Christian era, the Son was considered to be inferior to the Father, and regarded as a created being. Among writers of this class we may rank the learned Ecclesiastical Historian, Mosheim; Matthias Flacius Ilyricus, one of the most able and zealous of the Lutheran Reformers; M. Jurieu, an eminent Protestant divine, and rigorous defender of the orthodox faith; and Dionysius Petavius, the celebrated Jesuit. Nor is this all; for Justin Martyr, an eminent Christian father of the second century, speaking of Christ's Deity, expresses himself more like an humble apologist, introducing a new doctrine, than the advocate of a system which had been sanctioned and rendered venerable by time; and Tertullian, who flourished a few years later than Justin, gives his direct testimony to the fact, that Unitarianism was the doctrine held by the mass of unlearned Christians of the Latin as well as the Greek church in his own age. Nor let it be supposed that Unitarianism had no advocates in ancient times among the learned. Several are mentioned by ecclesiastical writers, whom the orthodox found it impossible, with all their threats, to silence, and who clung to the primitive doctrine concerning Christ amidst evil report as well as good report. Of these it may be deemed sufficient to mention the names of Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch; Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra; and Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium; men who were equal in learning and in piety to any of their contemporaries, and of whom any denomination of Christians might be justly proud. We pass over the dark ages as a barren desert, without fertility and without interest, and hasten on to the period of the Reformation, associated with which we find the names of men whose praises are loudly celebrated by Protestants of all classes. But why are we so seldom reminded of those eminent Reformers who embraced antitrinitarian sentiments, and were inferior to none of their contemporaries in learning or in virtue? Why are the names and labours of these illustrious servants of God so studiously passed over, as if the very pen which recorded, or the very breath which uttered them, were loaded with contagion ? Far as we are from wishing to disparage such men as Luther or Calvin, and those of similar sentiments, who co-operated with them in the great work of reformation during the sixteenth century, we cannot help observing that they left their great undertaking only partially accomplished; and we confess it has always appeared to us that no award was ever made with more judgment and impar tiality than that which is conveyed in the following lines, said to have been inscribed upon the tomb of Faustus Socinus : Tota licet Babylon, destruxit tecta Lutherus, The revival of Unitarianism at the period of the Reformation, and the rapid progress which it made in Italy, Poland, Transylvania, and other countries, would form an interesting subject for the pen of the historian, in the prosecution of which a number of important facts might be brought to light that are as yet scarcely known to the great mass of English readers. A hasty sketch of this kind is prefixed to Dr. T. Rees's "Translation of the Racovian Catechism," and another to the late Dr. Toulmin's " Memoirs of the Life of F. Socinus." The Rev. Theoph. Lindsey has also collected many curious and interesting facts relating to this subject in his "Historical View of the State of the Unitarian Doctrine and Worship, from the Reformation to our own Times." But the inquiry has never been pursued to its full extent by any English writer; and any person who would undertake it, and embody in an English dress all which can be collected upon the subject, would deserve well of the religious public. As one step towards this great undertaking, we propose giving a series of biographical sketches of the more celebrated among the continental Unitarians. Stutgard, the capital of Wirtemberg, had the honour of giving birth to the first Protestant who openly avowed antitrinitarian sentiments. The name of this father of modern Unitarianism was Martin Cellarius. He was born in the year 1499, and died in 1564. He studied philosophy at the University of Wittemberg, under Luther, and made great proficiency in those branches of science and literature which were commonly cultivated among the learned of that age. He was also distinguished, in after life, as an oriental scholar and a theologian. He first rose into eminence about the year 1520; and when Luther threw off the Papal yoke, Cellarius, who was honoured with the friendship and esteem of the great Reformer, was among the first of those who embraced his principles. But it soon became evident that he was not destined to be a servile follower of Luther, or any other merely human teacher. Having engaged in a controversy with