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This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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Americanisms: The English Of The New World
Maximilian Schele de Vere
C. Scribner & company, 1872
Language Arts & Disciplines; Linguistics; Americanisms; Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics; Reference / Dictionaries
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Maximilian Schele De Vere was a Swedish-American philologist, a founding member of the American Philological Society.
Background
Maximilian was born on November 1, 1820 in Wexiö, Sweden. He was the son of a Swedish freiherr, von Schele, officer in the Prussian army, and a French mother named De Vere. Followed his father in allegiance to Prussia; in appearance and disposition he was characteristically French.
As a child he evinced great aptitude for languages, early mastering Slavic, French, and German, and so augmenting his knowledge by study and travel that he had won reputation as a linguist before he reached his majority.
Education
His formal education was obtained at the Universities of Bonn, Berlin (Ph. D. , 1841), and Greifswald (Juris Utriusque Doctor, 1842).
Career
After a year or more in the Prussian diplomatic and military services, in 1843 Maximilian emigrated to Boston, where he gave private instruction in languages and studied modern Greek at Harvard. His refined and amiable nature combined with his attainments to win him many distinguished friends, and when, September 23, 1844, he was elected professor of modern languages at the University of Virginia, he was recommended for the chair by Longfellow, Josiah Quincy, and Abbott Lawrence. In this capacity, he served the state with distinction and ability until advancing age compelled his resignation, fifty-one years later.
He offered successful courses in comparative philology, at a period when few American colleges had recognized the value of the comparative method. His classes were extremely popular, the students, under the prevailing elective system, seeking out Professor Schele as well for the courtesy and character.
His published studies of the genesis and development of the English language were original and in advance of similar effort elsewhere: among his more valuable works were his Outlines of Comparative Philology (1853), Studies in English (1867). He performed an enormous amount of scholarly labor, his other publications including, besides his work for the Standard Dictionary (1893 - 95) and some graceful addresses, articles for magazines and encyclopedias, historical romances, several volumes of popular science, translations from contemporary European authors (especially Friedrich Spielhagen and Emile Gaboriau), a Spanish and a French grammar and other language texts, and his valuable compilation, Students of the University of Virginia, a Semi-Centennial Catalogue (1878).
His own death occurred in Washington, District of Columbia, whither he had removed after his retirement.
Achievements
Maximilian Schele De Vere was the first, who founded courses in comparative philology in the United States. He was professor of modern languages in the University of Virginia for fifty-one years. His famous works include: Outlines of Comparative Philology (1853); Stray Leaves from the Book of Nature (1856); Studies in English; Glimpses of Europe in 1848; Romance of American History; Wonders of the Deep; etc.
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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)
Politics
Schele De Vere supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–1865).
Personality
Schele De Vere was a man of great interest and enthusiasm with which he presented his subject.
Interests
In addition to his interests in French, Spanish, Italian, and German languages and literatures and also the literary and political history of these nations, he deserves remembrance for having inaugurated the systematic study of Anglo-Saxon.
Connections
Schele was twice married, each time to a daughter of Judge Alexander Rives of Albemarle County, Virginia; first, on July 25, 1849, to Eliza Wydown Rives and, nine years after her death in 1851, on March 21, 1860, to Lucy Brown Rives. A daughter by his first wife died in 1864.
