Anton Wilhelm Amo

Anton Wilhelm Amo in the New York Times

This is my latest in the New York TimesOpinionator series, "The Stone." To read the whole thing, go here.

Kenan Malik has written a very interesting critical response, here. I intend to write a follow-up post soon in which I reply to some of Malik's criticism, and also to some of the many comments on the Times page. 

*

In 1734, Anton Wilhelm Amo, a West African student and former chamber slave of Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, defended a philosophy dissertation at the University of Halle in Saxony, written in Latin and entitled “On the Impassivity of the Human Mind.” A dedicatory letter was appended from the rector of the University of Wittenberg, Johannes Gottfried Kraus, who praised “the natural genius” of Africa, its “appreciation for learning,” and its “inestimable contribution to the knowledge of human affairs” and of “divine things.” Kraus placed Amo in a lineage that includes many North African Latin authors of antiquity, such as Terence, Tertullian and St. Augustine.

In the following decade, the Scottish philosopher David Hume would write: “I am apt to suspect the Negroes, and in general all other species of men to be naturally inferior to the whites. There never was any civilized nation of any other complection than white, nor even any individual eminent in action or speculation.”

Hume had not heard of Amo, that much is clear. But we can also detect a tremendous difference between Hume’s understanding of human capacities and that of Kraus: the author of Amo’s dedicatory letter doesn’t even consider the possibility of anchoring what individual human beings are capable of doing to something as arbitrary as “complection.” For Kraus, Amo represents a continent and its long and distinguished history; he does not represent a “race.”

Another two decades on, Immanuel Kant, considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the modern period, would manage to let slip what is surely the greatest non-sequitur in the history of philosophy: describing a report of something seemingly intelligent that had once been said by an African, Kant dismisses it on the grounds that “this fellow was quite black from head to toe, a clear proof that what he said was stupid.”

For the full essay, go here. 

Some Early Sources on Amo

Johann Peter von Ludewig (1729):

In this very place a baptized Moor by the name of Mister Anton Wilhelm Amo, in the service of His Highness the Duke of Wolfenbüttel, spent some years for the purpose of studying. And after he had attained a proficiency in the Latin language, he showed such dedication and success in the lessons of private and public law that he became very well versed in this field. After this, with the consent of his most merciful Highness, who had supported him until know, he was permitted by the Chancellor von Ludwig to hold a public disputation under his [the Chancellor's] presidence. So that the argument of the disputation should be appropriate to his situation, the topic De iure Maurorum in Europa, or the law of Moors, was chosen. Therein it was not only shown from books and from history, that the kings of the Moors were enfeoffed by the Roman Emperor, and that every one of them had to obtain a royal patent from him, which Justinian also issued, but it was also investigated how far the freedom or servitude of Moors bought by Christians in Europe extends, according to the usual laws. 

Hieselbst hat sich ein in Diensten Sr. Hochfürstl. Durchl. des regierenden Hertzogs von Wolfenbüttel stehender getaufter Mohr Namens Herr Antonius Wilhelmus Amo, einige Jahre Studirens halber aufgehalten. Und nachdem er vorhero die Lateinische Sprache zum Grund geleget hat er hier die collegis iuris priuati und publici mit solchem Fleiß und succeß getrieben, daß er in solchem studio ziemlich geübet. Solchem nach er sich mit Vorbewußt seiner gnädigsten Herrschaft welche ihn bisher allhier unterhalten bey dem Herrn Cantzler von Ludewig angegeben unter deßen praesidio sich mit einer disputation öffentlich hören zu lassen. Damit nun das argument der disputation seinem Stande gemäß seyn möchte; so ist das thema de iure mavrorum in Europa oder vom Mohrenrecht beliebet worden. Darinnen daß nicht allein ex LL und der Historie gezeuget; daß der Mohren ihr König bey dem Römischen Kayser ehedem zu Lehen gegangen und jeder von denselben ein Königs-Patent welches auch Justinianus augetheilet hohlen müssen; sondern auch vornehmlich dieses untersuchet wie weit den von Christen erkaufften Mohren in Europa ihre Freyheit oder Dienstbarkeit denen üblichen Rechten nach sich erstrecke.

From Wöchentlichen Hallischen Frage- und Anzeigungs-Nachrichten, 28 November, 1729. 

