633 



SPENER, PHILIP JAKOB. 



SPENSER, EDMUND. 



631 



From these two persons he early received strong religious impressions, 

 which never left him. At fifteen he was sent to the gymnasium at 

 Colmar, whence, after a residence of a twelvemonth, he proceeded to 

 the University of Strasburg, where he pursued his theological studies 

 under Sebastian Schmidt and J. C. Dannhauer, both zealous Lutherans 

 and strenuous opponents of Calvinism. While attending the lectures 

 of these professors, Spener did not neglect his other studies. He 

 improved his acquaintance with the classical languages, in which he 

 had been tolerably well grounded ; studied Hebrew, and also, which 

 was at that time more rare, Arabic ; read much In philosophy, and 

 with great attention the works of Grotius, the influence of whose 

 writings can be traced in his works. He also took a vivid interest in 

 the history of his own country. In 1654, after delivering a thesis 

 against the errors of Hobbes, he took his academical degree in philo- 

 Bophy, and was appointed tutor at the university to the two sons of 

 *the Prince of Birkenfeld, with whom he remained two yeajp, during 

 which time he delivered lectures on philosophy and history. From 

 1659 to 1662, to increase his knowledge, he visited the universities of 

 Basel (where he studied Hebrew under Buxtorf), Tubingen, Freiburg, 

 Geneva, and Lyon. At Lyon he became known to Pere Me"nestrier, 

 who inspired him with a taste for heraldry, which he imported into 

 Germany, where it found a fruitful soil. This taste occasioned the 

 production of his earliest works, and they were continued at intervals 

 till 1689. They are genealogico-historical, and, though some have 

 gone through more than one edition, posesss a limited interest now. 



On his return to Strasburg he resumed his lectures, and in 1662 

 the senate offered him the situation of public preacher, which he 

 accepted, and rapidly acquired so great a reputation by his eloquence, 

 his piety, and the purity of his life and manners, that after taking his 

 degree of D.D. in 1654 the senate of Fraakfurt-am-Main invited him 

 to accept the office of chief preacher of that city. Here he maintained 

 the reputation he had previously acquired ; his admirers and followers 

 were numerous. His earnestness, sincerity, and zeal however, though 

 procuring him devoted disciples, made him enemies; for, in accord- 

 ance with the spirit of the times, his zeal was uutempered with 

 tolerance, and his denunciations, which were mainly directed against 

 the Calvinists, who were a powerful and wealthy body in Frankfurt, 

 occasioned them to remonstrate with him. This had a remarkable 

 effect, and it displays the excellence of his character; for thence- 

 forward he ceased to contend against the minor differences of faith 

 with his Protestant brethren, and restricted his reprehensions to the 

 vices, the immoralities, and the formal coldness of the sermons, and of 

 the religious feelings of the attendants on them, which then prevailed. 

 His change gave offence to his own party ; he was now accused of 

 favouring and sanctioning heterodoxy. 



He however held on his course; and in 1670 he instituted his 

 ' Collegia pietatis,' which, unintentionally on his part, became the 

 foundation of the sect of Pietists. In these assemblages he repeated 

 in a summary manner the substance of his sermon ; and, after explain- 

 ing some passage from the New Testament, invited the inquiries of his 

 auditors as to anything which seemed to them to need further expla- 

 nation. To these meetings females were admitted, but they were not 

 allowed to ask questions, and were kept out of sight. For many 

 years while under his direction the good effects of these meetings were 

 palpably evident; but they degenerated when they began to be held 

 in various places, and frequently not under the direction of a clergy- 

 man. Complaints were made, but Spener found no difficulty in 

 justifying his own proceedings. Still pursuing the object he had ever 

 in view the improvement of his fellow-men he published in 1675 

 his ' Pia Desideria,' demonstrating the need of a general reform, and 

 pointing out the mistake of preachers declaiming on points of doctrine, 

 instead of inculcating Christian charity and a humble faith. 



In 1686, at the special request of the Elector of Saxony, and in the 

 hope of being beneficial in a wider sphere than at Frankfurt, he 

 accepted the office of court preacher and member of the consistory at 

 Dresden, where he was very soon involved in a religious dispute, which 

 in the end elevated Spener into the chief of a sect considered hetero- 

 dox if not heretical. A number of clergymen proposed that they 

 should enter into an agreement upon oath to withstand any innovation 

 in their creed or discipline. The adherents of Bohm were chiefly 

 pointed at, but Spener was indirectly included, whose inclination 

 towards mysticism and opinions on the millenium were not approved 

 of. Spener held that such an agreement trenched upon the Protestant 

 doctrine of the right of private judgment, refused to consent, and 

 published in 1691 'The Independence of Christians from all Human 

 Authority in matters of Faith,' a work which greatly contributed to 

 the extension of tolerance among the sects of Germany. Another 

 dispute however which he had with the theological teachers in the 

 University of Leipzig, where one who had adopted his doctrines was 

 persecuted by the others, and where the nickname of Pietists was first 

 bf stowed on his followers, led to an appeal by him to the elector. 

 His opponents had been able to prejudice the elector ngainst him; the 

 religious meetings were forbidden, and were stigmatised as conven- 

 ticles. Spener upon this accepted the office of provost and inspector 

 of the church of St. Nicholai, and assessor of the Consistory at Berlin, 

 in 1690, where he enjoyed universal respect. In 1692 the Elector of 

 Brandenburg founded the University of Halle, and Spener's adherents 

 i'rom Leipzig being appointed its theological professors, Halle became 



the central point of Pietism, and Lutheranism split into two sects. 

