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

Life

He was born at

Bätterkinden Bätterkinden is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Emmental (administrative district), Emmental in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. It is about north of Bern. ...

, in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

, Switzerland. He studied at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, where he became professor of logic. He was called to

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

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 (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

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

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

(1587); * a description of the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

of two mountains of the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

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 orthodox Christian theology of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...

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