*

Johann Heinrich Zedler (1739):

Amo (Anton Wilhelm), a baptized Moor, originally from Guinea in Africa. His Highness the Elector of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, at his own expense, sent Amo to study philosophy and law for some years at Halle. In the year 1729, in the month of November, he defended a dissertation in law, with the Chancellor von Ludwig presiding, entitled De jure Maurorum in Europa, or on the law of Moors. In this work he showed from laws and histories that the kings of the Moors were enfeoffed under the Roman Emperor, and that each of them had to obtain a royal patent, which Justinian also issued. After this, he investigates how far the freedom or servitude of baptized Moors in Europe extends according to the usual laws (see Ludwig's Universal-Historie, Part 5, p. 251). From this he obtained the Master's degree, and for some time gave private lessons in Halle (see Dreyhaupt's Beschreibung des Saalkreises, Part II, p. 28). He must however have subsequently visited the University of Wittenberg, since we possess from him a Disputationem philosophicam, continentem ideam distinctam eorum, quae competunt vel menti vel corpori nostro vivo & organico, which he publicly defended aspraeses in Wittenberg on 29 May, 1734. In this dissertation he refers several times to another dissertation he defended, the Dissertatio de humana [sic] mentis apatheia.

From the Großes Universallexicon aller Wissenschaften und Künste, Leipzig, 1739-1750. Online version here. 

*

David-Henri Gallandat (1782):

While he [Gallandat] was on this voyage to Axim, on the Gold Coast of Africa, he went to visit the famous Herr Anton Wilhem Amo Guinea Afer, Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Liberal Arts. He was a Negro, who had spent around 30 years in Europe. He was in Amsterdam in 1707, and was bestowed to the Herzog of Braunschweig, Anton Ulrich, who gave him to his son, August Wilhelm. The latter sent him to study at Halle and in Wittenberg, where in 1727 he was promoted to Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Liberal Arts. Some time later his master died; this made him very melancholy, and he decided to return to his home country. He lived as a hermit, and was reputed to be a soothsayer. He spoke various languages- Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, High and Low German, was very learned in astrology and astronomy, and was a great philosopher. At that time he was around 50 years old. His father and a sister were still alive, and lived a four days' journey inland. He had a brother who was a slave in the colony of Suriname. Later he moved from Axim and went to live in the fortress of the West Indian St. Sebastian Company, in Chama.

Terwyl hy op deeze reis te Axim op de Goudkunst in Africa was, ging hy den beroemden Heer Anthonius Guilielmus Amo Guinea Afer, Philosophiae Dr. et Artium Liberalium Magister bezoeken. Hy was een Neger, die ruim 30 Jaaren in Europa verkeerd had. Hy was in den Jaare 1707 in Amsterdam, en werd vereerd aan den Hertog van Brunswyk, Anthoni Ulrich, die hem aan zyn zoon Augustus Wilhelmus gaf. Deeze liet hem studeeren te Hall, en in Wittenberg, waar hy in den Jaare 1727 tot Doctor in de Philosophie en Meester in de Vrye konsten Gepromoveerd werd. Eenigen tyd daarna overleed zyn Meester: dit maakte hem zeer droefgeestig, en deed hum besluiten naar zyn Vaderland te rug te keeren; hy leefde daar toen als een Heremiet, en had den naam van een Gelukzegger te zyn; hy sprak verscheiden taalen, Hebreeuws, Grieks, Latyn, Fransch, Hoog- en Nederduitsch; was zeer kundig in de Astrologie en Astronomie, en een groot Wysgeer; zynde toen omtrent 50 Jaaren oud. Zyn Vader en eene Zuster leefden noch, en woonden vier dagreizen landwaard in; hy had een Broeder, die Slaaf was in de Colonie van Suriname; naderhand is hy van Axim verhuist en gaan woonen in de Fortres der West-Ind. Comp. St. Sebastiaan, te Chama. 

--From Verhandelingen uitgegeven door het Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen te Vlissingen. Negende Deel. Middelburg, Pieter Gillissen, 1782, p. 19-20.

*

Abbé Henri Grégoire (1808):

Amo (Antoine-Guillaume), born in Guinea, was brought at a very young age to Amsterdam, in 1707, and given to the duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Anton Ulrich, who gave him to his son August Wilhelm. The latter sent him to pursue his studies to the University of Halle, in Saxony, and to the University of Wittemberg. At the former, in 1729, under the chairmanship of the Chancellor von Ludwig, he defended a thesis, and published a dissertation On the Law of Moors.

Amo was versed in astronomy, and spoke Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Dutch, and German. 

He so distinguished himself by his good morals and by his talents, that the rector and the council of the University of Wittemberg found it fitting, in 1733, to do him public honor through an epistle of congratulations. They recalled that Terence too was from Africa; that many martyrs, doctors, and church fathers were born in that same country, where letters flourished, and that fell back into barbarism when it lost Christianity. 

Amo successfully gave individual courses, praised in the same epistle: in a program publiched by the dean of the faculty of philosophy, it is said of this learned Negro, that having treated of the systems of the ancients and the moderns, he selected and taught what was best in them. 

