DENK, JOSEF. - Philologist and collator of the *Vetus Latina*, born in Munich on 9 Aug. 1849, died there on 22 Jan. 1927. He was a pious priest and zealous parish priest.
Under the influence of Eduard von Wölfflin he collaborated on the *Thesaurus linguae latinae* and the *Archiv für lateinische Lexikographie*. His greatest merit lies in having conceived the *Saba-rier redivinus*, namely a complete updated collection of all the quotations of the Latin biblical text that have come down to us from manuscripts and Christian literature up to the 9th century A.D., imitating the masterpiece of the Benedictine Fr. Sabatier.
To this end he gathered, with admirable diligence, about a million quotations, arranging them in an immense double card index: according to the order of the Sacred Books and according to ecclesiastical writers (for St. Augustine alone, for example, there are about 50,000 quotations). The First World War halted the planned edition, which was eagerly awaited and necessary: “Ein neuer Sabatier ist für die Wissenschaft so notwendig wie das tägliche Brot” (Der Neue Sabatier, p. 18). In 1921–24, D. retired to the Benedictine archabbey of Beuron, to which, after his death, the precious collection passed to be completed and perfected before publication; and now the first fascicle has appeared: *Vetus Latina. Die Reste der altlateinischen Bibel: I. B. Fischer, Verzeichnis der Sigel der Handschriften und Kirchenschriftsteller*, Beuron-Freiburg 1949.
Among D.’s writings are to be mentioned: *Der Neue Sabatier und sein wissenschaftliches Programm* (Leipzig 1914); *Dom Petrus Sabatier, sein Itala-Sammelwerk und dessen Neubearbeitung* (ibid. 1914); *Die altlateinische Bibel in ihrem Gesamtbestand vom 1.–9. Jahrhundert* (ibid. 1914, essay, with *Ruth* and *Judith*, for subscription). From 1908 onward he wrote on the “Itala” and the “Neue Sabatier” in various periodicals (*Biblische Zeitschrift, Theologie und Glaube, Theologische Revue, Zeitschrift für neuest. Wissenschaft, Zeitschrift für kath. Theologie*).