221. ALBERT DURER TO GEORGE SPALATIN.
E. Heidrich: Albrecht Durers schriftliche Nachlass. (Berlin, 1908), p. 180. German. (Nuremberg, about February, 152a)
Diirer, the celebrated artist of Nuremberg (1471-1528) had sent Luther some of his engravings early in 1518, from which time till his death he was an enthusiastic Lutheran. His artistic works reproduced in Klassiker der Kunst, iv., Miinchen, 1908. His literary works edited by Heidrich, op. cit. Life by Thausing with English translation by Eaton. Cf, also Heidrich: Albrecht Diirer und die Reformation, 1 910.
Honored and dear Sir: — I have already thanked you in my note for what you sent me, but had then only read the little slip with the address. Your letter, being inside the book, was overlooked, and I have just found it and learn that my gracious Lord Frederic is sending me some of Luth- er's pamphlets. Wherefore I beg your Honor to express my highest thanks to his Grace, and humbly to commend to hif^ the excellent Dr. Martin Luther, on account of Christiat^ truth which concerns us more than riches and power of thi^ world, for temporal things pass away, but truth lives forever^ If God help me I will go to Dr. Martin Luther and make his likeness in copper* for a lasting memorial of the Chris- tian man who has helped me out of great anguish. I beg your Honor if Dr. Luther writes anything more in German, please to send it to me at my expense.
You wrote about Luther's Defence,^ but there are no more copies to be had; a second edition is being printed at Augs- burg, and when it is ready I will send you one. This pam- phlet written here is called heretical in the pulpits, and it is said they will burn it, and they vilify it for being published anonymously. They say Dr. Eck will bum it publicly at Ingolstadt, as happened to Dr. Reuchlin's books.
I am sending my most gracious lord three copies of my engraving of the Cardinal of Mayence. I sent the plate with two hundred copies to the cardinal for which his grace
^Unfortunately Durer never carried out this plan.
2 Lazarus Spengler's Schutsrede und Christliche Antwort, mentioned by lAitlier in a letter to Spalatin, supra, no. 220. This probably caused Spalatin to write to Durer about it, from which we get the approximate date of this letter.
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