Oration on natural philosophy, held at Wittenberg

Peace is the best of all things ‘that it is given to man to know, peace alone triumphs’ [Silius Italicus, Punica 11]. It is more powerful than countless other things, says the poet, and most of all among citizens. Let us therefore entreat God for everlasting peace, for the sake of the Church that is otherwise quite badly affected, and is retaining only some small remnants of erudition. And let us now give thanks to God, the father of our liberator Jesus Christ, for calming the panic (panikon) unrest that has originated nearby; I shall say very little on that, because it is now to be hoped that the whole matter will be forgiven. But let us be warned by that danger, and let us therefore worship God with greater piety and diligence, so that He assist the Church and the studies that are necessary for humankind. We should achieve this more easily if we do not abuse leisure for the purpose of luxury or of vile pleasures, but instead keep in view the goal for which God has granted peace to the state, so that the young be educated and instructed, and ruled by discipline, and that we apply greater assiduity in this our gowned profession.

As it is usual to speak of a variety of either arts or virtues at this point in these assemblies in order to encourage you, so I, too, am going to hold an oration, this time on the science of natural philosophy.