Christian Wolff (1679-1754), German philosopher. Wolff was born at Breslau in Silesia. He studied mathematics, physics and natural philosophy at the University of Jena, where he graduated in 1703, and in 1706 was appointed a professor at Halle in Prussia. A friend of Liebnitz, Wolff was a champion of rationalism, a stance which was at odds with the Pietism of Lutheran dogmatism expected of philosophers. It was implied that his stance meant that a soldier could desert without impunity simply by claiming that such an act was predetermined and thus unavoidable. Wolff was expelled from Prussia by King Frederick William I but found new employment in Marburg in Hesse-Kassel. He was immensely popular as a teacher. When Frederick the Great ascended the throne in Prussia he invited Wolff to return, which he did in triumph. This engraving is from an edition of Wolff's 'Jus Gentium'.