Johann Joachim Christoph Bode (January 16, 1731 – December 13, 1793) was a well-known

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of literary works.

Life

Bode was born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, the son of a poor day laborer from

Schöppenstedt Schöppenstedt is a small town in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Elm-Asse. Geography It is situated southwest of the Elm and Asse hil ...

, and went as a shepherd boy to his grandfather in Barum. From 1745 he studied music in Braunschweig, and in 1750 became an

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

in an ensemble there. He continued his music studies at the

University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (german: Universität Helmstedt; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University"), was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Founded ...

, where he also learned French and English. In 1752, he composed a number of works in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

, where he also began to write. At the death of his wife in 1757, Bode went to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, where he worked as a language and music teacher, and also began to translate works from French and English to German. He worked for the Kochsche Theater, and from 1762–63 edited the '' Hamburgischen Korrespondenten''. By a second marriage to a rich pupil (Simonette Tam), he came into the possession of a large fortune. When she died after several years, he married a third time, to the widow of a bookseller, with whom he established a printing business, and in connection with

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (, ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the developmen ...

, a scholarly bookstore. This store sold its own and other works, including Lessing's ''Dramaturgie'',

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's ''Götz'', and

Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known work is the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah"). One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outsid ...

's ''Oden'', but the venture soon failed, taking much of Bode's fortune with it. In 1778 Bode moved 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 ...

, where he served as chief clerk and court counselor to the countess of

Bernstorff Bernstorff is an old and distinguished German-Danish noble family of Mecklenburgian origin. Members of the family held the title of Count/Countess, granted to them on 14.12.1767 by King Christian VII of Denmark. Notable members * Andreas Gott ...

, the widow of

Andreas Peter Bernstorff Andreas Peter Bernstorff (28 August 173521 June 1797), also known as Andreas Peter Graf von Bernstorff, was a Danish diplomat and Foreign Minister. He was a guardian of civil and political liberty. Background and early career Bernstorff was born ...

. Member and Past Master of Lodge Absalem at Hamburg. Served as deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Hamburg. In 1782, he opted for a radical interpretation of Enlightenment and broke with the Christian mysticism embodied by

Jean-Baptiste Willermoz Jean-Baptiste Willermoz (10 July 1730 – 29 May 1824) was a French Freemason and Martinist who played an important role in the establishment of various systems of Masonic high-degrees in his time in both France and Germany. Biography Jean- ...

. He met Adolph Knigge, a member of

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 ...

, which he joined, acquiring the rank of Major illumitatus in January 1783. After the order was banned in Bavaria in 1784, he became the de facto chief executive officer, following Knigge's resignation and Weishaupt's flight. He then participated in the controversy that raged in Germany following rumors of the conversion to Catholicism of the Protestant German prince and the anti-Papist reactions that followed. In 1787 he went to France, Strasbourg and Paris, where he met members of the Lodge of Philalèthes. According to his travel journal, some of them comprised a secret core, the "Philadelphians", in the manner of the Illuminati. He died in Weimar in 1793.

Translations

Bode's translations had a significant influence on German literature, making many notable foreign works available in German for the first time. Among his best known were: *

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...

's '' A Sentimental Journey'', as ''Yoriks empfindsame Reise'' (1768) * Laurence Sterne's ''

Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of ''Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristra ...

'', as ''Tristram Shandys Leben'' (1774) *

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...

's ''

The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and wid ...

'', as ''Dorfprediger von Wakefield'' (1776) *

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

's '' Tom Jones'' (1786–88)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bode, Johann Joachim Christoph 1730 births 1793 deaths German translators Writers from Braunschweig People from Brunswick-Lüneburg German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German translators