Wittenberg to lecture on the Bible in the same year. Smith, chap. IV. The occasion of the present letter is to invite his brothers to the cere- mony of taking the degree of doctor of divinity, on October i8, 1512.
Greeting in the Lord. Reverend, venerable and dear Fathers I Behold the day of St. Luke is at hand, on which, in obedience to you and to our reverend Vicar Staupitz,* I shall take my examination in theology in the hall of the university, as I believe you already know from the letter of our Witten- berg Prior Link.^ I do not now accuse myself of unworthiness, lest I should seek praise and honor by my humility ; God and my conscience know how worthy and how grateful I am for this public honor.
First of all I beg you for Christ's sake to commend me to God in your common prayers, for you know you are my debtors for this by the law of charity, that his well pleasing and merciful will may be with me. Then I beg that you will deign to come and be present at the celebration, if convenient, for the glory and honor of religion and especially of our chap- ter. I should not dare to ask you to undertake the trouble and expense of such a journey, except that the very reverend father vicar has done it, and because it would seem indecorous, unworthy and scandalous for you not to be with me on such an occasion of honor, as though you were ignorant of it or uninvited.
ijohn yon StaniMts matriculated at I<eip6ic in 1485; in 1497 he is found as he was elected Vicar of the German Prorince of Augustinian Hermits, and in the same year was called by Frederic the Wise to be dean of the theological faculty of the new university of Wittenberg, where he took his doctorate in divinity in 1510. Luther's relations with him were very close, and it is to him that the young monk owed his two calls to Wittenberg. Staupitz was unable to follow him in the revolt from Rome, and on August 28, 1520, laid down the office of Vicar and retired to Salzburg, securing dispensation to leave the Augus- tinian for the Benedictine order. Here he lived till his death by apoplexy on December a8, 1524. C/. Th. Kolde: Die dentscht Augustiner-Congregaiion und J. V. StaupitM (Gotha. 1879), and in Reaiencyclop&die.
tWenzel Link (January 8, i483-March 12, 1547), of Colditz, matriculated at Ldpsic 1498, and at Wittenberg 1503, where he was called to teach philosophy ID 1508, and became D. D. in 1511. In 1516 he left Wittenberg for Munich. As an Augustinian he attended the general chapter at Heidelberg, April, 15 18, where he was elected District Vicar to succeed Luther. In August, 1520, he was elected Vicar of the German Province to succeed Staupitz, but under the influence of the evangelic faith resigned the vicariate, became pastor of a reformed church at Altenburg and married 1523. Two years later he was called to Nuremberg, where he spent the rest of his life in useful service and in frequent communication with Luther. Cf. W. Reindell: H^. Link von CaiditM Band I, 1483-1522. (Mar- burg, 1892.) Also Realencyclopadie,
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