It is noteworthy that Luther’s letter to Ludwig Senfl, the eminent and
not unfriendly musician and composer, bandmaster to Duke William and
a great favourite at the Court of Bavaria, should have been sent just
at this time. To him Luther was high in his praise of the Court: Since
the Dukes of Bavaria were so devoted to music, he must extol them, and
give them the preference over all other Princes, for friends of music
must necessarily possess a good seed of virtue in their soul. This
connection with Senfl he continued in an indirect fashion.[166]
The best answer to the resolutions passed at Augsburg seemed to the
first leader of the movement to lie in expansion, i.e. in great
conquests, to be achieved in spite of all threats of violence.
Instead of having recourse to violence, the Empire, however, entered
into those negotiations which were ultimately to lead, in 1532, to the
so-called Religious Peace of Nuremberg. At about this time Luther sent
a missive to his Elector in which his readiness for a religious war is
perfectly plain.
The document, which was composed jointly with the other Wittenberg
theologians, and for the Latinity of which Melanchthon may have been
responsible, treats, it would appear, of certain Imperial demands for
concessions made at the Court of the Elector on September 1, 1531,
previous to the Schmalkalden conference. These demands manifest the
utmost readiness on the part of the authorities of the Empire to
make advances. Yet Luther in his reply refuses to acquiesce even in
the proposal that people everywhere should be allowed to receive the
Sacrament under one kind, according to the ritual hitherto in use. We
are bound to declare openly and at all times, he says, that all those
who refrain from receiving under both kinds are guilty of sin. He
continues, referring to the other points under debate: It is true that
we are told of the terrible consequences which must result should “war
and rebellion break out, the collapse of all public order fall like a
scourge upon Germany, and the Turks and other foreign powers subjugate
the divided nation. To this our reply is: Sooner let the world perish
than have peace at the expense of the Evangel. We know our teaching is
certain; not a hair’s breadth may we yield for the sake of the public
peace. We must commend ourselves to God, Who has hitherto protected
His Church during the most terrible wars, and Who has helped us beyond
all expectation.”[167]
This argument based on the Evangel cuts away the ground from under all
Luther’s previous more moderate counsels.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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