Solomon Ludwig (Levy) Steinheim (pseudonym: ''Abadjah Ben Amos''; 1789–1866) was a German physician, poet, and philosopher. SLSteinheim

Biography

Steinheim was born on 6 August 1789 in Altona (according to some authorities, in Bruchhausen,

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

). He was educated first at the Gymnasium Christianeum, Altona, and pursued his medical studies at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

. He had hardly graduated when he found a wide field for his activity in Altona, to where the inhabitants of the sister city of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, then occupied by the French troops, had fled to escape the Russian blockade, bringing with them

typhus fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure ...

, which at that time was raging in the Hanseatic town. In 1845 ill health forced him to abandon a medical career and to move to a milder climate. He settled in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, returning to his country only twice, in 1845 and 1864. He died on 19 May 1866 in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institute of the

University of Duisburg-Essen The University of Duisburg-Essen () is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the university was awarded 194th place in the world. It was originally ...

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

has been named after him in recognition of his contributions as a philosopher.

Works

Steinheim, besides remaining a lifelong student of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...

, and

Celsus Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...

, took great interest in natural history. In 1820 he published a pamphlet on the grasshopper, and in 1842 one on animal instinct. His treatise on the pathology of tumors (1846) was his chief contribution to medical literature. His main attention, however, was devoted to philosophy and religion; he was a zealous adherent of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

. As early as 1818 he had written an essay on ecstasis; and in 1835 he published the first volume of his ''Die Offenbarung nach dem Lehrbegriff der Synagoge''. In this work, for which he prepared himself by a careful study of comparative religion, he, though a

freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

, endeavored to raise revelation from a religious belief to a philosophic truth. While, according to him, all important philosophic systems lead to the dualistic struggle between good and evil, the revelation of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

places in the forefront as axioms "

creatio ex nihilo (Latin, 'creation out of nothing') is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe came to exist. It is in contrast to ''creatio ex mate ...

," and, consequently, the unity of God, belief in which is essential to religion and morality. The second volume of Steinheim's life-work consisting of twenty-five lectures, appeared under the title ''Das Dogma der Synagoge als Exakte Wissenschaft''; the third volume (1863) treats of the struggle between

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

and

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

; while the fourth volume (1865) contains a series of separate essays on various subjects (e.g., the theory of Creation according to the Old Testament), polemics against

Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...

's ''Heidenthum und Judenthum'' and

Ferdinand Christian Baur Ferdinand Christian Baur (; 21 June 1792 – 2 December 1860) was a German Protestant theologian and founder and leader of the (new) Tübingen School of theology (named for the University of Tübingen where Baur studied and taught). Following Hege ...

's ''Dogmengeschichte,'' etc. Steinheim in his ''Meditationen'' and in his contributions to the '' Kieler Zeitung'' earnestly advocated the emancipation of the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Of his poems, ''Sinai'' and ''Obadjah Sohn Amos Lieder aus der Verbannung'' (Altona, 1829; 2d ed. Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1837) deserve special mention. He also wrote the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

, based on

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's Bible translation, to Ferdinand Hiller's 1840

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

, '' The Destruction of Jerusalem''.Petzolt (2012)

External links

Salomon Ludwig Steinheim-Institute for German-Jewish History at the University of Duisburg-Essen
h1>

References

;Notes ;Sources * *Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography :*Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie :*S. Bernfeld, Da'at Elohim, i. 593 :*M. Isler, in Arch. Isr. 1866, pp. 671-677 * Petzolt, Martin (2012). ''The Oratorio "The Destruction of Jerusalem"'', booklet accompanying CD recording
Querstand VKJK 1202
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinheim, Solomon 1789 births 1866 deaths 18th-century German Jews Jewish philosophers Jewish poets Physicians from Hamburg People from Altona, Hamburg University of Kiel alumni German oratorio and passion librettists 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German physicians 19th-century German philosophers People educated at the Gymnasium Christianeum