He studied philology at the University of Berlin, where his instructors included August Boeckh, Moriz Haupt, Theodor Mommsen, Karl Müllenhoff and Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg.
In 1864 he obtained his PhD, then briefly served as an apprentice at the gymnasium in Frankfurt an der Oder and at the Grauen Kloster in Berlin.
In 1865 he began work as a schoolteacher at the Sophien-Gymnasium in Berlin, where he later attained the titles of senior instructor (1872) and professor (1885).
Other noteworthy writings by Seyffert include: In 1896–1897, with Paul Wendland, he published the journal "Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft" ("Annual Reports of the Proceedings of Classical Scholarship").
[2] Also, he was co-editor of the journal "Berliner Philologische Wochenschrift" which published reviews and articles every week.