Tiberius Hemsterhuis (9 January 16857 April 1766) was a Dutch

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

and critic.

Life

He was born in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. His father, a learned physician, gave him a good early education and he entered the university of his native city in his fifteenth year, where he proved himself the best student of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. After a year or two at Groningen, he was attracted to the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

by the fame of

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-kn ...

. While there, he was entrusted with the duty of arranging the manuscripts in the library. Though he accepted an appointment as professor of mathematics and

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 ...

at Amsterdam in his twentieth year, he had already directed his attention to the study of the ancient languages. In 1717 Hemsterhuis was appointed a professor of Greek at the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis'' ...

to replace

Lambert Bos Lambert Bos (23 October 1670 – 6 January 1717) (or Lambertus Bos or Lammert Bos) was a Dutch scholar, critic and forerunner of Tiberius Hemsterhuis. Lambert Bos was born at Workum in Friesland, where his father, Jakob Bos, was headmaster of the ...

, but he did not enter on his duties there till 1720. In 1738 he became a professor of national history as well. Two years afterward, he was called to teach the same subjects at Leiden, where he died on 7 April 1766. He was the father of Frans Hemsterhuis.

Works

In 1706, he completed the edition of

Julius Pollux Julius Pollux ( el, Ἰούλιος Πολυδεύκης, ''Ioulios Polydeukes''; fl. 2nd century) was a Greek scholar and rhetorician from Naucratis, Ancient Egypt.Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World: From A to Z'', p.265, Routledge, 2003 E ...

's ''Onomasticon'' begun by Jean-Henri Lederlin (1672–1737), but the praise he received from his countrymen was more than counterbalanced by two letters of criticism from

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

, which mortified him so keenly that for two months he refused to open a Greek book. Hemsterhuis was the founder of a Dutch school of criticism which had disciples in

Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer (Leeuwarden, 7 June 1715 – Leiden, 15 March 1785) was a Dutch classical scholar, at Leiden. He was a follower of Tiberius Hemsterhuis, and his successor in 1766 in the chair of Greek at Leiden. He was born in Leeuwarde ...

Jacob van Lennep Jacob van Lennep (24 March 1802 – 25 August 1868) was a Dutch poet and novelist. Early years He was born in Amsterdam, where his father, David Jacob van Lennep (1774–1853), a scholar and poet, was professor of eloquence and the classical la ...

and

David Ruhnken David Ruhnken (2 January 172314 May 1798) was a Dutch classical scholar of German origin. Origins Ruhnken was born in Bedlin (today Bydlino) near Stolp, Pomerania Province, (today Słupsk, Poland). After he had attended Latin school at König ...

. His major writings were: *''Luciani colloquia et Timon'' (1708) *''Aristophanis Plutus'' (1744) *''Notae, etc., ad Xenophontem Ephesium'' in the ''Miscellanea critica'' of Amsterdam, vols. iii. and iv. *''Observationes ad Chrysostomi homilias'' (1784) *''Orationes'' (1784) *a Latin translation of the ''Birds'' of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

, in Kuster's edition *notes to

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

's ''Thomas Magister'', to Alberti's

Hesychius of Alexandria Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007 ...

, to

Johann August Ernesti Johann August Ernesti (4 August 1707 – 11 September 1781) was a German Rationalist theologian and philologist. Ernesti was the first who formally separated the hermeneutics of the Old Testament from those of the New. Biography Ernesti was bor ...

's ''

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...

'' and to

Pieter Burmann the Younger Pieter Burman (23 October 1713 – 24 June 1778), also known as Peter or Pieter Burmann ( la, Petrus Burmannus) and distinguished from his uncle as (' or '), was a Dutch philologist. Life Born at Amsterdam, he was brought up by his uncle ...

's '' Propertius''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemsterhuis, Tiberius 1685 births 1766 deaths People from Groningen (city) Linguists from the Netherlands Dutch philologists Leiden University alumni University of Amsterdam faculty University of Franeker faculty Leiden University faculty Burials at Pieterskerk, Leiden

Life

Works

See also

References