The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther: vindicate in a humble letter both your innocence and my own. They
said that the affair was not as yet in a position of extreme
hopelessness, if Leo X., in his inborn kindliness, would put his
hand to it. On this I, who have always offered and wished for
peace, in order that I might devote myself to calmer and more
useful pursuits, and who for this very purpose have acted with so
much spirit and vehemence, in order to put down by the strength
and impetuosity of my words, as well as of my feelings, men whom
I saw to be very far from equal to myself--I, I say, not only
gladly yielded, but even accepted it with joy and gratitude, as
the greatest kindness and benefit, if you should think it right
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