Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/115

 GUNTHER

85

6XTNTHER

house of Schwarzburg. He passed the eariier part of his Ufe at court in the midst of worldly pleasures and ambitious intrigues. He was converted in 1005 at the age of fifty by St. Gotthard, Abbot of Hersfeld, later Bishop of Hildesheim, and resolved to embrace the monastic life in order to do penance for his past faults. With the consent of his heirs, he bequeathed all his goods to the Abbey of Hersfeld, reserving the right to richly endow and maintain the monastery of Gollingen, the ownership of which he persisted in re- taining despite all the efforts of St. Gotthard to pre- vent him. In 1006, the novice made a pilgrimage to Rome, and in the following year made his vows as a lay brother in the monastery of Niederaltaich before the holy Abbot Gotthard. Soon afterwards, Gunther urgently entreated to be allowed to govern his monas- tery of Gollingen, and St. Gotthard's remonstrances could not turn him aside from his purpose. Shortly after his elevation to the abbacy, the former lay brother fell ill, and, as he could not agree with his monks, the affairs of the monastery were soon in a perilous condition. By his charitable counsels min- gled with severe reprimands, St. Gotthard succeeded in dispelling the ambitious delusions of Gunther, who returned once more to his humble condition at Nied- eraltaich, and there led an edifying life.

In loos, he withdrew to a wild, steep place near Lalling, to live as a hermit. In 1011 he penetrated farther north in the forest with several companions and settled at Rinchnach, where he built cells and a church of St. John Bapti.st. Here he lived for thirty- four years a life of the greatest poverty and mortifica- tion. The very water was measured out to the brothers, guests alone being free to use it as they would. Although he had never learned more than the psalter, Gunther received from God, in rewaril for his excessive austerities, profound knowledge of the Holy Scripture, and edified by his teaching all who came to visit him. Wolferus, his biographer, relates that he knew him intimately, and often heartl his admirable sermons on his patron, St. John the Bap- tist — sermons which drew tears from all who heard them. The holy hermit paid many visits to his rela- tive the King of Hungary, obtained from him large alms for the poor, and urged him to build a number of churches antl monasteries. Mabillon has reproduced the deed of donation made by King Stephen, 5 June, 1009. In 1029 Conrad II richly en<iowed the monas- tery of Rinchnach, and in 1040 Henry III affiliated it with the Abbey of Niederaltaich. Gunther died in the arms of Duke Brzetislaw of Poland, and of the Archbishop of Prague. He was buried in the church of Brzevnow, but his remains were destroyed by the Hussites in 1420.

Canisius. Lecliones anliquce (2nd ed., Antwerp, 1725), III, 1, 183-189; Mabillon, Acta SS. O. S. B. (Venice) sepc. VI, pt. I, 3.')6-58 (Life of St. Gotthard); also 419-428; Acta SS. (ed. Palm^, 1866), Oct., IV, 1051-1084; Roenickius, Dissertatio de Gunthero eremita, reformationis sacr. jam sac. X I sitasore (Got- tingen, 1759); Bonaventura Piter. The.^aurus ab.^conditus in agro seu monasterio Brzemnoviensi projtc Praqam O. S. B. seu Guntherus confessor et eremita, ctants vita et miraciilis (Briinn, 1762); Wattenbach in Pertz. Man. Germ. Scr., 1894, XI, 276- 279; neiitschlands Geschichtsquellen, 1874, 20; 1866. 24-29; 1894, 26; Aigner in Kirchenlex., s. v. J. M. BeSSE.

