Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/56

 that they now suffer ? I, too, wish to see celibacy made a matter of liberty, as the Gospel requires, but I do not quite know, as yet, how to bring it about/ But this advice of mine is useless. He probably does not wish to be held back, and so must be let alone. . ..

Do not be anxious about my exile. It makes no difference to me where I am, if only I am not a burden and a nuisance to the men here. I wish to cause expense to no one. I think I am living at the bounty of the Elector, and could not stay another hour if I thought I was consuming the substance of the warden, who serves me in all things cheerfully and freely. You know that if anyone's wealth must be wasted it should be that of a prince, for to be a prince and not a robber is hardly possible, and the greater the prince the harder it is. Please inform me on this point. I cannot understand this man's liberality unless he supports me from the Elector's purse. It is my nature to be afraid of burdening people when perchance I do not, but such a scruple becomes an honorable man.

Last week I htmted two days to see what that bitter-sweet ' pleasure of heroes was like. We took two hares and a few poor partridges — a w(Mthy occupation indeed for men with nothing to do. I even moralized among the snares and dogs, and .the superficial pleasure I may have derived from the hunt was equalled by the pity and the pain which are a necessary part of it. It is an image of the devil hunting innocent little creatures with his gins and his hounds, the impious magis- trates, bishops and theologians. I deeply felt this parable of the simple and faithful soul. A still more cruel parable fol- lowed. With great pains I saved a little live rabbit, and rolled it up in the sleeve of my cloak, but when I left it and went a little way off the dogs found the poor rabbit and killed it by biting its right leg and throat through the cloth. Thus do the Pope and Satan rage to kill souls and are not stopped

^ On Luther's earlier attitude towards sacerdotal celibacy, cf. W. Reindell : Luther, Crdus und Hutien, p. 86ff. (1890).

fife of More, by W. H. Hutton, p. 47. The Utopians, says More, see no pleasure in the "aeclye and wofull beastes slaughter and murder." Utopia, Book II, Bohn't edition, pw 129.
 * Greek. This humane dislike of hunting was shared by Thomas More. Cf.

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