The letters of a Jewish researcher, breaking through some of the conventions of science and friendship. The letters written to Paul Heyse by the strictly religious Jew and outstanding classical philologist Jacob Bernays, who maintained his stance in Protestant surroundings, are a moving witness of a friendship. Full of wit, irony and tender devotion, broken up by moments of resignation, Bernays letters not only reflect his intense relationship with the later winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, but also his friendship with the historian Theodor Mommsen.
The letters, written between 1849 and 1878, provide an insight into central themes of Bernays` research, for example his work on a book on Catharsis in Aristotle, which was to become an important work for Nietzsche, Freud and Breuer, and his extensive studies of world literature.
They allow the reader to share the thoughts of one of the most incorruptible minds of the epoch, providing a precise and accurate analysis of the political events of the time. In this way, they are an »exemplary piece of educational history, as close as you can get to the horizons of world literature« (Bernhard Böschenstein).
The Correspondents
Jacob Bernays (1824-1881) was a classical philologist, from 1853 a lecturer at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (Franconian Foundation), from 1866 Director of the University Library in Bonn.
Paul Heyse (1830-1914) was an author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1910). His work includes many novellas, novels and poems, and was widely read during his lifetime.
