Synopses & Reviews
'Few figures in history have defined their time as dramatically as Martin Luther. And few books have captured the spirit of such a figure as truly as this robust and eloquent life of Luther. A highly regarded historian and biographer and a gifted novelist and playwright, Richard Marius gives us a dazzling portrait of the German reformer--his inner compulsions, his struggle with himself and his God, the gestation of his theology, his relations with contemporaries, and his responses to opponents. Focusing in particular on the productive years 1516-1525, Marius\' detailed account of Luther\'s writings yields a rich picture of the development of Luther\'s thought on the great questions that came to define the Reformation.
Marius follows Luther from his birth in Saxony in 1483, during the reign of Frederick III, through his schooling in Erfurt, his flight to an Augustinian monastery and ordination to the outbreak of his revolt against Rome in 1517, the Wittenberg years, his progress to Worms, his exile in the Wartburg, and his triumphant return to Wittenberg. Throughout, Marius pauses to acquaint us with pertinent issues: the question of authority in the church, the theology of penance, the timing of Luther\'s \"Reformation breakthrough,\" the German peasantry in 1525, Müntzer\'s revolutionaries, the whys and hows of Luther\'s attack on Erasmus.
In this personal, occasionally irreverent, always humane reconstruction, Luther emerges as a skeptic who hated skepticism and whose titanic wrestling with the dilemma of the desire for faith and the omnipresence of doubt and fear became an augury for the development of the modern religious consciousness of the West. In all of this, he also represents tragedy, with the goodness of his works overmatched by their calamitous effects on religion and society.'
Review
[Marius] makes a persuasive case for treating Luther as a depressive genius, driven by the dread of death into an uncompromising absolutism. This is the fairest and most powerful account so far of this enigmatictitan, leaving him standing squarely in the mystical, existentialist tradition that stretches from Eckhart to Heidegger.
Review
Perhaps the greatest compliment to be paid to Richard Marius's biography of Luther's career up until 1525 is that it's as passionate, readable and confident as the great man himself. Never afraid to venture unusualand intriguing opinions, it presents a vivid critique of Luther, depicting with ruthless accuracy his many flaws, including his vituperative style, the yawning gap between the initial reforming agenda and what he was prepared tocountenance in practice and his steadily narrowing horizons after 1521.
Review
Marius's searching and thoughtful biography of the German monk largely responsible for the Protestant Reformation is a marvelously engrossing, in some ways surprisingly empathetic, attempt to fathom the mind andheart of this remarkable man...There can be no doubt that this book is destined to become a classic. It is an exemplary work of scholarship written with the kind of verve that will appeal to the ordinary reader...Pithy, urbane, evenwitty, this is one of those extraordinary biographies that really brings its subject to life.
Review
[A] splendid new life of Martin Luther...Working impressively from primary sources and writing principally about the first two-thirds of Luther's life, Marius offers what he calls a 'nonreligious' approach toLuther's revolution...In effect, he sees the Protestant Reformation as a counter-Renaissance, aborting the gentler tempering of Christiandom that the revival of classical learning and classical moral philosophy had begun in Italy...Theoriginality of the book lies...in Marius's nuanced and persuasive reconstruction of the death-obsession that underlay an extraordinary character's world-historical career.
Review
Richard Marius's fine new biography of Luther resumes that traditional focus of interest in a life first prepared for in 'years of silence' to 1517 (when Luther was thirty-four), and then lived at centre stage inthe period down to the 1520s. The early years, which are relatively well documented, at least by Luther's own often highly coloured reminiscences, are illuminatingly covered, Professor Marius having some particularly imaginativespeculations about parental...influences on Luther...Richard Marius writes vividly and clarifies complex matters for students.
Review
This vibrant and well-researched study brings us face to face with the mysterious depths and difficulties of belief as it took shape in one of Christianity's most fascinating figures. Its shows us how rich, and howfraught with doubt and struggle, Christian belief can be. Marius acknowledges his as an 'essentially nonreligious' approach to his subject, but he nonetheless addresses the theological, liturgical, and biblical elements of Luther'sthought with sympathy and admirable nuance. At the same time--in part through refreshingly uncompromising translations of Luther's pervasively scatological language--Marius allows us to see and reflect on Luther the person, a man whocombined the most powerful theological mind of his time with an unforgiving and vulgar temperament, an astonishing capacity for work, and a 'raging melancholy'...[Marius] is not afraid to poke some holes in the Luther legend..., butthis historical detective work, however interesting, is ultimately a side-note. Far more central to the book--and far more impressive--is Marius's ability to communicate the power and the paradox of Luther's theologicalvision...Marius's book is an important achievement for the way it forces us to ask ourselves about different forms of religious doubt, and to read Luther with these differences in mind...Marius's book has much to teach us about Lutherand about complexes of belief and doubt in the Christian heart.
Review
[Martin Lutheris] admirably scholarly, thoroughly researched and helpful to the reader who may find much of this terrain inaccessible.
Review
Marius has mastered the formidable corpus of Martin Luther's writings and he puts the reformer into a broad intellectual context, offering detailed and distinctive interpretations of Luther's writings not found inmost Luther biographies, as well as a provocative thesis, namely that Martin Luther was a human being torn by a fear of death.
