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By the same Author, In One Volume, demy Svo, price 7s. 6d., The Religions before Christ: being an Introduction to the History ol the Eirst Three Centuries of the Church. THE SUBJECT OF MISSIONS CONSIDERED UNDER THREE NEW ASPECTS. THE SUBJECT OF MISSIONS CONSIDERED UNDER THREE NEW ASPECTS. THE CHURCH AND MISSIONS : THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SCIENCE OF MISSIONS AT THE UNIVERSITIES: COMMERCE AND THE CHURCH. Translated from the German of / CARL HEINRICH CHRISTIAN PLATH, INSPECTOR OF MISSIONS, BERLIN. By L. KIRKPATRICK. WITH A PREFATORY NOTE BY REV. DR DUFF. EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET. MDCCCLXXIII. EDINBURGH: PRINTED BT TURNBULL \\l> SPEARS FOR T. AND T. CLARK. LONDON, . . . HAMILTON, AD A31S, IND CO. DUBLIN, . . . JOHN ROBERTSON AND CO. OF DR KARL GRAUL, Who died at Erlangen, 10th November 1864, AND OF DR ANTON FRESENIUS, Who died at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 2Gth November 1845. PREFATORY NOTE BY THE REV. DR. DUFF. HE author of the following Treatise is well known in Germany as one of the most zealous and respected of its evangelical ministers. As an able Lecturer on the subject of Missions in the University of Berlin, he has great] y distinguished himself. The short treatise, now first translated into English, is only one out of several which he has published in his own native language. And should it find favour with the friends of Missions in this country, translations of others may be expected to follow. Without committing myself to every statement or sentiment therein expressed, I can honestly and warmly recommend it to the perusal of all in this land who are interested in the extension of the Re- deemer's kingdom — as containing the views of a man of cultivated and sanctified intelligence on the most important subject which can occupy the Christian mind — views, which are characterized throughout by considerable freshness of thought ; and, while for the x Prefatory Note by the Rev. Dr. Duff. mosl interesting, are occasionally somewhat original and eminently suggestive. Those who have long been familiar with the Anglo-Saxon modes of treating the subject, may now have their rational curiosity awakened. carefully to note the mode of its treatment by a learned and pious Teuton. And if the experiment of a careful perusal be fairly tried, a feeling of no ordinary gratifica- tion may, as the result, be reasonably anticipated. ALEXANDER DUFF. Aberdeen, March 1873. THHOLOGIGi: PREFACE. E must avail ourselves of the present oppor- tunity of making some explanator}^ remarks upon the second of the following chapters, while we shall refer to the others in a very few words. The greater portion of the observations which comprise the dissertation under the head of " The Church and Missions," have already appeared in the "Evangelische Kirchenzeitung," * to which paper the author has had the honour of contributing several articles during the last few years. The ideas there put forth have been supplemented by others which place the subject under discussion in a new light, and they are now repub- lished, together with these additions, and submitted to the criticism of qualified persons, who are not in the habit of expressing an opinion on matters brought before them merely in periodical publications. The third, " Commerce and the Church," is a scientific discourse, delivered at the request of the Evangelical Society for Ecclesiastical Purposes connected with this * 1866, p. 404, et seq. xii Preface. town, but considerably enlarged on various points, and furnished with quotations from the sources from which the materials have been drawn. That which is here presented under the title of "The Representation of the Science of Missions at the Universities," is an address which was intended as the basis of a consultation held at the General Meeting of the Basle Missionary Society, on June 19th, 1867. In the brief deliberation which then took place among various members of the Assembly upon the subject, the propositions suggested were not discussed or inves- tigated, they were only cursorily glanced at, but the importance of the several ideas propounded was recog- nised and insisted upon. While it was thought desir- able that a petition should be presented for the estab- lishment of theological lectures, in order that questions on the subject of the Science of Missions might be given at the examinations, and while it was believed that the assent to such a request would undoubtedly act favourably upon the attendance at the lectures occa sionally delivered on Missions at our Universities, yet there was an unwillingness to add to the number of the subjects of examination. At the same time, how- ever, it was recommended that though no permanent arrangement could be made, yet that as opportunity might offer, steps should be taken to open up a sphere of activity to some qualified man, that thus an Preface. xiii academic representation of this branch of study might be gradually brought about. Not long ago, a scholar well acquainted with Egyptian antiquities, received a professorship at Gottingen, and in like manner a Graul or a Wallmann might have been appointed by his Excellency, the Minister, and might have exercised a blessed influence upon the students. The correctness of this view was acknowledged by the observation that much would be accomplished by having even one man at such work, for it could then be tested whether the germ were capable of further development or not. Attention was also directed to the fact that one of the tendencies of this movement was to establish in the three places in which both Universities and Mission Houses were to be found, a bond of union between these two institutions, by admitting Professors of Theology as members of the mission committees. The late Auberlen was thus, or in a similar way, closely con- nected with the Basle house, as is pleasingly manifest from his lectures ; and, surely something analogous should be attempted in Leipzig and Berlin. One member was of opinion that after all, the sacred subject was sufficiently urged upon the students by the means already provided in missionary classes and less formal lectures, and that interest and enthusiasm would soon be awakened in it. Finally, it was unani- mously decided that the address should be sent to \i\ "Preface. the editors of scientific papers, with a request that they would publish their opinion on the subject. This was done in order that the views not merely of the limited numbers of a single conference, at which of course there could be no exhaustive treatment of the matter, should be heard,* but that a more general expression of opinion might be procured from a larger class of persons entitled to speak. This request is now renewed in the hope that by such a general discussion in the press, we may at length arrive at a mature and final decision. The object of the three following chapters, among which the intelligent reader will observe there is an intimate connection, is the spread of the Christian faith, and not only the gain of new friends in circles that have hitherto stood comparatively aloof, but also the encouragement of those who have long taken an interest in the matter, by the careful discussion of questions that have never yet been attentively con- sidered. May the Lord add his blessing, and cause fruit to result to the glory of His holy name ! Berlin, January 1SGS. ' The subject was also discussed very superficially at the great Anglo- American Missionary Assembly, held in March I860, at Liverpool, no result being arrived at. — Basler Missions ( ) magazin, 1SG'2, p. 32. CONTENTS. The Church and Missions, The Representation of Missions at Universities, 20 Commerce and the Church, ... 79 I. THE CHURCH AND MISSIONS. HERE is no longer any doubt existing in Christian communities, that the Church, as such, in obedience to the command of Christ, and animated by a constraining love to Him, should be continually employed in rendering the heavenly treasure committed to her, accessible to all men. This duty has been pointed out by the moralist in the following words : " The moral obligation of the Church towards the unbelieving portion of the human family is to seek by her testimony for the Truth, in word and deed, but never by physical force, to turn it, as being appointed to salvation, from spiritual death, and to reveal to it its inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Missionary labour is the work of the Church as a body, — of independent Christian societies, — and of individual Christians, who by divine mercy have been peculiarly fitted for it."* This conviction of the responsibility of the Church is fast gaining ground in our days, and is likely to remain unshaken ; but the precise nature of the relation existing between * Wutkke. Handbuch der Christlichen Sittenlehre, Vol. ii., p. 598. A 2 The Church and Missions. the Church and the missionary work to be done, is a question at present under debate amongst Protestants. It must be confessed that an examination of the work of the Church in that direction, shows us many " defects which are to be attributed to her want of unity and harmony," — yet, on the other hand, it is equally undeniable that " the impression made by the same examination is, that in these days, missionary labour is pursued with an energy and to an extent such as has perhaps never been known before in the whole history of the Church."* The desire must, how- ever, still be felt, that the evils alluded to may in some way or other be remedied, and that we may see the work pushed forward more vigorously and effectually than ever. Such aspirations are much more widely felt of late than they were some years ago, and in all lands, far and near, are engrossing the minds of many of those who feel an interest in missionary operations. Sometimes they find expression at improper times, and in an unsuitable manner. At an anniversary mission- ary sermon, for instance, preached before a congrega- tion of Christian people, the insignificance of the results of recent exertions made for the conquest of the Heathen, of the Mohammedan, and of the Jew, was attributed to the circumstance of their having origin- ated with the " lower classes" of the Church at home, instead of with "the upper." Whether this evil, if indeed it be one, can be avoided, and if so, how, — is a question which must be discussed scientifically, for * Wa^eier. Staats-und Gcsellscliaftslexicon, Vol. xiii., p. 450. The Church and Missions. 3 these are matters which can be reduced to theory. " Whether missions should any longer remain isolated and detached, or be engrafted on the regular machinery of the Church, is a subject which demands closer ex- amination than it has hitherto obtained,"* and upon this point there is much difference of opinion. Some contend that the governing body of the Church should see that the subject of missionary enterprise be repre- sented in the Universities as a science ; that it be urged upon the people by means of liturgies, sermons, lectures, collections, and missionary festivals ; and that the authorities should, at the same time, take an active and prominent part in the conduct of missionary operations. ■(" Other opinions, however, completely op- posed to these, and apparently with some foundation, are also advanced. The following remarks are a con- tribution to the debate on this missionary question, while they aim at bringing into prominence certain points which, whatever view may be taken of the subject, can hardly be evaded. At the outset, however, we must beware lest when cherishing such thoughts as would seem to imply some new theory, we should exhibit a tendency to dogmatize. Let theories be held in all honour ! They must have their being ; we cannot in truth proceed without them. But they should not take the lead. Facts and experience go first, doctrines and * Sclilunk, Missiousstunden fur das ganze Kirckenjakr, No. i., Preface. t Evangelische Kirchenzeitung for 1866, p. 400. 4 The Church and Missions. scientific rules are built up upon them. From a want of respect for an historic basis and method, there is great danger of making some general truth, or some favourite theory, a standard measure, and of stretching uncompromisingly on this Procrustean bed, the Past, the Present, and the Future. Missions in our day are presented to us under such peculiar circumstances, that an intimate knowledge of them is absolutely indis- pensable, before we can shake ourselves clear of theory, and be prepared justly to estimate their actual condition, their claims, and the mode of their further develop- ment. The passage of the moralist quoted above* does not in any way support the oft-reiterated suggestion that the management of missions should be handed over to the governing body of the Church, inasmuch as the energy hitherto manifested collectively by whole com- munities, and individually by eminent Christian per- sons, has been in reality only the discharge of a duty which the Lord has imposed upon the whole Church. Let the proposition, that the Church is able really to work only through her rulers, be for the future stigmatised as the proton pseudos which often becomes the source of many false ideas. By assenting to such a theory, we should be identifying the organization for the operations of the Church with the existing Church authorities. This, indeed, has been alluded to by a certain writer who remarks that " The management of everything rests with the organs of the Church administration, that is to say, with the Consistory and * See p. 1. The Church and Missions. 5 the High Consistory. Whether this, under present circumstances, be desirable, I do not now say."* A glance at corresponding movements in the Roman Catholic Church, that model of all order and govern- ment, gives us matter for reflection. If within that Church, christian life and action move in paths which have little or nothing to do with the stated spiritual authorities, ought there to be so little, or such ill-regu- lated working power among us that nothing of similar, spontaneous growth can be discovered ? The work in the Kingdom of God is not something monotonous and uniform ; — on the contrary " the wind bloweth where it listeth," and the most varied spheres of action and life exist, and are opened up in forms adapted to the circum- stances of each particular case. And as it would certainly be a mistake to disparage the organized working of the Church as compared with the indepen- dent efforts of her members, or, on the other hand, always to subordinate those efforts to her influence and authority, so assuredly there is a certain area of the Church's operations which belongs specially to the one or to the other. In this respect one cannot but grant that missions, which perform a sort of tirailleur service against the enemy, have found themselves hitherto in comparative independence of the commands and arrangements of Church officers, a position not to be attributed to any special circumstances, but result- ing generally from the nature of the work. The extent to which the different missions are * Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, 1S66, p. 382. 6 The Church and Missions. dependent on their respective Churches varies, of course, indefinitely, and is elastic to a great degree. In short, all possible shades are to be found in their mutual relationship, from the most unrestricted inde- pendence, to the most stringent subjection to the home administration. And it cannot be denied that the vigorous progress in missionary work which we have made in these days, in consequence of a more attentive consideration of the nature of the Church, is not without its effects on the theories held with respect to missions. Efforts have been recently made in England which differ from all pre- vious movements, in that they have originated with the highest Church dignitaries, and are conducted by them.* If these lead, according to Wallmann's pre- diction, to a decisive crisis in the history of English missions, it is not improbable that from the close con- nection in which German missions stand to those of England, they too will be drawn in and have to undergo a similar modification. Meanwhile it must be regarded, on reflection, as a hazardous undertaking to shift the existing foundation of missions. Accord- ing to a fundamental law, universal in all history, Church history included, those forces which have given origin to a power are efficient to sustain it. "f" It is well known that all recent schemes for bringing the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews into the Church * Wagener, Staats-und Gesellschafts lexicon, p. 450. t Neander, Allgemeine Geschichte der christlichen Religion und Ki's;he, Gotha ed., 1S5G, vol. i., p. 1. The Church and Missions. 7 of the Lord rest on the principle of association. How- ever fully, however powerfully, however peculiarly this principle may have developed itself, it is nevertheless upon it alone that we are at present depending for success, whether as societies consisting of clergy and laity, or as individual ministers or laymen, who form the centre around which the circle closes, uniting all in a common work. Is this principle now to be for- saken ? Is it advisable gradually to draw away the foundation which has supported the whole structure for so many years and to replace it by a new one ? Is it not to be feared that such an act would be only too apt to leave rents and breaches behind ? And who would like to dwell in a dilapidated house ? Is it not then impossible that any transformation could take place in the nature of our missions, which would render any other principle a substitute for that of association ? We must give up the attempt to introduce anything whatever into existing societies and associations which is completely foreign to the principles upon which they are based. Nevertheless, we say this with no hankering after independence. A certain bond will always unite the Church authorities with those who have the subject of missions at heart, and their hands in the work. The course of procedure is here again very various. It would, indeed, be unjustifiable if the authorities of the Church showed so slight an interest in the great enter- prises which engage the body of which they are the superintendents, as to be satisfied with merely sig- nifying an indolent approval of the work. The 8 The Church and Missions. Prussian Church authorities, for example, have done and continue to do very much more for the missions ; — and the Church officers in other lands and of other religious communities take part in a still more direct manner in the operations of independent societies ; it would be unwarrantable ingratitude on the part of the directors of the missions if these facts were not recognized. First of all, negotiations were entered into, the ground was levelled, and the plan selected on which the edifice was afterwards to be erected. We who now dwell in the finished and comfortably appointed house have no idea of all that was requisite to render it fit for habitation. The recognition of the society by the established authorities of the Church, the bestowal of corporate rights, the friendly attitude of the Censor Society towards the first publications, the organization and furtherance of auxiliary societies, the conduct of numerous mission services and preaching tours — all these are to be looked on as gifts from the hand of the Church authorities to the mission ; — but they are usually little thought of because they are benefits which only make themselves felt by their subsequent effects. In addition to this, however, one great bond of union, in many instances, between missions and their respective Church rulers must be specially mentioned, viz., the Ordination of missionaries. For this purpose Church dignitaries either personally or by a commissioner examine the previously prepared candidates, and declare them fit to undertake the office. The Church and Missions. 9 Those who are qualified are thereupon ordained, either immediately in their native land, or after a time of pro- bation on the mission-field. This is a most important matter, and it seems extraordinary that individual men and societies should venture to emancipate them- selves from this custom. In the case of most missions it is by such ordination that their agents are intro- duced to the Church at home. Here, indeed, a further reform in the relationship is necessary, inasmuch as ordination by the Church authorities is and must be granted only under the condition that it entitles to no charge or office in the Church at home ; for this reason : that the degree of theological knowledge of most of those ordained, hav- ing been acquired in missionary seminaries, and not in Gymnasia and Universities, has been tested merely by an examination for the mission, and not by an examination pro licentia concionandi et pro minis- ter do, and therefore must be inferior to that of the regularly instructed clergy. But where a graduate has been ordained to the mission service the difficulty is still greater. Is he eo ipso rendered eligible for em- ployment in the Church at home ? Or, must the con- secration to the service be in any way supplemented ? Or, are there, on the other hand, two kinds of ordina- tion, one for the mission work, and one to the home pastorate, &c. The whole matter acquires a practical significance from the fact that missionaries are fre- quently obliged to return to their native land from the field of labour, because they find themselves unable to 10 The Church and Missions. devote their strength and talents according to their wishes and hopes. One need only hear such com- plaints and acquaint himself with the condition of returned missionaries, to acknowledge that the subject presents difficulties still unsolved, and that it will not be very easy to establish a rule universally applicable according to which such men are to be treated.* The arrangement that they should be equally cap- able with our graduates of undertaking spiritual work in the Church is inexpedient, but neither is it desir- able that ordained men should stand idle in the market place, while their health allows of their setting about work similar to that in which they were formerly en- gaged. The question is, then, whether the Church could not so order it, that positions might be assigned them in which they would be placed, if not on a par with the regular clergy ; yet, in a manner, by their * " Recollections from the Life of an East Indian Missionary," Halle, 1865, p. 468. When the missionary, just starting for his field of labour, submits to ordination he thinks little of the proviso that it is only to hold good for Heathendom. His heart's wish is not in- deed to spend merely some years in the service of the mission, but his whole lifetime. But circumstances afterwards arise which compel him to forsake his sphere of labour. Either because of his own broken-down health, or because his wife is ailing and cannot bear the climate, or for other important reasons he must return to his native land. What is the missionary to do in this case after his re- turn if the Church do not grant him the privilege of exercising his priestly office ? Is he who has been ordained a clergyman, and appointed to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments to enter upon a secular pursuit ? Would he not thereby subject him- self and his office to the jest and scorn of the world ? Though evan- gelical ordination is not a sacrament, yet ever since the time of the Apostles it has been a solemn designation by the Church to the spiritual office which authorizes the ordained to administer the Word The Church and Missions. 11 side. Perhaps also, in the many and varied duties of the " Home Mission," the talents which they possess of culture, official authority and experience, would not be left so completely unemployed. A short time ago, this subject was maturely considered by the highest Church Court of Sweden, and with the following result: — The first pupils of the Stockholm Mission have been ordained by their bishop ; they are, henceforth, answer- able for their teaching and conduct to the Chapter of the Cathedral ; they are to send in yearly reports of their labours ; and, finally, if they should be obliged to return home, and should wish to retain their priestly office, they are to consider themselves bound to do such service, each in his own diocese, as shall be pre- scribed, and are to possess privileges which will be hereafter more exactly defined.* Thus, though nothing and Sacraments according to the mind and command of Christ. He who has once been ordained resigns to a certain extent his worldly avocations and is appointed to a sacred sphere of duty. He is con- secrated to holy purposes, and feels under these circumstances that in deference to existing opinion upon ecclesiastical matters, he could not, without causing offence and scandal, take up any secular calling. It would be looked upon, not only by true Christians, but by the world, as something unbecoming for a clergyman to pursue a worldly occupation, a handicraft or trade, while, on the contrary, any other Christian who is not already in holy orders may forsake his worldly employment for the Church without in the least offending any one. One sees thus in what great difficulties an ordained missionary is placed who is compelled to return, and has to provide for himself and his family. But as it is absolutely necessary for the sake of order that missionaries officiating on the mission-field should be ordained, it is also desirable that they should be received after their return home into the service of the Church of the country. * " The Swedish Missionary Herald " for 1867, No. 2, writes as follows on this subject : — "We may rejoice at the progress which our Mission has made in this direction. The present church system 1 2 The Church and Missions. more definite has been decided as to the nature of the employment, the principle has at last been acknow- ledged that clerical energy, which cannot be made available in the field, independent of the Church, is to be, as it were, allied with her existing organization. This step in advance may be reckoned among the gifts which the Mission welcomes with joy from the hand of the rulers of the Church. A singular feature of the Berlin Missionary Society is, that it receives towards the supply of its wants a not inconsiderable sum from the authorities upon whom it is dependent for the examination and ordina- tion of its missionaries, namely, the Consistory of Mark Brandenburg. This amounts to 500 thalers (£75), and was strangely enough originally granted by Frederick William III. to the Janick Institution for the education and training of Gutzlaff. The pay- ment of this money was continued and it was at last transferred to the Missionary Society which began to flourish just as the former institution perished. This is human in external form and, therefore, subject to many defects, but it is dependent on the guidance of the Providence of God, and enjoys the blessing of unity and of outward order in many respects. Our Mission by its endeavours to obtain ordination for pupils has acknowledged that it wishes to stand, and does actually stand, though the union is quite a voluntary one, in organized alli- ance with the Church at home, and she again, on her part, has on this occasion acknowledged our work as having its own peculiar pro- vince. The important principle that there is a definite field of labour necessary for the Mission has thus been maintained. And it must encourage our missionaries to think that they are not without a regular recognized appointment to the preaching of the Gospel." I owe the use of these extracts to the kindness of my colleague Kratzenstein. The Church and Missions. 13 fact reminds us of the times when the English Parlia- ment annually voted special sums towards the expenses of Missions, and who can say but that we may again see, not only the treasury of the Church, but the Im- perial Exchequer making grants to be appropriated to the support and extension of missions ? For the pre- sent, we must only be satisfied with existing circum- stances. If, however, in addition to all that has been already mentioned, ordinary or special visitation com- mittees are in the habit of requiring definite informa- tion, as to the interest manifested by congregations in the subject of missions, are we then justified in complaining that too little is being done on the part of Church governments in the assistance of indepen- dent associations ? Although in some places the Church has yielded in great part to the demands that have been made upon it, yet one thing has never yet been attempted on German soil, viz. : the including of missionary studies in the curriculum of Theological instruction. In the Churches of some States, it is true, there are general collections annually taken in aid of the mission to the Heathen ; and this is not merely per- mitted but enjoined. Such, for example, is the custom in Hanover. In the Russian Baltic provinces the authorities of the Lutheran Church not only recom- mend the preaching of missionary sermons, but this is regarded as one of the duties incumbent on a minister. In other places bishops and general superintendents have sought to interest their clergy in the hcly work 14 The Church and Missions. by lectures, a measure which has been resorted to oftener in the Roman Catholic Church than in any other. In that Church it is done with the distinct aim, and this must be particularly mentioned, of ex- citing enthusiasm for the Propaganda. The Bishop of Birmingham, to give an instance, writes thus in a pastoral recommending the missions : " What joy is there among the angels, who look down from the heights of Heaven, to see the unanimity with which the countless members of the Propaganda lift their hearts to God, and how all hands are ready to render the Church the assistance which will enable her to carry the glad message with greater efficiency to the ends of the earth."