Martin Luther's observations about his pet dog, Tölpel.
When Luther’s puppy, Tölpel happened to be at the table, looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes, Martin Luther said, “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope.”
At another time, “The dog is a very faithful animal and is held in high esteem if he isn’t too ordinary. Our Lord God has made the best gifts most common. The pre-eminent gift given to all living things is the eye. Small birds have very bright eyes, like little stars, and can see a fly a roomlength away. But we don’t acknowledge such everyday gifts. We are stupid clods. In the future life we’ll see them, however; there we ourselves will make birds with pretty, shining eyes.”
