Martin Luther laments the rapid spread of his 95 Theses Letter to Christoph Scheurl (5.3.

1518)
To the learned Herr Christoph Scheurl, my esteemed friend in Christ, my greeting! I have received two letters
from you, a Latin and a German one, nay good Christoph, along with a present from that superior man,
Alrecht !uerer, and my Latin and German propositions" #ou wonder I did not tell you of them" $ut I did not
wish to have them widely circulated" I only intended sumitting them to a few learned men for e%amination,
and if they disapproved of them, to suppress them& or ma'e them 'nown through their pulications, in the
event of their meeting with your approval" $ut now they are eing spread aroad and translated everywhere,
which I never could have credited, so that I regret having given irth to them ( not that I am unwilling to
proclaim the truth manfully, for there is nothing I more ardently desire, ut ecause this way of instructing the
people is of little avail" As yet I am still uncertain as to some points, and would have gone into others more
particularly, leaving some out entirely, had I foreseen all this"
)rom the rapid spread of the theses I gather what the greater part of the nation thin' of this 'ind of
Indulgence, in spite of them having to disguise their opinions for fear of the *ews& still I must have the proofs
of my propositions in readiness, although I cannot pulish them yet, having een delayed through the $ishop
of $randenurg ( whose advice I as'ed ( eing so long in returning them" #es, when the Lord grants me
leisure, I purpose issuing a oo' on the use and misuse of the Indulgences, in order to suppress the efore+
mentioned points" I have no longer any dout that the people are deceived, not through the Indulgences, ut
through their use" ,hen I have finished these propositions I will send them to you"
-eantime, pray rememer me to Alrecht !uerer, that e%cellent man, and assure him of my continued
gratitude" $ut I e%pect oth of you to discard your e%alted opinion of me, and not to e%pect more from me
than I can render, for I am nothing, and can do nothing, and am daily ecoming more of a cipher" I wrote
lately to !r" *ohn .c', to you, and to all the others, ut fear you have not received the letter" I am most
an%ious that the pamphlet of our highly esteemed vicar /0pon Love,1 which appeared the other day in
-unich, and made such sensation, should e reissued among you" )or we all hunger and thirst after love"
I commit you to God"
-artin Luther"
,ittenerg"