* It is indeed a natural desire that all the advantages mentioned above should be enjoyed by every Missionary Society, and that those Societies to which they are not yet granted should present petitions upon the subject. But on the other hand, we are not to expect the Church authorities to regard the use of some of those auxiliaries which seem to promote the cause of independent societies, in the same light as do the petitioners. It might happen that the universal establishment of missionary lectures, or the granting of a stated church collection, would be injurious to the life of the mission ; and then these gifts so earnestly desired would be refused. There is, in that case, nothing further to be done; neither, however, is the cause to be despaired of; but the available means must * Annual Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 1865, No. I., p. 59. The Church and Missions. 15 be faithfully employed, and all the more faithfully the more contracted they become. Several of the schemes suggested appear, in truth, of doubtful pro- priety, and it is uncertain what will be their fate. If they should stand all tests they will be recognised, though they may have been at first disliked. After all it does not matter whether the relation of missions to the Church is so scrupulously perfect in every respect. If it is in the main the right one, occasional irregularities will be remedied in the course of time. The missions should, in a word, always incline towards the Church, and the Church towards the missions. What we mean is, that within the limits marked out for missions, the desire should ever be uppermost to avoid all tendency towards isolated independence, and to keep the eye fixed on the mother Church. The Church, by constant recognition and guidance of missionary work, should show a continual sympathy with it and further it in every way, without in any degree crippling its vigorous, independent development, by interference in its management. The principles of the appropriate relationship may be expressed shortly in the two following sentences, written some twenty years ago by a minister named Eichhorn to the director of the Berlin Mission. They run thus : " An ever-growing connection between the Mission and the existing Church machinery must tend to advance the former ; on the other hand, however, I would not wish to restrict that liberty of action which should belong to the Board of Missions, and which is necessary for an 1 G The Church and Missions. effective prosecution of its work ; or needlessly to impose upon it an arduous task." The second point here expressly noticed, namely, that a Board of Missions is a kind of committee to which the whole administration of the work must be remitted with confidence, is in other cases tacitly taken for granted. Out of delicacy, the Church authorities do not take advantage of opportunities often presented to them, of interfering with the affairs of the Mis- sionary Societies. We may mention, for example, a case in which a South African Missionary sent a complaint against his fellow-workers to the Prussian minister, Altenstein. The Council of Ministers simply referred the matter to the Board of Missions, saying they were much grieved at the affair, but did not feel themselves called on to interfere, and therefore handed it over entirely to the Mission authorities, that the latter " might use their influence in removing, if pos- sible, the misunderstandings which had arisen." It is improbable that any Church Courts would now decide otherwise in case of a like appeal. The recent measure by which the Prussian Church Government has been placed in a singular position with regard to the Rhine Mission, and which has been probably found more difficult to carry out than was anticipated, has not altered the state of affairs. In Bremen, when the mission to Borneo had made such progress that further protection for it against the injustice of the Dutch local authorites was required than could be obtained by the means previously employed, it was The Church and Missions. 1 7 suggested that a union should be effected between the little congregation at Dajacke and the Prussian National Church, such as the union which exists be- tween that Church and the Diaspora* congregations in all countries. At the first sitting of the large, newly- formed Assistant Missionary Committee, this expedient was unanimously approved of, the consent of the Evan- gelical High Consistory, who happened to be in Bremen, having been previously secured. A petition was then sent to Berlin, praying that the little congregation of the Rhenish Mission in Dutch India " might be taken under the protection and into the fellowship of the Evangelical Prussian Church."-)* It was uncertain whether this request would be complied with; whether, indeed, compliance was possible ; the members of the congregation at Dajacke being still Dutch subjects, while German emigrants were under the protection of the resident consuls. But, supposing the wish could have been fulfilled, it is still doubtful if this state of dependence, which necessity demanded, would have had the practical effect of making the government as active on the mission field referred to as in the Diaspora congregations. We did not believe it would, neither was any further step taken in the matter, as the way in Borneo was soon after opened up again. An important point is, however, still to be con- * Diaspora, a Greek term used in this pamphlet to denote churches scattered abroad. t Ileport of the Rhenish Missionary Society for 1865, No. 8. B 18 The Church and Missions. sidered, viz., the position which the Church should assume with respect to the missionary festivals, which, according to the point of view from which they are regarded, are either a great blessing at the present day, or merely a fanciful innovation. There is no lack of influential persons who condemn them whole- sale, and who do not hesitate to express their opinion. "All Christian festivals," they say, "point backwards, but these missionary festivals look to the future, con- sequently they are like foreign plants in the garden of the Church, while their existence is injurious to the idea of the Whitsuntide festival. Moreover, we should desire that Whitsuntide and Epiphany be recognised in their significance as missionary festivals, and that all these other occasional services should be, if possible, set aside by a faithful observance of the stated means already provided by the Church." * This is one view of the question, and partially a correct one. We agree with the statements that the missionary festivals which are regularly appointed by the Church should be re- vived with loving and faithful earnestness in the affections of our congregations, but at the same time we should not like to see those fountains stopped from which the Lord has poured and is still pouring forth such streams of blessing. Unfortunately, in many of our missionary festivals, nay, in most of them, the festive character is entirely wanting, and they are nothing more than additional mission services. But * Zeitschrift fur die gesammte lutheris'che Theologie uud Kirche von Uudelbach uud Guericke. 1858. No. II., p. 37-4. The Church and Missions. 19 even though this may be the case, they are nearly always accompanied by a gracious rain that is sure to brimr forth fruit in due time. The evils occa- sionally attendant, such as the desire for something uncommon, and the natural longing for pleasure and excitement, quickly disappear under the in- fluence of the Spirit of God. It can no longer be disputed that the great popular missionary festivals supply a painfully felt want in the religious life of our people, and we should labour zealously for the establishment of a greater number of them. And if, on these occasions pious clergymen diligently enforce upon their congregations the command of our Lord with regard to missions, and dwell upon the misery of all who do not believe, and if, with true obedience and honest sympathy, they lead the way themselves, we need not fear that missions, in the course which in our days they have adopted under the guidance of Divine Providence, will be less successful than in time past in leading the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews onward to their Lord and Master. II. THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SCIENCE OF MISSIONS AT THE UNIVERSITIES. T is our intention to treat this subject in the following manner. First, a glance at past history will show our readers what has been already done to procure admittance for missionary studies to the universities ; next, we shall give a com- prehensive, methodical, and logical sketch of these studies ; thirdly, we shall seek to meet, on strictly utilitarian principles, the objections made against their establishment as distinct branches in the course of theological training ; and, finally, we shall consider the various modes in which our object, that of having special chairs for missionary studies established at the universities, may be accomplished. I. Missions are of earlier origin than Universities, inasmuch as the propagation of Christianity dates from the first Whitsuntide, while the most ancient Academies arose only in the twelfth century in the already christianized countries of France and Italy. Science of Missions at the Universities. 2 1 For this reason, and considering that the work of conversion among the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews has always supplied an abundance of valuable materials, we may assume that from the beginning the discourses which were delivered for the instruction of the future servants of the Church did not omit to allude to the victories achieved in time past, and to those which were gained at that very time by the Faith over the scepticism, superstition, and unbelief of the world. This is especially probable, as the teachers at the universities were exclusively clergy, many of whom belonged to Orders, the members of which were mis- sionaries on the borders of Christendom or at its out- posts. In truth, it is not credible that at any time the Word of God could be expounded, and the history of the Church narrated, without touching upon the reli- gious and moral condition of the Jews and Heathen, and without taking into consideration the means which the Lord has employed to bring both to salvation. So long, then, as exegetical and Church history lec- tures have been heard in universities, students have received as an integral part of the same, that which we must regard as the first elements of missionary education. We observe, to our joy, in the further development of the universitas liter arum, the progressive cultiva- tion of certain departments of knowledge, bearing on missions. Here and there, philosophers, philologists, as well as theologians, include among their studies ancient and modern mythology, and the history and 22 The Representation of the philosophy of religions ; and though again, on the other hand, the complete history of the spread of Christianity is not yet separated from Church history at large, yet various attempts are now made to con- sider apart the more recent records of missionary effort, and to treat this as a separate subject. "VVe may mention as an example of this, that at universities connected with the Koman Catholic and Greek Churches there are professors who watch with interest the extension of their Church, and impart the result of their observations and experience to their pupils. The universities of North America, if they deserve that name, are so poor, being uncon- nected with the State, that their members have scarcely applied themselves as yet to such a new branch of theology. But we have reason to think that a progress similar to that observable among us in Germany has been made among theologians of the Scandinavian, of the Dutch, and, above all, of the English Universities. Meanwhile, we must confine ourselves to a glance at a few Pro- testant German Universities, for the purpose partly of pointing out the attempts already made, partly of reporting the success which these have ob- tained. The result of such a survey is by no means encouraging. How many German Academies are there at which, so far as regards special lectures on missions, we should find ourselves "vis-a-vis de rien!" Are there ever, for example, prize-exercises proposed Science of Missions at the Universities. 23 by the theological faculty for which scientific treatises on missions would be required ? It was to the carrying out of a suowstion like this at the Roman Catholic University of Munich, seventeen years ago, that we owe Miillbauer's vigorous " History of the Catholic Mission to the East Indies." * It seems to me that the recog- nised importance of missions must ultimately require that, from time to time, in every academy, theologians shall turn their special attention, with earnestness and emulation, to this subject. In some places it is now one of the rules that an account be given from the Lecturer's chair of the great progress the Church is making in all quarters of the earth in our days. Thus we find that in the year 1800, on the threshold of this century, Flatt of Tubingen delivered a private lecture on the more recent history of Missions. The number of his audience was extremely small, not more than three or four, among whom was Christian Gottlieb Blumhardt.-f* He was afterwards for twenty-years the first Inspector of the Basle Mission, and as such, the compiler of the first Universal History of Missions, a work which was unfortunately left unfinished. Of late years, in Halle, Berlin, Bonn, and probably elsewhere, public lectures on the same or similar subjects have been given, sometimes, indeed, only announced. But we never heard that those which were actually delivered * Mullbauer, Geschichte der catholischen Missionen Ostindiens, Preface, p. v. t Ostertag, Entstehungsgescliichte der evangelischen Missions- gesellschaft zu Basel, p. 88. 24 The Representation of the were particularly well attended, or that the Professors felt pleasure in resuming them. One single University has, however, exhibited a phenomenon so remarkable and its experiences are so instructive, and so well adapted for the illustration of our subject, that we cannot refrain from Doticing them. The first great missionary meeting in Mecklenburg, was held in Rostock, in October of the year 1843. There, among other subjects, the training necessary for missionaries was discussed, this being a matter on which many Lutheran friends to the sacred cause were induced, at Professor Graul's exhortation, to reflect seriously. They wished to have the principle estab- lished that only " finished theologians should be sent out," that the names of the students of Theology should be specified, and that those of them who seemed suited for the work, should finish their studies at Rostock with special assistance. With regard to the allowances to be granted them, not only was there a capital of 7,000 thalers placed at their disposal, but a provision was made for the endowment of two bur- saries, each worth 7-5 thalers, to be held for four years.* Now the Rostock society belonged at that time to the North German Missionary Society, and it was therefore obliged to lay the matter before the General Assembly which was to be held in Rostock in the summer of the following year. In the meantime, the University Calendar appeared, and in it the following announce- * MouatsLlatt der Norddeutschen Missionsgesellschaft. , 1844, p. 402. Science of Missions at the Universities. 25 ment by the specially-appointed professor, Dr. Julius Wiggers, — " I intend to deliver lectures on the history of Evangelical Missions, further notice of which will be given." The inference, of course, is that this announcement was in compliance with the wishes of the friends of the Mecklenburg Missions. Julius Wiggers was qualified for his undertaking beyond the other theologians of the time. He had just published his " Church Statistics," a great work, which stands almost alone of its kind, and, as far as I know, has found no successor during the twenty-five years of its existence. Since it aims at being " a statement of the present exterior and interior condition of the whole Christian Church," a description of the mission field was necessary, and this has been given in two appen- dices, under the heading, " The Western Church in America, in Southern and Central Asia, in Africa and Australia." The now projected history of Evan- gelical Missions might be, in one respect, the filling in of part of the sketch already thrown off, and the author was provided with all possible sources of infor- mation, English, German, Dutch, and French, as well as filled with enthusiasm for his work, for he person- ally took a lively interest in the carrying out of the scheme above referred to.* Unfortunately there were not three students at Rostock who showed any desire for such a course of lectures. From the records of the University it appears that Julius Wiggers lectured only for two hours during the half year on the history * Julius Wiggers, Gesckichte der evangelischen Mission, Pref. p. iii. 26 The Representation of the of Missions before an audience composed of three persons.* The preparation for these lectures, however, was not lost. From it sprang the Professor's comprehen- sive and scientifically written " History of Evangelical Missions," a book which lias, by no means, been cast into the shade by later works, written with the same object in view. On the contrary, its peculiar value is rather increasing, for it undertakes to exhibit mission- ary efforts as organically connected with the state of the Church at home, while the others distinctly deny that an organic development is perceptible in the course which missions take among the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews. I notice the book, however, chiefly because of a passage in its preface which relates to our subject. After lie has complained in the commencement, of the " painful want he had felt in the preparation for his lectures of a complete, scientific account of this branch of recent ecclesiastical histoiy," and stated the sources from which he had drawn his materials, he proceeds thus : " As many of our German Universi- ties, as belong to the evangelical faith, are un- doubtedly called upon to evince a much deeper sym- pathy with the work of evangelical missions than they have hitherto manifested. And it is almost certain that they will assume, perhaps before very long, that position towards missions which it is incumbent on them to take. The more fully missions develop themselves as a power in the life of the Church, the * Julius Wiggers, Geschichte der evangelischen Mission, vol. i.,p. 9. Science of Missions at the Universities. 27 more urgently they will require theological help and guidance. In addition to the scientific arrangement and organization of the material on the mission field, the scientific preparation and equipment of those sent forth to it in the process of the further development of the Church, will be an additional task devolving upon the universities, and especially upon the theological Faculties. The first symptoms of this expansion of the working sphere of German academies are even now here and there perceptible. Already there are instances of missionary history being included among the academic lectures. The future should, however, produce more of these." # Thus Julius Wisrgers wrote in the Easter of the year 1845. His words died away at that time, and some superfluities in them have done so for ever. But the germ of what he hoped for already exists in some places, and will yet make itself visible. Unfortunately the shoots perished in Rostock itself. Once more a theologian named Schliemann, a licentiate, announced lectures upon the " History of Missions since the • Six- teenth Centur}'," for the winter session of 1845-46; but this course was never delivered, and Schliemann soon after turned his attention to the study of law, in which he is now considered an authority in Schwerin. Since that time there has been unbroken silence even in Rostock. The plan of sending out highly educated missionaries fell through during the discussions within the bosom of the North German Missionary Society, * Julius Wigger's Geschichte der evangelischen Mission, preface, p. vi. 28 The Representation of the and it became apparent that this association was not to be the means of realizing the exalted idea of bringing missions into close union with the Univer- sities. The honour of accomplishing this object belongs to Dr Friedrich Ehrenfeuchter, the Professor of Practical Theology at the Georgia Augusta University in Got- tingen. His department comprises the subjects of Missions, Divine Services, and Church Polity, cor- responding to the threefold operation of the Church " Acts of extension, outward manifestation, and govern- ment.* An exposition of the system of Church ex- tension, or of missions contained in the first volume of Ehrenfeuchter's " Practical Theology," published in 1859, shows us what the students of theology at Got- tingen have been taught for many years on the subject of the conversion of the Heathen. Its contents are valuable, giving in a rapid sketch the essence of what is necessary in every scientific treatise on missions. In the first of two parts, one on the elementary princi- ples, the other on the method of missions, he speaks of " the heathen world, or the object of missions, of Christianity, or the motive to missionary effort, of the law in the development of missions," and in the second, " of the message sent, its promulgation, and of the relation of missions to the Church." f All this he treats in a comprehensive manner, so superior to all previous dissertations on practical theology, or Christian * Ehrenfeuchter. Die practische Theologie, vol. i., p. 183. + Ehrenfeuchter, above mentioned work, Pref. , p. xiv. Science of Missions at the Universities. 29 ethics, that Graul in the " Halle Missionary News," the oldest German missionary paper, which was converted by him into a kind of organ for missionary information, speaks of it as " the first attempt to reduce the sub- ject of missions to a theory," a gift most deserving of gratitude. * Do we err, or do we not, when we ascribe the great missionary exertions by which the Hanoverian Church has equalled, if not surpassed, Wiirtemburg, to the fact that her young divines had been already warmed to the noble work at the University ? Yet let us not close our eyes. However deserving of gratitude such a review of missions in academic lectures would be, and however desirable it might seem that this method should be everywhere adopted and pursued, yet we dare not speak of any representa- tion of the science of missions at the Universities until the realisation of that plan which has been pro- posed and considered of late years ; — the plan, namely, of assigning to this difficult, much disputed subject, not merely a secondary and occasional place, nor even a prominent, although dependent one, but a position which shall be completely independent and permanent. The movement was first begun in Scotland. In the year 1862 the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland made it one of the subjects of considera- tion, " whether it was not in accordance with the spirit of the age that a special Chair should be founded in * ' ' Missionsnachrichten der ostindischen Missiousanstalt in Halle, " 1863, p. 32. 30 The Representation of the Edinburgh for the science of missions ? " * For a long time nothing was heard of the result of the discussion, or whether that which had been proposed would be carried into effect. At the close of the year 1867, however, Dr Duff, the well-known missionary, who for years was an active worker in the East Indies, was appointed to the newly-founded Chair of Evangelistic Theology, and has continued since then to deliver lectures on this subject. f Two years after this beginning, in October of the year 18G4, the question came under discussion at a Conference of Clergy at Bristol. A proposal was there made that at the English Universities also Professors should be appointed to exercise a kind of ecclesiastical inspection. It would be necessary for such, of course, to repair for a while to the missionary headquarters, in order to form on the spot an impartial opinion as to the strength or weakness of the work, and then to make good use of this acquired knowledge and ex- perience in the instruction of the student sat home.* Unhappily we do not hear that anything has been done in the desired direction. Yet we do not know but that here and there theologians have already started off in the hope of carrying out the idea that was sug- gested at Bristol. While, however, they were still considering in * Missionsfreund, 1062, p. 189. t Christian Work ; or, News of the Churches, 1SG7, p. 550. X Christian Work, 1864, p, 504. Science of Missions at the Universities. 31 England, in Germany they went to work. On the first of June, 18G4, such an academic festival was held in the spacious hall of the Friedrich Alex- ander University at Erlangen as had never before been seen. From the exceptionally " large and influential audience " assembled there, one could see that it was no ordinary occasion. " Not only were almost all the Professors and Students of Theology present, but pupils from the other Faculties attended, and even clergymen and the municipal authorities.* The former director of the Leipzig Mission, Dr Karl Graul, was about to deliver the introductory public lecture. He made his appearance almost broken down from long years of illness, and still suffering much, he mounted the desk and began, as it was hoped, his regular course of instruction with a discourse on " the Position and Importance of Christian Mis- sions among the Sciences at the University," which in the wonderful mental power and freshness displayed contrasted strangely with the bodily weakness of the * Hermann, Dr Carl Graul, und seine Bedeutung fiir die lutherische Mission, p. 210. — We not only consider it our duty to mention the pamphlet we quote from, but we take the opportunity of recom- mending it. It corresponds to a certain extent with the portions of Ehrenfeuchter's book above referred to, inasmuch as it undertakes to sketch out the true Lutheran plan of missionary operations, an attempt which no one else has made in the same complete manner. The author, however, was peculiarly qualified to do it, for he was for a long time Graul's fellow-worker in the mission-house at Leipzig, and at present assists in editing the Missionary Paper of the East Indian Mission Institution at Halle, the eighteenth number of which contains this biographical sketch. It has also appeared in a separate form, and may be had at the Orphan Home bookshop at Halle. 32 The Representation of the speaker. The impression produced was deep, and the first success was " great and universal. Even the most apathetic on the subject of missions felt them- selves," according to Graul's biographer, " deeply moved and interested, while those who were already sympa- thisers with the work became enthusiastic. The Senate expressed their heartfelt joy and congratula- tions, and all were filled with the brightest hopes for the future of the undertaking which had been so auspiciously commenced." * But what lay behind this one short lecture — this crisis in the life of the man ? More than twenty years of the most varied service in the work of which in a new form he was now the representative. From the spring of 1844 to the autumn of 1861, his aid was given by his practical activity, and after that time, by his writings and mental exertions. Having from his childhood shown a decided taste for scientific pur- suits, he had always been inclined to look at the theo- retical side of a question, and to search for the funda- mental principles and universal laws of things. But his opinions had not been formed only in his study. He had for a long time expected to be invested with the office of director, and it is also well-known that, as the first German Missionary director, he undertook the duty of personal inspection which appertained to his office, and thereby opened up the path for subse- quent visitation journeys, by Josenhaus of Basle, by Dr Wangemann of Berlin, and in 18G7 by the third * Hermann, p. 213. Science of Missions at the Universities. 33 missionary director, Dr Hardemann of Leipsig. Graul's designs on setting out on. this expedition, are unfortu- nately not so well known. He was to study the fundamental principles of missions, and by this per- sonal examination, to render his studies more practi- cally useful. Accordingly, he intended to visit the East Indies, Palestine, Egypt, and South Africa, in order to observe the operations of missions respectively among cultivated Heathen, Jews, Mohammedans, and uncivilized nations.* The fourth and last part of his task he could not accomplish ; but the gap has since been filled up in a most praiseworthy manner. Yet how richly prepared did Graul ascend his desk, after having made himself thoroughly acquainted with the East Indian Missions, and having visited in person .the field of labour among the Israelites and Ishmaelites ! What treasures must he have displayed before the astonished German students, over whom he had already begun to exert a fascinating influence by discourses delivered in his sick-room ! But his object was not to be reached, — for Graul died on the 6th November of the same year, without having given a second lecture. However tragical it may appear — tragical in the literal meaning of the word, to see a man in his last hours struggling victo- riously with a great idea ; and however painful to hear the first German representative of the science of missions at the University, " saying farewell in his installation speech," yet there was also something * Hermann, p. 96. C 34 The Representation of the providential in it which the biographer has endea- voured to point out : — " Graul's idea will be per- haps all the more generally carried out because he did not himself accomplish it. Had he lived, all would have hesitated ; now that he is gone, the Pro- fessors of Exegesis, Dogmatic Theology, Church His- tory, and Practical Theology, must feel it their duty to be the interpreters, and the instruments of carrying out his views with regard to the subject of missions. Thus we doubt not that though lost, he is not lost ! "* We agree with this view, but not altogether with the suggestion, that the stone should be broken into four distinct pieces, and urged up the hill by an equal number of theological professors. We should like to set the whole rock in motion ; and, fearless of its proving a Sisyphus-like task, to drive it up the moun- tain from whence it should overlook all lands, -f- If any one of the German Missionary Societies is now once more called upon to take the initiative step, it is the Berlin Society. To pass over all other * Hermann, p. 214. T This is the most suitable place to call attention to the fact, that at the foundation of the Academy of Science in Berlin, the subject of Christian Missions was mentioned as one of the branches to be taken up. "The Electress Sophia Chaidotte of Brandenburg," says the Annual Report of the Berlin Missions, I860, p. 413, " would not permit her institution, the Academy of Science in Berlin, to be opened until Leibnitz had inserted missions among its subjects, that the true light might be kindled for the people who sit in darkness, and that the sciences and the visible heavens might be, like the star for the wise men from the East, a guide for erring human creatures to that which is heavenly and divine." Eermann, also in his " Zieg- enbalg und Pliitschan, " p. 201, quotes from an anonymous pamphlet, Science of Missions at the Universities. 