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EICHHORN, JOHANN GOTTFRIED. 



EICHHORN, CHARLES FREDERICK. 



organisms, the Wheel-Animalcules [UOTIFEBA, in NAT. HIST. Div.], are 

 much higher in organisation than the rest. His division Poly gait rica, 

 or many-stomached, has also been shown to be unfounded; whilst 

 a large number of them have been demonstrated to belong to the 

 vegetable kingdom. [INFUSORIA, DIATOMACE.E, DESMIDE-E, in NAT. 

 HIST. Div.] 



A very imperfect idea would be formed of Ehrenberg's labours from 

 his great work on ' Infusorial Animalcules.' Since the publication of 

 that work he has devoted himself with great success to the investi- 

 gation of the fossil forms of microscopic organic beings, and shown 

 that their siliceous and calcareous skeletons constitute a very important 

 element in the constitution of many of the strata of the earth's surface. 

 These researches he has also published in a large work entitled 

 ' Micro-eeoloKie." 



EICHHORN, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, an eminent professor of 

 oriental and biblical literature in the University of Gottingen, and one 

 of the most learned and distinguished scholars of Germany, was born 

 in October 1752 at Dorrenzimmern, in the principality of Hohenlobe 

 Oeringen, and at first was rector of the school at Ohrdruf, in the 

 principality of Gotha. Having applied with great success to the study 

 of the oriental languages, he obtained in 1775 a professor's chair in the 

 University of Jena, where he continued thirteen years, giving instruction 

 in Hebrew, Arabic, &.O., and was made in 1783 a court councillor by 

 the Duke of Saxe-Weitnar. In 1788 he was appointed to the professor- 

 ship previously held by Hichaelia in the University of Gottiugen, of 

 which institution he continued a very distinguished ornament during 

 the remainder of his life, as professor of oriental and biblical literature. 



His reputation was equally high as a proficient in oriental, classical, 

 and scriptural antiquities ; in philosophical criticism ; in the history 

 of nations, and of ancient and modern literature and science ; and in 

 universal bibliology. He was made in 1811 a doctor of divinity; in 

 1813 the directorship of the Royal Scientific Society of Gottingen was 

 conferred on him, and he received the appointment of pro-rector of 

 the University of Gottingen ; in 1819 he was appointed privy councillor 

 of justice for the kingdom of Hanover (Geheimer Justizrath). He died 

 on the 25th of June 1827, at the age of seventy-five. In completing 

 the present notice it is only necessary to enumerate the, principal 

 works of Eichhorn, and to give a brief and general account of his 

 doctrines as a divine and a critic. 



While at Jena, Eichhorn first displayed his knowledge of oriental 

 literature in a history of East Indian commerce prior to the time of 

 Mohammed (' Geschichte des Ostindiacheu haudels vor Mohammed '), 

 Gotha, 1775. This was followed by a survey of the most ancient monu- 

 ments of the Arabs (' Monumenta antiquissimae Historic Arabum, post 

 Schultensium collecta atque edita, cum animadversionibus '), Gotha, 

 1775; and a treatise on the ancient numismatical history of Arabia, 

 Gotha, 1775. He next published a large collection of learned and 

 valuable treatises, entitled a repertory of biblical and oriental literature 

 (' Repertorium fur bibllsche und morgenlandische Litteratur '), 18 

 v<. K, Leipzig, 1777-86. After removing to Gottiugen he devoted his 

 attention almost exclusively to the archaeology of biblical literature, 

 and the results of his studies appeared in a general repository of 

 biblical literature (' Allgemeine Bibliothek der biblischeu Litteratur'), 

 10 vols., 1788-1801 ; and in a disquisition on primitive history 

 ('Urgeschichte'). 2 vols., Altdorf and Niirnberg, 1790-93, with an 

 introduction and notes by the learned Gabler. This work contains a 

 searching and bold criticism of the Mosaic Pentateuch. The two next 

 are among the most important of the author's productions, namely, 

 the introduction to the Old Testament (' Einleitung in das Alte Test.'), 

 of which he published a fourth and improved edition in 5 vols. at 

 Gotha, in 1824 ; and the introduction to the New Testament 

 (' Einleitung in das Neue Test'), new edition, in 2 vols., 1827. These 

 were accompanied with an introduction to the apocryphal writings of 

 the Old Testament (' Kinleitung in die apokryphischen Schriften des 

 Alten Test.'), Leipzig, 1795, Gottingen, 1798; and a revised and 

 uniform edition of the three, with the title of critical writings 

 (' Kriti%clie Schriften'), was published at Leipzig in 7 vols., 1804-14. 