Stubner and Storck, two of the most active leaders of the German Anabaptists, he was convinced by their arguments, and had the candour to acknowledge and retract his errors. Hornbeck informs us that it was while Cellarius was connected with this party that he first became an author; but, pursuing his religious inquiries with a freedom previously unknown in that age, he was led ultimately to embrace Unitarian sentiments, and became very zealous for their diffusion. The public profession, however, of these new opinions, which were equally obnoxious to Catholics and Protestants, exposed him to a succession of persecutions, and compelled him, in the year 1536, to fly for safety and protection into Switzerland, where he assumed the name of Borrhaus, and spent the remainder of his life in comparative tranquillity. The ministers of Sarmatia and Transylvania, speaking of Cellarius, say, "What has not Martin Cellarius attempted that he might clear the way for posterity?-Read his writings." In another place they observe, that "God gave to Luther and Zuinglius the honour of reforming the received doctrines concerning Justification and the Eucharist; but that it was Martin Cellarius, Servetus, and Erasmus, who were first employed by him as instruments in inculcating a knowledge of the true God, and of Christ." In a manuscript history of the life of Servetus, attributed by Allwoerden to Castalio, honourable mention is made of Cellarius, who is described as "chief professor of theology in the city of Geneva" at the time of Servetus's martyrdom, and is mentioned as the principal opponent of Calvin in that dark transaction. Faustus Socinus, in a letter to Peter Statorius, dated October 15, 1590, says that his uncle Lælius collected testimonies concerning Cellarius; and if this collection were still in existence it would probably throw great light upon the early history of the Protestant Reformation. Andrew Althamer, one of the Reformers who pushed his sentiments to the very verge of Antinomianism, charges Cellarius with holding the opinions of Paul of Samosata, and represents him as having taught that Jesus Christ was a human prophet. Whatever degree of truth there may be in this charge, it is certain that Cellarius lived and died a firm believer in the doctrine of the Divine Unity. Besides several philosophical essays, he wrote a treatise "on the Works of God," "Commentaries on Ecclesiastes, on the Five Books of Moses, on the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings, on Isaiah and the Apocalypse, and on the Book of Job," and published other theological works. In connexion with Cellarius, the ministers of Sarmatia and Transylvania speak of Alfonso Lingurius, of Tarragona in Spain, and say, "What has not Alfonso of Tarragona attempted, who, in his Five Books on the One God, and his only Son,' has some excellent observations directed against the tyranny and pride of those Aristarchuses who teach the commonly-received doctrine?" Wolfgang Fabricius Capito is also mentioned, by the ministers and elders of Transylvania, as the friend and fellow-labourer of Cellarius, in a book "On the Divinity of the Mediator, the man Christ Jesus."—“ Fabricius Capito," say they, "a man who was remarkable alike for piety and erudition, after some preliminary observations on the superior mental endowments of his fellow-labourer Čellarius, and the excellent character of his book, (On the Works of God,) mentions certain religious topics on which he had some private conversation with Cellarius, such as the knowledge of the one God, and of Christ, and the Holy Spirit." To a portion of the above work of Cellarius, published in quarto at Weissenburg, A. D. 1568, a preliminary epistle, written by Capito, was prefixed, in which he thus expresses himself as to the imperfect nature and limited extent of the Reformation in which he and his fellow-labourers were then engaged: "This book of Cellarius concerning the Works of God, however excellent, and Bucer's Matthew,' which cautiously teaches many things above the capacity of the vulgar, as well as our own Hosea, Malachi and Isaiah,' in which, according to the best of our ability, we have treated upon matters relating to God and truth in a manner not altogether different from the style of Cellarius; all these things of ours, I say, will decay and perish, with us their authors, like all other human things, in spite of ourselves. This we know, and write accordingly, but only for present use, till God shall reveal greater things." Capito was brought up to the study of physic, in which profession he graduated; but after the death of his father, about the year 1504, he began to devote his attention to law and theology. The latter of these he finally made choice of as his profession. He first became a preacher at Spire, from which place he was invited to Basil. The Archbishop of