Forerunner of the Necessary Defense of Noble Evangelical Persons

Prodromus or Forerunner

[continua]tion / and thus an unknown and intolerable? absolute rule original: "dominatus absolutus"; a form of government where the ruler has total power, which the German princes feared the Emperor was seeking. has been introduced and forced upon the Empire / the aforementioned foundation has been shifted / and everything thrown into a heap / so that at the same time the Evangelical religion Referring to the Protestant faith, specifically the Lutheran and Reformed traditions. may be suppressed and rooted out in all places: These are now the crimes of high treason original: "crimina læsæ majestatis"; literally "crimes of injured majesty," the highest level of treason against a sovereign., the crimes / for which innocent persons of high and low status must suffer so severely / and in addition be insultingly slandered / whereas the secret dealings / which have been carried out for a long time now / but never more strongly than in the current situation / have rightly provoked them to the indicated zeal / as true patriots / and their office and duty / solely to preserve the public good / have driven them to it / and it is nowhere to be found / but rather from those writings in the Anhalt Chancery The "Anhaltische Kanzlei" refers to a famous collection of diplomatic documents belonging to Christian I of Anhalt, which were captured and used by the Catholics as propaganda to paint the Protestants as rebels. / however distorted they may be / the opposite is to be sensed / so that it is otherwise unbelievable / indeed not to be presumed / that for the sake of some uncertain private gain / they would have brought so much danger / hatred and envy / as well as heavy expenses upon themselves. But now on the other hand / the intentions and the universal purpose are / that the Evangelicals / whom they consider heretics / and whom they must swear in almost all their oaths original: "juramentis" to persecute with all their might original: "pro virili" / to which they are also constantly driven by the Jesuit spirit / this is indeed very well and best known to those / who have been more watchful / zealous and careful than others in this regard / but now through God's special providence