Sprichwörter-Lexikon mit kurzen Erläuterungen

More about the book

Samuel Christoph Wagener (1763-1845), a Prussian army chaplain, pastor, and author, aimed to create a "household book for everyday life" with his 1813 publication of the Sprichwörter-Lexicon, which features over 4000 proverbs and sayings. The extensive collection, noted for its variety and alphabetical arrangement, often leads bibliographies to mistakenly label it as a reference book. Wolfgang Mieder, a Professor of German Studies and Folklore at the University of Vermont, emphasizes in his preface that there is no inherent conflict between scholarly rigor and practical educational aims. Wagener's compilation serves dual purposes: it is both a source of folk wisdom and a cultural, ethical, and pedagogical resource, bridging the gap between academic inquiry and everyday language education.