Page 9 - 07 Luther's Separation from Rome

deep conviction of his condition as a sinner

took hold upon him as never before.

An earnest desire to be free from sin and to

find peace with God led him at last to enter a

cloister and devote himself to a monastic life.

Here he was required to perform the lowest

drudgery and to beg from house to house. He

was at an age when respect and appreciation

are most eagerly craved, and these menial

offices were deeply mortifying to his natural

feelings; but he patiently endured this

humiliation, believing that it was necessary

because of his sins.

Every moment that could be spared from his

daily duties he employed in study, robbing

himself of sleep and grudging even the time

spent at his scanty meals. Above everything

else he delighted in the study of God's word.

He had found a Bible chained to the convent