ON THE REPRINTED AND IMPROVED

THEOLOGICAL WORKS,

THEOLOGICAL WORKS, original: Opera Theologica

MENNO SIMONS,

MENNO, an oracle in his lifetime,
A pillar and support for those forsaken by the world,
Artfully engraved here in copper, A reference to the copperplate portrait of Menno Simons that typically accompanies this edition.
Lives on after his death, still for their benefit.
His pen, fashioned from Seraphic angelic quills,
Strikes down both Geneva and Rome: Refers to the two major theological opponents of the Anabaptists: Calvinism (Geneva) and Roman Catholicism (Rome).
He disarms their heroic strengths,
And lances the pus from the festering sore.
He strips the mask from black Pharisees, A common Reformation-era insult for hypocritical clergy.
Who clothe themselves finely in sheepskins;
He presses on through all the murdering—
Through strangling, burning, groaning, and grief.
He, like a white Altar-lily,
Is deaf to foul slanders;
He seals the Gospel of Jesus
Through the danger of the cross and true faith.
But they are marked as Antichrists
Who constantly wage war against the Lamb,
And with their sharp, scholastic disputes,
Set the world on fire and flame.
His heavenly zeal broke the bonds
When a greater salvation appeared to him;
He left behind blind faith and misunderstandings,
And pushed through the Roman mists.
His piety, pastoral office, and deeds,
His cruel persecution, and wise patience,
You will find described in these pages—
Simply told, not gilded by artificial art,
But in a style for those who love the truth;
Here is soul-food for a spirit
That wishes to bore into the very core of things,
And seeks not something weak, but something lived.
Come, learn from these moral writings
To kneel humbly before God’s throne,
To sift the days of your life with care,
And to strive for the martyr’s crown.