"... fur die Wi[beta]enschaft, der ich von ganzer Seele lebe." Otto Bohtlingk (1815-1904): Ein Gelehrtenleben rekonstruiert und beschrieben anhand seiner Briefe.

• Author: Rocher, Rosane
• Position: Otto Bohtlingk an Rudolf Roth: Briefe zum Petersburger Worterbuch 1852-1885 - Book review

"... fur die Wi[beta]enschaft, der ich von ganzer Seele lebe." Otto Bohtlingk (1815-1904): Ein Gelehrtenleben rekonstruiert und beschrieben anhand seiner Briefe. By AGNES STACHE-WEISKE. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ. 2017. Pp. xv + 583. [euro]118.

Otto Bohtlingk an Rudolf Roth: Briefe zum Petersburger Worterbuch 1852-1885. Index. By AGNES STACHE-WEISKE, GABRIELE ZELLER, and FRANK KOHLER. Veroffentlichungen der Helmuth von Glasenapp-Stiftung, vol. 45.2. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ. 2015. Pp. 188. [euro]59.

The two titles under review are further installments of a large-scale project funded by the German Research Foundation, of which a first gem, a model edition of the letters of Otto Bohtlingk to Rudolf Roth, detailing their collaboration in making the monumental Petersburg Dictionary of Sanskrit, appeared in 2007 (reviewed in JAOS 129.3 [2009]: 507-11). Published as volume 45 in the series of the Helmuth von Glasenapp Foundation for Indological research, the letters had only an index of persons. Volume 45.2 in the same series incorporates the index of persons into a general index (pp. 5-84). It also offers an index of Sanskrit and related words discussed in the correspondence (pp. 85-147), an important feature when producing a dictionary is the object of discussion. As a repertory of entries that required deliberations, this tool will serve as a valuable index not only for the correspondence, but also for the dictionary itself. An index of references in Bohtlingk's letters to entries in the two editions of his Indische Spruche (pp. 149-58) plays a similar dual role for correspondence and work discussed. This additional volume further offers a list of sources (pp. 159-88) and a user's guide (pp. 1-4).

Bohtlingk's biography is a masterpiece, even more remarkable since it could not draw on its subject's private papers, which his widow destroyed according to his instructions. It makes up for this regrettable loss by making use of an amazingly large and varied collection of official documents, institutional records, and colleagues' correspondence, in addition to his works and scholarly letters. At every step, the context of Bohtlingk's scholarly, academic, intellectual, and social life is explored, throwing light not only on his own experiences, but also on the circumstances of contemporary institutions and social circles. The result is a thick volume in nine chapters and ten appendices, in which, within broad stages of Bohtlingk's life, the topical...