The Smalcald Articles | Page 3

trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits
you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate
your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due.
Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois
Benedictine College" within the 60 days following each date you

prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent
periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
DON'T HAVE TO?
The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning
machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright
licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money
should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois Benedictine
College".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Allen
Mulvey and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or
print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev.
Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at E-mail:
[email protected] Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft.
Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 481-2123 Fax: (219) 481-2126

The Smalcald Articles. Articles of Christian Doctrine which were to
have been presented on our part to the Council, if any had been
assembled at Mantua or elsewhere, indicating what we could accept or
yield, and what we could not._ by Dr. Martin Luther, 1537 Translated
by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau Published in: _Triglot Concordia: The
Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church_. (St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921), pp. 453-529.
Preface of Dr. Martin Luther.
Since Pope Paul III convoked a Council last year, to assemble at
Mantua about Whitsuntide, and afterwards transferred it from Mantua,
so that it is not yet known where he will or can fix it, and we on our

part either had to expect that we would be summoned also to the
Council or [to fear that we would] be condemned unsummoned, I was
directed to compile and collect the articles of our doctrine [in order that
it might be plain] in case of deliberation as to what and how far we
would be both willing and able to yield to the Papists, and in what
points we intended to persevere and abide to the end.
I have accordingly compiled these articles and presented them to our
side. They have also been accepted and unanimously confessed by our
side, and it has been resolved that, in case the Pope with his adherents
should ever be so bold as seriously and in good faith, without lying and
cheating, to hold a truly free [legitimate] Christian Council (as, indeed,
he would be in duty bound to do), they be publicly delivered in order to
set forth the Confession of our Faith.
But though the Romish court is so dreadfully afraid of a free Christian
Council, and shuns the light so shamefully, that it has [entirely]
removed, even from those who are on its side, the hope that it will ever
permit a free Council, much less that it will itself hold one, whereat, as
is just, they [many Papists] are greatly offended and have no little
trouble on that account [are disgusted with this negligence of the Pope],
since they notice thereby that the Pope would rather see all
Christendom perish and all souls damned than suffer either himself or
his adherents to be reformed even a little, and his [their] tyranny to be
limited, nevertheless I have determined meanwhile to publish these
articles in plain print, so that, should I die before there would be a
Council (as I fully expect and hope, because the knaves who flee the
light and shun the day take such wretched pains to delay and hinder the
Council), those who live and remain after me may have my testimony
and confession to produce, in addition to the Confession which I have
issued previously, whereby up to this time I have abided, and, by God's
grace, will abide.
For what shall I say? How shall I complain? I am still living, writing,
preaching, and lecturing daily; [and] yet there are found such spiteful
men, not only among the adversaries, but also false brethren that
profess to be on our side, as dare to cite my writings and doctrine

directly against myself, and let me look on and listen, although they
know well that I teach otherwise, and as wish to adorn their venom
with my labor, and under my name to [deceive and] mislead the poor
people. [Good God!] Alas! what first will happen when I am dead?
Indeed, I ought to reply to everything while I am still living. But, again,
how can I alone stop all the mouths of the devil? especially of those