to derive any nourishment from cold controversial discourses, retired more into themselves, and sought that instruction respecting divine things,' in secret intercourse with God, which they did not find in the established church. But in such instances, something of an imaginary and fantastic nature easily intermingled itself, because of the deficiency in the needful mental culture; and hence it was very desirable that pious and learned divines should come forward, and provide for the spiritual necessities of the people. Of this description were those eminent men, John Arndt, John Gerhard, and Valentine Andrea. These individuals however, only prepared the way for a renovation in religion and divinity: the new epoch of evangelical vitality began with the great Philip James Spener. He labored to divest the study of divinity of scholastic controversy, and to lead it back to its source, the Holy Scriptures; whilst impressing it upon the student as an affair of the heart, more than of the head. He was desirous that every divine, instead of devoting himself to some human system, should himself deduce from the Bible its true and simple doctrine; and declared, that he only could preach the gospel effectually, who had inwardly experienced its power. He spoke in very warm terms against the mode of preaching in vogue at that period, and said that the pulpit was not the place for an individual merely to shew himself to the best advantage, but where the practical truths of the gospel-the doctrines of sin, redemption, and sanctification, ought to be simply and intelligibly preached. The sermons which Spener preached at Frankfort, and in which he promulgated the simple truths of the gospel, produced, as is invariably the

case, astonishing effects. Being desirous, however, of influencing the minds of men in a still more powerful manner, and in order that he might be enabled to enter into closer connection with those of his hearers who were the most susceptible of divine truth, to provide by this means in a still greater degree for their spiritual necessities, and thus render them a salt to the church, he established, with the consent of his colleagues, special meetings in his own house, when he read the Scriptures to those that attended them, and spoke with them upon the great truths of religion and the state of their souls.

Spener's influence in the church increased on his removal to Dresden; but reached its height when stationed at last in Berlin, where under his auspices, a complete theological faculty formed itself at the newly-established university of Hallé. But the more actively Spener and his friends and pupils laboured in the cause of vital Christianity—the more decidedly and hostilely were they opposed by that party in the Lutheran church, which was zealous for the letter of a lifeless orthodoxy, and who branded their efforts with the name of PIETISM.1

One of Spener's younger friends, and the greatest of his spiritual followers at that period, was Augustus. Herman Franké, the subject of the present memoir. He was born at Lübeck, on the 23d March, 1663. His father, John Franké, was doctor of laws, and syndic of the cathedral church of Lübeck; but removed in the year 1666, with his family, to Gotha, whither he had been invited by duke Ernest the

1 Hence the term pietist in Germany, almost synonomous with that of methodist in this country, by which every one who professed anything beyond the mere dead letter was designated.

pious, who nominated him aulic counsellor and assessor, for the express purpose of regulating the schools and ecclesiastical concerns in his dominions; but he died there in 1670, when young Franké was only seven years of age.

The elder Franké had already commenced a course of private instruction with his son, which his mother caused to be continued till he was in his thirteenth year, and the latter confesses, in the fragment of his life, that study was his favourite occupation. At the age above-mentioned, he entered the gymnasium at Gotha, and notwithstanding his youth, was distinguished in consequence of his uncommon acquirements. The year following, he was dismissed from the school, as being fit for the university. But on account of his youth, which had already brought upon him many humiliations from his schoolfellows, who were much older than himself, he remained two whole years at home, during which period he exercised himself in philology, and especially in the Greek language, under the direction of a private tutor. Franké also began, before removing to the university, to occupy himself with the study of divinity, to which he gave his decided preference, as well as with philosophy, although he blames this premature application to academical studies, in the fragment of his life which he wrote at a later period.

In his sixteenth year, he entered the university of Erfurt, which is situate near Gotha. He there attended lectures, though mostly private ones, from an old friend of his family, the learned Conrad Rudolph Herz, upon logic, metaphysics, geography, and history, as well as upon the Hebrew language,

which he had previously neglected. However, he left Erfurt at Michaelmas of the same year, and removed to the university of Kiel, where he enjoyed a considerable stipend, which his maternal uncle in Lübeck had in his gift.

At Kiel, Franké entered into intimate communion with that celebrated and truly pious divine, Christian Kortholt. He not only attended the latter's theological lectures, but also boarded and lodged with him, had the use of his library, and received particular instruction from him in ecclesiastical history. Besides this, Kortholt gave private lessons to him and the son of the excellent Christian Scriver, in philosophy. Franké also attended Morhoff's lectures on physics, natural history, and Latin eloquence, and took a peculiar interest in his collegium polyhistoricum. He also learnt the English language at Kiel. To exercise himself in pulpit eloquence, he studied Aristotle's Rhetoric. But that which attracted him to Kiel, was chiefly the study of metaphysics and moral philosophy, the discipline of both which he studied, not without any reference to divinity.

After a three years residence at Kiel, Franké left that place in the year 1682. He had heard from his teachers, both at Erfurt and Kiel, that a knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages was of primary importance in the study of divinity. Now though he possessed a tolerably thorough knowledge of the Greek, yet his acquaintance with the Hebrew was limited. His repeated study of Schikard's grammar, and a commencement he made in analyzing, had yielded no perceptible progress in the knowledge of the language. To make a final attempt, he tra

velled in 1682, from Kiel to Hamburgh, to place himself under the celebrated Hebrew linguist, Ezra Edzardi. The latter advised him to make himself so intimately acquainted with the first four chapters of Genesis, as to know every word in them, without troubling himself much with the grammar, and then to come to him again. This advice seemed entirely useless to Franké; however he followed it faithfully, and then waited again upon the Jew. Το his great astonishment, Edzardi now assured and proved to him, that he was already acquainted with a third part of the Hebrew words. This inspired Franké with fresh courage; and Edzardi then advised him to read the Hebrew bible repeatedly through, after which he might study the language still more profoundly. After a two month's residence in Hamburgh, Franké returned to his family at Gotha. There he read the Hebrew Bible seven times through in one year, by which he attained such a knowledge of that language, that he was acquainted with every word in it. He learnt French also at that time.

Franké had spent a year and a half in the most diligent application to studies of this nature, when an affluent student of divinity in Leipzig, of the name of Wichmannshausen, wished to have him for a companion, that he might receive instruction from him in Hebrew. Franké accepted this offer, and removed to Leipzig towards Easter, 1684. Wichmannshausen made such progress under Franké's tuition, that he afterwards became professor of the oriental languages at Wittenberg. Franké at the

same time continued his studies at Leipzig, in divinity, philosophy, history, and philology, and also