 The theological faculty at Wittenberg published a work denouncing 

 264 heretical opinions propounded by Spener, who replied in 1695 in 

 the ' True Agreement with the Confession of Augsburg.' Soon after a 

 violent dispute arose in consequence of some preachers refusing to 

 hear confession before administering the sacrament and giving abso- 

 lution. The dispute was so violent that a riot was apprehended ; but 

 Spener restored peace by deciding that it should be free to believers 

 cither to confess or abstain from the formality, according to their 

 own opinion a truly Protestant decision, ami, as a consequence, con- 

 fession among Lutherans has fallen into desuetude. In 1694, Friedrich 

 August I. of Saxony, on his accession to the electorate, urgently solicited 

 Spener to return to Dresden, but he declined ; and, after pursuing his 

 accustomed course, distinguished for his goodness, charity, and piety, 

 he died at Berlin, on the 5th of February 1705. 



Several memoirs of him have been published, partly founded on a 

 manuscript of his own life found after his decease; and he left a 

 number of works unprinted, of which some have since appeared. In 

 1700-1 be had published 'Theological Answers and Consultations,' 

 in 4 vols., to which after his death was added ' The Last Theological 

 Answers,' in 1 vol., 1715; and in 1709 'Concilia et Judicia Theologia 

 Latiua.' The six volumes are said to form the best collection of 

 Protestant casuistry extant, the answers not treating of vain subtleties, 

 but discussing matters of grave importance and of practical utility. 



SPENSER, EDMUND, the " prince of poets," as the inscription on 

 his monument terms him, is usually ranked with Chaucer, Shakspere, 

 and Milton. Like them, very little seems to be known of his personal 

 history, and that little is contradictory and obscure. 



He was born in the year 1553, in East Smithfield, London. He 

 appears to have been well connected, but as to this there is no cer- 

 tainty, though an attempt has within the last few years been made to 

 show that he belonged to the Spencers of Hurstwood, near Burnley, 

 Lancashire. (See 'Gent. Mag.' August, 1842, and March, 1828, also 

 Mr. Craik's work referred to below.) The circumstance of some of his 

 minor poems being addressed to Anne, daughter of Sir John Spenser, 

 who married Lord Mounteagle, and at his decease Henry, Lord 

 Compton, and also her sister Elizabeth, wife of George Gary, who was 

 created Lord Hunsdon in 1596, furnish some foundation for the 

 opinion that there may have been some family connection. Nothing 

 is known of Spenser's parents. We find him entered as a sizar at 

 Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, on the 20th May, 1569, in his sixteenth 

 year. In 1572 he took the degree of A.B., and in 1576 that of A.M. 

 He soon afterwards left Pembroke Hall, in consequence, it is stated, 

 of an unsuccessful competition for a vacant fellowship with Launcelot 

 Andrewes, bishop of Winchester. But some of his biographers state 

 that no such competition ever occurred ; others, that he left college 

 immediately after taking his degree. On quitting Pembroke Hall, ho 

 went to reside with some friends in the north. During this retirement 

 he wrote his first work, the ' Shephearde's Calendar,' and fell in love 

 with his ' Rosalind,' who is by some supposed to have been a real 

 personage. This work was first published in quarto in 1579, and 

 dedicated to the " ever-memorable " Sir Philip Sidney. 



Dr. Birch, in his ' Life t>f Spenser,' asserts that the dedication of 

 the 'Shephearde's Calendar ' was Spenser's first and only introduction 

 to Sir Philip Sidney. The common story of Sir Philip's ordering five 

 pounds to be given to the author, who waited without, and gradually 

 increasing the sum in proportion as his admiration was awakened, is 

 treated with discredit by all Spenser's later biographers. Sidney 

 appears to have warmly patronised the poet ; for Spenser dates the 

 letters to Gabriel Harvey from Leicester House, Sir Philip's ordinary 

 residence, and many expressions indicative of warm attachm- nt on, 

 the part of Spenser and friendship on that of Sidney, are contained in 

 them. It is remarkable that some of Spenser's contemporaries seem 

 to have believed, and the belief seems to have been general, that Sir 

 Philip Sidney himself was the author of the 'Shepbearde's Calendar." 

 This subject is briefly discussed in Mr. J. P. Collier's ' Poetical Deca- 

 meron,' to which the reader is referred. The fact of the work being 

 published anonymously, no doubt, greatly aided the general belief in 

 this report. 



In 1580 the 'Foure Epistles' which passed between Spenser and 

 Gabriel Harvey appeared. The subjects of these letters were an 

 earthquake which happened at that time in London, and satirical 

 poetry. Spenser is addressed under the name of ' Immsrito.' Nash, 

 in his 'Have with you to Saffron Walden,' 1596, speaks of these letters 

 as ' ragged remnants.' This and other satirical cuts produced a tract 

 from Harvey in the ensuing year, called ' The Trimming of Thomas 

 Nash ;' but Spenser's fame being by thia time well established, Nash's 

 satire may be considered as confining itself to Harvey's share in the 

 letters. 



In the latter part of the year 1580, Spenser was sent to Ireland as 

 secretary to Lord Grey of Wilton, by the Earl of Leice.-ter, Sir Philip 

 Sidney's uncle. His services in that capacity procured him, in 1586, 

 a grant from the crown of 3028 acres of laud forfeited by the Earl of 

 Desmond. Kilcolman, in the county of Cork, was the name of this 

 estate. In the same year (1586) he lost his kind friend and patron Sir 

 Philip Sidney, a mournful event which produced ' Astrophel,' a 

 pastoral elegy on Sir Philip. This work was not published until the 

 year 1595. 



