Richard Foerster (March 2, 1843 – August 7, 1922) was a German
classical scholar.
Biography
Though born and raised in
Görlitz, Foerster never saw himself a
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
n and felt the strongest allegiance to
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, where he studied since winter term 1861 after a semester at
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
. In
Breslau he dropped theology and concentrated on classics in a comprehensive way. Apart from Greek and Roman literature (under
Jacob Bernays and
Martin Hertz) he studied metrics under
Rudolf Westphal, archaeology under
August Rossbach,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
under
Adolf Friedrich Stenzler. His doctoral thesis was inspired by
Friedrich Haase and dealt with a phaenomenon in Greek grammar called ''attractio casus''.
From 1866 on Foerster worked as a substitute teacher at the ''Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium'' in Breslau. After being
promoted to ''Dr. phil.'' in 1866 and earning the ''venia legendi'' via
habilitation in 1868, Foerster was granted the Travel Stipend of the
German Archaeological Institute
The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...
. The next two years he spent in Italy, mostly Rome, where he met many foreign scholars, collated manuscripts and laid the foundation for what was to become his life's work: critical editions of the ''
physiognomists
Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...
'' and of the works of
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
.
Back at Breslau, Foerster juggled four different tasks: Teaching elementary Latin und Greek at the gymnasium, holding lectures and seminars at the university, proceeding with his scientific studies and propagating ancient culture in the ''Schlesische Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur'' ("Silesian Society for Patriotic Culture"). He eventually resigned from his school position when he was offered an extraordinary chair at the university in 1873.
In 1875, Foerster accepted a chair at the
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...
where he worked as third Professor of Classical Philology besides
Ludwig Bachmann and
Franz Volkmar Fritzsche
Franz Volkmar Fritzsche (26 January 1806 in Steinbach bei Borna – 17 March 1887) was a German classical philologist. He was the son of theologian Christian Friedrich Fritzsche (1776-1850).
He studied under philologist Gottfried Hermann (his f ...
. Despite being constantly challenged by Fritzsche's difficult personality, Foerster soon came to enjoy his work as professor in Rostock. He was glad about his students which came to admire him in return. His scientific studies were prolongated by the small and outdated library. After acting as Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in 1879/1880 Foerster went on a research travel to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
(funded by the
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...
), where he collated manuscripts and started his third ''opus magnum'', the collection of the orations of
Choricius of Gaza Choricius of Gaza ( el, Χορίκιος) was a Gaza-based Greek sophist and rhetorician of Late Antiquity. With writings dating to the early sixth century, he flourished in the time of Anastasius I (AD 491–518) as a scholar and public orator. ...
which were partly unedited at the time.
Soon after his return to Rostock, Foerster was called to a chair at
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
. In Kiel he had a bigger library at his disposal and more students to teach than in Rostock. Relations to his colleagues
Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer and
Friedrich Blass
Friedrich Blass (22 January 1843, Osnabrück5 March 1907, Halle) was a German classical scholar.
Biography
After studying at Göttingen and Bonn from 1860 to 1863, Blass lectured at several gymnasia and at the University of Königsberg. In 1876 ...
were complicated and further strained over the years. In a collegial way he only collaborated with the ''professores extraordinarii''
Friedrich Leo and
Ivo Bruns. Among the other professors Foerster was revered. In 1885 he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, in 1886 he was elected Rector of the University. In his ceremonial speech he talked about ''Die klassische Philologie der Gegenwart'' ("Classical Philology in the Present"), giving his views of the field and of the ideal scientist.
In December 1889, Foerster was offered a chair at his ''
alma mater'' in Breslau. He accepted with great pleasure and went to Breslau in April 1890. For a few years, he worked alongside his old teachers Hertz and Rossbach. After the latter's death, Foerster was put in charge of the Archaeological Museum and made Professor of Philology and Archaeology. He continued teaching and research until his death in 1922, aged 79.
Works
Richard Foerster's academic career spanned from the 1860s to the
Interwar period. Educated a philologist and humanist, Foerster early turned to archaeology and later to art history; but he never quit pursuing his philological tasks which were his life's work.
Physiognomy
Philological and archaeological interests met in Foerster's early enterprise to collate and edit the ancient writings on
physiognomy
Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...
