Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal
Encyclopedia
Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal, (September 14, 1769 – March 27, 1843), German
jurist
, was born at Meissen
in Saxony
, the son of a lawyer
and was the father of Karl Eduard Zachariae
.
Von Lingenthal received his early education at the famous public school of St. Afra
in Meissen and later studied philosophy
, history
, mathematics
and jurisprudence
at the University
of Leipzig
. In 1792 he went to Wittenberg
University as tutor to one of the counts of Lippe
, and continued his legal studies.
In 1794 he became Privatdozent
, lecturing on Canon law
, in 1798 extraordinary professor, and 1802 ordinary professor of feudal law.
From that time to his death in 1843, with the exception of a short period in which public affairs occupied him, he poured out a succession of works covering the whole field of jurisprudence, and was a copious contributor to periodicals. In 1807 he received a call to Heidelberg
, then beginning its period of splendour as a school of law
. There, resisting many calls to Göttingen
, Berlin
and other universities, he remained until his death. In 1820 he took his seat, as representative of his university, in the upper house of the newly constituted parliament
of Baden
.
Though he himself prepared many reforms - notably in the harsh criminal code
- he was, by instinct and conviction, conservative and totally opposed to the violent democratic spirit which dominated the second chamber, and brought it into conflict with the grand-duke and the German federal government.
After the remodelling of the constitution
in a "reactionary" sense, he was returned, in 1825, by the district of Heidelberg to the second chamber, of which he became the first vice-president, and in which he proved himself more "loyal" than the government itself. With the growth of parliamentary Liberalism
, however, he grew disgusted with politics, from which he retired altogether in 1829. He then devoted himself wholly to juridical work and to the last days of his life toiled with the ardour of a young student.
dating from the Middle Ages
, and Zachariae was often consulted as to questions arising in Germany, France and England.
Elaborate "opinions," some of them forming veritable treatises - e.g. on Sir Augustus d'Este's claim to the dukedom of Sussex
, Baron de Bode's claim as an English subject to a share in the French indemnity, the dispute as to the debts due to the elector of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), confiscated by Napoleon, and the constitutional position of the Mecklenburg
landowners - were composed by Zachariae.
Large fees which he received for these opinions and the great popularity of his lectures made him rich, and he was able to buy several estates; from one of which, Lingenthal, he took his title when, in 1842, he was ennobled by the grand-duke. He died on 27 March 1843. He had married in 1811, but his wife died four years later, leaving him a son, Karl Eduard.
Zachariae's writings are many and multifarious. They deal with almost every branch of jurisprudence
; they are philosophical, historical and practical, and relate to Roman, Canon, German, French and English law. The first book of much consequence which he published was Die Einheit des Staats und der Kirche mit Rücksicht auf die Deutsche Reichsverfassung (1797), a work on the relations of church and state
, with special reference to the constitution of the empire, which displayed the writer's power of analysis and his skill in making a complicated set of facts appear to be deductions from a few principles.
In 1805 appeared Versuch einer allgemeinen Hermeneutik des Rechts; and in 1806 Die Wissenschaft der Gesetzgebung, an attempt to find a new theoretical basis for society in place of the opportunist politics which had led to the cataclysm of the French Revolution
. This basis he seemed to discover in something resembling Jeremy Bentham
's utilitarianism
.
Zachariae's last work of importance was Vierzig Bücher vom Staate (1839–1842), to which his admirers point as his enduring monument. It has been compared to Montesquieu
's L'Esprit des lois, The Spirit of the Laws
and covers no small part of the field of Buckle's first volume of the History of Civilization. But though it contains proof of vast erudition
and many original ideas as to the future of the state and of law
, it lacks logical sequence, and is, consequently, full of contradictions.
Its fundamental theory is that the state had its origin, not in a contract (Rousseau
-Kant
), but in the consciousness of a legal duty. What Machiavelli
was to the Italians
and Montesquieu
to the French
, Zachariae aspired to become to the Germans
; but he lacked their patriotic inspiration, and so failed to exercise any permanent influence on the constitutional law
of his country.
Among other important works of Zachariae are his Staatsrecht, and his treatise on the Code Napoléon, of which several French editions were published, and which was translated into Italian.
Zachariae edited with Karl Joseph Mittermaier the Kritische Zeitschrift fur Rechtswissenschaft und Gesetzgebung des Auslandes, and the introduction which he wrote illustrates his wide reading and his constant desire for new light upon old problems. Though Zachariae's works have been superseded, they were in their day epoch-making, and they have been superseded by books which, without them, could not have been written.
For an account of Zachariae and his works, see Robert von Mohl, Geschichte u. Literatur der Staatswissenschaften (1855–58), and Charles Brocher, K. S. Zachariae, sa vie et ses oeuvres (1870); cf. also his biography in Allgem. Deutsche Biographie
(vol. 44) by Wilhelm Fischer, and "Zachariae von Lingenthal" in Franz von Holtzendorff's Rechts-Lexicon.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, was born at Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
in Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
, the son of a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and was the father of Karl Eduard Zachariae
Karl Eduard Zachariae
Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal was an eminent German jurist and the son of Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal....
.
