Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/310

 mond and Latomus, the one blear-eyed, the other halt, act more odiously than he/. . . Your Erasmus.

246. MELANCHTHON TO SPALATIN. Corpus Reformatorum, i. 153. (Wittenberg, April 13, 1520.)

As Luther has written you about the sentence in John,' there is no need for my writing anything. For why, as Cicero says, should I play the actor before Roscius? ... It was about this very sentence that a dispute arose with the French mathematician. He said that he would give in some- thing to the desires of the people if he professed Luther's doctrines, but that it was generally thought that even Luther did not believe all his own dogmas. He meant to say that all that Luther said was not true,' but thought that he could more easily entice people with this circumlocution. Then I said that I thought this was an evil purpose, and, what was the last thing an honorable man would consent to, underhanded. A good man ought to say freely and boldly what he thought. Truth does not need to be adulterated with either art or fraud. A suspicion of falsehood was a derogation to Luther's doctrine. He whose life was different from his doctrine would by that very fact raise suspicion, and nothing ought to be so entirely avoided as all suspicion of falsehood. The authority of one teaching by fraud was impaired. For what would the people think of one who taught by lies when they found them out? I added much of the same sort. Then he, to guard against being thought to have made a false or captious criticism, took refuge, as it were, in these words: That by no means was fraud to be used, but that he would consent to be taken for a liar if all that Luther said, every- where, by chance, seriously or in joke, were true, for every man was said to be a liar.

the Greek for noxa), began to teach at Louvain 1492; was made doctor of theology 1500, Rector 1505 and 15x0, the leading theologian after the departure of Adrian of Utrecht. He waa the most determined opponent of Erasmus, and would hare been of Luther, had it not been for his death on January 8, 1520. De Jongh, p. i49ff'

lOn the campaign of Egmond and Latomus against Luther, supra, no. 213.

sEndert, ii. 379* The sentence was, "Ye can do nothing without me," John,

XT. 5.


 * The words in italics are in German.

�� �