THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES.
I. Early and Medieval Libraries. II. In Germany. III. In the United States and Ganada.
I. Early and Medieval Libraries: The causes which originated ancient Christian literature, viz., " the regulation of the increasing disciplinary, organizing, and dogmatic needs, the struggle with heresy, the necessity of defending religion, and the ineradicable desire for knowledge," led to the founding and enlarging of ecclesiastical libraries in ancient Christendom in all periods of the Church's history, especially after periods of decay. Through the instrumentality of Origen the library at Caesarea was founded, enlarged by Pamphilus, and given to the church there. From the end of the fourth century the larger churches had their archives and libraries, and for many centuries there was no difference between archives and libraries of the churches, though it arose later. In the Middle Ages the church libraries differed from those of earlier times in that they included Greek and Roman heathen classics; the keen Christian opposition had moderated, and men perceived that there was much in classical literature which ministered to knowledge, particularly to theology. These classics, therefore, found a place alongside the literary productions of the teachers of the Church. Yet by the end of the Middle Ages, many church and monastic libraries had fallen into decay. This is illustrated by the remark of Pohle (KL, ii. 790) that with the general neglect of literary studies in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ignorance and indolence had taken hold of the monks of St. Gall.
II. In Germany: Luther, in the last part of his Schrift an die Burger und Ratsherrn aller Stddte Deutschlands, dass sie christliche Schulen aufrichten,
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Theological Education Theological Libraries
remarked that neither care nor money should be spared to establish good libraries, especially in the large cities. This admonition was particularly taken to heart by Johann Bugenhagen (q.v.) in the church ordinances for congregations; he discovered ways and means for bringing about these objects. Rules for the care of libraries are found in the Evangelical church ordinances of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the libraries were often most liberally supplied through the free-will offerings of the people. The general decline of national and ecclesiastical self-consciousness in Germany in the last half of the eighteenth century caused not only a neglect and a partial decay of the larger public archives and libraries, but also the dissolution of church libraries and archives. With the newly awakened church life after the war of liberation (1813-15) interest in church libraries was again aroused, and this interest has not abated. When the Reformers of the sixteenth century espoused the cause of libraries, they had in mind the benefit not only of clergy and teachers, but of the congregations, as may be inferred from, e.g., the Hessian church ordinances, of 1537. This demand was fully in harmony with the general tendencies of the Reformers, who advocated the establishment of schools for the general education of the people. The church ordinances of the sixteenth century, in advocating the founding of libraries, only supplemented the general principles of the Reformation, which demanded general education. On this account, the church libraries of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries were mostly public for the benefit of clergy and laity. The necessity for establishing people's or parish libraries, in the narrower sense, was occasioned, especially after the middle of the nineteenth century, by the newer legislation which granted to the people a larger share in public and ecclesiastical affairs, by the need of education and reading which this participation and the growing success of national education awakened, and in no small degree also by the effort to erect a bulwark against the intrusion of literature destructive of the best in State, Church, and society. In this development of the library the leading position has been maintained in England and America.
T. O. Radlach.
III. In the United States and Canada: The unusually rich development of theological institutions in America, many of them possessing large endowments, and having a large roll of alumni among whom have developed in some instances special interests which have fostered the collection of books upon particular topics that have eventually come into the possession of the institutions — all this, together with special needs, has led to the formation in many cases of libraries which have been highly specialized, which consequently afford the very best opportunities for investigators in particular lines of theological work. The data given below are the result either of inquiries in person or of information from the librarians of the institutions named. It may be said, in general, that theological seminaries usually possess fairly adequate resources for the pursuit of the studies in the curriculum, while in addition the history and polity
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of the denomination with which they are affiliated will be most strongly represented in their libraries. As a rule, in the following only those collections have been regarded as special which have retained their identity as collections, though in a few cases the exigencies of library administration have led to distribution. The institutions which possess these special collections are noted in alphabetical order.
Alfred Theological Seminary, Alfred, N. Y: The Sabbath Collection contains 450 volumes on the Sabbath question, with books and pamphlets on the Seventh-day Sabbath, and rare tracts on Albigensian and Waldensian doctrines; a copy of the Rogers Bible, 1549.
Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y.: The Porter Collection of rabbinic and patristic literature contains the Greek and Latin Fathers in original and translation, the Migne Patrol ogy; quarto edition of Erasmus, 11 vols.; Ugolini's Thesaurus in 34 vols., and the Acta conciliorum, 13 vols., Paris, 1715.
Cambridge Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass.: There is here a special collection of. pamphlets relating to the Tractarian Movement.
Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111.: In this institution are : a collection of works on missions; facsimiles of the leading codices; Gunsaulus Collection on the Rise of Congregationalism, about 175 volumes, chiefly of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, includes Baylie's Certamen religiosum (1649) and Metamorphosis Anglorum (1653); the Curtiss Collection on Old Testament and Semitics, rich in Old-Testament criticism and exegesis and philological material, contains J. Bartoloccius, Bibliotheca magna rabbinica, 1675-93, the London Polyglot, Poole's Synopsis criticorum (1684-86), Ugolini's Thesaurus (1769), the Surenhusius Mishna, and S. Hieronymi Stridonensis Opera, 11 vols.,
1734^3; Egyptology collection presented by E. M. Williams; Africa Collection of manuscripts of papers prepared for the Chicago Congress on Africa, 1893.
Chicago, Divinity School of the University of, Chicago, 111. : a large number of libraries or collections have been purchased and distributed through the departments, especially the 280,000 volumes and 120,000 pamphlets purchased from S. Calvary & Co., Berlin. Besides this there are: The Hengstenberg Collection, from the library of Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg (q.v.), strong in theology, commentaries, history of the Jews, of the Middle Ages, and of the modern period, the Church Fathers, and Medieval and Reformed theologians, also in German hymn-books; The Anderson Collection of Hymnology of 200 volumes; The Northrup Collection in systematic theology and ethics, 1,050 volumes and 350 pamphlets; Library of the American Bible Union, approximating 6,000 volumes, collected largely by T. J. Conant (q.v.), rich in Biblical texts, versions, and commentaries. Among the noteworthy items in the last are the Complutensian, Paris, and London polyglots, the Psalterium Sextuplex (1530), Psalterium Octaplum (Geneva, 1516), and David Wolder's Biblia sacra (Hamburg, 1596); Hebrew Bibles are the Bomberg (Venice, 1521), the Basel edition (1546), Pentateuchus et Megilloth (Venice, 1551), Plantin's Hebrew-Latin (1571),
Theological Libraries