Amo, having become a doctor, defended a thesis and published a dissertation in 1744 [sic] at Wittemberg on the sensations, considered as absent in the human soul, and present in the human body. In a letter written to him by the president, he is addressed as a vir nobilissime et clarissime; thus the University of Wittemberg did not have, on the basis of a difference of color, the prejudices of so many men who claim to be enlightened. The president states that he never made any changes to Amo's dissertation, since it was so well written. Indeed, the work bespeaks a mind that is well exercised in reflection. He seeks to establish the differences of phenomena between beings that exist without life, and those that have life. A stone exists, but is not alive. 

It appears that abstract discussions held a particular attraction for our author, since, having become a professor, he saw to the defense, the same year, of a thesis that was similar to the preceding one, on the distinction that is to be made between the operations of the mind and those of the senses. The Berlin court conferred upon him the title of Councillor of State, but after the death of the prince of Braunschweig, his benefactor, Amo, having fallen into a deep melancholy, resolved to leave the Europe where he had lived for thirty years, and to return to his native land in Axim, on the Gold Coast. In 1753 he received the visit of the learned voyager and physician David-Henri Gallandat, who speaks of him in the Mémoires de l'Académie de Flessingue, of which he was a member.

Amo, at that time around 50 years old, led a solitary life there. His father and sister were still alive, and his brother was a slave in Suriname. Some time later, he left Axim, and settled in Chama, at the fort of the Dutch Saint-Sebastian Company. 

I made some unfruitful research in order to discover whether Amo published other works, and when he died. 

From De la littérature des Nègres, ou, recherches sur leurs facultés intellectueles, leurs qualités morales et leur littérature: suivies des notices sur la vie et les ouvrages des Nègres qui se sont distingués dans les sciences, les lettres et les arts, Paris, 1808, pgs. 198-202. Online version here.

Philippi's Poem about Amo (1747)

I've been working through Johann Ernst Philippi's 1747 satirical poem, which is said by a number of researchers to have played an important role in damaging Amo's reputation and in causing him, most likely in the following year, to return to Africa. The work is not at all like I thought it would be. It consists in four parts, the first two of which have nothing to do with Amo. The third part is a love letter written in verse, to a certain Mademoiselle Astrine. There is nothing terribly humorous about it (as far as I can tell). It seems perfectly sincere, and does not in any way demean Amo as a person or as an African. It is only in Astrine's reply (other than in the title itself of Amo's letter) that we find any mention of Amo's status as a Moor. She declares that she cannot love a Moor, but even here there does not seem to be any gross caricaturing.

It is unlikely that Astrine was a real person, but the relative sincerity and plausibility of the two characters as presented by Philippi leads me to think that perhaps the story is based on a real event in the real Amo's life, and that it was not so much a scurrilous attack on Amo that compelled him to quit Germany, as it was the events that precipitated the writing of Philippi's relatively moderate attack.

I've transcribed all of the third section, in the voice of Amo, and part of Astrine's reply in the fourth section. I don't think I'll have time to come up with a passable translation any time soon (I think verse should be translated in verse, and this would be very hard to do).

Here is Amo's part:

III.

Herrn M. Amo zu Jena,
Eines gelehrten Mohrens,
Galanter Liebes-Antrag
An
Die Mademoiselle Astrine,
eine schöne Brünette.

Vorbericht.

Das Laubwerck dieses Briefs hat Amor ausgedacht,
Und wie er mir zugleich den Inhalt vordictiret,
Vorietzo nur mit schwartz auf weiss darum gemacht,
Er hätte ihn mit Gold auf Purper ausgezieret,
Nachdem er, wie es sonst am besten sich geschicket,
Auf Atlas ausgedrücket.

Allein, weil noch mein Herz in steter Trauer ist,
So hat auch Herz und Brief die Trauer angelegt,
Du wirst was bessers sehn, wenn du mir günstig bist,
Laß nur den Freuden Stern, der Leib und Seel beweget,
Und stets Vergnügen strahlt, mir bald ohn Untergehen,
Aus deiner Gunst entstehen.

Das mir entwandte Herz ist wiederum dahin!
Mein Herz, mein armes Herz, mit Dornen vest durchflochten,
Durch dessen Redligkeit ich sonst beliebet bin,
Weil die Aufrichtigen es gerne leiden mochten,
Ist hin! Mein Leben stirbt; wie halb verdorrte Nelcken
Ohn Lebensaft verwelcken.

Wie das, was grün, verdorrt, wenn seine Wurtzel stirbt,
Gleichwie mein Hofnungsbaum voll Lebens-Balsamsprossen,
Wenn mich Astrine haßt, im Augenblick verdirbt,
Den ihre Seegenshand zum Wachstum jüngst begoßen;
So stirbt mein Leben, das zur Redligkeit gebohren,
Weil ich mein Hertz verlohren.

