The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-26


every member These rules ranged, az
We have seen, from e kind of compulsory
almsgiving to complete communism.
Their there was the prohibition OF swear
ing, of the bearing of the sword, Of the
exercise of any governmental function
and Of going to law. To crown ali, in a
vast majority of Anabaptst communities
there was the express injunction upon all
members TO keep separate from the world,
and to have no part OF lot with the heather,
that is, with non-Baptists. All who were
without tho fold were declared to he IN
abomination &c God. This avoidance OF
nom Baptists was carried NO far that even
the wine shops and the guild rooms we're,
for the most part, 4tahoo" to the Brother.
The Anabaptists dressed simply, In plain
homespun. without ornament or trimming
of any description. They called each other
brother" and sister" and employed M
their greeting the words peace he with
thee accompanied by holy kiss.
From the foregoing account OF their
observances, il will be manifest that the
Anabaptsts recognized no relation to tho
State az such. The State, in their opinion,
belonged 70 the realm of darkness, with
which the Brethren had nothing in COM
mon. It was only designed by God, they
thought, as a scourgs for true Christians.
It is also evident that while the Anabap-
lists repudiated the State, they were, from
their tendency to rupture and disintegra-
ton, disqualified for formi g an alterna tive
organization. A centralized organization in
the true sense Of the word never existed
In the network OF Anabaptist communities.
or congregations, which between 1925
and 1880 extended over the Germanic popu-
lations OF the Continent. from Berne in the
south to Amsterdam in the NORTH and from
Strassburg in the west to Vienna in the east.
At most, there existed a loose federation
between the communities Of particular
district. The only real bond uniting the
widely spread fraternities. if we except
their characteristic ceremonies of adult
baptism and bread breaking. was COM
mon sentiment and a common intellectual
tendency rather than any hard-and-fast
system of dogma or ritual
n was the teachings OF Mslchior Hoffman
and OF his disciples, Jan Matthys and Jan
Bockelson. that caused many OF the Ana
baptists in western Germany and in the
Netherlands TO abandon the doctrine of nom
resistance Hoffman maintained that
two-edged sword should be given into the
hands Of the saints 20 destroy iniquty
embodied in existing principalities and
powers. and the time, he said, was near
at hand when the prophecy should be full
filed. Hoffman was imprisoned at Strass-
burg. and not long afterward Jan Matthys,
a baker of Harlem, announced that the
millennium had arrived. and that whereas
Hoffman had been Elijah, he himself wao
the prophet Enoch. who was TO bring about
the triumph Of the elect. BY Feb. %, 1885,
the Anabaptists Of the Melchiorite sect had
obtained control Of Minister. the chief city
Of Westphalia, and had constituted there
the New Jerusalem Jan Matthys having
persisted in sort ie against the soldiers OF
the Prince Bishop of Munster. by whom the
town was besieged, was succeeded by Jan
Bockelson Of Ileyden in the role Of prophet
Eventually Bockelson was crowned Hing
az the New Israel and h3 'nrnaged TO re-
tain control of Minister until June rs, 1888.
when il passed into tho hands Of the Prince
Bishop, it's feudal overload. Jan Booklet
son himself and his two principal leu
tenants were burned at the stake
Now let lis mark the nature OF the insti-
,utions of the new Israel organized by the
Anabaptists In Minister and upheld there
for about q year OF these institutions the
most notorious are the so-called commur,-
ism that was established and the new mar
rage law that permitted, and in some cases
even enjoined. polygamy for the Saints.
Az VIC have previously seen, communism
in the rnedieval sense OF the word {, a.,
communism in the economic product, as
distinguished from communism in the
means OF production, had been more or
less advocated by all the Anahaptists and
was in various parts of Germany recog-
nized institution before Jan Bockelson
and the leaders of Minister appeared upon
the scene Free views of the marriage
relation also had been occasionally pro-
pounded among the earlier adherents of
the Anabaptist movement The practical
application of these doctrines in Minister
was to n large extent determined by the
peculiar local conditions obtaining in that
town during the siege. The communism
| for example, was never complete. but was
| only carried as far as the exigencies OF the
| moment rendered it desirable. The con-
| fiscation Of private property for the com
monwsal did not for a long time go beyond
| the seauestration of money and the precious
metals, a plentiful supply OF which was
| needed for defraying the expenses of send
\ ing out missionaries and otherwise of main
| tanning intercourse. such as il was, with
| the outer world, as well as Of inducing
| as many as possible of the free-lances of the
Prince Bishop TO desert and enter the
service of the New Jerusalem. Later
( as famine began to make itself felt and
| clothes began to wear out, private food
stores, together with superfuous ward
robes, were also confiscated to the general
use How far the common meals started
at an early period Of the siege were par
taken of by all the inhabitants Ia doubtful;
that on special occasions the whole conf
| munity sat down to a common meal In the
| open air is certain. Various Indications,
however. seemed to show that. as regards
everyday life, the public meals were mainly
confined to the defenders actually engaged
| on the walls and in the trenches. In these
common meals women AZ well as men took
part, for the Anabaptist women we're among
| the most active in the work of defence
IL lis plain that the private household
| with the private meals partaken Of therein.
was not abolished as an institution. We
hear Of rations being served out to private
households. Nevertheless, it il probable
| that during the last few months OF the Iona