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[Illustration: MELANCHTHON.]
THE LIFE
OF
PHILIP MELANCHTHON.
BY
CHARLES FREDERICK LEDDERHOSE.
Translated from the German,
BY THE
REV. G. F. KROTEL,
PASTOR OF TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, LANCASTER, PA.
PHILADELPHIA:
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON.
1855.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
NOTICE.
By an oversight on the part of the pressman whose duty it is to revise
the sheets on the press in my Printing Office, the following pages of
this work (The Life of Melanchthon), are transposed, 56, 57, 58, 59, and
60. This error makes the book appear at first sight to be incomplete,
the reader, however, will find all the pages, as above, but transposed.
The error was not discovered until the whole edition of the work was
bound, and largely distributed, consequently too late to be corrected in
any other way than by this notice.
C. SHERMAN, Printer,
for LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, Publishers.
PHILADELPHIA, NOV. 30, 1854.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
Luther occupies so great, unrivalled, and apostolical a position among
the Reformers, that we should not feel surprised to see his life and
labors presented to the evangelical community again and again. Although
we are far from encouraging an idolatrous worship of the man, we believe
we are acting in the spirit of the word of God, when we encourage men to
follow his faith. But we should act very ungratefully if, on account of
this Prince in Israel, we should lose sight of the other distinguished
men of God in the days of the Reformation. And among these, PHILIP
MELANCHTHON occupies the highest place. The age in which he lived called
him the Teacher of the German people, because he exerted a powerful
influence upon the scientific and Christian culture of Germany. And we
too may give him the same name, for his writings continue to exert a
great influence, and justly claim our consideration. To show that this
is indeed true, that he is still calculated to be the teacher of the
German people, especially of the evangelical community, is the object
of this Biography. As this volume was prepared for the general reader,
all learned discussions were necessarily avoided. It does not enter into
critical investigations, but faithfully appropriates known facts, in
order to present them to the reader in an intelligible manner. A candid
examination must decide how far the author has succeeded in
accomplishing this object. It is the first attempt of the kind, for the
Life of Melanchthon has not been written often; and when it was written,
it was not treated in a popular manner.
It was therefore the principal aim of the author of the present volume
to present a truthful picture of the faith and the life of the Reformer.
The man who wrote the Augsburg Confession, and its Apology, Confessions
which, after three hundred years, are still a stumbling-block to some,
but also an encouragement and consolation to many; a man who,
notwithstanding all his scientific attainments, in which he no doubt
excelled the great majority in our own day, yet held fast to the
fundamental principles of Christianity, to the manifestation of God in
the Flesh, to the Redemption, to Justification by Faith, in life and in
the hour of death,--undoubtedly deserves to be introduced from the past
into the present, in order to preach salvation in Christ to the present
generation.
If Melanchthon's godly walk and conversation should be instrumental in
leading him who is a stranger to salvation in Christ, to seek this; if
it should serve to comfort and strengthen others, then may that word of
the Scriptures be remembered: "_The memory of the just is blessed_;" and
may every one gratefully rejoice, with the Reformer, in that glorious
promise: "_And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for
ever and ever._"
Ardently desiring that this volume may be useful and profitable unto
salvation to very many, we suffer it to go forth upon its way.
St. G. On the first Sunday in Advent, 1846.
L.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
Melanchthon has been called the most amiable, the purest, and most
learned of the celebrated men of the sixteenth century. The
distinguished Erasmus confesses, that he was a _general favorite_, that
honest and candid men were fond of him, and _even his adversaries cannot
hate him_. And he has succeeded in securing the affections of posterity,
and, more than any other one of the valiant champions of the
Reformation, is the general favorite of all evangelical Christians, and
still seems to stand as the gentle mediator between the two great
divisions of the Protestant Church formed at that time, claimed and
loved by both.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, we venture to say, that a very large
proportion of Protestant readers know no more of the life of this lovely
man of God, than that which is interwoven with the life of Luther. His
life has not been written for the people even by his own countrymen, and
our author presents us with the first attempt of this kind. In our own
language we have but one Life of Melanchthon, the one written by Dr.
Cox, the first American edition of which, from the second London
edition, is now lying before us, bearing the date 1835. Admirable as
this work has been acknowledged to be, we believe the work of
Ledderhose to be still more calculated for general reading. Our author
assures us that it was "his principal aim to present a truthful picture
of the faith and the life of the Reformer;" and it is this constant
exhibition of his inner life, even in his own words, which is calculated
to edify as well as instruct. Besides this, many incidents in his own
life, and interesting events and questions after the death of Luther,
omitted or briefly mentioned in Dr. Cox's work, will be found here. A
number of facts, mentioned by Cox and others, have been added by the
translator, and will be found in the notes scattered through the volume.
