"Now when I came to the third class, I had been very diligent; therefore the Herr Conrector put the others to shame by my example, and said that I had surpassed them all and gained the crown, and, as he expressed himself, would throw sand into their eyes. This vexed the scholars much, and excited their envy; they painted a crown in my book, and strewed it thick with sand, with this inscription: 'This is Petersen's crown, and the sand he would cast in our eyes.' At last I was afraid to repeat my lesson too readily, though I had learnt it thoroughly, lest I should be beaten by the other scholars. When I was removed into the first class, I found there excellent preceptors. At this period I put many verses in print, especially on the death of my dearly beloved mother. I also delivered two orations on the restoration of peace at Lubeck; and the Choice of Hercules. In 1669 I went to the University of Giessen. "When I had become master of arts at Giessen, I was much loved by the professors, and also was, as far as lay in my power, on terms of friendship with every one. Then was Dr. Spener, of Frankfort, strongly recommended to me; therefore I resolved to go to Frankfort to visit him, in order to see whether the reality came up to the praise. I found him far superior to what I had heard; his was quite a different life and character to what I had seen in general I had indeed, after my fashion, feared God and loved the Holy Scriptures; but by the light of my merely worldly learning these were very obscure to me, so that when I presided at a disputation I feared many passages of Scripture which were brought against me by others. Now I became aware how important it was to understand rightly the spiritual meaning of the Holy Scriptures, and that the learning was not worth much which could be obtained by mere human industry.