WILHELM PAUL (1820-1875), German philologist, was born at
Bremen on the 20th of January 1820, and received his school education in
the Prussian town of Schwedt, to which his father, a merchant, had
removed. After spending some time at the Joachimsthal Gymnasium in
Berlin, where his interest in philological pursuits was awakened by the
rector, Meinike, he proceeded to the university, and there came
especially under the influence of Bockh and Lachmann. His first
important appearance in literature was as the author of _Origines poesis
romanae_, by which he had obtained the prize offered by the
"philosophical" or "arts" faculty of the university. In 1846 he was
called from Stettin, where he had for nearly two years held a post in
the gymnasium, to occupy the position of lecturer in the royal academy
at Pforta (commonly called Schulpforta), and there he continued to
labour for the next twenty years. In 1854 he won a prize offered by the
Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences for the best work on the
pronunciation and accent of Latin, a treatise which at once took rank,
on its publication under the title of _Uber Aussprache, Vocalismus, und
Betonung der lateinischen Sprache_ (1858-1859), as one of the most
erudite and masterly works in its department. This was followed in 1863
by his _Kritische Beitrage zur lat. Formenlehre_, which were
supplemented in 1866 by _Kritische Nachtrage zur lat. Formenlehre_. In
the discussion of the pronunciation of Latin he was naturally led to
consider the various old Italian dialects, and the results of his
investigations appeared in miscellaneous communications to Kuhn's
_Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Schriftforschung_. Ill-health obliged him
to give up his professorship at Pforta, and return to Berlin, in 1866;
but it produced almost no diminution of his literary activity. In 1867
he published an elaborate archaeological study entitled the _Alterthumer
und Kunstdenkmale des Cistercienserklosters St Marien und der
Landesschule Pforta_, in which he gathers together all that can be
discovered about the history of the Pforta academy, the German "Eton,"
and in 1868-1869 he brought out a new edition of his work on Latin
pronunciation. From a very early period he had been attracted to the
special study of Etruscan remains, and had at various times given
occasional expression to his opinions on individual points; but it was
not till 1870 that he had the opportunity of visiting Italy and
completing his eq