Page:The letters of Martin Luther.djvu/341

 1534 LETTERS OF MARTIN LUTHER 301 But we trust God will allow us to escape from his foul rotten nets this autumn. Given in our celestial retreat among the trees under our common seal and signature. " Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" CCCXIIl To Landgrave Philip of Hesse Luther expresses himself willing to yield in relation to the doctrine of sacrament. October 17, 1534. Grace and peace, Most Serene Prince ! I have received your letter, begging that I should take the doctrine of the sacrament into Christian consideration, so that an enduring concord might ensue between us and the Swiss. Now your Grace knows how anxious I have always been for unity, having been much tried by such dissension, knowing how injurious it is to Christ's kingdom, and that the Pope would have been humbled long ago had your Grace managed to carry through the much -desired negotiations with BQcer and his friends. And even yet I am ready to concede all that I can with a clear conscience, but I fancy that even among the foreign (Swiss) preachers there are few who adhere to Bucer, and both parties will perhaps later decry both one and the other. Nothing could be dearer to my heart than an enduring concord, but if its foundation be brittle and precarious, then peace is at an end. Pray do not with- hold any counsel your Grace can give. If I can do anything against the murderers and bloodhounds, the Papists, who always boast that they have overcome the Christians, nothing shall be wanting in my poor prayers, efforts, speech, and pen. May Christ our Lord strengthen your Highness to do His will in His holy Church, to the