To John Agricola, Eisleben - Martin Luther

TO JOHN AGRICOLA, EISLEBEN

The Emperor was indignant at the Elector’s steadfastness, and refused to confirm him in his Electorate and ratify his son’s engagement to Sybylla of Cleves.

July 27, 1530.

Grace and peace! That our opponents load us with terms of reproach and are trying to get the Emperor to buckle on his armor against us is a sure sign that they feel they will be defeated. For it is an old device of Satan that when he is beaten by the truth he diverts people’s attention to secondary matters, so preventing them attending to the main thing. He did this with his emissary, Eck, at Leipsic, in

regard to Carlstadt, and in many other cases. Let us therefore cleave to our cause and not yield. Now these gaping fools, as I call them, must admit, but will not, that I exalted the authority of the Emperor and the worldly powers at the time they were vilifying them, and hurling bans at them, oppressing kingdoms and monarchs with their curse, as St. Peter prophesied. Now their folly is manifest. But it is God who is befooling them. My Staupitz was wont to say, “When God wishes to torture any one He first shuts their eyes.” I am sure their eyes are shut, for I regard them as devils incarnate.

No more senseless demand has ever been made than that everything should remain as it was and their ideas be accepted, while ours are cast aside, especially as they themselves admit that we are right in many respects. For this is tantamount to expecting that our Apology, which even they praised, should be disavowed by us before the whole world. Truly this manifest vengeance of God on His enemies affords me no little consolation.

May the Lord Jesus guide you through His Holy Spirit. God grant this. From the wilderness. MARTIN LUTHER . (Schutze.)