
the Romanists asserted with increasing boldness and challenge that the
Confession of the Lutherans had been refuted, by the Roman Confutation,
from the Scriptures and the Fathers, Melanchthon, in 1530, had a correct
edition printed, which was issued, together with the Apology, in May,
1531. This quarto edition ("Beide, Deutsch Und Lateinisch Ps. 119") is
regarded as the _editio princeps._

For years this edition was also considered the authentic edition of the
Augsburg Confession. Its Latin text was embodied 1584 in the Book of
Concord as the _textus receptus._ But when attention was drawn to the
changes in the German text of this edition (also the Latin text had been
subjected to minor alterations), the Mainz Manuscript was substituted in
the German Book of Concord, as its Preface explains. (14.) This
manuscript, however contains no original signatures and was erroneously
considered the identical document presented to the Emperor, of which it
was probably but a copy. In his Introduction to the Symbolical Books, J.
T. Mueller expresses the following opinion concerning the Mainz
Manuscript: "To say the least, one cannot deny that its text, as a rule,
agrees with that of the best manuscripts, and that its mistakes can
easily be corrected according to them and the _editio princeps,_ so that
we have no reason to surrender the text received by the Church and to
accept another in place thereof, of which we cannot prove either that it
is any closer to the original." (78.) Tschackert, who devoted much study
to the manuscripts of the Augsburg Confession, writes: "The Saxon
theologians acted in good faith, and the Mainz copy is still certainly
better than Melanchthon's original imprint [the _editio princeps_] yet,
when compared with the complete and--because synchronous with the
originally presented copy--reliable manuscripts of the signers of the
Confession, the Mainz Manuscript proves to be defective in quite a
number of places." (_L.c._ 621 f.)

However, even Tschackert's minute comparison shows that the Mainz
Manuscript deviates from the original presented to the Emperor only in
unimportant and purely formal points. For example, in sec. 20 of the
Preface the words: "Papst das Generalkonzilium zu halten nicht
geweigert, so waere E. K. M. gnaediges Erbieten, zu fordern und zu
handeln, dass der" are omitted. Art. 27 sec. 48 we are to read: "dass
die erdichteten geistlichen Orden Staende sind christlicher
Vollkommenheit" instead of: "dass die erdichteten geistlichen
Ordensstaende sind christliche Vollkommenheit." Art. 27, sec. 61 reads,
"die Uebermass der Werke," instead of, "die Uebermasswerke," by the way,
an excellent expression, which should again be given currency in the
German. The conclusion of sec. 2 has "Leichpredigten" instead of
"Beipredigten." According to the manuscripts, also the Mainz Manuscript,
the correct reading of sec. 12 of the Preface is as follows: "Wo aber
bei unsern Herrn, Freunden und besonders den Kurfuersten, Fuersten und
Staenden des andern Teils die Handlung dermassen, wie E. K. M.
Ausschreiben vermag (bequeme Handlung unter uns selbst in Lieb und
Guetigkeit) nicht verfangen noch erspriesslich sein wollte" etc. The
words, "bequeme Handlung unter uns selbst in Lieb' und Guetigkeit," are
quoted from the imperial proclamation. (Foerstemann, 7, 378; Plitt, 2,
12.)

Originally only the last seven articles concerning the abuses had
separate titles, the doctrinal articles being merely numbered, as in the
Marburg and Schwabach Articles, which Melanchthon had before him at
Augsburg. (Luther, Weimar 30, 3, 86. 160.) Nor are the present captions
of the doctrinal articles found in the original German and Latin
editions of the Book of Concord, Article XX forming a solitary
exception; for in the German (in the Latin Concordia, too, it bears no
title) it is superscribed: "Vom Glauben und guten Werken, Of Faith and
Good Works." This is probably due to the fact that Article XX was taken
from the so-called Torgau Articles and, with its superscription there,
placed among the doctrinal articles. In the German edition of 1580 the
word "Schluss" is omitted where the Latin has "Epilogus."

As to the translations, even before the Confession was presented to the
Emperor, it had been rendered into French. (This translation was
published by Foerstemann, 1, 357.) The Emperor had it translated for his
own use into both Italian and French. (_C. R._ 2, 155; Luther, St. L.,
16, 884.) Since then the Augustana has been done into Hebrew, Greek,
Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, Slavic, Danish, Swedish, English, and many
other languages. As to the English translations, see page 6. [tr. note:
numbered section 4, above]

28. Signatures of Augsburg Confession.

Concerning the signatures of the Augustana, Tschackert writes as
follows: The names of the signers are most reliably determined from the
best manuscript copies of the original of the Confession, which have
been preserved to us. There we find the signatures of eight princes and
two free cities, to wit, Elector John of Saxony, Margrave George of
Brandenburg-Ansbach, Duke Ernest of Braunschweig-Lueneburg, Landgrave
Philip of Hesse, then John Frederick, the Electoral Prince of Saxony,
Ernest's brother Francis of Braunschweig-Lueneburg, Prince Wolfgang of
Anhalt, Count Albrecht of Mansfeld, and the cities Nuernberg and
Reutlingen. (_L.c._ 285; see also Luther's letter of July 6, 1530, St.
L. 16, 882.) Camerarius, in his Life of Melanchthon, relates that
Melanchthon desired to have the Confession drawn up in the name of the
theologians only, but that his plan did not prevail because it was
believed that the signatures of the princes would lend prestige and
splendor to the act of presenting this confession of faith. Besides,
this plan of Melanchthon's was excluded by the Emperor's proclamation.

Although Philip of Hesse, in the interest of a union with the Swiss, had
zealously, but in vain, endeavored to secure for the article concerning
the Lord's Supper a milder form still, in the end, he did not refuse to
sign. Regius wrote to Luther, May 21, that he had discussed the entire
cause of the Gospel with the Landgrave, who had invited him to dinner,
and talked with him for two hours on the Lord's Supper. The Prince had
presented all the arguments of the Sacramentarians and desired to hear
Regius refute them. But while the Landgrave did not side with Zwingli
(_non sentit cum Zwinglio_), yet he desired with all his heart an
agreement of the theologians, as far as piety would permit (_exoptat
doctorum hominum concordiam, quantum sinit pietas_). He was far less
inclined to dissension than rumor had it before his arrival. He would
hardly despise the wise counsel of Melanchthon and others. (Kolde,
_Analecta,_ 125; see also _C. R._ 2, 59, where the text reads, "_nam
sentit cum Zwinglio_" instead of, "_non sentit cum Zwinglio._")
Accordingly, the mind of the Landgrave was not outright Zwinglian, but
unionistic. He regarded the followers of Zwingli as weak brethren who
must be borne with, and to whom Christian fellowship should not be
refused. This also explains how the Landgrave could sign the Augustana,
and yet continue his endeavors to bring about a union.

May 22 Melanchthon wrote to Luther: "The Macedonian [Philip of Hesse]
now contemplates signing our formula of speech, and it appears as if he
can be drawn back to our side; still, a letter from you will be
necessary. Therefore I beg you most urgently that you write him,
admonishing him not to burden his conscience with a godless doctrine."
Still the Landgrave did not change his position in the next few weeks.
June 25, however, Melanchthon reported to Luther: "The Landgrave
approves our Confession and has signed it. You will, I hope accomplish
much if you seek to strengthen him by writing him a letter." (_C. R._ 2,
60. 92. 96. 101. 103. 126; Luther St. L., 16, 689; 21a, 1499.)

At Augsburg, whither also Zwingli had sent his _Fidei Ratio,_ the
South-German imperial cities (Strassburg, Constance, Memmingen, Lindau)
presented the so-called _Confessio Tetrapolitana,_ prepared by Bucer and
Capito, which declares that the Sacraments are "holy types," and that in
the Lord's Supper the "true body" and the "true blood" of Christ "are
truly eaten and drunk as meat and drink for the souls which are thereby
nourished unto eternal life." However, in 1532 these cities, too, signed
the Augsburg Confession.

Thus the seed which Luther sowed had grown wonderfully. June 25, 1530,
is properly regarded as the real birthday of the Lutheran Church. From
this day on she stands before all the world as a body united by a public
confession and separate from the Roman Church. The lone, but courageous
confessor of Worms saw himself surrounded with a stately host of true
Christian heroes, who were not afraid to place their names under his
Confession, although they knew that it might cost them goods and blood,
life and limb. When the Emperor, after entering Augsburg, stubbornly
demanded that the Lutherans cease preaching, Margrave George of
Brandenburg finally declared: "Rather than deny my God and suffer the
Word of God to be taken from me, I will kneel down and have my head
struck off." (_C. R._ 2, 115.) That characterizes the pious and heroic
frame of mind of all who signed the Augustana in 1530 In a letter, of
June 18, to Luther, Jonas relates how the Catholic princes and estates
knelt down to receive the blessing of Campegius when the latter entered
the city, but that the Elector remained standing and declared: "To God
alone shall knees be bowed; _In Deo flectenda sunt genua._" (Kolde,
_Analecta,_ 135.) When Melanchthon called the Elector's attention to the
possible consequences of his signing the Augsburg Confession, the latter
answered that he would do what was right, without concerning himself
about his electoral dignity; he would confess his Lord, whose cross he
prized higher than all the power of the world.

Brenz wrote: "Our princes are most steadfast in confessing the Gospel,
and surely, when I consider their great steadfastness, there comes over
me no small feeling of shame because we poor beggars [theologians] are
filled with fear of the Imperial Majesty." (_C. R._ 2, 125.) Luther
praises Elector John for having suffered a bitter death at the Diet of
Augsburg. There, says Luther, he had to swallow all kinds of nasty soups
and poison with which the devil served him; at Augsburg he publicly,
before all the world, confessed Christ's death and resurrection, and
hazarded property and people, yea, his own body and life; and because of
the confession which he made we shall honor him as a Christian. (St. L.
12, 2078 f.) And not only the Lutheran Church, but all Protestant
Christendom, aye, the entire world has every reason to revere and hold
sacred the memory of the heroes who boldly affixed their names to the
Confession of 1530.

29. Tributes to Confession of Augsburg.

From the moment of its presentation to the present day, men have not
tired of praising the Augsburg Confession, which has been called
_Confessio augusta, Confessio augustissima,_ the "_Evangelischer
Augapfel,_" etc. They have admired its systematic plan, its
completeness, comprehensiveness, and arrangement; its balance of
mildness and firmness; its racy vigor, freshness, and directness; its
beauty of composition, "the like of which can not be found in the entire
literature of the Reformation period." Spalatin exclaims: "A Confession,
the like of which was never made, not only in a thousand years, but as
long as the world has been standing!" Sartorius: "A confession of the
eternal truth, of true ecumenical Christianity, and of all fundamental
articles of the Christian faith!" "From the Diet of Augsburg, which is
the birthday of the Evangelical Church Federation, down to the great
Peace Congress of Muenster and Osnabrueck, this Confession stands as the
towering standard in the entire history of those profoundly troublous
times, gathering the Protestants about itself in ever closer ranks, and,
when assaulted by the enemies of Evangelical truth with increasing fury,
is defended by its friends in severe fighting, with loss of goods and
blood, and always finally victoriously holds the field. Under the
protection of this banner the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany has
been built up on firm and unassailable foundations: under the same
protection the Reformed Church in Germany has found shelter. But the
banner was carried still farther; for all Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and
Prussians have sworn allegiance to it, and the Esthonians, Latts, Finns,
as well as all Lutherans of Russia, France, and other lands recognize
therein the palladium of their faith and rights. No other Protestant
confession has ever been so honored." (Guericke, _Kg._, 3, 116 f.)

Vilmar says in praise of the Confession: "Whoever has once felt a gentle
breath of the bracing mountain air which is wafted from this mighty
mountain of faith [the Augsburg Confession] no longer seeks to pit
against its firm and quiet dignity his own uncertain, immature, and
wavering thoughts nor to direct the vain and childish puff of his mouth
against that breath of God in order to give it a different direction."
(_Theol. d. Tatsachen,_ 76.) In his Introduction to the Symbolical
Books, J. T. Mueller says: "Luther called the Diet of Augsburg 'the last
trumpet before Judgment Day;' hence we may well call the confession
there made the _blast_ of that trumpet, which, indeed, has gone forth
into all lands, even as the Gospel of God which it proclaims in its
purity." (78.) The highest praise, however, is given the Augsburg
Confession by the Church which was born with it, when, _e.g._, in the
Formula of Concord, the Lutherans designate it as "the symbol of our
time," and glory in it as the Confession, which, though frowned upon and
assailed by its opponents, "down to this day has remained unrefuted and
unoverthrown (bis auf diesen Tag unwiderlegt und unumgestossen
geblieben)." (777, 4; 847, 3.)


IV. Melanchthon's Alterations of the Augsburg Confession.

30. Changes Unwarranted.

Melanchthon continued uninterruptedly to polish and correct the Augsburg
Confession till immediately before its presentation on June 25, 1530.
While, indeed he cannot be censured for doing this, it was though
originally not so intended by Melanchthon, an act of presumption to
continue to alter the document after it had been adopted, signed, and
publicly presented. Even the _editio princeps_ of 1531 is no longer in
literal agreement with the original manuscripts. For this reason the
German text embodied in the Book of Concord is not the one contained in
the _editio princeps,_ but that of the Mainz Manuscript, which, as
stated, was erroneously believed to be the identical German copy
presented to the Emperor. The Latin text of the _editio princeps,_
embodied in the Book of Concord, had likewise undergone some, though
unessential, changes. These alterations became much more extensive in
the Latin octavo edition of 1531 and in the German revision of 1533. The
Variata of 1540 and 1542, however, capped the climax as far as changes
are concerned, some of them being very questionable also doctrinally. In
their "Approbation" of the Concordia Germanico-Latina, edited by
Reineccius, 1708, the Leipzig theologians remark pertinently:
Melanchthon found it "impossible to leave a book as it once was."
Witness his _Loci_ of 1521, which he remodeled three times--1535, 1542,
and 1548. However, the _Loci_ were his own private work while the
Augustana was the property and confession of the Church.

Tschackert is right when he comments as follows: "To-day it is regarded
as an almost incomprehensible trait of Melanchthon's character that
immediately after the Diet and all his lifetime he regarded the
Confession as a private production of his pen, and made changes in it as
often as he had it printed, while he, more so than others, could but
evaluate it as a state-paper of the Evangelical estates, which, having
been read and delivered in solemn session, represented an important
document of German history, both secular and ecclesiastical. In
extenuation it is said that Melanchthon made these changes in
pedagogical interests, namely, in order to clarify terms or to explain
them more definitely; furthermore, that for decades the Evangelical
estates and theologians did not take offense at Melanchthon's changes.
Both may be true. But this does not change the fact that the chief
editor of the Confession did not appreciate the world-historical
significance of this state-paper of the Evangelical estates." (_L.c._
288.) Nor can it be denied that Melanchthon made these changes, not
merely in pedagogical interests, but, at least a number of them, also
in the interest of his deviating dogmatic views and in deference to
Philip of Hesse, who favored a union with the Swiss. Nor can Melanchthon
be fully cleared of dissimulation in this matter. The revised Apology of
1540, for example, he openly designated on the titlepage as "diligently
revised, _diligenter recognita";_ but in the case of the Augsburg
Confession of 1540 and 1542 he in no way indicated that it was a changed
and augmented edition.

As yet it has not been definitely ascertained when and where the terms
"Variata" and "Invariata" originated. At the princes' diet of Naumburg,
in 1561, the Variata was designated as the "amended" edition. The Reuss
Confession of 1567 contains the term "unaltered Augsburg Confession." In
its Epitome as well as in its Thorough Declaration the Formula of
Concord speaks of "the First Unaltered Augsburg Confession--_Augustana
illa prima et non mutata Confessio._" (777, 4; 851, 5.) The Preface to
the Formula of Concord repeatedly speaks of the Variata of 1540 as "the
other edition of the Augsburg Confession--_altera Augustanae
Confessionis editio._" (13 f.)

31. Detrimental Consequences of Alterations.

The changes made in the Augsburg Confession brought great distress,
heavy cares, and bitter struggles upon the Lutheran Church both from
within and without. Church history records the manifold and sinister
ways in which they were exploited by the Reformed as well as the
Papists; especially by the latter (the Jesuits) at the religious
colloquies beginning 1540, until far into the time of the Thirty Years'
War, in order to deprive the Lutherans of the blessings guaranteed by
the religious Peace of Augsburg, 1555. (Salig, _Gesch. d. A. K._, 1, 770
ff.; _Lehre und Wehre_ 1919, 218 ff.)

On Melanchthon's alterations of the Augsburg Confession the Romanists,
as the Preface to the Book of Concord explains, based the reproach and
slander that the Lutherans themselves did not know "which is the true
and genuine Augsburg Confession." (15.) Decrying the Lutherans, they
boldly declared "that not two preachers are found who agree in each and
every article of the Augsburg Confession, but that they are rent asunder
and separated from one another to such an extent that they themselves no
longer know what is the Augsburg Confession and its proper sense."
(1095.) In spite of the express declaration of the Lutherans at
Naumburg, 1561, that they were minded to abide by the original Augsburg
Confession as presented to Emperor Charles V at Augsburg, 1530, the
Papists and the Reformed did not cease their calumniations, but
continued to interpret their declarations to mean, "as though we [the
Lutherans] were so uncertain concerning our religion, and so often had
transfused it from one formula to another, that it was no longer clear
to us or our theologians what is the Confession once offered to the
Emperor at Augsburg." (11.)

As a result of the numerous and, in part radical changes made by
Melanchthon in the Augsburg Confession, the Reformed also, in the course
of time more and more, laid claim to the Variata and appealed to it over
against the loyal Lutherans. In particular, they regarded and
interpreted the alteration which Melanchthon had made in Article X, Of
the Lord's Supper, as a correction of the original Augustana in
deference to the views of Calvinism. Calvin declared that he (1539 at
Strassburg) had signed the Augustana "in the sense in which its author
[Melanchthon] explains it (_sicut eam auctor ipse interpretatur_)." And
whenever the Reformed, who were regarded as confessionally related to
the Augsburg Confession (_Confessioni Augustanae addicti_), and as such
shared in the blessings of the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and the Peace of
Westphalia (1648), adopted, and appealed to, the Augustana, they
interpreted it according to the Variata.

Referring to this abuse on the part of the Reformed and
Crypto-Calvinists, the Preface to the Book of Concord remarks: "To these
disadvantages [the slanders of the Romanists] there is also added that,
under the pretext of the Augsburg Confession [Variata of 1540], the
teaching conflicting with the institution of the Holy Supper of the body
and blood of Christ and also other corruptions were introduced here and
there into the churches and schools." (11. 17.)--Thus the changes made
in the Augsburg Confession did much harm to the Lutheran cause.
Melanchthon belongs to the class of men that have greatly benefited our
Church, but have also seriously harmed it. "These fictions" of the
adversaries, says the Preface to the Book of Concord concerning the
slanders based on Melanchthon's changes "have deterred and alienated
many good men from our churches, schools, doctrine, faith, and
confession." (11.)

32. Attitude toward Variata.

John Eck was the first who, in 1541, at the religious colloquy of Worms,
publicly protested against the Variata. But since it was apparent that
most of the changes were intended merely as reenforcements of the
Lutheran position against the Papists, and Melanchthon also declared
that he had made no changes in "the matter and substance or in the
sense," _i.e._, in the doctrine itself, the Lutherans at that time, as
the Preface to the Book of Concord shows, attached no further importance
to the matter. The freedom with which in those days formal alterations
were made even in public documents, and the guilelessness with which
such changes were received, appears, for example, from the translation
of the Apology by Justus Jonas. However, not all Lutherans even at that
time were able to view Melanchthon's changes without apprehension and
indifference. Among these was Elector John Frederick, who declared that
he considered the Augustana to be the confession of those who had signed
it, and not the private property of Melanchthon.

In his admonition to Brueck of May 5, 1537, he says: "Thus Master Philip
also is said to have arrogated to himself the privilege of changing in
some points the Confession of Your Electoral Grace and the other princes
and estates, made before His Imperial Majesty at Augsburg, to soften it
and to print it elsewhere [a reprint of the changed Latin octavo edition
of 1531 had been published 1535 at Augsburg and another at Hagenau]
without the previous knowledge and approval of Your Electoral Grace and
of the other estates which, in the opinion of Your Electoral Grace, he
should justly have refrained from, since the Confession belongs
primarily to Your Electoral Grace and the other estates; and from it
[the alterations made] Your Electoral Grace and the other related
estates might be charged that they are not certain of their doctrine and
are also unstable. Besides, it is giving an offense to the people." (_C.
R._ 3, 365.) Luther, too, is said to have remonstrated with Melanchthon
for having altered the Confession. In his Introduction to the Augsburg
Confession (Koenigsberg, 1577) Wigand reports: "I heard from Mr. George
Rorarius that Dr. Luther said to Philip, 'Philip, Philip, you are not
doing right in changing Augustanam Confessionem so often for it is not
your, but the Church's book.'" Yet it is improbable that this should
have occurred between 1537 and 1542, for in 1540 the Variata followed,
which was changed still more in 1542, without arousing any public
protest whatever.

After Luther's death, however, when Melanchthon's doctrinal deviations
became apparent, and the Melanchthonians and the loyal Lutherans became
more and more opposed to one another, the Variata was rejected with
increasing determination by the latter as the party-symbol of the
Philippists. In 1560 Flacius asserted at Weimar that the Variata
differed essentially from the Augustana. In the Reuss-Schoenburg
Confession of 1567 the Variata was unqualifiedly condemned; for here we
read: We confess "the old, true, unaltered Augsburg Confession, which
later was changed, mutilated, misinterpreted, and falsified ... by the
Adiaphorists in many places both as regards the words and the substance
(_nach den Worten und sonst in den Haendeln_), which thus became a
buskin, _Bundschuh,_ pantoffle, and a Polish boot, fitting both legs
equally well [suiting Lutherans as well as Reformed] or a cloak and a
changeling (_Wechselbalg_), by means of which Adiaphorists,
Sacramentarians, Antinomians, new teachers of works, and the like hide,
adorn, defend, and establish their errors and falsifications under the
cover and name of the Augsburg Confession, pretending to be likewise
confessors of the Augsburg Confession, for the sole purpose of enjoying
with us under its shadow, against rain and hail, the common peace of the
Empire, and selling, furthering, and spreading their errors under the
semblance of friends so much the more easily and safely." (Kolde,
_Einleitung,_ 30.) In a sermon delivered at Wittenberg, Jacob Andreae
also opposed the Variata very zealously.

Thus the conditions without as well as within the Lutheran Church were
such that a public declaration on the part of the genuine Lutherans as
to their attitude toward the alterations of Melanchthon, notably in the
Variata of 1540, became increasingly imperative. Especially the
continued slanders, intrigues, and threats of the Papists necessitated
such a declaration. As early as 1555, when the Peace of Augsburg was
concluded, the Romanists attempted to limit its provisions to the
adherents of the Augustana of 1530. At the religious colloquy of Worms,
in 1557, the Jesuit Canisius, distinguishing between a pure and a
falsified Augustana, demanded that the adherents of the latter be
condemned, and excluded from the discussions.

33. Alterations in Editions of 1531, 1533, 1540.

As to the alterations themselves, the Latin text of the _editio
princeps_ of the Augsburg Confession of 1531 received the following
additions: sec. 3 in Article 13, sec. 8 in Article 18, and sec. 26 in
Article 26. Accordingly, these passages do not occur in the German text
of the Book of Concord. Originally sec. 2 in the conclusion of Article
21 read: "_Tota_ dissensio est de paucis quibusdam abusibus," and sec. 3
in Article 24: "Nam ad hoc _praecipue_ opus est ceremoniis, ut doceant
imperitos." The additions made to Articles 13 and 18 are also found in
the German text of the _editio princeps_. (_C. R._ 26, 279. 564.)

In the "Approbation" of the Leipzig theologians mentioned above we read:
The octavo edition of the Augustana and the Apology printed 1531 by
George Rauh, according to the unanimous testimony of our theologians,
cannot be tolerated, "owing to the many additions and other changes
originating from Philip Melanchthon. For if one compares the 20th
Article of the Augsburg Confession as well as the last articles on the
Abuses: 'Of Monastic Vows' and 'Of Ecclesiastical Authority,' it will
readily be seen what great additions (_laciniae_) have been patched onto
this Wittenberg octavo edition of 1531. The same thing has also been
done with the Apology, especially in the article 'Of Justification and
Good Works,' where often entire successive pages may be found which do
not occur in the genuine copies. Furthermore, in the declaration
regarding the article 'Of the Lord's Supper,' where Paul's words, that
the bread is a communion of the body of Christ, etc., as well as the
testimony of Theophylact concerning the presence of the body of Christ
in the Supper have been omitted. Likewise in the defense of the articles
'Of Repentance,' 'Of Confession and Satisfaction,' 'Of Human
Traditions,' 'Of the Marriage of Priests,' and 'Of Ecclesiastical
Power,' where, again, entire pages have been added." (_L.c._ 8, 13; _C.
R._ 27, 437.) In the German edition of the Augsburg Confession of 1533
it was especially Articles 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 15, and 20 that were
remodeled. These alterations, however, involve no doctrinal changes,
with the possible exception of Article 5, where the words "where and
when He will" are expunged. (_C. R._ 26, 728.)

As to the Variata of 1540, however, the extent of the 21 doctrinal
articles was here almost doubled, and quite a number of material
alterations were made. Chief among the latter are the following: In
Article 5 the words, "ubi et quando visum est Deo," are omitted. In the
10th Article the rejection of the Reformed doctrine is deleted, and the
following is substituted for the article proper: "De coena Domini
docent, quod cum pane et vino vere exhibeantur corpus et sanguis Christi
vescentibus in Coena Domini." (_C. R._ 26, 357.) The following sentences
have also given offense: "Et cum hoc modo consolamur nos promissione seu
Evangelio et erigimus nos fide, certo consequimur remissionem
peccatorum, et _simul_ datur nobis Spiritus Sanctus." "Cum Evangelium
audimus aut cogitamus aut sacramenta tractamus et fide nos consolamur
_simul_ est efficax Spiritus Sanctus." (354.) For the words of the 18th
Article: "sed haec fit in cordibus, cum per Verbum Spiritus Sanctus
concipitur," the Variata substitutes: "Et Christus dicit: Sine me nihil
potestis facere. Efficitur autem spiritualis iustitia in nobis, cum
_audiuvamur_ a Spiritu Sancto. Porro Spiritum Sanctum concipimus, cum
Verbo Dei assentimur, ut nos fide in terroribus consolemur." (362.)
Toward the end of the same article we read: "Quamquam enim externa opera
aliquo modo potest efficere humana natura per sese, ... verum timorem,
veram fiduciam, patientiam, castitatem non potest efficere, nisi
Spiritus Sanctus gubernet et _adiuvet_ corda nostra." (363.) In the 19th
Article the phrase "non adiuvante Deo" is erased, which, by the way,
indicates that Melanchthon regarded these words as equivalent to those
of the German text: "so Gott die Hand abgetan," for else he would have
weakened the text against his own interests. (363.) To the 20th Article
Melanchthon added the sentence: "Debet autem ad haec dona [Dei] accedere
exercitatio nostra, quae et _conservat_ ea et meretur incrementum, iuxta
illud: Habenti dabitur. Et Augustinus praeclare dixit: Dilectio meretur
incrementum dilectionis, cum videlicet exercetur." (311.)

34. Alterations Render Confession Ambiguous.

True in making all these changes, Melanchthon did not introduce any
direct heresy into the Variata. He did, however, in the interest of his
irenic and unionistic policy and dogmatic vacillations, render ambiguous
and weaken the clear sense of the Augustana. By his changes he opened
the door and cleared the way, as it were, for his deviations in the
direction of Synergism, Calvinism (Lord's Supper), and Romanism (good
works are necessary to salvation). Nor was Melanchthon a man who did
not know what he was doing when he made alterations. Whenever he
weakened and trimmed the doctrines he had once confessed, whether in his
_Loci_ or in the Augustana, he did so in order to satisfy definite
interests of his own, interests self-evidently not subservient to, but
conflicting with, the clear expression and bold confession of the old
Lutheran truth.

Kolde, referring in particular to the changes made in the 10th Article,
says: "It should never have been denied that these alterations involved
real changes. The motives which actuated Melanchthon cannot be
definitely ascertained, neither from his own expressions nor from
contemporary remarks of his circle of acquaintances" [As late as 1575
Selneccer reports that Philip of Hesse had asked Melanchthon to erase
the _improbatio_ of the 10th Article, because then also the Swiss would
accept the Augustana as their confession]. "A comparison with the
Wittenberg Concord of May, 1536 (_cum pane et vino vere et
substantialiter adesse_--that the body and blood [of Christ] are really
and substantially present with the bread and wine, _C. R._ 3, 75)
justifies the assumption that by using the form: _cum pane et vino vere
exhibeantur,_ he endeavored to take into account the existing agreement
with the South Germans (_Oberlaender_). However, when, at the same time,
he omits the words: _vere et substantialiter adesse,_ and the
_improbatio,_ it cannot, in view of his gradually changed conception of
the Lord's Supper, be doubted that he sought to leave open for himself
and others the possibility of associating also with the Swiss." (25.)

An adequate answer to the question what prompted Melanchthon to make his
alterations will embrace also the following points: 1. Melanchthon's
mania for changing and remodeling in general. 2. His desire, especially
after the breach between the Lutherans and the Papists seemed incurable,
to meet and satisfy the criticism that the Augustana was too mild, and
to reenforce the Lutheran position over against the Papists. 3.
Melanchthon's doctrinal deviations, especially in Reformed and
synergistic directions.

35. Variata Disowned by Lutheran Church.

It cannot be denied that during Luther's life and for quite a time after
his death the Variata was used by Lutherans without any public
opposition and recognized as the Augsburg Confession. Martin Chemnitz,
in his "Iudicum de Controversiis quibusdam circa quosdam Augustanae
Confessionis Articulos--Decision concerning Certain Controversies about
Some Articles of the Augsburg Confession," printed 1597, says that the
edition of 1540 was employed at the religious colloquies with the
previous knowledge and approval of Luther; in fact, that it was drawn up
especially for the Colloquy at Hagenau, which the opponents (Cochlaeus
at Worms, Pighius at Regensburg) had taken amiss. "Graviter tulerant,"
says Chemnitz, "multis articulis pleniori declaratione plusculum lucis
accessisse, unde videbant veras sententias magis illustrari et Thaidis
Babyloniae turpitudinem manifestius denudare--They took it amiss that
more light had been shed on many articles by a fuller explanation,
whence they perceived the true statements to be more fully illustrated
and the shame of the Babylonian Thais to be more fully disclosed."
(Mueller, _Einleitung,_ 72.)

Furthermore, it is equally certain that on the part of the Lutheran
princes, the Variata was employed without any sinister intentions
whatever, and without the slightest thought of deviating even in the
least from the doctrine of the original Augustana, as has been falsely
asserted by Heppe, Weber, and others. Wherever the Variata was adopted
by Lutheran princes and theologians, it was never for the purpose of
weakening the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession in any point.
Moreover, the sole reason always was to accentuate and present more
clearly the contrast between themselves and the Papists; and, generally
speaking, the Variata did serve this purpose. True, Melanchthon at the
same time, no doubt planned to prepare the way for his doctrinal
innovations; but wherever such was the case he kept it strictly to
himself.

The complete guilelessness and good faith in which the Lutheran princes
and theologians employed the Variata, and permitted its use appears
from the Preface to the Book of Concord. For here they state: "Therefore
we have decided in this writing to testify publicly, and to inform all,
that we wished neither then nor now in any way to defend, or excuse or
to approve, as agreeing with the Gospel-doctrine, false and godless
doctrines and opinions which may be concealed under certain coverings of
words [in the Variata]. We, indeed, never received the latter edition
[of 1540] in a sense differing in any part from the former which was
presented [at Augsburg]. Neither do we judge that other useful writings
of Dr. Philip Melanchthon, or of Brenz, Urban Regius, Pomeranus, etc.,
should be rejected and condemned, as far as in all things, they agree
with the norm which has been set forth in the Book of Concord." (17.)

Accordingly, when the Variata was boldly exploited by the Romanists to
circulate all manner of slanders about the Lutherans; when it also
became increasingly evident that the Reformed and Crypto-Calvinists
employed the Variata as a cover for their false doctrine of the Lord's
Supper; when, furthermore within the Lutheran Church the suspicion
gradually grew into conviction that Melanchthon, by his alterations had
indeed intended to foist doctrinal deviations upon the Lutheran Church;
and when, finally, a close scrutiny of the Variata had unmistakably
revealed the fact that it actually did deviate from the original
document not only in extent, but also with regard to intent, not merely
formally, but materially as well,--all loyal Lutheran princes and
theologians regarded it as self-evident that they unanimously and
solemnly declare their exclusive adherence to the Augsburg Confession
as presented to Emperor Charles at Augsburg, and abandon the Variata
without delay. At Naumburg, in 1561, the Lutheran princes therefore,
after some vacillation, declared that they would adhere to the original
Augsburg Confession and its "genuine Christian declaration and norm,"
the Smalcald Articles. Frederick III of the Palatinate alone withdrew,
and before long joined the Calvinists by introducing the Heidelberg
Catechism, thus revealing the spuriousness of his own Lutheranism.

It was due especially to the Crypto-Calvinists in Electoral Saxony and
to the _Corpus Doctrinae Philippicum_ that the Variata retained a
temporary and local authority, until it was finally and generally
disowned by the Lutheran Church and excluded from its symbols by the
adoption of the Formula of Concord. For here our Church pledges
adherence to "the First, Unaltered Augsburg Confession, delivered to the
Emperor Charles V at Augsburg in the year 1530, in the great Diet."
(777, 4; 847, 5; 851, 5.) And in the Preface to the Book of Concord the
princes and estates declare: "Accordingly, in order that no persons may
permit themselves to be disturbed by the charges of our adversaries spun
out of their own minds, by which they boast that not even we are certain
which is the true and genuine Augsburg Confession, but that both those
who are now among the living and posterity may be clearly and firmly
taught and informed what that godly Confession is which we and the
churches and schools of our realms at all times professed and embraced,
we emphatically testify that next to the pure and immutable truth of
God's Word we wish to embrace the first Augsburg Confession alone which
was presented to the Emperor Charles V, in the year 1530, at the famous
Diet of Augsburg, this alone (we say), and no other." (15.) At the same
time the princes furthermore protest that also the adoption of the
Formula of Concord did not make any change in this respect. For
doctrinally the Formula of Concord was not, nor was it intended to be, a
"new or different confession," _i.e._, different from the one presented
to Emperor Charles V. (20.)


V. The Pontifical Confutation of the Augsburg Confession.

36. Papal Party Refusing Conciliation.

At the Diet of Augsburg, convened in order to restore the disturbed
religious peace, the Lutherans were the first to take a step towards
reconciliation by delivering their Confession, June 25, 1530. In
accordance with the manifesto of Emperor Charles, they now expected that
the papal party would also present its view and opinion, in order that
the discussions might thereupon proceed in love and kindness, as the
Emperor put it. In the Preface to their Confession the Lutherans
declared: "In obedience to Your Imperial Majesty's wishes, we offer, in
this matter of religion the Confession of our preachers and of
ourselves, showing what manner of doctrine from the Holy Scriptures and
the pure Word of God has been up to this time set forth in our lands,
dukedoms, dominions and cities, and taught in our churches. And if the
other Electors, Princes, and Estates of the Empire will, according to
the said imperial proposition, present similar writings, to wit, in
Latin and German, giving their opinions in this matter of religion, we,
with the Princes and friends aforesaid, here before Your Imperial
Majesty, our most clement Lord, are prepared to confer amicably
concerning all possible ways and means, in order that we may come
together, as far as this may be honorably done, and, the matter between
us on both sides being peacefully discussed without offensive strife,
the dissension, by God's help, may be done away and brought back to one
true accordant religion; for as we all are under one Christ and do
battle under Him, we ought to confess the one Christ, after the tenor of
Your Imperial Majesty's edict, and everything ought to be conducted
according to the truth of God; and this is what, with most fervent
prayers, we entreat of God." (39, 8.)

The Lutherans did not believe that the manifesto of the Emperor could be
construed in any other way than that both parties would be treated as
equals at the Diet. Not merely as a matter of good policy, but _bona
fide,_ as honest Germans and true Christians, they clung tenaciously to
the words of the Emperor, according to which the Romanists, too, were to
be regarded as a party summoned for the trial, the Emperor being the
judge. The Lutherans simply refused to take the word of the Emperor at
anything less than par, or to doubt his good will and the sincerity of
his promise. The fact that from the very beginning his actions were in
apparent contravention of the manifesto was attributed by the Lutherans
to the sinister influence of such bitter, baiting, and unscrupulous
theologians as Eck, Cochlaeus, and Faber, who, they claimed, endeavored
to poison and incite the guileless heart of the Emperor. Thus the
Lutherans would not and could not believe that Charles had deceived
them,--a simple trust, which, however, stubborn facts finally compelled
them to abandon.

The Romanists, on the other hand, boasting before the Emperor that they
had remained with the true Christian faith, the holy Gospel, the
Catholic Church, the bull of the Pope, and the Edict of Worms, refused
with equal tenacity to be treated as a party summoned for trial. June
25, 1530, Elector John wrote to Luther: "Thus we and the other princes
and estates who are related to us in this matter had to consent to
submit our opinion and confession of faith. Our opponents, however, as
we are told, declined to present theirs and decided to show to the
Emperor that they adhered to the Edict [of Worms] and to the faith which
their fathers had bequeathed to and bestowed upon them, and which they
intended to adhere to even now; if, however the Pope or, in his place,
the Legate, together with His Imperial Majesty, would point out, and
expect them to adopt, a different and new faith, they would humbly hear
the Emperor's opinion." (Luther, St. L. 16, 758.)

Thus presupposing what they were summoned to prove at Augsburg, namely,
that the doctrine of the Pope was identical with the old Christian
faith, the Romanists declared a presentation of their views unnecessary.
The Lutherans, they maintained, were convicted apostates and rebels
against Pope and Church, against Emperor and realm; sentence was not
first to be pronounced upon them, but had been pronounced long ago, the
Diet's duty merely being to confirm and execute it; hence, there was
nothing else to be done by the Emperor than to attend to his office as
warden and protector of the Church, and, together with the princes and
estates, to proceed against the heretics with drastic measures. Also in
the later discussions, conducted with a view of effecting a
reconciliation, the Romanists refused to relinquish this position. From
beginning to end they acted as the accusers, judges, and henchmen of the
Lutherans. Nor was anything else to be expected, since, unlike the
Lutherans, they considered not God's Word, but the Pope the supreme
arbiter in religious matters. Thus from the very outset, the gulf
between the two parties was such that it could not be bridged. Common
ground was lacking. On the one side conscience, bound by the Word of
God! On the other, blind subjection to human, papal authority! Also
Romanists realized that this fundamental and irreconcilable difference
was bound to render futile all discussions. It was not merely his own
disgust which the papal historian expressed when he concluded his report
on the prolonged discussions at Augsburg: "Thus the time was wasted with
vain discussions." (Plitt, _Apologie,_ 43.)

37. Further Success Not Hoped for by Luther.

Luther regarded the public reading of the Confession as an unparalleled
triumph of his cause. Further results, such as a union with the
Romanists, he did not expect. On July 9, 1530, he wrote to Jonas: _"Quid
sperem de Caesare, quantumvis optimo, sed obsesso?_ What can I hope of
the Emperor, even the best, when he is obsessed" [by the papal
theologians]? The most Luther hoped for was mutual political toleration.
In the letter quoted he continues: "But they [the Papists] must expect a
sad, and we a happy issue. Not indeed, that there ever will be unity of
doctrine; for who can hope that Belial will be united with Christ?
Excepting that perhaps marriage [of priests] and the two kinds [of the
Sacrament] be permitted (here too however, this adverb 'perhaps' is
required, and perhaps too much 'perhaps'). But this I wish and earnestly
hope for, that, the difference in doctrine being set aside, a political
union may be made. If by the blessing of Christ this takes place, enough
and more than enough has been done and accomplished at this Diet. ...
Now, if we obtain also the third thing, that we adjourn with worldly
peace secured, then we shall have clearly defeated Satan in this year."
(Enders, 8, 95; St. L. 16 927. 1666.)

July 21, 1530, Luther wrote in a similar vein to Jonas: "The fact that
these frogs [the papal theologians who wrote the Confutation] with their
croakings [_coaxitatibus_ = pasquinades against Luther, instead of
answers to the Augustana] have free access [to the Emperor] chagrins me
very much in this great work in the most important matters. ... But this
happens to prove that I am a true prophet; for I have always said that we
work and hope in vain for a union in doctrine; it would be enough if we
could obtain worldly peace." (16, 927. 2324.) August 25, when the
prolonged discussions of reconciliation were nearing their end, he wrote
to Melanchthon: "In sum, it does not please me at all that unity of
doctrine is to be discussed, since this is utterly impossible, unless
the Pope would abolish his entire popery. It would have sufficed if we
had presented to them the reasons for our faith and desired peace. But
how can we hope that we shall win them over to accept the truth? We have
come to hear whether they approve our doctrine or not, permitting them
to remain what they are, only inquiring whether they acknowledge our
doctrine to be correct or condemn it. If they condemn it, what does it
avail to discuss the question of unity any longer with avowed enemies?
If they acknowledge it to be right, what necessity is there of retaining
the old abuses?" (16, 1404.)

Though willing to yield to the Catholic party in all other matters,
Luther refused to compromise the divine truth in any point or in any
way. For this reason he also insisted that the Emperor should not be
recognized as judge and arbiter without qualification, but only with the
proviso that his decision would not conflict with the clear Word of God.
According to Luther, everybody, Pope and Emperor included, must submit
to the authority of the Scriptures. In a letter of July 9, 1530 he wrote
to the Elector: "In the first place; Should His Imperial Majesty desire
that the Imperial Majesty be permitted to decide these matters, since it
was not His Majesty's purpose to enter into lengthy discussions, I think
Your Electoral Grace might answer that His Imperial Majesty's manifesto
promises that he would graciously listen to these matters. If such was
not intended, the manifesto would have been needless, for His Imperial
Majesty might have rendered his decision just as well in Spain without
summoning Your Electoral Grace to Augsburg at such great labor and
expense. ... In the second place: Should His Imperial Majesty insist
that the Imperial Majesty be permitted to decide these matters Your
Electoral Grace may cheerfully answer Yes, the Imperial Majesty shall
decide these matters, and Your Electoral Grace would accept and suffer
everything, provided only that His Imperial Majesty make no decision
against the clear Scriptures, or God's Word. For Your Electoral Grace
cannot put the Emperor above God, nor accept his verdict in opposition
to God's Word." (16, 815.)

