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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
TABLE TALK. 
 

 £ i 
 
 
 ' I WOULD NOT PART WITH MY SMALL SKILL IN MUSIC 
 
 for much." — Page 116. 
 

T+<yfe 
 
 Copyright, 1893, by 
 Frederick A. Stokes Company. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 r 
 
 INTRODUCTION .... 
 
 7 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 
 OF THE WORKS OF GOD . . • 
 
 21 
 
 OF THE WORD OF GOD . . 
 
 . 27 
 
 OF JESUS CHRIST .... 
 
 35 
 
 OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL . 
 
 • 39 
 
 OF THE CHURCH .... 
 
 41 
 
 OF PREACHING AND PREACHERS . 
 
 . 45 
 
 OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION . 
 
 55 
 
 THE LORD'S SUPPER . . . 
 
 . 57 
 
 GOOD WORKS . . . . • 
 
 61 
 
 OF THE DEVIL . • • • 
 
 . 63 
 
 PRAYER ...... 
 
 69 
 
Content^ 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 OF DEATH 73 
 
 OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 
 
 AND LIFE ETERNAL ... 77 
 
 OF MARRIAGE 8 1 
 
 OF THE JEWS 87 
 
 OF ECCLESIASTICAL LEGENDS . . 93 
 
 THE WORLD AND ITS WAYS . . 97 
 
 OF PRINCES AND RULERS . . . 105 
 
 OF THE USE OF LEARNING . . Ill 
 
 OF COMEDIES II3 
 
 OF THE POWER OF MUSIC . . II5 
 
 OF SINGING 117 
 
 OF GERMANY II9 
 
 OF LANGUAGES 1 23 
 
 OF THE SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES 
 
 OF GERMANY I27 
 
 OF THE TURKS I31 
 
 OF THE HEROES AND WISE MEN OF 
 
 ANTIQUITY .... I33 
 OF THE FATHERS AND DOCTORS OF 
 
 THE CHURCH . . • . 1 37 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 r 
 
 fUTHERis the national hero 
 of the German people. No 
 king or statesman, not even 
 their great poets Goethe and 
 Schiller, have such a place in the hearts 
 of the Germans as "Doctor Martin 
 Luther. " The feeling cherished towards 
 him is rather a personal affection to- 
 wards a familiar friend, than the dis- 
 tant admiration felt for a great man 
 who has been dead for more than three 
 
3|ntrotmctfom 
 
 hundred years. This is due in no 
 small measure to his Letters and to his 
 Table Talk, from which we offer a few 
 selections in this volume. Luther was 
 in the habit of talking much to the 
 friends who gathered round him at the 
 evening meal in his home at Witten- 
 berg. In these talks he revealed him- 
 self with a frankness which has few 
 parallels in history. Fortunately for 
 posterity, there was a Boswell present 
 in the person of John Goldschmidt, or, 
 to give him his Latinized name, Auri- 
 faber, who made copious notes of the 
 talk of the master. Not satisfied with 
 what he heard himself, he applied to 
 other friends who had been longer 
 guests at Luther's table than himselt ; 
 and from their recollections he supple- 
 mented his own. He did not publish 
 the collection immediately after Luther's 
 death; and he appears to have felt 
 some hesitation about publication. 
 
3|ntrotmctfom 
 
 This is not surprising ; for Luther had 
 uttered a most energetic protest against 
 the posthumous publication of his 
 remains. But in the year 1566 the 
 book appeared, and Aurifaber said in 
 the preface, that he felt he could no 
 longer with a good conscience withhold 
 from the world the precious treasure of 
 which he was the possessor. The pub- 
 lication may have been something of 
 an indiscretion ; for it proclaimed to 
 the whole world, words which had been 
 carelessly uttered in the society of 
 trusted friends ; and there is always a 
 certain injustice in such revelations. 
 But Luther's character was able to 
 bear the fierce light thus cast upon 
 it. His faults are visible enough in 
 these conversations. He is often im- 
 patient and unreasonable. Sometimes 
 he is coarse, and there are expressions 
 in his talk which seem to border on 
 irreverence, although here, perhaps, the 
 1 * 
 
io 3IntroUuctfom 
 
 fault is quite as much with the modern 
 reader as with Luther. But when all 
 abatements have been made, the Luther 
 of these conversations is one of the 
 most attractive characters of history. 
 What love and tenderness to the weak ! 
 what courage in denouncing wrong, 
 which indeed is but the reverse side of 
 his great pity for the weak ! Another 
 quality that strikes us in Dr. Aurifa- 
 ber's recollections is Luther's unfailing 
 sense of humour. Reformers are 
 usually deficient in humour. Their 
 earnestness seldom permits them to 
 laugh. Luther was the most earnest 
 man of his century, and lived in more 
 earnest times than any Europe had 
 witnessed since the close of the first 
 century. But his merry laugh rings 
 through the entire solemn drama of his 
 life. He relieved himself and others 
 by permitting himself glimpses at the 
 ludicrous aspects which human nature 
 
3|ntrolmcttotu n 
 
 presents even in the transaction of its 
 most solemn and momentous matters. 
 
 Luther's reputation has indeed gained 
 rather than lost through the somewhat 
 indiscreet publication of his familiar 
 " Table Talk." He has been the sub- 
 ject of much obloquy, which is hardly 
 to be wondered at. He was the leader 
 of a fierce theological debate, and he 
 never spared his foes. He was the 
 cause of a schism in the Church of 
 Germany which, however inevitable, 
 was the occasion of great evils. He 
 was indeed from his position the natural 
 mark for the hatred of opponents. But 
 as time has gone on, Germans of all 
 shades of opinions have been irresis- 
 tibly fascinated by the strong tender 
 man, a German Saint Christopher, who 
 seems to bend over them with eyes of 
 infinite love and pity, like the presiding 
 genius of their nation. Theological 
 bitterness is not extinct in Germany 
 
12 3|ntrotiuctioru 
 
 any more than in England, but even 
 those who profess a different theology 
 from Luther, or no theology at all, now 
 recognize the greatness of Luther. Fer- 
 dinand Christian Von Baur, the dis- 
 tinguished leader of the Tubingen 
 school, writes thus of Luther in his 
 " Church History : " " Every one in 
 whose veins German blood flows must 
 recognize in Luther a German man in 
 whom, as in no other, the German 
 character was exhibited in its purest 
 and noblest features." One, who might 
 have been expected to be more hostile 
 to Luther than Baur, the eminent 
 Roman Catholic professor, Dr. D61- 
 linger, of Munich, has also expressed 
 his sense of Luther's greatness with no 
 less justice than generosity. " Luther 
 is the most powerful man of the people, 
 the most popular character whom Ger- 
 many has ever possessed. In the 
 spirit of this German man, the greatest 
 
3ntro&uctfoiu 13 
 
 among his contemporaries, Protestant 
 doctrine arose. Before the superiority 
 of his genius and his creative energy, 
 the most aspiring and energetic portion 
 of German people bowed the knee in 
 humility and faith. In this man, in 
 whom power was combined with insight, 
 they recognized their master, and by 
 his thoughts they lived. He seemed 
 to them the hero in whom their nation 
 had become incarnate." On another 
 occasion Dr. Dollinger wrote of Lu- 
 ther : — " Luther's supereminent great- 
 ness of soul, and his marvellous many- 
 sidedness made him the man of his 
 time and the man of his people. There 
 never was a German who understood 
 his people with such intuitive percep- 
 tion, and who was so understood — I 
 may say drunk in — by his people as 
 this Augustinian monk of Wittenberg. 
 He held the mind and the spirit of the 
 Germans in hand as a musician holds 
 
14 3ntrobuctfotu 
 
 his lyre." One more example may be 
 given of German reverence for Luther. 
 Heine was a Jew by birth, and a reli- 
 gious sceptic, and as a critic he often 
 employed his unrivalled mastery of 
 gibes and sarcasms in sneering away 
 German reputations. But of Luther he 
 wrote : — " Honour to Luther ! Everlast- 
 ing honour to the dear man to whom we 
 owe the recovery of our noblest rights, 
 and through whose labours we live to- 
 day ! It becomes us ill to complain 
 of the narrowness of his views. The 
 dwarf who stands upon the shoulders 
 of the giant may certainly see farther, 
 especially if he puts on spectacles ; but 
 he cannot bring to the prospect the lofty 
 emotion and the giant heart of the other. 
 It becomes us the less to judge his 
 faults severely, as his very faults were 
 of more service to us than the virtues 
 of a thousand others. The fine dis- 
 cernment of Erasmus, and the gentle- 
 
3|ntroDucttom 15 
 
 ness of Melanchthon, had never done 
 so much for us as the divine brutality 
 of Brother Martin." 
 
 It is exactly four hundred years 
 since Luther was born, and during the 
 present autumn Germany has been 
 showing its undiminished interest in 
 him by numerous celebrations, while 
 the German press has been teeming 
 with publications on his life and works. 
 The interest has extended to England, 
 and we have thought that the present 
 selection from his " Table Talk " might 
 be acceptable to English readers. The 
 edition we have used in making this 
 translation is that of Dr. Forstemann. 1 
 
 1 D. Martin Luther's Tischreden oder 
 Colloquia. Nach Aurifaber's erster Ausgabe, 
 mit sorgfaltiger Vergleichung sowohl der 
 Stangwaldschen als der Selneccer'schen Redac- 
 tion herausgegeben und erlautert von Karl 
 Eduard Forstemann, Doctor der Theologie. 
 Leipzig, 1844. 
 
16 gintrotmctforu 
 
 Portions of the "Table Talk" have 
 been already translated into English. 
 A Captain Henry Bell, who lived in 
 the reign of Charles I., made a trans- 
 lation which was submitted to Arch- 
 bishop Laud, then in prison. After 
 many delays, Captain Bell received a 
 letter from the archbishop's chaplain, 
 Dr. Bray, approving of his book. " He 
 sent me," writes Captain Bell, " both 
 the said original book and my trans- 
 lation, and caused his chaplain, the 
 said doctor, to tell me that he would 
 make it known unto his Majesty what 
 an excellent piece of work I had trans- 
 lated, and that he would procure an 
 order from his Majesty to have the 
 said translation printed, and to be dis- 
 persed throughout the whole kingdom." 
 The translation which gained the ap- 
 proval of Laud was afterwards ordered 
 to be printed by the House of Com- 
 mons, on the 24th of February, 1646. 
 
