WOLF. 
707 
nection he continued for many years, employing his leisure 
hours in teaching mathematics, logic, and natural philosophy. 
When the Swedes made an incursion into Saxony in the year 
1706, he quitted Leipsic, and removed to Berlin ; where a 
recommendatory letter of Leibnitz procured for him from 
Frederic I. the office of professor of mathematics at Halle. 
In 1709 he published, in Latin, his treatise on “ Aerometry;” 
and in the following year his “ Elements of Mathematics;” 
in 4 vols., which have passed through several editions. Hav¬ 
ing composed a very ingenious essay on the intense cold of 
the ensuing winter, he was elected a member of the Royal 
Society of London, and soon after a member of the Academy 
of Sciences at Berlin. In 1711 he published his tables of 
sines and tangents, and in the next year his treatise on logic, 
in German, highly commended by Formey, and translated 
into Latin, French, and other languages. The first two vo¬ 
lumes of his large work on the mathematics appeared in 
1713, and these were afterwards followed by three more. By 
the advice of his friend Leibnitz, he refused an invitation 
from Peter the Great to remove from Halle to Petersburgh. 
On the death of Leibnitz in 1726, Wolf drew up his life, 
which supplied Fontenelle with materials for his eloge. In 
1718 he published “ Meditations on God, the World, and 
the Human Soul,” which were reprinted in the following 
year. About this time the reputation of Wolf and the jealousy 
of his rivals occasioned a literary contest, which lasted for a 
considerable time, and which was not very honourable to 
either party. Wolf having delivered a dissertation on his 
quitting the pro-rectorate of Halle university in 1721, on 
which he took occasion to compare his own principles with 
those of Confucius and the Chinese, and having announced 
the opinion which he entertained on the doctrine of necessity, 
an outcry was raised against him, and he was represented by 
his enemies as a man whose principles tended to atheism, and 
to corrupt the morals of the people. Notwithstanding this 
malignant attack, he employed himself in publishing three 
volumes of experimental philosophy, and a volume of dog¬ 
matical philosophy, which he dedicated to the Emperor of 
Russia, and which the emperor caused to be translated into 
the Russian language, repeating to him the offers which had 
before been made, in order to induce him to remove to 
Petersburgh. The contest that had been excited against him 
still continued; and though he attempted to justify himself 
in a treatise on the subject of fatality, the king was at length 
persuaded that his principles weredangerous, and ordered him, 
in November, 1723, to quit his territories in two days, under 
pain of death. Wolf immediately proceeded to Cassel, where 
he met with the King of Sweden, who appointed him pro¬ 
fessor of mathematics at Marpurg, an office which he had 
refused 16 years before. The clergy of Halle pursued him 
with their enmity and opposition to Marpurg; but Wolf 
was suffered to remain in the quiet enjoyment of his office 
during his residence at that place. Several students who 
attended him at Halle followed him hither, and his lectures, 
which he commenced in 1724, were attended by pupils from 
all parts of Europe. His mind being now undisturbed, he 
resumed his literary labours, and published his “ Remarks 
on Metaphysics,” in which he answered the principal objec¬ 
tions against his doctrine, and gained a decided victory over 
his enemies. The grounds of the censure that had been 
passed on Wolf had been everywhere canvassed; and almost 
every German university was inflamed with disputes on the 
subject of liberty and necessity, so that the names of Wolfian 
and anti-Wolfian were every where heard. Wolf, having 
thus vindicated his philosophy from reproach, received new 
invitations from Petersburgh and Leipsic; but gratitude to 
his protector induced him to remain in his situation at Mar¬ 
purg, which he found to be very agreeable, and to afford 
him leisure for pursuing his speculations. After an interval 
of nine years, the current of public opinion turned in favour 
of Wolf, and he now received numerous tokens of respect 
from men of rank and learning; and in 1733 he was mvited 
to fill, in the Academy of Sciences, one of the eight places 
allotted to foreigners distinguished in the highest branches of 
science. On this occasion, Reaumur and he commenced an 
intimate friendship, which lasted till the time of his death. 
