Eckart or Eckliardt (called Master EcJcart\ a Dominican monk, one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages. Of the time or place of his birth we have no record. He is first mentioned as a teacher at the College of St. James, at Paris. Having gone to Rome, where he received the degree of D.D., ho was appointed provincial of Saxony, the aiipointment being confirmed by a chapter of his order held at Toulouse in 1304. In 1307 he was appointed vicar-general of Bohemia, with power to reform the Dominican con- vents. We afterwards find him again in Strasburg, preaching in the nunneries, and making acquaintances among the "Brethren of the Free Spirit." Having preached in Cologne, where archbishop Ileinrich had already, in 1322, condemned the Beghards, Eckart, who inclined to them, brought upon himself the dis- pleasure of the Church. Cited before the Inquisition in January, 1327, Eckart disclaimed heretical doctrines, and professed his willingness to recant any such that could be found in his teachings. A total recantation, however, being demanded of him, he refused, and in consequence was condemned as a heretic. He ap- pealed to the pope, who, out of 28 points acknowledg- ed by Eckart, condemned 17 as heretical and the re- mainder as suspicious. Notwithstanding tliis con- demnation, Henry Suso's autobiography, published in 1300, calls him " the holy blaster Eckart," and praises his " sweet doctrine." Copies of his sermons were made and preserved in numerous monasteries. Eck- art has been claimed both by speculative philosophers and orthodox theologians; both by Protestants and Romanists. He is perhaps properly to be considered as the father of the modern mystical pantheism. He uplield the doctrines of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, but yet was free fi'om tlieir practical aberra- tions, as also from their ojiposition to the rites of the Church and to moral law. His writings have latterh' been collected by Pfeifter {Deutsche Mi/stller des 11'"" Jahrh. 1857, 2d vol.); tliey consist of 110 sermons, 18 treatises, 70 theses, and the Liber positicmum. Before this, some of his sermons and short treatises, appended to Tauler's collection, Basle, 1521, were the only ones of his writings which were generally accessible.
See Schmid, in Theol. Stud. u. Kritik. (1839) ; 3fe- moires de I'Acad. dcs Sciences mor. et polii. (Schmid's Etud. sur le mystidsme allem. au xiv""' sieck, Paris, 1847) ; Martensen, Mei^fer Eckart (Hamburg, 1842) ; Schmid, in Herzog's Real-Enri/klopddie, iii, 638. All the writers lierc cited charge Eckart with pantheistic views. But Proger, in Zeitschriftf. d. hist. Theol. 1864, p. 163 sq., and 18GG, p. 453 sq., publishes a new tract of Eckart's, not found in Pfeifter's collection, and vin- dicates Eckart from the charge of pantheism. So also does Bach, in Meisier Echhart, d. Vuter d. dmtschen I III.— D
Speculation (Wien, 1864), noticed in Jahrh. f. devtschs Theologie, 1867, p. oG3.
Eckerniann, Jacob Christoph Rudolph, was born September 6, 1754, at Wedendorf, in Mecklen- burg-Schwerin. In 1782 he was appointed professor of theolog}-^ at the University of Kiel, and Danish Church councillor. He died May G, 1836. He is the author of ErMilrung aller dunklen Stellen des N. T. (Kiel, 1806-1808, 3 vols. 8vo) : — Joel metrisch i'tbenetzt mit einer neiten Erklcirung (Liib. and Leipz. 1786, 8vo) : — ComjKud. theol. theor. hihl. histor. (,\ltona, 1792, 8vo); a German edition of the same work, Handb, ftir das systemat. Sludium der O'laubenslekre, in which he de- clares that the doctrines of Jesus are only a popular guide to a real adoration of the deity, and that what- ever else the New Test, may contain is to Ijc consid- ered true only from an historical point of view (Alto- na, 1801-2, 4 vols. 8vo) : — Erinnerung an den unrcr- gdngl. u. unsckdtzb. grossen W'erth der Reformat. Eu- thers (Altona, 1817, 8vo), besides a number of other works, which have been collected in 6 vols. 8vo, under ' the title of Theologische Beitrdge (Altona, 1790-99), and in two additional vols., Vermischte Schriflen (ibid. 1799, 1800). — Winer, Theologische Literatur ; Kitto, Cijclopte- dia, i, 725 ; Griisse, Allgem. Liter iirgescKichte, vii, 872.
Eclectics, (1.) a sect of ancient philosophers, who professed to select (tJcXfyfii') from alPsj'stems of phi- losoplij'' what they deemed to be true. The Echciics were chiefly Neo-Platonists (q. v.), and the philosophers chiefly selected from were Pvthagoras, Plato, and Aris- totle. "This union of the Aristotelian and Platonic philosophies was attempted first l)y Potamo of Alexan- dria, whose principles were taken up and maintained by Ammonius Saccas. It may be doubted, however, if the title of ecleclics can be properh' given to Potamo or Ammonius, the former of whom was in fact merelj'- a Neo-Platonist, and the latter rather jumbled togeth- er the diff'erent systems of Greek philosophy (with the exception of that of Epicurus) than selected the con- sistent parts of all of them. The most eminent of the followers of Ammonius were Plotinus, Porphyry, Jam- blichus, Proclus, and the ancient Eclecticism became at last little more than an attempt to reconcile Platon- ism with Christianity" {Penny Cyclop, ix, 265). See Ammonius.
Clemens Alexandrinus {Strom, i, 228) said : " By philosophy I mean neither the Stoic, nor the Platonic, nor the Epicurean, nor the Aristotelian, but whatever things have been properly said by each of these sects, inculcating justice and devout knowledge — this tuhole selection I call philosophy.^'' " The sense in which this term is used by Clemens" (of Alexandria), says ]Mr. Jlaurice {Mor. and Mefaphys. Phil, ii, 53), "is obvious enough. He did not care for Plato, Aristotle, Pj'thag- oras, as such ; far less did he care for the opinions and conflicts of the schools which bore their names ; he found in each hints of precious truths of which he de- sired to avail himself; he would gather the flowers without asking in what garden the)' grew, the prickles he would leave for those who had a fancy for them. Eclecticism, in this sense, seemed only like another name for catholic wisdom. A man, conscious that ev- erything in nature and art was given for his learning, had a right to suck honey wherever it was to be foimd ; he would find sweetness in it if it was hanging wild on trees and shrubs ; he could admire the elaborate archi- tecture of the cells in which it was stored. The Au- thor of all good to man had scattered the gifts, had imparted the skill ; to receive them thankfully was an act of homage to him. But once lose the feeling of devotion and gratitude, which belonged so remarkal)ly to Clemens — once let it be fancied that tlie philosopher was not a mere receiver of treasures which had been provided for liini, l)ut an ingenious chemist and com- pounder of various naturally unsocialde ingredients, and the eclectical doctrine would lead to more self-cou-