Muhle (or Muhlitus), Heinrich

Muhle (or Muhlitus), Heinrich a German theologian, was born at Bremen, March 7, 1666. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native city, but went in 1686 to Hamburg to study ancient languages, and from there to the university at Giessen, where lie studied theology. He then spent a year at Frankfort-on-the-Oder; in 1688 attended lectures at Kiel, in 1689 at Leipsic, and in 1690 at Wittenberg. He was appointed in 1691 professor of the Greek and Oriental languages, of poetry and ecclesiastical elocution, at the University of Kiel. In 1692 he made a voyage through England and Holland, and thus secured in 1695 the position of professor of theology and inspector of schools of Schreswig-Holstein. In 1697 he was appointed pastor of the city church at Kiel; but as that place did not suit him, he accepted a call in 1698 as general superintendent, chief court-preacher, and provost at Gottorf, with the title of chief counsellor of the Consistory, but had to resign this position on account of some difficulties at the court; he returned to Kiel, and was appointed in 1724 senior of the university. He died December 7, 1733. Muhle had a dispute with the Danish superintendent-general Schwarz, who accused him of being a millenarian and a disciple of Cocceius, who had tried to cause a schism in the Schleswig-Holstein Church. Muhle was even obliged to go into court, where he reprimanded Schwarz severely; but the dispute did not end until Schwarz died. His most important works are: De Messia sedente ad dextram Dei; Dissertatio philologico-theologica ad vindicandum locum Psalm cx, 1 contra ψευδερμένειαν Judaeorum, sub moderamine D. Clodii (Gissae, 1687, 4to): —Disquisitio de origine linguarum stirpeque ac matre Graecae, latinae, et Germanicae Hebraea (Kilon, 1692, 8vo): — Duphnis, sive de obitu C. Alberti, βουκολικὸν sacrae Divi Musqetae memoriae religioso, quo par est, affectu cultuque dicatum (ibid. 1695, fol.): — Kurze Anzeige der falschen Beschuldigungen des Dr. Josua Schwarz gegen ihn (Schleswig, 1702, 8vo): — Erorterung verschiedener, jetziger Zeit erregten Materica in drei Ordinationsreden kurzlich abgehandelt, nebst einem Vorbericht von D. Schwarzens neulichst wider ihn herausgegebenen Tract. Chiliastischer Vorspiele, Principia und Chiliasmus selbstgenannt, an das sammtliche Schleswig-Holsteinische Ministerium (ibid. 1705, 8vo): — De sectae studio in ecclesia orthodoxa vitando, invitatio ad lectiones publicas in libros orthodoxae ecclesiae synmbolicos universe ac sigillatim rite instituendas (Kilon, 1712, 4to): — M. Lutheri propositiones pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum, qua ostenditur, quantum illae et republicae et ecclesiae nocuerint, quamque vere ac merito cum reformationi evangelicae, tum schismati in evidente enato causam ac occasionem suppeditarint (Hamburg, 1717, 4to): — De variis pontificum iisque iniquissimis adversus Caesares, reges ac principes molitionibus et ab Christi vicariis, quales se jactant, longe alienissimis, dissertatio (Kilon, 1729, 4to): — Hymnus A. Clarenbachii in Henr. Zutphaniensis, Martyris apprime celebrati, locum Meldorflium in Dithmarsiam vocati, ac Coloniae Agrippinae d. 28 September 1529, concremati, memoriae solemniter renovandae (ibid. 1733, fol.). See Doring, Gelehr. Theol. Deultschlands, 4:618-629.