Wednesday, March 25:
R. is still not well, but he rises early and works. I spent the morning and afternoon in the new house with the little ones, much work there. When R. comes, there is much vexation because the convalescent is supposed to walk a lot because of his abdominal troubles, but he cannot! ...
In the evening he reads me passages from Freytag’s third volume (Pictures of German Life) about Luther - fine understanding of Luther’s marriage, glorious characteristics of this very great man; God preserving silence toward the Jews - the birds who do not recognize the good man, as we do not recognize God; Emperor Charles V, who does not speak as much in a year as Luther in a single day, lucky man! A papist who is worth ten noblemen, splendid! I myself am also very much affected by a passage in Freytag, in which he talks about surrendering one duty in order to assume a higher one, and the painful fracture this causes in one’s character!