PREFACE

...it is not without danger to live among those who oppose their errors and injustices. Indeed, this venerable man writes that he has suffered much at their hands in various places—though, as with all other accusations, they completely deny this one as well. Furthermore, one can see from this that they deceptively original: "ἀπατηλῶς" (apatēlos) hide their defensive writings and commentaries—in which they attempt to champion their own inventions and those of their ancestors. Or, at the very least, they share them privately only with those they know are indebted to them. They do this so that the opportunity for a timely and fair rebuttal might be denied to those whom it concerns most, across all parties.

Consequently, it required extraordinary skill to obtain the copy of the Response Referring to the secret document written by the Bohemian Brethren to counter the author’s previous criticisms. that was sent to me. It likely would never have been secured had it not been for an uncertain rumor that was circulating at the time: a report that I had died during the outbreak of the plague original: "pestis" in the town of Helmstedt A prominent university town in Lower Saxony, Germany, where the author, likely David Chytraeus, was a professor..

As for the reason they give for why this document has not been published until now—namely, their claim that they feared I would use the opportunity to attack them with even more writings—they certainly had no reason to fear. That is, if they had approached the matter with proper moderation; if, amidst so many monstrous errors, they had shown themselves to be teachable and open to correction; and if they had relied on truth rather than falsehood, on the weight of their arguments rather than the vanity of various fictions, and on gentleness rather than bitter insults—a moderation they promised in words but failed to deliver in practice...