Paulus, Gottfried, was a convert from Judaism, of whom nothing is known, not even the time in which he lived. As he wrote in the Dutch language, he prob- ably lived in Holland. He is the author of Inleiding, icaar in beicesen ivord, dat de Jooden ran den Vleeck allsen door Christus verlost tvorden, item Eenige Beicysen van de Gottheyd Messias uyt Sohar Bereschit, s. 1. et a. See Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii, 69; Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. iii, 906. (B.P.)
Paulus, Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob, a Ger- man theologian of great note in his day, and one of the leaders of the nationalists at the close of the last and the first quarter of the present century, was born at Lconberg, near Stuttgard, Sept. 1, 1761. He at first intended devoting himself to the study of medicine, but becoming interested in the Pietistic movement, he soon turned all his attention to the study of theology, and proceeded to Tiibingen, to devote himself to studies pre- paratory to entering the ministry. He also spent some time travelling in Franconia and Saxony. Next he gave himself to the study of Oriental languages at Gcit- tingen, and afterwards went to London and Paris to continue his researches. In 1789 he was called to the professorship of Oriental languages at Jena, and in 1793, on the death of Diiderlein, became professor of the- ology. Here he especially signalized himself by the critical elucidation of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, in so far as they present Oriental char- acteristics. The results of his labors may be seen in his Philologisch-hitischer und historischer Commentar iiber das Neue Testament (Lubeck, 1800-1804, 4 vols.): — Claris iiber die Psalmen (Jena, 1791): — Claris iiber den Jesaias, and other writings belonging to this ]ieriod of his literarj' activity. In 1803 he removed to Wiirz- burg; in 1808, to Bamberg; in 1809, to Nuremberg; and in 1811 to Ansbach. During these various changes he had ceased to be a professor, and became a director of ecclesiastical and educational affairs; but in 1811 he accepted the professorship of exegesis and ecclesiastical liistorj' at Heidelberg, and was thus once more given the opportunities of academical life. In 1819 he .started a kind of historico-political journal entitled Sophronizon, in which he contiinied to write for about ten years. His contributions were marked by weighty sense, mod- eration, and knowledge of his various subjects, and won him great renown at the time. His essays upon pass- ing important subjects, such as proselytizing, the in- fluence of the popish government on the national Ro- man Catholic Church of Germany, and others, gained great applause. As a theological writer he was anx- ious to warn his readers equally against a one-sided nationality and a speculative deviation from the orig- inal doctrines of Christianity, as from mj-sticism and Jesuitism. With these ideas he began in 1825 a the- ological year-boolv, called J)er Denkgldubige, published from 1825 to 1829, and another journal called Kirchen- beUiichtungcn, published in 1827. From his numerous writings we select for mention the following: Memora- hilien (Leips. 1791-1796) : — Sammlung der merhwiirdig-
PAULUS
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sten Reisen in den Orient (Jena, 1792-1803, 7 vols.) :— Lehen Jcgii, als Grundlage eine?- reinen (Jeschichte des Urchristenthums (Heiclelb. 1828, 2 vols.) : — .4 ufkldrende Beitrdge sur Dor/men- Kirchen- und Religionsgeschkhte (Bremen, 1830) : — and Exegetisches JIandhuch iiber die dreiersten Eciingelien (Heidelb. 1830-1833,3 vols.). His services to Oriental literature are numerous and im- portant. While at Jena lie edited the "Kepertory of Biblical and Oriental Literature," the Arabic version of Isaiah by Saadias, and AbdoUatif 's " Compendium Me- morabil. vEgypti," etc. As a theologian, he is generally looked upon as the type of pure, unmitigated rational- ism— a man who sat down to examine the Bible with the profound conviction that everything in it repre- sented as supernatural was only natural or fabulous, and that true criticism consisted in endeavoring to prove this. Perhaps none of the German Kationalists have done more to spread the infection of neological opin- ions and modes of thinking than Paulus. Under the imposing pretence of superior deference to the reason- ing power in man, he, with others, had great success in weakening the hold of salutary divine truth on the educated mind of tJermany, and bred great scepticism, not onlv as to the doctrines, but the authority of reve- lation. Paulus died Aug. 10, 18.")!, having lived long enough to see his own rationalistic theory of Scripture give place to the "mythical" theory of Strauss, and that in its turn to be shaken to its foundations partly by the efforts of the Tubingen school, and partly by those of Neander and the " Broad Church" divines of Germany. See his Skizzen aiis meiner Bildungs- und Le- hensgeschichte zum A ndenken an meinfiinfzigjdhrige Juhi- Idiirn (Heidelb. 1839) ; Meldegg, Paulus u.s.Zeit (Stuttg. 1853. 2 vols. 8vo) ; Kahnis, Hist, of German Protestant- ism, p. 171; Hurst, Hist, of Rationalism, p. 36; Hurst's Hagenbach, Church Hist, of the 18th and I9th Centuries; Ebrard, Kirchen- u. Dogmengesch. vol. iv.
Paultis de Heredia of Aragon was bom about 1405. When yet in connection with the synagogue he used to dispute with Christian theologians about the merits of Judaism ; nevertheless he afterwards became a convert of Christianity. He wrote, Ensis Paull: — Iggeret ha-Sadot, treating of the divinity, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, whicli a certain Nechun- jah ben-ha-Kanah, who lived towards the end of the second Temple, is said to have written: — De Mysteriis Eidei, against the Talmud: — and Corona Regin, on the immaculate conception of Mary, which he dedicated to pope Innocent YIII. When Paulus died is uncertain, but in 1485 he was yet alive. See Flirst, Bihl. Jud. i, 385 ; Wolf, Bibl. Hehr. i, 903 ; De Castro, BibUoth. i, 3G3 sq. ; Griitz, Gesch. d. Juden, viii, 231 sq. (2d ed. Leips. 1875, p. 232) ; Kalkar, Israel u. die Kirche, p. 31. (B. P.)