Von Lingenthal received his early education at the famous public school of St. Afra
Federal School of Saxony - Saint Afra
. The Federal School of Saxony - Saint Afra is a boarding school for highly gifted students in the German city of Meissen, Saxony. Founded in 1543 as Fürstliche Landesschule and re-established in 2001, the stated aim of the school is to promote the intellectual and social development of highly...
in Meissen and later studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
at the University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
of Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. In 1792 he went to Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
University as tutor to one of the counts of Lippe
Lippe
Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....
, and continued his legal studies.
In 1794 he became Privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
, lecturing on Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
, in 1798 extraordinary professor, and 1802 ordinary professor of feudal law.
From that time to his death in 1843, with the exception of a short period in which public affairs occupied him, he poured out a succession of works covering the whole field of jurisprudence, and was a copious contributor to periodicals. In 1807 he received a call to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, then beginning its period of splendour as a school of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. There, resisting many calls to Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and other universities, he remained until his death. In 1820 he took his seat, as representative of his university, in the upper house of the newly constituted parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
.
Though he himself prepared many reforms - notably in the harsh criminal code
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
- he was, by instinct and conviction, conservative and totally opposed to the violent democratic spirit which dominated the second chamber, and brought it into conflict with the grand-duke and the German federal government.
After the remodelling of the constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
in a "reactionary" sense, he was returned, in 1825, by the district of Heidelberg to the second chamber, of which he became the first vice-president, and in which he proved himself more "loyal" than the government itself. With the growth of parliamentary Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, however, he grew disgusted with politics, from which he retired altogether in 1829. He then devoted himself wholly to juridical work and to the last days of his life toiled with the ardour of a young student.
Works and studies
The German universities then enjoyed, in regard to legal questions of international importance, a moral jurisdictionJurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
dating from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and Zachariae was often consulted as to questions arising in Germany, France and England.
Elaborate "opinions," some of them forming veritable treatises - e.g. on Sir Augustus d'Este's claim to the dukedom of Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, Baron de Bode's claim as an English subject to a share in the French indemnity, the dispute as to the debts due to the elector of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), confiscated by Napoleon, and the constitutional position of the Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
landowners - were composed by Zachariae.
Large fees which he received for these opinions and the great popularity of his lectures made him rich, and he was able to buy several estates; from one of which, Lingenthal, he took his title when, in 1842, he was ennobled by the grand-duke. He died on 27 March 1843. He had married in 1811, but his wife died four years later, leaving him a son, Karl Eduard.
Zachariae's writings are many and multifarious. They deal with almost every branch of jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
; they are philosophical, historical and practical, and relate to Roman, Canon, German, French and English law. The first book of much consequence which he published was Die Einheit des Staats und der Kirche mit Rücksicht auf die Deutsche Reichsverfassung (1797), a work on the relations of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, with special reference to the constitution of the empire, which displayed the writer's power of analysis and his skill in making a complicated set of facts appear to be deductions from a few principles.
In 1805 appeared Versuch einer allgemeinen Hermeneutik des Rechts; and in 1806 Die Wissenschaft der Gesetzgebung, an attempt to find a new theoretical basis for society in place of the opportunist politics which had led to the cataclysm of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. This basis he seemed to discover in something resembling Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
's utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
.
Zachariae's last work of importance was Vierzig Bücher vom Staate (1839–1842), to which his admirers point as his enduring monument. It has been compared to Montesquieu
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu , generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment...
's L'Esprit des lois, The Spirit of the Laws
The Spirit of the Laws
The Spirit of the Laws is a treatise on political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu in 1748 with the help of Claudine Guérin de Tencin...
and covers no small part of the field of Buckle's first volume of the History of Civilization. But though it contains proof of vast erudition
Erudition
The word erudition came into Middle English from Latin. A scholar is erudite when instruction and reading followed by digestion and contemplation have effaced all rudeness , that is to say smoothed away all raw, untrained incivility...
and many original ideas as to the future of the state and of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, it lacks logical sequence, and is, consequently, full of contradictions.
Its fundamental theory is that the state had its origin, not in a contract (Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
-Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
), but in the consciousness of a legal duty. What Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
was to the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Montesquieu
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu , generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment...
to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Zachariae aspired to become to the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
; but he lacked their patriotic inspiration, and so failed to exercise any permanent influence on the constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
of his country.
Among other important works of Zachariae are his Staatsrecht, and his treatise on the Code Napoléon, of which several French editions were published, and which was translated into Italian.
Zachariae edited with Karl Joseph Mittermaier the Kritische Zeitschrift fur Rechtswissenschaft und Gesetzgebung des Auslandes, and the introduction which he wrote illustrates his wide reading and his constant desire for new light upon old problems. Though Zachariae's works have been superseded, they were in their day epoch-making, and they have been superseded by books which, without them, could not have been written.
For an account of Zachariae and his works, see Robert von Mohl, Geschichte u. Literatur der Staatswissenschaften (1855–58), and Charles Brocher, K. S. Zachariae, sa vie et ses oeuvres (1870); cf. also his biography in Allgem. Deutsche Biographie
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie is one of the most important and most comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language....
(vol. 44) by Wilhelm Fischer, and "Zachariae von Lingenthal" in Franz von Holtzendorff's Rechts-Lexicon.