Luther’s complaints elsewhere about the pride of the heretics throw
still further light on the jealousy which was at work in him (above,
p. 260).
“How is it that all the insurgents say ‘I am the man?’ They want all
the glory for themselves and hate and are grim with all others, just
like the Pope who also wants to stand alone.”[1020] Zwingli appears to
be one of the foremost among those desirous of robbing him of his due
glory. “He was ambitious through and through.”[1021] On hearing that
Zwingli had said that, in three years, he would have France, Spain and
England “on his side and for his share,” Luther became very bitter
and several times complained of Zwingli’s intention to seize upon his
harvest; such words seemed to him the “boasting of a braggart.”[1022]
“Œcolampadius, too, fancied himself the doctor of doctors and far
above me, even before he had ever heard me.” And in the same way
Carlstadt said: “As for you, Sir Doctor, I don’t care a snap! Münzer,
too, preached against two Popes, the old one and the new,[1023]
said I must be a Saul, and that though I had made a good beginning,
the Spirit of God had left me.… Hence let all the theologians and
preachers look to it and diligently beware lest they seek their glory
in Holy Scripture and in God’s Word; otherwise they will have a
fall.”[1024]—“Mr. Eisleben [Johann Agricola] labours under great pride
and presumption; he wants to be the only one, and, with his pride and
his puffed-up spirit, to surpass all others.”[1025] “They are scamps,”
so he abuses them in another passage, “fain would they get at us and
surpass us, as though forsooth we were blind and could not see through
their tricks.”[1026]
Elsewhere in the Table-Talk we read: “My best friends,” said Dr.
Martin, with a deep sigh, “seek to stamp me under foot and to trouble
and besmirch the Evangel; hence I am going to hold a disputation.”
“Alas, that, in my own lifetime, I should see them strutting about and
seeking to rule.” It was with him as with St. Paul to whom God wished
to show how much he must suffer for His Name’s sake (Acts ix. 16).
Some indeed were trying to persuade him that these foes in his own
household were not really against Luther, but only against Cruciger,
Rörer, etc. But this was false. “For the Catechism, the Exposition
of the Ten Commandments and the Confession of Augsburg are mine, not
Cruciger’s or Rörer’s.”[1027]
Of those near him “Mr. Eisleben” (Agricola) seemed to him his chief
rival; those abroad troubled him less; for a while Luther was obsessed
by the idea that Agricola, “with his cool head, was set on securing
the reins and was seeking to become a great lord.”[1028]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account