Jens Schielderup Sneedorff (22 August 1724 – 5 June 1764) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

author, professor of political science and royal teacher and a central figure in Denmark in the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

Biography

Sneedorff was born in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

, the son of the last headmaster of

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy (Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

. He studied at

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

and

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

where he was influenced by British and French Enlightenment thinking as well as German

cameralism Cameralism (German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German science of public administration in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the state. The discipline in its most na ...

. From his position as professor at the

for young noblemen and later teacher to the prince, Sneedorff played a key role in formulating the political content of "Enlightenment" in his native Denmark.

Political views

Sneedorff defended absolutism in a model that applied

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

thinking, primarily that of Locke and

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

. A wellfunctioning polity rested according to Sneedorff on its "police", i.e. a subject and regent mentality of

civic virtue Civic virtue is the harvesting of habits important for the success of a society. Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue is often conceived as the dedication of citizens to the common welfare of each other even at the cost of t ...

, “true

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...

" and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. Civic virtue was associated with

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

. To Sneedorff it meant industrious conduct and the will and desire to let self-interest yield to the

common good In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...

. True honour had the same end, but operated through exploiting people’s self-interest by connecting social status to conduct that promoted the common good. In Sneedorff's conception, each of the four estates,

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

, and

peasantry A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

had their own honour that resembled four different kinds of patriotic behaviour. Should all others fail, Sneedorff reserved religion as the last bond of

social order The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social order ...

. In general, it was Sneedorff’s view that passions like self-interest should not be subdued, but sublimated into forms that are useful to the state. Instilling the right mentality in subjects thus became a vital political undertaking, a task that made the art of government a pedagogic discipline - a project of Enlightenment. Sneedorff considered the polity he outlined far from the one experienced in his native state of Denmark-Norway. He coined his educational method “the spirit of

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

”, which implies making people “fall in love” with virtue. Virtue should become a passion itself in order to unite duty-loving subjects and government in emotional harmony. Sneedorff’s absolutist project of enlightenment excluded everyone but the regent from formal political influence. It nevertheless placed enlighteners like Sneedorff himself in a privileged position as those in power to define the contents of virtue and honourable selfmanagement. His enlightenment attitudes also illustrate the mentality behind the centralising reform policy pursued by the absolutist government of his country.

Selected writings

*''Om den borgerlige Regiering'' (On civil government) (1757) *''Den patriotiske Tilskuer'' (The Patriotic Spectator) (1761–1763)

References

Anders V. Hassing (2005): ''Staten i hjertet. Jens Schelderup Sneedorffs patriotiske opdragelsesprojekt'', master thesis, University of Copenhagen
(Danish with English summary) *Digital online version of his collected works in Danish (9 volumes) a
Google Books
*Digital online version of his ''Essai d'un traité du stile des cours'' a
Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneedorff, Jens Schielderup 1724 births 1764 deaths Danish male writers 18th-century Danish people People from Sorø Municipality