8o Readings in European History 246b. Ex- ample of Luther's vigorous German. cardinals must have all the wealth. The Turk himself could not have so desolated Italy and so overthrown the worship of God. Now that Italy is sucked dry, they come to Germany and begin very quietly, but we shall soon see Germany brought into the same state as Italy. We have a few car- dinals already. What the Romanists really mean to do the " drunken Germans " are not to see until they have lost everything. 1 . . . Now this devilish state of things is not only open rob- bery and deceit and the prevailing of the gates of hell, but it is destroying the very life and soul of Christianity; therefore we are bound to use all our diligence to ward off this misery and destruction. If we want to fight Turks, let us begin here, — we cannot find worse ones. If we rightly hang thieves and behead robbers, why do we leave the greed of Rome unpunished ? for Rome is the greatest thief and robber that has ever appeared on earth, or ever will ; and all in the holy names of Church and St. Peter. But here is a sample of the original German, 2 which shows how Luther could compel men to him by his fiery appeals to German national feeling. He is speaking of papal dispensations from vows and obligations. Wenn keine andere bose Tiicke ware, die da bewahrte, dass der Papst der rechte Antichrist sei, so ware eben dieses Stiick genugsam, das zu bewahren. Horst du, Papst, nicht der Allerheiligste, sondern der Allersiindigste ! dass Gott deinen Stuhl von Himmel auf's schierste zerstore und in den Abgrund der Holle senke ! Wer hat dir Gewalt gegeben, dich zu erheben iiber deinen Gott ? das zu brechen und losen, das er geboten hat, und die Christen, sonderlich die deutsche Nation, die von edler Natur, bestandig und treu 1 This is naturally to be taken with the same reservations with which modern campaign documents are read by the judicious. 2 Somewhat modernized.
