Daniel Lorenz Salthenius

Daniel Lorenz Salthenius (March 16, 1701 – January 29, 1750) was a professor of theology at the University of Königsberg from 1732 until his death.[1]

Salthenius was born in Markim between Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, the son of a pastor. He studied at the university in his birthplace, as well as University of Halle, and became a noted Pietist. He was appointed to his post at Königsberg to help the Pietist cause there.[1]

Salthenius's orthodox Lutheran opponents accused him of having made a pact with the Devil when he was a student in Uppsala. He wrote a letter in his own blood, asking the Devil to provide him with a bottomless bag of money in exchange for his body and soul, and placed the letter under an oak tree, where it was found by a farmer who notified the authorities.[2] However, Salthenius was not dismissed from the university and remained a full professor.[2] The letter is today kept at Uppsala University library.[3]

References
  1. Naragon, Steve (2016). "Salthenius, Daniel Lorenz (1701–50)". In Klemme, Heiner F.; Kuehn, Manfred (eds.). The Bloomsbury dictionary of eighteenth-century German philosophers. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 645-6. ISBN 9781474256001.
  2. Kuehn, Manfred (2001). Kant : a biography. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–2. ISBN 9780521497046.
  3. McCorristine, Shane (31 October 2020). "Beware the blood-curdling perils of academic research". World.edu. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
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