So again, if we believe Satan to be the Prince of this world, who is perpetually plotting and fighting with all his might against the kingdom of Christ, so that he does not let his captives of humankind go, unless he is driven out by a divine power — then again, it is manifest that there can be no such thing as Freewill.
So again, if we believe that original sin 770 has so ruined us, as to make it most troublesome work even for those who are led by the Spirit, through striving against the good in them (as it does) — then it is clear that nothing is left in man, devoid of the Spirit, which can turn itself to good; but only what turns itself to evil.
Again, if the Jews, who followed after righteousness with all their might, have rather fallen headlong into unrighteousness; and if the Gentiles, who followed after unrighteousness, have freely and unhopedly attained to righteousness — then it is manifest here (as in the former instances), by deed and experience, that without grace man can will nothing but evil. In fine, if we believe that Christ redeemed man by His blood, then we are obliged to confess that the whole man was undone. Otherwise we either make Christ superfluous, or else we make him the redeemer of only the vilest part in man. This would be blasphemous and sacrilegious. 771
Preface
Luther admonishes, thanks, counsels, prays.
Now therefore I beseech you in the name of Christ, my Erasmus, that you would at length perform what you have promised. You promised that you would be willing to submit yourself to the man who could teach you better things. Be done with respect to persons. I confess, you are a great man, adorned with many of the noblest gifts by God; not to mention others — with genius, and learning, and eloquence, even to the miraculous. On the other hand, I have nothing, and am nothing, except that I could almost glory in being a Christian. Again, I greatly commend and extol you for this thing also: that you are the only man of all my antagonists, who has attacked the heart of the subject, the head of the cause — instead of wearing me out with extraneous points such as the Papacy, Purgatory, Indulgences, and a number of like topics. These may more fitly be called trifles, than matters of debate: a sort of chase in which nearly all my opponents have been hunting me up to here in vain. You are that single and solitary individual who has seen the hinge of the matters in dispute, and has aimed at the neck. I thank you for this from my heart — it is far more to my taste to be occupied in debating this question, so far as time and leisure are accorded me.
If those who have previously attacked me had done the same; if those would do so who are currently boasting of new spirits, and new revelations — then we would have less of sedition and divisions, and more of peace and concord. But God thus stirs up Satan to punish our ingratitude. 772
However, unless you can plead this cause in a somewhat different style from your Diatribe, I could earnestly wish that you would be content with your own proper good; and that you would cultivate, adorn, and advance the cause of literature and the languages, as you have done up till now, with great profit and praise. By this pursuit of yours, you have even served me not a little; insomuch that I confess myself to be greatly in your debt, even as I most assuredly venerate you, and sincerely look up to you as my superior in that particular. But God has not yet willed, nor given, that you should be equal to this cause! Pray, do not think that I say this with any arrogance.
And yet, I implore the Lord to speedily make you as much my superior in this particular, as you already are in all others. Nor is it anything new that God should instruct a Moses by Jethro, or a Paul by Ananias. If you do not know Christ, then you have failed in your aim, as to what you say, and you have done that miserably indeed — I think you must be aware yourself, what sort of a statement this is.
All will not therefore be in the wrong because you or I are in the wrong (if it is so). God is declared to be a God who is wonderful in his saints — so that we may count them saints, who are the furthest from saintship. Nor is it hard to suppose that you, being a man, may neither rightly understand, nor observe with sufficient diligence, either the Scriptures or the sayings of the Fathers, by whose guidance you imagine that you have obtained your aim. We have a pretty good hint to this effect, when you write that you do not assert at all, but only confer.773 The man who sees clearly through the whole of his subject, and understands it correctly, does not write this way. For my part, I have not conferred, but have asserted in this book; indeed, and I do assert. Nor is it my desire to appoint any man to be judge in this cause. I persuade all to receive my decree. May the Lord, whose cause this is, shine upon you — and make you a vessel unto honour and glory! Amen.
The End
Endnotes
Notes
[←1]
The historian that Vaughn refers to is Joseph Milner, who wrote The History of the Church of Christ (London, 1812), which Vaughn relied on heavily for this biographical sketch.
[←2]
In his office of subaltern vicar, he had about forty monasteries under his inspection, which he had taken occasion to visit.
[←3]
The most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman.
[←4]
It is not to be inferred that Luther was at this time ignorant of the doctrine of grace, because he was ignorant of this particular subject. This is the memorable year 1517. In the preceding year, 1516, he thus wrote to a friend. ‘I desire to know what your soul is doing; whether wearied at length of its own righteousness, it learns to refresh itself and to rest in the righteousness of Christ. The temptation of presumption in our age is strong in many, and specially in those who labour to be just and good with all their might, and at the same time are ignorant of the righteousness of God, which in Christ is conferred upon all with a rich exuberance of gratuitous liberality. They seek in themselves to work that which is good, in order that they may have a confidence of standing before God, adorned with virtues and merits, which is an impossible attempt. You, my friend, used to be of this same opinion — or rather, of this same mistake. So was I; but now I am fighting against the error, but have not yet prevailed.’ — A little before the controversy concerning Indulgences, George, Duke of Saxony, entreated Staupitius to send him some worthy and learned preacher. The vicar-general, in compliance with his request, dispatched Lnther with strong recommendations to Dresden. George gave him an order to preach: the sum of Luther’s sermon was this: That no man ought to despair of the possibility of salvation; that those who heard the word of God with attentive minds were true disciples of Christ, and were elected and predestined to eternal life. He enlarged on the subject, and showed that the whole doctrine of predestination, if the foundation is laid in Christ, was of singular efficacy to dispel that fear by which men, trembling under the sense of their own unworthiness, are tempted to fly from God, who ought to be our sovereign refuge. Evidence to the same effect may be drawn in abundance from his letter to Spalatinus, written in this same preceding year, containing remarks on Erasmus’ interpretations of Scripture, compared with those of Jerome, Augustine, and some of the other Fathers. ‘When obedience to the commandment takes place to a certain degree, and yet does not have Christ for its foundation, though it may produce such men as your Fabriciuses, and your Reguluses, that is, very upright moralists according to man’s judgment, it has nothing of the nature of genuine righteousness. For men are not made truly righteous, as Aristotle supposes, by performing certain actions which are externally good — for they may still be counterfeit characters — but men must have righteous principles in the first place, and then they will not fail to perform righteous actions. God first respects Abel, and then his offering.’ — Milner, iv. Cent. xvi. chap. ii.
[←5]
Pope Leo X (1475-1510), born Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici.
[←6]
. Luther quoted this boast by Johann Tetzel, in his tract against Hans Wurst.
[←7]
Thomas Cajetan (1469–1534), Dominican theologian, cardinal, and opponent of Martin Luther.
[←8]
Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) of the House of Habsburg. King of the Germans from 1486, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death. He was never crowned by the Pope because he couldn’t travel to Rome.
[←9]
Interregnum: the time between two reigns, governments, etc.
[←10]
Andreas von Karlstadt (1486-1541), a German Protestant theologian born in Karlstadt, Franconia. During his stay in Rome, he saw large-scale corruption in the Church. In September 1516, he wrote 151 theses challenging the practices. In 1519, Johann Eck challenged him to the Leipzig Debate, which
