This practice, which even to the modern Protestant seems insipid and played out after three centuries and a half of wear, had at that time the to us inconceivable charm of novelty; and the perusal of the literature and controversies of the time shows that men used it with all the delight of a child with a new toy, and seemed never tired of the game of searching out texts to justify their position.

The diffusion of the whole Bible in the vernacular, itself a consequence of the rebellion against priestly tradition and the authority of the Fathers, intensified the revolt by making the pastime possible to all ranks of society.
FOOTNOTES: [9] See Appendix C.
[10] We use the word "due" here for the German word _Guelt_.

The corresponding English of the time does not make any distinction between _Guelt_ or interest, and _Wucher_ or usury.
[11] _An der Christlichen Adel deutscher Nation._.