Jens Schielderup Sneedorff (22 August 1724 – 5 June 1764) was a Danish author, professor of political science and royal teacher and a central figure in Denmark in the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

Biography

Sneedorff was born in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in east Denmark with a population of 8,433 (2025).

, the son of the last headmaster of

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

. He studied at

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

where he was influenced by British and French Enlightenment thinking as well as German

cameralism Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German school of public finance, administration and economic management in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the ...

. From his position as professor at the

for young noblemen and later teacher to the prince, Sneedorff played a key role in formulating the political content of "Enlightenment" in his native Denmark.

Political views

Sneedorff defended absolutism in a model that applied liberal thinking, primarily that of Locke and

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

. A well-functioning polity rested according to Sneedorff on its "police", i.e. a subject and regent mentality of

civic virtue Civic virtue refers to the set of habits, Value (ethics), values, and Attitude (psychology), attitudes that promote the general welfare and the effective functioning of a society. Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue () repr ...

, “true

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

" and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. Civic virtue was associated with

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

. To Sneedorff it meant industrious conduct and the will and desire to let self-interest yield to the

common good In philosophy, Common good (economics), economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, common weal, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, o ...

. True honour had the same end, but operated through exploiting people's self-interest by connecting social status to conduct that promoted the common good. In Sneedorff's conception, each of the four estates,

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

, and

peasantry A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

had their own honour that resembled four different kinds of patriotic behaviour. Should all others fail, Sneedorff reserved religion as the last bond of

social order The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social orde ...

. In general, it was Sneedorff's view that passions like self-interest should not be subdued, but sublimated into forms that are useful to the state. Instilling the right mentality in subjects thus became a vital political undertaking, a task that made the art of government a pedagogic discipline - a project of Enlightenment. Sneedorff considered the polity he outlined far from the one experienced in his native state of Denmark-Norway. He coined his educational method “the spirit of

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

”, which implies making people “fall in love” with virtue. Virtue should become a passion itself in order to unite duty-loving subjects and government in emotional harmony. Sneedorff's absolutist project of enlightenment excluded everyone but the regent from formal political influence. It nevertheless placed enlighteners like Sneedorff himself in a privileged position as those in power to define the contents of virtue and honourable self-management. His enlightenment attitudes also illustrate the mentality behind the centralising reform policy pursued by the absolutist government of his country.

Selected writings

*''Om den borgerlige Regiering'' (On civil government) (1757) *''Den patriotiske Tilskuer'' (The Patriotic Spectator) (1761–1763)

References

Anders V. Hassing (2005): ''Staten i hjertet. Jens Schelderup Sneedorffs patriotiske opdragelsesprojekt'', master thesis, University of Copenhagen
(Danish with English summary) *Digital online version of his collected works in Danish (9 volumes) a
Google Books
*Digital online version of his ''Essai d'un traité du stile des cours'' a
Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneedorff, Jens Schielderup 1724 births 1764 deaths Danish male writers 18th-century Danish people People from Sorø Municipality