Dictionary.net

A German prose-writer of eminence, and a popular poet; born in Hainichen, July 4, 1715; died in Leipzig, Dec. 13, 1769. His place in German literature is that of a restorer and a reformer. He began his literary career proper in 1743 with his famous series of fables, tales, and proverbial sayings. Abandoning a church career, he took up school-teaching; and his lectures on literary topics won him a new renown. During the Seven Years' War he was visited by princes, Frederick the Great invited him to his palace, and regiments of soldiers attended his class recitations. Later in life he fell into a profound melancholy. "Spiritual Odes and Songs"; "Moral Precepts"; "The Loving Sisters"; "Moral and Didactic Poems"; and above all, the "Fables", are the works most widely read in his own day.