>Y,&LEe¥]Mir¥EI&SinrY« DIVINITY SCHOOL TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH The Escalade at Geneva (See Page 76) History of the Swiss Reformed Church Since the Reformation BY REV. PROF. JAMES I. GOOD, D. D., LL. D. PROFESSOR OF REFORMED CHURCH HISTORY IN THE CENTRAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, DAYTON, O. AUTHOR OF "ORIGIN OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY," "HISTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY," "HISTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES," "HIS TORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY," "FAMOUS WOMEN OF THE REFORMED CHURCH," "FAMOUS MISSIONARIES OF THE REFORMED CHURCH," "FAMOUS PLACES OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES," &c. PHILADELPHIA PUBLICATION AND SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD of the Reformed Church in the United States Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1913 By REV. JAMES I. GOOD, D. D.. LL. D. In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington PRESS OF BERGER BROS., PHILADELPHIA PREFACE Switzerland has always occupied a prominent place in the history of Protestant Europe. Switzerland is a monument of the reformation. Students of Church his tory have diligently studied the influence of the reformers Zwingli and Calvin in other lands, as France, Holland, Scotland, etc., but the results of their work in their' own little land, Switzerland, have been largely unnoted. On the period covered by this volume there is no book in the English language. The reformation has been ably' and thoroughly described in the works of Schaff, Fisher, Hagenbach, D'Aubigne and others, but of this period only a biography or two, as of Haldane, Malan and Vinet, have appeared in English. Yet the history of Switzerland, since the reformation, is only second in im portance to the history of Switzerland in the reforma tion. This volume will, therefore, fill a gap among church histories in the English language. The book may also be said to be a tribute by the author to the beautiful and grand little country in which he has so often summered. And it also completes a set of histories written on the Reformed Churches of Ger many, the United States, and now Switzerland. In writing it the biographical method rather than the topical has been used, so as to make it more intelligible to the English readers, who, living so far away, are comparatively unacquainted with many of the characters who' have made the history of the Church of Switzerland important and grand. The author would also ask that Swiss readers remember that in English-speaking lands vi PREFACE the word "Evangelical" is used in a narrower sense than in Switzerland. There "Evangelical" often includes those whom we consider rationalists, as they are members of the state or Evangelical Churches, but it never has that meaning with us. The word "EvangelicaP^s used in this book corresponds to the word "positive" as used in Germany, referring to those who hold to the old tradi tional faith. The author also has to confess that in a number of dates he has been somewhat in doubt, as two and ever more are sometimes given by different authori ties for the same event. He desires also to express his gratitude to a number of friends in Switzerland who have aided him by their suggestions, as the late Prof. H. C. von Orelli, of Basle ; the late Prof. F. Barth, of Bern;., Rev. Eugene Choisy, ProT""Xucien Gautier and Prof. Aloys Berthoud, of Geneva: Prof. G. von Schulthess- Rechberg and ^r^JjermarL^E^^^pl^urich^ev. G. Kirchhofer, of Schaffhausen, and others, although he would not wish them to be held at all responsible for any conclusions of his. Trusting that this book will interest English readers in that beautiful little land to which Re formed Protestantism owes its birth, this book is sent forth by the author. James I. Good. Philadelphia, April 15, 1913. TABLE OF CONTENTS BOOK I THE PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION Introduction 3 Part I. The Early Centres of the Reformed Church 7 Chapter I. Zurich 7 Section 1. Antistes Rudolph Gualther 7 " 2. Antistes Lewis Lavater 12 3. Antistes John Rudolph Stumpf 14 " 4. Antistes Burkhard Leeman 16 " 5. Antistes John Jacob Breitinger 18 Chapter II. Geneva 32 Section 1. Prof. John Diodati 32 Part II. The Efforts to Introduce Lutheranism 37 Chapter I. Bern 37 Section 1. The Megander-Bucer Controversy 37 " 2. The Reorganization of the Bern Church.. 42 " 3. The Huber Controversy 46 " 4. The District of Vaud 55 Chapter II. Basle 57 Section 1. Antistes Simon Sulzer 57 " 2. Antistes John Jacob Grynseus 64 " 3. Prof. Amandus Polanus 66 Chapter III. Schaffhausen 69 Section 1. Antistes Conrad Ulmer 69 Part III. Dangers to the Reformed from the Catholics. 71 Chapter I. The Dangers just after the Reformation. . . 73 Section 1. Appenzell 74 2. Basle 75 " 3. Geneva and the Escalade 76 4. Valais 79 viii CONTENTS Chapter II. The Dangers during the Thirty Years' War. 81 Section 1. Thurgau and the Case of Kesselring 82 " 2. The Massacre of the Valtellina 84 " 3. Duke Henry of Rohan 90 " 4. The Freedom of Switzerland and John Rudolph Wettstein 97 Chapter III. The Dangers after the Thirty Years' War 99 Section 1. The Two Battles of Vilmergen 99 " 2. The Succession in Neuchatel 102 Part IV. The Refugees in Switzerland 105 Chapter I. The Refugees from the Catholic Cantons of Switzerland 107 Section 1. The Refugees from Locarno 107 2. The Nicodemites 109 Chapter II. The Foreign Refugees 112 Section 1. The Refugees from France 112 " 2. Theodore Agrippa D'Aubigne 116 " 3. The Theological Seminary of Antoine Court at Lausanne 121 " 4. The Waldensian Refugees from Italy 125 5. The Hungarian Refugees 127 BOOK II THE PERIOD OF SCHOLASTIC CALVINISM Part I. The Rise of Scholastic Calvinism 133 Chapter I. Zurich 137 Section 1. Antistes John Jacob Irminger and John Jacob Ulrich 137 2. Prof. John Henry Hottinger , 140 " 3. Antistes Casper Waser 143 " 4. Prof. John Henry Heidegger 144 Chapter II. Basle 146 Section 1. Antistes John Wolleb 146 " 2. Antistes Theodore Zwinger 147 3. Antistes Luke Gernler 149 4. The Professors Buxdorf 150 Chapter III. Bern 153 Section 1. Dekan John Henry Hummel 153 2. The Adoption of the Piscator Bible by Bern 154 " 3. The Amended Heidelberg Catechism in Bern 156 CONTENTS ix Chapter IV. Geneva 159 Section 1. The Early Orthodoxy under Spanheim and Turretin 159 2. The Entrance of the Doctrines of Saumur into Geneva 160 Chapter V. The Formulation and Adoption of the Hel vetic Consensus 164 Section 1. The Formulation of the Consensus 164 2. Its Adoption by the Swiss Cantons 166 Part II. The Disavowal of the Helvetic Consensus 169 Chapter I. The Influences that Led to its Disavowal. 169 Section 1. The Intervention of Foreign Princes 169 " 2. Werenfels and its Rejection at Basle 171 " 3. J. Alphonse Turretin and its Disavowal at Geneva 173 " 4. Osterwald and its Disavowal at Neuchatel. 178 Part III. The Retention of the Helvetic Consensus 185 Chapter I. Its Retention at Zurich 185 Section 1. Antistes Antonius Klingler 185 " 2. Antistes Peter Zeller and Antistes Louis Nuschler 187 Chapter II. Its Retention by Bern 190 Section 1. Prof. John Rudolph Rudolph 190 2. The Difficulties of Creed Subscription at Lausanne 191 BOOK III THE PERIOD OF RATIONALISM Chapter I. Zurich 201 Section 1. Antistes John Conrad Wirz 201 " 2. Prof. John Jacob Zimmerman 202 3. Antistes John Rudolph Ulrich 206 " 4. Rev. John Casper Lavater 209 " 5. Antistes John Jacob Hess 236 6. John Henry Pestalozzi 243 Chapter II. Basle 249 Section 1. Prof. John Jacob Wettstein 249 2. Prof. Leonard Euler 252 3. Prof. John Christopher Beck 255 x CONTENTS Chapter III. Bern 258 Section 1. The Stapfer Family 258 2. Prof. Albert Von Haller 262 Chapter IV. Geneva 278 Section 1. The Downgrade at Geneva 278 2. Prof. Jacob Vernet 282 " 3. Voltaire and the Genevan Church 285 " 4. Rosseau and the Genevan Church 292 5. Prof. Charles Bonnet 301 BOOK IV PIETISM OR THE REVIVAL Part I. German Switzerland 307 Chapter I. Bern 311 Section 1. Its Early Pietism 311 2. Rev. Samuel Lutz 320 Chapter II. Basle 330 Section 1. Rev. Jerome D'Annoni 330 2. The Religious Activity of Basle 336 Chapter III. Schaffhausen 344 Section 1. Its Early Pietism 344 2. Its Later Pietism 347 Part II. French Switzerland 353 Chapter IV. Geneva 353 Section 1. The Preparation for the Revival 353 2. The Visit of Haldane 361 3. The Conversion and Testimony of Malan. . 371 4. The Church of the Bourg du Four 375 " 5. Malan and His Chapel of the Testimony.. 385 6. Felix Neff 396 BOOK V THE RELIGIOUS EVENTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Part I. The German Cantons 403 Chapter I. Introductory 403 CONTENTS xi Section 1. Secular Events 403 " 2. The Controversy between Catholics and Protestants 404 " 3. The Conflict between Rationalists and Evangelicals 406 " 4. The United Religious Movements of the Cantons 408 Chapter II. Basle 410 Section 1. The Call of Prof. De Wette 410 " 2. Prof. Charles Rudolph Hagenbach 412 " 3. The Later Religious Situation at Basle.. 414 " 4. The Basle Missionary Society 419 " 5. The Other Religious Institutions of Basle. 422 Chapter III. Zurich 425 Section 1. The Preparation for the Strauss Contro versy 425 2. The Call of Strauss 426 " 3. The Biederman Controversy 434 " 4. The Later Controversies between Ration alists and Evangelicals 438 Chapter IV. Bern 443 Section 1. The Founding of the University 443 2. The Call of Prof. Edward Zeller 445 " 3. The Controversies since Zeller's Depar ture 448 " 4. The Evangelical Society of Bern 451 Chapter V. Schaffhausen 456 Section 1. The Defection of Antistes Hurter 456 Part II. The French Cantons 461 Chapter I. Geneva 461 Section 1. The Evangelical Church of Geneva 461 2. The Evangelical School of Theology 463 3. The National Church of Geneva 467 " 4. The Later Events in the National Church of Geneva 469 Chapter II. Vaud 473 xii CONTENTS Section 1. The Pietistic Events in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century 473 2. The Secession of the Free Church of Vaud 476 3. Prof. Alexander Rudolph Vinet 480 4. History of the Free Church of Vaud 487 " 5. The Mission Romande 491 Chapter III. Neuchatel 494 Section 1. Its History in the Early Part of the Nine teenth Century 494 2. The Free Church of Neuchatel 496 3. Profs. Frederick Godet and A. Gretillat.. 497 ILLUSTRATIONS The Escalade at Geneva Frontispiece The Uprising of the Reformed at Schiers 91 Prominent Zurich Theologians — Gualther, Breitinger, Hottinger and Hess 142 The Theologians of the Helvetic Consensus — Heidegger, Gernler, F. Turretin, J. A. Turretin, Werenfels and Osterwald 168 John Henry Pestalozzi and His Protege 244 Prominent Ministers — Lavater, Malan, Finsler 432 Prominent Theologians — Pictet, Vinet, Godet 477 BOOK I THE PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION History of the Swiss Reformed Church Since the Reformation* INTRODUCTION The age of the Reformers closed with Bullinger (I575) and Beza (1605) in German and French Switz erland, respectively. At their death, the Protestant Church entered upon a new era. Their mission had been to originate the Reformed faith, it remained for their successors to make it permanent. The period imme diately following the reformation may, therefore, be called the period of consolidation. For two movements appeared to interfere with the Reformed faith. The first was an enemy, Catholicism which hoped to regain the Protestant cantons. The dis astrous defeat of Zurich at Cappel (1531), when Zwingli lost his life, had been a terrible blow, from which Protestantism did not recover for a century. It had taken all the courage and remarkable wisdom of Bullinger to guide the Church against any reaction to Romanism. And after his death the Catholic Church was ever as watchful as a lynx to gain any advantage. The second movement was not by an enemy, but by a rival, Lutheranism. The great controversy between Luther and Zwingli on the Lord's Supper had so far ?The best general religious history of Switzerland is Bloesclv ^Geschichte der Schweizerisch:reformirten -Kirchen'^ C?_ vols.). A more popular work is Hadorn, "Kirchengeschichte der reformirten Schweiz." 3 4 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH been forgotten, that Lutheranism began making inroads into German Switzerland. The Lutherans of Germany had not forgotten their disappointment when the Ger man and French Swiss had become united by the Ti- gurine Confession (1549), for they had hoped to cap ture German Switzerland. And the Lutheran party in Switzerland used every effort to Lutheranize the Protes tant cantons. Over against these movements it took the Reformed Church about three-quarters of a century to perma nently consolidateherself, indeed some of the Catholic controversies were not settled until the nineteenth cen tury. But by the end of the Thirty Years War (1648), it may be said that Protestant Switzerland became con solidated into a Reformed Church, uniform in doctrine, worship and custom. Before entering into the religious history of Switz erland, it may be well to pause a moment on the political situation in that land. At the reformation, of about a dozen cantons, Protestantism had four, but they were the larger ones containing the large cities, Bern, Zurich, Basle and Schaffhausen. Catholicism had seven, Lu- cerne, Zug, Uri, Unterwalden, Schwyz, Freiburg and Solothurn. Appenzell was divided in religion and soon became a divided canton. Geneva tried to join the Swiss confederacy in 1557, but the jealousy of the Catholics against any increase of Protestant power in the Swiss diet prevented.* These cantons were controlled by a * This arrangement of the cantons continued until 1803, when the Act of Mediation added six more, St. Gall, Grisons, Aargau, Ticino, Thurgau and Vaud. Since the fall of Napoleon, three or four more have been added, Geneva, Glarus, Valais, and later Neuchatel. Just after th£_^reformation, the districts east and northeast of Zurich, as (glarSfe, (QrisogS, St. Gall (the Protestant jartj_ and Thurgau, were loosely connected with Zurich, es- pecially religiously, though not politically included in her; and Bern was so large at that time as to include within herself the later cantons of Vaud and Aargau. INTRODUCTION diet. The four Protestant cantons were also under the control of a diet. The first diet we will call the Swiss diet, the last the Evangelical diet.* Over against the Evangelical diet the Catholic cantons formed the Cath olic League. It is very evident that the bond that bound the cantons was very loose, because they often made alliances independently of each other and some times went to war with each other. It was not until the Napoleonic wars had thoroughly overturned the old regime that these cantons finally coalesced into the pres ent government of Switzerland. We will first study the two great centers of the Re formed Church, Zurich and Geneva, which never swerved in their loyalty to the Reformed faith ; then we will take up those cantons in which Lutheran tendencies began to appear, and, finally, we will watch those can tons and districts which Catholicism made a determined effort to regain. * This distinction between the Swiss diet and the Evangelical diet should be carefully kept in mind in reading this work. PART I THE EARLY CENTRES OF THE REFORMED CHURCH These were Zurich and Geneva. These cities not only never swerved from the Reformed faith, but they also exerted a predominating influence, for they had been respectively the cities of the two great reformers, Zwingli and Calvin. CHAPTER I Zurich* The religious history of Zurich, in this period, can be best revealed by studying her antistes.f The antistes was not a bishop or even a superintendent as in the Lutheran Church, but an equal, the first among equals; for the Swiss Church, in government, was essentially Presbyterian, like the rest of the Reformed Churches.' Section i antistes rudolph gualther (l575"8s) It is remarkable that Zurich in the reformation had such a succession of able men as leaders. From 15 19- 1585, nearly three-quarters of a century, her leadership was in the hands of men of the highest ability. God / *The best history of the Zurich Church is "Die ZurcherJ ( Kirche," by Zimmermann. ^— fThe antistes was the head-minister of the Church. Other cantoris, "as Basle, Schatthausen and St. (iall, also called their head-minister antistes; but }t is now generally given up, except in Basle. 7 8 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH always provides great leaders for great eras. It is re markable that Zwingli should be followed by so able and wise a leader as Bullinger, and now the third I antistes, Gualther, is almost as great as either of his predecessors. Gualther was born at Zurich, November 9, 15 19. He was a poor boy whom Bullinger took into his family and taught languages. For Bullinger not only welcomed the refugees who came to Zurich from other lands, as England, but he also took into his own family promising young Swiss, whom he trained up for the ministry. After completing his studies at Zurich, Gualther, as was then the custom of the times, visited foreign universities at the expense of his native city.* Gualther went to Basle (1538), and to Lausanne (1539), so as to learn French. In 1540 he went to Germany to the universities of Stras burg and Marburg. While at Marburg he went, at the expense of the Landgrave Philip of Hesse, to the diet of -Ratisbon, where he saw Calvin and Melancthon. In 1 541, he returned to Zurich. In that year he married Regula Zwingli, the daughter of the Reformer.. For Bullinger, m his large-heartedness, had taken into his family the wife and children of Zwingli, and cared for them as his own. What was more natural than that the two young people should become enamored with each other and finally marry^ In 1542, Gualther was called as the pastor of one of the most important of the churches of the city of Zurich — St. Peter's—the church which had had for its pastor Leo Juda.f His sermons soon caused a sensa- * Zurich considered herself honored in thus honoring her sons, and for this she was abundantly repaid, as she raised up for herself men who became her future leaders. t Zurich had four churches, the Cathedral and the Preacher's Church on the northeastern side of the Linmat river; the Fraumunster and St. Peter's on the southwestern-side"; to which was later added the Orphanage Church. ZURICH 9 tion, especially his sermon on the pope as Antichrist. It happened that while preaching on the gospel of Matthew (for he, like the other Reformed reformers, preached on a book of the Bible, verse by verse), when he came to the 24th chapter, he spoke of the pope as Antichrist and of the monks as the modern representa tives of the Pharisees. This would not have been no ticed had not his friends demanded that his sermons should be published, and they proved so popular that they were translated into Latin, French, English, Span ish, Italian and Polish. They were praised by the Protestant world as the leading work of their day against the papacy. But the Catholics, ever on the watch, brought charges against them at the Swiss diet, for ever since the defeat of Cappel (1531), the Catholics were on the offensive, so as to reveal, if possible the weak ness of Protestantism. The Swiss diet ordered Zurich to punish Gualther. When called before the city council, he defended himself eloquently. He declared that it had not been his purpose to disturb the peace between the Protestants and Catholics by preaching thus. But he said he wondered at the complaint, when Luther and Zwingli had both spoken in the same severity against the pope; yes, even Catholics, as Petrarch and Bernard, had said severer things against the papacy. The Zurich council decided not to punish him; but the Catholics brought it up at the next diet, and they kept agitating against him, even as late as 1586. The Catholics, finding that they could not thus si lence him1, then tried to put him out of the way secretly ; but God preserved him. There is a story that on a Friday, the usual market day, as he was going to hear Bullinger preach at the early service on the prophet Jonah, a man met and ad dressed him, "Gualther, out of my great love to you, I can not refuse to tell you of your great danger. For next week, three young men of medium stature clothed in 10 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH white like the Italians, will knock at your door. If they are left in they will greet you in a friendly way. Beware that you do not receive them under your roof without a companion. And if they are left in by your servant, do not read their letters in their presence ; but do something else lest you be harmed by them." When Gualther asked him his name, he replied he should not trouble himself about it, but be careful to mind the warning. As they talked he went with Gualther into the church. Later, Gualther began thinking about this, whether it was an angel that appeared to him or not. For he asked many of the citizens who were present when he talked with the man, whither he went or if they had seen him. But they declared they had not. And when they sought for such a man at the hotels he was not to be found. Gualther, therefore, felt it was a warning sent from God. He con sulted with Bullinger and put the people of his house on their guard, ordering that they should not allow any one with letters to come into the house, but should take the letters from them and leave them standing at the door. Sure enough, fifteen days after this warning, three young men dressed as the old man said, appeared. They said they were students and had letters for him and wished to speak to him. Joshua Petonus, who was carry ing food from the kitchen to the table, happened to open the door. They came quickly into the room. When Gualther, who was about eating his dinner, saw them, he rose quickly from the table and approached them with a brave heart. For he had in his right hand the knife he used at dinner and in his left hand a dagger. When they saw Gualther thus armed and that he had at his table several students, who were also armed with daggers, they lost courage. When Gualther asked them whence they came they replied that they were from Basle and brought letters from Peter Peruna. He asked them where they lodged at Zurich and they told him at the Sword Hotel. He answered "That is well, go back there. After dinner I will read your letters and answer them and will call on you." They left trembling, not daring to lift a finger against him. As soon as they were gone, he sent a boy to the hotel, but found all their statements were false. And when he inquired further, he learned that they had horses in a neighboring village with which, when they had ZURICH n murdered him, they hoped to escape. So God spared his life.* His ministry at St. Peter's was so successful and in fluential that when Bullinger died there was no question who would succeed him. So Gualther was elected an tistes in 1575. As head of the Church, he introduced a number of reforms. He set aside the observance of fastnacht, a custom that has come down from the Cath olic Church, and which led to revelry and dissipation. He introduced evening services into the cathedral.f These services became so popular that by 1583 the min isters of the other congregations had begun them. He died December 25, 1586. Gualther was a man of mark. "Zwingli," says Zim merman, "excelled in his fiery reforms, Bullinger in his excellent commentaries and interpretation of the Church Fathers, Gualther in his elegant sermons and homilies." He published a number of homilies on different books of the Bible. He also did the Church a great service in publishing the works of his father-in-law, Zwingli. His style was elegant and he was a fine combination of a scholarly, Biblical, and yet popular, teacher. Two men deserve to be mentioned as associates of Gualther in giving the theological school at Zurich its fame. Josiah Simler, the son-in-law of Bullinger, was born November 6, 1530, at ~T%pjpeTT" He became the assistant at the St. Peter's Church, Zurich (1557-60). When Bibliander retired (1560), and Peter Martyr died d^l. he was made professor of theology] Hewas also fa- * He narrated all this to Francis Rambuletre, a French nobleman; to Arnold Westerwald, a Frieslander; to Dyonisius Melander and Frederick Conders, the mayor of the republic of Groningen, who happened to be guests at his table, October 1, 1561. fThe cathedral is the parish church of the antistes. 12 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH mous in mathematics, astronomy and history. He is well known by his work, "The Helvetic Republic." He was greatly beloved as a teacher by the English refugees at Zurich. He was prominent as a polemist against Stancar and as an apologist for orthodoxy. He died July 2, 1576. Rudolph Collin was born in canton Lucerne, but fled from that canton because threatened with death for his Protestantism. He came to Zurich, where he became professor of Greek. He was Zwingli's companion to _the conference at Marburg in 1529. He died in 1578. Section 2 antistes lewis lavater ( 1 585-86) The Lavater family was one of the noblest of the Zurich families, and as pious as noble. It had given many prominent men to Zurich. His father was one of the most ardent supporters of Zwingli in his reforms. He was a brave soldier, and was sent to the pope, in 1524, about the unpaid salaries of the Swiss soldiers. f There, while Werdmiller kissed the foot of the pope, Lavater remained standing, in spite of their order that he should follow his companion's example. When the pope charged that his masters in Switzerland were here tics who ought to be driven off ?>£.the face of the earth, he boldly replied that his masters clung to the religion of the Old and New Testaments, and were obedient to God, a reply which was greeted with ridicule by the bystanders. Thus, even to the pope's face, he dared bear witness for the truth. He was the leader of the Swiss soldiers at the defeat of Cappel, and though cen sured, was exonerated, and remained magistrate till 1544. It was very fitting that this prominent and staunch Protestant family should be represented in the antistes' chair. ZURICH 13 Lewis Lavater was born March 1, 1527. As a boy, at Kilchberg (where his father was magistrate), while playing with his sister in a room of the castle, he sud denly tore himself away, and the next moment the lights jnng_1jo_JeAriuiJua_Swj^ the room. Pre served thus for great purposes, he studied at Zurich and then went abroad to study. At Strasburg, he met Bucer and Sturm. After returning through Paris and Italy, ' he became pastor at Horgen and then of theJFraurnunster at Zurich. He married Margaret Bullinger^ .thejjaugh-- ter of the reformer. After Simler's death, because of his recognized scholarship, he was elected professor of theology, but declined. When Bullinger became old he did much to aid him, especially in preaching. He was a faithful pastor, and, like his father-in-law, when he found a promising lad he aided him to an education. One of his proteges was Baumler, later the composer of the Zurich catechism. He was also active in the introduction of singing into the churches of Zurich; tor Zurich, in its opposition to papal rites, had gone to the other extreme, and had cast out the organ and abolished singing in the church service. Basle, however, retained singing, as did Win- terthur and Stein on the Rhine, both in the canton of Zurich. But Lavater was too early to succeed in its in troduction into the church service. When Gualther be- came incapacitated, he was chosen antistes December 29, 1585; but his antisteship was very brief, for he died July 15, 1586. His term was too short to accomplish anything. He, however, left behind him, as a relic of his scholarship, one of the most important books on early Reformed Church history — a small work on the rites of the Church.* It was published 1539, -later, 1702, by Ott, with some additions. It gives a clear view of the f * "De Ritibus et Institutis Ecclesiae Tigurinae." \ 14 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH early customs of the Reformed Church. This book and the later work of Herrliberger,* the latter having pic tures of the religious customs, give a quite complete view of the rites and customs of the Zurich Church and are invaluable to the student of Reformed worship. I Lavater also wrote a doctrinal work on the origin and progress of the controversy between Luther and Zwingli. Like Zwingli, he published commentaries on many of the books of the Bible. So excellent an exegete was he that he is still referred to as by Zockler in his recent work on Chronicles. Section 3 antistes john rudolph stumpf (1586-92) After Lavater's brief antistesship, the office was held open for a month in the hope that Gualther, who was still living, might be able to fill it; but when this was found impossible, Stump f was elected, August 24, 1586. L"His father, like Lavater's, had been a strong adherent of the Reformation, having been one of the delegates from Zurich to the Bern conference in 1528. He then published a "History of the Council of Constance," and later wrote one of the most important historical works of that period — the largest work of the day, "The Swiss Chronicles," 1547. ; John Rudolph, his son, later the antistes, was born ! August 27, 1550, and was educated at Zurich. When ; seventeen years of age he was sent to deliver his father's ! "Swiss Chronicles" to some of the thirteen cities, to which he presented it. At the close of his studies at Zurich he went to England with Bishop Hooper, where he was most cordially received by Cranmer, to whom Bullinger had given him a letter of introduction. In 1 * "Heilige Ceremonien gottesdienstliche Kircheniibungen und Gewohnheiten der reformirten Stadt Zurich," 1750. ZURICH 15 1584, he became pastor at the Preacher's Church, at Zurich, and in 1586 he was elected antistes. He did not reveal the ability of his predecessors in this office, perhaps because he did not have the opportunity. By this time the aim of the Zurich Church was not to progress, but to conserve. His mission, therefore, seems to have been to preserve the traditions handed down to him. He, however, reveals the growing tendency of Zurich to higlTCalvinism. Zurich, under Zwingli afiq Bullinger, had held to a broader and lower Calvinism, — that is, while they held to election, yet it was not the ¦ formative principle of their theology as of Calvin's, and they both held to universal rather than to limited atone ment, thus emphasizing redemption rather than elec tion. Of the prominent theologians of Zurich, the only one who, up to this time, had been a high-Calvinist, had . been Peter Martyx^andTie had come there as a stranger. Zurich had stood for low-Calvinism. But now, how- ever, high-Calvinism came to the front. For when the controversy broke out in Bern between the Calvinists and their opponent, Huber, Stumpf took a strong stand for high-Calvinism. In the name of the Zurich Church, he wrote its instructions to that council at Bern, which was to decide that controversy. With this strictness of doctrine came in also strict ness of morals. In 1586, a law was enacted that, dur ing the early Church service on Sunday, all shops must close; that in towns, one person in each family must go to church, and that the service must not last longer than three-quarters of an hour. He urged Switzerland to become united in its Reformed faith, and to this end' tried hard to get Basle to adopt the Second Helvetic Confession, but in vain. Zurich also aided the Protes tants of the canton of Appenzell to become separated from the Catholic part of that canton. He died Jan uary 19, 1592. 16 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Section 4 antistes burkhard leeman (1592-1613) The year of Zwingli's death was the year of his birth (1531). After studying at Zurich, he visited Bern and Marburg, where, in 1554, he received the degree of master.* He was, therefore, called Master Leeman. In 1560, he became assistant at the cathedral at Zurich and professor of Hebrew; in 1571, pastor of the Preachers' Church, and in 1584, of the Fraumunster. In 1592, he was elected antistes. His most important work was his Catechism, which met a felt want in the Church. Leo Juda had written his excellent catechisms, a larger in 1534, and a smaller in 1541. But they ultimately proved unsatisfactory, the former being too abstract for the youth, and the latter too brief. So, in 1594, Leeman published a catechism which became so popular that it ran through three edi tions by 1606. It followed the Heidelberg Catechism in its threefold division of misery, redemption and thankfulness. It mediated between Juda's catechism be fore him and Baumler's "Zurich Catechism" after him. He was also active in the moral history of Zurich. He became greatly alarmed at the increase of luxury which threatened to imperil the peculiar simplicity of Swiss life. As the state did nothing about it, he and the ministers of Zurich went before the city council and gave them the alternative of either punishing the guilty, or the Church would take it out of their hands and announce them publicly from the pulpit.f This alarmed the state, as it forboded a conflict between * The Swiss rarely received these honorary titles from uni versities. Zwingli, when he received the master's degree, only replied: "One is your Master, Christ." This set a prejudice in Switzerland against such degrees as ministering to pride. t Zwingli and Zurich never gave the autonomy to the Church ZURICH 1 7 Church and state, and if the former were victorious, might lead to the introduction of Calvinistic Church dis cipline. In 1601, the city council, alarmed at the sharp preaching of the ministers, called them before it, when Leeman strongly defended himself and his brethren. But it was found impossible to carry out the strict laws 1/ demanded by the clergy. Leeman even went farther and advocated the introduction of Church discipline by the Church. We here see how Calvinistic Church govern ment as well as Calvinistic doctrine was strongly affect- jngjjie Zurich Church. Leeman also urged the intro- duction of singing into the service, and the city council finally gave permission (1608). but on condition that the hymns should be sung without the use of the organ. He died September 12, 1613. Two important professors, in this period, need to be noted. •>, Prof. John William Stucki was born 1542. He studied at Zurich, and then went to Lausanne, Stras burg and Paris. While there, at the request of Peter Martyr, he accompanied the latter to the famous Con- F* Terence of Poissy, near Paris, 1561, where Beza so elo-j quently defended the Huguenots. Then he went to I Italy, staying over a year at Venice, studying, especially Chaldee and Syriac, with a learned Jew. In 1568, he returned home and was elected in Bibliander's place as professor of the Old Testament. He represented Zurich . at the Bern Conference, in 1588, whereJHuber attacked Beza's doctrine of election as being foreign to the early Reformed Church. Stucki there revealed his high-Cal- vinism by taking sides against nuper and for Beza. He and antistes Stumpf committed the Zurich Church* to that Calvin did. To the Church was given the function of teaching religion, and to the State that of disciplining its mem bers. Hence those who were censured and excommunicated by the Church were arrested and put in prison. 2 18 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH high-Calvinism. He also supported the antistes when he favored the introduction of the Calvinistic views of church discipline into the Zurich Church. The publi cation of the Lutheran "Formula of Concord" drove the Reformed closer together, and, therefore, Switzerland tried to get nearer the Reformed of Germany. He was, therefore, sent by the Evangelical Diet (1580), to Prince Casimir of the Palatinate to get him to use his influence at the diet at Augsburg for a more favorable attitude toward the Reformed. He died 1667. Anrjjher— prominent -prof essor^ was Marx Baumler. He was as prominent in practical theology as Stucki was in dogmatics. Born 1555, his talents were early recog nized by Lewis Lavater, who aided him in his studies. He studied at Zurich, Geneva and Heidelberg, and then spent considerable time in the Palatinate Church, where he became inspector of Alzheim. Recalled to Zurich 1594, he became professor of catechetics, and in 1607 professor of theology. As a theologian he was a Cal vinist, and was attacked by Kauffman for introducing the doctrine of election of grace. He made a defence before the city council (1597) in which he quoted Zwingli, Bullinger, Gualther and Lavater as holding that doctrine. But his most important work was the Zurich catechism (1609). It was a combination of the Heidel berg Catechism with Leo Juda's, and continued in use until the last century. He died 161 1. Section 5 .. antistes john jacob breitinger (1613-45)* At last the glory of the early Zurich Church seemed to return again in Breitinger. As long as Zwingli, Bul linger and Gualther lived, Zurich occupied the front rank * See Zimmermann's "Die Zurcher Kirche," pages 143-184. Also Morikofer's "J. J. Breitinger." ZURICH ig in the Reformed Church in learning and influence. They were followed by lesser lights. Breitinger was the brightest light among the antistes after the reformation. Indeed, Zurich, in all her history, has had only five an- tistes of the first rank, Zwingli, Bullinger, Gualther, then, after a quarter of a century, Breitinger, and a century and a half later, Hess, at the end of the eigh teenth century. Breitinger gave the Zurich Church the stamp it bore until in the nineteenth century. Fortunate was it for Zurich that she had such a leader just at that time. For great conflicts then arose: theological controversies as between the Calvinists and Arminians, into which the Swiss were drawn, and! also political dangers owing to the Thirty Years War./ A man of profound sagacity, far-seeing vision, com manding influence and strong faith was needed to guide the Church on the troubled seas. Breitinger proved to be the man for the hour. He made Bullinger his model and had ability and wisdom enough to make himself worthy of him. He combined, in a remarkable degree, learning, eloquence and common sense. The year of Bullinger's death was the year of his birth, April 19, 1575. His father dying when he was but six years old, he had the good fortune to be reared by a great uncle as his own son. While attending the Latin school at Zurich, Antistes Lavater, his teacher, once laid his hand on him and gave utterance to the wish that he might follow his footsteps and ultimately become antistes. But, for a long time, he was dull and slow in his studies, so that in 1592 he felt like giving up the ministry and going to a trade. It was especially 1 the tears of his mother that prevailed on him to con- J tinue his studies. From that time he was a changed young' man and began to reveal unusual diligence and aptitude for study. After studying at Zurich he went abroad (1593-96). First he went to the university of Herborn, 20 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH in Germany, to hear Professor Piscator. After a year's diligent study there he went to Marburg, where he studied philosophy under Professor Goclenius. Then, in 1594, he went to the university of Franeker, in Holland. Everywhere he gained the special friendship of his pro fessors by his diligence and force of character. His student life in Holland seemed a prophecy of his later relations to the Dutch in the synod of Dort. At Franeker he studied with many who afterwards became his fellow-members of that synod. Thus Bogerman, later the president of the synod, sat at the same table with him. Then he went to Heidelberg, but the plague broke up the university, and he went to Basle, where jjrynseus and Polanus were named "the two beautiful lights of learning." Wherever he went he was given unusual ad vantages and shown special honor. At Herborn, he lived with a son of the author of the Heidelberg Cate chism, Olevianus,, and at Basle, with Castelin, the pro fessor of eloquence. In 1597, he returned to Zurich and became pastor at Zumikon.* In 161,0, he became^assistant at the Latin school of the cathedral at Zurich ; m 1605, professor of logic in the new college of humanities at the Frau munster Church there. At that time he felt like giving up the ministry on account of ill health. Once, while ^ preaching in the Fraumunster, suddenly, to the horror of his hearers, his mind became a blank. He recovered himself and closed the service. But he never after as cended the pulpit without fear.f In 1609, without his * His biographer notes a strange coincidence here. When Breitinger was a babe, his mother, accompanied by a servant who carried him in a cradle on her head, sought shelter there in a hotel from a sudden rain-storm. And now this babe grown to manhood became their pastor. This coincidence, together with his unusual ability, greatly endeared him to this congregation. r t In this he fulfilled the Latin motto, "qui ascendit cum horA rore, descendit cum honore." (He who ascends t& with fear de- ) ^scends ^with honor.) ^/ ZURICH 21 knowledge, he was appointed assistant to the antistes. The weekly services at the cathedral were turned over to him, and his preaching became very popular. In 1611, he was called as assistant to the St. Peter's Church, and, soon after, a strange event occurred. Without inform ing his friends, he accepted an invitation to a vacation trip to Geneva. Hardly had he departed when the plague broke out in Zurich which caused 4,500 deaths. The rumor spread abroad that he had fled because of the plague. So great was the feeling against him that the city council considered how they might punish him for leaving his post at such a critical time, and his wife feared to go out into the street. Of all this he knew nothing until he returned after a journey which lasted several weeks. He at once disabused the minds of the Zurich people by becoming the most active in the visi tation of the sick. He was busy from morning till night and often at night a half a dozen persons would be waiting at his house with lanterns to take him to the sick. Fortunately, God's providence watched over his life, so that he did not catch the dread disease. As a result from being the most unpopular minister of the city he became the most popular. No wonder, then, that when, two years later, the position of antistes became vacant, he was elected to it, September 30, 1613, at the age of thirty-eight. He came to this position in full vigor of age, health and strength. It was soon evident that a vigorous hand had hold of the helm of the Church. His preaching at the cathedral became so popu lar that eighty new seats had to be placed in the Church, and these were not sufficient to accommodate the people, some of whom came from Catholic districts. Like Zwingli, he preached on Friday as well as Sunday, so that the country people coming in to market might attend. In 1614, he was elected inspector of the schools of Zurich, and so became the founder of the public schools 22 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of that canton. One of the most important events in his life was the Synod of Port, in Holland (November, 1618-March, 1619). The Dutch invited the Swiss, together with the Reformed of other countries, to that synod, so as to get a consensus of all the Reformed Churches in regard to doctrine, in order that they might know how to deal with the new Arminian views that had come up. When, in the summer of 1618, the Swiss first received their invitation to the Synod, there was a tendency to decline it. The Arminian controversy was looked upon as rather a local controversy which concerned the church of the Netherlands and not Switzerland. They did not realize that underneath it was a general revulsion against "high supralapsarian Calvinism. Breitinger at first was unfavorable to the acceptance of the invitation to Dort, because such conferences often only embittered the strife, as at Marburg in 1529. He suggested that instead of sending delegates to Dort, Switzerland might send a judgment on the points at issue. But the Dutch were not satisfied with this. Special pressure was brought to bear on Breitinger by the Dutch ambassador in Switzerland and by Bogerman, his for- er fellow-student at Franeker. For the Arminians had been quoting the Swiss, especially Bullinger, as being on their side. The Dutch Calvinists, therefore, were very anxious to have the Swiss present, so as to prove that, from Zwingli down, the Swiss sympathized with them. The matter was finally disposed of by the Evan gelical Diet at Aarau, September 17, 1618. Letters were there read from the Prince of Orange and from the Elector of the Palatinate, who exerted a great deal of influence among the Swiss, urging their acceptance of the invitation to send delegates to Dort. So Breitinger finally acceded and gave his reasons for doing so, — that the Dutch Church looked up to the Swiss Church as the y/be ZURICH 23 mother church of the Reformer, — that their refusal would be apt to be misconstrued by the Arminians into indifference or opposition to the Calvinists. So the Diet appointed Breitinger, of Zurich; Rutimeyer, of Bern; Koch, of Schaffhausen, and Beck and Meyer, of Basle, as the Swiss delegates. Geneva also appointed delegates, but they were not included in this list, as I Geneva was not a part of the Swiss confederacy at that) time. The delegates from Geneva were Diodati and/ Theodore Tronchin. ' But, although the Swiss sent delegates, they were careful to guard them by instructions. The delegates were not to allow any revision of the Swiss confessions and to approve only what was in harmony with these confessions. They were to limit themselves in their de cisions only to the five articles of the Arminians around which the controversy gathered. Before going any far ther, they must first get advice from the churches at home. Breitinger also laid before the diet a number of aphorisms which stated the views of the Diet on the topics before the synod. These were later approved By Bern and Schaffhausen. But they were not strong enough for Basle, which drew up its own propositions sharply antithetic to the Arminians and introducing some other points of the controversy. But Breitinger's aphorisms proved very influential at the synod, for they were incorporated almost verbally into the canons : adopted by the synod. Through the great liberality of the Dutch, the Swiss delegates travelled to Dort in great comfort, Breitinger being especially favored by being allowed to have his own secretary and private physician, and also an out rider for protection. When he arrived at Dort, he was received with special honor as the representative of the mother-church of the Reformed and the seventh suc cessor of Zwingli. With the Bishop of Llandaff, of 24 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH England, he was the most distinguished foreigner at the synod. The Swiss delegates soon revealed their attitude as against the Arminians. Breitinger defended his prede cessor, Bullinger, against the claim of the Arminians that he favored their views. Though usually so cir cumspect in his language, he became quite severe against the Arminians. So strongly did the Swiss champion the cause of the Calvinists that the Dutch were accustomed to call them their "strong bulwark." He was one of the committee to draw up the canons of the synod,* which accounts for his aphorisms becoming a part of the canons. When the canons were adopted, he declared it was the happiest day of his life. While he was at Dort the centenary of the reforma tion at Zurich occurred, on January i, 1619. He ar ranged a celebration of that event, and invited to it the deputies of the States-General of Holland, Bogerman, the president of the synod, the Bishop of Llandaff, the delegates from the Palatinate, and the Swiss delegates.f At the close of the synod, the Dutch government presented the Swiss with 4,000 gulden for their return expenses, but they especially honored Breitinger by or dering that out of it he was to receive 100 gulden more than any of the others. The Dutch also gave him the title of Doctor of Divinity, but he refused it, as such titles were uncommon among the Swiss. While of the other Swiss delegates Rutimeyer went to Marburg, and the Basle delegates to England, Breitinger returned to * See Morikofer "J. J. Breitinger," page 33. Also Finsler in Meili's "Theologische Zeitschrift," 1895, page 185. t At Zurich also, in Breitinger's absence, the centenary of the reformation was observed. On January 1, 1619, a festival sermon was preached in the morning, and there were Latin ad dresses on the progress of the reformation by prominent pro fessors. ZURICH 25 Zurich. His return, through the canton of Zurich, was like a triumphal entry. Sixty-four outriders, repre senting the civil and religious authorities of Zurich, went as far as the Rhine to escort him back to Zu rich. The roads and streets as he passed through were filled with people gathered to show him honor. When he placed before the city council of Zurich the seventy-three gulden which remained of the money that the council had given him for his expenses, the council, to show their appreciation of the way he had honored his native city at Dort, presented him with a gold and a silver cup, each worth fifty crowns. One of them had the inscription: "Double strength has the pulpit when bound to the city hall. Double strength has the city council when in harmony with the pulpit." Breitinger then reported to the council the canons of I Dort. But they were not officially adopted by Zurich, J or by any of the Swiss cantons or districts except] Geneva; and Breitinger, strange to say, in his synodical address for that year, does not call attention to them, But we shall later see that, in the days of the Helvetic Consensus these canons, though never officially adopted by Zurich, were yet virtually the standard by which the doctrine of the Church was judged. Thus, in the heresy case of Zink, as we shall see, the canons of Dort were regarded as authoritative. There seems to be little doubt that the Zurich Church, in the days of Heidegger and Klingler, looked on the canons of Dort as being the au thoritative interpretation of the Helvetic Confession. During the awful Thirty Years War, Breitinger stood bravely at the head of the Church. He was es pecially active for the Reformed in persecution. Thus, after the terrible massacre of the Reformed in the Valtellina Valley in the canton of the Grisons, he and 26 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Zurich took special care of the refugees. When the Reformed of Germany were so terribly persecuted in the Thirty Years War and driven out, he was their refuge. His house was always open to young students coming from Bohemia and the Palatinate, so that they might be able to continue their studies. Thus, one of them, the famous scholar, John Henry Ott, declared that he learned more in Breitinger's house than in the university. Between 1624 and 1642, not less than twenty-seven collections were taken for the persecuted in Germany, amounting to 35,000 gulden. His health, however, began to fail, and after several strokes hejjiedj__ April 1, 1645, nearly seventy years of age. His last words were: "Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." His library he left to the descendants of the Breitinger family, hoping that it would stimulate their young men to become students. The result has been an almost unbroken succession of prominent men in that family. Breitinger was great in many ways: 1. As a preacher. We have already seen how he crowded the cathedral at his preaching. His published synodical addresses sustain his reputation. His ser mons on the Lord's Prayer (published 1616), reveal clearness of thought and are full of unction. 2. As a polemist. He was strong in his polemics against the Catholics and the Lutherans. But, though they were very decided, they were yet kindly in tone. The Catholics were then accustomed to argue that Prot estantism was a sect, and they declared no sect con tinued to exist a hundred years. Breitinger, in 1610, published a reply, showing that the Reformed Church was not a sect, but had the marks of a true church. And he also proved that its history would not end with its centenary. Against the Catholics he repeatedly lifted his warning voice. Once when a pervert to Catholicism, ZURICH 27 who had become a monk, through Breitinger's influence returned to Protestantism, the anger of the Catholics in the city of Baden, near Zurich, was so great that Zurich became alarmed for his safety, and sent three hundred armed citizens to Baden to guard him back to Zurich. But he rode boldly through Baden back to Zurich. It had been arranged that some of the school children should go out to meet and welcome him. When he heard their shouts of joy at his safety he was greatly moved, even to tears. 3. As a statesman. No antistes since the days of j Bullinger exerted so great an influence on the state asi he. When the Reformed were so terribly persecuted^ in the Grisons, he and the other ministers went to the city council, asking them to succor them. It used to be supposed that he was very cautious in politics, but recently, Professor Egli has shown that he was the leader of the Swedish party at Zurich. Zurich was, at that time, divided into two parties : a conservative party, which opposed all foreign alliances, for fear they would bring trouble on the canton ; and a religious party, which wanted to join with the Swedes against the Catholics. Breitinger was the leader of the latter, and as Egli _ says, it was not his fault that Zurich was not involved in the Thirty Years War. As a mark of friendship to Breitinger, the Swedish ambassador presented him with a portrait of the great Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus._ Breitinger also urged the fortification of Zurich and the city finally decided to follow his advice, although the fortifications were not begun till 1642. 4. As an ecclesiastical administrator. He introduced many reforms into the Church, as the closing of the! 1 cathedral, except during the hours ot church services?! ' "He had a religious census made of the city (1634), and it was repeated every three years. He introduced the "day of prayer and fasting" into the Church in 1619. 28 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH This, after 1638, was held yearly, in the autumn. He tried to have that day introduced all over Switzerland, but failed, though later it came into general use, and is now universally observed in Switzerland as the annual I day of thanksgiving, repentance and prayer. He intro duced the custom of catechizing the children on Sunday morning after the church service, a custom still kept up by the Zurich Church. One of the greatest of his re forms was the introduction of singing into the church services. In the latter part of the previous century the inhabitants of the Toggenburg had been forbidden by their ruler, the Catholic Abbot of St. Gall, to sing psalms, and they appealed to Zurich to aid them in their rights as Protestants, which she did. But it involved her in an inconsistency, — that she helped others to sing and yet opposed singing herself. So singing was or dered to be introduced January 25, 1598. But the people looked upon it as a novelty, and many of them left the church after the sermon and before the hymn was sung at the close of the service. It was due to Breitinger that singing was generally introduced. In_x6j:o, he sent a pastoral letter to the ministers urging the introduction of singing. Before the publication of a hymn-book for Zurich, in 1615, only the young people sang, but after 1619 the whole congregation took part in the singing, and even four-part music was introduced. To offset the introduction of theatrical plays, he led to the founding of a library. This led, in 163 1, to the foundation of the present valuable city library at Zurich in the Water^ Jjhurch. _He also led in the issuing of a new edition of the Zurich Bible. For Zurich had had the honor of /publishing the first Protestant Bible* in 1530, four years before the first Luther Bible was published. In it, Luther's translation was utilized as far as it had ap- * For a full description see Mezger "Geschichte der deutschen Bibelubersetzung in der schweizer-reformirten Kirche." ZURICH 29 peared, but Zwingli and Juda added translations of other books, as the Prophetical Books and Apocrypha. It was not so popular in style as the Lutheran Bible, but was a more literal translation, and being in the Swiss dialect of the German language, it soon became popular with the Swiss. It was frequently reprinted in the sixteenth century by that indomitable Zurich printer, Christopher Froschouer, who was a veritable Bible society in himself, because he published so many editions. His book-mark on the title-page, a frog (his name, Froschauer, was from frosch, a frog), is to be seen in many editions. This Bible was generally introduced into the districts in fluenced by Zurich as the Toggenburg, Glarus, Thurgau, Grisons and Schaffhausen. But Appenzell used the Lu ther Bible, as did Basle, whose liturgy of 1666 officially recognized it.* 5. As a pastor. In this he excelled. Theologian, polemist and preacher as he was, he was yet far from scholastic subtleties and emphasized practical Christianity. We have already noted his power in the visitation of the sick during the plague. He always revealed the great est tact. In those days it was believed that persons could be literally possessed with a devil. A story is told of Breit inger, that he was called on one occasion to see a fisher man, who had called his family together and told them that that night when the clock struck twelve he would be torn by evil spirits and carried away by them. As he continued in this belief up to eleven o'clock and was ih great agony, the family sent for Breitinger. As the clock approached the hour of twelve, one by one the family left the room. Breitinger remained and continually com forted him by assuring him that God would give the needed help. He prayed with the man, referring in the prayer to God's grace and strength against evil spirits. The man became very weak. As the clock struck twelve, * In 1679 the Bible was translated into the Romansch lan guage, the language of the Engadine. i 30 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the man declared he had conquered and fell asleep and slept till morning. Breitinger was, therefore, a remarkable antistes. Tholuck, though not Reformed, yet bears his witness to Breitinger's greatness, for he says that Breitinger was the greatest ecclesiastical character of the Reformed Church in the seventeenth century. Breitinger reminded Zurich of her position as the mother church of the Evan gelical gospel in Switzerland, — that she must, therefore, be a beacon light to other cantons and other lands. He thus roused her religious self-consciousness, so . that she regained her foremost position in Switzerland and elsewhere. During Breitinger's time several theologians appeared at Zurich, but he overshadowed them all by his great per sonality. We have already referred to Stucki and Baumler. Another ought to be added. If Stucki ex celled as the dogmatician and Baumler as the catechist, Hospinian was the historian of Zurich in that age. Rudolph Hospinian , was born November 7, 1547. Educated at Zurich, he studied at Marburg and Heidel berg, where he received the master's degree. In 1576 he became rector of jhe theological school at Zurich — \he CarolinunL During Breitinger's absence at Dort he took his place as president of the synod. His special field was history and polemics. He was the great historical pole mist against the Catholics. After many years researcr he published a number of works; in 1585, a work on th» "Origin of Christian Rites"; in 1587, a work on th« Temple; in 1588, on the Monks; in 1592, a work ob Christian Festivals and the origin of rites, and in 1619, "The History of the Jesuits," all directed against the Catholics. This led him into controversy with Bellar- min, the great Catholic historian. Protessor LudbertusT ""bi Holland, declared that among the many polemics against the Catholics, none had the influence of Hos- ZURICH 31 pinian. He also wrote polemical works against the Lu therans. In his "History of the Sacraments" (1598- 1603), he treated of the controversies between the Lu therans and Reformed. And also in his "Concordia Discors" (1607), published after the publication of the Formula of Concord of the Lutheran Church, he showed that that Formula, instead of being a formula of concord, was a formula of discord within the Lutheran Church and between the Lutherans and Reformed. He thus ac quired a great reputation all over Protestant Europe as an apologist. He died March 11, 1626. CHAPTER II Geneva The Genevan Church, like that of Zurich, failed to keep up the succession of prominent men like its re formers, Calvin and Beza. And yet she had a continued succession of able men. Her leading theologian, after Beza, was John Diodati, and with him was associated Benedict Turretin, the founder of a line of theologians for Geneva whose influence lasted for almost a century and a half. Section i prop. john diodati* With Breitinger, he was the most prominent repre sentative of Swiss Protestantism in the age immediately after the Reformation. He was descended from an Italian refugee from Lucca, Italy, who had fled to Geneva because of his Protestantism. He was born there July 3, 1576. He studied at Geneva under Beza, and made such rapid progress that by his nineteenth year, he was made doctor of theology. Beza had early noted his ability, and in 1597 wanted to turn over to him the in struction in Hebrew. He taught in Beza's place when Beza was sick and aged. At the early age of twenty- seven, in 1603, he undertook the translation of the Bible into Italian, and in 1607 he presented to the Venerable Company of Pastorsf with his Italian version of the * See "Vie de Jean Diodati," by Bude. t This was the body founded by Calvin that ruled the Church of Geneva. 32 GENEVA 33 Scriptures, which is, as we shall see, a remarkable trans lation, especially for so young a man. In 1606, though the Genevese pastors desired him to be ordained, yet he held back because of his sense of the great responsibility of the ministry. He was convinced that in order to be a spiritual leader one must have something that neither Greek nor Hebrew could give him. But he employed his years before ordination well, for having published the Italian version of the Bible, he now became active in Italian evangelization. Venice, at that time, seemed to be falling away from the papacy. It was then a re public, and had been excommunicated by the pope, and the feeling against him was very bitter. Paul Sarpi, of Venice, declared that from two thousand to fifteen thousand persons were inclined to leave the Church of Rome. It happened that just at that time England had a prominent Protestant ambassador at Venice, Sir Henry Wotton. The latter invited Diodati to come to Venice and evangelize. Diodati went there under an assumed name. But while he found the people violently opposed to the pope politically, there was little that was religious in their movement away from Rome. So he returned to Geneva, where Beza soon after died. Then Sir Henry Wotton* again wrote to him, urging him to come to Venice, as the way was open for the introduction of Protestantism into that republic. So he again visited Venice in 1608. There he labored, greatly aided by. ^SarpLand Wotton. But the assassination of King Henry IV of France and the recall of Wotton destroyed the hope of making Venice Protestant, so he returned to Geneva. Still, during his whole life, he was deeply in terested in the evangelization of Italy. He was called * Sir Henry Wotton was the man of whom a Catholic asked the question, "Where was your religion before Luther?" His apt reply was, "My religion before Luther was where yours is not now to be found, in the Word of God." . 34 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH as professor to the theological seminary at Saumur, France. But, just then,, Geneva was greatly threatened by the neighboring Duke of Savoy. So he was sent by Geneva (1611) among the churches of France to raise money for her fortification and also to gain military aid. He was very successful, and by his journey France and Geneva were brought still closer together. He so well pleased the churches of France that some of them tried to retain him as their pastor, as Nismes, which called him four times. But his life-work was at Geneva as pro fessor of theology. He appeared prominently in connection with the synod of Dort (1618-19). Geneva, unlike Zurich and the German cantons, did not try to avoid entering the con- troversy between the Calvinists and Arminians in Hol land, but had early sided against the Arminians. She at once appointed delegates to the synod at Dort— Dio- dati and Tronchin — and she gave them explicit instruc tions against the Arminians. They obeyed her instruc tions and strongly supported the Calvinists at the synod. On March 8, Diodati delivered an address before the synod on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The president of the synod was so pleased with it that he declared it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. He also read at the synod the memorial of Du Moulin, one of the French delegates (for France did not permit the delegates from the Huguenot Church to come to the synod), which was severe against the Arminians. When the Arminians were condemned, the Bremen and Eng lish delegates were against the use of political force against the Arminians, but the Genevese joined hands strongly with the Dutch in advocating severe measures against them, and, as a result, the Hollanders drove the Arminians into exile. It is said he was one of the com mittee to draw up the canons of the synod. After the synod he travelled through England before GENEVA 35 returning to Geneva. It was largely through his influ ence and through the sympathy that Geneva had for the high-Calvinism of Holland as well as the gratitude of the Genevese to Holland for political and financial help in fortifying and protecting their city against the Duke of Savoy, that Geneva officially adopted the canons of Dort in 1620, the only Swiss cantonto do so. . He was not only professor of theology, but a bold preacher of the Gospel. Once he threw a bomb-shell into the papal camp in one of his sermons. Preaching on Paul's words, "it is not permitted a woman to teach or to rule over man,'' he publicly declared that Pope Innocent X was ruled by his mistress, Olympia. It happened that the papal nuncio, who was passing through Geneva, was present at the service and heard him. He carried the news of it to his master at Rome, and it led the pope to put away his mistress. On another occasion, after King Charles I of England had been put to death, the city council forbade any of the pastors to make allusion to it, as they wanted to retain the friendship of England. But Diodati boldly declaimed against the murderers of the king, and for this was censured by his city. He continued teaching theology till 1644, when he retired on account of ill-health. He died October 13. 164Q. He was severe in doctrine, and for his severity has been called the "Cato of Geneva." But with it all he was very kind and charitable, for, in the famine of 1630, he advanced large sums of money to the government for the purchase of corn. But his greatest work was his fine translation of the Bible into the Italian language in 1607. During his life time he prepared three editions of this version. It is remarkable for its faithfulness, clearness, elegance of style and valuable notes. So excellent was it that it has continued in use in Italy even down to the present time, though some words in it have become obsolete. To 36 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH not many men is given the honor of translating the Bible into two languages, as few are able to translate it into one acceptably. But Diodati not only translated the Bible into Italian, but he also published a transla tion of it into French in 1644 ; but his French translation was inferior to his Italian version. Nevertheless, they reveal his remarkable linguistic skill. His French ver sion has since been superseded by Martin's and, later, by Osterwald's. PART II THE EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE LUTHERANISM CHAPTER I Bern* Section i the megander-bucer controversy The canton of Bern had been Zwinglian as long as Berthold. Haller. its reformer, lived. But when he died (1536), strong tendencies toward Lutheranism ap- peared.f In place of Haller and his assistant, Kolb, there were now elected Kunz and Meyer, both favorable to Luther. Among the ministers of the city of Bern only Erasmus Ritter was a Zwinglian. Bern did not have antistes like the other German cantons, but each classis had a dekan, and the dekan of the classis of the city of Bern was considered the head-dekan of the Church. This position was held by Ritter. But the ablest adherent of Zwinglianism was Casper Grossman,. whose name was Latinized into Megander. He had been born at Zurich, 1495, and while pastor at Zurich, had * See Hundeshagen "Die Conflict des Zwinglianismus, Lu- therthums und Calvinismus in der Bernischen Kirche." Also Guder "Der Berner Catechismus," in "Die Kirche der Gegen- nart," 1850. t Indeed, it will be remembered that even as early as the Bern Conference (1528) a voice or two were heard at the con ference favoring Luther. 37 38 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH come to the Bern Conference (1528), where he was known as a prominent Zwinglian, and as such he had been called to Bern. His friends called him the Delphic oracle, but his enemies of the Lutheran party nicknamed him "Zwingli's monkey or ape," because he so closely imitated Zwingli. While the city of Bern now inclined toward Lutheranism, the country pastors generally sup ported Megander. The first outbreak in favor of Lutheranism occurred in connection with the Wittenberg Concord, published 1536, the compromise creed of Germany which even Lu ther accepted. An attempt was made by the Lutheran- izers, aided by Bucer and Capito of the Reformed of Strasburg, to get Bern to accept this German creed. But though Meyer and Kunz urged it, the synod of Oc tober, 1536, refused to adopt it. Megander and Ritter then (May 14, 1537) denounced Meyer for his Lutheran and Romish tendencies before the classes of Buren and Thunstetten. His case was then carried up to the Bern synod, which forbade any novelties. The council of Bern was inclined to Lutheranism because its members wanted to get into more intimacy with Germany, but the majority of the synod was the other way. Then Bucer wrote from Strasburg that he would come to Bern, and he and Capito arrived at Bern in September, 1537, to aid the efforts of the Lutheranizing party in getting Bern to adopt, if possible, the Wittenberg Concord. Bucer made an address to the Bern synod, in which he declared that the great hinderance to union between the Protestant churches was the Megander catechism with its Zwinglian doctrine of the Lord's Supper. Megander had, at the request of the council, prepared this catechism, which closely followed Leo Juda's catechism. It had been pub lished in 1536, and was soon widely introduced in the can ton. Bucer, especially through the aid of Meyer and Kunz, quite won the synod and the council. And the lat- BERN 39 ter ordered Megander, together with Bucer, to modify the statements of the catechism about the Lord's Supper, so as to bring it nearer the Lutheran views. But Bucer did not wait for Megander to do this. Without Megan- der's aid, he altered the catechism and published this modified catechism, and the council approved this Bucer catechism on November 6, 1537, and ordered it to be introduced in the canton. It was but natural that Megander should protest against such a high-handed pro ceeding, because he felt it was treason to the doctrines of the old Bern church, which had always followed Zwingli. He, therefore, entered complaint against Bu- cer's conduct, but Kunz and Mjeyer defended Bucer. The other Swiss cantons, as Zurich and Geneva, opposed the introduction of this catechism. Megander, in anger, re signed, and left Bern at the end of 1537 and went to Zurich, where he became canon, and died 1545. The Bucer catechism differed from the Megander catechism mainly in its arrangement and on the sacra ments.* The arrangement of Megander's catechism was, decalogue, creed, Lord's Prayer and sacraments. Bucer reversed this, making it, Lord's Prayer, creed, decalogue. The difference on the sacraments was also marked, es pecially on the Lord's Supper. Bucer made them more than signs, he made them grace-bearing. In Bucer's, baptism was the sign by which we were born again, and in the Lord's Supper Christ gives himself with the bread in invisible heavenly ways, and the communicant received the communion of the body and blood of Christ. * It is quite difficult to say much about this catechism of Bucer's, because the only copy of it, which was in the cantonal library at Aarau, has become lost and could not be found when we visited thejibrary some years ago. There was also a French translation of the Catechism made to counteract Calvin's influ- 1 ence in the French part of the canton of Bern, of which there may be a copy. 40 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH But though the Bucer catechism was published under the authority of the council, there was a great deal of i opposition to its introduction. The French ministers of the Vaud district in the south, being Calvinists, would not receive it. The ministers of the Aargau district in the north, the district of Bern nearest Zurich, and which, Uherefore7)most heartily sympathized with Zwingli, also the classes of Buren and Nydau, sent a memorial to the little council of Bern against it. They objected to the autocratic procedure of the government in adopting and introducing it, and they also objected to the catechism because it contained equivocal phrases and ambiguous terms contrary to the teachings of the Bern conference (1528) and the Bern synod (1532). Finally, the council at Bern judged it wise to compro mise. After allowing a change in two passages, it de clared, February 2, 1538, that the Bucer catechism did not abrogate the Megander catechism, but was only an interpretation of it. As a result, both catechisms could be officially used, and were so used side by side. But the Megander catechism, more and more, gained the upper hand as time rolled by. In 1542, the council or dered that hereafter the catechisms be interpreted ac cording to the decisions of the Bern Conference of 1528. This was a blow at Lutheranism. The two parties, Lutheran and Reformed, continued to exist, especially in the city of Bern, so that, finally, in 1545, the council ordered that the sacraments should not be treated in catechization, but should be left for preaching. Thus, the Megander catechism, and with it the Reformed views, retained their place in the canton. When Megander and Rhellican resigned on account of Bucer's actions, in their places came two Lutherans. Thomas Grynaeus and Simon Sulzer. Sulzer was one of the ablest men that Bern had produced, for he was a Bernese by birth. His influence soon began to tell. BERN 41 He began, especially after he became professor of the ology, in 1540, to introduce slight modifications of the worship and customs favorable to Lutheranism, as a sort of confessional before the communion, the holding back of the unworthy from the Lord's Supper, and the preservation of the elements of the communion after the Lord's Supper as especially holy. He also attempted to introduce lay-baptism and the communion of the sick, the former a Lutheran custom which the Reformed have always opposed, and the latter contrary to the universal custom of the Bern church, even down to the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, the Lutheran party began to feel itself so strong as to become aggressive. After Bucer's de parture, Kunz made an attack on the use of bread at the Lord's Supper instead of wafers, which had been the custom of the Bern church. Farel had been the apostle of bread-breaking as the most farthest removed from all superstitious magic of the wafer. And the French churches, as in the French district of Vaud, had followed him. Kunz gained sympathy for his views, for the civil authorities of Bern had, all through the reforma tion, opposed the Calvinistic church government and cus toms. For nowhere were Zwingli's Erastian views of the relations of Church and state so fully developed as in Bern, *where not only were church and state united, but the Church was merely an arm of the state. __ In giving up the rule by bishops in the reformation, the state had taken the bishop's place and ruled with his authority. So the Bern council, on account of this controversy about the the use of bread, called a synod at Lauasanne, March, 1538. It decided against the introduction of bread into the can ton and so bread was not introduced until 1605. By 1 541, Meyer felt his party was so strong that he began to attack the Zwinglian doctrines. The matter was brought before the city council, but it ordered that 42 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH nothing be preached contrary to the Bern Conference (1528). As a result, Meyer, feeling that the Lutheran party was losing ground, resigned and left (1541). The reaction against Lutheranism now began to get full swing. While the ministers of the city of Bern had been inclined, with some exceptions, toward Lutheranism, the country ministers now rose against the Lutheran inno vations. Ritter, feeling their support, became more ag gressive. The council of Bern also changed and became more conservative. Their eyes had been opened to the fact that the nearer they got to Germany, the farther they got from their Swiss neighbors. And as Protestantism in Germany had been weakened by the introduction of the -Interim, Bern felt the necessity of the Swiss cantons coming closer together. Then Kunz died, February 11, 1544. This left Sulzer alone as the leader of the Lu- theranizing party, though Grynaeus still remained. In the place of Kunz came Textor, a Zwinglian. When Ritter died (1546), Sulzer made a desperate effort to re coup the fortunes of his party by getting a Lutheran elected in his place, but he failed. Kilchmeyer, a Zwing lian, was elected and also made dekan or head of the Church. He caused an investigation of the schools to be made, which revealed that most of the students sym pathized with Lutheranism. This brought matters to a crisis. Grynaeus was dismissed (1547), and the next year, Sulzer, with his two Lutheran sympathizers, was t dismissed. Thus, by 1548, the Lutheran movement came to an end and Bern returned to its earlier Zwinglianism or, rather, advanced from that, as we shall see, to Calvinism. Section 2 the reorganization oe the bern church The Lutheran minority having disappeared, the time BERN 43 had come for the reorganization of the church and school of Bern. To do this work, Bern called three men — John Haller, Wolfang Musculus and Benedict Aretius. John Haller was the first legitimate son of a Bernese priest. He* "was born January 18, 1525. His father, for thus marrying, was compelled to flee, and went to Zurich, where the son was educated. He became pas tor at Augsburg, in Germany, and was, in 1547, called to Zurich as the helper of Bullinger. He had hardly en tered on this position when Bern called him to take Sul- zer's place. So Zurich loaned him to Bern for a year, but he stayed at Bern till his death (1575). He came to Bern May 10, 1548. In 1552, though not yet twenty- seven years of age, he was made dekan or head of the Bern Church in Kilchmeyer's place. In doctrine he was a Zwinglian. He was a fine executive, a man of great wisdom and common sense, a rare combination of mild ness and firmness. He ruled the church wisely. He introduced (1569) singing into the church services, for Bern, like Zurich, had entirely set aside singing. But "he had learned to love music in the church services dur ing his stay in Germany. It was due in a large degree to his wisdom that the difficulties between Calvin and the Bernese were adjusted. Haller died September 2, , 1575- His first effort was to build up the school at Bern, which had suffered from the recent theological contro versies. He aimed to get men of ability and reputation as professors. To this end Wolfgang Musculus was called' from Augsburg, where he had been the colleague of Haller. By the introduction of the Interim in Germany he had been driven out of Augsburg and was glad to come to Bern. Though a German by birth, he fitted into the Swiss admirably. He came April 25, 1549. He was a fine exegete. So great was his reputation that he was called to Heidelberg in 1560, but declined. Haller 44 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Wo- and (himself.! were so united in friendship that both had vowed to live and die together. His reputation led him, at the suggestion of Bucer, to be called to Oxford, England, in 1551, but he refused because of Bern's great kindness to him and his large family. He also had calls to Strasburg and Marburg, but declined. The Bernese learned to love him and called him "venerable old man," and Haller looked up to him as a father. When Haller died he would have been chosen dekan, but Bern chose only Bernese by birth for that position, and Musculus was a German, having been born in Lorraine, 1497. He published a work of dogmatics (1554), which was early translated into English (1563). Though he had be longed to the mediating party in Germany that tried to mediate between the Lutherans and Reformed, yet, in this work, he reveals himself as thoroughly Reformed on election and the Lord's Supper. He was the first great theologian of Bern. He aided Haller in the in troduction of singing, for he had brought from Germany his love of music and was the author of some hymns. He labored for the consolidation of the Church of Bern. He died August 30, 1563. „ _. Benedict Aretius^or, as he was called "_Marti^.' was gkg>) a Bernese by birth, having been born at Batter- kirchen, 1505. He studied at Bern and then went abroad to Strasburg and Marburg. Though still young, he was appointed professor of logic at Marburg University (1548). Bern called him home that year, but at his re quest he was permitted to stay, till 1553, at Marburg. When he returned to Bern as professor in the Latin school, he found himself suspected of Lutheran leanings, because he had stayed so long at a Lutheran university (for Marburg was then Lutheran, though low in its Lutheranism, and did not become Reformed until early in the next century). But he revealed in his theological teachings (he became professor of theology, 1564, after BERN 45 Musculus' death), that he was thoroughly Reformed. Aretius died March 22, 1574. He was a very learned man, not only in philosophy and theology, but also in the sciences, especially mathematics, astronomy and botany. He wrote two leading works on theology. The first was a compendium of theology (1557) which passed through six editions in fourteen years, and in all passed through twelve editions. His main work was a handbook of dog matics (1573), which passed through five editions and was influential in Reformed dogmatics. What made them so popular was his clearness of thought and logical ar rangement. He also gained fame as a commentator. Sev eral of his commentaries were published by two of his students after his death. These met with such a wide cir culation that additional volumes were published, the last one thirty years after his death. They cover the New Testament, Pentateuch and Psalms. ^^Jt - was during his professorship that Bern had its ^ervetuQJj case. John Valentine Gentilis had been ~ drivejKtut of Naples for his heresies. He fled to Lyons, where he attacked Calvin's doctrine of the trinity. Then he fled to Bern, where he wrote a paper which he dedi cated to a Bernese magistrate, Wurstenberger, who, be cause it compromised him with a heretic, became very angry. Gentilis went to Poland, but, after Calvin's death, thought it was safe for him to return to Switzerland. But he had forgotten Wurstenberger and, as soon as he entered the canton of Bern, he was arrested. He was brought to Bern July 19, 1566. During the long civil process, Hallej^ Aretius and Beza, who happened to be in Bern at that time, tried to lead him from his heresies, but in vain. So he was beheaded by the Bernese au thorities in 1567. This act of Bern, though contrary to our ideas of religious liberty to-day, was commended by the leading theologians and princes of different churches and lands. But Bern seems to have felt some criticism 46 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH against her for this act, for she appointed Aretius to write a pamphlet in its vindication. He did so (1567), and in it gives the life of Gentilis, but says compara tively little in vindication of Bern, though he defends the doctrine of the trinity against Gentilis. The execu tion of Servetus and Gentilis were the products of that age rather than of individual men. It has taken the world several centuries to learn religious liberty. This whole period of Haller, Musculus and Aretius was not only a reaction against Lutheranism, but re vealed a tendency from Zwinglianism up to Calvinism. Haller had prepared the way for this by checking the friction between Calvin and Bern. Beza gained more and more influence in Bern. The increasing number of French who were settling in the southern district of Bern, the Vaud district, increased the influence of Cal vinism, so that we will not be surprised to find that, in the next period, Bern has gone clear over to high- Calvinism. Section 3 the huber controversy Although Lutheranism has been crushed in Bern, yet a remaining remnant of it appeared in the Huber con troversy. This was not so much an attempt to introduce Lutheranism as a protest against the growing tendency in Bern from the lower Zwinglianism to the higher Calvinism. The first sign of it was a controversy about the in troduction of bread instead of wafers, in 1581. The southern, or Vaud, district had been using bread be cause Calvinistic, and some of the congregations in the Aargau district also used bread probably through the influence of neighboring Zurich. So the Bern synod, led by Muslin, the son of Wolfgang Musculus, who was BERN 47 the dekan of the Bern Church, proposed to the authori ties that bread be used at the communion instead of wafers, in order that there might be uniformity in the churches, and also because it was more Scriptural and less open to abuse and superstition. Then it was that Samuel Huber, the pastor at Burgdorf and vice-dekan of his classis, who sympathized with the Lutherans doc- trinally, opposed it. And he had influence enough so that the council decided that nothing new should be in troduced. So bread was not introduced till 1605. Huber, always watchful against the Calvinists, then took advantage of the publication of a work by Beza, in 1580, about the plague. Beza took the ground thatl the segregation of the sick was necessary, and that one! had a right to flee from, the plague. But Beza was] ahead of his times in suggesting this. The book caused a sensation, especially in Vaud, as this was looked upon as going against God's will, for He it was who sent the plague; and, besides, some of the pastors might be tempted by the book to flee from their congregations during the plague, just when their services were most required. So Beza, at the advice of his friends, tried to withdraw the book; but this was not possible, as some copies had already been sold. Huber, who hated Beza for his doctrine of predestination, took advantage of this and, without asking permission of the city authorities, he published a severe attack on it in 1583. But his best opportunity against the Calvinists came in connection with the Conference at Montbeliard, in 1586.* The Duke of Montbeliard was a Lutheran, but he had married Anna Coligny, who was Reformed. He was, therefore, anxious to bring the Lutherans and the * Montbeliard lays west-northwest of Switzerland, on the borders of the canton of Basle. It belonged to Wurtemberg, which was Lutheran, but had been converted from Catholicism mainly by the Reformed. 48 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Reformed together, especially as he was so surrounded by Catholics. He, therefore, arranged this conference between the Lutherans and the Reformed. Andrea and Luke Osiander appeared for the Lutherans, and for the Reformed, Beza and Fay, from Geneva; Muslin and Hubner (professor of Greek), from Bern and Auberry (professor of philosophy), from Lausanne. For four days they debated the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. On the fifth day Andrea shrewdly turned attention to predestination. He hoped this doctrine would divide the conservative Swiss, who held to the older ideas of the reformation before predestination had become so promi nent, from the latter Reformed, like Beza, who so em phasized the doctrine. As a result, the conference broke up without a union of the Lutherans and Reformed. Both sides claimed the victory and published reports of the conference. It happened that a c_opy of Andrea's report fell into the hands of Huber. Lit was water on his milljj Here was the opportunity long sought for to strike at both Beza and Muslin. So he published the predestination views of Beza, putting them as sharply as possible, so as to stir up Bern against Muslin. He charged Muslin that he taught a doctrine new to Bern and had subscribed to it at Montbeliard. Huber's pub lication found a favorable hearing among some of the country pastors. The Bern authorities then cited him to appear before them September 17, 1587. He there complained against the new doctrine of predestination and asked that he would not be forced to subscribe to this new doctrine. The authorities granted his request, but asked him not to stir up the ministers any further by his publications. But he soon made another charge against Muslin and on November 20, both parties were cited to appear be fore the council. Huber wanted to make his complaint before the council. Mluslin refused, as he declared he BERN 49 was not prepared to answer, but he said that if Huber would put his complaints into writing he would answer in writing. To this the council agreed, but both parties were to hold their peace. Muslin laid his reply to Huber before the council on December 12. But Huber, a born polemist, could not hold his peace. So it was decided to call together a large and repre sentative council, April 15, 1588, to decide the matter. To this conference was invited a prominent representa tive from each of the other three Evangelical cantons of Switzerland — Basle, Zurich and Schaffhausen. Huber submitted a bill of four complaints, saying that Muslin held limited atonement and election and that the elect could not fall from grace. His charges were in no ways verbally like the doctrines of the council of Montbeliard, but he stated them thus so as to put predestination in its most objectionable form. Muslin was not greatly embarrassed by these charges. It is true predestination had not appeared in the early Bern confessions. Indeed, in those early days, contro versies on the subject had been forbidden in the Vaud district, where Calvin's doctrines were most closely fol lowed. But Muslin could say, as Calvin had once said, that if predestination was not mentioned in the Bern confession, there was nothing to show that the confession was against it. He could also call up the earlier theo logians of Bern, Berthold Haller, Wolfang Musculus and Aretius, in whose books predestination and reprobation were plainly stated; also that since the adoption of the Second Helvetic Confession this doctrine had become well-nigh universal among the Swiss. And Beza and himself, after their return from Montbeliard, had sub mitted their theological statements there to the theological professors at Basle, Zurich and Heidelberg, without a word of opposition from them. 5o THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH The conference* met April 15, 1588, at Bern. Three foreign delegates were present, Antistes J. J. Grynaeus, from Basle; Prof. J. W. Stucki, from Zurich, and Antistes Jezeler] from Schaffhausen. The delegates from Geneva to Montbeliard, Beza and La Fay, were also present. Stucki came, bringing the judgment of Antistes Stumpf, of Zurich, that the doctrine of Beza and Muslin was not new, but was the old Reformed doc trine. Of the foreign delegates the most influential was Antistes Grynaeus: (1) because he had been born at Bern, where, as we have seen, his father had been pro fessor, and had been dismissed, with Sulzer, for his Lutheranism, and (2) because he had left Lutheranism for the Reformed faith. Of the delegates from Bern, two, Metzger and Iselin, were outspoken for Huber and two others sympathized with him less openly. When the conference opened, Stucki, Grynaeus and Jezeler made introductory addresses. Beza and Muslin then declared that they had not introduced new doc trines at Montbeliard. Huber then began to debate on his articles of complaint. Here Beza interrupted him and compelled him to admit that his articles were not word for word the same as those of the Montbeliard conference. Huber then tried to show that Muslin had also contradicted himself, for, in a Christmas sermon, he had declared that Christ died for all men, and yet, at the Montbeliard conference, he held that Christ had died only for the elect. Muslin arose to reply, when he was interrupted by Huber in German. The foreign dele gates, who were presiding, objected to this, as it had been agreed upon, much to Huber's chagrin, that Latin and not German was to be the language of the confer- * For a full account of this conference see Berner "Taschen- buch," 1854, pages 171-230, and Schweitzer's "Die Central-Dogmen der reformirten Kirche," Vol. 1, page 544. BERN ence. Huber became angry at their interruption and complained to the audience against them, declaring that there was a plot against him. Musculus then replied that Christ's death was sufficient for all but efficient only for the elect, and showed that the Scriptures, the Helvetic Confession, the Bern liturgy, the reformer Berthold Hal ler and others, were against Huber. The next day the conference met again. Huber en deavored to" reply to Muslin from Scripture. Grynaeus then appealed to Huber to give arguments and not merely opinions. Huber appealed to the audience against this and said the interference of the foreign delegates had confused the disputation. In the afternoon the for eign delegates wanted to go to the other articles. Huber, as long as he was on the offensive, revealed strength, but when he was put on the defensive he be came confused, as when Stucki asked him what he un derstood to be the Biblical conception of election. Huber then went on to denounce Calvin's doctrine of election as a horrible blasphemy. The foreign delegates de manded that he take that back, which he finally did evasively. The next day the three foreign delegates appeared before the council and declared that they did not wish to spend any more time in the disputation or be any more humiliated by Huber's attacks on them. They de clared that Huber had not in any way proved his first charge against Muslin. Their desire was that a com promise might be reached. Muslin and Beza both de clared that they were willing to leave the matter in the hands of the foreign delegates and, finally, even Huber agreed to do so if the authorities so desired. The for eign delegates spent the whole of the next day in try ing to bring about harmony. Grynaeus was especially solicitous for it, for he had promised that if unity could be secured in Bern he would get Basle to subscribe to 52 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the Second Helvetic Confession. They finally suggested articles of agreement, which were adopted by the coun cil, only Metzger and Iselin voting against them. These articles decided against Huber and for Beza and Muslin. Huber now refused to submit to this decision. On April 22, the foreign delegates reported to the council of the two hundred, the highest court, that Huber's points of complaint were not those of the Montbeliard confer ence either in word or in meaning, but that Huber had been led astray by Andrea. They declared that Beza's and Muslin's doctrine was not new in Bern, but had been Berthold Haller's, and was in accord with that of the Reformed Churches of Zurich, Basle, Schaffhausen and the Palatinate. The council adopted the report. But then it disagreed as to Huber's punishment, whether he should be banished or imprisoned, and, finally, only or dered him to keep silence. Before the foreign delegates left, they had to decide, April 23, on the case of Prof. Claude Auberry, professor of philosophy at Lausanne, and the third of the dele gates to Montbeliard. He was charged with having pub lished erroneous views on justification — that the right eousness of God was not reckoned over to us as in justi- ficatioji3.y„_faitJ^JEaiLwas Jinfu_aejd__or_ flowed^ as a new qualityjnto us. He made sanctification in contrast with sin a part of justification. But this was more easily ad justed than Huber's case, for Auberry was not a pole mist like Huber and subscribed to a formula prepared by them. Yet, five years later, he was dismissed from Lau sanne for this heresy. The foreign delegates were then dismissed with the thanks of the conference, and they departed April 24. Huber also went back to Burgdorf. But he could not keep quiet, especially as the friends of Muslin openly declared their victory and preached the doctrines he hated. So he determined to state his side of the contro- BERN 53 versy. He began to write down the proceedings of the conference, and to do this he had to employ an amanu ensis. The news of this came to Bern, and the authori ties feared a new polemic. They feared he would send an account of the Bern conference to Tubingen, where Andrea could pervert its meaning, as they felt he had done the proceedings of the Montbeliard conference, and then publish it. So they sent a councilor to Burgdorf, June 20, to examine Huber's papers. Huber was absent, but they found nothing. In the evening, he brought two sheets of his writing, but his declaration did not agree with that of his amanuensis. The authorities were, therefore, all the more suspicious of his correspondence with Andrea. So they took his keys, searched his papers, and arrested and brought him to Bern, June 25. On June 28, he had a hearing before the council. He finally found it best to give up the rest of what he had written, which was found to contain attacks on both the living and the dead. The council then asked him whether he was willing to abide by the decision of the late con ference. He asked for time to consider. But the coun cil became weary of waiting for him and, finally, decided he must leave the canton within fourteen days. I Huber, however, did not wait that long. On June 30 he left, and by July 8 he had arrived at Tubingen, in Wurtemberg, and asked protection there. The Duke of Wurtemberg tried, through his ambassador, to have him restored to Bern, but in vain. He subscribed to the Lutheran Formula of Concord and received a par ish near Tubingen, where he published the proceedings of the Bern conference and made it appear that both the conference and the council had declared that An drea's publication of the Montbeliard Conference was false. Andrea, therefore, took the matter up, and an embassy was sent to Bern to complain against such a slander. The embassy consisted of Andrea and three 54 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH political ambassadors. On September 5, 1588, they met the council at Bern. They suggested a conference of the Reformed and the Lutherans to compare the two published acts of Montbeliard and consider the points at issue. Lindau was selected as the place, but the plague broke out there. In the meanwhile Bern had sounded the other Evangelical cantons whether they would go into such a conference. Basle and Schaffhausen refused, because they were weary of the controversy. Then Andrea wanted to have the conference with Bern alone. But Bern refused to separate herself from the other cantons, and declined, glad to get rid of the trou blesome case. During these negotiations Huber was quiet. But soon his polemical nature rose again and he wrote a Latin work, dedicated to the Bern council, and sent it to them. In it he especially attacked Grynaeus and the foreign delegates for their support of Beza and Muslin. His attack angered the Swiss, and the matter was brought before their Evangelical Diet (1594). Bern was or dered to reply. And Muslin prepared the reply, giv ing a full account of the whole process against Huber, ending it with a quotation from Luther on determinism which, of course, was against Huber. Then Wurtem berg again urged a conference. But Zurich declared it unnecessary, as Muslin was dead, and Huber was not worthy of an answer. But Huber's polemical nature soon brought him into controversy with the Lutherans as it had done with the Reformed. He found them at Tubingen not universal- istic enough, and he charged them with holding a sort of predestination. Then he was called to Saxony ( 1592) , which was just recovering from its tendency to Crypto- Calvinism. And he was looked upon as just the man for the time, because he had had experience in attack ing the Reformed. But there he got into controversy BERN 55 with Professor Leyser about baptism and election, and was dismissed and banished, 1595. He became a wan derer and died 1624. Thus, Bern, after having passed through an era of Lutheranizing, finally landed in strict Calvinism. This conference at Bern finally committed her to it. One would hardly have thought that Calvin, against whose views Bern had so strongly protested in the early reforma tion would thus become supreme at Bern. But it was only in doctrine that Calvin triumphed and not in church government, for Bern remained Erastian, the church be ing only an arm of the state. Section 4 the district of vaud In this district there were no tendencies toward Lu theranism but rather to Calvinism, for it was French in language. Yet this district needs to be noted as a bul wark against Lutheranism. The Academy at Lausanne, opened (1540) under Viret, had flourished under Beza. When he left (1558) it almost collapsed. The Bern authorities tried hard to bring it up again as by the calling of prominent professors from abroad as Hyperius, from Marburg, and Ursinus, from Heidelberg, but they failed. It, however, continued its work quietly, but it was not until the end of the sixteenth century that it had a professor prominent enough to deserve mention. William Bucanus was of French origin, but was early called to Switzerland. He became pastor at Yver- don, in Vaud, in 1572. In 1591, he was called as pro fessor of theology at Lausanne. At that time, as we have already noted at the Bern Conference, the Academy had been greatly agitated by a controversy about justification and sanctification, between Professors Aubrey and Lescaille. Bucanus was a strong Calvinist. 56 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH He was learned and exact in his statements; but there was not much originality about him. Still his dogmatics (published 1602) gave him fame and exerted consider able influence. It was early translated into English. A curious event came out of this work. It was publicly burned both at Oxford and London. For it seemed a young theologian of London, named Knight, had quoted from it in a public address to prove that, in time of dan ger, citizens were justified in taking up arms, even against their ruler. Knight, when arrested, referred to the works of Pareus and Junius, together with Bucanus' dogmatics.