HYPERIUS
448
HYPOCRISY
the Papists call the mateniity of God, and other emi- nent gifts, and her supereminent sanctity ; dulia is wor- ship paid to saints on account of their sanctity." These distinctions are too refined for the common people ; and it is greatly to be feared that multitudes worship the Virgin instead of God, or take her as a mediator instead of Christ. The prayer-books of the Koman Church are not free from the charge of encouraging a belief in the mediation of Man,'. A book in common use, called The JSaa-ed Heart of Jesus and of Mar i/, which is published with an uidult of pope Pius in favor of its use, contains the following passages : " Come, then, hardened and in- veterate sinner, how great soever your crimes may be, come and behold. Mary stretches out her hand, opens her breast to receive you. Thouf/h insensible to the r/reat concerns of your salvation, though unfortunately pi-oof against the most engaging invitations and inspirations of the Holy Ghost, fling yourself at the feet of this power- ful advocate." Again (p. 256) : " Rejoice, O most glo- rious Virgin, such is thy favor with God, such the power of tliy intercession, that the whole treasury of heaven is open to thee and at thy disposal. When thou art pleased to intercede in favor of a sinner his case is in siu-e hands ; there is no danger of refusal on the part of Heaven when thy mediation appears in his behalf." " Thou art the great mediatrix between God and man, obtaining for sinners aU they can ask and demand of the blessed Trinity." Another book in common use. The Glories of Mary, Mother of God, prepared by Li- guori (q. v.), is fuU of similar passages. We extract only the following praj'er : " O holy Virgin ! deign to man- ifest your generosity towards me, a miserable sinner. If you grant me your aid, Avhat can I fear ? No, I shall no longer apprehend either my sins, since you can re- pair them ; or the devils, since you are more powerful than hell; or your Son, justly irritated, since one word from you will appease him. I shall only fear myself, and that, forgetting to invoke you, I may be lost. But this wiU not be the case. I promise you to-day to re- cur to j'ou in all my wants, and that, during life and at my death, your name and remembrance shall be the de- light of my soul. Amen." See Gumming and French, J'rotestant Discussion (London, 1856, 12mo), p. 288 sq. ; Ferraris, Prompta Bihliotheca, Venerat. Sanrt. § 34-39 ; Elliott, Delineation of Romanism, bk. iv, ch. iv. See Makiolatry.
Hyperius, Andrew Gerhard, an eminent Protes- tant theologian of the 16th centurj', was born at Ypres, Belgium, May 16, 151 1. His family name was Gerhard, but he assumed the name Hyperius from his birthplace. His father directed his first studies, after which Hype- rius attended the University of Paris during the years 1528-35. After completing his studies he made a short stay at Louvain, then travelled through the Nether- lands, and visited Germany. On his return he was de- prived of a benefice which had been obtained for him, on tlie ground that he had embraced the doctrines of the Reformation. He went to England, where he re- mained four years with the son of William jNIountjoy, a friend of Erasmus, studying at the universities of Ox- ford and Cambridge. The persecutions directed against the Protestants after Cromwell's death compelled him, in 15-41, to leave England, and he purposed going to Strasburg, attracted by the reputation of Bucer; but his friend (ieldenhauer, professor of theologj' at IVIarburg, persuaded him to remain in the latter city, and he suc- ceeded his friend in 1542 as professor. He died at jMar- burg Feb. 1, 1564. To jirofound and extensive learning Hyperius joined great intellectual powers, and a remark- ably mild, yet straightfonvard disposition. Greatly in advance of his times as a scholar, he held deep and cor- rect views on the system with which theological re- searches and studies shoidd be conducted in striking contrast with the arbitrary proceedings of the exegetes of the 16th century, as weU as the scholastic theories of contemporary theologians. His viev.'S have become the basis of modern scientific theology. He had also a
clearer and more practical notion of preaching than the other preachers of his time, who, uistead of expounding Christian doctrines to their hearers in view of edifying them, brought abstract discussions or irritating contro- versies into the pulpit. Hj-perius wrote Deformandis Concionibus san-is, seu de interpretatione Scripturarum jMjndari, Libri ii (Dort, 1555, 8vo ; latest ed., augment- ed, and containing a biography of the author, Halle, 1781, 8vo). It is the first complete work on Homiletics, and one of the best : — De theologo, seu de ratione studli theologici, Lib. iv (Basle, 1556, 8vo; often reprinted): this is a work of great merit, which may have had the most favorable effect on theological study, had not the large- ness of views and the Zuinglian opinion of the author in regard to the Eucharist rendered it suspicious in the eyes of the orthodox Lutheran party. Laurent ius A'illa- vincentius, an Augustinian monk of Xercs, in Andalusia, made great use of this as well as of the preceding work, or, rather, caused them to be reprinted almost word for word, as his own production, with the exception of pas- sages too favorable to Protestantism, in a work he pub- lished at Antwerp in 1565, and the plagiarism was not detected until half a centurj' later: — Elementa Christi- anm 7-eligionis (Basle, 1563, 8vo) : — Topica theologica (Wittemb. 1565, 8vo; Basle, 1573, 8vo) -.—Methodi The- ologice, sive pracipuorum ChristiancB religionis locorum comnmnium, Lihri Hi (Basle, 1566, 1568, 8vo). This work was to have had three more parts, but it was left incomplete: — Opiuscula Theologica varia (Basle, 1570, 2 vols. 8vo). His exegetical works are among the most valuable productions in that department by the Reform- ers, and were frequently used by Bloomfield in his notes on the New Testament. His most important work in this department, a Commentai-y on the Ejnstles of Paid and the Epistle to the Hebretcs {Comment, in Ejnstolas ad Timoth., Titum, et Philem. 1582; Comment, in Pauli Epistolas, 1583 ; Comment, in Epist. ad Hebraos, 1585), was published after his death byMylius (Ziirich, 1582-8, 4 vols, folio), and under the care of J. Andreas Schmidt (Helmstadt, 1704, 8vo). In it "Hyperius pursues the grammatico-historical method of interjiretation, exam- ining the meaning of the words, carefully tracing the connection of the passage, taking note of the analogy of Scripture, and so arriving at the true sense of the place. Not until he has thus done justice to the exe- gesis does he proceed to the dogmatical or practical use of the passage. He also frequently gives citations from the fathers to show the agreement of his conclusions with the understanding of the ancient Church" (Kitto). A collection of small pamphlets had been previously published separately; among th^m, De Sacree Scripturce Lectione et Meditatione (Basle, 1581, 8vo). See Eois- sard, Jcones Virorum Illustrium, pars iii; Melch. Adam, Vitce Germanorum Theologorum ; Bayle, Diet. Hist.; J. M. Schrockh, Lebensbesch. heriihmt. Gelehrten, vol, i, and Kirchengesch. s. d. Ref. vol. v ; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gen. XXV, 71 ; Mercersh. Rev. 1857, p. 271 sq. ; Ch. Monthly, June, 1866 ; M'Crie, Reform, in Spain, p. 382 ; Hauck, Jah rb. d. Theol. ii, 255. (J. H, W,)