When he was fourteen years of age, his parents, then in better circumstances, sent him to Magdeburg to prepare for the university. But the expense being too great, he was withdrawn from this school and sent to Eisenach, where he could live with relatives. Here he sang in the street for alms, and his sweet voice attracted the attention of Ursula Cotta, a wealthy lady, who took him to her own home and gave him an excellent teacher.
When eighteen years of age he entered the university of Erfurt, then a center of humanistic learning. He made marvelous progress in his studies until he took his degree. His father had intended him for the law, but Luther determined to devote himself to the Church, much to his father's disappointment. Accordingly he became an Augustinian monk when twenty-two years of age. Unlike many of his brethren, he kept up his studies while in the monastery, and was called to a professorship in the new university at Wittenberg in 1508, where he found an ample field for his remarkable powers. Two years later, he went as a delegate to the papal court at Rome, where his eyes were opened to the condition of the Church in her holiest sanctuaries. Returning to Wittenberg, he continued his studies and his lectures, and drew about him a great number of students. His lectures and his writings against the practices of the Church became so pronounced that he was summoned before the Diet of Worms and commanded to retract. This he refused to do in the memorable words: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen." On his return from Worms, fearing for his safety, his friends took him prisoner and confined him in the Wartburg castle at Eisenach. During the nine months of his confinement he translated the Bible into German.[54] Luther took great pains to make the language so pure and plain that it could be understood by the common people, to whom he appealed. He was never ashamed of his humble origin. When he came to be the honored friend and trusted adviser of princes and kings, he was wont to say, "I am a peasant's son; my father, grandfather, and remote ancestors were nothing but veritable peasants."
The language of Luther's translation of the Bible became the standard German, which was to supplant the many dialects.
His great watchword was, "Make the people acquainted with the Word of God." But the Bible was of little use to the masses so long as they could not read. Luther therefore set himself sturdily to the improvement of the schools, which were in a deplorable condition. He urged the principle of parental responsibility for the education of children. "Believe me," said he, "it is far more important that you exercise care in training your children than that you seek indulgences, say many prayers, go much to church, or make many vows." His pedagogy constitutes the foundation of the German common school system of to-day. Luther, then, must be remembered as the greatest educator of his time for two reasons.
1. He gave the German people a language by his translation of the Holy Scriptures.
2. He laid the foundation of the German common school system.
Luther's Pedagogy.—1. Parents are responsible for the education of their children.
2. It is the duty of the State to require regular attendance at school of every child, and the parents must be held accountable for non-attendance.
3. Religion is the foundation of all school instruction.
4. Every child must learn not only the ordinary subjects taught at school, but also the practical duties of life,—boys, a trade; girls, housework.