Christian Crusius (historian)

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Christian Crusius (* 1715 in Wohlbach ; † February 1, 1767 in Wittenberg ) was a German rhetorician and historian.

Life

Crusius attended grammar schools in Halle (Saale) and Zeitz , enrolled at the University of Leipzig , where he was enthusiastic about research into antiquity as a student of Johann Jacob Mascov . After he had finished his studies in 1738, he went to Saint Petersburg in 1740 , where he gave lectures on history, antiquities and literary history at the local academy. In 1746 he took over a professorship in rhetoric and mathematics as the successor to Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer . Dissatisfied with the position there, he took up a professorship in rhetoric at the University of Wittenberg in 1751, succeeding Johann Wilhelm von Berger .

In Wittenberg, his knowledge of Roman and Greek antiquity and Latin poetry was praised. His Wittenberg lectures covered literature, German history and German constitutional law, Latin language and style. German constitutional law became his favorite science in Wittenberg, to the annoyance of lawyers who spoke of an encroachment on their privileges. He contributed to the “Acta Eruditorum” with reviews of antiquities and history, of which he had already been a collaborator during his time in Leipzig. His “Probabilia critica” on classical writers gave him the fame of an astute critic in the learned world, especially in Holland. In Wittenberg itself, his critics accused him of his drunkenness and his broken domestic conditions.

Works (selection)

  • Probabilia critica, Leipzig 1753
  • Opuscula spectantia, Altenburg 1767

literature

personal data
SURNAME Crusius, Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German rhetorician and historian
DATE OF BIRTH 1715
PLACE OF BIRTH Wohlbach
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1767
Place of death Wittenberg