novf begin to doubt both. For they bring up points which seem more false than true, and the same fate overtakes them in their excessive praise of their founder as has happened to the Dominicans who too greatly lauded St. Thomas Aquinas. Hatred of this fellow Luther leads them into this dispute, and they disseminate rumors that I have preached against the stigmata. Thinking that this gives them a weapon ready to their hand they hope soon to take action against me. I am happy to see that they all love to attack me so that they even invent doctrines and attribute them to me in order to overthrow them, but I regret that they needlessly bring ridicule upon their whole order. It was a man of Erfurt who started this debate, indeed, a colleague of our friend Lang in the university. To-morrow Peter Fontinus' will debate, who intends to stab tne and all our little dabblers and sciolists by the theory that we ought to have the same insane day-dreams as the ancient fathers. We shall see great feats from these little Franciscan prestidigitators. What needless tragedies such ignoramuses start! I say "needless," because their baccalaureate James,^ who to-day spoke for the whole company, excelled them all and both of our professors, too, because he was moderate and stated his theses in good form. He is of Zwickau, edu- cated at Wittenberg, equally good and talented. Christ Aumbles the proud and exalts the lowly.
Last night I had a dream about you; I dreamed that you
were leaving me while I wept bitterly, bu| jrou waved to me
and told me to cease w eeping, for you would come back to
me, which, indeed, has happened this very day. But now
farewell, and pray for me in my wretchedness.
Brother Martin Luther.
179^ BONIFACE AMERBACH TO ULRICH ZASIUS AT
FREIBURG.
T. Burckhardt-Biedermann : Bonif actus Amerbach und die Reforma- tion. Basle, 1894, P- ^37' Basle, October 3 (1519). Boniface Amerbach (October 11, 1495- April 5, 1562), son of the
K>f Boma, hoftile to the Reformation until 1535, when he married and became a pastor at Wohlau.
■James Fvhrer of Zwickau* took his bachelor's decree at Wittenberg October 2, tsiS.
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