[1490] Ib., p. 547
[1491] Ib., p. 573.
[1492] Ib., p. 554. It is obvious that words such as: I do not believe as I ought, and: We cannot rise as high as we ought, may, in themselves, be taken in the best sense seeing they are to be met with even on the lips of saints. The prayer “Credo Domine, sed adiuva incredulitatem meam” was a usual one with the faithful, even the most devout. Nor was Luther alone in envying the children their pious faith (below, p. 369). These passages are, however, not the most characteristic of Luther’s faith and doubts, rather all those other sayings, for which he was first and solely responsible and which are placed in their true light by his theological doctrines, must be taken together. The plausible-sounding words given above may well be accepted as proofs of deep feeling, seeing they stand side by side with other strong expressions of his belief in certain central truths of Christianity. The longing for improvement may quite well have remained alive even though the spirit of faith frequently felt itself slighted.
[1493] Ib., p. 549.
[1494] Ib., p. 523.
[1495] Ib., pp. 568 f., 571.
[1496] Cordatus, “Tagebuch,” p. 209. Cp. “Werke,” Erl. ed., 58, pp. 92, 373.
[1497] “Werke,” ib., p. 362.
[1498] Ib., 59, p. 245.
[1499] Ib., 57, p. 32.