Who was Johann Gottfried von Herder?

   Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803) was a German poet, critic, and thinker. He was the son of a poor schoolmaster. He worked his way through the University of Konigsberg. Gottfried von Herder held various positions as a tutor, teacher, and pastor. Through the influence of Goethe he was invited to accept a position as court preacher at Weimar. He was a man of profound thought and intense patriotism,—one who had a wondrous quickening influence on those whom he met. His masterpiece is considered Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind. The Stuttgart edition of his complete works runs into, sixty volumes. His is one of the great names in the history of German thought, not so much for felicity of expression, for his writing is faulty and awkward, as for his influence on younger men.