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ZIMMERMANN, JOHANN GEORQ VON. 



ZIMMERMANN, JOHANN GEORG VON. 



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at Vienna in 1824. He made also several attempts as a critic on the 

 dramatic and other arts, but his success was small, as he possessed 

 little philosophical knowledge, whence his icsthetical works arc very 

 confused and almost worthless. His principal works of this kind are 

 - 1, ' Zergliederung von Hamlet's Character nach Psychologischen und 

 Physiologischen Grundsiitzen,' 8vo, Wieu, 1803; 2, 'Die Dramatische 

 Schauspielkunst in ihrem ganzen Umfange,' 8vo, Wien, 1821; 3, 'Der 

 innere und aiissere Mensch in Beziehung auf die bildendeu Kiinste, 

 besonders auf die Schauspielkunst,' 2 vols. 8vo, Wien, 1825. In the 

 year 1821 Ziegler left the stage, and had a pension given to him for 

 the remainder of his life, which he spent principally at Presburg. He 

 died at Vienna, on the 21st of September 1827. 



ZIMMERMANN, JOHANN GEORG VON, was born on the 8th of 

 December 1728, at Brugg, a small town in the German part of the 

 canton of Bern. He belonged to a distinguished family, especially on 

 his mother's side, and as she was a native of the French part of the 

 canton of Bern, Zimtnermann acquired from his childhood an equal 

 facility in speaking French and German. His education was con 

 ducted in the house of his parents up to his fourteenth year, when he 

 was sent to Bern to prepare himself for the university. In 1747 he 

 went to Gottingen, to study medicine, and there he was received by 

 Haller, his countryman, in the kindest manner. Haller took him into 

 his house, and assisted him in his studies, which were not confined to 

 subjects directly bearing upon the medical profession ; no branch of 

 knowledge was without interest for him. He also learned English, 

 and gained an intimate acquaintance with English literature, for 

 which he had always a great partiality. His love of study was so 

 great, that he scarcely ever took any relaxation ; and he thus laid the 

 foundation of an illness by which he suffered all through life. He 

 was aware of his over-exertion, and he wrote from Gottingen to a 

 friend : " I here lead the life of a man who is desirous to live even 

 after his de:<th." The first symptoms of melancholy appeared while 

 he was yet at Gottingen. When he took his degree of doctor of 

 medicine, he wrote a 'Dissertatio Physiologica de Irritabilitate' (4to, 

 Gottingen, 1751), by which he acquired considerable reputation as a 

 theoretical writer on medicine, both on account of the independence 

 of his judgment and the soundness of his observations : this little 

 work is still held in great esteem. It was translated into Italian by 

 P. Gian Vincenzo Petrini (8vo, Naples, 1756). After leaving Gottingen 

 he spent a few months in Holland and at Paris, and then returned, in 

 1752, to Bern, where he commenced his career as a physician with 

 great success. Shortly after, Haller went from Gottingen to see his 

 friends at Bern, and also for the recovery of his health, and his native 

 place had such charms for him, that he resolved not to return to 

 Hanover. Zimmermann was commissioned to fetch Haller's family 

 from Gottingen, and not long after he married a relation of Haller. 



About this time the place of public physician (Stadt physicus), at 

 Brugg became vacant, and Zimmermann, who had already acquired 

 great reputation as a physician, was prevailed upon to accept it on 

 account of the property and family connections he had at Brugg. 

 His practice here increased to an extraordinary degree, for no physi- 

 cian surpassed him in the quick perception of the nature of disease 

 and the remedies required to remove it ; patients came from all parts 

 of Switzerland and from the adjoining countries to have his advice. 

 But although he loved his profession, independent of all pecuniary 

 advantages, he could not confine himself to the mere practice of his 

 art, and he was unable to forego the pleasure of devoting himself to 

 more extensive studies. His numerous professional engagements, and 

 the fact that at Brugg he had no friends of congenial pursuits, pro- 

 duced great mental discontent. Zimmermann, with all his philosophy, 

 had not the power of accommodating himself to circumstances, and 

 while he was ever longing for the intellectual enjoyments of Got- 

 tingen and Bern, he refused, like a spoiled child, to enjoy the pleasures 

 which he might have had. His hypochondriac disposition was thus 

 gradually developed, and increased his love of solitude. He avoided 

 society as much as he could, and spent all his leisure hours in reading, 

 although he discharged his professional and official duties with the 

 utmost strictness, and treated his patients with a kindness and cheer- 

 fulness which often produced the best effects. It is remarkable thai 

 even during the strongest attacks of hypochondriasis Zimmermann 

 appeared a different man as soon as he entered the sick-room. In 

 1756 he published his first essay on Solitude, which is only a sketch 

 of his celebrated work with the same title, which he published about 

 thirty years later. About the same time he formed the plan of his 

 work on Experience in Medicine (' Von der Erfahrung in der Arznei- 

 kunst '), which however did not appear till 1763 (2 vols. 8vo, Ziirich). 

 A second edition, in one volume, appeared at Zurich, 8vo, 1787. It 

 is only a fragment ; the author intended to add two more volumes, 

 but he did not carry out his plan. This work possesses the greatest 

 interest for the student of medicine and every one else. The philo- 

 sophical spirit which pervades it, the amount of experience, and the 

 sound rules as to the manner in which a medical man should ob- 

 serve, render it still a work of great utility. It has been trans- 

 lated into French and Italian. A third work was on National 

 Pride ('Vom Nationalstolze,' 8vo, Zurich, 1758; the sixth edition 

 appeared at Zurich, 8vo, 1 789), the popularity of which is attested 

 by the numerous editions and translations into French, Russian, 

 English, and other languages. Zimmermann examines national prido 



in all its manifestations, investigates its causes and results, with a 

 clearness and freedom from prejudice which are seldom found in 

 similar works. The whole is interwoven with pleasing anecdotes. 

