The Smalcald Articles | Page 6

more blessed
way [more acceptable to God], (yea, the only blessed way), according
to the institution of Christ. Why, then, do they drive the world to woe
and [extreme] misery on account of a fictitious, unnecessary matter,
which can be well obtained in another and more blessed way?
Let [care be taken that] it be publicly preached to the people that the
Mass as men's twaddle [commentitious affair or human figment] can be
omitted without sin, and that no one will be condemned who does not
observe it, but that he can be saved in a better way without the Mass. I
wager [Thus it will come to pass] that the Mass will then collapse of
itself, not only among the insane [rude] common people, but also
among all pious, Christian, reasonable, God-fearing hearts; and that the
more, when they would hear that the Mass is a [very] dangerous thing,
fabricated and invented without the will and Word of God.

Fourthly. Since such innumerable and unspeakable abuses have arisen
in the whole world from the buying and selling of masses, the Mass
should by right be relinquished, if for no other purpose than to prevent
abuses, even though in itself it had something advantageous and good.
How much more ought we to relinquish it, so as to prevent [escape]
forever these horrible abuses, since it is altogether unnecessary, useless,
and dangerous, and we can obtain everything by a more necessary,
profitable, and certain way without the Mass.
Fifthly. But since the Mass is nothing else and can be nothing else (as
the Canon and all books declare), than a work of men (even of wicked
scoundrels), by which one attempts to reconcile himself and others to
God, and to obtain and merit the remission of sins and grace (for thus
the Mass is observed when it is observed at the very best; otherwise
what purpose would it serve ?), for this very reason it must and should
[certainly] be condemned and rejected. For this directly conflicts with
the chief article, which says that it is not a wicked or a godly hireling of
the Mass with his own work, but the Lamb of God and the Son of God,
that taketh away our sins.
But if any one should advance the pretext that as an act of devotion he
wishes to administer the Sacrament, or Communion, to himself, he is
not in earnest [he would commit a great mistake, and would not be
speaking seriously and sincerely]. For if he wishes to commune in
sincerity, the surest and best way for him is in the Sacrament
administered according to Christ's institution. But that one administer
communion to himself is a human notion, uncertain, unnecessary, yea,
even prohibited. And he does not know what he is doing, because
without the Word of God he obeys a false human opinion and invention.
So, too, it is not right (even though the matter were otherwise correct)
for one to use the common Sacrament of [belonging to] the Church
according to his own private devotion, and without God s Word and
apart from the communion of the Church to trifle therewith.
This article concerning the Mass will be the whole business of the
Council. [The Council will perspire most over, and be occupied with
this article concerning the Mass.] For if it were [although it would be]

possible for them to concede to us all the other articles, yet they could
not concede this. As Campegius said at Augsburg that he would be torn
to pieces before he would relinquish the Mass, so, by the help of God, I,
too, would suffer myself to be reduced to ashes before I would allow a
hireling of the Mass, be he good or bad, to be made equal to Christ
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, or to be exalted above Him. Thus we are
and remain eternally separated and opposed to one another. They feel
well enough that when the Mass falls, the Papacy lies in ruins. Before
they will permit this to occur, they will put us all to death if they can.
In addition to all this, this dragon's tail, [I mean] the Mass, has begotten
a numerous vermin-brood of manifold idolatries.
First, purgatory. Here they carried their trade into purgatory by masses
for souls, and vigils, and weekly, monthly, and yearly celebrations of
obsequies, and finally by the Common Week and All Souls Day, by
soul-baths so that the Mass is used almost alone for the dead, although
Christ has instituted the Sacrament alone for the living. Therefore
purgatory, and every solemnity, rite, and commerce connected with it,
is to be regarded as nothing but a specter of the devil. For it conflicts
with the chief article [which teaches] that only Christ, and not the