Page:The letters of Martin Luther.djvu/24

 to include some interesting ones which might otherwise have been excluded. De Wette’s plan to make Luther’s letters an autobiography of his life has been so far followed in this collection. De Wette’s headings, with any interesting event bearing on the contents of the letter, are given in a head note. This has been done with a view to save the reader needless trouble, for even many highly educated people know little more of Luther’s career than can be gathered from visiting Eisleben, Eisenach, Erfurt, Wittenberg, Worms, and Augsburg.

Should these letters throw new light upon the life of the great Reformer and the Reformation, or impart a fresh interest to a future foreign tour, or cast a halo over less known haunts of the Reformer, such as Coburg, Weimar, Gotha, Jena, Schmalkalden, Möhra, Tambach, Grimma, Dessau, and Halle, so rich in memories of Luther and his friends, then they have not been translated in vain; for, to Luther as much as to his spiritual guide, Tauler, do Goethe’s words apply—

The ground is hallowed where the good man treads. When centuries have rolled, his sons shall hear The deathless echo of his words and deeds.

M. A. C.

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