 There are two English translations of it ; the first bears the title, 

 ' Essay on National Pride ; translated from the German,' 12mo, Lou- 

 don, 1771, but is much interpolated and altered. The second, by 

 S. H. Wilcocke (8vo, London, 1797), ia much better, and contains a 

 memoir of Zimmermann. 



Although his residence at Brugg was the source of discontent and 

 melancholy, yet it is the period during which Zimmermann produced 

 his best works, or at least, as in the case of that on Solitude, formed 

 the plan of them. These works spread his fame for and wide, and 

 the most distinguished learned and scientific societies of Europe 

 honoured hia merits by making him a member. This celebrity, in- 

 stead of making him happier, only increased his desire to have a 

 wider sphere of action. Many honourable offers were made to him 

 from various parts of Europe, but he had not resolution enough to 

 accept them, or they were not to his taste. At last however the post 

 of physician to his Britannic majesty at Hanover, and the title of aulic 

 councillor, were offered to him, through the influence of a friend. 

 This offer seemed to satisfy his wishes, and in 1768 he went to 

 Hanover. But the world in which he now lived was as little calcu- 

 lated to give him happiness as that at Brugg. The jealousy of one of 

 his colleagues, and the pretensions of persons of quality and their 

 unreasonable demands on his time, caused him not a little annoyance 

 and vexathm; he felt his own dignity too much, and had too just a 

 notion of the duties of a physician to determine the number of his 

 visits and their duration by anything else than the nature of the ill- 

 ness. Those who were offended by such straightforward conduct, did 

 not of course contribute to make his residence at Hanover pleasant. 

 But notwithstanding this, there was at that time no physician in all 

 Northern Germany who enjoyed such unbounded confidence as Zim- 

 mermann, and the patients who consulted him were so numerous 

 that he had littlo time left to indulge in his hypochondriac disposition. 

 During this period of uninterrupted activity in his profession, his only 

 recreation consisted in occasional visits to several of the courts of 

 Germany, where his advice was requested, and to the waters of Pyr- 

 mont. But in a short time ho found that Pyrmont, instead of being 

 a place of rest for him, was a much more busy place than Hanover, 

 for persons flocked thither from all parts when it was known that he 

 was there. In 1770 his wife died, and he himself was at the time 

 suffering from internal disease, which induced him the year after to 

 go to Berlin for the purpose of submitting to a dangerous operation. 

 He remained at Berlin for five months, and made the acquaintance 

 and friendship of the most distinguished men of that capital. He 

 was also introduced to Frederic the Great, with whom he had a long 

 conversation. On his return to Hanover he felt in good spirits, and 

 as he had got rid of the cause of his bodily suffering, he looked 

 forward to happiness. But his great professional exertions brought 

 on a return of his old complaint, and in its train came his former 

 depression of spirits, which was increased by the death of his daughter. 

 He had now only a son left, and this eon was constantly in ill-health, 

 which at length terminated in a state of perfect insensibility. The 

 friends of Zimmermann, who pitied his situation, prevailed upon him. 

 to marry again : the influence which his young wife exercised over 

 him promised to be most beneficial : he seemed to revive, he became 

 cheerful, and took pleasure in social circles. The fruit of this happy 

 period was the working out and completion of his great work on 

 Solitude (' Ueber die Einsamkeit '), in 4 vols. 8vo, which appeared 

 at Leipzig in 1784 and 1785. This work, the best and most matured of 

 atl his productions, was soon translated into all. the languages of 

 Europe, and became as popular in foreign countries as in Germany. 

 The English translation, under the title ' Solitude considered with 

 respect to its influence on the Mind and the Heart ' (8vo, London, 

 1791), was made from the French translation of J. B. Mercier, which 

 however is only an abridgment of the original ; for Mercier had not 

 the boldness to lay before the French public all the important dis- 

 closures which the original work contains. This book on Solitude 

 procured the author friends and admirers in all parts of Europe. 

 The Empress Catherine II. of Russia sent him a magnificent present, 

 accompanied by a letter in which she thanked him for the salutary 

 prescriptions he had given to mankind ; she also invited him to St. 

 Petersburg and offered him the post of her private physician. On his 

 declining to go to Russia, the empress requested him to recommend a 

 number of young physicians who were willing to settle in her domi- 

 nions. This request was readily complied with, and Zimmermanu was 

 knighted, and received the order of St. Wladimir as a reward. 



In 1786, when Frederic the Great was attacked by his last illness, 

 tie wrote two letters to Zimmermann to invite him to come to Pots- 

 dam and give him his advice. On his arrival there, Zimmermaun 

 discovered that the king's case was hopeless, and he refused to pre- 

 scribe any powerful medicine. His visit to Potsdam was the turning 

 point in his life : until then he had been the favourite of the public aa 

 i philosopher, a physician, and a highly gifted writer, but he now left 

 the path in which he had earned his just laurels, and_ all he wrote 

 after this time served rather to destroy than to increasg his reputation. 

 After his return from Potsdam he wrote two workiPon Frederic tho 



reat: 'Uebsr Friedrich den Grosscu und meine Unterredung mifc 



