At least as prolific as Goethe but rarely read today, Johann Jakob Bodmer was one of the most influential critics of the first half of the eighteenth century. Bodmer and his friend Johann Jakob Breitinger are usually seen as the victors in their famous literary dispute with Johann Christoph Gottsched because of their emphasis on the imagination in the process of literary creation. Bodmer's name attracted young talent to Zurich during much of the eighteenth century. Goethe referred to him as a "Henne für Talente" (a hen for talent, that is, one who "hatches" new talent) and as the "Hebamme des Genies" (mid-wife of genius). Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Christoph Martin Wieland each resided in his home, the latter for several years. His professional life included the publication of the works of several other poets. His mind eagerly extended its grasp to many diverse fields: into...