Briefwechsel zwischen Christian Garve und Georg Joachim Zollikofer nebst einigen Briefen des erstern an andere Freunde
Breslau: Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn, 1804. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 466pp. Marbled paper covered boards with red label at spine. Red page edges. Printed on high quality paper. Letter exchange between acclaimed Enlightenment philosopher Christian Garve and Swiss theologist and church song composer Georg Joachim Zellikofer (for both: see below). Minor age wear. In German. Very good condition. vg. Item #19260
On Christian Garve (Source: Public Domain)
Christian Garve (1742-1798) was one of the best-known philosophers of the late Enlightenment along with Immanuel Kant and Moses Mendelssohn. Christian Garve was born into a family of manual workers. He studied in Frankfurt an der Oder and Halle (Saale). In 1766 he gained his Master's degree in philosophy. From 1770 until 1772 he was Extraordinary Professor of mathematics and logic in Leipzig. From 1772 he was in Breslau, where he was active as a bookseller. The greatest part of his life was however spent staying with his mother in Breslau. In this city he also became a member of the Masonic Lodge "Friedrich zum goldenen Zepter" ("Frederick with the Golden Scepter").
Garve became well-known particularly for his intensive activity as a translator (producing versions of, e.g., Cicero's De officiis and Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations). He composed psychological, moral and economic texts and reviews for the Neue Bibliothek der schönen Wissenschaften und der freyen Künste ("New Library of the Beautiful Sciences and Free Arts"). He was strongly marked by the influence of the English and Scottish Enlightenment as well as Stoic ethics. He never formulated his essentially empirical philosophy in terms of a system, publishing his thought in the form of remarks and essays. As a result he was reproached for being merely a shallow Popularphilosoph (popular philosopher), a reputation he has retained.
Of interest is his engagement with Immanuel Kant The intellectual engagement between Kant and Garve extended up to Garve's death in 1798.
On Georg Joachim Zollikofer (Source: Public Domain)
Georg Joachim Zollikofer (1730 - 1788) was a Protestant Swiss theologian and composer of Church songs. Starting from 1751, Zollikofer studied at the universities of Bremen, Hanau and Utrecht. In 1754 he started working as a preacher in Murten, which he left after a year for Monsheim (Pfalz), where he met his future wife Susanna Regina le Roy kennen. In 1758 he moved to Leipzig where he staid and preached until the end of his life. The Enlightenment became a common topic for his sermons, which attracted a large followership. He died in 1788 at the age of 58.
Price: $150.00