[1] Scherer's literary activity falls into three categories: in Vienna was the philologist, at Strasbourg the professor of literature and Berlin the author.

1885); the next, in conjunction with his former teacher Müllenhoff, published Denkmäler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus dem 8. bis 12.

His first major work was Zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache (Berlin, 1868; 3rd ed., 1890), a history of the German language with special reference to phonetic laws.

This work is distinguished by the clarity with which details are co-ordinated with general and comprehensive survey of German literature from its beginnings right up until the death of Goethe.

A small treatise on Poetik, a biography of Karl Müllenhoff, and two volumes of Kleine Schriften were published after his death.