Review
Perhaps the greatest compliment to be paid to Richard Marius's biography of Luther's career up until 1525 is that it's as passionate, readable and confident as the great man himself. Never afraid to venture unusual and intriguing opinions, it presents a vivid critique of Luther, depicting with ruthless accuracy his many flaws, including his vituperative style, the yawning gap between the initial reforming agenda and what he was prepared to countenance in practice and his steadily narrowing horizons after 1521.
Review
[Marius's] last and best book...It's said that more books are written every year about Luther than about Jesus. Few can be as pertinent as Marius's...To follow Marius following Luther following his own unique senseof the mystery of scripture is a rare and profitable exercise of the spirit. [Martin Luther] will remain a monument to Marius's passionate life-long devotion to thinking prose.
Review
This vibrant and well-researched study brings us face to face with the mysterious depths and difficulties of belief as it took shape in one of Christianity's most fascinating figures. Its shows us how rich, and howfraught with doubt and struggle, Christian belief can be. Marius acknowledges his as an 'essentially nonreligious' approach to his subject, but he nonetheless addresses the theological, liturgical, and biblical elements of Luther'sthought with sympathy and admirable nuance. At the same time--in part through refreshingly uncompromising translations of Luther's pervasively scatological language--Marius allows us to see and reflect on Luther the person, a man whocombined the most powerful theological mind of his time with an unforgiving and vulgar temperament, an astonishing capacity for work, and a 'raging melancholy'...[Marius] is not afraid to poke some holes in the Luther legend..., butthis historical detective work, however interesting, is ultimately a side-note. Far more central to the book--and far more impressive--is Marius's ability to communicate the power and the paradox of Luther's theologicalvision...Marius's book is an important achievement for the way it forces us to ask ourselves about different forms of religious doubt, and to read Luther with these differences in mind...Marius's book has much to teach us about Lutherand about complexes of belief and doubt in the Christian heart.
Review
Richard Marius has written a biography of Luther from which all readers--believers and unbelievers--will profit...It is a masterpiece: a lifetime's study turned into a panoramic consideration of what the wholeChristian story implies. If anyone seeks to understand Luther, here he is, in one of the best English portraits of the 20th century.
Review
A book of vivid images, strong narrative, occasional irreverence, and keen insights into minor and major Reformation personalities--especially of the subject, Martin Luther. Focusing on Luther's formative years(1516 to 1525), Marius looks at Luther's theological development (in the context of the larger intellectual scene), as well as his compulsions, especially his seemingly persistent fear of death.
Synopsis
Few figures in history have defined their time as dramatically as Martin Luther. And few books have captured the spirit of such a figure as truly as this robust and eloquent life of Luther. Ahighly regarded historian and biographer and a gifted novelist and playwright, Richard Marius gives us a dazzling portrait of the German reformer--his inner compulsions, his struggle with himself and his God, the gestation of histheology, his relations with contemporaries, and his responses to opponents. Focusing in particular on the productive years 1516-1525, Marius' detailed account of Luther's writings yields a rich picture of the development of Luther'sthought on the great questions that came to define the Reformation.
Marius follows Luther from his birth in Saxony in 1483, during the reign of Frederick III, through his schooling in Erfurt, hisflight to an Augustinian monastery and ordination to the outbreak of his revolt against Rome in 1517, the Wittenberg years, his progress to Worms, his exile in the Wartburg, and his triumphant return to Wittenberg. Throughout, Mariuspauses to acquaint us with pertinent issues: the question of authority in the church, the theology of penance, the timing of Luther's "Reformation breakthrough," the German peasantry in 1525, Manduuml;ntzer's revolutionaries, thewhys and hows of Luther's attack on Erasmus.
In this personal, occasionally irreverent, always humane reconstruction, Luther emerges as a skeptic who hated skepticism and whose titanic wrestling withthe dilemma of the desire for faith and the omnipresence of doubt and fear became an augury for the development of the modern religious consciousness of the West. In all of this, he also represents tragedy, with the goodness of hisworks overmatched by their calamitous effects on religion and society.
About the Author
Richard Mariuswas a historian, novelist, playwright, and a member of the <>Harvardfaculty.
Table of Contents
'Preface
1. Luther\'s Europe
2. The Early Years
3. The Flight to the Monastery
4. Years of Silence
5. Rome and Wittenberg
6. The Lectures on the Psalms
7. The Lectures on the Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews
8. The Controversy over Indulgences
9. Preparing for Battle
10. Beyond Heidelberg
11. The Leipzig Debate
12. The Discovery of the Gospel
13. The Plunge into the Unknown
14. The Breaking Point
15. The Freedom of a Christian
16. The Progress to Worms
17. Exile in Patmos
18. Back to Wittenberg
19. Tribulation
20. The September Testament
21. The Authority of Princes
22. On the Jews
23. Worship and Ethics
24. Opposition and Divisions
25. The Peasants\' Rebellion
26. Marriage
27. The Attack on Erasmus
28. Epilogue
Notes
Index'