Gustav Seyffarth

Gustav Seyffarth ( born July 13, 1796 in Uebigau, † November 17, 1885 in New York, United States) was an early Saxon Egyptologist. As the successor of the philologist Friedrich August Spohn at the University of Leipzig, he took over his estate, which housed a Entzifferungsversuch the hieroglyphs.

Training

The son of the Lutheran theologians Traugott August Seyffarth (1762-1831), the parish schools had visited his father 's service area initially. At fourteen, he came to St. Afra in Meissen near Dresden. There he perfected his knowledge of Latin and Greek, and went with excellent products at the University of Leipzig. He enrolled for theology. After four years, he received the master's and doctorate degrees with special compliments to the Ministry. Then he was preparing to take over a theologisichen professorship. Meanwhile, he studied Oriental languages ​​. In 1823 he received permission to lecture. When in 1824 the classical scholar Spohn died Seyffarth received the order to continue his work on Egyptian hieroglyphs. With the sighting of the estate he came to the conclusion that Spohns claims must be checked at the papyrus collections of European museums. For the travel required for this he received a small grant from the Saxon Ministry of Culture.

Europe trip and the "duel " with Champollion

To review and drafting of this experiment he undertook a journey to all the museums and collections in which Aegyptiaca were. He realized that hieroglyphs either whole words or reproductions individual letters, but groups of consonants, which he described as syllables. Deutsche mark or determinative he transferred but also contrary to modern transcription.

Historically, he ordered the Egyptian as a precursor of Coptic in the Semitic language group.

On a trip to Italy, he was able to reconstruct the Royal Canon of Turin. On the same trip he was challenged in Rome to a debate duel by his colleague and rival Jean -François Champollion. Although Champollion could read only one - konsonantige characters and thus was far behind Seyffarth, Champollion took the ignorant listener for themselves.

As an archaeologist in Leipzig

Back in Leipzig tried to publish the results of his study trips, but failed Seyffarth. In 1830 he was appointed extraordinary professor of archeology at the University of Leipzig, where he in 1840 prompted the purchase of the first Egyptian exhibit for the later Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig.

He did not make it to fight against the network of Egyptologists, which was built by the Prussian state officials Bunsen and Champollion represented as cryptanalysts of the hieroglyphs. Seyffarth had few pupils; one of the most famous was Maximilian Adolph Uhlemann.

Seyffarth was forced to give up his place in Leipzig, and emigrated in 1854 to the United States. There he first worked in St. Louis as a teacher. From 1859 he lived in New York, where he explored the local Egyptian objects and 1885 died.

Despite great talent and effort did not succeed Seyffarth to argue against the evolving establishment of Egyptologists in Paris, Berlin and Pisa own position. With the British Egyptologist John Gardner Wilkinson and George Rawlinson, with whom he shared many views, he never took up connection.

Works

  • De lingua et Literis veterum Aegyptiorum (1825 )
  • Clavis Aegyptiaca (1826 )
  • De Hieroglyphica Aegyptiorum scriptura (1826 )
  • Rudimenta Hieroglyphices (1826 )
  • Thesaurus Copticus libri quattuor (1829 )
  • Alpha Beta genuina Aegyptiorum (1840 )
  • The principles of mythology and ancient religious history and the hieroglyphic systems de Sacy 's, Palin's, Young's, Spohn 's, Champollion 's, Janelli 's and the author (1843 ) online version
  • Chronologia sacra. Studies on the birth year of the Lord ( 1846) online version
  • Grammatica Aegyptiaca. First instructions for Uebersetzen ancient Egyptian literature works together with the history of hieroglyphics key ( 1855) online version
  • Theological writings of the ancient Egyptians. After the Turin papyrus translated for the first time (1855 ) online version
  • Overview of new discoveries in Biblical chronology, general world history and Egyptian archeology, together with translation of the first sacred book of the ancient Egyptians ( 1857) online version
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