TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
—Whereas adequate character is unavalaible, superscripts are rendered as word^[sup].
LUTHER
NIHIL OBSTAT C. SCHUT, S.T.D., Censor Deputatus.
IMPRIMATUR EDM. CAN. SURMONT, Vic. Gen.
Westmonasterii, die 10 Julii, 1913.
LUTHER
BY
HARTMANN GRISAR, S.J.
PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK
AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN BY
E. M. LAMOND
EDITED BY
LUIGI CAPPADELTA
VOLUME III
LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LTD. BROADWAY HOUSE, 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C. 1914
A FEW PRESS OPINIONS OF VOLUME I
“His most elaborate and systematic biography ... is not merely a book to be reckoned with; it is one with which we cannot dispense, if only for its minute examination of Luther’s theological writings.”—The Athenæum.
“There is no room for any sort of question as to the welcome ready among English-speaking Roman Catholics for this admirably made translation of the first volume of the German monograph by Professor Grisar on the protagonist of the Reformation in Europe.... The book is so studiously scientific, so careful to base its teaching upon documents, and so determined to eschew controversies that are only theological, that it cannot but deeply interest Protestant readers.”—The Scotsman.
“Father Grisar has gained a high reputation in this country through the translation of his monumental work on the History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages, and this first instalment of his life of Luther bears fresh witness to his unwearied industry, wide learning, and scrupulous anxiety to be impartial in his judgments as well as absolutely accurate in matters of fact.”—Glasgow Herald.
“It is impossible to understand the Reformation without understanding the life and character of the great German. The man and the work are so indissolubly united that we cannot have right judgments about either without considering the other. It is one of Father Grisar’s many merits that he does not forget for a single moment the fundamental importance of this connection. The man and his work come before us in these illuminating pages, not as more or less harmonious elements, but as a unity, and we cannot analyse either without constant reference to the other.”—Irish Times.
“Professor Grisar is hard on Luther. Perhaps no Roman Catholic can help it. But it is significant that he is hard on the anti-Lutherans also.... He shows us, indeed, though not deliberately, that some reformation of religion was both imperative and inevitable.... But he is far from being overwhelmed with prejudice. He really investigates, uses good authorities, and gives reasons for his judgments.”—The Expository Times.
“This Life of Luther is bound to become standard ... a model of every literary, critical, and scholarly virtue.”—The Month.
“The most important book on Luther that has appeared since Denifle’s epoch-making ‘Luther und Luthertum.’ ... It is an ordered biography, ... and is therefore very probably destined to a wider general usefulness as a Catholic authority.”—The Irish Rosary.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV. ORGANISATION AND PUBLIC POSITION OF THE NEW CHURCH pages 3-108
1. LUTHER’S RELIGIOUS SITUATION. WAS HIS REACTION A BREAK WITH RADICALISM?
The New Church, with its binding formularies of faith and its constituted authorities, contrasted with Luther’s earlier demands for freedom from all outward bonds. The change which occurred in his mind in 1522. What prompted the reaction? Did Luther, prior to 1522, ever cherish the idea of a “religion minus dogma”? His clear design from the beginning to preserve all the Christian elements deemed by him essential. His assertion of the freedom of the Christian; the negations it logically involved pass unperceived. Greater stress laid on the positive elements after 1522; the subjective counter-current. Ecclesiastical anarchy. Modern Protestants more willing than was Luther to push his principles to their legitimate consequences. Conclusion: The reaction which set in in 1522 implied no real change of view. How Luther contrived to conceal from himself and from others the incompatibility of his leanings pages 3-21
2. FROM THE CONGREGATIONAL TO THE STATE CHURCH. SECULARISATIONS.
Previous to espousing the idea of the Congregational Church Luther invites the secular authorities to interfere; his “An den christlichen Adel”; his hopes shattered; Luther’s new ideal: the Evangel not intended for all; the assembly of true Christians; the Wittenberg congregation and the model one established at Leisnig. The Congregational Church proving impracticable, Luther advocates a popular Church; its evolution into the State Church as it afterwards obtained in Protestant Germany. Secularisation of church property in the Saxon Electorate. Luther’s view as to the use to which church property should be put by the rulers; he complains of princely avarice. Secularisation of the marriage-courts; matrimonial cases dealt with by secular lawyers; Luther’s antipathy for lawyers, how accounted for pages 21-43
3. THE QUESTION OF THE RELIGIOUS WAR; LUTHER’S VACILLATING ATTITUDE. THE LEAGUE OF SCHMALKALDEN, 1531.
Luther casts all reserve to the winds; his resolve to proceed regardless of the consequences. His earlier opposition to armed resistance; his memoranda on the subject clearly evince his hesitation. His change of view in 1530; reasons why he veered round; the change kept secret; difficulties with the Nurembergers; a tell-tale memorandum published by Cochlæus. The League of Schmalkalden; Luther’s hopes and fears; a new memorandum. Luther’s misgivings regarding Philip of Hesse’s invasion of Würtemberg; the expedition turning out successful is blessed by Luther. The religious war in Luther’s private conversations in later years. Later memoranda. A question from Brandenburg. Later attempts to deny the authenticity of the document signed by Luther in 1530 pages 43-76
4. THE TURKS WITHOUT AND THE TURKS [PAPISTS] WITHIN THE EMPIRE.
The danger looming in the East. Luther’s earlier pronouncements (previous to 1524) against any military measures being taken to prevent the Turkish inroads; attitude of the preachers; imminent danger of the Empire after the battle of Mohacz; Luther’s “Vom Kriege widder die Türcken” registers a change of front; his “Heer-Predigt widder den Türcken” and the approval it conveys of warlike measures against the invader; he robs his call to arms of most of its force by insisting on his pet ideas; his later sayings on the subject; the Turk not so dangerous a foe as Popery pages 76-93
5. LUTHER’S NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISM.
Luther’s sayings about the virtues and vices of his own countrymen; his teaching sunders the Empire and undermines the Imperial authority; his advocacy of resistance; the “Prophet of the Germans”; discouragement of trade and science; Döllinger on Luther as the typical German; the power of the strong man gifted with a facile tongue pages 93-108