When he made
allusions to the ready tongue of women he had little right to do so,
for he himself was not by any means a man who could be called
reticent. When she showed her joy at being able to bring to table all
kinds of fish from the little pond in her garden, the Doctor, for his
part, was deeply pleased but did not fail to add a pleasant discourse
on the happiness of contentment. Or when on one occasion she became
impatient at the reading of the Psalter, and gave him to understand
that she had heard enough about saints--that she read a good deal
every day and could talk enough about them too--that God only desired
her to act like them; then the Doctor, in reply to this sensible
answer, sighed and said, "Thus begins discontent at God's word. There
will be nothing but new books coming out, and the Scriptures will be
again thrown into the corner." But the firm alliance of these two good
people was for a long time not without its secret sorrow. We can only
surmise the suffering of the wife's soul when, even as late as 1527,
Luther in a dangerous illness took final farewell from her with the
words: "You are my lawful wife, and as such you must surely consider
yourself."
In the same spirit as with his dear ones, Luther consorted with the
high powers of his faith. All the good characters from the Bible were
true friends to him. His vivid imagination had confidently given them
shape, and, with the simplicity of a child, he liked to picture to
himself their conditions.
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