504 ANA 
tlmfiafm. The moil: pernicious faction of all thofe which 
compofed this motley multitude, was that which pretend¬ 
ed that the founders of the new and pcrfecl church, were 
under the direction of a divine impulfe, and were armed 
againft all oppofition by the power of working miracles, 
it was this faction that,.in the year 1521, began their fa¬ 
natical work, under the guidance of Munzer, Stubner, 
Storck, &:c. 
Thefe perfons were difciples of Luther; but, well¬ 
knowing that their opinions were fuch as would receive 
no function from him, they availed themfelves of his ab- 
fence to diffeminate them in Wittemberg, and had the ad- 
drefs to over-reach the piety of 'MeianCthon. Their prin¬ 
cipal purpofe was to gain over the populace, and to form a 
contiderabl.e party. To eff'eCl this, fays Bayle, they were 
induflrious and attive, each in Ids own way. Storck, want¬ 
ing knowledge, boafled of infpiration; and Stubner, who 
had both genius and erudition, laboured at commodious 
.explications of Scripture. Not content with difcrediting 
the court of Rome, and decrying the authority of conlifto- 
ries, they taught, That among Chriftians, who had the 
precepts of the gofpel to direct and the Spirit of God to 
guide them, the office of magi(1 racy was not only unne- 
ceffiary., but an unlawful encroachment on their fpiritual 
liberty ; that the diitinclions occafioned by birth, or rank, 
or wealth, being contrary to the fpirit of the gofpel, which 
confiders all men as equal, fliould be entirely abolifhed ; 
that all Chriftians, throwing their poffeffions into one com¬ 
mon, (lock, fliould live together in that (late of equality 
which becomes members of the fame family; that, as nei¬ 
ther the laws.of nature nor the precepts of tire New Tcfki- 
ment had placed any reftraint upon men with regard to the 
number of wives which they might marry, they fliould 
rife that liberty which God himfelf had granted to the 
patriarchs. 
They employed at firft the various arts of perfuafion to 
propagate their doCtriue. They preached, exhorted, ad- 
moniffied, and reafoned, in a manner that feemed proper to 
imprefs tire multitude ; and related a number of vi- 
(ions and revelations with which they pretended to have 
been favoured from above. But when they faw that thefe 
methods of makin profelytes were not attended with fuch 
fuccefs as they expected, and that the miniftry of Luther 
.and other eminent reformers was detrimental to their caufe, 
they had recourfe to more expeditious meafures, and at¬ 
tempted to propagate their doCtriue by force of arms. 
Munzer and his afibciates, in the year 1525, put them¬ 
felves at the head of a numerous army, compofed for the 
molt part of the peafants of Suabia, Thuringia, Franconia, 
and Saxony ; and declared war againft all laws, govern¬ 
ment, and mqgiftrates of every kind, under the pretext 
that Chrift was now to take the reins of civil and ecclefi- 
aflical government into his own hands, and to rule alone 
over the nations. But this feditious crowd was foon routed 
and difperfed by the elector of Saxony and other princes; 
and Munzer their ringleader ignominioufly put to death, 
and his factious counfellors (battered abroad in different 
places. Many of his followers, however, furvived, and 
propagated their opinions through Germany, Switzerland, 
and Holland. In tlie year 1533, a party of them fettled 
at Munfter under the direction of two Anabaptift prophets, 
John Matthias a baker of Haerlem, and John Bockholdt 
a journeyman taylor of Leyden. Having made themfelves 
matters of the city, they depofed the magiftrates, confifca- 
ted the eftates o€ fucli as had efcaped, and depolited the 
wealth they had amaffed in a public treafury, for common 
life. They made preparations of every kind for the de¬ 
fence of the city ; and Cent out emiffaries to the Anabap- 
filts in the Low Countries, inviting them to affemble at 
Munfter, which was now dignified with the name of Mount 
Sion, that from hence they might be deputed to reduce 
all nations of the earth under their dominion. Matthias, 
who was the firft in command, was foon cut oft’ in an act 
of phrenfy by the bifhop of Munfter’s army; and was 
fucceeded by Bockholdt, who was proclaimed by a fpecial 
ANA 
designation of heaven, as he pretended, king of Sion, and 
inverted with legiflative powers like tliofeof Mofes. The 
extravagancies of Blockholdt were too numerous to be 
recited: it will be fufficient to add, that the city of Mun¬ 
fter was taken after a long fiege and an obftinate refiftance; 
and Bockholdt the mock monarch was puniftied with a 
moll painful and ignominious death. It muff, however, 
be acknowledged, that the rife of the numerous infurrec- 
tions of this period ought not to be wholly attributed to 
religious opinions. The firft infurgents groaned under the 
molt grievous oppreffions ; they took up arms principally 
in defence of their civil liberties; and of the commotions 
that took place, the Anabaptift leaders above-mentioned 
feem rather to have availed themfelves of the opportu¬ 
nity, than to have been the prime movers. That a great 
part of the main body eonflfted of Anabaptifts, feems in- 
difputable; but it appears from hiftory, that a great part 
alfo confided of Roman Catholics, and a dill greater n'um- 
ber of perfons who had fcarcely any religious principles at 
all. Indeed, when we read of the vaft numbers that were 
concerned in thofe infurrections, of whom it is reported 
that ioo,oco fell by the fword, it is reafonable to conclude 
that a great majority of them were not Anabaptifts. 