So klagte ich, alwo ein angenehmer Ort,
Nicht weit von unsrer Stadt die Seelen ganz erfreuet,
Wo immer Frühling ist; und wo kein Unglücksnord
Der Thränen Perlen-Saat aus Trauer-Wocken streuet,
Wo seltne Liebligkeit, die uns der Himmel schicket,
Was man nur steht, erquicket.

Hier blüht ein Paradieß, fürtreflich anzuschaun,
Wo Turteltauben sich die tiefversteckten Nester
Von Lilgen und Jeßmin in Liebes Rosen baun,
Die Liebe wohnet hier; die Anmuth, ihre Schwester,
Giebt nebst dem, was man sonst ohn’ sie entbehren müste,
Der Engel Himmels-Lüste.

Hat Amor, fuhr ich fort, Dich wiederum entwandt,
Und einer Artigen zum Eigenthum gegeben?
Hat etwa Venus selbst Dich Einer zuerkandt,
Der nicht die Quahl bewust, wenn wir in Flammen leben?
Du thätest mir zu viel, Beherrscherin der Triebe,
Du Mutter zarter Liebe!

Du hast mir sonst dien Bild von Musen selbst gemahlt,
Wozu die Gratien die Farben eingemenget,
Worum ein krauser Rand von Diamanten strahlt,
An Freundschafts Purper-Schnur mir selber angehänget,
Das war so viel, ich sey in deines Sohnes Orden
Dein bester Liebling worden.

Weswegen sol lich nun ohn’ Herz und hülflos seyn?
Ich schwieg. Die Venus furh, in ihrem Perlen-Wagen,
Ganz allgemach herab, auf Wolcken voller Schein,
Zwo weisse Tauben, die, wie unsre Dichter sagen,
Stets ihren Wagen ziehn, die hatten kein Vergnügen,
Noch weiter fortzufliegen.

Es trug die Wohllust ihr der Anmuth Zucker-Kost,
Worin das Himmlische uns Lüsternheit erweckte,
In güldnen Schaalen zu: Als Amor Götter-Most,
Den man sonst Julep nennt, aus Perlen-Muscheln leckte,
Der Venus dieneten ein Heer der Amoretten,
Die Lüste, Zephyretten.

Indem Aurora oft dem Amor Küße gab,
Ließ seine Mutter, mit dem ihr bedienten Volcke,
An den benanten Ort sich nach und nach herab;
Vom Himmel streute man, au seiner jeden Wolcke,
Mit vollen Händen, um dieselbe zu liebkosen,
Viel Lilien und Rosen.

Die Hirten dieses Orts, die sahen fleißig zu.
Du kennest, sing sie an, mein zärtliches Gemüthe,
Daß mir nichts liebers ist in dieser Welt, als du.
Nur du misbrauchest jezt den Kern von meiner Güte,
Wird meine Gunst zu dir nun erst was unbekantes,
Mißtrauischer Rosantes!

Du klagest, daß mein Sohn ohnlängst dein Herz entwandt,
Und einer Artigen zum Eigenthum gegeben,
Ich selber hätte wohl es Einer zuerkant,
Der nicht die Quahl bewust, wenn wir in Flammen leben,
Nein, Kind, ich kenn dein Herz, und sein beliebtes Wesen,
Es soll und muß genesen.

Und kurz: Ich habe es Astrinen selbst verehrt,
Samt seiner Redligkeit und auserlesnen Glammen,
Weil dieses Engelskind nur deines Herzens werth,
Deswegen kanst du nicht, was ich gethan, verdammen,
Noch mir und meinem Sohn, bey ungegründten Klagen,
Aus Misverstand entsagen.

Hier sturb ich fast vor Lust. Sie hatte recht gethan.
Ich sprach zu ihr: Ganz recht, annemlichste Dione,
Weil meine Seele doch ohn sie nicht leben kan,
Und sie sprach wiederum zum Amor ihrrem SOhne,
Laß bey Astrinen, die der Engel dieser Erden
Rosanten glücklich warden.

Genung. Galantes Kind, weil Dich mein Herze liebt,
Und meine Seel um Dich als ihren Leitstern schwebet,
Die sich dir ganz und gar zum Eigenthum ergiebt,
Und unabläßlich vest an dir alleine klebet,
So sey mein Lustgestirn, voll Glanz der Liebligkeiten,
Die Wonne meiner Zeiten.

Ein Meer, ein Wohllust-Meer Geheimnißvoller Lust.
Durchsüsset meine Seel, die dir zum Opfer brennet,
Und ganz was himmlisches begeistert meine Brust,
Wenn Amor dich bey mir bey deinem Nahmen nennet,
Kurtz: Clärichen, du bist mein Leitstern ohne Mängel, 
Herzallerliebster Engel!