38. Papal Peace Sought by Emperor.

By their obstinate refusal to regard themselves as a party summoned, the
Romanists from the outset, made it impossible for the Emperor to
maintain the role of an impartial judge, which, probably, he had never
really intended to be. At any rate, though earnestly desirous of
religious peace, his actions throughout the Diet do not reveal a single
serious effort at redeeming his promise and putting his beautiful words
into practise. Being bound to the Pope and the papal party both
religiously and politically, Charles did not require of the Romanists a
fulfilment of the obligations imposed upon them by his manifesto. All
the concessions were to be made by the Lutherans. _Revoca!_--that was
the first and only word which Rome had hitherto spoken to Luther.
"Revoke and submit yourselves!"--that, in the last analysis, was also
the demand of the Emperor at Augsburg with respect to the Lutheran
princes, both when he spoke in tones friendly and gentle and when he
uttered severe and threatening words. Charles, it is true, desired
peace, but a Roman peace, a peace effected by universal blind submission
to the Pope; not a peace by mutual understanding and concessions; least
of all a peace by political religious tolerance, such as Luther desired,
and which in our days is generally regarded as the outstanding feature
of modern civilization, notably of Americanism. To force the Lutherans
into submission and obedience to the Pope, that was the real object of
the Emperor. And the political situation demanded that this be
accomplished by peaceable and gentle means--if possible.

Self-evidently, in his endeavors to establish a Papal Peace, the
Emperor, who was haunted and tormented by the fear that all efforts
might prove futile, was zealously seconded, encouraged, and prodded on
by the papal theologians. To bring about a religious peace, such as the
Emperor contemplated, this, they flattered Charles, would be an
ever-memorable achievement, truly worthy of the Emperor: for the eyes of
all Christendom were upon him, and he had staked his honor upon the
success of this glorious undertaking. June 3 the Father Confessor of the
Emperor, Garsia, then at Rome, wrote to Charles: "At present there is
nothing so important in this life as that Your Majesty emerge victorious
in the German affair. In Italy you will be accounted the best prince on
earth if God should vouchsafe this grace unto us that the heresies which
have arisen in that nation be cured by your hand." (Plitt, 4.) June 6
Garsia wrote: "Gracious Lord! After the letters from the legate
[Campegius, concerning the return of Christian II to the Roman Church,
the disagreement between Philip of Hesse and the Elector, etc.] had been
read at to-day's Consistorial Meeting, almost all the cardinals said
that Your Majesty was the angel sent from heaven to restore Christendom.
God knows how much I rejoiced, and although the sun burned fiercely when
I returned to my home, how patiently I bore it! I was not sensitive to
it from sheer joy at hearing such sweet words about my master from those
who a year ago had maligned him. My chief comfort, however, was to
behold that they were right; for it seems as if God were performing
miracles by Your Majesty, and to judge by the beginning you have made in
curing this ailment, it is evident that we may expect the issue to prove
far more favorable than our sins merit." (II. 67.)

39. Compulsion Advocated by Theologians.

All Romanists, the Emperor included, were of the opinion that the
Protestants must be brought back to the papal fold. But they differed
somewhat as to the means of accomplishing this purpose. Some demanded
that force be resorted to forthwith, while others counseled that
leniency be tried first. Campegius advised kindness at the beginning,
and greater severity only in dealing with certain individuals, but that
sharper measures and, finally, force of arms ought to follow. At Rome
force was viewed as the "true rhubarb" for healing the breach,
especially among the common people. July 18 Garsia wrote to the Emperor:
"If you are determined to bring Germany back to the fold, I know of no
other or better means than by presents and flattery to persuade those
who are most eminent in science or in the empire to return to our faith.
Once that is done, you must, in dealing with the remaining common
people, first of all publish your imperial edicts and Christian
admonitions. If they will not obey these, then the true rhubarb to cure
them is force. This alone cured Spain's rebellion against its king. And
force is what will also cure Germany's unfaithfulness to God, unless,
indeed, divine grace should not attend Your Majesty in the usual
measure. God would learn in this matter whether you are a faithful son
of His, and should He so find, then I promise you that among all
creatures you will find no power sufficiently strong to resist you. All
will but serve the purpose of enabling you to obtain the crown of this
world." (42.)

Among the open advocates of force were Cochlaeus, Eck, Faber, and the
theologians and monks who flocked to Augsburg in large numbers about the
time the Augsburg Confession was read. They all considered it their
prime duty to rouse the passions of the Emperor, as well as of the
Catholic princes and estates, and to incite them against the Lutherans.
Their enmity was primarily directed against the Augustana, whose
objective and moderate tone had gained many friends even among the
Catholics, and which had indirectly branded Eck and his compeers as
detractors and calumniators. For had not Duke William of Bavaria, after
the reading of the Confession, rebuked Eck, in the presence of the
Elector of Saxony, for having misrepresented the Lutheran doctrine to
him? The moderation of the Augustana, said these Romanists, was nothing
but the cunning of serpents, deception and misrepresentation, especially
on the part of the wily Melanchthon, for the true Luther was portrayed
in the 404 theses of Eck. Cochlaeus wrote that the Lutherans were slyly
hiding their ungodly doctrines in order to deceive the Emperor: "astute
occultari in illorum Confessione prava eorum dogmata, de quibus ibi
tacendo dissimulabant, ut in hypocrisi loquentes Maiestati Tuae aliisque
principibus imponerent." (Laemmer, _Vortridentinische Theologie,_ 39.)
Thus the malice and fanaticism of the papal theologians and the monks
rose in proportion as friendliness was shown the Lutherans by Catholic
princes and the Emperor. They feared that every approach toward the
Lutherans would jeopardize the _pax Pontificia._

The fanaticism of the papal theologians is frequently referred to by the
Lutherans. June 26 Melanchthon wrote to Luther: "Sophists and monks are
daily streaming into the city, in order to inflame the hatred of the
Emperor against us." (_C. R._ 2, 141.) June 27: "Our Confession was
presented last Saturday. The opponents are now deliberating upon how to
answer; they flock together, take great pains, and incite the princes,
who already have been sufficiently aroused. Eck vehemently demands of
the Archbishop of Mainz that the matter be not debated, since it has
already been condemned." (144.) June 29 Jonas wrote to Luther: "Faber is
goaded on by furies and Eck is not a whit more sensible. Both insist in
every manner imaginable that the affair ought to be managed by force and
must not be heard." (154.) Melanchthon, July 8: "By chance Eck and
Cochlaeus came to the legate [Campegius, with whom Melanchthon was
deliberating]. I heard them say, distinctly enough, I believe, that the
opponents are merely deliberating upon how to suppress us by force."
(175.) July 15: "Repeatedly have I been with certain enemies who belong
to that herd of Eck. Words fail me to describe the bitter, Pharisaical
hatred I noticed there. They do nothing, they plan nothing else than how
they may incite the princes against us, and supply the Emperor with
impious weapons." (197.) The implacable theologians also succeeded in
fanaticizing some of the princes and bishops, who gradually became more
and more opposed to any kind of settlement by mutual understanding.
(175.)

The chief exponent of force was Cochlaeus. In his _Expostulatio,_ which
appeared at Augsburg in May, 1530, he argued that not only according to
papal, but according to imperial law as well, which the Evangelicals
also acknowledged, and according to the Scriptures, heretics might, aye,
must be punished with death. The treatise concludes as follows: "Thus it
is established that obdurate heretics may be executed by every form of
law. We, however, much prefer to have them return to the Church, be
converted, healed and live, and we beseech them to do so. _Constat
igitur, haereticos pertinaces omni iure interimi posse. Nos tamen longe
magis optamus et precamur, ut redeuntes ad ecclesiam convertantur,
sanentur et vivant._" (Plitt, 1, 5.)

Naturally Eck, too, was prominent among those who counseled the
employment of compulsory measures; indeed, he could not await the hour
when the order would be given to proceed against the heretics with fire
and sword. He lamented, in bitter terms, the fact that the Emperor had
not made use of stern measures as soon as he arrived in Germany. For
now, said he, procrastination and the conciliatory demeanor of the
Evangelicals, especially of Melanchthon and Brueck, had made it
impossible to rouse the Emperor to such a degree as the exigency of the
case demanded. (Plitt, 63.) Luther wrote: "For that shameless gab and
bloodthirsty sophist, Doctor Eck, one of their chief advisers, publicly
declared in the presence of our people that if the Emperor had followed
the resolution made at Bononia, and, immediately on entering Germany,
had courageously attacked the Lutherans with the sword, and beheaded one
after another, the matter would have been easily settled. But all this
was prevented when he permitted the Elector of Saxony to speak and be
heard through his chancellor." (St. L. 16, 1636.)

40. Emperor Employs Mildness.

While a number of the Catholic estates, incited by the theologians, were
also in favor of immediately resorting to brutal force, the Emperor, for
political reasons, considered it more advisable to employ kindness.
Lauding the extreme affability and leniency of Charles, Melanchthon
wrote to Luther, January 25: "The Emperor greets our Prince very kindly;
and I would that our people, in turn, were more complaisant towards him.
I would ask you to admonish our Junior Prince by letter in this matter.
The Emperor's court has no one milder than himself. All others harbor a
most cruel hatred against us. _Caesar satis benigne salutat nostrum
principem; ac velim vicissim nostros erga ipsum officiosiores esse. Ea
de re utinam iuniorem principem nostrum litteris admonueris. Nihil ipso
Caesare mitius habet ipsius aula. Reliquii omnes crudelissime nos
oderunt_." (_C. R._ 2, 125.)

The reading of the Augustana strengthened this friendly attitude of
Charles. Both its content and its conciliatory tone, which was not at
all in harmony with the picture of the Lutherans as sketched by Eck,
caused him to be more kindly disposed toward Protestantism, and
nourished his hope that religious peace might be attained by peaceable
means. Other Catholic dignitaries and princes had been impressed in the
same manner. July 6 Luther wrote to Hausmann: "Many bishops are inclined
to peace and despise the sophists, Eck and Faber. One bishop [Stadion of
Augsburg] is said to have declared in a private conversation, 'This [the
Confession of the Lutherans] is the pure truth, we cannot deny it,' The
Bishop of Mainz is being praised very much for his endeavors in the
interest of peace. Likewise Duke Henry of Brunswick who extended a
friendly invitation to Philip to dine with him, and admitted that he was
not able to disprove the articles treating of both kinds, the marriage
of priests, and the distinction of meats. Our men boast that, of the
entire Diet, no one is milder than the Emperor himself. Such is the
beginning. The Emperor treats our Elector not only graciously, but most
respectfully. So Philip writes. It is remarkable how all are aglow with
love and good will toward the Emperor. It may happen, if God so wills,
that, as the first Emperor [Charles at Worms] was very hostile, so this
last Emperor [Charles at Augsburg] will be very friendly. Only let us
pray; for the power of prayer is clearly perceived." (St. L. 16, 882.)
The Emperor's optimism was, no doubt, due to the fact that, unlike his
theologians, he did not perceive and realize the impassable gulf fixed
between Lutheranism and the Papacy, as appeared also from the Augustana,
in which, however, the Emperor mistook moderation of tone for surrender
of substance.

41. Augustana Submitted to Catholic Party.

Full of hope the Emperor, on June 26, immediately after its public
presentation, submitted the Lutheran Confession to the Catholic estates
for deliberation. These, too, though not in the least inclined to
abandon their arrogant attitude, seem to have given themselves over to
the delusion that the Lutherans could now be brought to recede from
their position. Accordingly, their answer (Responsum) of June 27,
couched in conciliatory language, recommended as "the humble opinion of
the electors and estates that the Imperial Roman Majesty would submit
this great and important matter to a number of highly learned, sensible,
honest, conciliating, and not spiteful persons, to deliberate on, and to
consider, the writing [the Augustana], as far as necessary, enumerating,
on the one hand, whatsoever therein was found to be in conformity and
harmony with the Gospel, God's Word, and the holy Christian Church, but,
on the other hand, refuting with the true foundation of the Gospel and
the Holy Scripture and its doctrine, and bringing into true Christian
understanding, such matters as were found to be against, and out of
harmony with, the Gospel, the Word of God, and the Christian Church."
(Laemmer, 32.) They recommended, however, that in this entire matter
Campegius be consulted, and for that purpose be furnished with a copy of
the Lutheran Confession.

The Romanists furthermore resolved that the Lutherans be asked whether
they had any additional points to present, and, if so, to do this
immediately. The Lutherans, considering this a snare, declared, on July
10, that in their Confession they had made it a special point to present
the chief articles which it is necessary to believe in order to be
saved, but had not enumerated all abuses, desiring to emphasize such
only as burdened the consciences, lest the paramount questions be
obscured; that they would let this [all that was enumerated in their
Confession] suffice, and have included other points of doctrine and
abuses which were not mentioned, that they would not fail to give an
answer from the Word of God in case their opponents should attack the
Confession or present anything new. (Foerstemann, 2, 16. _C. R._ 2,
181.) No doubt, the Papists felt that the Lutherans really should have
testified directly also against the Papacy, etc. This, too, was the
interpretation which Luther put on the inquiry of the Romanists. July
21, 1530, he wrote to Jonas: But now I see what the questions aimed at
whether you had other articles to present. For Satan still lives and has
noticed very well that your Apology [Augustana] steps softly and has
passed by the articles concerning purgatory, the adoration of the
saints, and especially Antichrist, the Pope. (St. L. 16, 2323, Enders,
8, 133.)

July 5 the Emperor accepted the opinion of the estates and appointed the
confutators. At the same time he declared with reference to the
Lutherans that he was the judge of the content of their writing
(Augustana); that, in case they should not be satisfied with his
verdict, the final decision must remain with the Council, but that
meanwhile the Edict of Worms would be enforced everywhere. (Laemmer, 34;
_C. R._ 2, 175.) Thus the Emperor, in unmistakable terms, indicated that
the Roman Confutation would bring his own final verdict, which no
further discussions could modify, and that he would compel the Lutherans
by force to observe the Edict of Worms if they refused to submit
willingly. The Catholic estates endorsed the Emperor's declaration, but
added the petition that, after the Confutation had been read, the
Lutherans be asked in all kindness to return and that, in case this
remained fruitless, an attempt be made to bring about an agreement to be
reached by a committee appointed by both parties. Evidently, the estates
as well as the Emperor expected the Lutherans to yield and surrender.
Still, for the present, they were willing and preferred to attain this
end by mild and gentle means.

42. Rabid Theologians Appointed as Confutators.

Campegius, to whom the entire matter was entrusted, manipulated things
in such a manner that the result was the very opposite of what the
Emperor and estates had resolved upon. To be sure he made it appear as
though he were entirely neutral leaving everything to the discretion of
the German princes. He knew also how to hide his real sentiments from
the Lutherans. Jonas, for example reports that in his address of June 24
Campegius had said nothing harsh or hateful (_nihil acerbe, nihil
odiose_) against the Lutherans. Spalatin reports: "Some one besought the
Legate and Cardinal Campegius to assist in obtaining peace for the cause
of the Gospel. To this he responded: Since the papal power was
suspicious to us the matter rested with the Emperor and the German
princes. Whatever they did would stand." (Koellner, _Symbolik,_ 403.)
Thus Campegius created the impression of absolute neutrality while in
reality he was at the same time busy with secret intrigues against the
Lutherans.

Among the Confutators (Brueck mentions 19, Spalatin 20, others 22, still
others 24), selected by Campegius and appointed by the Emperor, were
such rabid abusive and inveterate enemies of Luther as Eck, Faber,
Cochlaeus, Wimpina, Colli (author of a slanderous tract against Luther's
marriage), Dietenberger etc. The first three are repeatedly designated
as the true authors of the Confutation. In his _Replica ad Bucerum,_ Eck
boasts: "Of all the theologians at Augsburg I was chosen unanimously to
prepare the answer to the Saxon Confession, and I obeyed. _Augustae ab
omnibus theologis fui delectus unanimiter, qui responsum pararem contra
confessionem Saxonicam, et parui._" (Koellner, 407.) July 10 Brenz wrote
to Myconius: "Their leader (_antesignanus_) is that good man Eck. The
rest are 23 in number. One might call them an Iliad [Homer's Iliad
consists of 24 books] of sophists." (_C. R._ 2, 180.) Melanchthon, too,
repeatedly designates Eck and Faber as the authors of the Confutation.
July 14 he wrote to Luther: "With his legerdemain (_commanipulatione_)
Eck presented to the Emperor the Confutation of our Confession." (193.)
August 6: "This Confutation is the most nonsensical of all the
nonsensical books of Faber." (253.) August 8, to Myconius: "Eck and
Faber have worked for six entire weeks in producing the Confutation of
our Confession." (260.) Hence also such allusions in Melanchthon's
letters as "confutatio Fabrilis," "Fabriliter scripta," and in the
Apology: "Nullus Faber Fabrilius cogitare quidquam posset, quam hae
ineptiae excogitatae sunt ad eludendum ius naturae." (366, 10.) Brueck
was right when he said that some of the Confutators were "purely
partial, and altogether suspicious characters." (Koellner, 411.)

43. Confutation Prepared.

The resolution which the Catholic estates passed June 27 was to the
effect that the imperial answer to the Lutheran Confession be made "by
sober and not spiteful men of learning." The Emperor's Prolog to the
Confutation, accordingly, designated the confutators as "certain
learned, valiant, sensible, sober, and honorable men of many nations."
(_C. R._ 27, 189.) At the same time they were told to couch their answer
in winning, convincing, moderate, and earnest terms. The imperial
instruction read: "To this end it is indeed good and needful that said
document [the Augustana] be carefully considered and diligently studied
by learned, wise, and sober persons, in order that they [the Lutherans]
be shown in all kindness (_durch gute Wege_) where they err, and be
admonished to return to the good way, likewise, to grant them whatsoever
may be serviceable and adapted to our holy Christian faith; and to set
forth the errors, moderately and politely, with such good and holy
arguments as the matter calls for, to defend and prove everything with
suitable evangelical declarations and admonitions, proceeding from
Christian and neighborly love; and at the same time to mingle therewith
earnestness and severity with such moderation as may be likely to win
the five electors and princes, and not to destroy their hope or to
harden them still more." (Koellner, 403)

However, inspired by Campegius and goaded on by blind hatred, the
Confutators employed their commission for the purpose of casting
suspicion on the Lutherans and inciting the Emperor against them. They
disregarded the imperial admonition for moderation, and instead of an
objective answer to the Augustana, they produced a long-winded
pasquinade against Luther and the Evangelical preachers, a fit companion
piece to the 404 theses of Eck--a general accusation against the
Protestants, a slanderous anthology of garbled quotations from Luther,
Melanchthon, and other Evangelical preachers. The insinuation lurking in
the document everywhere was that the Confession of the Lutheran princes
was in glaring contradiction to the real doctrine of their pastors. The
sinister scheme of the Romanists, as the Elector in 1536 reminded the
Lutheran theologians, was to bring the princes in opposition to their
preachers. (_C. R._ 3, 148.) The mildness and moderation of the
Augustana, they openly declared, was nothing but subtle cunning of the
smooth and wily Melanchthon, who sought to hide the true state of
affairs. In a book which Cochlaeus published against the Apology in 1534
he said that the open attacks of Luther were far more tolerable than the
serpentine cunning and hypocrisy of Melanchthon (_instar draconis
insidiantis fraudes intendens_), as manifested in particular by his
demeanor toward Campegius at Augsburg in 1530. (Laemmer, 56; Salig, 1,
376.) Thus the Roman Confutators disregarded their commission to refute
the Augustana, and substituted a caricature of Luther and his doctrines
designed to irritate the Emperor.

44. A Bulky, Scurrilous Document.

The Confutation, compiled by Eck and Faber from various contributions of
the Confutators, was ready by the 8th of July, and was presented to the
Emperor on the 12th or 13th. The German translation was prepared by the
Bavarian Chancellor, Leonhard von Eck. July 10 Brenz had written: "It is
reported that they are preparing wagonloads of commentaries against our
Confession." (_C. R._ 2, 180.) Spalatin reports that the Confutators
delivered to the Emperor "a pile of books against Doctor Martin with
most scurrilous titles." The chief document was entitled: "Catholic and,
as it were, Extemporaneous Response concerning Certain Articles
Presented in These Days at the Diet to the Imperial Majesty by the
Illustrious Elector of Saxony and Certain Other Princes as well as Two
Cities. _Catholica et quasi extemporanea Responsio super nonnullis
articulis Caesareae Maiestati hisce diebus in dieta imperiali Augustensi
per Illustrem Electorem Saxoniae et alios quosdam Principes et duas
Civitates oblatis._" It was supplemented by nine other treatises on all
manner of alleged contradictions and heresies of Luther and Anabaptistic
as well as other fruits of his teaching. (Laemmer, 37, _C. R._ 2, 197.)
The pasquinade with its supplements comprised no less than 351 folios,
280 of which were devoted to the answer proper. Cochlaeus also
designates it as "very severe and extended, _acrior extensiorque._" July
14 Melanchthon reported he had heard from friends that the Confutation
was "long and filled with scurrilities." (193. 218.) July 15: "I am
sending you [Luther] a list of the treatises which our opponents have
presented to the Emperor, from which you will see that the Confutation
is supplemented by antilogs and other treatises in order to stir up
against us the most gentle heart of the Emperor. Such are the stratagems
these slanderers (_sycophantae_) devise." (197.)

The effect of the Confutation on the Emperor, however, was not at all
what its authors desired and anticipated. Disgusted with the miserable
bulky botch, the Emperor convened the estates on July 15, and they
resolved to return the bungling document to the theologians for
revision. Tone, method, plan, everything displeased the Emperor and
estates to such an extent that they expunged almost one-third of it.
Intentionally they ignored the nine supplements and demanded that
reflections on Luther be eliminated from the document entirely;
moreover, that the theologians confine themselves to a refutation of the
Augustana. (Laemmer, 39.) Cochlaeus writes: "Since the Catholic princes
all desired peace and concord, they deemed it necessary to answer in a
milder tone, and to omit all reference to what the [Lutheran] preachers
had formerly taught and written otherwise than their Confession stated."
(Koellner, 406.) In a letter to Brueck he declared that such coarse
extracts and articles [with which the first draft of the Confutation
charged Luther] should not be mentioned in the reply to the Confession,
lest any one be put to shame or defamed publicly. (Laemmer, 39.)

In his Annals, Spalatin reports: "At first there were perhaps 280
folios. But His Imperial Majesty is said to have weeded out many folios
and condensed the Confutation to such an extent that not more than
twelve folios remained. This is said to have hurt and angered Eck
severely." (St. L. 21a, 1539.) In a letter to Veit Dietrich, dated July
30, Melanchthon remarks sarcastically: "Recently Eck complained to one
of his friends that the Emperor had deleted almost the third part of his
treatise, and I suspect that the chief ornaments of the book were rooted
out, that is, the glaring lies and the most stupid tricks, _insignia
mendacia et sycophantiae stolidissimae._" (_C. R._ 2, 241.) Brenz
regarded this as an evidence of the extent to which the Augustana had
perturbed the opponents, leaving them utterly helpless. July 15 he wrote
to Isemann: "Meanwhile nothing new has taken place in our midst, except
that I heard that the confession of the sophists was to-day returned by
the Emperor to its authors, the sophists, and this for the reason that
it was so confused, jumbled, vehement, bloodthirsty, and cruel
(_confusa, incordita, violenta, sanguinolenta et crudelis_) that he was
ashamed to have it read before the Imperial Senate.... We experience
daily that we have so bewildered, stunned, and confused them that they
know not where to begin or to end." (198.) "Pussyfooting
(_Leisetreten_)!"--such was the slogan at Augsburg; and in this
Melanchthon was nowhere equaled. Privately also Cochlaeus elaborated a
milder answer to the Lutheran Confession. But even the friends who had
induced him to undertake this task considered his effort too harsh to be
presented to the Emperor.

The first, rejected draft of the Confutation has been lost, with the
sole exception of the second article, preserved by Cochlaeus. On the
difference between this draft and the one finally adopted, Plitt
comments as follows: "The Confutation as read simply adopted the first
article of the Confession [Augustana] as in complete agreement with the
Roman Church. The original draft also approved this article's appeal to
the Council of Nicaea, but added that now the Emperor should admonish
the confessing estates to accept everything else taught by the Catholic
Church, even though it was not verbally contained in the Scriptures, as,
for example, the Mass, Quadragesimal fasting, the invocation of the
saints, etc.; for the wording of the doctrine of the Trinity could be
found in the Scriptures just as little as that of the points mentioned,
furthermore, that he also call upon them to acknowledge said Synod of
Nicaea in all its parts, hence also to retain the hierarchical degrees
with their powers; that he admonish them to compel their preachers and
teachers to retract everything which they had said and written against
that Synod, especially Luther and Melanchthon, its public defamers.
Refusal of such retraction would invalidate their appeal to that Synod
and prove it to be nothing but a means of deception. Finally they were
to be admonished not to believe their teachers in anything which was
against the declarations of the Church catholic. Such was the form in
which the first draft of the Confutation was couched. Everywhere the
tendency was apparent to magnify the differences, make invidious
inferences, cast suspicion on their opponents, and place them in a bad
light with the Emperor and the majority. This was not the case in the
answer which was finally read." (37.)

45. Confutation Adopted and Read.

Only after repeated revisions in which Campegius and the imperial
counselors Valdes and Granvella took part was an agreement reached
regarding the form of the Confutation. July 30 the Emperor received the
fourth revision and on August 1 he presented it to the bishops, princes,
and estates for their opinion. There still remained offensive passages
which had to be eliminated. A fifth revision was necessary before the
approval of the Emperor and the estates was forthcoming. A Prolog and an
Epilog were added according to which the Confutation is drawn up in the
name of the Emperor. Thus the original volume was boiled down to a
comparatively small document. But to speak with Kolde, even in its final
form the Confutation is "still rather an accusation against the
Evangelicals, and an effort to retain all the medieval church customs
than a refutation of the Augustana." (34.) August 6 Jonas wrote to
Luther: "The chaplain [John Henkel] of Queen Maria informed us that they
had five times changed their Confutation, casting and recasting, minting
and reminting it, and still there finally was produced nothing but an
uncouth and confused conglomeration and a hodgepodge, as when a cook
pours different soups into one pot. At first they patched together an
enormous volume, as Faber is known to be a verbose compiler; the book
grew by reason of the multitude of its lies and scurrilities. However,
at the first revision the Emperor eliminated the third part of the book,
so that barely twelve or sixteen folios remained, which were read." (St.
L. 21a, 1539.)

On August 3, 1530, in the same hall in which the Augsburg Confession had
been submitted thirty-eight days before, in the presence of all the
estates of the empire, the Augustanae Confessionis Responsio,
immediately called Confutatio Pontificia by the Protestants, was read in
the German language by Alexander Schweiss, the Imperial Secretary.
However, the reading, too, proved to be a discreditable affair. Owing to
the great haste in which the German copy had been prepared, an entire
portion had been omitted; the result was that the conclusion of Article
24 as well as Articles 25 and 26 were not presented. Furthermore,
Schweiss, overlooking the lines of erasure, read a part which had been
stricken, containing a very bold deliverance on the sacrifice of the
Mass, in which they labored to prove from the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin
that the word _facite_ in the institution of the Sacrament was
synonymous with "sacrifice." (Kolde, 34.) August 6, 1530, Jonas wrote to
Luther: The opponents presented their Confutation to the Emperor on July
30, and on the 3d of August it was read in the presence of the Emperor
and the estates, together with a Prolog and an Epilog of the Emperor.
"The reading also consumed two entire hours, but with an incredible
aversion, weariness, and disgust on the part of some of the more
sensible hearers, who complained that they were almost driven out by
this utterly cold, threadbare songlet (_cantilena_), being extremely
chagrined that the ears of the Emperor should be molested with such a
lengthy array of worthless things masquerading under the name of
Catholic doctrines." (St. L. 21a, 1539.) August 4 Brenz wrote to
Isemann: "The Emperor maintains neutrality; for he slept both when the
Augustana and when the Confutation was read. _Imperator neutralem sese
gerit; nam cum nostra confessio legeretur obdormivit; rursus cum
adversariorum responsio legeretur, iterum obdormivit in media negotii
actione_." (_C. R._ 2, 245.)

The Confutation was neither published, nor was a copy of it delivered to
the Lutherans. Apparently the Romanists, notably the Emperor and the
estates, were ashamed of the document. True, Cochlaeus reports that
toward the close of the Diet Charles authorized him and Eck to publish
it, but that this was not done, because Duke George and the Emperor left
Augsburg shortly after, and the printer also moved away. (Koellner,
414.) All subsequent pleading and imploring, however, on the part of Eck
and others, to induce the Emperor to publish the Confutation fell on
deaf ears. Evidently Charles no longer took any interest in a document
that had so shamefully shattered his fond ambition of reconciling the
religious parties. What appeared in print, early in 1531, was merely an
extract prepared by Cochlaeus, entitled, _Summary of the Imperial
Answer,_ etc. The first Latin edition of the Confutation appeared as
late as 1573; the first German edition, in 1808. All previous German
impressions (also the edition of 1584) are translations of the Latin
edition of 1573. (_C. R._ 27, 25. 82.) Concerning the German text of the
Confutation Kolde remarks: "Since changes were made even after it had
been read, we have even less definite knowledge, respecting details, as
to what was read than in the case of the Augustana." (35.) One may
therefore also speak of a Confutatio Variata. The doctrine of the
Confutation does not differ essentially from that which was later on
affirmed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). However, says Kolde,
"being written by the German leaders of the Catholic party under the eye
of the Papal Legate, and approved by the Emperor, the German bishops,
and the Roman-minded princes, it [the Confutation] must be reckoned
among the historically most important documents of the Roman Catholic
faith of that day."

46. Confutation Denounced by Lutherans.

In the opinion of the Lutherans, the final draft of the Confutation,
too, was a miserable makeshift. True, its tone was moderate, and, with
few exceptions, personal defamations were omitted. The arrangement of
subjects was essentially the same as in the Augustana. Still it was not
what it pretended to be. It was no serious attempt at refuting the
Lutheran Confession, but rather an accumulation of Bible-texts,
arbitrarily expounded, in support of false doctrines and scholastic
theories. These efforts led to exegetical feats that made the
Confutators butts of scorn and derision. At any rate, the Lutherans
were charged with having failed, at the public reading, to control their
risibilities sufficiently. Cochlaeus complains: "During the reading many
of the Lutherans indulged in unseemly laughter. _Quando recitata fuit,
multi e Lutheranis inepte cachinnabantur._" (Koellner, 411.) If this did
not actually occur, it was not because the Confutators had given them no
cause for hilarity.

"Altogether childish and silly"--such is Melanchthon's verdict on many
of their exegetical pranks. August 6 he wrote letter after letter to
Luther, expressing his contempt for the document. "After hearing that
Confutation," says Melanchthon, "all good people seem to have been more
firmly established on our part, and the opponents, if there be among
them some who are more reasonable, are said to be disgusted
(_stomachari_) that such absurdities were forced upon the Emperor, the
best of princes." (_C. R._ 2, 252.) Again: Although the Emperor's
verdict was very stern and terrible, "still, the Confutation being a
composition so very puerile, a most remarkable congratulation followed
its reading. No book of Faber's is so childish but that this Confutation
is still more childish." (253.) In another letter he remarked that,
according to the Confutation, in which the doctrine of justification by
faith was rejected, "the opponents had no knowledge of religion
whatever." (253.)

August 4 Brenz wrote to Isemann: "All things were written in the fashion
of Cochlaeus, Faber, and Eck. Truly a most stupid comment, so that I am
ashamed of the Roman name, because in their whole Church they can find
no men able to answer us heretics at least in a manner wise and
accomplished. _Sed omnia conscripta erant Cochleice et Fabriliter et
Eccianice. Commentum sane stupidissimum, ut pudeat me Romani nominis,
quod in sua religione non conquirant viros, qui saltem prudenter et
ornate nobis haereticis responderent._" (245.) August 15 Luther
answered: "We received all of your letters, and I praise God that he
made the Confutation of the adversaries so awkward and foolish a thing.
However, courage to the end! _Verum frisch hindurch!_" (Enders, 8, 190.)

47. Luther on the Confutation.

Derision increased when the Papists declined to publish the Confutation,
or even to deliver a copy of it to the Lutherans for further inspection.
This refusal was universally interpreted as an admission, on the part of
the Romanists, of a guilty conscience and of being ashamed themselves of
the document. In his _Warning to My Beloved Germans,_ which appeared
early in 1531, Luther wrote as follows: "But I am quite ready to believe
that extraordinary wisdom prompted them [the Papists at Augsburg] to
keep this rebuttal of theirs and that splendid booklet [Confutation] to
themselves, because their own conscience tells them very plainly that it
is a corrupt, wicked, and frigid thing, of which they would have to be
ashamed if it were published and suffered itself to be seen in the light
or to endure an answer. For I very well know these highly learned
doctors who have cooked and brewed over it for six weeks, though with
the ignorant they may be able to give the matter a good semblance. But
when it is put on paper, it has neither hands nor feet, but lies there
in a disorderly mass, as if a drunkard had spewed it up, as may be seen,
in particular, in the writings of Doctor Schmid and Doctor Eck. For
there is neither rhyme nor rhythm in whatsoever they are compelled to
put into writing. Hence they are more sedulous to shout and prattle.
Thus I have also learned that when our Confession was read, many of our
opponents were astonished and confessed that it was the pure truth,
which they could not refute from the Scriptures. On the other hand, when
their rebuttal was read, they hung their heads, and showed by their
gestures that they considered it a mean and useless makeshift as
compared with our Confession. Our people, however, and many other pious
hearts were greatly delighted and mightily strengthened when they heard
that with all the strength and art which our opponents were then called
upon to display, they were capable of producing nothing but this flimsy
rebuttal, which now, praise God! a woman, a child, a layman, a peasant
are fully able to refute with good arguments taken from the Scriptures,
the Word of Truth. And that is also the true and ultimate reason why
they refused to deliver [to the Lutherans a copy of] their refutation.
Those fugitive evil consciences were filled with horror at themselves,
and dared not await the answer of Truth. And it is quite evident that
they were confident, and that they had the Diet called together in the
conviction that our people would never have the boldness to appear, but
if the Emperor should only be brought to Germany in person, every one
would be frightened and say to them: Mercy, dear lords, what would you
have us do? When they were disappointed in this, and the Elector of
Saxony was the very first to appear on the scene, good Lord, how their
breeches began to--! How all their confidence was confounded! What
gathering together, secret consultations, and whisperings resulted! ...
The final sum and substance of it all was to devise ways and means
(since our men were the first joyously and cheerfully to appear) how to
keep them from being heard [block the reading of the Augustana]. When
also this scheme of theirs was defeated, they finally succeeded in
gaining the glory that they did not dare to hand over their futile
rebuttal nor to give us an opportunity to reply to it! ... But some one
might say: The Emperor was willing to deliver the answer to our party
provided they would promise not to have it published nor its contents
divulged. That is true, for such a pledge was expected of our men. Here,
however, every one may grasp and feel (even though he is able neither to
see nor hear) what manner of people they are who will not and dare not
permit their matter to come to the light. If it is so precious a thing
and so well founded in the Scriptures as they bellow and boast, why,
then, does it shun the light? What benefit can there be in hiding from
us and every one else such public matters as must nevertheless be taught
and held among them? But if it is unfounded and futile, why, then, did
they in the first resolution [of the Diet], have the Elector of
Brandenburg proclaim and publish in writing that our Confession had been
refuted [by the Confutation] with the Scriptures and stanch arguments?
If that were true, and if their own consciences did not give them the
lie, they would not merely have allowed such precious and well-founded
Refutation to be read, but would have furnished us with a written copy,
saying: There you have it, we defy any one to answer it! as we did and
still do with our Confession. ... What the Elector of Brandenburg said
in the resolution [read at the Diet], that our Confession was refuted
with the Scriptures and with sound arguments, is not the truth, but a
lie. ... For this well-founded refutation [Confutation] has as yet not
come to light, but is perhaps sleeping with the old Tannhaeuser on Mount
Venus (_Venusberg_)." (St. L. 15, 1635.)


VI. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession.

48. Emperor Demands Adoption of Confutation.

The Confutation was written in the name of the Emperor. This is
indicated by the title: "Roman Imperial Confutation,
_Roemisch-Kaiserliche Konfutation._" (_C. R._ 21, 189.) And according to
his declaration of July 5, demanding that the Lutherans acknowledge him
as judge, the Emperor, immediately before the reading, announced: The
Confutation contained his faith and his verdict on the Confession of the
Lutherans; he demanded that they accept it; should they refuse to do so,
he would prove himself the warden and protector of the Church. In the
Epilog the Emperor gave expression to the following thoughts: From this
Confutation he saw that the Evangelicals "in many articles agree with
the Universal and also the Roman Church, and reject and condemn many
wicked teachings current among the common people of the German nation."
He therefore did not doubt that, having heard his answer to their
Confession, they would square themselves also in the remaining points,
and return to what, by common consent, had hitherto been held by all
true believers. Should they fail to heed his admonition, they must
consider that he would be compelled to reveal and demean himself in this
matter in such manner as "by reason of his office, according to his
conscience, behooved the supreme warden and protector of the Holy
Christian Church." (27, 228.) Immediately after the reading, Frederick,
Duke of the Palatinate, declared in the name of the Emperor that the
Confutation was the Emperor's answer to the Lutherans, the verdict he
rendered against their Confession; and they were now called upon to
relinquish the articles of their Confession that were refuted in the
Confutation, and to return to the Roman Church in unity of faith. (See
the reports of Brenz, Melanchthon, and the delegates from Nuernberg, _C.
R._ 2, 245. 250. 253.) Thus the Emperor, who had promised to have the
deliberations carried on in love and kindness, demanded blind
submission, and closed his demand with a threat. His manifesto was
Protestant; his actions remained Papistical. In the estimation of the
Romanists, the Emperor, by condescending to an extended reply to the
Lutheran Confession, had done more than his duty, and much more than
they had considered expedient. Now they rejoiced, believing that
everything they wished for had been accomplished, and that there was no
other way open for the Lutherans than to submit, voluntarily or by
compulsion.

Naturally the attitude of the Emperor was a great disappointment to the
Lutherans, and it caused much alarm and fear among them. From the very
beginning they had declared themselves ready in the interest of peace,
to do whatever they could "with God and conscience." And this remained
their position to the very last. They dreaded war, and were determined
to leave no stone unturned towards avoiding this calamity. In this
interest even Philip of Hesse was prepared to go to the very limits of
possibility. Melanchthon wrote: "The Landgrave deports himself with much
restraint. He has openly declared to me that in order to preserve peace,
he would accept even sterner conditions, as long as he did not thereby
disgrace the Gospel." (_C. R._ 2, 254.) But a denial of God, conscience,
and the Gospel was precisely what the Emperor expected. Hence the
Lutherans refer to his demands as cruel, impossible of fulfilment, and
as a breach of promise. Outraged by the Emperor's procedure, and fearing
for his own safety, the Landgrave secretly left the Diet on August 6.
War seemed inevitable to many. The reading of the Confutation had
shattered the last hopes of the Lutherans for a peaceful settlement.
They said so to each other, and wrote it to those at home, though not
all of them in the lachrymose tone of the vacillating Melanchthon, who,
filled with a thousand fears was temporarily more qualified for
depriving others of their courage than for inspiring courage. (Plitt,
24.)

49. Sustained by Luther.

In these days of severe trials and sore distress the Lutherans were
sustained by the comforting letters of Luther and the bracing
consciousness that it was the divine truth itself which they advocated.
And the reading of the Confutation had marvelously strengthened this
conviction. Brueck reports an eyewitness of the reading of the Augustana
as saying: "The greater portion among them [the Papists] is not so
ignorant as not to have seen long ago that they are in error." (Plitt,
18.) Because of this conviction there was, as Melanchthon reported, a
"marvelous congratulation" among the Lutherans after the reading of the
Confutation. "We stand for the divine truth, which God cannot but lead
to victory, while our opponents are condemned by their own consciences,"
--such was the buoying conviction of the Lutherans. And in this the
powerful letters of Luther strengthened the confessors at Augsburg. He
wrote: "This is the nature of our Christian doctrine, that it must be
held and grasped as certain and that every one must think and be
convinced: The doctrine is true and sure indeed and cannot fail. But
whoever falls to reasoning and begins to waver within himself, saying:
My dear friend, do you believe that it is true, etc.? such a heart will
never be a true Christian." (Plitt, 12.)

Concerning the spiritual support which the confessors at Augsburg,
notably Melanchthon, received from Luther, Plitt remarks: "What Luther
did during his solitary stay in the Castle at Coburg cannot be rated
high enough. His ideal deportment during these days, so trying for the
Church, is an example which at all times Evangelical Christians may look
up to, in order to learn from him and to emulate him. What he wrote to
his followers in order to comfort and encourage them, can and must at
all times refresh and buoy up those who are concerned about the course
of the Church." (24.) June 30 Veit Dietrich who shared Luther's solitude
at Coburg, wrote to Melanchthon: "My dear Philip, you do not know how
concerned I am for your welfare, and I beseech you for Christ's sake not
to regard as vain the Doctor's [Luther's] letters to you. I cannot
sufficiently admire that man's unique constancy, joy, confidence, and
hope in these days of most sore distress. And daily he nourishes them by
diligent contemplation of the Word of God. Not a day passes in which he
does not spend in prayer at least three hours, such as are most precious
for study. On one occasion I chanced to hear him pray. Good Lord, what a
spirit, what faith spoke out of his words! He prayed with such reverence
that one could see he was speaking with God, and withal with such faith
and such confidence as is shown by one who is speaking with his father
and friend. I know, said he, that Thou art our Father and our God.
Therefore I am certain that Thou wilt confound those who persecute Thy
children. If Thou dost not do it, the danger is Thine as well as ours.
For the entire matter is Thine own. We were compelled to take hold of
it; mayest Thou therefore also protect it, etc. Standing at a distance,
I heard him praying in this manner with a loud voice. Then my heart,
too, burned mightily within me, when he spoke so familiarly, so
earnestly, and reverently with God, and in his prayer insisted on the
promises in the Psalms, as one who was certain that everything he prayed
for would be done. Hence I do not doubt that his prayer will prove a
great help in the desperately bad affair of this Diet. And you, my
teacher, would do far better to imitate our father, the Doctor, also in
this point. For with your miserable cares and your weakling tears you
will accomplish nothing, but prepare a sad destruction for yourself and
us all, who take pleasure in, and are benefited by nothing more than
your welfare." (_C. R._ 2, 158f.; St. L. 15, 929f.)

