The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Engel, Johann Jakob

ENGEL, Johann Jakob, German prose writer: b. Parchim, 11 Sept. 1741; d. there, 28 June 1802. On the accession of King Frederick William III of Prussia, whose tutor he had been, he was invited by his former pupil to Berlin, where he made himself exceedingly useful in the Academy of Sciences by his writings. Among his philosophical works may be mentioned his ‘Der Philosoph für die Welt,’ distinguished for acute observations on men and manners, enlivened by elegant illustrations. Of a similar character is his ‘Mirror for Princes’ (Fürstenspiegel). His ‘Ideen zu einer Mimik,’ full of taste, acuteness and knowledge of human nature, may be regarded as a kind of manual for actors. Anxious to make the German theatre the mirror of the national life, he wrote several plays, but they were of little merit — ‘Der dankbare Sohn’; ‘Edelknaben,’ etc. His ‘Lorenz Stark,’ a novel, is a masterly picture of life and manners. A complete edition of his works appeared at Berlin (1801-06).