3|ntrotmcttom 17 
 
 Mr. William Hazlitt translated with 
 great spirit a portion of the " Table 
 Talk," and his translation is now one 
 of the volumes of Bonn's Standard 
 Library. 
 
 J. G. 
 October^ 1883. 
 
BOOK I. 
 
OF THE WORKS OF 
 GOD. 
 
 f 
 
 >0D could become exceed- 
 ingly rich, were He so 
 minded. Were He, for 
 example, to come to the 
 Pope, to the Emperor, to kings, 
 bishops, doctors, citizens, and farmers, 
 and say to them: "You shall die 
 this very hour, unless you give me a 
 hundred thousand gulden;" all would 
 
22 j©f tTje SGlorfe0 of (Botu 
 
 reply, " I will give them willingly, if I 
 may but live." But we are such low, 
 thankless fellows, that we do not give 
 him so much as a Deo gratias for all the 
 great benefits which we daily receive in 
 such abundance of His free goodness 
 and mercy. Is not it a shame ? Were 
 He more sparing with His gifts, we 
 should be more thankful to Him. If, 
 for example, He caused every man to be 
 born with one leg or one foot, and gave 
 him the other leg seven years later. 
 And were He to give to man one hand 
 in his fourteenth year, and his second 
 hand in his twentieth year, we should 
 then better recognize His gifts and 
 benefits, and value them more. Now 
 has He given us a whole sea full of His 
 word. He gives us all manner of lan- 
 guages and liberal arts. All sorts of 
 books can be bought cheap ; and there 
 are learned men in abundance who are 
 able to teach in an orderly and correct 
 
flDf tfie flfllorfcg of dfriti* 23 
 
 manner, so that a boy, if not altogether a 
 dunce, may learn more in a single year 
 than in former times could have been 
 learned in many years. The arts are 
 now so cheap that they must almost 
 go begging for bread. Woe be to us 
 that we are so lazy, negligent, and 
 unthankful ! When Dr. Martin saw 
 the cattle in the field he said : " There 
 go our preachers, the bearers of milk, of 
 butter, of cheese, and of wool, who 
 daily preach faith in God, and tell us 
 to put our trust in Him, as our Father 
 who cares for us and nourishes us 
 (Matt. vi. 2)." 
 
 Towards evening there came into 
 the Doctor's garden two birds which 
 had made their nests there. But they 
 were often frightened when any one 
 passed near. Then said the Doctor : 
 " Ah, you dear little bird, do not fly 
 
24 S>t rlje aaiorfes of (BoO. 
 
 away, I am heartily well disposed to- 
 wards you, would you only believe it." In 
 like manner have we no trust in God, 
 who has nevertheless always shown 
 us every kindness. He who has given 
 His Son for us will not strike us dead. 
 
 * 
 God alone and not wealth nourishes 
 and upholds us. Riches make people 
 proud and lazy. At Venice, where 
 there are the richest people in the 
 world, there was a terrible famine within 
 our recollection, and the Venetians 
 were obliged to appeal to the Turks for 
 help. They sent twenty-four galleys 
 laden with corn, which, when they were 
 about to enter the harbour of Venice, 
 sunk before the eyes of the people. 
 Wealth cannot satisfy hunger, but 
 rather makes the dearth greater. For 
 where there are many rich people, 
 things are dearer. Moreover, money 
 
S>t tfje aaiorfegf of <Boti> 25 
 
 makes no man joyful, but rather makes 
 him downcast, and fills him with cares. 
 For riches, as Christ says, are like 
 thorns, and they prick men. Yet is 
 the world so foolish as to seek for all 
 its joy in riches. 
 
OF THE WORD OF GOD. 
 
 r 
 
 DID not learn my theology 
 all at once. I was con- 
 strained by my perplexities 
 to search deeper and deeper 
 The Scripture cannot be understood 
 except through perplexities and temp- 
 tations. St. Paul had a devil that beat 
 him with fists, and drove him by means 
 of his temptations to the diligent study 
 of Scripture. I had the Pope, the 
 Universities, and all the learned, and 
 by these the devil had me in his 
 
28 flDf tfje afllorti of (BoO. 
 
 grip. But they hunted me into the 
 Bible so that I read it diligently, and 
 at length I attained to a true under- 
 standing of the Word of God. 
 
 * 
 
 The Holy Scriptures are full of 
 Divine gifts and virtues. The heathen 
 books taught nothing of faith, hope, 
 and love, for they knew nothing of 
 them. They look only to the present, 
 and to what man can feel and grasp 
 with his reason. But of faith and hope 
 in God they cannot speak. It is in 
 the Psalms and in the Book of Job 
 that we shall find such counsels, for 
 they treat of faith, hope, patience, and 
 prayer. In a word, Holy Scripture is the 
 highest and best Book of God, full of 
 comfort for every season of temptation. 
 * 
 
 Dr. Justin Jonas once told Dr. 
 
<£>£ tfje asioro of (Boa. 29 
 
 Martin Luther of a noble in Meissen 
 who gave himself to the amassing of 
 gold and treasure, and was so blinded 
 that he cared nothing for the five 
 Books of Moses. This man said to 
 the Duke John Frederic, who had been 
 discussing with him about the Gospel : 
 " Sir, the Gospel is nothing to your 
 Grace." Luther then told this fable: 
 u The lion made a great feast, and he 
 invited all the beasts, and among the 
 others, a sow was invited. And when 
 all manner of costly dishes were set 
 before the guests, the sow asked : ' Is 
 there any bran there?' Even so," 
 said Luther, " is it with the Epicureans 
 of to-day. We preachers place before 
 them, in our churches, the most costly 
 dainties, eternal blessedness, the for- 
 giveness of sins, and the grace of God. 
 But they, like swine, turn up their snouts 
 and grub for money." 
 
30 flDf tlje aaiorti of (Botu 
 
 The words of the Lord Christ are 
 full of power, and have hands and feet, 
 and they repel all the assaults which 
 the wisdom and cunning of wise men 
 can make. This we see in the Gos- 
 pels. 
 
 * 
 Saint Jerome, who first corrected 
 and improved the version of the Seventy, 
 afterwards translated the Bible from the 
 Hebrew into Latin, and this is the 
 translation which we still use in our 
 churches. He has done well enough 
 for one, Nulla enim privata persona 
 tantum efficere potuisset. But he would 
 have done better had he got one or 
 two learned men to aid him in the 
 translation. Then had the Holy Ghost 
 been more powerful according to the 
 word of Christ. " For where two or 
 three are gathered together in my name, 
 there am I in the midst of them " 
 
flDf tfje aoiora of d5olr* 31 
 
 (Matt, xviii. 21). Translators should 
 not be alone, for not to one man will 
 the fitting word always occur. 
 
 The art of the scholastic theologians, 
 with its speculations on Holy Scripture, 
 is nothing but pure vanity, and the 
 thoughts of human reason. I have read 
 much in Buonaventura, but he made 
 me almost deaf. I desired greatly to 
 understand how God is united with 
 my soul ; but I could learn nothing 
 from such writings on the subject. 
 They say muchof the union of the un- 
 derstanding and the will, but it is vain 
 phantasy and fanaticism. This is the 
 true speculative and the much more 
 practical theology: Believe on Christ, 
 and do what thou art bound to do in 
 thy calling. 
 
 * 
 Dr. Luther once said : u Had I 
 known at first, before I began to write, 
 
32 flDf tfje afllorti of <BoU* 
 
 what I now know, that people are so 
 hostile to the Word of God, and deter- 
 mined to oppose it, I should certainly 
 have held my tongue. I should never 
 have been so bold as to attack the 
 Pope and almost all men, and incense 
 them against me. I thought that they 
 sinned through ignorance and human 
 frailty. I did not understand that they 
 purposely kept down the Word of God. 
 But God drew me on in my blindness, 
 just as men blind a horse that he may 
 run the better." 
 
 * 
 I believe that the beautiful fables of 
 ^Esop arose in this way. When the 
 Emperor Julian, who was a Mameluke 
 and an apostate Christian, forbade men 
 to read the Scriptures or to teach them 
 within his empire, two pious bishops, 
 as the church histories tell us, became 
 schoolmasters, and taught the young 
 
£>£ tfje aaiom of gDOtu 33 
 
 boys in the schools. They amused 
 them with such fables, and showed 
 them Truth clad in a fair garment of 
 flowers. 
 
OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 r 
 
 [ LL the wisdom of the world 
 is childish folly in compari- 
 son with the knowledge of 
 Christ. For what is more 
 marvellous than the great and unspeak- 
 able mystery that the Son of God, 
 the image of the Eternal Father, took 
 our human nature, and was in form 
 and countenance like any other man ? 
 In Nazareth he would help his father 
 Joseph to build houses; for Joseph 
 
36 flDf giesttcf Cfjrtet. 
 
 was a carpenter ; and Christ was called 
 the carpenter's son. What will the 
 people of Nazareth think at the Day 
 of Judgment, when they shall see Christ 
 in His Divine majesty. They will say 
 to Him : " Lord, didst Thou not help 
 to build my house ? How hast Thou 
 come to this great honour ?" 
 
 * 
 When Jesus was born He wept and 
 cried like any other child. Mary had 
 to tend Him, and to give Him suck as 
 the Church teacheth. When He re- 
 turned to Nazareth after the death of 
 Herod. He was subject to his parents, 
 and He would often fetch bread and 
 water and other things for them. Mary 
 would often say to Him : " My dear 
 little Jesus, where hast Thou been ? 
 Canst Thou not remain at home ? " 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
flDf 3(e0u0 Cf)rt0t. 37 
 
 We cannot vex the devil more than 
 by teaching, preaching, and singing of 
 the child Jesus. Therefore I am al- 
 ways well pleased when we sing loud 
 and solemnly in the church : Et homo 
 factusest ; and, Verbum caro factum est 
 The devil cannot bear to hear these 
 words, but flees miles away, for he 
 knows well what they signify. 
 
