ties to thrust out one of the most efficient and distinguished professors from his chair. This was a great grief to Schleiermacher, for, although he dissented in many things from his colleague, yet they ever held in common the inviolability of religious thought and freedom of expressing it. For the next few years Schleiermacher was occupied in pamphleteering on minor matters connected with the union of the two Protestant churches of Prussia, the reform of liturgies, and waging a rather stiff and bristling paper war with Von Arnheim and others, on these matters, together with other things that need no specific mention here. His great work—the "Connected Exhibition of the Christian Faith according to the Principles of the Evangelical Church ”—made its first appearance in 1822. This work contains his fully-developed system of theology. It is impossible and unuecessary for us to give anything like an outline of this scientific work in a mere biographical sketch of its author, but we just insert what we hold to be the pith of Schleiermacher's doctrine, around which the whole system ranges itself. In this book we read, "Piety, in itself, is neither knowledge nor action, but a disposition and state of the feeling." "The common substance of all pious emotions, i. e. the essence of piety, is this-that we are conscious of ourselves as absolutely dependent, i. e. that we feel ourselves as dependent on God." "Christianity is a peculiar form of piety in its theological aspect, which form is distinguished from all others in this, that all things are referred to the consciousness of redemption through the person of Jesus of Nazareth." Schleiermacher has here put forth all his strength, and won his immortality as a literary theologian. Dr. Lücke says of the work, that "the only thing worthy to be put by its side, in regard to historical importance, is Calvin's 'Institutio Religionis Christianæ,'" and calls it the "close and crown of his published theological works." still his contributions to that science have not been (few nor unimportant. The chief aim of his speculation was to rescue religion from the startling and sweeping conclusions of a transcendental, uncertain philosophy. Himself a transcendental philosopher, we find him at times shaking hands with Fichte or Scheling, and now paying a devout act of homage to Spinoza, whom he declared to be "full of religion and of the Holy Ghost." His object was to form a junction between religion and philosophy, which he did by minutely defining the spheres and boundaries of each science. Menzel, in his German literature, says of him, “He gave both faith and reason their due rights. He effected a reconciliation between reason and faith, philosophy || and Christianity. He made the orthodox better acquainted with reason by showing them that it was in the letter; and he informed the rationalist that they did not require for the sake of God, to carry their puny reason into the bible, for that there was already reason enough in it, more, in fact, than they had any conception of." In addition to his theological works, Schleiermacher has produced highly valuable works on church history, dialectics, and philosophy, and the history of philosophy. Though he did | not give the professional attention to philosophy that he did to theology, As a preacher, too, Schleiermacher had a high and wide celebrity. His published sermons fill about nine volumes, and form a necessary complement to his systematic theological works. We have already referred to his "Discourses on Religion," and noticed, in the case of the occupation of Berlin by the French, what a vast opulence in oratory he displayed. But not merely when he had to appeal to the patriotic instinct of his audience did this wealth pour itself forth, he was always an accomplished, ornate, and forcible orator. In speaking of Schleiermacher's preaching, Dr. Lücke says:"He never was in the habit of writing his sermons before delivering them. Those which are in print are all taken from notes made while he was speaking. There were always two of his younger friends employed in taking notes of his sermons. The sermon had been already conceived in his mind several days before, and this conception had been completely carried out, as it were, up to the moment of delivering the discourse. But he wrote down nothing, except, on the Saturday evening, the the text and subject, and, at the most, in addition to this, the several divisions of the latter, briefly indicated. This he called making out his bill. In intelligible, that he was not popular enough for the more uneducated in his congregation. But upon continued and connected hearing, this apprehension completely disappeared. He expected much of his hearers; but, still, properly speaking, nothing more than familiarity with the Scriptures, and attention. And since he knew how to enchain the latter, even in the less educated, by the freshness and spiritual liveliness of his delivery, by his