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According to : "Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (July 4, 1715 - December 13, 1769) was a German poet . . . The fables, for which he took La Fontaine as his model, are simple and didactic. The "spiritual songs", though in force and dignity they cannot compare with the older church hymns, were received by Catholics and Protestants with equal favour. Some of them were set to music by Beethoven. Gellert wrote a few sentimental comedies: Die Betschwester (The Praying Sister, 1745), Die kranke Frau (The Sick Woman, 1747), Das Los in der Lotterie (1748), and Die zärtlichen Schwestern (The Affectionate Sisters, 1747), the last of which was much admired. His novel Die schwedische Gräfin von G. (1746), a weak imitation of Richardson's Pamela, is remarkable as being the first German attempt at a psychological novel. Gellert's Briefe ("Letters") were regarded at the time as models of good style."