* So all the extant copies of Bucanus in Eng land were destroyed. There does not seem to be any thing dangerous in the book, and only an unusual occur ence like this would have led to such a result. Bucanus died of apoplexy, August 16, 1603. * He referred to pages 788-89 of the dogmatics. CHAPTER II Basle BaslE followed Bern in inclining toward Lutheranism. The successor of the first antistes, Ecolampadius (who died 1531), was Oswald Myconius (1531-52). He gave Basle her first confession, the First Helvetic Confession^ He was suspected by some of leanings toward Luther- \ anism, but he seems to have been Reformed, though \ liberal in his views. Still, in the strife between creeds and about the Lord's Supper, he generally took a some- / what mediating position. This is shown in the Second' Basle or First Helvetic Confession, which was drawn up by Bullinger, Leo Juda and himself (1536). When the Tigurine Confession was adopted (1549), which bound Zurich and Geneva together on the Lord's Sup per, he complained that Basle had not been consulted. When the Second Helvetic Confession was adopted by the Swiss, Basle was the only church that held out against it, holding only to the First Helvetic Confession. When Myconius died. Ambrose Blaarer. who had been the reformer of Constance, but then living at Biel, was elected antistes. When he declined Sulzer was chosen. Section i antistes simon sulzer (l553"85)* We have already noted Sulzer's tendency to Luther- * See Hagenbach "Kritische Geschichte der Entstehung und der Schicksale der ersten Basler Confession," Basle, 1827, pages 87-137; also Linder "Simon Sulzer," 1890. 57 58 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH anism at Bern. He was born September 23, 1508, near Interlaken, in Bern. His father dying, he had to give up study and become a barber's apprentice. But Berthold Haller noticed his abilities and recommended him to the Bern Church for support. Sulzer studied at Basle and then at Strasburg, where he proved an apt scholar of the unionist Bucer, only he carried his prin ciples farther by becoming a unionist with distinctively Lutheran leanings. This tendency was strengthened by a visit he made (1536-38) to Wittenberg, where he met Luther, whose personality greatly impressed him. He returned to Bern, 1538, and remained there ten years, until compelled to resign because of his Lutheranism. He then went to Basle, where he became (1549) pastor of St. Peter's Church and (1552) professor of the Old Testament.* In 1554, he was transferred to the New Testament, but, after he became antistes, he returned to the Old Testament (1575). His recognized ability led him to be elected antistes in 1553. As antistes he early began revealing Lutheran ten dencies, just as he had done at Bern. He tried to in troduce the Lutheran confessional before the Lord's Supper instead of the preparatory service of the Re -formed. He also urged the excommunication or hold ing back of the unworthy from the Lord's table, and treated the unused elements of the communion as spe cially holy, which was contrary to Reformed ideas. Still he aimed to be circumspect and discreet in doing all this. He was in close correspondence with the leaders of the Lutheran Church, as Andrea, of Wurtem berg, and Marbach, of Strasburg. He tried to bring in Lutheranism by weakening the Reformed position in *At the Basle University there were originally only two professors of theology, one of the Old Testament, the other of the New. The occupant of the first was generally promoted to the second when there was a vacancy. BASLE 59 Basle. Strong influences had been brought to bear on Basle to get it to adopt the Second Helvetic Confession. But Sulzer felt that the adoption of that confession would be another tie binding Basle to the Reformed, and so opposed it, giving as a reason that Basle already had her own confession, the Second Basle or First Helvetic, with which she was satisfied and she did not, therefore, need another creed. He not only weakened the Re formed position there by thus opposing the Second Hel vetic Confession, but he tried to weaken the Basle Con fession itself. This First Helvetic Confession had been published with marginal notes which gave it a more distinctly Reformed significance. In the reprinting of that confession, he caused the marginal notes to be omitted, because they were decidedly against the Lu theran doctrine of the presence of Christ's body at the Lord's Supper. He then went farther and claimed that this Basle confession agreed virtually with the Augs burg Confession of the Lutherans. Seeing, as he did, no difference between them, he, the antistes of Reformed ^ Basle, also became the superintendent of the Lutheran Church of neighboring Baden, in 1556, hoping thus he might the more readily bring about a union of the two churches. Gradually he introduced more and more of Lutheran ism into Basle. Thus he introduced lay-baptism, a dis tinctively Lutheran custom and not at all Reformed. He also introduced communion of the sick, which many of the Reformed, especially in Switzerland, opposed at that time. On Palm Sunday, 1558, he introduced four- part music in the cathedral at Passion week and had the organ played, assisted by flute and kettle-drum. All this was regarded with suspicion by the Reformed. For, although Basle had, unlike Zurich, kept up singing since the reformation, four-part music instead of singing in one part was an innovation, as was the use of the organ, 6o THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH which had been closed up to that time. On high fes tival days, he had the people called together by a bell called "the pope's bell," which had been given to the city by Pope Felix I, and had always been regarded as a papal relic. In these Lutheran innovations he did not stand alone, but was supported by Fuglin, pastor of St. Leonard's Church, and by his brother-in-law, Koch, pas tor of St. Peter's. Indeed, the greater part of the clergy of the city of Basle* sympathized with Sulzer. In those days it was not customary to print Lutheran books in Reformed cities or vice versa, but he allowed the Augsburg Confession to be published at Basle in 1567. Still, such radical changes must, sooner or later, cause a breach, and this crisis came in 1571, when the Basle Church was on the point of going over to Lutheranism. Two men rose to prevent this, Erzberger and Brand-^ mulier. Erzberger was one of the youngest ministers, only the third assistant at St. Elizabeth's Church; but Brandmuller, pastor of St. Theodore's Church, was older and had influence in the city. Erzberger began the controversy in a sermon on Christmas (1570), when he openly attacked the introduction of the Lutheran doc trines and customs and closed with an eloquent appeak thus: "O Ecolampadius, did your teaching live in our pulpits and hearts as your pictures live in the dance of death.f how earnestly would I then preach. But in vain do I wish it. I fear we will soon sing another tune." For this the head minister of his church, Koch, called him before him that same day, and the next day * Basle had two districts, Basle-city and Basle-land. t There is a famous painting at Basle called the "Dance of Death," in which death is represented as coming to all classes of men from the pope down. It has been supposed to reveal Prot estant tendencies, and if so, the Protestant teachings of Ecolam padius might be said to be living in it. BASLE 61 the deputies of the city did so. Three days later the upper council, the council of thirteen, took up the mat ter. He boldly defended himself, and in it was se conded by Brandmuller. Thus the year 1570 closed, but not so the strife. On January 4, 1571, the city council met, and Erzberger was again examined. He stated that he agreed to the Basle Confession and liturgy. Sulzer, Koch and Fuglin spoke amicable words, but charged Erzberger with being the cause of all the strife. As a result, all the ministers were called together, January 9, and asked if they were true to the Basle confession. All replied in the affirma tive. But, at this time, Brandmuller boldly took up Erzberger's case. He explained the old historic mean ing of the Basle Confession and showed how it was misused by the efforts to introduce Lutheranism. Meanwhile Sulzer had been influencing the council to get the ministers to subscribe to the Wittenberg Con cord of 1536, that compromise creed between the Lu therans and Reformed. He thus hoped to prepare the "way for the full introduction of Lutheranism later. On February 1, 1571, the ministers were called together and asked if they would subscribe to this Wittenberg Con cord. Brandmuller was the only one who refused. In his refusal, given in writing, he said he did not reject the Wittenberg Concord, but he preferred the old Con fession of Basle. He expressed fear that if the Witten berg Concord were once introduced, the next step would be the introduction of the Augsburg Confession of the Lutherans. The council decided that, on February 19, the Wittenberg Concord should be accepted by the min isters. Strange to say, on that day there was an earth quake. Earthquakes and comets, in those days, were considered portentous signs, and the members of the council, alarmed, asked, "What does this mean ?" On Feb ruary 21, all the ministers, except Erzberger and Brand- 62 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH mulier, appeared before the city council, the former hav ing been forbidden to preach. They gave their sub scription to the Wittenberg Concord as well as the Basle Confession. Brandmuller was then called before the council, March i. They toned down the meaning of the subscription to him by saying that if he subscribed he would not be bound by it, but only by the Basle con fession as before. So he finally was induced to sign it. Erzberger, however, stood out. It now became evident that he must do one of two things — either subscribe or lose his place. He was finally dismissed, went to Paris to study, but fled after the massacre of St. Bartholomew, to Miihlhausen, then in canton of Basle, where he became pastor and published (1575) his views on the Lord's Supper. He then returned to Basle and died there 1576, before he was thirty years old. His life was short, but he saved Basle to the Reformed.* The city ministers having subscribed the Wittenberg Concord, now came the turn of the country ministers of Basle-land. But while the city ministers subscribed, the country ministers emphatically declared that they did not want the Wittenberg Concord. On March 15, 1 57 1, the deputies of Basle went to their synod at Lies- thai. But the country ministers refused to sign be cause, they said, they were satisfied with the Basle Con fession. Finally, nine of them were constrained to sign, and that influenced the rest so that all but four signed. One of these signed and the remaining three, when they came to the city and found that they could not fight it / out alone, signed, too, under force of circumstances. Sulzer now seemed to have everything his own way. He now openly declared for the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's Supper. He wrote to Marbach, of Strasburg, G * He also prevented Miihlhausen from accepting the Lutheran j Formula of Concord. / BASLE 63 that he expected to take a step farther than the Witten berg Concord. He was evidently prepared to introduce the new creed of the Lutherans that was being prepared — the Formula of Concord. So hopeful was he that when Bullinger died (ie.7*<). he said, "The pillar of Zwingli has now fallen," and he, therefore, expected an easier victory for Lutheranism in Switzerland because of Bullinger's death. But though he hoped so much, all his hopes went to the winds. For when the Formula of Concord was published (1580), the city authorities appointed a com mittee to express a judgment on it. Among the three appointed Sulzer was not named, perhaps because he was old and sick. The truth was that the extreme state ments of the Formula of Concord and its excommunica tion of the Reformed had turned Basle against it. And also a new leader had arisen in the Basle Church, in Grynaeus^ who was Reformed. So the synod of 1581, under the leadership of Grynaeus, forbade subscription to the Formula of Concord. Sulzer had outlived his hopes. He had to be content to use the Formula of Concord only in his own family and with his servants. 1 I He died June 22, 1585, and with him Lutheranism died / J in Basle. The Formula of Concord killed it. We have looked at his character mainly as a pole mist; yet there was a kindlier side. He did much for the refugees who came to Switzerland, among them Horn, Bishop of Winchester, who wrote him a letter of thanks. He was very kind to the Italian refugees jrom Locarno, of whom nearly a hundred settled in Basle. He also was energetic against the Catholics,, who, in Basle-land, were aggressive. He was a scholarly man, and once published a dogmatics based on the articles . of the Bern synod in 1532. 64 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Section 2 antistes john jacob grynaeus (1583-1618),, \ vJThe Basle Church had, at last, become alanrfed at the position into which it had been mcautkmsh/led by Sul- - zer. The man to swing it back to its old Reformed moorings was the next antistes. John Jacob Grynaeus was born at Bern. October it 1540. When he was six "years of age his father was dismissed from Bern be cause of his Lutheranism and went to Basle. There the son studied under Sulzer, and so became Lutheran in his views. He began his ministry as assistant to his father, at Roteln, in the Lutheran Church of Baden. It happened that there was a religious disputation at the castle of Roteln, where he so won the favor of the Margrave of Baden, that the latter gave him one hun dred florins to continue his studies. So he went to Tubingen (1563), and studied under Andrea, after which he returned as his father's successor at Roteln. So thoroughly educated in the Lutheran Church, he was the last man who would be expected to go over to the Re formed. Yet, in 1573, two years before he left Roteln, he became satisfied that the Lutheran doctrine of ubiquity was untenable. Why he changed to the Reformed is a question, jflottinger says it was due to the influence of his brother-in-law, Erastus, who was Reformed. Others say it was due to a more careful study of the Church Fathers. In 1575, he was called to Basle to take Sulzer's place as professor of Old Testament. He there tried to prevent the introduction of the new Lutheran creed — the Formula of Concord. To escape the opposition of Sulzer he went to Heidelberg (1584) at the request of Count John Casimir of the Palatinate, to aid in restoring that university, which had declined un der the Lutheran reign of the deceased Elector Lewis, to its former position in the Reformed Church. He wanted BASLE 65 to stay at Heidelberg, but was given to understand by Basle, that if he returned he would be elected the next antistes. So he returned /(i 586^) as professor of New Testament and soon after was'elected antistes. He had hardly entered the antistes' chair when he was hurried off to the Huber conference, as we have seen. Grynaeus' great aim was to restore the Basle Con fession to its original high position in the Church and to bring that Church back to full fellowship with the Reformed. He had reprinted (1590) a new edition of the Basle Confession which contained its original marginal notes omitted by Sulzer. Although he had not then been able to get the Basle Church to go as far as to adopt the Second Helvetic Confession, yet, in the preface to this edition of the Basle Confession, it was as serted that that confession entirely agreed with the Se cond Helvetic Confession. His greatest act was the adoption of the Second Helvetic Confession by the Basle synod. This occurred at the synod, March 23-24, 1598, at Liesthal. There^ Gry naeus and Polanus explained the doctrinal position of that confession. The doctrine of the Lord's Supper caused some discussion, in which Grynaeus publicly acknowl edged his previous error in holding the Lutheran view and his reasons for accepting the Reformed. Only one minister clung to ubiquity, Gugger, but he later gave up his adherence to the Formula of Concord. So the synod adopted the Second Helvetic Confession, and Reformed doctrines became victorious at Basle. At the next synod, 1599, it was evident that quiet was restored to the Basle Church after a controversy of over a quarter of a century. However, it is not exactly correct to say that Basle adopted the Second Helvetic Confession un der Grynaeus, in 1598. The proper statement is, thati the synod adopted that confession then, but the council of Basle did not adopt it until later, under antistes 1 5 66 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Zwinger. Grynaeus was so highly honored by his canton that he was frequently sent on foreign deputations. On one occasion he was sent as the representative of all the Protestant cantons of Switzerland to the coronation of Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate. Five years be fore he died he became blind. He died August 13, 1617. His tomb has the beautiful inscription : "Simple of heart, sincere in doctrine and of integrity of character." Section 3 prof. amandus polanus In connection with Grynaeus, another man looms up at Basle. Amandus Polanus was one of the most promi nent of the Reformed theologians of the age just after the reformation. _ He was east-German by birth, hav- ing been born at Polansdorf, in Silesia, December 16, 1561. He studied at Breslau and Tubingen. But, at the gymnasium at Breslau, he had as teacher a Melanc- thonian, so he became low-Lutheran, especially through the study of Romans, Chapter IX. Like Grynaeus, he left Lutheranism for the Reformed, but the objection of Grynaeus was against the Lutheran doctrine of ubiquity and the Lord's Supper, while the objection of Polanus was to the Lutheran doctrine about election. Even while at Tubingen he criticized Andrea's views of uni versal grace, as he, like the Reformed, held to particu lar grace. So he left Tubingen, 1583, and came to Basle. Then he went to Geneva, where he conceived the high est regard for Beza and called him the "Irenaeus of that century." He returned to Basle (1590), and received the degree of doctor from the university there. He then went among the Bohemian Brethren for two years, and returned to Basle as private tutor in a noble family. In 1596 he was elected in Brandmuller's place as professor of BASLE 67 the Old Testament. He was the author of a new transla tion of the Bible, which gave him considerable fame. In 1606 the Landgrave of Hesse tried to win him for Marburg University, when he was changing that uni versity from Lutheranism to the Reformed; but Polanus refused. He died July 17, 1610, of the plague. Polanus excelled both in philosophy and theology. He was professor of theology at a critical time for Basle just as she was again arraying herself fully on the Calvinistic side. He was, therefore, called upon to defend strict Calvinism, and, in doing so, gave some of fense to the milder Calvinists of Basle. Indeed, a ru mor spread abroad than Polanus and the professors at the university taught doctrines which they would not dare preach in their pulpits. He, therefore, was led to publish a defence in 1610. For his Calvinism he ap pealed to Beza, who supported him in his positions. Of course, Beza could do so, for he was the highest kind of a Calvinist. But Polanus also appealed to Lu ther, who, in his work against Erasmus, taught deter minism, and philosophical determinism and theological predestination were about the same. Polanus snowed that, in his day, they were considered the best Lutherans who most departed in this doctrine from Luther. He, however, denied that the professors taught anything they could not preach. He claimed that he taught predesti nation as contained in the first article of the Basle Con fession. He thus logically followed Calvin, but without Calvin's originality. Indeed, he has been charged with bringing in an era of scholastic Calvinism, although that charge was made against Peter Martyr before him, and also against Szegedin, ot the " Hungarian Reformed Church, as well as himself. But, while agreeing with Calvin, he yet differed. Before his time the strength of his predecessors lay in their exegesis. He made promi nent the philosophical. He aimed to introduce philo- 68 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH sophical statements which would prepare the way for scholastic dogma. He was the most philosophical of the Basle theologians. In philosophy, he tried to medi ate between Aristotelianism and the philosophy of Ramus, who claimed that Aristotelianism must be cast aside, because Catholicism was founded on Aristotelian ism, and Protestantism must be based on a new philos ophy. But, though so strong on dogmatics, he was not professor of dogmatics, for, as yet, no such chair ex isted at Basle. But, on the day of his death, such a chair was established, thus increasing the professorships of theology there from two to three. Polanus, with Wolleb, or Wollebius, of whom we shall speak later, were the two great theologians of Basle just after the Reformation. CHAPTER III Schaffhausen Schaffhausen, too, revealed a slight tinge of Luther anism, but not so generally as did Basle. It appeared in only one individual, but he as antistes and dekan exerted considerable influence. Section i antistes conrad ulmer Conrad of Ulm, or Ulmer, as he was called, was born 1519 and studied at Schaffhausen, Basle and Wit tenberg. At the latter university he was the pupil of Luther and Melancthon. There he received his master's degree and for a time delivered lectures. After serving a charge in Germany he returned to Schaffhausen. He was, however, compelled to pass a severe examination before the ministers because he was suspected of Luth eran tendencies, but he was admitted to the ministry in the canton. In spite of his suspected Lutheranism he soon rose to prominence, for at that time the difficulty with the Schaffhausen church was that she had no leader and no minister his equal in ability. As a result he was elected antistes 1569. But the next year he was made dekan because of his suspected Lutheranism. He early revealed this by the publication of his catechism in 1562. Before that time Leo Juda's catechism had been used in the canton. His catechism1, notwithstanding the fact that Bullinger expressed himself pleased with 69 7o THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH it, caused a great strife in the canton. This was : (i) Because of some Lutheranizing statements in it; also (2) Because it was written in the German dialect and not in the Swiss dialect. (3) Because its Scripture quotations were taken from the Bible of Luther, and not from the Zurich Bible, then used in Schaffhausen. The strife in the church became so severe that Bullinger was called upon to act as a mediator. The result was a new catechism based on Leo Juda's, but containing some answers of Ulmer's and also the twenty-first answer of the Heidelberg Cate chism on faith. This catechism used the Swiss dialect. Thus, instead of using the German word for cup (kelch), it used the Swiss word (geschirr). The Bible quotations were also from the Swiss Bible, thus making it a Swiss book, and it was, therefore, welcomed by the Swiss of Schaffhausen. It continued in use until 1663, when the Heidelberg Catechism was introduced through the efforts of dekan Melchoir Hurter, and later became the doctrinal standard of the canton. Ulmer made a similar attempt in 1592 to introduce a liturgy. It was based mainly on the Zurich liturgy, though its formula for the Lord's Supper was taken from the Bern liturgy. But it, too, proved objectionable because it used the German dialect instead of the Swiss dialect, which was generally used in the services. The conflict between the old Schaffhausen liturgy and it con tinued down to the seventeenth century. Ulmer died, -"schaffhausen, in adopting the Second Helvetic Con fession, sealed her adherence to the Reformed faith. So strongly Reformed was she that she was suspicious of Sulzer at Basle. In 1581, she, with the other Evangelical cantons, wrote to Strasburg that she could not accept the Formula of Concord. PART III DANGERS TO THE REFORMED FROM THE CATHOLICS Here the strife as not merely rivalry, as with the Lutherans, but bitter enmity. The Church of Rome is ever vigilant; she never sleeps. And she never was more active than in the period just after the Reformation, for she was anxious to win back the large districts she had lost. The Jesuit order arose to aid her in doing this. The signal to the counter-reformation was the council. of Trent, 1545-63. _A great advantage that Rome had , was that she was united, whereas Protestantism was divided and thus weakened. This topic may be divided ^ into three periods : 1. The dangers just after the Reformation. 2. The dangers during the Thirty Years' War (1618- 1648). 3. The dangers after the Thirty Years' War. 71 CHAPTER I The Dangers Just After the Reformation The defeat of Zurich at Cappel, as we have seen, gave the Protestants a great blow and the Catholics great prestige. The Catholics became much more aggressive, forming alliances with Catholics much as they pleased. In 1560, the five Catholic cantons, Lucerne. Zug. Uri, Schwvz and Unterwalden, formed a political alliance with Savoy, the Catholic duchy lying south of Switzerland, and in 1565 they formed a political alliance with the pope, in which they swore that Catholicism would be retained in Switzerland. All this was threatening, but more threatening than this was the Golden Alliance (bund). This was named after Cardinal Borromeo, of Milan, a nephew of the pope, the Borromean Alliance. The southern part of Switzerland, Ticino and Valtellina, was a part of his diocese. He not only visited every part of his diocese, but travelled on foot all over Switerland, gathering the scattered flocks either by persuasion or by force into the Catholic Church. In 1574 he founded a Jesuit college at Freiburg, one of the Catholic cantons, at which the celebrated Canisius, the author of the Catholic catechism, taught. In 1579 he founded the Helvetic college at Milan, in which forty Swiss were educated at his expense. In 1584 he introduced the Capuchins into Lugano. To the Jesuits he committed education, to the Capuchins preaching. In 1574 the Jesuits were called to Lucerne, and later he caused the other orders to be introduced. In 1579 he sent a papal nuncio to Lucerne, which was very distasteful to the Protestants, who feared his 73 74 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH influence. This is shown by an incident. On Decem ber io, 1580, the nuncio had occasion, in order to go from Lucerne to Freiburg, to travel through the Protest- • /ant canton of Bern. His clerical clothing led him to be recognized as he rode through the streets of Bern on a market day, and the children threw snowballs at him. As a result, a perfect avalanche of complaints poured into the next Swiss diet, so that a war almost resulted. This nuncio finally brought the Catholic cantons of Switzerland into a league called the Golden or Borro mean Alliance, October 5, 1586. In it the five original Catholic cantons were increased by the addition of Frei burg and Solothurn. This alliance, on May 12, 1587, formed an alliance with Spain, a foreign Catholic power. Out of this movement arose what were really two con federacies within Switzerland, the Protestant Diet, whose capital was at Aarau, and the Catholic Alliance, whose capital was at Lucerne. This arraying of organized Protestantism and Catholicism against each other was a menace, forboding war. There is not space to enter into the methods by which the Catholics harassed the Protestants.* Suffice it to say that there was not a canton that did not suffer, and the Protestants were entirely driven out of the Catholic cantons. Section 1 appenzell This little district in northeastern Switzerland was greatly divided on the subject of religion. It was divided racially. The mountain inhabitants of Inner Rhoden were Romansch in blood and speech. Like the five * See Bloesch "Geschichte der Schweizerischen Kirche," Vol. I, pages 307-381. APPENZELL 75 Catholic mountain cantons, Lucerne, etc., they were non progressive and remained Catholic. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the outer region (Outer Rhoden), the district lying toward Lake Constance, were of Frankish or German descent and language. They were progressive and became Protestants. When the Borromean Alliance came into existence, the few Protestants in Inner Rhoden, the Catholic district, were forbidden to worship. In 1584 the government introduced the Gregorian calendar, which would have caused a war between the two parts if the Swiss Diet had not intervened and allowed the Protestants to observe the old calendar. In 1585 the Capuchin monks were called thither, and this heightened the opposition. The Catholic district tried to suppress the Protestants within its borders. Matters came to a crisis in the last decade of the sixteenth century, when the Catholic part, without the consent of the Protestant part, tried to league itself with Spain. Then the Protest ants tried to league themselves with Zurich. Finally the matter came before the Swiss Diet (1597), which wisely decided that as the canton divided itself geographically about religion, the two parts of the canton should sepa rate into half-cantons. Each was given a vote in the Swiss Diet, but, as they always voted against each other, they only nullified their influence. But they made up for this by the extravagant style in which their ambas sadors lived at foreign courts. Inner Rhoden, in 1600, joined the Borromean Alliance.Section 2 BASLE This canton, though Protestant, yet had a strong Catholic population in the southwestern corner, in the beautiful valley of the Munster, in the Jura mountains. In this part the Catholic bishop of Basle, who had been 76 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH driven out of Basle-city, was continually intriguing to re gain power. In 1579 the bishop, then Blarer of Warten- see, became aggressive. He formed a league with the seven Catholic cantons, and, against the will of his Protestant subjects, brought in the Jesuits and began a systematic destruction of Protestantism in that territory. In 1581 he forced Catholic services in the Reformed churches of Birseck, Lauffenthal and Paffeningen, although those districts were mainly Protestant. In 1589 he dedicated the Reformed Church at Birseck to Catholic worship. The year before this he ordered all the Protestants there either to become Catholics or leave. Complaint was made to Basle, but nothing was done. One by one the Re formed ministers were driven away. The reason why Basle did not do anything was because she feared a civil war if she did. This aggressive bishop died, 1608. Miihlhausen, then in the northern part of the canton, was also threatened by the Catholics. The town was Protestant. But two of its citizens, being unsuccessful in a suit against the town, went to the Borromean Alliance for support. The result was a revolution in the town, and the government was overthrown. Had they contin ued in power, the whole town would have become Catholic. But Basle and the Swiss sent an army, which, in 1587, captured the town and restored it to its rightful rulers. But Miihlhausen afterwards was incorporated in Germany. Constance also drove out the Protestants and became later incorporated in Germany. Section 3 geneva and the escalade The danger of Geneva lay in her geographical posi tion. Although the centre of the Reformed Church, yet geographically she was located on the edge of Protest antism. Rome and Geneva stood over against each other GENEVA 77 and not very far apart geographically. Indeed, Geneva was in a measure separated from the rest of Protestant ism, and at the same time almost completely surrounded by Catholic powers, as France and Savoy. Only a narrow strip of land three or four miles wide, along the west shore of lake Geneva, connected Geneva with Switzer land and the Protestant states. A few soldiers could have quickly cut this off. Of course, she could have had connection up the lake of Geneva, but this was often uncertain. To make her situation still more dangerous, the neighboring duke of Savoy, her former ruler, had never given up his claim to the city, and was always on the watch, ready to intrigue with any dissatisfied element in the city, so as to gain an entrance and reconquer her. Judged by these facts, the preservation of Geneva to Protestantism during the centuries since the reformation has been one of the historical miracles of Europe. "Nothing but the providence of God and the watchfulness of the Protestant powers, Bern, Zurich and Holland, ever preserved Geneva to Protestantism. Geneva, feeling her isolation, tried to join the Swiss confederacy in 1557, but the Catholics had the majority in the Swiss -Diet and she was refused. The Catholics, Jn— this refusal, expressed a wish for the utter extermination' of the city of Calvin. Meanwhile^the' Catholics, especially under Francis De „ bales, the titular bishop of Geneva, who was mystically inclined, 'made many converts in the immediate neighbor hood of Geneva, no less than 6,000 persons between The Catholics of Savoy, emboldened by the refusal of the Swiss Diet to allow Geneva to become a canton, thus finding out how much enmity and power there was in Switzerland against Geneva, projected fresh schemes against her. But they were baffled, although Geneva would have been subject to the attacks of the duke of Savoy had not King Henry IV of France. volunteered 78 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH to protect the city. About the beginning of the seven teenth century, a "league of the spoon" was started in Savoy against Geneva. Its members boasted that they would sup up the Huguenots as if they were spoon-food like soup.* The president of this league of the spoon undertook to ride through Geneva with an escort, to show how easily it could be done. But he was chased till he sought refuge in a house on the wall with whose occu pants he was secretly in league. There he was killed by the mob. In spite of this, the league of the spoon continued and chose another leader. But all this revealed the danger gathering around Geneva. _^ The crisis came in the Escalade. f Two thousand Savoyards secretly approached the walls one dark night, December 12, 1602, and 350 climbed up to the top of the walls by ladders. They were incited as they climbed -by the words of the Jesuit priests : "Mount courageously, for every round into the city is a step toward heaven." They were about to admit their associates outside, and were so sure of success that they dispatched a messenger to their commander announcing their success, and cour iers were sent already to Rome, Turin and Madrid with the news that Geneva was captured. But suddenly a Genevese sentinel, hearing a noise as he went the rounds, came upon them. They killed him, but not till he had discharged his gun. This gave the alarm. The citizens were roused to the danger. One of the Genevese fired a cannonball in the darkness at random along the city wall. Providence guided it, for it destroyed all the ladders on which the Savoyards had ascended into the city. At the same time, the portcullis was dropped, and the Savoyards in the city were imprisoned like rats in a * Men took the spoon as crusaders took the cross, says a writer. t The word escalade meant ladder, and it was named thus, as ladders were used. GENEVA 79 trap. They were attacked and surrounded by thousands of armed citizens. Cannonballs swept the streets and cut through their ranks until they retreated to the ladders, only to find them gone. They were driven over the wall, to fall into the fosse below. Out of the 360 who entered the city, only yj escaped death by surrender. They were all hung trom the ramparts as a warning to the Savoy ards, and their bodies afterwards cast into the river Rhone. Of these, 13 were nobles of Savoy. When the Escalade was over, the citizens of Geneva gathered in a great crowd at the cathedral for a thanksgiving servicg^at which Beza gave out the 124th Psalm to be sung. _ Since then, annually on December 12, there is a religious service in Geneva commemorative of the Ksca-^ lade, at which this Psalm is sung. There is a monument in Geneva commemorating the Escalade which has bas- reliefs, one of which represents Beza giving out the 124th Psalm at the door of the cathedral. This attack on Geneva thoroughly alarmed the Pro testant states to the danger which threatened Geneva. The Evangelical states of Switzerland sent troops to protect the city. But a general war was only averted by the combined efforts of France, Spain and the pope. In 1630 a treaty of peace was made which prohibited the advance of the army of Savoy within sixteen miles of the city. This was a great protection to Geneva, and pre vented any further attempts like the Escalade. Later the city, by the aid of the Dutch, was more completely fortified. Section 4 valais The district of Valais, situated northeast of the lake of Geneva, in the Rhone valley, though strongly Catholic, yet had a number of Protestants, especially among the 80 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH leading families. The pastor at Visp Kaufman was Evangelical, and Protestant services were held under the governor-general of Brigue. Strong Reformed congre gations were organized at Sion and Leuk. In 1560 Haller wrote to Bullinger from Bern that one might hope that Valais might become Evangelical. There was a political reason for this, for Valais feared its neighbor, Savoy, and Savoy was Catholic. The result was that at Sion and Leuk Protestants were tolerated for many years. But in 1591 came the change. The Protestants were ordered to leave or become Catholic. The Capuchins and Jesuits were left in about 1600. The influence of Henry IV of France caused some toleration for a time, but after his death severe persecutions broke out. And yet, when Breitinger visited them on his return from Geneva in 161 1, he was encouraged at finding so many Protest ants, and his influence led six or seven of them to come to Zurich to study in 1614. But by 1630 the Jesuits had swept away the last vestige of Protestantism, those who remained Protestants having fled over the high Gemmi pass to the canton of Bern. CHAPTER II The Dangers during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) The Thirty Years' War was pre-eminently a war in Germany and Austria, but Switzerland was greatly con cerned in it, and certain districts suffered severely by it. There were two things, one external, the other internal, that made the war threatening. The first was the claim of the Catholic powers over Switzerland. The Emperor of Germany still claimed a sort of suzerainty over Switzerland, which was not given up until the end of this war. As Archduke of Austria, he also laid special claim to a part of the canton of the Grisons called the ten Jurisdictions. As a result, Switzerland became in volved in a terrible war in that canton in the east. She was also touched by the war in Thurgau, in the north. The Catholic Church as well as its princes threatened Switzerland. In 1629, when the Interim was introduced into Germany, the Catholic princes ordered it to be intro duced into Switzerland, for the property of the Protest ant churches in Constance, St. Gall and Basle was ordered to be returned to the Catholics. The bishop of Basle became aggressive and hoped by the aid of the German Emperor even to get back the Basle cathedral from the Reformed. Indeed, the German Emperor wanted to gain Basle for Germany, as he had Miihlhausen, and as Arch duke of Austria he wanted to gain the canton of the Grisons for Austria. These hopes were dashed by the coming of Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish king, and his victories. The second danger of the war was internal, due to s 81 82 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the jealousy between the Catholic and Protestant cantons. Thus Zurich was inclined, during the early part of the war, to support the Protestants in the hope of winning back Constance from Germany to Switzerland again, for by getting the votes of Constance in the Swiss diet the majority would be Protestant instead of Catholic. Breit inger was the leader of this so-called Swedish party at Zurich. But, though this found some support in Bern, Basle and Schaffhausen held back. Repeatedy, how ever, the Catholic and Protestant cantons were on the verge of war, owing to complications produced by it. Section i thurgau and the case of kesselring The border cantons on the north, as Schaffhausen and Thurgau, were repeatedly threatened by the war. This came to a crisis in September, 1633, when the Swedish army under General Horn boldly marched past Stein, on the Rhine, through Thurgau, so as to get on the southern and most vulnerable side of the city of Constance, which they proposed to besiege. This viola tion of the neutrality of Switzerland led the Austrians to do the same thing, for they marched through the terri tory of Schaffhausen to Rhinefelden. This passage of the Swedes produced a tremendous uproar in Switzer land. Within two weeks after the passage, 3,000 soldiers of the Catholic cantons were in Protestant Thurgau. Fortunately, the Swedes withdrew early in October. This passage of the Swedes led the Catholic cantons to believe that Zurich had formed an alliance with the Swedes, and they used it as a pretext the next year, when they entered into a secret treaty with Austria and Spain, so as to give them the right to march through their territory. Out of this passage of the Swedes through Thurgau grew a circumstance that nearly led Switzerland to the THURGAU 83 verge of civil war. The leader of the troops of the canton of Thurgau at that time was Kilian Kesselring. born at Zurich, but a citizen of Thurgau.* The Catholics brought charges of treason against him because he had not stopped the Swedes from entering Switzerland. That at heart he may have wished well to the Swedes is prob ably true, for he was a zealous Reformed. But recent investigation seems to show that he was guiltless of treason. But the Catholic cantons were determined to have revenge, and they arrested him October 5, 1633, and threw him into prison in Wyl. Zurich interceded for his release, but in vain. He was charged with treason, and from October 24 to November 7 he was frequently put to torture, so as to get him to confess his guilt, which he persisted in denying. On November 8 he was removed to the town of Schwyz, where he was safer from any rescue by the Protestants. There from December to January, 1635, he was closely confined in the thieves' tower and frequently tortured. In one of these tortures, his arm was torn from its ligaments in the shoulder, and, as it was not attended to by a physician, he lay in agony for sixteen weeks. Zurich, assisted by Bern, tried to gain his freedom. The matter came before a Swiss diet February 26, 1634, but the Catholic cantons refused to set him free and made an alliance with Austria and Spain, which made the Protestant cantons afraid to press the case further for fear of war. On September 4, 1634, he was tortured by being hung up for two hours, the second hour with twenty pounds of stone hanging from his feet to make the pain greater. The ground beneath him was wet with the sweat-drops of his suffering. The news of this barbarity at Zurich almost drove that canton to the verge of war. Finally the verdict was rendered, January 29, 1635. He was condemned for treason and * See Keller's "Der kriegsgerichtliche Process gegen Kilian Kesselring," 1884. 84 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH found worthy of death. But, on account of the inter cession of France, Zurich and others, his life was spared. But a fine of 5,000 gulden was placed on him, which, with the costs, made a total of 13,856 gulden. This Zurich promptly paid, and he was at length set at freedom after a sixteen months' imprisonment. Great was the joy of the Protestants at this, for he was looked upon as a martyr for their cause. He died in 1650, protesting to the end his innocence of the charge of treason. Section 2 the massacre of the valtellina But the district of Switzerland that most suffered in the Thirty Years' War was the large eastern canton of _ the Grisons. Here, at the beginning of the war, an awful massacre of the Protestants occurred. Before describing this, it is necessary to note the com plex nature of the canton of the Grisons. It contained within it three races, the Germans in the north, the Ro- mansch in the center and the Italians in the south. Its government consisted of three different parties loosely joined together, the Graybands, the League of God's House and the ten Jurisdictions. To make matters still more complex, these were still further divided between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Prattigau and Engadine districts^ were Protestant, the Italian and Ober- alp, Catholic. In the days of the Reformation, the Catho lics and Protestants had come to an understanding by i which each respected the other's rights. This occurred at Ilanz, January 7, 1526, and was the first illustration of religious liberty after the Reformation, occur ing long before the Pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock in 1620.* * Still the Catholics of the Italian part of the canton always resisted any aggressive movements of the Protestants. Thus an Evangelical school for training Italian Reformed ministers was founded at Sondrio, in 1582, but had to be given up, 1585. THE GRISONS 85 When, therefore, the bitter feelings stirred up by the Thirty Years' War came on, it became impossible to con tinue this toleration of each other, and Protestants and Catholics were ready to fly at each other's throats. What made matters the more threatening to the Protestants was that there was a strong party favorable to Austria, for Austria still claimed a sort of authority over a part of the canton. She was also anxious to get control of the canton, because it contained the one pass by which the armies of Europe could most easily pass between Germany and Italy, the Splugen pass. So this canton became during this war the bone of contention between foreign powers, Austria and Spain on the one side and France and Venice on the other, and the inhabitants were the terrible sufferers from both sides. At the beginning of the war, there were two hostile parties in the canton, the Catholic, led by the Plantas, and the Protestants, led by Salis and Jenatsch, a pictur esque adventurer of that day. The former wanted the canton to join the league of the five Catholic cantons, which, of course, the Protestants greatly opposed. It happened that at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War the Protestants did a very unwise thing. Jenatsch led to the establishment of a court at Thusis (1618), which condemned many of the Catholic party to imprisonment and death. This tribunal arrested the chief priest of Sondrio, in the Valtellina valley, Alexander, and put him to death. Roused by the intrigues of the Plantas with the pope and with Spain, it condemned the two brothers Planta to banishment and the confiscation of their estates. The Plantas then determined on revenge. It was Robus- tello, Planta's cousin, who planned the massacre of the Valtellina.* Then occurred the St. Bartholomew massa- ere of the Thirty Years' War. C*This region, located south of the Alps, is now in Italy,] though then it was included in the Grisons. J 86 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Rumors of such a proposed massacre of the Protest ants had become rife, so Robustello, finding that the secret was out, started with a band of men from Milan on his awful work. They arrived at Tirano, at the upper or eastern end of the valley, where four shots on the morning of July 19, 1620, before the city hall, were the signal to begin. One of the first to fall was the magis trate Enderlin, who, finding his room attacked, defended himself until his powder gave out. Then they tore up the roof and shot him. His bloody body was thrown into the street and then into the river Adda. Several leading members of the Reformed church tried to hide, but were dragged out and killed. The pastor of the Reformed church, Basso, had fled with some of his members to the church to gain strength by prayer. Their enemies rushed in, drove out all the women and killed the men. They cut off the minister's head, and, putting it on a stick, stood it up in the pulpit. One of the magistrates, Capol, was in the court-house when it was surrounded by the Catholic populace. As they could not break in, they threatened to burn it down, so he finally threw himself from it into the river, but was found by them. "Give up your faith and your life is safe," they said to him. "Why should I deny my Lord when He has done so much for me?" was his reply as they killed him. Sixty were killed at Tirano. Then the tide of massacre proceeded down the valley, led by Robustello and his band. They came to Teglio as the Catholics were holding their worship. Besta went in to the congregation and made an address, falsely charging that the Reformed had planned a massacre of the Catholics the next month, and that 6,000 Dutch sol diers would be at hand. This so angered the Catholic congregation that they en masse followed Robustello against the Reformed. The Reformed in the meanwhile had fled to their church. Besta opened the door as the THE GRISONS 87 minister in the pulpit was praying and fired. The Re formed barricaded the door, and then the Catholics shot in through the windows, wounding and killing. The min ister, Dauz, already wounded in the pulpit, urged his hearers to fortitude until he was shot down. When the door was broken open, the rest fled to the church-tower. Then the enemies brought benches into its lower floor and set them on fire, till the woodwork was consumed and the rest burned up in an awful holocaust. Forty or fifty were killed in the church and seventeen in the tower. jSondrio, at the lower or western end of the valley of the Valtellina, was the next place. Here the Reformed were more numerous. When the news of the massacre up the valley came there, the Catholic chancellor, Para- vicini, took grounds against Robustello and tried to keep peace between Catholics and Reformed. But chancellor Mingardini urged his Reformed brethren to take up arms, and seventeen men joined him. They fortified themselves in the house next to the city-hall. During the night, the priests went about inciting the Catholics, and when morn ing came some dead Reformed were found in the streets. Then Mingardini gathered his little band, placed the women and children in the middle and marched them through the streets, calling on the other Reformed to join them as they departed from the city. Their number increased finally to 73. The Catholics were so surprised at this bravery that they did not attempt to attack them. The Protestants went to the mountain above the town, spent a short time there in a service of prayer and thanks giving for their deliverance with their pastor, and then escaped through the Malenco valley over the Muretto pass to the Engadine. Soon after Robustello (his band of 300 when he left Teglio having grown to 800 on the way) arrived at Sondrio, For three days they murdered not only the Reformed, but any Catholics who seemed friendly to them. One of them was a butcher, indeed, 88 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH for he claimed to have killed 18 Protestants. At Ber- benno many of the Protestants fled to wells, but, at the assurance by the priest of safety, they went back, only to fall into Robustello's hands and be murdered. Robus tello, finding that a number were escaping over the Ma- lenco valley, garrisoned it and closed it against flight, and then killed them as he wanted. The testimony of some of these martyrs is very beau tiful. Anna of Libe, who had fled from Italy because she had become Protestant, had a baby two months old. They threatened to kill her and make her child Catholic. She replied, "God, who cares for the birds, will care for it." She said to them, "You may kill my body. Here | it is. But my soul, which you cannot kill, I commit into the hands of my heavenly Father." But this bravery only made them the more angry. She was killed and her child raised a Catholic. Paolo Beretta. of Venice^who also had fled from Italy to"Sondriofor her faith, and was of noble family, was also a martyr. She refused to pray to Mary and the saints. "I place," she said, "my trust in no creature, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ. I hold Mary for the holiest virgin on earth, but she does not know my needs and is not almighty. She needs the redemption of Jesus Christ. So I cannot pray to her or give her the honor which alone is given to God and to our Saviour." They terribly maltreated her, though eighty years of age, led her about with a devil's cap on her head. But when suffering she said, "I suffer gladly. I do not want to have it better than Jesus and his apos tles." She was sent to Milan, where she was burned by the inquisition a year later. Dominic Salvetto,, who would not give up his faith, was thrown out for dead into a ditch. But he lifted himself up and called to the murderers, "Complete your work, so that I can by it the quicker give my soul to the heavenly Father." There were about 140 martyrs in Sondrio. In all THE GRISONS 89 there were about 400 martyred in the Valtellina valley. of whom seven were Reformed ministers. This massacre of the Valtellina caused a thrill of horror and indigna tion in Protestant Switzerland. Un the other side, Rome granted indulgences to all who had taken part in it. The greater part of those who escaped went to Zurich, where Breitinger and the citizens gladly cared for them. Zurich and Bern sent 3,000 troops into the Valtellina, but they were defeated at Tirano, September 11, 1620. The next year the Reformed troops defeated the Catholics and drove them into the canton of Uri. The result was that Spain took the valley from the Grisons and Protestantism was entirely suppressed. Later Robustello marched up the valley of Valtellina into the Bernina pass against Poschiavo to attack the Reformed. But they had heard of his coming and pre pared themselves. At Brusio, on the way, he killed 30 Reformed and burned their houses. But as he approached Poschiavo he found he had to do not with defenseless men, women and children, as before. So he went into camp. The Protestants received reinforcements of 200 from jhe Engadine, who came over the Bernina pass. Then The Catholics fled. On April 25, 1623, the Catholics made a second attempt to massacre the Reformed at Poschiavo. Twenty- three Reformed were killed and the rest fled up the Bernina pass. It was almost impassable so early in the year. About 300 got over the pass into the Engadine, but the old and weak were captured. These refused to give up their Reformed faith. Their blood reddened the snows, about 20 men and 3 women. The Catholics re- Turned to Poschiavo, burned all Bibles and Protestant books in a public fire in the square. The inhabitants prom ised not to tolerate Protestants again, but Protestants again appeared there. But till 1627 the Reformed did not J dare to meet for worship except in the hills and woods./ oo THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH They were not allowed to bury their dead. They were served by ministers from the Engadine, and on one occa sion the newborn babe of one of them was baptized not far from the Bernina glaciers, at Cavaglia. It is inter esting to note that today there are still six Italian Re formed congregations in Switzerland, in the valleys Bregaglia and Bernina, on the borders of Italy, the rem nant of the Italian Reformed who once lived in those valleys. Section 3 duke henry of rohan A massacre only rouses the blood-thirsty passions, and there was retaliation, not, indeed, in the Valtellina valley, where there were no Protestants left to retaliate, but in the Grisons. In the spring of 1621, Pompeius Planta, the leader of the Catholic party, having returned to his 1/ castle at Reitburg, was assassinated there by Jenatsch. Jenatsch led the Reformed against the five Catholic can tons and Spain, whom Planta had brought into the canton, and drove them out. But he failed to retake the Valtellina valley. Then it was that Austria, who had all along laid some claim to part of the Grisons, determined to enter the canton. The Duke of Austria said, "Since you want war, you shall have it." In the fall of 1621, he sent an army of 16,000, under his general, Balderon. Jenatsch was de feated. Balderon proved a second Holo femes, burning and destroying everything. The Reformed ministers were driven out and Capuchin monks brought in to fill their places and convert the people back to Rome. Sev enty-five Reformed churches were thus made pastorless. The reading of the Bible and of Protestant books was forbidden. The people were driven by force to hear the Capuchins. The Reformed said, "If we must lose our The Uprising of the Reformed at Schiers (to the right are the Reformed, to the left the Austrians with Pater Fidelis in white) THE GRISONS 91 liberty, let us not lose our souls," and they fled to the woods and ate hay and grass in milk and water, and many died of hunger. Those who did not flee were made slaves to the soldiers. Four thousand Reformed left the -»— ¦ ¦ ¦ ,.- canton. Finally the persecutions became so severe that the inhabitants of the Prattigau district, in the northeastern part of the canton, became desperate and rose against the invaders. They had been driven to the woods. As their arms had been taken from them, they now cut heavy clubs and drove large nails into their heads. They made dag- I gers out of their knives and spears out of their scythes, j At Schiers, on .Palm Sunday, April 24, 1622, they sud denly rose, burst upon the Austrians, drove them into a church and defeated them, killing 400, and arming themselves with the weapons of the dead. The hated leader of the Capuchins. Pater Fidelis, was killed. They began a victorious career, "until finally their general, Salis, captured Chur, June 17, 1622. The Austrians, driven to their last defense in one of the passes, declared, "The people of the Grisons are like chamois." In all about 4,000 Austrians were killed and the rest driven out. But there was relief for only a short time, for Austria sent a larger army. Brave was the resistance of the people. A band of 30 patriots, like the heroes of Ther mopylae, fought the Austrians and died fighting one by one. But the Austrians burned all the villages in the Prattigau district, which was mainly Protestant. They utterly stripped the country of the necessities of life. Tn ihe. lower Engadine, as the Austrians had burned their villages, the inhabitants lived in cellars, sleeping on straw. They had to be very watchful lest the little food remain ing for the winter would be eaten by mice and rats, who: ran over their faces while they slept^ at times gnawing attheir noses and ears._ As a result of this starvation came the plague. The winter 1622-23 was named Hun- 92 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ger-winter because of the suffering. But the orders of the Austrians were, "Any one who does not go to the confessional at Easter must leave the land." As a result, many of the Reformed left the country. These conditions lasted several years. But when everything was darkest then relief appeared. A new friend arose, and, strange to say, a Catholic power, France. For France had not been unmindful of the vic tories that Austria had been gaining in the early part of the Thirty Years' War. Fearing, therefore, lest Austria would become all-powerful in Europe, France now started movements against her. As early as 1623 there had been an alliance between France, Venice and Savoy, and a French army had entered the Grisons, capturing Sondrio and Tirano and driving out the Austrians. But suddenly, in 1626, France made peace with Austria, and the Valtellina was given back to the Grisons, but on con dition that the Reformed faith be not reintroduced. For France, though politically friendly, was still Catholic, and it seemed as if friend and foe thus combined to keep out the Protestants. Meanwhile the Emperor of Germany had triumphed in Germany in 1629. He now sent a third army against the Grisons. All liberty vanished. The sword was the only law. The Reformed pastors, driven out, bade farewell to their flocks with tears in their eyes, for they were going to poverty, they knew not where. Vulpius, one of them, remained in the neighborhood of Zuz, and from time to time came and baptized, married, and preached, but always in the darkness of night. Plague came and carried off 20,000, one-fourth of the population. But when Gustavus 'Adolphus triumphed in Germany, the inhabitants took heart again. France by that time began to take a lively interest. In 1631 a French ambassador appeared at Chur, the capital of the canton, and made a treaty with them, offering them subsidies and French soldiers to garrison their land. THE GRISONS 93 Then came the problem for France — to find a suitable governor for the canton. A Catholic governor would have been looked upon with suspicion by the Protestants, while the Catholics knew their rights would be protected by France, which was a Catholic land. Fortunately there was one of the Huguenot generals still in connection with France, the Duke of Rohan. He was appointed and proved the man for the hour. Duke Henry of Rohan was a great military genius and also a devoted adherent of the Reformed Church of France. He was born in Brittany, August 23, 1579. He soon became one of the great leaders of the Huguenot/ army. But when Henry IV died he paid the price for' being a Huguenot by being exiled from France, for France would not allow so great an enemy to Catholicism within her borders. So he had to leave, and he went to Venice, whose senate made him commander of its army. In 1 63 1 he was appointed French ambassador to Switzer land, and ordered (1633) to S° to tne Grisons. He inspired so much confidence that he was elected com mander of their army. But Cardinal Richelieu, that Jes uitical fojs. though he had appointed Rohan to this posi tion, proposed to destroy him by not giving him aid as he needed it. Rohan soon gained great confidence in Switzerland, both among the Catholics because he repre sented a Catholic land, France, and among the Protestants because he was a Protestant. It is said that it was at his suggestion that the Swedish general Horn marched over Swiss territory against Constance. But this made his Catholic subjects lose confidence in him. They de clared that Rohan only wanted to make himself general of the Protestant cantons, and for this purpose had called the Swedes into the land. They complained against him to the French court, and asked that a Catholic be sent in his place. France then ordered him to go to Venice, but he could not on account of hostile armies lying be- 94 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH tween. So he went to Zurich. As soon as he was gone, the Austrians and Spaniards became aggressive against the Grisons. This was not to Richelieu's liking, so he ordered Rohan back again, promising to aid him. Rohan had greatly enjoyed his visit to Zurich, and showed his appreciation of her kindness by presenting her with a Bible, which, it is said, she still delights to show as his gift. Meanwhile the Grisons were becoming more and more dissatisfied because he did not march to recapture the Valtellina for them. The truth was that he wanted to do so all the time, and especially when Gustavus Adolphus approached Switzerland in his victorious march. But Richelieu always held him back. Now, however, the dissatisfaction became so great that something had to be done. He repeatedly wrote to Richelieu for money and orders to recapture the Valtellina. Then he was recalled in 1634 to Paris. Just at that time occurred an event that changed the whole policy of the French. The Swedes experienced their most crushing defeat during that war at Nordlingen. France now became energetic. He was ordered back from Paris to the Grisons and sent to attack the Valtellina. In 1635 ne retook the Valtellina in four splendid victories. Great was the joy of the people of the Grisons, for it was fifteen years since they had lost it. But great was the disappointment of the Reformed when it was found that France forbade the reintroduction of the Reformed religion, even though Rohan favored it and had called the famous preacher of Geneva, Theodore Tronchin, to introduce it. And greater still was the disappointment of all the inhabitants of the Grisons when they learned that France would not restore the Valtellina to them, but proposed to keep it for herself. So the joy of the inhabitants was turned to hatred. They grew tired of French rule and of the quartering THE GRISONS 95 of French soldiers on them. Besides, Richelieu did not send enough money to pay the soldiers, and they became discontented. This discontent was increased by the rough methods of the new French ambassador, Lasnier. Finally the breach became so great that all it needed was a leader, and, as generally occurs, the hour produced the man. Jenatsch, formerly the Protestant leader, had ' become a Catholic and began to conspire in August, 1536. The conspirators chose their time well, for Rohan was south of the Alps, at Sondrio, in the Valtellinapand he was sick, so sick that for three weeks he was in a stupor, though by September he grew stronger. Meanwhile Jenatsch had gained the confidence of the Grisons. Rohan finally had himself carried over the Alps to Chur, but it was too late. Jenatsch had gone to Innspruck and made an alliance with the .Austrians and Spaniards, who promised to return the Vatellina to the Grisons, the very thing that France refused to do. Rohan, warned of danger, sent a messenger to Paris for pay for his troops, so as to stop the disaffection. Richelieu sent him neither money nor help, but left him to extricate himself as best he could. So, as France did not send money, the Grisons rose in rebellion, March 19, 1637. A regiment of their troops marched from Domschleg against Chur and surrounded Rohan's house. But he had fled the previous night to the Rhine fortifications. But what could he do there with his few soldiers? The hills around were full of enemies. Jenatsch had shut him up. The Swiss in his army would not fight against their fellow-countrymen of the Grisons. So, as he heard nothing from France, he agreed, March 26, 1637, to take the French army away and return the Valtellina to the Grisons. But then came a difficulty. ThTFrench army in the Valtellina refused to obey Rohan's orders and surrender. Its commander made overtures to Rohan to throw himself into Chur, 96 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH capture the enemies, including Jenatsch, and save the honor of France. But Rohan refused to break his word to the Grisons. He left Chur May 5, 1637, but carrying with him the kindest wishes of the people, and as a mark of honor many of the prominent men walked with him to the borders of the town. For he was the idol of the people, who always called him "the good duke," as did his soldiers, to whom he was always sympathetic and kind. Often he was publicly praised from the pulpits of the canton' as a model of faithfulness and as a refuge of persecuted Protestants. The opposition of the people was to France, not to him personally. ^— Jenatsch was assassinated January 14, 1539, by Ru dolph Planta.* Then this Planta was assassinated in 1640. So tragically began and ended the Thirty Years' —war in the Grisons with the murder of a Planta. In 1641 the independence of the Grisons was recognized by Austria, France and Spain. But where could the Duke of Rohan go? The King of France ordered him to return to Paris, but he could not think of doing so, for he knew not what plots might be against him as a Huguenot. He therefore went to Zurich and then to Geneva, where he stayed till the fall of 1637. There he wrote his "History of the Valtellina." He had decided to make Geneva his home, only he was continually dogged there by French spies. Besides, his old war fever came on him, so he determined to go back to military service again. But he had always made it a rule of his life never to fight against his native land, France, even though she had so badly treated him. So he joined the German and Swedish army under the duke of Weimar, which was fighting alongside of the French against Austria. This act was the best answer he could make against the charge of treason that the Catholics * For an interesting novel see "George Jenatsch," by Meyer. BASLE 97 in France had been bringing against him. On February 28, 1638, he was wounded in the battle of Rhinefelden and was taken to the castle of Konigsfelden. There he suddenly died, April 13, 1638, probably poisoned by his physician, for the Jesuits were finding a new way to get rjd of their enemies — namely, byjjoison. His body was taken to Geneva. All the way thither the people revealed their high regard for him and their great sorrow at his loss. He was buried in the Reformed cathedral of Geneva, St. Peter^_jThere his tomb is' still shown — the only tomb that the Puritanic Calvinists, in their opposition to any monuments in the church, allowed to be placed in that church. Section 4 the freedom of switzerland and john rudolph wettstein One of the greatest boons that ever came to Switzer land came at the end of the Thirty Years' War, for at 1 the peace of Westphalia (1648) the Emperor of Germany renounced all jurisdiction over Switzerland. The Swiss thus gained by diplomacy what they probably could not have gained by war. And this great victory was due to the distinguished councillor of Basle, John Rudolph Wettstein, who was the deputy of Switzerland to the negotiations that closed the Thirty Years' War. For the Swiss Diet saw its opportunity. The Emperor of Ger many, at the close of that war, was in such straits that that was the psychological moment in which to press their demand for liberty upon him. Wettstein arrived at Miinster, Germany, where the negotiations were pending, December 18, 1646. His actions were in marked contrast with the ambassadors of other lands. Over against their pomp he lived in simplicity. He received no pay, but lived at his own expense. Yet the German and French 7 98 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ambassadors were delighted to entertain him. These in vitations he accepted, hoping thereby to gain something for his country. Indeed, he obtained so many concessions that he was called by them "king of the Swiss." Amid all the intrigues between France, Sweden, Germany, Aus tria and Spain, he walked carefully, ever having in view the freedom of his land and the integrity of Switzerland. His outspoken diplomacy, in contrast with the double-deal ing of others, won him respect, and finally gave him the victory. For he possessed great knowledge of human nature and also great aptitude for diplomacy, and with it great perseverance and patience in gaining his end. He would play one nation over against another until he got what he wanted. He left Minister November ii, 1647, glad to get away from what to him seemed like a prison. The joy in Switzerland over this was indescribable. The peace of Westphalia was read publicly in all parts of Switzerland to the beating of drums and the blowing of trumpets. Liberty begun at the Rutli in 1307 was now completed nearly three and a half centuries later. Wett stein has come down in history as one of the greatest statesmen and most distinguished benefactors Switzerland has produced. CHAPTER III Dangers after the Thirty Years War Section i the two battles of vilmergen It is somewhat remarkable that the two decisive bat tles between Swiss should be fought at the same place, though in different centuries. In the first battle of Vil- mergen the Catholics were victorious ; in the second, the Protestants. They reveal the long continued rivalry and jealousy of the Protestants and Catholics in Switzerland. The immediate cause of the first battle of Vilmergen was the persecution of the Nicodemites (of which we will speak in the next part). But this would not have led to war if the relations of Protestants and Catholics had not before been strained. In this war the two Protestant cantons, Zurich and Bern, sent their armies separately. This was their mistake. The Zurich army, under General Werdmuller, attacked the strongly forti fied Catholic town, on Lake Zurich, of Rapperschwyl. Its citizens mocked at his name (which meant "green miller"), by saying "the Madonna (of Rapperschwyl) laughs at the green-miller who wooes her." He was compelled to raise the siege with considerable loss. The Bern army had even worse luck, for it (12,000 strong) was surprised June 14, 1656, by the Lucerne army (4,000 in number) at Vilmergen, and defeated with great loss. The war was closed by the peace of Baden, which gave the Catholic cantons certain advantages. Thus, in this strife between Catholics and Protestants, the Catholics 99 ioo THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH had now gained two wars: one at Cappel, 1531, and the other at Vilmergen, 1656. But what was lost to the Protestants at the first battle of Vilmergen was more than made up by the sec ond battle. This war is sometimes called the Toggen burg war, because it mainly concerned the Toggenburg district. This district, on the southern slope of Mt. Sentis, had been a sort of storm-center ever since the war of Cappel (1531) had placed it under the control of the Catholic abbot of St. Gall, for it was strongly Protestant, having been Zwingli's birthplace. Already we have noted that when the abbot of St. Gall persecuted the Protes tants and forbade them to sing psalms, they appealed to Zurich, and gained their rights. Zwingli's birthplace, Wildhaus, was one of the places where the strife was the most~bitter. The Protestants were compelled to al low Catholic worship in their churches. This led to a peculiar controversy. In northeastern Switzerland there, are no altars in Protestant churches — nothing but a font. And the font, when unused, is covered by a peaked wooden lid. The Catholics' service centered about the altar; but they could find no altar in these churches ex cept this covered font. And yet the pyx* would fall off o£. the peaked cover of the font ; so they brought the altar in. This produced trouble, for altars are not Prot estant. In 1617 the Protestants at Wildhaus brought in a new font by night and placed it in front of the Catholic altar. But as they had not gotten permission of the Catholics to do this, a bitter controversy grew out of it, which was finally settled by the Reformed hav ing to pay a fine of 5,000 florins, which only embittered them the more. The abbot of St. Gall not merely oppressed the Prot- * The vessel in which they kept the Holy Eucharist. d**~ THE BATTLE OF VILMERGEN 101 / estants in the Toggenburg district, but also those in his (city of St. Gall. At St. Gall the abbey and city are aside / Lo£jeach other, the one Catholic, the other Protestant, r The abbot began sending religious processions through the city bearing the cross of the abbey. At this the citizens flew to arms, closed the gates of the city and manned the walls. Finally a truce was arranged and the processions were no longer permitted. But after the Thirty Years War there was a rising of Catholic consciousness, which was intensified by their victory at Vilmergen, in 1656. Their aggressiveness led to strained relations with the Protestants. Then the Toggenburg gave the immediate cause for the war. The abbot of St. Gall had been greatly oppressing the Prot estants there, forbidding their catechization, compelling Reformed ministers to greet the virgin after services, and to bow when Catholic processions and relics passed by. Church visitation in the name of the Reformed synod was forbidden. The Catholics distributed books attacking Protestants, but would allow no replies to be made or distributed. Finally, the Reformed went to Zurich and Bern with their complaints. These held a conference February, 1707, and sent an embassy to St. Gall. Later the abbot began to garrison his castle in the Toggenburg with Catholic soldiers. This the in habitants could not stand, and they rose, May, 17 10, attacked the abbot's castle and captured some of his can non. After some negotiations, Bern and Zurich sent an ultimatum April 12, 1712. On April 28, the five Catholic cantons declared war against Zurich and Bern and took possession of Thurgau and St. Gall. These troops were aided with gold from the papal nuncio and encouraged by consecrated bullets and blest amulets freely distributed among them as a protection against death. The Bernese army gained a victory at Bremgarten and besieged Baden, and then the final battle took place at Vilmergen, 102 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH July 25, 1712, when 8,000 Bernese troops faced 10,000 "Lucerne soldiers. For ten hours they fought,' and it .looked as if victory would perch on the Catholic arms. But General Duval, of the Bernese army, by a maneuvre, separated one division of the Catholic army from the main body. This threw the Catholic army into confu sion and, in spite of their blessed bullets and amulets, they were defeated. By September 12, 1712, peace was declared. If the former battle of Vilmergen had given the Cath olics the prestige, this battle gave the prestige to the Protestants. It guaranteed religious liberty to both Catholics and Protestants, for Catholics had always op posed religious liberty in their cantons. It gave the con trol of certain districts as Thurgau, Sargans, the Rhine valley and Baden to the Protestants. No wonder that the peace was disapproved by the pope, who declared it null and void; and only revealed his utter weakness in doing so, for his opposition had no effect. But he had to withdraw the papal nuncio from Switzerland, and this was a great relief to the Protestants, for the nuncio had been the cause of a great deal of strife. The abbot of St. Gall also refused to recognize the peace and died in self-banishment; but his successors finally found it best to accept the situation and return to the possession of the abbey. This battle was the signal for the be ginning of the decay of the Catholic party in Switzer land. After this there was only one more war between Catholics and Protestants, and that occurred, as we shall see, in the nineteenth century. Section 2 the succession in neuchatel Neuchatel did not become a member of the Swiss con federacy until the nineteenth century. She was not a NEUCHATEL 103 republic like Switzerland, but a duchy, and had been ruled by the French line of nobles of the Orleans-Lon- gueville family. The last of these, the widowed countess of Nemours, died June 16, 1707. This produced a dan gerous crisis. Before this, at the death of her mother, the French king had wanted to place a French prince, the Prince of Conti, on the throne, and had virtually taken possession of the province. But Bern interfered, although the neighboring Catholic cantons of Freiburg and Solothurn were favorable. After years of nego tiations, the Duchess of Nemours was finally chosen, 1699. But, at her death, the whole question was opened up again. Fortunately, by this time, the ambi tious French king, Louis XIV, had died, and his succes sor was less aggressive. Still, the important question . was not whether a French prince would rule or not, but whether the next ruler would be a Catholic or a Prot estant, for the people of Neuchatel were Reformed in, religion. There were not less than fifteen aspirants to the throne and, of course, many were the intrigues. France wanted it for the Prince of Conti. England sup ported the King of Prussia, as did the Emperor of Ger many. For, although the Emperor was a Catholic, and the King of Prussia a Protestant, yet the former did not want France to gain the control of Neuchatel, and so he favored the King of Prussia as the most likely candidate to win. Fortunately, the commission of the state which had assumed control at the death of the duchess had determined that, no matter who became the ruler, the rights of the Protestants must be guaranteed. But the day of the election, November 3, 1707, was one of great anxiety to Neuchatel and of great excitement in Switzerland. It resulted, thanks mainly to the efforts of the Bernese magistrate, Senner, in the election of the King of Prussia. He was a member of the Reformed Church and, therefore, acceptable to the Reformed of 104 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Neuchatel. Thus the Protestants gained entire control over another district which had long been headed by a Cath olic, and this election prepared for what ultimately took place, the incorporation of Neuchatel as one of the can tons of Switzerland. For, in 1815, Neuchatel was in corporated by the congress of Vienna in the Swiss con federacy; but the King of Prussia still claimed it, and it was given to him. But there were two parties in the canton — a royalist and a republican. Finally a republii can uprising occurred, in 1856, which captured Neu chatel. The King of Prussia then threatened to send an army of 30,000 men into Neuchatel. The Swiss con federacy prepared for war in order to resist them. But, through the mediation of Emperor Louis Napoleon of France, war was prevented, and Prussia guaranteed the freedom of Neuchatel, and Neuchatel is now a full mem ber of the Swiss confederacy PART IV THE REFUGEES IN SWITZERLAND The Protestant refugees who came to Switzerland from other lands, as France and Italy, did much to con solidate the Reformed Church there. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Wherever they set tled they brought prosperity and blessing. Especially do Zurich and Geneva owe their present commercial prominence to the refugees they received. While, on the other hand, the Catholic cantons and lands who drove out such valuable citizens suffered irretrievably for it. This subject divides itself into two parts: i. , The refugees from Catholic cantons in Switzer land. 2. The refugees from other countries. 105 CHAPTER I The Refugees from the Catholic Cantons in Switzerland The Catholic cantons, as we have seen, as the result of the Borromean league and up to the second battle of Vilmergen, drove out all Protestants from their borders and refused all religious liberty. Of course, they were the sufferers by it, and the Protestant cantons who re ceived these refugees, the gainers ; because, usually, these refugees were the most progressive and enlightened of their people. Section i the refugees from locarno* Locarno is situated on the northwestern shore of Lake Maggiore in southern Switzerland. In 1546, John Beccaria, formerly a barefooted monk, but now a Prot estant, settled there and opened a school. As a result, some of the leading families were won to Protestantism, and, four years later, there were nearly two hundred Protestants, some of whom were refugees from Italy for their Protestant faith. The Catholics, alarmed at their progress, brought charges against them. Beccaria was ordered to leave. But he went to the Swiss diet and so eloquently defended himself that the decree of banish ment was lifted. Then the magistrate at Locarno threw him into prison and forced him to leave. He went through the Protestant cantons pleading for help for * See Meyer "Die Evangelische Gemeinde in Locarno," 1836. •— ~ 107 ^-^ 108 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Locarno. He was received as a member into the Reformed synod of the canton of the Grisons. This gave him official standing, and he was sent by them as pastor to Misox in the Bernardino Valley, south of the Alps, not far from Locarno. There he opened a school, and the Protestants of Locarno and of the region around sent their children to him. But after five years (1555) he was compelkd/to~Teave/by the Catholics^) who were in ¦tpernajority in that part of the Grisons, and he went to Zurich. Meanwhile the Catholics were continually plotting against the Protestants at Locarno. They got the Swiss diet (1554) to order all to go to confession in Lent, 1554, and they spread rumors abroad that the Protes tants there were heterodox and Anabaptists. So the Locarno congregation drew up a confession of their faith, which showed they were orthodox, and sent it to Zurich. Finally the arbiters appointed by the Swiss diet ordered them either to become Catholics or to leave. Fortunately, the magistrate for that year at Locarno* was from Zurich, and he protected them as much as he could. But the seven Catholic cantons sent deputies across the Alps, in winter, to see that the order of the Swiss diet was obeyed. The Protestants, 150-200 in number, were or dered to appear at the council-house and hear their de cree of banishment, in winter. When its reading was finished, the papal nuncio entered and protested against the clemency of the sentence, and asked that their goods be confiscated and their children left at Locarno to be reared as Catholics. But the Catholic deputies were more humane than the Catholic Church, and refused their request. So the Protestants were ordered to leave March 3, 1555^ a most brutal order, because it drove them out into the Alpine winter when the passes were * The magistrates of Locarno were sent there from the differ ent Swiss cantons in turn. THE REFUGEES 109 not yet open, for the passes of the Alps do not open till June. Even over the easiest pass for them, the St. Gothard, they were forbidden to go. So ninety-three of them started, followed later by others, and went to the first town in the St. Bernardino pass, Roveredo, in the canton of the Grisons. There they remained for two months, till the thaw began to open the St. Ber nardino pass. In May they took their wives and chil dren over this pass, through deep snow, to Chur, the capital of the Grisons. Some remained there, but more than a hundred went on to Zurich, where most of them settled. They brought with them the silk industry to which Zurich owes her present commercial supremacy in Switzerland. Some of the most prominent families there, as the Orelli. Pestalozzi and Muralt families, are descendants of this immigration. Beccaria was offered the pastorate of the Italian Church at Zurich, but de clined, and it was given to Ochino. Section 2 the nicodemites The canton of Schwyz has remained fanatically at tached to the Catholics, but ever since the days of Zwingli, at Einsedeln (1516-18), an Evangelical element, especially of the family of Hospenthal, had found a lodgment at Arth, on the northern side of the Rigi mountain. These secretly passed the Evangelical faith from generation to generation. They were called Evan gelical Nicodemites, because, like Nicodemus, they were secret disciples. They did not publicly separate from ' the Catholic Church, Schwyz would not have permitted that, but their contempt for the mass repeatedly exposed them to fines. They would meet at night for prayer in a lonely house called the "Bees Court." A zealous Reformed minister of Zurich canton one no THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH day met one of these young Nicodemites, who confessed that he secretly read the Bible. This pastor then se cretly met some of them in a cow-keeper's hut on the Rigi. The Catholics heard of this and cunningly ex amined them, at which time they, in their simple-heart edness, betrayed themselves. This alarmed the Cath olics, and they held a secret meeting in the Catholic cloister at Schwyz to consider how they might stamp out this heresy. This meeting became known to the Nicodemites, as some of their relatives hastened to give them timely warning, and said, "Avert danger to your selves and disgrace to your families. Run and pros trate yourselves before the nearest cross. Confess to the priest and bring some good cream to the good father (the priest)." The Nicodemites did not seem to have great faith in the good father referred to, for seven of them fled with their families (in all thirty-seven per sons) to Zurich, on the night of September n-12, 1655, by taking boat to Zug, and then going to Cappel. They were very cordially received at Zurich, who negotiated with the canton of Schwyz to get the property they left behind them, but in vain. As soon as their flight was known, the other Nico demites, twenty in number, were arrested. As they would not forswear their faith, three men and a woman were put to death, and the rest sent to Milan to the inquisition. In all, it is said, seventeen persons were put to death. Among the prisoners was Barbara von Hospenthal, an aged and rich widow, who, like the pious Tabitha, had made herself beloved throughout the coun try by her many acts of benevolence. On the way to prison she met a group of children by whom she had always been looked up to as a mother, and they were melted into tears. "Fear not," she said, "fear not, for the way I am going is the way to heaven." A number of them were tortured. When Martin von Hospenthal THE REFUGEES in was urged by the Catholics to confess the true faith, he replied that he would do so in the midst of tortures as he had done all his life. These unfortunate persecu tions of Swiss by Swiss prepared the way for the war which led to the first battle of Vilmergen (1656), which we have before described. CHAPTER II The Foreign Refugees We pass over the English refugees who came to Switzerland in the Reformation and soon went back to England,* as it occurred too early for our period. There was also a large emigration from Germany during the Thirty Years' War, especially from the Palatinate and Wurtemberg, when the Swiss welcomed Lutherans as well as Reformed. But that emigration was so scat tered that it is impossible to describe it, except to call attention to the fact that many Reformed ministers driven out of the Palatinate found an asylum in Switzerland. Section i the refugees from francet When the terrible persecution broke over France, Switzerland, as her nearest neighbor, received most of the refugees. There were two main periods when the refugees came ; first, after the massacre of St. Bartholo mew (1^72). and, again, after the Revocation of the _Edict of Nantes (i68Q. But it might be said that there was an almost continuous emigration from France, though often hardly perceptible, for several centuries. Even before the massacre of St. Bartholomew many * See Vedder's "Relations Between England and Zurich Dur- ing the Reformation," also "Zurich Letters," Cambridge, 1842-45. t See Morikofer's "Geschichte der Evangelischen Flucht- linge in der Schweiz," also Comba's "Les Refugies de la Revo cation en Suisse," 1885. 112 THE REFUGEES "3 refugees had arrived in Switzerland. Farel and Calvin had come and started the Reformation in French Switzer- land. Among the early refugees were men of promi nence, as Robert Stephen, the printer of King Francis I of France, driven out by the opposition of the Sorbonne because of his publication of the Bible. His son, Henry, became the great publisher of the classics. The Elzevirs, the great printers of Geneva, were also refugees. Just before the massacre many came because of the persecu tions in France. They generally went to Geneva, but Bern utilized many of them to fill up the district of Vaud, which she had recently captured from the Duke of Savoy. She wanted to make Vaud a buffer state against Savoy and so replaced the Catholic population there by these French refugees. After the massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572), a great crowd of refugees arrived. Geneva received the most of them, many being persons of prominence. The most prominent were the members of the family of Ad miral Coligny. who had been martyred at Paris in that massacre. They were his widow, Louisa Teligny, and his two sons, the latter having escaped from France by way of Mulhausen. Bern, where they arrived October 13, 1572, was especially kind to this family, supporting them and sending an ambassador to France to get their property back to them. They lived three years at Bern, and were the guests of many of the prominent families there before they returned to France. The number of refugees arriving after this massacre was so great that the "French bourse" was founded at Geneva, which aimed to take care of the refugees. It did a splendid work. By 1640 the capital of this bourse had increased to 60,172 florins, and there was an annual disbursement of 8,000 florins. The enthronement of Henry of Na varre as king of France, which ^ave toleration to the Huguenots, then checked the immigration into Switzer- n4 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH land for a time. But it was the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, October 18, 1685, that brought the largest immigration into Switzerland. Most of them came by way of Geneva as the most accessible way of escape from France. In this, two of the villages of the canton of Geneva, Avully and Cartigny, were especially active. The fleeing Hu guenots would wait till night in order to pass over the last part of Gex. When they got to the river Rhone, they would give the Genevese the signal. Soon, from the other side of the river, a torch revealed the Genevese as putting off a boat into the river. This soon brought the refugees to the Genevan shore, where they fell on their knees in thanksgiving, singing and praying to God. The King of France, Louis XIV, was so incensed at_ the way in which Geneva saved so many of the Hugue nots, that he threatened her. So a number of the refu gees were sent on to Bern, which had also established a bourse like that at Geneva. The Genevese, fearing the French king, sent an ambassador, January, 1586, to the Evangelical cantons. They declared themselves ready to aid and defend Geneva, if necessary. And these cantons sent an embassy to Louis XIV, so that he became more favorably inclined. The amount of money raised in Switzerland for the refugees was quite large. During forty years after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes Geneva raised five millions of francs. In 1674 Geneva came before the Evangelical cantons, asking for 30,000 thalers for the refugees, and most of it was raised. In 1683 the Evan gelical cantons laid yearly taxes for the refugees, the allotment being, Zurich, 30 per cent. ; Bern, 50 ; Basle, 12, and Schaffhausen, 8. Later, the taxes were also alloted among other Protestant districts in Switzerland, at St. Gall, Appenzell, etc. Zurich, from 1685 till the middle of the next century, kept, for a longer or shorter time, THE REFUGEES 115 50,000 refugees, either Huguenot or Palatine, and paid 300,000 gulden. Bern, together with Vaud, raised four million florins. Schaffhausen, from 1683-1700, raised 40,000 gulden. And while such large sums were raised, it is not to be forgotten that the greatest burden lay on private families, who not only paid their share of this tax for the refugees, but also took them into their own homes. Many of the French nobly tried to pay back what had been raised for them. Thus, Stephen Royat, in 1740, gave 20,000 florins to the treasury of Geneva in repayment for what Geneva had done for him. "All this," says Hadorn, one of the latest historians of the Swiss Churchy "was done in the days of orthodoxy. Verily, a faith that can do this is not dead orthodoxy." The emigration from France did not, however, stop with those fleeing from the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In 1703, 2,000 more came from the province of Orange. Thus, in 1713, Rev. Mr. Calendrini informed the magistrates of Geneva that 136 confessors who had been sent to the galleys for the Reformed religion had been liberated at Marseilles and would arrive at Geneva. The bourse spent 108,000 florins on them. When they came to Geneva the citizens pressed hard on them, closely scanning their faces, to find among them their parents, from whom they had been separated fifteen or twenty years. The emotion could not be described when father found wife and children in Geneva, and praised God for their deliverance. These galley slaves then examined the lists of those who had been aided by the bourse, and they sang hymns as they read the names of their wives and children, who either were living in Geneva or had been sent on to Germany. If their families were in Germany, Geneva aided them to go there. The number of such galley-slaves received at Geneva, 1713-14, was 565- It is said that in all about 60,000 (some say 100,000) 116 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Huguenots found an asylum in Switzerland, many of them, however, going farther on into Germany and Hol land. Thus, of the 60,000 who crossed French Switzer land, 4,000 found a home in Geneva. In 1700, out of 300 persons who had citizenship in Geneva, hardly 50 had been there before the Reformation, the great majority being descendants of refugees, some Italian, but mainly French. These refugees made Geneva a new city and also Vaud a new district. But Switzerland was amply repaid for the labor and money she had given them. They became her best citizens. They brought her new industries. Thus at Geneva there were 80 goldsmiths with 200 workmen. The silk factories and the lace works had 2,000 laborers. Another great industry they brought was watchmaking. In 1685 there were 100 master workmen there, with 300 workmen. A hundred years later these industries employed 6,000 workmen. In a word, they made Switzerland one of the great manu facturing countries of Europe. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the nation as well as of the Church. Section 2 theodore agrippa d'aubigne The two most prominent Huguenots who came to Switzerland were the Duke Henry of Rohan, of whom we have already spoken, and Theodore Agrippa D'Au- _bigne. Theodore Agrippa D'Aubigne was born February 8, 1552, near Pons, France. He lost his mother at birth. He soon revealed great ability, speaking three languages at the age of six, Latin, Greek and. Hebrew, and trans lating the Crito of Plato before he was eight. At the age of ten he was made prisoner by the Catholics, and was threatened to be burned to death at the stake, but escaped as by a miracle. At eleven his father showed THE REFUGEES 117 him the withered heads of the Huguenots hung up in the city of Amboise, and told him to follow his example and not be sparing of his life to avenge those Huguenot chiefs; and that if he did not act so, a parent's curse would rest upon him. That scene proved to be the key note of his life, whether in war or literature. He became the bitter Huguenot. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the University of Geneva to study under Beza. His guardian wanted to keep him at school. But he had the spirit of the warrior and could ill brook the con finement of study when the air was full of battles. So at the age of seventeen, clad in a shirt, he escaped at midnight from his preceptor and ran to join the Hugue not army. To the Huguenots he gave more than sixty years of his life. Thirty of them he fought without cessa tion. Then he wrote for thirty years, and the new literary combat was a continuation of the old. He would prob ably have been killed in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, but a duel had compelled him to leave the city three days before the massacre. In the Huguenot army, the attention of King Henry of Navarre was called to him. They were about the same age and much alike. He hap pened to meet Henry when the Catholics were luring him back to Rome, and he called Henry back to himself. For, as he watched by the couch of the king, he heard the latter sing and quote the 80th Psalm, which spoke about absent friends. From this he appealed to Henry that his heart was still with the Huguenots. It resulted in Henry's full return to the Reformed faith. Flight from the Louvre palace at Paris was determined upon, and on February 20, 1578, Henry escaped. As he fled to his land, his escort became an army as the Huguenots rose to defend him. D'Aubigne became his constant companion. The latter's marriage with a wealthy lady raised him from a soldier to a courtier. He was called "the French Regulus" because of his faith- 118 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH fulness to his promise. For, having been captured by the enemy and threatened with death, yet, when paroled, he, like Regulus, returned to his prison because he had pledged his word to return. This faithfulness to his word so impressed his captors that they spared his life. He took a brave part in the battle of Courtras, 1587, when Henry defeated the French army. As was customary among the Huguenots, D'Aubigne and his troops, at the beginning of the battle, began the 113th Psalm, "This is the day the Lord hath made." The enemy, seeing them kneel, cried out, "They are afraid and sue thus for mercy." But an officer in the French army, who had had previous experience with them, replied, "When the Huguenots begin thus, they fight well." They fought there to victory. He was with Henry till the wars ceased and the latter became King of France. When the king became Catholic to gain the throne, he warned the king against his great apostasy, and yet he clung to his master in spite of it. Being so near to the king, he became the great political leader of the Huguenots. As such, he. hecame. one of the authors of the famous Edict of Nantes, which gave the Huguenots toleration in France. King Henry was assassinated in 1610. His death reminded one of a prophecy of D'Aubigne. Twenty years before, when Chatel made an unsuccessful attempt at Henry's life at the battle of Ivry, D'Aubigne said to him, "God has smitten you on the lip for having denied Him with the lip. He will smite you to the heart when you have denied him with the heart." (After the death of Henry, he found his position diffi cult and unpleasant. He was attorney-general of the Huguenots at court, and yet was exiled by the court from it. The Huguenots met at Saumur, 161 1, to decide what to do. The court was tempting them to give up their cities of refuge for certain privileges. The Duke THE REFUGEES 119 of Bouillon, one of their leaders, urged them to do so; but D'Aubigne rose with indignation and replied tren chantly, showing the absurdity of the duke's position, and closed with an eloquent appeal to retain their cities. His advice probably saved the Huguenots from destruc tion earlier than it came. But his position became so uncomfortable in France that finally, in 1620, at the age of sixty-eight, he fled to Geneva. Through a thousand dangers he brought his escort, consisting of four attendants and twelve horses, under whose saddles were 300,000 thalers. He received a great welcome at Geneva, because he had been a student of Beza's and the hero of the Huguenots. He was offered free lodgings, freedom from imposts, and was also given the noble's seat in the cathedral. At Geneva he spent his time mainly in literary pur suits, for he had become famous as the finest poet and satirist in French of his day. What makes his writings of special interest to us is that they were from the Huguenot standpoint. Indeed, as a critic says, it was the passions of the Reformation that awoke him to his true poetic nature, and from being a poet of wine and love into an angry satirist. "The Confessions of Sancy" (1599- 1606) was a bitter satire on the renegades to Rome and against Catholic proselyters. For instance, in giving "The Confessions of Sancy," he satirizes the miracle of transubstantiation thus: "The sweat of the wretched laborer changes (transubstantiates) into the fat of the prosperous treasurer. The taxes of France have tran substantiated the laborer's fields into grass-patches, the vineyards into waste lands, the laborers into beggars, soldiers into thieves with little of the miraculous, serfs into gentlemen, servants into masters, masters into serv ants." His largest work was his "Universal History of/ the End of the Sixteenth Century." In it he aimed toT reveal God's~plan lFregardto the Huguenots. This he 120 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was abundantly able to do, as he knew the secrets of the court. The second volume was publicly burned at Paris by Louis XIII in 1618. But his greatest work was his "Tragedies," begun 1577 and ended 1616. He began them while recovering from a wound received in battle. They are a vivid picture of the court of Henry II and his mother. Catharine De Medici. In them he describes the persecutions of the Huguenots. The fourth book of the seven has. been called the French Protestant mar- tyrology. The last books take the reader from earth to the judgment seat, where the persecutors of the Hugue nots are severely punished. On the one hand, the "Tragedies" are like the old Roman satires of Juvenal; on the other, like the Hebrew prophets in their invec tives. They are full of life and genius. He was the colossal censor of the end of the sixteenth century. His other work, "The Adventures of the Baron of Foeneste," was also a satire on the vanities of the French court. Some of these works he re-wrote or finished at Geneva. But, while engaged in literature, he had not forgotten the art of war. Geneva, realizing his great military abil ity, made him the head of her army, and he strengthened ithe city by rebuilding a part of its fortifications. Bern wanted him to come to her, and he fortified that city against the possible dangers of the Thirty Years' War. Bern also asked him to become commander-in-chief of her army of 48,000 men. But he declined, saying he was getting too old, and, besides, he could not speak the German language. He visited Basle in 1622, when his portrait, now in the Basle Museum, was painted. He drew plans for the fortifications ot Basle, which it is said he partially fortified. But France was continually plot ting against him, though Geneva stood bravely by him. When Bern tried so hard to get him, Geneva favored the purchase of the castle named Crest, in its vicinity, for THE REFUGEES 121 him* and relieved him from all taxes. So, when Venice tried to get him to defend the Grisons, he declined, say ing he would make Geneva his home. He became so attached to Geneva that, in 1628, when he was about going to England to visit his son, he did not go because Geneva was supposed to be threatened by the Catholics. Finally, though condemned four times to death by France, he died safely in his bed at Geneva, May 29, 1630, at the age of eighty. His wife, leaning over his death-bed, wanted to give~him something to eat. He replied, "Let me depart in peace. I desire to eat celestial food." As he died, he faintly muttered, "The day has come. Glory be to God ! Let us delight in it." He was buried in the cathedral at Geneva, a very unusual honor, for the Genevan church was Puritanic and opposed burials in churches, lest they become places of idolatry, 1 as in the Catholic Church. His monument can be seen there today, with a Latin inscription to his memory. He left 2,000 gulden for the education of foreign students for the ministry, a very large sum for those days. So lived and died one of the greatest soldiers of King Henry IV of France, and probably the keenest French satirist of his day, a warrior, courtier, statesman, a theologian, a poet, a Christian. "He handled," says one, "the pen and lyre as well as the sword." Though not without great faults, yet he was a man who would not change his convictions even to please a king, and that king his friend — who in his youth sacrificed all his prospects of love and ambition rather than commit a base act. Section 3 the theological seminary of antoine court at lausanne An important institution in connection with the refu- / * This castle is now occupied by the well-known Genevan ] VJamily of Tronchin. 