26 8 



ARMlNIUa 



tinguishcd those who wen- no! sati.sfi.d witn these 

 five articles, luit proceeded farther in the contest 

 with the reformed or Calvinistic church. A-. CM-II 

 before tin- Ariniiiian dispute, several writings of 

 Six-inns luul been circulated secretly in Holland, par- 

 ticularly among- the. men of learning, who were 

 itlmosl all .\riiiiniaiis, it was natural that the later 

 Anninians .shoulil coincide, in many points, with the 

 Socinians. They were then-fore accused of Socini- 

 anNin. The suites of Holland issued an ordinance, 

 in 1614, directing the Remonstrants and Counter- 

 reiuonstrants (the latter were also called Uomarists, 

 from tlieir leader, Francis Goniarus, professor of 

 theology at Leyden) to live in love and charity with 

 t-iich oilier. Hut, as both parties doubted the obli- 

 gation of such a decree in respect to spiritual affairs, 

 the famous synod at Dort was held from Nov. 13, 

 1618, to May 9, 1619, in order to adjust the differ- 

 entvs. The decision of the synod is very remarka- 

 ble. It made reason the servant of the fear of God, 

 subjecting it to the control of faith, and declared, 

 with inudi piety and theological consistency, that 

 the doctrine of predestination is very hard, but cannot 

 be avoided ; let the Holy Scriptures stand fast, and the 

 opinion of the opposing; world perish. The Counter- 

 re monstrants, so called, gained the ascendency by the 

 decree of this synod, in which they were accusers and 

 judges. The opposite party have accused them of 

 unjust and cruel behaviour on this occasion, and they 

 have not yet toen able to disprove the accusation. 

 Though the former were obliged to yield to the de- 

 cision of the synod, they continued to print and de- 

 fend their doctrines. The decree of this synod was 

 highly prejudicial to the sect of the Arminians, and 

 they were particularly in danger when some of their 

 members took part in a conspiracy against prince 

 Maurice. He was, however, soon convinced, that 

 the sect, as such, Iiad nothing to do with the plot, 

 and, after his death, in 1625, they received from 

 I lenry, his brother, the liberty to erect churches and 

 schools in all parts of Holland. In Amsterdam, they 

 established an academy for education, which became 

 very famous. The congregations at Rotterdam and 

 Amsterdam were the most numerous. They did not 

 endeavour to increase their sect. Any one who 

 joined them was not obliged to accept their creed, 

 but only to declare, generally, that he was a believer 

 in Christianity according to the apostolic symdolum, 

 and endeavoured to regulate his life according to 

 Christ's commands. Their public service was almost 

 entirely like tliat of the Calvinistic church, only they 

 did not require, like this church, from the parents of 

 a child about to be baptized, a profession of belief in 

 their doctrines, and a promise to educate the child in 

 i he same, but demanded only a promise to educate 

 the child in the Christian faith, without mentioning 

 th<* creed of any sect. The Anninians were very 

 numerous as long as they were persecuted, but 

 rather decreased, when they had gained liberty and 

 peace. 



ARMI.NIUS (the Latin name for Hermann) ; the de- 

 liverer of Germany from the Roman yoke. The 

 victories of .Drusus had added to the Roman empire 

 the German districts lying on the Rhine, the Elbe, 

 and the Saal. No measures were neglected, by the 

 Roman government, to keep the natives of these 

 territories in subjection. The Sicambri, whose fear- 

 less spirit was so fetal to Lollius, were transplanted, 

 with a few of the most powerful tribes, to the I>anks 

 of the Rhine, and the interior of Gaul ; and attempts 

 were made to secure the allegiance of the remaining 

 tribes by hostages, and by a Roman education, gra- 

 tuitously bestowed on the children of the chiefs. A., 

 son of a prince of the Cherusci, Sigimer (which, in 

 the old German, signifies a famous coiir/ncror), was 



born 18 B. C. He was educated at Rome, admitU-d 

 into the rank of ryw//o-, and appointed to an honouia- 

 lilt- station in the army of AngiMns. lint princely 

 favour and the charms of learning wire insufficient 

 to make the young barbarian forget his early asso- 

 ciations, and his coitntr)'s gods ; and the ellecl oi 

 his Roman education was lo leach him how to con- 

 quer his instructors. Convinced tliat the rude 

 strength of hi> savage countrymen would be unequal 

 to cope with the disciplined forces of the Unmans 

 in the open field, he had recourse to stratagem. 

 Every circumstance seemed to fa\onr hi-* d< M^IIS 

 Quintilius Varu-, who commanded the flower of the 

 Unman army, was appointed to maintain ir.mquillity 

 and submission in the new territories on the right 

 bank of the Rhine. Relying upon his | nwcr, he ex- 

 pected to be able to introduce Roman institutions, 

 and thereby change the character of the German 

 tribes, who viewed liberty as the highest good. He 

 was accompanied to his destination by a large num- 

 ber of merchants and lawyer*, vho wire to bring- 

 about the intended changes. The object of this 

 expedition was sufficiently odious in itself, and the 

 arrogance and oppression of the Romans increased 

 the dissatisfaction of the Germans to the highest de- 

 gree. A. chose this favourable moment for the 

 execution of his designs, and succet ded in gaining 

 over to his views the chiefs of nearly all the trihes 

 between the Elbe and the Rhine. About the same 

 time, A. D. 9, a general rebellion broke out in Pan- 

 nonia and on the borders of Dalmalia. Whether 

 this rebellion was connected with the plans of A., 

 and intended to aid in supporting the monarchy 

 which had been founded by Marbodius, between tin- 

 Elbe, the Saal, and the Oder, and suppressed by the 

 Roman governor, we shall not now stop to decide. 

 Even if it had no connexion with the designs of A., 

 we have reason to admire the harmony which marked 

 the undertakings of the allies ; for the treachery of 

 Segestes, one of their number, was insufficient to 

 break the strong bond of their union. This Se- 

 prince of the Catti, informed the Roman general of 

 their secret intentions ; but Varus disregarded his 

 admonitions. A. succeeded in removing his distrust, 

 and turned the attention of the Romans to the dis- 

 turbances on the Weser, which he had himself ex- 

 cited, in order to draw the Roman soldiers into the 

 heart of the country. The auxiliary German troops 

 everywhere yielded the strictest obedience, and their 

 commander, the faithful confederate of A., was every 

 day lulling Varus into a deeper security. Slight dis- 

 turbances, which had been previously concerted, now 

 took place in distant parts of the empire, to induce 

 the Roman governor to divide his strength. The 

 main body oi the army consisted of three legions, a 

 few cohorts, and the treacherous auxiliaries. The 

 spirit of rebellion now became universal. A. and his 

 most intimate friends, who had enjoyed the confi- 

 dence of Varus, and been admitted to his secret 

 councils, multiplied the proofs of their apparent zeal 

 in the Roman service. They urged the Roman com- 

 mander not to wait for the undisciplined rebels, but 

 to march against them, and extinguish the flames of 

 sedition where they raged with the greatest fury. It 

 was in vain that Segestes repeated his warning-. 

 The arts of A. prevailed. The army advanced every 

 day farther from the Rhine, and plunged deeper in 

 the regions where they were most exposed to de- 

 struction. In the territory of the Bructeri, near the 

 source of the Lippe, after a long and tiresome march 

 through marshes and forests, they suddenly found 

 themselves in a deep valley, surrounded by hills, 

 which were all occupied by their German foes; and, 

 Lo add to their consternation, A., with his rear-guard, 

 was now tlieir enemy, and the soul of all the assaults 



