"Before I translated the New Testament out of the Greek all longed
after it; when it was done, their longing lasted scarce four weeks.
Then they desired the books of Moses; when I had translated these,
they had enough thereof in a short time. After that, they would have
the Psalms; of these they were soon weary, and desired other books. So
will it be with the Book of Ecclesiasticus, which they now long for,
and about which I have taken great pains. All is acceptable until our
giddy brains be satisfied; afterward we let things lie, and seek after
new."
[Footnote 13: Luther's "Table Talk" found English translators soon
after it appeared in German. A notable later version was made by
William Hazlitt.]
Dr. Luther discust at length concerning witchcraft and charms. He said
that his mother had had to undergo infinite annoyance from one of her
neighbors, who was a witch and whom she was fain to conciliate with
all sorts of attention, for this witch could throw a charm upon
children which made them cry themselves to death. A pastor having
punished her for some knavery, she cast a spell upon him by means of
some earth upon which he had walked, and which she bewitched. The poor
man hereupon fell sick of a malady which no remedy could remove, and
shortly after died.
Dr. Luther said he had heard from the Elector of Saxony, John
Frederic, that a powerful family in Germany was descended from the
devil--the founder having been born of a succubus. He added this
story: "A gentleman had a young and beautiful wife, who, dying, was
buried. Shortly afterward, this gentleman and one of his servants
sleeping in the same chamber, the wife who was dead came at night,
bent over the bed of the gentleman as tho she were conversing with
him, and after a while went away again. The servant, having twice
observed this circumstance, asked his master whether he knew that
every night a woman clothed in white stood by his bedside. The master
replied that he had slept soundly, and had observed nothing of the
sort. The next night he took care to remain awake. The woman came, and
he asked her who she was and what she wanted. She answered that she
was his wife. He returned, 'My wife is dead and buried.' She
answered, she had died by reason of his sins; but that if he would
receive her again, she would return to him in life. He said if it were
possible, he should be well content. She told him he must undertake
not to swear, as he was wont to do; for that if he ever did so, she
should once more die, and permanently quit him. He promised this; and
the dead woman, returning to seeming life, dwelt with him, ate, drank,
and slept with him, and had children by him. One day that he had
guests, his wife went to fetch some cakes from an adjoining apartment,
and remained a long time absent. The gentleman grew impatient, and
broke out into his old oaths. The wife not returning, the gentleman
with his friends went to seek her, but she had disappeared; only the
clothes she had worn lay on the floor. She was never again seen."
"Between husband and wife there should be no question as to _meum_ and
_tuum_. All things should be in common between them, without any
distinction or means of distinguishing."
"St. Augustine said finely: 'A marriage without children is the world
without the sun.'"
Dr. Luther said one day to his wife: "You make me do what you will;
you have full sovereignty here, and I award you with all my heart the
command in all household matters, reserving my rights in other points.
Never any good came out of female domination. God created Adam master
and lord of living creatures; but Eve spoilt all, when she persuaded
him to set himself above God's will. 'Tis you women, with your tricks
and artifices, that lead men into error."
"'Tis a grand thing for a married pair to live in perfect union, but
the devil rarely permits this. When they are apart, they can not
endure the separation; and when they are together, they can not endure
the always seeing one another. 'Tis as the poet says: '_Nec tecum
vivere possum, nec sine te_.' Married people must assiduously pray
against these assaults of the devil. I have seen marriage where, at
first, husband and wife seemed as tho they would eat one another up;
in six months they have separated in mutual disgust. 'Tis the devil
inspires this evanescent ardor, in order to divert the parties from
prayer."
Dr. Luther said, in reference to those who write satirical attacks
upon women, that such will not go unpunished. "If the author be one of
high rank, rest assured he is not really of noble origin, but a
surreptitious intruder into the family. What defects women have, we
must check them for in private, gently by word of mouth; for woman is
a frail vessel." The doctor then turned round and said, "Let us talk
of something else."
There was at Frankfort-on-the-Oder a schoolmaster, a pious and learned
man, whose heart was fervently inclined to theology, and who had
preached several times with great applause. He was called to the
dignity of deacon; but his wife, a violent, fierce woman, would not
consent to his accepting the charge, saying she would not be the wife
of a minister.
It became a question, what was the poor man to do? which was he to
renounce, his preacher-ship or his wife? Luther at first said
jocosely, "Oh, if he has married, as you tell me, a widow, he must
needs obey her." But after a while he resumed severely: "The wife is
bound to follow her husband, not the husband his wife. This must be an
ill woman, nay, the devil incarnate, to be ashamed of a charge with
which our Lord and his apostles were invested. If she were my wife, I
should shortly say to her, 'Wilt thou follow me, aye or no? Reply
forthwith'; and if she replied, 'No,' I would leave her, and take
another wife."
I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention
of ours: it is the gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan
hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us.
The strength and glory of a town does not depend on its wealth, its
walls, its great mansions, its powerful armaments; but on the number
of its learned, serious, kind, and well-educated citizens.
Greek and Latin are the scabbard which holds the sword of the Spirit,
the cases which enclose the precious jewels, the vessels which contain
the old wine, the baskets which carry the loaves and fishes for the
feeding of the multitude.
Only a little of the first fruits of wisdom--only a few fragments of
the boundless heights, breadths, and depths of truth--have I been able
to gather.
My own writings are like a wild forest, compared with the gentle,
limpid fluency of his [Brenz's] language. If small things dare be
compared with great, my words are like the Spirit of Elijah--a great
and strong wind, rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the
rocks; and his is the still small voice. But yet God uses also coarse
wedges for splitting coarse blocks; and besides the fructifying grain,
he employs also the rending thunder and lightning to purify the
atmosphere.
I must root out the stumps and trunks, and I am a rough woodsman who
must break the road and prepare it: but Magister Philip [Melanchthon]
goes on quietly and gently, plows and plants, sows and waters
joyfully.
Be temperate with your children; punish them if they lie or steal, but
be just in what you do. It is a lighter sin to take pears and apples
than to take money. I shudder when I think what I went through myself.
My mother beat me about some nuts once till the blood came. I had a
terrible time of it; but she meant well.
Never be hard with children. Many a fine character has been ruined by
the stupid brutality of pedagogs. The parts of speech are a boy's
pillory. I was myself flogged fifteen times in one forenoon, over the
conjugation of a verb. Punish if you must; but be kind too, and let
the sugar-plum go with the rod.
My being such a small creature was a misfortune for the Pope. He
despised me too much. What, he thought, could a slave like me do to
him--to him who was the greatest man in the world? Had he accepted my
proposal he would have extinguished me.
The better a man is, the more clearly he sees how little he is good
for, and the greater mockery it is to him to hold the notion that he
has deserved reward. Miserable creatures that we are, we earn our
bread in sin. Till we are seven years old, we do nothing but eat and
drink and sleep and play; from seven to twenty-one we study four hours
a day, the rest of it we run about and amuse ourselves; then we work
till fifty, and then we grow again to be children. We sleep half our
lives; we give God a tenth of our time; and yet we think that with our
good works we can merit heaven. What have I been doing to-day? I have
talked for two hours, I have been at meals three hours, I have been
idle four hours; ah, enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord!
The principle of marriage runs through all creation, and flowers as
well as animals are male and female.
If a man could make a single rose, we should give him an empire; yet
roses, and flowers no less beautiful, are scattered in profusion over
the world, and no one regards them.