of the Lutherans should have become corrupted, and that a multitude of
persons living in open transgressions should every where lift up their heads.
7. The prosperous and adverse events in the progress of the Lutheran
church, since the full establishment of its liberties and independence, may
be stated in a few words. Its growth and increase have been already sta
ted ; nor could it easily, after what is called the religious peace, go on to
enlarge its borders. Towards the close of the century, Gelhard, count of
Truchsess and archbishop of Cologne, was disposed to unite with this [or
rather with the Reformed] church ; and he married, and attempted the re
ligious reformation of his territories. But he failed in his great design,
which was repugnant to the famous Ecclesiastical Reservation among the
articles of the religious peace ; and he was obliged to resign his electoral
dignity and his archbishopric. (4.) Neither on the other hand, could its
(3) [" Such, for example, are the nativity, Unschuldige Nachrichten, A.D. 1748, p.
dealh, resurrection, and ascension of the Son 484. [Gcbhard was of Truchsess in Wald
of God ; the descent of the Holy Spirit upon bung. After his change of faith he married,
the apostles, on the day of Pentecost " &c. privately at first, Agnes countess of Mans-
Mad.] field ; and he allowed the Protestants the
(4) See Jo. Dav. Kohlcr s Diss. de Geb- free use of their religion, yet with the pr^
liardo Truchsessio ; and the authors he cites, viso that the rights of the archiepiscopal sec
Add Jo. Peter a Ludeing^s Reliquiae Man- should remain inviolate. But the chaptet
uscriptor. Dmnis aevi, * m. v., p. 383, &r. at the head of which was Frederic of Sach-
132 BOOK IV. CENT. XVI. SEC. III. PART II.- CHAP 1
enemies greatly disturb the peace and prosperity of the church. Yet it
was apparent from various indications, that a new war upon them was se
cretly plotted ; and that the principal object aimed at. was to annul the
peace of Passau confirmed at Augsburg, and to cause the Protestants to be
declared public enemies. Among others, Francis Burckhard sufficiently
manifested such a disposition, in his celebrated work de Autonomia, writ
ten in 1586 ; and also John Pislorius, in his Reasons by which Jame*
marquis of Baden professed to be influenced in abandoning the Lutheran
party. (5) These writers and others of the like character, commonly assail
the religious peace as being an iniquitous and unjust thing, because extort
ed by force and arms, and made without the knowledge and against the
pleasure of the Roman pontiff, and therefore null and void ; they also at
tempt to demonstrate, from the falsification or change of the Augsburg
confession, of which they say Melancthon was the father, that the Protest
ants have forfeited the rights conferred on them by that peace. The lat
ter of these charges gave occasion in this century and the following, to
many books and discussions, by which our theologians placed it beyond all
doubt, that this Confession had been kept inviolate and entire, and that the
Lutherans had not swerved from it in the least. (6) But none felt more
severely the implacable hatred of the papists against the new religion, (as
they call that of the Lutherans), than those followers of this religion, who
lived in countries subject to princes adhering to the Romish religion ; and
especially the Lutherans in the Austrian dominions, who, at the close of
this century, lost the greatest part of their religious liberties. (7)
senlauenburg, refused obedience to him in
the year 1583 ; and they were supported in
their disobedience by the Spaniards. On
the other hand, Gebhard obtained the prom
ise of assistance from the Protestants assem
bled at Heiibron and Worms ; yet only the
palsgrave John Casimir, fulfilled the prom
ise. For Gebhard was of the Reformed re
ligion, and the contention between the Re
formed and the Lutherans was then carried
to a great height : otherwise, probably this
business would have had a very different
termination. The chapter applied to pope
Gregory XIII., and having obtained the de
position of their archbishop, made choice of
prince Ernest of Bavaria, who was already
bishop of Freysingen, Hildeshiem,
Liege. The archbishop indeed sought to
support himself. But Augustus elector of
Saxony, hated the Reformed too bitterly,
(5) See Christ. Aug. Salig s Geschichte
der Augsburgischen Confession, vol. i., book
iv.,c. iii., p. 767.