The style is very simple and popular, and this simplicity and frequent
quaintness of expression, especially in the numerous extracts from
letters and declarations of faith, rendered the work of translation more
difficult, especially as it seemed necessary and desirable to retain the
homeliness of the German as much as possible.
Believing that this portraiture of the life of Melanchthon cannot offend
the feelings of any Protestant Christian, but that it is calculated to
afford instruction and edification to the old and young, the translator
humbly trusts, that it may not only make Lutherans, but many other
evangelical Christians, better acquainted with the "faith and life" of
the faithful friend of Luther, and distinguished author of the Augsburg
Confession.
G. F. K.
LANCASTER, November, 1854.
CONTENTS.
Page
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 3
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 7
CHAPTER I.
His Youth 13
CHAPTER II.
The University 21
CHAPTER III.
His Debut in Wittenberg, and at the Leipzig Disputation 29
CHAPTER IV.
Building and Fighting 35
CHAPTER V.
Melanchthon without Luther 41
CHAPTER VI.
Labors, Recreation, and Trouble 51
CHAPTER VII.
The War of the Peasants 59
CHAPTER VIII.
His Labors for the Church and Schools 67
CHAPTER IX.
The Diet of Spire 75
CHAPTER X.
The Conference at Marburg 81
CHAPTER XI.
The Diet of Augsburg 89
CHAPTER XII.
The Position of the Evangelical Party after the Diet
of Augsburg 117
CHAPTER XIII.
The Kings of France and England, and Melanchthon 123
CHAPTER XIV.
The Wittenberg Form of Concord 131
CHAPTER XV.
Recreation and Trouble 139
CHAPTER XVI.
The Convention at Smalkald 147
CHAPTER XVII.
Conflicts in the Evangelical Camp 153
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Assembly of the Princes at Frankfort, and the
Victories of the Reformation 159
CHAPTER XIX.
Help in a Dangerous Illness 167
CHAPTER XX.
Worms and Ratisbon 177
CHAPTER XXI.
Progress of the Reformation 194
CHAPTER XXII.
The School of Tribulation 200
CHAPTER XXIII.
Worms and Ratisbon again 205
CHAPTER XXIV.
Luther Dies, and Melanchthon Mourns 211
CHAPTER XXV.
War and the Misery of War 221
CHAPTER XXVI.
Restoration of the University of Wittenberg 229
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Diet of Augsburg and its Interim 236
CHAPTER XXVIII.
How the Interim fared in the Electorate of Saxony 244
CHAPTER XXIX.
Disputes about the Leipzig Interim 254
CHAPTER XXX.
The Conflict with Osiander 263
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Changed Attitude of the Elector Maurice 270
CHAPTER XXXII.
Doctrinal Controversies, and Attempts to bring about
a Union 278
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Religious Conference at Worms 297
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Last Years of his Life, real Years of Sorrow 307
CHAPTER XXXV.
His Domestic Life 322
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Something more of Melanchthon's Merits 335
CHAPTER XXXVII.
He Dies 339
Life of Melanchthon.
CHAPTER I.
HIS YOUTH.
In a hilly part of the Kraichgau lies the city of BRETTEN. In former
times it belonged to the Electors of the Palatinate, and in the year
1504 defended itself bravely against Duke Ulrich of Wuertemberg, and also
manifested a brave loyalty to its hereditary sovereign in the war of the
peasants. It is now included in the Grand-Duchy of Baden. It has
acquired an imperishable name, because a great man, PHILIP MELANCHTHON,
was born in it. We will begin by hearing what an old account relates of
his ancestors and parents, his birth and youth.
