Johannes von Müller (1752–1809) was a Swiss scholar and public official. He was the most important Swiss historian of the 18th century.
Born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Müller studied at the University of Göttingen (1769–71,) nominally to study theology. He worked as a diplomat and political journalist at the court of the archbishop of Mainz (1786–92) and in the imperial chancery at Vienna (1793–98.) In the last years of his life, he entered the service of Napoleon as director of education for the Kingdom of Westphalia.
Von Müller’s most crucial work was Geschichten Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft (1786–1808; “History of the Swiss Confederation.”) His depiction of the ancient Swiss constitution profoundly influenced the 19th-century European view of Switzerland. It was also the source for Friedrich Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell.
Müller also wrote the 24 Bücher allgemeiner Geschichten (1810; The History of the World,) Fürstenbund (1787; “League of Princes”) and Reisen der Päpste (1782; “Travels of the Popes.”)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Johannes von Muller
Good has but one enemy, the evil; but the evil has two enemies, the good and itself.
—Johannes von Muller
Topics: Evils
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