Bernard Bolzano Gesamtausgabe / Reihe II: Nachlaß. A. Nachgelassene Schriften. Band 24,1: Erbauungsreden des Studienjahres 1818/1819. Erster Teil - copertina rigida, flessible

English summary: This academic year (1819) began with a bombshell: at the end of the previous academic year, Bernard Bolzano had expressed some doubt as to whether he could lecture to students while the administrative process against him had only just gotten underway. In the first address, he reported to his students what the complaints against him were. He enumerated the accusations that had been brought against him and asked his students to evaluate those accusations in an unbiased manner. (This self-defense was counted against him in later processes and ultimately served as the justification for his dismissal.) Thereafter he proceeded with the normal lecture, in which aimed at distinguishing "true Enlightenment" and "true belief." He began with the explanation of the oldest moral laws, all of which were meant to strengthen the common as much as possible. After, he spoke about the value of the spiritual life, about the concern for the welfare of the sick and, in a lengthy series, about the necessity of self-criticism and self-reflection. He discussed again his original concept of wonder and underscored the integrity of Christian doctrine. Later, he offered caution on the "foolish pursuit of honor" and sought to clarify the loose concept of "a good lifestyle." The year ended in mid-August with an address on how the "good" could be evaluated, a capacity with which we "are already endowed or will be endowed;" he closed with the exhortation that all of one's efforts should be undertaken with great care and consideration. He even admitted that in the first lecture of the academic year, he himself did not exercise much caution and had frequently spoken openly at the student lectures. From 1805 to 1820, Bernard Bolzano was professor of religious doctrine (Religionslehre) at the University of Prague. The lectures he had to deliver were part of the so-called Philosophical Studies that every student of the university had to complete before he entered the higher studies, i.e. the studies of medicine, law or theology. As professor of religious doctrine, Bolzano also had the duty to deliver the homilies on Sundays and holidays during the academic year to all the students of the Philosophical Studies. This explains the enormous influence Bolzano exerted through these homilies on the intellectual and political life of Bohemia in his time, whose offshoots reached even the Charta 77 movement in former Czechoslovakia. The chairs of religious doctrine were established by the Austrian emperor Franz at all universities of the Austrian empire in order to shape the students into good Christians and law-abiding citizens as it was ordered in a decree. The homilies Bolzano had to deliver at the University of Prague (as did all professors of religious doctrine at Austrian universities) were called Erbauungsreden (edifying addresses) or exhortations. There is evidence for 582 Erbauungsreden Bolzano delivered as a professor at the University of Prague of which 414 are extant; of these, 153 have not yet been published at all. The 414 Erbauungsreden that are extant have survived in different form: some of them (70) as autographs, i.e. in Bolzano's own handwriting, others in handwritten copies of Bolzano's manuscripts, others in notes taken by Bolzano's students. Several collections of Bolzano's Erbauungsreden have already appeared in print, some of them during Bolzano's lifetime, while others were published posthumously by his students or other editors. - The new critical edition of Bolzano's Erbauungsreden presents all of them in chronological order. Those which are extant will be edited on the basis of the best version which has remained. Those Erbauungsreden which are not extant will be documented and described according to an index Bolzano himself has prepared. German description: Dieses Studienjahr beginnt mit einem Paukenschlag: Am Ende des vorigen Studienjahres hat Bolzano bereits Zweifel geaussert, ob er im nachsten Jahr uberhaupt noch zu den Studierenden sprechen konne; mittlerweile hat das Verfahren gegen ihn schon begonnen. In der ersten Rede berichtet er seinen Studenten uber die gegen ihn erhobene Anklage. Er zahlt die Vorwurfe auf, die gegen ihn vorgebracht wurden, und fordert seine Schuler auf, diese Vorwurfe unvoreingenommen zu prufen. (Diese Selbstverteidigung wurde ihm im weiteren Verfahren zum Verhangnis und bildete letztlich den Anlass fur seine Absetzung.) Danach setzt er mit dem ublichen Programm fort, das auf wahre Aufklarung abzielt und wahren Glauben mit einschliesst. Er beginnt mit der Erklarung seines Obersten Sittengesetzes, das in der Forderung besteht, das allgemeine Wohl so stark wie nur moglich zu fordern. Danach spricht er uber die Wurde des geistlichen Standes, uber die Pflicht der Fursorge fur Kranke und - in einer langen Serie - uber die Notwendigkeit von Selbstkritik und Selbstreflexion. Er fuhrt nochmals seine originelle Auffassung von Wundern aus und unterstreicht die Vollkommenheit des christlichen Lehrbegriffes. Ferner warnt er vor den Verirrungen des Ehrtriebes und versucht, den schwankenden Begriff von der guten Lebensart zu klaren. Das Jahr endet Mitte August mit einer Erbauungsrede daruber, wie das Gute zu beurteilen ist, das wir schon gestiftet haben oder noch stiften werden; er schliesst mit dem Hinweis, in allem mit grosser Vorsicht zu Werke zu gehen. Er selbst war es freilich, der in der ersten Rede dieses Studienjahres diese Vorsicht nicht walten liess und ganz offen zu den Studierenden gesprochen hat. From 1805 to 1820, Bernard Bolzano was professor of religious doctrine (Religionslehre) at the University of Prague. The lectures he had to deliver were part of the so-called Philosophical Studies that every student of the university had to complete before he entered the higher studies, i.e. the studies of medicine, law or theology. As professor of religious doctrine, Bolzano also had the duty to deliver the homilies on Sundays and holidays during the academic year to all the students of the Philosophical Studies. This explains the enormous influence Bolzano exerted through these homilies on the intellectual and political life of Bohemia in his time, whose offshoots reached even the Charta 77 movement in former Czechoslovakia. The chairs of religious doctrine were established by the Austrian emperor Franz at all universities of the Austrian empire in order to shape the students into good Christians and law-abiding citizens as it was ordered in a decree. The homilies Bolzano had to deliver at the University of Prague (as did all professors of religious doctrine at Austrian universities) were called Erbauungsreden (edifying addresses) or exhortations. There is evidence for 582 Erbauungsreden Bolzano delivered as a professor at the University of Prague of which 414 are extant; of these, 153 have not yet been published at all. The 414 Erbauungsreden that are extant have survived in different form: some of them (70) as autographs, i.e. in Bolzano's own handwriting, others in handwritten copies of Bolzano's manuscripts, others in notes taken by Bolzano's students. Several collections of Bolzano's Erbauungsreden have already appeared in print, some of them during Bolzano's lifetime, while others were published posthumously by his students or other editors. - The new critical edition of Bolzano's Erbauungsreden presents all of them in chronological order. Those which are extant will be edited on the basis of the best version which has remained. Those Erbauungsreden which are not extant will be documented and described according to an index Bolzano himself has prepared.