constant connexion of even the profoundest Christian ideas with practical life, with the existing condition of church, family, and fatherhood; an explanation is afforded of the fact, that, while his audience at church consisted, indeed, for the most part, of the more educated class, yet people of a meaner condition, and these even from other congregations, were seen to visit his church regularly, and to listen with attention to his discourses. I believe that, with the progress of time, this portion of his audience continually increased in number, since, just as there was in his entire theology a vital progress, so also in his mode of preaching, concurrently with the continued experience and enlargement of his inward life, there was a constant advance in the qualities of Christian simplicity and fervour from year to year." We take this representation to be the model of Christian preaching; by If few is it attained to in such eminence as in him who set the type, and it indicates a large constituent element in the honestly won fame of Schleiermacher. "Any one who heard a single sermon from Schleiermacher, might enter tain the apprehension that he was not As we have now brought to light some of the more important epochs of this man's history, and briefly marked the manner in which he formed and wielded his spiritual power, we proceed to a short resumé of our subject. Schleiermacher acted as moderator between two things-philosophy and religion, that had been brought into a shattering collision, through the vague and overwhelming conclusions of the former, and the obstinate adherence of the advocates of the latter to that which really was not its life, but some of its necessarily shifting modes of presentation. He told the former when to stop-where its true boundaries were; and urged the latter to rest in its essentiality, and concede what was not necessary for its development. The yawning chasm which opened dismally between the two, he bridged over successfully, so that men might pass and repass from the one to the other without renouncing the peculiar truth in either. If it be asked where is the school which Schleiermacher founded?-the reply is twofold. In the ordinary use of the term, we answer, nowhere. Schleiermacher never aimed at forming a sect, narrow and exclusive; he ever repudiated such an effort of his power. He strove to bind up in a common union the advocates of a liberal theology and science. To split still wider the too-much riven church, he deprecated with intense fervour. In the universal use of the word, we reply, everywhere; inasmuch as, from his "first appearance as a professor and preacher, he gathered about him, and attached to him a multitude of enthusiastic hearers and admirers, who, roused and animated by him, have wrought and are working in his spirit," he could but be regarded as the centre of a great working power that still is exerting a vast influence in Germany and elsewhere. Few among those who have become serviceable or auxiliary to the new movement in theology and the church, but owe their chief stimulus to the lectures or the writings of Schleiermacher. Most of the more recent theologians have become his pupils, among whom are found the distinguished theologians, Neander, Julius Müller, Tholuck, Nitzsch, Bleek Lücke, Dorner, and Twesten. The last-named is Schleiermacher's successor in the divinity chair at Berlin, and advocates a theology in the main identical with that of his predecessor. The stimulus which Schleiermacher gave is consciously or unconsciously implied in the case of all. Thus he has formed a school, by stimulating rather than by prescribing, diffusing and emancipating, more than by contracting, excluding, and restraining. Occupying, as Schleiermacher did, a middle-point, it would naturally ensue that many who began with him would diverge with tendencies more or less different from him. Thus it is that many have used him as a conductor to more evangelical views of religion; while others have gone from him to more rationalist doctrines. The celebrated Dr. Strauss is an example of the latter. Schleiermacher taught him to look at some of the New Testament narratives in a mythical sense. He, advancing in that direction, has applied the mythical interpretation to the whole of the gospel narrative. Schleiermacher's mind was too welltrained to freedom to repress any, even the most hostile, divergence from his own system and mode, and hence he says, "Let every one rejoice in that he has excited life, for by this he approves himself to be an instrument of the Divine Spirit; but let none suppose that it lies within his power to determine the form which this life shall assume." However much Schleiermacher might be looked on as an Iconoclast-a breaker-up of old forms, boundary lines, and institutions; yet he never broke anything down for the mere sake of mischief. Some men love to knock down a building for the purpose of taking a calm survey of the ruins, with