 "Many of the dead are forgotten, 
 can you not also forget the dead 
 Christ?" These words were spoken 
 by a Jew, and very devilish words they 
 are. Yes, dear devil, but there are the 
 words, " Sit Thou at My right hand." 
 And therefore must Christ be preached 
 — His sufferings and His death — as 
 long as the world stands. 
 
 Christ our High Priest is gone into the 
 
38 flDf 3(e0u0 Ctjrfgt* 
 
 heavens. He " sitteth at the right hand 
 of the Father, and continually maketh 
 intercession for us " (Rom. viii. 34). In 
 these words St. Paul gives a picture of 
 Christ in very beautiful and glorious 
 words. In His Death He is a sacrifice ; 
 in His Resurrection a conqueror; in 
 His Ascension a king; in His Inter- 
 cession a high priest; for by the law 
 of Moses the high priest alone en- 
 tered the Sancta Sanctorum and prayed 
 for the people. 
 
OF THE LA W AND THE 
 GOSPEL. 
 
 r 
 
 WILL have none of Moses 
 with his law, for he is the 
 enemy of the Lord Christ. 
 If he summons me for judg- 
 ment, I will dismiss him and say, " In 
 God's name no, here standeth Christ. " 
 At the Day of Judgment Moses will 
 look to me and say: "Thou didst 
 understand me rightly, and didst make 
 a very proper distinction." And we 
 shall be very good friends. 
 
 The law is given to the proud, for 
 
40 S>t tije Hato anO tlje (KosSpeL 
 
 example to the City N.N. and others. 
 Likewise to hypocrites, who desire it, 
 and are pleased to have many laws. 
 But grace is promised to the humble, 
 to those of troubled and tormented 
 hearts, for to them does forgiveness 
 of sin belong. M. Nicolaus, Cordatus, 
 Philip and I belong to Grace. 
 * 
 
 Where the true Gospel is, there is 
 poverty ; as it is written, " I am sent to 
 preach the gospel to the poor" (Isa. 
 xi i). In former times people were 
 willing to bestow in gift whole cloisters, 
 now they will give nothing. Super- 
 stition, false teaching, and hypocrisy 
 give money enough. Truth goeth a- 
 begging. 
 
 A lie is like a snowball, the longer 
 one rolls it the larger it grows. 
 
OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 IN olive-tree grows for two 
 hundred years and bears 
 fruit. It is a fine image of 
 the Church. Its oil signi- 
 fies the love and friendliness of the 
 gospel. Wine again signifieth the doc- 
 trine of the law. And there is so great 
 natural affinity between the vine and 
 the olive-tree, that when the vine is 
 engrafted on the olive-tree it brings 
 forth both wine and oil. So the Church, 
 when engrafted on the people, teacheth 
 
42 flDf tfje Cjjurcl)* 
 
 both gospel and law, and has of both 
 fruit. 
 
 The amaranth is a flower w T hich 
 grows in the month of August. It is 
 more stalk than flower, is easily broken 
 off, and grows in a joyful and pleasant 
 fashion. When all other flowers decay, 
 this flower, if sprinkled with water, be- 
 comes again fair and green, so that in 
 winter garlands are made of it. It is 
 called amaranth because it neither 
 withers nor decays. 
 
 I know not anything more like the 
 Church than this most lovely flower. 
 For although the Church bathes her 
 garments in the blood of the Lamb, 
 as we read in Genesis and in the 
 Apocalypse, and is of a red colour, yet 
 is she more fair than any state or as- 
 
<S)t tfje Cljurc^ 43 
 
 sembly upon the earth. The Son of 
 God loves her as His bride, and in 
 her alone has He pleasure and joy. 
 To her alone does His heart cling, and 
 He rejects and loathes all others who 
 despise or falsify His gospel. 
 
 Moreover, the Church willingly 
 suffers herself to be plucked and broken 
 off, that is, she is obedient to God and 
 submissive under the cross. 
 
 We tell our Lord God that if He 
 will have His Church, He must uphold 
 it. We cannot uphold it for Him, and 
 were it possible for us to do so, we 
 should soon become the proudest asses 
 under heaven. But God says, " I say 
 it, I do it." It is God alone that 
 speaks, and He does nothing according 
 to the mind of the ungodly, or as they 
 hold to be good and right. 
 
OF PREACHING AND 
 PREACHERS. 
 
 r 
 
 'R. MARTIN LUTHER 
 
 said to a pastor, "When you 
 are about to preach, speak 
 with God and say, 'Dear 
 Lord God, I will preach to Thy honour, 
 and speak of Thee. Thee I will 
 adore, and praise Thy name, although 
 I cannot do it so well as I should wish 
 to do.' And do not look at Philip, 
 or at me, or at any of the learned 
 men, but reckon yourself to be the most 
 
46 flDf $rt acting; anO preacljerg* 
 
 learned when you speak of God from 
 the pulpit. I have never allowed 
 myself to be shocked by the idea that 
 cannot preach well, but I have often I 
 been filled with fear because I had to 
 speak of the majesty of God and for 
 Him. Therefore be strong and pray." 
 
 * * 
 
 * 
 
 The faults of a preacher are quickly 
 observed. If a pious preacher has ten 
 virtues and but one fault, the one fault 
 obscures all his virtues. So evil is our 
 world. Dr. Jonas has all the virtues 
 of a preacher, but because he often 
 hems, the people cannot endure the 
 good man. 
 
 * 
 
 Some preachers torment their hearers 
 
 with long sermons. Hearing is a 
 
 delicate thing, and we soon become 
 
 tired of a subject. Dr. Pomner always 
 
<j5f ^reac^tngan&^reactje^ 47 
 
 quotes, as an excuse for his long ser- 
 mons, the words of St. John, Ci He that 
 is of God heareth God's word " (John 
 viii. 47). But moderation is good in 
 all things. 
 
 Cursed be those preachers who in 
 the churches deal with difficult, subtle 
 matters, and bring such before the 
 people. They seek their own honour, 
 and wish to give pleasure to one or 
 two ambitious hearers. When I preach 
 I let myself down to the lowest : I don't 
 see the doctors and the magistrates, of 
 whom there are about forty, but I look 
 at the crowd of young people, the 
 children and the servants, who are 
 there in hundreds or thousands. To 
 them I preach and direct my words, 
 for they have need of my words. If 
 the others do not wish to listen to me, 
 the door stands open ! 
 
48 flDf ^reactjmg anti ^reacfjens* 
 
 Theology consists in use and prac- 
 tice, not in speculation or in examina- 
 tion of the things of God by the reason. 
 Every art, whether applied to household 
 affairs or to government, loses itself 
 and becomes unprofitable when it in- 
 dulges in speculations. 
 
 A jurist may be a rogue, but a theo- 
 logian must be a man of piety. A 
 jurist has to deal only with the affairs 
 of this temporal world, but a theologian 
 has to deal with things spiritual and 
 eternal which have been committed 
 to him by God. His heaven and 
 all His gifts and treasures, forgiveness 
 of sins, righteousness— these have been 
 committed to the theologian. Piety 
 becomes such a trust. For God says, 
 "Whose soever sins ye remit, him I 
 receive as my child." 
 
3D£ ^readjmg; ant) preacljecg* 49 
 
 Jurists, theologians, and physicians 
 may counsel, absolve, and help. But 
 what is said to such persons ought to 
 be kept secret by them. 
 
 There is continual hatred between the 
 clergy and the laity, and not without 
 reason ; for unbridled mobs of pea- 
 sants, citizens, nobles, and especially 
 the princes and lords, refuse to listen 
 to reproof. But it is the office of the 
 preacher to reprove those who live in 
 open sin, and who offend against the 
 Ten Commandments of God, whether 
 of the first or of the second Table. 
 This is very distasteful to men, and 
 they watch with very sharp eyes those 
 preachers who do their duty faithfully. 
 
 * 
 
 At court these rules should be ob- 
 served. We must cry aloud and accuse. 
 3 
 
5o £>£ ^reacljfng; an* ^rearljcns* 
 
 If we are not heard the first time, 
 we must ask again. For neither 
 modesty nor the gospel suits the court, 
 and we must complain and importune. 
 We must place Moses with his horns 
 in the court, and not Christ, who is 
 mild and friendly. Therefore I coun- 
 sel my pastors to complain at court 
 of their poverty and necessities. I 
 preached publicly on the subject be- 
 fore the Elector, who himself is pious 
 and upright, but the people about him 
 do what they please. Philip Melanch- 
 thon and Justus Jonas were lately 
 called in question by the courtiers on 
 account of what I had said, but they re- 
 plied : " Dr. Luther is old enough, and 
 k.iows well what he ought 10 preach." 
 
 v K 
 
 Vr ?. T a:Uii Luther once asked Dr. 
 Hieronymus Wellei li w he was. He 
 r plied, " I am in trouble and sorr \v. ' 
 
€>£ ^reacljinjyaiiti preacfjerg* 51 
 
 "I know how it comes," Dr. Martin 
 Luther answered. " Were you not bap- 
 tized ? Ah, what a great gift of God 
 is baptism, which the Turks and other 
 infidels have not ! " 
 * 
 
 * 
 Justus Menius asked Dr. Luther 
 " In what manner a Jew should be 
 baptized ? " He replied : " You must 
 fill a tub with water, cause the Jew to 
 take off his clothes, and clothe him in a 
 white garment. He must then sit down 
 in the tub, and you must baptize him 
 under the water. Do it in this fashion ; 
 for the ancients, when they were bap- 
 tized, were clad in white. Perhaps 
 they wore such clothing because it was 
 the custom to attire the dead in white 
 frocks. And baptism is an image of 
 death. I believe that Christ was bap- 
 tized in this manner by John in Jordan. 
 But if a Jew, not truly pious, came to 
 
52 flDf ^reacljing ana Preacfjerg. 
 
 me for baptism, I would take him to 
 the Elbe Bridge, and hang a stone 
 round his neck, and fling him into the 
 Elbe ; for the scoundrels mock us and 
 our religion." Therefore he earnestly 
 counselled Justus Menius not to allow 
 himself to be deceived by the flatter- 
 ing words of the Jews. 
 