50. Copy of Confutation Refused to Lutherans.

Since the Confutation, in the manner indicated, had been presented as
the Emperor's final verdict upon the Augsburg Confession the Lutherans
were compelled to declare themselves. Accordingly, Chancellor Brueck at
once responded to the demand for submission made through the Palatinate
after the reading of the Confutation, saying: The importance of this
matter, which concerned their salvation, required that the Confutation
be delivered to the Lutherans for careful inspection and examination to
enable them to arrive at a decision in the matter. The delegates from
Nuernberg reported, in substance: After the Confutation was read, Doctor
Brueck answered: Whereas, according to their Confession, the Lutherans
were willing to do and yield everything that could be so done with a
good conscience, whereas, furthermore, according to the Confutation,
some of their [the Lutherans'] articles were approved, others entirely
rejected, still others partly admitted to be right and partly
repudiated; and whereas the Confutation was a somewhat lengthy document:
therefore the Electors, princes, and cities deemed it necessary to scan
these articles more closely, the more so, because many writings were
adduced in them that made it necessary to show to what intent, and if at
all they were rightly quoted, and accordingly requested the Emperor,
since he had promised to hear both parties, to submit the Confutation
for their inspection. The Emperor answered: "As it was now late and
grown dark, and since the matter was important, he would consider their
request and reply to it later." Hereupon, according to the Nuernberg
delegates, "the chancellor pleaded again and most earnestly that His
Imperial Majesty would consider this important and great affair as a
gracious and Christian emperor ought to do, and not deny their prayer
and petition, but deliver to them the document which had been read."
(_C. R._ 2, 251.)

Now, although the Romanists were in no way minded and disposed to submit
the Confutation to the Lutherans, they nevertheless did not consider it
wise to refuse their petition outright and bluntly; for they realized
that this would redound to the glory neither of themselves nor of their
document. The fanatical theologians, putting little faith in that sorry
fabrication of their own, and shunning the light, at first succeeded in
having a resolution passed declaring the entire matter settled with the
mere reading. However in order to save their faces and to avoid the
appearance of having refused the Confutation as well as "the scorn and
ridicule on that account" (as the Emperor naively put it), and "lest any
one say that His Imperial Majesty had not, in accordance with his
manifesto, first dealt kindly with" the Lutherans, the estates resolved
on August 4 to grant their request. At the same time, however, they
added conditions which the Lutherans regarded as dangerous, insinuating
and impossible, hence rendering the Catholic offer illusory and
unacceptable.

August 5 the Emperor communicated the resolutions adopted by the
Catholic estates to the Lutherans. According to a report of the
Nuernberg delegates the negotiations proceeded as follows: The Emperor
declared that the Confutation would be forwarded to the Lutherans, but
with the understanding that they must come to an agreement with the
Catholic princes and estates; furthermore that they spare His Imperial
Majesty with their refutations and make no further reply and, above all,
that they keep this and other writings to themselves, nor let them pass
out of their hands, for instance, by printing them or in any other way.
Hereupon Brueck, in the name of the Lutherans, thanked the Emperor, at
the same time voicing the request "that, considering their dire
necessity, His Imperial Majesty would permit his Elector and princes to
make answer to the Confutation." Duke Frederick responded: The Emperor
was inclined to grant them permission to reply, but desired the answer
to be "as profitable and brief as possible," also expected them to come
to an agreement with the Catholics, and finally required a solemn
promise that they would not permit the document to pass out of their
hands. Brueck answered guardedly: The Lutherans would gladly come to an
agreement "as far as it was possible for them to do so with God and
their conscience;" and as to their answer and the preservation of the
document, they would be found "irreprehensible." The Emperor now
declared: "The document should be delivered to the Lutherans in case
they would promise to keep it to themselves and not allow it to fall
into other hands; otherwise His Imperial Majesty was not minded to
confer with them any longer." Brueck asked for time to consider the
matter, and was given till evening. In his response he declined the
Emperor's offer, at the same time indicating that an answer to the
Confutation would be forthcoming nevertheless. The Lutherans, he said,
felt constrained to relinquish their petition, because the condition
that the document be kept in their hands had been stressed in such a
manner that they could not but fear the worst interpretation if it would
nevertheless leak out without their knowledge and consent; still, they
offered to answer the Confutation, since they had noted the most
important points while it was read; in this case, however, they asked
that it be not charged to them if anything should be overlooked; at the
same time they besought the Emperor to consider this action of theirs as
compelled by dire necessity, and in no other light. (_C. R._ 2, 255ff.)
In the Preface to the Apology, Melanchthon says: "This [a copy of the
Confutation] our princes could not obtain, except on the most perilous
conditions, which it was impossible for them to accept." (99.)

51. Lutherans on Roman Duplicity and Perfidy.

The duplicity and perfidy of the Emperor and the Romanists in their
dealings with the Lutherans was characterized by Chancellor Brueck as
follows: "The tactics of the opponents in offering a copy [of the
Confutation] were those of the fox when he invited the stork to be his
guest and served him food in a broad, shallow pan, so that he could not
take the food with his long bill. In like manner they treated the five
electors and princes, as well as the related cities, when they offered
to accede to their request and submit a copy to them, but upon
conditions which they could not accept without greatly violating their
honor." (Koellner, 419.) Over against the Emperor's demand of blind
submission and his threat of violence, the Lutherans appealed to their
pure Confession, based on the Holy Scriptures, to their good conscience,
bound in the Word of God, and to the plain wording of the imperial
manifesto, which had promised discussions in love and kindness. In an
Answer of August 9, _e.g._, they declared: The articles of the Augustana
which we have presented are drawn from the Scriptures, and "it is
impossible for us to relinquish them with a good conscience and peace of
heart, unless we find a refutation founded on God's Word and truth, on
which we may rest our conscience in peace and certainty." (Foerstemann,
2, 185.) In the Preface to the Apology, Melanchthon comments as follows
on the demand of the Romanists: "Afterwards, negotiations for peace were
begun, in which it was apparent that our princes declined no burden,
however grievous, which could be assumed without offense to conscience.
But the adversaries obstinately demanded that we should approve certain
manifest abuses and errors; and as we could not do this, His Imperial
Majesty again demanded that our princes should assent to the
Confutation. This our princes refused to do. For how could they, in a
matter pertaining to religion, assent to a writing which they had not
been able to examine, especially as they had heard that some articles
were condemned in which it was impossible for them, without grievous
sin, to approve the opinions of the adversaries?" (99.)

Self-evidently the Lutherans also protested publicly that the procedure
of the Romanists was in contravention of the proclamation of the Emperor
as well as of his declaration on June 20, according to which both
parties were to deliver their opinions in writing for the purpose of
mutual friendly discussion. In the Answer of August 9, referred to above
they said: "We understand His Imperial Majesty's answer to mean nothing
else than that, after each party had presented its meaning and opinion,
such should here be discussed among us in love and kindness." Hence,
they said, it was in violation of this agreement to withhold the
Confutation, lest it be answered. (Foerstemann, 2, 184f.) Luther
expressed the same conviction, saying: "All the world was awaiting a
gracious diet, as the manifesto proclaimed and pretended, and yet, sad
to say, it was not so conducted." (St. L. 16, 1636.)

That the Romanists themselves fully realized that the charges of the
Lutherans were well founded, appears from the subterfuges to which they
resorted in order to justify their violence and duplicity, notably their
refusal to let them examine the Confutation. In a declaration of August
11 they stated "that the imperial laws expressly forbid, on pain of loss
of life and limb, to dispute or argue (_gruppeln_) about the articles of
faith in any manner whatever," and that in the past the edicts of the
Emperor in this matter of faith had been despised, scorned, ridiculed,
and derided by the Lutherans. (Foerstemann, 2, 190.) Such were the
miserable arguments with which the Romanists defended their treachery.
Luther certainly hit the nail on the head when he wrote that the
Romanists refused to deliver the Confutation "because their consciences
felt very well that it was a corrupt, futile, and frigid affair, of
which they would have to be ashamed in case it should become public and
show itself in the light, or endure an answer." (St. L. 16, 1635.)

52. Original Draft of Apology.

August 5 the Lutherans had declared to the Emperor that they would not
remain indebted for an answer to the Confutation, even though a copy of
it was refused them. They knew the cunning Romanists, and had prepared
for every emergency. Melanchthon, who, according to a letter addressed
to Luther (_C. R._ 2, 254), was not present at the reading of the
Confutation, writes in the Preface to the Apology: "During the reading
some of us had taken down the chief points of the topics and arguments."
(101.) Among these was Camerarius. August 4 the Nuernberg delegates
reported to their senate that the Confutation comprising more than fifty
pages, had been publicly read on August 3, at 2 P.M., and that the
Lutherans had John Kammermeister "record the substance of all the
articles; this he has diligently done in shorthand on his tablet as far
as he was able, and more than all of us were able to understand and
remember, as Your Excellency may perceive from the enclosed copy." (_C.
R._ 2, 250.)

On the basis of these notes the council of Nuernberg had a theological
and a legal opinion drawn up, and a copy of the former (Osiander's
refutation of the Confutation) was delivered to Melanchthon on August 18
by the Nuernberg delegates. Osiander specially stressed the point that
the demand of the Romanists to submit to the decision of the Church in
matters of faith must be rejected, that, on the contrary, everything
must be subordinated to the Holy Scriptures. (Plitt, 87.) In drawing up
the Apology, however, Melanchthon made little, if any, use of Osiander's
work. Such, at least, is the inference Kolde draws from Melanchthon's
words to Camerarius, September 20: "Your citizens [of Nuernberg] have
sent us a book on the same subject [answer to the Confutation], which I
hope before long to discuss with you orally." (383.) There can be little
doubt that Melanchthon privately entertained the idea of writing the
Apology immediately after the reading of the Confutation. The
commission, however, to do this was not given until later; and most of
the work was probably done in September. For August 19 the Nuernberg
delegates reported that their "opinion" had been given to Melanchthon,
who as yet, however, had not received orders to write anything in reply
to the Confutation, "unless he is privately engaged in such
undertaking." (_C. R._ 2, 289.)

At Augsburg the execution of the resolution to frame an answer to the
Confutation had been sidetracked for the time being, by the peace
parleys between the Lutherans and the Catholics, which began soon after
the Confutation was read and continued through August. But when these
miscarried, the Evangelical estates, on the 29th of August, took
official action regarding the preparation of an Apology. Of the meeting
in which the matter was discussed the Nuernberg delegates report: "It
was furthermore resolved: 'Since we have recently declared before His
Majesty that, in case His Majesty refused to deliver to us the
Confutation of our Confession without restrictions [the aforementioned
conditions] we nevertheless could not refrain from writing a reply to
it, as far as the articles had been noted down during the reading, and
from delivering it to His Imperial Majesty: we therefore ought to
prepare ourselves in this matter, in order to make use of it in case of
necessity,' In this we, the delegates of the cities, also acquiesced.
... I, Baumgaertner, also said: In case such a work as was under
discussion should be drawn up, we had some opinions [the theological and
the legal opinions of the city of Nuernberg], which might be of service
in this matter, and which we would gladly submit. Hereupon it was
ordered that Dr. Brueck and other Saxons be commissioned to draft the
writing." (321.) The assumption, therefore, that Melanchthon was the
sole author of the first draft of the Apology is erroneous. In the
Preface to the Apology he writes: "They had, however, commanded me _and
some others_ to prepare an Apology of the Confession, in which the
reasons why we could not accept the Confutation should be set forth to
His Imperial Majesty, and the objections made by the adversaries be
refuted." (101.) In the same Preface he says that he had originally
drawn up the Apology at Augsburg, "_taking counsel_ with others." (101.)
However, we do not know who, besides Brueck, these "others" were.

53. Apology Presented, But Acceptance Refused.

By September 20 Melanchthon had finished his work. For on the same day
he wrote to Camerarius: "The verdict [decision of the Diet] on our
affair has not yet been rendered. ... Our Prince thought of leaving
yesterday, and again to-day. The Emperor however, kept him here by the
promise that he would render his decision within three days. ... Owing
to the statements of evil-minded people, I am now remaining at home and
have in these days written the Apology of our Confession, which, if
necessary, shall also be delivered; for it will be opposed to the
Confutation of the other party, which you heard when it was read. I
have written it sharply and more vehemently" (than the Confession). (_C.
R._ 2, 383.)

Before long, a good opportunity also for delivering this Apology
presented itself. It was at the meeting of the Diet on September 22 when
the draft of a final resolution (_Abschied_) was read to the estates.
According to this decision, the Emperor offered to give the Evangelicals
time till April 15, 1531, to consider whether or not they would unite
with the Christian Church, the Holy Father, and His Majesty "in the
other articles," provided however, that in the mean time nothing be
printed and absolutely no further innovations be made. The imperial
decision also declared emphatically that the Lutheran Confession had
been refuted by the Confutation. The verdict claimed the Emperor "had,
in the presence of the other electors, princes, and estates of the holy
empire, graciously heard the opinion and confession [of the Evangelical
princes], had given it due and thorough consideration, and had refuted
and disproved it with sound arguments from the holy gospels and the
Scriptures." (Foerstemann, 2, 475.)

Self-evidently, the Lutherans could not let this Roman boast pass by in
silence. Accordingly, in the name of the Elector, Brueck arose to voice
their objections, and, while apologizing for its deficiencies, presented
the Apology. In his protest, Brueck dwelt especially on the offensive
words of the imperial decision which claimed that the Augustana was
refuted by the Confutation. He called attention to the fact that the
Lutherans had been offered a copy only under impossible conditions; that
they had nevertheless, on the basis of what was heard during the
reading, drawn up a "counter-plea, or reply;" this he was now holding in
his hands, and he requested that it be read publicly; from it every one
might learn "with what strong, irrefutable reasons of Holy Scripture"
the Augustana was fortified. (Foerstemann, 2, 479.) Duke Frederick took
the Apology, but returned it on signal from the Emperor, into whose ear
King Ferdinand had been whispering. Sleidan relates: "Cumque hucusce
[tr. note: sic] perventum esset, Pontanus apologiam Caesari defert; eam
ubi Fridericus Palatinus accepit, subnuente Caesare, cui Ferdinandus
aliquid ad aures insusurraverat, reddit." A similar report is found in
the annals of Spalatin. (Koellner, 422.)

By refusing to accept the Apology, the Emperor and the Romanists _de
facto_ broke off negotiations with the Lutherans; and the breach
remained, and became permanent. September 23 the Elector left Augsburg.
By the time the second imperial decision was rendered, November 19, all
the Evangelical princes had left the Diet. The second verdict dictated
by the intolerant spirit of the papal theologians, was more vehement
than the first. Confusing Lutherans, Zwinglians, and Anabaptists,
Charles emphasized the execution of the Edict of Worms; sanctioned all
dogmas and abuses which the Evangelicals had attacked; confirmed the
spiritual jurisdiction of the bishops; demanded the restoration of all
abolished rites identified himself with the Confutation; and repeated
the assertion that the Lutheran Confession had been refuted from the
Scriptures. (Foerstemann, 2, 839f.; Laemmer, 49.)

In his _Gloss on the Alleged Imperial Edict_ of 1531, Luther dilates as
follows on the Roman assertion of having refuted the Augustana from the
Scriptures: "In the first place concerning their boasting that our
Confession was refuted from the holy gospels, this is so manifest a lie
that they themselves well know it to be an abominable falsehood. With
this rouge they wanted to tint their faces and to defame us, since they
noticed very well that their affair was leaky, leprous, and filthy, and
despite such deficiency nevertheless was to be honored. Their heart
thought: Ours is an evil cause, this we know very well, but we shall say
the Lutherans were refuted; that's enough. Who will compel us to prove
such a false statement? For if they had not felt that their boasting was
lying, pure and simple, they would not only gladly, and without offering
any objections, have surrendered their refutation as was so earnestly
desired, but would also have made use of all printing-presses to publish
it, and heralded it with all trumpets and drums, so that such defiance
would have arisen that the very sun would not have been able to shine on
account of it. But now, since they so shamefully withheld their answer
and still more shamefully hide and secrete it, by this action their evil
conscience bears witness to the fact that they lie like reprobates when
they boast that our Confession has been refuted, and that by such lies
they seek not the truth, but our dishonor and a cover for their shame."
(St. L. 16, 1668.)

54. Apology Recast by Melanchthon.

Owing to the fact that Melanchthon, immediately after the presentation
of the Apology, resolved to revise and recast it, the original draft was
forced into the background. It remained unknown for a long time and was
published for the first time forty-seven years after the Diet. Chytraeus
embodied it in his _Historia Augustanae Confessionis,_ 1578, with the
caption, "_Prima Delineatio Caesari Carolo Die 22. Septembris Oblata,
sed Non Recepta_--The First Draft which was Offered to Emperor Charles
on September 22, but Not Accepted." The German and Latin texts are found
in _Corp. Ref._ 27, 275ff. and 322. Following is the Latin title:
"Apologia Confessionis, 1530. Ps. 119: Principes persecuti sunt me
gratis." The German title runs: "Antwort der Widerlegung auf unser
Bekenntnis uebergeben." (245. 378.) Plitt says of the original Apology:
"It was well qualified to be presented to the Emperor, and, in form
also, far surpassed the Confutation of the Papists. Still the
Evangelical Church suffered no harm when the Emperor declined to accept
it. The opportunity for revision which was thus offered and fully
exploited by Melanchthon, who was never able to satisfy himself,
resulted in a great improvement. The Apology as it appeared the
following year is much riper, sharper in its rebuttal, and stronger in
its argumentation." (88.)

The draft of the Apology presented at Augsburg concluded as follows: "If
the Confutation had been forwarded to us for inspection we would perhaps
have been able to give a more adequate answer on these and additional
points." (_C. R._ 27, 378.) When, therefore, the Emperor had refused to
accept it, Melanchthon determined to revise, reenforce, and augment the
document. September 23 he left Augsburg in the company of the Elector;
and already while _en route_ he began the work. In his _History of the
Augsburg Confession,_ 1730, Salig remarks: "Still the loss of the first
copy [of the Apology] does not seem to be so great, since we now possess
the Apology in a more carefully elaborated form. For while the Diet was
still in session, and also after the theologians had returned home,
Melanchthon was constantly engaged upon it, casting it into an entirely
different mold, and making it much more extensive than it was before.
When the theologians had returned to Saxony from the Diet, Melanchthon,
in Spalatin's house at Altenburg, even worked at it on Sunday, so that
Luther plucked the pen from his hand, saying that on this day he must
rest from such work." (1, 377.) However, since the first draft was
presented to the Emperor on September 22, and Melanchthon, together with
the Elector, left Augsburg on the following day, it is evident that he
could not have busied himself very much with the revision of the Apology
at Augsburg. And that Luther, in the Altenburg incident, should have put
especial stress on the Sunday, for this neither Salig nor those who
follow him (_e.g._, Schaff, _Creeds,_ 1, 243) offer any evidence. In his
_Seventeen Sermons on the Life of Luther,_ Mathesius gives the following
version of the incident: "When Luther, returning home with his
companions from Coburg, was visiting Spalatin, and Philip, constantly
engrossed in thoughts concerning the Apology, was writing during the
meal, he arose and took the pen away from him [saying]: 'God can be
honored not alone by work, but also by rest and recreation; for that
reason He has given the Third Commandment and commanded the Sabbath.'"
(243.) This report of Mathesius certainly offers no ground for a
Puritanic explanation of the incident in Spalatin's home.

Originally Melanchthon does not seem to have contemplated a revision on
a very large scale. In the Preface, which was printed first, he merely
remarks that he made "some additions" (_quaedam adieci_) to the Apology
drawn up at Augsburg. (101.) Evidently, at the time when he wrote this,
he had no estimate of the proportions the work, which grew under his
hands, would finally assume. Before long also he obtained a complete
copy of the Confutation. It was probably sent to him from Nuernberg,
whose delegate had been able to send a copy home on August 28, 1530.
(Kolde, 37.) Says Melanchthon in the Preface to the Apology: "I have
recently seen the Confutation, and have noticed how cunningly and
slanderously it was written, so that on some points it could deceive
even the cautious." (101.) Eck clamored that the Confutation "had gotten
into Melanchthon's hands in a furtive and fraudulent manner, _furtim et
fraudulenter ad manus Melanchthonis eandem pervenisse._" (Koellner,
426.) The possession of the document enabled Melanchthon to deal in a
reliable manner with all questions involved, and spurred him on to do
most careful and thorough work.

55. Completion of Apology Delayed.

Owing to the fact that Melanchthon spent much more time and labor on the
work than he had anticipated and originally planned, the publication of
the Apology was unexpectedly delayed. October 1, 1530, Melanchthon wrote
to Camerarius: "Concerning the word 'liturgy' [in the Apology] I ask you
again and again carefully to search out for me its etymology as well as
examples of its meaning." November 12, to Dietrich: "I shall describe
them [the forms of the Greek mass] to Osiander as soon as I have
completed the Apology, which I am now having printed and am endeavoring
to polish. In it I shall fully explain the most important controversies,
which, I hope, will prove profitable." (_C. R._ 2, 438.) In a similar
strain he wrote to Camerarius, November 18. (440.) January 1, 1531,
again to Camerarius: "In the Apology I experience much trouble with the
article of Justification, which I seek to explain profitably." (470.)
February, 1531, to Brenz: "I am at work on the Apology. It will appear
considerably augmented and better founded. For this article, in which we
teach that men are justified by faith and not by love, is treated
exhaustively." (484.) March 7, to Camerarius: "My Apology is not yet
completed. It grows in the writing." (486.) Likewise in March, to
Baumgaertner: "I have not yet completed the Apology, as I was hindered,
not only by illness, but also by many other matters, which interrupted
me, concerning the syncretism Bucer is stirring up." (485.) March 17, to
Camerarius: "My Apology is making slower progress than the matter calls
for." (488.) Toward the end of March, to Baumgaertner: "The Apology is
still in press; for I am revising it entirely and extending it." (492.)
April 7, to Jonas: "In the Apology I have completed the article on
Marriage, in which the opponents are charged with many real crimes."
(493.) April 8, to Brenz: "We have almost finished the Apology. I hope
it will please you and other good people." (494.) April 11, to
Camerarius: "My Apology will appear one of these days. I shall also see
that you receive it. At times I have spoken somewhat vehemently, as I
see that the opponents despise every mention of peace." (495.) Finally,
in the middle of April, to Bucer: "My Apology has appeared, in which, in
my opinion, I have treated the articles of Justification, Repentance,
and several others in such a manner that our opponents will find
themselves heavily burdened. I have said little of the Eucharist."
(498.)

These letters show that Melanchthon took particular pains with the
article of Justification, which was expanded more than tenfold. January
31, he was still hard at work on this article. Kolde says: "This was due
to the fact that he suppressed five and one-half sheets [preserved by
Veit Dietrich] treating this subject because they were not satisfactory
to him, and while he at first treated Articles 4 to 6 together, he now
included also Article 20, recasting anew the entire question of the
nature of justification and the relation of faith and good works.
Illness and important business, such as the negotiations with Bucer on
the Lord's Supper, brought new delays. He also found it necessary to be
more explicit than he had contemplated. Thus it came about that the work
could first appear, together with the Augustana, end of April, or, at
the latest, beginning of May." (37) According to the resolution of the
Diet, the Lutherans were to have decided by April 15, 1531, whether they
would accept the Confutation or not. The answer of the Lutherans was the
appearance, on the bookstalls, of the Augustana and the Apology, and a
few days prior, of Luther's "Remarks on the Alleged Imperial Edict,
_Glossen auf das vermeinte kaiserliche Edikt._"

56. German Translation by Jonas.

The Apology was written in Latin. The _editio princeps_ in quarto of
1531 contained the German and the Latin texts of the Augsburg
Confession, and the Latin text of the Apology. From the very beginning,
however, a German translation was, if not begun, at least planned. But,
though announced on the title-page of the quarto edition just referred
to, it appeared six months later, in the fall of 1531. It was the work
of Justus Jonas. The title of the edition of 1531 reads: "_Apologie der
Konfession, aus dem Latein verdeutscht durch Justus Jonas, Wittenberg._
Apology of the Confession done into German from the Latin by Justus
Jonas, Wittenberg." For a time Luther also thought of writing a "German
Apology." April 8, 1531, Melanchthon wrote to Brenz: "_Lutherus nunc
instituit apologiam Germanicam._ Luther is now preparing a German
Apology." (_C. R._ 2, 494. 501.) It is, however, hardly possible that
Luther was contemplating a translation. Koellner comments on
Melanchthon's words: "One can understand them to mean that Luther is
working on the German Apology." _Instituit,_ however, seems to indicate
an independent work rather than a translation. Koestlin is of the
opinion that Luther thought of writing an Apology of his own, because he
was not entirely satisfied with Melanchthon's. (_Martin Luther_ 2, 382.)
However, if this view is correct, it certainly cannot apply to
Melanchthon's revised Apology, to which Luther in 1533 expressly
confessed himself, but to the first draft at Augsburg, in which, _e.g._,
the 10th Article seems to endorse the concomitance doctrine. (_Lehre und
Wehre_ 1918, 385.) At all events, Luther changed his plan when Jonas
began the translation of the new Apology.

The translation of Jonas is not a literal reproduction of the Latin
original, but a version with numerous independent amplifications. Also
Melanchthon had a share in this work. In a letter of September 26, 1531,
he says: "They are still printing the German Apology, the improvements
of which cost me no little labor." (_C. R._ 2, 542.) The deviations from
the Latin original therefore must perhaps be traced to Melanchthon
rather than to Jonas. Some of them are due to the fact that the
translation was based in part not on the text of the _editio princeps,_
but on the altered Latin octavo edition, copies of which Melanchthon was
able to send to his friends as early as September 14. See, for example
the 10th Article, where the German text follows the octavo edition in
omitting the quotation from Theophylact. The German text appeared also
in a separate edition, as we learn from the letter of the printer Rhau
to Stephen Roth of November 30, 1531: "I shall send you a German
Apology, most beautifully bound." (Kolde, 39.) German translations
adhering strictly to the text of the _editio princeps_ are of a much
later date.

57. Alterations of Apology.

Melanchthon, who was forever changing and improving, naturally could not
leave the Apology as it read in the first edition. This applies to both
the German and the Latin text. He was thinking of the Latin octavo
edition when he wrote to Brenz, June 7, 1531: "The Apology is now being
printed, and I am at pains to make some points in the article of
Justification clearer. It is an extremely great matter, in which we must
proceed carefully that Christ's honor may be magnified." (2, 504.) The
same edition he had in mind when he wrote to Myconius, June 14, 1531:
"My Apology is now in press, and I am endeavoring to present the article
of Justification even more clearly; for there are some things in the
solution of the arguments which are not satisfactory to me." (506.)
Accordingly, this octavo edition, of which Melanchthon was able to send
a copy to Margrave George on September 14, revealed important
alterations: partly improvements, partly expansions, partly deletions.
The changes in the 10th Article, already referred to, especially the
omission of the quotation from Theophylact, attracted most attention.
The succeeding Latin editions likewise revealed minor changes. The
Apology accompanying the Altered Augsburg Confession of 1540, was
designated by Melanchthon himself as "_diligenter recognita,_ diligently
revised." (_C. R._ 26, 357. 419.)

Concerning the German Apology, Melanchthon wrote to Camerarius on
January 1, 1533: "I have more carefully treated the German Apology and
the article of Justification, and would ask you to examine it. If you
have seen my Romans [Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans], you will
be able to notice how exactly and methodically I am endeavoring to
explain this matter. I also hope that intelligent men will approve it.
For I have done this in order to explain necessary matters and to cut
off all manner of questions, partly false, partly useless." (_C. R._ 2,
624.) About the same time he wrote to Spalatin: "Two articles I have
recast entirely: Of Original Sin and Of Righteousness. I ask you to
examine them, and hope that they will profit pious consciences. For in
my humble opinion I have most clearly presented the doctrine of
Righteousness and ask you to write me your opinion." (625.) Kolde says
of this second revision of the German text of 1533: "This edition, which
Melanchthon described as 'diligently amended,' is much sharper in its
tone against the Romanists than the first and reveals quite extensive
changes. Indeed, entire articles have been remodeled, such as those Of
Justification and Good Works, Of Repentance. Of the Mass, and also the
statements on Christian perfection." (41.) These alterations in the
Latin and German texts of the Apology, however, do not involve changes
in doctrine, at least not in the same degree as in the case of the
Augustana Variata of 1540. Self-evidently, it was the text of the first
edition of the German as well as the Latin Apology that was embodied in
the Book of Concord.

58. Purpose, Arrangement, and Character of Apology.

The aim of the Apology was to show why the Lutherans "do not accept the
Confutation," and to puncture the papal boast that the Augustana had
been refuted with the Holy Scriptures. In its Preface we read:
"Afterwards a certain decree was published [by the Emperor], in which
the adversaries boast that they have refuted our Confession from the
Scriptures. You have now, therefore, reader, our Apology, from which you
will understand not only what the adversaries have judged (for we have
reported in good faith), but also that they have condemned several
articles contrary to the manifest Scripture of the Holy Ghost, so far
are they from overthrowing our propositions by means of the Scriptures."
(101.) The Apology is, on the one hand, a refutation of the Confutation
and, on the other hand, a defense and elaboration of the Augustana,
presenting theological proofs for the correctness of its teachings.
Hence constant reference is made to the Augsburg Confession as well as
the Confutation; and scholastic theology is discussed as well. On this
account also the sequence of the articles, on the whole, agrees with
that of the Augustana and the Confutation. However, articles treating of
related doctrines are collected into one, _e.g._, Articles 4, 5, 6, and
20. Articles to which the Romanists assented are but briefly touched
upon. Only a few of them have been elaborated somewhat _e.g._, Of the
Adoration of the Saints, Of Baptism, Of the Lord's Supper, Of
Repentance, Of Civil Government. The fourteen articles, however, which
the Confutation rejected are discussed extensively, and furnished also
with titles, in the _editio princeps_ as well as in the Book of Concord
of 1580 and 1584. In Mueller's edition of the Symbolical Books all
articles of the Apology are for the first time supplied with numbers and
captions corresponding with the Augsburg Confession.

In the Apology, just as in the Augsburg Confession, everything springs
from, and is regulated by, the fundamental Lutheran principle of Law and
Gospel, sin and grace, faith and justification. Not only is the doctrine
of justification set forth thoroughly and comfortingly in a particular
article, but throughout the discussions it remains the dominant note,
its heavenly strain returning again and again as the _motif_ in the
grand symphony of divine truths--a strain with which the Apology also
breathes, as it were, its last, departing breath. For in its Conclusion
we read: "If all the scandals [which, according to the Papists, resulted
from Luther's teaching] be brought together, still the one article
concerning the remission of sins (that for Christ's sake, through faith,
we freely obtain the remission of sins) brings so much good as to hide
all evils. And this, in the beginning [of the Reformation], gained for
Luther not only our favor, but also that of many who are now contending
against us." (451.)

In Kolde's opinion, the Apology is a companion volume, as it were, to
Melanchthon's _Loci Communes,_ and a theological dissertation rather
than a confession. However, theological thoroughness and erudition do
not conflict with the nature of a confession as long as it is not mere
cold intellectual reflection and abstraction, but the warm, living, and
immediate language of the believing heart. With all its thoroughness and
erudition the Apology is truly edifying, especially the German version.
One cannot read without being touched in his inmost heart, without
sensing and feeling something of the heart-beat of the Lutheran
confessors. Jacobs, who translated the Apology into English, remarks:
"To one charged with the cure of souls the frequent reading of the
Apology is invaluable; in many (we may say, in most) parts it is a book
of practical religion." (_The Book of Concord_ 2, 41.) The Apology does
not offer all manner of theories of idle minds, but living testimonies
of what faith, while struggling hotly with the devil and languishing in
the fear of death and the terrors of sin and the Law found and
experienced in the sweet Gospel as restored by Luther. In reading the
Apology, one can tell from the words employed how Melanchthon lived,
moved, and fairly reveled in this blessed truth which in opposition to
all heathen work-righteousness teaches terrified hearts to rely solely
and alone on grace. In his _History of Lutheranism_ (2, 206) Seckendorf
declares that no one can be truly called a theologian of our Church who
has not diligently and repeatedly read the Apology or familiarized
himself with it. (Salig, 1, 375.)

59. Moderate Tone of Apology.

The tone of the Apology is much sharper than that of the Augsburg
Confession. The situation had changed; hence the manner of dealing with
the opposition also changed. The Romanists had fully revealed themselves
as implacable enemies, who absolutely refused a peace on the basis of
truth and justice. In the Conclusion of the Apology we read: "But as to
the want of unity and dissension in the Church, it is well known how
these matters first happened and who caused the division namely, the
sellers of indulgences, who shamefully preached intolerable lies, and
afterwards condemned Luther for not approving of those lies, and
besides, they again and again excited more controversies, so that Luther
was induced to attack many other errors. But since our opponents would
not tolerate the truth, and dared to promote manifest errors by force it
is easy to judge who is guilty of the schism. Surely, all the world, all
wisdom, all power ought to yield to Christ and his holy Word. But the
devil is the enemy of God, and therefore rouses all his might against
Christ to extinguish and suppress the Word of God. Therefore the devil
with his members, setting himself against the Word of God, is the cause
of the schism and want of unity. For we have most zealously sought
peace, and still most eagerly desire it, provided only we are not forced
to blaspheme and deny Christ. For God, the discerner of all men's
hearts, is our witness that we do not delight and have no joy in this
awful disunion. On the other hand, our adversaries have so far not been
willing to conclude peace without stipulating that we must abandon the
saving doctrine of the forgiveness of sin by Christ without our merit,
though Christ would be most foully blasphemed thereby." (451.)

Such being the attitude of the Romanists, there was no longer any reason
for Melanchthon to have any special consideration for these implacable
opponents of the Lutherans and hardened enemies of the Gospel, of the
truth, and of religious liberty and peace. Reconciliation with Rome was
out of the question. Hence he could yield more freely to his impulse
here than in the Augustana; for when this Confession was written an
agreement was not considered impossible. In a letter of July 15, 1530,
informing Luther of the pasquinades delivered to the Emperor,
Melanchthon declared: "If an answer will become necessary, I shall
certainly remunerate these wretched, bloody men. _Si continget, ut
respondendum sit, ego profecto remunerabor istos nefarios viros
sanguinum_." (_C. R._ 2, 197.) And when about to conclude the Apology, he
wrote to Brenz, April 8, 1531: "I have entirely laid aside the mildness
which I formerly exercised toward the opponents. Since they will not
employ me as a peacemaker, but would rather have me as their enemy, I
shall do what the matter requires, and faithfully defend our cause."
(494.) But while Melanchthon castigates the papal theologians, he spares
and even defends the Emperor.

In Luther's _Remarks on the Alleged Imperial Edict,_ of 1531, we read:
"I, Martin Luther, Doctor of the Sacred Scriptures and pastor of the
Christians at Wittenberg, in publishing these Remarks, wish it to be
distinctly understood that anything I am writing in this booklet against
the alleged imperial edict or command is not to be viewed as written
against his Imperial Majesty or any higher power, either of spiritual or
civil estate.... I do not mean the pious Emperor nor the pious lords,
but the traitors and reprobates (be they princes or bishops), and
especially that fellow whom St. Paul calls God's opponent (I should say
God's vicar), the arch-knave, Pope Clement, and his servant Campegius,
and the like, who plan to carry out their desperate, nefarious roguery
under the imperial name, or, as Solomon says, at court." (16, 1666.)
Luther then continues to condemn the Diet in unqualified terms. "What a
disgraceful Diet," says he, "the like of which was never held and never
heard of, and nevermore shall be held or heard of, on account of his
disgraceful action! It cannot but remain an eternal blot on all princes
and the entire empire, and makes all Germans blush before God and all
the world." But he continues exonerating and excusing the Emperor: "Let
no one tremble on account of this edict which they so shamefully invent
and publish in the name of the pious Emperor. And should they not
publish their lies in the name of a pious Emperor, when their entire
blasphemous, abominable affair was begun and maintained for over six
hundred years in the name of God and the Holy Church?" (16, 1634.)

In a similar manner Melanchthon, too, treats the Emperor. He calls him
"_optimum imperatorem,_" and speaks of "the Emperor's most gentle
disposition, _mansuetissimum Caesaris pectus,_" which Eck and his party
were seeking to incite to bloodshed. (_C. R._ 2, 197.) In the Preface he
says: "And now I have written with the greatest moderation possible; and
if any expression appears too severe, I must say here beforehand that I
am contending with the theologians and monks who wrote the Confutation,
and not with the Emperor or the princes, whom I hold in due esteem."
(101.) In Article 23 Melanchthon even rises to the apostrophe: "And
these their lusts they ask you to defend with your chaste right hand,
Emperor Charles (whom even certain ancient predictions name as the king
of modest face; for the saying appears concerning you: 'One modest in
face shall reign everywhere')." (363.)

The Confutators, however, the avowed enemies of truth and peace, were
spared no longer. Upon them Melanchthon now pours out the lye of bitter
scorn. He excoriates them as "desperate sophists, who maliciously
interpret the holy Gospel according to their dreams," and as "coarse,
sluggish, inexperienced theologians." He denounces them as men "who for
the greater part do not know whereof they speak," and "who dare to
destroy this doctrine of faith with fire and sword," etc. Occasionally
Melanchthon even loses his dignified composure. Article 6 we read: "Quis
docuit illos asinos hanc dialecticam?" Article 9: "Videant isti asini."
In his book of 1534 against the Apology, Cochlaeus complains that the
youthful Melanchthon called old priests asses, sycophants, windbags,
godless sophists, worthless hypocrites, etc. In the margin he had
written: "Fierce and vicious he is, a barking dog toward those who are
absent, but to those who were present at Augsburg, Philip was more
gentle than a pup. _Ferox et mordax est, latrator in absentes,
praesentes erat Augustae omni catello blandior Philippus_." (Salig, 1,
377.)

On this score, however, Cochlaeus and his papal compeers had no reason
to complain, for they had proved to be past masters in vilifying and
slandering the Lutherans, as well as implacable enemies, satisfied with
nothing short of their blood and utter destruction. As a sample of their
scurrility W. Walther quotes the following from a book written by Duke
George of Saxony: "Er [Luther] ist gewiss mit dem Teufel besessen, mit
der ganzen Legion, welche Christus von den Besessenen austrieb und
erlaubte ihnen, in die Schweine zu fahren. Diese Legion hat dem Luther
seinen Moenchschaedel hirnwuetig und wirbelsuechtig gemacht. Du
unruhiger, treuloser und meineidiger Kuttenbube! Du bist allein der
groesste, groebste Esel und Narr, du verfluchter Apostat! Hieraus kann
maenniglich abnehmen die Verraeterei und Falschheit deines
blutduerstigen Herzens, rachgierigen Gemuets und teuflischen Willens, so
du, Luther, gegen deinen Naechsten tobend, als ein toerichter Hund mit
offenem Maul ohne Unterlass wagest. Du treuloser Bube und teuflischer
Moench! Du deklarierter Mameluck and verdammter Zwiedarm, deren neun
einen Pickharden gelten. Ich sage vornehmlich, dass du selbst der aller
unverstaendigste Bacchant und zehneckichte Cornut und Bestia bist. Du
meineidiger, treuloser und ehrenblosser Fleischboesewicht! Pfui dich
nun, du sakrilegischer, der ausgelaufenen Moenche und Nonnen, der
abfaelligen Pfaffen und aller Abtruennigen Hurenwirt! Ei, Doktor
Schandluther! Mein Doktor Erzesel, ich will dir's prophezeit haben, der
allmaechtige Gott wird dir kuerzlich die Schanze brechen und deiner
boshaftigsten, groebsten Eselheit Feierabend geben. Du Sauboze, Doktor
Sautrog! Doktor Eselsohr! Doktor Filzhut! Zweiundsiebzig Teufel sollen
dich lebendig in den Abgrund der Hoelle fuehren. Ich will machen, dass
du als ein Hoellenhund sollst Feuer ausspruehen und dich endlich selbst
verbrennen. Ich will dich dem wuetenigen Teufel und seiner Hurenmutter
mit einem blutigen Kopf in den Abgrund der Hoelle schicken." (_Luthers
Charakter,_ 148.)

Despite the occasional asperity referred to, the Apology, as a whole, is
written with modesty and moderation. Melanchthon sought to keep the
track as clear as possible for a future understanding. In the interest
of unity, which he never lost sight of entirely, he was conservative and
not disposed needlessly to widen the existing gulf. In the Preface to
the Apology he declares: "It has always been my custom in these
controversies to retain, so far as I was at all able, the form of the
customarily received doctrine, in order that at some time concord could
be reached the more readily. Nor, indeed, am I now departing far from
this custom, although I could justly lead away the men of this age still
farther from the opinions of the adversaries." (101.) This irenic
feature is perhaps most prominent in the 10th Article, Of the Lord's
Supper, where Melanchthon, in order to satisfy the opponents as to the
orthodoxy of the Lutherans in the doctrine of the Real Presence,
emphasizes the agreement in such a manner that he has been misunderstood
as endorsing also the Romish doctrine of Transubstantiation.

60. Symbolical Authority of Apology.

The great importance ascribed to the Apology appears both from its
numerous reprints and the strenuous endeavors of the opponents to oppose
it with books, which, however, no one was willing to print. The
reception accorded it by the Lutherans is described in a letter which
Lazarus Spengler sent to Veit Dietrich May 17: "We have received the
Apology with the greatest joy and in good hope that it will be
productive of much profit among our posterity." Brenz declares it worthy
of the canon [worthy of symbolical authority]: "Apologiam, me iudice,
canone dignam" (_C. R._ 2, 510), a phrase which Luther had previously
applied to Melanchthon's _Loci._ The joy of the Lutherans was equaled
only by the consternation of their enemies. The appearance of the
Apology surprised and perturbed them. They keenly felt that they were
again discredited in the public opinion and had been outwitted by the
Lutherans. On November 19 Albert of Mayence sent a copy of the Apology
to the Emperor in order to show him how the Catholic religion was being
destroyed while the Confutation remained unpublished. Cochlaeus
complained that to judge from letters received, the Apology found
approval even in Rome, whereas no printer could be found for Catholic
replies to the Apology. He wrote: "Meantime, while we keep silence, they
flaunt the Apology and other writings, and not only insult us, but cause
our people and cities to doubt and to grow unstable in the faith."
(Kolde, 40.)