The other works of Eichhorn on biblical criticism and philology 

 ore a commentary on Revelations {' Commentarius in Apocalypsin 

 Joannis '), 2 vols., Gottingen, 1791 ; a revised and enlarged edition of 

 Professor Simon's Hebrew and Chaldaic Lexicon, Halle, 1793 ; a critical 

 translation and exposition of the writings of the Hebrew prophets 

 (' Die Hebraischen Propheten '), 3 vols., Gottingen, 1816-20 ; commen- 

 taries on the prophetic poetry of the Hebrews (' Common tationes de 

 Prophetica Poesi Hebraeorum '), 4to, Gottingen, 1823 ; preface to the 

 'Nova Bibliotheca Hebraica' by Koecherus; and numerous critical 

 treatises in a learned periodical work entitled ' Mines of the East ' 

 (' Fundgruben des Orients '), and in the Commentaries of the Gottingen 

 Royal Society of Sciences (' Commentarii Societal. Reg. Scientarium 

 < juttingeuais '). 



In 1796 he published the plan of a comprehensive history of arts 

 and sciences from their revival in Europe to the end of the 18th 

 century, and wrote as a part of the work a general history of civilisation 

 and literature in modern Europe (' Allgemeine Geschichte der Cultur 

 und Litteratur des neuern Europa '), 2 vols., Gottingen, 1796-99. The 

 History of Modern Poetry and Eloquence' by Bouterwek, and the 

 ' History of Military Science ' by Hoyer, constituted other parts of the 

 undertaking, which was left unfinished. The first three parts, and 



WOO. DIV. VOL. II 



the fifth part, of a similarly extensive and uncompleted work, were 

 written by Eichhorn, namely, the history of literature, ancient and 

 modern, from its commencement to the present time (' Geschichte der 

 Litteratur von ihrem Ursprunge bis auf die neuesten Zeiten '), 6 vols., 

 Gottiugen. 1805-11. He also wrote literary history (' Literargeschichte'), 

 2 vols., Gottingen, 2nd edition, 1813-14; a history of all parts of the 

 world during the last three centuries (' Geschichte der drey letzten 

 Jahrhunderte,' &c.), 6 vols., Gottingen, 3rd edition, 1818 ; an historical 

 survey of the French revolution (' Uebersicht der franz. Revolution'), 

 2 vols., Gottingen, 1797; and a universal history ('Weltgeschichte') 

