Lehre und Wehre St. Louis, Missouri — Dezember 1912, Seite 561

German transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

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Literatur. 561

Dogmen von der Genugtuung, dem Fegfeuer und Meßopfer für die Toten und
die Lebendigen usw. nicht genügend gewürdigt hat. Solange diese Lehren be⸗
stehen, wird auch in der römischen Kirche Ablaß um Geld zu haben sein, wenn⸗
gleich dabei die alte anstößige Form möglichst vermieden wird, seitdem man durch
Schaden ktlug geworden ist. — Mögen jetzt noch etliche der vielen vortrefflichen
Urteile MeaGifferts über Luther und seinen Charakter hier Platz finden. S. 139:
Expedieney meéant little to him, his oWn reputation and Sa fety still less.
When once convinced that a certain evil nèeded mending, no other con-
sideration, however important, could long hold him back. He would often
restrain himself for the sake of others when he would not for his own, but
the restraint could be only temporary, and the deed had at length to be
done, vchatever it cost either them or him.“ S. 150: „The physical and
mental vitality of the man was oneé of Uthe most amazing things about him
and one of the secrets of his tremendous power.“ S. 155: He was better
acquainted than most men with the common people of his day, and he
knew strong language was needed to arouse them. He was working not
to win à reputation, but to stir up a nation, and while many others were
appealing to a small and select eirele of the cultured, vast multitudes were
hanging on his words. His flercest onslaughts carried terror and joy
to the ends of Christendom, and by them no less than by his inimitable
appeals to theé finer sentiments he swayed and dominated the masses. Often
he went beyond all reason and broke the canons of good taste recognized
even in that free-spoken age; but he was not engaged in a parlor exhibi-
tion, and he would bave cared as little for our eriticisms of his style of
fighting as he did for the criticisms of his contemporaries. Had he been
other than he was, he might have been better liked by many a delicate
soul, but he could not have wieldeéd the influence he did. He needs no
apologies from us. As well apologize for the fury of the wind as for the
vehemence of Martin Lutheér.“ Über Luthers Verhalten im Bauerntrieg lesen
wir S. 253: Had he been a demagogue, be would have catered to popular
passion and spurred the excited peasants on to war. Had he been a poli-
tician, he would have kept still and refrained from taking sides until he
Saw Wwhat the outeome was to be. But he was neither the one nor the
other, and he spoke his mind in frankest fashion, sparing neither prince
nor peasant.“ S. 258: „His treatment of the peasants, when riot and
bloodshed had taken the place of peaceful measures, far from being un-
Worthy of him and revealing inconsistency and selfish policy on his part,
echibited in the strongest light his native independence and strength of
character.“ S. 259: His attitude in the existing situation was essen-
tially sound, and does credit both to his wisdom and his courage. At
a time when weakness and hesitaney marked the conduct of most of those
Vho should have acted promptly and firmly, unhlinded by sentiment and
unmoved by personal considerations, he came out boldly and decisively
for the one course possible in the eircumstances. Though he knew that it
would cost him his popularity and alienate great masses of those hitherto
devoted to him, without hesitating for a moment be spoke the word necded
to unite the forces of conservation and bring order out of chaos.“ S. 260:
„He ceased to be the popular hero of Germany, and béecame to multitudes,
especially in the south and west, an objeet of hatred and execration. He
néever regretted his action. He had done what the crisis demanded, and
would have done the same again in like eircumstances.“ S. 298: „Attacks,
of course, were made upon his moral character by his enemies, and all
sorts of unsavory stfories were told about him. But for none of them can
a shred of evidence be found, though he lived for twenty-five years in
a blaze of publicity, observed of all the world and spied upon by countless
critics.“ S. 387: From every point of view Luther was à prophet. It is
the one name that describes him. . But he was aà man through and
through, —a man of heroic mold, courageous, strong, masterful, krank,
sincere, and generous, as far from petty jealousy and cοινrdνV duplicity
as from priggishness and cant.“ Ahnliche Urteile finden sich S. 180. 224. 269,
299. 301. 307. 308. 316. 370. 371. 382. 387. Beigegeben ist dem Werk von 397
Seiten ein Index und 60 vorzügliche Illustrationen. F. B.

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