 * 
 Once one who was absent sent a 
 message to Dr. Martin Luther through 
 a friend, and inquired whether baptism 
 might be administered with warm 
 water? Luther replied: "Tell the 
 blockhead that water is water, whether 
 cold or warm," 
 
 * 
 Christ has given the keys to the 
 Church for consolation, and com- 
 manded its servants to employ them 
 to bind the impenitent, and to loose 
 
' With these words he comforted me, and I 
 
 ENTERED INTO PEACE."— Page 53. 
 
^Df ^areacTjing: ana ^reac^ertf. 53 
 
 those who do penance, recognize and 
 confess their sins, and believe that God 
 forgiveth for Christ's sake. 
 
 The power of God's Word is great, 
 and a brother and a Christian can by 
 means of it lift up and console. The 
 use of the keys and of special absolu- 
 tion in confession is very great, and by 
 it the conscience can be brought to 
 peace, and I would not have it over- 
 turned, Under the Papacy I was a 
 poor, sad-hearted monk, and was al- 
 ways in great conflict of spirit At 
 length I obtained consolation from 
 some words of a brother, who said to me, 
 u You ought to take comfort and hope. 
 Our salvation and blessedness consists in 
 faith upon God in Christ. Why, then, 
 not trust God, who has commanded us 
 to hope ? " With these words he com- 
 forted me, and I entered into peace. 
 
OF CONFESSION AND 
 ABSOLUTION. 
 
 te 
 
 'R. LUTHER was once 
 asked, "If a pastor and 
 confessor were to absolve a 
 woman who had killed her 
 n infant, and a rumour afterwards got 
 abroad of the < rime, would the pastor 
 be unrirr an obligation to give evidence 
 before the jidge?" Pr. Luther an- 
 swered, "Most cerl in y not, Chur- h 
 government ought to Le separated 
 
56 Confession anU absolution* 
 
 from ordinary government, and it 
 is not I that hear confession, but 
 the Lord Christ, and what Christ 
 has not revealed ought not to be re- 
 vealed by me. I should say, ' I have 
 heard nothing ; if Christ has heard any- 
 thing, let Him speak.' To the woman 
 I would say privately, * Woman, sin no 
 more.' There was a monk in Venice 
 who absolved a woman who had slain 
 her lover and thrown the body into 
 the water. But the monk was corrupted 
 by money, and betrayed the secret. 
 The woman defended herself by saying 
 that she had received absolution, and 
 she showed the certificate of absolution 
 in the monk's handwriting. The coun- 
 cil of Venice recognized it, and con- 
 demned the monk to be burned, while 
 the woman was simply expelled from 
 the city. It was a right and rational 
 decision of the council, and the monk 
 deserved to be condemned as a traitor. " 
 
THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 r 
 
 KNOW for certain that the 
 words of the institution of 
 the Lord's Supper are true, 
 and I am therefore prepared 
 to defend them against any one. I 
 have never heard any argument against 
 the Lord's Supper that moved me. 
 
 Dr. Luther said at table, in the year 
 1542, "The sacramentarians plague us 
 about charity in their writings, and 
 
58 %\)t Horb'g Supper. 
 
 they say, ' They of Wittenberg have no 
 charity.' When we ask them what 
 charity is, they say that it consists in this, 
 Ut consentiamus in doctrina, et omittatnus 
 rixas Mas de religione. We must an- 
 swer them by saying, Listen, there are 
 two tables in the Ten Commandments — - 
 the first and the second ; now, charity 
 belongs to the second table. But in 
 the first table the meaning is, Time 
 Dennis audi verbum ejus. In the second 
 table we read, Ama, ama, sis pius in 
 patrem, matrem et fr. ximum. But 
 in the first, Si quis d'ii^it plus patron et 
 matrem quam vie, non est me digitus* 
 The second table sa\ s, ■ Cherish ch rity 
 towards parents, towards chil Ten, to 
 thy wife, and to thy n< ighbours.' But in 
 the first table it s i) s, c i qu s d? 'igit plus 
 patrem et mati\m quam uu\ Where 
 Me comes, there must charity cease/ 1 
 
 * 
 
W$z Itorti'g Supper. 59 
 
 Dr. Martin Luther was asked if one 
 who was about to die, and could not 
 obtain the sacrament from the Papists, 
 might take it himself. " No," said he, 
 "since there ought always to be at 
 least two persons present — one who 
 gives, and another who receives. A 
 woman might in case of necessity 
 baptize her child, but the child does 
 not baptize itself." 
 
GOOD WORKS. 
 
 r 
 
 HERE was once a monas- 
 tery which was rich because 
 it gave alms liberally, but 
 when it ceased to give, it 
 became poor. And one came to its gate 
 and begged an alms, and was refused. 
 The beggar said : " Why will you give 
 nothing when I beg for the sake of 
 God ? " The porter made answer : 
 11 We are poor." The beggar said : "I 
 know the reason of your poverty. You 
 
62 <Eoo& aaiorfas* 
 
 had once two brethren in the monastery. 
 You drove out the one, and the other 
 has secretly gone out after his brother. 
 When the brother Date is driven forth, 
 Dabitur is likewise lost." 
 
 Dr. Martin Luther once went walking 
 into a neighbouring village with Dr. 
 Jonas and other friends. Dr. Luther 
 gave alms to the poor as they passed 
 through the village. Dr. Jonas also 
 gave some alms, saying : " Who knows 
 what God will give me in return?" 
 Luther laughed and said : "As if God 
 had never given you anything ! One 
 should give with simplicity, out of pure 
 love, and willingly." 
 
OF THE DEVIL. 
 
 r 
 
 HEN the devil comes to 
 torment me by night," said 
 Dr. Martin Luther, " I give 
 him this answer : ' Devil, I 
 must sleep now. It is God's command 
 and ordinance that we work by day 
 and sleep by night.' When he presses 
 hard upon me b cause of my sins, and 
 accuses me as a great sinner, I treat 
 him with scorn a: d say, ' Sancte Satane, 
 era fro nobis; for thou hast never 
 done any evil, thou alone art holy ! 
 
64 S>t tlje 2Drt»fL 
 
 Go to God thyself, and win grace for 
 thyself. Medice, cur a te if sum! 1 
 
 This is the greatest and most diffi- 
 cult temptation of the devil that he 
 says : M God is the enemy of sinners ; 
 but thou art a sinner ; therefore is God 
 thy enemy." We ought to flatly con- 
 tradict the first words of this syllogism 
 and conclusion. It is false that God 
 is the enemy of sinners, for Christ says 
 clearly, and by His Father's command : 
 " I am come to save sinners " (Matt. ix. 
 13). If Satan holds up before thee 
 Sodom and other examples of God's 
 wrath, hold up Christ to him, who be- 
 came man for our sakes. Had God 
 been the enemy of sinners He would 
 not have given His only-begotten Son 
 for their sakes. 
 
flDf tf)e SDeftiU 65 
 
 The devil gives heaven before sin. 
 After the sin, he torments the con- 
 science and causes despair. Christ 
 does the exact reverse. After sin He 
 gives heaven and a joyful conscience. 
 * 
 
 The devil is a sad spirit, and he 
 makes people sad, and therefore can- 
 not endure joy fulness. This is the 
 reason why he flees away at the sound 
 of music as far as he can. He will not 
 remain within the sound of singing, 
 especially of spiritual songs. 
 * 
 
 * 
 Mention was made of the tempest 
 there was at Niirnberg on February 18, 
 1533. It began at midnight, and raged 
 so fiercely that four thousand trees fell 
 in the Niirnberg forest, and the roof of 
 the castle was half torn off. There was a 
 fearful wind accompanied with thunder 
 
66 flDf tlje SDetifU 
 
 and lightning: so terrible was the storm 
 that men imagined that the last day had 
 come. Dr. Martin Luther remarked 
 that it is the devil who sends such 
 tempests, but the good winds are caused 
 by the good angels. The devil snorts 
 and blows as do the good angels when 
 the good winds come. 
 
 The devil vexes and deceives the 
 workmen in the mines. He makes 
 them imagine that they see veins of tin 
 and silver when there is nothing there. 
 For when he can bewitch and deceive 
 people on the earth and under the light 
 of the sun, so that they see one thing 
 and think they see another, he can do 
 it still more easily below ground in the 
 mines. I do not deny that tin is some- 
 times found in the mines, but that is a 
 special gift of God. I never had any 
 fortune in the mines, for Satan did not 
 
<3D£ tfje 2DefciL 67 
 
 favour me with that gift of God, and I 
 am well content. 
 
 It is Satan, I believe, who sends 
 plagues and sore sicknesses upon men; 
 for he is the prince of death. Peter 
 says (Acts x. 38), "Christ healed all 
 who were oppressed of the devil." But 
 Christ did not heal the possessed only, 
 He also gave sight to the blind, made 
 the lame to walk, cleansed the lepers, 
 and caused the deaf to hear. I think, 
 therefore, that sicknesses come from the 
 devil. But he employs natural instru- 
 ments as a murderer employs a sw r ord, 
 and as God Himself uses natural means 
 to give me life and health, such as 
 sleep, food, and drink. Without means 
 He does not commonly work. So does 
 the devil injure and slay men by using 
 means such as poisoning the air. A 
 physician is God's cobbler, and mends 
 
68 SDZ tfje SDtfiiL 
 
 the body ; we theologians are the spi- 
 ritual cobblers and mend what the devil 
 has injured. Our burgomaster once 
 asked me if it was against God's will 
 that we should make use of medicine ; 
 for Dr. Carlstadt had been preaching 
 publicly, " If a man is sick he ought 
 not to use medicine, but he should 
 go to God secretly and lay the matter 
 before Him in prayer, and ask that His 
 will should be done." I asked him, 
 44 Do you eat when you are hungry ? " 
 " Yes," said he. " Then," said I, " you 
 may use medicine, for medicine is God's 
 creature as much as food and drink." 
 
