346 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



many is the best place to which, he can go for them. The profess- 

 ors and theologians of Germany who adhere substantially to the 

 old Christian faith are at least as numerous, as distinguished, as 

 learned, as laborious, as those who adhere to skeptical opinions. 

 What is, by general consent, the most valuable and comprehensive 

 work on Christian theology and church history which the last 

 two generations of German divines have produced ? Herzog's 

 " Real-Encyclopadie fur protestantische Theologie und Kirche," 

 of which the second edition, in eighteen large volumes, was com- 

 pleted about a year ago. But it is edited and written in harmony 

 with the general belief of Protestant Christians. Who have done 

 the chief exegetical work of the last two generations ? On the 

 rationalistic side, though not exclusively so, is the " Kurzgefasstes 

 exegetisches Handbuch," in which, however, at the present time, 

 Dillmann represents an opposition to the view of Wellhausen 

 respecting the Pentateuch ; but on the other side we have Meyer 

 on the New Testament — almost the standard work on the subject 

 — Keil and Delitzsch on the Old Testament and a great part of 

 the New, Lange's immense " Bibelwerk," and the valuable " Kurz- 

 gefasster Kommentar" on the whole Scripture, including the 

 Apocrypha, now in course of publication under the editorship of 

 Profs. Strack and Zockler. The Germans have more time for 

 theoretical investigations than English theologians, who generally 

 have a great deal of practical work to do ; and German professors, 

 in their numerous universities, in great measure live by them. 

 But it was by German theologians that Baur was refuted ; it is 

 by German Hebraists like Strack that Wellhausen and Kuenen 

 are now being best resisted. When Prof. Huxley and Mrs. Ward 

 would leave an impression that, because German theological 

 chairs are not shackled by articles like our own, therefore the 

 best German thought and criticism is on the rationalistic side, 

 they are conveying an entirely prejudiced representation of the 

 facts. The effect of the German system is to make everything an 

 open question ; as though there were no such thing as a settled 

 system of the spiritual universe, and no established facts in Chris- 

 tian history ; and thus to enable any man of great ability with 

 a skeptical turn to unsettle a generation and leave the edifice of 

 belief to be built up again. But the edifice is built up again, and 

 Germans take as large a part in rebuilding it as in undermining 

 it. Because Prof. Huxley and Mrs. Ward can quote great German 

 names on one side, let it not be forgotten that just as able German 

 names can be quoted on the other side. Take, for instance, Har- 

 nack, to whom Mrs. Ward appeals, and whose " History of Dog- 

 mas " Prof. Huxley quotes. Harnack himself, in reviewing the 

 history of his science, pays an honorable tribute to the late emi- 

 nent divine, Thomasius, whose " History of Dogmas " has just 