122 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH gees from France was the Theological Seminary at Lau- sanne. It was not, however intended for the refugees in Switzerland, but for their brethren whom they had left behind in France. As so many of the Huguenot ministers had been either put to death or sent to the galleys, their number became small. So it was felt that a theological seminary should be founded somewhere to supply their places with new pastors, for the Huguenot Church, in spite of its persecutions, was growing. The project for a seminary was started by Rev^ Antoine Court, the great preacher of the "Church of the Desert," as the Huguenot Church was then called. He had been the reorganizer of the Reformed Church of France — its second reformer, as Calvin had been its first. He had virtually saved that church from disinte gration and extinction. He was a great preacher as well as an organizer, having lived under the shadow of mar tyrdom for many years. Under his ministry, the church, in spite of its persecutions, grew, so that there was great need for more ministers. Court, therefore, determined that somewhere in the lands whither the refugees had fled a theological seminary should be started for the shepherdless church of France. Of course, such a seminary could not be founded in France, as the Reformed religion was proscribed there. Geneva was the most accessible place, but it was felt that Geneva was too near the French border. The lives of the students might be endangered there, and, besides, the plans of the Huguenots to send them back to France could be too closely watched by France. So it was de termined to locate the seminary at Lausanne, which, while not too far from France, was yet out of the reach of her espionage. Court first corresponded with the Huguenot refugees in different places about it, but nothing tangible came out of it. So he undertook the work personally. He first went to Professor Pictet, of THE REFUGEES 123 Geneva. He there found that one of the reasons why the French refugee churches did not aid was because they supposed the Huguenot Church of France had de generated into fanaticism and inspirationism. Court showed that this was a mistake, and that all they needed was a sufficient supply of properly educated ministers. He then travelled through different Protestant lands, raising money. Bern, that he might be supported, gave him a yearly pension of 500 livres till 1735. Zurich also gave him a pension till 1747, for he had no means to support his family, as all had been swept away by the persecutions in France. Some of the French Protest ants charged him with cowardice in thus staying out of France, as if he feared martyrdom. But Court felt he had a greater mission than preaching in France, namely, to prepare ministers for the French church. He could thus re-duplicate himself many times over to the far greater prosperity of the church. Certainly his past life, as well as his later visits to France, disprove any such charge. The seminary was opened, 1729, under the super vision of Duplan. A committee was organized at Lau sanne to finance it. Duplan proved an indefatigable agent for it. Contributions came in from many quarters. The King of England gave 500 guineas. Holland and Sweden aided with gifts. Court made Lausanne his home, dying there, 1760. He would often preach with great power in the principal cities of Switzerland, as Bern and Lau sanne. He also, during this period, composed his ^His tory of the Huguenots Since_the Revocation of Nantes," a valuable contribution, for ncTone knew as much about that period as he. He also published his "History of the Camisards." The actual teaching in the seminary was not done by Court, for he, though a man of power, had had no scholarly training; but he was the father and friend of 124 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the students, giving them advice and inspiration. He probably taught some practical branches, as homiletics. One of the pastors of Lausanne taught them the Bible, Osterwald's catechism and Pictet's theology. The theo logical professors of the academy did some teaching in the seminary. The first professors were Poller and Ruchat, the former taking Hebrew, the latter theological polemics, especially against the Catholics. This occupied a large place in their teaching, as it would be very useful to them in France. The dogmatics was orthodox Cal vinism, yet liberal. The Helvetic Consensus did not seem to have been able to stop the entrance of the ideas of Saumur. Some conservative Swiss, in those days when Vaud had so many followers of Saumur, were suspicious of the liberal Calvinism of this seminary and tried to keep the students from the influence of the views of Saumur. They wrote to Court to take his seminary away, as to Paris, but their advice was not followed. Court, though a Calvinist, yet disliked controversy in matters of faith. Later other professors of the academy taught the students, as Salchly, Secretan, Chavannes and Durand. The students were ordained at Lausanne, in the pres ence of the professors and the directors or committee of the society which supported it. Later they were or dained in Languedoc. Usually there were from 20 to 30 students there. The seminary lasted for eighty years (1729-1809). From 1726-1753 it had 86 students; up to 1788, 188. Several hundred students went out from it to preach the gospel in France, a number of them to win the martyr's crown, and all to face the danger of it. The most prominent among these graduates was Paul Rabaut, the great preacher of the "Church of the Desert," who completed the work of reorganizing the French church which had been begun by Court. It is an interesting and significant circumstance that it was THE REFUGEES 125 his son, St. Etienne Rabaut, who, in 1790, as president of the national congress, proclaimed religious liberty in France. This seminary, like its founder, Court, proved to be the saviour of the Reformed Church of France by giving to it ministers so as to perpetuate its existence. Section 4 the waldensian refugees from italy The Waldensian immigration was later than the 1 French, and not so large. Ever since the time when J Farel had first visited the Waldensians, in 1532, the Swiss had felt a deep interest in that ancient church, the Israel of the Alps. In 1655 Waldensian refugees began to come from Italy because of persecutions. The Evan gelical Diet sent an embassy to their ruler, the Duke of Savoy, at Turin, backed by Holland, Brandenburg and Hesse, and peace came to them. After the death of Cromwell, the great protector of the Waldenses, Switzer land had again to intercede for them with the Duke of Savoy in 1663. But it was in 1686-87 that the largest emigration from Italy occurred, for the soldiers of Savoy, assisted by the French, took possession of their valleys. Among the Waldenses was a minister who was also a great soldier, Henry Arnaud.*^ He was born at La Tour, in Italy, the capital of the Waldensian valleys. Educated at Basle, he went to Holland, where he learned the art of war from the princes of Orange. He became pastor of the Waldenses in 1670. He was thus prepared by providence to mingle the art of war with the message of peace. He led his countrymen in their defence against Savoy, and his men fought so bravely that the Duke of Savoy gave them free passes to Switzerland. Out of 20,000 Waldenses, about 3,000 came to Switzerland in f * For Arnaud's life see my "History of the Reformed Church ' , of Germany," page 205. / \ 126 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH 1687. Of these, the greater number went on to Ger many, as Switzerland was so full of refugees that she could not maintain any more. Gradually, however, a desire to get back to their native valleys — the genuine Swiss home-sickness — laid hold on them in~the summer of 1689, and led to what is called the "Glorious Return." The Protestant Swiss had not the heart to stop them, because many of them sympathized with them and so pretended to be ignorant of their movements. The Waldensees came from Wur temberg, over the high passes, as the Grimsel, to Lake Geneva. Only in the Catholic canton of Schwyz was a party stopped and sent to Turin. On the night of August 16, 1689, they met in a forest at Prangins, near Nyon, on the west shore of the Lake of Geneva. They then in boats crossed that lake and landed in Savoy, near Yvoire. Then, 800 in number, they marched over the frozen glaciers of the Mt. Cenis pass, amid avalanches, along steep defiles and often by hanging over precipices.* It was as great a march as Hannibal and Napoleon had made over the Alps, only their numbers were fewer, but for this they made up in their greater hair-breadth escapes. On the eleventh day they entered their valleys, and on the next day Arnaud preached in a ruined chapel on Psalms 129:1, 2. They then entrenched themselves in one of their almost impregnable fortresses, the Balsille. But for a strange providence they would probably have starved to death, for a sudden thaw one night re moved a mass of snow from the fields. There they found a considerable quantity of wheat standing, ready for the * They went up the valley of the Arve to St. Joire, through Clusis and Sallanches over the Bon Homme pass, then down the valley of the Isere, climbed Mt. Iseran, descending to Bonneval, Then over Mt. Cenis and down tc Tourliers, Susa and Exiles, and on the ninth day they overlooked their valleys from Fenestrelles. THE REFUGEES 127 sickle. In the spring, the Duke of Savoy sent 22,000 soldiers against them. They had only a thousand men, but in such a fastness one man was worth a thousand. However, when their enemies made their final assault, they determined to die rather than surrender. That night, by an inaccessible path, by overhanging precipices, they escaped. The next morning their enemies saw them in the far distance, like ants climbing over the distant snow. For three days they wandered, trying to get to their other fastness, the Pra del Tor. But before they could reach it a most unexpected thing happened. The Duke of Savoy declared war against France. Now both Savoy and France sought their aid. They chose Savoy, even though she had so terribly persecuted them. And it is one of the remarkable revenges of history that, when the Duke of Savoy was compelled to flee by France, where jy did he find a refuge but among the Waldenses whom he had so bitterly persecuted. After that there was peace for a time, but persecutions broke out again, and in 1698 Switzerland received 2,800 refugees, many going on to Germany. Among them was Arnaud, who became pastor of a Waldensian congregation at Durmenz, Wurtemberg, where, after writing his famous "Chronicle of the Glo rious Return," he died, September 8, 1721. Section 5 the hungarian refugees "7 On January 16, 1674, the Catholic archbishop of Gran" gathered fifty-seven of the Reformed ministers at Press- burg and condemned them. Two recanted, but fifty-five stood firm. At first they were scattered in various prisons, being put in chains; but on March 18, 1674, forty-two of them were sent to Naples with chains on their feet and abused by the soldiers who guarded them. On their journey they were locked in stables and stinted 128 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH in food, so that many became sick. At the castle at Buccan, on the Adriatic sea, they were shut up in one prison, where they saw neither sun nor moon and for fifteen days had no bread. They were then taken to Trieste, where they were plundered. Four of them died at Trieste from their sufferings, two having died before. They were then taken to Pescara and across Italy, on the way being cast into stables and poor prisons, and suffering from hunger and thirst. The remaining thirty arrived at Naples May 7, 1674, where each was sold for fifty Spanish piastres, and they were chained to the rowing bench of the galleys together with Turkish slaves and criminals. The next year others were sent to them. But their presence and their sad condition became known. A rich merchant of Naples, George Weltz, gave them food and drink every third day, and also money and clothing. On August 20, 1674, a Genevese merchant reported their case to Geneva, and a subscription was immediately taken up. Benedict Turretin, the diplomat, made known the facts about them to King William III of England. In the meanwhile, these refugees sent a letter of entreaty to their fellow-Protestants in Naples, and also to the Dutch resident in Venice. He interceded for them with the Evangelical states of Switzerland, also with Holland, England and Germany. These two diplo mats, Turretin and Zasseus, labored together to get them free. Meanwhile George Weltz went to the head of the galleys at Naples and offered 100 ducats for the freedom of each, but in vain. Thus all efforts to gain their liberty failed. But when hope seemed darkest relief came. The King of England ordered Admiral De Ruyter to free them. He went to Naples and secured their release, February 11, 1676, without any ransom. When they ^were freed, they sang for joy Psalms 46, I_i4_and_i25. \ They were taken to the vice-admiral's ship and given THE REFUGEES 129 food and drink, as they sang the 11 6th Psalm as their song of freedom. Ruyter received them with the words, "Of all my victories, none gives me so much joy as the liberation of these servants of God." Then Weltz clothed them. Through the influence of the Dutch ambassador at Vienna, their freedom was confirmed. They had been nine months in the galleys. As Switzerland had done so much for them, they went to Geneva to thank the citizens for their sympathy and gifts. They also went ' to Zurich, Hottinger, the great Swiss historian, having met them near Geneva, at Morges, and escorting them to Zurich, where they arrived May 20, 1676, twenty-five in number. There they were very warmly welcomed. After an address by Hottinger, the ministers of the city took them to their own houses, glad to entertain such sufferers for the Reformed faith. They were then kept at the city's expense and given money for their further travels. Switzerland raised for them 15,490 gulden. The Reformed merchants of Holland and Zurich gathered money for them to travel to Holland. After long efforts to find work for them., one-half of them found places in Holland. The other scattered through the Protestant countries. BOOK II THE PERIOD OF SCHOLASTIC CALVINISM PART I THE RISE OF SCHOLASTIC CALVINISM No theological system remains exactly stationary, and Calvinism did not. Beza developed its stern logic to its highest point, supralapsarianism, in which he was for a time followed by France, Holland, Switzerland and some parts of Germany, as "the Palatinate, Nassau and the northern Rhine. The synod of Dort (1618) came as a liberalizer of Calvinism. This statement may seem strange to us in our day, when the synod of Dort is looked upon as the conservator of high-Calvinism. But Dort, though high to us, was low to them, as Prof. Henry B. Smith declared, "since the synod of Dort supra lapsarianism has not dared to lift its head." The synod of Dort revealed three types of Calvinism, supralapsarianism, infralapsarianism and sublapsarian- ism.* They differed on two points, the order of the decrees_and the atonement. Their order of the decrees was: 1. Supralapsarianism arranged the decrees — elecjiom creation, redemption and reprobation. 2. Infralapsarianism had creation, election, redemp- tion and reprobation. 3. Sublapsarianism had creation, redemption, elec tion, and preterition. The objection to the supralapsarian view was that there was election when there was nothing to elect, be- , cause creation came after election. * These three types may be called respectively highest-, high- and low-Calvinism. 133 134 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH The difference on the atonement was that the two first made the atonement limited (Christ died for the elect). The last made it universal (Christ died for all men). The supralapsarians tried to gain control of the synod of Dort, but got no farther than the election of the president. They were checkmated in the canons adopted by the synod, which were infralapsarian, and even a sublapsarian interpretation of them was allowed to the English and Bremen delegates.* After the synod of Dort, two forms of Calvinism appeared : i. Cocceianism, or the Federal Theology — the the ology of the Covenants.. This was founded by Prof. John Koch, often called Cocceius. who was professor of theology at Bremen (1629) and Leyden (1650). It was a return from creedal to Biblical theology, but at the same time it aimed to apply the method of Descartes to the Bible, and some of the Cocceians were strong Car tesians in philosophy, which led them to be suspected of rationalism. But the purely Cocceian school was essen tially Biblical. Its guiding principle was the covenants. It taught two covenants : 1. The Covenant of Works, made by God with man before the fall in the garden of Eden — that if man did what was right, he would attain to bliss in heaven. 2. The Covenant of Grace^ made by God with man after the fall, by which men are not saved by their good works, but by the grace of God and through the gift of His Son. Koch claimed to be decretal in his theology, and he was. But his tendency was toward making redemption more central in theology without, however, giving up pre destination. His position is now held by the high-Cal^ * For a sketch of these different schools of Calvinism see my "History of the Reformed Church of Germany," page 319. SCHOLASTIC CALVINISM 135 vinists of our day, who are mainly Federalists and hold to limited atonement. A half a century ago this was called Old School Calvinism. 2. The Saumur Calvinism. At the theological school of Saumur, in France, the Calvinistic doctrines were lib eralized. Professor Amvraut developed his view of so- called hypothetical election instead of the unconditional election of the strict Calvinists. Placeus taught the mediate imputation of Adam's sin instead of the imme diate imputation of Adam's sin to us, then generally held by Calvinists. Both made Calvinism redemptive and held to universal atonement. The latter was an old doctrine ] of the Reformed held by Zwingli, Bullinger and Lasco in the Reformation. To these two doctrines Saumur added a third, the denial by Professor Capellus of the inspira tion of the vowel points of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, which was taught by Buxdorf . of Basle., Over against especially these more liberal views there was developed what has been called scholastic Calvinism. There had been a tendency toward this in the later days of the Reformation, but the fresh religious life of that period checked it. But, after the rich glow of that life had departed, doctrines lost their spiritual power and subsided into hard and fast forms. More and more the subtleties of the Aristotelian philosophy, which had been applied to the Catholic theology in the Middle Ages to grind out its life, were now applied to Protestant the ology. Perhaps the best type we have of this scholastic theology of the Reformed was by Professor Wendelin. professor at Anhalt, in Germany. Switzerland began to be strongly affected by this scholastic Calvinism, which made more of the form of the doctrine than of the life in it. It was evident that these different types of Calvinism would meet in conflict some day. This occurred in the adoption of the Helvetic Consensus by Switzerland in 136 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH 1675. The reader should be careful to distinguish this creed from the Second Helvetic Confession, which had Leen drawn up by Bullinger in the previous century and adopted by the Swiss cantons. That was a much more liberal Calvinistic creed as we would expect because it came from Bullinger. While Calvinistic, it is yet lib eral, granting universal atonement. It is also to be re membered, in this study of the scholastic Calvinism of the Helvetic Consensus, that the only kind of Arminian- ism that the Calvinists knew at that time was that which had Socinianism at bottom. It was rationalistic Armin ianism. (It is an interesting fact that in Holland the Arminian churches had not existed long before they all became Unitarian, as they are now.) That was the reason why the Calvinists fought Arminianism so severely and felt themselves the bulwark of Evangelicalism. They did not know what we call Evangelical Arminianism, as it did not come up till later under John Wesley, in the eighteenth century. So that their Arminianism was dif ferent from ours of today. Theirs was rationalistic, ours is Evangelical. Against any Arminianism of that day, the Calvinists felt they must hold to predestination, as it emphasized salvation only by the grace of God. CHAPTER I Zurich The great Breitinger was dead and there was none to fill his place in the antistes' chair. His successors were men of mediocrity, with perhaps one exception, Klingler. The time now came when there were abler men in the professors' chairs at Zurich than in that of the antistes. Section i antistes john jacob irminger (1645-49) and john jacob ulrich (1649-68) John Jacob Irminger was born in 1588 and educated at Zurich and Marburg. He became antistes in 1645. But he found the office not a joy, but a burden, for he was constantly contrasted with his predecessor, Breitin ger, greatly to his disadvantage. He was a man of ability and also of modesty, but he lacked Breitinger's broad mind and personal magnetism. The keynote of his ad ministration was conservatism, the only novelty intro-' duced being the fall communion, in 1649, for Zurich before this had only three communions annually, at Christmas, Easter and Whitsunday^ In his day the be ginnings of the controversy about the low Calvinism of the school of Saumur began to appear. As early as 1636, Zurich had withdrawn her students in France from Saumur and sent them to more orthodox Montauban. He drew up a letter (1646), which was sent by the ministers of Switzerland to the Reformed ministers of Paris, admonishing them to give up the novelties of Saumur and hold fast to the old Reformed faith But 137 138 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the ministers of Paris generally sympathized with Saumur and replied that they held to the Gallic Con fession and the Canons of Dort, and that the changes made by Amyraut were not in fundamentals, but only in the method of statement The Swiss replied, March, 1649, that Amyraut's changes were more than of method. Antistes John Tacob Ulrich was born in 1602 and was a fine linguist. In 1630 he was made professor of theology, and 1638 pastor of the Preacher's Church. He was elected antistes in 1649. Nothing remarkable oc curred during his antisteship except two trials for heresy. In 1652 the heresy of General John Rudolph Werd miller occurred. He had bought the half-island of Au, in Lake Zurich, near Wadenschwyl, and lived there. He had brought with him from his foreign wars two Turkish slaves from Dalmatia, upon whom the superstitious Swiss looked with suspicion as being masters of the black art and imps of the demon of darkness. This roused the suspicion that their master had converse with the spirits of darkness. These slaves made a gondola which seemed to the Swiss to be the product of magic, as it cut the waves with such amazing rapidity. Still, through the influence of a cousin of Werdmiller's, they were baptized in the Fraumunster Church, at Zurich, March 21, 1652. These suspicions already raised against Werdmiller pre pared the way for the heresy charges. On March 4, 1652, at a gathering in the castle at Wadenschwyl, Werd miller, who loved to get into a discussion with the minis ters, expressed himself too freely, saying that ministers did not always preach what they believed, and they did not agree in their theological views. He denied the resur rection of the body and said that no one knew where hell was, some putting it up in the air, some down in the earth's center. Grob, who sat opposite and who was quite an apologist, having converted a whole Catholic village to Protestantism, withstood him. Complaints ZURICH 139 were entered against Werdmiller, but nothing came of it. In 1656, when he led the Zurich troops against the city of Rapperschwyl, he, contrary to the previous cus tom, led them into battle without any previous prayer or religious ceremony. His critics took this up, revived the previous complaints, and he was called before a com mission, December 4, 1658. There were eight charges brought against him, as that he denied the trinity, the resurrection and the locality of hell. He denied this and claimed to hold to the Helvetic Confession. Never theless, he was condemned as an atheist and blasphemer and fined. Popular opinion increased against him as an infidel, so that he no longer felt safe, and, at the advice of his friends, he quietly fled. He entered the military service of the Catholics and died (1697). How far these charges were true is a question, for politics entered into the case as well as religion. It is true he did not like the use of the word "person" as applied to the trinity, because it was liable to be misunderstood. He did not I deny the resurrection, only that of the body, and he did | not deny hell, only its locality. His flippancy about re- ; ligious things he had gained in foreign military service. Heretics are not apt to come along alone, so another appeared. But this was not a departure from orthodoxy, as in Werdmiller's case, as much as a departure from high-Calvinism. Rev. Michael Zink was pastor at St. Jacob's, near Zurich, and professor of mathematics in Zurich. Just when the Werdmiller case was exciting the people, he preached a sermon, November 27, 1659, in which he declared for universal atonement — that Jesus died for all men, and not merely for the elect. This caused a sensation, for Zurich was high-Calvinistic. He therefore wrote a defence, in which he claimed that Zwingli and Bullinger held to his view, which was true. One day, in a book-store at Zurich, in July, 1660, one of the students told him that Professor Heidegger was 140 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH discussing whether Christ died for all men or only for the elect. He replied, "Why discuss it. Let us stick to the beautiful words of Scripture — Christ is the propitia tion for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." This conversation was re ported and he was cited before a commission, July n. They asked him whether he accepted the Helvetic Con fession. He replied in the affirmative. Then, whether he accepted the canons of Dort. This seems to show, as Finsler says,* that, although the canons of Dort were never officially adopted by Zurich, yet they were virtually in force at Zurich at that time. Zink replied that he did not accept all the canons of Dort, as they differed from the Helvetic Confession on some points. They replied that it was the judgment of the Swiss theologians that the Helvetic Confession and the canons of Dort were in entire agreement. He later declared that he agreed with Dort on election, but not on reprobation. He was suspended from the ministry. On December 1 6, 1660, other charges were brought against him, as that he denied the trinity, Adam's sin, etc. He was deposed, and, as there was a rumor that he would be put to death, he fled to Roteln, in Baden, Germany. He wrote back to Zurich, affirming his orthodoxy and asking to be al lowed to return ; but he was refused and he died abroad. The significance of this Zink controversy is that it com mitted the Zurich church against Saumur and to the canons of Dort, which were then recognized as the norm of Calvinistic orthodoxy. Section 2 prof. john henry hottinger We now come to the brightest mind of his day, and one of the most brilliant men that the Reformed Church *Meili's "Theologische Zeitschrift," 1895, page 186. ZURICH 141 of Switzerland ever produced. He was called the "Orientalist of the Seventeenth Century." Up to his time Switzerland had given little attention to the Semitic v languages except Hebrew. He was the first to break the way into the other cognate tongues. He belonged to a prominent family of Zurich, which has produced many professors and ministers, but he was the ablest of them all. He was born March 10. 1620^ at Zurich. He early revealed great linguistic talents, as he easily translated the sermon he heard into Greek. He studied at Zurich, Geneva, Groningen and Leyden. At Groningen a Jew, and then a Turk, taught him Oriental languages. It happened that just at that time Golius, the great Oriental ist of Leyden University, was seeking for a young man to help him. Hottinger was offered the position and accepted. This gave him unusual opportunities. He lived at Golius' house and had access to the valuable manuscripts Golius had collected in the Orient. He also learned Turkish and Arabic from a Mohammedan who lived with Golius, and soon was as fluent in talking Arabic as he had been in Latin. During the fourteen months he spent there, he copied many manuscripts, so that Golius said of him, "Hottinger has written more books in his short stay than many men have in their whole lifetime." Golius declared he knew no one in his time who had gone as far into the Oriental languages as Hottinger. The Dutch ambassador wanted to make Hottinger chaplain of the Dutch embassy at Constanti nople, which would have given him a magnificent op portunity to get at the manuscripts in the Orient, but Zurich refused him permission. She, however, gave him means to travel through England, where he was received with distinguished honor by the leading Orientalists. After four years' absence, he returned to Zurich (1642),! at the age of twenty-one, already one of the leading! Orientalists of Europe. He became professor of eate-' 142 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH chetics and then of Hebrew, and in 1653 of the New Testament. When Elector Charles Lewis, of the Palati nate, was trying to revive the university at Heidelberg after the Thirty Years' War, he asked Zurich to loan him Hottinger for three years as professor. Hottinger went to Heidelberg in 1655, receiving on his way, at Basle, the degree of doctor. His fame drew many stu dents, especially Swiss, to Heidelberg. An interesting story is told by Heidegger that, on one occasion, Hottinger and himself came upon a Jewish rabbi and his son. The father had long tried to make his son learn Hebrew, but had had great difficulty. When the father heard with what ease Hottinger spoke Hebrew, he suddenly fell on his son and gave him a severe whip ping, saying, "You sluggard, how long have I taught you Hebrew, and now you let a Christian surpass you in it." When the three years that Hottinger was loaned to the Palatinate had expired, the Elector of the Palatinate asked that he be allowed to stay longer, which Zurich granted, and he remained in all at Heidelberg six years — until 1 66 1. He was treated with distinguished honor there, being made a member of the consistory and rector of the university. When an emperor was to be elected, the Elector took him to the German Diet at Frankfort, where he became acquainted with the arctibishop of Hungary, who was very learned in the Turkish language, and with Ludolph, from whom he learned much of the Ethiopic. While at Heidelberg, he also became ac quainted with the learned sister of the Elector, Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate, the pupil of Descartes, and later abbess of Herford, in Germany. When his second term at Heidelberg was ended, the Elector was loth to give him up; but Zurich held fast to him, as she needed him as professor. And it is said that Hottinger was glad to return, for Heidelberg had become uncomfortable for him because of the unfortunate marriage of the Antistes Rudolph Gualther Antistes John Jacob Breitinger Prof. John Henry Hottinger Antistes John Jacob Hess ZURICH 143 Elector with the Raugrafin Louisa of Degenfeld. He returned to Zurich in 1661. During his life he had many calls as professor, as to Bremen, Marburg, Amsterdam, but he refused them all. A call came in 1666 from Ley den University, the leading Reformed professorship in Europe, but he declined it. But Leyden gave him a second call and he finally accepted it, and Zurich agreed to loan him to the Dutch for six years. But just before he was to leave Zurich he was drownedHn the Limmat river at Zurich. Tune 5. 1667. The river being in a freshet, his boat was overturned. He might have saved himself, but the sight of his three drowning children led him to throw himself in to save them, and after a severe struggle he, too, was drowned. The calamity shook the city of Zurich, and all Europe mourned with Zurich. Another of this famous Hottinger family deserves mention— John Jacob Hottinger. a son of John Henry Hottinger. Born at Zurich in 1652, he became a pupil of the three founders of the Helvetic Consensus, Heideg ger at Zurich, Gernler at Basle, F. Turretin at Geneva. In 1698 he succeeded Heidegger as professor of theology and gained great fame as a historian. He did for the Reformed what the Baronius did for the Catholics and Flacius did for the Lutherans in his Magdeburg Cen turies— hewas the great historian of the Reformed Church. This history was published in nine volumes, up to 1657. Of these, five relate to the sixteenth century. Section 3 antistes casper waser (1668-77) The successor of Ulrich in the antistes' chair was not so scholarly, but had considerable executive ability. Born December 5, 1612, his father wanted him to study medicine, as two of his brothers had already entered the ministry. But the death of one of these brothers 144 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and the persuasion of Breitinger led him to obey the will of his heavenly Father rather than of an earthly father. He studied theology at Zurich, Lausanne, Saumur and Paris. In 1635 he became archdeacon at the cathedral, and in 1668 antistes. He died in 1677. His term of office was short yet important, for during it the Helvetic Consensus was adopted. We shall speak of his con nection with it later. He died in 1677 with the words of Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," on his lips. During the administration of Ulrich and Waser, there was a very prominent professor of Greek at Zurich, J. Casper Schweizer (Suicer). Born in 1620, he studied at Zurich and Saumur. He was as learned in Greek as Hottinger in Hebrew. His great work is a "Thesaurus of Greek," which is a monumental work — a wonderful collection of classical material — and is a standard today. Section 4 prof. john henry heidegger Heidegger was the most prominent dogmatician of his day in Zurich. Born July 1, 1633, he studied at Zurich and Marburg, where he lived in the house of Prof. John Crocius, one of the most prominent theologians of his day in the Reformed Church of Germany. Then he became professor of theology at Steinfurt, in Germany (1659-65). While there he visited Holland and met Cocceius, whose theological system he followed. He returned to Zurich (1665), and when Hottinger was drowned he was elected in his place as professor of the ology. He was, however, looked upon with some sus picion at Zurich because he was introducing the new Cocceian type of Calvinism. He received several calls, as to Groningen in Alting's place, and to Leyden in Cocceius' place, which was the most prominent Reformed professorship in Europe. He declined them all. He died ZURICH 145 January 18, 1698. There is a beautiful story told of his death-bed that, when antistes Klingler prayed with him, he remarked, "Such prayers are real chariots of Elijah on which to ascend to heaven." Heidegger was a fine theologian, revealing ability but I not great originality. His greatest work was his Corpus ' or Statement of Christian Doctrine (1700). He also 1 1> published two smaller works on dogmatics. These works for a half century were the leading textbooks in Reformed theology. From 1664 to 1680 he developed an extensive polemical activity against the Catholic Church. 10 CHAPTER II Basle Section i antistes john wolleb (1618-29) WollEb was the first antistes of Basle who was born in that canton, and he was worthy of the honor of his position because of his ability. He was born November 30, 1586, educated at Basle and made professor of Old Testament (1611), and antistes July 20, 1618. He had [ hardly been elected when the synod of Dort met. Basle ought to have sent him to that synod instead of the two mediocre delegates she sent, as he would have ranked I up close to Diodati in ability. The two delegates from Basle to that synod were Beck and Meyer. Beck made an address at the synod on election and original sin. After his return he always called the synod the "most sacred synod," and took off his hat whenever Dort was mentioned. Meyer, the other delegate, also delivered an address there on the perseverance of the saints. He has left a most remarkable historical memorial of the synod in his Album, which gives interesting side-lights on the synod, stating the theological position of each member of the synod.* Both of these delegates had been pupils of Polanus, and hence were strongly Cal vinistic. During Wolleb's antistesship the ministers of Basle were called, in 1625, to sign the Basle confession, in •. * See "Beytrage zur Kenntniss der Geschichte der Synode von Dortrecht," Basle, 1825. 146 BASLE 147 which there was no hesitancy, as by this time the Lutheran party had entirely disappeared. During Wolleb's period Basle was visited by a prominent prelate of the Greek Church. One of the great questions of that day was whether the great Greek Church of the East would take sides with the Catholics or with the Protestants. Cyril Lucar was the great leader of that church who favored closer relations with the Protestants, especially the Reformed, and it was his visit to Basle and Wolleb that made this favorable impression on him. But he failed, and was later martyred. Wolleb died of the plague, November 24, 1629. Wolleb was remarkable for the clearness and brevity of his dogmatical works. He differed from Polanus, who emphasized the scholastic subtleties and categories often artificially brought in, for he leaves these out and draws his divisions from the subject itself. His most famous work was his Compendium of Theology (1626). It was the first handbook of Reformed theology. Before it the students had to use the large works of dogmatics called "Institutes" or "Common Places," as by Calvin, Peter Martyr and Zanchius. His Compendium was of masterly brevity and perspicuity and became so popular that it passed through three editions in twelve years. It was translated into English and used in England as a textbook, and also in New England in the early years of Harvard College. Section 2 antistes theodore zwinger (163o-54) He was born at Basle in 1597. Undecided whether to study theology or medicine, he was laid on a sick-bed nigh to death. He then vowed that, if providence would spare his life, he would enter the ministry. He studied at Basle and in foreign universities. Calvin's Institutes 148 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was his favorite work, and at Heidelberg he had a dis putation on Election whether it was conditional or not. He was, therefore, a strong Calvinist. He was elected antistes in 1630. The most important event during his antistesship was the adoption by Basle of the Second Helvetic Confession. It happened that a new edition of that confession was about to be published. Zurich urged Basle to adopt it, so that the new edition might state that it had been adopted by all the Protestant Swiss cantons. So Basle adopted it, November 18, 1642, seventy-eight years after its first publication. Now at last was the dream of its author, Bullinger, fulfilled, that it should be adopted by all the Swiss Protestant cantons and be a bond of union between them. Another important innovation that he brought about, in 1642, was the use of bread instead of wafers at the Lord's Supper. The French Reformed had long used bread, and it had been permitted to be used in the French church at Basle. Now Zwinger had it introduced also into the German churches. In connection with this, he published a sermon, to which was added a history of the controversy between the Lutherans and the Reformed on the Lord's Supper. These two events fully committed Basle to the Reformed faith. When Dury, the apostle of Church union in the seventeenth century, as Bucer had been in the sixteenth, came to Switzerland to try to unite the Lutherans and Reformed, although Zurich and Bern were favorable, yet Zwinger opposed him, saying that the Reformed ought to be united among themselves before they tried to unite with the Lutherans. He published a dissertation on Romans which reveals his high-Calvinism. He fully sympathized with Buxdorf in his attack on Saumur. He died December 27, 1654. He was a man of strong personality, well fitted for leadership. BASLE 149 Section 3 antistes luke gernler (1656-75) He was born August 19, 1625. After studying at Basle, he went abroad for travel to Geneva, Paris, Eng land, Holland and Germany. In 1653 he was made second assistant at the cathedral, and in 1656 elected antistes at the early age of thirty-one. He was influential as a practical leader. He increased the number of weekly services and had severe laws passed against Sabbath- breaking, especially shooting on Sabbath. Under his rec- torate the university observed its 200th anniversary, at which he delivered a memorial address. In 1666 he edited the Basle liturgy in the form in which it remained until 1826. But he was a dogmatician as well as a practical executive. He was one of the theological quartette who led to the drawing up of the Helvetic Consensus, Heid egger of Zurich, Turretin of Geneva and Hummel of Bern being the other three. Indeed, he may be said to have in some sense laid the basis for that creed, for he, together with his colleagues, John Buxdorf and J. R. Wettstein, prepared a dogmatical work which was in tended to serve as a basis for the weekly disputation of the students. It took up the very points which were afterwards taken up in the Helvetic Consensus. It was entitled "Syllabus of Controversies" and published in 1662. It contained 20 topics and 588 theses. It was arranged like a catechism, in the form of questions and answers. Each question was followed by an affirmative or negative defence of their position. It was strongly Calvinistic on predestination and the Lord's Supper. It exerted a great influence at Basle, but nowhere else. At Basle those who held to the Helvetic Confession were called Reformed, but those who held to the Syllabus were called orthodox Reformed. Gernler also opposed Dury's iS° THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH latter efforts at union. He died February 9, 1675, of the plague. Section 4 the professors buxdorf This family presented to Basle a succession of schol ars. Its founder, John Buxdorf. the older, was born fin Westphalia, Germany, December 25, 1564. He studied at Heidelberg and Herborn. At Herborn, Piscator gave him the impulse that made him one of the leading Hebrew scholars of his day. He aided Piscator in the preparation of the Old Testament of the Piscator Bible, published 1602. He came to Basle as private tutor, and was made (1591) professor of Old Testament. His fame led him to be called to Saumur in 161 1, and later to Leyden. His epoch-making book was his Jewish Synagogue (1603), a valuable contribution to Jewish archaeology, which earned for him the gratitude of Jews as well as Christians; indeed, whole synagogues thanked him for it. In 1607 he published his Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, which went through six editions during his life time, and a seventh was published by his son. In 1609 he began a Chaldee-Talmud Lexicon, which his son fin ished. He was called by his admirers the greatest Orien talist of his day, which was probably true, for Hottinger was now dead, and, besides, Hottinger had emphasized the cognate languages, while Buxdorf had emphasized rabbinical literature. He wanted to utilize the rabbinical literature so as the better to explain the Old Testament. His great aim in it all was to show that the Hebrew text as the bearer of the Word of God was infallible. In his work "Tiberias," he attacked the view that the Masoritic text originated in the sixth century. He held it was older. In all this he had an apologetical aim, namely, to show that the Protestants had an older text BASLE 151 than the Catholics in their Latin version. His intense research into Jewish lore once led him into trouble. In many cities Jews were not permitted to live in those days, but he had been permitted by the city of Basle to have two Jews living in his house, so as to correct his works on the Bible. In 1619 the wife of one of them had a son. The father received special permission from the authorities to circumcise him. Bux dorf greatly desired to see this rite. He secured per mission from Glaser, of the city council, to be an eye witness to the ceremony. But when this became known, it raised a storm around his head. That Buxdorf, a Christian and a professor of theology, should thus coun tenance such a barbarous rite was considered the height of impropriety, yes, a crime. He was fined 100 florins, the Jew 400 florins and Glaser was imprisoned three days. Buxdorf died of the plague, September 13, 1629. He was the most learned among the Protestants in rab binical literature and was called the "Master of the Rabbis." Great as was the elder Buxdorf, it is a question whether he was greater than his son, John Buxdorf the younger. The latter was born at Basle, August 13, 1599. With such a father he was a Hebraist almost from birth. At thirteen he entered the university, and at sixteen he received the degree of master. When only a young man he had read through both the Jerusalem and the Babylon Talmuds. In 1617 he went to Heidelberg, and in 1619 visited the synod of Dort, and then, with the Basle dele gates, visited England. Though only twenty-three years of age, he produced a Chaldee-Syriac dictionary (1622L Yet he went to Geneva to learn more Hebrew. And here appears the remarkable fact that the teacher became the pupil. He went there to study under Turretin. and' lo ! Turretin and Clericus take lessons of him in Hebrew. After his father's death he was made (1630) professor of 152 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the Old Testament. In his zeal for the authority of the Old Testament text, he went to the extreme of defending the inspiration of the vowel-points, for which he was attacked (1645) by Cappel, professor in the theological school at Saumur. In 1638 both Leyden and Groningen gave him calls, but he declined them. He died August 17, 1664. Before leaving this remarkable family, another pro fessor deserves mention, John Jacob Buxdorf, the son of John Buxdorf the younger. He became professor of Old Testament at Basle in 1664, at the death of his father. In 1665 he travelled extensively to Geneva, France and Holland. In England he had to flee from the great London fire to the country on account of the hatred of the Londoners for foreigners, whom they blamed for the fire. He visited Cambridge and Oxford, and was everywhere received with honor. He returned to Basle in 1669 and died in 1704. The latter was suc ceeded by John Buxdorf, a nephew of the last named, who was prominent as a professor at Basle (1704-32). Thus the Buxdorfs gave to Basle four generations of professors, and the professorship of Hebrew was in the Buxdorf family for nearly 150 years. CHAPTER III Bern Section i dekan john henry hummel Perhaps the most prominent representative of the Bern church in the .sixteenth century was the above- named. He was born in 1611, studied at Bern, then travelled to Geneva, France, and, almost shipwrecked, was driven to England, from which country he went to Holland. He was made dekan of the Bern Church in 1662. Though he had been suspected of Arminianism \ because he had studied in Holland, yet he was a strong/ champion of thorough-going Calvinism. The Bern/ Church was at that time so highly Calvinistic that it tried to get Maresius, the Dutch professor, who was the oracle of high-Calvinism, to come to Bern, but he declined. The Church of Bern was strongly opposed to Cartesianism,v and in 1668 the state authorities forbade Cartesianism, which Prof. David Wyss had introduced in 1662. But philosophy cannot be repressed by law, and it reappeared in 1689, when Professor Leeman again began lecturing on it. It was during this period that Hummel was the head of the church. He strongly opposed Cartesianism. But, though so strongly Calvinistic, he yet warmly sup" ported the efforts of Dury for church union. Dury was so pleased with him that he wanted to take him with him to England, so as to further the cause of church union before Cromwell; but Bern refused to let him go. His activity for the formulation of the Helvetic Con sensus will appear later. He died March 8, 1674. 153 154 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Bern also had a great Orientalist, not unworthy to be named with Hottinger and the Buxdorfs, John Henry Ott His rabbinical dictionary (1675) gave him the repu tation of being one of the best authorities on rabbinical literature. Prof. Christopher Luthardt, who died in 1663, was also widely known for his polemical writings. Section 2 the adoption of the piscator bible by bern Bern about this time adopted officially a Reformed Bible called the Piscator Bible, so as to conserve her Calvinism. In the Reformation two great German Bibles had appeared, the Luther and the Zurich.* Bern now, as Zurich then, was to have her own Bible. This question came up in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The cause of the agitation began in 1660, when Zurich was about getting out a new edition of the Zurich Bible and asked Bern to join her, but Bern did not do so. Twenty years later the matter came up again, for at that time there was a good deal of confusion caused by the use of three Bibles, the Zurich, the Luther and Piscator's. Piscator had been professor of theology at the University of Herborn, in Germany, and a son-in- law of Olevianus, one of the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism. He was a very learned man, especially in Hebrew and dogmatics. His Bible was published at Herborn (1602-4), and was looked upon at that time as a rival of Luther's Bible.f The Lutherans, alarmed at it, nicknamed it the God-punish-me Bible (the Straf- mich-Gott Bibel), because of Piscator's rather free trans- * We have already referred to the Zurich Bible in the life of Breitinger. t See Schlosser's "Die Piscator Bible."_Heidelberg. 1908, and Mezge"Fs""Bibelubersetzungen der Schweiz," pages 284-302 and 400-412. / BERN 155 lation of Mark 8 : 12. However, this addition was printed not in the text, but at the end of that verse in smaller letters, and probably followed Beza's translation of Gen. 14 : 20. But the popular diction of the Luther version made it retain the ascendency in Germany, although Pis cator's is closer to the original. Bern did not adopt the Luther Bible, probably because it was not written in the Swiss dialect. She did not, perhaps, adopt the Zurich Bible, because there was always a good deal of rivalry between these two cantons. In deed, when Zurich had first approached Bern to adopt the Zurich Bible, Bern had replied that Zurich ought first to have it generally adopted in Switzerland, just as the Helvetic Confession had been, and thus made it the Swiss Bible. So, finally, Bern cut the Gordian knot between the Luther and the Zurich Bible by adopting neither and taking the Piscator Bible. This was doubt less partly due to the fact that many of the ministers of Bern had studied at Herborn under Piscator, and many of them brought back with them the Piscator Bible. Another reason may have been the agreement between Bern and Herborn on doctrine. Both were Calvinistic, and Bern wanted a Calvinistic Bible. Perhaps still an other reason lay in the fear of Cartesianism. At any rate, on February 28, 1681, the state authorities of Bern or dered 8,000 copies of the Piscator translation to be published in Bern, and they appeared by New Year, 1684. This Bible remained in common use in Bern for about two hundred years. Nine editions of it, in whole or in part, were published between 1684 and 1848. In 1755 Mrs. Esther Bondeli bore the expense of an edition whose introduction was written by the celebrated naturalist, Albert Von Haller. But since 1824 the Luther Bible began to be introduced, especially as the translation of it made by the British and Foreign Bible Society was sold very cheap. And in 1830 the new minister's ordi- 156 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH nance officially recognized it. In the other cantons gradually the Luther Bible was introduced, until it is now the translation in general use in German Switzer land, though Zurich still uses the Zurich Bible, as also does Thurgau. Section 3 the amended heidelberg catechism in bern In Switzerland, while all the cantons united under one creed, yet each canton preserved the liberty to use its own catechism. The first Protestant catechism pub lished in Switzerland was at St. Gall (1527), a transla tion of the catechism of the Bohemian Brethren; but it never came into popular use. Ecolampadius, in 1528, pub lished a catechism at Basle, one year before the Smaller Catechism of Luther. Zurich had no catechism during Zwingli's life, but in 1534 Leo Juda published his Larger catechism (in which the scholar asks the question and the minister answers), and his Smaller catechism in 1541. Bullinger prepared a catechism in 1559. In 1609 the Zurich catechism was published, Baumler being its author, and in it he united Juda's and the Heidelberg catechism. Bern at first used Leo Juda's. In 1536 Megander published a revision of Juda's as the official catechism of Bern, and the next year the Bucer-Megander catechism appeared. In 1581 an abbreviation of it, called the Little Bern catechism, was composed and introduced in 1582. In 1616 the Heidelberg catechism was by law introduced into the schools and became the popular catechism of the canton up to the middle of the nineteenth century. Schaffhausen used Leo Juda's catechism, then Ulmer's (1562), and then a catechism which was a combination of Juda's and Ulmer's. The Heidelberg catechism was officially introduced in 1663. The Zurich catechism was generally used in the dis- BERN 157 tricts around Zurich and under her influence. But in 1615 | the Heidelberg catechism was officially introduced into the city of St. Gall. Appenzell, Glarus and the Grisons used mainly the Zurich. In 161 1 a catechism was published in the Romansch language, a combination of the Zurich and the Heidelberg. Geneva at first used Calvin's catechism, first published in 1536, without questions, revised in 1541 into questions and answers. Neuchatel and Vaud also used it, but in 1551 Bern ordered the use of the Megander catechism, translated into French, in Vaud. Afterwards the French translation of the Heidelberg was used in Vaud. Neu chatel, which was so closely related to the Church of Vaud, also used the Heidelberg. But in the eighteenth century Osterwald's catechism was used in Neuchatel and also introduced into Vaud, setting aside the Heidel berg. Calvin's was used in Geneva till in the eighteenth century, when other catechisms were introduced. | The Heidelberg catechism was, therefore, officially used in Bern, Vaud, Schaffhausen and St. Gall and to some extent in Neuchatel, Vaud and the Grisons. The only canton where it is still mainly used is Schaffhausen, though still used to some extent in Bern. 1 An interesting peculiarity of the Heidelberg appeared in the canton of Bern. In the official edition of that catechism there was a notable addition made to the twenty-seventh answer about providence. It was not added directly on to the answer, but was placed after the proof-texts to that answer and before the twenty- eighth question. The addition reads : "And although sin (the sins), through God's providence, was controlled, yet God is not the author of sin, for the aim distinguishes the work. See examples of Joseph and his brethren, Gen. 45:57-58; David and Shimei, 2 Sam. 16:9-12; Christ and the Jews, Acts 2 : 23, 27, 28." Professor Zyro, in his edition of the catechism (1848), adds this directly 158 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH on to the answer. A very interesting question comes up as to the reason why this addition was made. It appears to be a relic of the days when Bern was very highly Calvinistic, even supralapsarian, as in the days of Muslin. For this seems to have been added to the catechism to explain an objec tion to the supralapsarian view, which so closely tends toward making God the author of sin. Over against this, the answer says that God is not the author of sin. It is strange, however, that this addition was continued in the catechism so long, for by the seventeenth century lower views of Calvinism were popular in Bern, and in the nineteenth century Calvinism fell away as the Second Helvetic Confession was given up. But the catechism has never been officially revised so as to leave it out. CHAPTER IV Geneva Section i the early orthodoxy under spanheim and turretin Frederick Spanheim, in 1626, succeeded Diodati as the leading theological professor at Geneva. Under him Geneva remained true to the high-Calvinism of Beza and Diodati. Spanheim it was who sounded the first note of warning against the newer views of the theological school of Saumur in 1635 by writing against Amyraut. In 1637 Diodati, who was still living, Tronchin and Turretin unitedly warned the synod of France against Amyraut. Spanheim left Geneva for Leyden in 1641, but his place as a leader was ably filled by Francis Turretin. Francis Turretin* was the descendent of a Protestant refugee from Italy and the son of Prof. Benedict Turre- ^ tin, professor of theology with Diodati. He was borri October 17, 1623, at Geneva, where he studied, and then studied in Holland and France. At Saumur he heard the professors who were declared heretical by the Swiss theologians, but he continued true to the Calvinistic views of his father. Still he differed from the older Calvinism, which was so largely influenced by supralapsarianism, for he was an adherent of the new and lower Calvinism of Cocceianism, which he heard in the university in "Holland. It seemed to be his mission as a dogmatician I to take Calvin's theology and restate it according to the I Cocceian views. On his return to Geneva he was at first * See Bude, "Vie de Francois Turretin," 1871. 159 160 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH pastor of the Italian church at Geneva. In 1653 he was elected professor of theology and soon became the leader of the Venerable Company of Geneva, which controlled the doctrine and worship of that church. In 1661 he was sent to Holland, as his father had been forty years before, to enlist the aid of the Dutch in fortifying Geneva against the Catholic powers. In this he was very successful, and the Dutch voted 75,000 florins for that purpose. During his stay in Holland he gained a great reputation among the Dutch, who tried to retain him as pastor, but in vain. He died September 28, 1687. His chief work was his Institutes of Theology (1679-85), which is still a stan dard theological work in the nineteenth century, and was republished in Scotland in 1841. His life will be further given in the controversies about the Helvetic Consensus, in which he was one of the leaders. Section 2 the entrance of the doctrines of saumur into GENEVA As Geneva spoke French, it was natural that it should be the place where the new doctrines of Saumur would first find entrance. Many of the Genevese ministers had studied at Saumur. But the first controversy that ap peared was not about Salmurianism (as the doctrines of Saumur were called), but about Cartesianism in 1642. Alexander Morus was a Genevese by birth, but when "fie came back to Geneva from his foreign studies in 1641, the Venerable Company was suspicious of his Arminian ism and for a year refused to ordain him. Yet the next year the city council elected him in Spanheim's place as professor. He became very popular and gradually be came less prudent and began attacking his Calvinistic colleagues, especially the supralapsarians. The contro versy broke out in 1646 and lasted for three years. Morus GENEVA 161 resigned in 1649 and went to Holland. But before he was allowed to receive his dismissal he was required to subscribe to a series of articles arranged in the form of theses and antitheses. These articles, called "the arti cles of Morus," as we shall see later, play an important part in the controversy about creed subscription in Geneva. They were also the first step toward forming the Helvetic Consensus, even before Gernler's Syllabus. Indeed, they might be called the germ of that creed, although Gernler's Syllabus gave much of its contents, which Heidegger finally enlarged into the creed. For ten years there was peace, and Geneva supposed that in getting rid of Morus she had gotten rid of con troversy. But she had only gotten to the beginning of it, for in Morus' place came Mestrezat, an adherent of Sau mur. This alarmed the Calvinists. Before 1659, Leger, professor of theology, made the first suggestion to antistes Ulrich, of Zurich, of a new creed for all Switzerland. In 1659 Turretin had the subscription made stricter, requiring adherence in limited atonement and the im mediate imputation of Adam's sin. Yet, in spite of this, when Leger died (1661), another adherent of Saumur, Louis Tronchin, was elected professor of theology. But a still greater influence toward lowering the Calvinism of Geneva than any of the previously mentioned events was the election of Chouet as professor of philosophy. However, even before it, a collision took place, for the liberal party was growing in numbers and influence and only waited for an opportunity to show its strength. On June 11, 1669, when Charles Maurice, a minister, was required to sign the oath against the errors of Sau mur, Tronchin and Mestrezat declared their consciences forbade them to exact such a subscription, as they ad hered to the doctrines it disallowed. Four pastors stood with them. Outvoted in the Venerable Company, they carried it to the city council. The decision of the council 11 162 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was a compromise. It ordered them to teach according to the standards, but not to do so polemically. This tolerated the liberals, but forbade the conservatives to attack them. This action raised a great storm in Switzer land. Zurich, Basle, Bern and Schaffhausen declared, July 30, 1669, that unless it was repealed they would recall their students from Geneva. This action of the Protestant Swiss caused a tremendous sensation in Geneva, and the doctrines of limited and universal atone ment were discussed everywhere, even in the markets. The council then, August 4, 1669, returned to the old subscription on the articles of Morus and ordered con troversy to cease. It was now supposed that everything was quiet. But twelve days had not passed when the professor of philosophy, Wyss, died, and in the election of his successor the whole matter was opened up again. Chouet, who was elected, was an outspoken Cartesian. When he was required to sign the articles of Morus, he replied that he taught philosophy and not theology. So the subscription was lowered, that when he presented theological subjects he would teach according to the old Reformed creed. But his method undermined the older Calvinism and he led to a revolution of thought. His influence was also increased by his election as a syndic of Geneva, which position he held for many years. The Calvinistic party was now thoroughly alarmed, and Tur retin wrote to Heidegger, November 6, 1669, suggesting a new confession to which subscription should be required. In 167 1 the controversy broke out again. Mussard, a Genevan by birth (married to the granddaughter of Beza), who had been pastor at Lyons, France, returned to Geneva. He refused to sign the articles of Morus. He was allowed to live at Geneva, but not to preach. Finally, after six years' residence at Geneva, he left for London. From 1671 there was continual controversy at Geneva about the new creed. For the Calvinists of GENEVA 163 Geneva were not satisfied with banishing the adherents of Saumur. They wanted all Switzerland to do so, too, and so they began moving for a new creed. CHAPTER V The Formulation and Adoption of the Helvetic Consensus Section i the formulation of the consensus WE have seen that the theological affairs in Switzer land had come to a crisis. So a meeting of the different theological leaders of Switzerland, as Heidegger of Zurich, Gernler of Basle, Hummel of Bern and Ott of Schaffhausen, was held at Baden in 1669. But, while all agreed on the desirability of a new creed, they were not in agreement in regard to its contents. Some wanted a general creed, like the Helvetic Confession; others, a special creed dealing with the special doctrines in con troversy. Even the cantons were divided. Thus in Basle, for instance, Professor Wettstein wanted a general creed, Gernler, a special. The majority agreed on a special creed. But here again they were divided. All agreed that it should be directed against the doctrines of Saumur, but some wanted the Cocceian doctrines also disavowed. On this point Zurich was divided. Heidegger wanted only the Saumur doctrines disallowed, but a strong party wanted Cocceianism also set aside. Some also wanted the doctrines of Piscator (on the imputation of only Christ's passive obedience) to be also denounced. Finally the theologians came to some agreement, and on the advice of Basle they decided that the creed should be against doctrines and not against persons, and there fore no damnatory clauses should be in it, as in the Lutheran Formula of Concord. It was evident from 164 THE HELVETIC CONSENSUS 165 this that the construction of the creed would be a more difficult matter than at first supposed. It was finally also decided that it should only be against the doctrine of Saumur. In June, 1674, the Evangelical diet took up the matter and ordered the creed to be drawn up. But now came the question as to who should draw it up. Heidegger was asked to do it, but he wanted Gernler to be its author. If Gernler had drawn it up, it would probably have been more drastic, if we may judge from the Syllabus of Controversies he had prepared. But providence settled the question, for Hummel and Gernler died and Turretin did not belong to the Protestant Swiss states, as he was a Genevese. So the only one left to do it was Heidegger, and he was ordered by the Swiss diet to prepare it. This was the more suitable, as Zurich was the mother-church of the Reformed, and up to this time retained to some extent her commanding position. Heidegger prepared a Latin sketch of it, which he sub mitted to the Zurich ministers for their suggestions. They made its mildness sharper, and in that form it was presented to the Swiss diet at its meeting, March, 1675.* The creed consisted of 26 articles. It expressed itself against : 1. The doctrine of Capellus, that the vowel-points of the Hebrew were not inspired. 2. The doctrine of Amyraut, of so-called hypothet ical election and universal atonement. 3. The doctrine of Placaeus, who denied the imme diate imputation of Adam's sin to his descendants and held to the mediate imputation. But, while it warned against the errors of Saumur, it did not contain damnatory clauses or call its opponents heretics, as did the Lutheran Formula of Concord. Its *Ochs' "History of Basle," Vol. VII, page 125, intimates that Heidegger was the redactor of the Creed, rather than its author. 166 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH preface even calls them "venerable brethren in Christ." Some held it was not a new creed, but only an explana tion of the old creed, the Second Helvetic. But it goes beyond that, for that allows room for universal atonement, which this denounces. This creed is the clearest state ment of scholastic Calvinism, and is the highest of the Calvinistic creeds. This creed not only differs from the other Swiss creeds as to its doctrine, but it also differed in the method of its subscription. Thus, when the Canons of Dort were to be subscribed to, a liberal sort of interpretation was allowed to them, or else Martinius of Bremen and the British delegates would not have subscribed. But the subscription to the Helvetic Consensus was not allowed to be lowered in any way. Section 2 its adoption by the swiss cantons This creed having been drawn up, the various cantons proceeded to adopt it. Basle led the way and adopted it March 6, 1675, though Professor Wettstein refused to sign it. He was, however, excused in view of the fact that he promised not to teach anything contrary to it. Zurich adopted it next, but not without a controversy, for there was a strong party there who thought the creed was not high-Calvinistic enough, led by Prof. John Mulier and antistes Waser. They wanted Cocceian- ism also condemned, as well as the doctrines of Saumur ; but the Evangelical diet refused this in 1674. Still Mulier went so far as to draw up another creed behind Heideg ger's back, which he handed to the burgomaster of the city. Against this Heidegger and his friends pro tested. When the Consensus was adopted by Zurich, March 13, 1675, Mulier still continued his opposition. THE HELVETIC CONSENSUS 167 In August of that year, while Heidegger was away from Zurich, he and his friends held a conference and endeav ored to alter Article VIII of the Consensus, where he said what belonged to the gospel was attributed to the law. Heidegger replied that the law was not referred to, but the law as fulfilled in Christ — besides, the Con sensus could not now be changed, as it had been adopted by the other cantons as well as by Zurich. Finally the burgomaster found a compromise. The Helvetic Con sensus was to remain, but an explanation of Article VIII was to be placed in the archives. But, although the high-Calvinists did not gain their point, they made it hot for Heidegger and his friends. Their ministers denounced Heidegger's views from the pulpit. Up to 1680 he had to pass through seven such controversies. He and his friends, J. H. Schweitzer and Lavater, pro fessor of philosophy, were not able to get anything pub lished at Zurich without its being confiscated or delayed in some way by the city censor or by complaint before the city council. We thus see how that high-Calvinistic creed was not high enough for Zurich. Bern adopted the Consensus at the beginning of June, 1675, though there was some opposition by some of the French ministers in the district of Vaud, who sympa thized with Saumur. Only one minister, however, re fused to subscribe, Saurin. He was excused on promis ing not to teach anything contrary to it. Schaffhausen then subscribed to it, and this move ment continued until by the end of the year 1676 it had been adopted by Biel, Appenzell, Glarus and the Grisons. Muhlhausen signed it later. Neuchatel, though not a part of Switzerland, yet was so close to it geographically and so sympathetically with it ecclesiastically that it generally conformed to the Swiss churches. But here we find an opposition to the sub scription to the Consensus. This was led by John 168 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Rudolph Osterwald, who said, "Have we not a sufficient safeguard in the canons of Dort? Are they not suffi cient?" He also objected to the inspiration of the vowel- points in the Consensus. He carried great influence in the canton. Meanwhile, however, Bern used every in fluence to get Neuchatel to subscribe to it. Finally, so that the Church of Neuchatel might not seem to be out of harmony with their neighboring Swiss brethren, the classis ordered (1676) their doyen or head-minister to sign it in the name of the church. But no individual subscription to it was required of any other minister, as in the other cantons. While Zurich tended to consider the Helvetic Con sensus too low, Geneva thought it too high in its Cal vinism. Here it was not merely a minister or two, as at Basle and Vaud, who refused to subscribe, but there was a strong party opposed to it, led by Professors Tronchin and Mestrezat. When all the cantons except Geneva had adopted it, great pressure was brought to bear on Geneva by the other cantons. But still she was not ready. It was especially the inspiration of the vowel- points in the Helvetic Consensus that provoked opposi tion. Heidegger then wrote to Tronchin and Mestrezat, saying that the Consensus was not really a new creed as much as an appendix to the old Swiss creed; and, as to the vowel-points, that part of the creed was intended only to guard the authenticity and integrity of the original text and did not decide grammatical or critical questions. With this lowered explanation, the creed was finally approved by the Venerable Company February 22, 1678, and in 1679 the council (four years after its publication) adopted it, however, imposing some criticisms against its views about the inspiration of the vowel-points and quoting Zwingli, Calvin and Luther as admitting that the vowel-points were a later addition, and therefore not inspired. Prof. John Henry Heidegger Prof. John Alphonse Turretin Antistes Luke Gernler Prof. Francis Turretin Antistes Samuel Werenfels Rev. John Frederick Osterwald PART II THE DISAVOWAL OP THE HELVETIC CONSENSUS CHAPTER I The Influences that Led to Its Disavowal The Helvetic Consensus was used for about a half a century, but gradually one canton after another gave it up. Some openly disavowed it. In others, as in Appen- zell and Schaffhausen, it became a dead letter without formal disavowal, as subscription was no longer required to it. Switzerland gradually went back to its old creed, the Second Helvetic. The disavowal of the Consensus was mainly due to two causes, one from without, the other from within. The first was the influence of foreign princes and governments; the second was the growth of a more liberal spirit in the Swiss churches. Section i the intervention of foreign princes As early as February 27, 1686, Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg had written a letter to Switzer land against subscription to the Consensus. He did so because the French ministers, many of them adherents of Saumur, who had been driven out of France by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, had come into the district of Vaud, in canton Bern. They had been re quired by the Bernese government to subscribe to the Consensus before they were allowed to preach The Elector protested against this in the name of religious 169 170 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH liberty, for which Brandenburg had stood ever since it had become Reformed in 1613, and also because he felt that the dangerous position of Protestantism just at that time required union and not division The four Evan gelical cantons replied to this letter May 6, 1686, that, while subscription to the Helvetic Consensus was required, yet those who did not sign it would not be denounced as heretics, but treated as brethren In 1706, when Geneva gave up the Consensus, the King of Prussia, the successor of the Elector of Brandenburg, wrote a letter thanking Geneva for having done so But it was in 1722 that a concerted movement was made by the foreign powers to get Switzerland to give up the Consensus. In this effort two theologians of Switzerland were prominent, J. A. Turretin, the son of Francis Turretin of Geneva, and Osterwald of Neucha tel. Both of these had been in correspondence with Ger many and England. Osterwald, having learned that Bern in 1722 was about proceeding severely against those who could not subscribe, wrote to Berlin and London. Their rulers then wrote to Switzerland, interceding. Bern afterward charged the Vaud classis, which was French, with having provoked the intervention of foreign princes. But it was really Osterwald who had done it. Because of letters received from the King of Prussia, also from the Evangelical states of Germany, and from the King of England, the matter came up before the Evangelical diet of Switzerland, July 1, 1722. But the conservative cantons, Zurich and Bern, were on their guard and in structed their delegates not to agree to any action setting aside the Consensus. So it did not carry in that diet. While this intervention of the foreign princes came so near bringing matters to a crisis, yet their efforts would have been unsuccessful had there not been an influential party in Switzerland opposed to the Consensus. Three men arose to lead Switzerland to give it up. They BASLE 171 were the so-called theological triumvirate. Just as there had been a theological quartette who had led to the draw ing up of the Consensus, Heidegger, Gernler, Hummel and F. Turretin, so now the triumvirate consisted of S^ Werenfels of Basle. J. A. Turretin of Geneva, and Os-~ terwald of Neuchatel. Each emphasized a particular aspect of this more liberal movement — Turretin, the in tellectual; Werenfels, the experimental, and Osterwald, the ethical. Section 2 werenfels and its rejection at basle The first church to adopt the Consensus was the first _church to set it aside^ As early as 1686, when the Great Elector of Brandenburg had protested against subscrip tion to the Consensus, Basle, under antistes Peter Weren- fels, had declared that subscription was not obligatory. But it was antistes Samuel Werenfels who brought about its official disavowal in 1706. Samuel Werenfels was born March 1, 1657. He was the son of antistes Peter Werenfels (antistes 1675-1703), and studied at Basle and then at Zurich, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva. He then became professor of rhetoric at Basle. That was the day of Massillon, Bourdaloue and Bossuet, when great stress was laid on the form of the discourse. Werenfels sympathized with this and aimed to make his pupils polished orators. He became pastor of the French church at Basle in 171 1, and his published sermons in French remind one of Tillotson's and Saur- in's in their elegance. But with it all he was deeply spiritual and combined in a rare degree the rhetorical or the outward with the spiritual or experimental. In 1696 he visited Neuchatel and Geneva, thus coming into intimate relations with Osterwald and J. A. Turretin. He became professor of theology (1696), but had a 7 4 172 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH horror of polemics in theology. He appears, therefore, as a second Erasmus of Basle, a Reformed Melancthon who hated the "rage of the theologians." He taught Biblical theology rather than the theology of the creeds. In 1703 he was promoted to be professor of Old Testa ment, and (1711) to be professor of the New Testament. In these he endeavored to promote a sound hermeneutics by the introduction of the grammatical-historical method. He favored the union of the Lutherans and Reformed, and was so liberal in spirit that a few days before his death he declared that Basle had done wrong in refusing to let Count Zinzendorf, the head of the Moravians, preach in the cathedral. But, though so liberal to Protest ants, he was yet a strong polemist against the Catholics. With such liberal views he was, of course, out of sym pathy with the narrow spirit of the Helvetic Consensus. Indeed, he preferred to have predestination banished from the pulpit, and only retained it as a bulwark against Socinianism. In his theses he is uncertain between con ditional and unconditional election — he seems to want to retain it in some form and yet liberalize it. He was like Schliermacher, a syncretic theologian — trying to unite diverse theological elements. In 1722 Werenfels, together with the professors and pastors, brought a memorial to the council asking that the Helvetic Consensus be set aside, as it contained no important element of faith, but dwelt mainly on unneces sary causes of division. So Basle set it aside. Werenfels was widely known, having been elected a professor at Franeker, which he declined, and also a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London. He died June 1, 1740. In 1739 he published his "Opuscula theologia- philosophica-philologica." GENEVA 173 Section 3 j. alphonse turretin and its disavowal at geneva We have already seen that there was a strong party opposed to the Consensus at Geneva. This liberal party grew, while the old Calvinistic leaders gradually died off. It was, however, when Francis Turretin died ( 1687) that everything seemed to change. It is true there still remained a strong Calvinistic party, led by Professors Pictet and Calendrini. But the great moving spirit of the church was Prof. J. A. Turretin. John Alphonse Turretin* was born at Geneva, August 24, 1 67 1. He studied at Geneva. He was a precocious i youth and soon outdistanced his fellow-students and astonished his teachers. Tronchin, when he heard him preach, said, "This young man begins where others left off." He was greatly influenced by Chouet, who instilled in him the clearness and precision of thought which made him a fine critical scholar. Just at the critical time of his' life, at the age of sixteen, his father died. This removed from him any conservative influence that would have kept him in the older Calvinism. Naturally inclined toward liberality of thought, he came more and more under the influence of Tronchin instead of retaining the inflexibility of his father. In 1691 he went to Hol land to study church history under Spanheim, and before he left Leyden he had already made himself famous by his masterly refutation (1692) of Bossuet's work on the divisions of Protestants. He then travelled to England, where he learned to know Isaac Newton and Wake, the archbishop of Canterbury, whose hobby was the reunion of Christendom (but under an Episcopal government) . This made a lasting impression on him, as we shall see. He returned by way of Paris to Geneva (1693) and entered the ministry. It was when subscrib- * See Bude, "Vie de J. Alphonse Turretin." 1880. 174 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ing to the Helvetic Consensus that his spirit rebelled, and he was seized with a resolution that he would some day do away with that subscription. He soon became the most popular preacher in the city, because he com bined the excellencies of the French and English styles of composition and oratory. In 1697 a chair of church- history was created for him. From 1701-11 he was rector of the university, and in 1705 he was elected pro fessor of theology in Tronchin's place. With his en trance on the professorship a new era began to dawn. Already, in 1696, a storm broke out against his teach ings, and he was charged with Socinianism. As a result Bern refused to send any more students to Geneva. Geneva denied their accusation and the Venerable Com pany forbade heresy. But Turretin generally pursued great tact in introducing his views. Still his teachings gained such influence over his students that in a few years it became possible to abolish subscription to the Consensus. In 1699 he visited Werenfels at Basle and Osterwald at Neuchatel. Thus was promoted the friend ship that made these three the theological triumvirate to repeal the Consensus. Through his influence, in 1703, subscription to the Consensus was no longer required. In 1707 Count Metternich, who was at Neuchatel, told him that his master, the King of Prussia, greatly desired the union of the churches. Turretin made this subject the theme of his address as rector of the university and dedicated it to the king. This led to a correspondence between them and to the foundation of a Lutheran church in Geneva in 1707. In 1708 he was elected a member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London. In 1710 he was called as professor to Marburg, but de clined. In 1720 he published an important work which had a great influence for religious toleration. It was entitled "The Cloud of Witnesses." In it he aimed to show from the Bible, the church fathers, the early synods GENEVA 175 and celebrated theologians that Christianity rejected the use of force in religion, while other religions insisted on a forced adherence to their dogmas which only led to hypocrisy. He dedicated the work to the archbishop of Canterbury. He died May 1, 1737. A great work of his was his "Ecclesiastical History," which revealed great erudition. The year he died his "Natural and Revealed Theology" (translated into English, 1797) was pub lished. His theological position is revealed in his "Cogi tations and Dissertations," He has been variously judged as a low-Calvinist, an Arminian and a Socinian. He seems to have held to a mild orthodoxy, and was really a supernatural rationalist. Perhaps the best description of him is that he was a typical broad-churchman. The distinctions of theology played little part with him. He wanted Lutherans, Reformed, Anglicans and liberals to unite, and was bitter against dogma because he thought it stood in the way of church-union. He was greatly influenced by the Anglican bishops, who were at that time Arminian and latitudinarian. He was the con temporary of Spener, but lacked the latter's spirituality. Under him Geneva went in a single generation from ortho doxy to supernatural rationalism because pietism was lacking. But, to atone for his doctrinal descent, he laid emphasis on apologetics, proving the necessity of a God. The decrees of God he set aside as among the hidden things, and said we should be content with what is revealed, namely, "He that believed hath eternal life, etc." Turretin not only led to a revision of the doctrine, but also of the liturgy of Geneva. In this he was largely affected by his association with the Anglican bishops. The old simple service of Calvin was enriched after the type of the English Prayer-book. Free prayer, common in the Genevan service since the Reformation, was now set aside in the liturgy. He introduced the rite of con- 176 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH firmation, leaving out, however, the laying on of hands. He seems to have wanted to make up for his loss of doctrine by increase of liturgy, as is often the case. Some have held that it was rationalism that lowered the liturgies and introduced free prayer. Not always. Here in Geneva, and also in Neuchatel, the lowering of doc trine led to the opposite, namely, the increase of ritual. The great opponent of J. A. Turretin was Benedict PicteL* the nephew of Francis Turretin, who represented the latter's theology better than did the latter's son, J. Alphonse Turretin. Pictet was descended from one of the most ancient families of Geneva. He was born May 30, 1655. He studied at Geneva, and at the age of twenty had already completed his theological studies. He then studied abroad at Paris, and in Holland, under Spanheim. He returned by way of England to Geneva (1679), and, in 1686, was made assistant to Professors Turretin and Mestrezat. Although young, he occupied this position with credit to himself. In 1702 he was made professor of theology. The University of Leyden called him as successor to Spanheim, but he declined. He was a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London. He did much to aid the French refugees at the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and started a society for evangelistic work among Catholics in opposition to the efforts of King Louis XIV. This so ciety soon received gifts of thousands of livres for its work. One of his most remarkable works was his re vision of the Psalms, which, together with his fifty-three hymns, revealed the quality of true poetry. But his greatest works were his Christian Morals (1692), and his Christian Theology (1696). In the latter, he re veals himself as a genuine Calvinist, but of an irenic 11b- * See Bude, "Vie de Benedict Pictet," 1824. GENEVA 177 eral spirit. He combines clearness of expression with profundity of thought. His Theology was translated into English and found a wide circulation. He was a fine pulpit orator, clear in style, simple and natural in man ner. He died rejoicing in faith, June 10, 1724, having cried out, "O, death, where is thy sting." Pictet, like Beza, was a rare combination of a polite French courtier and a true Christian gentleman. Having noted the leaders, let us now watch the events that led to the disavowal of the Consensus. In April, 1706, a crisis occurred. A student for the ministry, named Vial, refused the usual subscription, "So I think, I declare publicly, so I will speak" ; offering to agree to its negative ending that he "would not teach anything contrary to the Consensus" or "do anything to injure the peace of the Church." The Venerable Company de cided to receive him on this lowered subscription, but a minority protested to the state council. The council ordered a new meeting of the Venerable Company to set tle the matter. So Vial's reception into the Company was halted. Meanwhile, protests began to come in from the rest of Switzerland. Then the Venerable Company came to a decision (the Calvinistic minority, 12 out of 34, voluntarily absenting themselves), and repealed subscription to the Helvetic Consensus. Then the mat ter was taken up by the little council before whom Tur retin favored the lowered subscription and Pictet and Calendrini opposed it. The latter said he feared if the Helvetic Consensus were set aside, that soon the Helvetic Confession and the canons of Dort would also be disavowed, and that Arminianism would come in and Geneva become separated from Holland as well as the rest of Switzerland. So the city council supported the subscription "not to teach anything against the canons of Dort." But the council of 200 was not satisfied, and on September 6, 1706, adopted the subscription only to 12 178 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the Old and New Testament, and that the ministers were "not to teach anything contrary to the confession and catechism of the Church." But, when Pictet died (1725) the Calvinistic minority had almost died out. So the subscription of 1706 was set aside, June 15, 1725, and only subscription to the Old and New Testament and to Calvin's catechism as their summary was required. Thus, not only was the Helvetic Consensus set aside, but also the Helvetic Con fession and the canons of Dort, while aside from the Bible only Calvin's catechism had a sort of authority as a symbol. But, alas, the movement to a lower creed did not stop here. As we shall soon see, the trend was not only away from Calvinism, but from all orthodoxy; and this gathered momentum as the years rolled on. Turretin's mistake was in attacking the old Calvinism so severely as to start an influence that ultimately led to the undermining of all orthodoxy. Section 4 osterwald and its disavowal by neuchatel Neuchatel, since the Reformation, had taken no prominent part in the religious history of Switzerland. This was partly due to the fact that Neuchatel was not an integral part of Switzerland, and also to the fact that she did not have a university where professors of theology would be apt to make themselves prominent. From Farel, in the middle of the sixteenth century, to Osterwald, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, she had no re markable theologian. Only with John Frederick Oster wald did one appear, and he has been called the second reformer of Neuchatel, as Farel had been the first.* * For a fine life see "Jean Frederick Osterwald," by R. Gretillat. NEUCHATEL 179 He was born November 16, 1663, at Neuchatel, where his father was a prominent pastor, and, as we have seen, prevented individual subscription to the Helvetic Con sensus. The son inherited the liberal theological spirit from his father. When thirteen years of age he was sent to Zurich to study the ancient languages under Pro fessor Ott, and also German, which he mastered in eighteen months. At the age of fifteen he went to Saumur and studied there and to Orleans, where he studied under Pajon, and to Paris, under Claude. Pajon's liberal Calvinism especially attracted him. He returned to Neuchatel (1681), but after his father's death went to Geneva to study under Tronchin. He re turned to Neuchatel, and was ordained at the age of twenty. He was (1686) first assistant pastor at Neu chatel, and, in 1699, made full pastor there. His ser mons gave him such popularity that a new church was built for him. In 1700 he was elected doyen or head of the classis of Neuchatel. As head of the church, he soon revealed his progressive spirit, and introduced reforms. Thus, he introduced the rite of confirmation y so as to be in conformity with the customs of the other Swiss churches. He also caused the introduction of new Psalms, as the French language had changed since Marot and Beza had written the Psalms in the Reforma tion. To this change there was opposition. He also began revealing his divergence from strict Calvinism. In 1700, he published anonymously his tract on the "Sources of Corruption." This tract caused a great sensation, because it weakened from scholastic Calvinism in its doctrine of original sin. It contains in embryo all his new views as developed later. This tract was translated into many languages. In 1702 he published his famous catechism, which was remarkable for its clearness, logic and compre hensiveness. As assistant pastor, it was his duty to 180 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH catechize the young, and, in a "Poor School" established in Neuchatel, in imitation of those in London, he found the Heidelberg Catechism too abstruse, and so he pre pared a catechism of his own. It is divided into three divisions, Bible history, doctrine and morals. Its pe culiarity is its emphasis on the last, which is as large as the other two divisions together. Another curious peculiarity was that it placed the Lord's Supper, not among the doctrines, but among the duties in the last part. Instead of Scripture being the only rule of faith, reason and conscience were coordinated with it. The success of this catechism was phenomenal. It was adopted by the classis of Neuchatel and was translated into German and Flemish and the historical part into Arabic for use among the Mohammedans. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London, of which Osterwald was a member, had it translated into English and it was introduced into the University of Oxford.* But it was severely attacked. Naude, the supralapsarian minister of Berlin, attacked it for its Socinianism, apply ing to its author, John 8: 44, "Ye are of your father, the devil." The canton of Bern also attacked the catechism and Professor Rudolph drew up the censure of it, charg ing it with teachings contrary to the Heidelberg Cate chism, — that Adam's sin was reduced to a tendency and not in itself guilty. This censure of Bern (for Oster wald disliked to engage in polemics), was replied to by his colleague Tribolet, who denied that the aim of the catechism was to undermine the Heidelberg, as also Naude's charge that it was Socinian. While the Cal vinists severely attacked it, on the other hand Professor Zimmerman, later the rationalistic professor of theology at Zurich, declared that it was the reading of this cate chism by which he came to clearer and freer views of * It was entitled "The Grounds and Principles of the Chris tian Religion," 1704. NEUCHATEL 181 truth. In 1703, Osterwald visited Werenfels at Basle, and the next year, J. A. Turretin at Geneva. In 1708, Bishop Burnet, of Salisbury, England, visited him and Osterwald, and Werenfels went to Geneva, where Tur retin received them with great honor. There being no university at Neuchatel, he began lecturing on theology in 1701 to a number of poor stu dents. This proved so helpful, that in 171 1 the classis gave him the care of the students for the ministry. Out of this came his main theological work, "Compendium of Theology" (1739), the result of thirty years of lectures. The plan of the work is the same as in the catechism. God's principal attribute is love. Predestination is not particularly treated of except that it ought to be spoken of prudently. On the Lord's Supper he is a Zwinglian. He states the different views of the trinity and atone ment but does not decide about them. His fundamental * principle was clearness, — what is not clear is not neces- y jary. _ Therefore, he set aside the Calvinistic doctrine of J predestination, the condition of the heathen and thel inability of man to good works. His emphasis in the-| ology was on morals and conduct. He held that the Reformation was not a completed work, but that the reformation of morals was to succeed that of doctrine, and was yet to come. Another of his reforms was a new liturgy. He was elected among' the first honorary members of the So ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in London and came considerably under the influence of the Anglicans. (He favored Episcopacy, but could do nothing for it, asi the ministers and people of his canton were against it.* But by 1716, when the Archbishop of Canterbury pro- / * There is an unsigned letter from Switzerland at LambethX ( Palace, London, proposing a plan for making Switzerland Epis- j 1 copal, and in which the antistes of Zurich was to be elevated toy \the position of bishop. -^ 182 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH posed that the students of Neuchatel should receive , ordination in England at the hands of the bishops, he ^ seems to have gotten over his Episcopalianism. He was more successful in regard to the liturgy. The old simple liturgy of Farel and Calvin had been in use in Neuchatel since the Reformation. He caused it to be supplanted by a new liturgy tending toward the Anglican. It was much more elaborate in its forms and added new forms of worship. As early as 1704 he wrote to the Society of Propagation of the Gospel in London that the divine service had been established in Neuchatel after the pattern of the Anglican liturgy. This new lit urgy, though composed in 1706, when he was moving toward Church union on the basis of the Church of Eng land, yet was not published until 17 13. It was dedi cated to the King of Prussia, who published it. But its high-Church forms were bitterly opposed by many of the ministers as also its lack of Calvinistic orthodoxy. Thus the confession of sin in the liturgy was violently attacked, because it did not admit the absolute corrup tion of sin. The Huguenot Church, of Charleston, South Carolina, adopted this liturgy and in so doing departed from the old simple service of the early French Reformed Churches. Osterwald finally, by the aid of his friend Tribolet, succeeded in getting it used by his church, but many then looked upon it as not thoroughly Reformed. He also published a tract on "Impurity," a popular treatise against vice, which had considerable circulation and translation and was used for a long time even among the convents in France. But his best gift to the French churches was his Bible translation. The ignorance and in difference he had found in his pastoral visits led him to prepare a popular explanation of the Bible, which grew into a Bible translation (1709-15). In it he aimed to correct the obscurities of the Martin version of Scrip- NEUCHATEL 183 ture which had hitherto been the accepted French ver sion. By his brief practical notes he aimed to make the Bible so simple that any one could, understand it. His version was for a century the received version of French- speaking Protestants.