Johann Arnold Ebert (February 8, 1723 – March 19, 1795) was a German writer and translator.

Life

Ebert was the son of a city soldier in Hamburg. There he attended the

Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums The ''Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums'' ( ''Academic School of the Johanneum'', short: Johanneum) is a Gymnasium (or Grammar School ) in Hamburg, Germany. It is Hamburg's oldest school and was founded in 1529 by Johannes Bugenhagen. The school's f ...

and then the Akademisches Gymnasium. In his youth, Ebert was greatly influenced by the poet

Friedrich von Hagedorn Friedrich von Hagedorn (23 April 1708 – 28 October 1754), Germany, German poet, was born at Hamburg, where his father, a man of scientific and literary taste, was Danish ambassador. His younger brother, Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn, Christian L ...

, who supported him and encouraged his interest in English language and literature. He began to study theology at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1743, but then switched to

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

. He became part of the circle of contributors to the ''

Bremer Beiträge ''Bremer Beiträge'' was the designation for the weekly magazine ''Neue Beyträge zum Vergnügen des Verstandes und Witzes'' ("New contributions to the pleasure of the mind and wit"). It was published from 1744 to 1759 during the Age of Enlightenm ...

'' and was also in contact with the literary circle of

Johann Christoph Gottsched Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment. Biography Early life He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pru ...

. In 1748, he became the Hofmeister of the Collegium Carolinum in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

through his friend Karl Christian Gärtner. There he gave instruction in translation into the English language, teaching even the crown prince

Charles William Ferdinand Charles William Ferdinand (german: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand; 9 October 1735 – 10 November 1806) was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswi ...

. He was in friendly contact with the important men of letters who lived in Brunswick and surrounding areas, including Justus Friedrich Wilhelm Zachariae,

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Jerusalem Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Jerusalem (22 November 1709 - 2 September 1789) was a German Lutheran theologian during the Age of Enlightenment. He was also known as "Abt Jerusalem". He was court-preacher and a major advisor to Charles I, Duke of Bru ...

, Karl Christian Gärtner, and Konrad Arnold Schmid, as well as later

Johann Joachim Eschenburg Johann Joachim Eschenburg (7 December 1743 – 29 February 1820) was a German critic and literary historian. He was born and educated at Hamburg, going on to study at the University of Leipzig and University of Göttingen. In 1767 he was appo ...

and

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (, ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the developmen ...

(in whose appointment at the

Herzog August Bibliothek The Herzog August Library (german: link=no, Herzog August Bibliothek — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and ear ...

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

he played a leading role). In 1753 he became a full professor and lectured on history. In 1770 Eschenburg took over these lectures, whereas Ebert began the teaching of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. In 1773 he married Louise Gräfe, the daughter of the councillor and composer

Johann Friedrich Gräfe Johann Friedrich Gräfe (7 May 1711 – 5 or 8 February 1787) was a civil servant and an amateur composer, whose works are still known today. He was born in Braunschweig and baptized on 7 May 1711 in Nauen. He was a Kammerrat, a member of the cour ...

. In 1775, he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

at St. Cyriacus

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

in Braunschweig. In 1780, he was appointed councilor. Ebert died in 1795 in Braunschweig, where he was buried in the Martini cemetery. Ebert's importance is based less on his own lyrical works than on his role as a cultural and literary agent. Most influential was his translation of

Edward Young Edward Young (c. 3 July 1683 – 5 April 1765) was an English poet, best remembered for ''Night-Thoughts'', a series of philosophical writings in blank verse, reflecting his state of mind following several bereavements. It was one of the mos ...

's ''

Night-Thoughts ''The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality'', better known simply as ''Night-Thoughts'', is a long poem by Edward Young published in nine parts (or "nights") between 1742 and 1745. It was illustrated with notable engrav ...

'', which elicited a rapturous enthusiasm for Young and a large number of imitations. With this work, Ebert set about increasing the esteem of English literature in the German-speaking world.

Works

* Johann Arnold Ebert. ''Episteln und vermischte Gedichte''. Hamburg, 1789

References

* Joseph Leighton. "Ebert, Johann Arnold." ''Literaturlexikon. Autoren und Werke deutscher Sprache'', ed.

Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Göttinge ...

. Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag, Munich: Gütersloh, 1992, Vol. 3, p. 156f. * Annett Lütteken. "Ebert, Johann Arnold." ''Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon: 8. bis 18. Jahrhundert'', ed. Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Dieter Lent et al. Braunschweig: Appelhans, 2006, , p. 183.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebert, Johann Arnold German translators 1723 births 1795 deaths Writers from Braunschweig German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German translators

Life

Works

References

Further reading

External links