35 reasons, it is morally bound by the external inducement of a valuable bequest. Having hitherto considerably digressed, and having glanced at the whole extensive field of the Church's work, we should now like to fol- low the history of a single society. We do not know whether it will lead us to cherish a wish similar to that which arose within us, when lamenting over Graul's early death, namely, that men might be given to the mission who should be so highly favoured as to throw wide open, at Erlangen, the door which had been barely unclosed before, but immediately shut again, and that such a blessing should pour in as should be felt to the farthest limits of Christendom. In November 1845, the private Counsel of Legation, Von Sydow, who was at that time resident Prussian Ambassador in Frankfort-on-the-Main, was staying in Berlin. While there, he had a letter from the Justice and Notary, Dr Anton Fresenius, of Frankfort, enclos- ing a note to the following effect, which he had received : " Query, Would it not be advantageous to pay a Christian Professor of Theology for the special extant only in manuscript (Pharos emissionis evangelicse), which, as the forerunner of a larger work, by the Brandenburg Academy of Science, dilates on a proposition to be made to Frederick I., for converting the heathen, and especially the Chinese, to Christianity. Among other passages he cites the following, concerning the newly established Academy, in the charter of which the golden words are to be seen: — While doing so (i.e., spreading the sciences) ''to strive to carry the light of Christianity and of a pure Gospel, to the bar- barous nations dwelling in the various quarters of the globe, even to China ; and when in the north and west of China, to stretch out the hand to Evangelists entering the country on the eastern sea-coast," etc., etc. 36 The Representation of the purpose of delivering one or more lectures a-week to the students at the university, on the nature of missions ? A friend of missions would be willing to contribute a sum of 1000 florins, the interest of which would go to aid such an object. The sympathy of the students might thus be gained for a subject which is but too little con- sidered. Afterwards, as ministers, they would always be found ready to deliver missionary lectures to their congregations, and thereby assist much in further- ing the kingdom of God." Underneath were the two letters S.M., the humble Salvo Meliori ; the whole was signed with the initials A. F., and dated Novem- ber 11th, 1845. The second letter, written two days later, recommended the recipient to come to Berlin, there to collect information as to the feasibility of carrying out the plan, at, of course, some Prussian University. It ends thus : " The thousand florins are, to be sure, not much, but I think a stimulus might thereby be given to other Christian friends to form a fund by similar gifts or bequests, by means of which, lectures on missions might soon become a stated institu- tion at the universities." The two letters were handed over to the then President of the Berlin Missionary Society, the Private Counsel of Legation, Yon Biilow, by the Private Counsel of Legation, Yon Sydow, just a fortnight before Christmas : the reason of the delay is not known. Yon Sydow disclosed at the same time that the writer of the letter and the person who had asked the question were one and the same, and that he had unhappily died at Frankfort-on-the-Main ; exactly a Science of Missions at the Universities. 37 fortnight after he had despatched the letters, that is on 25 th November. Who was this Dr. Anton Fresenius ? He was a grandson of the well-known John Philip Fresenius of Frankfort, whose book on Confession and the Lord's Supper was first published in 1766, and is much read to the present day. His father, son to the above, un- like his brothers who entered the Church, had become an apothecary and had married the daughter of an apothecary, Dr. Walthers of Soest in Westphalia. Anton was the fifth of the six children by this first marriage of his father. Three older brothers and a younger sister died in their youth : only he and an older sister survived. He finished his lep;al studies at the Universities of Giessen and Heidelberg, and at the Law School of the Imperial Chamber at Setzlar. At the end of the year 1813 he was made Doctor of Laws. He then returned home. His father had meanwhile lost his wife and had married again. Only out of consideration for the distressing condition of his family, and because of his physician's advice, did he repress the wish to take a part as a soldier in the deliverance of his country. " The active assistance which he rendered at the burning of the great military hospital at Frankfort proved that he feared no danger. He there carried persons suffering from infectious diseases out of the flames at the two-fold risk of life."* *Der christliche Hausfreund, 1846, No. 6. This abstract has been kindly placed at my disposal by the Rev. Dr. Jager of Frank- fort. It has been supplemented by the sole surviving step-brother, Dr. Jean Fresenius. 38 The Representation of the Shortly after this the father died, leaving, besides the two children of his first marriage, a widow and two boys still minors. Anton Fresenius was then about twenty-four years of age, but he took the care of the family upon his young shoulders, and devoted himself entirely to it. He was never married himself. In 1815 he was made registrar of the Legislative body, just then formed, and held the office till his death. In addition to this he was notary for the free Imperial city, and had, as deputy -justice, a wide-spread practice, of which he thus speaks himself: "I have won but few lawsuits, but I have settled a great many." He came to the knowledge and experience of the saving faith in Christ only when he had arrived at years of maturity. From that time forward his life was consecrated to a new service of love, and occasions were not wanting in which to display his de.votion. He was fifty- four years of age when his Master called him home. He fell asleep on the evening of 26th November 1845, the Wednesday before the close of the eccle- siastical year ; — the last word uttered by his parched lips being an Amen to the prayers breathed by his family around him. The subject upon which he had written to Berlin a fortnight before had kept him busily occupied during the latter part of his life. He had often spoken of it in the family circle and not only was he bent upon carrying out the scheme at a Prussian University, but he cherished the wish that the interest of King Frederick William the Fourth, might be engaged in the matter. This was perhaps Science of Missions at the Universities. 39 the reason of the interposition of the Prussian official. His family were thus conversant with his plan, and his heiress, the already mentioned eldest daughter, considered herself bound to pay the promised sum, although the wish of the departed had not been ex- pressed directly by will. Accordingly, within the first six months of the year 184G, when the Committee of the Berlin Missionary Society forwarded satisfactory information as to the means by which the scheme of her late brother could be carried out, a cheque for over 1000 florins was sent to the Private Counsel of Legation, Von B'ulow, and the receipt of it was acknowledged in the following resolution : " The Committee are agreed to place the money out at interest as capital, in the hope of its being gradually augmented by donations and legacies, the interest of which will hereafter be used to defray the expenses of Academic lectures. They will administer this sum separately from other money, the interest of it being capitalized until such time as the appropriation of it will correspond to the intention and wish of the testator." Steps had already been taken in Berlin, the Com- mittee having applied to Professor Neander for advice on the subject. His prompt judgment was : "Of course I think it would be advantageous that academic lec- tures should be given for the special purpose of inter- esting the young theologians, and, if possible, all the young students, in the question of missions. It is my belief that a course of lectures on the recent history of evangelical missions, if judiciously arranged, would 4 The Representation of the be particularly fitted for that object. And if a Docent* were to undertake to do it, such pecuniary assistance as you proposed in your letter would be well directed. I am acquainted with a young Docent who possesses the confidence of the students, and who is the very person for such lectures, being filled with zeal in the sacred cause, — a licentiate named Jakobi of this University. I shall be delighted to assist such a man with my advice and with all the means in my power." The second step was for the Committee, shortly after the legacy had been paid, to give due notice of the same to his Excel- lency the Minister of Worship, Eichhorn, by whom the following answer was returned : " While I entrust all measures for the realization of this plan to the Com- mittee for the Promotion of Evangelical Missions among the Heathen, I may just observe that the scheme cannot otherwise be carried out than by the delivery of such lectures by a qualified Docent at one of the Universities." Both answers, that of the Pro- fessor and that of the Minister, were upon the whole satisfactory, and it seemed as if a beginning might be made at any moment. Why it was not made, I cannot tell. Were not the years 1847, 1848, and 1849, immediately following, sufficient to set the enterprise in motion ? Were the words of the founder, " A Christian Professor of Theology," to be interpreted as excluding the employ- ment of a Docent ? Did the interest of the money * " Docent," in German Universities, is a teacher or tutor who ranks below a Professor. Science of Missions at the Universities. 41 appear too small at the time to offer as a honorarium for lectures ? Or, was it felt that it would not be acting according to the mind of the deceased, if such collegia publika* were to be considered as the object he had in view and for which he had bestowed the gift, inasmuch as they would only be the fruit of secondary studies and not the outcome of deep scientific enquiry into the subject \ Whatever the reason of the delay may be, since the summer of 1846, the interest has been capitalized and the whole deposited in the Treasury of the Berlin Missionary Society, as the " Fresenius Foundation." The latest annual report shows an amount of some 1,200 thalers.f The rela- tives of the Founder, however, made enquiries in 1858 as to whether the matter " had been pushed forward," and wished to be informed "if the Committee would not soon declare the institution of the lectures to be impracticable." They, nevertheless, expressed them- selves willing to wait still longer for a favourable opportunity, or, until the capital would be sufficiently large to defray the expenses of the lectures. Such an opportunity seemed to present itself in the year 1860. At the Spring conference at Gnadau, the late Inspector Wallmann addressed the meeting on the subject of the relationship of missions to the Church. In the debate thereupon ensuing, the following opinion was expressed : " A pastor who knows nothing about missions * Lectures in the Universities to which the public are admitted on payment of a small sum. t Berlin Missionary Ileport, 1867, p. 208. 4 2 The Representation of the is like an officer who is acquainted only with garrison duty, and is ignorant of field service. It is a deplorable want that there are no lectures given in the University on the history of missions."* This was the moment for Wallmann. He gave a short account of the Frcsenius foundation, and rejoiced, he said, that the subject had been mentioned. The Assembly agreed that " the superior should petition the Royal Consistory that measures might be taken to supply students of Theo- logy, by means of special lectures, with a due know- ledge of missions, "f Some weeks after, several auxiliaries of the Berlin Missionary Society held a general conference at Eisleben, and, after some discus- sion, handed in the following petition : " We pray that the honoured committee of our beloved parent Society will place the legacy bequeathed for the establishment of lectures on Missionary History, in the hands of some teacher in the Berlin University, for the fulfilment of the wishes of the testator ; and that eventually proper steps may be taken to provide for the delivery in other places also — in Halle, for example — of similar lectures." When this petition was considered by the committee, it was the universal opinion that it would be most desirable that Inspector Wallman himself should give the lectures, and that license for the purpose should be applied for at the approaching fiftieth anniversary of the Berlin Academy. But meanwhile they refrained from doing anything in the matter, lest they should * Volksblatt fiir Stadt und Land, 1800, \\ 002. + Evangelische Kircheuzeitung, 1800, p. 448. Science of Missions at the Universities. 43 still further burden the already over- tasked Inspector, and they proposed to enter into negotiations with a University professor. The movement, however, proved fruitless, neither has anything more been heard of a petition which was sent to the Consistory of the province of Saxony. The most recent impulse given to the scheme was by an address delivered in the year I860 at the general conference of the Berlin Missionary Society, on the question, " What justice is there in the demand that missions should be grafted on the organisation of the Church ? " The first of the five parts into which this address was divided contained this sentence, " The Church Authorities must see that in the academic course of the future servants of the Church, missions shall be recognised as an integral part of practical Theology."* It was not originally the intention of the committee to pursue this point further, or to make it the subject of a petition to the superior Church Court. It seemed more important, on the whole, that the third of the five propositions should be adopted, the sub- stance of which was to apply to the Evangelical High Consistory, that a stated collection for the mission to the heathen might be made over the country. But this proposal has been twice rejected, upon the ground that such a source of income w r ould be prejudicial to the life of the Mission, and that there was no central machinery for the distribution of the fund. When the news of the second refusal arrived, one of the * Evaugelische Kirchenzeituiig, 1SGG, p. 400. 44 The Representation of the presidents of the Berlin Missionary Society recol- lected that other propositions had been made in that address, and he suggested that a memorial should be presented to His Excellency the Minister of Wor- ship, begging him to consider the request for a representation of the science of Missions at the Uni- versity. This met with the approval of the committee, and a petition was drawn up, in which, after the case was stated, His Excellency the Minister of Worship was requested " to appoint a number of competent men to consider the question of engrafting the subject of missions on the course of theological studies by establishing a special professorship ; " and finally, their views on the matter were submitted to him. This memorial was sent to him on the Wednesday before Ascension Day, 18G6, while the great missionary con- ference was sitting at Bremen, and shortly before the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian war. Nearly six months passed without an answer. At last the minister transmitted the collective opinion of the Evangelical Consistory in the matter, which proved to be a refusal of the request.* Now, however, two * The Evangelical Consistory wrote as follows :— " Though mis- sionary labour may not be a function performed by the Evangelical Church in her official capacity, yet it is certainly one of her most important duties, carrying, as it does, the message of salvation to unbelievers, and conferring rich blessings on the Church at home. We, therefore, consider it our duty to further the cause by all the means in our power, and we believe that to excite the interest of the theological students in this matter, and to inculcate the idea that it is the duty of clergymen to take an active interest in the subject of missions, is an important part of the[academic education of yuung theologians ; and the evangelical universities of Germany, and Science of Missions at the Universities. 45 sleeping worthies, Graul and Fresenius, are calling to us their survivors with one voice, and repeating the old warning not to sleep on the edge of a precipice. The same exertions directed towards the same object are being made in two distinct quarters. The first and shorter line of effort runs from Scotland as far as the hall of the Erlangen University, the other and longer one from the quiet studio of the pious jurist at Frankfort-on-the-Main to the office of the Prussian Minister of Worship. Both have the same end in view, to assign to the science of Missions at the Uni- versity a prominence which has hitherto been denied to it. If, however, the subject of Missions advances such claims, it must be able to do what we have hitherto quietly assumed that it has done, viz, — " to especially those of Prussia, do not hesitate to include this branch among their studies as far as necessary, but the limits within which this can be done are, indeed, and ever must be, very uncertain. Lectures on Church history cannot avoid taking up the history of missions and of the spread of the Christian Church, and missions must also be discussed, according to the present evangelical stand- point, under the head of Christian Ethics in treating of the Church, and at times also in practical Theology. Irrespective of this, how- ever, there are in this university and elsewhere, occasional lectures devoted specially to the subject. Opportunities enough are thus given to every student of the university to make himself acquainted with the nature and field of missionary operations, to learn to regard them as an important part of the Church's duty, to become interested in them, and to exert himself in their behalf. Now, when the Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Missions among the Heathen presents a petition for the establishment of a chair at this university to deal specially with the subject of missions, ' in order that the future servants of the Church may learn to regard it as aj integral part of the academic course," this object, on consideration o the statements just made, does not seem a sufficient reason for tin founding of a special chair, since the arrangements already existing, 46 The Representation of the produce a patent of scientific standing and to present a sufficiently scientific basis."* Accordingly it is our first duty to acquaint ourselves in such a manner with the compass, nature, and form- of that which we wish to see taught at our Universities as an organised whole, that we shall be able with a few strokes to sketch the ground plan, and to draw a section, with the reservation, of course, that in the actual execution of the building, manifold modifications may be made, which could not have been foreseen at the commence- ment. and the nature of the curriculum, suffice to secure to missions their proper position in the theological course. We do not deny that a separate professorship for this subject would endow it with a greater degree of importance in the eyes of the students, but, on the other hand, it must be remembered that there is such an amount of work to be got through in the University course, and so short a time for its accomplishment, that it would be impossible to go as minutely into this single branch with the young students as would be desir- able in missionary institutions. Besides, if a special chair were to be founded for every important branch of theology, there would be an almost indefinite multiplication of such chairs. With equal, nay, perhaps, with greater justice, separate professorships might be de- manded for Pedagogy, Homiletics, and Catechetics, for Ecclesiastical Polity, &e. , &c. The University will always have to bear in mind that she must devote herself to the education of the future servants of the Church at home, while the preparation of messengers to the heathen rests with the strictly missionary Institutions. Nevertheless, we admit that it must be of use to young theologians, when mission establishments in University towns are able, by a genuine evan- gelical spirit, and by systematic management, to exercise such power of attraction on the future servants of the Church of the country, that many among them may be deeply impressed, by a personal knowledge of these institutions, with the holiness and the greatness of the work, and with the blessing which it confers upon the Church of the country." * Graul iiber Stellung und Bedentung der christlichen Mission im Ganzen der Universitiitswissenschaften, p. 4. Science of Missions at the Universities. 47 II. When we use the word missions, we understand thereby all the active means which the Lord our God employs through His servants to call the nations of the earth "from darkness unto His marvellous light." Consequently, a systematic exposition of the matter presented to us by this work divides itself into two principal parts, the first treating of the multitudes, according to their religious and moral peculiarities, who are to be called out of darkness, or, in other words, the object of missions ; the second dealing with the amount of labour expended or being ex- pended for this purpose — that is to say, with the history of missions in their present condition. Upon these foundations two fabrics might be constructed, which, connected with each other and inherently united, but yet independent of one another, should represent two departments of instruction, which for copiousness would bear comparison with the richest existing in the "scientific cosmos." All other questions, however, connected with the work of missions, — for example, the nature and duty of missions, their home organisation, the principle and art of mis- sionary teaching, — which are necessarily included in a scientific treatise on missions, should be con- sidered in the introduction to the history of missions, and at various stages throughout it, for they are only understood in connection with the history* as a basis. * " Christian Work," 1867, p. 550. The departments of the 48 The Representation of the A universal history of religions — a universal history of missions — two gigantic undertakings ! Both still unattempted from a scientific standpoint. Each of them requiring for its accomplishment a literature reaching back to the most distant ages, while every month that we live adds considerably to its scope. A literature which by very excess of minute investi- gations (I am reminded only of the many historical societies among us and their publications) has become so involved and almost unmanageable, that one might apply to it the expression, embarras de richesses. One is like an American settler, hewing out his path through the primeval forest trees thousands of years old, and the luxuriant growth of creeping plants, in order to walk where no human foot has as yet trodden. And yet how necessary and how inviting are both subjects of investigation. Necessary, because it is culpable negligence not to wish to fertilize tht Christian sciences are thus given in Dr Duff's first lecture : — " Th* first division of his course was intended to show the foundation o missions in the eternal purpose of God, in connection with the fa? and redemption of man, and their supreme importance as variously shown from the Scriptures. Among other subjects which would afterwards be considered, were the obligations lying on the Church to seek the evangelization of the world ; the obstacles to the discharge of these obligations within the Church ; the work to be done among the heathen, and the various ways of doing it, including, of course, full accounts of the heathen systems ; the qualifications, natural and educational, of missionaries ; the duties of the Church to her missionaries and missionary finances ; the history of missions from the earliest times ; the present aspects and prospects of the mis- sionary enterprise ; and a consideration of misrepresentations and objections." We see that these are still disjecta membra, but in the execution of the work order will be gradually evolved. Science of Missions at the Universities. 49 fallow ground which gives promise of such rich har- vest, only because we shrink from trouble ; inviting, because the effort tends to develop a new and noble branch on the stem of theological science. To exe- cute both with equal vigour would be indeed too much for any one mind, and for one short human life, but at some future time so certain is it that they will both be carried out, and so visibly does everything tend to this, that the individual elements requisite for the work seem to rush together of themselves. With regard to the first, the Universal History of Religions, its compiler would have to deal with the whole field of missionary labour, with the ancient enemies of the Christian Church who have been long since overcome, and with those against whom the whole array of the Christian forces is drawn up in these days. Leaving what Scripture records as certain and undoubted truth with respect to the rise aud nature of heathendom, he should first discuss the heathendom of the past, that is to say, the mytho- logies of the Greeks and Romans, of the Germans and Sclavonians, the deeply significant mythology of the north, in short, all the inventions of mankind left to itself, in so far as they have already yielded to the assault of missions. There, like the miner, he must descend into deep shafts, and wander through strangely winding paths, where many foul and poisonous vapours are to be encountered, through which the brightly burning lamp of truth will pro- tect him. Next would come the heathendom of D o The Representation of the the present. Just as during the civil war in North America, a balloon was sent up from which the posi- tion of the enemy could be observed, so he who would undertake to portray the Heathen of modern times, according to their religious and moral aspect, must ascend into the higher, purer atmosphere of the Christian faith, free from the currents that might ex- pose him to the clanger of falling among his adversaries and see from his lofty eminence the hosts that are encamped against the Lord, the weapons with which they are armed, and the point at which they may be best assailed. What a chaos of error and moral depravity ! To review the materialistic, atheistical, nihilistic ideas of the great nations of Asia, the varied shades of fetichism and of idolatry, from those existing amongst tribes of barbarians, up to those to be found amongst more civilized nations, demon ology, the worship of nature or of heroes ; and, on the other hand, to review the horrible irregularities in the rela- tions of life, in the family, society, and in the State ; and in addition to all this, to glance at' ancient and modern Judaism, and the different sections of Islamism, — in truth, the labour of disentangling and systematising this mass of material, reminds one of the task imposed by Augeas upon Hercules, and one is bewildered at the very entrance of the labyrinth. In the treatment of the subject two dangers are to be apprehended — first, lest the whole should, to use a forcible expression, issue in a sewer, or in other words, lest there should be simply a wading and groping Science of Missions at the Universities. 5 1 about in the mire and darkness of the subterranean passages that carry away the dirt and rubbish of the world-town to the ocean of forgetfulness, and secondly, lest the widely diffused idealism of heathen religions and morals and the Satanic snares that lie con- cealed in the dangerously fascinating imagery of some nations should entangle us. This warning does not seem to be superfluous, for it has happened before now that one who has become acquainted with Buddhism has learned to esteem it more highly than Christianity though he himself was a Christ- ian. The writer must present objectively the religious principles of united Heathendom, the remnants of the Jewish faith, and the frenzy of Mahommedanism ; he must discuss the historical connection of the three, and of the several heathen systems and he must weigh the religious and moral value of each in the golden scales of the Christian Revelation.