DOLLINGER
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DOLLINGE&
rogative. Nevertheless, he continued for a decade to
collaborate on the " Historisch-politische Blatter"; it
was only slowly and almost imperceptibly that the
change in his opinions came about. Gradually, owing
to his opposition to the Jesuits and particularly to the
Roman Curia, he sought and found new friends in Lib-
eral circles. As member of the Frankfort Parliament
(1848) he sat with the Right, among men like Rado-
witz, Lichnowsky, Schwerin, Vincke, and others; he
also belonged to the Club "Zum steinernen Haus".
The change that had come about in Dollinger's views during the preceding years may best be meas- ured by the fact that his colleagues in Frankfort ob- tained his consent to the following plan. General von Radowitz, in the name of the Catholic deputies, was to make this declaration in Parliament: "The orders, including the Jesuit Order, are not a part of the living organism of the Catholic Church; the Jesuit Order is no wise necessary in Germany; the German episcopate and the German clergy do not need its help to fulfil their obligations; German learning [die dcutsche Wissenschaft] needs no aid of this nature. The possible advantages for the Catholic Church accru- ing from the co-operation of the Jesuit Order would be greatly outweighed by the disturbances and perils that its presence would create. If it were proposed to in- troduce the Jesuits into any German State, moved by the higher interests of the Catholic Church, we would protest most decidedly against the execution of any such plan."
The relations of Dbllinger with the German episco- pate were frequent, particularly after the meeting of the German and Austrian prelates at Wiirzburg (22 Oct. to 16 Nov., 1848). His report concerning the national Church and national synods, as submitted to this important assembly, aroused deep interest, was received with approval in many episcopal circles, and assured him the leadership in the acute ecclesiastico- political discussions then impending. Between 1852 and 1854 he visited Northern and Central Italy, and in 1857 Rome. Apart from his learned researches on these occasions, he profited by these journej's to strengthen his existing relations with nimierous Ital- ians, ecclesiastics and lajTiien, also to make new ac- quaintances and friendships. While DoUinger sought in every way to retain the favour of King Maximilian II. the cleft between him and his former friends as well as his own past continued to widen. For a while the famous professor seemed to stand almost alone, par- ticularlv after the stormy scenes of the Munich Con- gress of Catholic savants (28 Sept. to 1 Oct., 1863). Daniel Bonifatius von Haneberg, Abbot of St. Boni- face in Munich, opened this Congress of eighty-four meml)ers, mostly German theologians, on which occa- sion DoUinger delivered his famous discourse, " Die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der katholischen Theo- logie" (The Past and Present of Catholic Theology). Many of those present, among them Haneberg, saw with sorrow that they could not follow DoUinger along the new path he was taking. He held no longer to the universal idea of Catholicism as a world-religion ; in its place, nourished by the court atmosphere he loved so well, arose a strictly nation.alistic concept of the Cath- olic Church. All ecclesiastical measures he henceforth criticized from the narrow angle of Gallicanisni, and ridiculetl in anonj-nious articles and other writings. He was daily in closer communion with the principal Bavarian statesmen, and amid the.se relations con- ceived an idea of the Church's office which in the end could not be other than un-Catholic. It may be noted here, that his intimacy with the philo.sopher Johann Huher, a disciple of Schelling, had attracted attention long before this. Nevertheless (and it was a sign of the strong tension of tho.se days and the mental tem- per of many i a number of ( ierman bishops still held to DoUinger, although they had long since parted com- pany with Josoi)h Hubert Reinkens, professor of
church history at Breslau and later first bishop of the
Old Catholics. It was not untU 18 July, 1870, when
the dogma of Papal InfallibUity was proclaimed at
Rome, that there was a sharp division in the ranks of
German Catholics. This compelled DoUinger hence-
forth to seek friends and allies e.xclusively among the
leaders of the KuHurkampf and the Old Catholics, as
also among anti-Catholic statesmen and princes.
DoUinger, as is well known, wrote much and admira- bly, and his writings exhibit, with a rare fidelity, every phase of his mental conflict. He was still a young man when his profound learning and brilliant diction, coupled with an unusual ease and rapidity in the criti- cal treatment of whatever historical thesis lay before him, earned for him an international reputation. He lacked, however, the methodical training necessary for the scientific editing of original texts.and documents, in which respect his deficiencies were occasionally only too evident. He was not content with bare investiga- tion of the facts and problems of Christian antiquity, or of medieval and modern history, but sought always a satisfactory solution for the difficulties that con- fronted the student. His diction was always charm- ing, whether the subject were one demanding a strictly scientific and well-ordered narrative or the light and rapid style called for by the pressing, but ephemeral, needs of the hour. He was likewise skilful as a public speaker, not only when delivering a carefully prepared discourse, but also when called on for an extemporane- ous address. A typical example of his ability in this re- spect was his extempore discourse in St. Paul'sChurch, Frankfort, on Church and State, apropos of Article III of the fundamental articles (Grwidrechte) of the Constitution: several of the best speakers had pre- ceded him, and, in order to closely follow their line of thought, his whole address had to be extemporized; nevertheless, it was admitted by all that, both in form and logic, his address was by far the best delivered on that occasion. The admiration of his students, no douljt, was due in great measure to the beautiful dic- tion in which he was wont to dress the facts of history.
The writings of DoUinger may be divided into purely scientific and political or ecclesiastico-political. They exhibit for the most part, however, a mutual interde- pendence and often complete one another. To avoid repetition, it seems better to follow the chronological order. It is worthy of note that when writing anony- mously his tone was frequently bitter, occasionally even violent; writing over his own name he usually avoided such extremes. His first work (1826), "Die Eueharistie in den drei ersten Jahrhunderten", has already been mentioned. In 1828 he published the first volumes of Hortig's " Kirchengeschichte", from the Reformation to the end of the eighteenth century. He also wrote frequently at this time for " Eos", a new review founded by his friends, Baader and Gorres; most of the articles dealt with contemporary subjects. According to Friedrich he also prepared " Umrisse zu Dante's Paradies von P. von Cornelius", i. e. an intro- duction to th.at writer's edition of Dante's " Paradiso ". His journalistic activity, however, was far from pleas- ing to the ministerial councillor, Joseph Freiherr von Hormayr, a somewhat erratic, but influential, person, who so influenced the king that he wished DoUinger well out of Bavaria, as has been seen in the case of his call to Breslau.
In these years, also, he defended with vigour the matrimonial" legislation of the Church, in connexion with the "Mixed Marriages" conflict (1831) in the Upper House of the Bavarian Parliament, and he was author of an anon\Tiious work " Ueber die gemischten Ehen"; at the same time he suggested as a means of avoiding all conflict, that the civil marriage be sep- arated from the religious ceremony. Meanwhile he contimied to collect the material for his scientific works. In 1833 and 1835 respectively he published the first and second parts of his " Ilandbuch der Kirch-
