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301 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Ferdinand II Ferguson of the people at large, frequently manifested, proved all in vain; his own sovereign power, energetically applied, showed itself strong enough to execute his will with promptness. By 1602, the Counter reformation was completed in the central Austrian jurisdictions, though at the cost of a serious and irretrievable decline of their prosperity, since many of the stanchest and wealthiest inhabitants had left home for the sake of their faith. When Ferdinand, after the death of Matthias in 1619, had been elected emperor, his first step, in alliance with Maximilian of Bavaria and the League, was to put down the Bohemian in 6. Ferdinand surrection. Then from 1621 forward, Emperor began the systematic execution of the 0rg-z7. Counterreformation in Bohemia, Mo ravia, and Upper and Lower Austria. In Bohemia first the Protestant teachers and preachers were expelled from the country, atten dance at Roman Catholic worship was made com pulsory, and the people were given the choice be tween subjection and emigration; in this case the property of emigrants was confiscated. In the cities, Catholic municipal counselors were put in office, and the Protestants were excluded from all municipal and civil positions. Military billeting helped to break the spirit of the recalcitrant, while rewards were bestowed for transition to Romanism. From 1624, measures were also prosecuted against the nobility, and in July, 1627, there was issued an imperial patent to the effect that nobody should be tolerated in the land unless he were Roman Catholic, and this irrespective of his rank or station, the nobility being granted a term of six months for making the change, and a corresponding term for the sale of their properties in the event of disobeying these orders. In the course of some years Protes tantism was effectually suppressed in Bohemia. Similar procedure was followed in Moravia and Lower Austria, where, however, the nobility re mained exempt from compulsory conversion; not until 1641 were more severe measures inaugurated against them, because they were alleged to stand in alliance with the Swedes. In Upper Austria the Counterreformation dated only from 1624, and was virtually accomplished by 1626. The last active manifestations of Protestant views in central Austria were set aside in 1628 by the expulsion of the Protestant nobles, to the re ported number of 800. In Silesia, too, notwith standing earlier promise to the contrary, Protes tantism was antagonized from 1627 onward; although in this case only particular jurisdictions came to be Romanized anew, which the fortunes of war brought completely under the emperor's hand. To carry the Counterreformation through in Hungary was not in Ferdinand's power, but as time progressed, the peaceable Counterreformation was directed by Cardinal Peter Ptizmany (q.v.), archbishop of Gran, and achieved such results that at all events the ma jority of the nobility again became Roman Catholic. As concerns the internal affairs of Austria, the vic tory of the Counterreformation was likewise the defeat of the estates and their policy; the princes needed no longer to fear the claims of self-willed estates. WALTER GOETZ.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: F. von Hurter, Geaehichte Ferdinands ll.. 4 vols., Schaffhausen, 1850-64; F. Stieve, Politik Baierns, vol. i., Munich, 1878; idem, Der ober6sterreichiache Bauernaufstand des . . 16,26, ib. 1891; T. Wiedemann, Reformation and Gegenreformation im Lande unter der Enns, i.-v., Prague, 1879-86; J. Him, Erzherzog Ferdinand 11. von Tirol, Innsbruck, 1885; H. Ziegler, Die Gegen re(ormation in Schlesien. Halle, 1888; F. Seheiehl, Bilder ausderZeilderGegenre(ormation, Gotha, 1890; A. Gindely, GegenreformationinBohmen, L eipsie, 1894; J. Loserth, Die steirische Religionepaziflkation, Graz, 1896; idem, Reformation and Gegenre/ormation in den innerbsterreichischen Landern, Stuttgart, 1898; L. Schuster, Farattischof Mar tin Brenner, Graz, 1898; A. R. Pennington, The CounterRe/ormalion in Europe, London, 1899; Cambridge Modern History, vol. iii., Wars of Religion, pp. 568-569, 572-573, 575, 687, 689. 702, 714 aqq., 723 sqq., New York, 1905.
FERGUSON (FERGUSSON), DAVID: Scotch Reformer; b., perhaps at Dundee, c. 1525; d. at Dunfermline (16 m.n.w. of Edinburgh), Fifeshire, Aug. 13, 1598. He was a glover by trade, but later acquired an education, though there is no evidence that he ever attended a university. He was one of the earliest teachers of the Reformed doctrines, being chosen pastor at Dunfermline in the first appointment of ministers in Scotland in 1560. In 1567 he was also made pastor of Rosyth, for which Cumnock and Beith were substituted in 1574. He preached before the regent at Leith on Jan. 13, 1571-72, protesting against the alienation of the estates of the Church for the personal use of the nobility or governmental purposes. This sermon received the approval of the General Assembly of the same year, and was heartily indorsed by John Knox. Ferguson was moderator of the General Assembly in 1573 and again in 1578, and for a number of years he was one of the assessors to the moderator. His acquaintance with James 1. as well as his ready wit, caused him to be repeatedly chosen one of the deputies of the General Assembly when it wished to bring matters to the attention of the king, and in Aug., 1583, he was one of the seven ministers cited by the king to attend a convention held at St. Andrews to answer for certain proceedings of the Assembly. At the meeting of the Synod of Fife at Cupar in Feb. 1597-98, Ferguson was the oldest minister in Scotland, but was still able to protest vigorously against any measure which he considered conducive to the reintroduction of episcopacy into Scotland. The works of Ferguson were: An Answer to an Epistle written by Renat Benedict, the French Doctor, to John Knox (Edinburgh, 1563); the sermon already noted (1572); the posthumous Scottish, Proverbs (1641); and Epithalamium mystieum Solomonis regis, sine Analysis eritico-poetics Cantici Canticorum (1677). His T;-acts were edited at Edinburgh for the Bannatyne Club in 1860.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: John Row, Historie of the Kirk of Scotland (Wodrow Society publication), Edinburgh, 1842; Introductory notice to the Bannatyne Club's reprint of Ferguson's Tracts, ib. 1869; Hew Scott, Fasti ecclesiee Scotean'e, II., ii. 565-566, 3 vols., ib. 1866-71; DNB, xviii, 341-342.
FERGUSON, FERGUS: Evangelical Union of Scotland; b. at Glasgow Sept. 6, 1824; d. there Nov. 3, 1897. At the age of fourteen he entered Glasgow University and was graduated (B.A.) at the end of six sessions (M.A., some years later).