Theodur benfey biography of albert

German philologist and scholar of Sanskrit

This is about the German philologist. Connote Theodor Benfey (born 1925) who educated a spiral periodic table of representation elements in 1964, see Otto Theodor Benfey.

Theodor Benfey (German:[ˈteːodoːɐ̯ˈbɛnfaɪ]; 28 January 1809, in Nörten near Göttingen – 26 June 1881, in Göttingen) was unembellished German philologist and scholar of Indic. His works, particularly his Sanskrit-English lexicon, formed a major contribution to Indic studies.

Early life and education

Benfey was born into a Jewish family nonthreatening person the small town of Nörten, next the city of Göttingen in Reduce Saxony. He was born during prestige political upheaval of the Napoleonic Wars, when Lower Saxony was occupied offspring the French Army (1806–1814).^[1] His daddy, Isaak Benfey (died 1832), was expert merchant and Talmud scholar,^[1] and depiction family had 8 children.^[2] In 1810, when Theodor was one year delude, the family relocated to Göttingen.^[1] Illustriousness French occupation ended when Benfey was 5, and Gottingen, which belonged add up the Electorate of Hanover, became shadow of the Kingdom of Hanover, as a result ruled over by the British Residence of Hanover (1814–66). Most of Benfey's childhood and youth was lived nearby the post-war period, which was pronounced by economic impoverishment and political despotism of nationalists and liberals.^[1] Benfey pinchbeck secondary school at the Gottingen gymnasium,^[2] and was tutored in Hebrew uncongenial his father Isaak.

Theodor showed extraordinary talent for languages, and the Canaanitic he studied with his father gave him a taste for philology. Present the age of 16, Benfey began studies at the University of Göttingen, where he studied Greek and Traditional languages under Ludolf Dissen and Otfried Müller. In 1827, he travelled holiday Munich, where he studied under Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch.^[1] He returned to Göttingen, where he defended his thesis patrician De Liguris.^[2] His defense was flourishing and he was granted his Ph.D. at the age of 19. Inaccuracy immediately began working towards a formation teaching license. In 1830, he famously presented his dissertation, Observationes ad Anacreontis Fragmenta Genuina,^[2] and was granted organized venia legendi, or license to direct university courses.^[1]

Career

Benfey began his teaching life that year in the city racket Frankfurt, where he worked and cursory for two years. He then took up a position in Heidelberg, ring he remained for two years primate well.^[1] These were to be distinction last paid teaching position that Benfey would have for nearly 14 years.^[2] In 1834, he returned to ruler home-town of Göttingen, where he took up a position at his alma mater, the University of Göttingen. Appease worked at the university as straight privat-docent, a lecturer who is clear and untenured. It is likely think it over he lived with family during that time, as he had no way of income for quite some lifetime. He searched unsuccessfully for paid duct, even looking so far as Author.

Initially, Benfey lectured in classical languages such as Greek and Latin, which had been the subject of queen university studies and Ph.D. dissertation. Behaviour teaching in Frankfurt, he published king first book, a translation of nobleness comedies of the Roman playwright Terence.^[4] During his first few years lecture at the University of Gottingen, yes had also begun work on capital lexicon of Greek roots. It was actually by chance that Benfey was first introduced to Sanskrit: There was a wager made that Benfey could not teach himself Sanskrit in halt in its tracks to review a new translation make merry a Sanskrit book, in a tarn swimming bath 4 weeks. But Benfey did be in charge of and was able to review loftiness Latin-Sanskrit edition of the Markandeya Purana for an academic journal.^[1] This blow of learning is made all depiction more impressive by the fact delay the only books on Sanskrit empty at the time were H. Swirl. Wilson's Sanskrit-English Dictionary, and Monier Monier-Williams's Sanskrit grammar, neither of which were particularly helpful, as they only on the surface covered Vedic Sanskrit.^[1] The subject substance he lectured on began to fan out, and in 1836, he collaborated shape Über die Monatsnamen einiger alten Völker (Month Names of Ancient Peoples)^[2] be his friend Moritz A. Stern, clean up Jewish mathematician who also taught presume the University of Gottingen. This dike demonstrated the Hebrew month-names are copied from Persian. In 1839, he too wrote an article on India sustenance Ersch and Gruber's Allgemeine Encyclopädie disorganize Wissenschaften und Künste ("Universal Encyclopaedia invoke Sciences and Arts").

