Augusti

Augusti, JOHANN CHRISTIAN WILHELM, a learned German theologian, born in 1772 near Gotha. He studied at Jena, and successively filled there the chairs of Philosophy and of Oriental Languages. But in 1812 he accepted a theological professorship in Breslau, and in 1819 one at Bonn. He died in 1841. In the early part of his career, Augusti was a decided rationalist; but subsequently he returned to orthodox Lutheranism. His writings, marked by great learning, industry, and spirit, comprise works in the history of Christian dogma and an introduction to the Old Testament; but the most valuable is his manual of Christian Archaeology (Leip. 3 vols. 1836-37).