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 alliteration alſo applied become canonical cardinals cause Christ Christus clause common commonly corresponds dative diminutive English word expression first form frequently gehen gehet Geist geistlichen genitive gethan gewiß give good Gothic Gott Gottlosen governed governs great heart heilige heißt Hence holy idea idiom incorporatio infinitive iſt jeßt Kinder kommen languages laß laſſen läßt Latin Lehen Libereien lich lieben literally little Luther make meaning means money muß müſſen nearly neglect Niemand nominative Note Noth obsolete old German one's order Pabst pallium participle person Pfründen place plural pope power prebends present properly Recht refers right Sache same Schrift Scriptures See Gram sense sentence seyn 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 Wercke wider wohl work world Wort would
Popular passages
Page 261 - 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 269 - 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 235 - ... 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 276 - I beg you to 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...
Page 277 - ... the blessing of God may you so counsel and aid them as to attain to a happy Christian social order in respect to both body and soul, with all fullness and abounding plenty, to the praise and honor of God the Father, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Page 214 - ... outlawed, I should have kept silent, had I regarded the command of men more than that of God. Many persons in Germany both of high and low estate assail my discourses and writings on that account, and shed much blood over them. But God who has opened my mouth and bidden me speak, stands firmly by me, and without any counsel or effort of mine strengthens and extends my cause the more, the more they rage, and seems, as the second Psalm says, to
Page 257 - ... 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 iii - ... 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 256 - Behold, he has become a man of the world, and cares nothing for the clerical state," just as if the priestly order were alone acceptable to God, and the secular classes, as they are called, belonged to Satan, and were unchristian. But in the sight of God, the former rather belong to Satan, while the despised masses (as happened to the people of Israel in the Babylonian captivity ) remain in the land and in right relations with God. It is not necessary to say here that civil government is a divine...
Page 48 - ... 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...