Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/109

 ular as regular of all orders, including the mendicants, and all dukes, marquises, counts, barons, cities, corporations and magistrates (except the aforesaid Maximilian Emperor Elect) that, as they desire to be considered Christians, they should seize all his adherents and followers and give them into your charge.

And if (which we deprecate and cannot believe) the said princes, cities, corporations and magistrates, or any of them, should receive Martin or his adherents and followers in any way, or should give the said Martin aid, coimsel or favor, openly or secretly, directly or indirectly, for any cause what- ever, we subject the cities, towns and domains of these princes, communities, corporations and magistrates to the interdict^ as well as all the cities, towns and places to which the said Martin may happen to come, as long as he remains there and for three days afterwards. And we also command all and singular princes, cities, corporations and magistrates aforesaid, to obey all your requisitions and conmiands, without excep- tion, contradiction or reply, and that they abstain from giving counsel, aid, favor and comfort to the aforesaid. The penalty of disobedience, in addition to that mentioned above, shall be for the clergy deprivation of their churches, monasteries and feudal benefices forever, and for laymen, except the aforesaid Emperor, the penalties of infamy, inability to do any Intimate act, deprivation of religious burial and forfeiture of the fiefs held from us or from the apostolic see, together with what- ever secular penalties may be hereby incurred. And by these presents we give you power of rewarding the obedient with a plenary indulgence or grace according to your judgment, notwithstanding previous privileges granted and confirmed by the apostolic authority to churches, monasteries and persons, even if it be expressly provided therein that they cannot be excommunicated. . ..

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the fisherman's ring, in the sixth year of our pontificate.

J. Sadoletus."

'/. e,, prohibition of all religious rites except baptism and extreme unction. This threat, aimed chiefly at the Elector Frederic, was not carried out for political reasons.

sjacopo Sadoleto, i477*i547> was a well-trained theologian, employed as papal

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