The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-03
c.%I:r-E-UP
MARTIN LUTHER THE Man.
His Peasant Ancestry That Made HIM
essentially a Man of the People.

Essentially a Man Oh the IeopN'
fProf Arthur C.McGiffert, in Decem-
Der Century,
Martin Luther was very human ana
very oyable, strikingly like our own
Lincoln in his quaint humor, MS
LONELINESS of speech, his human
sympathies, his simplicity OF cnarac-
ter, his clearness Oh VlSio.. = oa
as so many of the worlds great men
come, OF peasant stock. Il am a peas
ants son; my father, my grandfatner'
and my great-grandfather were genu-
inc peasants he was accustomed 10
say, not without a touch OF prloe'
and in spite Of his opinion that there
is as little sense in Boosting OF ones
ancestry as in the devils priding him.
self on his angelic lineage He was
Of the commonest people, and was
glad of it. 1t was one OF the secrets
Of his power. Rich eople chlf-
dren," he once remarked, seldom
urn out we'll. They are complacent,
arrogant, and conceited, and think
they need to learn nothing because
they have enough to live on, anyway
On the contrary, poor mems sons must
labor to lift themselves out Of the dust.
and must endure greatly. And be-
cause they have nothing to boast about
or pride themselves on, they trust
God, control themselves, and keep
still. The poor fear God, therefore.
he gives them good heads that they
may study become educated and in
telligent, and be able to assist princes.
kings, AND emperors with their wis
dom"
Luther's family was not of the low
est class. For generations his ances-
tors had owned their house and farm
in the Village of Mohra, on the west
ern side Of the Thuringian hills. There
are still Luthers in the same thy ham
let, changed perhaps as little as the
place itself.
Luther as a Child.
Public opinion, when he was voungs
was much stricter, L uther tells us.
than in later days in the matter Of
games, card-playing, (ancing, theater-
going, and sports OF various kinds,
and his parents were Of the strictest
They believed in work, not play. On
one occasion, for taking a trivial nut.
he was beaten by his mother until the
blood came. Rejecting Upon it in
later years, he was accustomed to as
sert with emphasis that discrimina-
ton and moderation ought to be
specially exercised in the govern
ment of children. With them ssthe
apple ought always to lie beside the
rod And the serious effect upon
the character Of an over-strenuous
dlsclpllne he depicted in the words.
Where such fear enters a man in
childhood. it can hardly be rooted ONT
again as long as he lives. AS he once
enb at every word Of his father
and mother, to the end Of his life he
IS afraid Of a rustling leaf"
Luthec's Love of Music.
Martin Luaher as a youth was no
recluse. He was a lovable, COM
~panionable fellow, witty and taik-
at1ve. Il say more in a day than the
Emperor Charles in a year" he once
remarked on commenting upon the
gravity and sobriety of the vonno
monarch. Fond Of joke and Jest he
was too, and devoted to music for
which be had a natural gift. When
laid up for a short time by an acct
Dent ne an old lutte in his
chamber, and before he was able ia
be out again, he learned to play il
Weil enough to make it a lifelong Tow
of music in later wears he
called it one Of the most bsautif1,1
and lordly gifts Of God, K II
next after theology in Importance
AND on one occasion he exclaimed
enthusiastically, "He who is musical
Is equal to anything"