* After serving the Church at Neuchatel as pastor and professor for sixty-three years, he was stricken with apoplexy August 24, 1746, while about to preach in John 20: 1-8, and died April 14, 1747. He had a great funeral of more than 5,000 persons. f Osterwald, with Werenfels of Basle and J. A. Tur retin of Geneva, were the leaders in setting aside the Helvetic Consensus in Switzerland, when the foreign princes made their appeal in 1722. Finally, the Evan gelical diet, June 17, 1724, abrogated it, although its use continued in Bern and Zurich somewhat later, also in St. Gall and Schaffhausen.J ?English translations appeared in London, 1716-18 and 1776. t Two beautiful stories are told of him. During the war of 1702, Fenelon happened to have in his employ a young Neucha- telois in his garden. Having learned where he came from, Fenelon asked him if he knew Osterwald. "Yes," was his reply. "But is it true that he preaches so well and lives as he preaches ?" "Ah, yes," was the reply, "he is like an angel, but when he is angry the whole world trembles." Another story is that at his funeral a curious event took place. A Capuchin monk from the borders of France, who loved him and regularly visited him once a year, happened to come to town just as the funeral pro cession was proceeding to the church. Not desiring to trouble the procession or the service by wearing his habit, he stayed away till evening. When all had retired, he went into the church and kneeling at the tomb where the body was buried, he watered it with his tears, thanking God for the good he had received from the dead. t Hadorn's "Kirchengeschichte der reformirten Schweiz," page 206; Finsler's "Zurich in den neunzehnten Jahrhundert," page 96. ^ — PART III THE RETENTION OF THE HELVETIC CONSENSUS Although the Evangelical diet set aside the Con sensus in 1724, yet as each canton regulated its own sub scription, it remained in force in Bern and Zurich. CHAPTER I Its Retention in Zurich Section i antistes antonius klingler (1688-i713) Before Klingler came there were two antistes not yet spoken of, John Jacob Mulier (antistes 1677-80, only three years). Unlike his predecessor, antistes Waser, who was a high Calvinist, he was a Cocceian. The next antistes was John Henry Erni (1680-88). With the election of Klingler as antistes (1688) Zurich again had an antistes of ability and force of character. He is the only one between the last great antistes, Breitinger (1645), and the next great antistes, Hess (1795), who at all approaches greatness. He was born August 2, 1649. After studying in Zurich he studied abroad and instead of returning to Zurich as was customary, he remained in Germany, where he became professor of theology in the gymnasium of Hanau. While there he received the degree of doctor of divinity from Franeker and a call to Groningen Uni versity, which he declined. He returned to Zurich (1681) as pastor and soon his ability and eloquence 185 186 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH placed him in the front rank of preachers in his native city. He had in Germany acquired a finished style which was very attractive to the Zurich people and was quite in contrast with the stiff, pedantic type of preaching, with its hair-splittings of doctrine, so common in Zurich. As a result of his popularity he was elected antistes in 1688. This was remarkable, for it was not customary for Zur ich to elect so young a man to that position or to elect one who had been in the service of the Swiss Church for so short a time, — only seven years. He soon re vealed his ability as an executive as well as a preacher and the church was stirred by stricter regulations. On one thing he was different from any other antistes. Though Calvinistic in his orthodoxy, yet he was hier archical. He was a highchurchman, not in ritual or doctrine, but in church government. He believed in destroying the enemies of the church by force and not attempting to do so by moral suasion. He reminds one in this of Pope Hildebrand, only he was a Protestant. He, therefore, opposed any departure from Calvinism, and tried to put down the sects with the severest disci pline. The most prominent person against whom this spirit was directed during his antistesship was Prof. John Henry Schweizer (Suicer). He was the brilliant son of Prof. J. C. Schweizer, the famous classical scholar. He was born 1646. When his father laid down his professorship, he did so in favor of his not less learned son. This nepotism provoked opposition and at his election Klingler, in his New Year's sermon, de clared it to be nothing less than godlessness. For he opposed Schweizer because he held to the doctrine of the universal atonement, like Saumur. Owing to the opposition to his more liberal views, Schweizer left Zurich and went to Heidelberg, where he became pro fessor (1705) but died soon after. Another heresy case appeared. Rev. Henry Hoch- ZURICH 187 holzer was called by the consistory before it March 23, 1690, for preaching a sermon on John 5 : 19, 20. He was charged with liberal doctrine and deposed May 31, 1691. Also Bulad, professor of Hebrew, for saying in his in augural address (1692) that the Hebrew vowel-points were late and that the Septuagint was more important in its text than our Hebrew text, was called before the council. He was permitted to teach, provided he gave up these views. Later he became insane. Under Kling ler, heresy was to be extirpated if possible. Yet, though he was so narrow, the Gregorian calendar was introduced into Protestant Switzerland during his an- tistesship after a century's delay owing to prejudice of Protestants against the papacy. Klingler seemed to many of the Swiss pompous be- | cause he allowed the title "His Excellency" to be used of j himself, which was quite contrary to Swiss simplicity, j He also exerted considerable political influence, opposing the foreign service of the Swiss. A book published by him, "Bella Jehovah" or "The War of God," consisting of sermons on the book of Joshua, had a larger circula tion than any book since Bullinger's. He died 1713. Section 2 antistes peter zeller (1713-18) and antistes louis nuschler (1718-37) Peter Zeller was the opposite of Klingler. His simplicity of life and of style was quite in contrast with Klingler 's ornate style and severe methods. But though simple in style, he had great warmth of heart. During! his term pietism began to appear in Zurich in John Jacobi Ulrich, who had studied in Holland and there became a» practical Cocceian, like Prof. F. A. Lampe, the pietistic professor of theology at Utrecht. Ulrich introduced prayer-meetings and also the subject of missions, especi- 188 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ally concerning the work of Ziegenbalg in India. This could not have occurred under Klingler and reveals Zeller's more liberal spirit. Still an interesting fact about the Helvetic Consensus comes to light. When in 1717 dekan Bergier, of the University of Lausanne, of whom we will speak in the next chapter, declared that the Helvetic Consensus was not subscribed to in Zurich, antistes Zeller denied it, saying that it was still in force.* After antistes Zeller came antistes Nuscheler, the last antistes of the period of Calvinistic orthodoxy. His travels in Germany and England had liberalized his mind, but he was still a strict Calvinist. The second centen nial of the Reformation occurred soon after his election on January 1, 1719. The celebration, consisting of Latin addresses, poems, discussions, etc., lasted a week. On New Year's Day, Nuscheler preached. The sermons of | that day were so many and so long that it is said the 1 city clerk had to turnthe clock back, and for the last j preacher the lights had to be lit. But a significant pe- culiarity of this cenfenary~was the absence of any pole mics against Luther, whose name was honored and whose hymns were sung. When in 1722 the foreign princes wrote to the Swiss, asking them to give up the Helvetic Consensus, Zurich replied politely, but firmly refused to give it up. Under Klingler and Nuscheler, says Finsler, the Helvetic Con sensus reached its high water mark in Zurich. Thus Nuscheler in a circular, says: "The innocent Helvetic Consensus ought, according to the wish of the princes, to be given up. But we maintain our right not to open the breach so wide lest confusion may ensue." Zurich joined with Bern in giving a negative answer to the princes, and on July 22, 1722, retained the Helvetic Con sensus, f The Helvetic Consensus was not given up by *Trechsel's "Berner Taschenbuch," 1882, page 80, note. t Schweitzer's "Central-Dogmen," Vol. II, page 697. ZURICH 189 Zurich until the election of a rationalistic antistes in r737-* Indeed it seems to have continued in authority down to 1 741, when the Zurich Synod again declared its adherence to the old confessions. * Schweitzer's "Zustand der Zurichen Kirche,'7 page 40. CHAPTER II Its Retention by Bern* Section i prof. john rudolph rudolph Before taking up the history of the Helvetic Con sensus in Bern, it will be necessary to notice the man who was the leader of Bern at that time. Since the days of Musculus and Aretius, in the days of the Reforma tion, he was the most prominent theologian of Bern. He was born October 4, 1646, and studied at Bern. Just as he had finished his course there was an election for a professor of philosophy at Lausanne. Polier was elected, but young Rudolph did so well in the examina tion that the Council of Bern made him a present of 16 crowns and told him to study at foreign universities at the city's expense. He studied at Geneva, not under F. Turretin, but under Tronchin and Mestrezat, and at Saumur and visited Paris, Germany and England. At the end of three years he returned to Bern and in 1676 was made professor of Hebrew and in 1688 of cate- chetics. In the latter chair he published his excellent "Analysis and Interpretation of the Heidelberg Cate chism," 1697. He was elected professor of exegetical theology (1698) and of dogmatics (1700). Fourteen years later he published his "Christian Theology," which was Cocceian in doctrine. He was also elected (1716) dekan of Bern, that is, head of the Bern Church. He 1 was the only one to hold both the positions of dekan and * See "Berner Taschenbuch," 1869, page 95. 190 BERN 191 professor of theology. Rudolph lived at a critical time, when the old Calvinistic theology was attacked from two sides, from low Calvinism and from pietism; both tend encies lowering the merely doctrinal for the more prac tical. He was not only a strong intellectual leader, but strong spiritually. In spirit he was a pietist and yet cir cumstances made him the leader against pietism. Though trained under liberal Calvinism he was yet a strict Calvinist, — although a Cartesian in his philosophy as to method, yet a strict Cocceian as to the contents of his theology. Section 2 the difficulties of creed subscription at lausanne We have seen that the district of Vaud, which is the southern part of Bern, was French. This made a difference of races, as Bern, or the northern district, was German. Vaud had sympathized with Calvin's view of the Church as autonomous in its government, but Bern on the other hand sympathized with Zwingli in making the Church and State closely united. These differences between Bern and Vaud were accentuated by the intro duction of the Helvetic Consensus. For many of the ministers who came into Vaud from France were ad herents of Saumur; and one had refused to sign the Consensus, Saurin, when Bern, in 1675, had ordered subscription to it. As a result, the Helvetic Consensus lost authority in Vaud. As early as 1682, seven years after its publication, some of the candidates for the ministry at Lausanne signed it "quatenus" — that is, as far as it agreed with the Bible.* From 1675-1700, out * This word would not seem to affect the subscription, as all creeds are subscribed to because they agree with the Bible. But this phrase "quatenus" also led to the inference that there was a difference between the creed and the Bible, and that there were 192 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of 160 candidates for the ministry at Lausanne, 51 had never subscribed to the Helvetic Consensus, and that with the permission of the authorities. The news of this lowered subscription at Lausanne finally led Bern to take drastic action, June 14, 1699. There was drawn up the "Association Oath." This oath had a double purpose. It was directed against pietism_ and against Saumur.* Bern adopted this oath and or- dered it to be subscribed to. From 1699 to 1706 all signed this oath. In 1706 the rector of the university of Lausanne, Crousaz, the celebrated mathematician and philosopher, permitted the subscription "quatenus." In 1709 the subscription stood thus: "I subscribe to the explanation given by the rector of the university." By 1712 the subscription "quatenus" had added to it the clause "not to teach anything contrary to the creed." In 17 1 5 sixteen young men signed "quatenus." This alarmed the conservative Calvinists, and in 1716 matters came to a crisis. For it seems that one of the French classes, the classis of Morges, had a Calvinistic majority, and it brought complaints to the authorities of Bern against Lausanne, that they were using the "quatenus." So Bern, on January 23, 1716, ordered an investigation. It happened that just at that time there were at Lau sanne a number of prominent professors who were lib- / erals, as Abraham Ruchat, the French historian of the Reformation in Switzerland; Barbeyrac, Bergier and Polier. When the University of Lausanne received notice of the proposed investigation by Bern, it ordered Barbeyrac to reply, which he did January 25, 1716. He some things in the creed not in the Bible. So it meant sub scription only to those parts of the creed that were Biblical. If those, who subscribed this way, had believed that the entire creed was in accord with the Bible, they would not have in serted "quatenus." * Of its reference to pietism we will speak later. BERN 193 denied the charges, denouncing the whole affair as an intrigue against the institution. He declared he knew nothing about Arminianism among the students, but, on the contrary, the university had tried to avoid it by having one of the professors deliver lectures on the Helvetic Consensus.* Then Barbeyrac went on to defend the use of the "quatenus" in subscription, and tried to show that "quatenus" was justified by the principle of Protest antism, which made the Bible the rule of faith, and by the Helvetic Confession, which placed the Bible above the creed. He shrewdly closed by recalling to them the words that ended the acts of the synod of Bern, "If some one will show us a way which better agrees with the Word of God and leads us nearer to Christ, we are ready to accept it." Barbeyrac's reply only widened the breach and was severely criticised at Bern. So he resigned, and in 1717 accepted a call to Groningen, Holland. Bern was by this time thoroughly aroused. The Bernese ministers appealed to the council that the Con sensus be adhered to, lest Arminianism, libertinism and indifference would enter the church. So Bern ordered Lausanne not to ordain any students who did not sub scribe to the Helvetic Consensus. Dekan Bergier, who now took Barbeyrac's place as leader, prepared a memo rial, signed by the professors of the university, and sent it to Bern, December 13, 1717. In it he earnestly asked that subscription to the Consensus be omitted or lowered. He called attention to the fact that the Helvetic Con- sensus was against the old Second Helvetic Confession, 1 the former requiring limited atonement, while the latter j taught universal atonement. He also declared that the Consensus produced friction instead of unity in the church. Other pamphlets also appeared at Lausanne, * Professor Roy, who, it seems, gave a very mild interpreta tion of the Consensus. 13 194 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH some of them anonymous. Bergier's attack on the Con sensus also called forth severe replies. Barbeyrac, though now in Holland, added to the confusion by writ ing to the old magistrate at Lausanne, warning him that the orthodox Calvinists were enemies of peace. His letter only injured the case, for Bern looked upon him now as an outsider and his act as an intermeddling. Meanwhile the ministerial convent at Bern made a declaration against "quatenus," saying that with "quate nus" one could subscribe to all the papal bulls, yes, even to the Koran itself — that one could hold these "quatenus," that is, in so far as they agreed with the Bible. It urged the council to take severe measures against the Armin ians, rationalists, deists, etc. The Bern council there fore ordered, June 3, 1718, that the subscription at Lau sanne should be without the "quatenus." Still the magistrates at Lausanne tried to tone down the sub scription. On August 19, 1718, seventeen candidates for the ministry subscribed to the Helvetic Consensus, with the explanation that it was not a creed, only a state ment of doctrine, and they promised not to teach any thing contrary to it or to attack it. However, the next year (May, 1719), a school com mittee from Bern arrived at Lausanne. They found that the Association Oath was not adhered to, and that in many places other catechisms than the Heidelberg were used. They so reported to Bern, but their report, for various reasons, as deaths, etc., did not come before the Bern council till April 15, 1722. Then action was taken ordering subscription to the Helvetic Consensus by a vote of 98-28. This revealed a respectable minority opposed to forcing the Consensus on Vaud. And when an additional motion was put that an explanation be allowed to those who in subscribing desired to make it, the motion was lost by only a narrow majority. The conservatives carried their point, but at great loss of BERN 195 prestige because of so large a minority vote. The news of this large minority vote caused a great rejoicing in Lausanne and strengthened the courage of the opponents of the Consensus. Bern sent deputies to Lausanne in 1722 to require subscription. The deputies, finding the state of feeling there so strong, tried to soften it into that "they would not teach anything contrary to the Consensus." To this Crousaz replied, May 15, that all were ready to sign. Only one refused, Professor Polier. But what the professors would not do the stu dents did. Fifteen of them refused to subscribe, May 19, 1722. Eight finally signed after being severely threat ened. But seven, at whose head was the son of Professor Crousaz, remained firm in their refusal. By May 23 they were given their last opportunity to sign, and two did so, but the other five refused. Young Crousaz de clared that he was ready to shed his last drop of blood rather than subscribe. So these five young men were not permitted to be ordained and their names were stricken from the roll of the university. But Polier was allowed to remain by making a statement to the smaller council, and by February, 1723, Bern granted a milder interpretation of the Association Oath, and so the young candidates who had refused to subscribe did so. The intercession of foreign princes had been having its effect in Bern in making her more liberal about the subscription. Finally a political event put an end to these doctrinal controversies. On March 31, 1723. Major Duval led an uprising of the French of Vaud against Bern ; but he was defeated and Bern put him to death on the scaffold, April 24, 1723, for treason. He has, however, become the pa- \ tron saint of the Vaud people, and his statue occupies a } prominent place at Lausanne. But this revolution, though j unsuccessful, opened the eyes of Bern to the great dissat isfaction in Vaud and led her to give Vaud greater liberty of conscience. By April 13, 1723, Bern ordered complete 196 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH silence as to the controversy about the Helvetic Con sensus, and so the subscription "not to teach to the con trary" became common. This history of Geneva and Vaud gives a fine contri bution to the science of creed-subscription, now one of the most difficult questions in symbolics that is before the church. The original idea of creed subscription was, of course, verbal subscription, which meant that one subscribed to every word of the creed; but, as time went on, this was found to be too narrow, for one age did not look at doctrine in the same way as another did. So other kinds of subscriptions appeared. The history of Switzerland, which we have just been considering, reveals several important modifications of verbal subscription : I. "Quatenus," that is, subscribing to a creed in so far as that creed agrees with the Word of God, but not necessarily agreeing with it in other particulars. 2. "Dicebo non contrarium," that is, not to teach anything contrary to the creed. This meant that one might hold other views privately, but not express them publicly. 3. "Quantum intelligere," that is, to hold all in the creed except such as it is impossible to understand. As a result of these controversies, creed-subscription in the nineteenth century resolved itself away from mere verbal subscription into subscription for system of doc trine. This means that one subscribes to the system of doctrine in the creed. It is based on the idea that, if one hold to the system of doctrine in the creed, he will logically hold to the rest that is there. However, at the reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Old School and New School), in 1869, a still further form of creed subscription came to view, namely, subscription for substance of doctrine. This means that the subscriber holds to the fundamental doctrines of the creed, but not necessarily in the same BERN 197 relation or same arrangement as in the creed. Thus at that union many of the New School men did not hold the Federal system of Calvinism, which is found in the Westminster creeds, but held to the Edwardean or New England system, which was a restatement of Calvinism along more liberal lines. While the Westminster creeds were infralapsarian, it was sublapsarian. Indeed, this form of subscription is as old as the synod of Dort, where the Canons of Dort, though infralapsarian, were allowed a sublapsarian interpretation, or Martinius and the British delegates would not have signed them. Thus the church is slowly working out the great problem of creed-subscription, and this history of Switzerland is an interesting contribution thereto. BOOK III THE PERIOD OF RATIONALISM CHAPTER I Zurich Section i antistes john conrad wirz (1737-69) The blight of rationalism entered Switzerland in the eighteenth century, and it is a sad fact that its first great victory should be no less a position than that of the an tistes of Zurich, — that the chair once occupied by Zwingli, the reformer, should now be filled by a rationalistic antistes. For with antistes Nuscheler the unbroken line of Evangelical antistes, which had lasted for more than two centuries (1519-1737), ended. John Conrad Wirz was born January 6, 1688. A precocious youth, he rapidly completed his studies at Zurich, and went to Germany and Holland for study, returning to Zurich in 1712. He became assistant at St. Peter's Church, Zurich, and then first assistant at the cathedral. In 1737 he was elected antistes. He was a scholarly man, especially in the classics. Yet he was popular and fervent in his preaching, only his sermons lacked the Evangelical fundamentals. In his synodical addresses he shrewdly undermined the authority of the old confessions, by elevating the Bible, at their expense, instead of showing their agreement with the Bible. He argued from the fact that at first the early Christians had no confessions, only the Bible. In his seventh synod ical address he went farther, and took up the question whether symbolical books were at all necessary to an Evangelical church, and subtlely undermined their author ity. He pretended to always aim at keeping the peace " 201 202 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of the church, yet he was always silently introducing -rationalism, During his administration the church began to decline. Education became literary, rather than religious. Pro fessors Bodmer and Breitinger, especially the former, were the regenerators of German literature, which, under the influence of Frederick the Great and Voltaire, had degenerated into a mere imitation of French literature. Bodmer called Germany back to self-consciousness, when not a voice in Germany had yet been lifted in its favor. The younger men, of whom J. C. Lavater was the leader, inclined generally to the new rationalistic views. More and more, the students became familiar with Ger man neological thought, and Germany, instead of Hol land, became the land whither they went for their foreign studies. Antistes Wirz died 1769. Section 2 prof. john jacob zimmermann But the real leader of the church was not in the antistes' chair. The professor of theology, J. J. Zimmer- mann, overtopped the influence of the antistes, especially by moulding the young ministers, who were his students, in the new rationalistic thought. He was born December 10, 1695. The natural bent of his mind was toward liberal- views. Thus, when he was studying theology, he would read the very books that his orthodox and high Calvinistic professors told him not to read. During one of his vacations he read the theology of Limborch, against which Professor Hottinger had especially warned him.* As the rooms of the students were liable to be searched for heretical books, he secreted his Arminian * This Hottinger must not be confused with the Hottinger of whom we have spoken before. He was a later member of the same family and intensely Calvinistic. ZURICH 203 and Socinian books under his pillow. When leaving Zurich to go to foreign universities, Hottinger gave him a long list of books against which he warned him. Zimmermann heard him patiently, but afterwards wrote about it, saying, "It would have suited me better if he had given me a ducat for my journey." For he had been given only 50 thalers for his trip, while the other students had received 200 thalers. This difference was made because of his suspected leanings to Arminianism. He was sent to Bremen, in the hope that the strong Calvin istic influence there would destroy his tendency to Ar minianism. But he did not feel at home there. He tired of the Calvinistic theological lectures and sermons. He tersely writes, "I often put them (Tillotson's sermons, which were then the leading Arminian sermons) in my pocket, and pretend to go to St. Stephen's Church to service. But I stop at the house of Meier, the barber, who is from Zurich. Then with a cup of tea and a pipe of tobacco, I read Tillotson's sermons. And when the church is out, I join the crowd going home from church. But I feel I was more benefited than they." He re turned to Zurich an adherent of Limborch. Tillotsqn_and Grotius. — "Wnen he returned to Zurich he would read Oster- wald's catechism with some of the students, and from it raise questions in their minds about Calvinistic doctrines. For some years he could get no position at Zurich, be cause of the opposition of Professor Hottinger. But when Hottinger died, 1737, he was elected professor of church history. That year (1737) was, indeed, an epochal year for Zurich, for it gave to her both a rationalistic antistes and a rationalistic professor of theology. There was no question as to his ability, but the objection to him was that he was not Calvinistic, like Hottinger. Yet he con sidered himself mediating in theology, for he aimed to take a middle position between the deists of England, on 204 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the one hand, and strict Calvinism, on the other. For some time he taught quietly, but it was only a question of time, when the newer ideas would come into conflict with the old. This occurred in 1741, at the festival of Charle magne.* Professor Zimmermann utilized this occasion to ventilate his new views. His topic was : "The Imper fection of our Theological Perception Here Compared with the Excellence of that of Heavenly Beings." He dwelt especially on the inexactness of our theological sciences. Exegesis was too dogmatic, and dogmatics was not sufficiently proved. Church history was not clear, as often opposing parties would appeal to the same Church Fathers. Then in strongest contrast with the imperfec tion of our knowledge here, he placed our knowledge in the future life, when the hindrances of our present life shall have been taken away, and the glorified body will be the perfect organ of spiritual perception. With biting sarcasm, he added : "There will then be no more councils controlled by a majority vote, gained by mere temporal authority, and the ministry will no longer be oppressed by a mistaken zeal for glorifying God." The impression made by the address was one of doubt, instead of faith. His address caused a tremendous sensation. It was really a rationalistic declaration of independence in the Zurich Church, which, from Zwingli down, had held to the authority of Scripture and the church. Seeing the storm that was gathering about him, Zimmermann pub lished the address, adding an appendix, in which he com plained against the charges of rationalism brought against him. But its publication did not break the opposition. The dekans unitedly presented to the antistes objections to the address, and demanded that the matter should be * Zurich always looked back with pride and thankfulness to Charlemagne, because he had made large donations to her cathe dral, and therefore his statue is to-day to be seen in the tower of the cathedral. ZURICH 205 brought up before the next synod. The antistes, as far as he could, tried to shield Zimmermann. But at the pro- synod of 1742 peace was made, after a discussion of five hours, in which Zimmermann made significant concessions. The concession to the orthodox was that the church re tained its old creeds, even the Helvetic Consensus.* Out wardly the victory seemed to be with the orthodox, but really it was with Zimmermann, for he was left in his professor's chair, although he received a mild rebuke to restrain himself from philosophizing on high and mys terious things. From this vantage ground, as professor, he could continue to poison the minds of the young men, who were preparing for the future ministry of the church. For the conservatives, who were the older men, were gradually dying off, and their places were being taken by the younger ministers, whose minds Zimmermann had filled with his rationalism. But, although the pro-synod decided in favor of the old creeds, gradually their authority was lessened. Zim mermann, like Wirz, aimed to set them aside. For he claimed that the value of a doctrine was its practical worth. And doctrine went ever into morals. Chris tianity consisted not so much of experience as of the ethical. But, while Zimmermann was a rationalist, he was not a vulgar rationalist, like Basedow. The vulgar ration alist, at Zurich, at that time, was Henry Corrodi, profes- sor of ethics and natural sciences, a close follower of Semler and Ernesti. Zurich at this time even tried to show its abhorrence of blatant rationalism by banishing Meister, the pastor at Kussnacht, for his infidelity. Zim mermann was a syncretic theologian, that is, he tried to combine different systems of doctrine. His main work, * See "Zurich in der zweiten Haelfte des achtzehntens Jahr hunderts"; also Finsler in Meili's "Theologische Zeitschrift," 1895, page 189. 206 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH "The Causes of Growing Unbelief, and the Proper Meth ods of Counteracting It," reminds one somewhat of Schlei- ermacher's famous "Addresses." But, unlike Schleier- macher, who aimed to mediate between pantheism and orthodoxy, Zimmermann had no sympathy with pan theism. This may be accounted for by the fact that the only pantheism he knew was the gross form of pantheism of Spinoza, against whom Zimmermann wrote. Zim mermann died 1757, but his rationalistic influence re mained long after him. Section 3 antistes john rudolph ulrich (1769-95) The second rationalistic antistes was born, December 12, 1728. As a boy he revealed an inquiring mind. See ing a beautiful eel in a fishpond, among the fishes, he leaned over so far that he fell in, and was rescued with difficulty. This inquisitiveness about knowledge followed him ever after, and led him to break with the old theolog ical ideas, especially as Professor Zimmermann was his teacher. After study in foreign lands, he became pro fessor of oratory at Zurich, and pastor of the Orphan age Church, at Zurich. He was a finished orator. His sermons were strong in thought, while beautiful in form. He boldly attacked the public sins, and this fact led to his election as antistes in 1769. As antistes he tried to pursue the middle ground, though evidently sympathizing with the rationalists. By his time rationalism had had 1 control long enough to reveal its sad results. The church [attendance fell off, so that the number of religious ser- I vices was lessened. It was during his term of office that, in 1771, the Presbyterian synod of New York and Philadelphia wrote, desiring to come into closer corre- ZURICH 207 spondence with the Evangelical Church of Zurich. To this, Zurich gladly agreed. One of the American minis ters, it is true, objected to the Swiss, because of the loose theology of J. Alphonse Turretin. Had the American Church, which was the Evangelical, known the true con dition of the Zurich Church at that time, they would hardly have asked for correspondence. But this corre spondence amounted to nothing, as shortly after our Revo lutionary War broke out, and cut off foreign corre spondence. COn a night in September, 1775, it was found that the sacramental wine in the cathedral at Zurich had been poisoned. Fortunately the poison had not had time to dissolve properly, and so only a few suffered. This created a tremendous sensation. Lavater in St. Peter's Church at Zurich, preached on it his famous "Marrow and Bone-breaking" sermon. And the antistes in whose church it occurred, preached on the text: "My house shall be a house of prayer," etc. This poisoning of the wine, fortunately, did not succeed, but the poison of rationalism, which was worse, did succeed, in the church, as rationalism became prevalent everywhere*) And yet, in spite of this prevalent rationalism, brave defenders of the old faith appeared. One of them was the historian, Fuessli, of Feltheim. As a historian, his aim was to reproduce the past history of the Zurich Church, and show how far this new school had drifted from the old moorings. In doing so, he was led to un cover some valuable sources of Reformed Church his- * As a type of rationalistic sermons, John Fasi published 1791, at Burgdorf, a book of sermons, preached in Thurgau, on "Remarkable Objects in Nature." Thus the text of one was "Who Giveth his Cattle Food." In it he had the following divisions : 1. How God sustains cattle. 2. What obligations this lays on us? 3. What special duty, according to reason and humanity, follows from this? 208 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH tory, which he published. But he was bitterly persecuted by the rationalists. Canon Breitinger, the learned pub lisher of the "Septuagint," and an outspoken rationalist, attacked him, and did so in a personal way, by publishing a mutilated letter of Fuessli's. When Fuessli attempted to reply, Breitinger, as the city censor of Zurich, pre vented his reply from being published, and Fuessli had to get it published elsewhere than in Zurich. Then Breitinger accused Fuessli of slander (though he, him self, had made the first personal attack), and finally forced Fuessli to make an apology. Ziegler, pastor at St. Jacob's, also attacked the Socin- ianism that was coming into the church, in a sermon. For this, he was called before the board of examiners. But there he boldly defended himself, saying : "One used to find in the library of the ministers, the books of Hot tinger and Heidegger. But now Basedow's, Benson's and Clark's were to be found — nothing good was, therefore to be expected." In his bold defence of the old doctrines, he did not even except the antistes from blame. There also occurred, as there always does in those times. of rationalism, a reaction into pietism. Pietism had been suppressed by the Zurich authorities, and treated as un- churchly. But now it appeared within the church. John Caspar Ulrich, pastor of the Fraumunster Church, Zurich, was its leader. He had been a devoted student of Prof. F. A. Lampe, the churchly Reformed pietist of Utrecht and Bremen. Ulrich, as a popular preacher, exerted a great influence on the students against the increasing rationalism. He held prayer meetings for the Evangeli cals. It was during the term of this antistes that J. C. Lavater lifted up his voice against rationalism, and from being its popular leader, became the leader of orthodoxy. With Lavater, was his assistant Pffenninger and the de votional writer, Tobler. Antistes Ulrich died 1795. ZURICH 209 Section 4 john casper lavater* In the return tide to orthodoxy, two men become prominent, John Casper Lavater and John Jacob Hess. John Casper Lavater was one of the most brilliant men Zurich ever produced. He has been called the "Fenelon of the Germans," because of his remarkable combination of piety and literary excellence. He was born at Zurich, November 15, 1741. In his early life he did not show the remarkable qualities he afterward revealed. He was a somewhat dull, retiring, awkward, delicate boy. He was dreamy, and would fancy great things. Because of his weak constitution, he was kept from other boys, and so grew up clumsy, bashful and reserved. Often ridiculed in the school, he withdrew himself from society within himself. Fortunate for him was it, that his first teacher knew how to deal with him, and, in spite of Lavater's faults, he would say: "There will still something come out of little Casper." This teacher's confidence aroused him. With the de cision, "God willing, I will be a brave man," he entered on his studies, and soon revealed remarkable develop ment. His independent spirit, and love of justice, is shown under a later teacher, who proceeded to punish him. Lavater demanded the reason. The master re fused to give it. Lavater then left the school after the punishment, denouncing such tyranny, and went to make complaint against the teacher. The master afterwards tried to make peace with Lavater, but the latter never * See "J. C. Lavater," by Bodeman. Also Lavater in Zim merman's "Zurcher Kirche." Also Morikofer "Schweizericher Litirateur des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts," 1867, 332-406. Also "Denkschrift an J. C. Lavater," 1902. 14 210 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH would accept his overtures. As a boy, he revealed a deep religious nature. He was fond of the Bible characters of the Old Testament, as Elijah and Elisha, rather than of Christ. As a boy he had great faith in prayer. Once he lost money. He prayed, and lo, his grandmother gave him some money, so his mother never knew his loss of the money. This religious tendency is revealed also by a striking incident. One day Rev. Casper Ulrich visited his school, and asked, among other questions, who, among the boys, would become a minister. Lavater, who was only ten years old, cried out, "I, I." And, as he uttered these words, there arose in his heart a great desire for the ministry, and he went joyfully home, announcing, "I will be a minister." This decision was somewhat contrary to the wishes of his parents, who desired him to become a physician, as the ministry was not so highly esteemed, at that time, by them. They asked a leading minister what to do about their son, as he was bent on going into the ministry. This minister suggested that Lavater be allowed to regis ter as a theological student, and, if necessary, he might later change to some other course. But Lavater never changed his mind on this subject. At the age of thirteen, he attended the classical school at Zurich, and came under the inspiring teaching of Breitinger and Bodmer. the regenerators of German literature. Bodmer has been called the "Milton of Zurich," but his works do not approach Milton's in grandeur, although Bodmer wrote an epic called "Noah." There is this difference between Milton and Bodmer: Milton was a Puritan and inspired by an intense faith. Bodmer was a rationalist, and rationalism robbed him of the power of great religious inspiration ; but he was a great literary critic and teacher. Lavater, under Bodmer and Breitinger, was educated ZURICH 211 out of his early simple faith and strongly inclined to make the search for truth and liberty of thought his ideals. But, though he minimized the religious side of his nature, he could^get entirely away from it. The intellect can never starve the heart or the conscience. When fourteen years of age, the Lisbon earthquake greatly startled him. The death of his brother, eighteen days later, also deeply impressed him. He gave vent to his higher nature by the writing of poetry. In this Bodmer's influence is evident, for he stimulated Lavater to write poetry. He also wrote some hymns, as "Jesus on Gol- gotha." In 1759 he entered the theological class, and in T701 preached his first sermon, on Ecclesiastes 7 : 3 Here he already revealed his oratorical ability. For, when he uttered the words, "At each moment we take a step into eternity," the clock of the church struck. He paused until it had ended, the pause greatly heighten ing the effect of his sentence. Then he continued, "Do you hear that, brethren? Now that hour is past. We are all another hour nearer the end." He was ordained in the spring of 1762. In a letter at that time he gives expression to his consecration, "I will humbly throw myself before my Creator and Saviour and sincerely resolve never to stand still — never to grow weary of knowing God in all things." Just at that time he revealed his great love for liberty and justice by a very bold act. In the little village of Grueningen, one of the baili wicks of Zurich, there was a magistrate named Felix Grebel, who, by his oppressions and extortions, had greatly embittered the people against him. The sufferers, being poor, were afraid to bring complaints against him, especially as Grebel had social influence, being the son- in-law of the burgomaster. When Lavater heard of this, his soul was fired at the injustice. After earnest prayer, he wrote a letter, August 2, 1762, to Grebel, signed J. C. 212 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH L. No one knew who wrote it except his friend Fuessli. In this letter he gave to Grebel two months in which to restore what he had unjustly taken or he would bring him publicly to court; but Grebel paid no attention to the letter. The time having passed, Lavater had the letter printed under the title, "The Unjust Bailiff, or the Complaints of a Patriot." This letter he caused to be placed, on November 30, 1762, at the doors of the differ ent members of the city council. This act created a tremendous sensation. The council ordered the author to appear within a month to prove charges or be pun ished for slander. At first Lavater had concealed his name, but, when the matter was called up, he and his friend Fuessli, who had helped him, boldly came forward and named themselves as the complainants. Meanwhile the matter had become public, and many of the persons whom Grebel had oppressed, to the number of twenty, appeared personally to bring complaints. Meanwhile Lavater had become greatly anxious about the matter on account of its effect on his parents. He finally con fided the matter to antistes Wirz, who went and told his parents. "Rejoice," he said to them, "at such a son who speaks when no other person dares to speak." His mother then greatly sustained him in the trying ordeal. But meanwhile the publicity and the number of complainants had made it too hot for Grebel. He fled and confessed his guilt. The government dismissed him and confiscated his property and made restoration to those whom he had unjustly treated. Thus Lavater came out victorious and the bravery of the young man made him the idol of the people. All Switzerland won dered at his courage. When Goethe heard of it, he enthusiastically cried out, "You brave minister, you true man! Such a deed is worth a thousand books." Soon after this he travelled with his friends Fuessli and Felix Hess to Germany. Breitinger, one of his teachers, had advised him, instead of going for study to foreign universities, to visit famous men. Lavater wanted especially to visit Spalding at Barth, in Pome- rania, whose writings had attracted him, for Spald ing, instead of preaching the old Evangelical doctrines, ZURICH 213 held to freedom of thought and emphasized the ethical. He called the Twelve not apostles, but depositories of public morals. But, though he had this rationalistic tendency, there was an undertone of deep faith and piety about him, and Lavater sympathized with his views. He stayed with Spalding for nine months and was much influenced by him. Euler, the Swiss mathematician, then living in Berlin, jocosely asked Lavater, when he after wards came to Berlin, whether it was right for two Reformed ministers (Lavater and Fuessli) to come so far and stay so long with a Lutheran minister, adding the question, "Have you reformed Spalding, or has he made a Lutheran of you?" Both replied, "We are con vinced of the truth of Christianity." On his way home, Lavater stayed at Quendlinburg with Klopstock and re ceived a new impulse to poetry. On September 4, 1763, he wrote his great missionary hymn, "Lord, how many sheep have still no shepherd." He also visited Jerusalem at Brunswick, Gellert and Zollikofer at Leipsic, court- preacher Sack and the philosopher Mendelssohn at Ber lin. He returned to Zurich in March, 1764. For five years he was without a pastorate, but he kept himself busy at literary work and also in preaching for others. During this period he published his "Swiss Songs" (1767), which gave him great fame among his countryment for patriotism. They were often sung up to the French Revolution. He wrote them in fourteen days. In them he describes Tell and the Swiss battles for liberty. Many Swiss would make pilgrimages to Tell's chapel to sing them there. They passed through more editions than any other of his works. On June 3, 1766, he married Anna Schinz. who proved a suitable and pious helpmeet.* From 1768-1773 he published a religious work entitled "Views into Eter- * For her life see my "Famous Women of the Reformed Church." 214 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH nity." They were twenty-four letters addressed to Zim merman, the celebrated author of "Solitude." They were a philosophical attempt to prove immortality, but they were not considered orthodox, and one misses in them his later emphasis on redemption through Christ. Cham berlain Fuessli, of Veltheim, made charges against them because they lowered the authority of the Old Testament — reduced Christ to an ordinary man — and contained the pantheism of Spinoza. Lavater was cited before the consistory, who exonerated him. The book revealed his marked ability and also his early latitudinarian views. Yet it had great influence. There is a touching story told about it that when Lavater visited the blind writer, Pfeffel, at Colmar, in Germany, the blind man asked, "Who are you ?" The answer was, "Lavater of Zurich." "Which Lavater?" asked the blind man, "The assistant who has looked into eternity?" "Yes," was the reply. The blind man greatly rejoiced to meet him and bade him sit down at his side. In 1768 he founded, at the suggestion of Breitinger, the Ascetic Society, which aimed at philanthropic work, as the visitation of prison ers and preparation of criminals for death. It also held meetings for theological discussion, which later became its most prominent feature. It still exists as a section of the Preachers' Society of Switzerland. On April 7, 1769, Lavater was elected assistant at the Orphanage Church at Zurich, at a salary of $64 a year. At this appointment he wrote in his Diary : "I receive from thy hand, O Lord, a little parish in which I shall publicly preach Thy gospel. Give me the freedom to say all that is true, all that is useful to man kind. Let no cowardly complacency induce me to conceal what it is good to make known. May I ever speak as in Thy presence, my God. May I ever feel that I must not become the slave of men." In that year came his attempt to convert the Jewish philosopher, Mendelssohn, to Christianity. He had vis- ZURICH 215 ited Mendelssohn in Germany and greatly honored him. After his return he greatly mourned that this beautiful soul was outside of Christianity. While he was prepar ing his work, "Views into Eternity," he had been reading Bonnet's "Palingenesia," and was so impressed with the second part of it (where Bonnet gives the proofs of Christianity) that it appeared to him that every searcher for truth must be won to Christianity by it. So he trans lated it and dedicated it to Mendelssohn, giving him the alternative of either answering it or accepting Christian ity. But he was indiscreet in making known in it somei private conversations of Mendelssohn with him, in which Mendelssohn had spoken in terms of veneration of the moral character of Jesus. The book raised a storm against him, especially on the part of the Jews. Men delssohn replied calmly and cautiously, complaining in a dignified way of Lavater's imprudence ; but he refused to be drawn into religious controversy, and asked Lava ter not to demand a detailed answer. Lavater with humility confessed his fault. Mendelssohn hastened to render full homage to Lavater's upright intentions. The correspondence is a model of urbanity and frankness. Criticisms on Lavater for this continued even until 1771, when it happened Lavater baptized two Jews of promi nent families. Lichtenberger made use of this to write a satire on Lavater. His parish proved laborious, for in addition to preach ing he had to instruct the orphans and minister to con victs in the penitentiary. He tells the following story in his diary, July 2, 1769: "My wife asked me during dinner what sentiment I had chosen for the day. 'Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow turn not away.' 'Pray, how is this to be understood?' asked she. 'Literally,' I replied. 'We must take the words as if we heard Jesus Christ himself pronounce them. I am the steward, not the proprietor, of my possessions.' 216 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH "Just as I arose from dinner, a widow desired to speak to me. 'You must excuse me, dear sir,' she said. 'I must pay my rent and I am six dollars short. I have been ill a month and could scarcely keep my children from starving. I have laid by every penny, but I am six dollars short and must have them to-day or to-mor row. Pray hear me, dear sir.' Here she presented me a book encased in silver. 'My late husband,' she said, 'gave it to me when we were betrothed. I part with it with great reluctance and know not when I can redeem it. O dear sir, can you not assist me ?' 'My poor woman, indeed I can not.' So saying, I put my hand in my pocket and touched my money. I had about two dollars and a half. 'It won't do,' said I to myself, 'and if it would, I should want it.' 'Have you no friends,' said I, 'who would give you such a trifle?' 'No, not a soul living, and I do not like to go from house to house. I would rather work whole nights. I have been told that you are a good- natured gentleman, and, if you can not assist, you will, I hope, excuse me for having given you so much trouble. I will try in some way to extricate myself. God has never forsaken me, and I hope he will not begin to turn his back on me in my seventy-sixth year.' "The same moment my wife began to enter the room. I was angry, ashamed, and should have been glad if I could have sent her away under some pretext or other, for my conscience whispered to me, 'Give to him that asketh thee.' My wife, too, whispered irresistibly in my ear, 'She is a pious, honest woman. She has certainly been ill. Assist her if you can.' 'I have no more than two dollars,' said I, 'and she wants six. How, therefore, can I answer her demand? I will give her something and send her away.' My wife squeezed my hand ten derly, smiling and beseeching me by her looks. She had then said what my conscience had whispered to me before, 'Give to him that asketh thee,' etc. I smiled and asked her whether she would give her ring in order to enable me to do it. 'With great pleasure,' said she, pulling off her ring. The woman was either too simple to observe this or too modest to take advantage of it. However, when she was going, my wife told her to wait a little in the passage. 'Were you in earnest when you offered your ring?' said I, as soon as we were in private. ZURICH 217 'I am surprised that you ask such a question,' said she. 'Do you think I sport with charity? Remember what you said an hour ago. And do you not know that there are six dollars in your bureau and that it will be a quar ter-day in ten days?' I pressed my wife to my bosom and dropped a tear. 'You are more righteous than I. Keep your ring. You have made me blush.' I then went to the bureau and took the six dollars. When I was going to open the door to call the widow, I was seized with horror, because I had said, 'I can not help you.' 'There,' I said, 'take the money that you want.' She seemed at first to suppose it was only a small contribu tion and kissed my hand. But when she saw the six dollars, her astonishment was so great that for a moment she could not speak. She then said, 'How shall I thank you? I cannot repay you. I have got nothing but this book, and it is old.' 'Keep your book and the money,' said I, 'and thank God, not me. Indeed, I do not deserve it, because I have hesitated so long to assist you. Go and say not one word more.' " In 1770-71 a great famine prevailed, so that many died of hunger. This gave him great opportunities for religious work. Crowds of hungry people passed through the streets, swarming around the houses of the wealthy. Lavater urged his congregation to great charity to the poor, and himself set an example. Large sums of money were given to him to distribute. His house became like an almshouse, where his wife always had a kettle of soup for the poor. Some very interesting illustrations are given of his life. One day the doorbell rang. His wife saw from the window a poor man, who, because of hunger, was scarcely able to stand. She hastened to him, but found he had already fallen to the ground. She helped him to a chair and brought him some warm soup. She hastened to bring him some wine to revive him, but he died as she was ministering to him. On another day he and his wife, while on a walk, found a poor woman sitting on the ground, trying to quiet her babe. The woman told her sad story, saying she had only one request, and that was that God would relieve herself and her child from hunger 218 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH by granting them death, for she had had nothing to eat and could give her child no nourishment. Lavater and his wife at once returned home, taking the woman and child with them. After giving her food, he saw that she was placed on the poor list and received a weekly allowance. I In August, 1773, he had a narrow escape from drown ing. He was visiting his friend, Dr. Holtz, at Richter- __schwvl. on Lake Zurich.. On the day after he started, | as Mrs. Lavater was sitting alone in her husband's room, she suddenly became so overpowered by anxiety as hardly to be able to move. Recovering herself, she went to her father-in-law and told him of her state of mind. He consoled her as well as he could, and she returned to Mr. Lavater's room, fell on her knees, weeping and praying. At this very hour Lavater's life was in the greatest danger. He had left Richterschwyl to visit a friend on the other side of the lake, at Oberreid^. When he went into the little boat to go there, the water was calm. Grad ually a fresh wind arose, and just as they reached the most dangerous point on the lake the wind increased to a storm. The storm grew into a hurricane and the waves rolled higher and higher, every moment threatening to overturn the boat. The boatmen, who had much ex perience and were generally fearless, cried with despair ing voices, "We shall go down! Down with the sails! Away ! she strikes ! We are lost !" The mast of the little boat was entirely shattered by the storm. The boat men exclaimed, "We can do nothing more !" Mr. Lavater was on his knees, praying for deliverance to God. It was at the same time that Mrs. Lavater had her presenti ment and prayed. God heard their prayers and he was saved. Great was her thankfulness when, on his return, he told her of his deliverance. In 1774 his health broke down, and he was supposed to be suffering from consumption. He then, therefore, visited the baths atj^rns, in western Germany^ It was on this trip down the Rhine that he became personally acquainted with Goethe, which resulted in their famous friendship. In 1778 he was made full pastor at the Or- ZURICH 219 phanage Church, and his friend, Pfenninger, became his assistant. But that year he was also called as assistant to the St. Peter's, one of the largest churches of Zurich. He hesitated accepting on account of his ill-health, for he suffered much from cough and vertigo, which troubled him all his life. But he finally accepted it conscientiously as a call of God, and preached his first sermon there July 5, 1778, on 1 Thes. 5 : 25, "Brethren, pray for us." But, in spite of his physical infirmities, his success was phenomenal. The attendance became so great that seats had to be reserved for the members. His sermons were of rare intellectual and spiritual eloquence. (By this time he had become well known not only in Switzerland, but also in other lands, especially in Germany. Perhaps no one of his day except Albert von Haller and Zimmerman was so well known abroad as he. Especially did his friendship for Goethe bring him I into prominence. Goethe greatly admired him, and once, on a visit to Zurich, said of him : "We are happy in and with Mr. Lavater. It is for us all more than medicine to be in the presence of such a man, who lives and works in the household of love." He declared that his inter views with Lavater were the seal and crown of his life, and calls Lavater "the crown of mankind." He speaks of Lavater as "the greatest, wisest, sincerest of the men I know." Because of Lavater's presence there, Zurich became a sort of pilgrimage-place for the learned toward the end of the eighteenth century.) But a change came over Lavater in his public utter ances. He had, as we have seen, belonged to the liberals in theology, indeed, was considered the leader among the younger ministers of that type. In his love for liberty . of thought, he had frequently denounced the orthodox. Once he wrote to Bodmer: "Truly our Zurich people are real Spanish inquisitors, and I do not believe that there were ever such zealots among Reformed Christians '" 220 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH But now came the reaction. It was his native religious ness which had been repressed for many years by the rationalism in which he had been educated which now reasserted itself over his liberal views. It may have come to him gradually, perhaps ever since 1768, when, influenced by Hess, he spent much time in Biblical re search. The change may have been gradual, but his public expression of it came suddenly. It came like a thunder-clap at the May meeting of the Zurich synod in 1779. There he came out boldly against rationalism and for orthodoxy. With sublime eloquence he closed his address: "How far has it come among us that one must fear to testify of Jesus with frankness; that one needs to be ashamed before an assembly of most of the teachers and flock of Christ to issue a warning against wolves in the fatherland, which do not spare the dearly-bought flock, but introduce pernicious sects and deny the Lord that bought them? How far would it have come if, in these days of liberty, he only had to be a slave who feels himself called to liberty through Jesus Christ ? What would be the result if all men would speak and write and read all things against Christ, while that which is favor able to him would find the least acceptance? No; so far it shall not come among us, God willing. Do we all with one mouth witness for Christ, with one heart be lieve in Him, with one strength fight for Him, and with one mind cling to Him?" He then turned to the younger ministers and urged them not to allow any writer, be he ever so renowned, to substitute any other gospel. "Jesus Christ has not only laid down the foundation, He Himself is the founda tion. Do not retreat from this foundation. Noble young men, do not allow yourselves to be cut off from the tree into which you have been ingrafted. All wis dom over against Christ is foolishness, all learning, criti cism and philology which is rightly recommended in our days is not against Christ, but for Him. Only read more than anything else the Holy Scriptures, that it may be your favorite book." He then spoke with mod- ZURICH 221 esty and dignity to the professors. "Your hearts must be full of Christ, your life must present words of power to witness for Christ, to plant Him into the hearts of your scholars with all His wisdom, power and love." He closed with a word of respect to the rationalistic antistes. "You will surely evermore watch that the truth will never be stopped by injustice, that the gospel will never be supplanted by that which is not the gospel, however ex cellent and favored it may be." He added, "You will all, brethren and sons, try to unite us more and more in Christ and never consent that a worshipper of Christ shall be hindered to speak and write of Christ, who is more precious to your heart than anything in this world." Ah ! his native love of liberty was asserting itself. He had learned that there was just as much slavery of thought under rationalism as in orthodoxy and more, and he refused to be bound by it. He claimed the free-, dom to be an Evangelical if he wanted. He claimed for the Evangelicals the right to speak for Christ. What had led him to do this we know not. Probably the native religiousness of his nature reacted against rationalism. The narrowness of rationalism, its lack of faith and of the mystical, failed to satisfy a heart like his. He had also become alarmed by the progress of rationalism. The views of Voltaire, who compared |/ Christianity to "black-bread which at best was good for dogs," had found its way into thousands of hearts. Lavater felt the time had come to call a halt to this tendency. , His soul burned within him at those per nicious influences. He had become alarmed at the progress of deism, and especially at Steinbart's philosoph ical system, which had been published in 1778 These were the reasons that led him to rise up and speak as he did. His address at the synod produced a tremendous sen sation. The antistes Ulrich, who inclined to rationalism but always wanted peace, however, was not able to con tain himself. He answered the fiery words of Lavater 222 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH quite dryly by saying, "These charges do not belong here. The danger is greatly exaggerated. The theologians complained of here are in Germany and not under the control of the synod of Zurich. The Zurich ministers need no such warning." (And yet all the time Breitinger and Bodmer were undermining the Evangelical gospel by their teachings, and he knew it and sympathized with them.) At the first pro-synod afterward, Ulrich referred to Lavater's address somewhat sarcastically, as if he would cut off its influence, by saying that it had been suggested that an inquisition be erected at Zurich to deal with foreign theologians. And in his synodal address he spoke against Lavater, saying, "The apostles did not shut out from their company or their love an errorist who was only theoretical. They surrounded all who honored Christ with brotherly hearts and had patience with those who were weak in the faith." Lavater later defended himself before the synod in a parable: "In a gathering of shepherds, one of them warned against dangerous wolves, but the gathering of shepherds replied, 'The matter does not belong here.' " Thus the lines were being drawn between the rationalists and Lavator. IjL- 1780 Lavater again delivered an address at the synod against Steinbart's system of pure philosophy, which he saw was becoming quite popular among the ministers of the canton. He warned his brethren against its emas culating and undermining effect on the old Apostolic Christianity. But while rationalism had now found in Lavater an opponent, orthodoxy found in him a friend. The old Evangelical doctrines which had been ridiculed, perverted and attacked now found in him a champion. It rejoiced in this fact and prayed that the tide in the canton might be turned against liberalism in theology. Lavater, how ever, for all this, had to suffer much bitter persecution. Nothing is so illiberal as so-called liberalism of thought ZURICH 223 or doctrine. It soon hardens in its own moulds and becomes more inquisitorial than the old orthodoxy. Lavater's universal popularity waned. All Zurich had loved him as the fearless patriot, but now the rationalists turned against him, and they were in control. One can hardly have any idea with what malice Hottinger and others strove to shake Lavater's rising fame. They cir culated anonymous works ridiculing him. They called him pietist and Methodist, hoping thus to scandalize him in the eyes of the people. But their efforts only added to his fame and influence, while their attacks recoiled on themselves. His genius had become too well recognized for them to destroy its influence, and the singular purity of his character made it impossible for them to undermine him. He stood out not only as one of the greatest men of his time, but over against these rationalists as one of the ablest defenders of Evangelical Christianity. This was the more noticeable, as the de fenders of orthodoxy at that time could be counted on the finger of one's hand, Haman, Claudius, Stilling— and Lavater. Tie now began his able defence of Christianity. Be tween 1782 and 1785 he published his "Pontius Pilate, or a Universal Ecce Homo." which is a severe arraignment of rationalism. It produced a great sensation. The reason for his writing it was a remark in a letter of Hainan's to him, "To me an ignorant one, Pontius Pilate, is the wisest author and darkest prophet and the executor of the New Testament." Lavater made Pilate's ques tion, "What is truth?" the basis of his work and the type of prevailing rationalism. He claimed that the doctrines of the New Testament cleared the mind better than the distortions of rationalists. He knew the book would give offence even to some of his dearest friends, and it did, for it cost him the friendship of Goethe. Hottinger, who had been one of his greatest friends, in a book 224 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH written in 1775, scoffed at Lavater's incredulity in regard to prayer. But Lavater did not stop there. He published an other apologetical work (1786), "Nathaniel, or the Di vinity of Christianity." In it he clamed that Christianity could not be proved, but must be felt. It was not so strong a work as "Pilate." This work, however, had great interest attached to it because at first he dedicated it anonymously to his friend Goethe. In it he produces an array of witnesses from the Bible for the divinity of Christ, of whom each had an element of truth in his faith. This act of Lavater's alienated Goethe from him, who called it an excommunicating, intolerable book.. Lavater was sad. And yet it is not to be wondered at. Goethe was not a Christian; Lavater was. To religious earnestness Goethe was an absolute stranger. He could not understand it. Lavater met him afterwards at Weimar, but found him cold, and Goethe afterwards visited Zurich, but passed Lavater by. The prophets of rationalism at Berlin and the supernatural rationalists, J like Spalding, Jerusalem, Zollikofer and others, rose against him. But, to his honor, he was unmoved by their opposition, which only deepened his piety and strength ened him as an apologist. But, though he lost the friendship of unbelievers, he gained tremendous influence among earnest Christians. His correspondence became voluminous. On one occa sion more than 500 letters lay beside him, awaiting an answer. In 1786 Bremen called him to the St. Ansgari Church. He declined the call, but got them several pas tors, as Haseli, and continued in correspondence with them. He also went to Bremen to express his thanks to them for the call, and also to Goettingen to take h». son to the university. Everywhere he was loaded with honors and given great attention. His trip proved a veritable triumphal entry. In the hotels crowds of people ZURICH 225 waited to see him and speak with him. At Bremen a! new ship was named after him, and great crowds fol- 1 lowed him wherever he visited in the city. At Berlin,! where he preached, the streets were filled with people, who could not get into the church. The same year that he declined the call to Bremen, he was called to be the first pastor of the St. Peter's Church at Zurich, and his bosom friend, Pfenninger, was made assistant pastor. In 1793 he went through Germany to visit the Copen hagen Seers, who expected Christ's coming, for Lavater was a pre-millenarian, though he did not exaggerate the importance of that doctrine, as they did. But the light in the north they expected did not materialize. Christ did not come, but the French Revolution came to stir up Europe to a new era. Many prominent persons visited Lavater at Zurich, as the Duke of Wurtemberg, the Margrave of Baden, the Emperor of Russia and the Duke of Kent. In 1794 pul monary trouble again appeared, but he continued his work. Then came the era of his political influence. His "Swiss Songs" had revealed his patriotism, and he now stands forth as the great patriot of Switzerland. At first he sympathized with the French Revolution. But when he saw the awful extreme to which it went, he recognized it as the worst kind of slavery — the slavery of lawlessness. And when he saw that France was try ing to gain control of Switzerland, he opposed all such ' efforts. The Helvetic republic, he felt, was not Swiss, but French, and was utilized by France to plunder Switzerland by collecting the taxes, often at the point of the bayonet. Liberty in such a republic was a tyranny. Swiss who would bow to France, even the lowest villains, were made high officials of the republic. Its capital was placed at Aarau. The Swiss bowed to its yoke, but Lavater did not. He who had before opposed slavery in all forms, whether intellectual or political, opposed it 15 226 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH now. Freedom so filled his soul that he could not keep quiet. Of all the Swiss, he was almost the only one who dared lift his voice against the directory of the Helvetic republic, although Rev. David Muslin, of Bern, was another but less prominent. Lavater was the William Tell of the eighteenth century, the modern Zwingli, for, like Zwingli, he did not consider himself freed by his pastoral office from any of his duties as a citizen. He showed his patriotism by publishing "The Word of a Free Swiss to a Great Nation in the First Year of the Swiss Slavery," May io, 1798. In it he appealed to the French for the liberty of Switzerland: "Great nation, which hast not an equal, render not thy self contemptible to all posterity. Be no longer the scourge of the nations, the tyrant over mankind, the enslaver of the free. Be what thou wouldst be thought to be, the deliverer, the benefactress, the friend and then queen of our hearts." He addressed the publication in his name to Reubel, one of the directors of the Helvetic republic. He pled for the rights of the Swiss. He threatened that if they were not granted he would scatter his work in the various languages throughout Europe and appeal to the world for vindication, so that all might see the injustice of the French. After he had published it, he said to his son-in-law, "I have written to Reubel, and I unhesitatingly told him the entire truth with regard to the odious conduct of his country to ours. I quietly wait the result. I have done my duty. They may perse cute me and even proceed to acts of violence. No matter. I shall not regret what I have done." The rulers at first proposed to stop the circulation of the work. But they did not do so, and one hundred thousand copies were scattered through Switzerland and in other countries of Europe. In April ten of the most respectable and honored citizens of Zurich were arrested and carried away as ZURICH 227 criminals, charged with being traitors to France by cor responding with Austria. On the following Sunday Lavater dared to lift up his voice in protest against this outrage in a sermon on the duties of rulers. ' His text was Romans 13: 1-4, and his topic "Subjection to the Higher Powers." He said : "Can anything be imagined more shameful and de grading to a government, more dishonorable to the names of justice and liberty than that the innocent should be treated like the guilty, the righteous like the wicked? When those who do good must fear because they do good, who will hot shudder, who will not exclaim, 'Ac cursed be that policy which will do evil that good may come of it'?" The sermon produced a profound impression. His wife, deeply affected, said to him on his return from church, "You will be arrested for that sermon." And everyone expected it. The manuscript of the sermon was demanded by the government and the Directory had de cided on his banishment; but it was not carried out, as they feared the people. Still they kept a close watch on him, waiting for an opportunity. The opportunity came. In May, 1799, he went to Baden, near Zurich, for his rheumatism. The night after his departure his house was broken into at mid night and his papers examined. They found a letter from Russia and trumped up a charge that he was hold ing a treasonable correspondence with the Russians. On the second day after his arrival at Baden (May 16), after he had spent a night of excruciating agony from his disease, three municipal officers called and in the name of the Helvetic republic demanded his papers and or dered him to go with them. As the soldiers were hurry ing such a sick man away, his weeping wife swooned. Lavater, praying, commended himself and his dear wife to God. Strange to say, he began feeling better physically — the excitement of the arrest seemed to arouse him. He 228 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH endeavored to make the best of it. Guarded as he was by dragoons and grenadiers, he said, "I have never travelled in such an aristocratic style before. His arrest cause tre mendous excitement. All Zurich was in an uproar. He was taken to Basle for trial. There he easily proved his innocence, so that by June io he was released. After a very uneasy night, because of violent attacks of coughing, the city officer entered his apartment, saying, "I have here brought you something that will cure your cough," and gave him his order for freedom. The next day he started for Zurich, but it was two months before he got there, for the French and Austrian armies were occupying the intervening territory. He got part way, but had to return to Basle. After three weeks, through the shrewdness of a noble lady, who gained permission to visit friends beyond the French lines in the county of Baden, he suc ceeded in escaping by going with her. And on August 16, after three months' absence, he was again in Zurich. The news of his return spread like wild-fire. On the next Sunday he preached to an enormous audience, who crowded his church. He took for his text, "What shall we do?" But new dangers came to Zurich and himself. On September 25-26, 1799, the French fought a battle with the allies near Zurich and captured the city. As the citizens of Zurich were known to sympathize with the enemies of France, they were in great fear, and most of them closed their houses, expecting to be plundered. It was in this occupation of Zurich by the French that Lavater was shot, September 26, 1799. Lavater himself gives the following account of this: "After the French had entered Zurich as conquerors, many of the soldiers rambled in small parties or singly about the town. Two of these came to the door of a house, in which only two females resided, in an open place near the Church of St. Peter, contiguous to the residence of Lavater, and began to cry: 'Wine, wine, ZURICH 229 this a public house," at the same time beating the door with the butt ends of their muskets to burst it open. Lavater looked out of his window and said to them: 'Be quiet and I will bring you wine.' He accordingly brought them some bread, and even offered them money, which, however, they would not accept. Being thus pacified they went away. One of them especially, a grenadier, expressed his gratitude and friendship in the warmest terms. Lavater then returned to his house, where his wife accosted him with : 'What ! has my Daniel come safe out of the lions' den.' He then sent a person to see whether the streets were sufficiently clear for him to go to the house of one of his children to inquire after the safety of the family, which he had been prevented from doing by the number of troops passing through the city. While he stood at his door waiting for the return of his messenger, a little French soldier came up to him and told him in broken German that he had been taken prisoner by the Russians and had no shirt. Lavater answered that he had no shirt to give him, but at the same time took out of his pocket some small money which he offered him. The fellow looked at it con temptuously and said, T must have a whole dollar for a shirt.' Lavater then offered him a few more small pieces, but he still insisted he must have a dollar, and drew his sword to enforce his demand. The other sol diers whom Lavater had helped, and who had parted from him in so friendly a manner, were standing at some little distance, and he called to them for protection against the violence of this man. They came to him, but, to his great surprise, the very man who, two minutes be fore, had refused money when he offered it to him, now joined in the demand of his comrade, and putting his bayonet to Lavater's breast, cried out more fiercely than the other, 'Give us money.' Lavater and some per son who stood near him put aside the bayonet, and another person, at that time a stranger to him, threw his arm round him and drew him back. At the same/ moment the grenadier fired, and the ball passed through the arm of the stranger and wounded Lavater below the breast. He bled profusely, and when his wound was examined, it was found that the ball had entered the right side and passed out at the distance of about four 230 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH inches on the left, a little above the ribs, having ap proached extremely near to parts which, if pierced, would have proved instantly fatal." This shooting of Lavater reminds one of a prophetic sentence he uttered seven teen years before. In 1782, while yet an assistant at St. Peter's, he attended an evening gathering. As he took up the goblet before him, a gentleman remarked, 'This goblet bears the name of Fuessli, a predecessor of yours as assistant in 1684, who was shot by his brother- in-law.' Lavater was silent for a long time, and then said, 'It is strange that this cup should be placed be fore me. I believe that I will die from the effects of a shot.' When his friend asked him what he meant, he replied, 'Always when I sit in my pulpit seat and look toward the end of the church, I imagine I see a man who would like to shoot me.' His wounding caused a great deal of excitement at Zurich. He was carried into a neighbor's house, where the physician spoke hopefully of his case. Although in severest pain, he yet expressed his profoundest sympa thy for the man who shot him. He asked that no one would ask the name of the soldier, as he did not wish him to be punished. He said, "I would rather suffer much than that he should suffer." Very beautiful was his spirit of forgiveness, as he said in his agony, "O, that God would answer my prayer that he may never suffer as I do." Among his verses were found some to the soldier who shot him, praying that he might see him before the throne of God. But the identity of the sol dier was never discovered. By Sunday, September 29, he was strong enough to dictate a letter. But he was never to get well. That wound ultimately proved fatal, though he lingered long. He grew better, and by De cember, he was able to leave his bed. He preached his first sermon on "Let my mouth be filled with praise and with Thine honor all the day." At its conclusion, he said, "Every new pain which my wounds produce shall be to me a call to new life and to new fidelity and ZURICH 231 love in the footsteps of Him whose unutterable love and indescribable pains on the cross so far exceed mine." For six weeks he was able to preach and attend to his pastoral duties. But by the end of January, 1800, his pain came back, together with his cough. He tried the baths at Baden and at Schinznach and, finally, Erlenbach. Here he wrote his last work, which he entitled his "Swan-Song, ^/ or Last Thoughts of a Departing Soul on Jesus of Naza reth," but Providence did not permit him to finish it. In September he returned to Zurich. On September 14, the time for the fall communion, he had himself car ried to his beloved church to partake of the elements of his Saviour's love for the last time. At the close of the services his assistant conducted him before the con gregation, and he spoke a few words to them on the text, "With desire have I desired to eat this passover withL=- you before I suffer." This proved to be his farewell/ address. He appeared to his people like John of old, as if leaning on the Master's bosom. At his words his congregation melted into tears. From that hour he became weaker. His pain would often cause him to moan, and his cough racked him to pieces. Still, he would not be unemployed, but util ized every moment, either in reading his Bible or in dic tating to his amanuensis. He composed a prayer-book for sufferers. He continued gradually improving until New Year of 1801. Just before New Year he was able to dictate a New Year's wish to his congregation. As the New Year came in he heard some one singing out side, "The year is begun and who will see it close." He said, "Pray, pray, pray." These were his last words, for he became unable to say more, and, on January 2, 1801, he passed to his reward, after a year and a quarter 232 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of suffering, much of it in excruciating pains. Thus died a religious genius of the first rank. When Goethe called him the Prophet or Apostle of Zurich, he spoke the truth. He was the greatest and most brilliant man who had appeared there at least for a century and a half. Lavater was great in many ways. But his great ness was not noted at Zurich during his lifetime. It was not until Hegner published his correspondence with fa mous persons, about a quarter of a century later, that Zurich really woke up to know what a genius she had produced. He had been held by many in Zurich as a fanatic. And while we defend him against the ration alists on this charge, yet he had certain eccentricities that laid him somewhat open to criticism. He was a. pre-roillenarian when that" docij^ was looked upon with suspicion. He believed in ^ffllh-healing and won der-working. He was criticised for his investigations into magic and physiognomy, and was inclined to believe in inspirationism or the seeing of visions. But, in spite of all this, his was a great mind. His brilliant phantasy, as Professor Yi3n-^dmlth£asjJB^hberg_ said to the writer, is quite the opposite'oT the plain, simple Swiss ; and it is strange that Zurich should have produced such a type of genius. He was great as a poet — a born poet — a master of unsurpassed poetry. His "Swiss Hymns" made him fa mous. He also wrote other poems. In imitation of Klopstock, he wrote a "Messiade," a paraphrase of Reve lations (1783-86), and another poem on the Gospels and Acts, paraphrased in epic verse, which reminds one of Herder. He labored long at a philosophical poem on eternal life. But, perhaps, he realized that poetry and philosophy could not be united (for philosophy, with its ZURICH 233 depth and delicate shadings, needs the freedom of prose composition, while poetry, on the other hand, needs to rise to flights of imagination which philosophy would chill) ; so, instead, he published his "Views Into Eter nity." He wrote many hymns, 700 of them, for he was a singer of divine love. "Poetry," he once wrote to Felix Hess, "is to me nothing but feeling after God. . He is my poet-art. Lange, one of the most competent of German hymn critics, says of his hymns: "They have the mark of rhetorical diction, but the spiritual orator often disturbs the poet." Perhaps his finest hymn is his sanctification hymn, which has been translated into English : O Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me, And all things else recede; My heart be daiMnearer Thee, From sin be dinr' freed. daiMnej be J^i iess*still « Each day let 1 b^%upporting might My weakness*still embrace, My darkness vanish in Thy light, Thy life my death efface. In Thy light-beams, which on me fall, Fade every evil thought, That I am nothing, Thou art all, I would be daily taught. Make this poor self grow less and less, Be Thou my life and aim; O, make me daily through Thy grace More worthy of Thy name. Let faith in Thee and in Thy might My every motion move. Be Thou alone my soul's delight, My passion and my love. Lavater was also prominent as a physiognomist — vir tually its founder — for he was the first to reduce its vagaries to a system and elevate it to a science. What- 234 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ever may be the judgment of to-day as to this science, certain it is that Lavater had a wonderful insight into character as revealed in the face. Several remarkable stories are told of his recognition of eminent persons by their physiognomy. He published four large volumes, "Physiognomic Fragments," 1775-78. These were crowded with innumerable portraits and silhouettes of celebrated persons. It was a wonderful collection, on which he spent his income and his life, hoping it would be a great contribution to the welfare of mankind. As these volumes appeared, Goethe, Herder, Wieland and Jacobi went into raptures over them. But it is as a Christian that Lavater measures up. He was a great pulpit orator. His face in itself was at once sufficient to attract attention. Stilling once said, "La vater's evangelist-John face rent all hearts in awe and love." There was a peculiar subtle charm in his look. His poetic nature made his sermons very beautiful with bright flights of fancy, and his face and eye held his hearers spell-bound. But he laid no stress on his ora tory, for he wanted to be a witness for God rather than a mere orator. The most popular of his printed ser mons were those on Jonah and Philemon, but although they are suggestive in thought and full of unction, the printed page fails to give the peculiar power of his per sonality. He was also an unwearied pastor, caring con scientiously for the spiritual interests of his people. Thus, on a damp, foggy night, in 1785, he spent the whole night in searching for a sick man, who had es caped from his home. As the great men, as Goethe and Herder, withdrew themselves from him, he comforted himself the more in the care of his Christian people. But back of the preacher and the pastor was the unique personality of the man. Goethe called him "an individual, the like of which one has not yet seen, and will not see again." When Hottinger so bitterly at- ZURICH 235 tacked him, Bodmer remarked that if any one sought to gain such influence as Lavater, he must be as unblam able as he. Haym, in his life of Herder, says that "Herder felt himself lower than Lavater on one point, the inner purity of childlike faith, the knowledge and devotion to God." One of his most important works was his "Diary," which reveals the great spirituality of the man. From his earliest youth he had been accus tomed to make the closest self-examination. These he wrote in his "Diary" without ever a thought that they would be published. But, through a friend, it fell into the hands of ZoUikofer, of Leipsic, who published it anonymously, without Lavater's knowledge. When La vater found that it had attained so large a circulation and had proved so helpful to Christians, he allowed a second volume to be published. Doctrinally he was Evangelical, but not after the type of the older Calvinistic orthodoxy. He was too free a mind to be bound by any one else's system of theology. He said, "I do not believe as Calvin or Athanasius, be cause I see no ground to hold these men for divine authority." For his strong Evangelical views, he was called by his enemies a pietist. But he never was a pietist in the narrow sense as was Yung-Stilling. And yet while he was Evangelical in his views, there was a freedom about them. Freedom had always been his ideal, freedom of thought, of speech and of action. But he thought the highest freedom was in the Bible. He never, however, got over his rationalistic training, which had prejudiced him against the old statements of ortho doxy and its metaphysical distinctions. Thus he never used the theological terms of the trinity or the divinity of Christ. But though he never used them, he fully believed what was meant by them. He said, "Christ is our Lord and God." His Christology was that "Christ was all in all," — that "God without Him is to us nothing 236 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and in him the Father entire is given to us." He wanted a Pauline or Johannean Christ rather than an Athan- asian. The divinity of Christ was to him not a specula tive doctrine, but a matter of the heart. "I have myself experienced that this Jesus is the Saviour of the world and my Saviour, for as a man I have spoken to Him and as a God and man He answered me." In his emphasis on experience as the source of theology he was the fore runner of Schleiermacher. But he was not a theologian, — his bent of mind was different from that. He was not logical in his system, — he was one of those brilliant geniuses who shoot off in all directions and so though Evangelical at heart, yet often use expressions far from it. Doctrinally his cen ter was Christ, but a cosmical as well as a spiritual Christ. His emphasis was on Christ's life to us rather than his death for us. To him religion was more a life than a doctrine. He emphasized the vital and mys tical in piety. Section 5 antistes john jacob hess (1795-1828) Never since the Thirty Years' War (1648) was Switzerland so critically situated as during the French occupation, at the end of the eighteenth century. For tunately as a Breitinger had been raised up to guide the church through its troublous times of the Thirty Years' War, a Hess is now raised up. For a century and a half Zurich had had no antistes of the first rank. Hess brought it back to the splendid lustre of the days of Zwingli and Bullinger. And his election was also sig nificant of another thing. It signalized the return of the canton from rationalism to orthodoxy. When Ul rich died, rationalism had no candidate of sufficient ability and influence to propose. Rationalism had run ZURICH 237 to seed as it always does. There were only two men, whose ability and fame made them conspicuous for the election, Lavater and Hess, and they were both Evan gelical. Each had been the life-long friend of the other. Both were nominated. But when Hess was elected, Lavater was the first to congratulate him, and wish God's blessing on his work. It was probably best for Zurich that the election turned out as it did. Lavater was with out doubt the greater genius, but too fiery to have guided Zurich through the difficult period of the French Revo lution. Hess, though not a genius, was yet a fine scholar and excellent executive and was possessed of remarkable prudence. And if Lavater was a genius, Hess was a genius of common sense. Besides Lavater's death, had he been antistes, would have left the church without a head, just at its most critical time. It was also best for Lavater as well as for Zurich that he did not become antistes, for the executive duties of the position of an tistes would have interfered with the freedom of Lava ter's splendid pulpit and literary activities. Hess was born October 21, 1741. As his mother died when he was quite young, he was given to an uncle near Zurich, to rear. His boyhood gave little promise of future greatness. Nor did any remarkable religious tendencies reveal themselves as in Lavater's early life. An anecdote, quite the opposite of those of Lavater's boyhood, is related of Hess, — that while visit ing a country pastor, he fell asleep in the church. He did not waken till the service was over and all had gone out of church and it had been locked. Greatly frightened, he finally got out at a side-door, which had been by chance left unlocked. But this event effectually cured him of ever again sleeping in church. He attended the schools at Zurich, and his uncle, who was an Evangelical pastor, was deeply anxious lest he be led astray by the rationalism of his teachers, 238 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Bodmer and Breitinger. At the close of his studies (1760) most fortunately for himself he became his uncle's assistant for seven years. There he learned more than if he had gone abroad to study. It was this uncle who had guided him in study who now awakened him to Evangelical seriousness. Several things occurred there to develop his serious nature. An event occurred that deeply solemnized him. A boy, whom he met along the road, tried to persuade him to get on his horse with him and take the shortest way across the river Toess. He refused, and took the longer way around, over the bridge on foot. What was his surprise and horror to see both rider and horse drowned before his eyes. He trembled as he thought how near to death he had been. Another influence was a visit of Klopstock to his uncle. Klopstock read part of his "Messiah," which made a deep impression on him. He then wrote an ode on the death of Moses, in 1768, but he never rose in poetry to the height of Lavater. These events led him more and more from the superficial rationalism of his teachers at Zur ich to the deeper experiences of a religious life. Now occurs the crisis of his life,— he was led to begin to write a book that made him famous, for as time went on it grew into a masterpiece, the life of Jesus. It seems that his uncle had the habit of speak ing at the week-day service on the Gospel history, simply, but earnestly, — a habit very uncommon in those ration alistic days. This not merely interested the people but it also impressed his nephew. Sometimes the appear ance of a new book rouses a genius, — it did so in his case. Middleton's "Life of Cicero" fell into his hands and greatly interested him, as he was fond of the classics. While reading it, the thought flashed on his mind — why should there not be a life of Christ as fine as that of Cicero, as scholarly and popular? It was a holy inspira tion, and in 1762 he began it. Fortunately, his duties ZURICH 239 as vicar were light and he had ample time for study and literary work. He had been a good classical scholar and now proposed to apply the methods of the classics to the study of Christ's life. But he began at the end of Christ's life, not at its beginning. The first volume ap peared in November, 1767, and covered the last part of Christ's life. Later he gave up his position as vicar, so that he might devote his entire time to this work. He continued working on it until the sixth volume appeared in 1773 and completed the work. It at once acquired a large circulation and was translated into other languages, as Dutch and Danish. Even Catholics treasured it. Many years after, when he was in his eighty-second year, he remarked to a friend, "I have really written only one book, the life of Christ. All my other writings were only preparatory to it or results of it." After leaving the vicariate, he had to wait ten years for a charge, for candidates for the ministry were many and places were few. But, though he had long to wait, he waited well. He transferred his literary work to the Old Testament, and wrote a "History of the Israelites," which gradually grew until it filled twelve volumes. Count Stolberg truly wrote to him, "Your leisure brings more fruit for eternity than the labors of an appoint ment." Finally, in 1777, he was made assistant of the Fraumunster Church, at Zurich. This too was a light position and gave him time to continue his work on the Bible. When Antistes Ulrich died, in 1795, he was, contrary to his wishes, elected antistes, for he did not want to give up his studies for the practical duties of the antistesship. But, though mainly a student before, he now began to reveal great practical ability. He became antistes at a very critical moment. The revolutionary spirit from France had come into Switzer land and had lifted itself up against the church. The church laws were changed, indeed changed several times, 240 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH during this period, and more in the interest of the state than of the church.* The consistories, to which the Zurich people gave the name of "stillstand" (because they stand still until the congregation have all left the church and then close up the church properly), were almost all set aside, except in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur, and the secular authorities took entire charge of the congregations. The financial problems were also very serious. In 1797 and 1799 many of the clergy re ceived no salaries, and yet had to endure quarterings of soldiers upon them, which are always expensive. No wonder the ministers often preached bitterly against the oppressors of the Helvetic republic. This often caused trouble, for when a minister lost the favor of the gov ernment, he was dismissed. In all this Hess retained his wise balance of judgment and counseled patience and quietness. And yet he was not a time-server and syco phant to the masters of Switzerland, but bravely stood up for the rights of the church. _ At one time the gov ernment had decided on his deportation, but it was never carried out. During this period, to comfort the people, he published three volumes of sermons, entitled, "The Christian in the Danger of his Fatherland." They were bold and candid, yet so circumspect that not a word in them could be attacked by his enemies. Three times (1798- 1 801) he issued a pastoral letter to the congrega tions, full of wise counsel and encouragement. Zurich was twice bombarded, once in 1799, when Lavater was wounded, and again in 1802. During the latter, Hess revealed his remarkable self-poise. During the bombardment he quietly wrote his sermon for the following Sunday just as if nothing serious were taking place._ How different from Lavater, who, in the time of danger, was busy going about. Lavater was the Peter, * For a description of these changes see Finsler's "Die Zurcher Kirche zur Zeit der Helvetischen Republik." ZURICH 241 Hess, the John, of the Lord's disciples of that day. Lavater found no rest except in going hither and thither until his fatal wound. Hess, on the other hand, quietly remained at home, in religious contemplation and work, — a second John, leaning on the bosom of his Lord. Yet both were great men, each strong in his own sphere. After the fall of the Helvetic directory he prepared a memorial to the state, which was also signed by the antistes of the churches of Basle and St. Gall, and the dekans of Bern, Schaffhausen and Vaud, which took up the rights of the church. At that time there were two IS political parties in Switzerland, the federalistsr who em phasized the rights of each state or canton, and the cen tralists or political unitarians, who emphasized the central power rather than that of the individual states. Most of the ministers hoped for more from the former party than from the latter and this made the latter party cool toward the church and the ministry. In 1803, Napoleon stepped in with the mediation government. This re sulted in a reconstruction of the church-laws, in which Hess revealed remarkable ability. Hess hoped then that there would come about a national Swiss church in which all the cantonal churches would be combined. But nothing came out of it. While busy with these difficult political problems, he did not forget the internal administration of the church. He emphasized the religious instruction of the youth. His parsonage became the rallying-place for all aggressive evangelical movement. A Bible student him-j self, he helped organize a Bible society at Zurich, in I 1800, four years before the British and Foreign Bible! Society was organized in London. He was made presi-' dent (1777-1795) of the Ascetic Society, an association of ministers, founded in 1768. In 1819 a missionary society was organized. A beautiful Alpine-glow was given by providence to 16 242 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Hess in his old age. The centenary of the Reformation came around at Zurich on January I, 1819. Though al most eighty years of age, he yet found himself strong enough to participate in the exercises. He opened the first evening of this festival, on December 31, 1818, by a Latin address, and on the following day he delivered the principal sermon, with unusual power, so that it seemed as if this occasion made him young again. In his sermon he bore strong witness for the old Evangeli cal faith. In it he appeared a "Zwinglius redivivus" (a Zwingli resurrected). Over against the claim of the ra tionalists, who made Zwingli only a humanist, he proved from the works of Zwingli and Pellican that the religious element was the most prominent and that Zwingli was Evangelical. He spoke very decidedly against the in fidelity that had come in through Spinoza and Bahrdt and urged all to remain in the old faith of their fathers. In connection with this religious anniversary his services to theological science were recognized by three foreign uni versities, Tuebingen, Jena and Copenhagen, who gave him the degree of doctor of divinity. But this Reformation festival was destined to be his last great public function. A few days later he became sick and never again entered the pulpit, though he lived nine years longer. Though bodily infirmities increased, he utilized his time in rewriting his "Life of Christ" and his "History of the Apostles." In July, 1820, he made his last public appearance at a meeting of the Bible society, in the cathedral, where he presented the young people with Bibles. Then he fell asleep in Christ, May 20, 1828. Hess was a strong preacher, though he did not have Lavater's pulpit ability. His sermons were Scriptural, largely practical and less poetical than Lavater. Lavater was rhetorical, Hess was simple, but full of the warmth of the Gospel. He exceeded Lavater in the range of his Bible knowledge. He was through and through a Bible- ZURICH 243 man. His standpoint was that the Bible was history and he endeavored to make it a living history. He lived in the Bible and made the Bible live in his books. His total works on the Bible number twenty-three volumes. He published some other minor works, but it was his Bible histories that made him famous. Section 6 john henry pestalozzi Pestalozzi hardly belongs to a church history as he was the great educator of Switzerland. Nevertheless, his religious views and the effect of his pedagogy must be reckoned with in the history of the church. We have space here only to briefly sketch his life. / He was born at Zurich, January 12, 1746. Father- <¦ less and awkward, so that he was nicknamed by his com- * panions, "Wonderful Henry from Fooltown," he felt as a boy the insufficiency of his educational advantages. This lack gave him an insight into the great faults of the education of his day, and it became his great ideal to give to other boys and girls what he did not have, — a thorough and suitable education. He at first studied for the ministry, but not succeeding in his first attempts, he turned to law. Then Rosseau's "Emile" came into his hands, and fired him with enthusiasm for education so that he gave up law. He started a rnadder^plantation at Neuhof, which failed, and so he opened a school there (1775) for poor children. For in those days only the rich were sent to school and not many of them. His school failed by 1780, and poorer than ever he turned to literature and wrote his famous novel, "Leonhard and Gretchen" ("1781). which gave him fame and proved to be the most popular book he ever wrote, — a popular novel on the new views of education. In 1782 he published another novel, "Christopher and ElseJ' which, however, 244 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH proved less popular, though the Agricultural Society of Bern gave him a gold medal for it. By and by he got an opportunity to try his new ideas about education In 1798 the French army had massacred at Stans, am Pestalozzi was sent by the Swiss government to take charge of a number of the orphans there. With these ig norant, dirty children he worked wonders in a few months. But the institution was soon closed. Then he went to Burgdorf, in Canton Bern. He there published his prin ciples of education as now revised and developed in a new book, "How Gertrude Taught Her Children." Here his methods of teaching began to attract attention and some of his pupils became prominent. The Helvetic republic appointed a commission to examine his system, and it approved of his principles. But the Bern gov ernment having required him to give up the castle in which he taught, he went to Yverdon and opened a school (1805). Here he again tried his methods, but owing to financial difficulties, the school ultimately became a failure. The truth was that he was more of a teacher than a financier. But though he had to give up his school, his method had by this time made him famous. His school had been visited by prominent persons from all over Europe. In 1825 he retired to his grandson, at Neuhof, in Aargau. There he died February 17, 1827. His principles revolutionized education Tt is not too much to say that he made universal education possible. Prussia was one of the first governments to adopt his principles and make education compulsory in her land, with the result that she is now at the head of Germany.