* " On the other hand, his task will' be to search out the fragments of the original revelation, to point to them as such, to dis- close the form which they have assumed in national religions, and to show how they have been transformed, refined away by poetry and abstraction, corrupted by worldly admixture, and in the end completely over- whelmed, "-f- It will then be his duty to examine the morality of the various nations, noticing their errors as well as the stray sparks of the divine spirit in such a manner as would, in a certain sense, * Graul. p. 11 . t Evangelisclie Kirchenzeitung, 1SG0, p. 457. 5 2 The Representation of the illustrate the observation of Schelling : " We might compare the Mythology (or the totality of all non- Christian religions), to a great piece of music, which a number of men, who, as it were, have lost all sense of the necessary accompaniments of music, — rhythm, and time, — are mechanically performing. The only- effect is an undistinguhhable crash of discords, and yet the skilful execution of the same piece, would at once reveal its harmony, its completeness, and its original meaning." * If such a survey were obtained of the object of missions, t one which should also, of course, rest upon an ethnographical, ethnognostical, and ethnological basis, how differently might the structure of a universal History of Missions be raised ! The materials for the most ancient times are to be found in the Scrip- tures themselves, and a scientific missionary exposition of the Acts of the Apostles would be the foundation- stone. But can the story there told, and all that happened in the following centuries, and all that is taking place in our own day, through the instrumentality of Mis- sions be brought before us systematically and in scien- tific order ? "Who can now doubt it ? " The growth of * Schelling's Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology, p. 89. f This is an undertaking which has never yet been accomplished from a scientific stand-point. Even the two most complete attempts of the kind — Hegel's and Schelling's " Religious Philosophies," are thus criticised by Martcnsen (Die christliche Dogmatik, Berlin Edition, 1856, p. 212) : "An essential want in both the above-named treatises is that the Northern Mythology has been completely ignored, and yet the Mythical Pantheon is incomplete without it," &c. Science of Missions at the Universities. 5 3 the Church is, in truth, that of an organism, — the chief organism of all organic formations and movement ; that is to say, not only is it of such a nature that each of its members receives its real significance only when its true relation to the whole has been properly determined, but all that exists in the world, belongs as an individual part to this all-important work of the Lord."* The variety and attractiveness of the material necessary for this work is a sufficient guarantee that the history of the increase of the power and enlargement of the territory of the Christian faith, of the vigorous, joyful walk of the ever youthful Church through the countries of the earth, according to fixed laws, would be no dry uninteresting narrative. What riches of knowledge might be brought to light. and from how many various points of view might the successive periods be considered. Such a survey would comprise a review of the people and the condition of every country separately, of the division of the Church into great Ecclesiastical Communities and Sects, by every one of which, almost without exception, the work of spreading the Christian faith is carried on, of the in- numerable nurseries for missions, from the time of the evangelistic Schools of the ancient Church down through the period of Orders and Monasteries, to the establish- ment of our own mission-houses ; — of the various mission systems — and of all the other matters which demand at- * Plath. Die Erwaklung der Volker im Lichte der Missions - geschichte, p. 3. 54 The Representation of the tention in a scientific treatment of the subject. Thus — to dwell, for a moment, on the first and last points men- tioned — it makes " a wonderful difference whether the Mission has to deal with Aryans of spirit and intelli- gence, or with negroes who are deficient in both these respects — a wonderful difference whether it has to deal with an agricultural, unprogressive people, or with un- settled Nomads, Bedouins, or perhaps hunters who are unwilling to sit down inside a house, much less a church or school."* But as the mode of treating the various nations has hitherto had to regulate itself ac- cordingly, it will be necessary to observe and to form an opinion as to the manner in which the different church communities have accomplished the work of conversion. For example, the question will arise whether the lately suggested parallel between the baptism of children in the organised church, and that of adults who subsequently receive instruction (as in the middle ages) in those nations which are as yet in their infancy, holds good, — "j- whether in the religious education of the aborigines of the colonies, the Dutch, Spanish, or English system is the most suitable, or the Prussian, which was devised a few months ago by a political and commercial economist at Berlin. J In short, a whole string of the most fascinating studies are awaiting the labourer, which will soon cover the necessary skeleton of names, figures, and facts with muscles, veins, and nerves. * Graul, p. 10. t See Zeschwitz, System der Katechetik. Vol. I.. ]>. 478. J Ernst Fricdel, die Grundung preussisch-deutscher Kolonieen, p. 119. Science of Missions at the Universities. 55 If these two fields of knowledge were cultivated, and if those points which are adapted to an audience, and which would, therefore, be instructive, improving, and edifying in the noblest sense of the word, were selected — if this material were clothed in a scientific phraseology, as far removed from an ostentatious display of learning as from a bare narration of details, — a mistake which one would be apt to make, — and if this higher branch of study were presented to young people in a lively, telling manner — could it fail to exert a magnetic power of attraction upon them ? If the whole subject were grouped in such a manner that, along with the two principal courses of lectures, each of which would occupy certainly several sessions, smaller separate questions could be worked out, — questions possibly of an exegetical nature, such as the Heathendom of Holy Writ ; or of some historical detail ; or perhaps, the reverse side of a fixed rule of faith and life, the caricature of various truths traceable in all non-christian religions ; or perhaps, advice as to the extension of the Church ; — if, together with all this, there were con- tinual exercises of an instructive kind, as for example, in the mode of giving missionary lectures to a con- gregation, or I of portraying the necessities of the heathen, — would not all this be an effectual prepara- tion of our students at the universities, or might it not tend to serve still higher objects ? and since such a system is not yet in existence, ought we not to strive with all our energy to procure its institution ? 5 6 The Representation of the III. There are, indeed, weighty objections made against tl lis scheme, which we shall now try to meet. These refer either to its feasibility at present, that is, as to whether it would be opportune just now to carry out this plan, or to the persons for whom it is intended, or to the nature of the representation sought to be obtained for the sacred work of missions. If, however, we not only succeed in meeting each one of these classes of objections, and in defeating them by counter-argu- ments, but also in establishing a number of positions which, supposing that a remnant of the objections raised may still be remaining, would go into the opposite scale, causing it to weigh heavier and to sink down, should we not then be justified in asking, if it would really be so difficult or so completely impracticable to insert a new and valuable stone in the rising walls of German missionary exertions ? They who think we are pushing the matter too quickly say it is inop- portune. This is an objection that must be seriously considered, for it is one often heard. " Is it oppor- tune," was asked at the General Assembly of Scotland, " to establish in Edinburgh a special chair for the science of Missions ? " and Graul's biographer observes, in a continuation of the passage already quoted, that " Perhaps things are not yet matured enough to adopt what he suggested."* Who would dispute the fact that there must be a certain predisposition in the * Hermann, p. 214. Science of Missions at the Universities. 57 public mind favourable to missionary enterprise, as well as to the agencies necessary to carry it into execution ? Have not centuries (it is said) passed over some Church communities before they have stirred a hand to commence the work, and it was but the other day that this great question of ours first started into life. A missionary now at home, who passed through his preparatory course at Barmen in the period from 1 830 to 1840, expressed himself thus : "If any one had then presumed to expect that in the year 1 8 G 4 a professor would settle down at a German University, solely for the purpose of lecturing on the science of Missions, he would have been thought astray in his mind."* Would it not be premature so soon after Protestants have begun any energetic missionary operations, for them to occupy themselves with ab- stractions concerning them % Are we really on the last of the three steps necessary to the scientific treat- ment of a subject, that is to say, the stage of experi- ment, the stage of classification, and, lastly, the stage of theory ? Dare we already lay down a theory for Missions ? Is it forgotten that the first scientific missionary periodical in Germany, the Calver Beleuch- tungen der Missionssache, died in 185 2 after an existence of eleven years, in consequence of a conti- nued decrease in the subscriptions, and that the concluding words penned by the editor, Dr Barth, were as follows : " We fear that the interest in the subject is not sufficiently lively, for if it were, a * Der Missionsfreund, 1864, p. 190. 5 8 The Representation of the pamphlet like this, which costs the reader so little time and money, would surely, over the whole of Germany, have gained and retained as many subscribers as would enable it at least simply to exist."* Have we not reason to fear that this is an ill omen for the success of comprehensive lectures on Missionary and Religious History ? To all these objections we reply in the first place that they rest entirely on analogies and possibilities, and not on facts. For, to begin with the last of them, surely a man who viva voce enforces a great subject is very different from a pamphlet. Then again, even so early as at the first Missionary Conference in Bremen, the desire was expressed that a periodical should again be established which would discuss the work of the conversion of the heathen in a scientific manner. It is also to be remembered that the former one ceased to exist fifteen years ago, and that such a space of time is not to be overlooked in these days of rapid and universal progress. Can we be supposed to have learned nothing, and to have made no advance in so many years ? We must not think, moreover, that the comparatively short history of more recent missions, their events, method, and results are to form the only subject of discussion. By no means ! Eighteen hundred years have preceded this present century in which the work of the Lord has never ceased, and the Heathen, Jews, and Mohammedans of our days have had ancestors, most of whom date still * Calver, Beleuchtung cler Missioussache, 1852, p. 48. Science of Missions at the Universities. 5 9 farther back, and who, so to speak, are worthy of our consideration. Though Graul died early we must not conclude that his work died with him. On the contrary, we should bear in mind what the biographer has called our attention to when referring to a critique upon the introductory lecture already mentioned. He says, "It is seldom that a composition of some few pages in length would be considered by perhaps all the literary theological papers, as well as by the other ecclesiastical and scientific periodicals, worthy of such very detailed discussion, grave prominence and dis- tinguished praise, and we should like to ask the reason of this remarkable event. We think it lies in this, that there is a suggestive thought not only started in it, but also examined in various ways — an idea of un- common suggestiveness — an idea important to theology, important to the sacred calling, and most important to missions." * This interpretation of the welcome it has received from scientific quarters is certainly the correct one, and should be a matter for reflection to those who declare it inopportune to think of a representation for the science of missions at the Academies. But even though they should persist in their opinion, their final acquiescence is not im- possible, for has not that, which is a mere question of time, the inherent power of forcing itself upon us, sooner or later ? * Hermann, page 213. 6 The Representation of the The second consideration is a much more serious one. It is — whether the University is the proper place for an agitation of the proposed nature in the cause of missions. Are our students capable of taking pleasure in lectures, such as we have just suggested, and of listening to them with advantage ? Should they be encouraged during their short term of three years to spend time or strength on any department outside the four principal theological branches ? On the one hand the ability of the students to comprehend missions as a science is doubted, on the other it is thought proper to warn them against diffusiveness in their studies, and to urge them to a concentration of effort. On the one hand it is said that students are for the most part completely ignorant of the subject of missions, and that therefore, it would be desirable that the University lectures should take it up on every possible occasion. The Professors of Church History, in particular, should narrate the spread of the Gospel in lands long since evangelized, in such a way that the story of missions of the present day would be brought under consideration, &c. On the other hand, however, it is contended that there are far more important tasks in the theologian's course than a minute study of missions ; that licentiates are sufficiently urged to take an interest in the conversion of the Heathen, that there are books and periodicals enough for the purpose, which anyone who wishes to search deeper may consult and that if a short lecture were occasion- ally delivered on missions, and another on heathendom, Science of Missions at the Universities. G 1 just to give a general stimulus, every want would be amply supplied. According to both of these views, missions should only be noticed incidentally at the University, a methodical comprehensive treat- ment of them being quite out of the question. If we add that such opinions are held by Professors of Theology this will only tend to increase their weight. Ill-qualified though we esteem ourselves to set up our own opinion in opposition to such competent judges, we yet venture to refer to a few points which seem to us to throw some light on the matter. We ask our readers first to consider whether the subject really presents any greater difficulty to the understanding of young people than the other branches which they must take up as a matter of course. They commence without any special predilection or preparation for them, and are afterwards attracted and interested by the subjects themselves, and by the manner in which they are treated. Moreover, to be able to give an occasional address on missions requires not a mere dilettante acquaintance with the subject, but a technical know- ledge of it which is seldom to be found in our academic teachers. In addition to this, it is a universal rule of didactics, that the success of teaching depends primarily on the person to be instructed, and upon the manner in which that instruction is given, and only secondarily upon the subject, so that there is indeed no danger that lectures on Heathenism, Mohammedanism, and Judaism as well as on missions, would fail to please the tastes of the students. It is another matter with re- G 2 The Representation of the gard to the excess of study, and as to the propriety of postponing the subject to the time when the students shall have become licentiates, and of referring them to books and pamphlets. Would it not be to proceed upon the principle of elementary schools and gymnasia, that is of the inferior schools, rigidly to maintain a stated course of instruction which should never be varied unless it were rendered absolutely necessary by the extraordinary circumstances or exigencies of the times ? Does not this higher, superior education on the contrary demand, according to our conception of it, an ever-widening circle of study which, by sub- division, would be always growing in richness? We see examples of this in all departments of science ; w T e see new branches starting forth, such as comparative philology, psychology, &c. If, moreover, the convic- tion is making way among the authorities in the sub- ordinate schools that English (which has far more claims to be considered the language of the world than French, being now understood by all who make any pretension to education, with the exception of the students of the German Gymnasia) should be included in the curriculum of instruction, who will blame us for coming forward with a corresponding demand for the extension of the theological depart- ment ? And — to draw another analogy from the same source — the instruction given in the primary classes is of the utmost importance, for just as it is not generally the pupils of the head classes, but those of the lower that awake to a kind of scientific self-con- Science of Missions at the Universities. G3 sciousness; so, in like manner, it is not the licentiates but the students who should first be stimulated to interest themselves in missions. For what in reality is the object of our academic course of study ? Not merely to appropriate this and that branch of know- ledge which may be necessary for examinations, but to increase the elasticity of intellect, to suggest ideas bearing upon the chosen walk of life, to invigorate and strengthen the mind for future work. Would not the science of missions and the proposed system of instruc- tion be able to assist in this ? The course of all education resembles the raising of a pyramid : first, there is the broad basis of the numerous school studies, and even at this early period it narrows into separate departments, from which rises again some special department of knowledge, to which the student turns his particular attention till finally some subject more engrossing still, to which every energy is directed, surmounts the whole as a pinnacle. But is the science of missions, unlike all other sciences, to have no foundation '{ Is it to be built upon air ? Is it to be accessible only to self-taught students, whose know- ledge must therefore always be superficial and elementary ? In reference to this point, some very remarkable circumstances have recently occurred. On the 3rd February 1865, the thousandth anniversary of the death of St Angsgar, the missionary of the north, there was a prize of £400 offered by the Historical Societies of Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Kiel, and Stade for the best " History of Missions in 64 The Representation of the the Countries af the North." The appointed limit of time for the execution of the task (3rd February 18G7) passed by, but no candidate presented himself. The Societies renewed their offer. We cannot tell whether any MSS. will be handed in against February 3rd, 1870, which is the date now fixed upon by them, or whether the men appointed to be the judges are vainly waiting to discharge a duty which they will never be called on to perform. Might we not also echo the complaint that has been already heard in Wurtemberg, that among the clergy, highly educated as they are, one must go with a lantern and search out the men who are really capable of writing on the subject of missions, and who would not produce some- thing wholly destitute of interest, although possessed of talents qualifying them to deal with questions in ex- egetical, historical, dogmatical, ethical, and practical theology ? And what is the reason ? Simply this, that the faculty has not been cultivated early enough in us of becoming acquainted with missionary topics, except by means of the many popular, and the few scientific publications upon the subject. We refrain from mentioning other cases, we only express our con- viction that there will be no improvement in this respect, or in the general knowledge of missionary work so long as there are merely occasional addresses on missions. If the methodical treatment of the subject really proved a great additional burden — for of course it would be desirable that an acquain- tance with the subject should not remain optional but Science of Missions at the Universities. 65 be obligatory, and that a corresponding arrangement should be made with regard to the examination of candidates — then it would be for competent men to consider in what other branches the students might be relieved. The following appropriate quotation is from an article that appeared seven years ago on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Count Zinzendorff : " It seems to me to belong to the many contradictions that we meet with in life that theologians should leave the University with a know- ledge of the ancient gnosticism, but with none whatever of an institution with which their profession will be sure to bring them often into contact." * We have arrived at last at the third consideration. I shall call this an ascetical objection, to distinguish it from the two preceding which were of a practical nature. I ask my readers to look at it as one of great importance. Those who make this objection are really w^ell disposed towards the sacred affairs of the kingdom of the Lord, and are anxious to keep it pure from an atmosphere which they suspect would not only be useless to it, but might prove injurious. They remind us how very different is the work of spreading the Christian faith among the Heathen, Jews, and Mohammedans from any of the other opera- tions of the church. Do not far more powerful forces operate in it than any we can supply by our new regulations ? The prayers and offerings of the saints, the courage of faith, the zeal of love, the humility of the * Evangelisclie Kirch enzeitung, 1860, p. 782. E 6 6 The Representation of the heart, the blessing from the throne of grace, these are, they say, the fountains from which the life of the mission flows. Were it not then far simpler to stand firm and unshaken by the means which prove most efficacious? If the Church of the Lord has continued till this hour to make such successful pro- gress, without such a minute consideration of her enemies and victories in the halls of the University, will it not be permitted her to do so still ? Shall we not rather be satisfied with the old plan, and continue to work faithfully without fearing that the living stream that now grants us such refreshment, will dry up .? Shall we remain unpunished if we attempt too many achievements ? Would it not be to mar the sanctity of the hallowed subject to make it an object of scientific research and discussion ? Are ancient theories of such value, or would an exact and pro- found knowledge of the subject be so very profit- able that men should begin to make this the grand object of their life which in some other way they might spend to so much greater advantage to the honour of their Lord % These are ideas which are propounded by many friends and helpers of missions, and these not the most lukewarm among them, but the most ardent. We are far from maintaining that such a view of the subject is altogether unjustifiable, on the contrary, up to a certain point, we are ready to coincide with it. Living piety in the Church, truly converted mis- sionaries at the work, the blessing from the Lord of Science of Missions at the Universities. G7 Heaven, — these are the first and principal elements of success ; but as we are not able to dispense with human intervention in any pious undertaking, neither are we in this instance. Of course the work must deve- lope and come to perfection of itself, while we look up to our heavenly Father, and 'are led by his direction, but we march forward cheerfully when He bids us, and in such a position we believe we are now placed. We must fear the reproach, if it be one, of searching for new ways and wishing to look at the theoretical side of the matter. Yet if we were now to reject all the agencies which, — untroubled by the fact, that they had not been made use of in earlier centuries, — we have employed during the last fifty years, how much would be left behind ? As for ancient theories, it has not yet been ascertained whether their complexion was of dust and ashes, or of the clouds the blessed droppings of which cause the green tree of life to grow more vigorously. No, if one desires in his heart to see a silent, constant, healthy, systematic growth of the kingdom of God among the heathen nations of the earth, among the chosen people of God, and among the blinded devotees of the false Prophet, let him use his influence to turn to advantage the lessons taught us by times gone by. But from having our attention directed to the elements of success in missionary work, let us learn one lesson, namely, not to expect too much from the adoption of the plan we propose. Without any profes- 6 8 The Representation of the sor's chair, the Church would, by her innate irresistible force of growth, become a power upon the earth to which mankind must submit. Even though we should obtain what we have asked, none of us will cherish the presumptuous hope that everything will thereby receive at once new impulse. We know too well that there is no panacea for the feebleness of Christen- dom, and we do not endorse this judgment that has been given with regard to Professorships of the science of Missions. " The Mission will probably never attain any degree of stability and perfection, either with respect to the home preparation of missionaries, or the conduct of the work abroad, until Graul's wish has been realized, that is to say, until this pre-eminently important work of the Church receives a really careful and scientific examination at the iustitutions in which the future servants of the Church are educated."* Nevertheless we do not like to see the good after which we strive, depreciated as an unimportant, unne- cessary, and therefore superfluous palliative. This branch of study must not become a mere exercitatio ingenii (an exercise for the mind), or be regarded as a subject of no practical use, like the science of num- bers, which while each of the other branches of mathe- matics serves some important end, is merely profitable as a training for the intellect. Not so ; the vitality of the science will rather be increased, and the means be multiplied by which a blessing may be imparted, so that we need only glance hastily round to see what * Hermann, page 213. Science of Missions at the Universities. G9 the Lord has destined for his Church by the adoption of this very measure. We do not expect the Representation of Missions at the Universities to do much towards the satis- faction of that idealistic wish, that " as a rule only theologians who have been regularly educated in the gymnasia and universities should go forth into the heathen world," * although Graul's short course of instruction at Erlangen was not without result in this respect. One missionary from Leipzig, who worked many a long day in the East Indies, was, we know of a certainty, won over to the cause by that scientific lecture, and we have heard a similar story of the Bavarian licentiate who was sent out to the mission field from Leipzig in the year 1867. It is not improbable that for the future a larger number of theologians than hitherto will enter the service of the missions to Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews, or allow themselves to be chosen for it, if they are frequently reminded by a qualified man in constant intercourse with them, and exerting his influence upon them, that there are other departments than the home service in which the theological training of the univer- sities can be employed to the glory of the Lord. It might be granted to such a professor to bring youthful German students to rejoice with holy joy over souls awakened from the night of Heathenism, and brought into the light of our most blessed faith. Perhaps, in- deed, he might only be able to produce in them a glad * Graul, p. 15. 70 The Representation of the astonishment at the sight of the Gospel of God spreading itself over the world like a second flood ; first the brooks and streams expanding, then the hollows and valleys filling, as it ascends higher and higher, till the very tops of the mountains, the thrones of this world, are hidden, and the waves roll on towards every quarter of Heaven, submerging and covering the whole earth. Might not this glad astonishment, this holy joy, I ask, suggest the ques- tion : " Perhaps my God can employ me also in this work ? " But we are content ; the Lord seeks and chooses His servants Himself, and in the present position of things even scientific lectures on missions will hardly succeed in inducing many more theolo- gians to become missionaries. The second consideration is more important. If the precious work of missions is to prosper amongst us, it is most essential not only that clergymen should be gained over to the cause in greater numbers, but that they should carry with them to their congre- gations " a thorough knowledge and true understand- ing of it," and should seek to spread the same among their people.* What schemes have there been de- vised to promote this object ? Missionary literature * riatt Sieben Zeugen des Herrn, p. 144, f . : "The fewer the means left to our native land, by which the most distant heathen countries have been brought into closer union with other Christian States, as for instance, with the Greek Church, by connection with the State, and with the English Christians, by the colonies, the more necessary does it become to penetrate in every way all classes of our people by a clear exposition of the point in question." Science of Missions at the Universities. 