Karl Friedrich Bahrdt | |
|---|---|
 Karl Friedrich Bahrdt | |
| Pronunciation | German pronunciation:[kaʁlˈfʁiːdʁɪçˈbaːɐ̯t] |
| Born | 25 August 1741 |
| Died | 23 April 1792(1792-04-23) (aged 50) |
| Occupation(s) | Biblical scholar, theologian, and polemicist |
Karl Friedrich Bahrdt[1][2] (German pronunciation:[kaʁlˈfʁiːdʁɪçˈbaːɐ̯t]; 25 August 1741 – 23 April 1792), also spelledCarl Friedrich Bahrdt,[3][4] was an unorthodoxGermanProtestant biblical scholar, theologian, and polemicist. Controversial during his day, he is sometimes considered an "enfant terrible"[2] and one of the most immoral characters in German learning.[5]
Bahrdt was born on 25 August 1741 inBischofswerda,Upper Lusatia,[2] where his father was pastor of the local church.[1] The elder Bahrdt was later a professor,[1] canon, and general superintendent atLeipzig.[6] He received his early education at the celebrated school ofPforta,[1] but some commenters have found his training to have been grossly neglected.[6]
At sixteen,[6] he enrolled in theUniversity of Leipzig, where he studied underChristian August Crusius,[1] who was then head of the theological faculty. The boy varied the monotony of his studies by pranks which revealed his unbalanced character, including an attempt to raise spirits with the aid ofDr Faust'sHöllenzwang [de].[6]
After graduation, he lectured onbiblical exegesis for a time as an adjunct to his father[1] before becoming acatechist (Katechet) at the church ofSt Peter. He proved an eloquent and popular preacher and returned to the university as a visiting professor (professor extraordinarius) of biblicalphilology.[6] He published a popular book of devotions,The Christian in Solitude, but was required to resign his positions and leave the Leipzig in 1768 on account of his irregular conduct.[1]
Christian Adolph Klotz was then able to secure him the chair inbiblical antiquities at theUniversity of Erfurt. As the post was unpaid and Bahrdt was now married, he made his actual living as aninn-keeper and from private tutoring. Once he completed his doctorate of theology atErlangen, he was able to persuade the faculty at Erfurt to appoint him professor designate of theology and began reading lectures. His orthodoxy had by this time completely vanished: Bahrdt was now an extreme rationalist and determined to popularize the position.[1] He was not dismissed on this account, however, but left Erfurt in 1771 on account of his debts[6] and the personal and professional quarrels he had become embroiled in with his colleagues.[1]
He left for a post as professor of theology and preacher at theUniversity of Giessen. His personal behavior was no less or more objectionable than elsewhere, but his publication ofGod's Recent Revelations in Letters and Stories (Neueste Offenbarungen Gottes in Briefen und Erzählungen) between 1773 and 1775 made plain his departure from official doctrine. The work—a "model version" of theNew Testament in modern German—occasioned a memorably scornful attack on its poor taste byGoethe[6] and prompted Bahrdt to again resign his position and relocate.[1]
He then served as the director of the educational institution (philanthropin) established byCarl Ulisses von Salis-Marschlins at hisChâteau de Marschlins.[1] It had languished sinceMartin Planta [de]'s death in 1772, but Bahrdt disliked the strict discipline maintained by von Salis, resigned in 1777, and prompted the closing of the school.[6]
Bahrdt next served as general superintendent atDürkheim-on-the-Hardt at the invitation of the count ofLeiningen-Dagsburg.[6] He also attempted to establish a new school atHeidesheim.[1] His luckless translation of the Bible followed him, however, and a 1778 decision of theCourt Council of the Empire prohibited him from holding any professorial office, lecturing in any capacity, or publishing any work on theology.[1] He again fled from his creditors and was imprisoned for a short period inDienheim.[7]
In 1779, he took refuge inHalle, now in dire poverty. There, he kept a tavern with abilliard table[6] near the town gate.[1] In spite of senate and theological opposition, he obtained permission from thePrussian ministerKarl Abraham von Zedlitz to lecture on subjects other than theology.[6] He would lecture in the morning on moral philosophy and then retire for the afternoon to his public house, which was largely patronized by students.[1] He repudiated his wife and lived with his mistress and their daughters.[6]
Compelled to write to earn additional income, he developed an astounding literary activity,[6] although most of his works are now considered comparatively worthless or even a caricature ofEnlightenment rationalism.[1] He directed all his efforts at the development of a "moral system" intended to replacesupernatural Christianity.[6]
Having become aFreemason at some point, Bahrdt founded a secret society to that purpose in 1787 called the German Union of the Two and Twenty, from its original number of members.[8][n 1] To make time for more writing, he gave up his lectures, although he opened a new inn atWeinberg near Halle.[6]
In 1789, he was arrested partly on account of apasquinade he had written concerning a religious edict passed by Prussia[1] the year before, owing to the religious reaction that set in upon the death ofFrederick the Great.[6] The king reduced the term to one year, which Bahrdt devoted to writing his autobiography,[1] "a mixture of lies, hypocrisy, and self-prostitution", along with indecent stories and coarse polemics.[6] The German Union was dissolved upon his arrest[10] and publicly exposed byJohann Joachim Christoph Bode's[6]More Notes than Text (Mehr Noten als Text).[9] Most of its members went on to join theIlluminati.[9]
Bahrdt died of a severe illness[1] inNietleben nearHalle on 23 April 1792.[2]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Bahrdt, Karl Friedrich",Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 3 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 211–212| International | |
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