Renaissance Humanism in Support of the Gospel in Luther's Early Correspondence

Taking All Things Captive

Timothy P. Dost

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351904421
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire du monde

Drawing on the early correspondence of Martin Luther, Timothy Dost presents a reassessment of the degree to which humanism influenced the thinking of this key reformation figure. Studying letters written by Luther between 1507 and 1522, he explores the various ways Luther used humanism and humanist techniques in his writings and the effect of these influences on his developing religious beliefs. The letters used in this study, many of which have never before been translated into English, focus on Luther's thoughts, attitudes and application of humanism, uncovering the extent to which he used humanist devices to develop his understanding of the gospel. Although there have been other studies of Luther and humanism, few have been grounded in such a close philological examination of Luther's writings. Combining a sound knowledge of recent historiography with a detailed familiarity with Luther's correspondence, Dost provides a sophisticated contribution to the field of reformation studies.

Chapter 1
Structure and Context: The Problem of Luther, the Correspondence, Humanism and the Gospel

There was a time when the words Luther and humanism could hardly be mentioned as complementary concepts. As recently as 1950, in his excellent biography Here I Stand, Roland Bainton made no mention of humanism's influence on the reformer in his formative years. The closest Bainton came to such a conclusion was the following comment concerning Erfurt University at the time Luther studied there:

The University of Erfurt brought no change. The institution at that time had not yet been invaded by Renaissance influences. The classics in the curriculum, such as Vergil, had always been favorites in the Middle Ages. Aristotelian physics was regarded as an exercise in thinking God's thoughts after him, and the natural explanations of earthquakes and thunderstorms did not preclude occasional direct divine causation. The studies all impinged on theology, and the Master's degree for which Luther was preparing for the law could have equipped him equally for the cloth. The entire training of home, school, and university was designed to instill fear of God and reverence for the Church.¹

That Sainton's biography ignored humanism's early influence on Luther left the distinct impression that the reformer's encounters with the movement could best be organized around the opposite poles of his later antipathy for Erasmus and sympathy for Melanchthon. According to Bainton, while Luther's opposition to humanism was slight at this early juncture, there remained little or no influence by this particular intellectual current on his education. As recently as 1995, Bernard Reardon wrote,

perhaps the chief obstacle to a sympathetic understanding of Luther from our standpoint in time is the sheer medievalism of his outlook; for of all the reformers he is apt to strike us today as the most medieval, the most unmodern, so little touched was he, in any essential respect, by the spirit of contemporary humanism ...

Erfurt at that time was the main centre of humanistic culture in Germany, but there is no evidence that he was in any way deeply influenced by it. He seems to have shown little intellectual curiosity and no aptitude for philosophy.²

Martin Brecht provided a contrasting view. In 1981 he completed the first book of his three-volume biography of Luther. Brecht broke with recent precedent, providing a rather extensive treatment of Luther and humanism, including the following excerpt regarding Erfurt:

In general, however, the intellectual climate in Erfurt was favorable for the seed sown by the humanists. The humanists who were teaching or studying here felt at home in the city, and got along well with the students. The movement quietly extended its base more and more, while at times the traditional instruction stagnated in the last two decades of the fifteenth century. We must make it clear that, in addition to the required courses, there was an extensive offering of voluntary lectures - sixteen courses as early as 1469 - dealing almost exclusively with classical authors such as Cicero, Vergil, Ovid, Terence, Valerius Maximus and Sallust. These courses became chiefly the domain of the humanists.³

Recent formulations of the character and work of humanism had their inception in the research of Paul Kristeller who defined humanism more as a desire to restore the benefits of classical antiquity through the discovery of ancient source materials and research into their content and application of their teachings to the society of the day, than an interest in the individual. One result of this fresh interpretation was a trend toward re-examination of Reformation figures and their place vis-à-vis Renaissance humanism. Unraveling the complex situation of northern humanism by Huizinga, Hyma, Spitz, and others, furthered the application of this new approach. Yet, until Helmar Junghans published Der Junge Luther und Die Humanisten, it was rare to see the modern definition of Renaissance humanism applied to Luther's writings.⁴ Birgit Stolt, who paid special attention to the Freiheitstrakt and the Tischreden, had published philological studies of Luther and rhetoric.⁵ An educational survey was carried out by Maria Grossman in her thesis and subsequent book published in 1975, Humanism in Wittenberg, 1485-1517.⁶ Brecht's biography also provided an excellent overview of Luther's relationship with the movement.⁷

