The Second Letter which Matthias Servaes, of Kottenem, Wrote in Prison to his Brother

The saving grace of God be with us all. Amen. I ask that a Dutch Testament be obtained for my wife as soon as possible (who at that time was not imprisoned), for she cannot read the German print.

Further, my dear brother, I let you know that I am alone now, but the Lord is with me. It seems clear to me that I will have little opportunity to see our brothers who are also imprisoned, and it is quite likely that at first my condition will not be the best. So I do not know how to thank God enough, and though I would like to be with my brothers, yet I prefer it much more as it is; for since it pleases God this way, I also consider it the best, and the most helpful to my salvation. And though it grieves me not a little, yet I do not count it pain, because the Lord has so ordered it with me. The following Thursday, the same morning that they brought me, at a very early hour, from the Franken tower to our prison, our brothers were also to be tortured, for the tapers and candlesticks stood near the rack, and everything was ready; but when they brought me there, they began to talk with me, and to question me; and before they had finished questioning me, and I had confessed my faith and my office before many of them, and had in turn also put many questions to them, which certain reasons moved me to ask, half the day had slipped by; and after long and much talking, when they could answer me no further (for which I gave the praise to God alone, and not to myself), one of them (the one who had chiefly done the questioning and the talking) said to me that baptism was our greatest error. Then I replied: "If that is our greatest error, and you therefore arrest us and rack us, why do you not first set the abominable errors and the ungodly life of the priests beside ours, and then judge the one against the other, without respect of persons, as before the eyes and the judgment of God; and whichever error is then found to be the greater, bring summary punishment upon that one (if you have any for it)." But he did not condescend to give me an answer.

When I saw this, I said: "We are nevertheless human beings too, and you are no more than that; nor can I, out of the fear of God, esteem you more than men. So consider the matter well, and do not deal so cruelly and tyrannically with us; for the Lord will visit and punish all violence, and He is the judge over all this. Amos 5, verse 12. Remember also that in due time you will have to let us stand beside you, when the Lord will judge you and us together; for, as the Scripture says, we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; and there everyone shall receive in his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad. Romans 14, verse 10; Second Corinthians 5, verse 16. Yes, then your judgment will appear again, and be sifted there by the Lord. [n899-1] And I ask of you, my dear sir, that you do not take this as an insolent answer or as a threat, but accept it as a warning; for I say it to you as a warning, because I wish you eternal rest, just as I wish it for my own soul. So lay it well to heart, and take good heed how you deal with us." Here the matter rested, and so our brothers were spared torture this time, and I was put in their place. They led me to the rack (where I still lie) and wanted to torture me simply because I would not tell where I had last been with Henry, and how many teachers there were, and where they lived. When they had asked me this many times, I wanted to know from them the reason why they were so anxious to know it; whereupon the count replied to me: "If we were to tell you that, you would probably answer that you did not want to betray anyone." Then I said

"You answer yourself;" after which I spoke with him several times more. Since they kept demanding to know this, and the sole object was treachery, I decided to put the matter into their own hands before going on to confess; so I told them to withdraw into their own hearts and confess the truth, as before God in heaven, and then to say whether they would, or dared, advise me to do this. In this manner I asked them several times, but received no answer; and so they gave it up and turned away from me, and said among themselves: "The matter would be well enough, if it did not in the end give rise to an insurrection."

I commend you all to God. I do not have the time at present to write you more. Remember us always before the Lord. Amen.

MATTHIAS SERVAES, of Kottenem.