WOLF, FRIEDRICH AUGUST 17N9-1524) - A German classical scholar, born at lIaynrode. Prussian Saxony. lie studied at GUttingen and began his career as a teacher in the seminary at Meld in 1779, then became rector of the gymna sium at Osterode (1782), and in 1783 was called to the chair of philosophy and pedagogy at Valle. where he taught until the university was closed after the battle of Jena (18013). Wolf founded his teaching upon the proposition that classical study or should prop erly deal with all phases of the life and thought of antiquity, as expressed in all the evidence, both literary and monumental, that has been pre served. He saw in classical antiquity a model public and private life, resting on the highest ideals, and the development of the study of an tiquity along broad lines since his time may be largely traced to his influence.
In 1507 Wolf went to Berlin, where he was active in the founding of the new university. He became involved in a number of petty quarrels, and in April, 1824, he undertook a journey to Southern France, in the hope of regaining his impaired health, but died at Marseilles in August of the same year. Wolf's fame rests chiefly upon his Prolegomena ad llomeram, published at Halle in 1795. In this work lie traced the history of the Homeric poems from about B.C. 950, the (late at which he placed the maturity of Ionic poetry, to the time of Pisistratus (about D.c. 550). and endeavored to show that the Iliad and the Odyssey as we now have them have been materially changed from their original form, and that they are made up of separate poems. not all by the same author. but he did not deny the existence of a personal Homer, as has often been stated. This view is not entirely original with Wolf, as many of his argu ments had been anticipated by Giambattista Vico (whose work. however, was not known to Wolf), aml by Robert Wood, but he was able to enforce his theory with many new arguments drawn from the scholia of the Venice manuscript of Homer, which had been published by Villmson in 17S8. The Prolegomena called forth a storm of criti cism and attack. and the Homeric question, as the question of 'one or many Homers' came to be called, easily overshadowed all other philo logical discussions of the last century. (See
nom Es.) Although many of Wolf's arguments, especially his principal argument based upon the age of writing in Greece, have been seriously weakened by later discoveries, the book remains of fundamental importance for the student, and the minute examination of the Homeric writings which the Prolegomena called forth has been of inestimable value for the knowledge and appre ciation of the 1101111A.
Aside from the Prolegomena, and editions of Honer (Iliad, Halle, 1794; Iliad and Odyssey, Leipzig, 1804-1807). Wolf's works include an edition of Demosthenes's speech Against Leptines, with an introduction and a commentary (1789) ; editions of Plato's Symposium (1782) ; Hesiod's Theoguny ( 1783 ) ; selections from Lucian (1791) : the history of Herodian (1792) ; Cicero's Qtarstiones Tusculanw (1792; 4th NI, 1825) ; Cicero's speeches Post Reditum in Smith, Dc Douro ad Ponlifiees, De Ilaruspicum Re sponsis,, and Pro Marcella (1801)—wrongly re garded as spurious by Wolf ; Suctonius (1802) ; and selected dialogues of Plato—the Euthyphro, Apology, and ('Tito (1812 and 1820). llis edi tions of the Clouds of Aristophanes (1812) and a part of the Aeharnians (1811) are accom panied by a translation. Other works include: Gcsehichte der rota (schen Lit treater (1787) ; Fer ia ischtc .1lifsatz..e in late inischer vad deutschcr Sprache A 71(Ilelif —a periodical, with interesting sketches of English philologists (Berlin, 1817-1820). Several of his writings were published after his death—so his Torlesungen fiber the ricr ersten Orsiinge von. Ho mers flats, edited by USIeri (183101); Enrylao piano der Ph ilologir, by Stockman!' (1831; 241 ed. 18451 : Darstellungeu der Altertumstrissensehaft, by Ifotrmann (1839) ; and Consilia Scholustica, by Faliseh (1829-30). A collection of Wolf's minor works was published by Bernhardy 1809 ) . Consult: t ti son, t;ssuys ( )x ford, 889 I Ilanhatt, 1:rinnerunglit an Friedrich .1 uqust WWI (Basel, 1825) ; Lebot und stud it a u gust Wolf s, des i lologrn Arnoldt, Prirdrieh August Wog' in &einem I 'Thalia isse zum Sehitlirt Nen and zto Plidagogik (13rtinswick, 1801.02) ; Bernays, Gorthes Bricfr an Wolf (Berliti, 1808) ; Ilursian, Geschichtt der klussischen Philologic in Deutsch land ( Mtutich, 1883).