71 has kept this before it as a chief end ; the students' missionary societies, most of which are only dragging out a miserable existence, contribute also their little aid. Independent gatherings, as well as great and small conferences, are held here and there for the discussion of scientific books on missions and on ques- tions connected with them, and these well repay any time or strength expended upon them. Of late, special attention has been given to itinerant preach- ing, and it has been even proposed that in the higher classes of the gymnasia, lectures should be delivered by qualified men, for the purpose of exciting an in- terest in missions. But what are all these and similar efforts in comparison with the proposal that we make ? Would any one really maintain that these private studies, perhaps of doubtful value, — these spasmodic impressions made by occasional sermons and addresses, — this resort to extraneous means, — would be a suffi- cient equivalent for a systematic training of the students in the science of missions. Far be it from us to con- demn such exertions, or to suggest their discontinuance by stigmatizing them as useless, or at least unneces- sary. By no means ! On the contrary, how much greater would be the desire for missionary literature, how much more prosperous the students' missionary societies and the scientific conferences, if they were nourished by that well, the sinking of which we now propose ? but it would be indeed an invaluable gain if some settled arrangement could be made by which an ever- increasing number of office-bearers 7 2 The Representation of the might be induced to show a lively interest in the spread of the Church, and an activity in communi- cating that interest to others. The chief gain would perhaps be that which Fresenius declared to be his great object, viz. : " That the students should afterwards as ministers be always found ready to conduct mission- ary meetings in their congregations." Surely greater results than this, however, will be experienced. To mention one, it is not improbable that the object will be much more substantially served than if a general collection over the churches of the land had been granted. For here a lever power of a most peculiar kind lies hidden. It is a law of mechanics that everything depends on the length of the lever, from the fulcrum to the extremity of the arm, inas- much as the product of the length and the power is a constant quantity, and both stand in a mutual rela- tionship to one another. It becomes, therefore, simpler and easier to lift the weight the longer the instrument used for the purpose; and the weight to be lifted rises the more rapidly, the greater the pressure which is applied. In like manner we might assist in more speedily lifting off the weight of that lethargy con- cerning missionary subjects, which lies like a moun- tain on so many thousand Christians, and we believe the means which we desire to use for this jDurpose will be blessed. But the representation of the science of missions at the University would not only inspire the mis- sions of our own Church with life, but it would be Science of Missions at the Universities. 73 beneficial to missions universally — and this is the third point — by the spreading circles of movement which the new gift would diffuse over the whole Church. We do not, we think, indulge in the language of boasting, when we congratulate ourselves that German science has been permitted in several departments, and especially in theology, to take the lead of the scientific efforts of all other Christian countries. If that has hitherto been the case, how much more likely is it to be so now, that we are politically on a par with them, and are brought into closer contact with them by the increasing intercourse of nations ? What is true already will become doubly so, that the sayings and writings of a German pro- fessor will resound through all the principal districts of America, Australia, Asia, and Africa. When we look forward to such a future, we feel at once that a fountain, such as is much needed at present, would supply, as it were, refreshing draughts alike to the messenger of the Lord away at the equator, and to Christians at home, whose hearts are in the precious work, and to many others. And, moreover, that which the Scotch and we have already done, would be imitated by others. If only some few men in every country, who feel any interest in missions, would set themselves about this task, how much wholesome elucidation and investigation of the subject there might be, and what a quickening and revival of all lands would be experienced ? for what Cassiodorus has said would then hold good of the science of missions : 74} The Representation of the " Omne scientificum, quanto profundius quaeritur, tanto gloriosius invenitur. Decorum hoc est terminum non habere."* And, humanly speaking, it would not know any limit and the blessings that would be granted therebv would cause the soil of the Church and missions to bring forth afresh. Would that it were so as in nature round about us. The wind that blows from the east has travelled over continents and brings us a clear atmosphere and bright unclouded skies, while the west wind comes from the sea with heavy mists, and fertilizing showers which refresh our thirsty fields. Thus, from the one quarter did the clear heaven of our faith come to us when our ancestors were graciously entrusted with the Christian mission ; and from the other, that is, from present missionary fields across the sea, comes the knowledge and science of missions by means of which much seed may shoot forth, grow, blossom, and bear fruit abundantly. IV. If we are really impressed by the truth of these convictions, it would be wrong of us not to start the question, how that which we believe would be so rich in blessing to the missions might be most conveniently accomi)lishcd. Wo should first deliberate whether the course hitherto adopted by the Berlin Missionary Society ought to be further pursued; and whether, there- * The deeper each science is searched, the more glorious will it be found. It is its boast that it has no limit. Science of Missions at the Universities. 75 fore, it were wise to present another petition to the au- thorities, praying for their favourable consideration of the matter. It is our firm hope that our endeavours will in due time meet with as favourable a reception as was given we are told, to Graul's lecture. " Then not only the university, but all the higher authorities of Eilangen," so says the report, " showed their earnest zeal and activity. While in any other place such an unusual proposal would have encountered so much suspicion and opposition that it would either never, or only after long delay, have been carried into execution, here the Faculty and all the official bodies responded cordially and satisfactorily to Graul's wishes and plans." * The altered circumstances of the time have now given us an additional motive. It will not be long before the position of missions must undergo a careful examination by the state, for if the North German Alliance continue to give special attention, as it is doing, to the question of colonization and emigration, it cannot avoid the question of religion among the heathen, which is so inseparably connected with them. Of what importance it would then be to have at hand, intelligent men, conversant with the subject who, from their thorough knowledge of the work of missions, would be able to give accurate information upon the subject. But should this course, contrary to our expectations, not lead to the attainment of our object, a more diffi- cult plan must then be attempted. Of course we dare * Hermann, p. 209. 7G The Representation of the not wait till the Fresenius Foundation has increased so much by the accumulation of interest, that it would be sufficient to pay the salary of a professor. That would be to postpone the matter to the Greek Kalends. Should we then seek to augment the sum by special collections ? If this question arose in England, capital for the purpose would be forthcoming at once, and neither is it unusual among us Germans to hear of considerable sums of money being contributed with equal readiness. Baron Von Canstein in his lifetime subscribed personally a sum sufficient to enable the University of Halle to call Professor Herrnschmied of Wurtemberg,* and lately some of the nobility in Hesse have founded a Professorship in Giessen ; if, therefore it could be accomplished in no other way, I do not think it impossible that men would be found who would volunteer to supply the deficiency in the Church themselves. Another expedient might also be resorted to, that of making the efforts of this single society the common concern of all German societies, they now belonging, with one single exception, to the jurisdiction of the North German Alliance. These have a bond of union in the general missionary conference, and will be called upon again in Bremen, in 1868, to discuss some important questions. An opportunity would then be presented of asking the Moderator to include our pro- position in the business of the day, and to consider if it could not be realized by the united efforts of the German missionary societies. More can be accom- * Piatt's "JSieben Zeugeu des Ilemi," p. 03. Science of Missions at the Universities. 77 plishcd by instant action than by years of con- sideration. The most difficult question of any is that of procuring suitable persons for professors ? Where are the men who are able and ready to solve the problems at which we have already glanced, and to do it in such a manner that students should feel themselves attracted to them as by a powerful magnet ? It is no easy task to satisfy the demands of the science of missions. To the foundation of a general theological education must be added a multitude of auxiliary branches of knowledge. I refrain from enumerating them, some of which are rather remote from the subject, and par- take but little of a scientific character, while the two central subjects rise like two huge mountains before us, the summits of which can only be attained with great pains and industry. But as it is the way of the Lord to prepare work suited for his servants and adapted to their strength, it is equally His plan to tie the knot, and at the same time to keep those in readiness who can either loosen it or cut it through. Let us take but little thought about the men who would be able to carry out what we now propose. If it be not a mere dream or fancy, and if our wish be founded on a real want, the supplying of which would serve to glorify and promote the kingdom of our God, the Lord Himself will remove all obstacles out of the way, and will set in motion whatever He pleases. 78 Science of Missions at the Universities. This is the issue of the four sections into which I divided my subject at the outset. They are compre- hended in the four theses which I here present for minute examination. 1. In view of the fact that the subject of Christian missions has till now received only an irregular con- sideration at our Universities, the desire is often ex- pressed for a representation of the science of missions in those Institutions. 2. The science is now of such extent and importance as to demand that men should be set apart in some of the Academies for the special purpose of expounding it thoroughly and regularly. 3. The objections raised against this proposal are weighty, yet by no means strong enough to delay or prevent an arrangement which is calculated to prove of advantage to the kingdom of God. 4. Accordingly it remains either to pray for a favourable hearing from the superior authorities, or t< strive by independent efforts to realize the plan oi establishing special chairs for the science of missions. May God bless our exertions ! COMMERCE AND THE CHURCH. MONG the results which the blessed and glorious year of 1866 brought to our Fatherland, one of the most important has been the new position in which we have been placed in relation to international commerce. Not that Prussia or Germany had hitherto been excluded from it ; — on the contrary, as long as any close intercourse has existed in spite of distance and of diversity in thought among the leading nations of the earth, our forefathers have taken part in it in a variety of ways. "When we look attentively, however, at the intricate portions of the previous history of this department of our public career, there may be periods which bear a certain resemblance to the present, but when placed beside it they vanish like shadows before the strength and substance of reality. Two hundred years ago, for example, the mind of the great Elector and those of his subjects who were gifted with a wider view of the increasing prosperity of the State, which had just then emerged from a condition of great need, were agitated by thoughts of how they might foster the germs of those plans which to-day are being developed. The Electorate of Brandenburg had, by a treaty of peace, 80 Commerce and the Church. then come into possession of the greatest portion of the sea-coast of Pomerania, and the close alliance be- tween its governor and Holland, which was one not merely of family connection, had revealed to him the value of the acquired territory. Who can reflect without a feeling of pride and joy on the establish- ment of the navy, the promotion of commerce, the foundation of West African Colonies, even though unfamiliar with the great Fort of Friedrichsburg, on the River Assini, whose ruins, in the stones of which the arms of Brandenburg almost hidden by tropical plants are to be found, overlook the ma- majestic waves of the Atlantic Ocean as they break upon the Gold Coast % and though unable to interpret the name of a narrow street in Berlin " (Rauleshof) " intended to remind after-generations of the man who undeniably performed a great service, however it may have been sullied by personal unworthiness.* That first attempt was wonderful for the time, but yet what do we see now ? We see the royal house of Hohenzollern allied by the closest bonds of union with the family that wears the crown of the greatest naval power in the world, that of the English nation. The Prussian territory has been enriched by the acquisition of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein, a portion of sea-coast well-stocked with skilled seamen. The Pomeranian sea-coast is quite eclipsed by this, for * See das Niihere bei Jordan, Geschichte der Brandenburgiseh- preussischen Kriegsmarine, and Stnhr, Geschichte der See-und Kolonial-macht des Grossen Kurfursten. Commerce and the Church. 81 while the Atlantic extends to us only, as it were, a little finger in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea is like a whole hand which we may take into our grasp. The formation of the North German Alliance is calculated to promote the national consciousness of having certain common wants and lofty aims, and although the tonnage engaged in North German commerce is inferior only to that of two other countries, England and North America,* the naval force of the Confederation is only in its first stage of existence. The Confederation, however, speaks already of those important agencies in the intercourse of the world, shortly to be- come matters of closer consideration, namely, emigra- tion and colonization. These circumstances are all harbingers of a coming eventful era which will enter through wide opened portals. The Church is not uninterested in these movements, for the scientific principle which has been laid down by one of the seniors in our Historical Society in the beginning of his work on the period of the Reformation, is true in its deepest meaning. "You may separate Ecclesiastical and Political History from one another in school and in literature, but in actual life they are at all times united and intermingled with one another."-[- Then again, as the extension of the State has been the signal for the renewal of the contest for one of the noblest possessions in the territory of the Church, we * Petermann Geographische Mittheilungen, 1866, p. 347. t See Ranke. deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter tier Reformation, Berlin, 1852, p. 3. F 82 Commerce and the Church. have to regard the altered position of our Fatherland in relation to the commerce of the world, not only as children and citizens of the earthly kingdom, but as members and servants of the heavenly. And inasmuch as the Church now sees mighty channels opened up which were hitherto undreamed of, is she not placed face to face with new duties, exposed to new dangers, incited to new. efforts ? Should she close her eyes to all this, or turn from it as though it did not in the least con- cern her ? Is it not rather the sacred obligation of those who are anxious for her welfare to appeal to all who are interested in Church affairs for the future to discuss questions in which high interests are at stake, rather than the mere fleeting phenomena of this present life % We have therefore every reason, and we think it now peculiarly opportune, to examine the mutual relationship of the Church and the world, and we shall try to do so with the view of presenting clearly the great truths that are thereby suggested, as well as of calling to mind the mighty exertions that must be made in the near future. Such a subject requires one to take up a position in which it is possible to cast aside trifling matters in order to devote the whole attention to the points of chief moment. We shall therefore speak less of dis- tinct communities, of the various creeds and sects, of the separate national Churches, than of the Church as one and a whole, as the mother of us all. Meanwhile, it is of course understood that all that concerns the Church in general is the special care of every one of Commerce and the Church. 83 her children individually, and that we may look for- ward to the future without anxiety. When, on the other hand, we come to consider commerce, we must occupy ourselves entirely with the great facts of which we can take a free, expansive view without being limited by any confining horizon.- With regard to space we shall not dwell separately on the various kingdoms, but rather treat the divisions of the earth as personalities, or as Karl Ritter calls them, " the great individuals of the earth," and the oceans, we shall regard as the connecting roads between them. * The inhabit- ants of the earth, we class according to the principal races of mankind, which are then to be sub-divided according to their several families. The reader is to bear in mind that the life of the individual man is reckoned by decades, that of nations by centuries, that of collective humanity by thousands of years. It is only when we proceed by these huge strides that we can in any degree exhaust a subject, which by the very nature of its two chief elements, the mutual relationship between which is to be shown, is in truth inexhaustible. Let us first enquire as to the general impression made by a view of the commerce of the world upon those who are earnestly attached to the Church. We shall meet with no small number of persons whose opinion differs from that of the majority of men, and also from that of other Christians in this essential point, * " Amland" for 1859, p. 847. — "The sea has often been called the great military road of humanity ; it seems now like a L.)blo bridge thrown across the chasm between two cliffs." 84 Commerce and the Church. that they regard the cause, progress, and result of the hurry and bustle which are inseparably connected with the commerce of the world, with very mingled feelings, and give utterance to their opinion in words more weighty than any mere criticism could be. They call upon us to reflect by what a strange, indeed dangerous path the latest stage in the universal progress of man- kind has been attained. In their lamentations they re- mind us of the poetry which has been lost, the poverty which has been produced among the masses by the es- tablishment of factories, the many dreadful accidents, the debasement of human creatures into mere machines, the natural horror occasioned by a mere glance at a few of these outward manifestations of the gigantic movements of the world. Lucifer is verily, they think, an appropriate name for a locomotive engine ; it is the name of the Prince of darkness. And indeed there is something diabolical, to one standing in a lonely country station on a dark night, in the appear- ance of an express train rushing past snorting like a dragon, with its great eyes of fire and its body speckled with light. " Yonder," they say, " is the picture of the commerce of the world ; — see how it bears the mark of the beast upon it. Do you not under- stand how all our misery is the natural result of such causes, and how it is that the ties that bind the joints and members of humanity twitch so convulsively, or sometimes even break, in spite of all our endeavours to make them elastic." Thus they talk themselves into conservatism, and an aversion to the present system of Commerce and the Church. 85 commerce, and the development of industry. They are, however, inconsistent, inasmuch as they do not go farther than mere fault-finding, and do not abstain from the use of all things that come under their disapproval. They should, to carry out their principle, wear nothing that had been made by machinery, or had been trans- mitted by steam ; neither should they take in any telegraphic message. This position of seriously minded people, with regard to commerce, is certainly not the right one. On the contrary, the Church would be open to the charge of ingratitude and misapprehension of the divine gifts, if she were to adopt such opinions on this subject. But she does not ; she rather regards all that we have just mentioned as a manifest answer to her prayers, and she knows that all inventions are in them- selves good, harmless, and unobjectionable, for man by them attempts only, as William Von Humboldt says : — ■ " to conquer the world by deep and patient study." A kind of lordship over nature, which was granted to him at his creation, has, even since his fall, continued to be his right. Such only is the proper attitude of Chris- tians ; for can we take in to our lips, without emotion, the old simple church prayers, in which we call upon the Lord for his blessing on trade and commerce, " and upon all honourable employments and professions on land and on sea," and ask for His protection of all sailors, travellers, and labourers, or as a Dantzig church ser- vice written at the beginning of the last century has it, to " promote navigation, preserve our sea-ports 86 Commerce and the Church. and harbours from being filled up and obstructed, and keep our river, the Vistula, and its dam, from all danger." * — Can we, I say, pray thus in the Church without thinking how graciously all this has been answered by the various means now employed ? Nor should it be forgotten that the Christian Church acknowledges in her creed, not only a Redeemer and Comforter, but even before these, a Creator, Preserver, and Governor, who has mercifully per- mitted the laying of the foundation of that system which is being brought to perfection in our days, who has seen its development, its indications of prosperity, and the effects which it produces. Commerce is therefore not to be regarded by us with suspicion or dismay, but with honest, grateful, sanctified joy. What, in fact, has constituted the basis upon which the mighty structure has attained its present height ? Is it not the earth that was created by God, as it was and as it is, to-day ; these stretches of country ribbed by mountain chains, and opened up to man by the river system ; these oceans that indent or round off the con- tinents ; this all-wise distribution of the various pro- ducts of nature among the several zones of the earth ; the property of fluid to carry wood and other materials upon its surface, making the mighty waters accessible, nay, invaluable to man ; this close connection of earth and sea, which lias been expressed in the line — " The ocean throws an all-encircling arm around the lands." * Lohe. Agende fur christliche Gemeinden des lutherischen Beke- imtnisses.— 2d Ed. Part I., p. 22-t. Commerce and -1 he Church. 87 Arc not all these, I ask, gifts and arrangements of a higher hand ? The human population, which was commanded to fill the earth, and which lias become by sin still more restless and migratory than at first, has been developed under the guidance of a power above any of this world. The three forefathers from whom it sprang once more after the flood, were tossed about in the ark for months upon the wild waters. At an early period, sea-faring tribes were to be found in each of the three families, while the commerce of the nations, which was carried on by land, was always growing more diversified, and at last attained a high degree of importance, for we remember that the Roman Empire, in the time of its prosperity, estab- lished roads that extended for thousands of miles through all its widely scattered provinces, and main- tained ships by hundreds on the Mediterranean Sea. Bat the commerce that existed at that period, and till the 16th century, was by no means universal; it was, at most, a commerce amongst a few nations on a large scale.* From that time, however, 300 or 400 * Kdppen. die Lamaische Hierarchie unci Kirche — p. 4. Almost all the nations of Europe and Asia, at least, all the civilized people of ancient times, — the Chinese, Indians, Persians, Egyptians, Grec- ians, Romans, — were to some extent affected and compelled to over- step the limits of their barren exclusive nationalities by these events (the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the conquests of the Romans, the invasion of the Chinese.) Then, for the first time, as far as our knowledge of history extends, commences a kind of universal com- merce, in which the eastern and western nations meet and intermingle ; blood and colour, fashions and customs, language and ideas, products and coins are blended : means of communication soon connect China 88 Commerce and the Church. years ago, dates the commencement of a mighty move- ment under the effects of which we still live. Then first the age of discovery dawned, in which, as it were, the course was opened up on which a strange race was to be run. While the only shores still remaining un- discovered, which could be made serviceable to the human family (the exploration of the interior is for later ages, and is yet in the far distance) are rendered accessible to all, the spirits of men bestir themselves, " the properties of matter, the attraction and re- pulsion of the magnet are investigated, the secret forces of nature are diligently observed with a view to their future development; in a word, the age of in- vention marches side by side with that of discovery, and now, after a few years, it is an astonishing fact, that all oceans and seas are traversed by large and small vessels; — and the principal portions of all the five continents — the shores of some, the interior of others — are connected by innumerable and most diverse ties, while," in the progress of discovery, the European nations have always taken the lead, and still continue to do so.* ami India -with Alexandria and Rome — in short, from this date, civilization, the highest form of humanity, ceased to be confined to any one single nation. * Andree. Das Amurgebiet und seine Bedeutung — Preface, p. 5. The stream of the development of our race, has at no time rushed along in so great a volume as in the ll)th century. No longer is it confined t<» any one division of the earth in particular ; its waves wash every , and How unreal rained over the hills and valleys of whole conti- nents. The most distant steppes and deserts are drawn within the circle of European civilization, and experience more and more the effects of the new horn activity of commerce. Kingdoms of un- Commerce and the Church. 89 But let us reflect how recently commerce, by the help of the modern means of transport, that is to say, of steam ships, railways, and telegraphs, began to make such rapid progress, in order that we may appreciate the miraculous times in which the Church, and we ourselves, are now living. When did the first steam ship cross the Atlantic Ocean ? Not yet thirty years ago. On the morning of the 23rd of April, 1838, a cloud of smoke was seen from the Hudson shore, New York, on the distant horizon. The vessel drew nearer, and proved to be the Sirius, which had started from limited extent fulfil under our gaze the part allotted to them in the history of the universe, while their future promises to cause the once all-pervading might of Rome herself to vanish into a faint shadow before the resistless strength of the nations of modern times. Great Britain boasts of more than fifty colonies over the globe. The North American States stretch across the whole breadth of the New World, and are washed by two oceans. The dominions of the Russian Czar ex- tend from the shores of the Baltic away across the gigantic surface of Asia, to the borders of the Arctic Ocean ; while, on the American side of the great sea, in the neighbourhood of the rich gold fields of British Columbia (written before the sale of Russian North America), the out-post of the Scotch Highlands stands face to face with the Cosack of the Don. This vast, though undeveloped king- dom of the future, embraces more than the ninth part of the inhabi- ted earth. On the ruler of the Neva lies the great and difficult, yet remunerative task of awakening and developing the resources and slumbering powers of his wide spread dominions. Thus we see Russia about to engage in a grand scheme of national improvement, (an undertaking in which the United States, France, and England are busy at present with more or less success), whereby she may accom- plish her work in Europe, — yes, in the world, — the work of carry- ing back to Asia the culture acquired, and planting there the seeds of the elements of modern civilization. And Russia has begun her task with energy : it seems almost as if China, in the east of Asia, the ancient seat of learning for a thousand years, was to be sup- planted by the martial and peaceful pioneers of the realms of the Czar. 90 Commerce and the Church. Cork, in Ireland, on the 5th April, and was now welcomed with indescribable rejoicings. These had hardly died away when, the same day, the Great Western arrived, which had left Bristol on the 4th April, and was received likewise with flags, cannons, peals of bells, and shouts of applause."" What a revolution has taken place before our eyes since then. Almost all the rivers of the earth have begun, to use Karl Ritter's expression, " to run in double currents," and nearly all the seas and rivers have become the seas and rivers of civilization. *f* Sailing vessels are in danger of be- ing supplanted by steam, j If the great waters, " that unploughable surface," that " unfertile salt waste," as the ancients called them, could retain the furrows made in them by the bows and keels of the ships, or could show the fruit that has ripened upon them for the common welfare, what a sight would be presented ! Everywhere, in whatever direction we * Masains. die gesammten Naturwissenschaften fur das Verstand- niss weiterer Kreise und auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage bearbeitet. 