The Formative Years of Doctor Luther

There can be no doubt that many of Martin Luther\u27s contemporaries realized that he was one of the great men of history. Almost twenty years before he died, his friends began to collect the Reformer\u27s letters and writings, while at different times twelve table companions recorded his conversations with the dinner guests. The three funeral addresses delivered at the time of Luther\u27s death in 1546 testify to this same conviction. Since he had died in his native Eisleben, a service was first held there in the Andreas-Kirche, on which occasion Jonas, who had accompanied Luther on the journey from Wittenberg, preached the sermon. In this funeral sermon Jonas spoke of Luther\u27s genius in glowing praise and pointed out that it had been recognized by all since his early student days. The manner in which the sorrowing people stood silently all along the route from Eisleben to Wittenberg reminds one of the passing of a distinguished world figure of the present day