ERBERMANN
516
ERCILLA
punish the people — as if the Christian magistrate dif-
fered nothing from the heathen. ... I allow indeed
the magistrate ought to consult, when doclriite is con-
cerned, those who have particularly studied it; but
that there should be any such ecclesiastical tribunal to
take cogniz.ance of men 's conduct, we find no such thing
anjTvhere appointed in the Holy Scriptures!" It maj'
reasonably be asked how the system of Erastus could
work in a state which is professedly un-Christian, and
the last thesis is devoted to answering that question.
"But in those churches, the members of which live
under an ungodly government (for example Popish or
Mohammedan"), grave and pious men should be chosen
according to the precept of the Apostle, to settle dis-
putes by arbitration, compose quarrels, and do other
offices of that sort. These men ought also, in con-
junction with the ministers, to admonish and reprove
them who live unholy and impure lives; and if they
do not succeed, they may also punish, or rather recall
them to \-irtue, either by refusing to hold private in-
tercourse ■nith them or by a public rebuke, or by any
other such mark of disapprobation. But from the
sacraments which God has instituted, they may not
debar any who desire to partake."
The full sj'stem of Erastus was never accepted or promulgated by any definite sect or band of followers; but the influence of his opinions was very considerable, both in Gennany and in Great Britain. The Presby- terians of course have always vigorously repudiated his doctrines; but in the AVestminster Assembly (164.3-7) there was a strong Erastian party. After a long controversy, a definite resolution, affirming that the Church has its own government distinct from the ci\'il power, was carried almost unanimously, the sole dissentient being the well-known di\-ine, John Light- foot. On the general questions of the relation between Church and State, it must be admitted that the opin- ions popularly denoted by the word Erastian have had unmistakable influence on the Established Church of England, though there has always been a party resist- ing the encroachments of the civil power. We can, perhaps, take Hooker's "Ecclesiastical Polit_v" as an authoritative exposition of this phase of Anglicanism. Hooker was a contemporarj- of Erastus, and in his preface he gives an account of the controversy of the latter with Beza. The eighth volume, however, in which he deals with the question before us did not ap- pear until 1(348, many years after his death. Its au- thenticity has been questioned; but it is now gener- ally conceded that it is based on rough notes made during his lifetime. He adopts the analogj^ of Eras- tus between the Jewish nation and a Christian state. Starting from the truism that a good monarch shoifld look to the spiritual good of his subjects no less than to the temporal, he defends at once the title of the king to be head of the Church. He considers that the consent of the laity is required before an ecclesiastical law can be binding, and looks upon Parliament as their mouthpiece, and accordingly defends the right of Parliament to legislate on ecclesiastical matters. He defends the king's power of appointing bishops and his jurisdiction over ecclesi.astical courts.
We may contrast with this the Catholic system of the union of Church and State which has always been the Church's ideal, and has often been in great meas- ure realized, and in our own days has been brought into prominence by the solemn pronouncements of Pius IX. The power of the State is maintained to be of God, either immediately, or mediately through the will of the people; and the civil government exists side l)y side with the ecclesiastical government. Each is complete in its own sphere. The pope has "tem- poral power", using the tcnn in its true sense, i. e. of his right to certain interference with the temporal government of states when the principles of religion are at stake. On the other hand, any interference on the part of the State with ecclesiastical appointments,
as, for example, by nomination of bishops or by veto
on such nomination, or even on the election of the
pope, such as has sometimes existed in the case of some
Catholic powers, is conceded by courtesy, in consider-
ation of services rendered and by no means acknowl-
edged as a right. See Hergenrother, "Catholic
Church and Christian State""(tr. London, 1876).
The "Theses" of Erastus and the "Confirraatio The-
sium" were reprinted at Amsterdam in 1649. An
English translation of the "Theses", without the
"Confirmatio", appeared in London in 1659 — a very
literal rendering, in places hardly intelligible. A new
translation of the "Theses", by Dr. Robert Lee, with
a valuable preface, was published at Edinburgh in
1844 and is still the standard edition.
Hexsox, English Heligion in the Seventeenth Century, article Erastianism (London. 1903); Fergdssox, Refutation of Erasti- anism {IGOil; Staxley, Essays on Church and State (LondoD, 1S70); Dale. Hist, of Eng. Congregationalism (London. 1907); Lechleh-Stahelix in Realencyklopadie fiir protestantische The- ologie, s. v. Erastus; Boxxard, Thomas Eraste et la Discipline ecclesiastique (Lausanne, 1S94).
BERN'.iRD Ward.
Erbermann (Eberm.^^'^n), Veit, theologian and controversialist, b. 25 May, 1597, at Rendweisdorff, in Bavaria; d. S April, 1675. He was born of Lutheran parents, but at an early age he became a CathoUc, and on 30 May, 1620, entered the Society of Jesus. After completing his ecclesiastical stuilies he taught philoso- phy and Scholastic theologj', first at Mainz and after- wards at Wiirzburg. Subsequently he was appointed rector of the pontifical seminary at Fulda, which position he held for seven years. His theological attainments and zeal for the Church brought him into conflict with many of the leading Reformers of his time. He watchetl with a keen interest what in Protestant theological circles is known as " the s\mcretistic contro- versy", and in his frequent encounters with its chief representatives proved himself an able champion of Catholicism. His principal works are: ".\natomiaCal- ixtina" (Mainz, 1644), and " Irenicon CathoUcum" (2 vols., Mainz, 1645—46), in which he examines critically t he religious tenets of George Calixtus;"Interrogationes apologetics" (Wiirzburg, 1651); " Examen Examinis Conringiani" (Wiirzburg, 1(>44), an exposition of the infaUibihty of the Church against H. Conring; ".\nti- Musieus, i. e. parallela Ecclcsi;e verse et falsie" (Wurz- burg, 1659), and " Anti-Mus;ei pars altera " (Wiirzburg 1661); "Asserta theologica de fide divina" (Wiirz- burg, 1665).
HvRTER. Somenelator; Sommervogel, Bibl. de la c. de J. (Paris, 1S92), III, 407.
Joseph Schroeder.
Ercilla y Zuniga, Alonso de, Spanish soldier and poet, b. in Madrid. 7 August, 1533; d. in the same city, 29 Nov., 1594. After his father's death, his mother became lady-in-waiting to the Infanta Marfa and made young Alonso a page to Prince Philip. Er- cilla received a very thorough education, for, besides having the most learned teachers, he enjoyed the ad- vantages of very extensive travelling and of livmg at court where he came in contact with high personages. \Mien he was only fifteen he accompanied Philip through Italy and Gennany; and their travels lasted three years. Later, Ercilla accompanied his mother to Bohemia where he left her and then visited Austria, Hungan,-, and other countries. Retiu-ning to Spain, he soon started out again with Philip. In London he made the aciiuaintance of Jeronimo de .\lderete ( 15.55), who.se stories of his thrilling adventures in the New World so fired Ercilla's imaginntion that he deter- mined to accompany Alden'lc tn the New World. He therefore obtained leave from Philip, and they .set sail for .Vmerica, 15 Oct., 1555. Soon after their arrival, however, Alderete died (near Panamd, April, 1556). Ercilla continued on his way to Peru, and in 1557 joined the forces of Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, who
