Wesley Corpus

Before Stoltius left Jena, Buddzus also began to preach the real Gospel, as did Christius svon after; whereby some awakening continued till the year 1724. A few of the townsmen then agreed to maintain a student, to be a schoolmaster for some poor children. They afterward kept several schoolmasters: but about 1728, all of them going away, the school was broke up, and the children quite neglected. Professor Buddeus being informed of this, earnestly recommended the consideration of it to the students in his house: and about ten of them, among whom was Mr. Spangenberg, took upon themselves the care of those children. Their number soon increased, which gave great offence to the other schoolmasters in the town ; and not long after to the magistrates of the town, and to the senate of the university. The offence soon spread to the pastors, the professors, the consistory, and the princes who are lords of Jena. But it pleased God to move one of them, the prince of Eisenach, who had the chief power there, to stop the open persecution, by forbidding either the senate or consistory to molest them. He likewise wholly exempted them from the jurisdiction of both, ordering that all complaints against them for the time to come should be cognizable only by himself. But during the persecution, the number of schools was increased from one to three, (one in each suburb of the city,) the number of teachers to above thirty, and of children to above three hundred. There are now thirty constant teachers, ten in each school, and three or four supernumerary, to supply accidental defects. Four of the masters are appointed to punish, who are affixed to no one school. Each of the schools being divided into two classes, and taught five hours a day, every one of the thirty masters has one hour in a day to teach. All the masters have a conference about the schools every Monday. They havea second meeting on Thursday, chiefly for prayer: and a third every Saturday. Once in half a year they meet to fill up the places of those masters who are gone away. And the number has never decreased ; fresh ones still offering themselves, as the former leave the university. The present method wherein they teach is this :-- Baal f> GMS Wot oe ee 108 REV. J. WESLEY’S JOURNAL. ‘| Aug. 1738