2nd Ed. vol. i., p. 332. t Karl Ritter. Einleitung zur algemeinen vergleichenden Geogra- pliie, p. 229. X Ausland, for 18G6, p. 301. — " One remarkable feature is the dis- use of sailing vessels in the coasting trade, and we must here men- tion that the conception of the coasting trade is magnified with every century. In the middle ages an expedition from Barcelona to Alexandria Mas considered a long voyage, for the longest at that time was as far as Kaffa in the Crimea. Since the beginning of the 14th century the longest journeys were those from Venice and Genoa to England and Flanders; they indeed, produced at their commence- ment a revolution in the sea trade. In the present day a journey from Alexandria to Marseilles is reckoned among the shortest taken." Commerce and the Church. 91 look, mail is hurrying through the apparently bound- less regions of the sea by the help of water and fire. Already we hear of the rivalry of the various Oceans, the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic, and this is not a con- test in which the victory is uncertain. The Indian, with her East African, Southern Asiatic, and Western Polynesian shores, and her fruitful islands, must yield to the Pacific, that Queen of Seas, " whose rustling garments are embroidered with a fiery wreath," which conceals the " Paradise Islands of the South Seas in her drifting waves," and washes the coasts of Eastern Asia and Western America, but which, nevertheless, is without the advantages of the Atlantic Ocean,* with her Gulf Stream and her African, American, and above all, her European shores.*)* She surpasses all * Atisland, for 1861, p. 481. — " Our Ocean is manifestly the favourite of Nature, and the most richly endowed of the three sisters. Its greatest extent is from North to South, that of the Pacific from East to West : the one, therefore, unites the divisions of the Globe while the other separates them. The currents of the Pacific are broad and sluggish, those of the Atlantic narrow and rapid : the ebb and flow of the tide of the latter is strong, that of the Pacific feeble. The Pacific Ocean is the nourisher of the Atlantic, for all the great fresh water rivers, the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Orinoco, Amazon, La Plata, are formed from its vapours which are condensed into rain on the opposite side of the Cordilleras. The Atlantic Ocean is, therefore, constantly receiving the rarefied fresh water of the Pacific. The ornament of the North Atlantic basin is the Gulf Stream, which repeats itself apparently in other quarters but not at all with the same energy," etc., etc. — From a i critique on Maury's " Physical Geography of the Sea." t Ausland, 1802, p. 1179. — "And yet we believe, in spite of Karl Ritter's judgment, which indicates America as the future scene of man's greatest maturity, and Mexico as the most favoured of all parts of the earth, that Europe, in its present form, will always remain the most highly favoured portion of this planet. The advantages pos- 92 Commerce and the Church. ethers, and to a certain extent, suitably represents the fanciful conception of the ancients, according to which, the world is supported upon the back of Altas. Yet, while the pathways of the great seas only lead us from coast to coast, the railways lay the interior of the countries open, and thus form a necessary supple- ment to the steam ships ; they are, indeed, in a higher degree the "mixing wheel of nations," and have, as our great statistician says, " taken old Europe out of nearly all her grooves, and poured her into new- moulds." With almost feverish unrest all are now working, to secure this blessing even to the most distant parts as yet reached by Europeans or Americans. Steam engines for the last ten years have been rushing hither and thither, from sea to sea, through the land of Pyramids, and more recently, through various sessed by America in having a double Janus-countenance looking to both the borders of the Old World are completely outweighed in the balance by the peculiarity in the physical conformation of Europe. North America may, perhaps, some day produce and nourish the greatest and the strongest nations, but Europe will always be the vessel from which the noblest and most eminent specimens of the human race will draw their inspiration. The North American Con- tinent has only three great regions, which differ in character, the East Coast, the States in the vicinity of the Gulf, including the Mississippi Valley, and the South West shores. In Europe, on the contrary, what a variety in surface within a small compass ! The chains of the Pyrenees and of the Appennines. the Balkan Peninsula, France, Germany ami the Sarmatian Plains, Great Britain and Scan- dinavia. Everyw line diversity in nature, everywhere different nations with sharply- defined national eharaeteristics. In America, we find magnificence in space and numbers ; in Europe, richness in quality. Thus, we think no division of the Globe will be able to outweigh the advantages which Europe possesses in its geographical conforma- tion. Though material civilization may attain its highest point beyond the seas, the intellectual will always find its home in Europe. " Commerce and the Church. 93 provinces of India, as well as through South Africa, and New Zealand, and engineers are now engaged in examin- ing the country between Joppa and Jerusalem, explor- ing the Ural mountains into Siberia, and venturing into the wide jaws of the Chinese Kingdom, in order to procure an entrance,* even there, for the most per- fect means of communication yet invented. "f We shall not have to wait long till we see our beloved mother earth bound with very many more iron chains than those she has worn during these last twenty years, and thus fettered, she will not be a sight to cause grief ; she will appear as though adorned with glitter- ing ornaments, for the iron lines are the " engagement rings between the lands." They should be seen equally numerous over the whole earth, in order that nations may manifest outwardly that they are not cold and distant to one another but closely united. J Rail- * Zeitschrift des Koniglich Preussischen Statistischen Bureaus, 1864, p. 116. Iu an essay by Dr. Engel, on "The limits of the in- ventive genius in the. modes of transport," it is said, "The more closely the road to be traversed, the force to be used and the vehicle to be propelled are connected, or the more attentively the object desired is kept in view of fitting them into one another, the more perfect will be the result. In railways we see, therefore, to a certain extent, a model of a system of communication. Weather, season, and geographical position, exercise but little influence on the course to be traversed. Cceteris paribus, the dynamic force is always the same, it never grows weary, or sickens, it never dies, because it is not a living, but, so to speak, a dead force." t Petermann. above mentioned work ; Supplement, No. 19, con- tains an article by Behm, which is the latest and best of the kind on " The modern means of Communication — the Steamship, Railway, and Telegraph , viewed from a statistical, historical, geographical and politico-economical stand-point. " X Russia is opposed to this sentiment. 94 Commerce and the Church. ways are the most effectual means of drawing the nations together, and so when the friendly relation- ship has suffered in any way, these rings are cut, that is to say, the railway lines are torn up ; but as soon as they are restored, the old understanding begins also to return. Railways are, in fact, of the highest significance in the development of the world, and it would be a wholesome reminder to many thoughtful Christians, if steam engines bore some emphatic and significant name. There is, truly, a quaint kind of poetry in the various names that are graven in large shining letters on the engines. They are called after rivers, towns, stars, after famous personages, after our oldest hero warriors, &c, &c. Anyone who has travelled to the Paris Exhibition, has probably been carried along as far as the Elbe by the engine "Spree," while the " Moltke " then took him to the borders of France, the " Vo^el von Falkenstein " carried him across them, and " L'Empereur " set him safe within the walls of the capital of our neighbour kingdom. But even these are not the most expressive names ; the best of all seems to us to be " Cosmos," indicating, as it does, the well ordered friendly relationship which should exist between the nations, in the promotion of which, under God's hand, railways have been, and will continue to be, one of the more effective means. Yet what is either of the wonderful inventions which we have just discussed, by means of which persons and goods are conveyed with the desired rapidity, in comparison to the third blessing, which enables us Commerce and the Church. 95 with the swiftness of lightning to send our thoughts, in whatever form we may transcribe them, to any place, no matter though it should be separated from us by thousands of miles, or by vast oceans. " Not one of the more important inventions of modern times has been developed with such rapidity or has produced such mighty results in so short a period as the electric telegraph."* We all remember that the year 18GG was a famous epoch in the history of this develop- ment ; for at the very time that Germany was fighting her battles, and mighty revolutions were taking place, the goal towards which men had for twelve years been striving was successfully reached : Europe and North America were united by the submarine cable. The first soundings of the North Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and Newfoundland showed that there w r as a most remarkable elevation in the sea bottom between the tw r o coasts. This was at once and confidently designated as the "plateau for the telegraph." On further examina- tion, not only was it found that there was perfect tran- quillity in the depths beneath, but that there was also " a bed white as snow," consisting of strange little shells that seemed just to be prepared for the recep- tion of the cable.^ Observation of the currents of the ocean at this place led to the conclusion that the plateau had been formed by the deposit of blocks of earth, stone, and pebbles, carried thither by two streams from the polar regions, which cross the Gulf * Petermann. above-mentioned work, 1855, p. 27. t Petermann. above-mentioned work, 185G, p. 377. 96 Commerce and the Church. Stream at that point, and that this process had been going on in the secrecy of the deep for many hundred years, until in the 19th century of the Christian era all was ready for the successful laying of the submarine Atlantic telegraph.* Should we not bow our knees in adoration ? Such was the feeling of those under whose direction the enterprise was begun, for they knew that the kingdom of God would be promoted thereby. Before the ship with the cable on board set out from Europe, — for it started from Europe, not from America, — divine service was held, when the fol- lowing prayer was uttered : " If it please Thee to prosper the work of our hands, do Thou so guide the hearts of men that this new bond between the coun- tries of the earth which are divided by the ocean may unite their inhabitants in the one feeling of brotherly love and Christian concord. Grant in Thy mercy that this work may tend to a greater spread of light- giving knowledge, and to the progress of truth and righteousness in the world." * And it was the good pleasure of Him who holdeth all in His hand, to bless the course pursued. On the 27th of July the two portions of the earth began to hold intercourse with one another ; but He set a crown upon the whole when the " Great Eastern" at midnight of the 2d September, recovered the end of the old cable which had been lost in the ocean a year before. This was found amid the rejoicing of the whole crew to be com- * Petermann. above-mentioned work, 1S57, p. 508. t Der Missionsfreund, 1SGG, p. 119. Commerce and the Church. 97 pletely uninjured, proving thereby that the conducting power was not diminished by contact with the bottom of the sea.* In short, the great problem was solved, and since then it has become clear that before long, just as the whole earth has been already compassed by the postal system, the telegraph wires shall stretch through every country, and through the very seas that separate them, and that men scattered over the world shall hold intercourse with one another as though they w r ere only divided by some few miles. Such great achievements, conquests and revolutions will need, with God's help, no future age for their accomplishment. We are apt to forget the signifi- cance of the times through which we are passing, because of the present rate of living, and the short time in which we see that which at first appeared extraordinary, becoming a thing of every day life. Without fully joining in the extravagant praises with which our contemporaries glorify this age of culture which has been granted to us, — while they never men- tion the Creator or the Church,-)* — we should reflect * Magazin fur die Literatur des Auslandes, 1866, p. 592. t Massius. above-mentioned work, vol. i., p. 355. "The present occupies a most important place in the history of culture. We stand on the eve of a new era. The phase already begun in the develop- ment of the human race is the lordship of the mind over the forces of nature. . . . Space and time, which have hitherto separated indi- viduals and nations, vanish before the new means of communication: humanity is on the point of becoming an organism. The time is, perhaps, not distant when all lands and divisions of the earth will be brought into immediate intellectual intercourse by the magic net of the electric telegraph. We may regard railways and steamships as the arteries by means of which the material intercourse of G 98 Commerce and the Church. what the Divine intention may be in all this. What is the rustling of the wind through the great iEolian harp-strings of the telegraph to teach us as it echoes through the earth ? what the tinkling of the telegraph bell as it breaks the stillness of the lonely plain ? what the boisterous railway trains, as while dashing along they greet each other ? what the moaning and the roaring of the sea when lashed and beaten by the paddle-wheels and screws, as if it were some beast of burden ? What is all this to teach us ? Is it to teach us nothing but that we are rushing through the world as if with the cap of Fortunatus ; that our thoughts are carried no longer round the necks of pigeons, but ride on the lightning ;* that distance is vanishing, and the saying of old Columbus is becoming confirmed, that humanity, considered as an organism, is carried on, and telegraphy, which already embraces the greatest part of the civilized world, and is always sending out new branches, as the nervous system, through which intellectual life is conveyed with the rapidity of lightning. Intercourse is one of the first elements of intellectual progress. The invention of printing is rightly regarded as the commencement of a new era, and at least an equally important place in the history of progress should be accorded to these grand inventions of the years just gone by," etc., etc. Petermann. above-mentioned work, Supplementary Part xxi., p. 13. " Science subjects force and matter to the omnipotence of our ideas, renders nature the servant of our mind, places fabulous instru- ments of power at the disposal of our will, realises by means of the magical laws of mathematics the fanciful desires of the 16th century as expressed by Faust and Fortunatus. The steamship, steam engine, telegraph, and modern machinery, render possible that omnipresence, that sudden access of wealth, that enjoyment of life, that wished for swiftness in transit from place to place ; in short, the accomplishment of those desires which past generations cherished in their dreams. " * Dr Engel, work above referred to, p. 117. — " If the pigeon was a winged messenger, the telegraph rides upon the lightning." Commerce and the Church. 99 "the earth is by no means so large as people think;'"* that Humanity is beginning to examine and dis- cover its nature, and to form an organism of itself, in which steamships and railways are the arteries, and the network of the telegraph is the nervous system ? Is it to teach nothing else than this or something similar to this ? On the contrary, is not all this of the gravest import to that power which alongside of the physical and intellectual side of humanity repre- sents the spiritual, — I mean Christianity, — is it not of a significance that only rises the higher above all other considerations the more prominently the Church soars superior to the various interests of men ? In order to be able to answer this, it is necessary to select some few of the effects of international com- merce, and to examine them with a scrutinizing gaze. What is then the most palpable result that has been produced by the opening up of the whole earth, and by the friendly intercourse of nations ? None other than this, that human beings are winnowed, shaken, and mingled through each other. It is as when a great corn heap is tying in the granary, and in order to prepare and fit it for the coming seed-time and for future use, some one comes with an instrument and tosses it about. Such an instrument in God's hand is the commerce of nations, and see how the huge mass of men is mixed and shaken. Listen to the bustle and noise at the large railway stations or harbours, and the hum of " strange languages as it falls on the * Peschel. das Zeitalter der Entdeckungen, p. 397. 100 Commerce and the Church. astonished ear ! " Look at the harbour of New York, and observe that inlet for the streams of people, that high road for the pilgrimage of nations. Look at any other seaport. Picture to yourself, reader, the thou- sands of trains and ships filled with travellers, who are compelled to go to distant parts of the world by their trade, their private, political, and ecclesiastical professions, or who roam about in scientific pursuits, or merely for the sake of pleasure. Observe the mighty spectacle of the three continents — Europe, Asia, and Africa — the first towards the west, the second to the south and south-east, and the third towards all points, like three horns of plenty, annually scattering- their thousands of inhabitants over all lands ; the descendants of Japheth becoming wan- derers mostly of their own free will ; those of Shem, or the Coolies of China, driven out by necessity ; those of Ham forced from their country by the iron tyranny of slave dealers. Consider next how many among your own relations or acquaintances have been or are still in distant countries, and that it is not the lowest grade of the people that furnish the largest contingent, but that even crowned heads and persons of royal blood go roving over the seas. Reflect, then, on the marked features in this apparent confusion. What a much larger number of Europeans, for in- stance, is dispersed over remote lands than of coloured men over Europe ; * how much more sedentary, as a * Grau's Semitic and Indo-Germanic Nations, ed. i., p. 7. — "It is in the nature of the descendants of Japheth to appropriate the Commerce and the Church. 101 rule, are the lives of the female part of the race than of the male, the number of men who leave their country far exceeding that of the women, while more of the latter forsake Europe for other parts of the earth than enter it from abroad ; lastly, of what wonderful advantage are all the friendships and alliances am oner the nations to the outer world.* o Consider this, but forget not one thing — a thing that shows at a single glance how deeply concerned the Church is in this matter — namely, that all these are human beings — human beings with immortal souls — human beings who are either already Christians, or who sooner or later, according to God's design, will or may become so. physical as well as the intellectual world, to span the whole earth, to discover and to lay bare the arts and sciences." Perty, in his " Principles of Ethnology," looks at the subject from another stand- point. He says : "It is the special privilege of the white race to draw the nations closer together, and to establish an intercourse among them ; but there are also, it is true, selfish motives and evil elements exerting their destructive influence in the work." Her- mann Bischof also talks, in the " International Review," 1866, of " Europe proper extending itself to the Antipodes." * Dr Engel. above-mentioned work, p. 116. — "These nations (Asiatic and African) need the great mixing-wheel of commerce, which intermingles the inhabitants of Europe and America, draws them together, generalizes whatever is good in their customs, de- stroys whatever is bad, preaches with a thousand tongues their dependence on each other, promotes their wealth, and strives to maintain peace among them." A passage from Buch also deals with this subject ("Buch's Journey through Scandinavia," vol. ii., p. 120). — " Man is elevated only by the friction of mind on mind, and we must look upwards with gratitude when we see nations that have hitherto stood alone and isolated carried along in the current of the world. The child does not grow to manhood in the wilderness, neither does a nation come to maturity within narrow limits, where but few ideas can rind, scope." 102 Commerce and the Church. In other words, international commerce, this agitation of the popular elements which we have described, intermixes not only the chief races of mankind and their various nationalities, but also the re- presentatives of the Christian faith, and what is still more important, the members of all great religious com- munities, Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, Heathen. They are placed in positions of mutual dependence, and though for the present we need not suppose that deeper influences are at work, they are brought not only into a certain intellectual connection, but into the closest union by the temporary or permanent cohabita- tion of their representatives. What a variety of aspect is here presented to the eye ! In Catholic countries small congregations of Lutherans and Calvinists are to be found, the latter quietly settling down as neighbours of the former, while the Greek Church perceives Catholics and Lutherans in close proximity to her, and so on. If we raise our eyes we see thousands of Chris- tians crossing the seas to make their home for a shorter or a longer period, or even for life, among the heathen. Here Israelites are to be found scattered by hun- dreds or thousands among Christians of all de- nominations, among Mohammedans, and even among Heathen ; there the Crescent may be seen in power among the nations of central Africa, while for centuries it has been firmly established among the Hindoos, and now in addition to its regular fortresses, occupies outposts throughout the length and breadth of the earth. In another quarter the heathen are crowding by thousands Commerce and the Church. 103 into places where all the inhabitants are already Christians, or where Christians settle down at the time with them. In London, for example, and in other centres of commerce, black, brown, and yellow heathen, who have been attracted thither by trade, live together in hordes, and go wandering about the streets, or add to the dregs of the people.* In the chief towns of America the strangest mixture of all the nations and religions of the world abounds. In San Francisco, in California, the Chinese emigrants are building their heathen temples perhaps at the very time that Christian Churches are to be seen in course of erection. All these, however, are mere hasty, feeble strokes in a great, complete, richly coloured picture, for who can form an estimate with any approach to accuracy of the results produced by inter- national commerce even in this one direction alone. The Church regards such hurrying to and fro, with much anxiety, it is true, but also with much sympathy. She well knows that she is the mother as well as the teacher in the great school of humanity, its members being born again of her, and brought by her to maturity in the divine service. She stands secure when nations disappear and thrones topple over.*(- She is not incensed when she is no longer acknowledged as * "Basle Missionary Magazine," 1867, p. 381, and 1859, p. 377. t Wigger's " Kirchliche Statistik, Preface," p. ix.— " Of all earthly things the Church alone seems to me as really living, true, and eternal, and everything else to be so, only in so far as it contributes to the life of the Church into the communion of which it has been called. 104 Commerce and the Church. mother by her degenerate ungrateful children, who consider the Church at best as a worthy matron, who must, however, be regarded as belonging to the olden times; or as a foolish old woman who of course, as the head of the family, is to be treated with a certain respect, yet whose old fashioned wisdom is often provocative of a smile : or as an over-anxious nurse, who follows her sons about as though they were still children.* Yet she is not such a matron, nor a short-sighted nurse, but an energetic woman in the vigour of maturity, the soul of the house, a wise ruler in her sphere, "a happy mother of her children," one of whom the following verses are written, " Keep that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown,"*)* an d "Thou hast the dew of thy youth." J She is one who is " conservative and expansive," in the noblest sense of the words ; — conservative in keeping and cherishing and guiding nations that have already become Christian, expansive in winning over * Koppen, above mentioned work, p. 388. — " It is the object of all education to make itself ultimately superfluous, that is to say, to make the scholar independent and mature. The father emancipates his son at last, the teacher his pupil, and both, if they deserve these names, are rejoiced when their charge has grown superior to them- selves, and has attained what they themselves only hoped to attain- Mother Church is very different. With her there is no emancipation of the laity, no majority in the age of nations, no progress, for she believes and asserts herself to be in the possession of the highest, unerring, infallible truth. Of course no one can be wiser than she, no one can excel her. All this time she never makes any advance in knowledge, but teaches after a hundred years the very same thing that she taught a hundred years before, and in the same manner. + Rev. iii. 11. % Ps. ex. 3. Commerce and the Church. 1 05 the Heathen, Mohammedan, and Jewish nations, being intrusted with these important duties by that God under whose guidance the commerce of the world is likewise carried on. It cannot be denied that the older the Church grows, the more serious and difficult becomes her work, as in the natural life, the cares of childhood are com- paratively trifling, and those of maturity more impor- tant. As long as the young Christian nations were under the guardianship of the Church, the care and guidance necessary was by no means so laborious as now. The difficulties of the task are much increased in these days by commerce. At no former period has so much been required of Christians in the maintenance of the Church and the engrafting into it of new branches, as just at the present time. And why is this ? Principally because of the confused inter- mingling- of mankind, this scattering of Christians over the universe. Their alliance with almost all the nations of the earth is, indeed, the occasion of much additional toil. The Church's care for the former is called her Diaspora work, her labour among those who are not Christians constitutes her Mission work. Each of these two departments is sub-divided into a number of distinct branches, according to the manner in which the different church communities apply themselves to the execution of the above men- tioned tasks, whether by a united organization of effort, or by imposing the charges on independent societies, or on individuals, or according as the several portions 106 Commerce and the Church. of this wide field of labour are respectively dealt with. In connection with this we are reminded of the faith- ful supervision of church authorities and superinten- dents in all the emergencies that arise, of the Gustavus- Adolphus and Bonifacius societies, of the Missionary associations, of the societies for the promotion of the spiritual welfare of emigrants and seamen, and of all similar institutions ;* on the other hand, we call to remembrance the support of individual Diaspora con- gregations, of Colonial churches, of the synods of emi- grants, of the labour of missionaries among the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews ; and all these are efforts for the supply of necessities that commerce has not only called forth and confirmed, but, for the satis- fying of which, it has provided the Church with the ways and means. But the subject presented to us by these exertions is so varied that even a skilful artist must despair of ever faithfully portraying the numerous details. There are two questions in particular among the number suggested, that deserve more searching inves- tigation than has hitherto been bestowed upon them, because of the importance which they have assumed in our days, and the consequences involved in their decision ; I mean the care for emigrants, and the Mission to the Heathen. They are, in fact, in con- nection with the subject before us, the great questions of the age, the cardinal topics that commerce has placed before the Church for her consideration and * Leaflets from the Rauhe Haus, 1867, p. 129 ff. Commerce and the Church. 