more than one wife, as Isaac, Joseph, Moses, and many others.  For this reason I cannot advise for, but must advise against, your intention, particularly since you are a Christian, unless there were an extreme necessity, as, for instance, if the wife were leprous or the husband were deprived of her for some other reason.  On what grounds to forbid other people such marriages I know not” (21a, 900 f.) This letter effected that the Landgrave did not carry out his intention, but failing, nevertheless, to lead a chaste life, he did not commune, except once in extreme illness, because of his accusing conscience.

How Luther, fourteen years later, was induced to virtually reverse his opinion he has told himself in a lengthy letter to the Elector Frederick.  This letter is Luther’s best justification.  It is dated June 10, 1540, and reads:  “Most serene, high-born Elector, most gracious Lord:—­I am sorry to learn that Your Grace is importuned by the court of Dresden about the Landgrave’s business.  Your Grace asks what answer to give the men of Meissen.  As the affair was one of the confessional, both Melanchthon and I were unwilling to communicate it even to Your Grace, for it is right to keep confessional matters secret, both the sin confessed and the counsel given, and had the Landgrave not revealed the matter and the confessional counsel, there would never have been all this nauseating unpleasantness.—­I still say that if the matter were brought before me to-day, I should not be able to give counsel different from what I did.  Setting apart the fact that I know I am not as wise as they think they are, I need conceal nothing, especially as it has already been made known.  The state of affairs is as follows:  Martin Bucer brought a letter and pointed out that, on account of certain faults in the Landgrave’s wife, the Landgrave was not able to keep himself chaste, and that he had hitherto lived in a way which was not good, but that he would like to be at one with the principal heads of the Evangelic Church, and he declared solemnly before God and his conscience that he could not in future avoid such vices unless he were permitted to take another wife.  We were deeply horrified at this tale and the offense which must follow, and we begged his Grace not to do as he proposed.  But we were told again that he could not abandon his project, and if he could not obtain what he wanted from us, he would disregard us and turn to the Emperor and Pope.  To prevent this we humbly begged that if his Grace would not, or, as he averred before God and his conscience, could not, do otherwise, yet that he could keep it a secret.  Though necessity compelled him, yet he could not defend his act before the world and the imperial laws; this he promised to do, and we accordingly agreed to help him before God and cover it up as much as possible with such examples as that of Abraham.  This all happened as though in the confessional, and no one can accuse us of having acted