Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/309

Rh R A T R A T 291 though some of its ablest representatives continued for some years to defend its positions. Hase's summary is, that rationalism failed to recognize the historical forces that condition all religious life and progress ; that it necessarily issued in a barren religion of the intellect ; that in the last instance it drew its decisions, not from the depths of the soul, but from a shallow popular philosophy which overlooked the rights of religious feeling ; that on that account it kept its God of the outward universe as far removed from men's hearts and lives as possible ; but that, nevertheless, it was through it especially that a breach between modern culture and the church was avoided and the banner of free inquiry was kept waving. Even men as far removed from rationalism as Tholuck, Dorner, llitschl, and Alexander Schweizer acknowledge that it was a means, however imperfect, of effectually upholding in the church the great principle that religious truth has an intimate affinity to man's nature and must be freely examined and intelligently appropriated. Tholuck pro- nounces it not an outward skin disease in the history of Protestantism, but an integral part of that history and a phase of its development, in some respects abnormal, in others normal and natural. Literature. Staudlin, Geschichte des fiationalismus und Supra- natural 'ismus, 1826 ; Amand Saintes, Hist. crit. du Rationalisms en Allemagne, 1841 ; H. J. Rose, The State of Protestantism in Germany described, 2d ed. 1829 ; E. B. Pusey, Historical Inquiry into the Causes of the Rationalist Character lately predominant in the Theology of Germany, 1828; Tholuck, Vorgcschichte des Rat., 1853-61, and Geschichte des Rat., 1865; Hase, Tkeolog. Streit- schriftcn, 1834 Hagenbach, Kirchengeschichte des IS und 19 Jahrh., 1856, 3d ed. ; Heinricli Lang, Ein Gang durch die christ- liche Welt, 2d ed. 1870, p. 110 sq. ; Diestel, Geschichte des Alien Testaments in der christliclien Kirche, 1869, p. 672 sq. ; Ritschl, Christ. Lehre von der Rechtfcrtigung, &c., 1870, vol. i. cc. vii.-ix. ; the Histories of Protestant theology by Frank, Dorner, and Gass. (J. F. S.) RATISBON (German Regensbury), an ancient city of Bavaria, the seat of a bishop, and the capital of the Upper Palatinate, is pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the influx of the Regen, from which it derives its German name. It lies almost exactly in the centre of the kingdom, about 65 miles to the north-east of Munich and 53 miles to the south-east of Nuremberg. On the other side of the river is the small town of Stadt-am- Hof, connected with Ratisbon by a long stone bridge of the 12th century, above and below which are the islands of the Obere and Untere Worth. In external appearance Ratisbon is quaint and romantic, presenting almost as faithful a picture of a town of the early Middle Ages as Nuremberg does of the later. Most of the streets are narrow and irregular, but spacious promenades have been laid out on the site of the old fortifications. One. of the most characteristic features in its architecture is the number of strong loopholed towers attached to the more ancient dwellings, recalling a day when civic broils were of frequent recurrence. The interesting "street of the ambassadors" is so called because it contained the resi- dences of most of the ambassadors to the German diet, whose coats -of -arms may still be seen on many of the houses. The cathedral of Ratisbon, though small in size, is a very interesting example of pure German Gothic, diverg- ing in several points from the type elaborated in France. It was founded in 1275 and completed in 1634, with the exception of the towers, which were added during a recent restoration. The details are very harmonious and pleasing, and the interior contains numerous interesting monuments, including one of Peter Vischer's masterpieces. Adjoining the cloisters are two chapels of earlier date than the cathe- dral itself, one of which, known as the "old cathedral," goes back perhaps to the 8th century. The Schotten- kirche, a plain Romanesque basilica of the 12th century, derives its name from the monastery of Irish Benedictines ("Scoti") to which it was attached; the principal door- way is covered with very singular grotesque carvings, the meaning of which remains a mystery. The old parish church of St Ulrich is a good example of the Transition 1. Cathedral. 2. Schottenkirch*. Ratisbon. 3. St Emmeran's Church. 4. Thurn and Taxis Palace. 5. Town-house. 6. Golden Cross Inn. style of the 13th century. Other specimens of the Romanesque basilica style are the church of Obermunster, dating from 1010, and the abbey church of St Emmeran, built in the 13th century and remarkable as one of the few German churches with a detached belfry. The beau- tiful cloisters of the ancient abbey, one of the oldest in Germany, are still in fair preservation. In 1809 the conventual buildings were converted into a palace for the prince of Thurn and Taxis, hereditary postmaster-general of the old German empire. The town-house, a somewhat gloomy pile, dating in part from the 14th century, contains the rooms occupied by the imperial diet of Germany from 1663 to 1806. An historical interest also attaches to the Golden Cross Inn, where Charles V. made the acquaintance of the fair Barbara Blumberger, the mother of Don John of Austria (b. 1547). The promenade is adorned with a bust of Kepler, who died at Ratisbon in 1630. Perhaps the most pleasing modern building in the city is the Gothic villa of the king of Bavaria on the bank of the Danube. Among the chief manufactures of Ratisbon are iron and steel wares, pottery, parquet flooring, and lead pencils. Boat-building is also prosecuted, and a brisk transit trade is carried on in salt, grain, and timber. In 1880 the town contained 34,516 inhabitants, of whom 27,844 were Roman Catholics, 5995 Protestants, and 675 Jews. Stadt-am- Hof, which practically forms a suburb of Ratisbon, con- tained 3392 inhabitants. Near Ratisbon are two very handsome classical buildings erected by Louis I. of Bavaria, with the aid of the architect Klenze, as national monuments of German patiiotism and greatness. The more imposing of the two is the Walhalla, a costly reproduction of the Parthenon, erected as a Teutonic temple of fame on a hill rising from the Danube at Donaustauf, 6 miles to the east. The massive substructions of the temple somewhat dwarf the building itself when seen from a distance, and the choice of a classic model for a German Pantheon seems somewhat incongruous, but after these deductions are made it still remains a magnificent and imposing structure. The interior, which is as rich as coloured marbles, gilding, and sculptures can make it, contains the busts of more than a hundred German worthies. The second of King Louis's buildings is the Befreiungsballe at Kelheim, 14 miles above Ratisbon, a large circular building, which has for its aim the glorification of the heroes of the war of liberation in 1813.