Bekker’s Dissertation
In the bibliography of V Bécares Botas’ Diccionario de terminología gramatical griega, one can read:
Bekker, I., De Apollonii Alexandrini libris syntaxeos, diss. Halle, 1806
and for some time now I thought I should verify the reference since I wasn’t able to find the book in any library.
August Emanuel Bekker, as he called himself at that time, was indeed made doctor in 1806, a few days before he turned 21. His son Ernst Immanuel Bekker writes in ‘Erinnerungen an meinen Vater’ (Preussische Jahrbücher 29 (1872), p. 559; cf. the entry in the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie):
Im Frühling 06 wurde das Doktorexamen cum laude bestanden, die Dissertation “de Apollonii Alexandrini libris syntaxeos” ist nicht gedruckt. Der Promotion am 10. Mai folgte im Juli die Anstellung als Inspektor des filologischen Seminars, mit hundert Talern Gehalt.
The Universitätsarchiv contains only the Dissertationsurkunde, but not the dissertation itself. This isn’t surprising, of course, given that the work had not been printed. Unfortunately, however, the dissertation could not to be found either at the Abteilung Sondersammlungen of the ULB Sachsen-Anhalt. This might well have to do with Napoleon’s closure of the university from October 1806 until May 1808. In all likelihood, then, Bekker’s primitiae are lost.
(Many thanks to Claudia Frank and Dr Marita von Cieminski from the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt for their friendly assistance.)
Wednesday, 12 December 2007 :: {Apollonian Bibliography, Apollonian Scholars} :: You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