 on the plan of Gatterer's universal statistics (' Weltstatistik '). 4 vols., 

 Gottingen, 3rd edition, 1818-20. The two following laborious and 

 judicious compilations have obtained a high repute in the schools of 

 Germany, namely, a history of ancient Rome, composed entirely of 

 connected passages from the ancient Roman writers (' Antiqua Historia 

 ex ipsis veterum script. Roman, narrationibus contsxta'), 2 vols., 

 Gottingen, 1811 ; and a history of ancient Greece, constructed on the 

 same plan, from the ancient Greek historians ('Antiqua Historia,' &o.), 

 4 vols., Leipzig, 1812. His last historical work was a curious research 

 on the early history of the illustrious house of the Guelphs, in which 

 the ancestors of the present royal family of England are traced up to 

 the middle of the 5th century (' Urgeschichte des erlauchten Hauses 

 der Welfen, von 449-1055'), 4to, Hanover, 1817. From the year 1813 

 to his death in 1827, Professor Eichhorn was the editor of the Gottingeu 

 ' Literary Gazette ' (' Gbttingische gelehrte Anzeigen '). His critical 

 writings display extensive and exact learning, which in his biblical 

 treatises he employs for the development of doctrines often the nverse 

 of those which are generally regarded as orthodox. Eichhorn applies 

 to the Hebrew Scriptures the principles on which Heyue explained the 

 mythology of the Greeks, and his name is conspicuous in the theo- 

 logical school commenced by Michaelis and Semler, and extended by 

 Rosenmiiller, Kuhnoel, Doderleiu, Kohr, Teller, Schmidt, Henke, 

 Ammon, Steinbart, Wegscheider, &c., as au ultra-rationalist, and a 

 promoter of the system of logical religion and morality, founded on 

 the Kantian transcendental theory of ideology, at that time so generally 

 prevalent In the universities of Germany, and which in truth is a 

 system of mere moral philosophy and philosophical theism, exhibited 

 under the ostensible profession of Christianity ; since all traditionary 

 doctrines and statements are made to give way to the operation of 

 " abstract, universal, and eternal principles of reason." By his superior 

 knowledge of oriental antiquities, and by his bold mode of thinking, 

 Eichhorn established a new system of scriptural explication, in which 

 he displays a degree of learned and philosophical scepticism much 

 beyond that of his predecessor Michaelis. He denies all supernatural 

 revelation to the Hebrew prophets, believing them to have been clever 

 and experienced persons, who, from their peculiar abilities, were likely 

 to foresee political and other events. He examines, questions, and 

 rejects the authenticity of several books of the Old Testament, and of 

 some of the epistles in the New Testament ; and asserts generally that 

 miraculous appearances, visions, voices, &c., are explainable by the 

 laws of nature and the principles of human physiology and psychology, 

 and that supernatural communications are chiefly referable to the 

 mysterious traditions and superstitious notions common to all people 

 in a state of ignorance and barbarism. His theory of the origin of 

 the canonical gospels, which regards them as compilations from anterior 

 documents, has been adopted by many subsequent critics. (See Dr. 

 Schleiermacher's work on the ' Gospels.') Many of the sceptical 

 positions of Eichhorn have been attacked in Germany by the anti- 

 rationalist class of divines. On this point see ' The Present State of 

 Protestantism in Germany,' by the Rev. Hugh Rose, 2nd edition, 1829, 

 and the controversial publications which it elicited. 



EICHHORN, CHARLES FREDERICK, son of the preceding, 

 obtained considerable celebrity as an able and learned jurisconsulist. 

 He was born at Jena on the 20th of November 1781 ; and after passing 

 through the usual course of academic and legal training, was named 

 in 1805 Professor of German Law at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder. In 1811 

 he removed to Berlin, and in 1817 to Gottingen, in each place holding 

 the same chair as at Frankfurt. Ill-health however compelled him in 

 1828 to resign, and to retire to au estate he possessed near Tubingen. 

 Having somewhat recovered, he was in 1831 again summoned to Berlin, 

 and along with his professorship he received an appointment in the 

 ministry of foreign affairs. At length in 1833 he resigned his professor- 

 ship, and devoted himself entirely to his official duties and to writing. 

 About this time he was made a member of the Prussian council 

 of state, and of the commission of legislation. He died in July 

 1854. 



Charles Eicbhorn was one of the most erudite expounders of the 

 ancient Germanic law, of its origin, its growth, aud its various bearings. 

 As the associate and fellow-labourer of Saviguy, though taking a some- 

 what different branch of the subject as the main object of his investi- 

 gations, and as holding the chair of German law for so many years, 

 Eichhom exercised an important influence on the study of law in 

 Prussia. His principal writings are ' Deutsche Staats und Rechts- 

 geschichto,' 4 vols. 8vo, Gottingen, 1808-18, which work has passed 

 through eight editions; 'Grundsiitze des Kircheurechts der Katho- 

 lischen und Evangelischen Religionspartei in Deutschland,' 2 vols. 

 8vo, Gottingen, 1831-33; and ' Einleitung in das Deutsche Privatrecht 

 mit Emschluss dea Lehnrechts.' In conjunction with Savigny and 



So 



