Merle d'Aubigne us an Author. — The duties incum- bent upon a professor of theology are so varied, espe- cially at Geneva, where the influences, as in most large European cities, are decidedly rationalistic, that tlie manner in which D'Aubigne discharged his duty to- wards his pupils was of itself sufficient to entitle him to the very highest regards on the part of all followers of Jesus the Christ. The task, however, which D'Aubigne had set for himself at Eisenach, the writing of a histury ofihecjnut Reformation, yi&s the one that mainlj- oc- cupied liim ; and while a most devoted jiastor and a triUy laborious professor, he yet found time for the com- pletion of a work that has immortalized the name of its author. His Uistoire de la Reformation au Seizi'eme Siecle (Paris, 1835-5.3, 5 vols. 8vo) gained for him liter- ally a world-wide reputation. His warm, devotional manner mailc him singularly popular as a preacher and speaker, and threw a charm over his hearers. His vigorous Protestantism, and his bjlief in the special providential mission of the evangelical forms of Prot- estant Christianity, made his history almost a mani- festo of Protestantism. His style is brilliant, and gen- erally clear, and, as was said of him by one of the most eminent of the English reviewers, "He wrote for time, and his writings will endure for eternity." The sale of this work was immense. Jlore than 200,000 cop- ies were sold in France alone; while tlie English trans- lation lias circulated in more tlian 300,000 copies in Great Britain and the United States. In (Germany also the work proved an immense success. But while the fascinations of its style, as well as the transcendent in- terest and importance of its matter, captivated the peo- ple, there are many scholars who have taken excep- tion to his "one-sidcdness," and have declared it uncrit- ical and unscholarly. One of the latest writers on the subject. Prof. Fisher, of Yale, actually ignores D'Au- bigne as an authority, and refuses to place him by the side of such men as Gieseler and Banke. This we think
a great injustice to D'Aubigne. We do not ourselves believe that he has done anything more than popular- ize the great Protestant story ; but to ignore him who may be said to have been virtually the first to write the historj' of the licformation is a shortcoming to be regretted. See Preface to Fisher, The Reformation I (N. Y. 1873, 8vo) ; antl compare Baird, IJ'A ubif/ne and \his Wrilinr/s, with a Sketch of the Life of the Author ! (X. Y. 184(1, 12mo), p. xx. Says the writer in the Chiis- j tian I ntelliyencer, whom we have already had occasion , to (piote : '• It is impossible to estimate the far-reaching j influence of this work in reproducing the characters, I scenes, and struggles of the Keformation times, and in ^ its strong hold upon the popular mind. Wa arc well aware of the critical ordeal which it has passed through among the scholars of Europe, and that its scientific value is not rated so high as that of histories written for learned men. But as a book for the people it has no rival, either in its immense circulation, or in its ac- knowledged iTOwer in behalf of the great princijiles of the Protestant Keformation. The work is, moreover, j the bright and best reflection of its gifted author's gen- ius, learning, and grace. Brilliant in style, picturesque in description, sententious, full of striking thoughts and powerful word-painting, it also glows with his profound love for the dear old faith, and with burning zeal against the corruptions and iniquities of the great apos- tasy of Pome. In no other book in our language do Luther and Erasmus, Melancthon, Farel, Calvin, Tetzel, and Dr. Eck, the great emperor and the greater elec- tor, Leo X, and other characters, so live and move, and act in all their jiersonal traits and historical deeds." In 18G2 he supiihiiK'iiled his great work by the publica- tion of The History of the Reformation in Europe in the TiiiH' dj' Cdlriii, the fourth volume of which was pub- li>li((l ill 1m;s. The other works of M. d'Aubigne, al- thniigh li ss \videly celebrated, are in their way scarcely inferior to his greatly-renowned production. They are: Le Lutherunisme et la Reforme (Paris, 1844) : — Le Pro- tecteur, ou la Republique d' A nyleterre aux Jours de Cromwell (ibid. 1848, 8vo) : rendered into English, and largely circulated under the title, "The Protector, or the English Republic in the Days of Cromwell," a thoughtful and admirably written review of the rule of the Puritan dictator. It is based upon Carlyle's famous monogram on the Protector, and was expressly designed as an exhibit of that "Protestantism which in Crom- well's mind was far above his own person:" — Germany, Em/land, and Scotland, or Recollections of a Swiss Minis- ter (London, 1848, 8vo), a work that showed great pow- ers of observation and clearness of expression: — Three Centuries of StriH/ylinff in Scotlajid, or Two Kings and Two Kinf/iloms (Paris, 1850, 18mo) : a brief— if ^ve may so style it — in which are presented the main features of the Scottish Keformation: — L'Ancien et le Ministre (185C) :— and Character of the Reformer and the Refoi- malion of Genera (1802, 8vo). jNL Jlerle d'Aubigne has also contributed largely to periodical publications, the most noted of ids jiapers being a series on the Ar- chires of Christianity. See, besiiles the writers already quoted. La France Protestante, ou vies des J^rottslanls Frangais (1853); Charles de Kemusat, Melanges de Lit- terature et Philosophie ; Vaperean, Diet, des Contempo- rains, s. v. ; Hoefer, Xour. Biog. Genirale, s. v. ; Brit, and For. L'rang. Rer. 1843, 101 sq.; Aeir-Fnglander, iv,344; Harper's Magazine, 1872, Nov. (J. H.Nv.)