HEINECCIUS, John Gottlieb (Theophilus), one of the most celebrated jurisconsults Germany has produced, was born at Eisenberg, in the principality of Altenburg, on the 21 st of September 1681. His father, who was regent of the school of that place, and a man of talents superior to his situation, made him early acquainted with the masterpieces of antiquity, and thus inspired him with a decided taste for study. Heineccius (or more properly Heinecke) was still very young when he had the misfortune to lose his father; but in his elder brother, who was pastor at Goslar, he found a monitor and guide, who, by his care and instructions, in some measure supplied the place of his deceased parent. From Goslar he proceeded to Leipsic, where he attended the prelections of the illustrious professor who then adorned the university of that place. In 1702 he published there a thesis De insignibus sacerdotalibus Apostolorum ; a subject which might have afforded scope for a great display of erudition, but which, as treated by Heineccius, did not indicate the real talent of the author. In this thesis he attempted to combat some assertions of Baronius. Heineccius, the following year, took his degree in arts, and then returned to his brother, who wished him to enter the ecclesiastical profession. But having satisfied his brother as to the reasons which induced him to decline taking orders, he soon afterwards accompanied the latter to Halle, where he became tutor to the sons of Count Golofkin. In 1708 he was admitted into the philosophical faculty of that city, and there published an academical dissertation De Genuina Christi Aera e Nummis et Inscriptionibus illustrata, in 4to, republished in 1735, with notes by Liebknecht. Two years afterwards he obtained a chair, which he filled with ability, but without any material increase of reputation. All his studies, however, he regarded as merely preparatory to that of jurisprudence; but it was not until 1716, when he was admitted into the faculty of law, being then in the thirty-sixth year of his age, that he disclosed his designs. His inaugural thesis De Origine et Indole Jurisdictionis Patrimonialis, which was considered as a masterpiece, procured him the esteem of his judges; and his Abridgment of the Antiquities of the Roman law confirmed the high idea which had been formed of his merit, whilst it extended his reputation throughout all Germany. In 1721 he was appointed to the chair of law, a situation which he filled with an ability and success that reflected credit on the university; and new works, which succeeded one another with inconceivable rapidity, added daily to his reputation. But although he enjoyed the highest consideration, yet finding his allowances insufficient to enable him to bring up his family, he was obliged, in 1724, to accept a chair which had been offered him, with suitable appointments, in the university of Franeker. Three years afterwards, on the invitation of the king of Prussia, he repaired to Francfort-on-the-Oder, whence this prince obliged him, in 1733, to return to Halle. Everywhere his prelections were attended by an extremely numerous concourse of pupils, attracted by the solid instruction, the luminous method, and the clear and elegant die* tion, for which this illustrious professor was distinguished. His life, barren of incidents, was passed in the prosecution of useful labours; yet notwithstanding his continual occupation, he discharged in an exemplary manner all the duties of society. But sedentary habits and unremitting application at length ruined his health, and he died generally regretted, on the 31st of August 1741, at the age of sixty. A list of his numerous works will be found in the Bibliothèque Germanique, tom. ii. part 1st. The principal are, 1. Fundamenta styli cultioris una cum Sylloge exemplorum, Halle, 1719, in 8vo; 2. Elementa Philosophiae Rationalis et Moralis, quibus praemissa Historia Philosophica, Francfort, 1728, in 8vo; 3. Antiquitatum Romanarum Jurisprudentiam illustrantium Syntagma juxta seriem Institutionum Justiniani, Halle, 1718, in 8vo; 4. Elementa Juris Naturae et Gentium, Halle, 1738, in 8vo; 5. Praelectiones Academicae in H. Grotii de Jure Belli ac Pacis libros, Berlin, 1744, in 8vo; 6. Praelectiones Academicae in Sam. Puffendorf de Officio Hominis et Civis, ibid. 1742, in 8vo; 7. Historia Juris Civilis Romani ac Germanici, Halle, 1735, in 8vo; 8. Elementa Juris Civilis secundum ordinem Institutionum, Franeker, 1725, in 8vo; 9. Elementa Juris Civilis secundum ordinem Pandectarum, Francfort, 1756, in two vols. 8vo; 10. Elementa Juris Cambiales, Amsterdam, 1743, in 8vo. The works of Heineccius were collected and published by Uhl, professor at Francfort-on-the-Oder, under the title of Opera ad Universam Jurisprudentiam, Philosophiam, et Litteras humaniores pertinentia, Geneva, 1744-1748, in eight vols. 4to, reprinted in the same city, with additions, 1771, in nine vols. 4to; and to these two editions a supplementary volume was at the same time added. After the works of Cujas, this collection is perhaps the most valuable and necessary to a student of jurisprudence. The commentary of Heineccius on the Julian and Papian laws would alone suffice to place him in the rank of the greatest jurisconsults; and if his authority has decreased somewhat in Germany, which we believe to be the case, it is because his successors, profiting by his researches, have been enabled to surpass him. We are also indebted to Heineccius for editions of the Jurisprudentia Romana et Attica, Leyden, 1738, in three vols. folio, with a learned preface prefixed to the first volume. (a.)