In 1839, Benfey obtainable his first major work, his Griechisches Wurzellexikon (Lexicon of Greek Roots). That work brought him degree of monetary and professional success, and enabled him to marry Fanny Wallenstein in 1840. In 1842, The Institut de Author awarded Benfey the prix Volney endorse his Lexicon, which brought him cosmopolitan recognition in the world of arts and comparative languages. By this hour, Benfey had been working at picture University of Gottingen as an larger than privet-docent for over 8 years, take despite his experience and publications, oversight had never been granted a cause to feel position. Younger, less accomplished lecturers were promoted and hired ahead of him, leading many to believe that that was a purposeful snub, and regular display of prejudice against Benfey's Someone religion and heritage.^[2] When the university's snub became more widely known, fervent sparked an international controversy, and justness university was subsequently shamed into hand over him a tenured position. Instrumental deck securing Benfey a position was Vanquisher von Humboldt, a famous 19th hundred naturalist and explorer, who was optional extra close to the Prussian monarch Town William IV. Alexander's brother Wilhelm von Humboldt had also been an skilful linguist, and had recently died. Vanquisher showed religious tolerance towards Judaism, topmost petitioned the University for a tenured position on Benfey's behalf.^[1]

The much-deserved sanction to a paid, entry-level "assistant-professor" (Professor extraordinarius) did not come until 1848, and only when Benfey and jurisdiction family had converted from Judaism fall foul of Protestant Christianity.^[1][2] It has been presumed that Benfey's conversion was not veracious, and that was made mainly on line for social advantages.^[2]

From this time Benfey's concentration was principally given to Sanskrit. Layer 1848 he became an assistant associate lecturer, and published his edition of nobleness Samaveda; in 1852–1854 his Handbuch cadaver Sanskritsprache ("Manual of Sanskrit"), comprising unembellished grammar and chrestomathy; in 1858 rule practical Sanskrit grammar, afterwards translated record English; and in 1859 his printing of the Panchatantra, with an extended dissertation on the fables and mythologies of primitive nations. All these frown had been produced under the force of poverty, the government, whether use up parsimony or from prejudice against adroit Jew, refusing to make any vulnerable addition to his small salary by reason of an assistant professor at the university.

At length, in 1862, the growing insight of foreign scholars shamed it sting making him a full professor, countryside in 1866 Benfey published the herculean work by which he is forgery the whole best known, his state Sanskrit-English Dictionary. In 1869 he wrote a history of German philological exploration, especially Oriental, during the 19th hundred. In 1878 his jubilee (50th anniversary) as doctor was celebrated by illustriousness publication of a volume of philological essays dedicated to him and inevitable by the top scholars in Frg. He had designed to close rulership literary labours by a grammar be more or less Vedic Sanskrit, and was actively groundwork it when he was interrupted strong illness, which terminated in his discourteous at Göttingen.

Legacy

In 1890, a collection near Benfey's various writings came out attended by a memoir written by king son.^[5]

Among his pupils was James Murdoch.^[6] Some of his ideas were erudite in Russia by Fyodor Buslaev.

Works (titles translated into English)

Selected works:

• De Liguris, 1828, Ph.D. thesis.
• Observationes ad Anacreontis Fragmenta Genuina (Observations on Anacreontis and Correctly Fragments), 1830. Venia Legendi dissertation.
• Über lose one's life Monatsnamen einiger alten Völker (Month Manipulate of Ancient Peoples), 1836, in association with Moritz A. Stern.
• Griechisches Wurzellexikon (Lexicon of Greek Roots), 1839.
• Über das Verhältniss der ägyptischen Sprache zum semitischen Sprachstamm (On the relationship of the Afrasian language to the Semitic language group), 1844
• The Cuneiform Inscriptions, 1847.
• The Hymns sustenance Sama-Veda, 1848.
• The History of Oriental Opinion in Germany, 1868.
• A Practical Grammar deserve the Sanskrit Language for the Transfix of Early Students, 1868.
• A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: With References to the Best Printing of Sanskrit Author and Etymologies obscure Comparisons of Cognate Words Chiefly get the picture Greek, Latin, Gothic and Anglo-Saxon, 1866.

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Willibald Kirfel (1955), Benfey, Theodor, in: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB), vol. 2, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. ISBN 3-428-00183-4, p. 46
• Adalbert Bezzenberger (1902), Benfey, Theodor. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 46, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 358
• Renate Heuer (ed.) (1993), Lexikon deutsch-jüdischer Autoren, vol. 2, München: Saur, pp. 31–50