107 attention. They represent the Church's operations in two aspects, the preservation of her old members, and the acquisition of new. Both contribute, in the most effectual manner, towards the one great object of spreading the Church over the whole surface of the globe, and though its attainment seems still at a great, almost an immeasurable distance, yet, some- times, by means of emigration, sometimes by the mission to the heathen, sometimes by both together, such gigantic strides are made, that we are constrained to acknowledge that commerce has here guided the Church into a channel in which she is hurrying for- ward with a divine assurance and power of develop- ment, that are truly astonishing. Thousands of her children are leaving Christian coun- tries and are going with the crowd across the ocean to settle down permanently under other skies. She cannot, and, perhaps, dare not prevent it. Like the State she has but little power in these great questions of political economy to which department emigration belongs. Nothing can be done in these or similar matters ; they come into existence of themselves and must be taken just as they are,* and as the Divine Being has permitted and arranged them. True, the Church must experience some disappoint- * Plath. Erwahlung der Volker im Lichte der Missionsgeschichte, p. 42. " Though it may contribute little to the interest of such States as possess no colonies, to have themselves deprived of such a considerable fund of men and means, though, indeed, the whole ten- dency must be much deplored by those who have the subject of missions at heart (as depraving and exterminating the heathen), yet we cannot prevent God's plans being accomplished in this manner." 108 Commerce and the Church. merit in seeing many of her emigrants become renegade, faithless, dead members.* But are they not still her children whom she has cherished in her bosom, and does she not, like a true mother, feel more anxious about the sick and suffering, than about those who enjoy comparative health. Emigration is certainly not only a sewer for the unclean elements of the nations, for in England, France, and Germany, the truest adherents and servants of the Church have been morally compelled to take the pilgrim's staff into their hands. How can she then refuse to follow, with a mother's faithfulness, all those who withdraw them- selves far from their home? Would it not be in har- mony with her loving tenderness, if her authorities and societies and members, instead of waiting until the cry of distress has sounded in their ears, would con- trive so as to effectually prevent its being raised at all. We s} 7 mpathise deeply with whatever is being done already in this direction. Thus, for example, at the seventeenth General Assembly of the Catholic societies, it was resolved to take steps to provide * Winter's " Li viand's Germanizierung vom Magdeburgischen aus." — p. 3. — There are at all times in a nation certain men who seem unsuited to the existing circumstances. Their whole life is a sarcasm on the regime under which they live, and the convention- alities of the system under which they are placed, and which, as far as they are concerned, exist only to be violated. Such wild, often robust natures, do not harmonise with the tame conventionalities of civilized life ; with new surroundings they may yet be useful men. It is well when a nation has some territory in which there is scope for energetic effort, and some undeveloped germ of civilization, into which they can turn such rough, untamed spirits as a place of exercise. Commerce and the Church. 109 against the dangers to which German emigrants are exposed at sea and on their arrival at their destination. Accordingly negociations were entered into with the French, English, and North American governments, and with the Senate of the free town of Hamburg. These unanimously acknowledged the urgent necessity for fixed regulations with regard to emigrant ships, and promised their co-operation in this object. There should be an arrangement in all the principal harbours similar to that existing on the coast of England, where colporteurs are stationed to distribute the all-searching Word of God ; and, before the departure of the ship, to urge emigrants to seek the blessing of Heaven, and to remind them of the claims of the Church upon them. For some years past, a clergymau, appointed by the Synods of Pennsylvania and New York, has always received the emigrants at the landing place in New York, — and it is a most commendable arrangement, — but how long must we hear the pitiable complaint that we are neglecting the opportunities afforded to us in the interior of the emigrant territory, and in the large commercial towns on that side of the ocean, which are so vast as compared with the limited openings among the heathen 1 How long must German emigrants be mixed among other nations only as a fertilizing element ? * When shall we be able to speak of Ger- man colonial churches ? * Strieker, die Verbreitung des deutsclien Volks uber die Erde, Preface. "I have carried on my work (the exposition of his subject) with much pride and sorrow ; pride at finding that no matter where Germans have settled, the opinion of the surrounding inhabitants of 110 Commerce and the Church. It is extremely interesting to observe how the separate churches vie with one another in the case of their emigrants, acting through their church govern- ments, or independently of them, or, sometimes, in both ways. Thus, for instance, an evangelical paper in America commends the solicitude with which the Catholics interest themselves in their brethren,* while almost at the very same time the Catholic organ speaks of the North American Protestants as energeti- cally working for the foundation of a congregation. However engrossing the employment of observing all this may be, it is still more so to watch the rivalry of the Christian communities and sects on the heathen mission field. The greater number of countries are only, as yet, sprinkled, yet how refreshing even a few drops must be to lands hitherto parched. We rejoice to see that there are occasional showers which can be caught in vessels and carried home. Happily the time seems to be past when people thought that commerce in itself was the divine mode of inducing heathen, especially savages, to accept the Christian faith. This delusion has been completely removed — we shall presently refer to it at greater length. Never- theless, it is true that commerce points out to missions the direction which they should take, and gives assis- them is everywhere the same, that they are an honest, industrious, orderly, and quiet people, and that they carry civilization always along with them : sorrow, that such forces have been divided and lost to the nation, that the German population should only he as a fertiliz- ing element to foreign, often hostile states, by means of which the seeds of luxury are made to flourish." t 'Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, 1867, p. 1099. Commerce and the Church. Ill tance to their first attempts. Missionaries do not wander into the world at random ; they follow in the track of emigration, not, however, remaining where European colonists have taken up their abode, but pushing on into the midst of the coloured tribes ; so that when the white settler advances into the country, or the English official traverses the distant East Indian colony, he finds Heathendom that had fallen into decay and become mentally weak, strengthened and refreshed by the salt of the Gospel. Thus com- merce is a guide for missions, thus the European colonies supply a foundation for missionary churches, and the same process that is going forward in the politi- cal department, namely, that by which thriving colonies are casting away the leading strings of their mother country, is seen reappearing in the fact, that mission- ary stations are forming themselves into small inde- pendent churches, asking but little support from the home Church. Just in proportion, however, as the intercourse between a few isolated nations — which from its very commencement,* as well as in its subse- quent history, contributed to the spread of the Church — has developed into a universally extended commerce, in like proportion has the sphere of Missions been * Neander's Universal History of the Christian religion and Church — GothaEd. 1856, Vol. i., p. 43. Already commerce had constructed the paths along which the knowledge of the Gospel was to be sent. It had established facility of communication throughout the huge Roman Empire, a close alliance between the Jews scattered over the world with those at Jerusalem, a system by which all parts of the Roman Empire were connected with the great metropolis of the world, a union between the provinces and their capitals, and 112 Commerce and the Church. gradually widening, till, at the present time, it em- braces almost the whole world. Commerce has suggested to the Church many such important questions and duties as these, and those we have already mentioned, and she is obliged to send forth her servants over land and sea for their solution and performance. She knows well that, like everything else that has been committed to human hands, and has been used by men, commerce has many features which are far from divine, which, on the con- trary, exercise an evil influence, and which must, there- fore, be closely watched. Several of these have something about them most enticing and attractive, but a Christian must act like Ulysses. When he heard the strangely seductive song of the Syrens, he first stopped the ears of his companions, and then had him- self firmly lashed to the mast. In like manner a Christ- ian will strive to discover wherein consist the disorgan- izing elements of commerce, he will seek to preserve others from them, and he will secure himself, that he may not yield nor waver, nor be drawn into destruction. In the contest which is thus necessary the Church is not without weapons of offence and defence in her between the greater part of the Roman Empire and the chief towns which were the centre of mercantile, political, and literary intercourse, such as Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, — which cities conse- quently became the principal seats for the spread of the Gospel, and the places in which its first apostles abode for the longest time. The intercourse of trade which for ages had served for the transmission, not only of worldly goods but of the richer treasures of the mind also, was now enabled to assist in the promotion of the most effectual measure for the improvement of mankind. Commerce and the Church. 1 1 3 hands. Like a mother whose anxiety has been roused, she becomes an Amazon, a trained warrior, able to as- sume either a defensive or aggressive position, to protect her children and assault the enemy, and with such energy that her little ones are saved, and the adversary finally defeated. Thus she overcomes the dangers arising from commerce, that threaten her, though these are not few, nor of a trifling kind. First of all we are reminded of that dreadful hurrying and driving — the result of widely spread commerce and of the close intercourse of men, — which is increas- ing so rapidly that there is a constant commotion and bustle among certain circles, classes, and grades of the people that is not conducive to the health of the inner man. Such fierce struggling, though it should be confined to the intellectual sphere, is opposed to the dictates of the soul ; nevertheless, it is an essential characteristic of the times and must become even worse in the future, for the avalanche of commerce has begun to roll, and who can hold it back ? What is critical in it is, that this confused tumult is not only engrossing the minds of the men who are engaged in the business of life, but that it is penetrating, like a hot, poisonous wind into all the crevices of the most retired and tranquil por- tions of the world. It chases the blood through the veins, and the feverish pulsations of humanity as a whole, have an effect also on the individual. Mere longing after rest is of but little use, as the poet complains ; — 114 Commerce and the Church. u Ach ich bin desTreibens miide! Was soil all der Schmerz, die Lust? Siisser Friede, komm, ach komm in meine Brust. 11 * Neither is the counsel given by another of much advantage. " Endlos liegt die Welt vor deinen Blicken, Und die Schifffahrt selbst ennisst sie kaum, Doch auf ihrem unermessenen Ruck en 1st fur zehen Gliickliche nicht Raum ; In des Herzens heilig stillen R'aume musst du fliehen aus des Lebens Drang: 11 ! Yes, one might flee, if the hurry of life did not penetrate also into the quiet, sacred recesses of the heart. There is but one means of salvation. The church must send out her missionaries with the message of peace to announce with a new meaning: " Your strength is to sit still? J" and to teach individual Christians to pray for the one thing necessary beyond all others, rest of soul. Such a reaction against the stormy whirl- pool of commerce would be welcomed iu all lands and the Church would thus attach her children to her. There are also two other difficulties in which she does not leave them helpless. It is plain that the successful system of active intercourse among the various nations has had an influence on the material conditions of the world's inhabitants — such as has * Alas ! I am weary of this endless driving ! What means all this pain and pleasure ? Come, sweet peace, into my spirit. + The world lies boundless before thee, Navigation has scarcely spanned it, Yet on its infinite space there is not room for ten happy beings ; Thou must flee from the hurry of life into the sacred epiiet of the heart. £ Isaiah xxx. 7. Commerce and the Church. 115 never before been experienced. The various agencies in the commerce of the world have produced an amount of wealth which, if those acquainted with the subject are correct in their opinion, is distributed more equally and in larger masses than was ever the case in former times, and the wealthy Christian of Holland in his splendid house is rivalled by the rich heathen Babu of the East Indies whose oxen draw a silver plough over his fields. As we have already stated, this universal luxury is an almost necessary consequence of the in- creased wealth produced by commerce. The spread of insobriety and gourmandism is everywhere appa- rent. In London, for example, at the celebration of the anniversary of an Acclimatisation Society, the guests were provided with the choicest meats and drinks, brought for the occasion, from all the great countries of the world. We should, indeed, rejoice to hear of this, since, according to the saying, that luxury is the artery of the prosperity of a state, a luxury dif- fused over the whole world must be the artery of an universal prosperity. Would that this bright exterior had not a reverse side ! And what is the reverse side ? A universally diffused poverty — pauperism among the humbler classes. Luxury and pauperism keep step with one another : the more elegant and refined the enjoy- ments, and the more numerous the demands of the upper classes, the larger becomes that portion of society the members of which live from hand to mouth. We need not look to the mournful condition of the labourers in the manufactories of various countries, for confirmation 116 Commerce and the Church. of the truth of this statement ; there are proofs enough to be found within the smallest compass. External expedients can give but little aid, for the tax upon riches and the poor-rates are like drops upon a hot stone. It has been more prettily than wisely said, that every region produces herbs which possess virtues potent to heal the maladies prevalent in that district; and so it is said that in the extension of commerce, which is the cause of the poverty of the masses, there is pro- vided at the same time the means for its removal, as for example in emigration, — a thing more easily spoken of than carried out. Nevertheless the Church, whose heart is deeply grieved at these two evils, will not cease to wage war against them both. She will con- tinue to point to her Lord, the Son of the Almighty God, who when on earth had not where to lay his head ; to discover, and lead the way to new paths of benevolence, in which succeeding generations will receive a blessing unknown to those who have gone before. * And yet these are not the worst dangers. Far more serious is the support given by commerce to the errors of the time. By the present close alliance which exists among many millions of human beings, the interchange of every good among them, — the intellectual included, is not only facilitated, — but rendered almost a necessity ; and everything of doubtful value, either spoken or written, is made to a much greater extent than formerly, the common property of, we might say, the whole world. This machinery is employed by * Plath, p. 52. Sieben Zeugen des Herrn, p. 52. Commerce and the Church. 117 the irreligious, and by the enemies of Christianity, and they draw largely as through invisible tubes, from the reservoir of hostile ideas that is to be found among all the known nations of the earth. Then appear the so-called universal systems which run into all kinds of dangerous paths. Materialism comes like a deluge upon us, and envelopes the life of the church in thick darkness. Socialism with its smouldering torch creeps nearer, and that false Cosmo- politanism that threatens to destroy all national vigour and mutual trust. The worst feature, however, is this, that commerce is the means of propagating that religion of humanity, which represents itself as occu- pying the first place, and expressly or virtually declares that the church, with its privileges and requirements, is quite subordinate, if not altogether effete.* If we are not mistaken, we think that our present position directly and peculiarly favours this delusion. Men are becoming acquainted with all the diversified nature and character of their fellow creatures. One man remarks how another can unite decent customs with a faith that is often far from Christian ; how he can live honourably and die in comparative peace ; and he then allows himself an unconscious or declared emancipation from all positive religions, or a freedom which per- * Wagener's Staats und Gesellschafts Lexicon, vol. xii. p. 75. "He who by declaring himself a cosmopolite, thinks to free himself from those moral obligations which attachment to his fatherland has imposed on him towards the laws of that society of which he is a member, falls into an error, the ultimate effect of which is to destroy all political order." 118 Commerce and the Church. haps decks itself with borrowed finery. He is publicly and privately charitable, indulges in all harmless plea- sures, and apparently prospers in his new position. Commerce is unfortunately encouraging that incompre- hensible clamour for the equal vindication of the reli- gion of Christians, Jews, Heathen, Mohammedan, &c, &c.,* a clamour which will probably soon become still louder. The religion of humanity, so highly praised by thousands, will constantly be gaining adher- ents among the children, and perhaps even among the servants of the church, and will develop into a more secure and more widely extended organization. The Israelites who dwell among us will soon become so bold as to write over their synagogues in German or Hebrew characters, " My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,"-}* which indeed we observe has been already done in several places. J The Moham- * Koppen, p. 5 : — " It is in the nature of Buddhism, Chris- tianity, and Islamism to propagate themselves to an unlimited extent, to receive nation after nation into the congregation of the faithful, and thereby to hind them together in the more exalted unity of the Church. In the middle ages they conquered almost the whole of the known world, and each of the above churches even now cherishes the hope that she will one day be the universal and only Church, and that there will then be but one flock and one shepherd." And p. 388 :— "The vicegerent of Buddha sits at present far more secure on the three hills than the vicegerent of Christ upon the seven. So secure is he that he has never once employed one of those instru- ments of terror for the maintenance and spread of the faith, all of which the latter has already exhausted. He will therefore probably continue his charlatanism for many centuries longer, while the days of the spiritual charlatans in Europe seem numbered. t Isaiah lvi. 7. X As in Landsberg on the Warthe, and in Zempia in the Grand Duchy of Posen. Commerce and the Church. 119 medans will assert with greater confidence that they have found everything in Christian countries nearly the same as among themselves, and there will be hundreds of Christians to applaud such a declaration. In heathen quarters, too, similar assertions will be made. Com- merce in fact strengthens the great army of the enemy. It sometimes however happens in the battles of the Church, that the ranks in the front and centre may seem for a moment to waver and give way, yet still they hold their ground and stand unshaken until the enemy has been attacked in flank, when at once they make vigorous preparation for pursuit, for the hostile lines are yielding. The Church has also her heroes, and a valiant soldier of the church has something of the likeness of his heavenly Commander ; as the Master so is his servant ; "he awakes as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And he smites his enemies in the hinder parts, he puts them to a perpetual shame ; " " his shoes are iron and brass, and as his days so shall his strength be," or to speak in human words, " his old age blooms fresh as old wine ;" "he can raise up armies out of the earth ; corn fields grow in the palm of his hand ;" and if the Church calls out these her warriors against the mighty deceptions of the age, then the glitter that surrounds the heads of the false prophets shall fade away before the bright sunlight of truth, and it shall be proclaimed that the Christian faith is the only true religion for all humanity, and many of the children and servants of the Church 120 Commerce and the Church. shall come again to their right minds, and for this give thanks to God. But the darkest side of all is yet to come. There is a wide field in which commerce assumes the form either of a scourge for the people, or of a guillotine, under the fatal strokes of which whole nations perish like sheep in the slaughter-house. What we refer to is the dreadfully mournful and dispiriting fact that the European settlers exert an influence on the civilized heathen nations and the surrounding savages that makes them a hundredfold worse than they were before, and that they breathe so poisonous an atmosphere among the thinly-scattered tribes of barbarians that they fade away and die. This fact, which has been acknowledged on all sides, and generally rightly inter- preted, is the most flagrant proof that the spread of Christianity among the heathen by commerce alone is a mad delusion, and a thing utterly impossible. A new church cannot be constructed from the ruins of an old one, and morally degenerate Christians cannot convert the heathen. They only introduce among them what we call civilization, and along with it all the necessities and pleasures of Europeans, which upon a people not accustomed to them, must produce a most injurious effect. If they even stopped at that, it would be well, but it is notorious that Christians have helped, and still help, to strengthen the heathen in their religious frenzy ; that Englishmen have worshipped idols in India, built temples to them, and employed Commerce and the Church. 121 Brali m ins as domestic priests.* Perhaps nothing so vile is any longer to be found, yet how many infir- mities do the Christian emigrants discover to the heathen. ! The saddest experience is that civilization is an exterminator of nations, "a cannibal that devours hecatomb upon hecatomb ;" and this phenomenon has been observed in every quarter of the globe, from the end of the fifteenth century down to the present day.* * Basle Missionary Magazine for 18G5, p. 38 f. : "India was con- quered at the commencement of two eras, the era of the mercantile system, and the era of free thought. Who contemplated then the introduction of the Bible or of Christ into the land of Pagodas ? The usual mode of expression was that the cadet or clerk, as the servant of the company was called, left his religion at the Cape, and called for it on his return, laden with all his treasures, to old fashioned England. Burke says, ' The Europeans were unbaptised on the way to India.' In the history of the Serampore mission much that borders on the incredible will appear in the story of the English converts to Brah- manism. They, of course, lived with native women, those with the largest salaries keeping their harem. Englishmen have not hesitated even publicly to worship idols, to build temples to them, and to employ Brahmins as domestic priests," etc., etc. Again, in p. 41, "Dr. Gundert relates how in the year 1S36, on the feast of one of the idols, English officials, mounted on gorgeously adorned elephants, and accompanied with mad music, were obliged to go in pro- cession past the temple, and present the gifts of the company to the god, receiving the blessing of the Brahmin as a reward. How it must have enraged the soldiers to be compelled to salute the idolatrous processions on feast days ! How the pious musicians and drummers must have trembled on hearing the music which they had to make on such occasions !" t It would be to conceal the true state of the case if the gradual extinction of the uncultivated tribes was to be laid at the door of missions. The periodical "Ausland," 18G2, p. 484, remarks, ''What we are about to say may be severe, but it has been confirmed by long years of observation : our missionaries, Catholic as well as Protestant, and especially English missionaries of all creeds, play a most pro- minent part* as race exterminators in the anthropological history of the world. They hurry the South Sea Islanders as fast as possible 122 Commerce and the Church. The cause is to be found partly in the above-mentioned introduction of European sins, partly in the inevitable feuds,* in which the barbarians, because of the dis- parity of weapons, are always the losers, partly in an inexplicable incompatibility between the original in- habitants and' the settlers, among the former of whom sicknesses never known before, frequently break out and mow down men by hundreds and thousands.^ How the Church can render assistance here, and in what measure she can help to solve these greatest of social problems, it is very difficult to determine. But that she must not, and dare not, and will not, refuse the task should be taken for granted at the very outset. A mother is surely morally and legally responsible for the injury which her young and way- ward children inflict upon others. The older and out of the world. They do not increase the congregations of Chris- tians, but only people the churchyards, so that they have made the gospel a death-knell instead of a message of glad tidings." In the very same essay there is this sentence, ' Civilisation was the murderer. Shit ut sunt, aut non sint." * Berlin Missionary Report for 1865, p. 341 f. : "Above all, we must continually bear in mind that all heathen are very evil neigh- bours to Christian States, and that their many fearful sins call forth not only God's mercy, but sometimes also His wrath. It is unde- niable that their Christian enemies also often err and give them much cause for justifiable complaint, but in the case of a war it is often very difficult to define the exact line between the legitimate and illegiti- mate attack, and it would be better if distant observers when im- perfectly acquainted with all the circumstances of both sides, would not straightway ally themselves with that side to which they feel an undefined leaning." ■f Schelling's "Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology," p. 96 : " When great masses of human beings, hitherto, as if by divine Providence, kept aloof from one another, are suddenly brought into contact, and intermingled, physical sufferings are the result. Commerce and the Church. 