Und du, o Himmel, kennst den noch geheimen Brand,
Deswegen hilf du mir, die stille Noth verschmerzen;
Und weil Dir beyderseits die neue Glut bekandt,
Die ganz aus Liebe stammt: So füge unsre Hertzen
In schönster Lieblichkeit der Sehnsucht-vollen Glammen
Auf ewig vest zusammen!

Here Amo's part of the story comes to an end and we move on to Astrine's reply:

IV.

Der Mademoiselle Astrine
Parodische Antwort
Auf vorstehendes Gedichte
Eines verliebten Mohrens.

Hat Amor, frag ich noch einmahl, dein Herz entwandt,
So hat er warrlich mir dasselbe nicht gegeben,
Die Venus hat es auch mir niemals zuerkannt,
Ich lache über die, die in den Flammen leben;
Mein Herr Magister, sey ein Herrscher deiner Triebe,
Und rede nicht von Liebe,

Hat Venus selber dir der Musen Bild gemahlt.
Wozu die Gratien die Farben eingemenget,
Wenn gleich kein krauser Rand von Diamanten strahlt;
Hat sie dir eine Schnur, wie du sprichst, angehänget;
So bist du gleichwohl nur in derer Mohren-Orden
Ihr bester Liebling worden.

… At some point, Astrine falls asleep, and dreams of a visitation by the goddess Venus, which she relates in the letter to Amo (the 'son' in question is Cupid):

Ich sahe diesem Spiel von ferne fleißig zu,
Du kennst, sprache sie zu dir, mein zärtliches Gemüthe,
Und daß Astrinen nichts fataler sey, als du;
Warum misbrauchest du den also meine Güte?
Den teutschen Jungfern ist ein Mohr was unbekantes,
Du seltsamer Rosantes!

Du klagest, daß mein Sohn unlängst dein Hertz entwandt,
Und einer Artigen zum Eigenthum gegeben;
Ich selber hätte wohl es einer zuerkannt,
Der nicht die Quahl bewust, in der Verlibete leben;
Du irrest, Amo, dich; bey ihrem schnöden Wesen
Wird dein Hertz nie genesen.

Und kurtz: Ich habe es Astrinen nie verehrt,
Denn diese lachet ja nur über deine Flammen,
Nur eine Mohrin ist blos deines Hertzens werth,
Drum magst du deine Gluth, die mich verdreust, verdammen,
Denn bey Astrinen kanst du nur mit denen Klagen,
Der Liebe ganz entsagen.

Hier wachte ich gleich auf; Sie hatte wohl gethan,
Ich dachte: Das ist recht, Annehmliche Dione,
Weil meine Seele doch nie Mohren lieben kan:
Und wär die Venus hire, spräch ich zu ihrem Sohne:
Rosantes kan als Mohr bey mir auf dieser Erden
Niemahlen glücklich werden.

Why Study Amo?

Anton Wilhelm Amo's most devoted researcher and biographer, the East German scholar Burchard Brentjes, writes in his generally excellent 1977 study, Anton Wilhelm Amo: Der schwarze Philosoph in Halle, that were it not for the peculiarities of Amo's life and identity, there would be little reason to study his work. Is this true? For some time, I myself had known about Amo, but hesitated to delve into his work on the grounds that I am a historian of philosophy, and at a minimum any figure from the history of philosophy who warrants my attention will have contributed some novel or innovative argument or insight about the questions that matter, or have mattered, to philosophers. To put it bluntly, I did not consider the undeniably interesting social and political history that defines the arc of Amo's life as sufficient for including him within the fold of history-of-philosophy scholarship.

At the same time, I had been interested for a while in the intellectual context of philosophy at the University of Halle in the first half of the 18th century. I had been working for some years on a critical edition and translation (with François Duchesneau) of G. W. Leibniz's 1709-10 controversy with the Halle Pietist physician, Georg Ernst Stahl. I had heard that Amo's 1734 work, De humanae mentis apatheia, was a later echo of the same controversy that set Leibniz and Stahl against one another, and this for me was a sufficient reason to have a look at it. 

I was amazed to find myself, as I first began reading it, often getting confused as to whether I was reading a 1734 academic dissertation of an anti-Stahlian student at Halle, or whether I was looking at Leibniz's own, earlier objections to Stahl! Amo's work gave me a sudden, vivid window into the intellectual legacy of the Leibniz-Stahl debate, and into what life as a philosopher at Halle in the 1730s --forced to choose between conservative Pietism and a supposedly subversive variety of derivative Leibnizianism best represented in the work of Christian Wolff-- must have been like. 

