The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1855-05-18
No. l.
5unhug Kfaaing.
Sketc D Of Iufbst,

with great craRs OF cheek bopes-a wild
amount OF passionate energy, and appetitel
But in his dark eyes were foods of sorrow. (.
and deepest melancholy, swee,ness and INV Z
stery, were an there. Der aid I there 81 seeIos cen
to meet ii,sLuther the ysy opposite polosjn
mans character. He. for, example, of whom
Richter had said that his words were half
battles, he when he first began TO preach.
suffered unheard of agony. @, DR.. Staupiiz,
said ne to the vicar general of lis order. Il
cannot do ii. shall die ii u siliTes months.
Indeed cannotNdo it. aSiaupitz a wise
and eonsiderate man, said upon this, sWell.
sir, Martin, if you die, you ,nust--but re.
member that they need good head up Won.
lder, too. SO preach. man,S preach&aad
then liye.or die, as it happens So Lnth-1
ar preached and lived. and he became, IN.
deed, one great whirlwind ofenerpy to work
without resting in this world; and al.
Eso before he died he wrots four hundred
books !-books in which the true man was
for in the midst of all they denounced and
cursed, what touches of ftendernessIay Look
at the Table Talk, for example. We see h
IT a little bird, having alighted at atsunset on
the bough of the pear tree that grew RI
Luthers garden, Luther looked up al Il and
said That little bird, now it covers down
its wings, and will sleep, there, SO still and
fearless, though over it are the infinite starry
spaces, and the great blue depths Of irnrlen-
sity Yet it fears MOTT Is at home. The
God that made it too is there The same
gentle spirit Of lyrical admiration Is in the
other passages of his books. Coming home
from Leipsic in the autumn season. he
breaks forthsin living wonder at the fields of
corn. How it stands there, he saws. serect
on Its beautiful tape stem, and bending its
beautiful golden head with bread in It.
the bread of man sent TO him.yet anotber
, year Such thoughts as these are as little
windows, through which NE gazeinto the in.
terror of the serene depths. g Martin Lntber..
soul, and see visible across It's tempests and
clouds, whole heaven Of light and love.
He might have painted, he might have srnp
could have beenr beautiful ike Raphael
great like Michael Angelo.
Asst was, the streams of energy and mod
esty met in his active spirit. Perhaps. in.
deed, In all men OF genius, one great quality
strangely developed might force out other
qualities. Here was Luther, savage kind
OF man, as people thought him--a wild
Orson OF mana man whose speech was
ordinarily wild torrent that went teasinr
down rocks and tree and behold him speat-
!, ing like woman or child But n,, sent;.
mentaist was he tolerant man, but will,
' nothing ofsentimental tolerance. He went TO
the real heart Of that matter When his refor-
ming associates made q vast fuss about a
surplice that somebody or other wanted 10
wear, he ended the matter with al .ghats in
can surplice do usl Let him have three
= surphces, IT he will. That is not ourfelipiop.
nor interferes with it at all Domino nSise,.
ere mes. That is what we have TO think
. that Is what we must think the essential Of
Christianity
: Nothing OF what is commonly called cant
or pride, orambition, was in Luther. 1t waa
this that made him not higher thanthe lowest
man with soul, not yet lower than the bigi-
est. Thus, when he was threatened with tl,a
anger Of Duke George if be went to Lejbsic.
Q but If he had, nothing on earth should pre.
! vent him. If it rained Duke Georges fo,
nine days running there he would 90. Well
e and this man, who thought and acted in tb;s
e way, passed whole life Of sufferinpt He waa
: deeply melancholy man. More labor bad
t fallen on him than hecould rightly bear and
S it was in vain to- be released, he toiled a,,i
!, sorrowed on Even with Satan himself the
q evil principle of the world, was he destined
Il W. % hBu WOul0 IauUu
d at that, and a cheap game, indeed was ridi.
cule; but bo it recollected that in Luthers
S days God and the devil We're equally real,
o and that he thought he was from the first.
as when-that vision ef the crowded house
n tile of the old city of Worms, man special.
e y selected to fight with devils. We'll, then
y he sat alone one night--he was translatinp
!, the l2lst Psalm, and pondering with deem
\ significance he had sat fasting for two DAYS
!, when the devil rose and stood before him.
+ and opened the famous dialogue. ACCUSING
D. Luther with crime, and tbTeatepinr h;S
. with hell, and terrifying him 10 recant. All
: which the Christian put an end 10 at last. bv
taking up his lux bottle and Amring tai
the devil. The mark by the ink III the wall
isshown to this day and amen, ,rable spot.
truly is that spot spot that may mark st
once thegreatness aud the poverty Of man.
I, the terrofs of deiusion which any doc.
tor 5 or apofhecary's apprentice could ex-
plain nowadays, but also Of a courage that
e could rise against what seemed 70 Be tho
. bodily impersonation OF daflness and des-
pair, and of enmity 10 good No drawer
man than Luther ever appeared ia Europe.
= Carlyle.
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