"In the days of the Count Palatine PHILIP, Elector on the Rhine, there
lived in Heidelberg, before the mountain, a worthy, pious man, named
CLAUS SCHWARTZERD. With Elizabeth, his wife, he begat two sons, HANS and
GEORGE, and from their youth up trained them in the fear of God, and the
practice of every virtue. The Count Palatine Philip took so great a
liking to GEORGE, who was a very active and ingenious lad, and
discharged every duty most diligently, that he took him to Court, and
permitted him to examine a number of professions, in order by this
means to satisfy himself what his inclinations were, and what might be
made of him. When the boy, therefore, took delight in armor, the Elector
placed him in charge of a master in Amberg. He learned the trade so
rapidly that every one was astonished, and the journeymen became so
hostile to him, that one of them on a certain occasion burned him with
hot lead in so dangerous a manner that his life was despaired of, and he
was only saved by Divine mercy, and very faithful nursing." By order of
the Elector he was then sent to an armorer in Nuremberg. Here also he
made rapid advances. "For the boy was so ingenious, that, as we commonly
say, his hands could imitate whatever his eyes saw. He could forge as
neatly as if it had been done with a file." In a few years he was able
to make everything needful for the tournament. The Elector again took
him to Court, and appointed him an armorer or armor-bearer. He became so
celebrated, that even foreign potentates courted him. Even the German
Emperor MAXIMILIAN had his armor made by him. For a very skilful suit of
armor, the Emperor presented him with a family coat of arms,
representing a lion sitting upon a shield and helmet, holding tongs and
a hammer in his paws. George's son, our Philip, never made use of this
coat of arms, his own representing the serpent upon the cross, alluding
to the well-known typical event in the wilderness. When George was
thirty years old, the Elector thought of having him married. A
well-known citizen of Bretten, HANS REUTER, "a very fine, sensible man,
who had even studied," enjoying great respect, having served as Mayor of
the place for several years, had a daughter called BARBARA. "She was a
virtuous and well-bred maiden. By the providence of Almighty God, and
the negotiations of the Elector, she was promised to him in marriage,
and they were married in Spire, in the presence of many knights, who
appeared to do honor to his espousals." The ancient account goes on to
say: "The married couple continued to love and esteem each other, for
the said GEORGE SCHWARTZERD was a just, pious, God-fearing man, serving
God earnestly, praying diligently, and observing his hours of prayer as
strictly as any priest, permitting nothing to hinder him from the
discharge of this duty, so that he would arise in the night, fall upon
his knees, and pray with earnestness. No one ever heard him utter a
profane word, or saw him intoxicated, or even heard of anything of the
kind of him to the day of his death." He did not concern himself
especially with laying up this world's goods, and he was never seen in
the courts to carry on lawsuits. His wife, besides her piety, and
domestic, frugal spirit, exercised benevolence towards the poor and
afflicted. The familiar saying was often upon her lips: "Alms do not
impoverish," and the lines also--
Whoever wishes to consume more
Than his plough can support,
Will at last come to ruin,
And die upon the gallows.
After living childless for four years, a son was born to them on the
16th of February, 1497, on the Thursday after the first Sunday in Lent,
who, in baptism, received the name of PHILIP. "Thus does God bless this
pious and godly man with the gift of such a child, which afterwards
became a blessing to the whole land, yea, many lands, and the whole of
Christendom, and will remain so to the end of the world." Their marriage
was further blessed by the birth of another son and three daughters.
PHILIP, and his brother GEORGE, four years younger than himself,
attended the town-school of Bretten, to acquire the rudiments of human
learning. But because a malignant disease was raging at that time, and
their teacher himself was confined with it, their careful grandfather
Reuter removed the boys from school, fearing lest they too might be
attacked, and provided a private tutor for them in his own house. His
name was JOHN UNGER. A little grandson, John Reuter, enjoyed these
instructions together with the two boys. Unger was an excellent teacher,
who laboured to give his pupils a thorough education. He took especial
pains in his Latin instructions. Melanchthon, who was "a master in that
language," in after years could not sufficiently praise the teacher of
his youth. He says of him: "He loved me as a son, and I loved him as a
father." Unger was afterwards made court chaplain of the Margrave Philip
of Baden, and continued to preach the gospel faithfully in Pforzheim to
a very advanced age. "When their grandfather observed the diligence of
the boys, he bought them a Missal, in order that they might become
familiar with the hymns of the church, whilst pursuing their other
studies; and he required of them to take their places in the choir on
all holy days. About this time the great Bachanti (so called roving
scholars) roved through the country. When one of these came to Bretten,
his grandfather would set Philip to dispute with him. It was a rare
thing to find one who was a match for him. This pleased the old man, and
he took special delight in these contests. The boy too became bolder,
and more fond of study. And his grandfather took care to provide books
and other things, so that the boy might not be hindered."
The extraordinary gifts of little Philip manifested themselves at an
early period. He was possessed of a quick perception, a retentive
memory, and great acuteness. He was continually engaged in asking
questions during school hours, and afterwards, he would seek out his
friends, in order to converse more about what he had learned. It was
impossible not to love the boy, for he was peculiarly amiable and
modest. His talkativeness found a great obstacle in his stammering
tongue, which, however, he endeavoured to surmount. It is said of him,
that in early life he could be very easily irritated; but he would
sometimes apply to himself the saying: "He cuts and stabs, and yet hurts
nobody."
