Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying.

Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 –1769) was a German poet, one of the forerunners of the golden age of German literature.
He entered Leipzig University in 1734 as a student of theology, and completed his studies in 1739. He established himself in 1745 as Privatdozent* in philosophy at the university of Leipzig, lectured on poetry, rhetoric and literary style with much success.

The esteem and veneration in which Gellert was held by the students, and indeed by persons in all classes of society, was unbounded, and yet due perhaps less to his unrivalled popularity as a lecturer and writer than to his personal character. He was the noblest and most amiable of men, generous, tender-hearted and of unaffected piety and humility. He wrote in order to raise the religious and moral character of the people, and to this end employed language which, though at times prolix, was always correct and clear.
*Privatdozent (abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz.) or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications (doctorate and habilitation) to become a tenured university professor.

Happy the man who knows his duties!
- Christian Furchtegott Gellert