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ai6 V. THE REFORMATION (A.D. 1520-1592).
Luther s life among the divines of his party. Olaus
looked upon theology as a simple thing, and he had little
sympathy with learned debates about it. It was to be
11
God s Word purely preached
"
;
and although
"
God s
Word "
was not simply an equivalent for Holy Scripture,
his teaching was intended to be entirely based on Scrip
ture. When there was a difficulty it was to be overcome
by comparing Scripture with Scripture. His business
was to teach simple truth to simple people, and he did it
in language such as we should nowadays largely address
to children. His teaching was also very serious and
solemn, and tinged with a strong sense of sin and of
duty. Olaus had little of the geniality and enjoyment of
life which made Luther so popular with his countrymen.
In his later years he became disappointed and melancholy.
He was disappointed with the king, who did not share his
ideals, and rudely and ungratefully cast him aside and
trampled on him, and disappointed with the men around
him. He had indeed married before Luther did in the
year 1525, a lady of good birth, called Kristina, five years
older than himself, and, as I said, mass was for the first
time said in Swedish on that occasion.30
But very little is known of her, and the event seems to
have made little outward difference to his life, certainly
nothing like that which Luther s marriage made to him.
To Olaus marriage was a duty, as he describes it in a little
book on the subject, and duty wore a somewhat stern
aspect to Olaus all his life. There is no reason, however,
to suspect that Olaus marriage was an unhappy one, and
30
So we read in Messenius Rhyme-chronicle :
"
On Master Olof s wedding day
Our Lutherdom had made such way
That mass in Swedish first was sung,
So all men followed their own tongue.
For so had Master Olof seen
How things at Wittenberg had been ;
There first at Carlstadt s marriage feast
Was German mass sung by a priest."
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