The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1921-01-13
lay is an acute worship of theory and

day Is an acute worship of theory and
abstraction.
I firmly believe that Theoretical
studies should be illuminated by the
positive branches of law, medicine, OF
theology, and that many an eminent
scholar in the field of history, philos-
ophy, psychology, education would not
have attained his eminence if he had
plunged into the sea of theories imme-
diately after college graduation, with
out having sailed it and sounded it
with the aid of the vessels that posi-
tive sciences had placed at his dis
posal.
One of the foremost scholars of
Exegesis last century, J. Chr. Won
Hoffman, had in his student days de-
sire to specialize in history. His ulti-
mate aim was professorship in the
historical section of the faculty of
philosophy" The professor whom he
consulted, advised him to study one of
the positive branches of knowledge,
law, medicine or theology, which man
kind in the face of crime, disease, and
religious superstition, had found to be
positively necessary for it's social,
physical and religious welfare. Mr..
Hoffman selected theology, and later
schooled himself thoroughly in the
apparatus of historian. The result
was the most brilliant scholar of bib
lical knowledge in the nineteenth Gen.
fury.
Professor Wilhelm Wundt, the
greatest philosopher of modern times
and the founder of experimental psy-
chology, was a graduate of medicine,
before he delved into philosophy. So
was our own William James. Profess
sor Harald Hoffding, the Danish phil
osopher, was a graduate of theology.
philosopher Soren Kirekegaard. Pro-
fessor Meuman, the founder Of exper-
mental pedagogy was a graduate of
theology. So was Professor Heinze,
another German philosopher. Leopold
Ranke, the ablest historian of last
century, studied theology. Theodore
Mommsen, the greatest authority on
Roman history, was graduate Of
law. University presidents like Har-
Der of Chicago and Burton Of Ann
Arbor graduated from theology.
Perhaps the greatest tributes paid
to the science of Theology in recent
times were those given to the church
historians Albert Hauck and Adolf
Harnack. At the beginning of the
present century, the university of Ber-
lin offered Professor Hauck of Leipzig
the chair of Ranke, which would have
meant for Hauck transfer from the
faculty of theology to that Of philos-
ophy.
Professor Hauck, we'll aware, that
no other professor Of history had done
as much for the secular history of
medieval Germany as he had in his
standard church history Of five VOL
umes, declined the offer. This offer
from university like that Of Berlin
to a representative of theological
scholarship is thing quite incompre-
hensible to our average American
state university faculty, which will in
vestigate all kinds of phenomena save
religious,
But this distinction was not without
precedent When the Prussian
Academy of Science wanted it's his
tory written for the celebration of it's
two hundredth anniversary, in 1900,
its members chose the eminent church
historian Professor Harnack to write
it. He got years leave Of absence
and wrote a brilliant history Of it in
three volumes. Both Hauck and Har-
mack were recipients of the Verdun
prize.
ITO be continued next week. =!