Most Reverend Lord Abbot,

Highly Honored Patron!

If only I could successfully express something of the great and powerful feelings in this letter, which I address publicly to Your Reverence—feelings that I took with me from Magdeburg, when God granted me the great fortune to find new spiritual life Spiritual life: In this context, "geistliches Leben" refers to a religious awakening or a deepening of faith, likely influenced by the German Enlightenment's focus on practical piety. in the most select company of a Mr. Saks Likely Friedrich Samuel Gottfried Sack (1738–1817), a prominent Reformed theologian and court preacher in Berlin. and a Mr. Spalding Johann Joachim Spalding (1714–1804), a leading figure of the "Neology" movement in German theology which sought to reconcile faith with reason., and now also, to be recommended and introduced to Your Reverence for the first time by these, shall I say, my fathers in Christ original: "Väter in Christo", or to experience your own gracious condescension toward me directly! With what feeling, and hon— The text breaks here; the German "ehr-" combined with the catchword "erbie-" suggests the word "ehrerbietigem" (honorable or respectful).