Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/324

 SoifiF. Modern life by K Gotzinger in Schriften des Vereins fur Reformationsgeschichte, no. 5a

Greeting.^ Dear Joachim, your commendation is to me the jest possible commendation. For you always recommend that Mrhich approves itself without any recommendation. But were iie object in the greatest possible need of praise, yet would ^our recommendation have so much weight with me, iiat it could and ought to illumine dark matters, and give ^ce to things worn out

You ask for Eck's works. I have none to send you save iiose of which you already have seen too much. Either noth- ng of that kind is brought to Constance, or else the author, >ut of respect to pontifical ears, lets his indefatigable pen rest a while. He brought The Primacy of Peter to the feet of Leo X., expecting not a roar, but applause. May God grant that this learned man may spend his time better and turn his yy no means effete mind to better studies.

I thank your kindness for sending me the report of Luther's debate.' I also will send you anything new that comes to me. That man's writings wonderfully please me, but I regret that lie so rashly propagates ideas which are indeed true, but yet too strong for the crude stomach of the populace to digest. Take for example his tract on Confession* which every old nroman on the street knows. Paul had not a few things which lie hid away on account of the times, giving milk to babes until they grew up in Christ, that he might speak wisdom imong the perfect. What Luther writes is surely most true, but it is not expedient to lay such hard matters before the v^hole world. For if Paul passed over part of the doctrine >f the gospel, in order to win the frail and fickle multitude, low much more fitting is it nowadays either to connive at
 * hat which cannot be changed without a revolution, or else

to heal the sick world by some entirely different means, for, IS you know, the medicine is strong for the times. It is by no means sufficient to know what drugs to apply to a sick-

>Greek.

^Sck^dam disputationis Lutherianae, probably refers to the minutes of the LeipMC debate published soon after it took place, and reprinted, Weimar, ii. 250. [t may, howeTer, refer to the Resolutions for debate, Weimar, ii. 153.


 * Eifl£ kurse Unterweisung tint man beichten soil, Weimar, ii. 57.

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