The King of Prussia was convinced of Wolf’s innocence, 
reversed his sentence of exile, and wished to repair the injury 
which he had sustained. He made tempting offers, both 
of title and money, to induce him to return to Halle; but 
he declined the acceptance of them ; as he also refused an 
invitation from George I. of England to accept a place in the 
new academy which he had founded at Gottingen. The 
clergy of Halle made some other attempts to reproach and 
ruin him, but they recoiled on his adversaries. In the year 
1740, he prefixed to the first volume of his “ Droit Nature!, 
or Treatise on the Law of Nature,” a dedication to the here¬ 
ditary prince of Prussia, afterwards Frederick the Great, 
which was acknowledged by a very flattering letter. 
Frederick the Great, as soon as he ascended the throne, re¬ 
called Wolf to Halle: and with the permission of the King 
of Sweden, he consented to accept the office of professor of 
the law of nature and nations, and also of mathematics, with 
a salary of 2000 crowns, and liberty to teach whatever he 
thought proper. He obtained also the rank of privy.coun¬ 
sellor, and was made first vice-chancellor, and afterwards 
chancellor of the university. In 1745 he was created a baron 
by the Elector of Bavaria. Wolf was now at the height of his 
prosperity. At more than 60 years of age he resumed his 
labours, and completed his work on the law of nature and 
nations, which was written in Latin, and extended to eight 
volumes 4to. He also wrote prefaces to the works of others, 
and particularly one to Sussmilch's work on population. 
Notwithstanding his great celebrity, perhaps on this account, 
he had many and powerful enemies. Leibnitz, Maupertuis, 
and Voltaire, were of this number: and with respect to the 
latter, we may observe, that both in his writings and in his 
conversation with the king he contributed in no small degree 
to lessen the veneration which Frederick II. entertained for 
him. In 1752 he was made a member of the Institute at 
Bologna; but he did not long survive this honour, as he 
died in the month of April, 1754, in the 76th year of his 
age. He left one son, who inherited a considerable estate 
which he had purchased. 
Brucker sums up the character of Wolf as a writer ih the 
following concise manner:—“He possessed a clear and me¬ 
thodical understanding, which by long exercise in mathema¬ 
tical investigations was particularly fitted for the employ¬ 
ment of digesting the several branches of knowledge into 
regular systems; and his fertile powers of invention enabled 
him to enrich almost every field of science in which he la¬ 
boured, with some new addition. The lucid order which 
appears in all his writings, enables his reader to follow his 
conceptions with ease and certainty through the longest train 
of reasoning. But the close connection of the several parts 
of his works, together with the vast variety and extent of the 
subjects on which he treats, renders it impracticable to give 
a summary of his doctrines.”— Brucker's Philosophy, by 
Enfield. Preface to M. de Vattel's Law of Nations. 
WOLF (Jerome), a German philosopher, was born in 
the county of Oettingen, in the year 1516, and instructed in 
the elementary parts of education at a college established by 
the senate of Nuremberg. His death happened in the month 
of October, 1580. Wolf was particularly distinguished as a 
laborious translator, in which literary department he gained 
the commendation of Huet; though Henry Stephen censures 
his performances. When the edition of the Annals of Zo- 
naras, published by Wolf, at Basle, in 1557, became rare, a 
new one, with notes by Du Cange, was printed at the 
Louvre, in Paris, in 1687. Wolf’s translation of Demos¬ 
thenes was first printed at Basle, by Oporinus; and being 
much approved, it passed through two other editions. After 
being revised by the translator, Episcopius printed it at Basle, 
in 1572, with the orations of iEschines, the commentaries of 
Ulpius, and the notes of Wolfius. His other works, which 
were numerous, almost wholly related to Greek and Latin 
authors.— E/oges, par Formey et Teissier. 
WOLF (John Christopher), a German Lutheran divine 
and 
