you were with Martin Luther at Worms; nor do I doubt that your piety has done what I would have done had I been present, to assuage the tragedy with moderate counsels, so that it would not in future burst forth with greater damage to the world, I am much surprised that such counsels were not followed, since they were pleasing to all good men who desired only the peace of the Church, for without concord the Church loses her proper name. For what else is our religion but peace in the Holy Spirit? Orthodox fathers have borne witness that the net of the Church has taken both good fishes and bad, and that tares have grown up with the wheat, and that vices have grown up, and have deplored that the morals of those who should have been the ensamples of real piety have become corrupt. . . . The study of Holy Scripture had decayed as much as morals, for it was perverted to serve hu- man greed by imposing on the credulity of the people. Pious minds, in which nothing is more deeply rooted than the glory of Christ, groaned at this. This brought it about that at first Luther had such favor from all men as I believe no mortal ever had before for centuries. And as we easily believe what we vehemently desire, men thought that he was a man raised up pure from all the temptations of this world, to bring a remedy for such great evils. Nor did I entirely despair, except that at the first taste of the books published over Luther's name I feared that the affair would bring on a tumult and strife throughout the world. So by letter I warned both Luther and those friends who I thought would have most influence with him; what counsel they gave him I know not, but certainly he acted so that there is danger lest the bad remedies applied should double the evils. I greatly wonder, Jonas, what god inspired Luther, that with so licentious a pen he should attack the Pope, all universities, philosophy and the mendicant orders. For if all his censures were true, and it is said that they are far from true, what other result could he expect by provoking so many than that which we see? I have not yet had time to read Luther's books, but from the little I have glanced at and from what has been told me by others, I have observed that even where his allegations were above my power to judge, his method and argument by no
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