Brandenburg, Luise Henriette, Electress of—1627-1667—the daughter of Frederick Henry, and wife of Frederick William, Princes of Orange. A Princess distinguished for her gentleness and charity. She was the foundress of the Oranienburg Orphan Asylum.
Brunswick, Anton Ulrich, Duke of—1633-1714—pupil of the learned Schottelius; a learned Prince, who was a popular writer of his time.
Bürde, Samuel Gottlieb—1753-?—native of Breslau, royal secretary to the board of finances at that place.
Fouqué, Friedrich Freiherr, de la Motte, born, in 1777, at Neubrandenberg. The worthy and distinguished descendant of the brave, intellectual, and pious general of Frederick the Great; he has given a beautiful and lasting memorial of his poetical spirit and his Christian mind, in the hymn “Was du vor tausend Jahren.” He died at Halle in 1843.
Freylinghausen, Johann Anastasius—1670-1739—born at Gandersheim, in Wolfenbüttel; a clergyman, and director of the Orphan Asylum at Halle.
Gellert, Christian Fürchtegott—1715-1769—a Saxon, native of Haynichen, in Erzgebirge, and son of the minister of that place. He studied theology, in distressed circumstances, at Leipzig, but his bad health did not allow him to preach. He lived at Leipzig, and gave lectures (first as a master of arts and afterwards as extraordinary professor) on eloquence and moral philosophy, and gained as universally the reputation of an author and a pattern of pure taste, as he did love and esteem as a man and a Christian, by his integrity of conduct, and his unaffected piety and humility. Composing hymns was his favourite employment, in which, together with prayer, he spent the happiest hours of his life of suffering. All his hymns speak the simple Christian poet of the people, and many of them have lasting classic merit. His death, as was his life, was worthy of a Christian. When, in his last illness, his friends told him, in answer to his question, that the struggle between life and death might probably last an hour, he lifted up his hands with a cheerful countenance, exclaimed, “Now, God be praised, only an hour!” turned on his side, his eyes gleaming with joy, and gently breathed his last.
Gerhard, Paul—1606-1676—of Gräfenhaynichen, in the circle of the Electorate; the greatest of German hymn-writers. Scarcely had he attained his twelfth year, when the Thirty years’ war broke out. Forced to quit his native land, he was appointed, in 1631, preacher at the Nicolai Church at Berlin, where he remained ten years, honoured and respected. But as his religious opinions differed from those of the King, he was ordered to quit the country. Utterly destitute, he and his wife directed their steps towards his native land, performing the journey on foot. When evening arrived, they sought repose at a little village inn, when his wife gave way to a burst of natural emotion. Gerhard reminded her of the text beginning “Commit thy way unto the Lord,” and retiring to an arbour in the garden, he composed the hymn “Befiehl du deine Wege,” for which of all others he is most celebrated. When they were about to retire to rest, two gentlemen entered the parlour in which they were seated. One of them, in conversing with the poet, told him they were on their way to Berlin, in search of the deposed clergyman, Paul Gerhard, by order of Duke Christian of Merseberg. Gerhard’s wife turned pale, but he calmly declared he was the person they were seeking. Great was the astonishment of both husband and wife, when one of the strangers delivered to Gerhard a letter from the duke, informing him that he had settled a considerable pension on him, as a compensation for the injustice of which he had been a victim. Then Gerhard turned to his wife, and gave her the hymn he had composed, with the words “See how God provides! did I not bid you to trust in God and all would be well?”
Günther, Cyriacus—1650-1704—born at Goldbach, a preceptor in the Gymnasium at Gotha.
Heermann, Johann—1585-1647—a native of Silesia, born at Rauden, the son of a furrier, early destined for the Church by his pious mother. He was minister at Koban, in Fürstenthum Glogau, but his bad health obliged him to resign his appointment, and he spent the last thirteen years of his life at Lissa. Being much tried during the horrors of the Thirty years’ war, in which he several times almost miraculously escaped being murdered, his mind became more spiritually enlightened through his bodily sufferings, in the midst of which he wrote the greater number of his hymns, which are a true picture of his pious, humble, and prayerful soul. He dedicated them “Seinen lieben Kindern” (to his dear children).
Lange, Ernst—1650-1727—of Dantzic, member of the town-council of that place. His hymns appeared in 1701.