Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/378

 366 MELANCHTHON the reformers. His modesty, gentleness, and peacef ulness stand in strange contrast with the furious contest into which he was reluctantly drawn. But, while Luther had to brace up his courage and to arm himself for the conflict, Melanchthon was admirably adapted to mode- rate the fiery zeal of his colleague, and to aid him with his superior learning. In 1519 he attended the Leipsic disputation, and defended Luther with his pen against Dr. Eck, the cham- pion of the church of Rome. In 1521 he pub- lished the Loci Communes, the first system of evangelical Protestant theology, which passed through more than 50 editions during his life- time, and was used long after his death as a text book in the Lutheran universities. At first it was but a fresh effusion of the vigorous evangelical faith in the Scriptures and the all- sufficient grace of God in Christ ; but subse- quently it was greatly enlarged and improved, although it never attained the philosophical depth, logical order, and precision of Calvin's " Institutes." In 1522 and the following years he wrote several commentaries which attracted much attention, but were overshadowed after- ward by some of Luther's and especially by Calvin's commentaries. He also lent valuable aid to Luther in the translation of the Bible, which was commenced in 1522 and completed in 1534. In 1529 he accompanied his prince to the diet of Spire, and helped to draw up the famous protest of the evangelical minority against the Catholic majority of the diet, which gave rise to the name Protestants. In the same year he attended the unsuccessful theo- logical conference with the Zwinglians at Mar- burg. At that time he agreed with Luther's view on the Lord's supper. In 1530 he spent several months at Augsburg during the ses- sion of the diet, and wrote his most impor- tant official work, the "Augsburg Confession," which was signed by the Lutheran princes, publicly read before the diet, and became by general consent the principal symbolical book of the Lutheran church. Soon afterward he replied to the " Refutation " of the Catho- lic divines by the " Apology of the Confes- sion," a work of great theological merit, and likewise of symbolical authority in the Lu- theran church, though it is far less used and quoted than the Confession. Subsequently he made considerable modifications and alterations in the Confession, with the view to improve and to adapt it to the Reformed churches. Hence the difference between the "Altered" Augsburg Confession of 1540 and the " Un- altered " of 1530. The principal change refers to article X. on the Lord's supper, and the ornis-ion of all those words which favored the view of the corporeal presence and an oral fruition of the body and blood of Christ by nil communicants. The change? were at first passed by or acquiesced in, but subsequently gave rise to violent controversies. In 1536 he i-riil.-.-ivowl, with Bucer, to bring about a doc- trinal compromise between the Lutheran and Zwinglian views on the Lord's supper. In 1537 he signed the "Articles of Smalcald," drawn up by Luther, but added the singular proviso that he would acknowledge the supreme authority of the pope jure humano, if he would tolerate the freedom of the gospel ; i. e., he was willing to become a semi-Catholic, if the pope would become a semi-Protestant. In all the conferences with the Roman Catholics, at Worms (1540), and at Ratisbon (1541), he was the delegate of the Lutheran party. In these conferences, and especially in the adiaphoristic controversy concerning the Augsburg and the Leipsic Interim (1548), he incurred the censure of the more determined Protestants. His mo- tives were always disinterested ; yet his timid- ity, modesty, love of peace, and the hope of an ultimate reconciliation of Catholicism and Protestantism, which he probably cherished to the end of his life, led him to make many con- cessions, and to agree to compromises which satisfied neither party and were soon broken up. This compromising disposition, and his doctrinal changes on the Lord's supper and other articles, together with various personal causes, disturbed his relations with Luther; yet their friendship was never entirely dis- solved. Luther, though often dissatisfied with Melanchthon's timidity and vacillation, never openly took ground against him ; and Melanch- thon, in his funeral oration on Luther, called him the Protestant Elijah, and lamented his death as a great calamity for the church of Christ. From Luther's decease in 1546 to his own death in 1560 Melanchthon was the acknowledged leader of the German reforma- tion, and was consulted by princes and univer- sities on all important events and measures. In the mean time the Lutheran divines became more and more divided between two schools, the strict old Lutherans, headed by Flacius, Amsdorf, Hessus, and other violent polemics against Roman Catholics as well as Calvin- ists, and the more moderate, conciliatory, and progressive Melanchthonians, or Philippists, as they were generally called, after the Christian name of their leader. Melanchthon bore the violent abuse of his former friends and pupils with patience and meekness. What he lost in the opinion of the zealots for exclusive Lu- theranism he gained in esteem and confidence with the Reformed churches in and out of Germany. He stood in friendly correspon- dence with Calvin to the last, and was invited to England. In 1551 he set out for the coun- cil of Trent as delegate from Saxony, when Maurice suddenly changed the aspect of affairs by his famous military movement against the emperor, and dispersed the council. The peace of Augsburg in 1555 materially improved the political condition of the Lutherans, and se- cured to them liberty of worship within the empire. In 1557 he attended, at the request of the emperor, the last theological confer- ence with the Roman Catholics at Worms. He was received with great honor, but the