Melanchthon used the church fathers not so much for their eloquence as for
their theology, while admitting that they also served as a model of antique
eloquence and learning. In his 1552 edition of Jerome’s Ecloga de locis
hebraicisMelanchthon made a point of saying:‘For those who attempt to
study sacred writings without the background and the help of other arts and
letters, they appear to be“flying without wings”. But most foolish of all are
those who feel that piety is nothing other than contempt of all human
literature and antique learning.’^23 Although Melanchthon does not explicitly
refer toAd iuvenes, it is obvious that he too tacitly echoes Basil’s view.
This is particularly important because Melanchthon wrote numerous trea-
tises dealing with education and learning in which he touched on the value
of antique letters. I shall examine two of them, namely the lecture On
Improving the Studies of Young Peopleand the speechIn Praise of the New
School. In the latter, Melanchthon dwells on the value of literature in some
detail in terms very similar to those adopted by Bullinger in theRatio.
According to Melanchthon, literature deals with things that pertain to know-
ledge of nature and also to the forming of manners; it also teaches one to
evaluate morals according to the correct criteria. Reading the writings of other
people helps one to understand what humans are like. While it may appear
that Melanchthon promotes a kind of‘Philohellenism’in this speech, it should
be noted that he, like Basil inAd iuvenes, explicitly distinguishes the study of
humanities from the study of God. In other words, he affirms the biblical
antithesis between secular and sacred, and warns his students not to contam-
inate improperly the sacred with alien literature.^24 In fact, according to him, it
was one of the lapses of the medieval church that it failed to distinguish
between the profane and the holy, between Aristotelian philosophy and
Christian theology. But the works of God cannot be compared with the
works of man, Melanchthon argues, for‘the perfume of the ointments of the
Lord is far sweeter than the aroma of human disciplines. While the mouths of
men speak lies continually, all truth is from God, and“his truth will be your
buckler”.’^25 Nevertheless, since the‘sacred things are the most powerful for the
mind, work and care are necessary’, and one must be educated in order to
understand God’s word and his will in our lives. Therefore,‘with the Spirit as
leader, and the cults of the arts as ally, we may approach things sacred’.^26 In
(^23) See also T. J. Wengert,‘Biblical Commentaries of Philipp Melanchthon’, in I. Dingel,
R. Kolb, N. Kuropka, and T. J. Wengert (eds),Philipp Melanchthon, Theologian in Classroom,
Confession and Controversy(Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2012), 46. For Melanch-
thon’s theological use of the fathers see Peter Fraenkel,Testimonia partum: The Function of
Patristic Argument in the Theology of Philipp Melanchthon(Geneva: Droz, 1961).
(^24) Titus 2:7–8.
(^25) The English translation of the Latin texts used here is from Ralph Keen (ed.),A Melanch-
thon Reader(New York: Peter Lang, 1988), 47–63.
(^26) Keen (ed.),Melanchthon Reader, 55.
42 Irena Backus