Dear Dr. Martin

Dear Dr. Martin:

I have recently received with interest a compilation of your Table Talks in the book Off  The Record with Martin Luther.  It is a summary of the conversations which occurred in your off moments - primarily at your dining table (thus the name), but also in other parts of your life - which others took the effort to capture.  I'm grateful to have the abridged version, as I learned that the original works constitute some six volumes.

First of all, thank you for be gracious enough for letting others capture your words.  There are many throughout history who have sought to control their image through their words and what they allowed others to say about them.  You were kind enough - or secure enough in yourself - to let the record stand as it was recorded.

In one way it is very difficult to read - 450 or more years have passed between when they were recorded and when I am reading them, and the world is (in many ways) a very different place.  My worldview is the output of things that you could have never envisioned at the time; your worldview is the product of things which I'm sure never made it into any history book.  And were we to meet today (we will meet someday, of course) we probably could not even speak:  my high German is different than your Saxon dialect, and the Latin you used as an international language is at best a broken form of communication for me.

But it is a pleasure - an extreme pleasure - to read your conversations.  It is amazing to me (so far as I can tell) about how honest you are - not just with your opinions, but with your inner thoughts as well.  You confess to anger and times of depression.  You have a great love for all children, especially children of your own.  You are bold in your opinions - perhaps sometimes too bold for my taste, but then again I was never threatened with death and had to go into hiding.  I also must confess (guiltily) that I enjoyed the story of your arguments with the town mayor for tearing down your heated tower study to build a town wall (I, too, would be grumpy as well).

I look forward to spending more time with you, and hope you will forgive the occasional questions which will inevitably arise.

Your Faithful Student,

Maighstir Toirdhealbheach Beucail