# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_September 1856_S266
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

266 Lutheran-Theological Pastor's Library.

of the victory, the glory of which they ascribe to him through this their so long silence?" (Ib. 407, 408.) Finally, J. Heinr. Feustling (died as chief court preacher in Gotha, 1713) writes: "The blessed J. Gerhard surpassed the theologians of his time in all his writings, but in his never-surpassed Conf. Cath. he surpassed even himself."*) (Ib.) — The work came out little by little; its first part in the year 1633, the last in 1637, the year of Gerhard's death. These individual parts, however, were soon out of print, whereupon Johann Andreas Gerhard (the fourth son of Johann Gerhard), a jurist, Comes Palatinus Caesareus and princely Anhalt court and justice councillor at Zerbst, published the whole work once more in folio in the year 1679, which edition, on account of the excellent accompanying overviews, index of texts, and alphabetical subject index, is the best of all. Since the work is very extensive — it comprises over 1600 very densely printed folio pages — the publication of the new edition was somewhat delayed, however great the impatience with which it was awaited. Duke Friedrich I of Saxe-Gotha, of blessed memory, at last contributed considerable sums toward it, whereby the printing and a moderate price were made possible. It is true that Gerhard's eldest son, Johann Ernst Gerhard, had already in the year 1661 worked out an "Epitome" of the work, printed in Jena and reissued in Leipzig in 1668, but this abridgment could not satisfy. — To those who feel the need of a more compendious work, also more intelligible to the common people, against the Roman church and the papacy, we can recommend none better than the following: "Evangelical Handbook, wherein it is irrefutably shown how the faith of the aforementioned Lutherans is correct, and the doctrine of the papists, at bottom, erroneous. By Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg. Leipzig, 1603." Octavo. The author of this work is the equally celebrated and honored, and reviled and slandered, Hoe, born in Vienna, died in Dresden as chief court preacher in 1645. Since the time of his activity as preacher at the Saxon court (from 1613 until his death) fell within the period of the Thirty Years' War, and since he enjoyed the highest confidence of the Elector, being consulted by him in all important matters, including political ones, inasmuch as these at that time touched so closely upon the domain of conscience and religion, every measure that the Saxon court took in those troubled times was, especially by the Reformed, laid at his door as its author, and he was even accused of being in secret understanding

*) The editor of the collected work says in the preface to it: "If I were to undertake to write out all the praises of the book — and indeed not feigned ones, but such as flowed from a sincere heart and an honest disposition, from men who were always .. held to be among the most learned and most practiced in the wars of the Lord — then not a day, but a year would pass before I came to an end." Christian Chemnitz, a cousin of Martin Chemnitz, who died as a professor at Jena in 1666, used to say (to add only this): "Among all of Gerhard's works and books, this one (the Conf. Cath.) is the best." (Loc. cit.)