719 



PERTHES, CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH. 



PERTHES, CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH. 



750 



was. Different opinions are formed of Persius as a satirical poet. 

 Quintilian and Martial, with some of the early Christian writers, bear 

 a high testimony to hia merits, as do likewise several modern critics. 

 Others consider him not worth reading. 



The works of Persius consist of six Satires with a prologue, which 

 seems however not a very suitable introduction either to the first 

 satire or to the six satires taken as one work. The metre of this pro- 

 logue, which comprises 14 lines, is of the kind called choliambic (lame 

 iambic), or scazon (halting), of which kind are seven of the poems of 

 Catullus. The Satires contain altogether only 650 hexameters; and in 

 some manuscripts they are given as one continuous work. Whether 

 Persius wrote more than we now possess, as the author of his life 

 attributed to Suetonius affirms, we know not; but since Quintilian 

 and Martial speak of his claims to distinction, though he left " only 

 one book," we should conclude that no other production of his was 

 known in their time. Much has been said respecting the obscurity 

 of Persius, and it has even been stated that he meant not to be easily 

 understood. It is not very likely that a man ever wrote seriously 

 with the intention of being obscure. It is granted that Persius is 

 obscure ; but he was, no doubt, plain enough to his contemporaries, 

 who were acquainted with the principles of the Stoic philosophy, and 

 with the persons and things generally referred to. Modern readers 

 without such a key will of course find difficulties in Persius. Com- 

 mentators have however thrown much light upon this author, and 

 among them Isaac Ca-aubon may be mentioned first ; but his comment 

 is copious enough to frighten most readers of the present day. The 

 comment of Koenig is briefer. " But that of Bond may be recom- 

 mended as the best, particularly because it comes directly to the point, 

 and brings forward short passages from other writers in such a way 

 a% greatly to illustrate the phraseology of Persius." The English 

 reader may derive a correct idea of Persius from the translation and 

 notes of Gifford. The best editions of Persius are those of Isaac 

 Casaubon, revised by hia son Meric, London, 1647 ; Bond, Norib., 1631 ; 

 Koeoig, Gott., 1803; Passow, Lips., 1809; Jahn, Lips., 1843; and 

 Heinricb, Lips., 1844. English translations have been made by Holy- 

 day, Dryden, Brewster, Sir Wm. Drummond, and Gifford. 



PERTHES, CHIUSTOPH FRIEDRICH, one of the most distin- 

 guished booksellers of Germany, was born April 21, 1772, at Rudolf- 

 Bta.lt, the capital of the petty German principality of Schwarzburg, 

 where his father was secretary of the exchequer, who, dying in 

 1777, left his widow and son unprovided for, except by a pension of 

 twenty-one florins to the widow. The widow sought to maintain her- 

 self by going to service as a nurse, while young Perthes was confided 

 to the care of his grandmother. On her death in 1 779 he was transferred 

 to bU maternal uucle, Friedrich Heubel, also a state official of the 

 Prince of Schwarzburg, who as far as he was able instructed the young 

 Pertbes, instilling good principles into him, but little of literature. At 

 the age of twelve he was sent to the gymnasium of Rudolfstadt, but 

 his previous deficiencies rendered him unable to profit much by the 

 instruction here afforded, a loss which he continued to lament in later 

 life, and which he then made great efforts to repair. While at this 

 seminary however he took great delight in reading travels, and they 

 appear to have had much influence in developing a feeling of self- 

 dependence on hh own exertions ; and another relation, Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Heubel, the superintendent of public buildings, by taking 

 young Perthes in hia occasional visitations, gave him a liking for 

 natural scenery. A brother of hia father's was a bookseller at Gotba, 

 and tbis seems to have led to the idea of dedicating Perthea to that 

 trade. In 1786, therefore, he was taken to the great bookselling mart 

 at Leipzic, as to a statute fair, to find a master for him. He was 

 rejected by one because he could not construe amo, and by another as 

 too delicate; but one, Bourne, agreed to accept him as an apprentice 

 at the end of another year. On September 11, 1787, he entered upon 

 hia new occupation. Hia master was not unkind,' but strict ; he was 

 employed in the lower and more irksome duties of his trade, particu- 

 larly as a collector ; his feet were frost-bitten in the winter ; he was 

 confined to bis room for nine weeks, during which hia master's 

 daughter, Frederika, then only twelve years old, attended him, and 

 read to him a translation of Muratori'a ' History of Italy.' He recovered, 

 and became fondly attached to hia nurse. While serving his appren- 

 ticeship his deaire for acquiring knowledge was great, but his means 

 were so restricted that he had little opportunity of doing so beyond 

 his own unaided exertions. His mother's pension (about 21. a-year), a 

 few occasional presents from his uncle Heubel, and two dollars yearly 

 from his master, formed the extent of his funds, and with tlje.-e he had 

 to supply bin, nell with shoes and clothea. Aft. r he had been appren- 

 ticed some time, a new apprentice, named Nessig, waa introduced. 

 Tbis associate became a candidate for the affections of Frederika. The 

 rivaUhip revealed to Perthes that he was in love, and like a true 

 German, he made a confidant of his rival. They agreed to each 

 attempt to gain her, and that the unsuccessful suitor waa to submit 

 uncomplainingly to his fate. In 1792, when the French revolution 

 broke out, both uncle and nephew took a great interest in its progress ; 

 but Perthes saw and expressed in hia letters to his uncle reasons for 

 apprehending danger. His manners appear to have been all his life 

 peculiarly attractive, modest yet firm ; and while with Bohme he 

 became acquainted with Gbthe, Herder, and Schiller. At the Easter 

 fair of 1793, Hoffmann, a large publisher in Hamburg, having ex- 



pressed a wish to hire him as an assistant, his master released him 

 from his apprenticeship, which had yet a year to run, and he departed 

 with Hoffmann to Hamburg. While here, though he sedulously 

 attended to his business, he did not forget his first attachment, and 

 corresponded with his rival, Nessig, who undertook to give a faithful 

 account of Frederika, and the state of her affections. His notions of 

 bookselling appear to have far exceeded those of either of his masters. 

