Of the Turks The Turks have retained many features of the law of Moses, but, inflated with the insolence of victory, they have adopted a new worship; for the glory of warlike triumphs is, in the opinion of the world, the greatest of all.
Luther complained of the emperor Charles negligence, who, taken up with other wars, suffered the Turk to capture one place after another. `Tis with the Turks as heretofore with the Romans, every subject is a soldier, as long as he is able to bear arms, so they have always a disciplined army ready for the field; whereas we gather together ephemeral bodies of vagabonds, untried wretches, upon whom is no dependence. My fear is, that the papists will unite with the Turks to exterminate us. Please God, my anticipation come not true, but certain it is, that the desperate creatures will do their best to deliver us over to the Turks.
Luther wrote a letter to the emperor's chief general in Hungary, admonishing him that he had against him four powerful enemies; he had not only to do with flesh and blood, but with the devil, with the Turk, with God's wrath, with our own sins; therefore he should remember to humble himself and to call upon God to help.
Luther heard that the emperor Charles had sent into Austria eighteen thousand Spaniards against the Turk. Whereupon he sighed, and said: `Tis a sign of the last day when those cruel nations, the Spaniards and Turks, are to be our masters: I would rather have the Turks for enemies than the Spaniards for protectors; for, barbarous tyrants as they are, most of the Spaniards are half Moors, half Jews, fellows who believe nothing at all.
The great hope I have is, that the Turkish empire will be brought to an end by intestine dissensions, as it has been with all the kingdoms of the world, the Persian, the Chaldean, the Alexandrian, the Roman: I hope the four brothers, the son of the great Turk, will dispute the sovereignty among themselves. Whoso climbs high, is in danger to fall; the best swimmer may be drowned. If it be the will of God, though the Turk has climbed high, he may fall to pieces in a moment.
The Turk will go to Rome, as Daniel's prophecy announces, and then the last day will not be very distant. Germany must be chastised by the Turks. I often reflect with sorrow, how utterly Germany neglects all good counsel. Victory, however, depends not on ourselves.
There is a time for conquering the Turks, and a time for being conquered. The king of France long exalted himself in his pride, but in the end he was abased and made captive. The pope long despised God and man, but he too is fallen. They say the pope lately celebrated the circumcision of four of his sons, and invited the great khan, the king of Persia, and the chiefs of the Venetians, to the ceremony. He is extremely venerated by his subjects. He gives the people a passport, called vich, the bearer of which passes safely throughout the Turkish dominions, and is freely lodged wherever he goes.
Of Countries and Cities OF COUNTRIES AND CITIES DCCCXXXVIII.
Our Lord God deals with countries and cities, as I do with an old hedge-stick, when it displeases me; I pluck it up and burn it, and stick another in its stead.
Tacitus describes German very well. He highly extols the Germans, by reason of their adherence to promises, especially in the state of matrimony, in which particular they excelled all other nations. In former times it stood well with Germany but now the people are fallen from virtue, and become rude, proud, and insolent.
The best days were before the deluge, when the people lived long, were moderate in eating and drinking, beheld God's creature with diligence, celestial and terrestrial, without wasting, warring, or debate; then a fresh, cool spring of water was more sweet, acceptable, and better relished, than costly wines.
Germany is like a brave and gallant horse, highly fed, but without a good rider; as the horse runs here and there, astray, unless he have a rider to rule him, so Germany is also a powerful, rich, and brave country, but needs a good head and governor.
This constant change in the fashion of dress will produce also an alteration of government and manners; we attend too much to these things. Emperor Charles frequently says: the Germans learn of the Spaniards to steal, and the Spaniards learn of the Germans to swill.
Venice is the richest of cities. She has two kingdoms, Cyprus and Candia. Candia once was full of robbers, for six hundred ruined merchants had fled thither. As the island is very hilly, they were not able, by force, to get rid of these robbers, so the Veneitans made proclamation that they would receive all the robbers again to favor, upon condition that each should bring to them the head of a fellow robber. By which means, one wretch being snapped by another, the island was cleared of these vipers. `Twas a good and wise council. Venice respects neither decency nor honor; she seeks only her own profit, is always neutral, hanging the cloak according to the wind. Now they hold with the Turk, ere long they will be for the emperor; what party has victory, has them.
Of Countries and Cities DCCCXLIV.
