Suddenly, to the surprise of his friends, and the no small vexation of
his father the young Luther, who had not been particularly remarkable
for his religious fervour, abandoned his career at the university and
entered the novitiate of the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt (July
1505). The motives which induced him to take this unexpected step are
not clear. Some say he was led to do so by the sudden death of a
student friend, others that it was in fulfilment of a vow which he had
made during a frightful thunderstorm that overtook him on a journey
from his father's house to Erfurt, while he himself tells us that he
became a monk because he had lost confidence in himself.[1] Of his
life as a student very little is known for certain. Probably he was no
worse and no better than his companions in a university city, which
was described by himself in later life as a "beerhouse" and a "nest of
immorality."[2]

The sudden change from the freedom and excitement of the university to
the silence and monotony of the cloister had a depressing influence on
a man like Luther, who, being of a nervous, highly-strung temperament,
was inclined to pass quickly from one extreme to another. He began to
be gloomy and scrupulous, and was driven at times almost to despair of
his salvation; but Staupitz, the superior of the province, endeavoured
to console him by impressing on him the necessity of putting his trust
entirely in the merits of Christ. Yet in spite of his scruples
Luther's life as a novice was a happy one. He was assiduous in the
performance of his duties, attentive to the instruction of his
superiors, and especially anxious to acquire a close acquaintance with
the Sacred Scriptures, the reading and study of which were strongly
recommended to all novices in the Augustinian order at this period.[3]
In 1506 he was allowed to make his vows, and in the following year he