Martin Luther

Name: An Open Letter on Translating
Author: Martin Luther

Summary

“An Open Letter on Translating”, is a work by Martin Luther. It explores elements such as Christendom, German and asses.

Quotes from An Open Letter on Translating (Martin Luther)

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ It must not be an external work but only the eternal faith in the heart that alone, indeed all alone, which takes hold of this death and resurrection when it is preached through the gospel. Then why all this ranting and raving, this making of heretics and burning of them, when it is clear at its very core, proving that faith alone takes hold of Christ's death and resurrection, without any works, and that his death and resurrection are our life and righteousness? As this fact is so obvious, that faith alone gives, brings, and takes a hold of this life and righteousness—why should we not say so? ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ They want to give to Christendom the damage caused by their own negligence. Then, when we say, "Christendom does not err," we shall also be saying that they do not err, since Christendom believes it to be so. So no pilgrimage can be wrong, no matter how obviously the Devil is a participant in it. No indulgence can be wrong, regardless of how horrible the lies involved. In other words, there is nothing there but holiness! ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Do you not also think that God could now, under the papacy, have preserved his own, even though the priests and monks of Christendom have been teachers of the devil and gone to hell? Many children and young people have died in Christ. For even under the anti-Christ, Christ has strongly sustained baptism, the bare text of the gospel in the pulpit, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed. By this means he sustained many of his Christians, and therefore also his Christendom, and said nothing about it to these devil's teachers. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ But the light of the gospel is now shining so brightly that from now on no one has an excuse for remaining in the darkness. We all very well know what we are to do.
This is itself a very risky and blasphemous way to worship for people are easily accustomed to turning away from Christ. They learn quickly to trust more in the saints than in Christ himself. When our nature is already all too prone to run from God and Christ, and trust in humanity, it is indeed difficult to learn to trust in God and Christ, even though we have vowed to do so and are therefore obligated to do so. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Ah, translating is not every one's skill as some mad saints think. A right, devout, honest, sincere, God-fearing Christian, trained, educated, and experienced heart is required. So I hold that no false Christian or divisive spirit can be a good translator. That is obvious given the translation of the Prophets at Worms which although carefully done and approximating my own German quite closely, does not show much reverence for Christ due to the Jews who shared in the translation. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Instead, Abraham was justified without circumcision and without any works, but by faith, as he says in Chapter 4: "If Abraham is justified by works, he may boast, but not before God." However, when all works are so completely rejected—which must mean faith alone justifies—whoever would speak plainly and clearly about this rejection of works would have to say "Faith alone justifies and not works." ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Everyone was his master. He alone was entirely incompetent as people, who were not good enough to clean his boots, judged his works. This is why it takes a great deal of patience to do good things in public for the world believes itself to be the Master of Knowledge, always putting the bit under the horse's tail, and not judging itself for that is the world's nature. It can do nothing else.
I would gladly see a papist come forward and translate into German an epistle of St. Paul's or one of the prophets and, in doing so, not make use of Luther's German or translation. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ It is not heretical that faith alone holds on to Christ and gives life; and yet it seems to be heresy if someone mentions it. Are they not insane, foolish and ridiculous? They will say that one thing is right but brand the telling of this right thing as wrong—even though something cannot be simultaneously right and wrong. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ And again, you know that there is not a single passage from God demanding us to call upon either saints or angels to intercede for us, and that there is no example of such in the Scriptures. One finds that the beloved angels spoke with the fathers and the prophets, but that none of them had ever been asked to intercede for them. Why even Jacob the patriarch did not ask the angel with whom he wrestled for any intercession. Instead, he only took from him a blessing. In fact, one finds the very opposite in revelation as the angel will not allow itself to be worshipped by John. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ This is the devil itself for he cannot ever stop abusing the blood of Christ.
Therefore the matter itself, at its very core, necessitates that one say: "Faith alone makes one righteous." The nature of the German tongue teaches us to say it in the same way. In addition, I have the examples of the holy fathers. The dangers confronting the people also compel it so they do not continue to hang onto works and wander away from faith, losing Christ, especially at this time when they have been so accustomed to works they have to be pulled away from them by force. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Martin Luther will have it so and he says that a papist and an ass are the same thing." Sic volo, sic iubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas. (I will it, I command it; my will is reason enough) For we are not going to become students and followers of the papists. Rather we will become their judge and master. We, too, are going to be proud and brag with these blockheads; and just as St. Paul brags against his madly raving saints, I will brag over these asses of mine! They are doctors? Me too. They are scholars? I am as well. They are philosophers? ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ It can, however, be easily proven that there has always been a great deal of secret murmuring and complaining against the clergy throughout the world, and that they are not treating Christendom properly. And the papal asses have courageously withstood such complaining with fire and sword, even to the present day. This murmuring proves how happy Christians have been over these blasphemies, and how right they have been in doing them! ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ One would have to think about a keg "full of" beer or a purse "full of" money. So I translated it: "You gracious one". This way a German can at last think about what the angel meant by his greeting. Yet the papists rant about me corrupting the angelic greeting—and I still have not used the most satisfactory German translation. What if I had used the most satisfactory German and translated the salutation: "God says hello, Mary dear" (for that is what the angel was intending to say and what he would have said had he even been German!) ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Paul writes, all the wisdom and understanding in the world as well. An ass truly does not have to sing much as he is already known for his ears.
For you and our people, however, I shall show why I used the word "sola"—even though in Romans 3 it wasn't "sola" I used but "solum" or "tantum". That is how closely those asses have looked at my text! However, I have used "sola fides" in other places, and I want to use both "solum" and "sola". I have continually tried translating in a pure and accurate German. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ Therefore, this offense is not to be tolerated whereby those who are weak and of the flesh participate in idolatry, against the first commandment and our baptism. Even if one tries nothing other than to switch their trust from the saints to Christ, through teaching and practice, it will be difficult to accomplish, that one should come to him and rightly take hold of him. One need not paint the Devil on the door—he will already be present. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ First, you know that under the papacy it is not only taught that the saints in heaven intercede for us—even though we cannot know this as the Scripture does not tell us such—but the saints have been made into gods, and that they are to be our patrons to whom we should call. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating

“ This verse speaks truly concerning all that can serve the common good or the well-being of Christendom. This is the reason the master in the gospel reprimands the unfaithful servant like a lazy scoundrel for having hidden and buried his money in the ground. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translating