W I ASKED HIM, ' DO YOU EAT WHEN YOU ARE. 
 
 hungry ?' '' — Page 68. 
 
PRA YER. 
 
 | S it is the special work of a 
 shoemaker to make shoes, 
 and of a tailor to make 
 coats, so is it the special 
 work of a Christian to pray. 
 
 The prayers of the Churches work 
 great miracles. In my time it has 
 raised three persons from the dead: 
 myself, who have been often dying, my 
 wife Kate, and Philip Melanchthon, 
 
70 draper* 
 
 who, in the year 1540, lay at the point 
 of death in Weimar. Although de- 
 liverance from disease and bodily 
 dangers are but poor miracles, yet 
 ought we to notice them for the sake 
 of those who are weak in the faith. 
 To me it is a much greater miracle that 
 our Lord daily gives baptism in the 
 churches, the sacrament of the altar, 
 and frees and absolves from sin, from 
 death, and damnation. These are to 
 me the great miracles. 
 
 A question was asked regarding the 
 words of Jeremiah, in which the pro- 
 phet curses the day on which he was 
 born (Jer. xx. 14). It was asked 
 whether such words were sinful and 
 unchristian. Dr. Martin Luther said, 
 " We have sometimes to waken up our 
 Lord God with such words, or He would 
 not listen to us." 
 
BOOK II 
 
OF DEATH. 
 
 r 
 
 [ HEN his daughter lay very 
 sick, Dr. Martin Luther 
 said, "I love her dearly, but 
 dear God, if it is Thy will 
 that she should go hence, I shall will- 
 ingly give her to Thee." He then 
 said to his daughter, who lay on the 
 bed : " Magdalene, my daughter, will- 
 ingly thou remainest with thy father, 
 and thou goest willingly to the Father 
 yonder ! " She said : u Yes, father dear. 
 As God will." Then said her father, 
 4 
 
74 flDf 2Deatlj* 
 
 " My dear little daughter, the spirit is 
 willing, but the flesh is weak." 
 
 * 
 
 When Magdalene lay in the last 
 agonies, and desired to die, her father 
 fell on his knees before the bed, and, 
 weeping bitterly, prayed that God 
 would deliver her. Then she departed, 
 and fell asleep in her fathers arms. 
 The mother was also in the chamber, 
 though farther off, because of her great 
 sorrow. Magdalene's death took place 
 at nine o'clock on Wednesday, the 
 Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, in 
 the year 1542. 
 
 * * 
 
 * 
 
 The Doctor repeated often the words: 
 
 " Willingly would I have retained her, 
 
 for she was very dear to me, but His 
 
 will be done. For her nothing better 
 
 could have happened !" Master Philip 
 
SX 2Deatf)* 75 
 
 then said, " The love of parents is an 
 image of the love of God impressed 
 upon the human heart. If the love of 
 God to the human race is as great as 
 the love of parents to children, as 
 Scripture says it is, then is it a great 
 love indeed." 
 
 * * 
 
 When she lay in her coffin, Dr. 
 Luther said: "Ah, dear Lene, thou 
 shalt rise again, and shine like a star, 
 yea, like the sun ! I am joyful in spirit, 
 but the flesh is sorrowful !" 
 
 * * 
 
 When the people came to help to 
 bury the dead, Luther addressed them 
 according to custom, and said: "My 
 trouble makes you sorrowful, rather 
 ought you to rejoice. I have sent a 
 saint to heaven, yes, a living saint Oh, 
 that we all could have such a death !" 
 
76 dDf 2Deatl)* 
 
 On the night before Magdalene died, 
 Luther's wife had a dream, in which 
 she saw two fair young men, gaily 
 attired, come to fetch Magdalene to 
 her wedding. When Philip Melanch- 
 thon came in the morning into the 
 cloister he asked : M How is your 
 daughter?" Then the mother told him 
 her dream ; but he was affrighted, and 
 said to the others : " These young men 
 were the dear angels who shall come 
 to fetch this maiden to her true mar- 
 riage in the kingdom of heaven." 
 
OF THE 
 
 RESURRECTION OF 
 
 THE DEAD 
 
 AND LIFE ETERNAL. 
 
 r 
 
 WILL rise again, and again 
 speak with you. The finger 
 on which this ring is shall 
 return to me. All shall 
 come back again, for it is written (2 Pet. 
 in. 3), God will create "a new heaven 
 and a new earth in which dwelleth 
 
78 flDf tfje Iftegurrectton* 
 
 righteousness." That will be no empty 
 or indolent realm. There will be pure 
 joy, and rejoicing throughout it ; for 
 heaven and earth will not be dry, un- 
 fruitful plains of sand. When man is 
 joyful, every little tree rejoiceth, yea, 
 every fair little flower and shrub ; but 
 when he is sorrowful, scarce can a tree 
 hold up its head. Heaven and earth 
 will be renewed, and we believers shall 
 all at once become a mighty multitude. 
 One asked Dr. Martin Luther, "Will 
 there be dogs and other beasts in the 
 future kingdom of heaven ? " " Yes, 
 assuredly," he said, " for the earth will 
 not be a lonely, empty desert. But 
 they will no longer eat one another 
 as do the toads, serpents, and other 
 poisonous creatures, which on account 
 of original sin became poisonous and 
 dangerous. There will they be not only 
 harmless, but loving and playful, and we 
 shall amuse ourselves with them." 
 
S)t tije Wizmmztion* 79 
 
 Dr. Severus said, "Many doubt 
 concerning the article of the resurrec- 
 tion of the ungodly." Dr. Luther 
 answered, "I have spoken of it fully 
 in my writing on the fifteenth chapter 
 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.'' 
 Master John Matheson, Dr. Luther's 
 companion at table, then said, "Sir 
 Doctor, in the Creed there are, first, 
 the words remissio peccatorum, after- 
 wards follow the words carnis resur- 
 rection which seems to show that those 
 alone shall rise from the dead who 
 have received forgiveness of sins.'' 
 Dr. Luther said, u There are clear 
 proofs in the Scriptures for the resur- 
 rection of all the dead, such as John 
 v. 28, 29 ; Matt. xxv. 32." 
 
OF MARRIAGE. 
 
 r 
 
 ftJCAS CRANACH the 
 
 elder had painted a picture 
 of Dr. Martin Luther's wife. 
 And when the picture was 
 hung upon the wall, Luther looked at 
 it and said : " I shall have the husband 
 painted also, and shall send the two 
 pictures to the council at Mantua, and 
 ask the holy Fathers assembled there, 
 whether they like the married state or 
 celibacy for the clergy." 
 
§2 flDf Carnage. 
 
 On the day of St Martin, Dr. 
 Martin Luther celebrated his birthday, 
 and many learned men were invited to 
 his table, among others Dr. Jonas, 
 Dr. Caspar Creuziger, and Philip 
 Melanchthon. Before supper Master 
 Ambrose Bernd requested that the 
 Doctor's niece Magdalene should be 
 given him in marriage. Dr. Martin 
 Luther said : " Dear friend, God has 
 entrusted the maiden to me, and to 
 Him I am responsible. May God 
 give His blessing and benediction so 
 that you may live a Christian life 
 together ! " Then was the company 
 joyful. Afterwards Dr. Luther spoke 
 of wooing, and of that freedom 
 which had been granted a newly- 
 married bridegroom by Moses, other- 
 wise a stern and hard lawgiver, when 
 he enacted that the bridegroom should 
 be freed from public duties for a whole 
 year. 
 
flDF Carriage* 83 
 
 In the year 1538, on November 22, 
 Master Ambrose Bernd had a conver- 
 sation aside with his betrothed. When 
 Dr. Martin Luther observed them 
 he laughed, and said : " I marvel that 
 a bridegroom and bride have so much 
 to say to one another, and that they 
 never grow weary. But we must not 
 vex them \ they have privileges above 
 all law and custom,'' 
 
 Mr. G. has married a rich wife, 
 and has sold his freedom. Commonly 
 it happens this way. When a poor 
 fellow marries a rich woman, if he says 
 anything that offends her, she imme- 
 diately opens her mouth and upbraids 
 him, saying : "You good-for-nothing 
 fellow ! you would have been a 
 beggar had I not married you !'' Mar- 
 riages made for the sake of wealth are 
 commonly accursed; rich women, for 
 
84 flDf Carriage. 
 
 the most part, are proud, cross, and 
 
 negligent, and waste more than they 
 bring. 
 
 * 
 
 On New Year's Day Dr. Martin 
 Luther's child wept and screamed so 
 that it was impossible to quiet it ; the 
 Doctor and his wife were much troubled 
 for a whole hour. And he said, " There 
 are tiresome things and troubles in 
 marriage, and that is why men avoid it 
 and remain unmarried. We are afraid 
 of the whims of women, the howling 
 and screaming of children, of expense, 
 and bad neighbours ; and therefore 
 we wish to be free lords and to do 
 whatever we please. It is for this 
 reason that none of the Fathers ever 
 said anything good regarding marriage. 
 But God of His grace has again by 
 His word, before the day of judgment, 
 given their true place to government, 
 
JDZ 9©arrtao:e. 85 
 
 to the preaching of the gospel, and to 
 marriage." 
 
 * 
 Dr. Luther sometimes laughed at 
 his Kate for her gossip and chatter; 
 and he once said, " Did you say the 
 Lord's Prayer before preaching such a 
 long sermon ?" But women do not pray 
 before they preach, for if they did they 
 would leave off preaching ; or if God 
 heard them at once, He would forbid 
 them to preach. 
 