their hands in their breeches' pockets. Not so with Schleiermacher: if ever he came athwart anything decrepit and useless, before he knocked it down, he cast about him to see if he had anything more efficient to replace it by; then, indeed, he felt no hesitation to aim a lusty blow. Speaking of the personality of Schleiermacher, Dr. Lücke says, that, in approaching him for the first time, he found in him a friendly sincerity, rather than a cordial warmth. It was only by degrees that the shy and timid reverence with which I had approached him, gave place to another feeling; nay, it was at first only increased by the admiration which the immediate presence of his powerful soul, manifesting itself in his glance and in his speech, excited within me. This soon disappeared, and gave place to an increasingly cordial and confidential respect. Any one who mustered courage to seek him was very soon cordially met by him. "His love was no effeminate tenderness, accompanied by ever open, caressing speech; but an earnest, compact fire, which not merely passed through the stranger mind with a magnetic softness of attraction, but also convulsed it like an electric shock, yet even thus always possessed for such as abound in vital energy a refreshing charm." Schleiermacher B himself says in his Monologues: "I am sure of those who are really disposed to love me-my interior nature; and firmly does my soul entwine itself about them, nor will it ever forsake them. Never have I as yet lost any that ever became dear to me in love." Love ever reigned supreme over the deepest ground of his heart, from the very first; and the keenness of his intellect, the stinging wit, the sharpness of speech with which he fought and wounded, were never able to overcome the love which was at the foundation of his heart. This always made him a lively and cheerful companion, and among his friends no one was ever repelled from him by an austere, pompous gravity, borrowed from his literature or his professor's chair. Schleiermacher's exterior personality was diminutive and humpbacked, with a great head and large, bright, flashing eyes, indicative of the vast soul which dwelt in his deformed body. He had but a limited capital of physical strength; but his supreme will made it do services before which the strongest of men would have quailed. He made it suffice for all the labours and toil with which his active life abounded. In the pedestrian tours in which professors and students of German universities consume their long vacation he was always the first to start off in the morning and the last to retire at night. After having been in company till very late at night, the most mirthful and vivacious of the whole assembly, he has often lectured or preached the next morning with unimpaired freshness and vivacity as early as six o'clock. Often, too, did he preach or lecture when enduring the most excruciating pain from spasms, of which none but himself were conscious. The bodily organization of Schleiermacher served the purpose of a good workshop for his spirit till the year 1834; then comes the end. Death came upon Schleiermacher to ennoble and glorify his life. His widow has kept a beautiful record of his last moments upon earth. During his final illness the temper of his mind was marked by serene and gentle tranquillity. One day, when he awoke from a slumber into which he had been thrown by means of opium, he called his beloved consort to his side, and said, "I am, to be sure, properly speaking, in a state which fluctuates between consciousness and the absence of consciousness, but inwardly I am spending most delightful moments; 1 am constrained to be constantly in the midst of the profoundest speculations, which, however, are here identical with the most heart-felt religious experiences!" The last days of his life were pervaded and irradiated by the presence of religion. Even his dreams were reflexes of his religious life and activity. "I have had such a beautiful dream," he said on one occasion, "and it has left with me a peculiar and salutary frame of mind. I was in a large assembly,-there were many persons, familiar and unfamiliar, all looking at me, and wishing to hear from me something of a religious character; it was in the nature of an instruction, and I gave it with so much pleasure!" Affectionately mindful of children and friends, and in proportion as he drew nearer to the important moment, more profoundly immersed in love, as the inmost spring of his being, he said,—— "To the children I leave the saying of St. John-'Love one another!" And I charge thee," said he to his consort, "to salute my friends, and to tell them how heartily I loved them." The 12th February, 1834, was the last of Schleiermacher's days on earth. On the morning of this day, his suffering visibly increased: he complained of a violent sensation of burning, inwardly, and the first and last cry of pain escaped his lips,-"Alas, Lord, my pain is great!" In a