Martin Luther, WA TR 4, p. 446 line 22-p. 447 line 1 (TR 4719):
I have often spit upon/despised myself when I have come from the pulpit: Shame on you! How did you preach? You delivered that really well, stuck to no outline [(hast kein Concept gehalten; nullum servasti conceptum)] (as conceived of by you [(wie du es gefaßt hettest)])! And [yet] the very same sermon have the people praised, [saying] that it has been a long time since I have delivered so fine [a] sermon. When I have climbed down from the pulpit [(Wan ich hinunter vom predigstuel gestiegen bin)], then have I recalled and realized that I have preached nothing or very little of what, in my mind, I had intended to [(davon . . . das ich bey mir concipirt habe; cf. conceptum/Concept, above)].
In my case, too, it often happens that the delivery of [a] sermon of mine has filled me with shame [(me puduerit, PAi3S)] and perhaps [even] caused me to look upon myself [(putaverim me, PAS1S, I may have esteemed myself)] most coldly. And [yet] afterwards, by contrast, I have heard the opinion of [my] auditors, who were commending it vehemently.Thanks to my colleague Robert Smith for posing the question of authenticity and prompting this research. Being no expert in early 16th-century German (or Latin, for that matter!), I would welcome any suggestions for improvement in these translations.
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