 Were I to marry again I should 
 carve an obedient woman out of stone. 
 For I despair otherwise of finding obe- 
 dience in women. 
 
OF THE JEWS. 
 
 pSSTroJiHE Jews are the most miser- 
 * able of all the peoples on 
 earth : they are everywhere 
 plagued, and are scattered 
 in many lands, and have no certain 
 dwelling-place. They have neither 
 country, nation, nor government, and 
 yet they suffer everything, and wait 
 with great eagerness, and comfort one 
 another by saying, "It will soon be 
 better with us." 
 
88 <3Df tfje HetoS* 
 
 " If I were a Jew the Pope should 
 never persuade me to his idolatry; I 
 should rather be broken on the wheel 
 ten times. The Papacy, with its abomi- 
 nations and its idolatries, has been a 
 great stumbling-block to the Jews. 
 My belief is, that were the Jews to hear 
 our preaching, and how we handle the 
 words of the Old Testament, many 
 would be won. By disputing with 
 them we make them more fierce and 
 stiff-necked, and they are by nature 
 proud and presumptuous. But if one 
 or two of their rabbis and chief men 
 fell off from them, then a change might 
 come, for they are almost tired of 
 waiting." 
 
 There are many Jews in Frank- 
 fort-on-the-Main, and they live to- 
 gether in a single street, in which 
 every house is crowded They are 
 
<3D£ tfje letog* 89 
 
 obliged to wear yellow rings on their 
 clothes that they may be known. They 
 possess neither houses nor lands, only 
 movable property. They can only 
 lend money upon houses or land at 
 a great risk. 
 
 There is no doubt that in remote 
 times a great number of Jews fled to 
 Italy and Germany and settled there. 
 The eloquent heathen Cicero complains 
 of the superstition of the Jews, and of 
 their numbers in Italy. We can trace 
 their footsteps through the whole of 
 Germany. There is no city, no village, 
 in Germany that has not Jewish names 
 and streets. It is said that there were 
 Jews living in Regensburg long before 
 the birth of Christ. It was a mighty 
 nation. 
 
 "There once came to me," said 
 
go flDf flje ^etog* 
 
 Dr. Martin Luther, " two Jewish rab- 
 bis, and begged of me letters of 
 safe conduct. They would have been 
 satisfied with the letters I gave them, 
 had I omitted from them the word 
 Tola, that is, Jesus the crucified. They 
 must blaspheme the name 'Jesus/ and 
 the hymn J^esus is risen is always 
 obnoxious to them. All other hymns 
 pall upon us after a time, but every 
 year we must sing afresh of the resur- 
 rection of Jesus." Another Jew said, 
 " Thousands of innocent men have been 
 murdered, but no one now speaks of 
 them ; but Jesus the Crucified One 
 must always be thought of — His death 
 it seems impossible to forget" 
 
 A Jew, who wished to be baptized 
 and to receive the Christian faith, made 
 confession to a priest and said, " Before 
 baptism I should like to go to Rome 
 
and see the Head of the Christian 
 world. " The priest endeavoured to 
 dissuade him, for he feared that if the 
 Jew beheld all the wickedness and 
 folly of Rome, he might be repelled 
 from Christianity. But the Jew per- 
 sisted, and he travelled to Rome, and 
 beheld there many abominations ; but 
 he returned to the priest and asked for 
 baptism, saying, " I will now willingly 
 worship the God of the Christians, for 
 He is patient enough. If He can bear 
 with such wickedness and villainy as is 
 to be seen in Rome, He can bear with 
 the villainy and vice of the whole 
 world." 
 
OF ECCLESIASTICAL 
 LEGENDS. 
 
 FRIEND once asked Dr. 
 Luther, " What legends are 
 canonical, that is to say, 
 in harmony with Scripture, 
 and what apocryphal, or not in harmony 
 with Scripture ? " He replied, " Very 
 few are pure. The legends of the mar- 
 tyrs are the least corrupt, for they bore 
 witness to their faith with their blood. 
 The legends of monks, especially of 
 
94 ®t ecclesiastical %z$zim. 
 
 the hermits who lived apart from men, 
 are horrible, and are filled with lying 
 miracles and foolish stories about un- 
 natural abstinence and torture of their 
 bodies. I esteem greatly those saints, 
 of whom nothing marvellous is recorded, 
 who lived like other people, without 
 pretence, and did not seek to make 
 themselves notorious." 
 
 * 
 Dr. Martin Luther preached about 
 St. Christopher on the day of that 
 saint and said, "It is not a history 
 but a story invented by the Greeks, 
 who were a wise and ingenious people. 
 Its purpose is to show what the life of 
 a Christian should be, and how it fares 
 with him. St. Christopher is a tall, 
 strong man, who bears upon his shoul- 
 ders the child Jesus. But he finds the 
 child so heavy that he stoops under 
 his burden as he walks through the 
 
dDf (Kcclegfta0ttcal %t$mb$+ 95 
 
 wild, raging sea. The sea is the world, 
 and the waves are the tyrants and 
 wicked gangs by whose malice he is 
 all but destroyed. But he supports 
 himself by a great tree, as upon a staff; 
 that is, upon God's word. On the 
 other side of the sea stands an old man 
 with a lantern, in which there burns a 
 bright light ; this means the writings of 
 the prophets. By it he guides himself 
 and comes unharmed to shore, that is, 
 to the life eternal. By his side there 
 is a wallet, which contains fish and 
 bread, and that shows that God will 
 not suffer Christians to perish of hunger 
 in this world, although the world would 
 gladly be rid of them. It is a beautiful 
 Christian poem." 
 
THE WORLD AND ITS 
 WAYS. 
 
 
 } OD might have left the world 
 uncreated, but He created 
 it that He might display 
 His honour and power. We 
 must not ask our Lord God and say, 
 Quare hoc jacist We ought to per- 
 form that which is commanded us, 
 and not to say, Quare ? We must 
 accept it that our Lord God is more 
 pious than we. What is good comes 
 from God; what is evil comes from 
 5 
 
g8 %\}Z aaiorlti anti its &Eap<t 
 
 the devil. Man uses his goods and 
 his mind against God rather than for 
 his own honour. Hence it comes 
 that a man's friends are his greatest 
 enemies. 
 
 The world will never allow itself 
 to be governed by laws and rules. It 
 is very averse to trammels and reins. 
 It would be free as a bird, as free as 
 the irregular verb in Donatus, sum, es, 
 est, eram^fui, &c. It cannot be conju- 
 gated like another word. It goes now 
 to one side, and now to another, like 
 a meadow. There are also Defectiva, 
 or verbs wanting in some of their 
 parts, as the book in the schools 
 Bellum Grammaticale is called. It is 
 thus with the world which will not 
 submit itself to law or discipline. It is 
 the devil's bride who rides and drives 
 it, so that it does from the heart only 
 
W$t aSlorlo ana itsf ffiHap& 99 
 
 that which the bridegroom wills. We 
 must let it remain sum, es, est, and not 
 attempt to transform it into sum, sus, 
 sut, for it is a self-willed word. 
 
 The world is an assemblage of people 
 who receive from God nothing but 
 benefits, and render back thanklessness 
 and blasphemy to the Giver. 
 
 The peasants are not worthy of the 
 fruits which the earth bears for them. 
 I thank our God more for a single tree 
 or a plant than do all the peasants for 
 their fields. Then spake Philip Me- 
 lanchthon and said, " Ah, Sir Doctor, 
 but you must make some exceptions as 
 Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Isaac who 
 went forth to his fields that he might 
 meditate on God's gifts in the creatures " 
 (Gen. xxiv.). 
 
ioo %%z JLaiorlD anti ttg clfllap^ 
 
 Human reason leads either to de- 
 spair or to presumption. When she 
 despairs, she dies sine crux et lux. But 
 when she is exalted, she goes forth and 
 is deceived. 
 
 I have often wondered what led the 
 heathen to say so many beautiful things 
 of death which is so fearful and hateful. 
 But when I consider the world, I 
 wonder no more ; for there were so 
 many stupid scoundrels in authority in 
 the world who did them evil, that they 
 had nothing to threaten them with but 
 death. If the heathen regarded death 
 so little, yea, held it in honour, how 
 much more should we Christians ? for 
 the poor people knew less than nothing 
 of the life eternal ; but we know of it. 
 But we are filled with fear and terror 
 when any one talks to us of death. The 
 cause of that is our sins, and we must 
 
<Wtjt oaJorin am ft* esia^ 101 
 
 confess that we 'live worse than the 
 heathen; and we cannot rightly com- 
 plain, for the greater the sin, the more 
 fearful is death. 
 
 * 
 
 The physician of the Bishop of 
 Mainz, who fell off from the Gospel to 
 Papacy and became a Mameluke, once 
 said : " I will place Christ behind the 
 door for a time till I become rich, after- 
 wards will I bring Him forth again." 
 And an ungodly usurer said : " If you 
 are one who walks in fear of death, you 
 will never become rich." Such ungodly 
 and blasphemous speeches deserve and 
 will receive the most severe punishment. 
 
 It is a marvel, and a very scandalous 
 thing, that after the pure doctrine of 
 the gospel is again come to light, 
 
102 W$z aZBorlo anU ftjs 321aj?^ 
 
 through the special grace and revela- 
 tion of God, the world has become 
 worse. Every one now makes Chris- 
 tian freedom a plea for the indulgence 
 of his own will, just as if he had a right 
 to do whatever pleases him. The king- 
 dom of the devil and the Pope, as far 
 as external government is concerned, 
 is best for the world ; for by them the 
 world will be ruled by means of strict 
 rules and laws, by superstition and 
 vain imaginings. The teaching of the 
 grace of God makes it more wicked ; 
 for when it hears there is another 
 world, it makes peace with this world, 
 and leaves the Lord God to take 
 care of the other. They are satisfied if 
 they have only pleasant days, honours, 
 and possessions as the Roman Popes 
 and Cardinals have. A rich Cardinal 
 died once in Rome and left behind 
 him a great sum of money. In the 
 coffer which contained his money he 
 
Clje 3£lorlD art& ftjs a&Iaps* 103 
 
 left a bull. The coffer was opened after 
 his death, and they found these words 
 inscribed upon the parchment : 
 
 Dum potui, rapui ; rapiatis quando potestis. 
 
