Part 9 (1/2)

If it turns out that he wishes to do it for the sake of the good work, the priest or lord should boldly tread the vow and good work under foot, as though it were a lure of the devil, and show hie to the keeping of God's command it on his own fahbors But if he wishes to e out of curiosity, to see new lands and cities, he may be allowed to do as he likes If, however, he has ht to be forbidden and canceled, and the coht to be shown that he should henceforth be satisfied with the vow he made in baptism[154], to keep the commandments of God And yet, in order to quiet his conscience, he may be allowed this once to perforht and common path of God's commandh he had fulfilled all the commandments of God

[Sidenote: Reforreat croho vow ry, dear lords! Truly, I mean it well It is the truth, and bitter-sweet, and it is this,--the building of mendicant-houses[155]

should no more be permitted God help us, there are already far too many of theiven over to two or three orders! Wandering about the land has never brought any good, and never will bring any good It is ether ten of these houses, or as many as may be necessary, and out of them all to make one house, which will be well provided and need noIt is much more important to consider what the common people need for their salvation, than what St Francis, St Doustine[156] or any other s have not turned out as they expected

Theconfession, except when they are called to this work by the express desire of bishops, parishes, congregations or the te there has co but hatred and envy between priests and reat offence and hindrance to the common people For this reason it should properly and deservedly cease, because it can well be dispensed with[157] It looks suspiciously as though it were not for nothing that the Holy Roman See has increased this arht not soin a refor of his Holiness

At the same time the manifold divisions and differences within one and the same order should be abolished These divisions have at times arisen for small reason andone another with unspeakable hatred and envy[158]

Nevertheless the Christian faith, which can well exist without any of these distinctions, is lost by both sides, and a good Christian life is valued and sought after only in outward laorks and for of hypocrisy and the destruction of souls, as everyone may see with his own eyes

The pope must also be forbidden to found and confirm any more of these orders; nay, he must be commanded to abolish some of them and reduce their nuood and which exists without any orders, is in no ser, because thesefor the heed to the faith Unless there are in the monasteries wise prelates, who preach and who concern themselves with faith more than with the rules of the orders, the order cannot but harm and delude simple souls who think only of works

In our days, however, the prelates who have had faith and who founded the orders have al the children of Israel, when the fathers, who knew God's works and wonders, had passed away, the children, fronorance of God's works and of faith, immediately became idolatrous and set up their own human works; so now, alas! these orders have lost the understanding of God's works and of faith, and only torture themselves pitifully, with labor and sorrow, in their own rules, laws and custoood spiritual life, as the Apostle declared when he said, in II Timothy iii: ”They have the appearance of a spiritual life, yet there is nothing back of it; they are ever and ever learning, but they never coe of what a true spiritual life is” [2 Tim 3:5, 7] There should be no monastery unless there were a spiritual prelate, learned in the Christian faith, to rule it, for no other kind of prelate can rule without injury and ruin, and the holier and better he appears to be in his outorks and life, theit would be a necessary measure, especially in these perilous times of ours, that all foundations and monasteries should be re-established as they were at the first, in the days of the Apostles and for a long time afterwards, when they were all open to everyas he pleased

For ere the foundations and monasteries except Christian schools in which the Scriptures and Christian living were taught, and people were trained to rule and to preach? So we read that St Agnes[159]

went to school, and we still see the sa[160] and others elsewhere And in truth all ht to be so free that God is served in them with free will and not with forced avarice Afterward, however, they hedged the prison, so that these vows are thought to be of more account than the vows of baptism What sort of fruit this has borne, we see, hear, read and learn more and more every day

I suppose this advice of ht of foolishness; but I am not concerned about that just now I advise what I think best; let him reject it ill! I see how the vows are kept, especially the vow of chastity, which has becoh these monasteries and yet is not coiven to very few to keep it, as He himself says [Matt 19:11 ff], and St Paul [1 Cor 7:7, Col 2:20] I would have all ht in hue of the Clergy]

14 We also see how the priesthood has fallen, and how many a poor priest is overburdened ife and child, and his conscience troubled, yet no one does anything to help hih pope and bishops o to ruin if they will, I will save my conscience and open my mouth freely, whether it vex pope, bishops or any one else

Wherefore I say that according to the institution of Christ and the Apostles every city should have a priest or bishop, as St Paul clearly says in titus i [tit 1:6]; and this priest should not be compelled to live without a wedded wife, but should be permitted to have one, as St Paul says in I Timothy iii, and titus i, ”A bishop should be a man who is blameless, and the husband of but one wedded wife, whose children are obedient and virtuous,” etc [1 Tim 3:2, tit 1:6] For with St Paul a bishop and a priest are one and the sa, as witness also St Jerome[161] But of bishops as they now are, the Scriptures know nothing; they have been appointed by the ordinance of the Christian Church, that one of them may rule over many priests

