Christian, a distinguished German miscellaneous writer, was born at Breslau in 1742. He lost his father at an early age, but was very carefully educated under the superintendence of his mother. He studied mathematics and philosophy under Baumgarten, at Frankfort-on-the-Oder; and thence he removed successively to Halle and Leipzig, where he enjoyed the friendship of Weisse, Gellert, and other literati. After Gellert's death in 1769, Garve was appointed to succeed him, and his lectures on logic and mathematics were universally approved. His delicate health, however, compelled him to resign his professorship; and he retired to his native city, where he continued to teach privately for the remainder of his life. He had long suffered under a complication of painful diseases, and after much severe suffering he died in 1798.

Garve first made a name for himself by his translation of Burke's essay On the Sublime and Beautiful, and other works, such as the Ethics, Politics, and Rhetoric of Aristotle. His translations from the Greek, however, though not without certain literary merits, want that first requisite of all translations—fidelity. He was more happy in his rendering of Cicero De Officiis, which he edited and annotated at the request of the great Fritz of Prussia, who had been struck with some of his philosophical essays, and had invited him to Charlottenburg, where he had entertained him with unusual courtesy. These Philosophische Abhandlungen of Garve's consist principally of essays on ethical subjects, or subjects of general import, such as Patience, the Art of Thinking, Irresolution, the Existence of God, and such like. They are all treated in a popular style, but, though popular, are far from commonplace. They often present a worn-out theme in a guise so fresh and pleasant as to have all the attractions of novelty.