Bernhard Hirzel (12 August 1807 – 6 June 1847 in Paris) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

theologian and Orientalist. He studied theology in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

(1819–31) and philology in Berlin and Paris, promoted 1833 in Göttingen. He married Maria Elisa Tobler in 1833. From 1833 he was reading in Zürich, and was elected professor for oriental languages in 1835. His lectures met with little interest, with only two out of 43 announced. In 1837, he left Zürich for a position as pastor in Pfäffikon. The election of

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (german: link=no, Strauß ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature h ...

, a free-thinking theologian and pioneer in the historical investigation of Jesus, to the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

caused a tumult among the rural population, resulting in Hirzel leading a troop of insurgents to Zürich, which succeeded to force the city council to surrender. In 1845, Hirzel quit his post in Pfäffikon and again became reader at Zürich University, but was soon forced to flee because of his involvement in a case of financial fraud. He went into exile in Paris, where he committed suicide by taking poison in 1847.

Translations from the Sanskrit

* ''

Sakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Bharata (Mahabharata), Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the ''Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the mos ...

'' (Zürich 1833) * '' Urwasi'' (Frauenfeld 1838) * '' Meghaduta oder der Wolkenbote'' (Frauenfeld 1846)

References

*P. Aerne, ''Nicht nur "Blutpfaff": Aspekte aus Bernhard H.s (1807–1847) Wirksamkeit'', in ZTb 1992, 1993, 229–263 *P. Aerne, 'Pfarrer, Sanskritist und "Glaubensgeneral". Bernhard H. hält Lebensrückschau', in ''Vom Luxus des Geistes'', F. Richner et al. (eds.), 1994, 241–272 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirzel, Bernhard 1807 births 1847 deaths People from Zürich People associated with the University of Zurich Suicides by poison Suicides in France Swiss orientalists People from Pfäffikon, Zürich