SCHMIDT
546
SCHOENBERG
Christoph von Schmid
author dailj' moved, and were not at fiist meant for
publication. To enforce his lessons in religious in-
struction, he sought to illustrate them by examples
taken from Christian antiquity, from legends, and
other sources.
Usually a story or
a chapter was read
to the children
after school hours
as a reward, on
condition that
they should write
it down at home.
He thus became
familiar with the
range of thought
and the speech of
children, and was
careful to speak
t heir language
rather than that
of books. He was
able to observe
with his own eyes
what it was that
impressed the
minds and hearts
of children both of tender and of riper years. Their
manner of repeating the stories also helped him.
He was the pioneer writer of books for children, and his great merits are fully acknowledged by both Cath- olic and Protestant writers on pedagogics. His stories have been translated into twenty-four languages, and to this day he is regarded in Germany as the prince of story-writers for the young. He is the greatest edu- cator Bavaria produced in the eighteenth century, and ranks, both as to theorj' and practice, with the most celebrated of modern educators. Canon Schmid was the ideal of a mild, charitable, unselfish man, of child- like simplicity of character, a devout Catholic priest, whose virtues are mirrored in his writings. On 3 Sep- tember, 1901, Thannhausen unveiled the bronze statue of the celebrated story-writer and educator.
Erinnerungen (Memoirs), published by Werfer (Augsburg, 1853-7); Letters and Diaries of Chr. von Schmid, ed. Werfer (Munich, 1868); Monataschrift fiir kaiholische Lehrerinnen (1905, nn. 1 and 2).
B. GULDNER.
Schmidt, Friedrich von, b. at Frickenhofen, 1825; d. at Vienna, 1891. After studying at the technical high school at Stuttgart, he became, in 1845, one of the guild of workmen employed in building the Cologne cathedral, on which he worked for fif- teen years. Most of the working drawings for the towers were mafle by Schmidt and Statz. In 1848 he attained to the rank of master-workman and in 1856 passed the state examination as architect. After becoming a Catholic in 185S, he went to Milan as professor of architecture and began the restora- tion of the cathedral of San Ambrogio. On account of the confusion caused by the war of 1859 he went to Vienna, where he was a professor at the academy and cathedral architect from 1862; in 1865 he received the title of chief architect, and in 1888 was ennobled by the emperor. Next to Ferstel he is the most important modern Gothic architect. In this style he built at Vienna the Church of St. Lazams, the church of the White Tanners, that of the Brigittines. He alsfj built the Classical gymnafiium with a Gothic i^'Mht and the memorial building (^n-cted on the site of the amphitlif-atre that had be(;n d<slroyed by fire. The last mentioned building was in Venetian Gothic. A large number of small ecclesiastical and secular buildings in Austria and Germany were designed by him. His last work was the restoration of the ca- therlral at Fiinfkirchen in Hungary. His chief fame however he gained by his restoration of the Cathedral
of St. Stephen at Vienna. He took down the spire
and worked on its rebuilding up to 1872. His design
for the town-hall of Vienna was also a very success-
ful one. The projecting middle section has a fine
central tower that rises free to a height of 328
ft. and is flanked by four smaller towers. This
section harmoniously combines height ^dth broad
horizontal members. A large court and six smaller
ones are enclosed by the extensive building, the
wings of which end in pavilions. Nothing in the
building shows the regularity of a set pattern; the
architect, rather, made skilful use of individual
Renaissance motifs. \Mien he began in Vienna his
manner was rather stiflf, but he worked his way up
to artistic freedom. In building the parish church
at Fiinfhaus he even ventured to set a fagade vsath
two towers in front of an octagonal central structure
\\\ih a high cupola and a corona of chapels. His
motto was to unite German force with Italian free-
dom. He modified the tendency to height in the
German Gothic by horizontal members and intro-
duced many modifications into the old standard of
the style in order to attain a more agreeable general
effect. In this way he always remained unfettered
and original in his style and replaced in part what
was lacking in decorative details or in the means of
producing the same. He was teacher and model to
many younger architects. A bronze statue of him
has been placed before the to^\'n-hall of Vienna.
His son Heinrich was overseer at the building of the
cathedral of Frankfort and afterwards professor of
medieval architecture at Munich.
Reichensperger, Zur Charakteristik des Baumeister Fr. ton Schmidt (Dusseldorf, 1891); Kuhn, Kunstgeschichle, II (New York, 1909).
G. GlETMANN.
Schneemann, Gerard, b. at Wesel, Lower Rhine, 12 Feb., 1829; d. at Kerkrade, Holland, 20 Nov., 1885. After studying law for three years, he entered the seminary at Miinster where he was ordained sub- deacon in 1850. He became a member of the Society of Jesus, 24 Nov., 1851, and was ordained priest on 22 Dec, 1856. For some years he taught philoso- phy at Bonn and Aachen, and subsequently lec- tured on church history and canon law in the Jes- uit scholasticate at Maria Laach. His first notable publication was "Studien tiber die Honoriusfrage " (Freiburg, 1864) in which he refuted the opinion of DoUinger. Between the years 1865 and 1870, he contributed a number of timely and important dis- sertations to "Die Encyclica Papst Pius IX" and "Das ocumenische Concil", two series of papers that were published at Freiburg under the general title of "Stimmcn aus Maria-Laach". In 1871 the "Stim- men" became a regular monthly review and for six years was edited by Father Schneemann. He wjia moreover the chief promoter in the collaboration and publication of the "Acta et decrcta sacrorum conciliorum recentiorum", commonly called "Col- lectio Lacensis", and died while preparing the docu- ments of the Vatican Council for the seventh and last volume. His work " Controversianmi de divinaj gratia; liberique arbitrii concordia initia et progres- sus" (Freiburg, 1881), was the occasion of a renewed controversy on the nature of grace and free will.
Slimmen aus Maria-Ijaach, XXX (ISHG), 167 sq.; Collectio Lacensis, VII (Freiburg, 1885), ix; Sommeuvooel, liihl. de la Compfigniede Jesus, VII (Paris, 1896), c. 822; Fkins, .S. Thomce doctrina de coOperatione Dei (Pari.s, 1892); Dummermuth, De- fensio doctriruc S. Thomcc de prmmotione physica (Paris, 1896).
F. X. Delany.
Schoenberg, Matthias von, author, b. at Ehingen, in the Diocese of Constance, 9 Nov., 1732; d. at Munich, 20 Apr., 1792. Of his early life little is known; he entered the Society of Jesus on 15 Sept., 1750. From 1766 to 1772 he was in charge of Eleemosyna Aurea, an institution founded for the