Muller, Johann Georg, Dd

Muller, Johann Georg, D.D.

brother of the famous historian J.v. Muller, was born at Schaffhausen September 3, 1759. His early religious as well as secular education he received from his father, who was the minister of that place. The writings of Young and Lavater impressed him so deeply that he decided to devote himself to the study of theology. To this end he first went to Zurich and afterwards to Gottingen, which latter place, however, he soon left on account of the then prevailing neological tendency. He longed for truth. but Gittingen could not satisfy his thirst for it, and he sought for a teacher who could remove his doubts and ease his oppressed spirits. About this time Herder's name became known to the world, and Miiller betook himself to Weimar, then celebrated as the Athens of Germany. Herder received Miiller very kindly, and even took him into his house. In 1794 Muller returned to his native place, and accepted the professorship of the Greek and Hebrew languages at the collegium humanitatis, because of his feeble constitution, which prevented him from taking charge of a church. In the time of the revolution he held some high political positions, all of which he abandoned, only retaining his professorship until his death, Sept. 20,1819. In him the Church lost a true divine, a faithful witness, whose main object was to propagate principles akin to those of Herder, but in a more orthodox sense. His writings, which have mainly an apologetical value, are as follows, Philosophische Aufatze (Breslau, 1789): — Unterhaltungen mit Serena '(Winterthur, 1793-1803): — Bekenntnisse merkwuirdiger Manner von sich selbst (1791, 1795, 3 volumes): — Briefe iber das Studium der

Wissenschaften, etc. (1798; 2d ed. 1807): — Theophil, Unterhaltungen uiber die christl. Religion (1801), which treats of religion, mythology, revelation, the Old and New Testaments, and reading and explanation of the holy Scriptures: — Reliquien alter Zeiten, Sitten und Meinungen (1803-1806. 4 vols.):- Vom Glauben des Christen (1816, 2 volumes; 2d ed. 1823): — Blicke in die Bibel (1830, 2 volumes, ed. by Prof. Kirchofer, etc.). See Herzog, Real-Encyklop. s.v.; Theol. Universal-Lexikon, s.v.; Hurst's Hagenbach, Hist. of the Church in the 18th and 19th Cent. 2:22, 47, 409. (B.P.)