Hugo Magnus (philologist)

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Hugo Paul Ernst Magnus (born August 16, 1851 in Göhren near Crossen an der Oder ; † July 22, 1924 in Jena ) was a German classical philologist and high school teacher.

Life

Hugo Magnus came from a family of lawyers and pastors from Lausitz. His ancestors worked as pastors in the area of Crossen an der Oder from the 18th century . Hugo's father Alexander Magnus (1813-1893) was a pastor in Göhren and married to Marie geb. Nautsch, a foster daughter of the Schlange farming family, who were known for their rose growing.

Hugo received his first lessons from his father, who gave him excellent training, especially in Latin. From 1866 to 1869 he attended grammar school in Guben , where he was particularly influenced by the teacher Carl Schmelzer . After graduation, Magnus began studying classical philology at the University of Jena in the summer semester of 1869 , but switched to the University of Berlin after the first semester , where he found inspiring academic teachers in Adolf Kirchhoff and Moriz Haupt . After a semester at the University of Bonn (summer semester 1870), he concentrated on completing his studies in Berlin. On July 4, 1873 he was at the University of Halle in absentia to Dr. phil. doctorate , on November 18, 1873 he passed the teaching examination in Latin, Greek and German.

Magnus completed his preparatory service at the Grünberg grammar school in Silesia , where he worked as a scientific assistant teacher after the probationary year 1873/74. On October 1, 1875, he moved (as a full teacher) to the Sophien-Gymnasium in Berlin, where he spent the rest of his career. Until 1899 he could only teach in the lower grades, since the upper grades were reserved for older colleagues. On April 1, 1891, Magnus was appointed senior teacher, on March 16, 1893, a high school professor, and on February 1, 1918, a secret teacher . Shortly afterwards he retired.

Hugo Magnus was born in 1880 with Hedwig. Karow married, the daughter of the Potsdam music director Hermann Ludwig Karow (1834–1900). The couple had four sons, all of whom served in World War I (two of whom were naval officers). In the last years of his life, Hugo Magnus suffered from heart and eye problems, which is why he traveled to Jena in the summer of 1924, where his son Georg Magnus (1883–1942) ran a surgical clinic. Hugo Magnus died of a heart attack while his father and son were discussing the possibility of an operation .

Scientific work

Magnus conducted scientific studies in addition to teaching. His main research interests were the Roman poets Catullus , Horace , Tibullus , Properz and Ovid . Magnus enriched the research with literature reports and reviews of the work of other researchers, but also with his own individual studies. The focus of his interest were Ovid's Metamorphoses , which, with their complex tradition, had still not received a sufficient critical edition. From 1887 Magnus published several detailed studies on the tradition and textual criticism of the Metamorphoses. From Berlin he tried to get to know as many manuscripts as possible; what he could not see himself, he had colleagues collate it . In 1900/1901 he received half a travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute , so that he could travel to Italy for several months and compare numerous Ovid manuscripts.

After decades of preparatory work, Magnus published his critical edition of Metamorphoses in 1914, to which an edition of the Narrationes fabularum Ovidianarum by Lactantius Placidus was attached. The edition is very unwieldy, especially because of its extensive critical apparatus, and was not reprinted; However, it was the first edition of the text that was based on a review of all available material and applied traditional methods of text production. It forms the basis of all later editions of the Metamorphoses. The Prussian Academy of Sciences awarded Magnus the Silver Leibniz Medal for this achievement in 1915 .

Fonts (selection)

  • The Metamorphoses of P. Ovidius Naso, declared for school use . 2 volumes, Gotha 1885–1886. 2nd edition 1892
  • Studies on Ovid's Metamorphoses . Berlin 1887 (school program)
  • Studies on the tradition and criticism of Ovid's Metamorphoses. V. Liber XV . Berlin 1893 (school program)
  • A selection of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Declared for school use . Gotha 1896
  • Studies on the tradition and criticism of Ovid's Metamorphoses. VI. Marcianus and Neapolitanus again . Berlin 1902 (school program)
  • New studies on the tradition and criticism of Ovid's metamorphoses . In: Hermes . Volume 39 (1904), pp. 30-62
  • Ovid's metamorphoses in two versions? In: Hermes . Volume 40 (1905), pp. 191-239
  • P. Ovidi Nasonis Metamorphoseon libri 15. Lactanti Placidi qui dicitur Narrationes fabularum Ovidianarum . Berlin 1914

literature

  • Otto Schröder : Hugo Magnus . In: Annual report on the progress of classical antiquity . Volume 51, 1925, Volume 206 (1925). Nekrologe = biographical yearbook for archeology . 45th year, 1925, pp. 1–9 (with list of publications)

Web links

Wikisource: Hugo Magnus  - Sources and full texts