Paul Gerhardt, who wrote Lutheran hymns almost exclusively, may be the most widely known German poet of the seventeenth century. Many Germans today know by heart those of his texts that have survived, together with their melodies, the general decline of religious culture. Even many who disdain the rituals of faith regard Gerhardt's hymns as the essence of individual spirituality. His songs have helped to overcome the countless confessional, regional, and political differences that have haunted German history. For three hundred years they have inspired and consoled people--even fictional characters--at all stages of their lives. According to Ernst Kurt Exner, the poet Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel reported that his mother said of Gerhardt: "Er dichtefe während dem Kirchengeläute, er drehte sich beständig nach der ewigen Seligkeit" (He created his songs while the church-bells were ringing; he always pointed the way toward eternal...