| Description | Concerning Mr Tholuck, possible missionary candidate, including correspondence from Tholuck to Rose.
/1: 21 August 1820: Mr Tholuck, a possible missionary candidate, is only 21 and cannot be ordained until he is 24; he knows several languages including Turkish.
/2: 25 June 1821: Mr Tholuck has been appointed to give the Hebrew lectures at Berlin University; he has taken part in a public debate (in Latin) with a neologist and defeated him in argument; his present knowledge of Eastern languages is Hebrew, Chaldaic, Samaritan, Persian, Arabic and Syriac; he converses fluently in English.
/3: Extract of letter from Tholuck to Rose, [1821]: sends two treatises one on the tenets of the Sufis [in Latin] and a tract for students on the theology of the Old Testament.
/4: 30 June 1821: Tholuck is likely to be made Professor of Oriental Literature within the next year, but still wishes to do missionary work.
/5: 9 July 1821: sends Tholuck's letter [/6].
/6: 6 July 1821: letter from Tholuck to Rose: sends Persian book for Mr Lee and asks Rose to deliver it; considers that although he would have a wider field of work as a professor than as a missionary he must consider himself 'bound to do what is most profitable to the sanctification of my heart'; is glad that his proposal has been neither declined nor accepted.
/7: 1 July 1822: Professor Lee reports that Tholuck's knowledge of languages 'is stupendous'; Baron Hammer knows no one in Germany 'so strong in the oriental languages. He is a man of great simplicity of manner, of few wants and of extraordinary piety'.
/8: 3 August 1822: sends letter from Tholuck [not present]; has read Jowett's most interesting book and will lend it to Tholuck; it reinforces the choice of Malta as a place of work for Tholuck.
/9: 15 November 1822: Tholuck has still not made up his mind.
/10: 17 December 1822: it is highly uncertain that Tholuck will accept the Society's offer and so it is better to assume he will not; there is much for him to combat in Berlin of evils in philosophy and religion. |