All Scholars

At the University of Paris, Henri Goelzer was a student of grammarian Charles Thurot (1823-82), whose teaching gave a basis for his career in lexicography and grammatical studies. Goelzer found a collaborator in Othon Riemann (1853-91), an archaeologist who was chair of grammar at the École Nationale Supérieure. Goelzer and Riemann began critical studies of Greek and Latin grammar individually and comparatively, all of which Goelzer finished following Riemann’s early death at age 38. Goelzer’s great work was his 1900-page Latin-French dictionary, which included Latin words from the earliest times through the end of the sixteenth century. He and Riemann made their own French contribution to Dutch and German work on comparative or what E.A. Sonnenschein called “parallel” grammar. Goelzer was up-to-date on the rigorous German standards of scientific inquiry, but also the school of August Boeckh and others that one must understand all aspects of a given culture in order to understand its literature and culture (Totalitätsideal). Not only his dictionary but also his classes were informed by his knowledge of syntax, lexicography, literary history, and text criticism, but also history and culture through to the Middle Ages. He produced notable monographs on the Latinity of St Jerome and St. Avitus and later in his career produced editions with translation of his favorite author, Tacitus, for the Budé series. His school edition of Virgil went into over 14 editions.

Goelzer was a superb teacher whose clear and concise editions and grammars for students showed his effectiveness in the classroom. Many of his students, inspired by his example, went on to careers teaching classics throughout Germany. He also gave much time to academic service, working as an editor for the Association Budé and as president of the Société pour l’encouragement des études grecque. He was on the editorial staff of Bulletin du Cange.