Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

equired all French contributions to be translated into English before they were printed. 75
National sentiments are likely to have been at stake here: the ability to read French was
probably as widespread as competence in Latin among the fellows of the Royal Society, but
they obviously preferred not to see the language of their main rival on print in their own
periodical. Latin, however, remained a neutral affair. Conversely, during the years 1768-1774
the Philosophical Transactions were issued in a cheaper edition in Wittenberg. The articles
were all there, unabridged, but accompanied by extensive Latin prefaces to the benefit of
readers in Germany and Central Europe. 76 To them, Latin was evidently easier to understand
than English, whereas a German preface – while perhaps easy to read – might have been an
offence to potential readers whose mother tongue was not German.
A similar lesson is learnt from the seminal Journal des Sçavans (or Journal des Savants, in a
modernised spelling) that was issued in Paris. Here, scientific news from all countries of
Europe was reviewed – in French, of course. Most French publishers had ceased to publish
books in Latin by the latter half of the eighteenth century, but the Journal continued to review
titles that had been published in Latin elsewhere in Europe, and letters to the editors in that
language were rapidly translated into French, apparently by the editors themselves. In this
way, a character like Maximilianus Hell, thanks to his fluency in Latin, could communicate
with ease with his colleagues abroad without having to master French. 77
Beginning in 1753, an analogous journal for the German-speaking part of Europe, the
Göttingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen, was being issued by a leading body in the
German Enlightenment, the Royal Society of Sciences in Göttingen. Scientific works in all
European languages were reviewed here, and it is a cherished ‘treasure chest’ for historians
studying the history of science and learning in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
However, it is often forgotten that even a progressive group of scholars like the Royal Society
in Göttingen also promoted Latin. Thus, already in 1751, they had founded another periodical
devoted to scientific articles, not just reviews and summaries, named the Commentarii
Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Gottingensis. This purely Latin periodical continued (later
75 See for example the articles of Pehr Wargentin and Jérôme de Lalande in the Philosophical Transactions: their
contributions in Latin were published as they were submitted, only with an English title added. By contrast, their
French contributions were translated in their entirety before being printed.
76 Kronick 1990, p. 260; cf. Bernoulli 1771a, pp. 149-150.
77 Hell’s contributions to the Journal des Sçavans were all submitted in Latin, but translated into French by the
editorial board (cf. e.g. Hell 1767a). A separate journal presenting articles handed in to the Académie des
Sciences by its foreign correspondents allowed articles in Latin alongside French.
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