GKIESBACH. JOHN JAMES. 



OR1ESBACH, JOHN JAME3. 



tb thioo- political touch. When the war of invasion broke out in 

 1811 be quitted his studic* to take a cornetcy in a regiment of 

 husMrs. and eoctiuod with tho army till the successful iue of the 

 campaign of 1 815. He then went to St. Petersburg, where be became 

 acquainted with the dramatic poet Khmelniuky, and wat oonoeroed 

 in torn* trifling dnmntio effort*. In 1817 he entered the diplomatic 

 Trios, and in the following year waa eeot at secretary to the Russian 

 ejbaen ia Persia, where he succeeded in enraging the especial favour 

 of Prino* Abba, lliraa. who procured for him, from his father the 

 ov-v_ the Henian order of the Lion and Sun. Of the modern Persian 

 h mad* himself euch a muter at to be able to oompoae Persian 

 T trial At the tame time he studied English at the Kngli-h embassy, 

 and became noted for his thorough aoquaintanoe with English, Ger- 

 man, and French, at well as a lew perfect knowledge of Latin and 

 Italian. While residing in Georgia he composed a comedy, to which 

 he gave the name of 'Gore ot Uma,' which may be rendered 'The 

 Misfortune of Cleverness.' It was circulated in manuscript in 1823, 

 and for many subsequent years, the author being unwilling to submit 

 it to the ordeal of the otntonhip. The plot ia inartificial, but there 

 bat been but one voice at to the excellence of the character, the 

 dialogue, and the language. The characters are chiefly the repre- 

 sentatives of filtstnt, the old courtier of Catherine the Second, the young 

 liberal of modern Russia, Ac. ; the dialogue is lively and spirited in 

 the highest degree, and the language is so remarkably idiomatic and 

 appropriate, that many of the expressions have passed into proverbs. 

 It has bean pronounced the best picture of Russian society in exist- 

 ence, and bitter at is its tone, as bitter as that of Byron on English 

 society, it* popularity was so great, that it is said it was difficult to 

 And a person of any social pretensions who did not know large portions 

 of it by heart 



When the abortive conspiracy of December 1825 broke out on the 

 accession of Nicholas, Griboyedov was at once suspected as a member 

 of the liberal party, and summoned from Georgia, where he was then 

 employed, to make his defence. The emperor, who of course had 

 heard of his comedy, had a curiosity to see him iu person, and after 

 an interview he was dismissed with favour. When the war broke out 

 with Persia he resigned his diplomatic for military duties, and made 

 the campaign with Prince Paskevich, who was his kinsman, and who, 

 on concluding the war in 1828, with the treaty of Turkmanohai, so 

 disastrous for Persia, sent Griboyedov to St Petersburg with the news. 

 On the final conclusion of the peace, Griboyedov was named Minister 

 Plenipotentiary at the Persian court. A dark presentiment made him 

 receive the appointment with marked unwillingness. He said repeatedly 

 to his friends, " I am going to my grave. I feel that I shall never see 

 Russia again." His words were fatally verified. On the 12th of 

 February 1829 the populace of Teheran, enraged, it is said, by some 

 fugitive Armenians being harboured by the Russian embassy, made an 

 attack on the house, and massacred the ambassador, together with all 

 the persons connected with the embassy, and all the Russian merchants 

 in the city whom they could lay their hands on. The murdered body 

 of Griboyedov was dragged through the streets at a horse's tail. 



In the year 1832 the Emperor Nicholas gave his special permission 

 for the publication of ' Gore ot Uma,' and for its representation on 

 the stage, with a few omissions. Its reputation has rather increased 

 than otherwise, and it is now generally acknowledged as the head of 

 Russian comedy. Griboyedov had other works in preparation, of 

 which be had read portions to his friends, and of which they augured 

 highly, but they perished with their author iu the outbreak at Teheran. 

 His works, which were collected and published at St Petersburg, a few 

 years back, with a life by Bulgaria, occupy but one small volume, 

 which is regarded as a Russian classic. 



