Johann Gottfried Zeidler

Johann Gottfried Zeidler (also: Zeitler ; born April 11, 1655 in Fienstedt , Saalekreis , † 1711 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German Protestant theologian and satirical writer.

Life

The son of the Orthodox Lutheran pastor Gottfried Zeidler studied at the University of Jena and then took a job in Franconia. Since he wanted to continue studying, he went to the University of Leipzig , where he gave private lectures on mathematics. Likewise, he moved to Wittenberg , where he met the poet crown was awarded the Laureate. In Wittenberg he had devoted himself to theological studies and during this time developed a growing aversion to the school philosophy and clericalism of the time. After he was ordained in Leipzig , he stood by his father in 1679, who was only able to provide limited work in Fienstedt due to his blindness. After the death of his father, he gave up his theological profession and moved to Halle with his children in 1700. There he studied philosophy with Chr. Thomasius and worked as a satirical writer, where he also attacked the clergy. He became an auctioneer at the University of Halle and died at the age of 50.

Especially in Halle Zeidler became an important satirist of his time. While he first published his picture book “Biblical Figures / In Clear Rhymes” and a “Theatrum Eruditorum” (1690), which shows a gallery of scholars with portrait engravings , he came up with the publication of “Dreyfachen” during his friendly contact with Christian Thomasius Salvation of the right of Protestant princes in church matters ” , in which he satirically attacked the clergy in particular. This was followed in 1703 by a transfer of the dissertation against witchcraft ( De crimine magiae ), and he also translated the standard works on natural and canon law into German. His satires are continued in “Das verdeckte und Discovered Carneval” as well as in the philosophy satire “Die ... Metaphysik or Über-Naturlehre” , which was followed by many works.

Selection of works

• Neun Priester-Teuffel , Hall 1701
• State of the Counts of Mansfeld and Hanau , Braunschweig 1703
• Buchbinder Philosophy , Hall 1708
• Pantomysterium, or the latest from the year of the divining rod , Hall 1700
• Seven evil spirits, which today rule the sextons or so-called Dorff schoolmasters , Braunschweig and Leipzig 1700, re-printing Zschopau 1880, Leipzig 1892
• ABC book key to the art of reading , hall 1701
• Gnosologia or Allwisserey, the Noologia or Vorsteherey, the Fiscologia, the Physika and the Ethika , around 1700 in Halle

literature

• Jakob Friedrich Reimmann: Catalogus Bibliothccae Theologicae. Hildesheim 1731.
• Zeidler, Johann Gottfried. In: Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Volume 61, Leipzig 1749, column 672-678.
• P. Krumhholz: Johann Gottfried Zeidler… In: Communications from the Society for German Education and Training. School history vol. 20, 1910, pp. 237–270
• Carlos Gilly : The proverb The learned are wrong. In: A. Rotondò (Ed.): Forme e Destinazione del Messaggio Religioso . Florence 1991.
• Herbert Jaumann : in Walther Killy ’s literary dictionary: Authors and works in the German language . (15 volumes) Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1988–1991 (CD-ROM: Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-932544-13-7 )
• Elmar Lechner: Education and Cultural Criticism in the German Early Enlightenment: Johann Gottfried Zeidler (1655-1711). Ten theses and an edition of some of his autobiographical, educational, historical and aphoristic writings. Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2007.
• Siegfried Wollgast: The Socinianism and the German Early Enlightenment. Würzburg medical history reports 21 (2002), pp. 397–445; P. 434 f.