Great was the joy with which Luther's translation was received at that time. Melanchthon exclaimed, "The German Bible is one of the greatest miracles which God has worked through Dr. Martin Luther before the end of the world." And Mathesius added, "For to an attentive Bible-reader it seems indeed as if the Holy Spirit had spoken through the mouth of the prophets and the apostles in our German language." Now many thousand thirsting souls could drink as often as they wished from that fountain closed so long, and which offers pure, sweet, and truly satisfying water. And they did it. Cochlaeus, a violent opponent of Luther, writes: "Luther's New Testament has been so multiplied by the printers and scattered in such numbers that even tailors and shoemakers, aye, even women and the simple who had learned to read only the German on ginger cakes, read it with intense longing. Many carried it about with them and learned it by heart, so that, in a few months, they arrogantly began to dispute with priests and monks on the faith and the Gospel. Indeed, even poor women were found who engaged with learned doctors in a debate, and thus it happened that in such conversations Lutheran laymen could extemporaneously quote more Bible passages than the monks and priests." 2. CATECHISM. Another treasure which God gave to Christianity through Luther is the Small Catechism. In order to inform himself on the condition of the churches and schools Luther had early urged the elector to order a general visitation of the churches. This visitation was held with loving heart, but with open eyes, from 1527 to 1529. In the vicinity of Wittenberg Luther and Melanchthon traveled from city to city, from village to village, and inspected churches and schools. They listened to the preachers and examined the church members. They found things in a sad condition. The people and the pastors lived in deep spiritual ignorance, for under the rule of the Pope they had received no proper instruction in religion. In a village near Torgau the old pastor could scarcely recite the Lord's Prayer and the Creed; in another place the peasants did not know a single prayer and even refused to learn the Lord's Prayer. Luther wrote: "Alas, what manifold misery I beheld! The common people, especially in the villages, know nothing at all of Christian doctrine; and many pastors are quite unfit and incompetent to teach. Yet, all are called Christians, have been baptized, and enjoy the use of the sacraments--although they know neither the Lord's Prayer nor the Creed nor the Ten Commandments, and live like the poor brutes and irrational swine." The following example illustrates how patiently Luther instructed such people. When, at one time, he was examining the poor peasants on the Christian Creed one of them, who had recited the First Article, being asked the meaning of "Almighty," answered, "I don't know!" Luther then said, "You are right, my dear man, I and all the