But the
great man was subject to still further hindrances. The ruler of the
souls of the German people lived in a little town, among poor
university professors and students, in a feeble community of which he
often had occasion to complain. He was spared none of the evils of
petty surroundings, of unpleasant disputes with narrow-minded scholars
or uncultured neighbors. There was much in his nature which made him
especially sensitive to such things. No man bears in his heart with
impunity the feeling of being the privileged instrument of God.
Whoever lives in that feeling is too great for the narrow and petty
structure of middle-class society. If Luther had not been modest to
the depths of his heart, and of infinite kindness in his intercourse
with others, he would inevitably have appeared perfectly unendurable
to the matter-of-fact and common-sense people who stood indifferent by
his side. As it was, however, he came only on rare occasions into
serious conflict with his fellow-citizens, the town administration,
the law faculty of his university, or the councillors of his
sovereign. He was not always right, but he almost always carried his
point against them, for seldom did any one dare to defy the violence
of his anger. With all this he was subject to severe physical
ailments, the frequent return of which in the last years of his life
exhausted even his tremendous vigor. He felt this with great sorrow,
and incessantly prayed to his God that He might take him to Himself.
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