 Oh, how must the Cardinal have died, 
 and what a fate must his have been ! 
 
OF PRINCES AND 
 RULERS 
 
 OVERNMENT is a sign of 
 Divine grace. Its existence 
 shows the mercy of God, 
 and that He has no pleasure 
 in murdering, killing, and strangling. 
 The magistrate is like a fish net which 
 is placed in a stream when fish are to 
 be taken. But God is the troubler of 
 the water who drives the fish into the 
 net. For when a thief, robber, adulterer, 
 
io6 flDf pcfncejs ana Mettf* 
 
 or murderer is ripe, God chases him 
 into the net ; that is, He brings it about 
 that he is taken and punished by the 
 magistrate. For it is written in the 
 Psalms : " God is Judge upon earth." 
 
 * 
 
 Rulers ought to give honour to the 
 gospel, and to hold it high with both 
 hands, for it upholds them and ennobles 
 their position and office, so that they 
 know what their calling is, and can 
 perform its duties with a good con- 
 science. In former times under the 
 Papacy princes and lords were afraid 
 of shedding blood, and of punishing 
 robbers, murderers, and thieves : they 
 did not rightly distinguish between the 
 private person and him who performs 
 a public duty. The executioner had to 
 do penance and to beg forgiveness 
 from the condemned criminal when 
 he was about to execute his office, as 
 
flDf ^rinceg anir l&uler& 107 
 
 if he had been doing wrong ; whereas 
 it is his proper office which God hath 
 appointed. St. Paul says, " He beareth 
 not the sword in vain." When the 
 magistrate punishes, it is God Himself 
 who is punishing. 
 
 •K- -K- 
 
 * 
 Duke Frederick, the Elector of 
 Saxony, was very reluctant to punish 
 malefactors, especially the poor thieves. 
 " Ah ! " said he, " it is easy to take away 
 life, but we cannot give it back again." 
 And Duke John, the Elector of Saxony, 
 was in the habit of saying about a 
 criminal : " Ah ! he will reform and 
 become a good man yet." Through 
 all this weakness the land has become 
 full of scoundrels. The princes were 
 also persuaded by the monks that it 
 was their duty to be gracious and kind. 
 But magistrates, princes, and lords 
 must not be soft and yielding. 
 
108 flDf ^rinttg ana Iftulergf* 
 
 On one occasion a boy of eighteen 
 
 years was brought before a judge for 
 
 theft. The judge was anxious to save 
 
 him from the gallows, and to release 
 
 him because of his youth. But the 
 
 prisoner said, " Make an end of me at 
 
 once, for that is my destiny. If you 
 
 release me, I shall assuredly return to 
 
 the work of stealing." Dr. Luther 
 
 then repeated the old proverb, "A 
 
 thief is nowhere better than on the 
 
 gallows, a monk in the cloister, and a 
 
 fish in the water." He had begged 
 
 off, he said, several from the gallows, 
 
 but after a few days they stole again 
 
 and were executed after all. Joab's 
 
 counsel was much better than that of 
 
 King David. 
 
 * 
 
 Dr. Martin Luther was on a cer- 
 tain occasion the guest of the Duke 
 Ernst of Liineburg, and of the Duke 
 
flDf $vintt$ ana l&uIergL 109 
 
 William of Mecklenburg. Duke Ernst 
 was a pious prince, and he complained 
 of the drunken and licentious life led at 
 courts, where, he said, men eat and 
 drink all day, and yet pretend to be 
 Christians. Dr. Luther replied, " The 
 princes and lords ought to inter- 
 pose." But Duke Ernst said, "Ah, 
 Doctor, we lead the same life ourselves. 
 If we did not, it would have ceased 
 long ago." Meaning that the intem- 
 perance of princes is the cause of the 
 intemperance of the people. When 
 the abbot throws the dice, the whole 
 convent will play. 
 
 Dr. Philip Melanchthon said on one 
 occasion to Dr. Luther, as they sat 
 at table, that he heard in his youth 
 that during a Diet of the empire 
 certain princes were boasting of the 
 riches and advantages of their realms. 
 
no flDf princes ana IRttlerg. 
 
 The Elector of Saxony said that he had 
 mountains of silver in his land, and 
 mines from which he derived great 
 revenues. The Elector Palatine praised 
 his wine which came from his vineyards 
 on the Rhine. When it came to the 
 turn of Eberhard, of Wiirtemberg, to 
 speak, he said, " I am indeed but a 
 poor prince, and am not to be com- 
 pared with either of you ; but I have 
 also a precious jewel in my country ; 
 for should I at any time ride astray in 
 my country and find myself alone in 
 the fields, I could safely sleep on the 
 bosom of any one of my subjects." 
 When the other two princes heard this, 
 they confessed that his was the richest 
 and most precious jeweL 
 
OF THE USE OF 
 LEARNING. 
 
 r 
 
 I S D O M, understanding, 
 learning, and the pen 
 govern the world. If God 
 in His anger were to take 
 away all the learned from the world, 
 men would become wild beasts ; there 
 would be no understanding or wit — 
 nothing but robbery, stealing, murder, 
 adultery. The mob would like that 
 there were no wise and learned men 
 
ii2 flDF tlje <H3t of ^Learning;* 
 
 left, for then would they live as they 
 pleased. If that were so, the world 
 would go to ruin, for without under- 
 standing wisdom even Turks and Tar- 
 tars could not live. Where there are 
 men, there must be law and order. 
 
OF COMEDIES. 
 
 r 
 
 R. JOHN CELLARIUS 
 asked the counsel of Dr. 
 Martin Luther on the fol- 
 lowing point. There was a 
 learned schoolmaster who had caused 
 a comedy of Terence to be acted. 
 But many were offended, and thought 
 that it did not become a Christian 
 man to concern himself with the plays 
 of heathen poets. Dr. Luther re- 
 plied, "It ought not to be forbidden 
 
ii4 JflDf Contented 
 
 to boys in school to play comedies ; 
 they ought rather to be permitted. 
 Firstly, because it affords them practice 
 in the Latin tongue. Secondly, because 
 in comedies characters are well por- 
 trayed, and people are taught the conduct 
 becoming in various positions in life. 
 As in a mirror, they see in plays what 
 is becoming in a servant, what in a 
 lord, what becomes the young, and 
 what the old. Christians should not 
 entirely flee from comedies because 
 now and then there are coarse matters 
 in them. For the same reason we 
 might cease to read the Bible." 
 
?£ 
 
 OF THE POWER OF 
 MUSIC. 
 
 r 
 
 £^f]pip§! HE fairest and most glorious 
 " gift of God is music. It 
 drives away the spirit of 
 sadness as we see in the 
 case of Saul. Kings, princes, and 
 great lords ought to give their support 
 to music; for it becomes potentates 
 to maintain noble arts and laws. 
 Music is a discipline, it is an instruc- 
 tress, and it makes people milder and 
 
n6 flDf ttje ^ototr of ®$u$iu 
 
 gentler, more moral and more reason- 
 able. Even the bad players do this 
 service, that by their means we re- 
 cognize what is good music ; for we 
 never recognize the white better than 
 when the black is placed beside it. 
 
 Music is a fair and glorious gift of 
 God, and takes a place next to theology. 
 I would not part with my small skill in 
 music for much. The young ought 
 continually to accustom themselves to 
 this art, for it makes people cultivated 
 and clever. 
 
OF SINGING. 
 
 r 
 
 RINGING is the best art and 
 custom. It has nothing to 
 do with this world. Singers 
 are not care-laden people, 
 
 but joyful, and they drive away care 
 
 with their songs. 
 
 While they were singing Passion 
 music Dr. Martin Luther listened with 
 great attention to it and said, " Music 
 
n8 flDf Singing;* 
 
 is a fair and sweet gift of God. It 
 has often given to me new life, and 
 inspired me with a desire to preach. 
 Saint Augustine had a conscientious 
 scruple about it. When he heard 
 music with pleasure, and was made 
 joyful by it, he would afterwards weep 
 as if he had committed a sin. He was, 
 however, a noble, pious man. If he 
 lived now he would be on our side. 
 But Saint Jerome would condemn us." 
 
OF GERMANY. 
 
 r 
 
 R. MARTIN LUTHER 
 and Philip Melanchthon 
 journeyed to Torgau on 
 April 3, 1537, and they 
 spoke together of various matters. 
 Philip praised the chronicle of Cor- 
 nelius Tacitus, who lived in the days 
 of the Emperor Caligula, and wrote 
 beautifully of Germany, which he 
 praised because of its steadfastness and 
 
120 (Bf (Bermanp* 
 
 fidelity. For then were the Germans, 
 steadfast, and kept troth, especially in 
 marriage, in which they excelled all 
 other nations. "Yes," said Dr. Martin 
 Luther, " it was so among the ancient 
 Germans, and they were noble men ; 
 but now, alas ! in these last times have 
 they sadly fallen off." 
 * 
 
 Germany is like a fair, strong steed, 
 which has all the fodder it needs. 
 What is wanting is a good rider. Ger- 
 many has strength and people, but it 
 wants a good head and ruler. 
 
 * 
 In the year 1538, on the 8th of 
 December, there came a pious, honour- 
 able matron from Magdeburg to Dr. 
 Martin Luther. She was a very tall 
 woman, and her daughter was equally 
 so, and her son was a head taller than 
 
flDf d5ermanp* 121 
 
 Master Anthony Lauterbach, the deacon 
 of Wittenberg, who is a very tall man. 
 Then said Dr. Martin Luther, "You 
 may see in these an example of the old 
 German bodies. They who lived long 
 ago were like giants ; we have become 
 pigmies and dwarfs." 
 
 I believe that England is a part of 
 Germany. The people there speak 
 the Saxon speech as in Westphalia 
 and the Netherlands, although it is very 
 much corrupted. I believe that the 
 Germans in ancient times passed over 
 to England and settled there. 
 
