Superintendent Wagner only gave
expression to the world's real conviction when he wrote of him: "_Vir
placidus, candidus, pius et doctus._"
A personal friend and spiritual son of Arndt, John Gerhard, followed
closely in his footsteps. He was possessed of the same general
characteristics which we have traced in connection with the two
preceding names. His love was boundless, his spirit unruffled, his piety
deep and lasting. He was more serviceable in some respects to the
interests of the orthodox church than any other theologian of that time.
Like Arndt he had been inclined to the study of medicine, but a
dangerous sickness turned his mind to religious contemplation and to the
study of theology. His mental capacities had been cast in a great mould.
He grasped whatever he undertook with gigantic comprehension. His
attainments were so rapid that at the age of twenty-four he received the
degree of doctor of divinity; and, somewhat later, was the most famous
and admired of all the professors of the university of Jena. His
influence was such that princes placed themselves before him for his
counsel, and the highest ecclesiastical tribunals deemed themselves
honored in receiving a share of his attention.
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