ORIESBACH, JOHN JAMES, was born at Butzbach in Hesse 

 Darmstadt, on the 4th of January 1745. At an early age he com- 

 menced bis grammatical studies in the Gymnasium at Frankfurt-on- 

 the-Main, where his father performed the duties of a Lutheran minuter 

 and oonsUtorul councillor. From Frankfurt he went, in 1762, to the 

 University of Tubingen, and afterwards passed two years at the Uni- 

 versity of Halle, whence he removed to that of Leipzig. In 1767 he 

 returned to Halle, and took the degree of M.A. j having, throughout 

 a highly distinguished collegiate course, attended all the lectures of 

 the most eminent professors, and applied himself with unwearied 

 diligence to the critical study of philology, moral philosophy, and 

 especially to theological, biblical, and ecclesiastical literature, in which 

 be received, as a pupil, the moit valuable assistance from Semler and 

 Krnetti. He now determined to devote himself wholly to a critical 

 examination of the doctrines snd of the Greek manuscript texts of 

 the New Testament; and as, in hit comprehensive plan of preliminary 

 acquirements, it appeared to bo a moat desirable object to visit foreign 

 countries, in order to acquire personally a knowledge of the dogmas of 

 their religious sects, and to examine the contents of their principal libra- 

 ries, he commenced, in 1749, at the age of twenty-four, an extensive 

 literary tour, in which, after inspecting the treasures of the learned 

 institutions of Germany and Holland, he visited and made a sojourn of 

 several months in Knglaod,as.iduou>!y prosecuting his critical researches 

 ia the librarirs of the universities, and of the British Museum, chiefly 

 on kit favourite subject of the ancient manuscript versions of the 

 New Testament. He next proceeded to visit the libraries of Paris and 

 of other parts of France, where, as ho had done in Germany, Holland, 



and England, he established an intercourse with many of the most 

 eminent scholars and divines ; and having at length collected a large 

 mats of valuable materials, he returned in 1770 to Frankfurt, for the 

 purpose of arranging them aud applying them to his purpose of pro- 

 ducing a new emendation of the text of the Christian Scripture*. In 

 the following year he obtained much applause at the University of 

 Halle in sustaining, as an academical exorcise, a critical dissertation, 

 DaCodicibus quatuor Kvangeliorum OrigenianU,' in consequence of 

 which he became theological lecturer, and in 1773 he was appointed 

 professor extraordinary of theology at this university. The preparation 

 of his important edition of the New Testament he now prosecuted 

 with great zeal and diligence. Of this valuable work a particular 

 account is given below, with a notice of several of the author's other 

 publications. The reputation he acquired at Halle in correcting and 

 illustrating the sacred text procured for him one of the divinity 

 professorships at the University of Jeua, his acceptance of which he 

 signalised by the production of several learned programmes on subjects 

 hereafter named ; and on taking in 1777 the degree of D.D., he sus- 

 tained a critical dissertation entitled ' Cune in historiam textus Unoci 

 Epistolarum Paulinarum specimen.' On various other academical 

 occasions he wrote several learned and interesting essays on biblical 

 subjects ; he also was one of the directors of the ' Gazelle' of Jeua ; 

 contributed numerous articles to learned periodicals ; ami in 1780 he 

 was elected rector of that university, and inspector of the students 

 from Weimar and Eisenach. In the following year he was appointed 

 ecclesiastical councillor to the Duke of Saxe-U'eimar, was chosen 

 prelate and deputy of the district of Jena, and was made a member 

 of the states of Saxe- Weimar. In the performance of his academical 

 duties he was indefatigable, and usually delivered three lectures daily 

 on theological subjects. The task of perfecting his edition of the New 

 Testament gave him anxious and laborious employment until nearly 

 the time of bis death ; and, besides his editorial labours, he was 

 actively engaged iu the typographical arrangements for the costly aud 

 beautiful impression of this work, completed in 1807, for which the 

 types were expressly founded by the eminent printer Ooschen. To 

 this brief biographical sketch of Dr. Griejbach, it may be added that 

 at the age of thirty he married Frederica Juliana, a sister of Professor 

 Sohiitz. He died on the 24th of March 1812. 