The Apology, as revised and published by Melanchthon, was a private
work. His name, therefore, appeared on the title-page of the edition of
1531, which was not the case with respect to the Confession and Apology
presented at Augsburg. The latter were official documents, drawn up by
order of the Lutheran princes and estates, while the revised Apology was
an undertaking for which Melanchthon had received no commission.
Accordingly, as he was not justified in publishing a work of his own
under the name of the princes, there was nothing else for him to do than
to affix his own signature. In the Preface to the Apology he says: "As
it passed through the press, I made some additions. Therefore I give my
name, so that no one can complain that the book has been published
anonymously." (100.) Melanchthon did not wish to make any one beside
himself responsible for the contents of the revised Apology.

Before long, however, the Apology received official recognition. At
Schweinfurt, 1532, in opposition to the Papists, the Lutherans appealed
to the Augustana and Apology as the confession of their faith,
designating the latter as "the defense and explanation of the
Confession." And when the Papists advanced the claim that the Lutherans
had gone farther in the Apology than in the Augustana, and, April 11,
1532, demanded that they abide by the Augustana, refrain from making the
Apology their confession, and accordingly substitute "Assertion" for the
title "Apology," the Lutherans, considering the Apology to be the
adequate expression of their faith, insisted on the original title.
April 17 they declared: "This book was called Apology because it was
presented to Caesar after the Confession; nor could they suffer its
doctrine and the Word of God to be bound and limited, or their preachers
restricted to teach nothing else than the letter of the Augsburg
Confession, thus making it impossible for them to rebuke freely and most
fully all doctrinal errors, abuses, sins, and crimes. _Nominatum fuisse
Apologiam scriptum illud, quod Caesari post Confessionem exhibitum sit,
neque se pati posse, ut doctrina sua et Verbum Dei congustetur,
imminuatur et concionatores astringantur, ut nihil aliud praedicent
quam ad litteram Augustanae Confessionis, neque libere et plenissime
adversus omnes errores doctrinae, abusus, peccata et crimina dicere
possint._" Hereupon the Romanists, on April 22, demanded that at least a
qualifying explanation be added to the title Apology. Brueck answered on
the 23d: "It is not possible to omit this word. The Apology is the
correlate of the Confession. Still the princes and their associates do
not wish any articles taught other than those which have so far begun to
be discussed. _Omitti istud verbum non posse; Apologiam esse correlatum
Confessionis; nolle tamen Principes et socios, ut alii articuli
docerentur quam huiusque tractari coepti sint_." (Koellner, 430.)

In his Letter of Comfort, 1533, to the Leipzig Lutherans banished by
Duke George, Luther says: "There is our Confession and Apology....
Adhere to our Confession and Apology." (10, 1956.) Membership in the
Smalcald League was conditioned on accepting the Apology as well as the
Augustana. Both were also subscribed to in the Wittenberg Concord of
1536. (_C. R._ 3, 76.) In 1537, at Smalcald, the Apology (together with
the Augustana and the Appendix Concerning the Primacy of the Pope) was,
by order of the Evangelical estates, subscribed by all of the
theologians present, and thereby solemnly declared a confession of the
Lutheran Church. In 1539 Denmark reckoned the Apology among the books
which pastors were required to adopt. In 1540 it was presented together
with the Augustana at Worms. It was also received into the various
_corpora doctrinae._ The Formula of Concord adopts the Apology, saying:
"We unanimously confess this [Apology] also, because not only is the
said Augsburg Confession explained in it as much as is necessary and
guarded [against the slanders of the adversaries], but also proved by
clear, irrefutable testimonies of Holy Scripture." (853, 6.)


VII. Smalcald Articles and Tract concerning Power and Primacy of Pope.

61. General Council Demanded by Lutherans.

In order to settle the religious controversy between themselves and the
Papists, the Lutherans, from the very beginning, asked for a general
council. In the course of years this demand became increasingly frequent
and insistent. It was solemnly renewed in the Preface of the Augsburg
Confession. The Emperor had repeatedly promised to summon a council. At
Augsburg he renewed the promise of convening it within a year. The Roman
Curia, however, dissastisfied with the arrangements made at the Diet,
found ways and means of delaying it. In 1532, the Emperor proceeded to
Bologna, where he negotiated with Clement VII concerning the matter, as
appears from the imperial and papal proclamations of January 8 and 10,
1533, respectively. As a result, the Pope, in 1533, sent Hugo Rangon,
bishop of Resz, to Germany, to propose that the council be held at
Placentia, Bologna, or Mantua. Clement, however, was not sincere in
making this offer. In reality he was opposed to holding a council. Such
were probably also the real sentiments of his successor, Paul III. But
when the Emperor who, in the interest of his sweeping world policy, was
anxious to dispose of the religious controversy, renewed his pressure,
Paul finally found himself compelled to yield. June 4 1536, he issued a
bull convoking a general council to meet at Mantua, May 8, 1537.
Nothing, however, was said about the principles according to which it
was to be formed and by which it should be governed in transacting its
business. Self-evidently, then, the rules of the former councils were to
be applied. Its declared purpose was the peace of the Church through the
extinction of heresy. In the Bull _Concerning the Reforms of the Roman
Court,_ which the Pope issued September 23, he expressly declared that
the purpose of the council would be "the utter extirpation of the
poisonous, pestilential Lutheran heresy." (St. L. 16, 1914.) Thus the
question confronting the Protestants was, whether they could risk to
appear at such a council, and ought to do so, or whether (and how) they
should decline to attend. Luther, indeed, still desired a council. But
after 1530 he no longer put any confidence in a council convened by the
Pope, although, for his person, he did not refuse to attend even such a
council. This appears also from his conversation, November 7, 1535, with
the papal legate Peter Paul Vergerius (born 1497; accused of Lutheranism
1546; deprived of his bishopric 1549; defending Protestantism after
1550; employed by Duke Christoph of Wuerttemberg 1553; died 1564.)
Koestlin writes: "Luther relates how he had told the legate: 'Even if
you do call a council, you will not treat of salutary doctrine, saving
faith, etc., but of useless matters, such as laws concerning meats, the
length of priest's garments, exercises of monks, etc.' While he was thus
dilating, says Luther, the legate, holding his head in his hand, turned
to a near-by companion and said: 'He strikes the nail on the head,' The
further utterances of Luther: 'We do not need a council for ourselves
and our adherents, for we already have the firm Evangelical doctrine and
order; Christendom, however, needs it, in order that those whom error
still holds captive may be able to distinguish between error and truth,'
appeared utterly intolerable to Vergerius, as he himself relates. He
regarded them as unheard-of arrogance. By way of answer, he asked,
whether, indeed the Christian men assembled from all parts of the world,
upon whom, without doubt, the Holy Spirit descends, must only decide
what Luther approved of. Boldly and angrily interrupting him Luther
said: 'Yes, I will come to the council and lose my head if I shall not
defend my doctrine against all the world;' furthermore he exclaimed:
'This wrath of my mouth is not my wrath, but the wrath of God.'
Vergerius rejoiced to hear that Luther was perfectly willing to come to
the council; for, so he wrote to Rome, he thought that nothing more was
needed to break the courage of the heretics than the certain prospect
of a council, and at the same time he believed that in Luther's assent
he heard the decision of his master, the Elector, also. Luther declared
that it was immaterial to him where the council would meet, at Mantua,
Verona, or at any other place. Vergerius continued: 'Are you willing to
come to Bologna?' Luther: 'To whom does Bologna belong?' Vergerius: 'To
the Pope.' Luther: 'Good Lord, has this town, too, been grabbed by the
Pope? Very well, I shall come to you there.' Vergerius: 'The Pope will
probably not refuse to come to you at Wittenberg either,' Luther: 'Very
well, let him come; we shall look for him with pleasure.' Vergerius: 'Do
you expect him to come with an army or without weapons?' Luther: 'As he
pleases, in whatsoever manner he may come, we shall expect him and shall
receive him.'--Luther and Bugenhagen remained with Vergerius until he
departed with his train of attendants. After mounting, he said once more
to Luther: 'See that you be prepared for the council.' Luther answered:
'Yes, sir, with this my neck and head.'" (_Martin Luther_ 2, 382 sq.)

62. Luther's Views Regarding the Council.

What Luther's attitude toward a general council was in 1537 is expressed
in the Preface to the Smalcald Articles as follows: "But to return to
the subject. I verily desire to see a truly Christian council, in order
that many matters and persons might be helped. Not that we need it, for
our churches are now through God's grace, so enlightened and equipped
with the pure Word and right use of the Sacraments, with knowledge of
the various callings and of right works that we on our part ask for no
council, and on such points have nothing better to hope or expect from a
council. But we see in the bishoprics everywhere so many parishes vacant
and desolate that one's heart would break, and yet neither the bishops
nor canons care how the poor people live or die, for whom nevertheless
Christ has died, and who are not permitted to hear Him speak with them
as the true Shepherd with His sheep. This causes me to shudder and fear
that at some time he may send a council of angels upon Germany utterly
destroying us, like Sodom and Gomorrah, because we so wantonly mock Him
with the council." (457.)

From a popish council Luther expected nothing but condemnation of the
truth and its confessors. At the same time he was convinced that the
Pope would never permit a truly free, Christian council to assemble. He
had found him out and knew "that the Pope would see all Christendom
perish and all souls damned rather than suffer either himself or his
adherents to be reformed even a little, and his tyranny to be limited."
(455) "For with them conscience is nothing, but money, honors, power,
are everything." (455. 477.) The Second Part of his Articles Luther
concludes as follows: "In these four articles they will have enough to
condemn in the council. For they cannot and will not concede to us even
the least point in one of these articles. Of this we should be certain,
and animate ourselves with the hope that Christ, our Lord, has attacked
His adversary, and He will press the attack home both by His Spirit and
coming. Amen. For in the council we will stand not before the Emperor or
the political magistrate, as at Augsburg (where the Emperor published a
most gracious edict, and caused matters to be heard kindly), but before
the Pope and devil himself, who intends to listen to nothing, but merely
to condemn, to murder, and to force us to idolatry. Therefore we ought
not here to kiss his feet or to say, 'Thou art my gracious lord,' but as
the angel in Zechariah 3, 2 said to Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O
Satan." (475.) Hence his Preface also concludes with the plaint and
prayer: "O Lord Jesus Christ, do Thou Thyself convoke a council, and
deliver Thy servants by Thy glorious advent! The Pope and his adherents
are done for, they will have none of Thee. Do Thou, then, help us, who
are poor and needy, who sigh to Thee, and beseech Thee earnestly,
according to the grace which Thou hast given us, through Thy Holy Ghost,
who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Father, blessed forever.
Amen." (459.)

63. Elector Opposed to Hearing Papal Legate.

From the very beginning, Elector John Frederick was opposed to a
council. And the question which particularly engaged his attention was,
whether the Lutherans should receive and hear the papal legate who would
deliver the invitation. Accordingly, on July 24, the Elector came to
Wittenberg and through Brueck delivered four (five) articles to the
local theologians and jurists for consideration with instructions to
submit their answer in writing. (_C. R._ 3, 119.) August 1, Melanchthon
wrote to Jonas: "Recently the Prince was here and demanded an opinion
from all theologians and jurists.... It is rumored that a
cardinal-legate will come to Germany to announce the council. The Prince
is therefore inquiring what to answer, and under what condition the
synod might be permitted." (106.) The articles which Brueck presented
dealt mainly with the questions: whether, in view of the fact that the
Pope is a party to the issue and his authority to convene a council is
questioned, the legate should be heard, especially if the Emperor did
not send a messenger along with him, whether one would not already
submit himself to the Pope by hearing the legate; whether one ought not
to protest, because the Pope alone had summoned the council; and what
should be done in case the legate would summon the Elector as a party,
and not for consultation, like the other estates. (119f.)

In the preparation of their answer, the Elector desired the Wittenberg
scholars to take into careful consideration also his own view of the
matter, which he persistently defended as the only correct one. For this
purpose he transmitted to them an opinion of his own on Brueck's
articles referred to in the preceding paragraph. In it he maintained
that the papal invitation must be declined, because acceptance involved
the recognition of the Pope "as the head of the Church and of the
council." According to the Elector the proper course for the Lutheran
confederates would be to inform the legate, immediately on his arrival
in Germany, that they would never submit to the authority which the Pope
had arrogated to himself in his proclamation, since the power he assumed
was neither more nor less than abominable tyranny; that they could not
consider the Pope as differing from, or give him greater honor than, any
other ordinary bishop; that, besides, they must regard the Pope as their
greatest enemy and opponent; that he had arranged for the council with
the sinister object of maintaining his antichristian power and
suppressing the holy Gospel, that there was no need of hearing the
legate any further, since the Pope, who was sufficiently informed as to
their teaching, cared neither for Scripture nor for law and justice, and
merely wished to be their judge and lord; that, in public print, they
would unmask the roguery of the Pope, and show that he had no authority
whatever to convoke a council, but, at the same time, declare their
willingness to take part in, and submit their doctrine to, a free,
common, Christian, and impartial council, which would judge according to
the Scriptures. Nor did the Elector fail to stress the point that, by
attending at Mantua, the Lutherans would _de facto_ waive their former
demand that the council must be held on German soil. (99ff.)

64. Elector Imbued with Luther's Spirit.

Evidently, the Elector had no desire of engaging once more in diplomatic
jugglery, such as had been indulged in at Augsburg. And at Smalcald,
despite the opposing advice of the theologians, his views prevailed, to
the sorrow of Melanchthon, as appears from the latter's complaint to
Camerarius, March 1, 1637. (_C. R._ 3, 293.) The Elector was thoroughly
imbued with the spirit of Luther, who never felt more antagonistic
toward Rome than at Smalcald, although, as shown above, he was
personally willing to appear at the council, even if held at Mantua.
This spirit of bold defiance appears from the articles which Luther
wrote for the convention, notably from the article on the Papacy and on
the Mass. In the latter he declares: "As Campegius said at Augsburg that
he would be torn to pieces before he would relinquish the Mass, so, by
the help of God, I, too, would suffer myself to be reduced to ashes
before I would allow a hireling of the Mass, be he good or bad, to be
made equal to Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior, or to be exalted above
Him. Thus we are and remain eternally separated and opposed to one
another. They feel well enough that when the Mass falls, the Papacy lies
in ruins. Before they will permit this to occur, they will put us all to
death if they can." (465.) In the Pope, Luther had recognized the
Antichrist; and the idea of treating, seeking an agreement, and making a
compromise with the enemy of his Savior, was intolerable to him. At
Smalcald, while suffering excruciating pain, he declared, "I shall die
as the enemy of all enemies of my Lord Christ." When seated in the
wagon, and ready to leave Smalcald, he made the sign of the cross over
those who stood about him and said: "May the Lord fill you with His
blessing and with hatred against the Pope!" Believing that his end was
not far removed, he had chosen as his epitaph: "Living, I was thy pest;
dying, I shall be thy death, O Pope! _Pestis eram vivus, moriens ero
mors tua, Papa!_"

The same spirit of bold defiance and determination not to compromise the
divine truth in any way animated the Elector and practically all of the
princes and theologians at Smalcald, with, perhaps, the sole exception
of Melanchthon. Koestlin writes: "Meanwhile the allies at Smalcald
displayed no lack of 'hatred against the Pope.' His letters, delivered
by the legate, were returned unopened. They decidedly refused to take
part in the council, and that in spite of the opinion of their
theologians, whose reasons Melanchthon again ardently defended. For, as
they declared in an explanation to all Christian rulers, they could not
submit to a council which, according to the papal proclamation, was
convoked to eradicate the Lutheran heresy, would consist only of
bishops, who were bound to the Pope by an oath, have as its presiding
officer the Pope, who himself was a party to the matter, and would not
decide freely according to the Word of God, but according to human and
papal decrees. And from the legal standpoint they could hardly act
differently. Theologians like Luther could have appeared even before
such a council in order to give bold testimony before it. Princes,
however, the representatives of the law and protectors of the Church,
dared not even create the appearance of acknowledging its legality." (2,
402.)

65. Opinion of Theologians.

August 6 the Wittenberg professors assembled to deliberate on Brueck's
articles and the views of the Elector. The opinion resolved upon was
drawn up by Melanchthon. Its contents may be summarized as follows: The
Lutherans must not reject the papal invitation before hearing whether
the legate comes with a citation or an invitation. In case they were
invited like the rest of the princes to take part in the deliberations,
and not cited as a party, this would mean a concession on the part of
the Pope, inasmuch as he thereby consented "that the opinion of our
gracious Lord [the Elector] should be heard and have weight, like that
of the other estates." Furthermore, by such invitation the Pope would
indicate that he did not consider these princes to be heretics. If the
legate were rebuffed the Romanists would proceed against the Lutherans
as obstinate sinners (_contumaces_) and condemn them unheard, which, as
is well known, would please the enemies best. The Lutherans would then
also be slandered before the Emperor as despisers of His Majesty and of
the council. Nor did the mere hearing of the legate involve an
acknowledgment of the papal authority. "For with such invitation [to
attend the council] the Pope does not issue a command, nor summon any
one to appear before his tribunal, but before another judge, namely, the
Council, the Pope being in this matter merely the commander of the other
estates. By hearing the legate, therefore, one has not submitted to the
Pope or to his judgments.... For although the Pope has not the authority
to summon others by divine law, nevertheless the ancient councils, as,
for example, that of Nicaea, have given him this charge, which external
church regulation we do not attack. And although in former years, when
the empire was under one head some emperors convoked councils, it would
be in vain at present for the Emperor to proclaim a council, as foreign
nations would not heed such proclamation. But while the Pope at present,
according to the form of the law has the charge to proclaim councils, he
is thereby not made the judge in matters of faith, for even popes
themselves have frequently been deposed by councils. Pope John
proclaimed the Council of Constance, but was nevertheless deposed by
it." Accordingly the opinion continues: "It is not for us to advise that
the council be summarily declined, neither do we consider this
profitable, for we have always appealed to a council. What manner of
suspicion, therefore, would be aroused with His Imperial Majesty and all
nations if at the outset we would summarily decline a council, before
discussing the method of procedure!" And even if the Lutherans should be
cited [instead of invited], one must await the wording of the citation,
"whether we are cited to show the reason for our teaching, or to hear
ourselves declared and condemned as public heretics." In the latter case
it might be declined. In the former, however, the citation should be
accepted, but under the protest "that they had appealed to a free
Christian council," and did not acknowledge the Pope as judge. "And if
(_caeteris paribus,_ that is, provided the procedure is correct
otherwise) the council is considered the highest tribunal, as it ought
to be considered, one cannot despise the command of the person to whom
the charge is given to proclaim councils, whoever he may be. But if
afterwards the proceedings are not conducted properly, one can then
justly lodge complaint on that account." "To proclaim a council is
within the province of the Pope; but the judgment and decision belongs
to the council.... For all canonists hold that in matters of faith the
council is superior to the Pope, and that in case of difference the
council's verdict must be preferred to that of the Pope. For there must
be a supreme court of the Church, _i.e._, the council." On account of
the place, however they should not refuse to appear. (_C. R._ 3,119.)

In their subsequent judgments the theologians adhered to the view that
the Protestants ought not to incur the reproach of having prevented the
council by turning down the legate. Luther says, in an opinion written
at Smalcald, February, 1537: "I have no doubt that the Pope and his
adherents are afraid and would like to see the council prevented, but in
such a manner as would enable them to boast with a semblance of truth
that it was not their fault, since they had proclaimed it, sent
messengers, called the estates, etc., as they, indeed, would brag and
trump it up. Hence, in order that we might be frightened and back out,
they have set before us a horrible devil's head by proclaiming a
council, in which they mention nothing about church matters, nothing
about a hearing, nothing about other matters, but solely speak of the
extirpation and eradication of the poisonous Lutheran heresy, as they
themselves indicate in the bull _De Reformatione Curiae_ [of September
23, 1536, St. L. 16 1913ff.]. Here we have not only our sentence which
is to be passed upon us in the council but the appeal also with hearing,
answer, and discussion of all matters is denied us, and all pious,
honorable men who might possibly have been chosen as mediators are also
excluded. Moreover, these knaves of the devil are bent on doing their
pleasure, not only in condemning (for according to the said bull
launched against us they want to be certain of that) but also in
speedily beginning and ordering execution and eradication, although we
have not yet been heard (as all laws require) nor have they, the
cardinals, ever read our writing or learned its doctrine, since our
books are proscribed everywhere, but have heard only the false writers
and the lying mouths, having not heard us make a reply, although in
Germany both princes and bishops know, also those of their party, that
they are lying books and rascals, whom the Pope, Italy, and other
nations believe.... Hence they would like to frighten us into refusing
it [the Council] for then they could safely say that we had prevented
it. Thus the shame would not only cleave to us, but we would have to
hear that, by our refusal, we had helped to strengthen such abominations
of the Pope, which otherwise might have been righted." Such and similar
reasons prompted Luther to declare that, even though he knew "it would
finally end in a scuffle," he was not afraid of "the lousy, contemptible
council," and would neither give the legate a negative answer, nor
"entangle himself," and therefore not be hasty in the matter. (St. L.
16, 1997.) Even after the princes at Smalcald had resolved not to attend
the council, Luther expressed the opinion that it had been false wisdom
to decline it; the Pope should have been left without excuse; in case it
should convene, the council would now be conducted without the
Protestants.

66. Elector's Strictures on Opinion of Theologians.

Elector John Frederick was not at all satisfied with the Wittenberg
opinion of August 6. Accordingly, he informed the theologians assembled
August 30 at Luther's house, through Brueck, that they had permitted
themselves to be unduly influenced by the jurists, had not framed their
opinion with the diligence required by the importance of the matter, and
had not weighed all the dangers lurking in an acceptance of the
invitation to the council. If the Lutherans would be invited like the
other estates, and attend, they must needs dread a repetition of the
craftiness attempted at Augsburg, namely, of bringing their princes in
opposition to their preachers. Furthermore, in that case it would also
be considered self-evident that the Lutherans submit to the decision of
the majority in all matters. And if they refused, what then? "On this
wise we, for our part, would be lured into the net so far that we could
not, with honor, give a respectable account of our action before the
world. For thereupon to appeal from such decision of the council to
another would by all the world be construed against our part as
capriciousness pure and simple. At all events, therefore, the Lutherans
could accept the papal invitation only with a public protest, from which
the Pope and every one else could perceive in advance, before the
council convened, that the Lutherans would not allow themselves to be
lured into the net of a papal council, and what must be the character of
the council to which they would assent." (_C. R._ 3, 147.)

In this Protest, which the Elector presented, and which Melanchthon
translated into Latin, we read: "By the [possible] acceptance [of the
invitation to the council] they [the Lutherans] assent to no council
other than a general, free, pious, Christian, and impartial one; not to
one either which would be subject to, and bound by, papal prejudices
(as the one promised by Clement VII), but to such a synod as will
endeavor to bring godly and Christian unity within the Church by
choosing pious, learned, impartial, and unsuspected men for the purpose
of investigating the religious controversies and adjudicating them from
the Word of God, and not in accordance with usage and human traditions,
nor on the basis of decisions rendered by former synods that militate
against the Word of God." (152. 157.)

67. Counter-Council Disadvised.

The other matters which engaged the Elector's attention dealt primarily
with measures of defense, the convening of a counter-council
(_Gegenkonzil_) and the preparation of articles which all would
unanimously accept, and by which they proposed to stand to the
uttermost. August 20 Brueck brought these points up for discussion. And
in a "memorandum" which the Elector personally presented to the
theologians at Wittenberg on December 1, 1536, he expressed his opinion
as follows: The Lutherans were not obligated to attend the council,
neither would it be advisable. One could not believe or trust the
opponents. Nothing but trickery, deception, harm, and destruction might
be expected. At the council the Lutheran doctrine would be condemned,
and its confessors excommunicated and outlawed. To be sure, the Lutheran
cause was in God's hands. And as in the past, so also in the future God
would protect it. Still they must not on this account neglect anything.
Luther should therefore draw up articles from which he was determined
not to recede. After they had been subscribed by the Wittenbergers and
by all Evangelical pastors at the prospective meeting [at Smalcald], the
question might also be discussed whether the Lutherans should not
arrange for a counter-council "a universal, free, Christian council,"
possibly at Augsburg. The proclamation for this council might be issued
"by Doctor Luther together with his fellow-bishops and ecclesiastics, as
the pastors." However, one might also consider whether this should not
preferably be done by the princes and estates. In such an event,
however, one had to see to it that the Emperor be properly informed, and
that the entire blame be saddled upon the Pope and his adherents, the
enemies and opponents of our side. (141)

The seriousness with which the Elector considered the idea of a
counter-council appears from the details on which he entered in the
"memorandum" referred to where he puts especial emphasis on the
following points: At this free, universal council the Lutherans were
minded "to set forth their doctrine and faith according to the divine,
holy Scriptures." Every one, whether priest or layman, should be heard
in case he wanted to present anything concerning this doctrine from the
Holy Scriptures. A free, safe, Christian passport was to be given to
all, even to the worst enemy, leaving it to his discretion when to come
and go. Only matters founded in the Scriptures were to be presented and
discussed at such council. Human laws, ordinances, and writings should
under no circumstances be listened to in matters pertaining to faith and
conscience, nor be admitted as evidence against the Word of God.
"Whoever would submit such matters, should not be heard, but silence
enjoined upon him." To the verdict of such a holy and Christian council
the Lutherans would be willing to submit their doctrine. (141.)

The theologians answered in an opinion of December 6, 1536, endorsing
the Protest referred to above, but disapproving the counter-council.
Concerning the first point they advised that a writing be published and
sent to the Emperor and all rulers in which the Lutherans were to
"request that ways and means be considered of adopting a lawful
procedure [at the council] promoting the true Christian unity of
Christendom." Concerning the counter-council, however, they advised at
all events not to hasten with it. For to convoke it would produce a
great and terrible appearance of creating a schism, and of setting
oneself against all the world and contemplating taking the field soon.
Therefore such great, apparent resistance should not be undertaken till
one intends to do something in the matter openly and in deed. Concerning
the defense, the Wittenberg theologians were of the opinion that it was
the right and duty of the princes to protect and defend their subjects
against notorious injuries (if, for example, an attempt should be made
to force upon them the Romish idolatry, or to rend asunder the marriages
of their pastors), and also against the Emperor, even after the council
had condemned them as heretics. Luther signed this opinion with the
following words: "I, too, Martin Luther, will help with my prayers and,
if necessary, also with my fist." (126.)

68. Articles Drafted by Luther.

In the memorandum of December 1 the Elector spoke of the articles Luther
was to frame as follows: Although, in the first place, it may easily be
perceived that whatsoever our party may propose in such a [popish]
council as has been announced will have no weight with the opposition,
miserable, blinded, and mad men that they are, no matter how well it is
founded on Holy Scripture moreover, everything will have to be Lutheran
heresy, and their verdict, which probably has already been decided and
agreed upon, must be adopted and immediately followed by their proposed
ban and interdict [decree excommunicating and outlawing our party], it
will, nevertheless, be very necessary for Doctor Martin to prepare his
foundation and opinion from the Holy Scriptures, namely, the articles as
hitherto taught, preached, and written by him, and which he is
determined to adhere to and abide by at the council, as well as upon his
departure from this world and before the judgment of Almighty God, and
in which we cannot yield without becoming guilty of treason against God,
even though property and life, peace or war, are at stake. Such articles
however, as are not necessary, and in which for the sake of Christian
love, yet without offense against God and His Word, something might be
yielded (though, doubtless, they will be few in number), should in this
connection also be indicated separately by said Doctor Martin. And when
Doctor Martin has completed such work (which, if at all possible for the
Doctor, must be done between the present date and that of the Conversion
of St. Paul [January 25], at the latest), he shall thereupon present it
to the other Wittenberg theologians, and likewise to some prominent
preachers whose presence he should require to hear from them, at the
same time admonishing them most earnestly, and asking them whether they
agreed with him in these articles which he had drawn up, or not, and
thereupon, as they hoped for their souls salvation their sentiment and
opinion be learned in its entirety, but not in appearance, for the sake
of peace, or because they did not like to oppose the Doctor, and for
this reason would not fully open their hearts, and still, at a later
time would teach, preach, write, and make public something else or
advise the people against said articles, as some have in several
instances done before this. An agreement having been reached, the
articles were to be subscribed by all and prepared in German and Latin.
At the prospective meeting [at Smalcald] they should be submitted to the
religious confederates for discussion and subscription. Hence, in the
invitation, every prince should be asked "to bring with him two or three
theologians, in order that a unanimous agreement might be reached there,
and no delay could be sought or pretended." (139.) Accordingly, the
Elector planned to have Luther draw up articles which were to be
accepted by all, first at Wittenberg and then at Smalcald, without
compulsion and for no other reason than that they expressed their own
inmost convictions. The situation had changed since 1530, and the
Elector desired a clearer expression, especially on the Papacy. Hence he
did not appoint Melanchthon, but Luther, to compose the articles. The
truth was to be confessed without regard to anything else.

Luther had received the order to draw up these articles as early as
August 20, 1536. September 3 Brueck wrote to the Elector on this matter:
"I also delivered to Doctor Martin the credentials which Your Electoral
Grace gave to me, and thereupon also spoke with him in accordance with
the command of Your Electoral Grace. He promised to be obedient in every
way. It also appears to me that he already has the work well in hand, to
open his heart to Your Electoral Grace on religion, which is to be, as
it were, his testament." (147.) Luther, who at the time thought that his
end would come in the near future, had no doubt used such an expression
himself. His articles were to be his testament. In the preface to the
articles he touched upon it once more, saying: "I have determined to
publish these articles in plain print, so that, should I die before
there will be a council (as I fully expect and hope, because the knaves
who flee the light and shun the day take such wretched pains to delay
and hinder the council), those who live and remain after my demise may
be able to produce my testimony and confession in addition to the
Confession which I previously issued, whereby up to this time I have
abided, and by God's grace will abide." (455.)

The Elector seems also to have enjoined silence on Luther with respect
to the articles until they had been approved at Wittenberg. For in his
letter to Spalatin, of December 15, 1536, Luther wrote: "But you will
keep these matters [his journey to Wittenberg to discuss the articles]
as secret as possible, and pretend other reasons for your departure.
_Sed haec secreta teneas quantum potes, et finge alias causas abeundi._"
(St. L. 21b, 2135.) December 11 the Elector again called attention to
the articles, desiring that Amsdorf, Agricola, and other outside
theologians be called to Wittenberg at his expense to take part in the
discussion. Shortly after, Luther must have finished the articles. The
numerous changes and improvements appearing in the original manuscript,
which is still preserved in the Heidelberg library, show how much time
and labor he spent on this work. Concluding his articles, Luther says:
"These are the articles on which I must stand, and, God willing, shall
stand even to my death; and I do not know how to change or to yield
anything in them. If any one wishes to yield anything, let him do it at
the peril of his conscience." (501, 3.)

Toward the close of the year Luther submitted the draft to his
colleagues, Jonas, Bugenhagen, Cruciger, Melanchthon, and those who had
come from abroad, Spalatin, Amsdorf, and Agricola. After thorough
discussion it was adopted by all with but few changes, _e.g._ regarding
the adoration of the saints, concerning which Luther had originally said
nothing. (Kolde, 44.) Spalatin reports that all the articles were read,
and successively considered and discussed. The Elector had spoken also
of points in which a concession might be possible. In the discussion at
Wittenberg, Spalatin mentioned as such the question whether the
Evangelicals, in case the Pope would concede the cup to them, should
cease preaching against the continuance of the one kind among the
Papists; furthermore, what was to be done with respect to ordination and
the adiaphora. Luther had not entered upon a discussion of these
questions, chiefly, perhaps, because he was convinced that the council
would condemn even the essential articles. (Compare Melanchthon's
letter of August 4, 1530, to Campegius, _C. R._ 2, 246.) After the
articles had been read and approved, Spalatin prepared a copy (now
preserved in the archives at Weimar), which was signed by the eight
theologians present, by Melanchthon, however, with the limitation that
the Pope might be permitted to retain his authority "iure humano," "in
case he would admit the Gospel." Perhaps Melanchthon, who probably would
otherwise have dissimulated, felt constrained to add this stricture on
account of the solemn demand of the Elector that no one should hide any
dissent of his, with the intention of publishing it later. (_C. R._ 3,
140)

69. Articles Endorsed by Elector.

With these first subscriptions, Luther sent his articles to the Elector
on January 3, 1537, by the hand of Spalatin. In the accompanying letter
of the same date he informed the Elector that he had asked Amsdorf,
Eisleben [Agricola], and Spalatin to come to Wittenberg on December 28
or the following days. "I presented the articles which I had myself
drawn up according to the command of Your Electoral Grace and talked
them over with them for several days, owing to my weakness, which
intervened (as I think, by the agency of Satan); for otherwise I had
expected to deliberate upon them no longer than one day. And herewith I
am sending them, as affirmed with their signatures, by our dear brother
and good friend, Magister George Spalatin, to deliver them to Your
Electoral Grace, as they all charged and asked me so to do. At the same
time, since there are some who, by suspicion and words, insinuate that
we parsons (_Pfaffen_), as they call us, by our stubbornness desire to
jeopardize you princes and lords, together with your lands and people,
etc., I very humbly ask, also in the name of all of us, that by all
means Your Electoral Grace would reprimand us for this. For if it would
prove dangerous for other humble people, to say nothing of Your
Electoral Grace, together with other lords, lands, and people, we would
much rather take it upon ourselves alone. Accordingly, Your Electoral
Grace will know well how far and to what extent you will accept these
articles, for we would have no one but ourselves burdened with them,
leaving it to every one whether he will, or will not, burden also
himself with them." (St. L. 21b, 2142.)

In his answer of January 7, 1537, the Elector expressed his thanks to
Luther for having drawn up the articles "in such Christian, true, and
pure fashion," and rejoiced over the unanimity of his theologians. At
the same time he ordered Chancellor Brueck to take steps toward having
the most prominent pastors of the country subscribe the articles, "so
that these pastors and preachers, having affixed their names, must abide
by these articles and not devise teachings of their own, according to
their own opinion and liking, in case Almighty God would summon Doctor
Martin from this world, which rests with His good will." (Kolde, 45.) In
the letter which the Elector sent to Luther, we read: "We give thanks to
Almighty God and to our Lord Christ for having granted you health and
strength to prepare these articles in such Christian, true, and pure
fashion; also that He has given you grace, so that you have agreed on
them with the others in Christian, also brotherly and friendly unity....
From them we also perceive that you have changed your mind in no point,
but that you are steadfastly adhering to the Christian articles, as you
have always taught, preached, and written, which are also built on the
foundation, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, against whom the gates of
hell cannot prevail, and who shall also remain in spite of the Pope, the
council, and its adherents. May Almighty God, through our Lord Christ,
bestow His grace on us all, that with steadfast and true faith we abide
by them, and suffer no human fear or opinion to turn us therefrom!...
After reading them over for the second time we can entertain no other
opinion of them, but accept them as divine, Christian, and true, and
accordingly shall also confess them and have them confessed freely and
publicly before the council, before the whole world, and whatsoever may
come, and we shall ask God that He would vouchsafe grace to our brother
and to us, and also to our posterity, that steadfastly and without
wavering we may abide and remain in them." (21b, 2143.)

70. Melanchthon's Qualified Subscription.

In his letter to Luther the Elector made special reference also to the
qualified subscription of Melanchthon. "Concerning the Pope," he said,
"we have no hesitation about resisting him most vehemently. For if, from
good opinion, or for the sake of peace, as Magister Philip suggests, we
should suffer him to remain a lord having the right to command us, our
bishops, pastors, and preachers, we would expose ourselves to danger and
burden (because he and his successors will not cease in their endeavors
to destroy us entirely and to root out all our posterity), for which
there is no necessity, since God's Word has delivered and redeemed us
therefrom. And if we, now that God has delivered us from the Babylonian
captivity, should again run into such danger and thus tempt God, this
[subjection to the Pope] would, by a just decree of God, come upon us
through our wisdom, which otherwise, no doubt, will not come to pass."
(2145.) Evidently, the Elector, though not regarding Melanchthon's
deviation as a false doctrine, did not consider it to be without danger.

At the beginning of the Reformation, Luther had entertained similar
thoughts, but he had long ago seen through the Papacy, and abandoned
such opinions. In the Smalcald Articles he is done with the Pope and his
superiority, also by human right. And this for two reasons: first,
because it would be impossible for the Pope to agree to a mere
superiority _iure humano,_ for in that case he must suffer his rule and
estate to be overturned and destroyed together with all his laws and
books; in brief, he cannot do it; in the second place, because even such
a purely human superiority would only harm the Church. (473, 7. 8.)
Melanchthon, on the other hand, still adhered to the position which he
had occupied in the compromise discussions at Augsburg, whence, _e.g._,
he wrote to Camerarius, August 31, 1530 "Oh, would that I could, not
indeed fortify the domination, but restore the administration of the
bishops. For I see what manner of church we shall have when the
ecclesiastical body has been disorganized. I see that afterwards there
will arise a much more intolerable tyranny [of the princes] than there
ever was before." (_C. R._ 2, 334.) At Smalcald, however, his views met
with so little response among the princes and theologians that in his
"Tract on the Primacy of the Pope" he omitted them entirely and followed
Luther's trend of thought. March 1, 1537, Melanchthon himself wrote
concerning his defeat at the deliberations of the theologians on the
question in which articles concessions might be made in the interest of
peace, saying that the unlearned and the more vehement would not hear of
concessions, since the Lutherans would then be charged with
inconsistency and the Emperor would only increase his demands. (_C. R._
3, 292.) Evidently then, even at that time Melanchthon was not entirely
cured of his utopian dream.

"If the Pontiff would admit the Gospel, _si pontifex evangelium
admitteret._" A. Osiander remarked: "That is, if the devil would become
an apostle." In the Jena edition of Luther's works Melanchthon's phrase
is commented upon as follows: "And yet the Pope with his wolves, the
bishops, even now curses, blasphemes, and outlaws the holy Gospel more
horribly than ever before, raging and fuming against the Church of
Christ and us poor Christians in most horrible fashion, both with fire
and sword, and in whatever way he can, like a real werwolf, [tr. note:
sic!] aye, like the very devil himself." (6, 557b.) The same comment is
found in the edition of the Smalcald Articles prepared 1553 by Stolz
and Aurifaber, where the passage begins: "O quantum mutatus ab illo [the
former Melanchthon]!" (Koellner, 448. 457.) Carpzov remarks pertinently:
"This subscription [of Melanchthon] is not a part of the Book of Concord
[it does not contain the doctrine advocated by the Book of Concord], nor
was it approved by Luther; moreover, it was later on repudiated by
Philip himself." (_Isagoge_ 823. 894.)

71. Luther's Articles Sidetracked at Smalcald.

It was a large and brilliant assembly, especially of theologians, which
convened at Smalcald in February, 1537. Luther, too, was present. On
January 7 the Elector had written: "We hope that our God will grant you
grace, strength, and health that you may be able to make the journey to
Smalcald with us, and help us to right, and bring to a good issue, this
[matter concerning the Pope] and other matters."

As stated above, the Elector's plan was to elevate Luther's articles to
a confession officially recognized and subscribed to by all Lutheran
princes, estates, and theologians. Accordingly, on February 10, at the
first meeting held at Smalcald, Chancellor Brueck moved that the
theologians deliberate concerning the doctrine, so that, in case the
Lutherans would attend the council, they would know by what they
intended to stand, and whether any concessions were to be made, or, as
Brueck put it, whether anything good [perhaps a deliverance on the
Papacy] should be adopted, or something should be conceded.

Self-evidently, Brueck had Luther's articles in mind, although it cannot
be proved that he directly and expressly mentioned them or submitted
them for discussion and adoption. Perhaps, he felt from the very
beginning that the Elector would hardly succeed with his plans as
smoothly and completely as anticipated. For Luther, desiring to clear
the track for the whole truth in every direction, the Reformed as well
as the Papistic, both against the "false brethren who would be of our
party" (Preface to Sm. Art. 455, 4), as well as against the open
enemies, had in his articles so sharpened the expressions employed in
the Wittenberg Concord of 1536 concerning the Lord's Supper that the
assent of Philip of Hesse and the attending South German delegates and
theologians (Bucer, Blaurer, Wolfart, etc.) was more than doubtful.
Luther's letter to the adherents of Zwingli, December 1, 1537, shows
that he did not at all desire unnecessarily to disturb the work of union
begun by the Wittenberg Concord. (St. L. 17, 2143.) Still, he at the
same time endeavored to prevent a false union resting on
misunderstanding and self-deception. And, no doubt, his reformulation of
the article on the Lord's Supper was intended to serve this purpose.
Besides, owing to a very painful attack of gravel, Luther was not able
to attend the sessions, hence could not make his influence felt in a
decisive manner as desired by the Elector.

This situation was exploited by Melanchthon in the interest of his
attitude toward the Zwinglians, which now was much more favorable than
it had been at Augsburg, 1530. From the very outset he opposed the
official adoption of Luther's articles. He desired more freedom with
regard to both the Romanists and the Reformed than was offered by
Luther's articles. The first appears from his subscription. Concerning
the article of the Lord's Supper, however, which the Strassburgers and
others refused to accept, Melanchthon does not seem to have voiced any
scruples during the deliberations at Wittenberg. Personally he may even
have been able to accept Luther's form, and this, too, more honestly
than Bucer did at Smalcald. For as late as September 6, 1557, he wrote
to Joachim of Anhalt: "I have answered briefly that in doctrine all are
agreed, and that we all embrace and retain the Confession with the
Apology and Luther's confession written before the Synod of Mantua.
_Respondi breviter, consensum esse omnium de doctrina: amplecti nos
omnes et retinere Confessionem cum Apologia et confessione Lutheri
scripta ante Mantuanam Synodum._" (_C. R._ 9, 260.) But, although
Melanchthon, for his person, accepted Luther's article on the Lord's
Supper, he nevertheless considered it to be dangerous to the Concord
with the Southern Germans and to the Smalcald League. Privately he also
made known his dissatisfaction in no uncertain manner. And in so doing,
he took shelter behind Philip of Hesse, who, as at Augsburg, 1530, still
desired to have the Zwinglians regarded and treated as weak brethren.

