The life of Philipp Jaffé, from birth in Posen in 1819, via a career at the pinnacle of historical scholarship in Berlin, and on to baptism and suicide, was one of transition, of devotion to philological scholarship, and of loneliness and frustration. This volume documents Jaffé¿s life, and allows insight into his soul through more than 200 of his letters (in German) ¿ about half to his parents and half to colleagues, especially Theodor Mommsen.