B - Humanities

2006

B — Humanities

Christian Gottlob Heyne (1729-1812): Bibliographie zu Leben und Werk, gedruckte Veröffentlichungen, zeitgenössische Schriften zu seiner Rezeption, Forschungsliteratur [Christian Gottlob Heyne (1729-1812): Bibliography on his Life and Work: Published Writings, Contemporary Criticism, and Research Literature]. Fee-Alexandra Haase. Heidelberg: Palatina-Verlag Paulus, 2002. xi, 205 p. 32 cm. ISBN 3-932608-19-4: EUR 60 [06-1-022]

The subtitle of this bibliography on classical philologist, archaeologist, school reformer, journal editor, and long-time librarian of the University of Göttingen, Christian Gottlob Heyne, does not accurately reflect this work’s actual content. The great majority of the entries are works by Heyne, while the titles about this life and work form a comparatively small portion of the bibliography. It is organized into five sections: 1)published writings, 2) attributed works, 3)editorial publications, 4)academic lectures, and 5)secondary literature on Heyne’s life and work. The first section is by far the largest of the five, and its many subsections reflect the variety and quantity of this author’s intellectual output. In addition to entries for collected works and monographic publications there are citations for over 4,000 reviews, 171 essays, 76 academic speeches, 57 forewords, and 430 academic reports, among others. The remaining four sections are much briefer. The third section is a listing of publications for which Heyne served as editor. It contains citations for 58 editions of works of Greek and Roman literature,(which were continuously reprinted both inside and outside Germany until the late 19th century), and the influential periodicals Commentationes Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Recentiores and Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen, both of which Heyne edited for many decades. The fourth section is an impressive list of Heyne’s works as a professor of poetics and eloquence during the years 1763-1812. The last section is a chronological listing of secondary scholarship on Heyne covering the years 1765-2000.

The quality of workmanship in this bibliography leaves much to be desired. The introductory information on Heyne is superficial and fails to adequately convey his work and its significance. The author’s presentation of the structure of her bibliography can only be described as chaotic. The discussion of the individual sections does not always correspond with the actual table of contents.(At one point the introduction speaks of six main sections, although there are only five). Arrangement of the citations within most sections is alphabetical. In some cases, however, such as the subsection on academic speeches, with its many almost identical titles, a thematic arrangement with chronological sub-arrangement would have been more useful. As to the citations themselves many are less full than one could wish. In Section 6 the most frequently cited author is “Anonymous” and in Section 1 many citations lack a publisher, publication place, and date. With more bibliographical research much of this data could have been supplied. Despite these flaws in workmanship, however, this bibliography will be a useful resource for anyone seriously interested this author. [sh/jc]

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