Soon after the convention in Weimar, Gottschalk Praetorius, rector of
the school in Magdeburg, and Hubertus Languet from Burgundy (an intimate
friend of Melanchthon and a guest at his table, who later on maliciously
slandered Flacius) had an interview with Flacius, in which the latter
submitted the conditions on which peace might be established. However, a
letter written in this matter by Praetorius, in April, 1556, was not
answered by Melanchthon, who, moreover, insinuated that Flacius's object
merely was to kindle hatred. (_C. R._ 8, 794.)
In May, 1556, Flacius, continuing his peace efforts, forwarded to Paul
Eber his "Mild Proposals, _Linde Vorschlaege_, dadurch man gottselige
und notwendige friedliche Vergleichung machen koennte zwischen den
Wittenbergischen und Leipzigischen Theologen in causa Adiaphoristica und
den andern, so wider sie geschrieben haben." According to these
_Proposals_, Flacius demanded that, in a publication signed by the
theologians of both parties, the Pope be denounced as the true
Antichrist, the Augsburg Interim be rejected, the proposition: "Good
works are necessary to salvation," be condemned, also the errors of
Zwingli and Osiander. "The good Lord knows," said Flacius, "that every
day and hour I consider and plan earnestly how the affair of the
Adiaphorists might be settled in a Christian manner." But he added that
he could not be satisfied until, by repentance, "they wipe out their
sin, denial, apostasy, and persecution, instead of increasing them by
their excuses." But Flacius received an answer neither from Eber nor
from Melanchthon. Instead, the Wittenbergers, with the silent consent
of Melanchthon, circulated a caricature in which Flacius was accorded
the role of a braying ass being crowned by other asses with a soiled
crown. (Preger 2, 11. 13.)
Another offer of Flacius to meet Melanchthon in Wittenberg and discuss
the matter personally was also declined. July 15, 1556, Melanchthon
wrote: "I enjoyed a sweet friendship and familiarity with Illyricus, and
I would gladly confer with him on the entire doctrine. But before this
he has spread things which I had neither said nor thought, wherefore
now, too, I fear treachery (_insidias metuo_)." Timid as he was,
Melanchthon really feared for his life at the contemplated colloquy,
because the statement of Chytraeus: "As long as Flacius and Melanchthon
are alive, unity will not be restored," had been reported to him in the
form: unless Philip were put out of the way, unity would not be
possible. "None of my friends," he wrote, "is willing to attend the
colloquy, and they believe that it is not safe for me to confer with him
[Flacius] alone." (_C. R._ 8, 798.) Considering Melanchthon's answer as
insincere and sophistical, Flacius declared that, after having earnestly
sought peace in a private way, he would now appeal to the Church. He did
so by publishing "_Von der Einigkeit_, Concerning Unity," a book which
he had written before he made his pacific overtures to Melanchthon.
(Preger 2, 17. 22.)
However, induced by a letter of Fabricius of Meissen (August 24, 1556),
Flacius made a further effort, addressing Melanchthon in a letter of
September 1, 1556, in which he implored him to make his peace with God
and the Church by an unequivocal disavowal of Adiaphorism. As a result,
Melanchthon wrote his famous letter of September 5, 1556, referred to in
our chapter on the Adiaphoristic Controversy, in which he admitted in a
qualified way that he had sinned in the matter. In his reply of
September 16, 1556, Flacius again declared that his object was not any
triumph or glory for himself, but "only the maintenance of truth and the
rooting out of error," and that nothing was able to remove the offense
given by Melanchthon and the Adiaphorists but a clear confession of the
truth and an unequivocal rejection of error. Melanchthon, however, broke
off the correspondence and continued to nurse his animosity against
Flacius. (Preger 2, 29f.)
269. Lower Saxons Endeavoring to Mediate between Melanchthon and
Flacius.
Despite his experiences with Melanchthon, Flacius did not allow himself
to be discouraged in his efforts to bring about unity and peace.
Embracing an opportunity which a correspondence with the clergy of Lower
Saxony concerning Schwenckfeldt offered him, he requested the Lower
Saxons to mediate between himself and Melanchthon, submitting for this
purpose articles, differing from the _Mild Proposals_ only in expressly
mentioning also the Leipzig Interim. The request was granted, and four
superintendents, accompanied by four ministers, were delegated for the
purpose to Wittenberg. The delegates were: from Luebeck: Valentin
Curtius and Dionysius Schunemann; from Hamburg: Paul von Eitzen and
Westphal; from Lueneburg: F. Henning and Antonius Wippermann; from
Brunswick: Moerlin and Chemnitz. After agreeing, at Brunswick, January
14, 1557, on theses based on those of Flacius, and after conferring with
Flacius in Magdeburg, January 17, 1557 they unexpectedly, January 19,
arrived in Wlttenberg, offering their services as mediators.
