Johann Timotheus Hermes
Johann Timotheus Hermes was a notable German author and theologian born in 1738 in Petznick, Pomerania. He received a thorough education influenced by rationalist philosophy, thanks to his father, a clergyman and disciple of Christian Wolff. Hermes pursued theology at Königsberg, where he also worked as a tutor and book auctioneer. By 1764, he was teaching at the Knight Academy in Brandenburg and later took on various roles in the church, including chaplaincy at the royal court and pastor at St. Mary Magdalene in Breslau.
Hermes is best known for his novel "Sophies Reise von Memel nach Sachsen," published in 1766, which is recognized as the first German psychological novel and a foundational work of German family literature. Throughout his career, he wrote under pseudonyms and critiqued social morals through his literary works. His contributions to literature also encompassed poetry and music. Hermes's legacy endures, with "Sophies Reise" remaining in print for over two centuries and being a staple in the libraries of the German bourgeoisie during the eighteenth century. He passed away in 1821 in Breslau, leaving behind a rich literary heritage.
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Subject Terms
Johann Timotheus Hermes
Fiction Writer
- Born: May 31, 1738
- Birthplace: Petznick, Pomerania, Germany (now in Poland)
- Died: July 24, 1821
- Place of death: Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland)
Biography
Johann Timotheus Hermes was born in Petznick, Pomerania, Germany, in 1738, to a clergyman and his wife. Hermes’s father, who oversaw his son’s early education, was a disciple of Christian Wolff, a rationalist philosopher at the University of Halle, and Hermes’s education emphasized Wolff’s teachings. In addition, a tutor taught Hermes French and a love of books. From 1758 to 1761, Hermes studied theology at Königsberg. While a student, Hermes worked as a French tutor and a book auctioneer.
In 1764, Hermes became a teacher at the Knight Academy in Brandenburg. Sometime later, Hermes began his first novel, Geschichte der Miss Fanny Wilkes, so gut als aus dem Englischen übersetzt (1766), an epistolary novel. In 1766, he became a field chaplain to a regiment in Lüben. Three years later, he rose to the position of chaplain at the royal court and superintendent and ranking Protestant pastor in the school system in Pless. During this year, Hermes married and published the first volume of his most famous work, Sophiens Reise von Memel nach Sachsen. Hermes also published later works under the pseudonyms Heinreich Meister and T.S. Jemehr, anagrams of his name. The purpose of his writing was to critique the state of social morals and people’s behaviors.
In 1772, Hermes became pastor of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Breslau. He held a position as a professor of dogmatics at the gymnasium of St. Mary Magdalene and at St. Elisabeth’s, and he also was inspector of churches from 1809 to 1814. He was superintendent of schools from 1810 until 1817. Hermes spent his last years in ill health and died in Breslau in 1821.
Hermes was considered a talented novelist, poet, and musician. His novel, Sophies Reise, has been in print for more than two hundred years and was published in three editions during Hermes’s life. Sophies Reise is the first novel of German family life, as well as the first German psychological novel. Within the novel, Hermes also included love songs, and nature and religious poems. Sophies Reise was also one of the most widely read novels during the eighteenth century and was considered a must-have piece of literature for every German bourgeoisie home library.