Admiring the Greeks with Roman eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin roots of German philhellenism
- Author
- Laura Loporcaro (UGent)
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- Project
- Abstract
- This paper argues for the underlying importance of Latin learning in a key text of German philhellenism, Friedrich August Wolf’s ‘Darstellung der Alterthums-Wissenschaft’ (1807). It contends that Wolf supported his educational authority by modelling himself on the Roman rhetorical writer Quintilian, and that he drew on him to formulate the notion of a philological encyclopaedia. First, this paper uncovers how Wolf’s self-staging at the start of the ‘Darstellung’ channels Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria. Then, it shows that Wolf argued that Altertumswissenschaft was ‘scientific’ because it was ‘encyclopaedic’, and that he drew on Quintilian not necessarily to conceptualize, but to formulate, this conception. Uncovering the presence of Quintilian in Wolf’s ‘Darstellung’, an influential programmatic text that asserted the superiority of Greece over Rome, this paper argues for the persistence of Latin learning, just as it was dismissed, as a key irony underlying this foundational work of modern classical philology.
- Keywords
- History of philology, Reception of Latin literature, Darstellung der Altertumswissenschaft, Institutio oratoria, WOLF, FRIEDRICH, AUGUST, ENCYCLOPEDIE
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JFEZQBQC2RVSAVSM9KB100YP
- MLA
- Loporcaro, Laura. “Admiring the Greeks with Roman Eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin Roots of German Philhellenism.” CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL, vol. 17, no. 1, 2025, pp. 19–31, doi:10.1093/crj/clae015.
- APA
- Loporcaro, L. (2025). Admiring the Greeks with Roman eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin roots of German philhellenism. CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL, 17(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clae015
- Chicago author-date
- Loporcaro, Laura. 2025. “Admiring the Greeks with Roman Eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin Roots of German Philhellenism.” CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL 17 (1): 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clae015.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Loporcaro, Laura. 2025. “Admiring the Greeks with Roman Eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin Roots of German Philhellenism.” CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL 17 (1): 19–31. doi:10.1093/crj/clae015.
- Vancouver
- 1.Loporcaro L. Admiring the Greeks with Roman eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin roots of German philhellenism. CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL. 2025;17(1):19–31.
- IEEE
- [1]L. Loporcaro, “Admiring the Greeks with Roman eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin roots of German philhellenism,” CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 19–31, 2025.
@article{01JFEZQBQC2RVSAVSM9KB100YP,
abstract = {{This paper argues for the underlying importance of Latin learning in a key text of German philhellenism, Friedrich August Wolf’s ‘Darstellung der Alterthums-Wissenschaft’ (1807). It contends that Wolf supported his educational authority by modelling himself on the Roman rhetorical writer Quintilian, and that he drew on him to formulate the notion of a philological encyclopaedia. First, this paper uncovers how Wolf’s self-staging at the start of the ‘Darstellung’ channels Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria. Then, it shows that Wolf argued that Altertumswissenschaft was ‘scientific’ because it was ‘encyclopaedic’, and that he drew on Quintilian not necessarily to conceptualize, but to formulate, this conception. Uncovering the presence of Quintilian in Wolf’s ‘Darstellung’, an influential programmatic text that asserted the superiority of Greece over Rome, this paper argues for the persistence of Latin learning, just as it was dismissed, as a key irony underlying this foundational work of modern classical philology.}},
author = {{Loporcaro, Laura}},
issn = {{1759-5134}},
journal = {{CLASSICAL RECEPTIONS JOURNAL}},
keywords = {{History of philology,Reception of Latin literature,Darstellung der Altertumswissenschaft,Institutio oratoria,WOLF, FRIEDRICH, AUGUST,ENCYCLOPEDIE}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{19--31}},
title = {{Admiring the Greeks with Roman eyes : F. A. Wolf, Quintilian, and the Latin roots of German philhellenism}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clae015}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2025}},
}
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