§ 182.2. =The Older Rationalistic Theology.=--The older, so-called vulgar rationalism, was characterized by the self-sufficiency with which it rejected all advances from philosophy and theology, science and national literature. The new school of historico-critical rationalism availed itself of every aid in the direction of scientific investigation. The father of the vulgar rationalism of this age was =Röhr= of Weimar, who exercised his ingenuity in proving how one holding such views might still hold office in the church. To this school also belonged =Paulus= of Heidelberg, described by Marheineke as one who believes he thinks and thinks he believes but was incapable of either; =Wegscheider= of Halle, who in his “_Institutions theol. Christ. dogmaticæ_” repudiates miracles; =Bretschneider= of Gotha, who began as a supernaturalist and afterwards went over to extreme rationalism; and =Ammon= of Dresden, who afterwards passed over to rational supernaturalism. § 182.3. The founder of =Historico-critical Rationalism= was =De Wette=; a contemporary of Schleiermacher in Berlin University, but deprived of office in A.D. 1819 for sending a letter of condolence to the mother of Sands, which was regarded as an apology for his crime. From A.D. 1822 till his death in A.D. 1849 he continued to work unweariedly in Basel. His theological position had its starting point in the philosophy of his friend Fries, which he faithfully adhered to down to the end of his life. His friendship with Schleiermacher had also a powerful influence upon him. He too placed religion essentially in feeling, which, however, he associated much more closely with knowledge and will. In the church doctrines he recognised an important symbolical expression of religious truths, and so by the out and out rationalist he was all along sneered at as a mystic. But his chief strength lay in the sharp critical treatment which he gave to the biblical canon and the history of the O.T. and N.T. His commentaries on the whole of the N.T. are of permanent value, and contain his latest thoughts, when he had approached most nearly to positive Christianity. His literary career began in A.D. 1806 with a critical examination of the books of Chronicles. He also wrote on the Psalms, on Jewish history, on Jewish archæology, and made a new translation of the Bible. His Introductions to the O.T. and N.T. have been translated into English.--=Winer= of Leipzig is best known by his “Grammar of New Testament Greek,” first published in A.D. 1822, of which several English and American translations have appeared, the latest and best that of Dr. Moulton, made in A.D. 1870, from the sixth German edition. He also edited an admirable “_Bibl. Reallexicon_,” and wrote a work on symbolics which has been translated into English under the title “A Comparative View of the Doctrines and Confessions of the