It may be true that a dozen other dissertations defended the same year at Halle could give us an equally vivid insight (I cannot be sure; I haven't read any besides Amo's), but this does not mean that none of them are worth studying. My earlier bias as a historian of philosophy, in favor of originality, missed the important truth that minor or derivative thinkers can often reveal to us a good deal of what was at stake in a historical debate. Amo is helping me to learn about Leibniz and Stahl, retroactively, as it were. What's more, I have no evidence that his work is derivative or unoriginal. His standing up against the Pietist view of the relationship between mind and body, as far as I can tell, is based on sound and rigorous reasoning, and also seems to have been a position that required a certain amount of moral courage to adopt (after all, it was ultimately Amo's defense of Leibnizian-Wolffianism that was to blame for his bad fortune in Germany). 

And beyond these concerns about justification that emerge only within the rather narrow field of academic history of philosophy, there is of course the man, Amo, whose legacy deserves to be made known. As was argued as early as Abbé Grégoire's 1808 abolitionist survey, De la littérature des Nègres, the very existence of Amo and his life's work is a strong testament against racism, and against the rather simplistic idea that the history of Western philosophy has always been a history of exclusion. 

An Amo Chronology

Adapted from Burchard Brentjes, Anton Wilhelm Amo: Der schwarze Philosoph in Halle, Leipzig, Koehler & Amelang, 1977, and other sources.

c. 1703. Amo is born, most likely in Axim, a village located in present-day Ghana.

29 July, 1707. Notice of Amo's baptism in the church register of the Saltzthal chapel, Wolfenbüttel.

9 June, 1727. Notice of matriculation at the University of Halle.

28 November, 1729. Amo participates in a disputation on his thesis, De iure Maurorum in Europa [On the Right of Moors in Europe].

2 September, 1730. Notice of matriculation at the University of Wittenberg.

17 October, 1730. Amo obtains the degree of Magister of Philosophy and the Liberal Arts. 

April, 1734. Amo completes his inaugural dissertation, De Humanae mentis apatheia [On the Absence of Sensation in the Human Mind].

16 April, 1734. Notice in the decanal register at the University of Wittenberg that Amo has been retained as a Magister legens.

29 April, 1734. Amo participates as praeses in the disputation of Johannes Theodosius Meiner's thesis, Idearum distinctam eorum quae competunt vel menti vel corpori nostro vivo et organico.

21 July, 1736. Notice in the records of the Philosophy Faculty of the University of Halle that Amo has been retained as a Dozent. 

1736. Amo participates in a disputation with J. C. Petsche in Halle. 

1737. Amo composes a poem in honor of Abraham Wolff. 

1738. Amo completes the Tractatus de arte sobrie et accurate philosophandi [Treatise on the Art of Soberly and Correctly Philosophizing], in Halle.

27 June, 1739. Notice of Amo's 'nostrification' (i.e., hiring) at the University of Jena. 

17 July, 1739. Announcement of Amo's lecture program at Jena.

October, 1747. Johann Ernst Phillipi's satirical screed against Amo is published. 

c. 1748. Amo flees Germany and returns to West Africa.

1752. David-Henri Gallandat meets Amo in Axim, in West Africa.

c. 1753. Amo dies. 

Amo on 'Crocodilitis'

This is one of the items in Amo's long list of forms of informal reasoning, offered in his 1734 work, the De Humanae mentis apatheia. Its sources are fairly obscure. There are a few other references to crocodilitis in earlier Dutch humanist texts, but they do not seem to mean the same thing by it that Amo does. 

8. Crocodilitis

Crocodilitis is not, strictly speaking, a sort of argument, but rather a sort of captious questioning. In this question, the interrogator intends to demonstrate two contrary proporsitions by means of fictitious reasons, yet in anticipation of the response that is to come: he affirms the one by means of negation, and he denies the other by means of affirmation; he does so in alleging, in both cases, premeditated fictitious examples.

Example: Mental Propositions

I. I am not your friend.

II. I am not your enemy

Question

Do you believe I am your friend? If the interlocutor responds in the affirmative, the other thus reacts immediately: Whence do you have this conviction? And he continues: If I were in fact already your friend, I would already have given you, long ago, the favors of friendship, and I would not have burdened you with this question.

If by contrast the interlocutor responds in the negative, the other promptly reacts: Whence do you have the evidence that I am your enemy? If I were already in fact your enemy I would not have asked the question: I would have been intent on harming you without saying a word. You can thus see that I am not your enemy.

Abram Petrovich Gannibal (1696-1781)

As two étoiles noires des Lumières, Gannibal and Amo had remarkably parallel lives, and merit comparative study alongside each other. In fact, Brentjes (1977) suggests that the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel may have been following the example of Peter the Great in seeking to educate his slave, in order, in effect, to demonstrate his Enlightenment bona fides and thereby to curry favor with the Russian Empire. 