(6) Here Salig especially may be consult
ed, Gesch. der Augsb. Confess., vol. i. It
must be admitted, that Melancthon did alter
the Augsburg confession in some places. It
is also certain, that in the year 1555 he in
troduced into the Saxon churches, in which
his influence at the time was very great, &
form of the confession very different from its
original form. But the Lutheran church [in
general] never approved this rashness or im
prudence of Melancthon ; nor was his altered
confession ever admitted to a place among
the symbolical books. [Melancthon doubt-
and less looked upon the confession as his own
production, which he had a right to correct
and improve ; and he altered in particular
the tenth article, which treats of the Lord s
and needed the aid of the imperial court in supper, from a love of peace, and an honest
the affair of the Henneberg inheritance too
much, to be disposed to aid the archbishop ;
and John Casimir, who was threatened with
the ban of the empire, dared not lead out all
tils forces, for fear of being abandoned by the
other Protestant princes and becoming a prey
to the Spanish and Bavarian army. Gebhard
was therefore compelled, as he would not
accept the terms proposed in the congress
at Frankfort, to retire from the territory of
.he archbishopric ; and he died in Holland,
A.D. 1601. Schl.1
desire to bring the Protestants into a closer
union with each other, so that they might op
pose their common enemies with their un led
strength. But his good designs were fol
lowed by bad consequences. Scfd. ]
(7). See Bernhard Raupach s Evangelical
Austria, written in German, [Evangelis-
ches Oesterreich], vol. i., p. 152, &c., vol.
ii., p. 287, &c. [This was attributable es
pecially to the influence of the Jesuits, whx*
found ready access to the Austrian and Ba
varian courts. At Vienna, Peter Canisiui
HISTORY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. 133
^ 8. While the adherents of the Roman pontiff were thua plotting the
destruction of the Lutherans by force and stratagems, they omitted nothing
which might contribute in any way to strengthen and establish their own
church. Their recent calamities were fresh in their recollection, which
led them to the greater solicitude to prevent their recurrence : and to con.
fess the truth, there was at that day more zeal for religion among men of
distinction and high rank, than at the present day. Hence the confedera-
cy for the defence of religion, which had been formed among the German
princes, and of which the elector of Saxony was the head, was peculiarly
strong and efficient ; and foreigners, especially the kings of Sweden and
Denmark, were invited to afford it their support. And as all were sensi
ble that the church could not exist and prosper, unless its teachers were
educated men, nor unless literature and science every where flourished ;
hence nearly all the princes set themselves to opposing the strongest bar.
riers against ignorance the mother of superstition. Their zeal in this
matter, is evinced by the new universities founded at Jena, Helmstadt, and
Altorf, and among the Reformed at Franeker, Leyden, and other places ;
also by the old universities reformed, and adapted to the state and necessi
ties of a purer church ; by the numerous inferior schools opened in nearly
all the cities ; and by the high salaries for those times, given to literary and
scientific men, as well as the high honours and privileges conferred upon
them. The expense of these salutary measures was defrayed, for the most
part, out of the property which the piety of preceding ages had devoted to
churches, to convents of monks and canons, and to other pious uses.
9. Hence almost every branch of human science and knowledge, was
cultivated and improved. Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, all who aspired to
the sacred office were required to study : and in these languages, it is well
known, great men appeared among the Lutherans. History was greatly
advanced by Melanctlwn, John Carlo, David Chytr&us, Reinerus Reinecci-
us, and others. Of ecclesiastical history in particular, Matthias Flacius
may properly be called the father ; for he and his associates, by composing
that immorta*. work the Magdeburg Centuries, threw immense light on the
history of the Christians ; which before was involved in darkness, and mix
ed up with innumerable fables. With him is to be joined Martin Chemnitz,
to whose Examination of the Council of Trent, the history of religious opin
ions is more indebted than many at this day are aware. The history of
literature and philosophy, the art of criticism, antiquities, and other kindred
studies, were indeed less attended to ; yet beginnings were made in them,
which excited those who came after to prosecute successfully these pleas
ing pursuits. Eloquence, especially in Latin, both prose and poetic, was
pursued by great numbers, and by those worthy of comparison with the
best Latin writers ; which is proof that genius for the fine arts and litera
ture was not wanting in this age, but that it was the circumstances and
troubles of the times, which prevented genius from attaining the highest ex-
cellence in every species of learning. Philip Melancthon, the common
teacher of the whole Lutheran church, by his instructions, his example, and
rendered himself very conspicuous ; and, on ty, called him the second Apostle of the Ger-
account of his great pains to hunt up here- mans. See Versuch einer neuen Geschichta
tics and drive them to the fold of the church, des Jesuiterordens, vol. i., p. 372, 407, 468,
the Austrian Protestants called him the Aus- and vol. ii. in various places. Schl,~\
trian hound ; but those of his o\ n communi-
134 BOOK IV. CENT. XVI. SEC. III. PART II. CHAP. I.
his influence, enkindled the ardour of all those who acquired fame in the
pursuit of literature and the fine arts ; nor did scarcely an individual of
those who prosecuted either divine or human knowledge, venture to depart
from the method of this great man. Next to him, Joachim Camerarius, a
doctor of Leipsic, took great pains to perfect and to bring into repute all
branches of learning, and especially the fine arts.
