Richard Foerster (classical scholar)
Encyclopedia
Richard Foerster was a German
classical
scholar.
, Foerster never saw himself a Lusatia
n and felt the strongest allegiance to Silesia
, where he studied since winter term 1861 after a semester at Jena. 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
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 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
and of the works of Libanius
.
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 Association 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
where he worked as third Professor of Classical Philology besides Ludwig Bachmann and Franz Volkmar Fritzsche. 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 His scientific studies were prolongated by the small and outdated library.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
, Spain
, and France
(funded by the Prussian Academy of Sciences
), where he collated manuscripts and started his third opus magnum, the collection of the orations of Choricius of Gaza
which were partly unedited at the time.
Soon after his return to Rostock, Foerster was called to a chair at Kiel
. 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
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 of 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.
. 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.
, the art of relating a person's appearance to his character and personality. From Aristotle
(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.
to collate the manuscripts of the late antique orator and sophist Libanius
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 and his wife Ernestine Christine Reiske, 1784–1797) didn't meet strict philological standards as it was based only on a selection of manuscripts. Also, Libanius' circa 1500 letters (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
, 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 himself, 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 works (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).
. 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.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
scholar.
Biography
Though born and raised in GörlitzGörlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
, Foerster never saw himself a Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
n and felt the strongest allegiance to Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, where he studied since winter term 1861 after a semester at Jena. 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
Rudolf Westphal
Rudolf Westphal , German classical scholar, was born at Obernkirchen in Schaumburg.He studied at Marburg and Tübingen, and was professor at Breslau and Moscow...
, archaeology under August Rossbach, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
under Adolf Friedrich Stenzler
Adolf Friedrich Stenzler
Adolf Friedrich Stenzler was a German Indologist who was a native of Wolgast.He initially studied theology and Oriental languages at the University of Greifswald under Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten , then furthered his education at the University of Berlin with Franz Bopp and afterwards...
. 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
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
to Dr. phil. in 1866 and earning the venia legendi via habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
in 1868, Foerster was granted the Travel Stipend of the German Archaeological Institute
German Archaeological Institute
The German Archaeological Institute is an institution of research within the field of archaeology , and a "scientific corporation", with parentage of the federal Foreign Office of Germany-Origin:...
. 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
Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
and of the works of Libanius
Libanius
Libanius was a Greek-speaking teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school. During the rise of Christian hegemony in the later Roman Empire, he remained unconverted and regarded himself as a Hellene in religious matters.-Life:...
.
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 Association 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
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
where he worked as third Professor of Classical Philology besides Ludwig Bachmann and Franz Volkmar Fritzsche. 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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(funded by the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
), where he collated manuscripts and started his third opus magnum, the collection of the orations of Choricius of Gaza
Choricius of Gaza
Choricius, of Gaza , Greek sophist and rhetorician, flourished in the time of Anastasius I .He was the pupil of Procopius of Gaza, who must be distinguished from Procopius of Caesarea, the historian. A number of his declamations and descriptive treatises have been preserved...
which were partly unedited at the time.
Soon after his return to Rostock, Foerster was called to a chair at Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
. 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
Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer
Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer , was a German classical archaeologist born at Husum in Schleswig.He was educated at the Lübeck gymnasium and the university of Kiel, with which he was connected for nearly 65 years. In 1830-1834 and 1838-1840 he travelled in Italy, Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt...
and Friedrich Blass
Friedrich Blass
Friedrich Blass was a German classical scholar.After studying at Göttingen and Bonn from 1860 to 1863, he lectured at several gymnasia and at the University of Königsberg. In 1876 he was appointed extraordinary professor of classical philology at Kiel, and ordinary professor in 1881...
were complicated and further strained over the years. In a collegial way he only collaborated with the professores extraordinarii Friedrich Leo
Friedrich Leo
Friedrich Leo was a German classical philologist born in Regenwalde, today known as Resko, Poland.From 1868 he was a student at the University of Göttingen, and following military duty in the Franco-Prussian War, he continued his education at the University of Bonn, where he had as instructors...
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 of 1889, Foerster was offered a chair at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
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 periodInterwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. 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 physiognomyPhysiognomy
Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
, the art of relating a person's appearance to his character and personality. From Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
(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 HercherRudolf Hercher
Rudolf Hercher was a German classical scholar. He is known for his collection Epistolographi Graeci of Greek letters. Some modern scholars now regard it as careless.-Works:*Arriani Nicomediensis Scripta Minora...
to collate the manuscripts of the late antique orator and sophist Libanius
Libanius
Libanius was a Greek-speaking teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school. During the rise of Christian hegemony in the later Roman Empire, he remained unconverted and regarded himself as a Hellene in religious matters.-Life:...
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 and his wife Ernestine Christine Reiske, 1784–1797) didn't meet strict philological standards as it was based only on a selection of manuscripts. Also, Libanius' circa 1500 letters (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
Johann Christoph Wolf was a German Christian Hebraist, polyhistor, and collector of books....
, 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 himself, 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 works (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 lead to the 5th century orator Choricius of GazaChoricius of Gaza
Choricius, of Gaza , Greek sophist and rhetorician, flourished in the time of Anastasius I .He was the pupil of Procopius of Gaza, who must be distinguished from Procopius of Caesarea, the historian. A number of his declamations and descriptive treatises have been preserved...
. 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)