In ways I hope to be able to address at some point, Gannibal's fate was much happier than Amo's. The former was adopted by the Tsar, who evidently was genuinely affectionate towards his slave. Gannibal was eventually freed, and even legally adopted by the Tsar. He had a glorious career as an officer and engineer, and married into nobility and had generations of descendants. Among them was Aleksandr Pushkin, Gannibal's great-grandson. This is my translation of an excerpt from Pushkin's unfinished novel, Peter the Great's Moor (1827). For more on the life of the real Abram Petrovich Gannibal, see Hugh Barnes, Gannibal: The Moor of Petersburg, 2005.

"I've noticed, brother, that you're feeling down," said Peter. "What's missing in your life?" Ibrahim assured his lord that he was satisfied with his lot and that he did not want anything more.

"Good," his lord said, "if there is no reason for it, then I know how to cheer you up."
When their work was concluded, Peter asked Ibrahim: 
"Did you like that girl with whom you danced the minaret at the last assembly?"
"She is very sweet, sir, and is a modest and good girl, it seems."
"Then I'll introduce you to her soon. Would you like to marry her."
"Me, sir?"
"Listen, Ibrahim, you are a lonely man, without family or tribe, strange to everyone but me. If I die today, what will come of you tomorrow, my poor blackamoor? You need to make an effort while there is still time; find your foothold in new connections, enter the ranks of the Russian gentry."
"Sir, I am pleased with the patronage and the kindness of your highness. May God grant that I not outlive my Tsar and benefactor, I want nothing more. But if I intended to marry, would the young woman and her family agree? My appearance..."
"Your appearance! What nonsense! Why, you're a regular beau! The young woman is obliged to obey the will of her parents, and look, what is old Gavrila Rzhevskiï going to say when I myself am your wedding's sponsor?" At this the lord called for the sleigh to be brought, and left Ibrahim immersed in his deep reflections.

"Marriage!," thought the African. "Why not? Am I really fated to live out my life in solitude, without knowing the greatest pleasures and the most solemn duties of a man, just because I was born beneath the fifteenth parallel? It's a childish objection to suppose that I could never hope to be loved! Can one really believe in love? Does it really exist in the frivolous heart of a woman? Forever declining to fall victim to sweet delusions, I've given in to other temptations, even greater still. My lord is right: I should see to my future fate. My marriage to the young Rzhevskaia will unite me to the proud Russian gentry, and I will cease to be a stranger in my new homeland. I will not demand love from my wife, but will rest content with her loyalty, and I will transform her friendship into lasting tenderness, trust, and forbearance."

*

Я замечаю, брат, что ты приуныл; говори прямо: чего тебе недостает? — Ибрагим уверил государя, что он доволен своей участию и лучшей не желает.
— Добро, — сказал государь, — если ты безо всякой причины, так я знаю, чем тебя развеселить.
По окончанию работы Петр спросил Ибрагима:
— Нравится ли тебе девушка, с которой ты танцевал минавет на прошедшей ассамблее?
— Она, государь, очень мила и, кажется, девушка скромная и добрая.
— Так я ж тебя с нею познакомлю покороче. Хочешь ли ты на ней жениться?
— Я, государь?..
— Послушай, Ибрагим, ты человек одинокий, без роду и племени, чужой для всех, кроме одного меня. Умри я сегодня, завтра что с тобою будет, бедный мой арап? Надобно тебе пристроиться, пока есть еще время; найти опору в новых связях, вступить в союз с русским боярством.
— Государь, я счастлив покровительством и милостями вашего величества. Дай мне бог не пережить своего царя и благодетеля, более ничего не желаю; но если б и имел в виду жениться, то согласятся ли молодая девушка и ее родственники? моя наружность...
— Твоя наружность! какой вздор! чем ты не молодец? Молодая девушка должна повиноваться воле родителей, а посмотрим, что скажет старый Гаврила Ржевский, когда я сам буду твоим сватом? — При сих словах государь велел подавать сани и оставил Ибрагима, погруженного в глубокие размышления.

«Жениться! — думал африканец, — зачем же нет? ужели суждено мне провести жизнь в одиночестве и не знать лучших наслаждений и священнейших обязанностей человека потому только, что я родился под пятнадцатым градусом? Мне нельзя надеяться быть любимым: детское возражение! разве можно верить любви? разве существует она в женском, легкомысленном сердце? Отказавшись навек от милых заблуждений, я выбрал иные обольщения — более существенные. Государь прав: мне должно обеспечить будущую судьбу мою. Свадьба с молодою Ржевскою присоединит меня к гордому русскому дворянству, и я перестану быть пришельцем в новом моем отечестве. От жены я не стану требовать любви, буду довольствоваться ее верностию, а дружбу приобрету постоянной нежностию, доверенностию и снисхождением».