Melanchthon received them in a friendly manner, but when, on the
following day, Moerlin read the articles of agreement, he denounced
Flacius and Gallus as having slandered him, and declined to treat with
the Lower Saxons on the basis of the "Flacian theses." On January 21 the
delegation submitted eight new articles. Of these the third read: "All
corruptions which militate against the pure apostolic doctrine and that
of the _Augsburg Confession_ shall be eliminated from the article of
justification, in particular the corruption concerning the necessity of
good works to salvation." Article VII requested Melanchthon to make a
public statement concerning the adiaphora and the necessity of good
works, declaring his agreement with the confession of our Church.
(Preger 2, 37.)
The presentation of these articles had a most unfavorable effect on
Melanchthon. The Saxon mediators report that he was excited to such an
extent that they feared he would be taken seriously ill. In a most
violent manner Melanchthon charged the delegation with treacherously
conspiring with Flacius to ensnare him. However, appeased by Paul Eber,
he finally consented to reply in writing on the morrow, January 22. In
his answer Melanchthon declared: For thirty years he had borne the heavy
burdens of the Church and encountered most insidious conflicts; they
therefore ought now to have had compassion with him instead of
assaulting him alone; it was being fulfilled what Sturm had once told
him on leaving: We shall meet again to crucify you. Sparing Flacius,
they had presented articles with the sole purpose of forcing him and
others to cut their own throats. As to the articles themselves,
Melanchthon objected to the third, because, he said, it falsely charged
him and others with having taught and defended errors regarding
justification. He declined Article VII because the publication there
required was unnecessary, since it might easily be learned from his many
writings what he had taught in the matter there referred to. (Preger 2,
38. 40.)
Fearing that the Lower Saxon mediators might yield and make concessions
detrimental to the truth, Flacius and his adherents (Wigand,
Baumgartner, Judex, Albert Christiani, P. Arbiter, H. Brenz, Antonius
Otto) assembled in Coswig, a place not very far from Wittenberg. In a
letter, dated January 21, 1557, they admonished the Saxon mediators not
to yield anything contrary to the divine truth but firmly to insist on
the elimination of the errors connected with the Interim (_ut id iugulum
recte iuguletis_). Flacius also requested Count of Ungnad first to meet
them in Coswig, and then go to Wittenberg in order to assist in winning
Melanchthon for his peace proposals. In the letter to the Count, Flacius
remarked: he feared that the mediators were administering to Melanchthon
"sweet rather than wholesome and strong medicine." (Preger 2, 42.) In a
similar manner Pastor Michael Stiefel was urged to go to Wittenberg to
influence Melanchthon. At the same time Judex was sent to implore the
Saxon delegates not to discontinue their efforts, and adopt no
resolution before submitting it also to them [the Magdeburgers] for
consideration. No news having arrived by Saturday, January 23, an
additional letter was dispatched to Wittenberg, written in the same
spirit of anxiety, and urging the mediators to stand firm, not to yield,
and to continue their efforts until successful, since failure, they said
would not only expose them to ridicule, but greatly damage the Church.
(2, 42f.)
On the evening of the same day Moerlin Hennig, and Westphal arrived in
Coswig. Moerlin reported on their discussions, and submitted the
articles presented to Melanchthon together with the latter's answer. At
the same time he requested the Flacians to overlook the harsh language
of Philip, telling also of the animosity and general opposition they had
met with in Wittenberg, where the students, he said, had even threatened
to stone them. Having heard the report the Flacians withdrew for a brief
consultation. Their impression was (which they neither made any efforts
to hide) that in deference to Melanchthon the Saxons had not been
sufficiently careful in seeking only the honor of God, the welfare of
the Church, and the true conversion of sinners. In a meeting held on
Sunday, January 24, Wigand and Flacius declared their dissatisfaction
with the proceedings in Wittenberg. Referring particularly to the
shocking stubbornness of Melanchthon, the former urged the Saxon
delegates to regard God higher than men, and earnestly and openly to
call the Wittenbergers to repentance. He thereupon handed the delegates,
besides a list of Adiaphoristic errors and of offensive statements
culled from Major's homilies, two sealed letters, which contained their
strictures on the eight articles presented to Melanchthon, their answer
to Melanchthon's charges, etc. Flacius said in the meeting: This matter
troubled him day and night; hope for the conversion of the Adiaphorists
who had despised the admonition, not of men but of the Holy Spirit, was
constantly decreasing; having already yielded more than he should have
done, he now must insist that, in a publication signed by both parties,
the Leipzig Interim be condemned by name, and that also in the future
the people be warned against such sins and be called to repentance.
