harvest which his beneficence has sown; may the olivebranch of peace long give coolness and shade to his exalted head, and his prospering people; and may the glad light of an inspiring joy, which the happiness of his illustrious son, the heir of his regal and domestic virtues, kindles on this delightful day in his paternal heart, encompass all his life with cheering brightness, down to the last moment, which is to remove him from this mortal state; and may then a grateful posterity exclaim to each of his successors, Be as wise and beneficent, be as beloved and happy, as Maximilian Joseph. PHILOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE. DAVID RUHNKEN TO JOHN DANIEL RITTER. Leyden, July 29, 1747. WHENEVER I think of you and your favors to me,-and I think of them very often,-I am vexed with myself, that I came away from Saxony without taking leave of you. But since this and other foibles of my youth have, as I hope, passed away, I feel assured they will not be treasured up against me, by any one, and, least of all, by you, whom I know to be the kindest of men. You will never see cause to regret having trained me as a disciple; for I shall always cherish towards you sentiments of filial regard, and take pleasure in making your merits known to the learned of other nations. I have long been in doubt, whether to venerate your worth in silence, as heretofore, or to address you by letter. But my affection has overcome my modesty. I know very well that this correspondence will be no honor to you in Wittenberg; but, if I am not mistaken, it will afford you some pleasure, and be of some advantage. * * * I will now give you a brief sketch of what has transpired x ! with me since I left you. No sooner had I arrived in Holland, that nursery of men of learning,-than G. Meermann, a young man of superior talents, and an admirer of your productions, altogether unexpectedly made provision for me. He had perceived my ardent love for study; he therefore made me tutor to his younger brother. But this was not enough. He gave his parents such accounts of me, that his father took the place of father to me till his death; and his mother is a mother to me to this very hour. Consequently, I spent nearly three years in directing the studies of Meermann, the younger brother, in the university of Leyden, and in hearing the lectures of distinguished professors. In the study of civil law, Schelting was my teacher; in history, and Roman antiquities, Francis Oudendorp; in Greek literature, now my favorite study, John Alberti, and, most of all, that extraordinary man, Hemsterhuys. To have been permitted to enjoy the instructions and intimate acquaintance of this man, I regard as my highest felicity. With a mind almost superhuman, and an exhaustless store of learning, he, of himself, restores to the university of Leyden the splendor it had under Scaliger and Salmasius. On the expiration of this period of nearly three years, the excellent J. P. D'Orville invited me, on the most advantageous terms, to his house, where I still remain, engaged in my favorite pursuits. My Maecenas allows me to make an excursion nearly every week from Amsterdam to Leyden, to which I am attracted no less by the public library, than by the splendor of the university. * * * Our Dutch critics are very nice judges of the merits of others. Of the numerous throng of German philologists, only nine or ten are held in any reputation by them; and I congratulate you, my dear Ritter, that you belong to that small number. No class of men are held in greater detestation here, than those shameless compilers, who, though they say some useful things, are led, for the sake |