masses and sacrilegious ceremonies or not (since that is their pleasure), though I should prefer to see them abolished; nevertheless it is my duty to admonish them and denounce them and to turn the people away from them that they may not become partakers in these men's sins, since we are certain that the wrath of God is hanging over them, lest, because of my silence, I, too, may have to share in their punishment. I wish, too, that the Elector had been a little more just in this matter, and had kept his own counsel a little while longer/ His plan does not please me. It smacks of a certain unbelief, nay, a certain weakness of soul, such as we find in princes' courts, by which temporal interests are preferred to spiritual. But I leave these things in the hands of God. Farewell, and pray for me. Martin Luther.
604. LUTHER TO MICHAEL VON DER STRASSEN AT BORNA
DeWette, ii, 422. German. WrrrENBERG, October 16, 1523.
Michael von der'Strassen was born at Dresden of a Swiss family. He matriculated at Wittenberg 1503. In 151 1 he was a public escort at Borna, where he worked until his death in June, 1531. He was said to have great business ability. He married Margaret Kummer, and three of his sons studied at Wittenberg. Luther was his guest on his return from the Wartburg, March 5, 1522. ARC viii, 36!.
Grace and peace in Qirist. Many of these articles* are good, especially those that speak of compulsory confession and the saying of mass for money. You have had my opinion in the tracts on Confession and the Mass,' viz., con-
Tfaey wrote to the Elector to complain of this on August 3> ARC, xii (19x5), pp. a iff. The Elector replied, August 6, saying he had asked Luther to let the matter rest four weeks till his return. Matthew Beskau wrote the Elector August 33* begging him to command Luther and Jonas to keep still about the disputed point until a council should decide it. On September 4 the Elector wrote the Chapter ordering them to change nothing. A further complaint, September 23, led the Elector to ask them, September as, to come to Torgau at once to confer about the matter. The general trend of these negotiations, terminating October 13, was to leave things as they were.
^ Jonas had proposed a plan (August 24; Kawerau, nos. 8z, 8a) for reforming the worship of the Castle Church, but the Elector had refused to entertain it His refusal is the "plan** to which Luther refers (C. R. i, 640).
- The "articles" are the teachings of Wolfgang Crucius, pastor in Oelsnitz. They
had caused a disturbance there and had been sent to Luther for his opinion by Michael von der Strassen.
■ Von der Beich$ (Weimar, riii, 129S), and Vom Missbraueh der Messg (iM, 477*).
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