th apparitions had tormented
him; now they reappeared. From the dark shadows of his study the
spectre of the tempter lifted its claw-like hand against his reason.
Even while he was praying the Devil approached him in the form of
the Redeemer, radiant as King of Heaven with the five wounds, as
the ancient Church represented Him. But Luther knew that Christ
appears to poor humanity only in His words, or in humble form, as He
hung upon the cross; and he roused himself vigorously and cried
to the apparition: "Avaunt, foul fiend!"--and the vision disappeared.
Thus the strong heart of the man worked for years in savage
indignation--always renewed. It was a sad struggle between reason and
insanity, but Luther always came out victorious; the native strength
of his sound nature prevailed. In long prayer, often lasting for
hours, the stormy waves of his emotion became calm, and his massive
intelligence and his conscience brought him every time out of doubt to
certainty. He considered this process of liberation as a gracious
inspiration of his God, and after such moments he who had once been in
such anxious doubt was as firm as steel, indifferent to the opinion of
men, not to be moved, inexorable. Quite a different picture is that of
his personality in contest with earthly foes. Here he retains almost
everywhere the superiority of conviction, particularly in his literary
feuds.

The literary activity which he developed at this time was gigantic. Up
to 1517 he had printed little. From that time on he was not only the
most productive but the greatest popular writer of Germany. The energy
of his style, the vigor of his argumentation, the ardor and passion of
his conviction, carried away his readers. No one had ever spoken thus
to the people. His language lent itself to every mood, to all keys;
now brief, forcible, sharp as steel, now in majestic breadth, the
words poured in among the people like a mighty stream. A figurative
expression, a striking simile, made the most difficult thoughts
intelligible. His was a wonderfully creative power. He used language
with sovereign ease. As soon as he touched a pen his mind worked with
the greatest freedom; his sentences show the cheerful warmth which
filled him, the perfect charm of sympathetic creation is poured out
upon them. And such power is by no means least apparent in the attacks
which he makes upon individual opponents, and it is closely connected
with a fault which caused misgivings e