deeply affecting manner, he then said to his children," You should now all of you go from the room, and leave me alone: I would fain spare you the woeful spectacle." The perfect lineaments of death presented themselves; his eye appeared to have grown dim,-his death-struggle to have been accomplished. At this moment he laid his two forefingers upon his left eye, as he often did when reflecting deeply, and began to speak: "We have the reconciliation-death of Jesus Christ, his body and his blood." While thus engaged, he had raised himself up, his features began to grow animated, his voice became clear and strong, and he said with priestly solemnity, “Are ye one with me in this faith?' to which his friends replied with a loud "Yea." "Then let us celebrate the Lord's supper! But there can be no talk of the officiant. Quick, quick! let no one stumble at matters of form!" After that which was necessary for the purpose had been fetched (his friends having waited with him during the interval in solemn silence), he began with increasingly radiant features, and eyes to which there had returned a wonderful, indescribable brightness, nay, a sublime glow of affection, with which he looked upon those around him, to utter a few words of prayer and introduction to the sacred service. After this, addressing, in full and aloud, to each individual, and last of all to himself, the words of the institution, he first gave the bread and the wine to the others who were present, then partook of them himself, and said, "Upon these words of scripture I abide; they are the foundation of my faith." After he had pronounced the benediction, his eye first turned once more towards his consort with an expression of perfect love, and then he looked at each individual with affecting and fervent cordiality, uttering these words, "Thus are we, and abide, in this love and fellowship, one!" He laid himself back on his pillow. The radiance still rested upon his features. After some minutes he said, "Now I can hold out here no longer." And again,-"Give me another position." He was laid upon his side; he breathed a few times; life came to a stand. The children had entered the room in the meantime, and surrounded the bed, kneeling. His eyes gradually closed. The intelligence of Schleiermacher's death created deep sorrow and consternation through the whole kingdom. Every one mourned over the irreparable loss the fatherland had sustained. Schleiermacher's funeral very much resembled an ovation granted to his remains. The university, the clergy, professors, students; friends, admirers, opponents, strangers; the whole court; the entire city in which he lived, came out, and in the most sumptuous and reverential manner celebrated his funeral rites. His remains rest in the cemetery, at some little distance from the city on its southern side. A simple monument, with a bust in white marble, of exquisite workmanship, has been erected over his grave. However deep might be the grief which was universally felt at the death 66 of Schleiermacher, an antidote was found to that emotion in the words which he himself had spoken at a festival of the dead," shortly before his own death:-"Therefore, as often as we derive from the life and activity of any individual the feeling that he is, in a greater or smaller degree, an especial instrument of God and of his Spirit, it is very possible that when the period of his activity comes to an end, a feeling of anxiety may arise in our hearts; but this anxiety is not the product of faith. Faith ought to know that the Lord, when he recalls one, also calls and appoints another; and he will never be at a loss for instruments to accomplish that which, in his Son and through him, is already accomplished everlastingly, and in the progress of time shall be ever more and more accomplished, through the increasingly equable co-operation of human energies, enlightened and directed by God." LORD LANGDALE.* A BIOGRAPHER, as described by Mr Macaulay, is "a literary vassal, bound by the immemorial law of his tenure, to render homage, aids, reliefs, and all other customary services to his lord.” But a biographer, according to modern practice, is a literary plasterer and bricklayer, working with a hod on his shoulder and a trowel in his hand, most industriously engaged in the disposal of bricks and mortar. Nothing, it will be admitted, is easier than to pile up in a waggon a whole warehouse of papers, and to shoot the contents bodily into Mr. Bentley's printingrooms; but the labour is surely that of a carter, not of a litterateur. It is not very difficult, we know, to arrange a deceased gentleman's correspondence in the order of time, but a countinghouse clerk is not a biographer when he has performed the mere mechanical service. Since the immortal Bozzy slept-having achieved biographical fame that Plutarch might have envied men's lives for the most part have been written in water, and that of the muddiest. We have gone on from bad |