123 more trustworthy must step in as mediators, and try to wipe off the disgrace that has come upon the family. But in what way ? It is easy to say that missions are to neutralize the evil effects of emigration, and to call the organization for the conversion of the heathen a counterpoise for all the debilitating, demoralizing, and degenerating forces which commerce lets loose upon the inner and outer life of heathen nations ; yet the question is always recurring, what levers has the Church at its disposal to lift off these burdens from the heart of the Christian settler and his heathen neighbour. Are they right who urge that the religion taught by the Church and her servants in the Mission- field and colonies should not be altogether abstract — that her missionaries should rather strive to exert an influence on the practical life. They argue thus: the Church would more permanently heal the wounds that commerce has inflicted on both Christians and heathen by bringing them into contact, and would better screen them against their repetition if she herself would enter Memorable in the history of the world are the diseases that followed the crusades, and the discovery of America, and the desolating pesti- lences produced by all great wars, where widely-separated nations have been collected within the same territory, and have constituted for the moment, as it were, one nation. As often as a foreign ship casts anchor on the coast of the thinly populated Shetland Isles, which are so completely cut off from the world, and from intercourse with the rest of mankind, indeed, as often as the yearly supplies of provisions and necessaries arrive, and the crew of the vessel walk the deserted shores, the inhabitants are attacked by a convulsive cough. The appearance of a foreign ship off the lonely Faroe Islands is generally the signal for the inhabitants to be seized with a feverish catarrh, by which often a not inconsiderable number of the scanty population is carried off." 124 Commerce and the Church. as directly as possible into all that has so palpably been the cause of offence, and thus by the very directness of action she would produce a transforming, penetrat- ing, purifying, and sanctifying effect. If trade has thus ruined whole nations, let the Church ensraere also in trade, that she may show to the ruined and to those who have caused the ruin, how business may be honourably carried on. If the land has passed out of the hands of Aborigines who did not know how to value it, into the possession of the European colonists, so that the former have in a lawful manner become the slaves and servants of the whites, let the mission- aries buy a portion of land, induce the immigrants to settle on it, and make of them a Christian peasantry. We despair of the execution of this scheme. Are we then to regard as more correct the opinion of others who expect little from the church thus descending into the speculations of life, — who would rather be for bring- ing sanctifying influences to bear upon commerce, — who believe that the most effectual preventive means for the future, and the best panacea for the wounds already inflicted would be found in the action of religion upon the European settler and upon the heathen — that- the outward life would be indirectly supported by the strengthening of the inner, and the whole organism be improved by the purification of the blood ? Or finally, is the true way judiciously to mix both schemes, so that the chief responsibility should rest upon individual Christians, while the Church's participation in the scheme of colonization should remain within modest Commerce and the Church. 125 limits, she herself therefore, to a certain extent, maintaining only the character of a witness. We see already, however, from these statements, how one method excludes the other, and since that which is better is generally the enemy of that which is only good, neither one nor the other plan will enable us to realize tlie wish of bringing this tragedy to an end. Missions will have still to perform the office of grave-digger for many scattered tribes, and, as has been said, to give them if they have become Christian, at least, an honour- able burial. But where the nations are not crumbling away, but are holding their ground, the church will un- doubtedly at length, by continued exertions in con- nection with the emigrants and their descendants on the one side, and on the other by attention to the heathen and the congregations formed of them, succeed in preventing the enormous amount of injury caused by commerce at the present day in foreign lands. To judge from past events, we may, on the contrary, expect that the diaspora work of the Church and its missionary operations will at last unite, and an amal- gamation will be effected, the brightness of the one side of which will eclipse the darkness of the other. The Church's conscience, nevertheless, is clear when by urging her members to justifiable defence, or to vigorous assault, she is obliged to join in the conflicts sometimes occasioned by wrongs inflicted by nations upon each other. It is we Christians who are the de- faulters, we who are guilty in having failed to discharge the duties which the Church imposed on us. She can gaze 1 2 6 Commerce and the Church. with unmixed triumph on the operations of commerce, which in their ideal are impressed with the divine stamp, and claim our sympathy and regard. Not as though the results of which we speak were already in existence, and could be scrutinized and measured by us on all sides. We must despair of seeing them in our day. We are, in fact, only permitted to survey the beginnings of a universally extended commerce ; but the longer this gift of God is granted to the human race, and con- tinues to be developed, expanded, and perfected — for retrogression or permanent cessation of progress seems to be utterly impossible, inasmuch as all formidable obstacles are speedily overcome by increased efforts, and strangled like the serpents by the infant Hercules — and just in proportion as the Church watches and superintends all details with closer attention, the stronger will the impression become, that commerce must serve the highest ends that the Lord proposes in the progress of mankind. It is first and foremost a world school, in which the several nations of the earth are prepared and trained for noble aims. We cannot believe that this " pro- ductive blending of acquired knowledge," as it flies with telegraphic rapidity from land to land, could exist without producing an effect upon the condition of the people. If a single feature in the intercourse of nations — trade, for example — is already able in its sphere to exercise a beneficent influence, of what in- finite importance will be the aggregate number of its forces ? For, — to adhere to the illustration already Commerce and the Church. 127 used, is trade a mere exchange of the goods, products, manufactures, and fabrics of the several countries and provinces ? " Along with the cargoes and manu- factures is there not also an invisible interchange of the most valuable treasures of remote civilizations?"* Now, if not only goods and manufactures are trans- mitted from one nation to another, but if all that the one possesses is shared with the other, the inven- tions, the literature, the general culture ; in short, if the whole earth is brought by the space-conquering powers of the time into a common possession and enjoyment of nearly all the blessings which are only lent to us, can the effect be trifling ? Certainly not. " Man is brought nearer to his fellow-creatures ; he is more closely hemmed in, more narrowly watched ; the world within him revolves more rapidly." In this way a genuine, wholesome cosmopolitanism is growing up.-f- But further, it is a natural consequence that among all nations now engaged in commerce there should be a continual progress not only in a certain culture and refinement, a certain grace and tact, but also in a sort of knowledge which is far more precious than all these — a knowledge of the Christian faith. Com- * Peschel's " History of Geography," p. 157. t Wagener, above-mentioned work, vol. xxii., p. 75. — "If cosmo- politanism consists in the general fraternity of all nations to whom Providence has allotted this earth as a common dwelling-place, and if it amount to nothing more than a feeling of universal brother •/.<» .,/, which finds expression in an ardent and generous love of the whole human race, and in an inward sympathy with it in weal and woe, a sympathy which must manifest itself by working for its prosperity, then this notion does not exclude that of patriotism, the love of country, but includes it as a large circle includes a smaller. " 128 Commerce and the Church. merce convinces the non-Christian nations, to a cer- tain extent, of the insufficiency and vanity of their own religion, and leads individuals among them either to seek for something superior, or, — what is more fre- quently the case, — makes infidels of them for the time. "We have only to call to mind the irreligion of the civilized nations of the old Roman empire, and of young India, as well as of the reformed Jews and the enlightened Turks. But as with us it is part of a general education to know the principles, superficially though it may be, which distinguish Mohammedanism, Judaism, and Buddhism from our own religion, so it is necessary, though to a more limited extent, for a cultivated Mussulman, Israelite, Hindoo, Chinese, and Japanese to have at least an idea of the faith of the Christians with whom they are brought into contact. Thus, for example, — to mention one of many instances of this, — there is to be found in works on geography and history, written and read by Chinese heathen, and taught as a thing which should be known and remembered, a short sketch of the doctrine by which the " strange barbarians" — as we are con- sidered in the Celestial Empire — hope to be saved after death, — a mere skeleton, it is true, but still a skeleton which among us is furnished with flesh and blood.* * Works on China, by the Imperial Russian Ambassador at Pekin. From the Russian by Abel and Mecklenburg, vol. i., p. 46, f. — "The main idea in these sacred books is the following : — The Lord came down once from the Heavens, in order to save men from sin, and to open the way to Heaven to all the children of earth. According to Commerce and the Church. 129 In this and in similar ways the intercourse of nations is the means of mixing a small quantity, at any rate, — however small it may be, — of Christian truth, like leaven, even among the most degenerate religious * systems of the world, and the customs of the several races lose thereby a little of their hideousness and inhumanity. It is self-evident that such an external knowledge of the most necessary elements of the Christian faith, and such a slight amelioration in the mode of life among the Heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews will have but a very insignificant result, and that very different forces will be necessary in order to bring first, individuals among the nations, and ulti- mately, nations collectively, into the Church. Since, however, a knowledge of a faith must precede the the sayings of the prophets, it is clear that the Lord really took upon Him a human nature in the Jewish town of Bethlehem, and was called Jesus, which means Redeemer and Lord. He lived three- and-thirty years in the world, taught the people, and gave them innumerable proofs of His omnipotence and goodness in miracles which He accomplished by His superhuman power, reason, and holiness." This is a quotation from the writings of Tschji-fan- wei-zsi. * Evangelical Church Times for 1867, p. 423.— "Upon the whole the conversion of the heathen is proceeding very gradually. With few exceptions, only single individuals, and no communities, come to be baptized. This means of salvation is, it is true, offered to the upper classes of a people, and they seem for a moment inclined to avail themselves of it, but very soon they grow indifferent, and the missionaries find the most of their converts amongst the dregs and off-scourings of the nation. . . . The first young congregations consisted of persons over whom, if we except some few genuine cases of conversion, we have reason to sigh deeply. In the mission to Israel, there are analogous cases. Yet we must not measure the moral and spiritual condition of the whole nation by them," etc., etc. I 130 Commerce and the Church. acceptance of it, and conversion requires a change of mind, we dare not despise these feeble traces of a beginning — we must only hope that the work will not stop there. Yet when, at the present day we hear complaints that the conversion of the heathen is making very slow progress, that the power of Islamism remains unbroken, that missionary labour among the Jews who reside round about us is so unproductive of result,* we reply that, in the under- mining of the established convictions of non-Christian nations, and in the mixture of religious and moral principles among their half-truths and idiosyncrasies, that is, in two processes which are gradually carried on by commerce, clearer eyes can discern ways by which the wished-for object may be attained. We acknowledge that the overthrow of these systems is not the work of a day ; that commerce must plough, and the Church must sow for centuries ; but we know that then only the gracious rain from Heaven is needed to cause the whole region to flourish with the verdure of spring. • It has just been remarked that commerce is begin- ning to fine down the differences and peculiarities of great communities, and to remove the sharp edges and corners by which they are distinguished. And * Plath's "Erwithlung der Volker," p. 2S.— "While heathenism prevails, work among the Jews is laborious and barren in result. Yet it must be carried on, and great promises are connected with it. It is the means in many ways of aiding the work of the calling of the other nations, and will produce fruit when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in." Commerce and the Church, 131 may we not apply the observation to another point connected with church .matters? The millions of Christians in the world are not only divided by a diversity in nationality, but the same Christian truth which they all equally hold, has clothed itself in forms which fastidiously exclude each other.* That diversity of nationality is the one and only cause of this diversity in religion, cannot be maintained — for in every nation, there is always a minority who adhere to a faith differing from that of the great majority, and historical events have plainly had a determining in- fluence on the ecclesiastical progress and condition of a country. Yet the distinctive national feature of the various churches cannot be overlooked ; the greater number of the Sclavonians, for example, belong to the Greek Church, the inhabitants of Rome chiefly to the Roman Catholic, the majority of the Western Germans to the Reformed, and of the Eastern to the Lutheran Church. If there be Christian charity manifested, such a diversity is in no wise prejudicial to the chief * Von Schubert's " Travels in the East," vol. L, p. 175.—" To-day for the first time that feeling of sadness came over me which I after- wards often experienced — the feeling of the old Northman when he beheld his son at Algiers, wearing the garments and living the life of the Turkish renegades. Thou old sanctuary of the Christian faith ! (the Church of Sophia at Constantinople is meant) the Christian dare not tread thy halls : only when passing by dare he glance into thy courts ! How long must the minstrel wait outside thy prison walls, till thou within, like Coeur de Lion, shalt strike up the well- known hymns of praise and loud thanksgiving ? The minstrel — thy Saviour— tarries long. And thou, old belfry ! — thou art but small beside the minarets and their golden crescents ; but when thy voice once more returns to thee, it will sound far over sea and land like the call of the muezzin." 132 Commerce and the Church. aims of the church. It is rather the will of God that the whole work of art should be divided into its distinct parts * in order that they may be separately chiselled ; when that has been done, a mightier hand will lay them together, that the faultless beauty of the whole may glorify the Creator. Meanwhile the members would do well to adapt themselves to this method and to acknowledge that " there may be forms in the kingdom of God which exclude each other, but that it is the one spirit which unites them and em- ploys their various gifts for the attainment of some object in the divine scheme." -f- T-hey should endeavour honestly to convince them- selves, — and the study of history would greatly assist them, — that the views of Christians though perhaps almost diametrically opposed to each other may be equally honest, and indeed comparatively true. The oft- used image of the sunbeam admirably illustrates our meaning ; the sunbeam falls through a glass prism and is thereby broken up so that it is no longer the bright, clear, white light, but displays to view the varied colours of the rainbow. But what is the result when a second prism is laid upon the first ? The diversity in colour ceases and the original lio-ht is restored. Is it now far-fetched to assign the part of a second prism to commerce ? Through it the Christian nations are brought closer together and into greater harmony with * Stahl's Lutheran Church and the Union, 1st ed., p. 450, f. — " It is true, as Heinrich Thiersch has well expressed it, that the One Catholic Church is now in fragments" t L'iper's Evangelical Calendar for 1800, p. 199. Commerce and the Church. 1 3 3 each other. By the rapid development of the locomotive power of the time, the barriers that have hitherto separated them, are, if not broken down, at least made less formidable, rigid, and intolerable than formerly. There will, it is true, be no levelling of all distinctions, no Utopian uniformity of thought and action, neither will the people be denationalised ; but facilitated communication will promote a genuine unity, and will harmoniously blend the hitherto dis- cordant elements. That this will be accomplished in the course of time is as certain as is the fact that there is but one church, but one human race, and that the Lord has so ordained it. How this is to be brought about, remains for the present a mystery, but we feel that there must be other and more effective measures used for the attainment of the desired object. As it was with Newton's experiment, so it will be here ; he made the seven colours of the rainbow to fall in a certain manner upon a pane of glass which he caused to revolve rapidly, and lo ! instead of seven, a single colour, almost the white colour of ordinary light, ap- peared. In like manner, commerce will be the agent to set in motion the various shades of opinion in the church, and the unity consequent thereon will not be a mere optical illusion, but will gradually become a reality. The Christian of the Reformed faith will cease to regard the Roman Catholic Church as an out- come of hell ; the monk who at Rome proclaimed the immorality of the Lutherans comes to reside for a time in North Germany and changes his opinion ; the 134 Commerce and the Church. member of the Greek Church learns to know the English Christians and feels that they have the spirit of God with them. These are all beginnings. But the great waves of commerce rise higher, and the more this is the case the more evident does it become that just in proportion as Heathenism, Mohammedan- ism and Judaism are uprooted and overcome, just in proportion as new territory is acquired by victories gained over the enemy beyond the border, will real Catholicity spread within the hearts of its true adherents. We should not then refuse to acknowledge that what we have just now been refer- ring to, is one of the many agents in this work of regeneration. What a prospect it is to think of commerce as a peace-maker — as belonging to the number of earthly counsellors who urge the nations as far as possible, and as much as lieth in them, to grow in the spirit of unity. By diminishing and almost annihilating the power of distance, which is so apt to estrange and to paralyse love, it takes the nations, as it were, by the hand, and leads them so that they may look one another in the face. When two nations have shared in each other's joys and sorrows, a friendship is esta- blished, and a lengthened intercourse gradually brings about an understanding not only in trifling but even in the most important matters. Commerce is a teacher of the people. It reveals to us Christians, and im- presses upon our hearts the fearful danger of those who are not Christians, and is the means of bringing Commerce and the Church. 135 the latter — the non-cliristian nations — to an outward acquaintance, however elementary, with the principles of the Christian faith. It plainly convinces all nations that none of them have any right to shut out the rest of mankind from the spot of the earth's surface that has been allotted to them for the pursuit of their high vocation in life, or to persist in their errors with re- gard to divine things. Commerce is a life awakening agent in the Church. By the materialising power concealed within it, it arouses an irresistible vigour, produces a continued activity and development, and thereby quickens the life of the Church and that of mankind. Commerce is a guide to her in her course of warfare and victory through the world ; it instructs her several armies in the way, shows them the various points de vue, hurries them along to these with rapid strides, and enables them to scale the last entrench- ments of the enemy, so that the foe is disgracefully defeated and put to ignominious flight. To sum up the matter in a few words — by the increased amount of life in the world, by the enhanced activity of its forces, by the mighty changes on the surface of the globe, a vigorous effect is produced on the work of the redemption and sanctification of mankind ; and the Church who has to perform this work, makes use of these fresh gifts, while struggling against the evils which necessarily accompany them, for the attainment of her object and for the honour of Him to whom she will be conducted as a bride. 13G Commerce and the Church. "Die Welt mit ihrem Gram und Gliicke Will ich, ein Pilger, froh bereit Betreten nur als eine Briicke Zu Dir, Herr, liberal Strom der Zeit ! " * But herein lies an emphatic warning for all the child- ren, servants, and authorities of the Church that they should not carelessly disregard the tasks which commerce imposes upon them in a thousand ways. The Church of the German Reformation is especially called upon to avail itself of this great epoch. Our Fatherland, having once again given fresh proof of its capacity to cope with European powers by a process of con- solidation, and according to the laws of political gravi- tation,^ is about to mount a step higher still, and to become able to defend itself against all the powers of the world. Is our Church fit to defend itself against all the powers of the world ? Are our Christian people doing what they might do if they were to exert all their strength ? It is a remarkable and gratifying fact that almost all the efforts that are being made for the spiritual care of German emigrants, and for the conversion of the heathen, originate within the territory of the North German Confederation; only * " A pilgrim through the world, with its joys and sorrows, as over a bridge across the stream of time, I will gladly go to Thee, Lord." + Evangelical Church Times for 1867. p. 127 f. Just as in rivers in winter — the ground ice is first formed, little pieces of which strike against each other and break one another until larger masses are formed out of the fragments, and these uniting, constitute a firm resisting sheet of ice; in like manner does the rapid stream of time and events crumble into pieces, small, loose, shifting nations until they collect into large firm masses on the surface and present a resisting surface. We shall very soon see such a formation. Commerce and the Church. 137 from Basle and from Neuendettelsau, in Bavaria, are there any German Diaspora ministers and missionaries sent abroad. The others who go from Germany to North, South, and Central America, to Australia and the South Seas, to the shores of Africa and to its southern region, to India, to the islands on the far side of India, and to China, are all sent from Herrn- hut, from Barmen, from Leipzig, Bremen, Hermanns- burg, and from Berlin. The last named town is, how- ever, a kind of head-quarters, as there the chief Church authority of the old Prussian provinces, — the Evangeli- cal consistory, — provides several European and Trans- Atlantic Diaspora congregations with ministers ; and no less than six communities in Berlin direct their at- tention to beyond the seas, five to missionary objects, and one to German emigrants in North America. This is the present amount of stock. We cannot tell whether it will be sufficient in the future, when our Father- land is placed side by side with States that are already much more deeply involved in commerce than we are ; but we hardly think so. We shall hope rather that Christians of all ranks in North Germany will increase their efforts in proportion to their greater opportunities, and will faithfully devote themselves to the work of the Church over the world which the Lord has allotted to them. We have good confidence in the future, and in the work which it is sure to bring with it in the principal departments of life. It is true that destroying influ- ences are gnawing at the very marrow of our people, 138 Commerce and the Church. and that the great success which we have obtained does not humble us as wholesomely as if we had suf- fered defeat. But events have turned out so, and no one on earth can tell what is before us. This only we may predict : a nation to which so many and such rich proofs of favour have been granted — one upon which such plentiful showers of blessings have been poured, not only in its outward career, but, to a far greater extent, in its inward life, cannot be destined for a transitory existence, or to an inferior place in the history of the world ; its Creator and Redeemer must have a position in store for it that shall be of power- ful influence and momentous importance in the king- dom of God. Already the Germans enjoy a reputation in connection both with colonisation and missionary effort,* which, as regards the one, is unquestionably creditable, and, with respect to the other, is but little inferior. Concerning this latter there is, in these days, a sharply defined distinction between colonists and colonisers, that is to say, between such as endeav- our to fertilise a waste district, and to transplant our European culture to inhospitable wilds, and almost impenetrable forests, and such as have the talent of skilfully organising new colonial projects and forming out of the rough elements a regular, well-ordered whole. The several nationalities have thus been judged according to this distinction : " The French * Plata's Erwiihlung der Volkcr, &c, &c, p. 20 : "Colonisation and missionary labour are the two means by which, in our time, the Church spreads itself over the earth." Commerce and the Church. 130 are good soldiers but bad colonisers, the Germans unequalled as colonists, but only very moderately good colonisers ; the English, colonisers to be sure, but nearly useless as colonists ; the Dutch, good colonisers, and colonists, and merchants."* As if we Germans had of late had any opportunity to display our skill as colonisers ! If, however, on this point an objection is made, surely in respect to missionary effort the German people have the character of being workers such as are rarely surpassed by those of other lands.*)" Of course this has its dark side as well. If commerce — by means of our emigrants, who keep up the closest connec- tion with their home, as well as by the ever increasing numbers of missionaries — gives our nation an opportu- nity of establishing and maintaining an intimate union with the furthest ends of the earth, then away with all such sickly idealism as induced Justus Moser to ex- claim, " If it had happened so and so in Germany, not Lord Clive but a Hamburgh senator would have been governor on the Ganges ; nay, much more," &c. ; or, as incited some one else to find fault with this and * Dieffenbach's Vorschule der Volkerkunde aus der Bildungsgesch- iehte, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1864, p. 93. + " Missionary Friend " for 1866. p. 35 : — " The honest Germans, with their kindly social disposition, are distinguished favourably from all other nations on the earth. And the circumstance that there are extremely few foreigners to be found among their ranks, while there are German missionaries in numbers at the missionary stations of other communities, is a sufficient proof that there is something in this reputation. Neither is the proverbial faithfulness of the German people an empty delusion, for only a comparatively small number of the messengers sent out, either in the course of years or soon after receiving their commission, dissolve their connection with the society to which they belonged. What we want is money," &c, &e. 140 Commerce and the Church. that in our missionary projects, and to wish they had been better planned. A Christian nation must be eager for action, not lazily desirous of improvement. Zeal for conquest has inspired the Church ever since her foundation, and she will preserve this characteristic to the end of her days. Besides our engagements as a Church in the world, we Germans have to look for- ward to a struggle in the political sphere which will also call for efforts very different from those which have been necessary hitherto. If we had been dis- cussing the subject of commerce and politics we should have called attention to the fact that the convulsion of the elements of the various nations involves also an analysing process, — that the atoms scattered over other lands preserve a secret connection with the whole, and if they are subjected to oppression can demand protection from it as a kind of moral obligation. The truth of this was illustrated by the expedition under- taken by England against Abyssinia at the end of the year 18G7. But whatever may happen, whatever new combinations the powers of the earth may form, what- ever new national relationships or political alliances may arise — who can look through this strange kalei- doscope with unfaltering gaze ? — this much is certain, that, if our German nation seeks the cure for her religious and moral depravity in the Church and not in the potent errors of the time, if she honestly con- tinue to acknowledge the Christian religion as the source of strength and the safeguard of national exis- tence, she will be allotted no subordinate or secondary Commerce and the Church. 141 part in the great song of praise which shall resound to the glory of Him who sits upon the throne, when the tempest of commerce has died away, and all the Church's work on earth is done. Her voice, in praise of the eternal Lord, will perhaps be heard pre-eminent, and she will be publicly acknowledged to have fulfilled in her history the task which He appointed to her to •oerform. TURKBL'LL AND SPEAP.?, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. \P