Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/734

 728 LUTHER year (June, 1525), to the great surprise of his friends, an ex-nun, Oatharina von Bora, in or- der " to please his father, to tease the pope, and to vex the devil." The marriage was upon the whole a happy one. Luther speaks of his "Katy" as an obedient, pious, and good wife, whom he prized "above the kingdom of France or the state of Venice." The most im- portant labors of the reformer between 1521 and 1530 were his translation of the Bible, his sermons, hymns, and chorals for divine service in the vernacular tongue, his larger and short- er catechisms, both of which acquired sym- bolical authority, and his efforts in behalf of common schools and popular education. He defended the establishment of such schools, partly by taxation, partly by the funds of the monasteries, with the strongest and clearest arguments derived from the duty of parents and of the state, the Bible, and the highest considerations of public virtue and religion. "It is a grave and serious thing," he says, " affecting the interests of the kingdom of Christ and of all the world, that we apply our- selves to the work of aiding and instructing the young. . . . "Why else do we elde* persons live, but to take care of the young, to teach and train them ? It is not possible that giddy childhood should provide for its own instruc- tion. Therefore God has committed them to us who are old and have experience, and he will call us to a strict account. . . . This is not only the duty of parents, but also of the state and the church. How can reason and char- ity allow the youth to grow up uneducated to become a poison and pestilence, corrupting a whole town?" He regarded the office of a teacher, next to preaching, as the most impor- tant and useful vocation. "I am not quite sure which of the two is the better; for it is hard to reform old sinners, with whom the preacher has to do, while the young tree can be made to bend without breaking." It is necessary to add that he viewed domestic and public education always in close connection with religion and the church. In 1529 he at- tended the fruitless theological conference at Marburg to bring about a union between the Lutherans and Zwinglians, but declined the overtures of brotherhood made by the less rigid Swiss reformer, on account of the difference existing between them in their views on the Lord's supper. He claimed and exercised the full right of private judgment against bishops, popes, and general councils, but refused it to others who conscientiously differed from him, and had the same veneration for the Word of God as he. Born to rule and accustomed to lead opinion, he was impatient of contradiction and overbearing in disposition. During the diet of Augsburg in 1530, where the " Augs- burg Confession," the most important symbol- ical book of the Lutheran church, was com- posed by Melanchthon and presented to the em- peror, Luther remained at the castle of Coburg, watching the progress of events, and encour- aging his timid and often desponding friend Melanchthon. The fourth and last part of Lu- ther's life, from 1530 to 1546, is less important for the general course of the Protestant move- ment, which in the mean time had far outgrown its individual and sectional proportions, and presents less biographical unity and interest to the general reader. He continued, however, his labors as professor, preacher, and writer, without interruption, and took a leading part in the public events of his country. In 1534 he completed the translation of the whole Bible, the work of many years. In 1536 he assented to a temporary agreement with the Swiss Protes- tants, but soon afterward renewed the sacra- mental war with great vehemence, and refused fellowship with all who denied his doctrine of the Lord's supper. In 1537 he drew up in a strongly anti-papal spirit the "Articles of Smal- cald," intended for the often promised and long delayed general council. They were signed by the Lutheran princes and Melanchthon (though with a qualifying clause by the latter), and be- came one of the symbolical books of the Lu- theran church. He had no confidence in any compromise with Rome, and attended none of the conferences which vainly attempted to heal the great schism. In 1539 he committed the inexcusable mistake of giving his private though qualified consent to the disgraceful big- amy of Philip of Hesse. His latter years were frequently obscured by sickness, irritable tem- per, gloomy spirits, death of friends and rela- tives, dissatisfaction with public affairs, differ- ences among his followers, and the warlike prospects of Germany. In December, 1544, he wrote to a friend : "I am worn out and discontented ; that is, I am an old man and no more of any use. I have finished my course ; there remains only that God gather me to my fathers and give my body to the worms." He complained bitterly of the rudeness, im- piety, and immorality of his age. In 1545 he was so dissatisfied with the people of Wit- tenberg on account of their luxury and vain amusements, that he left the town to spend the remainder of his days elsewhere; but at the entreaties of the elector and the univer- sity he returned. His last work was the com- pletion of a commentary on Genesis, which he commenced in 1535, and concluded in No- vember, 1545, with the words : " I am weak and can do no more. Pray God that he may grant me a peaceful and happy death." In January, 1546, he left Wittenberg with his three sons, John, Martin, and Paul, to settle a quarrel between the counts of Mansfeld and some of their subjects whom they wished to deprive of their furnaces. He reached Eisleben in poor health, preached four times, communed twice, ordained two priests, wrote serious and humorous letters to "the profoundly learned lady Oath. Luth., his gracious housewife," and enjoyed the recollections of the place of his birth. His conversation in these days is said to have been unusually earnest, rich, and im-