StäuDlin, kArl fRiedrich

Stäudlin, Karl Friedrich, theological professor at Göttingen, was born July 25, 1764, at Stuttgart. His father was councilor of state. He was educated in the Stuttgart gymnasium and the theological institution at Tübingen. In 1786 he became tutor to a number of pupils, whom he accompanied in journeys through France, England, and Switzerland, and in 1790 he was called to Göttingen. He was not specially brilliant as a professor, and his lectures, particularly in his later years, were not attractive. But he was a prolific writer and an indefatigable compiler. His doctrinal position is described by himself (Gesch. des Rationalismus u. Supernaturalismus [1826], p. 468) as involving a conception of Christianity in which it appears as a combined rationalism and supernaturalism. In dogmatics, which he elaborated at three several times — in 1801, 1809, and 1822 — he did not regard the principles of the critical philosophy as adequate to the establishing of religion; and in ethics he also came to concede the superiority of the Christian religion as a guide. Stäudlin probably furnished a larger number of works to the history of ethics than any other writer: Gesch. d. Sittenlehre Jesu (1799-1822, 4 vols. incomplete): — Gesch. d. christl. Moral seit d. Wiederaufleben d. Wissenschaften (1808): — Gesch. d. philosoph., hebrasch. u. christl. Moral (Hanover, 1806): — and Gesch. d. Moralphilosophie (ibid. 1822). He wrote seven monographs on the theater, on suicide, on oaths, on prayer, on conscience, on marriage, and on friendship (Gott. 1823-26), and his earliest large work, Gesch. u. Geist d. Skepticismus, etc., and the Gesch. d. Rationalismus, etc., already mentioned, belonged to the list of his doctrinal and ethical works. Church history repeatedly engaged his attention (comp. his Text book [Hanover, 1825, 4th ed.]; Kirchengesch. v. Grossbritanien [Gott. 1809, 2 vols.]; Kirchl. Geogr. u. Statistik [ibid. 1804, 2 vols.]; and numerous Latin and German articles contributed to the periodical press or published as monographs). In a Theological Encyclopoedia and Methodology published by him (Hanover, 1821) the survey of the history of the different theological sciences is the most important feature. After his death a Gesch. i. Literatur d. Kirchengeschichte, by his hand, was published (ibid. 1827). He gave no considerable attention to arrangement and style of presentation in his numerous writings, which are chiefly remarkable for the wide range of reading and impartiality in judgment they evince. He toiled incessantly down to the time of his decease, delivering a lecture July 1, 1826, writing the final pages of a treatise on Hebrew poetry July 4, and dying July 5. His autobiography was published by J.T. Hemsen, with additions and Ruperti's sermon preached at the funeral of Stäudlin, and also a nearly complete list of the latter's writings (Gott. 1826).