* * What a contrast this act of Prussia to that of France. Pestalozzi went at one period of his career to Paris, and a friend endeavored to present him to Napoleon the Great. Napoleon declined. "I have no time for A B C," he said. When Pestalozzi returned to his home, his friends asked him, "Did you not see Napoleon the Great?" "No, I did not see Napoleon the Great, John Henry Pestalozzi (the Father of Universal Education) and his Protege ZURICH 245 But we have not time to speak of his educational principles. It is his religious views and influence in which we are interested here. This is a somewhat diffi cult subject about which there have been conflicting views. Some have held that he was a rationalist, the J product of Rosseau in education, and of Kant in phil-j osophy. There is no doubt that he had in him elements from both of these men, but that they made a rationalist out of him is the question. The statement that he was a rationalist is based on several facts. One is a letter he wrote to the Prussian State Councilor, October 1, 1773, at the age of 27, in which he confesses that he had passed through great struggles, which had chilled his piety without separating him for religion. There he declares himself to be un believing, but not because he holds unbelief to be truth, but because the sum of his life's impressions showed the blessing of faith in many ways out of his inner feeling. "I believe," he says, "that the Christian is the salt of the earth ; but high as I believe it, I also believe that gold and stone and sand have worth independent of salt." Another argument for his rationalism is based on his^, denial ni total depravity. He held there was something good in each child that needed to be awakened and de veloped and that not all was evil. It was to this good principle in the child that he proposed to appeal in his education. This was different from the old Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity. But Pestalozzi's positionjs virtually accepted to-day even by liberal Calvinists., There is something good in each child. If there were not neither education, morals nor religion could appeal to him. Many Calvinists have granted the position that there is an element of good in every man, but there is and Napoleon the Great did not see me." Napoleon the Great lived to see the empire which he had founded on soldiers crumble to pieces because he had had no time to attend to A B C. 246 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH not enough of it to save him. Another reason why he has been considered a ra tionalist was because he attacked the pedagogical method of the Heidelberg Catechism then in use in Bern and Aargau. He objected to it because it ran contrary to some of his pedagogical ideas. He claimed that every thing must be drawn out of the child (education), but opposed anything being put into the child (instruction). He especially objected to dogmatic statements (such as were found in the Heidelberg or in any other catechism of his day), being forced on the child for acceptance and committal. The child, he claimed, must develop these things out of its own consciousness. Whether his views on this point are correct or not is not for us to say, but we believe educators now would consider him as having gone too far in this matter, — education is both educa tion and instruction, a drawing out and a putting into the mind of the child. His denial of the Heidelberg Cate chism, however, would not necessarily mean rationalism, but only a denial of its method of presenting religious truths to the child. Another argument against Pestalozzi's religiousness is the testimony of one of his biographers, who was one of his teachers, Niederer, who declared that Pestalozzi did not stand on the Christian standpoint. On the other hand, when one reads much in Pesta lozzi, one is impressed with his religiousness and with his simple faith in God. The question about his relig ious position may be divided into two parts. 1. His relation to the church. 2. His personal religion. As to the first, it is to be remembered that he lived in a day when the conflict was beginning between aristo crats and democrats, which was destined to revolution ize Switzerland, later, about 1830. The aristocracies, especially in the cities, were holding down the poor. But Pestalozzi wanted every one, even the poorest child, to ZURICH 247 have the best opportunity. In this controversy, most of the ministry sided with the aristocrats, especially as many of them were born from that party. This natur ally would cause Pestalozzi's ardor to cool to the church, for he was democratic. But when we come to Pestalozzi himself, the ques tion becomes different. First, as to his method. A very startling fact is brought out by contrasting Rosseau with him. He was Rosseau's pupil in his ideas of education, only he carried them to more legitimate ends. Rosseau did not want a child to hear of religion till the age of discretion. How different Pestalozzi from this. He wanted the child to have religious training, only it must not be dogmatic. This is brought out in several of his books. He there broke directly with his predecessor Rosseau. Then too, when one comparies Pestalozzi's belief with the creed of the "Vicar Of Savoy," by Rosseau, the difference becomes as great as day and night. The highest Ros seau gets is a merely intellectual appreciation of Christ. But that is far lower than Pestalozzi, whose faith comes out of his heart. Perhaps we can state the matter in this way. To a confessionalist or a severely orthodox member of the church, Pestalozzi was heterodox and a rationalist. He was too free to be bound by any creed. But, compared with Rosseau, he was a Christian, — a believer in Christian realities. His methods may have made him seem more rationalistic than he really was, but we do not know that his educational system has ever injured religion or its influence. As Hadorn says: "He was too humble, too believing, to be a rationalist." He believed in the religious training of children and never aimed to destroy a child's faith in God or in Christ or to pass it by. It is true that when he was young he de clared to the Russian councilor that he was unbelieving, for his faith had been shaken by Rosseau; but at his son's birth his religious sentiment revived. When the 248 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH revivals began, he looked on them at first with joy as a return to primitive Christian simplicity. But when he found that they were preaching what seemed to him a narrow theology that hardly left any place for free will and refused to recognize in the child any element of good, he gave up his opinion. And yet he recognized the existence of evil in the soul, for it is the obvious teach ing of some of his fables. Jayet says there was no lack of piety in Pestalozzi, though certain points of Christi anity were not clear, for faith and love were words that were constantly recurring in his religious discourses. In his later life his religiousness especially shows itself. He revealed great power in prayer. On Christmas Day, 181 1, he says, "My children, we want you to share with us the joy of knowing that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, came down from heaven and became a man among us. Listen to the words of the angel, 'Behold I tell you good tidings of great joy,' etc. Keep these words carefully in your hearts." When the institution at Yverdon was on the point of dissolution, he with his characteristic con scientiousness, reproached himself for not having given a more solid religious character to his work. On his death-bed he cried, "I am soon going to read in the book of truth, knowing full well that man is not permitted to understand everything here below." He then added, "I am going to eternal peace." Such expressions are not those of an infidel or rationalist. CHAPTER II Basle Section i proe. john jacob wettstein The Basle Church, unlike the Zurich Church, resisted the tide of rationalism in the eighteenth century and remained Evangelical. There was, however, one promi nent exception, Prof. Tohn Jacob Wettstein,, a descendant of the prominent statesman at the end of the Thirty Years' War, of whom we have spoken and also a nephew of Prof. J. R. Wettstein, who refused to sign the Helvetic Consensus. He was born at Basle, March 5, 1693, and studied there. Though a pupil of Buxdorf, the younger, he was his opposite in his inclination to the critical. At his examination as a candidate of theology (1713) he took for his subject, "The Variations of the New Testa ment," in which, however, he showed that the variety of the readings had not invalidated the divinity of the book. For through the kindness of his uncle, Prof. J. R. Wett stein, he had been given access to the manuscripts of the New Testament, in the Basle library. Then he traveled abroad, to Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Lyons and Paris. He went to England (1715), where Bentley, the great scholar, gave him the use of his library. He there examined the Alexandrine Codex on 1 Timothy 3 : 16, whether the read ing was "theos," God, or "os," he. The orthodox held to the former, because it was one of the proof- texts of the trinity. On examining it, he found that if the manuscript were laid flat on a table nothing but "os" 249 250 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH could be seen, and when he used a magnifying glass, it gave "os." But if it were held up perpendicularly, there would appear a stroke that made it "theos." He found, on examination, that this stroke belonged not to the word "os," but was the first letter of the word on the opposite side of the page. Wettstein's opinion is now generally supported by critics, but it led him to be suspected of heterodoxy by his own age. Neither does the use of "os" invalidate the doctrine of the trinity, for there are other proof-texts to support it. Bentley was so pleased with him that he gave him fifty guineas to go to Paris to study the Codex Ephraim. Then he became (1716) chaplain of a Swiss regiment, in the English army, which was ordered to Holland. In 17 17 he returned to Basle as assistant pastor. There, two years later, he again be gan his critical studies and then made up his mind to publish a critical edition of the New Testament. He be came private-docent at the university there, and by his scholarship gained a great influence over the students. He would lecture to them on New Testament exegesis and also dogmatics, according to Osterwald's theology, which was not considered orthodox by the Calvinists there. His critical researches began to awaken suspicion and his growing popularity started the jealousy of some of the professors. Matters finally came to a crisis. Toward the end of 1728 it happened that Professor Frey, a follower of Buxdorf, and Wettstein were together in the library where the latter was at work. Grynaeus, a student, was present. Frey asked Wettstein whether he believed that such efforts as his at criticism would re dound to the glory of God. He replied, "Yes." Frey, to prove the utter unreliability of criticism, said that Mill, the critic, placed the Basle Codex early, and Wett stein placed it later. Such things only produce confu sion. Wettstein replied that the decision lay in the well- known rules of textual criticism. Then they got into a BASLE 251 discussion as to the form of the circumflex used in the Basle Codex. Wettstein declared it was round in form. Frey, that it was right-angled. They took down the Codex with Grynaeus as judge. It was found that Wett stein was right, and Frey went away angry. On September 9, 1728, the Basle Council ordered an investigation, as he was charged with Socinianism. But he made such an able reply that he was cleared. Then he turned on his opponents, Professors Frey and Iselin, and charged them with Sabellianism. His preaching now be gan to reflect his newer views. He criticised the Lu theran Bible, which was used at Basle, as not always true to the original. This caused offence. He also, in preach ing, used a faulty figure of speech in comparing the rela tion of the Father and the Son to that of a minister and his assistant, which would make the son subordinate. Other charges were made against him, some of them not true. But it was evident that he was getting more and more into the critical mind and farther away, not only from Calvinistic orthodoxy, but dangerously away from all orthodoxy. The critical mind was driving out the dogmatical. Still he declared he held to the Basle Confession. Complaint was made at the Evangelical Diet, July, 1729, against him that he intended to publish a new edi tion of the New Testament that inclined to Socinianism. In October, 1729, the Basle authorities ordered his room to be searched for the manuscript, but they found nothing. By February he gave them part of it — up to Matthew 2 : 12. On May 13, 1730, the council, in spite of the pro test of his congregation, dismissed him from office Viewed from the standpoint of to-day, the trial was, in many ways, unworthy of so great a man in what is now granted by criticism, yet he laid himself open by care less actions to charges against his orthodoxy. He left Basle for Amsterdam. There a new field was 252 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH opening for him in 1731. Professor Clericus, of the Re monstrant or Arminian Theological Seminary there, was retired, and Wettstein was offered his place, but on con dition that he would clear himself of the charge of heresy. So he went back to Basle (1731) to get a clear dismissal. There he defended himself before both councils, and was readmitted to its ministry, March 22, 1732. By this time the pastors had withdrawn their opposition, and only Professors Frey and Iselin were his enemies. He wanted to be made professor of Hebrew, but the continued op position of Frey and Iselin made it impossible. The council also recalled the permission to preach given in 1732. So he left Basle, went to Amsterdam, and, in 1736, was elected the successor of Le Clerc or Clericus. In 1744, as most of his old enemies had died and the op>- position to him passed away, Basle elected him professor of Greek. But the Remonstrants in Holland had been so kind to him that he declined it and remained with them. In 1745, when he revisited Basle to see his aged mother, he was received with honor even by some of the professors of theology. In 1746 he visited England and, notwithstanding the suspicions against his orthodoxy, he was received with great honor. He was made a mem ber of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Berlin Academy of Sciences. His critical "New Testament" appeared 1749-52. He died May 9, 1754, at Amsterdam. Section 2 prof. leonard euler Basle became famous in the eighteenth century for its scientists in Euler and the Bernoullis. He was born April 15, 1707, at Basle, but the next year his father moved to the village of Riehen. The boy is father of the man, and the scientist early appeared in him. One BASLE 253 day the little boy was missed for a long time and finally found in a chicken stable, sitting on a great lot of eggs that he had collected. When asked what he was doing, he answered that he wanted to hatch the eggs so as to see the chickens come out. He was educated for the ministry at Basle. But he had such an incredible mem ory that in addition to his theological studies he attended the mathematical lectures of Prof. John Bernoulli The latter's influence made mathematics seize hold of him, so that he gave up the ministry and became a great genius in mathematics. For he was born just at the beginning of a new era in science. Not long before his birth, Newton, in 1687, had written his "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy." These new ideas Leibnitz reduced to mathematical form. Then came Jacob and John Ber noulli working on them. The latter introduced Euler to the new methods. At the early age of seventeen, he received the master's degree, where he gained great applause by his address on "A Comparison of the New tonian and Cartesian Philosophies." At nineteen he re ceived the second prize of the Paris Academy for the best work on the mastery of ships, — the more remarkable because he had never seen a ship, and lived a great way off from the sea. In all he received during his lifetime twelve prizes from the Paris Academy. In 1727 he was a candidate for the professorship of physics, at Basle, but failed, and so Basle lost him. He was called to St. Petersburg as professor of physics. There is a story told of him that in 1735 the academy there required an astronomical calculation to be quickly made. The other mathematicians wanted some months to make it. Euler shut himself up in a room and completed it in three days. But the mental strain was so great as to throw him into a fever from which he lost the sight of one eye. In 1741 he was called to Berlin by Frederick the Great, / 254 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH where he taught mathematics for twenty-five years. 'When asked why he left St. Petersburg, he replied: "I go out of a land where a man is hung if he talks." For he was a free Swiss, and though away from Switzerland most of his life, he never gave up his Swiss citizenship. In 1748 Basle wanted to get him back to take Prof. John Bernoulli's place, but he would not come. With Vol taire he was the most prominent representative of the academy at Berlin. In 1766 he returned as professor to St. Petersburg. In 1771 his house was burned, to gether with many of his manuscripts and he, now blind, was saved by a friend from being burned to death. He had one of the most wonderful memories known to man. He knew the iEneid by heart. When seventy-five years of age he one night reckoned the first six potences of the first twenty numbers and recited them forward and backward for some days. His activity went in all di rections, publishing works on mathematics, gunnery, windmills, ethics and music. His greatest discovery was the lunar motions. Just before his death, he did some work on Uranus, the newly discovered planet, by Her- schel. Suddenly, September t8, 1783, he fell over dead. A block of Finnish granite, a fine type of his rugged, yet firm character, marks his grave at St. Petersburg. He was one of the greatest scientists of the world. If the Reformed Church had her great scientist in the sev enteenth century in Kepler, in the eighteenth century she had her great scientists in Euler and the Bernoullis. But it is of Euler, not as a scientist, but as an apolo gist, that we wish especially to speak. In a day when rationalism seemed to have the field, his defence of re ligion is the more noteworthy. If Voltaire was the great infidel of the court of Frederick the Great, Euler was the Christian there. As long as he possessed his sight he was accustomed to assemble his family for wor ship each evening. In 1747 he wrote his "Defence of BASLE 255 Revelation," against of the "Objections of the Free Thinkers." It came at a critical time, when Voltaire was in control of Prussia. He started by saying that the perfection of the intellect is the knowledge of truth, and especially the truth of God and His works. From the revelation thus gained, man is able to know his duty and to find his highest enjoyment in God. He then argues in favor of a divine revelation, defends miracles, especially the miracle of Christ's resurrection. He makes use of his favorite science of geometry, by showing that even in such an exact science there are difficulties and contradictions. In the last paragraphs he appeals to as tronomy as an aid in defence of religion. It is a brief work, consisting of fifty-three briefs, these seemingly dis tinct, but bound together by an underlying logic. It was a noble defence of Christianity in a day when such a defence was greatly needed, and, coming from a scientist, it had the greater influence. 1 He also appears as an apologist in another work, "Letters to a German Princess" (1775). The princess of Anhalt-Dessau, a niece of Frederick the Great, wanted to receive lessons in physics. These lessons he put to gether with a strong defence of prayer, miracles, provi dence, freedom of the will and immortality. He grounded his apologetic proofs on the necessity of a new birth. Section 3 prop. john christopher beck* Before leaving Basle, another name should be men tioned because of his theological ability, John Chris topher Beck. His theological position is also significant * See "Die Theologische Schule Basels," by Hagenbach, pages 46-45T 256 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of the change in dogmatics then taking place. He was a nephew of Prof. Frey, the opponent of Prof. John Jacob Wettstein. He was born at Basle, March 1, 171 1, and studied there under Iselin and Frey. He became professor of church history (1737) and of dogmatics (1740). Against the pietists, who at that time became prominent, he wrote (1753), "The Groundlessness of Separatism." But it was especially his "Compendium of Dogmatics" that made him famous" He died May 17, His "Compendium of Dogmatics" was a remarkable book. In many respects it reminds one of Wolleb's "Compendium," published two centuries before. Yet it differed from it and in doing so revealed the differences in doctrine between the two periods. Wolleb's repre sented the older Calvinism, though not so scholastic as Polanus. Beck represented the newer and later Calvin ism. Although the old theology was shaken, yet funda mentally it remained the same. He held to the funda mentals, but was liberal in tone. Thus there is no stress placed on polemics as had always been done. He repre sented the irenic spirit of Werenfels and Osterwald. He claimed that the Lord's Supper ought to be a bond of union, rather than an apple of discord as it had been ; indeed he raised the question whether it did not belong to liturgies rather than dogmatics. He did this in order to get rid of the polemics about it. His "Com pendium" is conceived in the spirit of Werenfels, yet is firmer in its Calvinism, for where Werenfels is often the rhetorician, he was the dogmatician. He also differed from his predecessors, as Wolleb, for he separated ethics from dogmatics. Still he viewed dogmatics from a prac tical standpoint. He was the first to teach the science of "Theological Encyclopedia." His "Compendium" was widely used as a manual for students down to the first decade of the nineteenth century. It was the last impor- BASLE 257 tant work on Calvinistic dogmatics in Switzerland, re vealing the philosophic influence of its age and yet in the main true to Calvinistic orthodoxy. 17 CHAPTER III Bern Bern, like Basle, and unlike Zurich, did not suc- cumb to the rationalism of the eighteenth century, but there are several men of prominence who deserve to be mentioned in the controversy. Section i the stapeer family The Stapfer family was a prominent family and especially so in the eighteenth century. John Frederick Stapfer was the ablest of them. Born 1708 he studied at Bern and Marburg, where he came under the influ ence of Professor Wolff, the famous philosopher and rationalist. He came back to Bern, and after being a private tutor for ten years, he became pastor at Diesbach, near Thun, the successor of Lutz or Lucius, the famous pietist, of whom we will speak in the next book of this volume. He remained there as pastor for about twenty- five years, up to the time of his death, in 1775. He never was a professor of theology because he preferred the pastorate, but he exerted a wider influence by his writings than many a professor of theology. Bern had had Cartesianism, under Professor Wyss, but now Wolfi- anism appeared. He tried to apply the Wolfian methods to the defence of Christianity. Thus the philosophy of Wolff gave a large place to natural theology and Stapfer gives it a large and prominent place in his dogmatics. Before his day, dogmatics had been mainly exegetical ; he aimed to make it philosophical. Philosophy, he said, 258 BERN 259 must purify theology as to the fundamentals of reason. He based theological truths on the double principles of reason and revelation, the first being universal and funda mental, the second spiritual and positive. But he was * not a rationalist, only a supernatural rationalist, for he believes in the supernatural, only he recognized the rights of reason. Like the Wolfian theology, his work is largely apologetical. He might be called an orthodox Wolfian, seeking by the demonstrative methods to prove the truth of Christianity. (He was a Calvinist, but not of the old high Calvinistic type, but of the lower or sublapsarian Calvinistic type, like Professors Wyttenbach (himself a Bernese), and Endemann, of Marburg.* He was not only a low Calvinist, but also concilatory, indeed too conciliatory for the strict Calvinists of Bern, for the censor of Bern struck out a paragraph of his polemical theology, as being altogether too mild against the Lu therans. His liberal Calvinism was introduced into America by Tonathan Edwards, who read his works and his views of the universal atonement, etc., prepared the way for the New England or New School Presbyterian Theology of America. His great theological abilities caused him to have several calls as professor of theology. Marburg alone called him four times, but he declined. He was the most voluminous and suggestive theological writer of his day, in Bern. His theological works were, "Institutes, theological, polemical, universal" (1743), pub lished when only a private tutor, in five volumes ; a sym bolic, "Foundations of the True Religion" (1746-53), in twelve volumes; "Dogmatics" (1757-60), in six volumes; "Ethics" (1756-86), in six volumes, and "Catechism of the Christian Religion" (1769). Kant declared his "In stitutes" the most rational methodical statement of dog matics extant. Better than any one else of his day, he * See my "History of the Reformed Church of Germany," pages 439 and 615. 260 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH combined the philosophy of his day with theology. But in doing so, he followed the synthetic methods and set aside the federal theology, which for a century and a half had been the dominant theology in the Reformed Church, and made the satisfaction of Christ the center of dogmatics, instead of the covenants. A younger brother of John Frederick Stapfer, John, born 1719, also became prominent. Educated at Bern, he first became temporary professor of theology and then full professor of theology (1776). He died 1801. He was an eloquent preacher, always crowding the cathe dral with hearers. His strength lay in practical theology. He published seven volumes of sermons (1761-81) and became famous for his new version of the Psalms (1783), which gradually displaced the old Lobwasser version in use in the churches. He published his "Theologia Elenc- thica," in 1756, his "Theologia Didactica" (1176) and "Theologia Analytica" (1763). But he did not have the virile strength of intellect of his brother, of whom we have just spoken. He was always careful to abstain from critical questions as he wanted the students to be Biblical. On this account he was the more acceptable to the minis ters of Bern, who looked on his brother Frederick with suspicion, as departing from the high Calvinism of Bern. For that reason, Frederick, though eminently qualified for the position, never could be elected a professor of theology in Bern. Still another brother, Daniel, acquired fame as a pulpit orator. His sermons in the cathedral at Bern, especially the one of the earthquake of Lisbon, in which he ridiculed the rationalists of his day, were very popular. Wieland considered him one of the best pulpit orators of his day. Before leaving this notable family of Stapfers, we will mention a later member of the family, Philip Albert BERN 261 Stapfer.* He was the son of the last named, Daniel Stapfer, born September 23, 1766. He studied the con servative theology under his uncle at Bern. Then he went (1789) to Goettingen, where the rationalism of his teachers raised doubts that lasted for ten years. After a visit to England and Paris, he came back to Bern in the anguish of doubt. But he did not resign himself to his doubts, but fought his way through them. That he did not lose faith is due largely to the influence of his mother, who had taught him that religion was not merely a matter of the head, but also of the heart. He was soon called upon (1792) to aid his uncle in teaching theology, notwithstanding the suspicions against him for his looser theological views. In 1797 he was elected professor of theology at Bern. He soon became the head and soul of the academy there. It is true he was charged with putting philosophy in the place of theology. He was a Kantian but more positive than Kant, for his deep re ligious feeling prevented the intellectuality of Kant from controlling him. He would have attained to eminence as a theologian, but his career was cut short by politics. While Daniel Muslin, the eloquent preacher, was the great patriot of Bern, and with Lavater defending Swiss freedom against the French, Stapfer was in sympathy with the French Revolution. He was a strange combination in those days. Though a republican, he was not a rationalist, as were most republicans then. So the Helvetic Republic put him in control of the church affairs of Switzerland (1798-1801). Fortunate was it for Switzerland that a mere politician was not appointed to this position, or else the church would have suffered more than she did. For the new government uprooted the old church laws and it was owing to him that the church was not robbed and plundered more than she * See his life by Liiginbuehl, Basle, 1887. 262 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was. He pled with the government for the payment of the salaries of the ministers, who were often not paid. He attempted the reorganization of the cantonal churches, so as to unite them into one national church, but did not have time to carry it through. With the fall of the Helvetic Republic, he left Switzerland for Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. There he was a strong supporter of all forms of practical Christianity, especially of Bible and missionary societies. He became the honored leader of the French Protestant church. He passed during his life from Kantian moralism to the revival and then to the independence of the church from the state, influencing Vinet greatly in the latter view. He died 1840. Section 2 prof. albert von haller Albert von Haller was one of the greatest Swiss, and one of the most distinguished apologists of his age. He was Bern's greatest son, — Haller the Great, as he has been called. He was a universal genius, a poet, a scientist and a Christian. Albert Haller came of a prominent Bernese fam ily, being a descendant of Rev. John Haller, who reor ganized, as we have seen, the Bern Church in the six teenth century. He was born at Bern on October 16, 1708, and early revealed unusual precociousness. At the age of five, he would at family worship make exhorta tions to the domestics on Scripture texts. At eight, in addition to Latin, he had studied Greek and Hebrew. By his ninth year he had read the Greek Testament and had composed for his own use a Chaldee grammar and a lexicon of Hebrew and Greek words in the New Testa ment, — also a dictionary of more than two thousand quo tations from prominent men. At nine and a half, as BERN 263 a test for his entrance into a class at school, he was given a Latin theme. What did he do but write his subject in Greek. At twelve, Homer was his favorite book. But his remarkable precociousness found little sympathy from his family and neighbors, rather it was looked upon as forwardness and pride. Tljey did not know what a genius they had among them.) His early education was at Bern. He naturally in clined to the ministry and such was the desire of his parents. But unfortunately his father died when he was about thirteen years old: or fortunately, we might say, for he would never have exerted the influence in the ministry that he did in science. Bern lost by this a brilliant preacher, but gained a great natural philoso pher. After his father's death, he was sent to a friend of his father's, a celebrated physician, Neuhaus, at Biel, who was to teach him philosophy. Neuhaus was inclined to the liberal philosophy of Descartes, but this Cartesian philosophy of doubt did not attract so religious a mind as Haller's. Still it instilled into his young mind certain doubts from which he did not recover until he, years after, read Ditton's "Resurrection of Christ." But Haller inclined more and more from philosophy to nature. To console himself in his doubts he took to writing po etry, for he was a born poet. At the age of ten he had already begun writing poetry and his friends laughed at him then. But now he took to it seriously and by sixteen he had produced a considerable number of poems as comedies and tragedies, and some translations from the classics, even an epic of four thousand verses on the^ origin of Switzerland. When a fire occurred at his house at Biel, though other things were consumed, he saved his poems. Some years later, when his mind had become more mature and his conception of poetry higher, he burned most of his youthful effusions. During this period of his life he inclined more and 264 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH more to study medicine. So when hardly fifteen years of age he went (1723) to the. University of Tubingen. in southern Germany, to study philosophy and anatomy. Here he attracted notice in a public disputation, by tak ing sides against his professor, claiming that the latter was making an anatomical error, which he some years af terward proved. There he also revealed the natural pur ity of his life, for he was so disgusted with the riotous revels of the students, that he renounced all mere frolic. But Tubingen could not satisfy him. The student life was rough and the professors, it seemed to him, not up- to-date. So, after being there for six months, he went to the University of Leyden, in Holland, attracted thither by such teachers as Professors Boerhaave and Alcinus, and by such special privileges as were given by an ana tomical auditorium for dissections and a botanical garden of nearly 6,000 plants, where their medical properties could be studied. Boerhaave. like Haller, had originally been intended for the ministry, but had been kept out of it by uncon trollable circumstances. As a young meiLhisJxeaxt-way" set on the ministry and the ministry would have been greatly honored by so bright and spiritual a mind. He had gone farther in his studies toward the ministry than Haller, for he had gotten a license to preach, when the way into the ministry was suddenly closed against him. An insinuation that he was an Arian was spread abroad against him. In vain he protested that it was not true. The torrent of popular prejudice was irresistible. So, knowing ordination would be refused he entered another profession, namely medicine.. He nobly lived down the slander against him like a hero. He used to say of such slanders afterward, "They are sparks, if you do not blow them, they will go out of themselves." Providence kept him out of the ministry for great purposes, that he might wield in medicine a greater influence than in the BERN 265 ministry. He was probably the most prominent medical professor of his day, attracting students from all over Europe to Leyden. Thus Czar Peter the Great once kept his boat in a canal, just outside of Boerhaave's house, all night, so that he might have an interview with him the next morning, before he went to his lectures. And yet, though immersed in science, he never, likej some scientists, as Darwin, ceased to be religious or lost\ his spirituality. Every morning he devoted an hour to I the reading of his Bible and to religious meditation. To this habit he attributed his cheerfulness in the midst of overwhelming labors. The traveler, who to-day visits Leyden, will find in the Church of St. Peter, a monu ment, dedicated to Boerhaave by the city of Leyden, on which is the inscription: "To the health-giving skill of Boerhaave. For since the days of Hypocrates, no physician has caused as much admiration as he." We have dwelt at some length on Boerhaave's life, even though he was not a Swiss, because his life is so much like Haller's. Both were originally intended for the ministry and yet did not get into it. Both exerted a wider influence in science than they would have done in the ministry. Both stood in an age of godlessness and infidelity as bold witnesses for vital piety. Fortunate was it that Haller, as a student, came under the influence of so fine a Christian scientist as Boerhaave. It stayed him against doubt and developed him spiritually, for science and spirituality make a fine combination.^ Haller confessed in his old age his great indebtedness to Boer haave, for he said the year 1726 was the year when God opened his eyes to the light.. He afterwards says, "Fifty years have elapsed since I was a disciple of the immortal Boerhaave, but his image is continually present to my mind. I have always before my eyes the venerable sim plicity of that great man, who possessed in an eminent degree the talent of persuading. How many times hath 266 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH he said, when speaking of the precepts of our Saviour, that this divine teacher knew mankind better than Socrates." Boerhaave gave the young Swiss unusual priv ileges. Two hours a day he was allowed to spend with Boerhaave, in his botanical garden, in the study of plants, which prepared him for his great work on botany. Dur ing his course at Leyden, he also also studied at Amster dam. In 1727, at the age of nineteen, he took his doc tor's degree at Leyden. He then went to England, where he met prominent physicians and inspected their hospitals. Then he went to Paris and Basle. There he studied mathematics under the elder Bernoulli, the great mathe matician, who introduced him to the new mathematics of Newton and Leibnitz. While there he frequently de livered lectures in place of the professor of anatomy, who was unwell. He then returned to Bern, where he began the practice of medicine. But his years belied him. The boy doctor was too young to gain the confidence of the people, who wanted older, experienced physicians. Still his practice was not without success, as his diary shows. But medicine could not hold him, he reached out beyond it. No one profession was large enough for him. In 1732 he began publishing his poems. These soon gave him wide reputation, especially his poem on the Alps, which painted so magnificently the majesty and beauty of the Bernese Alps. He was the first Swiss poet of nature, in that respect, like Wordsworth. Most of his poems were of this period. His poem on the "Origin of Evil," showed the daring of a youth in trying to solve one of the greatest of mysteries. His poems reveal great moral earnestness and a grasp far beyond his years. In 1734 he tried to get the professorship of oratory and Latin at Bern, but failed. The Bernese thought a physician was not fitted for such a position. Indeed they failed almost all through his life to appreciate Haller's greatness. Many thought he was too much of a poet to BERN 267 be a good physician and vice versa. They did not know that while ordinary medical men could fill only one such position, they had in Haller a man of such calibre, that he could fill a number of such positions. They did not know they had in him a genius of more than ordinary mould. But afterward, Bern appointed him physician of the island hospital there, and he was permitted to erect an anatomical auditorium (then a new thing), in the Grosse Schanze, where he dissected bodies and delivered lectures. He was also made librarian of the city library (1735)- He entered on this work with great diligence, and in less than a year had made a catalogue of its books, manu scripts and coins. But though his own city did not sufficiently recognize his ability, other lands did. The University of Upsala, in Sweden, in 1734, made him a member of their academy of sciences, and in 1736 he was called by King George, of Hanover, to be professor of medicine and the natural sciences in the newly- founded university at Gottingen.. He accepted, and taught there for seventeen years. As he entered Gottingen he sustained a great loss. The wagon, containing his wife, was overturned and she was so injured that she died shortly afterward. But the uni versity was always very thoughtful of Haller's wishes. In order to comfort him for the loss of his wife, one of his most intimate friends from Switzerland, Dr. Jacob Huber, of Basle, was also called as professor. It also gave him everything he desired. It built for him an ana tomical lecture-room, laid out a botanical garden for him and built his house opposite to it, so that he might most easily go to it for plant-study. The king made him his court-physician and when the king visited Gottingen in 1748, without Haller's knowledge, he elevated him to the nobility by making him a baron. Hence he was after ward called Albert von Haller, which was a sign of no- bility. At the same time, Count Radziwill, the com- 268 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH mander of the Polish army, appointed him major general. While at Gottingen he published the works of his teacher, Boerhaave, and also one of his own greatest works, his physiology, which was used in most of the universities and passed through many editions. While there, King Frederick the Great, of Prussia, in 1749, invited him to Berlin, offering him whatever he might demand. It seems Frederick wanted Voltaire and Haller. there at the same timeT One wonders what would have happened had he gone to be a professor of the great. infidel king, Certain it is that Voltaire would have more than met his match in science. For Voltaire was super ficial, compared with Haller's thoroughness. The vapid theories of Voltaire's philosophy were no match for the thoroughgoing science of Haller. Frederick, to get him, offered him the hope of being given charge of all the medical affairs in all the Prussian kingdom. But he refused, saying to a friend : "Do you think that a Chris tian, who believes in the religion of Jesus and recognizes it from his heart, could go to Potsdam between the king and Voltaire." So he remained at Gottingen and the King of Hanover started an academy of sciences there, and Haller was made its president. It was largely due to Haller's labors that Gottingen outdistanced the other universities of her time and rose to rival Leyden, the leading university of Europe. At Gottingen he founded the first clinic for midwives, for which he was called Albert the Great. While at Gottingen he showed great interest in re ligion, by causing the building of the Reformed Church. As Hanover was a Lutheran land, the Reformed who lived there had to go to Hesse Cassel for their worship and sacraments. Haller longed for the simple faith and worship of his fathers, so he gathered together the Re formed who lived there, into a congregation. And largely through his influence, they were able to build a church, BERN 269 the Bern council contributing 100 reichsthalers to it, doubtless through Haller's influence. It was built oppo site his house. And when it was dedicated, in 1753, he declared that that was the happiest day of his life. The church and congregation still remain there as a monu ment of his interest and faith. During his stay there, he also took an interest in foreign mission work, then in its infancy, and looked upon with suspicion by many leaders in the church. He became especially interested in the Danish missions in southern India. In March, 1753, he resigned at Gottingen and re turned to Bern on account of ill health, the jealousy of some of his colleagues and because of his, the true Swiss love, for his native land. He had been elected by Bern a member of the Council of Two Hundred, the lower council. No favor of prince or university so pleased him as this. Bern made him inspector of the city hall (1753-58) and a member of the academical senate. He practiced medicine, but mainly as a consulting physician. Bern made him (1758-64) the director of the salt works of the canton, during which time he lived at the castle of Roche, near Aigle. There his knowledge of chemistry was of great value in enabling him to lessen the cost of producing the salt, while at the same time improving its quality. While there he learned to know Voltaire by correspondence. During his stay there, always thought ful of the church, he called the attention of the author ities to the insufficiency of the salaries of the ministers in. the Vaud district^ and the government raised their sal aries. He returned to Bern and became a member of the school board, sanitary council and upper appeal court. He had been nominated five times for the lesser council, which was the highest honor of the city, but was always defeated. Bern thus failed to honor her noblest son. I But Bern was a republic and republics have little to offer. I Still even the best she had she withheld from him. For 270 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Bern was governed by a close aristocracy of patricians and Haller was not one of them. Besides some of them had been piqued by his satires and were suspicious of his more liberal spirit, so he was defeated (once by only one vote). When he was defeated the last time there came a great temptation to him to leave Bern. King Fred erick the Great, of Prussia, again made overtures to him fo come to the University of Halle. And the King of England again called him. back to Gottingen, offering him the chancellorship. He held the call under advise ment for a long time. Many urged him to go, because of the lack of appreciation in Bern and the unpleasant nesses that embittered his life there. Finally he asked the King of England to appeal to the senate of Bern to let him go. Then at last, Bern woke up to the danger of losing him. The council settled a permanent annual sal ary of 1,000 florins on him, and declared he must always be kept at Bern. Other calls came to him, as to St. Petersburg, but he declined. At Bern he did much good. He laid the foundation of an orphanage, and led to the improvement of the hos pital. For several years before his death he was sickly and inclined toward melancholy. In the last year of his life, he was surprised by a visit from the Austrian Em peror, Joseph II, then a crown-prince. The latter's. mother, the Empress Maria Theresa, had ordered her son in his journeys not to visit Voltaire, but to call on Haller. And he went considerably out of his way to do so, at the same time disappointing and humiliating Voltaire, because Voltaire had heard of his coming and waited, with pow dered wig and a big dinner, for his visit. But Joseph passed him by on his way to Bern. He found Haller sick and weak, but surrounded by books and papers. He in quired whether his labors were not too severe. Haller replied that they were his only recreation in which he forgot his pain. "Do you still write poetry?" he asked. BERN 271 "That was the sin of my youth," replied Haller, playfully, "Only Voltaire writes poetry at eighty." As the prince left, he said, "Behold a genius allied with virtue." A neighboring clergyman called to see Haller soon after the prince was there and congratulated him on the visit of so great a man. The aged Haller replied, "Rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven." His eyes were fixed on heavenly, not earthly honors. He died December 12, 1777, at the age of seventy.* In December, 1777, he wrote in his journal: "In all proba bility this is the last time that I shall employ my pen. I can not deny that the near view of my Judge fills me with apprehension. How can I stand before him, inas much as I am not prepared for eternity as it seems to me a Christian should be. O my Saviour, be Thou my Advocate and Mediator in the solemn hour. Grant me the aid of Thy Holy Spirit to lead me through the dark valley that I may triumphantly and full of faith exclaim as Thou my Saviour didst, 'It is finished, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' " "My friend," he said to his physician, "I am dying, my pulse ceases to beat," and passed away. Saussure, the great Swiss scientist and Alpine climber, thus bears this tribute of him: "When I saw him, in 1764, 1 was then 24 years of age, and I had never beheld before, nor have I ever since beheld, a man of his stamp. It is impossible to express the admiration, the respect, I was going to say, the feeling of adoration, with which the great man inspired me. What truth, what variety, what riches, what depth, what clearness in his ideas. His conversation was animated, not with that factitious fire that dazzles and fatigues at the same time, but with the soft and profound warmth which penetrates you, raises a glow within you and ap pears to raise you to a level with him who is conversing with you. The week I passed with him left indelible traces on my soul. His conversation inflamed me with *His house still stands in the Inselgasse, Bexa. 272 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the love of study. I passed the nights in meditating on, and in writing, what he had said during the day. I left him with the most lively regret and our acquaintance ended only with his too brief life." Bonstetten, disposed as he was to draw satirical por traits, speaks in most flattering terms of Haller. "Noth ing is finer than his glance, which is both piercing and sensitive. Genius shone in his beautiful eyes. Of all men I knew, he was the most spiritual and the most amiable. His immense knowledge had all the grace of impromptu." Haller's fame rests largely on his career as a scien tist. He was a great linguist, speaking many languages. He revolutionized medicine. This was due to his experi ments in vivisection. Before his day, anatomy and phys iology were much of a guess. He reduced their prin ciples to a certainty by his experiments on animals. His predecessors had done this on dead animals. He claimed it must be done on live ones, so as to find out the true way of treating the living body. As that was before the days of anesthetics, his experiments were very painful to the animals. But by his experiments he discovered a new world, the world of bodily sensation, almost as great a discovery as Harvey's circulation of the blood. His works on anatomy and physiology made him famous. He introduced a new method into botany and his "History of Swiss Plants" is monumental, giving 2,486 kinds. He wrote, it is said, 12,000 articles. His greatness in learning is shown by the fact that twenty-one societies of learning made him a member during his lifetime. Alexander von Humboldt called him the greatest of the investigators of , nature. His fame as a poet is also great. He was the first, great poet of nature in Switzerland, as Wordsworth was in English. Goethe calls his "Alps" a great and earnest poem. It was the beginning of the naturalistic poetry BERN 273 of Switzerland. His poems were of a high religious and moral tone. HALLER'S LAMENT ON THE DEATH OF HIS FIRST WIFE Oh ! with my heart of hearts I've loved ! Deeper than to myself expressed, — Deeper than e'er by worlding proved, — Deeper than to myself confessed ! How often did my trembling heart An answer to its bodings seek, That still would ask, "And must we part ?" Till tears bedewed my furrowed cheek! Yes ! still its woe my heart shall feel, Though time the trenchant scar may close: And bitt'rer tears their course shall steal, Than those that outward sorrow knows! First passion of my ardent youth ! The memory of thy tenderness, Thy guilelessness, thy artless truth, Like Eden visions 'round me press! 'Mid thickest wild, 'mid gloomy shade, Thy image fancy shall pursue ; Thy form shall mem'ry all pervade, And bid me wake to love anew ! Lo ! as thou wert thou dost return, As sad as when I wont to stray: As warmly do thy kisses burn, As when I bent my homeward way. 'Mid the obscurest depths of space, Wher'er thou wander'st distant far, Thy footsteps still I fondly trace, Beyond where glides the farthest star. There, in thine innocence endued, Thou sharest heaven's holiest, brightest light : Where mind with heavenly strength renewed, Assays a bolder, nobler flight ! 18 7 274 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH There thou dost bask in light of Him, Whose love thy happiness prepares, And minglest with the angels' hymn, For earthborn loves thy tender prayer ! There, in the book of love divine, Thou read'st how best of friends must part, And mark'st how mercy doth assign The future of thy earthly part. Perfected soul ! beloved below, Yet not beloved as was thy due, How dark my ravished bosom glow, To mark that soul's celestial hue ! With eager hope my heart is fired ! Ope wide thy arms ! To thee I fly, In peaceful love, by heaven inspired, With thee to dwell eternally ! Eleven editions of his poems were published during his lifetime and they were translated into other lan guages. Schiller thought so highly of them, that when he fled from Stuttgart the only books he took with him were his Shakespeare and his Haller. But it is especially to Haller, as the Christian, that we wish to refer. He was the great apologist of re- # ligion in a day when defenders were fewT Mis advocacy of the old faith brought down on him the attacks of the rationalists of his day. Thus La Mettrie, the blatant materialist, published his work, "Man a Machine" ( 174.7") T which reduced man to a machine and took all the spir itual out of him. He had the audacity to dedicate it to Haller, saying it was founded on some principles dis covered by Haller. Haller felt greatly insulted to find his name at the beginning of a book that denied the fundamentals of religion and denied that he had had any relations with La Mettrie. Thereupon the latter pub lished a story of the most absurd character, stating that he had attended Haller's lectures at Gottingen in 1735 (Haller did not go to Gottingen till 1736), and told a BERN 275 burlesque story of the austere Haller figuring in scenes most foreign to his habits, among others presiding at a supper of the nymphs, who frequented the gardens of Gottingen. Haller protested against this travesty to the president of the Academy of Sciences, at Berlin, of which both La Mettrie and himself were members. He also wrote a long refutation of the book. But La Mettrie died before the academy could act on the matter or the book be published. Haller's two most important defences of religion were written near the close of his life. The first was his "Letters on the Most Important Truths of Revelation" (1772). These were a popular defence of revelation and the supernatural. He came to write them because of an incident. He was summoned by a minister to the death bed of a prominent leader of Bern, who implored him to write something stating clearly the grounds of Christian belief, because Evangelical religion was so much attacked at that time. His friend suggested that a layman could write with peculiar power. He published them in the shape of letters to his daughter. The first of these let ters contains in the second chapter the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, which was his fav orite catechism. He had been brought up in it and it was his creed. Its joyful way of stating religion was a fine keynote to the book. He then goes on to give the fundamental truths of religion, God, creation, fall, in carnation, mediation of Christ, immortality, the truth of the Bible, the reality of miracles and prophecy. These letters were a monument of his religious spirit and theo logical knowledge. In them he declares his theology to be the Bible. They proved to be very popular, espe cially for the young. And even as late as 1858, Professor Auberlen, of Basle, had them reprinted as a suitable reply to the infidelity of the nineteenth century as they had been to the eighteenth. 276 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH The second defense of Haller's was his "Letters against the Free Thinkers" (1775). It is directed against La Mettrie, Voltaire and the philosophers of the Encyclopedia, Diderot and D'Alembert. To Haller the denial of God was fundamental and destroyed both re ligion and ethics. But his great aim was not merely to answer their arguments, but to save their souls, and / in one of them he gives a most beautiful prayer for the ' salvation of Voltaire's soul. One is surprised that so great a natural philosopher does not use arguments from nature, but he seems to avoid them, perhaps because the prevailing deistic philosophy of the time made so much use of them to set aside the Bible. He claimed the Bible, and not nature, was his proof. Both books reveal a remarkable combination of im- , pressiveness and familiarity with religion, coming as they did from a layman and scientist. They exerted great in fluence. He, with Newton and Euler, proves that the most exact sciences do not necessarily shake our faith in revelation. He proved what seemed strange to many in those days, that a natural philosopher could be a defender of religion. A third important book, revealing Haller's religion, was his "Diary," published some years after his death, as a reply to one of his biographers, who had charged him with being a secret Catholic. His diary extends from , 1734 to 1777, the date of his death? Of course, he never dreamt of its publication and it is therefore all the more valuable as revealing his inner life. It reveals him as a very pious man. It stands out in contrast with Ros- [seau's Confessions and his sentimental vagaries, for here lis a strong, firm faith in God as his refuge. His diary has been well compared with Lavater's, in its deep Chris tian spirit. It reveals that with him religion was an in stinct, entering into all his spheres of life. However, it has been well said, that his piety was mainly of an ethical BERN 277 character rather than experimental. To great conscien tiousness he joined deep humility on account of his sense of sin. But at the same time he rejoiced continually, as in the presence of God. To him, naturalist as he was, nature was not the end as with so many scientists, but God. While clinging closely to the old orthodoxy, he was yet liberal in spirit. And yet there was one exception to this. He could not endure the Catholics, because of the corruption of their hierarchy and of their persecuting spirit, for the sufferings of the Waldensian refugees had deeply impressed him as a boy. Haller was a many-sided character, but religion pervaded it all. Two men stand out in strong contrast in Switzerland at that time. Both were poets, scholars, litterateurs and scientists. But the one, Voltaire, was the skeptic, the other, Haller,. was the Christian. By the greatness of his learning and the firmness of his faith, Haller destroyed the influence of Voltaire. Maria Ther esa was right when she told her son to pass Ferney, for Bern, for the Henriade of Voltaire is forgotten, but Hal- lers "Alps" still lives. He has been compared to Leib nitz, because he was epochmaking in thought, for nothing seemed to escape his eagle eye. Universal, like Voltaire, he was profound like Leibnitz. As Lessing says, "Hal ler belonged to the fortunate learned, who even in this life, gain such a fame as few gain after death." CHAPTER IV Geneva The church of Geneva and of Calvin, once the Ther mopylae of the Reformed faith and the stronghold of Calvinistic orthodoxy, now goes into eclipse. Ortho doxy gives way to Socinianism. Instead of J. Alphonse Turretin now came Vernet and his successors. The descent at Geneva is greater than at Zurich, for at Zurich a very respectable minority contended for the old faith, even though the antistes was a rationalist. But at Gen eva, the Evangelicals became so crushed that early in the nineteenth century hardly a witness for orthodoxy could be found. And too, Voltaire, the arch-infidel of his day, and Rosseau, whose only religion was nature, ap peared about the same time at Geneva, to aid the move ment toward infidelity. It is true the Church of Geneva protested against the errors of these men, but a Socinian church can make only a weak defence against men from whom she differed so little. In 1709 Geneva had pun ished a man for being a deist. By the end of the eigh teenth century she, herself, becomes virtually Socinian, which is very close to deism. Section i the downgrade at geneva Changes were everywhere the order of the day at Geneva. There were changes in the creeds. We have already noticed how the Helvetic Consensus and the Hel vetic Confession were set aside and the subscription since 1706 was only to the Old and New Testament, and to 278 GENEVA 279 Calvin's catechism. Had Geneva stopped there, she would have done well. But in 1725 action was taken making the catechism of Calvin no longer the legal oath for subscription, but only for the foundation of doctrine The church became confessionless. ^ t - — The catechism, as well as the creeds, changed. Other catechisms came in to replace Calvin's, some Arminian, some rationalistic. Osterwald's, in 1731, supplanted Cal vin's and differed from it mainly by omitting original sin and predestination. In 1742 a motion to set aside Cal- vin's catechism was voted down. In 1770 Vernet pro- posed that Osterwald's should take its place, but Calvin's was used to some extent till 1780. But other catechisms, as Vernes' (1774) and Martin's, came into use. _Prof. Anton Maurice, the last remaining outspoken Calvinist^ attacked Vernes' catechism, in 1781, and the whole edi^ tion was suppressed. But liberalism triumphed over him, for in 1787 the Venerable Company ordered a revision of Osterwald's catechism, by Vernes. This official cate chism of Vernes was published (1788) and went beyond Osterwald into rationalism. (Thus Osterwald held to the historical account of the fall of Eden, but Vernes had not a word to say about the fall, only that Eden was a beautiful place. Osterwald taught the trinity, Vernes not only left it out, but to still farther efface it, gave a four-fold division of the Apostles' Creed, which is un doubtedly trinitarian in its divisions. This catechism calls Jesus the unique Son of God, because of his mirac ulous birth, the excellence of his nature and his intimate union with God. Therefore, he was designated by the Jews as Messiah. But it does not call him God. Thus the catechism of 1788 led still farther into heterodoxy.) What made its influence so pernicious was that it was not only adopted by the Venerable Company, but its use was made obligatory. The ministers had no option but to use it. They could not use an Evangelical catechism, 280 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and so the youth grew up ignorant of the Gospel. Thus the rationalists forced their book on the few Evangeli cals who remained in Geneva. Later, when the cate chism of 1814 was adopted, it contained no doctrine of redemption, ignored the divinity of Christ, by repre senting him simply as an ambassador from heaven, the first-born of every creature, whom we should not wor ship, only reverence. But not only was the catechism changed, but the Scriptures also. The old French version of Olivetan had long been used, but Martin revised it (1723) and the Martin version was then used, as also Osterwald's. Then, after gathering together material for three-quarters of a century, the Venerable Company published a new translation in 1805. This is remarkable in being the only. rationalistic version, of the Bible, except perhaps a Uni tarian version in English. This version was deliber ately made as rationalistic as possible. It claimed to be a literal translation, but the letter killeth the spirit and criticism often runs riot with truth. Thus, in the first chapter of Genesis, it reads: "A wind (not 'the Spirit' as in our version) stirred up the face of the waters." | Wherever it could, it lowered the supernatural. When there was a choice of readings, it used those against orthodoxy, even if the latter were supported by a better text. Thus Isaiah 9 : 5 has, instead of the "Father of Eternity," "Father of the age to come." In John 3 : 36, "he that believeth" is translated by "he that is obedient" (which is quite different from the original), for they did not want to give any chance to the doctrine of justifica tion by faith. All these reveal such liberties with the text as to make the translation valueless. Yet it was the official version of Geneva. It was considered so hetero- dox that the churches of France repudiated its use. It is a sad fact that the only church that published a nP" tionalistic Bible was Geneva, the home of Calvin. And GENEVA 281 the tyranny of the rationalists is shown by their making its use obligatory. Such was the freedom of rationalism. In 1835 they published a new edition of this, at the Reformation festival, which seemed a travesty on the Reformers, because it denied their fundamental doc trines. The liturgy also sympathized with these changes. It had been said by German liturgists that rationalism short ened or set aside the use of set-forms in favor of free worship. This was not true in Switzerland, especially in Geneva. Rationalism there did the opposite, — it set aside free prayer and made all the service liturgical, and enlarged the forms. Often, as the heart goes out of the religion through rationalism, the forms come in. In deed, it sometimes seems as if rationalism, by an increased use of forms for worship, were trying to make up for what it felt itself lacking in doctrine. It is true changes in the liturgy began even under Alphonse Turretin. In 1717 Turretin had the free prayer before and after the sermon, customary since the Reformation, replaced by a prescribed prayer. In 1737 confirmation was introduced. Still the liturgy clung to the old doctrines longer even than many of the ministers did in their sermons. Even when the old Evangelical doctrines were no longer in the sermon, they could still be found in the liturgical prayers and the hymns. Most of the old Reformed doctrines found a place until near the end of the eighteenth cen tury. Then the most severe parts of Beza's famous con fession of sin were left out. The edition of 1743 had the phrase, "the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin," but the edition of 1807 left it out. Empeytaz said of this liturgy that it designated Christ by terms that did not imply his divinity. Thus, in every way, rationalism and Socinianism en trenched itself at Geneva. Voltaire declared he would destroy the church. He did not need to do it, the church 282 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was gradually destroying itself. Nevertheless, as we shall see in the next part of this book, the church, like her Lord, always has the power of resurrection. Even when she seems to be dead, often under God's Spirit a reaction takes place, which produces a revival. Section 2 prof. jacob vernet After the death of J. Alphonse Turretin. his suc cessor, JacobVernet^ became the theological leader of Geneva for a half century. He was born August 29, 1698. His decision to enter the ministry is interesting. "When I was a boy," he says, "I saw the celebrated Prof. B. Pictet, who asked of me the residence of an aged and dying lady, who desired his visit. I led him to the place, and with the curiosity of a child I stayed in the chamber to hear him. His words, and especially his prayer, overturned my soul. Her figure, deeply pained by the malady, little by little gained a calm and celestial expression. This caused in me an indescribable emotion and I resolved to devote myself to the ministry, of which the blessings were so manifest on those suffering." He studied theology in Geneva, and then became private tutor in Paris (1720-29). In company with Mark Turretin, the son of J. Alphonse Turretin, he vis ited Germany, Holland and England. In 1739 he was made professor of literature and history, and in 1750, at the death of Turretin, professor of theology. He claimed to stand on Turretin's shoulders theologically, but he went beyond him from orthodoxy. As leader of Geneva at that time, he came into con tact with Voltaire. He had met Voltaire while at Paris, and since that time had had some correspondence with him. When Voltaire came to Geneva, he flattered Ver net, declaring that he wanted to be near him, so as to consult him, and that he preferred his friendship above GENEVA 283 that of Frederick the Great. When Voltaire began his attacks on the Genevan Church, it became his duty to de fend the church against him. For this Voltaire unmerci fully lampooned him. Voltaire wrote "Robert Coville." in 1/ which he makes all sorts of charges against Vernet, as of immorality, theft of manuscripts, literary intrigues, etc. Vernet, greatly insulted, demanded an investigation be- for the council, and the council cleared him. Voltaire wanted Vernet to compromise, and Vernet, to set matters right, went to Ferney, where Voltaire lived, to see him. Voltaire received him politely and seemed to recognize his errors. As Vernet was about to leave for Geneva, Voltaire asked him to make use of his carriage, which was standing there. Vernet stepped into the carriage. But when he arrived at the city wall, not wishing to ex pose himself to the crowd that always gathered around Voltaire's carriage, to see what distinguished stranger Voltaire had been entertaining, he called to the coach man to stop, and he would alight. But the coachman, having been previously directed by Voltaire not to stop till he brought Vernet to the center of the city, only whipped up his horses. When the carriage stopped in Geneva a crowd gathered and were quite surprised to see Vernet step out of Voltaire's carriage. He had to explain why he was in Voltaire's carriage, and he told them he had arranged matters amicably with Voltaire, as Voltaire had granted the falsity of his charges. But it did not last long, for soon Voltaire was again satirizing him and Geneva. Voltaire composed this verse on him : "If I think of a sinister face, a hideous forehead, an air starched like a pendant, A yellow neck with an inclining stump, an eye of pig attached to earth, I would declare to you at once that that monkey is Tartuffe or Vernet." It also became Vernet's duty to reply to Rosseau. 284 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH They had previously corresponded. When Voltaire so violently attacked Vernet, Rosseau defended the latter. But when the consistory denounced Rosseau's "New Heloise," as a dangerous book, and the council ordered the burning of "Emile," Rosseau wrote against him and finally Vernet replied severely. His reputation reached far beyond Geneva. Thus in 1770 the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia and Philadelphia asked of him advice about church govern ment and their method of instruction in Geneva. As a liberal theologian, he counselled them to avoid dogmatic disputes and cling to the main points of faith, especially those that made for practical piety. These churches evi dently did not know of the Socinianism in the Church of Geneva at that time. He died March 26, 1789. He wrote a number of works, mainly apologetical. His most famous work was his "Christian Instruction," in five volumes. Its contents were not originally intended for publication, but were the questions and answers he had used in his lecture-room during the many years he had taught. They reveal his departures from orthodoxy. The doctrine of the trinity is passed by. Of Christ it is only said that God was united with him in a very inti mate way. The Holy Spirit acts on us, not in a super natural way, but naturally. Original sin was given up. Vicarious atonement was relegated to the region of silence. He emphasized the ethical side of the Gospel, forgetting the Evangelical. In his "Selected Pamphlets," published 1758-77, he denied Christ's divinity, though he claimed not to be a Socinian, because he placed Christ's nature above that of men and angels. But this was an Arian position. He reveals how the church, with him self, had virtually gone into Socinianism. GENEVA 285 Section 3 voltaire and the genevan church We have noted the downgrade at Geneva, from Beza and his supralapsarianism, through F. Turretin and his Cocceianism, to J. Alpnonse turretin and his liberalism, and finally to Vernet and his Socinianism. Geneva evi dently wanted to get hold of rationalism, and she got more than she wanted. For God sent to her, in Voltaire, as he had once done to the Israelites of old, a hornet, to scourge her. The attacks of Voltaire on Christianity^ and especially on the Church of Geneva, are the most dia bolical ever attempted. And it is also true that the Church of Geneva, having, like Esau, sold her birthright of Evangelical Christianity for a mess of pottage of So cinianism, was not in condition to defend herself. This Voltaire knew, and he burlesqued her before the world with awful power. In 1754 Voltaire came to Geneva from Germany. He J had just before had a quarrel with Frederick the Great,! King of Prussia, which had made both infidels the laugh-J ing-stock of Europe. Geneva was not very anxious toj have him come. For he was a Catholic, and Geneva al lowed no Catholics there. And he was an infidel satirist, and Geneva was not sure how he might let loose his satire on her. Soon after he arrived he bought a home, which he called "The Delights."* When Voltaire was buying this place Vernet wrote to him that the only thing that troubled the Genevese were his sentiments about religion, and he expressed the hope that Voltaire would aid the city in turning the youth from irreligion, and in that case he would be honored by all and feared * It is located on the road to Lyons, near the city-gate, near where the Arve and Rhone rivers meet. The road near it is to-day named after his home, Rue des Delicies. The mansion was some time ago occupied as a young ladies' boarding school. 286 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH by none. Voltaire replied briefly, February 5, 1755 : "What you write concerning religion is very reasonable. I detest intolerance and fanaticism. I respect your re ligion as I love and respect your republic. I am too old, too sick, and a little too severe toward young people." How he kept these sentiments will be seen hereafter. At "The Delights" he lived ostentatiously, for he had great wealth and entertained many strangers. The coming of his carriage into Geneva always made a sensation. On one occasion he was not pleased with the curiosity of the people. "What do you want, boobies that you are?" he asked from the upper step of the bank. "Do you wish to see a skeleton? Behold one." Throwing open his cloak, he exhibited his meagre form to the throng, who applauded him, as with difficulty he entered the carriage. In the beginning all went well, but soon Voltaire's natural quarrelsomeness got the better of him. He wanted to make Puritanic Geneva as gay as Paris. All extrava gance and theatre-going were forbidden there by law. One day, when one of the great actors of Paris was his guest, he had one of his plays, "Zaire," played at his house and invited the magistrates of Geneva. He wrote to a friend gleefully that the council of Geneva shed tears at the performance. "I have never seen the people so moved," he wrote. "Never before were the Calvinists so tender." The government of Geneva passed over this first theatrical performance, but later took action against it. In the meanwhile the awful Lisbon earthquake oc- / curred, which upset the popular theology of the eighteenth century. Leibnitz's optimism, that this was the best of all possible worlds, had had universal sway. But how could an earthquake that came on the people not in the midst of their sin as a judgment of God, but on them on their holiest of days, All Saints' Day, and killed 15,000 of them (many of them at worship in the churches), be explained? Voltaire took advantage of the situation to GENEVA 287 write a poem about it, so as to raise doubts. This and other publications, as his "Universal History" (1758)., which represented religion as the scourge of the race, brought down on him the wrath of Geneva. But it was his theatre that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The consistory of Geneva learned that he was preparing to recruit the young people of Geneva so as to give a theatrical performance. They forbade it and Voltaire submitted. But at his first opportunity, after being at "The De-j lights" for three years, he bought a place at^Fernev.l just over the border, in France, three and a half miles/ northwest of Geneva. At that time he had a home at/ Geneva, one in France, and one in Lausanne. He tried! to live under several governments, so that if he were inj danger from one he could flee to another. At Ferneyi he built a church and had inscribed on it in Latin, "Vol-, taire erected to God." He went to mass in it a few _ times. As soon as he was out of reach of Geneva he built a theatre at Ferney.* Thither he brought the leading actor of Paris, Lekain. His object in building it was tof corrupt the youth of Geneva. He issued invitations broad- ! cast through the country. The Genevan pastors warned their people not to attend, but the people went in crowds. And Voltaire rubbed his hands in glee at the helplessness of the pastors. This was only the beginning of his efforts. In 1757 D'Alembert, the great editor of the infidel Encyclopaedia, . spent five weeks with him. He was kindly received by the ministers and councillors of Geneva. At Voltaire's suggestion D'Alembert paid his respects to them by writing them up in his Encyclopaedia thus: "In a word, they have no other religion than a perfect Socinianism, * The theatre is still standing, though used as_a hay! The box is preserved at which Voltaire cheered~his own others' plays. oft. / and 7 288 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH rejecting all that is called mystery, and imagining that the first principle of true religion must be to propose nothing for belief that is offensive to reason." This article produced a great sensation at Geneva and through out Europe. For Geneva had had the reputation of be ing the citadel of Protestantism. The Venerable Com pany protested against the article and appointed a com mission to reply to it, who spent six weeks in drawing up a statement which they sent to foreign churches. It denied the charges and declared that they held to the inspiration of the Scripture and believed in a Christ who was the "fulness of the Godhead bodily." But by this Scripture quotation they did not mean an incarnation but an endowing of the man Jesus with the strength of God. Manhood was thus made the basis of Christ's person, and not his Godhead as the orthodox held. They also passed a severe action against Voltaire, whom they held to be morally responsible for the act. In a word, they felt themselves tricked by their arch-enemy. But the fact remained that D'Alembert's charge was true. The secret was out. The infidel had uncovered it. For the Church of Geneva was no longer the church ofCalvin, but the church of Servetus. Thus did Voltaire plague_ Geneva. His sneer was that whenever he shook his wigt he powdered the whole republic of Geneva- Soon another opportunity came for him to annoy Geneva. When, in 1763, Robert Coville was censured by the Geneva consistory for immorality, it demanded that when he was restored to the church he must kneel. This he refused to do, and Voltaire, seeing his oppor tunity, took up his case. Pamphlets enough to fill three large volumes appeared. Voltaire defended him with all the weapons of his satire. He made him the leading char acter in a burlesque poem, "War in Geneva." which over whelmed the consistory with ridicule. These things made such a stir that, a few month, later, the city council de- GENEVA 289 cided against the consistory and set aside the necessity of kneeling. Thus, after a six years' struggle, Voltaire triumphed. As time went on Voltaire became more and more bitter, amounting to a fanaticism against religion. His motto was "ecrasez l'infame" (crush the monster). This phrase he frequently used in his letters, in imitation of Cato, who ended his letters thus, with "Crush Carthage the monster." But the monster of Voltaire was the supernatural in religion, especially when it enforced its demands with penalties. His efforts now become dia bolical. Never was there a more insidious persistent effort to uproot religion than his. "Twelve men built up Christianity," he used to say, "one will pull it down," referring to himself. His literary genius, his wit, his sarcasm, his great wealtn and influence, were all invoked against Christianity. He then proceeded to fill Geneva with infidel publications. The Genevese gov ernment forbade their circulation. He would have his infidel books published with the imprint of Geneva on them, although they were not published there. When he published his "Philosophical Dictionary," in eight volumes, in 1764, the Genevese were angry, and it was well for him that he did not live in the city. When its first volumes arrived the consistory had them seized because of their impiety. Tronchin called on Voltaire at Ferney, and asked him to have the book withdrawn. Voltaire only shrugged his shoulders. Then he played a trick. While the police seized the original copies as they were sent in, other copies were sent in under an assumed name. Tronchin, indignant, had the book burned before the city hall. This greatly enraged Voltaire, and he only redoubled his ef forts by multiplying such books. He now published many books with religious titles, as "Serious Thought of God" and "Epistle to the Romans,!' which were filled with infidel arguments and suggestions 19 290 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH of doubts. In them he hid himself under pseudonyms, of which he is said to have used 108. He thus emptied his arsenal of unbelief into Geneva. He confidently ex- pected that two of his books would demolish Christianity, his "Philosophical Dictionary" and "Gospel of Reason." He made supreme efforts, sending 600 copies to well- paid colporteurs, who were to offer them to all strangers passing through Geneva, and to scatter them in public places. His colporteurs stuffed them among papers and parcels in the stores. They were fastened to door-bells or slipped in under the doors. Every evening they were placed on the benches in the park. The city made great efforts to find out who distributed them, but never was able. Even the catechisms of the children were tam pered with. These catechisms began religiously, but soon were filled with suggestions of doubt to the chil dren. Here appears a curious revenge of history. The Venerable Company had given up Calvin's catechism as too orthodox. Now they got more than they wanted in a catechism like this. These catechisms of Voltaire were gotten into the hands of the children being prepared for confirmation. It was a horrible, a blasphemous thing thus to undermine and mock the simple faith of a child just when it is trying to believe. But Voltaire was capable of doing anything — the worse, the better he liked it. Thus, he had copies of his "Philosophical Diction ary," so full of doubts, bound like a psalm-book and left on the benches of the Madeline Church, for the use of the young people. The Genevan Church, in all this, got more than she wanted. She made replies to Voltaire repeatedly. She could boast of her orthodoxy very easily, especially when compared with Voltaire's — anybody could; but, as com pared with orthodoxy, she was sadly lacking. Voltaire used to call her members shamefaced Socinians, and he was right All their efforts to counteract this ac- GENEVA 291 tivity were in vain; and no wonder. For what good reply could Socinianism make to infidelity when it is itself half -infidelity. They, therefore, failed, and their failure only humiliated them the more before the world. They were beginning to find that the down-grade in doctrine ultimately meant suicide. Voltaire boasted that he would destroy the church. Did he succeed? No. For the church still exists at Geneva and elsewhere to-day stronger than ever. The reply then made to Voltaire was that he might as well pull down the stars as pull down Christianity. But his failure is a fine illustration of how far a little Christianity can go. Even the low type of Christianity as then found in Geneva was stronger than this greatest apostle of in fidelity. The Genevan Church, without the Evangelical! doctrines, was in a very poor condition to combat Vol taire's genius and influence. If so little religion can put to flight so great infidelity, then we need not fear. If infidelity could not destroy what was almost a pseudo- Christianity — a Christianity with Christ's divinity and atonement left out of it — it can never hope to destroy the Evangelical Church of to-day, so full of life and energy and so full of the love of Christ and the hope of ultimate triumph. Surely, as our Master said, *'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Voltaire, after living at or near Geneva for nearly a. quarter of a century (1754-78), finally left it for Parisr where he died, May 30, I778._ The only event in all Tiis life that to any extent lightens the awful blackness of his diabolical attempt to destroy the church was his effort for religious liberty — he succeeded in getting the family of Calas, of France, free. Finally, to complete the demoralization of the Ge nevan Church came the French Revolution. What Alphonse Turretin began and Vernet continued and Voltaire aided — this, the revolution completed. Geneva 292 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH became a department of France. Many of the endow ments of the professors were lost and the number of theological professors was lessened to two. The Cath olics were allowed citizenship in Geneva, a privilege never granted them before, and by 1810 there were 4,000 of them in Geneva. In all these political changes Prot estantism lost. The masses lost respect for the church, many of the men ridiculed it, and the congregations were largely made up of women. The levity of the French, too, came in to dissipate the sturdy solidity of Swiss character, and Geneva degenerated to what it has been,. ever since — a little Pans — an imitation of Paris. How great was the descent from Calvin to this. Geneva, the city that, under Calvin, had been a city set on a hill, whose light could not be hid — the model city, the wonder of its day — had fallen into an abyss. The church which so successfully had resisted all the plots of Romanism for centuries was finally captured by its op posite, rationalism. For two centuries and more Geneva had held to its Calvinism; but half a century had un done it all. And it has taken another century to undo the work of the eighteenth century. But from the down grade we will soon turn to watch the up-grade. What Vortaite, in the eighteenth century, aimed to destroy, Haldane, in the nineteenth century, aimed to upbuild. The story of the Revival at Geneva in 1817 is more wonderful than the down-grade, and will prove more interesting. Section 4 rosseau and the genevan crurch It seems an anomaly to put John Jacob Rosseau, the flippant and wicked, into a church history ; yet his works exerted so great an influence politically and religiously that it seems to be necessary. At any rate, he serves GENEVA 293 as a foil to Voltaire, though not so great an arch-infidel ; and his influence is lessened by his gross inconsistencies. He was the most brilliant Genevese of his day in the realm of literature- John Jacob Rosseau was born Tune 28, 1712. "I cost my mother her life," he said, "and my birth was the first of my misfortunes." Sickly at birth, he grew up an imaginative, morbid child. At the age of ten his father forsook him, and he was reared for a time by an aunt. I She was a follower of Magny the pietist, and he was! thus for a time under pietistic influences. How different' his life would have been had he followed her influence- he might have become a great reformer to Geneva in an age when she greatly needed one. But the next year he left her to learn the trade of engraving. At the age of sixteen he fled from his cruel employer to Savoy, and there, under a proselyting priest, he became Catholic. At Turin, under the influence of a deistic priest, he lost his youthful faith and became ever after, at heart, an adherent of merely natural religion. We pass over his relations to Madame Warens in Savoy, his wickedness in Paris, and his ten years' strug gle against poverty there before he gained fame in the literary world, in order to take up his relation to Geneva and Christianity. In 1754, at the age of forty-two, he returned to Geneva, where he was highly honored for his literary fame. In order to become a citizen of Geneva he returned to the Reformed Church. But religion sat lightly on him, and he could easily pass from one to the other — Reformed, Catholic, agnostic. And it is to be re membered that the Socinianism of the Church of Geneval of his day had as little religion as possible, which made' that church suit his light religious nature. But after! four months he left Geneva for Paris. His political work, "A Discourse on the Equality of Man," which he dedicated to Geneva, was coldly received there. For al- 294 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH though Switzerland was a republic, Geneva was an aris tocracy, and he taught democracy, a dangerous thing to do in those days. Besides, he hated to be near to Voltaire, who came to Geneva. Strange to say, Ros seau got into a controversy with this arch-infidel and de- Tended religion against him. For they were opposites politically^ While Rosseau was a democrat, Voltaire was an aristocrat with a contemptuous kindliness for the masses. "They are stupid men," he said, "barbarous oxen who need only a goad, a yoke and some hay." When Voltaire tried to introduce the theatre into Geneva, Ros seau attacked him for trying to spoil the simple customs of the city, and yet Rosseau had already written some plays. vBut it was Voltaire's poem on the earthquake at Lisbon that Rosseau attacked most severely. Voltaire had used that calamity as an argument to show that God was not kind. Rosseau, in a letter, replied that such calamities were not the result of God's providence, but arose from man's errors. While, according to the pious, providence is always right, and, according to the philoso phers (like Voltaire), providence is always wrong, he held a middle view that providence was neither right nor wrong in respect to individuals, but acted only in general affairs. This letter Voltaire published, which so enraged Rosseau that he replied that Voltaire appeared to believe in a God, but never really believed in anything but the devil. Voltaire returned this by calling him a dog of Diogenes, etc. And so these two unbelievers quarreled as Voltaire and King Frederick the Great had done, to the amusement of Christians, and as leaders of infidelity are apt to doS Three books made Rosseau famous: his "Heloise," his "Social Contract," and his "Emile..." The first we need not notice, but the other two must be considered, as they concern religion. His "Social Contract" was the most important political book of the latter part of the GENEVA 295 eighteenth century. This is not the place to go at any length into its political teachings, except in barest out line. Its title revealed its novelty — that society was based on a contract among individuals. This differed from the old Biblical views that society was a covenant between God and man. It differed also from the view prevalent for centuries regarding the divine right of kings. He claimed that in case of usurpation, the con tract was broken, and the other party could do as they pleased. Its opening sentence was a bomb-shell to Eu ropean nations : "Man is born free and yet is everywhere enslaved." Many of its principles were incorporated in the American Declaration of Independence, which held that man was born free and equal. Napoleon said that without Rosseau there would have been no French Revo lution, and his remark is true. A very interesting con trast is sometimes made between Calvin and Rosseau. Calvin, or rather Calvinism, led to the formation of re publics; Rosseau, to the French Revolution. What was lacking in Rosseau's views? It was religion. Rosseau's democracy needed the steadying religious influence of Calvinism to make it permanent and a blessing to men. But it is to the religious side of Rosseau that we need here to direct our attention. In this work he makes Catholicism the religion of priests, and he claims it dis solves society. He attacks early Christianity as hostile to the state because it was spiritual and unsocial, while all true citizens should have a religion that inspires to social duties. Religion with him is reduced to two dog mas : belief in a God and in immortality. But, democrat / as he was, he held, strange to say, that a man who was not | willing to accept religion ought to be banished or put to death. (Here was the old Genevan spirit that put Ser vetus to death rising up in him.) Strange to say, these views of his bore fruit in the French Revolution. There were then two parties in France : the rationalistic Voltaire > 296 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH party of the Commune and the party of the sentimental I Rosseau. The first desecrated the churches and set up I the goddess of reason for worship. Robespierre, who was [a follower of Rosseau. retaliated by protesting against such atheism. The atheistic party succumbed and their leaders were sent to the guillotine on true Rosseauan principles for having no religion. Thus Rosseau, with all his republicanism, had not yet gotten to religious lib erty which respects the views of even atheists and infidels. But it is his "Emile." published 1763^ that especially develops his religious views. It, like the "Social Con tract," was an epoch-making book, only on education. Goethe called it "the gospel of education." It seems strange that a man like Rosseau. who placed his five ille gitimate children in a foundling asylum to be reared, would be able to speak authoritatively on the best method of training children. Yet, perhaps, it was the deficiency in his own training when a boy that may have prepared him to write it. In his day there was little home train ing of children, especially in French-speaking lands. Education was by tutors or by priests and after a parrot fashion. The children were sent to the country to be reared, so that the parents might be free from their care. His first principle was that the children ought to be reared by their parents. His second was that a child should be permitted to develop according to the pecu liarities of his own nature without restraint and without having prejudices or artificial faults implanted in him. Every child was good until education made him bad. | So Emile, his hero, an orphan, up to twelve years of age had no instruction in any book and no restraint what ever was placed on him. He was brought up so ignorant of religion that, at fifteen, he does not know there is a God, for he was not to hear the name of God till his reason was fairly ripened. "Better no idea of a God GENEVA 297 than an unworthy one," said Rosseau. But although Rosseau believed that education must not be by rule or rote, but according to the development of the nature of the child, yet his Emile, educated according to the strict rules of this plan, became merely a puppet. However, his book had a wonderful influence everywhere in leading to the education of the child naturally. But, of course, his views of the religious education of the child without God were contrary to Scripture and undermined religion wherever introduced. But it is the religious, not the educational side of this book in which we are interested. He gives the creed of the Vicar of Savoy. It is really agnosticism or ignorance j of God. He aimed by it to compromise between thel bald atheism of his day and traditional orthodoxy. But he was far from Evangelical. He held there was no t need of a revelation as in the Bible, for man had that hi his heart within him and in nature around him. | He knows there is a Supreme Being, but does not know him. And the less he conceives God, the more he adores him.* But, in connection with this, he pays one of the finest tributes to Jesus Christ that ever was paid by an infidel. He writes: "Where did Jesus learn among His people that morality, so lofty and so pure, of which He alone has given lessons and the example? From the midst of the most furious fanaticism, the highest wisdom made itself heard ; and the simplicity of the most heroic virtues sheds lustre on the basest of all vices. The death of Socrates, * The creed of the Savoyard Vicar consists of three articles, as follows : 1. There is a will that sets the universe in motion and gives life to nature. 2. If matter in motion points to a will, matter in motion according to fixed laws, points to an intelligence. 3. Man is free to act, and as such is animated by an im material substance. 298 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH philosophizing with his friends, is the gentlest that one could desire: that of Jesus dying in torture, abused, mocked and cursed by all, is the most horrible that one could fear. Socrates takes his poisoned cup and blesses him who in tears presents it. Jesus, in the midst of frightful suffering, prays for His infuriated executioners. Yes, if the life and death of Socrates be that of a sage the life and death of Jesus is that of a God." Thus do many liberals in theology try to make up for the lack of their theology, by effulgent rhetoric. "Emile" created a tremendous sensation. It was de nounced for undermining government by weakening re spect for kings, and by the Archbishop of Paris for its atheism and blasphemy. They charged him with say ing that man was saved without believing in a God ; yes, with asserting that the Christian religion did not exist. The French parliament ordered "Emile" to be burned,, June n, 1762, and ordered his arrest. Geneva, follow ing the example of Paris, as she is apt to do, ordered that both his "Emile" and "Social Contract" should be publicly burned, the first for its blasphemy, the second for its republicanism. And it was done June 17, 1762. Or, rather, it was the aristocrats at Geneva, especially the little council, in which they had the majority, who caused it .to be burned. This led to great strife there, for the democrats opposed it, and three times they marched to the city hall to protest against it, the last time numbering 600. These attacks on the council drew forth from Robert Tronchin a defence of their action. To this Rosseau replied in his "Letters from the Mountain," for Rosseau, in the meanwhile, had gone to the moun- tains. He fled from Geneva, June 9, to Bern. But the Bernese compelled him to leave, for Bern was aristo cratic and also disliked his infidelity. He went to Neu chatel. where the King of Prussia permitted him to live at Motiers. Here he remained some time and replied to the attack of the Archbishop of Paris on his book. He GENEVA 299 also took revenge on Geneva for burning his books by renouncing his citizenship and writing his "Letters from the Mountain," Before that he had mainly attacked 1 the state, now he bitterly scores the church. His attack ' was the more unexpected, as since he had defended Gen eva against Voltaire about the theatre, and the Genevan Church against D'Alembert, the Church of Geneva had been kindly disposed toward him, and its leaders, Vernes and Vernet, were on intimate social terms with him. He lays bare the condition of the Church of Geneva most severely. "It is asked," he says, "of the citizens of Geneva, if Jesus Christ is God. They dare not answer. It is asked if He is a mere man. They are embarrassed and will not say they think so. They are alarmed, terrified, they come together, they discuss, they are in agitation and often earnest consultation and conference. All vanishes I into ambiguity, and they say neither yes nor no. O Gen evese, your ministers are in truth very singular people. I They do not know what they believe or what they do not believe. They do not even know what they would wish to appear to believe. Their only manner of establishing their faith is to attack the faith of others." 