Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/373

 showing his Holiness why he first wrote and how it came about, and who started and strengthened the errors and who preached so diligently to the detriment of the Holy Church. . . . The book will appear in twelve days and will have the date September 6,* just ten days after the embassy left Eisle- ben. . . . This is so that no one can say that Eck and his followers with the bull caused him to write this book to his Holiness, for the bull was published on September 21, so that this book would have been written fifteen days before anyone knew anything about the bull. Luther will also give a fair account of the Leipsic debate and the diligent attempt of my gracious Lord of Merseburg to hinder the same, and he will also praise the Pope personally. . . . Dr. Luther has also written Spalatin ^ partial account of our negotiation and con- clusion, which letter I now send to your Grace. . ..

308. CASPAR HEDIO TO ULRICH ZWINGLI AT ZURICH. Corpus Reformatorum, xciv. 355. Mayence, October 15, iS2a

Hedio, or Heyd, of Baden (1494-1552), matriculated at Freiburg 1513, B. A. 1514, M. A. 1516. In 1519 he was a chaplain at Basle, in 1520 went to Mayence. In 1523 to Strassburg, where he was one of the leading Reformers until his death. Realencyclopddie, He had written to Luther from Basle, June 23, 1520. Enders, ii. 421.

Greeting. Although I am long absent from you, dearest Zwingli, yet would I be present with my letters. Capito called me to Mayence, where I shall be preacher until he returns from the coronation of the king,* and perhaps afterwards, if Christ will, for Capito is going to give up this office, having been made councillor of the Archbishop of Mayence. You will hardly believe how valuable he is in this position. Luthef* would long ago have been burnt in this district and Lutherans excommunicated* had he not persuaded the archbishop oth- erwise. . ..

^Thts disingenuous plan was followed, so that Luther's preface to The Liberty of a Christian Man, actually written about this time, bore the false date Sep- tember 6, or, as Miltitz says, just ten days after the embassy (Staupiu and Link) had gone to Luther from the chapter at Eisleben. Supra, no. J93. For the book cf. Smith, 9 1 if.

2/. e., of Charles V. at Aix-la-Chapelle, October 23, i5;ao.

8/. e., his books.

♦Greek.

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