Johann Balthasar Schupp is best known as the author of popular works of moral satire whose wit and spontaneity of expression make him one of the more accessible German baroque authors for the modern reader. Schupp's literary career divides clearly into two phases: during the first half of his life he wrote exclusively in Latin for an academic public, in keeping with his main role as a university professor of rhetoric; after moving to Hamburg in 1649 to take up a post as a preacher he wrote mainly satiric and devotional tracts in the vernacular, aimed at the moral improvement of his readers. Schupp's works, especially his earlier Latin treatises, have yet to be adequately researched. The lack of a reliable modern scholarly edition has certainly contributed to his neglect.

Schupp was born and grew up in Giessen, a small town in the province of Hesse, not far from...