A History of the Moravian ChurchHutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Religion
A History of the Moravian Church
Hutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Moravian Church -- History
Thus, in a halo of tearful glory, the Count-Bishop was laid to rest. For
many years the Brethren cherished his memory, not only with affection,
but with veneration; and even the sober Spangenberg described him as
"the great treasure of our times, a lovely diamond in the ring on the
hand of our Lord, a servant of the Lord without an equal, a pillar in
the house of the Lord, God's message to His people." But history hardly
justifies this generous eulogy; and Spangenberg afterwards admitted
himself that Zinzendorf had two sides to his character. "It may seem a
paradox," he wrote, "but it really does seem a fact that a man cannot
have great virtues without also having great faults." The case of
Zinzendorf is a case in point. At a Synod held a few years later (1764),
the Brethren commissioned Spangenberg to write a "Life of Zinzendorf."
As the Count, however, had been far from perfect, they had to face the
serious question whether Spangenberg should be allowed to expose his
faults to public gaze. They consulted the Lot: the Lot said "No"; and,
therefore, they solemnly warned Spangenberg that, in order to avoid
creating a false impression, he was "to leave out everything which
would not edify the public." The loyal Spangenberg obeyed. His "Life of
Zinzendorf" appeared in eight large volumes. He desired, of course, to
be honest; he was convinced, to use his own words, that "an historian is
responsible to God and men for the truth"; and yet, though he told
the truth, he did not tell the whole truth. The result was lamentable.
Instead of a life-like picture of Zinzendorf, the reader had only
a shaded portrait, in which both the beauties and the defects were
carefully toned down. The English abridged edition was still more
colourless.[136] For a hundred years the character of Zinzendorf lay
hidden beneath a pile of pious phrases, and only the recent researches
of scholars have enabled us to see him as he was. He was no mere
commonplace Pietist. He was no mere pious German nobleman, converted by
looking at a picture. His faults and his virtues stood out in glaring
relief. His very appearance told the dual tale. As he strolled the
streets of Berlin or London, the wayfarers instinctively moved to let
him pass, and all men admired his noble bearing, his lofty brow, his
fiery dark blue eye, and his firm set lips; and yet, on the other hand,
they could not fail to notice that he was untidy in his dress, that
he strode on, gazing at the stars, and that often, in his
absent-mindedness, he stumbled and staggered in his gait. In his
portraits we can read the same double story. In some the prevailing
tone is dignity; in others there is the faint suggestion of a smirk. His
faults were those often found in men of genius. He was nearly always in
a hurry, and was never in time for dinner. He was unsystematic in his
habits, and incompetent in money matters. He was rather imperious in
disposition, and sometimes overbearing in his conduct. He was impatient
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