Pieter Burman (1668 – 31 March 1741), also known as Peter or Pieter Burmann ( la, Petrus Burmannus)
[.] and posthumously distinguished from
his nephew as "the Elder" ( la, Senior), was a Dutch classical scholar.
Life
Burman was born at
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
, the son of Franz Burmann ('; 1628–1679) and Maria, daughter of
Abraham Heidanus
Abraham van Heyden or van Heiden ( la, Abraham Heidanus or '; 1597–1678) was a Dutch Calvinist minister and controversialist, sympathetic to Cartesianism.
Life
He was born in Frankenthal in the Palatinate, son of Gaspar van der Heiden the Younge ...
. His father was the son of a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
minister who had been
driven from France; he officiated as professor of theology at Utrecht, and became known by his writings, especially by his commentaries on the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
. At the age of thirteen Pieter entered the university where he studied under
Graevius
Johann Georg Graevius (originally Grava or Greffe; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony.
Life
Graevius was originally intended for the law, but made t ...
and
Gronovius. He devoted himself particularly to the study of the classical languages, and became unusually proficient in Latin composition. As he was intended for the legal profession, he spent some years in attendance on the law classes. For about a year he studied at
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, paying special attention to
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
[.]
On Burman's return to Utrecht he took the degree of doctor of
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
s (March 1688), and after travelling through
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and part of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, settled down to the practice of law, without, however, abandoning his classical studies. In December 1691 he was appointed receiver of the tithes which were originally paid to the bishop of Utrecht, and five years later was nominated to the professorship of eloquence and history. To this chair was soon added that of Greek and politics. In 1714 he paid a short visit to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and ransacked the libraries. In the following year he was appointed successor to the celebrated
Perizonius
Perizonius (or Accinctus) was the name of Jakob Voorbroek (26 October 1651 – 6 April 1715), a Dutch classical scholar, who was born at Appingedam in Groningen.
He was the son of Anton Perizonius (1626–1672), the author of a once well-kno ...
, who had held the chair of history, Greek language and eloquence at Leiden.
Burman was subsequently appointed professor of history for the United Provinces and in 1724 he became the
9th Librarian of Leiden University. His numerous editorial and critical works spread his fame as a scholar throughout Europe, and engaged him in many of the stormy disputes which were then so common among men of letters.
Works
Burman published Latin editions of
Phaedrus (1698),
[ ]Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
(1699), Valerius Flaccus (1702), Petronius
Gaius Petronius Arbiter["Gaius Petronius Arbiter"]
Menander
Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...
and Philemon (1710), Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
(1713 & 1727), Velleius Paterculus
Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...
(1719), Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...
(1720), Justin the Historian (1722), various minor Latin poets (1731), Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
(1736), and Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...
(1740) He died while editing the work of Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, an edition that was completed by his nephew.
Burman also emended Thomas Ruddiman
Thomas Ruddiman (October 167419 January 1757) was a Scottish classical scholar.
Life
He was born on a farm near Boyndie, three miles from Banff in Banffshire, where his father was a farmer.
He was educated locally, then studied at the Universi ...
's edition of George Buchanan
George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...
's Latin works, continued Graevius's ''Thesauruses'' of Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and Sicilian history, and wrote the treatise ' (1694) and ''A Brief Description of Roman Antiquities'' (1711). His ''Sylloge of Letters Written by Illustrious Men'' (1725–27) contains biographical material on scholars. He edited several other volumes of letters as well.
The list of Burman's works occupies five pages in Saxe's ''Onomasticon''. His Latin poems and orations were republished after his death.[.] There is an account of his life in the ''Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
'' for April 1742 by Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
.
Legacy
In his edition of Petronius's ''Satyricon
The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...
'', Burman demonstrated that the supplementary material recently added to the text by François Nodot was in fact a forgery.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burmann, Pieter, 01
1668 births
1741 deaths
18th-century Latin-language writers
18th-century male writers
Dutch classical scholars
Dutch librarians
Writers from Utrecht (city)
History of Utrecht (city)
Utrecht University alumni
Classical scholars of Utrecht University
Scholars of Latin literature