A few years later, in 1534, in a letter to a friend, in which he inveighs strongly against the closet masses and the perverted order or arrangements of the mass, (verkehrte ordnung der Messe,) and against the Romish mass in general: "I wish, and would very gladly see and hear, that the two words mass and sacrament were considered by every one as being as far apart as light and darkness, yea, as the devil and God.

For they (the Papists) must themselves confess, that mass dues not signify the reception of the sacrament as Christ instituted it; but the reception of the sacrament they do, (and no thanks to them,) they _must_ call _communion.

But that is called_ MASS _which the priest alone performs at the altar, in which no common christian or layman takes part_." All other christians do nothing more than receive the sacrament, _and do not perform mass_.

[Note 17] Certainly it must be evident that Luther did not regard the word mass as the ordinary term for eucharist, but had a clear idea of the distinction, and of the importance of observing it.
II.

Let us now adduce similar evidence from the writings of _Melancthon himself_, who wrote the Confession, to show that he also observed the distinction between _mass_ and _eucharist_.