"The first English translation of some of the early works of Johann Gottfried Herder." "Johann Gottfried Herder was one of the central figures in eighteenth-century European intellectual history. As a philosopher and historian, a literary critic and theoretician, a poet, translator, and educator, he was one of the last great universalists and one of the pioneers of the Sturm and Drang movements as well as the mentor of the young Goethe in Strassburg. His literary fame rests on his early publications, which until now have been available only in German." "Although Herder addresses in these texts the state of German literature during the Enlightenment, he goes far beyond mere literary criticism by basing his ideas on anthropological considerations within the boundaries of an established national identity. The editors have chosen texts that anticipate most of Herder's ideas on aesthetics and philosophy of the later years."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved