Education:
Breslau, 1843-6; Berlin, 1847; Ph.D. Breslau, 1848; travel in Italy and France, 1848-50.
Dissertation:
“De Plautinae Amphitruonis exemplari et fragmentis,” (Ph.D., Breslau, 1848).
Professional Experience:
Extraordinarius, Graz, 1850-6; ordinarius, Vienna, 1856-96; dean faculty of philosophy, 1868-9; corr. memb., Imperial Academy of Sciences, Vienna, 1872; Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class, 1891.
Publications:
P. Virgilii Maronis Aeneidos Epitome, (Vienna: Gerold, 1853; 3rd ed. 1862) (für Schulzwecke umgearbeitet und mehrfach aufgelegt); C. Iulii Caesaris commentarii, 1856ff.; Homeros und die Homeriden-Sage von Chios (Vienna: Gerold, 1856); Die Construction der lateinischen Zeitpartikeln (Vienna: Gerold, 1860; 2nd ed., 1873); Patrizische und plebeische Kurien (Vienna: Gerold, 1879); Studien auf dem Gebiete der lateinischen Syntax (Vienna: Konegen, 1884); Das Modus-Gesetz im lateinischen Zeitsatze (Vienna: Gerold, 1891); Augustine’s De civitate Dei in Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 40, 2 vols. (Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1899–1900).
Notes:
Emanuel Hoffmann studied under Friedrich Gottlob Haase (1808-67) at Breslau. Shortly after his appointment at Graz, he succeeded Karl Josef Grysar (1801-56) at Vienna, where he instituted academic reforms following the plans of Hermann Bonitz (1814-88) and Grysar. As a member of the Library Commission he expanded the library’s holdings and worked to move the authority over the university library from the state to the university.
He is best known for his collation of a new manuscript for his edition of St. Augustine’s De civitate Dei in theCorpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum series, which unfortunately appeared in the same year as the Teubner edition by Bernhard Dombart (1832-1907). His most successful works were a series of school texts of Virgil, Caesar and the historians. His work on Latin text criticism was widely praised, while his interpretive works on Latin literature and mythology were of lesser value.
When he retired he was the longest serving professor in the history of the University of Vienna.
Sources:
. Hauler, Zoestr. 52 (1901) 286-8; WAW 51 (1901) 324-6; Neues Wiener Journal, (12 August 1900); Almanach Wien 51 (1901) 324-5; Zeitschrift für die österreichischen Gymnasien 52 (1901) 286-8; T. Mayerhofer, Der Lehrkörper der Philosophischen Fakultät von 1848 bis 1873, (Diss. Vienna, 1982) 103; F. Römer & H. Schwabl, Geschichte der österreichischen Humanwissenschaften 5, ed. K. Acham (Vienna: Passagen, 2003) 75.