 In 1794 he writes : " Where will you find a body of men so deficient 

 in the requisite information, and so negligent of the duties of their 

 calling, as the booksellers ? Germany is deluged with wretched and 

 abominable publications, and will be delivered from this plague only 

 when the booksellers shall care more for honour than for gold." After 

 a residence of about three years with Hoffmann, during which he had 

 won the esteem of many eminent literary men, and made great efforts 

 to repair his defective education by study and by intercourse with the 

 numerous French emigrants then in Hamburg, and having received a 

 promise of the reversion of his uncle's business in Gotha, for which 

 he was not inclined to wait, he determined to begin business for 

 himself. .This he effected on borrowed capital, and in partnership 

 with his Old fellow-apprentice, Nessig. As soon as this was effected, 

 they both offered themselves to Frederika Bohme, who declined to 

 marry either, though she owned that she loved both a good reason, 

 perhaps, for her resolution. Perthes was in despair. He writes, " my 

 whole life-plan is ruined ruined by her." But he immersed himself 

 in business, in hopes of thus overcoming his apprehended ruin and 

 succeeded. The partnership with Nessig did not last long, as it was 

 found that, though not unsuccessful, the profits were not enough for 

 two; and he now proceeded on his own account. His acquaintance 

 with literary men extended. Fred. H. Jacobi, the Stolbergs, Voss, and 

 Count Reveutlow were among them. By Jacobi he was introduced to 

 Claudius, the editor of the ' Waudsbecker Bote ' (Messenger), whoso 

 daughter Caroline he married, after a short courtship, on August 2 of 

 that year. She waa a delicate retiring woman, possessed of strong 

 religious feelings, and an ardent love for her husband ; but his active 

 bustling habits gave her occasional uneasiness, and she would have 

 preferred his being more calm and less worldly. To her gentle 

 remonstrances he replied, " I am persuaded that I am a man born 

 to turn my own wheel, and that of others, with energy." In 1799, 

 with an addition of capital, also borrowed, he entered into partnership 

 with Besser, who, from his integrity, activity, and great literary 

 knowledge, waa of most essential service in the business. This went 

 on happily and successfully till 1803, when the French occupied 

 Hanover, placed Hamburg in a state of blockade, and iu 1806 occupied 

 the town itself; and though for a short time released by the peace of 

 Tilsit, it was Incorporated in 1810 with the French empire. Still the 

 linn went on, though embarrassed by the Milan and Berlin decrees, 

 and the censorship to which the press was subjected. Perthes had, iu 

 his correspondence, lamented the apathy of Germany under the French 

 yoke, and when the French retired before the Russians in 1813, he 

 took an active part in restoring the old constitution, and became a 

 member of the burgher guard. But the French under Davoust and 

 Vandamme almost immediately returned, regained possession of Ham- 

 burg, levied enormous contributions, and devastated the town. Perthes 

 had sent bis wife and family to Wandsbeck, but he was a marked mail, 

 and one of those exempted from the general purdon which ws pro- 

 claimed. He was forced to fly, the shop was plundered, and sealed up 

 as sequestrated. It was now that the calm heroism and devoted attach- 

 ment of his wife displayed itself. She thanked him from her heart 

 " that your name stands among the ten enemies of the tyrant;" and 

 subsequently, though suffering extreme deprivation, with one of her 

 children dying, she exhorts him to persist in fulfilling his duty. In 

 1814 they were enabled to return to Hamburg, where, by the exertions 

 of Besser, they met all their trade obligations, and the business again 

 proceeded prosperously. In 1821 bis excellent wife died, soon after 

 which he resigned the Hamburg business to his partner, and in 1822 

 removed to Gotha, where he adventured more largely as a publisher, 

 the works he chiefly produced being on theology and history. In 

 theology he published for Neander, Ullmaii, Tholuck, Bunsen, and 

 many others, who were opponents of the rationalistic opinions; and 

 in history he published the ' General History of the States of Europe,' 

 edited by lleereu and Ukert, to which many of the most eminent 

 writers of Germany contributed. He was also the publisher of the 

 well-known ' Almauach de Gotha.' In all these undertakings he was 

 not only publisher, but a most efficient adviser, and bis opinions were 

 highly valued, not only by the contributors, but by men like Niebuhr 

 and SchlegeL In 1825 he married a second time, and his choice was 

 almost as fortunate as hia first. Charlotte Becker, a widow, was uu 

 excellent mother to his children, and an attentive and affectionate 

 wife to himself. Some few years before his death ha resigned the 

 business to his aon Justus, by whom it is now carried on, and of 

 which an establishment for printing maps on a large scale forms a part. 

 He retired to the village of Friedrichroda, a few miles from Gothii, 

 where, with a cheerful and tolerant piety which had always distin- 

 guished him, he awaited his dissolution, which took place on 

 May 18, 1843. 



Perthes' correspondence was very extensive, and was both instructive 

 and entertaining. Excellent specimens of it are given in ' F. Perthes 

 Leben. Nach dessert achriftlichen uud muudliuheu aufgczeicb.net,' 



