Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-11
Wide scope of Luther's Mind.

Luther's mind was literally wOrld-wide:
his eyes We're forever obseryant of what
was round him. at a time when science
was scarcely out of its shell. Luther had
observed nature with the liyeliest curiosi
ty: he had anticipated by mere genius the
generative functions of flowers. Human
nature he had studied like a dramatist.
His memory was museum Of historical
information, Of anecdotes Of great meE, of
old German literature and songs and pro-
verbs. Scarce a subject could be spoken
of on which he had not thought, and on
which he had not something remarkable
to say. His table was always open and
amply furnished, MelanchthOn, Jonas.
Lucas, Cranach, and other Wittenberg
friends were constant guests. Great peO-
pie, great lords, great ladies, great learn
ed men, came from all parts of Europe.
He received them freely at dinner,
and being one Of the most cop
ious of takers, he enabled
his friends to preserve the most extra
ordinary monument Of his requirements
and of his intellectual vigor. On reading
the Tischreden, or Table-talk, of Luther
one ceases TO wonder how this single man
could change the face of Europe. Where
the language is itself beautiful it neces-
sarily loses in translation. ! will en-
deayoT, however, to convey some notion
OF Luther's mind as it appears in these
conversations. First, for his thoughts
about nature. A tree IN his garden was
covered with ripe fruit. All" he said,
= if Adam had not fallen we should have
seen the beauty Of these things-every
bush and shrub would have seemed more
lovely than if it was made of gold and
silver. 1t is really more lovely; but since
Adams fall men see nothing and are
supider than beasts. Gods power and
wisdom are shown in the smallest flowers.
Painters cannot rival their color, nor per-
tuners their sweetness: green and yellow,
crimson, blue and purple, all growing
out of the earth. And we do not know
how to use them to Gods honor. We
Onlv misuse them; and we trample on
lilies as if we were so many cows" Katie
had provided some fish out of her pond.
Luther spoke Of the breeding Of fish, and
what an extraordinary thing it was; he
turned to the breeding of other creatures,
Look at a pair of birds,' he said. 'sThey
build neat little nest, and drop their
eggs in it, and sit on them. Then come
the chicks. There is the creature rolled
up inside the shell. If we had never
seen such thing before, and an egg was
brought from Calicut, we should be all
wondering and crying out. Philosophers
cannot explain how the chick is made.
God spake, and il was done; He
comman led. and so it was But He
dcIS III All his WI rs IdlutI COlultdliy. II
He had consulted me | should have adj
vised Him to make His men out of Jumps
of clay, and to have set the sun like lamp
on the earth's surface that it might be al
ways day" Looking at a rose he said,
could a man make a single rose we
should give himI IAN empire, but these beau
tiful gifts Of God come freely to us and
We think nothing of them. We admire
what is worthless, if it be only rare. The
most precious of things Is nothing if it be
common" In the spring, when the buds
were Swelling and the flowers open
ing, he exclaimed: ''Praise be to God the
Creator, that now in this time of Lent out
Of dead wood makes all alive again. Look
at that bOugh, as if it was with child and
1t is a figure of our faith-winter is
death, summer is the resurrection"