Salomon Liscovius › Texts

Liscovius, Salomo, son of Johann Liscovius, or Lischkow, pastor at Niemitsch, near Guben, was born at Niemitsch, Oct. 25, 1640. He entered the University of Leipzig in 1660, and then went to Wittenberg, where he graduated M.A., and was crowned as a poet. Shortly thereafter he was appointed pastor at Otterwisch with Stockheim, near Lausigk, and ordained to this post April 21, 1664. He was then, on March 29, 1685, appointed second pastor of St. Wenceslaus's church, at Wurzen. He died at Wurzen, Dec. 5, 1689. (Koch, iii. 385; Rotermund's continuation of Jöcher's Gelehrten-Lexikon, iii. 1950, &c.)

Liscovius was one of the best German hymn-writers of the second rank in the 17th century. That is, though his hymns are not lacking in intensity, in depth, or in beauty of form, yet neither by their intrinsic value nor by their adoption into German common use are they worthy to be ranked with the hymns of Gerhardt, Franck, Scheffler and others of this period. They appeared mostly in his Christlicher Frauenzimmers Geistlicher Tugend-Spiegel. The preface to this book is dated April 14, 1672, and it was probably published at Leipzig in 1672; but the earliest ed. extant is that at Leipzig, 1703. Dr. J. L. Pasig pub. 51 of his Geistliche Lieder, with a short biographical notice, at Halle, 1855.

One of his hymns is translated:—
Schatz über alle Schatze. Love to Christ. His finest hymn. 1672 as above, and Pasig, 1855, p. 53. In the Nürnberg Gesang-Buch 1676, No. 509, and the Berlin Geistlicher Lieder Schatz, ed. 1863, No. 826. It is in 7 stanzas of 8 lines, the initial letters of the stanzas forming his Christian name Salomon. The translations are:—
(1) "Treasure above all treasure," as No. 441 in pt. i. of the , 1754. In the 1789 and later eds. (1886, No. 449), it begins "Jesus, my highest treasure." (2) "Treasure beyond all treasure," by Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 60. (3) "Thou treasure of all treasures," by Miss Manington, 1863, p. 27. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)