Gunther, Anton, philosopher; b. 17 Nov., 1783, at Lindenau, near Leitmeritz, Bohemia; d. at Vienna, 24 February, 1863. From 1796 to ISOO he attended the monastic school of the Piarists at Haide, and from 1800 to 1803 the gymnasium of Leitmeritz. Subse- quently he studied at Prague philosophy and jurispru- dence. After completing these studies he became a tutor in the household of Prince Bretzenheim. The religious views of the young man, the son of devout Catholic parents, had been sadly shaken during the years of his student life by his study of the modern systems of philosophy (Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, Schel- ling); but his removal in 1811 to Brunn near Vienna with the princely family mentioned above brought

him under the influence of the parish priest of this place, named Korn, and particularly of Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer, and restored him to firm Christian convictions. He then took up the study of theology, first at Vienna and afterwards at Raab, Hungary, where in 1820 he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1822 he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Starawiez, Galicia, but left it in 1824. For the rest of his life he resided at Vienna as a private ecclesiastic, and until 1848 occupied a position in that city as member of the State Board of Book Censorship.

From 1818 Gunther was active in the world of let- ters as contributor to the ' ' Viennese Literary Chroni- cle" (Wiener Jahrbvicher der Literatur). In 1828 began to appear the series of works in which he ex- pounded his peculiar system of philosophy and specu- lative theology: "Vorschule zur speculativen Theo- logie des positiven Christenthums " (Introduction to the Speculative Theology of Positive Christianity), in letter form; part I: "Die Creationstheorie " (The Theory of Creation); part II: "Die Incarnations- theorie" (The Theory of the Incarnation) (1st ed., Vienna, 1828-9; 2nd ed., 1846-8); "Peregrins Gast- malil. Eine Idylle in elf Octaven aus dem deutschen wissenschaftlichen Volksleljen, mit Beitragen zur Charakteristik europaischer Pliilosophie in iilterer und neuerer Zeit" (Vienna, 18.30; new ed., 1850); "Sud- und Nordlichter am Horizont speculativer Theologie. Fragment eines evangelischen Brief wechsels " (Vienna, 1832; new ed., 1850); "Januskopfe fur Philosophie und Theologie" (in collaboration with J. H. Pabst; Vienna, 1833); " Der letzte Symboliker. Eine durch die symbolischen Werke Dr. J. A. Mohlers und Dr. F. C. Baurs veranlasste Schrift in Briefen " (Vienna, 1 834) ; ' ' Thomas a Scrupulis. Zur Transfiguration der Personlichkeits-Pantheismen neuester Zeit " (\'ienna, 1835) ; " Die Juste-Milieus in der deutschen Philosopliie gegenwartiger Zeit " (Vieima, 1838) ; " Eurystheus und Herakles. Metalogische Kritiken und Meditationen " (Vienna, 1843). A new edition of these eight works, collected into nine volumes, appeared at Vienna in 18S2 under the title of Giinther's "Gesammelte Schriften". In addition to these, Gunther produced in conjunction with J. E. Veith: "Lydia, Philosoph- isches Jahrbuch" (5 volumes, Vienna, 1849-54). A work, "Lentigos und Peregrins Brief wechsel ", was printed in 1857, but was issued only for private circu- lation. Finally, long after Giinther's death, Knoodt published from his posthumous papers "Anti-Savar- ese" (Vienna, 1883).

In all his scientific work, Giinther aimed at the intellectual confutation of the Pantheism of modern philosophy, especially in its most seductive form, the Hegelian, by originating such a system of Christian philosophy as would better serve this purpose than the Scholastic system which he rejected, and would demonstrate clearly, even from the standpoint of natural reason, the truth of positive Christianity. As against this Pantheism he seeks a speculative basis for Cliristian " Creationism " in the twofold dualism of God and the world, and, within the world, of spirit and nature; he furthermore strives to demonstrate scientifically that the fundamental teachings of the Christian Faith, and even the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation, at least in their raison d'Hre. if not in their form, are necessary truths in the mere light of reason. He would thus change faith into knowledge. .A systematic and complete develop- ment of his ideas is not given in any of his works, not even in his "Introduction to Speculative Theology", in which one would most naturally look for it. Abounding in polemic against widely divergent schools of philosophy, of a style aphoristic, often quaintly humorous, and sparkling with flashes of genius, but frequently such in form and tenor as to prove little palatable to the reader, Giinther's writings contain only sporadic fragments of his thought.