Kolde relates: "On the same day (February 10) Melanchthon reported to
the Landgrave: 'One article, that concerning the Sacrament of the Holy
Supper, has been drawn up somewhat vehemently, in that it states that
the bread is the body of the Lord which Luther at first did not draw up
in this form, but, as contained in the [Wittenberg] Concord, namely,
that the body of the Lord is given with the bread, and this was due to
Pomeranus, for he is a vehement man and a coarse Pomeranian. Otherwise
he [Melanchthon] knew of no shortcoming or complaint in all the
articles.' ... 'He also said' (this the Landgrave reports to Jacob Sturm
of Strassburg as an expression of Melanchthon) 'that Luther would hear
of no yielding or receding, but declared: This have I drawn up; if the
princes and estates desired to yield anything, it would rest with them,'
etc. The estates, Melanchthon advised, might therefore in every way
declare that they had adopted the Confession and the Concord, and were
minded to abide by them. At the same time he promised to demand at the
prospective deliberation of the theologians, 'that the article of the
Sacrament be drawn up as contained in the Concord. 'Melanchthon's
assertion that Bugenhagen influenced Luther's formulation of the article
on the Lord's Supper is probably correct. At any rate, it can be proved
that Luther really changed the article. For a glance at the original
manuscript shows that he had at first written, in conformity with the
Concord, 'that the true body and blood of Christ is under the bread and
wine,' but later on changed it to read: 'that the bread and wine of the
Lord's Supper are the true body and blood of Christ.'" (48.) Melanchthon
was diplomatic enough to hide from the Landgrave his strictures on
Luther's articles about the Pope, knowing well that in this point he
could expect neither approval nor support.

72. Articles Not Discussed in Meeting of League.

As the Southern Germans regarded Luther's formulation of the article on
the Lord's Supper with disfavor, the Landgrave found little difficulty
in winning over (through Jacob Sturm) the delegates of Augsburg and Ulm
to Melanchthon's view of declaring adherence only to the Confession and
the Wittenberg Concord. Already on February 11 the cities decided to
"decline on the best grounds" the Saxon proposition. Following were the
reasons advanced: It was not necessary at present to enter upon the
proposition, since the council would make slow progress, as the Emperor
and the King of France were not yet at peace. They had not understood
this (the adoption of the Saxon proposition) to be the purpose of the
invitation to bring scholars with them. They had a confession, the
Augustana, presented to the Emperor. It was also to be feared that
deliberations on the question whether any concessions should be made,
might lead to a division; nor would this remain concealed from the
Papists. If the Elector desired to present some articles, he might
transmit them, and they, in turn, would send them to their superiors
for inspection. (Kolde, _Analecta,_ 296.)

In the afternoon of February 11 the princes according to the report of
the Strassburgers, expressed their satisfaction with the resolution of
the cities. At the same time they declared that they were not minded to
make any concessions to the Papists, nor to dispute about, or question,
anything in the Confession or the Wittenberg Concord, "but merely to
review the Confession, not to change anything against its contents and
substance, nor that of the Concord, but solely to enlarge on the Papacy,
which before this, at the Diet, had been omitted in order to please His
Imperial Majesty and for other reasons;" that such was the purpose of
the deliberation for which the scholars had been summoned; and that this
was not superfluous, since "they were all mortal, and it was necessary
that their posterity be thoroughly informed as to what their doctrine
had been, lest others who would succeed to their places accept something
else." The report continues: "The cities did not object to this." (296.)
According to this report, then, Luther's articles were neither discussed
nor adopted at the official meeting of the princes and estates belonging
to the Smalcald League. Without mentioning them, they declared in their
final resolution: Our scholars have "unanimously agreed among themselves
in all points and articles contained in our Confession and Apology,
presented at the Diet of Augsburg, excepting only that they have
expanded and drawn up more clearly than there contained _one article,_
concerning the Primacy of the Pope of Rome." (Koellner, 468.) Koestlin
remarks: "Since the princes decided to decline the council absolutely,
they had no occasion to discuss Luther's articles." (2, 403.)

73. Meeting of Theologians.

At Smalcald the first duty imposed upon the scholars and theologians was
once more to discuss the Augustana and the Apology carefully, and to
acknowledge both as their own confessions by their signatures. Thereupon
they were, in a special treatise, to enlarge on the Papacy. The
Strassburg delegates report: "It has also come to pass that the scholars
received orders once more to read the articles of the Confession and to
enlarge somewhat on the Papacy, which they did." (Kolde, _Analecta,_
298.) However, since neither the Augustana nor its Apology contained an
article against the Papacy, the demand of the princes could only be
satisfied by a special treatise, the "Tractatus de Potestate et Primatu
Papae," which Melanchthon wrote and completed by February 17, whereupon
it was immediately delivered to the princes.

The princes had furthermore ordered the theologians, while reviewing and
discussing the Augustana (and its Apology), to reenforce its doctrine
with additional proofs. Owing to lack of time and books, this was not
carried out. February 17 Osiander reports to the Nuernberg preachers:
"We are enjoying good health here, although we traveled in stormy
weather and over roads that offered many difficulties, and are living
under a constantly beclouded sky, which unpleasantries are increased by
troublesome and difficult questions in complicated matters.... The first
business imposed on us by the princes embraces two things: first, to
fortify the Confession and the Apology with every kind of argument from
the Holy Scriptures, the fathers, councils, and the decrees of the
Popes; thereupon, diligently to discuss in detail everything concerning
the Primacy, which was omitted in the Confession because it was odious.
The latter we completed so far to-day that we shall immediately deliver
a copy to the princes. The former, however will be postponed to another
time and place, since it requires a longer time, as well as libraries,
which are lacking here." (_C. R._ 3, 267.)

The discussion of the Confession was also to serve the purpose of
obtaining mutual assurance whether they were all really agreed in
doctrine. This led to deliberations on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper
as well as on the question what concessions might be made to the
Romanists. According to a report of Melanchthon, March 1, the
theologians were to discuss the doctrines, not superficially, but very
thoroughly, in order that all disagreement might be removed, and a
harmonious and complete system of doctrines exist in our churches. They
were to review the Confession in order to learn whether any one
deviated in any article or disapproved of anything. But Melanchthon
remarks that this object was not reached, since the special request had
been voiced not to increase the disagreement by any quarrel and thus to
endanger the Smalcald League. (_C. R._ 3, 292.) In a second letter of
the same date he says that a real doctrinal discussion had never come to
pass, partly because Luther's illness prevented him from taking part in
the meetings, partly because the timidity of certain men [the Landgrave
and others] had prevented an exact disputation lest any discord might
arise. (296.) March 3 he wrote to Jonas in a similar vein saying that
the reports of violent controversies among the theologians at Smalcald
were false. For although they had been in consultation with one another
for the purpose of discovering whether all the theologians in attendance
there agreed in doctrine the matter had been treated briefly and
incidentally. (298.)

As far as the Lord's Supper is concerned Melanchthon's report concerning
the superficial character of the doctrinal discussions is little if at
all exaggerated. He himself was one of those timid souls of whom he
spoke having from the beginning done all he could not only to bar
Luther's articles from the deliberations but also to prevent any
penetrating discussion of the Lord's Supper. Assent to the Wittenberg
Concord was considered satisfactory although all felt, and believed to
know, that some of the Southern Germans did not agree with the loyal
Lutherans in this matter. Of the attending theologians who were under
suspicion Bucer, Blaurer, Fagius, Wolfart, Fontanus, and Melander, only
the first two took part in the deliberations. (292.) March 1 Melanchthon
wrote to Camerarius: "Bucer spoke openly and clearly of the Mystery [the
Lord's Supper] affirming the presence of Christ. He satisfied all of our
party also those who are more severe. Blaurer, however, employed such
general expressions as, that Christ was present. Afterward he added
several more ambiguous expressions. Osiander pressed him somewhat hotly;
but since we did not desire to arouse any very vehement quarrel, I
terminated the discussion. Thus we separated, so that agreement was
restored among all others, while he [Blaurer] did not seem to
contradict. I know that this is weak but nothing else could be done at
this time, especially since Luther was absent, being tortured by very
severe gravel pains." (292.)

This agrees with the report Veit Dietrich made to Foerster, May 16,
stating: At the first meeting of the committee of the theologians they
completed the first nine articles of the Augustana. Blaurer, Wolfart,
and some others of those who were doctrinally under suspicion (_nobis
suspecti de doctrina_) were present. "However, when the article of the
Lord's Supper was to be discussed on the following day, the meeting was
prevented, I do not know by whom. It is certain that the princes, too,
desired another meeting, because they feared a rupture of the [Smalcald]
Alliance, if any doctrinal difference should become evident, which,
however, would occur if the matter were thoroughly discussed. Since the
disputation was prevented, we were commissioned to write on the Power of
the Pope in order to have something to do. Report had it that Blaurer
did not approve the Concord of Wittenberg; certainly, he asked Philip
for expressions of the Fathers (which are now in my possession), in
order to be better furnished with arguments. This prompted Pomeranus and
Amsdorf again to convene the theologians against Melanchthon's will.
Then the Lord's Supper was discussed. Bucer indeed satisfied all.
Blaurer, however, while speaking vaguely of the other matters,
nevertheless publicly attacked the statement that the ungodly do not
receive the body of Christ." Wolfart declared that he was present at the
Concord made at Wittenberg, and had approved it. It was unpleasant for
him [Dietrich] when hereupon Stephanus Agricola and then Wolfart
rehashed some old statements, _vetera quaedam dicta._ (370.)

74. Luther's Articles Subscribed.

As to the articles of Luther, Veit Dietrich reports that they were
privately circulated at Smalcald and read by all. They were also to be
read at the meeting of the theologians on February 18. (_C. R._ 3, 371.)
As a matter of fact, however, neither a public reading nor a real
discussion, nor an official adoption resulted. The Strassburg delegates
report: "Doctor Martin Luther has also drawn up some special articles,
which he purposed to send to the council on his own accord, copies of
which we have designated with W." The Strassburgers, then, were in
position to send home a copy of these articles. Furthermore Osiander
relates in a letter dated February 17: "Besides this, Luther has also
written articles at Wittenberg, short indeed, but splendid and keen
(_illustres et argutos_), in which everything is summed up in German
wherefrom we cannot recede in the council without committing sacrilege.
To-morrow we shall read them publicly in our meeting, in order that any
one who wishes to add anything to them may present this in the presence
of all. They will also, as I hope, deliberate on the [Wittenberg]
Concord in the matter concerning the Lord's Supper. I regard Bucer as
being sincerely one of us; Blaurer, however, by no means. For Philip
tells of his having remarked that he was not able to agree with us."
(268.) On February 18, however, Luther was taken ill and an official,
public reading and discussion of his articles did not take place on this
day nor, as already stated, at a later date.

Luther's articles, however, were nevertheless adopted at Smalcald,
though not by the South Germans. When all other business had been
transacted, they were presented for voluntary subscription. Bugenhagen
had called the theologians together for this purpose. He proposed that
now all those who wished (_qui velint_) should sign the articles Luther
had brought with him. Hereupon Bucer declared that he had no commission
to do this. However, in order to obliterate the impression that he
declined to subscribe because of doctrinal differences, he added that he
knew nothing in Luther's articles which might be criticized. Blaurer of
Constance, Melander of Hesse, and Wolfart of Augsburg followed his
example in declaring that they had no commission to sign the articles.
In order not to endanger the Smalcald League, Bugenhagen, as appears
from his proposition refrained from urging any one to sign. This was
also the position of the other theologians.

Veit Dietrich reports: "Bucer was the first to say that he had no orders
to sign. He added, however, that he knew of nothing in these articles
that could be criticized, but that his magistrates had reasons for
instructing him not to sign them. Afterwards Blaurer, Dionysius
Melander, and your Boniface [Wolfart of Augsburg] said the same [that
they had not been authorized by their superiors to sign]. The thought
came to me immediately why Bucer, who taught correctly, should have been
the first to refuse his signature, since it was certain that the others,
Blaurer and if you will, also your man, would not subscribe because they
did not approve of the dogma of the Lord's Supper. This would have led
to an open doctrinal schism, which the Elector, Ernst of Lueneburg, and
the Counts of Anhalt would, under no circumstances, have tolerated among
the confederates. But, since Bucer did not subscribe, it was not
necessary to dispute about the doctrine. When we saw this, I was also
pleased that Luther's articles received no attention [in the official
subscription], and that all subscribed merely to the Augustana and the
Concord. And there was no one who refused to do this." (371.)

While thus Bucer, Fagius, Wolfart, Blaurer, and Fontanus refused to
affix their signatures, the attending loyal Lutheran theologians
endorsed Luther's articles all the more enthusiastically. And while the
signatures affixed to the Augustana and the Apology total 32, including
the suspected theologians, 44 names appear under Luther's articles.
Among these is found also the abnormal subscription of Melander of
Hesse: "I subscribe to the Confession, the Apology, and the Concord in
the matter of the Eucharist," which is probably to be interpreted as a
limitation of Luther's Article of the Lord's Supper.

Although, therefore, the subscription of the Smalcald Articles lacked
the official character and was not by order of the Smalcald League as
such, it nevertheless is in keeping with the actual facts when the
Formula of Concord refers to Luther's Articles as "subscribed at that
time [1537] by the chief theologians." (777, 4; 853, 7.) All true
Lutheran pastors assembled at Smalcald recognized in Luther's articles
their own, spontaneous confession against the Papists as well as against
the Zwinglians and other enthusiasts.

75. Endorsed by Princes and Estates.

The Thorough Declaration of the Formula of Concord makes the further
statement that the Smalcald Articles were to be delivered in the Council
at Mantua "in the name of the Estates, Electors, and Princes." (853, 7.)
Evidently this is based on Luther's Preface to the Smalcald Articles
written 1538, in which he says concerning his Articles: "They have also
been accepted and unanimously confessed by our side, and it has been
resolved that, in case the Pope with his adherents should ever be so
bold as seriously and in good faith, without lying and cheating to hold
a truly free Christian Council (as, indeed, he would be in duty bound to
do), they be publicly delivered in order to set forth the Confession of
our Faith." (455.)

Kolde and others surmise that Luther wrote as he did because, owing to
his illness, he was not acquainted with the true situation at Smalcald.
Tschackert, too, takes it for granted that Luther, not being
sufficiently informed, was under the erroneous impression that the
princes and estates as well as the theologians had adopted, and
subscribed to, his articles. (300. 302.) Nor has a better theory of
solving the difficulty hitherto been advanced. Yet it appears very
improbable. If adopted, one must assume that Luther's attention was
never drawn to this error of his. For Luther does not merely permit his
assertion to stand in the following editions of the Smalcald Articles,
but repeats it elsewhere as well. In an opinion written 1541 he writes:
"In the second place, I leave the matter as it is found in the articles
adopted at Smalcald; I shall not be able to improve on them; nor do I
know how to yield anything further." (St. L. 17, 666.)

The Elector, too, shared Luther's opinion. In a letter of October 27,
1543, he urged him to publish in Latin and German (octavo), under the
title, Booklet of the Smalcald Agreement--_Buechlein der geschehenen
Schmalkaldischen Vergleichung,_ the "Articles of Agreement,
Vergleichungsartikel," on which he and Melanchthon had come to an
agreement in 1537, at Smalcald, with the other allied estates, scholars,
and theologians. (St. L. 21b, 2913.) October 17, 1552, immediately after
he had obtained his liberty, the Elector made a similar statement. (_C.
R._ 7, 1109.) Nor did Spalatin possess a knowledge in this matter
differing from that of Luther and the Elector. He, too, believed that
not only the theologians, but the princes and estates as well, with the
exception of Hesse, Wuerttemberg, Strassburg, etc., had subscribed to
Luther's articles. (Kolde, 51.)

Evidently, then, Luther's statement was generally regarded as being
substantially and approximately correct and for all practical purposes
in keeping, if not with the exact letter and form at least with the real
spirit of what transpired at Smalcald and before as well as after this
convention. It was not a mere delusion of Luther's, but was generally
regarded as agreeing with the facts, that at Smalcald his articles were
not only subscribed by the theologians, but adopted also by the Lutheran
princes and estates, though, in deference to the Landgrave and the South
German cities, not officially and by the Smalcald League as such.

76. Symbolical Authority of Smalcald Articles.

The importance attached to the Smalcald Articles over against the
Reformed and Crypto-Calvinists appears from a statement made by the
Elector of Saxony, October 17, 1552 (shortly after his deliverance from
captivity), in which he maintained that the Lutheran Church could have
been spared her internal dissensions if every one had faithfully abided
by the articles of Luther. He told the Wittenberg theologians that
during his captivity he had heard of the dissensions and continued
controversies, "which caused us no little grief. And we have therefore
often desired with all our heart that in the churches of our former
lands and those of others no change, prompted by human wisdom, had been
undertaken nor permitted in the matters [doctrines] as they were held
during the life of the blessed Doctor Martin Luther and during our rule,
and confirmed at Smalcald, in the year 1537, by all pastors and
preachers of the estates of the Augsburg Confession then assembled at
that place. For if this had been done, no doubt, the divisions and
errors prevailing among the teachers of said Confession, together with
the grievous and harmful offenses which resulted therefrom, would, with
the help of God, have been avoided." (_C. R._ 7, 1109.)

In the Prolegomena to his edition of the Lutheran Confessions, Hase
remarks concerning the symbolical authority of Luther's articles: "The
formula of faith, drawn up by such a man, and adorned with such names,
immediately enjoyed the greatest authority. _Fidei formula a tali viro
profecta talibusque nominibus ornata maxima statim auctoritate
floruit._" To rank among the symbolical books, Luther's articles
required a special resolution on the part of the princes and estates as
little as did his two catechisms; contents and the Reformer's name were
quite sufficient. Voluntarily the articles were subscribed at Smalcald.
On their own merits they won their place of honor in our Church. In the
situation then obtaining, they voiced the Lutheran position in a manner
so correct and consistent that every loyal Lutheran spontaneously gave
and declared his assent. In keeping with the changed historical context
of the times, they offered a correct explanation of the Augsburg
Confession, adding thereto a declaration concerning the Papacy, the
absence of which had become increasingly painful. They struck the
timely, logical, Lutheran note also over against the Zwinglian and
Bucerian [Reformed and Unionistic] tendencies. Luther's articles offered
quarters neither for disguised Papists nor for masked Calvinists. In
brief they gave such a clear expression to genuine Lutheranism that
false spirits could not remain in their company. It was the recognition
of these facts which immediately elicited the joyful acclaim of all true
Lutherans. To them it was a recommendation of Luther's articles when
Bucer, Blaurer, and others, though having subscribed the Augsburg
Confession, refused to sign them. Loyal Lutherans everywhere felt that
the Smalcald Articles presented an up-to-date touchstone of the pure
Lutheran truth, and that, in taking their stand on them, their feet were
planted, over against the aberrations of the Romanists as well as the
Zwinglians, on ground immovable.

In the course of time, the esteem in which Luther's articles were held,
rose higher and higher. Especially during and after the controversies on
the Interim, as well as in the subsequent controversies with the
Crypto-Calvinists, the Lutherans became more and more convinced that the
Smalcald Articles and not the Variata, contained the correct exposition
of the Augsburg Confession. At the Diet of Regensburg, in 1541, the
Elector, by his delegates, sent word to Melanchthon "to stand by the
Confession and the Smalcald Agreement [Smalcald Articles] in word and in
sense." The delegates answered that Philip would not yield anything
"which was opposed to the Confession and the Smalcald Agreement," as he
had declared that "he would die rather than yield anything against his
conscience." (_C. R._ 4, 292.) In an opinion of 1544 also the
theologians of Hesse, who at Smalcald had helped to sidetrack Luther's
articles put them on a par with the Augustana. At Naumburg in 1561,
where Elector Frederick of the Palatinate and the Crypto-Calvinists
endeavored to undermine the authority of Luther, Duke John Frederick of
Saxony declared that he would abide by the original Augustana and its
"true declaration and norm," the Smalcald Articles.

Faithful Lutherans everywhere received the Smalcald Articles into their
_corpora doctrinae._ In 1567 the Convention of Coswig declared them to
be "the norm by which controversies are to be decided, _norma decidendi
controversias_." Similarly, the Synod of Moelln, 1559. In 1560 the
ministerium of Luebeck and the Senate of Hamburg confessionally accepted
the Articles. Likewise, the Convention of Lueneburg in 1561, and the
theologians of Schleswig-Holstein in 1570. The Thorough Declaration
could truthfully say that the Smalcald Articles had been embodied in the
confessional writings of the Lutheran Church "for the reason that these
have always and everywhere been regarded as the common, unanimously
accepted meaning of our churches and, moreover, have been subscribed at
that time by the chief and most enlightened theologians, and have held
sway in all evangelical churches and schools." (855, 11.)

77. Editions of Smalcald Articles.

In 1538 Luther published his Articles, which _editio princeps_ was
followed by numerous other editions, two of them in the same year. In
the copy of the Articles which Spalatin took at Wittenberg the title
reads: "Opinion concerning the Faith, and What We Must Adhere to
Ultimately at the Future Council. _Bedenken des Glaubens halben, und
worauf im kuenftigen Konzil endlich zu beharren sei._" The _editio
princeps_ bears the title: "Articles which were to be Delivered on
Behalf of Our Party at the Council of Mantua, or Where Else It Would
Meet. _Artikel, so da haetten aufs Konzilium zu Mantua, oder wo es
wuerde sein, ueberantwortet werden von unsers Teils wegen._" These
titles designate the purpose for which the articles were framed by order
of the Elector. In the edition of 1553, published by John Stolz and John
Aurifaber, Luther's Articles are designated as "prepared for the Diet of
Smalcald in the year 1537, _gestellt auf den Tag zu Schmalkalden Anno
1537._" Says Carpzov: "They are commonly called Smalcald Articles after
the place where they were composed [an error already found in Brenz's
letter of February 23, 1537, appended to the subscriptions of the "Tract
on the Power and Primacy of the Pope" (529). See also Formula of Concord
777, 4; 853, 7], as well as solemnly approved and subscribed since the
articles were composed by Luther and approved by the Protestants at
Smalcald a town in the borders of Saxony and Ducal Hesse, and selected
for the convention of the Protestants for the reason that the
individuals who had been called thither might have an easy and safe
approach." (_Isagoge,_ 769.)

The text of the Smalcald Articles, as published by Luther, omits the
following motto found in the original: "This is sufficient doctrine for
eternal life. As to the political and economic affairs, there are enough
laws to trouble us, so that there is no need of inventing further
troubles much more burdensome. Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof. _His satis est doctrinae pro vita aeterna. Ceterum in politia
et oeconomia satis est legum, quibus vexamur, ut non sit opus praeter
has molestias fingere alias quam miserrimas [necessarias]. Sufficit diei
malitia sua._" (Luther, Weimar 50, 192. St. L. 16 1918.) Apart from all
kinds of minor corrections, Luther added to the text a Preface (written
1538) and several additions, some of them quite long, which, however,
did not change the sense. Among these are sec. 5, secs. 13 to 15, and
secs. 25-28 of the article concerning the Mass; secs. 42-45 concerning
the False Repentance of the Papists; secs. 3-13 about Enthusiasm in the
article concerning Confession. The editions of 1543 and 1545 contained
further emendations. The German text of Luther's first edition of 1538
was received into the Book of Concord, "as they were first framed and
printed." (853, 7.) The first Latin translation by Peter Generanus
appeared in 1541, with a Preface by Veit Amerbach (later on Catholic
Professor of Philosophy at Ingolstadt). In 1542 it was succeeded by an
emended edition. In the following year the Elector desired a
Latin-German edition in octavo. The Latin translation found in the Book
of Concord of 1580 was furnished by Selneccer; this was revised for the
official Latin Concordia of 1584.

78. Tract on the Power and Primacy of the Pope.

Melanchthon's "Tract Concerning the Power and Primacy of the Pope,
_Tractatus de Potestate et Primatu Papae,_" presents essentially the
same thoughts Luther had already discussed in his article "Of the
Papacy." Melanchthon here abandons the idea of a papal supremacy _iure
humano,_ which he had advocated at Augsburg 1530 and expressed in his
subscription to Luther's articles, and moves entirely in the wake of
Luther and in the trend of the Reformer's thoughts. The Tract was
written not so much from his own conviction as from that of Luther and
in accommodation to the antipapal sentiment which, to his grief, became
increasingly dominant at Smalcald. (_C. R._ 3, 270. 292f. 297.) In a
letter to Jonas, February 23, he remarks, indicating his accommodation
to the public opinion prevailing at Smalcald: "I have written this
[Tract] somewhat sharper than I am wont to do." (271. 292.) Melanchthon
always trimmed his sails according to the wind; and at Smalcald a
decidedly antipapal gale was blowing. He complains that he found no one
there who assented to his opinion that the papal invitation to a council
ought not be declined. (293.) It is also possible that he heard of the
Elector's criticism of his qualified subscription to Luther's articles.
At all events, the Tract amounts to a retraction of his stricture on
Luther's view of the Papacy. In every respect, Smalcald spelled a defeat
for Melanchthon. His policy toward the South Germans was actually
repudiated by the numerous and enthusiastic subscriptions to Luther's
articles, foreshadowing, as it were, the final historical outcome, when
Philippism was definitely defeated in the Formula of Concord. And his
own Tract gave the _coup de grace_ to his mediating policy with regard
to the Romanists. For here Melanchthon, in the manner of Luther, opposes
and denounces the Pope as the Antichrist, the protector of ungodly
doctrine and customs, and the persecutor of the true confessors of
Christ, from whom one must separate. The second part of the Tract,
"Concerning the Power and the Jurisdiction of the Bishops, _De Potestate
et Iurisdictione Episcoporum,_" strikes an equally decided note.

The Tract, which was already completed by February 17, received the
approval of the estates, and, together with the Augustana and the
Apology, was signed by the theologians upon order of the princes. (_C.
R._ 3, 286.) Koellner writes: "Immediately at the convention Veit
Dietrich translated this writing [the Tract] into German, and (as
appears from the fact that the Weimar theologians in 1553 published the
document from the archives with the subscriptions) this German
translation was, at the convention, presented to, and approved by, the
estates as the official text, and subscribed by the theologians." (464.)
Brenz's letter appended to the subscriptions shows that the signing did
not take place till after February 23, perhaps the 25th of February. For
on the 26th Melanchthon and Spalatin refer to it as finished.

With reference to the Concord of 1536, let it be stated here that,
although mentioned with approval by the theologians and also included in
Brenz's and Melander's subscriptions to the Smalcald Articles, the
princes and estates nevertheless passed no resolution requiring its
subscription. Melanchthon writes that the princes had expressly declared
that they would abide by the Wittenberg Concord. (_C. R._ 3, 292.) Veit
Dietrich's remark to Foerster, May 16, 1537, that only the Augustana and
the Concord were signed at Smalcald, is probably due to a mistake in
writing. (372.)

79. Authorship of Tract.

The Tract first appeared in print in 1540. A German translation,
published 1541, designates it as "drawn up by Mr. Philip Melanchthon and
done into German by Veit Dietrich." (_C. R._ 23 722.) In the edition of
the Smalcald Articles by Stolz and Aurifaber, 1553, the Tract is
appended with the caption: "Concerning the Power and Supremacy of the
Pope, Composed by the Scholars. Smalcald, 1537." In the Jena edition of
Luther's Works the Smalcald Articles are likewise followed by the Tract
with the title: "Concerning the Power and Supremacy of the Pope,
Composed by the Scholars in the Year 37 at Smalcald and Printed in the
Year 38." (6, 523.) This superscription gave rise to the opinion that
the German was the original text. At any rate, such seems to have been
the belief of Selneccer, since he incorporated a Latin translation,
based on the German text, into the Latin edition of his Book of Concord,
privately published 1580. Apart from other errors this Latin version
contained also the offensive misprint referred to in our article on the
Book of Concord. In the official edition of 1584 it was supplanted by
the original text of Melanchthon. The subtitle, however, remained:
"Tractatus per Theologos Smalcaldicos Congregatos Conscriptus."

To-day it is generally assumed that by 1553 it was universally forgotten
both that Melanchthon was the author of the Tract, and that it was
originally composed in Latin. However, it remains a mystery how this
should have been possible--only twelve years after Dietrich had published
the Tract under a title which clearly designates Melanchthon as its
author, and states that the German text is a translation. The evidence
for Melanchthon's authorship which thus became necessary was furnished
by J. C. Bertram in 1770. However, before him Chytraeus and Seckendorf,
in 1564, had expressly vindicated Melanchthon's authorship. Be it
mentioned as a curiosity that the Papist Lud. Jac. a St. Carolo
mentioned a certain "Articulus Alsmalcaldicus, Germanus, Lutheranus" as
the author of the Tract. In the Formula of Concord and in the Preface to
the Book of Concord the Tract is not enumerated as a separate
confessional writing, but is treated as an appendix to the Smalcald
Articles.

80. A Threefold Criticism.

On the basis of the facts stated in the preceding paragraphs, Kolde,
followed by others believes himself justified in offering a threefold
criticism. In the first place, he opines that Luther's Articles are
"very improperly called 'Smalcald Articles.'" However, even if Luther's
Articles were not officially adopted by the Smalcald League as such,
they were nevertheless, written for the Convention of Smalcald, and were
there signed by the assembled Lutheran theologians and preachers and
privately adopted also by most of the princes and estates. For Luther's
Articles then, there is and can be no title more appropriate than
"Smalcald Articles." Tschackert remarks: "Almost all [all, with the
exception of the suspected theologians] subscribed and thereby they
became weighty and important for the Evangelical churches of Germany;
and hence it certainly is not inappropriate to call them 'Smalcald
Articles,' even though they were written at Wittenberg and were not
publicly deliberated upon at Smalcald." (302.)

"It is entirely unhistorical," Kolde continues in his strictures, "to
designate Melanchthon's Tract, which has no connection with Luther's
Articles, as an 'Appendix' to them when in fact it was accepted as an
appendix of the Augustana and Apology." (50.) It is a mistake,
therefore, says Kolde, that the Tract is not separately mentioned in the
Book of Concord, nor counted as a separate confessional writing. (53.)
Likewise Tschackert: "On the other hand, it is a mistake to treat
Melanchthon's Tract as an appendix to the Smalcald Articles, as is done
in the Book of Concord. The signatures of the estates have rather given
it an independent authority in the Church." (302.) However, there is
much more of a connection between Luther's Articles and the Tract than
Kolde and Tschackert seem to be aware of. Luther's Articles as well as
the Tract were prepared for the Convention at Smalcald. Both were there
signed by practically the same Lutheran theologians. The fact that in
the case of the Smalcald Articles this was done voluntarily rather
enhances and does not in the least diminish, their importance. Both
also, from the very beginning, were equally regarded as Lutheran
confessional writings. The Tract, furthermore, follows Luther's
Articles also in substance, as it is but an acknowledgment and
additional exposition of his article "Of the Papacy." To be sure, the
Tract must not be viewed as an appendix to Luther's Articles, which,
indeed, were in no need of such an appendix. Moreover, both the Articles
and the Tract may be regarded as appendices to the Augsburg Confession
and the Apology. Accordingly, there is no reason whatever why, in the
Book of Concord, the Tract should not follow Luther's Articles or be
regarded as closely connected with it, and naturally belonging to it.
Koellner is right when he declares it to be "very appropriate" that the
Tract is connected and grouped with the Smalcald Articles. (469.)

Finally, Kolde designates the words in the title "composed,
_conscriptus,_ by the scholars" as false in every respect. Likewise
Tschackert. (303.) The criticism is justified inasmuch as the expression
"composed, _zusammengezogen, conscriptus,_ by the scholars" cannot very
well be harmonized with the fact that Melanchthon wrote the Tract. But
even this superscription is inappropriate, at least not in the degree
assumed by Kolde and Tschackert. For the fact is that the princes and
estates did not order Melanchthon, but the theologians, to write the
treatise concerning the Papacy, and that the Tract was presented in
their name. Koellner writes: "It is certainly a splendid testimony for
the noble sentiments of those heroes of the faith that the Elector
should know of, and partly disapprove, Melanchthon's milder views, and
still entrust him with the composition of this very important document
[the Tract], and, on the other hand, equally so, that Melanchthon so
splendidly fulfilled the consideration which he owed to the views and
the interests of the party without infringing upon his own conviction."
"Seckendorf also," Koellner adds "justly admires this unusual
phenomenon." (471.) However, Koellner offers no evidence for the
supposition that the Elector charged Melanchthon in particular with the
composition of the Tract. According to the report of the Strassburg
delegates, the princes declared that "the scholars" should peruse the
Confession and enlarge on the Papacy. The report continues: "The
scholars received orders ... to enlarge somewhat on the Papacy which
_they_ did, and thereupon transmitted _their_ criticism to the Elector
and the princes." (Kolde, _Anal.,_ 297.) This is corroborated by
Melanchthon himself, who wrote to Camerarius, March 1, 1537: "We
received orders (_iussi sumus_) to write something on the Primacy of
Peter or the Roman Pontiff." (_C. R._ 3, 292.) February 17 Osiander
reported: "The first business imposed on _us_ by the princes was ...
diligently to explain the Primacy which was omitted from the Confession
because it was regarded as odious. The latter of these duties _we_ have
to-day completed, so that _we_ shall immediately deliver a copy to the
princes." (3, 267.) These statements might even warrant the conclusion
that the theologians also participated, more or less in the drawing up
of the Tract, for which however, further evidence is wanting. Nor does
it appear how this view could be harmonized with Veit Dietrich's
assertion in his letter to Foerster, May 16: "Orders were given to write
about the power of the Pope the primacy of Peter, and the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction. Philip alone performed this very well." (3, 370.) However,
entirely apart from the statement of Osiander, the mere fact that the
theologians were ordered to prepare the document, and that it was
delivered by and in the name of these theologians, sufficiently warrants
us to speak of the document as "The Tract of the Scholars at Smalcald"
with the same propriety that, for example, the opinion which Melanchthon
drew up on August 6, 1536, is entitled: "The First Proposal of the
Wittenberg Scholars concerning the Future Council." (_C. R._ 3, 119.)


VIII. Luther's Efforts at Restoring Catechetical Instruction.

81. Modern Researches Respecting Luther's Catechisms.

Besides G. v. Zezschwitz (_System der christlichkirchlichen Katechetik,_
3 volumes, 1862 to 1874) and numerous other contemporary and later
students, G. Buchwald, F. Cohrs, and O. Albrecht have, since the middle
of the past century, rendered no mean service by their researches
pertaining to Luther's Catechisms. Buchwald edited the three series of
sermons on the Five Chief Parts which Luther delivered in 1528, pointed
out their important bearing on his Catechisms, and shed new light on
their origin by discovering and exploiting the Stephan Roth
correspondence. He published the results of his labors in 1894 under the
title, "The Origin of the Two Catechisms of Luther and the Foundation of
the Large Catechism. _Die Entstehung der beiden Katechismen Luthers und
die Grundlage des Grossen Katechismus._" F. Cohrs enriched this
department of knowledge by his articles in the third edition of Herzog's
_Realenzyklopaedie,_ and especially by his five-volume work on _The
Evangelical Catechism; Attempts Prior to Luther's Enchiridion,_ in
_Monumenta Germaniae Paedagogica,_ 1900 to 1907. In 1905 O. Albrecht was
entrusted with the preparation of Luther's Catechisms for the Weimar
Critical Edition of Luther's Complete Works. He also contributed the
extensive historical sections of the first of the three parts of Vol.
30, where the Catechisms are treated.

This first part of 826 pages, which appeared in 1910, represents the
latest important research work on the origin of Luther's Catechisms. In
its preface R. Drescher says: "The writings of 1529 to 1530, in their
totality were a difficult mountain, and it gives us particular joy
finally to have surmounted it. And the most difficult and laborious part
of the way, at least in view of the comprehensive treatment it was to
receive, was the publication of the Large and the Small Catechism,
including the three series of Catechism Sermons. ... The harvest which
was garnered fills a large volume of our edition."

82. Meaning of the Word Catechism.

The term _catechismus_ (catechism), like its related terms, _catechesis,
catechizari, catechumeni,_ was common in the ancient Church. In his
_Glossarium,_ Du Cange defines it as "_institutio puerorum etiam recens
natorum, ante quam baptizentur_--the instruction of children, also those
recently born, before their baptism." The synonymous expression,
_catechesis,_ he describes as "_institutio primorum fidei Christianae
rudimentorum, de quibus kateceseis suas scripsit S. Cyrillus
Jerusolymitanus_--instruction in the first rudiments of the Christian
faith, about which St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote his catechizations." (2,
222f.) Also Luther was acquainted with this usage in the ancient Church.
He began his Catechism sermon of November 30, 1528, with the words:
"These parts which you heard me recite the old Fathers called catechism,
_i.e._, a sermon for children which children should know and all who
desire to be Christians." (Weimar 30, 1, 57.) At first Luther seems to
have employed the term but seldom; later on, however, especially after
1526, more frequently. Evidently he was bent on popularizing it. Between
the Preface and the Decalog of the first Wittenberg book edition of the
Small Catechism we find the title, "A Small Catechism or Christian
Training--_Ein kleiner Katechismus oder christliche Zucht._" No doubt,
Luther added the explanation "christliche Zucht" because the word
catechism had not yet become current among the people. May 18, 1528, he
began his sermon with the explanation: "_Catechismus dicitur instructio_
--Catechism is instruction"; likewise the sermon of September 14:
"Catechism, _i.e._, an instruction or Christian teaching," the sermon of
November 30: "Catechism, _i.e._, a sermon for children." In the Preface
to his Small Catechism he again explains the term as "Christian
doctrine." Thus Luther endeavored to familiarize the people with the
word catechism.

The meaning of this term, however, is not always the same. It may
designate the act of instructing, the subject-matter or the doctrine
imparted, a summary thereof, the text of the traditional chief parts, or
a book containing the catechismal doctrine, text, or text with
explanation. Luther used the word most frequently and preferably in the
sense of instruction. This appears from the definitions quoted in the
preceding paragraph, where catechism is defined as "sermon,"
"instruction," "Christian training," etc. "You have the catechism" (the
doctrine), says Luther, "in small and large books." Bugenhagen defines
thus: "Katechismus, dat is, christlike underrichtinge ut den teyn
gebaden Gades." In the Apology, Melanchthon employs the word catechism
as identical with _kathechesis puerorum,_ instruction of the young in
the Christian fundamentals. (324, 41.) "Accordingly," says O. Albrecht,
"catechism means elementary instruction in Christianity, conceived,
first, as the act; then, as the material for instruction; then, as the
contents of a book, and finally, as the book itself." This usage must be
borne in mind also where Luther speaks of his own Catechisms. "German
Catechism" means instruction in, or preaching on, the traditional chief
parts in the German language. And while "Enchiridion" signifies a book
of small compass, the title "Small Catechism" (as appears from the old
subtitle: "Ein kleiner Katechismus oder christliche Zucht") means
instruction in the chief parts, proceeding with compact brevity, and, at
the same time, these parts themselves together with the explanations
added. (W. 30, 1, 454. 539.) As the title of a book the word catechism
was first employed by Althamer in 1528, and by Brenz as the subtitle of
his "Questions" (_Fragestuecke_). A school-book written by John Colet in
the beginning of the sixteenth century bears the title "_Catechyzon,_
The Instructor." (456.)

Not every kind of Christian instruction, however, is called catechism by
Luther. Whenever he uses the word, he has in mind beginners, children,
and unlearned people. In his "German Order of Worship, _Deutsche
Messe,_" of 1526, he writes: "Catechism is an instruction whereby
heathen who desire to become Christians are taught and shown what they
must believe, do, not do, and know in Christianity, hence the name
catechumens was given to pupils who were accepted for such instruction
and who learned the Creed previous to their baptism." (19, 76.) In his
sermon of November 30, 1528: "The Catechism is a sermon for children,
which the children and all who desire to be Christians must know.
Whoever does not know it cannot be numbered among the Christians. For if
he does not know these things, it is evident that God and Christ mean
nothing to him." (30, 1, 57.) In his sermon of September 14: "This
[catechism] is preaching for children, or, the Bible of the laity, which
serves the plain people. Whoever, then, does not know these things, and
is unable to recite them and understand them, cannot be considered a
Christian. It is for this reason, too, that it bears the name catechism,
_i.e._, instruction and Christian teaching, since all Christians at the
very least should know this much. Afterward they ought to learn more of
the Scriptures. Hence, let all children govern themselves accordingly,
and see that they learn it." (27.) May 18 Luther began his sermon thus:
"The preaching of the Catechism was begun that it might serve as an
instruction for children and the unlearned. ... For every Christian must
necessarily know the Catechism. Whoever does not know it cannot be
numbered among the Christians." (2.) In the short Preface to the Large
Catechism: "This sermon is designed and undertaken that it might be an
instruction for children and the simpleminded. Hence, of old it was
called in Greek catechism, _i.e._, instruction for children, what every
Christian must needs know, so that he who does not know this could not
be numbered with the Christians nor be admitted to any Sacrament."
(CONC. TRIGL., 575, 1; 535, 11.)

83. Chief Parts of Catechism.

In Luther's opinion the elementary doctrines which form the subject-
matter of the Catechism are comprised in the three traditional parts:
Decalog, Creed, and Lord's Prayer. These he considered to be the gist of
the doctrine every one must learn if he would be regarded and treated as
a Christian. "Those who are unwilling to learn it," says Luther, "should
be told that they deny Christ and are no Christians; neither should they
be admitted to the Sacraments, accepted as sponsors at Baptism, nor
exercise any part of Christian liberty." (CONC. TRIGL. 535, 11.) Of
course, Luther considered these three parts only a minimum, which,
however, Christians who partake of the Lord's Supper should strive to
exceed, but still sufficient for children and plain people. (575, 5.)
Even in his later years, Luther speaks of the first three parts as the
Catechism proper.

However, probably in consequence of the controversy with the
Enthusiasts, which began in 1524, Luther soon added as supplements the
parts treating of Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Confession. In the
Large Catechism, where Baptism and the Lord's Supper appear as
appendices, Luther emphasizes the fact that the first three parts form
the kernel of the Catechism, but that instruction in Baptism and the
Lord's Supper must also be imparted. "These" (first three), says he,
"are the most necessary parts, which one should first learn to repeat
word for word. ... Now, when these three parts are apprehended, it
behooves a person also to know what to say concerning our Sacraments,
which Christ Himself instituted, Baptism and the holy body and blood of
Christ, namely, the text which Matthew and Mark record at the close of
their gospels, when Christ said farewell to His disciples and sent them
forth." (579, 20.) Luther regarded a correct knowledge of Baptism and
the Lord's Supper not only as useful, but as necessary. Beginning his
explanation of the Fourth Chief Part, he remarks: "We have now finished
the three chief parts of the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we
have yet to speak of our two Sacraments instituted by Christ, of which
also every Christian ought to have at least an ordinary, brief
instruction, because without them there can be no Christian; although,
alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been given." (733, 1.)
Thus Luther materially enlarged the Catechism. True, several prayer- and
confession-books, which appeared in the late Middle Ages, also treat of
the Sacraments. As for the people, however, it was considered sufficient
for laymen to be able to recite the names of the seven Roman sacraments.
Hence Luther, in the passage cited from the Large Catechism, declares
that in Popery practically nothing of Baptism and the Lord's Supper was
taught, certainly nothing worth while or wholesome.

