Isaac Casaubon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isaac Casaubon
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| Born | 18 February 1559 Geneva, then Republic of Geneva |
| Died | 1 July 1614 (aged 55) London, England |
| Occupation | Classical scholar, philologist |
| Alma mater | University of Geneva |
Isaac Casaubon (born February 18, 1559 – died July 1, 1614) was a very important scholar who studied ancient Greek and Roman texts. He was also a philologist, meaning he studied languages and their history. He worked first in France and later in England.
His son, Méric Casaubon, also became a famous classical scholar.
Contents
Isaac Casaubon's Life Story
Growing Up in France
Isaac Casaubon was born in Geneva. His parents were French Huguenots, who were Protestants who had to leave France because of their religion. When Isaac was three, his family moved back to France and settled in a town called Crest. His father, Arnaud Casaubon, was a minister for the Huguenot church there.
Isaac's early education was unusual. Until he was 19, his father taught him everything. His family often had to hide in the mountains from Catholic groups. It was in a mountain cave, after a terrible event called the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, that Isaac had his first Greek lesson.
Becoming a Scholar in Geneva
At 19, Isaac went to the University of Geneva. He studied Greek with a teacher named Franciscus Portus. When Portus died in 1581, he suggested that Isaac, who was only 22, should take his place. Isaac stayed at Geneva as a Greek professor until 1596.
He worked very hard to become a great Greek and classical scholar. He spent all his extra money on books. He even copied old texts that weren't printed yet. He also connected with scholars from other countries, like Joseph Scaliger, who became a good friend through letters.
Moving to Montpellier and Paris
In 1596, Isaac was invited to teach at the University of Montpellier in France. He was given important titles, but he was not treated well and wasn't paid enough. He decided that editing Greek books was a better job for him.
He started editing important works like Strabo's geography and Theophrastus's Characteres. His work on Theophrastus showed his special way of explaining texts in great detail. He also began working on his biggest project, editing and commenting on a book called Deipnosophistae by Athenaeus.
In 1598, Isaac went to Lyon to oversee the printing of his Athenaeus. He briefly visited Paris and met King Henry IV of France. The king wanted Isaac to help fix up the University of Paris.
Isaac was asked to be a judge in a debate between a Protestant leader and a Catholic cardinal. This put him in a difficult spot because he was a Protestant, but the debate was set up so the Protestant side would lose. This made some Protestants think he might change his religion. Both Catholics and Protestants tried to convince him to join their side.
King Henry IV offered Isaac a pension (regular payment) to stay in Paris. Isaac became the king's sub-librarian in 1604.
Life in Paris
Isaac stayed in Paris until King Henry IV was killed in 1610. These ten years were a great time for him. He was known as a very smart person. He had money, and he could practice his Huguenot religion, though he had to travel outside the city to do so. Most importantly, he had access to many Greek books and old manuscripts, which he needed for his studies.
Even with these benefits, Isaac was still worried about his religion. Being a Protestant in Paris was not always safe. He felt pressure from both Catholics, who wanted him to convert, and Protestants, who thought he was giving in too much. King Henry IV, who liked Isaac, even tried to convince him to become Catholic.
Moving to England
After King Henry IV's death, the pressure on Isaac to convert became stronger. So, in October 1610, he decided to go to England. King James I welcomed him warmly and often asked him to discuss religious topics.
English bishops were happy to find that Isaac's studies had led him to views similar to the Church of England's. Isaac, even though he was not a priest, was given a special position at Canterbury Cathedral and a yearly payment of £300. King James I even said, "I will have Mr Casaubon paid before me, my wife, and my barnes."
Isaac was supposed to return to France, but the queen regent there wouldn't send his books. King James had to ask for them specifically. Isaac still said he was ready to go back to France if called.
Isaac found great success in England. Bishop John Overall let Isaac and his family live in his home for a year. Bishop Lancelot Andrewes also became his friend and took him to Cambridge and Oxford, where he was celebrated by scholars.
However, Isaac also faced problems. Other people at court were jealous of him. His windows were broken, and his children were bothered in the streets. These attacks seemed to be because he was French and couldn't speak English well. This made it hard for him to make friends and exposed him to insults.
Jesuit writers, who were Catholic, also attacked him in pamphlets, saying he had sold his beliefs for English money. The king and bishops also kept asking him to write pamphlets about the king's power. They eventually asked him to write a book against the popular Annals of Baronius, a Catholic history book.
In 1614, he published a book called De rebus sacris et ecclesiasticis exercitationes XVI. In this book, he studied some ancient texts called the Corpus Hermeticum. People used to think these texts were very old, from the time of Moses. But Isaac showed that they were actually written much later, around 200 or 300 AD. This was a very important discovery.
Isaac Casaubon died in London in 1614 at the age of 55. He had a health problem with his bladder, but his hard work and worry about his book on Baronius made his health worse. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, a famous church in London.
Isaac Casaubon's Important Works
Isaac Casaubon edited and wrote comments on many ancient texts. These included works by Persius, Suetonius, Aeschylus, and the Scriptores Historiae Augustae. His biggest work was his detailed study of the Deipnosophistae by Athenaeus.
His book, Exercitationes in Baronium, was meant to show the problems in Baronius's history book. It was only a small part of what he planned, and it had limited success. However, his study of the Corpus Hermeticum was very important. He proved that these texts were much newer than people thought, changing how scholars understood them.
Isaac Casaubon wrote many letters in Latin to other scholars across Europe. These letters give us a great look into the daily life of a scholar in the 1500s. He also corresponded with the people who translated the King James Version of the Bible, helping them with their work.
Isaac Casaubon in Books
Isaac Casaubon's name has appeared in several books. For example, characters in Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco and Middlemarch by George Eliot are named Casaubon.
Anthony Grafton and Joanna Weinberg wrote a book showing that Isaac Casaubon also studied Hebrew and was interested in Jewish studies.
Works
- Casaubon, Isaac, De Satyrica Graecorum & Romanorum Satira, Paris, 1605.
See also
