The state of things which he found when he went to Halle in 1826 is described by himself as follows :
"It is universally known how a dead orthodoxy had, throughout the 17th century, been predominant in Ger- man churches and universities. . . . Almost thrmighont the breadth of the country the tendency to 'rationnlism,' as it was termed, about the beginning of the present cen- tury, had taken an uncontested possession of the pulpits and academical chairs. ... At Halle there had been but one single man (Prof. Knapp) who, feebly indeed, and se- cretly enough, dared to resist all-powerfnl Uatioiialism. Out of nine hundred students he found five who, being re- vived by the aid of a Christian craftsman, believed in the diviiuty of Christ. They were called the 'idiotic ortho- dox:' they were the few, the little ones, faint-hearted, weak, and not gifted, and over against them the great multitude of the gifted, active, and assiduous students. The body of the academic teachers, in agreement with the whole ma.ss of the students, had sent a petition to the minister of state for ecclesiastic;d aff'airs against my ap- pointment to a professorship at Halle. That was the most trying period of my life, iu which I learned seeking and pursiuug love."
Such was the state of Germany, its Established Church, and its institutions when Tholuck was called to Halle. Hegel, who, as a philosophical lecturer, had imbibed Christian principles in the religious atmosphere of Ber- lin, urged Tholuck, in his parting words, that he should '•deal a death-blow to the bald rationalism prevalent at Halle." This was no easy task, considering that Ge- senius and Wegscheider had such wonderful influence there.
Tholuck's position was, therefore, at first exceedingly difficult in this reign of rationalism. He was scouted, hated, and ridiculed as a pietist, mystic, fanatic, Phari- see, etc. ; but he persevered, and (iod most richly blessed his labors. A radical revolution has been wn)nght in Halle, so far as theology is concerned. The Rev. L. Witte, one of his pnjnls, who represented hiin at the Evangelical Alliance, in 1873, at New York, and read the paper he had prepared on Evaufjelical Theology in Germany, says,
"We know that, in a great meastne, the wholesome change from rationalism to f;iith which has been granted to our native country within the last fifty years is, next to God's grace, owing to the restless zeal of this 'miles Christi,' a genuine good knitrht without fear and without reproach. In d;irk and dreary days he has orallautly borne disgrace for Christ 's.sake. He, a sinirle man, has won the field in the University of Halle; and all his colleagues, one
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by one, hnve been forced to yield to his snpeiiority of Chiistiiiii ener-ry and knowledire. But, more than tliat, tliinis^ands npouthousaudb tall liini tlieir spiritual falhei', their fatlier lu Christ."
Tholuck verilied the proiibetic words of Prof. Hefrel, drew tlie sword of the Spirit, and i;ave liald rationalism its (leath-lilow in the University of Halle, it was cmly with the chancre of irovernmcnt and ministry in Trussia in 1810 that I holuck's intliienee assumed great dimen- .sioiis. Frederick William IV and the minister of wor- ship, Eiehhoni. h)oked upon his theolojiy as one which avoided all extremes and yet held the faitli firmly. They considered it the only jnsliliable form. When vacancies were to be tilled in the I'rnssian universities, his advice was always valued, whether it had been for- mally asked or voluntarily jjroposed. Under the minis- ter Von IJaumer, his intluence rather declined; but under the succeeding minister, Von Miihler, it aecpiired itsold power and dimensions, and many of the appointments of that time were suggested by him. His earnest la- bor for personal and experimental religion caused him to view with mildness smaller departures from ecclesias- tical orthodoxy. Divine truth was in his eyes too sub- lime to be sharply and exactly delined in formuke. In his True Congecrulion of tht .Sccjiiic, he does not even Stiffly demand an exi^ress belief in the personality of (.lod if the self-consciousness and existence of the Di- vine Being are admitted. Sternly to insist ujion creeds seemed to him a dejiarture from the faith. In his ser- mons he despised all rhetoric and dis| lay of learning. There were, however, ti.-ishes of appeal that cut into the heart like lightning. And then his life, so warm and tender and loving, made him a universal favorite with his students. It is no wonder that he exerted an al- most fascinating iiiHuence over them. Indeed, he looked npon jiersonal effort among students as his peculiar call- ing. Every day he spent two hours in walking, and generally had one or two with him, with whom he engaged in pleasant but earnest conversation. This gave him, after a time, such an extensive psychological knowledge that he coukl easily find an entrance to the hearts of those whom he would save. Tholuck said him- self, ill the address which he delivered at his jubilee,
"Not without reason has it been said that I would rath- er lie with candidates [for the ministry] than with pastors, anil rather with sliideuts than with candidates. Kot with- out tau.-e have tliey called me a studetiten-iirn/ex/ior [a professor /or sliidents, as opposed to a bmik professor], who everywhere had a home with students, and nowheie else would rather have had his home. I had my delight in many a sprouting shot>t, aud, as it were, tlieir tlower- bnds as thev unfolded petal after petal, and in the full-de- veloped flowers; but every blossom gradually developed, and in adifl'ereni perfume and color. Yes, that is a blessed deli<:lit 1 and lie who has once found his love and his pleas- ure ni it, and to wlioni God has given the gift i>f lieiug a professor, will no longer tiud the life of a professor to be la- bor, l)ut rather joy and pleasure. And thus have I spent my life, and up to the present day my life as a professor has not t>eeii mv work, hut rather my joy and my deligiit.