understood the true doctrine of justification. Zuingle's influence, too, was powerfully felt. So early as 1520 Capito wrote, "Our affairs grow better daily; our principles have taken hold of so many souls that no earthly power can eradicate them." In 1522 a German version of the New Testament was published at Basle, only a few months after its appearance at Wittemberg. Promising, however, as was the dawn, it was not all sunshine; the victory of the gospel in this city, though a bloodless one, was preceded by a long, earnest, and at times doubtful, struggle. In 1521 the partizans of Rome began to act on the aggressive, and such was their power that Roblin, a preacher of more zeal than prudence, was banished from the city in spite of the vigorous efforts of his friends on his behalf. The Reformers were thus taught the necessity of caution in their future movements.

Such was the state of things at Basle, when there came to it a youthful stranger of modest demeanour, warm piety, ripe learning, who, after a long and laborious preparation for the priesthood, had been ordained a short time previous to his arrival. He had been induced to come chiefly through the urgent entreaties of bishop Uttenheim and of Erasmus, the former being greatly taken with his piety and eloquence as a preacher, while the latter wished to avail himself of his learning as a Hebrew scholar. We, of course, refer to ECOLAMPADIUS. The banner of reform had been already unfurled in this city, yet was he the Lord's chosen instrument of leading on to victory those noble souls who had gathered under it; and though cut down before reaching the prime of manhood, he lived long enough to earn the glorious appellation of the Reformer of Basle. He was the Melancthon of Switzerland. In his intellectual and moral qualities, his modesty, gentleness, love of peace, eagerness for union, academic tastes, fondness for a meditative rather than an active life, tendency to melancholy, relish for letters, and exquisite scholarship-he bore a great resemblance to Luther's great friend and ally. Of all positions that of a revolutionary leader, whether in church or state, was the last one that Ecolampadius would have chosen to assume. If he had dared to follow his own inclinations his life would have been spent in the quietude of the academy rather than amid the turbulence of the arena -in converse with books instead of contests with men. He was inclined to look with profound veneration upon everything that bore the marks of hoary antiquity, and hence the reluctance-we may almost call it-with which he abandoned the Romish Church and severed one by one the ties which bound him to her communion. Among all the continental Reformers none were less disposed than he to cast aside old forms, simply because they were old, or to introduce novelties merely for the purpose of making the Protestant worship as unlike the popish as possible. In short, his tendencies

and tastes, if yielded to, would have repelled him from the rude work and rough ways of the Reformer; and his life supplies one of the many illustrations of the fact, that the Lord often chooses instruments which in human view are most unsuitable for the accomplishment of his designs.

The original name of the Reformer was John Hauschein, or as some say, Heussgen. His father was a resident at Weinsberg, in Wittemberg, but his mother was a native of Basle, and was related to one of the oldest and most respectable families of the city. She appears to have been a woman of rare qualities of mind and heart, refined in manners, intelligent, and truly pious; there can be no doubt that she had much to do with the moulding the character and forming the principles of her distinguished son. His parents were in easy circumstances; and all their other children died in infancy, it was natural that their affections should be concentrated with a special intensity upon the only one spared to them.

John Hauschein was born in A.D. 1492, and was originally destined for mercantile pursuits; but as he early evinced that he possessed mental gifts of a higher order, his mother was very urgent that he should receive a liberal education. From the schools of his native village he was in due time transferred to those of Heilbron, and from thence to Heidelberg, where he was noted as well for the singular purity of his morals as for his genius and learning. It was at this period that his academic friends gave him the name (by which he is known in history) of Ecolampadius,* in testimony of their estimate of his worth and of their hopes of his future eminence as a teacher of divine truth. Having received his bachelor's degree, he repaired to Bologna, the seat of the most famous university of that age; but after a stay of six months the failure of his health forced him to return to Heidelberg. Even at this early period the seeds of a true piety appear to have been planted in his heart; he longed for spiritual nourishment, and finding none in the subtleties of the schoolmen, he turned with eagerness to the fathers and to the mystic writers of the middle. ages.

His worth could not long remain hid. Philip Count Palatine appointed him tutor to his son; but the position, though a brilliant one, was not congenial to his tastes; his love of study overcame his ambition. Prompted by an unquenchable thirst for learning, and anxious to fit himself completely for the sacred office, he went to Tubingen, where he was admitted to the intimate friendship of Melancthon; and thence to Stuttgard, where he was received with equal kindness by Reuchlin. At length the good old bishop Uttenheim, anxious to secure for Basle the services of so ripe a

This is just his own proper name graecised, and signifies "the light of the house." Melancthon owed his historical name to the same custom.

scholar and able preacher, gave him a place in the cathedral of that city. Here he became acquainted with Erasmus, who was then engaged with his commentary on the New Testament, and who derived important help from his young friend's intimate knowledge of Hebrew.

Of his first residence at Basle, 1515-6, little is known beyond the fact that he was admitted a member of the university and a licentitate of theology. Want of health again compelled him to return to Weinsberg, and to cease from all public labour. He devoted himself during this season of retirement to the careful study of the Hebrew; he also published a tract De Paschali risu, in condemnation of the broad humour with which the Easter sermons of the day abounded; and strange to say, he wrote a tragedy containing six thousand lines. His piety during this early part of his ministry was sincere, but so very sombre, that his friends often rallied him about his superstition, which was to be ascribed in part to his physical distempers, though the main cause of it was his imperfect knowledge of the way of salvation. So soon as his health would permit he went back to Basle, at the earnest request of Erasmus, who was getting out the second edition of his New Testament, and wanted his help; but after a sojourn of a few months (1518), he removed to Augsburg, having been appointed one of the preachers of that city.