His grandfather was particularly attached to Philip, and it is to be
regretted that the worthy man was so soon to leave the land of his
pilgrimage, which happened in the year 1507. As Philip's father was
frequently taken away from home by his many engagements, he was obliged
to intrust the education of his children to his wife and her father. We
are told "he enjoined it upon his father-in-law, Hans Reuter, to look to
his children, so that they might be sent to school regularly, and might
learn something profitable." In his travels he came to Manheim, in
Neuburg, in 1504. His sovereign had summoned him thither, in order that
he might be nearer him in preparing and forwarding ordnance in the
Bavarian war. Here, however, he found an incurable disease. The wells
from which he drank were poisoned. As the life of this man was of great
value to the prince, he left no efforts untried to save him, but all
proved in vain. It is true he lived for four years after this, but in a
very helpless condition. About the very time when grandfather Reuter
died, Schwartzerd was also lying upon his death-bed. Three days before
his death, he expressed himself to the following effect: "These three
things I will also leave my little children when I die--that they are in
the bosom of the true Christian Church, that they are one in HIM, and
united among each other, and heirs of eternal life." When he felt the
approach of death, he called for Philip, then ten years old, commended
him to God, and exhorted him to fear God. Dying, he said, "I have
experienced many changes in the world, but greater ones are coming. My
prayer is, that God may rule you in them. I counsel thee, my son, to
fear God, and live honestly." These words were treasured in the boy's
memory as long as he lived. In order that he might not behold the death
of his father, he was sent to Spire. He was naturally very
tender-hearted, and the communication of his father's illness deeply
moved him. He says: "Like all children, I had never yet thought of
sickness and death, nor had I ever seen a sick person or a corpse. When
my mother, therefore, told me,--'Your father is ill,' I was obliged to
ask what that imported. But she had scarcely given me an idea of it,
when I was overwhelmed with grief." On the 27th of October, of the same
year in which his grandfather Reuter died, his father also finished his
course, in the forty-ninth year of his age. But a very important outward
change for the boy was brought about by these two deaths. The three
boys, who had hitherto enjoyed Unger's instructions, were removed, in
the autumn of this year, to the Latin school in the city of Pforzheim,
in Baden. Their mother had a relative, named ELIZABETH, a sister of the
well-known distinguished scholar REUCHLIN,[1] residing in Pforzheim. The
boys lodged in her house.
The able Rector, GEORGE SIMLER, and JOHN HILDENBRAND, were their
teachers. The Latin language was then the principal study, and the great
object to be reached was, that the pupils should be able to speak it.
The Greek language was still a very rare accomplishment. Simler, who had
some knowledge of it, only introduced it to the notice of his ablest
pupils. It was Philip Schwartzerd's good fortune to be one of this
number, and he used the opportunity with great profit to himself. Of
Simler, he somewhere says: "He first unlocked the meaning of the Greek
and Latin Poets to me, and introduced me to a purer philosophy." He met
with this teacher again in the University at Tuebingen. In Pforzheim he
was fortunate enough to become better acquainted with the celebrated
JOHN REUCHLIN, who then resided in Wuertemberg, as President of the
Swabian Court of the Confederates. Reuchlin took great delight in the
talented boy, gave him his paternal regard, called him his son, and
presented him with beautiful and useful books. On a certain occasion he
also gave him his chestnut-colored Doctor's hat, and placed it on the
boy's head. "All this greatly pleased Philip, and he so advanced in his
studies, that he was soon promoted to a place among the largest and
oldest pupils." Reuchlin also gave young Schwartzerd the name of
MELANCHTHON,[2] which is the Greek word for his own name, (black earth).
It was then a very general custom to change German names into Greek.
After the year 1531, he did not write his name Melanchthon, but
MELANTHON, most likely because this is more easily pronounced.
But it is time to notice the internal development of the boy. As the
parents lived in the fear of God, this was also aimed at in the
education of their children. Philip soon exhibited a great love for the
public services of the house of God. He was especially delighted with
the histories of the holy men of the Christian Church. Of these he heard
much, both in the church and at home. Had the Gospel been opened to him
at that time, he would doubtless have received it joyfully. However, he
admits the use of the Legends of the saints in the words: "It was a part
of our domestic discipline rather to employ the boys with these matters,
than to permit them to run about the streets, or engage in wild noise."
As a matter of course, such food, as the Church then profferred, could
not satisfy an inquiring mind like that of Philip. The law, as it was
then exclusively employed by the Catholic Church, was barely able to
plow up the soil of the heart. But when it is yet considered, in
addition to this, that the laws of God occupied the background behind
the frequently ridiculous laws of the Church, it is matter for surprise
that so many spiritual wants were yet felt, as we find to be the case
with young Melanchthon. But his mind at this time was still principally
directed to the acquisition of learning, of which he had already
gathered an unusually large store in Pforzheim, by the instructions of
Simler, and the encouragement of the deeply-learned Reuchlin.