Flacius furthermore declared that his theses should have been either
retained or refuted. In this he was supported by Otto of Nordhausen.
Moerlin answered, irritated: They had presented other articles because
Melanchthon had declined the first; if any one was able to frame better
theses, he was at liberty to do so. Discouraged and ill-humored, the
delegation returned to Wittenberg, where, too, animosity had reached its
climax. For in his sermon, delivered Sunday in Bugenhagen's pulpit, and
in the presence of Melanchthon and the other professors, John Curio had
spoken of Flacius as "the rascal and knave (_Schalk und Bube_)," and
even referred to the Lower Saxon delegates in unfriendly terms. Also a
filthy and insulting pasquil, perhaps composed by Paul Crell, in which
Flacius and the Saxon delegates were reviled, was circulated in
Wittenberg and even sent to Coswig. (Preger 2, 49.) The first lines of
the pasquil ran thus; "_Qui huc venistis legati Illyrici permerdati, Ab
illo concacati, Polypragmones inflati, Illius natibus nati, Quae
communio veritati, Mendacio et vanitati?_" (_C. R._ 9, 50. 235.)
Having read the sealed letters and convinced themselves that Melanchthon
could never be induced to accede to the demands of the Magdeburgers, the
delegation (with the exception of Chemnitz) immediately returned to
Coswig, January 25. Here they declared: They had not delivered the list
of errors to Melanchthon; if they had done so, deliberations would have
been broken off immediately; only the charges with respect to
justification had been transmitted; they therefore requested the
Magdeburgers to declare their agreement with the articles already
submitted to Melanchthon. Seeing no other course, the Magdeburgers
finally yielded, though reluctantly, and not without protests and some
changes in the articles. Flacius, too, consented, but "only with a
wounded conscience," as he declared. Having returned to Wittenberg, the
delegates transmitted the modified articles together with the additions
of the Magdeburgers to Melanchthon.
In his answer of January 27 to the Lower Saxon pastors, Melanchthon said
in part: "You know that in the last thirty years a great confusion of
opinions obtained in which it was difficult not to stumble somewhere.
And many hypocrites have been, and still are, hostile in particular to
me. I was also drawn into the insidious deliberations of the princes.
If, therefore, I have either stumbled anywhere or been too lukewarm in
any matter, I ask God and the churches to forgive me and shall submit to
the verdict of the Church.... As to the Flacian quarrels, however,
concerning which you are now treating with me so eagerly, and into which
Flacius has injected many foreign matters, you yourselves know that this
affair pertains also to many others, and that, without offending them, I
cannot decide and settle anything (_me aliquid statuere posse_).... This
now I desire to be my last answer (_hanc volo nunc meam postremam
responsionem esse_); if it does not satisfy you, I appeal to the verdict
of the Church in which you, too, will be judges. May the Son of God
govern all of us, and grant that we be one in Him!" As to the articles
submitted by the delegates, Melanchthon rejected all the changes and
additions suggested by the Magdeburgers. He declared that he was not
willing to enter into a discussion of the adiaphora, nor in any way to
censure the honorable men who had participated in the deliberations
concerning the Leipzig Interim. (_C. R._ 9, 62.)
Toward evening Flacius received Melanchthon's answer, together with the
information that the Saxon delegates would depart on the morrow, and
that now the Magdeburgers might do what seemed best to them. Early next
morning they dispatched another letter written by Flacius, in which they
modified their demands, and urged the Saxon delegates to continues their
efforts to induce the Wittenbergers to reject the Adiaphoristic errors.
"We call upon God as our witness," they said, "that we most earnestly
desire a godly peace, and that, if it is not brought about, the fault
lies not with us, but with them, who expressly say and confess
concerning themselves that they absolutely refuse to condemn the
Adiaphoristic errors--the real issue of the entire controversy." (_C.
R._ 9, 67.) But the messenger arrived too late; he met the delegation
when they were about to leave the gates of Wittenberg. Increased
animosity on both sides was the only result of the mediation-efforts of
the Lower Saxon theologians.