Bembo, an exceeding learned man, who had thoroughly investigated Rome, said: Rome is a filthly, stinking puddle, full of the wickedest wretches in the world; and he wrote thus:
"Vivere qui sancte vultus, discedite Roma, Omnia hic ecce licent, non licet esse probum."
In the time of Leo X., there were in an Augustine convent at Rome, two monks, who revolted at the horrible wickedness of the papists, and, in their sermons, found fault with the pope. In the night, two assassins were introduced into their cells, and next morning they were found dead, their tongues cut out, and stuck on their backs. Whoso in Rome is heard to speak against the pope, either gets a sound strappado or has his throat cut; for the pope's name is Noti me tangere.
When I was at Rome, they showed me, for a precious holy relic, the halter wherewith Judas hanged himself. Let us bear this in mind, and consider in what ignorance our forefathers were.
Of Vocation and Calling OF VOCATION AND CALLING DCCCXLVII.
When they who have the office of teaching, joy not therein, that is, have not regard to him that called and sent them; it is, for them, an irksome work. Truly, I would not take the wealth of the whole world, now to begin the work gainst the pope, which thus far I have wrought, by reason of the exceeding heavy care and anguish wherewith I have been burthened. Yet, when I look upon him that called me thereunto, I would not for the world's wealth, but that I had begun it.
It is much to be lamented, that no man is content and satisfied with that which God gives him in his vocation and calling. Other men's conditions please us more than our own; as the heathen said:—"Fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris, Vicinumque pecus grandius uber habet."
And another heathen:—Optat ephippia bos piger, optat arare caballus." The more we have the more we want. To serve God is for every one to remain in his vocation and calling, be it ever so mean and simple.
It is said, occasion has a forelock, but is bald behind. Our Lord has taught this by the course of nature. A farmer must sow his barley and oats about Easter; if he defer it to Michaelmas, it were too late. When apples are ripe they must be plucked from the tree, or they are spoiled. Procrastination is as bad as overhastiness. There is my servant Wolf: when four or five birds fall upon the bird net, he will not draw it, but says: O, I will stay until more come, then they all fly away, and he gets none. Occasion is a great matter. Terence says well:
I came intime, which is the chief thing of all. Julius Caesar understood occasion; Pompey and Hannibal did not. Boys at school understand it not, therefore they must have fathers and masters, with the rod to hold them thereto, that they neglect not time, and lose it. Many a young fellow has a school stipend for six or seven years, during which he ought diligently to study; he has his tutors, and other means, but he thinks: O, I have time enough yet. But I say: No, fellow. What little Jack learns not, great John learns not. Occasion salutes thee, and reaches out her forelock to thee, saying: "Here I am, take hold of me;" thou thinkest she will come again. Then says she: Well, seeing thou wilt not take hold of my top, take hold of my tail; and therewith flings away.
Bonaventura was but a poor sophist, yet he could say: He that neglects occasion is of it neglected, and `tis a saying with us: Take hold of time, while `tis time, and now, while `tis now. Our emperor Charles understood not occasion, when he took the French king prisoner before Pavia, in 1525; nor afterwards, when he got into his hands pope Clement, and had taken Rome in 1527; nor in 1529, when he almost got hold of the great Turk before Vienna.
Of Vocation and Calling `Twas monstrous negligence for a monarch to have in his hands his three great enemies, and yet let them go.
Germany would be much richer than she is, if such store of velvets and silks were not worn, nor so much spice used, or so much beer drunk. But young fellows without their liquor have no mirth at all; gaming makes not merry, nor lasciviousness, so they apply themselves to drinking. At the princely jollification lately held at Torgau, each man drank, at one draught, a whole bottle of wine; this they called a good drink. Tacitus wrote, that by the ancient Germans it was held no shame at all to drink and swill four and twenty hours together. A gentleman of the court asked: How long ago it was since Tacitus wrote this? He was answered, about fifteen hundred years. Whereupon the gentleman said: Forasmuch as drunkenness has been so ancient a custom, and of such a long descent, let us not abolish it.
Index of Scripture References Index of Scripture References Genesis Psalms 1 8 10 33 51 Isaiah 42 53 Ezekiel Matthew 4 8 15 Mark 10:14 16 Luke 8 8 12:7 22 John 3 4 7 8 13 13 14 16 19 Acts
Romans 4 5 7 8 8 8 8 9 11 14 1 Corinthians Index of Scripture References Colossians 2 3 1 Thessalonians 5 5 2 Thessalonians