Scherffer's work, written in 1640, was the first German translation of the Latin elegies composed by the Belgian Jesuit Hermann Hugo for his extremely popular and influential emblem book "Pia Desideria". The translation is fully in line with the cultural patriotism and irenical proclivities of the court of Brieg, where Scherffer was organist and princely tutor. Herman literary history has emphasized Scherffer's special position within Silesian Baroque literature, stressing his affinity to the so-called 'low' style. So far however there has been no complete edition of his works. This reprint is the first to make a work of this Silesian author generally available again. The editor's postface provides information on the Latin original, describes the genesis and later influence of Scherffer's translation and situates it within the historical and literary context of the age.
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