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8pittler THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 64 SPOndanus to this position, which he retained for the remainder of his life. In 1812 he founded a publishing-house at Basel, and in 1834 a lending library, but in 1841 he limited his establishment to Bibles, tracts, and the publication of the literature of the Christen tumsgesellschaft. He was by no means a clear or systematic thinker, and his work was characterized by a lack of fixed plan which was reflected by the premature and impracticable nature of many of his projects, yet nearly all the activities, institutions, and undertakings of the Innere Mission had in him their pioneer. The diversity of his philanthropic in terests was marvelous. During the war of 1812-13 he labored in behalf of all in distress, regardless of nationality, station, and creed, and in the war of 1866 he made provision for the distribution of Bibles and the care of the sick; while during the Greek War of Independence he established a society for the moral and religious betterment of the Greeks and a short-lived institution for the training of a number of Greek slaves whom he ransomed, even as he provided an English school for the children of the English workmen engaged in tunneling the Hauenstein. In 1812 he established a home for poor students of theology, and in 1830 an institution for distributing Bibles to poor children; in 1833 he changed the Greek institution already mentioned into an asylum for deaf-mutes which still flourishes at Riehen near Basel; and he was also instrumental in the founding of several other philanthropic insti tutions. The development of the deaconess system, like Jewish missions, found an enthusiastic advocate in him, and to him was ultimately due the estab lishment of the seminary for teachers of ragged schools at Beuggen. Spittler is particularly noteworthy for his effort to carry Protestantism into Roman Catholic dis tricts and unchurched Protestant regions, by means of peasants, artizans, and other laymen, who should travel from place to place and in their wanderings spread the tenets of the faith. He soon realized that a certain degree of training and organization was necessary for such missionaries, but after a number of abortive attempts (including the estab lishment of colonies of such laymen about a day's journey apart, and the training of quasi-missionaries for Palestine), he was compelled by the missionary society at Basel to restrict his activities to the In nere Mission and the education of missionaries to work among the German emigrants to the United States. Real progress now began, and in 1854 Spittler's " Chrischona " founded some small com munities in Sackingen and Rheinfelden, while a number of missionaries were even trained for the foreign field. The long-cherished plan of sending missionaries from the " Chrischona " to Abyssinia also seemed on the eve of realization when the war between England and Abyssinia (1866-68) put an abrupt end to all such plans. While, however, the foreign missionary field of the " Chrischona " was practically annihilated at the time of Spittler's death, his Innere Mission work was most success ful, and has been most prosperously carried on to the present day. (WrLAELM BORNEMANN.) BIBLIOGRAPHY: The one complete biography is by J. Kober, Basel, 1887, since the more ambitious C. F. Spittler in
Rahmcn seiner Zeit, Basel, 1878, begun by Spittler'a adopted daughter, reached only the end of vol, i., coming down to 1812. Consult further: T. Jliger, Jakob Ludwig Jager, eln Lebenabild, Basel, 1898; W. Hadorn, Geachichte des Pietiamus in den achxueizeriachen reformirlen Kirehen, pp. 493-504, Constance, 1901.
SPITTLER, LUDWIG TIMOTHEUS: German Protestant church historian; b. at Stuttgart Nov. 11, 1752; d. there Mar. 14, 1810. He early developed a marked interest in history, and the main subjects of his study at Tubingen (1771-75) were philosophy and church history. His publications while lecturer at Tubingen (1777-79) included his Kritische Untersuchung des sechzigsten Laodiciiischen Canons (Bremen, 1777) and the anonymous Geschichte des kanonischen Rechts bis auf die Zeiten des falschen Isidors (Halle, 1778), the latter winning him an appointment as professor of church history and the history of dogma at Gottingen in 1779. Here his lectures developed into his Grundrisa der Geschichte der christlichen Kirche (Gottingen, 1782), a work long much admired, being both somewhat popular in tone and decidedly rationalistic. To church history Spittler also contributed, among other works, his De usu textus Alexandrine aped Josephum (Gottingen, 1779); Geschichte des Kelehs im Abendxnahl (Lemgo, 1780); and Von der ehemaligen Zinsbarkeit der nordischen Reiche an den romischert Stuhl (Hanover, 1797), as well as his Vorlesungen fiber die Geschichte des Kirchenrechts, and Ueber die Geschichte des MSnchtums (both in his Stimmtliche Werke, x.); Yorlesungen caber die Geschichte des Papsttums` (ed. H. E. G. Paulus, Heidelberg, 1826); Geschichte der Kreuzziige (ed. C. Muller, Hamburg, 1827); and Geschichte der Hierarchic von Gregor VII. bis auf die Zeiten der Reformation (ed. C. Miiller, 1828).
In 1782 Spittler began to lecture on general history, and in 1784 he ceased all courses on church history, so that his writings were henceforth practically restricted to secular history, political economy, and statistics. He was one of the most popular and influential of the Giittingen professors, although his political attitude caused the king to regard him with little favor. In 1797 he accepted the invitation of Duke Frederick Eugene of Wiirttemberg to return to his native city as a privy councilor, but the sudden death of his patron was almost fatal to his plans, and though he was created a baron in 1806, and made minister of state, curator of the University of Tubingen, etc., his real influence was scanty, nor could his new honors compensate for the days at Gottingen. The Sammtliche Werke of Spittler were edited in fifteen volumes by K. Wachter (Stuttgart, 1827-37; the vols. of chief interest for the theologian are i. ii. and viii.-x.).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. J. Planck, Ueber Spittler ala Hiatoriker GSttingen, 1811; K. L. von Woltmann, 1Verke, xii. 311 aqq., Berlin, 1821; A. H. L. Heeren, Hiatoriache Werke, vi. 515 aqq., 15 vole., GSttingen, 1821-2d; D. F. Strauss, Kleine SchriJten, pp. 88 sqq., Leipaie, 1882; G. Waltz, Gottingen ProJesaoren, pp. 245 aqq., Goths, 1872; F. X. von Wegele, Geschichte der devtachen Historiogmphie, pp. 872 sqq., Munich, 1885; ADB, xxxv. 212 sqq.
SPOILS, RIGHT OF (Jus spolii): The claim of the Church, the clergy, or secular rulers to a share in