84. Parts Inherited from Ancient Church.

The text of the first three chief parts, Luther considered a sacred
heirloom from the ancient Church. "For," says he in his Large Catechism,
"the holy Fathers or apostles have thus embraced in a summary the
doctrine life, wisdom, and art of Christians, of which they speak and
treat, and with which they are occupied." (579, 19.) Thus Luther, always
conservative, did not reject the traditional catechism, both bag and
baggage, but carefully distinguished between the good, which he
retained, and the worthless, which he discarded. In fact, he no more
dreamt of foisting a new doctrine or catechism on the Christian Church
than he ever thought of founding a new church. On the contrary, his sole
object was to restore the ancient Apostolic Church, and his catechetical
endeavors were bent on bringing to light once more, purifying,
explaining, and restoring, the old catechism of the fathers.

In his book _Wider Hans Worst,_ 1541, Luther says: "We have remained
faithful to the true and ancient Church; aye, we are the true and
ancient Church. You Papists, however, have apostatized from us, _i.e._,
from the ancient Church, and have set up a new church in opposition to
the ancient Church." In harmony with this view, Luther repeatedly and
emphatically asserted that in his Catechism he was merely protecting and
guarding an inheritance of the fathers, which he had preserved to the
Church by his correct explanation. In his _German Order of Worship_ we
read: "I know of no simpler nor better arrangement of this instruction
or doctrine than the arrangement which has existed since the beginning
of Christendom, _viz._, the three parts, Ten Commandments, Creed, and
the Lord's Prayer." (W. 19, 76.) In the ancient Church the original
parts for catechumens and sponsors were the _Symbolum_ and the
_Paternoster,_ the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. To these the
Ten Commandments were added as a formal part of doctrine only since the
thirteenth century. (30, 1, 434.) The usual sequence of these parts was:
Lord's Prayer, Apostles' Creed, and, wherever it was not supplanted by
other matter, the Decalog. It was with deliberation then, that Luther
substituted his own objective, logical order.

In his _Short Form of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's
Prayer,_ 1520 Luther speaks as follows of the three traditional parts,
which God preserved to the Church in spite of the Papacy: "It did not
come to pass without the special providence of God, that, with reference
to the common Christian, who cannot read the Scriptures, it was
commanded to teach and to know the Ten Commandments, Creed, and Lord's
Prayer which three parts indeed thoroughly and completely embrace all
that is contained in the Scripture and may ever be preached, all also
that a Christian needs to know, and this, too, in a form so brief and
simple that no one can complain or offer the excuse that it is too much,
and that it is too hard for him to remember what is essential to his
salvation. For in order to be saved, a man must know three things:
First, he must know what he is to do and leave undone. Secondly, when he
realizes that by his own strength he is unable to do it and leave it
undone, he must know where he may take, seek, and find that which will
enable him to do and to refrain. Thirdly, he must know how he may seek
and obtain it. Even as a sick man needs first of all to know what
disease he has, what he may or may not do, or leave undone. Thereupon he
needs to know where the medicine is which will help him, that he may do
and leave undone like a healthy person. Fourthly, he must desire it,
seek and get it, or have it brought to him. In like manner the
commandments teach a man to know his disease, that he may see and
perceive what he can do and not do, leave and not leave, and thus
perceive that he is a sinner and a wicked man. Thereupon the Creed holds
before his eyes and teaches him where to find the medicine, the grace
which will help him become pious, that he may keep the commandments, and
shows him God and His mercy as revealed and offered in Christ. Fifthly,
the Lord's Prayer teaches him how to ask for, get and obtain it, namely,
by proper, humble, and comforting prayer. These three things comprise
the entire Scriptures." (W. 7, 204.) It was things such as the chief
parts of the Catechism that Luther had in mind when he wrote against the
fanatics, 1528: "We confess that even under the Papacy there are many
Christian blessings aye, all Christian blessings, and thence they have
come to us: the true Holy Scriptures, true Baptism, the true Sacrament
of the Altar, true keys for the forgiveness of sins, the true office of
the ministry, the true catechism, such as the Lord's Prayer, the Ten
Commandments the Articles of Faith, etc." (26, 147.) Luther's meaning
is, that in the midst of antichristendom and despite the Pope, the text
of the three chief parts was, among other things, preserved to the
Church.

85. Service Rendered Catechism by Luther.

The fact that the text of the three chief parts existed long before
Luther does not detract from the service which he rendered the
Catechism. Luther's work, moreover, consisted in this, 1. that he
brought about a general revival of the instruction in the Catechism of
the ancient Church; 2. that he completed it by adding the parts treating
of Baptism, Confession, and the Lord's Supper; 3. that he purged its
material from all manner of papal ballast; 4. that he eliminated the
Romish interpretation and adulteration in the interest of
work-righteousness; 5. that he refilled the ancient forms with their
genuine Evangelical and Scriptural meaning. Before Luther's time the
study of the Catechism had everywhere fallen into decay. There were but
few who knew its text, and when able to recite it, they did not
understand it. The soul of all Christian truths, the Gospel of God's
free pardon for Christ's sake, had departed. Concerning "the three parts
which have remained in Christendom from of old" Luther said that "little
of it had been taught and treated correctly." (CONC. TRIGL. 575, 6.)

In his _Warning to My Dear Germans,_ of 1531, he enlarges on the same
thought as follows; "Thanks to God, our Gospel has produced much and
great good. Formerly no one knew what was Gospel, what Christ, what
Baptism, what Confession, what Sacrament, what faith, what spirit, what
flesh, what good works, what the Ten Commandments, what the Lord's
Prayer, what praying, what suffering, what comfort, what civil
government, what matrimony, what parents, what children, what lords,
what servant, what mistress what maid, what devil, what angel, what
world, what life, what death, what sin, what right, what forgiveness of
sin, what God, what bishop, what pastor, what Church, what a Christian,
what the cross. Sum, we knew nothing of what a Christian should know.
Everything was obscured and suppressed by the papal asses. For in
Christian matters they are asses indeed, aye, great, coarse, unlearned
asses. For I also was one of them and know that in this I am speaking
the truth. And all pious hearts who were captive under the Pope, even as
I, will bear me out that they would fain have known one of these things,
yet were not able nor permitted to know it. We knew no better than that
the priests and monks alone were everything; on their works we based our
hope of salvation and not on Christ. Thanks to God, however, it has now
come to pass that man and woman, young and old, know the Catechism, and
how to believe, live, pray, suffer, and die; and that is indeed a
splendid instruction for consciences, teaching them how to be a
Christian and to know Christ." (W. 30, 3, 317.)

Thus Luther extols it as the great achievement of his day that now every
one knew the Catechism, whereas formerly Christian doctrine was unknown
or at least not understood aright. And this achievement is preeminently
a service which Luther rendered. He revived once more the ancient
catechetical parts of doctrine, placed them in the proper Biblical
light, permeated them with the Evangelical spirit, and explained them in
conformity with the understanding of the Gospel which he had gained
anew, stressing especially the _finis historiae_ (the divine purpose of
the historical facts of Christianity, as recorded in the Second
Article), the forgiveness of sins not by works of our own, but by grace,
for Christ's sake.

86. Catechetical Instruction before Luther.

In the Middle Ages the Lord's Prayer and the Creed were called the chief
parts for sponsors (_Patenhauptstuecke_), since the canons required
sponsors to know them, and at Baptism they were obligated to teach these
parts to their godchildren. The children, then, were to learn the Creed
and the Lord's Prayer from their parents and sponsors. Since the
Carolingian Epoch these regulations of the Church were often repeated,
as, for example, in the _Exhortation to the Christian Laity_ of the
ninth century. From the same century dates the regulation that an
explanation of the Creed and the Lord's Prayer should be found in every
parish, self-evidently to facilitate preaching and the examination in
confession. In confession, which, according to the Lateran Council,
1215, everybody was required to make at least once a year, the priests
were to inquire also regarding this instruction and have the chief parts
recited. Since the middle of the thirteenth century the Creed, the
Lord's Prayer, together with the Benedicite, Gratias, Ave Maria, Psalms,
and other matter, were taught also in the Latin schools, where probably
Luther, too, learned them. In the _Instruction for Visitors,_
Melanchthon still mentions "der Kinder Handbuechlein, darin das
Alphabet, Vaterunser, Glaub' und andere Gebet' innen stehen--Manual for
Children, containing the alphabet, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and
other prayers," as the first schoolbook. (W. 26, 237.) After the
invention of printing, chart-impressions with pictures illustrating the
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments came into the
possession also of some laymen. The poorer classes, however, had to
content themselves with the charts in the churches, which especially
Nicolaus of Cusa endeavored to introduce everywhere. (Herzog's
_Realenzyklopaedie_ 10, 138.) They were followed by confessional
booklets, prayer-booklets, and also by voluminous books of devotion.
Apart from other trash, these contained confessional and communion
prayers instructions on Repentance, Confession, and the Sacrament of
the Altar; above all, however, a mirror of sins, intended as a guide for
self-examination, on the basis of various lists of sins and catalogs of
virtues, which supplanting the Decalog were to be memorized.
Self-evidently, all this was not intended as a schoolmaster to bring
them to Christ and to faith in the free grace of God, but merely to
serve the interest of the Romish penances, satisfactions, and
work-righteousness. Says Luther in the Smalcald Articles: "Here, too,
there was no faith nor Christ, and the virtue of the absolution was not
declared to him, but upon his enumeration of sins and his self-abasement
depended his consolation. What torture, rascality, and idolatry such
confession has produced is more than can be related." (485, 20.) The
chief parts of Christian doctrine but little taught and nowhere
correctly taught,--such was the chief hurt of the Church under the
Papacy.

In the course of time, however, even this deficient and false
instruction gradually fell into decay. The influence of the Latin
schools was not very far-reaching, their number being very small in
proportion to the young. Public schools for the people did not exist in
the Middle Ages. As a matter of fact not a single synod concerned itself
specifically with the instruction of the young. (_H. R._ 10, 137.) At
home, parents and sponsors became increasingly indifferent and
incompetent for teaching. True, the reformers of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries did attempt to elevate the instruction also in the
Catechism. Geiler's sermons on the Lord's Prayer were published. Gerson
admonished: "The reformation of the Church must begin with the young,"
and published sermons on the Decalog as models for the use of the
clergy. John Wolf also urged that the young be instructed, and
endeavored to substitute the Decalog for the prevalent catalogs of sins.
The Humanists John Wimpheling, Erasmus, and John Colet (who wrote the
_Catechyzon,_ which Erasmus rendered into Latin hexameters) urged the
same thing. Peter Tritonius Athesinus wrote a similar book of
instruction for the Latin schools. However, all of these attempts proved
ineffectual, and even if successful, they would have accomplished little
for truly Christian instruction, such as Luther advocated, since the
real essence of Christianity, the doctrine of justification, was unknown
to these reformers.

Thus in the course of time the people, and especially the young, grew
more and more deficient in the knowledge of even the simplest Christian
truths and facts. And bishops and priests, unconcerned about the ancient
canons, stolidly looked on while Christendom was sinking deeper and
deeper into the quagmire of total religious ignorance and indifference.
Without fearing contradiction, Melanchthon declared in his Apology:
"Among the adversaries there is no catechization of the children
whatever, concerning which even the canons give commands. ... Among the
adversaries, in many regions [as in Italy and Spain], during the entire
year no sermons are delivered, except in Lent." (325, 41.)

87. Medieval Books of Prayer and Instruction.

Concerning the aforementioned Catholic books of prayer and edification
which, during the Middle Ages, served the people as catechisms, Luther,
in his Prayer-Booklet of 1522 (which was intended to supplant the Romish
prayer-books), writes as follows: "Among many other harmful doctrines
and booklets which have seduced and deceived Christians and given rise
to countless superstitions, I do not consider as the least the
prayer-booklets, by which so much distress of confessing and enumerating
sins, such unchristian folly in the prayers to God and His saints was
inculcated upon the unlearned, and which, nevertheless, were highly
puffed with indulgences and red titles, and, in addition, bore precious
names, one being called _Hortulus Animae,_ the other _Paradisus Animae,_
and so forth. They are in sore need of a thorough and sound reformation,
or to be eradicated entirely, a sentence which I also pass on the
Passional or Legend books, to which also a great deal has been added by
the devil." (W. 10, 1, 375.)

The _Hortulus Animae,_ which is mentioned even before 1500, was widely
circulated at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It embraced all
forms of edifying literature. Sebastian Brandt and Jacob Wimpheling
helped to compile it. The _Paradisus Animae_ had the same contents, but
was probably spread in Latin only. The _Hortulus Animae_ contains very
complete rosters of sins and catalogs of virtues for "confessing and
enumerating sins." Among the virtues are listed the bodily works of
mercy (Matt. 25, 35) and the seven spiritual works of mercy: to instruct
the ignorant, give counsel to the doubtful, comfort the afflicted,
admonish sinners, pardon adversaries suffer wrong, and forgive the
enemies. Among the virtues were counted the seven gifts of the Holy
Ghost: wisdom, understanding, ability, kindness, counsel, strength, and
fear. Furthermore the three divine virtues: faith, hope and charity. The
four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The
eight beatitudes according to Matt. 5, 3ff. The twelve counsels:
poverty, obedience, chastity, love of enemies, meekness, abundant mercy,
simplicity of words, not too much care for temporal things, correct
purpose and simplicity of deeds, harmony of doctrine and works, fleeing
the cause of sin, brotherly admonition. Finally also the seven
sacraments. The list of sins contains the nine foreign sins, the six
sins against the Holy Ghost, the four sins that cry to God for
vengeance, the five senses the Ten Commandments, and the seven mortal
sins: pride, covetousness, unchastity, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.
Each of these mortal sins is again analyzed extensively. The Weimar
edition of Luther's Works remarks: "If these catalogs were employed for
self-examination, confusion, endless torment, or complete
externalization of the consciousness of sin was bound to result. We can
therefore understand why the Reformer inveighs against this 'enumerating
of sins.'" (10, 2, 336.)

The _Hortulus Animae_ also shows how Luther was obliged to purge the
Catechism from all manner of "unchristian follies," as he calls them.
For the entire book is pervaded by idolatrous adoration of the saints.
An acrostic prayer to Mary addresses her as _mediatrix, auxiliatrix,
reparatrix, illuminatrix, advocatrix._ In English the prayer would read
as follows: "O Mary, thou mediator between God and men, make of thyself
the medium between the righteous God and me, a poor sinner! O Mary, thou
helper in all anguish and need, come to my assistance in all
sufferrings, and help me resist and strive against the evil spirits and
overcome all my temptations and afflictions. O Mary, thou restorer of
lost grace to all men, restore unto me my lost time, my sinful and
wasted life! O Mary, thou illuminator, who didst give birth to the
eternal Light of the whole world, illumine my blindness and ignorance,
lest I, poor sinner that I am, enter the darkness of eternal death. O
Mary, thou advocate of all miserable men, be thou my advocate at my last
end before the stern judgment of God, and obtain for me the grace and
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Christ! Amen." Another prayer calls Mary
the "mighty queen of heaven, the holy empress of the angels, the one who
stays divine wrath." A prayer to the eleven thousand virgins reads as
follows: "O ye, adorned with chastity, crowned with humility, clad with
patience, covered with the blossoms of virtue, well polished with
moderation--O ye precious pearls and chosen virgin maids, help us in the
hour of death!"

With this idolatry and saint-worship silly superstition was combined. In
order to be efficacious, a certain prayer prescribed in the _Hortulus_
must be spoken not only with "true contrition and pure confession," but
also "before a figure which had appeared to St. Gregory." Whoever offers
a certain prayer "before the image of Our Lady in the Sun" "will not
depart this life unshriven, and thirty days before his death will see
the very adorable Virgin Mary prepared to help him." Another prayer is
good "for pestilence" when spoken "before the image of St. Ann;" another
prayer to St. Margaret profits "every woman in travail;" still another
preserves him who says it from "a sudden death." All of these promises
however, are far surpassed by the indulgences assured. The prayer before
the apparition of St. Gregory obtains 24,600 years and 24 days of
indulgence: another promises "indulgence for as many days as our Lord
Jesus Christ received wounds during His passion, _viz._ 5,475." Whoever
prays the Bridget-prayers not only obtains indulgence for himself, but
15 souls of his kin are thereby delivered from purgatory, 15 sinners
converted, and 15 righteous "confirmed and established in their good
standing." (W. 10, 2, 334.)

Also in the chart booklets for the Latin schools of the Middle Ages the
Ave Maria and Salve Regina played an important part.--Such were the
books which, before Luther, were to serve the people as catechisms, or
books of instruction and prayer. In them, everything, even what was
right and good in itself, such as the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the
Decalog, was made to serve Romish superstition and work-righteousness.
Hence one can easily understand why Luther demanded that they be either
thoroughly reformed or eradicated.

Indeed, the dire need of the Church in this respect was felt and
lamented by none sooner and more deeply than Luther. Already in his
tract _To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation,_ 1520, he
complained that Christian instruction of the young was being neglected.
He writes: "Above all, the chief and most common lesson in the higher
and lower schools ought to be the Holy Scriptures and for the young
boys, the Gospel. Would to God every city had also a school for girls,
where the little maids might daily hear the Gospel for an hour, either
in German or in Latin! Truly, in the past the schools and convents for
men and women were founded for this purpose, with very laudable
Christian intention, as we read of St. Agnes and other saints. There
grew up holy virgins and martyrs, and Christendom fared very well. But
now it amounts to nothing more than praying and singing. Ought not,
indeed, every Christian at the age of nine or ten years know the entire
holy Gospel, in which his name and life is written? Does not the spinner
and the seamstress teach the same handicraft to her daughter when she is
still young? But now even the great men, the learned prelates and
bishops, do not know the Gospel. How unjustly do we deal with the poor
youth entrusted to us, failing, as we do, to govern and instruct them!
What a severe reckoning will be required of us because we do not set
before them the Word of God! For unto them is done as Jeremiah says,
Lam. 2, 11. 12: '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.' But we do not see the
wretched misery, how the young people, in the midst of Christendom, now
also languish and perish miserably for lack of the Gospel, in which they
should always be instructed and drilled." (W. 6, 461; E. 21, 349.)

88. Church Visitation Reveals Deplorable Ignorance.

The Saxon Visitation brought to light such a total decay of all
Christian knowledge and of Christian instruction as even Luther had not
anticipated. Aside from other evils (clergymen cohabiting with their
cooks, addicted to drink, or even conducting taverns, etc.), the people,
especially in the villages, were found to be grossly ignorant of even
the simplest rudiments of Christian doctrine and most unwilling to learn
anything, while many pastors were utterly incompetent to teach.
According to the official records, one priest, who enjoyed a great
reputation as an exorcist, could not even recite the Lord's Prayer and
the Creed fluently. (Koestlin, _Martin Luther,_ 2, 41.) Luther took part
in the visitation of the Electoral circuit from the end of October till
after the middle of November, 1528, and again from the end of December,
1528, till January, 1529, and on April 26, 1529, at Torgau, he, too,
signed the report on visitation. When Luther therefore describes the
decay of instruction in Popery, he speaks from personal experience.
About the middle of January, 1529, he wrote to Spalatin: "Moreover,
conditions in the congregations everywhere are pitiable, inasmuch as the
peasants learn nothing, know nothing, never pray, do nothing but abuse
their liberty, make no confession, receive no communion, as if they had
been altogether emancipated from religion. They have neglected their
papistical affairs (ours they despise) to such extent that it is
terrible to contemplate the administration of the papal bishops."
(Enders 7, 45.) The intense heartache and mingled feelings which came
over Luther when he thought of the ignorance which he found during the
visitation, are described in the Preface to the Small Catechism as
follows: "The deplorable miserable condition which I discovered lately
when I, too, was a visitor, has forced and urged me to prepare this
Catechism, or Christian doctrine, in this small, plain, simple form.
Mercy! Good God! what manifold misery I beheld! The common people,
especially in the villages, have no knowledge whatever of Christian
doctrine, and, alas! many pastors are altogether incapable, and
incompetent to teach. Nevertheless, all maintain that they are
Christians, all have been baptized and receive the holy Sacrament. Yet
they cannot recite either the Lord's Prayer, or the Creed, or the Ten
Commandments, they live like dumb brutes and irrational swine; and yet
now that the Gospel has come, they have nicely learned to abuse all
liberty like experts. O ye bishops! what will ye ever answer to Christ
for having so shamefully neglected the people and never for a moment
discharged your office? May all misfortune flee you! You command the
Sacrament in one form and insist on your human laws, and yet at the same
time you do not care in the least whether the people know the Lord's
Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, or any part of the Word of God.
Woe, woe, unto you forever!" (533, 1ff.)

To these experiences made during the visitation, Luther also refers when
he says in the Short Preface to the Large Catechism: "For I well
remember the time, indeed, even now it is a daily occurrence that one
finds rude old persons who knew nothing and still know nothing of these
things, and who, nevertheless, go to Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and
use everything belonging to Christians, notwithstanding that those who
come to the Lord's Supper ought to know more and have a fuller
understanding of all Christian doctrine than children and new scholars."
(575, 5.) In his "Admonition to the Clergy" of 1530, Luther describes
the conditions before the Reformation as follows: "In brief, preaching
and teaching were in a wretched and heart-rending state. Still all the
bishops kept silence and saw nothing new, although they are now able to
see a gnat in the sun. Hence all things were so confused and wild, owing
to the discordant teaching and the strange new opinions, that no one was
any longer able to know what was certain or uncertain, what was a
Christian or an unchristian. The old doctrine of faith in Christ, of
love, of prayer, of cross, of comfort in tribulation was entirely
trodden down. Aye, there was in all the world no doctor who knew the
entire Catechism, that is, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and
the Creed, to say nothing of understanding and teaching it, as now, God
be praised, it is being taught and learned, even by young children. In
support of this statement I appeal to all their books, both of
theologians and jurists. If a single part of the Catechism can be
correctly learned therefrom, I am ready to be broken upon the wheel and
to have my veins opened." (W. 30, 1, 301.)

Melanchthon, Jonas, Brenz, George of Anhalt, Mathesius, and many others
draw a similar picture of the religious conditions prevailing in
Germany, England, and other lands immediately prior to the Reformation.
To be sure, Papists, particularly Jesuits, have disputed the accuracy
and truth of these descriptions from the pen of Luther and his
contemporaries. But arrayed against these Romish apologetes is also the
testimony of Papists themselves. In his _Catholicus Catechismus,_
published at Cologne, 1543, Nausea writes: "I endeavored to renew the
instruction, once well known among all churches, which, however, not
only recently, but long ago (I do not know to whose stupidity,
negligence, or ignorance this was due) was altogether forgotten, not
without lamentable loss to the catholic religion. _Veterem illam
catechesin, per omnes quondam ecclesias percelebrem non modo tum, sed et
ante pridem, nescio quorum vel socordia vel negligentia vel ignorantia,
non sine poenitenda catholicae religionis iactura prorsus in oblivionem
coeptam repetere coepi_." (W. 30, 1, 467.) Moreover, when Romanists
dispute Luther's assertions, they refer to the one point only, that
religious instruction (as conceived by Catholics) had not declined in
the measure claimed by Luther. As to the chief point in Luther's
assertion, however, _viz._, the correct Evangelical explanation of the
Catechism, which, in Luther's opinion, is essential to all truly
Christian instruction, the Catholic Church has always been utterly
devoid of it not only prior to the Reformation, but also after it, and
down to the present day. True, even during the Reformation some Papists
were incited to greater zeal in preaching and teaching. It was a
reaction against the Reformation of Luther, who must be regarded as the
indirect cause also of the formal improvement in the instruction of the
young among the Romanists. To maintain their power, bishops and priests
were compelled to resume and cultivate it. This revival, however, meant
only an intensified instruction in the old work-righteousness, and
therefore was the very opposite of the instruction which Luther desired
and advocated. In the Apology, Melanchthon, after charging the Papists
with totally neglecting the instruction of the young, continues: "A few
among them now also begin to preach of good works. But of the knowledge
of Christ, of faith, of the consolation of consciences they are unable
to preach anything, moreover, this blessed doctrine, the precious holy
Gospel, they call Lutheran." (326, 44.)

89. Luther Devising Measures to Restore Catechism.

Fully realizing the general decay of Christian training, Luther at once
directed all his efforts toward bringing about a change for the better.
And well aware of the fact that the future belongs to the rising
generation, the instruction of the common people, and particularly of
the young, became increasingly an object of his especial concern. If the
Church, said he, is to be helped, if the Gospel is to be victorious, if
the Reformation is to succeed, if Satan and Antichrist are to be dealt a
mortal blow, a blow from which they will not recover, it must be done
through the young. For every cause which is not, or cannot be made, the
cause of the rising generation, is doomed from the very outset. "This is
the total ruin of the Church," said Luther as early as 1516; "for if
ever it is to flourish again, one must begin by instructing the young.
_Haec est enim ecclesiae ruina tota; si enim unquam debet reflorere,
necesse est ut a puerorum institutione exordium fiat._" (W. 1, 494.)
For, apart from being incapable of much improvement, the old people
would soon disappear from the scene. Hence, if Christianity and its
saving truths were to be preserved to the Church, the children must
learn them from earliest youth.

In his Large Catechism Luther gave utterance to these thoughts as
follows: "Let this, then, be said for exhortation, not only for those of
us who are old and grown, but also for the young people, who ought to be
brought up in the Christian doctrine and understanding. For thereby the
Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer might be the more
easily inculcated upon our youth, so that they would receive them with
pleasure and earnestness, and thus would practise them from their youth
and accustom themselves to them. For the old are now well-nigh done for,
so that these and other things cannot be attained, unless we train the
people who are to come after us and succeed us in our office and work,
in order that they also may bring up their children successfully, that
the Word of God and the Christian Church may be preserved. Therefore let
every father of a family know that it is his duty, by the injunction and
command of God, to teach these things to his children, or have them
learn what they ought to know." (773, 85.)

A thorough and lasting revival of the Catechism can be hoped for only
through the young--such were Luther's convictions. Accordingly he
implored and adjured pastors and parents not to refuse their help in
this matter. In the Preface to his Small Catechism we read: "Therefore I
entreat you all for God's sake, my dear sirs and brethren, who are
pastors or preachers, to devote yourselves heartily to your office, to
have pity on the people who are entrusted to you, and to help us
inculcate the Catechism upon the people, especially upon the young."
(533, 6.) And as he earnestly admonished the pastors, so he also
tenderly invited them to be faithful in this work. He was firmly
convinced that nothing except the Gospel, as rediscovered and preached
by himself, was able to save men. How, then, could he remain silent or
abandon this work because of the hatred and ungratefulness of men! It
was this new frame of mind, produced by the Gospel, to which Luther
appealed in the interest of the Catechism. "Therefore look to it, ye
pastors and preachers," says he, concluding the Preface to his Small
Catechism. "Our office is now become a different thing from what it was
under the Pope; it is now become serious and salutary. Accordingly it
now involves much more trouble and labor, danger and trials, and in
addition thereto secures but little reward and gratitude in the world.
But Christ Himself will be our reward if we labor faithfully." (539,
26.)

At the same time Luther also took proper steps toward giving the
preachers frequent opportunity for Catechism-work. Since 1525 Wittenberg
had a regulation prescribing quarterly instruction in the Catechism by
means of special sermons. The _Instruction for Visitors,_ of 1527,
demanded "that the Ten Commandments, the Articles of Faith, and the
Lord's Prayer be steadily preached and expounded on Sunday afternoons.
... And when the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed have
been preached on Sundays in succession, matrimony, and the sacraments of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper shall also be preached diligently. In this
interest the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Articles of
Faith shall be recited word for word, for the sake of the children and
other simple and ignorant folk." (W. 26, 230.) November 29, 1528, in an
admonition to attend these Catechism-sermons, Luther proclaimed from the
pulpit: "We have ordered, as hitherto has been customary with us, that
the first principles and the fundamentals of Christian knowledge and
life be preached four times each year, two weeks in each quarter four
days per week, at 10 A.M." (W. 27, 444; 29, 146.) In Luther's sermon of
November 27, 1530, we read: "It is our custom to preach the Catechism
four times a year. Therefore attend these services, and let the children
and the rest of the household come." (32, 209.) September 10, 1531,
Luther concluded his sermon with the following admonition: "It is the
custom, and the time of the Catechism-sermons is at hand. I admonish you
to give these eight days to your Lord and permit your household and
children to attend, and you yourself may also come and profit by this
instruction. No one knows as much as he ought to know. For I myself am
constrained to drill it every day. You know that we did not have it
under the Papacy. Buy while the market is at the door; some day you will
behold the fruit. We would, indeed, rather escape the burden, but we do
it for your sakes." (34, 2, 195.)

90. Cooperation of Parents Urged by Luther.

In order to bring the instruction of the young into vogue, Luther saw
that church, school, and home must needs cooperate. The home especially
must not fail in this. Accordingly, in his admonitions, he endeavored to
interest the fathers and mothers in this work. He was convinced that
without their vigorous cooperation he could achieve but little. In his
_German Order of Worship,_ 1526, we read: "For if the parents and
guardians of the young are unwilling to take such pains with the young,
either personally or through others, Catechism [catechetical
instruction] will never be established." (W. 19, 76.) In this he was
confirmed by the experiences he had while on his tour of visitation. If
the children were to memorize the Catechism and learn to understand it,
they must be instructed and questioned individually, a task to which the
Church was unequal, and for the accomplishment of which also the small
number of schools was altogether inadequate. Parents, however, were able
to reach the children individually. They had the time and opportunity,
too, morning, noon, and evening, at the table, etc. Furthermore, they
had the greatest interest in this matter, the children being their own
flesh and blood. And they, in the first place, were commanded by God to
provide for the proper training of their children. The fathers and
mothers, therefore, these natural and divinely appointed teachers of the
children, Luther was at great pains to enlist for the urgent work of
instructing the young. They should see that the children and servants
did not only attend the Catechism-sermons in church, but also memorized
the text and learned to understand it. The Christian homes should again
become home-churches, home-schools, where the house-fathers were both
house-priests and house-teachers performing the office of the ministry
there just as the pastors did in the churches.

With ever-increasing energy Luther, therefore, urged the parents to
study the Catechism in order to be able to teach it to their children.
In his sermons on the Ten Commandments, 1516, he admonishes them to
bring up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. "But
alas," he exclaims, "how has not all this been corrupted! Nor is it to
be wondered at, since the parents themselves have not been trained and
educated." In a sermon of 1526: "Here are two doctrines, Law and Gospel.
Of them we preach frequently, but very few there are who take it to
heart. I hear that many are still so ignorant that they do not know the
Ten Commandments nor are able to pray. It plainly shows that they are
altogether careless. Parents ought to see what their children and family
are doing. In the school at home they should learn these three. I hear
that in the city, too, there are wicked people. We cannot enter the
homes; parents, masters, and mistresses ought to be sufficiently skilled
to require their children and servants to say the prayers before
retiring. But they do not know any themselves. What, then, avails it
that we do a great deal of preaching concerning the kingdom of Christ? I
thought conditions had improved. I admonish you master--for it is your
duty--to instruct the servants, the mistress, the maids, and the
children; and it is publicly preached in church for the purpose that it
may be preached at home." (W. 20 485.)

In his sermon of September 14, 1528, Luther declares that the Catechism
is the laymen's Bible, which every one must know who wishes to be
considered a Christian and to be admitted to the Lord's Supper. He then
proceeds: "Hence all children should behave accordingly, and learn. And
you parents are bound to have your children learn these things. Likewise
you lords, take pains that your family, etc. Whoever does not know these
things does not deserve any food. These five points are a brief summary
of the Christian doctrine. When the question is put, 'What is the First
Commandment?' every one should be able to recite: 'Namely this,'" etc.
(W. 30, 1, 27.) Exhorting the people to attend the Catechism-services,
Luther declared November 29, 1528: "Think not, ye housefathers, that you
are freed from the care of your household when you say: 'Oh, if they are
unwilling to go [to Catechism instruction], why should I force them? I
am not in need of it.' You have been appointed their bishop and
house-pastor; beware lest you neglect your duty toward them!" (27, 444.)
On the following day, beginning the sermons he had announced Luther
said: "Therefore I have admonished you adults to have your children and
your servants, attend it [the Catechism-sermon], and also be present
yourselves; otherwise we shall not admit you to Holy Communion. For if
you parents and masters will not help us we shall accomplish little by
our preaching. If I preach an entire year, the household comes, gapes at
the walls and windows of the church, etc. Whoever is a good citizen is
in duty bound to urge his people to learn these things; he should refuse
them food unless, etc. If the servants complain, slam the door on them.
If you have children, accustom them to learn the Ten Commandments, the
Symbol, the Paternoster, etc. If you will diligently urge them, they
will learn much in one year. When they have learned these things, there
are everywhere in the Scriptures fine passages which they may learn
next; if not all, at least some. For this reason God has appointed you a
master, a mistress, that you may urge your household to do this. And
this you are well able to accomplish: that they pray in the morning and
evening, before and after meals. In this way they would be brought up in
the fear of God. I am no idle prattler: I ask you not to cast my words
to the winds. I would not think you so rude if I did not daily hear it.
Every housefather is a priest in his own house, every housemother is a
priestess; therefore see that you help us to perform the office of the
ministry in your homes as we do in church. If you do, we shall have a
propitious God, who will defend us from all evil. In the Psalm [78, 5]
it is written: 'He appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our
fathers, that they should make them known to their children.'" (30, 1,
57.) In the same sermon: "Able teachers are necessary because of the
great need, since parents do not concern themselves about this. But each
master and mistress must remember that they are priests and priestesses
over Hans and Gretchen," their sons and daughters.

In the same way Luther urges this matter in his Catechisms. For here we
read: "Therefore it is the duty of every father of a family to question
and examine his children and servants at least once a week and to
ascertain what they know of it [the Catechism], or are learning, and, if
they do not know it, to keep them faithfully at it." (575, 4.) "Likewise
every head of a household is obliged to do the same with respect to his
domestics, man-servants and maid-servants, and not to keep them in his
house if they do not know these things and are unwilling to learn them.
For a person who is so rude and unruly as to be unwilling to learn these
things is not to be tolerated; for in these three parts everything that
we have in the Scriptures is comprehended in short, plain and simple
terms." (577, 17.) "Therefore let every father of a family know that it
is his duty, by the injunction and command of God, to teach these things
to his children, or have them learn what they ought to know. For since
they are baptized and received into the Christian Church, they should
also enjoy this communion of the Sacrament, in order that they may serve
us and be useful to us; for they must all indeed help us to believe,
love, pray, and fight against the devil." (773, 87.)

In confession and before visitors, housefathers were also to render
account of the manner in which they discharged these duties. In his
sermon of July 11, 1529, Luther said: "You will therefore instruct your
children and servants according to this Catechism.... For you have the
Catechism in small and large books; therefore study it. You had the
visitors, and you have furthermore those who will examine you
housefathers and your household, that they may see how you have
improved.... You should have given money and property for it; yet you
neglect it when it is offered freely; therefore you housefathers ought
to be diligent students of this preaching, that as you learn you may
instruct, _discendo doceatis._" (W. 29, 472; 30, 1, 121.)

91. German Services with German Catechism.

With great emphasis Luther advocated diligent Catechism instruction in
his _Deutsche Messe_ (German Mass, _i.e._, German Service or German
Order of Worship), which he completed toward the end of 1525 and
published in 1526. Luther issued this Service "because German masses and
services are everywhere insisted upon." The demand was made especially
in the interest of the unlearned and the children, for whose benefit,
according to Luther, all such measures were adopted. "For," says he, "we
do not at all establish such orders for those who are already [advanced]
Christians. ... But we are in need of such orders for the sake of those
who are still to become Christians or to grow stronger. Just as a
Christian does not need Baptism, the Word, and Sacrament as a Christian,
since he already has everything, but as a sinner. Chiefly, however, this
is done for the sake of the unlearned and the young people, who should
and must be exercised daily and brought up in the Scriptures, the Word
of God, that they may become accustomed to the Scripture, skilled,
fluent, and at home in it, in order that they may be able to defend
their faith, and in time teach others and help to increase the kingdom
of Christ. For their sake one must read, sing, preach, write, and
compose. And if it would help and promote this aim, I would have all
bells rung, all organs played, and everything that is capable of giving
sound to sound forth. For the Catholic services are so damnable because
they [the Papists] made laws, works, and merits of them, thereby
smothering faith, and did not adapt them to the young and unlearned, to
exercise them in the Scriptures, in the Word of God, but themselves
clung to them [as works], regarding them as beneficial and necessary for
salvation to themselves, that is the devil."

While Luther, in his _German Worship,_ as well as in other places,
favors also Latin masses, yet he demands that "for the sake of the
unlearned laity" German services be introduced. And since the unlearned
could be truly served only by instruction in the fundamental truths of
Christianity, the Catechism, according to Luther, was to constitute a
chief part in these services. "Very well," says he, "in God's name!
First of all a clear, simple plain, good Catechism is needed in the
German service. Catechism, however, is an instruction whereby heathen
who desire to become Christians are taught and instructed in what they
must believe, do, not do, and know concerning Christianity. Pupils who
were accepted for such instruction and learned the faith before being
baptized were therefore called catechumens. Nor do I know how to present
this instruction, or teaching, in a form more simple than it already has
been presented since the beginning of Christianity, and hitherto
retained, to wit, the three parts: the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and
the Lord's Prayer. These three parts contain in simple and brief form
everything that a Christian must know. And since as yet we have no
special congregation (_weil man noch keine sonderliche Gemeinde hat_),
this instruction must proceed in the following manner, by preaching from
the pulpit at various times or daily, as necessity demands, and by
repeating and reading it to the children and servants at home in the
houses morning and evening (if one would make Christians of them). Yet
not only so that they memorize the words or recite them, as was done
hitherto, but by questioning them part for part, and having them state
in their answer what each part means and how they understand it. If all
parts cannot be asked at one time, take one, the next day another. For
if the parents or guardians are unwilling to take such pains with the
young, either personally or through others the Catechism will never be
established." (19, 76.) German Catechism in German services--such, then,
was the slogan which Luther now sounded forth with ever-increasing
emphasis.

92. Luther Illustrating Method of Procedure.

According to Luther's _German Worship,_ pastors were to preach the
Catechism on Mondays and Tuesdays. To insure the desired results
(memorizing and understanding the text), the children should be
questioned, especially at home by the parents. Exemplifying such
catechization, Luther writes: "For so shall they be asked: 'What do you
pray?' Answer: 'The Lord's Prayer,' What do you mean by saying: 'Our
Father who art in heaven?' Answer: 'That God is not an earthly, but a
heavenly Father, who would make us rich and blessed in heaven,' 'What
does "Hallowed be Thy name" mean?' Answer: 'That we should honor God's
name and not use it in vain, lest it be profaned,' 'How, then, is it
profaned and desecrated?' Answer: 'When we who are regarded as His
children lead wicked lives, teach and believe what is wrong,' And so
forth, what God's kingdom means; how it comes; what God's will is, what
daily bread, etc. Likewise also of the Creed: 'What do you believe?'
Answer: 'I believe in God the Father,' etc. Thereupon part for part, as
leisure permits, one or two at a time. Thus: 'What does it mean to
believe in God the Father Almighty?' Answer: 'It means that the heart
trusts Him entirely, and confidently looks to Him for all grace, favor,
help, and comfort, here and hereafter,' 'What does it mean to believe
in Jesus Christ, His Son?' Answer: 'It means that the heart believes we
should all be lost eternally if Christ had not died for us,' etc. In
like manner one must also question on the Ten Commandments, what the
first, the second, the third and other commandments mean. Such questions
you may take from our Prayer-Booklet, where the three parts are briefly
explained, or you may formulate others yourself, until they comprehend
with their hearts the entire sum of Christian knowledge in two parts, as
in two sacks, which are faith and love. Let faith's sack have two
pockets; into the one pocket put the part according to which we believe
that we are altogether corrupted by Adam's sin, are sinners and
condemned, Rom. 5, 12 and Ps. 51, 7. Into the other pocket put the part
telling us that by Jesus Christ we have all been redeemed from such
corrupt, sinful, condemned condition, Rom. 5, 18 and John 3, 16. Let
love's sack also have two pockets. Into the one put this part, that we
should serve, and do good to, every one, even as Christ did unto us,
Rom. 13. Into the other put the part that we should gladly suffer and
endure all manner of evil." (19, 76.)

In like manner passages of Scripture were also to be made the child's
property, as it were; for it was not Luther's idea that instruction
should cease at the lowest indispensably necessary goal (the
understanding of the text of the chief parts). In his _German Order of
Worship_ he goes on to say: "When the child begins to comprehend this
[the text of the Catechism], accustom it to carry home passages of
Scripture from the sermons and to recite them to the parents at the
table, at meal-time, as it was formerly customary to recite Latin, and
thereupon to store the passages into the sacks and pockets, as one puts
_pfennige,_ and _groschen,_ or _gulden_ into his pocket. Let the sack of
faith be, as it were, the gulden sack. Into the first pocket let this
passage be put, Rom. 5: 'By one man's disobedience many were made
sinners': and Ps. 51: 'Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did
my mother conceive me,' Those are two Rheinish gulden in the pocket. The
other pocket is for the Hungarian gulden, such as this passage, Rom. 5:
'Christ was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our
justification:' again, John 1: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world,' That would be two good Hungarian gulden in
the pocket. Let love's sack be the silver sack. Into the first pocket
belong the passages of well-doing, such as Gal. 5: 'By love serve one
another'; Matt. 25: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.' That would be two silver
groschen in the pocket. Into the other pocket this passage belongs,
Matt. 5: 'Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you for My sake;' Heb.
12: 'For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth: He scourgeth every son whom
He receiveth.' Those are two Schreckenbergers [a coin made of silver
mined from Schreckenberg] in the pocket." (19, 77f.)

Believing that understanding, not mere mechanical memorizing, of the
Catechism is of paramount import, Luther insisted that the instruction
must be popular throughout. Preachers and fathers are urged to come down
to the level of the children and to prattle with them, in order to bring
the Christian fundamentals home even to the weakest and simplest. In his
_German Mass_ Luther concludes the chapter on instruction as follows:
"And let no one consider himself too wise and despise such child's play.
When Christ desired to train men He had to become a man. If we are to
train children, we also must become children with them. Would to God
that such child's play were carried on well; then we should in a short
time see a great wealth of Christian people, and souls growing rich in
the Scriptures and the knowledge of God until they themselves would give
more heed to these pockets as _locos communes_ and comprehend in them
the entire Scriptures; otherwise they come daily to hear the preaching
and leave again as they came. For they believe that the object is merely
to spend the time in hearing, no one intending to learn or retain
anything. Thus many a man will hear preaching for three, four years and
still not learn enough to be able to give account of his faith in one
particular, as I indeed experience every day. Enough has been written in
books. True, but not all of it has been impressed on the hearts." (19,
78.)