, the art of relating a person's appearance to his character and personality. From
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
(''
Physiognomonics'') on, ancient philosophers and sophists had dealt with this matter in different ways. Part of their writing was only extant in Latin or Arabic translation, which Foerster also collated and re-translated. After nearly 25 years, Foerster eventually finished his edition ''Scriptores physiognomonici Graeci et Latini''. It was published in 1893 in two volumes and dedicated to August Rossbach, Foerster's former teacher and (now) colleague in Breslau, at his 75th birthday.
Libanius
During his time in Italy, Foerster was inspired by
Rudolf Hercher to collate the manuscripts of the late antique orator and sophist
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
of Antiochia. This was a task of major importance for several reasons: Libanius' orations, declamations and ''progymnasmata'' had an immense impact on the Byzantine writers because of their admired Attic. But the only available edition (by
Johann Jacob Reiske
Johann Jakob Reiske (Neo-Latin: Johannes Jacobus Reiskius; December 25, 1716 – August 14, 1774) was a German scholar and physician. He was a pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology as well as Islamic numismatics.
Biography
Reisk ...
and his wife
Ernestine Christine Reiske, 1784–1797) did not meet strict philological standards as it was based only on a selection of manuscripts. Also, the approximately 1500 letters of Libanius (preserved and transmitted after his death) were an important historical source for the 4th century A.D. But the most recent edition (by
Johann Christoph Wolf
Johann Christoph Wolf (born at Wernigerode, February 21 1683; died at Hamburg, July 25 1739) was a German Christian Hebraist, polyhistor, and collector of books.
He studied at Wittenberg, and traveled in Holland and England in the intere ...
, 1738) was outdated, and the authenticity of a number of letters was uncertain.
Foerster made it his life's work to collate every available manuscript of Libanius' writings, present a proper text in an all-new edition, trace Libanius' sources as well as his reception by later authors, put his letters into historical context, and resolve the authenticity issue by analysing the history of transmission and reception. He succeeded in all these tasks, but not in every way definitively. Whilst his historical commentary on the letters and the textual constitution was often criticised by other scholars, Foerster's main achievement remains the most reliable edition of all the works of Libanius.
After a lot of preliminary work (which had considerable impact in the classics) Foerster published his edition of ''Libanii opera omnia'' from 1903 until his death, in 12 volumes. After his death, his pupil
Eberhard Richtsteig completed the final volume (published 1927) and created the index (1923).
Choricius of Gaza
While working on Libanius, Foerster was led to the 5th century orator
Choricius of Gaza Choricius of Gaza ( el, Χορίκιος) was a Gaza-based Greek sophist and rhetorician of Late Antiquity. With writings dating to the early sixth century, he flourished in the time of Anastasius I (AD 491–518) as a scholar and public orator. ...
. In Spain he found several manuscripts containing unedited orations by the Gazaean, which Foerster published subsequently in minor magazines and indices. He also prepared a complete edition of the orations in a major publishing house, but during his lifetime never actually published it. It was Eberhard Richtsteig again who, in 1929, brought the edition to publication.
Major writings
* ''Quaestiones de attractione enuntiationum relativarum qualis quum in aliis tum in graeca lingua potissimumque apud graecos poetas fuerit''. Berlin 1868
* ''Der Raub und die Rückkehr der Persephone in ihrer Bedeutung für die Mythologie, Litteratur- und Kunstgeschichte''. Stuttgart 1874
* ''Francesco Zambeccari und die Briefe des Libanios: Ein Beitrag zur Kritik des Libanios und zur Geschichte der Philologie''. Stuttgart 1878
* ''Farnesina-Studien. Ein Beitrag zur Frage nach dem Verhältnis der Renaissance zur Antike''. Rostock 1880
* ''Scriptores physiognomonici Graeci et Latini''. Two volumes, Leipzig 1893. Reprinted Stuttgart 1994
* ''Johann Jacob Reiske’s Briefe''. Leipzig 1897
* ''Libanii Opera''. Twelve volumes, Leipzig 1903–1927. Reprinted Hildesheim 1963, 1985, 1998
* ''Das Erbe der Antike. Festreden, gehalten an der Universität Breslau''. Breslau 1911
* ''Die Universität Breslau einst und jetzt. Vier akademische Reden''. Breslau 1919
* ''Choricii Gazaei opera''. Leipzig 1929. Reprinted Stuttgart 1972, Ann Arbor 1998
External links
Catalogus Professorum Rostochiensium(German)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foerster, Richard
1843 births
1922 deaths
German classical scholars
People from Görlitz
University of Breslau alumni
Academic staff of the University of Breslau
Academic staff of the University of Kiel
Academic staff of the University of Rostock