THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
at the church porch during the mass, on the last of the seven without cloak or shoes; he must fast the Fridays preceding on bread and water, and give alms according to his means. The civil authorities were also admonished to impose a fine. By the end of the century the offense came to be more definitely defined as any depreciatory or opprobrious expression concerning God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit, such as the denial of a divine attribute, or the ascription of something unseemly (as falsehood or revenge), or wishing ill to or in any way dishonoring God, the saints, or the Virgin. Leo X (1513-21) imposed fines according to the ability of the offender and bodily punishments which included flogging, boring the tongue, and condemnation to the galleys in extreme cases. Later a tendency to substitute admonition and exhortation for severe penalties becomes apparent. By the common law of England, and in many of the United States by statute law, blasphemy is an indictable offense; prosecutions, however, have become infrequent. (P, HlNSCHIUst.)
The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost which is pronounced unpardonable (Matt, xii, 31; Mark iii, 29; Luke xii, 10) is best understood to be wilful and persistent resistance to the influences and •warnings of God, which renders the subject incapable of repentance and pardon. See Holy Spirit, II.
Bibliography: J. D. Michaelis, Mosaisches Recht, part v, § 251, Frankfort, 1770-75, Eng. transl., London, 1810; P Hinschius, Das Kirchenrecht in Deutschland, iv, p. 793, n. 3, v, 184, 318-319, 325, 699, vi, 188, Berlin, 1869-98; Blackstone, Commentaries, IV, 4, iv; Sir J. F. Stephen, History of the Criminal Law of England, ii, 469-476, London, 1883; Biahop, Commentaries, X, x; DB, i, 305-306; EB, i, 589-590.
BLASS, FRIEDRICH WILHELM: German Protestant classical scholar; b. at Osnabriick (30 m. n.e. of Minister) Jan. 22, 1843; d. at Halle Mar. 5, 1907. He studied in ( lottingen (1860-61) and Bonn (1861-63; Ph.D., 1863), and after being a teacher in gymnasia at Bielefeld (1864-66), Xaumburg-an-der-Saale (1866-70), Magdeburg (1870-73), and Stettin (1873-74), became privatdocent at Konigsberg in 1874. Two years later lie was appointed associate professor at Kiel, where he was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1^1. From 1802 he was professor of classical philology at Halle. Besides editions of Creek .authors and inscriptions, and several works on strictly classical themes, he published Philology of the Gospels (London, 1898) and Grainmatii; des neutestumentlichen Griechisch (Gottingen, 1896; Eng. transl. by H. St. J. Thackeray, London, 1898), and edited Acta Apostolorum (Gottingen, 1895; minor edition, Leipsic. 1S96); Evangel ium secundum Lucum (Leipsic, 1897); Erangelium secundum Malthrcum (1901); Erangelium. secundum Johannem (1902); and (Barnabas) Brief an die Ilehrder (Halle, 1903).
BLASTARES, MATOLEUS: At first a secular priest and later a monk of the order of St. Basil, who made about 1335 a collection of laws, both civil p.nd ecclesiastical, known as "Alphabetical Collection," Syntagma alphabet ieu in re rum omnium qua: in sacris canonibus eompn hendiui/ur. The
civil part (" political laws ") is based upon the Novella: of Justinian, the ecclesiastical (" canons ") upon the collection of Photius, with the commentaries of Zonaras and Balsamon. Such a dictionary of law filled a practical want, and so was universally used by the Eastern clergy, and even translated into Slavic. A complete reprint is found in Beveridge's Synodicon, ii, 2, and in vol. vi of the Syntagma ton theion kai hieron kanonon (Athens, 1859). (E. Friedberg.)
BLAURER (BLARER, BLAARER), AMBRO- SIUS: German Reformer; b. at Constance Apr. 12, 1492; d. at Winterthur (12 miles n.e. of Zurich), Switzerland, Dec. 6, 1564. He studied at Tubingen, where he became acquainted with Melanchthon; about 1510 he entered the monastery at Alpirsbach, and continued his studies at Tubingen till 1513. Through study of the Bible and of Luther's writings, to the reading of which he was led by his brother Thomas, who while studying at Wittenberg had become intimate with Luther and Melanchthon, he embraced the principles of the Reformation, which he tried to introduce into the monastery. Being opposed by the abbot, he went to Constance July 5, 1522, and at the instance of the council of the city began to preach in 1525. He became the leader of the Reformation there. From 1528, Blaurer labored for the Reformation outside of his native city. He was present at the colloquy in Bern (Jan. 6, 1528), was at Memmingen Nov., 1528-Feb., 1529, and presided over the convention of the friends of the Reformation in Upper Germany which met in Memmingen Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 1531. From May to July, 1531, he was at Ulm with (Ecolampadius and Butzer, afterward at Geislingen, and (Sept. 1531-July, 1532) at Esslingen. He everywhere displayed ability in organization. In July, 1532, his native city recalled him, and in 1533 he married a former nun.
In 1534 he was called by Duke Ulrich, together with the Lutheran Erhard Schnepf, to further the cause of the Reformation in the duchy of Wiirttemberg. The two men came to an agreement, Aug. 2, 1534, concerning the doctrine of the Lord's Supper paving thereby the way for the coming union of the German Evangelical Church. To Blaurer was assigned the south of Wiirttemberg with residence at Tubingen. He encountered there certain difficulties: (1) the agreement with Schwenckfeld, 1535; (2) the reformation at the University of Tubingen, which Brenz had undertaken; (3) the image-question, which Blaurer solved by removing all of them from the churches, but the " idol-diet " at Urach left the decision to the duke. At Sciimalkald Blaurer refused in Feb., 1537, to sign the articles of Luther, but approved those of Melanchthon. Court intrigues brought about Blaurer's dismissal in June, 153S. Not till 1556 did Duke Christopher compensate him for his four years' services. He was at Augsburg June 27-Dec. 0, 1539, where he earnestly labored against the luxury of the rich, pleaded for benevolence to the poor, and for the cause of morality. He went to Keinptcn and labored there (Dec, 1539. to the "nd of Jan., 1510) for the peace of the Church, and also at Isny, 1514-55.