93. Value Placed on Memorizing.

Modern pedagogs have contended that Luther's method of teaching the
Catechism unduly multiplies the material to be memorized, and does not
sufficiently stress the understanding. Both charges, however, are
without any foundation. As to the first, it is true that Luther did not
put a low estimate on the memorizing of the Catechism. In the Large
Catechism he says: "Therefore we must have the young learn the parts
which belong to the Catechism or instruction for children well, and
fluently and diligently exercise themselves in them and keep them
occupied with them. Hence it is the duty of every father of a family to
question and examine his children and servants at least once a week, and
to ascertain what they know of it, or are learning, and, if they do not
know it, to keep them faithfully at it." (575, 3f.) Again: "These are
the most necessary parts which one should first learn to repeat word for
word, and which our children should be accustomed to recite daily when
they arise in the morning, when they sit down to their meals, and when
they retire at night; and until they repeat them, they should be given
neither food nor drink." (577, 15.)

According to the Preface to the Small Catechism, the teacher is to abide
with rigid exactness by the text which he has once chosen and have the
children learn it verbatim. "In the first place," says Luther, "let the
preacher above all be careful to avoid many kinds of or various texts
and forms of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the
Sacraments, etc., but choose one form to which he adheres, and which he
inculcates all the time, year after year. For young and simple people
must be taught by uniform, settled texts and forms, otherwise they
easily become confused when the teacher to-day teaches them thus, and in
a year some other way, as if he wished to make improvements, and thus
all effort and labor will be lost. Also our blessed fathers understood
this well; for they all used the same form of the Lord's Prayer, the
Creed, and the Ten Commandments. Therefore we, too, should teach the
young and simple people these parts in such a way as not to change a
syllable, or set them forth and repeat them one year differently than in
another. Hence, choose whatever form you please, and adhere to it
forever. But when you preach in the presence of learned and intelligent
men, you may exhibit your skill and may present these parts in as varied
and intricate ways and give them as masterly turns as you are able. But
with the young people stick to one fixed, permanent form and manner, and
teach them, first of all, these parts, namely, the Ten Commandments, the
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, etc., according to the text, word for word, so
that they, too, can repeat it in the same manner after you and commit it
to memory." (533, 7ff.) Thus Luther indeed placed a high value on exact
memorizing of the Catechism.

As to the quantity of memorizing, however, Luther did not demand more
than even the least gifted were well able to render. He was satisfied if
they knew, as a minimum, the text of the first three chief parts and the
words of institution of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. (579, 22. 25.)
That was certainly not overburdening even a weak memory. Luther was
right when he declared in his _Short Form of the Ten Commandments,_ of
1520: In the three chief parts everything "is summed up with such
brevity and simplicity that no one can complain or offer the excuse that
it is too much or too hard for him to remember what he must know for his
salvation." (W. 7, 204.)

Self-evidently, it was not Luther's opinion that instruction or
memorizing should end here. In the Preface to the Small Catechism he
says: "In the third place, after you have thus taught them this Short
Catechism, then take up the Large Catechism, and give them also a richer
and fuller knowledge. Here explain at length every commandment,
petition, and part with its various works, uses, benefits, dangers, and
injuries as you find these abundantly stated in many books written about
these matters." (535, 17.) Then, as Luther often repeats, Bible-verses,
hymns, and Psalms were also to be memorized and explained. Nor did he
exclude the explanation of the Small Catechism from the material for
memorizing. For this very reason he had written the Small Catechism in
questions and answers, because he wished to have it learned, questioned,
and recited from memory. "However," says Luther in the Large Catechism
"for the common people we are satisfied with the three parts, which have
remained in Christendom from of old." (575, 5.) As far, then, as the
material for memorizing is concerned, Luther certainly did not demand
more than even the least gifted were well able to render.

94. Memorizing to Serve Understanding.

The second charge, that Luther attached no special importance to the
understanding of what was memorized, is still more unfounded. The fact
is that everywhere he was satisfied with nothing less than correct
understanding. Luther was a man of thought, not of mere sacred formulas
and words. To him instruction did not mean mere mechanical memorizing,
but conscious, personal, enduring, and applicable spiritual
appropriation. Says he: "However, it is not enough for them to
comprehend and recite these parts according to the words only, but the
young people should also be made to attend the preaching, especially
during the time which is devoted to the Catechism, that they may hear it
explained, and may learn to understand what every part contains, so as
to be able to recite it as they have heard it, and, when asked, may give
a correct answer, so that the preaching may not be without profit and
fruit." (579, 26.) In the Preface to the Small Catechism, Luther
instructs the preachers: "After they [the children] have well learned
the text then teach them the sense also, so that they know what it
means." (535, 14.) Correct understanding was everything to Luther.
Sermons in the churches and catechizations at home were all to serve
this purpose.

In the same interest, _viz._, to enrich the brief text of the Catechism
and, as it were, quicken it with concrete perceptions, Luther urged the
use of Bible-stories as illustrations. For the same reason he added
pictures to both of his Catechisms. His _Prayer-Booklet_ contained as
its most important part the text and explanation of the Catechism and,
in addition, the passional booklet, a sort of Bible History. To this
Luther remarks: "I considered it wise to add the ancient passional
booklet [augmented by Luther] to the Prayer-Booklet, chiefly for the
sake of the children and the unlearned, who are more apt to remember the
divine histories if pictures and parables are added, than by mere words
and teaching, as St. Mark testifies, that for the sake of the simple
Christ, too, preached to them only in parables." (W. 10, 2, 458.)
Indeed, Luther left no stone unturned to have his instruction
understood. On words and formulas, merely memorized, but not
appropriated intellectually, he placed but little value.

Memorizing, too, was regarded by Luther not as an end in itself, but as
a means to an end. It was to serve the explanation and understanding.
And its importance in this respect was realized by Luther much more
clearly than by his modern critics. For when the text is safely
embedded, as it were, in the memory, its explanation is facilitated, and
the process of mental assimilation may proceed all the more readily. In
this point, too, the strictures of modern pedagogs on Luther's Catechism
are therefore unwarranted. Where Luther's instructions are followed, the
memory is not overtaxed, and the understanding not neglected.

The instruction advocated by Luther differed fundamentally from the
mechanical methods of the Middle Ages. He insisted on a thorough mental
elaboration, by means of sermons, explanations, questions and answers,
of the material memorized, in order to elevate it to the plane of
knowledge. With Luther we meet the questions: "What does this mean? What
does this signify? Where is this written? What does it profit?" He
engages the intellect. The _Table of Christian Life_ of the Middle Ages,
which "all good Christians are in duty bound to have in their houses,
for themselves, their children, and household," is regarded by Cohrs as
a sort of forerunner of Luther's Small Catechism. "At the same time,
however," Cohrs adds, "it clearly shows the difference between the
demands made by the Church of the Middle Ages and the requirements of
the Evangelical Church; yonder, numerous parts without any word of
explanation, sacred formulas, which many prayed without an inkling of
the meaning; here, the five chief parts, in which the emphasis is put on
'What does this mean?'" (Herzog, _R._ 10, 138.)

It was due to the neglect of Christian teaching that Christendom had
fallen into decay. Force on the part of the popes and priests and blind
submission on the part of the people had supplanted instruction and
conviction from the Word of God. Hence the cure of the Church, first of
all, called for an instructor in Christian fundamentals. And just such a
catechist Luther was, who made it his business to teach and convince the
people from the Bible. Indeed, in his entire work as a Reformer, Luther
consistently appealed to the intellect, as was strikingly demonstrated
in the turmoil which Carlstadt brought about at Wittenberg. Instruction
was the secret, was the method, of Luther's Reformation. In the Preface
to the Small Catechism he says that one cannot and must not force any
one to believe nor drive any one to partake of the Sacrament by laws,
lest it be turned into poison, that is to say, lest the very object of
the Gospel, which is spontaneous action flowing from conviction, be
defeated. (539, 24; 535, 13.)

95. Manuals Preceding Luther's Catechism.

When Luther, in his _German Order of Worship,_ sounded the slogan:
German services with German instruction in Christian fundamentals! he
did not lose sight of the fact that this required certain helps for both
parents and preachers. A book was needed that would contain not only the
text to be memorized, but also necessary explanations. Accordingly, in
his _German Order of Worship,_ Luther referred to his _Prayer-Booklet_
as a help for instruction. However, the _Brief Form of the Ten
Commandments,_ etc., incorporated in the _Prayer-Booklet,_ was not
adapted for children and parents, as it was not drawn up in questions
and answers. To the experienced teacher it furnished material in
abundance, but children and parents had need of a simpler book.
Hardeland says: "It is certain that Luther in 1526 already conceived the
ideal catechism to be a brief summary of the most important knowledge
[in questions and answers], adapted for memorizing and still
sufficiently extensive to make a thorough explanation possible, at once
confessional in its tone, and fitted for use in divine service."
(_Katechismusgedanken_ 2.) But if Luther in 1526 had conceived this
idea, it was not carried out until three years later.

However, what Luther said on teaching the Catechism by questions and
answers, in the _German Order of Worship,_ was reprinted repeatedly
(probably for the first time at Nuernberg) under the title: "Doctor
Martin Luther's instruction how to bring the children to God's Word and
service, which parents and guardians are in duty bound to do, 1527."
This appeal of Luther also called forth quite a number of other
explanations of the Catechism. Among the attempts which appeared before
Luther's Catechisms were writings of Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, Eustasius
Kannel, John Agricola, Val. Ickelsamer, Hans Gerhart, John Toltz, John
Bader, Petrus Schultz, Caspar Graeter, Andr. Althamer, Wenz. Link, Conr.
Sam, John Brenz, O. Braunfels, Chr. Hegendorfer, Caspar Loener, W.
Capito, John Oecolampad, John Zwick, and others. The work of Althamer,
the Humanist and so-called Reformer of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the
first to bear the title "Catechism." As yet it has not been ascertained
whether, or not, Luther was acquainted with these writings. Cohrs says:
"Probably Luther followed this literature with interest, and possibly
consulted some of it; the relationship is nowhere close enough to
exclude chance; still the frequent allusions must not be overlooked; as
yet it cannot be simply denied that Luther was influenced by these
writings." On the other hand, it has been shown what an enormous
influence Luther exercised on that literature, especially by his _Brief
Form_ and his _Prayer-Booklet._ "In fact," says Cohrs, "Luther's
writings can be adduced as the source of almost every sentence in most
of these books of instruction." (W. 30, 1, 474.) Evidently, Luther's
appeal of 1526 had not fallen on deaf ears.

96. Luther's Catechetical Publications.

Luther not only stirred up others to bring the Catechism back into use,
but himself put his powerful shoulder to the wheel. From the very
beginning he was, time and again, occupied with reading the text of the
Catechism to the people, and then explaining it in sermons. From the end
of June, 1516, to Easter, 1517, he preached on the Ten Commandments and
the Lord's Prayer. (W. 1, 394; 2, 74; 9, 122.) In 1518 the explanation
of the Ten Commandments appeared in print: "_Decem Praecepta
Wittenbergensi Praedicata Populo._ The Ten Commandments Preached to the
People of Wittenberg." (1, 398. 521.) Oecolampadius praised the work,
saying that Luther had here "taken the veil from the face of Moses."
Sebastian Muenster said: Luther explains the Ten Commandments "in such a
spiritual, Christian, and Evangelical way, that its like cannot be
found, though many teachers have written on the subject." (1, 394.)
Agricola published Luther's sermons on the Lord's Prayer at the
beginning of 1518 with some additions of his own, which fact induced
Luther to publish them himself. April 5, 1519, his _Explanation of the
Lord's Prayer in German_ appeared in print. It was intended for the
plain people, "not for the learned." (2, 81 to 130.) July 2, 1519, the
Humanist Beatus Rhenanus wrote to Zwingli that he would like to see this
explanation of the Lord's Prayer offered for sale throughout all
Switzerland, in all cities, markets, villages, and houses. Mathesius
reports: "At Venice Doctor Martin's Lord's Prayer was translated into
Italian, his name being omitted. And when the man saw it from whom the
permission to print it was obtained, he exclaimed: Blessed are the hands
that wrote this, blessed the eyes that see it, and blessed will be the
hearts that believe this book and cry to God in such a manner." (W. 2,
75.) This work passed through many editions. In 1520 it appeared in
Latin and Bohemian, and as late as 1844 in English. March 13, 1519,
Luther wrote to Spalatin: "I am not able to turn the Lord's Prayer
[Explanation of the Lord's Prayer in German of 1518] into Latin, being
busy with so many works. Every day at evening I pronounce the
commandments and the Lord's Prayer for the children and the unlearned,
then I preach." (Enders 1, 449.) Thus Luther preached the Catechism,
and at the same time was engaged in publishing it.

The _Brief Instruction How to Confess,_ printed 1519, was also
essentially an explanation of the Ten Commandments. It is an extract
from Luther's Latin work, _Instructio pro Confessione Peccatorum,_
published by Spalatin. Luther recast this work and published it in
March, 1520, entitled: _Confitendi Ratio._ (W. 2, 59. 65.) As a late
fruit of his _Explanation of the Lord's Prayer in German_ there
appeared, in 1519, the _Brief Form for Understanding and Praying the
Lord's Prayer_ which explains it in prayers. (6, 11-19.) In 1519 there
appeared also his _Short and Good Explanation Before Oneself and Behind
Oneself_ ("vor sich und hinter sich") a concise explanation how the
seven petitions must be understood before oneself ("vor sich"), _i.e._,
being ever referred to God, while many, thinking only of themselves, put
and understand them behind themselves ("hinter sich"). (6, 21. 22.)
June, 1520, it was followed by the _Brief Form of the Ten Commandments,
the Creed, the Lord's Prayer,_ a combination of the revised _Brief
Explanation of the Ten Commandments,_ of 1518, and the _Brief Form for
Understanding the Lord's Prayer,_ of 1519, with a newly written
explanation of the Creed. With few changes Luther embodied it in his
_Prayer-Booklet,_ which appeared for the first time in 1522. Here he
calls it a "simple Christian form and mirror to know one's sins, and to
pray." The best evidence of the enthusiastic reception of the
_Prayer-Booklet_ are the early editions which followed hard upon each
other, and the numerous reprints during the first years. (10, 2,
350-409.) In 1525 Luther's sermons on Baptism, Confession, and the
Lord's Supper were also received into the _Prayer-Booklet,_ and in 1529
the entire Small Catechism.

After his return from the Wartburg, Luther resumed his Catechism labors
with increased energy. March 27 Albert Burer wrote to Beatus Rhenanus:
"Luther intends to nourish the weak, whom Carlstadt and Gabriel aroused
by their vehement preaching, with milk alone until they grow strong. He
daily preaches the Ten Commandments." At Wittenberg special attention
was given to the instruction of the young, and regular Catechism-sermons
were instituted. In the spring of 1521 Agricola was appointed catechist
of the City Church, to instruct the young in religion. Lent 1522 and
1523, Luther also delivered Catechism-sermons, Latin copies of which
have been preserved. In the same year Bugenhagen was appointed City
Pastor, part of his duties being to deliver sermons on the Catechism,
some of which have also been preserved.

Maundy Thursday, 1523, Luther announced that instead of the Romish
confession, abolished during the Wittenberg disturbances, communicants
were to announce for communion to the pastor and submit to an
examination in the Catechism. As appears from Luther's _Formula Missae_
of this year, the pastor was to convince himself whether they were able
to recite and explain the words of institution by questioning them on
what the Lord's Supper is, what it profits, and for what purpose they
desired to partake of it. (12, 215. 479.) To enable the people to
prepare for such examination, Luther (or Bugenhagen, at the instance of
Luther) published a few short questions on the Lord's Supper, culled
from one of Luther's sermons. This examination became a permanent
institution at Wittenberg. In a sermon on the Sacrament of 1526, Luther
says: "Confession, though it serve no other purpose, is a suitable means
of instructing the people and of ascertaining what they believe, how
they learn to pray, etc., for else they live like brutes. Therefore I
have said that the Sacrament shall be given to no one except he be able
to give an account of what he receives [in the Sacrament] and why he is
going. This can best be done in confession." (19, 520.)

Furthermore, on Sundays, after the sermon, the Catechism was read to the
people, a custom which likewise became a fixture in Wittenberg.
According to a small pamphlet of 1526, entitled, "What Shall be Read to
the Common People after the Sermon?" it was the text of the five chief
parts that was read. (Herz., _R._ 10, 132.) These parts came into the
hands of the people by means of the _Booklet for Laymen and Children,_
of 1525, written probably by Bugenhagen. He also reorganized the
Wittenberg school which the fanatics had dissolved; and, self-evidently,
there, too, Catechism instruction was not lacking. In a similar way
religious instruction of the young was begun at other places, as
appears, for example, from the _Opinions on Reformation_ by Nicolaus
Hausmann (Zwickau), of 1523 and 1525. Melanchthon's _Instructions for
Visitors_ (Articuli de quibus egerunt per visitatores), drawn up in
1527, and used in the visitation of 1528 and 1529 as the guide by which
pastors were examined, and pointing out what they should be charged to
do, provide, above all, for Catechism-preaching on every Sunday, and
give instructions for such sermons. (_C. R._ 26, 9. 48.)

Thus Luther's strenuous efforts at establishing the Catechism were
crowned with success. In the Apology of 1530 Melanchthon declares
triumphantly: "Among the opponents there is no Catechism, although the
canons require it. Among us the canons are observed, for pastors and
ministers instruct the children and the young in God's Word, publicly
and privately." (526, 41.)

97. Immediate Forerunners of Luther's Catechisms.

Luther's entire pastoral activity was essentially of a catechetical
nature and naturally issued in his two Catechisms, which, more than any
other of his books, are the result of his labor in the congregation.
Three writings, however, must be regarded as their direct precursors,
_viz._, the _Short Form of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the
Lord's Prayer,_ of 1520, the _Booklet for Laymen and Children,_ of 1525,
and the three series of Catechism-sermons of 1528, delivered in
Bugenhagen's absence. True, they are not yet real catechisms, but they
paved the way for them. The _Short Form_ is a summary and explanation of
the three traditional chief parts. In the preface to this work, Luther
expresses himself for the first time on the value and the coherence of
these parts, which he considered to be the real kernel of the Catechism.
In the _Short Form_ he also abandoned the traditional division of the
Creed into twelve parts, choosing, instead, the threefold division of
the later Small Catechism. In 1522 he embodied the _Short Form_ into his
_Prayer-Booklet,_ in consequence of which it was given extended
circulation. It has been called Luther's first catechism, and Luther
himself regarded it so for in his _German Order of Worship_ he
recommends its use for catechetical instruction. In it are summed up
Luther's catechetical efforts since 1516.

The _Booklet for Laymen and Children_ appeared at Wittenberg in 1525, at
first in Low German (_Ein Boekeschen vor de leyen unde Kinder_), but
done into High German in the same year. Though Bugenhagen is probably
its author, no doubt, the book was written at the suggestion and under
the influence of Luther, parts of whose earlier explanations it
contains, and who also since 1526, made use of it in his public
services. Besides the three traditional parts, it offered for the first
time also those on Baptism (without the baptismal command) and on the
Lord's Supper. The wording of the text was practically the same as that
of Luther's Enchiridion. Several prayers, later found in Luther's
Enchiridion, were also added. Hence the _Booklet for Laymen and
Children_ is properly considered a forerunner of Luther's Catechisms.

The three series of Catechism-sermons of 1528 must be considered the
last preparatory work and immediate source of the explanation of the
Catechisms. Luther delivered the first series May 18 to 30; the second,
from September 14 to 25; the third, from November 30 to December 19.
Each series treats the same five chief parts. We have these sermons in a
transcript which Roerer made from a copy (_Nachschrift_); the third
series also in a copy by a South German. In his _Origin of the
Catechism,_ Buchwald has shown how Luther's Large Catechism grew out of
these sermons of 1528. In his opinion, Luther, while engaged on the
Large Catechism, "had those three series of sermons before him either in
his own manuscript or in the form of a copy (_Nachschrift_)." This
explains the extensive agreement of both, apparent everywhere.

Luther himself hints at this relation; for said sermons must have been
before him when he began the Large Catechism with the words: "This
sermon is designed and undertaken that it might be an instruction for
children and the simple-minded." (575, 1.) This was also Roerer's view,
for he calls the Large Catechism "Catechism preached by D. M.," a title
found also in the second copy (_Nachschrift_) of the third series:
_Catechism Preached by Doctor Martin Luther._ In the conclusion of the
first edition of the Large Catechism, Luther seems to have made use also
of his sermon on Palm Sunday, 1529, and others, and in the _Short
Exhortation to Confession,_ which was appended to the second edition, of
the sermon of Maundy Thursday, 1529, and others. Some historians,
however, have expressed the opinion that the relationship might here be
reversed. The substance of the sermon-series is essentially that also of
the Large Catechism. In form the Catechism differs from the sermons by
summing up in each case what is contained in the corresponding three
sermons and by giving in German what the copies of the sermons offer in
a mixture of Latin and German (principally Latin, especially in the
first series).

Following is a sample of the German-Latin form in which Roerer preserved
these sermons: "Zaehlet mir her illos, qui reliquerunt multas divitias,
wie reiche Kinder sie gehabt haben; du wirst finden, dass ihr Gut
zerstoben und zerflogen ist, antequam 3. et 4. generatio venit, so ist's
dahin. Die Exempel gelten in allen Historien. Saul 1. fuit bonus etc. Er
musste ausgerottet werden, ne quidem uno puello superstite, quia es
musste wahr bleiben, quod Deus hic dicit. Sed das betreugt uns, dass er
ein Jahr oder 20 regiert hat, et fuit potens rex, das verdreusst uns ut
credamus non esse verum. Sed verba Dei non mentiuntur, et exempla
ostendunt etc. Econtra qui Verbo Dei fidunt, die muessen genug haben
etc., ut David, qui erat vergeucht [verjagt] und verscheucht ut avicula;
tamen mansit rex. Econtra Saul. Sic fit cum omnibus piis. Ideo nota bene
1. praeceptum, i.e., debes ex tota corde fidere Deo et praeterea nulli
aliae rei, sive sit potestas etc., ut illis omnibus utaris, ut sutor
subula etc., qui tantum laborat cum istis suis instrumentis. Sic utere
bonis et donis; sie sollen dein Abgott nicht sein, sed Deus." (30, 1,
29.) The three series of sermons of 1528, therefore, were to the
explanation of Luther's Catechisms what the _Booklet for Laymen_ was to
the text.

98. Catechism of Bohemian Brethren.

The assertion has been made that Luther, in his Small Catechism,
followed the Children's Questions of the Bohemian Brethren which at that
time had been in use for about sixty years. This catechism, which was
not clear in its teaching on the Lord's Supper, came to the notice of
Luther 1520 in Bohemian or Latin, and 1523 in German and Bohemian. In
his treatise, _Concerning the Adoration of the Sacrament of the Holy
Body of Christ,_ 1523, Luther remarks: "A book has been circulated by
your people [the Bohemian Brethren] in German and Bohemian which aims to
give Christian instruction to the young. Among other things the
statement is made that [the presence of] Christ in the Sacrament is not
a personal and natural one, and that He must not be adored there, which
disquiets us Germans very much. For without doubt it is known to you
how, through the delegates you sent to me, I requested you to make this
particular article clear in a separate booklet. For by word of mouth I
heard them confess that you hold unanimously that Christ is truly in the
Sacrament with His flesh and blood as it was born of Mary and hung on
the cross, as we Germans believe. That booklet has now been sent to me
by Mr. Luca in Latin. Still, in this article it has not yet been made as
pure and clear as I should like to have seen it. Hence I did not have it
translated into German nor printed as I promised, fearing I might not
render the obscure words correctly, and thus fail to give your meaning
correctly. For it may be regarded as a piece of good luck if one has hit
upon an exact translation, even if the passage is very clear and
certain, as I daily experience in the translations I am making. Now,
that this matter may come to an end, and that the offense of the German
booklet which you have published may be removed, I shall present to you
and everybody, as plainly and as clearly as I am able to do, this
article as we Germans believe it, and as one ought to believe according
to the Gospel. There you may see whether I have stated correctly what
you believe or how much we differ from one another. Perhaps my German
language will be clearer to you than your German and Latin is to me."
(11, 431.) Luther, then, was familiar with the catechism of the
Bohemians, which contained, besides the chief parts of the ancient
Church, also the doctrine of the Sacraments. This, therefore, may have
suggested to him the idea of publishing a small book for children with
questions and answers, which would also contain the parts of Baptism and
the Lord's Supper. Such at least is the opinion of Cohrs, Kolde,
Koestlin, Kawerau, and Albrecht. (W. 30, 1, 466.) But we have no sure
knowledge of this. At any rate, it is not likely that it was the book of
the Bohemian Brethren which prompted Luther to embody the Sacraments in
his Catechism. The further assertion of Ehrenfeuchter, Moenckeberg, _et
al._ that Luther in his Table of Duties followed the Bohemian Brethren,
is incorrect, since the Table of Duties appeared much later in their
catechism.


IX. The Small and the Large Catechism of Luther.

99. Luther Beginning Work on Catechisms.

Luther first mentioned the plan of publishing a catechism in a letter of
February 2, 1525, to Nicolaus Hausmann. He informs him: "Jonas and
Eisleben [Agricola] have been instructed to prepare a catechism for
children. I am devoting myself to the Postil [last part of the Winter
Postil] and to Deuteronomy, where I have sufficient work for the
present." (Enders, 5, 115.) In a letter of March 26, 1525, also to
Hausmann, Luther repeats: "The Catechism, as I have written before, has
been given to its authors, _ist seinen Verfassern aufgetragen worden._"
(144.) However, when Jonas and Agricola (who soon moved from Wittenberg
to Eisleben) failed, Luther resolved to undertake the work himself,
which, according to his letter of February 2, he had declined merely for
the reason that he was already sufficiently burdened. The execution of
his plan, however, was deferred. September 27, 1525, he wrote to
Hausmann: "I am postponing the Catechism, as I would like to finish
everything at one time in one work." (246.) The same letter shows what
Luther meant. For here he speaks of the reformation of the parishes and
of the introduction of uniform ceremonies. Evidently, then, he at that
time desired to publish the Catechism together with a visitation tract,
such as Melanchthon wrote in 1527. Besides, his _Prayer-Booklet,_
containing the "Brief Form," as well as the _Booklet for Laymen and
Children,_ offered a temporary substitute for the contemplated
Catechism. The deplorable conditions, however, which the Saxon
visitation brought to light would not permit him to tarry any longer.
"The deplorable, miserable condition," says Luther in the Preface to his
Small Catechism, "which I discovered lately when I, too, was a visitor,
has forced and urged me to prepare this Catechism, or Christian
doctrine, in this small, plain, simple form." (535, 1.) Thus the Small
Catechism sprang, as it were, directly from the compassion Luther felt
for the churches on account of the sad state of destitution to which
they had been brought, and which he felt so keenly during the
visitation. However, Luther's statements in the _German Order of
Worship_ concerning the catechetical procedure in question and answer
quoted above show that the thought of such a Catechism did not first
occur to him at this time. Still it was the visitation that added the
decisive impulse to put the idea into immediate execution. Besides, it
was a time in which Luther was entirely engrossed in the Catechism,
having preached in 1528 on the five chief parts no less than three
times. Thus the harvest was at hand. In January, 1529, according to his
own letters, Luther was engaged in this work, having probably begun
about the close of 1528. He was able to make rapid progress, since ample
material was at his command.

The old moot question which of the two Catechisms appeared first was
decided when Buchwald discovered the Stephan Roth letters, which show
that the Small Catechism appeared in chart form in January and March,
1529, while the first Wittenberg book edition appeared in May, after the
Large Catechism had meanwhile come off the press in April. From the fact
that Luther simply called his Large Catechism "German Catechism" one may
infer that he began work on this first, and that, when writing the
title, he had not yet begun the Small Catechism nor planned it
definitely; but not, that Luther completed the Large Catechism first. On
the other hand, from the title "Small Catechism" one can only infer that
Luther, when he wrote thus, had already begun to write, and was working
on, the Large Catechism, but not, that the Small Catechism appeared
later than the large. Albrecht: "One may certainly speak of a small book
before the appearance of a large book of similar kind, if the latter has
been definitely planned, worked out at the same time, and is almost
completed." (W. 30, 1, 569.)

100. Tables Published First.

January 15, 1529, Luther wrote to Martin Goerlitz: "_Modo in parando
catechismo pro rudibus paganis versor._ I am now busy preparing the
Catechism for the ignorant heathen" (not "peasants," for in his _German
Order of Worship,_ Luther says: "Catechism is an instruction by means of
which heathen who desire to become Christians are taught"). It was
formerly asserted that the expression "_pro rudibus paganis_" showed
that Luther here meant the Small Catechism. Appealing to the statement
in the Preface to the Large Catechism: "This sermon is designed and
undertaken that it might be an instruction for children and the
simple-minded," Koellner was the first one to assert that Luther's
phrase of January 15 referred to the Large Catechism. In this he was
followed by Cohrs, Enders, and others. (Enders, 7, 44.) However,
according to the usage of the word catechism described above, the
statement quoted does not preclude that Luther, when writing thus, was
engaged on both Catechisms. And such indeed was the case. For on January
20, 1529, Roerer, the Wittenberg proofreader, wrote to Roth: "Nothing
new has appeared. I believe that the Catechism as preached by D. M. for
the unlettered and simple will be published for the coming Frankfurt
mass. Yet, while writing this, I glance at the wall of my dwelling, and
fixed to the wall I behold tables embracing in shortest and simplest
form Luther's Catechism for children and the household, and forthwith I
send them to you as a sample, so that by the same messenger they may be
brought to you immediately. _Iam novi nihil in lucem prodiit; ad
nundinas credo Francofurdenses futuras Catechismus per D. M. praedicatus
pro rudibus et simplicibus edetur. Hoc vero scribens inspicio parietem
aestuarioli mei, affixas parieti video tabulas complecententes
brevissime simul et crasse catechismum Lutheri pro pueris et familia,
statim mitto pro exemplari, ut eodem tabellario iam ad te perferantur._"
(W. 30, 1, 428; Enders, 7, 44.)

This letter of January 20 is the first time that both of Luther's
Catechisms are mentioned together and distinguished from each other. By
catechism Roerer means the text of the five chief parts which Luther put
at the head of his Large Catechism. "_Catechismus per D. M.
praedicatus_" designates the explanation of this text as comprised in
Luther's three series of sermons of 1528 and summed up in the Large
Catechism. From this preached and later on so-called Large Catechism,
which appeared in April, entitled "German Catechism," Roerer
distinguishes "tables, summing up Luther's Catechism in shortest and
simplest form for children and the household." He means the series of
charts containing the first three chief parts, which Luther considered
the Catechism _par excellence_. And at the time when Roerer spoke of
the prospective publication of the Large Catechism for the Frankfurt
mass, these tables were already hanging on his wall.

Albrecht comments: "For the moment Roerer had not remembered the very
interesting novelty, which had already appeared in the first tables of
the later so-called Small Catechism. However, a glance at the wall of
his room reminded him of it. And from a letter of his dated March 16 we
must infer that they were the three charts containing the Ten
Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer with Luther's
explanation. These he calls 'tables which in shortest and simplest form
embrace Luther's Catechism for the children and the household,' Thus he
wrote in view of the superscription: 'As the head of the family should
teach them in a simple way to his household,' without implying a
difference between the expression _pro pueris et familia_ and the
preceding _pro rudibus et simplicibus,_ since the former are included in
the latter. The difference between the two works is rather indicated by
the words _brevissime simul et crasse._ But at the same time their inner
connection is asserted, for by sending the tables _pro exemplari,_ he
characterizes them as a model or sample of Luther's manner of treating
the Catechism. They are the _catechismus Lutheri,_ that is, the
aforementioned _catechismus per D. M. praedicatus_ in its shortest form
and draft (conceived as an extract of the sermons or of the Large
Catechism). He thought that this sample would indicate what was to be
expected from the forthcoming larger work." (W. 30, 1, 429.)

When, therefore, Luther wrote on January 15: "Modo in parando
catechismo pro rudibus paganis versor," he was engaged on both
Catechisms, and had proceeded far enough to enable him to send the first
tables of the Small Catechism to the printer. Buchwald remarks regarding
the letter of January 20 that Roerer probably had just received the
tables from the press. However, Roerer's letter to Roth of February 12,
1529, shows that already about a month ago he had sent the "tables of
the Catechism" (evidently the same to which he referred January 20) to
Spalatin. Accordingly, these tables were forwarded about January 12. The
following remark in the Church Order for Schoenewald in the district of
Schweinitz: "First to pronounce for the people the Ten Commandments, the
Creed and the Lord's Prayer, thereupon to explain them in the most
simple way, _as published [each] on a printed table,_" takes us back
still a few days more. For the visitation in the district of Schweinitz,
in which Luther took part, was held January 7 to 9, the time from which
also the Schoenewald Church Order dates. At this visitation, therefore,
even prior to January 7, Luther himself distributed the first series of
tables, comprising the first three chief parts, of his Small Catechism.
Cohrs opines that Luther sent this series to the printer about Christmas
1528 at the latest. However, it does not appear why the printing should
have consumed three to four weeks Seb. Froeschels however, is mistaken
when he declares in his book on the _Priesthood of Christ,_ 1565, that,
at a table conversation of 1528, Luther had advised Hans Metsch
constantly to have with him a good small catechism, such as the one he
had written. Knaake surmises that 1528 is a misprint; it should be 1538.
(W. 30, 1, 430f.)

101. Completion of Catechisms Delayed.

It was almost two months after the first table-series had appeared
before the second was published. This delay is accounted for by Luther's
illness and his being burdened with other work, especially with his book
against the Turk. March 3 he wrote to Hausmann: "By reason of Satan's
afflictions I am almost constantly compelled to be a sick well man (_als
Gesunder krank zu sein_), hence I am much hindered in writing and other
work." (Enders, 7, 61.) However, in the same letter Luther informed his
impatiently waiting friend: "The Catechism is not completed, my dear
Hausmann, but it will be completed shortly." Enders remarks that this
refers to the Large Catechism. However, it harmonizes best with Luther's
usage and with the facts if the words are understood as referring to
both Catechisms. "Shortly," Luther had written, and on March 16 Roerer,
according to his letter of this date, forwarded "the tables of
Confession, the German Litany, the tables of the Sacrament of Baptism
and of the blood of Christ." Roerer calls them a novelty, _recens
excussa,_ recently printed, from which it appears that the _tabulae
catechismum Lutheri brevissime simul et crasse complectentes,_ to which
he referred on January 20, did not contain the Sacraments. Thus, then,
the five chief parts, Decalog, Creed, Lord's Prayer, Baptism, and Lord's
Supper were completed by March 16, 1529. Buchwald and Cohrs surmise, but
without further ground for their assumption, that the table with the
Benedicite and the Gratias was issued together with the first series in
January. At the latest, however, the prayers appeared with the second
series. For March 7, 1529, Levin Metzsch wrote to Roth, evidently
referring to Luther's tables: "I am herewith also sending to you the
Benedicite and the Gratias, also the Morning and Evening Prayers,
together with the Vice of Drunkenness." (W. 30, 1, 432.) The exact time
when Luther composed the Table of Duties is not known. And the first
evidence we have of the Small Catechism's appearing in book form is
Roerer's letter of May 16, 1529, saying that he is sending two copies of
the Small Catechism, the price of which, together with other books, is
two groschen. (432.) The necessary data are lacking to determine how
long Luther's manuscript was ready before it was printed, and before the
printed copies were distributed.

As to the large Catechism, it was not completed when the second table
series appeared in March. In a letter, the date of which must probably
be fixed about the end of March, Roerer says: "The Turk is not yet
entirely struck off; neither the Catechism." April 23, however, the
Large Catechism was on the market, for on this day Roerer wrote: "I am
sending three copies of the Catechism." It was the Large Catechism; for
the price of each copy was two groschen, whereas on May 16, 1529, Roerer
had sent two copies of the Small Catechism and other books for two
groschen. (432.) The Large Catechism probably had appeared several weeks
before April 23. Albrecht: "Even if all [of Luther's] sermons from Palm
Sunday to Maundy Thursday, 1529, are considered preliminary works,
according to which the last paragraphs of the Large Catechism were
elaborated, we can assume that its appearance in the beginning or the
first half of April, 1529, was possible. To be sure, the printing must
then have been advanced so far before Holy Week that the rest could be
finished speedily on the basis of the manuscript delivered immediately
after the sermons of Monday and Maundy Thursday had been preached.["]

This theory fits in with the facts that John Lonicer of Marburg had
already completed his Latin translation on May 15, 1529 (although,
according to the title-page, it first appeared in September), and that
Roerer in a letter of April 23 merely mentions the Large Catechism in
passing, without designating it as an important novelty. Stephen Roth,
the recipient of the letter, spent some time at Wittenberg during April,
and probably purchased his first copy there; so Roerer refers to copies
which were ordered subsequently. (482.)

While thus the Small Catechism in chart form was completed and published
before the Large Catechism, the former succeeded the latter in book
form. However, though completed after the Small Catechism, it can be
shown that the beginning and perhaps even part of the printing of the
Large Catechism dates back to 1528, thus preceding in this respect even
the Charts of January 9. If the short Preface to the Large Catechism, as
well as the exhortation at the beginning: "Let the young people also
come to the preaching, that they hear it explained and learn to
understand it," etc., had been written after the 9th of January, Luther
would probably have mentioned the Tables, just as he refers to the Large
Catechism in the Preface to the Small Catechism, which was written about
the end of April or the beginning of May. (535, 17.) Since, however,
Luther makes no such indication, these paragraphs of the Large Catechism
were, no doubt, composed before January, 1529. (575, 1; 579, 26.) The
same inference may be drawn from the fact that, in the explanation of
the First Commandment, the wording of the conclusion of the Ten
Commandments shows a number of variations from its wording in the Small
Catechism, whereas its wording at the close of the explanation of the
commandments is in conformity with it. (588, 30; 672, 320.)

102. Similarity and Purpose of Catechisms.

As great as is the dissimilarity between Luther's two Catechisms, on the
one hand, so great, on the other, is the similarity. If one did not know
that the Large Catechism was begun before the Small, and that both
originated in the sermons of 1528, he might either view the Large
Catechism as a subsequent expansion of the Small, or the latter as a
summary of the former. Yet neither the one nor the other is the case. If
the Large Catechism influenced the Small, so also the latter the former.
Albrecht says: "It is more probable that the Small Catechism influenced
the Large Catechism than _vice versa._" (W. 30, 1, 558.) At all events,
the second table-series could not have been extracted from the Large
Catechism as such, since the latter was only completed after March 25,
whereas these tables were published already on March 16. The Small
Catechism has been characterized as "a small basketful of ripe fruit
gathered from that tree" [the Large Catechism]. In substance that is
true, since both originate from the same source, the sermons of 1528.
Already Roerer calls attention to this similarity, when in the
aforementioned letter, he designates the Large Catechism as
"_Catechismus per D. M. praedicatus,_" and then describes the Small
Catechism as "_tabulae complectentes brevisissime simul et crasse
catechismum Lutheri pro pueris et familia._" Both treat of the same five
chief parts; the explanation of both presupposes the knowledge of the
text of these parts, both owe their origin to the doctrinal ignorance,
uncovered particularly in the Saxon visitation; and the purpose of both
is the instruction of the plain people and the young. Indeed, it was not
for scholars, but for the people that Luther lived, labored, and
contended. "For," says he in his _German Mass,_ "the paramount thing is
to teach and lead the people." (W. 19, 97.)

Above all, Luther endeavored to acquaint the "dear youth" with the
saving truths, not merely for their own sakes, but in the interest of
future generations as well. He desired to make them mature Christians,
able to confess their faith and to impart instruction to their children
later on. In particular, the two Catechisms were to serve the purpose of
properly preparing the children and the unlearned for the Holy
Eucharist, as appears from the Preface to the Small Catechism and from
the last paragraphs of the Large (536, 21ff.; 760, 39ff.); for both end
in admonitions diligently to partake of the Lord's Supper. The Sacrament
of the Altar, in Luther's estimation, is the goal of all catechetical
instruction. For this reason he added to the ancient chief parts those
of Baptism, Confession, and the Lord's Supper.

Accordingly, both Catechisms, though in various respects, are intended
for all: people, youth, parents, preachers, and teachers. It is not
correct to say that Luther wrote his Large Catechism only for scholars,
and the other only for the unlearned. He desired to instruct all, and,
at the same time, enable parents and pastors to teach. According to
Luther, it is the duty of every Christian to learn constantly, in order
also to be able to teach others in turn. If any one, said he, really no
longer needed the Catechism for himself, he should study it nevertheless
for the sake of the ignorant. Nor did Luther exempt himself from such
study. In the Long Preface to the Large Catechism we read: "But for
myself I say this: I am also a doctor and preacher, yea, as learned and
experienced as all those may be who have such presumption and security;
yet I do as a child who is being taught the Catechism, and every
morning, and whenever I have time, I read and say, word for word the Ten
Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms, etc. And I must
still read and study daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but
must remain a child and pupil of the Catechism, and am glad so to
remain." (569, 7.)

April 18, 1530, Luther repeated this in a sermon as follows: "Whoever is
able to read, let him, in the morning, take a psalm or some other
chapter in the Bible and study it for a while. For that is what I do.
When I rise in the morning, I pray the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the
Lord's Prayer, and also a psalm with the children. I do so because I
wish to remain familiar with it, and not have it overgrown with mildew,
so that I know it." (W. 32, 65.) In a sermon of November 27, of the same
year, Luther warns: "Beware lest you become presumptuous, as though,
because you have heard it often, you knew enough of the Catechism. For
this knowledge ever desires us to be its students. We shall never finish
learning it, since it does not consist in speech, but in life. ... For I
also, D. M., doctor and preacher, am compelled day by day to pray and to
recite the words of the Decalog, the Symbol, and the Lord's Prayer as
children are wont to do. Hence you need not be ashamed; for much fruit
will result." (209.)

