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Theologaa Teiitsch (Augsburg, 1518). The edition of Luther found a large circulation. In the earliest years there were eight known reprints, and in the sixteenth century at least fourteen further editions in High German, the most important among which was that of Johann Arndt (1597), appended by P. J. Spener to the Predigten (Frankfort, 1681, and often) of Johann Tauter (q.v.). rn the next three centuries, until 1842, there were at least twentyeight known editions in High German. Besides, there were translations into Low German, Flemish, English, Latin, and French. The two manuscripts which Luther used are unfortunately lost, but another manuscript, dating from 1497, came to light in the middle of the last century, on the basis of which F. Pfeiffer published what is regarded as the standard edition, Theologies deutsch (Stuttgart, 1851; Eng. transl., Theologies Germanica, London, 1854, 1874, and 1893). In the preface to the fragment Luther had advanced the supposition that Johann Tauter was the author of the work, an assumption which has been refuted by the complete edition, in which Tauter is quoted as authority. In the complete edition Luther appended a note to his preface according to which the author of the work was " a priest and custodian in the house of the Teutonic masters at Frankfort." The same note is found also in the manuscript published by Pfeiffer and hence proved authentic. From a passage announcing his purpose it is evident that the author belonged to the so-called Friends of God (q.v.), and that he wrote at a time when this community had to clear itself from the charge of connection with the sect of the " false free spirits " who tried to protect themselves with the name of the Friends of God, i.e., toward the end of the fourteenth century.

The work purports to be a guide to the perfect life, which in a mystical way is to be found in the union with God. Opening with the passage, " When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away" (I Cor, xiii. 10), the work points out that this unity is conditioned by the coming of God into human nature in the manner of the incarnation of Christ and by suffering in human form. On man's part the will and desire of the creature, which produce a false freedom, must be thoroughly repudiated; and by love and obedience the true freedom must be attained, which is God's will in man, and the vision of the eternal. Thus man moves out of self into blessed union with God. The booklet is a compound of various elements: alongside of deeply religious practical thoughts lie occult speculations of a decidedly pantheistic color; alongside of suggestions of Evangelical impulses, there are relics of medieval piety. The work was placed on the Index in 1621; but this as well as the claim that its author was a forerunner of the Reformation was wholly superfluous, since it is now conceded as containing nothing antagonistic to the Roman Catholic Church. It originated in a transition period when the germs of the new were sprouting in the old, and when, therefore, in individual personalities, there occurred a singular mixture of simple faith with obscure speculation. Hence, it appealed to a variety of men: to Johann Denck, to fructify his specula-

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION.

I. History. Before the Rise of Monasticism (§ 1). Monastic Schools (§ 2). The Middle Ages (¢ 3). Lutheran Methods (§ 4). The Reformed Church (§ 5). Effects of Pietism and Rationalism (¢ 8). Present Lutheran Requirements (§ 7). Practical and Advanced Training (§ 8). Theological Seminaries (§ 9). Types of Seminaries (§ 10). Roman Catholic Training in Germany (§ 11).

II. Supplementary. Ante-Nicene Practise (§ 1). The Middle Ages (§ 2). The Renaissance and Reformation (§ 3). America (§ 4).

I. History: The rise of theological education in

the early Church was slow, even being excluded so

long as the heads of congregations were chosen sim

ply for their spiritual gifts. Up to the end of the

second century religious teachers seem

r. Before to have been self-appointed, laymen

the Rise of speaking in divine worship and also

Monasti- promulgating their teachings elsewhere.

cism. The first official required to possess a

modicum of learning appears to have

been the reader. This neglect of theological train

ing, due to confidence in the divine choice of suit

able men to teach the churches and in their spiritual

equipment with the requisite gifts and knowledge,

would doubtless have been otherwise had the bishop

been considered, from the first, the proper and nec

essary teacher of his people. Though he was gen

erally so regarded, he did not actually acquire this

dignity generally until the third century, and he

was not necessarily a learned man. Christian schools

appear after the close of the second century, such

as the catechetical school at Alexandria; yet even

they were devoted rather to apologetics than to the

education of clergy, nor were those intending to

enter clerical ranks either required or accustomed

to attend such institutions. The first conscious

beginnings of a regular clerical training were con

nected with the rise of the clerical orders (see Aros

mohlc CONSTITUTIONS) in the third century, wherein

the lower orders became schools of preparation for

the higher. Zosimus (Epist.,, xi.) required five years