Did Martin Luther allow divorce?

[TertiumQuid]

“Chastity or continence was physically impossible…The womenfolk are ashamed to confess it, yet it is proved by Scripture and experience that there is not one among thousands to whom God gives grave to keep entirely chaste. A woman has no power over herself…The gratification of sexual desire was nature’s work, God’s work…And, as necessary aye, much more so, than eating, drinking, digesting, sweating, sleeping”. - Martin Luther (De Wette II, 535)

Hi AugustTherese. I hope it’s not too late to ask you a question about this quote you posted. Here is a link to De Wette II, 535. Would you please let me know where the first line of your quote is… “Chastity or continence was physically impossible” ? I can’t seem to locate the German equivalent of those words on the page.

Thanks.

 

[steido01]

Thanks for your work.

While the TT certainly corroborate Luther’s release, they’re not what convinces me of it. To me, all the circumstantial evidence would prove it in a court nowadays, even absent first-hand ‘DNA evidence.’ From the legal means the Church had to employ in the Empire to pursue Luther, to Leo X’s letters to Staupitz, to Staupitz’s early resignation from his post as Vicar-General of the Augustinians and subsequent disappearance into obscurity, to his David-and-Jonathan letters with Luther near his death (a goldmine !), the banning of his own writings by the Pope despite his public quasi-disassociation with Luther – it’s all pretty obvious.

 

[TertiumQuid]

While the TT certainly corroborate Luther’s release, they’re not what convinces me of it. To me, all the circumstantial evidence would prove it in a court nowadays, even absent first-hand ‘DNA evidence.’

Perhaps. If you check my recent write up on this (you know where to find it!), take a look at how Hartmann Grisar and Franz Posset both explain Luther being released from his vows. Posset makes the better argument.

Regardless, it was an interesting argument you put forth, and I enjoyed following the crumb trail and seeing where it would end up.