in his father's house, most of which were French, and became highly knowledgeable in some fields while missing out on others that would have been expected from an educated young person in his time. Huber had no instruction in Ancient Greek and classical antiquity, he lacked knowledge of music or natural sciences, and he had no religious education and no interest in religious questions. On the other hand, he knew foreign languages and was enthusiastic about literature; in addition to English, French, and German, he could read Italian. He was especially enthusiastic about William Shakespeare's plays. While still in his teens, Huber began working on translations. In 1782, he published a translation of the second French edition of Louise d'Épinay's with the Leipzig publisher . He next translated Colley Cibber's comedy Love Makes a Man from English into German. Huber's adaptation was played in Leipzig in 1783 without much success by the theatre company of and Joseph Seconda. It was then printed in Berlin in 1784. His next work was a translation of by , appearing with Crusius in 1784. His 1785 play , an adaptation of A King and No King appeared together with an appendix about the authors Beaumont and Fletcher and their era, and was performed several times in Mannheim and Berlin. In the same year, he published one of several translations of the Pierre Beaumarchais play The Marriage of Figaro, which was successfully performed in Leipzig by Bondini–Seconda but met with critical disapproval. Huber's translations were very literal, including literal translations of idiomatic expressions. Friendship with Körner and Schiller From , Huber formed a close friendship with the jurist Christian Gottfried Körner, his fiancée , and her older sister Dora Stock. Dora and Minna were the daughters of engraver , and Dora became a well-known painter. Minna was said to be very beautiful, while Dora was short with a slightly curved spine, but a lively temperament. Körner obtained an administrative position at the Consistory in Dresden in 1783 and had to move there, but often visited Leipzig. In 1784, the four friends wrote to Friedrich Schiller, who they had not been previously acquainted with, after reading his play The Robbers. Together with letters of admiration, the longest of which was by Huber, they sent a purse embroidered by Minna, a musical adaptation of a Schiller poem by Körner, and four sketches depicting the friends by Dora.