10. Philosophy met with various fortune among the Lutherans. At
first, both Luther and Melancthon seemed to discard all philosophy. (8)
And if this was a fault in them, it is chargeable to the account of the doc-
tors of the schools, who had abused their barbarous method of philosophi
zing as well as the precepts of Aristotle, to pervert and obscure exceedingly
both human and divine knowledge. Soon however, these reformers found,
that philosophy was indispensably necessary to restrain the licentiousness
of the imagination, and to defend the territories of religion. Hence, Me
lancthon explained nearly all the branches of philosophy in concise treati
ses written in a neat and perspicuous style ; and these treatises were for
many years read and expounded in the schools and universities. Melanc
thon may not improperly be called an eclectic philosopher. For while in
many things he followed Aristotle, or did not utterly despise the old philos
ophy of the schools, he at the same time drew much from his own genius,
and likewise borrowed some things from the doctrines of the Platonics and
Stoics.
11. But this simple mode of philosophizing, devised by Melancthon, did
not long bear exclusive sway. For some acute and subtle men, perceiving
that Melancthon assigned the first rank among philosophers to Aristotle,
thought it best to go directly to the fountain, and to expound the Stagyrite
himself to the students in philosophy. Others perceiving that the Jesuits
and other advocates for the Roman pontiffs, made use of the barbarous
terms and the subtilties of the old scholastics in order to confound the Prot
estants, thought it would be advantageous to the church, for her young men
also to be initiated in the mysteries of the Aristotelico-scholastic philosophy.
Hence near the close of the century, there had arisen three philosophical
sects, the Melancthonian, the Aristotelian, and the Scholastic. The first
gradually decayed ; the other two insensibly became united, and at length
got possession of all the professorial chairs. But the followers of Peter
jRamus sharply attacked them in several countries, and not always without
success ; and at last, after various contests, they were obliged to retire
fiom the schools. (9)
(8; See Christ. August. Heumann s Acts at Paris, and wished to combine eloquence
of the philosophers ; written in German ; with philosophy. But as it would not coa-
art. ii., part x., p. 579, &c. Jo. Hcrm. ab lesce with the scholastic philosophy, he de-
Elswich, Dissert, de varia Aristotelis fortuna vised a new species of philosophy, one which
in scholis Protestantium ; which he has pre- might be used in common life, at courts, and
fixed to Jo. Launoi, de fortuna Aristotelis in worldly business. He separated from phi-
In Acad. Parisiensi ; viii., p. 15; xiii., losophy all the idle speculations which are
p. 36, &c. useless in common life, and rejected all mct-
(9) Jo. Herm. ab Elswich, de fatis Aris- aphysics. This innovation produced erreat
lotelis in scholis Protestantium, 21, p. 54, disturbance at Paris. The Aristotelians op-
&c. Jo. Geo. Walch s Historia Logices, posed it most violently. And the kins: <;p-
lib. ii., cap. i., sec. iii., 5, in his Parerga pointed a commission to investigate the con-
Academica, p. 613, 617, &c. Olto Fred, troversy ; from which ArisMlc obi;n (i u^
Schutzius, de Vita Chytrsei, lib. iv., 4, p. victory. From France this philosophy M r. ad
\9, &c. [Ramus was professor of eloquence into Switzerland and Germany. At U tu :va,
HISTORY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH.
