Moenckeberg remarks: The Small Catechism betrays "the imperfection of
the haste in which it had to be finished." As a matter of fact, however,
Luther, the master of German, paid much attention also to its language
in order, by pithy brevity and simple, attractive form, to make its
glorious truths the permanent property of the children and unlearned who
memorized it. In his publication "_Zur Sprache und Geschichte des
Kleinen Katechismus Luthers,_ Concerning the Language and History of
Luther's Small Catechism," 1909, J. Gillhoff writes: "Here, if ever,
arose a master of language, who expressed the deepest mysteries in
sounds most simple. Here, if ever, there was created in the German
language and spirit, and in brief compass, a work of art of German
prose. If ever the gods blessed a man to create, consciously or
unconsciously, on the soil of the people and their needs, a perfect work
of popular art in the spirit of the people and in the terms of their
speech, to the weal of the people and their youth throughout the
centuries, it was here. The explanation of the Second Article is one of
the chief creations of the home art of German poetry. And such it is,
not for the reason that it rises from desert surroundings, drawing
attention to itself alone, but because it sums up and crowns the
character of the book throughout." (16.)
Speaking in particular of the Second Article, Bang, in 1909, said in his
lecture "_Luthers Kleiner Katechismus, ein Kleinod der Volksschule_
--Luther's Small Catechism, a Jewel of the Public Schools": "The
Catechism is precious also for the reason that Luther in the
explanations strikes a personal, subjective, confessional note. When at
home I read the text of the Second Article in silence, and then read
Luther's explanation aloud, it seems to me as if a hymn rushing
heavenward arises from the lapidary record of facts. It is no longer the
language of the word, but of the sound as well. The text reports
objectively, like the language of a Roman, writing tables of law. The
explanation witnesses and confesses subjectively. It is Christianity
transformed into flesh and blood. It sounds like an oath of allegiance
to the flag. In its ravishing tone we perceive the marching tread of the
myriads of believers of nineteen centuries; we see them moving onward
under the fluttering banner of the cross in war, victory, and peace. And
we, too, by a power which cannot be expressed in words, are drawn into
the great, blessed experience of our ancestors and champions. Who would
dare to lay his impious hands on this consecrated, inherited jewel, and
rob the coming generations of it?!" (20.)