arter and commission.
Nor was it without significance that the great bell of Wittenberg was
rung when proclamation of this investiture was made. As the ringing of
the bell on the old State-house when the Declaration of Independence
was passed proclaimed the coming liberties of the American colonies,
so this sounding of the great bell of Wittenberg when Luther was made
doctor of divinity proclaimed and heralded to the nations of the earth
the coming deliverance of the enslaved Church. God's chosen servant
had received his commission, and the better day was soon to dawn.

* * * * *

Henceforth Luther's labors and studies went forward with a new impulse
and inspiration. Hebrew and Greek were thoroughly mastered. The
Fathers of the Church, ancient and modern, were carefully read. The
systems of the Schoolmen, the Book of Sentences, the Commentaries, the
Decretals--everything relating to his department as a doctor of
theology--were examined, and brought to the test of Holy Scripture.

In his sermons, lectures, and disquisitions the results of these
incessant studies came out with a depth of penetration, a clearness of
statement, a simplicity of utterance, a devoutness of spirit, and a
convincing power of eloquence which, with the eminent sanctity of his
life, won for him unbounded praise. The common feeling was that the
earth did not contain another such a doctor and had not seen his equal
for many ages. Envy and jealousy themselves, those green-eyed monsters
which gather about the paths of great qualities and successes, seemed
for the time to be paralyzed before a brilliancy which rested on such
humility, conscientiousness, fidelity, and merit.

LUTHER'S LABORS.

Years of fruitful labor passed. The Decalogue was expounded. Paul's
letter to the Romans and the penitential Psalms were explained. The
lectures on the Epistle to the Galatians were nearly completed. But no
book from Luther had yet been published.

In 1515 he was chosen district vicar of the Augustinian monasteries of
Meissen and Thuringia. It was a laborious office, but it gave him new
experiences, familiarized him still more with the monks, brought him
into executive administrations, and developed his tact in dealing with
men.

One other particular served greatly to establish him in the hearts of
the people. A deadly plague broke out in Wittenberg. Citizens were
dying by dozens and scores. At a later period a like scourge