bl I was raised that in 1553 the leaders of opposition
were obliged to ipiit tin country: and when, later, the ude turned against the Osiandrians, Funk himself and two other leaders paid for their distinction with their lives, in 1566. See Funk, Johank; Morlin, Joachim. Duke Albert then set about restoring the peace ol the Church. He was not himself able to grapple with the far-reaching theological, anthropological, and soteriolog- ical questions which the Osiandrian controversy had raised. He had as suddenly turned from one side to the other as the prosperity of the ( Ihurch set med to de- mand. He had unsettled all and settled none, but he
had, at least, the satisfaction of seeing one g 1 result
fr the agitation. It made evident the need of a gen- erally accepted "< !onfession," and he intrusted its pr< pa- ration toMorlin and Chemnitz, and in 1567 they brought out the ( 'orpus Doctrina Pruti nicum, aiso called ],'> j» iitio Corporis Doctrina Christiana, which became the sym- bolical text-book of Prussia. Although it had been in- tended to abide, so far as the cultus was concerned, by the regulations of 1544, a revision was called for a fur the publication ofthe Repetitio, and in 1568 was brought out another Kirckenordnung v. Ceremonien vcii es in Uebung Gottes Worts v. Reickung der hochiciira IcramenU in den Kirchen des Herzogthums Preussen ,</<- litillni in nit n soU. This linally established the evan- gelical cultus.
In 1548 the reforming party in Prussia was greatly strengthened by the arrival of multitudes of Bohemian
brethren, who were ordered, under most severe penal*
ties, to leave their country within forty-two days (May i. 1548). Duke Albert offered them an asylum in his siaics. whither thej migrated under the guidance «f Matbias Sionius, the chief of the whole community.
Polish or West Prussia, together with the minor states of Courland and Livonia, gradually underwent a simi- lar transformation, owing to many favorable influences. Luther's pamphlets, exposing the weaknesses of the pa- pacj ami of Romanism, had free entrance in these coun- tries. The bishop of Ermland, Fabian, nol onlj raised no opposition himself, but, as the Romanists claim, was even anxious thai the reform movement should suc- ceed. Then the government of the Polish sovereign. Sigismund Augustus, by granting plenary freedom "i' religion to the towns of Dantzic, Thorn, and Elbing, greatly facilitated the triumph ofthe Protestant opin- ions, which was effected about the year 1560. < iermany. at last, had conquered for herself by the Reformation the valiant Prussians, and in the borders of Slavic and Roman influence had firmly planted the seed ol < ierman culture and (ierman Protestantism, which was to ger- minate and spread so marvellously. The evangelical Church of Prussia, which was always after in closes) in- timacy and most active co-operation with ( ierman Prot-
PRUSSIA
72i
estantism, to which it owed its origin, had nevertheless its own peculiar formation, and took lor its development its own peculiar way. Most remarkable is the fact that the prince under whom the Prussian evangelical Church first established itself lived to see it rooted and grounded in doctrine, cultus, and discipline. Duke Albert died March 20, 1568.
4. Modern Period.— Frederick I was distinguished for his rigid economy of the public money and an extraor- dinary penchant for tall soldiers, and left to his son, the great' Frederick II, a compact and prosperous state, a well-disciplined army, and a sum of nearly nine million thalers in his treasury. Frederick II (1740-86) dex- terously availed himself of the extraordinary advan- tages of his position to raise Prussia to the rank of one of the great political powers of Europe. In the inter- vals between his great wars, he devoted all his ener- gies to internal improvement, by encouraging agri- culture, trade, and commerce, and reorganizing the mil- itary, financial, and judicial departments of the State. By his liberal views in regard to religion, science, and government, he inaugurated a system whose results re- acted on the whole of Europe; and in Germany, more especially, he gave a new stimulus to thought, and roused the dormant patriotism of the people. Frederick was not over-scrupulous in his means of enlarging his dominions, as he proved by sharing in the first partition of Poland in 1772, when he obtained as his portion near- ly all West Prussia and several other districts in East Prussia. His nephew and successor, Frederick William II (1786-97), aggrandized his kingdom by the second and third partitions of Poland in 1793 and 1795. Fred- erick William III (1797-1810), who had been educated under the direction of his grand-uncle Frederick the Great, succeeded his father in 1797, at a time of ex- treme difficulty, when Continental rulers had no choice beyond being the opponents, the tools, or the victims of French republican ambition. By endeavoring to maintain a neutral attitude, Prussia lost her political importance, and gained no real friends, but many covert enemies. But the calamities which this line of policy brought upon Prussia roused Frederick William from his apathy, and, with an energy, perseverance, and self- denial worthy of all praise, he devoted himself, with his minister, count Hardenberg, to the reorganization of the State. In the ten years which succeeded the battle of Waterloo, Prussia underwent a complete reorganization. Trade received a new impulse through the various com- mercial treaties made with the maritime nations of the world, the formation of excellent roads, the establish- ment of steam and sailing packets on the great rivers, and, at a later period, the organization of the customs treaty, known as the Zollverein, between Prussia and the other states of Northern Germany, and through the formation of an extended net-work of railways. The most ample and liberal provision was made for the dif- fusion of education over every part of the kingdom and to every class.