Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

Name: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
Author: Martin Luther

by Martin Luther

Pages: about 312
Category: Literature & Fiction
Language: English
Reading time: 5.7 h at 250 wpm

Start readingThe whole book, as cards or one word at a time. 3.2 h at 450 wpm in Read mode.

From the opening

The preparation of this edition of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians was first suggested to me by Mr. P. J. Zondervan, of the firm of publishers, in March, 1937. The consultation had the twofold merit of definiteness and brevity.
“Luther is still the greatest name in Protestantism. We want you to help us publish some leading work of Luther’s for the general American market. Will you do it?”
“The condition is that I will be permitted to make Luther talk American, ‘streamline’ him, so to speak--because you will never get people, whether in or outside the Lutheran Church, actually to read Luther unless we make him talk as he would talk today to Americans.”
I illustrated the point by reading to Mr. Zondervan a few sentences from an English translation lately reprinted by an American publisher, of one of Luther’s outstanding reformatory essays.
The demonstration seemed to prove convincing for it was agreed that one may as well offer Luther in the original German or Latin as expect the American church-member to read any translations that would adhere to Luther’s German or Latin constructions and employ the Mid-Victorian type of English characteristic of the translations now on the market.
“There is one book that Luther himself likes better than any other. Let us begin with that: his Commentary on Galatians...”
The undertaking, which seemed so attractive when viewed as a literary task, proved a most difficult one, and at times became oppressive. The Letter to the Galatians consists of six short chapters. Luther’s commentary fills seven hundred and thirty-three octavo pages in the Weidman Edition of his works. It was written in Latin. We were resolved not to present this entire mass of exegesis. It would have run to more than fifteen hundred pages, ordinary octavo (like this), since it is impossible to use the compressed structure of sentences which is characteristic of Latin, and particularly of Luther’s Latin. The work had to be condensed.

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Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

From the opening

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