Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels (1732 – 25 April 1817) was an Austrian and German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. He was among the leaders of the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

movement in Austria, and a close friend and

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. He is also the dedicatee of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Piano Sonata No. 15, Op. 28, which was published in 1801.

Life

He was born in Nikolsburg/Mikulov,

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

, a son of Perlin Lipmann (1705–1768), chief

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squar ...

. Perlin Lipmann and his children converted to Catholicism some time between 1735–1741. Joseph, who was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

in his early youth, received his elementary education at the gymnasium of his native town Nikolsburg, and then studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histo ...

. In 1749, he joined the regiment "Deutschmeister" as a private, advancing to the rank of corporal. On his discharge in 1754, he took a course in law at the University of Vienna and established himself as a counselor at law in the Austrian capital. From 1761 to 1763, he officiated as secretary of the Austrian "Arcierengarde". In 1763, he was appointed professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the University of Vienna, twice acting as rector magnificus. In 1779, he received the title of "Wirklicher Hofrath", and was in 1810 elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

, a position which he held until his death in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1765 to 1767 and from 1769 to 1775 Sonnenfels was editor of "Der Mann ohne Vorurtheil", in which paper he defended the liberal tendencies in literature. He improved the Vienna stage especially through his critical work ''Briefe über die Wienerische Schaubühne'', in which he attacked the

harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally be ...

of the Vienna theater, causing this figure to be eliminated from the personnel of the stage. He was chiefly instrumental in bringing about the abolition of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carr ...

in Austria (1776). Sonnenfels' attitude toward Lessing placed the former in a very unfavorable light, as it was due to his intrigues and jealousy that Lessing was not called to Vienna. Sonnenfels was severely condemned for his action in this affair. In 1817, Sonnenfels was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Works

* ''Specimen Juris Germanici de Remediis Juris, Juri Romano Incognitis'', Vienna, 1757. * ''Ankündigung einer Teutschen Gesellschaft in Wien'', Vienna 1761. * * ''Grundsätze der Polizei, Handlung und Finanzwissenschaft'', Vienna 1765–67 (8th ed. 1819). ** ** * ''Briefe über die Wienerische Schaubühne'', Vienna 1768 (reedited by Sauer, Vienna 1884). * ''Von der Verwandlung der Domänen in Bauerngüter'', Vienna 1773. * ** ** * * * ''Abhandlung über die Aufhebung der Wuchergesetze'', Vienna, 1791. * * * ''Ueber die Stimmenmehrheit bei Criminalurtheilen'', Vienna, 1801. ** His ''Gesammelte Werke'' appeared in 10 volumes (Vienna, 1783–87), and contained most of his belletristic works, poems, and

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

s. File:Der Mann ohne Vorurtheil 1765.jpg, ''Der Mann ohne Vorurtheil'', 1765 File:Sonnenfels, Joseph von – Erste Vorlesung in diesem akademischen Jahrgange, 1782 – BEIC 13875872.jpg, ''Erste Vorlesung in diesem akademischen Jahrgange'', 1782

References

Sources

* * ''The Masonic Thread of Mozart'' by Katherine Thomson (page 16). Published in London 1977.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnenfels, Joseph 1732 births 1817 deaths 18th-century Austrian Jews Austrian jurists 18th-century Austrian novelists Austrian male novelists Barons of Austria Austrian Christians People from Mikulov Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Austrian Jews Czech Roman Catholics 18th-century male writers Cameralism