Benedictus Aretius (surname derived from Marti by Greek translation) (1505–1574) was a Swiss Protestant theologian,

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

and natural philosopher.

Life

He was born at

Bätterkinden Bätterkinden is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is about north of Bern. History Bätterkinden is first mentioned in 1261 as ''Beturchingen''. During the High Middle Ages ...

, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. He studied at Strasbourg and at

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

, where he became professor of logic. He was called to Bern as a school-teacher, 1548, and became professor of theology, 1564. He died at Bern on 22 March 1574.

Works

His major work, ''Theologiæ problemata'' (Bern, 1573), was a compendium of the knowledge of the time and was highly valued. His ''Examen theologicum'' (1557) ran through six editions in fourteen years. His works also include * a commentary on the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

(1580 and 1616) and on the Pentateuch (1602; 2d ed., with commentary on the Psalms added, 1618); * a commentary on

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

(1587); * a description of the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

of two mountains of the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...

Stockhorn The Stockhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking the region of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland. It is located north of the town of Erlenbach im Simmental. The Stockhorn is high and is accessible via cable car from Erlenbach. It ...

and Niesen (Strasbourg, 1561); * a Hebrew method for schools (Basel, 1561); and * a defense of the execution (in 1566) of the

antitrinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essen ...

Valentin Gentilis (Geneva, 1567).

References

''Schaff-Herzog'' article

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Aretius, Benedictus 1505 births 1574 deaths People from Emmental District Swiss Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century Swiss scientists 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians