THE PROPHECY OF LEHNIN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume V, Issue 245, 11 January 1878, Page 12

THE PROPHECY OF LEHNIN.

(Adapted from the French- for' the Catholic Review).^ ' We read in an old German chronicle that " in the year, of' grace 1180,.the Marquis Otho, the first of' that name, completed the princely monastry of Lehnin, of the Order of Citeaux, situated at a distance of two leagues from Bradenburg, and begun by his late father, Albertua TJrsus. The Marquis Otho made to the monks the gracious gift of the inclosure of the,Zanche, together with the village of Thurow, the baptismal dowry of Primislaus, King of the Vandals." Seven hundred years after, less "two lustra," on the 18th of January, 1871, the day on which the imperial dignity was proclaimed, the King of Prussia signed a, cabinet order, decreeing that the Church of Lehnin should be made to rise again from its ruins. And, in accordance with this order, on Sunday, June 24, of the present year, i<m was solemnly inaugurated in the presence of the Prince, Royal of Prussia, his consort, alarge^ number of attendants and a numerous audience. It was at "Lehnin that the legend of the White Lady originated, and it was there that Father Hermann wrote, about the year 1300,. the production known by the' name of the prophecy of Lehnin. According ito this prophecy the great heresy was to ; commence r "under Joachim 1., which actually came to pass, and to continue' 'until 'the eleventh generation after him, which is the present. During the reign of this generation the prophecy foretells events to take place in Germany which have always been watched for with most lively interest in that country ; and this interest has only increased since the eleventh generation of the Hohenzollerns has ascended'theithrone. But, as the year in which the great event was to occur should' see the Church of Lehnin arise from its ruins, the Emperor William,;. apparently desirous to throw a defiance in the face of the 'superstitious, ordered the monastry church to be rebuilt. '"-' ''' '' ' '' Hll _'>•>' Bufcthis does not seem to have much effect >in lessfening-the interest of the Germany people in Father Hermann's '^prediction. His name is mentioned at the Prussian court only with'asorttbf dread reserve. If he were now living Bismarck's gendarme's- would 'very soon make short work of him, by virtue of the May laws'andl the press ■laws* But he is dead; and as it' is through' no' fault 1 bf the Germans that his prophecy is made so public, the all powerful Emperor' does .not despair of confounding Father Hermann by bullying him in his tomb. ■ This bravado has had no 1 other effect > than to quicken the popular curiosity ; and never, therefore, has the! prophecy been 1 better known than at the present day. Germany possesses four manuscripts of this document, which are respectively in the libraries of Gottingen, Dillemburg, Wolfcnbuttel and in the family archives of the court of Prussia. ' i ' ' ' Father Hermann predicts the future of the March of Brandenburg, and passes in review all the margraves, electors and kings who have since his day ruled this country.- It is singularly woriftiy of note that the prophecy has been literally fulfilled down to the present day ; and this- circumstance appears- so imuch' the more astonishing as the verses in 1 which 'it 'is written are couched in the clearest language. Vague plirases or doubtful and ambiguous thoughts are never to be met with. Thus, the prophecy says that the < Reformation will be introduced under Joachim I.,' and that '&\ woman — viortifera,j)cstis — will plant that poison everywhere, and the sovereign alone will not be affected by it until the eleventh generation (stemma). The truth is that it was the mother of Joachim I. who introduced the Reformation into Bradenburg. , ' ' ' '■ !•"'* /"■ The prophecy then laments over the destruction of LehniE, and passes in review the ten first generations Qstenvmata). The "eleventh stemma contains two sovereigns, Frederick William IY 1 . and William 1., his brother, the present king and Emperor of Germany, of -whom the prophet speaks in words which we translate almost literally as follows: ■ "•. ' ' • i i * » >■> >'■> '• ' " Finally he holds the sceptres who will be the last of bis generation. Israel dares to perpetrate an odious crime, whiobl will -be expiated by death. ' Then the pastor will resume the charge of -his flock and Germany receive her king." - ■ •>■ '' ' ' " Finally he bears the sceptres who will be the last of • his generation. Frederic William IV. was the first— 2>ri»WM (vndecimi) stein* math:' > i J ' '•■ •>•' "' »<■ l - : ,We insist particularly on the plural form, soeptres;~f.OT- in two other passages' bearing on the ancestors of William; 1., 'Father (Hermann uses the singular form, sceptrvnv, and not- the plural,^sceptra. Does not the present state of affairs explain this, since William I. is at the same time King of Prussia and Emperor of Geroiany-?><!< ' < ■ " Israel dares to perpetrate an odious crime which will' b& expiated ,by death." Everyonein Germany is now familiar ■ with odious crime, for her children have been subjected 'to outrages' that were spared them by the Swedish hordes of Gustavus Adolphus an&Mansfeld. The expression, odious crime — infandum nefas — ds 1 a' vigorous and correct rendering of the Culturkampf and its odioua persecutions. " Israel dares I " In all the anti-Catholic enterprises of Prussiar'fc do we not recognise the mask and action of Judaism inspiring, or ' rather animating, the International ? Father Hermann tells>us that the crime will be expiated by death. > Let Israel beware 1 - ' " Then the pastor will resume the charge of his flock, and Germany will receive her king." This verse refers likewise to the eleventh stemma, but still awaits its realisation, though pure blooded Prussians pretend that it has been realised by the establishment o£ the new German empire. The interpretation is far-fetched, for the words are, " Then Germany receives her king," then only when, the last of the eleventh generation will hold the sceptre, will Germany receive the two sceptred king, who then "at length," (Umdcvi) that is to say, as the last of the series of sovereigns, will precede the coming of the new king. But the last verses of the document give us a free interpretation of this passage, and establish its meaning much more clearly. Theie we are told who will be the last sovereign of his race. The other Roman empire will come after Lehnin shall have been rebuilt, " The triumphant pastor crushes the heresy and the wolf is chased far away from the fold." It is true that Lehnin has been rebuilt by William 1., who, desir-

ing to force the prophecy, ordered its reconstruction on the day on which his imperial dignity was proclaimed. But we have yet time enough to see whether the prophecy will remain content with this interpretation. In Germany, some of those who put blind confidence in the prophecy of the monk of Lehnin, think that the royal house of 1 russia will be converted and re-enter the fold of the Catholic Church along with the majority of the Protestants, and others, that Prussia and the Prussian monarchy will perish, and that the Holy bor^hs pU ' e will be re " establisn ed under the ancient race of HapsIt is unnecessary for us to add, after having laid this abstract of a famous document before our readers, that we have not the slightest j Intention of taking sides either for or against the prophecy. On more than one account some consider it a very curious production, and we know that it is occupying the attention of the German people more generally than the mighty chief of the Cultur-Kampf would desire