Johann Georg Arnold Oelrichs

Johann Georg Arnold Oelrichs (born June 8, 1767 in Hanover ; † March 7, 1791 ) was a German Protestant theologian and philosopher.

Life

Johann Georg Arnold Oelrichs was the son of a Reformed pastor . His brother later became a professor at a Bremen grammar school .

Oelrichs did not go to school, but was trained by private tutors. He suffered from poor health until he was nine years old. He developed a desire to educate himself and was undemanding. He also dealt with the biographies of historical scholars, which spurred his diligence. In addition, his parents trained him, his father taught him sciences and the English language , his mother the French language , which Oelrichs was soon able to speak at a native level. The Rector Buies also taught him the Greek language . Because he turned to older and newer languages ​​in his youth, he decided to study philology .

On September 29, 1784, Oelrichs moved into the Georg August University of Göttingen . He studied theology with the aim of becoming a preacher and later being able to teach theology himself. He also studied church and dogma history and read the works of the church fathers . In 1787 he won a prize for answering a question from the theological faculty in a treatise about the ideas of the first-century Church Fathers about the Logos . In this he showed himself to be astute and thoroughly educated even before he had finished his studies. In autumn 1787, on the 50th anniversary of the university, she finally appointed him a doctorate in philosophy.

After completing his doctorate , Oelrichs went back to his father in Hanover, where he spent the winter of 1787. There he dealt with what the Neoplatonists think of God and wrote a book about it. The work was published in Marburg in 1788 and is entitled Commentatio de doctrina Platonis de Deo, a Christianis et recentioribus Platonicis varie explicata et corrupta . Because he was dealing with these metaphysical ideas, he decided to study the writings of the Church Fathers again.

After the work had been published, Oelrichs went to Marburg as court master of a student. To do this, he had to give up his wish to expand his knowledge in Göttingen. After a year in Marburg, he moved to Erlangen , still working as court master. There he was commissioned to write a work about the church fathers and first looked for material in Erlangen. Since he thought he had to work in the environment of a large library and a scholar, he gave up the position of court master and went to Göttingen.

In Göttingen, Oelrichs devoted himself to the planned work and worked very hard. He lacked movement, so that the condition of his already weak body worsened. His friends worried about him as he became too hectic . He considered himself healthy, which is why he did not see a doctor. Later, his confidants found a doctor. At the end of February 1791 he went mad , he fantasized about church fathers. He had previously had a fever for six weeks . He finally died of overexertion on March 7, 1791 at the age of 23. Shortly before, he had finished the work.

meaning

Oelrich's major work, published posthumously, made him famous. It was published by Arnold Heeren in 1791. He praised Oelrichs in the preface and stated that he had already done good works at a young age and that his praise could not be snatched from his early death.

Heinrich Döring described Oelrichs as a theologian who had a good knowledge of all disciplines. He was astute and curious. This is also evident in his works, although these are only a few. He was also very hardworking, and it was not uncommon for him to work on his work for days without leaving his room. He did not defend his own views because his modesty stood in the way, so he placed little value on his own knowledge and talents. In addition, he is said not to have acted hastily, but prudently, he lived meekly, benevolently, amicably and amiably.

Works

• Commentatio de vera et certa eorum, qui medio secundo atque ineunte tertio seculo floruerunt, Patrum de ratione sive relatione Yilii cum Patre sententia; in concertatione civium academicorum Georgiae Augustae 1787 praemio ornata (Göttingen 1787)
• Commentatio de doctrina Platonis de Deo, a Christianis et recentioribus Platonicis varie explicata et corrupta (Marburg 1788)
• Commentarii de scriptoribus Ecclesiae Latinae priorum VI. saeculorum. Ad Bibliothecam Fabricii Latinam accomadati ita, ut scriptorum ingenia et doctrinae cum argumentis librorum accuratius declarentur (Leipzig 1791)

literature

• Friedrich von Schlichtegroll : Nekrolog on the year 1791: Containing news of the life of strange deceased persons , J. Perthes, 1792, pp. 284-293, online
• Johann Georg Meusel : Lexicon of the German writers who died from 1750 to 1800 , Volume 10, G. Fleischer, the Younger, 1810, p. 170, online
• Heinrich Döring : The learned theologians of Germany in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , Verlag Johann Karl Gottfried Wagner, Neustadt an der Orla, 1833, Volume 3, pp. 116-119, online