103. Particular Purpose of Large Catechism.

In his sermons of 1529 Luther declared repeatedly that his purpose was
to instruct the plain people and the children in those things which he
regarded as the minimum every Christian ought to know. (30, 1, 2. 27.
57.) And he did not abandon this purpose when he condensed his sermons
into the Large Catechism. Accordingly, he begins it with the words:
"This sermon is designed and undertaken that it might be an instruction
for children and the simple-minded." (575, 1.) Again: "For the reason,
why we exercise such diligence in preaching the Catechism so often is
that it may be inculcated on our youth, not in a high and subtile
manner, but briefly and with the greatest simplicity, so as to enter the
mind readily and be fixed in the memory." (581, 27.) Hence Roerer also
characterized the Large Catechism as "_Catechismus per D. M. praedicatus
pro rudibus et simplicibus._" Many expressions of the Large Catechism
also point to the fact that everything was here intended for the young
and the common people. For example: "All this I say that it may be well
impressed upon the young." (621, 140.) "But now for young scholars let
it suffice to indicate the most necessary points." (681, 12.) "But to
explain all these single points separately belongs not to brief sermons
for children, but rather to the ampler sermons that extend throughout
the entire year." (687, 32.) Thus Luther aimed to serve the people and
the children also by his Large Catechism. Not, indeed, that it was to be
given into the hands of the children (the Small Catechism served that
purpose), but that preachers, teachers, and parents were to use it with
a view to teaching them by example how to expound the articles of the
Christian doctrine for the simple-minded.

In particular, the Large Catechism was to enable the less educated
pastors in the villages and in the country to do justice to their sacred
duty. The instructions of the visitors called for regular
Catechism-sermons. For this purpose Luther sought to furnish the
preachers with material. From the Large Catechism they were to learn how
to deliver simple, plain sermons on the five chief parts. In the longer
Preface Luther therefore directs his admonition "to all Christians, but
especially to all pastors and preachers, that they should daily exercise
themselves in the Catechism, which is a short summary and epitome of the
entire Holy Scriptures, and that they may always teach the same." And
why? Luther explains: "We have no slight reasons for treating the
Catechism so constantly, and for both desiring and beseeching others to
teach it, since we see to our sorrow that many pastors and preachers are
very negligent in this, and slight both their office and this teaching;
some from great and high art, but others from sheer laziness and care
for their paunches," etc. (567.)

Ministers, according to Luther, were to study the Catechism for their
own instruction and edification as well as in the interest of their
office. Hence he concludes his Preface, saying: "Therefore I again
implore all Christians, especially pastors and preachers, not to be
doctors too soon, and imagine that they know everything (for imagination
and cloth unshrunk fall far short of the measure), but that they daily
exercise themselves well in these studies and constantly treat them;
moreover, that they guard with all care and diligence against the
poisonous infection of such security and vain imagination, but steadily
keep on reading, teaching, learning, pondering, and meditating, and do
not cease until they have made a test and are sure that they have taught
the devil to death, and have become more learned than God Himself and
all His saints." (573, 19; 535, 17.)

From the Large Catechism, therefore, pastors were to learn how to preach
the fundamental Christian truths. "To be sure," says Albrecht, "Luther
did not make it as easy for the pastors as was later done by Osiander
and Sleupner in the Nuernberg _Children's Sermons,_ where the individual
sermons are exactly marked off, the form of address to the children is
retained, and, in each instance, a short explanation, to be memorized,
is added to the longer explanation." (W. 30, 1, 478.)--That it was
Luther's purpose to have his Large Catechism serve also parents appears
from the instructions at the beginning and the end of it. (574, 17; 772,
87.)

104. Special Purpose of Small Catechism.

The Large Catechism was to serve all; the same applies to the Small
Catechism. But above all it was to be placed into the hands of the
children, who were to use and to memorize it at home, and to bring it
with them for instruction in the church. Buchwald and Cohrs surmise that
Luther published the second table series during Lent with special
reference to "grown people." However, Luther was accustomed to direct
his admonition to partake of the Lord's Supper diligently also to
children, and that, too, to children of comparatively tender years. In
his sermon of March 25, 1529, he says: "This exhortation ought not only
to move us older ones, but also the young and the children. Therefore
you parents ought to instruct and educate them in the doctrine of the
Lord: the Decalog, the Creed, the Prayer, and the Sacraments. Such
children ought also to be admitted to the Table that they may be
partakers" [of the Lord's Supper]. (W. 30, 1, 233.) In his sermon of
December 19, 1528, we read: "Hence, you parents and heads of families,
invite your subordinates to this Sacrament, and we shall demand an
account of you if you neglect it. If you will not go yourselves, let the
young go; we are much concerned about them. When they come, we shall
learn, by examining them how you instruct them in the Word as
prescribed. Hence, do come more frequently to the Sacrament, and also
admonish your children to do so when they have reached the age of
discretion. For in this way we want to learn who are Christians, and who
not. If you will not do so, we shall speak to you on the subject. For
even though you older people insist on going to the devil, we shall
still inquire about your children. Necessity: because sin, the devil,
and death are ever present. Benefit: because the remission of sins and
the Holy Spirit are received." (121f.) The tender age at which the young
were held to partake of the Lord's Supper appears from Bugenhagen's
preface to the Danish edition of the Enchiridion of 1538, where he says
"that after this confession is made, also the little children of about
eight years or less should be admitted to the table of Him who says:
'Suffer the little children to come unto Me,'" (433.) The conjecture,
therefore, that the tables of Confession and the Sacraments were not
intended for children, but specifically for adults, is without
foundation. In all its parts the Small Catechism was intended to serve
the children.

When the first table appeared, it bore the superscription: "The Ten
Commandments, as _the head of the family_ should teach them in a simple
way to his household." Similar to this were the titles of the remaining
charts. And these superscriptions were permitted to stand when Luther
published the Enchiridion in book form. The book edition, therefore, as
well as the chart edition, was to render services also to parents, who
were to take upon themselves a large part of the work in teaching the
young. But how were they to do it, in view of the fact that many of them
did not know the Catechism themselves? This had occurred also to Luther.
He realized that, besides the Large Catechism, parents were in need of a
text-book containing questions and answers, adapted for catechizing the
children on the meaning of each part of the Catechism. This, too, was
the reason why the Small Catechism was rapidly completed before the
Large, which had been begun first. Luther intended parents to use it
first of all for their own instruction and edification, but also for the
purpose of enabling them to discharge their duty by their children and
household.

105. Small Catechism Intended Also for Pastors.

That Luther intended his Small Catechism as a help also for pastors was,
in so many words, stated on the title-page of the first book edition.
For, surprising as it may seem, here he mentions neither the parents nor
the children, but solely the "ordinary pastors and preachers." The
Preface also is addressed to "all faithful, pious pastors and
preachers," and it shows in detail how they were to make use of the
book. Evidently, then, the book edition was intended to render special
services also to preachers. The reason, however, was not, as has been
surmised, because it embodied the booklet on Marriage (the booklet on
Baptism was added in the second edition); for the Preface, which is
addressed to the preachers, does not even mention it. The pastors,
moreover, were especially designated on the title-page as the recipients
of the Enchiridion, inasmuch as they were to employ it in their
religious instruction and catechetical sermons, in order to imbue the
young with its contents. The expression "ordinary pastors and preachers"
referred primarily to the plain preachers in the villages, where no
properly regulated school system existed, and where, at best, the sexton
might assist the pastor in seeing to it that the Catechism was
memorized. Albrecht: "When Luther prepared both Catechisms at the same
time and with reference to each other, he evidently desired their
simultaneous use, especially on the part of the plain pastors, who in
the Small Catechism possessed the leading thoughts which were to be
memorized, and in the Large Catechism their clear and popular
explanation." (W. 30, 1, 548.)

Luther's intention was to make the Small Catechism the basis of
instruction in the church as well as in the homes; for uniform
instruction was required to insure results. Having, therefore, placed
the Catechism into the hands of the parents, Luther could but urge that
it be introduced in the churches, too. He also showed them how to use
it. On June 11, 1529, for instance, he expounded the First Article after
he had read the text and the explanation of the Small Catechism. (549.)
This the pastors were to imitate, a plan which was also carried out. The
charts were suspended in the churches; the people and children were wont
to bring the book edition with them to church; the preachers read the
text, expounded it, and had it recited. The Schoenewald Church Order
prescribed that the pastor "first pronounce for the people" the text of
the chief parts, and then expound it as on Luther's charts. (549.)

106. A Book Also for Schools and Teachers.

When planning and writing his Small Catechism, Luther self-evidently did
not overlook the schools and the schoolteachers. The first booklet of
the charts for the Latin schools of the Middle Ages contained the abc;
the second, the first reading-material, _viz._, the Paternoster, Ave
Maria, and the Credo; the third, the Benedicite, Gratias, and similar
prayers. Albrecht writes: "We may surmise that Luther, when composing
the German tables and combining them in a book, had in mind the old
chart-booklets. This view is supported by the fact that in it he
embodied the prayers, the Benedicite and Gratias, and probably also by
the title Enchiridion, which, besides the titles 'Handbooklet' or 'The
Children's Handbooklet' was applied to such elementary books." (W. 30,
1, 546.) In the _Instruction for the Visitors_ we read: "A certain day,
either Saturday or Wednesday, shall be set aside for imparting to the
children Christian instruction. ... Hereupon the schoolteacher shall
simply and correctly expound at one time the Lord's Prayer, at another
the Creed, at another the Ten Commandments, etc." (W. 26, 238.) In these
schools Luther's Small Catechism served as text-book. From 1529 until
the beginning of the eighteenth century Sauermann's Latin translation
(_Parvus Catechismus pro Pueris in Schola_) was employed in the Latin
schools of Saxony. In the German schools the German Enchiridion was used
as the First Reader. Hence, the Marburg reprint of the first Wittenberg
edition of the Catechism begins with the alphabet, and makes it a point
to mention this fact on its title-page.

Down to the present day no other book has become and remained a
schoolbook for religious instruction to such an extent as Luther's Small
Catechism. And rightly so; for even Bible History must be regarded as
subordinate to it. The assertion of modern educators that instruction in
Bible History must precede instruction in Luther's Catechism rests on
the false assumption that Luther's Catechism teaches doctrines only. But
the truth is that it contains all the essential facts of salvation as
well, though in briefest form, as appears particularly from the Second
Article, which enumerates historical facts only. The Small Catechism is
"the Laymen's Bible, _der Laien Biblia,_" as Luther called it in a
sermon of September 14, 1528, an expression adopted also by the Formula
of Concord. (777, 5.) Luther's Enchiridion presents both the facts of
salvation and their divine interpretation. The picture for which the
Small Catechism furnishes the frame is Christ, the historical Christ, as
glorified by the Holy Spirit particularly in the writings of the Apostle
Paul. In the Lutheran Church the Small Catechism, therefore, deserves to
be and always to remain what it became from the first moment of its
publication: the book of religious instruction for home, school, and
church; for parents, children, teachers, and preachers, just as Luther
had planned and desired.

107. Titles of Large Catechism.

"_Deutsche Katechismus,_ German Catechism," was the title under which
the Large Catechism first appeared, and which Luther never changed. In
the Preface to the Small Catechism he used the expression "Large
Catechism," having in mind his own Catechism, though not exclusively, as
the context shows. (534, 17.) Yet this was the natural title since the
shorter Catechism was from the beginning known as the "Small Catechism."
And before long it was universally in vogue. The Church Order for
Brueck, of 1530, designates the Large Catechism as "the Long Catechism."
In the catalog of his writings of 1533, which Luther prefaced, but did
not compile, it is called "Large Catechism, _Catechismus Gross._"
Likewise in the _Corpus Doctrinae Pomeranicum._ The Articles of the
Visitors in Meiszen, 1533, first employed the designation "The Large and
Small Catechisms." The Church Order for Gera of the same year also
distinguishes: "The Large Catechism and the Small Catechism." The
Eisfeld Order of 1554 distinguishes: "The Small Catechism of Luther" and
"The Large Catechism of Luther." In his treatise on the Large Catechism
of 1541, Spangenberg first employed the new form as a title: "The Large
Catechism and Children's Instruction of Dr. M. Luther."

The title of the Low German edition of 1541 runs: "De Grote Katechismus
Duedesch." The Latin translation by Obsopoeus of 1544 is entitled
"Catechismus Maior." The Index of the Wittenberg complete edition of
Luther's Works of 1553 has "Der grosse Katechismus," while the Catechism
itself still bears the original title, "Deutscher Katechismus." The Jena
edition of 1556 also has the original title, but paraphrases in the
Index: "_Zweierlei Vorrede, gross und klein, D. M. L. auf den
Katechismum, von ihm gepredigt Anno 1529._ Two Prefaces, large and
small, of Dr. M. L. to the Catechism, preached by him in the year 1529."
Since 1570, the _Corpora Doctrinae_ give the title, "The Large
Catechism, German. _Der Grosse Katechismus, deutsch._" So also the Book
of Concord of 1580. In the Leipzig edition and in Walch's the word
"deutsch" is omitted. (W. 30, 1, 474f.)

"German Catechism," corresponding to the title "German Mass," means
German preaching for children, German instruction in the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity. Luther wrote "German Mass" in order to
distinguish it from the Latin, which was retained for many years at
Wittenberg beside the German service (this is also what Wolfgang
Musculus meant when he reported in 1536 that in Wittenberg services were
conducted predominantly in papistic fashion, _ad morem papisticum_). So
also "German Catechism" is in contrast to the Latin instruction in the
churches and especially in the schools. Concerning the latter we read,
_e.g._, in the instruction of the visitors: "The boys shall also be
induced to speak Latin, and the schoolteachers shall, as far as
possible, speak nothing but Latin with them." (26, 240.) Ever since the
early part of the Middle Ages the Latin Credo, Paternoster, etc., had
been regarded and memorized as sacred formulas, the vernacular being
permitted only rarely, and reluctantly at that. Also in the Lutheran
Church the Latin language was not immediately abolished. A number of
Evangelical catechisms, antedating Luther's, were written in, and
presuppose the use of, the Latin language, for example, Melanchthon's
_Enchiridion,_ Urerius's _Paedagogia,_ Agricola's _Elementa Pietatis,_
etc. The Brunswick Liturgy of 1528, drafted by Bugenhagen, prescribed
that on Saturday evening and early on Sunday morning the chief parts of
the Catechism be read in Latin in the churches "on both galleries,
slowly, without chanting (_sine tono_), alternately (_ummeschicht_)."
The Wittenberg Liturgy provided: "Before the early sermon on Sundays or
on festival-days the boys in the choir, on both sides, shall read the
entire Catechism in Latin, verse by verse, without ornamental tone
(_sine tono distincto_)." (477.) Accordingly, when Luther began to
preach on the chief parts in German, he was said to conduct "German
Catechism." And since German services with German instruction were
instituted by Luther in the interest of the unlearned and such as were
unable to attend the Latin schools, the term "German Catechism" was
equivalent to popular instruction in religion. That Luther's Catechism,
also in point of racy language, was German to the core, appears from the
frequent use of German words and expressions which, in part, have since
become obsolete. (Mueller, _Symb. Buecher,_ 857--860.)

108. Editions of Large Catechism.

The first edition (quarto) of the Large Catechism, of which Roerer
forwarded copies on April 23, 1529, contains, as text, the Commandments,
the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the words of institution of the
Sacraments. The text is preceded by a Brief Preface, which, however,
Luther, considering it a part of the Catechism, did not designate and
superscribe as such. Some instructions and admonitions are inserted
between the Catechism-text, which is followed by the detailed
explanation. Such is the form in which the Large Catechism first
appeared, and which, in the main, it also retained. The second edition
(also in quarto and from the year 1529) reveals numerous textual
corrections and adds a longer section to the Lord's Prayer, _viz._,
paragraphs 9 to 11: "at the risk of God's wrath.... seek His grace."
(699.) This addition, though not found in the German Book of Concord of
1580, was received into the official Latin Concordia of 1584.
Furthermore, the second edition of 1529 adds the "Short Admonition to
Confession;" hence the sub-title: "Increased by a New Instruction and
Admonition to Confession." This addition, however, was embodied in
neither the German nor the Latin Concordia. In the Seventh Commandment
the second edition of 1529 omits the words "with whom [arch-thieves]
lords and princes keep company" (644, 230), which, according to
Albrecht, was due to a timid proof-reader. Numerous marginal notes,
briefly summarizing the contents, were also added to this edition and
retained in the Latin Concordia of 1584. Furthermore, it contained 24
woodcuts, the first three of which were already used in Melanchthon's
fragmentary Catechism sermons of 1528, for which book probably also the
remaining cuts were originally intended. Albrecht remarks: "Let it
remain undecided whether the cuts, which Melanchthon probably was first
to select for his catechism sermons of 1528, were received into the
edition of 1529 (which Luther corrected) upon a suggestion of the
printer Rhau, or Bugenhagen, or Luther himself." (W. 30, 1, 493.)

Two Latin as well as a Low German translation (by Bugenhagen) also
appeared in 1529. The Low German edition, printed by Rhau, seems to have
paved the way in using the aforementioned pictures. Of the Latin
translations, one was prepared by Lonicer and printed at Marburg, while
the other, by Vicentius Obsopoeus, rector of the school at Ansbach, was
printed at Hagenau. After making some changes, which were not always
improvements, Selneccer embodied the latter in the Latin Concordia,
adding the longer Preface from the Frankfurt edition of 1544. In the
Large Catechism this new Preface is found for the first time in Rhau's
quarto edition of 1530. Literal allusions to Luther's letter of June 30,
1530, to J. Jonas have given rise to the assumption that it was written
at Castle Coburg. (Enders, 8, 47. 37.) In the Jena edition of Luther's
Works, the Dresden edition of the Book of Concord of 1580, the Magdeburg
edition of 1580, the Heidelberg folio edition of 1582, and the Latin
edition of 1580, this longer Preface follows the shorter. However, since
the shorter Preface forms part of the Catechism itself, the longer
Preface ought to precede it, as is the case in the official Latin
Concordia of 1584. In the Low German edition of 1531 Bugenhagen defends
the expressions, criticized by some: I believe "an Gott, an Christum" in
the Low German edition of 1529, instead of "in Gott, in Christum." (W.
30, 1, 493.) In Rhau's edition of 1532 and 1535 the morning and evening
prayers are added, probably only as fillers. The changes in Rhau's
edition of 1538, styling itself, "newly corrected and improved," consist
in linguistic improvements and some additions and omissions. Albrecht
believes that most, but not all, of these changes were made by Luther
himself, and that the omissions are mostly due to inadvertence.

109. Title of Small Catechism.

Luther seems to have published the chart catechism of January, 1529,
without any special title, though Roerer, from the very first, calls it
a catechism. In the first Wittenberg book edition, however, one finds
inserted, between the Preface and the Decalog, the superscription: "_Ein
kleiner Katechismus oder christliche Zucht._ A Small Catechism or
Christian Discipline." This may have been the title of the charts, since
it would hardly have been introduced for the book edition, where it was
entirely superfluous, the title-page designating it as "The Small
Catechism for the Ordinary Pastors and Preachers." Likewise it cannot be
proved that the opening word on the title-page of this first book
edition was "Enchiridion," since this edition has disappeared without a
trace, and the only remaining direct reprint does not contain the word
"Enchiridion." All subsequent editions however, have it.

The word "Enchiridion" is already found in the writings of Augustine,
and later became common. In his Glossary, Du Cange remarks: "This name
[Enchiridion] St. Augustine gave to a most excellent little work on
faith, hope, and charity, which could easily be carried in the hand, or,
rather, ought continually to be so carried, since it contained the
things most necessary for salvation." (3, 265.) The Erfurt
_Hymn-Booklet_ of 1524 was called "Enchiridion or Handbooklet, very
profitable for every Christian to have with him for constant use and
meditation." In 1531 Luther praised the Psalter, saying: "It may be
called a little Bible, wherein all that is found in the entire Bible is
most beautifully and briefly summed up and has been made and prepared
to be a splendid Enchiridion, or Handbook." (E. 63, 28.) The
_Instruction for Visitors_ calls the primer "the handbooklet of the
children, containing the alphabet, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and
other prayers." In 1523 Melanchthon had published such a book, entitled
"Enchiridion." Thus Enchiridion denotes a book of pithy brevity, an
elementary book. The various Church Orders employ the word in a similar
sense. (W. 30, 1, 540.)

110. Editions of Small Catechism.

At Wittenberg, George Rhau printed the Large Catechism and Michel
Schirlentz the Small Catechism (the chart impressions of which must be
considered the first edition). In the Preface to the Small Catechism,
Luther speaks of "these tables" and "the form of these tables," thus
referring to the chief parts, which were already printed on placards.
However, since "table" also denotes a list, the term could be applied
also to the chief parts in book form. It was nothing new to employ
tables ("_Zeddeln," i.e._, placards printed on one side) in order to
spread the parts of the Catechism in churches, homes, and schools. In
1518 Luther published his "Ten Commandments with a brief exposition of
their fulfilment and transgression," on placards. Of the charts of the
Small Catechism only a Low German copy has as yet been discovered. It
contains Luther's Morning and Evening Prayers, a reduced reproduction of
which is found in the Weimar Edition of Luther's Works. (30, 1, 241.)
The book editions soon took their place beside the charts. It seems (but
here the traces are rather indefinable) that the first three tables were
summed up into a booklet as early as January or February, 1529. At
Hamburg, Bugenhagen published the charts, which he had received till
then, as a booklet, in Low German. It contained the five chief parts and
the Benedicite and Gratias. Shortly after the first Wittenberg book
edition had reached him Bugenhagen translated the Preface and had it
printed as a supplement.

Shortly after the completion of the Large Catechism Luther made
arrangements to have the Small Catechism appear in book form. May 16
Roerer sent two copies of the _Catechismus Minor._ But, as stated above,
all copies of this edition were completely used up. The edition has been
preserved in three reprints only, two of which appeared at Erfurt and
one at Marburg. Th. Harnack published the one Erfurt and the Marburg
reprint, and H. Hartung the other Erfurt reprint in separate facsimile
editions. Evidently these reprints appeared before the second
Wittenberg edition of June, 1529, was known at Erfurt and Marburg. In
estimating their value, however, modern scholars are not agreed as to
whether they represent three direct or one direct and two indirect
reprints. Albrecht is of the opinion that only one of the three may be
looked upon as a direct reprint. Judging from these reprints, the
original edition was entitled: "_Der kleine Katechismus fuer die
gemeinen Pfarrherrn und Prediger._ The Small Catechism for Ordinary
Pastors and Preachers." Aside from the five chief parts, it contained
the Preface, the Morning and Evening Prayers, the Table of Duties, and
the Marriage Booklet. On the other hand, these reprints omit not only
the word Enchiridion, but also the question, "How can bodily eating and
drinking do such great things?" together with its answer. Now, in case
all three should be direct reprints, the omitted question and answer
evidently were not contained in the first Wittenberg edition either. On
the other hand, if only one of them is a direct reprint, the mistake
must be charged to the original Wittenberg impression or to the reprint.
That the omission is an error, probably due to the printer, appears from
the fact that the omitted question and answer were already found on the
charts; for the Hamburg book edition of the charts in Low German has
them, as also Stifel's written copies of the charts. (W. 30, 1, 573.)

Of the Wittenberg editions which followed the _editio princeps,_ those
of 1529, 1531, and 1542 deserve special mention. The first appeared
under the title: "Enchiridion. The Small Catechism for the Ordinary
Pastors and Preachers, enlarged and improved." On the 13th of June this
edition was completed, for Roerer reports on this date: "Parvus
Catechismus sub iucudem iam tertio revocatus est et in ista postrema
editione adauctus." (Kolde _l.c._, 60.) Roerer designates this edition
as the third, probably because two imprints had been made of the _editio
princeps._ According to a defective copy, the only one preserved, this
edition adds to the contents of the _editio princeps_ the word
Enchiridion in the title, the Booklet of Baptism, A Brief Form of
Confessing to the Priest, for the Simple, and the Litany. The fifth
chief part has the question: "How can bodily eating and drinking do such
great things?" In the Lord's Prayer, however, the explanation of the
introduction is still lacking. This emended edition of 1529 furthermore
had the pictures, for the first time as it seems. The booklets on
Marriage and Baptism were retained, as additions, in all editions of the
Small Catechism published during the life of Luther, and in many later
editions as well. As yet, however, it has not been proved directly that
such was intended and arranged for by Luther himself.

Also in the succeeding editions Luther made various material and
linguistic changes. In the edition of 1531 he omitted the Litany, and
for the "Short Form of Confession" he substituted an instruction in
confession, which he inserted between the fourth and fifth chief parts,
under the caption, "How the Unlearned Shall be Taught to Confess." The
Lord's Prayer was complemented by the addition of the Introduction and
its explanation, and the number of cuts was increased to 23. This
edition of 1531, of which but one copy (found in the Bodleiana of
Oxford) is in existence, shows essentially the form in which the
Enchiridion was henceforth regularly printed during and after Luther's
life. (W. 30, 1, 608.) The editions of 1537 reveal several changes in
language, especially in the Bible-verses, which are made to conform to
Luther's translation. In the edition of 1542 the promise of the Fourth
Commandment appears for the first time, and the Table of Duties is
expanded. The Bible-verses referring to the relation of congregations to
their pastors were added, and the verses setting forth the relation of
subjects to their government were considerably augmented. Hence the
title: "Newly revised and prepared, _aufs neue uebersehen und
zugerichtet._" Probably the last edition to appear during Luther's life
was the one of 1543, which, however, was essentially a reprint of the
edition of 1542.

Knaake declared that all the editions which we possess "must be
attributed to the enterprise of the book dealers," and that one cannot
speak of a direct influence of Luther on any of these editions. In
opposition to this extreme skepticism, Albrecht points out that, for
instance, the insertion of the explanation of the Introduction to the
Lord's Prayer and the new form of confession, as well as its insertion
between Baptism and the Lord's Supper, could not have taken place
"without the direct cooperation of Luther."

111. Translations and Elaborations of Small Catechism.

Two of the Latin translations of the Small Catechism date back to 1529.
The first was inserted in the _Enchiridion Piarum Precationum,_ the
Latin translation of Luther's _Prayer-Booklet,_ which appeared toward
the end of August, 1529. Roerer met with great difficulties in editing
the book. August, 1529, he wrote: "You may not believe me if I tell you
how much trouble I am having with the Latin _Prayer-Booklet_ which is
now being printed. Somebody else, it is true, translated it from German
into Latin, but I spent much more labor in this work than he did." (W.
30, 1, 588.) We do not know who the translator was to whom Roerer
refers. It certainly was not Lonicer, the versatile Humanist of Marburg
who at that time had completed the Large Catechism with a Preface dated
May 15, 1529. Kawerau surmises that it was probably _G. Major._
Evidently Luther himself had nothing to do with this translation. This
Catechism is entitled: _Simplicissima et Brevissima Catechismi
Expositio._ Almost throughout the question form was abandoned. In 1532 a
revised form of this translation appeared, entitled: _Nova Catechismi
Brevioris Translatio._ From these facts the theory (advocated also by v.
Zezschwitz and Knaake) has been spun that the Small Catechism sprang
from a still shorter one, which was not throughout cast in questions and
answers, and offered texts as well as explanations in a briefer form.
This would necessitate the further inference that the Preface to the
Small Catechism was originally written in Latin. All of these
suppositions, however, founder on the fact that the charts as we have
them in the handwriting of Stifel are in the form of questions and
answers. The _Prayer-Booklet_ discarded the form of questions and
answers, because its object was merely to reproduce the contents of
Luther's Catechism for such as were unacquainted with German.

The second Latin translation of 1529 was furnished by John Sauermann,
not (as v. Zezschwitz and Cohrs, 1901, in Herzog's _R. E._, 10, 135,
assume) the Canon of Breslau, who died 1510, but probably Johannes
Sauermann of Bambergen, who matriculated at Wittenberg in the winter
semester of 1518. (W. 30, 1, 601.) Sauermann's translation was intended
as a school edition of the Small Catechism. First came the alphabet,
then followed the texts: Decalog, Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Baptism, the
Lord's Supper. Luther's Preface, the Litany, and the Booklets of
Marriage and Baptism were omitted as not adapted for school use. The
chapter on Confession, from the second Wittenberg book edition was
inserted between the fourth and fifth chief parts. The note to the
Benedicite was put into the text with the superscription "Scholion"
(instead of the incorrect "Scholia" of the German edition, found also in
the Book of Concord). "Paedagogus" was substituted for "head of the
family (_Hausvater_)." The word "Haustafel" remained untranslated. The
words of the Third Petition, "so uns den Namen Gottes nicht heiligen und
sein Reich nicht kommen lassen wollen," are rendered: "quae nobis nomen
Dei non _sanctificent_ regnumque eius ad nos pervenire non sinant."

In the Preface, dated September 19, 1529, "Johannes Sauromannus" writes:
"Every one is of the opinion that it is clearly the best thing from
early youth carefully and diligently to instruct the boys in the
principles of Christian piety. And since I believe that of all the
elementary books of the theologians of this age none are better adapted
for this purpose than those of Dr. Martin Luther, I have rendered into
Latin the booklet of this man which is called the Small Catechism,
hoping that it might be given to the boys to be learned as soon as they
enter the Latin school." At the same time Sauermann declares that his
translation was published "by the advice and order (_consilio ac iussu_)
of the author [Luther] himself." (30, 1, 673.) One cannot doubt,
therefore, that Sauermann's translation received Luther's approval. And
being in entire conformity with the _Instruction for Visitors,_ of 1528,
for the Latin city schools, the book was soon in general use. In 1556
Michael Neander speaks of it as "the common Latin version, hitherto
used in all schools." (603.) The Latin Concordia of 1584 contains
Sauermann's version, essentially, though not literally. The Preface,
which Sauermann had not translated, is taken over from the
_Prayer-Booklet._ The part On Confession was newly translated from the
German edition of the Catechism of 1531. The textual changes which were
made in Sauermann's translation for the Concordia of 1584 "show that he
was careful and usually felicitous, and are partly to be explained as
combinations of the first and second Latin translations." (604.)

When, in 1539, Justus Jonas translated the Nuernberg _Sermons for
Children,_ he made a third Latin translation of the Small Catechism. He
calls it "this my Latin translation, not carefully finished indeed, but
nevertheless rendered in good faith." (627.) This Latin text obtained
special importance since it was immediately done into English, Polish,
and Icelandic. In 1560 Job Magdeburg furnished a fourth Latin version.
Concerning the translations into Greek, Hebrew, and other languages see
Weimar Edition of Luther's Complete Works (10, 1, 718f.)

Among the earliest elaborations of the Small Catechism was the Catechism
of Justus Menius, 1532, and the Nuernberg _Children's Sermons_ of 1533.
Both exploit Luther's explanations without mentioning his name. At the
same time some changing, abbreviating, polishing, etc., was done, as
Luther's text was considered difficult to memorize. Albrecht says of
Menius's emendations: "Some of his formal changes are not bad; most of
them, however are unnecessary. The entire book finally serves the
purpose of bringing to light the surpassing merit of the real
Luther-Catechism." (617.) The same verdict will probably be passed on
all the substitute catechisms which have hitherto appeared. John
Spangenberg's Small Catechism of 1541, which was widely used, is, as he
himself says, composed "from the Catechism of our beloved father, Dr.
Martin, and those of others." It contains Luther's Catechism mainly as
changed by Menius. The Nuernberg _Children's Sermons,_ which embodied
also the pictures of Luther's Catechism and received a wide circulation,
were written by Osiander and Sleupner in 1532, and printed at Nuernberg,
1533. They contain almost complete the five chief parts of Luther's
Small Catechism as concluding sentences of the individual sermons, but
in original minting, with abbreviations, additions, and other changes,
which, however, are not nearly as marked as those of Menius. These
changes were also made to facilitate memorizing. Between Baptism and
the Lord's Supper was found the doctrinal part on the Office of the
Keys, which in this or a similar form was, after Luther's death,
appended to or inserted in, the Small Catechism as the sixth or fifth
chief part, respectively.

112. The Part "Of Confession."

The Small Catechism did not spring from Luther's mind finished and
complete at one sitting. Originally he considered the first three chief
parts as constituting the Catechism. Before long, however, he added the
parts of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These five parts are for the
first time mentioned in the _German Order of Worship,_ and printed
together in the Booklet for Laymen and Children. The Introduction to the
Large Catechism also offers no more. The chart and book editions added
as real parts of the Catechism (the Booklets of Marriage and of Baptism
cannot be viewed as such) the Benedicite and Gratias, the Morning and
Evening Prayers, the Table of Duties, and Confession. It is the last of
these parts which played a peculiar role in the history of the Small
Catechism. Albrecht writes: "In the textual history of the Small
Catechism, Confession (besides the Table of Duties) is the most restless
and movable part. In the Low German editions since 1531 and 1534 it is
found after the Lord's Supper as a sort of sixth chief part. In
individual instances it is entirely omitted. On the other hand, in
elaborations of the Catechism, notably in the Nuernberg
Catechism-sermons, it is supplanted by the Office of the Keys, and in
later prints also combined with it or otherwise recast." (W. 30, 1,
607.)

As for Luther, evidently, as soon as he began to work on the Catechism,
he planned to include also a part on Confession. Among the charts there
were already those which dealt with Confession. In fact, Luther must
have here treated this part at comparative length. For Roerer reports
that the price of the Confession charts was three pfennige, whereas the
price of the Sacrament charts was two pfennige. Yet nothing of
Confession was embodied in the first book edition of the Small
Catechism. The first edition also of the Large Catechism had no part
treating of Confession. But the second Wittenberg edition, of 1529
appeared "augmented with a new instruction and admonition concerning
Confession." Likewise the "augmented and improved" Small Catechism of
1529, superscribed, "Enchiridion," contained a "Short Form how the
Unlearned shall Confess to the Priest. _Eine kurze Weise zu beichten
fuer die Einfaeltigen, dem Priester._" This Form was not to serve the
pastor in admonishing, etc., but Christians when going to confession.
Possibly it was one of the charts which Roerer, March 16, mentioned as
novelties. The addition of this part was, no doubt, caused by Luther
himself. This is supported by the fact that Sauermann's translation,
which appeared by Luther's "advice and order," also contained it. And
while in the German book edition it was found in the Appendix, following
the Booklet on Baptism, Sauermann inserted it between Baptism and the
Lord's Supper with the superscription: "How schoolmasters ought in
simplest manner to teach their boys a brief form of confession. _Quo
pacto paedagogi suos pueros brevem confitendi rationem simplicissime
docere debeant._" Evidently this, too, was done with Luther's approval
(_auctoris consilio et iussu_). "Thus Luther at that time already," says
Albrecht, "selected this place for Confession and retained it later on,
when [1531] he furnished another form of confession for the Catechism
which to him seemed more appropriate." The gradual insertion of a new
chief part (of Confession and Absolution) between Baptism and the Lord's
Supper was therefore entirely according to Luther's mind; indeed, it had
virtually been carried out by him as early as 1529.

The original part Of Confession, however, was no catechetical and
doctrinal part in the proper sense of the word, but purely a liturgical
formula of Confession, even the Absolution being omitted. It merely
contained two confessions similar to the forms found in the Book of
Concord, page 552, sections 21 to 23. Hence Luther, in the edition of
1531, replaced it with a catechetico-liturgical form entitled, "How the
Unlearned Should be Taught to Confess." It is identical with the one
found in the Book of Concord of 1580, save only that the original
contained the words, "What is Confession? Answer," which are omitted in
the German Concordia. Luther placed the part Of Confession between
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, thereby actually making this the fifth
and the Lord's Supper the sixth chief part. And when later on (for in
Luther's editions the chief parts are not numbered) the figures were
added, Confession could but receive the number 5, and the Lord's Supper,
6. Thus, then, the sequence of the six parts, as found in the Book of
Concord, was, in a way, chosen by Luther himself.

113. Office of the Keys and Christian Questions.

The three questions on the Office of the Keys in the fifth chief part
form the most important and independent addition to Luther's Small
Catechism. However, they are not only in complete agreement with
Luther's doctrine of Absolution, but, in substance, also contained in
what he himself offered in the part Of Confession. For what Luther says
in paragraphs 26 to 28 in a liturgical form is expressed and explained
in the three questions on the Office of the Keys in a doctrinal and
catechetical form. Not being formulated by Luther, however, they were
not received into the Book of Concord. In the Nuernberg _Text-Booklet_
of 1531 they are placed before Baptism. Thence they were taken over into
the Nuernberg _Children's Sermons_ of 1533 as a substitute for Luther's
form of Confession. Andrew Osiander, in the draft of his Church Order of
1531, in the article on "Catechism and the Instruction of Children,"
added as sixth to the five chief parts: "Of the Keys of the Church, or
the Power to Bind and to Unbind from Sins," quoting as Bible-verse the
passage: "The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples," etc. Brenz, though
not, as frequently assumed, the author of the Nuernberg Catechism, also
contributed toward introducing and popularizing this part of the
Catechism. In his Questions of 1535 and 1536, which appeared in the
Appendix to the Latin translation of Luther's Large Catechism, he
offered an original treatment to the Keys of Heaven, as the sixth chief
part, on the basis of Matt. 16, 19; Luke 19, 16; John 20, 22f.
Thirty-six years after the first publication of Luther's Catechisms,
Mathesius, in his _Sermons on the Life of Luther,_ also speaks of six
chief parts of catechetical instruction; but he enumerates Absolution as
the part between Baptism and the Lord's Supper, hence as the fifth chief
part of the Catechism.

As to the Christian Questions for Those Who Intend to Go to the
Sacrament, it was claimed very early that Luther was the author. They
were first published in 1549, and a number of separate impressions
followed. After 1558 they are usually found in the appendix to the Small
Catechism. The Note, "These questions and answers," etc., designating
Luther as the author, first appeared in an edition of 1551. Together
with this note, the Questions are found in an undated Wittenberg edition
of the Small Catechism, which appeared about 1560, containing pictures
dated 1551. Referring to this edition, the Wittenberg proof-reader,
Christopher Walther, in a polemical writing (1566) against Aurifaber,
asserted that the Questions were not written by Luther, but by John Lang
of Erfurt (+ 1548). The question at issue has not yet been decided. For
while the contents of the Questions reproduce, from beginning to end,
Luther's thoughts, and the last answers are almost literally taken from
the Large Catechism, we have no evidence that Luther compiled them; but,
on the other hand, also no convincing proof against this. Claus Harms
and Koellner asserted that Luther is the author of the Questions, while
Kliefoth and Loehe declared it as probable.--The Introduction to the Ten
Commandments, "I the Lord, thy God," and the Doxology, at the close of
the Lord's Prayer, were added after Luther's death.

114. The Table of Duties--Haustafel.

The eighth and last chart of the Catechism differed from the preceding
ones in that it was superscribed: "Table of Duties (Haustafel),
Consisting of Certain Passages of Scripture for Various Holy Orders and
Stations. Whereby These are to be Admonished, as by a Special Lesson,
Regarding Their Office and Service." The exact time when Luther drew up
this Table is not known. The latest date to which its composition can be
assigned is the end of April or the beginning of May, 1529. It may,
however, be questioned whether it was published at all as a placard. The
two groups of passages: "What the Hearers Owe to Their Pastors," and:
"What Subjects Owe to Their Government," are probably not from Luther.
Following are the grounds supporting this view: 1. They are not
contained in the German editions but appeared for the first time in the
Latin translation. 2. Their superscriptions differ in form from those of
the other groups. 3. They adduce quite a number of Bible-verses, and
repeat some already quoted, _e.g._, 1 Tim. 2, 1, Rom. 13, 1. The German
Book of Concord omitted these passages, while the Latin Concordia of
1580 and 1584 embodied them. Albrecht writes: "The Table of Duties is an
original part of the Catechism, bearing a true Lutheran stamp. But it
was old material worked over, as is the case almost throughout the Small
Catechism." "The oft-repeated assertion, however, that the Table of
Duties was borrowed from the catechism of the Waldensians or Bohemian
Brethren, is not correct. For this Table is not found in the Catechism
of the Brethren of 1522, with which Luther was acquainted, but first in
Gyrick's Catechism of 1554, in which Lutheran material is embodied also
in other places." (W. 30, 1, 645.)

The confession books of the Middle Ages, however, which classified sins
according to the social estates, and especially John Gerson's tract (_De
Modo Vivendi Omnium Fidelium_ reprinted at Wittenberg 1513), which
treated of the offices of all sorts of lay-people in every station of
life, may have prompted Luther to draw up this Table. But, says
Albrecht, "it certainly grew under his hand into something new and
characteristic. The old material is thoroughly shortened, sifted,
supplemented, newly arranged, recast. While Gerson's tract throughout
bears the stamp of the Middle Ages, Luther's Table of Duties, with its
appeal to the Scriptures alone, its knowledge of what is a 'holy
estate,' its teaching that, as divine ordinances, civil government and
the household (when embraced by the common order of Christian love) are
equally as holy as the priesthood, reveals the characteristic marks of
the Reformer's new ideal of life, which, rooting in his faith, and
opposed to the hierarchy and monkery of the Middle Ages, as well as to
the fanaticism of the Anabaptists, became of far-reaching importance for
the entire moral thought of the succeeding centuries." (647.)

Grimm's Lexicon defines "Haustafel" as "_der Abschnitt des Katechismus,
der ueber die Pflichten des Hausstandes handelt,_ that section of the
Catechism which treats of the duties of the household." This verbal
definition, suggested by the term, is too narrow, since Luther's
"Haustafel" is designed "for various holy orders and estates,"
magistrates and pastors included. Still, the term is not on this account
inappropriate. Table (_Tafel, tabula_) signifies in general a roster, a
list, or index of leading points, with or without reference to the chart
form. And such a table suspended in the home and employed in the
instruction of the home congregation, is properly termed "Haustafel."
Agreeably to this, Andreas Fabricius, in 1569, called the "Haustafel" a
domestic table of works, _tabula operum domestica._ Daniel Kauzmann, in
his _Handbook_ (16 sermons on the Catechism) of 1569, says: "It is
called 'Haustafel' of the Christians because every Christian should
daily view it and call to mind therefrom his calling, as from a table
which portrays and presents to every one what pertains to him. It
teaches all the people who may be in a house what each one ought to do
or to leave undone in his calling." (642.)

In his _Catechismus Lutheri_ of 1600 Polycarp Leyser offers the
following explanation: "Why are these passages called a table? Beyond
doubt this is due to the fact that, from of old, good ordinances have
been written and graven on tables. So did God, who prescribed His Law to
the Jews in ten commandments on two tables. Similarly Solon wrote the
laws of Athens on tables. The Romans also had their law of twelve tables
brought from Athens. And so, when the government to-day issues certain
commands, it is customary to suspend them on tables, as also princes and
lords suspend on tables their court rules. But why is it called
'Haustafel' when it also treats of preachers and the government? The
reason for this is g