135
12. The same fate was afterwards experienced by the Fire Phfloso*
pliers (Philosophi ex igne), or the Paracelsists and the other men of like
character, who wished to abolish altogether the peripatetic philosophy, and
to introduce their own into the universities in place of it. At the close of
the centurv, this sect had many eloquent patrons and friends in most of the
countries of Europe, who endeavoured by their writings and their actions
to procure glory and renown to this kind of wisdom. In England, Robert
a Fluctibus, or Fludd, a man of uncommon genius, adorned and illustrated
this philosophy by extensive writings, which to this day find readers and
admirers. (10) In France, one Riverius, besides others, propagated it at
Paris, against opposition from the university there. (11) Through Germa
ny and Denmark, Sever inus spread it with uncommon zeal ;(12) in Ger
many also, after others, Henry Kunrath, a chymist of Dresden, who died in
1605 ;(13) and in other countries, others established it and procured it ad-
he rents. As all these combined the precepts of their philosophy with a
great show of piety towards God, and seemed to direct all their efforts to
glorifying God and establishing harmony among disagreeing Christians,
they of course readily found friends. Just at the close of the century, they
drew over to their party some persons among the Lutherans, who were
very zealous for the promotion of true religion, as Valerius Weigel,(14)
John Arndt,(15) and others ; who feared, lest too much disputing and rea
Beza would have nothing to do with it. At
Basil it found more patrons. The most
zealous adherents to Luther, who imitated
him in hating Aristotle, nearly all took the
side of Ramus. Hence, in our universities
there was often fierce war between the Ar
istotelians and the Ramists, and it frequent
ly cost blood among the students. Indeed
the Calixtine contest originated from Ra-
mism. Schl.]
(10) See Anlh. Wood s Athense Oxoni-
ens., vol. i., p. 610, and Historia et Antiq.
Academiae Oxoniensis, lib. ii., p. 390. Pe
ter Gassendi s examination of Fludd s phi
losophy ; an ingenious and learned perform
ance, in his Opp., torn, iii., p. 259, &c.
[Flitdd s appropriate work is entitled, His
toria Macrocosmi et Microcosmi ; Oppenh.,
1617, 1619, 2 vols. fol. ; and another, Phi-
losophia Mosaica, Gouda, 1638, fol. He was
a doctor of physic at Oxford ; and died in
1637. Fludd and those of his class, assu
med as a first principle, that men can never
arrive at true wisdom, until they learn the
ways of God in his works of nature ; and
that nature can be learned only by the anal
ysis of fire. Hence they were called Fire
philosophers ; and they were all chymists.
They combined their philosophical wisdom
with theology. God who is unchangeable,
said they, acts in the kingdom of grace, just
as he does in the kingdom of nature ; so that
whoever understands how natural bodies are
changed, in particular the metals, understands
a!^o what passes in the soul in regeneration,
uanctifica ion. renovaiicn. &c." Thus they
erected a sort of theology upon the basis of
their chymical knowledge ; and of course, no
one can understand them, unless he is a
chymist, or at least has a chymical diction
ary before him. Schl.~]
(11) Boulay s Historia Acad. Paris., torn,
vi., p. 327, and passim.
(12) Jo. Mailer s Cimbria Litterata, torn.
i., p. 623, &c. [This Danish physician who
spent a great part of his life in travelling, was
one of the strongest supporters of Paracelsus,
and first reduced His ideas to a system in a
work entitled : Idea medicinse philosophies.
Schl.]
(13) Jo Holler s Cimbria Litterata, torn,
ii., p. 440, &c. [His principal work is enti
tled : Amphitheatrum sapientife seternae, so-
lius, verse, Christiano-Kabbalisticum, Divi-
no-Magicum, Physico-Chymicum, &c. Ha-
nau, 1609, fol., and Frankf., 1653. Schl.]
(14) [This singular man was pastor of
Tsc noppau in Meissen, and died in 1588.
After his death he was, perhaps unjustly,
pronounced a heretic ; partly because his
language was not understood, and partly be
cause much that appeared in his writings wa
not his, but was added by his chantor, who
published his works after his death. He ap
pears to have been an honest, conscientious
man, without bad intentions, yet somewhat
superstitious. See, respecting his life and
writings, Godfrey Arnold s Kirchen-und
Ketzerhistoric, vol. ii., book 7, ch. 17, and
Zack. Hilliger s Diss. de vita, fatis, et scrip-
tis Weigelii ; Wittemb., 1721. Schl.]
(15) [Of the history ind life of this divine
136 BOOK IV. -CENT. XVI. SEO. III. PART II. CHAP. I.
somng should divert men from the true worship of God, to run after the
noisy and perplexing trifles of the ancient schools.
