Johann Gottfried Herder: Letters for the Promotion of Humanity. Between 1793 and 1797, a total of 124 fictional letters were published in ten collections, in which Herder formulates two different opinions but leaves the judgment to the reader. "The letters are to be my silvae, in which I wander at will." J. G. H. First edition: Riga (Hartknoch) 1793-1797. Complete new edition with a biography of the author. Edited by Karl-Maria Guth. Berlin 2013. The text is based on the editions: Johann Gottfried Herder: Letters for the Promotion of Humanity. Edited by Heinz Stolpe in collaboration with Hans-Joachim Kruse and Dietrich Simon, 2 volumes, Volume 1, Berlin and Weimar: Aufbau, 1971. Johann Gottfried Herder: Letters for the Promotion of Humanity. Edited by Heinz Stolpe in collaboration with Hans-Joachim Kruse and Dietrich Simon, 2 volumes, Volume 2, Berlin and Weimar: Aufbau, 1971. The pagination of the above editions is included in this new edition as a marginal note with exact line references. Cover design by Thomas Schultz-Overhage using the image: Johann Gottfried Herder (painting by Anton Graff, 1785). Typeset in Minion Pro, 11 pt.