Brewer's: Infant of Lubeck

Christian Henry Heinecken (1721-1725). At one year old he knew the chief events of the Pentateuch; at thirteen months he knew the history of the Old Testament; at fourteen months he knew the history of the New Testament; at two and a half years he could answer any ordinary question of history or geography; at three years he knew well both French and Latin. At least, so says Schöneich, his preceptor.

“Another of these pitiable prodigies was John Philipp Baratier, of Schwaback, near Nürnberg, born the same year as the Lubeck prodigy (1721-1740). At the age of five be knew Greek. Latin, and French, besides his native German. At nine he knew Hebrew and Chaldee, and could convert German into Latin. At thirteen he could translate Hebrew into French or French into Hebrew. His life was written by Formey, and his name appears in most biographical dictionaries.”

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