The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania: A Critical and Legendary History of the Ephrata Cloister and the Dunkers (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania: A Critical and Legendary History of the Ephrata Cloister and the DunkersThe more we look into the history and religious condi tion of the German immigrants who came to these shores in the early years of the eighteenth century, the greater becomes our admiration for the deeds they accomplished. Many were religious enthusiasts of doctrine inimical to the orthodox faiths which flourished under official sanction. Persecuted at home, they left the Fatherland and came either with their families to enjoy the promised religious liberty, only to find that they were the victims of schem ing agents, and that many of the representations made to them prior to their departure had but little foundation in fact.Yet, notwithstanding these drawbacks, we find here at an early date the altars of the various faiths, orthodox and sectarian, mystic and separatist, erected side by side in the sylvan groves of Penn's colony. Though differing upon religious tenets and creeds, these Germans, almost without exception, were of the same moral and industrious class that went so far to make our Commonwealth what is it.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.