Page:Thirty-five years of Luther research.djvu/170

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Thirty-Five Years of Luther Research

life of the Reformer that have suffered changes, are easily seen. For that reason his "kritischer Bericht" is a necessary complement to every earlier Luther biography; something that must not be overlooked. It is very fortunate, therefore, that Huth has given us this book in an American translation, just in that year when on account of England's piracy and the American government's shameful incompetency to assert its rights an unhindered mail service between this country and the birthplace of the Reformer is not possible.104

Walther's book, "Fuer Luther wider Rom" (1906), is highly important for our American Lutheran Church, which in the face of a Catholicism steadily growing more blatant must elevate and defend Luther. For in this book he embodied all his former publications against Rome's falsifications in Luther's history, "Luther im neuesten roemischen Gericht," 2 parts; "Luther's Beruf," "Luther's Glaubensgewissheit," "Das 6te Gebot u. Luther's Leben." He devoted considerable time also to Denifle, and thus he created for us an arsenal filled with trusty weapons, to be used at any time in Luther's defense. Essays like A. Harnack's "Martin Luther in seiner Bedeutung fuer die Geschichte der Wissenschaft und der Bildung" (4 1911) and H. v. Treitschke's "Luther und die deutsche Nation" (Preuss. Jahrbuecher), 1883, will ever keep their place; and Walther's latest work on Luther, "Luther's Charakter" (Leipzig, Deichers), 1917, which is his jubilee gift to the church, will for decades prove to be of peculiar importance.

How Luther was judged during four centuries is made plain by R. Eickart (Luther im Urteil bedeutender Maenner, 1905), O. Hegemann (Luther im katholischen Urteil, Eine Wanderung durch vier Jahrunderte, 1905) and H.