er was a man of strong and active mind and great force of
character, honest, resolute, and straight-forward. He was true to his
convictions of duty, let the consequences be what they might. His sterling
good sense led him to regard the monastic system with distrust. He was
highly displeased when Luther, without his consent, entered a monastery;
and it was two years before the father was reconciled to his son, and even
then his opinions remained the same.

Luther's parents bestowed great care upon the education and training of
their children. They endeavored to instruct them in the knowledge of God
and the practice of Christian virtues. The father's prayer often ascended
in the hearing of his son, that the child might remember the name of the
Lord, and one day aid in the advancement of His truth. Every advantage for
moral or intellectual culture which their life of toil permitted them to
enjoy, was eagerly improved by these parents. Their efforts were earnest
and persevering to prepare their children for a life of piety and
usefulness. With their firmness and strength of character they sometimes
exercised too great severity; but the Reformer himself, though conscious
that in some respects they had erred, found in their discipline more to
approve than to condemn.

At school, where he was sent at an early age, Luther was treated with
harshness and even violence. So great was the poverty of his parents, that
upon going from home to school in another town he was for a time obliged
to obtain his food by singing from door to door, and he often suffered
from hunger. The gloomy, superstitious ideas of religion then prevailing
filled him with fear. He would lie down at night with a sorrowful heart,
looking forward with trembling to the dark future, and in constant terror
at the thought of God as a stern, unrelenting judge, a cruel tyrant,
rather than a kind heavenly Father.

Yet under so many and so great discouragements, Luther pressed resolutely
forward toward the high standard of moral and intellectual excellence
which attracted his soul. He thirsted for knowledge, and the earnest and
practical character of his mind led him to desire the solid and useful
rather than the showy and superficial.

When, at the age of eighteen, he entered the University of Erfurt, his
situation was more favorable and his prospects were brighter than in his
earlier years. His parents having by thrift and industry acquired a
competence, they were