Select works of Martin Luther Author:Martin Luther Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PREFACE. M. George Horary To The Godly Reader, GREETING. I Could not, godly reader, avoid commending this work to thee, (which without doubt is of itsel... more »f acceptable,) the more especially on this account—because, it was the last of the doctrinal writings of the author Martin Luther, of pious memory; and because it was the last labour of that most learned translator and most holy man, Caspar Cruciger.—Thus, it seems as if the very title and matter of the work, " The last words of David," brought with them the signal for death, which came both upon the author and the translator immediately after the work was finished. With regard to Luther, indeed, the event followed the signal somewhat later. He died on the 18th of February 1546, the third year after this work was published. But, with respect to Cruciger, his death followed immediately upon his finishing the translation. For although he was exceedingly ill for many months, and debilitated in body from most excruciating pains in his intestines, yet, he still persevered in his version of this work, and finished the greater part of it during his illness, and revised and corrected it when finished. And this is wonderful to us in two respects: first, that his life should be spared so long, when all the powers of his body were destroyed and exhausted by the violence of the disease: (the faculties of his senses and mind excepted, which remained in all their acuteness and perfection to his latest breath:) and then, that he should have strength of body under all that weakness and excruciating pain, to go through the labour of reference and writing.—But however, as soon as he had put the finishing stroke to his translation, which he did with expressions of joy; the day after, by a peaceful departure as one falling asleep, he was ...« less