The first edition of Griesbach's critical emendation of the text of 

 the New Testament was published at Halle in 1774-75, 8vo, in three 

 successive parts, as manuals for the students then attending his course 

 of divinity lectures at Jena. Some bibliological particulars respecting 

 this and the several subsequent editions are given in Mr. Home's 

 ' Introduction to the Bible.' Of the second edition, the first volume 

 appeared in 1796, and the second volume in 1807. This fine impres- 

 sion was made under the careful inspection of the professor himself; 

 and in consequence of the cost of the paper having been munificently 

 defrayed by the chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the Duke 

 of Grafton, the volumes bear the imprint of ' Hake et Londiui.' They 

 were handsomely reprinted in London iu 1809 and in 1818. In their 

 copious Latin prolegomena are exhibited a critical history of the 

 printed text, a catalogue of all the manuscripts from which various 

 readings are cited, an account of the author's method of proceeding, 

 and rules for determining the comparative value of various readings. 

 Bishop Marsh, in his ' Divinity Lectures ' (part ii. sec. 8), has passed a 

 high eulogium on Dr. Griesbach with regard to this important work, 

 declaring his diligence to be unremitted, his caution extreme, and his 

 erudition profound. 



Previous to giving a particular account of the critical system of 

 Griesbach's edition of the New Testament, it will be convenient to 

 name his various other works, several of which form indispensable 

 portions of, or appendages to, the elaborate apparatus of Biblical 

 criticism presented principally in the prolegomena to hU New Testa- 

 ment. Nearly the whole of his writings are in Latin, and all are mure 

 or less directly devoted to the elucidation of Biblical subjects, as 

 follows : 



' Dissertatio de Fide Historica, ex ipsa rerum qus> narrantur natura 

 judicanda,' 4to, I7ti4. 'Dissertatio Hist. TheoL locos Theologicoa ex 

 Leone M. Pontifice Romano sistens/ 4to, 1768. 'Dissertatio de Codi- 

 cibus quatuor Evangeliorum Origenianis,' 4to, 1771. 'De vera Notione 

 Vocabuli Gneci, iu cap. 8, Epistolto ad Romauos, 1 et 2,' 4to, 1777. 

 'Curte in Historiam Textug Uncci Epistolarum Paulinarum,' 4to, 

 1777. 'Programma de Fontibus undo Evangelist suas de Resur- 

 rectione Domini Narrationes hauseriut,' 1784. 'Programma do I magi- 

 nibus Judaicis quibus Auctor Epistolco ad Hebrteoa in describcuda 

 Messise proviucia usus est,' 4to, 1792. ' Anlcitung zuiu Studiereu dcr 

 Popularen Dogmatik,' 1789 (' Introduction to the Study of the Popular 

 Christian Dogmas '). This, from the uature of its object, became the 

 most popular work of the author ; and iu ten years after iu publi- 

 cation had passed through a fourth edition. ' Cotnineutarius Criticus 

 in textum Gnecum Novi Testament!,' 1798 and 1811. 'Commeutatio 

 qua Marci Evangelium totum e Mattlitci et Lui-ie Commentariis 

 decerptum esse monstratur,' 4 to, 1789. 'Recognita inulti-que aug- 

 mentis locupletata in Commcntatiouibus Theolog.,' 1791. Griesbach's 

 ' Opuscula Academic* ' were edited by the learned Jo. Phil. Gabler, 

 and published in 8vo at Jena in 1824. 'Symbolic Criticaj, ad sup- 

 plendas et corrigendas variarum Novi Testament! Lectionum Col- 

 lectiouct : aooedit multoram. Novi Testament! Codieum Gnccorum 



