Johann Philipp Ostertag

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Johann Philipp Ostertag (born May 30, 1734 in Idstein ; † November 23, 1801 in Regensburg ) was a German Protestant theologian , educator , philologist and mathematician .

Life

Johann Philipp Ostertag was the son of a pastor of the same name and consistorial councilor in Idstein. He received his first lessons from his father and then attended the Idstein grammar school, the principal of which was his maternal uncle, Johann Michael Stritter . His lectures aroused Easter’s interest in mathematics and astronomy ; He also received a good philological education through Stritter. In 1751 Ostertag went to Jena to study theology there at the request of his father . Even here he was educated in ancient languages, mathematics and philology , and even more so in Gießen , where the reputation of the mathematician Andreas Böhm drew him. Here he also heard canon law from Chancellor Christoph Matthäus Pfaff and gave his first lectures as a private lecturer.

When Ostertag returned home in 1755, the then Nassau-Weilburg regional president of la Potterie offered him the position of vice-principal at the state grammar school in Weilburg . He followed this appointment, soon became Vice Rector and in 1763 Rector of the school. In this position he was allowed to redesign the conditions of the school entrusted to him. As one of the first German school men, he introduced mathematics and physics lessons, put together a collection of physical devices, expanded German lessons, and regulated school discipline and the external circumstances of teachers. He also expanded the school's curriculum by introducing lectures on recent political history, statistics , aesthetics, and rhetoric; He also hired teachers for dance art, music , French , riding, etc. He instilled an interest in science in his students through his lively oral presentation.

The school gained a widespread reputation as a result of Ostertag's reforms, so that it was frequently attended by Dutch, Swiss and English people from respected families. Because of these achievements, Ostertag received several appointments in external positions. When he was offered the post of Lutheran preacher in The Hague in 1774 , he traveled there and gave two trial sermons with great applause, but did not accept the post. He also refused the offer of the Hesse-Darmstadt minister Friedrich Karl von Moser to take over the superintendent's position in Darmstadt or a professorship in Giessen, as he foresaw the fate of his patron. On the other hand, in 1776 he accepted the appointment of the Council of the Free City of Regensburg to the rectorate of the Protestant grammar school there. He held this office until the end of his life, although he repeatedly received offers for other, especially academic positions. He also worked as a professor of philosophy and mathematics at the Regensburg grammar school.

As a versatile scholar and excellent teacher, Ostertag soon found general recognition in Regensburg. Above all, he brought about an inner and outer elevation of the school under his control. He was also able to overcome the difficulties which had often arisen because of the demands of the members of the permanent Reichstag with calm and impartial firmness.

Ostertag earned general respect for his moral qualities. He was a frank, honest, powerful man, tolerant of those who thought differently and an excellent company. He died on November 23, 1801 at the age of 66 in Regensburg.

plant

The numerous scientific papers through which Ostertag has made a name for itself are mainly divided into two groups. The first includes translations of ancient writers, primarily Roman historians. Together with Professor Bergsträsser, he had been responsible for the publication of the collection of transmissions by Roman prose writers printed in Frankfurt am Main since 1781 . He himself wrote:

  • Attempt of a German translation of the first three acts of Euripides ' Phönissen , Wetzlar 1771
  • Justinus Weltgeschichte, from Latin , Frankfurt 1781
  • Cajus Suetonius Tranquillus translated and accompanied with explanatory notes , 2 vols., Frankfurt 1788–89
  • The six smaller history books of the Historia Augusta translated and provided with explanatory notes , 2 vols., Frankfurt 1790, 1793
  • Of Titus Livius of Padua Roman history translated and accompanied with explanatory notes , 10 vols., 1790-1798
  • Quintus Curtius Rufus of the life and deeds of Alexander the Great , translated with Johann Freinsbeim's additions and accompanied with notes , 2 vols., Frankfurt 1785; 2nd edition, ibid. 1799
  • Lucanus , De bello civili , Vol. I, published 1811

Some of these works appeared in several editions and were valuable because of the accompanying explanatory notes, mostly geographical and antiquarian content. The sense and tone of the originals are usually well matched in these translations, but one often misses the suppleness and lightness of expression in them.

The second group of Ostertags works form the writings on mathematical, astronomical and physical problems of antiquity, so among others:

  • Commentatio philologico-physica de Jove Elicio , 1775
  • De Scaphiis veterum , Regensburg 1778
  • De auspiciis et acuminibus , Regensburg 1779
  • About the scaphias of the ancients and of their gnomonic use , Regensburg 1780
  • About the calculation of interest among the Greeks and Romans, according to Paucton's Metrology , Regensburg 1784
  • Antiquarian treatise on thunderstorm electricity , 1785
  • About the former gnomonic cone that stood on the Marsfelde in Rome , Regensburg 1785
  • About the origin of the constellations and the mythology to be explained from them, according to the treatises of Mr. Dupuis , 4 booklets, Regensburg 1787–90
  • About the ratio of the dimensions of the ancients to today's dimensions and a standard to be introduced for all nations, according to Plaucton's Metrology , 4 Hefte, 1791–94

These latter writings, which opened up an area that was very little known at the time and remained important for a long time, registered Ostertag 1784 as a member of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences . On the other hand, the numerous sermons and speeches on various subjects (including a celebratory speech on Urang-Otang in 1770) were soon forgotten.

In order to honor the memory of the great mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler , Ostertag wrote an essay about his life and merits (printed in the Journal von und für Deutschland , 1786, Part 2, pp. 159–170), and combined this with an invitation to to erect a monument to him, in the writing Kepler's Monument in Regensburg (1786). The monument was not erected until 1808, mainly with the support of the primate princes.

In 1810 his friends Bösner, B. Leopold von Seckendorf and A. Kayser released a fairly extensive first collection of Ostertag's small writings from his estate; the sequel has not been published. There you will also find a complete list of his writings (pp. XXIII – XXVIII), as well as an appendix on the Regensburg Kepler memorial, for which Ostertag was mainly responsible for erecting it.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Ostertag, Johann Philipp. Hessian biography. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on July 17, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Easter Day, Johann Philipp
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian, educator, philologist and mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1734
PLACE OF BIRTH Idstein
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1801
Place of death regensburg