Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in the little town of Eisleben, in Saxony. His parents were very poor; they feared God, and lived uprightly. John Luther, his father, was a woodcutter. Often his mother, Margaret, carried wood upon her back, so that she might help to get the means for bringing up her children.
When the little boy was about six months old, his parents left Eisleben, and went to live at Mansfeld. Here for some time John Luther worked as a miner, and by steady perseverance managed to save sufficient money to purchase two small furnaces for smelting iron. He was a man fond of books, and sought the society of learned men. Soon afterward, he was made a member of the town council of Mansfeld, and was able to invite to his table the learned men of the place. The clergy and the schoolmasters were frequent guests. While these dined with his father, young Martin was allowed to remain in the room.
This greatly pleased him, for it was his ambition to become a schoolmaster or a learned man.
As soon as their son was old enough to be taught, his parents sought to teach him to know God, and to train the child up in His fear. Often his father would kneel by his bedside and pray aloud, asking the Lord that his boy might remember His name, and one day contribute to the propagation of the truth. We shall see how the good father’s prayers were answered.
While still very young, the lad was sent to school, and often little Martin was carried in his father’s arms, or in the arms of a friend, to the schoolmaster’s house. We do not know whether he liked school; perhaps he did not, for the discipline was very severe. He was clever, but impetuous and sometimes obstinate. Often, both at home and at school, he was severely chastised. His mother on one occasion beat him severely and his schoolmaster flogged him fifteen times one morning. Relating this latter incident, many years afterward, he said, “We must whip children, but we must also love them.”
At school he was taught the catechism, the Ten Commandments, the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and a little Latin; but his thoughts were not directed to God, and his only religious sentiment at this time was fear. When the gentle Saviour was spoken of, he turned pale with fright; for as yet he knew Him only as an angry Judge.
John Luther wished to make his son a scholar, so, when he was fourteen years old, he was taken from the school at Mansfeld, and sent to a better one at Magdeburg, a town not very far away. His mother was sorry to part with him, but she gave her consent, and he left home to enter upon his new studies. A young friend went with him, whose name was John Reinke.
The two boys were not happy at this school. A lad of fourteen, thrown upon the world without friends or protectors, Luther trembled when in the presence of his masters, and when his studies were over, he painfully begged his bread in company with children poorer than himself. One day, about Christmas time, they were wandering through the neighboring villages singing pretty carols of the infant Jesus. Cold and hungry, they stopped before a peasant’s cottage, hoping that some kind person hearing them sing would come and give them food to eat. “Where are you boys?” cried out a harsh voice. The boys were frightened, and ran away as fast as their legs would carry them. The farmer followed; he had a harsh voice but a kind heart, and, calling them back, he gave them food, for which they were very grateful.
After being at Magdeburg about a year, his parents sent him to a preparatory school at Eisenach. This they did because they had heard of the difficulty which he found in supporting himself, and as his father had relatives living in the town to which he was going, John Luther hoped they would help to support Martin. They, however, took no responsibility for him. When pinched by hunger he had to sing and beg at Eisenach, as he had done before at Magdeburg.
Martin loved his studies, and God, who so kindly watches over us, did not forget the friendless boy. One day, having been turned away from three houses, he was standing still, feeling very sad, before the door of a worthy citizen. Must he leave his studies, and return to labor with his father in the mines of Mansfeld? Suddenly a door opened, and a woman appeared. It was Ursula, the wife of Conrad Cotta, the burgomaster of the city. She had often heard the lad’s sweet voice, and remarked his attentive behavior in church. Seeing him standing so sad before her door, she spoke kindly to him, brought him into the house, and set food before him. Conrad, when he came home, entirely approved of what his good wife had done, and found so much pleasure in the boy’s society that he took him to live in his house.
Here he lived very peacefully for about five years. He was so cheerful and obliging that all who knew him loved him. He learned to play the flute and the lute. Accompanying his fine alto voice by the lute, he took special delight in testifying by his melody his gratitude to his adopted mother, who was very fond of music. His love for his kind protectors was great, and it is pleasing to read that many years afterward, when Martin Luther was the great and learned doctor of Wittenberg, he joyfully received one of their sons, who came to that city to study, into his house.
Remembering the kind Ursula, he said: “There is nothing sweeter on earth than the heart of a woman in which piety dwells.” His own heart was strengthened, and his confidence in God so deeply rooted that the severest trials could not afterward shake it.
While under Conrad’s roof, the strength of his understanding, the liveliness of his imagination, and the excellence of his memory carried him beyond all his schoolmates. He made rapid progress, especially in Latin, in eloquence, and in poetry.
God is our refuge in distress,
Our shield of hope through every care,
Our Shepherd watching us to bless,
And therefore will we not despair;
Although the mountains shake,
And hills their place forsake,
And billows o’er them break,
Yet still will we not fear,
For Thou, O God, art ever near.
M. L.