The Catholic theologian Cochläus, a violent opponent, says: “Luther’s _New Testament_ was multiplied by the printers in a most wonderful degree, so that even shoe-makers and women and every lay person acquainted with the German type, read it greedily as the fountain of all truth, and by repeatedly reading it impressed it on their memory. By this means they acquired in a few months so much knowledge that they ventured to dispute not only with Catholic laymen, but even with masters and doctors of theology, about faith and the gospel.”[120] Luther’s young friend, Mathesius, thus describes one of the meetings of Luther and his collaborators on the work of the German Bible: “Dr. Luther came to them with his old Latin Bible, his Hebrew texts, and the portions of his German translation. Philip (Melanchthon) brought the Greek text, and Dr. Kreuziger (Cruciger), besides the Hebrew, the Chaldaic Bible (the translations or paraphrase in use among the ancient Jews); the other professors had with them their ‘Rabbis’ (_i. e._ the Rabbinical writings of the Old Testament). Each one had previously armed himself with a knowledge of the text and had compared the Greek and Latin with the Jewish version. The president then pronounced a text and let the opinions go round. Speeches of wondrous truth and beauty are said to have been made at these sittings.”[121] The most important of the publishers who issued unauthorised editions of Luther’s writings was, as stated, Adam Petri, of Basel. During the ten years between 1520 and 1530, he made a special business of the issue of these reprints, and according to Kapp, he derived from them large profits. I find no record of any complaints from Luther directed specifically against Petri. His principal annoyance about reprints had been in connection with inaccurate and incomplete texts, but the Petri Press had a good repute for the excellence of its typography. In Augsburg, where had appeared some of the earliest issues of the Bible, Hans Schönsperger printed, in 1523, an (unauthorised) edition of Luther’s _New Testament_, with woodcuts by Schäuflein. In 1524, a complete series of Luther’s writings was printed by Sylvan Othmar. It is not clear whether or not this edition received the sanction of the author. Siegmund Grimm, of Augsburg, acted as the principal publisher of the writings of Hutten. Hase tells us, in his history of the great Koberger publishing house of Nuremberg, that during the ten years succeeding 1517, the sales of the works of theology (orthodox Catholic) of which the Kobergers made a special interest were very seriously lessened through the influence of Luther and of Luther’s writings.