 If I were to travel much, I should 
 like best to travel in Bavaria and in 
 Swabia; for the people there are friendly 
 and good-humoured, hospitable to 
 travellers and strangers, and they give 
 6 
 
122 flDf dformanp* 
 
 them good entertainment for their 
 money. The Hessians and the dwellers 
 in Meissen do also to a certain extent, 
 but they are very eager for money. 
 But the Saxons are very unfriendly and 
 discourteous, and give neither good 
 words nor good eating. You see here 
 in Wittenberg what an unfriendly 
 people they are. Expect neither 
 honesty, nor politeness, nor religion 
 here. No citizen of Wittenberg will 
 allow his son to study, although they 
 have a noble example before them in 
 the number of stranger students and 
 guests who flock to their city. 
 
OF LANGUAGES. 
 
 r 
 
 HE Greeks have good and 
 charming words, but they 
 have no sentence. Their 
 language is friendly and 
 gracious, but it is not rich in proverbs. 
 The Hebrew language is simple, but 
 majestic and glorious. Simple and few 
 it is in its words, but there is much 
 behind them. It is pure, and does not 
 go a-begging for words to other Ian- 
 
124 &>f Eangttapgu 
 
 guages, but preserves its own colour. 
 The Greeks, Latins, and Germans beg 
 words, and their languages have many 
 compounds. ? am not master either 
 of Hebrew or of Greek, but nevertheless 
 I think I could encounter a Hebrew or 
 a Greek pretty well. The languages 
 alone will not make a theologian; 
 they are only helps. If a man is to 
 speak of a matter, he must first of all 
 know and understand the thing itself. 
 
 I have no special German speech, 
 but I use the common German speech 
 so that both High German and Low 
 German may understand me. I speak 
 after the Saxon Chancery which is 
 followed by all princes and kings in 
 Germany and by the Imperial towns. 
 
 * 
 
flDf %an$msz&+ 125 
 
 The languages are fair and glorious 
 gifts of God ; but men pay no heed to 
 them. They are preserved by God 
 alone. 
 
OF THE SCHOOLS AND 
 
 UNIVERSITIES OF 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 r 
 
 HE universities of Germany 
 are not very old. Fulda 
 and certain rich monasteries 
 were the first universities, 
 and these by preaching and teaching 
 instructed the youth in religion and in 
 the useful arts. Had it not been for 
 them the youth would have remained 
 uncared for. But after the monasteries 
 
i28 fecfjoolg of d5ermanp+ 
 
 became rich, they put this work from 
 them, and the studies were corrupted. 
 
 * 
 In the year 1539, on the 18th day 
 of January, in the evening, a comet was 
 visible at Wittenberg. It was seen 
 with great wonder by Dr. Martin Luther, 
 Jonas, Philip Melanchthon, Milich, and 
 Erasmus the astronomer. Dr. Martin 
 Luther said : " I will prophesy of the 
 wrath of God against Germany, not 
 from the heavens, but from theology 
 and the Word of God. It is impossible 
 that Germany should escape without 
 punishment. A great calamity will 
 overtake it ; for God is constantly 
 tempted to destroy us. The godly will 
 perish with the ungodly. Let us only 
 pray, and not despise God and His 
 Word. Although we are all alike great 
 sinners, yet is forgiveness of sins and 
 eternal life promised to us in the Word, 
 
'It was seen with great wonder by 
 Luther." — Page 128. 
 
»>cfiool0 of dformanp* 129 
 
 and Turk and Emperor help us to it. 
 They will not harm us, but will rather 
 help us on our way, but it grieves me on 
 account of posterity, for they will be 
 brought again out of the light into the 
 darkness." 
 
 ** 
 
OF THE TURKS. 
 
 R. MARTIN LUTHER 
 
 wrote once to a great lord 
 who had been made com- 
 mander - in - chief in war 
 against the Turks. He counselled him 
 to lay to heart that he had four enemies 
 with whom to reckon. He had not to 
 contend with flesh and blood, but with 
 the devil, who was the first enemy. 
 Secondly, he had to reckon with the 
 Turks. Thirdly, with the anger of God, 
 
i3a $)Z tfje Curfew 
 
 Fourthly, with his own sins and those 
 of his people. He ought to think of 
 these things, humble himself, and pray 
 to God for help. 
 
OF HEROES AND WISE 
 MEN OF ANTIQUITY. 
 
 r 
 
 !R. MARTIN LUTHER 
 spoke of the actions of 
 heroes and great men, such 
 as Alexander, Augustus, 
 Hannibal, Pompey, and the like. " AH," 
 he said, "are not fit for the work of ruling 
 men. Warriors think of nothing but 
 victory, and how to hold the field, and 
 they bestow no thought upon good 
 government, nor consider how a land 
 
134 &21t0t $$zn of antiquity* 
 
 and a people are to be well ruled. 
 Such were Scipio, Hannibal, Alexander, 
 and Julius Caesar. But Augustus gave 
 heed to government, and considered 
 how it was to be carried on." 
 
 Cicero is greatly superior to Aris- 
 totle in philosophy and in teaching; 
 the Officio, of Cicero are greatly 
 superior to the Ethica of Aristotle. 
 And although Cicero was involved in 
 the cares of government, and had 
 much on his shoulders, he greatly 
 excels Aristotle, who was a lazy ass, 
 and cared for nothing but money and 
 possessions, and comfortable, easy days. 
 Cicero handled the greatest and best 
 questions in his philosophy, such as : 
 Is there a God? What is God? 
 Does He give heed to the actions of 
 men? Is the soul immortal? &c. 
 Aristotle is a good and skilful dialec- 
 
WL\$t ^en of antiquity* 135 
 
 tician, who has observed the right and 
 orderly method in teaching, but the 
 kernel of matters has he not touched. 
 Let those who wish to see a true 
 philosophy read Cicero. Cicero was 
 a wise and industrious man, and he 
 suffered much and accomplished much. 
 I hope that our Lord God will be 
 gracious to him and to the like of him. 
 Of this we are not entitled to speak 
 with certainty. Although the revealed 
 Word must abide, " He who believeth, 
 and is baptized, shall be saved " (Mark 
 xvi. 16), yet is it possible that God 
 may dispense with it in the case of the 
 heathen. There will be a new heaven 
 and a new earth, much larger than the 
 present; and He can give to every 
 one according to His good pleasure. 
 
 Dr. Martin Luther praised very 
 highly the fables of ^Esop, and said : 
 
136 afllfge 9®m of jantfquftp* 
 
 "They ought to be translated into Ger- 
 man, and well arranged. It is a book 
 not made by one man, but by many 
 great men at various times. It is of 
 the special grace of God that Cato's 
 little book and the fables of -^Esop are 
 used in the schools. As far as I am 
 able to judge, there are no better books 
 than Cato's writings and the fables of 
 iEsop." 
 
OF THE FATHERS 
 
 AND DOCTORS OF THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 [HE Church Fathers wrote 
 many good and useful 
 things. Their writings 
 should be read, however, 
 with discrimination, and we ought not 
 to accept and justify all that they say 
 until we have applied to it the test of 
 the Word of God. Hilary and Augus- 
 tine wrote much that was good and 
 
138 2Doctorsf of tfje C&urcf). 
 
 admirable of the Holy Trinity and 
 Justification, and also of heretics, 
 Nazianzene nothing. Gregory is a 
 monk, Cyprian a pious man and an 
 orator. Tertullian and Eusebius write 
 histories only. Lactantius, as Augus- 
 tine says, writes of strange things. 
 In peace have they accomplished 
 nothing, but they were mighty in strife. 
 Bernard loved Jesus as much as any 
 man; but in controversy, when he 
 enters the list with foes, he is Bernard 
 no more. 
 
 Saint Ambrose was a pious, God- 
 fearing, and courageous man. When 
 his enemies, the servants of the Em- 
 peror, commanded him to come out of 
 the Church and to give up the rights 
 and property of the Church, he lifted 
 up his head and said, "See, here I 
 stand, and I am ready to die." He 
 
SDoctorjs of tf)e Cfcurcf)* 139 
 
 was a man of noble, joyful, and stead- 
 fast soul. Although the Emperor 
 Theodosius was usually a pious man, 
 Saint Ambrose drove him out of choir 
 and church, and placed him under 
 excommunication, because he had 
 acted with violence, and had com- 
 mitted a great massacre in a city, 
 sparing neither maidens nor children. 
 
 * 
 Jerome ought not to be reckoned 
 among the teachers of the Church, for 
 he was a heretic. I believe, however, 
 that he attained to salvation through 
 his faith in Christ. He says nothing 
 of Christ, for it is only His name that 
 he has on his lips. I know no teacher 
 to whom I am so hostile as Jerome ; 
 for he writes of nothing but fasts and 
 meats and virginity. Had he spoken 
 of the works of faith, it had been 
 something; but he teaches nothing 
 
140 2Doctot# of tfje Cfiurrtj* 
 
 either of hope, or of love, or of the 
 works of faith. 
 
 * 
 Saint Augustine was painted in a 
 book as a monk with a monk's cowl. 
 Dr. Luther said, u They do the holy 
 man injustice, for he led an ordinary 
 life like any other citizen, and had 
 silver spoons and cups. He was as a 
 man among other people, and did not 
 live the monstrous monkish life. But 
 the Papists invented the fable in order 
 to defend their own errors." 
 
 * 
 * * 
 
 * 
 "The Master of Sentences," Peter 
 Lombard, was a very diligent man, and 
 of a lofty understanding, and he wrote 
 much that is excellent. He could 
 have been a great and eminent doctor 
 of the churches, had he devoted him- 
 self with earnestness to Holy Scripture. 
 
gDottorjS of tfje Cfjurcf)* 141 
 
 But he brought confusion into his 
 book by means of the useless questions 
 which he raised. Yet there were fine 
 heads in those days, and they had no 
 such favourable times as we have. 
 
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