'Lhe Baptifts i:i England and Holland are to be confi- 
dered in a very different light from the enthufiafts we have 
been describing; and it appears equally uncandid and in¬ 
vidious, to trace up their diftinguilliing fentiment, as fome 
of tlieir adverfaries have done, to thofe obnoxious cha¬ 
racters, in order to affociate with it the ideas of turbu¬ 
lence and fanaticifm, with which it certainly has no natu¬ 
ral connection. Tlieir coincidence with fome of thofe 
oppreiled and infatuated people in denying baptifm to in¬ 
fants, is acknowledged by the Baptifts: but they difavow 
the practice which the appellation of Anabaptijls implies; 
and tlieir doCtrines feem referable to a more ancient and 
refpectable origin. They are (upported by hiftory in con- 
lidering themfelves as the defeendants of the Waldenfes, 
who were fo grievoufly oppreffed and perfecuted by the 
defpotic heads of the Romifh hierarchy; and they profefs 
an equal averfion to all principles of rebellion on one hand, 
and to all fuggeftions of fanaticifm on the other. The 
denomination of Mcnnonitcs, by which they are diftinguifti- 
ed in Holland, they derive from Menno, the famous man 
who finally gave confidence and liability to their feet. 
ANA.BA'SII, f. in antiquity, were couriers who were- 
fentonhorfeback, or in chariots, with important difpatches. 
ANABA'SIS,yi [_xcu.Qa.ivw, Gr. to afeend or climb.} 
In botany, a genus of the pentandria digynia clafs, rank¬ 
ing in the natural order of holoraceas. The generic cha¬ 
racters are—Calyx: perianthium three-leaved; leaflets 
roundifti, concave, obtufe, fpreading. Corolla: five-pe- 
talled; petals ovate, equal, lefs than the calyx, permanent. 
Stamina: filaments filiform, longer than the corolla ; an- 
tlierae roundifti. Piftillum: germ roundifti, acuminate, 
ending in two ftyles; ftigmas obtufe. Pericarpium: a 
berry, roundifti, furrounded by the calyx, dilated. Seed: 
fingle, fcrew-ftiaped_ EJJential Char abler. Calyx three- 
leaved ; corolla five-petalled; berry one-feeded, furround¬ 
ed by the calyx. ’ 
Species. 1. Anabafis aphylla, or leaflefsanabafis: witli- 
out leaves; the joints eniarginate. It is a perennial plant, 
and has been found wild on the (bores of the Cafpian. 
2. Anabafis foliofa, or leafy anabafis: leaves fub-cla- 
vate. This is feldom more than half a foot in height; 
more or lefs branched ; and is annual. Found wild on the 
(Lores of the Cafpian. 
3. Anabafis tamarifcifolia, or tamarifk-leaved anabafis: 
leaves awl-fliaped ; pericarps juicelefs. A fiirub with 
white branches, very fmoofh. Native of Spain. 
4. Anabafis fpinofiflima, or thorny anabafis: flirubby ; 
branches without leaves, but full of fpines. Its native 
place of growth is unknown. 
ANABA'THR A,/, in ancient writers, denote a kind of 
flops or ladder whereby to afeend to fome eminence. In 
this lenfe we read of the anabrathra of theatres, pulpits, 
&e. 
