Although Daniel Georg Morhof is not considered one of the premier poets of the seventeenth century, his importance cannot be denied. He was a noted teacher of the literatures of the era; a precursor of modern-day librarians; a developer of educational institutions; and a polymath or polyhistor--that is, one who is knowledgeable in many fields and, thus, exemplifies in his person virtually the total knowledge available to his era. As a polymath, Morhof was second in importance in his time only to the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Despite his role in educational and intellectual history, he is scarcely known in the English-speaking world.

Morhof was born on 6 February 1639 in Wismar, the son of a lawyer, Joachim Morhof, who was a notary and a secretary in the local courts, and Agnes Morhof, née Hintz. When Morhof was scarcely a year old, his mother died during the birth...