Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/348

 they say the temporal -law is sufficient, and care little for spir- itual curses or pardons, ''which may be procured for money, and rubbed off with a like salve; wherefore, though the child is now rocked asleep, it is like enough that he will make more noise when he doth awake."

712. LUTHER TO THE O-ERGY OF STRASSBURG.

Enders, v, 261. Wittenberg, November 5, 1525.

This letter is an answer to no. 705. The "sacramentarian contro- versy/' which was to separate the two chief branches of the Protestant Church for more than a century, had been started by Carlstadt, but was now taken up by the Swiss Reformers. Zwingli derived his opinion that the bread and wine were mere signs or memoriab partly from Carbtadt, still more from the Dutch theologian Honius (Kessler : Sahhata^ 1904, p. 138; Corpus Reformatorwn, xcv, S67ff.)- Zwingli's first utterance on the subject was An Epistle to Matthew Alher^ Luth- eran pastor at Reutlingen, November 16, 1524 {Corpus Reformatorum, xc, 322ff.)* It was copied and widely circulated in manuscript, though not sent to its addressee, the disingenuous idea of the writer being to avoid quarrels with Luther. It was sent to him, however, by Gerbel, probably in February (Enders, v, 155, dated April lo-ii, should be earlier, Walch," xxiv, p. 734). Luther's Letter to the Christians of Strasshurg {supra, no. 652) was published at once and sent to Zwingli l^ Capito February 6, 1525. Corpus Reformatorum, xcv, 299ff. In March, 1525, Zwingli published his Commentary on true and false Re^ ligion, of which a large section is devoted to the eucharist. Corpus Reformatorum, xc, 772fiF. Oecolampadius wrote on the same side in 1525, De genuina verborum Domini, etc Pirckheimer and Bugenhagen answered at once (1525) on the Lutheran side, as did John Brenz, in October, 1525. Kostlin-Kawerau, ii, 8off. Some of Luther's sermons were published at the same time, under the title of On the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ against the Ranting Spirits, They grave much offence to Zwingli, Corpus Reformatorum, xcv, 471. Meantime the Strassburgers were working for peace. As Gerbel observed, out of the symbol of supreme love had arisen hatred, wrath and enmity (to Bugenhagen, January, 1526, Vogt, 60; cf, Capito to Blaurer, Novem- ber 26, 1525, Briefwechsel der Blaurer, i, I24f). Bucer published an irenic in December, 1524, cf. Barge, ii, 231. His preference for Carl- stadfs opinion drew down Luther's wrath. Corpus Reformatorum, xcvi, 61, note 12.

Grace and peace in Qirist. Casel, our brother whom we love in the Lord, has returned to you, good sirs. Why should I make many prayers? I pray that Christ, speaking to you

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