MEYFART (MAYFART), JOHANN MATTHAEUS: German Lutheran theologian; b. at Jena Nov. 9, 1590; d. at Erfurt Jan. 26, 1642. He was the son of a clergyman of Walwinkel in the Thuringian forest; studied at Gotha, Jena, and Wittenberg. In 1616 he was called to Coburg as professor at the newly founded Gymnasium Casimirianum which distinguished itself by its strict discipline in morals, and in 1623 became its head. In 1631 or 1633 he was appointed professor of theology at the university of Erfurt. Of his Latin works, some are dogmatic: Prodromus elucidarii theologici sive distinctionum theologicarum eenturim dace, ex omnium grope theologarum, qui post exhibitam A. C. flmuerunt, scriptis collector, etc. (1620, unfinished); others are polemic: Grawerus continuatus (Coburg, 1623); Anti-Beeanus sine manualis eontroversiarum theol., a. Beeano colleen, Cork futatio (2 vols., Leipsic, 1627) and Nodus Gordius sophistarum solutus (Coburg, 1627), an original attempt to reconcile Aristotle and Petrus Remus. But his independent activity, awakened by the philosophy as well as the history and poetry of antiquity, united itself with a deep longing for the highest ideals, with an experience of the love of Christ, and with an enthusiastic absorption in subjective experiences of supernatural perfection. At the same time, however, Meyfart had a keen eye for corruption in the Church, for the dead mechanicalism of traditional theology, and for the moral defects of his age. This is shown, furthermore, by his German works, which fall into two groups, speculative-eschatological and practical-reformatory. To the first group belong Tuba novigsima (Coburg, 1626), four sermons on Death, the Last Judgment, Eternal Life, and Damnation. There followed Von dem himmlischen Jerusalem (2 vols., Coburg, 1627), which contained his celebrated hymn, " Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt " (several English translations, e.g., Miss Winkworth's "Jerusalem, thou city fair and high "); Das hollische Sodoma (2 vols., ib. 1630), and Das jangste Gericht (Nuremberg, 1632). To the second group belong his Christliche Erinnerung, concerning witchcraft (1636), and Christliche Erinnerung, concerning the German universities (1636), a striking description of life among theological students.

Meyfart also attempted in several of his works to reform the clergy, the church service, church disci pline and service of prayer, and to counteract the ecclesiastical dissensions and the hatred of the the ologians. He was one of the best of the precursors of Spener, a learned but enthusiastic mystic, and yet had his eyes fully open to the deficiencies of his tunes.

(E. Henke†.)

Bibliography: H. Witten, Memoria deologorum noaM satculi, Frankfort, 1685; G. Ludewig, Ehre des Caeimiriani academici, ii. 26-262, Coburg, 1729; A. F. W. Fischer, Kirdientieder-Lexicon, vol. ii., Gotha, 1879; Julian, Hymnology, pp. 732-733; ADB, xxi. 646.