13. Towards the same party also, leaned Daniel Hojfmann, a celebra
ted theologian in the university of Helmstadt, who in the year 1598 openly
ass&iled all philosophy with great violence, and relying principally on cer
tain passages and sentences in Luther s works, maintained that philosophy
was the enemy of all religion and all piety, and moreover that there was
a twofold truth, philosophical and theological, and that philosophical truth
was falsehood in theology. Hence arose a fierce contest between him and
the philosophers of the university in which he taught, namely Owen Gun-
ther, John CaseUus, Conrad Martini, and Duncan Liddel; and some out of
the university, likewise took part in it by their writings. Henry Julius,
duke of Brunswick, to put an end to the commotion, took cognizance of
the cause, called in the divines of Rostoc for counsel, and ordered Hoff
mann in the year 1601, to retract what he had written and spoken disre
spectfully of philosophy and the philosophers, and to acknowledge publicly,
that sound philosophy was in harmony with theology. (16)
14. The theology which is now taught in the Lutheran schools, did
not at once attain its present form, but was improved and perfected pro
gressively. Of this fact those are aware, who understand the history of
the doctrines concerning the holy scriptures, free-will, predestination, and
other subjects, and who have compared the early systems of theology writ
ten by Lutherans with those of more recent date. For the vindicators of
religious liberty did not discover all truth in an instant ; but like persons
emerging from long darkness, their vision improved gradually. Our theo
logians were also greatly assisted in correcting and explaining their sen.
timents, by the controversies in which they were involved, by their exter
nal conflicts with the papists, with the disciples of Zwingle, Calvin, and
io whom our church and the cause of piety ists use ; anchto which Arndt had accus-
re so much indebted, nothing need here be tomed himself, having been a physician in
said, since his writings are in every one s early life, and retaining in after life a fond-
hands, and many editions of them contain a ness for chymical writings. And for this
biography of him. It i-s well known, that his reason, it is probably not so wise in our
writings gave occasion for violent contests ; times, when we have so many ascetic works
and for a long time, public opinion was divi- that are more easy of comprehension and
ded respecting his orthodoxy and his merits, better adapted to our age, to always rec-
The chancellor of Tubingen, Lucas Osiandcr, ommend to common Christians the writings
and many others, could find gross heresies of Arndt. For the people of his times, his
ia his writings ; but the provost Bengel, saw books were very valuable ; but we should
in him the Apocalyptical angel, with the not therefore be ungrateful for those of our
everlasting Gospel, lliacos intra muros pec- own age, which God has vouchsafed to us.
catur et extra. If a man will read ArndCs Respecting him, see Godfr. Arnold s Kir
writings with the feelings of a dispassionate chen-und Ketzerhistorie, vol. ii., book xvii.,
historian, he will hear one speaking in them, ch. vi., 5, &c., and Wcismann s Historia
who is full of the spirit of Christianity, who Eccles. N. Test , torn, ii., p. 1174, &c.
abhors scholastic theological wrangling, and Schl.~\
who speaks for the most part more forcibly, (16) An accurate account of this contro-
and more like the Bible, on practical Chris- versy, and a list of the writings published
tianity, than his contemporaries do ; yet he on both sides, are given by Jo. Moller, in
often sinks into a mysticism, which is not his life of Owen Giinther, Cimbria Litterata,
the mysticism of the Bible but of Valerius torn, i., p. 225, &c. See also Jo. Herm. ab
Wicgel and of Angela de Foligny, from Elswich, de fatis Aristotelis in Scholis Prot-
whose writings he borrows largely. In proof estant., xxvii., p. 76, &c. Godf. Arnold" 1 *
of this, read only the third and fourth books Kirchen-utid Ketzerlnstorie, book xvii., cb
of his True Christianity ; where also many vi., $ 15, p. 947, &c.
chymical terms occur, svch as the Theosoyh-
HISTORY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. 137
ers : and by their internal contests, of which we shall speak hereafter.
Thos/j who like James Bcnignus Bossuet and others, make this a reproach
against the Lutherans, do not consider that the founders of the Evangeli
cal church never wished to be regarded as inspired men, and that the first
virtue of a wise man is to discover the errors of others, and the second is,
to find out the truth.
15. The first and principal care of the teachers c/f thi reformed reli
gion, was, to illustrate and explain the sacred scriptures ; which contain,
in. the opinion of the Lutheian church, all celestial wisdom. Hence there
were almost as many expositors of the Bible among the Lutherans, as there
were theologians eminent for learning and rank. At the head of them all,
stand Luther and Melancthon ; the former of whom, besides other portions
of the divine records, expounded particularly the book of Genesis, with
great copiousness and sagacity ; the expositions of the latter on Paul s
epistles, and his other labours of this kind, are well known. Next to
.hese, a high rank among the biblical expositors was attained by Matthias
Flacius, whose Glosses and Key to the holy scriptures were very useful for
.mderstanding the sacred writers ; by John Bugenhagius, Justin Jonas,
Andrew Osiander, and Martin Chemnitz, whose Harmonies of the Gospels