SCHLEGEL, AUGUST WILHELM VON, German man of letters, born at Hanover; studied theology at first, but turned to literature and began with poetry; settled in Jena, and in 1798 became professor of Fine Arts there; was associated in literary work with Madame de Stael for 14 years; delivered “Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature” at Vienna in 1708, and finished with a professorship of Literature at Bonn, having previously distinguished himself by translations into German of Shakespeare, Dante, &c.; he devoted himself to the study of Sanskrit when at Bonn, where he had Heine for pupil (1767-1845).
SCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH VON, German critic and author, born at Hanover, brother of preceding, joined his brother at Jena, and collaborated with him; became a zealous promoter of all the Romantic movements, and sought relief for his yearnings in the bosom of the Catholic Church; wrote lectures, severally published, on the “Philosophy of History,” of “Literature,” of “Life,” and on “Modern History,” and book on Sanskrit and the philosophy of India (1772-1829).
SCHLEICHER, AUGUST, German philologist, did eminent service by his studies in the Indo-Germanic languages, and particularly in the Slavonic languages (1821-1868).
SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH ERNEST DANIEL, great German theologian, born at Breslau; brought up among the Moravians, his mind revolted against the narrow orthodoxy of their creed, which was confirmed by his study of Plato and the philosophy of the school of Kant, as it for him culminated in Schelling, though the religious feeling he inherited never left him; under these influences he addressed himself to the task of elaborating a theology in which justice should be done to the claims of the intellect and the emotions of the heart, and he began by translating Plato; soon he formed a school, which included among its members men such as Neander and others, distinguished at once for their learning and their piety, and to which all the schools of theology in Germany since have been more or less affiliated; his great merit lay in the importance he attached to the religious consciousness as derived from that of Christ, and the development therefrom in the life and history of the Church of Christ; it was to the religious interest he dedicated his life and consecrated all his learning, which was immense (1768-1834).
SCHLEMIHL, PETER, the name of a man who in Chamisso’s tale sold his shadow to the devil, a synonym of one who makes a desperate or silly bargain.
SCHLIEMANN, HEINRICH, a German explorer, born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin; excavated at his own cost the ruins, among others in Greece, of Hissarlik, in the Troad, believing them to be those of Troy; spent 12 years in this enterprise, collecting the spoils and depositing them in safe keeping in Berlin; died at Naples before his excavations were complete (1822-1890).
SCHLOSSNER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH, German historian, born in Oldenburg; was studios of the moral factor in history, and gave especial prominence to it (1776-1861).