Lutz (or Lucius), Samuel

Lutz (Or Lucius), Samuel one of the most important representatives of early pietism in Switzerland, was born in 1674. His father, the pious and learned pastor of Biglen, was his first teacher. Lutz at first turned his attention especially to mathematics, the classics, and Hebrew, then to Church discipline, and finally left all these to devote himself exclusively to the study of Scripture, and the works of the fathers and reformers, especially Luther's. German pietism was then beginning to strike root in Switzerland, in spite of all the efforts of the orthodox party, headed by the theologians of Berne. To oppose it, a committee was appointed to take charge of all things pertaining to religion, and in 1699, by its influence, several prominent and influential preachers, tainted with pietism, were exiled or deprived of their office, a number of adherents of the pietist party fined or otherwise punished, and several stringent laws passed to secure the "uniformity of faith, doctrine, and worship." Finally both the citizens and clergy were obliged to take the so- called oath of association — a sort of Test Act. Lutz's first and rather insignificant appointment as pastor was at Yverden in 1703. Here he labored faithfully for twenty-three years, winning the respect and affection not only of the German, among whom he labored, but also of the French inhabitants. As he was accused of pietism, all attempts to secure more important appointments, with a view to increasing his sphere of usefulness, were defeated, in spite of his reputation for learning and eloquence, until about 1726, when he was appointed pastor of Amfoldingen. In 1738 he removed to Diessbach, where he died, May 28, 1750. His collected works were published under the title Wohlriechender Strauss v. schonen u. gesunden Himmelsblumens (Basle, 1736 and 1756, 2 volumes). See Leu, Schweiz. Lexikon, 12; Haller, Bibl. d. Schweizergesch. 2:290; Hurst's Hagenbach, Ch. Hist. of the 18th and 19th Centuries, 1:191 sq.; Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 8:621.