börne and his brothers were privately tutored by jacob sachs, and later by rector mosche. at age fourteen, he studied medicine with professor hetzel at gießen. after a year, he was sent to study medicine at berlin under a physician, markus herz, whose house he lived in. at age sixteen, baruch became infatuated by his patron's thirty-eight-year-old wife, henriette herz. after her husband died in 1803, he expressed his adoration in a series of letters. when he enrolled at halle university, she was influential in his boarding with professor reil. he studied constitutional law and political science at university of heidelberg and giessen. there he received his phd in 1809 with the dissertation "ueber die geometrische vertheilung der staatsgebiete".