1 What makes this description so interesting is that it is so true to fact. That describes the attitude of the Genevan pastors at that time. But it came with the force of a bombshell. Poor Genevan Church ! Only seven years before D'Alembert had laid bare to the gaze of the world her denial of Calvinism and of Evangelical faith in her Socinianism ; now Rosseau lays her condition again before the world. Of course, her ministers replied. Professor Claparede wrote on miracles, and Vernes on the exposi tion of Rosseau's "Evangelical Religion and Ministers of Geneva." And yet against him they could not make much of a defence, for their Christianity had degenerated peril ously near to Rosseau's natural theology, as they made revelation secondary to natural religion and mainly a 300 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH proof of natural religion. But he soon got into trouble at Motiers. For in Sep tember, 1762, he demanded to be allowed to commune at the Reformed Church there, declaring that he was a member of that faith. But the consistory came together and called him before them, because of the scandal against religion that his "Letters from the Mountain" had caused. It is said he was so intimidated with the idea of appear ing before the eight members of the consistory, that he excused himself. But they refused to allow him to com mune. For this the state council declared that the j pastor and consistory had exceeded their rights. And / Frederick the Great, of Prussia, was also displeased by I their action. But it is to be remembered that neither. infidels, like Frederick, nor secular authorities are the. proper parties to judge concerning church discipline. The pastor did right. He was true to the old principles of Calvin and his church, though it must have taken much moral courage to do so. For how could he admit an infidel to the sacred table of the Lord, as Scripture says the Lord's Table is not for unbelievers ? But his action stands out in strong contrast with the action of the Catholic priests at Ferney, who allowed Voltaire, arch-infidel as he was, to commune at the mass. But feeling rose against Rosseau there because of this incident and also because his old enemy, Voltaire, sent an anonymous letter, accusing Rosseau of atrocious crimes. He then fled to the island of St. Peter, in the lake of Biel, between Neuchatel and Bern. But Bern soon compelled him to leave there. Driven out every where, he hardly knew where to go. Finally he went toEngland, where_Hume_ attempted to befriend him, and failing, was severely charged by Rosseau (who at this time had become misanthropic because of his persecu tions) with having joined what he considered to be a universal conspiracy against him. Rosseau then fled to GENEVA 301 Paris, where the old opposition against him had passed away, and near Paris he died, in 1778. whether a suicide. or not, is undetermined. His body," like that of his enemy Voltaire, lies in peace in the Pantheon at Paris. His life is a sad illustration of the blight ot inhdelity. As a republican he might have done much for the world, much good; as an infidel he did it much harm. But he harmed no one more than himself, as his sad experiences show. Section 5 prof. charles bonnet Geneva, like Basle with its Euler, and Bern with its Haller, also contributed a scientist as an apologist to Christianity in that age of rationalism. Indeed it is re markable how in that age of rationalism, the men of science, rather than the clergy, rise up to prominence in the defence of Christianity. He was born March 13, 1720, and studied mathematics and philosophy. By 1743 he had risen to such prominence that he was made a member of the Royal Academy of London. In 1744 he published his Insectology, and in 1754 his Psychology. He was a philosopher and has generally been classed with the sensual school of Condillac. In France this school was against Christianity. But Bonnet was spiritual and he defended it, as he held to faith in the invisible and ih the future world. He was also a natural philosopher and loved to bring the discoveries of nature into union with his search for God. After many years of study in philosophy and science, he published, in 1759, "An Analytic Essay on the Faculties of the Soul and a Con sideration of the Body Viewed as an Organ." As a sen sualist philosopher, he viewed man just as he had studied flowers and insects. He thus emphasized the physiologi cal side of man. He claimed that the condition of the 302 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH soul was produced by the movements of the nerve fibres, for the soul works along the fibres. In this he was the forerunner of modern psychology. But though approach ing this subject from a materialistic standpoint, he yet held to the immortality of the soul. In 1764 he pub lished a popular work, "The Contemplation of Nature." He sees the religious everywhere in nature. The first part treats of God and the creation, in which he labors to trace the signs of the almighty hand of the Master. But it was his "Palingenesia.". published 1769, that was his main apologetical work.* He treats the subject philosophically. He says that man has two means of arriving at the knowledge of things, by his senses and by reflection. But neither or both of them could lead to a moral certainty of the future state. Man must there fore be led to a certainty only by extraordinary means as miracles and revelation. He defends miracles against Hume's definition, that a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature, and gives a philosophical analysis of the testi mony for miracles. Having defended miracles, he takes up providence, and then the life of Christ and early Chris tianity, defending its truth against the infidels. Haller was greatly pleased with Bonnet's discussion of revela- tion, and published an extract from it in a German journal in Gottingen. He declares that Bonnet proved the di vine mission of Christ with minuteness and philosophical precision. Lavater was also considerably influenced by Bonnet's writings. He utilized Bonnet's contempla tions of nature, as the basis of his appeal to Mendels sohn, the Jewish philosopher. He was also influenced by the philosophy of "Palingenesia," for he reveals this in the third volume of his "Views into Eternity." But he adds something to Bonnet's organic and germ theory. Bonnet was one of the noblest of the philosophical apolo- (* "Palingenesia" has been published in English, and entitled "Inquiries Concerning Christianity," by Bonnet, London, 1787. GENEVA 303 gists of his day. In his wide correspondence he exerted a deep influence for the spiritual in that materialistic age. By the worth of his character and the strength of his in-j tellect he was the mighty foe of Voltaire, who feared him.l And yet in it all he was tree trom dogmatizing, and lim- ited himself to the defense of the truth of Christianity and of immortality. He died May 20, 1793, in the midst of the French Revolution. Haller was the spiritual and practical apologist, Bonnet, the philosophical. BOOK IV PIETISM, OR THE REVIVAL 20 PART I GERMAN SWIZERLAND Pietism is a movement in the church which empha sizes personal experience. Over against rationalism, which emphasizes the intellectual, it emphasizes the feel ings; and over against ecclesiasticism, which emphasizes outward forms, it makes prominent the subjective, the inward, the personal. It has also emphasized the prac tical, as its glowing personal experience has led it to various forms of Christian activity, as in the founding of orphans' homes by the Lutheran pietist, Franke, at Halle, in Germany. Pietism is of two kinds, churchly and anti-churchly. The latter forms sects and is separatistic. It criticises the church for its laxity of church discipline and some times becomes very bitter against the church, calling it Babylon, etc. Of these pietists in Switzerland we have not time to speak, especially as they compose so small a fraction of the population. We will consider only the churchly pietists, — those who either remained in the church or held to the position of churchly pietists, even when driven out of the church, as in the case of Guldin at Bern.* Pietism became prominent in Switzerland later than in Germany. Or rather this might be changed to the statement that it came earlier in Switzerland, if we in- * Those who desire to fully investigate the subject of Swiss pietism, we refer to Hadorn's "History of Pietism in the Swiss Reformed Church" and Meister's "Helvetische Sczenen," pages 62-167. Both works are in German. 307 308 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH elude the Reformation. For it was the prophesyings of Zwingli at Zurich, and of Calvin at Geneva (they were also held at Bern), that were the root of all the later pietism in the Reformed Church. Out of this Reformed pietism the Lutheran pietism grewT For the Lutheran Spener got his first impressions of pietism when hearing the great French Reformed preacher, Labadie, at Geneva. The pietists were not a party in the Reformed Church, as in the Lutheran, but a part of her inmost life and history. After the Ketormation, the Church of Switzer- land went into a period of dead orthodoxy, from which the pietism at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, woke it up. If, however, the Reformation is not included in our estimate of pietism, then Germany received it before Switzerland. In Ger many the Reformed minister, Untereyck, introduced it (1665) from Holland, where Voet and Lodenstein had taught and preached it.* This was five years before Spener began his conventicles at Frankford-on-the-Main. Pietism did not begin in Switzerland until considerably later than this, as we shall see. In Germany pietism is said to have produced rational ism, because its intellectual narrowness led to a reac tion. This fact was not true in Switzerland, for there was not, as in Germany, any wide-spread movement into pietism so early, only a few individual witnesses, as Lutz and D'Annoni. The rationalistic movement in Switzerland really occurred before the great move ment into pietism at the beginning of the nineteenth century. So that in Switzerland pietism did not cause rationalism as it has been said to have done in Germany. Rather the pietism that came in about the beginning of the nineteenth century was a return from * See my "History of the Reformed Church of Germany," pages 359-395. -. PIETISM 309 rationalism, and from the effects of the French Revolu tion back to orthodoxy again. For pietism is founded it' qn orthodoxy. Only the doctrines of grace produce the richest religious experience. But though pietism was a return to orthodoxy, it was not a return to the former Calvinistic orthodoxy, but rather to a general Evangeli cal orthodoxy — that is, an orthodoxy that was connected with the supernatural over against rationalism. An interesting question comes up here, — how far the pietism of Switzerland was caused by the pietism of Ger many. The general impression among English readers has been that all pietism among German-speaking peo ples came from Spener. This is an idea which the his torians of Germany, especially the Lutherans, have dili gently fostered. But we have just noted that the Re formed pietism of Germany under Untereyck came before the Lutheran, Spener. But the Swiss pietism, did come from Germany, or not? Its origin in Switzerland seems to have been independent of Germany. Guldin, the first pietist,_claims he had had no contact with Ger- man pietists, and that it was a spontaneous movement in Switzerland. Later, however, we find that at Schaff hausen the pietistic movement was somewhat of a copy "of the pietism of Germany, as it, like Franke, founded an orphanage. So that we may say that pietism in Switzerland was both indigenous and also related to the pietism of Germany. The truth is that it was part of a great spiritual movement that went over Europe, and which appeared spontaneously in many places, often widely separated. In this it was like the Reformation of the sixteenth century; indeed it was a new Reformation, for the first Reformation was reformation of doctrine and cultus, while this was reformation of experience. Per haps it might still better be called a return to the earnest ness and fervor of the Reformation of the sixteenth cen tury, which had been chilled by deadness in the church 310 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH in the early seventeenth century. fOne cause of pietism in Switzerland was the reaction against the dead orthodoxy, which had taken the life out of the church. Another cause was the need of stricter church-discipline in the church, so that the unworthy would be kept from the Lord's Supper. For German Switzerland, with its Zwinglian form of church govern ment, had no church-discipline, as all discipline was in the hands of the state and the police. Still another cause for pietism was a social one. In some of the cantons, especially Bern, only the sons of the aristocracy (for Bern was an oligarchy, as were the other cities of Switz erland down to the nineteenth century) could enter the ministry. And there was a reaction against this due to the democracy of the New Testament and Christianity. The peasants' war in the seventeenth century, in Switzer land, had revealed the breach between the aristocrats, who ruled, and the farmers or country people, who had no share in the government. And so a movement toward breaking up the stiffness and formalism of the church came in as a reaction against all this. The pietism of Switzerland might be divided into two periods, — the earlier and the later period, — that is, first, the pietism at the end of the seventeenth and during the eighteenth centuries, and then, secondly, the pietism of the nineteenth century. But there is no clear line sep arating them. They run into each other. In the first period pietism was largely that of individuals in the church, while in the nineteenth it becomes a great move ment of the church. But it was the successes and even failures of the individual pietists in the eighteenth cen tury that prepared the way for the successes of pietism in the church in the nineteenth. CHAPTER I Bern Section i its early pietism Pietism in Switzerland began at Bern. In 1689 four students for the ministry of Bern made a trip together to Geneva. They were Samuel Guldin. Jacob Dachs, Samuel Schumacher and Christopher Lutz. "These young men decided to make their trip a distinctively religious one, that is, no disputing, such as was common among students then, was to be allowed and they were all to endeavor to utilize the journey for spiritual benefit. At Geneva Lutz became sick. By his illness not only was he brought to a profound knowledge of his spiritual con dition, but the rest became deeply impressed and more closely united to each other. After their return to Bern, they were accustomed to meet together morning and even ing for prayer. This was the beginning of pietism or the revival. Afterwards, probably in 1690, Guldin, Dachs and Schumacher took another trip to Holland. Lutz did not go with them, because of illness, but afterwards went to Leipsic, where he came into contact with some pietists. On this trip to Holland, Schumacher came to the belief that he had committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost and continued in this belief until on his way home. In Holland they did not come into contact with the Dutch pietists. Guldin on his return to Bern became, I August, 1692, pastor at Stettlen, near Bern. Schumacher \ 311 312 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH continued fighting against his doubts and without assur ance of salvation until Christmas, 1692, when he came to the light and wrote about it to Guldin. This greatly stirred up Guldin. For Guldin, at Stettlen, was having his doubts and struggles. He had been sick for three months with an illness that threatened him with blindness. He finally, after having been pastor for nine months, became so discouraged and tired of his struggles that he determined to give up the ministry. He determined to preach his farewell sermon August 4, 1693. But that morning, between nine and ten o'clock, the light of con version broke into his soul and he joyfully continued his ministry. His conversion led to renewed pastoral ac tivity and a new kind of preaching. Instead of the stilted moralizing, so common among the ministry of his day, he became evangelistic, preaching faith, the love of Christ and redemption. The movement proved contagious. Mulier, vicar at Belp, near Bern, joined Guldin in these pietistic efforts. Their preaching caused a great sensa tion. The people, attracted by it, streamed in crowds to their churches, to hear them. The pietistic ministers would come together for conference among themselves, as at Stettlen, Worb, Wyl and Hochstetten. But meanwhile the church at large, and especially the opponents of pietism, took knowledge of their actions. In 1796 Professor Rudolph placed nineteen theses against pietism and pre-millenarianism before the council and they were sent to the dekans for their approval. But the articles were not accepted by the ministers. There was some talk of trying to get rid of Guldin by sending him to Gebensdorf, on the outer border of Aargau, so as to get him as far away from the center of the canton as possible, but it was not done. Finally the city author ities, somewhat alarmed at the crowds that the pietists drew to their churches, took action, forbidding the people to attend worship outside of their respective parishes. BERN 313 The tide seemed to be running against pietism, when lo ! an unexpected thing occurred. Guldin was called as as sistant pastor to the most prominent position in Bern — the cathedral. This caused great joy among the pietists, j Lutz wrote to a friend in Zurich, playing on Guldin's name, "Golden (gulden) tidings. To-day is our golden brother Guldin elected as assistant. God, who does won ders, be praised." Guldin's position not only gave prom inence to the movement, but gave it influence, for Guldin as a city pastor was therefore a member of the ministerial convent there. Thus the stone that the builders rejected became the head-stone of the corner. His preaching produced the same sensation as elsewhere. As a result, J the city of Bern became divided into two parties, pietistl and anti-pietist. Guldin was the leader of the former,' and his colleague, Bachman, the head-minister of the cathedral, of the latter. Pietism also began affecting the students in Bern. They began the visitation of the sick and the gathering of the waifs into a catechetical class. Many influential people, some of them magistrates, joined the movement. The school council was controlled by its friends, Nicolas von Rodt being a member of it. Two events helped to bring matters to a crisis. One was the appearance of foreign pietists in 1696, when two from Saxony came to Bern and held conventicles or prayer-meetings in pri vate houses. For there was this difference between Ger man and Swiss pietist at first: The German emphasized the holding of prayer-meetings. The Swiss thus far had done little of this and had confined themselves to the regular church services, where their preaching was of a more evangelistic type. As soon as prayer-meetings be gan to be held, the suspicions of the Swiss began to be aroused. The other direct cause was the preaching of prej; millenarianism or the near second-coming of Christ by 314 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Samuel Konig, at the Hospital Church, Bern. He was a brilliant young man, being looked upon as a miracle of learning. Born 1670, he studied at Bern, where he ex celled, especially in Hebrew. He then traveled to Zurich, Holland and England. In England he was led to em brace pre-millenarianism, which at that time was looked upon by the Reformed of the continent as a heresy. He became pastor of the Hospital Church at Bern in 1693. His preaching was with great power. At first he was opposed to pietism because the pietists seemed to lay so little stress on learning. But he finally went over to them, it is said, because of his association with the magis trate, Nicolas von Rodt. He now boldly attacked the coldness and formalism of the church of his day. He declared that ministers must themselves be converted before they could ever expect the world to be converted He held prayer-meetings especially for the students. Thv breach finally occurred in 1698. We have seen how Pro fessor Rudolph had tried two years before to avoid the coming storm; now it broke. A commission was ap pointed July 13, 1698, consisting of Professors Rudolph and Wyss, and Revs. Eyen and Bachman, together with five secular members. Its composition boded no good to the pietists, as the ministers on it were their bitter oppo nents. Rudolph's position had been variously stated. Schweizer makes him the arch-inquisitor against the pietists. Treschsel claims he was friendly and mediated, and compares him to Voetius. of Holland, who united orthodoxy and pietism in himself. This commission called the pietists before them and the hearings continued from September, 1698, till into the following year.* Konig was the first to be examined. He was ex amined about his statements that regeneration was a ne- * For a full account of these hearings, see Hadorn's "History of the Pietism in Switzerland," pages 79-112. BERN 315 cessity to a minister. Pre-millenarianism was not men tioned in the examination, but he was forbidden to preach it. And as he did not obey, he was summoned before them again March 22, 1699, and that examination, to gether with that of March 29, was in regard to his pre- millenarianism. The commission contended that that doctrine was a heresy in the Reformed Church and had never been preached in the Bern Church. Konig made an unfortunate impression, and probably alienated Pro fessor Rudolph more from the pietists than before. He said that if he was charged with bringing in a new doc trine (pre-millenarianism), Professor Rudolph could also be charged with bringing in a new doctrine, for he taught Cocceianism in his book in the Heidelberg Catechism, which was a doctrine new to the Second Helvetic Con fession. Rudolph protested strongly against this charge. Guldin's hearing began December 5. The charges against him were that he caused crowds to come to his church service, thus producing bitterness on the part of other ministers. He was charged with denying the au thority of the state over the church. This he denied, but said he would not obey the state beyond his conscience. Another charge was, that he read foreign pietistic books, as those of Bohme and Horch. He granted it, but de clared he held to the doctrines of the Bern synod and the Helvetic Confession. He made a distinction between churchly pietists and separatists, and declared that he be longed to the former. Christopher Lutz, who had succeeded Guldin as pas tor at Stettlen, when the latter had been called to Bern, had had, as the result of his earnest preaching there, tremblings on the part of individuals in the congregation. He had, however, protested against this. But he had twenty-three charges brought against him. Pastor Schumacher, of Melchnau, was examined about his reading of foreign pietistic books. He granted 316 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH he had read them, but declared that Bohme was to him like fog, and that he gained more from the Bible and the works of Luther and Calvin. Others were examined, as Dachs, and some candidates for the ministry, as Fue- ter and Fellenberg, also a number of laymen who either held or had attended pietistic meetings. Mulier of Belp was examined, as to whether he preached pre-millenar ianism, which he did. When charged with holding per sons back from the Lord's Table, he replied that it was necessary, as they did not understand the meaning of the sacrament. When he was asked whether he, like Lutz, had had tremblings in his congregation, he said he had preached against it. Hadorn's judgment of these cases was that the charges were not proved against them. The hearings closed February, 1699, although Konig was recalled after that. The report came before the council June 8, 1699. ^ was a l°n£f report, covering 28 pages and con tained 10 chapters. It closed with giving five dangers of pietism, to the church, state, school, family and the civil relation. On June 10 the council gave its decision. Konig had the severest sentence. He was deposed and banished from I the canton in spite of Rudolph's intercession. Guldin was dismissed from his position at the cathedral and Lutz was dismissed from Stettlen (lie died soon after). They were forbidden to preach under pain of deposition. Hope was given them of getting other positions, but un important ones far away. Mulier was put under police surveillance. Dachs received a severe censure and had to promise to give up his pietism. Some of the laymen were fined 500 pounds for corresponding with foreign pietists. Nicolas von Rodt spoke openly against the ac tions of the council. He said, "If you again take action as on yesterday, it will be as at the condemnation of Christ, Herod and Pilate joined together and crucified BERN 317 Him." For this they later refused him the right to vote, at which he left the hall. The students rose up against the decision of the council. Three of them, Knecht, Fel- lenberg and Teschier, had to leave the land. Thus was pietism robbed of its leaders and the attempt made ,to crush it. The final act was the adoption by the city council,, June 14, 1699, of a new formula of subscription called the "Association Oath. It was, as we have already noticed in connection with the subscription to the Helvetic Consen sus, a double oath; first, in regard to doctrine and was directed against the so-called errors of Saumur, in France ; second, it had a practical aspect, for it was directed against pietism. In addition a synodal committee was appointed, which met July 5, and enlarged the nineteen theses, once proposed by Rudolph in 1696, to twenty theses. These forbade the use of the common colloquial dialect in the sermons, the preaching of pre-millenarian ism, the holding of prayer-meetings and correspondence_ with foreign pietists. Ten of the council refused to sign this Association Oath, and lost their places, among them Von Wattenwyl and Von Rodt. The pietists answered I these theses by counter-theses. For this the authorities! proceeded to sentence them one by one. It was forbid-l den for members of one parish to attend worship in an other parish. To facilitate the carrying out of this, the country pastors were required to preach in the cathedral at Bern, so that the people of the city of Bern would not need to go to the country to hear them, and thus violate the ordinance. But this custom of getting the country preachers to preach in Bern soon fell into disuse. /Konig was the first of the pietists to leave. With out" waiting for official notification of his banishment, he went to Herborn, in western Germany, where, at the Reformed University, he hoped to gain a position as teacher. But he failed because of his association there 318 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH with the German pietist, Henry Horch. He was com pelled to leave Herborn. He became very extreme in his bitterness against the church He called his ordina tion a mark of the beast and the ministry he called a Babylonish antichrist. It is evident he was no longer a pietist, but a separatist from the church. He went to Sayn-Wittgenstein, in Germany, then the refuge of all the sects. At Berleburg he wrote in 1700 "The Way of Peace," in which he attacked the Bern authorities and criticised the reformers of the Reformation. Bern re plied by ordering the book seized and confiscated. Then he went to Halle, where he became too fanatical even for that pietistic place and university. At Biidingen he became court-preacher of the Count of Isenberg-Biid- ingen. After he had been away for twelve years, he made overtures to return. But Bern had not forgotten his bitter attacks in his book, and refused. At Biidingen (171 1-29) he seems to have become milder in his sep aratism. By that time, too, great changes had taken place in Bern. His greatest opponents were by that time dead, as Wyss and Eyen, who died within a year after the pro mulgation of the Association Oath. Bachman was dead, after seeing his own son become a pietist at Zurich. He had ordered his son to be arrested for this, but his age and the chagrin caused by this made him sick, and he died ( 1709) . A milder spirit prevailed at Bern, so that by 1730 Konig received permission to return, but he did not enter the pastorate. Instead he became professor of Oriental languages and mathematics. He could not, however, entirely restrain himself from all connection with foreign pietists and inspirationists. But Bern kept a watchful eye on him, and in 1737 again forbade the holding of prayer-meetings. He died May 30, 1750.) Schumacher died 1701, Mulier in 1705. Christopher Lutz also died. Guldin__retired to Muri to private life. But his many friends desired him again to enter the min- BERN 319 istry. Unlike Konig, he lived quietly, not provoking the authorities, attending church regularly, but abstain ing from the Lord's Supper For this the pastor of the place denounced him before the authorities. He was called before the council and ordered to take the Association Oath. Broken by persecutions, pressed by his friends to do so, he finally consented. He received a call to Boltigen, in the Simmenthal, in 1701. But he was not happy because he had signed the oath. His conscience reproved him for it. So he asked the authorities to release him from the oath. They at once, January 18, 1702, deposed him from the ministry, and banished him from the land. He stayed for a time with his friend Lewis von Muralt, at his coun try home at Rufenacht. Then he went to friends in north Germany. But because of the lack of religious freedom there, he came to America in 1710.* He died near Philadelphia, December 31, 1745. He published in 1718 three booklets directed against the Bern authorities for their treatment of the pietists and himself: 1. "Relation" (30 pages), which contains the indict ments against them and the decision of the Bern author ities against them. 2. "Apology" (38 pages), in which he defends him self and the pietists against the charges made against them. 3. "Theses and Contra-theses." This was an enlarge ment of the "Apology." That was defensive, this was of fensive and aggressive in attacking Bern. Bern took action against these booklets, forbidding their circulation. Dachs finally won the friendship of Professor Rudolph. When he became dekan he stopped G* For his life in America, see my "History of the Reformed ) hurch in America," pages 68-88 and 207-224. y 320 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the civil processes against the pietists. In 1732 he was elected dekan at the cathedral at Bern without giving up his pietism.* Of the minor pietists Von Rodt was com pelled to leave Interlaken, and went to Magdeburg, Ger many, where he died. Von Muralt was banished and went to Colombieres, near Geneva. Many of the pietists emigrated to Germany, to Sayn-Wittgenstein and Isen- burg-Biidingen. Thus pietism seemed crushed out of Bern, but it was not, for Lutz continued it. Section 2 rev. samuel lutz or lucius This remarkable man was the fruit and crown of Bernese pietism. He was the most important representa tive of the early pietism in Switzerland. Pietism ulti mately redeemed itself. Not only was Konig permitted to return, but Lutz was allowed to be the great traveling evangelist of the eighteenth century. He combined in a remarkable degree fine scholarship with the genuine warmth of piety. He was born August 10, 1674, at Biglen, where his father, who directed his education, was pastor. At the age of seven he could speak Latin, and without hesitancy read Greek and Hebrew and partly understand the latter. An interesting story is told of him when he was six years old. His father gave him the Heidelberg Catechism to learn, and that in Greek. It seemed almost impossible for him to learn it, as he began with the first answer. He found it so hard that he cried. Whereat his father laughed at him. This so roused him that he went to work and learned it in a short time. But, at the age of nine, his father died, and he went to Bern to study. There he excelled as a student, es- * See Bloesch II, 80. BERN 321 pecially in Hebrew, mathematics and history. He was very diligent, learning whole books of ancient authors by heart, by getting up at 4 A. M. and working when other students were at sport. Naturally religious, he now grew more intellectually than spiritually. As he studied, his Bible became forgotten, he says, in self- ambition and pride of his own ability. But religion still had its hold on him. Once having heard in catechetical lectures what a blessed thing justification before God was, he prayed a whole night for it, and finally fell into a boyish sleep without finding what it was. The first time he went to the Lord's Supper, his joy was very great, so that tears like brooks ran down his cheeks, and he desired nothing less than to be a martyr. This ray of divine grace remained in him long, directing his heart. His student years at Bern happened to come at the time of the pietistic awakening at the end of the seven teenth century. He attended the meetings of the pietists and supported their views, but all the time he said he was not converted. Konig was his especial friend, being only four years older, and he also attended Guldin's services. But he never accepted the pre-mil lenarianism of Konig. When the time came for him to apply for ordination his sympathy with pietism preju diced his case. Discouraged by this opposition, he ac cepted a position as teacher at Yverdon in 1695. He held off from making application to enter the ministry for a number of years, during which time he passed through a series of great religious struggles. His old pietistic friends had either been banished or frightened out of their pietism, so he found himself thrown en tirely on God. (^Finally, in 1699, occurred his conversion. At 3 A. M., when the Holy Ghost came to him and revealed his great sinfulness, God spoke to him in the words of Psalm 50: 16, 17, 20, 21, each word like a thunder-clap. 21 322 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH No one great sin came before his mind except his neg lect of the good. He continued under this deep con viction of sin for three hours. Then the Lord seemed to go away, and he felt himself among the damned. "I am lost," he cried. In despair he thought of suicide so as to get away from the eyes of God. From this awful act he was saved by the mercy of God through Psalm 139:18. In the morning, as his friends came to waken him, he had the feeling that if Jesus were on earth he would go to him and ask if there were no grace so as to give him hope. Then he thought that if Jesus is no longer on earth, the friends of Christ were. And he sent for one of them, a pietist. As he entered, Lutz could only utter the words of the prodigal: "I have sinned." The other, with rare judgment, at once quoted, in reply, the promise: "If we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity." In a moment Lutz came from the shadow of death to the glorious light of forgiveness. For two weeks he was full of trembling and praying and could think of nothing else than the cross. So his years of waiting only proved a better preparation for his future success in the ministry; yes, better than all his previous years of study. He here learned to know Jesus clearly as his own personal Saviour, and in his loving com munion with God he began to lay the foundation of his burning zeal afterward^ When the time came for ordination, in 1700, the religious commission asked him whether he would not accept the Association Oath, which forbade all novelties, as pietism. As it was explained to him, he declared he could; but afterward his acceptance of it caused him much restlessness of conscience. As he accepted it, he was ordained in 1700. He preached at many places, as at Adelboden. But the religious commission kept their eye on him. Soon complaints came in against him BERN 323 that he was making the people weep by his sermons, for already he was beginning to reveal his remarkable pulpit oratory. Then he became assistant at Burgdorf, in 1702, where he continued his studies. Finally, in 1703, he accepted a vicariate at Yverdon. But, before going there, he spent much time in study, especially of the Bible. He knew by heart a whole Hebrew compen- dium, the Greek Hesiod, a rabbinical dictionary, and many Greek epistles of the New Testament! He was thoroughly prepared to become a professor, but pre ferred the pastorate. But his field at Yverdon was very hard. The au thorities seem to have sent him there so that he might wear out his pietistic excess of zeal in hard work on poor ground. That part of Bern was French, and the Germans, to whom he was to preach, were rough and ignorant. Scattered in the mountains, they would often have to walk three or four hours so as to attend church, and be so tired from overwork and from their long walk that they would only go to sleep. They had no re alization of their sinful condition or much taste for religion. He looked on them as a dead sea. They had long been pastorless, which made matters worse. He succeeded in getting better results from some of the French there. He especially influenced the young peo ple who came to Yverdon to school or to spend their vacations. Many were converted by his preaching and carried its influence to their various homes. But opposition arose. The French pastor there was opposed to pietism. It has been supposed that the Vaud clergy were liberal because they were opposed to the Helvetic Consensus. But their learning was often worldly. In endeavoring to emancipate themselves from the yoke of a school-theology they often went to the other extreme of formalism. For Saumurism and pietism did nof necessarily go together, though they were con- 324 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH demned together by the Association Oath. In 1705 the classis of Yverdon brought charges against him as a destroyer of the peace of the church by his sharp preach ing and his warning to the people against coming un worthily to the Lord's Supper. These complaints con tinued for two years, and, in September, 1707, two depu ties from Bern were sent to make an investigation, one of them Professor Rudolph. They declared Lutz innocent, but ordered his assistant, Faigoz, to be dismissed for his pietism. He published "Thoughts on Present Day Prophecies," in which, contrary to his former friend Konig, who foretold that the end of Turkey would oc cur in 1717, he held that most of the prophecies either referred to heaven or were to be spiritually interpreted. The greatest evil, he said, was not the Turk or the pope, but sin. Then his health failed, and he went to the baths in Aargau and Weissenberg. This was the beginning of his travels. At the baths he preached with great ac ceptance. He visited Basle, where he was deeply im pressed by Holbein's "Christ on the Cross." In 1722 he went to Frankfort-on-the-Main, in Germany, and there, in the Reformed church, preached one of his most fa mous sermons, "Reflections on the Heavenly Pearl." On September 24, 1724, he preached at St. Gall on the sixth commandment and on Christian love. St. Gall gave him a call, but he declined. His fame, through his preach ing, extended far beyond his parish, and his published works proved more influential than his pastorate. He hoped to be called to one of the churches in the city of Bern. But the authorities in the canton seemed to use their influence against him because of his pietism, and prevent him, if possible, from changing even to an as sistant's place there. But what he lost among them he gained among the people by his popularity as a preacher. He was called to churches in other lands, as Zweibrucken BERN 325 and Cotha and Biidingen, where Konig labored. He was tempted to accept the call given by the Count of Isen- berg-Budingen to Biidingen. But, in 1726, he accepted a call to Amsoldingen. His congregation at Yverdon had, by this time, learned to love him and was loth to give him up after a pastorate of twenty-three years. At Amsoldingen his fame had preceded him, and even those who did not agree with his pietism came to hear him for his eloquence. In 1728 he was made synodical preacher. He was also elected dekan of his classis. At first the neighboring pastors were somewhat shy of him. Though he was glad to preach anywhere, yet very few opened their pulpits to him as did the pastors at Blumenstein and the Church of the Holy Beatus. Lutz laid great stress on pastoral visitation. He used all occasions, even secular weddings and social gatherings, as opportunities for spiritual conversation. But though a pietist he was against inspirationism and methodism or mechanical religious experience. Finding it difficult to meet his people in their homes, he would announce the time when he would come to see them. But as so many came that there was no room in the private houses, he began to hold his house visitation in the open air and held meetings at a certain place, named Langenbiihlwalde, a forest beside the public road. In this open-air gathering any one could ask him ques tions, especially on the Bible, or seek comfort and counsel. The novelty of the movement attracted many to it. On October 22, 1731, two Moravians were present at such a meeting, one of them Christian David, the missionary. They greatly wondered at the freedom Lutz enjoyed in holding such services. But the visit of these Moravians caused complaints to be brought against him, and the re ligious commission took up the matter. They gave Lutz, privately, their decision, and nothing further was heard. But Lutz gave up these open-air meetings owing to 326 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH another complaint. He, however, paid more attention to pastoral work, holding prayer meetings daily. He gave great attention to the young in catechization. He was wont to say, "I would not exchange my catechi zation for a thousand dollars." And he made his cate chization tell, for he made its aim to be the conversion of the catechumens. He was a great lover of little chil dren and knew well how to win their love. Professor Konig once visited him, in 1731, and urged the children to care kindly for their white-haired pastor. At his ad vice they melted into tears of affection for Lutz. But, as at Yverdon, so here, he did not limit him self to his own congregation. He felt himself to be called to be an evangelist at large. And he became the great evangelist of the Bernese Ohe.rland. He would go wherever pastor and people desired him to come. He preached at the Castle Rougemont, near Saanen, also at Lauenen, Zweisimmen, Boltigen, St. Beatenburg and Interlaken. Everywhere he was gladly received. Many of his sermons he was led to publish. These he distributed as tracts. One of the best of these is "The Swiss Canaan," in which he depicts very finely the life of the Swiss farmer and shepherd of the Alps, their customs and methods of business. He utilizes all these for spiritual purposes. His style in the sermon was sim ple but striking. Sometimes he is carried away by his imagination. Still they are full of spiritual truth and sanc tified common sense. His tours he generally made in sum mer. Thus, in June, 1731, he was at St. Beatenburg and Interlaken. In August of that year he was at Friitigen, where he preached with such power that he melted pastor and people into tears. In 1734 the religious commission forbade his evangelistic trips, as they feared he was not giving time enough to his own parish. He obeyed them only for a year, and then he was at it again, as he vis ited the Emmenthal, 1735. Although he was away so BERN 327 much, yet his congregation made no complaints, be cause they so loved him. All this he could the more easily do, as he was unmarried and had no household cares to keep him at home. Through these trips he made a wide acquaintance and was visited by many friends, as D'An- noni, of Basle, and Count Henry Earnest of Stollberg- Wernigerode. In 1738, after a pastorate at Amsoldingen of twelve years, he was called to Diesbach, a large congregation not far from Amsoldingen. This occurred through the influence of the family of Von Wattenwyl, long known for their sympathy with pietism. It was no small thing for a man of his age (he was 65) to undertake a new l> charge. The congregation at Amsoldingen was loth to give him up. But he felt this was a larger field and accepted. At Diesbach he found the congregation in a very neglected state. They were shy of him at first for his pietism, opposed to his personal examination about their piety; for such things, they thought, belonged to the separatists of that region and not to the church. Lutz became somewhat frightened at this, and laid hold of matters with all his might, at first perhaps too severely. But he and the congregation soon got to know each other better. He found, too, that Diesbach had a number of sect people, as the Antonians. As they were increas ing, the religious commission, in 1741, ordered him to stay at home and not go away so much. And he did not go away till 1744, when he went to the baths at Baden and, in connection with it, visited Zurich and Schaffhausen. But, on account of some opposition to pietism as well as his increasing age, he did not travel as much as before. His house, however, became a gathering place for all pietistically inclined. Strangers would come from a great distance to spend Sunday with him and hear him preach. In 1746 his health began to fail. His eyesight became poor, so he could no longer 328 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH read or write. Two years before his death he said, "My Lord loved me so strongly last night that I could hardly bear it." In February, 1750, though not well, he finished a course of sermons on the Lord's Prayer. Then, alternating with his assistant, he began preaching on the sufferings of our Lord. On Easter morning he ascended his pulpit for the last time. He was so weak that they had to help him there and support him. But when he had once started to preach he revealed such strength as astonished all. Increasing weakness and fainting spells gradually brought him near the grave. "Soon," said he, "I will be beyond the mountains and over the sea." To his niece, who visited him then, he said, "I am studying the first answer of the Heidelberg Catechism about faith and justification, and I find it very comforting and precious." He died May 28, 1750, aged 76, in the fiftieth year of his ministry. Lutz was a pietist in the best sense of the word,. churchly, for he was against separation from the church. He had great common-sense, by which he avoided fanati cism on the one side, and placated the state authorities on the other. His great labor as an evangelist is proved by the fact that he preached in 108 pulpits in and outside of Switzerland. His preaching was not oratorical, but always spiritual and impressive. The topics of his books were often very rhetorical, as "A Fragrant Bunch of Beautiful and Healthy Flowers for Heaven," published at Basle, 1736, and "A New Bunch," etc., published in 1753. But such titles were the custom of his time. His published sermons are very long. Thus one, on Whit sunday, covered 260 small pages, and his prayer in con nection with it covered 40 pages. "His writings," says Hadorn, "were very much sought after and reminded one of the best works of the Moravians." He latinized his name, after the custom of his time, into Lucius dux. a light), and he became, like John the Baptist, a burning BERN 329 and a shining light to many — a modern Ecolampadius (whose name also meant lamp), and, like Ecolampadius, he brought a reformation into Bern. He redeemed piet- ism from the reproach that hung to it in Bern. And the "influence of his work made it easier to start in the nine teenth century such pietistic movements as the Evan gelical Society of Bern. CHAPTER II Basle Section i REV. JEROME d'annoni In this canton, as in Bern, a prominent witness for pietism arose in Jerome D'Annoni. He was born Sep tember 12, 1697, at Basle! His father was a descendant of the Italian refugees from Locarno. The father prayed much for the little boy, but died when the son was only six years old. The boy showed early signs of piety. Once he came to his mother with tears in his eyes, fear ing that he had committed a sin against the Holy Ghost. Though often tempted to sin and to doubt, yet God watched over him. Affliction laid hold of him, for, from his tenth year, he had a lame foot. He studied for the ministry, but would have preferred becoming a soldier, only his lameness prevented. So he compromised by en tering the ministry, hoping he might become a field- chaplain. As a theological student, he says, he was frivo lous and worldly. Music and the dance had more attrac tions to him than study. But a good angel appeared to him in the Baroness von Planta, who had greatly aided his mother after his father's death, and who, once, in order to cure his foot, took him to the baths. This good lady, who was the center of a pietistic circle, made him acquainted with antistes Samuel Werenfels. D'Annoni told Werenfels that his studies had little attractions to him. Werenfels ad vised him to read the Bible and copy and study Oster- 330 BASLE 331 wald's Theology, which had just then appeared. He now really began to study diligently and a longing came to him that he might be something more than a mere hireling in the ministry. He was ordained April 24, 17 19. But God so circum stanced him that he was converted. In November, 17 19, he became private teacher in the family of the widow Im-Thurm, at Schaffhausen. There he became sick, very sick, suffering from night-sweats. This led him to deep seriousness and through many struggles. The religious teaching he had to give and the spiritual atmosphere of that home brought him under deep conviction. He felt he must either change his life or that only one thing awaited him — to die and be lost. He finally made known his condition to Mrs. Im-Thurm, who tried to comfort him, though in tears. While in this convicted state, just as Saul of old met Ananias, who led him to Christ, D'Annoni met John Conrad Ziegler, one of the ministers who had been cast out of the ministry at Schaffhausen because of his pietism. Ziegler, however, had remained there in religious work, as in the holding of prayer-meet ings. When D'Annoni confided his case to Ziegler, the latter told him to read the 33d chapter of Job, a chap ter which he himself had read when under conviction. This led to D'Annoni's conversion. He then preached in the neighboring church at Unter Stammenheim on 2 Timothy 2 : 19, and publicly declared that he had been converted, and stated that he had given himself entirely to Christ. He more and more joined himself to the pietists at Schaffhausen and would take part in their prayer-meetings in the Rose garden at Schaffhausen. His association with the pietists provoked opposition. Hej was finally summoned to answer before the Zurich au-l thorities (1724), but nothing came of it. In 1726 he) left his position as private teacher and became assistant at Sissach for a time. Later, he again returned to his 332 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH former position as teacher in the Im-Thurm family. This he retained till the death of the widow in 1732, having been, altogether, in the service of that family for thir teen years. His association with them exerted a great influence on him. Though his mistress did not agree with him in all his acts as a pietist, yet his travels with her not only broadened him but brought him into connection with pietists everywhere. When he visited Basle he was received with joy by the Baroness Von Planta, who looked on him as her own son. In 1730 he was sent with his ward to French Switzerland, that the latter might learn French, and they wintered at Neuchatel and Lausanne. Then he went to the baths of Leuk and also spent three days at Amsoldingen with Lutz, the pietist, of Bern. After that the mother was about sending her son to the university under his care when she died. He had al ready gone as far as the Palatinate when the news of her death arrived. So he spent some time in Germany, as at Schwarzenau, and in .Sayn-Wittgenstein, that home of the sects. Its count wanted him to accept a parish of Birkelbach, but he declined. He also visited Ter- steegen, at Muhlheim; Boerhaave, at Leyden, and also Zinzendorf. He visited Halle, that home of German mi~ ' — ¦ ¦ 1 iiB pietism. He returned to Basle in 1733, where he pub lished the devotional works of Lutz. For a long time he did not take a charge, fearing that his pietistic preach ing might cause trouble. But neither did he wish to be a separatist, for his travels had opened his eyes to the danger of sects. He was wont to say that the learning of Babylon (the church) often goes only to Nineveh — that is, from one sect to another. After his return to Basle he published a hymn-book which was so excellent that antistes Merian ordered him to publish a larger book, of 300 hymns. These were to be added to the Psalms of Lobwasser, which had been usually sung in the churches. D' Annoni's hymn-books proved so BASLE 333 popular that, by the time of his death, the hymn-book had been enlarged to 400 hymns and had gone through seven editions. It continued in use till 1809 in the city of Basle, and in Basle-land until 1845. Finally, at the urgent request of his friends, at the age of forty-two, he became pastor at Waldenburg, in 1740. His earnest preaching there soon caused a sensa tion and produced large results, just as had happened to Lutz. Like Lutz he invited his members to his house for family worship and closed the service with a homily. This movement began gradually. First, the schoolmas ter's wife, seeing how excellent his family devotions were, asked to be allowed to come to them. Then, with tears in her eyes, she begged that her husband might be al lowed to attend. Then they asked that others be per mitted to come. And, finally, so many came that he had to make a regular arrangement about the meetings at the parsonage. Those on Mondays and Thursdays were for the men, and those on Tuesdays and Fridays were for the women. He would generally read a portion of Scripture, make an address, offer prayer, and then a hymn would be sung. Soon the people of other villages were drawn to hear his earnest sermons. For a long time these pietistic tendencies caused no opposition. But then the innkeeper of the village began to spread false reports about his meetings. The innkeeper was a cousin of the magistrate of the village — Wagner — and preju diced the latter against D'Annoni. Meanwhile his work became too severe for his weak constitution, and he then went to the baths to recuperate. But all the while the magistrate was persecuting him. Finally a circumstance occurred that brought matters to a climax. D'Annoni wrote a letter to the son of the magistrate, who had been guilty of a notorious sin, asking him not to come the communion. The result was more bitter strife. The neighboring pastor at Laufenfingen was also against all id / to/ 334 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH pietistic movements. Wagner, the magistrate, and this pastor brought charges against D'Annoni before antistes Merian. But D'Annoni made such an able reply that nothing came of it. He claimed that if it was not con sidered a crime for the farmers to go to the saloon and the ten-pin alley, they ought to be permitted to go to the parsonage where he had nothing more dangerous than family worship. His earnest preaching led many from other congrega tions to come to his services. When others found fault with him for this he replied : "I can not lock this church. I will preach to whoever comes to it. But I will not administer the communion to a member of any other congregation. But attendance on my religious services must, and shall, be free to all." Owing to his ill health he felt like seeking a lighter charge. He was called, in 1742, by Count of Stolberg Wernigerode, to the posi tion of superintendent of Cotha, but refused mainly be cause of his frequent illness. In 1747 he became pastor at Muttenz, near Basle. Many of the people there were suspicious of his pietism, but antistes Merian, in introducing him, spoke very highly of his work in his previous charge. Soon some of his members came to him asking for meetings such as he had had at Waldenburg. He started a number of prayer-meetings, holding them on Sunday. And while the worldly were at their card-playing and ten-pins, these pious ones (die Stillen im Lande) would gather together to talk over and pray over the sermon they had heard that day. D'Annoni would visit these meetings one after the other, thus watching over them so that no fanaticism or any tendency to separatism would appear. His labors soon attracted attention. On pleasant Sun days many of the wealthy people of Basle would come out in their carriages to hear him and others would walk out, as Muttenz is not far from Basle. The crowds BASLE 335 at his church became so great that chairs had to be brought in from the neighboring houses. Many who came at first out of curiosity came again because of the deep impression he had made on them. In 1752 the city council of Basle ordered that the city gates be closed on Sunday mornings, so none could get out to go to DP Annoni's services, for they called him a separatist. But he was not — indeed, was opposed to separatism. In 1754 he had some difficulty in restraining the efforts of separatists in his congregation. For, as separatism had so bitterly attacked the church, he had lost all sympathy with them. Another charge the Basle ministers made against him was that he did not preach in the customary stiff language of the pulpit, but used the simpler lan guage of the people. He replied, "I must preach so that my dear farmers understand. I do not mean to preach to chairs or benches." When it came to his turn to preach in the cathedral at Basle (for it was the custom for each minister to preach one Sunday each year in the cathedral), the attendance would be so large that many had to stand. Here, too, he found an enemy, as he had at Waldenburg, who opposed his pietism, a Dr. Huber, who had once been his fellow-student. The lat ter became jealous of him and tried to stir up the young men of the town against him. But DIAnnoni continued his pietistic efforts. Df Annoni's home became a center of religious influ- ance and also a resort for travelling Christians. Thus, Schultz, the Jewish missionary, visited him. D'Annoni was also interested in every religious movement. He was interested in Foreign Missions, as in the mission of Halle in southern India. It happened that during his ministry there was a persecution at Lucerne. A carter, Schmedlin, had been awakened there by reading his Bible. Then he happened to come into contact with the awak ened of Bern and of Basle. After his conversion he 336 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH won thirty to forty converts from Catholicism. For this he was imprisoned in Lucerne and threatened with being burned. His wife and friends were driven out of the canton. D'Annoni visited the wife at Wyl and held meetings in her home, hoping thus to comfort her. D'Annoni took great interest in their case. He also, about 1756, founded a society of Good Friends, which was the first step toward a Tract or Mission Society, which came later, as we shall see. For the last ten years of his life he was often unable to preach, yet he kept watch over his congregation. At last God took him, October 10, 1770. He was a very spiritually minded man. His motto was : "He that knows Jesus Christ has used his time well." His tomb bears the inscription: "After the cross, the crown." He also wrote a number of hymns. His Pentecostal hymn* was the most popular. He was, like Lutz, a churchly pietist, opposed to all separatism from the church. He greatly helped to prepare Basle to become the home of pietism at the beginning of the next century. Section 2 the religious activity oe basle Basle became the center of religious life for Switzer land and Germany at the beginning of the nineteenth cen tury. One religious organization after another was formed there and all became active. /D'Annoni had not yet died when the first came into being. It was what we, in English, would call a Young Men's Christian As sociation. The present Young Men's Christian Associa tion of the world was not originated by Sir George "Williams, of London, although he gets a great deal of credit for it among English-speaking lands. And he * Es sass ein frommes Hauflein. BASLE 337 ought to have great credit for his share in popularizing its work. But long before George Williams, a society of that kind was organized in Switzerland. Not Eng land, but Switzerland, deserves the credit of being the founder of Young Men's Christian Societies) There was a pious pastor at St. Albdh's Church, Basle, named Meyenrock. He had been called there in 1760. He it was who founded this Young Men's Chris tian Association. It was composed only of men and had several rules for its members like the pledges of the present Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, to prayer and service. Its pledges for its members were five : 1. To remain true to the pure doctrine of the word of God, and of the Apostles. ^ 2. To avoid all sectism or separation from the Church or anything that led to it. 3. Each one was to deal candidly with God, himself and his fellow-men. 4. Therefore, each should not only be free to remind others of their duty, even to rebuke them, indeed, it was their duty so to do. 5. They were to try and develop a good confidence in one another. This association, therefore, was designed to guard against the prevailing rationalism of that day and also to keep those inclined to separation within the church. It was at first mainly devotional, and its meetings were held on Sunday evenings, and proved very profitable. Spittler belonged to it, and thus described it in 1806: "It is now five years since I was first made a probationer and then a member. Every time I attended my heart was greatly blessed, and I felt very powerfully the near ness of the Lord. How often was I comforted, rebuked and taught." This association continued until about j] 1820. when it was dissolved by the death of its founder, j In 1825, another Young Men's Christian Association, off very much the same kind, was organized at Basle, which 22 338 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH to-day is the oldest Young Men's Christian Association in the world, and which, in 1875, celebrated its semi centennial. Rev. Frederick Mallet, one of the most prominent Reformed ministers in Germany, happened to visit Basle in 1833, and came into contact with this move ment, and he formed a second association of that kind in 1834, in Bremen, where he preached. The movement then began to spread in Germany. In 1836 an association was organized at Barmen and, in 1838, at Elberfeld, those two great religious centers of northwestern Ger- Imany. So that, by the time George Williams founded his association in England, there were already at least seven Young Men's Christian Associations in Germany and Switzerland. This movement continued until, when the English Young Men's Christian Association was intro duced into Germany, it found hundreds of associations there and the two were often merged. Thus a great, world-wide movement grew out of a small beginning. This movement came naturally out of the Reformed Church rather than the Lutheran, for the Reformed was the church that, from the Reformation, aimed to develop the lay activity. The second organization formed at Basle was the "Christianity Society." Rev. John August Urlsperger, formerly the senior minister of the Lutheran Church at Augsburg, and the leading pietist in southern Germany, led to its foundation. After a terrible mental struggle with doubt, he had come to abiding faith in Christ. And seeing the terrible conflict that Christianity had to wage in that day against unbelief, he formed the idea that there ought to be a union of all orthodox Chris tians for the defence of the old faith. It seems that this suggestion came from D'Annoni, for he had corresponded with Urlsperger about it. Urlsperger soon put the idea into practice. He travelled through Germany (1779) try ing to form such a union, but, to his disappointment, he BASLE 339 found little sympathy for it. He then, in its interest, vis ited Holland and England, but without result. He finally came to Basle as his last resort before giving up the idea. But here he found fertile ground and a warm welcome. What the Lutherans of Germany turned the cold shoulder to, even when championed by one of their own prominent men, the Reformed of Basle were glad to take up. Meyenrock, with his usual aggressiveness, approved of it, so did Burckhard, pastor at St. Peter's, and also Herzog, professor of theology. So a society was organized August 30, 1780, called "The Society for the Promotion of Christian Truth and True Right eousness." This was afterwards shortened to the name by which it came to be generally known, "The Chris tianity Society." It aimed to scatter tracts, to take care of the orphans, to aid Protestant congregations in Cath olic lands, and to spread Evangelical Christianity in rationalistic congregations and communities. Thus Switz erland was again ahead of England, whose religious Literature Society was not founded at London till after the beginning of the nineteenth century. This society had at first about 100 members, of whom eight were ministers. It had a monthly collection which was used for its purposes. Urlsperger aimed to keep it free from} any fanaticism or tendency to sectism and make it loyal j to the church. From Basle as a beginning, Urlsperger' was able to form societies elsewhere, as in Switzerland, at Bern, Zurich, Schaffhausen, St. Gall, Chur, Winter- thur, Aarau, Zofingen and Wiedlesbach; and in Ger many, at Stuttgart, Dresden, Elberfeld, Frankford, Nu remberg, and many other places, and had correspondence even with Sweden and America about it. The society was a unionistic society, having both Lutheran and Re formed elements in it. It became the center around which the Evangelical elements in the different communi ties could gather. One of its first • movements at 340 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Basle was the establishment of a prayer-meeting (or Bible-hour as these were called in German), led at first by Professor Huber, and later by Professor Miville. This society, in course of time, happened to get hold .of three young men who made it very efficient. The first was Frederick Adolph Steinkopf, who was its sec retary (1795-1801). He was a native of neighboring Wurtemberg, in Germany, and by his activity brought the society up to a large sphere of usefulness. In 1801 he went to London as pastor of the German Church of the Savoy. There he became active in the newly-or ganized London Missionary Society and the British Bible Society. He became the connecting link between Eng land and Basle and brought Basle into contact with the forward religious movements of England. In 1804, through Steinkopf's influence, the first daughter of this Christianity Society came into existence, the Basle Bible Society. It was the first among many societies that grew out of this "Christianity Society." The Christianity So ciety of Basle was in correspondence with the London Missionary Society which had just been organized. The second leader of the Christianity Society was Christian Frederick Spittler. He had been called as an assistant to Steinkopf as secretary. He was not a stu dent for the ministry, only a clerk by trade, but a very earnest Christian. After Steinkopf's departure he re mained as assistant secretary, and the society called Blumhardt, a theological candidate (1803-07), as secre tary. After Blumhardt left, as ministerial candidates were scarce and Spittler had proved so very efficient, he was, at last, elected secretary (1807), which position he held for many years. These three — Steinkopf, Blum hardt and Spittler, the second later the head of the Basle Mission House — were the three who were the early leaders of that society. As Spittler was foremost in Christian activity in BASLE 341 Basle so long, we will pause a moment on his life. He was born in 1782, in Wurtemberg, and educated for business. He was called to Basle, in 1801, as Stein kopf's assistant. A man of great practical tact and in tense religious zeal, he became a great spiritual force in Basle for two-thirds of a century. The number of religious and charitable institutions to whose founding he led was many, as the Home for Neglected Children, at Beuggen; the deaf and dumb institute, at Riehen, etc. But the most important of these was the Basle Mission-\ ary Society, of which we shall speak presently. He J was not rich or learned, but was spiritually ambitious, always thinking up some new plan to advance God's cause. Though sometimes set in his ways, yet he had a rare gift of religious diplomacy, which made his efforts generally successful. He was especially active in missions — founded a Jewish Mission Society, 1820, and had a Jewish school in his own house. He became interested in thel evangelization of Greece, when Greece was receiving] much attention politically from Europe. A number of' Greeks were brought from slavery and educated at Beuggen. This Greek movement brought Spittler, the leading pietist of Basle, into close relations with Professor De Wette, of Basle, the leading rationalist there, and whom Spittler had vehemently opposed when he was called to Basle. But missions brought them to gether, for De Wette was active in missions, having written a pamphlet on the "Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in America." Spittler died December 8, 1867. But the crown of these religious organizations at Basle was the Basle Missionary Society. The end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries was the era of the founding of modern missionary so cieties, as the Netherlands, Berlin, and now the Basle Society. Spittler was the force that led to its origin. 342 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Missions had always been a favorite subject with him, indeed, he first had an idea of the removal of Janicke's Mission Institute from Berlin to Basle. In 1805, Spittler, who would gladly have gone himself as a missionary to the heathen, conceived the idea : why not a mission-house at Basle ? Spittler wanted the mission-house founded, but Blumhardt declared it was impossible to do so. In 1810 Rev. Mr. Von Brunn was called to the pastorate of the St. Martin's Church at Basle, and he aided the interest in missions. When the Napoleonic wars broke out Spittler had his hands full of other things, for he was kept busy distributing Christian tracts. But even these wars were overruled to aid missions, as we shall now see. In 1814 Von Brunn began the missionary lectures that Blumhardt had dropped when he left in 1807. At the time that the French army was threatening to bombard Basle from Hunningen, Von Brunn was giving a mis sionary lecture. At the close of the lecture a young man came forward to him and said he wanted to go as a missionary. Von Brunn asked Spittler, "Can we not educate such men for missionary work?" This question led Spittler to plan the foundation of a mission-house. Spittler conferred with Blumhardt and with Steinkopf, who happened at that time to visit Basle. So this society was organized September 25. 181 ;;.>, in the parsonage of St. Martin's Church, by six pious men. They called Blumhardt to be the inspector or head of the mission- 1 house. He came April 17, 1816, and the school was opened August 26, 1816, with seven students, of whom four were from Wurtemberg and two were Swiss. The number of students increased until larger quarters were necessary, and, in 1820, a mission-house was bought accommodating forty. Blumhardt did not pretend to be a great scholar, but he had rich knowledge and was an excellent administrator. He continued inspector un til 1839, and with great ability and energy built up the BASLE 343 mission-house and its interests. The later history of the Basle Mission Society will be given in the next book of this volume. CHAPTER III Schaffhausen Section i its early pietism Pietism appeared at the beginning of the eighteenth century, in this canton. The Hurters were a prominent ministerial family in the canton, and one of them, John George Hurter, who was pastor at Auf der Steig in 1708, started (1711) an orphanage, following the example of Francke, the Lutheran pietist of Halle, Germany. He also began holding prayer-meetings in this school-house. Other candidates for the ministry joined themselves to him. It happened that Gruber, the separatist, visited them and this roused opposition. And, on March 2, 1717, six ministers and candidates for the ministry were sus pended from the ministry for pietism, among them Hurter. After four weeks' suspension, as they refused to obey the orders of the canton against prayer-meetings, they were deposed from the ministry. Hurter went back into his orphanage and lived there until his death in 1721. But the deposition, instead of stopping the prog ress of pietism, only scattered it everywhere throughout the canton. It led, too, to the formation of a pietistic congregation, to which these deposed candidates joined themselves. The most prominent of them was the young est of them. Tohn Conrad Ziegler. When he first went to these prayer-meetings, his mother was so opposed to them that she locked up his clothes so he could not go. But, by a back way, he hurried there in his night-clothing. 344 SCHAFFHAUSEN 345 After his deposition he continued as a private teacher and also aided in leading many anxious souls to Christ, as D'Annoni. In 1721 the deposed ministers and candi dates published a defence entitled, "Witness of the Truth. at Schaffhausen." Pietism, though seemingly crushed for the moment, yet recovered later. For the human heart is never en tirely satisfied with the cold formalities of religion. John William Meyer, born 1690, lived early enough to come into contact with the meetings of which we have just spoken. But he happened to be a country pastor at the time and so attracted less attention than the pietists in the city of Schaffhausen, who were deposed. In 1739 he was called to the city of Schaffhausen as evening- preacher. He then began holding devotional meetings. Zinzendorf visited him in 174.0. This roused suspicion and opposition. Meyer was called before the school council and compelled to give up the prayer-meetings. This he did under protest, claiming that they were fully Reformed, and quoting for them the text, "Where two or three are met," etc. In 1749 he became pastor of the cathedral. The celebrated historian of Switzerland,_John Mulier, who heard him preach when seventeen years old, declared that, after hearing his sermon, he could always be more pious from Sunday to Wednesday than during the latter part of the week. As late as 1794 Mulier wrote , to his brother that the memory of Meyer was so fresh and living in his heart, that when he thought of what a bishop of the early Christian Church must be, he al ways pictured him as like Meyer. Meyer was elected antistes (1756), and wrote a number of hymns, especially fifty-two catechetical hymns arranged according to the topics of the Sundays of the Heidelberg Catechism. He died 1767. Thus pietism, at first cast out by the church, soon gained the head of the church in the antistes. Meyer was later followed by another antistes who 346 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was more noted for his pietism, John Henry Oschwald,. who lived 1721-1803. He studied at Schaffhausen and then went to Leyden to study. On his return he stayed at Elberfeld in northwestern Germany (the home of the pietism of the Reformed Church of Germany) for ten years. He returned to Schaffhausen in 1757. In 1767 he was elected antistes. He was a strong opponent of rationalism and an undaunted defender of pietism, hop ing by it to get back the separatists into the church. In 1779 he published his most important work, "Directions for a Wholesome Understanding of the Bible." In it he reveals peculiar views, some of them savoring of Moravianism, but rather of Spangenberg than of Zin- zendorf. Thus he attacked the Apostles' Creed because it referred the creation to God the Father and did not bring it into connection with Christ. (The Moravian view was that everything was done through Christ) . He also charged that the creed separated too much the three persons of the trinity. For his statements he was charged with a departure from Calvinistic orthodoxy by the ministers, especially because he was not a Calvinist (in this, following Zinzendorf). In 1773 he called a meeting of the ministers, to whom he made a full state ment of his theological views. He succeeded in quiet ing the opposition, but his relations to the ministers were for a long time strained. He died 1803, after being antistes and dekan thirty-five years. Then came the two brothers Mulier, John, the great historian of Switzerland (1752-1809), of whom this is not the place to write (as he was a historian, not a theo logian), except to say that amid all the temptations of Catholicism, he remained true to his Reformed faith. His last words were: "Whatever is, is of God, and all comes from God." He highly reverenced the Bible as the palladium of liberty. His brother, John George Mulier (1759-1819), became a! leading preacher of SCHAFFHAUSEN 347 Schaffhausen. He was one of the few men who, with Lavater and Hess, combated the rationalism of that day. He was the Swiss Herder, having lived with Herder for six months in his house. He was led bv his A, mother's influence and the reading of Young's "Night _ Thoughts" and Lavater's "Views Into Eternity," to study "for the ministry, fie studied at Schaffhausen, also at Zurich (where he greatly admired Lavater), then at Tubingen and Gottingen. It was because of the doubts raised at the latter place that he went to Weimar and, like Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, he sat at the feet of Herder. He was greatly helped and influenced by his teacher and became his follower, though it was the early Herder he followed and not the later, after Herder had come under the influence of Spinoza, which weakened his testimony for Christianity. Mulier endeavored to mediate between Herder and orthodoxy. He exerted a strong conservative influence in the canton and published a number of apologetical works. Section 2 its later pietism Somewhat later than Mulier, there appeared two men who became prominent in the religious history of Schaff hausen. During their life and that of Mulier occurred the visit of Madame Krudener, the female evangelist of Europe in the early part of the nineteenth century, which created so much excitement in the canton. The first of these was John Conrad Maurer, who lived 1771- 1841. He was born at Schaffhausen, studied there and later became professor of rhetoric. The other was David Spliess. He was born 1786 and educated at Schaff hausen. He passed through two great crises in his life. The first was about entering the ministry. He had de cided to become a merchant and had entered business. 348 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH But he was not satisfied and spent much time in prayer to God about it. In his anxiety he wrote out a prayer which he put into his pocket. Unknown to him it fell out into the street, where it was picked up by a friend, who gave it to J. G. Mulier, of whom we have spoken above. The latter, learning from it his desire for the ministry, went to his parents and his employer and gained their permission for him to continue his studies so that he might enter the ministry. After studying at Schaffhausen he went to Tubingen. Schleiermacher's "Addresses" came to him as a drink of water to a thirsty soul. He then went to Heidelberg, where he came un der the influence of Schelling's philosophy and thought he had found the truth in it. But when he revealed it to J. G. Mulier, the latter warned him against its errors, and then all his old questions came up again. He felt that he was not spiritually prepared to enter the min istry, so he accepted for a time a private tutorship in a Dutch family near Breda. And here it was that he met his second crisis — his conversion. There he met Rev. Mr. Krafft, later professor at Erlangen. one of the most spiritual men of his day and who, at Erlangen, though Reformed, led to a revival in the Lutheran Church of Bavaria.* Spliess happened to meet him August 18, 1811, at the house of the minister of Goch. Krafft soon got into close conversation with him and to gether they went to Cleve, two hours distant. Spliess opened to Krafft the struggles of his heart for light. Krafft pointed him to the love of God. The next morn ing Spliess felt himself a new man, for the joy of con version had come to him. Another conversation with Krafft completed the matter. Krafft's spirituality and peace of soul were, ever after, his great ideal. He was elected professor at Schaffhausen, 1812, and pastor at * For Krafft's life see my "History of the Reformed A Church of Germany," pages 526-29. J SCHAFFHAUSEN 349 Buch, northeast of Schaffhausen, 1813. It was while he was pastor at Buch that Madame Krudener appeared in 18 17. Madame Krudener was the Jemale evangelist of Europe in the early part of the nineteenth century. She was a Russian princess, born at Riga, 1764. She had lived a life of worldliness and luxury, had been married at eighteen to a Russian baron named Krudener, who later died. But she did not live with him, but left him and traveled everywhere, seeking luxury and fashion, until suddenly she was converted in 1807, and gave all this up. After such an adventurous life, she brought to the service of God the same fever ish activity and excitability that had distinguished her before in society. She went from place to place preach ing, sometimes from morning till night. She travelled to Paris, to Baden, to Russia, and to Switzerland. Her most remarkable act was her great influence over the Russian Czar, Alexander, which led to his conversion to Christ. This event exerted a great political influence on Europe early in the nineteenth century, for it so freed him from the trammels of the Greek Church that he proposed the Holy Alliance with the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia, which changed the political face of Europe. Her religious zeal became fanatical. Stilling introduced her to mysticism and the prophetess Kummerin opened to her the world of visions. She was, therefore, given to certain eccentricities which pro-' duced prejudice, as the seeing of visions and wonder working. One of her peculiarities, very objectionable to Protestants, was the fact that she kneeled before a crucifix, and even went so far as to call on the virgin These were doubtless relics of her former Greek faith. She was friendly to Catholics and often read the Catholic mystic, Madame Guyon. But Evangelical views were most prevalent with her. She believed in personal experience. The rest of the soul in God, whose source :)' 350 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH was the blood of Christ, was her chief doctrine. She always preached repentance. For these reasons she was looked upon with suspicion everywhere, especially by the worldly and the rationalists, and even by the clergy given to dead orthodoxy. As she was very liberal with her means, the poor and the suffering would crowd around her. Besides, the fact that a woman should preach was a great cause of offence in that day. For nad not Paul commanded that women should keep silence in meeting? She died December 13, 1824, after a checkered life. In spite of her eccentricities, there is no doubt that she did a great deal of good and was a means ordained of God to awaken Europe. She appeared 1817, accompanied by Empeytaz, and located at Lottstetten, two hours from Schaffhausen, in Baden. She was not permitted to come to Schaffhausen, the excuse being that, by her charities, she gathered so I many beggars around her. But really it was because of her pietism. Everywhere in the street and in the hotels | she spoke of Christ crucified as the ground of hope. For, because of the rationalistic preaching, the cross had faded. out of people's minds. Soon those who loved the cross gathered around her." The pulpits thundered against her, but that did not keep the people from coming to her meetings. Mulier, Maurer and Spliess visited her and attended some of her meetings. It was Spliess' congre gation that began to be affected by them. Although he had not gained much by his visit to her, yet she seems to have given an impulse to him which affected his preach ing and his catechization. It happened that, at the be ginning of 1817, there was an earthquake in Switzerland, and Spliess preached on it. Soon after an earnest ser mon by him, the men, both the convicted and the con verted, gathered together at a house and thanked him for the peace he had brought them. So he held prayer- meetings. His children, at catechization, also became SCHAFFHAUSEN 351 deeply affected. They received an overpowering sense of their sin and unworthiness, and then a saving security in God. Some of the children declared that they had( visions and saw Jesus. This revival began in April, 1817. A blessed influence pervaded the whole community. Quarrels ceased and profanity stopped. Certain extrava gances appeared, but he neither supported them nor laid much value on them, hoping that out of it all good would come. A young girl, seized by grace, fell to the ground 1 and struck her head in falling, so that it bled. Her father tried to help her up, but she refused, and finally arose rejoicing in hope. These excitements attracted many strangers to Buch to see and also to criticise. A ridiculer of religion heard the voice of God by night: "Saul, why persecutest thou me?" and was converted. By Spliess' wise guidance these excesses were checked, and a quiet peace filled the community. His sermons were full of spirit and fire. As the Reformation festival ap proached, Spliess declared that the church needed a new reformation, as it did, and his remark produced a great ..impression. This revival spread to the neighboring congregation of Beggingen, in December, whose pastor, Vetter, re joiced in it. His members asked for Sunday evening prayer-meetings. There were also tremblings and con vulsions at Beggingen. The pastor expounded Romans at the evening prayer-meetings. Maurer took part in them and preached at Schleitheim on Sunday, for the movement spread to some other congregations. Of course, rationalism attacked such meetings, and rationalism then had control of Schaffhausen. Com plaints were made before the antistes against Spliess. The antistes Kirchhofer, at a convent of ministers, April 17, 1819, attacked Spliess. They appealed to the civil authorities, who appointed a commission to look into the matter. Spliess made a defence before them. But 352 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH through J. G. Mulier, who had not at first been pleased with Spliess' strong manner and somewhat theosophic expressions, a compromise was brought about. He op posed the use of any force against the movement, and so Spliess was not disciplined. And the canton quieted down. This pietistic movement, though it led to some ex cesses, yet left a very blessed influence behind it. It produced a number of awakened persons in the different congregations. It became so influential in its results, that it led the orthodox ministers to gain the majority in the canton, so that finally the influence of rationalism ceased. Up to the revival, Spliess had cared nothing about missions, but now he became deeply interested in them, indeed, the main supporter in his canton of the Basle Mission-house, where he was always gladly heard by the students. And one of the converts of the revival, Lang, went as a missionary to the Caucasus. Later, as we shall see in our next part, Spliess became antistes, 1841. He died 1854, having exerted a great influence for Evangelical religion in his canton. As a result of these pietistic movements. Schaffhausen is to-day the great Evangelical canton of German Switzerland. PART II FRENCH SWITZERLAND CHAPTER I Geneva The revival at Geneva, in the early part of the nine teenth century, was one of the most remarkable signs of God's power in Europe during that century. Section i the preparation for the revival The Church of Geneva had, as we have seen, become rationalistic in the eighteenth century. Calvinism had degenerated into Socinianism. The only part of Cal vinism that remained was the church-government, and that had been so modified that the consistory had become a self-elected aristocracy. The pastors generally preached a mutilated Christianity, "which recognized* Jesus, not as the unique son of God, but as a messenger! of God, about whom one is embarrassed to know his true ) nature." The French Revolution came with its baneful influence on society and the church. French levity took away all respect for the consistory and the church, and the church fell more through it than it had through Vol taire with all his boasts against it. In 1806 the sub- scription of the ministers was changed to the Old and New Testaments and the Apostles' Creed... Guers said "H ' 353 354 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH that the religion of many of the Venerable Company was not religion. The church was imbued with the ideas of Rosseau. In general, it did not have much more idea of faith than that of the Vicar of Savoy. And yet, underneath all this rationalism, there were influences at work preparing for a revival. Indeed, ra tionalism itself is often a preparation for revival, for men's hearts grow so weary of its insipidity and empti ness that even rationalism is apt to produce a reaction to better things. Even in that dark time God left him self not without a witness. One of the elements in the preparation was the existence at Geneva of a Moravian congregation. Zinzendorf had visited Geneva in 1741. and had founded there a Reformed trope or circle of the Moravians. Its members were members of the Re formed Church, but followed the method of the Mo ravians, and kept up correspondence with them. They kept on meeting and praying, and especially in 1810 was there much prayer. The influence of this congregation was, as we shall see, one of the direct causes for the revival. Another cause for it was a small group of Evan gelical pastors in the National Church of Geneva. Al though most of the pastors were rationalistic, yet there were three who were Evangelical, Cellerier, Moulinie and Peschier. Cellerier (1755-1844) was pastor of a country charge near Geneva named Satigny. But, though only a country pastor, he had gained great influence by his great Bible knowledge and fine pulpit ability. The Genevese often came out in crowds to attend his church, and whenever he preached in Geneva he made a deep im pression. His sermons were so full of gospel truth and of unction that when published, they caused the Socinian book of sermons, then in common use among the people, to be set aside. The people had found in them something better than husks. Cellerier was a broad-spirited Chris- GENEVA 355 tian. Guers tells that when he began frequenting the Moravian services, his father became very anxious, and went to Cellerier for advice. Cellerier gave the reply, unusual then, that the Moravians were excellent Chris tians and would exert an excellent influence on the young man. Gaussen, his successor at Satigny, called Cellerier "a Father among the Fathers of the Reformed Church who was destined to be the link between the worst and the happiest days of Geneva." Moulinie was the second Evangelical pastor. These witnesses for the truth complimented each other. If Cellerier was the powerful orator, Moulinie was the profound theologian. He was one of the pastors in the city of Geneva and, therefore, could exert more influence than Cellerier, who was a country pastor. But he was more theological in his tendency. He was better fitted for a chair of theology, from which the rationalists, how ever, were careful to keep him. And his preaching, though more theological than Cellerier's, was not so popu lar. So he really exerted less influence than Cellerier. But, in one way, he did a greater work. He gathered to his house some of the young theological students to study theology with them. As the theological seminary was virtually Socinian, Moulinie thus filled a real gap in its degenerate theological teaching. A third witness for the Evangelical gospel was Peschier, pastor at Cologny, a man of great versatility and learning, especially in mathematics and astronomy, a veritable encyclopaedia of all the sciences. But his in fluence for Evangelical religion was lessened because he did not come out as a clear witness for it till in the last years of his life. Duby might also be mentioned, though he occupied rather a mediating position between the orthodox and the rationalists. But he had been in America and brought back with him some of the aggressive spirit of the new 356 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH world. Thus, under his leadership, a Bible society was organized in 1814. He was an especially fine catechist. The solemn impression he made on the young in prepar ing them for confirmation, prepared some of them later to accept the full gospel. He also gave some homiletic courses in the university, and was the first in Geneva to give homiletics a scientific character. In general, it might be said that the country pastors were more inclined to Evangelical piety than the city pastors, who tried hard to keep all Evangelical influences outside of the city, Moulinie being the only Evangelical in the city. These pastors, with the Moravians, were the early witnesses for the truth in Geneva. Strange to say, this movement to -orthodoxy was helped along by a lodge of Free Masons, who held a doctrine of the trinity, and their ideas were colored by an extreme form of mysti cism. Some of them had read pietistic books, as of Bohme, Stilling and Madame Guyon. Two or three of the Genevan ministers, as Moulinie, belonged to this lodge. In 1810 there came a movement among the students toward orthodoxy. The theological lectures they heard were cold and dry. Bost says, "We learned nothing beyond the doctrines of natural religion." The New Testament was not considered as a text-book for the ministry. The Church of Geneva, while admitting with Rosseau the majesty of the Bible, did not take it as its rule of life and faith. But a few of the students longed for better things. Some of them had come into contact with the Moravians. This produced in them a desire for a deeper spirituality than was given by the lectures of their professors. These students, in 1810, /organized themselves into a society called the "Society of the Friends." Among them were two theological students, Empeytaz and Guers. Their leader was a Mo ravian, Ami Bost, the leader of the singing in the St. GENEVA 357 Gervais Church. His son, also a student, had been partly reared at Neuwied, the Moravian colony on the Rhine,. sent there to be gotten away from the rationalism in Geneva. There he had come under the earnest spirit of the Moravians. Of these students the most ardent was Empeytaz. He had had a fine education in his boyhood. But, since he was fourteen years of age, he came under deep con viction without being able to find peace. He was so driven by his soul's anxieties for salvation that he would sometimes attend the services of the Catholics, for he was starved in listening to the preaching of the Protest ant Church. It was at a Moravian meeting that Meril- lat, a visiting Moravian, led him to Christ. "The mem bers of this Society of the Friends," says Guers, "knew the way of salvation very imperfectly." And yet their first annual report, drawn up by Empeytaz, revealed a much higher elevation than the mists of Socinianism around them. The meetings of this society were kept up quietly until, in 1813, two events occurred which tended to bring on a crisis. The first was the organization of a Sunday School by Guers and Empeytaz. Sunday Schools were new in those days, and unknown in rationalism. So it was looked upon as a very radical step and it produced a division in the society. Some withdrew because they thought the society was becoming too Moravian. It was watched very critically by the Venerable Company. The other event was the visit of Madame Krudener, who arrived at Geneva, "July. 1813, drawn hither by a so-called prophecy of Madame Guyon, which led her to expect great results from her visit. Of course, she was a rock of offence to rationalistic and worldly Geneva. She came into contact with the Moravians. Bost and Empeytaz came under her influence. Empeytaz, in spite of the opposition to her on the part of the Venerable 358 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Company, had her hold a meeting in his house. After remaining two months at Geneva she left. These two events, the opening of a Sunday School and the visit of Madame Krudener, seem to have brought matters to a crisis. Notwithstanding the fact that the society of the Friends tried to keep clear of anything that would take the appearance of a sect, the Venerable Company more and more opposed them. The Venerable Company also looked with considerable sus picion on Moulinie's Biblical lectures to the students, because they saw in it a movement against the theology taught in the university. Bost tried to offset their oppo sition to the meetings of the Friends by inviting them to the meetings, so as to see if any tendency to sectism was prominent in them. Some of the pastors came and were scandalized at the orthodox doctrines they heard there, such as total depravity, the divinity of Christ, free grace and justification by faith. In the fall of 1813, the Venerable Company warned all young men against them as a rising sect. On October 29, Empeytaz was invited to appear before the Venerable Company. When they asked him his doctrine, he wisely answered in the words of the Bible. Moulinie and Demellayer tried to protect him before the Company, but the Company de cided against him and gave him fourteen days to decide whether he would renounce the Moravians or his theo logical studies. He passed through great struggles, but at last, for the sake of peace, he obeyed them and con tinued his studies. In November, 1813, the literary students of the uni versity, inspired by zeal for the Venerable Company, broke into a meeting of the Brethren or Friends so riotously that the military were called out, who arrested the ringleaders and dispersed the rest. As a result of these events, some of the Brethren went back to the church. Others, the more spiritually-minded, joined more closely to the Mo- GENEVA 359 ravians. The feeling was so bitter that even Moulinie advised Empeytaz not to attend the meetings. Bost and Gaussen were ordained March, 1814, but did not at first receive charges. Empeytaz, after holding back for a time, began again holding meetings in his house. So the Venerable Company declared, June 3, 1814, that for this disobedience he would not be allowed to enter the min istry. He then went away, August 13, 1814, and joined Madame Krudener. Empeytaz travelled with her for about two years, assisting at her meetings. During this time he made a number of tours with her in South Ger many, Switzerland and Paris. Finally, on account of her increasing fanaticism, he left her. After his de parture the meetings of the Brethren fell into poor hands, and degenerated, and then stopped in 1814. But, though rationalism seemed to have crushed out all Evangelical movements and driven away the leader, Empeytaz, yet the darkest hour is just before the dawn. Empeytaz suddenly threw a bombshell into the camp of the rationalistic Church of Geneva. On August 6, 1816, he published a book, "Considerations about the Divinity of Christ." In it he discussed the question, "Is the report true that the Venerable Company of Geneva no longer believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ?" He declared that the sermons of only two ministers in Geneva, Moulinie and Dejoux, reveal the divinity of Christ; that, in 195 sermons preached there since the middle of the eighteenth century, there was no profession of faith in Christ's divinity. He also attacked the French Bible, published at Geneva, in 1805, for its rationalism. He urged the return of the Church of "Geneva to its earlier Calvinism, as the only hope of sal vation for the future. The book created a tremendous sensation, and was translated into a number of languages. He had dedicated it to the theological students of the university as his colleagues. It compelled the Venerable 360 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Company to come out from its policy of silence for the sake of peace, and take a stand for or against Christ's divinity, just as D'Alembert had done in Voltaire's time, about a half century before. The book compromised the Genevans in the eyes of the world, and they were very sen sitive about the reputation of their city. The citizens were angered at these repeated attacks on their pastors whom they honored, and on the reputation of their church, for Genevan patriotism ran deep. But it was especially the theological students of the university who were roused to a tumult by it. They held a meeting in the great hall of the consistory with Merle D'Aubigne .as presiding officer. In a letter to the Venerable Company they protested against "the odious aggression of the calumnious book." They pledged their confidence in their professors and in the Venerable Com pany. When the students subscribed to this memorial only two refused, Pyt and Guers. Some of the students even declared that, for this, these two should not be allowed to leave the hall. It was supposed that they would not be permitted to attend lectures any more. But all that was done was to ask them for the confession of their faith. The Venerable Company did what it could under the circumstances. It could not deny that it was, in fact, Socinian ; but in outward form it was still Calvinistic. Under cover of this it produced a confession of faith, mainly taken from the French Confession. So closed this incident. But the attack of Empeytaz pro- duced the effect he desired. It caused renewed agitation about the divinity of Christ and called attention to the old doctrines of grace. Meanwhile another event occurred that was significant at the time. Another voice was boldly lifted up for the divinity of Christ. Cellerier preached his farewell ser mon to his congregation at Satigny at the Christmas festival, 1816. He chose for his theme, "The Divinity GENEVA 361 of Christ." It produced a sensation, coming just at that time. He was succeeded in his pastorate by Gaussen. Section 2 the visit of haldane We have noted the various influences at Geneva that prepared for the revival. They were slight in them selves, but they only needed some deciding influence to bring them to a focus, so that great results results might follow. This was brought about by the visit of a stranger, Robert Haldane. Empeytaz had raised the question of the divinity of Christ and made the Genevese think about it. Haldane came to give an answer to this question by his exposition of justification by faith. Now occurs a succession of foreign visitors, each of whom helped on the revival, Wilcox, Haldane, Drummond and Anderson ; but Haldane was the center of the revival and the greatest of them all. First there came, at the beginning of 1816, an Eng lish merchant, Richard Wilcpx, a member of the Cal vinistic Methodist Church of Wales, who spent a year at Geneva. He took up his quarters in the very house where Empeytaz held his meetings, and, strange to say, this house was built on the ruins of the cloister of Rive, where Farel, in 1534, held the first Protestant service. Here was the beginning of a new reformation, not from Romanism, as in the sixteenth century, but from ration- \ alism, in the nineteenth century. He gathered what was left of the Brethren around him from time to time. His theme was, "The Love and Mercy of God, and the Cer tainty of Salvation Completed in Christ." He spoke mainly to Christians, whereas what most of them needed was to be dealt with as inquirers. Guers says Wilcox strengthened the Christians, but did not open the gate of salvation to seekers. Still, under him, they gained 362 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH some light and courage. But the year was a year of struggles. During the year, Guers and Gouthier were troubled with serious doubts whether they were worthy to enter the ministry. A heavy blow to them came when young Bost was called away to the canton of Bern to take a charge. Wilcox, however, continued encouraging them, and left Geneva in January, 1817. They began to pray that God would send some one to guide them, and give them success. God heard their prayer. Wilcox had hardly left when Robert Haldane* arrived. "Haldane's visit to Geneva," says D'Aubigne, "was one of the most beautiful episodes in the history of the Church." He was of a prominent Scotch family. His younger brother, James, had entered the British navy and had risen to the position of captain in one of the war-ships. On one occasion, being engaged in a warmly-contested battle, he saw all his men on deck swept off by a tre mendous broadside from the enemy. He ordered another company to be piped up from below to take the place of their fallen companions. On coming up they saw the mangled remains strewn upon deck and were seized with a sudden and irresistible panic. On seeing this the captain jumped up and swore a horrid oath, impre cating the vengeance of Almighty God upon the whole of them and wishing that they all might sink to hell. An old marine, who was a pious man, stepped up to him. He respectfully touched his hat and said, "Captain, I believe God hears prayer, and if God had heard your prayer just now what would have become of us?" Having spoken this he made a respectful bow and retired to his place. After the engagement the cap tain calmly reflected on the words of the old marine and was so deeply affected by them that he was subse- (quently converted. Of course, he informed his brother, Robert, who was an infidel, of his conversion. The latter was greatly offended, and requested him never C* "Memoirs of the Lives of Robert and James Alex ander Haldane," London, 1855. GENEVA 363 to enter his house till he had changed his views. "Very well, Robert," said James, "but I have one comfort in this case, and that is, you can not prevent my praying for you," and, holding out his hand, he bade him good bye. His brother, Robert, was so affected by this that he could not get rid of the idea that his brother was pray ing for him. He saw the error of his ways and, after much reflection, decided to become a Christian. Robert, after devoting some years to the work of evangelization in his native land, decided to sell his estate, and found a mission in India. But the East India Company did not want missionaries and refused either to take him there or to allow him to enter. So, as the Spirit of God, which prevented Paul from entering Bi- thynia, prevented him from going to India, he turned to Europe, seeking a sphere in which to work. He became deeply interested in the spiritual welfare of Europe, bound down as it was by the trammels of Romanism, rationalism and state-churchism. He went to Paris, but not finding the way open there to evangelize, he went to Geneva. He came just at the time that Empeytaz pub lished his book, in November, 1816. He was surprised to find the Church of Geneva so Socinian. He called on; Moulinie, but while Moulinie agreed with his views, he could suggest nothing as to the method by which they were to be advanced at Geneva. So he left Geneva for Bern, where he hoped to meet Professor Sack, of Ber lin, and discuss with him the religious condition of Ger many. For, as he was despairing of being able to do anything in Switzerland and France, his attention was now turned to Germany. But God's providence ordered that he should not meet Sack. God had another field for him than Germany — the very one he wanted. He also went to Basle, where he met Madame Krudener and Empeytaz, who induced him to give up his plan of leaving Switzerland and go back to Geneva. They made him better acquainted with the state of affairs at Geneva, and 364 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH called his attention to other defenders of the truth be side Moulinie, as Gaussen at Satigny. He returned and again visited Moulinie, but nothing practical seemed to come out of it. He had made up his mind to leave Geneva, when a strange providence occurred to detain him. Three centuries before Calvin had been suddenly detained at Geneva by Farel's urgent appeal, and had become the great reformer there. So, too, Haldane was now unexpectedly detained, to become, as D'Aubigne says, the leader of a second reformation at Geneva. Moulinie had offered to take Haldane, the day before his departure, to see a fine model of the Alps, which was located a little distance outside of the town. But provi dence sent him a head-ache so that he could not fulfill his engagement. He instead sent a theological student, James, who spoke English, to act as guide to Haldane. This was Haldane's opportunity. Haldane, finding he was a theological student, entered into conversation about his studies. He was surprised to find James so ignorant of gospel truth. He found that the young man was not opposed to the Evangelical truth, but that he had never heard about it in his theological lectures. James seemed very willing to receive information, and returned with Haldane to his room and remained with him till late that night. When James got to his own room that night he exclaimed to his companion, Rieu, "Here is a man who knows the Bible like Calvin." This meeting of Haldane with this student changed his mind. He determined to remain at Geneva. The next day James came to him, bringing his companion, Charles Rieu. Haldane made a deep impression on them. They repeated their visit to him. Haldane found them fully instructed in the school of Socrates and Plato, but greatly ignorant of the doctrines of Christ and Paul. They knew far more about the doctrine of the pagans than about Christian doctrines. And yet they and their GENEVA 365 friends, in spite of their ignorance, took the deepest interest in learning Evangelical truth. James and Rieu began bringing others of the theological students who were of the same serious mind as themselves. D'Au bigne gives a beautiful description of his first meeting with Haldane. He says: "I first learned of Mr. Haldane as a Scotch gentle man who spoke much about the Bible, which seemed a very strange thing to me and to the other students to whom it was a closed book. I afterwards met Mr. Haldane at a private house, along with some friends, and heard him read from the English Bible a chapter from Romans about the natural corruption of man — a doc trine of which I had never heard before. In fact, I was quite astonished to hear of men being corrupted by nature. I remember saying to Mr. Haldane, 'Now I see that doctrine in the Bible.' 