mation. This individual was Philip Melancthon, who was born at Bretten, a town in the province of the Rhine. His father was keeper of the armory, and his mother a near relative of Reuchlin, a famous scholar, by whose advice, and in accordance to a custom among students at that time, his German name of Schwartzerdt (Black castle) was changed into the Greek appellation Melancthon, of the same signification. In 1510, Philip entered the university, and such was his ability and progress, that the very next year he was qualified to receive his first degree, and was made instructer to some young noblemen. When twenty-two years of age, he was appointed professor of Greek at Wittemberg. Here he became intimate with Luther, and accompanied him to the dispute at Leipsic. From that time he stood in the first rank among the Reformers, whose cause he greatly promoted by his learning, as well as by his pure and amiable life. He was married in 1520 and had three children, a son and two daughters. He died at Wittemberg, April, 1560, in the sixty-third year of his age.

The personal appearance of Melancthon was such, that no one at first sight would have recognised the great reformer; for his body was diminutive and meagre. But his forehead was high, arched, and open; his eyes bright, and

his whole countenance radiant with expression. He was pleasant and wise in conversation, fond of society, and so liberal to the poor as

sometimes to involve himself in embarrassments by his generosity. Gentle in manners, candid and benevolent, and an ardent lover of peace, he was sometimes charged with timidity by the rougher spirits with whom he acted: but no one was more firm than he, when called upon to abandon any important truth or principle. Always anxious for pacific measures, when he thought them possible, he was frequently called upon to act the part of a mediator; in such cases, his learning, moderation, and good nature won the esteem of both friends and enemies, and his influence did much to soften the animosity of the contending parties. In short, neither the history of his own, nor any subsequent age, offers to our contemplation a character more beautiful and elevated than that of Philip Melancthon,

CHAPTER IV.

REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND ULRICH ZWINGLE

-ABBEY OF EINSIEDELN. 1484-1516.

WE have, thus far, confined our sketch to Germany. But this was not the only country in which an early opposition showed itself to the corruptions of the Romish church; nor was Luther the only man, who ventured to commence the work of reform. The same causes which contributed to the success of the Saxon divine, were in operation elsewhere, and throughout many parts of Europe the people were ready and anxious for a revolution. In Switzerland the symptoms of the approaching revolt were apparent, even before Luther began his attacks upon the papal system. The course of our narrative, therefore, leads us to notice and briefly trace the rise and progress of the Reformation in that romantic land, by following the short but brilliant career of Zwingle. This method of proceeding gives us an opportunity to do justice to the labors and merits of one, who is not, perhaps, so well known and so highly esteemed as he deserves. His exertions were confined within a small district, some of his opinions were not popular with a majority of the reformers, and he

died young; these facts will account for, although they may not excuse, the comparatively small space assigned to him by some historians.

Ulrich Zwingle, the son of a respectable peasant, was born on the first of January, 1484, at Wildhausen, a village situated among the woodcovered mountains and fertile valleys of the county of Toggenburg, in Switzerland. His father was determined by his early exhibition of promising talents to consecrate him to the service of the Church. He was sent to school first to Basil and afterward to Berne. At the latter place, he attracted the attention of some Dominican monks, who endeavoured to secure the young scholar to their order; they succeeded in prevailing upon him to reside in their monastery; but his father disapproved of this step, and ordered him to join the University of Vienna. At the end of three years he returned to Basil in the capacity of a teacher. In this office he labored

to improve his pupils in the study of the ancient
languages, while he enriched his own mind by a
diligent perusal of the classic authors. He did
not however neglect theology; although his acute
and powerful intellect could not be satisfied with
the narrow views and puerile conceits of the
writers at that time popular in the Church,
"who," as we are told, "neglecting every thing
useful to man, occupied themselves with the

dreams of their own imaginations, and wasted their time in descriptions of the formation of the universe, as minute as if they had been present at the creation; or in the discussion of such questions as these, whether after the resurrection we should be allowed to eat and drink; whether God could have caused his Son to appear in the form of a stone, and if so, how a stone could have preached and worked miracles." Such subjects received little attention from Zwingle. He marked out a more liberal course of study, which he pursued with indefatigable industry,— relieving his severer labors at times by the cultivation of his taste for music, an art, in his opinion well calculated to soften asperities of temper, and to enliven the mind worn down by more fatiguing exertions.

From Basil, Zwingle removed to Glaris, having received and accepted an invitation to become the Pastor of that town. As he was now entering upon the active duties of his profession, and felt anxious to be well furnished for his ministry, he resumed his theological inquiries. He gave to the New Testament an attentive examination, and copied with his own hand the Greek text of St. Paul's Epistles, for the purpose of making himself familiar with their contents. In his critical study of the Bible, he was far from relying on the received interpretations of the Church,