ystems. A few years passed by, when the lessons began to be learned,
and signs of rejuvenation appeared. After Spener had commenced his
reformatory labors, he expressly and repeatedly declared that he did not
originate, but only gave expression to, a spirit of religious
earnestness that had already arisen in various quarters. To him belongs
the honor of cultivating and guiding these reassured hearts who had
derived most improvement from the Thirty Years' War. Pietism, the fruit
of their union, became a triumph under the leadership of Spener.

But who were these persons who became aroused to a sense of the
exigencies of the times, and saw that the danger which threatened the
kingdom of God in Germany was now scarcely less than when Tilly was
leading his maddened hordes through the fair fields and over the ruins
of those once happy towns? Some of the clergy were the first to indicate
new life. They preached with more unction, and addressed themselves to
the immediate demands of the parish, especially to provide for the
orphans and widows of those who had fallen in battle. Certain ministers
who had spent their youth in vain theological wrangling, preached
sermons which contained better matter than redundant metaphor and
classical quotations. Mueller and Scriver serve as fitting illustrations
of the improvement. They avoided the extended analytical and rhetorical
methods long in use, and adopted the more practical system of earnest
appeal and exhortation.

The clergy needed not to wait long before beholding the fruit of their
labors. For a better spirit manifested itself also among the lower
classes. A singular interest arose in sacred music. Not only in those
venerable Gothic Cathedrals, so long the glory of the Roman Catholic
Church, but in the field and the workshop there could be heard the
melodies of Luther, Sachs, and Paul Gerhard. Young men appeared in
numbers, offering themselves as candidates for the ministry. But let it
not be supposed that these encouraging signs were universal. While the
eye of faith could read the most decided lessons of hope, the religious
dearth was still wide-spread. Nor was it unlikely that in a short time
it would triumph over all the efforts for new life. When Spener rose to
a position of prominence and influence, he saw, as no one else was able
to see, the real danger to the cause of truth; and those affecting
descriptions which we find among his writings, revealing the real wants
of th