The Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1883. MARTIN LUTHER.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 290, 12 November 1883, Page 2

Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1883. MARTIN LUTHER.

The four hundredth, anniversary of the greaV- Reformer^ Ma ; rtin : Luther/was celebrated on Saturday m probably 'almost every part of the civilized world, and the proceedings at each would no doubt all be of a specially interesting and appropriate character. Of course, there iwould be many who would not be m sympathy with the. .demonstration, but,! even Jiheso will admit that Martin Luther had , the courage of his convictions, and tl the. solitary monk, who shook the world" was one of the bravest, most determined, and heroic men the world ever produced.-! l^hia even his detractors will have to concede. His reply, when warned of his danger, and wheti assured that aff the world : was against him, "Then I am against the world," has immortalized him as a man of undaunted coiiragV when 1 defending and upholding his religious, views and I doctrinal principles. Neither will it be forgotten that when he was warned againßt proceeding to the Diet of Worms, his characteristic reply was that he would, i..vgo through, there " though there might be as many devils m Worms us there were ! tiles upon the roofo of the housea.' ' { A similar iudifference to personal i danger was apparent throughout His career. Luther will always be recognised as the leading spirit of the .Reformation ; nor, as, a Southern con. temporary points out, must it be forgotten that Luther remained to his dying day very much of a -Roman Catholic. Upon some subjects his views were m accord- with those held by the Christiana we now call Protest ant; m many other* they assimilated to those of the church m which he was brought up. There are iv tho Church <

of Rome at the present moment priests whose religion. is more evangelical than was Luther'S'; and m the ehurcjfies of some so-called Protestantdenominations^ ministers whose views are altogether inconsistent with the positions they hold. The memory of "The Reformer" is held m •reverence'" as : 'that'; ,of the pioneer of a great and glorious vrork, the beneficial effects of which have influenced the world for good ever since, and are likely to do so m the future. Nor can it he denied that Luther's influence has been serviceable to the Catholic body. But it ia pleasing to remember that the days of persecution are numbered with tho past — and that now the utmost liberty m, : religibu3 matters prevails, almost universally — at least among Eng-lish-speaking races. We do not believe that even our Catholic friends will deny the propriety of celebrating the anniversai'y of the birth of a man who set an- .example of self-sacrificing and self-forgetting" ieal" m the cause of the work which he initiated and pro*moted with such unexampled fervor and devotion, and unpavalelled com age and determination. Auother, century may effect a wdnde v rful change m people's opinious, and may cause 1 many great men to be forgotten j but it is. scarcely likely that the 10th of November, 1983, will be-allowed to pass without many thousands of people joiniD« m the celebration of the memory and woi ks of the immortal Reformer, Martin Luther.-