Here it was that he first met Luther, who came to Augsburg in May 1519, to confer with the papal legate, and by him Ecolampadius was "instructed in the way of the Lord more perfectly." With true Christian promptitude he at once placed himself by the side of the Reformer. The Lord had been long training him for a glorious work, but his education was not yet complete; for though he had learned the grand central truth of the gospel-of free justification through the blood and righteousness of the Son of God -he still had much of the Romanist about him, as was proved by the next important step of his life. On the 23rd of April, 1520, to to the surprise of all his friends, and the disgust of many of them, he entered the monastery of St. Bridget. He was prompted by no selfish consideration to take this step, but by the sincere, though ill-founded, hope of being in a more favourable position to cultivate personal holiness. "I had," said he, "a fair prospect of being something if I had remained in the world." He carried with him into the monastery the new views which he had learned during his intimacy with Luther, and a hearty sympathy with the cause of the Reformer. "If they condemn Luther," said he, "they must first condemn Holy Scripture." As was to be expected, his brother monks soon discovered that the new comer was a most uncomfortable member of their society, with tastes and ideas utterly remote from theirs; while Ecolampadius himself found, in regard to

conventual life, "'tis distance lends enchantment to the view." While in the monastery he preached, and afterwards published, some sermons on the Eucharist, containing such a mixture of truth and error as might be looked for, considering the state of his mind: with error enough to show that he was groping in the dark, truth enough to show that he was groping in the right direction, and more than enough to render his presence very unwelcome to his ignorant and superstitious associates. For instance, he taught that the body and blood of Christ are present under the forms of bread and wine, and that an appropriating faith is necessary in order to communion with God in the holy supper. But the immediate cause of his quitting the convent was the publication of a tract on confession, the tenor of which may be learned from a single sentence-"They (the priests) are blind leaders of the blind; remember you are a Christian enfranchised by the Holy Ghost."

In 1522 he abandoned the monastery, and having some hope of being appointed professor of theology at Basle, he returned to the city, which was destined to be the scene of his labours henceforward till the close of life. No one, as we have before hinted, can fail to see the hand of God in the events thus hastily detailed: in the repeated removals of Ecolampadius from Basle, and his consequent separation from Eramus at a time when the influence of that fine scholar, but lukewarm reformer, might have been alike powerful and pernicious, in his residence at Augsburg and acquaintence with Luther, in his entering the convent and his personal experience of monastic life. Who can doubt that the Lord was thus training him for the work which he was honoured to accomplish as the Reformer of Basle? He reached Basle at a critical moment, and was just the man needed to guide the movement then in progress; he was not a stranger, he had many warm friends there; he understood the character of the people; he was a ripe and a popular preacher, and his own religious experience fitted him to appreciate and deal with the difficulties encountered by others in their progress from darkness to light. Yet his task was not an easy one. While many of the citizens gave him a cordial welcome, the priests and professors looked with an evil eye on the monk who had cast aside his cowl and his vows; even his old patron the bishop and his old friend Erasmus received him coldly. In these circumstances his chances of getting a professorship were very small. Indeed, during the first year he had no office of any kind; yet it was a memorable year in his history, for in the course of it he was brought into contact with Zuingle, whose influence mightily quickened his progress in the path of reform, and who, more than any other person, helped to give the system of faith and worship afterwards established at Basle its peculiar features. After waiting nearly two years for employment, and when just ready to despair

of finding it, the door of entrance into the university was suddenly opened for him, in consequence of a dispute between the council and the professors, which resulted in the deposition of two of the latter. Their places were instantly filled by Ecolampadius and Pellican. The chair of the former was that of biblical learningthe one of all others for which he was best suited. He began his course of lectures with Isaiah, and long before he had reached the middle of it his lecture-room was unable to hold the crowd of students and citizens who flocked thither, all eager to hear the learned and eloquent expositor.

In writing to a friend at Zurich (August 30th, 1523), Erasmus says:-"Ecolampadius has the upper hand of us all." Soon after this was penned, an event occured which showed that Erasmus had not misjudged. A country curate, long noted for his looseness, married his housekeeper, to the great satisfaction of his parish. Of course, so plain a violation of ecclesiastical law could not fail to make considerable stir. The case came before the council, on the petition of the curate for a legal sanction of his marriage; and thus the important question was raised, whether the law of celibacy should be enforced or annulled. Whether or not the council sought advice from other theologians is uncertain; at all events it was the opinion of Ecolampadius that decided their action. He told them that the law in question conflicted with the law of Christ; and the result was, that from that day the Balois clergy in the matter of marriage were left free.

Beside his academic position the Reformer consented to assume that of pastor of St. Martins. In entering upon this new charge he frankly told the council that he must be allowed to preach the word with all freedom, and would not consider himself bound to observe useless or pernicious ceremonies. And in his first sermon (February 24th, 1525), he told his people with equal plainness. “I mean to preach to you the word of God alone, the word of God in its purity. As for the usages of the fathers, I hold them to be of small account; most of them are only snares for conscience. I do not mean to lay burdens on your consciences about days, meats, &c. We promise at the same time to make no changes without consulting the proper authorities."

The limits of this article will not allow us to give a detailed account of the progress of the Reformation at Basle or of the various contests in which the Reformer was forced to engage on its behalf. The Papists were not the only enemies with whom he was obliged to fight. For several years (1524-9), the Anabaptists, with their political radicalism and religious fanaticism, gave Ecolampadius and the council of Basle a vast deal of trouble. One of them, named Denk, who for some time resided at Basle as a corrector of the press, and the notorious Munzer, so grossly abused