'Yes,' he replied, 'but do you see it in your heart ?' That simple question came home to my conscience like the sword of the Spirit. I saw my heart was corrupted and could be saved by grace alone." This was the beginning of his conversion. That D'Aubigne, who had been the leader of the stu- 1 dents, and had presided at the meeting that protested) against Empeytaz' book on the divinity of Christ, should I succumb to Evangelical influences was a great victory.! These students came so frequently and at such different times that Haldane proposed they should all come to gether, and so it was finally arranged they should come three evenings a week. This gave Haldane time to pre pare for these evening meetings, and also to converse with others who came to visit him. He then took per manent lodgings at 19 Place Maurice, at the Sword Hotel, in the promenade St. Antoine. His apartments over looked the gardens in the boulevard to the east of the Plain Palais, with a noble prospect down the lake and toward Savoy and the Alps. There he held his Bible lectures on Mondays and Thursdays. He met the stu dents in two spacious rooms on the first floor connected 366 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH by folding doors. The students would sit on chairs on each side of a long table, on which were placed Bibles in English, German, French and other modern languages, besides in the original languages, Hebrew and Greek. The description of these meetings was given at the Scotch General Assembly, of 1840, by Monod and D'Aubigne. It so kindled the enthusiasm of Dr. Chal mers that he declared that to sit around a table on which was the Bible was his beau-ideal of the study of the ology. After the lapse of many years, Monod said, "I can picture this handsome, dignified man surrounded by students, his Bible in his hand, losing no time in argu ment, but pointing his finger to the Bible and saying, "Look, here it is, written by the finger of God." Hal dane spoke in English and was interpreted by either Rieu, Frederick Monod, or James. Pointing to these apartments many years afterwards, D'Aubigne said, "That was the birthplace of the second reformation of Geneva." At first, for a fortnight, he had eight students Then he was urged to begin anew, as he was assured that all the theological students would attend. And they came to the number of between twenty and thirty. Haldane chose Paul's Epistle to the Romans, that Magna Charta of Evangelical theology. Monod confesses that many oi them had never yet read that epistle. But as Haldane went on, they began to see a whole system of theology and ethics in it. Monod declared that before this, Evan gelical truth had been to them a terra incognita — an unknown world. What astonished them most was not merely the novelty of the doctrine, but Haldane's mar velous knowledge of the Bible, and his implicit faith in its authority. He did not attack any of their positions, but simply put his finger on the Bible saying, "There it stands, written by the finger of God." His patience in listening to their sophisms, often invented just to inveigle GENEVA 367 him into difficulties, and the carefulness of his answers, greatly astonished them. Haldane says that the doctrine that especially completed the overthrow of their false system of doctrine was the sublime view of the majesty of God, in the eleventh Chapter of Romans — "Of Him, through Him, and to Him, are all things." As he taught them, the scales fell from their eyes, as from Saul's at Damascus. New doctrines, new peace and new life came to them. Learners at these meetings, some of them went out to be teachers. Thus Guers, Pyt and others went and held religious services in the Place Molard, the spot where Froment first preached the gospel in the days of the Reformation. Since the days of Francis Turretin, Pictet and Maurice, the council of God had not been spoken with such clearness and fullness in the city of Calvin, as by Haldane. Haldane was a strong Calvinist, yet not so polemi cally. He was in truth Calvinus redivivus — Calvin brought back to life again in Geneva. His exposition of Romans would have delighted Calvin, it was so Biblical and Calvinistic* But he did not teach the doctrines as if they were his own opinion, but as if they were the very word of God. The question of 1817 at Geneva was the same as under Luther in 1517 at Wittenberg, "How shall man be just with God?" This Haldane explained to them in this Epistle of Romans. Haldane continued lecturing to the students until the end of their semester, about the middle of June. Only the students took part in these conferences, but Malan and Gaussen, who were already ordained, made private visits to Haldane and received the same impressions as the students did. Hal dane's wife also came into social relation with the Genevese and sought to scatter Evangelical knowledge. By these conferences the meetings of the Friends re- *Haldane's "Commentary on Romans" is published in English. 368 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ceived a new impulse. They now learned to understand fully what free grace meant, and also election, and the consciousness that they were God's children. What Wil cox had not been able to fully clear up in their minds, Haldane did make clear as sunlight. Meanwhile the Venerable Company was not unmind ful of what was going on. They had had their sense of honor severely ruffled by Empeytaz' attack on the church for its denial of Christ's divinity. But now a worse thing had happened, — a foreigner had come and drawn almost all their theological students away. They did everything in their power to keep the students from attending Haldane's conferences. Cheneviere, the leader of the church, walked in the shadow of the trees in the promenade St. Antoine, at the hour of their meeting, chaffing with indignation, frowning on them as they en tered the house, and taking their names to report them to the faculty. The pastors tried to induce the civil government to banish Haldane. Unsuccessful in this, it proposed that Haldane be cited before the Venerable Company, to answer for the doctrines he was teaching to the students. When this was proposed, one of the members of the company remarked, "You will not gain much by this." It would have been an interesting sight to see this living Biblical concordance (Haldane) stand before them and reveal to them their ignorance of God's Word. His implicit faith in the Bible would have put their unbelief to shame. The Venerable Company, there fore, did nothing. Gaussen when afterwards asked why the Venerable Company did not use force against Hal dane replied, "They did not dare, the students would have left them." For the Venerable Company was be ginning to feel its own weakness. It was finding that it had among its members some champions of orthodoxy, who were now beginning to be emboldened, so as to GENEVA 369 rise up in its defence. And the act of Malan* in boldly preaching in one of their churches the doctrine of justi fication by faith startled them the more. The Vener able Company, however, felt that something must be done to stem the tide toward orthodoxy. So on May 3, 1817, it passed the four famous resolutions, which were to be signed by the ministers and candidates for the ministry. In them they promised to abstain from preaching on the following points: 1. The manner in which the divine and human were united in Christ (that is, to abstain from preaching his divinity). \ 2. The corruption of the human heart or originayi sin. -^ 3. The way in which grace works on the heart (they were not to preach on justification by faith or regeneration by the Holy Spirit) . * / • 4. Predestination (which the Venerable Company j (claimed led to antinomianism). Cheneviere championed these regulations as a lover of peace and hater of controversy. The Venerable Company hoped by these regulations to restore peace to the church by forbidding the discussion of these subjects. But matters had now gone too far for the sup pression of the truth. Men might cry peace, but there was no peace. The Evangelicals declined to be any longer suppressed, and found defenders often where least expected. Opposition showed itself within the Company itself. Cellerier, Moulinie and Demillayer re-' fused to sign these regulations. Malan protested May 22 to the Company, though later he subscribed, but finally retracted. The professors of the theological fac ulty felt very sore that a stranger like Haldane should come between them and their students. They forgot that * See next section. 24 370 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Paul once came as a stranger to Ephesus and Corinth, and that Calvin once came to Geneva as a stranger to bring the truth there. When Cheneviere published his "Sum mary of the Late Theological Controversies," in Geneva, he charged Haldane with inoculating the students with his intolerant spirit, teaching them to despise reason and to trample on the doctrine of good works by his doc trine of grace. A reply was made to this by Rev. Dr. Pye Smith, of England, and also in a masterly way by Haldane, who answered him point by point out of the Bible, and gave him an epitome of most of the leading doctrines of the Bible. But Haldane did not remain long in Geneva, only about four months in all. Just as the controversies were becoming most bitter, he left (June 20) for Montauban, France. He gave as his parting advice to the students, that they should make the Word of God their guide and rule. If he left any peculiar bias with them it was in favor of the doctrine of predestination. Still that was only bringing them back to the original doctrine of Gen eva in the Reformation. But though Haldane left Gen eva, his influence remained. His visit created an epoch in the religious history of Geneva, yes, in the religious history of Europe. A layman, not even a university graduate, he did a work that Dr. Chalmers, with all his learning, could not have done. Among his converts were the future leaders of thought in French-speaking lands, — at Geneva, in Malan, Gaussen and D'Aubigne; in France, in the older of the Monods, a family so prominent in the French church of the nineteenth century, and Pyt, who led to a revival in the Huguenot Church of France. Its influence was also felt in Belgium, where a new Evangelical Church was formed as the result of its work. So that three countries, France, French Switzerland and Belgium, felt its power. All the French-speaking lands of Europe were shaken by it. GENEVA 371 Section 3 the conversion and testimony of malan Malan has been called the Csesar of the Revival, — the hero of the revival. Whether that title is proper or not (for there were other heroes in it), he seems to have concentrated on himself the antipathy of the Na tional Church of Geneva and also the sympathy of for eigners. He was next to Haldane the most remarkable personality in it. Henry Abraham Caesar Malan was a Genevan by birth, born July 7, 1787, and was educated at Geneva. His father was a follower of Rosseau, whose belief, if he had any, had no knowledge of sin in it. But his mother taught him the divinity of Christ. He says: "I remember, at the age of sixteen, I maintained this doctrine against some of my fellow-students in the col lege room. Yet the belief in it was dead within me. And, during my four years of study, not a syllable reached me from the lips of my instructors calculated to call it to life. Yet I thought myself, and was thought by others, to be very religious. My morals were unim peachable and my general conversation reported devout." He came out from his theological course ignorant of Gospel truth and was ordained October, 1810, at the age of 23. His ordination vow was only to preach ac cording to the Bible. In 1809 after a brilliant examina tion, he was named as regent of the fifth class of the college and held this position for nine years, with great credit to himself. No one in Geneva knew how to elec trify the youth as he, for he had introduced the educational method of Bell and Lancaster, which he had studied in Pestalozzi's school at Yverdon. He was, therefore, a teacher during the revival, not a pastor, though he often preached in the churches. His ordination came just at the time when the Friends organized their society, but he remained a complete stranger to their movement, 372 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and for the first five or six years after his ordination he preached a Gospel diametrically opposed to the Bible. The Bible was to him a sealed book. (Once, while trav eling, he took up the Bible and read a chapter or two. But he found the style so old-fashioned and the lan guage so commonplace that he laid it aside and betook himself to a volume of literature. During this period, as he spent a summer with a Waldensian pastor, he happened to preach for him. After the sermon, the latter said to him, "It appears to me that you have not learned that to convert others you must yourself be converted. Your sermon was not a Christian discourse, and I sincerely hope my people did not understand it." These were severe but true words, as Malan afterwards granted.) It "was not until 1813 that he began examining the errors of rationalism. In 1814 he came somewhat out of darkness by realizing the importance of the divinity of Christ. He now came more under the influence of Evangelical preaching, as by Moulinie and Paul Henry of Berlin. . [in 181 5 he began arriving at the truth of justi- fication by raith. While he was thus groping his way to the light, he came into contact (in 1816) with Professor Sack, of Berlin, and Wendt, the pastor of the Lutheran Church, at Geneva, both of them Evangelical. One even ing Professor Sack read to him Romans, the fifth chapter. Malan was greatly moved by verse ten, "For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." Then came the time of his full conversion, early in 1817. He tells it thus: "One afternoon, while reading the New Testament at my desk in school, while the students were preparing their lessons, I turned to Ephesians, the second chapter, and came to the words, 'By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.' The passage seemed to shine before my eyes. I was so moved that I was GENEVA 373 compelled to leave the room and take a walk in the court-yard, where I walked up and down with the in- tensest enjoyment, saying : T am saved, I am saved.' " . This event brought to a climax all the influences that \ had gone before. Then he began reading Pictet's The ology and the Canons of Dort, the old creed of the Church of Geneva) It was about this time that he came into contact with Haldane. He had become active in several philan thropic enterprises, among them an asylum for fallen women. It was this that led him to meet Haldane. Although at first he had not had anything to do with Haldane, yet it occurred to him that, as Haldane was a wealthy Scotchman, he might be able to aid his reform work, which at that time was greatly in need of funds. He called on Haldane and presented the claim. As he left, Haldane put some money into his hand. After the door had been closed, he looked to see how much Hal dane had given him, and found it was 240 francs ($48). What was most remarkable about it was thatj it was exactly the amount he needed to pay a very press ing baker's bill. This casual event led to a close friend ship between them, and after that Malan was often with Haldane. It was from Haldane that he gained his first real, clear conception of justification by faith, by grace alone. rHe no sooner found salvation by grace than he preached it. He had preached on the subject in a country church on the previous Christmas, but it was on May 5 and 6, 1817, that he preached on it at St. Gervais Church, Geneva. Once more the gospel of Calvin was preached in thaf church. It was a plain, pungent sermon. It was preached in the twilight, which made its effect all the more impressive. In it he aimed to show the difference between vital, experimental piety and a merely habitual, formal piety. As he 374 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH continued on this subject, — as he went on to show the falsity of human righteousness and to exalt the righte ousness by faith, signs of dissatisfaction began to show themselves among the audience, — movements of ill-con cealed impatience. And when referring to the hand that wrote at Belshazzar's feast, he pointed to the wall at the right of the pulpit, unconsciously several hearers turned toward the wall. Others shrugged their shoulders, as the French are apt to do. Others broke all restraint. And at his earnest appeal to sinners, a movement of derision ran through the congregation. When he left the pulpit, he strode through the congregation like a soldier drummed out of camp by his comrades or a criminal marched to execution. His own parents de serted him. His wife was greatly distressed. Every look she gave him was a reproach for shipwrecking all their high hopes for the future. There was only one per son who encouraged him for the stand he had taken. As he crossed the threshold of his door he caught sight of Haldane, who shook his hand warmly and said, "Thank God, the Gospel has again been preached in Geneva. You will be a martyr (literally, a witness), to the truth in this place." Haldane's words proved true in both senses. Malan became not only a bold wit ness but also a suffering martyr. The next day, Cheneviere, in the name of the Ven erable Company, requested him to change his doctrine because of the danger that would come from preaching that good works were not necessary to salvation. Malan refused. As a result, the pulpit was closed against him in the city, and also by most of the country pastors of Geneva. It was because of the agitation of the Evan gelical doctrines by the students under Haldane and the public avowal of them from the pulpit by one of the pastors, Malan, that the Venerable Company was led to take the decided action of May 3, to which we have re- GENEVA 375 ferred. This noble testimony of Malan was a bombshell in the camp of Socinianism, which had hitherto been masquerading as Calvinismj Section 4 the church of bourg du four The result of the regulations of the Venerable Com pany of May 3 were not what they had hoped. They brought not peace, as was hoped, but division, for they forced the revival outside the church. Of the Friends, Guers, Pyt and Gouthier refused to subscribe to the regulations. They replied to the Venerable Company (May 18) that they had prepared a confession of their own. With the simplicity of a dove, and yet with the wisdom of a serpent, they clothed it in the language of the French confession of faith. Of course it was criti cised. The professors interposed their usual objection to Evangelical doctrine, that it was antinomian, and de clared that such sentiments were enough to make men brigands. So the Venerable Company refused to ordain these young men. Thus left to themselves, they were freer than under the Company. They kept up their meetings. But they were reduced to great financial straits because of the loss of service in the National Church. But man's extremity is God's opportunity. He never suffers his own to languish. Providence sent help from an unexpected source. Haldane had no sooner gone than another Englishman came, Henry Drummond^ Indeed it was while Haldane was preparing for his de-. parture and actually counting his money for it, that a young Englishman, thirty years of age, was announced to him. It was Drummond, who in his boyhood had known Haldane. The history of this whole movement is full of strange providences, showing the hand of God in it. It was a 376 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH providence that kept Haldane in Geneva. It was the merest providence that brought Drummond there, just at the moment to save it from collapsing, at least finan cially. Drummond had been traveling in Palestine. As he was returning, a storm compelled his captain to put into Genoa. There he happened to hear about the work of Haldane, at Geneva. He had just sold his magnifi cent estate and was hungry for work for Christ. Think ing he might find it at Geneva, he came there. Drummond lacked the prudence and poise of Haldane, for he was young and zealous. Haldane went away, begging the Friends not to take any hasty, ill-advised action. Not so Drummond, for he was a man of action. Haldane contended himself with expounding the doc trines of the Bible and edifying their souls as individuals. Drummond, on the contrary, urged his youthful follow ers to the formation of a separate denomination. Drum mond therefore soon came into collision with the Ven erable Company, which Haldane had carefully avoided. Drummond's theological views were Evangelical. But he did not emphasize justification by faith, as did Hal dane. He rather emphasized the mystical union of Christ and His church, and its glorious results. But he be lieved in the Bible, and was an ardent member of the British Bible Society. His wealth and high social stand ing also gave him influence at Geneva. His great liber ality came in quite providentially to aid these poor candi dates for the ministry, whose hope of position was now cut off, and who, as we have seen, greatly needed finan cial aid. Just because they were helped by him thus, their enemies later charged them with becoming Evan gelicals for the sake of gain. The Venerable Company was now almost in despair. They had been greatly relieved at the news that Hal dane was going away, but now another Englishman, and one more dangerous to them, had come in Drummond. GENEVA 377 It almost seemed to them as if God were raining down enemies on them. When would these incursions from England cease— -Wilcox. Haldane. Drummond and later, Anderson ? With his aggressive spirit, Drummond soon came into collision with them. They felt something must be done with Drummond. So they sent a committee, composed of Cheneviere, the leader of the church, and one of the city councilors, to see him. They found him in the garden of his hotel, talking to a friend. Un fortunately they approached him in a way that threw them open to defeat, and Drummond was quick to take advantage of it. Cheneviere asked if he expected to teach the same doctrines as Haldane had done. Drum mond, with consummate shrewdness, baffled them by re questing from them an exposition of the doctrines of their great opponent, Haldane. Cheneviere was not to be caught in that way and went away in a rage, but not until Drummond had avowed his belief in Christ's di vinity, and had attacked their rationalistic version of the French Scriptures of 1805, Drummond was therefore requested to leave the city. He left the city but did not go far away. The chil dren of light can sometimes learn something from the children of this world. He but followed the example of Voltaire, and went just over the Genevan border, into France, to Ferney, only a few miles from Geneva. But how different his mission from that of Voltaire. Vol taire at Ferney had tried to utterly uproot and destroy Christianity. Drummond, on the contrary, was trying to save Christianity by uprooting the semi-infidelity taught there, under the guise of Christianity. Freed from the control of Geneva, he now did the thing that proved more objectionable than anything else to them. Being a member of the British Bible Society, he was in terested in Bibles, and now he proposed to publish, at his own expense, a new edition of the old Bible of Geneva, 378 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH which was Evangelical, the French version of Martin, so as to offset the rationalistic version of 1805. And he proposed not only to have it printed, but to see that it was circulated. A notice in the newspaper, September 12, 1817, which declared that he was about to publish a Bible, caused great excitement, especially as the version of 1805 had already been so severely attacked by Empeytaz. The Venerable Company published, in defence of their version, an article by Professor Schulthess. the rationalistic pro fessor of Zurich. Thus one rationalist helped the other. The consistory also tried to offset this by spreading the report that the new sect were about to publish a Bible filled with their peculiar views. To this Drummond made reply, showing his version was the old Bible of Geneva. Thus the Venerable Company lost at every point, while their opponents gained at every opportunity. The Friends now went further and organized them selves into a church. Driven out of the National Church, what else could they do ? The question of separation was laid before them on August 15, 1817, and on August 23 they decided on separation, and so the Evangelical church of Geneva was founded. Drummond urged them to do this. And they fortified themselves by an opinion of Pictet, given long before. He said : "Every separation is not a schism, though every schism is a separation. When a great number of per sons, ministers and laymen, separated themselves from Arianism because Arianism was in control of the synod and the church, that was not a schism. In such cases it was permitted to separate. If the church contains Socinianism and the errors of Servetus, separation is justifiable." On September 21, the Friends, ten in number, cele brated their first Communion at Drummond's house, Malan officiating and Burckhardt, a missionary from Basle, taking part. As there were only ten of them, GENEVA 379 it reminded them of another Lord's Supper at Geneva, says Guers, when in 1536, Guerin celebrated it in the garden of Stephen Dadas, at Pre l'Eveque, at sunrise, which was the first Protestant Communion celebrated in Geneva. The congregation also proceeded to call a pastor. I Malan refused, as he held, as we shall see, to another idea than separation. For he declared that he had never left the old National Church of Geneva, and did not want to have it cast up to him that he was a member of a new church, like this. He claimed that he represented the old Church of Geneva and Calvin, which in fact he did, for he was truer to its doctrine than was the Church of Geneva in his day. He was therefore opposed to separation and refused to accept the call. So they called Pyt, Gouthier and Mejanel. The latter had just come there from a trip through England and Holland and had been very active in influencing them to separation. On October 5 the congregation celebrated its communion, Pyt. though not ordained, distributing the elements. At the beginning of 1818 Mejanel was ordered to leave because he had embittered the Venerable Company by an indiscreet letter, in which he advised them to tolerance against those who thought otherwise themselves. He remained until March 4, 1818. In the meanwhile, the congregation had been corresponding with Empeytaz about returning. He came back December 28, 18 17, and at once founded a Sunday School, which was another thorn in the flesh of the Venerable Company. In the meanwhile the room at Tete Noir, in which they wor shipped, had become too small, so they removed to a hall near the "Shield of France." Then Drummond left, but not till he had laid the foundations of a Con tinental Society, under which Pyt, Neff and Bost labored. foreder 5ut now another Englishman came to take his place, 380 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH a merchant from London named Anderson. Until he came they had preached predestination because so taught by Haldane, but Anderson caused them to lower their Calvinism. He also aided their further organization in the congregation. On March 4, 1818, Pyt left for work in France, and Mejanel was replaced as pastor by Guers and Empeytaz. As these pastors were liable to military service, because they did not belong to the National Church, Empeytaz escaped it by ill health. Guers and Gouthier to escape it went to England, where they were ordained March 7, 1819, at Poultry Chapel, by eight pastors, Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Baptist. Thus they got what the Genevan Church denied — ordination. On July 7, 1818, as they opened a new and larger hall (where they remained till 1839) at tne Bourg du Four, they were attacked by a riot. It seems that one of the newspapers called their doctrine a kind of Mohamme danism, mixed with a mixture of English Methodism and German quietism (it was a professor of theology who wrote this in the paper) . So their hall was attacked. Cries were heard, as "Down with the Moravians," "To the lantern or gibbet," "Down with Jesus Christ." They were pursued through the streets, pelted with stones and insulted even in their own homes. Meanwhile this controversy in Geneva began to at tract general attention in the religious world. The Ven erable Company found it was gaining a very undesirable reputation for heterodoxy and intolerance. Sympathy came to the little church from many quarters. The theo logical faculty of Montauban in France, the newspapers of France and England directed attention to this move ment. More severe was the action of the clergy of the neighboring French-speaking canton of Vaud, who as soon as the regulations of May 3 were published, under the leadership of their dean, Curtat, summarily broke GENEVA 381 off all official relations with the Genevan Church. The Reformed Churches of France were not willing to ac cept as pastors any who had signed those regulations. The religious newspapers, as the Archive du Christian isme, at first neutral, then little by little, went over to the other side and complained against the Venerable Com pany. Within Geneva the great mass of the people were in sympathy with the Venerable Company, supposing that all this was a foreign religious movement, because it began with Madame Krudener and was continued by Englishmen. They nicknamed them Methodists, though I none of the foreigners had belonged to the Methodist] Church. They looked upon it as a foreign religious' movement against their pastors, whom they loved and honored, and they therefore resented these attacks. The policy of the government was silence so that the con troversy might subside. It held it beneath its dignity to pay attention to the controversies of newspapers and pamphlets. But in 1818 the Evangelicals unexpectedly received aid from a new quarter, and that not from a foreigner, as heretofore, but from a Genevese. A lawyer named Grenus, a somewhat whimsical and original character, but belonging to one of the better families in Geneva, took up their case from a political standpoint, and not from any sympathy with their religious views. He looked upon it from a purely legal standpoint. He brought accusation against the Venerable Company in the courts, charging them with want of fidelity to their trust, because they had abandoned the Calvinistic ordinances of old. He was very severe, accusing the pastors of< venality and perjury, — that having abandoned the faith of their fathers, they yet received their revenues. The council ordered the Venerable Company to keep quiet on the Grenus' matter. So it went through the court. When summoned to appear before the court, Grenus 382 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH wrote from a sick-bed. But because he failed to appear, he was condemned for contumacy. He appealed, but died before the appeal came up. The Evangelicals did not accept his defence, but said that his charges were the cause of chagrin as much as of astonishment. With it came a literary conflict. Grenus published "Frag ments of Genevan Church History in the Nineteenth Cen tury." To this an anonymous author, probably Chen eviere, responded in "Two Letters to a Friend on the Actual State of Religion in Geneva." But the most important publication was that of the Second Helvetic Confession of Bullinger, the old creed of the Swiss churches. Gaussen had been very active in showing the illegality of the resolutions of May 3, and trying to show that the Calvinistic doctrine had not lost legal power in Geneva. He demanded that the Venerable Company publish its confession of faith. And after they refused, he together with Cellerier published this creed at the beginning of 1819, accompanying it with a preface and some notes, in which they declared that churches without a confession of faith were exposed to confusion. The Venerable Company was greatly ag grieved by this and published a defence, which showed the dangers of confessions of faith and vindicated the Genevese clergy for ceasing to impose the Helvetic Con fession on its ministers. Another significant thing was the nomination of Professor Cheneviere as professor of theology (1818). This was his vindication by Geneva, and also a public avowal that the theological position of the church agreed with his views. In 1820 the little Moravian congregation joined the church of the Bourg du Four and, as a result, the latter's Calvinistic tendencies were still further modified. In ' 1823 the congregation was again attacked by a riot as had been done in 1818. During 1823-24 there was a controversy within the congregation about baptism, but GENEVA 383 division was averted by allowing adult baptism, but not as a public ordinance. However, Empeytaz resigned, and Bost was elected in his place. In 1825 Bost pub lished his defense of the faithful in Geneva, a reply to a sermon by Chyssiere, who had preached a diatribe against the Evangelicals. Bost discussed the question, "What is a church?" and "What is a sect?" The church he defined as a union of believers ; a sect, to be a union of those who abandon the Gospel. According to this, the National Church would be a sect and the Evangeli cals there would be the church. For this, he was charged with calumny. The case came before the court January, 1826. He was fined 2,000 francs ($400), and given six months in prison or the loss of his rights as citizen for five years. But he defended himself so brilliantly that he was fully acquitted. But when he left the court room it was under police protection, for he was followed by a howling mob. From that day everybody under stood that there was absolute freedom in Geneva to dis cuss publicly the rights of the old Protestant clergy. At the trial, though Bost and he had differed theologi cally, yet Malan hastened to the court-room and re- J mained with him and his friends, until Bost was safe] from danger. The decision was a triumph for the Evan gelicals but increased the bitterness of their enemies* In 1835 Darbyism came to Geneva^ Darby came in 1837. At first he did not refer to his peculiar views and was received with open arms by the congregation, but it resulted in a schism in 1842. In 1836 there occurred a new conflict. The congregation had been formed mainly on a congregational basis. It seemed to some as if the ministers were taking too much power in their hands * On November 1, 1828, the first conference of the In dependent congregations in Switzerland was held. There were present twenty-one members. On February 18, 1829, another was held at Lausanne. 384 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and approaching more the presbyterial order. Guers declared from his study of Scripture and experience, that he favored Presbyterianism. But the opposition finally got a resolution passed that the congregation would manage its own affairs and the pastors be only advisory. Thus the congregation passed through a num ber of internal conflicts. In the meanwhile a change had been taking place in the National Church. The revival reacted on it. The Evangelicals in it became bolder. Gaussen opened a Sunday School at Satigny. Although Cellerier retired from public life, Peschier now became more openly Evan gelical. They were reinforced by Coulin, formerly of Fredericia, Denmark, who came as hospital chaplain, and by Diodati. In 1821 there was founded, under the auspices of Gaussen, Coulin and Diodati, a missionary society, related to the Basle mission. It replaced a society of the same name, founded at Bourg du Four in 1819. In 1828, desiring to celebrate a mission festival in one of the churches, it was thought well, in order to gain influence, to add to the committee one or two pas tors of the opposite tendency. At this Gaussen resigned, and some of his friends disapproved of this step. But the missionary society continued. Even in the theological school of the National Church, Evangelical influences now appeared. Cellerier, Jr., was made professor of Biblical criticism. The state was finding that the revival was not as dangerous as it feared. Time also had its influence. The regulations of May 3, 1817, against preaching the Evangelical Gospel had fallen into desue tude and it could be boldly preached. The church at Bourg du Four had grown to about 300 in membership and it prepared the way for the later organization of the Oratoire. GENEVA 385 Section 5 malan and his chapel of the testimony Malan was as we have seen the hero of the revival. After he refused to sign the regulations of May 3, 1817,/ he asked for a pulpit for June 8, and was refused. Hel keenly felt his exclusion from the pulpit. He asked I (August 1) to be reinstated, but the matter rested for a year, during which time he was not allowed to preach in the churches. Then at the advice of the Evangelicals in the National Church, especially of Cellerier, he on May 6, 1818, submitted to the regulations of May 3, 1817. Cellerier tried to show him that they were not prohibi tive and referred more to discipline than to doctrine, were ecclesiastical rather than dogmatic. As a result he was again allowed to preach twice in the pulpits of the National Church, once in May, on Matthew 26 : 4, and again in August, on James 2 : 14, "What is saving faith?" But his sermons always produced controversy. The truth was Malan could not keep silent about the truth. He insisted on preaching the divinity of Christ and justification by faith, for they were the two funda mentals ot his laifTT The result was that the Venerable Company finally (August 21, 1818) forbade him the pul pit, in both city and canton. He still continued in the position of teacher, which he had held for so long a time. But on November 6, 1818, he was deprived of that. For the academic council brought charges against him for having made alterations in the catechism that he taught to his students. He denied he had altered the catechism, but granted he hasjtaught truths jiotJui-the catechism. When asked what principles of instruction he followed, he replied, "that he taught according to I Calvin's catechism, the canons of Dort and the Genevan Confession, all of which had formerly been creeds of J Geneva." When told he had subscribed only to the first,' 25 386 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH he answered that he could teach religion in no other way. They felt he was insinuating Evangelical doctrines among his students; they dismissed him. Another cause that led to his dismissal was the fact that he had started a Sunday School in his school. Sunday Schools were new in those days and were frowned down upon everywhere by the rationalists. His school rapidly grew to 250. But after it had been in existence five months it was forbidden by the authorities. Then he started one at Ferney, where he had also been preaching. He was therefore cast out of the National Church. And yet he always took the position that he was not a separatist. He had never of his own will separated from the church. He declared they had separated from him, not he from them. He held he represented the old Church of Geneva, — the church of Calvin, F. Turretin and Pictet, — and that in casting him out they made them selves separatists. For this reason he had not joined the church of Bourg du Four because it represented a new movement. Another reason why he did not join that church, was because he was a strict Calvinist, which the church of .Bourg du Four was not. _ Anderson had caused them to modify their Calvinism. Besides that church was composed of various elements, as we have seen. Malan, after his dismissal from the school, moved to a house in Pre l'Eveque, and there opened a Sunday School of 120, in spite of the opposition of the clergy. Out of the church and out of a position, he was threat ened with penury. And his enemies did everything to bring him to it. But God sent him help. Englishmen aided him financially. The Presbyterian Church of Scotr land gave him aid. He then began to support himself by the sale of tracts and by teaching, and especially in the latter he acquired a great reputation. Up to 1830 his house was full of juvenile boarders, 18-20 of them, most of them English, trying to learn French. His house GENEVA 387 also became the meeting-place where prominent Chris tians of all parts of Protestant Europe gathered. It was soon after his suspension in 1818 that the name Momier (mountebank) came to be given to the Evangelicals. He was at that time preaching at Ferney, and his enemies put an advertisement in one of the newspapers of Geneva, the "Feuille d'Avis," of October 7, 1818, about his services, as follows: "On the following Sunday there will be in Ferney- Voltaire a troop of Momiers (mountebanks or mum mers), under the direction of the master, Regentin. They will continue their fantastic performance, juggling and sleight of hand. The black clown will amuse the crowd with his drolleries. Tickets can be had at the lottery office." This blasphemous parody of Malan's services led the revivalists ever afterward in French Switzerland to be called Momier or mountebanks. He continued preaching in his own house, and as his audiences increased, he asked the authorities for a church, but they refused^ December 28, 1819. So he decided to build a chapel for himself in his own grounds of his house at Pre l'Eveque. He began the chapel March 19, 1820. He had only fifty dollars then, sent by a brother, in Ireland. Mrs. Malan tried to get him to appropriate her property to the building, and then he determined to sell his house so as to be able to build the chapel. As he was about to do this, money began coming in in abundance and he did not need to do so. On one occasion, when he did not have the money to pay the architect a certain sum on a certain date, he received two letters. He showed them to his wife, saying that God would bring relief. Inside was just enough money V to pay the architect. The chapel was opened October 8, 1820, and cost $4,250. Unfortunately the chapel was not in the city and therefore not well located for a con- 388 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH gregation. But it became an Evangelical center for Gen eva. To him, his chapel was the true church of Geneva, — the old church of Calvin. He built this chapel that the old faith of the fathers might not be entirely shut out from Geneva. He soon came into conflict with the State Church of Geneva, for as a representative of the old church, he claimed the right to administer the sacraments and to perform marriages. He was attacked by them that, as a separatist, he had not the right to perform those func tions. He replied January, 1821, in a public declara tion of adherence to the Church of Geneva. On Sep tember 18, 1823, the Venerable Company finally took the last step against him, by deposing him from the min istry. On the day he was deposed, he applied to the Old Kirk of Scotland, a daughter of the Genevan Church, for admission. But difficulties interposed, for it seemed no one could be a minister in that church, who had not studied four years in a Scotch university. So he applied to the Secession Church of Scotland, and was received by them. In October, 1825, he asked the magistrates of Geneva to recognize him as a minister, enclosing the acts of the Scotch Secession Church, which noted his reception into their church. So instead of there being one center of Evangelical activity in Geneva as the result of the revival, there were now two, "The Bourg du Four" and the "Chapel of the, T^sri^iony/' The Venerable Company, which had so feared one, had now to endure two. But it was hard to keep the relation between the two Evangelical congre gations always amicable. Malan's church, which always insisted on high Calvinism, looked with more or less sus picion on the church of the Bourg du Four, because it was not Calvinistic, but composed of heterogeneous ele ments. This want of confidence, the other church re sented. As a result, all efforts at conciliation failed. nan s jationl s, left 5 notf GENEVA 389 In 1823-24 Malan accused Bost and Neff of Arminianism. There was also another difference, namely, in church government, Malan's chapel being Presbyterian, and the other Congregational. The Bourg du Four Church also resented Malan's calling his church the Chapel of the Testimony, as a reflection on their church, as if it did not bear testimony for the truth. But little by little, the views of the Bourg du Four infiltrated into Malan's congregation. In 1830 one-third of his congregat (about 60), among them some of his warmest friends and joined the Bourg du Four. For Malan was only Presbyterian, but a high-Presbyterian in his idea of the ministry, fie kept all the authority in his own hand. And when some in his congregation wanted the power also in the hands of the congregation, especially of the elders, he opposed it. It seems he had asked a vote of confidence in his doctrine and they resented this. Before this time his chapel had been well filled, but after it, his audiences lessened every year. The truth was that Malan was more of an Evangelist than a pastor. He was especially strong as a preacher, earnest, impressive and solemn. His sermons were always full of Gospel truth and interesting. His first evangelistic tour was in 1822, his second in 1826 to England and Scot land, and later in 1833, 1834, 1839 and 1843, where he was received with great enthusiasm as a sufferer for Evan gelical Christianity, which had roused a great deal of sympathy for him. Shortly after his return to Ge neva (1826) he received the degree of doctor of divinity from the University of Glasgow. Up to 1856 he made many evangelistic tours to England, Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and the Waldensian valleys. /As an illustration of his rare power as a preacher, it is related that one day in England, as he was leaving the pulpit, an old man stepped up to him, saying : "I bless « God that I have this day heard Romaine and Whitfield." \ 300 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Malan asked him for his name. He replied Rowland Hill.*) He was also an evangelist in personal work as well as in preaching. On the steamboat, in the diligence, by the mountain walk and at the hotel, he never lost an opportunity to speak a word for Christ. No one under stood better than he how to introduce the Gospel. Many illustrations of this are given. Once he was travelling on the train, when, at Angou leme, a young Parisian, amiable and of well-bred man ners, took his place in the conveyance and accosted him at once with the question: "Come from Paris, sir? Of course, you've seen the 'Huguenots' " (referring to the opera of that name). "No, I did not, but I have their treasure here" (drawing a New Testament from his pocket and presenting it to him). "Ah," said the young man, "good enough for children — mere fables." "How about your soul?" then asked Malan. "My soul? I haven't one. When you die, you die altogether." And he proceeded to expound a system of materialism. Malan could have answered his materialism, but preferred to let the Word speak for itself, and read some Scripture passages. The young man became annoyed, for they pricked his conscience. He worked himself up into a great rage and sat silently biting his lips. He remained thus for a half an hour, and then exclaimed suddenly, "I should like to have such a book, for I begin to think its contents are true, and I have been under a delusion." Malan gave him his own New Testament, and met him afterwards at Bordeaux, where he constantly attended his ministry and showed in many ways that he had been deeply impressed. One day he was on top of a diligence between Paris and Marseilles. Sitting beside him were five young mer chants, whom he had heard chatting in a lively strain about a thousand things. Suddenly Malan turned to them: "You Frenchmen appear to me like paper kites without a string." "First of all," said one of them, "will you be so good as to prove that we are paper kites, * Who had been one of the greatest preachers in England. GENEVA 391 and then you will tell us how we come to be without a string." It was not difficult for Malan to prove that man is but the spirit of vanity and, unless held in by the cord of the Holy Spirit, is carried away by every unruly wind of passion. They listened attentively, and, four of them leaving at Sevres, he had an earnest and prolonged conversation with the fifth. In 1828 or 1829, on one of the lake steam-boats, Malan, having received the captain's consent, mounted a pile of cables in the forepart of the vessel, New Tes tament in hand, and invited those present to gather round and listen to the Word of God. A listening crowd gathered around him. A gentleman, who had betrayed some impatience at first at such a scene, came up to him afterward and, grasping his hand, declared that he had apprehended the gospel for the first time that day, and would become a Christian. One day, as he climbed from Biel to Sonceboz, he unhooked his knapsack and stopped at an inn. He said to the land-lady that he intended to have prayers after supper, and if she and her house would like to come, they would be welcome. "We don't require that sort of thing here," she replied. He thereupon resumed his knapsack and staff for another hour's walk, saying, "Come, I can not pass a night under a roof where there is no desire for prayer and no fear of God." As they ] went on they came to some wagons loaded with planks. • Malan gave a tract to the young fellow driving the first, who thanked him politely. In a few minutes the young man came and asked to have something in the tract explained, as he could not understand. Malan ex plained it to him and invited him to come to evening wotship at Tavannes, which he did. rf he next morning Malan and his party started at dawn. After travelling for about two hours, at an inn, Malan noticed a young woman in attendance, who, from time to time, put her apron to her eyes. She confessed she had lost her husband and was very unhappy. He spoke to her the comforting assurances of the gospel. She asked to be allowed to go and bring her friend, Jeannette. She soon returned with a young peasant, and Malan spoke to them both. He then went to visit Jeannette's father, who was lying ill close by. The 392 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH white-haired old man lay near the window. "Father," she said "I have brought you a minister of the gospel." "God be praised," the old man replied. Malan asked ,him how he had come to the knowledge of the gospel. He replied, "On this bed, where I have lain for many years, and through reading a book written by a Mr. Malan, of Geneva. Ah, had I not been aged and infirm, I should have gone there to see him. I have entreated the Lord earnestly to let me see him ere I die." "What is the name of the book?" asked Malan. "Here it is," the aged saint replied, "it is always with me." He drew out from under his pillow a well-worn copy of one of the earliest editions of Malan's hymns. Then Malan said, "We have come from Geneva.'J "Perhaps," said the old man, "you have seen Malan." "Yes, I know him well," answered Malan. He prayed and then sang some of his own hymns. He then started for the door, but he went back and said to the old Christian, "God has granted your prayer; I am Malan, of Geneva, your brother in the faith of our blessed Saviour." The old man, fixing his eyes on him with a long and ardent gaze and slowly raising his trembling hands, said, "Bless me, bless me before I die." Falling on his knees before the bedside, Malan said, "You ought rather to bless me, for you are old enough to be my father. But all bless ing comes from God; let us ask it of Him together." And, folding in his arms the lowly brother whom he felt he would never see here again, he invoked on him the peace that Jesus gives, and left the house^ Malan was also active in literary work, writing tracts, giving the incidents and results of his evangelistic work. In 1827 he founded a society for the dissemination of tracts, Bibles and mission literature. He also renewed his efforts to found a school of Evangelical theology at Geneva, which idea he had had ever since 1825. Indeed, he began instruction in theology December, 1827, and kept it up for more than a year to four students, one of whom, on account of his orthodoxy, had been compelled to give up entering the State Church of Geneva. He also wrote a number of polemical works, espe- GENEVA 393 cially against the Socinianism of the cantonal Church of Geneva. Thus when Prof. Cheneviere published (1831) his "Essay on the Theological System of the Trinity," in which he recognized Jesus as a divine being, but attacked the Athanasian doctrines as contrary to reason and Scripture, Malan replied in a work entitled, "Tesus Christ, the Eternal God. Manifest in the Flesh." which quickly ran through two editions and produced a great sensation at Geneva. When the Venerable Com pany, in connection with the centenary of the Reforma tion in 1835, published a new edition of their rationalis tic translation of the Bible of 1805, Malan attacked it. In connection with this centenary, the Venerable Com pany offered a prize for an essay on "Methodism (mean ing the Evangelical party), Its Causes and Remedies." Malan wrote on it at once. But as his work was written from an Evangelical standpoint, of course he did not get the prize. To Cheneviere's tract on predestination, he replied by a reprint of "The Congregation" of Calvin. A copy of that forgotten work had just then, in jest, been sent him by a book-seller at Geneva. He thus re plied by showing that the doctrine of predestination was Calvin's doctrine. He also, in connection with that Reformation jubilee, published a work entitled, "The True Jubilee." When an effort was made to erect a statue to Rosseau in Geneva, he wrote against it, even though it made him very unpopular, so that it was for tunate that a lameness prevented his going out for a month. He published this under the title, "The Folly of the Wise Man of the World." After the statue wasl erected on Rosseau's Island, in the river Rhone at Gen-j eva, he never would set his foot on the island. He was! also polemical against the Catholics. He wrote a tract against Abbe Bouday, 'Would it be possible for me to enter the Catholic Church?" To an unbelieving Roman ist, who asked, "Must I change my religion?" he replied, 394 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH "Sir, it is necessary first of all that you have a religion to change." All these publications exerted an influence favorable to the Evangelical Gospel. In 1849, when the two congregations of the Oratoire and the Pelisserie united, he for doctrinal reasons did not go into the union. In 1854 he took steps toward uniting with the Evangelical Society, but his require ments were not agreed to. He had a fashion of giving his views on union thus: "Fusion, confusion ; union. communion," referring in this to the Bourg du Four with its dissensions. Malan was the greatest of the hymn-writers in the French language" For the Huguenots since the Refor- mation had always sung Psalms which had become very dear to them because inwrought in their life and history, through the persecutions. But in spite of this love of the French for their Psalms, Malan's hymns became quite | popular. In 1821 he published thirty-five. These were increased by 1855 to 300. They were just the hymns 1 the revival needed. Once, when his physician prescribed rest for him, he composed in seventeen days no less than fifty-three hymns. In all, his hymns numbered 1 ,ooo. Only one of them has become prominent in our English hymn-books, and has been translated in two ways,— "It is not death to die" or "No, no, it is not dying." He r was also the composer of tunes for his hymns, several of which are used in our English congregations, as Hen- don and Rosefield. One of the greatest joys of his life was the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance at Geneva in 1861.* A very remarkable fact in connection with it was that he was again permitted to re-enter the cathe dral at Geneva, where, forty years before, he had * The National Church of Geneva did not join in this meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, and twenty-two of its ministers sent a protest against its declaration of Evangelical principles. GENEVA 395 preached an Evangelical sermon, which led to his sus pension from the ministry of the cantonal church. But his health was failing rapidly. The last few years of his life he lived at Vandoeuvres. — One day, in 1862, his inexperienced servant was amazed to see a carriage stop at our little garden gate and a noble lady issue from it with her attendants. This maid ran to Malan's room announcing a stranger by some inconceivable name. Going downstairs he found himself in the presence of the Queen of Holland, who had spared a few hours in passing through Geneva to pay him a visit at Vandouvres. Malan was asked after wards by Rev. Paul Henry if he had been careful in ad dressing her to observe the prescribed forms. He replied, "I know nothing about that, positively ; all I know is that I addressed her as a minister of God. I had no time but to think of eternal things. The one important con sideration is the gospel and the Saviour. We spoke of the salvation of the soul, of the vast eternity to which we are hastening." In June, 1863, he ordained Lenoir, as his assistant, and in November he preached his last sermon. The last two months were one long agony, yet he bore it with great patience. One of his sons asked him if he had no anxiety of soul. He replied. "No, in my heaven there are no clouds." He died on Sunday, May 18, 1064" That morning his eldest daughter said to him: "Father, this is the day when the Lord Jesus will come to receive you to Himself." A beautiful smile lit up his face and he fell asleep to wake no more. Malan's doctor, on quitting his dying bed, said : "I have just seen what I have heard spoken of, but which I had never seen before. Now I have seen it as surely as I hold this stick in my hand." "And what have you seen ?" he was asked. He replied, "I have seen faith, I say, the faith, not of a theologian, but of the Christian. I have seen it with my own eyes." Perhaps of all the characteristics of this remarkable man, the most impressive was his supreme faith in the 396 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Word of God. He said, "The Bible is the very Word of God." He was a strong predestinarian, but viewed it rather as a comfort than as a mere doctrine. He followed the doctrinal system of the federal school, as symbolized in the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confessions. He was a fine polemist and a thorn in the flesh to the rationalists led by Cheneviere, often the frivolous and sarcastic professor of theology, for whom he was more than a match every time. When the Evan gelical Church of Geneva was later formed, a part of the little congregation that remained in the Chapel of the Testimony went into it. Section 6 felix neff* One of the most remarkable converts of the revival was Felix Neff. Born in Geneva, October 8, 1798, he learned the trade of gardener. A lover of books and a diligent student of nature, at the age of sixteen he had published a pamphlet on the culture of trees. At sev enteen he entered the army and at nineteen was made sergeant. He was at first opposed to the revival. The revival converted two of its most bitter opponents, D'Aubigne, who had presided at the meeting to protest ' against Empeytaz's book, and Felix Neff. For when the church of Bour du Four was mobbed July 7, 1818, he, as sergeant, was called out to repress the mob. He plunged his sabre into the wall, declaring that so he would plunge it into the body of the first person who would defend those miserable creatures, meaning the Evangelicals. A month later he was a changed man, and had joined the church of Bourg du Four. The * See "Letters and Biography of Felix Neff," trans lated from the French by Wyatt, London, 1843. GENEVA 397 Spirit of God had changed Saul into Paul, and had changed Felix, who like Felix of old, the Roman gov ernor of Scripture, trembled under Paul's preaching, until he became Felix Neff, the Christian and the preacher. The next year, to the surprise of his officers, he an nounced that he would change the sword of war for the sword of the Gospel. He went everywhere, telling the Gospel in prisons and hospitals and barracks, with great simplicity and acceptance, from 1819-21. He was noj scholar, but he had such a splendid memory that he/ could recite whole books of the Bible. In May, 1821,' during the absence of Guers and Gouthier in London for ordination, he supplied the pulpit of the Bourg du Four. In August, 1821, he became assistant pastor at Grenoble, in France. Then he accepted a call to Mens, where his zeal led to a revival. Feeling the need of ordination he went to London and was ordained at Poul try Chapel, May 19, 1823. Then he accepted a call to the "High Alps," a district south of Geneva and on the frontiers of France and Switzerland, made famous by the persecutions of the Waldenses in previous centuries. It was a terribly hard field as the parish was immense in size, sixty miles in length and made twenty miles more by the windings made necessary by the mountains. It took him three weeks to complete the first tour of it. The villages in it were separated by gorges and moun tain passes for the most part impassable in winter. His parsonage was at La Chalpe. His first visit to Dormil- house was made in January, when the mountain passes were blocked by snow and ice. Assembling the young men they started, armed with hatchets. With these they cut steps in the ice, so that the worshippers from the lower hamlets could climb to the church. The people who first came to hear him at Violens brought wisps of straw, which they lighted so as to guide them through the snow, while others, who came a greater distance, 398 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH carried lighted torches. His activity in reaching his peo ple was so great that he was never in his parsonage more than two or three days a month. With staff in hand and wallet on his back, he traveled continuously. It is said he never slept three nights in the same bed. He found the people in that cold district fearfully low in civilization. In many of the villages the stable was the family's living, eating and sleeping room. Bread was baked once a year and softened in water, so as to make it fit to be eaten. He therefore became a social reformer as well as a pastor, imitating Oberlin in this. He taught them how to improve their houses by the introduction of windows and chimneys, and also taught them cleanliness. To prevent drought at Dormilhouse he prevailed on them to cut a passage from the moun tains, so that they might dam up the water in winter and then open the dam in time of drought, in summer. They agreed to do it if he would lead. He found that their method of raising potatoes, which were their main food, was very faulty, because it was their habit to plant them too close together. He took their hoe or spade out of their hands, so as to show them how to plant them better. Only a few permitted him to do this, and some of them took the potatoes up after his back was turned. But in the following harvest those who followed his advice had the larger crops and the better potatoes. He was their schoolmaster during the long winter, when they were snowed up in their villages. He taught them reading and singing. By turns he was minister, school master, physician, pioneer, engineer, gardener and architect. Their moral and religious condition was as low as their temporal condition. When he first came among them in some of the villages, they ran from his sight to their huts. They had not had a pastor for so many years, and as they had had no schools generation after GENEVA 399 generation, had grown up in ignorance. His work was hard, for their hearts often seemed as hard as the rocks around them, and as cold as the glaciers of their district. But he preached so faithfully and labored so earnestly that they all learned to greatly love him. As a result, during holy week of 1825, there was a real revival in some of his villages. Alexander Valon, who boasted a year before of being the wildest and most profligate man in all the country, and had been in prison, was converted and became one of his school-teachers. Neff organized a Bible society there, for there were not twelve Bibles in the whole parish. Now they tried to have one in each family. But being very poor they had to practice great sacrifices in order to get one, one family giving up a pig, another going without salt, etc. The people learned to love him so much that they esteemed themselves for tunate if he only ate their rye-bread and pottage with them in their home or slept there. On one occasion, as he was going from Minsas to Dormilhouse, lo, he saw that all the inhabitants had come out to the top of the mountain, to watch for his coming. When he came near, many of them descended so as to welcome him. He motioned them not to do so, as they would only have to climb back up their steep hill. But they hur ried down the slippery and treacherous path so as to literally throw themselves in his arms. When he gently blamed them for so doing, one of them replied, "It is not often that we have the enjoyment of walking with you, and we value it too much to lose it." Such was the love of the people for him. "They loved him because he loved them, and he loved them because Christ loved him." But the severity of his labors, the rigor of the climate and the wretchedness of the food began to tell on him, and by April, 1827, he was compelled to leave and go to Geneva. Unable to return to the "High Alps," he 4oo THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH tried to be their pastor by correspondence and very beautiful were the letters he sent them. His last letter is signed "Felix Neff dying." When dying, he said: "Adieu, I am departing to our Father in full victory. Victory, victory, victory, through Jesus Christ." He died April 12, 1829, at the early age of thirty-one, worn out by his passion for soul-saving. Malan and Neff were the two great evangelists that the revival produced. BOOK V THE RELIGIOUS EVENTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 26 PART I THE GERMAN CANTONS CHAPTER I Introductory Section i secular events The Napoleonic era had enlarged the number of cantons, as by the addition of Vaud and Aargau and others. The fall of Napoleon brought back the old aris tocratic government in the cities. So that just as during the Napoleonic era the conflict had been between the federalists and the centralists in government, so now there came the conflict between the aristocratic oli garchy, who ruled the larger cantons, and the democrats, who wanted all to vote. The crisis occurred in 1830, when the revolution in France put Louis Phillippe on the throne. The first to respond to this in Switzerland was the southern canton, Ticino, which elected a radical government. From there this radical movement spread over Switzerland into the other cantons. The radical cantons united to form an alliance called the Seven League, because seven cantons composed it. They were Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Aargau, Solothurn, Thurgau and St. Gall — later also Basle-land. This league was or ganized. March, 1832. Its organization forced the con servative cantons also to organize in November, 1832. 403 404 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH In this, the four Catholic cantons, Uri, Schwyz, Unter- walden and Valais, united with the semi-monarchial Neuchatel and aristocratic Basle. It was called the Sarnen League. Just about this time the farmers of Basle-land rose against the aristocrats of Basle-city and demanded a voice in the government. The Swiss diet, then under the control of the radicals, sent an army against Basle and ordered the division of the canton into Basle-city and Basle-land. The Sarnen League was dis solved and political radicalism was in control o'f the Con federacy. Switzerland has had the reputation for its liberty, but that is a misnomer, for it never had universal . "suffrage till about 1830. With the exception of some of the small country cantons, which were republican, its city cantons had been governed by oligarchies and the rest of the people had no voice in the government. And if Switzerland did not have civil liberty till about 1830, still less did it have religious liberty as we shall see. For there were persecutions by Protestant governments for religion's sake in Switzerland even in the nineteenth century. Switzerland has not been the land of the free as has been Holland or as is the United States, where both civil and religious liberty have long been granted. Section 2 The Controversy Between Catholics and Protestants The next conflict was between Catholics and Pro testants. This was caused by the return of the Jesuits. The Jesuits had been expelled in 1773, but had been al lowed to return after 1814. The controversy began in Aargau in 1840, where the radicals had gained control. They ordered the suppression of the monasteries in that canton. This aroused the Catholics and 2,000 peasants took up arms, but were defeated at Vilmergen. Lucerne. NINETEENTH CENTURY 4°5 then introduced the Jesuits. As Lucerne was then one of the capitals of Switzerland, this caused great alarm among the Protestants and at the Diet of 1841 the dele gates from Aargau made a motion for the expulsion of the Jesuits and the suppression of monasteries and nun neries. This alarmed Lucerne and she organized in December, 1845, tne Sonderbund of the seven Catholic cantons, Lucerne, Zug, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Frei- ' burg and Valais. This led the other cantons to form an alliance into which Zurich, Bern, Glarus, Schaff hausen, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Solothurn Basle-land and Appenzell (exterior) entered. It is to be noticed that the Catholic cantons of Ticino and Solothurn were against the Jesuits because their govern ments were radical. On the other hand, some Protestant cantons (especially at first) favored the Catholics. But the opponents of Jesuitism could not gain the majority in the Swiss Diet until 1847, when St. Gall decided against the Sonderbund and Basle-city and Geneva by that time aided. The diet then ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits. The Sonderbund refused and their deputies left the Swiss Diet. The rest of the diet then ordered the sup pression of the Sonderbund and sent an army of 98,000 troops, under General Du Four, against it. The Son derbund against this could raise but 75,000. Freiburg capitulated to the troops of the Confederacy and General Du Four gained the victory at Lucerne, November 23, 1847. Thus the Sonderbund was dissolved and the "diet ordered the perpetual banishment of the Jesuits. This was the last conflict between Catholicism and Pro testantism in Switzerland. Since then, they have dwelt together in peace, side by side, the Swiss Catholic be coming somewhat more liberalized by his contact with republican institutions. When the papal infallibility was promulgated in 1870, some of the cantons, as Bern, Aar- 406 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH gau, Solothurn, Thurgau and Basle, rejected the papal infallibility and forbade their bishops to discipline priests for not accepting the doctrine. Section 3 the conflict between rationalists and evangelicals in the protestant church This was the third controversy of this period. Po litical radicalism went hand in hand with religious ra tionalism. The calling of De Wette as professor to Basle, of Strauss to Zurich, and Zeller to Bern, revealed the strength of the rationalists. As a result, the church finally split into three parties, rationalists, Evangelicals and mediates. The first organized a "Reform Society" in 1866, which spread into the different cantons. This led the Evangelicals to organize their society, which was called the "Swiss Church Society," organized at Olten, 1871. This society aided Evangelical minorities in ra tionalistic congregations to have religious services. In 1890 it joined the Presbyterian and Reformed Alliance. A third society was organized by the mediates (those whose theological position was between rationalism and orthodoxy), but it existed only until the death of its leader and president, Hagenbach. Each of these had a church paper. The rationalists had "The Church of the Present" and later the "Voices of the Time" ; the Evangelicals, "The Future of the Church" and later the "Friend of the Church." The mediates had the "Church Leaves." Gradually the programme of the rationalists devel oped itself. 1. Their first attempt was to set aside the creeds of^ the church, as the Second Helvetic Confession, and to make the churches creedless so that there might be room enough in the church for their lax views of doctrine. NINETEENTH CENTURY 407 This movement, by the aid of the secular authorities, succeeded in all the cantons and the churches are non- confessional, although in some of the cantons, as in Aar gau, the Grisons and others, the ministers at ordination promise to teach "according to the fundamentals of the Evangelical Reformed religion." 2. Their second attack was on the Apostles Creed. I This they tried to have eliminated from the public worship of the church. In almost all the cantons aj compromise has been agreed upon by which ministers are free to use the Apostles Creed or not, and in some cantons, as in Zurich, a double set of forms in the liturgy has been adopted. The Evangelicals use this creed still. but the rationalists do not. 3. Their third attack was on the baptism of children. They argued against its use because the infant was too young to understand its significance: and besides all the significance of baptism was taken up in confirmation. As a result in most of the cantons, while baptism is generally observed, yet the confirmation of the unbap- tized is permitted. Still some of the cantons, as Schaff hausen, make it obligatory. (Lately the friction between rationalists, mediates \ and Evangelicals has been quieting down, each allowing J the other a place in the church. The rise of socialism / among many of the clergy is causing a disregard of these old divisions. This socialistic movement is being led by Professor Ragatz, of the theological faculty of Zurich, and Rev. Herman Kutter, a pastor at Zurich^) In connection with these divisions among Protestants, we may also notice the tendency to the separation of church and state in some of the cantons. The French cantons were more inclined to this than the German and Free Churches were organized in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Neuchatel. This movement culminated in the ; disestablishment of the National Church of Geneva in 408 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH 1909. The German cantons were less inclined to disestab lishment, although there were a few independent Re formed congregations among them. But finally Basle de cided on disestablishment in 191 1, the first of the German cantons to take this step. Section 4 the united religious movements of the cantons Some of the religious movements were cantonal. others were general. We propose here to speak of the latter. In 1858 the Swiss Evangelical Conference was founded, consisting of two delegates from each Pro testant canton. It led to the adoption of Good Friday (which had never been observed in Switzerland as a church festival day). It also led in 1862 to a concordat between the different Protestant cantons about the ex amination of students for the ministry by which they are examined by a central board and not by each canton. All the German cantons, except Bern and Grisons, ac cepted this. Since 1881, this conference has been held yearly and has led to important results, as the general observance in Switzerland of the 400th anniversary of Zwingli's birth in 1884, etc. Another union society that has exerted considerable influence has been the Swiss Preachers' Association. It was organized in 1839, to be a bond of union between the different cantonal churches and also to further theo logical intercourse. Its meetings were held annually, when important subjects were discussed. But friction finally developed between the Evangelicals and the ra tionalists, as when Fries at the meeting in 1845, declared against the Apostles Creed, and Hirzel in i860 attacked pietism. Its membership formerly was as high as 300. But through these controversies it has lessened to 100- NINETEENTH CENTURY 409 150. Still its meetings are important and its discussions helpful and significant. As a result of this Swiss Preachers' Society, another very helpful society was organized, namely, the Swiss Aid Society. At the meeting of the Swiss Preachers' So ciety in 1840, Le Grand, pastor at Freiburg, who had been impressed by the great needs of the Protestants scattered in Catholic lands, led to the organization of a society to aid them. The society was organized (1842} at Basle and soon the different Protestant cantons had auxiliary societies. The annual collections of all the Protestant cantons which have been taken for this society, usually on the Day of Prayer in the fall, have netted a large sum. This has been used for the building and maintaining of Protestant congregations in Catholic can tons and Catholic lands, as Austria, Italy, Chili and even Turkey. In 1872-73 a crisis occurred in the society,! between the rationalists and the Evangelicals, as the latter did not wish their money sent to churches, whose pastors were rationalistic. It was finally amicably ad justed by allowing each cantonal society liberty to give how and where it pleased. The report of this society for 191 1, says that $50,000 were given by Switzerland in the previous year and $11,000 by other lands. The total was $62,400. CHAPTER II Basle Section i the call of de wette* Basle, the home of pietism and the stronghold of orthodoxy, was, strange to say, the first to permit the entrance of rationalism. This occurred when De Wette was called as professor of theology. It was the signal for a new era. But it came like a thunderclap to pietistic Basle. William Martin Lebrecht De Wette was a German, born near Weimar, January 12, 1780, and educated at the rationalistic university of Jena. He became profes sor at Heidelberg and at Berlin (1810-19) where the pietistic circles voted he was not a Christian. He was dismissed from Berlin, in disgrace, because of supposed sympathy with Sand, the assassin of Kotze- bue. He retired (1819) to Weimar, where he wrote "Theodore the Doubter" or "The Skeptic's Conversion" — an autobiography of his religious crisis. The book was looked upon with suspicion by the orthodox, although it revealed him as returning from rationalism toward orthodoxy. When his election to Basle was first spoken of, the whole theological faculty, with one exception, opposed it. The "Christianity Society" opposed it. One of the pas- * See R. Stahelin's "De Wette nach seiner theolog-Wirk- samkeit und Bedeutung." 410 BASLE 411 tors of Basle declared that De Wette's views had left us only one-third of the. New Testament and soon the Pro testant Church would have nothing left. Many of the pious people of Basle looked upon him as antichrist. But in spite of all this opposition, the council elected him. He went to Basle in 1822. Instead of rousing opposition he tried to overcome it. His first sermon, on Whitsunday, 1822, on "Prove the Spirits," won him many friends. In this he was aided by his great moral earnest ness. He became somewhat more conservative, so that while the orthodox called him a rationalist, the extreme rationalists called him a pietist because he later labored with Spittler, the leader of the conservatives, in the work of Greek evangelization. For he had strong, practical sympathy, especially for missions, and once wrote a pamphlet about the theological seminary of the German Reformed Church, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, so as to stimulate interest in the Germans in America. He was ordained 1825, claiming to accept the Basle Confession. But his principles were critical and Hegelian. His "Commentary on Matthew7' appeared about the same time as Strauss' "Life of Christ," and was much like it, but differed from it in its conclusions. While Strauss reduced Christ's life to a myth, he granted its historicity, though he granted that some traditional and mythical accounts had crept into it, especially the supernatural birth and the ascension. De Wette, by his influence, toned up the scholarship of the uni versity and attracted many foreign students. He was a man of broad-mindedness. Thus when the Evangeli cals of Basle united in raising money to support an or thodox professor in the university, De Wette, instead of opposing it, approved of it, as he thought all tendencies should be represented in the university. His last work, "The Essence of Christianity/,' revealed his progress toward Evangelical ideas as compared with his earlier j 412 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH I rationalistic works. He died June 17, 1849, with the confession, "I know there is salvation in none other than in Christ and Him crucified." He was rationalizing in his head, but Christian in his heart. Only a German can properly unite two such contradictory positions. Philo- sophically, his views were based on Fries, who united Jacoby's philosophy of faith with Kant's criticism. He has been called an aesthetic theologian, because he regarded the facts of revelation as symbols, — images of certain ideas. He claimed that if the dogmatic envelope were stripped off, the kernel would reveal the religious and aesthetical elements which had been given birth to the dogmatic. Thus Christ's death was the picture of man purified by sacrifice, his resurrection was the picture of the victory of truth, his ascension, of his eternal glory, his return, of the victory of the church. But in doing this, he dissolved theology into empty signs. His dog matics were aesthetic rationalism, just as Schleiermacher's were emotional rationalism. Section 2 prof. charles rudolph hagenbach The coming of De Wette produced the break with or thodoxy and the university was gradually filled with pro fessors of more liberal views. The most influential among them was Charles Rudolph Hagenbach. He was born at Basle, March 4, 1801. His father, a medical professor at the university, was lax in his orthodoxy. Influenced by him, his son had many a spiritual conflict, but they only drove him to deeper search into truth. His professors of theology at Basle were orthodox and looked on German theology with suspicion. So he went to the University of Bonn, and later to Berlin (1820-23). Under Schleiermacher and Neander, he was introduced to the mediating theology, the former leading him to BASLE 413 make the person of Christ central. Giessler, at Bonn and Neander, gave him his impulse to church history. While he was in Berlin (1823) although he had ex pected to start out in his ministry only as a country pastor, yet he received the call to be privat-docent at Basle University, an unusual distinction for so young a man. At this, De Wette was very glad, for he had felt himself lonely at Basle, as the other professors of the ology, being orthodox, would have nothing to do with him. Hagenbach's theology was not so rationalistic as De Wette's, but he was a congenial spirit to the latter because he had been trained in Germany and was in sympathy with De Wette's scholarly methods. After teaching at Basle a year he was made professor extra ordinary and in 1829 professor ordinary. In 1827 he early gained fame by the publication of his "History of the First Helvetic Confession." This was one of the mildest of the Swiss creeds and is still used at Basle. Its theological statements especially voiced Hagenbach's mediating views. He began a series of popular lectures on the Reformation in the winter of 1833, which were published, and also translated into English* This series of lectures grew into his best work, "History of the Chris- tion Church," which appeared in seven or eight volumes (1839-58). He had a remarkable faculty for popu larizing church history. l Though scholarly, he was al- ways interesting. He also wrote an "Encyclopaedia" (1833), "Homiletics and Liturgies" (1863), "History of Doctrine" (1840). He was also quite a poet, and two volumes of his poetry were published in 1846. He was also the editor of thejseries of volumes on the Reforma- tion, entitled "Fathers and founders of the Reformed Church," published about 1857. In 1828 he received the title of doctor of divinity, from Basle. He occupied * By Hurst, in his "History of the Rationalism of the Eighteenth Century." 414 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH prominent positions in Basle, being a member of the council and had great influence there. He died June 7, 1874. The significance of Hagenbach was that he was the leader of the mediating party in the Swiss churches. When the "Church-leaves (Kirchenblatt) of the Re formed Church of Switzerland" was founded, he be came its editor (1841-68). He was of the mediating theology of Schleiermacher, but unlike Schweizer of Zurich, who inclined to the left, he inclined to the right or the Evangelicals. Though he favored De Wette's critical methods, he never went to his extremes. When the rationalists at Basle, in 1872, tried to set aside the Apostles Creed, he took strong grounds against them. He was also very active in the various operations of the church as in the Swiss Preachers' Society, the Protestant Aid Society and in the work of the Bible and Missionary Society of Basle. Section 3 the later religious situation at basle This history divided itself into two parts, the edu cational and the ecclesiastical. A. Educational This mainly concerns the university. As the uni versity veered more and more to liberal theology, the Evangelicals of Basle, at last alarmed, raised sufficient funds to support another professor, so that there might always be an Evangelical professor of theology there. Of this chair Tohn Tobias Beck became professor (1836- 43) when he left for Tubingen. After him were Hoff man, inspector of the Mission House of Basle (1843-49), Auberlen (1850-64), Von der Goltz (1865), Kaftan, BASLE 415 (*873-83), Schnederman (1883), Kirn (1889) and Metz- gar (1896), the present incumbent. Edward Boehl, a privat-docent, was Evangelical, but left for the Uni versity of Vienna. In 1873, Conrad von Orelli was elected professor on a new foundation by a citizen of Basle. The most prominent Evangelical professor before Orelli was John Christopher Riggenbach. He was born October 8, 1818, at Basle and studied there and later at Berlin and Bonn. He was won to Hegelian principles by his friend Biederman, later the rationalistic professor of theology at Zurich. But at Berlin he was greatly im pressed by the piety of Baron von Cottwitz and gladly came into close friendship with Godet, who was Evan-- gelical. Though Hegelian at first, he was of too serious a mind to be satisfied with such a philosophy. He was examined for ordination (1842) at Basle with Bieder man. Both of these young men were looked upon by the ministers of Basle with suspicion because of their rationalistic views. At first Riggenbach joined with the rationalists, as Fries and Biederman, in the publication of their church paper, "The Church of the Present." But gradually his experience as a country pastor revealed to him the emptiness of rationalism. And at the annual meeting of the Swiss Preachers' Association, in 1848, he startled the rationalists by announcing himself as an Evangelical. Later, with Guder of Bern, he led in the founding of the Swiss Church Society. In 1850 he was made professor of theology. At the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance at Geneva, in 1861, he read a paper on "The Present Rationalism in Switzerland," which proved a bombshell in the camp of the rationalists, and was answered by Biederman. In 1879, when the Evan gelical Alliance met at Basle, he was its leader. With the exception of Hagenbach, he was the most influen tial of the professors at Basle. He was president of the 416 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Basle Missionary Society for many years. He died Sep tember 5, 1890. Another of the professors who ought to be mentioned, not because of his Evangelical position, for he was a mediate in theology, but because of his masterly life of Zwingli, was Rudolph StaHelin. He studied at Basle, Ber- lin and Heidelberg. He returned to Basle as privat-docent (1873), and became extraordinary professor (1874), and ordinary professor (1875), as successor to Hagenbach. His life of Zwingli is the most complete yet published, because, since Morikoffer's and Christoffel's biographies of the great reformer were published, much new ma terial had appeared on Zwingli's life. A pathetic in terest is connected with it, in that, just as he had gathered his materials after many years' research, he was threat ened with blindness, and so the work was written slowly and painfully, by an almost blind man. While speaking of writers on the Reformation, one of the pastors of Basle ought not to be omitted, Rev. Ernest Stahelin, who wrote one of the best biographies of Calvin that has appeared. It appeared in the series published by Hagenbach, en- 4itled "The Fathers and Founders of the Reformed Church." In 1912 there were three Evangelical professors of theology in the University of Basle, Orelli, Metzger and Edward Riggenbach (who became extra professor in 1900). Prof. John Conrad von Orelli was born at Zur ich, January 25, 1846, studied at Zurich, Lausanne, Er langen, Tubingen and Leipsic. He became privat-do cent at Basle, 1871, and professor, 1881. His writings on the Old Testament have given him great fame, and many of them have been translated into English. He has been president of the Swiss Evangelical Union for many years, and the great leader of the Evangelicals of Switzerland. He was also a fine preacher, the cathedral at Basle being filled whenever he preached. He died BASLE 417 November 7, 1912. B. Ecclesiastical While the university was thus being changed to liber alism, the Church of Basle underwent a similar conflict. The pastors were at first all Evangelical. In 1851 a sensation was caused by the refusal of the consistory to ordain Rumpff, because of his outspoken rationalism. He appeared before the city council, asking for ordina tion, but it sustained the consistory in its action. Hagen bach, though usually so mediating and irenic, delivered an address on that occasion, defending the judgment given by the theological faculty against Rumpff. In 1858 the rationalists made their first attempt in the programme of their efforts, which we have sketched in the first chapter of this book. Horler, who, because of his outspoken rationalism,* had left the ministry for journalism, made a motion that the ordination oath to the Basle confession be changed, so as to allow room for rationalistic ministers, but it was refused by the council, December 7, 1859, by a vote of 72-27. In i860, the in fluence of the great revival in America, and the British Isles in 1857, began to be felt at Basle. The Basle Mis-/ sionary Society decided to hold extra religious services. It happened that Hebich, one of their prominent though eccentric missionaries from India, was in Basle. His preaching created a great sensation, two thousand being present on the third day. Complaint was made against him by the rationalists to the city council, but the council nevertheless allowed him to continue preaching in the churches of Basle, though it was carried by a small majority. The rationalists then become aggressive, and Horler gave a course of public lectures. At one of them, * He is said to have believed neither in God nor in im mortality. 27 418 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Rev. Earnest Stahelin, then a country pastor, rose and defended Evangelical Christianity, with such power, that he was later called to be one of the pastors in the city, and became a leader of the Evangelicals. In 1861, the Evangelicals gave a course of public lectures in which Professors Auberlen and Gess took part. In 1867, the rationalists organized a Reform Society. A local Evan gelical Society was also organized, and thus the lines were drawn between the parties. In 1873 the rationalists made a strenuous effort to have the use of the Apostles' Creed set aside, as well as the Basle Confession, but they were not successful; though later liberty was given, so that in the liturgy the word "confess," before the Apostles' Creed, was allowed to be changed by them to the word "hear," which the ration alistic ministers who felt they could not confess the creed could use. In 1874 the first rationalistic pastor was elected. It came about in this way: Rev. J. J. Riggenbach was dissatisfied with the new liturgy, and asked to be allowed to use the old baptismal formula, because he considered it more Evangelical. As he was refused permission, he resigned. At once the rationalists elected a pastor, Altherr, in his place. In 1875 the Evangelicals were surprised at the election of a second rationalistic pastor, Zwingli Wirth, at the cathedral. But the Evangelicals have always refused to administer the communion with the rationalists. The rationalists continued electing pastors until, in 1879, each of the four congregations in the city had a ration alistic pastor. The Evangelicals, to offset this trend to rationalism, formed a local church aid society, which opened schools for the religious instruction of the chil dren, and soon three-fourths of the children of the city were in their schools. In 1 88 1 the rationalists tried another part of their programme — they tried to have the rite of baptism set BASLE 419 aside. The Evangelical pastors then drew up a statement I that they would not confirm a child that had not been/ baptized. In the controversy, Professor Rudolph Stahe lin, though a mediate, came out against the rationalists, because they had claimed that his statements had sup ported their views. In 1886 the rationalists gained con trol of the consistory, but in 1887 the Evangelicals again gained its control. In 1895 the rationalists had a ma jority in the synod. At present the two parties are about equal. Thus the ecclesiastical history of Basle has been one j of conflict against the encroachments of rationalism.) The latest phase of its ecclesiastical history was the vote for the disestablishment of the church in iqiq. By this the state withdraws all support ot the church, except for the services of chaplains in hospitals and prisons, and it allows each congregation to lay a tax on its members, so as to maintain the church. The law went into effect April 8, 191 1. Thus Basle ranges herself as the first of the German cantons in tavor 01 the separation of church and state. Section 4 the basle missionary society The founding of this society has been already de scribed in a previous part of this volume. We will here continue its history. At first they sent their students to the mission fields of other societies, as they had no mis sion field of their own. In 1818 two of their students entered the service of the Netherlands Mission Society. But that society kept them so long at its preparatory school, at Berkel, in the Netherlands, that the students became dissatisfied, and a breach finally occurred between that Society and the Basle Society, but not till seven of the Basle students had gone out under that society. 