Martin Luther — "The very devil himself would thank you for such an event, and no one but the mis…"
The very devil himself would thank you for such an event, and no one but the miserable devil and his devilish scum.
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"Nor let ministers cease studying until they have discovered and are sure that they have taught the devil to death and have become more learned than God himself and all His saints."
"But since they have deliberately and sacrilegiously abandoned their obedience, and in addition have dared to oppose their lords, they have thereby forfeited body and soul, as perfidious, perjured, lyi…"
"He who does not love wine, women, and song remains a fool his whole life long."
"Sixthly, they ought to be deprived of the opportunity to practice usury, and all their cash and treasure of silver and gold should be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping."
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About Martin Luther (1483-1546)
German theologian whose 95 Theses (1517) launched the Protestant Reformation and broke the Catholic Church's monopoly on Western Christianity. Closely associated with Philipp Melanchthon (Lutheran systematizer) and John Calvin (later Reformer who built on Luther's break). For an intellectual contrast, see Pope Leo X, Renaissance pope (1513-1521) — Leo X's indulgence sales triggered Luther's break and Leo excommunicated him in 1521 — Luther's entire Reformation is structured as a direct answer to the indulgence-funded Vatican Leo represented.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This is a harsh condemnation, declaring that only the devil and his wicked followers would welcome or celebrate a particular event. The speaker rejects the outcome completely, framing anyone who approves of it as morally corrupt and aligned with evil. It uses blistering religious invective to shame opponents, equating their satisfaction with demonic approval rather than engaging their arguments on their merits.
Relevance to Martin Luther
Luther was famous for savage rhetoric against perceived enemies, pouring scorn on the papacy, Jewish communities, peasants, and rival reformers with exactly this devil-and-scum vocabulary. A former Augustinian monk turned reformer, he viewed spiritual conflict as literal warfare with Satan. His pamphlets routinely branded opponents as agents of hell, reflecting both his volcanic temperament and his conviction that the Reformation was an apocalyptic battle over souls.
The era
In early modern Europe, the Reformation shattered Western Christendom after 1517, triggering fierce pamphlet wars, peasant uprisings, and wars of religion. Belief in a personal, active devil was universal, and accusing enemies of satanic inspiration was standard polemic. Printing presses spread inflammatory tracts across Germany, and theological disputes carried real political and mortal stakes, so branding opponents as devilish scum was serious rhetorical combat, not mere insult.
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