THE LIFE OF

PHILIP SCHAFF

IN PART AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

BY

DAVID S. SCHAFF, D.D.

PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY IN LANE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

WITH PORTRAITS

NEW YORK

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

1897

COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

from a photograph taken in 1887.

To My Mother

WELL-BELOVED

WHO INTIMATELY SHARED

FOR NEARLY FIFTY YEARS

THE JOYS CARES AND HOPES

OF HIM WHOSE LIFE THESE PAGES RECORD

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED

Preface

Among the theologians of the last half century in America, Dr. Philip Schaff occupied a unique place. To European birth and theological training he joined a thorough adaptation of himself to American institutions and modes of thought, and came to occupy a position of larger public notice than any other theologian from the Continent who has made this country his home. For this reason, if for no other, this biography may be expected to have a place of its own.

The materials have been abundant, and an effort has been required not only to curtail the matter that pertains to Dr. Schaff’s personal life, but to avoid entering into elaborate accounts of some movements with which he was closely identified, especially the progress of German theology in the middle of the century and the growth of the German Reformed Church1 and its institutions. In addition to his correspondence and journals, Dr. Schaff left behind him a series of Personal Reminiscences upon his childhood and the years of preparation in Europe. Begun in 1871 and continued at intervals, they have been used in accordance with the following note, with which they were brought to a close: “These Reminiscences were intended for my family as a record of my European preparation for my American work. They may furnish authentic material for a biography, if I should be found worthy of one. Providence has connected me with several important movements in the church of this age, and my life is not without lessons of encouragement to young scholars. To me, it is marked all through with tokens of the merciful guidance of our heavenly Father. The nearer we approach eternity, the less we think of this fleeting life. When we go to God, the world vanishes. We are nothing; God alone is great. The workman falls, but the work goes on. I close with the motto of St. Chrysostom, ‘God be praised for all things.’ ”

Mindful of Dr. Schaff’s own judgment, I have been encouraged to undertake this work by the advice of his friends Professor George L. Prentiss and Professor Thomas S. Hastings. On my last call upon the late Dr. William G. T. Shedd, a few months after Dr. Schaff’s decease, he used the following language: “I have often said in the last few weeks that a biography of Dr. Schaff ought to be undertaken. I know of no man whose correspondence and acquaintance with men would furnish more interesting and valuable information for a biography. His impressions of the men he met and his experiences in travel would be of great interest. They are what make a biography interesting. For example, there is ...