to be heard himself.  “I knew full well,” he says, “that in the Latin and Greek texts of Rom. 3, 28 the word solum (alone) does not occur, and there was no need of the papists teaching me that.  True, these four letters sola, at which the dunces stare as a cow at a new barn-door, are not in the text.  But they do not see that they express the meaning of the text, and they must be inserted if we wish to clearly and forcibly translate the text.  When I undertook to translate the Bible into German, my aim was to speak German, not Latin or Greek.  Now, it is a peculiarity of our German language, whenever a statement is made regarding two things, one of which is affirmed while the other is negatived, to add the word solum, ‘alone,’ to the word ‘not’ or ‘none.’  As, for instance:  The peasant brings only grain, and no money.  Again:  Indeed, I have no money now, but only grain.  As yet I have only eaten, and not drunk.  Have you only written, and not read what you have written?  Innumerable instances of this kind are in daily usage.  While the Latin or the Greek language does not do this, the German has this peculiarity, that in all statements of this kind it adds the word ‘only’ (or ’alone’), in order to express the negation completely and clearly.  For, though I may say:  The peasant brings grain and no money, still the expression ‘no money’ is not as perfect and plain as when I say:  The peasant brings grain only, and no money.  Thus the word ‘alone’ or ‘only’ helps the word ‘no’ to become a complete, clear German statement.  When you wish to speak German, you must not consult the letters in the Latin language, as these dunces are doing, but you must inquire of a mother how she talks to her children, of the children how they talk to each other on the street, of the common people on the market-place.  Watch them how they frame their speech, and make your translation accordingly, and they will understand it and know that some one is speaking German to them.  For instance, Christ says:  Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur. If I were to follow the dunces, I would have to spell out those words and translate:  ‘Aus dem Ueberfluss des Herzens redet der Mund!’ Tell me, would that be German?  What German would understand that?  What sort of thing is ‘abundance of heart (Ueberfluss des Herzens)’ ?  No German person could explain that, unless he were to say that, possibly, the person had enlargement of the heart, or too much heart.  And that would not be the correct meaning.  ‘Ueberfluss des Herzens’ is not German, as little as it is German to say ’Ueberfluss des Hauses (abundance of house), Ueberfluss des Kachelofens (abundance of tile-oven), Ueberfluss der Bank (abundance of bench).’  This is the way the mother speaks to her children and the common people to one another:  ’Wes das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund ueber.’  That is the way to speak good German.  That is what I have endeavored to do, but I did not succeed nor achieve my aim in all instances.  Latin terms are an exceedingly great hindrance to one who wishes to talk good German.” (19, 974.)