420 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH They also sent out their students under the Church Missionary Society of England. Eighty-six in all went out under that society. Many were sent to the deadly Sierra Leone, in Africa. Some of them became promi nent, as Koelle, who gathered from the African Babel of languages a Polyglotta Africana: Kraof. noted for his geographical researches, and Gobat, later Bishop of Jeru salem. The Basle society would have preferred sending its students out under the London Missionary Society, as its views were more in harmony with it, but that society had more applicants for the mission field than it could accept. Its relation to the Church Mission Society caused considerable criticism, especially by Prof. Tobias Beck, of Tubingen (previously a professor at Basle), who declared that it was wrong to aid an Episcopal Society. Their relation to the Church Missionary So ciety compelled the enlargement of their course of study to four, then to five years. The students were also al lowed to attend some of the lectures in the university, as by Beck and Hagenbach. The enlargement of the course of studies finally led to friction in the society. Spittler objected to so much education because he said the artisan missionaries were the most effective, and there was dan ger of the missionary being over educated. The mis sionaries of the artisan class, however, wrote back from their mission fields, stating how valuable a more com plete education would have been to them. Spittler then left the society and, as we shall see, founded the St. Chrischona Institution. The Basle Society, after sending missionaries through the Church Missionary Society for many years, decided to have a field of its own. Its first field was in the Cau casus, where many Germans and Swiss had settled. In 1 82 1 they sent out Zaremba, formerly a Russian count, and Dittrich. But the Russian government forbade them to make proselytes from the Greek Church, so all they BASLE 421 could do was to act as pastors to the German colonists. They, however, did some work among the Tartars and Armenians. Then the Armenian hierarchy complained to the Russian authorities, and in 1835 the Czar ordered the mission to cease. There were hardly any results left, although Dittrich translated the gospels, and a congrega tion of Armenians joined the Lutheran church. The society then turned to West Africa, where already a number of their students had been working under the Church Missionary Society. In 1827 they sent five to Liberia, but some sickened and some died, until the last one entered the service of the Church Missionary Society, so that by 1832 the mission was ended. In 1828 they began sending missionaries to the Gold Coast, then under Denmark. But their missionaries died until only one remained, Riis, who returned, and work there came to an end, to be revived in 1843. ^n 1&S° the Gold Coast went over to England. In 1834 a new mission was started on the west coast of India, which rapidly grew until now it is one of their most important missions. In 1847 another mission field was opened in China, and Hong Kong became their center. Gutzlaff, the fiery missionary, was prominent as their Chinese missionary. When the Germans became a colonizing nation, the so ciety, to please its large constituency in southern Ger many, founded a mission field among the Cameroons, which has greatly prospered. Blumhardt, the first inspector, was succeeded in 1839 by Hoffman, a very learned man, who also delivered lectures in the university. But, after eleven years, he was called to the University of Tubingen, and later was court-preacher to the King of Prussia. After him came Josephaus (1850-79), then Scholl and now Oehler. Many of the teachers of the Mission House became prominent as professors, as Beck, Gess, Osterberg and others. The building of the Mission House has been enlarged until 422 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH now it will accommodate about one hundred students. From its foundation up to 1899, 1,500 young men have entered it. Its statistics for 191 1 report 392 mission aries, including wives; 60,632 communicants, of whom 18,000 are in India, 10,500 in China, 31,500 in the Gold Coast and Cameroons in Africa. It reports 668 schools, 37,000 scholars. Its receipts for the year were $427,000. Section 5 the other religious institutions of basle Pietism is always practical, and the pietism of Basle produced many religious activities. For, without pietism to enrich it a church is apt to become stenle._ We have already noted the Christianity, Bible and Missionary Societies. It remains to speak of several others. 1. The Pilgrim Mission of St. Chrischona This Mission House, located near Basle, was founded by Spittler, because he differed from the management of the Basle Missionary Society, in thinking they too highly educated their missionaries. He also felt the need of a Home Mission Institution, as the Basle Missionary So ciety was intended only for foreign work. But he found it difficult to keep home and foreign missions separate. Already in 1843 some Armenians were brought there to be educated as missionaries. In 1844 America was looked upon as the special field of this society, also later Palestine, through Bishop Gobat, who was made Bishop of Jerusalem in 1846. Missionaries were also sent to Abys sinia. In 1854 a call came from Patagonia, and four were sent there. This was followed by the sending of other missionaries to other parts of South America From 1856-59 Russia opened to them, and ten were sent there. In i860 it planned to aid the orphans of the BASLE 423 Druze massacres in Syria. In 1872 missionaries were sent to the Gallas in Africa, but they were driven out by King Menelik in 1886. Up to 1890 there had been 400 students, of whom 196 had gone to America, 7 to Africa and 15 to Asia. Its report of 191 1 says it graduated 25 students in 1910 and had 112 students in 191 1. Its an nual income for 1910 was $53,000. 2. The Theological Alumneum Ever since the Reformation, there had been at Basle an institution as a convict or place of residence for stu dents, without cost to themselves. This was given up in 1835 because of the loss of funds by the separation of Basle-land from Basle-city. In 1844 the Christian people of Basle raised funds, and refounded the institution. Rev. Mr. Le Grande, formerly pastor at Freiburg, was made house-father, or head of the institution. He guided it prosperously till 1873, when Joneli was made house father. The institution has aided many students to get an education, especially at the university. It supported foreign students, especially from Catholic lands, as Aus tria-Hungary, etc. At its fiftieth anniversary, in 1885, it had had 357 Swiss, 89 Germans, 84 Bohemians, 67 Hungarians* 3. The Training School of Ministers (Prediger Schule) It was founded May 15, 1876, because of the ration alistic tendency of the university, and also because of the lack of Evangelical ministers. Its founding led many to withdraw their support from the Alumneum. Yet their aims were different. The Alumneum was founded to aid university students. This was intended for those not ?Zurich also had an Alumneum (1853-79). 424 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH taking a regular university course, but who wanted to enter the ministry, especially of the Free churches, or some other form of religious work. This was possible, because some countries did not require a university train ing as a prerequisite to the ministry. It enlarged its curriculum until its course is now four years, preceded by a preparatory course. It also arranged with the Basle ministerium that its students, by taking certain courses at the university, would be licensed by them. Rev. Wil liam Arnold, formerly pastor at Heiden, on Lake Con stance, has been its head up to 1912, when licentiate Otto Schmitz, privat-docent in Berlin, succeeded him. In addition to Arnold, other ministers, as Preiswerk, Rig genbach and others, gave instructions in this institution. Many of its graduates have gone as Home Missionaries. | Thus, in 1881, Haarbeck was sent to the Engadine dis trict, in the canton of the Grisons, where rationalism had I full control. Others were sent to rationalistic parts of the canton of Aargau, and to the Catholic canton of Ticino, where the building of the St. Gothard railway was bringing many Protestants, as at Bellinzona. Its graduates are scattered all over the earth, as in Brazil and the United States, but especially in Switzerland and southern Germany. In thirty years it has had 120 stu dents. The institution has exerted a strong influence for Evangelical Christianity in Basle itself. Its report for 1910 gives 25 students and receipts of $5,000. CHAPTER III Zurich Section i the preparation for the strauss controversy After the time of Lavater and Hess, there came a reaction, although for a time the Evangelical influence was in the ascendent. Hess' successor as antistes was George Gessner (1828-37), a very earnest, aggressive EvangelicaL He, with a few friends, founded the Mis sionary Society of Zurich, which later sent Dittrich as missionary to the Caucasus. After the death of Lavater, whose daughter he married, the pious of Zurich gathered around him, and he held prayer meetings on Monday evenings. He was pastor of the Fraumunster Church. Zurich, and professor of practical theology._ But after his election as antistes, there came a political re action, as the radicals gained control. This aided the rationalists. That the old spirit of Evangelicalism did not die out in this reaction was mainly due to him. He resigned 1837 and was succeeded as antistes by J. J. Fiissli, who was also a leader of the Evangelicals. Gess ner died 1 1 843. During this period there was a rising tide of ration alism. This was aided by the political reaction and by the teaching of the leading professor of theology, John Schulthess. _. Prof. John Schulthess was a fit successor of Prof. J. J. Zimmermann, of the previous century. He represented the cold rationalism of Paulus, and denied all that was supernatural. He was born September 28, 1768, 425 426 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH and educated at Zurich. He became professor of He brew (1787) and of theology (1816). He revealed his rabid rationalism in 1815, by attacking the Tract So ciety of Basle, and in 1822 in his work "Rationalism and Supernaturalism." In 1818 he published "The Evan gelical Doctrine of Free Election," denying that Paul ever taught election. He seemed to use every opportunity to attack the Evangelicals, even the Reformation festival, in 1819, when he attacked missions. He, however, did an excellent thing in publishing a new edition of the work of Zwingli in 1828, which had not been published since 1588. He posed as the exponent of what he called the true Zwinglianism — that is, that Zwingli was not an Evangelical, but a radical in his day, because he over turned Catholic rule and dogma. This view was laid hold of with avidity by the strict Lutherans of Germany, so as to discredit the Reformed by making it appear that the latter were rationalizing. But though a rationalist, Schulthess was a stimulating teacher. And when on April 29, 1833, Zurich changed its old theological school, the Carolinum, into a university, he was carried over into it as professor. He died November 10, 1836, just before the Strauss episode. Section 2 the call of strauss The growth of rationalism culminated in 1839 in the call of Prof. David Frederick Strauss2 the leader of Hegelianism, as professor of theology at Zuhich. The programme of the rationalists was to gain controlTofTe" by one, of the educational institutions. They already had control of the Normal School, at Kiissnacht, where Scherr, once a Catholic, but now a blunt, outspoken ra tionalist, was the head. They determined also to gain control of the university. Their plan was to make Zu- ZURICH 427 rich the starting point of a new reformation, such as had occurred in Zwingli's time, only a reformation into ration alism instead of into Evangelicalism, as in the Reforma tion. On January 26, 1839, the educational committee, who had charge of the university, elected Strauss as professor of theology. The vote was at first a tie, but Hirzel, the/ president, cast the deciding vote in favor of Strauss.j His election caused a tremendous sensation. The whole theological faculty, with the exception of Hitzig, opposed^ it as did the consistory of Zurich. Even the Catholics protested, for all felt that a great crisis was on between infidelity and Christianity. So great was the feeling, that it needed only a spark to light a conflagration. The Evangelicals then proceeded to contest the election in the great council, to which the educational council had to report. This council met January 31, and Fiissli made a motion that, as the election of a theological pro fessor was of the greatest importance to the church, the consistory should have a voice in the election. After a discussion of eleven hours, the motion was lost by a vote of 98 to 49. Strauss' election was then confirmed. But hardly had two weeks elapsed before a meeting was held at Wadenswyl, February 13, at which twenty- nine congregations were represented. This meeting or-j ganized a Faith Committee, with its center at Wadenswyl, and of which Hurlimann-Landis, a manufacturer of Richterswyl, and Dr. Rahn-Escher were the leaders. They arranged for the organization of auxiliaries in each congregation. These were each to send two delegates to a central committee to meet at Zurich, February 28. This central committee met and presented an address to the Zurich council against Strauss. On the following day they sent a petition to the different congregations to be acted on by them. It said, "Our government aims to destroy religion, our future pastors will be educated by 428 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH an unbeliever. Alas for our children. They will fall into a new heathenism." Quite a controversy of pam phlets then took place, led by Prof. Orelli for Strauss, and by Nageli against his coming. Hans George Nageli deserves special mention. He was one of the prominent musicians of the Reformed Church. He was born at Wetzikon, Canton Zurich, May 27> x773- When only a boy he was the leader of a choir in the village where he was reared. He went to Zurich, where he founded the first loan music store in 1 79 1, and the first male chorus in 1810. His great work was the revival of chorus singing. Through his efforts singing societies were started everywhere in Switzer land, so that by 1873 there were 287 societies with over ten thousand members. He was also a musical composer of note. Two of his tunes have gotten into our English hymbooks, and are favorites, Dennis and .Naomi. In 1833 the University ot isonn gave him tne degree ot doc- tor of philosophy. He was also a deeply religious man, and though a layman boldly attacked the rationalistic professors. When Schulthess attacked the Tract So ciety, he replied in "The Word of a Layman" and "Sum mary of the Confession of Faith of an Orthodox." When Strauss was called he published "Words of the Laity Against Strauss' Coming." He died December 26, 1836, just as the church bells rang for worship, and was buried on the last evening of the year. The vote of the congregations on Strauss was held on Sunday, March 10, 1839. The vote in 156 con gregations was 39,225 against his coming to 1,048. This meant that four-fifths of the voting population voted^ against Strauss' coming. From the vote it was evident that it would not be wise for Strauss to come. So the government finally pensioned Strauss on 1,000 francs a year, which he accepted until his death. Thus the coming of Strauss was averted. It would have been a most ZURICH 429 lamentable thing in the history of the Church of Zurich if one of his successors as a teacher would have been the arch-heretic Strauss, the greatest foe of Evangelical Christianity of his time. But though the Strauss episode was now closed, the confidence of the people was not regained. The Evan gelical Society sent a petition to the council asking that a teacher elected by the ministers might be placed in the Normal School, and also in the cantonal school. But these and other guarantees, were not granted to the Evan gelicals. On the other hand, the rationalistic majority in the council, embittered by their defeat over Strauss, began talking of more rationalistic reforms in the school laws, and also of issuing a rationalistic catechism. Some of them even boasted that in ten years the churches would be outlived by the schools, and the parsonages occupied by the schoolmasters. This friction was aided by in flammatory articles in the newspapers. It was evident that a new crisis was approaching. So the Committee of Faith issued a call for its con gregational auxiliaries to hold a great public meeting at Kloten, in August. The authorities at Zurich, alarmed at this meeting, -forbade it. The Faith Committee pub lished this refusal of the authorities, and added: "Be brave and strong. The Lord will bring victory to your noble cause." For this the authorities, by the end of August, put Hurliman-Landis and Rahn-Escher under arrest. This high-handed proceeding roused a storm of sentiment in their favor. As a result, the meeting at Kloten (September 2) was a very large one.* In spite of unfavorable weather between 10,000 and 15,000 as sembled there. It was not a gathering of noisy young men, but of grave heads of families, and of honored citizens, who came singing hymns. The little church / * Kloten is located about eight miles north of Zurich and (was a central point for the canton. *J 430 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH could not hold all who came, so the rest gathered outside of the church. The Faith Committee held its sessions in the church. Their actions, after being ratified by those in the church, were submitted to those outside for their approval. The assembly adopted a petition to the coun cil, asking for guarantees of Evangelical education, the recall of its acts against the meetings of the Faith Com mittee, and also the recall of the troops that had been quietly gathered at Zurich by the council for its de fence. The conference appointed 22 delegates to go to Zurich to lay these matters before the council. As the crowds went homeward, a rumor spread abroad that their 22 deputies had been arrested. Fortunately, it proved to be not true, or there would have been a high handed catastrophe, for the crowd at the meeting was in no humor to brook any insult. Meanwhile the council at Zurich found that it could not depend on the troops it had called to Zurich, for already there had been a mutiny in the barracks. The council postponed its reply to the Kloten petition, asking that the people should appear before the next meeting of the council, but should come unarmed. Meanwhile they continued assembling troops at Zurich, ostensibly for the military troubles in the canton of Valais. This led to a rumor that the council had decided to call on troops from the other cantons to aid them against the popular will of the people. For there was a political element that entered into this religious controversy. Zurich belonged to the Seven- Alliance, made up of the radical cantons of Switzerland. Of this alliance, Zurich was the mainstay. The other radical cantons were determined to keep the radicals of Zurich in power, even if it was necessary to send troops from the other cantons. That this rumor of foreign troops contained an element of truth in it, is shown by the fact that the arsenal at Bern, on learning about the situation at Zurich, worked the whole night during Sep- ZURICH 431 tember 4-5. This rumor about the introduction of for eign troops by the council greatly incensed the Zurich people. Meanwhile, the Zurich authorities did nothing, only postponed the date of the meeting when the people were to appear before the council from September 6 to September 9. They did so in order that they might gain time to gather soldiers, cadets and the pupils of Scherr's Normal School at Zurich, to defend them. Matters were in such a strained condition, that the slightest event might produce an explosion. Then a rumor that 30,000 troops were expected from the other cantons spread abroad. On the night of September 5, Rahn-Escher issued a bulletin that foreign troops were expected, and asked that all should be prepared in case the bells were rung. At 7 P. M. on September 5, the alarm-bell of the church at Pfaffikon, north of Zurich, began ringing. This started the movement. The alarm- bells then began to ring in the other churches. The men gathered and marched toward Zurich, and by the time they arrived there, in the early morning, their number had risen to about 5,000. They were led by Rev. Bernard Hirzel, pastor at Pfaffikon, and president of the local auxiliary there.* They came singing the hymns of the faith of their fathers, back to Zwingli, "This is the day the Lord hath wrought," "God is my song," etc. Many of them were armed with guns and scythes. At the top of Winterthur street they were met by two delegates of the council, together with Rahn-Escher. They made known their demands on the council which were the same as those of the Kloten conference. But they added two more demands — they now wanted a guar antee that no foreign troops would enter the canton, and that the membership of Zurich in the Seven-Alliance be * He was a learned man, a fine Oriental scholar, having been once privat-docent at the University of Berlin. 432 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH given up. They then waited there from early dawn until nine o'clock. Meanwhile, those of the members of the council who were in Zurich, met at 8 A. M., in the Post Office building.t The council was not able at first to come to a decision, and were in debate when they heard of the approach of the citizens. For the latter, weary with waiting, came from Winterthur street in two col umns. The first consisted of armed men, and was led by Hirzel. It marched over the bridge over the Limmat. river at the city hall.t They then marched through the narrow Stork street, to the Fraumunster-place. The other party, led by Rahn-Escher, marched over the bridge over the Limmat at the Water Church, to the same place. In the Fraumunster-place there was stationed a squad of cavalry, under Major Uebel. As these two divisions came up Uebel called, "Halt." Hirzel replied, "Peace." "Yes," said the major." "Peace, but the Fraumunster- place must be cleared of people." In the excitement, just at that moment, a gun was fired, and the horse under the dragoon, who was rushing upon Hirzel, fell. The soldiers began shooting, but most of the cavalry refused to fire on the crowd, because they were their fellow- citizens. In all 25-35 persons were injured, of whom thirteen were killed. The shooting ended in a general flight. Just before the shooting began, the council had pre pared a proclamation aimed at quieting the people, and Dr. Hegetschwyler, a very popular member of the coun cil, and one of the members of the council who belonged to the Evangelical minority and favored the Faith Com mittee, stepped to the balcony of the post-office to read t This building was then located at the southeastern cor ner of the Parade-place, where there is now a store of Swiss curios. It was chosen because it was near the arsenal which was then on the north side of the Parade-place. % It is now used as the market bridge. Antistes George Finsler Rev. Caesar Malan Rev. John Casper Lavater PROMINENT MINISTERS ZURICH 433 the proclamation, when a shot laid him low just as he had ordered the soldiers to cease firing. The result of his shooting was that the council broke up. Some of the leaders took safety in flight, and went to Baden. The country people, who still kept coming in, found there was no enemy to oppose them, as the council had broken up, and the radical leaders had fled. The city troops then took possession of the arsenal instead of the troops of the council. This helped to quiet the people. So the few members of the council who remained (sixty of the radi cal members were absent) joined with the leaders of the people to organize a provisional government in the arsenal. The central Committee of Faith issued a bulletin, stating that they had gained the victory. This quieted the people and they began departing to their homes. The provisional government ordered a new elec tion for council on September 16-17. Such was the famous Zurich-putsch.* as it has been >- .II-" . M — ^ called, of September 6. 1830. It has been called a riot, but it was not really so, for it was the uprising of the better class of people against the tyrannical combination of the radicals. In the election that followed the radicals and the rationalists were completely defeated. The new council arranged for a proper religious instruction in the schools. The Normal School at Kiissnacht underwent a complete transformation, as Scherr was dismissed Oc tober 23, 1839. The council also withdrew Zurich from its alliance of the seven cantons. Instead of Strauss they called one of the most prominent of Strauss' opponents, Prof. J. P. Lange, author of a life of Christ, written as a. reply to Strauss. „ He taught at Zurich (1841-54)^ He was reinforced by Ebrard (1844-47), whose tren- /• *An interesting account of this movement by an eye-,/ (witness is published in the Zurcher Taschenbuch. 19] Q„ -^ t He also wrote his~"Dogmatics" and his excellent work on Hymns while at Zurich. 28 434 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH chant apologetics proved a great source of strength to orthodoxy. He later wrote his monumental work, "His tory of the Lord's Supper," there. In it he defended Zwingli against the charge of holding merely to the memorial view of the Lord's Supper. But his severe polemics against rationalism strained his relation to the school authorities, and he resigned in 1847. Thus rationalism was overthrown by a popular revo lution. The people could not permit a man who denied the divinity of Christ to teach divinity in their theological school. The reaction was so great that it nearly carried down with it the new university. "Better no teachers than such teachers," was the mOtto of the extremists. Section 3 the biederman controversy The conservative party had the control of the canton for three or four years, and then the radicals came again into power. In 1849 tne radical council did not re-elect Fiissli as antistes. This was their revenge for his mo tion in the council, when Strauss was elected, that the consistory should have a voice in the election of a pro fessor of theology. His successor as antistes was Henry Jacob Brunner (1850-66). After him George Finsler,. the last antistes to be elected, and one of the best writers en the church history of Zurich. He prepared a number of biographies, and also wrote on Zurich at the end of the eighteenth century, and the theological development of German Switzerland in the nineteenth century. The rationalists not merely set Fiissli aside as antistes, but at his death captured his church at Neumunster, Zurich. In 1850 came the controversy about Biederman. _The rationalists had failed in the election of Strauss ; they at last succeeded in the election of BiedermanT He was born near Zurich, March 2, 1819. His father, fearing ZURICH 43S the rationalists at Zurich would influence him, educated him at Basle. But Biederman was by nature a liberal in theology. He greatly enjoyed De Wette's clear scientific method, -although he did not accept his theology. The first edition of Strauss' Life of Christ woke him up, and he greatly rejoiced at Strauss' call to Zurich. After studying at Berlin, whither he went to study Hegelian- ism, he was ordained at Basle, 1841. He and Riggen bach would have been rejected by the examiners for their rationalistic views if De Wette and Hagenbach had not spoken in their favor. He became pastor at Mon- chenstein, near Basle, in 1843. There he published his epoch-making book, "The Free Theology, or Philos ophy and Christianity in Strife and Peace," 1844. He aimed to do what Schleiermacher had done in his famous addresses, to mediate, only he tried to mediate between Hegelianism and positive Christianity. But he was a pantheist, though, while Strauss was destructive, he tried to be constructive" In 1845 he, with Fries, founded the rationalistic church paper, "The Church of the Present," whose publication continued till 1850. Ebrard severely attacked him in his paper, "The Future of the Church," especially on the Five Points of Hegelianism. Romang, of Bern, one of the strongest philosophical minds of his day, in Switzerland, also attacked him, in his work, "The Young Hegelian View of the World," 1849. B°th Ebrard and Romang charge Biederman with pantheism. Biederman was called to Zurich as professor of theology, in 1850, because of his ability and leadership. The Evangelicals bitterly opposed his election, but in vain. The election was the more severe on them because Biederman was called to take the place of Ebrard, the outspoken defender of the Evangelicals. Prof. Lange protested against his election because his book took away the fundamentals of religion. The Evangelicals, not being able to prevent his election as professor, then tried / 436 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH to prevent his reception into the Zurich synod, because of his pantheistic views. But he was finally elected a member. His election led to the organization of the rationalists all over Switzerland, and the founding of the new rationalistic paper, "The Voices of the Times." Biederman was later attacked (1858) in the synod, for his denial of the authority of the Bible, and the resurrec tion of Christ, while teaching in the upper gymnasium at Zurich, but the synod permitted him to continue teaching. He was a famous Alpine climber, and a warm friend of the gymnastic societies of Switzerland (turn- verein). He died January 25, 1885 Biederman's greatest work was his "Dogmatics," published 1869. He belonged to the Neo-Hegelians, who tried to be more conservative and constructive than the Hegelians, and to emphasize more the historical than the merely ideal. His is one of the clearest and most scientific of the rationalistic dogmatics. Under the shel ter of Hegel and Schleiermacher, he emancipates himself from all supernaturalism. He relegates to the category of the figurative, all such ideas as the personality of God, the immortality of the soul and the permanence of the individual. In his emphasis on immanence, he became pantheistic. Christ is the son of God, not by nature, but because the idea of sonship came to him with greater force and freshness, than to other men. With Biederman stood Rev. Henry Lang, as the leader of rationalism at Zurich. A German by birth, he 'was compelled to leave Germany (1848), because he favored a republic there. He was at first pastor in St. Gall, then at Meilen (1863), and later of St. Peter's Church, Zurich (1871). He published, in 1859, a ration- alistic "Attempt at a Reformed Dogmatics," and was edi tor of the rationalistic paper, "Voices of the Times." If Biederman was the philosopher of rationalism, Lang was its popular orator. He was attacked by the "Protestant ZURICH 437 Kirchenzeitung," of Germany, for negativing the person ality of God and prayer. Another important professor of theology, who de- , serves mention, was Alexander Schweitzer. While Bied- i erman approached rationalism from the standpoint of* Strauss, Schweitzer approached it from the standpoint of Schleiermacher. Born March 14, 1808, he was a descend ant of the famous Zurich family of Suicer, of whom we have already mentioned two, Prof. J. C. Suicer and Prof. J. H. Suicer, his son. Through Prof. Schulthess, he was introduced to rationalism at Zurich, yet at the university of Berlin, he became a follower of Schleiermacher He wrote against Strauss, saying that his fundamental point. that the idea is realized in the species, and not in the individual, did not hold true of religion, but that new epochs were due to the impulse of individuals.* He became professor of practical theology at Zurich, 1834, and later the successor of Biederman, in Dogmatics. He opposed the coming of Strauss to Zurich, but finally went from Schleiermacher's mediating position, over into the camp of the rationalists, because he claimed that under Ebrard orthodoxy had degenerated into pietism- It is interesting to see how Biederman, a Hegelian, in- clining to the right, and Schweitzer, a follower of Schlei ermacher, inclining to the left, finally at last came close together in rationalism. He made very important con tributions to the history of the Reformed Church in his "Doctrines of the Faith of the Evangelical Reformed Church" (1844-47) and "Central Dogmas of the Re- formed Church" (1854). " His second work contained much historical material' that was new. Over against Ebrard, who combats him, he claimed that strict predes- *This is one of the best arguments ever made against Strauss and his basis, Hegelianism, and utterly demolishes the Hegelianism that is at the basis"*of Mercersburg "The~ ology" of the Reformed in the United States. 438 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH tination was the essential doctrine of Calvinism. But this Calvinistic doctrine, with its particularism and its dualism of election and reprobation, is given up by him, and predestination is made universal. His predestination *is pantheistic, while Calvin's allowed room for free will. He claimed he had gone back of Calvin to Zwing li's idea of predestination as revealed in his sermon at Marburg. In his third work, "Christian Doctrines of Faith (1863-69), although in his "Reformed Dog matics," he had treated them from an ecclesiastical stand point, yet now he breaks entirely with the supernatural. He also gave a very valuable history of the "Ethics of the Reformed Church" in the Studien and Kritiken of Germany. He died July 3, 1888. Section 4 the later controversies between rationalists and evangelicals The Evangelical Society had been organized in 1837, and had opposed the coming of Strauss. In 1847 it was enlarged into the present Evangelical Society. When the university became rationalistic, it called to the university, at its own expense, as a privat-docent, Held (1860-64), who defended the Evangelical position in his lectures on Jesus and other works. The university being rational istic, refused to make him a professor, so sharp was the controversy at that time. He was succeeded by privat- docent Woerner (1865-75). Since the death of Bieder man (1885), the authorities have elected an Evangelical into the faculty, Prof. Von Schulthess-Rechberg. He and privat-docent Arnold Ruegg (elected 1893^ now repre sent the Evangelicals in thetfieological faculty. In i860 there was friction between the Evangelicals jand the rationalists. Following the great revival in 'America and Great Britain, in 1857, the Evangelicals ZURICH 439 introduced prayer meetings during the first week of the year, called, in English-speaking lands, "the week of' prayer." Hirzel, at the Swiss Preachers' Society, and also in the rationalistic "Voices of the Times," also Pro fessor Schweitzer, attacked the Evangelical Society for holding them. The former claimed that they would lead to separatism or separation of church from state. Instead, however, they retained the Evangelicals within the National Church, though they led to their organization within the church. Hebich, the missionary, also created a sensation that year, and caused controversy by his eccentricities and his evangelistic methods at his meetings at Zurich. In 1862, the synod set aside all I subscription to creeds, and thus opened the door to entire! theological liberty in the church. On August 3, 1864, the Evangelicals dedicated the St. Anna Chapel, built at the cost of $50,000, by Matilda Escher. She had many years before been influenced to a life of Christian charity bv Elizabeth Frev. of England. She first began religious work among the prisoners, and became the great female philanthropist of Zurich. The chapel was intended as a center for the Evangelicals, especially in their religious activities. She died 1875, and Cleopha Bremi continued her philanthropical work. An Evangelical congregation grew up in the St. Anna Chapel numbering about 600, and it has been of great influence for the cause of Evan gelical orthodoxy. Then came the Vogelin controversy. Solomon Vo-. gelin, an outspoken rationalist of the purest water, pastor "at Uster, published a book of sermons (1865), so ex treme that even some rationalists were offended. Part of his congregation who were Evangelical seceded, and organized an independent congregation. Seventy-eight ministers brought complaint against his rationalism be fore the Zurich synod. They were supported by seventy- nine ministers of Bern canton, who sent a protest against 440 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH Vogelin's teachings. But the synod refused to take ac tion against Vogelin, because the new church law allowed entire theological liberty, and it declared that it wanted peace. In 1868 Vogelin published a rationalistic history of Jesus, in which he denied miracles and the divinity of Christ. In 1875, the Evangelical Society sent a petition of 1,000 signatures against its use, but never theless, it was introduced into the secondary schools, and forced into some congregations, although there was much opposition. Vogelin later left the ministry, and became professor of history in the university at Zurich, in 1870. He was a learned man, and has left some valuable books as "Old Zurich." In 1869, the Evangelicals opened an Evangelical Normal School at Zurich,* as the cantonal Normal School at Kiissnacht had come Under the control of the rationalists. In 1868, the two parties in the synod agreed to a double liturgy, one set of forms being Evan gelical, and containing the Apostles' Creed, the other set being rationalistic. As some of the congregations in the city of Zurich paid no attention to the rights of the Evan gelical minority in them, several minority congregations have been organized there in connection with the Evan gelical Society. One of these congregations, the Beth- any, however, is almost an independent chapel in its "criticism of the state church, but the others adhere to the state church, and are doing a valuable work within it. We can not close this chapter on Zurich, without a mention of Meta Heusser Schweitzer, the religious poetess of Zurich.t She was born at Hirzel, on "the hills on the south side of Lake Zurich, April 6, 1797, and lived there. The source of her poetic inspira tion were her Bible and nature around her. Several * The Evangelicals opened four such Normal Schools in Switzerland, at Schiers, Zurich, Bern and Peseux. \ / t See my "Famous Women of the Reformed Church," j L>ages 180-85. ^J ZURICH 44! volumes of her poetry have been published. She died, January 2, 1876. Rev. Dr. Schaff considered her the most beautiful religious poetess in the German language. We here quote a translation of one of her poems, entitled, "Mountains" : The everlasting hills! how calm they rise, Bold witnesses to an Almighty hand. We gaze with longing hearts and eager eyes, And feel as if short pathway might suffice From those pure regions to the heavenly land. At early dawn, when the first rays of light Play like a rosewreath on the peaks of snow: And late, when half the valley seems in night, Yet still around each pale majestic height, The sun's last smile has left a crimson glow. Then the heart longs, it calls for wings to fly, — Above all lower scenes of earth to soar Where yonder golden clouds arrested lie, Where granite cliffs and glaciers gleam on high As with reflected light from Heaven's own door. Whence this strange spell, by thoughtful souls confest Ever in shadow of the mountains found? 'Tis the deep voice within our human breast, Which bids us seek a refuge and a rest Above, beyond what meets us here around! Ever to men of God the hills were dear, Since on the slopes of Ararat the dove Plucked the wet olive pledge of hope and cheer: Or Israel stood entranced in silent fear, While God on Sinai thundered from above. And once on Tabor was a vision given, Sublime as that which Israel feared to view, When the transfigured Lord of earth and heaven, Mortality's dim curtain lifted, riven, Revealed his glory to his chosen few. 442 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH On mountain heights of Galilee he prayed, While others slept, and all beneath was still: From Olivet's recess of awful shade, Thrice was that agonized petition made, "O that this cup might pass, if such Thy will!" And on Mount Zion, in the better land, Past every danger of the pilgrim way, At our Redeemer's feet we hope to stand, And learn the meanings of His guiding hand Through all the changes of our earthly day. Then hail, calm sentinels of heaven, again ! Proclaim your message, as in ages past! Tell us that pilgrims shall not toil in vain, That Zion's mount we surely shall attain, Where all home longings find a home at last! CHAPTER IV Bern Section i the Founding oe the university The canton of Bern had the same political revolution as the other cantons about 1830. By it the classes were given up and only the synod remained, and the church was more than ever made an arm of the state. One of the first acts of the new regime was to_found a university at Bern, in 1834. The radicals made use of this occasion to shelve some of the professors who were Evangelical, as Carl Wyss, professor of practical theology, and Romang, professor of philosophy. The authorities continued only one professor of the old theological school in the new university, J. L. S. Lutz, and called as his colleagues, Schneckenberger, Hundeshagen, Gelpke and Zyro. But so great was the popular feeling for the retention of Wyss, that his successor, Zyro, was for a time unpopular. John Lewis Samuel Lutz was the leader of the univer sity faculty. He was born October 2, 1785. He became an orphan and was reared in the orphanage at Bern. He studied for the ministry at Bern, and then at the univer sities of Tubingen and Gottingen. He was carried away by the influence of Herder. He returned to Bern well versed in Semitic languages and Kant's philosophy, and was ordained 1808. He then (1812) taught Hebrew in the gymnasium, and also gave lectures on exegesis and isagogics and elements of Hebrew. Dissatisfied with the city's management of the schools, he gave up teaching 443 444 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH (1824), and accepted a pastorate. His pastoral experi ences deepened his spirituality, and he passed from the merely legal earnestness of Kant to a more living prac tical faith. When the political revolution occurred he became (1830) pastor of the Holy Ghost Church, in the city of Bern, and in July, 1833, was made professor of the Old and New Testament. The next year (1834), when the university was founded, he was transferred to it. In 1840, he was dekan of Bern. So he was head of. the church, and also rector of the university. He died September 21, 1844. Lutz was a man of great size physically, and of great strength intellectually. He tried to avoid the so-called narrowness of confessionalism on the one hand, and the vagaries of rationalism on the other. He inclined to the Schleiermacherian type of theology, but was less specula tive and more Biblical. When Strauss was called to Zurich he took strong grounds against him. He granted, it is true, the mythical nature of Christ's birth and boy hood, and was less decided on the fact of the resurrection than on any of the other great facts of Christ's life. But he upheld the older critical school, against the newer Straussian views. His two most important works ap peared after his death, "Biblical Theology" (1847), and "Biblical Hermeneutics" (1849). The first was his greatest work, one of the first of its kind. Before him theology had been mainly creedal, he aimed to make it Biblical. Neander declared this work took a front rank . among the books of its day. Along with Lutz at the university was Matthew Schneckenberger, a mild Lutheran from Wurtemberg^ and follower of Schleiermacher. Though a Lutheran he used the old creed of Bern, the second Helvetic, in his lectures on dogmatics and aimed to develop the points of contact between the Lutherans and the Reformed. This led to his most important work, "The Contrast Be- BERN 445 tween the Reformed and Lutheran View of Theology," a very valuable irenic treatise. He died there early, June 13, 1848. Bernhard Hundeshagen, another of the professors, though born a Lutheran, became strongly Reformed, and though a German by birth, became a Swiss citizen and a republican. This was caused by his expulsion from the University of Giessen for belonging to the Burschen in 1826. He then attended Halle and was called to Bern ( 1834) . He soon revealed ability in church history by the publication of his work "The Conflict of Calvinism, Lutheranism and Zwinglianism in the Bern Church." He has been of the most able of writers on Reformed Church government. His monograph "The Influence of Calvinism on the Idea of the State and j Civil Freedom" has never been surpassed.* He was called from Bern to Heidelberg and then to Bonn as professor, where he died (1873). But he never gave up his Swiss citizenship or Reformed Church mem bership at Bern. When he left Gelpke took his place in church history and published a valuable "Church History of Switzerland" (1857 and 1861). Zyro was professor of practical theology, was a follower of Schleiermacher, and wrote works on the Heidelberg Catechism and on the presbyterial form of government. Section 2 the call qe proe. edward zeller The death of Professor Lutz brought on a crisis. His great ability prevented much criticism, for he was con servative enough to maintain the respect of the orthodox and critical enough to retain the respect of the liberals. A change in the government enabled the rationalists to *His great work on church government is "BeitrSge zur Kirchen-verfassungs-geschichte und Kirchen-politik," 1864. 446 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH elect Professor Zeller, the famous Hegelian of Tiibingen,_ January 14, 1847] At once the Evangelicals took alarm. Baggesen, a leading Evangelical minister and assistant at the cathedral at Bern, as president of the Bern synod, sent a protest to the Bern council. In this he was sup ported by Professors Schneckenberger and Hundeshagen, and Revs. Wyss and Romang, formerly professors, but now pastors. On March 24 a petition was presented to the council, signed by 3,000 citizens, asking that the call of Zeller be rescinded. The council debated about this petition for fourteen hours and finally decided March 24 by a vote of 118-23 not to rescind the call. Baggesen published a pamphlet, "Thoughts on the Call of Dr. Edward Zeller" (1847), in which he charged Zeller with pantheism and declared that his critical views would result in the ruin of faith. To this Ries, professor of philosophy, replied, declaring Zeller's views to be Chris tian. Baggesen then made a second reply. Romang, too, attacked Zeller's philosophical positions in an able pam phlet, entitled "The Young Hegelian Creed." Ries then replied to both of these. The Evangelical Society also attacked Zeller in pamphlets, showing by quotations from Zeller's works that he denied the personality of God, the divinity of Christ and immortality. These pam phlets were scattered broadcast among the people. The authorities then became alarmed for fear there would be a riot as in the Straussian episode at Zurich. On March 18 they issued a proclamation, declaring that the agitation against Zeller was unfounded. This proclama tion they ordered the ministers to read from their pulpits. This produced a crisis. Some did not read it. Baggesen read it and thus saved his head by an outward obedience to the order. But having read it he declared he did not agree with it. Many did as he did. Charges were brought against those who did not read it and some were dis missed and some suspended. BERN 447 Zeller arrived April 7, 1847, greeted with the shooting of guns, by order of the authorities. On April 16, the Evangelical Society issued a proclamation against Zeller and against the action of the authorities. But Zeller wasl not as extreme as Strauss, although his fundamental posi-1 tions were the same. He tried hard to be circumspect, because he knew the feeling was so great against him. His conduct was unexceptionally proper, much to the surprise of his opponents. He won the students to him self by his scholarship and the nobleness of his character. Knowing the charges that had been brought against him, he was careful not to lecture on exegesis as much as on historical theology. (Meanwhile the authorities were outrageously perse cuting the Evangelicals. Liberal theology can be most illiberal, and can persecute just like the pope. Liber alism of thought can be most illiberal. Heterodoxy is often more oppressive than orthodoxy^ Under the guise of liberty it becomes a tyrant. It must, however, be remembered that Bern held the old view of the Swiss Reformation, that when the bishops were deposed, the state took the place of the bishops, and exercised episco pal authority. This power, which had already been so severely used by Bern against the sects, was now used against the Evangelicals. Ministers, laymen, even women of the Evangelical Society, who had been active against Zeller, were severely punished even with imprisonment. The fact was that the authorities were greatly alarmed, and feared a repetition of the riot at Zurich, in the time of Strauss, in 1839, and they used every means to sup press the first signs of anything that might lead to a revolution. Their severe measures met with protests from many quarters. Even Biederman, the leader of the rationalists, though of the same liberal theology as Zeller, lifted up his voice against them in his paper, "The Church of the Present.'') 448 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH But Zeller did not feel at home at Bern. He was not received into social relations by the Evangelicals, and he gradually lost kinship with the radicals in control of the government, because he was too noble a man to be a mere politician with them. The fact that men, and even ¦ women, should lose their places and be imprisoned on his account, was unpleasant to him. So in 1849, ne ac" I cepted a call to Marburg University and left Bern. Section 3 the controversies since zeller's departure The departure of Zeller produced somewhat of a reac tion, and at Zyro's death Carl Wyss was again made professor of practical theology. Thus the injustice done him by his dismissal when the university was founded, was somewhat atoned for. But in place of Zeller, came a man of like spirit, Immer, who was elected in 1850. He was also a Hegelian, but not so extreme, and he be came the leader of the faculty. He was a Bernese by birth, born August 10, 1804. He first learned the trade of book-binder, and entered the ministry somewhat late in life. But his ability soon put him in the front. After studying at Bern he went to the universities of Bonn and Berlin, and returned to Bern to become pastor, in 1845. He was made professor of theology (1850). His work on "Hermeneutics" reveals great critical ability, though it is imbued with rationalism.* He also published "The Theology of the New Testament (1877). He at tempted to unite Hegel and Schleiermacher by using the latter's ideas, but giving them the Hegelian form. He retired 1881, and died, March 23, 1884. Just after the election of Immer, the radical party was dethroned in Bern. They had become so blatant * It has been translated into English and has been used in some of our American theological seminaries. BERN 449 that their theological position was reflected in a catechism, I published 1849, which declared that Christ was a revolu- J tionist, and the Bible of little worth. In the reaction thej conservatives reorganized the church on a presbyterian basis, hoping it would impart new life to the church. But no mere church government can lift a church to life, or convert souls, though it may be helpful at times. In deed, presbyterian church government, when joined to state control (Erastianism), has often proved the great est hindrance to Evangelical Christianity, as the radicals gain control of the consistory or presbytery, because every citizen, regardless of belief, has a vote. By 1854, attacks began to be made on the orthodoxy of the theological faculty, especially on Immer, as by the pastors of the Simmenthal. In 1858 another attack on the faculty was made by B. von Wattenwyl de Portes, a prominent member of the Free Church of Bern. The faculty replied to these attacks, declaring that the univer sity was not a mere preacher's seminary, but was de voted to free and thorough theological research. Still they granted that there were some things in the Bible that were mythical, as Christ's childhood and tempation. Von Wattenwyl de Portes replied that the faith of the Bern Church was the Second Helvetic Confession, and that the professors were teaching contrary to it. Dekan Studer, of the theological faculty, replied, quoting the Helvetic Confession as placing itself below the Bible. The next controversy came in connection with the jubilee of the death of Calvin, in 1864, when the Univer sity of Bern conferred the degree of doctor of divinity on Professor Biederman, of Zurich. To many it seemed an outrage on the memory of Calvin, that on his anniver sary, the university should honor a man so opposed to, Calvin's views. The fact that the same degree was given at that anniversary to Professor Bungener, a biog- rapher of Calvin, did not lessen the criticism. Many 15 450 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH pamphlets appeared, to which Immer replied in a pam phlet, "The Theological Faculty of Bern and Their Op ponents (1864). Baggesen so severely criticised their principles, that Immer was compelled to come out and state their views in "What We Believe and Teach" (1864), a sort of a rationalistic confession of faith in which he denied the doctrine of the trinity, the divinity of Christ and miracles. But these controversies soon paled before another which shook the Bern Church in 1865. Edward Lang- hans, teacher in the Normal School at Munchenbuchsee, published a manual for religious training, entitled "The Holy Bible, an Aid to Teaching in the Upper Schools." It was an able book, clear and practical, but was written from the standpoint of Baur, of Tubingen. It denied miracles, and made Jesus a great man, but as to his being a revelation of God, there was not a word. The Evan gelicals bitterly attacked it because it was an attempt by the rationalists to gain control of the Normal School, as they had of the university, and thus poison the minds of the school teachers also with infidelity. Fellenberg and Giider strongly attacked the book. Langhans replied. The matter was brought before the synod of the canton June 19, 1866. In the debate, which lasted five hours, Giider led the Evangelicals, Professors Immer and Mul ier, the rationalists. The action of the synod was favor able to the orthodox and against Langhans, namely, that the authority of the Scriptures was still adhered to. But Langhans continued as teacher in the Normal School. An important result of this controversy was that it drove the rationalists and the mediates apart, while before this they had generally acted together against the Evangel icals, and so had gained the control of the synod. As a result the Reform Society of Switzerland was organized September 25, 1866, by Frederick Langhans of Bern, and Lang of Zurich. The rationalists now took courage, and BERN 451 proposed a new programme in 1868; a new creed, thus setting aside the second Helvetic Confession, and a new constitution. This was finally effected in 1874, when the new constitution set aside the Second Helvetic Con fession and allowed untrammeled theological liberty. But, although Bern was thus drifting from its old con fession, and its former strict Calvinism, an exception is to be noted. Rev. John Frederick Bula was born October 25, 1828, at Kerzers, in canton Berri. He was educated at the Uni versity of Basle, and then went to Halle, where he came under the influence of Professor Wichelhaus, who led him to become a follower of Kohlbrugge. Then he was for a year a helper of Kohlbrugge at Jilberfeld. Later he be came pastor at Blumenstein, in canton Bern, where he labored for twenty-seven years. He died March 10, 1895. He published "The Redemption of Men with God through Christ" (1874), in which he reveals the high Calvinism of the Kohlbriiggian type. Section 4 the evangelical society of bern The coming of Galland, one of the converts of the revival at Geneva, in 181 7, as pastor of the French church at Bern, prepared for the organization of this society. His earnest preaching, quite in contrast with the for malism of the cantonal church, made his church a center of Evangelical activity. But he left in 1824. The Evan gelical Society was founded in the autumn of 1831, at the house of "blind Elsie" Kohlerjn Metzgar street op posite the city hall, where there were gathered thirty persons. To show that they were adherents of the Re formed Church, and not separatists, their first publica tion was the publication of the Second Helvetic Confes sion. The society scattered Bibles, tracts, Helvetic Con- 452 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH fessions and Heidelberg Catechisms through the canton. It also, from 1835, employed evangelists, having had fif teen in its employ up to 1881. The society was almost led out of the state church (1838-39) by De Valenti (the head of a religious school at Bern), because the Bern Church exercised no church discipline. However, the influence of Baggesen held it within the state church. It was, however, the Zeller episode that brought the society into prominence. We have already referred to its opposition to Zeller, and will now describe its ac tivity more in detail. It drew up a petition against Zel ler's coming, and published a pamphlet by Rev. Edward Von Wattenwyl, pastor of the Holy Ghost Church, Bern, entitled "Dr. Zeller and His Doctrines." It also pub lished a pamphlet by Fellenberg, the prison chap lain at Bern, entitled "The Call of Dr. Zeller." The authorities, fearing a Straussian revolution, declared this to be sedition. For, as we have seen, the state in Bern was the bishop. Charges were brought against the Evangelical Society for having scattered these pam phlets, and ten months later its members were punished as insurrectionists. Rev. Mr. Konig, of Stettlen, was imprisoned eight days and fined 50 francs; Rev. Messrs. Strahl, of Erlenbach, and Speisseger, of Dietigen, sus pended for five months; Rev. Mr. Furrer, of Wyl, for six months, and Rev. Mr. Wildholz, of St. Beatenburg, for two years. Fellenberg, the president of the society, and the prison chaplain, was imprisoned in the prison where he ministered for 20 days and fined 8 francs. Rev. Edward Von Wattenwyl was imprisoned 25 days and fined 100 francs. Ten laymen were imprisoned from four to eight days and fined 25-50 francs each. A lady named Mrs. Von Sturler, a member of one of the leading families of Bern, was imprisoned for eight days. But this very persecution raised up for the society many friends. Many who before had looked on it with BERN 453 suspicion, as inclined to separatism, now joined it, as they realized that it was the center of Evangelical ac tivity. It opened a hall of its own August 23, 1850, where Rev. Mr. Von Wattenwyl, who had been dismissed from the pastorate of the Holy Ghost Church, because of his activity in the Zeller affair, preached for a number of years on Thursday evenings. They also began religious services there on Sunday evenings, and in 1855 a con gregation was organized there which called its own pas tor. In February, 1856, because the theological faculty of the university had now become rationalistic, the so ciety sent a petition to council asking that an Evangelical professor of theology be placed there, promising to bear the expense, but the council refused. After a second at tempt to do this, they were finally able to gain permission in 1879, and Prof. Oettli was placed in the theological faculty. As the rationalists had gained control of the Normal School at Munchenbuchsee, they founded (1863) a teachers' seminary at Muristalden. In 1875 they began | the observance of the week of prayer at the beginning I of the year. In 1870 Rev. Mr. Schrenk, a returned I missionary, became their pastor. His preaching pro duced a great sensation, for he is now the greatest of the evangelists in the German language. This Evangelical Society has been a great power in Bern. In addition to its fine chapel in Bern, it has halls in many places. It has furthered the cause of missions, especially of the Basle Mission Society, which was attacked by Langhans in his book, "Pietism and Christianity in the Light of Foreign Missions." It has organized Sunday schools, young people's societies and other forms of religious activity. In connection with this Evangelical Society several of its leaders deserve mention. Charles Albert Baggesen was born at Bern, Sep- tem'ber 27, 1793, a great-grandson of AlberJLVon Haller. 454 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH the great scientist and apologist of the eighteenth cen tury. His father was a Dane, and he was educated at Copenhagen, Paris and Bern and Gottingen. In 1825 he was elected third assistant at the cathedral in Bern, in spite of the opposition of the secular authorities, and in 1831 first assistant, and i860 pastor of the cathedral. He labored in connection with the cathedral for forty- eight years. He was a leader in the church, and for a time president of the synod. As its secretary, he repre sented the Bern Church at the Reformation jubilee at Geneva, in 1835. In his early life he inclined toward Hegelianism, but later he became Evangelical. He died March 10, 1873. With him, as defenders of Evangelical principles, were Wyss and Romang. A later leader of the Evangelicals was Frederick Gusr tavus Edward Giider, born June 1, 1817. His boyish faith was undermined by a rationalistic teacher at Biel. He then studied at Bern and Halle, where Tholuck greatly influenced him, and at Berlin, where he followed Schelling's later views, and where he loved to hear the pietiest Gossner. After a pastorate at Biel, in 1855 he was elected pastor of the Nydeck Church in the city of Bern, which he soon filled to overflowing. He lectured in the university (1859-65) on New Testament theology and apologetics. It was the Langhans controversy that brought him out on the Evangelical side as a leader. Before that, he had tried to mediate between Immer and Baggesen. Thus, when so many Bern ministers signed the protest to Zurich, against Vogelin's blatant ration alism, his name was not among them, for he wanted peace and not polemics. But the publication of Lang hans' manual made him the defender of the Evangelicals. He became editor of the "Kirchenfreund" or "Friend of the Church," the organ of the Evangelicals in Switzerland (1867-74), and president of the Bern synod (1871-74). In 1879 he read a paper at the Evangelical Alliance at BERN 455 Basle, on "The Religious Condition of Switzerland." He ) labored hard for the retention of the Second Helvetic/ Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism. He died Julyl 14, 1882 One more name appears prominently in connection with the Evangelical Society, Elias Schrenk. A Wur- temberger by birth, he was sent to Africa by the Basle Mission Society in 1859. In 1864 he returned and be came one of their home secretaries. From 1879 to 1886 he was pastor of the congregation of the Evangelical Society at Bern. He held large evangelistic meetings in Bern and also throughout the canton. In 1886 he went to Germany, where he has become the Moody of the German evangelists. He is still living at Barmen. There was also a Free Church organized at Bern.* Since the days of Galland, pastor of the French Church, a circle of pietists existed in the city of Bern. When the council ordered their banishment in 1829, lo, the secre tary of the council, Charles Von Rodt, a man of high position and wealth, joined them. For this he was ar rested, imprisoned and banished. He went to Geneva, studied under Malan, and then went to England, where he was ordained. When the radicals gained control of the government in 1830, religious liberty was declared and he returned. As a result of this movement there is now a prosperous Free (German) Church in the city of Bern, and there are also Free Churches at several other places. * This is to be distinguished from the Free French Church of Bern which was organized there by the Free Church of Vaud. That is a French church. This is a German church. CHAPTER V Schaffhausen Section i the defection of antistes hurter In Schaffhausen the controversy was not with ration alism as in the other cantons, but against Romanism. Frederick Hurter was a descendant of a prominent family of this canton, which had given many ministers to the church. He was born and educated in the city of Schaff hausen, later at Gottingen. While he was a country pastor in the canton of Schaffhausen, Madame Krudener came into the canton. He led the churchly conservatives against her revival. In 1855 he was elected antistes, suc ceeding antistes Veith, who had in 1824 succeeded antistes Kirchhofer. [He had early showed signs of love for ritual ism, and began making it prominent after he became antistes. Thus he had the form of ordination enriched and made spectacular. He had three triumvirs appointed from among the ministers, so that at ordination he might appear among them as a bishop of the church. All this was not to the taste of the plain Swiss, to whom it looked as if he wanted to make Schaffhausen a sort of hierarchy. Then came the publication of his "Life of Pope Inno cent III" (1834-42). That the head of a Protestant church should write the life of a Catholic was considered quite of of place. But it was his friendly attitude toward Innocent III, whom he declared to be the most splendid of the popes, that caused suspicion and criticism. Almost as soon as he was made antistes, the Catholics, in 1836, 456 SCHAFFHAUSEN 457 were given permission to have their worship in the city of Schaffhausen, a right forbidden since the Reforma tion. This caused a sensation among the Protestants and aroused fears. It was only through his influence that this was granted.) In March, 1838, a circular appeared about this concession to the Catholics that caused alarm and a demand was made that he call the ministers together. He replied that it did not suit him to do so, as he wanted to take a trip and would call the meeting on his return. But during his absence the death of a minis ter brought the ministers together. It was decided by them to call a meeting of the ministers. But Maurer, the head-triumvir of the church, delayed doing this until Hurter returned. On his return, when asked to call a meeting, he replied that he was going away to Frank- ford, in Germany. Finally, on May 9, the ministers succeeded in having a meeting. They passed an action against the Catholic services in the city of Schaffhausen and demanded guarantees from the government and sent these to the council. When their action was reported to Hurter at Frankford he refused to ratify it, and wrote against it. But the council acted favorably on the petition of the ministers. It took action limiting the Catholic influence by forbidding their proselyting, and also their reading the papal bulls or letters in their churches. All this did not prevent Hurter from continuing his associa tion with the Catholics. He visited Lombardy to see Emperor Ferdinand crowned and did this on the regular day of prayer of the canton, which caused great offense to the Protestants. He also went to Vienna in 1839, to place his son in school there. This trip began on one of the days of prayer in Schaffhausen, which also caused criticism against him. Early in 1840 a Swiss reported that he had seen the antistes and his wife, on March 19, in the Catholic cloister at Catharinenthal, near Schaffhausen, bowing 458 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH before the mass, making the sign of the cross and using holy water there. This charge caused a meeting of the ministers to be held. Before the meeting he denied it to Rev. Mr. Kirchhofer. But the Swiss who brought these charges offered to make an affidavit that it was true. By this time the citizens of Schaffhausen had become so outraged that they determined that he should not again ascend the pulpit in their city, and the council ordered an investigation. On April 9, 1840, he sent his resigna tion as dekan. The ministers requested him to send a statement that he was still a Protestant. He said his reply could be gotten at St. John's Church in Schaffhausen. This reply he afterwards enlarged into a book, entitled "Antistes Hurter and His So-called Brethren in the Ministry," published June 11, 1840. Outwardly it was a defence of his views, but he was very sharp in his per sonal attacks on his fellow-ministers. Meantime the ministerial convent asked his three times for his reply, ,and finally they gave him fourteen days to send it in. Then the ministerial convent deposed him and elected I Spliess antistes in his stead.* Finally in February, 1844, Hurter went to Rome and on June 16, 1844, his conversion to Rome was completed^ there. In 1845 he published "Birth and Re-birth," which defended his perversion to Rome. He died at Gratz in 1865. His perversion to Rome produced no effect on his canton, which remained as strongly Protestant as before. But it caused a stir in Switzerland that the head of one of the Protestant churches should become a Catholic, — a thing unheard of in the history of Protestantism since the Reformation. The election to the antistes' chair of Spliess, who had been the main opponent of Hurter, led to a very decided tendency in the canton to Evangelical piety and activity in the canton. He died in 1854, and * We have already spoken of him in connection with the pietism of Schaffhausen. SCHAFFHAUSEN 459 Kirchhofer became antistes. He was so pietistic, foster ing all aggressive religious movements in the church, that when a political reaction occurred in 1862 he was not re-elected, because rationalists and formalists in the coun cil united against him. Mezgar was elected antistes in his stead. When Hebich came to Schaffhausen the coun cil forbade his meetings. But thanks to the pietism in the canton and to its adherence to the Heidelberg Catechism this canton has remained orthodox to this day. In 1887 it did not have a rationalist among its ministers. Then one was elected at Unterhalten, and in 1900 another at St. John's Church, in the city of Schaffhausen, where there are now two. It was not till 1890 that a Reform society was founded. Before leaving the German cantons (as time does not permit us to take up the rest of them) we would note that in 1874 the synod of the canton of Thurgau, which has become rationalistic, forbade the use of the Apostles' Creed in the worship. For insisting on using it one of the dekans, Steiger, was compelled to resign his charge. He then organized a Reformed church independent of the state at Emmishofen. But the synod later learned wis dom and in 1876 granted the use of other Swiss liturgies, some of whom contain the Apostles' Creed. PART II THE FRENCH CANTONS CHAPTER I Geneva Section i the evangelical church of geneva This was an outgrowth of the revival in Geneva, which we have already described. But we have thus far described that movement mainly outside of the National Church of Geneva. There was, however, an element within that church that was Evangelical, and on January 24, 1 83 1, they (nine in all) organized an Evangelical So ciety. Two of them were pastors, Gaussen, pastor at Satigny, and Galland, who had returned from Bern. The others belonged to the best families in Geneva. This so ciety held religious services on Sunday evenings, and a_ prayer meeting on Thursday evenings; also a mission meeting on the first Monday of the month, and organized a Sunday School whose attendance soon rose to 100. Cheneviere, professor of theology, published at the beginning of 183 1, his "Dogmatics," in which he attacked the confessions of the church and the doctrines of grace, such as the trinity, original sin, etc. The Evangelical Society felt that something must be done to counteract such rationalistic teaching. Their answer was the found ing of an Evangelical Theological Seminary. In fact, """""" — 461 462 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH their full programme consisted of three parts: First, the establishment of a congregation, the Church of the Oratoire. Second, the Evangelization of France, and Third, the founding of a theological seminary.* The attendance on their religious services finally com pelled them to have a building of their own. Sothe Church of the Oratoire was opened February 9, 1834. It was a large building, seating 1,000 persons. It was not intended to be a congregation, but only a preaching-place of the National Church, for its attendants were still mem bers of the National Church. The Lord's Supper was celebrated there for the first time on Whitsunday, 1835. In 1840 the ministers and members of the Church of the Bourg du Four began to participate in the work of the Evangelical Society. They had by this time removed to their beautiful chapel of the Pelisserie. Empeytaz was made a member of the com mittee, and Guers and Bost gave lectures in the new Theological School. Finally a joint committee was ap pointed, who drew up a basis of agreement, and so the fFree Church of Geneva was organized out of the Pelis serie and the Evangelical Society, in 1849. It did not adopt any of the old creeds, as the Second Helvetic Con fession, but drew up a simple creed of its own in sixteen articles, as nearly Biblical as possible. The church govern ment was a liberal Presbyterianism. In cultus it allowed liberty, the Oratoire using the old French liturgy, while the Pelisserie used a free service, — rather a conference and prayer meeting. The members were free to attend either place of worship. The congregation numbered about 700. But there were also many regular attendants from the National Church and the church exerted an influence far above its numbers. * Of the second, the evangelization of France, we need not speak, as it does not concern Switzerland. GENEVA 463 Section 2 the evangelical school of theology This school, which was, as we have seen, one of the creatures of the Evangelical Society, was opened January 30, 1832, on the basis of the Second Helvetic Confession. It was Calvinistic, but liberally so. Of its first profes sors, MerkD^Aifliignewas the most prominent, especially as Gaussen was not able to enter the faculty till 1836. enough to see his ideas of religious liberty put into an objective and permanent form, in the existence of the Free Church of Vaud. Of Vinet, Pressense says, "Vin- et's undying service was that in the realm of the French language, he transplanted religion out of the realm of the abstract into that of life, and found in the testimony of our own hearts the strongest apology for revelation." Through him Protestantism gained a place in French literature. Hewas the French Schleiermacher. _ His stay at Liasle had enabled him to become the bridge be tween German and French theological thought. He adopted Schleiermacher's Mediating Theology and adapted it to the French mind. He was not a Calvinist . in theology. With him predestination was not funda mental. Not the sovereignty of God, but the individual- "ity~of man, was fundamental. Vinet, like Schleiermacher, made religion a life rather than a doctrine, — it was vital Christianity. He held to the dynamic conception of Christianity in opposition to the intellectual conception. 486 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH "The religion of the Gospel," he says, "is a force, it is not a system of reasoning. It is a fact that takes pos session of the heart and prevails over the acts." But while Vinet was the French Schleiermacher, he added something to the latter's system, namely, his em phasis on the ethical. He was emphatically an ethical theologian. His center was conscience, and, therefore, he emphasized individualism. He went to such an extreme in this that his favorite phrase was "Faith is a Work." meaning by it the necessity of the union of faith with works. In the Christian religion, he said, all is moral. But here he separated himself from all Evangelical the ology, for Scripture says of faith, "It is the gift of God." Eph. 2 : 8. One can so far exaggerate the moral as to conceal the Evangelical. But Vinet was not so much a, theologian as a litterateur. He was suggestive rather than systematic. He gave an impulse to thought, rather than defined it in its relations. There was less of the logical than one would expect in a theologian, and more of the rhetorical in style and poetical in thought. But this literary finish and poetical insight gave him a pe culiar breadth of thought, as it was coupled with beauty of style. His "Practical Theology" is also important. Palmer, the great German professor of practical theology, places it beside Harm's and Luther's. His "Homiletics" is called by Von Zeschwitz, another great German author ity, the best and most suggestive. Vinet gave an inspira tion to theological thought in all French lands. Like Schleiermacher, he led many from rationalism back to faith. His views became so popular among the pastors of Geneva, that what Haldane and Malan were not able to do, he did, — he brought many of the pastors back toward orthodoxy. VAUD 487 Section 4 history of the free church of vaud* The assembly held November 11-12, 1845, had ap pointed a committee to prepare a project for the re organization of the church, either in case it renewed its relations to the state, or if it became a Free Church. They addressed a proclamation to their parishes, stating that as a union with the state was impossible, it was their desire to organize a free church, but one faithful to the principles of their fathers. On December 19, as the state remained firm against their return, they issued an appeal for funds. On that day 31,381 francs were subscribed, which by a year later was swelled to 180,000 francs ($36,000), from all lands, of which one-third was given by Vaud, one-third by the eight Protestant cantons of Switzerland, and one-third by foreign lands, the King of Prussia giving $2,400. After the secession, as they were refused the use of the churches, they preached in the oratoires or preaching- halls they had formerly used. But the state forbade all religious meetings outside of the state church. They nevertheless continued to hold services in the halls, but their meetings were sometimes broken into by mobs, and the pastors frequently found themselves in the hands of the police, and under arrest for breaking the law. On July 8, a central committee of these dissenters was con stituted. It ordained eight students to the ministry and organized twenty-two parishes. A school of theology was provided at the request of the theological students, with Chapuis, Secretan and Herzog as professors. The first preliminary convention was held in November, 1846, at which thirty-three parishes reported. It appointed a * See "Histoire des Cinquante premieres annees de l'Eglise evangelique du Canton de Vaud," par Cart, Lausanne (1897). 488 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH committee to prepare a constitution. The second pre liminary convention was held February 23, 1847, which adopted a constitution and a creed. The Free Church was formally organized on March 12, 1847. The nrst regular synod was held June 8, 1847. Owing to perse cutions and police regulations, it met clandestinely at the country home of a layman. But by 1849 the pastors of the two churches, National and Free, became so cordial to each other that they together formed a branch of the Swiss Preachers' Society. By 1851 religious liberty existed, in fact, though not yet by law. By 1854 the Free Church had thirty-nine congregations, 3,400 com municants and 1,500 persons beside, who though still members of the National Church, yet frequented their worship regularly. Having been born out of a revival, the Free Church gave expression to its sympathy with revivals elsewhere as in Scotland and the United States in 1857, and later (187O with the Moody and Sankey meetings in Scot land. One of its first efforts was t'6 appoint a commit- tee on evangelization and it was soon busy with evan gelization in its canton and elsewhere, opening preaching- stations as in the Catholic cantons of Valais and Frei burg, and at Thonon and Evian in France, on the south ern coast of Lake Geneva. It expressed itself frequently as in sympathy with all bodies struggling for religious liberty, and it entered into fraternal relations with other [Evangelical and Free Churches. It also joined the "Alliance of the Reformed Church holding the Presby terian System." It proved to be an active, aggressive church, exerting a religious influence far beyond its num bers or limits. Its theological school has had an interesting history and exerted an important influence. Vinet soon died, and Herzog was called away to Halle. This produced a crisis and some of the ministers, for the sake of economy, VAUD 489 wanted their students to be sent to the Evangelical Theo logical School at Geneva. But the church decided to have its own theological school, and it was opened No vember 14, 1847. Vulliemin took Herzog's place as professor of church history, later followed by^Cart. who] has written so extensively and excellently on the history] of the Vaud churches. By i860 the number of students' had increased to thirty-five, by 1868 to sixty-seven. The leader among the theological faculty was< Samuel Chappuis. He had been, with Vinet, the strongest pro fessor in the theological faculty before the Free Church seceded, and he was the strong man of the Free Church. He studied at Lausanne, where he was converted at one of the pietistic meetings of the brothers Olivier. He then studied at Heidelberg and became assistant at the French church at Basle. This gave him a fine acquain tance with the German theological thought. After two years at Berlin, he returned to Lausanne (1837) ana though young, was made professor of dogmatics in the university. He was at Lausanne when the pastors re fused to read the proclamation and approved of their action. But he was not present at the meeting of No vember 1 1 -12, as he was at that time in France, laboring for its Evangelization Society. Though absent from that meeting, he was named as a member of the committee to reorganize the church, he and Vinet being its most influential members. He was frequently made president of the synod and often sent by it on deputations, as to the Free Church of France and to the Evangelical Alliance at Berlin, in 1857. He always emphasized evangeliza tion and defended Evangelicalism. One of his last acts, though unwell, was to publicly reply (1869) to the ra tionalistic Buisson, in his attacks on the Old Testament. He soon after died, April 3, 1870. He was not con fessional in his theology, but like Vinet, an adherent of Schleiermacher's mediating theology, with, however, an 490 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH emphasis on the ethical and the individual. The Chris tian consciousness of the mediating theology he developed into an emphasis on the inner life. It was after his death that troubles began to brew. At the synod of 1871, one of the members of synod raised questions about the orthodoxy of the school. This was caused by the writings of Professor Astie. His book published in 1869, on "The Bible and Liberalism," had caused apprehension. A Frenchman by birth, he had studied at Geneva, and later been pastor of the French congregation in New York. He was elected (1858) as extraordinary professor and as ordinary professor in 1865. Four times his peculiar views came before the synod. But he always declared that he accepted the creed of the Free Church of Vaud. He had been a pupil of Scherer's, at Geneva, but was at first inclined to be more positive. But then he veered to the new the ology and caused great anxiety by his attacks on the inspiration of the Bible and the pre-existence of Christ. In 1875 several pamphlets appeared against him. A ser mon by him in 1876 gave rise to new complaints, as did his annual address at the theological school as president, 1876-77, on "The Faith of the Free Church of Vaud, its Past, Present and Future." In 1891 the matter came up again because some congregations protested against his utterances at Chexbres, in August, 1891. The synod. May, 1892, declared his explanation of his views were insufficient, censured not his opinions but his manner of expressing them, and passed a strong resolution, adhering to the old Reformed doctrines of the church. He died in 1892. This Astie controversy had an unfortunate effect. Before it, it had been the glory of the Free Church that Free Churchism was a bulwark against het erodoxy. But because of Astie's views, some began to lose faith in Free churchism. It seems that Ritschli- anism had entered the Free Church Theological School. VAUD 49l Vinet's theology had been the bridge for the introduc tion of the mediating theology of Germany to enter the French churches. But his ethical emphasis also pre- pared the way for the later introduction of the Ritschlian theology of Germany, with its emphasis on the kingdom of God. This theology added to Vinet a denial of Christ's pre-existence and of the full deity of Christ. Another prominent member of the Free Church of Vaud also deserves mention, though not a professor of theology, Charles Secretan. who had been professor of philosophy at Lausanne University, until the radicals came into power in 1845. But though no longer pro fessor, he delivered private lectures till 1850, when he was called to the Academy of Neuchatel. He returned to Lausanne (1866) and died there (1895). Originally a follower of Vinet in his individualism, he became more and more speculative, uniting Kant with Vinet in a the ology based on ethical consciousness. He held stead fastly to two principles, freedom and duty. Increasingly! indifferent to dogma as compared with morals, he re-) jected miracles, inspiration, the vicarious atonement and) eternal punishment. By his philosophical principles he laid the foundations of the modern liberal theology of France, led bySabatier. , Section 5 the mission romande* The Free Church of Vaud being an Evangelistic Church, easily became interested in Foreign Missions. At first it sent its missionary contributions to the mis sionary societies of Paris and Basle. But in 1869 a challenge came to it as a church. At its synod, Paul Berthoud and Ernst Creux, two students in their theo- * See "Les Negres Guambe," by Paul Berthoud. 492 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH logical school, requested the synod to send them as mis sionaries to the heathen. In their letter, they say: "To whom shall we go rather than to the church to which we belong? We will go wherever you wish us — to the tropics in the south or to the regions of ice in the north. Speak, command, and we will obey." But the synod hesitated to undertake a foreign mission of its own on account of its smallness. Then the Paris Missionary Society, hearing of the desire of these young men, asked the Free Church of Vaud, "Why do you hold back the young men so long, send them to us." So the synod of 1870 decided to send them out under the Paris Missionary Society, and they sailed in 1872 for South Africa. When they arrived at South Africa, Mabille, one of the mis sionaries of the Paris Missionary Society, had just re turned from a visit to the Ma-Guamba, who numbered about 10,000, in the northern Transvaal. The Paris Missionary Society felt itself too weak to undertake this new field, and so appealed to the Free Church of Vaud to do so. So the synod of 1874 decided to take that field. In July, Berthoud and Creux founded the mission at Spelonken, which they renamed Valdesia, after Vaud.. Hardly had the mission begun to get on its feet when, in 1876, it was threatened with destruction, as the Trans vaal government forbade its missionaries to preach to the natives, because it said they had no express permission to do so from the government at Pretoria. The mis sionaries refused to obey, and on August 2 they were arrested and taken to Marabasted, leaving their wives and children in the midst of a native war. After a month's imprisonment they were finally liberated, and on Septem ber 9 they returned to Valdesia, permission being granted to them to preach to the natives, provided they took the oath to the Transvaal government. They had hardly returned when their first baptism took place, October 1, 1876, and by the end of 1878 forty had been baptized VAUD 493 In 1877 the Transvaal came under the dominion of Great J Britain. In 1879 they opened a new station, Elim. In ' 1883 the Free Churches of Geneva and Neuchatel united with the Free Church of Vaud, in the support of this mission. In 1885 Leresche was made secretary of the society and lived at Lausanne, and in 1895, Grandjean. The church at Elim opened a new station at Delagoa Bay in 1882, calling it Antioch, because founded and sup ported by converted natives. Another station was opened at Lorenzo Marques. From 1888 to 1898 the mission suffered through the wars and political dangers, but in 1899 it had 2,000 members, of whom 1,200 were at or near Lorenzo Marques. The mission, therefore, has two fields, one at Transvaal, and the other at Lorenzo Marques, in Portuguese Africa. By 1895 the New Testa ment was translated into the language of the Ma-Guamba, and published at Lausanne. In 191 1 the society reported 12 stations, 157 native teachers, 2,530 communicants, 80 schools, with 2,853 pupils. The society received in 191 1 $63,400. CHAPTER III Neuchatel Section i its history in the early part of the nineteenth CENTURY I The church of Neuchatel differed from every other Protestant church in Switzerland, in that it was separate from the state. This was due to the fact that when founded by Farel in the Reformation, its ruling family was Catholic. When the land came under the rule of the King of Prussia, in 1707, he conceded to the church its old autonomy and this was continued in the early part of the nineteenth century. The revival at Geneva had but slightly affected Neu chatel, whose clergy were orthodox, but formal. Neu chatel in general was more tolerant of pietists than Bern or Vaud, but there was one case of oppression. A school master named Magnin was exiled for ten years for hold ing prayer-meetings and celebrating the Lord's Supper. This the government later regretted. As a result of this movement, an independent congregation was organized in 1828. But though the church had had its autonomy guar anteed by Prussia, the nineteenth century witnessed re peated efforts to wrest this from her, until she was finally made an arm of the state. The first attempt occurred in 1838 in connection with the reorganization of the university at Neuchatel. The classis of Neuchatel had always nominated their professors of theology. But now 494 NEUCHATEL 495 the state evidently wanted to get that right from her. When the university was erected, the Prussian govern ment organized all the departments but the theological. Then she began gradually introducing that. In 1840 the state council nominated Petavel to the chair of phil ology, and he began to give courses of lectures on exe gesis of the New Testament. This was the entering wedge to get the theological department of the university under the state's control and away from the church. The classis asked that if the subject of his lectures was to be a religious one, they be allowed to choose the teacher Two or three years later the state council nominated Montvert, a professor of oratory for the theological students. The classis then protested. In 1842 the state nominated a third theological professor, Perrot. Thus the state was shrewdly trying to get control of the theo logical education of the canton, while the classis was un willing to give it up. In 1848 the political revolution occurred, which freed! Neuchatel from Prussia. As the pastors had opposed* the revolution, a crisis arose similar to that which had taken place in Vaud. Steck, one of the councillors, drew up a law by which the classis would be entirely sup pressed. But there were prudent men in the state affairs, who did not want a disruption such as had occurred in the Church of Vaud. A compromise was arranged, by which the state took possession of the old funds of the church, which amounted to 46,000 francs, and from which one-quarter of the pastor's salaries were paid. It, how ever, left to the church her autonomy. This decision was repugnant to the pastors, for they felt the church was robbed of its funds ; but they accepted it lest, if they op posed, they might seem open to the charge of being royalists, and thus make the church unpopular. And yet the state also infringed on the rights of the church by a new law, that if the parish refused to nominate a min- J 496 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH ister, the state could present a candidate. In this new law lay the possibility that produced the Free Church of Neuchatel in 1873, though from 1858 to 1868 all was quiet. Section 2 the free church of neuchatel* We have already noted how the state was invading the rights of the church: first, taking away her nomina tion of professors of theology, then her funds. In 1868 a group of free-thinkers had arisen, led by the young and brilliant professor, Buisson. He delivered an address, December 5, 1868, at Neuchatel, in which he attacked the use of the Old Testament in the schools, because it had errors, favored superstition and corrupted the youth. This was followed by other conferences, in which the Evangelical doctrines were attacked. Buisson was an swered from the pedagogical side by Fred D'Rougenont, the great naturalist. But the great defender of the church was Professor Frederick Godet. who five days later, after Buisson's lecture on December 10, replied, defending the Old Testament. Wherever Buisson went delivering his lectures, Godet followed him, making replies. In Decem ber, 1869, a rationalistic organization arranged for a course of lectures mainly by foreigners. The liberals issued a statement of their views that they wanted a church without priesthood or dogma. But the rationalists found that the people did not take to their ideas, so they determined to gain their pur pose in another way. They now aimed at a revision of I the constitution. And in March, 1873, the new law was promulgated. This law made every citizen a member of the church, and not, as before, only those who had made * See "Histoire de la fondation de l'eglise evangelique Neuchatel," by Monvert (1898). NEUCHATEL 497 a public profession of their faith. It also gave entire liberty to pastors to preach as they pleased, thus making the church confessionless, and it required a re-election of pastors every six years. The nomination of professors of theology was given to the state. Thus the state took away the last shred of autonomy from the church. The classis protested. Thus the state gained control of the church, but its methods only reveal the tyranny of heterodoxy and secularism. The old church of Farel was now thrown open to all sorts of doctrine. It was this usurpation of the rights of the church that produced the Free Church. Out of forty-seven pas tors, twenty-seven lett the cnurch. On November 9, 1873, a synod of the nineteen Free Churches was held. The number arose later to twenty-two congregations. They organized twenty-six parishes. On January 15, 1874, they adopted a constitution, which was later adopted by the congregations. This new church, though small, numbering about 3,000 communicants, has been very ac tive. In ten years it raised $200,000. Its pastors are not paid by their respective parishes, but out of a central fund, to which the parishes contribute. Section 3 profs. Frederick godet* and a. grETillat The most prominent professor of theology in Neu-" chatel was Frederick Godet. Born October 25, 181 2, at Neuchatel,, he studied there and at Breslau and Bonn,. Ordained 1836, he received ( 1838) the unusual honor of an appointment to a tutorship to the Crown Prince of Germany, Frederick, during which time (1838-44) he lived at Berlin. He then returned to Neuchatel and was *An excellent work, "Frederic Godet," by Philip Godet. Neuchatel, 1913, has appeared while this book was going through" the press. 498 THE SWISS REFORMED CHURCH made professor of theology there in 1850. In 1864-65 he gained fame in the theological world by the publica- tion of his commentary on the Gospel of John. In 1866 he gave up his pastorate, so as to give his entire time to his professorship. We have already seen how he re plied to Buisson's attacks on the Old Testament. When the Free Church was organized, he resigned his profes sorship and entered the Free Church. His fame gave the new theological school of the Free Church of Neuchatel great celebrity. In 1887 he retired from his professor ship and spent his last years in literary activity. He died October 29, 1900. He excelled as a commentator and apologist.* His commentary on John's Gospel is one of the best ever written. It has passed through many editions and been translated into many languages. It was followed by a commentary nn J.uke. (i87i"l. Romans (1879-80) and 1 Corinthians ( 1886) . His last great work was his "In^ terpretation of the New Testament" (1893-98). He ex celled in the analysis of the Apostles psychologically and in his faithfulness of the reproduction of their doctrine. He held to the orthodox views and was a tower of_ strength to the Evangelicals. But he was also liberal and departed from the old traditional views in his doc trine of kenosis, wnicn, however, appears to make the kenosis more a figure than a fact. But greater than his works was his deep spiritual personality. Frommel calls him a spiritual relative of John the Apostle, who in his youth was a Boanerges, but sat the feet of the Master and learned his life. He was a lovely character, remark ably fitted to portray the apostle of love. Godet's pupil, and later his colleague, was Prof- August Gretillat, who became professor of dogmatics. Born March 16, 1837, he studied at Neuchatel and then * He wrote against Professor Astie's views. NEUCHATEL 499 at Halle, Gottingen and Tubingen. Probably Beck, at Tubingen, influenced him more than one else of his teachers. Of French writers he was especially fond of j Vinet and Pascal. He was elected professor of dog- 1 matics in 1870 and resigned this position to go out with the Free Church. Both Godet and he were elected pro fessors in the new theological school of the Free Church. While teaching he was also active especially in the evan gelistic operations of his church. He was a frequent writer for French theological journals. He died Jan uary 12, 1894. He published his "Dogmatics" in fourj volumes, and later his "Ethics." In the former he op- J posed the new theology of Astie. In the main he was Evangelical, but with Godet he held to the doctrine of y Kenosis, and also combated the crass views of inspiration of Gaussen. At the death of Gretillat, George Godet, a , son of Frederick Godet, was made professor of dogmatics^ in the Free Church theological school, but he has left no writings. INDEX Andrea, 48, 58. Appenzell, 15, 74. Arnaud, 125-27. Association Oath, 192-97, 317-20. Auberry, 52. Astie, 490. B Baggesen, 446, 453-54, 480. Barbeyrac, 192. Barde, 469, 470 Basle, 57-68, 75, 146-52, 162, 249, 330-43, 410-24. " Mission Society, 341-43,/Bullinger, 3, 8, 13, 15 420-23. " Alumneum, 423. " Preacher's School, 423. Bonnet, 301-03. Borromean Alliance, 73. Bost, 383, 387, 462. Brandenburg, Elector of, 169, 170. Brandmuller, 60. Breitinger, 18-31, 144. Canon, 208, 210, 212. Bridel, 478, 479. Brunner, 435. Bucanus, 55-56. Bucer, 38. Bula, 452. Buisson, 489, 496. Buxdorf, 150-52. C Baumler, 18. Beccaria, 107-09. Beck (Basle), 23, 146. " Prof., 255. Bergier, 188, 192-94. Bern, 37-162, 258, 311-30, 444-56. Bernoulli, 252, 253, 266. Beza, 3, 45, 48-55. Bible Translations, 28, 35, 154, 280, 367, 476. Biederman, 435, 448, 450. Blaarer, 57. Blumhardt, 340, 342, 422. Bodmer, 210. Bodmer, 210. Boerhaave, 264. Bogerman, 20, 24. Calvin, 43, 67. Calvinism, Scholastic, 133-97. Catechisms, 39, 157, 180, 279. Cellerier, 354, 360, 369. Chappuis, 479, 487, 489. Cheneviere, 368, 374, 377, 393, 461, 466, 468. Chouet, 161. Christianity Society, 339. Cocceianism, 134, 159, 315. Collin, 12. Cougnard, 469, 470. Court, 196-97. Creed-subscription, 196-97. Crousaz, 192, 195. Curtat, 473, 474, 482. Cyril Lucar, 147. INDEX 5°I D Dachs, 311. D'Alembart, 287. D'Annoni, 330-36. D'Aubigne, Theodore, Agrippa, 116-21. Prof. Merle, 360, 365, 366, 463-64. De Ruyter, 128-29. Descombes, 478. De Wette, 341, 411-13, 481, 482. Diodati, 32. Dort, Synod, 22, 34. " Canons, 24, 35, 140. -Drummond, 375. Dury, 148, 153. Duval, 195. Ebrard, 434-35. Ecolampadius, 57. -Egli, 27. Empeytaz, 350, 356, 357, 359, 363, 383, 462. Engadine, 29. Erastus, 64. Erzberger, 60. Erni, 185. Escalade, 76-79. Escher, Matilda, 440. Euler, 213, 252-55. Evangelical Society, Bern, 448. Zurich, 439. Geneva, 461. Farel, 178, 494. Finsler, 435. Frommel, 470. Froschouer, 29. Fuessli, 207. Antistes, 435, 480. Galland, 452, 461. Gaussen, 382, 384, 461, 464, 466. Geneva, 3, 32, 76-79, 113-15, 159- 63, 168, 173-78, 278, 303, 353- 98, 400, 461-72. Gentilis, 45. Gernler, 149, 164, 165. Gessner, 426. Godet, 496, 498-99. Goethe, 218, 219, 223-24. Gouthier, 361, 375, 379. Gretillat, 498. Grisons, 84, 90-96. Grynaeus, 40. Antistes, 49, 63, 64-66. Gualther, 7-12. Guder, 451, 455. Guers, 353, 354, 356, 360, 361, 367, 375, 462. Guldin, 311, 312, 315, 316, 318, 319. Gustavus Adolphus, 81, 94. H Hadorn, 316. Hagenbach, 413-15. Haldane, 361, 362-70, 373, 376. -Haller, B., 37. " J-, 42. Albert von, 155, 262-77. Heidegger, 139, 142, 144, 164- 66. Heidelberg Catechism, 156-57, 246, 275, 315, 320, 345. Held, 439. Helvetic Consensus, 133-97. Herzog, 487, 488. Hess, 236-43. Hospinian, 30. Hottinger, J. H., 140-43. J. J., 140. 502 INDEX Huber, 46-55. Hurliman-Landis, 428-30. Huguenots, 112-25. Hummel, 153, 164. Hundeshagen, 446-47. Hungarian Refugees, 127. Hurter, 345, 457. /M I Immer, 449-51. Irminger, 137. James, 364. Jenatsch, 84-85, 95. Jezeler, 50. K Kesselring, 82-84. Kilchmeyer, 42. Klingler, 145, 185-87. Klopstock, 213, 238. Koch, 23. Koenig, 314-18, 321. Krudener, 349, 357, 363, 457. Langhans, 451. Lausanne, 55-56, 192-97, See also Vaud. -Lavater, Lewis, 12-14, 19. J. C, 207-36, 240, 242. Lang, 437. Lange, 434, 436. Leeman, 16-17. Leo Juda, 57, 70. Liturgy, 175, 181, 281. Llandaff, 23-24. Locarno, 107-09. Luthardt, 154. Lutheranism, 3, 37-70, 51-63, 69-70. Lutz, S., 320-29. " J. L. S., 444. M alan, 369, 371-74, 378-79, 383, 385, 396. Marbach, 58, 62. Martin, 470. Maurer, 347. Megander, 37-39. Mestrezat, 161. Meyer, 23, 146. Antistes, 846. Mission Romande, 491-93. Monnard, 479, 481, 483. Montbeliard, 47. Morus, 160. Moulinie, 354-55, 363-64, 369. Mulier, J., 166. " J. J., 185. J. G, 346. Musculus, 43. Music, 13, 28, 59, 394. Muslin, 46-55. D., 226. Myconius, 57. N Nageli, 429. Naville, 421-22. Neff, 389, 396-400. Neuchatel, 102-04, 167, 178-183, 494-99. Nicodemites, 109-11. Nuschler, 188. O Oettli, 453. Orelli, 416, 417. Oschwald, 346. Osterwald, 170, 178-83. Ott, 26, 154. Ott (Schaffhausen), 164. Pestalozzi, 243-48. INDEX 503 —Peter Martyr, 15, 67^ Pictet7T7B^78T282r " Pietism, 305-400. Piscator, 154. Polanus, 65-67. Polier, 192, 195. Poschiavo, 89. Premillenarianism, 315. Presbyterian Church of United States, 206, 284. Prussia, 103-04, 174, 182, 244, 285, 300, 494-95. Psalms, 179. Pyt, 360, 367, 375, 379-80. R Rabaut, 124. ^ — "¦*"¦" Rahn-Escher, 428, 430, 432. Ramus, 68. Rationalism, 195-304. Rieu, 362. Riggenbach, 416. Romang, 444, 447. Rosseau, 243, 247, 292-301. Ritter, 37, 38, 42. -Rohan, 92-97. Ruchat, 192. Rudolph, 190, 312, 314-15, 317, 324. Ruegg, 439. Rutimeyer, 23. Sarpi, 33. Saumur-Calvinism, 135, 165. Saurin, 167. Schaffhausen, 69, 162, 344-52, 456-59. Scherer, 466. Schrenck, 454, 456. Schneckenberger, 445, 447. Schulthess, 424, 426. -Schulthess-Rechberg, 232, 499r- Schweizer, J. C, 144. J. IL, 167. Alexander, 438. Meta, 441-42. Secretan, 479, 487, 491. Simler, 11. Spittler, 340, 342. Spliess, 347, 350-52. St. Chrischona, 423. St. Gall, 100-01. Stahelin, E., 417, 419. R., 417, 420. Stapfer, 258-62. Steiger, 460. Steinkopf, 340. Strauss, 427-30. -Stucki, 17, 50. Stumpf, 14-15. Sulzer, 40, 57-63. Szegedin, 67 Thomas, 470. Thurgau, 82. Toggenburg, 28, 100. Tronchin, 161, 173, 179. Turretin, B., 32. J. A., 170, 173-76, 278. F., 159, 161, 173. U Ulmer, 69. Ulrich, Antistes J. J., 138, 161. Rev. J. J., 187. Antistes J. R., 206,221. Rev. J. C, 208, 210. V Valais, 79. Valtellina, 84-90. Vaud, 55, 473-93, See also Lau sanne. 5°4 INDEX Vernet, 278, 282-84, 285. Vilmergen, 99-102. Vinet, 474-75, 477, 480-86. Vogelin, 440-41. Voltaire, 268, 277-78, 281-92, 294, 300. Von Rodt, 316, 317, 323, 456. Von Wattenwyl, 317, 320, 453, 454. Vulliemin 489. Woerner, 439. Wolleb, 146-47, Wotton, 33. Wyss, 444, 447. 256. Young Men's Christian As sociation, 337-39. W Waldenses, 125-27. Waser, 6. Werdmuller, 99, 138-39. Werenfels, 171, 256. Wettstein, J. R., 97-98. Prof. J. R., 164, 166, 249. Prof. J. J., 249-52. Wirz, 201. Zeller, Antistes, 187. E, 446-49. Ziegler, 331, 344. Zimmerman, 180, 202. Zink, 139. Zurich, 7-31, 137-45, 162, 185- 88, 201-48, 426-43. Zwinger, 147-48. Zwingli, 3, 15. Zyro, 446.