Classical studies Author:Barnas Sears Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PHILOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE. DAVID RUHNKEN TO JOHN DANIEL RITTER. Leyden, July 29,1747. Whenever I think of you and your favors to me,—and I think of th... more »em very often,—I am vexed with myself, that I came away from Saxony without taking leave of you. But since this and other foibles of my youth have, as I hope, passed away, I feel assured they will not be treasured up against me, by any one, and, least of all, by you, whom I know to be the kindest of men. You will never see cause to regret having trained me as a disciple; for I shall always cherish towards you sentiments of filial regard, and take pleasure in making your merits known to the learned of other nations. I have long been in doubt, whether to venerate your worth in silence, as heretofore, or to address you by letter. But my affection has overcome my modesty. I know very well that this correspondence will be no honor to you in Wittenberg; but, if I am not mistaken, it will afford you some pleasure, and be of some advantage. I will now give you a brief sketch of what has transpired with me since I left you. No sooner had I arrived in Holland,—that nursery of men of learning,—than G. Meermann, a young man of superior talents, and an admirer of your productions, altogether unexpectedly made provision for me. He had perceived my ardent love for study; he therefore made me tutor to his younger brother. But this was not enough. He gave his parents such accounts of me, that his father took the place of father to me till his death; and his mother is a mother to me to this very hour. Consequently, I spent nearly three years in directing the studies of Meermann, the younger brother, in the university of Leyden, and in hearing the lectures of distinguished professors. In the study of civil law, Schelting was my teac...« less