The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-10-15
The I1lartin Cutber Of Reality.
Catholic Standard and Times

AT last the world is in possession of life-like
portrait of Martin Luther. Down to this time the
arch-apostate represented by two pictures-the
one describing him as a heroic gifted, saint-like
champion of truth and freedom the other
turbulent, contentious, coarse sensualist. Now we
have at last got hold of the reaity-the very man
he walked and spoke-iS somewhat - accident
The Rev Heinrich Denife O. P. one of the great
est if not the very greatest, of European scholars
was some years ago commissioned by the German
government to make an archaeological study of the
Lutheran epoch and draw up a report, not for re-
ligious or controversial purposes, but purely his
torical. He executed his commission SO well that
the government suppressed some portions of
the report. so startling were the disclos
ures of Buthers real character and mo-
tives made in it. Father Denife had everything in
his favor when engaged on the work. He was sub
archivist to the vatican, and knew where the best
manuscript materials stored III all the museums
we're to be found. While engaged at his great task
it was the good fortune of Professor Flicker to come
up with a long-ost work of Luther's, his Com
mentary on Romans The Rev. Reginald Walsh
O. P Maynooth, writing III the Irish Ecelesiasti-
cal Record" graphically summarizes the effect of
this discovery and the uses to which Father DeniHe
put it. By means of the Commentary, he declares:
at is now possible to describe more exactly than
heretofore in what the heresiarchs system
sisted why it invented and how 1t began. All
the other writings group themselves round it, and
result left on an unprecedented readers mind is that
Luther's is one of the vlest characters Of which
there is record in the pages of history. a revea-
ton of such deceitfulness and such infamy has
rarely been made. So shocking some of Luther's
favorite expressions and so filthy is the abuse he
pours out on the hottest objects, that one person
has had to skip several pages in Denfe's work But
another section amply repaid perusal. 1t was that
in which the author exposes Luther's ignorance of
the fathers and his Interpolation of passages osn
sibly taken from their writings,
Several passages from his work are quoted by
Father DeniHe in order to exhibit the deliberate
Justification of St. Augustines teachings of which
Luther was guilty 1t is impossible to overrate the
magnitude of this exposure. When consider
that it was on the strength of these falsfcations
accepted BIZ many at time when scholarship
at low ebb-that Luther built up his system
of justification by faith alone" we can easily com
prehend the CONSERVATION which Father Denihe's
discoveries have produced throughout all Protest
antdom His work, therefore, may be described as
the most nnomentous one given to the world since
the days of the apostles. 1t is epoch-making; it is
the opening cannon=shot of a new revolution.
We may wonder now even taking into account
the low state of learning in Europe in Luther's
day, how he could escape detection but even great
scholars can he imposed on by audacious frauds.
As Father Walsh points out: