ECK, JOHANN MAIER (1486-1543), German theologian, the most indefatigable and important opponent of Martin Luther, was born on Nov. 13, 1486, at Eck, Swabia. His father, Michael Maier, was a peasant and bailiff (Amtmann) of the village; his uncle Martin Maier, parish priest at Rothenburg on the Neckar, sent him at the age of twelve to the university of Heidelberg, later on to Tubingen, Cologne and Freiburg-im-Breisgau. At the age of 24 he was already doctor and professor of theology. Dur ing this period he was known as an opponent of the scholastic philosophy; and, though he did not go to all lengths with the "modernists" (moderni) of his day, his first work—Logices exer citamenta (5507)—was on their side, an attitude which brought him into conflict with the university senate. His position in Frei burg becoming intolerable he accepted in 1510 an invitation from the duke of Bavaria to fill the theological chair at Ingolstadt, where he was destined for thirty years to exercise a profound influence as teacher and vice-chancellor (Prokanzler).
A ducal commission, appointed to find a means for ending the interminable strife between the rival academic parties, entrusted Eck with the preparation of fresh commentaries on Aristotle and Petrus Hispanus, and between 1516 and 1520, in addition to his other duties, he published commentaries on the Summulae of Hispanus, and on the Dialectics, Physics and lesser scientific works of Aristotle, which became the text-books of the university. These commentaries are inspired with much of the scientific spirit of the New Learning, but he had no sympathy with the revolution ary attitude of the Reformers. He had won laurels in a public disputation at Augsburg in 1514, when he had defended the law fulness of putting out capital at interest; again at Bologna in 1515, on the same subject and on the question of predestination; and these triumphs had been repeated at Vienna in 1516. These successes gained him the patronage of the F'uggers, and he found himself fairly launched as the recognized apologist of the estab lished order in church and state, the first-fruits of this new position being a quite gratuitous attack on his old friend, the dis tinguished humanist and jurist Ulrich Zasius (1461-1536), for a doctrine proclaimed ten years before, and a simultaneous assault on Erasmus's Annotationes in Novum Testamentum.
Luther sent to Eck in 1517 copies of his celebrated 95 theses. Eck made no public reply; but in 1518 he circulated, privately at first, his Obelisci, in which Luther was branded as a Hussite. Luther entrusted his defence to Carlstadt. who answered Eck in 400 distinct theses, and declared his readiness to meet him in a public disputation, which took place at Leipzig in 1519. On June 27 and 28 and on July I and 3 Eck disputed with Carlstadt on the subjects of grace, free will and good works, ably defending the Roman standpoint; from July 4 to 14 he engaged with Luther on the absolute supremacy of the papacy, purgatory, penance, etc., showing a brilliant display of patristic and conciliar learning against the reformer's appeals to Scripture. The arbi trators declined to give a verdict, but the general impression was that victory rested with Eck. He made Luther admit that there was some truth in the Hussite opinions and declare himself against the pope. He induced the universities of Cologne and Louvain to condemn the reformer's writings, but failed to enlist the German princes, and in Jan. 1520 went to Rome to obtain strict regulations against those whom he called "Lutherans." He was created a protonotary apostolic, and in July returned to Germany, as papal nuncio, with the bull Exsurge Domine directed against Luther's writings. He now thought he could crush not only the Lutheran heretics but also his humanist critics. The effect of the publication of the bull, however, soon undeceived him, and he was glad to escape from Saxony with a whole skin. In his wrath he appealed to force, and his Epistola ad Carolum V. (Feb. 18, 1521) called on the emperor to take measures against Luther, a demand soon to be responded to in the edict of Worms. In 1521 and 1522 Eck was again in Rome, reporting on the re sults of his nunciature. On his return from his second visit he was the prime mover in the promulgation of the Bavarian religious edict of 5522, which led to years of persecution. In return for this action of the duke, Eck obtained for him, during a third visit to Rome in 1523, valuable ecclesiastical concessions. Meanwhile he published eight considerable polemics between 1522 and 1526.
Luther declined to answer his arguments, and Eck turned his attention to Switzerland and the Zwinglians. At Baden-in-Aargau in May and June 1526 a public disputation on the doctrine of transubstantiation was held, in which Eck and Thomas Murner were pitted against Johann Oecolampadius. Though Eck claimed the victory in argument, the only result was to strengthen the Swiss in their memorial view of the Holy Communion, and so to diverge them further from Luther. At the Augsburg diet in 1530 Eck was charged by Charles V. to draw up, in concert with twenty other theologians, the refutation of the Protestant Con fession. He was at the colloquy of Worms in 1540 and at the diet of Regensburg (Ratisbon) in 1541. At Worms he showed some signs of a willingness to compromise, but at Regensburg he persuaded the Catholic princes to reject the Interim.
Eck died at Ingolstadt on Feb. io, 1543 He was a powerful debater, but his victories were those of a dialectician rather than a convincing reasoner, and in him depth of insight and conviction were ill replaced by the controversial violence characteristic of the age. Moreover, even after discounting the bias of his enemies, there is evidence to prove that his championship of the Church was not wholly due to zeal for Christianity; for he was notori ously drunken, unchaste, avaricious and almost insanely ambi tious. His chief work was De primate Petri (1519) ; his Enchiri dion locorum communium adversus Lutherum ran through 46 editions between 1525 and 1576. In 1530-35 he published a col lection of his writings against Luther, Opera contra Ludderum, in 4 vols. See also LUTHER, MARTIN.
See T. Wiedemann, Dr. Johann Eck (Regensburg, 1865). ECKERMANN, JOHANN PETER German poet and author, best known owing to his association with Goethe, was born at Winsen, Hanover, on Sept. 21, 1792, and was brought up in penury. After serving as a volunteer in the War of Libera tion (1813-14), he became a clerk in the War Department at Han over. In 1817, although 25 years of age, he went to school at Hanover and then, for a year, to the University of Gottingen. His acquaintance with Goethe began in 1823, when he sent him the manuscript of his Beitrdge zur Poesie (1823). Soon afterwards he went to Weimar, where he instructed the son of the grand duke. In 1830 he travelled in Italy with Goethe's son. In 1838 he was given the title of grand-ducal councillor and appointed librarian to the grand-duchess. Eckermann is chiefly remembered for his contributions to the knowledge of Goethe contained in his Con versations with Goethe (1836-48). To Eckermann Goethe en trusted the publication of his Nachgelassene Schriften (posthu mous works) (183 2-33) . He was also joint-editor with Friedrich Wilhelm Riemer (17 74-1845) of the complete edition of Goethe's works in 4o vols. (1839-40). He died at Weimar on Dec. 3, Eckermann's Gesprache mit Goethe (vols. i. and ii., 1836; vol. iii., 1848; 7th ed., 1899; edit. by L. Geiger, 1902) have been trans lated into almost all the European languages, not excepting Turk ish. (Eng. trans. by Margaret Fuller, Boston, 1839, and John Oxenford, London, 185o.) His "remains" were edited by F. Tewes in vol. i. of Aus Goethes Lebenskreise (1905). See Petersen, Die Entstehung der Eckermannischen Gesprache . . . (1924); Hou den, J. P. Eckermann, Sein Leben fur Goethe (1925), based on recently discovered letters and diaries.