Dedicatory Epistle to Amo's De Humanae mentis apatheia (1734)

To the benevolent reader, the Rector and the Council of the University of Wittenberg extend a cordial welcome

In the past, the veneration given to Africa was enormous, whether for its natural genius, its appreciation for learning, or its religious organization. This continent nurtured the growth of a number of men of great value, whose genius and assiduousness have made an inestimable contribution to the knowledge of human affairs and, much more, to the knowledge of divine things. From memory, no one has ever been judged better informed in matters of daily life, nor more a man of refined manners, than Terence of Carthage. Plato himself was reborn in the Socratic interventions of Apuleius of Madaurus. His discourses were so well received in centuries past that learned men were divided into two camps: that of Apuleius contended with that of Cicero for the first prize in eloquence. And in the development of Christian doctrine, how many were its promoters who came from Africa! Only to speak of the greatest of them, let us cite Tertullian, Cyprian, Arnobius, Optatus, Augustine, whose disputed with candor across the full range of the knowledge they had acquired. Monuments, facts, martyrs, councils, all proclaim the fidelity and constancy with which these African doctors labored for the preservation of the integrity of what is sacred. In fact, to suppose that the African church only ever made concessions is to do it an injustice. Even with the Arab invasion of Africa, which brought about great changes, many things did not disappear with the domination of these invaders: all of the radiance of African technical and literary genius was not at all extinguished. In fact, letters were admired among these peoples, where the liberal sciences were cultivated; as the Moors coming from Africa crossed through Spain, they brought knowledge of the ancient thinkers, while also bringing much assistance to the development of letters, which were coming out of the darkness little by little.

African learning thus had, in the most ancient times, something to be well received. This is no less true for us, to whom it is reported that that part of the earth has at its disposition other things richer still than the wealth of books and the applications of the technical arts, as is attested by the example given by the Master in philosophy and in the liberal arts, the very brilliant Anton Wilhelm AMO, an African from Guinea. He first saw the light of day in the most distant region of West Africa, and came to Europe as a small boy. He was introduced to sacred things at Halae Juliae. The most serene princes, dukes of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, August Wilhelm and Ludwig Rudolph, deployed their goodness so that he should not suffer, in his education, from the absence of a father's assistance. After having demonstrated his genius, he was brought to Halle in Saxony: there he was initiated into diverse sciences, after which he came to us. As he showed an equal spirit [in philosophy], he rallied the entire department in his favor, and all of his masters unanimously accorded to him the degree of Doctor in Philosophy.

These encomia took on greater weight still, from the praises he received thanks to his genius, to his rank, and to his admirable sense of honor; to his industry, to the knowledge he demonstrated on the occasion of public or private performances. In conducting himself thus, he brought upon himself the affection of the best men, and of the most learned, surpassing others of his generation by a head. Strengthened by the fascination that he inspired in them, he was at home in explaining philosophy to a number of them, commenting on the positions of the ancients as well as of the moderns, always choosing the clearest explanation and giving the reasons for this choice swiftly and with precision. In so doing, he clearly demonstrated his ability to understand and to teach, indicating by this that he had everything needed to obtain, soon, a post in a university, and also that this would be in line with his natural penchant. It being understood that he has not disappointed us, this is why we cannot refrain from according to him the public judgment that he is right to hope for our appreciation. We place much hope in him, and we are convinced that he is worthy of the Prince whom he piously venerates, and whom he praises in all of his statements. We pray to God to pemit him to benefit for a long time from such happiness as this, and for him to achieve his goals for the glory of the very good and mighty PRINCE LUDWIG RUDOLPH.

We pray to God for the propserity of the whole House of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, so reputed in all of Germany in view of its great merits.

Written publicly and marked with the seal of the University, this 24th of May, 1733

Johannes Gottfried Kraus, current Rector of the University

**

The President solemnly salutes the brilliant author of this thesis

We publicly declare that Africa, and Guinea, one of its countries, so far from us, are your homeland. In view of its reserves of gold, this Guinea was previously called Côte d'Or by the Europeans, and was justly celebrated like a mother who bears natural goods and treasures in her womb, as also, still more, men of very great genius and of very great inventiveness. You count among these latter, very noble and very renowned Sir, with your badge of talent, of which fecundity and merit, as well as vigor and elegance, stand out among your intellectual attainments. All this led to your promotion in our university, with the unanimous applause of men of quality. No less, this thesis is today proof of all this. Because you have elegantly and knowledgeably composed it, I return it to you in its entirety and without any modifications, so tha your genius will radiate from it with that much more force. To conclude, I congratulate you with all my heart for this measure of the excellence of your erudition, but know that my esteem is still more affectionate than the words with which I express it. Permit me to sollicit, humbly and with all of my devotion, the grace of God and of the very great and very good prince, LUDWIG RUDOLPH, for whose salvation I shall never tire of calling upon Divine Majesty.

Composed at Wittenberg in Saxony, April, the year of our Lord 1734.