Although subsequent studies failed to match Junghans' work in either breadth or scope, the minimum most treatments of Luther's life or thought have done since 1984 was to mention humanism's influence. Junghans' work blazed the trail by providing an operating framework for those who later followed, setting the stage for future studies by highlighting Luther's rhetorical practice in his Dictata super Psalterium.⁸ He laid the groundwork for the current book by examining the nature of the letters, certain of their links to humanism, and their ties to the ars dictaminis medieval style manuals for letter writing, research narrowly tailored to a perusal of certain trends in the letters. The current study revisits these issues, both expanding and narrowing the scope of Junghans' inquiry.⁹

Twin purposes drive the present study. First it establishes by reference to his letters the various ways Luther used humanism and humanist techniques in his writing, addressing the question of his subsequent employment of these strategies, and their contribution to the pursuit of answers to his deepest religious needs. While the reformer found the resolution of these issues through reliance on the message of the gospel, evidence from the correspondence indicates that he extensively used the practices of both Renaissance and northern humanism as he pursued these answers. Luther's letters provide abundant examples that he not only understood the humanists' strategies, but readily applied them to his writing.

Some of the more prominent examples of his early use of humanism follow: Luther praised rhetoricians - particularly Quintilian, and promoted their writings for a revised curriculum at Wittenberg University. His goals were twofold - first, training pastors in the area of preaching, and second, educational preparation of the young to take their place in society. Luther associated with and vindicated humanist issues early on. In one instance, through letters to the Saxon court, he defended the humanist Reuchlin, asserting his right to academic integrity. Much of his correspondence reflected classical rhetorical style as elaborated by Quintilian. Philological and historical methods from the humanists helped Luther to evaluate the sources he employed in his own studies as well as examine strengths and weaknesses inherent in others' texts. Early on, he made full use of the resources provided by humanist studies, and applied them to various problems.

Second, this study traces the unfolding character of Luther's humanist practice in the correspondence. From the outset, Luther used a broad spectrum of rhetorical literary practices, but the applications and limitations he placed on certain humanist characteristics developed over time. Prior to 1517, Luther was interested in imaginative phrasing and formalized style. As he defended himself against his detractors, he had less time and patience for such niceties, a trend especially evident following his realization that a fair and impartial hearing was unlikely in the wake of the 1519 Leipzig Debate, In the ensuing quarrel with Eck, Luther's tone became more caustic, serious and businesslike. Rhetorical and stylistic conceits diminished. Instead, the reformer focused attention on those elements of humanism supporting the interpretation of scripture and enhancing the teaching of the gospel. Prepared to use all things that fostered his understanding of Christ, he had little patience for those priorities that primarily glorified humanity.

From his earliest letters, Luther was interested in the scriptures, but a new-found dependence on the recovered understanding of the gospel gradually displaced the humanism of his early training as a central intellectual priority. As in so many other areas, Luther did not discard what he considered good and true as he pursued reform. Exhibiting many humanist proclivities, he transmuted them into handmaids to the scriptures and to the burgeoning gospel, which soon assumed center stage in his work.

Focusing on Luther's early use of humanism and its transformation into a servant of his gospel message, this study involves a chronological examination of the letters. This in turn bears upon the much debated issue of when, and how, Luther first recovered, and soon thereafter appropriated, his Reformation understanding of the gospel into his life.

The needs of an English-speaking readership have guided the ap...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Structure and Context: The Problem of Luther, the Correspondence, Humanism and the Gospel
• 2 A Many-Splendored Cause: Crucial Issues in Humanism
• 3 Gaining the Credentials: Humanism and Luther's Progress from Student to Theologian
• 4 Fanning the Flames: Humanism and Luther's Response to the Firestorm over the Theses
• 5 Luther and Eck: Distrust and the Leipzig Debate
• 6 Anticipations of Persecution and a Necessary Otium: Luther from Leipzig through Worms to the Wartburg
• 7 General Conclusions: Taking All Things Captive
• Bibliography
• Index