Background
He was born at Strasbourg, the son of a pastor of the church of Saint Thomas.
Librarian philologist university professor
He was born at Strasbourg, the son of a pastor of the church of Saint Thomas.
After visiting Paris, London and the principal cities of Germany, he became assistant professor of philosophy (1770) at University of Strasbourg. When the French Revolution broke out, he was banished. In 1794 he returned, and after the reorganization of the Academy in 1809 was appointed professor of Greek.
In 1826 he was decorated by the Royal Society of London.
From an early age his favourite subjects were philosophy (especially Scottish moral philosophy as represented by John Hutchinson and Adam Ferguson) and Oriental languages. Greek and Latin he took up later, and although he owes his reputation to his editions of Greek authors, he was always diffident as to his classical attainments.
