f
peace and happiness, a world in which no devil would exist, in which
every human soul would feel more joy over the flowers and fruit of the
new trees of heaven than the present generation over gold and silver;
where music, the most beautiful of all arts, should ring in tones much
more delightful than the most splendid song of the best singers in
this world. There a good man would find again all the dear ones whom
he had loved and lost in this world.

The longing of the creature for the ideal type of existence grew
stronger and stronger in him. If he expected the end of the world, it
was due to dim remembrances from the far-distant past of the German
people, which still hovered over the soul of the new reformer. Yet it
was likewise a prophetic foreboding of the near future. It was not the
end of the world that was in preparation, but the Thirty Years' War.

Thus he died. When the hearse with his corpse passed through the
Thuringian country, all the bells in city and hamlet tolled, and the
people crowded sobbing about his bier. A large portion of the German
national strength went into the coffin with this one man. And Philip
Melanchthon spoke in the castle church at Wittenberg over his body:
"Any one who knew him well, must bear witness to this--that he was a
very kind man, gracious, friendly, and affectionate in all
conversation, and by no means insolent, stormy, obstinate, or
quarrelsome. And yet with this went a seriousness and courage in words
and actions, such as there should be in such a man. His heart was
loyal and without guile. The severity which he used in his writings
against the enemies of the Gospel came not from a quarrelsome and
malicious spirit but from great seriousness and zeal for the truth. He
showed very great courage and manhood, and was not easily disturbed.
He was not intimidated by threats, danger, or alarms. He was also of
such a high, clear intelligence that when affairs were confused,
obscure, and difficult he was often the only one who could see at once
what was advisable and feasible. He was not, as perhaps some thought,
too unobservant to notice the condition of the government everywhere.
He knew right well how we are governed, and noted especially the
spirit and the intentions of those with whom he had to do. We,
however, must keep a faithful, everlasting memory of this dear father
of ours, and never let him go out of our hearts." Such was Luther--an
almost superhuman nature; his mind p