Schwartz of Tanjore

by Jesse Page

These were not the words of a gaunt or fanatical ascetic, but the deliberate opinion of a genial, large-hearted, human personality who, while living simply and single for conscience’ sake, was not condemning matrimony in a wholesale fashion as regards others in a like service as himself for the highest welfare of man. Unlike Martyn he does not appear to have suffered the pang of a refusal. Schwartz quite conscientiously and sincerely followed the Apostolic injunction of St. Paul, ever his highest ideal of the Christian missionary, when he tells the Corinthian Church that, “He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord, but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” It is recorded that on one occasion a ship arrived from Germany with a lady on board consigned to him as a prospective wife, either due to the unsolicited sympathy or unappreciated humour of a friend. At any rate she was promptly returned with a letter of indignant remonstrance from Schwartz. We may at any rate say of this man that he served God first with a single and undivided devotion; he made sacrifices but he was abundantly rewarded.

One of the difficulties which always menaced the success and progress of the Danish missionaries was the active opposition of the Roman Catholic priests. The persecution of one section of Christians by another section, each repudiating with some heat the other’s doctrines as heretical, was not a very edifying spectacle in the eyes of the Hindus. The state of the Romish missions after the death of Xavier was described by the Abbé Dubois, writing in December, 1875, after thirty-two years’ experience in Mysore. Not only were the converts diminished but in moral and religious tone the work was degenerate. He gives the unvarnished truth, which may seem almost desperately pessimistic in its conclusions, and this is the Romanism which the Protestant missions had to reckon with. Speaking then of his own converts the Abbé declares: “By far the greater part of them—in fact I might say the whole—present nothing but an empty shadow, a hollow mockery of Christianity; for in the long period of twenty-five years during which I learnt to know them most intimately and lived amongst them as their spiritual director, I can’t say that I once found anywhere one single downright and straightforward Christian amongst the natives of India. Several of them are fairly well instructed and know what are the duties of a Christian; but far and away the larger part of them live in the crassest ignorance and their entire religion is confined to the observance of a few external ordinances and the repetition of certain forms of prayer, without possessing one single spark of the inward practical spirit of Christianity. The Sabbath is either but just remembered or wholly disregarded and all their religious exercises are performed either simply because of custom or a vain desire to please men rather than God.”

There could hardly be a more complete confession of failure than the conviction which the Abbé Dubois expresses when he declares, after a long personal experience, that Roman Catholic missions have borne no fruit worth speaking of in India. Christianity, he says, is wholly discredited.

“This religion which formerly was an object of indifference or contempt has now, as I can testify from personal observation, well nigh become an object of abhorrence; it is certain that for sixty years past not one single proselyte has been made. Before half a century has elapsed there will not be the slightest trace of this Christianity remaining among the Hindus. I must confess it with shame and humiliation that there was not a single member of them (the Christian in his own sphere of labour) of whom it could be said, that he had accepted Christianity, save for some objectionable secondary consideration.”

It cannot be said, happily, that this dismal prophecy even as regards his own Church has been fulfilled but the statement is sufficient evidence of the condition of the Romanist Missions when Abbé Dubois based his pessimistic conclusions.

The correspondence of Schwartz has many references to his contact with the Roman Catholics, and while they made themselves very offensive to his work, it was easy to see that he was doing the best to live at peace with them and not to provoke unnecessarily any spirit of hostility. This however was no easy matter. In his journal under date the 18th October, 1770, we find a record of an attempt on his part to come to a friendly understanding with the priest.

“The 18th October was the day appointed for the public conference which the Romish Padre was to hold with me. I went, accompanied by two helpers, after previous prayer to God. The rules by which we were both to bind ourselves were these: (1) To do everything in love and without heat; (2) To make the Word of God alone the judge in the dispute; (3) To allow all that should be advanced on either side to be taken down by a capable scribe, so that at the expiration of the conference, the whole might be reviewed. These three rules were proposed by me; and the members of the Romish congregation had nothing to urge in objection, though whether the Romish Padre would be satisfied with them, they could not decide. At eight o’clock in the morning we arrived. Many of the Romish persuasion were assembled. They received me, but not with much courtesy. At length they collected together opposite the church, where I expounded to the members present many beautiful passages, as Matt. v. 1-10; John xiv. 6; 2 Cor. iv. 1; 1 Tim. i. 4-6; Matt. ii. 28. One of their chief persons said, ‘You speak as if one need never sin any more.’ At length, at eleven o’clock, a messenger arrived from the Romish Padre, with a message that he would not come, for he did not consider it to be necessary. The Romish were somewhat moved at his having broken his word on the subject, after having promised them that he would appear without fail.

“I again enforced the truth on their hearts, implored them to trust in the Word of God and become obedient to it and so took leave of them. One of the helpers remained behind with them, an old friend having requested him to eat something with him, when he re-presented much to them out of God’s Word.”

A year afterwards we get another entry in the journal describing in simple terms an act of persecution, which will represent the spirit of intolerance on the part of the Roman Catholics. Schwartz had been gathering his helpers together to comfort and encourage them amid these persecutions to declare the truth without shrinking, but “not to use the weapons of the enemy but much more after the example of the Lord Christ and His Apostles to oppose to gainsayers humility and meekness.” An opportunity for displaying this virtue soon presented itself: “It happened that a near relative of one of the helpers, whose name is Nyanapragasam, arrived here from the country and soon experienced a fatal attack of smallpox. He solicited the helper and his mother to nurse him in his sickness, which they willingly did. The sick man was a Papist but very ignorant, on which account the helper, besides nursing his body, often read to him from the Word of God and particularly exhorted him to turn with all his sins to the Mediator and Surety of the human family. The sick man expressed himself much satisfied and gratefully accepted the instruction. In about five days he died.

“During the illness none of the Roman Catholics had inquired after him, but as soon as he was dead they came to bury him. The helper said nothing against it, but as a near relative desired leave to follow the corpse. Some of the Romish said, ‘You shall not join the funeral procession because you are a heretic.’ The helper said, ‘When your Catechist comes I will ask him, and if he be against it I will go away.’ The Romish Catechist arrived and the helper inquired whether he might not be permitted to follow the corpse of his near relative? ‘What,’ answered the former, ‘do you take so great a liberty as to go with us?’ He drew his slipper from his foot and beat the helper, on which about twenty Papists assaulted him and beat him so long that he swooned. Then they dragged him by the hair through the streets and left him prostrate in the house of a heathen.