Select treatises of Martin Luther in the original German: with philological notes, and an essay on German and english etymology |
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Common terms and phrases
accusative adjective adverb alſo become Catholicon cause Christ Christus clause common commonly corresponds dative diminutive English word expresses expression first frequently gehen gehet Geist geistlichen genitive gethan gewiß give good Gott Gottlosen governed governs great heart heilige heißt Hence Herzen idiom incorporatio infinitive iſt jeßt Kinder kommen languages laß laſſen läßt Latin Lehen lehren Libereien lich lieben literally little Luther make meaning means muß müſſen nearly Niemand nominative Note Noth obsolete old German omitted one's Pabst pallium participle persons Pfründen place plural pope power prebends present properly Rath recht refers right same Schrift Scriptures See Gram sehen ſein ſeine ſelbſt sense senseless sentence seyn ſich ſie signification signifies ſind soll sollte sometimes ſondern Sprachen substantive take Teufel thing thun thut time Trost unsere used Vater verb viel weiß Welt weltliche wider wohl work world Wort would
Popular passages
Page 207 - Now since the young must leap and jump, or have something to do, because they have a natural desire for it which should not be restrained, (for it is not well to check them in everything,) why should we not provide for them such schools, and lay before them such studies ? By the gracious arrangement of God, children take delight in acquiring knowledge, whether languages, mathematics, or history.
Page 215 - All the kingdoms that have been distinguished in the world have bestowed care upon this matter, and particularly the Israelites, among whom Moses was the first to begin the work, who commanded them to preserve the book of the law in the ark of God, and put it under the care of the Levites, that any one might procure copies from them. He even commanded the king to make a copy of this book in the hands of the Levites. Among other duties, God directed the Levitical priesthood to preserve and attend...
Page 216 - And the injury resulting from the neglect to procure books and good libraries, when there were men and books enough for that purpose, was afterwards perceived in the decline of every kind of knowledge; and instead of good books, the senseless, useless, and hurtful books of the monks, the Catholicon, Florista, Graecista, Labyrinthus, Dormi Secure, and the like were introduced by Satan, so that the Latin language was corrupted, and neither good schools, good instruction, nor good methods of study remained....
Page 181 - ... other liberal arts? Is it not enough to teach the Scriptures, which are necessary to salvation, in the mother tongue? To which I answer: I know, alas! that we Germans must always remain irrational brutes, as we are deservedly called by surrounding nations. But I wonder why we do not also say: of what use to us are silk, wine, spices, and other foreign articles, since we ourselves have an abundance of wine, corn, wool, flax, wood, and stone in the German states, not only for our necessities, but...
Page 203 - ... times, especially the Greeks and Romans, without knowing that civil government is a divine ordinance, yet instructed the boys and girls with such earnestness and industry that, when I think of it, I am ashamed of Christians, and especially of our Germans, who are such blockheads and brutes that they can say: "Pray, what is the use of schools, if one is not to become a priest?
Page i - ... of Professor Sears, while it does credit to his learning and diligence, will be serviceable to the public in various ways. A careful examination of it will show, what the compiler asserts in his Preface, that " particular attention has been paid to the peculiar structure and idioms of the [German] language, to the exact signification of difficult words, to synonymes, to the connection existing between etymology and usage, and, in short, to every thing which should tend to remove from the mind...
Page 220 - ... let my labor bear fruit with you. And though there be some who think me too insignificant to follow my advice, or who look down upon me as one condemned by tyrants: still let them consider that I am not seeking my own interest, but that of all Germany. And even if I were a fool, and should yet hit upon something good, no wise man should think it a disgrace to follow me. And even if I were a Turk and heathen, and it should yet appear that my advice was advantageous, not for myself, but for Christianity,...
Page 40 - ... to the end of the longest finger ; of the foot, the length of a man's foot ; and of the palm or handbreadth, the width of a man's hand. The span was the distance from the end of the thumb to that of the little finger, when extended ; and the fathom the space between the extremities of the outstretched arms. When a longer distance was to be measured, the mind would easily fix upon some...
Page 193 - ... and the only remedy is a knowledge of them. Was not St. Jerome forced to make a new translation of the Psalms from the Hebrew, because the Jews, when quotations were made from the Latin version, derided the Christians, affirming that the passages adduced were not found in the original? The comments of all the ancient fathers who, without a knowledge of the languages, have treated of the Scriptures (although they may teach nothing heretical), are still of such a character that the writers often...