Carel Gabriel Cobet

Carel Gabriel Cobet ( born November 28, 1813 in Paris, † October 26, 1889 in Leiden ) was a Dutch classical scholar.

Life & work

Cobet came from a family of Huguenot origin. His father was John and his mother's name was Cobet Marie Bertrand. At the time of his birth his father was working in Paris at the Ministry of War. After the war of Napoleon 's parents returned to the Netherlands. Here he attended the Gymnasium in The Hague and enrolled on 7 May 1832 as a student of theology at Leiden University. In 1838 he moved to study classical philology, which in this case was influential teacher in Jacob Geel and John beacon. For his essay Prosopographia Xenophontea in which he published a characteristic of the people of Xenophon's works, he received an award ( gold medal ) at the University.

His dissertation entitled Observationes criticae in Platonis comici Reliquias in 1840 awarded the highest distinction, and earned him a national travel grant. After receiving an honorary doctorate of Philosophy on November 7, 1840, he began a study tour. He took the five -year journey to study Greek manuscripts in France and in Italy. After he had built up a comprehensive basis for future work, he returned in 1845 as an expert in Greek paleography after suffering back. On October 18, 1845 he became a member of the Institute and on 23 February 1855 he was a member of the successor to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences.

On January 21, 1846 he was appointed extraordinary professor of speculative philosophy and literature, with the teaching Roman Antiquities at Leiden University. He accepted this task on 20 June 1846 the inaugural de Arte interpreter andi Gram Matices et Critices fundamentis innixa primario philological officio. On 5 October 1849 he became a full professor, where his teaching was extended to the ancient history, the Greek language and literature. As Leyden high school teacher, he also participated in the organizational tasks of the educational institution and had 1863/64, rector of the Alma Mater. On July 11, 1879 gave birth to him by his teaching of the Roman antiquities and entrusted him with the education of Greek antiquities, in which also the subject of the history of Greek art was included.

In 1856 he was co-editor of Mnemosyne that rose under his leadership to one of the most prestigious international journals of classical philology. His contributions to the textual criticism he also published separately from 1858. Due to his deteriorating health, he asked in 1884 about his dismissal from the teaching. Therefore, took place on June 24, 1884 by Royal Decree his retirement and on 16 September 1884, he took leave to retire. Five years later, at the age of 75 years, he finally died and was buried beside his wife in silence at the Leiden cemetery in Groenesteeg.

In 1847 he married Jeannette Madeleine Naret Oliphant ( 1815 in Leiden, † July 5, 1865 in Leiden ), which came from a Scottish family. From this marriage the daughter Marie Louise is Cobet ( born June 6 1849 in Leiden, † May 29, 1921 in The Hague ) is known, which is located at July 10, 1873 with the later Lieutenant General, member of the States General, Knight of the Order of the Netherlands lion Hendrik Pieter ( Henri ) Staal ( born June 17, 1845 in Zwolle, † October 15th 1920 in The Hague) had married.

Cobet was one of the best connoisseurs of Greek manuscripts of his time and had a brilliant knowledge of the Latin stylistics. His great confidence in dealing with the ancient texts led him to some bold emendations; for the skeptical German research of his time he had therefore not much left.

Works (selection)

• Commentatio, qua continetur prosopographia Xenophontea. Leiden 1836, ( Online)
• Observationes criticae in Platonis comici Reliquias. Amsterdam 1840 ( Online)
• Euripidis Phoenissae. 1846 ( Online)
• Oratio de arte interpreter andi gram matices et critices fundamentis innixa primario philo logo officio, quam habuit Carolus Gabriel Cobet, ad 20 Junii a 1846. Leiden 1847
• Diogenis Laertii De clarorum philosophorum vitis, dogmatibus et libri decem apophthegmatibus. Paris 1850 ( Online)
• Anno 1852-1853 habendas XXI allocutio ad Commilitones qua Lectiones de litteris Graecis et antiquitatibus Romanis in Academia Lugduno - Batava d. M. Sept. 1852 auspicatus est C. G. Cobet. 1852 ( Online)
• Praefatio Lectionum de historia vetere. 1852
• Lectæ Commentationes philo logicae tres in Instituti Regii Belgici Classe Tertia. Amsterdam, 1853 ( Online)
• Commentatio de Sinceritate Graeci sermonis in Graecorum scriptis post Aristotelem Graviter depravata. Amsterdam, 1853 ( Online)
• Fragmenta ( deperditarum orationum ). 1854
• Protrepticus ad studia humanitatis .... 1854
• Adhortatio ad comilitones, qua Lectiones de litteris Graecis et de Antiquitatibus Romanis. Leiden, 1856 ( Online)
• Hyperidis Oratio Funebris recens reperta. Leiden, 1858 (), 1877
• Orationes duae - Ho Epitaphios logos et Huper Euxenippou. Leiden 1877
• De Philostrati libello peri gymnastikēs recens repertories. Leiden 1859 ( Online)
• In memoriam Jani Gerardi Hulleman. 1862
• Miscellanea critica quibus continentur observationes criticae in Scriptores graecos praesertim Homerum et Demosthenem. Leiden 1876
• Observationes criticae et palaeographicae ad Dionysii Halicarnassensis Antiquitates romanas. Leiden, 1877