Daniel Albert Wyttenbach - Early Life

Early Life

He was born at Bern, of a noble family, and was extremely proud of his lineage, particularly his descent from Thomas Wyttenbach, professor of theology in Basel at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, who had taught Huldrych Zwingli and other distinguished pupils.

Wyttenbach's own father was also a theological professor of considerable note, first at the University of Bern, and then at the University of Marburg. He moved to Marburg in 1756, partly because he had studied there under the famous Christian Wolff, and embodied the philosophical principles of his master in his own theological teaching.

Young Wyttenbach entered the University of Marburg at the age of fourteen, and studied there for four years. His parents intended him to be a Lutheran pastor. The first two years were given up to general education, principally to mathematics, "philology", philosophy, and history. The professor of mathematics, August Gottlieb Spangenberg, greatly influenced young Wyttenbach. He is said to have taught his subject with great clearness, and with equal seriousness and piety, often referring to God as the supreme mathematician, who had constructed all things by number, measure and weight.

"Philology" in the German universities of that age meant Hebrew and Greek. These two languages were generally handled by the same professor, and were taught almost solely to theological students. Wyttenbach's university course at Marburg was troubled about the middle of the time by mental unrest, due to the fascination exercised over him by John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. It was Spangenberg who helped him recover. The principal study of the third year was metaphysics, which took Wyttenbach entirely captive. The fourth and last year was to be devoted to theology and Christian dogma.

Up to that time, Wyttenbach had submitted passively to his father's wishes concerning his career, but he now turned away from theological lectures, and devoted his leisure to the task of deepening and extending his knowledge of Greek literature. He possessed at the time, as he tells us, no more acquaintance with Greek than his own pupils at a later time could acquire from him during four months' study. He had access only to the bare texts of the authors. Wyttenbach was undaunted, and four years' persistent study gave him a knowledge of Greek such as few Germans of that time possessed. His love for philosophy carried him towards the Greek philosophers, especially Plato. During this period Ruhnken's notes on the Platonic lexicon of Timaeus fell into his hands. David Ruhnken was for him almost a superhuman being, with whom he imagined himself conversing in the spirit.

At twenty-two, he determined to go elsewhere in search of the aids to study which Marburg could not afford. His father, realizing the strength of his son's pure passion for scholarship, permitted and even advised him to seek Christian Gottlob Heine at the University of Göttingen. From Heine he received the utmost kindness and encouragement, and he was urged to dedicate to Ruhnken the first-fruits of his scholarships. Wyttenbach set to work on some notes to Julian, Eunapius and Aristaenetus, and Heine wrote to Ruhnken to obtain his favourable consideration for the work. Before it reached him, Ruhnken wrote a kind letter to Wyttenbach, which the recipient "read, re-read and kissed," and another on receipt of the tract, in which the great scholar declared that he had not expected to find in Germany such knowledge of Greek, such power of criticism, and such mature judgment, especially in one so young. By Heine's advice, he worked hard at Latin, which he knew less thoroughly than Greek, and Heine praised his progress in Latin style to Ruhnken and Valckenaer.

He then wrote to ask their advice about his scheme of coming to the Netherlands to follow the profession of a scholar. Ruhnken encouraged Wyttenbach to follow his own example, for he too had been designed by his parents for the Christian ministry in Germany, but had settled at Leiden on the invitation of Tiberius Hemsterhuis. Valckenaer agreed, but added that Wyttenbach's letter would have been pleasanter to him had it been free from excessive compliments. These letters were forwarded to the elder Wyttenbach, with a strong recommendation from Heine. The old man had been in Leiden in his youth, and admired the scholarship of the Netherlands; so his consent was easily won.

Wyttenbach reached Leiden in 1770. He spent a year learning the language of the people, attending the lectures of the great duumviri of Leiden, and collating manuscripts of Plutarch.