TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
—The transcriber of this project created the book cover image usingthe title page of the original book. The image is placed in the publicdomain.
LUTHER
Nihil Obstat
C. Schut, s.t.d.,
Censor Deputatus.
Imprimatur
Edm. Can. Surmont,
Vic. Gen.
Westmonasterii, die 10 Julii, 1913.
BY
HARTMANN GRISAR, S. J.
PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK
AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN BY
E. M. LAMOND
EDITED BY
LUIGI CAPPADELTA
Volume III
LONDONKEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., Ltd.
BROADWAY HOUSE, 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C.
1914
“His most elaborate and systematic biography ... is notmerely a book to be reckoned with; it is one with which we cannotdispense, if only for its minute examination of Luther’s theologicalwritings.”—The Athenæum.
“There is no room for any sort of question as to the welcomeready among English-speaking Roman Catholics for this admirablymade translation of the first volume of the German monographby Professor Grisar on the protagonist of the Reformation inEurope.... The book is so studiously scientific, so careful tobase its teaching upon documents, and so determined to eschewcontroversies that are only theological, that it cannot but deeplyinterest Protestant readers.”—The Scotsman.
“Father Grisar has gained a high reputation in this countrythrough the translation of his monumental work on the History ofRome and the Popes in the Middle Ages, and this first instalmentof his life of Luther bears fresh witness to his unwearied industry,wide learning, and scrupulous anxiety to be impartial in his judgmentsas well as absolutely accurate in matters of fact.”—GlasgowHerald.
“It is impossible to understand the Reformation without understandingthe life and character of the great German. The manand the work are so indissolubly united that we cannot have rightjudgments about either without considering the other. It is oneof Father Grisar’s many merits that he does not forget for a singlemoment the fundamental importance of this connection. The manand his work come before us in these illuminating pages, not asmore or less harmonious elements, but as a unity, and we cannotanalyse either without constant reference to the other.”—IrishTimes.
“Professor Grisar is hard on Luther. Perhaps no RomanCatholic can help it. But it is significant that he is hard on theanti-Lutherans also.... He shows us, indeed, though not deliberately,that some reformation of religion was both imperativeand inevitable.... But he is far from being overwhelmed withprejudice. He really investigates, uses good authorities, andgiv