Bernhard Rudolf Abeken (1 December 1780 – 24 February 1866) was a German

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 literature

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Life

Abeken was born in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

. His father was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, who was much religious for his family. Thus, Bernhard Abeken, who was an avid reader since being five years old, started reading religious and historical literature. After finishing college in 1799, Abeken went to the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

to study

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and also began with

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 general studies. While in Jena, he often visited the house of

Johann Jakob Griesbach Johann Jakob Griesbach (4 January 1745 – 24 March 1812) was a German biblical textual critic. Griesbach's fame rests upon his work in New Testament criticism, in which he inaugurated a new epoch. His solution to the synoptic problem bears his name ...

where he had the opportunity to meet with famous German poets. This led him soon to abandon his initial career aspiration and to engage in newer literature and general education. In 1802, he became teacher in the house of minister von der Recke, in Berlin. There, Abeken studied further science and arts. In 1808 he went to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

to educate

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

's children. In Jena, Berlin, Weimar, and

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

, these were Abeken's most active years within intellectual circles. In 1810 he became vice headmaster at the college of

. Five years later, he answered the call to the college of Osnabrück, also as its vice headmaster, there to start a series of reforms. In 1841 he became headmaster. Abeken retired in 1863, but nevertheless continued to teach about

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

till his death in 1866. Bernhard is the father of two famous sons,

Hermann Abelen Hermann Abeken (27 June 1820 – 27 April 1854) was a German political writer and statistician. He was the third son of Bernhard Rudolf Abeken. Abelen was born in Osnabrück, Germany. He worked as merchant in New York City, but returned to Europe ...

and

Wilhelm Ludwig Abelen Wilhelm Ludwig Abeken (30 April 1813 – 29 January 1843) was a German archaeologist. He was born in Osnabrück, the eldest son of Bernhard Rudolf Abeken. Abeken learned archeology under Eduard Gerhard himself. In 1836, he went to Rome to study t ...

Works

Bernhard Abeken studied the history of literature, specially when reviewing. Abeken held lectures on

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, in

(1814-1815) and Berlin (1808). He disliked seeking allegories in the Divine Comedy, instead looking for more ethical and religious interpretations. * ''Beiträge zum Studium der göttlichen Comödie Dante's'', 1826. * ''Cicero in seinen Briefen'', 1835 * ''Ein Stück aus Goethe's Leben'', 1848 * ''Goethe in den Jahren 1771-75'', 1861 * editor of the complete edition of the works of

Justus Möser Justus Möser (14 December 1720 – 8 January 1794) was a German jurist and social theorist, best known for his innovative history of Osnabrück which stressed social and cultural themes. Biography Möser was born in Osnabrück. Having studi ...

, 1842–43

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' - online version at

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German philologists Writers from Osnabrück 1780 births 1866 deaths {{Germany-linguist-stub