The sun., 1882-01-29

command. and tho breadth and sold.ty Of his
achievement wc MUST acknowledge that the
victory gained by Luther in his lifetime has
bccn seldom parallclcd in the history Of relig
ions and that il is ascribabc in degree quite
exceptional to the force " the mans character.
In other words. it is doubtful, If we exclude the
personality of Luther as Il factor IN the problem.
whether the Protestant uprising in Germany
might not have been considerably delayed, and
whether it would ever have gained sufficient
hcadway to resist the tremendous effort which
well nigh crushed it in tho first part Of the
Thirty Years War.
Mr. Trcadwcll is careful to demonstrate how
uncertain for n time it was whether Luthcr's
personality would be thrown into the scale in
the impending grapplc of Professionalism with
the Papacy. Had the discreet course suggested
by the Pope himself been followed by the zeal
Gus and interested partisans OF Rome in Ger
many. il is quite possible that Luther would
have gone on with his professors duties at
Wittcnbcrg. and continued all his days in
communion with the Church. The prospect Of
II sangunary conflict dismaycd him. and he
shrank from the responsibility of plunging the
Christian world in tumult. He was nearly on
tho point OF retrcatng from the position he
had taken In regard to the Indulgence traffic
and he probably would have done 80 had not
the gauntlet he had thrown down been sudden
ly and furiously caught up. Such howings
and rawlings burst forth from every side as
would have driven more timid man insane
with terror. He was not a man to stand n pas
sivc target for all the weapons Of dctraction
nvcctvc hatred. and contempt. He was not
distinguished for the meek and diluted virtue
misnamed pious submission. Luther became
mad rightcously mad. and hurled back such
vehement and fiery rejoindcrs that the whole
ln,t. iny
with new light Instinct assumed asccndancy
over the usually self-mastcrful man. In the
heat and stress Of conflict his faculties ac-
qured new energy. his mind awoke to larger
issues. till from the desperate struggle for self
preservation emerged the champion of Reform
One Of the foolish charges with which Lu-
Tiers enemies have sought to traducc his mo-
tiycs is based upon his marriage. and nsnu-
ates that he was mpelled to abjure his monk
ish VOWS Of fidelity to the Church of Rome by
his sensual appctitcs. The very accusation
carries implicit testimony to Luther's consci-
cntiousness. Unless restrained by scruples of
conscience. no monk would have deemed it
necessary. in the beginning OF the sixteenth CEN
tury. to forsakc the Church in ordcrto enjoy car
nal pleasures. when he looked about him and
bchcld the openly licentious living practiscd 10y
the Italian hierarchy and scdulously initiated
by the Prince Bishops Of MaycEcc Cologne.
and Trevcs. There ia no doubt that Luther
was II man of strong affections: he loved his
men friends. and wrote to them such warm ana
tender words as surprise the reader who has
thought Of him only in his polcmical capacity.
1t had been the cherished hope of his father.
before his son had taken monastic vows against
his will. that Martin should perpetuate the
family name. Luther himself tells us that h"
had been three times in love. yet he maintained
n II, l,.
of his age when he met Catharine Won Bora.
who had been u sister in the convent of
NcmptSch. and Wnom he married in June lj2j
They went to live together on II small farm
which he had purchased NJ Xo,i>lnrf where,
with my Eve, my empress. my rib kctha,' lie
passed two quiet and hanpy years.
PoSterity knows Luther onlyasa stern master
OF men hut those who were contemporary with
and lived ncarcs, to him knew him as a man If
genuine mlmor and loviality. Spontaneously
social. even cunvivial. ready with song and
story to encourage the ni'th of his COM
panions. Mr. Trcudwc!l reminds us that the
same intelligence which dictated the memoir
able hymn Elm festc Burg translated
" .Esop's Fables and framed also the famous
cuuplct:
w,r nicht hlt Vein weih und Gesan-,
Der llcbt Elm Nagr sein Leben lang
Melancthon. who probably enjoyed "A closer
intimacy with Luther than any OF his friends.
says: Whoever knew him and his habits will
agree that he was an admirable man. soft and
genial in his moments of comptnion>hip, not
dogmatic nor loving Disputes But although
il may bc trur that Luther WIS neither queru-
lous nor dieputatiou- in private life. il is ccr-
tain thai he had u genius for becoming en-
tangled in pOlrmical and political quarrcl5.
The two traits are not Incompatible. II
his nature not 10 measure with nice care the
weight and bearing ri his language. So long rs
flntaII II
and the ollurarv and harshne-s with which he
wa accustomed 10 maintain whatever he had