Mentz, having heard of his great merit, appointed him his chancellor in 1520. This office he accepted, with the view of enlisting the chief of the German clergy into the service of the Reformation, and bringing about the contemplated change without disturbance; and as long as he entertained any hope of success in this laudable design, he prevailed with Luther not to exasperate the heads of the church by his vehemence, who might perhaps be gained over by gentler means. But when he saw that interest and ambition prevailed with the archbishop, he renounced the office to which he had been appointed, and quitting the court, retired to Strasburg, where he exercised, during the remainder of his life, the humble functions of a pastor. He fell a victim to the plague in the year 1541 or 1542. He is represented by contemporary writers as a learned and eloquent divine, and is said particularly to have excelled as a Hebrew scholar. His principal works were "Hebrew Institutions, in two Books," "Commentaries on some of the Prophets," and "A Life of Ecolampadius," besides which he published some remarks on the subject of Marriage, and on the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Affairs of Religion. Sandius assigns to him the first place in his Catalogue of Antitrinitarian Writers. In the year 1527, Lewis Hetzer and John Denk, two of the earliest among the continental Unitarians, published a joint translation of the prophetic books of the Old Testament into German. Denk was a native of Nurem◄ berg, and ranked deservedly high among the Protestants of his day. He believed that God is the fountain of all created existences, and that the Spirit or Power of God ranks next to God in the scale of being; and after the Spirit he placed the Word, which he believed to be begotten of God by the Spirit. This doctrine bears a strong resemblance to that of Irenæus, and the other Greek fathers of the second century. Hetzer carried his views much further than Denk, maintaining that the Father alone is the true God; that Christ is not equal to God the Father, but vastly inferior to him, and of a different essence; that there are not three persons in one God, for that God is altogether ineffable, being neither person nor essence. His opinions on this subject are said to be embodied in the following verses, of which he is himself reputed to have been the author: Ipse ego, qui propriâ cuncta hæc virtute creabam. Haud uumero tres sunt, nam qui ego, solus eram. Hetzer was a native of Bavaria, a man of great learning, and deeply versed in the original languages of the Scriptures. He is said, like Cellarius, to have joined the Anabaptist party in the first instance, and to have been upon terms of great intimacy with Storck and Muntzer; but differing from them on some points, and particularly as regarded their levelling principles, he seceded from them, and retired to Zurich, in 1523. In the year following he openly impugned the doctrine of the Trinity; but the freedom of his opinions being at variance with the narrow and bigoted spirit of the age, he was thrown into prison, and ultimately condemned to death, by the magistrates of Constance, on a charge of blasphemy. This cruel sentence was carried into execution in the month of February, 1529. Historians, however, are not agreed as to the nature of his punishment, Sandius and others affirming that he was beheaded, whereas Seckendorff informs us that he was burnt at the stake. Plauter says of him, " that he very honestly and unblameably bade farewell to his disciples, and with most devout prayers commended himself to God, even to the astonishment of the beholders." Some writers have asserted that he was a man of licentious principles and conduct; but this view of his character, though adopted by Mosheim, appears to be entitled to little credit. The probability is that this charge was a fabrication of his enemies; the most excellent characters, in those days, being exposed to the grossest misrepresentations, if they happened to hold opinions at variance with the orthodox creed. A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE REV JOHN HINCKS. WHO has not known some bright, calm, summer day, When thoughts all teem'd with bliss-all deeds with love? When all below appear'd like all above? Such was thy course serene, "O Man of God !" That heaven 'twas thine to paint ;-'twas in thy breast: The scarce felt motion of a dying breeze, The words of wisdom from the lips of youth, That dark, mysterious hour 'twas thine to meet, Tho' soon remov'd, thou hast not liv'd in vain; With scarce a shower-drop, ere it pass'd away. Thy lot it was to fill an early grave; Thine and thy flock's best hopes and aims to leave: How many How sweetly did thy melancholy voice, Call on the Christian mourner to rejoice That clouds, when breaking, ever heaven-ward tend! Liverpool, February 11. W. L. |