Jakob Bernays facts for kids

Jacob Bernays (born September 11, 1824 – died May 26, 1881) was an important German scholar. He studied and wrote about ancient languages, especially Greek, and also about philosophy.

His Life Story

Jacob Bernays was born in Hamburg, Germany. His family was Jewish. His father, Isaac Bernays, was a very learned rabbi who was known for giving sermons in German. Jacob's brother, Michael Bernays, also became a well-known scholar.

From 1844 to 1848, Jacob studied classical philology at the University of Bonn. This means he focused on the languages and writings of ancient Greece and Rome. He was a favorite student of his teachers there.

In 1853, he became a professor of classical philology at the new Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau. While there, he became good friends with Theodor Mommsen, a famous historian. Later, in 1866, Bernays returned to the University of Bonn. He became a special professor and the main librarian. He stayed in Bonn until he passed away on May 26, 1881. He left his collection of Hebrew books to the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau.

His Important Ideas

Jacob Bernays is best known for his book called Grundzüge der verlorenen Abhandlung des Aristoteles über Wirkung der Tragödie. In this book, he shared his ideas about catharsis. Catharsis is a Greek word that means a cleansing or release of strong emotions. Bernays thought that watching a tragedy (a sad play) could help people feel better by letting out their feelings. His ideas about catharsis greatly influenced famous thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.

Bernays was also the first scholar to suggest that Aristotle's book, Protrepticus, inspired Cicero to write his book, Hortensius. Bernays believed that by studying Cicero's Hortensius, we could learn more about Aristotle's lost Protrepticus.

His Books and Writings

Jacob Bernays wrote many important works, mostly about ancient Greek philosophers. Some of his main books include:

• Joseph Justus Scaliger (1855)
• Über das Phokylidische Gesicht (1856)
• Grundzüge der verlorenen Abhandlung des Aristoteles über Wirkung der Tragödie (1857)
• Über die Chronik des Sulpicius Severus (1861)
• Die Dialoge des Aristoteles im Verhältniss zu seinen übrigen Werken (1863)
• Theophrastos' Schrift über Frömmigkeit (1866)
• Die Heraklitischen Briefe (1869)
• Lucian und die Kyniker (1879)
• Zwei Abhandlungen über die Aristotelische Theorie des Dramas (1880)

The last book listed was actually a new edition of his 1857 work about Aristotle's theory of tragedy. This book caused a lot of discussion and debate among scholars.

See also

• Protrepticus (Aristotle)
• Hortensius (Cicero)