Crinesius, Christopher

, a learned Bohemian, was born at Schlackowald, in 1584, and after receiving the first rudiments of education at home, was sent in 1603, first to Jena, and afterwards to Wittemberg, where he studied divinity, philosophy, and the learned languages, in which last, particularly the oriental languages, he became critically skilled. He also taught the oriental languages at Wittemberg, published several critical works, which were highly esteemed, and had for his pupils many young men who were afterwards authors of great name. His reputation extending to Austria, he was invited in 1614 to become pastor at Geschwend, where he remained five years, until he was induced to accept the pastoral office at Muhlgrub, the residence of a nobleman named Fenzelius, who offered him the situation, with a liberal income; and here, probably, he would have spent his days, had not Ferdinand II, banished all Lutheran preachers and teachers, which obliged him to go to Ratisbon, and afterwards to Nuremberg. He was then made professor of divinity at Altdorff, which he enjoyed only four years, dying there, of what his biographers call the falling sickness, (comitialis morbus), Aug. 28, 1629. His principal works are, 1. “A Dissertation on the Confusion of Tongues.” 2. “Exercitationes Hebraicse.” 3. “Gymnasium & Lexicon Syriacum,” 2 vols. 4to. 4. “Lingua Samaritica,” 4to. 5. “Grammatica Chaldaica,” 4to. 6. “De auctoritate verbi divini in Hebraico codice,” Amsterdam, 1664, in 4to, &c. ²