So then we clearly learn from the Apostle that it should be the custoation[162] a learned and pious citizen, entrust to him the office of the ministry, and support hi him free choice to marry or not He should have with hiht also be married or not, as they chose, to help hi and the sacraments, as is still the practice in the Greek Church At a later time[164], when there were so many persecutions and controversies with heretics, there were many holy fathers who of their own accord abstained froht the better devote themselves to study and be prepared at any time for death or for controversy Then the Roman See interfered, out of sheer wantonness, andpriests toof the devil, as St Paul declares in I Ti doctrines of devils, and forbid to marry” Froiven for the withdrawal of the Greek Church[166], and division, sin, shame and scandal were increased without end,--which is the result of everything the devil does

What, then, shall we do about it? My advice is that ain made free[167], and that every one be let free choice to marry or not to overnment and ado to pieces and not many benefices find their way to Roreed has been a cause of this wretched unchaste chastity, and as a result of greed every man has wished to become a priest and everyone wants his son to study for the priesthood, not with the idea of living in chastity, for that could be done outside the priesthood, but of being supported in tes without care or labor, contrary to the command of God in Genesis iii, ”In the sweat of thy face shat thou eat thy bread” [Gen 3:19] They have construed this to mean that their labor was to pray and sayhere to popes, bishops, canons and monks God has not instituted these offices They have taken burdens on themselves; let them bear them I would speak only of the ministry which God has instituted[169] and which is to rule a congregation byand sacra the people Such ranted liberty by a Christian council to marry, for the avoidance of temptation and sin

For since God has not bound theh he were an angel from heaven [Gal 1:8], still less if he be only a pope; and everything that the canon law decrees to the contrary is mere fable and idle talk

Furthermore, I advise that henceforth neither at his consecration to the priesthood nor at any other time shall any one under any circumstances promise the bishop to live in celibacy, but shall declare to the bishop that he has no authority to demand such a vow, and that to demand it is the devil's own tyranny

But if anyone is compelled to say or wishes to say, as do some, ”so far as human frailty peratively, to mean ”I do not promise chastity”[171] For huelic power and celestial ht[2 Pet 2:11][173] Thus he should keep his conscience free from all vows

On the question whether those who are not yet ive advice either way I leave that to coards the wretched multitude who now sit in shame and heaviness of conscience because their wives are called ”priests' harlots” and their children ”priests' children” I will not withhold my faithful counsel nor deprive them of the coht[174] You will findto say except that he is weak and has coh both parties ether in wedded love and troth, if only they could do it with a clear conscience, even though they ht have to bear public shame Two such persons are certainly married before God And I say that where they are thus ether, they should boldly save their consciences; let him take and keep her as his wedded wife, and live honestly with her as her husband, caring nothing whether the pope will have it so or not, whether it be against canon law or human law The salvation of your soul is of more importance than tyrannical, arbitrary, wicked lahich are not necessary for salvation and are not commanded by God

You should do like the children of Israel, who stole froyptians the hire they had earned [Ex 12:35 f], or like a servant who steals froes he has earned In like manner steal thou froh to venture this, boldly follow h I have not the authority of a pope, I have the authority of a Christian to advise and help ainst sins and temptations; and that not without cause and reason

_First_, Not every priest can do without a woman, not only on account of the weakness of the flesh, but much more because of the necessities of the household If he, then, rants hie,--what is that but leaving atheether and command that it shall neither smoke nor burn

_Second_, The pope has as little power to co, the naturalfat No one, therefore, is bound to keep it, but the pope is responsible for all the sins which are coainst this ordinance, for all the souls which are lost thereby, for all the consciences which are thereby confused and tortured; and therefore he has long deserved that some one should drive hiled with this devil's snare; though I hope that there are racious at their last hour than the pope has been in their life Nothing good has ever come out of the papacy and its laws, nor ever will

_Third_, Although the law of the pope is against it, nevertheless, when the estate of ainst the pope's law, then his law is at an end, and is no longer valid; for the commandment of God, which decrees that no one shall put man and wife asunder [Matt 19:6], takes precedence of the law of the pope; and the colected for the sake of the pope's coh many mad jurists, in the papal interest, have devised ”impediments”[175] and have prevented, destroyed and confused the estate of matriether destroyed Tostory short, there are not in the whole ”spiritual” law of the pope two lines which could be instructive to a pious Christian, and there are, alas! sowould be to make a bonfire of it[176]

But if you say that this[177] would give offence, and the pope rant dispensation, I reply that whatever offence is in it, is the fault of the Roainst God; before God and the Scriptures it is no offence

Moreover, if the pope can grant dispensations from his avaricious and tyrannical laws for rant dispensations from them--for the sake of God and the salvation of souls For Christ has set us free from all human laws, especially when they are opposed to God and the salvation of souls, as St Paul teaches in Galatians v [Gal 5:1] and I Corinthians xi [1 Cor 9:4 ff; 10:23]