THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
June 2, 1S26. Brought up in a pious home, at fifteen he began the study of theology, in which he took his bachelor's degree at the University of Strasburg in 175S. Until 1767 he supported himself by teaching, when he was appointed pastor at Waldersbach, the principal parish in the rough mountainous district of Steinthal (Fr., Ban-de-la- Roche), on the boundary between Alsace and Lorraine. Oberlin entered upon his labors with energy and self-denial, in the face of great difficulties, arising from the poverty and ignorance of the population, and from the criticisms of his predecessor. His first care was to provide for the spread of education, erecting schools in Waldersbach and other villages, and making one of the earliest attempts at the training and instruction of very small children. The construction of roads and bridges, the encouragement of a better system of agriculture, the teaching of trades, and the establishment of stores, loan associations, savings-banks, and agricultural societies with the awarding of prizes marked his efforts for promoting the good of the community. Even the smallest economic reform assumed for him the character of a Christian work. The establishment of factories through his influence not only provided a means of livelihood for the people, but soon doubled their numbers. But these activities did not make him neglect the more directly spiritual work. He was a preacher of the greatest earnestness and simplicity, and indefatigable in visiting the scattered members of his flock. In 1781 he founded, on an impulse received from the life of Zinzendorf , a Soci6te chretienne, the members of which pledged themselves to strive for perfect sanctification and to exercise mutual oversight and discipline, but two years later he found it best to disband the association. It is not surprising, in view of his remarkable courage and enterprise, that he should at times have gone into ill-advised ventures; but he was never accused of narrowness or sectarian prejudice. He invited Roman Catholics and Calvinists to his communion, and was pleased to call himself Catholic-Evangelical pastor. He greeted the outbreak of the French Revolution with enthusiasm. The declaration of the rights of man seemed to his imagination the beginning of the kingdom of God on earth, and in republican virtues and fraternity he saw the truest earthly realization of the spirit of Christianity. On July 14, 1790, he assembled all his people around an " altar of the fatherland " on an open hill-top to celebrate a patriotic festival. On Aug. 5, 1792, he held a special service in honor of the volunteers for the war with Austria, among whom was his eldest son. By order of the committee of safety, on Nov. 23, 1793, he made his profession of faith, declaring that he approved wholly of the abolition of empty ceremonies and unfruitful dogmas and that he recognized no other task than that of making his fellow citizens enlightened, worthy men and good patriots. Even the reign of terror could not shake his belief in the republic. When the National Assembly prohibited public worship and ecclesiastical rites, he changed his services into club-meetings, opened by singing, followed by the catechizing of the younger members on the rights of man and the duties of citizens,
an address and a prayer. The women and children then left the church, various members of the club rose in their turn to deliver discourses, and the most recent political events were discussed. The communion he celebrated from time to time in his own house with his family and guests, after the ordinary meal in the manner of the agape. In spite of his submission to the revolutionary laws, he awakened the suspicion of the authorities, and on July 28, 1794, was summoned to Schlettstadt and imprisoned, after rough treatment from the mob. A few days later Robespierre fell and the time of trial was over.
His services were now widely recognized. The National Assembly itself thanked him formally for his services to education, and the imperial authorities showed him many favors. When the allied armies entered France, Czar Alexander issued a special letter of protection for him and his flock. In 1818 he received the gold medal of the Royal Agricultural Society, and a year later the cross of the Legion of Honor. His reputation as a faithful witness to the Gospel now won him influence far and wide, and all those who were dissatisfied with the prevalent rationalism brought into the Church by the Revolution looked hopefully toward his leadership. The evening of his life, clouded though it was by the famine of 1816-17 and the death of a promising son, was calm and peaceful, leaving the memory of a man who combined in a remarkable degree the most varied endeavors to promote the general welfare of humanity with deep mystical devotion, and bore testimony to the power of the love of Christ at a time when it was growing cold in many hearts. His work for the education of small children was imitated first in Scotland and then elsewhere. His name is preserved in America by the town and college of Oberlin, O., founded by two former missionaries in 1832 under the inspiration of his biography. (K. Hackenschmidt.)
Bibliography: Among the very numerous biographies which have been written may be mentioned those by: Mme. Felicie (Tourette), Strasburg, 1824; H. Legrand, ib. 1826; S. Atkins, London, 1829; E. Stober, Strasburg, 1831; L. Spach, ib. 1866; F. Bernard, Paris, 1867; F. W. Bodemann, Stuttgart, 1879; Josephine E. Butler, London, 1882; Mme. G. Desmoulin, Paris, 1884; Mme. E. Rorich, ib. 1890; G. H. von Schubert, Nuremberg, 1890; C. Leenhard, Montauban, 1896; O. Stein, Halle, 1899; K. Hackenschmidt, Strassburg, 1902; and Four Great Philanthropists: Lord Shaftesbury, George Peabody, John Howard, J. F. Oberlin, London, 1896.
OBLATES: A monastic term applied to children bound over to a monastery, to be brought up as monks. The Benedictine Rule (chap, lix.) prescribes that if any noble offers his son to a monastery, if the boy is a minor he shall be offered with a petition, the accompanying gift and his hand being wrapped in the altar-cloth. The origin of the institution is obscure, but it is certainly much older than the Benedictine Rule. The provisions in the longer rule ascribed to St. Basil do not correspond to later usage; but Jerome and Salvian are acquainted with it. It was first completely abandoned by the mendicant orders. (A. Hauck.)
OBLATIONS: In early times the faithful presented at the assembly for common worship gifts