Short Notices

Abstract

A Memorial Oration, pronounced before the University of Tubingen, over one of the most highly distinguished members whom that famous University has ever boasted. It is enough to repeat an opinion of Wellhausen's recorded in these pages that if Noldeke was the emperor of Semitists Littmann was the crown prince. Not merely had he a working life of unusual length, but an activity of astonishing breadth, and an intellectual grasp which made him a master in all the scientific subjects, especially the multifarious oriental and other languages, which that activity embraced. He taught at four German universities and one American, he went out with two epigraphical missions to Syria and was later called upon to lead the German Aksum Expedition. Out of all these came important publications in which Littmann took a leading part. And they were accompanied by a host of other writings upon subjects which, in the bibliography of his works, are arranged under no less than 14 heads, ranging from general linguistics and the Abyssinian languages (in which he was particularly at home) to gipsy lore and the Low German dialect. The author of these pages is at pains also to emphasize, in addition to the learning, the high humanity of Littmann, his appreciation of his colleagues, and his sympathetic character, which made him a welcomed as well as honoured guest in many lands.