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Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner ( November 18, 1768 - January 17, 1823), German poet, dramatist and preacher, was born at Königsberg in Prussia. From his mother, who died a religious maniac, Werner inherited a weak and unbalanced nature, which his education did nothing to correct. At the university of his native place he studied law; but Rousseau and Rousseau's German disciples were the influences that shaped his view of life. For years he oscillated violently between aspirations towards the state of nature, which betrayed him into a series of rash and unhappy marriages, and a sentimental admirationin common with so many of the Romanticists for the Roman Catholic Church, which ended in 1811 in his conversion. Werner's talent was early recognized and obtained for him, in spite of his character, a small government post at Warsaw, which he exchanged afterwards for one at Berlin. In the course of his travels, and by correspondence, he got into touch with many of the men most eminent in literature at the time; and succeeded in having his plays put on the stage, where they met with much success. In 1814 he was ordained priestA priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. Priests have been known since the earliest times and in the simplest societies (see shama, and, exchanging the pen for the pulpit18th century pulpit in a small Roman Catholic church in Spielfeld, Styria, Austria In a church, a pulpit (from Latin pulpitum "scaffold", "platform", "stage") is a small elevated platform where a member of the clergy stands in order to deliver a sermon., became a popular preacher at ViennaThis article is about the city and federal state in Austria. For other places or things called Vienna, see Vienna (disambiguation). Vienna ( German: Wien [viːn]) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austria's nine federal states Bundesland Wi, where, during the famous congress of 1814, his eloquent but fanatical sermons were listened to by crowded congregations. He died at Vienna January 17, 1823. This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica
Werner, Zacharias
